Subscriber of the Gods

Chapter 16: Quest cleared

When he first started playing MePan, he would just bump into anything.

Wherever he went, there were a lot of strange things, and it was fun to uncover them one by one, so if there was something suspicious or a suspicious place, he would go there.

And if there were monsters that he had never seen before, he would go there.

He was always looking for hidden dungeons and treasure chests and things like that.

So once he finished the first playthrough, in the second playthrough, he used the wealth of knowledge he gained in the first playthrough to get good things quickly.

But after the third playthrough, he changed his approach.

It was true that it took less time to clear, but it was also true that it became too easy and not fun.

As a result, he often purposely played without getting them in order to increase the difficulty on his own.

But he didnt have to do that this time. No, he shouldnt.

He had to get everything he could get.

Anything that would help him in the slightest!

The difficulty increased on its own. This was the story of a life-or-death situation.

Arriving at Yericas hut, Ethans first priority was to gather all the herbs in the area.

He gathered every last one of them.

Anything with even a hint of medicinal value, he stuffed into his subspace pouch.

Oh.

There were certainly some pretty good herbs in the Dark Forest.

There were many types of mosses, as well as potent sap from mushrooms and trees.

These could be put into glass bottles and used to make potions and decoctions.

And so, for twenty minutes or so, he gathered them without saying a word.

When Yerica gave Ethan a strange look, Schudlen smiled and explained.

Hes a thrifty person.

Only when Ethan was done gathering he entered the hut with Yerica.

Once inside, there were quite a few items. There was a jar on the floor, and Ethan unwittingly picked it up and smashed it.

Clang!

What are you doing?

Yerica asked, frowning.

Ethan apologized with an apologetic look on his face.

Im sorry, I broke it without realizing it.

There was always something in the jar. Usually money or other consumable items. So breaking the jar was a basic task.

His mind was elsewhere, and he had gotten into the habit of looting without realizing it.

I feel like Im back in my first playthrough.

Luckily, it was an unimportant jar, and Yerica didnt say anything.

She also had a subspace pocket, so she stuffed everything in the hut into it.

Come to think of it, theres a main scenario in the game.

Originally, the condition for clearing MePan was to clear the main scenario.

Of course, in order to beat the main scenario, players had to do a lot of side quests, and they had to collect a lot of things that could be used in the main scenario.

I dont need to do that this time.

Ethans goal wasnt to save the continent.

The continent could be saved by anyone, and there are plenty of heroes.

In other words, he just needed to find a way to live.

After gathering everything in the hut, Yerica pulled out something from a hidden place.

It was an ore that shone like a star, and Ethans eyes lit up momentarily.

Where did you get that?

t was my grandfathers. He was going to give it to my mother, but he ended up giving it to me. He said it would prevent bad luck, but I ended up like this: it didnt prevent anything, and it didnt protect me.

It had been a precious object at first, but over time it had become a source of resentment.

Ethan asked cautiously.

Are you going to throw it away?

Yes. Holding on to it makes me feel bad.

Then why dont you sell it to me?

Yerica narrowed her eyes at Ethans words.

I actually dont know what this glowing ore is, but it looks like its a pretty valuable item since you want it. Do you happen to know what it is?

Of course, there was no way Ethan didnt know that. The identity of that starry yellow ore.

Anyone who played MePan was bound to know.

Its.

Ethan said in a serious voice.

Its gold.

Dont lie to me.

She was sharper than he thought.

* * *

In MePan, stats were pretty important.

Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Intelligence.

These four stats could be increased by leveling up, but basically, players couldnt just increase the stats they wanted.

Your stats increase based on your actions.

For example, if players wanted to increase their intellect, they could level it up by reading a lot of books or practicing magic.

But theres an artifact that can raise the stats you want.

The yellow ore that Yericas grandfather had left behind was an artifact that could raise any stat, and it was called a Stat Stone.

It was so rare that MePan players would run for it with their eyes lit up.

If its that big, its going to raise at least 30.

30 was a huge number.

Every time a player leveled up, their stats would increase by 1, or sometimes 2 if they had a lot of training.

