Chapter 5 - The Human Boy of Punk City 4
For achieving the highest score in the shooting competition, Sonia was awarded a
“Wow, she gets this expensive thing. When are you going to get a gun?”
“After graduating the orphanage?”
Amon nodded at Sonia’s words.
Colson Atelier was a premium custom firearm company.
Their rifles were so expensive that they cost the same as an equal weight in gold.
Even based on Punk City 3 standards, their guns were so rare that you had to complete all the end-game content to obtain them.
Sonia had gained the opportunity to have one of those premium guns customized for free, for one use.
‘That’s a great start.’
Whether she becomes a mercenary, bodyguard, or soldier was unclear, but it was certain that Sonia had a high chance of making a living with guns.
In that situation, to have an end-game spec weapon as her starting item…
Considering that those making a living with guns spend most of their income on equipment upgrades, her life would undoubtedly be very comfortable.
‘That company also has reliable after-service too… well…’
Moreover, this weapon was difficult to obtain but easy to maintain, which suited Sonia perfectly.
As Amon looked at Sonia with envious eyes, she fidgeted and extended the voucher toward him.
“If… you want it, you can have it…”
Amon shook his head at Sonia’s offer.
“No, you should keep it.”
What he envied was simply a collector’s envy, not desire for the voucher itself.
Moreover, even if he obtained one of that company’s guns, he didn’t think he would use it as his main weapon.
In that case, it would be better for Sonia to use it, Amon thought.
“Then I’ll use this gun to protect Amon’s back!”
Her remark implied that Amon would also be making a living with guns.
Amon gave a wry smile and nodded at her declaration.
He didn’t know what path he would take either.
He could go the hacker route, the inspector route, or even the corporate executive route.
But in this ominous world, it wouldn’t hurt to have an acquaintance skilled with guns.
Amon gratefully accepted Sonia’s adorable declaration.
The two then headed to their next destination.
The next stop was an archery dojo, to assess Amon’s talent with bows.
On the way, Amon briefly pondered Sonia’s talent.
‘That recoil control…’
Her shooting skills were outstanding.
But separate from that, her recoil control was something that couldn’t be easily explained as a talent.
Countless candidates ran through Amon’s mind.
The special abilities that characters could choose from 1 to 3.
‘First of all, it’s not implants.’
Since she hadn’t undergone any procedures, those were ruled out.
Rune tattoos or inscriptions were also out of the question.
This wasn’t something external, but rather her innate talent.
If it was magic, there would have been signs, so that was also eliminated.
Following the process of elimination, the most likely candidate was divine power.
‘Come to think of it, there’s nothing else it could be.’
Amon himself couldn’t sense divine power.
In this world, only those who had received training could do that.
However, he had knowledge.
According to his knowledge, in this world setting, if something couldn’t be explained by either magic or science, then marking it as divine power was mostly the correct answer.
Got a bullet hole in your head but didn’t die and it healed on its own?
It’s because of divine power.
Trapped in a building with no way out, but a kiss is the only way to escape?
It’s because of divine power.
Someone died but there’s no indication of the culprit at all?
It’s because of divine power.
It might make Amon sound like a divine power evangelist, but this was a scientific fact separate from his faith.
For any unknown phenomena in this world that haven’t been explained yet, approaching it through divine power would work.
And contrary to the word “divine” making one think otherwise, the things that could be done with divine power were not at all sacred.
One could perform miracles like reviving people with sacred light, but the resources exploited by Entities also involved divine power.
Divine power could even suddenly turn a perfectly normal person into a deranged cannibal.
‘That’s why people these days call it “mystic power” instead of divine power.’
From the modern era onward, when religious authority had greatly diminished, the term “mystic power” was used instead of “divine power.”
In his previous life when his faith was weak, Amon had also used the game term “mystic power.”
But having directly witnessed the Goddess and received her grace, Amon’s heart was now filled with faith.
That’s why he stubbornly used the term “divine power” instead of “mystic power,” no matter how awkward it sounded.
‘Mystic power stems from divine power, after all.’
His train of thought ended there.
To return to the original topic,
Sonia’s recoil control was highly likely – no, it was certain – to be due to divine power.
No implant, magic, or genetic modification could achieve zero recoil.
It had to be divine power.
