100% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? - Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Chapter 203 – Escape?
The sealing formation had fully closed. Every escape route vanished like breath in the void.

Lucien had no way out.

His instincts screamed at him to run but he stayed perfectly still. He surveyed the surroundings carefully. His expression contorted to mirror the Varkhaals’ rage as they scoured the shadows for the unseen enemy. One wrong twitch and the Celestial would notice.

His mind raced.

He moved to another area.

At once, he activated Perfect Calculation and Perfect Loop… then slipped a hand inside his robe. From his Inventory, his fingers closed around the Hourglass of Slowed Passage, an Epic-grade drop from the Temporal Slime.

He didn’t dare expose it. Even the faintest hint of its divine energy might draw unwanted attention. The robe he was wearing can conceal the whisper of power seeping from it.

And just then… he turned it quietly within his grasp.

That’s when time itself bent…

The world slowed. His thoughts accelerated.

He scrolled through his every skill, every item, every possible combination in his arsenal.

Parallel Thoughts split his mind like mirrored rivers… running separate simulations all at once.

Loop 1: Mirror Bait.

Failure. The Celestial Realm expert detected his Law signatures the instant he created reflections.

Death by disintegration.

Loop 2: Essence of the Infinite Night.

Failure again. The Varkhaals could see through pure darkness.

Beheaded by shadows.

Loop 3: Cloak of the Abysswalker.

Failure. The disguise collapsed under the Elder’s perception of the Law of Darkness itself.

Soul crushed.

…

Loop after loop.

Each one ended in death. Each one refined the next.

Until the twentieth loop, when he noticed it…

A glimmer of absurdity so small that only a desperate man would bet his life on it.

A Flashbang.

Lucien almost laughed.

Such a trivial thing… yet perfect in the current situation.

For the Varkhaals, beings who had integrated with darkness, they relied on shadow to shape their perception. A sudden, overwhelming light wouldn’t just blind them… it would shatter their focus and distort their internal law resonance. Their very essence would recoil.

It was the one weapon their arrogance could never anticipate.

Well, it wouldn’t work on anyone else. But on Varkhaals, it would be devastating.

But Lucien knew…

Even that wasn’t enough on its own.

He needed timing, precision, and misdirection.

He ran another dozen loops refining his execution.

One flash wasn’t enough. Timing had to be exact. Movement must be flawless.

He needed a distraction, an excuse, a lie that even a Celestial would believe.

When the final calculation reached a 50% survival rate, he smirked.

For anyone else, that would be madness.

For Lucien, it was just enough.

Outside, mere seconds had passed.

…

Elder Dusk’s fury was a storm waiting to break. His form drifted like a living eclipse. His voice rolled across the hall sharply.

“Useless! You let a thief walk into the heart of the Varkhaal Sect? Tell me what the intruder looks like!”

None of the trembling disciples could respond. They cowered under the suffocating weight of the elder’s presence, their voices trapped by fear.

In truth… none of them actually knew.

Elder Dusk’s cold gaze swept across the hall before locking onto Lucien. His eyes flared with ominous light.

“You. You claim to have fought him. Speak.”

Lucien froze for a heartbeat… then lowered his head in deference.

“Forgive me, Elder. The intruder concealed his face. I couldn’t see clearly.”

Elder Dusk’s aura deepened, pressing down like gravity made manifest. The air grew heavy and frigid. The shadows quivered around his form.

Lucien’s instincts screamed.

He felt it… The elder was about to strike.

But then… he noticed something.

An opening. A moment he could twist to his favor.

He took a careful step forward. His tone was calm and measured.

“However… he dropped something before escaping.”

Deep inside, Lucien smirked.

‘Perfect timing. I was just wondering how to hand it over.’

He reached into his robe… to retrieve something from his Inventory. He withdrew a small cylindrical device.

A flashbang.

He handed it to the Elder with both hands.

Elder Dusk examined it. His shadow tendrils curled around the object.

“A strange thing… chemicals?”

He probed it with his senses. His brows furrowed as he felt faint divine energy within.

“Interesting. There’s divine energy indeed… but its structure is unfamiliar.”

Lucien bowed again.

“Yes, Elder.” He said quickly. “He was desperate to pull its trigger. I stopped him before he could. Perhaps, it was a way to contact his companions.”

That bait caught the Elder’s curiosity. His senses brushed the device.

No malice. No danger. It was harmless, it seemed.

Just then…

He pulled the trigger.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

‘Three… two… one…’

BOOM!