So that was at least a 30-level gain for this one Stat Stone.

Ill be honest with you, thats a very precious ingredient.

You just said its gold.

I meant its as precious as gold.

At Ethans words, she couldnt hide her suspicion.

But then she relaxed her expression.

She was going to throw it away anyway, and he was offering to help her.

Since you said you were going to remove my bodys curse anyway, Ill give you this in return. Ill give it to you if you remove my bodys curse, Ethan.

Yerica was actually curious.

If he wanted to use her as an escort, he would have to remove the curse on her body.

Only then would she be able to use the knowledge in her head and the magic that her grandfather, an archmage, had used.

Yerica has tried everything and worked tirelessly.

She must be able to use her grandfathers magic if she wished to survive against those who would steal it.

Lets do that.

Ethan tried to suppress the corner of his mouth that threatened to curl into a smile and took the artifact.

I cant believe this is here.

He had gotten smaller stat stones before, but never one this size.

An unexpected gain.

Just a little longer, please. I have more luggage.

While she gathered her things. Ethan stepped back and safely consumed the stat stone on the spot.

Gulp.

Although outwardly it looked like ore, it was still some sort of food that could be chewed.

-Powerful powers are inside you!

-You can choose which power you want to increase!

Strength, stamina, agility, intelligence.

There was only one thing Ethan needed right now.

Stamina.

It was the easiest stat to increase in the beginning, but once it went over a certain number, it would remain fixed and not increase.

All the other stats can continue to increase as long as you keep honing your skills.

But the stamina stat was different.

Stamina is literally something youre born with, and its very limited.

But if there was a stat stone, that limit could be completely broken.

If I use a stat stone to increase my stamina and break through it, my natural limitations will be greatly increased.

The body, weakened by the curse, was restored to its original state by the increase in stamina.

Ill have good stamina beyond the normal level.

Currently, he couldnt train for long.

But if he raised his stamina to 30 or more, he would be able to train longer and fight longer.

-You can increase your stamina by 31

-Would you like to increase it?

Ethan immediately invested a point in his stamina stat.

Shaaaaaah-!

A golden gust of wind blew through Ethans body.

-Your survival chance has increased significantly!

-Your survival chance has reached the target number.

-The main scenario [Surviving as Ethan Whickers] 1 quest has been cleared.

-You have received a new main quest.

-You will receive a clearance reward for the main scenario [Surviving as Ethan Whickers] 1!

Quest cleared?

Ethan quickly checked the sudden influx of notifications.

When he first became Ethan Whiskers, there was only one quest in his quest window.

It was the main scenario, Survive as Ethan Whiskers.

There was very little description.

The difficulty was Hell. It was the highest difficulty rating he knew of. Other than that, it was very abstract.

It said, Survive by any means necessary.

So I thought it was just that, but theres more to it.

Ethan quickly opened the quest window.

-Quest Notifications-

* Survive as Ethan Whiskers [Difficulty: Hell]

[You are the weakest man on the continent, and you can die with just a blow]

[Survive as Ethan Whiskers]

<<Survive as Ethan Whiskers-2>> NEW!!!

[Your survival chance has reached 10%!]

[You should now be able to survive some blows]

[But the threat of death still lurks; get a job in order to survive]

The quest that continues.

It was a continuation of Surviving as Ethan Whickers.

It seemed to be a quest that would allow him to escape the threat of death for a little while longer, now that his basic survival chances had increased.

Whats the reward?

Ethans eyes widened.

Oh.

What he got was a title.

[Survival King]

Each time your survival chance increases, all of your stats receive a modifier.

<<Currently +5 to all stats>>

What a crazy title.

A massive boost to all stats by five. That wasnt all.

Every time my survival chance goes up, all my stats get a modifier?

This meant that while it was currently written as +5, the stat increases would be larger as the survivability increased.

The more I fight to live, the stronger I get.

It was a great reward. Ethan felt a surge of strength.

Ethan called out to Yerica.

Have you packed everything?

Yes. Ive got it all.

Then before we leave. Lets weaken the curse right away.