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

Lucien's group returned home first.

He then handed control of the airship to Sebas and instructed him to escort the new subjects safely into the territory.

Lucien was in a hurry.

Ever since the notification announcing his advancement to Level 60, his divine core had been stirring restlessly. It's like something immense was awakening inside.

He hurried into his room.

"System, show me the notifications again."

[Ting!]

<Congratulations: Level 60 Reached!>

[Higher chance of dropping higher rarity items.]

Lucien blinked in disbelief.

"That's… it?"

No new skills. Just an increased chance for rare drops. Useful, yes but hardly the breakthrough he had expected.

Then—

His divine core shook again, this time far more violently.

Without hesitation, Lucien shifted his consciousness inward.

And there, at the center of the mini Earth, he finally saw the source of the disturbance.

Skillpedia and the Magic Book.

"They're… updating?"

Lucien's brows furrowed. He had believed every secret within those books had already been unlocked.

Yet now, the space around them rippled. It was distorted as though concealing something new.

It was as if something was waiting for him beyond the distortion.

Whatever it was, it didn't feel ordinary.

Lucien fell silent.

And soon... it revealed itself.

With one final tremor, the warped space cleared. Lucien's eyes widened at the sight before him.

"...Doors?"

Yes, doors.

Five of them appeared beneath Skillpedia, arranged in the shape of a pentagon.

Lucien walked around them and read the labels etched onto each.

1-Star. 2-Star. 3-Star. 4-Star. 5-Star.

Another five doors emerged beneath the Magic Book, also forming a pentagon. These, however, bore different markings.

Basic. Intermediate. Advanced. Runes & Magic Circles. Ancient Spells.

Lucien stood speechless.

Each door pulsed with an aura so formidable, it almost felt like they weren't his to command.

Still, curiosity drove him forward. He approached the doors under Skillpedia and tested them one by one.

Only the 1-Star Door responded, nudging slightly open.

Lucien fell silent.

Beyond the slightly opened door was nothing but darkness. It was pitch-black as though it connected to another world entirely.

He hesitated for a heartbeat… then stepped through.

What greeted him made him stop in shock.

The inside was nothing like he expected.

It resembled a vast training ground, scattered with practice dummies.

Instinctively, his gaze drifted upward...

...and his eyes lit up.

Above him stretched a sky full of glittering stars.

But no… on closer inspection, they weren't stars at all. They were glowing crystals, each one carved with a name.

Lucien's breath caught. "These… these are one-star skills."

Testing his theory, he reached up and made a grasping motion. To his surprise, one of the crystals descended into his hand.

<1-Star Skill: SLASH>

The very first skill he had ever learned through Skillpedia.

"How does this work…?" he muttered.

Pouring divine energy into the crystal, he braced himself.

And suddenly—

The crystal flared with light and shot toward the ground.

From it, a glowing figure of a man emerged.

Lucien stiffened, instinctively raising his guard. But instead of attacking, the figure moved past him.

It walked calmly to one of the training dummies. A sword shimmered into existence in its hand. Then, with a single fluid motion, it performed a slash.

Lucien's eyes widened.

"He's… training? No... he's demonstrating the conditions to learn the skill!"

He watched in silence, unable to look away. The figure's movements were precise and smooth. Each motion carried the weight of experience as if the act was second nature.

There were no shortcuts. No tricks. No system loopholes.

Only the pure, disciplined mastery of technique.

It felt as though the figure was showing him a truth. This is how skills are truly meant to be learned.

At last, the demonstration ended.

Then… the figure turned its head toward Lucien.

Lucien snapped out of his thoughts. His body tensed.

The figure raised its sword.

This time... aimed at him.

In that instant, a blade materialized before Lucien. His hand moved on instinct, gripping it tightly.

And without warning, the figure struck.

A clean, precise SLASH.

Lucien reacted just in time, intercepting the blow. His arms trembled at the impact. The force behind the strike was far greater than he expected.

