DOTM: Chapter 460/463

Chapter 460: Unexpected Gains

There was no doubt that Betty had been in hibernation for eight hundred years. Most of the functions in her hibernation pod were damaged, but the life support system was still intact, which was why she was able to bounce around the bridge, constantly examining the various equipment on the ship.

She was already surprised by how similar the operation of this warship was to the ones she was familiar with. What concerned her was that this warship used a completely different language that she could not understand at all.

The official language of the Empire was the language used in this training ground world. This was to better facilitate the assessment of the cadets. It would not do to let the people here develop their own language and culture. Would the advanced people of the Empire then have to learn these backward subjects?

The administrators of the training ground had always guided and controlled the culture of the indigenous people, ensuring their culture and language did not deviate, so that the cadets who came for training or assessment could communicate normally with the natives here.

"Could another civilization have occupied this place?"

Ethan gave no explanation as to why the language used on the ship was completely foreign to Betty. Anyway, he did not need Betty's help with navigation. All she had to do was stay on the ship obediently and avoid doing anything that could cause misunderstandings.

Just as Betty was contemplating the possibility of an invading civilization, the Prinz Eugen suddenly started up, quickly transitioning from a stationary state to forward movement.

Betty turned back and saw that everyone was sitting in various positions chatting. She did not see anyone piloting the ship.

However, automatic piloting was not incomprehensible. From the look of this ship's navigation system, it was quite normal for it to be equipped with an automatic piloting system.

So Betty quickly withdrew her gaze and turned her attention to the topic of discussion between Ethan and his companions.

"After you extracted the space-time energy from the island, is the spatial labyrinth on the periphery still there?"

Ethan sensed it. Ever since he extracted the energy contained within the island, his perception of the various energies in this sea area had become clearer.

This was because he had established a certain connection with that island. The source of the various energies in this sea area was all on that island.

"These energies are still around, but they will not affect us anymore."

For Ethan, these energies would eventually become nourishment for his space-time orb, increasing his reserve of spatial energy. Or rather, he could use these energies to create some spatial items.

He only needed to sit there, and as the Prinz Eugen sailed into the spatial labyrinth area, the scattered spatial energy was slowly absorbed into Ethan's hand.

Everyone present could see a faint glow emanating from Ethan's left hand, with streams of light constantly appearing out of thin air around him and drilling into the ball of light in his hand.

Considering that these energies were widely distributed, almost surrounding the island, Ethan ordered the Prinz Eugen to circle the periphery of the island at a relatively slow cruising speed.

Betty sighed in her heart. This ship's automatic piloting system was actually voice-controlled.

As for what Ethan was doing, Betty could not understand at all. She only knew that those energies seemed related to the spatial labyrinth outside the island. However, the fate of the island did not matter much to Betty. She just wanted to leave here as quickly as possible and return home.

Even if Ethan blew up the entire island, she would not care, as long as he could take her home. No, that was too much to ask. As long as he could take her to the "destination," that would be enough.

"I hope I can still find the teachers who should be stationed there."

For some reason, she felt deep down that the hope of finding the military academy teachers was not great. This training ground had become too unfamiliar. She did not know what had happened. She suspected this was no longer the training ground of the Empire's Military Academy. Would the academy still send people to be stationed here?

If she could not find the academy's teachers, what should she do? Would she have to live in this world?

Betty was lost in thought and did not notice that the number of people on the bridge was continuously decreasing. From everyone being gathered here at the start, it slowly dwindled until only a few people remained.

Ethan was still slowly extracting the spatial energy spread across the sea, sitting in his captain's chair without moving.

Maria Hill was the warship commander. She usually stayed on the bridge, monitoring the ship's various data, ensuring normal navigation, and preventing any unexpected situations.

Even when circling in an empty sea area, she carried out her work meticulously.

Perhaps it was this kind of personality that allowed her to connect to the Holy Light across who knew how many worlds, becoming a "Reserve Paladin."

