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Infinite Dendrogram - Volume 7 - Chapter SS4




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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 

Three days had passed since the terrorist incident at Gideon. 
The head of the Dunton Contractors, Rob Dunton, was thoroughly troubled. 
“There’s so much work to be done, but I don’t have nearly enough workers...” 
Gideon was currently overflowing with emergency requests. Countless residences, businesses, and even some arenas had to be rebuilt or repaired due to the damage they’d sustained during Franklin’s Game. 
In a way, this was a great time to make a killing, but Rob didn’t have enough Designers and Carpenters to answer all the requests. Some had fled the country once the war began, and even more left because of the incident, leaving him with a lack of labor too damaging to accept all the jobs, and forcing him to make the painful decision to reject some of them. 
“Well, at least there’s a new Designer coming for an interview,” he murmured. 
He intended to take what he could get, and he wouldn’t hesitate to accept any new workers even if he had some issues with them. And so, an hour later, he was interviewing a certain woman. 
“Let us start with your name,” Rob said. 
“Gerbera!” she replied proudly. 
He found it strange that she didn’t have a surname, but he didn’t ask anything about it. There were places where surnames didn’t exist, after all. 
“So, Gerbera, do you have any experience working in other offices similar to ours?” 
“Nope! This is gonna be my first job!” 
Rob raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of her. She’d just proudly revealed that she had no work experience to speak of, yet was behaving as if the job was already as good as hers. 
“May I have your statistics, please?” he asked. Levels, stats, and the presence of construction skills played an important part in getting a job in this field. 
“Here!” She readily presented him a paper that showed her stats, and... 
M-Max level...?! Rob was overcome by shock. 
It showed that she was level 500 — a true rarity among tians. Each tian had different talents and maximum number of jobs they could take, making any tian who reached that level a product of both talent and hard work. 
She... She is a tian, right? he pondered. 
Level 500s weren’t all that uncommon among Masters, but since Gerbera had no Master symbol — the crest on her left hand — he concluded that she had to be a tian. 
I also feel that her AGI is strangely high. 
Jobs like Architect Designer and Carpenter should’ve raised primarily DEX and STR, but her stats made her seem like a battle job. 
Perhaps she was a fighter until now and just decided to settle down and get a job? 
People who raised their levels through battle weren’t all that uncommon, after all. 
Her DEX is higher than your usual Designer’s, and I certainly don’t see any problems with the construction skill levels... 
All in all, Gerbera seemed like a highly promising individual, especially for an employer as desperate for new workers as Rob. 
“So, Gerbera, do you have any requests regarding your employment with us?” he asked. 
“I want to work by myself! From home!” 
This interview so far was enough for Rob to realize that it was best to let her do her job alone, so he had no problems with that. He continued asking questions, and though some of her overly confident answers confused him, Rob became more and more certain that he would hire her. 
“I will tell you right now — you’re hired,” he said as he extended his hand to Gerbera. “Let’s make this a relationship that benefits us both.” 
“Okay! I’ll benefit you!” she said as she shook his hand. “Also, I’d like to see the blueprints of the buildings you’ve built in the past. It’s to help me with my work.” 
“Very well. I’ll show them to you.” 
Gerbera’s words greatly impressed Rob. She talks a bit strangely, but she’s clearly passionate about the work. 
With that, he finished welcoming the new employee into his workforce. 
There’s no shortage of work, and we just got a skilled worker... Things are looking up! he thought with nothing but certainty. 
Some time later, the inquiries and investigations about the incident caused by Gerbera greatly affected his work, but that was a story for another time.
 





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