Life Rebooted with Copy and Paste-Chapter 76. We’ll Go Ahead

Baaam—!

With a loud crash, Kim Do-Joon hurled something from his inventory into the air. With a thunderous noise, the object embedded itself into the ceiling.

"Ugh!" one of the elves grunted.

"Stop!" another shouted.

The elves halted, warily eyeing Kim Do-Joon’s unexpected action. However, it wasn’t a direct attack, but a Fire Boar's tusk.

A consumable item from a B-class monster, the Fire Boar. It’d burn continuously until it completely disintegrated. As such, it was usually attached to a handle and used like a torch.

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The flame wasn’t very large, but it was enough to faintly illuminate the ruins. For Hunters with exceptional sensory stats, this level of brightness was more than sufficient.

Then, Kim Do-Joon's cold gaze swept across the room.

How can a mere prey do this...?

The elves gulped nervously. Otherworldly humans were supposed to be mere fertilizer for the World Tree. And yet, their leader, who was strong enough to wield six flying swords, had fallen to such a being. While he wasn’t quite the level of a knight, it was still an impressive feat.

Did he let his guard down?

Even if he did, he’s a six-sword wielder...

Shoot, I can only control three swords at best...

Momentarily thrown off by the death of their leader, the elves began to see the situation clearly again, and fear started to creep into their eyes.

Good, it's working.

Kim Do-Joon thought, sensing their wavering resolve. Eliminate the leader first—such was the ironclad rule of group battles, and the impact was evident.

Four in front, three in back.

Excluding the dead elf leader, there were seven elves left. Some wielded single swords like Eldora, while others had small blades floating in the air, similar to their leader.

Bang!

Seok Dae-Kyung confidently clashed his fists together. The gauntlets on his hands created a resounding boom. However, a bead of sweat trickled down his back.

He’d heard many stories about the elves that appeared in Hwaseong. To the public, they were described as terrorists, but Hunters knew better. They were a new race born from the World Tree.

Although it didn’t really shock Seok Dae-Kyung, he couldn’t help but feel tense.

This would be my first time fighting them directly.

The elf in Hwaseong had summoned a storm giant, causing trouble for numerous Hunters, including Shin Yoo-Sung and Oh Tae-Jin. He had heard the tales countless times.

The next moment, Seok Dae-Kyung glanced at Kim Do-Joon, searching for any signs of anxiety. However, the man appeared calm, almost as if he was accustomed to fighting elves.

"Mr. Dae-Kyung," Kim Do-Joon called out suddenly.

"Yes? Oh, yes," Seok Dae-Kyung replied, momentarily flustered.

Had Kim Do-Joon noticed his covert glances? But the man didn’t care about such things. He issued orders In a low voice.

"When the battle starts, take care of the ones at the back. Even a B-rank might be overwhelmed with them," Kim Do-Joon instructed.

Seok Dae-Kyung frowned at this. "But what about the front? You'll be alone, Mr. Do-Joon."

"I'll hold them off. Clear out the rear first; it's closer to the exit," Kim Do-Joon replied calmly.

"Oh," Seok Dae-Kyung realized what Kim Do-Joon was implying, albeit he didn’t say much.

If even one elf escaped, reinforcements could arrive. Therefore, they needed to ensure none of the elves got away.

Seok Dae-Kyung looked at Kim Do-Joon with newfound respect. He made such a tactical decision in this situation, something that one wouldn’t expect from an inexperienced E-rank.

"Underst—"

"Aaaah!"

Seok Dae-Kyung began to nod, but a scream from the back cut him off. It was one of their own B-ranks.

"Hurry!" Kim Do-Joon urged.

"Yes, yes! Be careful, Leader!" Seok Dae-Kyung called back, already running toward the back.

Subconsciously, he had started calling Kim Do-Joon the leader. As the formidable Seok Dae-Kyung departed, the elves' eyes regained their sharpness.

Even if he killed the leader...

He probably can't handle four of us alone.

Besides, he only won because of a surprise attack...

The remaining elves thought, nodding to each other. Then, they charged at Kim Do-Joon at the same time.

Bang!

In the next moment, Kim Do-Joon had already moved to their far right.

"What the...!" one elf exclaimed.

With lightning speed that flustered the elves, Kim Do-Joon thrust his spear into the rightmost elf using Sky Thunder.

