Reversing Life With Item Copy

Chapter 121: Did You Get Hurt

The elf captain struggled desperately to pry off the hand gripping his throat, but to no avail. The arm around his neck felt like solid iron that only grew tighter with each passing second.

"Urk! Ack!" he gasped, barely managing to make out the person strangling him.

When he saw who it was, he trembled. The elf captain’s bloodshot eyes were met with an uncontrollable rage.

How dare you!

Kim Do-Joon was angrier than he had ever been. He had been furious when he fought against Eldora. But unlike Eldora, this elf had aimed pure, murderous intent directly at Kim So-Eun.

Had Kim So-Eun been an ordinary child, she’d have collapsed on the spot, paralyzed by this creature’s malice. Had Kim Do-Joon been just a little bit slower, or if she didn’t have Siwelin’s mirror, something irreversible could’ve happened.

He has to die.

As if Kim Do-Joon could ever let him live.

Crack.

"Gaaah!" The elf captain's eyes rolled back, his face turning yellow from lack of oxygen.

At the same time, Kim Do-Joon glanced around. Aside from the strangled groans of the elf in his grasp, there was only silence. Everyone, both humans and elf subordinates alike, stood frozen, staring at him.

"You there, Student," Kim Do-Joon called out to someone.

It was the same student who had stood in his way before the search began.

"Y-yes, sir!" Kang Tae-Won replied, snapping to attention like a fresh recruit, his voice stiff with tension.

"I’m leaving my daughter… and the other kids in your care," Kim Do-Joon said.

"Understood sir!" Kang Tae-Won replied immediately.

Having heard the answer, Kim Do-Joon hurled the elf captain aside.

Crash!

The elf captain's body flew like a baseball, smashing through the auditorium entrance and crashing onto the ground outside. Then, without hesitation, Kim Do-Joon leapt forward. When he landed, he was already standing in front of another elf subordinate.

Kim Do-Joon reached toward that elf.

"You damn human!"

The subordinate elf tried to dodge and counterattack, unaware of its futility.

“Ack!”

When he thought he’d dodged it, Kim Do-Joon’s hand twisted like a snake, catching him in the end. Then, Kim Do-Joon threw him outside as well.

This happened several times in quick succession. In the blink of an eye, everything was over. After throwing all the elves out of the auditorium, Kim Do-Joon calmly followed them outside.

"Cough… cough!"

"Captain, are you okay?" One of the subordinate elves hurried to support the elf captain, who had finally regained consciousness and focus.

However, the first thing the elf captain saw was a terrifying human approaching him. The sheer presence of the man, which could engulf the entire world, was directed solely at him and his subordinates.

"Huff…!"

The elf captain could barely breathe under the pressure.

"R-run!" His voice trembled as he forced the words out.

Thunk.

However, those words turned out to be his last.

***

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Kim Do-Joon had hunted down and killed every last elf. He spent most time chasing the ones that fled in all directions, making sure they were truly dead. If they had fought him head-on, it’d have taken even less time.

After all, Kim Do-Joon was once on par with Elena in terms of speed. And now, he’d grown even stronger through his newly acquired Ice Crystal and the Heart of Flame energy. No matter how agile the elves were, their fate was sealed the moment he arrived.

On his way back, Kim Do-Joon stopped by a nearby stream to quickly wash off the blood, before returning to the auditorium. When he arrived, there was an unnatural silence.

“...”

“...”

Then, the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers.

"Waaah!"

"Yaaay!"

Startled by the sudden outburst, Kim Do-Joon paused mid-step. People, including Park Do-Yeol, rushed toward him with excitement.

"What happened to them? Are they gone now?" one of them asked breathlessly.

"I took care of it," Kim Do-Joon replied simply.

His response sent the crowd into an even louder frenzy. This was the first time they had seen the true abilities of an S-rank Hunter—albeit technically, Kim Do-Joon was still an A-rank.

Besides, the danger they had just survived was real. Despite the adults’ best efforts to fight back, they had all been seconds away from certain death. Without Kim Do-Joon, their complete annihilation was a foregone conclusion.

But now, they had survived—they were safe and sound.

"Did you record it?"

"Yeah, but I only got a little bit of the ending."

"Dude, are you serious? You had the presence of mind to film during that chaos?"

The tension that had filled the air moments ago vanished like a lie. Some of the students had even managed to record Kim Do-Joon throwing the elves around like rag dolls on their phones.

— Excuse us, excuse us!

A voice came from the back of the crowd. Kim Do-Joon heard it too, his head snapping up as he searched for the source of the voice. He immediately began moving toward it, cutting through the throng of people without resistance. Everyone quickly stepped aside to let him pass.

There, standing amidst the crowd, was Kang Tae-Won, holding Kim So-Eun. After providing treatment to her teacher, Kwon Soo-Young, the child had been anxiously waiting. Kang Tae-Won was thoughtful enough to bring her to Kim Do-Joon as soon as things settled down.

"Daddy!" Kim So-Eun shouted, full of relief.

"So-Eun!" Kim Do-Joon exclaimed, scooping her up into his arms.

Although he’d washed up quickly, he was worried that the smell of blood still lingered. However, there was no way he could refuse to hold his daughter.

"Did you get hurt? Are you in pain?" Kim Do-Joon asked, his voice full of concern.

"No, I'm fine! What about you, Daddy?" Kim So-Eun asked.

"I'm perfectly fine," Kim Do-Joon assured her.