The only one left was Logan. He also did not know where to go, and there was nothing to do at the moment. Hiding here, he could even smoke a cigarette because there were fewer and fewer people around.

Perhaps the smell of smoke roused Betty from her daze. When she came to her senses, she found that it was already dark outside. The lights on the bridge were not on, but it did not seem very dark.

Ethan's left hand was still emitting a faint glow, with streams of light constantly appearing and rushing into the ball of light in his hand.

Various instruments also emitted light, and the cigar in Logan's mouth glowed slightly.

Betty looked around and found that only these few people were left on the bridge.

"If you feel hungry, you can go to the mess hall. There are many kinds of convenient foods for you to choose from."

Besides being able to cook for oneself, the mess hall on the Prinz Eugen also stocked various instant foods and snacks long-term, for the convenience of anyone who was hungry and wanted something to eat outside of regular meal times.

Logan thought for a moment and felt that Betty would likely have trouble using the equipment on this ship, so he stood up and gestured for her to follow him. "Forget it, I happen to want to get something to eat too. Come with me."

As they passed by Ethan and Hill, he also asked the two of them. Although Ethan's left hand was constantly emitting light and extracting energy, he did not need to focus too much energy on this matter. He could let his mind wander and think about other things. The only inconvenience was that it was not easy to move around.

"Bring me back a meat patty and some fries. I estimate I will be sitting here for a while."

Logan casually teased Ethan for a couple of sentences, then looked at Hill.

"Standard nutritional meal... with an extra steak."

After sensing the Holy Light, Hill found her appetite increasing. She, who was originally satisfied with the standard meal, added an extra steak.

Ethan's explanation for this was: The Holy Light stimulated her body, causing her physical fitness to break through a bottleneck. At the same time, the characteristics of the Holy Light allowed Hill to increase the intensity of her exercises appropriately without worrying about injury. The increase in exercise volume and the further improvement in physical fitness both required energy replenishment. The most direct change was an increased appetite.

This situation was not permanent. Once Hill's physical fitness reached another bottleneck and the Holy Light reserves in her body reached a certain level, she would return to a normal state.

If Hill had astonishing talent in the path of the Holy Light, it was even possible for her to become independent of food needs, able to sustain life purely on energy.

Ethan could now sustain his physical needs with magical energy. After progressing further to become a true divine life form, eating and such would truly be purely for psychological satisfaction, not physiological needs, for him.

According to Ethan's thoughts, his companions would definitely reach his current level in the future. By then, he was quite curious how many people would choose to give up normal eating.

Logan left with Betty and returned to the bridge shortly after.

Betty did not come back with him but went straight to her room to rest.

When Logan handed the food to Hill and Ethan, he was surprised to find that the ball of light in Ethan's hand had disappeared.

"Didn't you say you were going to sit here for a few hours?"

"Just saying."

Ethan had a look that said: You actually believed that.

"Although the energy spread in this sea area is not small, the quality is not very high. If I were to extract it quickly, it would not take long to collect it all."

"You deliberately put on that act earlier, was it because of that girl, Betty?"

Betty was nearly nine hundred years old by age, but everyone still treated her like a little girl.

"Not entirely."

Ethan watched a thin strand of energy shuttle freely between his fingertips on his left hand, like a cluster of starlight resting in his palm.

"I deliberately slowed down mainly to study this."

"Is there anything special about it?"

Logan wanted another cigar, but seeing Hill standing nearby, he put the cigar away. Unexpectedly, Hill, who usually had a cold expression most of the time, returned his gesture with a smile, thanking him for his gentlemanly act.

Ethan casually popped a fry into his mouth, chewing as he reminded the two of them to focus their minds on the point of light. "What do you see?"

Logan and Hill stared at the point of light for a few seconds, then looked at Ethan with surprise.

"Is it an illusion?"

"I think I saw an island... Is it the island we just left?"

Hill turned her head to look out the window. It was pitch black outside now. Even with the sky full of stars, she could not see the distant island clearly, but at this moment, her sight seemed to pierce through the darkness and see that very beautiful small island.