"Arkel!" screamed the elf next to him, his eyes widening in horror.

Light quickly faded from Arkel's eyes as Kim Do-Joon pierced his heart.

Kim Do-Joon swung his spear, tossing Arkel's body against the wall with a thud, as if discarding something filthy. The remaining elves' eyes blazed with renewed hatred.

"You bastard! How dare you defile the pride of the forest!"

"Pride?" Kim Do-Joon replied.

Instead of giving a thorough response, he stabbed another elf, slamming him against the wall like the first one.

After all, that word was rich coming from the elves, who had invaded another world and killed humans for their nutrients.

If not for the World Tree, So-Eun might not be sick.

Her disease, Nine Yin Absolute Meridians, Congenital Mana Disorder, emerged along with the World Tree. It was only logical for him to conclude that the tree caused the disease. Without it, Kim So-Eun would have been born healthy like other children.

Kim Do-Joon's eyes darkened with rage. Even if it was just a "what if," it was enough to set his blood boiling.

"Kek!"

Sensing his intense emotion, the two remaining elves turned pale and began to step back.

***

"Take this!" Seok Dae-Kyung's gauntleted fist smashed into the temple of the last elf.

Crack!

With a loud noise sound, blood sprayed from the elf's nose and ears as he collapsed.

"We did it!" Seok Dae-Kyung shouted triumphantly.

"We cleared the rear!"

The B-rank Hunters who had helped him tackle the elves at the rear were ecstatic. They hadn’t let any of the three elves escape.

"Don't let your guard down! We need to help the Leader!" Seok Dae-Kyung yelled, his face stern as he rallied the B-rank Hunters.

"Yes, sir!"

After chasing down and defeating a fleeing elf, Seok Dae-Kyung was a bit further away from the original battle site.

Please be safe!

Despite having taken down the elves as quickly as possible, Seok Dae-Kyung couldn’t help but worry about leaving Kim Do-Joon alone.

Rushing back to their original location, Seok Dae-Kyung's heart pounded. The Fire Boar's tusk embedded in the ceiling was still burning.

And below it, he saw Kim Do-Joon trying to thrust his spear into the fourth elf's chest.

"Stop! Do you know who I am...?" the last of the four elves stuttered.

"I don't care. Die," Kim Do-Joon replied coldly.

Swoosh—!

Seok Dae-Kyung's jaw dropped. He and the B-rank Hunters had barely managed to defeat three elves, yet Kim Do-Joon had taken down four on his own.

No doubt remained because the place was filled with the corpses of fallen elves.

Wait... if we include the leader, that's...

"He killed five of them alone?" Seok Dae-Kyung muttered in disbelief.

"Unbelievable..." the B-rank Hunters echoed with shock evident on their faces.

Having just battled the elves, they knew how formidable their enemies were. The elves were agile, intelligent, and wielded mysterious skills, far beyond the average monster.

They had exhausted all their strength to kill three, but their leader, Kim Do-Joon, had single-handedly slain five. This meant that even combined, they were no match for him.

"How did it go back there?" Kim Do-Joon asked, his voice still carrying a hint of menace from the recent battle.

Seok Dae-Kyung gulped before replying, "We handled them all. There were some injuries, but Ms. Si-Ah took care of them."

Then, Siwelin waved at Kim Do-Joon from nearby. Seok Dae-Kyung couldn’t believe how cheerful she waved at someone who’d just slaughtered five elves. But what was even more astonishing was Kim Do-Joon smiling at Siwelin.

"Oh, I see," Kim Do-Joon said.

In that instant, the sharp, tense atmosphere seemed to dissipate.

"Ha..." Seok Dae-Kyung let out a sigh of relief.

However, just then, a faint noise echoed from the direction they had come from.

Thump.

It was barely audible, but Seok Dae-Kyung, an A-rank Hunter, couldn’t miss it. Of course, Kim Do-Joon would’ve heard it too.

Seok Dae-Kyung's face, which had just relaxed, tensed up again.

"Is one of them still alive?" Seok Dae-Kyung exclaimed, starting to run toward the corridor.

However, Elena stopped him.

"Elena?" Seok Dae-Kyung questioned with a puzzled look.

She had drawn her bow, but she wasn’t aiming at the corridor. Instead, her arrow pointed toward the floor. Seok Dae-Kyung watched in confusion as she released the arrow into a shadow on the ground.

