-----
-----
"I'm Riku... or maybe..."
In a dimly lit room, a white-haired boy with golden eyes and a strikingly cold yet handsome face murmured blankly to himself. His deep, sorrowful gaze was now full of confusion.
A few minutes later, the boy finally came back to his senses, golden eyes flashing with a mix of shock and complexity. He had transmigrated—taken over this body. More accurately, his soul had devoured the original Riku's soul, which had collapsed under the weight of guilt, regret, and despair.
This world was chaos.
On this planet called Disboard, gods and the many fantasy races they created roamed freely. Led by the god-races, these fantasy races waged endless wars to gain control over the planet, using powers far beyond human comprehension to tear this beautiful world to pieces.
The land was riddled with craters, canyons, and burn marks. The once-blue sky was choked with dust, shrouded in endless darkness.
Human civilization, once vast and thriving, was crushed like bugs under the feet of these powerful races.
Compared to the others, humans weren't even seen as livestock—just pathetically weak creatures.
All they could do was run. Constantly searching for slightly safer places to hide. Even then, one stray attack from a battle between other races could wipe them out entirely.
Yes—just the aftershocks of their battles could kill them. To these races, humans were no different from monkeys. Maybe the monster-like Ex-Machina would hunt them for food, but no race really bothered to go out of their way to kill humans. Why waste time hunting ants?
That was humanity's place in the world of Disboard—weak and utterly insignificant.
And yet, to survive, humans buried every shred of fear and sorrow in their hearts and just kept running, doing whatever it took to stay alive.
Give up one person so two can live.
Sacrifice two so four can escape.
When they encountered other races, humans often had to use brutal tactics—deliberately sending companions to their deaths to distract the enemy so more could flee.
Riku, the original owner of this body, was one of the commanders of such operations. The psychological toll eventually broke him. His soul shattered under the pressure.
"Didn't expect to come to this world like this..." the boy muttered with a bitter smile.
He knew this world well. After all, he'd watched the anime No Game No Life and its movie.
"But real life's way crueler than anime," he murmured again.
In the anime, Riku was under insane stress too, but he never broke. Instead, he used his brilliance to end the war.
But this world's Riku... had crumbled.
"Well, I guess I am Riku now," the boy whispered in his heart. "I'll do my best to fulfill your dying wish."
Back in his old life, he'd been like a ghost—no family, no friends. Even if he disappeared one day or just dropped dead, no one would care. Honestly, some people might've even celebrated—he'd always been treated like a freak.
Ordinary people fear what they can't understand. Geniuses especially.
Riku gave a sarcastic little shake of his head. This situation reminded him of that brother and sister who'd arrive in this world six thousand years later—also misunderstood, also treated like monsters.
So really, it didn't matter what his old name was. That guy's gone. From now on, his name was Riku.
Ding—
Divine Treasure Chest System successfully bound. Initializing...
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in Riku's mind. His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
He had already guessed he might get some kind of cheat or "golden finger" ability. And sure, he was happy about it—but he didn't show it. Staying calm in situations like this was one of the reasons people used to call him a monster.
Ding—Initializing Divine Treasure Chest System... 1%... 10%... 78%... 99%... 100%...Initialization complete. System now active.
"Welcome, respected host. The Divine Treasure Chest System is now at your service."
"The system categorizes treasure chests into Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers. These are just the basics—you'll have to discover the rest yourself."
"One tip though: even the lowest Bronze chest can contain powerful items. It's just that the odds of getting something good are much lower."
As the emotionless voice finished speaking, a map appeared in front of Riku's eyes.
"Well... that's a pretty barebones map. Still, it'll do," Riku muttered, slightly annoyed.
His golden eyes scanned the map, noting the red dots scattered across it. Each red dot marked the location of a treasure chest.
"So this is a map of the world, huh..." he said, more stating a fact than asking. "And those red dots are where the treasure chests are randomly placed."
"Yes."
"Can you make a more detailed map? Like showing the territories controlled by the different races?" Riku asked seriously.
"....."