Chapter 13: A World of Titans
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In a great forest, with a vast meadow in the distance, there was a slight flash as a multicolored portal opened.
From this very portal, the blond Uzumaki stepped out with a little force, struggling to regain his balance.
"Yeah... I'm still not used to these things," the blond said as he looked around to see where he had ended up this time.
He noticed that this place was a forest with an environment very similar to the Void where he had awakened.
Curiously, he tried to take a step, but at that moment, a notification appeared.
[Treasure Obtained!]
[You have obtained the most coveted wealth in the universe of Treasure Planet, the Loot of a Thousand Worlds. A fortune capable of eclipsing that of countless civilizations. Your achievement has reached a level that surpasses the limits of conventional wealth.]
[Rewards: (Infinite Money Coin), (+1,000 SP)]
At that moment, Naruto felt something warm in the palm of his hand. When he raised it, he saw a beautiful golden coin with a black "$" symbol engraved on its surface.
Moments later, he watched as his inventory opened involuntarily, taking the form of a portal, where he could see the coin beginning to absorb all the wealth he had obtained previously.
And, within seconds, all the gold coins disappeared from his inventory without leaving a single one behind, leaving only the most valuable jewels.
Naruto was about to contemplate this strange occurrence, but at that moment, a dull sound interrupted him.
¡Thump...! ¡Thump...! ¡Thump...!
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the strange sound he was hearing. So, he decided to find out what it was, though not before storing the golden coin in his inventory.
As soon as it disappeared, he directed his full attention toward the direction from which those sounds were coming.
Each impact against the ground caused the surroundings to tremble slightly.
"Uhm...?"
Naruto looked curiously toward the source of the strange sound as his senses sharpened.
The footsteps continued to echo, getting closer and closer.
¡Thump...! ¡Thump...! ¡Thump...!
Then, an enormous silhouette slowly emerged from between the trees.
Naruto looked up at the giant that had appeared.
It had a clearly human appearance, but only in the most superficial sense. Nearly ten meters tall, it had a naked body that lacked any private parts.
Its gaze remained fixed on Naruto, as if it had chosen him as its next prey.
"A human... giant?" the blond asked curiously, looking at the Pure Titan approaching him.
So, he simply remained still, allowing the thing to finish approaching while its heavy footsteps continued to make the ground tremble.
¡Thump...! ¡Thump...!
When the creature was close enough, it extended a massive hand and easily grabbed Naruto.
Even the Titan's tremendous grip did not cause him the slightest harm. The creature held him firmly, but failed to crush him, as if it were completely unaware of the enormous difference in strength between them.
"Wow," Naruto said, noticing the strength of this human-like creature's grip.
He could only observe it with greater curiosity, becoming increasingly confused by its behavior.
The very next moment, the giant opened its mouth wide and brought Naruto toward it. Without hesitation, it clamped its jaws down with force, attempting to split him in half and devour him.
¡Crunch!
The sound that followed was not that of flesh being torn apart. It was the sound of something hard breaking.
The giant's teeth splintered and shattered the instant they bit into Naruto's body.
As for the mustached blond, he had not received even a single scratch. The only thing that had been damaged was his clothing, now torn apart by the pressure of the bite.
The Titan remained there as its teeth began to emit steam and slowly regenerated.
Even so, it did not release Naruto.
Naruto noticed what was happening with its teeth, realizing that, in that regard, the creature was just like him. Whenever it suffered an injury, that same steam emerged from it and the wound healed.
"Aetheria..." Naruto said as he watched the teeth return to normal. "Is that thing like me?"
With relative ease, he managed to pry open the Titan's hand. He summoned Mjölnir and quickly hurled it toward the creature's head.
Based on everything he had experienced up to that point, that seemed to be the point where they were all instantly killed if it was destroyed.
So, he aimed directly there.
Part of the Titan's head exploded in a shower of blood, flesh, and bone fragments that scattered across the ground, while its enormous body collapsed with a thunderous crash.
That blow was not born from hatred or anger, but from simple annoyance. After all, the damn giant human had torn apart part of his clothes.
[If you are referring to the matter of the injury, then yes, it is the same. However, you are somewhat superior in that regard.]
At the question, Aetheria remained thoughtful for a moment before answering.
