RASL 03

Chapter 03

One day, gigantic sinkholes known as Abysses appeared all across the Earth, and the world was forever changed.

It was around that same time that Awakeners, people capable of using Cores, began to appear.

Awakeners possessed extraordinary powers that ordinary people did not.

Among them, those with exceptionally powerful or highly compatible Cores entered the Abysses to purify and eliminate the monsters within.

To cultivate such outstanding Awakeners, countries around the world established special educational institutions exclusively for them.

One of those institutions was National Gaon Special Academy.

It was the undisputed finest educational facility in South Korea for training underage Awakeners.

There were a few other schools dedicated to Awakeners, but even among them, Gaon was special.

First of all, there was its enormous campus.

Since an entire artificial island near Incheon served as the school grounds, Gaon was often referred to as an “Academy City.”

Secondly—

It was the only Awakener school that possessed an Abyss of its own.

Students at Gaon regularly entered the Abyss through practical training classes held on campus.

In other words, they accumulated far more real combat experience than graduates from any other school.

As a result, simply being a Gaon graduate came with significant advantages, such as much higher salaries.

“Sis, once I graduate, I’ll definitely get you out of there!”

The day Ji-hyo was accepted into Gaon, she said those words to Ji-woo, who had spent almost her entire life confined inside her home.

Ji-woo simply shook her head.

“I’m fine. I’m already satisfied with the way things are.”

Of course, there were times when she felt trapped.

Perhaps it would have been easier if she had never known the outside world in the first place.

But until she was five years old, Ji-woo had lived what could be called a relatively normal life.

Back then, she lived in a spacious house with her parents and Ji-hyo.

She remembered being taken to hospitals and research institutes almost every day by her parents.

It had all been for the sake of stabilizing her defective Core.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Ji-woo’s family was wealthy.

They owned Seolhwa Pharmaceuticals, and because of that, they had deep connections with renowned doctors and researchers.

Her parents spared no expense in trying to save their daughter, who had been born different from everyone else.

That meant they were willing to resort to illegal experiments and inhumane methods without hesitation.

To put it simply, thanks to those desperate efforts, her treatment had actually been progressing fairly well.

Then, one day—

“Is it true you manufactured illegal drugs just to save one child?”

The chairman of Seolhwa Pharmaceuticals—

Ji-woo’s grandfather—

Summoned her parents.

Then he gave them an order.

“Kill her.”

“Father… how could you say such a thing…!”

As the vice president and his wife at Seolhwa Pharmaceuticals, they had a reputation they were expected to protect.

What would happen if people learned they had committed illegal acts just to save their daughter?

The company’s image might suffer far more than they could afford.

But…

Was that truly the only reason her grandfather ordered Ji-woo’s death?

She never found out.

“She’s a nail that sticks out. Better to pull it out before someone trips over it.”

Naturally, her parents resisted with everything they had.

In the end, instead of killing Ji-woo, they purchased a large estate where she would live completely alone.

Everything had to be done inside that house.

Her treatments.

Her education.

Her playtime.

Everything.

Her birth was never officially registered.

When she reached school age, she couldn’t receive a formal education.

She existed—

Yet officially, she did not.

That was how Ji-woo came to live.

“Ji-woo, you understand, right? The outside world is dangerous, so you have to stay inside the house. From now on, even the doctors will come here to see you.”

Even so, she had been content.

Her parents still loved her.

But…

When Ji-woo turned six years old, they died.

She was told it had been a traffic accident.

She wasn’t allowed to identify their bodies.

She wasn’t even permitted to attend their funeral.

That, too, had been her grandfather’s order.

After their deaths, no one came to visit Ji-woo anymore.

Except for Yoon So-young, the private tutor her parents had hired before they passed away…

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

“After I graduate from Gaon, I’ll inherit Grandpa’s company. Then I’ll develop medicine that can fix your Core…”

“Forget about me. Just focus on your own school life.”

“There you go again. What’s the point of me being happy by myself? We’re twins.”

Ji-hyo’s words made Ji-woo smile.

She truly meant it.

Her kind younger twin had continued visiting every vacation despite enduring their grandfather’s hostility.

Unable to take Ji-woo outside, Ji-hyo always brought countless photos and videos to show her instead.

As long as you can be happy…

Even if I spend my entire life trapped here…

That’s enough for me.

…Or so she had believed.

