Life Rebooted with Copy and Paste-Chapter 70. Who’s Caught Whom?

Elena closed her eyes. A foolish act, with an enemy right in front of her, but she didn’t care. Even with her eyes shut, she could sense everything as if she were looking directly at it. The rustling trees and grass, the rough ground—all of these conveyed countless details to her.

It was a blessing of the forest that all elves possessed. Moreover, this battlefield was especially advantageous for her. Her specialties were stealth, tracking, assassination, and sniping.

Elena drew her bow and gauged the man's position once more. The string creaked as she pulled it back. However, her arrow was not aimed at the man, but at the shadow beneath her feet.

Liaz

— Ki...

Hearing the weak response coming from her spirit, her eyes narrowed slightly. Elena didn’t have time to dwell on it. The noisy chase in the city had likely drawn attention, and humans could gather here at any moment.

Well, not that big of a deal.

Elena believed that she could easily slip away. Besides, what really mattered was the man in front of her. He had seen through her stealth and chased her down relentlessly.

Just hang in there a little longer. We just need to shake him off.

— Ki...

Her spirit, Liaz, seemed to gain a bit of energy from her words. Then, the next moment, the spirit dove into her shadow, creating a darker, more concentrated spot.

Her bow, crafted from fairy wood, was known for its incredible strength and elasticity, such that no ordinary person could draw it. Elena notched an arrow imbued with her mana. With a swift motion, she released the arrow at that circular shadow.

In an instant, the arrow disappeared into her shadow.

Swish!

"...!"

In the next moment, the arrow emerged from the bushes near the man. More precisely, from the shadows within the bushes. Yet, the man twisted his body with ghost-like reflexes, narrowly avoiding it.

To dodge such a surprise attack at such close range, the man was definitely no ordinary human. The man visibly hurled a knife toward the bushes where the arrow had come from.

I’m not there.

Elena smirked as she sensed his movements. She hadn’t expected to finish him with just one shot. Without hesitation, she drew the bowstring again, this time tucking three arrows.

Swoosh—!

They flew at the man from different angles—one from a pile of leaves, another from beneath a hanging leaf, and the last from a shadow under a rock. She fired more arrows.

Arrows rained down on the man from all directions. Only an elf could handle such an assault in the forest, where their senses were heightened. In fact, many of the arrows hit their mark.

Great!

Elena felt a surge of excitement as she saw her arrows strike true. She continued firing the arrows with the fluidity of a seasoned swordsman. However, after three more shots, she noticed something amiss.

Wait... Why isn't he hurt?

Despite the direct hits, none of her arrows penetrated him. He wasn’t even grazed.

Woosh—!

The man swung his spear once, creating a wave of force that reached Elena. It was as if he was mocking her efforts.

Does he have some kind of special shield? In that case...

Elena drew her bowstring again, but without an arrow. Soon, a green arrow made of mana appeared.

Swoosh—!

This time, instead of the shadows, Elena shot the arrow into the air. As soon as she did, shadows surged up and engulfed her.

Meanwhile, reaching its peak in the sky, the arrow turned downward.

Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Whoosh—!

That one arrow transformed into dozens of arrows of light, cascading toward the man.

“What an array of abilities,” the man muttered, glancing up.

However, the arrows of light failed to harm him at all. It made sense; despite their numbers, each arrow was far weaker than a solid steel one. Nevertheless, the dazzling display was more than enough to capture his attention.

From behind the man, the shadows writhed, and Elena sprang forth. She lunged with a knife aimed at his back. It was engraved with strange patterns and gleamed a dark hue.

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“Got you!” Elena exclaimed.

As the knife rushed toward his back, she became sure of her victory.

“Huh?” she gasped, her voice sounding foolish as she suddenly froze in place.

She was neither paralyzed from shock nor fear, but physically.

Spikes had erupted from the man’s shadow, pierced through her body. Elena was more bewildered than ever. Shadows had always been her allies. She was, after all, a contractor of the Shadow Spirit.

What’s going on?!

Why would a human shadow latch onto her?!

“Who’s got whom?”

The man turned to face her. And seeing his eyes, Elena trembled uncontrollably.

***

“Keugh!”

Elena's body was violently thrown against a tree, the impact forcing a ragged breath from her lungs. However, before she could recover, Kim Do-Joon swung his spear again.

Thud! Crack!

A sickening noise came from her side as she collapsed to her knees on the ground.

"Grr..."

Gritting her teeth, Elena extended her arm, gripping her dagger.

However, the strike was effortlessly blocked. Not only did she lack close combat skills, she’d sealed her fate by failing the initial surprise attack. Kim Do-Joon didn’t waste any second to bound her with his shadow spike. Victory was out of her reach at this point.

— She must have been an easier opponent than the big-eared one.

