Sometimes, Li Ke truly couldn't tell if quitting smoking had been a blessing or a curse.
The upside was that he could now appear in a shonen manga without getting flamed by netizens for promoting bad habits.
The downside, however, was that he had lost a convenient coping mechanism to mask and relieve psychological stress.
But one thing was absolutely certain: even if he had to resort to sucking on lollipops, he was never going to pick up a cigarette again.
When the food arrived, Li Ke finally truly grasped what a Pandemonium native's appetite actually meant.
The dishes weren't expensive. A massive platter of stir-fried greens, a pot of stewed meat, and another pot of braised vegetables. Everything was prepared in bulk, clearly intended to maximize volume and fill stomachs.
Yet, Roche's eating style was utterly savage.
A single strand of green vegetable would accompany a massive streak of rice. After just a few bites, a quantity equivalent to a whole bowl of rice from a mainland chicken-and-rice joint vanished down her throat. Economical, sure, but exceptionally fast. Within moments, a whole dish and an entire steamer of rice were completely wiped out.
Yet, when Li Ke glanced down at her stomach, he couldn't see even the slightest hint of a bulge. It remained perfectly flat.
"..."
Sucking sharply on his chopsticks, Li Ke exhaled a heavy breath, as if blowing out smoke.
He couldn't wrap his head around it.
Just as he couldn't understand how he was currently blowing imaginary smoke out of a pair of chopsticks, he utterly failed to comprehend how Roche could ingest an entire industrial-sized steamer of rice and still maintain a completely flat stomach.
"This defies all logic."
Li Ke, who had initially planned to scoop himself a bowl of rice, found himself completely losing his appetite just watching Roche chew non-stop.
He dejectedly set his chopsticks down. Watching him watch her, the red-haired little girl offered a bashful smile. While aggressively shoveling more rice into her mouth, she mumbled unclearly, "Big Brother, you should eat too!"
Staring at the steamer, which was emptying at a visible pace, Li Ke came to a firm conclusion.
He might not actually be able to afford to raise this little girl.
If things didn't work out, he'd just have to return her.
Still, that didn't stop him from letting her eat her fill for this one meal.
"In a bit. You go ahead and eat first."
Seeing that Li Ke genuinely had no intention of eating right now, Roche nodded and accelerated her chewing speed.
"Mhm! Thank you, Big Brother! I won't stand on ceremony then!"
Li Ke watched as Roche tore through the food like a whirlwind, completely clearing out the first three massive steamers. Immediately after, she ordered three more steamers of rice and another large plate of greens. Only then did her feeding frenzy finally grind to a halt. Satisfied, she patted her still completely flat stomach and smiled brightly at Li Ke.
"Mhm! Big Brother! I'm full!"
"Ah. Good."
Li Ke was already completely numb. He silently pulled out a single gold coin and placed it on the table, covering the cost of Roche's massive feast.
He finally understood why Sharan said the Mages' Guild couldn't afford to keep her. It wasn't a matter of money; eating like this would literally work the chefs to death.
"Ehehé... Sorry, I think I scared you, Big Brother."
Roche smiled bashfully, then raised a single finger, her expression suddenly turning incredibly serious and solemn.
"But as payback, I'm going to do an amazing job teaching you the language of this world!"
"Yeah."
Li Ke nodded, though in his mind, he was already finalizing the return policy.
But right at that moment, Roche, who was cradling her staff, suddenly spoke up again.
"By the way, Big Brother, you wanted to learn magic before, right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
Li Ke looked at Roche with curiosity, unsure why she was suddenly bringing this up.
"What kind of magic do you want to learn? Are you planning to go on an adventure?" Roche peered at him inquisitively.
She felt that Li Ke was incredibly peculiar. He had an aura that felt like people who lived in Pandemonium, yet he also reminded her of Aunt Kate—the distinct vibe of someone who was genuinely a good person.
"Something like that," Li Ke replied. "I made a promise to someone, so I need to master power as quickly as possible, gather enough resources, and then return to that world. So calling it an adventure isn't exactly wrong."
In truth, Li Ke was feeling incredibly anxious. With his current physical stats, seeking out regular women he could simply pay for didn't yield nearly enough Energy Points. A whole day's effort only generated a pathetic trickle. If he kept up at this rate, who knew how many years would pass before he could accumulate enough Energy to return and save Lux?
Furthermore, high-tier targets who possessed true strength and intense emotional volatility were not exactly easy to come by.
He had already made up his mind. Once the time was right, he would go track down this world's Blazing Penril and Frost Keraha. Even though both of those women had already succumbed to madness, their sheer, obsessive psychological states might actually provide him with a massive, concentrated harvest of Energy.
Both of them were exceptionally beautiful mages, but their minds had completely snapped. In the original storyline of the game, they stood absolutely no chance of survival.
Therefore, even if his plan was a bit underhanded, he would still find a way to restrain and contain them, even if he failed to harvest enough Energy from them. It felt despicable, sure, but it was still marginally better than letting them be mindlessly slaughtered in the wilderness.
Yet, no matter how weakened those two women currently were, they were still established mages of this world. If his own raw strength wasn't up to par, it would be impossible to get close enough to establish any kind of relationship with them, no matter how much money he threw at the problem.
"I see. In other words, Big Brother, you're in a massive hurry?" Roche asked.
"You could say that."
"Then I think I finally understand why Aunt Sharan... I mean, Sister Sharan sent me to you." Roche nodded knowingly, then extended her hand toward Li Ke.
"In that case, you must want to master the power of magic as quickly as possible, right? I can totally help you with that! I can teach you how to rapidly convert your internal mana into actual, combat-ready strength!"
A look of absolute confidence swept across Roche's face.
"And the best part? There's no need for complicated magic circles, and you don't have to chant any long incantations. As long as you can control your own mana, you can directly unleash the power of magic!" She proudly puffed out her chest—displaying her almost completely flat silhouette right in front of Li Ke's face.
"Oh? What exactly do you mean by that?"
Li Ke stared at Roche's staff, particularly the sharp, spear-like tip at the end. An iconic class from the game immediately flashed through his mind.
A Battle Mage.
No casting times, no channeled spells, no drawn-out incantations, and virtually zero reliance on magic circles. It was a specialized class that channeled the explosive force of a mage directly through aggressive, front-line close combat.
The very next second, Roche's actions perfectly validated his theory.
Roche lightly tapped the butt of her staff against the ground. Instantly, a vibrant, glowing red orb materialized out of thin air, orbiting closely around her body.
"Big Brother, have you ever heard of Chasers?"
The exact moment the words left her mouth, Roche abruptly swung her staff, thrusting the razor-sharp tip straight toward Li Ke's cheek. An overwhelming sensation of imminent crisis instantly paralyzed Li Ke's entire body.
But in the next heartbeat, a sharp, metallic CLANG echoed through the alley. Roche's staff had shifted seamlessly, perfectly parrying a massive, heavy greatsword that had been cleaving down toward Li Ke's blindspot from behind.
Roche's cheerful voice instantly dropped to a razor-sharp chill.
"If you haven't heard of them... let me give you a firsthand demonstration!"