100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 681 - Living Alloy

The two Alloykin monks finally noticed Lucien approaching.

They rose at once and bowed.

"Greetings, Lord of Lootwell."

Lucien waved away the formality.

"There is no need for that. We have met before."

The monks exchanged uncertain glances.

Neither appeared to recognize him.

Lucien smiled.

Origin Rewrite moved through his body.

His frame shifted.

Fur spread across his skin. His features lengthened, his ears rose, and within moments, the young lord standing before them had become the wolf beastman who had traveled with them during the Stillness Expedition.

Both monks stared.

"The wolf from the expedition?"

"You were Lord Lucien?"

Their surprise was understandable.

The wolf beastman they remembered had already been unusual, but neither had imagined that he was the ruler of Lootwell.

More troubling was the difference in strength.

The existence standing before them now had advanced so far in so little time that comparing him to the person they had met during the expedition felt almost unreasonable.

Lucien returned to his human appearance.

"That explains the familiarity, then."

The younger monk, once the more short-tempered of the two, looked mildly embarrassed.

Lucien spared him further discomfort and turned his attention toward their bodies.

"What happened to your metal bodies?"

Both monks became quiet.

They had once integrated bronze.

Lucien remembered its warm luster and dense structure clearly.

But that bronze had already been destroyed.

What remained was their original metal body, exposed and badly damaged.

Its surface had grown dull.

Fine fractures ran through their shoulders, arms, and torsos.

From the memories of the Eternal Alloykin Lucien had killed, he understood more about their race than most outsiders.

Alloykins could integrate different metals and reshape their bodies according to their properties.

Copper improved conductivity.

Bronze emphasized durability.

Steel provided balance.

Silver favored precision.

Gold strengthened resonance.

The metal an Alloykin integrated did not merely cover the body. It became part of its living structure.

Destroying the bronze had already harmed their foundations. Continuing to damage the original metal beneath it was no different from another race deliberately breaking its own flesh and bones.

Lucien looked at the two monks.

"Why have you allowed your bodies to become like this?"

Their gazes lowered.

The younger monk answered first.

"Our race is guilty."

Lucien remained silent.

"We did not follow the Void-Walkers," the monk continued. "But the crime was committed by Alloykins. Someone must bear the consequence."

The second monk nodded.

"Lord Lucien knows what happened to the Lithrens. They were enslaved by members of our race."

The Lithrens were now citizens of Lootwell.

The younger monk looked down at the fractures running across his hands.

"If no one carries the burden, the consequences will remain with the race. Future generations may inherit hatred created by their ancestors."

The older monk spoke more quietly.

"We hoped to accept part of that burden ourselves."

Lucien studied them.

Since establishing the Cycle Merit Web, he had gained a deeper understanding of karma.

Karma was not a simple punishment imposed on anyone who shared blood, race, or origin with a criminal.

An innocent child did not become guilty merely because an ancestor had committed atrocities.

But consequences could spread.

Hatred endured.

Victims remembered.

Institutions preserved old cruelty.

Opportunities closed.

A race could inherit the circumstances created by its predecessors even when its new members had done nothing wrong.

That was not inherited guilt.

It was inherited consequence.

The two monks had recognized that distinction only partially.

They were attempting to draw the race’s accumulated hostility and resentment toward themselves through self-punishment, vows, and acts of atonement.

It might work to some extent.

But not in the way they intended.

Their suffering would not erase what happened to the Lithrens.

Nor would damaging themselves automatically improve the future of the Alloykin race.

If they continued gathering every hostile karmic connection without resolving its source, the burden could eventually crush their souls.

At the extreme, even reincarnation might become difficult.

Lucien sighed.

"You are confusing consequence with guilt."

Both monks looked at him.

"The Alloykins who enslaved the Lithrens are responsible for their actions. You are responsible for yours."

The younger monk frowned.

"But the race still bears the result."

"Yes," Lucien said. "Because the world remembers what your race did."

He gestured toward their damaged bodies.

"But hurting yourselves in silence does not change that memory."

The monks did not answer.

Lucien continued calmly.

"If you want to lessen the burden on future Alloykins, then give the world a different reason to remember your race."

The older monk’s eyes shifted.

"Leave the monastery when you are ready. Meet the Lithrens in my territory. Listen to them. Help rebuild what your people damaged."

Lucien paused.

"Atonement is not measured by how much pain you can endure. It is measured by what you repair."

The words settled heavily between them.

The younger monk stared at Lucien.

"You believe they would accept us?"

"I do not know."

Lucien answered honestly.

"They may hate you on sight. They may refuse to speak with you. That is their right."

He looked toward the monastery grounds.

"But I can arrange a meeting. What happens after that will depend on what you do, not what you say."

The two monks remained silent.

Lucien could sense their hesitation.

They had chosen suffering because it was simpler.

Pain required endurance.

Reconciliation required courage.

"If the burden around your souls has already become too dangerous," Lucien added, "I can help separate what truly belongs to you from what you have taken upon yourselves."