"Then why did it want to eat me? Is it like the zombies?" he asked curiously.
[Although their appetite for humans is similar to that of zombies, they are not the same.]
[Titans devour people out of instinct, while zombies do so out of hunger.]
Naruto nodded curiously before turning his gaze back toward the fallen Titan.
His eyes widened slightly when he saw an enormous amount of steam escaping from the creature's neck, while its head began to regenerate right before his eyes.
And even then, the Titan continued moving.
"If I'm superior to that... can I do something like that too?"
[In that regard, you can, but the Titan may actually be superior. This is because you could suffer mental issues from doing so.]
Aetheria's confirmation left Naruto thoughtful.
[Additionally, if you truly wish to kill a Titan, you must destroy the nape of its neck. It is the only weak point of these creatures.]
Naruto nodded once again, although that information also sparked a new question in his mind.
"If that can kill them... could it also kill me?"
[...]
[It could kill you, Naruto, but that is impossible in this world. In others... there may possibly be ways to do so.]
[So, don't worry too much, Naruto. Your resilience is superior to anything in this world, so they won't be able to do anything to you.]
Naruto simply nodded, unaware that the slight tension he had accumulated in his body was completely dissipating.
At that moment, the Arc Reactor appeared over his chest with a soft glow. A small number of nanobots emerged from it and moved toward the tips of two of his fingers.
Within moments, two thin, curved, transparent discs were created.
[Naruto, for what comes next, I need you to follow my instructions so you can put on these contact lenses.]
Naruto simply nodded.
Following Aetheria's instructions, he managed to place the discs over his irises.
He did not notice as those discs began expanding until they completely covered the surface of his eyes. It was then that his left eye began to change.
An instant later, both eyes once again looked identical, while the scar continued to run across his left eye.
Before the blond could ask what those things were for, a HUD appeared in his eyes, similar to the one on the helmet of the Mark armor.
With it, a 3D image of the Titan appeared, with a red dot indicating the place he needed to destroy: the Titan's nape.
Naruto saw the marker before approaching the fallen Titan, which was slowly moving.
A few steps later, he was already standing beside the Titan's neck, which was attempting to rise as its head finished regenerating.
Without the slightest hesitation, he delivered a direct and devastating blow to its nape, as well as the rest of its neck.
The hammer destroyed the neck with terrifying ease, as if there were no resistance at all.
The force of the blow was so great that the hammer continued its trajectory until it struck the ground, creating a small, deep crater.
Once its neck was destroyed, the giant stopped moving completely. At the same time, thick steam began emanating from its entire body, rather than just from the wound.
[Event Detected!]
[You have eliminated your first Titan. Continue hunting Titans to complete the objective and obtain a special system reward.]
[Progress: 1/10 Titans eliminated]
Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw the new notification appear before his eyes. Then he turned his gaze back toward the Titan he had just defeated.
He remained motionless for several seconds, staring at the translucent screen floating before him.
When he realized it was not disappearing, he frowned slightly.
"And what is this supposed to be?" he asked curiously, as Mjölnir disappeared and he crossed his arms.
Aetheria's calm voice soon answered inside his mind.
[It is one of the system's functions. For certain things you do, you will be rewarded. This will help you adapt to this new world and obtain various rewards.]
Naruto looked at the notification again.
"Rewards?"
[That's right.]
[In this case, if you manage to eliminate ten Pure Titans, you will complete the event and receive a ticket for a roulette.]
Naruto raised an eyebrow upon hearing the unfamiliar word.
"A roulette?"
[It is a system mechanism that will allow you to obtain a predetermined reward, but at random. And depending on your luck, you may obtain something from that roulette.]
The blond let out a soft whistle.
"Sounds interesting," he said, wondering what kinds of things could be inside this so-called roulette.
[Of course, nothing is free.]
[You will have to complete the objectives assigned to you by the system in order to obtain these kinds of rewards.]
A confident smile slowly appeared on his face, even though he did not fully understand what he was getting himself into.
"It's only ten Titans, Aetheria, I'll finish this very quickly," said a confident Naruto, still wearing that smile.
Aetheria remained silent, knowing perfectly well that Naruto was capable of doing exactly that in a short amount of time.
Thus, Naruto continued walking through the enormous trees of the forest, without rushing, while observing the surroundings around him.
