Subscriber of the Gods Episode 9
Episode 9. Into the Dark Forest
-I did a good deed!
-The people of Pyrenees are infinitely grateful to you!
-You have achieved the [First Step to Good Deeds] achievement.
-You got ‘1’ like!
The back alley gang were definitely the bad guys. Thanks to that, I got my first achievement and got some likes.
The reward of 1 like may seem small at first glance, but it was important to gradually collect them, just as one like adds up to five and then ten.
There are so many achievements you can achieve, so you can get as many likes as you want.
‘Besides, I have gained quite a bit from this fight.’
The hero’s breath not only strengthens the body but also trains the mind, and with his current body, he can only use the speed of the Whicus swordsmanship.
‘I was able to catch the big guy by using poison, though.’
This swordsmanship was still in a state where it could not fully demonstrate its true power.
It was only 1 like, but I was planning to collect them little by little and use them all at once by subscribing and purchasing videos.
Suddenly a bitter smile appeared on my face.
‘I don’t usually do good deeds like this.’
Originally, in Mepan, there was no particular penalty for doing good deeds, whether you did them or not.
Of course, if you do good deeds, your reputation will improve in many ways. You can also gain fame depending on the good deeds you do.
However, because the criteria for this good deed were ambiguous, even if an act that seemed like a good deed now, such as saving a life, was done, it was impossible to know whether it would end up as a good deed or as an evil deed in the future.
‘That’s why no one did it.’
Other people would rather spend that time doing other sure things, like hunting, clearing dungeons, finding superhumans, or clearing the main scenario.
‘I did it the first time, but I didn’t do it the second or third time. I only started doing it in earnest the last time.’
There was no particular reason for doing good deeds. It wasn’t because I suddenly developed a kind heart, but because I was aiming for an all-clear.
‘But if it’s like this, there’s no reason not to do good deeds. The goal is to clear all the achievements.’
Ethan breathed slowly.
“Is everyone okay?”
“We are okay, since we are alive. May I ask who saved us?”
“This is Ethan Wickes.”
“As expected. Not all rumors are true!”
“thank you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The merchants had already noticed Ethan’s true identity.
It was natural, since this place was so close to the Count Wickers family.
Far from the Earldom, there would be many who did not know the name Ethan, but since this Pyrene was near the Earldom of Wickers, the name was somewhat known.
There was almost no one who didn’t know Ethan, who was once renowned as a swordsmanship genius.
“I will never forget this favor.”
The merchants repeatedly expressed their gratitude.
Since they had saved him from a near-death experience, they were prepared to give Ethan his liver and gallbladder.
“Do you have a warehouse where these guys keep their stuff?”
“Ah! You’re talking about poison! As expected. These guys are acting beyond their means. Those damned bastards!”
One of the merchants spat and pointed inside.
“I saw you earlier! Bringing poison from over there!”
There was a small warehouse inside.
Ethan headed straight towards the warehouse with Shudlen.
“young master.”
“Thank you for your hard work, Shudlen.”
“I didn’t do anything. You were much more powerful than that. I honestly didn’t know you were this strong.”
“It was nothing. And I only did it for the silver flower anyway.”
Schudlen’s eyes lit up as he looked at Ethan.
How can someone with such great character be like this?
Ethan scratched the back of his neck as he looked at those eyes.
‘I think there are quite a few misunderstandings. There’s no need to point them out.’
“First, I need to get the silver lining. I really need it.”
“Are you trying to make it into a medicinal herb?”
“Yeah. But I’m not going to eat it.”
“Yes? Then where do you plan to use it?”
“There’s someone you need to feed. It’s someone I met by chance, and he’s not feeling well either.”
‘Of course, it was forced to become bad.’
As he approached the warehouse, a distinct smell of silver sage wafted out. It seemed that not all of them had been processed into poison. Ethan went further inside.
‘They’ve made a mess of things. If the poison comes out even when made like this, then the recipe the Poison King gave is definitely amazing.’
When making poison, everything around you must be clean. That way, you can make the poison you want.
Anyone who uses poison must also know how to control the toxicity of the poison.
Ethan gathered up all the silver coins piled on one side.
And he quickly put the poisons into a nearby glass bottle and put them away.
‘That’s why I bought a subspace pocket.’
There was nothing better than storing a large quantity of items, even if it was very expensive. Now it was as convenient as having an inventory.
