Infinite Dendrogram_Volume 1

by Sakon Kaidou

  Even at my STR level, I can swing it with no trouble, I thought. It’s about the same weight as that fake sword I bought as a souvenir a long time ago on my school field trip. Or maybe about the same as a metal pipe.

  “Isn’t it rude to mention a lady’s weight?” asked Nemesis.

  “But this is clearly lighter than when you’re in your human form,” I said. What happened to the law of conservation of mass?

  “...You’re concerned about the law of conservation of mass in a world with magic and where time flows differently?” she asked.

  Well, yeah, that’s true, but...

  “And besides, it shouldn’t feel light to anybody else,” she said. “It’ll only feel light for you.”

  “Is that how it is?” I asked.

  “That’s how it is.”

  Okay, then I guess I’ll leave it at that, I thought. My level isn’t going to get any higher if I spend all my time asking questions.

  “All right then, time to start grinding levels,” I said.

  “I’m itching to get started.”

  Two hours later.

  My level had gone up by 3, and I hadn’t taken any damage yet.

  “...How come I’m not taking any damage even though I’ve been getting pummeled?” I wondered.

  Since I had arrived here, I had been fighting monsters like Little Goblins and Pashi Rabbits. They were the type you could take one glance at and say, “Ah, these are the small fry monsters you find in the beginning.” However, no matter how many times they had attacked me, I hadn’t taken any damage.

  “You shouldn’t be surprised,” replied Nemesis. “You have fairly good equipment for your level. Also, wasn’t there a Reduced Damage skill? Isn’t all the damage below 10 becoming 0 because of that?”

  So that means the monsters here can’t do more than 10 damage to me.

  My initial HP had been a little under 100. Taking into account that this was a hunting ground for beginners, it was possible they had only placed monsters here with low enough strength that they wouldn’t kill a player with that amount of HP.

  Incidentally, my HP was now over 700 at level 4. Liliana’s HP had been in the 5,000s with a Paladin level of 60 and a total level of 210, but at this rate, by the time I reached Paladin level 60, my HP would probably be well over 6,000.

  “This may get crazy down the road,” I said.

  “It might be because it’s a high-rank job, but its stat boosts are nice,” said Nemesis. “Also, HP is the highest out of all my stat modifiers.”

  So the large growth in my HP was apparently the result of the total modifiers from the Paladin Job and my Embryo. The modifier for Embryos is pretty big, I realized.

  Although it wasn’t as much as my HP, my other stats had of course gone up, as well. In addition, I also learned the healing magic skill First Heal.

  With this, I can heal myself to some degree now.

  “Hmm... I guess I’ll change spots, then,” I said. As things stand, I should be okay somewhere with enemies that are a little stronger.

  “Yeah, I agree,” said Nemesis. “I also felt things were a bit underwhelming.”

  Well, yeah, that’s because it only takes us one hit to slice the goblins and rabbits in half, I thought. Even though I was the one doing it, it was still kind of scary. The monsters’ corpses don’t remain behind, but if they did, it’d be one extremely gory sight.

  “Let’s see,” I said, “the next suitable hunting ground would be Noz Forest, just past the North Gate.”

  “Then shall we first return to the royal capital?” asked Nemesis. “It’s almost time for sweets, after all.”

  Time for sweets...

  “I’m okay with paying for some drinks,” I said, “but...”

  What will I do if she eats as much as dinner last night? I wondered. I would like to keep the remaining money I got from selling those items to get my next set of equipment.

  At any rate, we headed back toward the royal capital. On the way, I watched the other players as they fought. There were a lot of players with outfits that were in the catalog from the tutorial, so they were probably beginners like me. However, even if they had the beginner outfits, they all had at least one thing other players didn’t.

  One player had a sickle and chain. The player would hurl it in the air and the chain would extend on its own to attack the monster — or so I had thought, but for some reason, it was the sickle that would travel underground and then attack the monster instead.

