Infinite Dendrogram_Volume 1

by Sakon Kaidou

  The manual had mentioned war events. They were large-scale battles between nations, and big quests with the fate of each nation on the line.

  “It was a large battle involving Masters and tians,” said my brother. “Well, it was a type of event that doesn’t happen very often and one of the game’s bigger features, but...” he sighed. “The result was a crushing defeat for the Kingdom of Altar. A third of our territory was lost, and among tians, the court magician Arch Wiseman, half of the knights, and the king died. Put simply, many of the key people running this kingdom perished in battle.”

  “...Why did they lose so badly? Is Dryfe that powerful?” I asked.

  No, that’s hard to believe, I thought. It’d be different in real life, but since this is a game, I’m sure they’ve taken measures to balance this.

  “The strength of both countries was essentially even,” he answered. “This includes the nations’ power, the soldiers’ levels, and the fighting ability of important tians. However, the strength of Masters on top of that is a different story.”

  “So you’re saying they lost to Dryfe because of the difference in the number of players?” I asked.

  Dryfe certainly seems like a nation where those who like it would really like it, so maybe a bunch of players joined it, I thought. ...No, that can’t be it. If that were the case, this kingdom would also...

  “The reason they lost is because out of all the Masters that were eligible to join the war, most didn’t participate,” he said.

  “What?” It was an answer I didn’t expect.

  The fate of the kingdom was at stake, and it was a big-time event, yet they didn’t participate?

  “The king of Altar was, how to put it, an old-fashioned person,” my brother said. “He said, ‘This is a crisis for our kingdom. Warriors of this nation, now is the time to rise up!’ It was great that he gave this speech and joined the front-lines, but that was it.”

  “That was it?” I asked.

  “There were no rewards. Essentially, he felt that if you belong to this nation, then it’s a given that you should rise up during its crisis.”

  ...I get that the fate of the kingdom was at stake, but I still feel that’s being a bit cheap, I thought. Is that how it’s normally done?

  “Of course, for Masters... for players, they’re enjoying this world but they aren’t staking their lives on this game,” my brother said. “If they die, they just can’t log back in for 24 hours. That’s why even if the kingdom was in a crisis, there were many who thought that if there wasn’t anything to gain, then there wasn’t any meaning in participating.”

  I would be just the opposite, I thought. If the login restriction was the only negative that came from dying, then I would consider joining the war, but I guess everyone thinks differently. There is the cost of the healing items you use during battle, and it’d be a huge minus if you fought some strong enemy and your equipment got destroyed.

  “Regarding this issue, the fact that Dryfe on the other side clearly stated their rewards was a big factor,” he explained, and went on to describe them.

  Apparently they had been quite exceptional.

  They had offered 5,000 lir for every Kingdom of Altar soldier defeated. For each Embryo holder — in other words, each Master — the reward had been 50,000 lir. In addition to this, they had offered various rewards for defeating key people, such as rare items and a privileged status within the nation.

  As a result, the morale of Dryfe’s players had risen, while the motivation of players in the Kingdom of Altar had dropped considerably.

  “There were even some players saying things like, ‘I want to fight on Dryfe’s side,’ and ‘There might be a rare event if this kingdom gets destroyed,’” my brother said.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. As a gamer, I can’t say I don’t understand how they feel. I can understand them, but...

  “And the real decisive blow for the crushing loss was that the Kingdom of Altar’s Big Three — the top players for the kill rankings, duel rankings, and clan rankings — all passed on participating.”

  “Rankings?” I asked. “They have those?”

  “That over there,” he said and pointed outside the window.

  This restaurant faced the square with the water fountain where I had met up with my brother. He pointed at a splendid-looking notice board in front of the water fountain.

  “That’s the Kingdom of Altar’s ranking board. It’s updated every three months in game time. There are the kill rankings where you compete with your accomplishments defeating monsters. Then there are the duel rankings for PvP achievements, and the clan rankings that compare the size of clans. The top thirty ranking players for each of these is listed there.”

  “Hmm,” I said.

  “And this part is important: the only players that can participate in wars are the ones in those rankings. As for the clan rankings, if you’re a member of a clan within the top thirty, then you can participate. So you could temporarily join a clan as a mercenary and fight in a war.”

  So in any case, that means a player can’t fight in wars unless they make it into those rankings.

  And at the time of the last war, the top-ranking players for each category, known as the Big Three, had supposedly said the following when the kingdom sought their participation:

  The top of the kill rankings, King of Destruction (name unknown), had said, “I don’t want to participate in a big event and carelessly expose my face.”

  The top of the duel rankings, Over Gladiator Figaro, had said, “I’m not interested in sloppy fights.”

  The leader of the top clan on the clan rankings, High Priestess Tsukuyo Fuso of The Lunar Society, had said, “We were unable to reach an agreement with the Kingdom of Altar.”

  As a result, the other ranking players’ already low motivation had been brought down even further.

  I’m sure they could see it’d be a losing battle, I thought. And like that, the war had started without many of the ranking players.

