Subscriber of the Gods

“Jumong, you know of that subscriber [Only subscribed to the right gods] too, right?”

“You mean the one who writes good subscription reviews? Why bring up that subscriber suddenly?”

“That subscriber left a subscription review.”

“Oh, did he subscribe to us? Hmm, did he perhaps ask for something in return for the review?”

“No, it’s a different kind of proposal.”

The two didn’t seem too surprised.

The Hood the Archer channel wasn’t small enough to be swayed by a single subscription review.

Robin Hood was quite famous, and since he ran the channel with Jumong, they had more subscribers than even the semi-major Hang Woo.

“Hm? He’s offering to edit our videos?”

[Only subscribed to the right gods] didn’t explain at length. They simply showed their edited version of the Intermediate: Curved Shooting video from Hood’s channel.

At first, the two gods didn’t expect much. But as they watched the video, their expressions gradually changed oddly.

“Umm…”

“This… looks like they directly edited what he learned from our videos?”

The edited video Ethan showed was quite short, around 25 minutes long.

Yet it contained everything from the original video. The unnecessary parts were cut, and the needed parts were all spliced together into a definitive ‘edited’ version.

“He compressed just the essential parts from the videos we spent hours filming into this.”

“All the necessary parts are included. He watched our videos from start to finish. You can’t make an edited video like this without understanding the core.”

“To condense a 5-hour video into 25 minutes, is that even possible?”

The two gods couldn’t hide their astonished expressions. They were naturally in awe.

“Didn’t other gods say the same? That subscription reviews don’t work that well from the mid-ranks and up.”

“No, not at all. Haha.”

There had been a lot of talk among the gods recently about [Only subscribed to the right gods].

The subscriber’s subscription reviews that first sparked discussion, and the beneficiary Heo Jun’s meteoric rise, were nothing short of revolutionary.

Surprised by this, all the gods had tried to receive at least one of the subscriber’s reviews.

The lower-ranking gods or those whose growth had stagnated were especially keen.

It was only natural, as receiving a review meant the potential for a meteoric rise.

However, the ambiguously positioned gods and the rest didn’t place much importance on [Only subscribed to the right gods]’s subscription reviews.

They had leeway. They were big enough not to be swayed by a single subscription review.

So they didn’t pay it much mind.

Robin Hood and Jumong were the same.

But this was different.

Just watching this 25-minute video was enough to understand.

The skill to condense 5 hours into 25 minutes.

“This will appeal to subscribers. We might be able to rake in likes with it.”

“This is huge.”

They could tell right away. There had never been a subscriber like this before, which made it all the more impactful.

The tides would turn.

This was different from the previous subscription reviews.

“It will be difficult to imitate this.”

Subscription reviews could be imitated.

But this kind of editing couldn’t be imitated. [Only subscribed to the right gods]’s unique perspective was thoroughly reflected in the video.

“Even if imitated, the name value would be different from the start. That subscriber has already built considerable recognition through subscription reviews.”

“It’s different if it’s the [Only subscribed to the right gods] subscriber…”

Jumong nodded at Robin Hood’s words.

They could instinctively tell.

With this perfect edited video.

If attached or substituted for existing videos, it would definitely attract subscribers’ likes.

“If it comes to this…”

Jumong was convinced the New World would be in an uproar again once this edited video went up.

The gods would appeal to Ethan more actively than before.

Not just the lower-ranking gods, but the mid-ranking ones and above as well.

“The gods will want [Only subscribed to the right gods] again.”

“He’s become unique. Again.”

Robin Hood let out a hearty laugh.

Then he immediately left a message for [Only subscribed to the right gods]. That he had watched the edited video well, and they should discuss the details by letter.

***

“It’s been a while, Senior.”

“Jeryd! Thank you for making time despite being so busy these days.”

In the Principal’s office.

Sky Swordmage Jeryd politely bowed his head.

He was a quite handsome man in his early 40s.