“Life really is unpredictable.”

Now…

Ji-woo was standing inside National Gaon Special Academy.

With a name tag reading Seol Ji-hyo pinned to the left side of her chest.

Seeing the campus in person was nothing like the pictures or videos.

The overwhelming scale truly lived up to its reputation as an Academy City.

But…

“Why isn’t anyone here?”

She had been told someone would come to guide her.

Yet after waiting and waiting, not a single person appeared.

She had already been standing there for thirty minutes.

It was now 8:50 a.m.

Classes would begin any minute.

Eventually, Ji-woo decided to find the high school dormitory on her own.

It’s fine.

I don’t have much luggage.

And I have a map.

I can definitely find it by myself.

…Or so she thought.

“Isn’t this the right way?”

Trusting a map had been her first mistake.

She had spent her entire life indoors.

It wasn’t as though she’d ever had the chance to navigate using one.

While staring back and forth between the map and the surroundings, Ji-woo somehow ended up in an empty clearing.

Lowering the map, she looked around.

Come to think of it…

The area seemed strangely dark.

“…What’s that?”

A sudden gust of wind drew her attention.

The air was unnaturally cold for late spring.

Scattered trees and cracked asphalt filled her vision.

…Was there an earthquake nearby?

Almost unconsciously, she walked toward it.

The cracked pavement pulsed faintly like the skin of a living creature.

Moist vapor seeped through the gaps.

Ji-woo stopped before the yellow caution tape stretched across the area like a spider’s web.

“This is…”

Beyond the tape lay an enormous hole.

Its depths were impossible to measure.

A strange wailing echoed up from below.

She recognized it instantly.

An Abyss.

“It’s much bigger than it looked in the pictures…”

The thought had barely crossed her mind when—

WEEEEEEN—

An ominous siren echoed through the campus.

Ji-woo instinctively took a step back and looked around.

A disaster drill?

What’s going on?

Before she could make sense of anything, a violent gust of wind swept over her.

“Ah…!”

Whoosh!

Her long hair whipped across her face, blocking her vision.

The map in her hands was ripped away like a scrap of paper.

The storm-like winds bent the surrounding trees until they screamed.

CRASH!

Unable to endure the force, several trees were uprooted entirely.

Something was wrong.

Her instincts screamed at her.

She quickly scanned her surroundings.

Then…

At the edge of her vision—

She saw something strange.

A long shadow moving slowly.

Judging by its shape and size, it resembled a human.

But…

“Grrrk… grrrrk…”

Its uneven breathing was accompanied by a horrible scraping sound, as though claws were dragging across bone.

An Infected.

Normally, Infected never emerged from an Abyss.

Not unless the Abyss had undergone an Overflow.

Overflow events were rare.

Trained Awakeners regularly purified the inside and surrounding areas of every Abyss.

This was especially true here, at a school filled with Awakeners.

An Overflow occurring here was anything but normal.

Suddenly, Ji-woo remembered the news she had watched with So-young that morning.

Come to think of it…

Didn’t they say the Abyss near the Blue House had Overflowed too…?

“Grrrk… grrrrk!”

The creature sensed the warmth of a living person.

Its body twisted grotesquely toward Ji-woo.

Black liquid dripped from its mouth.

The viscous droplets splattered onto the ground with sticky bubbles.

Then—

“KIEEEEEK!!”

It launched itself toward her like a coiled spring.

“…”

Ji-woo didn’t move.

Just before its claws reached the back of her neck—

She casually flicked one finger.

WHOOSH!

One of the uprooted trees lying nearby suddenly floated into the air.

It shot across the clearing.

BOOOOOOM!!

“Ghk…!”

The tree slammed directly into the Infected.

Everything happened in an instant.

Its neck snapped.

Unable to reach Ji-woo, the creature collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.

Dark, murky blood slowly spread from its broken body.

Ji-woo stared at it without the slightest emotion.

Then she quietly walked over and picked up her map from where it had fallen.

Good.

It didn’t blow very far away.

After blowing the dirt from its surface, she folded it neatly.

She needed to reach the high school dormitory before she became even later.

And about five minutes later—

“W-What… what happened here?!”

When the school staff finally rushed to the scene…

Ji-woo was already gone.

The only things they found were the corpse of an Infected—

Crushed flat like a boiled potato.

And a single roadside tree that had been uprooted completely.