The "big-eared one" referred to Eldora, whom Kim Do-Joon had fought in the past.

I think she’s weaker.

Kim Do-Joon replied to Karlish. This fight was much simpler, especially since this elf lacked the cheat-like ability to divert all damage while touching the ground.

— You've also grown stronger since then.

When Karlish said proudly, Kim Do-Joon scratched his cheek, slightly embarrassed. Certainly, he had become much stronger. He could now control up to thirty strands of mana and had mastered the Sky Thunder skill.

Above all, the sparring sessions with Jecheon Seong, exceeding a hundred times, were like a drought-ending rain for Kim Do-Joon, who had been training alone until now.

The next moment, he looked down at the fallen Elena. He then pointed the tip of his spear at her, which he’d meticulously polished for today's promotion test. The sharp blade drew close, making Elena flinch.

"Are you an elf?" Kim Do-Joon asked, lifting her head and glancing at her ears.

However, contrary to the word “elf,” her ears were short, just like a human's. Puzzled, he watched as her ears were suddenly enveloped in a dark shadow. When the shadow dissipated, her ears were revealed to be long and pointed.

"You are," Kim Do-Joon confirmed, recognizing the ears similar to the elf he’d fought in the past.

"Liaz!" Elena shouted, realizing her disguise had been uncovered.

However, her spirit, Liaz, didn’t appear. To be more exact, it was cowering behind her. The source of that fear was none other than Kim Do-Joon's shadow, which had pierced Elena.

Finally, Elena began to piece things together. Her concealed presence being discovered, the relentless pursuit—everything was because of that shadow of Kim Do-Joon. Liaz, her spirit, was so terrified that it could not manifest its abilities properly.

What could it be? For Liaz to tremble like this...

Elena’s eyes trembled. She knew that some humans could wield spirits, but she was certain this man was a different case. He commanded a shadow that could instill such fear in Liaz.

Meanwhile, Kim Do-Joon's mind was filled with other questions. He pressed the spear tip closer and asked Elena, "You're the one who cleared the Valley of Lament, aren't you?"

Elena snapped back to reality at his question. She turned away, lips pressed tightly together.

"..."

Kim Do-Joon's eyes narrowed. He pushed the spear even closer, drawing a shallow cut on her neck. Red blood began to trickle down her tanned skin, and she gulped.

"I asked if you were the one who defeated the boss in the dungeon," Kim Do-Joon said again.

"If by dungeon you mean the roots of Yggdrasil, then yes," Elena replied reluctantly.

Kim Do-Joon frowned. Although he had suspected and pursued her for this reason, hearing it confirmed was still unsettling. His disquiet stemmed from one fact: the culprit who cleared the dungeon was an elf.

— How strange. Didn't elves revere that tree as a deity?

That’s what I thought.

Both Eldora and the elf who summoned the Storm Giant, as described by Son Chang-Il, revered the World Tree. They treated it with the devotion of the most faithful of followers. Clearing a dungeon meant severing the roots of the World Tree, something the elves would have vehemently opposed. He remembered how they had called the Hunters "the ones who harmed our mother."

So why would an elf clear a dungeon? The information just didn’t add up.

— Perhaps not all elves are the same.

Kim Do-Joon frowned after hearing his response.

"Is there a problem? That thing that spits out monsters is a disaster for you, isn't it? You should be thanking me instead!" Elena said, her voice rising with a mixture of indignation and anxiety after seeing his expression.

"Well, I have many questions I'd like to ask," Kim Do-Joon murmured.

"What? What did you just say?" Elena asked, not hearing him clearly.

Instead of answering, Kim Do-Joon pulled out thick iron chains from his inventory and started binding her tightly.

"Stop! Let me go! I have things I need to do!" Elena struggled, but it was futile.

Kim Do-Joon was naturally stronger, and he even used his spikes to immobilize her further, easily wrapping the chains around her.

Seeing him working silently, Elena’s expression grew pale. She recalled the news from when she first arrived here, treating elves as terrorists. If she were captured, who knew what would happen to her? Her face turned blue with fear.

Just then, a voice called out, "There you are!"

Kim Do-Joon turned to see Son Chang-Il approaching, brushing leaves off his hat.

"Why did you run off all of a sudden? Did you find something...?" Son Chang-Il stopped mid-sentence, taking in the scene before him. He quickly noticed that a beautiful woman was bound tightly with chains by Kim Do-Joon.

"How can a man with a young daughter do something like this..." Son Chang-Il said, frowning.

"What?" Kim Do-Joon replied, confused, because he did not know what Son Chang-Il was trying to say.

Then, after checking Elena’s condition and the chain in his hand, Kim Do-Joon sighed deeply and began to explain the situation, rubbing his temples.