Ethan briefly explained the situation in the Resident Evil world they had just visited to Logan. Just then, Loki also entered.
The previously spacious captain's cabin suddenly felt crowded. With everyone chatting amongst themselves, the already confined space became even noisier.
Even Annette, who had just arrived, was only quietly speaking with Sherry, and Ada was silently looking around. But the increasingly lively Laura and Selene created enough noise on their own.
"Alright, let's do introductions first, then I'll arrange your rooms."
Ethan clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and then introduced Ada, Annette, and Sherry to the group.
For now, he only mentioned their names. The details could be learned later. After all, sailing on the ocean meant not seeing land for two or three months. Other than chatting and joking around, there weren't many other ways for everyone to pass the time, so he wasn't worried about a lack of interaction.
Ethan didn't say outright that Annette and Sherry might leave after finding a suitable world. He had already noticed that Annette seemed to have changed her mind, and he wasn't going to interfere. If Annette could settle down and serve his group wholeheartedly, there would be no issue with her staying.
After all, Annette was a top-tier scientist. Her expertise wasn't limited to bioweapon viruses. She knew a lot. Her intelligence was definitely high enough, and with a bit of training, she could become a scientific researcher on the ship.
This was exactly the kind of person Ethan's team lacked. He couldn't always rely on Tony Stark for logistics. Although he and Tony were friends, friendship wasn't a reason to always take without giving. Even the best relationships required mutual effort to maintain.
Ethan understood this, which was why he didn't want to go to the Marvel Universe again before resolving the matter of resurrecting Tony's parents.
"Selene, I'll leave the room arrangements to you."
He let Selene handle the arrangements because everyone who came this time was female. Although the rooms on Ethan's ship were all equally spacious and comfortable, and there were plenty of vacant rooms on the large Goddess of Dawn to choose from, it was more convenient for Selene to answer their questions.
Also, having Selene arrange the rooms meant they would be near hers. This was also a reminder to the newcomers that if they had any questions they didn't want to ask the captain directly, they could go to Selene.
"I'll go too."
Laura looked around and decided to follow Selene. The arrival of so many new people was actually what made her the happiest. Ethan noticed Laura constantly glancing at Sherry and realized that Laura saw someone close to her age and was excited to finally have a playmate.
Thinking about the previous crew on the ship, besides Ethan, who had a relatively normal age, Laura's father, the Wolverine Logan, was at least two hundred years old.
Not to mention Loki. That guy was already fifteen hundred years old, the 'oldest' on the ship.
Even Selene, the woman she interacted with most often, was over six hundred years old. Among the entire crew, Laura was the youngest, and her only playmate was a strange creature that looked like a cat.
Although Auriel was highly intelligent, she still couldn't fully replace a human. Laura had long hoped to have a friend on the ship, and this time, she finally saw someone close in age.
"Uh… she should be about my age, right?"
Just as Laura was about to head out with Selene, she suddenly turned back and quietly asked Ethan this question.
Ethan was momentarily stunned. Seeing Laura glancing occasionally at Loki and Logan, he finally understood—Laura was worried that although Sherry looked young, she might actually be an old monster.
"Sherry is twelve years old this year. A real twelve."
Laura smiled and nodded, then happily ran off to make friends with little Sherry.
With so many people leaving, the captain's cabin suddenly felt much emptier, leaving only the men behind. The first thing Logan did was light a cigar.
He had wanted to light one earlier, but with all the women around, he'd held back and only taken one out to bite on.
"Now can you tell us in detail what you gained this time?"
Logan didn't know what kind of world Resident Evil was, but he knew that Ethan had always been trying to collect special items to make potions to strengthen himself. He could feel that Ethan had become stronger than before.
It wasn't just Logan who noticed. Loki could also sense it. The magical fluctuations around Ethan were much more obvious than before. This indicated that his strength had increased rapidly in a short time, and his control hadn't yet caught up, so the fluctuations were more noticeable and easier to detect.
"The gains were good. After I finish this enhancement, I won't have to look up to you two anymore."
"Look up?"
