I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: SemiPickle

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Han Si-Hoo had one rule.

The rule was that he still had to be a righteous person.

Minimizing the harm inflicted on others.

Contributing to and supporting society.

Risking his life to save people.

So, he adhered to a minimum standard of goodness.

“I can see why the doctor used the drugs.”

It must be extremely convenient for controlling people.

Han Si-Hoo felt like he understood why the doctor had spread drugs everywhere.

Indeed, drugs are useful.

I’m curious if drugs would work on a saintess, who likely has self-purification abilities.

It makes sense.

There’s no need to physically confine and manage someone; you just give them drugs, and they’ll do anything, like a trained dog.

How is this any different from what the doctor did to Seo-Ah?

“Well, I won’t do anything cruel. Seo-Ah’s here, after all.”

For a saintess, there’s no actual need for a leash.

I just put it on because dealing with rebellion is annoying.

“Why—why are you doing this?”

The saintess tried to remove the leash, but it was impossible.

“We have somewhere to go together.”

Han Si-Hoo said with a smile.

“Let me go.”

“You just need to help me a little. I’ll finish before Seo-Ah wakes up.”

It would take quite a while before Seo-Ah woke up.

“Let’s move.”

With that, he tugged at the leash, dragging the saintess along.

Seo-Ah wouldn’t have done something like this.

But if it was someone else, it didn’t matter.

It was all just a fictional story, wasn’t it?

And these were just characters in that story.

Even setting all that aside, Han Si-Hoo couldn’t see humans as truly human.

They were filled with disgusting bastards and idiotic fools.

He stepped outside the house and walked a bit.

An old building that used to be a police station came into view.

Its partially collapsed structure was its defining feature.

Thud.

He dropped the saintess to the ground as if throwing her.

It was inside a concrete-floored detention cell.

He had scouted out this place in advance.

It wasn’t far from his new home.

“Ugh…”

It was a space that could function as a prison.

Creak.

In the corner of the cell, he opened a locked shelf, and a box emerged.

Inside were various drugs that Seo-Ah had used.

He couldn’t store all the drugs in the house.

There was also work to be done here.

He took out a syringe.

“What are you trying to do?”

The saintess spoke in a voice filled with fear.

This was an entirely unexpected development.

She had thought she’d just help with Seo-Ah’s treatment.

After all, she had a debt to repay for what she had done to Han Si-Hoo.

It was already forceful enough to drag her to Han Si-Hoo’s place via a forced transfer gate, but she hadn’t expected this.

“I’m going to use the drug.”

“I—I don’t respond to things like that.”

The saintess spoke urgently.

She could be treated in countless ways.

Someone more skilled than Yoo Seo-Ah possessed healing abilities.

“You think it’s useless because of your healing abilities? Just let me go. I’ll cooperate without you having to do this…”

“Hmm.”

“Trying to get me addicted is a waste.”

That was a lie.

In truth, she was slightly addicted to the drugs.

Whenever she was in a bad mood, she would sometimes use them.

Though it was a mild addiction considering the powerful drugs she had used, it wasn’t as if they had no effect.

Han Si-Hoo was controlling her mana through the leash.

No one could predict what would happen if he used drugs in this situation.

“Why? Are you scared?”

Han Si-Hoo casually drew liquid into the syringe.

“Don’t do this…”

“Seo-Ah must have been scared too.”

The saintess couldn’t turn away from what she had done.

Who had sent Seo-Ah to the lab in her place?

Han Si-Hoo held the syringe.

The saintess curled up in unease.

“Still, this… this isn’t right.”

“What isn’t?”

“Seo… Seo-Ah wouldn’t approve of this kind of behavior.”

It was laughable that she was bringing up Seo-Ah now.

“What do you think I’m about to do?”

Han Si-Hoo sneered.

“Wh-what do you mean? You’re going to use the drug…”

“That’s right.”

Correct.

But there was a slight difference.

“However, I won’t use it on you.”

“Huh?”

Then who?

“If even you can’t cure Seo-Ah, I’ll have to do it myself.”

“What?”

“And I don’t have the leisure to find a solution slowly anymore. If what that guy said is true, we’re near the ending, and the story hasn’t progressed at all.”

The saintess couldn’t understand what Han Si-Hoo was saying.

The conversation with the fake Han Si-Hoo had been the problem.

Han Si-Hoo had changed.

“I’ll administer the drug to myself.”

He spoke without hesitation.

“…What?”

“I’ve been considering this for a long time. If your power can’t solve it, how should I treat Seo-Ah? I found two methods, and this is Plan A.”

Plan B wasn’t ready yet.

It was the last resort.

If things went further downhill here, he would use it.

“You’re going to use the drug on yourself?”

“Yeah.”

Han Si-Hoo’s personal purification and recovery abilities could counteract some of the drug’s effects.

“Why?”

“To find a way to cure Seo-Ah, and to save this world, even if I have to borrow the drug’s power.”

Han Si-Hoo was already late.

He had failed to do what he should have while trying to save Seo-Ah.

What Seo-Ah hoped for was a hero in Han Si-Hoo.

Then he had to go save the world.

If his strength was insufficient, he would supplement it with the drug.

“No, no, Si-Hoo. I don’t know what that fake told you, but you shouldn’t just accept it. Seo-Ah is addicted to the drug…”

“It’s not just because of that.”

