Supreme Warlock System : From Zero to Ultimate With My Wives

Warlock Ch 318. Planting Doubt

A murmur of uncertainty spread through some of the crowd. Not the angry ones—no, they were already too far gone. But the hesitant ones, the ones who still wanted to believe in authority, in the system.

And that was Ralvek's strategy.

Planting doubt. Seeding hesitation.

Classic.

Damian wanted to punch him.

"Of course," Ralvek continued, folding his hands behind his back, "for everything else… we will discuss it later."

Like that was supposed to shut the conversation down and end this.

Prince Cedric laughed.

It wasn't a pleasant laugh.

"Later?" Cedric echoed, his tone sharp, mocking. "Ah, yes. Put it off. Bury it under investigation." His green eyes glowed faintly with restrained magic. "Unfortunately for you, the fae tribe will also be conducting their own investigation."

Ralvek's jaw tensed, but his smile remained. "Of course."

"That includes our people reviewing the rune," Cedric added. "Separately. Without… interference."

The implication was clear.

Ralvek did not like that.

But he had no room to argue—not in front of all these people, not when the entire arena was watching him like hungry wolves waiting for a sign of weakness.

So, he smiled.

And nodded.

And said, "Naturally."

But Damian saw it—the flicker of irritation behind his eyes, the way his fingers twitched before he reined himself back in. Ralvek wasn't happy, not one bit. The man had played his cards well, but not well enough to maintain control. The moment the fae tribe announced their own investigation, he knew he couldn't strong-arm his way out of this. Not publicly.

And so, the snake chose to retreat.

"That's all," Ralvek said, his voice smooth as ever, as if he wasn't just cornered in front of thousands of people. He gave a small nod to the council members, barely acknowledging anyone else. "We will handle this appropriately. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Before anyone could respond, before the murmurs in the crowd could rise again, he lifted his hand—and vanished.

A clean teleport. No wasted movement. No theatrics.

Just gone.

Aria clicked her tongue, watching the space where he had stood. "Well, that concludes everything," she said, her tone flat. She didn't even bother looking at anyone else before she, too, teleported—her form dissolving into shimmering silver light before disappearing entirely.

Damian barely had time to react before Cedric vanished next, his teleportation magic flickering like green lightning, leaving only the faint crackle of power in his wake.

And then Cassius—who shot Damian one last glance before casually flicking his fingers and disappearing just as smoothly as the rest of them.

Leaving Damian standing there like an idiot.

He exhaled sharply through his nose. 'Yup. I'm definitely the only one who has teleportation magic but can't use it since I just got my S-rank.'

Damian rolled his shoulders, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. "Well, I'll excuse myself then."

And unlike the rest of them, he had to do it the old-fashioned way.

By walking.

The discontent in the air was palpable. The audience wasn't just murmuring anymore—they were openly angry. And why wouldn't they be?

With everything that had just unfolded, with the sheer incompetence of the council and examiners laid bare, it was only now settling in what that truly meant.

Their friends. Their family. Their loved ones.

They knew this exam was dangerous. They knew that stepping into the Rank S test meant risking everything. That was never the issue.

The issue was that the test wasn't what it used to be.

Before, there was always a chance—a real one. Survival rates had hovered between 60 to 70%, enough to at least believe in a fair fight, in a challenge that truly determined one's worth.

But now?

Now, with how things had gone, with how the test had been twisted—with no healers, no actual way for participants to survive unless they were either lucky or strong enough to break the system—what was the survival rate now?

10%?

5%?

Lower?

The reality was grim.

And the audience was pissed.

"This is insane!" someone shouted from the stands. "How many of them are left?!"

"My brother was in that exam! He should've had a chance!"

"They knew! They knew and they still sent them to die!"

"This wasn't an exam, this was a damn slaughterhouse!"

Panic and fury rippled through the crowd, growing louder, angrier. It was like a wave crashing against a breaking dam, and Damian could see it all about to erupt.

The council and examiners definitely saw it too.

One of the Sanctum council members, a middle-aged woman draped in the high robes of her position, quickly stepped forward, raising her hands in a desperate attempt to pacify the growing unrest. "Everyone, please remain calm! We understand your concerns, but the situation is still being handled—"

"Handled?!" a man in the crowd spat. "Like how you handled the fae princess nearly dying?! How you handled the fact that the test was rigged?!"

Murmurs turned into shouts.

Another examiner quickly stepped in, his voice ringing through the arena with practiced authority. "The healers are on their way as we speak! They will begin evacuating the remaining participants—whether they are alive or deceased—immediately."

That didn't calm anything.

Because that? That confirmed their worst fears.

People had died.

More than usual. More than what should have been acceptable for an exam like this.

Someone in the stands clenched their fists, their voice cracking with anger. "You mean to tell me that you only sent the healers now?"

"You should have already had them there!"

More outrage. More disbelief.

Another examiner tried to intervene, his voice forced into something calm but brittle. "This exam is meant to test a participant's ability to adapt to extreme conditions—"

"Oh, fuck off with that excuse!" someone cut him off.

A woman—her eyes red, her hands clenched at her sides—stood from her seat, her voice shaking with barely restrained fury. "We knew this exam was dangerous. But this? This wasn't a test! This was murder!"

More voices joined her.