Ethan stared at the object in his hands with a puzzled expression.
For a moment, he genuinely wondered if he had somehow summoned an oversized swimming ring.
But before he could examine it further, the system's information appeared in his mind. As soon as he finished reading the description, surprise flashed across his eyes.
"Successful Summon: The Woodcutter's Spring – three uses."
"The Woodcutter's Spring (3/3): A magical future tool from the world of Doraemon. If an item is dropped into the water of the Woodcutter's Spring, the Goddess of the Woodcutter will appear. If the user answers honestly about the item they dropped, the goddess will reward them with something better."
Ethan instantly understood.
The story of the golden axe and the silver axe was practically universal.
According to the legend, a humble and honest woodcutter once lived near a beautiful forest. The woodcutter owned a simple iron axe that he used every day to earn money cutting wood.
One day, while chopping wood beside a river, his grip slipped and the axe fell into the water.
Without his axe, the woodcutter had no way to support his family. Sitting helplessly by the riverbank, he began to cry.
At that moment, the river god appeared.
After hearing the story, the god dove into the river and returned holding a golden axe. He asked the woodcutter if it belonged to him.
The woodcutter shook his head.
"No."
The god disappeared again and returned with a silver axe. Once again he asked if it belonged to the woodcutter.
The woodcutter still shook his head.
"No."
Finally, the god retrieved the simple iron axe the woodcutter had dropped earlier.
The woodcutter immediately nodded.
"Yes, that one is mine."
Because of the woodcutter's honesty, the god rewarded him with all three axes.
It was a classic story meant to teach the virtue of honesty.
But the Woodcutter's Spring in Ethan's hands was something entirely different.
It wasn't a moral lesson.
It was practically a cheat device.
As long as the answer given satisfied the goddess's "truth condition," the reward would always be better than the item thrown into the spring.
Even if the answer technically stretched the definition of honesty.
Ethan examined the object thoughtfully.
He felt both pleased and slightly disappointed.
Pleased because this item was incredibly powerful.
Disappointed because it only had three uses.
If it had unlimited uses, it would have been completely absurd.
"Don't be greedy," Ethan muttered to himself.
Maybe he would summon another one someday.
After comforting himself with that thought, Ethan began considering whether to test the Woodcutter's Spring immediately.
Inside his golden storage space, he had quite a few items that could be used as test material.
Popeye's Spinach.
The Superpower Training Box.
Senzu Beans.
Honesty Pills.
Captain Jack Sparrow's Compass.
The Bison Zoan Devil Fruit.
Haunted Demon Dolls.
The Death Note.
The Titan Summoning Card of Obelisk.
And of course, the Mind Stone still embedded in Loki's scepter.
Throwing the Bison Devil Fruit into the spring was technically possible.
There was a high chance the spring could remove the curse attached to Devil Fruits.
But even if the curse disappeared, Ethan had no intention of eating it.
Growing a pair of horns would be extremely awkward.
After all, a person only got one face in life.
The most tempting options were the Superpower Training Box and the Mind Stone.
If the training box could evolve into an upgraded version with more training modules, that would be incredible.
And if the Mind Stone could somehow become a stronger version…
That would be even better.
But Ethan hesitated.
The Superpower Training Box came from the Doraemon universe, just like the Woodcutter's Spring. If two tools from the same source interacted unpredictably, the result might waste one of his limited chances.
As for the Mind Stone, Ethan had another idea.
Eventually he wanted to throw the entire Infinity Gauntlet—with all six Infinity Stones—into the spring.
With only three uses available, strengthening a single stone felt like a waste.
He was still debating the options when a realization suddenly struck him.
Why rush?
He still had ten summons remaining tonight.
Maybe one of those summons would produce an item perfectly suited for the Woodcutter's Spring.
With that thought, Ethan decided to continue summoning first.
A thought flashed through his mind.
Another item appeared in his hand.
It was a watch.
"Successful Summon: Watch-Type Anesthesia Gun."
"Watch-Type Anesthesia Gun: Invented by Dr. Agasa. By pressing the button and raising the watch cover, the user can fire an anesthesia needle powerful enough to sedate an elephant for thirty minutes. The watch also includes a built-in satellite phone."
Ethan chuckled.
Detective Conan's famous gadget.
Not particularly useful for him.
But Pietro might enjoy it.
"Alright," Ethan said to himself. "Next."
Another summon activated.
"Successful Summon: Shadow Clone Technique – Inheritance."
"Shadow Clone Technique: A B-rank ninjutsu originally developed by the Second Hokage and widely used in the ninja world. Using chakra, the caster creates physical clones capable of independent thought and combat. These clones can use the caster's abilities. When a clone disappears, all memories and experience return to the original body."
"Because of world differences, chakra consumption has been converted into mana consumption."
Ethan's eyes brightened.
Now that was a good reward.
Without hesitation, he formed the hand seals he had just learned.
In an instant, a perfect duplicate of Ethan appeared in front of him.
The resemblance was uncanny.
It was almost like looking at a reflection in a mirror.
Actually, it was more real than a mirror image.
A mirror only reflected light.
This clone was a physical body.
"Clone," Ethan said, folding his arms. "Tell me what abilities you can use."
The clone responded calmly.
"I can use Observation Haki, telekinesis, teleportation, x-ray vision, and the magic from the Harry Potter world. I can use all of your abilities, but at reduced strength."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"For example, my telekinesis can only lift about five hundred tons. The rest of the abilities have similar reductions."
Ethan nodded thoughtfully.
Then he began forming hand seals again.
One clone became two.
Two became three.
Eventually, six clones stood in the room.
Ethan stopped there.
With his current strength, six clones seemed to be the maximum number he could maintain without significantly weakening himself.
But that was already extremely useful.
At the very least, he would have reliable assistants whenever errands needed to be handled.
Feeling satisfied, Ethan dismissed the clones.
The moment they disappeared, a wave of fatigue washed over him.
Even though the clones hadn't done anything, simply maintaining them consumed energy.
Ethan immediately understood the drawback.
Using too many clones would exhaust him quickly when they were released.
From now on, he would need to use them carefully.
"Alright," Ethan said, shaking his shoulders slightly. "Next summon."
The system responded again.
"Successful Summon: Conqueror's Haki – Inheritance."
"Conqueror's Haki: One of the three forms of Haki from the pirate world. This ability represents the natural disposition of a king. Users can release overwhelming pressure to intimidate opponents and even render weaker enemies unconscious. Unlike Observation or Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki is innate and cannot be learned through training."
Ethan's eyes lit up.
Very nice.
Now he finally had all three types of Haki.
More importantly, when facing large groups of weak enemies, he wouldn't even need to fight.
A single burst of Conqueror's Haki could knock them out instantly.
And it definitely made him look far more intimidating.
"Not bad at all," Ethan said with a grin.
"Let's keep going."
"Successful Summon: Summoning obtained…"
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