100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 517 - Lunarians

In the days that followed, Lucien walked.

That had become his preferred method of judging whether a place was truly alive or merely impressive from above. A territory could look magnificent from a palace and still fail in the smaller truths that made it worth living in.

So Lucien walked through Lootwell.

He moved through the Sovereign Circle and watched officials learn where authority began and where it properly ended.

He crossed the High City and listened without appearing to listen. He noted which practitioners adapted smoothly to the new chain of command and which ones still carried the old instinct to ask permission from the nearest powerful person instead of the correct office.

He passed through the other sectors and the districts.

He watched and made lists in his mind.

Things that were already good. Things that needed refinement. Things that could wait. Things that would one day be necessary but not yet urgent.

As of now, there was no need for another dramatic reform. Lootwell was already functioning well. The people had settled into their assigned roles better than even Lucien had expected.

That pleased him.

Only one area continued to feel slightly too unfinished for his taste.

Security.

Not the obvious kind. Lootwell already had enough force to erase most ordinary threats before breakfast. The Protectorate was forming properly. The barriers and territorial arrays had grown immense. The skies, waters, and outer approaches were no longer undefended.

But Lucien had begun thinking beyond the ordinary.

He did not merely want enemies stopped.

He wanted them misled while approaching, boxed into disadvantage before acting, and made to regret having been clever enough to come at all.

It was while he was still thinking in those terms that Eirene came to him.

She found him just outside the Stillness Palace.

"I brought someone," Eirene said.

Lucien turned slightly.

Then paused.

Because there were several figures behind her.

Tall, pale, and composed in a way that made ordinary stillness look restless by comparison. The newcomers stood with an elegance that did not feel performative so much as inevitable.

Their eyes were calm, cold, and thoughtful. Their faces were beautiful in the severe way older races sometimes became when vanity had long ago lost the war to refinement.

Lucien stared at them.

Then at Eirene.

Then back at them.

"Lunarians," he said.

Eirene nodded once.

That did not help his confusion.

Lunarians were not a people one simply "brought in" the way one might invite respectable guests from a nearby district. They had lived on the moon for ages under their own restrictions, withdrew there after the Millennia War, and did not return casually to the world below just because someone had an interesting project.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Eirene.

"How?"

Eirene’s expression remained unreadable.

"I repaired a portal channel in the Stillness Palace," she said. "It is connected to the moon."

Lucien stared at her harder.

That still did not answer the real question.

Even if the portal had been repaired, the Lunarians would never have simply allowed her to pass through it.

How did she have a connection to them?

The moon was not ordinary territory. Even the Primordial Incarnations would not casually force their way into there. And yet the Lunarians standing before him clearly knew Eirene well enough not to treat her as an intruding stranger.

Lucien’s thoughts moved quickly.

Then he remembered something.

The Eclipse Array.

’Perhaps she had first touched the Lunarians through that.’

That thought did not solve the entire mystery, but it solved enough of it that Lucien decided not to press yet.

Instead, he looked again at the Lunarians.

They were already looking at him... with measured respect.

That made Lucien more confused.

Just then, one of the Lunarians stepped forward and bowed.

"Lord of Lootwell," the man said. His voice was level and resonant, untouched by hurry. "We greet you in peace."

Lucien almost laughed at the title.

Another stepped forward, this one a woman with silver hair long enough to catch the light like liquid metal.

"We stand under Lady Eirene’s word," she said.

Lucien looked sideways at Eirene.

She did not look back.

Which only made him more certain that she had orchestrated all of this with far too much confidence.

Still, he did not worry.

Lunarians were not easy people, but they were known for one truth above all others.

They had been humanity’s first true allies.

Their intelligence was formidable. Their technology even more so. If they were here in sincerity, then their presence might solve more than one problem at once.

Lucien nodded at them.

"Greetings," he said. "Why brings you here?"

The silver-haired Lunarian answered.

"To observe," she said. "To advise, if permitted."

Lucien smiled faintly.

"That response is more in line with what I'd expect from a Lunarian than I had hoped for."

The initial speaker gave a slight nod.

"If it eases the atmosphere, we can offer a less truthful statement."

Lucien found himself chuckling at this.

Excellent.

He was already taking a liking to them.

Then, Eirene, who had maintained a noticeable silence until this point, spoke. Her voice was calm, like a stone dropped into still water, creating ripples for the sheer enjoyment of observation.

"One of them has consented to allow you to examine their body and replicate the Eclipse attribute."

Lucien's eyes immediately brightened.

The Lunarians took notice.

Several among them became even more motionless than they had been previously.

The woman with silver hair regarded Eirene, who met her gaze with a look of serene detachment. A silent exchange passed between them, ending with the silver-haired Lunarian saying nothing further.

Lucien managed to compose himself enough to respond, "That would be… wonderful."

He glanced at her once more.

Whatever connection she held with the moon, it was becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss it as ordinary.

Eirene finally returned his gaze, offering a gentle smile.

•••

The procedure was carried out that very day.

Lucien began observing the Lunarian's eclipse attribute.

Eirene remained by his side throughout the entire process.

The Lunarian subject under examination found herself glancing at Eirene more than once.

Each time, Eirene's stare was so coolly indifferent that the woman would immediately correct her posture, becoming even more dignified, as if a reminder that she represented more than just herself; she embodied a standard.

Lucien noted this observation and carefully stored it away.

’Fascinating.’

The process itself proceeded without a hitch.

He had gained experience now.

As it concluded, Lucien slowly leaned back, a smile spreading across his face.

