Infinite Dendrogram: Volume 17, page 22
Bear(White): “...”
Cat: “That said, Carl is a Superior with many aces up his sleeves that he didn’t show, so do look forward to his next appearance.
Anyway, it’s time for the comment from the author.”
Thank you for reading volume 17 of this series. I am the author, Sakon Kaidou.
This was the first volume of all-new content, so I’m curious whether or not you’re satisfied with it.
The most extra content I have written before this were additions to the previous volumes, the digital-only Fairytale Squad story, and the story that came with volume 1 of the anime, but this was the first time I’d ever written a full volume exclusively for the light novel series.
It was a lot of work and I spent a lot of time dealing with the typos, but I feel like it made me grow a bit as an author.
This volume covered an event that was particularly game-like and a little laid-back.
Up until now, Ray had been involved in battles that had tian lives, cities, and even countries on the line, but this was all about an event that he could thoroughly enjoy alongside his friends.
You could say that this is represented by the bright, cheerful, and wholesome cover Taiki had drawn for this volume. It is quite unlike what we had so far and I personally like the aura it exudes. Alto in all her yellow glory looks great, as well.
This volume 17 also gave a spotlight to the four stars of The Crow Records.
The scenario for this volume had a foundation in the plot of that series, so they really stood out here.
Out of the four, I personally found Shion especially easy to write. Silly gooses are the best gooses.
Though, since she did not do one iota of combat analysis, Juba’s gimmick was left unrevealed. You will have to wait until her next appearance to find out more about it and Juba herself.
Anyway, volumes 15 and 16 were centered around people other than Ray, and this volume had him cooperate with an unusual bunch, but with volume 18, we will finally go back to the familiar members of Death Period.
Do look forward to the events that will unfold when Ray returns to Gideon.
Also, volume 9 of the manga has been released, as well. It features Kami Imai’s amazing depiction of Marie and Veldorbell’s battle, so do pick it up if you are so inclined.
Please continue supporting Infinite Dendrogram.
Sakon Kaidou
Cat: “There. With the author’s comment out of the way, it’s time to announce the next—”
Bear(White): “VOLUME 18 IS SET TO COME OUT IN JAPAN IN MARCH, 2022!”
Cat: “Huh?!”
Bear(White): “...”
Cat: (Did he only keep quiet all this time because he was building up the energy to make the announcement?)
Cat: “A-Anyway, see you in the next voluuume! Goodbyeee!”
Bear(White): “...Bye.”
Bonus Short Stories
The Ones From Tenchi
Tenchi
Jubei Kaga.
Capricious and belligerent, she was a person who exemplified the spirit of Tenchi, holding the very fitting “King of Asuras” job as well as the seat of the fourth in the country’s highly competitive duel rankings.
Just like in Altar, the top three in the rankings could only be challenged by those just below them, so Jubei’s position as the fourth led to her being regularly challenged by duelists trying to take a shortcut to the top. In fact, her renown as a fighter had driven some to challenge her outside the duels, as well. Some even tried to ambush her instead.
A life like hers would be too much for most, but she was among the few who thoroughly enjoyed it.
However, there had recently been a change in her that had greatly shocked the battle junkies of Tenchi.
Jubei’s strife-filled existence had resulted in her being covered in countless closed wounds—scars that doubled as medals gained from defeating so many skilled warriors.
The change that shook the country was the fact that every single one of these scars had vanished.
That could only mean one thing—that someone had defeated her, resetting her avatar back to its default, unscarred state.
Many of the country’s fighters went on to speculate about the identity of the powerful champion who subjugated King of Asuras.
She herself, however, seemed to be busy looking for someone.
All of those battle junkies were certain that the person who’d defeated her and whoever she was looking for were one and the same, and that her goal was a rematch.
But the truth was quite different from that...
◇◆
On the afternoon of a certain day, Alto was munching on dango at a particular tea house in a mountain pass.
In real life, the scenery alone would make this a tourist hot spot, but instead of enjoying it, she was merely doing her utmost to ignore the slight commotion around her and keep eating her snack.
“...I got nothin’ to do with this. I just wanna eat my dango. Dango are good...”
One could say that she was engaging in a form of escapism.
The reason for her willful detachment was that a short while ago, in a grove not too far away, she’d tested out the MVP special reward she’d received using the ticket she’d won at The Anniversary.
Although it had guaranteed an S-rank pull, getting an MVP reward using the gacha still required some degree of luck, and she wasn’t assured an item that would suit her build. MVP rewards received by defeating UBMs were adjusted to suit the player they were awarded to, but MVP rewards received through the gacha were simply hand-me-downs from deceased tians who’d once had them.
Alto needed even more luck than usual for the reward to be something that fit her playstyle. Now, as the owner of what was left of Horobimaru—perhaps the biggest bombshell in Tenchi—she had a playstyle that prioritized keeping a low profile and running away if needed.
Because of this...
“Hey! What was that explosion! I heard it from behind the goddamn mountain!”
“It didn’t sound like explosion magic. Maybe it’s a new UBM!”
