Chapter 858
Chapter 858
Anton, his father Anders, and his sister Anna had become so accustomed to killing monsters in the world of Diablo II that they could comfortably hold conversations even while playing on Hell Difficulty. During one of their sessions, Anton told his family about what he had learned regarding Earth through movies and television shows.
He explained that Earth was far from a paradise. It had its own hardships and struggles. He gave them a brief history of the world, including the spread of religion and how the name of God, which was supposed to represent the pinnacle of goodness, had often been used to justify terrible acts, such as the Inquisition. He also spoke about the many wars humanity had fought throughout history, including the creation and use of one of its most devastating weapons: the nuclear bomb.
Anton described the immense destructive power of atomic weapons and the insidious effects of radiation, which caused illnesses and diseases that people from that world had yet to fully cure. Since Earth lacked magic, there were no healing spells to alleviate such suffering. He explained that many wars had been fought over resources, while others had stemmed from differences in belief, ideology, or ethnicity.
He told them that even in a world without monsters, humans could be just as monstrous as the worst creatures imaginable—perhaps even more so.
Some of Anton’s descriptions sounded so unbelievable that his father and sister occasionally paused their leveling and item hunting so he could show them historical videos from Earth.
As they learned more, Anders and Anna realized that the absence of magic did not eliminate problems. It merely replaced one set of challenges with another.
“At the very least,” Anton said, “their world seems to have reached some kind of balance in their current era.”
However, he admitted that the peace created by that balance was fragile. Nations still needed resources, and conflicts over those resources could easily lead to war.
Anders was amazed that people in a world devoid of magic had still found ways to create such devastating weapons.
“I used to think that any mage from our world could easily rule a country on Earth,” Anna commented.
In response, Anton showed them videos demonstrating how Earthlings dealt with dangerous threats, including the use of snipers, missiles, and other advanced weapons capable of striking from great distances.
“Still, their technological achievements are incredible,” Anders said with a sigh.
“To be honest, one of the main reasons I wanted to study magic in Izmorta is because I want to learn how to travel between worlds,” Anton told them. “I hope I can visit Earth someday. Maybe I can even visit a civilization so technologically advanced that people travel among the stars in spaceships, just like in Star Trek.”
“I want that too!” Anna exclaimed.
Anton even noticed a brief glimmer of longing in his father’s eyes at the thought of exploring the stars.
“Once I become a Divine-Rank wizard, I’ll study portal magic as well,” Anna declared fiercely. “Then I’ll be able to travel to different dimensions too!”
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Anton immediately teased her for copying his dream, and within minutes, the siblings were arguing. Anders eventually intervened because he wanted to maximize their item-hunting session.
The rest of the day was spent hunting for equipment, and they achieved a fair amount of success. However, they agreed that their next session, which would take place five days later, should focus entirely on leveling. Anton explained that many of the more powerful items they sought were far easier to obtain at higher levels.
“I wish we could play by ourselves,” Anna said. “If we could do that, I’d spend a couple of hours hunting for items before going to sleep every night.”
Anton noticed that his father shared the same sentiment.
He reassured them that such a feature might become available in the future. After all, his Diablo System occasionally updated itself based on changes he wished it possessed.
Together, they compiled a list of improvements they wanted.
First, Anders and Anna wanted access to the Ladder Season.
Second, they wanted the ability to enter Multiplayer mode independently so they could level up and hunt for items on their own.
Anton stopped there.
“I don’t want to overwhelm my beloved Diablo System,” he joked.
“Can something as powerful as your system actually be overwhelmed?” Anders asked.
Anton simply shrugged.
After an entire day of gaming, they finally exited the Multiplayer mode around midnight.
Overall, the session had been productive. They had found most of the items they had been looking for, but their current levels still limited their progress. That was the primary reason their next session would focus on leveling.
Anton estimated that the next grind would likely bring all of them into the mid-nineties.
After spending so many hours gaming, he felt more exhausted than usual. Unlike a normal game, his physical body actually traveled to the world of Sanctuary and performed every action required to kill monsters there.
To relax, Anton took a long, hot bath before spending a couple of hours watching a sitcom. When he finally went to bed, he made sure to activate his Pearl of the Ocean so that a full night’s rest would only require three hours.
Anton woke up early the next morning.
He informed Paul and Eric that he would be occupied for the next two or three days. As a result, he spent most of his time resting in his room and watching whatever interested him on the internet.
Whenever he grew tired of watching videos, he switched to leveling his Diablo Immortal wizard.
Anton was still relatively inexperienced with that part of his Diablo System. Although he had been excited when Diablo Immortal was first released, his interest had gradually faded. In truth, the game world felt small compared to the others available through his system.
In truth, Anton spent no more than two hours playing it, usually only long enough to complete his daily activities.
He rarely even left his room for meals, preferring to eat food stored inside his inventory.
Throughout the day, he watched newly released movies and television shows. Thankfully, he could subscribe to various streaming platforms using Diablo II gold.
The thought still amused him.
His Diablo System was absurdly powerful.
Even so, he avoided dwelling on its mysteries. There was simply no way for him to discover where it had originated.
The entire day passed lazily as he watched movies, television series, and anime. He planned to contact his guides the following day.
After spending a day doing virtually nothing, Anton felt fully refreshed and ready for more adventures with Paul and Eric.
Not that they were doing anything particularly reckless.
Most of their time was spent exploring the ship or socializing with the other youths aboard.
Unfortunately, when Anton woke up the next morning, the vessel was in the middle of a violent storm.
The storm was so fierce that walking without stumbling was nearly impossible.
Looking out through his window, Anton saw enormous waves crashing around the ship. They were so massive that he briefly wondered whether the Melinda could survive such weather.
He was not truly worried, however.
The powerful wizards aboard would ensure the ship's safety, even in conditions like these. He had witnessed something similar while traveling aboard the Amelia.
Nevertheless, curiosity eventually got the better of him.
Anton left his room to see the situation for himself.
With his stats, there was no chance he would stagger around like a drunken sailor. Even if the ship's movements somehow threw him off balance, he could simply use Telekinesis to float.
That was exactly what he did as he made his way through the ship, eliminating any chance of an accident.