  Another player had a baby carriage. Inside the carriage was an egg-like object, and for some reason, the player was pushing the carriage with their left hand, while desperately swinging a sword in their right hand to fight off monsters.

  Another player had a stone hut. There was an opening at one section in the wall, and the player was attacking monsters from there with a slingshot. Monsters that bit onto the hut stopped moving as if they were stunned.

  Another player had a red barrier. Monsters that entered the barrier would blow up as if they had stepped on a mine.

  Ah, the player got blown away as well, I noticed. I wonder if all of those are Embryos like Nemesis.

  “...There are a lot of different types,” I said, amazed.

  “The sickle and chain is an Arms, the hut is a Castle, and the mine field is a Territory,” explained Nemesis. “The baby carriage is... what exactly? A tool that’s an Arms? Or maybe a Chariot?”

  So those are the non-Maiden base category Embryos... they look really interesting.

  “Are you cheating on me?! Are you thinking about cheating while you’re embracing me with your right hand?!” cried Nemesis.

  ...Does this count as embracing?

  “I’m not thinking about cheating or anything, I just thought it was interesting how they all have their own abilities and personalities,” I said. “It’s really fantasy-like.”

  Bro Bear’s Embryo was such a heavy firearm, the issue went way beyond whether or not it was fantasy-like, I added silently.

  “Well, having something solely unique to each Master is the fundamental principle of Embryos, after all,” said Nemesis.

  “Also, compared to the others, your first form is fairly rugged, Nemesis.”

  “Rugged?!” she exclaimed.

  Yeah, your greatsword mode, that is.

  As we continued to walk like that, we came across another player engaged in battle with monsters. Unlike before, however, I could see the silhouettes of two people.

  One of them wore a coat that appeared to be starting equipment. He was a player of about middle or high school age. He was dirty with mud and blood from battle, but even still, he was an attractive young boy that you could get away with calling either cool or cute.

  As for appearances, the other person was quite unique, as well. She had a demon tail and bat wings, and was a beautiful, imp-like young girl.

  “Haaa!”

  “Take that!”

  The two of them were fighting with all they had, but they were surrounded by four Little Goblins, and the odds were slightly stacked against them.

  Now, I’d like to help, but it wouldn’t be good to just cut into their battle.

  “First Heal,” I said, and healed both of their HP. I did it partly as a way to test the new healing magic I had just learned but hadn’t yet used. It was what you might describe as a drive-by heal. I couldn’t see their HP since we weren’t in the same party, but their wounds noticeably disappeared.

  “Ah! That helps a lot!” one of them cried.

  “Thank youuu!”

  The two regrouped and resumed fighting.

  ◇

  After about five minutes, the two managed to wipe out the Little Goblins.

  “Good work out there,” I said. “First Heal.” I cast the healing magic one more time on the two after they had finished fighting.

  “Thank you very much for healing us! That really helps,” one of them said.

  “Thanks,” the other added gratefully.

  “
I just wanted to try out my healing magic, so no need to worry about it,” I said. If anything, it feels awkward to be thanked.

  “Well, you have been getting thanked non-stop since yesterday...” said Nemesis. Her weight then unexpectedly disappeared from my right hand, and she was standing next to me in her human form.

  “Huh? What?!” one of them gasped.

  “Oh? Are you...” asked the other.

  The two of them appeared to be surprised, but Nemesis paid no mind to that and just stared at the imp girl.

  “I see, I see,” said Nemesis. “A fellow Maiden... no, a Guardian, huh? However, it’s rare for a Guardian to look this close to a human.”

  “Hey, stop staring at her, Nemesis,” I said. “That’s rude.”

  “My apologies,” she said. “I was just curious about something.”

  Just what that something was... well, I was curious about it, too.

  “I’m sorry, my Embryo was being rude,” I said.

  “Please don’t worry about it,” said the other player. “That’s amazing, though. There are even Embryos that transform!”

  “That’s right. I’m Nemesis, a Type Maiden with Arms Embryo!” Nemesis introduced herself with such vigor it seemed like a sound effect should’ve accompanied her.

