100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? Chapter 846 - 856 - Back

The knocking began at dawn.

Lucien’s eyes opened reluctantly.

For several seconds, he remained motionless beneath the blanket, attempting to understand why his entire head felt heavy.

Then he remembered the previous night.

Lucien closed his eyes again.

He missed being able to ignore sleep.

That might have been one of the least appreciated advantages of his old strength.

Another knock came from the door.

"Lucien?"

It was Mirelle.

"I’m awake."

His voice sounded less convincing than he intended.

He pushed himself upright.

The room tilted slightly before settling.

Lucien rubbed his face.

Apparently, pulling an all-nighter in a mortal sixteen-year-old body was substantially less impressive than he remembered.

He changed quickly, gathered his belongings, and went downstairs.

Mirelle, Tavian, and Auren were already waiting.

None asked where he had gone or what time he returned.

Their eyes did, however, linger on his face.

Auren looked particularly amused.

"You look terrible."

Lucien sighed.

"I am beginning to hear that too often."

Tavian handed him a piece of bread.

"You need sleep."

"I discovered that."

Mirelle looked at him for another moment before returning to the account board in her hands.

Lucien appreciated the lack of interrogation.

They ate quickly and prepared the wagon.

The purchased materials had already been secured in the inn courtyard. Auren checked the horse personally while Tavian inspected the ropes holding the heavier iron and tools in place.

Mirelle counted everything one final time.

...

They left the inn shortly after sunrise.

The city was only beginning to wake.

Shopkeepers raised shutters.

Workers carried baskets through the streets.

A few night guards were heading home while their replacements took position near intersections and gates.

Auren guided the wagon through the quieter morning traffic.

They were halfway toward the eastern gate when Lucien finally spoke.

"Can we wait near the gate for a little while?"

Auren looked back.

"Why?"

"I invited two people to come live in the village."

Silence followed.

Mirelle slowly turned her head.

Tavian did the same.

Auren nearly pulled the reins too sharply.

"You did what?"

Lucien smiled.

"They need somewhere to stay."

Mirelle stared at him.

"You left the inn for one evening."

"I was productive."

"Apparently."

Tavian leaned forward.

"Who are they?"

"You will see."

Mirelle narrowed her eyes.

"You are being suspicious again."

Lucien chose not to acknowledge that.

Auren seemed less concerned than the other two.

"Are they around our age?"

"Yes."

That immediately improved Tavian’s opinion of the situation.

"Good."

Lucien looked at him.

"Why?"

"We still need people for the wall."

Lucien laughed.

"You hear that two strangers are moving into the village and immediately assign them labor."

"If they have arms, they can carry something."

Mirelle considered a different issue.

"Are they strong?"

Lucien thought about his fight with Seran.

"One of them is very capable."

Mirelle nodded approvingly.

"That could be useful when we travel."

Lucien stared between them.

"You are both accepting this remarkably quickly."

Auren shrugged from the front.

"The village could use more young people."

He looked back with a grin.

"And I am tired of seeing the same faces."

Tavian frowned.

"You have known us your whole life."

"Exactly."

Mirelle laughed.

Lucien did too.

The reaction reassured him more than he expected.

Perhaps he had worried unnecessarily about bringing Seran and Aurelia back.

The village had always been welcoming.

Two additional people would draw curiosity, but curiosity was manageable.

Soon, they reached the gate.

Auren pulled the wagon aside where they would not obstruct other travelers.

Lucien climbed down.

The agreement had been simple.

Dawn.

Lucien expected him to appear quickly.

Minutes passed.

People entered the city.

Others left.

Farmers led carts through the gate.

A pair of merchants argued with a guard over an inspection fee.

Seran did not appear.

Neither did Aurelia.

Lucien waited.

The sun climbed higher.

Tavian eventually sat on the back of the wagon.

Mirelle leaned against one wheel.

Auren checked the horse again.

Nobody complained.

That somehow made Lucien more uncomfortable.

He looked toward the road behind them.

Nothing.

His disappointment surprised him.

Seran had agreed to come.

Lucien knew the man well enough to understand that he rarely treated important arrangements casually.

Then again, that was the future Seran.

This Seran barely knew him.

Perhaps he had reconsidered.

Lucien could hardly blame him.

A stranger had found his hiding place in the middle of the night, fought him, spoken about killing dragons, and invited him to move into an unfamiliar village.

When considered from Seran’s perspective, refusing might actually be evidence of good judgment.

Lucien sighed.

"Let’s go."

Auren glanced back.

"We can wait a little longer."

Lucien shook his head.

"If they want to come, we’ll find another chance."

Mirelle studied him for a moment but said nothing.

Everyone climbed back aboard.

Auren guided the wagon toward the gate.

Lucien looked back one final time.

Still nobody.

The guards inspected the wagon and allowed them through.

Soon the city walls were behind them.

Auren did not immediately return to the main road. He followed it only until they reached the turn leading toward the narrower route through the wooded hills.

Lucien had nearly accepted that Seran was not coming when Auren suddenly slowed the horse.