“WOO-HOO! Let’s go beat its ass! And if it’s beaten already, let’s beat whoever beat it!”
...an MVP reward that summoned thunderous sounds and unbridled destruction was useless to her.
What am I supposed to do with that pile bunker?! I tried it out on a tree and it blew away the entire grove! How am I gonna use somethin’ that’s both dangerous and makes me the center of attention?!
She’d used the weapon away from any people, but it had so much presence that its activation had been heard across mountains. It had once been the cherished armament of The Ram from a distant land, but it was completely at odds with Alto’s playstyle. More importantly, she now had to wait until things cooled down without any of the battle junkies realizing that she was the one who’d caused the loud sound.
A dozen minutes passed as she did nothing but eat her dango.
The commotion caused by the battle junkies was growing more distant, filling Alto with relief that the danger had passed...
“I found you at last.”
...only for someone far more dangerous to replace them.
“Eep...”
King of Asuras, Jubei Kaga.
Alto’s group had encountered her at the event and gone on to defeat her. The fact that she was speaking as though she’d been looking for Alto filled her with immense fear.
“Oh, please give me a moment!”
In her panic, Alto tried to either initiate the log out process or use her Nukenin disengagement skills, but before she could, Jubei’s prosthetic arms grabbed her by the shoulders, making it impossible for her to escape.
“Ah ha ha ha ha...”
She’s here to settle the score! Alto thought, bracing herself.
However, Jubei was merely looking at her with a smile on her face. That might not have meant much, though—she was the kind of person who smiled and hummed happily even as she turned people into mincemeat.
“I came to you today with a question,” she said.
“Whuh?”
So she won’t kill me right away, Alto thought. This wasn’t enough to make her relax, but she did calm down a tiny bit.
“It is about Ray Starling,” Jubei said.
“Ray?” Alto repeated as the reason behind this encounter became clear to her.
Jubei was a fan of Ray and he had defeated her at the event, so she would obviously be more interested in him than Alto. She now understood that Jubei had been looking for her to ask something about him.
“Yes. I was thinking that you might be a real life acquaintance of his.”
However, what she said was both far beyond what Alto’d expected—and uncomfortably accurate.
“...Wh-Why would you think that?”
“In that event, you, Ray Starling, and Juliet formed a party. Juliet being with him is understandable because they are from the same country, but I find it hard to believe that you—someone from Tenchi—had ever been involved with him prior to the event. I feel like that is reason enough to believe you might share a real-life social circle or even be friends. Would I be wrong?”
“W-Well, it could be that he just fell in love with me at first sight...”
“Oh? Is that how it is?”
“We go to the same college!”
Alto tried to dance around the truth—but when Jubei tightened her prosthetics’ grip, still smiling, she instantly revealed the truth.
“My, that is most fortunate. Now, for the main reason I contacted you. There is something I would like you to ask him...”
Alto’s answer seemed to have put Jubei in a good mood.
Oh no. Oh no...!
Alto, however, was back in her downward spiral of negativity as she pictured what would happen now.
What if she’s gonna ask for his real name and address so she can stalk him IRL and eventually chop him up and kill him out of her infatuation with him...?! If that happens, I’ll appear in some weekly mag with only my eyes censored as “Friend S: the one who gave info to an internet stalker” and then I’ll be shunned and expelled from college and my life will be over and...
“RAY, I’M SORRY! KING OF ASURAS IS AN E-DATING MANIAC!”
Her negative thoughts took over and she blurted out those words, tears welling up in her eyes.
“...Eh heh heh. I do not believe I have ever received an insult greater than that.”
Hit with the kind of disparagement she had never built up any resistance to, even Jubei couldn’t help but be taken aback.
However, she quickly recovered and said, “This is not about meeting him. I wish to ask Ray Starling about an accident that happened about ten years ago—”
She wanted Alto to ask Ray if he was the one who’d saved Jubei from a traffic accident...
“Oh?”
...but before she finished her sentence, she let go of Alto and turned around.
She was now surrounded by fierce-looking Masters.
“We heard a scream and rushed here, thinking that someone needs help, and here we find you...King of Asuras!”
“Heh heh heh. Looks like your luck has run out!”
“WOO-HOO! WILDY MATCH! LET’S GOOOO!”
These were the very same battle junkies who had gone to search for the source of the loud sound (Alto’s pile bunker MVP reward).
“Oh my,” Jubei said, still smiling, as she spread out her floating weapons and unsheathed the curseblades with her prosthetics.
When those who thrived in strife faced each other with bloodlust coursing through their veins, there was only one thing that could happen next—all-out combat.
“EEP...!”
As the battle began, Alto used the opening to put up a smoke screen and run away as fast as she could.
Jubei’s opponents were no easy prey, keeping her busy long enough for Alto to escape.
However, this was only the beginning.
Jubei, still wishing to have her message passed on to Ray, would keep following Alto, who would escape yet again.
This game of tag would continue for quite some time and take them all over Tenchi.
They would eventually go on to become a duo...but that was a story for another time.
Shion’s Stresses
Gideon the City of Duels
“HuUhh?”