"It's not an illusion."

Ethan made the point of light swirl around in his hand again. As the point of light moved continuously, its color also slowly changed.

The point of light initially emitted a blue glow, just like the space-time orb on Ethan's hand. In just a moment, the point of light had turned silver, and faintly seemed to emit a hint of gold.

"This is an unexpected gain."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 461: Our Island

Logan looked at the light spot in Ethan's hand for a while longer, and each time he could see the small island.

"What does this mean? That island is yours now?"

"No."

Hill thought the same, but Ethan gave a negative answer.

"That island is there. I don't know who will occupy it in the future, but that island doesn't belong to me."

"Then what is this in your hand?"

They both thought Ethan had used some special method, like creating a passage, or similar to the spell that puts ships into glass containers, to store the small island in some special space.

But Ethan's explanation made them realize they had been mistaken.

"This is a seed."

Perhaps because the energy absorbed this time all originated from this island, the energy itself carried some imprints of the island. Ethan peeled off this part of the imprints while absorbing the energy.

Initially, he thought he would just discard it after peeling it off, as it seemed useless anyway.

However, as this mass of energy with imprints condensed, it slowly formed into a seed.

He knew that this so-called Empire had special technology that could build training grounds similar to small planets, and could even use unknown technology to make islands with various life forms appear continuously in this ocean.

Ethan didn't know how the Empire did it, but this "creation" technology greatly interested him. Coincidentally, this seed in his hand contained relevant "memories." If Ethan cultivated this seed, combined with his previous training through the Reality Stone, he might be able to achieve the goal set earlier more quickly.

After briefly explaining his idea, Logan and Hill understood what Ethan was going to do.

"You want to cultivate an island?"

"This seed contains various 'data.' I don't need to do much. I just need to supply energy and let it develop, and I'll get a small island almost identical to the one we landed on previously."

During this process, he could observe closely how an island capable of nurturing life is born.

"So... where do you plan to put this island?"

This was a very practical question. Although the island was called small, it wasn't something that could be contained by just one Prinz Eugen. Unless the island Ethan "created" was about the size of the light spot in his hand, there was simply no place large enough to accommodate an island.

Ethan had also been considering this problem before. Although it seemed troublesome, for a mage, especially one proficient in spatial magic, it wasn't too difficult to solve, it just required a little more effort.

He had previously considered transforming his battleship into a magic ship, even hoping that this magic battleship would have the effect of a mage tower.

Mage towers are usually tower-shaped buildings. From the outside, they look like a tall tower.

But the interior is far more complex than just a simple tower. The space within a mage tower is almost infinitely large, the exact extent depending on the mage's personal strength and how much effort and resources were invested in the tower.

In other words, for mages, as long as their strength reaches a certain level and they possess sufficient resources, they always have infinite space at their disposal.

A small island? It could certainly be accommodated.

So, whether there was a place to put the island was never a problem for Ethan to consider. What he was thinking about was how to "place" this small island.

Put the small island in a specially made glass container as a model? This wouldn't affect his observation of the island from a purely third-person, God's-eye view. But because it's an island, it couldn't be released casually like a ship, and it wouldn't be easy to put it back once released.

Or, create an extra space on the Prinz Eugen itself, like a mage tower, so the small island could travel with the ship. By simply passing through a specific "door," one could enter a separate world.

This seemed like a good option. Besides living on the ship, everyone would have an additional choice. If they found sailing too boring, they could go to the island and enjoy a relaxing life for a while.

The last option was like a portable space, binding the island to himself, making it his exclusive territory.

Each of the three options had its pros and cons. Ethan personally preferred the third option, but after a simple attempt, he found that creating a "portable" world was a bit beyond his current strength.

It wasn't that he couldn't create it, but the result wouldn't meet his expectations.

In that world belonging to him, there was nothing but an island seed floating alone in the void.

