BOOM!
Unfortunately, the hammerhead shark was destined never to get its answer.
Ethan split it cleanly in half with a single sword strike, an even split straight down the middle.
No matter how strong its regeneration was, with its head cut into two halves, how could it possibly recover?
Thud!
Thud!
The two halves of the hammerhead shark fell to the ground in front of Ethan.
[Mutated Hammerhead Sharkman corpse detected. Collect?]
'Collect.'
[Top-grade Shark Skin +100]
[Top-grade Cartilage +365]
[Sharp Teeth +3651]
[Advanced Backpack +1]
[Spellbook +1]
[Fish Meat +9871]
[Fish Bladder +1]
[Fish Intestines +1]
"Fish meat? Seriously?"
When Ethan saw fish meat in the loot notification, he was speechless.
'Wasn't this hammerhead shark originally a human?'
'How am I supposed to eat this fish meat?'
Never mind whether it tasted good. Even if he could get past the psychological barrier and eat it, who knew if he'd mutate after eating it?
He had no interest in turning into some neither-human-nor-monster thing.
BOOM!
Just then... a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down while Ethan wasn't paying attention.
He was completely focused on dismantling the hammerhead shark's corpse and didn't notice the incoming lightning. On top of that, his Lord's Domain was still on cooldown, so he couldn't use it.
With no other choice, Ethan quickly took out a piece of shark skin and flung it toward the lightning like a flying disc.
BANG!
The lightning struck the shark skin with a loud explosion.
Ethan had already prepared himself for the remaining shockwave, but the lightning he expected never came.
That surprised him.
He looked up, only then did he realize the lightning had disappeared.
The shark skin also fell back down at that moment. It was actually completely intact. Only the spot where the lightning had struck was charred black.
Even more amazing, the scorched area was slowly repairing itself.
'Could it be...'
'That this hammerhead shark's regeneration still works even after it is dead?'
Ethan was excited. If he made a pair of gloves for his Ghost Hands out of this shark skin, not only would they be resistant to lightning, they'd even repair themselves if damaged.
'Awesome!'
Even the corpse of this mutated hammerhead shark was this useful.
Ethan suddenly became curious whether the giant octopus-head's corpse had any special properties as well.
But when he looked toward the water.
He discovered, the octopus-head had disappeared without a trace.
Even after using Understanding Water to expand his awareness through the surrounding hundred meters of water, he still couldn't find it.
It really had escaped.
Ethan felt a little disappointed.
Fortunately, there was still the mushroom-head's corpse left to dismantle. As for the football-head, Ethan had smashed it to pieces long ago. There wasn't even anything left to find.
'Collect!'
[Poison Spores +10000]
[Dead Insects +235]
[Advanced Backpack +1]
[Spellbook +1]
"That's it?"
Ethan sighed.
'Such a huge mushroom-head, and all it gave is a pile of useless poison spores?'
That was a huge disappointment.
Still, at least they had dropped two backpacks. He could check those later when he had time.
For now, while the thunderclouds were still overhead, he quickly used the spellbook to craft a pair of gloves using top-grade shark skin.
Basic gloves crafted without a special blueprint didn't have any stat bonuses, but they could be made from any kind of hide or fur.
So, Ethan soon obtained...
[Top-grade Shark Gloves +1]
The gloves inherited the hammerhead shark's grayish-white skin with a texture like sandpaper.
They looked pretty ugly, but they were impressively tough.
Ethan immediately put the shark gloves onto his two Ghost Hands. Then, before the chessboard inside the thunderclouds noticed he was about to ambush it, he quickly opened a level-three Spatial Gate and sent the Ghost Hands flying through it.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The instant the Ghost Hands flew out, the lightning inside the thunderclouds started flashing at an absurd rate.
It looked like someone was undergoing a ninefold heavenly lightning tribulation.
Or rather, it was as if the thunderclouds were afraid that if they struck even a little slower, they wouldn't get another chance.
Pull!
The moment Ethan felt a tug from the other end of the Water Ghost Hair, he immediately knew, the fish had taken the bait.
That was the instinct of a seasoned fisherman.
"Got you!"
Ethan grinned and immediately yanked the Ghost Hands back.
The instant the Spatial Gate closed, a chessboard glowing with golden light flew out through it.
The chessboard was only about the size of a child's palm.
Black and white pieces were arranged across it, and the two sides were still fiercely battling each other.
The battlefield on the board was complete chaos.
[Ownerless Wonder detected. Tame it?]
'Yes!'
A chessboard this incredible?
Only an idiot would refuse it.
But what Ethan hadn't expected was that the moment he chose "Yes," his vision blurred.
The next instant, he found himself standing among the black pieces.
Two soldiers carrying longswords stood beside him.
In front of him was an entire line of pawns.
'Could it be...'
Ethan was shocked.
'Did I actually enter the world inside the chessboard?'
"Boy, I've guarded this little world for several hundred years. I never expected someone would actually enter it."
Suddenly, a strange voice came from the white side's nine-square formation.
Ethan looked up and saw a middle-aged man seated upon a throne. His face carried an imposing authority without the slightest hint of anger.
He wore soft armor woven from golden threads, with a bronze longsword hanging at his waist.
He truly looked every bit like a king.
Ethan asked directly, "Who are you?"
"Me?", The imposing middle-aged man smiled, "It's been hundreds of years since anyone asked me that. Even I no longer remember my own name. But before I was trapped in this little world, everyone called me... the Saint of Formations."
"Greetings, Senior Saint of Formations."
Since the owner of the chessboard seemed fairly reasonable, Ethan spoke in a negotiating tone.
"Look, to be honest, I just want to borrow your chessboard for a while."
"Of course, in the spirit of mutual benefit, I'll also find a way to help you get out of here."
"After all..."
"I've got some connections on the outside. For example, I have two Archmage masters. They'll definitely be able to help you, so you—"
"You talk too much!"
The Saint of Formations abruptly drew the longsword from his waist and pointed it straight at Ethan.
"If you want my help, then you'll have to defeat me on the chessboard first!"