  ...This is embarrassing.

  “Oh, sorry for the late introduction, but I’m Ray Starling,” I said. “I started playing Infinite Dendrogram yesterday.”

  “Ah, I’m Rook,” said the other player. “I also just started playing yesterday.”

  “I’m Babylon! A Type Guardian Embryo! Call me Babi, okay?” the girl announced.

  “Rook and Babi,” I repeated back their names. “I have to say, though, weren’t Guardians supposed to be a type of monster?”

  Other than her tail and wings, Babi looks exactly like a human. You could even say that there’s no difference, since I’m pretty sure tails and wings can be added when creating a character. If I had to say which she looked more like, between a monster and a human, I would say a human.

  “That’s because I’m a succubus!” she declared. “I’m sexy and cute and everyone falls head over heels for me!”

  Succubus......... a succubus?

  “Babi, I told you not to be so open about that in front of people...!” Rook wailed.

  “Whaaat? But I’m an Embryo that takes pride in being a succubus, so it’s not embarrassing at all.”

  “It’s embarrassing for me!” he cried.

  “...Rook, you’re embarrassed by me?” Babi looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

  Even as someone on the sidelines, I thought that looking up at him with teary eyes was just unfair.

  Rook became flustered in an instant. “You see, umm, I’m not embarrassed by you, Babi. It’s just that it’d be embarrassing if people were to start prying into my inner thoughts since you were born from me, you see...”

  What is this sense of deja vu? I thought. Also, I feel like I could get along with Rook.

  “Now, now, you shouldn’t cause too much trouble for your Master, Babi,” Nemesis scolded.

  “You’re one to talk,” I muttered.

  ◇

  Rook and Babi were done with their hunting, so we decided to band up and make our way back to the capital as one group. And, since we had no reason not to, Nemesis and I invited them to our little sweets party.

  They gladly accepted, but...

  “Peaches sure are delicious this time of year.” Despite it being her first time eating peach tarts, Nemesis spoke as though she knew everything about it and hastily sank her teeth into her seventeenth serving.

  “No sweet thing is complete without this.” Babi poured chili sauce all over her strawberry parfait.

  “...No, chili sauce shouldn’t even be an option,” I said.

  “I think so, too...” Rook agreed. “But the speed at which Nemesis eats is also quite...”

  “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean...” I said.

  The scene before us was strange in many ways. For example, despite not being older than a day, Nemesis and Babi were familiar with the concept of seasonal fruit, they had their own tastes, and they expressed awareness of flavoring.

  Yesterday Nemesis had told me that, despite being humanoid in form, she wasn’t really like us. But that didn’t stop the sight before me from seriously throwing me off.

  “When born, we Embryos make use of our Master’s memories,” she had explained after reading my mind. “Our knowledge of this world came from the world’s system, but our knowledge of worldly affairs came from our Masters.”

  Oh, so that’s how she knows about peach seasons and the like.

  “Basically, we Embryos know everything about our Masters,” she added.

  “What kind of girls do I prefer, then?” I asked.

  “Ones like me, of course!”

  “Wrong.”

  “Why?!” she howled.

  So, to sum it up, they didn’t know everything, but merely came equipped with common sense.

  “Still, what kind of common sense would make Babi eat something so... blasphemous?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  “Perhaps she does it because it’s blasphemous, no?” Nemesis answered. “After all, her name is Babylon, right?”

  The Whore of Babylon was a figure from the Book of Revelation, often portrayed riding a seven-headed beast as she spread depravity, adultery, and defilement, making her a sworn enemy of the martyr. I had no idea if any of that applied to Babi, but Nemesis had the name of the Greek goddess of vengeance or divine punishment, and befittingly, her ability was a counterattack. There was reason to believe that Embryo names were related to their powers.

  “That aside, Babi, being a succubus, you must know many ways to express your sexuality and make men go crazy about you,” Nemesis commented.

