DOTM: Chapter 444/445

Chapter 444: Laura's Request

Galahad did not know much about Selene. He only knew that the beautiful woman with long, wavy brown hair was usually quiet and did not talk much unless spoken to.

When they met on the ship, the most she would do was give him a sweet smile as a greeting. Most of the time, she gave off a cold feeling. If Galahad had arrived earlier, the black-haired, pale Selene would have been even colder, not even offering a smile when encountering people.

He also was not sure what Selene's abilities were, and in the past few days, no one had suddenly brought up the fact that this person was actually a vampire who had lived for over six hundred years.

It was not until today that Galahad realized how formidable Selene was.

He could tell that Selene was not using her full strength, because every attack he unleashed with all his might was easily parried by her, not in a way that deflected his attacks using skill, but by meeting his attacks head-on.

Selene's steady hands revealed that his full-force strike had not caused any trouble for the beautiful woman who appeared slender and frail.

This was quite a blow. He had originally thought this frail woman would be weaker in terms of strength.

Selene's appearance was very deceptive. She was not tall, only slightly taller than Mikaela, her arms were slender with no visible muscle, making her look like a weak and powerless beauty.

In their daily interactions, Galahad had also learned that Selene mainly studied the Holy Light and Shadow powers of a priest. He had a general understanding of the various abilities on the Prinz Eugen and knew that a priest's Holy Light spells primarily focused on healing and protection. From various pieces of information, Selene seemed to be a spellcaster whose main training direction was focused on healing and protecting teammates.

In contrast, Diana, who stood over 1.8 meters tall in her combat boots, with clear muscle definition on her arms and an astonishing aura, was clearly a powerful warrior at first glance.

Unexpectedly, such a seemingly delicate woman possessed astonishing strength and exquisite swordsmanship that left him scrambling to cope. Aside from being able to attack initially, Galahad quickly fell into a purely defensive state.

He did not defend for long. After a few moves, his weapon was knocked away, and the opponent's blade was pressed against his throat.

Galahad knew clearly in his heart that the attack where his opponent knocked away his weapon, then rushed in front of him and held the sword to his throat, was when she finally used a little of her real strength. Before that, he could barely see the trajectory of her attacks and react accordingly.

The last two moves, he did not see what happened at all. He just suddenly felt an irresistible force on his hand, his weapon was already gone, and when he came back to his senses, he had already lost.

He was stunned for a moment, then said thank you to Selene, who had already sheathed her weapon.

Selene, as usual, returned a smile, then extended her hand and cast a healing spell, removing a shallow cut on Galahad's neck.

She usually sparred with Logan or Ada and the others. Those two had physical constitutions far exceeding ordinary people. Even if they accidentally suffered minor injuries, it did not matter. Even without using spells or potions, they could recover quickly. When sparring with Logan, she could even use various killing moves, since he could not be killed by stabbing anyway.

Sparring with an ordinary person suddenly made her lose control of her strength slightly, accidentally cutting Galahad's neck.

Galahad did not mind this at all. He had suffered many injuries during his knight training, ranging from bruises all over to broken bones. A small cut was nothing.

But this spell made him realize that this Selene seemed to be the ship's doctor? Even a doctor possessed such powerful combat ability?

He did not feel discouraged, nor did he think that with so many strong people protecting Her Highness Mordred, he was not needed for protection and might as well just slack off.

What Galahad was thinking about now was how to improve his own strength. He was ordered to accompany and protect Princess Mordred, not to loaf around.

Moreover, with so many powerful beings around, not learning something would be a waste of such a good opportunity.

Mordred had similar thoughts. After seeing Galahad also being cleanly defeated, she finally understood one thing: there was not a single ordinary person on this ship.

Although Mordred was still a child, her judgment was not bad. It was not hard to see that Selene had deliberately held back and let Galahad get a few moves in. The final attack would have defeated even her.

Mordred, who could enhance her strength with magic, had faster reactions than ordinary people, but that did not mean she could withstand attack force far beyond her limit.

What is more, there was Jonathan the chatterbox, who immediately revealed Selene's true identity, making Galahad realize he was completely wrong. Selene was not any kind of ship's medical staff. She was actually the Deathwalker on the ship most skilled in stealth and assassination.

As for constantly studying the Holy Light spells of a priest, that was because Selene wanted to better learn Shadow spells.

