100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 680 - Discussion

Arctyx had reached the same conclusion Lucien had.

The Keeper War had already revealed that higher authorities could interfere with those who carried the same Law.

Not every Keeper had inherited the Laws of the hostile Primordial Incarnations.

Many had been deliberately engineered with Laws common among the Thousand Races.

At that time, that had made the old rankings seem less important.

Many Keepers wielded Laws the Evershade Exchange had labeled inferior.

Others carried ordinary authorities that appeared in countless factions.

It had looked inconsistent.

Now Arctyx suspected the inconsistency itself had been deliberate.

The Keepers had shown the world one method of control while concealing another.

During the Keeper War, that control had been dangerous, but not always fatal.

The Keepers were only at the Eternal level.

Even when they suppressed a matching Law, the affected experts could still rely on their bodies, artifacts, formations, companions, and other prepared methods to survive.

The Echo Crucible had also allowed the Thousand Races to experience that pressure beforehand and develop ways to endure it.

But the Primordial Incarnations were different. They stood at the Extinction Grade.

Against an existence at that level, losing control of one’s Law was nearly the same as dying.

The Echo Crucible had already proven it.

Whenever the echo of a hostile Primordial Incarnation suppressed a fighter’s Law, no one had truly survived the encounter.

The strongest at Celestial Realm could endure for a minute.

Eternals could last longer through sheer foundation and preparation.

But none could continue fighting normally.

And outside the Echo Crucible, there would be no harmless reset after death.

...

Arctyx looked at the records on Lucien’s desk.

"If the hostile Primordial Incarnations awaken fully, a large portion of the Thousand Races’ upper forces may become unreliable before the battle even begins."

Lucien closed the final document.

The words were unpleasant because they were difficult to dispute.

Lucien leaned back.

It was fortunate that the Obsidian Collegium stood with him.

He had never taken the time to record which Laws were most common across the five continents.

There had been no reason.

Lootwell judged people by what they did with their strength, not by where their Laws appeared on an old ranking.

The Collegium thought differently.

It gathered records, compared inheritances, observed trends, and preserved theories everyone else dismissed as useless until disaster made them valuable.

Lucien rubbed his forehead.

"They almost got us."

Arctyx did not disagree.

The Evershade Exchange had hidden the trap inside ambition itself.

•••

Lucien’s thoughts moved quickly.

They could not simply order everyone to abandon their Laws.

A Law integrated into the soul was not equipment that could be discarded safely.

Publicly revealing the full danger also carried risks.

Panic would spread.

Factions might begin imprisoning their own experts.

People could turn against anyone carrying a listed Law.

Old enemies might use the accusation as an excuse to settle grudges.

Yet keeping everything secret would leave countless people defenseless.

They needed confirmation.

Most importantly, they needed countermeasures.

Lucien looked at Arctyx.

"Send me every record."

Arctyx nodded.

"Already prepared."

A storage crystal slid across the desk.

Lucien almost smiled despite the situation.

Arctyx had not come merely to deliver bad news.

He had brought the work needed to begin solving it.

Threats had been arriving from every direction.

Still, there was no value in panicking.

If enough time remained, Lucien would prepare properly.

If it did not, he would improvise.

He had survived worse plans with less preparation.

•••

Lucien and Arctyx continued discussing the issue for the rest of the day.

Their conversation produced several possible directions.

Resistance training might help people retain control when a higher authority pressed against their Law.

Temporary seals could weaken the connection during battle.

Certain artifacts might preserve a practitioner’s ownership over the Law long enough to resist outside control.

None of the ideas were ready.

Too many assumptions remained untested.

This was not a problem two people should solve alone.

Lucien needed experts in history, Laws, souls, inheritance structures, formations, and Primordial records.

He needed people willing to contradict him before a bad idea became policy.

He exhaled slowly.

Arctyx noticed.

"The Collegium will help you think of a solution."

Lucien looked at him.

Arctyx’s expression remained calm.

The assurance eased some of the pressure on Lucien’s shoulders.

