Talent as a Gifted Person

Talent as a Gifted Person

The ability values of Gifted people could be checked at government offices. That, too, made use of supernatural powers.

'Appraisal.' The cheat skill featured in countless web novels had appeared in reality as a supernatural ability.

It could quantify a target's physical abilities and magical power. Even the first half alone made it a supernatural ability that sports professionals around the world would have given anything to possess.

When measured, the strength of a world champion weightlifter and the agility of the current 100-meter world-record holder were both '20.' Special forces such as SWAT scored '15,' while an average adult male apparently scored between '10' and '11.'

And the results of the ability-value test—the status check I'd had done at the government office—were...

'Yahiro Kota'

Race: Half-Human, Quarter-Elf, Quarter-Oni

Strength: 21

Endurance: 21

Agility: 21

Magic: 21

...Honestly, the perfectly straight horizontal line was more striking than the sheer height of the numbers.

Well, when I defeated the Black Rat earlier, I felt something like my Spirit Rank—or level—had increased, so these numbers had probably gone up too.

In any case, I was fairly strong. I also had a unique Gift, making me rather tough.

Takanashi-san's status, on the other hand, was...

'Takanashi Miyu'

Race: Human

Strength: 11

Endurance: 12

Agility: 16

Magic: 10

...Yeah.

For a delicate-looking girl, having physical abilities on par with a professional athlete was impressive.

But fighting a giant rat that made you wonder whether it was related to a bear with a military sword seemed a little reckless.

On top of that, her only supernatural ability was 'Gritting Teeth.' It would be treated as a god-tier skill in a game, but by itself, combined with these stats, it was hardly enough in reality...

As for why she'd tried to take the front line...

"Yahiro-san's true strength should lie in the rear... I thought it would be more efficient for you to focus on using scroll magic from behind and healing with your unique Gift..."

"Well... I mean, I understand the logic, but..."

A healer who could also launch magical attacks. Depending on the scrolls, I could even use support magic.

And thanks to my Magic Eye, my spells apparently had a relatively high hit rate as well. I'd only been told that during the seminar, so I hadn't actually felt it myself.

Judging by the catalog specifications alone, I certainly had the kind of abilities that meant I should 'stay in the rear.'

But I couldn't casually bring out Kenning, and it was being repaired in the first place. On the other hand, having Takanashi-san go on the offensive was far too dangerous.

...Besides, if I said this, she'd probably get angry, but being protected by a girl would wound what little remained of my pride...

I picked up the magic stone and smiled at her. It was probably hard to tell through my face guard, though.

"Well, yeah. For now, just as we decided beforehand, I'll take the front line this time..."

"...Understood. However, I have no means of launching ranged attacks."

"Then could you provide covering fire with scrolls...?"

Takanashi-san glanced at my staff.

"No. I hear that another person's Spirit Armament conducts magical power poorly, so it might not work even if I borrowed it. In that case, perhaps I should simply throw my sword..."

"Ah, no. I didn't mean this staff."

"...?"

As Takanashi-san looked puzzled, I made a certain object from my backpack appear in my palm.

It was a gun made of wood.

A break-action, single-shot handgun. A marble was attached to the muzzle.

It hadn't even been painted, and at a glance it was nothing more than a toy. But anyone with discerning eyes should have been able to sense the magical power contained within it.

"Could you use this to cast the scrolls...?"

"...Could it be a magic tool?"

"Yeah. I made it myself, though."

"You made it!?"

Looking surprised, Takanashi-san alternated her gaze between the handgun—or more precisely, the handgun-shaped staff—and me.

It was a little embarrassing. I'd left it sitting in a drawer after making it, but when I heard today that she was going to try fighting on the front line, I brought it along.

The truth was, I'd used wood grown with the 'Blood of Rejuvenation' to make it.

Though calling it a tree was generous; it was only about the size of a houseplant. I'd planted seeds I bought at a home-improvement store in the garden and tried using my unique Gift on them.