“You feel reassured.”
I got the silver lining I wanted and also got some poison.
When he came out of the warehouse, the merchants were still waiting for him.
Ethan sent them back.
“Everyone, go back. I’ll go and clean up the rest.”
“thank you!”
“thank you!”
Now they will not forget the debt Ethan has paid. Of course, nothing great will come of it, but isn’t that what good deeds are all about?
‘I get a like from that too.’
Shh.
“It’s a profitable business.”
* * *
“If the enemy had been even a little stronger, I would have had to run away.”
Ethan recalled the fight with the thugs.
Although I won safely, I only had enough strength left to run away.
“The skill level of Hero’s Breath has increased considerably. As expected, actual combat is the most important.”
Just breathing and breathing while fighting are completely different. And a hero’s breathing is a skill that shines in combat situations.
“It’s gone up 5 percent. I can breathe much deeper than before.”
Deep breathing can help you unleash even more power.
‘Ultimately, the lack of attack power must be resolved by understanding what has been learned more deeply.’
Then Schudlen came to see him.
“Your Majesty. Are you okay?”
“Shudlen. I need you to run an errand for me. I’m really exhausted, so could you buy me some food?”
“Oh, yes! I’ll buy it right away!”
Ethan, who had sent Shudlen on an errand, immediately used the False Acupuncture. The increased skill in breathing meant that the amount of mana accumulated also increased.
‘The mana that can be saved is saved, and the mana that has rotted is taken out again.’
Even as the mana was rotting away, mana was steadily accumulating little by little.
This small amount of mana seemed to create stamina for Ethan’s body.
‘The synergy between Hero’s Breath and Heuristic Acupuncture is really good.’
Ethan slowly breathed as he inserted his needles into each element. Rotten mana flowed out along with the hero’s breathing.
“after.”
Feeling his body fill up, Ethan thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring Schudlen over completely.
‘Originally, I couldn’t keep taking Schudlen with me.’
He is basically a man of the Countess of Wickes, not my own.
‘He has the skills to carry out various orders without question. He may not have overwhelming skills, but he has a definite loyalty to me.’
That was enough. What he needed now was a loyal subordinate who would do as he said.
Ethan immediately prepared to make the herbal medicine.
After taking the pot out of the subspace pocket, he immediately started boiling the medicine and muttered.
“The herbal medicine is effective, but when you become even weaker than you are now and it becomes difficult to handle, there will come a time when you will be too full to finish the herbal medicine. That’s how you will walk the path of a herbalist. A herbalist swordsman? I’ve heard of a herbalist wizard.”
After Ethan had eased his physical condition, he prepared to leave.
“Let’s go. Shudlen. Let’s eat on the way.”
* * *
The dark forest.
Ethan never stopped training to get to this point.
He woke up every day and practiced swordsmanship using the Hero’s Breath and treated his body with Heo-ryu acupuncture.
“Your Majesty. Are you okay?”
“It’s okay. So come with all your heart.”
Shudlen swung the sword he was holding.
At first, Schudlen looked very puzzled when he saw Ethan using acupuncture every day.
But I didn’t ask any more questions because he said it was for medical purposes.
Kyaang-!
Ethan trained with Shudlen every day. Shudlen had pretty decent swordsmanship skills, so he was the perfect training partner.
I raised my senses and increased my proficiency in the skills I had. I didn’t want to die from illness, but I also didn’t want to die because I was pushed aside by my skills.
As a result, the proficiency of false acupuncture and hero breathing skills increased considerably.
‘If you look at the numbers, it doesn’t seem to have gone up that much.’
However, the difference in perceived skill level was greater than the visible figures.
Bang! Bang!
“You clearly swing it the same way, but the power seems to change every day!”
Ethan felt the same way as Schudlen said.
‘I feel my body changing day by day.’
Because I was so weak, I gained some muscle and my bones were no longer visible.
Also, with acupuncture, you can now know where to insert the needle without having to watch the video.
Of course, it was still difficult to accumulate mana.
The mana I had accumulated would rot away in an instant, so I had to use acupuncture to remove the rotten mana.
Little by little, mana was accumulating.
And the thing that was trained with the hero’s breath was the body. First of all, it was necessary to make the body strong.
