On the fourth day,
The doctor came into the house after the evening passed.

"You really have amazing self-control. I thought you would have used up all the medicine by now."

The doctor spoke with admiration.

The bottle still had half of the blue medicine left.
Since I had been taking the medicine right on time, it's true I had excellent self-discipline.

"Well then, it’s time to congratulate you on Sihoo's graduation."

"Congratulate?"

"This is a precious moment as Miss Seoa is gradually becoming an Awakener."

"Wow."

[7 hours 7 minutes]

Maybe because I had taken the medicine a little while ago, I was feeling quite good.
It was time to meet Han Sihoo again.
Even after several days had passed, the anger I felt toward Han Sihoo strangely hadn’t subsided.
Probably because I kept eating the food the doctor had left behind.

The doctor rummaged through his black bag and took something out.
Every time I think about it, black clothes and a black bag... He really seems to like matching black.

"By the way, doctor, why do you always wear black clothes?"

"Because it makes me harder to see at night."

"Are you a criminal?"

Now that I think about it, he enters my house like it’s his own, without any trouble from burglars.
A professional criminal indeed.

"I'm a doctor."

The doctor gave a half-hearted reply while organizing his bag.
A black medicine bottle was placed on the table.
Of course, it was black as well.
I have no idea how much he likes black.

"This is a medicine produced using the latest magical engineering technology. It's used to awaken the qualities of an Awakener."

The doctor looked at the black glass bottle in his hand as he spoke.
He seemed to have great pride in the medicine.

"So, if anyone takes this medicine, does it make them an Awakener?"

"Based on experiments so far... no. Artificially becoming an Awakener is only possible if there’s some inherent potential."

"Ah, I see."

"Miss Seoa has potential. I can roughly tell."

"How?"

"Because I’m a doctor."

"I see."

What could that potential be?
Seeing the system status window?

[7 hours 5 minutes]

I could still see something right now.
How many people could see things like this?
Thinking like this, I guess I do have potential.

"This medicine was prepared specifically for you, Miss Seoa, who is overflowing with potential. We intend to use the best medicine we have."

"The best medicine?"

"Yes, if you were someone unable to handle it, like someone too drug-addicted to even move properly, we wouldn’t be giving you the good stuff."

If there’s good medicine, does that mean there’s bad medicine too?
So even drugs have different grades.

"Shouldn’t the best medicine be given to those who are more sick?"

"For someone who can't overcome addiction, even the best medicine would be poison. Only someone like you should receive it."

"I see."

So, someone like me needs good medicine.
After all, I’m confident I’ll never get addicted to drugs.
To get better quickly, you need good medicine.

But, come to think of it, this isn’t medicine for getting better, is it?
It’s for becoming an Awakener, right?

Something felt strange, but my mind wasn’t working well.
I couldn’t even recall the plot of the novel clearly since taking the blue medicine.

Well, I figured everything would work out.
I just had to trust the doctor and follow him.
Nothing had gone wrong so far.

"Let me remind you once again, this is a very important matter."

"Yes."

"As I mentioned, the drug is quite addictive. Well, since I’ll keep providing it, there shouldn’t be any problems."

"Yes."

No need to worry.
Even if I did worry, nothing would change anyway.

"So, shall we administer the injection now? Do you have any questions?"

The doctor asked as he took out a sealed syringe from his bag.

"Hmm, what happens when the effects of the drug wear off?"

"Pardon?"

"If I run out of the medicine, will I go back to being a regular person?"

"No. This is good medicine. You’ll just want to take more of it."

"Wow, so it’s really that good?"

"Yes, it is."

Has the medicine turned my brain into a field of flowers?
No matter what I think about, I feel happy.
All I see is a bright, optimistic future.
It feels like I’m becoming an Awakener, just like the academy students.

"So, will I be able to attend school like Han Sihoo?"

"...First, I recommend having a deep conversation with Sihoo."

"But I’m still angry. I don’t know why..."

"That's normal."

The doctor casually replied and filled the syringe with the drug.
The drug inside was as black as ink.
What kind of drug is this, where not only the bottle but even the contents are black?

"Miss Seoa, you’re really kind."

"Me?"

"If you weren’t so kind and naive, it would’ve been much harder for me to do this."

"Huh?"

So, I’m suffering because I’m kind and naive?
Is that the reason I started using the drug?
Could that be true?

[6 hours 57 minutes]

I checked the remaining time.

How much will this injection extend my time?
I hope the effects last a long time.
I don’t want to get too many injections.

"Please tilt your head slightly."

Thud.

The needle pierced into my neck.
It was my first time getting an injection in the neck.

Something unusually hot flowed through my veins.
My vision seemed to expand.
All of my senses became sharper.

The doctor removed the needle.

[103 hours 2 minutes]

The effect had greatly increased.

