Chapter 5

The Subscribers of the Gods Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Plan Was Made

To become a squire in the lord's castle, one needed to have a certain level of skill.

This was because one had to be able to handle various situations.

Liman had to deal with various odd jobs and tasks that required strength within the castle, so he had a certain level of martial prowess.

Clang!

Thus, he easily blocked Eidan's wooden sword with his crossed hands.

But his arms ached so much that his whole body trembled.

He couldn't help but let out a groan.

"Ugh."

He could only inwardly exclaim.

Clearly on the verge of death, where did he get such strength from?

The strength wasn't that great; it was just that the attack hit a precise spot.

'Bones must be broken.'

But the precise attack did indeed hit his bones.

It had only been a fortnight since he started training. He was said to have been originally skilled, but after his body ached, his muscles had all wasted away.

'What's going on?'

Until recently, Young Master Eidan had even found it difficult to walk.

How could he wield a wooden sword so accurately!

It even seemed as if there were muscles in his arms that shouldn't be there.

"Huff. Huff."

But Eidan was in a very exhausted state.

"Y-Young Master! Young Master! Please listen to me!"

"I'll listen. Keep talking."

Saying this, Eidan continued to swing his wooden sword.

Thud! Thud!

Eidan, who attacked only the bone parts with precision, left Liman unable to counterattack.

The Hero's Breath was indeed a technique that awakened every cell in the body.

Eidan's frail body had gained some muscle through this breathing technique. With such a state, even with insufficient strength, his attacks had power.

As he continued to attack, Liman eventually allowed a proper strike.

He should have retreated more calmly, but the pain was greater than expected, so he retreated hastily.

'An opening!'

Eidan didn't miss this opening.

Snap!

With a crisp sound, the wooden sword hit his head.

"Ah! No, really, I'm sorry!"

The pain was so intense that tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to counterattack, but Eidan's movements were much faster than expected.

Clearly, he shouldn't have been able to wield a wooden sword properly. How could he be so fast and powerful?

Thus, all Liman could do was make excuses and run away.

Eidan only sneered and didn't stop his attacks.

"I've dealt with many people like you. They go to someone who has something they desperately want and try to take it by force."

One of the reasons for the extreme difficulty of the game was the abundance of such characters who constantly betrayed the players.

Eidan had truly experienced this many times. He had been betrayed many times and had dealt with many such situations.

Through this process, he learned one lesson.

'If you don't finish it properly, they'll come back.'

Gratitude is quickly forgotten, but grudges are remembered for a long time.

There had been many times when someone he had spared came back to block his path.

Therefore, Eidan had no intention of dealing with this half-heartedly.

'If you're going to deal with it, do it thoroughly. If you're going to show mercy, do it grandly.'

If you do it half-heartedly, the result will be ambiguous.

"Ugh!"

Eidan struck Liman's head again. Liman fell, but Eidan didn't stop.

- Hero's Breath activated.

- Vitality fills the body!

"I'll use you as a living punching bag."

Eidan laughed and swung his wooden sword wildly.

* * *

"Ugh."

"Are you awake?"

Eidan's room.

Liman tried to get up as soon as he opened his eyes, but he couldn't.

His limbs were already tightly bound.

"Y-Young Master! I was wrong. I had the wrong thoughts. Please, please forgive me."

Liman quickly assessed the situation and burst into tears.

"I have a sick mother. I must have gone mad trying to earn money for her treatment. I'm truly sorry."

His tears and snot showed genuine sincerity.

If this was an act, he should be hired as an actor immediately.

However, Eidan's gaze was cold.

"Liman."

"Yes, Young Master. I'm truly sorry. Please forgive me just this once."

"Don't worry. You have a sick mother? That's unbearable. I know how it feels to be sick. I'll tell the steward to take care of your mother."

"Thank you. Thank you. Really. Thank you for forgiving me."

"Forgive? What nonsense?"

Eidan smiled and flicked his hand.

A long acupuncture needle appeared. It was made of mana.

"You have a sick mother, you say. I'll find and take care of her. But you have to pay the price here. You need to know who you messed with."

He then plunged the needle into Liman's shoulder.

Eidan had hit him so many times that his body was already a mess.

'This is a great opportunity to practice the Phantom Acupuncture.'

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

He let out a rough scream.

"Save... save me! Someone, please!"

"It's getting noisy. Someone will come, but don't worry."

Eidan leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"It'll be over before they get here."

