Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 61

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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 at Awakener Special School
Chapter 61
“Wow, man… I thought I was dying.”
“How long did you last?”
“A little over five minutes for me.”
“Hey, that’s better than me.”
Though they’d been given a time limit of one hour, in reality no student ever made it through the full hour.
The LED screens displayed several students currently undergoing the test in real time.
There were no microphones inside the rooms, so their voices couldn’t be heard, but it was clear that all of them were struggling against the toxic air.
Bodies trembling, saliva dripping relentlessly.
Coughing, vomiting, eventually collapsing and being dragged out by the emergency team.
Yet one student stood out among them.
“Don’t you think Seol Ji-hyo might actually hold out?”
“Seol Ji-hyo? Oh, that outcast from Class 2?”
The Infection Environment Endurance Test was conducted in groups of ten, with five groups entering at a time.
Now, approximately thirty minutes had elapsed since the test began.
Four out of five groups—forty test-takers in total—had already declared withdrawal.
What remained was Room A-12.
Where Seol Ji-hyo was.
Though even among those ten, half had already forfeited.
“Seol Ji-hyo, right? I heard she got top scores in all six previous events?”
“Seriously? No way.”
“And she has a Regeneration Core, too. Enduring toxic air should be a breeze for her.”
“Wow… legendary.”
On the screen, Seol Ji-hyo appeared to be holding up reasonably well.
The camera was mounted at a distance, so her expression wasn’t visible, but she was at least standing on both legs without swaying.
“With that performance, Seol Ji-hyo’s going to get sponsorship offers pouring in. Can’t you hear the director’s jaw hitting the floor from here?”
“Sure, she’ll just keep doing good deeds for the school. But no matter how many first places she gets, I doubt any private sponsors will line up for Seol Ji-hyo.”
Most people saw this test as an opportunity to attract future sponsors.
But spectators weren’t actually obligated to choose a sponsored student.
Moreover, most sponsors were already decided before the test even started.
And in Seol Ji-hyo’s case, the chances of attracting a sponsor were even lower—because sponsors already knew the truth: she was the granddaughter of Seol Hwa Pharmaceuticals.
In other words, she didn’t need sponsors.
“She probably doesn’t even want a sponsor anyway, right?”
“But then why is she pushing so hard for first place? I didn’t think she had it in her. That girl’s got real steel in her, I’ll give her that.”
“Look, even after going through that kind of hellhole, she crawled back out intact. That tells you something. Anyway, forget it—let’s go grab food.”
“Wait, you’re not going to watch till the end?”
“Watch what? Our part’s already done.”
This was the seventh and final event.
The students who’d been staring at the screens, along with some of the sponsors seated in the viewing room, were beginning to stand and stretch.
They’d been cooped up for so long; they wanted to rest or get something to eat.
But the test was still ongoing.
“…….”
Inside the test chamber, Ji-u glanced up at the wall clock.
Approximately twenty minutes remained on the clock.
According to the scoreboard, the current highest score was thirty-seven minutes.
Having now lasted over forty minutes, Ji-u had already set a new record.
‘Still have to keep going.’
It still wasn’t enough.
Until every remaining person here forfeited, Ji-u could not leave first.
“Cough…!”
The sounds of coughing around grew sharper.
“I—I—I forfeit…!”
One student who couldn’t hold on any longer finally raised their hand.
With each person who broke and left, the air in the chamber shifted.
That’s just how human psychology worked.
You could endure something perfectly fine, but the moment you saw someone else bail, anxiety would creep in.
“I—I too—”
“Damn it, I can’t do this. I’m going to die…!”
One by one, they started filing out of the chamber.
Through it all, Ji-u endured. And endured.
‘……Just one more.’
Everyone had left. Now there were only two people remaining in this room—Ji-u and one other.
Ji-u didn’t know who the other person was.
When they’d first entered, Ji-u’s condition was already so bad that she couldn’t even process who her teammates were, let alone hear the announcements.
If she just outlasted this one other person, the top score would be guaranteed…
The problem was that this final competitor was formidable.
