DOTM: Chapter 409/412

Chapter 409: Knight

"You want to learn Holy Light?"

"Yes."

"The kind of Holy Light that Selene uses?"

"Exactly."

On the Prinz Eugen, various training methods were relatively open, and everyone knew that Ethan possessed two kinds of Holy Light, similar in effect but fundamentally different in nature.

Among them, the more systematic one was the Holy Light from the world of Azeroth. The Holy Light that Ethan had tinkered with currently had no system to speak of; everything was still being explored.

Although Ethan's Holy Light was more stable, after careful comparison, Hill felt that she was more suited to the Holy Light from Azeroth.

Ethan thought carefully and also felt that Hill's personality was more suitable for learning that power. Her character, which was to steadfastly pursue her convictions to the end, was very much in line with the path of Holy Light.

From this, it was clear that Hill had a thorough understanding of her own personality.

"So, do you want to be a Paladin or a Priest?"

Ethan's question wasn't really about which class Hill would choose. He wanted to confirm which path of Holy Light she was selecting.

Strictly speaking, there were some differences in how Priests and Paladins used Holy Light, but the two couldn't be completely separated. After all, this wasn't a game world. If Hill was willing, she could even learn all the skills of both Priests and Paladins.

"More like a Paladin, I guess..."

Hill wasn't entirely sure about her own thoughts. However, as an agent, even one who commanded from the rear and rarely fought on the front lines, she habitually chose a training path that leaned more toward combat.

Furthermore, she knew very well that once she was truly enhanced and learned to apply special powers, she wouldn't be able to stay hidden in the rear command post like before. It was very likely she would transition into a front-line combatant.

She had no complaints. Since she had obtained such an opportunity, she naturally had to give something in return.

"I might not be able to help you too much in this regard. If you have any questions, you can ask Selene."

He had only studied the path of Holy Light from Azeroth and hadn't truly mastered it. Therefore, he couldn't give Hill guidance on the specifics of training. At most, he could offer some personal advice and point out a few energy application techniques, these were generally universal.

"However, I must remind you that Holy Light itself is a very extreme energy. Long-term use of this energy is likely to affect your own thoughts."

Look at the Blood Elves. The proud Blood Elves used Holy Light by siphoning and using it in a manner similar to arcane magic, cultivating the first batch of Blood Elf Paladins. This proved that the essence of Holy Light was still just energy, and in some ways, the same as arcane magic. Claims like needing faith to use it were just nonsense.

However, after long-term use of Holy Light, countless Blood Elf Paladins gradually "understood" and "identified" with the path of Holy Light, ultimately surrendering completely to Holy Light and offering their faith. After that, the way Blood Elf Paladins used Holy Light was not much different from the Draenei and humans.

This was a typical example of being influenced by Holy Light, after long-term use, both mind and thought were constantly affected, or even brainwashed, by Holy Light.

The Blood Elves didn't anticipate this, nor did they guard against it, so they were directly corrupted.

In contrast, humans, after long-term use of Holy Light, gradually figured out appropriate methods to avoid having their thoughts influenced in reverse by Holy Light. They had stronger resistance to the "brainwashing" effect, and there were even many who abandoned their faith in Holy Light, walking down a path opposite to it, yet could still use Holy Light—though the power would decrease somewhat.

Ethan was willing to help Maria Hill become stronger, but that didn't mean he was willing to help Holy Light widely develop followers in other worlds.

"The best way is to strengthen your convictions."

Holy Light is ultimately a form of energy. Putting aside beings like the Naaru for now, under normal circumstances, using Holy Light doesn't involve much interaction with the Naaru. As long as one can find the right Holy Light frequency, they can use it.

For example, the Tauren, by worshiping the sun, generate a similar mental fluctuation and can also use Holy Light.

Many humans obtain the right to use Holy Light by having a certain firm conviction that generates a mental fluctuation capable of synchronizing with Holy Light.

It is precisely because of this firm conviction that the influence of Holy Light on such people is negligible. Ethan mentioning this was to remind Hill how to avoid being misled by Holy Light.

"Don't think that just because this power is full of positive energy, it's necessarily a good thing. Anything taken to the extreme will bring disaster."

