The Prinz Eugen hid in a corner and activated its detection equipment to monitor the entire area, leaving no blind spots.
With the equipment installed on the ship, not a single suspicious trace could escape its notice.
Forget ships or aircraft, even miniature probes disguised as insects would be detected by the Prinz Eugen when the detection systems were operating at full capacity.
Yet, under such strict surveillance, Ethan and the others, who had stayed here for half a month, found nothing.
"If it were the Guild investigating, it would make sense if they hadn't arrived yet. But the Guild has already confirmed there's nothing useful here. Even if we captured a few of them, it would be hard to extract any valuable information."
"There's no need to stay any longer. It seems the Empire has indeed abandoned this training ground."
Since they couldn't capture anyone from the Empire, remaining here was pointless. The Prinz Eugen powered down its maximum-level detection, returning to normal surveillance, and switched off optical stealth.
The ship's detection capabilities allowed it to spot others in the sea before adventurers could see them with the naked eye. With only minor course adjustments, they avoided being seen.
This optical stealth worked well on aircraft, but on the sea it couldn't hide water traces, so it was only useful when the ship was stationary.
At a crucial moment, Ethan had another option: "physical stealth."
The method was simple: eliminate any adventurers who discovered them. If everyone who saw them was dead, it meant no one had seen them. They would remain in stealth, completely unknown to the Guild or adventurers.
However, this approach was too extreme, and Ethan preferred not to use it unless absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, their luck was decent. The Prinz Eugen sailed quietly without provoking anyone, avoiding unnecessary conflict.
The only unexpected problem was Ethan's assumption that sailing along the outermost edge would mean less trouble, since adventurers usually searched for resources and rarely ventured into the "empty" outer sea.
But he underestimated human curiosity. Countless adventurers, just like him, wanted to see what the edge of the world looked like, especially near Miracle Island. Many often sailed their ships out just to "enjoy the view."
Fortunately, the Prinz Eugen was several levels above these ships. Ethan and the others remained perfectly hidden. So far, no one in the sea knew of their presence. Even the most informed Guild had no idea the Prinz Eugen existed. They had concealed themselves flawlessly.
But living this way too long was boring. Before, there had been an island where they could train while also strengthening their abilities. Now that the island's development was stable, everyone only needed to follow routine maintenance, with nothing extra to do.
More importantly, the people on the ship had passed their period of rapid strength growth over the past few months and had entered a consolidation stage.
This was a frustrating phase. Almost no progress could be seen, no matter how hard they trained. Their strength seemed stagnant, with no visible change.
Those like Serina and Logan, who had the age and experience, were unsurprised and kept a steady mindset.
But younger people like Laura and Mordred, who lacked patience and had just enjoyed rapid progress, found it difficult to endure.
Laura, now clearly a young woman, lay slumped like a child, her increasingly beautiful face resting on the table, looking completely listless.
Beside her sat Mordred and Shirley. The youngest, Shirley, was no longer a little girl but a golden-haired young beauty.
Shirley held a handheld console, playing for a while before tossing it aside as well.
"It's really boring. We haven't done anything lately, and my magic hasn't improved for a long time." After saying this, Shirley glanced at the more mature Laura and suddenly felt envious.
Young children always wanted to grow up quickly. Laura, only a few years older, hadn't looked so mature before. Since using the enhancement potion, her changes had become more and more obvious. No further changes had appeared recently, so it seemed the process was complete.
"Sigh... I want to be enhanced too."
She was already satisfied with her height and figure. Standing at 1.65 meters with a well-developed body, Shirley didn't care if her growth stopped. She only hoped to look more mature, not like a child at first glance.
"Do you have to wait until you're older to be enhanced?"
Mordred had lived on the ship long enough to know the essentials, and she had personally seen Laura transform from an ordinary-looking girl into a tall, beautiful woman.
At first, Mordred hadn't cared much about enhancement. With her magic, training alone gave her considerable strength.
But then she noticed a cruel reality: on the entire Prinz Eugen, she was the shortest, aside from Auriel.
Mordred, the daughter of King Arthur and heir to Britain's throne, was actually the shortest? That was unacceptable!
Worse, she wasn't even sure if her magic had stunted her growth. There was no sign she was getting taller at all, even though both her parents had tall, model-like figures.
"It seems so... After all, we're the only young people on the ship..."
Galahad, who stood silently behind Mordred like a statue, suddenly spoke.
"I asked about it. Actually, you don't necessarily have to be older to be enhanced. The reason we aren't allowed is because our potential isn't fully developed yet. Mr. Ethan believes we should first exhaust the potential we already have. Then, once it's nearly gone, we can use enhancement potions to push it further."
"Ah? Is that how it works?"
Mordred had only known the basics, not the details. Now she felt like her potential was nearly tapped out. Maybe it was time to ask for an enhancement potion.
"Galahad, what are you carrying on your back?"
Only then did the girls notice the massive object on his back, shaped like a cross or a circle, and nearly bigger than he was.
"It's a shield Mr. Ethan gave me. He said with this, I can protect Her Highness better." Read full story at Nove1Fire.net
"I don't need protection."
Hearing it was a shield, Mordred immediately lost interest.
But Shirley and Laura, hearing Ethan's name, jumped up. Their laziness disappeared instantly.
"Ethan gave it to you?"
Laura circled around Galahad, then stood behind him and studied the huge shield carefully.
Shirley did the same, but with her magic she could sense more.
"This is a magic item."
The shield, shaped like a giant cross embedded in a circle, pulsed with strong magical energy. Just from that alone, it was clear it was a powerful artifact.
"Strange, it's been a long time since Ethan made a unique item just for someone."
Usually, everyone had a standard set. The only difference was in appearance, not function.
For example, Ada preferred accessories like earrings, bracelets, necklaces, or anklets. Logan chose an ordinary-looking watch.
That was the extent of variation, but Galahad had received a custom-made shield.
"I think our Captain must be indulging his twisted sense of humor again."
"That's right, it must be."
After living together for so many years, both young women understood Ethan's personality well.
He wasn't the type to worry about Mordred's safety and make her a guardian. Normally, he would thoroughly train Mordred, enhance and guide her, strengthen her in various ways, and only after she had sufficient strength, equip her with a full set of gear. Diana was a perfect example.
Strengthening the guard's power was not Ethan's style.
But they didn't dwell on it for long, instead thinking of something else.
"Ethan can travel to other worlds whenever he wants. If we're bored, couldn't we go to another world to have some fun?"
Their impression was that Ethan always had a specific goal whenever he traveled to another world.
It was either to collect treasures or recruit crew members. But what the young ones wanted now was to find an interesting world just to have fun.
"Such amazing magic... shouldn't it be used for playing?"
Galahad stood there seriously, but no one paid him any attention. The girls continued their discussion and decided to ask Ethan to take them out.
Although the island had been developed nicely, that kind of quiet comfort wasn't for energetic youth. They wanted something livelier.
In fact, even if they hadn't asked, Ethan himself had been feeling bored lately.
He had thought making a piece of equipment fitting for Galahad would take a lot of time. But with his forging skills now greatly improved, he finished it in just a few days.
So, feeling idle, Ethan also began considering whether to visit an interesting world purely for fun.
"Where should we go?"