Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School - Chapter 3

Rank 0 of the Awakener Special School

Chapter 3

One day, giant sinkholes called Narak appeared all over the Earth, and the world changed.

It was around that time that Awakeners, who use Cores, appeared.

Awakeners possessed special powers that ordinary people did not have.

Among them, those with particularly powerful or suitable Cores would enter the Narak to purify and sweep them.

And to cultivate such excellent Awakeners, countries around the world established special educational facilities exclusively for them.

One of them was the 【National Gaon Special School】.

The undisputed best educational facility in the Republic of Korea for cultivating minor Awakeners.

There were a few other schools for Awakeners, but among them, ‘Gaon’ was special.

First, the vast campus grounds.

Since an entire artificial island near Incheon was the school’s grounds, Gaon was also called an ‘Academy City’.

And second.

It was the only one among all Awakener schools to possess a Narak.

Gaon students could periodically enter the Narak through in-school practical classes.

This meant they could accumulate much more experience than graduates from other schools.

So, even if they were the same type of Awakener, graduates of Gaon could receive greater benefits. For instance, a higher salary.

– Eonni, when I graduate, I’ll definitely get you out of here!

On the day Ji-hyo’s admission to Gaon was decided.

To Ji-woo, who had lived trapped in the house almost her entire life, Ji-hyo said that.

However, Ji-woo shook her head.

– I’m fine. I’m satisfied enough with my life right now.

Of course, there were times when it was stifling.

Maybe it would have been less so if she hadn’t known the ‘outside’ from the beginning. But until she was 5, Ji-woo had lived a life that was, if anything, normal.

At the time, the four of them—her parents, Ji-hyo, and herself—lived together in a fairly large house.

She remembers being led by her parents’ hands, going back and forth between the research lab and the hospital every day. It must have been to fix her unstable Core.

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Ji-woo’s family was wealthy, and as they ran a pharmaceutical company, they had deep connections with famous figures in the medical and research fields.

Ji-woo’s parents did not shy away from anything to save their daughter, who was born different from others.

It meant they were willing to try anything, whether it was illegal experiments or inhumane methods.

To put it briefly, thanks to that, the treatment proceeded smoothly.

Then one day.

– Is it true that you manufactured illegal drugs to save one child?

The chairman of Seolhwa Pharmaceutical, in other words, Ji-woo’s grandfather, called her parents.

And ordered.

– Just kill her.

– Father, how can you say such things…!

The vice-president couple of Seolhwa Pharmaceutical had social face to maintain.

What if it became known that they had plotted illegal things just to protect a single daughter?

It might not have ended with just the tarnishing of Seolhwa Pharmaceutical’s image.

However, was the grandfather ordering Ji-woo’s death for only that reason? That much could not be known.

– She is like a nail sticking out. I must pull it out before I trip over it.

Naturally, her parents vehemently opposed it, but…

Even so, the grandfather was adamant.

In the end, instead of killing Ji-woo, her parents found a large mansion and had her live alone.

Everything had to be handled within the house.

Treatment, studies, play, everything.

Without even registering her birth, and unable to receive regular education even when the time came.

An existence that exists but does not exist.

Ji-woo, that is how she came to live.

– Ji-woo-ya, you understand, right? The outside is dangerous, so you must stay in the house. From now on, the doctor will come to the house too.

Still, it was okay. Because her parents still cherished her.

However…

Those parents also passed away the year Ji-woo turned 6.

She heard it was a car accident.

Ji-woo couldn’t even go to the funeral, let alone confirm her parents’ bodies. That, too, was her grandfather’s order.

After her parents’ death, no one came to visit Ji-woo.

Except for Yoon So-young, the private tutor her parents had hired for Ji-woo while they were alive…

And her one and only twin sister, Ji-hyo.

– After I graduate from Gaon, I will inherit Grandfather’s company. Then I’ll develop medicine to fix Eonni’s Core…

– Forget it. Don’t worry about me and just do well in your school life.

– You’re doing it again. What’s the point of me being happy alone? We’re twins.

At Ji-hyo’s words, Ji-woo just smiled.

It’s true.

The kind younger sister who visited Ji-woo without fail every vacation, even while receiving the grandfather’s glare.

The kind and affectionate child who always brought photos and videos to show her, for Ji-woo who couldn’t go outside.

If you are happy, I am satisfied enough, even if I can never leave here for the rest of my life.

…That’s what I thought.

