Chapter 954

Anton met with Serena, his new Apprentice Traveler tutor.

She did not actually hold a lesson. Instead, she simply checked his progress in learning the Initiate versions of the five spells Master Vernatu had given him.

Despite having the new spellbooks for only two days, Anton’s progress was prodigious with the help of his Paladin’s Meditation Aura, and it impressed his new tutor.

Because of that, Serena told Anton that they would only meet once a month to check his progress in learning the spells.

Serena also mentioned that, normally, she would check his other abilities, such as his combat and survival skills.

However, Anton was already a well-known Supreme-Rank wizard and combatant with extensive experience fighting dangerous opponents, such as members of the Undead Coalition and dungeon monsters from extremely deep floors of a high-level dungeon. Master Vernatu had also already tested his spell-combat abilities.

Because of that, Serena would no longer test those abilities. She would focus solely on the spatial spells that Travelers were required to learn.

Serena also told Anton that she expected him to voluntarily complete an Initiate-level mission before she had to assign him his mandatory monthly mission as an Initiate Traveler.

That meant his time was now his own, but the organization expected him to use that time to continue developing his abilities.

Master Vernatu could also call him without warning to test his abilities, and that was something Anton could not prepare for because the tests were supposed to be random.

“What if I’m not in the organization when Master Vernatu calls me?” Anton asked.

“Master Vernatu will use a spell to summon you. You’re expected to drop whatever you’re doing and use the Gate spell to return to the organization as soon as possible,” Serena replied, her tone making it clear that this was an order Anton was expected to obey.

Anton shrugged and said that he would, of course, comply.

After that, he returned to his room.

He was glad that his time was now his own because, in less than four weeks, the new Diablo II ladder season would begin.

He still wanted to prioritize it because, at present, it remained the most reliable way for him to gain power.

Anton knew for a fact that if he wanted to become a truly effective Traveler and roam the multiverse without fear, he would need an immense amount of strength.

Once he was back in his room, Anton focused on learning the advanced versions of the five spatial spells: Spatial Magic Meditation Array, Blink, Gate, Anchor, and Spatial Coordinate Determination.

Besides those spells, he also began studying the spell structure of Blink.

Even though it was a high-level spell and would take quite some time before he could add it to the Sorceress skill tab, he thought it was time to start working toward that goal.

After a couple of weeks, Anton decided to complete a mission so that he could get his mandatory monthly mission requirement out of the way.

He wanted to make sure that once the Diablo II ladder season started, he would be able to focus on leveling his ladder characters with minimal interruptions.

He wanted to complete more than thirteen characters during the new season.

Anton went to the mission hall, and along the way, he met some of his batchmates. They greeted him and complained a little that he had become reclusive.

Their complaints were not serious, however, since they had expected something like this to happen.

Even they were too busy to spend much time socializing. They did not even ask him about movies or television shows.

Anton knew that many of them were worried about their standing. They were concerned about how they would perform when they eventually received their initial missions for Initiate Rank.

He knew, however, that it would still be months before most of them were ready to take those missions.

Once he arrived at the mission hall, Anton approached one of the people managing the missions and requested one that would fulfill the mandatory monthly mission requirement for an Initiate Traveler.

Anton was presented with several missions, and he learned that the difficulty of a mission determined how many months of the mandatory requirement it could fulfill. Some of the more difficult missions could count toward the requirement for up to three months.

Because Anton knew that his strength allowed him to tackle difficult missions, he asked the mission administrator to filter the list and show him missions that could fulfill the mandatory requirement for three months.

The mission he ultimately chose was underwater.

He was to travel to a small, uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean between the Gale and Rendindura continents. From the island, he would traverse the surrounding ocean in search of Purple Corals.

The corals were infused with spatial energy.

Anton had already experienced swimming underwater, and with his Underwater Breathing spell, he could remain submerged for a long time without difficulty.

With his physical stats and the passive skills granted by his Diablo II melee characters, Anton could also remain underwater for extended periods without suffering any long-term physical effects.

Not only that, but with all the spells and skills that his Diablo II characters and even his Diablo Immortal character could provide him, he did not doubt that he would be able to complete the mission.

Anton knew, however, that the mission would not be that simple.

More than likely, the difficulty would come from actually finding the corals, just as it had when he searched for the mithril ores.

The good thing about the mission hall was that whenever a Traveler below the Adept Rank applied for a mission, the organization’s network would check whether the applicant was capable of completing it.

That meant that no inexperienced Traveler would be assigned a mission that was far beyond their abilities.

After the mission administrator submitted Anton’s name, it did not take long for his application to be approved.

The man assisting Anton was surprised by how quickly his application had been approved despite the mission’s extreme difficulty.

Respect appeared in the man’s eyes. The rapid approval was proof that the tower considered Anton a capable Initiate Traveler.

After that, Anton left immediately.

He wanted to visit the Librarian’s Cottage first to check whether Ekios and his family were doing well. He also wanted to see whether Ekios had completed everything Anton had assigned him to do with the help of his realtor cousin, including purchasing high-end furniture and decorations for the cottage.

Since the weather was pleasant, Anton decided to walk.

As he made his way there, he checked his inventory to make sure he still had plenty of supplies that would allow him to survive, and even thrive, in whatever environment he encountered.

After reviewing his inventory, Anton realized that he possessed an almost absurd amount of resources.

He had food, drinks, clothing for every season and every style, and all kinds of materials ranging from the most common resources to rare and magical ones.

He even still had plenty of the rare metals that had been given to him for the creation of the magic tablets.

That meant Anton did not need to spend time purchasing anything he might need.

He already had everything.

When he arrived at his cottage, he saw Ekios busy making sure that the front garden would be as beautiful as possible once the flowers bloomed.

When Ekios saw him, the man approached excitedly.

“We’ve already completed the task you gave me with the help of my cousin and the decorator we hired. Let me call the missus so she can show you around and explain everything we purchased.”

Without waiting for Anton to reply, Ekios hurried off to call his wife.

After a while, Lelaine arrived with Ekios, who was carrying their son in his arms.

The tour began with Lelaine explaining the details and prices of the items they had purchased to beautify the cottage.

All in all, Anton was satisfied, and he told them so.

Ekios returned the remaining funds left over after all the purchases had been made and after they had paid his cousin and the decorator.

Anton simply told him to keep the gold as a bonus for a job well done.