100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 568 - Win-Win

Late that night, Astraea, Condoriano, and Saber made their return to Lootwell.

Even before they stepped into the room, Lucien sensed their mission had been a success. The sound that greeted them was unmistakable: laughter.

It wasn't just any laughter; it was the hearty, somewhat unhinged guffaws of ancient beings who had just pulled off something devious, reveled in it, and were perfectly ready to defend their actions as a strategic masterstroke.

Astraea entered with her usual elegance, her face alight with triumph.

Condoriano trailed beside her, unable to suppress his amused chuckles.

Saber brought up the rear, arms folded, a peculiar mix of satisfaction and exasperation etched on his features.

In each of their hands, they held a fragment of an Origin Core.

Lucien's gaze shifted from the three fragments to the trio of ancient beasts.

"You succeeded," he stated.

Astraea offered a radiant smile.

"Beautifully," Condoriano added, placing his fragment on the table with a flourish.

"Flawlessly," he declared.

Saber let out a snort, setting his fragment down. "That's a lie."

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

Condoriano appeared affronted. "The outcome was flawless!"

"And that is distinct from the process," Saber retorted.

Astraea let out a soft laugh.

Lucien leaned back, contemplating. "What transpired?"

The three exchanged glances.

Then, their smiles widened in unison.

• • •

The Red Dragon's treasure hoard was concealed with far greater cunning than they had anticipated.

Its entrance was ingeniously tucked away within a false geological fissure. From the exterior, it presented itself not as a gateway, but as an unremarkable expanse of fractured obsidian, partially consumed by creeping roots and strewn ash.

The Red Dragon had engineered this sanctuary with the meticulousness of profound paranoia.

Every approach to the entrance was guarded by intricate conditions.

Even the dust itself held inscriptions of warning, designed to activate if disturbed by anything deviating from the Red Dragon's precise, preferred method of movement.

Condoriano studied the entrance for a prolonged moment, a smile slowly forming.

"He truly trusts no one," he murmured.

Astraea tilted her head, sensing the currents in the air. "No. He places too much faith in himself and not nearly enough in anyone else."

Saber examined the sealed aperture. "Can we breach it?"

Astraea met his gaze. "We are attempting to approach without drawing attention."

Saber's eyes glinted with mischief. "I didn't specify loudly."

He then advanced.

His Law of Predation stirred, a palpable force.

The outermost protective array quivered.

Then, it simply ceased to exist.

The entrance seal trembled as if savaged by a force that perceived ancient enchantments as mere delicacies.

Astraea moved next, her actions deliberate.

Her aura extended into the atmosphere, subtle yet exact. The faintest air movements within the hidden entrance responded to her presence. Dust particles stirred. Heat patterns shifted. Pressures subtly altered around unseen mechanisms.

The air itself revealed the pathways where passage was unimpeded and the zones where lethal dangers lay coiled.

"There," she announced, pointing.

"And there. Not there, however. Definitely not there."

Condoriano followed the path she indicated, his interest piqued.

His Law of Horizon activated.

One instant, they stood before the entrance.

The next, they had slipped through the safe intervals, navigating the trap-laden passage.

They proceeded deeper into the dragon's lair, their feet barely disturbing the ground, bypassing more than half the hazardous mechanisms.

Behind them, the external arrays remained dormant.

Astraea permitted herself a small smile. "So far, so good."

Saber cast a look at Condoriano. "Try not to touch anything."

Condoriano placed a hand over his heart, feigning injury. "You wound me."

They pressed onward.

• • •

The interior of the treasure cove proved to be even more perilous. Or perhaps, more enticing.

The chamber opened into a vast, subterranean cavern. It was meticulously arranged with tiered platforms laden with treasures, sealed pedestals, and various other compartments.

Spirit crystals were, naturally, abundant. Mountains of them.

However, the true riches were housed within the heavily protected, sealed sections.

