I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City

20 – Abyss City 1.0 -4-

Name: Rohan

Health: 82%

Mana: 66%

Affiliated Nation: Echoes of the Southern Ruins

Affiliated Organization: Orion Academy

Attributes: [Physical] [Fire]

Status: Bleeding

Remaining Points: 273P

Rohan’s status window was invaluable.

It provided a real-time display of his negative physical conditions, reminding him that he was still maintaining a tenuous relationship with death.

‘It’s not severe bleeding.’

His mind was clear and sharp. His body retained its warmth, maintaining its temperature.

There was no need for desperate measures to stop the bleeding or disrupt the flow.

With his consciousness and body riding the momentum of the battle, it was ideal to go and kill the leader now.

‘Let’s go right away.’

Rohan grabbed his crowbar and pistol.

The knife, which had been in frequent use for a short time, was now broken after facing many in the factory.

Should I say it met its end like a cheap knife? Unable to withstand the force of stabbing and twisting, the handle shattered and it fell asleep in one guy’s stomach.

Rohan walked, following the smell of paint carried by the wind.

And then he faced him.

Sssss! Sssss!

A man with a closely shaved head, wearing a plastic mask, spraying the wall with paint.

He looked quite bulky, possibly due to the thick jacket, and stood around 190 cm tall.

His neck was thick enough to remind one of a quadrupedal animal.

‘Ku Shadley.’

Rohan’s memory was clear; that was definitely the name.

Meeting him up close brought back vivid memories of the past.

And then a brief conversation.

“Today felt especially good. On days like this, I can’t stop working on my piece.”

“Is that so.”

Rohan pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

The muzzle flashed as it spat fire.

A bullet aimed precisely at the head. Shadley’s head snapped back and then returned.

“It hurts, you know. Why are you doing this?”

“.”

The bullet failed to penetrate the head and fell to the floor with a thin metallic sound.

A red, scraped wound appeared on Shadley’s forehead.

‘Its meaningless to shoot in bursts for now.’

With this, the pistol is confirmed as a deterrent.

If the need arises to free up a hand, it might be best to just throw it away.

“Speak. Why did you do this?”

“After a lifetime of sucking others’ blood, you wonder why you’re dying. Does that even make sense?”

Rohan transparently showed his disbelief to Shadley.

The knuckles on his fist tightened with a cracking sound.

“Like last time, Hoken sent you, right? It’s obvious even without seeing it, since hes harbored inferiority towards my paintings for ages.”

“Sigh…”

“Ah! Poor, pitiful Hoken. Every time he realized he had no talent, he must have envied and hated me.”

As Shadley began to misunderstand and get excited with his self-questioning, Rohan aimed the muzzle once again.

Knowing that ordinary areas were useless, this time the bullet’s direction was, if possible, the eye.

Bang!

As if reading his intention just from the aim, Shadley dodged it like a ghost.

Then, as if convinced of something, he raised the corners of his mouth in a smirk.

“Judging by your reaction, Hoken sent you, right?”

“Shut up. I like talkative women, but I can’t stand chatty men.”

“You… your actions and words don’t match your baby face, which makes it amusing.”

Crack.

Shadley, loosening up by rotating his neck, took long strides towards Rohan.

“.”

As soon as Shadley’s body entered his range, Rohan swung the crowbar.

A fist extended in response.

Savage movements collided with each other.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Crackle!

Under the night sky, small sparks and noises flickered.

While dodging the punches, Rohan realized the difference in strength compared to the Yard Pound brothers.

The impact alone caused shallow wounds to open.

Moreover, Shadley threw short, quick punches without awkwardly using his legs.

He’s a trained one.

‘Physical ability is lacking. But this much is manageable.’

Rohan felt the crowbar bouncing off his knuckles and the stinging in his palm with each swing.

He aimed the gun at Shadley’s groin and pulled the trigger.

“!”

Shadley twisted his body urgently at the cold sensation.

Bang! Bang!

The bullets hit Shadley’s thigh and fell.

Without a moment to catch his breath, the hammering continued.

Shadley chuckled a dry laugh at the hammer aimed to smash his skull, stumbling backward.

Letsat least try to be polite. The method is so crude.

You were playin the crazy artist act all by yourself, but now youre scared of your balls gettin cracked?

Lohan smirked, his lip curling.

Shadley ran a hand over his bristly hair, trying to regain control.

…I bet your paintings wouldnt have any flair.

