I Stepped on Their Shadows and Skills Started Copying Like Crazy - Chapter 2

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

02
Awakening.
Even staring at the semi-transparent Status Window hovering before my eyes, I couldn’t believe it—my expression was slack with shock.
“H-hey, hyung…? You can see this, right?”
“What? I don’t see anything… wait, you’ve Awakened! Congratulations, Si-hyeon!”
Kim somehow figured it out.
That I was staring at something invisible in the empty air.
“Man, so this is why they call it the New Arrival Event instead of just saying ‘people die like flies in the kidnapping event.’ Awakening! Your life just turned around, kid!”
Kim was offering me genuine congratulations even as poison spread through his body and he could barely keep himself upright.
The moment I saw him like that, my mind snapped clear of the daze and relief I’d been drunk on.
‘This isn’t the time. If that poison does more than just paralyze his body….’
Ugh, I didn’t even want to imagine what came next.
I could celebrate later—after we both made it out of the tower alive and intact.
Right now, survival was the only priority that mattered.
“Thank you, hyung. I’ll accept those congratulations once we’re out of here.”
Right after, I carefully propped Kim against a tree so he could rest more comfortably as the poison worked through his system.
‘The wound…!’
In just that short time, it had turned black and was beginning to rot.
Since the man himself couldn’t see the damage, he spoke carelessly about things that could get us both killed.
“Si-hyeon. I’ll grit my teeth like Guan Yu if I have to—can you pull this arrow out? It’s getting really annoying.”
Carelessly indeed.
Had this man never watched a single medical drama in his life?
“We can’t. If you pull it out now, you could bleed to death.”
“That bad, huh…?”
“Since I can’t be sure, we’re leaving it alone. Just bear with the discomfort.”
“Hmm… all right. Can’t be helped.”
Okay, so what should I do first?
What could I do to keep us alive?
I started by scouting the immediate area.
Front, back, left, right, and up… wait.
Everything had happened so fast and hectic that I’d never noticed it before, but a semi-transparent window hung above the densely wooded forest.
[Tower’s Guidance: Eliminate the Ruler of the Swampland.]
‘A Ruler? Must be this floor’s boss. If I have to eliminate it, I’m guessing I need to kill it to get out….’
At least the objective was clear now.
But Kim was heckling me from beside me.
“All right, listen. We’ve gotten past the worst of it. Si-hyeon, go find the others and regroup. You’re an Awakened now and you’ve got a proper Skill, so it shouldn’t be hard.”
“I can’t just leave you in this condition. If I go, we go together.”
“You can barely walk—and neither can I. I’m fine, really, so go on. You just need to pool your strength with the others and kill the boss. Remember that one guy who made it out? He said there were scary things over there, said it was dangerous….”
“What if it’s not a warning—what if that guy’s coming back with reinforcements for revenge?”
“….”
Kim’s mouth snapped shut the moment I hit the mark.
“Don’t even think about telling me to leave you behind. I won’t listen either way.”
“…but you have a plan?”
“There’s always a way. Haven’t you ever seen me say something couldn’t be done while I was running my business?”
“Hmm… never.”
“Exactly. So just sit there and wait a moment, hyung.”
I silenced him and fell into thought.
What should I do?
What I needed most right now was rope to tie him to my back and keep him secure.
Just then, a thick vine caught my eye.
‘That could work, couldn’t it?’
By its appearance alone, it looked promising.
If I cut it and wove it properly, it would make a serviceable rope.
But as I moved toward the vine, a memory surfaced—something a potion-seller I’d met in the Square once said offhandedly.
— Si-hyeon, no matter where you go, try to avoid vines if you can.
— Vines? Why?
— Snakes love vines. I make a living off people who come buy antitoxin after touching a poisonous snake by accident.
My spine went cold.
‘If I get poisoned on top of this….’
Then we’d truly have no way out.
Using vines to make rope was out of the question.
So there had to be another way….
‘Wait! I’ve got it!’
The solution struck me, and I immediately stripped off the training shirt I’d been wearing over everything else.
The fabric was grimy with stains that no amount of washing would remove—years of use as a work shirt—but the material itself was still sound.
“Good. This’ll do.”
I then carefully cut the fabric with my blade and tied it firmly into one long cord.
I’d learned more than five different knot techniques over the years, so this much was second nature.
‘Done. The rope is ready.’
Next, I used the dead goblin’s scythe to scrape up moist earth from the ground, gathering a thick pile of damp soil.
“What are you planning to do with that?”
Kim had waited in silence while I made the cord, but now that I was scraping at the earth, curiosity finally got the better of him.
“Mask our scent.”
