Bonus Short Stories
Signed
Paladin, Ray Starling
Normally, the monsters of Infinite Dendrogram had their names displayed above their heads.
As game-like as that sounded, however, the names were visible even to the tians who called this world their home. When you think about it, it was kinda obvious those names would be, considering they were by far the simplest way to differentiate human from monster. At the very least, not having them would definitely make things a lot more confusing and difficult.
I used “normally” for a reason, though. There were exceptions — monsters with names you didn’t always see, such as those who could use conceal, stealth, and similar skills.
Prime examples of this were the Mimics. These RPG favorites were present in Dendro, just as in many other games, and most of them had skills that hid their names. Indeed, you’d find many unfortunate souls lured and defeated by a Mimic’s promise of immense loot.
With all that in mind, I was currently faced with a certain choice.
“All right... Is this one safe?”
I was in the now-familiar Tomb Labyrinth, looking at the end of a hallway, intensely pondering the treasure chest placed there.
Unlike in other areas, the monsters in created dungeons automatically respawned, and the same applied to these treasures. They were scattered around randomly, and though they could be very hit-or-miss, the hits had the potential to be really great. Figaro, for instance, had gotten a Prism Steed from one of those.
That was all well and good. Treasure was always welcome. But that was where the Mimics came in.
Mimics replaced some of these chests. Sure, you were about as likely to encounter one as you were likely to find a rare item, but even those on the lower levels were absurdly strong — about Pure-Dragon-tier.
“If only the others were here,” commented Nemesis.
Yeah, I thought in response.
Today, things hadn’t panned out according to plan, and I’d ended up exploring the lower levels of the Tomb Labyrinth all by myself.
That was how I’d chanced upon this treasure chest. Opening it without anyone to help me out was dangerous, but with these things, the one who’s first takes it all, so it definitely wouldn’t be here by the time I returned with my party.
“Ignoring it would be the safe choice here,” I pondered out loud.
“But that would be quite a waste.”
Yep. Leaving behind the first treasure chest I ever found would definitely sting.
“All right...!” I shouted. “I’ve decided! We’re opening that chest!”
“Then I shall prepare to use the Counter Absorption, just in case!”
We gathered our resolve, and I kneeled before the chest. Tightening my right hand’s grip around Nemesis, I pushed it open with my left and... found a single scroll inside.
“...Seems like it was no Mimic.”
“Yeah. No surprise attacks or anything.”
Overcome by relief, I took out the scroll, and the chest became light particles and vanished the same way Masters and monsters did. In a way, this scroll could be considered a drop from the chest.
“All right, let’s check this thing out,” I muttered excitedly. “Perhaps this is one of those item recipes I’ve heard about.”
I undid the string, opened the scroll, looked at the content, and saw the text with the largest font pop out at me, saying “Tomb Labyrinth Exploration Permit.”
“GHAH...!” I exclaimed as I was overcome by shock and pain far greater than any Mimic could give me, bringing me to my knees.
“Oh dear... Just how many of these have we gotten by now?” asked Nemesis.
My daily gacha rolls had made me more familiar with these than I ever wanted to be. Unlike those, however, this one was diligent and automatically signed itself with my name before I even opened it.
“Why the hell would you give TL Permits to someone already exploring the TL?! Why would you auto sign it and make it worthless on the market?! No one could need this! Ever!”
My pained shout resounded, but gained no response, and I was now the not-so-proud owner of yet another Permit I could add to all those I’d gotten so far, making up a grand total of I-actually-forgot-how-many.
A Certain Interview at a Certain Contractor’s Office
Dunton Contractors
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