Further improvement beyond a demigod leads to a true god.
Becoming a god is never easy, but simply having some qualities comparable to a god is not too difficult a goal, and Ethan was already very close.
What was missing now was that final threshold. If Ethan crossed it, he could be promoted to a true god, but did he really want to cross it?
Ethan was very hesitant about this.
Sitting there and thinking for a while, he felt that he did not care about the identity of a god at all. He only needed to improve his various qualities and lifespan, ensuring he had broad potential. As for how far he would go in the future, he would just take it one step at a time and see.
After that meeting, Ethan got busy in the laboratory.
Annette became his assistant during this time, doing some auxiliary work and also taking care of Ethan. For example, when he needed to eat, Annette would fetch it for him, allowing Ethan to focus all his energy on the experiments.
Having a research talent like Annette do such trivial tasks seemed a bit wasteful.
But Annette herself was happy to be Ethan's assistant because she could see various strange potion-making methods. Even if many of the techniques were beyond her current grasp, witnessing high-level techniques was also a way to increase her knowledge.
So Annette took good care of Ethan during this time. He did not have to leave the laboratory at all and stayed holed up there for a long time.
He did not feel any discomfort. As a mage, you have to be able to stay indoors.
Besides making potions or magic items, sometimes mages can stay in their laboratories for months or even years to analyze a spell. Therefore, to become a powerful mage, one must have strong nerves capable of enduring loneliness and solitude. Of course, for mages, studying magic is not lonely, it is even very interesting.
Ethan felt the same way now. Watching various magical potions being created in his hands, the sense of accomplishment was very captivating. He even had the urge to go collect some strange materials and make even more powerful potions.
However, he quickly suppressed this thought.
Regardless of the final effect of this potion, everyone on the ship, including himself, would need time to digest the effects after using the new potion to enhance their strength. It was not suitable to immediately undergo another enhancement.
Strength gained that way would just be foam, an illusion that could be popped with a poke.
Annette was doing some final cleanup work. After she finished, she stood next to Ethan, looking at the vial of potion in front of her that seemed ordinary no matter how you looked at it.
"Is this stuff really that amazing?"
According to Ethan, this vial of potion could allow a person's various qualities to reach the level of a god. Gods, to her, were originally beings from myths and legends. She never expected that one day she would have the chance to touch that level.
Although she knew that only Ethan could use the vial of potion in front of her, given the captain's generous nature, it was only a matter of time before similar or improved potions were distributed throughout the ship.
Ethan smacked his lips. He had just eaten some fries and a meat patty and drunk a large glass of juice from Merlin, alleviating both his stomach and mental discomfort.
"It is not as powerful as initially expected."
The Titan bloodline within this evil god was not strong or pure enough. Originally, Ethan thought that with his foundation, he could directly cross that level with this potion, but now he found that he might only be able to touch the edge, and whether he could cross it was still unknown.
"Although the overall effect did not meet expectations, the degree of improvement in physical strength was better than anticipated."
Ethan's physical fitness had been rapidly improving through multiple enhancements and diligent training. Although he could not compare with true demigods like Diana or the new king of the Asgardian gods, Thor, he was still in the same tier, just one of the weaker existences within that tier.
Once he used the vial of potion in front of him and underwent a period of training to fully unleash its effects, he would make up for this shortcoming. Combined with his already extremely strong magical abilities, his strength would rise to a new level.
Do not think that improving physical fitness is unrelated to magic. Improved physical fitness allows his body to withstand stronger magical output, endure the backlash and certain side effects of powerful magic when necessary, and unleash more potent magical attacks.
In addition, the sensory enhancement brought by physical fitness would also allow him to spot suitable casting opportunities and complete spell attacks with faster reaction speed.
These are all improvements that cannot be ignored, not to mention he can also protect his vital organs.
"Will you use it now?"
"Not yet."
Ethan casually put the potion directly into his storage space. This way, no one but him could get this unique finished product.
It was not that he was guarding against Annette like a thief, but rather that these scientific workers sometimes lacked rationality. With something like this lying around, it would be hard for them to control their urge to study it.