Hill, after all, was an elite agent who had undergone countless training sessions and learned a lot. She knew these principles. So, in the following time, after completing the first step of enhancement, she began to learn from Selene how to sense and use Holy Light.

Having resolved Hill's issue, Ethan continued to enjoy life on Themyscira. During this time, he and Diana didn't exchange any sweet talk. Their daily conversations were similar to the past. However, unlike before, both of them had come to understand one thing: they had long since considered each other theirs in their hearts.

Just as Diana had asked him before, if they were to meet again after being separated for a while, and Diana already had a boyfriend or even a husband, could Ethan accept it?

Clearly not.

Diana's thoughts were similar. What frustrated her was that the initiative lay with Ethan, because Ethan was the one with the ability to travel through time. When they would meet again after separating depended entirely on Ethan.

This made Diana quite unhappy, and when Diana was unhappy, Ethan suffered. After finally managing to win a few rounds, he was severely lectured by Diana several more times.

Diana, who had successfully transitioned from a warrior to a rider, also chatted with Ethan's other companions during this time. She had figured out how each person had joined Ethan's team.

Compared to the others, Diana was most interested in Ada.

Ada was an agent, and people like her were very sensitive to such frequent scrutiny. She quickly noticed Diana's attention toward her and immediately understood why.

She didn't react much, at most offering a smile when she saw Diana looking at her.

Ethan was very fortunate that Diana wasn't someone with an impulsive personality. She wouldn't interpret Ada's smile as a provocation. However, she also wasn't the type to bottle everything up, overthink things, and end up depressed.

Diana was very straightforward and direct. After figuring out the difference between Ada and the others, she discussed it with Ethan very frankly.

"That woman named Ada. It seems you like her very much."

"Huh?"

It seemed like a very ordinary response, but in reality, Ethan's mind had raced in that brief zero-point-zero-something second. He realized that no matter how he answered, a "flaw" might appear. Not speaking wasn't an option either, as it would be seen as a tacit admission of guilt. So, he used this very "ordinary" response to cope first.

"She's the only woman you've actively invited onto the ship, isn't she?"

"There weren't many people on my ship to begin with."

Ethan spread his hands. This was the truth. Ethan's team seemed large, but people often came and went. There were only a few who truly lived on the ship long-term.

Especially considering his ship was getting bigger and bigger, the growth rate of the crew was very slow.

Even now, O'Connell, Jonathan, and Evelyn could leave at any time. Compared to the Prinz Eugen with a displacement of 20,000 tons, scattering these few people to wander in various corners of the ship meant that if you didn't deliberately go to those specific areas, you might not see another person all day.

Diana narrowed her eyes. It was obvious that she was not satisfied with Ethan's answer.

"You didn't even invite me back then."

Ethan wanted to say that even if he had invited her, she wouldn't have come aboard. But even though it was true, he couldn't say it. Because for Diana, whether she would accept was one thing, whether she was invited was another.

Moreover, while Diana didn't know Ethan's criteria for inviting people to join, she could sense that he wouldn't invite just anyone. There must be something special about someone who received Ethan's active invitation.

Among the current crew, only Logan and Ada were invited by Ethan. The rest stayed in the team due to various accidents. From this, Ada's specialness could be seen.

Looking at Ada's long legs, no less impressive than her own, and having personally experienced Ethan's fondness for certain body parts during this time, the facts were already very clear.

Although Ethan hadn't had anything happen with Ada so far, there was no guarantee that nothing would ever happen in the future.

After all, she had to stay in this world, while Ada would be with Ethan for a long time.

"However, now you are mine."

Diana, after all, wasn't the type to dwell on things. She quickly cast these messy thoughts aside. Setting everything else aside, it was hard to say what the future held between her and Ethan. Grasping the present was what she should be doing.

Ethan, who actually hadn't figured out how to answer the question about Ada, didn't expect Diana to just tease him a bit and then stop dwelling on the matter.

Did he manage to escape a disaster? Only to experience the feeling of being drained again over the following few days.

When Ethan felt it was about time to leave and was considering how to say goodbye to Diana, he found that Diana had already packed her luggage, clearly intending to leave with Ethan.

