Subscriber of the Gods - Chapter 79: Subscriber Community

Grand Horn.

Ethan entered further inside, pulling his sense to the maximum.

“Whoo…”

As he used Hero’s Breathing, his sense became sharper.

‘While my eyes have grown accustomed to the darkness, relying solely on them has its limitations. I need to awaken my sense with Hero’s Breathing. I should be able to sense any threat at any time.’

And if a threat came, he had to be ready to move immediately.

The monsters in Grand Horn were all threatening; a slight lapse in concentration could lead to death.

‘So, this place is ideal for growth. It forces you to concentrate. If your focus slips even a bit, that could mean death.’

With death on the line, he had no choice but to concentrate forcefully.

In this Grand Horn, he could raise his stamina to the limit.

‘I still have some time until the parent observation class. I’ll raise my stamina to the limit here before that day comes.’

-Grand Horn had been registered with Wind Cloud.

‘No need to sneak around now. I can get here instantly with Wind Cloud.’ (+)^[1]TLN: I think I made a mistake with translating Wind Cloud to Wind Movement. My mistake, sorry.

He also planned to work on achievements here.

‘Simultaneously working on achievements. It’s a chance to collect likes as well.’

Then, somewhere, a howl began to echo.

Ah-oo-oo-oo.

It was the howl of a wolf.

Various types of wolves lived in Grand Horn.

The Golden Wolf was the strongest, followed by the Blue Wolf.

Just as their names implied, the Blue Wolf had blue fur and they formed packs to hunt.

‘They seem to be nearby.’

Ethan felt a pack’s presence around him.

“Grrrrrr.”

“Grr.”

Together with the seemed to be the leader, dozens of wolves surrounded Ethan in an instant, their eyes glinting in the darkness.

Only their glowing red eyes were visible; their bodies were concealed. The fear they emitted was palpable.

[lv 55]

Although their level was lower than the monsters he had hunted before, their hunting skills were superior.

The wolves gazed at Ethan, who stood still, and growled softly. These monsters also had Fear.

Prey that sensed Fear would freeze.

“Grrrrr!”

The wolves, sensing his condition, charged with a growl.

Dozens of wolves moved as a single body. Through countless hunts, they had instinctively learned how to attack prey effectively.

Ethan moved in an instant.

The wolves, which thought he was caught by Fear, used their front legs to change direction. As if they were living whirlwinds, they moved to his right and attempted to circle behind Ethan.

Shaaak.

Frost Sword – Lea’s emerged from the scabbard, emanating a blue chill.

Ethan actively used the Eye of Horus.

At the moment, Ethan could track up to fifteen targets simultaneously with his eyes. Anything beyond that couldn’t be followed even with the Eye of Horus.

“Frost Sword.”

A variation of Frost Slash, it gathered its power into a pinpoint thrust.

Unconsciously, Ethan’s eyes widened due to its power.

‘Do they complement each other?’

The Eye of Horus was incredible. Monsters whose weaknesses were visible due to Monsters’ Calamity revealed by the Eye of Horus.

Normally, the small, blurry red dots should have been difficult to see, but they were vividly visible.

Shaaak!

As the vanguard wolf froze in an instant, the wolves approaching from behind were forced to change their direction and pounced on Ethan.

‘A gap!’

The changed direction created a gap. Although it was tiny, to Ethan with the Eye of Horus, it felt like a gaping hole.

Thud! Thwack!

Ethan swung his sword consecutively.

The wolves fell before they could sink their teeth into him, missing by a sheet of paper.

Grrr!

As five wolves went down, the rest pulled back and regrouped. Then, acknowledging Ethan’s strength, they formed a different kind of encirclement from before.

‘My eyes hurt a lot.’

His eyes throbbed with pain, and he wanted to rest them, but he couldn’t afford to. The wolves’ attacks would come any moment.

‘Indeed, real combat is different.’

When using the Eye of Horus to observe students’ movements in class, he didn’t experience such pain.

There was fatigue, but not this level of agony.

‘Does the strain on the eyes change with the opponent’s movements?’

The Eye of Horus was essentially a gadget for comprehending all movements.

Regardless of the movement, he could see it, understand it, and penetrate it.

However, as the level increased, so did the fatigue it caused.

Exactly like now.

‘Pain’s intensity changes according to the opponent’s movements and my level, huh? Still, it’s a pretty good ability.’

At higher levels, his eyes wouldn’t be able to keep up.

However, the Eye of Horus traded pain for insight. It allowed him to see things he couldn’t at his current level.

“Blessing of Nature.”

First, Ethan used an ancient magic, Blessing of Nature, to protect himself.

“Grrrr!”

This time, three wolves formed a group to attack Ethan. Two targeted his lower body while the other withdrew slightly to exploit any gap.

‘The first two are the decoys.’

And the real one was behind.

Forming groups like this, they surrounded Ethan widely. Then, they attacked fiercely, leaving no gap this time either.

Ethan’s pupils moved roughly.

The Eye of Horus automatically grasped the wolves’ movements.

Swipe.

