100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full?-Chapter 427 - Rings

With a single thought, Lucien moved the spirit crystals aside and gathered them into separate mountains.

Only then did the true treasure beneath reveal itself.

Relics. Artifacts. Locked chests. Array cases. Sealed racks of weapons and robes.

There were entire shelves of lacquered boxes that had somehow remained untouched beneath the pressure of crystal mountains.

In one corner lay bundled ingots and sealed jars of rare minerals.

In another stood several tall racks containing formation pillars, folded barrier flags, and crystalline anchors used for large-scale arrays.

And there was more.

Several sealed cylinders that held pre-carved formation plates for battlefield deployment.

A cluster of preservation caskets that contained spirit herbs in a state so perfect they looked freshly harvested.

And farther in, there were weapon stands, armor frames, and several artifacts placed on a pedestal.

Eirene smiled faintly when she saw the spread.

Lucien’s eyes sharpened with appreciation.

The treasures had been categorized.

Lucien moved first toward the weapon corner.

There were many pieces there, and all of them carried strong auras.

When he used Inspect, the minimum rank among them began at Rare.

Lucien nodded slowly.

These were the same kind of treasures as the ones within the Stillness treasury before.

They were not merely tools, but companions waiting for a worthy bearer.

He ran his fingers over the air before them without touching.

One piece is enough to save a life in war.

That alone made them precious.

True, there were not enough here for everyone.

But that no longer bothered him.

There were more resource sites still waiting across the continents.

If he and Eirene kept harvesting them, Lootwell would not lack for long.

Meanwhile, Eirene had already walked toward the treasure chests.

The locks on the first chest were not simple.

But Eirene opened it in seconds.

Lucien came over and looked inside.

There were schematics. Rows and rows of them.

He took one and opened it.

His eyes brightened.

These were not just descriptions of artifacts. They were complete reconstruction schematics.

Lucien immediately looked toward the piles of minerals and rare materials in the corner and understood.

The Eternal of Stillness had not only stored finished items.

She had prepared the means to recreate them.

Production, not just inheritance.

Lucien smiled.

"That Eternal of Stillness seems generous."

Eirene’s lips curved slightly.

"That sounds right."

The second chest was even more interesting.

It also held schematics, but not for equipment.

These were for devices. Territory-scale devices and war-scale devices.

He opened some and was amazed. The devices would greatly aid the development of his new territory and ensure it was ready for battle at any time.

Lucien stared at the chest for a long moment.

This was no mere treasure vault.

This was the skeleton of a civilization.

And just then—

Eirene opened another chest and called out to him.

"Brother Luc. Come here."

Her tone made him move immediately.

He came over, looked inside...

...and blinked.

Rings. Dozens of them.

And they were enormous.

Some were large enough to fit around his forearm. One could have gone around his head like a crown. Others were even larger, clearly forged for beings whose true size had never bothered to accommodate ordinary craftsmanship.

Lucien’s expression shifted at once.

Realization struck.

His eyes glowed.

He reached in and pulled out one large ring engraved with a fierce avian sigil wrapped in storm motifs.

He stared at it for one beat.

Then another.

The ring still held restrictions. Lucien dismantled them cleanly and let his consciousness slip inside.

The first thing he saw were more mountains of spirit crystals.

The second were minerals, massive wing-blade feathers preserved like sacred metals, condensed thunder pearls, cyclone shards, and beast bones polished into ritual materials.

There were trophies too.

Pieces of enormous creatures the owner must have slain in the old days.

Fragments of claws, horns, large beast cores, and the remains of artifacts.

But then—

Lucien paused.

His expression slowly changed.

He looked deeper.

And then he had to press one hand over his mouth.

Because mixed among the terrifying spoils were things so absurdly soft, cute, and girlish.

There were enormous silk ribbons.

Pink ones.

There were polished bird-shaped pink charms with glittering gem eyes.

There were miniature pink feather ornaments arranged in delicate boxes.

There were lacquered pink combs shaped like crescent wings.

There were decorative pink anklets threaded with tiny bells.

There were even soft plush creatures.

Several of them.

And all stored with the same care as the lethal treasures beside them.

Lucien’s eyes twitched.

He lost the battle and laughed.

Actually laughed.

"Unexpected," he muttered. "Completely unexpected."

He looked again to confirm.

No mistake.

Yes, the rings belonged to the ancient beings imprisoned by the Eternal of Stillness.

And the one he now held belonged to Astraea. At that moment, Lucien felt his entire understanding of Astraea’s dignity suffer immediate damage.

The calm and dignified Storm Roc of the Big World had a storage ring filled with adorable and feminine collections.

