The method Merlin proposed was a middle ground between slowly eliminating the various toxins within his body over a long period, and completely abandoning his current body to restart training with his vast mental power, memory, and experience.
"Reforge my body?"
"For you, it should be reforming your body into a god-body."
Ethan was currently a demigod, but strictly speaking, his body had undergone several enhancements that surpassed the human level, evolving into the physique of a higher life form. It could not be considered a true god-body, not even a demigod's body, strictly speaking.
Of course, this did not mean he would always be like this. Through prolonged improvement and evolution, his body would increasingly approach the life level of a god, eventually evolving into a true god-body.
To achieve this, he needed to enhance some things while discarding others.
"The method I am talking about is accelerating this process."
Compared to gradually purifying his body little by little through slow training, Merlin had a way to clear out the impurities or toxins in Ethan's body all at once. This would make his body extremely pure, infinitely close to a true god-body. With just a little effort, crossing that insurmountable hurdle would be a natural progression.
"It might even allow you to become a true god directly."
Merlin was not referring to gods who achieved their status through certain responsibilities or by benefiting from a large number of believers. He was talking about reaching a very high level of life realm.
Combined with Ethan's mental level, which had already reached a certain height, the resulting improvement was beyond accurate description in words.
"Sounds great. Are there any issues?"
With such a good method, Merlin was not just presenting it directly but explaining it first. There had to be some unresolved issues.
As expected, Merlin then brought up some problems with this method.
"Although it is not as troublesome as starting training from scratch, this method is equivalent to completely grinding your body, then removing the unusable parts, and combining the remaining parts to condense a new body. So..."
If Ethan were evenly divided into a hundred parts, and some were discarded, the remaining parts would certainly not be enough to reassemble him into his original form.
"So... will I turn into a dwarf or a goblin?"
"Not necessarily. You might turn into a child. The specific situation depends on how much of your current body is usable."
This meant that the more impurities and toxins in Ethan's body, the less usable parts there were, and the younger his age would be after being reassembled.
"I will not turn into a baby, will I?"
"It is not impossible, but your body should not be that bad."
Although there were many impurities, it was at least half a god-body. No matter what, he would not have to discard that much.
Merlin casually tapped his forehead with his finger, and a silver-white light spot appeared on his fingertip. Following Merlin's movement, it floated toward Ethan.
Ethan casually caught the floating light spot. Upon contact, it slowly merged into his hand.
"Is this the specific way to cast the spell?"
"Yes."
"It does not seem difficult."
Merlin conveyed the spell casting method to Ethan in this way not because he was wary of Scáthach nearby, but because at high levels, many spells are difficult to explain clearly through language alone. The basic structure of such spells is more like a conceptual thing. Once you understand it, you understand it. If you do not understand, no amount of explanation will help.
Before today, even if Merlin had taught this spell to Ethan, he would have found it difficult to understand how to cast it, and even knowing about it would have been useless to him.
Now, thanks to his unexpected broadening of horizons, he was able to use this spell. Mana was not the issue for him. This spell did not consume much mana, and Ethan's own mana was sufficient to complete it, without even needing to draw extra energy from the outside.
"Once you complete this spell and grow up again, I will have nothing more to teach you."
Merlin made this judgment with great certainty. Once Ethan completed the shaping of his god-body, combined with his already strong mental power and increasingly vast, profound, and pure mana, it seemed he was training a truly extraordinary being.
However, watching an ordinary young man grow stronger and stronger under his guidance was also a kind of pleasure, a very good diversion in his long life.
"Although I am looking forward to it, I feel a bit annoyed at the thought of having to turn into a child."
Merlin smiled without a word, and Ethan felt that Merlin's smile was full of malice.
Although Ethan sensed that Merlin might not have told him everything directly, this legendary great magician perfectly matched the descriptions in legends. Moreover, Ethan had received help from Merlin more than once. This old gentleman might have a bit of a mischievous desire to watch the spectacle, but he would not actually harm him.
"Maybe he just wants to see a show?"