Although he could more easily use his magic power to "water" this seed and help it grow in this world, even if it became an island, it would be a solitary island floating in the void.

No sunlight, no stars, no seawater... nothing.

Ethan estimated that cultivating an island wasn't difficult, but truly creating a world suitable for that island was troublesome. Furthermore, considering that such a world linked to himself could easily affect his own power, even if he were to establish his own divine realm, he should avoid "borrowing" external forces and should "create" purely with his own power.

Then the question arose: if Ethan could create a world with his own power, would he still need this island seed? His expansion of magic attributes wasn't even complete yet. His magic attributes weren't rich enough to create a complete world, so he abandoned this option.

He lacked interest in the first option. It would be too wasteful if such an island couldn't be lived on.

That left the last option, which was to modify a room on the Prinz Eugen, expanding its interior into a large enough independent space, and then cultivating this island in that space.

Incidentally, it would also provide everyone with a new place to relax.

"Sounds good."

Logan stroked his beard. He still felt a bit nostalgic for the life on the island where they built houses and cultivated land purely by their own hands. If there was an extra place to go on the ship, it seemed like there would be more things to do.

Whether it was building a house of his own with his own hands or opening up a field, it was all quite good, not to mention a natural environment to practice his amateurish Druid magic.

Anyway, his lifespan was very long now, and he was idle anyway. He could just practice casually when he had nothing to do, and perhaps in a few hundred years, he could also become a Great Druid.

Hill also thought it was good. Although she was a workaholic and a strong woman, it didn't mean she considered work everything. She also needed to relax and do things that made her feel at ease to relieve work pressure.

She had a very good feeling about the previous island. If possible, she also hoped to be able to rest in such a place from time to time.

Originally, she thought it would be very difficult to encounter such an island in the future. Even though this sea area was very magical and various islands would appear, according to the information Ethan had told her before, the islands in the later part of this route were full of dangers, and the islands in the Sea of Miracles had various powerful and dangerous creatures.

Every time they landed on an island, they might face a battle. How could one relax in such an environment?

After leaving this training ground full of ocean, they would enter space before long. At that time, let alone islands, they might fly for years without seeing a planet suitable for life.

In this situation, the only thing to look forward to was Ethan occasionally taking everyone to other worlds, or when he visited Diana, they would go with him to places like Paradise Island for rest and vacation.

Unexpectedly, there was such a pleasant surprise, creating an independent space on the ship and then "creating" a small island with sunlight, the sea, and a beautiful and comfortable environment.

"I really hope this small island can be cultivated soon."

Ethan looked at the light spot in his hand. This task wasn't difficult. Even if he did it himself, it wouldn't take long to complete.

Looking at Hill and Logan in front of him, he suddenly had an idea: why not let everyone participate?

If the companions on the ship all participated in the work of building the island, everyone would have something to do, and working towards a common goal could also increase team cohesion.

The number of people in the team was increasing, and currently, everyone got along quite well, but this didn't mean conflicts would never happen.

For everyone on the ship, before joining this team, they had no connection whatsoever. This wasn't just from different parts of the world, but from multiple different worlds.

The huge differences in living habits and so on were not easy to bridge. Currently, it was simply relying on the various benefits Ethan provided and his personal powerful strength to keep everyone in check.

Although as long as he maintained his progress speed and remained strong, Ethan could ensure this suppression would last for a long time.

However, he still hoped everyone could get along more easily. Building the island together was a good opportunity.

"I think since everyone doesn't have anything to do anyway, why not work together to build this island? Maybe we can also make some 'adjustments' to this island to make it more in line with our preferences."

This island seed could grow even if left unattended, as it contained detailed "data" recording how the island was "born and grew." However, this didn't mean that some subtle adjustments couldn't be made. After all, the most important energy for growth needed to be provided by Ethan.

He couldn't say for sure about major changes, but simple changes like adding a hot spring or having the surroundings all turn into a beach were very simple.

