DOTM: Chapter 208/209

Chapter 208: A Small Spell
Ethan did not know that he was being observed by two of the strongest beings. Though he had some suspicions in his heart about being watched by them, he could only guess.

Both Odin and the Ancient One were unusually kind to him. Maybe it was just his own dark thoughts, but he couldn't help feeling that there was no such thing as kindness without a reason in this world, especially when the gap between the two sides was so vast. Their attitude toward him made him uneasy, as if they were scheming something.

The first time he met the Ancient One, she was very friendly to him. Back then, he simply assumed that the Ancient One was kind to everyone.

But after all this time, he clearly understood that things were not so simple. The Ancient One had never really hidden her intentions.

Ethan did not question her. He believed that if he asked, the Ancient One would probably give him some answers. Even if she didn't say it directly, he could still guess the truth. But in the end, he chose not to ask.

He could sense that the Ancient One wasn't unwilling to speak, but rather that there was no point in saying anything too soon. Thinking this through, Ethan continued to focus on his own goals, improving himself step by step according to his plan.

Of course, he still had his own speculations.

In the original plot, the Ancient One chose death, perhaps because she foresaw that her future would not end well. At that time, she probably saw no hope of changing the outcome and believed that her death might help prevent an even greater catastrophe. Considering she had long absorbed dark energy, if she did not choose to die, there was a high chance she would eventually fall to darkness.

Did his appearance give her hope? After all, if there is a chance to live, who would willingly choose death? Maybe that was why she was so kind to him and willing to help when needed.

As for Odin…

The situation with the god-king seemed even more complicated. Perhaps he did not care much about his own life, but his love for Asgard was undeniable. Thor had already shown that Ragnarok could arrive due to certain unexpected events.

As the god-king of Asgard, Odin's strength was far above Thor's. Together with the Ancient One, he knew that Ragnarok was not unusual in the cycle of gods.

Perhaps Odin believed that Ethan might be able to help Asgard avoid Ragnarok. In this case, sending Loki along with Ethan was probably not just about exiling Loki. With Loki accompanying him, Ethan would naturally have more frequent contact with Asgard, and their relationship would deepen. When disaster like Ragnarok truly arrived, Ethan would not be able to stand by and do nothing.

Ethan also noticed that Odin had always been very friendly to Diana and had even carefully inquired about the situation in her home world. Ethan wondered if Odin was thinking of having Thor lead the Asgardians to Paradise Island if things ever went wrong.

"It's not impossible," Ethan thought.

Regardless, Ethan was certain that if the time came, he would help Thor. Even if they did not go to Paradise Island, he could help the Asgardians find a suitable place to live. Even if he could only transfer a few people at a time, no matter how troublesome it was, he would still be willing to help. Whether for Odin's favor or for his friendship with Thor, he had no reason to refuse.

Coming out of Asgard's library, Ethan stretched a bit.

These days, he had spent a lot of time reading Asgardian knowledge. Starting from the most basic concepts, he had already recorded a large amount of foundational knowledge using his enhanced memory and the copying ability of the Book of Inheritance.

It would take time for him to read through these materials, and even longer to fully digest and understand them. Even with his abilities, it would still take several years just to read everything roughly. Truly mastering Asgardian knowledge could take decades, even if it was only the basic level.

As for the more advanced knowledge, Ethan did not continue to study it and simply gave up for now. It was not that Asgard restricted him from accessing it, but that he realized there was no point in reading advanced material without a solid foundation.

It was like giving a child who hadn't learned basic addition and subtraction a college-level calculus textbook. How could they possibly understand it?

What he needed now was not to rush through recording knowledge, but to properly organize and learn it.

Among everything he had read, the content on how to use energy was particularly helpful to his path as a mage. It not only involved spellcasting but also techniques for crafting magical equipment.

The spell systems of Asgard also opened his eyes. Almost all spells here involved multiple combined attributes, requiring a high level of skill to use properly. Even some seemingly simple spells contained profound techniques that ordinary mages would struggle to understand.

