Chapter 402

The Death Knight's undead resurrection was similar to "reloading a save," so this kind of irreversible damage didn't affect him too severely.

But a lich was different.

A lich relied on its phylactery to create a new body. If its soul was damaged, the effects would be far more comprehensive.

'Forget it. No point thinking about it. I'll know the next time I see him.'

If that lich managed to resurrect successfully, he definitely wouldn't let Anser off easily. Sooner or later, he would come looking for him.

Anser looked at the Death Knight. "You're free to move around within the Spirit Net. If anything comes up, my assistant will contact you through telepathy."

Sakkors had restricted the Death Knight's Spirit Net Mark. For the time being, he couldn't access the network or leave this place. All he could do was remain here and undergo his modifications.

"Yes."

The Death Knight rose to his feet and gave the door a gentle pull. Sure enough, it opened at once.

He glanced at Anser, then strode out.

{I'll leave him to you. Get him properly trained as soon as possible. I have important plans for him,} Anser messaged Sakkors.

{Don't worry, Master. I know this sort of thing inside and out,} Sakkors replied confidently.

{Mm.}

Anser returned to the top floor of the Black Tower. The moment he stepped inside, he caught a faint floral fragrance.

Turning his head, he saw Iris asleep under his covers.

The corners of his mouth curled upward. He crept over quietly, but just as he placed a hand on her chest, before he could fully enjoy the soft, warm sensation, he noticed another little head tucked farther inside.

Little Claira.

He turned his head and met Iris's teasing gaze.

"Why did you bring her up here?" Anser complained in a low voice, giving her chest a squeeze.

"She's my student now. If I don't bring her with me, who will? Darla and Kafka are both gone. There's no one to look after her." Iris rolled her eyes at him.

Anser suddenly understood. This really was his fault.

Little Claira had always been looked after by Darla, the moon elf receptionist, while Kafka occasionally taught her some basic lessons. Later, Anser had sent Kafka to the Magic Research Society, while Darla and the others had followed Gwyneth to Waterdeep.

Even Salian had gone to Dawn Town.

With all her playmates gone, Little Claira had been left entirely in the care of Colin, the halfling first mate, and Bratt, but that was inconvenient after all.

"I overlooked that." Anser gently stroked the little girl's hair.

Iris shifted over to make some room for him. "Sleep here."

Anser slowly lay down, wrapped an arm around Iris, and let out a comfortable sigh.

Iris sniffed lightly. She could faintly make out several different perfumes mixed together, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Where did you go?"

"Cormyr. That old crown prince called over a whole bunch of princesses and told me to pick one. What a bizarre family," Anser grumbled.

"Heh. None of them caught your eye?" Iris pressed her ear against his chest, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

"If even one of them had a third of your charm, maybe I would've given them a second glance," Anser said, half sincerely and half in jest.

"I don't care about that," Iris said seriously.

She truly didn't care. She had never thought about keeping Anser all to herself. That would only make him feel stifled, and it would never last.

"I have more important things to worry about," Anser replied just as seriously.

His mind was entirely focused on leveling up. Those orcs were far more tempting.

Iris sighed. The further Anser's behavior strayed from that of an ordinary person, the greater his ambitions seemed to become.

"I met your parents." She adjusted her position slightly so she could see Anser's face.

"Mm." Anser fell somewhat silent.

Iris watched him for a while, then tugged the covers up and closed her eyes without saying anything else.

Anser silently breathed a sigh of relief.

'She really is a good girl. She never puts me in a difficult position.'

He closed his eyes, but he was brimming with energy and couldn't fall asleep at all.

So he simply connected to the Spirit Net, and then... found it even harder to sleep.

Ever since someone had made a fortune from photos of beautiful women, other members had followed suit, hiring people to take "artistic nude photographs" for profit.

The photos featured both men and women, with all sorts of races, ages, and skin tones. The sheer variety was staggering.

Quite a few members had even decided to do it themselves. Since selfies allowed them to pose completely naked, and they could add certain special scenarios on top of that, their photos were even more competitive.

The only good news was that photo prices kept falling.

'What a mess.'

Anser admitted that he had overestimated the moral standards of this other world. In many places, "modesty" was a luxury.

Fortunately, Sakkors had confined all this chaos to a few special topics on the forums and certain shared albums, preventing it from contaminating the other sections.

Photos were simply too influential.

As soon as the feature became available, activity on the Spirit Net skyrocketed, and every section saw astonishing levels of traffic.

The Spirit Net's influence was beginning to show. Its fame was spreading rapidly, and it was no longer confined to a small circle.

According to descriptions in certain posts, ordinary people had also learned of the Spirit Net's existence. It had become a major topic of discussion, and everyone wanted to join.

No one knew the exact requirements for becoming a Spirit Net member, but the requirements for sensing the Spirit Net had already become common knowledge.

Talent!

That understanding wasn't exactly wrong. After all, having an Intelligence, Charisma, or Wisdom score above 12 could be considered a sign of talent.

Therefore, becoming a Spirit Net member meant having decent natural aptitude. It meant gaining an opportunity to change one's own fate.

How could ordinary people not flock to it?

'There are pros and cons.'

Anser pondered for a moment, then immediately contacted Sakkors and instructed him to have several Spirit Net administrators employed by the Federation establish the "Holrewen Federation Spirit Coin Exchange" at once.

Backed by the Federation's credit, it would openly conduct Spirit Coin trading.

The scale of Spirit Coin trading was growing larger by the day, and quite a few organizations had begun entering the market. The time was ripe.

It wasn't that Anser was petty and couldn't stand watching others profit from something he'd created. Rather, he intended to use the Spirit Coin Exchange as a tool to regulate the price and scale of Spirit Coin trading.

The institution would serve as a spillway and a pressure valve. It didn't need to have a strong presence, but it absolutely had to exist.

And while he was at it, he could skim off another wave of wealth.

...

The sky had barely begun to brighten when Maddox's Spirit Net message arrived.

It wasn't anything important. He had simply shared a private album with him.

Anser casually opened it and was immediately at a loss for words.

It was actually a portrait album of unmarried princesses from the royal family. They were arranged in order, with alternates included. Every one of them was dressed in formal finery, striking poses in a brightly lit great hall. They had obviously been staged for the camera.

Ten photos per person, no more and no less, for a total of three hundred and seventy.

"You spent the entire night doing this?" Anser was so exasperated he almost laughed.

He had told them to properly discuss their strategy for dealing with the orcs, not to discuss which princess to marry off.

"Yeah. A few of them aren't at the palace right now, so you might have to wait a little longer," Maddox replied, completely oblivious.

"No marriage alliance, thanks," Anser replied curtly.

"Here's the dowry list. Take a look." Ignoring him entirely, Maddox sent another message along with an image.

Anser glanced at it and immediately froze.

The first item was named "Dragonclaw Island," with a short description beneath it.

It really was an island, though not in the Dragonmere. It lay in the Sea of Fallen Stars, within the pirate-infested Pirate Isles, and was even larger than White Stone Island.

'They're offering that much?'

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