Chapter 963

Anton was surprised that the merfolk's appreciation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring did not last as long as the cheers of the Northern Forest elves or the Meronoma elves.

He soon realized that the merfolk had immediately rushed out to attend to their physical needs.

Anton had told them that the movie was three hours long, but he had forgotten that he had chosen to show them the extended edition, which lasted almost four hours.

He was simply glad that, after a few minutes, the ten merfolk returned and gathered around Flinx to discuss the film. They were curious about how such a movie had been made.

Anton had to firmly reiterate several times that the story and the people in the film were not real. The characters were actors, just like those one would find in a theater play.

He could understand why people who had never watched movies before would find it difficult to believe that a well-made film like The Lord of the Rings was not real. They were not Earthlings who had spent decades learning to understand and accept that movies and actors were fictional.

Anton remembered how, as a child, he had believed that some of the movies he watched were real. He found it amusing that so many people in this world, even adults, seemed to have an almost childlike belief in the realism of some of the movies he had shown them.

He had to explain how movies were made, including how special effects were created. To simplify things, he told them that some scenes had been produced using illusion magic. If he were being honest, special effects, regardless of how they were created, seemed like illusion magic to Anton.

Before long, the merfolk inevitably asked whether he had the next film.

Anton assured them that he did. There were two more films in the original trilogy, as well as another three films in the prequel trilogy.

He then explained that the prequel trilogy consisted of movies set before the events of The Lord of the Rings.

Anton began to wonder whether he had made a mistake by telling them about The Hobbit movies when they had not even watched the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

When the merfolk requested to watch the second movie before deciding whether to purchase the films, Anton agreed. However, he had no doubt that he already had them in the palm of his hand.

He had to establish one condition: the next film could only be watched by the original audience members. The merfolk understood and agreed, since the movies were the items Anton intended to offer in exchange for trade.

Anton was still surprised, though, when he learned that the merfolk wanted to watch the next film immediately.

"It's late! I think it would be best if we rested first and watched the next film tomorrow," Anton said.

Anton almost laughed out loud when he saw the merfolk become embarrassed at having lost track of time. They realized that their actions had essentially told Anton that he could demand a very high price for his movies.

He saw the chagrin on their faces.

At the very least, Anton thought, they were finally getting a taste of their own medicine. After all, they had taken advantage of his inexperience with trading to charge him a high price for the purple corals.

Xegos led him to the room that would serve as his resting place for the night.

After several hours, Anton woke up fully rested. He retrieved food from his inventory and ate, since he still could not bring himself to eat the food the merfolk served him.

After attending to his needs, Anton was surprised to see Xegos appear.

It was still early, but apparently, the merfolk could not wait to watch the next film, The Two Towers.

Anton told Xegos to inform everyone that the next film would also run for four hours, so they should prepare accordingly.

He also told Xegos that they could take a break halfway through the movie if they needed a few minutes to attend to their bodily needs.

Xegos assured him that there was no need for a break. Everyone wanted to watch the movie without interruption, and they had all prepared themselves accordingly.

Anton then informed Xegos that the next film would be the last one he showed the merfolk for free. If they wanted to watch more movies, they would have to pay for them.

"I now understand and fully believe why the Northern Forest elves and the Meronoma elves would pay such a high price for your movies," Xegos said, shaking his head.

When they arrived at the entrance to the room where they had watched the movie the previous night, Anton was surprised to find many more merfolk waiting by the door.

Xegos glared at them, and they immediately scattered.

"I apologize for that. Some of us who watched the movie last night spread the word about it, especially Xynor. He has been very vocal about his admiration and keeps insisting that it was the best thing he has ever seen in his life," Xegos explained.

Anton smiled at that.

As expected, the merfolk reacted to The Two Towers exactly as Anton had anticipated. They cried during the emotional scenes and remained on the edges of their seats throughout the film. Some even stood up, as though their bodies could not contain the emotions they were experiencing.

Anton theorized that the excessive reactions of this world's inhabitants to great films stemmed from the fact that, unlike the jaded Earthlings, they were essentially babies when it came to movies.

When the film ended, Anton answered the merfolk's questions about it. Afterward, they requested a few minutes to compose themselves before returning to the discussion table.

Thankfully, Anton did not have to wait long.

As expected, the merfolk were interested in purchasing his movies, with one condition: they wanted to know which films they would be buying beforehand.

Anton explained the concept of movie trailers. For the next few hours, he showed them trailers for the movies he intended to sell.

The list included The Hobbit trilogy, James Cameron's Avatar films, all nine Star Wars films, the Harry Potter films, the Indiana Jones films, and every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including those not strictly part of the franchise, such as the Spider-Man films.

He also included several Disney animated films and Pixar movies.

Showing the trailers for all the films took the entire day. The merfolk had to take breaks every three or four hours to attend to their needs. Anton did not join them for meals, since he still could not bring himself to eat their food.

As expected, after watching all the trailers, the merfolk were just as excited about the movies as the Northern Forest elves and the Meronoma elves had been.

Because of this, Anton arranged for the merfolk to pay for the remaining movies with mana stones after they had provided the purple corals. Instead of spending his savings, he would be increasing his stockpile of mana stones.

He also had to inform the merfolk that the globes he provided, which contained the films, would only last for seven days. They would need to transfer the movies to magic item recorders if they wanted permanent copies.

At first, the merfolk complained. However, Anton explained that everyone who had purchased his movies had to do the same thing.