100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 518 - Tokens

The barrier of Lootwell had perpetually radiated outwards from the Stillness Palace.

An ancient ward system, founded on stillness, was anchored there, and this had been the primary factor in Lootwell remaining concealed from ordinary sight, veiled from easy access, and difficult to properly discern unless one already fell within its legal boundaries.

It was a formidable defense.

The Lunarians enhanced it.

They didn't discard the existing barrier. Instead, they modified it to suit Lootwell's current state, not its past. The outcome transcended a mere stillness ward covering a hidden domain.

It evolved into a sophisticated, multi-layered recognition sphere.

The barrier now reacted with astonishing accuracy to jade seals.

That alteration was significant.

Because once the Lunarians completed the rewrite of the acceptance logic, the instant-return talismans were no longer plagued by their final instability. Previously, the uncertainty wasn't about whether a return could be initiated; it was about whether Lootwell itself would accept the returning user without issue under all circumstances.

Now, it would.

If an individual possessed a valid jade seal, the barrier identified them as an authorized user. The moment the emergency talisman activated, the seal, the barrier, and the main teleportation array established a binding agreement.

The traveler wasn't forcing entry.

They were being welcomed home.

...

Lucien stood with Eirene and three Lunarians within an array-control chamber as the latest barrier modifications took effect. He observed the final pulse of pale light emanating from the Stillness Palace before it dissolved into the broader expanse of Lootwell.

Then, he posed the inevitable question.

"How robust is it now?"

The silver-haired Lunarian, who had been a principal architect on the moon side, folded her hands within her sleeves.

"It now functions much like the moon’s own restriction fields."

Lucien’s gaze intensified.

That was no minor assertion.

The Lunarian elaborated, "Entry is no longer simply repelled by force. It is now denied due to lawful unsuitability."

A slow smile spread across Lucien’s face.

'Excellent.'

This was precisely his objective.

A barrier that didn't merely resist but actively judged.

One of the elder Lunarians added, "A Primordial Incarnation could still attempt to breach it if sufficiently determined."

Lucien remained impassive.

The elder continued, "However, they would be challenging a layered territorial restriction, engineered to explicitly reject easy assimilation by hostile transcendental entities."

Another Lunarian articulated it more plainly.

"In practical terms, even they will hesitate."

Lucien deemed that sufficient.

Gazing outward through the chamber’s clear viewing aperture towards the distant outline of the territory, a sense of quiet contentment washed over him.

Lootwell had just become considerably more challenging to infiltrate than any external party could possibly anticipate.

•••

The security enhancements didn't conclude there.

As soon as the jade-seal system achieved stability, another issue naturally presented itself.

Recognizing citizens was now feasible.

However, outsiders still required a legal framework.

This necessity gave rise to the subsequent project.

Tokens.

Lucien was present in a crafting chamber, accompanied by Elk, Eirene, several Lunarians, and the lead engineers from the Crafting Division, as the initial conceptual designs materialized in soft green and silver light above the central table.

"The core principle is straightforward," Lucien stated. "If outsiders intend to enter Lootwell, their entry must be by explicit permission."

The projected schematics shifted in response.

He continued, "This permission must be tangible, lawful, capable of revocation, and intrinsically linked to the Origin Core."

The Lunarians readily endorsed this concept.

An outsider seeking entry into Lootwell would subsequently require a Lootwell token.

Unlike the jade seals, these tokens would not signify inherent belonging.

They would represent a permitted presence.

And a permitted presence, unlike citizenship, could be rescinded without delay.

The rules were elegantly designed.

Should a token be compromised, the outsider would forfeit their entry privileges. If it was damaged while outside the territory, it would cease to function.

If the token failed while its holder remained within Lootwell, the barrier would repel them, and the token-linked emergency expulsion array would instantly transport them beyond the grand perimeter.

Should they inadvertently stray into a restricted zone without proper authorization or a valid guide, the token would shatter, removing them from the territory.

If the transgression was sufficiently grave, the Origin Core fragment would record the incident, potentially leading to the token-bearer being permanently blacklisted.

Lucien found this prospect highly agreeable.

The administrators found it even more so.

