Limitless Fortune: I Collect SSS-Rank Skills as Payment-Chapter 166: Soren Is Dying

"Take it. This is your reward for saving me last time."

Lucien directly threw the beast core to the Little Guy, who immediately grabbed it in the air with his paws.

"Squeak!"

Seeing the lustrous bead glowing with energy, the rodent was so excited that it nearly tumbled off Lucien's shoulder.

"Okay, no need to get so excited. It's just a monster core."

Lucien smiled at the Little Guy and nodded approvingly when he saw that Glimmernaw didn't immediately swallow the bead as he feared.

'He really is a little different.'

Lucien thought. After all, if it were any of the other rodents from that cave, they would probably have eaten the core without a second thought.

In fact, Lucien was worried that he might do just that. After all, Little Guy was influenced by the Sin of Greed.

So, he was ready to stop him if he tried to eat the beast core like the Crimson BroodQueen.

If that happened, this Little Guy would probably explode on the spot without question.

Fortunately, although excited, Little Guy only gave the core a light lick before stopping in time.

"Okay, you two can go inside the Beast Space and cultivate. Call me once you finish digesting the beast core."

He said before sending both Glimmernaw and the Crimson BroodQueen into his Beast Space.

He actually wanted to test his new class but decided against it.

He felt he shouldn't activate multiple classes inside the capital unless necessary. He didn't want another incident like the one with Velmara.

'Let's go extract that debt from Hugo first, then I can finally relax.'

Lucien thought as he made his way toward a certain room where he had asked Velmara to keep Hugo secured.

After all, that guy was now a bona fide Weaver Rank peak existence.

And the most important thing was, even though Hugo's realm had increased exponentially in such a short time, he was still eligible for full collection.

Although Lucien didn't know why, he couldn't help but feel a little excited about the upcoming collection.

After all, Hugo had reached 100 debt value long ago.

"Boy, you're here. What happened? Why did that Count want to meet you?"

As soon as Lucien approached the room, Velmara appeared on his shoulder like a ghost and asked.

His appearance was still as mysterious and sneaky as ever.

However, this time Lucien felt something different. If before he couldn't sense Velmara's presence at all, now…

'I can easily track his flight path.'

Lucien thought in surprise. But then he remembered the huge increase in his perception stats and realized it was only natural.

"Sigh… it seems Liora disappeared inside the Sylvan Depths dungeon all alone. Count Alaric and his wife came to ask if I knew anything." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Lucien sighed as he told Velmara what had happened.

To be honest, he felt a little guilty about her disappearance.

Although he wasn't sure, he suspected the main reason she went to that dungeon was because of what she had seen before.

He wasn't so narcissistic as to think Liora liked him, but he had, of course, noticed her emotions in that meeting room.

He just never expected her to be so upset that she would rush into a dungeon and vanish.

'Tch, it's all because of Sera and Lilith's seduction.'

Lucien thought shamelessly.

"Eh? That little girl? What happened?"

Velmara was also surprised by the news and asked curiously.

"We don't know. According to the Count, she's still alive and well, but she disappeared after entering the dungeon."

"Grandpa said she might have encountered a wandering realm."

Lucien briefly explained everything as he entered the room.

"Wandering realm? Really?"

When he heard the term, Velmara's big owl eyes went wide, as if recalling some forgotten information.

"If that girl really encountered a wandering realm, then she might be quite lucky."

He said with envy,

"I've heard even natives of the World of Origin can't just enter that place whenever they want. It is even more mysterious than dungeons."

He said while landing on Lucien's shoulder as usual.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Lucien raised his eyebrows.

"Say, Velmara, what kind of place is that World of Origin? How different is it from our world?"

He finally asked what had been on his mind for a long time.

From his brief visit to the dungeon, he felt that the World of Origin resembled a game interface in some strange way.

He didn't know how accurate that feeling was.

"To be honest, I don't know much either. After all, Malcolm and I only entered the Shadow Kingdom, not the real place."

Velmara seemed quite eager when it came to that topic, so he quickly shared what he knew.

"But what I do know for sure is that that world has its own power system, and aside from that, nothing else works inside."

The owl tilted his head slightly before continuing,

"I mean, it's not like we'll be completely powerless… It's just that our strength there becomes useless."

"After all, all our powers stem from the Origin of this world. And guess what happens if someone gains control of that very foundation?"

He said, surprising Lucien.

"A power that lets you wield Origin, the very foundation of magic itself."

"I've heard that if someone gathers enough Origin, they can even construct an entire world of their own."

"Can you believe that? Wouldn't that make them a god?"

Velmara spoke with a mix of awe and longing. The idea of a world of his own, where he could do anything, was almost unimaginable.

"By the way, can you guess why Zeyvyr's brother is attacking the Shadow Kingdom?"

Velmara suddenly changed the topic and asked.

"Hmm?"

Lucien was caught off guard by the question and replied uncertainly,

"Is it… for the Origin of their world?"

He guessed awkwardly based on what Velmara had just explained.

But as he said, he also began to understand why the system had warned him before that his strength could be stolen easily.

"Haha… you're right. That dragon does want the Origin, but…"

Velmara paused after a light laugh, then his tone darkened.

"What that dragon seeks isn't merely the Origin of the Shadow Kingdom, but also the Origin of our world, Soren."

His words shocked Lucien once again. But Velmara didn't stop there. His voice grew solemn.

"To be honest, it seems our world is already doomed. There's no way to save it from being swallowed by the World of Origin."

"If all those powerful entities were still here, it might've been possible, or at least, we could've secured a status similar to the Shadow Kingdom. But now…"

The owl shook his head before turning toward Lucien with a heavy look.

"In the Shadow Kingdom, there's a rumor that one year from now, our world, Soren, will finally die."

"And when a world dies or is engulfed by the World of Origin, a small portion of its Origin is distributed among nearby entities to help them grow stronger."

"Called a Harvesting Festival!"

Velmara continued narrating what he had heard.

"And the closest place to our world was the Abyss, or more precisely, the Shadow Kingdom."

"Naturally, it was eligible to claim a share of the pie. But then that arrogant dragon appeared out of nowhere, trying to seize not only their prize but them as well."

"If not for the Abyss's aid, the Shadow Kingdom would've fallen long ago."

The owl shook his head, feeling melancholic that the world he was born in was on the brink of destruction and that he could do nothing about it.

To be honest, even Lucien felt a faint pang of sadness at hearing such news, despite being an outsider.

He could somewhat understand what Velmara and Malcolm must have felt upon learning such a fate.

After all, although his original world might still be intact, he had lost it the moment he died, hadn't he?

"Alright, this is the room. That guy's under my spell and can't move a muscle now. So take your time and do whatever you need to. Just call me when you're done."

Velmara said suddenly before vanishing from Lucien's shoulder.

Though he had only traveled with Lucien for a short while, he could already tell there were countless unfathomable secrets hidden within him.

He must have a reason for keeping that man, Hugo, alive, so Velmara simply stepped back and left him alone.

There was no need to pry.

Lucien didn't mind his disappearance. He slowly pushed open the heavy iron door and stepped into the dim, shadowed chamber.

At the very center, he saw Hugo Lionheart bound by thick chains, his body sprawled helplessly across the cold floor.

"L-Lucien… what the hell are you trying to do to me?"