Logan's first reaction was that Ethan might be overestimating his strength, but then he saw Loki subtly gesture. Only then did Logan realize Ethan was talking about height.
"Uh… actually, your build now is very standard."
Logan wasn't trying to comfort him. Even from the start, Ethan's height wasn't lacking. It was just that the people around him were all taller and more imposing. Even Diana was slightly taller than him when wearing heels, which always made him feel a bit unbalanced.
After using the God's Blood Potion, his body had further developed. Now, his height had reached around 1.8 meters, with an error of no more than two centimeters. Combined with the lean muscles he had gained from long-term training, his physique was indeed very standard.
Still, with his current height, aside from the two in front of him, he could only surpass Tony, Hawkeye, and untransformed Banner among his acquaintances. Captain America and Thor were both bulkier and more imposing. Even Doctor Strange was tall. So, he had always wanted to accelerate his "growth" rate.
This time, he finally got what he wanted and couldn't be happier.
"As long as you're happy."
Logan didn't care about that kind of thing. Loki, on the other hand, said that as a Frost Giant, his current height was already a disgrace to Frost Giants. He had never even considered growing to that 'height' and didn't understand what Ethan was obsessing over.
"People always look down on what they already have."
Ethan didn't care how Loki mocked him. What he needed to do now was use the potion he had brought back to further increase his strength.
"After this, I'll stay on the ship to digest the power I gained. Then I plan to go to an X-Men world."
Logan's brow twitched slightly. In the end, he said nothing. He silently patted Ethan's shoulder, then turned and left the captain's cabin.
He didn't call Loki. After spending so much time together, he was sure that Loki wouldn't do anything to threaten Ethan's safety anymore, so he was no longer as wary of him as before.
"Do you need me to guard the door for you?"
"If you can, then yes. If anyone's looking for me, just ask them to wait a bit."
"Oh?" Loki heard from that that the potion would complete the enhancement very quickly, unlike the previous ones, which had to be taken in multiple doses, each lasting several hours. "Just wait a little?"
"Since I used the God's Blood Potion to enhance my body, my tolerance for these kinds of enhancements has increased a lot. I don't have to worry about the surging energy harming me, so this enhancement can be completed in a very short time."
The enhancement potion Ethan had in hand couldn't be used by ordinary people at all. If he gave this bottle to Ada, the only possible outcome would be death by explosion. There would be no other result.
For Ethan, it was like pouring water into an empty bucket. Even if the water was added quickly, as long as it didn't exceed the bucket's capacity, there wouldn't be a problem.
However, this enhancement would also increase his physical stats and change some characteristics. He needed to find a place where no one was around. Otherwise, if his clothes burst after using the potion, it would be too awkward.
Besides that, there wasn't much else to consider. Ethan didn't even close the door to the captain's cabin. He walked directly into his bedroom next door, took off his clothes, and tilted his head back to drink the entire small bottle of potion.
The effect of the medicine came quickly. Ethan felt a burning energy, like fire, slowly spreading from his stomach to his entire body. As it spread, he felt itchy all over.
This was a sign that his body was beginning to enhance. Though the itching was uncomfortable, there was nothing he could do about it, and he could also gauge the condition of his body through this sensation.
At the same time, he remained fully conscious and kept staring at the full-length mirror in front of him, making sure no accidents occurred during the enhancement. If any part of his body suddenly became deformed, he would immediately terminate the process. Even if it meant losing some strength, he wouldn't allow it to continue.
Fortunately, although his body was visibly changing, the changes were all for the better.
His height gradually increased to his ideal range, and the muscles on his body became more defined and explosive. While not as exaggerated as Captain America or Thor, he could now be considered a muscular man.
The changes to his appearance were not drastic, only some optimization. His facial features remained the same but became more refined and pleasant to the eye. Now, Ethan standing next to the original Arthur wouldn't be overshadowed.
The physical transformation gradually stopped, and his body ceased changing.
The potion Ethan had gone through so much effort to make clearly didn't only enhance appearance. The biggest changes were actually in areas not visible on the surface, such as his strength, speed, agility, and so on...
(To be continued.)