44. A Brief Reminder

Located in the heart of the city, Arasaka Academy was not far from Arasaka Tower. By the time Karl caught sight of Arasaka Tower, he had arrived at the academy.

After accepting the taxi driver's phone number and mentioning that he would look him up if he needed a ride again, Karl stood in front of the gates of Arasaka Academy.

A school in the year 2075—just looking inside from the entrance, it didn't look all that different, really.

There were still students gathering in twos and threes, still noisy, chasing each other around. Looking at it all gave one a rather surreal sense of dislocation.

It was as if no matter how time changed, the students inside a school would always remain the same.

'Still, the students of Arasaka Academy, even if they remain innocent now, once they step into Arasaka Corporation, they will gradually lose everything that used to bring them joy.'

The Corporation was a place that alienated people.

Watching that group of students, Karl reminisced about his own past. However, his lingering presence at the gate looked far too suspicious, and it wasn't long before an Arasaka Academy security guard walked over toward him.

Unfettered by a school uniform and looking nothing like a student, he had already been classified as a suspicious individual.

"Hey, what are you looking at? Do you even know what place this is? This isn't somewhere street punks like you can just hang around!"

Hearing the barked reprimand, Karl looked toward the source of the voice and found three individuals armed with firearms and wearing Arasaka security uniforms approaching him.

Karl's eyes narrowed slightly, as if dazzled by the cyberware continuously flashing in their eyes.

"I know what place this is."

Karl made no move, allowing the three Arasaka security personnel to close the distance between them.

"If you know what place this is, why aren't you getting lost!"

A look of vigilance had already surfaced on the face of one Arasaka security guard. He couldn't understand why Karl could remain so nonchalant when facing them in Arasaka uniforms, but the confidence and sense of security granted by the garments he wore still prompted him to maintain this overbearing and aggressive attitude.

"Where I'm standing right now isn't inside the school, is it?"

Out of politeness, Karl decided to explain to the Arasaka guards, who perhaps weren't well-versed in Night City's laws: "According to Night City regulations, the spot where I am standing should be considered a public area."

"A public area..."

Hearing Karl cite Night City regulations word for word, one of the Arasaka security guards let out a scoff. "Who the hell cares about that crap?"

It seemed that putting on Arasaka's skin gave him a great deal of pride, allowing him to dismiss regulations entirely.

He sighed. Although their tone wasn't very pleasant, Karl was always willing to examine himself first for any faults. In all fairness, if he were a school security guard and saw someone who clearly wasn't a student peering into the school from the gates, he would also feel suspicious and want to drive them away. Since he could understand that perspective if he put himself in their shoes, there was no need to start a conflict.

"Fine, I'll leave."

With those words, Karl turned and walked backward, while the three Arasaka security guards had no intention of stopping him. Indeed, they had only wanted to chase away the suspicious Karl; though their words had been harsh, they weren't about to actually force Karl to crawl away in humiliation. They weren't blind—Karl had a gun tucked at his waist. If a real fight broke out, even if they didn't die, getting wounded would be a terrible trade-off.

"Oh, right."

Halfway through his walk, however, as if suddenly remembering something, Karl offered a friendly reminder: "From now on, you'd better not get this close to a merc."

As he spoke, amidst the confusion of the Arasaka guards, Karl's fingers twitched slightly.

"Otherwise, it'll get very dangerous."

A smile.

"Whoosh."

An imperceptible sound cut through the air, traveling far into the distance before fading into silence.

By the time the three Arasaka security guards snapped back to their senses, a faint scratch—one that had merely broken the surface of the skin—had appeared on each of their necks.

Feeling a chill on their necks, followed by a slight stinging sensation and warmth, the Arasaka security personnel understood what had happened in that fraction of a second. Their pupils constricted, and their hearts began to pound wildly as if celebrating a narrow escape from death. In a span of time where they hadn't perceived a thing, they had experienced the brushing sweep of the Grim Reaper's scythe.

'If that guy had wanted to, I'd already be dead!'

The moment that thought popped into their heads, one hundred eddies were deposited into each of the three men's accounts.

"Go grab a drink after your shift. My treat."

Karl waved his hand over his shoulder, his tone as casual as if the heart-stopping moment that had just occurred for the Arasaka guards was, to him, truly nothing more than a kind reminder.

Dazed, the three Arasaka security guards pressed their hands against their necks—wounds that didn't even need holding as the bleeding had nearly stopped—and watched Karl's retreating back, utterly speechless.

That single instant had burned a brand deep into their very bones.

That brand reminded them that as long as Karl wished it, even with his back turned to them at that very moment, they would not have had the slightest sliver of a chance at survival.

...

A minute later, one of the Arasaka security guards, pressing against his already-stopped-bleeding neck, finally regained his senses as if waking from a dream. He stretched out a hand, its palm stained with a trace of blood, and pointed straight at Karl's nearly vanishing back, saying in disbelief, "That guy... I remember him! I know who he is!"

"You don't need to say it... I already know who that bastard is, too."

Another Arasaka security guard was only now beginning to pant heavily. The brush with death had nearly suffocated him, and the arrogant, flamboyant attitude had long since vanished from his sweat-streaked, terrified face.

"It's actually that psycho! Damn it, I only recognized him now, even though the higher-ups sent down a notice ordering us not to mess with him if we cross paths... Fuck, fuck, fuck! Did I just stand face-to-face with a monster capable of going toe-to-toe with an ACPA?!"

The last of the Arasaka security guards felt his legs turn to jelly and collapsed helplessly onto the ground. Moments ago, he had been the most arrogant and the most hostile toward Karl, which was why, during that split second, he had received a little extra special attention from Karl compared to his two colleagues.

Feeling the bald patch that had suddenly appeared on the side of his head, this Arasaka security guard felt like crying without tears.

He didn't have much hair to begin with—underneath his cap, he was practically a full-blown bald spot—and now even the 'shores' beside it had lost a chunk! Was any of this easy for him?!

And those were his natural hairs! He hadn't even gone through hair transplants yet!

Behind the three Arasaka security guards, a teenage boy wearing an Arasaka Academy uniform with a punk hairstyle stepped out at that moment.

The punk-haired youth cast a puzzled glance at the bizarrely acting security guards, then followed their line of sight into the distance.

In the distance, however, he saw nothing at all.