100\% DROP RATE : Why is My Inventory Always so Full?-Chapter 370 - Preparation

Lucien stood from his seat.

The afterimage of the vision still clung to him but he did not let it slow his thoughts. Panic would help no one. Certainty, however incomplete, was already a weapon.

One thing was clear.

The vision happened when he was not here.

And right now, he had no reason to leave Starforge. Not yet.

He had plans still unfolding, preparations still incomplete. That meant the calamity was not imminent but that did not mean it was distant either.

Time had narrowed into a corridor.

Preparation was no longer optional.

Lucien’s thoughts turned immediately to Lilith.

He used Spatial Compass.

Then, he moved through the field at a steady pace. Starforge members he passed along the way paused and bowed or offered respectful nods.

Word had already spread. They knew who had woken their Eternal.

Lucien returned every greeting with a smile.

Soon, the Compass guided him upward.

A cliff.

Lilith stood there alone.

Lucien rose into the air and approached.

He was about to call her name when a strange sensation brushed the edge of his awareness.

A faint disturbance.

Lucien blinked.

His gaze dropped.

Lilith’s hand was extended downward. Her index finger was gently patting something just out of sight.

Lucien followed the motion.

Pea-sized Luciens sat neatly along the stone ledge. Their tiny faces were tilted up as Lilith carefully patted each of them on the head, one by one, with surprising gentleness.

Lucien froze.

He coughed.

Lilith jolted as if struck by lightning. She straightened instantly.

"What brings you here, Brother?" she asked at once, absolutely not looking at the tiny Luciens still sitting very still behind her.

Lucien glanced at the split bodies then at Lilith.

"Sister," Lucien said, "I need to tell you something important."

Lilith exhaled once, then turned to face him fully. Her expression shifted, sharpening into focus.

"What happened?"

Lucien told her about the vision.

He summarized what he had seen. The Alloykins. The shattered formations. The city burning. He described Anvil-Horn’s stand, Kaia’s flames, and Lilith’s survival.

Lilith listened without interrupting.

At first, disbelief crossed her face, reflexive and defensive.

"Our formation arrays are layered," she said. "Even if someone knew where Starforge was, they would be misled long before reaching the core. Without a Starforge token, or mastery at the level of a grand formation sovereign, finding this place should be impossible."

Lucien nodded. "I know."

Her brows furrowed. "And even if they found us, piercing the barrier would—"

"I know," Lucien repeated gently.

Lilith fell silent.

The wind moved again, tugging at her hair. Her jaw tightened.

She looked at him.

"I do not doubt you," she said at last. "I doubt the world."

That answer told Lucien everything he needed to know.

She inhaled once.

"We should tell my father."

Lucien nodded.

As they descended from the cliff, Lucien split his thoughts. His attention flowed outward to his split bodies.

At Lilith’s earlier direction, they were already dispersing.

One settled against the cliff itself, sinking into stone that radiated the Law of Earth. Its presence dissolved into weight and patience.

Another drifted toward an ancient tree nearby. Its leaves shimmered faintly with the Law of Photosynthesis, life cycling through light and breath.

Others followed.

Each split body entered meditation. Their identities thinned as they began learning directly from the source.

Lucien let them work.

Soon, they reached Anvil-Horn.

The Solhorn Eternal was already in motion, giving crisp orders to those who had passed the inspection. When he noticed Lucien and Lilith approaching, he raised a hand and dismissed his people at once.

"Begin studying," he commanded. "Do not waste daylight."

When they were alone, his stern expression softened into a smile.

"Little friend," he said. "You came at the right time."

Lucien did not delay.

He told Anvil-Horn everything.

And soon, his smile vanished.

The Solhorn’s face hardened, lines deepening as something dangerous stirred behind his eyes.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he exhaled through his nose.

"I knew it," he said quietly.

Lilith looked at him sharply. "You felt it too?"

Anvil-Horn nodded. "My horn has been restless for days. Warning. Like metal singing before it breaks."

He looked at Lucien, and there was no doubt in his gaze. Only resolve.

"Thank you for telling us," he said. "If you had not, I would have trusted the walls too much."

He straightened.

"I will reinforce the barrier immediately," he continued. "With my Law of Forging, I can double its efficiency. Its strength will multiply far beyond its current threshold."

