BOFURI - I don't want to get hurt so I'll max out my defense - light novel volume 2

 Welcome back to New World Online! It is surprising how much fun it is to read about someone else playing a VMMORPG. Yuukikan does this very well.  

This volume is different from the first in that its scope is entirely the Second Event. It is a treasure hunt across a massive area, seeded with boss areas, dungeons, and puzzles for the players to find. The rewards are silver medals, which can be exchanged for special skills.  There are other rewards, for those players skilled or lucky enough to find them. 

The main charm of this series, for me, is how it can be exciting and chill at the same time. When you read about Maple and Sally exploring a haunted forest and encountering ghosts, it is like reading about an adventuring team on a mission. The battle with the uber-boss Silver Wings is tough even for broken builds like theirs, and so it is fun to read and relaxing at the same time. This is just a game, not even a high stakes game. It is two girls having fun, which allows the reader to share in their chill fun even when things are challenging or fatiguing for them. Everything about this story is about having fun.

It's not just that. The fact of the game world itself is used to good effect. Part of this is the subplot of the game's admins being driven mad by Maple's antics. Our charming protagonist frustrates them with her unconventional build and out-of-the-box tactics; she breaks their game's balance. A couple interludes are reserved for them and their reactions to what Maple does. Another part of this is Sally.

Sally is a veteran gamer. This volume serves to more fully introduce her, since she was unavailable for much of the first volume. Her build is not so unconventional as Maple's, but her skill is such that she is just as broken. She terrorizes other players to the point that a rumor starts of her being a secret field boss, and she roleplays that for fun, because this is a game. 

This volume is a great follow-up to the first.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "BOFURI -  I don't want to get hurt so I'll max out my defense" light novel volume 2 an A+

Click here for my next book review: Scarlet Soul - volume 1

Click here for my previous book review: No Game No Life - Practical War Game

Brian Wilkerson is an independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor's degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).

His fantasy series, Journey to Chaos, is currently available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.