After practicing for a while and improving his control, Ethan found that even without mastering a single new spell yet, his spellcasting skills had already improved significantly. This made him eager to learn more about Asgardian magic.

"Don't worry, you can't get fat from just one bite. There's plenty of time to learn slowly. Focus on building the foundation first," he reminded himself.

Although there was still a lot of knowledge to absorb, and Loki was still locked up in Asgard's prison, Ethan was not planning to stay here much longer. He still had many plans that needed to be completed on Earth.

"Are you going back to Earth?" Thor asked.

"I have some things I need to handle."

Ethan had to come to Asgard because he needed to take Loki away. Now that he had the Cosmic Cube and Odin had also told him the exact coordinates of Asgard, he could use the cube to travel freely between Earth and Asgard.

"I want to learn a spell, but I've encountered some trouble with it. I was hoping His Majesty could offer me some guidance."

"What spell?"

"A spell that allows me to store items in another dimension and retrieve them at any time."

Loki could store his clothes, helmet, and weapons in another dimension when not in use, and summon them when needed. Not just weapons and items—even something as significant as the Cosmic Cube could be stored this way, remaining completely undetectable.

This spell seemed simple but was actually far more convenient than a storage ring. Ethan had been eyeing this spell from the start, but soon discovered that it was much more complicated than he had imagined. It was not just a matter of opening up a portable space and binding it to himself.

Maintaining this spell required constant magical output. While a mage with deep reserves of magic power and refined control could handle it, for an ordinary mage, the spell was extremely difficult to maintain.

Ethan's control was barely qualified, but his magical depth was lacking. Right now, he could cast the spell but couldn't maintain it for long. This made the spell practically useless to him. He wanted to ask Odin if there was a better solution because he had found that the Cosmic Cube couldn't be placed into his storage ring.

Originally, he had thought this spell would be easy. Reality had quickly proven him wrong.

As for Doctor Strange being able to use such magic not long after learning magic himself… Ethan understood that Strange was a special case. Not only was he talented, but after negotiating with Dormammu millions of times in the time loop, Strange had accumulated immense magical experience through constant death and reincarnation. That was how this rookie mage had grown into the next Supreme Sorcerer so quickly.

"If you're asking about that, I suggest you talk to my mother," Thor replied.

Frigga, Thor's mother, was the most powerful mage in Asgard. Loki, the best mage of the new generation, had also been taught by her. In terms of spell knowledge, it was indeed more appropriate to ask Frigga than Odin.

Frigga also had more free time than Odin, making it easier for her to meet with Ethan and share some of her knowledge.

"You want to use this spell to carry the Cosmic Cube for the long term?" Frigga asked after hearing Ethan's explanation.

"Yes. I found that I can't store this thing in my current storage space, so I can't carry it with me."

It was far too conspicuous to carry the cube openly, and it was likely to attract unwanted attention. Though Frigga didn't know the exact reasons, she understood well enough that walking around with the Cosmic Cube on display was a bad idea.

As expected of the best mage in Asgard, Frigga quickly came up with a solution for Ethan's problem. As a powerful mage, she immediately recognized where Ethan's difficulty lay and also saw where his strengths were.

She modified the spell to make use of Ethan's advantage—his excellent control. At the same time, she leveraged the properties of the Cosmic Cube itself to make up for his biggest weakness—his low mana reserves.

In the end, Ethan successfully mastered this spell and was able to freely store the Cosmic Cube in another dimension. As long as he did not actively cancel the spell, no one could take the Cosmic Cube from him.

More importantly, because of this spell, Ethan established a faint connection with the Cosmic Cube. Even if someone did manage to steal the cube, as long as they were within a certain distance, Ethan could sense their location. As his strength increased, he could eventually control the cube remotely, opening a portal and teleporting himself directly to its location.

In other words, as long as Ethan ensured that the Cosmic Cube remained fully charged in any universe, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to take it from him.

Satisfied, Ethan left Asgard. For the first time, he experienced what it was like to teleport using the Cosmic Cube himself.

