Dongxiang Zhuang, hotel terrace.
Wang Changle sat by the pool, eating today's blood food—sashimi, one bite at a time.
Although Black Hoof wasn't truly inside his body, it could draw energy through the curse array on his chest.
That meant he had to keep replenishing his blood food to convert it into energy, consuming at least 10 pounds a day.
The best food he could think of was sashimi. Cutting the fish flesh straight from the fish ensured it stayed fresh and counted as blood food.
Enjoying delicious food while taking in the beautiful night scenery was something he hadn't done in many years. He hadn't expected to experience it in a Derivative World.
Once he'd finished his blood food, he took out his spoils:
2 Bloody Cards, 7 White Chests, 1 Green Chest, 1 Crimson Chest, 2 Characteristic Cards, and 1 Bronze Honor Medal.
That was right: he hadn't opened any of his spoils in the ten days since the battle.
First, he'd had to plan and scheme around the invitation, replenish his Life Essence, restore his health, and consider how to make up for his shortcomings. He hadn't had the time.
Second, he preferred to plan ahead before taking action. Since these spoils were already his, he could wait until his plans had borne fruit before opening them.
If his plans failed, he could use the spoils as stepping stones for his next course of action!
[You opened White Chest ×7] You obtained 200 Paradise Coins You obtained 100 Paradise Coins ...
You obtained Giant Snake's Tooth ×1
You obtained Rough Dagger ×1
The 7 White Chests had yielded a White weapon, a White material, and 800 Paradise Coins.
Rough Dagger
Origin: Unknown
White: 5
Type: Equipment
Attack Power: 2–5
Durability: 3/8
Description: A shoddily made, corroded dagger.
Price: 100 Paradise Coins
The mottled blade was coated in sticky oil. It had clearly come from the Formless Child. He took out the twisted, damaged Black Iron Helmet and set both items aside for now.
Giant Snake's Tooth
Origin: Enkai World
Type: Material
Description: A snake's fang with a blood groove. With a little polishing, it can be used as a weapon.
Price: 400 Paradise Coins
The white fang was as thick as a baby's arm, with smooth enamel and a tough texture. Its sharp point and groove made it an excellent choice for crafting a weapon.
The 7 White Chests hadn't been bad. Their contents were fairly average.
Next, he picked up a Crimson Card and immediately received a system prompt.
[You obtained a Crimson Card. Use it?] [You obtained Scroll: Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique ×1] [You obtained Playboy Collection ×1] [You obtained Boots of Agility]
It was an artistic photo collection, featuring everything from long legs to pale, rounded curves. He glanced at it speechlessly, then tossed it into the trash.
In Cycle Paradise, if you had the ability to conquer a Derivative World and build your own harem, that was nothing unusual. There was no point wasting space carrying around a collection to fantasize over.
[Scroll: Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique] Origin: Naruto World White: 10 (Rare) Type: Consumable Effect: Consumes 50 magic points to deal 30 fire damage to an area within 3 meters in front of the user. Lasts 2 seconds. (Uses remaining: 1/2) Description: A product of the Third Shinobi World War. Price: 1,500 Paradise Coins ...
Seeing this, he couldn't help smiling. It was decent enough and could make up for his lack of offensive options.
He suddenly understood why that Vormi had only used it once. It was probably because the Vormi's low Intelligence meant it didn't have enough mana.
Thanks, dear Vormi. May you be reborn into a better life!
[Boots of Agility] Origin: World of Warcraft White: 9 Agility: Agility +1 Defense: 3 Durability: 10/15 Description: A pair of short boots made from hyena leather. Price: 1,200 Paradise Coins ...
The dark green leather boots were quite light in his hands, though they had a few signs of corrosion and looked rather dirty.
Their attributes were decent, but he couldn't use them for now, so he set them aside as well.
He'd opened so many chests, and not one had yielded anything green. The only item he could use was a single-use consumable.
He picked up another Crimson Card and chose to open it.
[You obtained Repair Hammer ×1] [You obtained Black Iron ×1] [You obtained 10 ml of Golden Liquid]
This Crimson Card had come from the baseball-playing Vormi he'd killed. He'd also obtained a Characteristic Card: Smelting.
He already had Black Iron, so he picked up the bottle of golden liquid with some curiosity.
