Arthur stepped into the Reincarnation Space once more, weaving through the countless figures gathered there until he stood before the towering spire at its center.
"Select a Fourth-Floor Dungeon."
His voice echoed into the void.
Almost instantly, translucent messages unfolded before his eyes.
[Welcome to the Reincarnation Tower, Blank.The following dungeons are currently available:]
1.Phantom Requiem
2.School-Live!
3.Prison School
4.Hakuoki
5.BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense.*
The moment Arthur selected the fifth option, the world around him shattered.
[Match ended.]
[Please select your starting profession.]
"Swordsman."
[Swordsman profession selected.]
[Detecting that the Reincarnator possesses super-standard swordsmanship compatible with this profession.]
[Skill materialization in progress…]
[Class transfer complete.]
[You have obtained the special profession: Sword Hero.]
[Entering 4th-Floor Reincarnation Dungeon: "BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense."]
[Clearance Mission: Participate in the Player Ranking Event three days from now and place within the Top Five.]
Arthur slowly opened his eyes.
This time, there was no radiant halo like in his previous dungeon entry.
Instead, his body assembled itself piece by piece amid streams of purplish-red data blocks, coalescing into solid form.
The noisy crowd surrounding him froze in an instant.
What appeared before them was a figure both cool and refined.
Draped in a snow-white robe, his face was calm and sharp.
A sword rested at his waist, its blade slender and crystal-clear, faint streaks of blood-red light flowing across its surface.
The aura of a peerless swordsman washed over the area.
The surrounding players were stunned.
They had never seen a login animation like this before.
"Hey, what kind of equipment is that guy wearing?"
"Damn… couldn't you buy a skin or something at the start right?"
"This is... the famous aura" (I just couldn't let this pass lmao)
"So this is the legendary VRMMO…"
Arthur marveled under his breath.
He had experienced a Reincarnation Instance before, but that had been a real world.
This, however, was unmistakably a game.
To craft a game with this level of realism, only a hardcore gamer could truly appreciate such romance.
A simulation this lifelike was nothing short of black magic.
Suddenly, Arthur sensed that something was off.
With his sword in hand, he calmly turned and walked away.
He had no interest in being stared at.
He had far more important things to deal with.
"Hey, did anyone catch his ID?"
Among the crowd, a group of rookies clutching wooden shields huddled together, their expressions complicated as they watched the figure disappear into the distance.
"Blank!"
A teenager shouted the name, unable to hide his excitement.
The moment his name was spoken, everyone froze.
It wasn't just surprise.
It was realization.
Standing before them was the most talked-about Reincarnator of recent days—
Blank.
Silence spread through the area like a suffocating pressure.
And within that silence, the same impossible question took shape in every mind.
Could he do it again?
Could this man once more achieve the unreachable—
SSS-rank?
....
...
.
Meanwhile, Arthur was strolling through the beginner's forest on the western side of the starting village.
The monsters here were all low-level, making it the ideal place for new players to grind experience.
That said, for solo players, leveling in this area could still be somewhat troublesome…
Swish—!
A flash of sword light cut through the air.
A cute little rabbit dissolved into streams of data and vanished.
One-shot kill.
Well… some people were simply exceptions.
"So this is what it feels like to dump all your points into STR (Strength/Attack), huh?"
"…Wait. What's that?"
While casually testing his damage on beginner monsters, Arthur suddenly noticed something strange deeper within the forest.
It was as if something were drawing the monsters in.
A large group of beginner monsters had gathered together, wildly attacking a single point in the distance, something completely surrounded by them…
Is that a girl?
Wait—
Isn't that Maple, the protagonist of BOFURI?!
---
"Swish—!"
Accompanying the swift figure dressed in white, goblins fell one after another, their bodies breaking apart into fragments of data before scattering and vanishing completely.
"Big bro is amazing!!!"
Standing beside him was a very cute young girl. Even clad in simple beginner equipment, her charm couldn't be hidden at all.
Her short black hair was smooth and neatly trimmed, her skin pale and soft. Beneath long eyelashes, her large, round eyes sparkled with pure admiration.
Maple hugged her oversized shield tightly as she looked at Arthur with eyes full of starlight, practically bouncing in place.
This big bro had woken her up after she'd somehow fallen asleep in such a dangerous forest.
He had also patiently explained that as a pure shield class, her damage output was extremely low, and that leveling alone would be painfully slow.
When she started worrying about it, he had casually sent her a party invitation.
And as a result, less than an hour later, she had already reached level 10.
"Did you finally level up, Maple-chan?"
Arthur glanced at her status, then at his own experience bar, which was still hovering just halfway to level 12, and spoke calmly.
At least now, she could safely leave the beginner village.
Most of the monsters around them were below level 10 anyway.
Since Arthur was already above that threshold, the experience he gained here had been reduced significantly.
Seemingly realizing that she had been slowing down his progress, Maple looked up at him with an apologetic expression.
"I-I'm sorry, Blank-kun… I'm totally useless…"
From the moment they formed a party, he had taken care of every single monster by himself.
Earlier, she had been so happy to discover that she'd gained several skills while sleeping.
She had even thought that, as a tank, she could finally stand at the front and block attacks properly.
But reality hit her hard.
Facing a group of monsters, Blank-kun's movements were smoother than a dance.
He weaved effortlessly through the monster horde, his sword tracing elegant arcs through the air, like a perfectly practiced waltz.
Monsters three or even four levels higher than him were cut down one after another, without him taking a single hit.
Arthur let out a small chuckle and placed a hand gently on Maple's head.
"Don't say that," he said casually. "You did exactly what a shield class is supposed to do."
"Eh? I did?" Maple blinked, startled.
"You survived," Arthur replied. "That's already impressive."
Her eyes widened.
Then—
"Really?!"
She straightened up instantly, her mood completely restored.
"I'll try even harder next time, Blank-kun!"
Arthur smiled faintly.
Yeah… she really was like a little sister.
----------------------
I've seen some questions about why the MC spent so many points expanding his "spatial pocket."
The reason will appear a few chapters ahead, but I'll give a brief summary so it's easier to understand Arthur.
1. Everything he puts into his spatial pocket can be taken into a dungeon. This isn't just about food, but also items and objects that will make a crucial difference in some future dungeons. There will be dungeons where he'll spend years inside. What if it's a story where supplies are scarce? Or one where there's a power limit imposed by the tower itself?
2. The protagonist won't be joining any faction, which could lead some ill-intentioned people to try something against him once they discover his identity, especially since he didn't use any mask in his first dungeon.
But what does the spatial pocket have to do with that?
This is another spoiler, but there's no time limit on how long a Reincarnator can stay inside the Reincarnators' Space. In other words, by stockpiling supplies, he could remain there for years without worrying if a country or a powerful organization tried to eliminate him. This would be a contingency plan created by the protagonist himself in case that happens. Will it happen? No one knows.
3. He's still within the first 20 floors, where there aren't powerful enough options to justify spending his Tower points. Not everything the Tower offers is available to beginners, features unlock gradually as Reincarnators reach higher floors.
"But he could buy medical or combat knowledge, or some skill."
Combat knowledge is pointless, since he already has an S+ ability. Medicine? Fuck, what would he even do with that? Wouldn't it be easier to just get a healing skill from the current dungeon and pay to make it permanent? Why bother with medicine when a single green light can heal his wounds?
One more thing: the Tower doesn't sell knowledge about dungeons. Reincarnators have to figure that on their own. Knowledge about plants, food, power, edible or poisonous fruits — none of that exists for sale.