The Young Master in the Shadows

Chapter 431: Somthing not right!

BOOOM!

In a grand palace built on a high tower that faced the sun, the space shook. Slowly, a young man materialized out of thin air barely taking two steps before collapsing to the ground.

“MY LORD! YOU ARE INJURED!” one elf maid gasped as she ran toward him, but then paused as the heat emanating from him almost burnt her. “MY LORD!”

Zendo ignored her as he slowly stood up and began to walk forward allowing the maids to notice the damage that was rapidly healing. One of his hands was missing, his chest had a large hole in it and half of his face was ruined. In his other hand, he was dragging the head of a burnt elven horse.

“CALL THE BLACK ELDER…” he hissed. “LET HIM MEET ME AT THE THRONE ROOM WITH A SOUL EXTRACTION TALISMAN…” he said as with heavy steps he continued on his way. “I DON'T KNOW WHAT THOSE BASTARDS ARE PLANNING, BUT I WILL GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS NO MATTER WHAT!” he shouted to himself angrily. “NO ONE CAN ESCAPE THE SUN'S WRATH! NO ONE!”

…

“This way please!” the female doctor said as she guided Theodore, Alice, and Olaf through the busy hospital’s corridors. “Five days ago, a young man was caught in the sea by a few fishermen!” she explained. “They took him into a hospital where the local police did a run on his fingerprints, this triggered an alert in the family database system, allowing us to locate him and then bring him here where we ran many tests on him to confirm his identity and check his situation,” she quickly explained. 

“Oh… How is he?” Theodore asked while walking. They were now in one of the family’s top regional hospitals.

“Other than a light head injury caused by a stupid fisherman hitting him because he thought he was a monster, he is in perfect physical condition… It is just that he seems to have suffered from some kind of mental trauma!” she said professionally.

“I think it would be better to see for yourself…” the doctor said as they finally reached one very secure ward.

She knocked on the door of a certain room then entered without waiting for a reply.

Inside, a young man in hospital pajamas was lying peacefully on bed, looking out of the window with a thoughtful expression. 

“Victor!” Alice couldn't control her emotions as she hurried toward his side and hugged him. She was worried sick about him after he jumped into that dungeon gate!

“Thank goodness you are fine!” Theodore sighed in relief as he also stepped forward and took a look. that it was really Victor.

“Ah… Excuse me… Who are you?” Victor asked, making both Alice and Theodore pause then frown.

“What do you mean?” Alice asked as she let go of him with a frown. Did he just grope her butt? No, she must have been an accident… Right?

“Ah…Well… You are a fine lady and everything, but  I don’t know you… Did we meet before?” he asked with a frown.

“You don’t remember me?” Alice asked.

“Ah… Should I?” Victor frowned as if he was trying hard to remember. “Sorry, I have been having some trouble with my memory lately….” he explained in an apologetic voice. 

“Ahh…” Alice frowned. “I am your sister…”

“Really?” Victor frowned. “Ah… Sorry… I…” he paused as he held his head while trying to remember.

“Doctor?” Theodore yelled, making the nervous doctor shiver a little.  “What’s wrong with my son?” he asked.

“As you may have noticed, he seems to be suffering from amnesia… “ she replied directly.

“An amnesia? What is this? Are we in some kind of a lousy romantic B-movie?” Theodore asked. “Why didn’t you heal him?”

“We did our best giving him every type of healing pill we have, we also asked a healer from the Medicine Valley to come here to check on him, but nothing worked!” she said. Victor was an elite heir, he had the right for the best treatment!

“Oh…” Theodore frowned. “Son, what is the last thing you remember?” he asked Victor.

“Ah… I don’t know… I was in the water? There was also some very hot maid with big boobs that I was trying to court…” Victor frowned. He clearly didn’t remember.

“What?” Alice frowned, what kind of dungeon was this? Maid Mermaids? And since when did Victor have a preference for big boobs? None of his wives had any substantial advantage in that field. Could it be that this incident did something to his brain? 

Theodore felt the same, but he was thinking about the little girls in the mansion, something didn’t feel right… This was not important, Victor’s preferences were not something he should peek at as his father! “Doctor… Did you find the cause?” he asked.

“My preliminary diagnosis is that he might have experienced something really horrific… The Medicine Valley healer didn’t agree, he suspected it might be the effect of some curse or a skill…”

“Oh… Did you do a curse identification test?”

“It came all negative… No curses! But…”

“What?”

“When we compared his data to that in the family, we found an anomaly!” 

“What did you find?” Theodore asked. wondering what his son encountered in that dungeon.

“It is about young Master Victor’s level…”

“Oh… Well… It is natural for him to level up after all he went through…” Theodore said with a wary smile. He always knew that his son hid his real level from the family. It seemed like the truth was about to come clear.

“That’s not it, he is only at level five…” the doctor said.

“WHAT?” Theodore exclaimed, and so did Alice. “How can that be?”

