NOVEL NEXT Chapter 123: Chapter 123 (BONUS)
"It seems I'm definitely going to die here." The assassin spoke with certainty, having realized from Ethan's words that the young man before him never let his enemies go.
"Yes." Ethan had no reason to lie. Whether or not the assassin confessed the reason for his attack, he wouldn't be leaving this island alive. "Maybe you're thinking, since I'm dead either way, why should I bother telling the truth? Let me make it simple for you, if you don't want to suffer even after death, you'd better start talking."
At the mention of suffering after death, the assassin's expression changed. He looked at Ethan in shock, trying to gauge whether the young man was bluffing.
Then, suddenly, a thought struck him.
"You mentioned an unresolved mortal enemy. Were you talking about Beckford?"
"Oh? So you do know him." Ethan raised an eyebrow. The man's reaction confirmed he hadn't been sent by Beckford, so he really had attacked simply to take control of the island's resources for himself.
The assassin ignored Ethan's remark and muttered something under his breath before looking up with a grim expression. "You actually provoked that lunatic? I can't wait to see what happens to you in the end."
"It's a pity, you won't be around to find out."
Ethan raised his left hand. The ring given to him by Xul had never been used before, but now was the perfect opportunity.
Weakness.
It was a debilitating curse, temporarily sapping the target's strength. The exact effects depended on their physical condition, mental fortitude, or magical abilities.
The assassin's physical fitness was on par with Ethan's, an ordinary human who had undergone rigorous training. His mental strength was above average, but he had no magic power at all.
The moment the curse took hold, his limbs felt heavy, his strength drained away, and even his breathing became labored.
"What… what did you do to me?"
The unnatural sensation frightened him. He had initially planned to bait Ethan into buying information about Beckford in exchange for his life. But now, after experiencing Ethan's strange abilities firsthand, he no longer saw him as an ordinary mage.
Instead, he believed Ethan was just like Beckford, another lunatic with terrifying, unnatural powers.
Thinking of Beckford's reputation, the assassin realized that none of his life-saving tricks would work against someone like that.
Finally, he gave up and confessed.
The truth was simple: he had taken a commission to locate something in this sea region. He had never met Ethan before and bore no personal grudge against him, he had attacked only because Ethan happened to possess what he was looking for.
"This thing?"
Ethan pointed at Auriel, who sat nearby with an innocent expression.
Of all the possibilities, he never expected the assassin's target to be this little creature. He had no idea what made Auriel so valuable.
Unfortunately, the assassin wasn't entirely sure either. He had only accepted the job and received limited information from his employer. According to what he had learned, the creature's form wasn't fixed, it had countless variations, making identification difficult. However, there were two key traits:
First, once it appeared on an island, no other creatures would be found there.
Second, it fed on magic stones and had the ability to locate them.
"So it's for tracking magic stones?"
Beyond that, the assassin knew nothing more. He was just another hired hand, willing to kill an innocent stranger for a payday.
What caught Ethan's attention, however, was the assassin's origin. He had come from a different sea region, traveling back to this one on a specially designed vessel. According to his own words, he had navigated the Sea of Storms and arrived here after tracking his target for a long time, only to end up defeated by Ethan.
Once Ethan had extracted all the useful information, he finished the job cleanly.
As expected, the assassin had prepared a hidden means of escape. Upon death, a magic stone item activated, preserving his soul. Ethan also discovered a concealed healing artifact that kept his body from deteriorating, suspending his last breath of life and beginning repairs after a certain period.
If Ethan hadn't been thorough, the assassin might have eventually recovered and escaped.
Now, he understood why the man's expression had changed the moment Beckford's name was mentioned. He must have assumed Ethan had the same ability to control the dead, to either enslave or extract his soul. That fear had made him confess everything without resistance.
After stripping the assassin of his equipment and valuables, Ethan destroyed the soul-preserving artifact. The now-exposed soul shrieked in despair, its distorted face lunging at him only to be purified by the Book of Inheritance.
With the matter settled, Ethan buried the nameless mercenary. Out of a sense of formality, he even placed a simple tombstone.
When the island eventually sank, the assassin would be dragged into the depths along with it. In this world, being buried at sea was the fate of many.
For some reason, Ethan didn't want that to be his own fate.
"Definitely not."
With a space-time travel magic circle in hand and countless worlds waiting to be explored, the future held endless possibilities. The path of magic was becoming clearer, and with persistence, power and even immortality was no longer an unattainable dream.
He firmly believed he would achieve his goals.
Leaving the burial site behind, Ethan took Auriel and began searching the island.
Since the assassin had been sure Auriel was the target, he must have spent time on the island observing the creature's behavior before making his move. That meant he had been here for a while so where was his ship?
Ethan had explored much of the island already, looking for potential hidden treasures, and had never found any docked vessels nearby.
There were no natural harbors. No caves that could conceal a boat.
Which left only one possibility.
"Could it have come from the sky?"
Ethan looked up. Snowflakes drifted in the overcast sky, but visibility was still decent. Nothing stood out.
"Not the sky… the sea."
He suddenly remembered Christina and Wilson. Those two could move undetected beneath the water, thanks to their undead bodies. They didn't need to breathe, and their vision wasn't affected by the depths.
But the assassin was human. He needed air.
So what was he relying on?
A theory formed in Ethan's mind one that seemed absurd at first.
But when he used underwater breathing magic and dived beneath the waves, he saw it.
A ship.
Parked silently on the seafloor.
Ethan exhaled sharply, realizing just how little he truly understood about magic stone technology.
Ethan observed the ship for a while. Its shape resembled a standard sailboat, but without a mast, sails were out of the question. It was significantly smaller than the Goddess of Dawn and appeared to be equipped with various specialized devices, though their exact functions were unclear.
The entire vessel was encased in a layer of energy, with a particularly prominent barrier covering the deck. The energy shield acted like a transparent dome, perfectly isolating the ship from the surrounding seawater.
Stepping through the barrier onto the deck, Ethan deactivated his underwater breathing magic and tested the air. "I can breathe normally… This energy field must be extracting oxygen from the seawater while keeping the water out."
Looking around the deck, he found it rather empty due to the lack of a mast. There wasn't much to see, so his attention quickly shifted to the control system at the stern.
Compared to the Goddess of Dawn, this ship's controls were far more complex. Standing before the helm, he was surrounded by several control panels. Fortunately, the main console was similar to his own, and after a brief examination, Ethan figured out the basic operations and smoothly brought the ship to the surface.
From the console's display, he finally grasped the ship's true nature, it was entirely powered by magic stone technology. Twin propulsion devices were mounted on the lower stern, driving the vessel forward.
Additionally, with its underwater mode, energy shield, and oxygen supply system, the ship could remain submerged indefinitely. While its maneuverability was greatly reduced while underwater, the advantages were undeniable.
The sheer number of specialized devices onboard was overwhelming, even for Ethan. Even the kitchen was more advanced than the one on his own ship.
"What a waste."
So many high-end features, yet they were installed on a completely ordinary wooden hull. If Ethan had designed the ship, he wouldn't have used a wooden frame at all.
The ship's size and structure irritated him no matter how he looked at it. On top of that, there were multiple areas of damage that required extensive repairs.
After a moment of thought, he made his decision, he would dismantle it completely.
***
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