CHAPTER 418: CHAPTER 418: ETHAN IS WORSE THAN A RABBIT

When Mordred, Logan, and Diana were sparring (with Mordred being unilaterally bullied), Ethan wasn’t present. At the time, he was discussing other matters with Arthur and Merlin.

However, with Merlin—a powerful archmage versed in countless secret arts—present, the three of them hid in the office Arthur usually used for work and watched the entire process through a mirror spell cast by Merlin.

"If I’m not mistaken, that young lady is a god, isn’t she?"

Of course, Merlin wouldn’t be mistaken. He asked only to give Ethan an out. If there was anything inconvenient, Ethan could deny it, even if everyone already knew the truth. Sometimes, the truth just couldn’t be spoken outright.

As someone who had lived for an unknown length of time, Merlin naturally wouldn’t overlook this detail.

"Yes, Diana is a demigod. Her father is Zeus..."

Greek mythology also existed in this world. With Merlin’s vast knowledge, he was well-versed in the mythology of Olympus. Judging from the old mage’s thoughtful expression, he might even be wondering whether the Olympian gods actually existed here as well.

But Ethan didn’t plan to delve into that question. He couldn’t go around verifying the existence of every pantheon in every world. Was he supposed to greet a new father-in-law in every realm he visited? That would be asking for trouble.

"It seems Diana has awakened her powers."

Arthur already knew Diana’s identity. When he first met her, she was still a little girl. It was only through Ethan that he learned the truth.

At that time, Diana hadn’t yet awakened her divine power, but her innate talent had already shown through.

Arthur knew then that, as an ordinary person, he would one day be surpassed by Diana and left far behind. What he didn’t expect was to witness her strength firsthand one day... Even though Diana hadn’t gone all out, Merlin’s reaction was enough to confirm a lot.

"What about you?"

"Barely on the same level as Diana."

Ethan’s answer surprised Arthur at first, but then he quickly accepted it as reasonable.

As Ethan’s earliest companion, he had personally witnessed Ethan grow from a scrawny, ordinary young man. Although Ethan had only been an apprentice mage when they parted ways, he had already shown great potential—not in physical strength, but in his will and his ability to travel across worlds.

As long as he continued striving forward, reaching this level was inevitable.

"Honestly, I thought you’d reach this stage eventually. I just didn’t think it would be this soon."

He had thought that by the time he himself grew as old as Merlin, Ethan, just as aged, would finally break through that limit and take that critical step. After all, it was normal for mages to have long white beards and a head full of gray hair.

Unexpectedly, Ethan still looked like a young man in his mid-twenties. According to Ethan, his appearance and physical condition would remain in this peak state until his lifespan was nearing its end, at which point he would age rapidly.

And if he continued advancing and broke through the shackles of mortality to become a true transcendent, even that wouldn’t happen.

Powerful mages were supposed to look like elderly men! This wasn’t fair.

"I’m really envious."

"If you’re envious, have a bottle!"

Ethan wasn’t short on enhancement potions. With his friendship with Arthur, not only could he offer a full set of potions, but he could even craft a batch tailored to Arthur’s constitution.

"Let’s not. I’m afraid that after becoming a transcendent, I won’t be able to hold on to the feeling I have now."

He still had dreams yet to be realized. Before creating the kingdom of his ideals, he didn’t want to abandon his identity as a ’human.’ If he took the potion, he’d likely start chasing personal strength again, just like his younger self.

Only after his dream was fulfilled would he consider transcending and pursuing a new path.

"What I’m worried about... is accidentally falling behind."

Without enhancement, Arthur would always remain a mortal. Even though he had learned a lot from Merlin and had used magic to reinforce himself over the years, it was still limited. Magic reinforcement was more focused on combat performance and couldn’t fundamentally change the essence of being human.

Therefore, his lifespan and physical condition weren’t much different from ordinary people—perhaps just a bit longer at peak state.

A mortal could be gone in an instant.

Life was unpredictable. No one could say what might happen tomorrow. Ethan was genuinely worried that something might happen to Arthur after he left, or that by the time he returned next time—say, a hundred years later—Arthur would already be gone. As a mortal, Arthur definitely wouldn’t live that long.

