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"Nope. Not recycling it, and definitely not storing it," Riku said, shaking his head. Shangri-La was a life-saving tool—there's no way he was gonna lock it away in storage.
"Understood," the system replied and went quiet.
"Good thing it auto-bonded to me. Saves the trouble of compatibility issues." Riku smiled as he held onto Shangri-La.
"Riku, everything's ready. Come out for a sec," a clear, feminine voice called from outside.
"Got it." Hearing that voice, Riku's golden eyes narrowed slightly. He got up, slipped Shangri-La into an empty pouch, and opened the door.
Standing there was a girl with red hair and blue eyes, wearing black-and-white clothes. She had a pair of goggles resting on her head, a pretty face, and a curvy figure.
Her name was Korone, and she was legally considered Riku's adoptive sister. Riku's original village had been completely wiped out in a battle between fantasy races, leaving him the sole survivor. He was subsequently adopted by Korone's father. Riku later agreed to marry Korone, conditional upon overcoming lots of challenges.
"How's your condition?" Korone asked, worry in her eyes. She had heard Riku's emotional outburst from his room earlier. Things had gone quiet after that, though.
Still, with another mission coming up, she was worried. Riku was carrying way too much on his own.
"I'm fine." Riku spoke calmly, tapping his chest. "Locked everything up in here."
"That's good to hear," Korone said softly, though her expression was still a bit clouded. She hadn't noticed anything strange—like the fact that the original Riku had already died from a mental breakdown, and the one standing here was someone else entirely.
"This time, our mission is to recover a goblin-made telescope. If we can modify it, we might be able to detect danger in advance and avoid getting caught up in battles," Korone said with a worried tone. "Even if the telescope's important, don't push yourself too hard. You're our pillar, Riku."
"Understood," Riku replied coolly.
To survive, weak humans relied on their brains and used whatever resources they could find. Courage, decisiveness, and intelligence were all essential.
Even so, in this dark world, villages—no matter how careful—still lost hundreds of people every year. Some were even wiped out entirely by stray magical fallout.
But thanks to the efforts of Riku and Korone, their own settlement had only lost 46 people in the last four years. That alone was a miracle. (PS: This isn't the start of the movie timeline, by the way.)
Still, those 46 people had died because Riku had sent them to their deaths—to buy time for others to escape. That guilt ate away at the original Riku until he finally broke down and died.
"Korone… just focus on protecting the settlement. I'll handle the rest."
Riku didn't say anything more. He brushed past Korone and started walking down the dimly lit corridor.
"Tch. I'm supposed to be the older sister, but he keeps calling me 'Koro' like I'm the younger one. What a bratty little brother," Korone muttered. Her tone was teasing, but the look in her eyes as she watched Riku's back was full of pain.
"Riku… be careful."
"Riku… come back safe, okay?"
As Riku stepped into a wide, cave-like space, the people working there all stopped and greeted him. Their prayers were sincere.
He nodded in response to each one, greeting them back. In a chaotic and brutal world like this, nobody was useless. Everyone had a role to play—even kids who hadn't grown up yet.
"Riku, here's your gear," a big man walked over and handed him a dust-proof mask, a heavy fur-lined suit of armor for the harsh cold and dust, and a pack.
"Thanks, Ivan. Where are Arei and the others?" Riku asked as he started putting everything on with practiced ease.
"They're getting ready too," Ivan said, scratching the back of his head. He seemed like a simple, honest guy.
This mission was supposed to be handled by a five-person team. That included Riku and three other teammates.
"Oh, then let them know for me—this time, I'll go alone. You guys stay here at the base," Riku said suddenly as he looked at Ivan, a man who now had a wife and daughter but would die a year from now.
Ivan froze.
"Riku, are you kidding me?!" Korone had just arrived and heard what he said. Her eyes went wide, and she grabbed his collar. "Don't be stupid!"
"I'm serious," Riku said, looking her straight in the eye.
He remembered this exact scenario from the No Game No Life novel. With his perfect memory, the events were crystal clear. Even though the mission was a success, they had run into beastmen—and two of his teammates had died in the process.
If things were going to play out the same way again, then going solo, with Shangri-La in hand, was the safest plan—even if it was still dangerous as hell.
"....."