"This is what it means to be a true mage."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 209: The Praying Ethan
When Ethan returned to Earth, the first thing he did was to transfer part of the knowledge from the Book of Inheritance and hand it over to Tony Stark.

Armed with this higher-level knowledge from other universes, Tony Stark was able to advance all his technology several steps forward.

If nothing else, nanotechnology, which originally would not have appeared for many more years, was now something Tony could likely figure out within a year or two. Later models of battle armor would also be developed far ahead of schedule.

Because of Ethan's intervention, Tony Stark's armor design had long since deviated from the original timeline.

According to the original plot, Tony should only have developed the Mark 7 at this point, the version used during the Battle of New York.

With a miniature missile launcher, a propeller on the back, and other standard features, the Mark 7 was essentially just an optimized version of earlier suits, without any real breakthrough.

But after Ethan provided Tony with various magic stone technologies and shared more magical theories, Tony's design path had completely shifted. Aside from the initial set of magic-infused battle armor he created, Tony had continued integrating magical technologies into his suits.

Now, with mastery over some magic stone technology and Asgard's superior energy utilization techniques, Tony was able to create powerful armor that combined science and magic. With the addition of nanotechnology, even the issue of portability was resolved.

Iron Man was no longer the Iron Man Ethan had known in his previous life.

Ethan did not particularly care about this change. What he cared about was whether Tony could apply these technologies effectively to his new ship. After giving Tony enough knowledge to slowly digest, Ethan also left the Cosmic Cube for him to study.

This had been the tacit agreement between them from the start. After Ethan brought back the Cosmic Cube, Tony would be allowed to study it for a while.

Ethan used to worry about S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra stealing from Tony, but now he had no such concern.

With the current defenses of Tony's lab—magic stone technology, various black technologies, Jarvis's full-time surveillance, and magical alarm systems set up by Ethan—even if Hydra did manage to steal the cube, Ethan could retrieve it in seconds.

"I'll handle the research on this stuff. What are you planning to do next?" Tony asked, satisfied after receiving the toy he had wanted but clearly unhappy that Ethan would not be staying to help with the research. In his opinion, weren't mages supposed to be research maniacs? Why was this guy always running around lately?

"I'm going to take care of something important."

"Don't tell me you've suddenly found religion."

During this time, Ethan had not only transferred some Asgardian knowledge to Tony but had also been handling other personal matters. He had even borrowed Happy Hogan, Tony's humorous driver and bodyguard, so Tony had a pretty good idea of where Ethan was going.

"Don't tell me you're church-hopping to get married," Tony said, suddenly feeling like he had guessed the truth. "You're not really getting married, are you? To the daughter of Zeus?"

Ethan didn't even get the chance to explain before Tony kept going. With black lines running down his face, Ethan could only wave his hands to indicate that it was not what Tony was thinking.

"I just need to make some tools to collect certain things."

"What's in the church?" Tony frowned, unable to think of anything there worth Ethan's attention. Tossing aside the tools in his hand, he grabbed his coat and decided to follow along. "Fine, I'll come take a look. I'm curious about what you're up to."

"Alright." Ethan shrugged, not particularly caring if Tony tagged along, as long as he didn't cause trouble. "But let me warn you, this trip is going to be very boring."

Tony did not believe it at all. He followed Ethan out of Stark Tower, and with Happy's help, they headed to the nearest popular church.

Ethan did not care whether it was a Catholic or Protestant church. He simply asked Happy to gather a list of all the nearby churches with a large number of believers. Based on their locations, Ethan mapped out a route. The first one on the list was their starting point.

After entering the church, Ethan did not walk around or do anything inappropriate. He simply found an inconspicuous seat, quietly sat down, and pulled a cross from his pocket.

Tony followed closely behind, watching as Ethan sat down, took out a cross, held it in both hands, and closed his eyes as if praying.

"You're not seriously here to pray, are you?"

