Starting with No Game No Life: Infinite Chests

Seeing the looks on Sonia and the two vampire guards behind her, both Jibril and Zhuralis couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. After all, they'd once been like that too.

But after witnessing more and more of Riku's power and his terrifying rate of growth, they had become much calmer.

"I came here for two simple reasons. First, I'm passing by to pick something up. Second, I want to have a chat with your creator, the Shadow God Gagras," Riku said lightly, staring straight at the young girl before him.

"——!" Hearing this, Sonia and her two vampire guards fell silent. He wanted to chat with their creator; could that reason be any more casual?

"May I ask what it is you're here to find?" Sonia asked calmly. Riku's nonchalant manner made it clear to her: he didn't consider their creator to be an enemy.

"You don't need to know that," Riku replied coolly.

"I understand. Please follow me if our hospitality falls short, please forgive us," Sonia said, giving a slight bow and speaking respectfully.

No matter where you are, so long as you're not enemies, the strong always enjoy special privileges.

At least for now, they were not enemies.

After giving Riku a deep look, Sonia turned and flew down.

"Zhuralis, just wait here. I'll be back soon," Riku instructed calmly, then followed after Sonia, with Jibril and Schwi following behind him.

Seeing this, Zhuralis could only fly in the air in frustration. Her body was simply too big to enter.

After a few twists and turns, they made their way through the dim cave.

Finally, they arrived at a deep cavern filled with castles, almost like an underground city. The sight was rather spectacular.

At the moment, a group of vampires was eagerly waiting.

When they saw Sonia appear, they looked relieved. But as soon as they spotted Jibril and Schwi, they were all startled and immediately went on guard.

The reputations of the Flugel and the Ex Machina were simply too fearsome.

As for Riku, he was completely ignored after all; everyone knew how weak humans were. Not every vampire had Sonia's broad perspective.

Sonia calmly ordered her people to fall back, lest they anger Riku and bring disaster upon the clan.

"Lord Riku, do you need us to help search?" Sonia glanced at Riku beside her, unable to resist asking.

"No need, just follow me. Otherwise, if I accidentally kill your people while searching, that's on you," Riku replied indifferently.

"I understand." Sonia nodded. Indeed, if she weren't there, it was very likely that some of her clan would be unable to resist trying to attack Riku. The outcome would be simple: her people would die, and nothing else.

Eventually, guided precisely by Riku, they arrived in front of a luxurious castle's door.

"Open it," Riku said, the corner of his lips curling up in anticipation.

"...Lord Riku, are you sure it's here?" Sonia, for once, looked hesitant and unsure.

"Yes, it's definitely in there," Riku affirmed. The system map wouldn't be wrong unless it was a diamond chest in some tricky dimensional space.

All this time, Jibril and Schwi kept a close eye on Riku. They were both too curious about his secrets after all, they hadn't found anything, yet Riku acted like he'd discovered something.

This time, they were determined to see it clearly.

Jibril and Schwi, who should have been bitter rivals, were, for once, in complete agreement. Unfortunately, their wish was not going to come true.

"All right..." Sonia pursed her lips, clearly conflicted, but finally stepped forward and put her hand on the door.

The two female vampire guards behind her, however, had odd, expectant looks on their faces.

"You two, go notify everyone else to put the ritual on hold for now," Sonia suddenly ordered her guards with authority.

"Ah... oh." The two guards immediately looked disappointed and a little resentful, but left quietly.

"Oh my, they seem quite curious about this room. Are you hiding something in here, little bat?" Jibril noticed the oddity and teased Sonia with a grin.

"None of your business," Sonia retorted coldly, frowning at Jibril's mocking nickname. But if you looked closely, you could see the struggle in her eyes.

Even Riku was getting curious, this vampire queen was definitely an "ice queen" type, yet now she was showing real emotion.

After that, Sonia pursed her lips, pushed open the grand door, and revealed the room within.

The entire room was pink, with underwear scattered everywhere, making it both messy and… suggestive. There were even lots of plush toys, truly a room overflowing with girlish charm.

This sight made even Jibril freeze. Riku was a bit stunned too, then looked at the slightly embarrassed vampire girl beside him with a strange expression.

Was this what they called "gap moe"? On the surface, she was an icy queen, but in reality, she had a super girly heart.

Not a bad trait at all.

Riku couldn't help rubbing his chin, looking appreciatively at this high-level, attractive, endearing, gap-moe, and very legal loli vampire queen.

"Hehe, did Master just fall for Sonia? Want me to nab her and bring her to be your maid right now?" Jibril immediately picked up on Riku's fleeting interest and grinned.

"Riku, don't be unfaithful," Schwi said, grabbing Riku's sleeve and staring up at him.

"Hurry up and come in!" Sonia stiffened at their banter, then snapped in irritation.

Now that was more like her true self.

"Little bat, didn't expect you to be such a collector. These things are pretty rare nowadays," Jibril said, picking up a plush toy and grinning as Sonia shot her a murderous look.

Not bothering with Jibril's comment, Sonia waited until Riku and Schwi entered, then quickly shut the door, looking relieved.

If her guards saw what was inside this room, her dignity as queen would be ruined. A qualified leader had to maintain proper dignity.

