by Sakon Kaidou
Anyway, unlike in on-screen games, Infinite Dendrogram had avatars to which I could apply my techniques and analyze the people controlling them.
In real life, I’d used this ability to examine the true faces of those I was talking to and determine whether they were worthy of trust. People’s minds were different from the expressions they showed. It was especially common to find those who seemed to be cheerful, but were actually gloomy at heart. This was something I’d taken for granted, as it was only a natural part of the human condition.
And that was exactly why my first meeting with Ray greatly surprised me.
After all, there was no difference between what he appeared to be and what he really was.
Not even his Nemesis surprised me as much as he himself did.
What made his existence a true enigma was the fact that his Infinite Dendrogram avatar seemed to be no different from him as a player.
This world was presented as a game, so differences between the players and the roles they took in their avatars was a given. But Ray showed no signs of showing off, playing some character, or hiding some complex he had in reality.
At first, I thought that Infinite Dendrogram had reduced the effectiveness of my people-observation abilities, so I’d made it my first goal to uncover the mysteries behind him, and I’d reached my conclusion far quicker than expected.
I’d talked to him, met with him again, fought at his side as we’d faced the likes of the Goblin horde and Gardranda, and that had been more than enough for me to know that Ray was simply himself — an honest person with no fronts to speak of. In his heart of hearts, he saw no difference between the two worlds.
The determination he’d displayed during the battle against the Goblins or Gardranda, the grief in his eyes when he’d talked about the children lost during his battle against the Gouz-Maise Gang, and the anger he was currently feeling towards Franklin were all very real.
Ray wasn’t roleplaying a character called “Ray Starling” — he stood in this world as none other than himself, and put his very being into his existence here.
He could instantly choose what he had to do in any particular place and time, and he always gave his utmost to achieve his goals, regardless of what hardships awaited him and no matter how low the possibility of success was.
Ray lived genuinely and earnestly.
Unlike me, who was always indecisive, he always had his heart provide an answer for which he would give his all.
”I mean, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth.”
Ray was a person who constantly chose actions he wouldn’t regret and always acted in earnest to achieve them, and that was exactly why I wished to support him. I was a person who couldn’t even choose his own path in life, but seeing Ray and the honesty he displayed when giving his all to face the challenges before him made me want to help him.
For his sake and by his side, I wished to fight in Infinite Dendrogram.
Therefore...
◇◇◇
“...I will defeat you, here and now,” I declared as my momentary flashback ended and I stood up from the outer wall’s rubble, facing the Magingear piloted by Hugo Lesseps and his Embryo, Cocytus.
“For a Pimp, you sure are tough,” he said. “I didn’t expect you to be able to stand after that attack.”
I couldn’t agree more. I’d calculated my probability of survival at about 30%, but even I was surprised at how little damage the attack had done to me.
The most likely cause of this was the Magingear’s right arm. Just by looking at it, I could tell that the frame under its icy armor was bent.
It had been caused by Ray’s Vengeance is Mine, and its effect on the arm had greatly lowered the damage I’d received in this attack.
“I can’t lose here,” I said.
“Heh,” he chuckled. “Don’t expect to be so lucky with my next attack. Also...”
I knew exactly what he was going to say. The ice on me had already reached the top of my shoulder.
The fact the attack hadn’t shattered my arm was quite a stroke of luck.
“...La Porte de l’Enfer continues to consume you,” he continued.
“True,” I replied. “You might say that your skill has me in check.”
I momentarily fell silent, regained my breath and spoke up again.
“After all... I defeated several humans in the plaza battle against the player killers.”
That was part of the conclusion I’d reached.
“...What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, and the momentary pause before his reply was all the confirmation I needed.
“That’s what this skill is based on, right?” I asked.
Even more confirmation couldn’t hurt, so I opened my menu — making sure that Hugo could see it — and looked at the window where the core of the skill known as “La Porte de l’Enfer” lay.
“Battle history window, extras section, creature type kill counters,” I continued. “La Porte de l’Enfer’s effects are based on ‘the kill count for the same type of creatures as yourself,’ correct?”
Creature type kill counters kept a record of the total number of kills of separate creature types, such as undead, beast, avian, dragon, devil, elemental, demon... or human.
“The ‘betrayal’ that Cocytus looks at is the kill count for creatures of your own type, and it’s what dictates the extent of your La Porte de l’Enfer’s powers,” I went on.
He said nothing.
“The number of ‘humans’ I’ve killed is 7. What a coincidence... my body seems to be Freezing about 7% at a time.”
I also had access to Audrey’s kill counts. Her type was “avian,” and she’d killed a significant number of such creatures during yesterday’s hunt. The exact number was 58, so it made perfect sense that the skill had Frozen over half of her body.
We’d had yet to fight any devils or dragons, so Babi and Marilyn’s counters were at 0, which explained why they hadn’t Frozen at all.
And, of course...
...it includes the kills made within the barriers of duel cities such as this one, I thought. Those who frequent this city have probably killed hundreds of people.
Experienced Masters gathering in duel city Gideon had likely spent a lot of time in the arenas, and even if it had happened within barriers, they’d probably killed a number of humans that surpassed 100.
