His energy gradually stabilized, and the boiling energy within his body slowly subsided.
This energy didn't just disappear—it had completely integrated into Ethan's body and was absorbed and utilized.
Ethan looked at his body, then posed in front of the mirror a few times. He was very satisfied with his current condition.
Every man hopes to become taller, more handsome, and stronger, and Ethan was no exception.
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
His body's transformation left him very pleased. Ethan put on the clothes and pants he had prepared beforehand, but due to the significant increase in strength, he felt a sudden lack of control and nearly tore his T-shirt while getting dressed.
"I need to get used to this sudden surge in strength."
The sudden increase in strength required adaptation, and the improvement in spiritual energy also meant an increase in magic power. He had been training his spiritual energy in the Resident Evil world, which had already led to a considerable rise in his magic power.
If his magic power had previously formed numerous small rivers, now some of those rivers had gradually transformed into large rivers, and large lake formations had begun to appear in the landscape of his spiritual energy.
After this enhancement, Ethan found that the lake formations had fully turned into actual lakes. Now, his spiritual energy landscape was covered in waterways, with large rivers flowing continuously and countless lakes of varying sizes scattered throughout.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before an ocean of magic power appeared in his spiritual energy landscape, completely concealing his spiritual energy beneath a vast sea of magic. Even a top-tier spiritual energy master wouldn't be able to access his spiritual energy when his magic power was abundant.
In other words, Ethan would naturally possess a defensive barrier against mind control that could not be bypassed and could only be forcibly broken through with even stronger magic power.
"Although there's still a good portion of spiritual energy not yet covered by the rivers and lakes symbolizing magic, as long as I prepare properly now, the Mind Stone should be ineffective against me."
He did a few simple movements to adjust to his new body. Although his spiritual energy had increased significantly, Ethan had always paid close attention to it, so the sudden leap didn't cause any trouble.
What truly required adjustment was the significant increase in magic power and physical fitness. However, as long as his spiritual energy didn't go haywire, he could fully control this part of his strength with time. For now, he just needed to be careful.
"I wonder what level my current strength has reached."
Just considering physical strength, he should have caught up to Captain America by now, right? Ethan habitually compared himself to Steve, thinking that his current physical fitness should be on par. Maybe he could even spar with Loki?
After getting dressed, Ethan walked out of his bedroom. Loki, who was still standing by the captain's quarters, turned and looked at him. Seeing Ethan's clearly changed appearance, Loki paused for a moment, then joked.
"Excuse me, have you seen our captain? Sir, I don't know what to call you."
"Ha, ha, ha." Ethan let out a few fake laughs in response. "Very amusing. Looks like no one came looking for me?"
"After the group of women you brought aboard confirmed their rooms, Selene took them to tour the rest of the ship."
The Goddess of Dawn wasn't considered especially large. Perhaps in the age of sailing warships, it would've been quite sizable, but for those who came from modern worlds, they had seen much larger facilities and wouldn't be particularly amazed by this ship.
Still, it wasn't exactly small either. There were only a few people aboard, and everyone had enough space to move around. While they wouldn't get lost, they still needed to familiarize themselves with the locations of various facilities.
For example, the captain's quarters, meeting room, dining hall, and storage rooms. After the tour, if they had any questions, they would come find Ethan.
"You put your things away, right?"
"Yes, they're all stored."
Ethan had mainly helped Logan and Loki buy some supplies, which included some new clothes, though Loki clearly wasn't satisfied with them.
"Why has your taste declined so much?"
"Because that world is about ten years behind your Earth in terms of fashion. I did my best to buy styles that weren't too outdated."
"In that case, I won't continue to criticize your taste."
Coming up to the deck, Ethan's new look made Logan pause. Seeing that Ethan's height was now comparable to his own, he suddenly laughed. "Now you won't be bothered by that anymore, right?"
"Yes, I'm very satisfied with my current condition." Ethan paused, then added with emphasis, "Extremely satisfied with every part."
Logan showed a knowing, strange smile. While nodding, he pulled out a cigar. "Want one? To celebrate you finally growing up?"