"Uh... so who is the doctor on the ship?"

Thanks to King Arthur's nationwide promotion of advanced medical systems and concepts after his ascension to the throne, the nascent Kingdom of Britain possessed a medical system far exceeding that era. Although training doctors was difficult, after more than a decade, a framework had finally been established.

As a knight who often needed to campaign for the kingdom, almost all knights had been ordered by King Arthur to study a lot of medical knowledge, so Galahad believed there would definitely be a doctor in such a team.

Unexpectedly, after being stunned for a long time, Jonathan suddenly had an expression of realization. He turned his head and asked Ethan, who was not far away, "I've always felt like something was missing on this ship. It wasn't until Galahad mentioned it that I realized, Captain, why don't we have a ship's doctor?"

Hearing this question, Logan suddenly burst into radiant laughter, leaving everyone puzzled and unsure what Logan was laughing about.

Ethan, who knew what he was laughing about, was quite helpless, but he could not just give a dry explanation to everyone. He could only simply reply to Jonathan, "Otherwise, why do you think I've been concocting various enhancement potions for you? Isn't it because I'm afraid you might accidentally get sick and there's no one to treat you?"

Jonathan's mouth fell open. He had not expected that this was the reason Ethan gave everyone enhancement potions.

But upon closer thought, if everyone's physique was enhanced, then possessing physical abilities beyond human limits would indeed make them less susceptible to illness. If they did not get sick, they truly would not need a ship's doctor. The logic held.

As for injuries, there were many ways to deal with them on the ship.

Galahad was startled. Was there really no doctor on this ship at all?

Ethan knew what he was worried about and explained briefly.

"Don't worry too much. Although there isn't a dedicated doctor, Selene's spells can handle common illnesses, and Annette can also deal with some difficult and complicated cases."

Annette knew a lot of medical knowledge, and indeed, common illnesses were no problem for her.

Illnesses that neither Selene nor Annette could solve were definitely not ordinary diseases. A regular ship's doctor would not have any good solutions either. At that point, Ethan would need to step in. Since he could not cure it, he would change direction and strengthen the patient themselves, allowing the patient to eliminate the illness through their own self-healing ability.

In critical moments, he could even use the God-Blood Potion. Evolving into a demigod meant the life level reached a new stage. Illnesses that could threaten ordinary people or even transcendent beings who had just broken through human limits would have difficulty posing a threat to demigods.

If it was an illness that could even threaten a demigod, Ethan had no solution either. In such a situation, a regular ship's doctor also had no way. It would be better to just wait for death honestly. What Ethan could do was protect the soul of that unfortunate person and resurrect him later.

So, from any perspective, the presence of a doctor on the Prinz Eugen was no longer very necessary. The ship's doctor that Ethan had been talking about for a long time was resolved in this manner.

Only then did Galahad breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, he realized that his understanding of this ship was still too little. Next, he would have to communicate more with everyone and study new knowledge more diligently.

Mordred also wanted to work harder. After being thoroughly beaten this time, Mordred finally became more well-behaved, though only to a limited extent, as she was still young after all.

But ultimately, she was more like an ordinary child now, rather than an arrogant brat who thought she had great talent, did not take others seriously, liked to look down on people, and was unwilling to properly learn new knowledge.

As for these two, Ethan's arrangement for them was to first learn basic common sense. After they had caught up on these fundamentals and had fully adapted to life on the ship, they could then consider further directions for their efforts.

In any case, neither of them was very old, and there was no rush to use any enhancement potions. If nothing unexpected happened, they would undergo enhancement around the same time as Shirley.

The one who needed enhancement recently was Laura. After so many years, Laura was already a young woman. Ethan placed the enhancement potion in front of her and let her choose the direction of enhancement herself.

However, Laura suddenly made a request that forced Ethan to create a new specialized potion for her, because her request was a special case that could not be solved without a custom-made potion.

This request was not difficult: it was to remove the metal claws extending from Laura's feet or transfer them to her hands, so that claws would only extend from her hands, just like Logan.

It was not hard to understand why she made this request. Although having claws extend from her feet could be surprising in combat, she did not want to ruin a pair of shoes every time she fought or got too excited, unless Laura only wore open-toed shoes from now on.

"Besides, it's neither cool nor good-looking!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 445: Deathstrike?

Laura's request was very reasonable, and her reasons were unassailable.