Condoriano halted his movement, his eyes widening in astonishment.

Then, with slow reverence, he whispered, "Oh."

Astraea surveyed the surroundings, her gaze filled with recognition rather than simple avarice.

Saber's attention was immediately drawn to the far end of the cavern.

There, three Origin Core fragments rested upon individual pedestals, each encased in layers of formidable restrictions.

Saber grinned. "I shall handle those."

"Oops."

Astraea shut her eyes.

Saber tilted his head slowly.

The entire cavern rumbled.

Far off, spanning immense distances and concealed spaces, a furious roar shattered the sky.

The Red Dragon had sensed him.

With a curse under his breath, Saber turned back towards the pedestals.

Astraea’s power surged outwards.

"The time for subtlety is over."

The Tempest Crown materialized above her head.

A violent storm engulfed the cavern.

Treasures on their platforms quaked. Dust was obliterated. Illusory carvings were ripped away. Secret passages groaned. Protective veils tore apart under the immense force.

Astraea raised a single hand.

Anything that could be safely taken ascended into the air.

Condoriano smirked, and with astonishing swiftness, began securing the most valuable artifacts.

Saber continued to dismantle the seals.

The cavern bellowed once more.

The Red Dragon had arrived.

• • •

The Red Dragon crashed through his own secret passage with the ferocity of a beast whose nest had been disturbed.

A torrent of crimson fire erupted first.

It surged down the corridor like divine retribution.

Then, the massive form of the Red Dragon followed close behind.

His gaze fell upon Astraea first.

The tempest swirling around her made her instantly recognizable.

His eyes widened. Then, pure fury contorted into a grim recognition.

"Song Bird!"

Astraea beamed, a bright smile gracing her lips.

"Red Lizard."

The Red Dragon’s visage distorted in rage.

Crucially, the Red Dragon did not immediately strike at Astraea.

This hesitation was the first indication of his cunning.

His eyes darted towards the pedestals.

Towards the scattered fragments of the Origin Core.

Towards Saber.

He bypassed the diversion and charged directly towards his true objective.

Astraea’s expression grew sharp.

Before the Red Dragon could traverse the width of the cavern, Condoriano made his move.

His Law of Horizon warped reality.

Distances twisted unnaturally.

For a single, impossible instant, the Red Dragon appeared to be almost upon the pedestals.

Then, he was no longer there.

Astraea now stood precisely where the Red Dragon had been moments before.

The Red Dragon found himself at Astraea’s former location, facing only empty space.

He paused for a fraction of a second.

Then, he slowly began to turn.

His furious eyes locked onto Condoriano.

His expression turned utterly terrifying.

Astraea let out a peal of laughter.

The Red Dragon exploded with rage.

His fiery breath filled the cavern.

The intense heat should have extinguished the raging storm.

Instead, Astraea raised her hand again.

The Tempest Crown blazed with power.

Her winds consumed the flames.

The storm absorbed the heat, twisted it, dispersed it, fed on it, and consequently, grew even more immense.

The Red Dragon’s eyes narrowed.

Astraea’s laughter echoed through the cavern.

"You’ve forgotten how this plays out."

He offered no reply.

His strategy shifted instantaneously.

His claws slashed downwards, not towards Astraea, but towards the ground beneath her, intending to destabilize the carefully charted safe zones she had created.

Condoriano clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The horizon warped once more.

The claw strike missed its intended target.

No.

It was worse than a miss.

The attack curved through the fabric of space and struck the Red Dragon’s own shoulder.

His scales sparked from the impact.

The Red Dragon stared in disbelief.

Condoriano grinned.

"Your aim is remarkably poor."

The Red Dragon roared and spun around, focusing his fury entirely on Condoriano.

Condoriano vanished across a non-existent horizon, reappearing behind the dragon. He struck once, then disappeared again, evading the crushing blow of the dragon’s tail.

From above, Astraea unleashed spears of compressed storm energy.

