by Sakon Kaidou
“The broad categories arrre: Type Arms — a device type that players can equip as a weapon or armorrr. Type Guardian — a monster type that protects the playerrr. Type Chariot — a vehicle type that players can riiide. Type Castle — a building type that players can reside innn. Type Territory — a barrier type that players can deployyy. That’s about ittt.”
“Ohhh,” I said. I was starting to get excited to see how my Embryo would turn out.
“Also, besides these ones, there are rare and advanced categories that an Embryo can evolve into, tooo. There are even categories that are unique to one Embryooo. It’d be nice if you could get onnne.”
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “But if that’s the case, there are bound to be players who keep resetting their character until they get a rare category.”
“Ahh, you can’t remake your character in this gaaame,” said the cat.
“Huh?”
“Even if someone bought different hardware and played the game, that person would log in as the same character as the first tiiime,” Cheshire explained. “Their Embryo would also be the saaame. This is because we keep records on our side of users’ brain wave dataaa.”
“......” I was silent.
They record our brain wave data... I thought. Yeah, that sounds kind of scary.
“Even if they were able to reset, it’s all based on that person anywaaay, so I think their Embryo would end up exactly the saaame,” said the cat.
Is that how it works?
“Annnd... while we were talking, your Embryo finished transferrinnng,” the cat added.
“Huh? ...Ah.” I realized that on the back of my left hand was now embedded a faintly glowing oval gem.
“That’s your Embryooo,” Cheshire said. “It’ll be stuck to your left hand during its zeroth form, but it’ll come off after it hatches and reaches its first forrrm.”
In other words, I guess it’s sort of like I’m incubating an egg.
“By the way, is there any chance it can break while it’s an egg?” I asked.
“That won’t happennn,” said the cat. “Any damage an Embryo receives while in its zeroth form will be passed on to the playerrr.”
Ahh, I see. So that means the Embryo will be safe even if the player dies.
“But after they hatch, Embryos can be damaged and break like anything elllse,” the cat said. “They’ll self-repair over time, thooough.”
It’s kind of like a living creature.
“By the way, after your Embryo turns into its first form, a tattoo of a crest will appear where the egg waaas,” said the cat. “It serves as a sort of identification for players in this worrrld. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to tell players apart from NPCees.”
“Is that so?” I asked.
But no, there’s no way you would mistake an NPC for a human... right?
“Also, the crest has the ability to store your Embryooo,” said the cat. “When you don’t need it, you can keep your Embryo in your left hannnd. You’ll be together with it as long as you play this game, so please take care of ittt.”
“Got it,” I said.
I’m still not sure how my Embryo will evolve, but that’s fine. It all comes down to oneself anyway, so I guess it’ll work out on its own.
“It’s nice to meet you, partner,” I said.
Needless to say, there was no response from my Embryo, but I got the feeling that it shined slightly.
“Lastly, please choose which nation to joiiin.” Cheshire laid out a map on the study’s desk. It was an old scroll map. After it was unfurled, however, pillars of light rose up from seven locations on the map, and from within them, I could see various towns. “The nations with pillars of light are the ones you can join in the beginninnng. What you see in the pillars is the capital of each nationnn.”
Floating in letters of light around each of the pillars was the name and explanation of each nation.
Surrounded by castle walls is a Western fantasy town, with a white limestone castle at its center.
Kingdom of Altar: the land of knights.
Sakura petals dance through the air in this city made of wood. A Japanese-style castle looms high above it.
Tenchi: the land of blades.
Subtle elegance hangs in the air of these mountains. A large river flows for all eternity through its valleys.
Huang He Empire: the land of the hermits.
Black smoke rises from countless factories and forms a cloud that blocks out the sky. On the ground is a modern day city made of steel.
Dryfe Imperium: the land of machines.
Bazaars nestle up to a giant oasis, surrounded by desert as far as the eye can see.
Caldina: the commercial city-state union.
Made from connecting countless large ships together, this man-made landmass floats in the middle of the open sea.
Granvaloa: the maritime nation.
At the base of Yggdrasil deep in the forest, elves, fairies, and demi-humans live in this secluded garden of flowers.
Legendaria: the homeland of fairies.
“Ohhh...” I said.
Seeing this makes me want to visit every one of them, I thought. Tenchi has a similar feel to the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, while Huang He gives off a sense of Chinese fantasy. Dryfe seems like they’d have robots, and just walking through the bazaars of Caldina would feel like I was sightseeing. The seas of Granvaloa call out to me to seek adventure, and as for Legendaria, there’s no need to even think of a reason.
However...
“I’ll go with the Kingdom of Altar,” I said.
“Okaaay,” said the cat. “By the way, as a quick survey, what would your reason for choosing that beee?”
“My brother is waiting for me.”
“Oh, is that so...”
I had called my brother from the store right after I’d bought the game, and he’d said, “Then I’ll be waiting for you in the Kingdom of Altar’s capital.”