"Are we going to see Arthur next? I haven't seen him in a long time, and I'm very curious how he's doing now."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 410: Greed

How to deal with Diana, that is the question!

After months of exploration and practice, Ethan had figured out many methods, and his control over certain attributes had even improved significantly during this time.

For example, precise temperature control of the fire attribute, freezing manipulation of the water attribute, fine control of lightning, and so on.

If he hadn't held onto his integrity at the critical moment and refrained from using arcane energy for special shaping operations, he would have almost joined the ranks of some Cthulhu-like deity.

However, such things always involved harming oneself while harming the enemy. Even if he enjoyed it both physically and mentally, he couldn't indulge endlessly.

"What? You seem unhappy?"

"Of course not!"

Ethan swore fiercely in his heart that when his physical fitness one day surpassed Diana's, he would definitely teach her a lesson and let her experience the awkwardness of a sore back and weak legs.

But for now... he should just focus on recovering.

After returning to the Prinz Eugen, Diana was very curious about the new ship. Led by Ethan, she first toured the most important areas.

After learning how to get to places like the mess hall, training room, and bridge, Diana went to set up her own room.

To everyone's surprise, Diana did not choose to stay in Ethan's room but requested a separate one. Because the rooms adjacent to Ethan's were already occupied, hers ended up a bit farther away.

Ethan wasn't surprised at all. That was Diana's personality. In her eyes, Ethan's room and her own couldn't be mixed, and she didn't think their current relationship was intimate enough to necessarily live together.

"This room will be mine from now on."

After inspecting the entire room, Diana was very satisfied with her new accommodation, and her words made it clear, even if she returned in the future, this room would still be hers and couldn't be given to anyone else.

This was her territory now.

Ethan readily agreed. He couldn't refuse anyway. There were plenty of rooms on the Prinz Eugen, and since he was very cautious about inviting teammates, he didn't know when he'd bring more people aboard next.

"Speaking of which, this new ship is much stronger than your previous Goddess of Dawn."

Naturally, they couldn't be compared. The Goddess of Dawn was just a sailing ship. Even with a lot of magic stone technology and a small crew that allowed Ethan to greatly expand the internal cabin space, the innate conditions of a sailing ship were still there. It could never compare to a steel warship with a displacement exceeding twenty thousand tons.

The fully stationary Prinz Eugen was almost imperceptibly stable, something a sailing ship couldn't achieve—unless it was carrying heavy cargo and sitting on a perfectly calm sea, but that would mean losing wind power...

"After all, they're not products of the same era. Besides, Tony has integrated technologies from multiple worlds into this ship."

Standing on the deck, feeling the sea breeze and the cool spray from the waves split by the bow, the speed of the Prinz Eugen while sailing was astonishing, and Diana showed a hint of surprise.

The current timeline in the DC Extended Universe was during the relatively peaceful period after the end of World War I and before the start of World War II, during which warships were an important symbol of a country's military strength.

To better understand everything about mortal humans, Diana had studied military equipment in detail. It was precisely because of this understanding that she was amazed by the warship beneath her feet.

Just the astonishing speed alone was enough to crush other powerful warships, not to mention that Ethan's ship wasn't just about speed.

Returning to the bridge from the deck, Diana gained a more detailed understanding of the Prinz Eugen through the holographic display.

"It's truly a very powerful warship."

Diana's enthusiasm for thermal weapons wasn't high. After understanding it, she stopped paying attention. No matter how magical the Prinz Eugen was, in her eyes, it was just a more comfortable place to live than the Goddess of Dawn, nothing more.

This left Tony speechless. He had wanted to show off the various strengths of the Prinz Eugen, hoping Diana would look at him with reverence and praise him profusely.

It wasn't that he had any thoughts about Diana. He just enjoyed the admiration and compliments of others.

"We'll be sailing for a while now. Then we'll head to Arthur's place. Besides that, do you have any other plans? Like going to some world to find treasures or something?"

"Not for now."

As his strength had reached its current level, Ethan was also thinking about which other worlds might be worth exploring next.

Currently, it seemed his strength was still steadily increasing. He hadn't encountered a so-called bottleneck yet. He could continue training step by step, but the rate of his strength improvement had noticeably slowed.