“Ah, the way animals do it?”
“Exactly. I think it’s best to avoid combat if we can.”
Water would have made this easier, but I’d been abducted so suddenly that we didn’t even have drinking water.
I’d considered using the goblin’s blood instead of water, but there seemed to be more risk than benefit to that, so I’d abandoned the idea.
‘If we run, we might draw vengeful goblins after us. Or there could be something worse that hunts goblins for prey.’
I had to make do with coating myself as thoroughly as possible with the damp earth and rubbing it in.
The sweat I’d already shed would serve as a substitute for water, at least partially.
‘This should cover up our scent to some degree. I don’t know how effective it’ll be… but it’s better than doing nothing.’
Soon both of us were caked in mud, like children after playtime.
“Is that everything?”
“Not quite. One more thing, and then we’re done. Bear with me for a moment.”
“Mm?”
This was truly the last step.
I gathered the fine, soft soil I’d noticed while digging and carefully applied it to Kim’s face, then to mine, in layers.
Only below the eyes.
‘I have to keep above the eyes clear. If sweat runs into my sight during combat, that one mistake could cost me my life.’
A kind of camouflage.
Every small thing I did was to nudge our odds of survival up, however slightly.
I couldn’t afford to lose sight of what mattered most.
“Where did you learn all this stuff? Military service?”
“No, I’m exempt from conscription. Orphan. Honestly, I’ve mostly seen this done in nature documentaries and movies.”
Most of it was my first time actually trying, but whatever dexterity I had seemed to work in my favor—the result looked more or less right.
“There. That’s truly the final preparation. Now I’ll carry you.”
“Kim Si-hyeon… there’s still time. Are you truly sure about this?”
I didn’t answer the way I had before.
Instead, I simply picked him up on my back, letting my actions speak for me.
“Right then. I was just being foolish. Let’s go. Once more.”
I secured him tightly to my body using the rope I’d prepared, and our readiness was complete.
‘Ugh, bold words, but this is no light load.’
Used to carrying only my own weight, I felt the drag immediately now that I had a grown man on my back.
But I’d already made my peace with that.
‘Still have to do this. For the people waiting for Kim.’
The weight of someone’s son, another man’s husband, and soon-to-be father of two children.
When I thought of it that way, this burden felt light as air.
“We’re going.”
One step toward uncharted territory.
The tower ascent of the Awakened Kim Si-hyeon—my first tower clear—had begun.
* * *
Moving as stealthily as possible, our pace was careful and slow.
Fortunately, all the effort from before seemed to be paying off—we encountered no real danger.
Around fifteen minutes into the walk, it happened.
“Kerrraaagh!”
“What do we do? Brother! There are so many!”
“You can do this! Focus!”
The shriek of a goblin.
Followed by two urgent voices crying out in panic.
Kim, strapped to my back, reacted instantly.
“Kim Si-hyeon, that sound…!”
“Yes, I heard it too.”
By the sound of it, it wasn’t far away.
“Let’s join them!”
But I couldn’t bring myself to answer so readily.
This was a matter of life and death for him and me.
I couldn’t just charge in recklessly because someone seemed to need help.
“No, they’re already engaged in combat. We need to assess the situation carefully. If we try to help, we could end up in danger ourselves.”
“That’s a fair point, but wouldn’t it be better to increase our numbers however we can? Honestly, in this condition, I’m not much help anyway.”
“I still have to disagree. Since defeating the boss is everyone’s shared objective, we don’t need to take unnecessary risks. Once we get closer to the boss, we’ll run into other survivors—people with real skill. The ones who made it this far.”
For a moment, our positions stood opposed.
The real reason I opposed him came down to one thing: Kim Si-hyeon’s condition.
That Poison Arrow lodged in his shoulder—its venom was the problem.
‘There’s no telling how things might change.’
Of course, his argument had merit too. I couldn’t dismiss it outright.
So I settled on a compromise.
“Then let’s observe from a distance first. If helping them looks like the better choice for survival, there’s no harm in revealing ourselves later.”
“Fine, let’s do that.”
Kim Si-hyeon smiled, apparently thinking my heart had tilted toward helping them.
It hadn’t, but I saw no need to show it.
‘If it’s beyond what we can handle, we pull back.’
With that resolve, I crept carefully toward the source of the noise.
Step by step, the sound grew closer.
Before long, over the tops of low shrubs, I glimpsed the backs of a man and woman.
‘Directly behind them, of all places.’
I’d only followed the sound, yet by sheer coincidence, I found myself positioned at the back of the two figures—right in the gap where humans and goblins had split their formation cleanly in half.
‘It’s not the worst spot. If we do join them, we can blend into the ranks immediately. That’s not bad at all.’
