Ada watched the two people in the arena, fists meeting flesh with loud thuds, then turned her head to look at Logan beside her.
"Are both of them mages?"
Logan stood silently with his arms crossed, watching Ethan and Loki in the arena. Both of them were highly skilled in combat. Loki, needless to say, with his fifteen hundred years of life, had participated in countless battles and accumulated rich combat experience. Although he couldn't use the magic he was best at at the moment, relying solely on physical strength, he was still not an easy opponent to deal with.
He estimated that even if he entered the arena, he wouldn't be able to defeat the second prince of Asgard. Even with his immortality, he could only maintain a stalemate and tie the guy down.
"Although Loki is a mage, he's an Asgardian of the Aesir race, the gods from Norse mythology."
Loki certainly had reason to be proud. His strength, agility, and other attributes far surpassed Logan's, and his experience was comparable. Moreover, what he was best at wasn't close combat, but magic.
"A god?"
Ada had never believed in gods or demons before, having grown up in a world of science. Ethan's identity as a mage had already shaken her worldview once. Now, hearing that the man was actually a god, she finally felt the reality of having left her original world.
Looking again at the two sparring in the arena, even though her own body was slowly getting stronger, a heavy punch from either of them could seriously injure her. This was thanks to the enhanced vitality from the virus. If it were a purely ordinary person like Annette, they would be killed instantly.
Annette, who couldn't withstand even a single punch from either of them, was also there, watching the fight in shock. When the two moved at full speed, she couldn't even see what was happening, which made her realize how astonishing their speed was. Even calculating the force brought by speed alone, it was an attack ordinary people couldn't survive.
Yet, the two in the arena had taken at least a dozen punches from each other and were still fighting as if nothing had happened.
"Is the G-virus really that powerful?"
Annette knew Ethan was working on improving the G-virus. She had thought that, with only a few months, even with Ethan's magical means, he could at best make the uncontrollable mutations of the G-virus slightly more manageable. She never expected that Ethan would improve it into a new enhancement agent.
There was no physical deformation. He had even become taller and more handsome. The increase in strength and speed was also very clear. The current Ethan reminded her of 'Superman.'
This 'Superman' wasn't the one from the DC Universe, but rather an evolved being surpassing existing humans. How many researchers in biochemical technology hadn't dreamed of creating a drug that could truly evolve humanity? Annette naturally had similar aspirations. She had always believed that the G-virus would be the starting point for humanity to reach a higher level, and now Ethan seemed to have proven that.
"It's a shame this agent wasn't developed by me."
Ada, on the other hand, considered the combat power of Ethan and Loki, wondering whether she could catch up to them. Logan, meanwhile, began thinking about whether he should enhance himself further. If things continued like this, he would only be able to do odd jobs for Ethan.
He couldn't follow the path of a druid who specialized in nature's power. His talent in that area wasn't even comparable to Laura's. Before, he had struggled with how to become stronger, but now Ethan reminded him—he could continue to strengthen his physical attributes. Close combat was what he was most familiar with and best at.
More importantly, Ethan had already mastered a reliable way to enhance physical attributes. This method was safe and had no side effects. The only concern was whether it would affect his mutant gene.
"I should find time to ask."
Everyone had their own thoughts. The only two who weren't thinking too deeply were the little ones, Sherry and Laura. The two of them were watching as if it were a fight show, shouting and cheering from the sidelines. Laura even acted as a commentator, explaining to Sherry why a certain punch was thrown, why Ethan suddenly launched a sneak attack with a kick, why Loki looked annoyed, or why they suddenly stopped to argue...
Except for Selene, who was in charge of steering, all members of the Goddess of Dawn were gathered in the training room designated for combat.
Scenes like this had been playing out over the past few days. After Ada and the others had a basic understanding of the ship's situation, Ethan taught them how to use the learning device he had developed, following their usual routine.
After countless iterations, the latest version of the learning device had no side effects and would automatically adjust the 'transmission speed' based on the user's condition. There was no need to worry about someone accidentally selecting the wrong 'setting' and suffering mental damage.
All three women, even the youngest, Sherry, could absorb the basic knowledge of this world and the local language at a relatively fast pace. After several days of learning, including Sherry, they could all communicate in the local language to some extent.
