Subscriber of the Gods Episode 162
Episode 162. Hercules’ Training
Boohoo-!
The fist of the giant Argus fell from above.
That fist, which contained tremendous power, was not something Ethan could block head-on right now.
bang-!
Ethan dodged Argos’ attack by stepping back, and at the same time prepared to counterattack.
But Argos hid himself in the darkness again, covering Ethan’s eyes that had adapted to the darkness and shaking his senses.
Boom-!
At the same time, Argos’ punches continued.
‘I can’t see it.’
But it wasn’t like I couldn’t see anything at all. Every now and then, when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see Argus’s gleaming eyes.
‘I can tell roughly where I am thanks to my eyes. But… … .’
Ironically, I couldn’t attack properly because of those eyes.
Flash-!
Argos watched Ethan’s movements with his thousand eyes. He moved his heavy body quickly to attack as if he knew every move Ethan would make.
Attacks kept coming from different directions than expected, to the point where it was difficult to completely avoid them.
Pfft-!
Ethan used all his strength to twist his sword and knock away the punch.
“Ugh, ugh.”
Ethan was breathing hard. It was really close. That one punch just now could have killed him.
Ethan’s shoulder was sore, even though he barely managed to get it out.
The same goes for the wrist that deflected the bastard’s attack.
Since only Hero’s Breath can be used here, defense or recovery through other abilities cannot be expected.
A single mistake could lead to death.
‘This is literally a trial, so you won’t really die. But… … .’
Ethan let out a short breath.
The hero’s breath circulated through his entire body, revitalizing his exhausted body.
“after.”
Extinction.
To combat the disease, Ethan has acquired numerous skills.
I tried to survive in many ways, such as subscribing to the gods of the new world, getting a good job, and obtaining equipment.
But it was literally just an effort to survive.
‘I tried to become stronger, but survival was more important. I put safety first.’
It is true that it is getting stronger, but there were some parts that were disappointing because the main purpose was to make the body healthy and cure illness.
‘It lacked depth.’
I had to delve a little deeper.
It was important to learn many skills, but it was also important to understand the skills I learned and use them reliably.
‘I had to take a risk. No risk, no return. I knew that.’
“after.”
Shaaaak-.
Again the surroundings grew dark, and Argus’ eyes could no longer be seen.
It was something he couldn’t see anyway. Ethan just closed his eyes.
‘Focus on other senses.’
Ethan took a deep breath. He forgot all about the other skills that he couldn’t use anyway.
Now I just focused on this breathing.
Suddenly, the words Hercules had said came to Ethan’s mind.
What he said to me when I first subscribed to his videos.
And the advice he gave me before this ordeal.
“They say that there are bound to be trials on the hero’s path. They also say that in order to overcome these trials, you must abandon reason and act instinctively.”
Of course, Ethan was not a hero. But it was clear that one had to be close to being a hero to meet the saint.
Ethan took a deeper breath.
As I focused on my breathing, all distracting thoughts gradually disappeared. I became someone who was trying to survive somehow against an unknown enemy.
The body moved on its own, relying solely on senses and instincts.
Boom-!
Once again Argos’ fist shattered the ground.
“Huh?”
Argos was puzzled when he didn’t see Ethan, who should have been flattened by his fist. It was clearly an unavoidable timing.
Phew-!
At that moment, one of Argos’ eyes burst open.
“Ughhhhh!”
Argos, whose eyes were gouged out, burst into rage and chased after Ethan.
With so many eyes following Ethan’s movements wherever he was, Argos’s fist was sure to land with precision.
Boom-!
But this time I missed it again.
“Whew.”
Pure white breath poured out of Ethan’s mouth. As he continued to breathe, his movements became faster and faster.
Bam-!
Ethan swung his sword again.
I forgot everything I had learned so far and focused only on my breathing.
‘Is this it?’
Ethan’s thoughts stirred within his instincts.
Hercules’ advice began to make sense.
“Grrrrrrr!”
Argos swung his fists indiscriminately in anger. With his thousand eyes, he predicted Ethan’s every move and swung his fists in a position where he could avoid it.
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!
But faster than that.
Argos’ eyes were bursting out.
Surely the darkness will be on his side.
Argos continued to track Ethan’s movements, but lost track of him from time to time.
Pok-! Pok-!
In contrast, Ethan continued to poke Argos’ eyes and burst them.
Argos did not understand this situation.
How can that little human move so well in this darkness as I do?
It’s obvious you can’t see ahead, so how can you move like that?
“Ugh.”
In an instant, one of Argos’ eyes caught Ethan’s movements.
He had his eyes closed.
So does that mean you can figure out your location solely by feeling and then precisely aim for the eyes?
Argos flinched for a moment in embarrassment.
Ethan took advantage of the gap and rushed in.