* * *

The steward of the viscount's family, Mirelli, was shocked by the state of the young master in front of him.

And even more shocked by the state of the squire, Liman, beside him.

"Steward."

"Y-What happened? Young Master? I heard screams! Are you alright! I'm sorry. I should have been more attentive..."

"There was an incident."

Eidan briefly explained the situation to the steward. When he finished, the steward's eyes widened.

"Please deal with it thoroughly."

Dark circles were under Eidan's eyes. He had a rather handsome appearance.

Especially those frail eyes.

When he spoke with those eyes that made you want to protect him, the steward was enraged.

To attack such a frail young master, and to try to rob him!

"Y-You scum. To do such scum work in the House of Viscount Hickers! I'm sorry, Young Master. It's my fault for not managing properly. I'll deal with this scum thoroughly!"

The steward's terrifying gaze was fixed on Liman.

But Liman's eyes were already empty.

As if he were already dead.

"Please take care of it."

'This is enough.'

Eidan quietly smiled to himself.

The steward would surely handle it properly.

Daring to attack the eldest son of the viscount, he wouldn't be left alive.

Eidan handed Liman over to the steward and immediately returned to the training ground.

'This is indeed a great skill.'

Hercules was indeed a hero god.

Following what he learned, his body condition improved quickly.

'And the Phantom Acupuncture. The proficiency level rises quickly when practiced without hesitation.'

In many ways, the Phantom Acupuncture needed to be practiced roughly and thoroughly. It needed to be used on himself, but it was better if there was someone to practice on.

* * *

After dealing with Liman, Eidan focused on training again.

Thanks to the Hero's Breath, his body, which had only bones, started to gain some muscle. He could now swing the wooden sword fifty times, whereas he couldn't even do ten before.

- The proficiency level of Hero's Breath has increased by 0.3%!

"Even though I'm working so hard, the proficiency level doesn't seem to be rising much."

His body was improving, but the speed at which the skill's proficiency level increased was slowing down.

'The proficiency level of a skill is more important than I thought.'

No matter how high the skill's level, if the proficiency level is low, it can be outperformed by a lower-level skill with high proficiency.

Therefore, it was necessary to consistently work on proficiency.

'Learning is not enough. I need to make it my own.'

"Next is acupuncture."

After finishing the training with the Hero's Breath, he immediately started practicing the Phantom Acupuncture.

Acupuncture was the only way to improve his current condition.

'If I increase the proficiency level of the Phantom Acupuncture, my chances of survival will keep rising.'

Eidan immediately played a video. He carefully observed how the Huh Jun in the video placed the needles and treated the points.

Then he practiced on his own body.

"I can't fail."

Holding his breath, he inserted the needle without a single movement.

Poke!

Fortunately, it seemed to be done correctly.

"The mana channels seem to be a bit wider."

'Good. I'm a bit healthier.'

He had bought more time and built up some basic stamina. Now he needed to prepare for the next step.

'I need to find a reliable subordinate and meet the saint.'

To cure his illness, he needed to meet a saint who could perform miracles. If he met the saint, he could be cured for sure.

'The fastest way to meet the saint is already in my mind.'

The saint was not someone you could easily meet. Meeting a saint by chance was almost impossible.

'There are no characters I can meet by chance that are saints.'

To meet the saint, certain conditions were needed. One of them was reputation.

'In the game, reputation points were quite important. The higher the reputation, the higher the chance of meeting the saint.'

First, he needed to build up his reputation.

'To build reputation, I need to gather the right pieces.'

There were various elements in the game to become stronger. The easiest and fastest way was to obtain superpowers.

These superpowers were a kind of hidden piece.

Obtaining these superpowers gave the owner great power, and there were many types.

From attack skills to defense skills, evasion skills, and more.

Obtaining them was the easiest and fastest way to become strong, but the process of obtaining them was quite difficult.

'Once obtained, you can become strong, but the process of obtaining them is very difficult. No matter how good a superpower is, if it's hard to obtain, many people give up.'

The better the superpower, the more guardians were present at the location where it could be obtained, making it difficult to get.

'But there is a way. I don't need to gather all the superpowers. I just need the ones I need now.'

The superpower Eidan currently needed most was one that could cover his frail body.

Acupuncture was helping to improve his frail condition, but it wasn't perfect.

Therefore, he needed to obtain the most necessary superpower.

'That's it.'

The superpower he needed most in his current situation came to mind.

"Then I need to make a plan."

To move, he needed to prepare.