Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 87

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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
Chapter 87
‘Bigger than I expected.’
According to Tae Ga-yeong, this appeared to be the Captain’s Bridge.
Surrounded on all sides by glass, it felt as though they were standing in the middle of a black sea.
The Instrument Panel, the Helm, and a Telescope.
Everything stood intact, unmarred and in working order.
“…Wait.”
Tae Ga-yeong extended her arm toward Ji-u.
Something lay sprawled on the floor beneath the Instrument Panel.
——It was a person.
White uniform shirt. Navy trousers.
On the front pocket was an embroidered insignia matching the one they’d seen on the cruise ship’s exterior.
Clearly a sailor of this vessel.
Tae Ga-yeong approached him quickly.
“Sir, are you all right?”
“Ah… ah…”
Fortunately, he seemed conscious.
“Ji-u, help me steady him.”
“Yes.”
The two of them gently turned his body and laid him in a comfortable position.
On closer inspection, a faint gray light flickered at the tips of his fingers.
He’d been poisoned by Poison Miasma and was slowly succumbing to Petrification.
After shaking him a few times, he finally came to and raised his upper body.
“Where… where is this?”
“Inside the cruise ship.”
The sailor pressed at his brow as if his head ached.
Beside the confused man, Tae Ga-yeong introduced herself as calmly as she could manage.
“I am Tae Ga-yeong, captain of the Special Unit at Ga-on Special School. This appears to be the Captain’s Bridge. Do you recall what happened?”
“I… I don’t remember. The ship was swallowed whole by the Abyss and we came here, but after that…”
He seemed to have lost consciousness not long after falling into the Abyss.
Hardly surprising. As an ordinary person, he had no choice but to be vulnerable to Poison Miasma.
That being so, his lack of memory was only natural.
“How many people were aboard the ship?”
“Fortunately, we hadn’t yet taken on passengers, so the crew was rather small. About thirty…”
“I ask for clarification—do you know how to pilot this ship?”
“I’m only a sailor, so that would be difficult… Oh!”
At that point, he opened his eyes wide with sudden realization.
“The Captain…! Where is the Captain?”
“What?”
“He was definitely here with me. Even after we fell into the Abyss, he was gripping the Helm the whole time…”
“Calm yourself for now. We’ll search for him.”
Tae Ga-yeong rose to her feet and spoke in a firm tone.
“The Poison Miasma is thinner here. Don’t open the door under any circumstances until we return.”
“But… but…”
The sailor glanced sideways at Tae Ga-yeong.
It showed in his eyes alone.
‘Can I really trust these young girls with my life?’
He was doubting the girls before him.
Ga-on Special School. Of course he knew of it.
And he was aware they had an elite unit called the Special Unit.
But still… they were minors, weren’t they? Mere children, in fact. Only two of them.
Could he really entrust his life to—
“Sir.”
Tae Ga-yeong, who had paused mid-step, called back to him.
“I came here to carry out a mission.”
“…What?”
“My role is to search and report on the interior of the Abyss. Of course, I’ll do my best in rescue operations as well. But—”
Click.
Tae Ga-yeong, hand on the Bridge door, turned back to face him.
“It will be difficult without cooperation and trust.”
“……”
The sailor’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Those emerald-green eyes fixed on him as if in warning—as if she’d seen right through him.
The girl before him seemed to have read his every thought.
Before that gaze, the sailor finally fell silent, his mouth clamped shut.
“Then please wait here.”
“…Yes, understood.”
Only after receiving his answer did Tae Ga-yeong turn fully away.
“Ji-u, come.”
Ji-u, who had hesitated briefly, now followed Tae Ga-yeong out of the Captain’s Bridge.
“It happens often enough.”
Tae Ga-yeong spoke as they walked toward the stairs.
“To adults, we still look like babes. Especially people like him—they’ve only ever seen Awakeners in the media. They have no sense of what actual abilities we possess or what kinds of battles we fight.”
“…Still, doubting someone who came to save your life seems a little—”
“Does it bother you?”
“Not exactly bothered, but—”
Ji-u lowered his eyelids as if examining his own feelings.
“I was angry that he doubted you.”
“What?”
“You came to save him. But he doubts you anyway. I found myself thinking—why should we bother saving someone like that?”
“Ha ha ha!”
Tae Ga-yeong burst into hearty laughter.
“From his perspective, he might rather have Superman show up than a pair of high school girls.”
“……”
“But how could he choose that? When you call 112 for the police, can you request a specific officer? Of course not. There’s no choosing those things.”
Tae Ga-yeong smiled brightly and turned to look at Ji-u.
“Same with us. We can’t save only the people we want to save.”
Tap.
Something rested on top of his head.
“But I’m grateful. I didn’t expect you to say something like that.”
It was Tae Ga-yeong’s hand.
She ruffled his hair somewhat clumsily before looking ahead once more.
“Stay alert. We do what we need to do.”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Let’s move.”
Tae Ga-yeong descended slowly into the pitch-black stairwell.
Ji-u followed quietly behind, watching her the whole way.
“There may be other survivors. We search floor by floor as we descend. To be safe, it’s better if we stay together—don’t separate.”
The cruise ship consisted of six levels total. The search radius was not insignificant.
Just below the upper deck, the fifth floor showed nothing out of the ordinary.
The fifth floor housed a chapel for worship, a buffet, cafés—but not a soul was to be found anywhere.
“…That’s strange.”
Tae Ga-yeong murmured after finishing her sweep.
“The ship is intact, and so far we haven’t seen a single body, much less blood. So where on earth did thirty crew members go?”
The people had vanished without a trace, as if they’d simply evaporated.
Tae Ga-yeong’s expression hardened as she turned around.
“Let’s go deeper.”
“……”
“Ji-u?”
Getting no response, Tae Ga-yeong turned to look back.
Ji-u stood motionless, staring down at the floor beneath his feet.
“What’s wrong? Is there something on the floor?”
“…No, it’s just… it seems wet.”
Ji-u’s eyes narrowed as they fixed on the floor.
“The upper deck was damp too, now that I think about it. I assumed seawater had splashed in when we fell into the Abyss, but…”
“But this is inside the ship—there’s no way water would splash this far.”
“Right, exactly.”
Ji-u crouched down and brought his hand to the floor.
“This doesn’t seem like ordinary water.”
Tae Ga-yeong bent down to examine the wet mark on the floor.
As Ji-u said, it felt slicker than normal water. Almost tacky, even.
“What is this?”
Too transparent to be blood.
And it didn’t have any particular smell.
While she studied it intently, Ji-u spoke first.
“I’m not sure, but… it’s like mucus.”
“Mucus?”
“Do you remember touching a snail as a child? That slick liquid snails leave behind wherever they go? It’s similar to that.”
“Hmm…”
Tae Ga-yeong slowly rose to her feet, still peering at the floor.
“Based on what we’ve seen so far, it doesn’t seem like there’s an Infected Entity, but we shouldn’t let our guard down. We should stay ready to engage at any moment.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“First, let’s move to the lower level—”
That was when it happened.
Tae Ga-yeong’s calm expression shifted in an instant.
Slice—!
The sound of something being cut filled the air.
Thud.
Something fell at their feet.

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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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