100% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full? - Chapter 224

Chapter 224: Chapter 224 – Second Key
Marie tugged Lucien’s sleeve.

“Luc… the keys. Where?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

Because Lilith stepped toward them. Her predatory smile deepened like she had been waiting for this very moment.

Marie followed Lucien’s frozen stare and groaned.

“Oh no. She’s making those eyes again.”

Then she jabbed him in the ribs.

“I knew it. You’re attracted to her honkers! Sigh. Men are all the same.”

Lucien thwacked her head.

But Marie had already noticed the look on his face.

Lucien wasn’t flustered.

He looks like he was… scheming something. His eyes gleamed with a quiet, dangerous idea which made Marie curious.

Then, Lucien leaned toward Marie and whispered…

“Go along with me… this will be profitable.”

Marie’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Oho… I like where this is going.”

They were still bound by the Astral Chain, so the two moved forward together.

Lilith watched their approach.

“Well now,” she purred, “Have you changed your mind, little darling?”

Lucien stopped.

His face went blank by the unexpected nickname.

Marie pinched his side.

“Don’t freeze now, wolf boy.”

Lucien coughed, straightened, and forced nonchalance into his voice.

“Miss Lilith, I have information.”

Lilith’s smile sharpened.

“About the keys?”

Marie burst out, “LUC—DON’T TALK TO THE HORNED WOMAN ABOUT THAT—”

Marie was already in the act, and Lucien ignored her completely… but he gave a discreet thumbs-up behind his back that only she could see.

Everything felt natural.

“Yes,” he said. “But information comes with a price.”

Lilith leaned closer as starlight danced around her.

“Oh? A negotiation?… How delicious.”

Her voice was velvet dipped in danger.

“Just name your price.”

Lucien held her gaze despite the pressure.

This woman had tried to recruit him even before the trials. He knew she had a dangerous instinct for talent.

And she looked at him now like she had been expecting him to know the key location.

He breathed out slowly.

“There’s a key-signature behind the third rotating pillar. You’ll need to jump the moment the platform aligns.”

Lilith went perfectly still.

Then—

Her eyes glowed with delight.

“…You’re full of surprises.”

She turned and the starlight swirled brighter around her form.

“You will be rewarded. I do not make empty promises.”

And she sprinted toward the location he indicated.

•••

Chaos erupted in the stands.

“HE JUST TRADED SECRET INFO WITH LILITH?!”

“DID THAT KID JUST BETRAY VERDANT VEIL?!”

“WOW! HE’S THE FIRST ONE TO EVER NEGOTIATE WITH ‘THAT’ LILITH SO BOLDLY… AND STILL ALIVE TO TELL THE TALE!”

“THIS WOLF BOY HAS BALLS OF STEEL!!”

Meanwhile, in the Verdant Veil seating—

Some members panicked. Some cursed.

But Eirene?

She just stared silently. Eyes narrowed.

“…Brother Luc isn’t the type to sell himself cheaply.”

Her words made the Verdant Veil supporters calm… barely.

•••

Actually, Lucien had raised his voice a little more than usual.

Not enough to shout. Just enough for all the sharp minds to hear.

Lythrae’s eyes flicked toward them. The Silent Monastery monks paused mid-motion. Sskavyrn’s ears twitched.

They all perked up. They all waited. They all listened.

And now…

They all knew where a key might appear.

Another clash was inevitable.

Marie slapped Lucien’s arm as they stepped back.

“Nice job! Be sure to share the reward with me!”

Lucien shrugged.

“She’s less dangerous when she owes me.”

Marie blinked.

•••

The clash at the center didn’t slow. It deepened.

Fire spiraled. Dawnlight flashed. Runes burst like miniature suns.

The four-pair melee around the first key had become a storm of violence so tight and precise it didn’t even look chaotic. It’s like destruction given rhythm.

The arena shook with every exchange.

“THEY’RE STILL GOING?!”

“THE PLATFORM IS BREAKING—LOOK!!”

“FOUR PAIRS—ONE KEY—THIS IS MADNESS!!”

And even in the middle of that storm…

They noticed movement.

Lilith and her partner.

They are confidently walking toward the outer ring… The exact direction Lucien had pointed out.

Even mid-battle, instinct won’t lie.

Dawnblade flicked a glance her way mid-parry.

Scarlet senior sister felt the air shift around her flame.

The third-eye scholar’s pupil constricted, tracking her in the corner of his vision.

A dangerous contender was making her move.

But they didn’t have time to follow it… because the key they were fighting for—

touched the ground.

A tiny metallic click.

To them? It’s like a war drum.

The battlefield erupted.

A storm of power collapsed inward.

CLAAAAAAAAAANG—!!!

Stone fractured. Wind recoiled. Dust blasted clean off the ring in a single violent pulse.

The key bounced—

And every hand shot toward it.

Flames whipped around it…

A Dawnblade sword stabbed the tiles near it…

Runes flared like exploding stars…

A black-robed woman’s foot flashed inches from the prize…

But nobody secured it.

The clash ate the key.

Marie stared, horrified.

“They’re ALL insane!”

Lucien nodded once, unable to disagree.

Then something changed.

The four pairs stopped attacking each other. Just for a heartbeat.

Because the pairs finally recognized the same truth…

The black-robed women weren’t slowing down.

While everyone else was battered, breathing hard, and bleeding a little…

The black-robed women were the same all throughout the clash.

