Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 240 - Ready to Be Cured

Vanderas, the director of Royal Gwyn, recalled memories from the past.

Third Princess Evangeline had come to him with a deathly pale face.

She was standing at the boundary between life and death.

If she hadn’t been born a princess, she would have been running around playing like other girls her age.

Even though her life was in immediate danger, her eyes showed not a hint of wavering.

Even as she was dying from a terrible illness, she maintained a composed attitude.

“I’ve heard you’re the best healer at Royal Gwyn, Vanderas. Please cure me.”

Her eyes conveyed an unwavering trust, as if to say “You can do it, can’t you?”

“It’s not my time to die yet.”

At the young princess’s words, Vanderas found himself nodding without realizing it.

Evangeline’s illness was one he had never encountered before. But after great effort, Vanderas discovered the nature of the disease.

Extreme cold atrophy syndrome.

A horrific disease where cold energy generated in the heart spreads throughout the body, ultimately leading to death.

After learning that the identity of the disease was extreme cold atrophy syndrome, Vanderas began searching for information and treatment cases related to it. However, all the information about this disease was pessimistic.

Not a single person afflicted with extreme cold atrophy syndrome had survived to reach adulthood.

Unless a miracle occurred, everyone who contracted the disease died. No matter where he looked, he couldn’t find any hopeful opinions.

This information was enough to make him despair.

But at that time, he was young and full of spirit.

Brimming with confidence. The confidence that even if others couldn’t do it, he could.

That confidence stemmed from none other than Evangeline’s belief in him.

The patient believed in him. She believed without a shadow of doubt that Vanderas’s treatment could save her.

He wanted so badly to live up to that trust.

But contrary to his confidence, this disease could not be easily cured, and repeated failures gradually chipped away at Vanderas’s self-assurance.

As cracks formed in his heart and despair seeped in, his firm confidence gradually turned to fear.

Nevertheless, Vanderas did not give up.

He persevered and kept trying, ultimately managing to save Princess Evangeline’s life.

Of course, he hadn’t conquered extreme cold atrophy syndrome.

He had only managed to treat it enough to barely sustain her life.

But the price was far too great.

Princess Evangeline would never be able to accumulate more than a certain amount of mana for the rest of her life. She would have to endure chilling pain and cold for her entire life. She could never dream of making vigorous movements.

She was left with significant aftereffects – stamina worse than an ordinary person’s, and her very life force would decrease if she moved even slightly vigorously.

But everyone congratulated Vanderas, saying it was enough that she could live. It was thanks to this achievement that he was promoted to director of Royal Gwyn.

After that, everyone trusted Vanderas. They praised him as having reached the heavens in skill, having conquered even an incurable disease. Thanks to that reputation, talented healers flocked to Royal Gwyn.

Perhaps it was from that time. That he became satisfied with merely patching together the Third Princess’s life.

‘Was I satisfied with just this result?’

He had saved Princess Evangeline from an incurable disease that led to death.

Although aftereffects remained, Princess Evangeline was still alive and not dead.

But was this really treatment? Could it be considered a complete cure?

Princess Evangeline was alive, but she might as well have been a living corpse. He had only extended her lifespan a little. Even that came with having to endure the worst aftereffects for her remaining time.

‘Damn it, damn it!’

That’s why he was angry.

He actually knew all along. That he had given up trying further out of fear.

But he is the director of Royal Gwyn, this great imperial treatment center.

If he couldn’t cure a disease, no one else should be able to either.

That way, no one would realize that he had run away out of fear of failure.

Vanderas looked at Ethan.

His mind was in turmoil.

Normally, he would have kicked him out of Royal Gwyn the moment he heard words that hit the mark so precisely.

But for some reason, he couldn’t do it.

It was because he sensed a strong confidence from Ethan.

It was such an intense aura that he thought Ethan might really be able to cure her completely.

That confidence Ethan was showing was something Vanderas himself once had.

But he thought he had lost it as he learned to clash and conform.

‘Dreaming of and realizing ideals.’