Lucien closed the ring slowly.

They were his to return.

Or to leverage.

His smile became very strange.

He could already see the use.

If he wanted to persuade other ancient beasts to come under him more willingly, the recovery of their lost rings might become a powerful method.

After all, treasures were one thing.

Secrets were another.

And sometimes a single secret was worth more than a mountain of spirit crystals.

The Red Dragon’s ring was there too. So was the Dark Shade’s.

Since they had escaped, their rings now belonged to him.

Lucien decided he would inspect those later.

For now, Eirene had already moved on to another chest.

When she opened this one, there was only one thing inside.

A weapon.

It rested alone on black silk as if the entire chest had been built just to house it.

It was a slender bell-lantern fan.

At first glance it resembled a folded war fan, silver-white and beautiful in a restrained way.

But along its ribs hung tiny pale bells without clappers, and between the ribs drifted a curtain of fine still-glass threads. When unfolded, it would likely spread like a moonlit veil rather than cloth.

Lucien’s eyes narrowed.

Before either of them could say more, the fan trembled.

Then it rose from the chest by itself and flew directly toward Eirene.

She blinked, startled, then caught it instinctively.

The moment her fingers closed around the handle, the bells gave no sound at all...

...and that absence somehow felt louder than a chime.

Lucien inspected it.

Then froze for the second time that day.

Mythical rarity.

And not only that, it was also sentient.

A soul-core rested inside the weapon, fully developed and awake.

Eirene looked at it.

Then at Lucien.

"Brother," she asked softly, "may I take this one?"

Lucien almost laughed at the question.

"Take it," he said at once. "It was clearly waiting for you anyway."

He meant it teasingly, but Eirene did not deny it.

She only smiled, and for a moment there was a quiet happiness on her face that made the weapon seem less like an item and more like someone she had finally met again after too long.

Once they had gathered everything of value, the two of them returned to reality.

Eirene excused herself first.

She wished to train with the fan.

After she left, Lucien called for the ancient beasts.

Astraea. Condoriano. Saber. Kira.

They appeared quickly.

"Brothers and sisters," Lucien said, holding up several massive storage rings. "I found something that would interest you."

All four of them tilted their heads slightly.

Had anyone else said that, they might have ignored it.

But Lucien had a habit of producing impossible things.

So they looked.

The moment they recognized the rings, every expression changed.

A spark entered their eyes.

That was not mere interest.

That was memory.

Ownership.

Condoriano stepped first.

Saber’s usually cold gaze sharpened.

Kira’s composure cracked just enough to reveal genuine excitement.

And Astraea—

Astraea became very still.

Lucien handed them out.

Each ancient beast took their own ring as if receiving back a severed piece of their life.

Condoriano barked out booming laughter first.

"GAHAHAHA! Little brother, so you fetch back what was lost! I had thought my collections were gone to old silence forever."

Saber held his ring tightly.

"My trophies," he said. "Materials from those I slew before I had even risen to Eternity. I owe you for this... Little brother."

It was the longest speech Lucien had ever heard from him.

Kira laughed next, sharp and delighted.

"So it was not enough for you to steal vaults and capture void things. You also brought back my favorite weapon. Excellent. With this, I may once more greet three Eternals at once without shame."

Astraea only gave him a calm nod.

But her gaze lingered.

Their rings held a lifetime.

Lucien simply smiled.

"Go on, then. Reunite with your treasures."

They did not need to be told twice.

One by one, the ancient beasts withdrew.

But Astraea stayed.

When Lucien turned, he found her standing there with a smile so calm that it became alarming.

Too calm.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Little brother," she said gently, "I thank you. Truly. That ring held much of my life."

Lucien’s instincts rang immediately.

Then Astraea continued.

"I noticed the restrictions upon it have been broken."

A pause.

Her smile remained perfect.

"Tell me... did you happen to look within?"

Lucien gulped internally.

This was a trap.

It had to be.

He kept his face composed and met her eyes directly.

Then—

He smiled.

And pointed sharply toward the ground.

"Oh look, sister," he said. "A pink ant."

Astraea’s head snapped downward on instinct.

"Where?"

In that exact instant, Lucien vanished into his divine energy core.

Astraea remained where she stood, silent and utterly betrayed by reflex.

Then, slowly, a trace of red touched the tips of her ears.

Because she knew.

The moment he had said "pink," she had known.

He had seen it.

Seen everything.

The mighty Storm Roc.

The ancient and dignified Astraea.

And her most embarrassing secret had now been witnessed by someone.

She stood there in stillness for several long breaths.

And for perhaps the first time in ages, Astraea truly did not know how she ought to react.