DOTM: Chapter 450/451

Chapter 450: Beautiful Island

This sea area indeed had various extreme climate changes. One moment it was sunny and bright, perfect for sunbathing, and the next it could drop below freezing with strong winds and heavy snow.

Everyone had just experienced an extreme temperature change, but that change had been gradual. The larger the temperature change, the longer it usually took.

They had never encountered a situation like this before, where the temperature shifted from tens of degrees below zero to over twenty degrees above zero in the blink of an eye. It felt like stepping out of a deep-freeze storage room into the bright sunshine of midsummer.

"Eugen, adjust course and circle the island."

This strange situation could not be ignored. Ethan had the Prinz Eugen sail around the island. Besides wanting to observe the island with his own eyes, he also wanted to scan the surrounding sea area.

The island was not particularly large, though not small either. Even keeping a considerable distance, circling it in a wide arc would not take much time.

Logan and the others did not disturb Ethan. The captain seemed to be pondering a difficult problem.

Meanwhile, Maria Hill was doing her job, checking all the external environmental data. The snow on the Prinz Eugen had already melted, as if the blizzard they had just endured had merely been an illusion.

What made everyone feel it was even more of an illusion was the location of the sea area they had just passed through. After circling the island, they seemed unable to find it anymore.

If they could not use the island as a reference point, everything around them looked almost identical. That was usually the case anyway—on the vast ocean, no matter where you looked, there was only endless water.

But this time was different. Ethan felt there was something strange about the ocean surrounding this island.

"Eugen, adjust course and leave immediately. We're not approaching this island anymore!"

This feeling was not good. Ethan was not the type to indulge curiosity in the wrong place. The various strange occurrences led him to decide to stay away from the island. Even with his formidable strength and countless life-saving methods, he had no interest in going ashore to see what was special about it.

No one objected to Ethan's decision. There was no one here whose curiosity was so great that they would deliberately court trouble. Even Evelyn, without ancient cultural ruins to attract her, would not do anything reckless.

Everyone felt that leaving this strange island was the right choice. After all, they had enough resources on board and did not need to stop to replenish food or fresh water. Continuing forward and passing through the Sea of Storms was what they should be doing.

However, after the Prinz Eugen adjusted its course and sailed away for several hours, seemingly having left the island far behind, it suddenly reported that an island identical to the previous one had been detected ahead.

"Capture a holographic image of the island and compare it with the previous island."

Ethan looked at the beautiful small island not far ahead, then turned back to look at the holographic comparison results. The "new island" was identical to the one they had encountered before. Almost every data point was the same.

"Make no stop. Circle around the island and continue sailing forward."

At this point, everyone realized something and sat quietly in their seats, watching the holographic image.

After the Prinz Eugen sailed in an arc across the sea, it circled around the newly appeared island ahead and continued into the distance.

Everyone had a premonition that they would see the island again soon.

Sure enough, when the island reappeared on the horizon, no one was surprised.

Ethan had not said a word. He just sat in the captain's chair, silently watching the distant island, finally showing a helpless expression.

"I sensed a strange fluctuation earlier, and now I can confirm it."

Ethan spread his hands.

"We've fallen into a spatial maze."

A spatial maze was something that seemed to have nothing unusual about it, but while you thought you were moving forward, your direction of travel had already shifted, for example from heading north to heading south.

In Ethan's view, the sea area around this island was filled with such mazes, causing the Prinz Eugen to end up sailing towards the island no matter how it navigated.

Coupled with the fact that everything looked the same on the vast ocean, it was almost impossible to notice that the direction of travel had suddenly changed. It was practically a perfect spatial maze.

Ethan himself was quite skilled at using spatial mazes. Thor had suffered from this before.

Furthermore, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj were also very skilled at distorting space, arbitrarily shattering and reorganizing entire areas to create similar spatial mazes. Ordinary sorcerers could only do this in the Mirror Dimension, but powerful sorcerers like the Ancient One could cast such spells in the real world.

Facing this kind of ability, the solution was not difficult.

One could escape by using energy of a similar nature to disrupt the energy interfering with space.

Or one could simply use brute force to directly shatter or disperse the energy affecting space. In that case, the area would return to normal, and they could naturally leave.

With Ethan's strength, he could do either of these methods, but he did not want to leave just yet.