Unlike Ji-u, who wavered whenever she relaxed her focus even slightly, the other remained completely still.
‘Just give up already.’
Ji-u’s brow furrowed as exhaustion weighed down her face.
What kind of Core did this person even have…?
Whether they were holding their breath or something else, one thing was certain: they looked at ease.
‘If I can just do this one more thing…’
Only one event left.
She’d already claimed top scores in all six previous events with flying colors, so she just had to pull off one more…
‘What do I do?’
As time wore on, cold sweat began flowing unstoppably.
She was reaching her limit now.
The accident from the previous test—the Rescue Target Acquisition Test—had been catastrophic.
When the ceiling collapsed over her head, Ji-u had reflexively used her Telekinesis Core to keep it from crushing her.
The number of dummies she’d rescued, plus the bonus points for surviving the accident, had been enough to secure top marks…
‘Using the Core was a mistake.’
Using a Core while your body was in bad condition was dangerous. Especially for Ji-u, who carried the risk of Runaway.
Even at home when she was alone—if Ji-u caught a cold, didn’t So-young strictly forbid her from using her Core?
But there’d been no choice.
If she hadn’t used the Core then, she might have died.
‘I thought I’d be okay after that.’
Unlike the other tests, the Infection Environment Endurance Test just required standing still.
But that was naive thinking.
This test wasn’t about standing still. You had to continuously use your Regeneration Core to purify the toxic air the entire time.
Ji-u didn’t have the energy to manage even such a simple strategy.
‘…Everything’s spinning.’
She pressed one hand to her forehead.
Her vision was blurred and the intense vertigo made her unable to tell if her feet were even touching the ground.
Ji-u stopped thinking.
She endured through sheer willpower alone.
As she dug deeper into her resolve, time continued its cruel march.
Only two minutes remained.
With just two minutes left, she finally hit the wall.
“Gasp, huh…!”
Ji-u collapsed.
Clutching her left chest, she crumpled into a crouch, and she felt the other person shift slightly closer.
“──?”
They said something to her.
Eeeeeee…
A sharp ringing filled her ears, drowning out everything they were saying.
Ji-u had lived her whole life with the threat of Runaway.
So she recognized it.
One wrong move here—and Runaway would trigger.
– You understand, don’t you? Your young lady’s Runaway doesn’t just cause physical effects.
– Extreme stress—mental strain—can trigger it just as powerfully.
Ji-u’s hands, clenched around her left chest, began to shake.
“Cough, hack!”
The trembling intensified, and the air around her started to ripple subtly.
She knew it in her mind.
That she should stop here.
That she needed to stop using her Core right now and get out of here.
Your grandfather’s secretary didn’t agree to grant the request. So maybe all this endurance amounts to nothing.
But.
But…
– I know you don’t have any major complaints about that life. I know you think things are fine as they are. But what about me?
My sister Ji-hyo.
– Has my sister ever even asked if I’m okay?
My little sister.
– It seems Miss Ji-hyo had an accident during practical training at school.
She’d suffered that, and Ji-u hadn’t even known.
So she had to endure here at least.
So that she could meet her little sister…
“……Hell.”
Ji-u scraped dirt from the ground with her fingers.
Her fingernails caught on gravel and began to bleed.
Her head drooped.
Her hands went limp.
“I… hell…”
Splat.
Something fell onto the earth, marked with clear handprints, and then followed like a downpour.
Welling emotion soaked her exhausted cheeks, falling endlessly.
Finally, Ji-u’s body crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut.
“…….”
Through her blurred vision, she glimpsed the feet of some nameless person standing beside her, motionless.
And then.
“…I forfeit.”
A final voice reached her fading mind.
‘……For… feit?’
She wanted to ask what that meant, but her body no longer obeyed her.
Then the announcer’s voice came through the internal speakers.
「Room A-12, test-taker, High School Division Year 1 Class 2: Moon Yu-jin.」
「Has declared forfeiture.」
「Thus concludes the Infection Environment Endurance Test.」
With that, Ji-u’s consciousness faded to black.

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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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