Chapter 3: Unwilling to Cooperate

"That's right. The dungeon you entered was a Calamity-rank dungeon. There have been many cases before where Players that have entered dungeons had been possessed by monsters, causing havoc once outside, and this happened to much lower rank dungeons, much less a Calamity-rank dungeon, so we had to take precautions." Scarlet explained to him the situation.

"Don't worry, we'll let you go in a week if nothing happens. In the meantime, you can take this time to recall what you saw in the dungeon."

Scarlet then stood up and walked out of the room, where a couple of people were waiting.

"So? What did he say?" The blonde guy named Dean asked her.

Scarlet shook her head and said, "He doesn't want to cooperate for some reason. Although he claims that he doesn't remember anything, that's clearly a lie."

"What about his identity? He's clearly homeless, but do you know anything else about him?"

"All I know is his name and age. Lucas, 18 years old."

"He's too young to be homeless..." Someone there sighed.

"It's nothing uncommon. I have even seen children 10 years younger than him in the same position," said Dean.

"Anyways, you'll continue to question him. I doubt he'll remain silent forever. We need to know what was inside that dungeon and why it suddenly disappeared."

"I understand." Scarlet nodded.

Once he was alone again, Lucas silently stared at the white ceiling with a dazed look on his face.

"Character Status," he suddenly mumbled.

The next moment, his character status appeared before him.

'So it wasn't just a dream... I have really acquired the power of a hero, becoming a Player...'

A profound grin appeared on his face a moment later.

'I can finally take revenge on those who took everything from me... The ones who killed my parents... the ones who destroyed my home... I will do whatever is necessary to destroy you!'

However, before he could do anything, he must first leave this place.

With that being said, there was nothing he could do besides waiting for his release at this moment since he was being monitored by the Players' Association, one of the top powers in this world.

A few hours later, Scarlet returned to the room while carrying a plate of food.

"Here you go. You should be hungry after not eating anything for three days," she placed the food on an adjustable table on the bed.

Lucas glanced at the food that looked better than anything he's eaten for the last few years before closing his eyes again.

As much as he wanted to eat the food, he didn't trust them enough to touch it. After all, they could've put something in it that might make him talk, and he was used to starving for weeks on end, much less a few days.

"..."

Scarlet didn't say anything and left the room shortly after.

An hour later, she returned to take the plate of food that was left untouched.

The following day, Scarlet returned in the morning with breakfast.

"Good morning, Lucas. How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?" she asked him in an energetic voice.

"No, I don't." Lucas calmly responded.

"I see. Don't worry, we have plenty of time." Scarlet said as she placed his breakfast on the table before leaving the room.

This kind of interaction between them continued for the next few days.

"Haaa... He's still not eating the food. Isn't he hungry?" Scarlet sighed after she left his room with another plate of untouched food.

"He's probably wary of us."

"Do we look that suspicious? We already told him that we're from the Players' Association. What do we gain from tricking him?" Scarlet shook her head.

"Everybody is different. We don't know what kind of life he's experienced, but judging from his appearance, I'd say that it wasn't a good one, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has trust issues."

"What do you think I should do, Diana?" Scarlet asked the blonde beauty with a nonchalant expression sitting right beside the room like some kind of guard.

"Why are you asking me? I'm not good with kids."

Scarlet sighed again.

Time passed slowly for Lucas, but he didn't mind it at all, as he'd spend most of his time pondering how he should take revenge on those that have wronged him and his family.

A few more days passed, and it has been a week since Lucas was taken to this hospital.

In the morning, Scarlet entered the room with another person who appeared to be a nurse.

"We're going to check your body one last time to see whether it's really safe or not to release you to the public," Scarlet said to him.

The nurse proceeded to examine Lucas' body with these machines that were specially made to detect possessed humans.

A few minutes later, the nurse said, "He's cleared, Madam Scarlet."

Scarlet nodded, "Thank you."

Once the nurse left, she turned to look at Lucas and said, "I will ask you one last time, Lucas. Do you remember seeing anything in the Calamity-rank dungeon? Anything at all. Although the dungeon may have disappeared, it might come back in the future, and we want to be prepared for it when that time comes. I don't want to see what happened 60 years ago repeat itself in this city that I grew up in."

Lucas slowly turned to look at her and responded in a calm voice, "No, I do not remember anything."

Scarlet closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A moment later, she approached the bed and began removing the shackles that chained Lucas to the bed for an entire week.

"You may leave now. If you remember anything, you can visit the Players' Association and ask for me. Once again, my name is Scarlet. Here's my business card just in case you forget." Scarlet then placed her business card on the table before leaving the room.

Lucas glanced at the business card for a moment before getting off the bed and leaving the room without touching the card.

A few minutes later, he left the hospital while still wearing the hospital's patient outfit.

"Are we really going to let him go? He might have crucial information about the Calamity-rank dungeon." Scarlet asked the people around her as they watched Lucas' figure disappear from the hospital.

"It doesn't matter. He's just a homeless brat with an attitude. We'll deal with the Calamity-rank dungeon if it returns even without his help," said Dean.

And he continued, "Anyways, we have wasted enough time here. Let's forget about him and continue doing our job. We have been assigned to another mission by the association."

"Yes, captain!" They all responded.