A sun was born in the darkness.

A blinding explosion of light erupted with a concussive blast that tore through the underground sect.

The Varkhaals clutched their heads and hissed in agony. The brilliance tore through their equilibrium. Their senses, their shadows, their Law itself.

Even Elder Dusk reeled backward. His form flickered violently between shadow and substance.

His roar shattered through the light.

“WHAT IS THIS?!”

Lucien didn’t wait. His body blurred, throwing several more flashbangs in every direction. The detonations overlapped, turning the underground sect into a field of fractured radiance.

To a race of shadow, it was like burning daylight inside their souls.

He moved in perfect rhythm—

One flash, one step, one breath.

He reached the sealing formation barrier and slammed his palm against it.

“Requiem Command!”

The Law of Death surged through him, his divine energy commanding decay itself.

The formation trembled. Runes corroded and shattered under his will.

The barrier began to open.

A crack appeared.

Then a gap the size of a fist.

But the barrier’s regeneration was terrifying. It began knitting back together, faster than he expected.

Lucien gritted his teeth.

“Not enough…!”

He could feel Elder Dusk’s fury rising again behind him. Shadows surged back to life.

His instincts screamed. There was no time left.

“This barrier is stronger than I though… Damn it!”

The formation repaired itself faster than his decay could consume it. His calculations hadn’t accounted for such a strong structure.

The air around him distorted… Elder Dusk was recovering.

“You dare play tricks in my presence?!”

His voice split the air like thunder.

Shadows whipped toward Lucien.

Thinking fast, Lucien triggered Split Body and pulled his true self into his Divine Energy Core.

From within, Lucien controlled his Split Body.

His miniature form seized the exposed Divine Energy Core with both hands and dashed for the narrowing slit in the barrier. He then launched upward, Skywalking toward the narrow opening.

Elder Dusk’s killing intent surged. The entirety of the underground sect darkened once again.

“You cannot escape ME!”

Dark tendrils lashed out as blades of shadow ripped through the chamber.

But he was already too late.

The clone hurled the core through the gap with all its strength…

…and just before Elder Dusk’s power struck, Lucien detonated the clone in a burst of radiant gold.

The explosion flared like dawn, devouring the darkness.

For a heartbeat, day returned to the abyss.

•••

Outside the barrier, light streaked across the sky.

Lucien re-emerged from the Divine Energy Core, gasping as he fell to one knee.

He didn’t waste a second. He summoned Marie.

“Marie—now!”

She materialized beside him, blinking. “What the he—”

“Emergency. Fly now! I’ll explain later!”

No more words were needed.

They leapt aboard the Voidcraft.

Marie slammed her hands on the controls and its engines flared to life. The vessel screamed through the air.

Behind them, the Varkhaal Sect was in chaos. The sealing formation barrier was sealed once again.

Lucien finally exhaled. His body trembled from the toll.

Marie who was steering the craft, threw him a look. “Why do I feel like I’m your personal driver?”

Lucien was drained. He was too exhausted to argue.

Seeing him fall silent, Marie’s usual teasing faded into concern.

“You okay there? Let’s… talk later… Hey! No need to look at me like that.”

Lucien just stared at her quietly.

He had already exposed his inner realm to her… and in doing so, placed complete trust in her.

And yet, Marie hadn’t changed. She still treated him the same way she always did/ Loud, brash, and genuine.

He sighed, closing his eyes as the Voidcraft pierced the clouds.

For now…

they were free.

It would take a few minutes before the sealing formation barrier in the Varkhaal Sect could even begin to reopen.

And by then… they were already far away.

Still, the work wasn’t finished.

Inside Lucien’s divine energy core, thousands of rescued slaves remained. He couldn’t possibly keep them there forever.

He didn’t want them trapped within his core.

And besides… bringing them along could expose them.

Lucien didn’t know what tricks or detection methods the sects were capable of. He couldn’t risk any trace of connection to the freed slaves.

If possible, he wanted to erase every thread that could link back to their earlier actions.

He turned toward Marie.

“Marie… let’s park near Aurion. And… We’ll need another disguise.”

Marie groaned dramatically, slumping against the pilot’s seat.

“Not again! Don’t tell me you’re gonna turn me into a goblin this time!”

Lucien’s lips twitched.

“No need. You’re already loud enough to pass for one.”

Her head snapped toward him.

“You—!”

He only smirked faintly, leaning back in his seat as the Voidcraft streaked through the clouds toward Aurion.