Chicken Keeper

"Ice Arrow (Mastered): Proficiency: 1/150"

When Ethan woke up and checked his proficiency panel, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

His Ice Arrow proficiency had skipped a level. Such a phenomenon had never occurred before. While it should have been a cause for celebration, a sliver of ominous premonition arose in his heart.

What happened?

Keep in mind that even a Witch, estimated to be of Rank 3 or higher, could only provide 15 proficiency points.

Could it be that he had awakened a new talent, "I Cultivate in My Dreams"?

No, that was clearly impossible. The dreams he had were completely unrelated to practicing Ice Arrow. He had only dreamed of lying on a pile of Gold Lions, with everything in the room carved from gold. This made him smile broadly as he rolled around on the pile of Gold Lions.

Then, as expected, he strained his back.

Immediately after, someone knocked on the door.

Ethan dreamed he leaped from the pile of Gold Lions and excitedly rushed to the door—this was the ultimate ideal in life: achieving financial freedom, no longer having to deal with his boss's moods, and then, like in a fairy tale, marrying a gentle and virtuous wife, and spending the rest of his life together in a small house built of gold.

So, what would his future wife be like?

Filled with anticipation, Ethan opened the door.

Sunlight streamed into the room, freezing his outstretched embrace in place. What greeted his eyes were two people in black suits, wearing sunglasses.

"Heisenberg, you are accused of twelve charges including tax evasion and smuggling dangerous magic scrolls. Come with us."

What a nightmare!

Thinking of magic scrolls, Ethan's unease intensified. He suddenly thought of a possibility—could it be that when others used the magic scrolls he drew, he gained a proficiency bonus?

However, to make his Ice Arrow skip a whole level at once, he couldn't imagine what that Pure Love Noble Son had done with his Ice Arrow scrolls.

Could this idiot have chosen a densely populated city and tried out the triple-shot power of Ice Arrow on the crowd right on the street?

It seemed he would have to pay close attention to the Gryphon Daily recently.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

A knock sounded on the door. Miss Chloe nudged the door open a crack with her head, peering into the room. Receiving Ethan's gaze, she flapped her wings and let out a soft "coo," a nasal sound. Ethan inexplicably imagined a Maid coming to inform him that he had a visitor.

Huh?

Why would he have such an imagination?

Ethan stopped his wild thoughts, rolled out of bed, put on his clothes, and then went to the washroom for a simple wash. When he arrived in the living room, Ivy was already sitting on the sofa waiting for him. She was wearing that heavy trench coat again, with her gold-rimmed single-lens glasses, leaning on the sofa and flipping through a copy of the Glossary of Curses and Contained Objects Terminology.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up and glanced at Ethan.

"I admire you, managing to sleep until late at night. Have you eaten?"

"No."

"We'll eat on the way."

Ivy said in an unquestionable tone, making Ethan's heart skip a beat. He turned to look at the sky outside the window; it was pitch black. He never expected that after so many years, even in another world, he couldn't escape the fate of overtime. Still, a sliver of hope remained, and he struggled feebly, asking, "Now?"

"The Gear City branch sent a letter saying a tricky case has occurred in Brookwood Town. the banker Marshall is in trouble, suspected to be related to a Cursed Object. They want us to go and investigate."

Marshall.

Ethan silently recalled the somewhat familiar name. Combined with the title of banker mentioned by Ivy, he remembered a middle-aged man, corpulent with a bald spot on his head. It was at the Guild's annual meeting that this banker had spoken on behalf of the Empire United Reserve Bank at the Guild.

It was all official platitudes. Marshall hadn't left a particularly deep impression on him at the time. It was only later that he heard from the Hunters that this person was the manager of the Brookwood Town branch, and all major and minor businesses here required his approval.

"Recent statistics are not optimistic. Abnormal cases have increased by 20% compared to last year, with border cities seeing a 44.6% increase. The disappearance and death rates of investigators are also rising year by year."

This was a briefing document sent along with the commission letter, which Ivy had specifically requested.

As she had predicted, ever since the Winter Witch incident, abnormal cases had sprung up like mushrooms after rain across the land. The Containment Bureau had increased its investigation efforts, yet it was still unable to curb the rise in case numbers. To this day, the investigation bureau was severely short-handed.

Or, more accurately, with the alarming death rate, not many people were willing to work on the front lines anymore. If they learned they were to be dispatched to the Empire's border, many investigators would immediately submit their resignation.

Ivy guessed this was probably why the Gear City branch was so excited to hear they were establishing a Base Station.

They hadn't expected people nowadays would willingly rush to the border towns.

Ivy put down the book and pointed to the coffee table. "Here, your ID cards have arrived."

Reflecting the light, the stiff cardstock with mithril borders bore their investigator ranks and codenames, a symbol of their status as imperial civil servants.

At the top was Ivy's ID card:

"Rose," B-Class Investigator.

An outstanding graduate of the Enlightenment Society, awarded the title of Second-Tier Scholar during her studies. Head of the Brookwood Town Intelligence Station in the Empire's border region, the beautiful and resilient Rose of the Empire.

It was clear that the Containment Bureau placed great importance on Ivy, not only giving her high praise in the ID card's description but also immediately granting her the title of B-Class Investigator. This rank was considered mid-level within the Containment Bureau. However, Ethan felt that given Ivy's background, if she were willing to work at the Containment Bureau long-term, she should be able to be promoted to A-Class Investigator within a year.

This was the difference between people, the disparity in the world!

Next were Miss Chloe's identification details.

"Head Wolf," E-Class Investigator (CI-0651-a).

A mysterious creature nurtured by CI-0651, omnivorous, gentle in temperament, yet possessing destructive power comparable to a Werewolf. It could easily crush and peck through granite. Its intelligence was stimulated by Cursed Objects, allowing it to understand human language to a certain extent. It still had the potential for continued growth and evolution.

"Oh, not bad, Miss Chloe. They think highly of you."

Ethan threaded Miss Chloe's identity card onto a string and hung it around her neck. He then gently patted her head. Miss Chloe happily nuzzled his palm, emitting a pleasant purr.

Ethan's inner aspirations were stirred.

Every word on the identity card made him realize he was one step closer to his career goals.

So, what kind of evaluation would the Containment Bureau give him?

After all, the intelligence Base Station in Brookwood Town was established through the joint efforts of him and Ivy.

His heart pounding, he picked up his own identity card.

"Chicken Keeper," E-Class Investigator.

Someone who raised a chicken.

Ethan was silent for a moment. He flipped the identity card back and forth several times, finally confirming that there was only one line of text on it.

"Miss Rose."

His vision plunged into darkness. "Is this identity card misprinted?"

Compared to Rose and Head Wolf, he felt like he was just making up the numbers.

"No."

Ivy shook her head, extinguishing his last hope. "This is your identity card."