Kim So-Eun reached up, gently patting his face as if to check for any hidden injuries. Her clumsy attempt at examining him was childish, but that didn’t matter to Kim Do-Joon. He was concerned about something far more important than superficial wounds.

Click.

In the now quiet crowd, the sound of a phone camera shutter echoed. It came from the same student who had recorded Kim Do-Joon throwing the elves. This time, the photo didn’t show the fierce, rage-filled expression Kim Do-Joon had worn during the battle, but instead a wide, genuine smile as he held his daughter tightly in his arms.

***

After that, there were a couple more invasions. Each time, Kim Do-Joon was lying in wait, ready, and defeated the intruders effortlessly. Eventually, the attacks paused. The enemy seemed to have realized that something was off.

They had sent wave after wave of soldiers, only for them to return as corpses. They must have decided it was time to reconsider their strategy. Despite the lull in attacks, Kim Do-Joon couldn’t risk leaving the academy grounds.

What if they attack again while I’m gone? This time, it could be catastrophic.

With that worry hanging over him, he chose to stay put.

"I'm sorry, we’ve been such a burden to you…" one of the teachers said, his voice heavy with guilt.

“I feel so bad. We’re the ones who should be protecting the children, yet we’re the ones being protected,” another adult added, lowering his head.

“If that’s how it is, what does that make us, then? Securing people is literally our job, and here we are, doing nothing,” a guard muttered bitterly.

Unlike the students, who had started regaining some of their energy, the adults seemed weighed down by their sense of failure. They’d made Kim Do-Joon do all the protecting. None of them could look him in the eye.

Kim Do-Joon, forcing a smile, shook his head.

"No, no. If it weren’t for all of you, who would have kept the students in line? That’s no small feat."

The teachers had been invaluable in maintaining order. The students, with their natural curiosity, constantly swarmed Kim Do-Joon with questions. They asked about his abilities, how he trained to be so strong, and more. If not for the teachers, it’d have been exhausting for Kim Do-Joon to manage their enthusiasm.

"But still… since we're weak, we’re forced to sit here and wait, powerless," one of the teachers lamented.

"We can’t even search for an exit, or go out and gather food."

“...”

Unfortunately, that was true. Kim Do-Joon was the only one capable of going outside to scout or search for supplies, survive an ambush from the elves, and also the only one who could fend off another elf invasion.

Since leading the entire group into the forest would be suicidal, Kim Do-Joon had no choice but to remain here and wait for help to arrive.

It was also frustrating for Kim Do-Joon. The idea of sitting idle, waiting for someone else to come to their rescue, didn’t sit well with him.

If only we had someone else who could help fend off the elves.

Faces flashed through his mind. If only Jecheon Seong or Siwelin were here, then he’d have been at ease.

As for Bo-Mi… Well no, he’s still too young.

Even if it were just Shin Yoo-Sung or Yeon Hong-Ah, Kim Do-Joon could leave the defense of the auditorium to them while he searched the forest for a way out.

However, none of that was possible. They’d been swept up in this situation out of nowhere, so it was far from a carefully planned dungeon raid.

“For now, all we can do is wait,” Kim Do-Joon said.

The adults nodded, accepting his words. There really was no other option.

Two more days passed like that.

“Hmm?” Kim Do-Joon suddenly noticed something.

Someone was approaching the academy grounds.

***

In a small general store cluttered with various odds and ends, a woman and an elderly man stared intently at the TV screen from behind the counter.

— We have breaking news! The Academy for the Awakeners located in Seoul has been engulfed by the roots of the World Tree. All communication with those inside has been lost, and the Association has immediately dispatched a team to assess the situation. Even President Son Chang-Il has arrived at the scene to personally oversee operations…

The announcer's urgent voice filled the room, accompanied by an aerial shot of the academy grounds. What used to be a campus was now a massive dome made entirely of intertwining tree roots.

"He said he was going to pick up the kid from there, didn’t he?" the elderly man asked, his voice low.

The woman nodded silently.

"And that's the exact academy the kid attends, right?"

She nodded again.

"And you can’t reach him, right?"

— Yes, that’s right.

Siwelin, the woman, slammed her hands on the counter and stood up, holding out her phone to Jecheon Seong. The screen displayed several failed attempts to call Kim Do-Joon.

“Tsk,” Jecheon Seong let out a frustrated grunt.

This world, and especially the World Tree, was something not even Jecheon Seong could fully comprehend. He had no way of predicting what was going to happen to the academy. Judging from the TV broadcast, the humans also didn’t seem to have a clue. That was why his eyebrows were deeply furrowed.

“If it were just him caught up in this, I wouldn’t be as worried…” Jecheon Seong muttered.

Kim Do-Joon had a habit of disappearing on spontaneous journeys, only to return stronger each time. Lately, even their sparring sessions were becoming much more intense, and Kim Do-Joon had been keeping up with him well. That man was unlikely to be in real danger from just anything.

— But So-Eun is also there with him!

That was their main concern. JeCheon Seong kept his gaze fixed on the TV, absorbing the announcer’s every word, albeit nothing seemed to offer any useful information. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he rose from his seat.

"Let’s head over there," Jecheon Seong said firmly.

Kim Do-Joon had always asked him to avoid drawing attention, but this situation was impossible to ignore. As he stretched out his hand, a sword that had been leaning against the wall flew across the room, landing squarely in his grip.

— I'm coming with you!

Siwelin insisted, her determination clear. The two quickly exited the store.

Ding—

The chime above the door rang softly as it closed behind them. The small "CLOSED" sign on the door swung gently for a moment, before settling into stillness.