Chapter 5: Punk City's Human Boy (4)

Sonia, who achieved the highest score in the shooting competition, was given a <Coolson Atelier Voucher>.

“Wow. You got this expensive thing. When are you going to get the gun made?”

“After I graduate from the orphanage?”

Amon nodded at Sonia’s words.

Colson Atelier was a luxury custom firearms company.

The rifles made there were said to be as expensive as the same weight in gold, which meant they were *very* expensive.

Even by Punk City 3 standards, the guns from that company were incredibly difficult to obtain, requiring one to clear all the end-game content.

Sonia had gained the opportunity to have one of those ridiculously overpowered weapons custom-made for free.

‘Good start.’

Whether she became a Mercenary, a Bodyguard, or a soldier, it was clear that Sonia had a high probability of making a living with guns.

And in that situation, her starting item was an end-game Spec weapon.

Considering that people who lived by the gun spent most of their income on equipment upgrades, her life would undoubtedly be very comfortable.

‘And the Company’s after-sales service is reliable too… so…’

Moreover, this weapon was difficult to obtain, but relatively easy to maintain, making it perfect for Sonia.

As Amon looked at Sonia with envious eyes, she hesitantly held out the voucher.

“Um… if you want it, you can have it…”

Hearing Sonia’s words, Amon shook his head.

“No. You should keep this.”

His envy was purely that of a collector; he wasn’t actually envious of the voucher itself.

Besides, even if he did get a gun from that company, he didn’t think he would use it as his main weapon.

It was better for Sonia to use it, that was Amon’s thought.

“Then I’ll protect you from behind with this gun, Amon!”

Her statement was based on the premise that Amon would also be using guns.

At her words, Amon gave a wry smile and nodded.

He didn’t know what path he would take either.

He could go the Hacker route, the swordsman route, or even the Chairman of a major Company route.

Still, in this dangerous world, having a friend who was good with guns wouldn’t hurt.

Amon gratefully accepted Sonia’s cute declaration.

***

Soon, the two headed for their next destination.

Their next stop was the Archery Dojo.

The purpose was to assess their talent for the Bow.

On the way, Amon briefly thought about Sonia’s Talent.

‘That recoil control…’

Her shooting skills were outstanding.

But separate from that, her recoil control was something difficult to explain with just Talent.

Numerous possibilities flashed through Amon’s mind.

Special abilities that characters could choose from, numbered 1 to 3.

‘First, it's not an Implant.’

She had never had a Procedure, so that was ruled out.

Rune Tattoos or Engravings were also out of the question.

This wasn't some external Procedure; it was her innate Talent.

If it were Magic, it would have been obvious, so that was also ruled out.

By process of elimination, the most likely candidate was Divine Power.

‘Well, it has to be this, right?’

Amon couldn’t sense Divine Power.

In this world, only trained individuals could.

But he had knowledge.

According to his knowledge, in this world, if something couldn't be explained by either Magic or science, pinning it on Divine Power was usually the correct answer.

Got a bullet hole in your head but didn't die and it healed on its own, and you don't know why?

It's because of Divine Power.

Trapped in an Abandoned Building with no escape, but you can only escape by kissing?

It's because of Divine Power.

Someone died, and you have absolutely no idea who the culprit is?

It's because of Divine Power.

Saying it this way might make Amon sound like a Divine Power advocate, but this was a scientific fact, separate from his faith.

In this world, the cause of unexplained phenomena could be approached through Divine Power.

And despite the word “Divine Power,” the things one could do with it weren’t exactly divine.

It could perform miracles, bringing people back to life with holy light, but the resource used by Entities was also Divine Power.

It could even suddenly turn a normal person into a crazed cannibal.

‘That’s why people these days call it Mystical Power instead of Divine Power.’

Since the modern era, when the authority of religion had weakened considerably, the term Mystical Power had been used more than Divine Power.

In his past life, when Amon's faith was weak, he also used the term Mystical Power as a gaming term.

But now, having witnessed the Goddess directly and received Her grace, Amon's heart was filled with faith.

Therefore, he stubbornly used the term Divine Power instead of Mystical Power.

‘Mystical Power originates from Divine Power, you know.’

End of tangent.

Returning to the original topic,

Sonia's recoil control was also highly likely due to Divine Power.

No, it wasn't just highly likely, it was certain.

