Chapter 29: Who are you?

(Dante POV)

After spending a few minutes conversing with the other members, I bid them farewell and resumed my online search to check out the events that transpired over the past four days while I was at Academic City.

"A rise in crime rate, huh? Well, it's a given. Not counting the criminals who gained abilities, normal humans who had given up on living are enjoying the last year of their lives." As I muttered such things, I continued scrolling until I found an interesting article.

The article was about people who flexed their abilities and descriptions online.

"Quite a dumb choice, if people know their abilities it would be bad for them in the long run." With a click of my tongue, I opened the article.

The people who posted their abilities were sorted based on the rarity of their skills, which made me drag the scroll bar to the very bottom as I was curious about the most busted abilities and who had them.

'Number 1, Jeff Bezos with the Epic Ability called Amazon Marketplace.' With confusion, I read the wall of text that describes his ability.

"Holly cow! An ability like the Auction Houses or Central Markets on RPG games!" I exclaimed.

Although the ability lacks offensive or defensive capabilities, it allows for the creation of a global system enabling people to buy and sell products.

The only downside is a 10% transaction tax paid to Jeff.

Despite this, it will be a lifesaver in the long run as when the Cataclysm starts, long-distance trading would probably be impossible.

"Amazon Marketplace," I muttered the activation keyword which was the Ability name.

After clicking the familiar (?) button, I read the wall of text.

"After depositing currency, the user will receive credits, which can then be used to make purchases from sellers. If the user plans to sell something, the system will automatically deduct a 10% tax when the item is bought. To retrieve and deposit items, you simply need to have contact with the item while the Amazon Market is active and think about depositing or retrieving it. Yep, this shit is really like an RPG-based market, really useful." As I closed the Amazon Market, I continued scrolling through the article.

"Mark Zuckerberg's Epic Ability, Metaverse, is a Domain Type ability. By designating a specific area as his domain, the world within that space becomes digitalized, granting him god-like control over it. This is kind of strong unless someone has an Epic skill, Zuccs domain is a safe place." I muttered.

'Elon Musk's epic ability, Twitter XYZ, functions similarly to his platform. Like Amazon Marketplace, users can activate it by saying the ability's name.' As I read through the article, my mind wandered.

"No wonder they are comfortable sharing their abilities. Zucc is practically a god within his domain, while Jeff and Elon's abilities naturally need to be known by the public. I have to admit, as long as Jeff and Elon survive, humanity will still have conveniences like online shopping and social media. Still, it's astonishing how they obtained such abilities. Does this mean awakening a Skill or Ability has something to do with what you did before God gave everyone the Identity Panel?" As I was about to close the article, having seen no more Epic Abilities, I stopped when I noticed the name of the number one Rare Skill holder.

"Donald Trump's Rare Skill, The Wall. An ability to create walls by consuming stamina. Seriously, bro? This guy likes his walls that much, huh? It even manifested as a Skill." With a chuckle, I closed the Article.

"If Zucc, Elon, Jeff, and Trump were to cooperate to create a safe haven, Americans would have a godly place. This reminds me that I can't simply become stronger; I need to establish a base area. Where should I go?" As my thoughts wandered, a ringing from my phone snapped me out of contemplation.

Picking up my phone, I noticed the caller was my step-sister, Mari.

Unequipping my Gojo skin, I returned to normal before pressing the answer button.

"Yo!" I said jovially.

"Yo?! Yo?! What do you mean, Yo?! Stupid Onii-chan. Why haven't you answered my calls and messages?!" As the words were laced with irritation, I couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

"Welp, something came up. I mean, you know all that shit about the Cataclysm yeah? And some people awakened random stuff. You see, I, the great Dante, the Honored One, awakened such an awesome Ability. I was out for my training arc and forgot to bring the phone. I just got back right now." With a little bit of narcissism, I answered the angery wamen behind the screen.

"Yeah, sure, sure. I believe in you." With a dismissive tone, Mari replied.

"Meh, doesn't matter if you believe me or not. I the Honored One is all forgiving, I pardon you of your sins. So yeah, why are you even calling me?" With curiosity, I asked my step-sister.

"Well, you know that I am working at a company in Minato, Tokyo yeah? You see, I am actually working for a Vtuber company named Hololive. The CEO awakened a really strong ability you see, but it only works on us talents, like yours truly. Long story short, Yagoo-san is setting up some sort of safe haven for his talents and our families to hunker down in preparation for the Cataclysm." As Mari continued speaking, I was shocked to learn that my step-sister was a Vtuber.

"Before you continue explaining, I want to ask one thing," I said with all seriousness.

"Eh? Sure. What is it?" A little confused with my sudden serious tone, Mari replied.

"Who are you? I mean your Vtubing persona?" With a heavy tone, I asked.

'Please tell me she is not my Oshi. Just don't be Suisei or Chloe and we fine.' With such thoughts, I waited for her answer.

"Eh? Do you watch Vtubers, Onii-chan? Oya, oya. Don't tell me this is a Moona and her brother situation. Hehehehe." With a teasing tone, she replied.

"Just answer for god's sake." With a slightly defeated tone, I prayed.

I then heard my step-sister cough a few times before she replied, "Yo Da Yo~ It's Ayame-chan Da Yo~"

"Oh, it's just you. Aight, carry on with your explanation." With a dismissive tone, I replied.