Chapter 901
Chapter 901
Anton did not know whether reaching the Invincible Rank in wizardry would ultimately matter since he would soon become part of an entirely different magical system. He wondered what kind of ranking system the Izmortans used and whether the so-called rebirth process would erase all of the achievements one had attained through the standard system of wizardry practiced across the Rendindura and Gale Continents.
Considering the reactions of some of the parents whose children planned to join one of the magical organizations in Izmorta—many of whom forbade them from learning the standard spells needed to advance their wizardry ranks—it was possible they knew those achievements would eventually become meaningless.
Anton simply shrugged inwardly. There was very little reliable information about the Izmortan wizards. The only thing he knew for certain was that they were realm hoppers, and that alone was enough to capture his interest.
Everything people said about the Izmortans was little more than hearsay. Rather than making assumptions and risking misunderstandings with his future colleagues, Anton decided it would be better to keep an open mind and accept whatever awaited him.
For now, the best thing he could do was level as many Diablo II ladder characters as possible.
He had already begun leveling his next character, the Druid. Eleven days later, he reached level ninety-nine. Twenty percent of the Druid's primary attribute transferred to his real body, and Anton could clearly feel himself growing stronger.
Since he was in the process of completing the Immortal King set, he transferred Immortal King's Forge, the set's war gauntlets, from the game into the real world.
During the twenty-three days Anton spent leveling two ladder characters, nothing particularly noteworthy happened aboard the ship. They encountered several fierce storms and were attacked by a few sea monsters, but such incidents were considered routine while sailing across the ocean.
Anton found himself wondering whether ships would eventually become obsolete once wizards perfected portal magic.
He could not answer that question.
Even on Earth, where airplanes existed, ships remained indispensable for both trade and travel because sea transportation was far cheaper than air travel.
Portals, however, should theoretically be much cheaper to use. Then again, Anton had no idea what resources the wizards of Ormunda and New Drennor consumed to create their Portal Runes.
He knew that his father had begun stockpiling the Town Portal Tomes Anton transferred from Diablo II into the real world. Anders intended to use them as valuable trade goods once the Kingdom of Oakswood was formally established.
Despite repeated requests from the kingdoms of Ormunda and New Drennor to increase production, Anders continued supplying only twenty-five portal scrolls each month.
Fortunately, no one questioned the claim that Anton could produce only thirty scrolls per month.
Twelve days later, Anton finished leveling his next ladder character, the Necromancer. As his reward, he transferred Immortal King's Detail, the set's war belt, into the real world.
With that, he finally completed the legendary Immortal King set.
His next objective was to transfer charms. He intended to continue doing so until he possessed the maximum number a character could carry. According to a quick internet search, that meant eight Grand Charms, ten Small Charms, and the three unique charms: the Hellfire Torch, Annihilus, and Gheed's Fortune.
Thankfully, the Diablo System's special perk that allowed him to collect one Hellfire Torch for each character did not count toward the maximum charm limit.
After completing three ladder characters, it was finally time for his family's monthly gathering.
During the meeting, Anton was genuinely surprised when Anders asked him to bestow a Diablo II class and multiplayer access upon Sonya, his wife.
At that moment, Anton realized his father had truly fallen in love with her.
Although Sonya had become noticeably younger and more beautiful each day because of the Mana Water Anders regularly gave her, Anton believed his father had fallen in love with her long before her appearance began to change. More likely, it was because of her character.
Anton was also thankful that the age gap between them was relatively small. Anders was forty-eight years old, while Sonya was forty-two.
Because of the Mana Water, Anders had gradually regained the appearance of a man in his late twenties, making him look younger than Sonya for a time. However, Sonya herself had also begun looking progressively younger. Before long, the two of them would appear to be around the same age.
Amused, Anders told his children that several women in Oakswood had begun accusing Sonya of practicing black magic because she seemed to grow younger with each passing day.
At first, Anders and Sonya ignored the rumors.
Eventually, however, the gossip became so widespread that Anders was forced to address it publicly.
He announced to the former villagers that Sonya's youthful appearance was the result of a magical concoction Anton had provided to the family.
The people of Oakswood readily believed him. After all, they had personally witnessed Anders transform from an elderly-looking man into someone who appeared decades younger.
Since Anton had already reached the Supreme Rank in wizardry, the villagers accepted Anders's explanation without much doubt. Some even began asking whether they could obtain the same magical concoction.
Meanwhile, Anna was thoroughly enjoying the ladder season.
She had reunited with the online friends she had made during the previous ladder season. They constantly invited her to play other games together, prompting Anna to ask Anton whether he could somehow add more games to the Diablo System.
Anton could only roll his eyes.
The system was called the Diablo System. It was hardly possible to add games like Fortnite, Valorant, or the various MOBA titles her friends wanted her to play.
"Once I can travel to that dimension, I'll bring back a computer so you can play with them," Anton said. "Although that still leaves one problem. I doubt you'll be able to connect to the internet from this world."
"Then just bring me there!" Anna said excitedly. "I'll live in New York... or California... or maybe Paris! I'll become a fashion model—or a fashion designer!"
"You could become a fashion designer," Anton replied with a grin, "but I don't think you'd qualify as a fashion model. From what I know, most high-fashion models are at least five feet eleven inches tall by the time they're fifteen."
"That's completely wrong!" Anna protested. "I know contestants from America's Next Top Model who were only five feet three!"
"Did they actually win?" Anton teased. "If not, then they probably didn't become fashion models."
Anna glared at him and was about to argue again when Anders finally stepped in to stop the siblings.
Anton then informed his father that the ship would reach its next port in two weeks. At that time, he could return to Rose Manor and grant Sonya a Diablo II class along with access to multiplayer mode.
Once she received both, Sonya would become the third member of their family's Diablo II multiplayer group.
Anton also reminded Anders that he could bestow classes and multiplayer access upon only seven people in total.
Anders nodded, indicating that he understood.
He then shared his own progress during the current ladder season.
Despite playing whenever he had free time, he had managed to complete only one level ninety-nine character over the past month before deleting it to begin another.
Surprisingly, Anna had achieved exactly the same result.
Despite all of her earlier claims that she would level as many characters as possible during her sabbatical, she had also managed to finish only a single level ninety-nine character.