NOVEL NEXT Chapter 125: Chapter 125 (BONUS)
In truth, Ethan didn't even need Auriel's warning. The moment he picked up the object, the entire island began shaking violently. The tremors were far stronger than before and lasted much longer. If he still couldn't tell that something was seriously wrong, he'd have to question his own sanity.
Quickly donning his Flame Cloak, Ethan tucked Auriel into his arms. Flame Wings unfurled, and with a powerful burst of airflow, he shot into the sky.
Given the island's current state and his position, trying to escape on foot toward the shoreline would be suicidal. He had no interest in playing a real-life version of Temple Run. The safest choice was to take to the air and flee from above.
It was precisely because he had this trump card that Ethan had been willing to stay and keep digging. Otherwise, he would never have remained on the island beyond his planned timeframe.
Gliding in a wide arc through the air, he observed the island collapsing at an alarming rate.
"Yep, definitely safest to leave from above."
With one last glance at the crumbling landmass, Ethan flew straight back to the Goddess of Dawn, hoisted anchor, and sailed away into the distance.
The island's collapse would inevitably create massive waves. While the Goddess of Dawn was a heavily armored sailing warship, it was still insignificant before the sheer force of nature. Besides, Ethan had no reason to linger. Leaving immediately was the logical choice.
He didn't bother looking back. Instead, after increasing the ship's speed and locking the wheel, he sat down in front of the control panel, turning his attention to the strange spherical object he had brought back.
Calling it a "sphere" wasn't entirely accurate. It was more of an irregular, slightly flattened ellipse. Yet, despite the ship's movement, it remained perfectly stable on the deck, not rolling at all.
"What the hell is this?"
Auriel was circling the object curiously. Hearing Ethan's question, the little creature instinctively assumed he was being asked and turned to look at him.
Unfortunately, Auriel only shook his head, indicating he had no idea what it was. He simply felt that it was something valuable, which left Ethan speechless.
"Well… I guess it must be something good."
Ethan could sense faint energy fluctuations emanating from it, yet his glasses detected nothing. He was also hesitant to probe it with his spiritual power. The presence of energy meant the object contained some unknown force—who knew what kind?
For safety reasons, Ethan stored it in one of his specially crafted containment boxes, designed specifically for energy-infused objects like magic stones. After the incident with the Death Magic Stone, he had prepared several of these for exactly this kind of situation.
After some thought, he decided not to place it in the cargo hold but in his workshop instead. He had set up numerous magical mechanisms there, including remote destruction triggers in case of emergency. If anything went wrong, it would be much safer to contain the damage there than in the warehouse.
With the object secured, Ethan returned to the deck. Auriel, who had been running around earlier, had now curled up in a corner, motionless.
At first, Ethan thought something was wrong. But when he walked over and asked, he got a groggy response.
"…Dizzy."
Only then did he realize the little guy was seasick.
"You'll get used to it."
He carried Auriel into his bedroom, letting him rest there. Then, returning to the control panel, he continued steering the Goddess of Dawn through the waves, thinking about his next course of action.
A considerable amount of time had passed. The most vulnerable phase of his spiritual power's adaptation to magic had likely ended. Moving forward, he only needed to be cautious, and it wouldn't interfere with his regular activities.
The space-time energy stored in his left hand remained untouched during this period. Since he had reduced his practice of space-time magic due to his spiritual power issues, there had been no new replenishments. However, even without fresh energy, he could still activate the space-time magic circle and travel to another plane.
That was one option.
The other was to hold off on using the magic circle for now, return to the Central Island first, unload the ship's supplies, and perform some maintenance on the Goddess of Dawn. By the time he set sail again, his mental state would likely be even more stable. At that point, there would be no more restrictions, and he could use the shuttle to explore a new world at the perfect moment.
That was the second option.
The latter was undoubtedly the safer choice, while the former carried unknown risks.
For Ethan, every dimensional journey was an unpredictable adventure. The safest option was always to wait until he was at full combat capability before initiating a jump.
"Let's keep sailing for now and see how things go along the way."
Logically, he knew he should choose the second option—it was the most secure.
