Chapter 42 - I haven't forgotten

Author: Dawn

-The proficiency of [Moonforce] has increased!

-The proficiency of [Hero’s Breathing] has increased!

-You defeated a powerful enemy with a single blow!

-As the proficiency of [Hero’s Breathing] increases, a new power is bestowed upon you!

-The fairies proclaim you as their hero.

-You have achieved an achievement!

-You have obtained a “Like” for achieving the accomplishment of [Hero of the Fairies]

-You have received ‘5’ Likes!

Ethan woke up from the small but comfortable fairy bed and saw numerous notification windows.

‘A new power?’

His body ached all over.

However, upon hearing that a new power was bestowed upon him, Ethan immediately checked his skills.

Hero’s Breathing (A) [25%]

The proficiency of Hero’s Breathing was at 25%.

[Chiron’s Teaching: Immunity to Mental Attacks]

A new passive skill called Chiron’s Teaching appeared. It was a sub-skill of Hero’s Breathing, continuously activated while using Hero’s Breathing.

“Immunity to mental attacks?”

Certainly, it showcased heroic qualities, perhaps due to Hercules’ skills.

“It’s better than I thought. I expected to get only combat-related skills.”

To think that he would gain immunity to mental attacks.

Ethan promptly got up and checked his physical condition. Judging from the soreness throughout his body upon waking up, Moonforce had definitely put a considerable strain on him.

‘What an incredible skill.’

While Frost Slash, which he obtained along with his class, was quite impressive, Moonforce was an immensely powerful skill perfect for a decisive blow.

The movement that shot out in a straight line, reaching its conclusion.

All of those actions combined to form Moonforce.

‘Furthermore, when using Moonforce, the coldness emanating from Frost Sword becomes several times stronger.’

The force emanating from Frost Sword was no joke.

It was an intense power that could even make him lose his grip on the sword.

It was perfect for a decisive blow, but it wasn’t easy to control properly.

‘I need more power.’

If he could gather a bit more strength and control it, there was no doubt that he could use the skill in a variety of ways.

‘I also gained additional Likes, so it wouldn’t hurt to subscribe to another god.’

Or gaining superpower wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

There was still plenty of time.

‘But first, let’s resolve the reason why I came here.’

Thud.

Footsteps could be heard from outside

“You’re awake.”

Yerica entered the room, looking somewhat worried. However, seeing Ethan was okay, she quickly returned to her usual expression.

“Were you worried?”

“No, I wasn’t worried. It’s just that if you were to die without repaying your debt, it would be a one-sided favor, and I can’t allow that, Ethan. So please do that after I’ve repaid my debt.”

“You were worried, huh.”

“Are you still poisoned? It seems like you’re not communicating well.”

“Where is the Poison King? Is he still frozen?”

“He’s definitely dead. Everyone is too scared to touch him, but I took a quick look, and he’s really dead. So don’t worry.”

“Good. We need to benefit from the Poison King’s corpse as well.”

The Poison King’s corpse was a toxic lump.

That meant it would be registered in the Donguibogam, and he could greatly increase his proficiency in the Heo’s Decoction skill.

“What about the fairies?”

“There were over a hundred of them here until just now. They were really dedicated. If you had woken up then, it would have been worth a while, but now they’ve all left because they think the queen is about to wake up.”

“So I had the luxury of waking up in peace.”

There was information he needed to hear when the queen woke up.

“But first, let’s go to where the Poison King’s corpse is.”

* * *

Ethan stood in front of the frozen corpse of the Poison King, emitting a cold aura.

Yerica chuckled and spoke.

“Now you can’t say you’re weak anymore. You managed to defeat the Poison King who poisoned the entire forest and defeat the Fairy Queen, all by yourself in one blow.”

“But I collapsed in the end.”

“That’s true.”

Yerica simply nodded her head.

Ethan was undeniably strong.

However, she had witnessed his supposed weakness multiple times, so she didn’t doubt it.

Weak yet strong.

It seemed contradictory, but it strangely suited Ethan well.

“Hmm.”

Ethan closely examined the Poison King.

There were green stains in the areas that were slightly frozen.

“He had quite a bit of poison inside his body.”

Despite being heavily frozen, there were traces of green poison seeping out from various parts of his body. It meant that the Poison King had concealed a significant amount of poison within him.

Ironically, it was a good thing for Ethan.

“I’ll make good use of it.”

Ethan collected that particular part and registered it in the Donguibogam.

-The Sleep Poison is recorded in the Donguibogam.

-The Paralysis Poison is recorded in the Donguibogam.

The Hydra Poison is recorded in the Donguibogam.

“Crazy… He even has Hydra Poison in him.”

However, it seemed that he didn’t include Hydra Poison in his signature poison.

“Because it’s such a potent poison.”

The Hydra Poison had a significant presence.

Mixing it with other poisons would simply swallow the power of those poisons, rendering it meaningless.

