I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City - Chapter 73



72 – Dog Days in the Tunnel -2-

The main story ‘Broken Crown’ involving Zion may seem complicated in detail, but it’s not difficult when viewed as a whole.

Characters who lack the ability to directly harm the Great Emperor Seolho.

They only target his lineage, which has not yet matured in power, with sinister intentions.

In that context, the role and purpose of the protagonist in Abyss City are also simple.

It’s like playing a defense game to prevent those things from approaching or being discovered by Noah Frozenheart.

If they fail, it’s not Noah who faces a great disaster, but rather the elves who escaped from Tigrova will all be wiped out as a result.

‘I’ll finish everything today.’

Knowing this, Rohan solidified his resolve.

Failure is not an option from now on.

“I’ll go ahead.”

At the moment Rohan, holding a longsword, jumped down in perfect timing.

Clara, who was sitting on top of the tunnel, moved her fingers.

The realization that she was moving as Rohan instructed and matching his timing filled the girl’s mind with satisfaction and an unknown heat.

“Arachne.”

Right in front of Rohan’s landing spot, the thread that had been loosely spread on the road suddenly tightened.

A single black thread, barely visible, was stretched horizontally in front of the tunnel.

The oncoming vehicle was like an insect flying into a spider’s web.

With an investment of undispersed magic, Clara’s thread, honed like a legendary sword, displayed a savage cutting power.

Peep! Tiding!

The lead vehicle passed straight through the thread Clara had laid down.

Rohan, holding a sword, landed on the car body, split so finely it was almost imperceptible.

Boom! A fall imbued with magic.

The front windshield popped out from the impact, showing the effectiveness of Clara’s trap.

The vehicle began to show signs of being loosely cut.

Rohan unhesitatingly thrust his longsword into the driver’s seat.

He swung it around, slicing through to the passenger seat.

‘Dead.’

What the blade pierced were those whose lives had already been extinguished by Clara’s thread.

There was the sensation of cutting through flesh and bone, but no screams or reactions.

The parts severed by the thread split open with a crunch! twisted, and the wheels lost their way, heading towards the wall.

Rohan kicked off the car and landed inside the tunnel.

Screeeech! Bang!!!

The tunnel turned into chaos in an instant.

The vehicles following behind also seemed to have passed Clara’s trap, their wheels spinning wildly.

Crash!!

Rohan dodged the tumbling vehicles. His eyes quickly took in the situation.

The tunnel was perfectly blocked by the vehicle collision.

How many survived, I wonder.

How quickly did they sense the anomaly and aggressive magic that befell the leading vehicles, and how did they handle the traps they had to face even if they slowed down?

That was the key.

The second row was the only one that got hit properly.

Judging by the broken fragments, it looks like they forcibly opened the vehicles with fists or kicks.

Rohan also thinks that escaping like that is an effective response.

With just one gesture from Clara, the vehicles were all wrecked.

There are cars with empty interiors and no dismembered corpses. Unfortunately, it means they didn’t kill them all.

Ugh, damn it… Where’s the boss?

Hey, you crazy b*tch! Which group are you from! Ugh…!

There was a commotion outside the tunnel, but Clara would take care of that.

Rohan doesn’t need to go out right now.

Good. Just as expected.

The guy who escaped cleanly through the cut ceiling without rolling outside is inside the tunnel.

That guy leisurely escaped just before colliding after coming all the way inside.

Hey, doggy. I’ll smear you with soybean paste.

Rohan’s voice and footsteps echoed inside the tunnel as he held his longsword.

He doesn’t intend to let them retreat.

Phew… No wonder today’s fortune result was crap.

Akin Doberman, the Doberman beastman and the leader of the group.

He stared at Rohan, chewing on his cigarette before spitting it out. Despite having narrowly escaped death in the ambush, he appeared calm.

*Click!*

Doberman held a crossbow in one hand, commonly referred to as a crossbow.

Modernized, its frame gleamed with a slick sheen and even had a scope attached.

Other than the fact that its bullets were arrows, it could easily be mistaken for a gun.

That’s why Rohan was on guard.

In a world where anyone could easily obtain a gun.

Meeting someone who used a bow or crossbow as a weapon in such times was not to be taken lightly.

It meant they had the confidence that shooting arrows was stronger and more effective than a gun.

‘Focus. I need to distribute my magic power well.’

He remembered to be prepared for the Bulldog brothers, the hulking figures that always accompanied him.

It seemed they had escaped outside the tunnel and were heading towards Clara.

With no meat shields filling his view, he could breathe easier from the start.

*Step. Step. Step.*

Rohan, seizing the opportunity, closed the distance without a word.

Doberman raised his crossbow and aimed at Rohan.

“Too many grudges, I don’t even know who sent you.”

Doberman infused the arrow with magic.

Without hesitation, he shot.

Rohan had been focusing since the moment the magic rippled over the arrow.

In the moment his fingers twitched, he swiftly raised his longsword.

Clang!

The blade blocked the magic-infused projectile.

It resonated as if struck by a hammer.

‘Heavy.’

His palm, gripping the sword, throbbed.

Thud!

From walking to sprinting.

Rohan kicked off the hard ground, closing the distance in a straight line.

“Impressive courage.”

Doberman, seeing his opponent charging straight without dodging, raised his crossbow.

Click!

A split-second timing battle.

With the crossbow aimed between his brows, Rohan and Doberman’s gazes locked.

Without averting his eyes, he released the arrow.

