100% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? - Chapter 210

Chapter 210: Chapter 210 – Meridian Gate
From the horizon, the Meridian Gate was a sight unlike any other.

It wasn’t a floating island, nor a simple fortress. It was a colossal city carved into the bones of a mountain range. Towering bastions ringed its perimeter. Each one was etched with runes that shimmered like molten gold. Massive arches framed the entrance where thousands of banners snapped and danced in the wind.

Marie handed control of the Verdant Ark back to the Transcendent pilot. Even she wanted to admire the view.

She pressed her palms against the crystal pane.

“It’s huge… it really looks like the whole continent comes here to fight.”

Eirene’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“It’s called the Meridian Gate for a reason. A crossroads where strength and wit themselves become the law.”

As the Verdant Ark approached, gates the size of mountains ground open. Beyond them sprawled a labyrinth of streets, tiered terraces, and open plazas. they were all flowing toward the heart of the city: the Grand Arena. It’s a structure so vast it could shelter armies in its shadow. Every inch of stone pulsed faintly with energy as if the city itself breathed competition.

Marie leaned even closer with wide eyes.

“It’s huge…”

Lucien nodded in agreement.

As the Ark descended toward the landing zone, a light curtain of runes swept over them. The inspection veil of the Meridian Gate. Its pressure was suffocating, dense enough to crush the weak-minded.

Then a calm voice chimed in their minds:

[Welcome to the Meridian Gate.]

Before stepping off, Lucien handed Marie the gear he had crafted earlier.

“Wear these,” he said quietly. “They’ll conceal us even from Celestial perception. The others should be fine but some might still detect our disguises.”

Marie nodded and slipped the cloak over her shoulders. It shimmered once and then seemed to vanish, bending not just light but aura as well. The Celestial Realm experts nearby blinked in disbelief.

One of them muttered, “…Impossible. I can’t sense their presence at all.”

Even Eirene paused mid-step as her eyes glinted with rare curiosity.

“Those gears… what material did you use?”

Lucien only smiled faintly.

“A little something from the void.”

Eirene chuckled softly, shaking her head.

“Remind me later to make you an offer, Brother Luc.”

Marie leaned toward him and whispered, grinning,

“See? We’re already popular.”

They descended the ramp—

—and what awaited them inside the Meridian Gate left even Lucien momentarily stunned.

The streets pulsed with energy. Every corner throbbed with competition. It was a symphony of duels, trade-offs, and wagers. Two merchants settled prices by summoning flame and ice at each other’s feet. A pair of swordsmiths clashed blades mid-street to decide whose wares deserved the crowd. Even the stalls and taverns were carved and warded like miniature arenas where every deal was settled by a contest.

“This place…” Marie breathed. “It’s like a giant marketplace built on pride.”

Lucien nodded slowly.

“A paradise for battle junkies.”

They passed towering figures of the Goliath Race, titans who turned every purchase into an arm-wrestling match.

Above them, winged Drakeborn challenged each other to speed races across the rooftops.

Bands of Ironclads, living suits of armor, argued loudly over whose hammer blow could shatter the moon first.

At the city’s center loomed the Grand Arena, an impossible coliseum that seemed to pierce the clouds themselves.

Eirene turned to them. Her tone shifted into that of a merchant-general.

“The contest will begin in four days. It’s called the Trial of Ascendancy, a fair way to decide who enters the ancient ruin first.”

Lucien’s gaze flicked toward the arena.

“Trial of Ascendancy, huh…”

“Exactly,” Eirene continued. “Each faction will send its champions. The higher you place, the earlier your turn to enter. It’s simple… and simplicity makes it brutal.”

Marie’s grin widened.

“So basically, a brawl with paperwork.”

Eirene smiled.

“You could say that. And in the Meridian Gate, that’s considered civilized.” She glanced at the others. “For now, I’ll be meeting the city’s master and a few dignitaries from the Solar Concordium. You two and the rest are free to look around the outer districts.”

Lucien nodded and handed her a Waystone Fragment, linking it to his own.

“If anything happens, follow the direction it pulls. It’ll guide you straight to us.”

Eirene accepted it, clearly impressed by its craftsmanship.

“Understood.”

She departed with one Celestial companion, leaving the second to accompany Lucien, Marie, and the rest of their group.

In total, there were seven Transcendents and ten Ascendants. Adding Eirene and the two Celestial Realm experts, the Verdant Veil group numbered twenty strong.

•••

They entered the city proper and every step felt like walking through a storm of culture.

Shouts of victory echoed across open plazas. Competitions erupted mid-street. Crowds of countless races surged around them. Strength, speed, wit, even luck could be wagered at any moment.

