Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB]

"A ring?"

Hearing that the next sea region was actually like that, even the ambitious Brent felt a bit disheartened. He was now beginning to understand why Beckford had changed so much.

"There isn't even a central island like this one?"

"There is." Brad finally offered some relatively good news. "As long as you break through the Sea of Storms along this route, it won't be long before you reach the only unsinkable island in the Miracle Sea."

According to Brad's description, if they pushed through the Sea of Storms following their current route and adjusted their heading slightly to the front right, they could reach that island.

Ethan sketched it out in his mind and realized that Stat Island in the Sea of Calm, the central island in their current sea region, and the Miracle Island Brad described were all perfectly aligned. There was no way that was a coincidence.

Thinking about these things now was pointless. They didn't need to worry about the next sea region yet. The problem they needed to solve was the land beneath their feet.

The three of them fell silent for a moment, shifting their focus back to the immediate trouble. Brent stopped dwelling on the bleak future and was now more interested in figuring out what Beckford was really trying to do.

"Ethan, you said Beckford has been turning people into undead creatures?"

"Yes."

Ethan briefly mentioned meeting Wilson in the Sea of Calm and Christine's situation. Both of Beckford's subordinates had been transformed into undead creatures, retaining their original memories and intelligence while also possessing considerable combat power.

Ethan wasn't sure about Beckford's own condition, but based on how easily he could use undead as avatars, his control over death energy was definitely high. He just didn't know if Beckford was like some necromancers he had encountered, only affected by death energy and appearing somewhat 'unpleasant' compared to normal people, or if he had already fully become an undead creature.

"What exactly is he trying to accomplish by turning everyone into undead?"

Ethan, arms crossed, was also pondering this question. At first, he thought it was because undead creatures were easier to control, but now it seemed things weren't so simple.

"Undead don't need to eat, drink, or breathe."

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed that these two points were key. Brad and Brent were both excellent adventurers and immediately grasped the implications.

"In other words, if Beckford succeeds, his reliance on resources will be greatly reduced, maybe even completely eliminated. Perhaps that's why he said he was saving people?"

Brent still found the idea too insane. Turning people into immortal monsters, avoiding the need for food and water—could they still be called human? How was this any different from killing them?

"That's why he said only the strong are qualified to survive. Because under this transformation, those who aren't strong enough will completely lose themselves. Only the strong can retain their self-awareness."

Brad also understood Beckford's thinking. While he felt there was some logic behind it, the idea was still deranged and completely unacceptable. Few normal people would agree to become undead monsters unless they were on the verge of death and desperate to extend their lives.

Limited by their knowledge, neither of them considered it further.

Ethan was different. Even setting aside his experiences in countless worlds and the knowledge he had absorbed, just based on memories from his previous life, he knew Beckford's plan wouldn't be that simple.

Undead creatures didn't need to eat, drink, or breathe. They could enter the ocean to explore the vast underwater world and extract resources from the seabed for Beckford's use.

More importantly, if they no longer needed food and air, then space exploration was no longer impossible.

"Has he already set his sights on the vast cosmic space?"

It was just a guess, but he himself would make that choice. After hearing Brad's description of the Miracle Sea, he had already revised his earlier plans.

The Prinz Eugen would be his last surface vessel. He wouldn't ask Tony Stark to help him build a Bismarck-class warship. Instead, he would aim directly for space. His new ship should be a space battleship.

Thinking of this, Ethan suddenly looked up at the sky. If the Miracle Sea was like this, he might as well go straight into space.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking, what's up there in the sky?"

"In the sky?" Brad found Ethan's question strange and didn't quite understand what he was thinking. He casually replied, "In the sky, of course, is the Sky Wall. What else could there be?"

"Sky Wall?"

Ethan had been wondering: Magic Stones possessed all kinds of abilities and immense energy. It was impossible that no one had researched flight. Had no one ever considered bypassing the Sea of Storms by flying above the clouds?

Once someone did that, more adventurers would surely turn their attention skyward, and the idea of venturing into space wouldn't seem so far-fetched.