  The ones that had participated had included some of the ranking clans, players that had temporarily joined them, such as members of fan clubs for popular tians like Liliana, as well as naive players.

  The result had been a terrible sight.

  The scene on the battlefield could only have been described as a massacre. The overall number of players had been disparate, and most devastating of all was that the top-ranking players on Dryfe’s side had all participated.

  Top of the Dryfe Imperium’s kill rankings, King of Beasts.

  Top of the Dryfe Imperium’s duel rankings, Hell General Logan Goddhart.

  Top of the Dryfe Imperium’s clan rankings, Giga Professor Mr. Franklin, leader of the clan, Triangle of Wisdom.

  Two out of the three had Superior Embryos, and their fighting power had been enormous. The Knights of the Royal Guard Commander and the Arch Wiseman had died at the hands of these three. Even the king had been killed.

  “If things had kept going as they were, without a doubt, this kingdom would’ve been on a straight shot to ruin,” said my brother. “But after being forced to give up a third of our territory, the nation of Caldina began their invasion into Dryfe. Except for some troops they left behind in the territory they took, the rest of Dryfe’s forces retreated back to their homeland, and so the Kingdom of Altar managed to survive by a hair.”

  However, my brother continued to explain, since Caldina had already pulled out of Dryfe, Dryfe would likely attack again in a few months.

  ...He was right, I thought. This wasn’t a fun story.

  “So what’s this about you saying that Liliana resents you?” I asked.

  “That’s because I was one of the ranking players listed there that didn’t participate,” he said. “Moreover, the former commander of the knights that died in battle was Liliana and Milia’s father.”

  “...Man,” I said. This really isn’t a fun story.

  “And so, having heard this not-so-fun story, what do you plan to
do, Master?” Nemesis, who had been engrossed in her food this whole time and hadn’t joined our conversation, asked.

  “There’s nothing I can do, right?” I asked.

  What will I do when Dryfe attacks again... well, for now, I’ve already made my decision.

  “Even if there’s no reward, I’m not too keen on refusing to participate,” I said. “Even if there’s a cost, I would think there’s some value in taking part.” Even if you were to just view it as a game event.

  “Yeah, well, you’re right about that, but the players’ mood at the time was more of a boycott against the cheap nation,” said my brother. “I even get the feeling that Dryfe might’ve prepared their crazy rewards as a way to create this mood.”

  If that’s the case, then the Kingdom of Altar probably lost to Dryfe strategically before the battle even began.

  “Why didn’t you join, Bro?” I asked. “Was it because of the lack of reward for you, too?”

  “...In my case, it was because having my equipment break would equal exposing my real face.”

  “...Ahh, yeah.”

  Well yeah, that would be a huge problem, but still...

  “Well, I’ve changed my equipment since then, so I’ll be joining next time,” he said.

  That costume’s DEF stat and physical damage reduction are certainly impressive, I thought. Although it’s still a gag item, no matter how you look at it.

  “The next time we do fight, though,” he continued, “the strength of their nation will have increased, while ours will have weakened. So it’ll be tough.”

  “Weakened?” I asked.

  “Since losing the war, there have been a lot of players switching to different nations. There are even tians leaving the kingdom. People on online chat boards have been saying things like, ‘The Kingdom of Altar is past its prime,’ and ‘It’s game over.’”

  I remained silent.

  Defections, refugees, and rampant resignation... That’s the path of a country headed towards collapse in the real world.

  “With the latest update to the rankings, about 70% have been replaced,” he said.

  “Hmm...” I said. Put another way, now might be the chance to get on the ranking boards.

  “In that case, I guess I’ll start from there,” I said.

  Listening to all this has helped me solidify my plans... no, my plans are still the same, but my goals have increased.

  “Have you decided on a new objective?” asked Nemesis.

  I nodded. “As things stand, there aren’t a lot of things I can do, and I can’t take part in the war.”

  Which is why...

  “First I’ll raise my level,” I said, “and then I guess I’ll aim to get onto the rankings.”

  ◆◆◆

  Earth — Undisclosed Chat Room

  Members: Professor

  General has joined.

  Beast King has joined.

  Members: Professor, General, Beast King

  Professor: Good evening.

  General: good evening

  Beast King: eve

  Professor: Gentlemen...

  Professor: Did you both watch the video I sent you through Infinite Dendrogram?

  Beast King: saw it

  General: thats why we’re here, obviously

  Professor: That’s true.

  Professor: Now then, regarding our plan to eliminate an important tian. To put it simply...

  Professor: It failed.

  General: ya, fail

  Professor: Those things I released in the dungeon...

  Professor: The horde of Demi-Dragon Worms got wiped out, didn’t they?

  General: werent there holes in this plan from the start?

  General: giving the targets sister bug repellant incense and directing her to the orchard

  General: and then springing a trap on the target there

  Professor: Originally, I had a different set of steps planned.

  Professor: But for some reason all the remberries had disappeared from the market.

  Professor: Even the portion I intended to use for my plan was gone. lol.

