Arthur Pendragon.
Even if Ethan hadn't received the 'language pack' transmitted by Merlin, he could still tell the identity of the young man before him just from the pronunciation.
"This guy is King Arthur?"
He could now basically confirm that this world was not any of the 'movie worlds' he was familiar with. If it were a movie world, the filming of King Arthur would primarily be done by British and American film companies, who would certainly use English for dialogue, not a language he had never encountered.
His historical knowledge was just so-so, mostly gleaned from online novels. For instance, he knew King Arthur was a native hero of the British Isles, whose time of existence wasn't very clear, and it was even uncertain if such a person truly existed – though, in this plane, it was confirmed he did.
The language used in the British Isles during this period certainly couldn't be modern English, or even Old English.
"Could it be Old Celtic?"
Ethan wasn't entirely sure; he could only guess wildly.
He carefully observed the young man before him. His golden hair was as dazzling as the sun, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, radiating righteousness. The description 'the sun at eight in the morning' seemed tailor-made for this young man.
"Hello, Arthur, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ethan."
Ethan nodded, formally greeting the young King Arthur. This was the first time he had introduced himself by name.
The young heir to the throne formally returned the greeting, which made Ethan feel a bit awkward. "It is also a great pleasure to meet you, Sir Ethan."
"Now that we've been introduced, let's talk about serious matters." Merlin, who had been sitting by the side, saw that the two had finished introducing themselves and took control of the conversation again. "Actually, I hope you, Ethan, can help me with a small favor, which is why I stopped you while you were performing a magic teleportation."
Ethan didn't interrupt; he was waiting for the rest. Merlin didn't beat around the bush either and directly stated his purpose.
It turned out that after teaching Arthur for several years, Merlin saw that he was growing older and wanted to take him on a journey for a period to broaden his horizons and increase his knowledge, and also to give him a good understanding of the current state of the country, which would be greatly beneficial for him ruling the country in the future.
It was also at this time that he sensed a mage using powerful spatiotemporal energy to break through the plane's barrier and arrive in this world. A new idea suddenly arose, and once it appeared, he couldn't suppress it. He didn't even waste time deliberating further and directly 'pulled' Ethan to his presence.
In reality, Merlin had originally intended to interact with Ethan for a while, to understand his character while also sorting out his own thoughts and considering how reliable the plan was. However, he was not an unreasonable person after all. Since Ethan wanted to know why he had been brought here, Merlin felt he should provide a reason.
After hearing what Merlin was asking of him, Ethan felt that this famous legendary mage was perhaps being a bit too ambitious.
"You mean... you want Arthur to travel to other worlds with me?"
Exactly. Merlin had suddenly come up with this idea. Originally, he thought it would be enough for Arthur to understand this world, but somehow, this thought suddenly arose in his heart, and once it appeared, it was hard to contain.
As a powerful mage, he knew such a thought wouldn't arise for no reason. Perhaps it was stimulated by the powerful energy, and he had a premonition in that instant, which in turn triggered this idea.
It was also because he understood this point that Merlin decided to be direct with Ethan. He didn't think Ethan would refuse, as he had enough leverage to negotiate with him. As for Ethan's character? He also had enough time to observe. If he truly turned out to be a wicked person, the old mage Merlin wasn't some rigid old fossil; getting rid of an evil person wouldn't be too much trouble.
"Yes, I suddenly feel that for him to become the most excellent king, he needs to see more and learn more things."
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt the amount of information was a bit overwhelming.
"Just because of that, you want him to follow me and stumble around in other worlds? Putting everything else aside, you should have an idea of my strength; I can't guarantee his safety."
This time Merlin didn't answer; instead, Arthur, who had been silent, spoke up.
"If I lose my life during the journey, then it proves I am not worthy of inheriting the throne." He paused, then added, "Furthermore, I have studied swordsmanship with Merlin for a long time and can fully protect myself."
Ethan didn't respond, just continued looking at Merlin.
"As Arthur said, if he loses his life during the journey, then perhaps the throne should not be inherited by him." Merlin looked at Ethan, seemingly explaining both of their words. "To become a king, one faces many difficulties and dangers, many of which are beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Arthur will face all sorts of crises sooner or later. He needs a suitable environment to cultivate his ability to deal with various situations."
Ethan nodded. The last sentence was barely acceptable.
"However, what if he leaves with me and can never come back? You should be able to see that I can't freely control those powerful spatiotemporal energies at all."
Merlin could see that, of course, and it was precisely because of this point that he had the leverage to sit here and negotiate with Ethan.
"Yes, your control over those energies is terrible, so I will teach you for a while." The leverage Merlin offered this time was undeniably significant. He believed no young mage could refuse guidance from the legendary mage Merlin.
Ethan couldn't either!
He was very much in need of an excellent mentor for professional, systematic guidance. Although he hadn't encountered any bottlenecks during this time, it was all because his starting point was too low, so low that even the introductory stage required a considerable amount of time to cultivate.
Ethan was aware of this, and to avoid hitting a bottleneck, he expanded his cultivation direction as much as possible. Learning magic potion making, studying the construction of magic arrays, and so on, were all preventative measures taken in advance to ensure he had other means to improve his strength if he encountered a bottleneck.
"All knowledge regarding magic?"
It seemed impossible to refuse? Ethan still needed to clarify some things. Was the teaching Merlin offered limited only to the application of spatiotemporal energy, or could he learn everything Merlin knew?
"Not just things related to magic."
Merlin's answer made Ethan very happy. Now, he was the one who hoped for the smooth completion of this 'deal' even more.
If this were a business negotiation, Ethan would probably have to sign a long list of unequal treaties to achieve his goal.
Fortunately, none of those present were merchants, and this wasn't a business negotiation; the moral character of everyone present was also up to standard. They didn't even need to sign any contracts; both sides reached a consensus through tacit understanding.
Next was the stage of mutual understanding.
Whether it was for Merlin's convenience in teaching or to increase understanding with his future 'teammate', Ethan needed to explain some things in detail.
"We can put your personal cultivation situation aside for now. I think what Arthur wants to know most is the worlds he will experience next."
Ethan shrugged and briefly introduced the worlds he had experienced.
In the Marvel Universe, he was essentially caught red-handed by the Ancient One and didn't go anywhere, so there wasn't much to say. He briefly talked about the Diablo world, mainly limited to the adventures he had experienced.
He mainly talked about the world of the Calm Sea, a world full of oceans, where everyone had to search for magical islands at sea, collect various supplies to sustain life, and so on.
This completely different and magical world made the young Arthur feel very amazed. He rarely showed a bit of childishness appropriate for his age – it was as if there were needles under his backside, and he couldn't sit still.
As for the method of traveling between worlds, Merlin initially thought Ethan had some powerful magic item in his possession. He didn't expect it to be a talent-like ability – he had never entertained the thought of seizing it by virtue of his superior strength. If he did have such a thought, Ethan wouldn't have any recourse, so he could only choose to trust Merlin's character. Fortunately, Merlin's character was quite solid.
"So that's how it is."
Listening to Ethan's explanation of his ability, Merlin also understood why Ethan's mental strength was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person's, and he had no magic power at all, yet could activate such vast energy for plane teleportation.
Observing the energy pointer in Ethan's hand, Merlin found that he couldn't discern how it existed either. In the end, he could only offer his suggestion: "Although I don't understand the reason for this thing's existence or its operating principle, for a mage, any energy can be controlled; the only difference is the difficulty of control."
Therefore, Merlin suggested that Ethan take advantage of the large amount of spatiotemporal energy still remaining in his body and seize the time to practice controlling the energy, instead of letting it dissipate naturally within his body and then passively triggering the teleportation to send him back to his original world only when it was about to disappear.
"If my speculation is correct, the higher your degree of control over spatiotemporal energy, the corresponding changes will occur in your ability."
As for what specific changes would occur, Merlin wasn't very clear.
Ethan, on the other hand, had many speculations, such as being able to travel back and forth more freely; or even storing the spatiotemporal energy after absorbing it instead of activating it immediately, and teleporting when needed; or even specifically locating the world he wanted to go to, instead of random teleportation like this.
These were all possibilities, and he hadn't failed to consider them, but he lacked the methods to achieve these goals.
Now Merlin pointed out one to him, which was to strengthen his control over energy.
Coincidentally, controlling energy was an ability that mages were bound to master. It was just that he had been diligently practicing mental strength before, wanting to learn it only after his mental strength reached a certain level.
Besides this factor, there was another important reason: the first energy absorbed could very likely affect a mage's entire life, so it had to be done cautiously!
Merlin also specifically mentioned this point at this time.