Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 36

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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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Rank 0 of the Awakener Special Academy
Episode 36
Ji-woo’s breath caught in his throat.
…Ah.
Now I understand.
Why the incident in Gaon never spread to the public.
Why Ji-hyo—the granddaughter of Seolhwa Pharmaceuticals—never became a scandal despite suffering such an accident at school.
‘They covered it up.’
The school. This man.
Certainty settled over him. This school would suppress anything, no matter what.
The more serious the incident, the more horrific the accident—the quieter and cleaner it would be buried.
“…That’s sophistry.”
The words escaped before he could stop them.
“Perhaps. But as the director, I have both the power and the authority to enforce my way. No matter how specious or forced it may be.”
Orion laughed as if delighted, but Ji-woo couldn’t bring himself to laugh along.
“…So you’re telling me to stay silent, sir?”
Ji-woo asked.
Even when facing injustice, even when experiencing something that could shake his entire life—
Was he supposed to sit quietly behind these so-called School Rules?
For the sake of that damnable sense of propriety, or whatever it was.
Orion offered an answer that was already decided.
“As long as you are a student of Gaon.”
…….
Tick, tick.
Only the sound of the clock’s second hand broke the silence.
He understood.
Ji-woo hadn’t come here solely for revenge.
When Ji-hyo awoke and returned to school, he needed to ensure her graduation wouldn’t be delayed.
In grades, conduct, and every other comprehensive aspect.
Ji-woo also knew well that drawing the attention of a director—not merely a staff member—could be dangerous.
But he hated it.
It was unbearably difficult to simply nod and say, “I see. I understand.”
The memory kept returning to him.
The image of Ji-hyo screaming in that video. His sister’s sobs as she begged for help.
And yet the perpetrators still walked these halls brazenly, smiling as if nothing had happened.
‘And you want me to do nothing?’
In the endless weight of silence, Ji-woo finally spoke.
“What if I refuse?”
Orion’s expression didn’t change at the ice in Ji-woo’s voice.
…….
Orion’s gaze lowered slightly.
He fixed his eyes on Ji-woo’s hand—the one he had just treated—and spoke.
“Come to think of it, you healed my hand that day, didn’t you?”
Ji-woo’s shoulders tensed.
In that instant, the director’s smile deepened.
……That look in Orion’s eyes.
It wasn’t testing him.
He clearly knew that Ji-woo possessed a Healing Power Core.
Tension made his lips go dry.
This was a dangerous turn of events.
No Awakener in the world possessed more than one Core.
If it were discovered here that Ji-hyo had not only Regeneration but a Healing Power Core as well…….
“Ha, don’t make that face.”
At that moment, Orion laughed aloud, watching Ji-woo’s hardened expression.
“I’m not trying to blackmail you. If I were, I wouldn’t have taken you out of the Disciplinary Committee in the first place. I actually called you here to praise you.”
…Praise?
Ji-woo regarded him with cautious eyes.
Orion was watching him with a pleased expression.
“Ji-hyo, you’ve undergone Blooming, haven’t you?”
Blooming.
It referred to the phenomenon where a Core evolves at a certain turning point.
For example, an Awakener who could shoot fire might suddenly develop the ability to create lava.
It was theoretically entirely possible for an Awakener who could only regenerate themselves to evolve and heal others’ wounds as well.
‘Is the director mistaking Ji-hyo for someone who underwent Blooming?’
Blooming had a necessary condition.
One had to experience something truly traumatic.
A major event that shook one’s entire life—something where death itself hung in the balance.
Like last year, when Ji-hyo was bitten by an infected in Narak.
“Am I wrong?”
Orion asked again.
…It was clear. He was barking up the wrong tree.
‘Does he really think he can blackmail me with that?’
The tension that had made Ji-woo’s shoulders rigid slowly melted away.
If the director was truly under this misunderstanding, it was actually advantageous for Ji-woo.
He thought he’d found Ji-woo’s weakness, but he hadn’t at all.
“…Yes. I’ve experienced more than enough to justify Blooming.”
Orion didn’t ask what that experience was. He probably already knew.
Evidently assured by Ji-woo’s answer, he relaxed his posture slightly.
“Not quite, Ji-hyo. Blooming isn’t a phenomenon that happens to every Awakener. Even if the catalyst presents itself, it’s granted only to those Awakeners with sufficient talent and the capacity to bear it—a very special and rare blessing.”
He spoke of Bloomed Awakeners as geniuses, those rare few who shine even among the chosen.
“It seems to me, Ji-hyo, that you wish to keep your Blooming secret.”
Half true, half false.
He’d never Bloomed at all, but he certainly didn’t want his Healing Power discovered.
“So what are you trying to say, sir?”
“You healed my wound that day. I’m not so ungrateful as to forget such kindness. Besides, I hold excellent students in very high regard.”
He smiled slightly.
“Don’t worry. No one knows of your Blooming yet. And they won’t.”
He couldn’t simply take that at face value.
Perhaps reading the distrust in his eyes, Orion’s smile became more genial.
“Let me be direct then. Is there anything you want?”
“…Something I want?”
“Didn’t I say? I’m a man who knows gratitude. Tell me what you desire, and I’ll make it happen. That’s why I called you here separately.”
He opened his palm as if to say anything was possible.
‘Something I want…….’
Ji-woo stared fixedly at Orion’s open hand.
It could be a trap. The offer was too sudden, too unexpected.
Besides, Orion was acting under the conviction that he’d found Ji-woo’s weakness.
But…….
At the same time, it was an opportunity.
“Would a grade boost help? Or perhaps I could raise your stipend from the foundation. Tell me anything you wish.”
“Something I want…….”
That had been decided long ago.
Last winter—to have all the classmates who were with Ji-hyo in Narak brought here.
To have them expelled and the incident made public.
He wanted to say that, but he held his tongue.
‘How could the director possibly find all of them?’
It was impossible.
There were no CCTV cameras inside Narak.
The Memory Card that So-young had copied with her Core was already depleted. It was uncertain whether memories could be re-copied, or if it was even possible at all.
In other words, unless they confessed themselves, there was no way to identify the culprits.
‘Even if the director brought each of them and forced them to kneel, it wouldn’t matter.’
Unless Ji-hyo opened her eyes, any apology they offered would be to Ji-woo instead.
“Well?”
Orion was waiting for Ji-woo’s answer.
Then what should he ask for here?
“You’ll really grant me anything?”
“Of course. Just name it.”
“Then—.”
After long deliberation, Ji-woo finally spoke.
“Put me in the Special Division.”

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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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