I Became the Must-Have Character of the Academy City

10 – Yard Pound Brothers

Knock, knock, knock.

In response to Rohan’s knock, the van’s window slowly rolled down.

A strong smell of cigarettes wafted out from the vehicle.

“What do you want?”

The voice was sharp, and the glare was intense.

The man’s hand trembled slightly, as if he was ready to pull out a weapon at any moment.

“Why haven’t you answered the phone? The elders sent me to get some news.”

I spoke in a calm, composed voice.

Knowing who had hired these guys, I could skip the middle steps and get straight to the point.

Unlike the protagonist, I wasn’t a mute, so I took a route that didn’t exist in the game.

The mention of the elders lowered their guard.

The man in the driver’s seat took out his phone and checked it, then replied with a frown.

“Phone? I didn’t get any calls.”

“I don’t know. Anyway, they’re very angry that you haven’t answered.”

“Well, if they’re suddenly angry, that’s a problem for us too…”

A clearly felt hierarchy.

The driver’s face crumpled, showing reluctance.

Then he turned his head to the man in the passenger seat, as if seeking his opinion, and started talking.

Rohan listened to the meaningless conversation and was convinced.

‘As expected.’

He was sure from the moment they reacted to the word “elder.”

These are the guys you encounter in the tutorial.

The Yard Pound brothers.

They are people who will commit any crime as long as they are paid.

“Brother Yard. Then I will convey it that way.”

Had the conversation inside ended?

The driver’s head, which had been looking to the side, turned back.

“There are no special circumstances. There hasn’t even been a call… Go back and report it that way.”

“If you end it like that, I’ll be in trouble in the middle.”

Rohan quickly looked around, feeling a creeping determination about the upcoming task.

As expected, there was no one who seemed to be the protagonist. It was a late hour, and even passersby were rare in the alley.

‘Since I was going to do it anyway.’

Rohan quietly took a deep breath under his mask.

Various movements accumulated from his days as a hunter catching supernatural criminals filled his mind.

“Hey, tell the elders that it’s because she’s the daughter of the Great Tiger Festival. We also want to gather information quickly, but those types can sense it like ghosts just by looking at them in the car. We’re also trying to be worth the money, so we’re taking our time carefully…”

“Stop.”

A voice from the seat next to him.

The man in the driver’s seat, who had been lamenting, stopped speaking and shrank back as if he had made a mistake.

“Pound. Your problem is that you always have a loose tongue.”

“Th-that… I’m sorry!”

“Enough.”

Clunk! The passenger door opened, and a man got out.

A mechanical prosthetic arm occupied his right arm, and he wore loose clothing.

His appearance was familiar to Rohan. Among the Yard-Pound brothers, he was Yard.

He was the one who acted as the leader, taking Pound, who was in the driver’s seat, around.

He began to close the distance, rotating his cheap prosthetic arm with a creak. His eyes flickered with hostility, as if he were angry.

Rohan quietly watched him from his seat.

Yard, who had approached to a close distance, opened his mouth discontentedly.

“Until now, they have never called during work. They always vent all their complaints during the time we report.”

“So?”

His eyebrows twitched at the sudden informal speech.

Recalling the commission amount in his mind, Yard exercised patience and continued speaking with a long exhale.

“They never told us to receive any number when we went out for work.”

“Hmm.”

I nodded, as if I had expected it.

Of course, they will contact me with a new number every time.

In the first place, they just don’t realize it themselves. To those old men, we’re just disposable pawns.

They pay well, so they must think we’re just cautious clients and follow along.

“This job has only been going on for two hours. And yet you come here complaining already, just like last time, trying to find fault and cut the commission, aren’t you?”

“Even if I cut the commission, you should be grateful.”

“What?”

“Even sitting here, observing from a place far from the dormitory, I’m being lenient. If you get any closer, Frozenheart would have killed you right away.”

A vein bulged on Yard’s forehead.

He took a step closer and pushed Rohan’s chest with his prosthetic hand, as if to intimidate him.

“Brat, say that again. Who’s going to die?”

The pride of those who have lived as outlaws, reeking of blood.

Rohan smirked under his mask at the familiar scene.

“Is this b*stard crazy? Laughing?”

“Brother Yard! If you mess with him, it’ll just be a hassle…”

“Pound. Shut up.”

Rohan quietly watched Yard, who was fuming and spitting curses.

Ignoring them and leaving them alone, who knows how things will proceed, but the moment they cross Noah, they’ll turn into corpses.

The skill gap between the Yard-Pound brothers and Noah is not something that can be bridged with any tricks.

One flick from Noah, and the prosthetic hand to the head would be shattered.

‘If left alone, they’ll just go around causing more trouble.’

Rohan clenched and unclenched his fist, taking one last look around.

He hadn’t even considered the possibility of letting these b*stards live.

No intention of letting his presence be known to their side.