‘Even though it’s a trait, using it as it is makes it strong. There were truly a variety of poisons.’

If Ethan hadn’t been able to defeat the Poison King with the Moonforce alone, the Poison King would have likely used the Hydra Poison as well.

While the Detoxification Decoction would have provided some detoxification, immediate complete detoxification would have been impossible.

‘Luck was on my side. And it’s not just Hydra Poison; it’s a highly enhanced Hydra Poison that he’s reinforced multiple times.’

By recording such a potent poison, Ethan would be able to create even better Detoxification Decoctions in the future.

Now, he was certain that he wouldn’t die from poison unless something extraordinary happened.

-Rare poison is recorded in the Donguibogam.

-Proficiency in the Detoxification Decoction skill greatly increases!

-Survival probability increases.

“If there were three more Poison Kings, it’d be at 100% already.”

Unfortunately, there were no lunatics obsessed with poison like the Poison King.

‘My survival probability has steadily increased.’

The more threats he eliminated that could endanger his survival, the higher his chances of staying alive. Increasing survival probability meant becoming stronger.

‘Not a bad result.’

“Have you obtained what you wanted?”

Yerica asked when she saw Ethan extracting poison from the Poison King’s corpse.

“It’s done. Now I can create a wider variety of detoxification Decoctions. I think I’ll be fine pursuing this business.”

“Ethan, you could just focus on being a merchant.”

Yerica believed that Ethan had potential beyond creating his own detoxification Decoctions. If he could effectively commercialize them, he could easily reach the top 10% of merchants.

“Being a merchant sounds good. The more money I have, the better.”

However, there were undoubtedly things that money alone couldn’t buy.

“What I want to do cannot be accomplished with money alone.”

Meeting the saintess couldn’t be achieved solely through wealth.

However, Yerica seemed to interpret Ethan’s words differently.

“…Seems like you have quite a romantic imagination. Well, whatever.”

Judging by her smile, it seemed like she had misunderstood something.

However, Ethan thought there didn’t seem to be a need to correct her misunderstanding.

* * *

“Ugh.”

As everyone watched in anticipation, the Fairy Queen slowly opened her eyes.

“Your Majesty!”

“The Queen is awake!”

“Our Queen has awakened!”

Tears streamed down the faces of the fairies as the Queen rose.

Particularly the elder fairies, who had failed to protect the Queen properly, now sobbed as if a burden had been lifted.

“Why… are you all crying?”

“Your Majesty… sob… We are so relieved that you have awakened.”

“My memory is not clear.”

The Queen’s melodious voice reached the fairies.

“I’m not sure what has happened… but it seems I have caused you a great deal of worry.”

“No, Your Majesty. We were simply unable to do enough.”

“Please forgive us for our shortcomings. Sniff.”

“Don’t cry. I have awakened. As long as I am alive, there is no reason to cry.”

The Queen looked around and saw someone who wasn’t a fairy near the entrance.

“You helped me.”

Upon hearing the Queen’s words, the fairies turned around and saw Ethan standing there. Immediately, the fairies flew towards Ethan with excitement.

“Are you alright!?”

“You’ve awakened! Is your body alright?”

“We thought you were truly gone and were shocked.”

“It’s such a relief that we didn’t lose our benefactor.”

“Please try this that I’ve made. It’s made of wing dust. It’s incredibly good for your health, so for now…”

The fairies now treated Ethan as their benefactor.

If Ethan had died, a statue would have been erected, and there was a high possibility that for at least 100 years, newborn fairy children would be named Ethan.

“I plan to name my child, who will be born soon, after you, our benefactor, Ethan.”

Of course, that was a certainty even without Ethan’s death.

Maybe not for 100 years, but at least for the next 10 years, the name Ethan would continue.

“Thank you, Ethan. My name is Merdi. I lead the fairies, but I have shown a shameful sight.”

Even though she had just awakened, the Fairy Queen exuded grace.

In response to her dignified greeting, Ethan also offered his greetings in a respectful manner.

“I am Ethan Whiskers. I had a reason and ended up in the forest to help.”

Merdi smiled briefly as she looked at Ethan.

“I believe I know the reason why you visited the forest. Ethan, no, you are the descendant who carries the will of the Moon Goddess.”

“A descendant of the Goddess?”

“Our benefactor was a descendant of the Goddess?”

“Then… Did the descendant of the Goddess come to help us from the beginning?”

The fairies began to buzz with excitement.

Some of the younger fairies might not have known, but the Elder fairies and those who were older were aware of their most important mission.

“You are a descendant of the Moon Goddess?”

Ethan looked around at the fairies.

This was the most crucial turning point.

To regain the power of the forgotten ancient god, a believer was needed.

Intense faith was not necessary.

They just needed to remember the forgotten god.

“You may have forgotten, but the Goddess has not forgotten you.”