Infinite Dendrogram: Volume 17 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Color Illustrations

  Prologue: At the Water’s Edge

  Chapter One: The Invitation

  Interlude: Outside and Within

  Chapter Two: The Rules

  Interlude: The Strongest Pieces on the Board

  Chapter Three: The Dark Knight, the Nukenin, and the Fallen Angel

  Chapter Four: Another Team Up

  Interlude: The Scorpion, the Axe, and the Costume

  Chapter Five: The Asura

  Interlude: The Ranker Known as Chelsea

  Chapter Six: The Asura and the Hunter

  Interlude: The Crawler-Riders, the Magic-Spinners

  Chapter Seven: A Hint

  Interlude: Blade-Dance

  Chapter Eight: To Beat the Invincible

  Chapter Nine: Invincible Versus Invincible

  Chapter Ten: Event Cleared

  Chapter Eleven: The Knight and the Asura

  Chapter Twelve: The Promise

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Bonus Short Stories

  About J-Novel Club

  Copyright

  Prologue: At the Water’s Edge

  March, 2045, A Certain Place in Infinite Dendrogram

  A silent shoreline stood beneath the veil of night.

  Unlike its counterparts in reality, this sandy beach was completely free of garbage, and the way the moonlight fell upon the rolling waves perfectly captured the essence of what a night should be.

  Some distance away, there was a seaside path with not a single pebble on it, flanked by trees that were similar to pines. As a whole, the entire scene looked stunning—a truly otherworldly sight.

  It would’ve been perfect if it weren’t for the single person who spoiled the image slightly.

  Sitting on the sand as though they had fallen backwards in surprise, they looked ahead with eyes wide open.

  However, there was nothing there besides a couple of dents in the sand.

  Gradually washed away by the coming waves, these two sizable depressions were spaced apart as though some gigantic, unseen figure was simply standing there.

  “...What do I do?” A voice cut through the silence of the night.

  The voice belonged to the person sitting on the sand, their words seemingly an expression of panic and confusion at having “messed up” in some way.

  Alas, there was no one there to help them with their predicament, and the panic ultimately drove them to flee, leaving only the gorgeous evening scenery behind them.

  When the next morning came, the fact that there was nothing there shook the locals, as well as the entire country.

  Chapter One: The Invitation

  Scout, Ray Starling

  Infinite Dendrogram was a VRMMO in the action-RPG genre.

  Apparently, the standard activities here consisted of taking on monster-hunting quests from the Adventurers’ Guild, delivering packages, or perhaps engaging in crafting.

  Using the word “apparently” implied that none of this had anything to do with me, but that was the thing—my activities here were far from standard.

  First, I’d gone to search for someone, taking me to a dungeon out of my level range; then I tried to level like the newbie I was, only to get PK’d. After that, I took a delivery quest, only to run into a UBM on the way and, by complete chance, I ended up fighting the kingdom’s most infamous bandit gang and the UBM they spawned. Right after that I got caught up in a Superior’s act of terrorism, and he actually targeted me specifically—and just when I thought I was finally going to get some time to chill, I was kidnapped by another Superior. Then I escorted a boy looking for his dad, only to end up fighting a flying UBM that happened to awaken at the same time, and when I went to get a job change, I ended up running into yet another Superior—and an ancient superweapon. When I tried to relax at a festival in my hometown, I ended up fighting a pre-Superior who planned to stir up trouble by meddling in someone’s love life. Most recently, I took on a bodyguard role for the peace talks between Altar and Dryfe, only to fall into Dryfe’s trap and end up fighting one of the Apices of all Masters.

  Yeah... Even I could tell that my activities here weren’t exactly conventional.

  “With all that in mind, though...things are kinda chill right now,” I said.

  “Consider the scene before you, and think if that description is truly fitting,” Nemesis retorted.

  There were currently scores of wooden golems burning to cinders in front of me. The source of the fire was the Purgatorial Flames from my left Miasmaflame Bracer.

