The Price of Realizing a Dream

That was an evil ritual belonging to the barbarians.

Under the influence of evil power, the wounds of the corpses split in two were sealed shut with plaster.

Not a drop of blood fell; there was only half a face frozen in despair.

One half stared at the bonfire, while the other half stared into the deep night.

Brown had his mouth clamped shut by his sister, the two of them lying together in a mud pit.

Their faces were coated in thick mud, leaving only two holes for breathing and a tiny slit to observe the outside world.

They didn't even dare to shed tears, fearing it would wash away the mud on their faces and lead to their discovery.

That was Brown's eternal nightmare.

He had never imagined that he would see such a scene again one day.

Even though several years had already passed.

Even though he thought he had forgotten it all.

Brown trembled as he clutched his head, covered his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut.

He dared not look to see if the feet standing in opposition were connected to severed limbs.

His right hand still gripped the black cord attached to the Little Fragrant Bead, hoping only that the Little Fragrant Bead would exert its power and drive away these terrifying memories as quickly as possible.

"Brown."

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his ear.

"It's alright, little brother."

Brown's trembling stopped, and he slowly raised his head.

"Sis... ter..."

The village girl, whose appearance was far from cute, offered her brother a simple, honest smile.

Looking at her brother's pale face, she continued to comfort him in a soft voice.

"It's alright, little brother, they've all gone."

"Ch-ch-ch-ch..."

Brown's teeth began to chatter, and his lips drained of color, turning as pale and blue as a dead man's.

"Sister..."

The village girl looked puzzled, took another step forward, and reached out a mud-stained hand toward her brother.

"Little brother, what are you afraid of?"

Brown sat hard on the ground; he wanted to retreat, but his limbs were stiff, unable to move even half an inch.

How could he not be afraid?

His sister had not survived that catastrophe.

No, his sister had not died in that catastrophe.

She had died at the hands of her own brother.

The siblings hiding in the mud had not been able to escape the keen sense of smell of the barbarians, yet before they were discovered, a group of wizard apprentices luckily appeared, interrupting the impending slaughter.

They arrived from afar in a carriage.

Seeing them from a distance, the barbarians fell into chaos and fled in a hurry, not even managing to take all the food meant for the ritual with them.

Fortunately, those fellows did not escape judgment.

One wizard apprentice suddenly took flight to pursue them.

After thunder and lightning, Brown saw the barbarians, who had just been arrogant, grinning hideously, and invincible, turned into piles of charred remains.

Brown's eyes widened; even as muddy water flowed into them, causing agonizing pain, he was unwilling to close them.

He endured the pain, watching the apprentice fly back to the carriage and then walk slowly toward him and his sister.

Brown and his sister crawled out of the mud and knelt before the wizard, grateful for the lord's life-saving grace.

Yet, amidst his gratitude, a new, uncontrollable thought surged within Brown's heart.

The turning point of fate had arrived.

If he could follow the person before him, would he have the possibility of becoming a wizard?

Brown seemed to see himself soaring through the sky, see himself effortlessly slaughtering his enemies.

To become a wizard—that was the life he was meant to have!

However, Brown's beautiful dream did not last long before it was cruelly shattered.

At his sister's pleading, the wizard lord agreed to take them back.

But he only agreed to take one of them.

The other person would be left behind here.

The reason was that their carriage could only squeeze in one more person.

Brown could not understand.

Clearly, they had two carriages; one was filled with over a dozen children, and the other, more spacious one, held only two masters of sorcery.

The carriage that could squeeze one more person in was the small one already packed with over a dozen children.

The sorcerer masters' carriage did not allow others to ride in it.

That would be a desecration.

The sorcerer who had once unleashed lightning tilted his head and asked his companion, "Let's take this boy; he looks quite capable."

But the other, pale-faced sorcerer master pointed firmly at Brown's sister, "No, I want a maid."

The lightning sorcerer sighed helplessly, "There is so little a maid can do."

The pale sorcerer was even more resolute, "What do you know? A maid represents justice."

The lightning sorcerer shook his head but did not argue further, actually agreeing with the pale sorcerer's decision.

Brown's face immediately turned even paler than that of the pale sorcerer.

Was he going to be left behind?

Brown looked toward his sister in despair.

Sister, say something! Hurry and tell them to take me and leave you behind!

Say it! You love me so much; haven't you always given the best things to me?

Say it! Let them take me away, and once I become a sorcerer, I will come back to take you to live a good life!

But the young girl, who had always taken care of her younger brother, only kept her head down, her two hands constantly twisting the hem of her clothes.

Sister was actually wavering!?

Brown could not believe it.

He silently squatted down, as if he had already fallen into despair.

Seeing her brother crouch down in despair out of the corner of her eye, the girl finally made up her mind.

She opened her mouth, trembling, her voice filled with deep attachment.

"M-m-masters, I... please... take my brother instead..."

"Thud!"

The girl did not manage to finish her sentence.

A rock smashed hard into the back of her head, knocking her to the ground.

Brown looked at his sister in surprise.

The girl lay on the ground, reaching up to cover the wound that was gushing blood, and looked back at her brother in disbelief.

The surprise in the girl's eyes was turning into anger.

Sister was angry.

Brown felt his mind was incredibly clear at this moment; he had never been this clear before.

Sister was angry, so she would not give this opportunity to him anymore.

He walked forward with an expressionless face.

How much strength could a destitute boy possibly have?

Brown straightened his back, panting heavily, and looked toward the sorcerer masters ahead, who had quietly watched the entire process, with hopeful eyes.

"Masters, there is only me left now."

The pale-faced sorcerer covered his nostrils with his finger, as if Brown were emitting some kind of sour, foul odor.

"Heh, coming out to recruit apprentices, I didn't expect to see a beast."

The lightning sorcerer, however, offered no comment.

The two of them turned and walked back to their carriage, yet they did not stop Brown from climbing into the carriage filled with children on his own.

Memories surged forth one after another; his sister, who had once been torn to pieces under his hands, was now appearing before him again with an intact face.

This is an illusion, Brown told himself. Sister cannot still be alive. After so many years, it is impossible for her ghost to come looking for me.

He felt that he was no longer the little boy who could only huddle in his sister's arms.

Just a little illusion, and it thought it could scare him to death?

Brown raised his head, stared directly at his sister's face, and swung his fist.

"I'm not afraid of you, let's see what else you can do!"

But his sister simply smiled.

That's right, how could those lips be damaged?

Watching those red lips, Brown swung his fist once more.

A hand caught Brown's fist firmly.

Brown looked up and saw Sid standing in front of him, staring coldly at him.

As expected, everything just now had been an illusion!

It must have been an illusion created by Lord Sid to test him, which was why the Little Fragrant Bead given by Lord Sid had failed to work.

"My Lord!" Brown grinned, "Have I passed your test?"