100% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? - Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Chapter 187 – Fierce Woman
Lucien’s consciousness slowly returned. The scent of damp moss filled his nose.

He opened his eyes to find himself lying in an unfamiliar chamber. The walls shimmered faintly. The moss glowed a gentle green, illuminating the stonework with an eerie calm.

He sat up, wincing. His memories returned in fragments. The battle, the chase, and finally… someone pulling him out before everything went dark.

“Someone saved me,” he muttered.

He scanned the room. It wasn’t natural. The walls were too smooth and the curvature was too precise. His eyes narrowed. He saw the faint ripples of law embedded into the ground.

‘This place… it’s man-made.’

More precisely, it might be crafted by someone with mastery over the Law of Earth. The realization deepened as he pressed his hand against the wall. The structure wasn’t mere stone but layers of compacted earth.

He traced the energy and realized he was deep underground… buried far beneath the surface.

“Someone really went through trouble for me,” he muttered. “If they wanted me dead, I wouldn’t be breathing right now.”

He rose to his feet, stretched and moved toward the stone door at the end of the chamber. With a push, it groaned open.

The sight that met him made him pause.

A vast subterranean hall stretched before him. Intricate, orderly and surprisingly… homely. Pillars of polished stone lined the sides, carved with ornate spirals. Simple furniture shaped from packed clay filled the space.

But what truly caught his attention were the shelves along the walls.

Figurines.

Dozens of them. Fierce ones. Cute ones. Gleaming suits of armor, winged mechs, and classic Gundam models lined the shelves like trophies.

“…No way.”

He reached out and picked one up. “Gundam figurines? This guy’s got good taste.”

He picked one up carefully. The craftsmanship was immaculate and every detail was perfectly formed. With his understanding with Creation, he could feel the passion poured into each one.

With a faint smile, he whispered. “Whoever made these… really loved their craft.”

But before he could linger, something stirred inside him. A resonance.

The origin core fragment pulsed faintly within his chest like a heart responding to another heartbeat nearby.

Lucien’s eyes hardened. ‘This guy is indeed from the small world.’

The signal was faint but near. He followed the pull.

“This person saved me. That should mean they’re friendly… right?” he muttered.

The resonance grew stronger as he approached another chamber. Lucien’s hand rested on the stone door. He took a breath and when he pushed it open, he froze.

And there she was.

A woman stood at the center of the room. Her long, silken hair cascaded down her back. Her eyes were bright yet untainted. Her beauty was the quiet kind? Innocent but with a depth that made the air itself hesitate.

Their eyes met. And at once… the air shifted.

For a heartbeat, the world held still. Lucien’s heart raced violently.

He clutched his chest. He then realized what made him feel that way.

‘It’s not me reacting… This is the same feeling as before. The Will of the World…’

The fragment of the Will inside him trembled, resonating violently with the girl’s existence.

‘Could it be… She’s also a bearer of her world’s Will.’

But then… It looks like the Will of the World within her was still dormant. The resonance faded as quickly as it came.

Then—

“You!” the girl snapped. Her voice was clear and commanding. “Who told you you can just wander around here?!”

Before Lucien could respond, the ground beneath her rippled. The Law of Earth roared to life. The air bent around her form as earthen particles swirled upward. They meld into a magnificent full-body armor.

In an instant, she stood encased in full battle regalia. It was elegant yet terrifying.

Lucien blinked, stunned. ‘…Oh shit. What kind of cheat did she get?’

The ground vibrated again. This time, a massive stone blade materialized in her grasp. The tip was leveled at his chest.

“Answer me,” she said coolly. “Are you one of the Liberators?”

Lucien sighed. He’d been right all along.

Instead of answering directly, he tilted his head. “Are you… also from Earth?”

The moment the word ‘Earth’ left his lips, she froze.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly. The sword lowered. With a flick of her wrist, her armor shattered into dust that flowed harmlessly to the ground, revealing her face once more.

She was still wary but curious.

“…You’re from Earth?” she whispered.

He nodded.

Her lips parted into a small smile.

“I’m called Marie,” she said softly. “You escaped your world too, didn’t you?”

Lucien nodded. “Just call me Luc.”

And just like that, the tension broke.

They sat in another chamber. Their initial caution faded as conversation flowed.

They talked for hours. About Earth, about their small worlds, their awakenings, their paths that had somehow led to this place.

Of course, Lucien kept many things to himself. And Marie, for all her chatter, never once mentioned her “cheat.” They didn’t ask as a sign of respect

Through their exchange, Lucien learned that Marie’s world was unlike his. She had never heard of the Primordial Slime.

But what truly shocked him was that… her world had no dungeons. And that could only mean one thing.

Her world was still untouched.

‘She’s… lucky,’ Lucien thought. ‘Her world is still safe… The monsters of the Black Mass haven’t found her world yet.’

But her reason for leaving puzzled him. “If your world’s safe, why come here?”

Marie’s expression turned cold.

“Safe?” she echoed. “That world was worse than Earth. Men ruled everything, women bowed their heads. I killed the ones who thought strength belonged only to them.”

Lucien stayed silent. Her tone wasn’t bitter, just tired.

“When I gained my power,” she continued, “I broke their systems and shattered their cities. But I realized something… their evil never ends. So I hid. And when I gained understanding of the Laws that governed that small world, I split it open. Then escaped.”

Lucien blinked. “You… split open your world?”

She shrugged like it was nothing. “It deserved it.”