In other circumstances, he would not be very interested. But spatial energy was enough to catch his attention.

Furthermore, after passing through the "spatial maze" several times, he even sensed a hint of the power of time.

He shared his findings with everyone and told them that he would go to the island ahead to find out what person, creature, or object was releasing these powers.

"You're going to land on that island?"

"Yes."

Ethan nodded. The island ahead was a bit strange, and he did not plan on having anyone accompany him. He intended to go alone to check out the situation.

"I might need to bring Auriel."

Auriel had the ability to sense and locate magic stones and magic cores. Based on past experience, these special abilities were likely being released by some powerful magic core. Bringing Auriel might help find the target faster.

However, just because Ethan did not want to bring anyone did not mean everyone was willing to stay on the ship and wait for him to return. Almost everyone wanted to go ashore with Ethan.

"Aren't you afraid of danger?"

Logan casually took out a cigar, just about to light it, but looking around and seeing only women and children, and being in an enclosed space, he ultimately held back. He just held it in his hand, occasionally picking it up to sniff.

"For us now, is there any real danger in this sea area?"

That was true. With the current strength of everyone present, there was probably nothing in this sea area that could threaten their lives.

The previous apprehension towards this island was not due to fear, but simply being too lazy to deal with the trouble. Humans are not afraid of insects like mosquitoes or flies, but that does not mean they allow them to stay around, because they are annoying.

"You all want to go?"

Everyone nodded together. Even Hill said, "Although I think someone should stay behind on the Prinz Eugen, I also really want to see what's causing these special circumstances."

Anyway, the Prinz Eugen itself was equipped with an intelligent system, so there was no need to worry about someone sneaking onboard and sailing the ship away after everyone left.

After everyone left, the Prinz Eugen could activate stealth mode. People in this world probably would not even be able to detect a massive steel warship parked on the sea surface.

"How do we get there?"

The area around the island was all shallow water, and the Prinz Eugen could not get close.

There were also underwater reefs and countless shipwrecks, so the Prinz Eugen had to stay at a distance.

"Take the Quinjet."

When Tony helped Ethan build the warship, he also included two Quinjets as extras, which were meant for times like this.

Of course, besides the Quinjet, Ethan could also open a portal and go directly. Teleporting within visual range was just a wave of the hand for him.

However, Tony had specifically prepared the planes, so they could not just be left in the warehouse to collect dust. It was appropriate to bring them out and use them occasionally so they would not break down from being stored for too long.

"Go back and get your gear ready. Meet in the hangar in an hour."

The group did not have much to pack and quickly finished preparing. Half an hour later, they gathered in the hangar and boarded the Quinjet.

At the speed of the Quinjet, they reached the skies above the small island in the blink of an eye. Piloted by Maria Hill, they first surveyed the various areas of the island and finally chose to land on the beach by the sea. This spot was the closest to the Prinz Eugen, the terrain was flat, and it was considered a suitable landing point.

After everyone got off the plane, they stood on the beach and looked around.

First impression: This island was beautiful.

The beach was almost white with fine sand. There were no pebbles or anything else mixed in the sand. Even walking barefoot on it would not feel rough or cause cuts. It was soft and slightly warm, making it very comfortable.

The grass not far away was lush and green, emitting a scent of earth with the wind. Laura closed her eyes and could even feel the "goodwill" released by these plants.

"Strange, I can feel that the entire island is happy about our arrival!"

Logan, who had also learned some Druidic knowledge, could feel it too, but it reminded him of the grassland island they had encountered before.

"Maybe it's happy because it sees food coming to its doorstep."

That had not been a pleasant experience at all. Logan suddenly felt a stronger sense of vigilance towards this beautiful island.

"This island is different from that island."

Ethan was no longer the novice sorcerer he once was. He could feel that there were no energy fluctuations affecting the spiritual level here, and the grass was not like the grass on that other island, which had contained extremely vigorous life force. This was just ordinary green grass.

"I'll take Auriel to explore deeper into the island. You guys set up a camp here first."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 451: Is There Anyone Else?

"I'll go with you!"

It was not Logan who offered to go, but Laura, who usually got along best with Auriel.

This girl's enhancement was basically complete. Her physique, appearance, and strength had all undergone tremendous changes. What someone in this state wanted most was to find an enemy and thoroughly display their newly acquired powerful strength.

