"Congratulations, host! You've rescued a woman from a robbery. Task progress: 2/3."
"Congratulations, host! You've solved a murder case. Task complete, rewards are now being issued."
Kaito Haruno sat in the police station's office, momentarily stunned by his luck. This all started earlier in the afternoon at 2:00 PM. After picking up his custom-made replica of Lake Toya from a small workshop, he had lunch and began wandering around with the wooden sword, looking for a place to practice the swordsmanship skills the system had recently granted him. After all, having skills without any tools would be pointless.
While aimlessly strolling, he stumbled upon a robbery. Just when he was feeling frustrated about not finding a target, Kaito struck the robber on the head. The thug collapsed without a sound, and Kaito calmly called the police. Little did he expect, the man had a criminal record and was actually a wanted fugitive. That one blow helped the police capture him. Kaito couldn't believe his luck.
Superheroes usually patrol the city for hours, while Kaito just wandered around and managed to bump into something like this. Life sure is funny sometimes.
"Hey, kid, if everything's fine, just sign here." The officer taking his statement was nice. After all, it was rare to see a high school student like Kaito, who was both enthusiastic and seemed quite capable in a fight.
"Oh, can I leave now?" Kaito asked after signing, feeling like a law-abiding citizen. He hadn't done anything wrong, so after giving his statement, he should be free to go. Yet, the officer seemed like he wanted to keep him around for tea.
"Hold on, kid. You're preparing for the SATs next year, right? Any schools you're thinking of applying to?" The officer casually chatted, giving Kaito the same vibe as the relatives from his past life who'd ask about his life, relationships, and job whenever they saw him during the holidays.
This weird sense of nostalgia made Kaito feel like he was back in a familiar place. He calmly took a sip of his coffee, thinking, *Go ahead and talk. If I respond, I lose.*
The officer didn't expect Kaito to be so calm, completely ignoring his attempts at conversation. After glancing at Kaito's address and name on the form, the officer understood. *Ah, this kid's the only son of one of Naxino City's social elites. No wonder he doesn't have to worry about these life-and-death matters.*
"Uh, sorry, you're free to go," the officer finally said with a bitter smile, letting Kaito leave.
"Careful now, officer," Kaito said as he got up to leave, sensing someone's elbow about to touch him. Without turning around, he dodged it and gave a polite warning before walking out.
The officer, whom Kaito had warned, didn't say much. He just set down a file on the chair where Kaito had been sitting, then handed a cup of coffee to his colleague.
"What's up, Brown? Did that kid do something wrong?" his colleague asked.
"No, he just happened to help us catch a wanted fugitive. You know, the guy we have locked up in the interrogation room right now."
"Mad Dog Bronk? That guy murdered a family of three. I can't believe some kid managed to catch him."
"Who knows? You never know how tough a seemingly harmless Chinese kid might be. They're all Bruce Lees and Jackie Chans."
"Haha, you should stop watching so many movies. By the way, I got word from one of my informants that a newcomer's shown up in Naxino City. Last night, they single-handedly ruined one of Hellfire Gang's deals."
"A newcomer? Like Gotham's Batman or Metropolis's Superman?"
"Probably not. According to the Hellfire Gang, it's someone wearing a blue suit of armor. Keep an eye out."
"It's not that simple. Ever since the global invasion two years ago, people wearing strange outfits are everywhere. At least Naxino City has been relatively quiet... though it looks like we might be catching up with the trend soon."
"Alright, enough with the commentary. Let's just do our jobs." The younger officer teased Brown and went back to work.
"Oh, Dick, the captain asked me to let you know you've been assigned a partner." Brown stopped the younger officer as he was about to leave.
"A partner? I don't need one. Tell the captain I appreciate the offer, but no thanks."
"Come on, I know you're good, but you just transferred here. Don't make things difficult for me. Besides, your partner's a great female officer. I think you'll like her. After all, coming from a gloomy city like Gotham, you could use a change."
"Gloomy, huh? Maybe you're right. Fine, I'll talk to the captain later," Dick replied, considering Brown's words before leaving. Meanwhile, Brown picked up the file Dick had handed him and began reviewing it.
As for Kaito, he was already sitting on the subway, closing his eyes and communicating with the system in his mind. After completing the vigilante task, Kaito had earned 60,000 points, along with a random draw opportunity, two new skills, and access to a mental training room. He felt a surge of excitement.
[Haki Training Room: Daily usage time—8 hours. Since the host has not yet unlocked the spatial cultivation function, the training room allows the host's consciousness to enter and practice Haki techniques, which will also reflect in the host's physical body. Note: Only techniques are enhanced, not physical fitness. The host will need to train independently to improve physical strength.]
Seeing the system's description of the training room, Kaito didn't have much to say. This was already pretty good. At least he could improve his Haki defense and attack skills. As for his physical fitness, he'd wait until he unlocked the system's spatial training feature. Right now, his physical strength was more than enough to handle normal criminals, and he still had his G3 armor for dealing with superpowered foes.
"System, activate the lottery function."
"Understood. Starting the lottery. Congratulations, host! You've won a new G3 battery pack. As the latest generation G3 battery pack, the host is no longer stuck with the embarrassing situation of charging for two hours and only fighting for five minutes. G3 usage time extended to 20 minutes, charging time: 1 hour. Installation will take 15 minutes."
Listening to the system's announcement, Kaito was pleasantly surprised to win a battery pack. Life just got a bit easier. After finishing the draw, he opened the two additional gift packs provided by the system: Martial Arts Mastery and Gun Mastery. The familiar rush of knowledge flooded his mind, and Kaito closed his eyes, gradually adjusting to the system's infusion of skills and the minor tweaks to his body.
As for his next task, he'd need some time to fully adapt to his new abilities before taking it on. Since there was no time limit, Kaito could afford to take it easy.
(End of Chapter)