He rubbed his temples. “Right. Perfectly sane.”

Marie smirked. “You sound just like the guys I buried alive. Don’t worry, you’re not one of them… yet.”

‘That “yet” didn’t sound reassuring.’

Still as they continued talking, her fierce facade melted away. She laughed easily, argued passionately and complained in ways Lucien hadn’t heard in years.

Lucien sighed.

His first impression of her… that she was the quiet and mysterious type… was completely off the mark.

Marie was a talker. A lot of a talker. She had stories about everything.

Lucien wasn’t sure if she was just naturally like this or if she’d simply been lonely all these years.

Maybe both.

Lucien felt strangely liberated too. It was the first time in a long while that he could talk about Earth.

He finally met someone who he could call a peer.

Someone like him. Someone who had awakened a cheat. Someone who came from the same distant blue world buried in memory.

…

At one point, Marie beamed and declared proudly, “I did the right thing saving you!”

Lucien frowned. “For the record, I could have escaped on my own.”

“Oh, men,” Marie groaned, rolling her eyes. “Can’t even say thank you to a woman without choking on pride. I’m telling you, this won’t make you less of a man.”

“It’s not about gender! I lost consciousness because you dragged me through compressed earth.”

She blinked. “Oops… that might’ve been my bad.”

Lucien sighed. ‘Why am I even arguing?’

Then her eyes sparkled. “You saw my collection, right? The figurines?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Impressive work. The detail’s… absurdly good.”

She puffed her chest out proudly. “The Law of Earth makes it easy to sculpt armor but not that easy to make it look cool.”

Lucien chuckled. “So that full armor earlier—”

“Yup!” she grinned. “Inspired by Gundams. I call it MS-01: Earth-Type Custom!”

But he was genuinely impressed. The armor wasn’t just aesthetic. It was dense with layered law compression.

He muttered, “Nice name, I guess?”

Marie leaned forward. “Say that again, but with more admiration.”

Lucien ignored her chatter for a moment, focusing his divine sense on her aura.

It was pure, steady and unwavering. Her passion burned brightly in that color. There was no deceit in it and no hidden malice.

But still… No matter how genuine she appeared, someone with that kind of strength was dangerous.

He finally said, “You’re dangerous but honestly, I can work with that.”

She blinked. “That’s… the nicest insult I’ve ever heard.”

He smiled faintly. “Get used to it.”

Their laughter filled the chamber, breaking the tension.

Then Marie leaned back with a sigh. “I haven’t had a real conversation in years. You have no idea how boring it gets underground. I talk to my figurines sometimes.”

Lucien raised an eyebrow. “That’s… concerning.”

‘Are all pretty girls actually weird?’

He couldn’t help but recall the first time he met Clara. Beautiful, yes… but just a little unhinged. No. Not just a little.

Marie caught his expression and glared. “Don’t judge me, Luc. Anyway…” she huffed, crossing her arms. “Are there still a lot of those evil guys outside? I can’t leave this place because of them. When I first arrived in this world, they tracked me down immediately and tried to steal from me. Every time I resurface, they find me again. So I built this place. My… little sanctuary.”

Lucien nodded. His expression turned grim. “Unfortunately… it looks like that’s the case. Escaping won’t be easy.”

Hearing him, she slammed her fist on the table. “GUNDAM IT!”

Lucien froze. “…What?”

She smiled proudly. “Get it? God damn it — Gundam it?”

Lucien stared blankly. “…Right… You didn’t actually need to explain it.”

She turned red. “W-Well, I just—”

He sighed inwardly. ‘If not for the constant dad jokes, she’d be perfect.’

“Wait,” he suddenly asked. “You’re not secretly a middle-aged man in your past life, right?”

That was a wrong question.

The punch came faster than light. Lucien didn’t even have time to react.

His thoughts cut off mid-realization as Marie’s fist buried into his gut.

And just like that, darkness claimed him.

He woke up minutes later, clutching his stomach. “You didn’t have to actually hit me!”

Marie crossed her arms. “You didn’t have to actually insult me!”

After the brief chaos, they settled again.

“Got any food?” she asked suddenly. “I haven’t tasted anything good in years.”

“You don’t need food anymore. You’ve already shed your mortal husk.”

She raised a brow. “We may not starve, but we can taste. Which is worse. Imagine having a long life ahead of you and no snacks. That’s a curse.”

Lucien raised his hands in surrender. “Fair point.”

He summoned food from his inventory. Marie’s eyes gleamed like a starving cat’s.

They sat together, eating. Or rather, Lucien ate while Marie devoured.

“Hey! Slow down!”

That was when Marie coughed halfway through. She pounded her chest violently.

“Crap! Wrong hole!”

Lucien pinched his brow. ‘No way this girl wasn’t a middle-aged man before.’

When they finally finished eating, both of them leaned back, content.

Then came the time for a serious conversation.

Marie’s tone grew serious again. “Hey. Let’s plan together how to escape this place.”

Lucien met her eyes. “With your help,” he said, “we might actually stand a chance.”

Lucien didn’t know where in the Big World they were. The terrain was unfamiliar. From what little he sensed, it felt like more than ten thousand years had passed since the war in the Mural World.

He sighed quietly.

Still, with Marie’s help, he felt a glimmer of hope. She was a Liberator too and one chosen by the Will of her world. That alone made her a powerful ally.

And though she didn’t seem to understand her own “cheat,” Lucien knew one thing for certain. It wouldn’t be ordinary.

Then… The brainstorming started.