Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 439 - Sometimes

Ares was quite moved by this situation.

In front of him was the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber, and himself, whom the subscriber had chosen.

“Hmm, hmm hmm.”

It felt like all his efforts up until now were being acknowledged through the subscription of the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber.

Because of this, Ares found himself constantly smiling without realizing it, and he had to try hard to suppress his laughter.

“First of all, thank you for accepting the collaboration request, Lord Ares.”

“It’s my pleasure!”

“Then, Lord Ares, before I ask about your abilities, may I ask another question?”

“Ask anything! If it’s something I can answer, I’ll respond with all sincerity.”

Ethan looked at Ares.

“Do you know the conditions for victory in the New World?”

Ares was a god of considerable stature within the New World.

He was also closely associated with Zeus, one of the top four gods.

“Victory conditions? Are you asking about the victory conditions of the New World?”

Ares asked, seeming puzzled.

“The top four gods of the New World have been posting quite a few videos recently.”

Ethan explained the current situation.

Even though the explanation was brief, Ares quickly understood Ethan’s words and nodded.

“The timing of their activities overlaps strangely, which made me wonder if what I’ve been anticipating is happening.”

“Hmm, that could be. They certainly have been moving suddenly. But isn’t that because of the stimulation from you, the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber? You pulled Cheok Jun-gyeong up! You’re the one who gave them a sense of crisis!”

If you asked any of the numerous subscribers and gods of the New World, they would say the same thing.

It was the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber who threw a stimulus into the stagnant New World.

At first, it was just pulling lower-ranking gods up a bit, exposing them to numerous subscribers.

But as time passed, it affected the higher gods, and it was Ethan who helped Cheok Jun-gyeong leap to become a top god.

This meant that the simultaneous movement of the top four gods was solely due to Ethan’s influence.

“I think the timing just worked out well. What they were preparing simply coincided with what I did.”

“As expected.”

Ares grinned. Just as he had imagined, this subscriber was quite humble. It was the confidence that came from the end of that humility that made numerous gods trust him and entrust him with tasks.

“Hmm… So then, [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber, you think this New World is nearing its end? The top four gods are moving more actively because the end of the New World is approaching, is that it?”

“Yes, if the end is approaching, I became curious about those victory conditions.”

“Hmm… I haven’t heard much either. But I do visit Lord Zeus from time to time.”

One of the top four gods.

Zeus, the chief god of lightning.

‘Ares is Zeus’s child after all.’

There was a high possibility that he knew things that only the top gods knew, having overheard them.

“He said that you can’t become the winner of the New World simply by ranking alone. While ranking is important, everything is comprehensively calculated and factored into the score. He said that since numerous subscribers make their own choices, the importance of subscribers is quite high.”

‘As expected. If the winner was determined by ranking alone, other gods wouldn’t need to put so much effort into the New World.’

Because the outcome would already be decided.

But the winner of the New World isn’t determined simply by the number of subscribers and likes.

‘Fundamentally, New World is a mechanism where gods are chosen.’

There was a possibility that the subscribers’ choices would have a significant impact on determining the winner.

‘That’s why they’re working harder. To make an impact.’

Staying at the top of the rankings for a long time actually reduces the impact.

Rather, what has impact is slowly rising from a low rank to a high rank.

‘In the end, what draws attention is the narrative. The story is important.’

Subscribers are not perfect like gods.

Of course, gods aren’t perfect either, but subscribers are much more imperfect.

Therefore, gods needed to have something that could appeal to subscribers. Whether it’s narrative or overwhelming ability.

Anything would do.

‘Hmm, then it seems I’ll stand out even more.’

Ethan was a subscriber who excelled at providing narratives.

Subscription reviews, shorts videos, etc., what Ethan had been doing in the New World until now was precisely this narrative provision.

‘Heo Jun was the beginning of that narrative.’

That Heo Jun was still one of the hot gods in the New World.

Even now, his ranking was steadily rising, thanks to the narrative of an oriental doctor of all things who started from the bottom and rose to the top.

Before Ethan discovered him, Heo Jun was sitting at the bottom of the New World.

That Heo Jun’s ranking keeps rising. But Heo Jun himself hasn’t changed.

It’s just that subscribers have come to know about Heo Jun.

‘He’s risen a lot, but he hasn’t even entered the top 50. What’s 50, he hasn’t even reached the top 100. Yet, there’s hardly a New World subscriber who doesn’t know Heo Jun.’

This is the power of storytelling.

“Thank you for your answer, Lord Ares.”

“Was it helpful? Then let’s get into the real special training.”

