Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Get Out
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Get out
Hello. We meet again.
I'm Cheon Yu-seong, a new student at the Academy.
Why is the girl who said we'd never see each other again here?
Yoo Seo-ah is looking at the Academy's ranking board.
The test scores have been released.
They were posted online, so there's really no need to check the board in the hallway.
"Hmm, you're 28th."
She says, looking at me.
I was hoping she hadn't noticed me, but since it's come to this, I might as well talk to her.
"Yes. And you?"
"That's classified."
Even if she says that, I can just find her name on the list.
I scan the list, but the name Yoo Seo-ah isn't in the top 100.
Nope, not there.
She's outside the top 100.
Ranks below 100th aren't made public, so only the Academy and the individual know their score.
"Uh, keep your head up."
"I'm perfectly fine."
For someone who's fine, her face looks like she's been crying.
Unlike usual, she isn't wearing her eyepatch.
"Where's your eyepatch? I thought you said you were sealing something."
Her eye color isn't different or anything.
"Ah, um."
She touches her eye, looking flustered.
It seems she's just realized her eyepatch is missing.
...Ah, well, these things happen.
So what if her score was a little low?
It's natural to be disappointed when your results don't meet your expectations.
She must have been so shocked she forgot to put on her eyepatch.
"......"
She brings a hand to her eye with a bitter expression.
Is she trying to think of an excuse?
"Well, it's just a decoration. It's fine without it. That's all."
She readily admitted it was just a decoration.
She seems much less confident than the last time I saw her.
"Aren't the bandages just for show, too?"
I decided to just ask her outright.
It might be rude, but I'm curious what she'll say.
"...Heh."
She laughs.
I think I've touched on a sensitive subject.
Was that a slip of the tongue?
Prying into a sensitive topic is indeed rude.
"I wish they were."
She mutters, as if to herself.
So the bandages really do have a purpose?
"Anyway, don't worry too much. You can always get a better score later."
"...No, that's too late. I can't do that."
"Pardon?"
"I'm not first place."
Forget first place, Yoo Seo-ah's name isn't even in second.
First place is Cheon Yu-hwa, my sister... and second is Han Si-hoo.
I heard their ranks were decided by a razor-thin margin.
"I was always first. In everything."
I guess Yoo Seo-ah has always been number one until now.
Coming to the Academy and being ranked seems to have been a shock.
It's unfortunate, but that's how it is.
"I think you'll get better with training."
Hard work always pays off somehow.
That's what I believe.
"I suppose my training time was insufficient?"
"That's highly likely."
"...Is that so."
She seems to have accepted it.
It looks like she's thinking of training more.
"Training time..."
I wonder what kind of training she does.
And what her abilities are.
I was about to ask, but she seems ready to leave.
"Anyway, you're lucky. You got to speak with me again. You won't be seeing much of me from now on. Farewell."
She said something similar last time.
Why do I have a feeling we'll run into each other again?
The Academy is full of strange people.
***
I checked the rankings.
I'm not number one.
Why?
First place was supposed to be a given.
Han Si-hoo isn't number one?
The protagonist is always number one.
Whatever he does, Han Si-hoo is the best.
The very best.
He's supposed to be the absolute best.
"Insufficient training time."
What Cheon Yu-seong said is right.
You only get stronger through training and real combat.
But lately, Han Si-hoo has wasted too much time because of me.
Wasted time.
Anyway, Yoo Seo-ah is the problem.
If this keeps up, the novel's plot will get too twisted.
If even the protagonist falls, the world is doomed.
But it's still just the entrance ceremony.
The protagonist is still strong.
There must be a way.
[17 hours, 4 minutes]
"...Now what?"
It's afternoon, and all the classes are over.
The streets are full of students.
Most of them are walking around in groups.
When you think of school life, you'd probably imagine something like that.
Although you see a lot more bizarre things than at a normal school.
What about me?
Am I even a student?
Being the only one in my class... this isn't some remote country school.
Even in the countryside, having only one student would be extremely rare.
Besides, all the other classes are full of students.
I head to the dormitory.
I get a dorm room because I'm a student.
So I must be a student.
But still, this is strange for a student.
I'm a student at the Academy, but I haven't made any friends.
I'm also unhappy about being forced to kill puppies.
I hate wasting the drug's effect.
*Click.*
The door opens.
As I enter my dorm room, I see ropes, knives, and the like.
The bloodstains were only half-heartedly wiped away.
Is this really a student's dorm room?
"A student..."
I haven't had a moment's peace since coming to the Academy.
There are too many strange people.
"Me?"
This is so different from what I expected.
Just getting into the Academy was a miracle, but I only got in on a technicality thanks to Han Si-hoo.
I know.
I don't deserve to enjoy school life.
"If only I wasn't an Awakener..."
It would have been better if Han Si-hoo and Yoo Seo-ah were ordinary people, attending a normal school.
