novelraw Chapter 100 : A Fruitful Harvest
Chapter 100 : A Fruitful Harvest
Chapter 100: A Fruitful Harvest
After this, the people in the manor also saw the smoke.
They sent men to search, found Levi and Aurelia, and brought the two back to the manor.
Levi, on the other hand, went back to have a feast, took a bath, and had a good sleep.
Only then did he leisurely sit in the outdoor pavilion, sipping tea while opening the system to look at the harvest of this case.
【《Curse Mystery》Complete】
【Time consumed: S】
【Investigation efficiency: S】
【Impact: S】
【Overall Evaluation: SSS】
【Lifespan +200, Extra +100】
This reward was quite generous.
Levi was somewhat surprised.
Although he knew that difficult cases generally gave generous rewards, this time the rewards were clearly a little over the top.
In terms of severity, Levi thought this case was not as critical as the Imperial Bridge, but thinking carefully, he could understand.
The Imperial Bridge had been a matter of preemptive intervention.
Her Majesty the Queen herself had not actually been in danger.
But this time, Aurelia’s very life had been threatened.
From the perspective of emergency status, the two were indeed different.
Hmm, looking at it this way, Levi had grasped another system rule.
Clearly, the difficulty of the case was directly related to the level of threat faced by the target.
Of course, it was also tied to their status.
A courtesan or a student of the Royal Master Academy obviously did not compare in importance to Her Majesty the Queen or the descendants of the Twelve Knights.
Didn’t expect you, system, to be biased toward the rich and noble.
Levi silently complained in his heart, then continued reading.
【Special reward: Choose any one body attribute +10 (maximum cap 90)】
This reward was far more important than Levi had imagined.
In Levi’s system, attributes were divided into 【Body Attributes】 and 【Skill Attributes】.
【Body Attributes】 clearly quantified Levi’s physical constitution, while 【Skill Attributes】 quantified the skills he had learned.
Then there were 【Special Skills】, such as 【Eye of the Reaper】, 【Soul Sight】, 【Shadow Step】, 【Puppeteer】—abilities akin to superpowers.
【Special Skills】 could increase proficiency through repeated use.
【Skill Attributes】 could also be improved through self-study.
But 【Body Attributes】 were very difficult to raise.
【Constitution】 and 【Strength】 might be improved through relentless training, but how was one supposed to raise 【Agility】, 【Intelligence】, or 【Perception】?
At least, after all the ordeals Levi had endured in this world, he had never seen his body attributes improve even a little.
Even in the Imperial Bridge mission, such a good reward had not appeared.
Yet here, with Aurelia, it had… Hmm, perhaps only descendants of the Twelve Knights could trigger this level of reward.
If the other knight descendants also had such missions, there were only six in the Empire, for a maximum of 60 points.
So, in Levi’s eyes, this bonus had to be used wisely.
At present, there were naturally two ways to use it.
One was the “short plank” principle—patch up the weakest attribute.
The other was the typical gamer approach: extreme specialization, pouring everything into one stat until maxed, ignoring the rest.
Levi’s lowest attributes right now were 【Strength】 and 【Constitution】.
In his view, 【Constitution】 was likely tied to his defense—or, more directly put, his ability to withstand blows.
For instance, before, Katie’s single punch had cost him five days of lifespan.
If his 【Constitution】 were higher, maybe it would only cost three days… something like that.
【Strength】, similarly, was tied to melee attack power.
But neither mattered much to Levi.
He had realized that unless one had Katie-level strength, close combat against monsters was basically pointless.
And raising his 【Strength】 to Katie’s level was… something he shouldn’t even dream about, not anytime soon.
Or rather, not in the foreseeable future at all.
Levi’s past skill choices had always played to his strengths, relying entirely on mid-to-long-range combat.
Thus, 【Constitution】 didn’t mean much to him either.
【Appearance】 had already reached its peak.
Raising 【Charm】 seemed pointless too—his past failed persuasion attempts had shown him that bosses at the end of cases were mostly immune to enchantment.
Besides, 【Charm】 was already at 85.
Raising it to 90 would waste 5 points, since only 5 would count.
That left 【Agility】, 【Intelligence】, 【Willpower】, and 【Perception】… Levi thought for a moment, took another sip of tea, and finally chose—————【Intelligence】.
