Chapter 552 – Alone at School (2)
—
– Park Seungyub
My first thought was, “That hotel totally fooled me!”
“I told you to take a year off…”
They had the gall to say I’d have a whole year to relax, acting like nothing would happen!
I took a deep breath to calm my excitement.
Now that something has happened, there’s no point in blaming anyone.
“In a crisis, I’m surprisingly calm.”
Hearing Sophia’s collected voice made me oddly feel at ease.
Thank goodness I’m not the only one caught up in this bizarre phenomenon.
“What on earth happened while I was sleeping?”
“I don’t know.”
“…What?”
“I said, I don’t know.”
“I’m not criticizing your way of speaking; I’m asking why you don’t know.”
“Because I was asleep too.”
“…”
I ran out of things to say. So, we can definitely sleep inside the Soul Vessel, huh?
By the way, is it really just a coincidence that something went down while both Sophia and I were napping?
“Could sleeping together be some sort of condition?”
“Maybe… Let’s check the surroundings.”
*
Upon inspecting the classroom, I noticed more weirdness than just the fact that everyone else was gone.
“This feels subtly different from the Bangbae Middle School I know.”
“It does, doesn’t it.”
For instance, there were no air conditioners on the ceiling.
Instead, there were a few old, half-broken fans hanging around that looked like they belonged to a junkyard, totally outdated.
“Look at that! It’s a fan you have to pull the string on to make it work.”
“…”
“I’ve never even seen something like that.”
“That’s quite an antique for even mechanical fans.”
It didn’t take long for my suspicions to be confirmed.
The desks, chairs, and lockers in the back of the classroom had all turned into shabby wooden pieces.
“Sophia, this place is definitely…”
“…”
“It looks like Bangbae Middle School from at least several decades ago.”
*
— Clunk!
“It won’t open.”
Both the front door and the back door near the teacher’s lounge were blocked, preventing us from leaving the school.
Could it be locked?
It didn’t seem like it; not even the glass door trembled when I banged against it.
“Fortuna, can’t you use your power to open it?”
Sophia was currently bound within the Soul Vessel.
If she used destructive magic recklessly, her remaining time would drop fast.
So she asked me instead.
“I’m no longer Fortuna! Stand back!”
As I took a deep breath, warm energy surged from my heart, invigorating my whole body.
It was time to draw out Aksha’s soul!
“Hah!”
“What’s that?”
“Back then, I had about a 20% success rate from the very first stage of power extraction!”
“…Can you even call that mastering it? You were just an apprentice.”
“True.”
Looking back now, I also feel that I couldn’t really say I mastered martial arts back then.
As Sophia pointed out, I was just an apprentice.
“Hah!”
At the moment my extended hand crashed into the glass door—
—Thunder!
A tremendous shockwave overwhelmed not just the glass door but the very spot where Sophia and I stood.
But, the glass door didn’t even get a scratch.
“…What the?”
Something felt off.
Whether it had a lock or not, the front door was just opaque glass.
There’s no way a material could withstand the force of a few meters’ radius!
“Maybe there’s a magical barrier?”
Suddenly, my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the corner of my vision.
My second wish granted by the “dream.”
「Awakening」
Just once.
I could become the greatest martial artist in the world!
“Don’t use it.”
“…What are you suddenly—”
“If I say don’t use it, then don’t! It’s a one-time power, isn’t it? Don’t waste it on trivial matters.”
“I wasn’t even going to use it!”
“Let’s just check around the school more.”
*
We rummaged through the first to third floors.
We checked every classroom and even fiddled with our phones, trying to find a signal.
Our mission was clear: get out of this unexplainable situation of waking up decades back at middle school.
Eventually, we arrived at the stairs leading from the third floor to the rooftop on the fourth floor.
“…What’s that smell?”
“Ugh! It’s absolutely toxic!”
What is that odor?
Is it the stench of bodily fluids mingling and fermenting?
It’s terrifying to get more specific.
“There must be something up on the roof.”
Sophia’s face tightened with worry.
I too gripped a wooden stick I found during our cautious search.
It’s nothing special, but with my martial arts added, I’d be able to knock out a gorilla if I had to.
— Creak!
The door leading to the rooftop wasn’t locked.
*
— Rustle!
The first thing I found was a mountain of scattered trash.
A mix of snack wrappers, empty plastic bottles, and foil crumpled among the garbage.
There was enough to fill the entire rooftop, too much to even count.
Many of these bottles and bags contained “human excretions,” and I was done taking any closer looks.
In the middle of the roof stood a shabby tent or hut.
Having examined that, I realized something.
“Looks like someone’s living in that tent.”
“They must have been there for… quite a while.”
The overpowering stench filling the rooftop was a clear sign of someone surviving in that space.
I began poking the trash pile with my wooden stick to clear a path.
“Ooooh!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I thought you’d be gagging and struggling here, but you seem surprisingly calm?”
“…”
What does Sophia actually think of me?
I’m the greatest martial artist of all time!
Moreover, for someone who appears to have stepped out from a classic library, Sophia seemed quite unfazed as well.
Then again, as a witch that’s endured for hundreds of years, I guess that makes sense?
“Hmm. Your brain may be lacking, but your tenacity is impressive.”
“Can you cut back on the habitual insults…”
Even Ahri wouldn’t be this bad!
Flicking the tent again with my stick.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
I heard weak moaning from inside.
“Seems like whoever’s in there isn’t in good health.”
