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C1534

Grand Magus Warwick, the second most powerful man on the Silvermane Planet, had come to visit Emery's residence right after the sun fell on the horizon.

Since the man wanted to see what his pack looked like, Emery brought him to the backyard where everyone was gathered for training. Even though everyone had already been informed by Emery, they were all still shocked when they actually saw the man in person.

Thanks to her experience as a trained host, Tatyana swiftly prepared a hot beverage and served it to the prominent guest. The latter accepted the offered drink as his gaze observed the group that was practicing.

A few minutes later, the man suddenly said, "This won't do. Your pack is not strong enough to even enter the Wolf category."

As harsh as it may sound, the precise evaluation coming from the man was something Emery had expected. Nevertheless, he calmly responded to the opinion. "We still have six weeks. We'll definitely get better."

With a flat expression, Warwick replied, "I doubt it."

Still trying to be respectful, Emery politely asked, "Elder, could you tell me exactly why you are here?"

The old wolf briefly explained that he had come to check if Emery was really going to make the effort for the upcoming Royal Hunt. After all, he had been bestowed the event's prize for free from the Alpha King.

Hence he was pleased to see that Emery was indeed trying.

The only thing Warwick worried about was that the pack would not impress his King.

Glancing at the group who was still training, the old wolf said to Emery. "I can prepare three young half-blood magus to assist you if you want."

It was obvious from those words that the grand magus only saw Morgana as a valuable, irreplaceable member of Emery's pack. The offer was of course very tempting as it meant Emery would have a pack made up entirely of magus should he accept.

However, Emery didn't even spend a second, before respectfully declining the offer.

Unexpectedly, the refusal did not disappoint the grand magus as he nodded in understanding. "Good, I respect such principles," said the old wolf before he turned around and said, "Come with me now."

"Where are we going?"

Warwick didn't even glance at him as he said, "The Apex facility."

As soon as he heard that, Emery understood.

This was the real reason for the man's arrival, to follow up on the Alpha King's promise of helping maximize his bloodline gene. With this, Emery hoped that he would be able to regain his former strength.

Since the facility wasn't a place open to just anyone, Emery told everyone to wait at the residence, Morgana included. Fortunately, this time the red-haired girl didn't act stubborn and listened to his words.

As the two of them walked towards their destination, the grand magus asked several questions which were difficult to answer, such as how was he still alive from the mission 4 years ago, who helped him, and how did he end up on this planet.

The grand magus asked those questions casually and since he didn't want to offend the man by telling lies, Emery respectfully replied that he couldn't give him an answer. He didn't remember half of them anyway.

Fortunately, Warwick seemed to have no intention of forcing an answer from Emery as he just nodded and kept walking. But then, moments later, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning his head around as he said the next question while looking Emery straight in the eye.

"You haven't consumed the Ancient Wolf Blood, have you? Why?"

Although caught off guard, Emery swiftly mustered a response. He explained that he was currently in the cusp of a bottleneck on his gene essence and planned to first give it a few attempts to break through without consuming it.

He ended his explanation by saying that he would definitely consume it before the Royal Hunt arrived.

What Emery said was, of course, an answer that was only half-truthful, which should be enough to stop the grand magus from asking any further questions.

Even though the old wolf knew of his true identity, Emery had absolutely no plans of disclosing the existence of the Ourorbors faction, which was the missing link that the former needed to connect all the questions he had to each other.

Emery understood that all the questions the man asked were legit and necessary – something an authoritative figure had to know, especially one that was titled the Guardian of the Silvermane Kingdom.

Nevertheless, the indirect interrogation session only made Emery warier of the man.

The two of them finally arrived at the Apex facility which was the lofty building standing next to the Apothecary Center. This time, Emery didn't come sneaking in, and instead, a group of a dozen men – the top apothecary masters and bloodline gene experts of the Apex faction – were waiting for their arrival.

Gazing at this group of people, Warwick calmly said, "I want a full diagnosis of his condition."

The first thought that came to Emery's mind at those words was one of wariness, for he truly did not trust the grand magus. But on the other hand, a diagnosis from the best Wolf Bloodline facility was definitely something he wanted to have. Thus he was willing to take the risk.

After saying those words, Warwick handed Emery over to the dozens of experts, who clearly had no interest in carrying out such a task in the middle of the night and for such a young wolf half-blood. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't refuse.

Shortly thereafter, Emery underwent various tests similar to those he had at Ouroboros, both involving physical and mental aspects. There was also a session where his blood was tested while he used all three of his transformations.

As the test progressed, Emery could see the changes in the dozen or so experts' faces, gradually changing from disinterest, borderline apathy, to one of enthusiasm when Emery's results came out.

"Mutation gene! And Mythical Rank 8 at that!!"

Afterward, the group was tasked with creating a serum specific to Emery's gene. Apparently, the process would take at least a few days, but everyone seemed eager to get the project started.

Emery had no intention of sharing his [Fey Booster Serum]. Although it would indeed hasten their research, he would rather remain cautious and keep his relationship to the Ouroboros hidden.

To be continued