My brother, who was already playing the game, said, “If this hadn’t been a well-made dive VRMMO, but just a regular MMO instead, I’m sure it still would’ve been a hit as long as it had the Embryo system.”
“Do you need an explanation on Embryooos?” asked the cat.
“Since you’re offering, I guess I should listen to it,” I said. It’s probably best to hear the tutorials for unique systems, after all.
“Okaaay,” said the cat. “All players receive an Embryo at the starrrt. The only time they’ll look the same is while they are in this zeroth fooorm. With the first form and beyond, they’ll change in completely different ways based on their ownerrr.”
“Ohhh,” I said. As a gamer, I can’t help but be fascinated by features that allow for something to be totally unique.
“Although the possibilities are infinite, there are some rough categorieees,” added the cat.
“Oh, I didn’t know that,” I said. This was because I’d done my best to block out any information before I started playing. I’d been worried that I might abandon my entrance exams if I’d found out something about the game, as it would have made it harder to resist playing it.
The only information I’d heard from my brother was that “it’s fun.” It might have been the case that he’d also been worried about my exams, and so he hadn’t told me anything specific.
“The broad categories arrre: Type Arms — a device type that players can equip as a weapon or armorrr. Type Guardian — a monster type that protects the playerrr. Type Chariot — a vehicle type that players can riiide. Type Castle — a building type that players can reside innn. Type Territory — a barrier type that players can deployyy. That’s about ittt.”
“Ohhh,” I said. I was starting to get excited to see how my Embryo would turn out.
“Also, besides these ones, there are rare and advanced categories that an Embryo can evolve into, tooo. There are even categories that are unique to one Embryooo. It’d be nice if you could get onnne.”
“Wow!” I exclaimed. “But if that’s the case, there are bound to be players who keep resetting their character until they get a rare category.”
“Ahh, you can’t remake your character in this gaaame,” said the cat.
“Huh?”
“Even if someone bought different hardware and played the game, that person would log in as the same character as the first tiiime,” Cheshire explained. “Their Embryo would also be the saaame. This is because we keep records on our side of users’ brain wave dataaa.”
“......” I was silent.
They record our brain wave data... I thought. Yeah, that sounds kind of scary.
“Even if they were able to reset, it’s all based on that person anywaaay, so I think their Embryo would end up exactly the saaame,” said the cat.
Is that how it works?
“Annnd... while we were talking, your Embryo finished transferrinnng,” the cat added.
“Huh? ...Ah.” I realized that on the back of my left hand was now embedded a faintly glowing oval gem.
“That’s your Embryooo,” Cheshire said. “It’ll be stuck to your left hand during its zeroth form, but it’ll come off after it hatches and reaches its first forrrm.”
In other words, I guess it’s sort of like I’m incubating an egg.
“By the way, is there any chance it can break while it’s an egg?” I asked.
“That won’t happennn,” said the cat. “Any damage an Embryo receives while in its zeroth form will be passed on to the playerrr.”
Ahh, I see. So that means the Embryo will be safe even if the player dies.
“But after they hatch, Embryos can be damaged and break like anything elllse,” the cat said. “They’ll self-repair over time, thooough.”
It’s kind of like a living creature.
“By the way, after your Embryo turns into its first form, a tattoo of a crest will appear where the egg waaas,” said the cat. “It serves as a sort of identification for players in this worrrld. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to tell players apart from NPCees.”
“Is that so?” I asked.
But no, there’s no way you would mistake an NPC for a human... right?
“Also, the crest has the ability to store your Embryooo,” said the cat. “When you don’t need it, you can keep your Embryo in your left hannnd. You’ll be together with it as long as you play this game, so please take care of ittt.”
“Got it,” I said.
I’m still not sure how my Embryo will evolve, but that’s fine. It all comes down to oneself anyway, so I guess it’ll work out on its own.
“It’s nice to meet you, partner,” I said.
Needless to say, there was no response from my Embryo, but I got the feeling that it shined slightly.