"Then we gather everyone who matters."

He set the discussion for three days later.

That gave the Collegium time to organize its records and Lootwell time to prepare secure communication routes.

Lucien also decided to invite two people personally.

The Grandmaster of the Obsidian Collegium.

And the Abbess of the Silent Monastery of the Ninth Bell.

Both possessed knowledge that could not be replaced by reports.

•••

Lucien returned to the Obsidian Collegium with Arctyx.

The Grandmaster received them in a quiet chamber lined with black shelves.

He looked at Lucien with the expression of someone who already knew why he had come.

The Grandmaster spoke before Lucien could explain his purpose.

"The Collegium will support the investigation."

Lucien smiled.

"The discussion will be held in three days."

The Grandmaster nodded without hesitation.

After that, the rest of the conversation proceeded smoothly.

He agreed to attend the meeting and bring the scholars responsible for Law histories, inheritance divergence, and records of the Millennia War.

He never asked whether Lucien intended to lead the response.

To him, that had already been decided.

Once again, Lucien found that speaking with the Grandmaster was remarkably pleasant.

•••

Lucien traveled to the South next.

He contacted Clara and asked her to reach the Abbess.

The answer came almost immediately.

The Silent Monastery prepared a private audience before Lucien even arrived.

That speed revealed how highly the monastery regarded him.

Lucien met the Abbess inside a hall where the sound of the outside world seemed unable to enter.

He did not waste time with ceremony.

He explained the Evershade rankings. The hostile Primordial Laws. The countless people who might be vulnerable.

The Abbess remained composed until Lucien mentioned the surviving records of the Millennia War.

Then her expression changed.

The Silent Monastery had preserved memories of that era more faithfully than most factions.

She understood the implication at once.

"If the same authority returns," she said, "those who carry it may become open doors."

"That is what we fear."

Lucien invited her to the discussion.

The Abbess agreed. She would bring records concerning the hostile Primordial Incarnations.

That was enough.

Lucien thanked her and left the hall.

•••

He had almost reached the monastery’s outer grounds when several familiar figures caught his attention.

Alloykins.

They knelt among the worshippers beneath the long shadow of the Ninth Bell.

Lucien recognized two of them.

They had joined the Stillness Expedition.

One was the monk who had argued with him during the early part of the journey.

Back then, the Alloykin had been fiery, proud, and quick to take offense.

Time had changed him.

He knelt with his head lowered.

The anger that once surrounded him had faded.

In its place was something much heavier.

Everyone knew that a large part of the Alloykin race had sided with the Void-Walkers.

These monks had not joined them.

They had not accepted enslavement.

Yet guilt did not always respect innocence.

Lucien extended his Divine Sense quietly.

The emotional color surrounding the short-tempered monk had changed completely.

Before, it had been uneven and ugly. Now it carried guilt, restraint, and a sincere desire for atonement.

He had not become gentle.

He had simply learned where his anger should be directed.

Lucien sighed.

The monk had not been rotten by nature. Only proud.

Then Lucien noticed something else.

The Alloykins’ bodies had lost their former luster.

Their metal forms looked dull beneath the monastery’s light.

Fine fractures crossed their arms and shoulders. Some areas no longer joined cleanly when they moved.

Lucien’s expression changed.

Alloykins were living metal beings. If the metal body degraded far enough, even their souls could lose a stable foundation.

Lucien could not ignore that.

He had already seen what the Alloykin race could become in war.

Their natural durability, adaptability, and ability to reshape their bodies according to the metals they integrated made them uniquely valuable.

More importantly, the monks did not deserve to slowly fall apart while carrying guilt that was not theirs.

Then another thought surfaced.

Living Alloy Essence.

He had always wondered what would happen if an Alloykin integrated with that metal.

Would it merely repair the body?

Would the Living Alloy Essence become part of the race’s natural structure?

Could it allow an Alloykin to heal, adapt, and evolve like a true living material?

Lucien’s eyes brightened.

This was not only treatment.

It could become proof of a theory he had been considering for some time.

Lucien approached them.