As Ethan stepped back and stomped the ground powerfully, he embedded his Frost Sword into the ground.

The wolf, which initially thought Ethan would swing, was bewildered. But it quickly opened its mouth wide and lunged at Ethan.

Shaaak.

Chill spread from the ground, filling the surroundings with frost. The wolves standing on the earth froze instantaneously.

‘Actively utilize it!’

Ethan actively utilized the power of this frost.

Basic Frost Sword power and the power of the skill were both strong.

‘Swordsmanship is still swordsmanship.’

Yet Ethan’s body wasn’t yet in a state to withstand a strong impact.

If he were to be hit properly just once – for example, by a claw attack from the Blue Wolf that was currently swinging beside him – it could potentially be fatal.

“Grrr!”

Being well aware of this, Ethan didn’t stop using the Eye of Horus, even if it caused excruciating pain that felt like his eyes were about to burst.

“Huff, huff.”

It wasn’t easy. And that’s why he had come to fight these monsters in Grand Horn.

Ethan continued to swing his sword relentlessly.

Kaang!

“Damn it!”

However, dozens of wolves were observing Ethan’s attack pattern. They momentarily increased their speed, discovering Ethan’s blind spot.

Thwack-!

He managed to evade the attacking onslaught of over a hundred wolves, but eventually, he had to allow an attack through. Yet Ethan had already anticipated such a situation.

-Moonlight Defense!

-Attack nullified!

‘I gained this in preparation for situations like this.’

Ethan, who nullified the wolves’ attack, quickly moved his hand to the wolf that had tried to bite him and swung his sword.

“Grr!”

The wolf whimpered and recoiled.

“Huff…”

-Hero’s Breathing proficiency has increased!

As the combat continued, a sense of excitement welled up.

Ethan, using Hero’s Breathing slowly, regained his composure.

‘That attack. If I block the initial assault with Moonlight Defense but can’t prevent the subsequent attacks…’

“Come.”

Intentionally revealing a vulnerability to the wolves, Ethan baited them.

The wolves didn’t miss this vulnerability. Despite it being deliberately shown, their attacks were still fierce enough to momentarily confuse Ethan.

Thud-!

This time, an attack landed squarely.

“As expected.”

Although Ethan had fortified himself with Blessing of Nature, his health took a significant hit.

“Whiskers Swordsmanship.”

Ethan separated himself from the wolves again, pierced the wolves that charged in succession, and knocked them down.

But he couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

‘I’m feeling it anew. Just how serious Extinction is.’

But blaming it all on Extinction wouldn’t work.

To avoid danger, he was plunging into danger. It was contradictory, yet absolutely necessary.

“Focus.”

Swoosh-!

Amidst the charging wolves, Ethan leaped forward.

Having been countering their attacks, Ethan now suddenly lunged between them, confusing the wolves.

“No second chances.”

Having taken one attack, Ethan concentrated even harder, swinging his sword with all his might to hunt down the Blue Wolves.

“Grrr!”

Blood streamed from Ethan’s eyes, and he roughly wiped it away with his sleeve.

His whole body was drenched in sweat, yet his heart remained calm.

“Real-world experience is undoubtedly important.”

As Ethan had successfully pierced and hunted down the last wolf, a notification window appeared before him.

-Achievement unlocked!

-You have obtained likes for unlocking the [Wolf Hunter] achievement.

-You have gained ‘2’ likes!

The [Wolf Hunter] achievement could be obtained by hunting down 30 or more wolves. The more that number increased, the different the achievements became.

‘The last one was the wolf slayer if I remember correctly? The rewards were pretty good.’

Ethan remained seated right there and drank the decoction he had brought with him in large gulps.

“Huff.”

Then he immediately stood up and started processing and collecting the wolves’ materials.

“I can’t afford to miss these.”

Stamina and likes. Tonight, he had secured the two things he desired.

“But there’s still a lot to improve. I can see everything with the Eye of Horus. But I can’t cover all the blind spots.”

Attacks coming through blind spots were invisible, so seeing through them was impossible.

“Even though I blocked with Moonlight Defense. In the end, there are limitations.”

Thuck. Thuck. Thuck.

Maximizing his body’s recovery with Heo’s Acupuncture, Ethan glanced around briefly and then sat near a tree that looked safe.

‘I need to improve. It would be good to subscribe to one more new deity.’

“By the way, the Eye of Horus is doing a great job. It even influences the Monsters’ Calamity.”

The weaknesses of the wolves weren’t really visible. If it weren’t for the Eye of Horus, those blurry weaknesses would have caused more trouble.

Thinking he should subscribe to a deity who could complement his current abilities, like the Eye of Horus, Ethan activated the New World.

Ding!

-Conditions have been met.

-Subscribed to four or more deities, and utilized [New World] for a certain period.

-[New World Subscriber Community] has opened!

“Huh?”

Ethan closely read the newly appeared notification.

“A subscriber community?”

• 1. TLN: I think I made a mistake with translating Wind Cloud to Wind Movement. My mistake, sorry.

Author’s Thoughts

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