Ethan waved him off. He had smoked cigars and cigarettes before, but they were special blends he made to enhance spiritual energy. He wasn't interested in ordinary tobacco. Besides, with his current physical fitness, the minor harm posed no threat.
"Looks like I'll have to save it for the day you truly 'grow up.'"
Logan put the cigar away and continued puffing contentedly.
"But seeing the people you brought back this time, I think I understand your preferences."
"My preferences?"
"Speaking of which, aren't you afraid Diana will get angry?" Logan changed the subject.
Ethan was speechless. He and Diana weren't in that kind of relationship, right? But he also knew Logan was just teasing him. The comment was a little awkward to respond to, so he had to change the subject.
"My strength has improved a lot. I need some training methods focused on body control. Do you know any?"
Logan thought for a moment. The training methods he knew were mostly conventional military techniques meant to push the body's potential. He wasn't sure if they'd be helpful in Ethan's current situation.
"You've already been exposed to most of the methods I know. Maybe try continuous training, or exercises that require concentration and control."
"Things that require focus?"
He wasn't worried about training his spiritual energy and magic power. The Book of Inheritance had more than enough methods to choose from. In fact, the method of training through spiritual energy games was very effective at developing control over both spiritual energy and magic power. It's just that the 'game' he needed to play now was much more advanced than the one Sherry was using.
As for his physical body...
Ethan turned to look at Loki. Asgardians, or rather Frost Giants, had immense strength. Loki's physical fitness was actually superior to Captain America's, but their power developed slowly with age, and they adapted gradually over long periods. It seemed they didn't have much knowledge in this area either.
"If that doesn't work, I'll just have to practice by sparring with you."
"Why me?"
"Right now, you're the only one who can spar with me. And you're relatively free, aren't you?"
Loki had nothing to say. In truth, everyone on the ship was fairly idle, but in terms of physical ability, he, the sorcerer, was the strongest. This was a benefit of his divine bloodline and a source of pride, so he certainly wouldn't deny it.
"Then you'd better be prepared to get beaten."
Ethan really wanted to say "Bring it on!" but as the words were about to come out, he felt it was too cringey and forced them back down.
After chatting for a while, Ethan noticed the sky was getting dark. Logan began maneuvering the Goddess of Dawn to dock, while the other ships in the distance also anchored.
"Strange. Those newcomers haven't been on deck?"
Logan finished mooring the ship and went into the cabin with Ethan. There, he found Annette and Ada making dinner using cooking tools crafted with core-grade magic stone technology under Selene's guidance.
Ethan vaguely guessed why none of them had come out to the deck.
The people on the other ships knew how many crew members the Goddess of Dawn originally had. In their eyes, Ethan's ship had been sailing nearby the entire time and hadn't left during the journey. If a few extra people suddenly appeared on board, while it wouldn't cause any real problems, it would still be difficult to explain.
"Did you remind them not to go on deck?"
Finding a moment, Ethan asked Selene. The female vampire didn't take credit, saying that it was Ada who had made the suggestion after learning about their situation.
"While I was showing them around, Ada kept asking about this world and our current circumstances. I told her, and she advised everyone that it would be best not to go out on deck."
Ethan nodded. It wasn't surprising for a spy to have that level of awareness. Others might have noticed the same problem, but Ada suggesting it had a different effect than if Selene had.
If Selene had said it, it might've come across like Ethan was restricting their movement, which could make people uncomfortable, even if the reason was valid. But coming from Ada, a fellow newcomer, suggesting it out of concern for the captain, it wouldn't provoke any resentment from Annette and Sherry.
"Where's Sherry?"
"Laura asked her to play video games. Laura's always wanted a playmate to share her interests."
Before she even finished speaking, the two little girls came into the dining room, chatting and laughing. It seemed like they had already become friends.
Seeing how happy Laura was, Ethan suddenly felt that unexpectedly bringing back little Sherry was a great decision. After all, the reason he helped Logan and Laura in the first place was so they could have a better life.
(To be continued.)
***
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