"Go back and tell Ardeth Bay that I'll be waiting for him in Hamunaptra."
Ardeth Bay was one of the leaders of the guardians, the black-robed man with facial tattoos from the movie, who later became friends with the protagonists.
Those who came to intercept people heading toward Hamunaptra were essentially Ardeth Bay's subordinates, so Ethan wasn't concerned that his message wouldn't be delivered.
He didn't send the message with any special intention. He just didn't want these guardians continuously showing up along the journey to stir up trouble. There was no reasoning with them. They simply believed they were carrying out the duty they were born for.
After tossing the terrified black-robed men into the river, Ethan continued patrolling the ship, throwing all the remaining guardians into the water and completely extinguishing the fires that had just broken out.
Looking at the fist-sized flame in his hand, no one would have guessed it had been condensed from all the flames across the entire ship. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary flame, and its perceived temperature was also normal, but its internal structure was entirely different from regular fire. If triggered by an external force, the resulting explosion wouldn't be much weaker than a tank shell.
Ethan glanced at the black-robed men floating in the river. Many were still glaring indignantly at the ship. Ethan casually tossed the fireball into the water. The moment it left his hand, the fireball became unstable. As soon as it touched the water's surface, the fragile balance collapsed, and the energy inside erupted, creating a firestorm that filled the sky and lit up the entire river channel. The shockwaves from the blast caused the guardians soaking in the water to suffer even more.
O'Connell and Evelyn, who had been following behind Ethan in a daze, finally began to process what was happening. Then they continued to stare at Ethan with blank expressions.
"What was that just now?"
"Don't tell me that was just another insignificant little spell."
"Another?"
O'Connell turned to look at Evelyn beside him. That sentence revealed a lot. Apparently, this young man named Ethan had already demonstrated magical abilities before. Why had no one told him about this?
"This one was a bit more complicated, but still not a big deal."
Ethan looked around. Actually, it wasn't just O'Connell and Evelyn who were stunned. The group of archaeologists was also staring at him in shock.
Earlier, when Ethan was tossing black-robed men into the river along the ship, they were still excited and entertained. But when they saw fireballs forming in Ethan's palm and dancing quietly, even the most oblivious among them realized something wasn't right. Once the final fireball exploded, everyone knew the mysterious young man traveling with them was no ordinary person.
"A wizard!"
Even in the future, in a science-dominated society, awe toward the mysterious and unknown still lingered in most people's hearts. How much more so in this era, and in a place like Egypt, full of mystical legends?
Whether locals or foreigners, everyone was now filled with fear and awe toward Ethan—not respect, but pure fear.
"Looks like we won't be bothered much on the journey ahead."
O'Connell saw the reactions around them and strongly agreed with Ethan's words.
No one dared provoke a wizard with mysterious powers. Even if no one could be sure whether Ethan's magic was real or based on some unknown means, the effect was unquestionable.
Due to the guardians' attack, no one on the ship was in the mood to sleep. Now, with a mysterious male wizard among the passengers, even fewer dared to close their eyes, afraid they wouldn't be able to open them again.
No one even dared to approach Ethan's room, which allowed their group to speak freely without fear of being overheard.
O'Connell even went out of his way to check the doors and windows. The closest crew members were standing far away, clearly wanting to leave but too afraid, worrying that if the great wizard had a request and they weren't nearby, they'd incur his wrath.
"If I'd known that showing a little magic would be this effective, we could've just chartered the whole ship from the start."
O'Connell didn't want them tagging along. Ideally, they could be thrown into the river with the black-robed men, allowing the group to reach Hamunaptra sooner.
"No, I need them to reach the destination with us."
Ethan had already decided to resurrect Imhotep. Several steps were required for that process. Before fully understanding the resurrection and soul-summoning spells, Ethan couldn't risk modifying or recreating them on his own. So, the best and safest way to revive Imhotep was to let him follow the original method.
"Why? Doesn't that mean my gold might get stolen?"
Jonathan noticed that no one cared about the treasure, which frustrated him. Though deep down, he wished they truly didn't care, so the treasure could all be his.