Rohan kicked Doberman’s hand skyward.

He swung his skill-imbued, crimson-stained sword.

Whoosh!

The blade sliced through the air.

As Doberman retreated, Rohan pursued, kicking a side mirror rolling on the ground.

“Do you want me to smear it with soybean paste?”

The Doberman, who dodged with a swift movement of his head, let out a chuckle.

“It’s not the day to go into the pot. I too have been craving human flesh for a long time. Offer your neck. I’ll chew you down to the bones.”

The Doberman jumped back and pulled out a short arrow from his bosom.

He loads it. Infuses it with magic. Aims.

The Doberman, who carried out all actions as smoothly as flowing water, continued his rough tussle with Rohan.

Phew!

An arrow grazed past his shoulder.

Siiing!

A hot blade narrowly missed him by a paper-thin margin.

Just the touch of the coat’s hem was enough to burn it black.

In between, there were body fights and shoulder fights trying to subdue the weapons.

The Doberman was not lacking in close combat either.

Fistfights and dogfights were the weapons that had ensured his survival before he handled the crossbow.

It means that even though he couldn’t gain the upper hand against Rohan, who wielded a longsword, he wasn’t helplessly overwhelmed either.

“”

Neither’s breath was disrupted yet.

It felt like a different world from the tunnel outside where screams echoed.

Both thought simultaneously.

‘Much more troublesome than expected.’

He straightens his weapon.

Tszuk!

Rohan crouched low, as if trying to capture a wild animal filled with vigilance.

It almost resembles the stance of a dog trader and a wild dog.

‘That dog. It’s a tricky one when it comes to creating sudden distance.’

The Doberman is faster than Rohan.

But it’s not as agile as Sion or Clara.

Yet, it has an exceptionally prominent skill.

Its footwork, honed through experience, stands out.

‘Even so.’

Rohan feels no anxiety.

In this situation, the only one who would be anxious is that beastman.

Even if he holds a crossbow with a calm face.

‘If I go defensive, he’ll eventually have to reveal it.’

Patience will bring the moment.

Rohan knows this.

*

Akin Doberman focused on the opponent in front of him while analyzing the sounds caught by his keen hearing.

His subordinates outside the tunnel are dying rapidly.

‘Is the woman who was on top of the tunnel handling the outside?’

Judging by the roughly felt momentum, one might think that his opponent is that woman.

Yet, why is it? Doberman felt that the current situation was reasonable.

As he had learned while wandering the back alleys of Yamal, superior magic and physical abilities do not guarantee victory.

They only increase the odds. There is no absolute certainty when facing the line of death.

‘If left alive, the real nuisance will be… that one.’

Doberman instinctively knew.

To survive here, the one he must kill first is that man.

‘The remaining magic power is…’

Using a skill is possible.

But if he continues to shoot arrows like this, even that might become impossible.

‘I’ll use it.’

If he uses this and fails to kill, it would be a disaster, but he is here because such a result has never happened.

…

Tap. Tatak. Tap. Tatadak.

Doberman’s footsteps changed.

Even though he had stretched out once, the noise sounded as if several people were continuing their steps with a slight time difference.

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Rohan felt it too.

!

Then, Doberman multiplied.

Moving, he left behind a thick afterimage.

They surround Rohan, who is trying to grasp the situation.

Everyone makes the same move.

Doberman’s hallucination is of a much lower level, but the hallucination system is a very rare skill.

If you see it for the first time, it is difficult to respond easily.

It gives you the anxiety that if you respond readily, you might fall deeper.

“I’ll kill you cleanly.”

“I’ll kill you cleanly.”

“I’ll kill you cleanly.”

The voices dispersed into several echoed through the tunnel.

Doberman also doesn’t have the luxury to maintain the skill for long. He pretended to be calm and held the crossbow.

‘It’s here.’

Rohan, who had been waiting for the opportunity, gripped the handle of the longsword as if to break it.

The hallucination was truly fascinating. A sense of alienation pervaded his limbs.

Even though he knew this guy’s skill, the vivid and lively sight, smell, and hearing caused slight doubts.

As Joo-yeon had advised, the less confident you are in yourself, the harder it seemed to escape.

But Rohan had no hesitation.

There was a reason he had been waiting for this moment desperately.

Rohan had a more certain way to deal with it than what he had learned at the academy.

When I get back, I should buy a snack for Ichinose.

A breakthrough that Yui Ichinose accidentally created while demonstrating swordsmanship.

An unexpected use of the status window.

Rohan recalled that moment and awakened his consciousness.

Status window.

A translucent window appeared before his eyes.

Rohan’s gaze ignored everything and focused on Status.

Name: Rohan

Health: 88%

Mana: 71%

Affiliated Country: Echoes of the Southern Ruins

Affiliated Organization: Orion Academy

Attributes: [Physical] [Fire]

Status: Confusion (Hallucination)

Remaining Points: 3,772P

It states that I am under a hallucination.

It gives me certainty.

Just knowing this is enough to break through this level of illusion.

[Discovered the void of hallucination.]

[Perfectly aware of the hallucination.]

[Escaping from the hallucination.]

“I’ll kill you cleanly.”

A clear voice came from the right.

There is no illusion in front of my eyes. The discomfort that lingered in my limbs disappeared.

This taste of escaping the subtle atmosphere of the lowest grade hardened water moon.

It’s cooler than expected.

Rohan stretched out his steps, instantly circulating his magic power.

He swung his sword like lightning.

[One Sword – Flame Cut]