Returning to the Goddess of Dawn, Ethan looked at the people around him and raised his hand in greeting.
"I'm back."
Logan and the others didn't react much. To them, it was as if Ethan had never left. One flash of light, he was gone. Another flash, and he was back.
The whole process took only a few seconds. If you happened to look away and then glance back, you wouldn't even notice Ethan had disappeared at all.
Ethan knew this was how it looked, but he had never experienced it from their perspective. After shrugging, he returned to the captain's cabin to sort through the spoils of his latest trip.
The others dispersed to take care of their own business. They knew that if Ethan had obtained anything worth sharing, he wouldn't keep it to himself.
After spending time with Ethan, Logan had developed enough trust in his character.
As for the newer crew members, they were too reserved to ask many questions. Only Evelyn, the slightly naive woman, followed Ethan into the captain's cabin, curiously asking what he had brought back this time.
Ethan took out the book he had retrieved from Blackbeard and placed it directly on the desk.
Evelyn was very interested in items like this that resembled antiques. Without being prompted, she started flipping through it.
Ethan had already read the book, and its contents had even been copied into the Book of Inheritance.
Frankly, the contents weren't anything special. Compared to the magical knowledge he already possessed, this stuff was practically the scraps of magic.
Its only value was in presenting an idea—using certain characteristics of spells like seals and barriers to achieve the effect of shrinking and storing objects.
Once Ethan understood the core principle, he didn't need props or ritual aids at all. With just his own magic, he could cast the spell.
However, the spell required a container. It didn't have to be a bottle. For example, the boxes Ethan had specially made for storing unique items could work just as well.
Since Evelyn had followed him, O'Connell and Jonathan, feeling bored, also came to the captain's cabin and stood beside her, looking over the book together.
Jonathan saw no value in the item. He was never one to hold back questions when he didn't understand something, and would just ask directly.
"You specifically traveled to the 18th-century Caribbean just to get this book? What's even written in this thing?"
Evelyn was still flipping through the pages, studying the strange symbols. She stared at them for a long time but couldn't figure out which ancient civilization's script it was.
Ethan's next sentence instantly deflated her enthusiasm.
"Those aren't words. They're magical symbols, recording how to construct the magical structure for this spell."
To ordinary people, it looked like meaningless scribbles. But to a mage who understood magic, the secrets within were obvious at a glance.
Furthermore, there was no concern about outsiders deciphering the information. Even if a grand mage explained everything in detail, someone who didn't understand magic would still be unable to grasp the essence.
After looking at it for a while, Evelyn returned the book to the table. It wasn't really an antique, nor did it contain any historical stories she was interested in. In her eyes, the only valuable parts were the few fragments of parchment tucked inside the book—those were genuine ancient relics.
The essence of Blackbeard's magic was recorded on those few fragments. They contained several incomplete pieces of magical knowledge. Someone had likely developed usable dark magic from this content, which became the spells Blackbeard used. Ethan didn't believe Blackbeard had created them himself. More likely, he had found this book somewhere and learned the spells by following the instructions.
After resolving the Davy Jones issue, Ethan had thoroughly studied the parchment fragments and ultimately concluded that they were useless.
The spells recorded might be powerful, but Ethan already had plenty of powerful magic. In fact, there were still many spells in the Book of Inheritance that he hadn't finished learning. Merlin's legacy wasn't something that could be completely mastered so easily.
Combined with the magical knowledge from Asgard and Kamar-Taj, there was absolutely no need for him to delve into these incomplete fragments. Even the complete versions might not be superior to the magical systems he already possessed.
The only useful aspect of this book was that it allowed him to master the spell that could shrink a ship for easy transport, solving the problem of how to bring the Prinz Eugen into this world.
Other than that, it had no other value, which was why Ethan didn't mind Evelyn flipping through it.
At that moment, Loki entered the captain's cabin. From his expression, it was clear he had something to say.
"Something wrong?"
"Yes."
Loki had no concept of politeness. He knew Ethan didn't like beating around the bush, so being direct was the best choice.
