Chapter 100

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The story of the <UBM> and the mole dragons must be traced back hundreds of years.

Now, the mole dragons live underground in the Sauda Mountain Path, but they were originally not residents of the kingdom; they were a tribe that lived by the Yellow River.

The Yellow River was a nation built by the descendants of a half-dragon and human, who were of a higher rank than the pure dragons.

The higher dragon has long been forgotten and is now called the "Ancient Dragon."

Thus, those who inherited its blood called themselves the Ancient Dragon people.

The Ancient Dragon people ruled as emperors of the Yellow River for generations, leading other races.

They also bestowed the name "Dragon" on the various tribes under their rule as a symbol of their authority.

The mole dragons were one of these tribes and were originally called the Earth Dragon people.

The dragon people who bore the name "Dragon" lived prosperously in the land of the Yellow River under the protection and rule of the Ancient Dragon people.

Until a struggle for the next emperor's throne began among the Ancient Dragon people.

It started with a tragic event.

The emperor died in his twenties without leaving a legitimate heir.

His untimely death was mourned by the people, but they were also relieved.

The emperor had a younger brother who was close to his age.

He was diligent, honest, and full of energy... and was considered suitable to be the next emperor.

Thus, the imperial throne was to be smoothly inherited.

Until it was discovered that the late emperor's concubine was pregnant.

Here, the court was divided into two factions.

One faction believed the younger brother of the previous emperor should ascend to the throne.

The other faction believed the direct heir of the late emperor should become the emperor.

The conflict between the factions intensified regardless of the intentions of the younger brother and the unborn heir.

Succession disputes are common in the imperial line, and the Yellow River had measures in place for such situations.

There were supervisors to oversee the succession and to mediate excessive conflicts.

These were the special super-class positions known as the [Dragon Emperor].

A [Dragon Emperor] is a throwback that appears once every few hundred years among the Ancient Dragon people, who trace their lineage to the "Ancient Dragon." They are born with the power of a super-class and live for nearly ten times as long as a regular Ancient Dragon person.

Due to their longevity and power, they could potentially stagnate the history of the Yellow River if they were to rule, so they are forbidden from taking the throne by the laws of the Ancient Dragon people.

Instead, the [Dragon Emperor] serves as a mediator between the Ancient Dragon people and the court.

In this case, the [Dragon Emperor] would have mediated the conflict before it escalated.

However, the previous [Dragon Emperor] had passed away a few years before the emperor, and the next [Dragon Emperor] had not yet been born.

This incident was a series of unfortunate coincidences.

The [Dragon Emperor] died shortly after the previous emperor ascended the throne and was not considered necessary at the time.

However, the emperor died before a new [Dragon Emperor] was born.

The emperor passed away without naming a successor, and there was no one to advise on the selection of the next emperor.

Thus, the struggle for the throne began due to a series of unfortunate coincidences.

But once the conflict began, there was no one to stop it.

The conflict escalated into a violent confrontation, dividing the court, the tribes serving the emperor, and eventually the people.

Thus, the great war that split the Yellow River began.

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□ [Warrior] Figaro

"It's like the Onin War."

After listening to Drillmo's story up to that point, Shu whispered.

"The Onin War?"

"Yeah, it's a war that happened a long time ago in our country. It was a great war that split the country between the general's younger brother and the general's child, and the factions that supported them."

Ah, I remember reading a little about it in a history book...

"What happened in the end?"

"Skipping over the details, it led to the start of the Warring States period, where everything was in ruins."

The Warring States period... like Nobunaga?

"Well, it seems the Yellow River didn't end up like that."

◇

The civil war in the Yellow River, fought under the banners of the emperor's younger brother and the emperor's heir, ended in an unexpected way.

During the months of conflict, the emperor's heir was born into the world.

Born as a [Dragon Emperor].

As previously mentioned, the [Dragon Emperor] is forbidden from taking the throne by law.

Even if the heir is a direct descendant of the previous emperor, this rule does not change.

When the news reached the various regions of the Yellow River, everyone fell to their knees, their hearts broken.

What was the point of this war?

To reiterate, this conflict arose due to a series of unfortunate coincidences.

If the child had been born a few months earlier, or if the previous emperor had lived a few months longer, this war would never have happened.

But the war did happen.

There were no victors in a conflict that was unnecessary and futile.

But there were countless losers.

The Earth Dragon people were among the losers.

The land they lived in was devastated and polluted by the numerous wide-area attack spells cast during the war, leaving it beyond hope of recovery.

The sight of their ruined homeland left the Earth Dragon people's hearts weary.

They told the new emperor:

— Seeing our ruined homeland is painful.

— No matter where we are in this land of the Yellow River, it is the same.

— Therefore, we, the Earth Dragon people, will leave this land and live in the western lands.

— As a form of apology for no longer being citizens of the Yellow River, we will return the character "Dragon" to you.

— If you do not like this, please cut off our heads.

— We no longer wish to live in the Yellow River.

— If we are not allowed to wander, we would rather die dreaming of the beautiful nature of our homeland.