The Red Dragon twisted his body.

Some of Astraea’s wind-blades were deflected.

Others found their way between his formidable scales.

He hissed in pain.

Meanwhile, Saber continued his increasingly frustrated task of devouring the remaining seals.

He yearned for combat.

Instead, he was stuck meticulously consuming intricate locks.

The Red Dragon noticed Saber’s predicament as well.

He lunged towards Saber once more.

Astraea intercepted with a swirling cyclone wall.

Condoriano countered the dragon’s charge with spatial misdirection.

The Red Dragon’s impetuous assault veered sideways, crashing forcefully into one of his own sealed treasure pillars.

The pillar groaned under the impact, showing cracks.

Astraea’s storm intensified with every fiery breath the Red Dragon exhaled; each burst of flame only served as fuel for her tempest.

Condoriano transformed the battlefield into a chaotic, disorienting mess.

The Red Dragon lunged forward, striking empty air where his opponent had been.

He turned, only to find Condoriano already laughing from a different vantage point.

He unleashed a powerful tail sweep, but spatial manipulation caused it to land a crucial half-breath too late.

He snapped his jaws, but the intended target became a mere reflection, a spatial illusion that wasn't truly there.

When he finally managed to align a direct strike, Condoriano shifted the point of impact.

The Red Dragon’s own fiery blast grazed his wing.

Astraea laughed even harder.

"Still cunning. Still enraged. Still missing the mark."

The Red Dragon seemed to contemplate death as a preferable alternative to enduring further mockery.

For the first time in an incredibly long period, the Red Dragon experienced true hardship at the hands of his equals.

This was not due to any lack of power on his part.

He was undeniably powerful.

Had Astraea acted alone, he might have successfully trapped her within the cavern's intricate, layered defenses.

If Condoriano had faced him solo, the Red Dragon could have incinerated enough surrounding space to neutralize his reality-bending spatial tricks.

If Saber had engaged him one-on-one, the confrontation would have devolved into a savage duel of devouring power against draconic inferno.

But together?

Their combined presence was outrageously unfair.

Worse still, they were clearly relishing the situation.

Only Saber appeared utterly miserable. "I truly despise this assignment," he grumbled.

At that very moment, the final seal fractured.

The three fragments of the Origin Core were finally liberated.

Saber moved to claim them.

It was at this moment that the Red Dragon demonstrated the reason for his survival through the Millennia War.

...

Scales were shed.

With a sharp contraction of muscle and law, the dragon tore scales from its own body before breathing fire upon them.

The scales ignited.

The temperature within the cavern drastically increased.

The air became obscured by the intense heat.

Astraea’s storm managed to absorb a significant portion, yet not all of it.

The scales began to rise.

Then, they transformed.

Each scale turned into a miniature dragon, composed of flame and scale, no larger than a horse, but swift, ferocious, and directly controlled by the Red Dragon’s will.

Dozens of these miniature dragons filled the cavern.

They were like tiny dragons.

They swiftly descended towards the fragments.

Saber let out a curse and lunged forward.

It was too late.

Three scale-dragons swiftly seized the Origin Core fragments and retreated back towards their master.

The Red Dragon’s claws closed around them.

A savage triumph gleamed in his eyes.

"Mine."

For a single breath, silence descended.

Then, Condoriano offered a smile.

This should have served as a warning.

Condoriano produced three Instant-Return Talismans.

Astraea observed this action and began to laugh even before he made his move.

The Red Dragon’s eyes narrowed.

Condoriano activated all three talismans simultaneously.

Next, his Law of Horizon was put into motion.

The talismans appeared precisely where the fragments were located.

By design, these talismans were only capable of returning those who possessed Lootwell tokens.

However, Condoriano’s Law of Horizon was never restricted by mere distance.

For a fleeting moment, he manipulated the connection between the target, the holder, and the point of return. He influenced the talismans to recognize the fragments as the "items being retrieved" rather than the token holders themselves.