I felt omnipotent.
Like I could do anything.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah...?"

I couldn’t speak properly.

"You seem fine."

"Heek... hee..."

A groan escaped me.
It felt like someone was stirring my brain.
It was a sensation I had never experienced before.

All my senses had amplified, transforming into pure pleasure.
Everything I saw, heard, touched—even the smell of the air and the taste of the dust—felt new.

"Now, let’s go. It’s time to show Sihoo how healthy you’ve become."

"Yeeess!"

"We’ll use a teleport gate to reach the academy."

"Hee..."

"Even though you may not understand what I’m saying in this state, I’ll explain it to you anyway. It’s not easy to infiltrate the academy, so we had to preemptively destroy parts of it using monsters."

"Heehee."

"Planting many traitors within the academy was the key. It would be great if we could eliminate Han Sihoo, one of the world’s hopes, here today."

I didn’t really care about what the doctor was saying.
What I was feeling right now was simply too amazing to think about anything else.
What could possibly be more important than that?

"Are you having fun?"

Having fun?
To be honest, that word doesn’t even come close to describing it.
I nodded enthusiastically in response.

"You’ll enjoy it even more if you fight."

"......Why?"

"Everyone else did. You will too, especially after taking the military-grade stimulant."

If I could feel even better than I do now, then I should fight.
But who am I supposed to fight again?

"Remember, kill Han Sihoo."

"Yes, teacher."

"Good. I’ll open the gate."

Crack!

The space in front of me distorted.

A portal.
Yes, this is what they call a portal.

"This is a device that will instantly transport us to the academy. Please wait until it’s fully open."

"Wow..."

The distortion of space felt incredible with my heightened senses.
No one else would have experienced something like this.
I hoped this feeling would last a little longer.

[100 hours]

Thankfully, I still had plenty of time left.
If I could be this happy in just a few minutes, what could I feel in 100 hours?

"The gate is ready now."

The portal had finished forming.
It looked just like the ones you’d see in a video game.
So, going inside would instantly take me somewhere else.

"Teleportation is a high-level technique monsters use to cross over to this world. Almost no one else can replicate it."

The doctor said this as he reached out his hand to me.
Was I supposed to take it?

"Heehee."

Holding his hand, I felt like I was going on a field trip like I did as a child.
I might have been a little nervous before the injection, but now I was just enjoying myself.

I followed the doctor into the portal.
It was incredibly dark.
Then a faint light appeared again.

"We’ve arrived."

"Wow..."

In the blink of an eye, we had arrived somewhere.
I could see the academy buildings beyond the trees.
When I looked back, the portal we had crossed through was already gone.

"Although the academy is built in the middle of the city, it’s surrounded by a forest and small mountains in the back. It’s designed to make it easier for students to practice."

Looking around, it seemed like we were in a forest.
No, it was more like a flat area with a few trees planted here and there.
Was this some sort of practice space?
Interesting.

Breathing in the fresh air between the trees felt...
Wait, this isn’t fresh air.
It tastes like smoke.
Still, even that felt pleasant in its own way.

"Smoke? Fire?"

"Yes, fire. We let in some fire-type monsters into the academy."

"Ah..."

Looking closely, I could see smoke rising from one of the buildings.
Something was burning.

"Sihoo is coming from over there."

"Huh?"

I turned my head in the direction the doctor was pointing.
Han Sihoo was approaching with a sword in hand.

With my heightened senses, I could see him clearly even from far away, despite the darkness around us.
White hair.
So it was true that his hair turned white when he used his power.

"Sihoo believes that capturing me will solve all the problems. I did lead him here intentionally, after all."

The doctor muttered as he walked forward with me in the lead.
I didn’t know the way, but I felt full of confidence.

"Miss Seoa. Remember, kill Han Sihoo."

"Yes."

As Han Sihoo ran faster, it seemed he had finally noticed us.
Even though he was still far away, I could see a few others trailing behind him, following his tracks.
Light flickered as the protagonist’s figure came into view.

"You’ve got some nerve... doing this?"

Han Sihoo’s words were cut off as he stared at me.
He seemed shocked.
Of course, he wouldn’t have expected to see me here.
I had told him I never wanted to meet him again, yet here we were.

"Hello."

The doctor took the opportunity to greet him politely.
Of course, the protagonist didn’t return the greeting.

"You took her as a hostage."

Han Sihoo’s voice dropped.
He was angry.

"Hostage? A hostage? Of course not. Miss Seoa came here on her own."

The doctor stroked my hair gently.

Pat, pat.

"Heehee."

Oh, that feels better than I thought.
The enhanced sensation made the touch even more pleasurable.
I wish he’d keep doing it.

"What did you do to Seoa?"

Han Sihoo asked, his face blank with shock.
He seemed deeply shaken.