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[AN: I made some changes on the alliance here.]
Cedric wouldn't have imagined that his things caught the attention of the Tower Master. He also had no idea that the said Tower Master spied in him a little bit because his attention was elsewhere.
He went back to his room to get some privacy. Now that he's here, he took out the things he got by exchanging the contaminated soul of the Demon God and the members of the Forsaken Race.
None of the items he got looked impressive in the naked eye. In fact, most of them were just a bunch of documents—papers that he could easily produce if he wanted to. But of course, Cedric wouldn't have exchanged for them if they didn't hold any value; even though he had no use for the contaminated soul or the members of the Forsaken Race, he wouldn't give them out for free if he could help it.
The value of these papers lies in their contents, not the papers themselves. The documents represent the new status Cedric had, not only as someone who entered the Tower of Prodigies but also as a member of the Scarlet Dust Alliance as well.
Yes, Cedric did it. He became the first human who became a member of the alliance.
He initially thought that only after he reached some level of achievements within the tower could he join the alliance, but who knew that he'd encounter some serendipity through his now deceased mortal enemy?
It was a shortcut, yes, but still a valid point of entry nonetheless. Nobody would deny him this, especially with his additional status as a prodigy of the tower.
One of the documents contains his identity as a Common Citizen of the Scarlet Dust Alliance led by the Divine Council of 'The Six' (leading races).
The term 'Common Citizen' is a social status within the alliance. It represents the common people who joined through legal and valid means. In terms of privileges, of course the common citizen has the least, but for a native of a distant world, what he receives is a lot in reality. After all, the alliance is something that many yearn to join and has a history longer than Prime Earth's existence.
A 'Common Citizen' of the Scarlet Dust Alliance will be granted entry to the Virtual Universe—a place where they could find all sorts of opportunities.
You see, most of the time, common citizens come from distant worlds far from the physical location of the alliance itself. Making their way there will take a very long time; it might even take them their whole lives just to arrive, and this isn't mentioning the risks of shuttling through space where accidents commonly occur.
The point of the Virtual Universe's existence was to bridge the distance and time, expanding the network of the alliance's influence while also making it easy for common citizens to experience the privileges of becoming a member.
Yes, Cedric was about to become the official owner of the entire solar system where his home was located. He almost couldn't believe that this was happening and that he's actually doing this, but here he was, signing the documents already.
This was a monumental change, one that Cedric thought he wouldn't be able to do this quick.
He thought that it'd take him hundreds of years to achieve this. He thought that he'd have to go through numerous challenges and setbacks just to get to this point, yet here he was.
With this, Cedric no longer has to worry about leaving his home unprotected. As a member of the alliance, even though he's only a common citizen, the alliance will do its best to protect his assets and keep his interests in mind. So, if another group of Space Pirates dares to intrude upon his territory, he could directly ask for the alliance's assistance to deal with them.
He could just offer the bounty of the space pirates to the helpers as payment for their work, and it'd be fine. Moreover, this opens up the possibility of bringing the entire Solaris Prime closer to the physical location of the alliance for better protection, just like what happened to Hermit's world.
But of course, that won't happen right away. Hermit's world was one of the few exemptions, and only because it was invaded by the Outsiders. If Cedric wanted to do the same for his home, he'd have used the usual way, which is by raising his social status within the alliance.
Cedric has already informed Acala of this, and to say that she's thrilled will be an understatement.
As a trainee of the tower, she's exposed to more insider information. Of course she's aware of this possibility. She never thought that Cedric would have this kind of opportunity, but it seems that even she underestimated his luck.
A new member of the alliance and also the owner of a solar system? Who else but Cedric could achieve things like this with barely an effort?
Of course, Acala already knew how Cedric achieved this. She also knew that the trade between the main AI and Cedric caught the attention of the Tower Master, but he doesn't have to know that.
What matters is that Cedric could've easily picked something else. Acala perused the list of available items he could exchange for his stuff and saw tons of things that could've raised his strength even further.
But instead of picking those, he chose to still look after his home. He chose to still stay true to his nature, prioritizing the well-being of his people instead of his personal growth.
At this point, Acala knew that it's impossible for her to ever have the chance of repaying Cedric for all the things that he did for her and their people.
The only real way to return his investment is by taking every opportunity he opens up for them.