No matter what Implant one had, what Magic they used, or what genetic manipulation they underwent, there was no ability that could completely nullify recoil.

That had to be Divine Power.

‘Divine Power… Could it be what the Orphanage Principal was talking about?’

Besides, it wasn't like he had no clues at all.

He had received a hint from the Principal in the past.

- “Listen carefully. You two have a special power, different from the other children. So if, by any chance, someone needs your power, you must make your decision carefully.”

If he asked what it was specifically, the answer would always be that they would find out when they were older.

At that time, both Amon and Sonia accepted those words without any suspicion, but looking back, he cautiously speculated that it was referring to Divine Power.

‘Come to think of it, donations to the orphanage suddenly increased after that day.’

If he considered that to be image-building by Companies trying to recruit Amon and Sonia in advance, everything made sense.

He could also roughly understand why the Principal didn't explicitly tell them about Divine Power.

Considering the average morality of the Companies and governments in this world… keeping it a secret would have been *far* more beneficial for everyone.

‘She could’ve just hinted to me about the Divine Power thing…’

That's what Amon thought, but he didn't feel particularly upset.

Honestly, he wasn’t delusional, and no matter how mature Amon was, who would think he was a reincarnated person?

No matter how much the Principal cherished him, there was no reason to tell an elementary school kid about this.

Amon could understand the Principal's choice.

‘Honestly, I’m grateful enough that she’s feeding and housing an unrelated orphan.’

It would be inhumane to doubt her goodwill any further.

Amon finished his thoughts about the Principal and returned to the topic of his and Sonia’s Divine Power.

Amon began to feel excited, thanking Lady Goddess for Her generous service.

‘How is my Divine Power manifesting?’

He was itching to find out immediately.

Naturally, Amon's pace quickened.

Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the Archery Dojo.

***

To get straight to the point, Archery wasn't Amon's Talent either.

In fact, it was even more disastrous than with guns.

“How is it possible to get a maximum score of 1 point even after shooting like that?”

“Don't be too disappointed. 2 points was my limit too.”

Sonia consoled Amon, who was grumbling beside her.

Both of them were terrible at archery compared to shooting.

Terrible was putting it mildly.

Their Talent was cursed.

The Archery Instructor reassured them that it was normal for beginners, but seeing the Elf child next to them, also a beginner, hitting at least 5 points with every shot, it was clearly a matter of Talent.

‘Archery is a no-go.’

Amon crossed out the archery section on his mental list.

Sonia looked at him worriedly.

“Are you okay?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”

Amon was puzzled by Sonia’s reaction.

Contrary to Sonia’s thoughts, Amon had no reason to be disappointed.

He still had plenty of potential Talents left to explore.

There were still many Dojos to try.

There were Swords, Spears, Wires, Throwing Weapons, and even hand-to-hand combat.

It didn't matter if he had no Talent with weapons.

He might have a Talent for hacking.

And even if, by some chance, he had no Talent in any area, it didn't matter.

He was confident he could achieve the True Ending even in that situation.

‘I beat the final Boss with a Dildo even with all my Talent values set to 0.’

If all else failed, he could always become an actor, so there was no reason to worry at all.

As Amon genuinely reassured her that he was fine, Sonia's face brightened.

***

The two abandoned any lingering thoughts about the Archery Dojo and visited various places.

And in the end, they discovered a reasonably decent Talent.

No, it wasn't just reasonably decent.

It was quite a good Talent.

The process of discovering their Talent was as follows:

The Swordsmanship Dojo offered basic swordsmanship training and sparring experience to the public in celebration of Thanksgiving.

Since it was the two’s first time holding a sword, they started with the basics.

They learned the basic stances, which could be considered the equivalent of the Three Calamities Sword Technique in martial arts terms, and then they were put into sparring.

The incident occurred after that.

“Winner! Amon!”

The judge declared Amon’s victory.

The tip of Amon’s sword stopped precisely in front of the student’s solar plexus.

A perfectly executed thrust.

No one could dispute Amon’s victory.

Not only Amon, but Sonia was also dominating the students.

When they first won, the Instructor thought it was a fluke.

But after seeing them consistently win against higher-ranked trainees, the Instructor couldn't help but recognize their Talent.

‘Those two’s Talent is monstrous.’

The Instructor’s assessment of Amon and Sonia’s individual Talents was as follows:

Amon had a natural Talent for predicting or manipulating sword movements using Psychological Warfare, and Sonia's Agility simply surpassed human levels.