Two figures stood near the edge of the trees.

Lucien straightened.

One carried luggage.

The other held a familiar crystal ball wrapped carefully against her chest.

Lucien’s eyes widened.

"Stop."

Auren pulled the reins.

The wagon rolled to a halt.

Mirelle looked toward the figures.

Her expression changed.

Tavian’s did too.

Auren twisted around from the driver’s seat.

"Wait."

Lucien climbed down.

Seran smiled from beneath the shade of the trees.

Aurelia stood beside him.

Lucien walked closer.

"I thought you decided not to come."

Seran laughed.

"You waited at the city gate?"

"For a while."

"That would have been a terrible place for us to meet."

Lucien paused.

Seran gestured toward the city in the distance.

"The Iron Jackals were watching the roads."

That explained it.

"We left earlier through another gate and circled around."

Lucien looked toward Aurelia.

She nodded.

Seran continued.

"If anyone was watching you, they would see four villagers leaving the city. Nobody would see us join you."

Lucien smiled.

That was exactly the sort of caution he should have expected.

"So you were waiting for us."

"We were deciding whether you were clever enough to leave without causing a scene."

Lucien raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

Seran grinned.

"Still evaluating."

Lucien ignored him and turned toward the wagon.

The others had climbed down by then.

Mirelle recognized Seran first.

Her eyes widened.

"You."

Seran gave her a pleasant smile.

"Nice to see you."

Tavian looked between Lucien and Seran.

"This is the person you invited?"

"One of them."

Aurelia offered a polite bow.

Lucien introduced everyone properly.

The first few moments were understandably awkward.

Mirelle knew Seran’s reputation.

Auren had heard enough rumors in the city to understand who he was.

Tavian looked less concerned about Seran being a con artist than whether he could actually lift timber.

The tension did not last.

Seran was too practiced at making strangers comfortable.

Within minutes, he had somehow turned Mirelle’s suspicion into an argument over whether merchants or con artists lied more often.

Mirelle insisted merchants merely presented value creatively.

Seran claimed that was exactly what con artists did.

Auren laughed so hard that the horse looked back at him.

Aurelia remained quieter, though her smiles came more easily as the conversation continued.

Lucien watched them.

The familiarity was strange.

These people did not remember one another from the future.

To them, this was a first meeting.

Yet the group settled together with surprising ease.

Perhaps Lucien was imagining significance where there was none.

He had already learned not to trust that assumption.

Seran helped rearrange the back of the wagon so their luggage would fit without burying Lucien beneath the village supplies.

Tavian immediately approved of that.

Aurelia sat beside Mirelle.

Seran took the remaining space near Auren and began asking about the route.

The wagon started moving again.

The city gradually disappeared behind the trees.

Conversation followed naturally.

Seran seemed capable of discussing almost anything.

He had traveled through several kingdoms with the caravan, performed in noble estates and village squares, slept beside roads, crossed mountain passes, dealt with merchants, soldiers, bandits, officials, and audiences ranging from farmers to minor royalty.

Every topic somehow reminded him of another story.

Auren loved it.

Tavian pretended not to listen while listening to everything.

Mirelle occasionally challenged details whenever Seran’s stories became suspiciously dramatic.

Aurelia quietly corrected him whenever he exaggerated too far.

Lucien sat among them and smiled.

He remembered future Seran exactly like this.

Always capable of filling silence.

Always collecting experiences.

Always turning dangerous situations into stories once enough time had passed.

Aurelia had not changed much either.

She listened more than she spoke, but when she did speak, Seran usually became slightly more accurate.

The journey felt shorter with six people.

By the time the familiar fields surrounding the village came into view, the awkwardness of the morning had largely disappeared.

Seran leaned forward.

"That is it?"

Lucien followed his gaze.

The reinforced wall was visible first.

Workers moved along the unfinished sections, and the newly altered northern approach could already be seen from the road.

Lucien felt a quiet satisfaction.

"That is home."

Aurelia looked toward the village for a long moment.

Something softened in her expression.

Seran noticed too.

His hand found hers.

Lucien looked away.

Auren urged the horse forward.

People near the gate began noticing the unfamiliar passengers.

Soon there would be questions.

There would be introductions.

Luke and Cienna would undoubtedly have opinions about Lucien disappearing into a city and returning with two additional people.

Lucien suspected Cienna would ask far more questions than Seran was prepared to answer.

The thought amused him.

Beyond that waited more serious things.

The village still needed work.

The preservation business could expand.

Lucien needed money.

He needed to understand the strange sound.

He needed to investigate the disturbances spreading through the kingdom.

Eventually, he would have to find the Origin Core.

For the first time, however, the path ahead no longer felt quite as empty.

Lucien looked at the people riding beside him.

Tavian.

Mirelle.

Auren.

Seran.

Aurelia.

More familiar faces from a future none of them remembered.

The strange sound had pointed him toward some of them.

He still did not know why.

Lucien smiled as the wagon passed through the village gate.

He would find out.

And once he did, he would finally begin preparing for the journey that might decide what this ancient world eventually became.