The only one he could rely on was Merlin. Ethan was certain Merlin had a deep understanding of time, otherwise it would be impossible for him to choose his "landing point" in this world so precisely.

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Arthur doesn’t run into any accidents."

Merlin had always been Arthur’s most trusted mentor and companion. Since Merlin said so, Ethan didn’t worry anymore.

Even if something really happened, Merlin would have a way to preserve Arthur’s soul. And if the soul remained intact, Ethan could find a way to bring him back to life.

"You make it sound like you’re hoping something happens to me."

"Just preemptively organizing all possible scenarios to formulate response strategies."

The former amateur who once had to consult Merlin for everything could now follow most of Merlin’s reasoning and even propose some theories that Merlin found novel.

Although Merlin was immensely powerful and capable of breaking through planar barriers, he couldn’t freely travel between worlds like Ethan, nor could he absorb knowledge from countless different systems to use as reference. Some of Ethan’s theories might resemble spells Merlin already knew, but taking different paths toward the same goal still had value. They broadened his perspective and occasionally helped him understand something new.

Seeing Merlin’s interest in various strange ideas, Ethan compiled and shared all the magical and scientific knowledge stored in his memory and the Book of Inheritance.

Ethan’s Book of Friendship.

After casually naming this magical book, created in ten minutes by two mages working together—Merlin chuckled and stored it away somewhere unknown.

With all matters settled, there was no need to stay any longer.

Everything had been arranged properly. He had reconnected with Arthur. Staying any longer would only interfere with Arthur’s duties, unless Ethan decided to help him conquer the remaining kingdoms and unify Europe.

But Ethan wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. Arthur had already started equipping his army with firearms and cannons. In this era, that was outright cheating. By the time Ethan returned, it was entirely possible Arthur would’ve unified the world and be heading for the stars... Of course, that was impossible.

On the other hand, if Mordred learned more advanced knowledge aboard Ethan’s ship, built strong bonds with the crew, and gained their help—especially from someone like Tony Stark—then the British Empire under her leadership might very well step into the interstellar age.

And if Arthur returned to the team someday, their ties to the British Empire would deepen even further, and venturing into space would be inevitable.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing for Ethan. Even though he had already designated the Marvel Universe as his logistics base, even a rabbit digs three burrows. Could Ethan be worse than a rabbit?

It’s just...

Looking at Mordred wandering around the deck with wide eyes, curiously pointing at things and asking, "What’s this? What does it do?" and even climbing on top of the cannon barrel to peek inside, training this troublemaker into the ruler of a spacefaring civilization probably wasn’t something that could be accomplished in just a year or two.

"By the way, how many years did you agree on with Arthur to train Mordred?"

After bidding farewell to Arthur and Merlin, Ethan allowed everyone to rest for a day. The following day, he took Mordred and Galahad away from Arthur’s world and returned to the Prinz Eugen.

This trip to Arthur’s world hadn’t lasted long. There wasn’t much to do.

Besides, they had just finished resting on Paradise Island. There was no need for another extended vacation.

The most important thing was that there wasn’t much to do in Arthur’s time. Staying indoors making babies all day was out of the question.

However, leaving too quickly also had its drawbacks. When Diana casually asked this question, she noticed that Ethan suddenly froze. When she turned to look, she saw Ethan staring blankly with a sheepish expression and his mouth half open.

He didn’t need to answer. Ada saw his look and burst into laughter. "Looks like our captain never even thought about that. Looks like Mordred will be staying with us for quite a while."

"That’s fine too. After all, spending more time together builds better understanding. Becoming truly trustworthy friends takes time."

Everyone had guessed Ethan’s plan to find suitable logistics worlds for development. No one found anything wrong with establishing a new support base. The fact that he even considered such things showed he was a responsible and capable captain.

"Marvel Cinematic Universe... Arthur’s British Empire..."

He already had two viable logistics worlds. Ethan planned to develop at least two more.

No way he’d be worse than a rabbit.

(To be continued.)