"What can we do?"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 462: Space Expansion

Logan wasn't sure how he could help. According to Ethan's explanation, the island's growth required a continuous supply of energy, and this seemed to be a job only Ethan was suited for.

"It's not difficult to make this island grow, but to give it a comfortable environment requires more power. I could do it alone, but it would be very troublesome, so I need your help."

Logan's druid spells used the power of nature, which represented vitality and life. If Laura and Logan helped, the island could grow faster, and the plants on it could also flourish better.

"I need to help too?"

"Of course."

Listening to Ethan's explanation, Hill not only understood Ethan's idea but also his deeper intention: he hoped to use this activity to foster close cooperation among everyone and deepen the understanding between team members.

If this was his goal, it meant Ethan didn't care if everyone could genuinely help. Simply participating was enough.

"Okay, but I'm not sure what I can do. I might need some guidance from you then."

Hill's Holy Light power was just starting out. At this point, she couldn't offer much help. However, considering that Holy Light represented light and positive energy, Ethan felt that a world could not be without positive energy and light. He also couldn't do everything by himself, Hill could at least help him share some of the work.

Moreover, such activities could also help Hill better train her mastery of the Holy Light. Not all Paladins could encounter an existence like Ethan, who could help them connect to the plane where the Holy Light resided and absorb large amounts of Holy Light to aid their training.

"How do you plan to arrange the others?"

"Selene's shadow power is also indispensable. A world needs not only day but also night."

A normal world is formed by the delicate balance between light and shadow. For Ethan, leaning too much towards either light or shadow was a bad choice.

Besides these few, the rest could take on some trivial auxiliary tasks. For example, Jonathan was learning shadow power, so he could assist Selene.

O'Connell, Shirley, and Galahad, among others, were learning to master magic. They could perform the initial operations on his behalf. Ethan only needed to ensure the energy supply, and the specific "irrigation" work could be left to these individuals.

There were quite a few people on the ship who had mastered magic. With everyone taking turns, the workload wasn't heavy, and it also gave them something to do while allowing them to practice their control over magic.

Feeling increasingly confident about his idea, Ethan directly presented it during breakfast the next day.

Except for Betty, who was completely confused and didn't understand, everyone else agreed with Ethan's suggestion.

Ultimately, life on the ship was a bit too boring.

Now that they had the Prinz Eugen, it was better. The ship had more space for activities, and there was a dedicated entertainment room, so everyone could find ways to pass the time.

Back when they were on the Goddess of Dawn, besides training, they could only stay on deck to look at the sea, fish, or return to their rooms to play games or read books. Even if they wanted to spar, it felt cramped.

"That's a great suggestion, and I'm also looking forward to having an island of our own."

"Since everyone has agreed and is willing to participate, once I complete the construction of the independent space, we can officially begin the cultivation work."

As for this separate space, Ethan decided to convert a relatively public room.

The Prinz Eugen had a full displacement of over 20,000 tons, and its internal space was very large, especially with the relatively small number of crew members. Everyone had large rooms, and the public facilities also had ample space.

But even so, there were still many rooms that were not fully utilized.

According to Tony, these rooms were reserved for when Ethan had new needs. When not in use, they could also serve as storage.

Ethan had thought he wouldn't get a chance to use these empty rooms until the ship "retired," but he didn't expect to need one so soon.

This was an empty room located next to the entertainment room and lounge. The space was quite large, enough to accommodate all the current members on the ship, with plenty of room for everyone to move around.

Currently, this room was purely empty, and the few items that were there had already been moved out.

"The first thing to do is to make this space, which is about seventy square meters, much larger."

Everyone gathered in the room, wanting to see how Ethan would do it. Even Betty, who had been confused about what Ethan was doing, came along this time. Although she still didn't understand what Ethan was up to, since everyone else was going, was she just going to go back to her room to sleep?

Besides, she felt this was a better opportunity to understand Ethan, this mysterious local.

"How much bigger?"

"As big as it can get."

Ethan also wanted to see his limits. He was curious how large a "world" he could open up if he fully unleashed his magical power.