The place was surprisingly peaceful.
The breeze gently moved the treetops, the leaves crunched beneath his footsteps, and the songs of a few birds filled the air.
For a moment, it would have been difficult to believe that this world, especially the island he was on, was on the verge of extinction because of the Titans.
However, that sense of calm did not last long.
A loud crash echoed behind him.
Before he could fully turn around, a nearly six-meter Titan emerged from between the trees and lunged at him with unexpected speed.
Naruto dodged it on instinct, moving several meters away from the Titan. And, without thinking twice, he pulled the shield from his inventory and hurled it forcefully toward the creature's face.
The vibranium shield struck one of its eyes head-on, eliciting a roar of pain as it tried to tear it away.
Naruto took advantage of the opening. He moved at an incredible speed and, in an instant, appeared behind the Titan.
He used his web-shooters for propulsion, reaching the neck before delivering a powerful blow with Mjölnir.
The wound proved extremely lethal.
The Titan remained completely motionless for a brief moment before collapsing heavily onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
A few seconds later, the characteristic steam began escaping from the enormous corpse.
[Progress: 2/10 Titans eliminated.]
Naruto smiled slightly when he saw the new notification.
"Two down."
He made a small leap forward with the blade retracting into the reactor, while removing the shield from the Titan's eye.
He was about to resume his path, but he glanced at the Arc Reactor on his chest, beneath his jacket.
Then he looked at the Infinity Gems integrated into the bracelet, focusing especially on the Power Stone.
He remained thoughtful for a few seconds, remembering his confrontation with Thanos. Then, a small smile appeared on his face.
"I have a better idea to speed this up."
With a double tap, the armor deployed across his entire body until it completely covered him.
The next instant, a powerful burst of energy erupted from the armor's thrusters, launching him into the sky at an impressive speed.
As he climbed above the treetops, he spoke to Aetheria.
"Aetheria, locate the largest concentration of Titans in the area."
The response came almost immediately.
[Scanning...]
An instant later, a glowing marker appeared on the helmet's visor. On the detailed map, it pointed toward a specific direction.
[Target located. The largest concentration of Titans is approximately three kilometers in this direction.]
Naruto smiled beneath the helmet.
"Perfect."
Without wasting a second, he leaned his body forward and increased the power of the thrusters.
Like a bullet streaking through the sky, he shot toward the indicated location, determined to accelerate the hunt.
Naruto soared through the sky at an incredible speed, leaving a white trail behind him as he flew over the immense forest.
Suddenly, something gigantic caught his attention in the distance.
Far away, an enormous wall rose into the sky, seemingly dividing the world in two.
The armor's visor reacted immediately.
[Scanning...]
[...]
[Scan complete!]
[Name: Shiganshina District, Wall Maria (Outer Wall)]
[Estimated Height: 50 meters]
[Wall Maria serves as the first line of defense for human territory, forming an imposing barrier designed to contain and keep the Titans at bay.]
Naruto stared at the colossal structure with some surprise.
"Wow... it's huge."
However, before he could continue analyzing it, another alert appeared on the visor.
[High concentration of hostile lifeforms detected.]
A red marker appeared at a location beyond the wall.
Naruto looked in that direction and spotted a large group of Titans slowly moving across a wide clearing.
A smile appeared beneath the helmet. Without wasting any time, he leaned his body forward and accelerated.
As he descended in a dive, he began channeling the power of the Power Stone.
When he was directly above the group of Titans, he aimed downward, using the gauntlet's thruster as a conduit for the energy.
A gigantic beam of purple energy descended like a meteor.
The impact was immediate.
¡¡BOOOOOOOOM!!
A colossal explosion shook the entire area.
The shockwave swept away the nearby trees, sending tons of earth and rocks flying as an immense cloud of dust rose toward the sky.
The Titans caught within the blast radius did not even have a chance to react.
Their bodies were pulverized instantly, reduced to ashes by the devastating energy of the stone.
When the dust began to dissipate, all that remained was a massive smoking crater. Not a trace of the Titans remained. Only molten earth and steam slowly rising into the air.
A new notification appeared before Naruto.
[Progress: 17/10 Titans eliminated.]
Naruto blinked as he read it, before smiling upon seeing that he had completed the objective.
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