Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 55
>Chapter Title: Foundation (5)
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Misunderstanding Il-mok's point, that mad physician lit up with excitement in his eyes and spoke.
"Narcotics... If you're thinking of it as using something evil to inversely heal the mind, then it seems like a name that truly suits our Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Vice Leader!"
Il-mok's head began to ache.
Come to think of it, in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, "demon" wasn't a word used in a negative sense.
"That's not it. It means a drug that harms the mind as well. The people who come to the Serene Heart Pavilion already have troubled minds, so how could we give them something harmful to the spirit?"
At Il-mok's objection, the chief physician looked at the young doctor with an expression of utter incomprehension.
"There's a saying, 'with poison, counter poison,' Vice Leader. Moreover, what is poison to one person can be medicine to another. Couldn't what you've called narcotics also be medicine for someone?"
With even the leader of the physicians stepping forward like this, Il-mok grew fearful.
'If I don't stop this properly right now, it'll turn into a massive disaster.'
These cultists who were already zealots—what if they started dabbling in narcotics too?
He couldn't even begin to imagine the catastrophe that would unfold.
And the most horrifying part was that he himself was at risk of falling into the same trap.
When the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword had overwhelmed him and driven him to the Serene Heart Pavilion. These guys might prescribe what they called medicine—narcotics.
Pondering how to persuade them, a memory from his modern life flashed in Il-mok's mind.
"Bring Officer Gwan here immediately!"
At Il-mok's command, one of the physicians hurried off and soon returned with Gwan Mu-yeol.
"Greetings, Vice Leader."
Gwan Mu-yeol clasped his hands in salute, and Il-mok casually returned the gesture before cutting straight to the point.
"Officer Gwan. I have a question about that poisonous mushroom you used last time."
Perhaps because it touched on his shame, Gwan Mu-yeol flinched for a moment.
But having found some peace of mind recently, he straightened his posture and answered seriously.
"Please ask."
"You said that consuming a small amount of that poisonous mushroom brings hallucinations and calms the mind. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, it is."
"And what happens after that?"
"...I'm not sure what you're getting at."
"Even after returning to daily life, didn't that poisonous mushroom keep coming to mind?"
"...Yes, it did."
Il-mok nodded at Gwan Mu-yeol's response, then turned to the physicians and said.
"This is the greatest problem with the narcotics I mentioned. Narcotics are a demon you can't stop once you've touched it. That's why they're called narcotics."
It was about addiction, but not merely chemical components.
Back when he was Seo Ji-hoon. While browsing the internet, he had stumbled upon a narcotic addict's account that described exactly this.
The pleasure from narcotics was an immense ecstasy no human could experience in daily life. But that pleasure was the devil's trap.
Once the brain was soaked in a bliss it had never known in a lifetime, it could never return to normal life.
Il-mok asked the mad physician who had discovered the narcotics.
"Physician Seo. When in your life were you happiest?"
At the question, the physician glanced at the chief physician before turning back to Il-mok and answering.
"...It was the day the esteemed Chief Physician first recognized me as a true physician."
"Then, imagine picking up a single coin from the dirt floor right now. Could you compare that to the happiness of that day?"
"Absolutely not. Compared to the joy of that day, picking up a single coin or not makes no difference at all."
"That's exactly why narcotics are demonic. The moment you experience them, that happiest moment in your life will feel less than finding a single coin."
"!?"
The physicians looked utterly unconvinced, but Il-mok turned to Gwan Mu-yeol and asked.
"The peace you gained from that poisonous mushroom. Could you find any greater peace in everyday life?"
"...No, I couldn't. That's why it kept coming to mind."
Nodding at Gwan Mu-yeol's answer, Il-mok addressed the physicians.
"Whether achieving dreams through effort, succeeding from accomplishments, sharing love with a lover, bonding with a child, or awakening to truth through doctrine—the myriad joys of daily life become unfelt by a brain exposed to narcotics. Why? Because it has already tasted a happiness of incomparable magnitude."
The brain's threshold for happiness and pleasure becomes so elevated that no joy except narcotics can register.
And the final part of that post Seo Ji-hoon had read said this.
Seeing people high on narcotics in movies or dramas might spark curiosity.
And some might even think:
'If I just try it once and quit, I won't get addicted, right?'
The author warned that even that one time would erase all everyday joys and plunge you into an eternal hell from which there's no escape.
So, it was necessary to seal it off completely from the start, making it untouchable.
But the chief physician raised a counterargument.
"However, this is the Serene Heart Pavilion. For those who come here suffering from depression or helplessness, it seems like unparalleled medicine. At least it frees them from depression and helplessness, doesn't it? Officer Gwan ate that poisonous mushroom for the same reason, didn't he?"
It sounded reasonable at first glance, but Il-mok shook his head.
"Think the opposite. The moment ordinary people touch narcotics, daily life feels boring, dull, and depressing. Then, when patients here recover from the effects of narcotics—what emotions do you think they'll feel?"
"!!!"
"Daily life will feel like living hell. They'll only see two choices: death or taking more narcotics. That's exactly why, in this Serene Heart Pavilion, narcotics must be absolutely forbidden."
In the ensuing silence, the young physician, still not fully convinced, asked.
"Then, prescribing this drug continuously until the side effects subside..."
"That's nonsense. It's something that forcibly makes a person's mood joyful, induces hallucinations or auditory delusions. Do you really think it has no side effects on the brain and body?"
And so, the debate over narcotics at the Serene Heart Pavilion was more or less settled thanks to Il-mok's fierce opposition.
Any medicinal texts or folk remedies mentioning ingredients that forcibly induce joy or cause hallucinations or delusions were to be strictly prohibited.
"Thank you for sharing your experience, Officer Gwan."