Tony's voice was a bit loud at first, but he quickly realized that this was not the place to shout. Not wanting to offend the believers or church staff, he offered an apologetic gesture to those nearby, then lowered his voice to question Ethan again.

"What exactly are you doing here? If you don't tell me, I'll tell the priest that you brought a Protestant cross into a Catholic church to pray…"

"..."

Ethan was certain Tony would actually do it. Left with no choice, he lowered his voice and gave a brief explanation.

"Churches, where large groups of believers regularly pray, gather a significant amount of belief energy. For some gods, this faith is the foundation of their existence."

Tony looked puzzled. While he did not fully grasp the theory, he understood Ethan's general intent.

"You're trying to collect this belief energy? Why? Are you planning to make yourself into a god?"

Ethan gave Tony a look. This guy was not a trained mage and did not understand how powerful the willpower and faith of believers could be. Even reckless mages would not dare to directly use this power for their magic.

"No, I'm just collecting it. After all, belief is also a form of energy."

Simply put, Ethan was collecting the power of faith or willpower. In his view, this energy came with many problems, like containing too many impurities that could affect the user's mind. Even gods, who regularly absorbed the power of their believers, were often unknowingly influenced by this energy.

However, despite its flaws, belief energy was one of the most widespread forms of energy across civilized worlds. With the right methods, it was also the easiest energy to harvest.

Ethan had obtained relevant knowledge from Clibuso, combined it with theories from Merlin's Book of Inheritance, and supplemented it with knowledge he had gained from Asgard. Finally, he had figured out how to collect and utilize this type of energy for himself.

The cross he held was built by Tony during this period. Its materials were not particularly special, but the technology it contained was the crystallization of all the knowledge Ethan currently possessed.

Through this inconspicuous cross, Ethan could absorb the intangible power of faith, purify it as much as possible to reduce its negative side effects, and then convert it into usable energy.

Considering that the willpower contained in belief energy would inevitably influence the converted energy, Ethan found through experimentation that Holy Light energy was the most suitable choice for conversion.

Unfortunately, Ethan had never come into direct contact with true Holy Light, so he did not know how to perfectly transform the belief energy into the genuine article. If he had mastered real Holy Light, the impurities and chaotic beliefs would not be an issue, as they would be completely purified by the Holy Light.

In the meantime, Ethan could only attempt to imitate Holy Light by combining the energy of the Death Stone with his own understanding, creating an energy with similar characteristics.

In his final experiment, he was surprised to find that after integrating a certain amount of willpower, this energy became even closer to the Holy Light he imagined. It possessed vitality, purity, and strong resistance to negative energy. In fact, this new form of energy was now even more worthy of being called Holy Light than what he had before.

The cross he crafted this time was named the Holy Light Cross.

"So, you asked Happy to find churches with the largest congregations so you could collect their belief energy one by one, convert it into Holy Light, and store it in this cross?" Tony finally understood Ethan's plan after hearing the explanation. He was quite amazed, as he had never imagined that magic could work like this.

"Exactly."

"Doesn't this kind of collection take a long time?" Tony asked, noticing that Ethan had been sitting in the same position for quite a while, maintaining the same prayer-like posture.

"It's not easy to collect faith. I need to continuously coordinate my spiritual energy and make sure there are no problems during the transformation process."

Ethan could only maintain this position while collecting belief energy. He had discovered that when he adopted this posture and sent out spiritual fluctuations similar to prayers, the belief energy in the church was much easier to attract. But even so, the collection speed was painfully slow. He estimated that it would take several months to fully harvest the energy from even a single church.

Realizing that Ethan was going to be stuck in this posture for quite a while, Tony quickly lost interest. He patted Ethan's shoulder with a smile, then called Happy to drive him back to Stark Tower.

Compared to sitting like a fool in a church watching Ethan in a trance, Tony would rather return to his lab and tinker with his projects. Even accidentally creating a crazy robot that wanted to destroy the world sounded more interesting than watching Ethan sit still.

Tony would never believe that Ethan had actually come to pray to God.

(To be continued.)