[A quest has been generated.]

[Combat Chickens]

Quest Objective: You have discovered a group attempting to surveil Noah Frozenheart. Punish these brothers who have lived by unrighteous means.

Category: Tutorial

Success Reward: Erase Battle Traces, One Use of a Positive Trope, 300P

Failure Penalty: None

‘Good.’

A quest appearing just as he’d made up his mind.

The rewards were completely different from Abyss City, which gave experience and currency, but for Rohan right now, there was no better reward.

‘I was dreading having to clean up anyway.’

He didn’t know what a ‘positive trope’ reward was, but

the existence of the quest felt less like coercion and more like fuel for his actions and will, which he truly liked.

“Even if they sent you, for me, a goddamn errand boy to get treated like this…!”

Rohan, focused on Yard who was raising his voice and raging,

moved his hand without hesitation.

*Thwack!*

Rohans thumb dug into Yards eyeball, without any warning.

aaah!

Yads hands flew to his face, startled.

In that instant, Rohan’s kick slammed into his groin.

*Crack!*

The not-so-small body hit the ground, writhing.

!!!

He could barely scream, his body shuddering from the pain.

He looked like he was in a lot of agony, clawing at the floor with his metal hand.

“Hey, hey Yad, bro!?”

Pound desperately scrambled to get out, wrenching open the driver’s side door.

Rohan’s kick slammed the door shut.

Ugh!

Sandwiched in the door.

The knife Pound had been holding clattered to the ground.

*Whirr!*

Rohan snatched up the glinting knife, locked his wrist with magic, and swung the blade.

*Pick!* A wet sound.

A hole appeared in Pound’s neck, still trapped in the drivers seat.

Gurgle

Rohan retracted the blade, ignoring Pound as he coughed up blood.

Yard was getting up, his crotch damp and squirming.

You fucking b*stard!

*Whoosh!* The metallic prosthetic arm swung with a heavy thud.

The bluster was there, but the motion was too large, not threatening at all. It screamed of a lack of professional training.

You rat! You dog!

One eye and a testicle shattered had it smashed his intelligence too?

Yard sputtered out crude curses, swinging his fists wildly.

I thought it’d be a little more taxing, but it’s literally tutorial-level.

Rohan didn’t feel the need to use any skills.

Dodging a punch, *thwip!* the blade slashed past.

A pathetic struggle, barely worthy of being called a brawl, lasted for a few seconds.

Yards breath grew ragged.

Hukk! Khurr

A glance towards Pound, slumped and dead, slid from the driver’s seat.

Looks like the excitement had finally faded.

A little too late, though.

Yards body was squeezing out blood, embraced by the red lines etched by the knife.

Let’s finish this quickly. I need to go get some sleep.

Rohan twirled the knife, closing the distance.

Yard, suppressing his rage, let out a strange, panting noise, fear now ruling his body.

“E, Eek…!”

A massive prosthetic arm swings.

Despite possessing the strength to flip a vehicle in one go, Rohan and Yard follow the predetermined steps.

Rohan dodges, and Yard gets stabbed.

Thud!

Just like Pound, Yard, with a hole in his neck, staggers as if drunk.

He collapses to the ground with a thud, his life cut short.

‘Good, good. No passersby.’

Rohan, folding the knife and putting it in his pocket, opened the van door, grateful that there were no pedestrians.

Thud! Thud!

After roughly throwing the corpse into the van,

Rohan got inside and started rummaging through the vehicle.

An impossible act in the game, but isn’t reality full of infinite freedom?

However, it was below expectations.

Rohan clicked his tongue.

‘Damn beggars… Not a single gun.’

Do they carry all their money in their accounts?

All he found after searching the pockets and the vehicle was a mere 6 coins. 60,000 won in Korean currency, not worth the trouble.

He had no intention of taking the items suspected to be illegal drugs, so he left them out.

Rohan, stepping out of the vehicle, smashed his brother’s smartphone and threw it into a trash can marked for collection.

[ Quest completed. ]

[ Rewards acquired. ]

[ Erasing battle traces. ]

The awaited notification window appeared just in time.

Rohan stood in place, observing the situation. And he was impressed.

‘Wow!’

Even if the traces were erased, he thought only the bloodstains would be cleaned up.

The Yard Pound brothers’ vehicle disappeared entirely, and even the blood splattered on the ground was neatly cleaned up.

The fact that the coins and knife he had kept were not gone was worth a hundred points, the bloodstains on his clothes being erased was worth a thousand points, and the smashed smartphone he had thrown in the trash being gone was worth ten thousand points.

“Good job.”

The place was spotless, as if nothing had happened.

He felt like giving it five stars and writing a review.

Having completed one task, Rohan started walking back to the dormitory.

On his way back, he thought.

‘Ah, what should I do later.’

Thinking about the future, he felt it would be good to have at least one companion.