"No matter what happens in a moment, don't panic. You standing next to me are absolutely safe."

This was mainly directed at Betty. The others had confidence in Ethan and were waiting quietly to see him perform his amazing magic.

Although Betty didn't understand what he meant, she still nodded obediently, indicating that she understood.

Modred was very excited. She knew Ethan was a mage, but she had never been sure how amazing his magic was. This time, she had the opportunity to witness it firsthand, so she widened her eyes, waiting for a miracle to happen.

The miracle didn't make her wait too long.

Ethan didn't need to chant spells for a long time. After his strength increased, he rarely relied on casting tools. Everyone only saw powerful streams of energy erupt from his hands. Blue magical energy transformed into streaks of light bands, filling the entire room as Ethan spread his hands.

It was rare to see Ethan unleash such powerful magical energy. Modred found that she could no longer see Ethan's eyes. His eye sockets were continuously emitting magical radiance.

Everyone present had gained some mastery over energy usage, and they had a very intuitive understanding of whether energy was powerful or weak.

The intensity of the magical energy Ethan released startled everyone. Even Logan, who had been with Ethan the longest, hadn't expected him to be so astonishing when going all out.

And Modred, who had been full of anticipation, found that the magic she had always been proud of was like a small stream compared to Ethan's, which was like the ocean.

They didn't know that in the Transformers world, Ratchet's assessment of Ethan was that he was a massive humanoid energy source. If they had known this, perhaps they wouldn't be so shocked now.

But the one who was most unable to remain calm was Betty, who didn't understand Ethan at all and wasn't even sure what he was doing.

Ever since Ethan began releasing energy, her detector had been constantly alarming: Detecting high-energy reaction! Warning! Energy intensity extremely high! Extremely dangerous! Please immediately move away from the energy source! Warning! Extremely dangerous! Please immediately move away from the energy source!

She wanted to escape too, but where could she run?

As Ethan released his magical energy, the entire room was filled with the energy he released, and then this space seemed to be slowly undergoing changes.

As Ethan released more and more energy, the blue energy also changed in form. The blue light clung to the four walls, the ceiling above, and the floor below. Everyone was surrounded by the blue energy.

This was just the beginning. As Ethan suddenly raised his spread hands upwards and then swung them downwards, as if slamming something heavily onto the ground.

The energy condensed in his hands struck the even more concentrated blue magical energy below his feet. After a fleeting burst of dazzling light, everyone found that the blue energy beneath their feet seemed to be slowly fading and thinning, while the surrounding walls were continuously moving away from them.

Betty looked around in a panic, and finally glanced at the ceiling. The ceiling, which she could have touched with a light jump, had also become higher, and the height was still increasing.

Remembering Ethan's earlier words, "No matter what happens, don't panic," Betty looked back at Ethan. She found that the mysterious local captain no longer had the blue energy continuously swirling around him, and his eyes had returned to normal. Only his slightly raised right hand was still emitting that peculiar light.

"Is it done?"

After waiting for a while, Logan found that he could no longer see the surrounding walls, and the blue energy beneath their feet had also disappeared. The entire room seemed to have turned into a black void, with no other existence except for the people present.

Strangely, in this environment, everyone found that they could see each other even without lighting, but everything else besides the people was black.

"More or less!"

The light in Ethan's hand had dissipated. He wiped away the non-existent sweat from his forehead and shook his head helplessly.

"My current strength is still not enough. I can only achieve this much."

It sounded like he hadn't achieved his expected result. The kind-hearted Evelyn was about to open her mouth to comfort Ethan.

But Ethan's next words made everyone want to punch him.

"This space isn't that big, only nine times the size of the island we just landed on. It's barely enough."

Ignoring the faint "veins popping" on everyone's foreheads, Ethan continued to show off. "I originally wanted to release the Goddess of Dawn so I could take it for a spin from time to time. Now it seems I can only sail around the island randomly."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 463: Let the Storm Come Even More Violently

Regardless, the space had been cleared out, and Ethan directly linked this newly opened space to the cabin on the Prinz Eugen. From now on, anyone who opened the door to that room and stepped inside could enter this space.