I figured it would either fail, or that even if it succeeded, it would take a long time to grow... but—

The day after I planted them, they had grown to about shoulder height, and my parents and I were all shocked.

I used that wood to make the 'cores' of my scrolls. This was something I'd made for fun in the middle of that work.

As you'd expect from an amateur's handiwork, there were plenty of rough parts. It was difficult to use and fragile, but it should at least be capable of activating magic.

"A magic tool carved from spirit wood... Are you really sure I may borrow it?"

"That's awfully grand... It's fine even if you break it."

"N-no. I will use it with great care."

Takanashi-san accepted the staff with unusually careful movements.

"If you pull the rod above the grip backward, the barrel will open. Load it, close it, then infuse it with magical power while pulling the trigger. That should be all you need to do."

"...Understood."

"And here. Ten easy-to-use 'Wind Bullet' scrolls."

"Yes."

After confirming that she'd accepted the scrolls, I turned to face forward.

When it came to work-related matters, I felt like I was becoming able to speak smoothly. Maybe I was close to escaping my social awkwardness.

After secretly making a fist in triumph, I drew my sword from its sheath.

"Then, um... shall we go?"

"Yes. But before that, there is something I would like to ask."

"Huh? What is it...?"

I turned around to see what was wrong, and my gaze was immediately drawn to her chest. I hurriedly looked up.

I stared at her face and somehow managed to cover up my slip.

"You seem to be using your scrolls without holding back. Do you have enough? I hear it takes a fair amount of time to make even one."

"Ah, yes. For now, I have enough. I have about seven hundred at home."

"Wha...?"

Takanashi-san was rendered speechless by my answer.

Yeah. Even I sometimes looked at the scrolls I'd made and thought, 'Don't I have way too much free time?' Her reaction was entirely understandable.

I could make four a day because of my limited magical power. If I included time for my magic to recover between morning and afternoon, I could manage eight.

It had been two years since the 'Day of Return.' I had entrance exams to deal with, and I'd skipped some days, so I hadn't reached four digits, but I wasn't in danger of running out anytime soon.

...I didn't have any friends, so I had a fair amount of time.

Back in middle school, the friends I'd joked around with about being a 'mongrel' gradually drifted away as incidents involving Gifted people and the like became more common on television. We didn't even keep in touch anymore.

I suppose that's when I became so bad at talking to other people that even I was fed up with myself.

...Ah, I suddenly feel like crying.

"That's why you don't need to worry about using them."

"...Understood. I will stop judging you by ordinary standards."

"Huh? No... well, thanks?"

I wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but it felt like she'd complimented me, so I thanked her.

Honestly, I didn't know how much time other people spent making scrolls. Still, I imagined many of them had trouble because they couldn't obtain materials as quickly as I could.

"Ah, right. If you don't mind, next time, could you help me make scrolls using the machines in that garage...?"

"Of course. Please feel free to use them. I can help as well, if you don't mind my doing so between repairs."

"Th-thank you..."

"No, thank you as well."

I offered Takanashi-san a polite nod with a forced smile hidden beneath my face guard, then turned to face forward.

...This wasn't exactly the atmosphere for exploring a dungeon.

I took another deep breath to change my mindset. My awareness naturally turned toward the horn on my forehead.

Maybe it was the oni blood, but a little fighting spirit welled up inside me. It wasn't enough to make me lose myself, so it was useful at times like this.

I took my sword in hand and started walking slowly. This time, I left navigation to Takanashi-san as we proceeded through the passage.

Our footsteps echoed through the Black Rat's lair, which looked as though it had once been a sewer beneath a massive city. Several minutes passed.

Just as I was about to check the time on my watch, I heard another faint set of footsteps.

"!"

I stopped abruptly and readied my sword. Immediately afterward, a Black Rat appeared from the corner several meters ahead.

These monsters generally acted alone, but unfortunately, there were two of them. The one closer to us bared its fangs and sprang at me.