Evelyn, however, kept inspecting Ethan's hand—the one he had used to gather and eventually release the flames. She seemed to be looking for some sort of mechanism. But there was nothing—no device, not even any special gear on his arm. She was practically ready to strip Ethan's clothes just to get a better look.
"How did you do that?"
"Didn't you hear what they called me?"
"A wizard?" Evelyn gave a skeptical smile. "You're telling me you're actually a male witch?"
"Actually, I prefer to be called a mage." Ethan switched hands, and this time what appeared in his palm was a sphere of water.
The water ball was perfectly clear. Evelyn, sitting nearby, could see through it to the other side. It slowly rotated in Ethan's hand, changing shapes as it spun. At one point, it turned into a mini heavy machine gun and sprayed a round toward the group—O'Connell and Evelyn both felt a cold chill on their faces. The brief shock helped them snap out of their stupor, and they continued watching in awe as the water ball transformed into a frozen rose.
Ice was a derivative of the water element. After mastering water control, Ethan had been training in its extended applications. These techniques weren't difficult once water was mastered—especially with Loki, a powerful mage proficient in frost, available for consultation at any time aboard the ship.
"You can control water and fire at will?"
Jonathan was the quickest to recover, even asking follow-up questions.
"Elemental manipulation is only part of a mage's abilities. I can also cast a few spells with more unique effects."
The ice rose in his hand dissolved instantly. Ethan flicked his finger. After half a night of chaos, fighting, smoke, and fire, everyone was looking disheveled. But as soon as Ethan cast the spell, everyone felt a wave of freshness sweep over them. Moments later, they realized that even their clothes had been cleaned.
Seeing this, Jonathan's face lit up with a grin. Perhaps he felt that with such a powerful mage in their party, their gold would be safe. No one could possibly steal it.
O'Connell, however, looked anything but happy. He was now deeply worried about this trip.
A mage with powerful, mysterious abilities had suddenly appeared and declared he was heading to the legendary City of the Dead, Hamunaptra. O'Connell himself had encountered strange things there before. All signs pointed to this not being just a simple treasure hunt or archaeological trip.
What kind of force could attract someone like Ethan to personally make this journey? It had to be another mysterious power.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He even considered backing out.
But Ethan saw through his hesitation and reassured him.
"You don't need to worry. Even if something happens, it won't endanger your life—as long as you follow my instructions and don't act recklessly."
Evelyn might sometimes act naive and silly, but she wasn't stupid. On the contrary, she was an exceptionally intelligent woman. Otherwise, she wouldn't have mastered so much archaeological knowledge and become proficient in several ancient languages at such a young age.
She also believed Hamunaptra not only existed but likely contained many secrets yet to be uncovered. Some of the legends about the City of the Dead might not be mere myths after all.
"What exactly is in Hamunaptra?"
Evelyn had initially just wanted to prove Hamunaptra's existence and perhaps recover the legendary scriptures.
But now, even someone as unique as Ethan had set his sights on it. She suspected there was something she didn't know drawing him there.
She was now intensely curious, like a child eager for a bedtime story.
She wasn't alone. Jonathan, despite being overly fixated on gold, was just as curious as his sister.
O'Connell had always wanted to uncover the secrets of that place. Even Ada and Logan didn't fully know the details of this trip.
Ethan looked around and decided it was necessary to give them a summary of the situation ahead to avoid any unexpected mishaps.
Especially the siblings—those two were particularly prone to causing trouble. Even with multiple warnings, it wasn't guaranteed they wouldn't mess up his plans.
So it was better to lay everything out clearly in advance, so they would know what not to do and help ensure his plan proceeded smoothly.
No one was sleepy anyway, so Ethan gave them a basic rundown of Hamunaptra's history and the story of Imhotep. It was only then that Evelyn and O'Connell understood that Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, was actually the prison of a high priest named Imhotep.
Ethan also shared his purpose: besides retrieving the two scriptures, he intended to resurrect the ancient Egyptian high priest.
(To be continued.)