Having determined his current actual situation, Ethan began to gradually expand the scope of his investigation.
This required the release of mental power. As long as the mental power was strong enough, this method of exploration would remain undisturbed and bring back accurate information.
But the question was, how strong is strong?
Ethan's current mental power was certainly strong compared to ordinary people, but when compared to many powerful beings, it was insignificant.
What he couldn't be sure of was the strength of this mysterious power. After all, he had no information in his hands.
"As if I have any other choice."
Fight? Or sit back and wait to be slaughtered? It was practically a no-brainer.
Releasing his mental power little by little, Ethan moved with extreme caution. If anything seemed off, he would immediately withdraw his mental power. Yet, no abnormalities occurred.
It was unclear whether the mysterious power hadn't noticed him or simply didn't care. Regardless, Ethan managed to get a grasp on himself and his immediate surroundings without issue.
"It's also possible that this power doesn't have a clear consciousness just some kind of instinct?"
Ethan moved his hand gently, and the grass wrapped around it was immediately torn off. The same applied to the rest of his body. These grasses were just like ordinary weeds, they couldn't forcibly restrain Ethan's movements.
He slowly sat up, careful not to stand straight up. While half-kneeling, he gradually expanded the range of his mental scan.
"There's grass all around... and no sign of Logan or Laura."
Judging by the height of the grass, Ethan could tell that the place where he'd fallen wasn't where they'd found the spring. But he didn't know how he'd gotten separated from Logan and Laura.
"Where exactly was that spring dug up? No, there were charms distributed there. Even if this place can affect all five senses and create the illusion that someone is standing right in front of me, it shouldn't be able to teleport away the amulets that sent me out, right?"
Maybe the charms he gave them had fallen somewhere, and Logan and Laura hadn't picked it up; or maybe they had, and the three of them were gradually separated under the influence of various sensory disturbances after the amulets were distributed. It was all open to interpretation.
Of course, the worst possibility was that they had fallen into a phantom from the very beginning. But in that case, the power would have had to release strong fluctuations from the start—something that would definitely have triggered Ethan's vigilance.
"I'm basically like a blind man right now."
Ethan didn't dare to expand his mental power too far. While doing so would give him a broader field of view, it would also dilute his power. If attacked, he might not be able to resist and would suffer severe damage.
So he carefully controlled the scanning range until he confirmed there was no danger nearby.
Ethan didn't dwell on the confusion for long because a new thought struck him.
"Why am I blindly searching around? No matter how strong the mysterious power of this island is, it must have a limited range. It definitely can't be infinite. As long as I keep a certain distance from the island, I should be able to avoid its influence."
Of course, distancing from the island didn't necessarily mean heading back to sea, rising into the sky could also put enough distance between him and the island.
Ethan could sense that whenever he used his flame wings to soar upward, powerful fluctuations would rush at him from all directions. The force of the blow would definitely interfere with his takeoff.
But with his current mental power range, Ethan could condense it in time to form a strong enough shield, which could protect him from mental attacks long enough for him to reach a high enough altitude.
Flying straight up for a while, Ethan suddenly felt his entire body lighten. The constant mental attacks pressing down on him finally vanished. Ethan knew he had exited the island's sphere of influence, and only then did he reopen his eyes.
The first thing that entered his view was the pair of glasses still resting on his face. The red warning message, Xenogeneic Energy Invasion Warning, continued flashing on the screen.
Ethan didn't have time to complain about the warning he hadn't seen earlier. He immediately switched the search mode on his glasses to locate Logan and Laura.
Then, using the 'Telephoto' function, he checked the current status of the two. Just like before, they were lying there quietly, their hands and feet entangled by long green grass.
"Not too bad."
Ethan used the glasses to calculate a suitable 'rescue route', set a 'route marker' on the display, then took out all the charms he had stockpiled from his space storage and used them all at once to cast a multiple-layer psychic protection spell on himself.
"Let's see if you can still affect me now!"
