Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Awakener Special School Rank 0
Chapter 12
“We should probably head out soon.”
Moon Yu-jin pulled the earphone from his ear as he spoke.
He was right.
Twenty minutes remained. Even if they hurried back to the starting point right now, the time would be tight.
Ji-u knew this.
Ji-u knew it too, but…….
Moon Yu-jin had already slung his bag lightly over his shoulder and was striding away into the distance.
Ji-u called out after him.
“You’re really just leaving?”
Thud.
The long legs moving across the brush came to a halt.
This time Ji-u approached Yu-jin with quick, purposeful strides.
“Let’s go look for her.”
“Look? For what?”
“For Im Lisa. Something might have happened to her.”
“It’s possible she just went back.”
…Went back in the middle of the assignment? What about her grades? How could that even happen?
Before Ji-u could find his words, Yu-jin—who had been staring at him intently—spoke again.
“Just leave her alone.”
“…What?”
“Between us, we’ve collected nine Magic Stones. We won’t place first, but we’ll definitely get a passing score.”
What was he saying?
First place this, passing score that?
“That’s what matters to you right now?”
“Then what does matter?”
“There’s Narac nearby. What if something happened to her?”
“If she’s an Awakener, she should be able to handle something like that.”
Bewilderment clouded Ji-u’s eyes.
“Do you even know what an accident is? Accidents aren’t accidents for no reason. It’s an accident because you can’t prepare for it.”
“Even if there was an accident, it’s not our job to rescue her. That’s what the Rescue Team is for.”
This wasn’t working. They couldn’t communicate.
“Our responsibility is clear: find Magic Stones and get back to the starting point on time.”
How could he be so composed when their teammate had vanished?
Not a trace of disturbance could be found in those cool, ashen eyes—eyes as dry as the tone of his voice.
Ji-u stared at that confident face and muttered incredulously.
“Did you get first place by doing things this way?”
A pause.
For the first time, a hairline fracture appeared on Moon Yu-jin’s expression.
“…What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I’m saying. You ignore anything that has nothing to do with you and just focus on your own grades—is that how you’ve lived?”
Of course, Im Lisa and Ji-u weren’t friends. They’d never even spoken before today.
But he’d seen it this morning, hadn’t he?
The sight of Im Lisa being bullied.
‘Maybe I’m concerned about her because of Ji-hyo.’
Either way, one thing was certain: Ji-u couldn’t turn a blind eye to Lisa.
He couldn’t, and shouldn’t.
But Moon Yu-jin was different.
“Even if we go down and don’t find her, we can just tell the teacher. The teacher will call the Rescue Team.”
His logic wasn’t flawed.
Except it was.
“You know she’s being bullied too, don’t you? Or do you?”
“……?”
Moon Yu-jin tilted his head slightly to the side.
As if he genuinely didn’t understand what Ji-u was saying.
Ji-u bit down hard on his lower lip.
When Ji-u first saw Moon Yu-jin, he’d thought he wasn’t a ‘target’.
Because the figure in that video that might have been Yu-jin wasn’t there.
‘I was wrong.’
Even if he didn’t appear in the video, that didn’t make him any less a ‘perpetrator’.
While Ji-hyo was being bullied, Moon Yu-jin must have seen it and pretended not to.
Just like he was doing now with Im Lisa.
This was what they called non-intervention.
‘It’s the worst.’
His fingertips began to tremble.
Stay calm. He had to stay calm. If he got too agitated here, his Core might go haywire again.
Ji-u steadied his voice and opened his mouth again.
“Someone could have deliberately put her in danger. Especially here, near Narac. Once something happens, it’s too late to call for help.”
“…….”
“Are you still going to just leave? Because you can pass with what you have now?”
So as long as it didn’t affect him, he didn’t care.
Moon Yu-jin… this bastard had maintained his top rank in the whole school this way?
“Is there something wrong with that?”
His reply came back so composed it drained all the fight from Ji-u’s body.
“…Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped through his lips. Noticing the contempt in that laugh, Moon Yu-jin’s eyebrows rose slightly.
It had been like this the whole time.
Ji-u and this guy couldn’t communicate. They didn’t understand what the other was saying, just going in circles.
But one thing had become crystal clear.
Moon Yu-jin.
He and this guy were fundamentally incompatible.
“You go get your first place alone.”
Patter-patter-patter.
Ji-u let the Magic Stones he’d been holding fall to the ground like scattered seed.
Then he turned sharply and pushed into the brush on the opposite side.
“…….”
