CHAPTER 419: CHAPTER 419: RUMOR BUSTER

Although the plan was to develop two more worlds, suitable candidates weren’t so easy to find.

Or rather, there were many potentially suitable worlds, but finding ones that could actually be developed into logistics bases wasn’t that simple. The most crucial issue wasn’t the world itself, but whether there were suitable collaborators within it.

The Marvel Universe had Tony, Thor, and Loki. Even Nick Fury wasn’t entirely out of the question when it came to cooperation. As for Arthur’s world, that went without saying. Thanks to Ethan’s intervention, the British Empire was far stronger than the legends described. And if Mordred were further nurtured, it wouldn’t be impossible for the entire world to become his support base.

Other worlds didn’t have these advantages.

Among the worlds he had visited so far, the various crises that might erupt in the DC Universe weren’t an issue. The problem was that Ethan was only on good terms with Diana. In normal society, Diana was just a beautiful professional woman. As for someone who could actually mobilize vast resources, like Batman... he hadn’t even been born yet.

Although Paradise Island was a power in its own right, its logistics capabilities could no longer meet Ethan’s current demands. Unless Ethan planned to give up exploring the universe and just wander the ocean, then Paradise Island would suffice.

But in that case, he might as well live there permanently. Why continue struggling in this world?

In the Resident Evil game world, where he had barely planted a seed, Leon was just a low-ranking police officer. Maybe after returning he would become a federal agent, but that would be the extent of it.

Claire was just a young university student. According to the storyline, after graduating, she only joined a civilian organization. Her influence in that world was even less than her older brother Chris, who was involved in the creation of the BSAA.

Could these two offer any logistical support? Not likely. That world could only be used as an experimental testing ground for new powers. Beyond that, it wasn’t of much value.

Counting them up, the only worlds that could realistically be developed into logistics hubs were Azeroth and Underworld.

But Azeroth’s waters were too deep. Ethan immediately ruled that one out.

As for the Underworld world, if Selene had retained her identity as a vampire, it might have been possible to unify the vampires and build a base using their unique capabilities. But now... that idea was completely off the table.

Not to mention, Selene herself didn’t want to return to the vampire clan. Ethan respected personal wishes, so not only would the Underworld world not be developed, it probably wouldn’t even be visited again in the future. As far as he was concerned, it was completely abandoned.

Beyond those, there weren’t any other suitable worlds.

"Why does it feel like I haven’t been to that many worlds over all these years?"

Ethan was frustrated. He felt like he had always been busy, yet after all this time and effort, he only had a handful of options for a base world. It felt like a complete waste of the dimensional travel magic in his possession.

His mood turned irritable. Feeling unreasonably annoyed, Ethan decided to do something, so he directly activated the dimensional travel magic and vanished under Diana’s speechless gaze—then reappeared a moment later.

The timing of this dimensional jump was quite coincidental. Tony had come looking for him and happened to see the exact moment Ethan returned.

"Hey, I specially built a room for interdimensional travel. Aren’t you worried about bringing something back?"

Ethan knew his behavior was a bit reckless, but he didn’t think it was a big deal to do this occasionally. Everyone had moments when they acted a little crazy.

"Maybe I just don’t want to be too perfect!"

Spreading his hands smugly, Ethan casually tossed the item in his hand toward Tony.

"What’s this?"

Tony, now physically enhanced and extremely agile, easily caught the item Ethan threw. Opening his hand, he saw a transparent plastic bag containing a bunch of pills.

The pills were finely made and surprisingly clear. However, aside from their appearance, they didn’t seem particularly special. There was no label, no description, not even on the bag. He had no idea what the pills were for.

"What is this?"

"A specialty from a certain world. It’s a pill called NZT-48."

He had just done a completely random teleport, without any specific destination locked in mind.

But the subconscious sometimes acts independently. For a long time, this world had been on Ethan’s mental list, all because of the seemingly miraculous pills he now held.

In that movie (Limitless 2011), the male lead was a struggling writer. Not only was he down on his luck, he had also been stuck on a new book he had promised to deliver to his publisher. He couldn’t write a single word.