Marie’s eyes sparkled as she drifted from one open challenge board to another.

“Luc, look! You can arm-wrestle for food discounts! This place is amazing!”

Lucien chuckled under his breath.

“You’ll come back broke and famous if I leave you here.”

Their Celestial escort walked beside them with a smile at his lips, quietly amused by their wonder.

The others in their group talked in low voices about the Trial. About their potential rivals, possible allies, and who to avoid.

They were enjoying the chaos…

…until the air shifted.

From across the plaza, five presences stepped into range. Heavy. Refined. Cold.

Five robed figures descended a set of marble steps with the gravity of falling stars. Each step they took rippled faint energy across the pavement and the insignia on the backs of their pure white robes glowed obsidian black.

Lucien’s instincts flared. He turned and his eyes sharpened on the movement across the crowd.

His pupils narrowed.

Among the five, one walked slightly behind the others. The youngest. His crimson third eye was half-lidded. Its glow was faint but unsettling.

Eirene’s subordinate whispered in alarm…

“The Obsidian Collegium… what are they doing here?”

•••

Among the five robed powerhouses, quiet conversation broke out.

“Junior brother, see if anything catches your eye,” said the chill senior brother. “If you like something, I’ll buy it for you.”

“Thank you, senior brother,” the youngest replied. “Let me use my ability first… see if there’s anything special in this place.”

He raised his gaze and his third eye opened fully.

His sight swept across the plaza, searching. He was intent on spotting anything special.

Just then… he paused.

The eldest turned to him. His tone sharpened with concern.

“What is it? Did you find something of value?”

“N-no…” the youngest said slowly. “Senior brothers… remember what I said before about the anomaly? That thing is here… mingling with the crowd.”

At his words, the faces beneath the robes turned serious.

“Point me the direction,” the eldest said. “Our path is to destroy anomalies that might threaten this world. If he truly is something that will cause imbalance… then he must be erased as soon as possible. This is the path we chose, and we will fulfill it.”

The crowd nearby flinched as Celestial Realm pressure surged outward, pressing against the air.

The youngest lifted his hand…

…and pointed straight at the robed Lucien.

“Formidable indeed…” the eldest murmured. “I can’t see past the cloak he’s wearing.”

That was when the eldest moved.

His aura surged toward Lucien like an invisible tidal wave.

In that instant, Lucien’s cloak flickered. His disguise cracked under the unseen pressure.

“W-what?!” Lucien took a step back.

Marie and their companions moved instinctively to shield him, but it was too late.

The other three from the Collegium acted as well.

Invisible bindings snapped into place. Space locked. The Verdant Veil group… Transcendents, Ascendants, even their Celestial escort… found themselves rooted where they stood.

The crowd gasped at the overbearing show of strength.

Then… predictably, they cheered.

“Wow! That’s the Obsidian Collegium from the North Continent!”

“Such overwhelming aura!”

“What did that guy do to offend them?”

In a place where strength and wit reigned supreme, such displays made the blood race.

To Lucien, though, this wasn’t awe… it was danger.

His instincts screamed. He was already racking his brain for ways to escape. He didn’t even know why he was being forcefully pinned down.

The eldest’s deep voice cut through the murmurs.

“Junior brother… tell me what you can see.”

He spoke as he exerted his law fully and Lucien’s cloak fully disintegrated. A pulse rippled out, and his Wolf Beastman form shimmered into view.

The youngest tilted his head.

“A Beastman… no. That’s not right.”

His red third eye blazed brighter, piercing through every layer of illusion.

“His soul… it’s fractured,” he said slowly. “It’s like his soul was bent, mended, and mixed with something else. And this Beastman skin… is not his true form.”

Lucien felt anger and confusion flare together.

‘Fractured soul? What the hell does that even mean?

Can he see I didn’t come from this world? No… if that was the case, Marie would be bound too. Then what’s different about me…?’

His mind accelerated. Escape routes, counters, contingencies. He’d already perfected dozens of plans in his loops. He wouldn’t just accept being attacked without response…

The eldest’s expression twisted into something dark.

“So you are a monster,” he concluded. “Using evil techniques. A fractured soul… how many souls have you devoured to appear like that?”

He lifted his hand, forming a seal.

“Then we’ll unveil what you hide. ‘Truth Unbound—'”

But before the spell could complete, a sudden flare of golden authority split the air.

“Enough.”

The voice rang out clear.

Eirene stepped between them. Her presence was like a calm storm. Behind her walked officials of the Solar Concordium and two Celestial Race Proxies.

The crowd bowed almost instantly.