When the initial integration plan reached the Origin Core Shrine, Elias personally reviewed it and remarked, with a level of satisfaction rarely expressed, "This will prevent a considerable amount of foolishness."

That observation alone affirmed the system's value and justified its implementation.

And, as Elk delightedly pointed out while testing break-sequences on the first unstable prototypes, "They will absolutely try something stupid."

She held up a half-finished test token between two fingers.

"This one breaks if the bearer enters a restricted archive corridor."

Another crafter beside her added, "This one if the bearer tries to probe the seal-array."

A Lunarian man said, "This one if the bearer attempts to disguise their signature under layered illusion."

Lucien looked at the table.

There were too many "this one" examples already.

He felt a great deal of hope for the future.

Yes.

Outsiders would definitely try something stupid.

Good.

The system would educate them.

•••

The Lunarians took personal control of the next phase.

They began laying the new restriction-logic over the most important zones in Lootwell.

Lilith joined them.

The more time she spent among them, the more obviously she wanted to devour their knowledge whole and hammer it into something useful before anyone could politely stop her.

She learned fast.

Almost too fast.

Lucien saw her three days into the work standing beside Eirene and two elder Lunarians while they layered access logic over the Sovereign Circle. Pale geometric lines moved through the air like moonlight taught to think. Lilith’s hands followed them with precision, anchoring the restrictions into matter itself.

The sight was beautiful.

Also mildly frightening.

The small worlds hidden behind deeper permissions. The Sovereign Circle. The inner archives. The most important section and strategic halls inside Lootwell. Theconcealed routes to special facilities. The internal control nodes of the Spire.

All of them gained lawful restrictions.

Only jade-seal holders could move where they were not supposed to.

Anyone else would simply find reality losing cooperation.

Lootwell would open itself to the world.

That did not mean the world would be allowed to see everything.

Lucien made that philosophy very clear when one of the younger crafters asked whether the restrictions might make the territory seem "too unfriendly" to outsiders.

Lucien looked at him and said, "If we invite someone into our home, that is hospitality. If we let them walk into our vault while pretending that politeness prevents us from stopping them, that is stupidity."

The crafter bowed at once.

The Lunarians, for their part, seemed quietly pleased with that answer.

•••

Days passed.

Then more.

Two weeks remained before the planned opening.

And little by little, the internal rhythm of Lootwell settled deeper into itself.

Kael and the others still continued the great sale of the communication devices across Sareth.

But Lucien asked them to return before the grand opening.

...

Soon, Lucien thought of another practical concern.

Raw materials.

Even a civilization this efficient could not cheat finite matter forever.

They had techniques. They had crafters. They had systems.

But materials were consumed.

And if Lootwell intended to remain independent while growing stronger, then it needed not only supply, but supply lines.

So Lucien spoke with Eirene.

"Do our old allies in Sareth still answer you?" Lucien asked.

Eirene glanced at him once.

"You mean Lunareth Sect and Dawnbinder."

"Yes."

Eirene’s expression remained calm.

"They do."

That pleased Lucien immediately.

Even with the world having forgotten him, Eirene had retained those connections.

Lucien folded his arms and said, "Let’s reach out to them."

Her attention sharpened.

"We lack for endless matter. And endless matter does not exist. If they are willing, I want future partnership in strategic materials, specialty ores, and long-supply agreements. Lootwell will pay well. And when the time comes, Lootwell will stand behind its suppliers."

Eirene nodded once.

"I’ll handle it."

Lilith, who had clearly been listening while pretending not to, glanced at Eirene and then back at the Lunarians.

She had become quietly adamant in learning from them.

When Eirene asked the Lunarians to teach her more formally, they agreed without hesitation.

That interested Lucien.

Lilith knew well enough by now that Eirene’s standing among them was not ordinary. She had seen Eirene take their form before. She had watched them defer to her judgment too often for coincidence to remain convincing.

But Lilith did not press.

She learned.

That was good enough for now.

And Lucien, watching her alongside them, felt the quiet satisfaction of seeing another powerful piece of Lootwell moving into place without force.

•••

Elsewhere, the Crafting Division continued mass-producing the Lootwell tokens for outsiders.

No one there was sentimental about the coming public wave.

They knew very well what would happen.