‘And it’s a fake acupuncture. It’s only 5% proficiency, but if it’s this good, I wonder what it’ll be like when it reaches 100% quality.’
When I reached 100 percent, I felt like I could use acupuncture freely.
After completing their training, the two moved forward again.
“Now is the time to get a little more nervous.”
The process of getting to the dark forest was not that difficult.
I didn’t know the way around the Wickers County because I hadn’t been there often, but I knew all the ways from the Firenze side to the Dark Forest.
That’s why Ethan knew how dangerous the Dark Forest was.
If you let your guard down even a little, you’ll be eaten by the monsters living here.
‘I guess I should do everything I can before I go in.’
“Your Majesty. Are you really going into the dark forest?”
Schudlen frowned slightly.
In fact, Ethan wasn’t the type to kindly explain the meaning of every action.
Schudlen didn’t bother asking either. His purpose was to escort Ethan.
“Yes. The person I’m looking for is in the dark forest right now.”
“It’s too dangerous, my lord. In the back alleys, there were actually some areas I could deal with. This isn’t the dark forest. This forest is a really dangerous place.”
“I know.”
“If you know, you shouldn’t go in. Your Majesty’s health is not completely fine, and I will have a hard time dealing with strong monsters if I go deep into the forest. If we go in like this, there is a high chance that we will both die. I don’t mind dying, but if I die without being able to protect you, that would be a shameful thing to do.”
The Dark Forest was certainly a dangerous place.
Among the many forests in Mepan, the forests with the modifier ‘dark’ all had dangerous monsters.
It was the influence of that sticky aura emanating from the forest.
Even if Ethan was in his original physical condition, the Dark Forest would have been dangerous, but with his weak body, there was no way he could handle the monsters in the forest.
“Don’t worry, I’ll run away if it feels dangerous.”
“Okay, I see. But who exactly are you going to meet in there? There’s probably nothing but monsters in the dark forest.”
“Someone who will save my life.”
* * *
Before entering the forest, Ethan made several preparations.
First, he pricked his own blood here and there with needles.
Because once you enter the dark forest, there may not be a time when you can use the false acupuncture.
“Oh. And there was one thing I didn’t see.”
And opened [a new world].
There were two Hercules videos, one of which Ethan had yet to see.
“The title is “Lion Hunting”. I don’t know if it will help.”
Ethan currently has a total of 7 likes.
To see the second video, I had to use a whopping four more likes.
‘It’s a shame, but I think the four values are clear.’
So Ethan pressed the video button without hesitation.
– Unlock additional videos by using likes.
‘what?’
The video that came out like that was somewhat simple.
The first video seemed to be trying to explain things well, but the second video was literally just a video of them catching a lion.
‘No, there is something.’
Ethan watched the video again and then realized.
“You’re beating them with a club, not with your fists.”
It was a video of nothing else.
I felt somewhat empty.
“I finally used the like button.”
It didn’t even get one like.
A whopping 4. That was more than half of the total likes Ethan currently had.
-Learned Hercules’ skills.
– Added Skill: Monsters’ Calamity (A)
But it’s not like I didn’t gain the skill.
“I definitely remember Hercules slaying a ton of monsters. What kind of skill did he have?”
Ethan tried using the skill right away, but there was no change.
‘I guess it can only be used if there is a target.’
I tried using the skill on Shudlen, who was in a light sleep. However, the skill did not activate.
‘Hmm. It doesn’t work on people. As the name suggests, it can only be used on monsters?’
In that case, I had no choice but to go into the forest.
Early the next morning.
Ethan entered the dark forest with Shudlen. Even though it was morning, the forest was dark.
There were glowing bugs, but that wasn’t enough, so Ethan and Shudlen took up the torches they had brought.
How much did it cost?
Suddenly a growling sound was heard.
“Crunch!”
“young master!”
Shudlen reacted quickly and swung his sword to block the monster.
It was a wolf with big teeth. Shudlen blocked it once, but a monster appeared from another direction.
Ethan aimed his sword at the bastard without hesitation.
‘hmm?’
A bright red dot appeared on the wolf for a moment.
Ethan knew what it was because of his years of experience.
‘Could it be… a weakness?’
Weak spots began to appear here and there on the wolf, like little dots.
“So that’s why it’s called the Calamity of Monsters?”
And then Ethan saw something he had never seen before.
“Is that by any chance… … .”
fantasy,
