Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB]

In addition to Ethan's disdain for the main body of the ship, dismantling its magic stone equipment was far more convenient for him. Only by gaining a deep understanding of these technologies could he integrate them into his own knowledge system and make use of them.

Currently, the development of magic stone technology in this world far exceeds his expectations. The guild appears to possess vast amounts of perfected knowledge, but not all of it.

This unsettled Ethan, he couldn't shake the feeling that the guild was hiding something, as if it were orchestrating some kind of conspiracy. Furthermore, he disliked having anything important under someone else's control. Only by mastering it himself could he use it with confidence. If he couldn't study it thoroughly, he would rather abandon magic stone technology altogether and use it purely as an energy source.

For the time being, Ethan shifted his focus from the magic stones on the island to dismantling the specially-made ship.

Since he was unfamiliar with the structure of these magic stone devices, he dismantled them with extreme caution, frequently running back and forth to the control panel to get a full schematic of the ship and ensure he didn't miss anything.

Naturally, this slowed him down. After three months of meticulous work, Ethan had completely dismantled the ship's magic stone equipment and transferred it to the Goddess of Dawn. Even the wooden hull wasn't spared, he salvaged the best parts for later use, while the damaged sections were burned to eliminate any traces.

He did this to be cautious, ensuring no one would discover the ship. As such, neither the magic stone equipment he obtained nor the ship's wood would ever be seen by outsiders, let alone sold.

The wood would be further processed for crafting other items, while the magic stone equipment would be completely reconfigured while he was at sea. Even if he were to use it, he had to ensure its appearance was unrecognizable.

For this reason, he chose to leave behind the high-quality magic stones in the ship's warehouse, prioritizing the extraction of lower-quality ones. Experiments that he previously deemed too wasteful were now on his agenda, rapidly deepening his understanding of magic stone technology.

Even so, despite the Goddess of Dawn's cargo hold being full, a considerable amount of materials remained stacked on the deck. The ship, now severely overloaded, had a much deeper draft, making it significantly more stable in the turbulent waters of the Sea of Storms.

Of course, this affected its speed. Fortunately, Ethan wasn't in a hurry to return to the central island. His food reserves were sufficient, and he could always replenish supplies from the sea. With the ship's water purification equipment, fresh water would never be a problem. Even if the equipment failed, Ethan wasn't concerned about obtaining clean water.

At present, what he wanted most was to integrate magic stone technology into his existing knowledge and further modify the Goddess of Dawn.

The ship currently housed various magic stone devices, including cooking appliances in the kitchen, temperature regulation systems in the storage area, water purification equipment for bathing and drinking, balance and stabilization devices on the ship's exterior, lighting fixtures in various rooms, and most importantly, the control panel.

Each device had an independent power source, not so much out of convenience but due to the lack of a cohesive system. Their functions were straightforward, and their technical complexity was relatively low.

These devices primarily utilized the innate properties of magic stones to make them more user-friendly for adventurers. Even the control panel required specific magic stones to function properly.

In other words, the magic stone equipment Ethan had used so far mainly revolved around harnessing the magic stones' inherent properties.

However, what he obtained this time was different. The propulsion system was fundamentally distinct from the equipment on his own ship.

Within this thruster, Ethan vaguely saw a parallel to the research he had conducted with Tony on the fusion of magic and technology. Unlike the other devices, which merely amplified the magic stones' attributes, this one had its own distinct function, one that not only utilized the magic stones' power but also enhanced it. Rather than the magic stones dictating the technology, the two complemented each other, yielding a result greater than the sum of their parts.

"So, the true advancement in magic stone technology lies in achieving the perfect synergy between the two, where one plus one is greater than two," Ethan mused.

With this realization, the next step was to figure out how to make it happen. He examined the dismantled propulsion device, its intricate structure firmly imprinted in his mind. Given his hands-on expertise, reinstalling it wouldn't be difficult.

However, he had no intention of restoring it to its original state. This piece of equipment was taken from an enemy, if he installed it on his own ship as-is, wouldn't that invite trouble?

Even if he planned to use it, he would first modify it, making adjustments and improvements to optimize its performance.

Additionally, the Goddess of Dawn's water supply system was still quite primitive. He had long wanted to install a modernized water system. On top of that, he planned to completely overhaul the ship's energy system, abandoning the current setup in favor of a centralized energy supply, which would require an efficient energy transmission system.

