I Became the Drug-Addicted Childhood Friend

Translator: Elisia

Editor/Proofreader: SemiPickle

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“This seems far enough.”

The doctor sat on top of a broken car.

It was the car Han Si-Hoo’s group had arrived in.

A car destroyed in the monster’s attack.

“Why is the Academy’s director in a place like this?”

Cheon Yoo-Seong questioned in confusion.

He had been wary when the man appeared suddenly, thinking he might be an enemy, but after verifying his identity, it turned out he was the Academy’s director.

Considering even professors had come here, it wasn’t entirely strange.

When the professor saw the car had been wrecked, he dejectedly returned to the battlefield.

But what was the director doing here?

“Why don’t I ask you, Cheon Yoo-Seong, what you’re doing here?”

“My name…”

He knew his name.

“I remember almost all of the students.”

“Anyway, you said you’re the director, but do you have any way to deal with this situation where students are in danger? Not that I expect much from the Academy… but you’re the director, aren’t you?”

The doctor was holding a specially crafted telescope in his hand.

With its specialized lens, it could even detect magical energy.

“Then why are you hiding instead of fighting, Yoo-Seong?”

“I’m keeping watch. Just in case someone like you shows up from behind.”

“Let’s say I’m doing something similar.”

“So, is there something worth being cautious about?”

Cheon Yoo-Seong asked suspiciously.

The doctor used the telescope to scan the battlefield.

“Yes. It would be faster if you saw for yourself.”

Boom.

A shockwave from the battlefield rippled toward them.

And immediately after, an alien sensation followed.

A peculiar sense of fatigue.

“Magic power…?”

Magic power had diminished.

The world the doctor observed through the special telescope was shockingly clear.

Not a trace of magical energy could be detected.

All the magic had converged into a single point.

“A large-scale magic depletion.”

“What the hell is this?”

“When a dragon appears nearby, this happens. It absorbs all the magic in the area to concentrate its power.”

“Then, the people over there…”

“They’ll be fine. There are dragon hunters among them, after all.”

“Are you the one who called them here?”

The doctor didn’t respond.

Cheon Yoo-Seong had no idea what was going on.

“This brings back memories.”

“Excuse me?”

“A time when there were no monsters, gates, or dungeons. Of course, there were no people called Awakeners either. A peaceful era.”

The doctor continued speaking, regardless of whether Yoo-Seong responded.

“A time when there was no magic to consume everything like a disease, and the air was as clear as it is here now. It’s only temporary here, but back then, it was constant.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

The idea of magic being a disease was new to Yoo-Seong.

He realized that even the Academy’s directors were unhinged.

As the saying goes, the higher the stream, the clearer the water below.

“Oh, do you know about the purification skill Han Si-Hoo uses?”

“Why are you asking about that…?”

“In its ability to absorb harmful things from its surroundings, it’s somewhat similar. But it doesn’t compare to how dragons consume magic.”

“So, are you saying dragons are doing something good? That the air gets clearer because of them?”

Yoo-Seong was already preparing for battle.

Since he was far from the dragon, his magic hadn’t been completely drained.

However, a significant amount had been depleted, and he needed time.

So, preparation was key.

He had been keeping watch from the rear to spot people like the doctor.

Cheon Yoo-Seong wasn’t as skilled as his twin sister, Cheon Yoo-Hwa.

But there was one thing he did better than her.

Endurance.

The longer he could drag out time, the stronger his attack would be.

If he fought the same way as his sister, he could never surpass her.

But given enough time, he could surpass her at least once.

“Everyone needs treatment. Miss Seo-Ah, Si-Hoo, even you. All you’re doing is bearing the burdens disguised by the term ‘Awakening.’ In that sense, the Academy is nothing more than a hospital.”

That was not something a director of the Academy should say.

“In that regard, I am a doctor before being a director. And a hospital director, at that… Honestly, everyone here is a patient, even if they aren’t Awakeners. Almost no one in this world can avoid magic.”

Admitting Yoo Seo-Ah into the Academy wasn’t much different from admitting her into a hospital.

The largest, freest ward.

A psychiatric hospital for those who deluded themselves into thinking they were heroes.

The Academy was clearly an acronym for something.

A C, Advanced Care.

It provided management for Awakeners.

A D, Advanced Detention.

It also served to detain Awakeners.

E M Y, Effective Monitoring of Youth.

To monitor young Awakeners effectively.

The Academy was an institution designed to restrain Awakeners.

The doctor disliked this deceitful organization.

Things weren’t like this in the era before Awakeners existed.

“And so, the day when no more Awakeners are born will be the day the treatment is complete.”

“Oh, I see. So, you’re a villain too.”

