"You can't be serious!" The fat boy with short brown hair and eyes, Harrison Forgrave, shouted, completely hopeless at his former landlord.
"NOW YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT BEING SERIOUS!" The man cried in anger, the veins on his forehead almost exploding with how much stress he was currently feeling. "I TOLD YOU! Delay a payment and you will be evicted! And now you want to talk about seriousness! HAHAHA!"
A few individuals came from the door of four stores building, carrying a box, and threw it on the ground.
"That's all mister Jonathan! We made sure to clean all the trash this... waste of an individual left on the apartment."
"Good, I'll give you an extra for your good work!" The man smiled at the two men that helped him. "As for you, begone Forgrave, you have no rights here!"
Clenching his teeth, Harrison could only watch as the landlord and the others left him alone with his box containing all his belongings. He wanted so much to punch this bastard in the mouth... But he can't.
Unlike the vast majority of the world, he was a normie, he had no real intrinsic power, he would only be a meat bag thrown at the jaws of a tiger if he dared raise his hands.
Sighing, he picked up his box and walked aimlessly, it was clear now that he would be forced to live in the dorms of the university, for as much as he wanted to do something about it, he just did not have the means to get a useful job, anything he could arrange would pay even less than the monthly income of a mere hunter.
He wondered if anyone there would allow him to stay... The director did say that he could search for him if he needed help but... He knew very well how much prejudice there was against his kind, would there be such a gentle soul willing to having him as a companion in the university now that a year had passed?
He shook his head and focused on his current situation. Without a job, he could only count on his miserable allowance offered by the government of 200 Euros.
If he used it wisely, it should be enough for him not to starve.
As he walked through the busy streets of London, he couldn't help but stop and stare at the fountain in the middle of the neighborhood. It was a relic of a long and forgotten past, from a time when humans were beings without supernatural powers.
It was made out of stone and it had a statue of an angelical being holding a harp. It was interesting, to say the least, if he wasn't mistaken, there was a tradition at the time where one would throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish.
"Well... It's not like I'll lose something..." He reached the pocket of his suit and took out a bronze coin. "If there is an almighty being hearing, please, give me something to help me in this life..."
He threw the coin and watched as it fell in the pool of water, he waited for a few minutes but nothing happened. Sighing he left, it seems that he could only rely on himself.
...
London university was one of the best in the European continent, however, even then, it wasn't easy for a person like him, because he couldn't cultivate, remembering the subjects as clear as the others was a hard thing. Because of this, his performance was always on the lower side.
But that didn't affect him that much, after years in such a situation he got used to it, or to be more precise, he got complacent.
However, he still had his own talents, a good eye to notice when something wasn't right, and it didn't take much effort to notice how there was a heavy atmosphere hovering over the university today.
He was about to enter the dorm when something weird happened. When he touched the doorknob, a voice whispered in his ears!
[Your first mission is here child! The students shiver with fear and no one can say exactly why, discover the reason and you'll be rewarded!]
"What!?" He turned back to see if there was someone behind him but... there was no one! "Am I hearing things!?"
[Don't be silly! Didn't you ask for a tool to help you in this life? My creator heard your pleas for help and decided to give me to you! Congratulations Harrison Forgrave, you are now the owner of the Great Detective System!]
Hearing those words, he felt his back getting cold and his legs losing strength. Could he really be so lucky? Why would a being capable of such a thing hear his words? And more importantly, why a detective system!?
[Good! It seems that Creator was right about you! Even without any perks you already have the mind to ask questions and search for clues! Now off you go, the longer it takes for you to solve the mystery the more time it will take for you to start your training in the supernatural arts.]
Trembling he nodded to the mysterious voice and hurried inside the dorm. At the reception desk, there was only an old woman wearing a social and professional dress.
"Miss Eleanor, I see you are as beautiful as I remember!" Harrison smiled at the old woman.
"Forgrave... sigh... just when I thought this couldn't get worse..."
Hearing the way the old woman pronounced his surname he felt slightly humiliated, why was she putting the blame on him when the students were the ones that always picked on him! It wasn't his fault that he was weak.