Their robes flowed without a speck of dust. Their movements remained unbroken.

It was… unnatural.

The realization hit the other three pairs like a slap.

And so—

The Dawnblade pair steadied their mirrored stance.

The Scarlet siblings’ flames sharpened into cutting arcs.

The Scholars aligned their rune-sequence into a singular, deadly pattern.

They exchanged quick nods.

And without a word… they teamed up.

No shouting. No coordination call. Just three pairs attacking as one.

Dawnsteel from the right.

A flaming wheel from the left.

Runic detonations from behind.

All aimed at the black-robed duo.

The arena exploded.

“THEY’RE GANGING UP ON THEM?!”

“THIS IS INSANE—BUT DO IT!!!”

“PUSH THEM BACK—PUSH THEM—!!!”

The attack landed—

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A blast of light swallowed the center of the ring.

When the glare thinned—

The black-robed duo had been forced back several steps.

For the first time… Something had actually pushed them.

Marie gasped.

“They… actually pushed them.”

Lucien exhaled through his teeth.

“Barely.”

Because even when pushed, they were still standing straight.

Just then—

The air shifted.

Light crawled up the pillars of the third rotating ring… Exactly where Lucien told Lilith a key would appear.

Lilith felt it at once.

Her entire posture snapped sharp.

But she wasn’t the only one.

Sskavyrn’s head jerked toward the glow.

The Monastery monks shifted as one.

Lythrae’s floating pillow turned like a compass needle.

Everyone recognized the resonance.

A single breath of silence.

And then—

Lilith moved.

Not walked. But launched.

A burst of starlight flared off her armor as her prodigy partner wove spatial footholds under their steps. It turned their dash into a comet’s flight.

The crowd went feral.

“THE STAR-FORGE QUEEN IS MOVING!!”

“THE WOLF WAS RIGHT?! THERE IS A KEY THERE!”

“OH GODS—THE NEXT ONE’S COMING—!!”

…

The spire vibrated.

Light condensed at the third rotating ring.

And there… they saw it.

The key had appeared.

For a heartbeat, it hovered above the platform like a newborn star.

A blink…

…and Lilith and her space-prodigy partner were already there.

Her hand snapped upward.

SNATCH.

The key smacked into her palm.

Starlight flared along her horn.

For one breath… she owned the battlefield.

Then—

CHAOS.

Because every pair watching her also moved.

The crowd erupted:

“SHE GOT IT—LILITH GOT THE SECOND KEY!!”

“SOMEONE STOP HER—SHE’S TOO FAST!!”

“THE STAR-FORGE DUO IS GOING STRAIGHT FOR THE GATE—!!!”

Lilith tucked the key tight against her chest.

Her partner’s eyes glowed with spatial energy.

“Ready?” she said.

He nodded.

Space twisted…

…and they vanished.

Blink-step.

They reappeared halfway up the vertical maze.

Another blink.

Higher.

The Ascension Gate shimmered at the peak, waiting for its key.

Marie inhaled sharply.

“They’re actually going to reach it—!”

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

“Not if the others stop them.”

And the others did not disappoint.

They weren’t pushovers. No one who reached the finals was.

Lythrae moved first.

Her floating pillow tilted then launched her and the Moonlit Maiden upward like drifting lanterns.

Moonlight rippled beneath them. The cushion sliced through the air in an elegant arc, intersecting Lilith’s predicted blink path.

Marie gasped.

“Whew. Those are pretty visuals!”

Sskavyrn and his partner moved next.

The reptilian spear-duo planted their feet as one.

Cold eyes. Perfect posture. A shared breath.

Sskavyrn growled.

Then—

FWOOOOSH—!!!

Two spears flew.

They were not thrown blindly nor hurled with brute force.

But predicted, aimed, and calculated… for the exact point where the space prodigy’s next blink would end.

Marie’s jaw dropped.

“Wow. They’re… reading spatial trajectories!”

The spears sliced the air like twin death-lines…

…and they were perfectly accurate.

They slammed toward Lilith’s next blink-point just as she and her partner flickered into existence.

The crowd screamed:

“THE SPEAR PRODIGIES HIT IT!!”

“THEY PREDICTED THEIR BLINK—HOW?!”

“LILITH IS DONE—!!”

But then…

Lilith snapped.

She didn’t dodge. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t even blink.

She caught the spears… Barehanded.

CRACK.

Both spears snapped like twigs between her fingers.

A shiver rippled across the arena.

The reptilian warriors froze mid-breath.

Marie whispered…

“Oh… she’s terrifying.”

Lucien nodded.

“The Solhorn Race’s strength is unnatural. Their power is comparable to monsters even in mortal realm…”

Lilith tossed the broken spear shafts aside.

They prepared to blink again.

That’s when a heavy, resonant sound tore through the air.

GONG—!!!

A bell rang.

It’s not loud nor flashy. Just… perfect.

Perfect pitch. Perfect timing. Perfect frequency.

The Silent Monastery monks held an ancient bronze bell between them.

When they struck it again—

GONG—!!!

The arena trembled.

And space… rippled.

Lucien narrowed his eyes.

“The monks disrupted spatial equilibrium.”

Which meant, the space prodigy could no longer blink.

The space prodigy’s eyes widened in shock as the air warped unpredictably around him.

“We… can’t teleport!”

Lilith clicked her tongue.

“Tch. They’re annoying.”

And then… every pair moved at once.