Those Who Bind the Possibilities
Page 16
“KYULULU.” The white Pure-Dragon with rabbit-like fur released a voice, as if agreeing with its owner. It was a Stealth Dragon called “Kyululu” — named so by Elizabeth because of the sound it made.
“Let’s go back, then,” said Elizabeth. “It’s already evening. If we don’t come back now, they might start to worry.”
Little did she know that they were already worried. The girl’s standards regarding this were quite unlike those of the people responsible for her.
Elizabeth climbed up on Kyululu’s back and, just like when they’d arrived here, had it use Optic Camouflage and Presence Block to hide them both and leave the Saudade Woods.
Kyululu spread its wings, ready to take flight...
“Kyu?!”
It jumped to the side in surprise. A moment later, something large broke through the surface and burst out of the ground.
“SHAAAAAAH...”
It was a large monster bearing the head of a cobra-like snake and many centipede-like legs.
It bent its head and looked directly at Kyululu and Elizabeth as though Optic Camouflage had no effect at all.
“Wh-What?!” Elizabeth cried.
“KYULULULU!”
As Elizabeth got frightened, Kyululu began jumping away from the monster, careful to not throw the girl off.
The snake-head creature went after Kyululu with a precision so great, it was scary.
“Kyululu! Can’t you fly?!” shouted Elizabeth in desperation.
“KYULULU...!”
Despite having wings capable of flight, Kyululu was running on land. Its instincts were telling it that flying would instantly kill them both.
The monster chasing them was a Viperhead Dragon Worm. It was a Pure-Dragon-tier monster bearing Poison, the worm-like ability to dig underground, and the snake-like skill called “Heat Perception.”
It was much like thermography, and it allowed the creature to see Kyululu despite its Optic Camouflage.
“SHAAAAAAH!”
Though Kyululu was a Pure-Dragon, too, its focus on camouflage and surprise attacks made it have relatively low stats.
The Viperhead Dragon Worm not only had greater stats, but it also nullified Kyululu’s prime merit, Optic Camouflage, by using its Heat Perception.
The creature was basically the Stealth Dragon’s natural predator.
Its only way out of this predicament was to fly, but it would all be over if the Viperhead spat its Poison over Kyululu when it stopped to take flight. It had to increase the distance between them, but the creature was gaining on it with frightening precision.
Soon enough, the Viperhead’s poisonous fangs reached for Elizabeth, but then...
“Counter Absorption!”
...a barrier of light appeared in the creature’s way.
“Eh?” the girl exclaimed in confusion.
“KYULU...?” the Stealth Dragon cried as it and its owner both tried to turn around and see what caused the crashing sound behind them.
“Don’t turn around! Just run! Get some distance, fly, and get out of here!”
Urged by the loud order, they both looked forward and continued running.
Kyululu quickly created the necessary distance and flew up into the sky.
That was when Elizabeth turned around for the first time.
There, she saw a dark-red knight on a silver horse fighting the snake-headed insectoid.
◇◇◇
Paladin, Ray Starling
Upon hearing dragon wings flutter behind me, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“That was uncomfortably close,” said Nemesis.
“Seriously.” I couldn’t help but agree. I dreaded to imagine what would’ve happened if I’d been just a second late, and I was really glad I’d made it.
“Now, we just have to do something about this snake-head,” Nemesis added.
“True.”
The snake-head before me — a “Viperhead Dragon Worm,” apparently — seemed to be quite irritated. I could only assume it was upset about me getting in the way and letting its Pure-Dragon feast escape.
It threatened me with snake-like movements and sounds.
“Well? Should we escape it?” asked Nemesis.
“We saved the princess, but if a monster like this lives near Gideon, it might eventually kill someone else,” I answered.
And that would leave a bad taste in my mouth, so...
“...we’ll kill it,” I finished aloud. “Here and now.”
“Understood!”
Thus began the battle.
“SHAAAAAAH!” Treating us as enemies to be killed, rather than prey to be eaten, the snake-head opened its mouth, not for a bite, but to release a Poison breath. The green smoke buried my vision and afflicted me with Poison, which quickly drained my HP.
“Form Shift — The Flag Halberd!” I shouted.
