100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 682 - Transformations

Lucien returned to Lootwell soon afterward.

Before allowing the Alloykins to meet the Lithrens, there was one person he needed to speak with first.

Riri.

As the recognized leader of the Lithrens, she had the right to decide how her people would receive them.

Lucien found her in the main chapel of Lootwell’s western territory.

The building was busy.

Outsiders filled the open halls, studying the available Quests.

Most of the current tasks were simple.

They required participants to transfer energy into one of Lucien’s Covenant items.

Once the Grace System confirmed that the assigned amount had been provided, the reward would be deposited directly into the participant’s storage artifact.

There was no need to wait for an administrator.

No one could falsely claim completion.

The system handled everything.

Lucien passed through the crowd without attracting too much attention at first.

Near one of the side chambers, he found Riri and Sahrin helping a young boy complete his first quest.

The child stood before a Covenant Disc with both hands extended.

A weak current of energy flowed from his palms.

It trembled badly.

Riri patiently corrected his posture while Sahrin reminded him not to force the flow.

The disc brightened little by little.

When the required amount was finally reached, the Grace System confirmed completion.

A small storage pouch at the boy’s waist flashed.

His reward had arrived.

The child’s face immediately lit up.

Only then did Riri and Sahrin notice Lucien.

Both bowed.

"My Lord."

Lucien sighed inwardly.

Clara had influenced them far too thoroughly.

"Continue what you are doing," he said. "I only need to speak with Riri afterward."

Sahrin glanced at her friend.

"I can manage everything here. Go with the Lord, Sister Riri."

Riri nodded.

She finished giving the child a few final instructions, then followed Lucien into a private chamber beside the chapel hall.

Despite the formal address, she still treated Lucien much as she always had.

That pleased him.

He did not want every familiar person to become stiff merely because Lootwell had grown.

•••

Lucien explained the situation directly.

He told Riri about the Alloykins in the South.

He explained that they had spent years attempting to bear part of their race’s guilt.

At the mention of Alloykins, Riri’s expression tightened.

Only for a moment.

Then the tension faded.

"They want to face the Lithrens," Lucien said. "Not to demand forgiveness. They want to acknowledge what happened and help repair what they can."

Riri lowered her gaze.

For several breaths, she said nothing.

Then she sighed.

"It was not their crime."

Lucien studied her.

"You are not angry?"

Riri smiled faintly.

"Anger would not change what happened."

Her fingers rested together in her lap.

"The Alloykins who enslaved us are responsible. If these monks and nuns fought against them, then I cannot place the same guilt upon them."

She paused.

"Besides, everything that happened eventually brought us to Lootwell."

Lucien looked at her silently.

That sounded very much like something Clara would say during a sermon.

Riri noticed his expression.

"I know suffering should not be praised merely because something good came afterward," she added. "But I cannot deny where we are now."

That answer was more balanced.

Lucien nodded.

He explained what he had learned about karma through the Cycle Merit Web.

The monks could not erase the crimes of others by damaging themselves.

However, the consequences attached to the Alloykin race would not disappear simply because the guilty individuals had died.

The only meaningful way forward was to create new consequences through new actions.

Riri listened carefully.

Understanding gradually brightened her eyes.

"So their suffering does not repay the debt."

"No," Lucien said. "But what they choose to repair may change what follows."

Riri considered that for a while.

"I will tell the others."

Lucien waited.

"I cannot promise they will welcome the Alloykins," she continued. "Some Lithrens may refuse to meet them. Others may become angry."

"That is fair."

"But nothing violent will happen."

Her voice remained calm.

"If they come sincerely, they will be allowed to speak. What happens afterward will depend on both sides."

Lucien smiled.

Riri had become a capable leader.

She did not allow old pain to rule her decisions, but she also did not speak for every victim as though forgiveness were hers to grant alone.

"Then I will leave it to you."

"You can trust me, my Lord."

Lucien left the chapel soon afterward.

•••

The monks arrived the next day.

The two monks Lucien had met beneath the Ninth Bell led the group. Behind them walked more than twenty hooded figures.

Alloykins.

Lucien recognized their nature immediately despite the robes concealing most of their bodies.

The two leading monks had changed.

Their original metal bodies had regained their luster. The dull surfaces and deep fractures were gone.

Silver-gray patterns now flowed beneath their natural metal, shifting subtly whenever they moved.

The Living Alloy Essence had integrated successfully.

Their dispositions had changed as well.

They stood straighter. The guilt had not vanished, but it no longer bent their shoulders.

Behind them, the other Alloykins still kept their heads lowered.

Lucien brought the group into a large reception chamber near his office.

The leading monks bowed.

"Lord of Lootwell, we sincerely thank you for this opportunity."

Lucien waved away the ceremony.

"Tell me what happened to your bodies."

Gratitude could wait.

He wanted results.

The monks exchanged a glance.

For the first time, both appeared slightly embarrassed.

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

The younger monk stepped forward.

Rather than explain, he placed one hand against his chest.

His metal body softened.