‘Divine power… could it be what the orphanage director mentioned?’
Moreover, it wasn’t like he had no inkling at all.
In the past, the director had hinted about it.
“Listen well. You two have a slightly special power compared to the other children. So if someone ever needs your power, you must carefully decide.”
When they asked specifically what it was, the only answer was that she would tell them when they were older.
At the time, neither Amon nor Sonia had any suspicions and simply listened, but looking back, he cautiously guessed that she might have been referring to divine power.
‘Come to think of it, the orphanage did suddenly receive a lot more donations after that day.’
If that was seen as companies trying to get on Amon and Sonia’s good side in advance through good publicity, then everything made sense.
The reason the director didn’t properly explain divine power also seemed somewhat understandable.
Considering the average moral character of companies and governments in this world… keeping it a secret was probably better for everyone’s sake.
‘Though she could have at least dropped a hint about divine power to me…’
Amon thought that, but he didn’t feel particularly resentful.
Frankly, unless he was a delusional patient, who would think a child, no matter how mature Amon seemed, was actually a reincarnator?
No matter how much the director cared for him, there was no reason to tell an elementary school brat something like that.
As Amon, he could understand the director’s choice.
‘Honestly, she’s already doing me a great kindness by feeding and housing an unrelated orphan.’
Any further doubting of her goodwill would be unbecoming of a human.
Finishing his thoughts about the director, Amon returned to the topic of his and Sonia’s divine power.
Recalling the Goddess’s gracious service, Amon felt excitement welling up again.
‘I wonder how my divine power will manifest.’
He was itching to confirm it right away.
Naturally, Amon’s pace quickened.
Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the archery dojo.
To cut to the conclusion, archery was not Amon’s talent either.
In fact, it was even more disastrous compared to guns.
“How is it even possible for my highest score to be just 1 point when I shot like that?”
“Don’t be too disappointed. My limit was only 2 points.”
Next to the grumbling Amon, Sonia tried to console him.
Both of them had performed far worse with bows compared to guns.
Saying they had performed worse would be an understatement – their talents were cursed.
The archery instructor had reassured them that it was normal for beginners, but seeing an elf child hitting at least 5 points on their first try right next to them proved it was a matter of talent.
‘Archery is not it.’
Amon struck through the archery entry on his list.
Beside him, Sonia looked at him with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
Amon found Sonia’s reaction puzzling.
Contrary to her worry, Amon had no reason to be disappointed.
There were still plenty of talent candidates left for him to test.
There were still many more dojos left to try.
Swordsmanship, spears, wires, thrown weapons, even hand-to-hand combat.
Even if he had no talent with weapons, so be it.
Perhaps he had a talent for hacking instead.
And even in the unlikely scenario where he had no talents at all, it didn’t matter.
He was confident he could still see the true ending in that situation.
‘I did complete the final boss using only a Dildo with all talent stats set to 0.’
If it really came down to it, he could just become an actor or something – there was no need to worry.
When Amon sincerely conveyed that he was fine, Sonia’s face also brightened.
The two let go of any lingering thoughts about the archery dojo and visited various other places.
And finally, at the very end, they discovered a reasonably good talent.
No, it wasn’t just reasonably good – it was quite an excellent talent.
The process of them discovering this talent was as follows:
The swordsmanship dojo offered basic swordsmanship lessons and sparring experiences to the public in commemoration of Thanksgiving.
Since it was the first time the two had handled swords, they started from the basics.
They learned the basic stances that could be considered the “three foundations” in martial arts novels, and only then were they put into sparring matches.
The incident occurred after that.
“Winner! Amon!”
The judge declared Amon’s victory.
The tip of Amon’s sword had stopped precisely in front of the student’s solar plexus.
A very clean thrust that had pierced through.
No one could object to Amon’s victory.
Not just Amon, but Sonia was also racking up consecutive wins against the students.
When they first started winning, the instructor had thought it was just a fluke.
But even when paired against higher-ranked trainees, the two kept winning streak after winning streak, forcing the instructor to acknowledge their talents.
‘The talents of those two are monstrous.’
The instructor evaluated Amon and Sonia’s talents respectively:
Amon was innately gifted with the talent to predict or guide the opponent’s sword through psychological warfare, while Sonia’s reflexes far surpassed human levels.
