The Werebeast nation lay far to the north, and even for Riku, it took three days to reach.
Along the way, he slaughtered a few Demonias, collecting another two thousand exchange points. With his strength now, he didn't need to avoid every small fry anymore.
As long as he didn't run into any of the first six races, everything was fine. Even if he did, as long as it wasn't someone on Jibril's level, he could still run away.
Of course, Riku wasn't just killing Demonias; he also gathered five treasure chests. One was Silver, the other four were Bronze.
Unfortunately, the loot this time was underwhelming. The four Bronze chests contained pure junk.
At least for Riku at this stage.
A "Hacker Master" skill—what good was that in this world? Hack a Dwarf warship? Sorry, this so-called "Hacker Master" only came with knowledge from Earth…
An infinite-ammo revolver… Only good for normal humans or animals. It couldn't scratch anything here.
A super-charged stink bomb… He almost tossed it immediately, but grudgingly stored it away.
The last Bronze chest was at least practical—a high-tech gadget that could create clothing from ambient particles. Handy, but zero help in battle.
As for the Silver chest, it was debatable: an Asauchi from Bleach. But you'd have to awaken it yourself. What a pain.
Now that Riku was this strong, a single sword wouldn't matter much.
"There's about half a day left to the Werebeast capital, but there's a Gold chest nearby. If I grab it, it'll cost a few extra hours," Riku muttered.
"…Fine, let's go for the Gold chest first. It's always safer to have more trump cards before entering Werebeast territory." He changed direction.
Three hours later, Riku found himself in a canyon, eerie enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
Even Riku frowned, sensing trouble.
"…!" Strange noises echoed; Riku's golden eyes narrowed.
Behind him, several enormous, rotting mutant snakes slithered out, tongues flicking.
At the same time, other Demonias appeared.
"So, I wandered into a Demonia nest. No wonder it wasn't going to be simple," Riku sighed.
Silver and Bronze chests weren't so hard to get, but a Gold chest was different.
Suddenly, the five giant rotting snakes bared their fangs and spat clouds of black poison at Riku. Stones dissolved wherever the miasma touched—deadly stuff.
Riku frowned, stomped the ground, blasted out a crater, and shot up into the sky.
With Skywalk, he hovered a hundred meters in the air, Spirit energy gathering in his hand.
"Projection."
With that, a bow and a Cádlbolg II materialised.
Whoosh! Riku drew the Cádlbolg II, nocked it, and fired downward.
A piercing sound ripped through the air. The Spiral Sword skewered one of the giant snakes, which let out an agonised scream as black blood splattered.
Boom! The resulting blast was like an intercontinental missile going off, shredding several snakes.
But Riku didn't stop. He kept firing swords, and explosions echoed through the canyon.
Down below, every Demonia was blasted to pieces.
"Easy shooting," Riku murmured, relaxing. Just then, the air was torn by a new attack. Instantly, Riku used Shambhala to teleport.
The spot where he'd just stood was sliced open by a strike that warped the air itself. Had he stayed, he'd have been meat paste.
"A Demonia? Or a Lord-level Demonia, some kind of Phantasma?" Riku looked up, eyes sharp.
It was a massive eagle, five times the size of a normal bird of prey. No feathers, just black metallic plates, talons and a beak razor-sharp, and eyes blood-red and cunning.
The giant eagle's presence was overwhelming, like a true apex predator.