Chapter 369
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 369
Chapter Title: S7. Fixer of Omelas - 0
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Session delivery service!"
"Wh-what?!"
Crash!
Finn jumped in shock at the sudden appearance of the mad wizard crashing through the window, hurling his peanut butter toast away as he scrambled to his feet.
Splat. By the mysterious laws of magic, the buttered side hit the floor.
"Heh heh... You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment."
"No, why are you here again?! Why do you keep showing up?!"
Shh shh shh!
The two faced off with the table between them. As the black-haired intruder crept closer with a rustling sound, Finn circled away in the opposite direction to keep the distance.
Even as he dodged on pure instinct, his mind was a whirlwind of chaos. Finn knew who this man was. He knew getting tangled up with him always meant trouble!
A walking disaster. The pinnacle of illusion magic. The shadowy figure who had forcibly thrust him into the hero's role. The Mad Wizard.
Why was he here this time? To dump another job on him like last time? Or to saddle him with some overwhelming position he couldn't handle?
Watching Finn's wary expression, the Mad Wizard chuckled.
"Didn't you call for me?"
"...Pardon?!"
"You said you needed power. Even volunteered the request yourself. I rushed over the moment I heard. Leave it to me, Hero Finn. I'll make it so you can even do illegal jumps."
"I-I did say that, but I told Saint Bennett!"
Right. He had made the request.
After the chaos with the evil dragon fragment, Finn had wondered: What if there hadn't been a safety mechanism on that shard? Something terrible could have happened to the little pope.
Until now, he'd thought it was fine with all the holy knights, priests, and the shadow hero Bennett around. But look—even a mere evil dragon fragment had broken through them all.
The evil god. The holy city and the goddess church had faced... such a dangerous existence.
So even a worthless adventurer like him had to get stronger, somehow contribute even a little.
He couldn't just leave it to others and pray. Compared to those shining geniuses from myths, his light might be just a firefly's glow.
But if that effort bought even one second to protect the little pope...
She'd spent her life tormented by those damn cardinals, and now she was finally discovering normal happiness. He couldn't let storm clouds gather over her future again.
So he'd asked Bennett for a way to get stronger quickly. But why had the Mad Wizard popped up here?
"Bravo."
The Mad Wizard gave a standing ovation, moved. He'd read Finn's innermost thoughts from the subtle shifts in his expression. What a commendable young man.
His red eyes gleaming, he declared:
"You can get stronger. Of course, Hero Finn, your talents are E-rank. No great mana sensitivity, no sharp instincts either. Until you pierce the myth barrier... you'll lag behind the talented ones."
"...Ugh."
"What we need is short-term power boost. There's the plan to shatter your soul with agony and trials to awaken your mythos. But you don't need that. Because you're the hero. Just use the hero's power."
"...I don't have a holy sword. I can't wield divine power. What power is there in this empty hero title?"
Snapping his fingers, the Mad Wizard replied instantly.
"The 35 free perks the goddess granted you."
"...Huh?"
Yeah, Finn had claimed free perks from the goddess before. But they were all trivial daily things, or complicated to explain, tricky to operate, or functions he couldn't even understand.
Of them, he only actively used two: the daily weather forecast from the goddess, and the power that showed crop growth percentages.
With that, he could pick clear nights to stargaze with the pope.
Hearing this, the Mad Wizard burst out laughing.
"Perks are functions—and combinations of functions. Weather prediction alone requires insane computational power. Crop growth insight demands razor-sharp perception."
"I suppose when you put it that way."
"What if we extract just the needed parts and use them in battle? I can make that happen. Simple."
"Wait, hold on. That's..."
It was like disassembling the grandmother clock the goddess gifted him piece by piece, then reassembling it into a crossbow to shoot around.
...Wouldn't that incur divine punishment?
The Mad Wizard addressed his concern:
"Hahaha! Then the goddess should've made it unbreakable. We're just thriftily using her gift. If she has any conscience, she'll let it slide. I noticed when I hacked it last time—the structure's surprisingly sloppy—Ow!"
Clang!
A pot unnaturaly tumbled from the cupboard, smacking the Mad Wizard square on the head. Divine power laced the blow, making a refreshingly clear sound.
The Mad Wizard clutched his head, groaning for a full three minutes under the stern divine retribution.
The goddess's pot attack was practically permission. No perks were revoked or divine power bans issued while disassembling and reassembling Hero Finn's 'free perks.'
She'd just smacked him because he was annoying.
Maybe it was a sign of familiarity. She might be pleased he was plotting to bash the black dragon's—her nemesis's—head good and proper.
Anyway.
Hero Finn hadn't even achieved the three elements of fullness-attunement-response, so measuring his mythos angle would take time. Skip that.
As mentioned, teaching him to thriftily use the goddess's perks was best. Let's think specifically.
The goddess resembled machinery, so her perks were modular gadgets. I needed to familiarize Hero Finn with them and teach synergies through application.
But her powers leaned modern, not fantasy. Less mana manipulation tricks, more computational thinking.
That's where I spotted the cyberpunk angle.
Mechanical power from trivial functions? Just like implants, cyberware, gear—body augmentation modules.
I'd send Hero Finn through a cyberpunk world for a solid tutorial. It'd help him grasp the goddess's structure too.
"...So, you're sending me to experience another world."
"Exactly! Super safely too. Even if you die, you won't—you'll return here. Like Bennett did."
