100% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? - Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Chapter 173 – Meeting
The promised day of gathering had finally arrived.

King Midas and Pope Augustus came to meet Lucien in Lootwell. This was not a mere visit. It was a meeting that could decide the course of their life.

Lucien welcomed them with a knowing smile. He already had an idea of what they wished to discuss yet he chose to hear it from their own lips. The truth, after all, carried more weight when spoken aloud.

He brought them in the round table of the Town Hall.

Midas was the first to break the silence. His eyes held the heaviness of someone who had seen too much. He went directly on point.

“Marquis… you must know by now. No—” he corrected himself, “you might already know more than we do.”

Pope Augustus folded his hands. “Like what Ashreth said before during the battle… this world—”

Lucien finished the sentence for them.

“—is a cage?”

Both men exchanged solemn glances and nodded.

Midas exhaled slowly. “When I reached the peak of Tier 9 with my own power, I gained a skill called Fractured Providence. It allows me to see fragmented visions of fate. I saw glimpses of the world’s end, its limitations and… something far beyond.” His voice deepened with weight. “That was when I realized. We are bound within walls not of stone but of divine law itself.”

Augustus nodded. “I, too, gained a similar skill called Oracle. Though it’s not as powerful as Midas’s, it gave me insight. I saw threads of destiny that contradicted the faith I had upheld all my life. The ‘divine plan’ I believed in was false.” His voice faltered, heavy with regret. “If only I had awakened that skill sooner…”

Lucien remained silent but listened closely. These men were opening their hearts and even revealing the secrets of their skills. That alone showed the depth of their sincerity.

After a pause, Midas spoke again.

“But even with these skills, we have no clue how to open the path beyond this world. And when I finally found someone who might… the one chosen by destiny… Ashreth noticed them too early.”

Lucien’s brows slightly furrowed. He didn’t speak but the faint tension in his gaze was enough for them to notice.

The Pope’s shoulders slumped and with a deep breath, he confessed…

“I must apologize to you, Marquis. I am… partly responsible for your real parents’ deaths.” His eyes lowered. “Because of my greed. I accelerated the time of their meeting after learning that together, they could open the path. I thought it was divine will… but I didn’t know that Ashreth would notice them so soon. There’s no excuse. I should have known that meddling with fate would demand its price.”

The room fell silent.

Lucien simply looked at him. For a long moment, no one spoke. Only the sound of the wind brushing against the window was heard.

Then… Lucien smiled faintly.

“There’s no need for apologies,” he said softly. “Do you believe that changing fate… is part of fate itself?”

The words landed like a thunderclap.

Both men froze, stunned. Midas’s breath hitched. Augustus blinked as though something within him stirred awake. Lucien’s words struck deeper than he knew, unraveling something long buried in their hearts. They were… enlightened.

But truthfully, Lucien himself didn’t think much of it. He was merely bullshitting. Yet his casual words shook those two who still clung to destiny.

He continued. “I’m sure my real parents wouldn’t mind. Please don’t bear that guilt any longer.”

At those words, something deep within Lucien’s divine energy core pulsed softly as if his parents’ souls agreed.

Both sovereigns smiled in relief and their shoulders finally eased.

“And I must thank you,” Lucien added with warmth. “I’ve also found a wonderful family here in the borders. Ah, and your Majesty, I know you helped conceal my tracks. Without that, I would never have survived to this day.”

The air softened. The tension that once loomed over them dissolved into an easy camaraderie. For a while, they spoke like equals. They laughed, reminisced about battles and traded thoughts about the rebuilding of the world.

But when the conversation circled back to the real matter, the room grew still once more.

Midas’s expression hardened. “Marquis… do you know how to open the path beyond this world? If we stay here much longer, we’ll never shed our mortal husk. Even our extended lifespans will run dry before we ascend.”

Augustus nodded. “We’ve searched everywhere. Ruins, temples, rifts. There’s no door and no trace of passage. It’s as if it’s deliberately hidden from us. But you…” he looked at Lucien intently, “…you were chosen by the Will of the World. You might be the key. We ask you, Marquis… Please help us.”

Lucien fell silent.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help. It was that he simply had no clue how.