And with that accomplishment...

The three Origin Core fragments vanished from the Red Dragon’s grasp.

At that exact same moment, far away in Lootwell, within the instant-teleportation chamber, three fragments materialized.

...

The Red Dragon gazed at his now empty claws.

For one perfectly still moment, comprehension eluded him.

Then, he understood.

His roar resonated through the treasure cove with such intensity that several ancient relics sustained damage.

Condoriano spread his arms wide.

"You truly shouldn't cling to things so possessively. It often invites a reversal."

Astraea’s laughter was so profound that her storm seemed to tremble.

Saber looked at Condoriano.

Then, he slowly remarked, "That was surprisingly well done."

Condoriano placed a hand over his heart.

"Praise from you. This mission has indeed become historic."

The Red Dragon made an attempt to end their lives.

With utmost sincerity.

...

What transpired afterward was no longer mere thievery.

It was an outright brawl.

The Red Dragon had lost the fragments.

The trio had successfully achieved their objective.

There was no longer any necessity for subtlety.

The cavern transformed into a chaotic arena of storms, flames, shifting horizons, predatory assaults, and aged insults.

Saber finally entered the fray with full commitment.

And his participation was far from gentle.

The Red Dragon retaliated with formidable ferocity.

His strength was by no means diminished.

Only his circumstances were dire.

Every action he took demonstrated the cunning of a survivor who had maintained his existence for so long by not being foolish.

However, the three ancient beings had prepared themselves accordingly.

And, unfortunately for the dragon, they were in a particularly foul mood.

Astraea referred to him as "Ash-Breath."

Condoriano called him "Vault Lizard."

Saber, who typically wasn't one for flowery language, eventually settled on "Treasure Worm."

This particular insult seemed to wound the dragon the most.

The Red Dragon became so enraged that his flames intensified, turning an almost white hue.

•••

Eventually, the intensity of the battle began to wane.

This was not due to the Red Dragon ceasing his desire to kill them.

Rather, it was because the trio had already obtained what they had come for.

Furthermore, the Red Dragon now presented a rather pitiful appearance.

His scales were noticeably dented.

The edges of his wings were torn.

One of his horns displayed a significant crack.

The Red Dragon fixed them with a glare, his hatred so pure that it almost commanded respect.

Astraea offered a smile.

"What a wonderfully invigorating thrashing."

The Red Dragon’s teeth ground together audibly.

Condoriano executed a graceful bow.

"As we are the ones who pilfered from you, we shall refrain from ending your life."

The Red Dragon stared at him, incredulous.

That statement seemed to inflict a deeper wound than the physical battle.

Saber gave a single, curt nod.

"Behave yourself henceforth."

The Red Dragon’s eye twitched involuntarily.

Astraea produced an Instant-Return Talisman.

Condoriano mirrored her action.

Saber followed suit.

The Red Dragon lunged one final time.

Too late.

The light of return enveloped the three ancient beasts.

They vanished from the treasure cove, their laughter echoing behind them.

The Red Dragon’s claws closed upon empty air.

For a few moments, he remained motionless.

Then, he surveyed his surroundings.

Following this, the Red Dragon let out a wail.

It was the sound of a creature who had been robbed, ridiculed, beaten, spared, and then instructed to behave within its own domain.

His sheer indignation caused the cavern to tremble.

For a brief, dark, and humiliating instant, the Red Dragon contemplated defecting to the Black Mass monsters out of sheer spite.

However, his pride forcefully rejected the notion.

Miasma?

Filth?

Rot?

Absolutely not.

He would not stoop to such a level.

He was consumed by fury, not revulsion.

Therefore, he resorted to the only action his pride permitted.

He wailed even louder.

•••

By the time Astraea, Condoriano, and Saber concluded their retelling of the event, Lucien was uncertain whether to burst into laughter or offer an apology to the entire universe.