The emperor, moved by the Earth Dragon people's tearful plea, granted them permission to wander.

At the same time, he accepted the return of the "Dragon" character from them.

Thus, they became the mole dragons.

◇

Drillmo and the other mole dragons, who had gathered in the meeting place, were sobbing by this point.

Looking at Shu, he was pressing his eyes through the costume.

"Romance of history is floating in my eyes..."

There are a few things I want to say... but pressing your eyes through a costume won't do any good.

However, there are three things I think about this story and the current situation.

Two of them are trivial, and one is important.

The two trivial things are that the mole dragons didn't say "mog" in the past and that the mole dragons look very different between males and females.

Looking at the gathered mole dragons, I can see the females, whom I didn't see before. The females look more like humans from Earth. They are shorter and have fur in some places like the males.

Well, that's fine. It's common for different genders to have different physical characteristics.

The tone of speech can also be ignored.

The important thing is... the story Drillmo is telling.

"What do you think of this story, Shu?"

I whispered to Shu so the mole dragons wouldn't hear.

Shu removed his hand from his eyes and (probably) looked at me.

"Is this a setting, or did it really happen here?"

Right.

Stories of legends from hundreds of years ago are common in books.

But this is inside the game <Infinite Dendrogram>.

No matter how elaborate, there shouldn't be a history from hundreds of years ago.

After all, the time acceleration is only three times.

If there were a history from hundreds of years ago, <Infinite Dendrogram> would have to have been created at least a hundred years ago on Earth.

That would be impossible with the technology during World War II.

So, logically, this story is just a fictional setting.

But looking at the mole dragons sobbing.

They are genuinely moved to tears.

They are crying, thinking about the history of their ancestors and the emotions of that time.

It looks like they truly believe this history is real.

"Well, I have three hypotheses about this."

"Three?"

"First is the five minutes before the world hypothesis."

I know the five minutes before the world hypothesis.

It's something like...

"The game server was just turned on a short time ago, but the Tians... the NPCs inside believe they have a continuous history and life. That's the first hypothesis."

I think this is the case.

Still, embedding that much memory into all the AIs... the Tians in <Infinite Dendrogram> is quite unrealistic.

"Then the second hypothesis is about acceleration..."

Shu hesitates a bit.

"Acceleration?"

When I ask, Shu pauses for a moment.

"...What if the operators can accelerate much faster than three times?"

...?

......

................!!

"Can they really speed up time more here?"

"If they can accelerate a thousand times, a thousand years would pass here in one year on Earth."

"......"

I can't say it's impossible.

Research to simulate the evolution of life by accelerating conditions on a computer has been developed for a long time.

That would also explain the meaning of the phylogenetic tree attached to this game.

If human brains are connected, it could cause problems.

But if it's just the servers before the service started... it might be possible.

"But..."

If there are tens of thousands or even millions of AIs with human-level intelligence living and accumulating a thousand or two thousand years of history in that virtual environment.

That's not just a simulation.

It's almost like creating a whole new world.

And if that's the case, the intelligent beings living in this world are not just AIs.

If the history of Earth progresses, they might be defined as "life."

Proof of the life of digital intelligence.

It sounds like a science fiction story I've read, but it's possible here.

If that's the case, <Infinite Dendrogram> is no longer a game.

"Even if that's the case..."

Even if that's the case.

Even if that's the case... I won't stop playing <Infinite Dendrogram>.

I can only move satisfactorily here.

I can only burn my life in <Infinite Dendrogram>.

Even if this is a real life and world, I won't stop living here.

"Well, it's just a hypothesis. I'm not saying it's true, and it's just what the costume said, so it's not reliable."

Seeing my reaction, Shu said with a light tone.

"By the way, Shu, you said there were three hypotheses... but you've only mentioned two."

"Ah? Oh, the third one... I'll pass."

"Pass?"

"It's even more science fiction or fantasy. If I say it seriously, it's ridiculous."

Fantasy?

"Ah, the crying is stopping, and the story is about to resume."

Right.

We were in the middle of hearing the story of the <UBM> and the mole dragons from Drillmo and the others.

The <UBM> hasn't even been mentioned yet.

◇

The emperor, who heard the plea of the Earth Dragon people, now known as the mole dragons, entrusted them with something.

It was a small bead.

If you look closely, it seems to contain a shadow like a four-legged beast.

— This bead contains a "tiger" sealed by the previous [Dragon Emperor].

— The "tiger" has the power to create a strong barrier.

— Like other treasure beasts, it will bestow great power to those who successfully capture it.

— However, if the person who captured it dies, it will return to the heavens.

— Therefore, the previous [Dragon Emperor] sealed the "tiger" alive.

— This way, its power can be used for a long time.

— I, who have caused this land to be desolate and driven your hearts to such a state...

— As a form of apology, please take it.

Thus, the emperor bowed deeply.

The mole dragons also bowed to the emperor and took the bead from his hand.

Thus, the mole dragons set off west.

The mole dragons, heading west toward