Ethan floated high in the air, looking down at Paradise Island, which had become tiny beneath his feet. Feeling the biting wind at high altitude, he noticed a layer of frost forming on his body.

Letting out a breath, Ethan realized he couldn't ascend any further unless he released magic to form an energy shield. Any higher, and his body would feel uncomfortable—not damaged, just uncomfortable.

This meant that below this altitude, his body could exert its full strength at one hundred percent. Any higher, and he would be affected.

This effect might not seem significant, but if a fight broke out in the air, the altitude would constantly change. He couldn't be sure if this effect would suddenly intensify. To avoid such a situation, he needed to establish a warning line early. Once near the warning line, he would have to strengthen his self-protection.

"Let's go back first."

Life on Paradise Island was very comfortable. Coupled with the beautiful scenery and abundant food, everyone was having a great time. They treated this trip as a vacation, as long periods of sailing at sea, even without combat, still caused considerable stress and required appropriate land-based activities for relaxation.

This was also why Ethan often took everyone to visit other worlds. Even though the Prinz Eugen was incredibly stable now and wouldn't cause intense discomfort unless encountering storms, he still insisted on doing this.

He descended from high altitude, finally landing lightly on the beach. Not many people paid him much attention. Ethan had been practicing flying for a while now, and even the most amazing things lose their novelty after being seen repeatedly.

The only one who had consistently paid attention to him was Maria Hill, the newly joined temporary member. She was standing there waiting for Ethan to return and specifically greeted him after he landed.

Looking at Maria Hill, who was dressed less casually than the others, Ethan knew she must have been observing his flight data just now. It was highly likely she had already calculated his altitude and speed, memorized the data, and would write it down in some hidden notebook after returning.

As the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria Hill had always been highly valued by Nick Fury. But this did not mean she agreed with him on many concepts.

In fact, many of Nick Fury's ideas did not align with Hill's expectations, especially his attitude toward superheroes.

Nick Fury would appropriately offer some benefits to these superheroes, even granting them considerable privileges, in order to win them over to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side and make them allies.

Hill had always been opposed to this behavior. In her eyes, superheroes were also criminals—law was law, and people should not be treated differently just because they had special abilities.

She believed that rules, once made, should be obeyed, and no one should violate them for any reason. Once someone violated the rules, they should be punished. What many superheroes did was essentially violating or even ignoring the rules, and she wished she could arrest all of them.

At the same time, she strongly agreed with Nick Fury's operating style: suspecting everything, maintaining sufficient vigilance toward everyone, and always having a backup plan.

For example, on this trip, she observed Ethan up close, meticulously recorded the details of his strength, and would then formulate detailed response plans upon returning. This was to ensure that if Ethan ever truly threatened their world, S.H.I.E.L.D. or any other organization wouldn't be caught unprepared.

Although S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer existed, Maria Hill would still not abandon her principles. She would firmly continue on her path, dedicating everything to protect her world.

"You can relax a bit here."

"I'll relax when it's time to relax."

Ethan shrugged. There was nothing he could do about Hill constantly maintaining a "working state"; she was there to work, after all.

"You've been on the ship for a while now. You should realize that I have no ill will toward your world."

Hill nodded. She agreed with this point. Ethan indeed had no malice toward their world, as she had already perceived that Ethan intended to develop his own world as a logistical base.

From this perspective, the two sides even had more possibilities for cooperation.

Ethan could travel through multiple cosmic planes. Even if not considering other worlds, the pure oceanic world alone had enough magical resources to develop. Just like the part of the magic stone technology that Tony had obtained, that kind of energy utilization technology could significantly raise Earth's civilization level.

Putting aside other things, with an extra layer of energy protection, weapons such as soldiers, aircraft, and warships could exert stronger combat power. Even against an Asgardian invasion, they would no longer be completely defenseless.

Considering that Ethan wanted to develop that world into a logistical base, a stable, large rear would certainly be more useful than a chaotic one. Therefore, to some extent, Ethan would even help them protect Earth—because the two sides had overlapping interests to a certain degree.