  Professor: Tis a real shame.

  Professor: The plan was to give a poisoned remberry to the little sister...

  Professor: and use that to kill the older sister.

  Professor: Lil Sis, “Big Sis, congratulations.”

  Professor: Big Sis, “Thanks. Guhah!”

  Professor: Lil Sis, “Big Siiisss!”

  Professor: This was how it was supposed to go, so what a shame, riiiiiiight?! boo hoo, lol.

  General: what u think is a shame isnt important

  General: the issue is that the new plan got thwarted

  Professor: Wasn’t that bear scary? To go up against almost 100 Demi-Dragon Worms by himself...

  Professor: and even more, to win unscathed.

  Professor: Just one of those things should be a match for a player with a high-rank job. lol.

  General: thats not that big a deal

  General: its possible if ur leveled up and strong...i could do that too

  General: but...defeating a demi dragon worm at lvl 0 with no job

  General: i dont remember anyone being able to do something that absurd

  Professor: My, my. So does that mean his Excellency the General is more concerned by that newbie than the bear?

  General: pfft...i look forward to crushing him

  Professor: As usual, way to play the stereotypical evil top brass character.

  Professor: Me too though! lol.

  General: whatever. this is how i am

  Professor: lol.

  General: but i cant deny it if u call me evil

  General: the destruction of a nation...its this games first big event

  General: i look forward to the chance when dryfe, no, when WE get to accomplish that

  Professor: Well, last time ended with us just taking out some key people and gaining a portion of their territory, so that was a bit hard to stomach.

  General: i had fun fighting with the knight commander

  Professor: The king was boring.

  Professor: It would’ve been better to fight a bunch of soldiers instead.

  General: the arch wiseman...was it beast king that took him out?

  Professor: That was pretty awesome. Just what I’d expect from our strongest player.

  General: hey

  Professor: Oh, okay, okay. His Excellency the General and Beast King are both the strongest. lol.

  General: ya whatever. i’ll prove it to u in the next war

  General: this time i’ll put an end to the kingdom of Altar

  Professor: Yes, please do let me see that. lol.

  General: btw, beast kings been silent the whole time, but dont u have something u want to say?

  Beast King: the bear, was really, cute

  General: ...............

  Professor: ............... lol.

  General: ...i dont understand ur taste, beast king

  Chapter Three: Starting Point

  Heaven’s Three Star Restaurant, Royal Capital Altea — Ray Starling

  Last night, after I had talked about various things with my brother, the dinner had turned into a normal banquet.

  My brother and Nemesis, who had eaten more than double what I had, had given up partway and had left more than half the food untouched. So we’d passed out the remaining food and drinks to the other customers in the restaurant, and the entire scene had morphed into a party.

  If an observer were to look about the restaurant, they wouldn’t be able to tell who among those partying was a player (Master), and who was an NPC (tian).

  The one saying to my brother “Hey big spender” is probably a player, I thought. That was a joke from a retro game. The one with a glass of wine in one hand and an exaggerated way of speaking is probably a tian.

  Other than the distinction of who had an Embryo crest, these were the only sorts of vague differences... They all look human to me.
<
br />   The whole scene made me appreciate again just how amazing Infinite Dendrogram was, and along with this, I felt there was something I needed to think about.

  I felt this, however...

  “My head hurts...” I groaned. The headache made it impossible in my current state to think about anything philosophical.

  “Is this a hangover?” groaned Nemesis from beside me, holding her head like I was. I looked about the restaurant and saw that every person at the party who had consumed that drink was in the same state as us.

  A hangover... I thought. Yeah, this must be a hangover.

  Normally, underage players couldn’t drink any alcohol. However, among those who had joined the party yesterday, there had been a Master with a skill that could change water into “an alcohol-like drink.” To which I’d just like to ask, “Why would there be a skill like that?”

  “This isn’t alcohol, okaaay?” the person who’d offered me the drink had said. “It’s just juice, okaaay? Drink it and you’ll just feel as light as air, okaaay?”

  It had tasted great, so I had drunk several cups. And so when the sun had risen, I found myself in this state.

  “Ugh... Why does it have to show up here, too?” I muttered.

  “Hangover” was also displayed on my status, and even though the pain setting should had been turned off, my head was throbbing.

  “That drink, it was similar to alcohol but it was probably actually poison,” said Nemesis.

  “Ahh, a poison disguised as alcohol that gives you status effects, huh?” I responded.

  In that case, it made sense that a skill like that existed, as well as why I had been able to drink it while ignoring the underage restrictions.

  There was a folk tale about something like that in Japan, so there might’ve been an Embryo based on that.

  The person who made the drinks was just fine after drinking it, though.

  “Why would you drug someone like this...?” I wondered aloud.

  “It’s Lei-Lei’s beary special way of welcoming you.” Bro Bear, who had been passing out water to those suffering with a hangover, said this with a strained laugh.

  “Welcoming?” I asked.

  “She makes sure to get every newbie to drink that Divine Oni Poison Sake (light).”