So when she heard Ethan was going to explore this strange island, Laura immediately jumped at the chance.

She was not afraid of danger. Danger was good. Otherwise, how could she show off her strength?

Ethan thought for a moment. Laura already possessed healing abilities and had now been further enhanced. Plus, she also knew Druidic spells, so bringing her along was indeed a good choice.

"Alright, then come with me."

"Wait a minute, I'll go too."

This time it was Ada who spoke. She was wearing the standard-issue combat suit from the Prinz Eugen, which was made based on the assassin's clothing Ethan had obtained previously, combined with some black technology Stark had mastered.

Compared to the set Ethan had initially brought out, this combat suit was more form-fitting, lighter, and more comfortable to wear.

As for functionality, the set Ada was wearing had features like optical camouflage, sound absorption (the user made almost no noise when moving), energy defense layers, and more.

In addition, it could allow the user to exhibit greater speed and strength, enabling them to display more powerful abilities.

However, the crew of the Prinz Eugen had been enhanced multiple times, and their inherent strength was already astonishing. No one was overly reliant on this equipment, and it was rarely used.

It could be said that on the entire Prinz Eugen, the person most familiar with this equipment was not Ethan, or even the main developer Tony Stark, but Ada, who loved to study all kinds of gear. In the eyes of this former spy, this set of equipment was very practical, and naturally, equipment with practical value should have its functions and actual usage effects understood as quickly as possible to avoid various issues during combat.

As for Ethan, the greatest value of this combat suit was simply that it "looked good."

To make movement easier when wearing it, the clothes were designed to be form-fitting. They looked a bit like tight leather suits.

Various attachments could also be "added" to the outside of the combat suit, such as backpacks for carrying ammunition and supplies, or armguards that could release energy blasts or energy shields.

It was equipped with specialized polymer armor, available in multiple specifications. One could install lightweight thin armor to protect vital points, or add "full body armor" to enhance defense.

With the full set of armor added, it looked a bit like the pilot suits from Pacific Rim, just not as bulky. Furthermore, the full body armor allowed one to survive in outer space and also served as the Prinz Eugen's dedicated space (underwater) suit.

However, it would also affect the stealth and sound absorption effects, making it unsuitable for infiltration missions and more of a configuration for frontal combat.

This time, Ada did not add any extra equipment, only wearing the most basic combat suit with a red shirt loosely tied at the hem over it, swaying gently in the sea breeze. Paired with her long legs that looked like she was wearing black leather pants...

"Does it look good?"

"It looks good."

Laura rolled her eyes, feeling a bit speechless toward these two.

Actually, she had been checking out Ada quite a bit too. She had not expected that a combat suit could be worn like casual clothes. Just adding a red shirt on the outside completely changed the style of a set of combat gear. Wearing it like this would not look too out of place on the street, and it was also very good-looking.

Indeed, as a woman, she still had a lot to learn.

The three people and one cat began walking deeper into the island, stepping from the fine sandy beach onto a patch of lush green grassland. Ethan stood on the plain and first looked around.

Straight ahead was a mountain, which looked like a volcano, but might not be. To the far right seemed to be a forest, which he was not planning to check out for now. Instead, he would head towards the left.

"Why are we going this way first?"

Laura was very curious how Ethan made decisions. She had thought he would choose to climb the mountain first, as standing high allowed one to see far, and climbing to the summit would allow him to see the situation all over the island.

"We already saw the general layout of the island when we came over in the Quinjet. Now we need to conduct a detailed ground exploration, and this direction has the most open view, allowing us to finish searching it faster."

It was Ada who answered her. She was most skilled at this kind of probing and searching for clues.

Ethan listened as Ada explained to Laura how to search in an unfamiliar area, secretly feeling fortunate in his heart. He had not considered that much at all. He just wanted to go this way first, check out the situation here, then naturally turn towards the mountain, and finally detour around the edge of the forest.

This would just happen to complete a loop, after which they could return to the beach, assuming there were no unexpected discoveries.

They walked along the plain for a while. The terrain was slightly undulating, but this was nothing for the three of them. As for Auriel, it was comfortably perched on top of Laura's head.