Ethan was annoyed because he was not as handsome as Arthur and was always overshadowed, so when he underwent enhancements, he kept optimizing his appearance.

He could say that the enhancement potions were for his own evolution, and optimizing his appearance was inherently part of that evolution.

In fact, even if these enhancement potions did not originally have the effect of optimizing appearance, Ethan would have found ways to add it in.

You could not say Ethan was too shallow. After all, good looks are very important in many worlds.

People with good looks always make a better first impression than those who do not.

As an adventurer who traveled through multiple worlds, he indeed needed an outstanding appearance.

Even without considering social interactions, no one wants to be ugly.

The original Laura would not have cared about this. Back then, she was a wild girl who had no contact with society and knew nothing.

But as she slowly grew up, under the guidance of excellent teachers like Selene and Annette, she had mastered all the knowledge she should, and understood all the things she should. It was impossible for her not to understand the concept of beauty and ugliness.

Originally, Laura was not too concerned about this, but as the number of crew members on the ship gradually increased, Laura discovered an awkward truth.

She seemed to be the one with the lowest good looks.

Not to mention the Captain, who had cheated by using enhancement potions, and Diana, who was a goddess.

The First Mate, who was her father in a sense, Logan, although often unkempt and prone to wandering around with messy hair and a full beard, was actually a rugged, wild, and extremely masculine man. Coupled with his muscular physique, he was very attractive to women.

There was no need to mention Selene and Ada. Even Evelyn, who joined later, had looks above average before receiving enhancements and became even more beautiful after.

Originally, Laura could comfort herself by thinking she was still young and would become more beautiful as she grew up.

As a result, she found that even Shirley was becoming more attractive, but she did not have this trend. Instead, she was gradually becoming ordinary.

If she had not known that her captain could formulate potions that optimized appearance, Laura, who saw handsome men and beautiful women wandering around all day, would have become depressed long ago.

Finally, when it was time to use enhancement potions, how could she not make some reasonable requests and vent all the resentment she had built up during this time?

I want to be beautiful.

Also, that metal claw that pops out of her feet and seriously affects her image must be removed, or moved to her hands.

"Actually, it hurts quite a bit when it pops out of my hands too. Is there a way to make it not hurt?"

Ethan frowned and began to think of a solution. He knew that Wolverine's claws pierced through flesh and bone every time they extended, which was like stabbing himself with a knife each time he used them.

Although the ability to tolerate pain in the hands was much stronger than in some vital areas, no one was masochistic. If they had a choice, they would naturally prefer no pain.

"If you want it not to hurt, that's possible, but then it cannot extend from the back of your hand."

"Then from where?"

"Your fingernails."

Laura looked down at her fingernails. Having joined Ethan's team for so many years, she had indeed learned many things, especially when they went to the Marvel Universe. Tony Stark and Pepper Potts had given her, still a child then, all sorts of things, including clothes, shoes, toys, and some cosmetics and jewelry.

Pepper had also taught her how to do makeup, but while living on the ship, she often had to practice combat skills or help with odd jobs, so she did not have much opportunity to truly try dressing up.

It was not until Ada joined later that she truly began to teach her how to use various cosmetics to beautify herself.

Now, her fingernails were coated with transparent nail polish and specially trimmed, looking crystal clear and slightly pinkish. They were made very pretty without affecting her ability to fight.

What would it look like if Adamantium claws extended from here? Would she not be able to wear nail polish anymore?

Ethan did not know what Laura was thinking, but continued to explain his idea.

"If that's the case, we'll need to make some special adjustments to your metal claws, causing a fundamental change in their form."

As Ethan described it, Laura finally understood what his idea meant.

Logan, standing nearby, felt a sense of familiarity the more he listened. Wasn't this just like his brother, Sabretooth?

Sabretooth's abilities were basically the same as Logan's. Both possessed a powerful healing factor, and in addition, both had a certain degree of bone mutation. Wolverine Logan could extend three long bone claws from his hands. Sabretooth's fingernails on all five fingers would slightly lengthen and become harder and sharper.

Furthermore, Sabretooth's ability also made his teeth sharp, but Ethan did not plan to replicate this part.

Transferring the claw ability to the fingernails meant rapidly stimulating nail growth when used, without piercing her flesh. Naturally, it would not cause pain like stabbing herself. At most, her fingers might feel a bit itchy during rapid growth, but that was nothing at all.