Fully prepared, Ethan didn't dive straight in. Instead, he maintained flight at a relatively safe altitude, gradually accelerating in the sky before suddenly descending along the route marked on his glasses, heading straight for Logan's location.
The moment he began to descend, Ethan felt his magic shield being attacked. As he dropped lower, the pressure on the shield grew stronger. By the time he reached Logan, the force had nearly gone berserk, relentlessly pounding against him.
At this point, it was no longer just interference, the nearly solidified spiritual force was hammering at his shield like a sledgehammer. If Ethan hadn't activated the shield from the Book of Inheritance, he would have been crushed into pulp.
Before reaching Logan, Ethan released the shield energy from the Book of Inheritance, dispersing the mental assault just long enough to buy himself a few seconds. In that brief window, he grabbed Logan, reactivated the shield, and continued on toward Laura.
A sprint at such speed would normally cause massive bodily harm without protection. Fortunately, Ethan's intent was to rescue Logan and Laura. Their self-healing abilities ensured they wouldn't be seriously harmed by Ethan's rough handling.
Of course, some pain was inevitable.
"Fuck, Ethan! Are you saving me or trying to kill me?!"
The moment Ethan grabbed and dragged him, the mental interference on Logan was lifted—but this brute force approach wasn't suited for others.
"If I could think of a better way, I'd do it. This is all I've got for now." Ethan quickly reached Laura's location according to the marked route on his glasses. "See the chance, grab Laura!"
He was moving so fast that he wasn't sure Logan would be able to seize the critical moment when he dropped the shield to save Laura. But right now, they had no other option. Whether it worked or not depended on Logan.
Fortunately, Logan reacted quickly. He grabbed Laura cleanly and in time, and Ethan immediately flew straight back toward the Goddess of Dawn, carrying one adult and one child.
It felt like a long time had passed, but in reality, Ethan had calculated the optimal rescue and evacuation route using the high-tech glasses. From the moment he dove to the moment he landed on the Goddess of Dawn's deck, only a short period had elapsed. It was just that so much had happened in that short time, the intense focus made it feel much longer.
"I almost took a serious hit this time."
After resting on the deck for a while and gradually recovering, Logan turned to check on Laura. Once he confirmed she was alright, he looked at Ethan. "Thanks for coming back to save me."
"No need." Ethan didn't think he deserved any special thanks. Since Logan had become one of his crew, it was his responsibility as captain to ensure their safety. Rescuing crew members was something that went without saying.
Logan nodded and didn't continue expressing gratitude, it would've felt too forced. They still had time to spend together in the future, and he believed there would be a chance down the line to prove that Ethan's actions today were the right call.
As for how to thank him, Logan understood something important: no matter how bizarre the island was, it couldn't truly trap Ethan. Because Ethan possessed the ability to travel through space-time. In a real crisis, he could activate the space-time circle to travel to another world, create some tools to protect himself, and return afterward.
In that case, who knows what would've become of Logan and Laura—Logan didn't yet realize that when Ethan left and came back, it would be as if no time had passed at all.
After resting a bit, Logan looked toward the island again. It was still just a green grassland. Standing here, it was hard to imagine that such a terrifying 'trap' was hidden on the island.
He was gradually coming to understand that when Ethan had called this the "suicide route," he hadn't been exaggerating. If all the islands along this path were this strange and dangerous, it was no wonder so few people ever made it to the end.
"Are we really going to keep exploring this island?"
Ethan was standing on the poop deck, staring out at the island. Upon hearing Logan's question, he replied without hesitation, "Of course we're going to explore. I'm very curious, what exactly is the essence of the power on this island?"
He had no idea what kind of materials were on this island. The idea that the energy source was magic stones was a possibility, but it was hard to judge their actual properties.
"Could it be pure spiritual power magic stones? I've never heard of such a thing before."
Whatever it was, Ethan needed to be fully prepared before he could get his hands on it. His current equipment was enough to handle the immediate situation, but he needed to craft more targeted tools.
"More time is needed."
(To be continued.)