"I’m sure you’ve all been waiting a long time for this moment, the moment we’re all gathered here today in the Goblin Guild for," Alaric said as he walked toward James, a smile on his lips and speaking in a loud voice.
"Several years ago, in a small city, completely by chance, I discovered an extraordinarily talented young man."
"At that time, I thought this boy would definitely reach great heights one day, but I had no idea his talent was even better than I imagined."
"It didn’t take long before he not only climbed mountains but conquered peaks as well. He defeated all the prodigies of his generation and stood at the top of the country."
"The future heir of our guild, James Goblin," his explanation echoed through the hall.
"I’m very happy to see all of you, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for coming," James opened his mouth and spoke in a humble yet authoritative tone.
Suddenly the sound of clapping and cheers rose. It didn’t take long before dozens of people rushed toward him, wanting to use this opportunity to get acquainted.
James spoke politely to all of them and seemed completely familiar with the etiquette of hospitality. Alaric, watching the scene, was completely satisfied.
His gaze fell on Varnos, and mockery surged in it—as if saying, watch the glory of my guild’s future.
However, Varnos looked completely indifferent and clearly didn’t care the slightest about the scene.
"Why is he so calm?" That made Alaric frown.
James continued speaking politely with all the guests who came to him, a smile on his face, but something else was hidden deep in his eyes.
’These pieces of trash are wasting my time. Too bad I have no choice, or I’d kill every single one of them,’ he thought to himself and cast a hidden glance at Daniel.
Seeing him reignited the hatred inside him again. It seemed like he could lose control at any moment, but he did nothing.
Now wasn’t the time. The guild leader had told him that he would definitely create an opportunity for him. He didn’t want to disappoint the guild leader by doing something reckless.
However... suddenly, upon seeing something, his eyes turned red for a moment, as if blood had filled them.
’Sara?’ He saw the love of his life here, but instead of coming toward him, she was walking toward Daniel...
"You guys were here the whole time too?" Daniel looked at Sara and Joe who were approaching him at the same time. He knew they were supposed to come, but he hadn’t seen them since he arrived.
"Well, there was a little problem and we arrived later," Joe scratched his head and then greeted Varnos respectfully.
"Mr. Varnos, thank you so much for helping my brother," Sara even bowed to thank him for saving her brother’s life.
"No need to thank me, young lady. This was something Daniel did, not me or my guild," Varnos smiled and declined the thanks.
He hadn’t done anything to deserve this gratitude.
"That bastard James hasn’t changed at all in all this time," Joe then looked at their old enemy with contempt and said.
"On the outside, no. But compared to the last time I saw him, he’s become much, much stronger," Daniel nodded.
Back then, James had been the greatest genius of their high school and had made a lot of noise across the country because of his talents. But at that time, he hadn’t even cleared the first floor of the tower yet.
But now? He was at the peak of Rank A and not far from reaching Rank S. In fact, Daniel even felt that this guy might be able to fight a Rank S Awakened, not win, but at least hold his own.
"No matter how much stronger he’s gotten, he’s still trash," Joe shrugged anyway.
"Looks like he’s staring at Sara," Daniel then noticed the bastard’s glances and laughed.
"Seems like he’s still in love with you."
"I never had any such feelings for him, and I told him many times," Sara frowned. She could also feel the gaze on her.
And she was unhappy about it.
"Tsk tsk, if I were you, I’d run away from the country just to get rid of him," Joe suggested a way to freedom.
"I doubt I can leave my brother anytime soon."
"Then it looks like you’ll have to put up with him for now."
"I doubt she’ll have to," Daniel suddenly said, surprising them.
"What do you mean?" Joe frowned. For some reason, he felt like his friend might be about to do something stupid and extremely dangerous.
"You’ll find out soon enough. But I want you to leave this place when the time comes."
"When the time comes? Exactly when? And don’t tell me you’re planning to do something stupid!" Sara asked worriedly. She knew how stubborn Daniel was and that he might actually do something dangerous.
"You’ll see for yourselves," but Daniel refused to explain more.
"Mr. Varnos, do you hear what he’s saying? He wants to do something stupid!" Sara turned to the guild leader when she saw he wouldn’t explain.
The guild leader should definitely be able to stop this idiot from doing anything dangerous, right?
But to her complete surprise, Varnos’s reply shocked both of them.
"Listen to him."
Joe and Sara exchanged a glance. It was clear that whatever was going to happen had Varnos’s permission, and perhaps even his involvement!
But how could they run away and leave their friend here in danger?
"Why do your faces look like that? Nothing’s definitely going to happen. I just said maybe. Besides, don’t worry, especially you, Sara. You’ve seen my power, right?" Daniel smiled calmly when he saw the worry on his friends’ faces.
Sara shivered a little when she thought about that terrifying power Daniel had shown when he destroyed those terrorists.
Right, he should definitely be able to escape even if something dangerous happened.
"Anyway, where’s Linor? Wasn’t she invited?"
"As far as I know, her guild was invited, but she’s currently in the tower challenging the fourth floor," Joe answered.
"What about those two bastard bootlickers of James?" Daniel then asked about the two ass-kissing followers of James he had seen at the high school reunion.
"I heard James didn’t allow them to come. I don’t know why."
Daniel nodded, then frowned as he sensed something. He quickly checked inside his body and noticed a problem.
Some strange and bizarre energy seemed to be devouring his entire power source. It had blocked and covered his law sources so he couldn’t use them at all.
"What the hell is going on here?" How did this happen?
Where did this force come from? Suddenly he noticed that a big frown had appeared on Varnos’s face too... Could the same thing have happened to him?
"Could it be the wine?" The possibility crossed both their minds at the same time.
And farther away, Alaric smirked when he saw their frowning faces. The time had come.
"Esteemed guests, please listen to me for a moment," he said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.
"This year, our guild has decided to make the successor ceremony more exciting and to prove the legitimacy of our heir by holding a duel."
"Our heir has the right to choose his opponent. Of course, there are rules: they must be from the same generation and have a similar rank."
"What do you think? Won’t it be exciting? We can even place bets! The Goblin Guild is willing to wager a Rank S treasure on our heir’s victory!"
When he finished speaking, murmurs and excitement spread among the guests. Only Daniel and Varnos noticed something was wrong.
"Looks like everyone agrees. So James, you can choose your opponent!"
James smiled and, without hesitation, pointed his finger straight at Daniel.