"If I'm not mistaken, you've already visited all the worlds you planned to, right?"
Ethan understood why Loki had come. He was reminding him that it was time to head to the Marvel Universe—or rather, to finally take him home.
The time Loki had spent on Ethan's ship was negligible compared to his fifteen-hundred-year life. To him, being exiled to Ethan by Odin was no different from a brief vacation.
However, during this short time, Loki had undergone earth-shaking changes. He had stabilized his Asgardian form, or more precisely, his Aesir form, and no longer turned into a Frost Giant when using Frost power.
At the same time, he had finally mastered Frost power that rivaled Thor's lightning. His strength had increased dramatically. He now believed he was stronger than Thor and was looking forward to returning to Asgard and giving Thor a proper beating in front of everyone.
A month in bed with injuries sounded about right.
He couldn't wait to see the expressions on his dear brother's and father's faces. Would it be disbelief? Or just disbelief?
"Everything that needed preparing is pretty much ready. It's indeed time to go to the Marvel world next."
Ethan still wanted to see Arthur and Diana, but judging by Loki's eagerness, the God of Mischief was already running out of patience. If Ethan lingered in a few more worlds, Loki might start causing trouble.
He sorted things out in his mind.
Professor Charles's request had been fulfilled. As for the X-Men world, he didn't need to pay it too much attention anymore. He could visit again if he felt like it, but it wouldn't matter if he never returned.
In the Mummy world, he had acquired spells related to soul summoning and resurrection. Combined with the Holy Light and the Spring of Life he possessed, he had a significant chance of helping Tony successfully resurrect his parents. He considered that promise fulfilled, so there was no longer any reason to avoid the Marvel Universe. If he hadn't fulfilled it, he would've felt too guilty to face Tony.
He also had a method to bring back the Prinz Eugen. All his previous goals had been achieved, and there was indeed no reason to keep delaying.
"Let me rest for a few days to recover. You can also sort through your things."
Ethan was certain that Loki wouldn't return here with him after this trip. He would definitely stay in Asgard.
Odin wouldn't allow his youngest son to wander the multiverse again. Loki, now more mature and stronger, fully met Odin's standards. What came next was making sure Thor and Loki spent more time together, nurturing their bond as brothers, so that they could work together to protect Asgard in the future instead of becoming enemies and constantly fighting.
As for the crimes Loki had committed before? Hadn't he already been exiled for a while?
Adopted or not, Loki was still Odin's son, a prince of Asgard. Enjoying certain privileges was completely normal.
"What else do I need to consider?"
There didn't seem to be anything else. He had helped Odin "discipline" Loki, helping the mischievous child mature and grow stronger. That could be considered sufficient repayment for the favors Odin had granted him.
He had helped Tony resurrect his parents. Now, it was time to consider the matter of the spaceship, right?
"I need to have a good discussion with Tony about this."
Jumping directly from a surface vessel to a spaceship capable of long-term space travel and stable atmospheric entry and exit—no matter how much of a genius Tony was, he couldn't just pull it out of thin air.
"Maybe I can take Tony to Xandar for a look. Asgard should have the coordinates for that planet, right?"
Aside from that, he needed to visit the Ancient One. The Sorcerer Supreme should also have some information to share with him, at least to let him know what kind of help she expected.
"Speaking of which, without the Chitauri attack on New York, the Avengers haven't even officially appeared in public. That world still seems to be enjoying 'peace'!"
There had always been a question debated in the Marvel Universe: Did supervillains appear because of superheroes, or did the existence of superheroes cause some people with powers to stop hiding and start committing crimes, resulting in more and more supervillains?
Due to the changes caused by his spoilers, the only publicly known superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point was Iron Man. Ethan was very curious about what the Marvel Universe looked like now. If the second theory were true, would all those troubles simply never occur?
On further thought, he found it unlikely. Many events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had already reached a critical point. Many issues had either already erupted or were on the verge of doing so. A single Battle of New York wouldn't have changed much.
"It should still be the Marvel I'm 'familiar' with."
(To be continued.)
***
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