I dont care about painting.

Youre so cold. Youre a brat I dont like from head to toe.

Shadley was sure after their short exchange.

‘His youthful appearance must be a disguise, right? A creepy b*stard.’

If not, it didn’t make sense. He couldnt accept it.

In Shadley’s eyes, the way Lohan moved was too raw for someone whod had professional training.

Something made from layers and layers of blood-soaked experience, simply chilling.

‘I have to finish this quick.’

He’d sensed the other coming, so the drugs he took earlier were kicking in hard.

His physical abilities were definitely superior, thanks to the drugs.

Yet, the chance to break something and seize the advantage just wouldnt come. The guy was dodging his punches like a rat.

If this goes on and the drugs wear off

A lapse in focus.

Sensing that unique shift in Shadleys gaze, Lohan lunged.

Crack!

The hammer urgently struck the forearm that had protected the head.

“Tsk!”

Then, he saw Rohan’s gun muzzle move like flowing water.

Shadley roughly infused his fist with magic and thrust it forward.

The gun, directly hit by the knuckles, shattered with a crunch and scattered into the air.

However, Shadley couldn’t rejoice that the bothersome weapon had disappeared.

Because he saw Rohan let go of the gun midway.

Thud.

Rohan’s empty hand grabbed one of Shadley’s arms as if to prevent him from escaping.

He exaggeratedly raised the hammer high.

At the moment when Shadley’s gaze was naturally drawn to the weapon and he attempted a counterattack.

“!?”

Shadley, feeling an unfamiliar sensation from the hand Rohan was touching, recoiled in surprise.

Rohan, instead of pursuing, nodded contentedly from his spot.

“Hmm, as expected.”

“You… did something.”

The remnants of Rohan’s magic. Shadley forced a smile and massaged his forearm.

The sensation flowing through his skin was indescribably strange.

[ Grants the target a weakness to physical attributes. ]

“Good information.”

The doubts he felt while using his skills in the skirmish with Shadley’s subordinates were resolved.

Now, Rohan was certain.

“Assigning weaknesses varies in mana consumption depending on the opponent’s skill level.”

Additionally, from a certain point, one begins to feel the anomalies that the skill invades.

Such ambiguous explanations always have elements that need to be understood through experience.

“Do you have some kind of unfairly good skill?”

“Stop.”

“.”

“Don’t even think about talking to me.”

As Rohan cut off his words and stretched out his leg, Shadley leaned forward, taking an aggressive stance.

His presence was more intense than before, as if he had scraped the bottom of his mana.

“A tackle?”

Not a bad strategy. With his large build and superior physical abilities, he would want to grab him.

Rohan understood Shadley’s intentions.

Having been hit in the arm earlier, he must have been prepared to take a blow to the body.

But.

He would know once he got hit with a crowbar.

What kind of changes would occur in his body.

“Hmph!”

Shadley pounded the ground like a bull, throwing himself forward.

A tackle flying straight at him.

There are variables that can change the timing with deceleration or acceleration.

Nevertheless, Rohan didn’t think long and swung the hammer down like catching a mole.

*

“.”

The princess, having arrived near the rendezvous point, instinctively hid herself.

Looking at the clock attached to the communication device, she saw that the appointed time had just passed.

What should she do in such a situation? Would it be okay to just go back?

It was hard to make a decision.

Moreover, she didn’t want to call the elder on the radio.

‘Let’s wait just 10 more minutes.’

Making her final decision, the princess leaned against the wall and sat down.

How long had she been staring blankly at the night sky with stars?

The promised 10 minutes had definitely passed.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Footsteps could be heard from afar. They were getting closer.

The princess, still sitting, took out a small mirror and carefully checked outside.

‘Is that the VIP the elder mentioned?’

What she saw was a man, and he wasn’t just passing by.

It wasn’t a place one would just pass by.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t the elder say ‘guests’…?’

I don’t know. I’m not sure. My memory has been hazy lately.

The princess, who had lost her certainty, decided to observe the other person for a while.

It didn’t feel like the unruly humans the elders had summoned last time.

The appearance also seemed to be around her age.

Nevertheless, the princess hesitated and watched the actions in the strangely intense atmosphere.

The man stood in place, fiddling with his smartphone.

Then, he looked around as if searching for someone.

“.”

The princess, who had been quietly watching that, gathered the equipment she had prepared and stood up, revealing herself.