"So you came to speak on Luminar's behalf? I thought the famous White Blade didn't belong to any faction."
Arthur asked, slightly surprised.
Although he had never deliberately looked into it, Reincarnators of White Blade's caliber were always hot topics among their peers.
Much like celebrities from the old world.
He had once come across a few analyses about them.
Public opinion generally believed that the strongest Reincarnators were all "loners," and among them, White Blade was one of the most admired.
So he hadn't expected her to have already joined a faction.
"You can't believe everything you see on the internet, Blank. It's practically impossible for a Reincarnator to climb far in the Tower without some kind of backing."
Selena spoke calmly as she sat on a chair, lifting a teacup and taking a small sip.
"Entering a dungeon without information is suicide. And the place where information gathers the most is within groups…"
She set the cup down on the table, her gaze turning toward the young man across from her. His face was blurred, making it difficult to discern any of his features.
"…you should know that it's impossible for a Reincarnator to hide their identity for long—especially someone like you, who conquered a dungeon with a rating never seen before."
Her voice was filled with quiet confidence, the kind that only someone of her level could naturally possess.
"Many forces are trying to recruit you, Blank. And for your own safety, sooner or later, you'll have to say yes to one of them. So why not Luminar?"
Arthur remained silent, waiting for the proposal she clearly had in mind.
"We won't take away your freedom of choice. On the contrary… we'll give you even more freedom. Support, protection, and security," Selena continued calmly."After all, with a country like Luminar backing you, any force would have to think twice before making a move against you."
Arthur let out a soft chuckle before asking,
"That's a great offer. But what would I have to give in return? There's no such thing as charity in business, right?"
Selena's lips curved slightly upward at his question.
"Well… you should already know about the only Reincarnator who, yesterday, broke through the twenty-ninth floor and reached the thirtieth."
"James, from Drakvar," Arthur replied without hesitation.
"Exactly," she said. "In today's world, what defines a country's power is no longer wealth or conventional military strength. Firearms no longer possess the deterrent effect they had thirty years ago."
"It's us who decide now. Us who deter everyone else."
"Reincarnators have become the nuclear weapons of this era."
At that moment, as those words were spoken, an icy coldness surfaced in Selena's blue eyes—enough to freeze the bones of anyone who met her gaze.
"And you," she continued, "with just a single dungeon, have become the most dangerous of them all…"
"…Something truly astonishing."
A slow smile formed on Arthur's lips.
"I'm almost flattered to be praised by someone like you, Blade."
"This isn't praise," Selena replied calmly. "It's a fact. All we ask is that you assist us in the event of a war—and that you sell us the intelligence on each dungeon you clear. We promise fair compensation."
"You make a good case," Arthur said lightly. "The official benefits do sound great…"
Selena watched him quietly, waiting for his answer.
"But I refuse, for now."
"…Why?"
She frowned slightly as a soft chuckle escaped from the man before her.
"I want to walk my own path for the time being."
"Walking alone makes success in the Tower nearly impossible," Selena said, her tone firm. "You can't let your first-floor results cloud your judgment."
"That might be true for others," Arthur replied calmly. "But not for me."
Hearing his answer, Selena couldn't sense arrogance—only unwavering self-confidence.
Realizing there was no point in pressing the matter further, she shifted the topic.
"Since you're unwilling to join us, we'll leave it at that," she said. "However, for clearing the High School of the Dead dungeon, the reward Luminar promised must still be delivered."
"One hundred million Luminarian coins will be transferred to your account. Please provide your ID number, and I'll process it immediately."
A moment later, a system notification appeared before Arthur's eyes.
[100,000,000 Luminarian coins have been credited to your account, Blank!]
After passing his ID to her, Arthur was notified by the system only a few seconds later—the money had already been transferred.
He had rejected her.
Something Selena had, honestly, expected.
Then, it was probably just as the person who submitted the report had speculated—Blank must be hiding many secrets. That was likely the reason he refused to join any organization.
Perhaps he feared that affiliating himself with one would only limit the speed of his growth.
Arthur, of course, had no idea what Selena was thinking.