He sighed, resting his hand on his temple.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to do it,” he admitted, “but I want to open that path as well.”

He looked toward the window.

‘The Big World.

It was vast, untamed, and full of life and death far beyond imagination. He wanted to see it with his own eyes too someday.

But more than that… he wanted something from there.

Something that could help his parents regain their bodies. Nothing in this world, not even the miraculous drops could restore them. He needed power, knowledge, or perhaps a law that existed only beyond this cage.

Of course, he would bring the others too.

Because deep down, he knew… this world was already marked.

And if the monsters from the other side ever grew impatient… this world might be destroyed entirely.

Lucien took a slow breath.

“I’ll find a way,” he said quietly. “But I’ll need time.”

He knew he had to prepare and strengthen himself first. He had become a Transcendent One which meant he could still grow even within this world’s limits. He would use that window to cultivate, to build, to understand.

Knowledge was his greatest weapon.

Strength was his next.

And time… his only enemy.

He turned to the two sovereigns and spoke with conviction.

“By luck, I’ve glimpsed the world beyond. And you must know… it’s far more dangerous than anything we’ve faced. To them, we are ants. Mere mortals crawling beneath their feet.”

He then explained, carefully filtering what he revealed.

There were realms beyond the mortal cage. And those who transcended could walk freely in the flow of laws.

1st Realm — Mortal.

The realm of everyone in this world (except Lucien) currently lived in, from the unawakened to the peak of Tier 9.

2nd Realm — Metamorphosis.

It’s also known as Shedding the Mortal Husk. It’s the threshold where flesh begins to evolve beyond mortality.

3rd Realm — Transcendent.

It’s the realm where the body is no longer bound by flesh. One can command natural laws, shape the elements, even touch divine concepts.

4th Realm — Ascendant.

Touching the surface of immortality. It’s the power that rivals the Monster Lords themselves.

Lucien stopped there. He didn’t mention the realms beyond Ascendant. Not yet.

He feared that too much truth might crush rather than inspire.

Still, the revelation left Midas and Augustus silent… until finally, Midas muttered under his breath, “So even we… are merely crawling on the lowest floor.”

Lucien nodded. “This world limits us. But those limits also protect us. If you were to step into that greater world unprepared… you might not even realize how you died.”

Both men shuddered. The thought of races stronger than legends and creatures that devour worlds sent a chill down their spine.

Lucien watched them silently.

‘If I had to guess the realms’ equivalent in levels, it would look like this…’

• Mortal Realm — Unawakened to Level 99

• Metamorphosis Realm — Level 100 to Level 999

• Transcendent Realm — Level 1,000 to Level 9,999

• Ascendant Realm — Level 10,000

He sighed…

‘The Monster Lords I fought. Their strength was above Level 10,000. Even then, I could only defeat them because their power was restricted inside my divine energy core. Had it been in the open world, even escaping would have been impossible. And of course… thanks to the 2nd fragment, everything became possible.’

Lucien smiled faintly at the two men who now had a lot of jumbled thoughts in their minds.

“Even so, we can still reach those realms. It’s not impossible. Only difficult.”

Those words reignited something in them.

Midas’s eyes burned again with youthful ambition. Augustus clenched his fists.

A bigger world. Greater foes. Endless potential.

The fire to challenge destiny that was once buried under years of duty was lit again.

Lucien smiled seeing them.

“But please be patient. Once I find the path, I’ll make sure you’re ready for it.”

Midas bowed his head slightly. “Then we’ll prepare. We’ll gather resources, strengthen our people, and rebuild. When that day comes, Marquis… we’ll walk beside you.”

Augustus smiled faintly. “And may the heavens bear witness. When that day arrives, we’ll make history.”

Lucien nodded. He knew they meant it.

As the meeting ended, Midas and Augustus departed, leaving Lucien alone beneath the fading sunlight.

He looked toward the horizon once more.

The sky shimmered faintly.

He could feel it. The laws of this world had already begun to shift. And somewhere, the door to the Big World… was waiting to be found.

Lucien’s lips curved into a determined smile.

“Soon,” he murmured. “But not yet.”