Scary...!?

My instincts screamed at the sight of its wide-open rodent mouth. But my eyes accurately read its movements.

I grasped its trajectory with my future sight and swung my sword at its head.

With a clang, the blade struck bone. A clear impact traveled up my arm, and bright-red blood spilled across the floor.

'Gyaa!?'

The Black Rat staggered with a scream. Bright-red blood poured from its head.

I overwrote the revulsion of cutting into a living creature with my fighting instinct, then swung my sword again in a reverse diagonal slash. The monster tried to dodge, but I could see that movement as well.

I forcibly changed the trajectory of the slash and caught it under the jaw. A cramping pain shot through the muscles in my arm, but it vanished immediately. My unique Gift must have healed it.

The single-edged blade cut through skin and flesh, split the bone, and sank deep. The tip tore through the area around its throat.

The strength left the creature in front of me. Just as the blade seemed to grow heavy in my hands, the other one leaped at me.

'Chitter-chitter-chitter!'

"You...!"

My sword wouldn't come free. In that case, I drew back my left fist.

I planned to punch it away before its front teeth reached me. But the instant I started to swing my arm, my Magic Eye showed me a different future.

I jerked my arm back, and an invisible iron hammer struck the Black Rat almost simultaneously.

'Gii!?'

The Black Rat went flying through the air and slammed into the wall. A heavy impact echoed through the passage.

I kicked away the creature in front of me and pulled out my blade, glancing over my shoulder for an instant. Takanashi-san was there, rapidly loading the next shot.

But she didn't need to fire. Seeing the Black Rat whose jaw I'd split dissolve from the corner of my eye, I rushed toward the remaining one.

'Chit... gii...!'

"Hyaa!"

I swung my sword down with all my strength at the staggering Black Rat's neck. The thick blade reached the bone with ease, helped by the momentum of my charge.

'Chiiiiii!?'

"I...!?"

Its scream was louder than I'd expected, rattling my eardrums and almost making me let go of the hilt.

But I hurriedly drove the blade deeper. The Black Rat thrashed briefly, then soon stopped moving.

After the monster turned into black mist, I retreated several steps. I looked around and confirmed that there were no other enemies.

"Phew..."

I let out a long breath and calmed my violently beating heart.

I still wasn't used to the sensation of taking a life. Should I take the fact that my guilt outweighed my excitement as proof that I was still normal as a human being?

I looked at the blade, which had no blood spatter remaining, and settled my nerves. My opponent wasn't an ordinary living creature. It was like a ghost. I repeated that to myself.

"Good work. Are you injured?"

"Huh? Ah, yes."

I hurriedly turned to Takanashi-san and straightened my back.

After confirming that I was unharmed, she gave a small nod and reached for the empty scroll case lying at her feet.

"Ah."

However, the instant her fingers touched it, the metal case vanished in a cloud of faint particles. Its contents were nothing but ash, which dissolved into the air as well.

"Ah, you don't need to pick that up. It's made of magical power..."

That scroll case was actually a partial deployment of my Spirit Armament. Thanks to that, it wouldn't become trash even if I left it behind.

When a scroll was used, it expended all the magical power inside and turned to ash. That did become trash, but inside a dungeon, the dungeon apparently absorbed that kind of 'magical residue.'

I didn't know the exact principle myself. Still, it was an insignificant amount compared to the dungeon's overall nourishment. Besides, since we had defeated monsters, the amount of magical power inside had actually decreased overall.

...That was what the Anti-Spirit Agency's website said, anyway.

Other scroll users must have already investigated all that. I was grateful.

"Good work to you too, Takanashi-san. Thanks for the covering fire."

"Yes. It seems I can be of use this way as well."

"Yeah. Um, please do."

"Yes!"

Though her expression remained blank, I felt that Takanashi-san's cheeks had taken on a faint flush.

Her chest gave a soft jiggle as she saluted and answered energetically.

