Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 18 - Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Rumination and Reminiscence

Paladin, Ray Starling

After securing a base and getting our own rooms, we’d gone to the fourth district to buy ourselves some furniture.

And now, we were making ourselves at home.

My room, by the way, was inside the arena itself. It seemed weird to set up the Carriage House of Legend here in the arena and sleep in it when I could just use the arena instead. I would probably just use it instead of tents or inns while I was in other places.

With that in mind, I was in the box seat that would become my room, refurbishing it with a curtain, a table set, and other furniture.

Among them was the placeable time-preserving inventory that Nemesis wanted. It was larger than other inventories I used and thus difficult to carry it around, but it had the ability to keep things as hot or fresh as they were at the moment they had been stored away, which was obviously very good for food.

It was fairly expensive, but it was probably nothing compared to the money I’d be spending on food from here on out. Just thinking about that gave me a headache.

I’d also bought the translation item I needed, so I summoned Smol Gar and put it on her. She instantly demanded to eat my hair, so I cut a little bit off and gave it to her to chew on.

I’m also using a hair restoration potion I got, but...this won’t be bad for me in the long run, right?

“That seems like that for the furniture,” said Nemesis. “Now, to focus on The Tournaments tomorrow.”

“I spent most of today picking rewards and moving in here, so I didn’t even level up or anything.” Then again, a day spent leveling a low-rank job might’ve been wasteful in comparison.

“I guess we’re not getting much prep for this,” I said.

“Hrm. Well, The Tournaments are within duel barriers,” said Nemesis. “Since everything is reset after every match, you can use your MVP reward skills as much as you desire. You actually have a chance.”

“I won’t work...for free,” Smol Gar stopped eating my hair and interjected.

“For free?”

“The duel barriers. Once they’re gone, the summoning demerits would disappear too, right?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think you’d know that.”

“Shared memories.” Oh yeah—she was just like Nemesis in that she could check on my memories.

Though apparently the ones I considered more private were more difficult to access.

“It’s like the duel had never happened, so...no.”

“Well, the costs expended and items broken do get reverted,” I said. I’d heard that that was how Logan had become the top of Dryfe’s duel rankings.

...Thinking about it now, I still didn’t know why and how duels worked the way they did. It didn’t seem like a big deal from a game design perspective, but the world of Infinite Dendrogram was built upon many solid principles. How did the barriers deal with, for example, the law of the conservation of energy? Were the battles within actually just fully sensory 3D simulations? Like...were they to Dendro what Dendro was to reality?

But that wouldn’t explain some other things, like how Xunyu was able to break the barrier...

The more I thought about it, the more mysterious it seemed. Well, we now have our own arena, so when I find the time, I might have someone look into this.

“Anyway, no arena,” Smol Gar insisted. “Though, I may think about it if you let me eat your finger after you summon me...”

“...Seriously, how do you benefit from me getting the demerits?” I asked. “Also, I guess I got two gluttons on my hands here.”

“What do you mean, ‘two’?! Do not group me with that man-eater!” Nemesis said.

“...Didn’t you try to get a taste of me just like her?” Why are my weapons such big eaters? I wondered.

“Oh man... Hm?” As I sighed, I looked through the window—the glass facing the arena itself.

It was already dark out, yet in one of the spectator seats, I saw a familiar—but still rare—sight.

The person was obviously Shu, but he wasn’t wearing his costume.

“Hm...” Somewhat curious, I decided to go to him.

As I left, I saw Nemesis trying to take some of the hair I’d given to Smol Gar, who retaliated by biting her.

What the hell are you two doing?

◇◇◇

King of Destruction, Shu Starling

A clan...a base...I’d never had these things before.

It wasn’t like I didn’t have good friends, and I’d gotten a bunch of clan invites during my time here, but until Reiji invited me to his, I had just been rejectin’ them all.

The reason why I hadn’t joined any of them must’ve been...the bad timing.

It had taken some time after Infinite Dendrogram began for the Masters of the world to start bandin’ up and formin’ clans, and I met them before all of that.

“Them” bein’ Humpty, Theresia, and...him.

Those encounters had happened not long after I started, and Infinite Dendrogram stopped bein’ “just a game” for me just as fast.

That was why I’d never joined any clan.

Reiji’s was the only exception.

“...It’s been so long since then, huh?” Shortly after startin’ I’d talked to Humpty after bein’ thrown into a certain incident, in fact.

The subject had been “What is Infinite Dendrogram?”