It hadn’t disappeared. He had merely turned away from it. Because he thought such ideals were just youthful impulses.

But now Ethan was trying to show the realization of those ideals.

‘Since when have I been blocked by walls…?’

Vanderas clenched his fist tightly.

At the same time, he continued to follow Ethan’s movements with his eyes.

Ethan, who had come out of the herb room, laid Evangeline on the treatment table and began arranging herbs behind her.

“Don’t tell me that’s…”

“It looks like agarwood.”

“And isn’t that angel’s wing next to it? Looking at it, there’s only difficult ones to handle.”

“Shouldn’t someone say something?”

The healers began to murmur.

Even Rendering, the deputy director, was taken aback by the herbs Ethan had brought out. These herbs were all difficult to handle.

If you could handle them properly, they guaranteed definite effects. But if you mishandled them even slightly, they would completely lose their effects. Due to this characteristic, it was difficult to find places that dealt with them, and the purchase price was enormous.

“Hmm…”

Ethan’s acupuncture skills were certainly worthy of recognition.

But acupuncture skills and herb handling skills were separate matters.

Royal Gwyn even had healers who specialized solely in herbs.

Their job was to separate the medicinal properties and toxins of herbs, and to process herbs that would wither immediately if even a little mana was injected.

Even to these herb specialist healers, the herbs Ethan had brought were quite tricky to handle, so it was natural that the watching healers’ expressions were not good.

Thinking there might be a mistake, Rendering was about to step forward. But at that moment, Ethan moved.

“!”

“…Good heavens.”

The healers’ worries did not come to pass.

Ethan began handling the herbs with skillful movements.

***

-Radiant Herbal Arts is activated!

-You can maximize all the power contained in herbs!

Ethan began skillfully processing the tricky herbs using Radiant Herbal Arts.

‘My hands move on their own.’

The skill was taking the lead in showing how to process the herbs. Ethan moved his hands following the skill’s guidance.

At first it felt like he was just being pulled along, but soon Ethan was able to grasp the characteristics of Radiant Herbal Arts.

‘It acts as a guide.’

If so, he needed to not just simply follow the guide, but understand and internalize the key points of the ability.

‘That’s how I can properly use Radiant Herbal Arts.’

Ethan recalled Asclepius’s teachings.

‘I learned these to cure my own illness.’

It was quite ironic that he was curing others but not his own illness. But rather, these techniques were greatly increasing Ethan’s chances of survival.

‘Irony of ironies.’

It was truly interesting how it all came full circle to be of great help to himself.

‘These herbs are all S-grade materials.’

Next, Ethan held two processed herbs.

‘True Heo’s Decoction Technique.’

This True Heo’s Decoction Technique that Ethan had mastered had a special effect.

‘Combine the herbs!’

Combining two S-grade materials.

-True Heo’s Decoction Technique, starting Heo-style combination.

-Combining agarwood and angel’s wing.

Ethan’s hand trembled slightly as he grasped the two materials.

-Combination complete!

-Combination result: True Agarwood (SS)

Ethan smiled as he saw the result.

Even S-grade materials are very difficult to obtain.

But an SS-grade material was produced.

‘Just combining two S-grades doesn’t guarantee an SS-grade.’

Ethan combined other processed herbs once more.

-Combination complete!

-Combination result: Shining Lunart Root (S+)

‘But it’s certain that a better grade comes out.’

With this, the preparations were complete. Ethan began making decoctions with the combined herbs.

‘The source of the cold energy spreading throughout Princess Evangeline’s body is in her heart.’

To completely eliminate that source of cold energy, a much stronger solar energy than what was already present was needed.

‘Overwhelmingly intense solar power.’

It needed to be able to melt everything.

‘But that level of energy could severely damage the body internally.’

So a decoction that could block that powerful heat was also needed.

A solar decoction to melt away the cold energy.

A protective decoction to shield the body from the sun’s heat.

And a decoction to create mana to open new mana pathways in the body that would be momentarily emptied.

These three were needed.

‘They all need to be well beyond S-grade.’

“Phew.”