‘This is what they mean when they say that you have to abandon your reason in order to use it properly.’
There is no hesitation in instinct.
On the other hand, there was a hesitation in rational thought, a very small, barely perceptible time, but certainly slower than the instinctive movements.
In a fight against the strong, that short time was important. That small difference divided victory and defeat and determined life and death.
‘In my fight with the Twelve Apostles, I never once moved on instinct.’
We break away from the rational thinking we have maintained so far and give in to our instincts.
Ethan threw himself into the new horizon opened by the unfamiliar sense called instinct.
‘I think this would be a good lesson to use at the academy.’
Ethan smiled brightly and continued to attack Argos.
Argos, who is no longer able to detect Ethan’s movements and is helpless, is being attacked. Almost all of his thousand eyes have burst and now only ten remain.
“It’s the end.”
Ethan stabbed Argos in the eyes one after another. Argos fell forward with all his eyes blown out, and fell limp.
-You have cleared the first trial!
-Clear in the shortest time possible!
-Your score will be registered in the Hall of Gods!
[The Twelve Trials of Hercules]
standing.
1. [Subscribe to the right god] -156 points [NEW!]
2. [Plum Blossom Inspection] – 150 points [1↓]
3. [Monster Power] – 139 points [2↓]
… …
… …
… … .
“There’s even a ranking list? Is it because it’s a subscriber merger? Who knew there would be something this fun?”
Ethan pushed out the previously ranked first place Plum Inspection and took the new first place.
“It seems like other Shinsegae subscribers can see it too, so I don’t feel so bad.”
Ethan snickered and sat down for a moment.
“Hoooo.”
Argus with a thousand eyes approaches in the darkness.
Ethan realized why this Argos was the first trial.
It’s a high level of difficulty for the first trial, but you have to be able to move instinctively here to be able to proceed to the next trial.
“Besides, this darkness stimulates the survival instinct.”
The approaching horror in the darkness further stimulated Ethan’s survival instinct, making it easier for him to follow his instincts.
“Is this what it felt like?”
There were some people who couldn’t understand me when I was doing the Mepan.
The target was users who played instinctively, without thinking.
“I thought it was stupid. What if I keep doing that and lose all my strength to run away? Then it’ll all end there.”
But when I tried it myself, I realized that there was a clear intention behind that action.
“I was able to concentrate better.”
Telling people to abandon reason and act instinctively did not mean that they should fight without thinking.
The idea was to bring out the latent wildness in an instant and insert reason into that wildness to make the fight more immersive.
‘As if I were Hercules himself.’
As long as you have a strong belief that you can win the battle, there is no problem in fighting by surrendering to your instincts.
‘If you use this well, you can become much stronger than you are now.’
Survival is survival, but now you can pursue strength as well.
“I was missing something so simple.”
Ethan exhaled calmly, catching his breath.
-The second trial begins.
-Prepare for the ordeal.
The space that had been dark for a moment suddenly became bright.
And then a cave appeared before my eyes.
-The Second Ordeal: The Nemean Man-Eating Lion
-Hunt the man-eating lion!
“It would be better than a giant with a thousand eyes.”
Ethan entered the cave.
* * *
Hercules was preparing something with great care.
“Ahem, but he’s my premium subscriber. If he fails, I’ll have to show him how to do it myself along with some tips on how to succeed.”
Even though he was a major celebrity, he only had 10,000 subscribers in the new world.
At that time, I received help from a subscriber [only subscribes to the right god], and thanks to him, I was able to grow more than tenfold.
Moreover, the growth rate has not yet stopped.
Hercules continued to make videos of his various powers and how to use them effectively.
“I guess I should ask him to edit my new videos too.”
These twelve trials of Hercules are based on the trials that Hercules himself experienced.
Because of this, the difficulty level was terrifying.
At least five times.
Hercules thought that it was a challenge that he could clear even if he tried.
You can never succeed in one go.
“I gave you advice, but just because you listen to it doesn’t mean you can do it right away. You can tell at a glance that the subscriber is rational. If you think and act like that, you can’t win against beasts. They act instinctively first.”
It was said that the speed of instinct is much faster than the speed of thought.
“If you lose the speed of thought, it’s over.”
Beasts must be treated in the same way as beasts.
“It would be best if you could act instinctively while thinking rationally at every moment. That’s one of the things you’ll gain if you pass this ordeal.”
[Subscribe to the right god] If you are a subscriber, you will definitely clear it in three times, let alone five. And by then, you will be able to move instinctively and think rationally.
Guuung-.
Just then the door opened and Ethan came back, looking quite tired.
“It looks pretty tough. But my merged content is not easy. It’s a challenge, just like its name suggests. But don’t worry. There are more opportunities to challenge.”
Ethan said as he watched Hercules comforting him by patting his back.
“Cleared.”
fantasy,