Back then, I had three hypotheses about this absurdly realistic world.

The first was that it was an extremely detailed program designed to be like this from the start.

The second was that it was a virtual world, simulated using time acceleration.

And the third...was the least plausible theory of the three.

Upon hearin’ those three hypotheses, Humpty had said, “...Ohh, you’re on the right track. None of those three quite hit the mark, though.”

She’d often led me into trouble and tended to obfuscate the truth—but she never lied either. By that point, it was already clear that this place wasn’t normal.

And that became even more obvious after I met The Evil, Theresia, who had a built-in function to end this world.

Despite that, I’d stayed here and even invited Reiji to join me.

There was a goal I had—somethin’ that I wanted to fulfill. Somethin’ that’d been on my mind for a long time.

And I felt like it could only be done here.

That must’ve been why I’d also been subjected to desires that were similar to mine.

“Hrn...” The air-conditioner in my Hind Bear costume was makin’ it hard to focus, so I went and took it off.

This wasn’t somethin’ I normally did. I guessed that bein’ at my clan’s base made me relax just enough to do it.

The arena was open at the top, but the barrier could be set to interfere with the vision of those lookin’ from the outside in. That was just another reason why this was such a damn good piece of real estate.

Feeling the wind flowin’ in from outside, I closed my eyes and recalled the battles I’d had against those who were frankly on another level.

In a desert, I’d fought the man who held the greatest magic—The Magical Apex.

“I am a cup that has lost the contents that were meant for it.”

“My father did not let me inherit anything he had.”

“He feared me so much that he even turned our country into a republic...”

“All so I would not receive any of it.”

“Far Atum—the genesis was excruciatingly distant.”

“And that is why the person I am in this world will claim it all for himself.”

“I will acquire everything that I was supposed to be given.”

“My wife told me that she would guide my way.”

“And in exchange, I will destroy every obstacle in her path.”

“She also told me that Shu Starling would one day become such an obstacle.”

“Through our cooperation just now, I could feel that you are indeed powerful.”

“And that is why, I will now measure your power directly...Shu.”

As I was leaving Tenchi after receiving my Godcloth, I’d encountered the man with unmatched technique—The Technical Apex.

“They must see use.”

“These fingers must see use, lest the ancient techniques within them grow dull.”

“Touch the skin. Tear the flesh. Split the bone. Reap the life.”

“That alone is honing your skill.”

“To use what you had under the light of day meant always changing your domicile.”

“How vexing.”

“Here, however, even the living can be freely used for such things.”

“The techniques must not degrade before they are inherited.”

“And that is why we are here.”

“We came here today to test our arts on the godbeast of Kamuy Forest.”

“Yet you defeated the beast and took away our chance.”

“Thus, we will hone our techniques on you instead.”

And here in the duel city, I’d met the beast with the strongest body of all, as well as her Master—The Physical Apex.

“Then I don’t mind.

“All I want is to face you in a contest of pure power.”

“Like I said, that was just a final check that you were truly a worthy opponent.”

“If that killed you, you would’ve been unworthy of a proper fight...a mere pebble just like the rest.”

“You are indeed worthy.”

Lookin’ back at the memories I had of the “Apices,” I let out a sigh.

Thinking about them made me realize something once again.

“Man... What the hell do they think I am?” It wasn’t like they hated me or had some kind of grudge or anythin’.

Despite that, way too many people wanted to fight me.

Measurement, honin’, the fight itself... They wanted different things, but they all had in common the fact that they didn’t give a damn what I wanted.

The “Apices” had way too many screws loose.

Just like him, they lived in a world where common sense just wasn’t a thing...

Well...Behemot, at least, was probably normal in real life.

As far as I could tell, she was—

“This is rare. You never take off your costume when you’re not fighting.”

My thought was cut short by a voice from the side.

I turned to its source and saw...Reiji. I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t even sensed him approach.

“Well, I’ve been doin’ some thinkin’ and felt like feelin’ the wind,” I said.

“Ohh. Well, you can’t do that with the costume, I guess. But, man...”

“What?”

“This is supposed to be your normal appearance, but it actually feels weirder than the bear suit.”

“Someone I’m beary familiar with told me the same thing.”

That “someone” was Rachel...Lei-Lei.

...Now that I thought about it, she had a few screws loose too. Though, maybe it was better to say that she was just “slightly off.” I’d known about her behavioral principle—her dream—since we were children, and her Embryo, Eden, was the result of Infinite Dendrogram adapting it in an unusual manner. The powers it had because of that were just...freaky.

