Rune magic, unconstrained by the Root, was the magical system Scáthach was researching and perfecting. It could now be re-termed as Rune Magecraft.
Ethan was indeed interested in anything that could enrich his knowledge and expand his magical understanding.
The Land of Shadows… what use was it to him?
"Although the Land of Shadows is now nothing but a barren wasteland, it hasn't truly turned into nothingness. There's still something there that you'll definitely find interesting."
"What?"
Scáthach didn't keep him in suspense. Seeing that Ethan was genuinely interested, she immediately gave him the answer.
"Energy," Scáthach said with a smirk. "Lots and lots of energy."
"Oh?"
Ethan did need a large amount of energy. He had already prepared to connect to planes like the Arcane and Holy Light, just waiting for the right time to begin extraction.
He hadn't expected Scáthach to offer the Land of Shadows as compensation. He just didn't know how much she would give him. If he drew too much energy, would something bad happen to the Land of Shadows?
"Aren't you afraid the Land of Shadows will be affected by this?"
"The Land of Shadows shouldn't have existed for a long time now. What does it matter if it's destroyed?"
Scáthach was known as the Queen of the Land of Shadows, the Guardian of the Demonic Realm, but in truth, she had never taken this identity seriously.
The so-called Land of the Dead was only relevant to Celtic mythology, and Celtic mythology…
"If you say so, I have no more reservations."
Since Scáthach was willing to give the entire Land of Shadows as compensation, Ethan had no reason to refuse. He even gave her some extra private tutoring over the next few days, helping her with the basics so she could perfect her Rune Magecraft faster.
Time passed day by day. There was always much to do, and Diana was always by his side, making Ethan feel that his days were fulfilling and not boring at all.
The only regret was that whenever he wanted to take things further, Diana would always refuse, and what made him even more frustrated was that her reason was always the same.
"Let's consider such things when you're older!"
"..."
A frustrated Ethan wanted to get back at her during combat training, but the result was always him being lectured by Diana afterward. As for Ada, she definitely wouldn't agree too. That woman was too shrewd and knew exactly what he was planning.
After a period of calm and stable days, Ethan had roughly figured out the state of his body and the limits of his spellcasting.
Overall, compared to his previous peak, he was indeed weaker, both physically and in magical power level. Strictly speaking, he currently had no magical power. Any magical energy condensed or absorbed would be drawn into that black spot in his spiritual universe, leaving none for himself.
Now, Ethan cast spells by consuming the divine power within his body. Some simple, low-consumption spells were unaffected, but those that required a large amount of power were more strenuous. This meant that his divine power reserve was not as deep as his former magic power reserve.
However, due to its higher quality and the special nature of divine power, his casting speed and energy consumption were lower.
Overall, his strength had decreased, but the impact was not significant. Once he grew older, he would be able to recover his former level.
"The problem is... when will I grow up?"
He now understood why Merlin had that expression back then. His divine body clearly wouldn't grow as fast as an ordinary one. The growth of this body required immense energy.
Furthermore, he discovered that this energy consumption wasn't simply a matter of accumulating a certain type of energy.
Just as Ethan already had a profound understanding of arcane energy, the deep magical power he had accumulated previously inherently possessed arcane properties. After this vast magic became nourishment for this body, it developed a certain degree of resistance to arcane energy. This meant that his idea of using arcane energy to rapidly stimulate growth was a failure. It wasn't that arcane energy completely lost its effect, but that it gradually weakened. After a certain point, although it could still be absorbed, its effect on growth was far less than that of new energy.
"It seems I need to go and receive the energy from the Land of Shadows."
Ultimately, what he needed was fresh, massive energy. This aligned perfectly with his original training path. He just needed to continue doing what he had been doing before.
Sitting on the clean, slightly warm sand, Ethan looked at Diana not far away and suddenly wanted to cast an illusion to tease her.
While casting the illusionary clone, Ethan suddenly had a strange feeling that he could modify this illusionary clone.
