READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 76
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Han Si-Hoo had one rule.
To be a righteous human, no less.
Minimizing harm to others.
Contributing and giving back to society.
Risks taken to save people.
So, he upheld at least the minimal standard.
“Now I see why the doctor used the medication.”
It’s super convenient for controlling people.
Han Si-Hoo finally understood why doctors wandered around with drugs.
Indeed, medicine is useful.
I’m curious to know if the Saint, who can purify herself, would even be affected by this medication.
It makes sense.
No need for imprisonment; just give them drugs, and they become obedient pets.
What’s the difference from what the doctor did to Seo-Ah?
“Well, it’s not like I’m doing anything heinous. Seo-Ah’s here, after all.”
In truth, there’s no need for a leash with the Saint.
It’s just easier to keep her this way; less hassle if she rebels.
“Whaaaat, why are you doing this?”
She tries to take off her collar, but it’s no use.
“I have places to go.”
Han Si-Hoo says with a grin.
“Let me go.”
“You just need to help a bit. I’ll wrap it up while Seo-Ah’s still snoozing.”
It’ll be a while before Seo-Ah wakes up.
“Let’s change locations.”
He says this while tugging at the leash, pulling the Saint along.
If it were Seo-Ah, she wouldn’t have handled it this way.
But with someone else, it didn’t matter.
It’s all just a fictitious story, anyway.
Just characters playing their parts in that story.
Putting all that aside, Han Si-Hoo couldn’t help but see that humans didn’t feel human at all.
All he saw were disgusting guys and idiots everywhere.
He stepped outside and took a short walk.
A building that used to be a police station came into view.
Half-collapsed, it had its own charm.
Thud.
He drops the Saint as if he’s tossing her onto the ground.
They’re inside a concrete holding cell.
This place was one he had prepared beforehand.
Not far from the new home.
“Ugh…”
A space fit for a jail.
Creaaaaak.
Opening a locked shelf in the corner of the cell reveals a box.
All kinds of medicine Seo-Ah used are right here.
He couldn’t keep all the drugs at home.
There’s work to be done here as well.
He pulls out a syringe.
“What are you trying to do?”
The Saint’s voice trembles with fear.
She never expected things to go this way.
She thought he only needed to help with Seo-Ah’s treatment.
Since she had done something to Han Si-Hoo, it would only make sense to repay that debt.
Even if dragging her to his place was already coercive enough, this was taking it way too far.
“I’m gonna use some meds.”
“I, I can’t be affected by those!”
The Saint frantically insists.
Healing is totally doable.
There are folks with more advanced healing abilities than Seo-Ah.
“Because of your healing ability, it won’t work on me? Just let me go. I’ll cooperate without all this…”
“Hmph.”
“Even if you’re trying to get me addicted, it won’t help!”
She’s lying.
She’s partially addicted, that’s for sure.
Sometimes, when she feels down, the Saint would dabble in some meds.
It’s a mild level of addiction for someone who used hardcore drugs, but nonetheless, it’s there.
Han Si-Hoo has the collar controlling her magical powers.
No one can predict what would happen if he used the meds here.
“Are you scared?”
Han Si-Hoo casually fills the syringe with the solution.
“Don’t do this…”
“Seo-Ah must have been scared, too.”
The Saint mustn’t avert her gaze from her own actions.
After all, who sent Seo-Ah off to the lab?
Han Si-Hoo holds the syringe up.
The Saint flinches in anxiety.
“But this, this just isn’t right.”
“What’s not right?”
“Seo-Ah wouldn’t like this behavior either.”
Bringing up Seo-Ah is comical.
“What do you think I’m planning to do, huh?”
Han Si-Hoo chuckles.
“What do you mean… the drugs…”
“Exactly.”
That’s the correct answer.
But there’s a twist.
“But I won’t use it on you.”
“Huh?”
Then who is it for?
“If you can’t treat Seo-Ah, then I’ll have to do it myself.”
“Uh-oh?”
“And I don’t have time to casually look for solutions. If that guy is right, then it’s almost the end, and we’re stuck in a plot with no progress.”
The Saint couldn’t comprehend Han Si-Hoo’s words.
The issue was the conversation with the fake Han Si-Hoo.
Something about him felt off.
“I’m going to inject myself with the meds.”
He says this without a hint of hesitation.
“…What?”
“I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to treat you if even your powers can’t solve it. I found two methods, and this is Plan A.”
The Plan B isn’t ready yet.
That’s the last, last resort.
If things go sideways here, that’ll come into play.
“You’re really going to inject yourself?”
“Yeah.”
With his purification abilities and recovery powers, he can counteract some effects of the drug.
“Why would you do that?”
“To find a way to heal Seo-Ah, and to use the drug’s power to save this world.”
Right now, Han Si-Hoo was behind schedule.
In trying to save Seo-Ah, he neglected his duties.
What Seo-Ah expects is for him to be a hero.
So off he must go to save the world.
He’ll make up for his lacking strength with drugs.