Most swordsmen possessed those kinds of talents to some degree, but theirs were overwhelmingly superior.
Especially, the instructor recalled that the two had not undergone any swordsmanship-related procedures.
‘They’re at this level with just their natural bodies… what kind of monsters would they become if they got procedures done?’
In this world where bullets and explosions flew around, wielding a sword naturally meant having undergone related specialized procedures.
That’s why the students at this dojo had all received various procedures to assist their swordsmanship.
Yet Amon and Sonia had defeated them with just their natural bodies and talents.
If the instructor couldn’t recognize their talents after witnessing that, he would have to resign as an instructor.
‘Those children must be brought in at all costs.’
Securing those two talented beauties in advance would have a promotional effect worth far more than just their tuition fees – it was an investment.
‘No, that’s just an excuse.’
Frankly, even if they didn’t become famous, it didn’t matter.
As a swordsman who had made his living with the sword his entire life, his pride was crying out that he had to nurture those two.
That’s why the instructor made them an unconventional offer.
“You two seem really talented. How about attending our dojo without paying tuition?”
The instructor seriously proposed to the two of them.
Beside Amon, Sonia jumped around excitedly, saying it was a great opportunity.
However, Amon pondered the offer with some hesitation.
‘Is this… right?’
Amon recalled the performance he and Sonia had put on at this dojo.
Even Amon himself was aware that defeating students who had undergone specialized procedures with just his natural body was abnormal.
Judging solely by that performance, it was undoubtedly a talent worthy of the instructor’s amazement.
The issue was that for Amon himself, it was ambiguous whether his case could be called a talent.
‘To call it a talent…’
He himself wasn’t sure.
And for good reason – his swordsmanship was nothing more than mimicry.
His swordsmanship was a physical manifestation of a big data lump created by combining the motion patterns of a few corrupt swordsmanship styles and countless boss patterns from the game.
Things like how to parry an overhead strike and which vital points to aim for,
How to evade an underhand strike and counter-attack.
That sort of thing.
So he responded well to familiar patterns, but struggled against unfamiliar ones.
That’s why Amon himself was uncertain whether to express it as a talent for swordsmanship, or just veteran knowledge cheating.
In other words, he couldn’t distinguish whether it was a talent for swords or simply the knowledge of a high-ranker.
After contemplation, Amon decided:
“I’ll do it.”
‘Eh, I don’t know. I’ll just figure it out as I go.’
If he had no talent, he would simply waste some money and drop out. If he did have talent, then great.
Since it didn’t cost any money anyway, Amon accepted the instructor’s offer.
After promising to attend the dojo on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week, they left the dojo.
Having roamed all over the city all day, fatigue was gradually setting in.
The sun was also setting, so they began heading back to the orphanage.
On the way, with the sunset at her back, Sonia said:
“It was a very fruitful day.”
“Not just fruitful, it was a blessed day.”
“Heheh. Thanks to you, I even discovered a talent. Thank you, Amon.”
Although unintentional, today’s harvest was truly bountiful for Sonia.
Not only did she discover her talent with guns, but she also obtained a forge voucher and even found a swordsmanship master.
It could be considered the best day for Sonia.
However, for Amon, it felt somewhat ambiguous.
This was because he had failed to definitively discover the talent he had set as his goal.
But he wasn’t particularly anxious about it.
‘Life isn’t just about today, after all.’
Amon intended to wrap up the day while looking forward to the next.
But before he could board the bus, Sonia suddenly called out to stop him.
“Want to try that one last thing over there?”
She pointed in the direction of an ongoing cosplay contest.
Amon briefly checked the time.
Even if they attended the contest until the end and then took transportation, they wouldn’t be late for the orphanage’s curfew.
‘Come to think of it, there was the talent for disguise too.’
This was also an opportunity to test his talent for disguise.
Amon readily accepted Sonia’s suggestion.
The two headed toward the contest venue.
Up until that point, Amon had no particular thoughts.
That is, until he heard the receptionist’s explanation.
“Huh!? A gender equality cosplay contest, you say?”
“Yes. Males dress as females, females dress as males. It’s a contest created with the purpose of understanding the other gender’s perspective.”
The receptionist’s sales smile was directed at Amon.
Sonia’s eyes sparkled, while
Amon pressed his hand against his forehead, feeling dizzy.