RASL 10

Chapter 10

Come to think of it, she had fallen, hadn’t she?

A large bandage was stuck to the knee that was faintly visible beneath her school uniform skirt.

The girl flinched, her shoulders trembling slightly, clearly startled by Jiwoo’s appearance.

Pretending not to notice, Jiwoo sat down beside her.

“Mind if I sit here? This is the only empty seat.”

“Y-Yeah.”

Although they were sitting next to each other, they weren’t close enough for their shoulders to touch.

Even so, the girl leaned toward the window as if trying to cling to it, putting as much distance between them as possible.

Amid the strange awkwardness, the bus set off.

As they got closer to their destination, Jiwoo realized the scenery looked oddly familiar.

‘Ah… this is where I ended up after taking the wrong route on my first day of school.’

The Abyss.

The very place where Jiwoo had encountered those zombie-like infected creatures.

So they really were entering the Abyss, just like in Jiho’s video… just like that day.

‘If that’s the case…’

Jiwoo quietly clenched a fist where no one could see.

At that very moment—

“Listen up, everyone. You probably already guessed today’s practical assignment, right? Cleaning duty.”

…Cleaning?

“Ugh, I don’t want to clean…”

As someone complained, the teacher immediately turned around.

“Oh? Got a problem with that? Then enjoy your F.”

“Come on, sir, isn’t that way too unfair?”

“Zip it and listen. The rules are simple. See this marble? As you all know, it’s a Magic Stone. Search for as many Magic Stones scattered around the Abyss as you can and return here before class ends at 6 p.m. That’s it. Anyone not understand?”

A marble about three centimeters in diameter glittered in the teacher’s palm.

So that’s a Magic Stone.

Jiwoo had only ever seen one in photographs before.

The Abyss released not only infected creatures but also all kinds of viruses and hazardous substances.

Among them was a unique poisonous miasma emitted by the Abyss. Any living creature exposed to it for an extended period would gradually petrify.

Animals, plants, insects—even people.

Completely hardened by the miasma, those lifeforms would slowly crumble away until they eventually transformed into shining marbles.

Those marbles were known as Magic Stones.

I heard that abandoned Magic Stones continue releasing harmful substances. Is that why they’re making students clean them up?

Thinking that, Jiwoo focused on the rest of the explanation.

“Use your Core however you want and collect as many Magic Stones as possible. You all heard the warning siren not long ago, right? Entering the inside of the Abyss is prohibited today. If any of you think you can handle the infected on your own, do whatever you want.”

Gaon was known to periodically purify the inside of the Abyss.

However, that wasn’t the responsibility of current students. Unless it was part of an official class, students weren’t allowed to enter the Abyss without permission.

Of course, there were exceptions.

Jiwoo recalled something Jiho had once said.

“Even among the students, a few are authorized to go into the deeper levels.”

“Then what about you, Jiho?”

“No way. I’m not at that level… There are only a handful of students who are.”

An elite group personally recognized by the chairman.

They were granted permission to venture far deeper into the Abyss than the ordinary Purification Teams.

What were they called again?

…Special Unit? Search Squad? Something along those lines.

“There’ll be three people per team. Teams will be decided by drawing lots. Any questions?”

“…”

“Good. If there aren’t any, line up. Stop spacing out and come draw already.”

The students sluggishly gathered around the lottery box.

Soon it was Jiwoo’s turn.

I might end up with Gu Minjae or Kim Yeonhee.

Half of Jiwoo thought that wouldn’t be so bad.

The other half hoped to avoid them here if possible.

With mixed feelings, Jiwoo reached into the box.

“…Ah.”

The teams had been decided.

One teammate was the timid girl who had sat beside Jiwoo on the bus.

And the other…

“…”

Jiwoo found those calm silver-gray eyes staring directly back.

Moon Yujin. Jiwoo’s deskmate.

Come to think of it, they had also been on the same team during yesterday’s PE class…

“Ah, what a shame. I wanted to be on Yujin’s team.”

Someone’s disappointed voice echoed from nearby.

Moon Yujin, however, didn’t even bother looking in that direction.

Meanwhile, the other teams naturally gathered into groups and started moving.

“Hey, let’s get going.”

“Why the rush? We’ve got until six anyway. Want to head down and grab an early lunch first?”

“Oh, sounds good. I’m starving.”

While the bustling crowd of students gradually left the starting area…

Jiwoo’s team simply stood there in silence, staring blankly into space.

Before they knew it, everyone else had already left.

Only the three of them remained.

“…Shall we go?”

In the end, it was Moon Yujin who spoke first.

With Moon Yujin leading the way, the other two quietly followed behind.

Pretending to observe the surroundings, Jiwoo secretly glanced at the name tag on the left side of the girl’s chest.

Im Lisa.

That was her name.

Did she just really like black?

Black socks. Black sneakers.

Just like yesterday, every item she wore was black.

Long bangs hung over her face as though trying to hide it, and beneath them, her dark black eyes remained downcast.

Noticing Jiwoo’s gaze, Im Lisa immediately flinched and stepped farther away.

“Oh, sorry.”

The apology came so suddenly that Jiwoo didn’t even have time to figure out what it was for.

It was as though she had assumed Jiwoo was silently telling her not to walk side by side.

Jiwoo almost explained that wasn’t the case, but decided it would probably only make things more awkward.

Instead, Jiwoo spoke in what felt like the brightest tone possible.

“Let’s do our best today.”

“Okay. I’ll try not to get in your way.”

…That wasn’t what Jiwoo meant, either.

Well, whatever.

Explaining everything one by one would probably just make things stranger.

After that, the three entered the mountain while keeping a slight distance from one another.

No one spoke.

“Let’s meet back here in four hours.”

As soon as they reached the designated search area, Moon Yujin made the suggestion.

…Wasn’t this supposed to be a team assignment?

Not that anyone had specifically said they weren’t allowed to split up.

Still, Jiwoo hadn’t expected someone to suggest going their separate ways the moment they arrived.

Maybe she’s just more used to working alone than cooperating with others.

As the top-ranked student in the entire school, she surely possessed an exceptional Core and talent.

To someone like her, teammates might simply feel like obstacles.

In any case, splitting up was exactly what Jiwoo had wanted.

It wasn’t like Jiwoo had come here hoping to bond with classmates or make memories together.

Besides, it would be much easier to use the Core freely while alone.

“Okay.”

Im Lisa nodded without raising any objections.

“Let’s gather as many Magic Stones as we can, compare our totals afterward, and if it doesn’t seem like enough, we’ll collect more on the way back. Sound good?”

It was 12:30 in the afternoon.

Jiwoo and Lisa silently agreed with Yujin’s proposal.

Without another word, the three immediately scattered in different directions.

A few minutes later.

The clearing where all three had disappeared was now completely empty.

The bushes at one edge of the clearing rustled slightly.

“…”

A head of striking bright orange hair emerged.

With a cold expression frozen on his face, Gu Minjae stepped out from the bushes.

He stared silently in the direction Jiwoo’s group had gone.

Then, gripping a black dress shoe so tightly in one hand that it looked ready to burst, he strode after them.