...Since he’s waiting, I have no choice, I thought. But why did he choose the Kingdom of Altar, anyway? I’m pretty sure he likes robots and warships, so why didn’t he go with the Dryfe Imperium or Granvaloa? Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask him in person.
“There are events that allow you to change the nation you belong to, so don’t feel so down about ittt,” said the cat.
“Yeah, thanks...” I said.
I need to change gears, I thought. The Kingdom of Altar seems kind of plain and normal, but it just might be a nice place.
“Okay then, I’m going to send you to the Kingdom of Altar’s royal capital, Alteaaa,” said the cat.
“Ah, just a second. What are the goals in this game?”
In all the games I’d played since I was a kid, even online ones, they’d had established goals such as defeating the evil god or demon king. I thought this game would be the same, but when I asked this to Cheshire...
“Anythinnng,” was the response I got.
“Anything?” I asked.
“That’s what I meannnt. Anythinnng. You can become a hero or the demon king, a king or a slave, a good person or an evil person. You can do something, or you can do nothing. You can stay in Infinite Dendrogram, or leave it. It’s all up to you. If it’s possible, then you can do anything you want.” Cheshire’s way of speaking had changed. “Just like the Embryo in your left hand, what’s about to begin is infinite in possibility.”
His speech had morphed from the slow drawl. It was almost as if he were narrating something.
“Welcome to Infinite Dendrogram. We warmly welcome you,” a voice said.
As soon as these words were spoken, the study disappeared from my surroundings. The desk, the bookshelf, and even Cheshire, vanished, and I was left floating in the air.
“Huh?”
Below me was a familiar-looking world. I was looking down on the same continent I’d seen on the map just moments earlier. Before long, almost as if my body was being sucked down toward one point on the continent — the Kingdom of Al
tar — I started to fall at a great speed.
And just like that, I set foot in the world of Infinite Dendrogram.
◇◇◇
In front of the South Gate, Royal Capital Altea, Kingdom of Altar — Ray Starling.
“I thought I was going to die...” My heart was pounding after being suddenly dropped from the sky, and I forced in breaths to help calm myself down.
The feeling of the fall still remained with me:
The sight of scenery changing vividly before me at high speed.
The sound of my body scraping against the air as I fell.
The chill in the air whipping around me.
The smell of wind I had never smelt before.
The taste of dirt from the ground — I had fallen over in a daze, confused at how abnormally safe my landing had been. There hadn’t been any pain — it was apparently turned off by default — but all five of my other senses had perceived this world just as they would the real one.
“This... is too real,” I said quietly.
A true dive VRMMO... I finally had a sense that the dream game had become a reality.
I did think the theatrics had been a bit over the top, but I had now made my way into the world of Infinite Dendrogram.
I looked about my surroundings and saw a large gate behind me. It was encompassed by white castle walls that stretched up as far as I could see. There were also soldiers clad in Western-style armor serving as its gatekeepers.
This gate is one of the places I saw in Cheshire’s room, so it’s probably safe to say this is Altea, the Kingdom of Altar’s royal capital.
The gate was open leading into the town, and for a while now, carriages and people had been coming and going.
It seems I can pass through just fine.
As it was my first time, I timidly — or, more accurately, suspiciously — passed through the gate and was able to enter the town without any trouble.
“All right,” I said with relief. It looks like they don’t do inspections for people entering or leaving Altea.
Since I’d safely made it into town, all that remained was to head to where I was supposed to meet my brother.
“If I remember correctly, he said a large water fountain on the capital’s central street,” I said. “He did say I could reach it by heading straight from the entrance, but... hmm... I’ll take a look just in case.”
I recited the words “main menu” in my mind, and just like it was described in the manual, a game window appeared in front of me. The window was split into two; on the right side was my name and a simplified view of my stats, while on the left side was a list of various menu commands.
I glanced over at my stats and saw that my current level was 0. Jobs in Infinite Dendrogram supposedly each had their own level, and since I was currently jobless, my level was stuck at 0.
“Map... Here it is.” I found what I was looking for in the menu and opened it up. A new window appeared displaying a map of the Royal Capital Altea.
Normally, a map had to be filled in by traveling around or by buying maps. However, the manual explained that a player’s starting area, the capital of the nation they joined and its surroundings, got input into the map from the start.
This is useful.
“I see. I see,” I murmured.
The city of Altea was circular in shape and surrounded by castle walls. These walls had a gate at each of the four cardinal points, and stretching out from each of them was a large, stone-paved road leading to the center of the city.
The roads would have intersected into a cross if they had continued; however, this was not the case. At the center of the royal capital was another ring of castle walls, and inside it was the area for nobility. Special permission was required to enter this area, and at its center was the royal castle.
Well, I probably won’t have any need to go there for a while, I thought.
The central street we were supposed to meet at was the one running from the South Gate to the nobility area. The gate I had just passed through, by the way, was the South Gate.