"Aren't you going to set up some restrictions?"

"This is just an island for relaxation, not an important place. It's even less important than the engine room. Is there a need for restrictions?"

This was an island for everyone to relax and adjust their lives, essentially no different from an entertainment room or lounge. There was absolutely no need for restrictions, which would only make going in and out more troublesome.

"You said you needed our help? What should we do next?"

Logan tried walking a few steps and found that he could move back and forth in this void, but it felt very strange. There was no solid ground beneath his feet, giving him a constant feeling that he might fall.

"Next is to put down the seed."

Ethan extended his left hand, and the silver light spot with a hint of golden light reappeared in his palm. Then, as Ethan turned his hand, it began to slowly descend towards the "ground."

The seemingly empty black void rippled like a water surface the moment the silver light spot "merged" into it.

After that... nothing happened.

"Next, it needs to be regularly infused with magic power to help it grow."

"That's it?"

Everyone was waiting for something to happen, but Ethan said nothing would happen today.

"Hill can come over. I will create a temporary channel and extract a portion of Holy Light energy to leave in this space. I hope you can use this Holy Light energy to build a 'model' like this."

The so-called model was actually the specific structure of a magic spell. If Ethan were to cast it himself, he certainly would not need to go through such trouble. He only needed to decide what kind of magic to cast, determine its effect and how it should manifest, and then mobilize his own magic power to achieve this "effect."

Of course, Hill couldn't do this, so Ethan broke down a spell into several steps, solving the issues of energy mobilization and source, while also determining the final effect of the spell. He even prepared the "method" for her on how to use this energy to achieve this effect.

What Hill needed to do was "fill and combine" these energies according to the "model" Ethan provided. This method, somewhat like building with blocks, was actually the way many mages first practiced a certain magic, completing a spell according to a fixed "magic power circulation method." Many mages with insufficient talent even remained at this level their entire lives.

As Ethan drew some Holy Light energy from a space of unknown distance and dispersed it within this small space, this isolated area seemed to gain light. Although the void beneath their feet was still pitch black, there was a sense of brightness above, and everyone felt as if they were bathed in sunlight.

"What is this? And what should I do?"

Hill looked at the framework made of magic power in front of her. It looked like a haphazardly constructed sphere, not attractive at all.

"Guide these dispersed Holy Light energies into this sphere. When the framework making up this sphere turns golden yellow, the first step is complete."

Selene was given a similar task. She was responsible for the shadow power, ensuring that this space had night in addition to day.

The few people on the ship who controlled magic power were assigned another job: regularly "watering" the island.

Ethan would provide enough magic power as energy. What they needed to do was control this magic power to flow to where it should go. If the operation during "watering" wasn't precise enough and resulted in waste, the island would grow very slowly.

If they made no mistakes at all, they would soon be able to enjoy the sun and beach on this island.

The completion of work assignments didn't mean things were finished. The island might not grow for a while, but this space couldn't just be a void with nothing in it. It would be annoying to look at a black expanse every day, wouldn't it?

Ethan cast a simple illusion, and in the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves amidst sunshine and the sea.

"For now, this is how it will be. This sea is just an illusion. Everyone can stand on the water."

Then Ethan gently waved his hand, and a door appeared in the place that had been empty.

"This is the exit. Although a door just standing here out of nowhere seems a bit strange... I'll create a more decent entrance and exit once the island is built."

After everything was arranged, no one had the idea of staying there. Although Hill wanted to start trying to mobilize Holy Light energy and "fill the model" to see how much this practice could improve her Holy Light, she held back the urge. She decided to first do the work she was supposed to do and then find time to practice.

She was different from Selene and the others. Their work could begin from the start and even had to be largely completed before the island grew to a certain extent.

