Starting with No Game No Life: Infinite Chests

As Riku lounged leisurely atop Zhuralis's back, the dwarven capital was bustling with activity.

The technological level of the dwarves was, without a doubt, among the highest. Countless airborne warships floated in the skies, painting a picture straight out of a futuristic Earth. Below, nestled among the mountains, was a city of steel, its walls and borders protected and concealed by special energy barriers.

At this moment, within one of the dwarves' flying warships, a uniformed dwarf was entertaining the elder from the werebeast tribe.

The werebeasts had originally been dispatched by Riku to gather intelligence on the dwarves. But with Riku's meteoric rise in power, their previous plans were scrapped and replaced by a direct attempt at recruitment.

This, of course, was suggested by the werebeast chieftain, and Riku hadn't minded, just nodding his approval.

"Edgar, when is Lord Riku expected to visit?" The dwarven commander glanced across at the werebeast elder and asked in a gentle tone.

At first, the dwarves had looked down on the werebeasts, even considering capturing them to extract information. But after hearing Elder Edgar's stories about Riku, they'd reconsidered.

Because all the recent major events matched exactly what Edgar described. Their high-tech surveillance had confirmed it. If what Edgar said was true, then their location could be found out by special means and worse, the one who had defeated the Wise Dragon.

So, they were forced to swallow their pride and properly host the werebeast envoy. Otherwise, their own destruction was only a matter of time.

"Hehe, no need to worry, Commander. Lord Riku will be here soon," Edgar replied with a smile.

The dwarven warlord, DeWitt, nodded in deep thought.

How could such an anomalous human appear in such a short span of time?

Suddenly—

"Commander! Powerful spirit energy detected 100,000 meters to the east! Ninety percent probability: White Dragon!" A dwarf soldier rushed in, flustered.

"The White Dragon is flying straight for us!" Another soldier added gravely.

"What?! The White Dragon?!" The commander's expression changed, growing grim.

"Damn it prepare for battle! Stall for time, begin evacuation!" The command was given, and the dwarves sprang into action. Dozens of warships in the sky hummed with gathering power, their cannons glowing brightly.

"W-wait! Hold on!" It was only now that the werebeast elder, Edgar, realised what was happening. He quickly rose to speak up.

Although Riku hadn't said it directly, the werebeasts suspected he'd brought the White Dragon into the alliance as well. Now Edgar regretted not warning the dwarves sooner; he'd wanted to let Riku announce the alliance himself, as the leader. But it was too late; the dwarves were already in full battle mode.

"Lord Riku, the dwarves certainly are 'enthusiastic'," Zhuralis remarked, eyeing the metal lumps gathering energy in the sky with obvious irritation.

"Huh? Maybe you just scared them. For a lower race, only the Ex-Machina can stay calm in front of a dragon," Riku replied, still relaxed.

"But being targeted like this is quite unpleasant…" Zhuralis growled. "Lord Riku, allow me to give them a little lesson."

"No need for that. If you're not careful, you might accidentally kill their leader. I'll handle the teaching myself," Riku said calmly, standing on Zhuralis's head.

"Since Riku-sama says so, I'll hold back." Zhuralis nodded.

Suddenly, a barrage of lasers from over a dozen airships shot toward them, piercing the sky. Zhuralis blocked the attack with a word of draconic power, easily neutralising the beams.

"It didn't work? Keep firing! Hold out as long as you can!" The dwarven commander gave the order.

"Wait, dammit! That's Lord Riku's retainer, Lady Zhuralis! Lord Riku is here!"The werebeast elder, Edgar, was so frantic that he entered his Blood Destruction form, roaring with all his might.

The sonic wave left everyone clutching their ears, but there was no trace of dissatisfaction, only shock and confusion.

"Edgar, what did you just say?" Even the dwarven commander was shaken.

"I said, Lord Riku is here! That White Dragon is his retainer, Lady Zhuralis!" Edgar shouted again.

If they angered Riku, he could wipe out the entire city, and Edgar didn't want to die along with them!

"Stop, stop, STOP!" Realising what was happening, the dwarven commander panicked, his roar echoing throughout the city and across every warship, leaving the dwarves dumbstruck.

The commander felt like crying. To think they'd greet the man who could slay gods with a full barrage on arrival… This was suicide!

"Lord Riku, it seems they're still thinking about attacking," Zhuralis muttered, still radiating killing intent.

"Hm? Looks like they stopped," Riku said, noticing the warships powering down.

"Lord Riku, please forgive our rudeness! We were startled and panicked, it was entirely the dwarves' fault. We're willing to apologise and make amends, and we beg for your forgiveness!"

The dwarven commander's voice came through a special communicator, trembling with sincerity and terror.

They were terrified of angering Riku, the one who could defeat even a god. Their secret weapons might threaten a normal god, but would probably be useless here, especially against someone with spatial abilities…

So if they used their trump cards, it would only dig their own grave. And besides, they were actually very interested in joining the alliance.

"Zhuralis, wait here for me. I'll be back soon," Riku said calmly.

With that, Riku walked into the air toward the floating warships. Why walk instead of using Heavenly Shift? Naturally, it was to give the dwarves a little time.