I held my breath and surveyed the situation.
Shouts flew back and forth, blades tangling between them.
There had already been several clashes; two goblin corpses lay sprawled on the ground.
‘Five left, I’d estimate.’
The man with sword and shield was holding the line almost single-handedly, barely managing to endure, while the unarmed woman behind him was visibly exhausted.
Then I noticed something: a darkened wound on the man’s leg.
It looked exactly like where the arrow had struck Kim Si-hyeon.
‘He was poisoned too. This doesn’t look good at all.’
Judging by what I saw, if we left them to it, both would die.
Join or ignore?
I needed to decide soon.
“There doesn’t seem to be enough merit to warrant taking that kind of risk.”
……
“Hyeon?”
Kim Si-hyeon gave no answer.
I reflexively turned to look at his face.
Had he fallen asleep in the meantime?
His breathing seemed off, and his expression looked more serene than before….
No.
My heart sank.
‘No…! His breath—it’s gotten weaker.’
He was barely breathing at all.
I had to find the boss and finish it, no matter what, so I could get him proper treatment.
‘There’s no choice. Kim Si-hyeon comes before strangers.’
Just as I turned to leave—
“Healing Touch!”
The woman’s voice.
A warm shaft of light burst from her hands, enfolding the man’s wound.
The blackened injury that had been dying away closed up as if by magic.
‘The wound…!’
It had been an obviously corrupted wound, but it didn’t just heal—new, healthy skin bloomed where the poison had eaten it away.
‘Recovery and detoxification both…! That’s it!’
With that healing skill, I could save Kim Si-hyeon.
The only problem was that a battle with goblins still lay ahead.
‘Five goblins left. The man is already exhausted, and the woman is a healer, so I can’t expect much direct damage output from her.’
The best move I could make here was….
‘First, I’ll leave Kim to them and draw their attention by charging in. If that man can take care of one or two in the meantime… that’s enough. I can do this.’
The moment I saw the healing skill, really, the answer was already decided.
‘I’m joining in!’
Rustle!
I burst out from behind the brush where I’d been hiding.
Every eye locked in combat snapped toward me at once.
“Oh, oh—!”
Hope flickered across the faces of the two who’d been losing ground.
“Krruk?”
The five goblins, who’d been consolidating their advantage, didn’t seem to grasp the situation yet—their eyes just rolled around in confusion.
“….”
For a moment, a strange silence hung between the three factions.
It was broken by the woman’s urgent cry.
“He’s a healer! I don’t know exactly what happened to the person on his back, but I can definitely help! Please, let me help! I’m begging you…!”
What I’d hoped for.
But before that, there was something I needed to make clear.
“All right, I’ll help. That’s why I showed myself in the first place. But understand this.”
“…Yes?”
“This isn’t charity—it’s a deal. I’ll help you both, but in return, you have to keep him alive.”
“Yes, yes. Of course! I’ll make sure of it!”
Both of them nodded almost simultaneously.
With that, the deal was struck.
I moved to join them and set Kim down between the two.
“I need you both to focus on protecting him rather than joining the fight, if you can.”
“…Will you be all right alone?”
Their eyes were full of doubt.
The look reminded me of those people at work who’d ask, “You’re going to handle that?”
It was a look I’d grown quite familiar with.
‘In moments like this….’
There’s no point explaining until your voice goes hoarse.
Actions speak faster than words.
Shing.
Instead of answering, I drew the sword at Kim’s waist and stepped forward.
There was no hesitation.
This wasn’t recklessness.
I’d felt it clearly when I felled the first goblin moments ago.
I could do this now.
‘Five ahead.’
I threw myself at the nearest goblin in the front.
There was only one thought in my mind.
‘Make it quick.’
The Flash Slash bloomed once more from my hands—Kim’s skill.
Slash—!
A bright flash raked across the green neck.
The goblin collapsed without so much as a scream, no counterattack.
A spray of blood flicked across my cheek.
It was warm. Proof that it had been alive until moments before.
‘One down.’
I wiped the blood from my cheek with my left hand and slowly turned my head—only to find two pairs of eyes wide as saucers.
“…!”
Had they really asked if I’d be all right alone?
Seems like it.
Probably.
Just by stepping in the shadow, the skill copied itself
Author |
Killing Part
Publisher |
(Corp.) Samyang C&C
Editorial Direction |
Editorial Department
Publisher |
(Corp.) Samyang C&C – Dream Books
Address |
7th Floor, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703072
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter (X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
Without written permission from (Corp.) Samyang C&C – Dream Books, this book’s contents may not be used in any form or by any means.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————