‘They say you never know what will happen in life.’

Currently, Ji-woo was at the 【National Gaon Special School】.

Wearing ‘Seol Ji-hyo’s’ name tag on her left chest.

Coming here in person, it was a world of difference from what she saw in photos or videos. As expected of its reputation as an Academy City, it had an overwhelming majesty.

However…

‘Why is there no one here?’

She had been told in advance that a guide would come out, but no matter how long she waited, not a single ant could be seen.

She had been staring at the sky blankly here for 30 minutes already.

The time was already 8:50 AM. It was around the time classes would start soon.

In the end, Ji-woo decided to find the high school department building by herself.

It’s fine. She didn’t have much luggage, and she had a map. She would be able to find it on her own.

─That’s what she thought, but.

‘Is this not it?’

It was a mistake to trust something like a map.

She had never walked around looking at a map in her life.

While she was having a staring contest with the map, Ji-woo had reached some vacant lot.

She lowered the map and looked around.

Come to think of it, the surroundings seemed strangely dark.

‘…What is that?’

Her gaze turned to a sudden gust of wind.

The air was so cold that it was hard to believe it was late spring.

She could see trees that had been pulled out haphazardly and cracked asphalt.

…Did an earthquake happen nearby?

She walked toward it as if drawn.

The cracked asphalt heaved faintly like the skin of a living creature, and damp steam seeped out from the gaps.

Ji-woo’s steps stopped in front of the yellow tape stretched out like a spider web around the area.

‘This is…’

Beyond the tape, she saw a giant hole that had been blown open.

A strange crying sound seeped out from that place, whose depth could not be gauged.

She could tell at a glance.

──That it was a Narak.

‘It’s much bigger than when I saw it in pictures…?’

It was the moment she held such an impression from a distance.

Weeeeee─

An ominous siren sound rang out.

Ji-woo stepped back, flinching, and scanned her surroundings.

Is it an evacuation drill? What’s with the noise all of a sudden? Before she could even grasp the situation, a fierce wind blew.

“Ah…!”

Whoosh!

Her long hair fluttered, blocking her vision. Because of that wind, the map she was holding in her hand flew away like a piece of scrap paper.

The trees screamed and bent their bodies in the gale blowing like a typhoon.

Thud!

In the end, several trees that couldn’t withstand it were uprooted and fell.

Something was wrong.

She scanned her surroundings like an instinct.

And at the end of her gaze, Ji-woo discovered a bizarre object.

A long shadow moving slowly.

Judging by its shape and size, it looked like a person, but…

“Geureuk, geureureuk─.”

An unpleasant sound like scratching a throat was mixed into its irregular breathing.

It was an Infected.

Usually, Infected do not pop out of the Narak. Not unless it ‘backflows’ like this.

It was not common for a Narak to backflow. This is because Awakeners who have received training periodically ‘purify’ the inside and surroundings of the Narak.

Even here, it’s a school where Awakeners gather. Yet, for a Narak to backflow is not a common occurrence.

Suddenly, the news content she had seen with So-young that morning came to mind.

Come to think of it, I think they said the Narak near the Blue House also backflowed…

“Kkeureuk, geureureuk!”

‘It’, having felt the warmth of a living creature, began to twist its body bizarrely toward Ji-woo.

The moment the black liquid flowing from its mouth created sticky bubbles and dripped, plop, onto the floor.

“Kieeeek!”

It sprang up like a spring and rushed at Ji-woo.

“…”

However, Ji-woo did not dodge.

Just before the fingernails touched Ji-woo’s neck, Ji-woo lightly flicked her finger.

Whoosh!

A tree that had been lying nearby suddenly floated into the air and cut through the air just like that.

Bam!

“Kkeuk…!”

The tree slammed directly into the Infected.

It was an event that happened in an instant.

The Infected, with its neck broken, eventually failed to reach Ji-woo and fell, thud, onto the floor.

Blackish blood flowed out from the fallen Infected.

Ji-woo, who was staring at it with indifferent eyes, picked up the map that had been dropped nearby.

‘Thank goodness. It didn’t fly far.’

Ji-woo, who blew on the map to shake off the dirt and dust, left the place just like that.

She had to arrive at the high school department building before it was too late.

──And about 5 minutes later.

“W-what, what is this!”

When school officials rushed to the scene, Ji-woo was already gone.

All they found was the corpse of an Infected crushed like a boiled potato.

And a single street tree that had been uprooted entirely.