“No, no, Si-Hoo. Whatever that fake told you, don’t accept it blindly. Seo-Ah is addicted to the drugs, and…”
“That’s not the only reason.”
“You saw her, right? What if you end up like her?”
“If I can’t even control the drugs I inject into myself… I won’t be able to solve Seo-Ah’s addiction either.”
The Saint recognized that Han Si-Hoo had succumbed to madness.
Same concept of using drugs?
It’s not for no reason that Seo-Ah and Si-Hoo were friends.
“You don’t seem to get it; if it’s my ability, it’s possible.”
Han Si-Hoo goes on to explain.
“The more I use a skill, the more it develops, and skills I deem necessary pop up out of nowhere.”
The variety of skills only kept increasing, surpassing a hundred.
Han Si-Hoo had a decent grasp of his abilities.
It’s not just about skillfully wielding a sword.
It’s about maximizing the rewards of effort.
“Once I use the drug, I’ll unlock skills to control it. If you help, it’ll be safer.”
With that, he removes the collar from the Saint.
He just needed to drag her to this holding cell, anyway.
The building’s entrance is locked.
Han Si-Hoo rolls up his sleeves.
The audience is just the Saint.
Ready to use the meds.
Why am I doing this? is a question that sporadically pops into his head.
For Seo-Ah.
That’s why.
No matter how he stares down the syringe filled with liquid, nothing happens.
“Are you really going to do this?”
Han Si-Hoo offered no reply.
The Saint tries to stop him, but she can’t move.
She feels frozen.
She simply couldn’t wrap her head around the sequence of events.
Maybe Han Si-Hoo had intended this all along when he brought her here.
“…Was Seo-Ah feeling like this?”
What was Seo-Ah’s first experience with the drug like?
Finally, he understands Seo-Ah from her perspective.
The needle of the syringe touches his flesh.
“……”
He might not be able to go back now.
He knows many who suffered tragic fates from being addicted to drugs.
And Seo-Ah’s case was an extraordinary one.
“When I give the signal, I’ll use the healing skill.”
Without waiting for the Saint’s answer, he plunges the needle in.
Thud.
It only takes a few seconds for the effects to kick in.
The narcotic penetrates the blood-brain barrier, reaching his brain.
A shiver runs through his body.
Pleasure flows in place of blood.
Everything seems flawless.
He can’t remember what he was even worried about before.
With an intense euphoria, all his concerns fade away.
It’s dizzying.
His vision starts to blur.
At the same time, it feels like his eyes are wide open.
A new universe reveals itself.
If this world is fake, who cares? With drugs, he can achieve his life’s purpose.
No need for skills that neutralize or eliminate the drug.
What’s really needed is a skill that amplifies pleasure—
[Purification]
It neutralizes the drug’s effects.
“Is this how it feels…”
But it wasn’t enough.
He needs to fend off the surging pleasure.
He must resist.
In truth, he has more than enough methods to block it.
He just doesn’t want to.
It’s clear it’s not something willpower can handle.
Even his feelings for Seo-Ah start to blur.
He understands why Seo-Ah betrayed Han Si-Hoo.
This twists the essence of humanity itself.
99 percent of his thoughts are now drifting toward wishing this moment would never end.
[Augmentation][Enhancement][Purification]
He used skills in triplicate.
Pleasure evaporates.
“…That was dangerous.”
He returns to reality.
The aftereffects are quite intense.
Was it really just one injection?
“A-are you okay? Uh-oh?”
There’s no need for the Saint to help him just yet.
Not at this moment.
“I’ll keep repeating this until I unlock the skill.”
“Repeating? Are you going to use more here?”
“Yeah.”
Is it a sign of impending addiction?
Han Si-Hoo feels his aversion to using the drug again fading.
He no longer hesitates to take more.
This isn’t a hard task; it’s actually enjoyable.
“Once I get the skill, I’ll send you back home. Until then, just help me out.”
The Saint, to his surprise, is complying quite willingly.
If she had actively resisted, killing her could’ve been an option.
It’d be bothersome, but the thought crossed his mind.
He grabs the syringe again.
Thud.
There’s no chance of getting addicted.
In fact, he wouldn’t care even if he did.
He intends to find a way to detach himself completely from this drug addiction.
He succeeded in purification.
But he didn’t acquire a new skill.
Just three quick uses, and all he’s been doing is negating the effects right afterward.
But he still can’t adapt to the pleasure that hits him with every drug use.
How many times did Seo-Ah have to go through this?
A whole lot.
There’s no way she could maintain a normal condition.
Thud.
Four consecutive drug uses.
[Drug Resistance I]
A skill emerged.
This is the skill he desired.
He needs to develop this resistance to use stronger drugs.
Ultimately, the Saint’s healing powers weren’t required.
He could’ve managed this all by himself without her.
She was just a precautionary measure he kept on standby.
As it turned out, the Saint was merely a spectator.
“…Huh? A-are you okay? Uh?”
There’s no way he could be okay.
It’s impossible to react the way he did after using the drug for the first time.
Even after using it four times in a row, he’s merely swayed a bit and done.
It surpassed the bounds of common sense.
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