It was precisely because she thought of this that Maria Hill's attitude toward Ethan softened slightly. She was still very wary of those with supernatural abilities, so becoming true friends in a short time was impossible. Having the current level of acquaintance was already quite good.

This was thanks to the fact that there were no particularly strange individuals within Ethan's team. Selene and Logan were tough on the outside but soft on the inside. They might seem indifferent on the surface, but when you needed help, they were more dedicated than anyone.

Imhotep and Anck-su-namun were the most "arrogant," but they were very clear about their position and wouldn't senselessly provoke Hill in the current situation.

As for O'Connell, Jonathan, and Evelyn, those three were either goofy or naive, and otherwise just ordinary people. Hill felt no pressure interacting with them.

The only one who was a bit difficult to get along with was Annette. This kind of research fanatic and her, as an agent, lacked common ground. However, as long as she wasn't interrupted during her research, Annette wouldn't actively bother anyone.

Ada...

She sensed a similar aura in this woman as she did in Black Widow, and she also knew that this woman was an elite spy specifically invited by Ethan to join, clearly for the convenience of gathering various intelligence information when the team traveled to unfamiliar worlds.

All in all, Maria Hill had a reasonably pleasant time living on the Prinz Eugen during this period. Ethan's companions did not exclude her because she was a temporary member. Perhaps this was also related to the fact that there were always temporary members in the team before? Even now, O'Connell and the others hadn't fully found their place yet, so where would they get the confidence to exclude newcomers?

Life was reasonably pleasant, and she had more or less become friends with a few people. Ethan felt it was time and began asking Maria Hill about her plans.

He had asked similar questions to several people recently, and their answers were all similar: they needed to think about it.

Maria Hill was the only one who didn't need to think about it so complicatedly. She had clear tasks and ideas. What Ethan was asking about wasn't a vague goal; he wanted to know if Hill had any thoughts about her own strength.

"Although you are only a temporary addition to our team, there are some situations that must be considered."

Ethan and his team's time flow was not synchronized with that of the Marvel Universe. For Nick Fury and the others, Hill was just away on a business trip for a few months or a year. Here, she might have spent several years or even decades.

Such a long time could turn a child into an adult, or allow an ordinary person to live out their entire life.

Presumably, Nick Fury wouldn't be happy if the young woman in the prime of her life he sent to learn suddenly turned into a grandmother older than himself in the blink of an eye.

"So I can also use the enhancement potions you made?"

Enhancement potions were no secret on the Prinz Eugen. Everyone on the ship had used them, and people often discussed the specific effects of the potions. Someone like Jonathan, who loved to brag, was completely open about his changes, and no one avoided her when discussing how to better stimulate the potion's effects.

"Why not?"

Hill frowned. She hadn't expected to get such a great benefit so quickly. Was Ethan trying to win her over?

Seeing her expression, Ethan smiled and shook his head. "You've misunderstood something. You might think this enhancement potion is something very valuable, but to me, it's not a big deal anymore."

It was pretty much like the military issuing a full set of equipment and daily necessities to new recruits. In Ethan's eyes, the basic and advanced enhancement potions were just that kind of thing.

Of course, this was still a very valuable item to Hill. After all, the value of an item largely depends on how much the other person wants it.

Hill certainly wanted to obtain the potion to strengthen herself, but she thought she would need to earn some merit for the team to get it. She didn't expect them to just issue it as standard equipment.

"You might think this potion is very effective, but for me, this thing can only provide you with a good enough basic condition. You still need to consider your learning direction. Which aspect do you ultimately want to work toward?"

Become a mage like Ethan? Or a pure warrior? Or perhaps learn Holy Light energy to become a paladin or priest? Although Ethan didn't know much about it, becoming a shaman wasn't out of the question either.

The options Ethan presented were not absolute. She could completely learn all the knowledge she was interested in. After all, this wasn't a game world where choosing a profession fixed your talents and skill tree. In the real world, there were many people who learned skills and knowledge across professions or worked multiple jobs.

So these so-called professional directions were just a reference. Ultimately, he was asking what Hill wanted to learn.

Hill's choice surprised Ethan. This former Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was interested in the Holy Light.

(To be continued.)