Ethan took a deep breath.

Whoosh-

First, he used brule, which could be considered the basis of decoction production, on the flask he was holding in one hand.

‘Now I can use this method too.’

On top of that, he mixed in a new magic that he hadn’t been able to use before.

The summoned Lyuka immediately injected mana into Ethan.

As Lyuka’s pure mana settled in Ethan’s body, magic unfolded in his hand.

Along with brule, the magic that had been central to Ethan’s potion making.

‘Azer.’

It was the core magic of all flame magic.

‘Like brule, azer is actually a basic magic. More precisely, it should be seen as part of magic.’

Being basic magic, its potential for utilization is infinite. Ethan was adept at utilizing such foundational magic.

Shhhhh-

The flask he was holding began to boil.

‘Using azer, I can rapidly raise the temperature of the flask in an instant. And with brule, I adjust it to very precise temperatures.’

Ethan increased the speed of decoction production by freely adjusting the temperature.

On top of that, with his free hand he combined the processed materials and injected mana.

At the same time, Ethan made a wish.

That he could make a decoction so great that it could cure not just Evangeline’s disease, but any disease on the continent.

‘A decoction that can treat whatever disease the patient has.’

Splash-

The decoction bubbling in the flask began to emit light.

Seeing that light, Ethan shook the flask even more vigorously.

‘Finally.’

A golden light spreading from the flask.

-You have created a True Agarwood Decoction!

-Determining grade…

-True Agarwood Decoction [SS Grade]

-You have achieved an achievement!

-You have gained likes for achieving the [SS] achievement.

-You have gained ‘7’ likes!

“One down.”

It was an SS-grade decoction. Ethan nodded and proceeded to make another decoction.

‘Still a long way to go.’

Since it had been a while since he used azer, its control was awkward at first. But the more he used it, the more his former proficiency was recreated.

Ethan’s azer was extremely simple. However, all the healers could see how amazing that simplicity was.

They couldn’t take their eyes off each of Ethan’s movements.

‘One more.’

Ethan continued to produce more decoctions.

-You have created a Shining Lunart Decoction!

-Determining grade…

-Shining Lunart Decoction [SS Grade]

Another SS grade.

Ethan looked up at the ceiling and let out a breath.

Creating consecutive SS grades was not an easy task.

Mental energy was consumed in making each decoction, so even a slight slip could result in an S grade.

That’s why Ethan was showing tremendous concentration even in small hand movements.

Eventually, as soon as Ethan finished making the Shining Lunart Decoction, he made one more decoction.

It was the third consecutive SS-grade decoction.

Though he should have been tired, Ethan immediately stood before Evangeline with the decoctions.

Evangeline was quite tense.

“…”

But she didn’t show her nervousness.

Looking at Princess Evangeline like this, Ethan spoke.

“Your Highness.”

“…Yes.”

“Are you ready to be completely cured?”

Princess Evangeline nodded and drank the first decoction Ethan handed her.

“Ugh!”

After drinking the first decoction, Princess Evangeline felt an intense heat she had never experienced before.

Due to the strong cold energy in her body, she had never felt hot no matter how hot the weather was.

‘If the heat gathers in one spot, it will clump together and completely burn the inside of the body.’

Shoop- Shoop-

Ethan simultaneously placed fifteen needles.

The four main acupoints on both hands.

The solar plexus, and below the navel at the dantian.

Two on the waist.

Both thighs.

Both calves.

And both feet.

Finally, he inserted three in the head.

The sight of needles inserted all over her body looked painful just to see, but Princess Evangeline herself felt no pain at all.

It was natural, given that his acupuncture had left a chicken unharmed even with nine needles.

Next, Ethan used Hua Tuo’s Abdominal Surgery.

Shaaaaa-!

As Asclepius had said, there was solar energy hidden inside her body to handle the cold energy of extreme cold atrophy syndrome.

Ethan first began to extract that solar energy separately.

‘It was an artifact.’

The identity of the solar energy was an artifact. By placing an artifact inside the body, it had been suppressing the cold energy of extreme cold atrophy syndrome.