“According to the Medicine Valley healer, he did hear of such a monster in the past… It had a skill that stole other people’s levels… He also suspects that it might have something to do with his memory!” the doctor said.

“What? Such a thing exists?” Theodore frowned and looked at Alice. She shrugged. She never heard of anything like this either.

“I am not sure… That’s what the healer said!” the doctor clarified.

“Oh… Where is that healer now?” Theodore asked.

“Ah… He was in a hurry and left, it was an accident that he was passing through the city…” the doctor said, quickly fumbling to take out a golden card. “This is the card he left…”

“Master Abirian?” Theodore frowned. Who the fuck was that?

“Ah… I heard of him! He is one of the best, but having a kind of an eccentric personality made him have a lot of enemies, so he usually travels around in a low-key manner. It is usually a little hard to get hold of him when someone needs him most!” Olaf interjected. “That card can be used to call him, it is very precious…”

“Oh… Regardless… “Theodore said, putting the card in his storage ring after taking a look at it and planning to check on that guy later. “Did Abirian say anything about healing Victor?”

“Ahh, yes, he suggested that we should let him return to his home and try to integrate him with his familiar surroundings,“ The doctor clarified. “We agree with that opinion as this might truly help him!” the doctor said.

“I see…” Theodore sighed, and then a random thought crossed his mind. “You said earlier that all his tests were perfect?” he asked.

“Yes… All his data are within the normal averages and other than a slightly decreased metabolism rate, they match the old data in the database!” the doctor frowned. So did Olaf. “Is there anything you want us to check?”

“Oh… Not really…” Theodore hesitated for a moment and said. “It is just that I would have expected him to have gained something in that dungeon.” He casually decided to not tell the truth. He was wondering about Victor’s upgraded bloodline. It felt very strange for the doctor not to notice the strange color of the blood. Lara’s was now a little less purplish with a silvery sheen to it.

There are too many possibilities to consider, so he needed to make his own assessment later. It was too early to reveal the upgraded bloodline.

“AH….  We are not sure about that…” the doctor said as Olaf squinted his eyes.

“I see…” Theodore hesitated. “Who else knows about Victor’s current condition…”

“No one other than the staff here, we were waiting for Master Theodore to come!” the doctor clarified.

“Good… Keep it a secret for a few days,” Theodore sighed, looking at ‘Victor’ who was looking back at him with a frown. “Don’t worry… everything will be fine!” he said with another sigh. “Master Olaf… I think there will be no need for a briefing…” he turned and told Olaf who stood politely to the side.

“Of course, I understand!” Olaf quickly replied… He felt that something was wrong with Theodor’s ration earlier, but he couldn’t tell what. He needed to investigate this carefully!

“Also… Can you do me a favor…” Theodore suddenly asked.

“You don’t want me to report his current condition to the family?” Olaf asked.

“Yes!” Theodore nodded directly, glancing at the doctor who nodded.

“I can do that for a week… But mistress Ann must be informed immediately!” Olaf sighed. “She cares a lot about young master Victor!” 

“Fine…” Theodore sighed. “I owe you one…”

“Not at all! It is my duty!” Olaf bowed, shooting Axel, who consumed the memory-erasing potion earlier, an inspecting glare as his mind raced. There must have noticed something, but it was not enough to reveal that this Victor was a fake. He must hurry and find out how to close any holes in the plan!

…

At the same time in a place far far away, a sleepy girl opened her eyes.

“Where is this?”  In a strange wooden hut, Meril who sat up abruptly and began to look around asked.

“We are inside an artifact… It is like a storage ring, but can house people and animals!” The one who replied was Victor who was sitting on a large couch as two scantily dressed elf slave girls gave him a massage. There was that little girl Emira too, napping beside him like a kitten.

“VICTOR! Where is Macil?” she asked immediately as she looked around. 

“He is fine,  locked away in a cell…” Victor sighed.

“What? Why?” she asked in a worried voice.

“Don't worry, You will meet him later, but we have to make some things clear... Let me ask you first… Do you know who that general who came to the mansion earlier with Macil was?” Victor asked directly.

“Ah…. His Highness, the Sun lord?” Meril, who was not stupid at all, said nervously.

“Exactly… Don’t call us honorifics when you call him, he is just a piece of shit… How dare he kill my faithful donkey!” Victor scolded.

“Donkey?” Macil frowned. She was not familiar with that term.

“The elven horse…” 

“Oh…”

“Regardless… To tell the truth, what happened earlier was my worst expected scenario…” Victor sighed. “Last night, when I came to the mansion, I planned to take you away directly,  but the moment I heard that Macil was in the palace, I knew I couldn't do that, as he would be in a lot of trouble if you disappeared all of a sudden, having to yet clarify the best results with his father and such…” Victor said. “You would never agree to that…”

Meril nodded.

“Back then, I had a really bad hunch, so just in case I made some preparations to extract you guys if things were to go south… It seems like I was right!”

