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Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 14 - Chapter Pr




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Interlude: First Contact 

August, 2043, Vandelheim 

Not long had passed since the release of Infinite Dendrogram on Earth. 

The capitals of the seven major Dendrogram countries were swarming with players who’d been lucky enough to acquire the necessary hardware before it sold out, and most of them were beaming with excitement and wonder. 

The imperium’s capital was no different in that regard, and although the people here found these new entities — marked with gems or crests on their left hands — rather strange, they had no trouble accepting them. After all, these “Masters” had long been attested to within their recorded history, and had even played a major part in it. 

Still, they were enough of a curiosity to attract a lot of attention. 

There were some exceptions, though. Particularly, one little creature that had the build of a hedgehog, but the features of a porcupine. 

It was wearing a cloak far too big for it, which dragged behind it. 

There was no name above its head, so people knew it wasn’t a monster. Most just assumed it was a tame creature and paid it no mind. 

The few stares it did draw caused the creature to make a quiet, annoyed sound as it walked, keeping its distance from the road. 

None of the passersby noticed, but the tiny body hidden by the cloak — specifically, the shoulder — had a gem on it... an Embryo in its zeroth form. 

Indeed, it... or rather, she was not a monster, but a Master. She’d merely chosen the appearance of an animal and picked Vandelheim as her starting point. 

“Hmm...” As she walked, she suddenly heard a lady’s voice. At first, she thought that this was irrelevant to her, but then... 

“Why are you pretending to be an animal?” 

“Ah?!” 

...The lady addressed her directly, making her gasp. After that, there was no question that the woman was definitely talking to her. 

She quickly looked in the direction of the voice and saw a lady with golden hair in curls. 

“Aha. So I was right,” the lady said, her tone analytical. She had no gem or crest on her left hand. This person was supposed to be an NPC... but she had trouble seeing her that way. 

“...Who are you?” she unwittingly asked the lady, going against her intention to avoid using normal words at all. 

Without showing a hint of surprise, the blonde woman answered, “My name is Claudiah. And yours is...?” 

After a moment of hesitation, she gave her her avatar’s name: “...Behemot.” 

“Can I call you ‘Betty,’ then?” 

“...Please don’t.” She didn’t want to hear her real-life nickname here; for it would only remind her that the people who’d called her that were gone. 

Behemot had come to Infinite Dendrogram in order to take a walk outside without having to actually interact with people. She’d thought that taking up the appearance of a harmless animal would make people ignore her, but Claudiah had seen right through her. 

“Would you like some tea? You’ve certainly caught my attention,” the lady offered. 

Behemot had found Claudiah very curious, and it didn’t take her long to accept. “...I can’t hold tea cups, though,” she added. 

“We have small tea cups meant for the fairy folk of Legendaria.” 

This conversation was likely the point where Behemot had stopped seeing Infinite Dendrogram as a game. 

While they were having tea, Claudiah talked about herself before Behemot could really ask any questions. 

She said that she was part of the imperial family, that she was among the strongest combatants in the country, and she was out in town to investigate these Masters that had begun appearing so suddenly. 

She also said that she called out to Behemot because she was simply very curious about her. 

“...Was it because I was the strangest one?” Behemot asked. 


“Appearance-wise, yes,” Claudiah replied. “But that is not the reason why I called out to you.” 

“Hm?” 

“May I ask you a question now?” 

“What is it?” 

“Why did you choose this country? According to the other Masters, there were six others you could have appeared in, so why did you choose the imperium?” 

Behemot was silent for a long moment. She didn’t know whether her honest answer would be something she could say to a member of the imperial family, but ultimately decided that it didn’t matter. 

“...Because the city looked like it’d be really refreshing to destroy.” 

“I thought as much. I saw it in your face,” Claudiah said without much surprise. 

Hearing that, Behemot understood the reason behind this meeting. Claudiah had singled her out because, to her, she looked like the most dangerous of the new Masters. 

“...You can tell by this face?” 

“I can. I myself feel the way you do sometimes.” 

“You? A princess?” Behemot asked, somewhat surprised. Claudiah smiled at her, but then spoke with no joy in her voice. 

“The burden I bear sometimes starts to feel like a nuisance. Even though I want to focus on the one thing that really matters to me, my circumstances force me to constantly hold myself back. Every now and then, I feel like just breaking everything that ties me down.” 

With those words, she let out a somewhat gloomy sigh. 

“To destroy everything that troubles me... to create an environment where I can focus entirely on one single thing... I wonder if the previous one... the King of Kings felt the same way.” 

Behemot didn’t understand what Claudiah meant by those words. All she knew was that she was being completely honest — which meant that they were alike. 

“Though, I really cannot afford to be as irresponsible as he was,” Claudiah added. 

“You seem to have it pretty tough.” 

“Indeed I do. Tough enough to want a friend who will help me.” 

“Hm?” Behemot tilted her head as Claudiah took her little paw. 

“Behemot,” she said. “Would you be my friend? Grow strong and help me.” 

Behemot was shocked to hear that. She hadn’t come to Infinite Dendrogram to interact with people. In real life, people just annoyed her; merely seeing large groups made her want to crush them. 

She’d only come to this world because she wanted to remember what walking outside was like. 

Going by her original intention, the only real option for her was to refuse Claudiah’s offer. 

“...There’s no guarantee that I’ll actually become that strong, though.” 

However, that wasn’t what Behemot did. 

For some reason, she didn’t find interacting with Claudiah irritating in any way. 

Behemot hadn’t known her for long, but she felt almost as close to her as she had to her late father. Perhaps Behemot felt some instinctive affinity towards Claudiah the same way the princess had easily seen Behemot’s true desire. 

“My Embryo isn’t born yet. What if it’s really weak?” 

“I am sure you will become stronger than anyone else,” Claudiah said as she gently caressed the Embryo on Behemot’s shoulder. “I can see it in your face.” 

Those words sounded like they were spoken by someone else. 

 

That day, the two girls became friends. 

This was the birth of the Master who would eventually be called “The Physical Apex.” 





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