While it wasn’t uncommon for most swordsmen to possess such Talents, theirs were overwhelmingly powerful.

In particular, the Instructor recalled that neither of them had received any Procedures related to swordsmanship.

‘They’re this good with pure physical ability, but if they undergo Procedures… What kind of monster will be born?’

In this world where bullets and bombs flew around, wielding a sword naturally meant undergoing specialized Procedures.

Therefore, the students in this Dojo had all undergone various Procedures to enhance their swordsmanship.

However, Amon and Sonia defeated them with pure physical ability and Talent.

If the Instructor couldn't recognize their Talent even after seeing this, he should return his Instructor license.

‘I must bring those children in.’

Securing two talented and attractive young individuals would generate enough publicity to make the tuition fees of two people seem trivial.

It was a kind of investment.

‘No, that's an excuse.’

Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t become famous.

His pride as a swordsman who had lived by the sword his entire life demanded that he nurture these two.

Therefore, the Instructor made them an exceptional offer.

“You two. You seem to have real Talent. How about attending our Dojo without paying tuition?”

The Instructor made the offer to the two with a serious expression.

Sonia, beside Amon, jumped for joy at the great opportunity.

However, Amon pondered the offer, feeling unsure.

‘Is this… right?’

Amon recalled the performance he and Sonia had displayed at the Dojo.

He himself recognized that it was abnormal to have defeated students who had undergone specialized Procedures with his pure physical ability.

Based on this performance alone, it was undeniable that the Instructor would be tempted by their Talent.

The problem was that, while Sonia was a different story, Amon wasn’t sure if he should call his case Talent.

‘To call it Talent…’

Even he didn’t know.

That was because his swordsmanship was merely an imitation.

His swordsmanship was a reproduction of the motions of some overpowered sword techniques and numerous Boss Patterns from the game, compiled into a massive chunk of data, and then enacted by his body.

How to parry an overhead slash and which vital point to target,

How to dodge a low slash and counterattack.

Things like that.

So, he could respond well to familiar Patterns, but he couldn't handle unfamiliar ones.

Because of this, Amon himself was unsure whether to call this a Talent for swordsmanship.

He couldn't distinguish whether it was a Talent for the Sword, or simply a Veteran Player's knowledge cheat.

After much deliberation, Amon made up his mind.

“Yes, I will.”

‘Oh well, I don’t know. I’ll figure it out as I go.’

If he didn’t have the Talent, his resources would run dry and he’d be kicked out; if he did, it would be a good thing.

Since it wouldn’t cost him any money anyway, Amon accepted the Instructor’s offer.

***

They promised to visit the Dojo every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then left.

Having spent the entire day running around the city, fatigue began to set in.

Since the sun was setting, they started to head back to the orphanage.

On the way, Sonia, backlit by the setting sun, said,

“It was a very fulfilling day.”

“It wasn't just fulfilling, it was blessed.”

“Heheh. Thanks to you, I discovered my Talent. Thank you, Amon.”

Although unintended, today’s harvest for Sonia was incredibly bountiful.

Not only did she discover her Talent with guns, but she also received a workshop voucher and found a Swordsmanship Instructor.

It could be considered the best day for Sonia.

However, it was a bit ambiguous for Amon.

He hadn't clearly discovered the Talent he was aiming for.

But he wasn't particularly anxious.

‘It's not like life is only one day.’

Amon was about to wrap up the day, looking forward to the future.

But before he could get on the bus, Sonia suddenly called out to him.

“Do you want to try that one last time?”

The direction she pointed to was where a Cosplay Competition was being held.

Amon briefly checked the time.

Even if they took the bus after the Competition ended, they wouldn't be late for the orphanage's Curfew.

‘Come to think of it, there’s also the Disguise aspect.’

It was a chance to check his Talent for Disguise as well.

Amon readily accepted Sonia’s suggestion.

The two headed towards the competition venue.

Up until that point, Amon hadn’t given it much thought.

That is, until he heard the Receptionist’s explanation.

“Excuse me!? A Gender Equality Cosplay Competition?”

“Yes. Men dress as women, and women dress as men. It’s a competition created with the aim of understanding each other’s perspectives.”

The Receptionist’s business smile was directed at Amon.

Sonia’s eyes sparkled,

and Amon pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling dizzy.