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"Damn, this thing's still not dead? Tough bastard."Even from way up high, Riku's heightened senses let him see the black eagle still twitching and struggling inside the dust-filled crater.
"Hmph. Let's see if you can survive this."Riku frowned, then shot down like a missile, slamming his foot into the eagle's head mid-struggle and smashing it back into the dirt. Its skull caved in even more.
For the next few minutes, deafening explosions echoed nonstop. Rocks flew, the ground shook, and the black eagle's screams grew more and more pitiful.
Only after several minutes of brutal beatdown did everything finally go quiet.
"Finally dead," Riku muttered, sitting down on the eagle's mangled, bloody corpse and letting out a sigh. He canceled the Eight Gates technique.
"The power boost from the Eight Gates really is insane, especially when combined with my already maxed-out physical strength."Breathing slightly heavier, he nodded in satisfaction.
Everyone saw how powerful that black eagle was—its speed was off the charts, faster than even his own superhuman reactions. And its destructive force? Absolutely terrifying.
And yet, even that thing was beaten to death once he opened the Wound Gate.
"Too bad about the other demon-type corpses, though. That damn bird wiped them out with one energy blast—didn't even leave any scraps."Riku kicked the eagle's corpse, annoyed. Those were all worth points. If he could've salvaged them, he might've gotten two or three thousand exchange points. But now? Gone.
Ding! High-level demon-type creature "Black Metal Eagle" detected. Worth 8000 exchange points. Recycle?
The system's cold voice suddenly echoed in his head.
"Eight thousand?! This bastard's worth more than a goblin battleship!"Riku froze, then grinned from ear to ear.
To be honest, this was totally expected—after all, Rikuu had experienced Black Hawk's terrifying power firsthand. It wasn't quite on Jibril's level, but it was still enough to crush most races below the Rank Six tier. The only real exception? The Ex-Machinas.
When they team up, even gods aren't safe.
"Recycle," Rikuu ordered cheerfully.
In the blink of an eye, the giant eagle's corpse vanished, and Rikuu found himself hovering mid-air again.
"Sweet, another ten thousand exchange points. Should I buy two premium loot boxes…?" Rikuu hovered in place, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Eh, forget it. My power's pretty solid right now anyway. Better to save up for a superior loot box. Might get something even better." He shook his head, dropping the idea of buying more premium boxes for now.
"Next stop, the golden loot box. Alright, let's see if we can get a lucky start." He turned his gaze toward the glowing golden box not far away, excitement bubbling in his chest.
The past few days had been rough—his luck had been absolute garbage. Everything he pulled was trash.
With a flicker, his figure blurred like a mirage and zipped through the air. Within seconds, he was standing right in front of the golden box.
"Damn… no wonder it's a golden one. This thing's on a whole new level." He clicked his tongue in admiration, eyeing the gem-studded, dazzlingly ornate treasure chest.
Without wasting any more time, he reached out and placed a hand on it.
With a crisp click, the golden box popped open. A blinding light exploded from within, almost making Rikuu squint.
At the same time, the system's familiar voice chimed in:
Ding! Congratulations, Master! You've obtained one World Travel Token.
World Travel Token: Use it to randomly travel to a world the user is familiar with, triggering a special quest. While traveling, the time in the original world will pass differently. One year in another world is only a week in this one.
"A World Travel Token, huh… If I get lucky, this could be huge." Rikuu's golden eyes gleamed as he stared at the small golden token resting in his palm.
It wasn't a power-up or anything that'd boost his strength, but he wasn't disappointed either.
"Alright, no point overthinking. Time to get outta here. Caused way too much noise—if the top-tier races catch wind of this, I'll be in for another headache." Rikuu frowned slightly, then shook his head and disappeared from the area.
The aftermath of that short but intense battle left another massive crater in the landscape—a silent reminder of the chaos just moments before.
Not long after Rikuu left, a graceful figure appeared on the scene.
What a coincidence—it was someone he knew. A Flügel, and an extra rare one at that: Jibril.
"What a powerful energy signature… A serious fight happened here." Jibril glanced around the massive crater, her expression puzzled. "Weird… this energy feels kinda familiar…"
"Eh, whatever. No point in overthinking it. Gotta get back to chasing those monkeys in the forest. Can't believe they ran off with a magic book. How petty." After a few minutes of thought that led nowhere, Jibril muttered to herself and looked off into the distance.
The air shimmered as space distorted, and Jibril vanished into thin air.
"....."