"That sounds good."

Laura thought about it. Ethan's idea indeed met her requirements, and having her fingernails turn into claws on her fingertips would even be more convenient to use.

Actually, the solution Ethan first thought of was to make Laura similar to Deathstrike, because he remembered that Deathstrike's Adamantium claws extended from her fingernails.

Only after recalling the details did he remember that Deathstrike's claws, strictly speaking, extended from her fingertips and also had to pierce through flesh, not just a simple mutation and extension of the fingernails.

It seemed the only type of fingernail mutation was like Sabretooth's, but Ethan always felt that Sabretooth's was not strong enough. Even if the fingernails turned into Adamantium, it still felt a bit lacking.

Therefore, when he was actually making the potion, he was still constantly adjusting it.

To ensure the potion's creation was successful on the first try and would not cause Laura dissatisfaction, he would ask Laura if she was satisfied every time he made an adjustment, and he would also ask Logan, who had more experience with various combat situations and mutant abilities, to ensure his ideas were not flawed.

This process took over half a month, and the final adjusted product had many changes compared to the initial discussion.

The newly adjusted final product would cause the two metal wolf claws on Laura's hands to disappear, completely merging into her fingernail area. Normally, they would be like ordinary fingernails, just with a slight metallic sheen. Laura was not dissatisfied with this. She just considered it like wearing slightly shimmering silver nail polish.

During combat, the fingernails on all five fingers could extend outwards by three to five centimeters, allowing Laura to turn her hands into terrifying, indestructible weapons.

This was not all. When necessary, each fingernail could continue to extend into a sharp blade twenty to thirty centimeters long. However, in this state, just like Deathstrike, the metal blade would pierce through the flesh of her fingertips, meaning that when she needed to use this ability, she would have to endure the pain as usual.

Furthermore, the metal claw on Laura's foot was not eliminated but transferred to her arm, which meant that in addition to the fixed weapons that could extend from her fingers, Laura also had an extra backup blade.

This metal blade could extend from several locations: the outer side of her forearm, the outer side of her elbow, and her palm, providing an element of surprise when needed.

Of course, this blade also needed to pierce through flesh, so Laura would not use it normally. This also served to effectively hide this ability.

Imagine this: the opponent finally managed to block or evade the blades on Laura's fingertips with great effort, and just as they were breathing a sigh of relief, they suddenly saw a section of metal blade shoot out from Laura's open palm or elbow. What kind of expression would they have?

Moreover, having blades that could extend from the outer forearm, elbow, and palm provided tremendous help in close combat. Even some moves used for defense or hindering enemy attacks could become deadly killing blows in her hands.

As a seasoned warrior who had participated in countless battles and had almost reached the peak in close combat, Logan naturally knew what this adjustment by Ethan meant.

"Isn't that too insidious?"

"It's alright..."

Ethan was having fun with the modifications and did not think too much about it. In his opinion, Laura would not have many opportunities to use this insidious hidden blade in future battles.

Given her current situation, most enemies could not even get close to her.

Laura's Druid spells were decent, not on the same level as Logan's half-baked attempts. Nowadays, Laura could use some spells. Combined with always sticking close to Auriel, most of the time she just needed to stand at a distance and support Auriel with some interference and attack spells.

Even if someone occasionally charged at her, they would probably be scratched to death by her fingernails. This hidden claw might not even get a chance to be used in her lifetime.

Laura, on the other hand, did not think too much. She just felt this adjustment was very much to her liking. It was not just cool, but also powerful. Moreover, Ethan had specifically integrated effects like beauty enhancement, body shaping, and mental strength strengthening into this potion. All the effects she wanted were included.

However, the effect was too strong, especially since it was adjusted specifically for her mutant abilities. Therefore, this specially formulated potion could not complete the enhancement through simple oral intake.

Laura needed to be immersed in the medicinal liquid in a specially made device, just like Selene, spending a longer time to complete this enhancement.

But thinking about how she would not be the person with the lowest good looks on the ship after the enhancement was complete, she felt it was no big deal. Wasn't it just sleeping in this cabin for a few extra days? What was the big deal?

It was not until Annette took over the subsequent work and the enhancement officially began that Laura realized she was wrong.

Because this enhancement involved significant adjustments to her body, the process... was not very comfortable or pleasant.

(To be continued.)