Chapter 2: 2. Back In Business (V2)
"I have decided. I will focus on the [Enchantment] Skill. And aside from that, there is the [Cooking Skill]."
In Li Xue's mind, investing in the first skill was the most obvious decision. Inside the universe, there existed an occupation called 'Inscriptionist.' These inscriptionists could enchant items and talismans to gain special and desirable effects that any power would want to get their hands on. For this, the profession was immensely respected and paid handsomely. However, it was hard for most to become qualified Inscription Masters because only three existed in the entire Nether Realm before Nie Li arrived and became the fourth. Still, due to the existence of [Enchantment], Xue Li was sure he could surpass them all.
The second skill was the result of Xue Li's own ingenuity. If one were to look at the Nether Realm, one would quickly realize how destitute the region was. Consequentially, food in the Nether Realm was barely edible and highly unappealing. Compared to the expensive and luxurious inscriptions that most could not afford, the public would desire the cheaper meals Xue Li would be able to provide.
In this way, he could be said to dominate both the high and low-end markets, making his business plan insanely profitable in money and EXP.
Without wasting more time, Li Xue exited the Dark Guild. As he got outside, he recognized it as a dilapidated building, much in line with the guild's lowkey image. At first, he thought to use the building, but after remembering the Demon Lord's attitude, he changed his mind.
Instead, he headed far away and settled in another city called Stalagmite City. This way, he would not have any associations with the Dark Guild as he undertook this project.
Finding an old landlord, Li Xue did not put much effort into haggling and bought the building in full.
Finding a simple restaurant building near the city center, Li Xue immediately spoke to the owner. It was a humanoid male with gray skin and pointed ears. When he heard Li Xue wanted to buy his building, his eyes shone with greed as he gave an extremely high price.
Noticing this, Li Xue looked coldly. While he inherited great wealth from his predecessor, he was no fool. He did not even attempt to haggle as he directly revealed his 3-Star Legend Rank cultivation, causing the man to drop to his knees and beg.
The man then willingly took Li Xue's insultingly low offer with a smile and quickly handed over the building documents as he left. Snorting, Li Xue turned his eyes back to the building as he surveyed the restaurant's kitchen.
All the ingredients were well-kept and organized neatly into various containers. Li Xue opened containers one by one as he tried to identify them. Then, after gaining a good grasp, he started to make a simple meal.
Not long after, three plates were on the kitchen counter as he sat down and ate.
[New title acquired: <Home Cook>, +100% Speed, +50% Appeal, +1000 EXP.]
"Oh? Not bad."
Seeing the large windfall of experience, Li Xue had achieved his purpose.
"Open the skill tree."
Soon enough, Li Xue found the line he was looking for.
[Main Skill: "Enchant" - Costs 500 EXP to unlock.]
After buying it, a drop-down menu appeared.
[Sub Skill: "Harden" - 50 EXP]
[Sub Skill: "Sharpen" - 50 EXP]
[Sub Skill: "Detonate" - 100 EXP]
Li Xue thought a moment before buying all of these as well.
"System, get me three sets of materials from the item shop and an enchanting brush."
[Deducting EXP... All materials requested have been purchased. Remaining Balance: 75 EXP]
Just like that, Li Xue realized he was out of EXP again. However, that would only be for a little while. After he dipped the wooden brush in translucent blue ink, he drew a series of runes. If a real inscriptionist were to be here, they would think Li Xue was a scam artist. It was common knowledge that inscriptionists drew patterns and not symbols. Still, like a calligrapher, Li Xue's brush drifted across the paper in a slow but thoughtful manner. When he put his brush down, the ink glowed.
"A success. It really does work like the game."
It was not that Li Xue had an immense talent for inscriptions. Instead, it was because upon buying the skill [Enchant], one would immediately gain a 100% success rate for any basic enchantment. Of course, higher-level enchantments were not guaranteed still.
[New title acquired: <Novice Enchanter>, +75% Speed, +30% Power upon completion, +2500 EXP]
Even though the titles <Home Cook> and <Novice Enchanter> were at the same beginner level, they had different worth according to the game. Hence, the latter rewarded more EXP.
This time, Li Xue did not immediately spend the EXP but pocketed it for later. After all, who knew if he would need to purchase something in a critical situation?
As he was doing this, however, he saw a person enter his restaurant, causing him to realize that he forgot to change the 'open' sign hanging outside to 'closed.' Just as he was about to apologize and deny them, they spoke.
"Hey kid, are your parents available? I'd like to order something."
The bright but mature voice of a young woman rang out. That was when Li Xue noticed this customer was not only female but also incredibly attractive.
Sporting pink hair that fanned out like a bird's plumage and two emerald green eyes, her valiant expression made her command respect. Her mature body was curved in all the right places and could not be hidden by her black traveler's clothing.
Realizing she had called him a kid so casually, Li Xue felt slightly belittled. He did not reveal his pettiness and maintained a neutral speaking tone.
"I'm not a kid. Also, I do not have any parents. This place is my own."
The woman's expression seemed to soften somewhat.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear. In that case, I won't bother you."
She turned away to leave, causing Li Xue to reach out and grab her arm from over the kitchen counter.
"Hey!"
The woman turned around and was somewhat annoyed, a slight scowl crossing her pretty face. Li Xue did not back down, however.
"What? Just because I'm younger, you don't want to order any more?"
Hearing his words, the woman had a look of guilt. It embarrassed her to have her personal thoughts read out by another, especially when that person was the target of her feelings.
"You're right," she said while taking a seat, "I shouldn't judge you by your looks. Well, can you make me something to eat?"
Li Xue nodded, happy to have earned back a little face.
"Of course! What would you like?"
The woman appeared like she was in thought.
