Guinea Pig (n.)

guin·ea pig (gĭn'ē)

a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation.

The world was a dirty place, infested with mythical creatures lurking around wherever dark. In alleys, where innocent people who walked through them would be eaten as a meal. Where unsuspecting people were targeted as prey. You could be a new-born baby in a hospital, but once you are left unguarded, you become a target, for these hungry dark souls to feed on.

Over the years as these creatures evolved, the human species decided to do something about their declining population. Over 78% of human deaths in a year were dedicated to these mythical creatures. Name it all - ghouls, vampires, wolves, banshees, demons … This list goes on and on. While their population is rapidly expanding, the humans’ population were rapidly declining. In 2378, we proudly declared a new brand of human species - the Ronins. They were equipped with special abilities and had extreme human qualities. They are known to be 50 times faster than an average human, with enormous reflexes and strength. These Ronins however, look like us and are differentiated with a birthmark on the nape of their necks. But, we must learn to give them our utmost respect, as they are pledged to give normal humans protection from these mythical creatures.

"Miss Hye, how were the Ronins created then?" a student at the back of the class raised her hand.

"That will be answered in the next lesson, where there is a chapter dedicated to that. If you would like to, you may read up on it." Miss Hye gives a slight smile, before her expression morphed into an evil one. "No, wait. On second thought, this will homework before next week’s class. I expect all of you to have read it and I will ask everyone individually some questions." The bell rings in harmony with the groans of all the students in the class but one. That one was me. I didn’t groan. Why? Because I was fast asleep, head on the table with drool dripping down my mouth and threatening to drip further down the table.

"Ms. Min!"

.

The sound of her shrill screaming startled me and I quickly straightened my back. "Y-yes?"

"I will be asking you, the most questions!" The look of disdain was evident in her face. Of course, who wouldn’t be angry when they catch one of their students falling asleep in their class? The whole class snickered as they quickly packed their bags. I nodded my head and quickly stood up, sauntering out of her class with nothing to pack. I didn’t even take out my books. Miss Hye’s class was too boring. After all, she was basically repeating what I already knew, but she definitely did not need to know that. I smirked inwardly, waiting for the next lesson to prove to her that I’m indeed an amazing and wonderful student, who undoubtedly read up the chapters.

I was walking down the hallway and decided to plug in my earpieces into my Ipad. Yes, it does exist now, if you’re wondering. Although it is regarded as an ancient and historic item, I treasure it a lot because it is a gift from ­­­my late parents. Now, there are many other ways that we can listen to music – it is the future after all -  but I just prefer the old ways. However, I do receive odd looks from students, judging me for not being "up-to-date" with today’s technology. I mean, hello? We all have personal preferences. I scoffed in my mind. If only they knew how old I was.

Yes, hello there. I’m Min, and I’m over 100 years old. I was born in 2421, and now it is 2534. My parents are long gone. My birthday just passed. And I’m immortal. In fact, I’m the first batch of Ronins that they experimented with. And let’s just say, I was just a guinea pig. They only made me immortal, because that was a characteristic that they wanted the Ronins to possess. But other than that, I don’t have “special abilities” or “exceptional human qualities”. I’m pretty sure that they tried out other kinds of stuff on me, but I obviously don’t remember what they bloody injected me with.

Surprisingly, the government allowed me to continue living, despite being immortal and having the power to use it against them to threaten them. Apparently, it is because my immortality would be essential to them for “future developments”. Bull. They use this as an excuse for keeping me alive, when I know the real reason is for me to be a test subject so they can make those stupid Ronins immortal. There, I said it. Ronins aren’t immortal, but they do have an extended lifespan of 1000 years. But where are they now? Nobody has ever seen them since the Dorsos war, and I can’t be bothered to care.

All I know is that I have been walking on this face of earth, alone, for about 100 years now. I reset my life every 20 years, transferring to different schools before coming here, to Seoul Elites, the most prestigious school in Exordium. Apparently, Seoul was the name of this land before the war changed it to Exordium. Interesting, isn’t it?

Keeping my age as 18, the age that I was tested on, my facial features nor my body parts h