100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 589 - Suspicions

Lucien continued observing the suspicious Origin Core fragment holders through the merged Origin Core’s resonance.

The fragment holders belonged to the Thousand Races.

That alone made the matter complicated.

And because Lucien observed them only through their held Origin Core fragments, the information remained limited.

He could sense resonance.

But he could not properly record identity.

That was extremely annoying.

If they came to a single Lootwell branch, even once, the Origin Mirror Framework could record them.

Even if it did not expose everything, it would at least give Lucien something firmer than suspicion.

But the three individual holders did not leave their caves.

The two hidden factions did not send important members out.

Lucien leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.

"This is why secretive people are irritating."

Lucien’s suspicion deepened.

Engineered offspring. False Incarnates. Those hidden weapons created from Primordial authority and biological manipulation.

He had already learned that such beings existed.

He had already placed safeguards because of them.

The Origin Mirror Framework was built for this exact danger.

But suspicion was not evidence.

And Lucien disliked acting on paranoia.

He did it sometimes.

But he preferred his paranoia to arrive with documentation.

Right now, he had neither.

Only patterns, silence, and Origin Core fragments being used in ways that felt wrong.

Lucien exhaled.

"All right."

He created a new schedule entry.

[Continued observation: Western fragment holders.]

•••

Meanwhile, Clara sent another message.

[My lord, please give me at least a week.]

Lucien blinked.

Then more words appeared.

[I want time to understand their faith longer. The Monastery people are not bad people.]

Lucien stared at the message.

Then his lips slowly curled upward.

That was new.

Clara was asking for time.

She was challenged. It seemed she had finally met people with faith as strong as hers.

Lucien could almost imagine her sitting across from monks of the Silent Monastery, both sides smiling politely while carrying enough conviction to flatten mountains.

Lucien replied simply.

[All right. Be careful. Do not fight.]

A moment passed.

Then Clara answered.

[I will not fight..]

Clara became busy after that.

The chapels did not collapse in her absence.

Her assistants from the Spiritual Division handled most daily matters. Cecil came from time to time to assist the chapel network and relief systems.

Cecil had received an Administrative System too.

It suited him well.

He managed people better than before.

•••

In the East, construction progressed quickly.

Lilith requested workers.

Their job was simple.

Prepare the materials. Clear the foundation. Stabilize the surrounding area. Mark underground formations. Remove debris. Do not stand in front of Genesis Forging.

Lilith handled the rest with Genesis Forging.

•••

The following days passed in layers.

Lucien worked.

Then observed the suspicious fragment holders.

Then checked the East.

Then reviewed northern branch reports.

Then searched for more Origin Core fragments across the Middle Continent and the North.

Then returned to the suspicious fragment holders again.

He alternated between expansion and investigation until the Origin Core’s resonance revealed something that made his expression change.

The suspicious pattern was not only in the West.

He found more in the Middle Continent. Then in the North.

The Origin Core rhythm was the same.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

The Middle Continent case was especially irritating because the factions were not hidden.

In fact, they had interacted with Lootwell before.

They had purchased communication devices.

Unlike the hidden western factions, these groups had a public estate, formal representatives, registered messengers, and clean paperwork.

The kind of clean paperwork that made administrators feel safe.

Lucien had learned not to trust paperwork merely because it behaved well.

He focused on their Origin Core fragment.

The fragment was being used in the same ritual structure.

Lucien stared at one resonance pattern for a long time.

Then said, "You have got to be kidding me."

Lucien opened his eyes and summoned the recorders.

Several recorders arrived quickly.

Lucien pointed at a projection of the map.

"This faction. I want their communication records."

The recorders looked at the map.

Then at the marked location.

Then immediately knew where to look.

That was the benefit of systems.

No one had to spend half a day asking which "slightly suspicious but polite Thousand Races faction" Lucien meant.

Within minutes, records began appearing.

Lucien read silently.

There was nothing obviously wrong.

That annoyed him more.