The structure remained solid, but its shape lost rigidity.

The center of his torso folded inward.

A circular hollow appeared through his chest.

Lucien stared through it and saw the monk standing behind him.

The younger Alloykin looked strangely proud.

"I can do this now."

Lucien remained silent.

The older monk seemed unwilling to be outdone.

His forearm stretched.

The metal twisted into a perfect spiral, transforming his arm into something resembling a massive spring.

He compressed it.

Then released it.

His hand shot forward and stopped just before striking the opposite wall.

Both monks looked at Lucien expectantly.

Lucien rubbed his forehead.

He had given them Living Alloy Essence.

They had returned as toys.

"Did you test anything useful?"

Their expressions stiffened.

"We did," the older monk answered quickly.

His arm returned to normal.

The younger monk closed the hollow in his chest with obvious reluctance.

Then they demonstrated properly.

The Living Alloy Essence had not simply made their bodies flexible.

It had given their original metal structure four important qualities.

The first was structural memory.

Their bodies now remembered their intended form.

When cut, crushed, bent, or displaced, the damaged sections attempted to return to the structure recorded within them.

This was not instant regeneration.

Lost mass could not appear from nothing.

Severe damage still required energy and replacement material.

But fractures no longer remained permanently unless the underlying pattern itself was destroyed.

The second was adaptive redistribution.

The Alloykins could move material from one part of the body to another.

The younger monk raised both arms.

His torso became slightly thinner while additional metal flowed toward his forearms, forming heavy layered guards.

He could reinforce a vulnerable area before impact.

Afterward, the material returned to its original position.

The third was controlled reshaping.

Alloykins had always been able to alter their bodies according to the metals they integrated.

Living Alloy Essence greatly improved that ability.

The transformation became smoother, faster, and more precise.

Hands could become blades.

Arms could extend.

Joints could change their range.

Their bodies could flatten, compress, or widen without immediately damaging the living structure.

However, they could not ignore their total mass.

A larger weapon required thinning or drawing material from somewhere else.

They could not become giants without additional metal.

The fourth quality was responsive adaptation.

Repeated damage taught the body.

When the younger monk struck his forearm against the same type of force several times, the metal gradually adjusted its internal arrangement to distribute the impact more effectively.

It did not become immune.

But the body remembered what had harmed it and attempted to respond better the next time.

Lucien’s expression changed.

That was far more useful. Its effect was similar to that of the Memory Alloy Fragment.

"Does the adaptation remain permanently?"

"Not all of it," the older monk said. "Minor adjustments fade once the body returns to rest."

The deepest adaptations remained only when reinforced repeatedly or accepted consciously.

That limitation prevented the body from becoming a chaotic collection of reactions.

The Alloykins still had to decide which adaptations were worth preserving.

Lucien nodded slowly.

The Living Alloy Essence provided flexibility, but flexibility was only the surface result.

Its true gifts were memory, redistribution, reshaping, and learned response.

In an artifact, those qualities made the material durable and versatile.

Inside an Alloykin, they became biological functions.

The metal was no longer merely worn or integrated. It behaved like living tissue that understood it was metal.

Lucien looked at the younger monk.

"Why did you make a hole through your chest?"

The monk hesitated.

"To test whether attacks could pass through."

That was almost reasonable.

"And the spring?"

The older monk answered with dignity.

"Stored force."

Lucien glanced at the faint indentation in the distant wall where his hand had nearly struck.

That was also almost reasonable.

They had merely chosen the most ridiculous possible demonstrations.

Lucien decided not to criticize them further.

Their bodies were stable.

Their souls had accepted the new structure.

Most importantly, the Living Alloy Essence had not replaced their racial foundation.

It had joined it.

Lucien smiled.

The hooded figures behind the monks had begun watching with growing hope.

Some of their original metal bodies were badly damaged. Others had only begun destroying the last traces of their integrated metals.

All of them had expected to spend years in silent atonement.

Now they were seeing another road.

Lucien looked toward the group.

"I will examine each of you before giving you the essence."

The Alloykins bowed.

Lucien then turned back to the leaders.

"The leader of the Lithrens has agreed to speak with you and arrange a meeting with her people."

The room grew quiet.

Several Alloykins lowered their heads again.

The younger monk’s confidence weakened for the first time since entering.

Lucien noticed.

"You were willing to destroy your bodies," he said. "Speaking to the people harmed by your race should not be more frightening."

"It is," the monk admitted.

Lucien almost laughed.

At least he was honest.

"The Lithrens are not required to forgive you," Lucien said. "Do not approach them expecting absolution."

The monks listened.

"Listen first. Help where they allow you to help. Then continue doing so even if they never thank you."

The older monk nodded.

"We understand."

Lucien looked across the Alloykins.

Living Alloy Essence could rebuild their bodies.

It could not rebuild their race’s reputation for them.

That work would take longer.

But the foundation had been laid.

Lucien called for Lootwell’s medical teams to prepare the examination chambers.

The hooded Alloykins were led away one by one.