  What the hell are you saying, you damn goth loli?

  “Of course I do,” said Babi.

  D-Does she really?

  Babi’s words actually made Rook choke on his food a bit.

  “Ho ho...” Nemesis said gleefully. “Care to share?”

  “Umm, there’s the shoulder massage, the massage where you lightly step on the lower back, and the best one — the lap-pillow and ear-cleaning combo! Sexy, right?!” Babi exclaimed.

  “...Hm?” Nemesis asked.

  Sexy? I thought. None of that goes beyond normal massage. I wouldn’t even call it “lewd.”

  “That’s not what I wanted to hear. Don’t you have anything befitting the name ‘Whore of Babylon?’” Nemesis asked.

  “Like?” Babi looked puzzled.

  “W-Well, I-I’m not one to know...”

  Don’t give her a question that flusters yourself, you damn goth loli.

  “Umm... I’m underage, so I think that Babi is just acting accordingly...” Rook stopped choking on his food and gave us a highly agreeable reason.

  “Ahh, age restrictions, huh.” I expressed my understanding. Just like they affected alcohol and tobacco, age restrictions reduced the sexiness of succubi to the point of making it equivalent to girls giving massages to their dads.

  Man is it hard to tell if Infinite Dendrogram is wholesome or indecent.

  ◇

  Before parting ways, Rook and I — both being newbies — made a little promise to party up and go adventuring sometime.

  Also, Rook didn’t have a job yet. In fact, he’d started playing without having read anything about the game, so he didn’t even know how to get one.

  I let him take a look at the Suitable Job Diagnostics Catalog my brother had given me, and he quickly found a job he was interested in. To make it into a little surprise for the next time we partied up, I chose not to ask what it was.

  Anyway, after Rook and I went our own ways, I walked to the northern Noz Forest.

  “Shall we?” I asked Nemesis.

  “Yes, let’s raise your level.”

  With Nemesis already in her greatsword form, I entered the second easiest hunting ground in
the capital’s surroundings.

  Unlike Easter Plains, this place had a number of trees that took a toll on visibility. The forest was so dense that it was hard to see twenty meters ahead. However, I could hear the sounds of battle coming from the distance, so it clearly wasn’t completely inaccessible to us players. The sounds were probably being made by beginners like myself, who were no longer satisfied by the Easter Plains.

  About two minutes after we began searching for monsters, we found some wolf-like beasts. Right when they entered my vision, the name “Teal Wolf” was displayed above them. There were three in total.

  “Man, this is sudden,” I said. As in most RPGs, fighting multiple enemies right after entering a higher level hunting ground wasn’t the best idea, but I had no choice.

  Quick and nimble as they were, the wolves made the first move as the one closest to us jumped and bit into me. The hit dealt 22 points of damage, and it was the first time I’d felt pain that day.

  Since I would be able to take about thirty such attacks, I decided to go on the offensive.

  As the Teal Wolves surrounded me, I targeted only the one straight ahead. They all began attacking, slightly out of sync with each other. I ignored the two coming from behind and intercepted the one right ahead.

  The hit from my black greatsword made the wolf whine in pain. Unlike Little Goblins and Pashi Rabbits, it didn’t get split in half, but the damage I gave was great enough to make its movements more dull.

  “Yeah, this isn’t anything I can’t handle,” I said.

  I continued the grind.

  ◇

  Several minutes later, with my health at 50% and a level higher than I’d had before, I stood surrounded by drops from three monsters.

  “All right, so we can take on three of these at once,” I said.

  “Indeed we can,” Nemesis agreed.

  In preparation for the next battle, I restored my health with First Heal. Possessing both high HP and an ability to self-heal, Paladins were simply ideal for leveling.

  “All right, I’m healed.” I said.

  “So, now you’re just level 5 and already have over 800 HP,” Nemesis commented. “Your defense has increased, too, so you might even be able to bear a Demi-Drag’s attack without any accessories. Don’t you think so?”