Chapter 372: Brothers
Su Lu looked somewhat desolate. Ace had not mentioned him from start to finish. Was his contribution forgotten? Or did Daina and Betty deliberately omit him from the report? For a moment, his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
Warren didn’t notice his best friend’s mood shift. He thought Su Lu, like himself, was mourning the sacrificed heroes.
After a quarter of an hour passed, the sorrowful atmosphere still lingered.
Ace looked around and spotted Su Lu’s desolate expression. He spoke softly, “Now, I must introduce another hero to everyone present. The man who first discovered the traces of the Pain Believers, exposed their conspiracy, and bought us time to maneuver—Mr. Su Lu, an Advanced Wizard Apprentice!”
Su Lu looked at Ace on the stage with immense surprise and joy. He hugged Warren fiercely and said to him, “Lord Ace didn’t forget me! He didn’t forget me!”
Warren also said happily to his friend, “Hurry up and go there. This is your moment of glory!”
Su Lu nodded. After a moment of daze, he gritted his teeth and walked up to the stage.
Ace raised Su Lu’s hand. Just as he was about to let him enjoy his well-deserved honor, Su Lu leaned in and whispered a few words to Ace.
Ace looked at Su Lu with some surprise. In his impression, Su Lu was a very utilitarian person who had once caused the death of a comrade to save his own life. He didn’t expect Su Lu to be willing to do this.
“Are you sure, Su Lu?”
“I am sure, Lord Ace. This is an honor for two people!”
“It’s not just honor; your reward will also be split equally. Are you sure?”
Hearing this, Su Lu gritted his teeth. He looked down at the stage, where Warren was cheering for him and pointing at him, mouthing, “That’s my brother.” Su Lu nodded fiercely.
Ace pressed his hands down to quiet the cheering crowd and used the “Amplification Spell” to speak:
“Our hero, Mr. Su Lu, told me that he discovered the conspiracy of the Pain Believers together with his good brother, Warren. Without Warren, he might have died at the hands of the Pain Believers.
“Now, please welcome Mr. Warren. The two of them will accept the cheers and honors together!”
Warren looked at Su Lu in disbelief. Su Lu had always hungered for merit. Warren had only wanted to help him out and never thought of sharing his credit.
“What are you waiting for?”
Su Lu jumped down, pulled Warren up, and the two stood on the stage together, smiling incredibly happily.
Ace used magic to manifest a Dream Badge, split it into two halves, and bestowed them upon the pair.
“This is a manifestation of my Dream Mana. With this badge, you can exchange it for one opportunity to undergo the latest Formal Wizard promotion ritual. This is a ritual I have improved; it doesn’t require mass participation, and its safety, stability, and success rate should be higher.”
Ace’s words put Su Lu in a difficult spot, and a trace of regret rose in his heart. Just then, Warren stuffed his half of the badge into Su Lu’s hand and said seriously, “You are my best friend. I have always wanted you to go further on the path of magic. You use this badge. Trust me, I can definitely advance to Formal Wizard too. we will both walk further and further on the path of magic.”
Su Lu’s heart warmed. He was selfish, but no one had ever been willing to treat him as well as Warren did. In that moment, he made up his mind and pushed the badge back into Warren’s hands.
“Warren, your magical talent is a hundred, a thousand times better than mine. You are the one who proposed ‘Warren’s Problem’ and the Wizard Apprentice with the greatest spirit of skepticism. I believe you have a better grasp of advancing to Formal Wizard than I do. You advance first, and after you advance, you can help me!”
The two pushed the badge back and forth, moving Ace and everyone present. People can change, or perhaps everyone has a sliver of truth, goodness, and beauty at the bottom of their hearts, Ace thought.
He manifested another Dream Badge and said to the two of them and the crowd:
“The friendship between Warren and Su Lu has touched me. I am willing to personally lend them another badge. This badge is only a loan. After you advance to Formal Wizard, you must return ten Intermediate Monsters to me as experimental materials within three years.”
The two agreed excitedly. Who wouldn’t agree? It was an extra chance for promotion. As long as they advanced to Formal Wizard, hunting Intermediate Monsters wouldn’t be particularly difficult prey.
Subsequently, Ace rewarded Donna’s father, Borg, with a Dream Badge and hugged the father who had lost his beloved daughter.
Borg looked somewhat haggard. He was nearly sixty years old. Although he was lucky enough to become an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, he didn’t have much passion for magic. Compared to magic, he had hoped his daughter Donna would give him a chubby grandson, but sadly, that was no longer possible.
After commending those who made contributions, Ace continued:
“Twenty-four years have passed since I researched the first effective spell, ‘Secondary Acid Splash’. Sixteen years have passed since we established the High Tower. The High Tower is very young, the path of magic is very young, I am very young, and you are all very young.
“We have developed such a brilliant magical civilization in such a short time; we should be proud.
“We are not the first group of mortals to attempt to study the supernatural and obtain supernatural power. Before us, there were many martyrs who also tried to master the mysteries of the supernatural.
“However, we are different from them. We are a group of people with the power of thought. We are a group of Wizards who study supernatural mysteries objectively and neutrally. We are the measure of all things!”
The Wizards were excited and proud. They were all young, full of vitality, bold, and innovative. In such a short time, they had built the High Tower Territory into such a brilliant magical society. They were worthy of being called people of thought.
“But we cannot be overly proud. Although we have taken a solid step, danger is still approaching, coming from both internal and external sources.
“Some may ask: In sixteen years, we built a High Tower Territory from scratch with a population of one hundred thousand, ten thousand of whom are magical population. We have nearly a thousand Advanced Wizard Apprentices, five 2-Ring Wizards, one Grand Knight, and one Golden Wizard. Even compared to other city-states in Salia, our strength is not inferior. Why is there still danger?”
Hearing Ace’s question, many Wizard Apprentices whispered among themselves.
“The crisis mainly comes from the outside!”
“The Divine Descendants are our main enemies; eight Great Heroes are eyeing us covetously!”
“I think it’s not just the Divine Descendants. Demons, Devils, and their believers are all enemies. Even monsters are enemies.”
“Especially the Devils; they are the brewers of all conspiracies!”
…
Ace listened to the crowd’s discussion, waited for a while, and then said, “I have heard your thoughts. Some are correct, but not entirely. Our danger indeed comes from the outside, but also from the inside! External Divine Descendants, Demons, Devils, various monsters, and even unknown supernatural entities could all be our enemies. However, this is not immutable.
“Between factions, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.”
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