But if he could hear her speculation, he would agree without hesitation.
Indeed, joining an organization would do him more harm than good.
After all, he knew the perfect way to clear almost every dungeon.
Once he joined an organization…
As he continued to clear dungeons flawlessly and grow stronger at an abnormal pace, no matter how composed the upper echelons were, they wouldn't be able to remain calm.
Even an official organization would be no different.
Because Arthur understood better than anyone just how irresistible the strategies he possessed were to any force.
The strategy for the dungeon High School of the Dead alone had already thrown the world into chaos.
What would happen if there were a few more like that?
If he didn't belong to any organization, then those forces could only send people to beg him for his strategies.
Whether he sold them or not.
To whom he sold them.
And for how much.
Everything would be decided by him alone.
But once he joined an organization, that freedom would vanish.
The rules would no longer be his to set.
So refusing was the better choice, at least for now.
"I won't join any faction," Arthur said calmly. "And don't even think about recruiting me. Cooperation, however, can be discussed—as long as you can solve my troubles in reality when something appear"
It was an undeniably high-profile stance.
Perhaps such an attitude would spark controversy for the time being.
But Arthur believed that as long as he continued to conquer dungeons.
All voices of doubt would eventually fall silent.
"I understand. I will report your attitude to them."
Selena felt a trace of curiosity.
Was Blank truly confident that he could continue clearing dungeons with high evaluations like this in the future?
"However," Selena continued calmly, "regarding the guide for 'Highschool of the Dead'—can you name a price?"
"…"
Arthur's expression stiffened.
So it had finally come to this.
"Didn't the dungeon disappear?" he asked.
Selena didn't doubt him and nodded.
"Indeed. After you completed it, 'Highschool of the Dead' vanished from the dungeon list on the First Floor of the Reincarnation Tower."
"But this is merely a normal dungeon rotation. It doesn't affect our transaction."
The dungeons on each floor of the Reincarnation Tower were not fixed.
With the exception of special cases like 'Highschool of the Dead', which had existed for an extended period without being cleared, causing it to remain locked on the dungeon interface and eventually trigger a reality invasion.
Under normal circumstances, dungeon rotations occurred randomly on each floor every seven days to one month.
According to the records.
On the floor with the greatest variety, from thirty years ago until now, more than a hundred different dungeons had appeared in total.
However, according to predictions, 'Highschool of the Dead' would still reappear before long.
After all, there weren't many dungeons on the First Floor, only around twenty had appeared so far.
Each rotation usually opened three to five slots at the same time.
By that logic, it was guaranteed to return within half a year at most.
As long as they obtained the dungeon guide, once the dungeon reappeared, anyone could enter to challenge it and reap enormous rewards.
Arthur naturally understood what they were thinking.
Or rather, anyone without his information would think the same way.
But he knew the truth.
That dungeon would never appear again.
Admittedly…
He could follow their assumptions and fleece them for an astronomical sum. After all, it was their own wishful thinking, he wouldn't even be deceiving them.
They couldn't produce any evidence to prove they possessed this information in the first place.
But…
In the future, he might make other dungeons disappear permanently as well.
It can't be that every dungeon he clear immediately vanishes, right?
This world was never short of intelligent people.
"What if I told you…"
Arthur ultimately didn't give in to his inner darkness.
"…that dungeon will never appear again?"
"What do you mean?"
"It means exactly what it says." He says
"Although I can't fully guarantee it, there's a high probability that this instance won't appear again in the future. So, even if you buy my guide, it will be useless."
Selena couldn't see his expression on the screen.
But she vaguely felt that his gaze was serious...
"Anyway, I enjoyed our conversation." His voice now sounded a bit more playful rather than serious.
"I finally understand why you have so many fans out there. I might've even become one of them today."
Without answer, she ended the call, rolling her eyes—while an almost imperceptible smile unconsciously formed on her lips, unnoticed even by herself as she found his joke amusing.
"…idiot."
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Alright, I know I promised an extra chapter for today, but something unexpected came up and I didn't have time to finish it. Tomorrow there will most likely be two chapters, with the next anime he'll be entering being revealed.
See ya!