Auriel was usually only the size of a small kitten and could lie down anywhere. It was not heavy either. If it had not been for that battle in Asgard, Ethan would not have known Auriel could turn into such a large creature.

Looking at it now, who would have thought this guy was actually such a ferocious creature?

He recalled Clyde's description from back then: in the Sea of Miracles, creatures like Auriel were extremely fierce and very difficult to capture. It was already the limit for some teams to kill one even with all their might. Catching one and then taming it into a pet was basically impossible.

Thinking of this, Ethan felt his luck was really good.

"Auriel, do you feel anything?"

Auriel, lying on Laura's head with its eyes closed and all four limbs splayed out, only slightly opened half an eye and gave Ethan a look that said, "Can't you tell by the way I am? Do you even need to ask?"

Suddenly feeling irritated, he walked over and flicked the little thing's head hard with his finger, sending the guy spinning 360 degrees in the air on Laura's head.

"Shouldn't you show a little respect to the person who feeds and provides for you every day? Do you want me to take back those snacks you've been secretly hiding?"

Dizzy from the flick, Auriel immediately stopped playing dead when it heard Ethan's words. It propped itself up with its hind legs, put its front paws together, and wore a fawning smile on its face, begging Ethan not to confiscate the snacks it had painstakingly saved.

Seeing the little thing's appearance, Ethan became increasingly speechless. He still did not understand why this guy had such a personality.

"Do you sense the location of the Magic Heart?"

Auriel closed its eyes and carefully sensed. To show that it was really doing its job seriously, it did not hide the probing fluctuations it released at all.

After a while, Auriel finally opened its eyes and shook its head at Ethan.

"What about the magic stones?"

Another shake of the head. Ethan looked back at the small river in front of him. He was wondering whether to cross the river and continue in this direction, then circle the island, or change direction according to the original plan and go check out the mountain?

According to what he had seen from the air before, one side was a plain, which was where they landed on the island. One side was a forest, which covered a large portion of the island. If they went through the forest, which was the direction opposite their landing spot, it was a Gobi desert area.

Continuing around the island from there would bring them to the other side of the river he was currently looking at. That side was also a plain, just slightly higher in elevation.

As for the river in front of them, its source was in that mountain, flowing all the way to the sea following the terrain.

This river was not deep. Even at its deepest point near the mouth, it did not exceed two meters. In the upper reaches, it was even shallower, not even reaching the knees. The current was not fast either, so they could just walk across.

He finally decided to stick to the original plan. As for the other side of the river, he planned to check it out tomorrow when they went through the forest and searched around the island.

Turning around, they walked upstream along the river. From here, they could head towards the high mountain. The journey was very boring. Besides the lack of scenery, the few people did not have much to talk about at the moment.

They could only occasionally ask Auriel if it had found anything.

They walked all the way to the foot of the mountain. Ethan habitually asked Auriel again, expecting the usual response of nothing, when he found Auriel crouching on Laura's shoulder with a wrinkled face, tilting its head as if it sensed something.

"Did you find something?"

Auriel shook its head, indicating it was not very sure, then pointed towards a spot not far ahead to the side.

Ethan searched for a while in the direction Auriel pointed and found a very hidden cave.

The entrance was covered by vines and rocks, so it could not be seen at all from a distance.

The cave should be connected to the river, because except for the entrance area, the cave was full of water.

Standing at the entrance for a moment, not only was Auriel increasingly certain of its judgment, but even Ethan felt a faint, subtle energy fluctuation.

This fluctuation was a bit strange, completely different from the magic stones he had sensed back then.

"It doesn't seem like a pure magic stone fluctuation."

Ethan turned his head to look at Laura and Ada. He was considering whether to have them wait outside.

"With our current strength, do we still need to worry?"

"True."

Ethan lifted his foot and stepped into the water. The moment he touched the river water, Ethan's expression suddenly became strange.

"What's wrong?"

Ada and Laura did not notice at first. Only after stepping into the water themselves did they notice Ethan's expression.

"Is there something strange?"

"Yes." Ethan bent down slightly, his hand touching the clear river water. "We must have been detected. It seems there are people on this island."

He was not sure just now, but now Ethan knew what this strange fluctuation was.

"This river water is filled with energy. This energy will not harm us in any way, but anyone who steps into this water will be detected by the person or equipment releasing this energy."

(To be continued.)