The reason was simple: who didn’t want to be a little smarter?
【Intelligence +10, raised to 80】
【New skill acquired———《Library》】
【Library: 60 (For one who swims in the sea of knowledge, learning is a joy) (Trait “Photographic Memory” added; certain chance to learn and increase other skill values)】
Hmm, this skill was excellent.
Looking at the new skill trait, Levi nodded in satisfaction.
After all, he had once seen those geniuses with photographic memory—while ordinary people struggled to memorize through endless repetition, such prodigies could remember with just one glance.
Back in school, Levi had greatly envied them, even though he himself had been among the top students.
But… if one could learn easily, who would ever want to spend sleepless nights cramming?
This was like good looks—something bestowed by the heavens.
At least looks could be improved with plastic surgery, but no amount of surgery on the brain could give one a genius’s memory.
Levi had already decided: once he returned to Mist City, he would head to the Imperial Library to fully enjoy the pleasures of being a genius.
And for a detective, knowledge of history, geography, natural sciences—all were invaluable.
The more, the better.
Committing them all to memory could only help, never harm.
Of course, except mathematics.
Math was hopeless.
No matter what, he wasn’t going to get it (┓(`)┏).
Levi waved his hand, and the system tactfully vanished.
He sat back in his chair, sipped more tea, and took a scone.
The maid hurried forward to refill his cup carefully, watching him with eager eyes.
While Levi enjoyed his brunch tea, Aurelia was still busy handling the aftermath.
—The case was indeed over.
But “over” did not mean “gone.” Old Sir Baskerville had been the killer, true, but by Levi’s deductions, the Luddites were the real masterminds.
And with Aurelia’s personality, letting such people go would be sheer foolishness!
So, on one hand, Aurelia began pushing agricultural steam mechanization; on the other, she began rooting out the Luddites.
Especially the man who had guarded the graveyard before.
If Old Sir Baskerville had not lied, then he had buried the infant’s corpse beneath a tree, which was later moved into the ancestral crypt.
And the only ones with keys to the ancestral crypt were the family head and the tomb keeper.
That meant either the tomb keeper’s key had been stolen, or he had been a Luddite himself, colluding with those who had manipulated Old Sir Baskerville.
But Aurelia didn’t care.
Investigate, and investigate to the end!
The old tomb keeper had long since died, but his family still lived!
A local lord was essentially a little emperor.
Far from the imperial capital, they did as they pleased.
Following this trail, Aurelia indeed rooted out several die-hard Luddites.
For her, this was at least some measure of catharsis.
After that, the Baskerville family still had many matters to handle, and Levi, as an outsider, couldn’t very well linger.
So, after bidding Aurelia farewell, he left.
Aurelia, of course, was extremely grateful—Levi had helped resolve the Baskerville curse and even uncovered nearly-lost secrets of their family.
Such merit could not be repaid with mere hospitality.
So Aurelia gave him her token of gratitude.
Ten thousand pounds!
After tax!
Levi was quite stunned when he received it.
Truly, the Baskervilles were wealthy.
In this era, a family like theirs, dominating an entire region, could make twenty or thirty thousand pounds annually.
For Aurelia to hand over such a sum at once proved just how rich the family was.
Levi naturally accepted the money gladly.
The situation in Mist City was different—previous bounties had been from public funds.
The courtesan killer’s bounty had been posted by City Hall.
The Imperial Bridge reward had come from the royal treasury.
Neither could be too large.
But a regional lord like the Baskervilles derived most income from landholdings, not to mention investments and factories—private wealth.
Aurelia could give as much as she pleased.
No need for City Hall reports, no parliamentary approval.
In this sense, local nobles spent money far more freely than the royal family.
For the royal family to hand Levi ten thousand pounds would have taken a year of paperwork.
After all, when others saw you profiting, they’d try to block you just out of spite.
As for this payment, Levi had no qualms.
He had always been in a cooperative relationship with MI7, and publicly, his identity was that of a consultant—his main job was still detective.
Aurelia paying him as a detective’s fee was perfectly reasonable.
Thus, after bidding Aurelia farewell, Levi got in his car and chugged back to Mist City.
He could no longer wait—he wanted to test the power of being a genius.