One day, during her visit to Altar, the Huang Hean Superior and second in Huang He’s duel rankings, Xunyu, entered a store to buy materials for her Fu, only to see something strange.
“I hate this! I hate this so much! Neeeeeennnghhhh!”
There was Shion Manjushage, making odd, angry noises.
Xunyu wasn’t close to Shion, but they had met when she’d attended an Altarian social gathering for duelists.
What she was doing as she made those noises was...pulling on the gacha machine. This was the store owned by a certain Alejandro—the same one equipped with that curious device—and Shion was endlessly making pulls that cost a hundred thousand lir each.
Normally, the store only allowed one pull before making the puller go to the back of the line and wait for their turn again, but Shion’s intensity had rendered everyone unable to object.
“Guess I gottA get involved,” said Xunyu, feeling she had to do something. “Hey, donchA think you’re bothErin’ the other customErs?”
“Leave me alone!” Shion said before she realized something. “Oh, wait. It is you.”
“You know yoUr wailin’ can be heard all acrOss the store, right? Just whAt the hell happened to yA?”
“Oh, it is simply unbelievable! I lost the event I was in before I even realized what was going on! And I am not getting anything good from the gacha!”
Shion went on to explain what had happened at The Anniversary.
Although she’d been able to defeat a powerful enemy, she’d somehow lost while gathering her spoils.
It had been a surprise attack from Carl that had defeated her, but she still had no idea that was the case.
Being disqualified right after winning a fight had left her sour beyond belief.
Afterwards, she’d went on to talk to Juliet, who’d said that she’d won and received an S-rank gacha ticket. That had motivated Shion to come here and get a natural S-rank pull, which was what she was trying to do right now.
“I came out of all that with nothing to show for it! That is so stressful!”
“I seE...” Xunyu said.
Though, doncha think you’ll get even more stressed if ya burn your money on the gacha? she added in thought.
“All this after I beat a scorpion and a huge elephant! It’s like a compound fracture on my breakable bone!”
“What’s thAt supposed to...? Wait, ‘huge elEphant?’ Was it mAde of clouds?”
“Yes! And I beat it splendidly!” Shion said proudly.
Those words made Xunyu realize something.
Huang He’s strongest clan, Huili Yuminjun, had the so-called “Five Generals,” each of which took a spot in the duel rankings ranging from third to seventh.
From the highest ranked, they were King of Gardens, Saimei Takanashi; Beast General, Anthropos Farma; King of Axes, Wan Zihao; Kidnap Princess, Clobbergirl Fanatic Pie; and the one Shion had defeated—King of Cowboys, Jamie Crescent.
Despite being the lowest in the ranks among them, Jamie Crescent was said to be extremely hard to defeat in open fields, so Xunyu was surprised to hear that Shion had done exactly that.
It sparked her curiosity as a duelist.
“Well, I’m intErested. All right, we’re gOin’ to an open arenA.”
“Whuh?”
As she was caught off guard by what she just heard, Xunyu extended her prosthetics and wrapped them around her.
“Pullin’ the gachA won’t help ya with strEss, anyway. Hang oUt with me for A while.”
And so, Xunyu dragged Shion to an arena and made her spar with her.
Once they were done, Shion’s pent-up competitive spirit was all but exhausted, and she looked thoroughly refreshed.
The B and the C
Gideon the City of Duels
“Huh?”
On a certain day after The Anniversary, Chelsea, who was lost in thought as she was stocking up on consumables at Alejandro’s store, saw a familiar, spectacled woman looking over the shields on sale.
The person considering the gear was none other than B3, or Barbaroy Bad Burn. Once the leader of the PK clan known as “Mad Castle,” she was now part of Ray’s Death Period, as though she was cursed to always join clans with sinister-sounding names.
Though, it’s not like Ray’s clan is focused on PK... Anyway, Barbaroy, huh? Chelsea thought.
To Chelsea, she was “an acquaintance of a friend” in a whole three ways.
She was acquainted with one of Chelsea’s sparring partners, Ray; fellow duelists, Kashimiya and Rosa; and an old real-life friend, Eldridge.
They weren’t friends, really, but neither were they complete strangers—but having so many shared acquaintances, each from a different angle, made it hard for Chelsea to gauge how close the two of them actually were.
She hasn’t noticed me and it looks like she’s seriously thinkin’ about what to pick, so I won’t bother her, she thought before shifting focus back to her own shopping and problems.
The thing on her mind right now was the promise she’d made to Juliet.
A new combat style that makes me more powerful than I used to be and more powerful than I am now too... Well, I already know the most obvious way to get stronger.
That was, without a doubt, getting a Superior Job.
The very reason why she’d come to Altar in the first place was to search for a Superior Job that was different from the ones she may have been able to get in Granvaloa.
Getting an SJ would let her finally break through the level 500 wall.
It’s not that easy, though, she thought.
Securing an SJ was simultaneously the most obvious and the most difficult way to grow stronger. For each job, it was a race that only a single person could win, and with nearly five in-Dendro years having passed since release, there were far fewer jobs available than there had been at the start.