The figure didn't relent. It shifted seamlessly and its blade flashed from a new angle. Another SLASH.

Lucien dodged. 'Shit... I can't use anything beyond one-star skills here… and magic is sealed!'

Thankfully, his physical strength remained intact.

Steel clashed against steel as the duel escalated. Their swords moved in a rapid exchange.

The rhythm was strangely… exhilarating.

Despite the pressure, Lucien felt no malice from the figure. If anything, it was as if the man was teaching him... forcing him to understand the essence of the skill.

Each SLASH carried subtle variations, unique flows Lucien had never considered. And he was falling behind.

But his body was his edge. With a sudden burst of strength, Lucien twisted his blade and knocked the figure's sword flying.

A smirk tugged at his lips. Victory.

Or so he thought.

The figure didn't falter. Instead, it raised its empty hand... then swung.

Another SLASH.

Executed without a weapon.

Lucien's eyes widened a split second before the strike connected.

Impact exploded across his body and he was thrown to the ground.

Everything had happened so quickly.

Yet instead of frustration, Lucien felt exhilarated. The duel had stirred something inside him.

A spark of inspiration.

He looked at the glowing figure and then...

The figure nodded at him. Then it reached out its hand.

Lucien grasped it and pulled himself to his feet.

Without another word, the figure dissolved back into light. It transformed once more into a floating crystal that drifted upward among the rest.

Lucien stood in silence.

"That man…" he shook his head.

He patted his body. No injuries. No lingering pain. Only the memory of the exchange.

"This space… it's tailored for training skills. And that figure... my partner to guide me through it."

A small smile tugged at his lips as he gazed at the glowing crystals above.

"And this was only the 1-Star Door. What else awaits behind the others?"

With that thought lingering, he stepped out of the space.

His attention shifted to the Magic Book.

Of the five doors beneath it, only the Basic Door was unlocked.

Lucien placed his hand on the Basic Door and entered.

Inside was calm and quiet. A wide open field with targets lined up in the distance.

The same glowing crystals floated above but unlike those in Skillpedia, these were tinted in different colors.

Likely marking their magic attributes.

Lucien reached for a red one.

<Basic Fire Magic Spell: Fireball>

As he infused it with divine energy, another glowing figure emerged.

This time, it was a woman.

Lucien's breath stilled. He didn't need to guess anymore. These figures... He now knew who they are.

The woman moved gracefully, demonstrating the process step by step.

From forming the spell, to controlling it, to finally releasing it.

And then... she cast Fireball.

Lucien's eyes widened, completely entranced.

Her Fireballs weren't ordinary.

One burst into a blazing flower, scattering petals of flame before detonating on impact.

Another shone pure white and the moment it struck a target, it melted clean through as if erasing existence itself.

More followed. Each with its own unique form and advantage. Variations Lucien had never even imagined.

"So powerful…" he was unable to contain his awe.

Every spell was as precise as it was beautiful.

A simple Fireball yet infinite in potential.

Lucien turned to the glowing figure. She met his gaze, gave a small nod and then dissolved back into crystal.

Lucien was speechless.

Once outside, Lucien gave one last look at the doors and the two books.

His cheats… they had evolved.

No longer just granting him access to skills and spells...

They were now showing him efficient ways to wield them. Teaching him the proper methods to master and refine them.

Lucien's lips curved into a faint smile.

"Training will be far more efficient from now on."

With that, he withdrew his consciousness and returned to his real body.

He immediately sought out Sebas and the others.

"Have Sebas and the new subjects arrived?"

A guard bowed. "My Lord, Sebas left just now on the airship."

Lucien paused.

Something felt off. He was certain he had spent at least an hour inside that strange space... Yet outside, only a few short minutes had passed.

His eyes lit up with sharp realization.

If time flowed differently in that realm… then his training speed wouldn't just improve... it would accelerate beyond imagination.

•••

When all the new members had arrived, Lucien first tasked his people with preparing temporary accommodations for them.

Afterward, he summoned the senior assassin who had recognized Sebas.

