The Isekai Police [Books 1 + 2 Complete!]

Artyom continued down the hallway, trying his best to fill his mind with distractions but unable to keep a particular nagging thought out.

That wallpaper sure matches the carpets pretty well, but they both look pretty old. Tommy or the people of this World?

The candles lighting up the hall are definitely magical, I wonder what kind of light spell or enchantment they used? It seems like each world has its own variant. The world didn't matter however, his mission was the same at the end of the day. He wasn't going to waver from that.

That group of students is pointing at me and whispering, I wonder about what?

One of the kids of the group broke away and approached him. "Um, excuse me," he began.

"Hmm? What's up?" asked Artyom, turning his head with a curious tilt.

"How did you cast that spell yesterday in your duel, the one that stopped Fenn from using his magic? And what Focus did you use for it?"

"The spell's called anti-magic field," replied Artyom with a relieved look, welcoming the continued distraction. "And as for the Focus… it's a little complicated to explain."

"Could you please try?" the kid asked. The group behind them was hushed and staring intently at the two, not even trying to hide their interest in the conversation.

If this next generation learns something new, maybe they can make up for a lack of a hero? The stray thought entered Artyom's mind as quickly as it left, but made the light in his eyes dim ever so slightly.

The others frowned in disappointment, mistaking it for Artyom's disinterest.

"To understand the Focus, you need a particular mix of emotions; powerlessness and an inner void at the same time. A feeling like you're stuck where you are in life and can do nothing about it. Once you've been taken over by those feelings, you should be able to naturally call upon the focus."

At first, the group looked happy at getting an answer, but as Artyom finished, their smiles dropped in place of puzzled looks. "Inner… void?" one of them asked. "Isn't there something physical we can use to practice with instead?"

Artyom shook his head. Physical Foci were generally a stepping stone for mages before they internalized them. They would use an actual flame to convert their raw magic into fire spells before they conceptualized an "inner fire" enough to use that instead. "Thankfully for all of you, there isn't a physical equivalent of this."

"Oh, that's a shame," said the kid, they and the others looking disappointed. "But thanks anyway."

Artyom watched them walk away with a melancholic smile of his own. He hoped they never would have to learn how to unlock it, at least the way he did.

Once he was alone again, he continued on. He felt his stomach rumble. He'd gotten up early after all, so it made sense he was already hungry. He changed course for the dining hall where Rotte had said they were serving breakfast.

As Artyom turned the corner however, he heard even more whispers, turning into giggles. Very familiar ones.

He jumped back behind the wall and activated Bat's Hearing before barely leaning out.

"I can't believe we got that map!" exclaimed Daisy. "And I was so scared of being left out of all the fun again."

"There's not much that begs belief," replied Ecole in a dull tone. "Those students were too weak to put up much resistance against you."

"You've got that right! But don't short-change yourself, the way you pressured them by saying it's to aid the hero in his quest was amazing. That's why you're my favorite, you know."

"I… I appreciate that," said Ecole with a hitched breath. "So what kind of treasure do you think this thing leads to?"

"I mean, this is a magic school, it's probably something magical. But I did hear them say something about a magical armory, so we could probably find something good there for ourselves."

"Hmm, that does sound interesting."

"I know, right?! Anyway, Tommy's still asleep and Xerica's talking to the headmistress, so let's begin the search by ourselves in the meantime."

"Where does the map say we should start?"

"Let's see," said Daisy, with the sound of crumpling paper echoing out right next to her. "It says… actually, I don't know where it says we should start. I can't tell what this thing is trying to say at all!"

"Maybe we should pay those students another visit?" suggested Ecole.

"I bet they're still moping over their breakfast, let's ruin it for them even more!"

The conversation cut out as the two ladies began to walk off, leaving Artyom alone in the hallway.

"Ancient armory? Like hell I'm letting them get access to it!" thought Artyom as he ran off down a side hallway towards the dining hall.

It didn't take him long to reach it, especially after activating Speed of the Olympian despite nearly crashing into half a dozen students along the way. When he arrived, Artyom was met with a massive hall that rivaled the size of a football field from back home. The ceiling seemed to extend up to the stratosphere, far taller than the building was from the outside.

Rather than being capped with clouds or stars, a beautiful stained glass pattern made up of ever-shifting fractals bloomed from points across the surface and travelled out before fading out into the background hues. Blues, greens, and silvers were the most common of these colors, reminiscent of the kaleidoscopic sun of this world.

Artyom had to drag his eyes away from it after what felt like a full minute. He had a time limit, after all.