"I really need to find an opportunity to discuss transformation magic with Lord Reginleif. Always having to just wait around like this is kind of frustrating…" Zhuralis watched Riku's figure leave, sighing helplessly.

Meanwhile, the Dwarf Chief was in a complete panic, shouting orders for the dwarves to prepare the welcoming ceremony.

Soon, all defences of the dwarven steel city were withdrawn, and the Dwarf Chief personally piloted a flying device with several trusted aides to meet Riku.

"Lord Riku, you've arrived. About what just happened, it was terribly rude of us..." the Dwarf Chief greeted Riku with a bow, nervous and apologetic.

"About that matter," Riku interrupted indifferently, "can we find a place to talk first?"

"Of course," the Dwarf Chief answered, startled, then quickly forced a smile.

The Dwarf Chief completely lowered himself and began leading the way for Riku.

At the same time, the werebeast elder Edgar, leading the werebeast delegation, also came over to Riku's side. Their eyes were blazing with fervour and reverence as they bowed to Riku.

Riku gave them a slight nod in response.

Shortly after, Riku was led to a technologically advanced meeting room. As for the platinum chest, Riku wasn't in a hurry; he couldn't run away, after all.

"Lord Riku, regarding the alliance, our dwarves are willing to join," the Dwarf Chief said, having seemingly made up his mind after Riku sat down and started tapping on the table.

"Oh?" Riku responded with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"After the alliance, our dwarves have only one request: we beg Lord Riku, should you win, to spare our race," the Dwarf Chief pleaded.

"You're quite clever, knowing your place," Riku said, looking at the Dwarf Chief with meaning. "But you agreed so quickly, honestly, I'm surprised."

That made the Dwarf Chief smile bitterly. Did they have a choice? Now that Riku had his sights set on them and everything was exposed under his gaze, refusing would mean extinction, or at best, a handful of survivors barely clinging to life. The consequences would be too severe.

And besides, the dwarves hated the War God Artosh just as much. Their creator had been killed by Artosh, and his divinity was consumed in a blood feud. Before, they had no chance for revenge; now, Riku represented their best hope, so there was no reason to refuse.

Originally, the Dwarf Chief had planned to fight for more benefits. But after that earlier incident, he had no guts to make demands, he was content just to secure the basics. From Riku's attitude, he could see this was not a man to negotiate with lightly. These sorts of negotiations could fall apart over profit at any moment. Besides, with no real bargaining position, the Dwarf Chief wisely chose not to court disaster.

"Our dwarves believe Lord Riku will succeed in slaying the War God," the Dwarf Chief said, piling on the flattery.

"Heh, enough with the flattery. Right now, I want to know how many core bombs you have made?" Riku asked casually, as if discussing the weather.

The Dwarf Chief and his aides all froze, terror flashing across their faces.

Impossible! How could their top-secret weapon be exposed like this?

The core bomb was the dwarves' most closely guarded secret, a weapon they believed could even kill a dragon if hit directly.

Yet here was Riku, speaking of it so lightly. It was terrifying.

Gulp—

The Dwarf Chief involuntarily swallowed, staring at Riku in shock and awe.

Standing behind Riku, the werebeast elder Edgar was delighted inside.

Haha, he'd once been scared speechless by Riku himself. Now it was the dwarves' turn. As expected of Lord Riku, he always seemed to know everything, though no one knew where he got his intelligence. Edgar could only marvel.

"Currently, we've produced five. Due to the massive resource cost and the need for secrecy, we've only managed this many," the Dwarf Chief replied carefully.

He didn't dare lie, afraid Riku would turn hostile. He was even afraid to meet Riku's golden eyes; he felt as if every secret was bared before those eyes.

Even more, simply sitting there, he found it hard to breathe.

He knew that feeling well, it was the feeling of an underling facing a superior. He'd seen it in the eyes of dwarf soldiers when they looked at him. Now, the tables had turned.

Still, he dared not feel any resentment. He could only put himself in his place. This was a man who, with a human's body, could fight gods, a being far beyond the Dwarf Chief's understanding.

"Five, huh? That's a little low," Riku said, tapping the table and raising an eyebrow.

He wasn't about to underestimate Artosh, so he would make use of every power available to raise his chances as high as possible.

This wasn't just about his own life, it was about his women and the fate of many races.

"Lord Riku, I'm not lying. That's truly all we have, and it's taken years of accumulation to reach even that," the Dwarf Chief said anxiously.

"I know. No need to panic," Riku waved a hand dismissively. "I'll give you three months, make five more for me. I'll have the werebeasts, elves, and vampires cooperate with you to gather resources."

The Dwarf Chief was stunned, staring in disbelief. He knew the werebeasts had fallen under Riku's command, but since when had the elves and vampires also joined? Not to mention the dragons…

At that thought, his mind was in turmoil.

"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Riku," the Dwarf Chief said, bowing low. "With help from three races, we will definitely complete the task within three months!"

"Good," Riku nodded, saying nothing more. With four races working together, if they still couldn't manage, they'd truly be hopeless. The dwarves had all the technology they just lacked resources.

"Finally, I'd like your dwarves to help me develop this," Riku said, pulling out the improved IS mecha design from his inventory, smiling.