“Anyone in that kind of environment would be a monster, not a person.”
Regrettably, when I lifted the shabby tent and stepped inside, I was momentarily speechless.
“…”
It was a frail-looking old man.
His limbs were skinny and emaciated, and his skin was peppered with dark spots.
One of his eyes seemed to be incapacitated by cataracts.
Even without moving, it seemed he wouldn’t survive for much longer.
“Excuse me?”
“Ugh…”
The half-decent eye slowly moved to meet mine.
Five silent seconds passed.
Then, suddenly, the old man’s eyes widened.
“You… You finally came!”
“…”
“You came to rescue me from this… hell!”
“…”
What should I say?
If I tell him I didn’t come to rescue him, but rather that I’m also trapped here, he might be too shocked to handle it.
Or worse, he might die from the disappointment.
“This isn’t the time for this! What time is it right now?”
“If you mean the time… it’s almost dinner time—”
“Come in! Come in here!”
“…”
There’s hardly enough room for one person in here.
I was already inside, but Sophia was awkwardly leaning against the entrance of this shabby tent.
“You! Agent! You have to close the door!”
Sophia offered a nervous smile.
It wasn’t like we were “agents,” but the smell coming from the old man was something else.
Compared to the severe stench from him, the trash pile on the roof could be mistaken for a flower garden!
Thanks to that, sharing the cramped hovel with him would require quite a bit of mental fortitude.
“If night falls! If it gets dark, it’ll be dangerous! The school, and the entire world -”
– Hisssss…
Seemingly waiting for the right moment, a creepy breath came from somewhere.
Sophia promptly shut the entrance door and stepped inside.
“Are we good now?”
“Y-Yes, now we need to be quiet….”
“…”
In the stillness, I pondered.
This old man had clearly survived here for years in a bizarre world.
I was curious about how he managed to score food and water, but what intrigued me more was how he had survived at all.
“Hmm… So, the location is the rooftop. Are you blocking direct exposure to the body through this hut?”
“Ugh…”
It seemed our brief conversation had already drained the old man’s strength.
“Excuse me… Seungyub.”
“Do I really look like a ‘sir’? Go home.”
It seemed she couldn’t handle the stench any longer, leading Sophia to return to the Soul Vessel.
It wasn’t likely that we’d engage in a fight right now, so it wasn’t a big deal.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Only I and the dying old man remained in this stench-filled hut.
*
— Kim Ahri
“Ahri-ya! You understand what I’m saying! Seungyub is—”
“I got it. You wait at home.”
— Tap!
It was already the third call from Miro.
She kept repeating the same thing, suggesting she was losing her cool.
Given her personality, it’s not surprising.
…
Seungyub and Sophia’s sudden disappearance had already created quite a ruckus at school.
I heard that even Seungyub’s parents had shown up at the school after he “dreamed” them back to life.
From teachers to his parents, everyone suspected that this naive kid was just running away from home.
Honestly, he never really inspired any trust in others, which made me chuckle.
“Ha! Not the time for laughter.”
While Seungyub and Miro may not be aware, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.
The very first were Kain and Eunsol.
Then came Seungyub and Miro, although Miro hasn’t yet been swept away.
Anyway, within just a week or two, my comrades were repeatedly caught in chaos and disaster.
Is this just coincidence?
Was reality always this chaotic?
No way!
A calamity feels a lot like a traffic accident.
There’s bound to be at least double-digit occurrences daily from a governmental perspective, and as an agent, it feels like the entire world is packed with these disasters.
Yet, as an individual, a Korean citizen might only encounter two or three in their lifetime, if that.
“…”
Is there an invisible hand attacking us?
I can’t tell.
If it were poison or gunfire, I might understand, but can someone intentionally drag us into these disasters?
Furthermore, if there were malicious intervention, that hotel wouldn’t have casually told me, “Take a year off…”
“Phew…”
People think my fellow agents believe I’m trying to hide everything, but sometimes, I struggle too.
It’s all so confusing!
At that moment—
— Ding ring!
An emergency alert flashed on my Management Bureau smartphone.
“Escape subject, ‘Lucky Boy (M – 3274)’ has come into contact with the sacrificial item!”
“… Seungyub, what have you gotten yourself into?”
It wasn’t surprising; that kid was always getting into trouble.
“‘Pale Breath’ containment procedure may face issues; dispose of the Lucky Boy if necessary—”
Dispose? Dispose!
I immediately contacted them.
The contact was Park Hyunmin, head of the Korean branch of the Management Bureau.
— Tick!
“Agent Kim Ahri, did you confirm the emergency alert? The strike team is on the way—”
“Cancel that.”
“What?”
“Cancel the disposal order; cancel the strike team dispatch order as well.”
“If there are issues with the ‘Pale Breath’ containment procedure—”
“I’ll handle it. Just follow my orders.”
“…”
I could tell he was struggling to mask his discomfort.
Park Hyunmin, the head of the Korean branch of the Management Bureau, finds himself with very few who can command him.
It’s also the case that even I don’t have such authority.
But I know this man well.
Like many in the Bureau, he’s someone who dreams of climbing the ladder to higher positions and acquiring more authority and secrets.
Thus, he tends to be helpless around those who hold power or are soon to rise.
“Fine. But Agent Kim Ahri, show some etiquette. Just because you’re on the ‘The Silent’ candidate list doesn’t mean—”
It’s time to head out and rescue my teammate.
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