“Lastly, please choose which nation to joiiin.” Cheshire laid out a map on the study’s desk. It was an old scroll map. After it was unfurled, however, pillars of light rose up from seven locations on the map, and from within them, I could see various towns. “The nations with pillars of light are the ones you can join in the beginninnng. What you see in the pillars is the capital of each nationnn.”
Floating in letters of light around each of the pillars was the name and explanation of each nation.
Surrounded by castle walls is a Western fantasy town, with a white limestone castle at its center.
Kingdom of Altar: the land of knights.
Sakura petals dance through the air in this city made of wood. A Japanese-style castle looms high above it.
Tenchi: the land of blades.
Subtle elegance hangs in the air of these mountains. A large river flows for all eternity through its valleys.
Huang He Empire: the land of the hermits.
Black smoke rises from countless factories and forms a cloud that blocks out the sky. On the ground is a modern day city made of steel.
Dryfe Imperium: the land of machines.
Bazaars nestle up to a giant oasis, surrounded by desert as far as the eye can see.
Caldina: the commercial city-state union.
Made from connecting countless large ships together, this man-made landmass floats in the middle of the open sea.
Granvaloa: the maritime nation.
At the base of Yggdrasil deep in the forest, elves, fairies, and demi-humans live in this secluded garden of flowers.
Legendaria: the homeland of fairies.
“Ohhh...” I said.
Seeing this makes me want to visit every one of them, I thought. Tenchi has a similar feel to the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, while Huang He gives off a sense of Chinese fantasy. Dryfe seems like they’d have robots, and just walking through the bazaars of Caldina would feel like I was sightseeing. The seas of Granvaloa call out to me to seek adventure, and as for Legendaria, there’s no need to even think of a reason.
However...
“I’ll go with the Kingdom of Altar,” I said.
“Okaaay,” said the cat. “By the way, as a quick survey, what would your reason for choosing that beee?”
“My brother is waiting for me.”
“Oh, is that so...”
I had called my brother from the store right after I’d bought the game, and he’d said, “Then I’ll be waiting for you in the Kingdom of Altar’s capital.”
...Since he’s waiting, I have no choice, I thought. But why did he choose the Kingdom of Altar, anyway? I’m pretty sure he likes robots and warships, so why didn’t he go with the Dryfe Imperium or Granvaloa? Well, I guess I’ll just have to ask him in person.
“There are events that allow you to change the nation you belong to, so don’t feel so down about ittt,” said the cat.
“Yeah, thanks...” I said.
I need to change gears, I thought. The Kingdom of Altar seems kind of plain and normal, but it just might be a nice place.
“Okay then, I’m going to send you to the Kingdom of Altar’s royal capital, Alteaaa,” said the cat.
“Ah, just a second. What are the goals in this game?”
In all the games I’d played since I was a kid, even online ones, they’d had established goals such as defeating the evil god or demon king. I thought this game would be the same, but when I asked this to Cheshire...
“Anythinnng,” was the response I got.
“Anything?” I asked.
“That’s what I meannnt. Anythinnng. You can become a hero or the demon king, a king or a slave, a good person or an evil person. You can do something, or you can do nothing. You can stay in Infinite Dendrogram, or leave it. It’s all up to you. If it’s possible, then you can do anything you want.” Cheshire’s way of speaking had changed. “Just like the Embryo in your left hand, what’s about to begin is infinite in possibility.”
His speech had morphed from the slow drawl. It was almost as if he were narrating something.
“Welcome to Infinite Dendrogram. We warmly welcome you,” a voice said.
As soon as these words were spoken, the study disappeared from my surroundings. The desk, the bookshelf, and even Cheshire, vanished, and I was left floating in the air.
“Huh?”
Below me was a familiar-looking world. I was looking down on the same continent I’d seen on the map just moments earlier. Before long, almost as if my body was being sucked down toward one point on the continent — the Kingdom of Altar — I started to fall at a great speed.
And just like that, I set foot in the world of Infinite Dendrogram.