Yet, deep down, he wanted to travel to another plane. He wanted to explore new worlds, uncover hidden treasures, and gain more power.
Only by doing so could he achieve his ultimate goal: to become a mighty being with an extended lifespan.
At that point, he could roam freely across different worlds, doing whatever he pleased instead of constantly struggling to survive.
He sighed.
"I haven't even held a girl's hand yet. Is there anyone more miserable than me?"
---
In the days that followed, Ethan continued his research on magic stones while carefully monitoring his spiritual power each day.
The situation was even better than he had anticipated. His spiritual power had completed the initial stages of magic power integration. Though the "land" was still barren, signs of vitality had begun to appear, an indication that his magic power had started to "nourish the soil." Soon, it would begin to overflow, forming a "spring" that could continuously generate magic power.
As long as Ethan didn't recklessly introduce an excessive amount of external energy into his spiritual world, he no longer had to worry about contamination during normal use. At this point, he had fully regained his peak combat strength.
By now, Ethan had sailed past the rough waters near the Sea of Storms and returned to calmer seas where the waves were much more manageable.
During this time, Auriel had fully adapted to life aboard the ship. He spent his days roaming all over, disappearing until mealtime.
Having the little creature around added a certain liveliness to the ship, making it feel less lonely. Unlike ordinary pets, Auriel could communicate with Ethan, making him far more engaging to have on board.
At the end of another day's journey, Ethan noticed something different—this time, the little guy wasn't eating fire-attribute magic stones. Instead, he had taken a water-attribute magic stone from Ethan's workshop.
"You can eat water-attribute stones too? Are you sure that won't be a problem?"
Auriel gave Ethan a puzzled look, as if to say, Why would it be?
Ethan didn't press further. He simply observed as Auriel consumed the water-attribute magic stone, then yawned in satisfaction before flopping onto the deck with a blissful expression.
"So, you were only eating fire-attribute magic stones to keep warm?"
Now that Ethan's spiritual power was fully functional again, his perception had not only returned to its previous level but had grown even sharper. He carefully recalled Auriel's behavior and compared it to before.
Only then did he realize that back on the island, the extreme cold had forced Auriel to rely on fire-attribute magic stones for warmth. He hadn't been eating them for energy, he had been using them to maintain his body temperature.
In other words… he had been using them like a heat source.
Now that they had left that frigid region and the temperature had risen, Auriel no longer needed fire-attribute magic stones for warmth. Naturally, his diet had expanded beyond a single attribute.
Likewise, since he no longer had to consume energy just to stay warm, his overall energy consumption had dropped significantly. His appetite had shrunk, two magic stones per day were now enough to meet his needs.
This discovery reassured Ethan. It meant he wouldn't have to worry about running out of magic stones just to keep the little guy fed.
After tidying up, Ethan returned to his workshop and retrieved the mysterious spherical object he had obtained earlier. Previously, he had avoided using his spiritual power recklessly, but now he could finally study it properly.
A brief examination with his spiritual sense quickly led him to a conclusion.
"A magic stone?"
Ethan frowned. No, the structure was different, and the energy within it was also unique. The energy contained in this object far surpassed that of the Death Magic Stone he had found before.
What shocked him even more was that the energy inside didn't seem to diminish.
Each time a certain amount of energy dissipated, the total would decrease momentarily, only for the object to emit a faint fluctuation, restoring its energy to its previous level.
"If my observations are correct… this thing is a self-regenerating energy source? An almost unlimited power supply?"
Recalling how Auriel had insisted on digging it up and the fact that an assassin had been hired to track down creatures like Auriel, Ethan suddenly understood the real reason behind it all.
"So… finding Auriel wasn't the actual goal. The real objective was to use creatures like him to locate these high-quality energy sources, which are even more powerful than magic stones?"
That had to be it.
For those sailing the seas, access to an infinite energy source would be invaluable, with benefits too numerous to count. Even the ship Ethan had envisioned would require a high-quality energy core to function.
Previously, he had considered using either a core-grade magic stone or Tony's Arc Reactor.
But now… he realized he had another option.
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