If it were before, he wouldn't have cared. Slower was slower. It gave him time to think about how to proceed.

But after being repeatedly "stimulated" by Diana, he felt it was necessary to work harder.

Since the growth rate of magic power couldn't be accelerated and could only be improved gradually through diligent effort, he could focus on two aspects: attribute understanding and physical fitness.

Physical fitness went without saying. Improvements in physical strength not only enhanced close combat ability but also made the body more resistant to energy, allowing for higher output power when casting spells or faster casting speed.

Attribute understanding, on the other hand, could help his envisioned magic universe take shape sooner... The magic universe was still far off. Let's start with condensing a planet.

"Seems I need to first condense my mental power?"

Through continuous training and study, Ethan had already gained some clues. His current mental sea was a plane. To turn it into a planet, he had to first transform this sea into a sphere.

There were many problems to solve to achieve this, but he had no one to ask. How to do it was entirely up to him to figure out.

The problem he needed to solve now was how to contract his mental power into a core so that the magic power, which originally floated above the mental land, would naturally gather into a spherical shape, enclosing the mental power within.

It sounded simple, but this action was equivalent to performing surgery on his own mental world. It wasn't easy to achieve, and Ethan had already failed several times.

He hadn't yet found the reason for these failures either.

"Perhaps my mental power isn't strong enough yet?"

Theoretically, he didn't need to rush. As long as the magic sea became deeper, he could envelop all his mental power even without contracting it. However, he vaguely felt that doing so wouldn't benefit him in the long term. If he could prioritize this major restructuring of his mental world in his current state, creating a magic planet or even a star in the future would go much smoother.

Based on this intuition, after returning to the Prinz Eugen, Ethan spent less time with Diana and began to focus on his own training.

Perhaps the captain's attitude influenced everyone, but all the crew members on the ship were working hard on their training. Most of them had just completed their second transformation and were starting to think about how they should proceed on their individual paths.

Logan and Selene naturally didn't need to worry. Selene was still diligently training in Holy Light and Shadow energy. She had already learned most of the Priest skills, but she didn't look like a Priest at all. She looked more like a Death Walker who used Holy Light and Shadow magic.

Logan's Druid path still hadn't made much progress, but the abilities he had already mastered were becoming increasingly proficient, and he could even use certain abilities without the opponent noticing.

Imhotep and Anck-su-namun continued to diligently train—or rather, perfect—their divine magic related to Ethan. They were trying to establish a fixed connection with the Holy Light cross in Ethan's hand so that they could borrow energy from the cross in addition to using their own magic power.

O'Connell and the others hadn't decided which path to choose yet. Ada's performance was the strangest. She had been working hard to learn all kinds of knowledge. If you didn't know better, you'd think this spy was preparing to switch careers to become a scholar.

Only Diana, who had been paying attention to Ada, noticed that Ada hadn't chosen nothing. In fact, she had almost studied all the training materials collected on the Prinz Eugen.

When everyone else found it difficult to even study one path well, this woman had actually chosen a hellish learning mode. This made Diana's impression of Ada change slightly. The woman Ethan had personally invited aboard wasn't just a pretty face, at the very least, she had enough ambition, though whether her talent matched was still unknown.

Perhaps pointing out Ethan's flight made Diana enjoy the feeling, so when she saw Ada frowning in thought, she took the initiative to walk over and offer a few pointers.

"Learning too much at once can easily lead to confusion. I think you can focus on one aspect first and then expand into other branches from that main trunk. Otherwise, the conflict between different energy systems alone could cost you your life."

Ada glanced at Diana beside her, not expecting her to suddenly offer guidance.

"I know it's not easy to learn knowledge from too many different systems at once, so I'm only studying theoretical knowledge right now and haven't casually made practical attempts." Ada shook her head. "Even just the theoretical knowledge is already giving me a headache."

She wasn't just skimming through. She wanted to truly understand the knowledge, so of course it was exhausting to study. Let alone Ada— even Diana would struggle to digest that much information all at once.

"So, have you thought about which one you'll mainly practice?"

"I'm a very greedy person and find all these abilities very interesting, so I might pick out the ones I'm interested in and then master all of them."

(To be continued.)