"Aaargh!”

Soon, a scream erupted from the corridor. Seok Dae-Kyung dashed over and found an elf. It had attempted to escape, but was now lying dead with an arrow through his head. It had been a swift, fatal shot.

"Hah," Seok Dae-Kyung chuckled.

Despite being an A-rank Hunter, respected wherever he went, he found himself surrounded by people with extraordinary abilities. And all of them had been brought together by their leader, Kim Do-Joon.

Seok Dae-Kyung returned to the group, carrying the elf's corpse. Then, Elena, who’d been ready for any additional threats, lowered her bow.

"Looks like that's all of them," Kim Do-Joon said after scanning the surroundings, his tone indicating the end of the battle.

The tension among the group slowly began to dissipate. With the fight over, the next steps were rest and loot distribution.

Eight elf corpses lay around them, along with several Chinese Hunters killed by the elves. They first retrieved the licenses from the Chinese Hunters' bodies and handed them to Kim Do-Joon. Although the Chinese and Korean Hunter associations were different entities, the process of reporting deaths remained similar.

Next came the equipment distribution. Although they initially planned to divide the equipment from the elf corpses equally, Seok Dae-Kyung spoke up.

"I think it’s fair that everyone keeps what they personally took down."

"I agree," another Hunter chimed in.

"Yeah, it doesn’t feel right to take without earning it."

"This way, our leader will fight harder, and we'll be safer," a B-rank Hunter added with a laugh.

Seeing the agreement among the Hunters, Kim Do-Joon nodded. "Alright."

Thus, the equipment from the five elves, including their leader, became Kim Do-Joon's. They also picked up some of the Chinese Hunters' gear, which they decided to split evenly.

Kim Do-Joon first checked the Chinese Hunters' equipment. Most of it was ordinary, with only a few having additional attack power. Then, he examined the elves' equipment.

So, there are eleven swords total, all with affinity effects.

Kim Do-Joon’s face lit up.

The leader elf had carried five swords, and the other four elves had six swords combined, making a total of eleven.

Now, let’s see...

Then Kim Do-Joon checked his own additional effect.

[Additional Effect]

- Spirit Affinity Level +3

Currently, Kim Do-Joon's Spirit Affinity level was at three. Eldora's sword raised it by two, and the first leader elf's sword added another level.

If I copy all eleven swords...

His Spirit Affinity Level would reach level fourteen. This was a significant increase, although he wasn’t sure how much each level would impact him just yet.

To find out, I'll need a spirit.

Thinking about this, he glanced sideways and realized there was one right beside him. Elena's shadow spirit, Liaz.

Now isn’t the best time. Everyone’s watching. I'll check it later.

He couldn’t use his copy-paste ability in front of Seok Dae-Kyung or other Hunters. The next moment, Kim Do-Joon stored all eleven swords in his inventory. After a brief rest, the group cautiously explored the ruins.

However, they found neither items nor treasure—nothing of value at all. It was frustrating to see the corpses of Chinese Hunters and elves lying around in such an empty place, making everything futile.

"Let's move out," Kim Do-Joon said, and the group, sharing his disappointment, resumed tracking the advance party.

***

After that, their journey proceeded without major incidents. The advance party had already cleared out the threatening monsters. Occasionally, minor monsters appeared, but Seok Dae-Kyung handled them easily.

Although they remained on high alert for another elf attack, none occurred. Four days later, they found the advance party fighting orcs on a hill.

"Kill them! Don’t retreat!" shouted one of the advance party members.

"Mr. Yoo-Sung, over here! This one's trying to tear my arm off!" another cried.

"Damn it! Injured should stay back!" said another.

The scene resembled a chaotic battlefield. Seeing this, Kim Do-Joon's expression hardened.

"Come here for a moment," Kim Do-Joon said, lifting Siwelin onto his shoulder.

“...!”

She struggled briefly in surprise, but quickly understood the situation and stayed still. She too, had seen the advance party fighting a mass of orcs below the hill. Next, Kim Do-Joon turned to Seok Dae-Kyung.

"We’ll go ahead, so follow as quickly as you can."

"What?" Seok Dae-Kyung's face showed confusion.

How were they planning to go ahead? Then, from Kim Do-Joon’s feet, a burst of air exploded.

Boom!

In an instant, Kim Do-Joon's body shot down the hill like a bullet.