"Cough... Is there any room vacant-"
"No." She interrupted Harrison and answered rapidly and decisively.
Harrison could only blink and stare at her without knowing what to say, but she solved this problem for him.
"Get lost! I don't want you causing problems around!"
Harrison opened his mouth, he wanted to say something but the words never left his mouth. In the end, he simply grabbed his belongings and was about to leave when a girl appeared out of nowhere in front of him, making him flinch and jump back like a scared cat.
The girl with violet eyes and long hair of the same color completely ignored the boy and looked at the woman on the reception desk with a frown on her face.
"You old hag! When are you going to solve my problem? Do you really wish to see this university becoming a pile of debris!?"
The old woman backed away, sweat poured down her face as she gulped trying to think of a solution.
"Young miss Windsor, I... I..."
"You what? Say it, old hag! I don't have the whole day to hear your nonsense!"
The old woman trembled and shrunk on her chair, her eyes swept the place until she noticed Harrison who was leaving the dorm in heavy steps.
"Him!" She pointed to Harrison making the girl turn to look at him.
"Him, what?" The girl asked.
"Eh... he... he is a particular detective! I'm sure he can solve the mystery!"
"What!?" Both the girl and Harrison exclaimed at the same time.
However, before Harrison could react, the girl seemed to have teleported to his side, and before he could say anything, he suddenly found himself flying through the stairs while being held by his clothes as the girl ran at lightspeed towards somewhere!
She opened the door to her bedroom and threw him inside, making him fall face down on the soft carpet on the floor.
Breathing heavily Harrison, used all the strength he could muster to seat on the floor, his head was spinning after traveling through such violent means...
Looking around, he realized that he was in an extremely well-kept room, he could bet all the money he had ever seen in his life, that there was not a single speck of dust.
The decor itself had a very obvious Victorian style and it took just a second to realize that everything seemed to be of VIP quality, it is likely that this room where he currently finds himself in, is more expensive than the house of his parents...
"Mister...?"
"Uh?" Harrison turned to look at his back and noticed the girl looking at him with a cold glance that sent shivers down his spine. "Y-you can call me Harrison, there is no need for formalities..."
"Mister Harrison." She put emphasis on the word mister, making Harrison sigh on his mind. "Let's not waste time with unnecessary chitchat. I want you to discover what happened to my sword."
"But-"
"No buts! I want results, not excuses! Do what I ask and you can ask for any reward you wish, fail and you can forget about having any future in this country. You have a day's time to find out what happened to my treasured sword, if you have any questions for me, ask then now, otherwise don't just stand there, go do something."
Harrison could only laugh helplessly, this girl is way too... passionate. That was the only word he could find to describe her, even against his better judgement, he couldn't help but have some prejudice about the girl.
Her behavior, belongings, and way of speaking made him compare her with a pampered princess that always had anything she desired. He truly wondered where did she come from, he was pretty sure that there was no such person at the university last year.
But he now had an even worse problem in his hand, no matter what, her words and actions did not give him any room to doubt her words! She truly seemed to be a person capable of wreaking havoc in this university and destroying his future. However, what should he do? He wasn't a detective! He didn't know where or how to start!
As anxiousness got hold of his mind, the world around him seemed to freeze.
[Congratulations! You finished the first part of your mission! You've been given the 'mind castle' and 'enhanced perception', whenever you need you can use one of them to enter a state where the flow of time practically ceases its movements in order to analyze your situation, your options, and review the information you managed to gather.]
A screen appeared in front of him.
[We all have an IQ above 10 so I won't explain the functions of the system, you'll have to discover and explore them on your own, besides, I'm pretty sure you'll find most of its mechanics rather familiar.]
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Strength bonus: 0
Intelligence bonus: 0
Agility bonus: 0
Perception bonus: 0
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Detective tree: 0
Diplomat tree: 0
Erudition tree: 0
General tree: 0
Points to allocate: 0
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A princess plea for help!
Clues found: 0
Suspects: none
Ranking: -
Conclusion: -
Truth: ???
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