Leaving Merlin's retreat, Ethan did not return to Illya's place. Instead, with Merlin's help, he returned directly to Artemis. Scáthach did not follow this time. She was very interested in the magic Merlin possessed, as it was a completely different system from the Magecraft she understood and mastered. So she stayed there, wanting to see if she could learn anything from Merlin.
Ethan did not care whether she could learn anything. Upon returning to Artemis, he quickly met with a few people on the ship, all of whom were shocked by his aged appearance.
"You... how long were you in that world?"
For Logan, Hill, and the others, Ethan had only been gone for a moment. He left the cockpit, went for a walk, and then returned to the cockpit.
Considering Ethan's current situation, it was impossible for him to age like this in just a few decades like an ordinary person.
"Did you encounter any trouble?"
"I encountered a somewhat troublesome opponent and used some moves that exceeded my current strength."
Ethan did not hide anything and directly recounted his experience this time. As he finished, he casually stroked Leah's head, who looked worried. The young girl was now somewhat familiar with Ethan, and given their teacher-student relationship, Ethan was the closest person to Leah here.
Seeing her teacher suddenly become so old, even though Leah was just a beginner in Magecraft, she knew that Ethan's current situation was not good.
"You have figured out a solution, right?"
As Ethan spoke, the people on the ship were not simple-minded or unintelligent. Seeing that he was still calm as usual, they knew he already had a solution.
"Taking advantage of this opportunity, I can also resolve the hidden dangers in my body."
Using enhancement potions could continuously improve potential, but it would leave some hidden dangers in the body. Ethan did not hide this from everyone and told them directly.
Regarding these so-called hidden dangers, everyone seemed not to care much.
From Ethan's description, it was clear that these so-called hidden dangers could be completely ignored before becoming a god. When it was time to become a god, one could also purify the body little by little over a long period, which could clear the impurities in the body and eliminate the hidden dangers.
One could say this was not a problem at all. Putting aside the fact that they were still very far from becoming gods, a problem that could be solved was simply not a problem.
"Then why are you not undergoing treatment immediately? Is there anything you need to prepare?"
Seeing Ethan in his current state, several people were curious why he was not rushing to treat his illness and was still wandering around here. What was he doing?
"Because this treatment will take a long time. I need to arrange some things first."
For example, the teleportation device in the teleportation room needed to be completely finished. He could not guarantee anything else, but at least he had to ensure that the teleportation between Artemis and the Starship Troopers world had no problems.
Only after arranging everything properly could he quietly shape his god-body.
"Also, I am preparing to notify Diana."
Notifying Diana was very convenient. Ethan did not even need to teleport to Diana's world. They already had a dedicated emergency communication item between them. When necessary, this item could also help Ethan better pinpoint Diana's location and summon her back to Artemis. Of course, Diana had to actively accept this reverse summoning.
After a flash of light, Diana appeared before Ethan, and she was equally surprised when she saw his appearance clearly.
"What happened?"
"I really should have called you over first."
Now he could only explain the situation again. When Diana confirmed that Ethan was okay, she also put aside her worries.
"It is good that you are alright, but this appearance looks quite novel."
After confirming that everything was fine, Ethan's aged appearance made Diana curious and she observed him for a while. Although the two of them were often not together, when they were, they would imagine themselves growing old together.
They both knew that it was almost impossible for them, but they did not expect to actually have the chance to see Ethan's aged appearance.
"Do you want to experience it too?"
"I will pass."
Diana decisively rejected Ethan's suggestion and instead asked if there was anything to note about his upcoming treatment plan.
"There is nothing particularly noteworthy, I just wanted to greet you specially, as this might take a long time."
Ethan had just started speaking when a spatial rift appeared beside him again. This was clearly Merlin's doing. He wondered if Merlin had thought of something else. At the same time, he channeled spatial energy into the rift, expanding it into a teleportation gate.
Scáthach leaped out of the enlarged blue light gate and handed a red crystal she held to Ethan.
"Merlin said you might need this and asked me to bring it over."
"Bring it over... casually?"
(To be continued.)