Otherwise, in a small space without day or night, even if the island eventually became as large as expected, it would be difficult for plants to grow on it.

Other things like the seawater didn't require them to worry. Ethan would take care of that.

With the foundation laid and the work assigned, after everyone left the room, they suddenly felt that they hadn't really seen any spectacular miracles today.

However, experiencing Ethan's terrifyingly vast magic power up close gave them a more intuitive understanding of the captain's strength.

The benefit of this was that Modred now respected Ethan greatly, and the corresponding trouble was that the girl would occasionally run up to Ethan, hoping that this powerful mage could give her some guidance.

"First refine and solidify your foundation, and then I will start teaching you from the very basic parts."

In Ethan's view, Modred's method of applying magic power had no merit whatsoever. It was simply too crude. She was just relying on her good talent.

Ethan didn't mind her wanting to learn from him. After all, she was Arthur's child. If he could teach Shirley and O'Connell, why couldn't he teach his friend's child?

Since she wanted to learn, she had to honestly train according to the methods Ethan proposed and couldn't do whatever she pleased like before.

So, Modred began painful basic training again in the following days. Fortunately, she wouldn't be too lonely, because Galahad would accompany her.

Because he was accompanying Modred, Galahad also received guidance from Ethan. Such an opportunity was not easy to come by, and Galahad cherished it. He fully utilized the time Ethan set aside each day to instruct the two of them, asking all the questions he encountered during his daily magic practice. After getting answers from Ethan, he spent most of his time each day on training.

Especially after realizing that helping to "water" the small island did indeed aid in training, Galahad became the most diligent person. Coupled with his decent innate talent, Galahad's strength improved rapidly in just a few months.

Currently, Galahad himself possessed considerable magic power, and combined with his already exquisite combat skills, his strength had now caught up to Modred.

This made Modred very unhappy. She also started running more diligently to water the small island, but her total magic power increased only slightly. She even asked Ethan why this was the case.

"Your starting point was too high, and your foundation is too poor!"

This single sentence shut Modred down. According to Ethan, her current training wasn't about increasing strength but about making up for deficiencies. Only by rebuilding her foundation would her strength begin to increase again.

"Does a poor foundation mean I can't increase my strength?"

"Of course you can, but that kind of strength is very superficial."

In Ethan's view, strength gained this way might look strong, but it could only bully weaker opponents. When facing strong opponents, you would be easily defeated, even if on the surface, your strengths might appear similar.

Modred didn't quite understand this theory but didn't continue to express dissatisfaction. Although she felt her progress was a bit slow now, she didn't want to become a pseudo-strong person who could only bully the weak. She hoped to truly become strong, the kind that feared no powerful enemy.

Maria Hill also hoped to become stronger. She had been training very diligently during this time, especially since she was responsible for the "daytime" of that island space, subtly forming a competition with Selene.

However, in reality, this "competition" was decided in just half a month. Selene only needed half a month for the small space to have night.

The daytime that Hill was responsible for never officially "came online."

This was quite awkward. Every time everyone went to "water" the island, it was always nighttime inside. Although no one said anything, the constant lack of daytime made it seem like she was particularly weak.

Her current strength was indeed very weak, ranking at the bottom among everyone on the ship. Everyone knew this, so no one mocked her.

Selene had already slowed down her pace, giving the training opportunity to Jonathan. The imbalance between the two powers continued to be severe. The Holy Light energy would be completely swallowed by the shadow power, and that small world might solidify into a world with only eternal night.

That was not what everyone hoped for. Selene also wanted sunshine and beaches, and since she herself trained in Holy Light, she helped Hill and also guided her a few times, giving her a greater understanding of Holy Light.

Daytime finally "came online." While Hill breathed a sigh of relief, she also felt a significant improvement in her strength. However, she needed to shift her focus away from training, because after such a long voyage, the Prinz Eugen had finally spotted the black wall connecting heaven and earth.

"We've reached the edge of the Sea of Storms!"

(To be continued.)