Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 402 - All the Herbs

Swish-. Swish-.

Swish-. Swish-. Swish-.

The boxes in front of him disappeared in an instant, and Ethan began to quickly fill in one blank answer sheet after another.

This herb identification exchange had a time limit.

Given enough time, these skilled individuals could confidently identify any herb, so a time limit was set to clearly distinguish their abilities.

As a result, they couldn’t spend too much time identifying each herb.

While other veteran teachers didn’t take much time to identify the herbs either, Ethan was fast—too fast.

He was far beyond the norm.

Sniffing and writing, looking and writing.

By the time Ethan had identified fifteen herbs in the blink of an eye, the other teachers were still working on their fifth.

Some were just opening the third box to check the herbs.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

Normally, they would have been so focused on the herbs that they wouldn’t have paid attention to what the teacher next to them was doing.

But even if they tried not to notice, Ethan’s performance was particularly eye-catching.

“What, what is this!”

Not only the teachers participating in the exchange but also the magic students in the audience were watching his performance in great surprise.

“Is he just… writing randomly?”

“No, how can anyone be that fast?”

“He barely sniffed the scent.”

Among the magic students, there was one who had been fortunate enough to watch all the exchanges from the first day until today.

“…”

That student’s eyes were already spinning.

Where on earth was the limit to Ethan’s abilities?

Until the dungeon conquest exchange, they had just thought he was an outstanding teacher.

But seeing this overwhelming ability to identify herbs in an instant, they even began to doubt if their common sense was wrong.

“What is this…?”

And soon they became certain.

“I’m… transferring schools.”

They were determined to transfer to Ivecar no matter what.

To make sure they could attend Ethan’s classes.

“Isn’t this just an act?”

“There’s no way he could identify them that quickly, right?”

But Ethan continued to fill out the answer sheet without a moment’s hesitation.

And he reached the 30th and final herb.

“Hmm.”

Ethan spent quite a bit of time there.

After sniffing and considering for a while, he finally wrote down the answer.

“I’ve completed the sheet.”

Ethan submitted his answer sheet to the proctor.

“Teacher Ethan Whiskers, I’ve received your answer sheet.”

The proctor passed the answer sheet to the evaluator.

The evaluator for this herb identification exchange was Ayen, known as the Sunlight Herbalist.

Ayen had been watching Ethan, who had participated in this herb identification exchange over other exchanges.

Ethan had been a significant target of scrutiny and observation for the evaluators since the first day.

Sure enough.

As the evaluators had anticipated, Ethan had shown overwhelming performance in all the exchanges he participated in.

As a result, the evaluators had to explain to other teachers one by one why Ethan was the winner.

Naturally, some evaluators developed antipathy towards Ethan in the process. But conversely, some evaluators quite liked Ethan and showed goodwill.

His skills were so impressive that it was enjoyable just to watch.

“I didn’t expect you to apply for the herb identification exchange as well.”

It wasn’t just about applying. Didn’t they just see? While other teachers were still identifying herbs, Ethan had already finished identifying all 30 herbs.

“Hmm.”

Ayen looked at his answer sheet with quite an expectant heart.

And then they frowned deeply.

Ethan had identified and written down all 30 herbs in a remarkably short time.

“This can’t be possible.”

They checked the time Ethan had finished the identification again and reviewed the answer sheet.

“This record shouldn’t be possible…”

No matter how they looked at it, it seemed impossible to complete all identifications within this time.

Ayen decided to wait for the other teachers to finish their identifications.

“Has… the level increased this year?”

Tick-tock, tick-tock-.

Only about a minute of the time limit remained.

“I’m done!”

The teachers began to submit their answer sheets urgently.

“Time’s up. You can’t write on your answer sheets from now on.”

Of course, not everyone managed to submit their sheets. The time was too short to identify all 30 herbs.

“I’ll start grading now.”

Ayen began grading on the spot.

And soon they let out a short breath.

“As expected.”

Thirty herbs.

A total of three teachers got all 30 correct.

Ethan, a teacher from Freya, and Shuka, a teacher from Vogue Academy.

However, even though there was a time limit, higher scores weren’t given based on the order of completion.

If three people got all 30 correct, they could all be treated as joint first place.

But the result was different.

“Three teachers have identified all 30 herbs correctly.”

Ayen called out the three teachers in order.

“One is Teacher Shuka from Vogue Academy. And…”

When Ethan’s name wasn’t called, the students suspected that his rapid filling of the answer sheet earlier might have been just random guessing.

But their suspicion was quickly dispelled.

“Teacher Ethan Whiskers.”

Ethan was one of the three perfect scorers.

“Wow…”

“Teacher Ethan got a perfect score?”

“But he wrote so unbelievably fast. He barely sniffed the scents and looked at them so quickly.”

“Was that enough for him?”

Only then did the admiration burst forth.

Everyone could be sure because they had seen it with their own eyes.

“Then, is Teacher Ethan first place?”

“No, for this exchange, you just need to get the answers right within the time limit. Even if Teacher Ethan submitted his answer sheet first, it’s still the same perfect score.”

“Then it must be a tie for first place.”

Even a tie for first place was an amazing achievement.

“Hasn’t Teacher Ethan never given up first place until now?”

“It’s a tie for first, but… yeah. This must be his first time, right?”

This was the first time Ethan had shared first place in an exchange he participated in.

But Ayen hadn’t officially announced the first place yet. They had only mentioned that there were three perfect scorers.

“I will now announce the first place.”