He didn't think much of it and just followed the feeling, and then something miraculous happened.
Ethan created a clone that was almost a physical entity. This clone was entirely condensed from energy but was otherwise completely indistinguishable from him.
What was even more miraculous was that Ethan could control this clone freely, as if it were part of his own body. Whatever the clone saw or touched, the sensations were immediately relayed back to him. Even with an extra clone, he didn't feel disoriented.
Two completely different perspectives appeared in his consciousness without conflict. His powerful mental strength ensured that even when operating in dual mode, he wouldn't feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed.
"Energy clones?"
It seemed quite similar to Ego's ability, but Ego's main body usually rested while controlling his clones. Ethan wasn't sure what it felt like for Ego, but he found this type of clone fascinating.
While the feeling was still fresh, Ethan created two more clones. Three identical Ethans stood before his main body, yet he could clearly distinguish which visual feed belonged to which clone. He could easily control all three clones to perform any action his main body could, and even have them do different things simultaneously.
"This is quite interesting."
Seeing that Diana had turned around and was looking over, Ethan immediately sent the three clones rushing toward her to attack. Besides trying to startle Diana, he could also test the combat power of the clones.
The results came quickly. The clones' combat power was quite ordinary. Although Ethan's mental strength and reaction speed were strong enough to control three clones at once, the power carried by each clone wasn't high. If he wanted stronger clones, he would need to use more energy. Since the clones drew energy from his main body, the energy transfer caused a brief delay, indirectly weakening their strength.
So, although the three clones were physical entities and managed to catch Diana off guard, they were quickly defeated once she recovered.
"You really hit hard."
"No, it's about the same force I've been using for sparring these past few days."
Watching the three clones lie motionless on the ground, Ethan sat there rubbing certain parts of his body—all the spots where the clones had been hit.
Diana walked over, laughing as she checked on him.
There were no visible injuries, but her memory was sharp. The spots where Ethan felt pain were the exact same spots she had struck on the clones.
When she told Ethan what she had discovered, he immediately understood. For the clones, it was one hit each, but for the main body, which received all the sensations, it was equivalent to being hit multiple times in the same spot. Naturally, it hurt more.
A golden exclamation mark suddenly appeared above Ethan's head (a real golden exclamation mark condensed from divine power). He suddenly had a bold idea.
Although there was no one else around, Ethan covered his mouth and leaned close to Diana's ear, whispering his idea very quietly.
Then he was beaten up. He was beaten so badly that he couldn't even maintain the clones, which turned into pure energy and returned to his body before she finally stopped.
The following days were uneventful, no different from before. After confirming that there would be no major changes in the short term, Ethan called Scáthach and prepared to return to find Illya, stopping by the Land of Shadows on the way to collect the compensation Scáthach had promised.
"Do you want to go and see?"
Diana still hadn't returned to her world. It seemed her promise to spend more time with Ethan wasn't just talk. At the same time, she was very unhappy with a certain Main God who was coveting her boyfriend.
She knew that with her current strength, she couldn't confront that Main God, but being able to observe her 'opponent' up close would give her a clearer goal and more motivation to improve.
"Then let's go!"
Diana and Scáthach stood next to Ethan. They didn't go to the teleportation room but teleported directly from the island. For people like them, this kind of travel was instantaneous, so there was no need to worry about anyone suddenly needing him.
To be safe, he specifically informed Logan and Banner of his whereabouts, telling them where he was going. If something unexpected happened, at least someone would know what their captain had gone to do, rather than thinking he had just disappeared or run away.
With a casual wave, the teleportation spell, which had almost become instinctive, was released without warning. Compared to the past, when a magic circle would appear followed by a bright flash of light, Ethan's plane teleportation was much simpler now.
In the blink of an eye, without any dazzling light or shadow effects, they were already standing in the courtyard of the Emiya residence.
(To be continued.)