Ethan, meanwhile, had been sparring one-on-one with Loki to quickly adapt to his new power.
With Loki as his opponent, Ethan had indeed been able to quickly master the strength he had just gained. From being beaten by Loki at first to now fighting to a draw, this proved that Ethan's control over his own power was improving rapidly.
"Let's stop here for today."
Ethan touched his split lip. Loki hadn't held back at all these past few days, throwing punches with full force. After each sparring session, Ethan was often bruised and swollen, and a split lip like this was nothing.
Sometimes, when Loki was really enjoying the fight, he would casually pull out a dagger and stab Ethan. Seeing Loki's smug expression up close, Ethan often had the urge to blast him away with all his magic.
Of course, he never actually did that. Instead, he would condense a heavy hammer of Holy Light and smash it into Loki. Fortunately, both of them knew their limits and didn't escalate things into a full-blown battle.
Otherwise, it was hard to say who would win, but the ship would definitely be destroyed in the process.
Neither Ethan nor Loki were the type to get hot-headed and reckless, so after 'messing around' a bit, they would decisively call it off.
The recent fights hadn't been as 'intense.' They were all standard close-quarters battles. Both of them went all out. Ethan reflected on the recent fights with Loki and estimated that his current strength was similar to Thor's, especially in terms of magical power, which had also improved significantly.
He had completely broken free from the limitations of equipment. Spells that had once required equipment to cast could now be used freely.
Things like walking on water, underwater breathing, Feather Fall, water and fire manipulation, and even the flame wings he developed by referencing jet engines were all easy to cast now.
As his magic depth increased, the biggest limitation with casting the flame wings—insufficient endurance—was also greatly alleviated. Now, he could use the wings at will, much like he had used the Flame Cloak before.
Moreover, the flame wings no longer had the strict limits they originally had. As his strength continued to grow, their power and flight speed would also increase.
Of course, the spells Ethan had mastered were not limited to these. Mirror Dimension, teleportation, energy weapons from Kamar-Taj, Asgardian teleportation and illusions—he had all of these in his repertoire.
More importantly, the vast number of spells recorded in Merlin's Book of Inheritance remained his most important magical resource. It contained countless spells, and as his strength grew, more of the content was gradually being unlocked. Now, some of the lower-level spells had been completely mastered, the mid-level ones were being studied, and parts of the high-level spells had begun to reveal their mysteries.
Beyond magical knowledge, Ethan had also unexpectedly discovered a new attribute.
Originally, after fully mastering the water and fire elements and infusing his magic with dual attributes, his next goal had been to master Holy Light or Arcane energy.
Considering Holy Light was more difficult to manage, he chose to deepen his understanding of Arcane energy, due to its high adaptability. If his magic possessed Arcane traits, he would be able to simulate and cast spells with attributes he hadn't yet fully mastered.
To put it in analogy, his magic, which already fully integrated water and fire traits, could become water or fire at will. Arcane energy, by contrast, could simulate water or fire as needed.
Once he integrated Arcane characteristics, if he wanted to cast lightning or other unmastered elemental spells, he could simulate those energies through Arcane traits. Although not as strong or effective as full mastery, Arcane's versatility brought great convenience when attribute diversity was lacking.
But something unexpected happened. After Ethan absorbed the sudden surge in magical power, he discovered that his magic had developed a trace of lightning characteristics.
This attribute appeared under strange circumstances. He had never studied lightning magic before, so he thoroughly examined it again and finally traced its origin to the divine blood potion he had previously used, with the G-virus enhancement agent acting as a catalyst and activator.
"The power of thunder controlled by Ares?"
Before Ares was killed by Diana, he had wielded Zeus's power of thunder. Could Ethan have gained it through divine blood?
After repeated confirmation, Ethan finally concluded that this wasn't Zeus's thunder power, but rather that his body had become more attuned to the lightning attribute. As his magical power grew stronger, this minor affinity was amplified and stimulated by the G-virus enhancement, allowing him to initially gain control over a trace of lightning energy.
Divine blood was divine blood, after all. He also discovered he had gained a bit of divinity. He was now, in essence, a demigod.
(To be continued.)
***
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