So if I simply head straight, I should be able to reach the water fountain.
I was walking while looking at my map and thinking this, when...
“Ah?!”
“Huh?” Somehow, I had locked eyes with a woman I didn’t know. She had run out from a side alley, and since I’d been engrossed in my map, I hadn’t noticed until she was right upon me. I reacted late and wasn’t able to avoid her, causing us to collide. As a result, I was flung more than fifteen meters away.
“Gah...” I muttered. That felt like it caused some serious damage.
As a matter of fact, the window screen I still had open showed that I’d lost 80% of my HP. In addition to this, I appeared to have broken some bones. The status effects “broken left arm” and “broken right leg” were now being displayed.
Just one collision with a lady, and I receive such near-fatal wounds as these... come on, just how shockingly frail am I?
“A-Are you all right?!” The woman that ran into me rushed over to my side with a pale look on her face. She had soft hair and kind facial features... and was wearing white, metal armor that looked absurdly heavy.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that thing weighs a hundred kilos.
“I-I’m...” I tried to tell her, “I’m okay. It was no big deal.” However, my body was still numb from the damage and I couldn’t properly move my tongue.
“I’m so sorry! Force Heal!” Her hand instantly glowed white and particles of light fell from it onto my body. My HP was completely healed, and the status effects for my broken bones were also gone.
“Oh... ohhh...”
That must’ve been healing magic. It was a common occurrence in video games to nearly die and then get completely healed, but this was what it was like to actually experience it. ...It’s kind of scary.
“I’m terribly sorry! This is all because I wasn’t paying attention to what’s in front of me while running...” she said.
“N-No, I was also looking away... By the way, are you okay?” I asked. We’d collided with enough force to give me near-fatal wounds, so I was worried that she might have been injured as well, but... she was completely unharmed.
She appeared to be a really high-level player, and the equipment she was wearing looked to be of a high-grade as well. Her stats, then, would most likely be high, too.
So that’s why our collision ended up the way it did.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “But I caused you to get such a terrible injury...”
“Oh no, y-you were kind enough to heal me, so I’ll be just fine.” I couldn’t help but speak politely. On top of that, I was fairly sure my voice was shaking. The damage from when we’d collided had caused me to lose my nerve.
“B-By the way, it looked like you were in quite the hurry. Is there something wrong?” When I asked her this, the woman suddenly appeared to have remembered something.
“Well actually, my little sister left the house and I was in the middle of searching for her.”
“Your sister?” I asked.
“Yes. This is her in this picture. Have you seen her anywhere?” Asking this, she took out a picture and showed it to me. Although this world has a fantasy setting, it would appear that pictures are readily available. In the picture was a cute little girl. She looked like a younger version of the woman in front of me, but with straight hair instead of wavy.
Her sister, huh? I thought. Like me and my brother, she must be playing this game together with her sister.
I could only stay silent as she looked at me in desperation. I felt bad for her, but I hadn’t seen her sister. “I’m sorry. I just started recently, and I just entered this town through that gate a moment ago...”
“Is that so... Then she might already be inside... Um, this is my contact information,” the woman added. “If you happen to see my sister anywhere, please contact me! Also, I’m really sorry for running into you!” She took out a piece of paper, wr
ote something on it, and then handed it to me.
“There’s no need to apologize, so please go and search for your sister,” I said.
“Thank you... Well then, goodbye!” she said and darted off, leaving me with a memo in my hand. The following was written on it: “Liliana Grandria, Knights of the Royal Guard Vice Commander, Kingdom of Altar.”
“Huh?”
Characters I had never seen before were being translated into Japanese in my head. More shocking than that, however, was the rest of the memo...
“The quest ‘Search for Milianne Grandria, Difficulty Level 5’ has started. Please see the quest screen for further details.”
I was at a loss for words.
Umm... yeah.
Although she looked like a real human to me, this meant that she wasn’t actually a player, but instead...
“She was an NPC?!”
And just like that, I realized again just how unbelievably realistic Infinite Dendrogram was.
◇
Shortly after I met Liliana and received my first quest, I arrived at the large water fountain on the central street where I was to meet my brother. On the way there, I had a look at the help information, and apparently difficulty level 5 quests were supposed to be undertaken by a party of advanced players. So without a doubt, it wasn’t something I could partake in.
Why would a quest like this be given to a beginner, anyway? I wondered. I should just ask Bro about it for now.
Thinking about this, I had hurried my way to the water fountain, and...
The scene that greeted me left me speechless.
There was a nearly two-meter-tall bear costume with a sign reading “Welcome little brother” parked in front of the water fountain.
“...What in the world is that?” I managed.
There’s no way... But... No, no way... But then again...
This is where we’re supposed to meet.
There likely aren’t that many people out there waiting for their younger brother.
He wouldn’t know my character name, and it’s not like he can use my real one, so it makes sense to write “little brother” on the sign. I get that part.