CHAPTER NINETY-THREEAfter five days in the clinic, Lucian was discharged but was told to continue his visits to the clinic for check-ups. This was to keep his mana core in check, especially after a dungeon raid. Lena was happy that her brother was coming out of the clinic, and she could give him the surprise that she had for him; they went for a little walk around the town square, and then they went to a restaurant to have a meal. They also headed to the guild association to claim their share of the raid prize, but they were summoned by the guild master on sight.At the guild master's office, Angus was seated at his table while Lena and Lucian stood at the front of the table. He looked at them and said,“Lucian, I take that you’ve recovered from the battle you had in the dungeon, so I'll cut right to the chase. You're being summoned by the king.” “News of the dungeon raid and the dungeon mishaps had gotten to the council of the king, and the Emperor himself demanded that he meet the

CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE“Ohh, ,” a voice said as they poured Lucian a bucket of water. Regaining his consciousness, Lucian tried to get up but was tied to a chair; he looked up and saw a sketchy-looking Emperor standing beside Angus. Lucian was surprised as he asked,“Angus, what are you doing here? I thought you were with the king?”With a mild chuckle, Angus placed his hand on Lucian's head bent it backward, and said,“This is where I want to be. Anyways, we'll start with questions.”The sketchy-looking Emperor walked up to Lucian and asked,“How did you find this basement side of the palace? Who told you about it? Who are you you looking for?”Lucian , who was perplexed by the question, kept telling them he knew nothing about what they were as Emperor, and they kept torturing him. They broke his fingers one after the other as they asked and broke his toenails one by one also. As they went to get another torture equipment Alice said,“Notice, Do you wish to automatically heal from the

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN“We didn’t get your name. I am Boris by the way…” The first man extended his right hand toward Lucian for a handshake while he maintained a smile on his face, but Lucian remained silent.When Boris was done shaking him, the second man extended his own hand to shake him as well while he gazed at Lucian with a smile on his face.“I am called Vinicius the Great, but you can call me Vinicius, just Vinicius.”“You already know my name, everyone knows my name. But I will tell you just in case you may have forgotten. My name is Raondolf, and I like to drink.” Randolf chuckled excitedly while he shook Lucian after Vinicius who scoffed at him instantly even though he wasn’t expecting any better behaviors from him.“You really shouldn’t have mentioned that part, Randolf. The proof of your love for your bottles was glaring at the young man. Now, you are going to make him think that the two of us share in your quest to kill yourself with wine and liquor.” Boris said with

CHAPTER NINETY-NINE“You heard the words the General used, those were not my words. He said the Emperor had been poisoned, not killed…”“You have a point, Forger. How did I not think of that?” Lucian placed his left hand below his chin while he nodded at the thoughts that lingered in his mind.“But they still think I did it, Forger? They sent soldiers after me, there is no way they are going to give up just like that.”“Then you try to convince them of your innocence.”“How? How am I supposed to do that?”“That is left for you to figure out…” Forger said, and that was her conclusion as she threw Lucian into a drift that lasted for a while. He attempted to think of a better option, as none of the ideas that came to his mind seemed viable.“No way! That’s suicidal! I am sure he is not going to even give me the chance to explain before drawing his sword.” Lucian dissuaded himself from harboring the thoughts that crept into his mind, but each time he went away from it, something else

CHAPTER HUNDRED AND ONE“I don’t know how else I am supposed to convince you that I am telling the truth, General. Think about it…I was given a room far away from the Royal Chambers, which I am sure is heavily guarded by your men who must have been careless to allow someone to go into the Emperor’s Chambers. There was no way I would have gone back instantly to the Royal Chambers without being seen. I don’t even know where the Emperor’s Chambers are located!”Gradually, General Hector began to see sense in what Lucian was saying, even though he was still visibly angry about their first encounter and desperately wanted to regain his ego.“I know that somewhere within you, you know that I am telling the truth. Angus cannot be trusted; he is working hand-in-hand with a dangerous group. They call themselves the Shadows of Retribution!”“Shadows of Retribution? What does that mean?”“I don’t know, General. That was what Angus said to me. They were after something very powerful that they t