Extra points

"Isn't it cool? I am sure, we will have good business with this." Emily said with excitement,

"Meh, it's a small town anyway and it's published in a local paper as well," Jaxon shook his head, "That guy, he's the only one with money and influence to have someone write this."

"You mean, the guy from yesterday paid someone to write this article?"

Jaxon nodded, "I am sure, especially with all the details, I am quite certain the whole group had their hands on it... but these idiots, publicizing such a thing before the case even reaches court. This can complicate things and hurt the case,"

"Just enjoy the fame will you, I think they just wanted to do something nice for you," Emily criticized Jaxon and his way of thinking as she continued, "Besides, I even went around town distributing your cards early in the morning and people who had read their papers willingly took your cards, praising you even."

"Not to mention, I got a case for you as well. You know Mrs. Blue from across our office, she asked me to tell you to visit her house, apparently she suspects that her husband might be having an affair with Ms. Bennison."

"Ms. Bennison? The cat lady?" Jaxon shook his head, "No, that's not the problem, did you say people were praising me?"

"Yeah! Even the old navy guy in our neighborhood, that grumpy man who has nothing nice to say about anyone was saying things like, 'He's a good man! I should teach him well so he won't stray from his path.'" Emily recounted the event mockingly.

Jaxon nodded, finally realizing where the 21 extra points came from.

'I could probably earn a lot more points if I were to publicize my pictures and arrange some proper interviews and whatnot.' Jaxon thought to himself but shook his head in disagreement immediately, 'The only thing I have going for me as of now is my anonymity, luckily the newspaper didn't name me or had access to my pictures, that's already good enough for now but if my face ever gets out there, it might be tough landing jobs where tons of investigation might be required,'

"I'll be better off stapling the words, I am a private detective and I am here to investigate you on my forehead than go through with this,'

"Hey! Jaxon? Are you still drunk? What are you dozing off about?" Emily questioned snapping her fingers in front of his face, "So how about it? Why don't you go visit her when you drop me off?"

"Leave it be," Jaxon said, "I don't think I'll be able to, not only that, why does this little town have so many infidelity cases? It's like a cesspool of cuckoldry."

"Is it because you're leaving," Emily slammed her hands on the table, "I even went through all this trouble for you, why don't you just stay and work here like grandpa did? Why do you want to leave?"

"Where did you hear that?" Jaxon said looking at Emily who looked as if she was about to cry any moment,

"You told me, you idiot! Last night, you went a whole rant about how you were leaving and how I should take care of myself!" Emily said standing up, "Jaxon! Please don't go!"

"Hey hey! Don't cry-"

"I'm not crying!"

"I know," Jaxon hurriedly shook his head to stop Emily from crying as he calmly spoke, "You're a mature girl, so I'll tell you everything honestly. So please sit down."

"Here's the thing, I don't want to spend the rest of my life in this small town solving infidelity cases, that was never the plan, to begin with, but after the case I just solved I realized what I truly wanted to do further." Jaxon said as calmly as he could holding Emily's hand, "I want to explore bigger mysteries, tackle more challenging cases, and make a name for myself beyond this town."

"And it's not like I'll be gone forever, I'll always come around just to visit you and once you finish school, I'll take you around the country, maybe even to all those vacation spots out of the country if I manage to earn enough bucks." Jaxon continued, "So don't think of this as me abandoning you."

"Why can't you just take me with you now?"

"Your father would probably call the cops on me," Jaxon said with a chuckle trying to lighten up the mood.

Emily sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I guess you're right."

Jaxon reached across the table and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I know, Em. Believe me, this isn't easy for me either. But sometimes, we have to make tough choices for the sake of our dreams. And this is my dream."

Emily nodded slowly, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill over. "Alright, I get it. I'll support you, just like always. But don't you dare forget your promise to me!"

"Got it!" Jaxon nodded, "And just to seal the deal, I'll get you a new phone so you can always check up on me, and I'll make sure to call you as well."

"Really?" The girl who looked like a wounded kitten a minute ago was now staring at him like a fox, 

"Yeah, I guess..." Jaxon said carefully sighing to himself, 'Greediness sure is contagious,'

"This girl from my school is always showing off her damn phone, so I want you to buy me the same thing..." Emily went on a full rant about the phone she wanted as Jaxon couldn't help but feel the headache coming back again,

"You want a 700$ phone!!"

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ. ⌖ ╾━╤デ╦︻

After dropping Emily off, Jaxon drove by a shooting range to test out some of his theories.

With his handy Glock in hand, he called out his system by his side checking the information provided regarding his firearms skill.

Firearms (Beginner)

Proficiency: 45/100

Effect: Basic understanding of firearm safety, handling, and shooting techniques. Limited accuracy and effectiveness, particularly in high-stress situations or against skilled opponents.

"Let's begin!" Jaxon began firing at the target with his gun one after another until he finished the entire magazine. With each shot, he focused on his form, trying to remember the basics of what he'd learned about firearm handling. Despite his beginner status, his shots landed fairly close to the center of the target.

After emptying the magazine, Jaxon inspected his handiwork. The grouping wasn't bad for a beginner, but there was definitely room for improvement. He reloaded the Glock and tried again, this time focusing on his breathing and trigger control.

Each time the results were quite similar to each other, but Jaxon did notice that he had more stability and accuracy compared to his previous results. "It must be because of the increase in my stat. I believe due to the increase in my dexterity even by a single point, I am able to shoot with much more accuracy than before."

"Now let's begin the real test," Jaxon said, determined to push himself further.

One after another, Jaxon kept bringing in new guns to try out, some he was familiar with and some he had never tried before.

After firing 25 different types of guns, one after the other, Jaxon felt a mix of satisfaction and exhaustion. He had a decent grasp of the basics, but there was a lot to learn. As he finished up, he checked his system for updates.

Firearms (Beginner)

Proficiency: 46/100

"It did go up... but only by a single point." Jaxon sighed, confirming the fact that becoming proficient with all his skills by hard work alone would take a long time and the system wouldn't give him a boost for just holding a gun and shooting it around.

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Posting 3 chaps today, vote me up and let's get higher on the ranking!!!