“I’m not trying to show off, but I had a hard time making time. You know, those heretics who believe in the evil gods. The ones who follow the Moon and call it Mother have been constantly causing trouble lately.”

“You mean the ones who shout ‘For Mother Moon’ and claim Mother Moon must purify the world? They’re still around?”

“It’s more than that. They’ve grown to a scale the Demon Empire side can’t even handle. What’s more, they’re secretly operating in the shadows on our Holy Empire side as well. Just this year, we’ve already dealt with dozens of them.”

The dedicated Inquisition of the Holy Empire.

The Sky Swordmage was the director of that Inquisition.

“Quite a number of inquisitors have died because of those heretics. Since there are so many of them, we also recruited a lot of inquisitors on our side, but umm, they’re all rookies so it’s difficult to deploy them.”

“Dozens of places?”

“Yes, it seems they’ve established secret branches all over the Holy Empire and are gathering something. On top of that… we received information that one of the princes of the Holy Empire is trying to collude with them.”

“Surely not, we do have a prince at our academy though.”

Though he kept it hidden from everyone, the Principal was aware of Oliveira.

“We don’t know which prince yet, but the princes have information on the Holy Empire. If that information leaks to the Demon Empire side, it would be a huge problem.”

Jeryd let out a sigh.

“I’m really grateful you came despite being so busy.”

“No, Senior. Given the situation, it seems I was being petulant. Please think of it as the foolishness of an inept junior.”

Jeryd bowed his head and continued with a smile.

“But this department exchange event is really interesting. I heard Teacher Claudie Hyde isn’t participating.”

“Hahaha-. The Teacher Ethan Whiskers you see here is an amazing teacher. Where should I start the story?”

Like a parent boasting about their child, the Principal began recounting stories from Ethan’s hiring exam onwards.

The story of him declaring he would become a master at the celebration party.

And up to the parent observation class.

“Setting such high expectations, I’ll have no choice but to observe with utmost composure.”

Just from listening, it was clear.

The Principal seemed eager to promote Ethan, who had achieved tremendous results, no, feats at Ivecar that could be considered outstanding as a teacher.

Thus, Jeryd had to interject.

No matter that Ghost Sword was his senior, he couldn’t accept the request.

However, upon seeing Jeryd’s reaction, the Principal shook his head.

“Observe with utmost composure. Infinitely.”

“…Huh?”

“In fact, I’d like to ask you to forget everything. Me being a senior, and the information about him surpassing Teacher Claudie Hyde. Just evaluate as is.”

“Hmm…”

The Principal smiled and said,

“That way, the boastful words I said will come back to mind. And then, I hope you’ll manage your expression well.”

***

The department exchange event.

The annual exchange event between the Knight Department and Magic Department was one of Ivecar Academy’s major events.

“The strongest-! Knight Department!”

The Knight Department and Magic Department were traditional rivals within the academy. As such, students belonging to each department could cheer with a sense of belonging.

Of course, the academy also provided matching t-shirts for each department.

Red for the Knight Department, blue for the Magic Department.

“Vanguard-! Magic Department!”

The cheering from the two departments was quite intense as well.

While the Knight Department’s Swordsmanship and Spear Technique Departments put on a flashy cheer, that flashiness paled in comparison to the Magic Department’s.

With the Magic and Alchemy Departments determined to cheer flashily, they easily outshone the others visually.

“That’s nothing! Our Magic Department will take first place again this year, right?”

The cheer leaders of each department continued hyping up the atmosphere.

“We will now begin the department exchange event!”

The Dean of the Knight Department used mana, while the Dean of the Magic Department used an amplification spell, their booming voices announcing the start of the exchange event.

The Principal came out, followed by Sky Swordmage Jeryd who would be judging. Jeryd smiled warmly and waved to the cheering students.

“Let me introduce the teachers representing each department.”

“For the Knight Department, Teacher Ethan Whiskers. He is a new teacher who just joined!”

Along with Ethan, three students entered one by one.

Mason Yeld.

