Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 302: Shadows of Conspiracy

The noise Wanete heard was coming from the registration building, and a quick look inside showed that the counters in the glass-walled structure were completely empty—except for one at the far end, where a "Support/Complaints" sign hung from the ceiling.

A small group of people had gathered around the counter, their loud voices blending into a chaotic mess as they hounded the officer stationed there.

"Take us seriously!" one of them shouted, slamming a fist on the counter. "Since yesterday, my summon hasn’t been able to recover its magic power!"

"Mine too!" another voice cut in. "Ever since the Sovereign Division of the tournament ended yesterday, my summon’s magic hasn’t regenerated at all!"

"It’s been over twenty-four hours," a third added, frustration bleeding into their tone. "Something’s obviously wrong!"

The lady behind the counter raised both hands in a placating gesture.

"I understand your concerns, but it’s only been a day. Don’t forget that for eliminated contestants, the teleportation out of the arena drains both the magic power of the summon and the sum—"

"DON’T GIVE US THAT!"

One of the contestants cut her off, their voice rising in anger.

"Teleporting out of the Arena consumes A PORTION of the eliminated summon’s magic power, not ALL of it! My summon left with zero magic power and still hasn’t recovered!"

"That’s right!" another chimed in.

"Same here!"

"This isn’t normal!"

"Something’s definitely wrong!"

Their collective outrage filled the space, drowning out whatever excuse the officer had been about to give next.

Overhearing the exchange, Wanete raised an eyebrow.

’The Sovereign Division features Level 800 summons only. Even if they were completely exhausted, unless they suffered soul injuries, there’s no way they wouldn’t have recovered at least some magic power after an entire day.

Something’s clearly wrong here.’

She could understand why these five were filing a complaint. What she didn’t understand was why there was only one person at the helpdesk. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

’Are the others shirking their duties? Possible. Also... why do I get the feeling this clerk isn’t taking this as seriously as she should?’

As the frustrated contestants continued their complaints, the officer, still attempting to pacify them, assured them she would file a report about their concerns. She also claimed they were the first to report such a strange issue.

That statement, however, only ticked them off even more.

"First or second, it doesn’t matter!

What does matter is that something is clearly wrong, and it only started after we finished the tournament yesterday!"

The officer nodded, maintaining a composed expression.

"I understand. I’ll need your names and contestant numbers for my report."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"However, please be advised that while I will submit this, it may take a while before you receive a response, given that the Transcendent Division of the Tournament is currently ongoing."

The group kept cursing as they gave their details for the report, storming out of the building in frustration.

Silence settled once more, and Wanete was just about to turn and leave when she sensed approaching presences.

Before she could even look up, six figures descended from above, striding into the registration building. They made their way directly to the helpdesk, completely ignoring Wanete, even though she knew they had sensed her.

The complaints the six of them came to make mirrored those of the previous group: their summons hadn’t recovered their magic power since yesterday.

And then, right before Wanete’s eyes, the officer lied through her teeth.

"This is the first report we’ve received of such an issue."

Wanete’s jaw dropped, literally.

’The fuck?’

She rarely swore, even in her thoughts, but this situation warranted it. She had just watched five people report the same problem minutes ago.

A moment later, a realization struck her, making her eyes widen.

’Those five... might not have been the first to report it at all.’

There could have been more.

And if there were more, that meant this officer had been feeding all of them the same lie—making each group believe they were the only ones experiencing the problem.

’But why?’

Naturally, Wanete had no answer to that question. She had no idea why the officer was doing this.

While she was still puzzling over it, the six people, clearly enraged, stormed out of the building, their voices ringing with frustration.

"Damn it, they’re not taking us seriously because we got eliminated during the free-for-all!"

"It’s because we’re not from some big-shot noble family or backed by a powerful organization! That’s why! If we were nobles, that clerk would be shitting herself!"

"Our posts online aren’t getting any traction either, not with everyone focused on the Transcendent Division and the Planet Lord’s appearance!"

Wanete’s eyes narrowed slightly as she listened.

