Chapter 892
Chapter 892
Anton’s monthly meeting with his family concluded, and he returned to idling inside his room aboard the ship.
He began by completing his daily missions in Diablo Immortal. Afterward, he read that a new character class—the Warlock—had been released, but he felt oddly ambivalent about it.
The truth was that the mobile game was pay-to-win. Unlike other parts of the internet, where he could use his Diablo II gold as currency for things such as streaming service subscriptions, Diablo Immortal offered him no such benefit. In practice, he was simply a free-to-play player.
Although he appreciated the additional power the mobile game provided, Anton was growing tired of it. He could no longer bring himself to play the regular Diablo II game either. Without a clear goal, his interest quickly faded. For now, he intended to play only during Ladder Seasons, since that was the only part of his system that still granted him meaningful strength.
Anton hoped that a major change would occur soon. Otherwise, his power would eventually stagnate.
After finishing his daily missions, he returned to reading a web novel. When he grew tired of reading, he would switch to watching an anime series or a movie.
During the past four months, Anton had provided the ship with the same movies he had traded to the elves. He did so because Liemdal and Baturin were already aware of the films and had seen the trailers.
He did not sell the movies to the ship. Instead, he requested that the ship cover all of his expenses, including those incurred in the Middle Section. The captain readily agreed, since the arrangement was favorable. Anton’s spending was negligible compared to that of the other young nobles aboard the Melinda.
Anton also asked the captain to allow his friends to watch the movies free of charge. As a result, he stopped organizing private movie sessions for them and simply let them enjoy the screenings arranged by the ship.
During the stop at Meronoma, one of the larger dance halls had even been converted into a temporary cinema.
Paul had told him that he had undervalued the movies, but Anton did not particularly care. He had already reached an agreement with the captain that once the ship arrived in Izmorta, all copies of the movies would be deleted. With Invincible Olemena overseeing the arrangement, Anton was confident that the captain would honor the agreement.
Although Anton had grown somewhat closer to several of the ship’s wizards, including Supreme Baturin and Invincible Olemena, he avoided asking them about the Izmortan magic system. He was unsure whether such questions might offend them. After all, from a certain perspective, he was preparing to abandon the standard magic system he already knew in order to adopt a new magical tradition in a foreign land.
During those four months, the ship encountered several storms, some of them extremely powerful. However, the magical protections surrounding the Melinda kept the vessel safe.
There were also occasional sea monster attacks, but once again, the ship suffered little disruption.
Anton was slightly disappointed that he had not yet experienced anything truly extraordinary during the voyage. It was nothing like the journey aboard the Amelia, when he had encountered the Blue Whales and the Pink Dolphins.
The ship’s wizards were clearly aware of his past adventures aboard the Amelia. Invincible Olemena had even spoken to him directly, making it clear that he was not allowed to engage in similar reckless antics while aboard the Melinda.
Anton and his friends still spent time together at restaurants, by the swimming pool, and in other venues around the ship. Their favorite place, however, remained the hidden deck beneath the Noble Section. It seemed that they were the only ones who used it, and they spent many hours there sharing stories and singing songs.
More often than not, they listened to Anton’s stories.
They were especially fascinated by his accounts of fighting against the undead. He recounted the beginning of his adventure, from the time his family fled from the undead until they reached the Gale Continent.
Some of his friends even cried when he spoke about the deaths of his companions aboard the Amelia.
They listened wide-eyed as he described the magical battles between the human wizards and the undead, including the conflict in the Kingdom of Mendoza, the village between Mendoza and New Drennor, his missions in Rendindura, and finally the climactic battle in Nizgeroth.
Their jaws dropped when he described the spells cast by the most powerful wizards involved in those battles. Anton admitted that he regretted not having recorded those events with his recording spells.
He enjoyed telling his friends about his past experiences. The process felt cathartic, and he realized that he needed someone to share his stories with.
He did not care if the stories spread throughout the ship. In fact, he expected they would, since many of his friends were natural gossips. He had no reason to keep the stories secret; besides, the wizards of Ormunda and the Gale Continent already knew about his experiences.
Paul, Eric, and several of his other friends repeatedly told him that if they had achieved what he had, they would never bother traveling to another continent to learn a new magical system.
Anton merely smiled and did not bother repeating his reasons.
Their next destination was a small island called Delude. The island offered little more than basic supplies, so the ship would remain there for only a couple of days.
Anton had no intention of exploring Delude. Instead, he planned to use the opportunity to return to Rose Manor and visit his family.
When the ship was about to arrive at Delude, he informed Anders in advance, so his family was already waiting for him at Rose Manor.
This time, Anton intended to spend the entire day there.
When the Melinda arrived at Delude around eight in the morning, he immediately rented a room at a nearby tavern and instructed the owner not to disturb him. He then used a Town Portal Scroll to return to his room in Rose Manor.
The moment he arrived, the whole family celebrated his return.
During a lavish breakfast, Alfred and Anton’s two stepbrothers eagerly asked for new anime series. Since the children wanted a large selection, Anton provided them with One Piece and the entire Naruto franchise, including its sequel series and movies.
The boys immediately rushed off to have the anime copied onto magic item recorders.
Anton laughed at the thought of the servants spending the day busy copying hundreds of episodes.
Because he already communicated with Anders and Anna every month, there was no serious private discussion during this reunion.
He did, however, happily inform them that the next Diablo Ladder Season would begin in three months.
Romina, Bruce, and Susan then updated Anton on the family businesses. They reported that the family had earned a considerable amount of wealth and asked whether he needed additional funds.
Anton declined the offer. He explained that he had also earned a massive fortune by selling movies to the elves of Meronoma. When he revealed the amount he had received, the adults were visibly surprised.
Romina informed him that the family had successfully implemented the cosplay event plan. The venue had been completed within a month, and the first cosplay event had been held the following month.
The family had partnered with numerous merchants, which strengthened their business relationships and generated substantial profits for everyone involved.
The next cosplay event was scheduled for six months later, and preparations and advertising were already underway.
Anton asked Romina whether the archived movie collection was still sufficient.
She admitted that the existing films would last the family for years, provided they maintained the current screening schedule.
Romina had also watched some of the anime Anton had given to Alfred. She asked whether the family could begin showing anime in the cinema as well. In her opinion, the series would develop a strong following and generate considerable revenue.
Anton simply nodded. He agreed that it was important for the family to establish a stable financial foundation.