Cheon Yoo-Seong gripped a sword infused with a massive concentration of magic.

It’s More of a Cannon Than a Sword Now

The moment it was unleashed, the magic power would explode and reduce the doctor to dust.

“Do you know why so many monsters are locked away? To create weapons for war? Or for some experiment no one understands?”

He continued speaking, undeterred.

“Do you know the reason?”

“What I mentioned earlier isn’t entirely false.”

The doctor observed the battle with the dragon from afar.

Black beams of light were raining down in every direction.

If not for the smoke and mist, the scene would have been clearer.

The battlefield was too far for more than a faint glimpse.

“But the primary goal is simple: to eliminate magic from this world.”

“That’s absurd nonsense…”

“Yearning for a world without magic, monsters, or Awakeners—something ordinary—I understand that well. Although your sister is more exceptional as an Awakener, in truth, you, Yoo-Seong, are more suitable as the family’s successor.”

Understanding the students’ information was the bare minimum requirement.

To monitor young Awakeners effectively.

“Returning to a normal world is something I desire as well… but I don’t believe all means can be justified to achieve that.”

“The preparations are nearly complete. Think of it as an air purifier—we’ve already found a way to use the dragon’s mana-devouring ability.”

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed from afar.

The dragon hunt had officially begun.

A storm raged across the battlefield.

“If air purifiers can be mass-produced, battles like these noisy ones will disappear. Those bizarre skills beyond human comprehension too. You probably learned at the Academy that gates don’t open where there’s no magic.”

“Even so…!”

He could understand the desire to eliminate magic.

But conducting experiments on humans was undeniably inhumane.

“It seems you have a problem with the methods. But as I said, the plan is already in its final stages. Most of what you’d consider evil or criminal is already done.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m offering you a chance to work with us.”

The doctor proposed gently.

“Work?”

The unexpected offer left him startled.

“An Awakener without magic is essentially useless. Wouldn’t it be better for you, Yoo-Seong, to secure a stable job?”

What happens to the unemployed when the lucrative job of being an Awakener disappears?

“…What kind of work? I don’t think I’d be of much help.”

“A new government department was recently established. You could call it the Magic Depletion Aftermath Management Team. I’m sure there will come a time when your worth will shine. It could even leave a good impression on your family.”

The era of Awakeners fighting was already over.

There were no forces left to oppose the doctor’s plans.

Even Han Si-Hoo, once a significant threat, had failed to form a unified front.

The result:

The doctor’s victory.

The Awakeners’ defeat.

“Have you noticed the Academy’s management has become lax recently? No one cares if students leave during lessons, for instance.”

“…Because there’s no need to manage the students anymore?”

“Or teachers worrying about their livelihood… even the owner of this car likely came here fretting over their expensive vehicle now wrecked. They won’t have a job soon, either.”

Cheon Yoo-Seong’s family planned to cover the cost of the broken car.

Their wealth made it manageable.

“But you’re an Awakener yourself. Why are you doing this?”

Though Yoo-Seong’s tone was rough, he wasn’t outright hostile toward the doctor.

He was merely cautious.

“My Awakening has nothing to do with this.”

The doctor waited for Yoo-Seong’s choice.

Would he join?

“So that purification device, or whatever it is, has been developed? And you’re saying… the world will change so easily because of it?”

“The mana-devouring incident just now is proof. I thought it was a good opportunity to explain.”

He needed to recruit good talent.

Before the era of Awakeners ended completely.

It was a good opportunity.

“Ha… Haha. Sure, an interesting story. If only my friends weren’t fighting for their lives over there, I might’ve enjoyed listening to it. And that dragon over there… isn’t that Yoo Seo-Ah? I didn’t see clearly, but… isn’t this your doing?”

He raised his sword again.

The magic power accumulated during the conversation could now obliterate everything around him.

“Yes. Are you going to pretend to be a righteous hero? I assure you, taking my hand is far more beneficial for justice.”

The doctor spoke confidently.

His conviction was unwavering.

As if the era of Awakeners was truly ending.

“……”

Cheon Yoo-Seong hesitated.

What was the morally correct choice?

But in truth, he had never lived his life striving for moral righteousness.

That was something people like Han Si-Hoo pursued.

He could mimic being righteous but couldn’t deeply resonate with it.

“Si-Hoo failed. Playing hero didn’t change anything.”

“How many others have you made this proposal to, aside from me?”

“You’re the first among the students.”

The doctor descended from the wrecked car.

He walked up to Yoo-Seong and extended his hand.

As if he already knew it would be accepted.

“…I’ll accept your offer. Let’s work together.”

He shook the doctor’s hand.

Boom—!

It sounded like fireworks exploding.

But it was just the sound of the earth bursting far away.