The man stepped forward. His was called Viper. One of the five Tier 7 assassins within the group.

Inside the Town Hall, the atmosphere grew heavy.

"Sebas must have already briefed you on the basics," Lucien said evenly. "But I want details. Tell us exactly what happened to the Assassin's Guild."

Viper's expression darkened. He gave a grim nod and began to recount the tale.

To summarize…

It all began twelve years ago. Thousand's Skill Luke's death.

In truth, though the Chief of the Guild was notorious for his cold-hearted pragmatism, he had always held Luke in high regard.

He had even made an exception for him. This was something he made clear to the senior assassins including Viper.

But then… one night, everything changed.

After meeting with a certain client, the Chief returned different.

His demeanor. His eyes. Even his tone. It was as if he were no longer himself... as if some unseen hand was pulling his strings.

Without hesitation, he gave a shocking order.

Hunt down Luke. Kill his family. Leave nothing behind.

That same client supplied Luke's location each time as though orchestrating the entire pursuit.

Worse still... the Magic Tower's Grandmaster became like that too. The Guild and the Tower moved in tandem.

And the assassination…

...was successful.

And soon after… came the King's rampage.

The King stormed the Assassin's Guild and the Magic Tower, leaving devastation in his wake.

That was the version most nobles knew...

But the truth was different.

The senior assassins... Viper among them... understood what had truly happened.

The King was not blindly furious. He had another agenda.

Behind the mask of madness, the King actually cured the Guild Chief from his mind's enslavement.

The chains of control were shattered. The Chief returned to himself… yet his memory of the mysterious client was erased completely as though deliberately wiped away.

When he came to, his face was twisted in shame. For a time, he nearly disbanded the Guild altogether.

But in the end, he could not. Assassins knew nothing else. Killing was the only way they could survive.

Then soon... another shadow fell over them.

A certain client appeared. One who commissioned assassinations in alarming numbers. Ten or sometimes more, at a time.

But the Guild had no idea that this "client" had a different scheme. Each assassin sent on a job returned marked... inscribed with hidden magic circles. Not even the assassins themselves noticed it.

It was the Chief who discovered it first.

He confronted the client. The Chief, a Tier 9, fought with everything he had.

He came close... so very close... to victory.

But then… the threat came.

The client turned his attention to the other assassins. If the Chief resisted, his comrades would be slaughtered.

The assassins tried to fight back, desperate to break free.

That was when the magic circles activated.

Viper's voice grew tight.

"They didn't simply die. They screamed. They writhed. It was… agony worse than death itself. And we could do nothing but watch. Worse..."

Every death fed the client.

Their souls and power were devoured.

Even the Chief who they all believed was cold-blooded yielded at last.

That was how the Assassin's Guild became what it is today.

Yet the Chief never forgot. Time and again, he told his assassins...

"If you find a way to erase your bind, do it. Do not return. For if you come back, I will kill you myself. Better to die by my hand than fall to him."

And then came their latest orders from the client.

This time, the Guild was tasked to assist the Coalhearts.

First... cause an artificial dungeon break.

Then... collect monster materials, especially beast blood. Essential catalysts for rituals, runes and magic circles.

Finally... to aid the Coalhearts in their conquest.

When Viper finished speaking, silence blanketed the Hall.

The truth was a heavy weight pressing on all of them.

There was no doubt now.

The "client" could only be Malrik Golddust.

Each revelation tangled the web further.

But the most terrifying mystery remained.

Who was the one who first controlled the Chief to kill Luke?

The revelation was almost too much to take in. They were facing more than one enemy... each with schemes that reached deeper than anyone realized.

Lucien's voice cut through the silence.

"By any chance, has Harold Coalheart returned?"

Viper shook his head.

"Not yet, Young Lord. The plans were set beforehand… and they continue without delay."

At that, Lucien's eyes lit up.

"I see… then it's settled."

His lips curved into a sharp smile.

"I'll go undercover to the Coalheart region myself."