He turned without another word, already moving.

Lucien watched him go.

The vision flickered in his mind again. His sacrifice and his apology.

Loyalty like that was rare.

It made Lucien’s chest tighten in a way he did not dislike.

When Anvil-Horn was gone, Lucien turned to Lilith.

"Sister," he said, "I will need materials. Talismans and formation components. I know how to disrupt Astrafer resonance. I can mass-produce the counters."

Lilith straightened at his words.

"I will have everything delivered," she said at once. "As much as you can use."

They parted to their respective tasks.

Lucien returned to his room.

He sat and began sketching, crafting, and refining.

Cosmic-attributed talismans. Formation discs designed for instant activation. Cosmic-aligned arrays that could be deployed without long preparation.

One prototype was enough.

CRAFT recorded it.

From there, replication became trivial.

Lucien leaned back, exhaling slowly.

He stared at the ceiling, thoughts already moving several steps ahead.

The storm had not arrived yet.

But the wind had changed.

And Starforge would not be caught unready.

•••

Hours later, Lilith arrived to deliver the materials.

They came packed within dozens of storage rings.

Lilith tilted her head.

"Will this be enough?"

Lucien swept his gaze across the rings.

"More than enough," he said calmly.

Lilith exhaled in visible relief.

Lucien allowed himself a small smile. Then he turned back to his work.

•••

Lucien initiated mass production through his CRAFT feature.

Progress bars ticked down in steady succession.

One by one, they filled.

It took more than an hour for everything to complete.

The moment the final bar vanished, Lucien stood.

Lilith was still outside his room. Worry was written across her face.

When he stepped out, she lifted a brow.

"Do you need more materials, Brother?"

"No," Lucien said calmly. "I’m done."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Done already?"

"Don’t dwell on it," Lucien replied. "Come with me."

Lilith followed, still staring at him as if he had just violated every known principle of forging.

•••

They moved fast.

It was Lucien who led her this time. He stopped at places that, to an untrained eye, looked ordinary.

A stretch of stone near a defensive buttress.

A plaza edge where formations overlapped.

A high walkway where wind pressure distorted spatial flow.

The same places he had seen fail in the vision.

Lucien knelt and placed a formation disc against the ground.

It sank in, locking into the world with a soft hum.

He extended his hand.

From his inventory emerged a vial of ancient beast blood. He let a single drop fall into the formation’s core.

The reaction was immediate.

The disc bloomed.

Lines of light spread outward, threading themselves into the existing formations. The disc anchored them with the Cosmic Attribute, rewriting the barrier’s logic.

Even if the Alloykins identified the barrier’s weak points, they would be forced to pay a price before they could even begin to break it.

Lucien did not linger.

He moved to the next point. Then the next.

Each time, the process was the same.

Lilith followed in silence, watching his expression. There was no hesitation in him.

When the last formation locked into place, Lilith let out a slow breath.

"Brother. You saw all of this?" she asked.

"Yes," Lucien replied.

She studied him for a moment longer, then looked away toward the horizon.

"I am glad you are here," she said.

Lucien did not answer.

•••

The air shifted.

Lucien felt it first.

Then the sky rippled as several Starforge ships pierced the outer barrier.

They landed nearby, engines powering down.

Hatches opened.

Starforge members disembarked swiftly. When they saw Lilith, they straightened at once.

"Lady Lilith," one of them reported. "Mission completed. Deliveries successful."

Lilith nodded. "Good work."

The man’s gaze flicked sideways.

To Lucien.

He hesitated.

"This... brother?" he asked carefully.

Lilith’s voice sharpened instantly.

"He is Starforge’s benefactor. Mind your tone."

The man stiffened and bowed deeply.

"My apologies. I meant no offense."

He paused, then frowned slightly as if recalling something he had tried to forget.

"It’s just that... There is something else," he said. "On our return route, we encountered a disturbance."

The man swallowed.

"We saw several people being pursued. Same race as you, Benefactor."

Just then—

Something clicked into place inside Lucien’s mind.

This might be it.

The reason.

The trigger that would pull him away from Starforge.

And once he left...

The vision would follow.

Lucien felt the weight of it settle into his bones, but his voice remained calm.

"Can you tell me every detail?" Lucien asked as his heart trembled despite himself.