  I was currently in a forested mountain region, tossing flames onto an army of wooden golems. I couldn’t blame any clueless onlookers for thinking I was just a pyromaniac.

  As to how I ended up in this situation, well...

  ◇

  It was April 18th—a Tuesday. Several Dendro days, as well as real-life ones, had passed since the chaotic peace conference.

  Having come back from college, I logged in as I’d always done.

  Because of various things, I hadn’t yet returned to Gideon and was still at the capital, Altea.

  I first hit the shops to replace my broken gear and stock up on consumables. Then, it was time to do some leveling. I may have had a unique Embryo that allowed me to turn the tide of difficult battles, but to grow stronger in the proper sense, I needed some levels.

  “We are still lacking in raw power, after all,” said Nemesis.

  “Yeah. We just learned that the hard way.”

  Our clan had fought King of Beasts—the Physical Apex—and despite all our combined efforts, we didn’t manage to come out on top.

  I was told that Azurite herself would’ve been in danger if it wasn’t for Fuso’s negotiations.

  “If we’d just had a little bit more power back then, we might’ve been able to seize a different possibility,” I said. “We really need to level up so that we can reach them next time.”

  “Indeed!” Nemesis replied.

  And so, with renewed resolve, I switched my job back to Scout so I could finally max it out. Then I figured that if I was gonna be leveling, I might as well kill two birds with one stone and do a hunting quest at the same time. I couldn’t team up with my clan members because of time differences or in-game distance between us, but I figured I could handle the quest solo or just get a temporary party together.

  I headed to the Adventurers’ Guild, checked the catalog, and found a quest that was just perfect for me—a large-scale quest for the elimination of a monster type that had suddenly grown in number.

  It was the kind of quest anyone could pick up, and the reward was based on how much you contributed to the extermination. The location was between Altea and Gideon—the now-nostalgic Sauda Mountain Pass.

  The targets were the boss monster known as “Afforest King Golem” and its related species, the Planting Golems.

  Afforests weren’t UBMs, but just like Goblin Kings and King Basilisks, they were always seen as major threats and targets for immediate elimination. Apparently, they were a troublesome monster type that appeared in fertile wild areas and incessantly spawned their kin—the Planting Golems—recklessly draining the land’s nutrients in the process.

  Normally, they wouldn’t be somewhere like Sauda Mountain Pass, but recently, there had been an increase in dormant UBMs like Monochrome suddenly awakening, which had led to major disturbances in monster habitats all over.

  It was kinda like how the lab coat maniac messed up the ecosystem around Gideon...but worse, since we now had a high-level boss monster and its kin making themselves cozy around the main path linking Altea and Gideon.

  With the cur
rent situation in Altar, it would be pretty bad if this trade route was disrupted, so the authorities of both cities had teamed up to create this large-scale quest.

  ◇

  And so, we were now here, exterminating the Planting Golems.

  “...Live trees aren’t supposed to be this flammable,” I said.

  “Might this cause a forest fire...?” Nemesis asked. Being monsters, the golems themselves disappeared the moment they died, but since their loot was wooden, their fires continued to burn.

  I really didn’t wanna follow in Shu’s footsteps and create a scorched wasteland...

  “Hey, should I be worried about this?” I asked as I looked at the flaming golem loot.

  “Nope! I’ll put ’em all out!” I heard someone say, right before a mass of water crashed onto the burning remains.

  The flames were silenced, preventing them from lighting the surrounding trees.

  “See?” the person said, giving me a thumbs up. They...or rather she was a baby-faced girl in a pirate hat, and her name was Chelsea. She was an Altarian duel ranker in the eighth spot as well as a sparring partner of mine, and we were currently doing the same quest.

  “If you just break or cut ’em up, these things just grow back from whatever’s left,” she said. Now that was obnoxious. I could see why they had been targeted for elimination. The damage they were capable of doing to local towns and villages was something else.

  “I’m useless against them, so I’m glad we have you and your flamethrower here,” Chelsea added.

