30: Chapter 30: Detective Rank Up

"Oh?" Director Ochiai looked surprised by Sonoko's suggestion. He turned to her.

"Is she reliable?"

"Of course!" Sonoko puffed out her chest proudly.

"Ran's mom is the undefeated queen of the legal world, Eri Kisaki!"

"If that's the case..." Director Ochiai bowed deeply towards Ran.

"Miss Mouri, I would be eternally grateful if you could help me contact this esteemed lawyer!"

"Director Ochiai..." Ran looked hesitant, clearly feeling sorry for the old man.

She eventually gave him her mother's contact information.

"I don't know if it will work, but if anyone can help, it's my mom..."

"Thank you so much!"

And just like that, the Art Museum case was resolved.

At least, as far as Fujino was concerned.

He'd done what he could, arguably more than necessary.

Honestly, if it hadn't been for Ochiai being an old man in a tough spot, Fujino might have leveraged the situation for a hefty fee...

Still, he hadn't come out empty-handed.

Completing the task netted him 500,000 yen and, more importantly, a Purple Random Profession Upgrade Ticket.

Purple items were potentially worth millions!

After dropping Ran and Sonoko home, Fujino returned to his apartment.

Stepping out onto the balcony, he lit a cigarette and opened his system interface:

[Congratulations Host! Art Museum Mystery Murder Case complete. Option 1 achieved.]

[500,000 Yen Bounty and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠+50 Detective Reputation awarded.]

[Random Profession Upgrade Ticket (Purple) added to inventory.]

[Detective Rank Up: Basic 2-Star!]

[Congratulations Host! New Detective Class Skill Acquired: Detective Aura!]

"Detective Aura?" Fujino took a drag from his cigarette, puzzled by the new skill gained from ranking up his Detective class. He opened the profession screen curiously:

[Name: Fujino]

[Current Classes:]

Primary: Detective (Rank: Basic, 2-Star)

(400 Reputation needed for next Rank Up)

Skills:

Professional Focus

Zone of Concentration (Basic - Upgradable)

Detective Enhancement (Boost - Basic 1-Star: +120% Physical Ability; Duration - Basic 1-Star: 2 mins - Upgradable)

Detective Aura (Basic): (New! When actively detecting/deducing, automatically exert pressure on suspects, reducing their combat effectiveness by 10%. Pressure level varies based on situation.)

Available Skill Points: 1

Sub-Classes:

Student (Intermediate - 50 Proficiency to next Rank)

Swordsman (Intermediate - 500 Proficiency to next Rank)

Bomb Expert (Basic - 100 Proficiency to next Rank)

[Current Funds: 2,052,000 Yen...]

"So, it's basically a debuff aura... like a taunt?"

Based on the description, it seemed like a passive skill that weakened opponents during investigations.

Combat power in the Conan-verse is a mystery anyway.

People could be impossibly strong one moment and ridiculously weak the next – strong enough to kick satellites, weak enough to get beaten by an old man with a golf club.

Fujino suspected 'aura' or 'presence' played a bigger role than raw stats, like a built-in protagonist buff.

"This is actually a pretty good skill..." he mused aloud.

He then opened his system inventory. It was starting to get cluttered with various items from the orb pulls. Among them, the Purple Random Profession Upgrade Ticket stood out.

Fujino selected it and confirmed its use.

[Random Upgrade Ticket used.]

[Bomb Expert Profession Rank Up! Current Rank: Intermediate!]

[Congratulations Host! New Bomb Expert Class Skill Acquired: Desperado Genius!]

[Bomb Expert (Rank: Intermediate)]

(200 Proficiency needed for next Rank Up)

Skills:

Defusal Expert (Intermediate: +20% Success Rate - Upgradable)

Bomb Crafting Expert (Basic: +10% Success Rate - Upgradable)

Desperado Genius (Basic): (New! Briefly pause bomb detonation timer when near explosion, providing reaction time. Current Pause Duration: 5 seconds.)

Available Skill Points: 1

"It upgraded Bomb Expert?" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fujino sighed, slightly disappointed.

"Feels like kind of a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waste... Would have been much better if it upgraded the Detective class..."

Shaking off the minor setback, he allocated the new skill points from the Detective and Bomb Expert rank-ups.

[Defusal Expert (Intermediate 1-Star): Bomb Defusal Success Rate increased to 20%)] (Used Bomb Expert Point)

[Detective Enhancement (Boost - Basic 1-Star): Physical Ability boost increased to 120%)] (Used Detective Point)

He chose to boost the power of Detective Enhancement rather than its duration this time. His base combat ability still felt lacking. Even stacked with buffs reaching C-rank, it didn't feel quite enough...

Putting that aside, Fujino turned his attention back to the Profession Orb shop. With over two million yen, the gacha itch returned. He spent 900,000 yen (90k per pull thanks to the 10% discount!) on another ten-pull.

[Congratulations Host! Rewards Acquired:

Strength Boost Card... Physique Enhancement Fruit (Purple),

Small Pocket Dimension (0.5x0.5x0.5m) (Gold Rarity)!]

"Holy Crap!" Fujino stared at the system notification, blinking rapidly. He pinched his arm hard. Pain shot through his nerves. Okay, not dreaming. He'd actually pulled a GOLD item!

[Small Pocket Dimension: Allows storage of items. Current Size: 0.5x0.5x0.5m. Note: Upgradable. Next upgrade cost: 1,500,000 Yen.]

A pocket dimension! Fujino wasn't unfamiliar with the concept – standard issue for many transmigrators.

But 1.5 million yen just to upgrade the tiny starting size? That's highway robbery!

He then examined the other notable item.

[Physique Enhancement Fruit (Purple):

Permanently enhances the user's physical constitution to a certain degree.]

"A Purple item, Physique Enhancement Fruit?" Fujino materialized the small, berry-like fruit.

After a moment's hesitation, he popped the thumb-sized fruit into his mouth and swallowed.

A warm current immediately spread throughout his entire body.

"Whoa, Purple items are no joke!" ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fujino exclaimed, feeling the tangible changes.

"This is amazing!"

He felt stronger, more resilient.

Even the lingering effects of his recent cold seemed to lessen significantly.

Modern medicine couldn't fix the underlying weakness from that illness... Leave it to the non-scientific, non-Conan-logical mystery system.

"Wait, if my physique is enhanced... does that mean my combat power increased too?"

Eagerly, Fujino activated Detective Enhancement.

Instantly, he felt a surge of power far exceeding what he'd felt before.

The sense of strength was palpable, reaching a level he hadn't thought possible just moments ago.

One-minute real man! Now, he felt confident he could actually go toe-to-toe with someone like Sato Miwako for that full duration!

"Ding! Host has reached Detective Rank: Basic 2-Star. Detective Bounty Mission issued!"

The system prompt interrupted his power trip.

"Bounty Mission?" Fujino raised an eyebrow, opening the task interface.

[Detective Bounty Mission: Apprehend Numabuchi Kiichiro]

Objective: Arrest Numabuchi Kiichiro.

Location: Kyoto (System marker provided)

Time Limit:3 Days

Reward:2,000,000 Yen Bounty, +100 Detective Reputation, Random Equipment Pack

"Numabuchi Kiichiro?" Fujino frowned, searching his memory.

"I remember him... a dangerous fugitive who escaped from the Black Organization..."

His mind raced. Could this be...?