Special thanks to mikestarling101 for sponsoring this extra chapter 🎉🎉🎉

Chapter 411: Ten Years

No one knew if Ada would succeed. After all, this woman had always been very strong-willed, and few people could make her change her mind.

It could be said that she and Diana were very similar in many ways, both were true strong women.

So it was only natural for Diana to be somewhat hostile toward Ada. When two very similar people meet, the most likely outcome is rivalry.

And if the same man was involved, the competitiveness would increase exponentially.

It was just that, at the moment, nothing had actually happened between Ethan and Ada. Diana was at most being cautious; it was impossible for her to actually do anything to Ada.

After sailing for a while and putting his training on hold, the first thing Ethan asked everyone was, "Who wants to go meet the legendary King Arthur?"

The answer he received was that most were indeed interested in the legendary King Arthur, especially Evelyn, the British archaeologist. Regarding King Arthur, who was incredibly famous in England, she was extremely eager to meet him—or rather, she was very curious about the city of Camelot founded by him.

That was a city of legend, and she really wanted to see what the real Camelot looked like.

Imhotep and Anck-su-namun didn't know much about the legends of King Arthur and weren't particularly interested in a legendary figure who only appeared long after their time.

However, as followers, they would perfectly obey Ethan's will and follow in his footsteps. So even if they weren't interested, they wouldn't voice it. They would just go along silently.

Another person who wasn't interested was Annette. As a top scholar, she had a clear understanding of what the historical era in which King Arthur supposedly lived was like, and she didn't think a tribe ruled by a backward and ignorant "village chieftain" had anything worth seeing.

However, since Shirley was interested, she had to go too. Besides, Ethan had explained beforehand that the world he was going to wasn't one that aligned more with real history, but leaned toward myth and legend, especially involving the legendary Great Mage Merlin, who was an extremely powerful mage. Ethan's current achievements were largely due to Merlin's guidance in the past.

From that, it could be inferred that the country ruled by this King Arthur wouldn't be some primitive tribal kingdom but more like the prosperous kingdom of legend.

"Still, I am concerned about the living conditions of that era."

"Arthur traveled with me for a long time," Ethan said. "He learned a lot of modern knowledge and will definitely build a kingdom far more advanced than anything from that time."

Ethan's words reassured those who were worried that the era would be too backward and inconvenient. Naturally, no one refused to go along.

After all, it was King Arthur. For most of those present, the story of King Arthur was a very familiar legend. Now that they had the chance to meet the real, living King Arthur, of course they wouldn't want to miss it.

"Another mission where everyone's participating."

Choosing a relatively remote location, even though there hadn't been any adventurers appearing on the route lately, they still anchored the ship in a secluded sea area and activated the invisibility function. After that, everyone packed their belongings and gathered in the room specially used for teleportation.

This room had been specially designed by Tony. It had no windows and was protected by steel plates made from special materials, with an added energy layer.

The design considered potential sudden attacks. When needed, it could provide a certain level of protection for those inside. Alternatively, if any unwelcome guests or some type of energy were to follow them back from another world, the room could be sealed off to avoid endangering the entire ship.

Tony had also accounted for the special environments of some worlds and installed various detection devices in this teleportation room. If any microorganisms or similar elements not found in the existing database were brought back, it would trigger an alert in time.

Of course, Ethan had no reason to object to this design. Although he had traveled between worlds many times and had never brought back any harmful viruses, he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't happen in the future.

Now that they had this room, it was like having another layer of insurance.

Even if Ethan's body was growing stronger and ordinary viruses couldn't harm him at all, what if some ordinary people happened to be on his ship?

Or what if a virus clung to his body or clothes and traveled with him to another world, spreading and destroying that world?

"This traversal might feel a bit different from before," Ethan said. "If anyone feels anything strange, don't panic, because panicking is pointless..."

For some reason, after hearing Ethan's rather irresponsible words, several people suddenly felt a twinge of regret.

Jonathan, for example, immediately raised his hand and said he had forgotten to turn off the faucet in his room.

"Anyway, going and returning will still happen at the same point in time," Ethan said. "Turning it off when you come back is the same!"

Ethan dismissed Jonathan's attempt to return to his room, then activated the space-time traversal.

This traversal did indeed feel different from the previous times.