“You’ve seen Seo-Ah, haven’t you? If you end up just like her…”

“If I can’t even control the drug I administer to myself, I won’t be able to resolve Seo-Ah’s addiction either.”

The saintess confirmed that Han Si-Hoo had succumbed to madness.

He intended to use the same drugs?

Perhaps it made sense why he and Seo-Ah were friends.

“You don’t seem to understand, but with my ability, it’s possible.”

Han Si-Hoo continued explaining.

“The more I use my skills, the more they develop. Skills that I consider necessary suddenly appear.”

The number of skills had grown to over a hundred.

Han Si-Hoo had a decent grasp of his abilities.

They weren’t just for wielding a sword proficiently.

It was a power that maximized the rewards of effort.

“If I use the drug, a skill to control it will likely emerge. It’ll be safer if you help.”

With that, he removed the saintess’s leash.

Dragging her to the detention cell had been the only goal.

The entrance to the building was locked.

Han Si-Hoo rolled up his sleeves.

The audience consisted of just the saintess.

He prepared to use the drug.

Why am I doing something like this? Such questions sporadically arose.

For Seo-Ah.

That’s why.

Even staring at the syringe filled with liquid didn’t change anything.

“Are you really going to do it?”

Han Si-Hoo didn’t answer.

The saintess tried to stop him, but she couldn’t.

Her body seemed frozen.

She couldn’t comprehend the series of events unfolding before her.

Perhaps Han Si-Hoo had intended this from the beginning when he brought her along.

“…Was this how Seo-Ah felt?”

What had Seo-Ah been feeling the first time she used the drug?

Finally, he would see Seo-Ah from the same perspective.

The needle of the syringe touched his skin.

“……”

There might be no way back after this.

He knew many people who had become addicted to the drug and met a miserable end.

Seo-Ah was an extraordinary case.

“If I signal with my hand, use your healing skill.”

Without waiting for the saintess’s response, he inserted the needle.

Thunk.

It took only a few seconds to feel the effects.

The narcotic components breached the blood-brain barrier and reached his brain.

A shiver coursed through his entire body.

Pleasure flowed instead of blood.

Everything seemed perfect.

What had he been worrying about until now?

An overwhelming ecstasy accompanied by the disappearance of all concerns.

It was intoxicating.

His vision blurred.

At the same time, he felt as though his eyes snapped open to a new reality.

A new world came into view.

If this world was fake, who cared? As long as the drug existed, he could achieve his life’s purpose.

There was no need for a skill to block or nullify the drug’s effects.

Instead, a skill to amplify the pleasure would be more usefu—

[Purification]

The drug’s effects were neutralized.

“So this is how it feels…”

But it wasn’t enough.

He had to keep suppressing the surge of pleasure.

He had to stop it.

Though, truthfully, there were countless ways to stop it.

He just didn’t want to.

It wasn’t something that willpower alone could overcome.

Even his feelings for Seo-Ah began to fade.

He could understand why Seo-Ah had betrayed him.

This drug twisted the very essence of a person.

Ninety-nine percent of his thoughts focused solely on wishing this moment wouldn’t end.

[Reinforcement] [Augmentation] [Purification]

He used three skills simultaneously.

The pleasure was eliminated.

“…That’s dangerous.”

He returned to normal.

The aftershock was intense.

Was this what a single dose could do?

“Are, are you okay? Huh?”

He didn’t need the saintess’s help yet.

Not yet.

“I’ll keep repeating this until I get a skill.”

“Repeat? You’re going to use it again?”

“Yes.”

Was this the early sign of addiction?

Han Si-Hoo noticed that his resistance to using the drug again had weakened.

The hesitation to take more had disappeared.

This wasn’t a difficult task; it was an enjoyable one.

“Once I gain the skill, I’ll let you return home. Just help me until then.”

The saintess had been fairly compliant so far.

If she had resisted more actively, killing her would have been an option.

He even considered killing her simply because it was troublesome to keep her alive.

He held the syringe again.

Thunk.

There was no risk of addiction.

Even if he did become addicted, it didn’t matter.

The whole point of this was to find a way to completely sever addiction even after being hooked.

Purification succeeded.

But he didn’t gain a new skill.

Thunk.

He thought of Seo-Ah.

Han Si-Hoo still bore the emotional scars of Seo-Ah trying to kill him because of the drug.

But now, he understood.

This wasn’t a matter of mental strength.

Purification.

The drug’s effects disappeared.

Still, no new skill emerged.

He had only used the drug three times so far, and each time, he had neutralized its effects immediately.

However, the overwhelming pleasure that hit him each time he used the drug was impossible to get used to.

How many times had Seo-Ah used a drug like this?

Too many to count.

Of course, her condition couldn’t be normal.

Thunk.

Four consecutive injections.

[Drug Resistance I]

A skill appeared.

It was the skill he had been hoping for.

He needed to develop resistance to use stronger drugs.

In the end, the saintess’s healing abilities weren’t necessary.

Even without her, he could have done this alone.

She was merely a safety net, just in case.

Ultimately, the saintess had only been a spectator.

“…Huh? Are, are you okay? Huh?”

There was no way he could be fine.

It didn’t make sense to react so calmly to a drug being used for the first time.

To take the drug four times in a row and only stumble momentarily—it defied all logic.