--
'Haaaah...'
Cedric was now back in his room. Laying on the clouds and staring at the bright blue sky above him, he contempelated the things that were discussed in his talks with the Celestial Hunyo and Silas the Tower Master.
In the end, he asked for some time to think about his decision, which was given to him graciously. Of course, he knows that he can't make them wait too long; preferrably, he should give them a clear response as soon as possible, but he also had all the time he had remaining here to give them that should his indecision truly trap him.
'The Scarlet Homeland Security Department...' he mused inwardly.
To him, this place looked like the hub of overly righteous folks. And it wouldn't be surprising if it were so; after all, this organization was in charge of the threats that endangers the entirety of the Primeval Scarlet Dust Realm.
Truth be told, Cedric had no desire to become a guard or a police officer for a community that he's not very familiar with. He's just a new member of the alliance. Evidantly, he's still too ignorant about many things about the alliance.
Also, it is known that people who uphold the law are either usually the ones that are hated the most or the very ones that don't follow it.
Cedric really didn't want to be tossed to the political side of the alliance right away. He hasn't even had enough time to enjoy his life as a regular citizen. He's too green for this line of work, so he's not confident if he could meet their expectations.
That said, the job comes with extremely lucrative benefits. One of which was the immediate transfer to the outer ring of the alliance's physical location.
Yes, that statement is exactly what it sounds like. If he signed the contract, they wouldn't just bring his solar system close to the physical location of the alliance; they would bring it inside.
The physical body of the Scarlet Dust Alliance is composed of three rings: the outer ring, the inner core, and the core circle.
Those who were at the Outer Ring were clans and races that have joined the alliance as a whole either by having someone working from the inside bring them along or by making some level of contribution to the well-being of the alliance as a whole.
One must know that, even though this was only the outer ring of the alliance, there's still a lot of benefits that come from being placed here. Access to many secret realms, resource lodes, news about the alliance, and plenty of opportunities. Not to mention, the sheer density of concept laws and origin energy was more abundant here than everywhere else, which would not only accelerate a world's growth but also the evolution of the race as a whole.
Beyond all of this, though, Cedric also wondered why they're being too enthusiastic and eager for him.
Sure, he did win the tournament with his team, but he didn't think that that's enough to make them see him in this light. Moreover, he won through sheer luck. They won by taking advantage of the rules, not because of their personal strength.
The Thunder Prince was the most challenging enemy he has ever faced. One that reminds him of the disparity between the real powerful races of the alliance.
Sure, Cedric faced stronger people than him. But most of them were employees of the tower, which was meant to squeeze out his potential. He isn't really 'competing' with them with the intent to actually take them down. They were more like tests for him—trials to overcome, as the tower calls it.
The Thunder Prince was different because he was a fellow prodigy, one that is publicly known as the strongest too. If what happened during the trial was a real battle, then, even though their team won it in the end, he would still personally consider it a loss since he died.
In Cedric's mind, his life was too valuable to stake for a mere competition on who's the best. He simply has too much to lose, and he's not willing to die just yet. Fortunately, this was all just a simple tournament—a little event to entertain the Tower Master and his friends.
'Speaking of which...'
Cedric opened up the chat for the first time in a while and went through the unread messages that piled up for him.
As expected, he's not the only one that received a lucrative offer. Morning Wood and Moss Lady had been invited by the Faes; Howler and Hawkeye got the opportunity to pursue Beastial Atavism to join the Primal Beast Clan; and Eunuch Wei... well, he's already set, so he's fine.
In short, all of them secured a brighter future by simply participating in this little tournament. And it's not just them; even those who didn't make it very far must've received offers too.
With this little tournament that only served to entertain the Tower Master and his friends, many lives have changed. Such was the power of alliances and their connections.
'Argh! I'll think about it later.' Cedric scratched his head and decided to postpone his decision at a later date since this was just giving him a headache now.
Besides, he still has the 6th stage of his trials to clear, and these were enough to keep his mind occupied for a long while. Since they said that they could wait for his answer, then it should be fine to not think too much about it for now.
Besides, this isn't something that he could decide on his own. He needs the opinion of his wives as well.