I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City - Chapter 106



105 – Weakness Infliction Lv.3

Omega stepped on the fragmented, viscous flesh of the Worm, extracting an item that was stored away.

Syringes, prepared for this decisive battle. A handful clutched in one hand.

Plunging them into his neck! Injecting Heks’ concocted drug, not leaving even a drop behind.

“Aah, exquisite.”

Vitality surged through every fiber of her being. A power verging on omnipotence. It felt impossible to lose.

Now was the time to cast off the nightmares.

Omega cast a mocking smile toward Jooyeon, who deliberately approached, keeping her distance from the cadets.

“Wasting such a grand ambush to save the necks of greenhorn whelps? Are you out of your mind?”

“Killing them after saving them is perfectly feasible.”

“Kahaha!!! The once-great General has grown rusty, fraternizing with fledglings.”

Jooyeon instantly understood who orchestrated the chaos on this deserted island.

‘…’

The battered state of Rohan, the unconscious Korin, the terror etched on Ichinose’s and Noah’s faces.

Images that dredged up a past she’d buried deep.

Jooyeon took a long, slow breath, centering her mind.

Her anger had already exceeded acceptable levels. Still, she struggled for composure.

She desperately clung to the fact that none of the cadets were dead.

‘I must be calm. This is not an enemy to face in a rage.’

Regardless of the enhanced capabilities she detected from their previous encounter. And the increased strangeness of their appearance compared to before.

Even so, there was no fear.

Because the very thing Jooyeon truly feared hadn’t happened by a hair’s breadth.

“I won’t miss you this time.”

Jooyeon extended her hand, and flames erupted.

— *Hwarrreuk!* The unleashed blaze condensed, conjuring a greatsword.

A blade far exceeding Jooyeon’s own height. The very weapon that had severed the dragon’s head during the invasion of Samhwaguk.

The massive sword moved as lightly as a twig in her grasp.

Omega immediately braced for combat.

“That sword would make a fine trophy.”

*Kwaddeuk!* *Ggudeudeuk!*

Omega’s right arm underwent a viscous, writhing transformation.

The shape that emerged made one of Jooyeon’s eyebrows twitch upward.

Though the color was different, she couldn’t forget the form of what was being done to the husk.

“So, it was you who infiltrated Samhwaguk and stole the dragon’s head.”

“Heh heh heh, be grateful I let you in on the secret before you die.”

From the dragon’s maw, a longsword jutted forth – splattering a dreadfully ominous liquid in every direction.

But Juyeon showed no particular reaction.

He simply stated the facts.

“Are you too foolish to understand? That monster, in the end, was hunted by me and thus put to slumber.”

“Because the monster’s intellect couldn’t properly wield the power.”

“…Pathetic. Believe what you wish, then.”

Juyeon and Omega ceased their exchange there.

The traces of the monsters bonded to Omega’s entire body were exposed without a single gap.

And the ends of Juyeon’s hair began to ripple with flame.

“…”

Silence.

The instant Omega subtly shifted his weight, nudging a foot forward.

Juyeon vanished quietly from his spot without a single preliminary motion.

Then, he reappeared.

A ruthless flurry of blades seeking to sever life. Flames intent on burning existence to ash.

Omega deflected the greatsword, tracing an arc with his own sword.

“Hahaha!!! This is it! Let’s kill each other!”

“…”

Omega felt the drug dilute the fear of the flames, elevating his spirit.

A manic laugh erupted.

The seven remaining octopus tentacles sprouted from his back, lunging toward Juyeon.

*Snap!*

A speed unbelievable for a greatsword. They were sliced apart with absurd ease.

Omega decided he wouldn’t hoard what he had prepared, given Juyeon’s unwavering capabilities.

[Bio Trickster]

Simultaneously activating the skill, the black mechanical parts covering his jaw injected the drug and detached.

Hex’s ambitious creations were revealed.

Poisonous sacs filled with deadly venom, chimeric muscles selected for each region.

Carapace skin that could withstand the flames, regenerative tissue and factors.

The change in his exterior was unsettling.

But the shifts within him were even more numerous, numbering in the dozens.

“…You’ve abandoned being human.”

“I don’t cling to weak species. You too will soon become a part of me.”

The dragon head biting Omega’s blade growled, as if regaining life!

“Your very existence is a disgrace to humanity. I’ll put you to sleep before you become even more grotesque.”

Juyeon’s greatsword summoned flames.

From noble mtl dot com

[Fire Wheel]

Flames filled Omega’s vision.

Juyeon pushed his blade through the heat, so intense he could barely open his eyes.

──Kaga-gak!!!

Omega blocked Juyeon’s attack, lost in elation.

Before, his eyeballs would have shattered the moment he faced this heat, but now, he could withstand it.

As long as he wasn’t hit directly, he could manage the peripheral flames with his new body and its effects. The situation was definitely different than before.

[Blazing Inferno Truth]

Juyeon’s crimson slashes rained down like a landslide.

[Echo Mirror]

The barrier Omega unfolded in mid-air swallowed the heat and exploded.

“Die! Become sustenance for me!”

Juyeon’s composure and Omega’s madness collided as swords and skills erupted wildly.

Cutting, detonating, stabbing, dodging, firing.

Their attacks made the deserted island’s foundation tremble.

Yet, a stalemate.