  “Right back at you. I’m glad we have you too,” I said. This was an impromptu party, but she and I actually made a good team.

  It was because of her that I could use Purgatorial Flames like I was. If I couldn’t rely on anyone to put the fires out, I’d have had to fight these things using Nemesis and her skills, which wouldn’t have been very efficient.

  “Lemme check if they found it yet,” Chelsea said before using Telepathy Cuffs to contact our other party members.

  I’d joined this party after running into her group by chance while doing this quest. On the party window, I could see the main stats and names of the other two members—Juliet and Max.

  Chelsea and I were the only ones here. Juliet was using her wings and Max was riding her Type Sentinel Embryo to patrol the area and look for the Afforest. Since it was the source of these golems, this quest wouldn’t end until someone defeated it.

  But since we had Juliet the Black Crow—fourth in the duel rankings—I was sure that we’d—

  “Ray! They found it! It’s past the ridge, to the east of here!” Chelsea said, cutting my thought short.

  “All right! Hop on Silver! We’ll get there by air!” I said. Just as I would expect, they’d located the monster.

  Some time later, we arrived at the spot...

  “UuuUrRrraaArrrrgHhhh...”

  ...where we saw a giant golem made of dirt and roots, with nearly a hundred trees growing out of its back.

  “...Damn, it’s huge,” I said. Maybe I shouldn’t have expected anything less of a “boss monster.” It wasn’t as large as Leviathan, but it easily surpassed sixty metels, easily putting it in the “kaiju-sized” category.

  Though, it was weird that something this big had gone unnoticed until Juliet spotted it...

  “Julie! Where was this thing hiding?!” Chelsea called out to Juliet, who was currently flying around Afforest.

  The Fallen Knight fired a dark magic spell at the monster before saying, “The wood itself stirred. Thus did the mind’s eye perceive from my skyward vantage.”

  Oh, so that was how it was. Basically, “It was hiding in the ground, disguised as the forest itself, and moved along with the terrain. I could see it moving from the sky, but it must’ve been hard to spot from the surface.”

  “...That translation is nearly thrice the length of what was actually said,” said Nemesis.

  “Anyway, this is the real deal! Let’s chop it down!” said the other duel ranker present, Max. She was riding her bear-like Sentinel with countless blades growing out of its back. “Maddened Blade, Sip Their Blood—Ipetam!”

  Following Max activating her ult, the blades on Ipetam’s back were released. They then spread out in the air around Afforest before flying straight towards it.

  The dozens of blades pierced into the giant golem’s body, but...

  “Ngh...! It barely did anything!”

  ...just like Max herself had said, the giant mass of trees and earth was largely unaffected.

  “I’ll do it up close and personal, then...!” she then said as she used Laser Blade—the Swordmaster job skill Azurite had used. But since the blade was sized for a human, the damage to Afforest was minimal. “Damn it!”

  “Don’t rush it, Maxie!” said Chelsea. “You’re specced against people, not monsters!”

  “I know th— Don’t call me that!” retorted Max. Despite talking like a rowdy tomboy, Max was wearing a frilly dress. I thought she looked good in it, but when I’d actually said that to her once, she got mad at me for some reason.

  “Whoa!” I cried out as a shadow fell over me and I made Silver back away.

  A moment later, a leg the size of a building crushed the place we had just vacated.

  “Don’t think we’ll go down without a fight!” I said as I aimed my left Miasmaflame Bracer towards the wall-like limb and showered it in Purgatorial Flames.

  The superheated fire lit up Afforest just like the golems it had created...

  “...High Fire Resistance.”

  ...but then, a veil of light appeared around it, greatly weakening the flames.

  “That’s the skill B3 used...!” Back when we were fighting Monochrome, B3 had used this skill to weaken the heat and flames from its beams.

  “Oh, right! Ray! Normal high-rank bosses aren’t like UBMs!” Chelsea called out to me.