’So they’ve already tried making complaints and spreading awareness online, but nobody’s paying attention?’

The moment the six left, the officer wasted no time putting up a "CLOSED" sign on her desk. Then, without hesitation, she slipped out through the back door of the building.

Seeing this, Wanete narrowed her eyes, suspicion settling in.

’Is she going to report to whoever ordered her to downplay the situation?’

It was highly probable. Wanete found it hard to believe that a mere counter clerk would take it upon herself to lie like this—unless there was a bigger motive or some kind of conspiracy behind it.

Normally, she wouldn’t bother herself with this.

But...

’...perhaps Lord Jamie has already infected me.’

A wry smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she thought this. She slid her phone into her jeans pocket and summoned her grimoire, rousing her magic power.

"Song of Unknowability."

The grimoire’s pages flipped on their own before stopping at a rune-inscribed one. As the glowing rune activated, a veil of concealment wrapped around Wanete.

The officer was far weaker than her, meaning Wanete could easily hide from her without issue. But just in case whoever was pulling the strings was stronger, she activated the spell as an extra precaution.

With the concealment active, she silently followed the woman out of the registration area and through a series of winding paths until they reached a storage zone lined with warehouses.

’Of course. The go-to spot for a shady deal.’

Wanete thought dryly as she shadowed the officer to a particular warehouse, watching as the woman glanced around before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Naturally, Wanete didn’t follow through the door. She wasn’t intangible, after all. Instead, she moved to the side of the building, scaling up one of the walls and peering inside through an open window.

Once she confirmed there were no immediate dangers, she slipped through, landing silently behind a stack of boxes.

She crouched behind the boxes, peering through a small gap between them and spotting around twenty people gathered in the warehouse, aside from the officer who had just entered.

But that wasn’t what caught her attention the most.

’There’s got to be some kind of barrier over this building... there’s no way I wouldn’t have sensed this from the outside!’

The sheer concentration of magic power in the warehouse was staggering.

Each crate, every single box, radiated energy comparable to a Level 800 existence. And at a glance, Wanete estimated there had to be over a thousand of them in this warehouse.

On the far end of the warehouse, people were methodically packing these boxes into a subspace artifact, clearly preparing to move them elsewhere.

’With this much magic power flooding the area, they probably wouldn’t even notice me if I dropped my concealment.’

The sheer density was distorting her senses, making it difficult for her perception abilities to work properly.

While she was taking a moment to adjust to the magic power concentration, the presumed leader of the group turned toward the officer who just entered with a sharp frown.

"What are you doing here?"

The officer immediately broke into frantic pleading.

"Please, I can’t do it anymore!

There are too many people reporting the magic power issue—I can’t keep brushing it off anymore! If the higher-ups find out I’ve been covering it up and faking my reports, I’ll be in serious trouble. Please!"

The leader clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Just hold on for a few more hours. Until today’s tournament ends."

"AND I CAN’T!"

The woman screamed out, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

"Over a hundred people have already filed complaints! The only reason they haven’t caused a scene yet is because the Planet Lord is here! But if this keeps up, someone’s going to lose it, and if word reaches the higher-ups, I’m finished!"

Wanete silently listened to this conversation which confirmed her suspicions.

’So I was right. She’s being forced to downplay the situation.’

But that left the question of ’Why’ still unanswered.

The leader of the 20-man group, who had been on the verge of snapping at the officer, suddenly raised an eyebrow and pulled a phone from his pocket.

His eyes narrowed instantly and he spoke.

"This presence... he’s coming. Contact Lord Orikar!"

One of the lackeys rushed to carry out the order as the leader shoved the officer aside and strode toward the warehouse door.

As for Wanete, she silently opened her grimoire and infused her magic power into it.

’Their Lord? That doesn’t sound good.’

I’ve gathered enough information. Now, I’d just report it to Lord Jamie and let him deal with it—if he feels like it.’

Wanete had no intention of sticking around to find out who was arriving, and she certainly didn’t want to encounter this ’Lord Orikar.’

Unfortunately, Lady Luck wasn’t looking in her direction today.