“To add to this, the number is also applied to the chance of it happening every 13 seconds, yes?” I asked.
Sometimes, I got away without Freezing, while the other Masters had all completely Frozen right at the start.
“The description for La Porte de l’Enfer is ‘Gives an X% chance to Freeze X% of the selected target’s body every 13 seconds. X is the number on the target’s kill counter for the same creature type as the target.’ Am I correct?”
That meant I had a 7% chance to Freeze 7% of my body every 13 seconds, while those with 100 on the counter had a 100% chance to Freeze completely. The skill also ignored resistances to some extent, seeing as it was unlikely that every single Master here didn’t have anything that lowered the effects of the Frozen debuff.
“This skill is the reason why you’re standing guard here,” I continued. “Most of the kingdom’s Masters in duel city Gideon are here for the arenas, so your skill is nothing but their bane. It makes sense to have you block the escape route.”
Those who’d fought against many of their kind and become powerful in the process would have that experience work against them. Any and all traitors, killers of their own kin, would be encased in the ice of the frozen hell.
“An interesting guess, but it’s based on nothing but circumstantial evidence,” he said. “To me, it looks like your conditions merely happened to meet the result.”
“Ha ha ha,” I laughed. “Your tone just now confirmed that I’m right. You’re bad at lying and fooling people, aren’t you?”
I could tell without even seeing his face.
“And that’s why I hate
you,” I added.
“That’s not the first time you’ve said that,” he replied. “If I may ask, what do you mean by ‘and that’s why’? Do you like people who are good at lying?”
His words made me heave a long sigh.
He still doesn’t get it, I thought. ...No, he probably does.
“I certainly don’t like people who can lie well... but I hate those who make their inner doubts and dishonesties so obvious,” I answered.
“...What?”
Well, now, should I say it? If I provoke him too much, the time might... You know, I’ll just make it a bit harsh and relatively long. He’s probably the type to get mad after hearing people out.
“You’re like Ray, aren’t you?” I asked. “As in, one of those who sees this world as a world, rather than as a game, yes?” I said. “Despite that, your actions are just so... so irritating.”
“‘Irritating’?” he repeated.
I gathered the slight bit of depression he made me feel and put it into words.
“It irritates me how you’ve taken up a role in Franklin’s game and become complicit in this tragedy, yet you talk and behave in a way that reeks of excuses like ‘I must’ or ‘There’s no other way.’ It irritates me how you spin your reasoning to try and justify your actions, yet you give it a preface of ‘Oh I’m so terrible,’ basically making excuses for your excuses. Then there’s your exchange with Ray. It irritates me how you, with all your indecisiveness, have the gall to stand in his way. It irritates me how even you felt guilt after doing it, yet you just took to thinking something like ‘Another sin for my scroll,’ basically wallowing in your own guilt. Speaking of wallowing, it irritates me how you’re so full of yourself that you talk with that theatrical elocution. Truly, you’re irritating beyond words.”
As I went on, I realized that I was even more vexed than I’d thought. Still, my volubility took over, and I simply couldn’t stop.
“Oh, and I’m irritated by the church-like design!” added Babi. “We’re just so done with you!”
“Y-You...!” he said with anger.
“K-Kill...” his Embryo joined.
I see... “done,” eh? I thought. I guess that’s about enough, then. Now, for the finishing touches.
“Good grief... You’re full of doubts about where to turn, you can’t be honest with yourself, you wallow in the tragedy you willingly participate in... You’re so much like an even worse version of a certain someone that I can’t help but find you irritating and loathsome.”
As a conclusion to this, I only had one more thing to say to him... no — “her.”
“Stop wallowing in so much doubt and angst... young lady.”
“Kh...!” My words provoked an outburst from the pallid Magingear.
It charged towards me with all its speed, eager to get me into the range of its blades, and the one in the left hand would probably be used to end me, once and for all.
I had an estimated three seconds before it sunk into my head and split me in half. The power behind it wasn’t something Liz’s defenses could bear, and it was unlikely that I could evade it. However, there was no need for that.
After all, we were already done charging.
“Union Jack,” I said, long before my three seconds were up.
◇◇◇
Duel city Gideon, not far from the western gate
This took place a short time prior.
Duel city Gideon’s western gate connected it to the field known as “Jeand Grasslands” and was one of the only four exits out of the anti-air barrier shielding the entire city.
Near it, there were dozens of Masters Frozen solid, and they surrounded the battle between the Pimp known as Rook Holmes and the High Pilot calling himself Hugo Lesseps.
However, that wasn’t the only battle going on there.
“Kasumi! Your tank summon is gone!”
“I-I need 55 more seconds until I c-can re-cast it.”
The ones fighting were the three girls that had accompanied Ray and Rook — the newbie Masters known as Kasumi, Io, and Fujinon.
Their opponent was a monster looking much like a carnivorous dinosaur with the name “PBS — Preparative Brute Saurus” hanging above it.
“BGHAAAAAARGHH!” it roared as it charged towards Io with its fangs at the ready.
“Tyranno...saurus?” hesitated Kasumi.
