"Enhance..."
A cool, silken sensation bloomed inside Arthur's body, spreading outward like a gentle tide.
The instant his attributes increased, his body stopped feeling like his own. For several fleeting moments, a blazing warmth surged through every muscle and every single cell, rewriting him from the inside out.
Arthur had no idea how much time passed.
Only when his eyelashes finally lifted did the world come back into focus.
For a brief, almost unreal moment, his blue eyes gleamed with an unnatural brilliance.
He carefully pulled the blanket higher over Saeko Busujima, shielding her from the morning chill.
Still naked, he walked straight into the bathroom and stopped before the mirror.
The reflection staring back at him felt unfamiliar.
Sharper features with a more defined jawline. Subtle but powerful muscle lines tracing his fair arms—and beneath them, a clearly sculpted core now visible on his abdomen.
He had trained inside the dungeon, sure; but what could a single month of exercise really accomplish?
In just a few minutes…
Arthur had crossed the boundary of the human body.
A surge of exhilaration rushed through him, threatening to cloud his judgment. He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face, grounding himself.
"I can't let arrogance take hold…" he murmured, looking again at the mirror.
After calming down, he returned to the bedroom and slipped back under the covers without hesitation.
One arm wrapped naturally around Saeko Busujima. She let out a soft, sleepy sound, her body too exhausted to wake.
Instinctively, she shifted closer, finding comfort in his embrace and resting her head against his chest.
"It's time to deal with the remaining loose ends…"
Setting aside the rewards he had already processed, one item lingered in his mind.
[Congratulations! You have received the Plot Privilege Card!]
Among all his gains, this card felt… troublesome.
Arthur projected the interface from his Reincarnation Watch and searched through available records, but only fragmented information surfaced.
It wasn't that no one had obtained it before.
Rather, it seemed so impractical—or so poorly understood—that most people had simply ignored it.
Arthur wasn't convinced.
Anything granted from an SSS-rank clearance couldn't possibly be worthless.
No matter how obscure it was. "I'll have to find another Reincarnator later and ask about this…"
Before he could think further—
"Ding! Blank, during the 15 hours, 27 minutes, and 43 seconds you were offline, you received a total of 191,270,878 messages. They have been stored in your inbox."
"Initiating intelligent filtering. Retaining 100 messages."
Arthur didn't even flinch.
Reading nearly two hundred million messages would be unrealistic.
Fortunately, the Reincarnation Space's system was more than capable.
He only needed to let it work.
As he read through each of the one hundred filtered messages, Arthur quickly noticed a clear pattern.
The overwhelming majority came from guilds, organized groups, and even entire nations, all seeking the same thing: contact.
The wording was always polite, almost excessively friendly. Invitations to "casual discussions" within the Reincarnation Space, vague promises of mutual cooperation, exclusive benefits… and, of course, proposals—sometimes subtle, sometimes not—to purchase information.
Information about how he had achieved an SSS-rank evaluation.Or, better yet, to have him join their ranks.
Among dozens of unfamiliar or insignificant names, a few immediately stood out.
The first message came from Winterfell. (GOT fans, got it right?)
One of the ten largest guilds in the world, firmly established within the global top three.
Winterfell was renowned for its near-military structure. Ruthlessly disciplined, strictly hierarchical, and infamous for rejecting weak members regardless of potential talent. Its core consisted of veterans who had survived together in the Reincarnation Tower for over a decade.
Rumors claimed the guild possessed multiple Reincarnators beyond the 25th floor, along with resources capable of rivaling those of smaller nations. Their emblem—a silver wolf beneath a black moon—was enough to command respect in any dungeon.
[To Reincarnator "Blank,"
Your achievement has not gone unnoticed. An SSS-rank clearance is not a matter of luck, nor coincidence, it is proof of capability...]
Just beneath it, another message caught his eye.
Black Meridian.
A guild known for operating in complete contrast to Winterfell.
Where others pursued raw power, Black Meridian thrived on information, strategy, and indirect control. Their members rarely appeared on the front lines, yet they were always lurking behind major events: manipulating resource flows, dungeon routes, and even conflicts between rival guilds.
There were whispers that they specialized in rare, non-combat abilities focused on analysis, support, and systemic interference. A dangerous guild not because of brute strength, but because of how much they knew—and what they could do with that knowledge.
[Dear Blank,
Some events reshape the flow of information. Yours was one of them. An SSS-rank clearance on the first floor is not merely impressive—it is interesting. And interest is our domain...]
The third name carried a very different weight.
Iron Covenant.
A relatively young guild that had grown at an explosive pace in recent years. Their creed was simple: survival above all else.
They accepted Reincarnators from all backgrounds, provided they proved their worth in the field. Famous for undertaking high-risk missions and operating within so-called "death zones," Iron Covenant had built a reputation for returning alive from places where other guilds were completely wiped out.
They lacked Black Meridian's sophistication and Winterfell's historic prestige—but their survival rate was terrifying.
[Blank.
You survived where others failed, and didn't crawl out broken. That's all we needed to know. We don't care about rankings...]
Beyond the guilds, there were messages from nations.
Two names appeared repeatedly.
Luminar.
