Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 15

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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 Ranking Zero
Episode 15
‘Where could they be?’
Crackle—
Moon Yu-jin pushed through the underbrush, picking his way deeper into the darkened forest.
But nowhere could he find any trace of Seol Ji-hyo or Lim Ri-sa.
“Yu-jin, listen—let the Rescue Team handle this for now. You should head back. It’s getting very late.”
The teacher who had followed him spoke in a cautioning tone.
He was right.
Normally, Yu-jin would have done exactly that. There was no real reason for him to push himself to find these two.
“…Let me search just a bit longer.”
To be honest, he didn’t understand his own behavior either.
Was he perhaps bothered by that cutting remark from Ji-hyo? He couldn’t say.
“Wait—what is that?”
Suddenly, a startled voice rang out from behind him.
One of the Rescue Team members shone a flashlight down the cliff face.
“Looks like a dead Infected Entity?”
“What? An Infected Entity?!”
“Good heavens, what in the world is one doing here…?”
The atmosphere began to grow tense.
Yu-jin’s hands, which had been combing through the brush, went still.
— There’s Narac right around here. What if something happened to them?
Surely not…?
It was at that moment, as Yu-jin’s expression darkened and he spun toward the cliff, that—
“Hey! Look over there!”
With someone’s relieved cry, all eyes turned in a single direction.
…Fireflies?
Through the thick darkness of the forest, faint lights flickered and danced. Between them, the sound of footsteps drew nearer.
“Teacher!”
Two girls appeared, their voices thick with tears.
Seol Ji-hyo and Lim Ri-sa.
The moment he confirmed their presence, Yu-jin’s rigid expression softened.
But relief was short-lived.
The sight of the two girls caught in the flashlight’s beam was appalling.
It seemed Lim Ri-sa had been injured somewhere—she was clinging to Seol Ji-hyo’s back—but Ji-hyo’s condition looked far worse.
Wild, tangled hair; torn patches across her uniform; dried blood crusted against her skin; dark purple bruises blooming across her body.
…
Among it all, Yu-jin and Ji-hyo’s eyes met.
She looked genuinely startled to see him. Given how they’d parted last, she clearly hadn’t expected him to still be there.
“What on earth happened to you two?”
Meanwhile, the Core Applications teacher let out a sharp rebuke the moment he saw them.
Lim Ri-sa quickly slipped down from Ji-hyo’s back, bowing her head reflexively.
“I’m so sorry.”
“That’s not the point—I’m asking what happened to you both. Did you run into some wild animal? …Never mind that now. Rescue Team! Rescue Team, what are you standing around for? Get over here!”
Chaos erupted after that.
Both Ji-hyo and Ri-sa were safely brought back to the Academic Building with everyone’s assistance and received emergency treatment at the Health Center.
“You fell off a cliff because you missed your footing?”
The Health Center teacher was aghast at the sight of them.
“…Yes.”
“Even so, be more careful next time. It’s a mercy you’re Awakeners—if you were ordinary people, you’d be dead. And infected entities showing up with no warning system going off… what is the world coming to?”
By the time they left the Health Center, it was well past 9 p.m.
The Core Applications teacher, who had been waiting outside for them to finish treatment, stepped closer the moment he saw them.
“Well? What did the Health Center teacher say? Nothing serious, right?”
“Yes. I should be fine thanks to my Core.”
“I just twisted my ankle.”
At their responses, he finally seemed able to breathe, his shoulders sagging with relief.
“There must be something unusual happening in Narac lately. Why do these accidents keep occurring…? Sigh.”
“This doesn’t happen often, then?”
When Ji-hyo asked, the teacher shook his head as if to say don’t even mention it.
“If this happened regularly, half the students would already be in the infirmary. I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to teach near Narac.”
That was true enough.
If anyone had been hurt during today’s practical, the responsibility would have fallen squarely on him.
Meanwhile, the teacher regarded Ji-hyo and Ri-sa as if he’d aged ten years in a single day.
“So a rock suddenly fell and crushed the Infected Entity?”
“Yes.”
Ji-hyo answered matter-of-factly, and Ri-sa nodded along.