Three perfect scorers.

However, selecting the first place was extremely easy.

“First place goes to Teacher Ethan Whiskers.”

When Ayen announced the first place, the students began to murmur.

Surely only the score would be reflected in the evaluation?

“…!”

“They all got 30 correct, so why…?”

“Did they evaluate speed as well?”

“But speed isn’t that important in herb identification, right? Accuracy is more important, isn’t it?”

This exchange was clearly for herb identification.

“As you think, speed is not reflected in the evaluation criteria. Of course, faster identification is better. The reason I selected Teacher Ethan Whiskers as first place was based on a different criterion. Identifying what kind of herb it is counts towards the basic score. If I were to give additional points…”

The evaluator revealed Ethan’s answer sheet to everyone.

There was a difference between Ethan’s answer sheet and those of the other teachers.

“It’s the grade of the herbs. Here, the herbs in this box are of different grades.”

Ayen continued to explain.

“Teacher Ethan not only identified all the herbs but also accurately noted their grades. When compared with the grades of the herbs we prepared, everything was correct.”

“…”

“…”

The silence was frighteningly long.

To not only identify the herbs but even match their grades.

Of course, all the teachers here are veterans, so given enough time, they could accurately identify the grades as well.

But the judgment criterion for this exchange was to identify the herbs within a limited time.

During the short given time, all they could do was identify what the herbs were.

There was no way they could determine the grades.

This meant that Ethan had identified not only what the herbs were but also their grades, all within that limited time.

It’s easy to say.

But the teachers knew better than anyone how difficult this was.

A teacher from Freya Academy exhaled deeply in frustration.

“The ones who underestimated… were us?”

They thought Ethan had underestimated this exchange and participated. But that wasn’t the case.

Ethan hadn’t underestimated this exchange from the beginning.

He applied because he was confident he could win.

Ironically, it was they who had underestimated Ethan’s mindset.

“Are there any objections?”

“No.”

The veteran teacher from Freya conceded defeat there.

But there were teachers who couldn’t accept it.

“Th-this is ridiculous.”

“This requires experience.”

“How did you do it! How did you identify them!”

“No, how even the grades…”

Particularly agitated was Shuka, the teacher from Vogue Academy, who strode towards Ethan.

Even when still, her expression was fierce, but as she approached with a frown, she looked as black as the grim reaper walking.

“How did you distinguish even the grades of the herbs in such a short time?”

To that question, Ethan answered simply.

“I have a long-standing illness. Since I was young, I’ve tried all sorts of herbs and medicines.”

Ethan mixed truth with lies.

‘It’s not a complete lie anyway.’

“I even ate poisonous herbs as snacks.”

“…”

Despite Ethan’s words, Shuka still couldn’t shake off her doubts.

“Would you like to check? Whether my words are true or false?”

‘You’ll be able to feel it. At least a fragment of it.’

When Ethan held out his hand, Shuka hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“May I… take a look?”

“By all means.”

Shuka caressed Ethan’s wrist. Then her eyes widened.

An abyss unfolded before her eyes.

It was so deep that she felt if she approached even a little closer, she would fall into that abyss and never return.

She tried to run away, but she couldn’t.

The abyss absorbs everything.

Swooosh-.

She’s falling. Never to return.

Chaarrrrk-.

From that abyss, chains as black as the abyss itself shot out.

She’s going to be devoured.

The moment she thought that.

“You looked too deeply.”

Ethan, who had pushed her away at some point, was looking at her with an expression that seemed to ask if she was alright.

“It’s true, it’s true. What on earth was that, that abyss…”

Shuka couldn’t continue her words.

This was a power too great to express in words.

It was too deep and frightening to be called a curse.

Shuka’s body was still trembling.

“I think this proves it.”

Ethan gently stroked Shuka’s shoulder. Somehow, a needle was now embedded in her shoulder.

“But Teacher Shuka’s herb identification skills were also quite impressive. Please do visit our Whiskers territory later. I’d like to have a chat.”

“Ah, yes… I’ll definitely visit.”

‘A talent, a real talent.’

He couldn’t just let such talent go.

‘I should hire her at Ethan’s workshop.’

Ethan didn’t see this exchange festival merely as an opportunity to become a master.

‘Becoming a master is a given.’

The title of master was just a ticket to smoothly enter the Demon Empire.

So spending this long time just to obtain the title of master wasn’t cost-effective.

‘I need to gather as much talent as possible.’

Just as the Demon God Spear came to the exchange festival to find a disciple, Ethan also continuously scouted for talent to further develop the Whiskers territory.

Ethan made subtle suggestions to the talented individuals he found through various exchanges.

When Ethan, who demonstrated versatility, unexpectedly approached them, no teacher could push him away.

Moreover, Ethan had consistently won in all the exchanges he participated in.

‘They’ll have to visit out of curiosity if nothing else. Even if not, they’ll keep thinking about me in the back of their minds.’

Now there was only one exchange left on the third day.

‘There’s no teacher exchange on the last day.’

The last day only has exchanges for students.

Today, the third day, was the last day for teacher exchanges.

“The last exchange is… hmm.”

After checking the schedule, Ethan slightly frowned.

“This isn’t my area of expertise.”

The end of versatility.

It was a field that even Ethan, with his numerous experiences, had never experienced.

But he couldn’t avoid it.

“It will be the finishing touch to obtaining the master title.”

Winning in all the exchanges he participated in.

This unforgettable achievement was necessary.

“There are plenty of ways.”

Ethan had the New World.