Holding his dust-proof cloak tight, Riku looked at the giant steel wreck in front of him and muttered, "So this is a Dwarf warship… it really is massive."
On this planet, Dwarves had extremely advanced technology—airships, laser weapons, even nukes were nothing special to them. Dwarves might not be strong individually, but with their gear, they could wipe out humans in an instant.
[Ding! Dwarf warship wreckage detected. Value: 5,000 exchange points. Recycle?]
As Riku got close to the wreck, the system prompt made him grin. Just as he'd hoped, the warship could be recycled and was worth a fortune. This trip had been worth it.
'Not yet,' Riku thought. He still had things to do.
'I just hope all the Dwarves are dead… or things could get messy.'
He tied up his horse, grabbed some rope, and then started to climb into the wreck using the Skywalk.
If someone from Earth saw him stepping through the air like this, they'd probably shout about cultivators and superpowers.
The feeling of walking on air was strange, but Riku got used to it quickly.
He moved carefully through the ship. Even though it had been ruined for a while, there was still a chance some Dwarves or Demonia might be lurking inside.
Only when he finally found the Dwarves' telescope, dismantled the spirit power source, and put it into his storage did he allow himself to relax.
That was the official reason for this trip; now he could focus on other things.
"System, recycle the Dwarf warship wreck," Riku said calmly. With the chest hidden somewhere in this complicated mess, recycling the whole thing was the easiest solution.
And he could use the exchange points for something else.
[Ding! Warship recycled. Value: 5,000 exchange points. Recycle complete.]
"System, spend five thousand points to redeem an Exquisite Chest," Riku ordered.
[Ding! 5,000 exchange points spent. Exquisite Chest acquired.]
Right away, a chest radiating green light appeared before him.
Excited, Riku placed his hand on the chest.
With a click, it opened, revealing a ball of white light.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained a Mid-grade Chaos Energy Core.]
Mid-grade Chaos Energy Core: Once absorbed, plants an energy seed in the user, allowing autonomous absorption of external energy and storage. If you understand one type of energy, Chaos Energy can convert to others.
[Ding! Mid-grade Chaos Energy Core detected. Value: 10,000 exchange points. Recycle?]
'Don't recycle, just absorb it,' Riku said, eyebrow raised. Obviously, this core was worth way more than the chest itself. He could technically recycle it for two more chests, but who knows if he'd get this lucky again?
Besides, something that boosts his power and works across different worlds was exactly what he needed.
[Understood.]
The white light merged into Riku's body, and he felt a huge surge of power. Even his spirit, normally so faint in humans, became much stronger.
"Yeah, that's the good stuff," he said, enjoying the energy pulsing inside him.
"So this is spirit energy…" He held out his hand, gathering the glowing green energy of the spirits around him. It was impressive.
"But even though I'm stronger now, I still don't have any real skills—it's just raw power." Riku shook his head. No point in getting cocky.
'Looks like I need to find a way to learn some magic from the Elves,' he thought, a smirk on his face.
At that moment, the Elves were still peacefully living in their forests, never imagining a human—someone they saw as little more than a monkey—was now targeting them.
"But first, let's test this power."
Standing in midair, Riku looked down at a Demonia troll, howling because the warship had vanished.
So, there really was a Demonia inside after all.
With a shrug, Riku walked down to face the monster—a hulking brute three times his height, face twisted and terrifying.
Provoked by a human, the troll roared and charged, wanting to tear Riku apart and devour him.
But before it could attack, Riku blurred forward, his fist wrapped in spirit energy. One punch to the troll's gut sent it flying, body breaking apart in midair, blood and flesh everywhere.
One hit. Instant kill!