“Heaven smiled on you both, it certainly did. Either way, between the rock and Yu-jin, we’ve all aged a decade.”
…’Yu-jin’?
Moon Yu-jin?
“That boy—the moment he came down from the mountain, he told me to call the Rescue Team. You can’t imagine how shocked I was.”
Now that she thought about it, Moon Yu-jin had been there when she joined up with the Rescue Team.
She’d been too busy boarding the bus and returning to the Academic Building to notice, and by the time she’d realized it, he was already gone.
“I’ve been teaching for how many years now? You think all students show up right on time? There are kids who use practical exercises as an excuse to skip around campus. It’s perfectly normal for students to be thirty minutes, an hour late. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, I suppose…”
“But when Moon Yu-jin suddenly brought up the Rescue Team, my heart nearly stopped. Can you imagine?”
The teacher shook his head slowly, noting that Yu-jin was usually such a well-behaved student, which made it all the more alarming.
Meanwhile, listening to this account, Ji-hyo felt something odd stirring in her chest.
So it was Moon Yu-jin who’d called the Rescue Team.
Even as he pretended it had nothing to do with him, why had he done it? Had his conscience suddenly gotten the better of him?
…She had no idea what he was thinking.
“If something goes wrong during my practical, it’s my responsibility. If anything involves Yu-jin, upper management won’t let it slide—”
“Upper management?”
“Ah… ahem. Adult matters.”
The teacher clearly shifted the subject.
“In any case, you two should get inside now. I’ll make a separate report to the Director about this. We’ll probably have to suspend classes in Narac for a while.”
Just as the teacher turned to leave, he seemed to remember something and paused.
“Oh, one more thing. How exactly did you two end up falling down the cliff?”
“Ah, well…”
“We were collecting Moonstones.”
Lim Ri-sa answered.
In that moment, Ji-hyo’s gaze darted sideways toward Ri-sa.
But Ri-sa looked at the teacher, reached into her pocket, and pulled out something glimmering.
“Here they are. I’m sorry the submission is a bit late, but…”
They were Moonstones.
A tremendous amount of them.
“You collected all these…?”
Ji-hyo’s eyes went wide with genuine surprise.
Counting roughly, there were easily more than ten. Combined with what Moon Yu-jin and she had gathered, their total had been only nine.
The teacher was equally astonished.
“Since I fell off the cliff, you don’t need to give me points, but could you maybe raise Ji-hyo’s score instead? Since she came down to rescue me…”
“Ah, no. Given the circumstances, we can let that slide.”
One, two, three….
As the teacher counted Ri-sa’s Moonstones, he broke into a delighted laugh.
“Seventeen total. That’s impressive. Your group submitted nine this afternoon, so combined with these, that’s twenty-six. No need to check further. Your group is in first place.”
“Really?”
Ri-sa’s face lit up as if a light had switched on inside her.
“These are potent little things, aren’t they? Regardless, congratulations. Your thorough search of the cliff bottom paid off.”
At that, Ri-sa smiled shyly and nodded.
Ji-hyo watched her from the corner of her eye.
* * *
After that, Ji-hyo and Ri-sa left the Academic Building together and returned to the Dormitory.
The sidewalk glowed beneath the streetlamps.
The sound of crickets and the rustle of fallen leaves stirred the quiet night air.
“I’m so glad. We got first place. I’m really so glad.”
Ri-sa kept murmuring the same thing over and over.
Certainly, taking first place was good, but… had Lim Ri-sa really wanted first place this badly?
And Moon Yu-jin—maybe the students here valued their scores more than she’d realized.
“Did I… help at all?”
“Help?”
Ji-hyo turned around as if confused.
“I… I tried not to be a burden… I gathered them really carefully. I just hope I helped even a little…”
“What are you talking about? We wouldn’t have gotten first without you.”
“…!”
Ri-sa’s face flushed crimson.
Meanwhile, Ji-hyo, who had been staring at her with an expressionless face, suddenly spoke.
“Why didn’t you tell the teacher the truth?”
“Huh? About what…?”
“You didn’t fall off the cliff while collecting Moonstones.”
Ji-hyo stopped walking and asked again.
“Someone pushed you, didn’t they? Or threatened you?”

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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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