[Golden Liquid, 10 ml] Origin: Lord of the Rings 2 World White: 8 Type: Material Description: Refined from gold with 100% purity. A good material for repairs, forging, and alchemy. Price: 1,000 Paradise Coins ... [Repair Hammer] Origin: Arad Continent White: 5 Type: Consumable Effect: Restores 2 durability points to the target equipment. (2/5) Description: Clang, clang, clang. A small iron hammer used by craftsmen. Price: 800 Paradise Coins. ...
That baseball-playing Vormi must have been a Staff Member, one who made a living through forging. Smelting was most likely its talent or passive ability.
He put the materials away for now. He could deal with them after returning to Paradise.
But the little iron hammer was quite handy. It solved his urgent problem: he currently lacked head protection. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to use a car helmet as a substitute earlier.
"Clang, clang." He struck it twice.
The helmet rang under the blows, and its durability recovered by more than half. It was no longer twisted out of shape. Though still a little dented, it was wearable now.
The helmet didn't offer much defense, but it was White Equipment all the same. Its appearance matched the Armor of Toughness, making him look rather imposing!
Opening chests and drawing cards was addictive, especially before you got something you liked. There was always a voice in the back of your mind telling you the next one would definitely shine!
That was exactly how he felt now. His gaze drifted to the two chests.
First was the Two-headed Snake's chest. He selected it to open.
[You obtained 2,000 Paradise Coins] [You obtained Ring of the Prophet]
Ring of the Prophet
Origin: Demon World
White: 10 (Rare)
Type: Accessory
Effect: Intelligence +1
Description: A kobold prophet's ring, imbued with faint magic.
Price: 1,800 Paradise Coins
The brownish-yellow ring was made of bone. He couldn't tell what animal it had come from. Strange characters formed rings of runes around it, lending it an ancient appearance.
A ring that added 1 point of Intelligence would give him a decent boost. After all, Intelligence was one of his affinity attributes. This could be called his best find of the day.
The most immediate effect after putting it on was that his perception had improved. His range of awareness had expanded considerably, and everything within it seemed clearer.
The last chest was the Crimson Chest he'd deliberately saved for last. His target this time had been a contractor from another Paradise.
Naturally, it deserved to be the grand finale. A sense of ceremony mattered, after all!
The chest opened in a flash of green light. Its soft, bright glow illuminated the surroundings.
[You obtained Nagini's Ring ×1] [You obtained Book of Eibon (remnant) ×1]
Within the green light was a gold ring set with an emerald. Twisting snakes were engraved on its openwork setting.
The green gemstone was tiny but flawless, like an open snake's eye.
[Nagini's Ring] Origin: Harry Potter World Green: 30 (Fine) Type: Accessory Serpent's Curse: Transform into a giant snake for 5 minutes. (Once every 7 natural days) Description: Nagini's eyes are watching you! Price: 5,500 Paradise Coins ...
This was a magical ring. It provided no attribute bonuses, but it did grant a standalone transformation skill. Its cooldown was extremely long, and its duration was short.
But it was a fine Green ring rated 30. Thinking of the giant snake by Voldemort's side, the skill probably wasn't weak.
A powerful burst skill was as good as having another trump card in Cycle Paradise!
A black stone slab lay on the ground, its surface gleaming with eerie green light. It looked much like the slab he'd found before.
However, this one was intact, not a rubbing. The symbols upon it weren't written in any script he recognized, but in cuneiform characters that seemed to writhe constantly.
[Book of Eibon (remnant)] Origin: Unknown Green: 30 (Fine) Type: Pass Requirements: Intelligence 15, Constitution 12, Charisma 12, Strength 10, Agility 10 Blood Sacrifice: Absorb 1,000 units of blood to obtain an unknown spell. (599/1,000) Dream: After reading, embark on a dream journey and gain knowledge related to Cthulhu. (1/1) Description: A book of blood sacrifice, stained with the blood of living beings. Price: 8,000 Paradise Coins ...
Rather than a slab used for rituals, this seemed to be a coagulation of the blood of living beings. The slab's surface was covered in clotted blood beneath its eerie glow.
He quickly put it away. He couldn't use this thing yet.
The incredibly high requirements confirmed that the so-called Dreamlands must be a very dangerous place. He still knew nothing about it.
Requirements in all five attributes meant that even those values were only the bare minimum.
If he wanted to complete the journey through the Dreamlands, he would need even higher attributes.
After opening all the cards and chests, he picked up the Characteristic Card: Smelting. After a moment's thought, he also picked up the roughly made dagger.
[You have bestowed the Smelting characteristic upon the target equipment.]
A brilliant light flashed, and a small dagger appeared in his hand.
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