“Looks more like an allosaurus to me,” commented Fujinon.
“Not the right time to say that!” shouted Io. “This thing’s obviously stronger than a Demi-Dragon-class thing! Do something about it!”
“All right. I’ll stop it... Almagest.”
Standing behind Io, Fujinon readied her Embryo, a staff with a spinning orb on its end.
“Mud Clap, then Star Printer, thrice,” she said, using a pair of skills. They caused a magic circle to form at the base of her feet. Then three more magic circles appeared and orbited the center one like satellites.
“Click,” she said, causing one of the orbiting magic circles to vanish.
A moment later, the pavement and ground beneath PBS began moving like mud and grabbed its foot. Due to the might of its charge, it instantly broke the bond, but its momentum caused it to violently crash into the ground.
“Click, Click, Click,” she continued, making the remaining three magic circles vanish.
Three patches of ground around PBS became mud-like and bound it completely.
Fujinon’s Embryo, Almagest, was a Type Arms taking the shape of a staff with a star-like sphere at one of its ends. Its unique trait was the copying-and-pasting of the spells she used, allowing her to create up to three copies, represented by orbiting magic circles, and release them at her command.
Its drawback was the fact that Fujinon couldn’t move when a satellite magic circle was present, which was a fitting negative for an Embryo bearing the name of the main text behind Ptolemaic theory.
Mud Clap was a low-rank, earth-based binding spell, and though a single one gave little trouble to an enhanced and modified Demi-Dragon-class monster like PBS, a few of them could hold it in place for several seconds.
It was an opening — an opportunity not to be missed.
“Io!” she shouted.
“Okay! I’ll tear it apart! Five-Ring, Splitting Mode!”
Following her words, Io charged, holding a huge, one-sided battleax that probably weighed several tons, with a handle over 5 metels in length.
“Here I gooo!” she called, gathering all her strength as she swung her weapon down on the immobilized PBS’s medulia.
Like a beast of legend or an executioner from the middle ages, she tore into its neck, broke its cervical vertebrae, sliced through its throat, and even reached the pavement below, shattering a large portion of it.
Though greatly modified, the monster wasn’t able to survive without its head. Thus, it simply became particles of light, leaving behind nothing but its drops.
“Io, there’s one in the sky behind you!” Kasumi warned her.
“I know! Crushing Mode!” she said as she turned around to look at the pteranodon-like monster trying to surprise attack her using the night’s veil as cover.
At the same time, her Embryo, Five-Ring, changed shape. Its handle reduced to about a fifth of its previous size, and the ax head got replaced by a chain at least 20 metels in length, which ended with a spiked ball that surely had more weight than she did.
Io’s Embryo, Five-Ring, was a Type Arms that could transform into several ultra-heavy weapons, such as the one-sided battleax from its Splitting Mode or the giant flail from its Crushing Mode.
Like with Ray’s Nemesis, the user didn’t feel any of the weapons’ weight, making the Embryo excel at dealing damage. On the other hand, the weapons still had huge mass, which made them move very slowly and thus have low accuracy.
Io swung the giant flail towards the pteranodon-like monster. It tried to evade it, but it suddenly got caught by something.
“BOBOBOBOBO...”
&
nbsp; It was a marshmallow-like balloon giant — a creature many in Infinite Dendrogram would recognize as the summoned monster called “Balloon Golem.”
“Hold it in place... Balulun.”
Kasumi was a Summoner — a job focused on using magic to create monsters which help them in their fights.
Balulun was one of the monsters she could summon, and she did so often, as its Physical Resistance and Floating Ability made it a capable tank. Therefore, there was nothing strange about the summoning itself.
What was strange was the fact that Balulun had appeared right behind the pteranodon.
That was done by Kasumi’s Embryo, the Taijitu.
It was a radar-like Type Arms that showed the location of all the Masters in a certain area around it. Its drawback was the fact that it neither had nor provided any abilities that were meant exclusively for battle. However, the Taijitu did have something besides its radar function.
It was an ability to teleport any tamed or summoned monsters within Kasumi’s minion capacity to any location on the map. Though greater distances cost her more MP, locations within a 50 metel radius of her weren’t all that draining.
Balulun pushed itself on the pteranodon, rendering it unable to move.
“HIIIIIT!”
Not missing the opportunity, Io threw her flail towards it, pulverizing its bones and tenderizing its flesh.
That single hit was enough to kill the pteranodon. Just like the PBS, it began to turn into particles of light, leaving behind nothing but its drops.
“That’s five!”
“W-We did it...”
Kasumi and Fujinon gave their all into binding and holding the enemies, while Io used her high-rank-tier damage to kill them with a critical hit. This tactic of theirs led them to defeating a total of five Demi-Dragon-class monsters that had gathered near the western gate.
Demi-Dragon-class creatures were said to be equivalent to a party of six low-rank jobs. Of course, Masters had Embryo abilities at their disposal, so it wasn’t always necessary for a party to be full in order to defeat a Demi-Dragon, but no one could deny that their success was an impressive feat. Each of them knew about the extent of each others’ abilities and fought while making up for each others’ flaws in order to achieve victory.