And so, the damage was reversed.
Right as Nemesis became a halberd, I activated Like a Flag Flying the Reversal, the skill that reversed the effects of debuffs. With that, the Poison began healing me.
The snake-head, surprised by me still standing strong upon taking its Poison, slightly backed away from me.
Not missing the opening, I held my right hand in front and made my Miasmaflame Bracer release its Hellish Miasma while also activating Silver’s Wind Hoof barrier to protect me from the three debuffs.
The monster was staggered. It had a resistance to Poison, but Weakness and Intoxication worked on it just fine.
“The stage is set,” I said. “Let’s go, Nemesis!”
“Certainly!”
My strategy was the same as with Gardranda. I repeatedly let it damage me and healed myself with the reversed Poison, accumulating the damage needed to end it with a well-placed Vengeance is Mine.
It was safe to assume that, unlike the demon, this one wouldn’t turn more powerful once I took its head.
“Still, even though it’s Weakened, its stats are far higher than yours,” said Nemesis. “Mess up one time too many, and you might die.”
“True,” I said, acknowledging that my own stats were equal to or less than Demi-Dragon-tier. “Our chances of winning are about... forty percent?”
“Ha ha ha! Forty percent, you say?” she laughed. “That’s much higher than any of our previous encounters!”
“Damn right!”
Recalling the battles we’d gone through, we charged towards the enemy.
With Silver as my steed and Nemesis in hand, I clashed with a creature far stronger than myself.
Just like we’d done before, and just like we would be doing from this point onward, we struggled against adversity while reaching for the possibility we wanted to seize.
As the enemy’s fangs ripped into me, as my blade sunk into the enemy, as I narrowly avoided death from its lethal attacks, and as its unexpected actions caught me off guard, we continued fighting until the end.
And so, after an hour-long battle...
“Vengeance is Mine!”
...we launched an attack that obliterated its head.
◇
After the battle, we returned to Gideon.
“...Man, am I tired,” I sighed.
“That’s only natural,” said Nemesis. “You’ve been fighting for so long.”
The Poison I’d received had gone away with just a healing item, but sadly, the exhaustion wasn’t so easy to get rid of. I hauled my somewhat-heavy body through the city’s streets.
“Still, I’m glad Elizabeth’s okay,” I said.
After killing the monster, I’d gone to the knight offices to see whether she’d made it back safely, and found her being scolded by Liliana.
They’d decided that the Pure-Dragon she’d used to escape — “Kyululu,” apparently — would have its ownership switched to another person. Elizabeth would still be allowed to keep it as a pet, but that was it. The knights looking after her would take turns owning Kyululu until it was clear that she wouldn’t escape anymore.
&nbs
p; The scene reminded me of the times my mom had confiscated a toy when I was a child.
Though Elizabeth was sad about being scolded, she seemed to understand that she’d deserved it for making Liliana and the others so worried, so she definitely wasn’t a bad girl.
Also, the moment when Elizabeth fearfully presented Liliana with a basket full of Clearberries, bringing Liliana to the verge of tears, left a pretty big impression on me.
“This is very much a happy ending,” said Nemesis.
“Yep. Glad it all worked out.”
But man, a quest from Liliana where I look for a girl and fight a worm...
It was just like the first quest I’d done upon starting Dendro.
In the first battle, the one in which Nemesis and I had first met, I’d faced a Demi-Dragon Worm and narrowly seized the possibility with Nemesis at my side. And today, Nemesis and I had fought a monster far stronger and still ended up seizing the possibility.
It felt somewhat easier than the first time, though, I thought.
“That’s because you’ve grown since then,” said Nemesis.
I’d changed quite a bit during my month in this world, but I didn’t think that me becoming stronger was the biggest difference. The biggest difference was that I’d had Nemesis with me right from the start this time.
On my first day, I’d protected Milia until I was beaten to a pulp, had to beg for a possibility, and had Nemesis answer. Today, Nemesis had supported me right from the start, and if that wasn’t the biggest difference, I didn’t know what was.
Hm... I silently pondered.
It was likely that, just like everything before now and just like today, I’d be at the center of many various incidents. Some might be far worse, more intense, or scarier than any of the ones before. But...
“Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?” Nemesis asked.
“No reason...”
No matter what came my way, I felt that I could overcome it as long as I was with my partner. Thus, my everyday life would go on with Nemesis and me clearing all the trouble we get caught up in.
“Anyway, it’s late,” I said. “Should we go get something to eat?”
“Certainly,” said Nemesis. “The snake-head’s Coffer contained nothing but items you convert into money, so let’s use that new wealth to have a feast!”
“...Don’t overdo it, though.”
And so, Nemesis and I walked through the late evening streets.
The End
Afterword
Bear: “Time fur the afterword! It’s me again! Brother Bear, AKA Shu Starling!”
Cat: “I’m Cheshiiire! The one who seeks to get a turn in these wastelands of the afterworrd!”
Xun: “What the hell Are ‘wastelands of thE afterword’...? I’m XunyU.”
Cat: “Anyway, like I said in the midword, this is the end of the first part of Dendro.”
Bear: “We only clawed our way this far thanks to our dear readers.”
Cat: “Indeed. The work’s popularity allowed us to complete the first part without having to force it into fewer than the necessary five volumes.”
Xun: “You mentioNEd in the midword that the authOr had a few spare pages he could use to add morE story, right?”
Cat: “Yes. The short story even portrays some of Ray’s real life.”
Xun: “Now that I think abOUt it, he’s been online throUghout pretty much the whole of the story sO far.”
Bear: “He was only offline before logging in for the first time and after he got his first death penalty.”
Cat: “Yes, and since the work is in the VRMMO genre, the author figured that having some real life scenes was important, as well, so he went and wrote that short story. VRMMOs wouldn’t be VRMMOs if actual reality didn’t exist and the differences weren’t there for all to see!”
Xun: “...Still, a cErtain someone is a bit too differeNt.”
Bear: “Who do you mean?”
Xun: “The one who got an illustration in the short story.”
Bear: “Ohh...”
Cat: “The author was really surprised when Editor K told him that she would get an illustration.”
Bear: “Abearently, this was done at the request of Taiki.”
Xun: “Well, she sure is pOpular...”
Cat: “Please continue supporting Mr. Franklin — the one bearing the face of a mad scientist (Dendro) and of a cool beauty (real life).”
Xun: (...I’m not sUre if many people want to suppoRt her.)
Bear: “Now, it’s time for the usual serious comment from the author.”
Thank you very much for reading Infinite Dendrogram’s fifth volume and completing the first arc of the series. We’ve only made it this far thanks to you — our readers.
At the time I’m writing this, it was recently announced that Infinite Dendrogram got first place in BookWalker’s New Light Novel Awards 2017. According to Editor K, this was mostly due to votes from readers and bookstore employees. You have my sincere thanks for the result and for letting me complete the first part with little trouble.
The upcoming sixth volume would mark the start of the second arc, but we are also considering releasing a short story collection, as well.
New characters, new happenings, new battles — it would bring me great joy if you continued to enjoy and look out for the ever-heating story of Infinite Dendrogram.
Cat: “Anyway, with the author’s comment done, it’s time to announce the next volume...”
Bear: “You do it, Cheshire.”
Cat: “Eh?”
Xun: “You’ve wanted tO do this for a while, so go foR it. Wrap up the first aRc.”
Cat: “...Thanks, you guys. All right, here I go! Volume si—”
?: “Volume six is set to come out at the end of 2017! (In Japan)!”
Cat: “Eh? Ehh?!”
Bear: “Some beary jaunty individual just stole your announcement...”
Xun: “...Oh, it’s thE person who made a brief appearance in the secOnd short story.”
Cat: “Hngh... AAAAHH! YOU THIEVING CAT!”
Bear, Xun: (You’re the cat here, dude...)
?: “So yeah, look forward to volume six and my proper first appearance!”
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Copyright
Infinite Dendrogram: Volume 5
by Sakon Kaidou
Translated by Andrew Hodgson
Edited by Emily Sorensen
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Sakon Kaidou
Illustrations Copyright © 2017 Taiki
Cover illustration by Taiki
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2017 by Hobby Japan
This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo
English translation © 2018 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: March 2018
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