"Not at all, Vice Leader."
Patting Gwan Mu-yeol's shoulder, which seemed somehow bitter, Il-mok comforted him.
"Still, your willpower is incredibly strong, which is fortunate. By consuming only small amounts and avoiding it as much as possible, you've endured. I believe you can overcome it and make a full recovery."
"I will strive to live up to your expectations, Vice Leader."
After Gwan Mu-yeol saluted and departed.
Il-mok held a private meeting with the chief physician, as there was unfinished business from earlier.
"I couldn't say this with the other physicians present, but there is one case where narcotics can be used."
"!?"
Il-mok added to the chief physician's bewildered expression.
"However, it must be used in a general clinic, not here."
"In a clinic?"
"Yes. In situations of extreme agony, for patients on the brink of death, or during procedures involving horrific pain, it can be used as a painkiller."
It was the only legitimate use of narcotics even in the modern world—in hospitals or on battlefields, for those suffering from terrible illnesses or injuries.
"But as I said earlier, narcotics are far too dangerous. In my view, only the clinic master should be allowed to prescribe them, and they must be forbidden except in cases where life is truly at risk."
"That's why you told me separately when the others weren't around."
Nodding in understanding, the chief physician muttered to himself.
"Pain relief..."
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he looked at Il-mok and said.
"Perhaps when Hua Tuo extracted the arrow from Guan Yu's shoulder, he used these narcotics!"
Reaching that conclusion, the chief physician, true to his medical mania, began spinning various ideas.
"Hahaha! This might make possible all sorts of treatments we haven't dared attempt because they seemed unbearable!"
Sighing at the visibly delighted chief physician, Il-mok said.
"I did ask you to use it with utmost caution."
"Don't worry. I'll only use it for those so dangerously ill they're going to die anyway. For anyone else, there's no need to attempt risky treatments. Hahaha."
Il-mok found the chief physician's confident attitude deeply unsettling, so that night, he went to see the Heavenly Demon.
Il-mok relayed everything about the narcotics discussion and his own opinions.
And the next morning.
A solemn edict from the Heavenly Demon descended upon the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
- The use, research, or prescription of narcotics or any suspected narcotic ingredients is permitted only to the Serene Heart Pavilion Master and Clinic Masters.
- Should the Serene Heart Pavilion Master or any Clinic Master show signs of excessive prescription, use, or research of narcotics, they shall face extreme execution.
* * *
Even after the narcotics uproar settled, time flew by swiftly.
At the Serene Heart Pavilion, they researched restricted narcotic ingredients, seeking those affecting mental illnesses.
And they achieved modest gains.
The young physician who had first suggested using narcotics to Il-mok conducted various experiments inspired by his words.
From the idea that escaping the effects worsened depression, he experimented with substances that improved mood.
As a result, they discovered that foods high in sugar, like candy (sugar), actually amplified depression and anxiety.
Eating sweets might improve mood initially, but afterward, it made one even more depressed and anxious.
Without advanced science, they couldn't uncover the biological or chemical mechanisms, but discovering this fact alone was a great achievement.
Additionally, building on "black beans," they experimented with various teas and fruit preserves.
Consequently, most teas stocked in the kitchen were discarded, and a few special ones that stabilized body and mind were identified.
Il-mok began favoring those teas as well.
'This scent is similar to the tea Team Leader Lee Ji-yeon drank.'
Such thoughts crossed his mind.
Whether it was psychological or not, avoiding high-sugar foods and drinking that tea seemed to slightly alleviate his obsessive symptoms.
Meanwhile, the remaining two months passed in a flash.
"Hahaha. Excellent."
Watching Il-mok unleash the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, the Heavenly Demon stroked his beard and let out an unwitting hearty laugh.
Thanks to the raid by Jang Hoe-ui, Il-mok had stepped into the sword aura realm, but initially, it was half-baked.
He couldn't create it freely and could only manifest sword aura when using his most familiar Soul-Stealing Ready Sword.
But now, half a year later, he could generate and maintain sword aura throughout all fourteen forms of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword.
Provided he had the internal energy, that is.
Absurdly, even after consuming the Explosive Demon Pill, his internal energy couldn't keep up with his realm.
Thanks to that, he could wield sword aura freely, but lacking internal energy, Il-mok struggled to sustain it for long.
Tempted by the sight, the Heavenly Demon even proposed to Il-mok.
"How about taking another Explosive Demon Pill?"
At the suggestion, Il-mok recoiled as if having a fit and refused.
"It would violate fairness, Master. As the Heavenly Demon whom all in the cult revere, you must set the example—so I must do the same, mustn't I?"
The Heavenly Demon was greatly pleased by Il-mok's response, unaware of his true inner thoughts.
'I'm already suffering side effects; taking another Explosive Demon Pill might land me in the Serene Heart Pavilion instead of the Demonic Path Academy.'
Oblivious to Il-mok's real feelings, the Heavenly Demon simply rejoiced.
"Hahaha. At this level, your skill rivals when my firstborn entered the Demonic Path Academy. Achieving it in just a year—truly astonishing."
"You overpraise me."
"I like your lack of arrogance. Indeed. You've only mastered the first fourteen forms, so now I'll teach you the latter eight. After learning the forms and essentials here, complete the latter eight at the Demonic Path Academy."
At the Heavenly Demon's words, Il-mok sighed inwardly.
'The time has come already.'
In just a few days, the Demonic Path Academy entrance exam would begin.
It had been scheduled since he was first dragged into the cult.
Back then, he wondered if he could even pass, but now, everyone took his acceptance for granted.
'The Demonic Path Academy...'
Having learned about the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, whenever Il-mok wrote about the Demonic Path Academy in his journal, he used a different name.
'Preliminary Mental Patient Detention Center.'