“So, you ready for tomorrow’s Tournament?” I asked.

“Well, as ready as can be, I guess,” he replied. “I’ll use everything I’ve got...except Gardranda. She told me not to summon her in duels.”

“Conscious summons and intelligent tamed monsters can be like that every now and then.”

“...I can’t imagine Rook’s three monsters being that disobedient, though.” Well, they’d all fallen for him, so...

Then again, Gardranda was kinda similar in that regard.

Whether he realized it himself or not, Reiji was always the type of guy people easily liked. The incident with the amazons in South America was one of the more...unfortunate results of that.

...Man, goin’ to pick him up from there sure was a challenge.

Big sis, Sensei... I knew way too many people who seemed like they belonged in different genres of fiction, and they sure didn’t make my life any easier.

When she heard that our sis had taken Reiji to the Amazon, our mom actually collapsed from worry. Seriously, though, how do you end up goin’ all the way to South America “for a part-time job”?

Well, the job she was currently on was an extension of that one, but still...

That reminds me that she still hasn’t given back the money I spent to go there, I thought.

“You okay, bro?” Reiji asked.

“I’m just rememberin’ this and that. By the way, Reiji, I heard you got some beary weird axe?”

“Yeah. This one here,” he said as he reached into his inventory and took out a one-handed axe covered in a black cloth.

“Lemme look at it fur a minute.”

“Sure.” When he gave it to me, I took a look at it, then threw my fist at it.

The clash between my fist and the axe resounded throughout the arena.

“NHUH?!” Reiji immediately voiced his shock at the sight.

Though...in all honesty, I wanted to yell in surprise myself.

“...I see.” I was surprised, sure, but part of me also wasn’t.

Its aura alone told me that this was that kinda thing, but I couldn’t help but be shocked that my all-out attack didn’t even crack it.

My fists could shatter even Mythical metal. I could even put cracks in the Ultrahard Regalia that Fatoum made by compressing Mythical metal. Even special defenses meant nothing as long as the object’s endurance was below my attack power, since that would activate Right of Destruction.

That meant that this axe was made of something even tougher than my attack power.

I felt like I couldn’t put a dent in this thing even if I used Baldr’s ult.

“The hell are you doing?!” Reiji panicked, taking back the axe and holding it close.

“Hey, it was a joke. I wasn’t bein’ fur real.”

That was a lie. I’d actually punched as hard as I could. From what I could see, this axe that didn’t even crack under my fist was already missin’ a few pieces here and there. I couldn’t help but wonder what had caused that.

“Anyway, it’s beary tough, so if nothin’ else, you can always use it as a shield.” In all honesty, I couldn’t even imagine what would happen if someone tried to wield it as a weapon.

“That so...? Well, it’s still cursed, so it’s not like I can equip it. Using it could have some major drawbacks.”

“Ha ha ha.” It’d be weirder if it didn’t.

“Phew,” Reiji sighed. “I’m used to you doing crazy things when you’re in bear form, but when you look like this, that kinda stuff is heart-stopping. It makes me remember that competition you were in.”

“...I guess I get ya.” For a moment, I almost remembered how I’d felt back then, but decided to put it out of my mind.

“I’ll go back to my room, then,” he said. “Got my Tournament tomorrow and all.”

“That so?”

“The results of The Tournaments will change what I’ll be able to do in the fight against Dryfe. Losing to KoB made me realize that I’m still not strong enough...so I’ll take my best shot at this.”

I said nothing in response. The War would surely follow after The Tournaments. Tians as well as control AIs such as Humpty would surely act to prepare for that.

It was clear that Reiji would soon take part in his first War, and I in my second... No—this War would be a first for me too in a lot of ways.

“Shu?” As Reiji looked at me with curious eyes, I wondered if I should tell him about what had happened.

“...Don’t mind me,” I said. “You go on and rest fur tomorrow.”

I ultimately decided against it.

“You don’t have to tell me that... Also, the bear puns really don’t work when you look like that.”

“How unbearable.” This conversation wasn’t much different from ones we always had. It ended, and I just watched Reiji as he walked away.

The thing I was considering telling him was a story of the past—the actual reason why I hadn’t participated in the first War against Dryfe.

I didn’t say anything because it was more or less nothing but an excuse—an explanation of my actions and an expression of my regret.

It was a story of the time Sechs and I had fought until the very end.