"Do you have a menu I could use?"
Li Xue shook his head.
"I just took over today."
He did not realize how it sounded until he saw the woman giving him a look of pity. Still, he did not clarify her misconception and spoke before she could.
"It's fine," he said while making sure he looked especially pitiful, "It's what they would have wanted."
It appeared his face value was not for nothing as she seemed very moved by his words.
"Then make me your favorite dish," and kindly added, "I trust you."
Li Xue only nodded as he got to work in the kitchen. From turning on the stove to slicing ingredients, all his steps seemed clean and diligent. Seeing his expert movements, some hope kindled on the woman's face as she realized she had underestimated this teenage child.
As the sounds of chopping continued to be heard, a fragrant aroma emerged and caused the woman's nose to move slightly. Li Xue had also noticed the change and attributed it to the 50% appeal increase given by <Home Cook>.
Very quickly, he was finished and began plating. Although it was not great, it was at least presentable. He figured that he would probably have to improve his title's grade in the future if he wanted to reach greater heights.
Luckily for him, the woman did not seem to mind as she eagerly took the plate after giving him the money. They were Demonic Spirit Rocks, the local currency of the Nether Realm and the one he used to buy the building. Of course, the ones he had just now received were far smaller than the ones he had paid out according to price.
Watching her eat, Xue Li silently exclaimed as the woman ate voraciously in contrast to her image before. If before she was a noblewoman, she now looked like a tomboyish older sister. Still, he found a kind of pleasure in seeing her inelegantly consume his cooking. Only now did he understand why cooking was such a popular lifestyle trait for many players in his old world.
As she finished eating, she boldly wiped her mouth with her sleeve while thanking him for the meal. She was much friendlier than earlier as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. From this distance, he could faintly smell the flowery fragrance of her body.
"That was the best thing I had ever eaten, even better than back home! Hey, kid-- Oops, sorry. Actually, what is your name?"
Seeing her sincere expression, Li Xue was not offended this time. Thinking about his current identity, Li Xue thought it was still best to use his real name and not his Dark Guild name.
"I'm called Li Xue. You?"
"Li Xue, huh? Well... My name..."
The woman put on a bit of a hesitant look as she trailed off.
Li Xue asked plainly, "Is it hard for you to say?"
She shook her head.
"No, not really. It's just that... Oh, whatever! My name is Hua Huo. And yes, I'm that Hua Huo."
She turned away as if embarrassed by her own introduction. Judging by her expression, it seemed she expected Li Xue to know her. However, he could only look at her oddly.
"Who?"
"Huh? You haven't heard of me?"
"Nuh-uh."
"..."
Her face becoming as pink as her hair, she realized how awkward things had become.
"Well, I'm pretty famous around here as one of the Nether Realm's top geniuses! I'm also pretty cool y'know..."
Thankfully his memory was enhanced because Li Xue would not have remembered this minor character otherwise. She was indeed one of the Nether Realm's greatest geniuses and had even become the love interest of one of the main cast. Bold and sexy, she was equally fierce and brilliant like a blazing flower.
"You said that you are a top genius, right?"
"Yes, I am."
Hua Huo was no longer meek and confidently admitted it, awaiting praise and admiration from this junior.
"Well, how strong are you now?"
She laughed slightly at his question as she narrowed her eyes at him in a teasing way.
"You sure you want to know this sister's rank? Why should I tell you, huh?"
As she playfully whispered in his ear, Li Xue did not want to look desperate and stopped asking.
"Fine, have it your way."
Seeing his childish behavior, Hua Huo giggled happily like a bell.
"Just wait, Little Xue. Next time, your sister here will bring some guests so you won't be so lonely in your little restaurant. Maybe then you'll know how great I am?"
Li Xue snorted but said nothing, causing her to laugh again.
"You're just like him, haha! Smile more! Otherwise, which little girls will like you? Anyway, I'll take that as your approval! Until next time, Little Xue!"
And just like that, she exited the building.
Meanwhile, Li Xue's naive expression had entirely disappeared as he silently began wiping the countertop in thought.
...
Just outside of the restaurant, Hua Huo turned around with a foxlike expression as she said something under her breath.
Then she pulled out a strange pattered crystal from her pocket. Carrying an alluring sheen, one could tell it was a valuable treasure from a glance. And it would be true, except the crystal itself was not the real treasure. Instead, it was the pattern inscribed on it. It was not just any inscription either, but a rare Inscription Pattern used to send messages very long distances in an instant. In fact, the crystal did not belong to Hua Huo but was a treasure of her family clan.
No less than two years ago, Hua Huo encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation. No matter what magical elixir or technique her family used, it was of little help. So, the fiery young woman decided to train outside the Nether Realm. Despite the pleading of her family and friends, she was adamant and left Stalagmite City.
At first, Hua Huo worried she made the wrong decision. The sole daughter of her parents, she was inevitably sheltered. Remembering the results of her first few days in the wild, Hua Huo felt a blush creep up on her face.
But, after a few weeks, she became like a warrior and had gotten used to the new lifestyle. She had become more disciplined, more astute, and more experienced. Very quickly, the bottleneck which troubled her before tore open like paper as her level continued to soar. Now, she was eager to share the results of her training with her family. Unfortunately, the clan only had one Communication Crystal, meaning she could only send messages and would have to return home before getting their response.
As the crystal glowed in her hand, she spoke happily into the pattern at the top.
"Mother, Father, I've returned! I'm already in Stalagmite City and will be back by tonight, so wait for my good news. Also, say hello to Grandpa for me! Okay, bye!"
As Hua Huo put the crystal away, she looked back to the low-key restaurant behind her for what she believed to be the last time before treading away into the dark city night.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone