DOTM (Moved)

A new day had arrived. Ethan lay on his bed, eyes open, but he didn't move.

For the past few weeks, he had been working relentlessly to meet his set goals. Now that he had achieved them, a sense of aimlessness crept in.

Gathering resources and building wealth were long-term tasks, something he'd continue doing for years to come. But in the short term, he had no immediate purpose.

"Without a clear goal, it's so easy to become lazy," he muttered to himself.

Getting out of bed, Ethan forced himself to shake off the sluggishness. He grabbed a toothbrush and the other toiletries he'd started using again after years of living without them. Staring into the mirror, his eyes were blank, as though he were lost in thought.

The face looking back at him was young and unremarkable. His features were average, his face just barely symmetrical. But lately, he'd started to notice subtle changes. Perhaps it was his imagination, but his current appearance seemed to carry faint traces of his past life.

If his body had been a blank slate at first, it now looked like it had been touched by mixed influences.

"Could the strengthening of my mental power be affecting my physical body, including my appearance?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, wondering if this theory had any merit. At the same time, he couldn't help but notice how his features seemed to have grown more pleasing to the eye, even though nothing about them had actually changed.

"Or maybe it's just age. People say your features 'settle' as you grow older."

He wasn't sure. But if an increase in mental power could improve one's appearance, it wasn't entirely implausible. After all, who wouldn't want to look better? Self-improvement whether physical or mental was something everyone appreciated.

With more time to himself lately, Ethan had started noticing these minor details about his body. Normally, he would have been too preoccupied with survival or traveling across the sea to pay attention to such trivial things.

The changes in his appearance made him curious about other aspects of his body. He began observing himself more closely.

"Have I gotten taller?"

Back when he lived on a small island as the son of a fisherman, his diet had been inadequate. His family could barely afford to fill their stomachs, let alone worry about proper nutrition. As a result, Ethan had been thin and stunted during his early years.

But over the past six months, his living conditions had improved dramatically. He was eating well, training consistently, and learning various techniques to strengthen both his body and mind.

All this had allowed his body to enter a rapid growth phase, something he hadn't noticed until now.

Ethan dug out his old clothes for comparison. When he held them up, it was clear they no longer fit.

The pants, though wearable, had transformed from long trousers into cropped ones. The shirts, once loose-fitting, now clung to him like tight vests.

If his body hadn't remained slim and relatively lean, his muscles just beginning to take shape, he doubted he'd even be able to squeeze into those clothes.

Although he didn't have a scale to measure his weight, Ethan could feel the difference. He was no longer the frail figure he had been. His body now had the beginnings of muscle definition, and his weight had undoubtedly increased.

"Height, bone density, muscle tone... It's all changing."

In the span of six months, Ethan's physique had undergone a complete transformation. If he were to return to his old island now, many of the people there likely wouldn't recognize him.

"Everything's moving in the right direction."

Ethan, who had been feeling uninspired earlier, suddenly felt a surge of motivation.

He didn't need to think about grand goals like achieving immortality or exploring endless planes of existence. Just the idea of becoming stronger, better, and yes more handsome was enough to keep him motivated.

Carefully folding his old clothes, Ethan placed them in the deepest corner of his luggage.

These two sets of clothing were a reminder of how weak he had once been. Keeping them would serve as a constant warning to never slack off, lest he lose everything he had worked so hard to gain.

After tidying up, there was a knock at the door. Arthur had come to ask if Ethan had any plans for the day.

Their previous objective, eliminating Keno had been completed. It was now up to Ethan, as the captain, to decide what they should do next.

Although Arthur was an heir to the throne and had joined Ethan to broaden his horizons, he didn't view himself as Ethan's subordinate. That said, he still deferred to Ethan's authority aboard the ship, treating himself as an ordinary crew member.

"First, let's head to the guild hall and collect the food and water from our warehouse," Ethan said.

During his earlier reflections, he had decided there was no point staying on the island now that their mission was complete.

Initially, Ethan had considered further upgrading the Goddess of Dawn. However, after giving it more thought, he realized it would be better to design an entirely new ship someday, one equipped with all the features they needed. This way, the special equipment they installed could be fully utilized.