The scales hadn’t tipped in either direction.

*

[Quest Completed.]

Notification windows filled with rewards flashed before Rohan’s eyes.

But he couldn’t read them. They wouldn’t register.

‘…’

Rohan felt the pain that was destroying his focus gradually subside.

Even so, the vision blurs.

Breathing comes easier now, but the awareness that Jooyeon has arrived threatens to drown consciousness.

Yet, he bites his tongue, forcing alertness.

He cannot succumb to sleep. He must not lose hold of his awareness.

‘There must be something. Something I can still do….’

The affairs of Abyss City have already deviated.

The likelihood of Jooyeon’s victory, or at least a draw, is overwhelming, but nothing is absolute.

If there is a possible action, he must do it.

‘Compensation. The compensation….’

Among the fleeting notification windows, he recalls a momentary glimpse of points.

He opens the store, pouring his wealth into anything that might bring change.

[Unique Skill Level Up Purchased.]

As the skills evolve, complex descriptions materialize.

But his consciousness fails to fully absorb the minute script.

The pain and drained condition render immersion impossible.

However.

There are things that, even without meticulous reading, are instilled in the body, understood instinctively.

‘!’

Have desperation and earnestness reached the heavens?

As his unique skill reaches level 3, a talent blooms.

It declares that, rooted in weakness application, specific skills and mana can be imbued within projectiles.

“Rohan! Are you alright!”

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

Corinne, unconscious, dangles from Noah’s side.

Seeing his friends unharmed, the pain subsides. Rohan felt proud of himself.

“Can you get up?”

“Take my hand!”

Ichinose and Noah supported Rohan, helping him to stand.

Rohan, as he stood with their help, embraced the two girls tightly.

““!!!””

“A relief. Truly… I’m relieved you’re safe.”

A voice tinged with an unusual emotion.

Ichinose and Noah startled, turning to look at Rohan.

“Rohan…”

“You…?”

As the girls focused their gazes, they saw him with his eyes closed.

It seemed his consciousness had drifted away, and Ichinose pulled Rohan closer.

“Noah, I’ll take care of Rohan. Let’s each take charge of one person.”

“Understood. Let’s hurry.”

Noah erased the panicked expression from her face and began pushing off the ground, kicking up dirt.

The instant Ichinose gripped Rohan tightly, ready to follow behind,

Rohan let out a small, quiet voice.

“Ichinose. Just a moment.”

“You’re… are you awake? Are you alright…?”

“I’m fine. I wasn’t asleep.”

A lie. He had dozed off, even if briefly.

If the strength holding his awareness slipped even a little, it would vanish.

“Hooo, just lend me your shoulder so I can stand properly.”

“What are you trying to do…”

“It’s for the Instructor.”

“We’ll only get in the way if we interfere!”

“I know. Still… trust me just this once.”

“…”

Ichinose hesitated for a beat.

Then, as if she’d made a silent decision,

She gripped Rohan’s arm tightly as it came to rest on her shoulder.

“Thank you.”

Rohan hurried to prepare.

Before his consciousness faded again, he recalled what he could do. He needed to finish things here.

‘Ichinose is right. That’s the correct answer.’

No matter what I try, Rohan’s level renders the movements of the lead and the Omega utterly beyond my ability to truly grasp.

Only a color, unnatural to the landscape, flashes like a ray of light.

I can only truly sense it through the resonating impact of their titanic powers colliding.

‘Still…’

There are times when I can clearly see them.

Brief moments, a few seconds long, when their swords lock and they grapple for strength.

‘Just once, it might be worth a shot…’

I tuck my trembling hand into my coat.

The Tigrova Mountain pistol, Snowfall-75, procured from supplies.

My legs lack the strength to pull my hand away from Ichinose, where it currently rests for support.

I place the barrel in my mouth to load it.

With the hand gripping the handle, and my mouth──*clack!*──I force the pistol’s slide back.

‘I’ll infuse it with a Skill.’

I put my newly awakened talent to immediate use. Concentrating magic into the bullet.

Ichinose gaped, dumbfounded at the unique magic gathering around the pistol.

Rohan was ready.

‘Trust it. It has to hit. He’s arrogant enough to take it head-on.’

Would the Omega’s pride ever allow him to evade a student’s attack?

He’s always boasted of his resilience, accepting every attack thus far, hasn’t he?

“Ugh…!”

“Rohan!”

The forewarning signs of magic exhaustion began to creep in.

Rohan chuckled dryly at the familiar sensation, a long-absent feeling.

“When I fire this, just run. Please.”

“…Understood.”

Regrettably, I can’t even bring myself to reassure Ichinose.

Even the slightest distraction is difficult to afford.

*Kuuung──!!!*

The clash of powers resounds, shaking the very air.

In that moment of overwhelming impact, Rohan’s mind, just for an instant, became preternaturally clear.

“He’s here!”

Omega’s back was visible, locked in a power struggle with Juyeon.

Monsters were erupting from Omega’s form, making him an absurdly large target.

“Ha…”

Rohan exhaled, scraping together the last dregs of his energy.

He poured it into his gaze, the tips of his fingers.

‘Even if I can’t inflict a weakness…’

He hoped to create even a sliver of a positive anomaly.

Rohan pulled the trigger, praying fervently.

*Bang!*