Chapter 13: Detective Enhancement

After returning home, to celebrate earning his first big payout, Fujino opened up a bottle of his treasured whiskey and drank it.

Although he was underage, drinking at home wasn't exactly illegal, right?

To be honest, expecting someone like him—an adult from China who had transmigrated—to obey the laws of Japan…

It was just too frustrating.

…

Standing in front of the mirror, Fujino turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face, hoping to sober up a bit.

But that dizzy, spinning feeling from being drunk still lingered in his head.

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have drunk so much…"

Fujino grumbled softly and then flopped onto the bed.

[Congratulations, Host, for completing the Bloodstained Idol Murder Case. You've earned 50 Detective Reputation points.]

[System bounty has been issued.]

[Detective level up: Beginner ★★ (One Star).]

[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring the Detective Profession Skill: Detective Enhancement.]

[Congratulations, Host, on completing the Student Profession Task. You've earned 50 Student Proficiency points.]

[Student profession reward has been issued.]

[Student profession advanced: Intermediate.]

[Congratulations, Host, on acquiring the Student Profession Skill: Natural Genius.]

Suddenly, a flurry of system notifications echoed in Fujino's ears.

"Detective Enhancement? Natural Genius?"

Fujino murmured in confusion, slowly sitting up and opening his system interface:

[Name: Fujino]

[Current Professions:]

Main Profession - Detective: Beginner ★★ (200 Reputation points required for next rank)

Profession Skills:

· Full-time Detective (Receive extra bounty and reputation when solving cases or completing commissions)

· Detective's Time (Beginner: For one minute, no one can interrupt your deductions. Upgradable.)

Detective Enhancement: (Beginner: Temporarily boosts Host's physical abilities by 100%. Upgradable.)

(Time Beginner: Duration one minute. Upgradable.)

Available Points to Allocate: 1

Sub Profession - Student: Intermediate (200 Proficiency points required for next rank)

Profession Skills:

· Student Discount (Beginner: 5% discount on all system features. Upgradable.)

· Natural Genius (Beginner: Boosts Host's learning ability by 100%. Upgradable.)

Available Points to Allocate: 1

Current Balance: ¥1,652,000 (Enough for 17 Profession Balls draws)

"This is a jackpot."

Standing by the balcony, Fujino looked at his system account balance, feeling genuinely pleased.

The 500,000 yen from the Haunted House case, 1 million from the Bloodstained Idol case, and another 100,000 from becoming sworn brothers with Kogoro Mouri—right now, he had a total of over 1.6 million yen!

Enough for seventeen skill draws.

Fujino was just about to exchange all seventeen draws, but after pausing for a moment, he lowered his hand.

Seventeen draws… if he used them all now, they'd be gone.

As a certified unlucky guy, Fujino didn't believe in the miracle of lucky single pulls.

Better to wait until Ikezawa Yuko's money came through, and then do a ten-pull.

He only drew in tens!

Clearing his thoughts, Fujino shifted his focus to the newly acquired skills.

"Based on the description, this is basically like a permanent version of those temporary stat-boost cards."

Looking at the description of Detective Enhancement, Fujino murmured, "I have to say, this kind of one-minute Superman skill is exactly what I need right now."

The body of the original Fujino was way too frail. Even catching a cold might've been fatal.

In the world of Conan logic, even being a detective required you to excel in body, mind, and spirit.

Not every murderer breaks down crying when exposed—most would rather go berserk and take out two bystanders along the way.

Subduing suspects had essentially become part of a detective's job.

As for the police…

Forget about them. They were hopeless.

"With Detective Enhancement, I finally have a card I can rely on to save my life."

Afterward, Fujino's gaze shifted to the Genius skill.

"This skill… the system description is pretty vague. But since it's a student skill, I'll probably find out its use once I'm back in school."

Collecting his thoughts, Fujino focused his gaze on the upgrade prompt behind Detective Enhance .

After leveling up his profession, he would receive corresponding upgrade points.

The points could be used to enhance the skills of that profession.

With a thought, Fujino assigned all his available points.

[Detective Enhancement (Detective Time: Beginner 1-Star — Enhancement lasts for two minutes)]

As for Detective Time, it didn't matter if he didn't upgrade it for now since he didn't have any extra points anyway.

After all, if he beat the culprit until they couldn't resist anymore and then deduced the case, wouldn't that have the same effect?

Pausing for a moment, he then allocated his Student skill points to Student Discount.

[Student Discount (Intermediate: Enjoy a 5% discount both within the system and in the real world!)]

Does it work in real life too?

Fujino muttered in confusion.

If the system's description was correct, it meant that from now on, he could enjoy a 5% discount not just in the system but also in the real world.

Which meant he could save even more money in the future...

This was practically an overpowered skill!

———

The next morning, without even having time to wash up, Fujino, still slightly hungover, hurriedly threw on the same suit he hadn't changed out of since yesterday and rushed to school.

By the time he arrived, he was already late.

And then he got called into the office by Hiratsuka Shizuka.

"Alright, let's hear it... why were you late?"

Hiratsuka sat in her chair with a cigarette in her mouth, looking at Fujino with suspicion in her eyes.

"If I said I overslept, would you believe me?"

"Do you think I'm going to believe someone who not only forgot to change clothes early in the morning but also reeks of alcohol when they say they overslept?"

Hiratsuka sized him up, frowning slightly, her tone tinged with suppressed anger.

"What smell of alcohol?"

Fujino played dumb. "You must be imagining things... yes."

"You little—"

Hiratsuka held her head in frustration, then suddenly grabbed a newspaper from the desk and shoved it in Fujino's face.

"Our great detective just cracked a case last night, and now you show up to school reeking of booze the next morning. Do you think I'm that easy to fool?"

[High School Detective Fujino Toji Cracks Major Case — The Culprit Turns Out to Be the Victim Themselves…]

"Uh... this..."

Fujino stared blankly at the article, dazed for a moment. Sure enough, seeing the name "Fujino Toji" still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

But seriously, were newspapers in the Conan universe this efficient? Was a case from last night already published this morning?

Something wasn't right... How did those damn reporters find out all these details?

"Ahem."

Fujino's mouth twitched involuntarily. "Well... let me explain…"

"Forget it. I suppose being in a good mood after making the papers isn't entirely unreasonable."

Hiratsuka waved her hand and sighed. "Anyway, just don't let me catch you next time."

"Understood."

Fujino couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh, right. Make sure you try this uniform on in the changing room later."

At that moment, Hiratsuka suddenly pulled a bag out from under her desk and handed it to Fujino. "This is an old uniform I got from one of the graduating seniors. It may be secondhand, but it's still in great condition. Before your new uniform arrives, just make do with this one for now."

"Uh... this..."

Fujino took the uniform in his hands, countless thoughts swirling in his mind.

"What? Don't like that it's used?"

"Not at all."

Fujino shook his head and gave a faint smile. "Thank you, Hiratsuka-sensei."

(End of Chapter