Ron Bears.

Yuna Garnet.

As the three entered together, the students began to stir. While Yuna Garnet was fine, those two seemed to have changed appearance every time they were seen.

Their outward appearance and the aura they exuded were different.

“Oh…”

“They must have really worked hard.”

“Is that really Ron? That Ron Bears?”

The Magic Department students in particular looked stunned.

The Magic Department students occasionally saw the massive Ron Bears during Knight Department classes, but his current appearance seemed completely different from then.

The three students lined up, with Ethan taking his place behind them. Who could call him a new teacher seeing that poise?

There was not a hint of nervousness.

“For the Magic Department, Teacher Duty Von Niedern. A solid mid-career teacher of the Magic Department!”

Following Duty were three students. The first two were Serana and Vilcas, members of the golden age, and the last was Ingerd, Roanna’s replacement.

Ingerd was a second-year like Roanna and a quite talented mage.

“Roanna isn’t here?”

“Huh? Roanna’s not here?”

“Why isn’t Roanna here?”

Fierce reactions erupted when Ingerd came out instead of Roanna. Roanna was the core of the Magic Department, so having Ingerd there instead made them seem lacking in weight.

“Student Roanna will not be participating in this exchange event due to personal circumstances!”

“…It’s true.”

Seeing Roanna’s absence, Ethan’s three students looked stunned, glancing back and forth between the Magic Department students and Ethan.

Ethan had said he would take measures regarding Roanna, and indeed, Roanna didn’t show up.

“Could it be…”

“I didn’t kidnap her. How do you see me?”

At Yuna’s question, Ethan frowned. Yuna laughed awkwardly, “Hehe.”

“Roanna withdrew of her own accord.”

“Why… did she withdraw?”

“I promised her a teaching assistant position.”

“!”

Ethan’s teaching assistant position.

The three students nodded simultaneously. If promised the teaching assistant position, her voluntary withdrawal made sense.

If Ethan asked them to give something up in exchange for promising a teaching assistant role, they would accept without even hearing the details.

“The odds are now fifty-fifty. Roanna may be absent, but two of them are members of the golden age. It depends on how you perform. This is as far as I can go. Teaching you and increasing your chances of winning. Achieving the result is now your responsibility. If you win, you might be called the golden age too, you know?”

Ethan spoke,

“I’ll tell you the same thing as before. It’s fine to lose. As long as you gain something.”

“But we really can’t lose, right?”

At Ron’s words, Ethan slapped his back hard.

“Ron.”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Try it if you’re curious.”

“Ugh…”

Ron thought he absolutely must not lose. And inwardly resolved, ‘I’ll drop out if I lose.’

Mason and Yuna next to him also had serious expressions.

“You’re finally looking tense. Don’t worry. Just do as you’ve been doing.”

Ethan stepped back.

From now on was the students’ time.

“Everyone, the department exchange event will now begin.”

The Principal continued.

“At our Ivecar, ranks are assigned based on grades. So the friend next to you can also become a competitor. But remember. You don’t have to compete against others. It doesn’t really matter how strong the friend next to you is.”

The Principal paused briefly and looked around. As if trying to make eye contact with each student one by one.

“Competing against yourself. That’s the most important thing. This exchange event carries that meaning. It’s not a contest against each other, but a showcase of your strengths. The Swordsmanship Department shows swordsmanship, the Magic Department shows magic. We score it to make the exchange event more interesting. But students, always set your own standards and strive to reach them. Don’t compare yourselves to others.”

The Principal said,

“Only you can satisfy yourself. So work hard.”

Clap, clap, clap.

Starting with Sky Swordmage Jeryd, applause and cheers filled the arena.

“We will now begin the department exchange event.”

Author's Thoughts

Want to read ahead of the scheduled release? You can check the Novel page on the website (or press the next chapter button) and buy an advanced chapter with only 20 Honeys! (100 Honeys is only 5$! So you can basically read 5 advanced chapters ahead of schedule!)