“Ah…. “ Meril frowned. Not knowing what to say. “About Macil…”

“Earlier, he was acting like a bitch in heat in front of Zendo, Right?” Victor asked.

“Ah… I would not use those exact words… But yes…” Meril said nervously. She didn’t feel comfortable talking about her young master that way, but it was true.

“That’s why I locked him away for his own safety… I owe the guy for helping me find you, and I am sure you owe him a lot too, so I don’t want him to die!“ Victor clarified.

“Die?” Meril frowned.

“I discovered this by accident, but it seems like all Sun elves have a kind of bloodline curse that makes it impossible for them to betray the Sun lord, they can’t even talk badly about him!… It is like the slave curse you had but on steroids!”

“Ah… '' Meril was surprised. She already knew that all slaves in the sun elves' kingdom had to be branded by a curse to ensure their obedience. “Wait… the elves themselves had the curse?” she asked. The two slave elves also looked at Victor in surprise waiting to hear his answer.

“Yes, that’s why I believe Macil didn’t feel anything was wrong when he told Zendo about me… He had no idea that both of us would be doomed if that bastard managed to catch us! Zendo would definitely take you to the pits because of your new bloodline!”

“Oh…” Meril frowned. This made sense. She shivered just thinking about what could have happened. She clearly felt the desire to possess when the lord looked at her. “This curse…”

“It is different from yours, it is in their bloodline, not a status abnormality… If not, I would have already removed it from Macil as I removed yours!.”

“WHAT? You removed my curse?” Meril asked as he opened her status window. The cursed symbol was no longer there! “HOW?” she heard that only the king and the lord could remove those!

“I had a rare SSS rank dispelling talisman that I got by chance!” he casually lied. Breaking a system curse with his authority was trivial. “The problem now is that we have to keep Macil locked up, we can’t let him out as the Sun lord might feel his presence, we can’t tell him the truth as that might cause the curse to activate, and we can’t send him back to the kingdom, as the sun lord would definitely not forgive him!”

“Then you plan to keep him locked up for good?” Meril frowned.

“No, not that long… If I can’t find a way to remove his bloodline curse, I plan to bring him back with you to our original world…” he said. “There I am sure the sun lord would never reach him!” he stated. Like he couldn’t really use his slave effects across worlds, the Sun lord would not be able to do a thing either… Most likely…

“Ah….” Meril frowned. This was too much to take in.

“But there is a catch,” Victor interrupted her thoughts.

“What?”

“In our original world, our family is technically a kind of royalty… The world also has all kinds of rules about players,” he said. “So there, he will be the one who will have to act as your servant!” he said with an evil smile.

…

Yet again, at the same time in Ring Cloud City.

“DAMN IT!” Christopher, the formal leader of Justice Ring, who was at the moment locked in a dark humid cell with all kinds of people, cursed as he watched a young boy get dragged away by the guards.

He remembered the kid, he was a pickpocket whom he arrested a couple of weeks ago and handed to the custodians to fix him up.

During the last week, he learned how mistaken he was. Mona was right, the custodians were not good guys at all. They were some kind of organization that researched turning people into monsters. The same kind they fought occasionally. Those monsters were just test samples who were released by the custodians to do something and went berserk for some reason or another.

All the info he got was from what prisoners like him said and what he heard those scientists talk about when they lazied around every now and then.

For them, him and the others were just lab animals.

“Monsters!” he yelled as he banged the bars. The boy was never going back. Not this time. This was going to be his seventh experiment, and those guys would surely inject that green serum in him now after they made his body adapt to it during the past few weeks!

He and the rest of his friends had already gone through this once, and the pain was unbearable.

“SHIT…”

“Sit down young man… There is nothing you can do…” an old man who sat in the cell’s corner said.

“I am just worried about my friends…” Christopher said. Tala and the others were in other cells, he only met them once since they were brought here, and it was right before they injected that nasty white liquid that came out of a large worm in them.

“There is no use in worrying… You just need to save your strength and survive… Remember, only one out of 10 manages to finally live…”

“And become a slave… A momentous slave to serve those bastards…”

“It is better than dying…” the old man sighed. “At least you will be able to take revenge on those nasty Justice Ring brats who caught us! I will fuck all of them… BOYS AND GIRLS!” he spat as he licked his lips.

“Ahh…. Right…” Christopher quickly remembered that this guy was a known rapist whom they caught two months ago. DAMN IT

BANG!

Suddenly an explosion rang throughout the building.

“What is going on?” Donald asked as all the guards wearing face masks began to run, and from vents in the cells, a bluish sleeping gas began to be pumped.

This was a part of the security protocol here, he had already experienced it once when a monster broke free.

“Could it be…”

BANG!

The ward’s door flew open and three girls walked in.

“Thank god! They are here…” Someone said,

Christopher was sure it was that bitch Mona, as he could recognize her voice easily as his former crush. but his eyes were just too heavy to look up as he collapsed to the dirty cell floor.