  Normal high-rank bosses... This was actually my first time fighting a monster like that. So far, I’d always ended up facing stronger Masters or UBMs...

  “Unlike UBMs, they almost never have broken one-of-a-kind skills, but they get a bunch of utility skills! Figaro said that lots of them are stronger than some weaker UBMs!”

  “I don’t think I know what a ‘weak UBM’ looks like!” I said. Still, I got the gist. This thing not only had stats to match its size, but also possessed a defensive skill that let it overcome its weakness to fire.

  I looked and noticed that the wounds opened by Ipetam’s blades were closing, meaning that it probably had Auto Restoration as well.

  “...Not being unique doesn’t make it a pushover, huh?” I said. Maybe this monster was nothing compared to my last big enemy—KoB—but it still far surpassed me in power.

  The four of us were going to have to combine our efforts if we wanted to seize victory.

  “Though the barrier stands vast and impenetrable, the champions arrayed against it act as one.” Juliet had basically read my mind and said, “This boss is very big and strong, but let’s work together and do our best to beat it!”

  “Yeah! Let’s do this!”

  And so, we all faced the Afforest King Golem.

  ◇

  “We...won...” I sighed.

  “The battle was more intense than I expected...” said Nemesis. It sure had been.

  The battle had lasted nearly an hour and cost us all of our Counter Absorption uses as well as nearly all the grudge in my Grudge-Soaked Greaves.

  At one point, Afforest had used a Purge Treant skill to create a tough golem army, then used Geo Drain to make the land wither and restore its own HP. After that, it had absorbed sunlight to attack us with Glint Pile, which was a high-rank ultimate job skill.

  “Would you not say he was stronger than Gardranda and Gouz-Maise were at the time we fought them?” Nemesis asked.

  “...Well, we beat those guys before they could mature.” Having just been born, Gouz-Maise was almost completely out of grudge, while Gardranda as I could summon her now was p
robably stronger than this boss—if she didn’t have a time limit, anyway.

  Regardless, Afforest King Golem was really tough, and I could easily see what Figaro had meant.

  As for how we beat it...Chelsea bound it using her Golden Bull Tsunami—Poseidon, then Juliet shattered the hardened chest-piece using her Corpse-Eating Bird—Hræsvelgr, then Max rode Ipetam close to the chest to tear it open. I finished it by using Vengeance on its core.

  But man, if regular high-rank bosses were this tough and there were so many of them...wasn’t Dendro’s natural world just a little too terrifying?

  “What about the remaining golems...?” I wondered.

  “Leave them to the other peeps who took the quest,” said Chelsea. “We took most of the reward with this one. Anyway, I’m gonna open the loot now.”

  “Yeah... Wait, ‘Open?’” I said in wonder, glancing over and noticing she was holding some sort of treasure chest. “‘Treasure Coffer of the Tree King’?” I read its name.

  Oh, right. This was how normal boss monsters dropped their loot. I almost never fought them, so I’d completely forgotten about it—and this one in particular was bigger than any treasure chest I’d seen so far.

  “After a savage battle, a pure droplet of salvation. (It was strong, so we’ll probably get something good from this!)” said Juliet.

  “I did some research on the Editing Division’s site and they said that these boxes can give items you can exchange for money, a staff, or a shield—both of which will be made of wood,” said Chelsea.

  “...A wooden shield? Sounds like it’d burn easily,” said Max. Overall, though, the girls seemed pretty excited about what they might find.

  “The guild will reward each of us based on our contributions, so this is like a bonus,” said Chelsea. “But since none of us use staffs or shields...we’ll probably just sell them and split the money. You okay with that, Ray?”

  “Yeah. Fine by me,” I replied.

  Chelsea had experience as the leader of a fairly prominent clan, so she immediately knew how to handle this loot. As the leader of a clan ranking second, I had much to learn from her.

  So far, the only quest we’d taken as Death Period was our peace conference bodyguard duty. It’d be great to find more activities for us to do as a clan.