He entered the hall proper and began looking for the group Daisy and Ecole had stolen the map from. The room had twenty five tables, arranged into five rows of five. Each table was longer than any had a right to be, and upon closer inspection, was carved out of a singular piece of wood.

Breakfast was almost over by this point, leaving the hall mostly empty. That didn't make it easy to search however, as that still left dozens of students enjoying their food.

Artyom activated even more of his sensory spells, quickly scanning the room for anyone who might have fit Daisy's description.

After a minute he approached a pair of students, one was desolately stirring the contents of their bowl and the other was face-down on the table.

"When's Gula going to get back?" asked the face-down student, their words coming out as a muted mumble. They had a head of bushy black hair that was too soft to form an afro yet much too curly to be combed straight. It just flopped on the table around them.

"You know how he gets when he's upset," replied the one stirring the bowl, her glazed-over eyes never leaving its contents. A stray strand of orange hair fell in front of her face which she tried to blow away, but it settled back in the same uncomfortable position even after two more attempts at removing it. Rather than use her hands, she just accepted her fate and went back to the bowl. "He's going to return with every dessert they have."

"I don't want sugar," replied the black-haired student. "I want our map."

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"Well you're getting neither, Broc," replied the student with orange hair. "Gula's going to eat them all before he even gets back."

"Why do you have to be so mean, Cane?" asked Broc, still lying face-down.

"It's those two jerks from the hero's party who are mean for stealing our map," replied Cane, still stirring her bowl. "And to think that other guy seemed pretty nice, not wanting to use his killing attack on Fenn yesterday."

"Nice?" asked a newcomer to the group, a rail-thin student with shoulder-length lavender hair holding a tray filled with an assortment of pastries. "He jumped on top of Fenn and beat the living tar out of him! It looked like a sloppy bar fight instead of a magical duel, even Fenn didn't deserve that."

"Well, he didn't want to quit when I had him dead to rights, so I finished the fight the best way I know to," said Artyom, choosing this moment to walk over and sit himself down in front of the three students.

The entire trio blanched as soon as he joined their conversation, Broc even lifting their head to reveal a pair of glasses and smooth features Artyom hadn't noticed before.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Artyom," said the man with a friendly smile that wasn't returned.

"Haven't you goons already taken our stuff, what more do you want?!" all but shouted Cane, slamming her hand down on the table and dislodging even more of her hair to fall in front of her face.

"Woah woah, I'm not here for anything like that," said Artyom, putting his hands in front of him in a placating manner. "I'm just here to-"

"Oh, you," said Daisy as she wrinkled her nose at Artyom from her spot a few feet away. She quickly forgot about him and turned towards the other three. "Your map sucks, where do we start searching?"

"Like we'd tell you after you stole it in the first place," said Cane, turning her ire towards the blonde. "Besides, if we knew, we would've already started the search."

"You don't have to help us, but you're making an enemy of the hero and the goddess if you don't," replied Ecole with a shrug from where she stood behind Daisy. "Like, it's your choice, but it's also your funeral."

Cane grit her teeth, at a loss for words.

"Why don't you two take a hike?" asked Artyom, turning over to the antagonistic duo. "Don't you have anything better to do than bully a couple of kids?"

Everyone turned to him all at once with looks of shock and surprise.

"Why don't you?" asked Daisy with a glare. "This is none of your business."

"I overheard you in the hallway, I know you're just doing this because you're bored here." shot back Artyom. "So it's none of your business either, find another source of entertainment."

"I don't see how this gives you special treatment to interfere," said Ecole. "This still isn't your business."

"It's my business now, right you three?" asked Artyom, turning to the students, who were still in shock.

They didn't say anything, but after a moment, they silently nodded.

"Well there you have it, they're with me. I'm sure you can find something better to do yourselves."

Daisy fumed as she crumpled the map she held in her hands. She turned around to Ecole and whispered into her ear. "There goes my other source of fun."

"By 'other source of fun', did you mean bullying these students?" Ecole asked back out loud.

"Yeah, isn't it obvious?" replied Daisy, not bothering to turn around, let alone pay any mind to her victims' dumbstruck expressions. "Come on, let's find someone who actually can help us with this map."

Without another word, the two left.

Artyom couldn't help but smile at the small victory. He could've sworn he saw steam rising from the blonde's ears as she walked away, fuming.

"Why did you help us?" asked Cane. She'd swept her hair out of her face and was looking at Artyom with a cold expression.

The other two regarded him with confusion and wonder.

"Because what they did was wrong, and it didn't sit with me-"

"No it isn't, what's the actual reason?" said Cane, narrowing her eyes.