But judging from Brad's reaction, it seemed no one had thought about that—until he heard the term "Sky Wall" from Brad.

"What is that?"

Brad looked at Ethan and saw that this powerful young captain genuinely didn't know. So he gave him a simple explanation.

Only then did Ethan learn that at roughly the same altitude as the clouds, there existed an invisible wall, blocking some adventurers' attempts to bypass the Sea of Storms from above. In the eyes of the people of this world, that was simply the nature of the sky. In their understanding, the limit of the sky was this invisible but tangible wall. So they had no concept of outer space. In their perception, the world was just the area between this ocean and the Sky Wall.

Of course, these were all conclusions Ethan pieced together from Brad's explanation. Judging from Brent's reaction, his interpretation was likely correct.

"So that's how it is."

The sky had a limit. Staying airborne required constant energy. You couldn't avoid severe weather like storms and heavy rain. Encountering such conditions was even more dangerous than sailing on the sea. No wonder no one wanted to develop toward the 'sky'.

"But the sky having a ceiling, that's a problem."

There was a barrier in the sky, but was there one around the world? Brad couldn't answer that, because no one would ever test what lay beyond the edge of the ocean. Letting a few flying animals scout it out was about the limit. No one would venture there themselves or even go farther, just to check whether a barrier existed.

Before they realized it, the conversation had drifted again. Ethan and the others refocused their attention on Beckford. Now that they roughly understood Beckford's motive, the next question was: Why did he suddenly create such a strange island?

"Although I don't know how he did it, it was probably to block the passage to the Miracle Sea."

By isolating the Miracle Sea from the previous two sea regions, Beckford could use his overwhelming strength to slowly deal with the adventurers in this sea region and accumulate power. When he reached a certain level, he could then turn to confront the more powerful adventurers in the Miracle Sea.

It was a very logical guess, and Ethan also believed it was highly probable.

Brad rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then looked off into the distance. Finally, he whispered to Ethan and Brent, "I think I know what method Beckford used to create this island. If you want to destroy it, you'll need Captain Ethan's pet to help."

"Auriel?" Ethan immediately understood. "You mean, this island was created using that special kind of Magic Stone?"

"Special Magic Stone?" Brad was stunned for a moment before realizing what Ethan was referring to. "You mean a Magic Heart, right? It's a special Magic Stone that can restore its own energy."

Ethan finally knew what that type of Magic Stone was called. Its full name was Heart of Magic Stone, abbreviated as Magic Heart. This Magic Heart was a higher-level energy source than ordinary Magic Stones. According to Brad's description, to live well in the Miracle Sea, a high-level Magic Heart was essential.

In the Miracle Sea, although weather didn't shift dramatically within a single day like on the previous two routes, it wasn't a calm and safe sea like the Sea of Calm either. Relying solely on sail power would make survival very difficult, so powered propulsion was essential.

But that required a large number of Magic Stones. Only by acquiring a high-level Magic Heart could this issue be completely resolved.

"More importantly, with a Magic Heart, you can build your own ironclad warship. It's much safer and more reliable than wooden sailing ships."

Brad also explained why he had come here from the Miracle Sea. His original purpose was to find a creature like Little Owen.

Magic Hearts were so important that many adventurers did whatever they could to obtain one. But Magic Hearts weren't easy to find.

Coincidentally, there was a relatively easy way to find Magic Hearts: certain special creatures that fed exclusively on Magic Stones. These creatures had a unique ability that allowed them to easily locate Magic Stones, and even Magic Hearts.

Brad had come here from the Miracle Sea this time precisely to find such a creature.

"Why not look in the Miracle Sea?"

Didn't the Miracle Sea have such creatures?

"This kind of creature isn't hard to find, but it's not easy to catch."

In the Miracle Sea, such creatures often evolved to become extremely powerful. Forget catching one as a pet—just surviving an encounter with one would be considered lucky.

"Of course, you don't necessarily have to keep it as a pet. This creature has a crystal-like organ inside that can be used to create a device specifically for detecting the location of Magic Hearts."

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Brad suddenly felt a chill envelop him.

(To be continued.)

***

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