He felt a gaze following his back, but Ji-u didn’t turn around until the very end.
And Yu-jin didn’t follow him either.
* * *
By now, the sun was slowly sinking beyond the ridge of the mountain.
Darkness spread through the black forest like spilled ink. Li-u had no idea how much time had passed.
Lisa sat alone in the silence, swallowing her sobs.
“Sob…….”
Drawn by that sound, tiny insects like ants crawled closer.
It was a truly bleak situation.
Goo Min-jae had abandoned her long ago, and she’d lost her mobile phone when she fell from the cliff.
But worse than that was the ‘thing’ right in front of her—
An Infected Entity that had appeared from nowhere.
Of course, being near Narac, it wasn’t particularly shocking that an Infected Entity existed here. She just hadn’t imagined she’d encounter one like this.
Infected Entities occasionally appeared around Narac, and when they did, a loud alarm would sound throughout the school. Like the day Ji-hyo started attending.
But today, she heard nothing at all…….
‘I’m scared.’
Her Core wasn’t strong enough to completely defeat the Infected Entity.
She’d managed to knock it out temporarily using venomous insects, but that was all. The poison of centipedes and spiders couldn’t kill an Infected Entity.
……And so Lisa had been here with the unconscious Infected Entity for nearly an hour.
There were only two ways out of here.
Climb back up the cliff,
Or pass by the fallen Infected Entity.
‘Should I use my Core?’
If she used insects cleverly, maybe she could climb the cliff.
But Lisa quickly abandoned that thought.
‘What if the Infected Entity wakes up from the insects’ movements?’
As someone with little courage, Lisa simply couldn’t muster the will to try.
The sky had begun to turn dark from the far end. There wasn’t a single sound of human presence nearby. Most of them had probably finished their assignments and gone back.
Lisa crouched down, her injured leg twitching.
…If I just wait, the teacher will come looking for me. Tonight, maybe. Until then, I can only hope that the Infected Entity doesn’t wake up.
Small tears glistened in her dark eyes.
How long had she been crouching like that?
Crunch—
Footsteps sounded from above the cliff.
“……!”
Lisa forgot about her aching leg and scrambled to her feet.
Had someone come looking for her? The teacher? Or the Rescue Team?
The footsteps grew closer.
A figure poked its head over the edge of the cliff.
“Im Lisa? Are you there?”
Thump. Her heart sank.
……It was Ji-hyo.
“Oh, um—”
She should have begged for help, but the moment she saw Ji-hyo’s face, her throat locked shut.
“Stay there. I’m coming down.”
“No, wait!”
Lisa cried out loudly without thinking.
“There’s an Infected Entity down here! It’s dangerous—don’t come down!”
Perhaps her voice had been too loud. From behind her came a sound like dead leaves rustling down.
The Infected Entity lying on the ground began to stir.
Lisa swallowed hard in panic.
“Go, hurry!”
“…….”
Ji-hyo stared down at her quietly.
Then she disappeared from sight.
‘…She left, didn’t she?’
The strength drained from her legs as she stood.
Yes, this was how it had to be.
Lisa had no right to resent Ji-hyo for not rescuing her. After all, she hadn’t done it either.
“……Sob.”
Fresh tears welled up. Lisa scrubbed at her eyes roughly with the back of her hand.
It was then.
Thud-thud-thud!
She heard rough sounds of something striking the ground.
“Hey, move!”
Whoosh!
Something landed right in front of her.
Lisa gasped and stumbled backward in shock.
“Ow, ow, ow…….”
Ji-hyo, who had landed hard on her bottom, was groaning and rubbing her behind.
Had she… jumped? From up there?
‘Why?’
As Lisa’s eyes widened in confusion, she noticed Ji-hyo’s palms were scraped and bleeding from the gravel.
“Ji, Ji-hyo, are you okay—”
“Are you alright?”
Ji-hyo asked faster.
Lisa’s startled face was reflected whole in Ji-hyo’s blue eyes.
“Are you hurt? What were you doing here? Why is your leg like that?”
“…….”
“Right. Where’s the Infected Entity?”
“…….”
“…Im Lisa?”
Splash.
The tears that had been welling up finally broke free, streaming down like a waterfall.
“Hey! What’s wrong? Does it hurt a lot?”
Alarmed, Ji-u examined Lisa.
Her left ankle was swollen, but there didn’t appear to be any other visible injuries.
But beyond that—
Ji-u’s gaze shifted to the massive shadow behind Lisa’s shoulders.
The Infected Entity.
It was staring at them with its joints bent at strange, unnatural angles.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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