The messages were normal. Trivial, mundane, almost aggressively harmless.

Lucien continued reading.

Only one conversation stood out.

Several faction members had discussed Origin Core fragments.

Not directly enough to be incriminating. But enough.

[Why would anyone hand something so important to Lootwell?]

[If more holders surrender fragments, the balance will change.]

[If they surrender theirs, should we take theirs before they do.]

[Careful. Written channels are not sealed enough for this.]

After that, the conversation shifted abruptly to tea.

Lucien stared at the transition.

Then his eyes narrowed.

They understood that Origin Core fragments mattered. They understood surrendering fragments to Lootwell changed something. And at least one of them had considered taking fragments from others.

Lucien leaned back slowly.

That faction was too normal.

The ritual was too similar.

The records were too clean.

That combination made him deeply uncomfortable.

"Just what are those rituals for?"

The question remained unanswered.

The uncertainty irritated him.

Unknown enemies were unpleasant.

Unknown neutral parties were worse.

Unknown people performing synchronized rituals with Origin Core fragments belonged in a special category of administrative headache.

•••

Meanwhile, the individual holders remained unchanged.

That was almost the worst part.

They sat in their isolated caves with Origin Core fragments held in their hands.

As if the fragments were prayer beads. As if they were keys. As if they were waiting for something to speak through their palms.

They all were not the same race.

Their bodies differed.

Their surrounding differed.

But their stillness matched. Their rhythm matched. Their waiting matched.

Lucien knew then.

This could not be coincidence.

Something connected them.

Something spread through multiple continents and multiple members of the Thousand Races.

Lucien did not like the shape of that thought.

But he liked ignorance less.

Still, he knew better than to act recklessly.

If he moved too soon, they might vanish.

If he attacked without understanding the ritual, he might break a lock he should preserve.

If he exposed suspicion publicly, the network might bury itself deeper.

If they were False Incarnates, pressure might trigger whatever they were waiting for.

Lucien’s fingers tapped once against the desk.

Then stopped.

No.

He would observe.

He would let the pattern continue long enough to reveal its purpose.

But he would not wait blindly.

Lucien’s eyes glowed with a strange glint.

•••

The week passed.

Lucien was reviewing Origin Core resonance patterns when Clara finally sent another message.

[My lord, may I bring someone back to the territory to try the Echo Crucible?]

Lucien stared at the message.

He did not answer immediately.

Instead, Lucien replied, [What is the situation?]

This time, Clara did not answer with one or two lines.

She sent a report. A very long report.

Lucien leaned back in his chair and began reading.

The Silent Monastery’s highest authority was called the Abbess.

The Abbess governed doctrine, diplomacy, shelters, elders, bell rites, and major decisions. Her words carried the weight of the Monastery’s structure.

Beside her stood another figure.

The Holy Maiden.

She did not govern everything directly, but her spiritual status was extremely high. She was the sacred representative of the Monastery’s faith, the one said to hear the echo of the Ninth Bell, interpret divine signs, perform sacred rites, and carry the grief that the bells preserved.

In simple terms, Lucien understood.

The Abbess was equivalent to a Pope.

The Holy Maiden was equivalent to a Saintess.

Lucien kept reading.

During the past week, Clara had not wasted time.

She had listened.

She had also spoken privately with the Holy Maiden several times.

At first, the Holy Maiden had been suspicious.

But when the Holy Maiden realized Clara was not pretending to listen, their relationship gradually changed.

They did not become friends immediately.

Faithful people rarely surrendered trust that quickly.

But they began speaking honestly.

Then deeply.

Then, according to Clara’s report, "with mutual sincerity."

Lucien continued reading.

Clara had finally understood the structure of the Monastery’s faith.

The Monastery’s faith was not built on greed.

It was built on remembrance.

Then Clara’s next line made Lucien’s expression change.

[My lord, I believe it is time to strike.]

Lucien slowly sat upright.

Clara immediately sent another line.

[With doctrine, not violence.]

Lucien relaxed by a very small amount.