A white jade statue that had originally been carved with great craftsmanship had been dug full of holes by Ethan.
Especially Medusa's head. Her beautiful snake hair had been dug into a patchy mess by Ethan, making it look very ugly.
Fortunately... the platinum treasure chest in Medusa's arms had not been damaged.
However, Ethan couldn't be sure whether a Spatial Gate could damage a platinum treasure chest.
Of course, he had no intention of testing it.
After all, if it succeeded, he would lose a platinum treasure chest. If it failed, it would just waste time and mental energy.
"Let's see what's inside the treasure chest first."
Ethan directly opened the platinum treasure chest. He saw about six or seven items inside, along with a few scrolls, though he couldn't immediately tell what they were.
He simply collected everything and put it into his backpack to examine later.
'Collect!'
[Magic Boat Upgrade Scroll +1]
[Magic Fish Tail Blueprint +1]
[Skill Book · Water Bullet]
[Skill Book · Water Arrow]
[Substitute Bear +1]
[Spirit Stone +1000]
[Platinum +10]
"More water-related stuff?"
Looking at the contents of the platinum treasure chest, Ethan became a little puzzled.
This was already the second treasure chest he had opened where most of the items were related to water. Could some kind of water-related disaster really be coming?
And among the items, two seemed connected to the previous platinum treasure chest, such as...
[Magic Boat Upgrade Scroll]
Last time what Ethan had obtained from the Mist Forest was the Magic Boat Blueprint.
This time, he got a Magic Boat Upgrade Scroll. That meant the two items were clearly part of the same series. It even felt as if whatever arranged these platinum treasure chests somehow knew he already had the Magic Boat Blueprint, which was why it gave him an upgrade scroll.
'Really strange.'
Ethan opened the description for the Magic Boat Upgrade Scroll and took a look.
[Magic Boat Upgrade Scroll: A scroll used to upgrade a Magic Boat. But first, you need a small boat that can float through any storm and run endlessly using only spirit stones.]
[PS: After upgrading, the small boat becomes a medium-sized boat. Capacity increases from 8 people to 30 people. It also comes with a small cabin to protect against sun and rain! A highly cost-effective upgrade scroll.]
'It looks pretty good.'
'In that case...'
'Let's copy a hundred of them first.'
Fortunately, this Magic Boat Upgrade Scroll could be copied.
Very quickly, a large pile of scrolls appeared in Ethan's backpack, while a hundred spirit stones disappeared.
Then, Ethan turned his attention to the other item, the [Magic Fish Tail Blueprint].
This blueprint happened to match the [Magic Fish Gills Blueprint] from the previous platinum treasure chest. Calling them a matching set wouldn't be an exaggeration.
If he made both and attached them to himself, wouldn't that make him a mermaid?
'No...'
'A merman!'
[Magic Fish Tail Blueprint: The newest spirit-condensing fish tail. It doesn't need to be worn directly. Simply fasten the tail device around your waist, and a fish tail will form the moment you enter the water. It disappears the moment you come ashore. This spirit-condensing fish tail also has a water-propulsion effect, allowing for extreme acceleration underwater.]
[PS: The tail also includes a mood-based color-changing system that allows outfit-changing effects based on your mood that day.]
'Not bad.'
It actually looked easier to use than some diving equipment from Earth.
And it wouldn't affect walking. It only appeared when entering the water.
That design was genuinely convenient.
Though the fish tail was novel, it basically functioned as a pair of flippers.
What Ethan was really interested in was the fish gills.
[Magic Fish Gills Blueprint: The newest ear-mounted fish gills. A long breathing tube connects the two gills. Simply hold the breathing tube in your mouth, and the ear-mounted gills will automatically absorb and filter air from the water, allowing you to breathe freely.]
[PS: Be careful not to choke on water while using the fish gills. After all, you're not actually a fish.]
The magic world really was amazing.
A single set of magic fish gills directly solved humanity's inability to breathe underwater. And there was no need to worry about running out of oxygen. As long as water pressure wasn't enough to crush you, you could practically dive forever.
However... While Ethan was studying these strange blueprints,
On the back of Medusa's stone head inside the stone coffin, one strand of Medusa's hair suddenly moved.
Crack~
A very faint sound of stone splitting rang out.
Then the strand of hair slowly began to move.
It crawled onto Medusa's pitted stone face, now missing its eyeballs. The stone hair suddenly raised its head. The stone shell covering it started falling away more quickly, revealing the snake body beneath the stone skin...
As well as a pair of red gemstone eyes.
Those eyes... Looked almost identical to the [Petrification Magic Stone Fragments] that Ethan had collected into his backpack.
The stone snake was now holding half of its body upright, occasionally flicking its tongue at Ethan, as though waiting for the moment he looked up at it.
But at this moment...
Ethan was too focused on studying the items from the treasure chest to realize that inside the stone coffin, there was still a snake that had slipped through the net.