Both monks froze.

The younger one looked at him carefully.

"Why would you help us?"

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"I once judged you poorly," the monk admitted. "I argued with you during the expedition."

Lucien smiled.

"That was hardly a great crime."

The monk looked unconvinced.

Lucien continued.

"The past is the past. Besides, I am already entangled with your race."

His expression became slightly more serious.

"I killed your Eternal."

Neither monk showed anger.

The older one lowered his head.

"He would have caused greater suffering if you had not stopped him."

The younger monk nodded.

"His death was justified."

Lucien studied them for a moment.

That answer was enough.

•••

He opened his inventory.

Several portions of Living Alloy Essence appeared above his palm.

The substance shifted continuously.

At one moment, it resembled liquid metal.

At another, it formed fine threads and overlapping plates.

It carried no fixed shape because it was constantly remembering several possibilities at once.

The Alloykin monks stared at it.

Their damaged bodies reacted before they did.

A faint metallic hum rose from within their forms.

The fractures along their arms trembled.

The Living Alloy Essence moved slightly toward them, as if recognizing a familiar kind of life.

Lucien’s interest deepened.

"What is that?" the older monk asked.

"Living Alloy Essence."

Neither recognized the name.

That was expected. His drops had produced the material.

He allowed one portion to spread across his fingers.

It adjusted instantly, forming a thin layer that matched every movement of his hand.

"It remembers structure, adapts to damage, and responds to the living."

The younger monk stared at it intensely.

Lucien continued.

"If you truly intend to leave the monastery and face the world again, then repair your bodies first."

He sent one portion toward each monk.

The Living Alloy Essence stopped before their chests.

"Integrate this."

The monks did not move immediately.

They understood better than most that integrating an unknown metal could permanently alter their bodies.

"You said it was stronger than bronze?" the younger monk asked.

Lucien smiled faintly.

"I believe it has greater potential than Astrafer."

Both monks’ expressions changed.

Astrafer had been one of the greatest materials produced from the exploitation of the Lithrens’ world.

Many Alloykins had desired it precisely because of how greatly it could transform their bodies.

Yet Lucien spoke of this unknown essence as something superior.

"You are giving this to us?" the older monk asked.

"I am giving you an opportunity."

Lucien’s gaze became serious.

"I cannot promise exactly what it will do. Your bodies may adapt to it differently from my artifacts."

He would not lie merely to make them accept.

"But it has already recognized your living structure. I believe the integration will succeed."

The monks looked at one another.

Their uncertainty did not last long.

They had already been willing to destroy their bodies for atonement.

Risking transformation in order to rebuild them was a far easier decision.

The younger monk extended both hands.

"We accept."

The older monk followed.

"Thank you for your generosity."

Lucien released more portions.

The Living Alloy Essence touched their chests.

It did not spread across the surface. It sank directly into the damaged body.

Both monks stiffened.

A silver-gray pulse traveled through their bodies.

Every fracture brightened.

The Living Alloy Essence moved through the broken structures as though reading them.

It did not immediately repair anything.

First, it learned.

The monks’ original metal bodies shifted around it.

For several breaths, the two metals resisted one another.

Then their metal bodies began changing.

Its dull surface softened.

The Living Alloy Essence threaded itself through every damaged section, not replacing their original metal, but teaching the living structure how to reconnect.

Lucien’s eyes sharpened.

The integration had already begun.

He had been correct.

The essence did not view the Alloykins as containers.

It treated their bodies as fellow living metal.

Lucien gave them enough essence for the first transformation, then stored the rest.

"Bring the other Alloykin monks and nuns to Lootwell after you stabilize," he said. "I will examine them before giving them the same material."

The younger monk looked surprised.

"You would help all of them?"

"Those who did not join the Void-Walkers and genuinely intend to rebuild what was damaged."

Lucien would not strengthen enemies merely because they shared the same race.

But he would not condemn loyal Alloykins for crimes they had opposed.

He looked at the two monks.

"I hope that when the next disaster comes, the world will remember Alloykins as one of the foundations holding it together."

The words struck them more deeply than the gift.

For years, they had thought only about what their race needed to repay.

Lucien had given them something else.

A future worth working toward.

The younger monk’s expression tightened from determination.

"We will make that future real."

The older monk bowed.

"We will not waste this chance."

Lucien nodded.

"Then stop destroying yourselves and begin proving it."

For the first time since he had noticed them, both monks smiled.

Their smiles were restrained, but genuine.

Lucien turned and continued toward the monastery’s outer gate.

Behind him, the Living Alloy Essence moved deeper into their bodies.

The dull metal body gradually regained its luster.

Fine fractures began closing from within.

Lucien did not look back.

He had planted the seed.

Whether it became a repaired body, a transformed bloodline, or something entirely new would depend on the Alloykins themselves.

But as he left the Silent Monastery, a metallic heartbeat sounded beneath the Ninth Bell.

Then a second answered it.

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