Before, when Ethan led everyone to travel between worlds, they would just feel a bit dizzy and lightheaded, and after a brief moment of disorientation, they would find themselves in the new world.

This time was different. Although they felt a bit dizzy, they could clearly see themselves surrounded by a blue glow of energy, and then it felt like they were riding in an elevator.

The key difference was that this elevator didn't just go up and down. It jerked erratically and occasionally even spun sideways, making everyone extremely uncomfortable. Jonathan was filled with deep regret. He should've insisted on checking the faucet!

No one could read minds, but upon seeing Jonathan's expression, everyone could guess what he was thinking—and they all shared similar thoughts.

Fortunately, this feeling didn't last too long. Otherwise, even with their physical strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, they would have been vomiting all over the place, followed by wobbly legs and dizziness, unable to stand up.

Even so, everyone instinctively covered their mouths and held back the urge to vomit. Just the sight of so many people doing the same motion made for quite the scene.

Ethan felt just as uncomfortable. Before his companions could recover and start complaining, he quickly shifted the blame.

"It's a pleasure to see you again," Ethan said. "But your positioning spell seems to have had a slight issue. I'm really not feeling well."

"Maybe I haven't used it in a while. I'm a little rusty," said the old man in a long robe with a long white beard. Just from his appearance, it was obvious he was a proper mage. He greeted everyone with a smile. "A drink will help."

Looking at the drinks placed on the wooden table beside them, exuding a rich fruity aroma, and with the exact number of cups prepared, it was clear that this renowned Great Mage had anticipated their reaction, prepared everything in advance, and even knew their headcount.

Ethan picked up a cup of something that wasn't quite juice and downed it in one gulp. The moment the liquid hit his stomach, his body felt much better. The dizziness completely vanished, and his mind felt cool and clear. His spirit returned to its peak.

He knew that anything seemingly ordinary around Merlin could be something exceptional, so he wasn't too surprised. After drinking, his companions all reacted in their own ways, but most were very surprised. Even Diana took another look at the juice in her cup.

"How long has it been since I last left?"

Merlin stroked his beard. He wasn't calculating. He was just old and unhurried, accustomed to a peaceful life. He wouldn't rush to answer a question.

"It's been more than ten years since you last came here."

Ethan frowned. He hadn't expected that so much time had passed.

He hadn't pinpointed the coordinates of this world, only had a general spatial location, specifically the "landing site." So, theoretically, they could land at any point in time after he left. It was even possible they could jump directly thousands of years into the future.

But with Merlin helping with the positioning, why had so much time passed?

With Merlin's strength, there was no way such a mistake would happen. Could it be that he had intentionally brought him to this particular time?

Was something about to happen?

"That much time has really passed?"

Merlin understood what Ethan was thinking and explained before he could ask.

"There's no point in you arriving too early," Merlin said. "Back then, you showed Arthur too many things, which gave him a lot of ideas for governing his kingdom. He's spent the last several years trying to turn those ideas into reality. He's been so busy that he hasn't had time for anything else."

"I see."

Ethan nodded. He had indeed shown Arthur a lot, even revealing Arthur's 'future.' Arthur wanted to change that future and build a perfect kingdom. Turning dreams into reality was no easy task. There would be countless problems to resolve. If Ethan had come earlier, even if he met Arthur, it would have been just a greeting. The guy probably wouldn't have even had time to sit and eat with him.

"So does that mean Arthur has now built the kingdom of his dreams?"

"That's something you'll have to see for yourself," Merlin said, still stroking his beard. At the same time, he had been observing Ethan and the group behind him. "I believe he now has enough time to give you a proper tour of the kingdom he's built."

"I'm also curious to see what kind of country that kid has actually created."

At that moment, Merlin's hand paused as he stroked his beard. A strange smile formed on his face.

"In Arthur's words, it'll definitely surprise you."

As soon as Merlin finished speaking, a man wearing ornate armor and a splendid longsword at his waist pushed open the door and walked in. Although his appearance had matured considerably, Ethan recognized him immediately.

This handsome and dignified middle-aged man was undoubtedly Arthur.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 412: King Arthur

Tall and handsome, with an air of mature warmth about him—if anyone had imagined what the legendary King Arthur would look like, then the man before them perfectly embodied that image. This was exactly how King Arthur should appear.

