That night, Anton busied himself creating magic wands, but after a few months, the most efficient wand that he could create was still the Wand of Ice Bolt. He could not create a more powerful wand using wood as a base material because the wand would probably disintegrate after a couple of spell castings.

  Anton could not even increase the level of Ice Bolt and had to maintain it at level one since, with level one, the wand could at least last longer. Just like using a more powerful spell, if he increased the level of Ice Bolt, it would indeed become more powerful, but the wand would not last long.

  To be honest, wood-based material was just too flimsy to be used for enchanting items, especially when the magic items in question were supposed to be used for offensive purposes, so Anton and the family treated the wands as consumables. The next day, after breakfast, he gave the wands to Anders to be distributed by him to everyone before they went off somewhere for business. Anton actually did not know where everyone was specifically going every day. He had a vague inkling, but he could always use his Ravens to find them if he needed to, so he did not make an effort to know the specifics.

  He returned to the suite immediately since he wanted to create more items that would assist with the monster attack on Monday when they passed through the Strait of Nehomonde. Supposedly, civilian passengers like his family would stay inside their rooms for safety reason and to avoid adding confusion to any battles that may occur but Anton thought that it would still be a good idea for them to have extra magic items they could use of offense and defense so he planned to create more Wands of Ice Bolt and the Magic Defense Belt that he recently created.

  Anton would not be alone in the suite that morning since the mages did not have any classes. Unlike Anton, who opted to join classes for only three days a week, Anna and the others chose to attend five days a week, but they still followed the plan of only attending classes in the morning and using the afternoon until evening to practice their magic and did not join any classes during the weekends.

  Antonia, Lucia, and Philip resigned themselves to the fact that they had lost Walter to magic. According to Anton’s rich friends, the situation was normal for them since ever since they were young, they had friends who became mages, and when a friend became a mage, they did nothing but concentrate on their magic, just like what Walter was doing.

  Anton could understand because there was nothing greater than the feeling of magic coursing through one's body and knowing that one was learning to control the energies that make up the fabric of the universe. He only partially believed Walter’s excuse that he was being diligent because he wanted his family to learn that he would be useful and powerful as a mage.

  By lunchtime, Anton had made several wands, so after eating lunch, he switched to creating the magic defensive belts.

  Anna and the other mages returned by lunch and went directly to practicing their magic. Anton only stopped creating items by dinnertime, and when he joined his family, he gave all the items that he had made to his father.

  Before they left for the dining hall, he assigned the items to everyone. While they were eating, Frederick informed him that the mages would stop practicing their magic and start memorizing spells for battle the next day. Apparently, Anton was mistaken in thinking that everyone would stay in the suite during the battle. All mages, even the low-level ones, were supposed to gather at the wizards’ hall since they would wait there as some sort of backup in case it was needed, which, according to Antonia, the Amelia never resorted to asking for assistance from the backup mages.

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  Anton wasn’t too worried since Anna, Lunelle, Ramona, Belinda, Frederick, and Walter would be guarded by Anton’s five Spirit Wolves and five Dire Wolves. Anders, Nemina, Selena, Norma, and Belue would be guarded by Lucas, Devon, Colin, and the female bodyguards they had hired before, and the Clay Golem and the Dire Bear would remain in the suite as well.

  Anton would receive his assignment the next day, but he felt that he would probably be assigned as one of the main combatants because he had experience fighting with the ship’s mages during the attack of the ghost ships before.

  After breakfast the next day, the mages joined Anton in returning to the suite while his father and the others went to conduct the family business. Supposedly, the cinema should still be open tomorrow, but every business in the Amelia would be closed starting the next day in preparation for the ship’s passing through the Strait of Nehomonde.

  When they arrived at the suite, Anton was surprised to see the Supreme Wizard Adinor waiting for him, together with a couple of his assistants. Anton invited Adinor inside and asked if they wanted a drink or something, but the wizard declined.

  “As you may know, the day after tomorrow, we will pass the Straits of Nehomonde, and we are going to be attacked by a lot of sea monsters, no doubt about that. We know that your spell that allowed a mage to memorize a spell for an extremely short period of time can only accommodate up to seven wizards, so instead of you attacking the monsters, you will be assigned to a location where mages who spent their spells could go to start memorizing spells. This attack will be an all-day affair. We expected that most wizards would spend their spells in battle, but because of your presence, the downtime will be shorter.”

  “I understand, sir, and will follow your instructions,” Anton said to the supreme wizard.

  “On the day of the battle, someone will come here to lead you to where you will be assigned,” Adinor added, and Anton simply nodded.

  After that, the supreme wizard did not linger and said his goodbye, stating that he was extremely busy.

  “That means that you will not encounter any fight tomorrow. That will be boring!” Anna said to his brother.

  “Anna, a battle is not something you should hope for since I’m guessing that a battle will be the normal thing in our life in the future.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “The undead is not stopping, and I think that their ambition covers the whole world. There may come a time when the humans would have to enclose themselves in some sort of sanctuary, and the only way for us to survive is to fight them every day of our lives. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but there’s a chance of that happening.”

  Anna, Lunelle, Ramona, and Belinda looked horrified. What surprised Anton was that even Frederick and Walter looked shocked, as if the possibility of what he mentioned had not entered their mind. Anna then started crying, and even the other girls became a bit teary-eyed.

  “I’m so tired of running. I just want our family to find a place where we can live peacefully,” Anna whispered while sobbing.

  “Hey, stop crying. Ignored what I said since it’s just a possibility, and that thinking was born out of ignorance. I don’t know the situation of the powers of this world, and there might be super powerful beings who can stop the undead in their tracks. The only thing that could truly defeat us is losing hope, so let's just keep increasing our power and enjoy the moments that brought us joy and fight when there’s a need,” Anton consoled his sister.