As he thought it over, Ethan realized the biggest limitation was the Goddess of Dawn's hull itself. The wooden structure was far too fragile, if he installed an advanced power system, the ship might not be able to withstand it, potentially causing the entire system to collapse.

"What a headache..."

Pressing his temples, Ethan realized the more he thought about it, the more complicated the problem became. To fully realize his vision, the Goddess of Dawn simply wouldn't suffice, he needed to build a steel warship first.

In fact, he had considered this before. But a steel warship wasn't something that could be hammered together by hand. Constructing a vessel with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons was simply unrealistic for him alone.

"Should I commission a shipyard to build it for me?"

If he had considered this approach before, he had now completely abandoned it.

"Ask Ant-Man for help?"

After thinking it over, the most reliable method seemed to be asking Tony to build an ideal ship, then finding Ant-Man and asking him to use Pym Particles to shrink the ship so Ethan could bring it into this world himself.

However, an extra piece of Pym Particle equipment would be needed to restore the ship to its original size. Otherwise, it would remain nothing more than a model upon arrival.

As for old Dr. Pym, Ethan didn't even consider asking him. Instead, he planned to rely on his friendship with Tony. If he went to Pym directly, the old man wouldn't help him, at best, he'd ridicule him for even asking.

"Besides that... Blackbeard might be an option too?"

He suddenly recalled Blackbeard from Pirates of the Caribbean. There was a form of black magic that could trap ships inside bottles. If he could learn that spell, it would, in some ways, be even more convenient than Pym Particles.

With the ship problem seemingly solved, a new one arose—maintenance.

Feeling another headache coming on, Ethan decided to shelve that issue for now and continued working step by step in the days that followed.

By this point, he had been living on the island for half a year. When he felt the ground begin to tremble, he knew it was time to pack up and leave.

"Meow..."

Auriel was visibly reluctant when he realized Ethan intended to take him away. The little creature crouched down, acting cute and affectionate, as if trying to convince Ethan to stay.

"The island is about to sink. If you stay, you'll drown. Do you really want to become food for those things in the sea?"

"Meow..."

Having intelligence had its benefits, at the very least, it allowed for communication. The little one understood the consequences of staying behind and, though dejected, agreed to leave with Ethan.

Just before their departure, Auriel suddenly began gesturing at Ethan to follow him. The kitten led him to an unremarkable spot and then repeatedly signaled: Dig here!

"Here?"

Ethan walked around the area a few times but found nothing unusual. If anything, this was the most barren spot on the entire island.

No trees, no minerals—just frozen, hardened ground.

Rubbing his chin, Ethan found this odd. An island rich in trees and ores should have had something here as well. The fact that it didn't was, in itself, suspicious.

Looking around carefully, he examined the distances between the surrounding vegetation and mineral deposits. To his surprise, he discovered that he was standing at an exact central point, every tree and mineral formation around him perfectly avoided this spot, forming a flawless circle.

"Interesting..."

Over the past six months, Ethan had frequently needed to mine magic stones, so he always carried digging tools with him.

He started digging.

One week passed.

The tremors grew stronger and more frequent. By this point, noticeable vibrations occurred at regular intervals.

"One more hour of digging, if we don't find anything by then, we have to leave, no matter what."

Auriel had been clinging to Ethan's shoulder, staring intently at the hole he was digging. Upon hearing Ethan's words, the kitten stood up and patted its tiny chest with a paw as if to say: Trust me!

"..."

Ethan stared at the little thing, shook his head with a sigh, and continued digging.

As time passed, the tremors intensified, now occurring constantly. Ethan prepared to leave, but just as he was about to turn away, Auriel suddenly jumped off his shoulder and started frantically clawing at the ground.

Frowning, Ethan stepped forward and picked the kitten up. But at that moment, he felt a faint fluctuation from beneath the earth.

"Hm?"

Ethan had recently been cultivating magic power, and he usually refrained from using his spiritual senses to probe energy fluctuations. Instead, he relied on his glasses. However, even though he had now passively sensed an energy fluctuation, the glasses showed no signs of detecting anything.

"What is this...?"

He placed Auriel back on his shoulder, then reached down with both hands and pulled something the size of a watermelon out of the ground.

"Meow!"

A sharp cry sounded from his shoulder, carrying a clear message.

"Run!"

***

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