After hearing about the situation in the New World, Ethan learned about the power to read the battlefield, which he had originally intended to learn from Ares.

“In this power to read the battlefield, instinct is quite important. The battlefield is like a living organism, constantly changing its form. A battlefield that was clearly square just a moment ago suddenly becomes a triangle, and then suddenly becomes a rhombus. That’s why you need to understand it instinctively, and if you’ve read it, you need to act immediately.”

The moment you stop, the flow changes again. So if you stand still, you can neither go against the flow nor reverse it.

“There’s a kind of pattern to those changes. You need to read that pattern. But this can’t be explained in words. As you know, I’m more instinctive. So I put all that instinct into my ability. Those who learn my ability can see the battlefield exactly as I see it.”

This was the part Ares paid the most attention to.

What most gods who use their abilities instinctively and achieve excellent effects lack is precisely this eloquence.

No matter how great an ability is, it’s meaningless if you can’t make the learner understand it.

Instead of improving his eloquence, Ares included his instincts in his ability, making it much easier for the learner to use.

‘Oh.’

Ethan was impressed by Ares’ idea.

“If the battlefield I’m trying to participate in is made up of only wooden dolls, will this flow change?”

At Ethan’s question, Ares exhaled through his nose with an “Hmm.”

“A battlefield with no variables that moves only by command, is it? Then it’s actually easier to read! The flow itself will be consistent, and even if you hesitate for a moment, that flow won’t change drastically. That battlefield is essentially formed by one person’s will!”

‘That’s exactly right. I chose Ares well indeed.’

Ares said with a smile. He was completely like a fish in water.

“You just need to see through the one person controlling that battlefield. In terms of difficulty, it’s level 1. Even if it’s your first time using my ability, you can definitely see through that level of difficulty.”

Ethan learned from Ares the power to read the situation on the battlefield.

-You have learned the Helmet of the War God!

-Skill added: Helmet of the War God (S)

When Ethan used the skill, a transparent helmet was placed on his head.

“While you’re wearing that helmet, you can be considered a god of war too. You can proudly say it. That you learned from Ares, the god of war.”

Ares laughed brightly, seemingly very pleased with how Ethan looked wearing the Helmet of the War God.

“Take this too. It’s a feather you can stick in that helmet. With this feather, you can see the situation on the battlefield even more vividly. It’s my merchandise.”

Ares gave Ethan everything he could give.

‘I thought he’d be very fierce, being the god of war.’

He was a more generous god than expected.

“Thank you, Lord Ares. I will certainly do what I promised.”

“I’ll look forward to it!”

Subscription reviews and shorts videos are very important. But Ares was quite happy just to receive a subscription from the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber.

It’s not Athena.

It’s not other war gods either.

Passing over all those numerous gods, he finally reached him.

“Once again, thank you for choosing me.”

***

Ethan, who had gained Ares’ power, opened his eyes.

During that short time, Shophrobe Hyer had prepared a force of 150 troops.

The color of the soldiers was light blue.

“I’m not sure if it’s really possible. To be honest, even I, a god, can’t casually participate in that battlefield. Of course, it’s partly because I’m a weak god… but right now, that place already has a flow established.”

Clang-! Clang-!

Pushing and being pushed back.

As Shophrobe Hyer said, right now that battlefield was moving like a living organism.

There was a flow like a whirlpool, and to go against that flow, you needed strong power.

150 people? It was a ridiculously insufficient number. Far from going against the flow, it was just right to get caught in the flow and die.

“I’m fine though.”

This place is a playground for gods, and gods, being immortal beings, don’t die. Unless it’s something like the power Ethan has to erase divinity, they absolutely won’t die.

But Ethan is different. Ethan is human after all. Even if this is a specially created magical space, it doesn’t mean he won’t die.

“You’ll die if you fail. This is reckless no matter how you look at it. Haven’t you been struggling with that body until now to avoid death?”

Shophrobe Hyer now looked at Roditon.

“You said you’d go together. You’ll die too, human adventurer.”

“The path of defying fate is always treacherous. I’m just following behind.”

“When my partner has made up his mind, I’m not tactless enough to interfere with that.”

Roditon and Mary answered in turn.

“Hah…”

Shophrobe Hyer shook his head.

“Shophrobe Hyer, let’s go.”

“Huh…? Am I going too?”

“Are you just going to watch?”

“…”

“And you know what. There’s something gods don’t know about death.”

Ethan said.

“Humans, you see. Sometimes, in order to live, we have to walk towards death.”

At those words, Shophrobe Hyer fell silent.