"......"
"That world has hyper-advanced science, cold as money flowing through veins instead of blood. But... there, you'll master 100% of the goddess's perks."
Finn listened tensely, hesitating. Understandable—for a session newbie, it's like heading to a distant land.
He stared at the floor in silence for ages, then finally asked:
"If I go there, can I really get stronger?"
"Yes. More than you think—the goddess's 'favor' to you is powerful. Master the perks... and you'll hold your own against mythos awakeners."
"...Alright, I'll do it."
The young man's eyes shone with duty-bound resolve. I smiled, satisfied. Hero Finn's session participation was set.
It's nice naming someone worthy. Now I can finally remember his name right.
No time to waste. No need to drag him to my academy lab. I had the data packs ready, and above all—Dragon Heart!
Aww, so pretty.
I drew the magic circle, channeled mana. Reassembled prepared data into a neon-lit city of greed. Even populated it with walking people.
The lights dazzled, yet the fog of the heart lingered. Neon dazzles the eyelids but doesn't pierce the soul's window.
......
Alright, Finn.
I invite you to Omelas, the fictional megacity of the year 2120.
Blink.
You.
You've never been enveloped in such radiant lights in your life. Red, blue, yellow—colors swirl everywhere. The space buzzes with noise.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Booming music louder than heartbeats, people shaking wildly, clinking glasses, laughter.
"...Wh-what is this? What?!"
You can't help but panic. You just opened your eyes here out of nowhere.
Looking around calmly only dizzies you more. Men and women alike are nearly naked. Skin-tight miniskirts, sheer mesh tops showing everything.
This was more shocking than Saint Tara's heyday outfits. Nowhere safe to look—visual shocks everywhere.
This was the Harmony Club, third largest in Omelas.
"First... I gotta get out...!"
Get out. Your reason and instincts agree. You move, avoiding touching others as much as possible, but it doesn't go smoothly.
You feel various sensations unavoidably. No choice—too many people.
"S-sorry. Sorry, ladies..."
The women giggle at your mutter. Your face flushes, head spins.
"Aw, bro. First time here? Cute."
"Have a drink. Cheap booze even. Might have methanol—could go blind tomorrow, but just get cyber eyes. Right?"
You drift through the crowd.
No clue where the exit is or how to escape. You just keep walking forward.
Then a blue window appears in your vision.
How do I use it?
The thought triggers instructions replaying in your mind. Strange, alien sensation—like flipping a switch inside your head.
Click.
Flash. The area scans instantly, people's outlines glowing in colors, movement paths marked with arrows.
Dizzying, info overload. You try using it calmly, but it feels like first sword lesson—head hurts, no clue what to do.
Then.
A woman in bizarre clothes grabs your hand, leads you. Tight black leather, mesh stockings, bunny ears. What they call a bunny girl outfit.
Like following the rabbit in Wonderland, you barely make it out the club back door to the emergency stairs.
Clunk. Door opens, cool wind blows. You lean on the third-floor railing, panting.
"...Hah, huff..."
"Pulled you out 'cause you looked panicked. Shouldn't have meddled?"
"N-no... Thank you. You saved me."
From her chest name tag, you read 'Mary'. Bunny Girl Mary advises you.
"Can't handle it? Don't come back. That deer-in-headlights look—you'll get robbed blind and sold off."
"Y-yes..."
She giggles and heads back inside.
You catch your breath, calming your rattled mind. This world—truly alien, felt in your bones.
The cityscape now in your eyes too—like stars plucked from the sky and strewn on earth.
What to do here? You ponder the vast question briefly.
Gurgle.
"......"
Your stomach clock gives the friendly answer.
What else? Survive.
Two weeks passed like that.
Finn washed dishes for wages that got skimmed, begged on streets chased by cops, learned to use the Goddess Modules in real scenarios bit by bit.
He figured out the 'clear condition' too.
"...Paid service, huh."
Probably, hustling for cash would naturally tangle him in events, raising Goddess Module proficiency—the Mad Wizard's intent.
He ended up renting a room cheap at 'Drunken Mama's' motel. In this murderously expensive city, how? He'd helped her when thugs were robbing her blind.
"Thief! Help!"
"...!!"
That connection scored the bargain room.
Now he got the vibe of Omelas. Money buys anything. Full of bastards. Still, people live here.
Lots of flaws, but plenty good too. Especially the entertainment abundance.
With pocket change, he bought magazines of 'that' sort. Kept the 'Bunny Girl Special September Issue' under his bed.
Pondering jobs, he started as a fixer—fancy for errand boy. Find lost cats, etc.
Living solo was freeing. Before, with the little pope, he'd sacrificed bits of his life.
But often... no, frequently, he missed her. Was she okay? What if she looked for him? Or forgot him?
Time for high-paying gigs.
Mulling that, smoking cheap cigs in his motel room, watching sleazy variety TV.
Knock knock.
Annoying visitor, Finn scowled, opened the door.
"No papers. No subscription. No drugs. And—"
"Finn! Missed you! Wow, you've grown a beard."
"...Little Pope?!"
There she stood.
Forget why or how—instead, his mind flashed to his slovenly state. Cig in hand. Lewd TV blaring.
Hide it.
Can't let the kid see this.
"W-wait five—no, one minute...!"
Finn began the fastest room cleanup of his life.