Finished.

He would now be able to bestow it if the need arose. To Luke. To Cienna. To others whose paths or future assignments might find benefit in it.

The Lunarian woman released a soft breath as he moved away.

Lucien offered her a courteous nod.

"You handled that admirably."

She responded in the same formal tone, "Your methodology was less invasive than anticipated."

Lucien turned to Eirene.

"She certainly knows how to offer praise."

Eirene’s lips curved in a barely perceptible smile.

"That was high praise coming from her."

The Lunarian did not dispute this.

•••

Following the attribute transfer, Lucien engaged them in a more substantial discussion.

Given the Lunarians' presence, he had no intention of merely obtaining attributes and then departing. He wanted to seize the larger opportunity they represented. Thus, he inquired about their perceptions of Lootwell.

"What aspects would you seek to enhance," he asked, "if this city were under your purview?"

That single question altered the entire dynamic.

The reserved composure of the Lunarians didn't disappear, but it gained a sharp focus. Several individuals moved closer. One projected faint lines of light into the air. Another requested a layout map of the territory. A third asked for diagrams of their energy circulation routes, schematics for their defensive barriers, details on communication network placements, and current estimations of undetected zones.

Within minutes, the conversation had escalated into strategic analysis of considerable depth.

Lucien was thoroughly pleased.

He listened with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes.

A Lunarian man traced a sequence of geometric patterns across the projected image of Lootwell. He spoke in a tone as casual as suggesting a slight adjustment to the placement of a decorative item.

"Should your adversaries ever achieve a level of competence, they will not target your obvious strengths. Instead, they will probe your underlying assumptions. Consequently, your visible fortifications must not represent your primary defenses."

Lucien grinned widely.

"Precisely."

Another Lunarian added, "A city should not merely withstand an assault. It ought to instill in attackers a realization that their understanding of urban defense is fundamentally limited."

Lucien nearly applauded the statement.

Eirene, observing from the side, appeared content.

Then, the Lunarians offered a statement that surprised him even more.

One of the elder women raised her gaze and declared, "Lootwell is now positioned adjacent to the moon."

Lucien blinked once, processing the information.

The silver-haired Lunarian provided clarification. "Via the Stillness Palace channel. The term 'neighbor' is not employed metaphorically here; it is a technical designation."

That single sentence almost made him burst into laughter.

The elder continued, "As such, we now consider our interests to be intrinsically linked."

Lucien studied their expressions intently.

"And what does that imply?"

The response came with their characteristic, unshakeable Lunarian calm.

"We wish to become integrated into Lootwell."

This time, Lucien was truly taken aback.

Not due to any aversion to the proposal, but because he fully grasped the profound significance of such a development.

An affiliation with the Lunarians was not a mere symbolic gesture. It represented a fusion of advanced intelligence, ancient alliances, cutting-edge technology, and an undeniable, albeit quiet, legitimacy. If they were to join, even in a limited capacity, the intricate future of Lootwell would be dramatically reshaped.

He turned to Eirene.

She was smiling with genuine warmth now.

Then, he looked back at the assembled Lunarians and stated carefully, "This is a matter that can be discussed."

A collective, soft exhale seemed to ripple through the Lunarians behind the speakers.

It wasn't quite a sigh of relief.

But it was remarkably close.

Which, Lucien deduced, meant that whatever arrangements Eirene had facilitated, they had arrived with the hope of acceptance, not the assumption of it.

This realization genuinely warmed his perception of the entire encounter.

•••

The session of collaborative ideation did not conclude there.

Lucien steered the conversation toward the instantaneous teleportation array, his persistent aspiration to miniaturize it into a portable form.

An emergency talisman was the goal – a device that, upon activation, would smoothly and instantaneously draw the user back to the primary array located in Lootwell.

The obstacle to this had not been a lack of understanding on Lucien’s part, but rather insufficient time for the necessary experimentation.

The arrival of the Lunarians swiftly altered this situation.

They listened attentively, contemplated the problem, and then offered their insights.

One of them likened the required principle to an eclipse.

"The sun and moon are distinct entities," he stated, "but when correctly aligned, distance ceases to be an obstruction and transforms into a mere condition."

Lucien's focus intensified.

The Lunarian elaborated, "Consider your main array as the fixed celestial body. The talisman then becomes the transient shadow point. It is not designed to contain the entirety of the array; its sole purpose is to initiate a lawful convergence toward the larger reference."

Another added, "Consequently, the talisman does not function as a portal. Instead, it serves as a permit for reception."

This was the crucial missing piece of the puzzle.

Lucien's eyes widened in understanding.

Their approach was more elegant and far more feasible.

The talisman wouldn't need to replicate the entire array's structure. It merely required sufficient lawful recognition, spatial anchoring, and complementary authorization to request repatriation.

Suddenly, the entire concept became attainable.

Lucien felt an overwhelming sense of relief, almost to the point of laughter.

With the Lunarians collaborating on the architectural design, the instant-return talisman transitioned from a nebulous theoretical possibility into a concrete, constructible blueprint.

He worked through the details on the spot, refining several logical sequences before finally embedding the solution into his Craft Feature.

Completed.

He let out a slow breath and remarked, "That alone justified this meeting."

A Lunarian responded, "We had hoped to be at least that helpful."

•••

Following the finalization of the security upgrade strategy, the implementation commenced without delay.

The Lunarians themselves expressed a desire to oversee the process personally.

Their actions were devoid of wasted effort, and their words were precise.

They simply began their work.