Unlike Ethan, who immediately recognized his former comrade despite his more mature appearance, it took Arthur a moment to recognize the man before him as Ethan.

He was different from Merlin. Merlin could use magical means to identify someone from multiple perspectives. Arthur, however, relied solely on his own eyes and memories from more than a decade ago to make his judgment.

"Ethan?"

After observing for a while, he finally confirmed that the young man before him, now taller, stronger, and even more handsome, was indeed the companion from back then.

"You've changed so much."

"Adventuring alongside a handsome guy like you gave me quite the complex. So over the years, I tried everything I could to make myself more good-looking."

Ethan was slightly older than Arthur in age. Although more than ten years had passed in Arthur's world since they parted, Ethan had also been busy in multiple worlds. Factoring in everything, many years had passed for him as well, so their actual ages hadn't reversed.

However, after undergoing enhancements, Ethan had stabilized his appearance at the golden age of about twenty-four or twenty-five, while Arthur was now truly in his early thirties.

"Did you ever try the magical channeling technique we talked about back then?"

Arthur instantly knew what Ethan meant. Even after all these years, that relatively short period of adventuring was still deeply etched in his memory.

"I've been practicing consistently, but unfortunately, I've had fewer and fewer opportunities to use those abilities."

As he spoke, Arthur lightly ran his hand along the hilt of the sword at his waist. His tone carried a mix of nostalgia, frustration, and a hint of pride.

The fact that the combat techniques he had painstakingly developed were no longer needed meant his kingdom had developed well, without the need for him to personally take action. That was the source of his pride. However, not having a chance to display the skills he had spent so much time and energy mastering did leave him somewhat disappointed.

Ethan, however, wasn't focused on that. Arthur had traveled with him after all, and even if he could only apply a small portion of what he had learned and seen to his kingdom, it would be more than enough to build a powerful nation. That was not surprising.

What drew his attention was the sword at Arthur's waist.

"Is that the Sword in the Stone (Caliburn) or the Sword from the Lake (Excalibur)?"

Arthur paused, glanced at the sword at his waist, and instantly understood why Ethan was asking the question.

To know how Arthur had been doing, one simply had to see which sword he was carrying.

"This is the Sword in the Stone."

In King Arthur's legends, both swords were of great importance.

The Sword in the Stone was the one Arthur pulled from the stone, which led to him being crowned king. That sword later broke in a duel, and under Merlin's guidance, Arthur obtained the Sword from the Lake.

Ethan's question was meant to determine whether Arthur had altered his future.

Upon learning that the magnificent sword at his waist was the Sword in the Stone, Ethan knew that Arthur's future had changed completely.

Because the Sword in the Stone represented the status of a king. Its appearance featured intricate and ornate patterns, clearly indicating that it wasn't a weapon meant purely for battle. It was a symbol of power and authority. The breaking of the Sword in the Stone had once seemed to foreshadow the end of King Arthur.

The original King Arthur hadn't understood this. Even after obtaining the Sword from the Lake, Merlin had specifically reminded him that the scabbard was more important than the sword. But the original Arthur had ignored that advice, continuing to follow his own path, ultimately meeting his downfall.

The Arthur before him, however, had long since grasped that principle. Especially after learning about the existence of many powerful beings in the world, he had made the right choice—even without Merlin's reminder. He had poured all his effort into building a strong kingdom, rather than obsessing over his own martial prowess.

Even though he rarely had a chance to showcase his ever-growing combat strength, he didn't casually draw the sword at his waist. He allowed it to rest quietly in its scabbard, using it only when necessary to assert royal authority.

The two exchanged simple greetings. They didn't say much, but from just a few sentences, they both understood each other's general circumstances. It seemed the understanding they shared back then hadn't faded, and that realization brought a sense of quiet relief to them both.

Arthur had been worried that, after all these years and so many changes, Ethan might have become a stranger. That would have been a heavy blow to the memories he cherished, and he didn't want their long-awaited reunion to end up like that.

Ethan, on the other hand, was concerned that Arthur, having become a king, might have undergone dramatic changes in personality or behavior. Being in a high position for too long could alter someone fundamentally. He wasn't sure if he could accept that.