Still, this only made all the vampires more curious about what secrets their queen's room held… All of them wanted to sneak a peek so long as they didn't anger Sonia…

At that moment, Schwi also picked up a plush toy, silently stroking it, looking like she really liked it.

"Schwi, do you like it?" Riku asked softly, patting her head.

"Mm." Schwi nodded.

So even Schwi liked plushies and such? That was a good sign.

Hearing this, Riku smiled faintly.

"Lord Riku, I'll give this plushie to Schwi as a gift," Sonia said with a trace of reluctance. This plushie was one of her favourites, but since someone close to Riku liked it, she could only give it up to build a relationship.

"All right, then I'll accept it." Riku nodded.

This made Sonia feel a pang of regret, her eyes reflecting a bit of sorrow.

"But I won't take your things for nothing, take this instead." Riku pulled out a life-sized panda plushie from his storage, handing it to Sonia.

"——!" As soon as Riku took out the panda plush, Sonia froze, then showed an obvious look of delight and obsession.

Seeing this, Riku couldn't help but laugh. So even a vampire queen, who could face both Flugel and Dragonia without changing expression, was helpless against plush toys…

This plushie was something he'd drawn from a bronze chest, and he'd thought it was useless, but it actually came in handy here. He glanced at Schwi; if she really liked it, maybe he'd find a way to bring more over from other worlds.

But Schwi just kept stroking her own plushie, not reacting further, so Riku shook his head slightly.

"Can I really have this?" Sonia asked nervously, hugging the giant panda.

"Of course. A fair trade," Riku said casually with a shrug.

"Thank you." Sonia's eyes lit up with joy as she sincerely thanked him.

Suddenly, she felt Riku wasn't the kind of person to forcefully take things. At the very least, he didn't like owing others.

"Hehe, so this is what a favorability event looks like? Master, you're amazing, one move and you've captured this little bat's heart," Jibril teased with a bright smile. "Shut up, Jibril." Riku shot her a sharp glare.

"…." Sonia stared at Jibril, too.

Amid this awkward atmosphere, Riku didn't continue chatting with Sonia. Instead, he started searching the room. Soon, he found a platinum chest at the foot of the bed.

Riku sat on the edge of the bed, putting his hand on the chest.

Too focused on the chest, he didn't realise he was sitting on two pairs of black panties.

Sonia's cheeks flushed faintly as she looked at him in embarrassment.

At that moment, Riku opened the platinum chest.

With the sound of a lock being undone, the platinum chest lit up with dazzling light, and an orb of light emerged.

At the same time, a system prompt appeared in Riku's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, master, for opening a Platinum Chest and obtaining the Beast God's Blood.]

Beast God's Blood: A special bloodline item for Werebeasts. Using it will cause a regression to a primal form, greatly boosting strength and potentially granting a divine spark. Warm reminder: only for use by Werebeasts. If used by a human, at best, it'll provide a small strength boost, but may also drive the user insane.

"Beast God's Blood? That's perfect to give Fia as a gift," Riku's eyes lit up. He'd promised to give Fia the best possible present, and had thought about giving her the Shambhala Teigu. But that was a leftover, so it wouldn't be sincere enough. This, though, was truly perfect for Fia.

"System, what does 'regression' mean here? Does it change your body's appearance?" Riku asked seriously.

[No. It only grants the werebeast special abilities. It might change the body somewhat, but only for the better.]

"I see. Not bad." Riku stroked his chin and nodded in satisfaction.

This item was useless for him, but it was the best possible present.

"Master, did you find something?" Jibril noticed Riku's changing expression and asked curiously.

"Sort of. But it's a secret." Riku grinned.

"Aw, what a pity…" Jibril said, a little disappointed. All she'd seen was Riku sitting and moving his hand there didn't seem to be anything there at all. She even tried to touch the spot, but it just felt like empty air.

"…Sonia, could I trouble you to summon your creator, the Shadow God Gagras?" Riku asked Sonia, who was still puzzled.

"I can…" Sonia paused, then nodded.

To summon their creator, they would have to perform a blood sacrifice and offer up hundreds of their kin. But since it was Riku's request, she had no choice.

"Actually, never mind, he's already here." Riku suddenly looked up, as if peering through all obstacles to see something outside.

"—!" Sonia was shocked. Their creator had already arrived?

"Jibril, Schwi, let's go meet an Old Deus. It's my first time seeing one at the top of the species hierarchy," Riku said with a small smile.

Not counting the God of War. Reginleif might be stronger than most Old Deus, but she was still a Dragonia. This would be the first time he saw an Old Deus in person.

"It's an honour to see the Shadow God's true form with you, master," Jibril said with a smile.

Schwi just quietly grabbed Riku's sleeve.

With a smile, Riku used Teleport. Instantly, Riku, Jibril, and Schwi disappeared from the room.

"Flügel's teleport, huh… Convenient ability," Sonia murmured.

Her expression soon returned to calm as she put down the panda plush, turned into black mist, and vanished from the room.

She hadn't seen her creator in ages. If not for a special link, she might have thought him dead.

Outside, Zhuralis was exuding a powerful aura, dragon eyes narrowing, staring warily at a sinister being wrapped in black mist, floating in the air a hundred meters away.

Old Deus—Gagras!