That seems much more peaceful.
An academy that sends even children to the battlefield can hardly be called a good educational institution.
It would have been better if monsters and Awakeners never existed in the first place.
Things would have been more peaceful than this.
And Yoo Seo-ah wouldn't have ended up taking the wrong drug.
*-Stab.*
"...Heh."
I can't help but laugh.
Because the drug's high does feel good.
[21 hours, 5 minutes]
The drug?
The time increased.
What, why did I use it?
I feel happy.
Is it because I used it in a stable state?
"Ahah."
I had plenty of time left.
Why did I have to use more of the drug?
I can just endure feeling a little bad.
So there's no need to use the drug.
I have eight four-hour doses saved up at home.
An amount impossible to save with ordinary self-control.
But I just used one.
And just because I was feeling bad.
"...Heehee."
*Stab.*
I can't take it anymore.
Besides, saving such a small amount of time is meaningless anyway.
The tingling sensation in my nerves feels good.
"Ha, hah."
*Stab.*
The third one.
The more I use, the better.
It feels like that old feeling is coming back.
There's a unique pleasure to it.
[26 hours, 55 minutes]
The amount of time gained has decreased.
This is what happens when you use it consecutively.
That's why it's inefficient.
But that's not the problem.
*Clang.*
I hear the sound of a syringe falling.
Only one left now.
When did I use them all?
[33 hours, 1 minute]
Are there any more?
For now, this is good.
A pleasant sense of happiness.
My mind is blank.
Someone else will take care of the consequences.
At least, it won't be me.
The current me is just living safely in this pleasure.
My future self?
Who cares?
The here and now has always been what matters most.
There's nothing to be gained by procrastinating.
No.
I was making some kind of plan, wasn't I?
I was trying to do something, at least.
"...Huh?"
The door is open.
This feels familiar.
The door that was definitely closed is now open.
The doctor?
The only person who would just walk into my room is the doctor.
"Doctor?"
"...Ah."
It's a very bewildered voice.
"Who?"
The backlight makes it hard to see.
I don't really care.
This might be a dream.
"What... are you doing."
A familiar voice.
Is that Han Si-hoo?
"Hee..."
I've been caught.
But it doesn't matter.
I'm feeling good for the first time in a while.
I understand now why I've been dragging this out, clinging to life.
It's for moments like this.
That single moment when the feeling pierces the heavens.
The moment you never want to fall from.
The kind of moment where you don't even have the will to move.
"Don't come any closer."
I know what you can do, Han Si-hoo.
I know you have an excellent ability to nullify the drug's effects.
So not now.
Let's meet later.
"Get out."
I said with a smile.
This is my room.
I should inject the last syringe.
I was just wondering when to use it.
I was planning to use it when I started to come down.
This seems to be that moment.
I'm hiding it behind my back because I think Han Si-hoo will try to take it.
Get out.
Get out.
I just wish you'd disappear.
"Yeah, let's get out."
Together?
I don't understand what he means.
I told you to get out by yourself.
"Let's quit the Academy and go back. We're going home."
I never thought I'd hear those words from Han Si-hoo's mouth.
Of all people, Han Si-hoo.
Saying he'll leave the Academy?
I must be losing my mind from the drug.
It must be a hallucination or something.
"Home?"
"If we just leave, we might end up on a wanted list, but we can just go to a faraway city."
"Ah, uh, huh?"
He's talking about running away.
Is the protagonist allowed to do that?
He should still have so many things to do.
The main characters haven't even had their moments to shine yet.
There are important characters I've only seen once or twice.
The story has just begun. Is this really okay?
"So let's go together."
Han Si-hoo has a pained expression.
He looks desperate.
Even for a protagonist, if a hopeless situation continues, his spirit is bound to wear down.
I feel sorry.
"Hey, what about the drug?"
I'm only here because I need the drug.
It's not like I wanted to be stuck in the Academy either.
"I found a supply route."
What Han Si-hoo is holding is the drug from the Academy.
But the Academy shouldn't be giving Han Si-hoo the drug anymore.
"I can get the drug even without the Academy. So let's go."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
That's Si-hoo for you.
He's amazing.
As expected of the protagonist, he can accomplish even the seemingly impossible.
He's definitely different from someone like me.
To think he can get the drug without Lee Yoo-ram's help.
"We're going home?"
"The house we used to live in might be difficult, but we can just find a new one. There's no need to stay at the Academy. It's just dangerous here."
I agree that the Academy is dangerous.
It's truly full of strange people.
This is definitely not the school life I wanted.
An escape.
It feels like I can see the light.
It's like a breeze is blowing.
I feel refreshed.
Is it because of the drug?
I haven't used the drug in my hand yet.
"So let's go."
"When?"
"...Now."
Han Si-hoo is serious.
It's a genuine hope.
A hope I haven't seen in a very long time.