I could feel my expression turning lecherous, but thanks to the face guard, she probably wouldn't notice.

I immediately lowered my gaze to the floor and collected the magic stones.

After entering the dungeon, about two hours later...

We returned to a room in the 'Containment Site' and deactivated our Spirit Armaments with sighs of relief. The weight of my backpack settled onto my back, but my shoulders actually felt lighter.

"We made it back safely."

"Yes. It is fortunate that neither of us appears to have been injured."

Takanashi-san had been depressed about being unable to fight on the front line, but apparently she'd already moved past it. Her usual flat tone had returned.

...That aside, I wanted her to deactivate her Spirit Armament soon.

I desperately looked away from the cleavage and groin visible through the thin fabric. Her appearance was a feast for the eyes, but it was also poisonous to them.

I might have to find some cloth imbued with magical power. Otherwise, my heart wasn't going to survive.

"Um. Then all that's left is to go to 'Alf' and have them hold on to the magic stones, right?"

"Yes. There is no problem. In fact, I do not believe there was anything else we could do."

"Ah, right..."

I'd tried to distract myself with another topic, but I'd failed.

As a general rule, buying and selling items obtained inside dungeons was prohibited.

Magic stones and the like were taken back to the clan you belonged to, which submitted them to city hall along with a report. From there, they went through the prefectural government to the Anti-Spirit Agency.

Then, the clan apparently distributed the reward paid by the government among the adventurers at the end of the month.

It was a rather complicated system. Though there were rumors that some clans and adventurers sold dungeon loot and tools made with supernatural abilities to the 'underworld.'

Putting that aside, magic stones were still an unknown substance even two years after the 'Day of Return.'

However, their uses had gradually begun to be understood. They were fuel.

Apparently, magic stones burned when exposed to fire for a long time. They burned with tremendous force, yet supposedly produced less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels.

As a result, people hoped they could be used for thermal power generation. In fact, I'd seen on the news that Gifted people in parts of Africa had already begun using them as fuel in their daily lives.

They could apparently also be used as materials for magic tools and magical medicines made with supernatural abilities. Scrolls had uses for them too, but... I could substitute for many things with my unique Gift, so they had nothing to do with me.

The price of these next-generation fuel sources, magic stones, was... for one about the size of a pinky fingertip, a staggering—

'10,000 yen'

We had collected seven magic stones during this expedition. That meant 70,000 yen in earnings, or 35,000 yen each.

That was an extraordinary amount for a high school student to earn in one day. But considering the danger we'd faced, it honestly seemed like too little.

Apparently, lawmakers had discussed and decided on the price in the Diet, using hunters' compensation as a benchmark.

Taxes, adventurer's license renewal fees, and the government's adventurer insurance were deducted from that amount... Honestly, I could understand why some people turned to the unofficial routes. I wouldn't, though.

I wondered whether we'd be able to sell magic stones for more once they were seriously adopted by thermal power plants.

While I was thinking about that, Takanashi-san had apparently deactivated her Spirit Armament as well. She held out the remaining scrolls and the staff.

"Thank you very much. I will pay for the scrolls later."

"Ah, no, it's fine. You helped with the fighting... Besides, when it comes to exchanging scrolls for money, the law hasn't really caught up yet..."

"But I cannot accept them for free."

"...In that case, maybe you could waive the electricity and machine-use fees for those scrolls we discussed...?"

"...Would that be enough?"

"...Then I might ask you for something else too?"

"Understood. If that is the case..."

Apparently satisfied, Takanashi-san nodded deeply.

"I will do anything I can. Please ask anything of me."

...I quietly covered my face with both hands.

"? What is wrong, Yahiro-san? Have you been injured somewhere!?"

"...No. I am perfectly healthy."

If anything, being too healthy was the problem.

...Calm down, impure thoughts!!

After that, Takanashi-san continued worrying about my condition even on the bus, and my guilt was unbearable.

You're a sinful woman, you know...!?

You're a sinful woman, you know...