Besides, they would be staying in the Sea of Calm for a while longer, and there was no need to overburden themselves with excess upgrades. As it stood, the Goddess of Dawn was already among the best ships in the Sea of Calm, particularly for its speed and agility as a Caravel-type vessel.

While it wasn't ideal for navigating rough seas or complex conditions, it was perfectly suited to the Calm Sea's relatively gentle waters.

After installing living facilities powered by magic stones, the ship's comfort had improved significantly. Further upgrades weren't necessary for now.

"We're not going to the shipyard?" Arthur asked.

"No, we're not," Ethan replied.

Ethan had also decided to spend time at sea studying ship designs. Though he didn't expect to become a shipwright himself, he wanted to be able to make informed decisions when the time came to choose a vessel that could handle more challenging seas.

In fact, Ethan already had some goals in mind.

Thanks to his interest in sailing games in his previous life, he remembered that the pinnacle of sailing warships was the Galleon class. Even among galleons, the most advanced ones had become the standard warships for naval powers. The so-called "battleships" were large galleons, lined up to form powerful battle formations. The term "battleship" originally referred to these galleon warships.

From any perspective, the galleon seemed like the best choice.

Of course, the galleon wasn't without flaws, it was enormous and difficult to maneuver. Controlling such a massive warship, with a displacement of several thousand tons, with only two people was nearly impossible unless it was a magical ship with automated systems.

Ethan personally preferred non-sail warships, even wooden ships powered by steam engines. Sail-powered ships were subject to uncontrollable factors like wind direction and speed, while steam-powered vessels offered much more reliability.

Unfortunately, Ethan had no way to transport such a large steamship to this world via teleportation magic. He also couldn't produce one himself using the ore available here, not in the short term. The resources he had collected so far were needed to cover current expenditures and maintain his ship, and he lacked the craftsmanship and technical knowledge to build something of that scale.

The ideal choice would be a ship that combined traditional sail power with the magic stone technology of this world. However, he currently only had a rough concept in mind. Without specific designs or the necessary knowledge, he had to put the idea aside for now.

"So, the new ship must have enough room for future modifications," he concluded.

Ethan shared his thoughts with Arthur as the two of them finished their errands at the guild. They stood on the deck of the Dawn Goddess, now docked at the port, watching guild workers load the supplies they had purchased. The ship's storage areas were being packed to capacity.

Arthur, who had been immersing himself in ship-related knowledge recently, found Ethan's ideas reasonable and agreed with them.

"To build a ship like that, we'd need a lot of resources, right?" Arthur asked.

In addition to the cost of shipyard labor, the buyer in this world was typically responsible for providing most of the raw materials for shipbuilding. Buyers could supply large quantities of one resource, and the shipyard would compensate for any deficiencies with other materials.

The most critical resource was wood.

Finding suitable wood was no easy task, and transporting large amounts of it was even more challenging. Most adventurers who managed to commission custom ships had to accumulate materials over a long period. Even Brent, a well-known figure in the Calm Sea, had gone through the same process.

"So, our next priority will be to search for high-quality wood," Ethan said.

The island he had recently discovered had an abundance of excellent timber, but at the time, he hadn't cared about such things. He hadn't even been able to distinguish good wood from bad back then.

"Wood and ore are our main priorities… Food isn't an issue for the two of us."

The advantage of having a small crew was the reduced consumption of supplies. Thanks to Ethan's ability to purify water, they didn't need to dedicate much storage space for drinking water.

While Ethan had replenished their supplies based on the standard share for adventurers, what would last others only a few months was enough for him and Arthur to survive at sea for an entire year.

This efficiency was Ethan's greatest advantage. By freeing up storage space for materials, he could compensate for the relatively small cargo capacity of the Dawn Goddess.

Once the supplies were fully loaded and Ethan confirmed everything with the guild representative, he set sail, leaving port with the clerk's well-wishes.

As the ship moved out, Ethan noticed Brent's large vessel docked nearby. The ship resembled a galleon, its imposing silhouette towering over the smaller ships around it. Standing at the top of the poop deck, Brent waved at Ethan with a smile.

"Young man," Brent called out, his voice carrying over the waves, "I'll be waiting for you on the other side of the Sea of Storms. I hope you won't keep me waiting too long."