Instead of leaving Annette an opportunity to make a mistake, it was better to prevent such a thing from happening from the start.
Annette had no objection to this. One good thing about these scientific workers was that they did not mind such seemingly unfriendly behavior. They considered it perfectly normal to properly store something so important.
"You have not rested much lately. Get some good rest for a few days. I will go to the bridge to catch up on the recent situation."
Ethan had spent quite some time in the laboratory. As the captain, even if he had things to do, he could not completely ignore matters on the ship.
After coming out of the laboratory, he did not rush to use the enhancement potion on himself, nor did he return to his room to rest. Instead, he fulfilled his captain's duties and inquired about what had happened during this time.
Fortunately, there was a very suitable person to ask, so he did not need to run around asking several people.
Commander Maria Hill had been steadfastly holding her post and was very clear about all the major and minor events that had occurred on the Prinz Eugen during this period, reporting them in detail to Ethan.
Generally speaking, the Prinz Eugen's voyage during this time had been very smooth. Using their advanced detection equipment, they could always spot other ships in the vicinity first and then calmly avoid them.
So far, no one on the Sea of Miracles had detected the arrival of Ethan and the others, nor did they know that a powerful warship like the Prinz Eugen had been added to this ocean.
The Prinz Eugen continued its journey unnoticed, sailing at a steady speed toward its designated target sea area.
Nothing happened externally, and internally it was relatively calm.
After the last outing, both Laura and Mordred realized their own shortcomings, not to mention Sherry, who had the weakest strength.
To Annette's great disappointment, Sherry did not give up training and learning combat skills because of this setback. In fact, she became even more focused on training in this area.
She did not even let her regrown hair grow long again. Instead, she chose short hair similar to Ada's because such a hairstyle was more conducive to action.
"Sherry wants to use the enhancement potion early for her first enhancement."
According to the original plan, Sherry was supposed to have her first enhancement in a few more years, but now she was a bit impatient.
Ethan was optimistic about Sherry's determination to improve. As for her wanting to use the enhancement injection potion early, it was not a big deal. Sherry had eaten and drunk well during her years on the Prinz Eugen, and besides, she had previously used a potion that promoted better development.
Caucasian girls develop relatively quickly, and combined with the effects of the potion, Sherry was now close to reaching the peak state of her body and mind. From a physical condition perspective, she was completely ready to use the enhancement potion.
"Speaking of which, are you not planning to use the enhancement potion?"
"Not yet. My current rate of progress is not slow. I want to see how much I can improve before hitting a bottleneck."
Hill also wanted to see if she could break through this bottleneck without external help, relying solely on diligent training. Regardless of success, these would be valuable experiences, serving as important references for returning to her own world in the future to establish and train an enforcement team with extraordinary powers.
Ethan could guess Hill's thoughts. He did not plan to interfere and just wanted to quietly watch the show.
Continuing to ask about the others on the ship, Sherry, Laura, and Mordred, these young people were all desperately improving themselves. The incident during the last outing had become the motivation for them to work even harder.
Ada was as mysterious as usual, or she was training as she normally would.
Selene had been getting along well with Betty recently, and Betty had also started helping with some simple tasks, like helping with cooking.
"Where is Logan?"
"Logan is busy building a house."
"Building a house?" Ethan was startled at first, then reacted. "The trees on the small island have grown enough to be used for building houses?"
After the small island had largely taken shape, Ethan had not managed it much. He just had others routinely water it with magic, continuously improving the structure of the island world, while also having Logan and Laura responsible for accelerating plant growth.
When he last saw it, although there was a large area of green on the island, the trees had not grown yet. Those pitiful little trees were too thin to build houses with, or even to build a shed.
How long had it been? They could actually be used to build a wooden house? He remembered Logan wanted to build the kind of wooden house from the Cabin in the Woods world, which required plenty of quality timber.
"After you came back from your last outing, Logan's nature power made significant progress." Hill said this, then suddenly looked at Ethan with a suspicious expression. "Did you guys really just go to a certain world to play for a few days?"
(To be continued.)