But after he got these magical pills from his ex-brother-in-law, his entire life changed.

Not only did he finish his book in one night, he found that his thinking and reaction speed had become unbelievably fast. The world itself seemed to slow down around him. He could perceive minute details, absorb new knowledge rapidly, and process everything with inhuman clarity.

Thus began his journey of taking drugs to level up and show off... until he discovered that the drug came with severe side effects.

"Brain development?" After listening to Ethan’s explanation of the drug, Tony immediately revealed a look of disdain. "Don’t tell me you actually believe that fabricated theory."

In the movie, the effects of the drug were based on a commonly heard theory: that humans only use a small portion of their brain, and most of it remains dormant. If one could unlock that unused potential, they would become a superhuman.

They even threw in examples of famous historical figures, claiming they achieved greatness due to using more of their brain than the average person.

Ethan had once believed this theory and even fantasized about some fateful encounter awakening his dormant brainpower, thus beginning his journey as a superhuman.

Unfortunately, that theory was completely made up and had been debunked countless times. Even the protagonist in the follow-up TV series based on the movie openly mocked that idea.

So the pill’s effect definitely wasn’t about brain development. In Tony’s opinion, it was just a stimulant. It pushed the brain into a hyperactive state. That would also explain why long-term users experienced side effects, even potentially life-threatening ones.

An engine that’s always running at max power is bound to break down quickly. The human brain is no exception. When people overuse their brains, they feel fatigued. That’s the body’s self-protection mechanism telling you to rest.

This drug bypassed that mechanism and kept the brain in a constant state of high output—until the body eventually collapsed.

As for the end of the movie, where the protagonist improved the formula and mastered superhuman abilities without side effects, Tony guessed the improvement was likely just adding a "kill switch," or weakening the formula to delay the effects. It just extended the time until the body gave out, maybe from months to years, or even decades.

"So this thing is basically useless?"

Diana listened as the two of them broke down the effects of the drug. From the sound of it, this was nothing more than a flashy but useless trinket?

"Pretty much, but that doesn’t mean it’s completely worthless. There might still be ways to improve it."

This drug clearly had a strong stimulating effect on the mind. Maybe it could be repurposed into a potion that stimulated the growth of spiritual power?

Worst case, it could be turned into a magical stimulant. With the brain operating at full capacity, spellcasting would be faster and more precise. Especially in long battles where mental clarity faded, popping one could restore focus instantly. Sure, it might harm your foundation, but in a life-or-death emergency, who cared?

Ethan and Tony started discussing how to make better use of this thing and didn’t even notice when Mordred walked in.

It wasn’t until she had been listening for a while that Mordred suddenly looked at Tony with a surprised expression. "You’re a wizard?"

"What? Do I not look like one?"

Tony originally thought Mordred would comment on his appearance or attire being un-wizardlike. Instead, her next words nearly made him explode with rage.

"I’ve never seen a wizard as weak as you!"

Mordred’s expression practically screamed, You’re this weak at your age, and you still want to be a wizard? You should switch professions now. Staying on this path has no future.

Tony was furious. He wanted to launch Arcane Missiles at her face, but seeing that Mordred was still a kid, he swallowed the urge.

It wasn’t surprising Mordred said that. After all, the mages she had seen were people like Merlin or Morgan. Compared to them, Tony—who had only just started learning magic—was clearly far behind.

Moreover, Mordred didn’t know that Tony had only been training in magic for a short time. She assumed he had been practicing for decades and still hadn’t gotten anywhere. So she sincerely believed it would be better for him to give up. With his good physique, becoming a knight who could use magic to enhance himself would surely offer more potential.

Fortunately, due to her arrogant personality, Mordred didn’t actually say those "helpful" suggestions out loud. Otherwise, if she had pushed Tony too far, he might have pulled out his newest nano-magic armor and given her a harsh lesson.

Even though there was no fight, Tony was still upset. Being looked down on by Mordred made him extremely uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to pick on a child, so he turned his attention to Ethan.

"Got any interesting worlds? Take me somewhere fun!"

(To be continued.)