Fortunately, though their appearances had changed, their core personalities hadn't. The two quickly regained the feeling they had back then.

At this point, Arthur turned his attention to the people standing behind Ethan. He remembered Ethan often saying he wanted to find more companions for his ship. But considering over a decade had passed, this number wasn't large at all. It seemed Ethan had very strict requirements for choosing companions.

Arthur was curious why these individuals had earned Ethan's approval, but since he didn't recognize any of them, he only glanced at them briefly. Only Diana caused him to pause, because she had taken the initiative to greet him.

"Long time no see, Arthur."

If Ethan's appearance and physique had changed greatly but remained somewhat recognizable, then in Arthur's eyes, Diana's transformation was simply too drastic—he didn't realize at all that this was the little girl who had once learned basic swordsmanship from him.

"Diana?"

Luckily, he didn't have many acquaintances from other worlds. Besides Ethan, the one he had spent the most time with was Diana. So his first guess was indeed Diana.

Seeing her nod, Arthur sighed. "You've really changed a lot."

Diana's transformation wasn't just significant, it was like she had become an entirely different person.

Only Ethan knew the real reason. She was a different person. And not just once, either, three actresses had portrayed Diana at different ages. Of course, he wouldn't say any of this aloud.

Fortunately, there was another acceptable explanation: the optimization and transformation of her body by divine power had caused Diana's drastic change.

"I almost forgot you're a demigod."

Afterward, Arthur personally greeted each of Ethan's companions. In the presence of the legendary King Arthur, Evelyn and a few others appeared slightly nervous and excited, while the rest remained relatively calm.

Regardless of how they reacted, Arthur maintained a perfect smile and friendly demeanor throughout. There was no trace of a high-and-mighty ruler in his behavior.

Interacting with him felt like chatting with a warm-hearted neighbor. His enthusiasm was genuine, but never overwhelming or uncomfortable.

In short, Arthur made a perfect first impression on everyone. Evelyn and Jonathan quickly let down their guard around the legendary king. When Arthur asked about Ethan's experiences over the years, Jonathan even enthusiastically helped answer a few questions.

After a hearty lunch, Arthur had gained a general understanding of Ethan's adventures over the years. He also learned that Ethan had evolved his life form to the level of a demigod—not only becoming vastly stronger and more handsome, but also maintaining his peak physical condition around the age of twenty-four.

"Interested in becoming immortal too?"

"Of course I'm interested," Arthur answered directly, without trying to conceal his true thoughts. "But not just yet."

"Oh?"

Arthur was currently in his prime, but human physiology begins to decline after peaking around the age of twenty-eight.

Even if Arthur could make this decline incredibly, incredibly slow through training and magical maintenance, a decline was still a decline. No matter how slow, it continued.

A drop in physical fitness affects everything. Ethan didn't believe this king, burdened daily with state affairs, hadn't noticed these changes.

He had expected Arthur to gladly accept enhancement. So he was surprised by Arthur's lack of urgency.

"I'll only accept the enhancement when the kingdom is fully on the right path and I've found a suitable heir."

Ethan understood. Arthur currently needed to rule like a normal king. If the king suddenly became ageless and immortal, it might stir up unnecessary trouble.

But once he passed the throne to an heir, then it wouldn't matter anymore.

"Then I can go on adventures with you across different worlds again and witness all kinds of new and amazing things."

When Arthur said that, it was obvious he truly missed that life. Even though back then, Ethan only had a small, simple boat and their living conditions were far from ideal, nothing compared to the fine food and drink in the royal palace now.

"If you're willing, there will always be a place for you on my ship."

Arthur nodded, then shook his head. "That's thinking too far ahead. It could be decades from now. It's not likely I'll pass the throne any time soon."

Speaking of his kingdom, Arthur suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Before I came out, I instructed my attendants to prepare accommodations. Judging by the time, if we head back now, we'll arrive just in time for dinner."

He had been notified by Merlin and had used the magic circle to teleport between the palace and Merlin's residence. Before leaving, he had specifically ordered the preparations for accommodations and a lavish dinner to host Ethan and his companions.

(To be continued.)