Artyom couldn't help but snicker. "Alright, the real reason is that I don't like those two and I don't want them to get whatever it is you're all after."

"And you want it instead?"

"I don't even know what it is," replied Artyom with a shrug. "Mind filling me in?"

The trio turned to each other. They remained that way for several seconds, not speaking a word, but somehow getting across their thoughts as if through telepathy.

"Were they actually telepathic? Did they know a spell for that?" wondered Artyom. "No, it's not a spell Focus you can just get on your own, and there isn't any magic travelling between them."

Eventually, Broc spoke up. "This school means a lot to us, it's how we met each other and what brought us together. But… it's not what it used to be."

"Headmistress Sava?" asked Artyom.

"No, from way before her time," said Gula. "Like, six hundred years ago."

"The school used to be something completely different way back then, bigger and grander in ways you couldn't even believe," continued Broc. "Golems and other magical constructs roaming the halls, rituals that could break the very fabric of reality, and mages of a caliber that would put any of us to shame!"

"And enchantments to create food out of thin air that would appear directly on your plate, perfectly suited to your tastes," said Gula, staring despondently at the small pile of danishes on his tray.

"Yeah, and that," said Cane, grabbing one of the pastries and taking a bite, much to her friend's dismay.

"You might've beaten Fenn yesterday, and while he's the strongest duelist at the academy, the average student from back then could have wiped the floor with both of you at the same time!"

Artyom raised an eyebrow and the black haired student began to fidget.

"I-I mean, they were way stronger back then. Not that I know how they actually would have done against you, though."

Artyom just nodded along, urging them to continue. Was that just a hyperbole? Maybe, but given enough levels, the right mindset, and enough time, he could see it happening. But definitely not in this place as it was now.

"We want to know what happened to this place, where all the magic went," added Cane. "There are still traces of it left, like with this room's ceiling and the last working duel arena."

"These very halls have stood here through all of it, they've seen the rise and fall of Holdbright," said Gula, looking away from his tray into Artyom's eyes with a weighty look. "If they remember, we can find out what happened. Maybe we can bring it back…"

The group went silent and looked amongst each other.

Artyom sat in place and took in the heavy air around them; he could feel the weight of their dreams as they trusted him with that knowledge.

"And what do you plan on doing with this knowledge once you find it?" asked the man from Earth. "Of the magic this school used to have?"

The others faced him with looks of incredulity. "Bring it back, of course!" they all said in unison.

Cane jumped ahead of the others to speak on their behalf. "It's the only thing worth doing with that kind of knowledge. Like what, are we supposed to just keep it for ourselves?"

Artyom was tempted to say "yes," but saw the looks in their eyes. It was one of sincerity.

"Alright, I think I like what you three are saying," said Artyom with an easygoing smile. "I want in."

"Huh?" the others said.

"You're not going to try and steal our stuff like the others?" asked Broc.

"Why would I?" replied Artyom. "You three have been at it for who knows how long, so why don't I join up with you?"

"Because there'll be less treasure for you if we find anything," said Cane, crossing her arms. "That's what you're after, isn't it? Just like those other two?"

"Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to get stronger, but physical weapons aren't something I'm all that good with. I'm a mage, just like you three. I'm looking for knowledge, those ancient secrets Broc here said could make a student strong enough to beat me."

Besides, the strongest of enchanted weapons didn't tend to work between worlds for some reason. Same with potions, many magical artifacts, and godly influence. The basic theory of spellcraft and rune magic were the only things that truly stayed consistent.

The three looked at each other again and nobody said a word. Then, all at once, they nodded in unison and looked back at Artyom.

"Alright, you're in," said Cane. "Welcome to the Holdbright Explorers!"

"Great!" exclaimed Artyom. "So where does our search begin?"

They all looked away, which only made him stare at them.

Eventually, the students broke.

"Okay, so we have a lead," said Broc, scratching their hair. "But it's in a part of campus students aren't allowed in."

"We need a faculty member's permission to enter, but nobody wants to give it to us," said Gula despondently. "We asked them to come with us if it's so dangerous, but they're too scared to!"

Artyom closed his eyes and took in a breath. "How about this; let's meet up again tomorrow and I should have a solution."

"Just like that?" asked Cane. "What are you planning?"

"Are any of you taking the magical dueling class?" asked Artyom.

"All three of us are, it's required. Why do you ask, are you planning to use that to prove we're strong enough for whatever's there?"

"Not quite, but don't worry. You'll learn tomorrow." He couldn't help but snicker at the unintentional pun.