A country known for heavily investing in elite Reincarnators, offering protection, resources, and autonomy in exchange for strategic cooperation. Luminar rarely forced alliances, it preferred to win loyalty through stability and incentives. (at least that was what they say)
[To Reincarnator Blank,
On behalf of the Luminar Authority for Reincarnation Affairs, we extend our congratulations on your unprecedented SSS-rank clearance. We would welcome the opportunity...]
And then there was Drakvar.
The strongest nation among the global powers. The only one confirmed to possess a Reincarnator who had reached the 30th floor of the Reincarnation Tower.
[Reincarnator Blank,
Drakvar is aware of your existence. An SSS-rank clearance is not something that can be ignored...]
He politely declined every single one.
For now, he had no intention of joining any of those forces, but at the same time, he had no desire to sour his relationship with them either.
After all, only a brainless idiot would ignore such messages simply because he thought himself too great or too wise.
He was proud, but he wasn't foolish.
As for selling strategies… Arthur had actually considered that option before choosing the Highschool of the Dead instance.
In his estimation, Highschool of the Dead was an exceptionally efficient dungeon for farming reincarnation points.
To preserve his core advantage, he certainly couldn't sell an SSS-rank strategy—but S-rank, or even A-rank clearance strategies?
The problem now, however, was that Highschool of the Dead was gone.
That dungeon world had been directly taken over by him; it was no longer even under the jurisdiction of the Reincarnation Space.
Of course, he could choose to grant "dungeon permissions" and allow the Reincarnation Space to reopen it as a challengeable instance.
But setting aside the fact that the moment the world became his, Shizuka Marikawa and Rika Minami were still living there.
So, his original plan to sell the dungeon walkthrough for Highschool of the Dead could only be declared a complete failure.
However, Arthur wasn't particularly disappointed.
If anything, what he gained this time was worth far more than selling a mere dungeon strategy.
What he had obtained was an entire world.
In a sense, every resource within it: the land, the technology, the people, everything—now belonged to him.
Compared to that, anything in the real world felt insignificant.
This was an advantage on an entirely different level.
[You have an incoming video call from "White Blade"]
Hmm?
Arthur paused.
He hadn't expected that even after more than ten hours had passed since he cleared the dungeon, someone would still persist in sending a direct video call.
His first instinct was to ignore it.
But when he saw the caller ID—White Blade—his interest was piqued.
A veteran Reincarnator. One of the truly famous ones.
After a brief moment of thought, Arthur decided to accept.
But not before making a few preparations.
"System, activate identity concealment."
[Command received. Initiating background distortion. Facial blurring in progress. Voice encryption in progress…]
Arthur couldn't help but inwardly marvel.
The Reincarnation Space really was omnipotent.
Those who had lived under its rules for decades understood this truth far better than he did.
It was absurdly convenient.
A moment later, a translucent, three-dimensional virtual screen unfolded before Arthur, hovering silently in the air.
The call connected.
On the screen appeared a woman whose presence alone was enough to leave a deep impression at first glance.
She was tall and slender, her figure sharp and elegant rather than delicate. Long, silver-white hair flowed freely behind her, catching the light like freshly fallen snow, stirred by an unseen wind. Her eyes glowed with a clear, icy blue—cold and focused, as if capable of cutting through lies and hesitation alike.
She wore a fitted black combat armor that hugged her body perfectly, sleek and modern rather than ornamental. The polished surface reflected faint blue highlights, giving her an austere, almost futuristic knightly aura. There was no unnecessary decoration, everything about her attire spoke of efficiency, discipline, and lethality.
A long sword rested at her side, its hilt within easy reach, as though she were ready to draw it at any moment. Even standing still, she carried the unmistakable pressure of a seasoned warrior.
She was beautiful, but not in a soft or inviting way.
Like a blade wrapped in frost.
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly.
Although he didn't know her intentions, he had to admit one thing.
She was beautiful.
"Hello, Blank."
Her voice flowed through the speakers like cold spring water... calm and faintly chilling, carrying no hostility, yet allowing no familiarity either.
Arthur leaned back slightly, completely unfazed.
"Hello, White Blade."
A faint smile curved his lips as his gaze calmly examined one of the strongest Reincarnators on the face of the earth—
A powerful woman.
"So," Arthur continued, his tone relaxed."what did you need from me?"
--------------
Alright, a few notices about the book are listed below:
First, after a very close vote where I literally had to count them one by one… Rika and Shizuka will be joining Arthur's harem. However, this won't happen right away. If I did that now, it would go against the previous chapters and wouldn't make much sense. So for now, I'll be keeping Saeko as the only one. When Arthur returns to the HOTD world, I'll make the relationship between the two of them and the MC develop further, and that's when they'll join his harem.
Second, I've just made images of Arthur, Selena, and Ellen available in Auxiliary Chapter 0. These are images I "made" myself (with AI, of course — I'm no artist, the best I can do is stick figures🤣). In addition, images of the flags of countries like Luminar and Drakvar are also available.
Third, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed Power Stones. This week alone we accumulated over 400, placing us at rank 130 out of 200. Thanks, guys! Because of that, I'll be posting an extra chapter tomorrow. 🥳🎉