But because the cold energy was so intense, the power of the artifact had already waned considerably. If more time had passed, it would have lost its function and disappeared.

As soon as the artifact blocking the cold energy of extreme cold atrophy syndrome was removed, the cold energy began to burst out instantly.

But thanks to the first decoction and acupuncture, heat was already circulating throughout the body, so there was no strain on the body.

‘The source of extreme cold atrophy syndrome. We need to deal with that source near the heart.’

Ethan used Hua Tuo’s Abdominal Surgery to open the area near the heart. There was a writhing blue mass there.

The power of the flowing cold energy was enough to not only make everything around it cold but freeze it solid.

‘Indeed, it’s not easy.’

The healers watching couldn’t properly see Ethan’s Hua Tuo’s Abdominal Surgery.

But they could tell that Ethan was doing some kind of treatment.

Because Evangeline’s condition was changing moment by moment.

“Ugh.”

Evangeline was holding back her groans.

“Your Highness. Please endure a little longer.”

Ethan then fed the princess the second decoction.

The effect of the second decoction was to protect the body.

‘Because I’m going to fully release the cold energy of extreme cold atrophy syndrome.’

For that, the body needed to be able to withstand it.

Gulp gulp.

At the same time, Ethan retrieved the needles he had inserted into the acupoints and placed them again.

‘The heat is incredible, as expected of an SS-grade decoction.’

This heat had to melt the cold energy.

Using the needles, he slowly drove the heat that had spread throughout the body upwards. If it clumped together, the heat would instantly destroy the body, so that control was very important.

Ethan carefully inserted and removed needles repeatedly.

“Huu…”

Thanks to the second decoction, Evangeline was able to minimize internal damage to her body during this process.

Whoosh-!

Shaaaa-

But that was only for a moment.

The cold energy of extreme cold atrophy syndrome and the heat of Ethan’s SS-grade agarwood decoction collided.

Rumble-!

A thunderous sound was heard from inside Evangeline’s body.

Even though her body was being protected through the decoction, Evangeline gritted her teeth, apparently in severe pain.

The seriousness was evident in the expressions of the watching healers.

If

If by any chance this treatment goes wrong.

Princess Evangeline would die, and everyone here would surely die from the Emperor’s wrath.

The healers’ pupils trembled and sweat began to run down their backs.

It seemed like if someone spoke up, they would all rush to stop Ethan.

The healers looked at Ethan with anxious faces.

“…”

In contrast, Ethan was calmly continuing the treatment. There was not a hint of hesitation in his movements.

Director Vanderas tried to relax at the sight of Ethan’s composure.

But contrary to his composed attitude, Ethan was inwardly cursing.

‘It’s stronger than I thought.’

Extreme cold atrophy syndrome wasn’t called incurable for nothing.

The cold energy was so intense that even Ethan, who was continuing the treatment, was affected by it. For a moment, a headache struck Ethan’s mind.

-Survival probability temporarily decreases!

‘Damn. It’s even triggering Extinction.’

Ethan clicked his tongue.

The heat of the SS-grade decoction was certainly powerful, but the overwhelming cold energy that had built up its strength in the princess’s body for many years was not easily resolved.

‘The princess’s body won’t last much longer.’

Ethan had to make a decision.

If there was any more delay here, even if she was cured, severe aftereffects could remain.

‘That can’t happen.’

He needed to show a definite impact.

Puk-

As Ethan pulled out a needle and reinserted it, cold energy invaded his body.

‘Damn it!’

Ethan muttered a curse as he tried to control the cold energy that had entered his body.

Then.

‘Huh?’

Something was strange. The invading cold energy should have frozen Ethan’s insides, but it was just staying still.

A thought flashed through Ethan’s mind.

‘Could it be… the power of Moonforce?’

The power of Moonforce is based on cold energy.

Because it uses the piercingly cold moon as a medium.

‘It works.’

The power of Moonforce began to absorb the source of extreme cold atrophy syndrome, the extreme cold energy.