Progress after that was remarkably smooth, and Li Ke finally understood how things worked in this place.
They didn't charge directly for the services; instead, you bought their drinks. Once you purchased enough alcohol, the hostesses would accompany you to a private room furnished with sofas and beds. After that, you were free to do whatever your heart desired.
But unfortunately...
"Only five Energy Points? It looks like there's absolutely no point in coming back here again."
Sitting on the bed, Li Ke let out a heavy sigh as he looked at the messy sheets and the exhausted Miss Yellow Rose sprawling beside him.
He had gone five rounds with her, but the final yield was a meager five Energy Points. Forget comparing her to Erina—she couldn't even match what he got from a simple kiss on the lips from Lux!
"Though her attitude and service level were undeniably top-tier..."
Caressing the silky, satin-smooth skin of Miss Yellow Rose's bare back, Li Ke sighed again. She only had the physical capacity of a normal human. After completely draining him, she had long since collapsed from sheer exhaustion.
Taking a deep breath, Li Ke tucked ten gold coins directly into her ample cleavage. He pulled on his clothes and walked out the front doors of the pink bar.
Since accumulating Energy Points this way was so inefficient, it only made sense for him to spend his time seeking out methods to make his actual body stronger.
"Come to think of it, swordsmanship is incredibly widespread in this world of Dungeon & Fighter."
Watching the swordsmen walking past him with blades gripped in their hands, Li Ke pondered which combat discipline he should pick up.
Firearm proficiency went without saying. That was a mandatory skill he had to learn and could never abandon.
Guns were simply much faster and more lethal than swords.
However, leaving his base body unbuffed was out of the question. He hadn't forgotten that while the same stat-boosting system provided a dozens-of-times multiplier for someone like Rias, he was still nothing more than a total weakling in their eyes.
He absolutely had to undergo physical training and cultivation for his actual body.
With that thought in mind, he walked straight toward the Mages' Guild.
Who was he kidding? Magic was obviously way cooler!
Upon stepping inside the Mages' Guild, the scene that greeted Li Ke wasn't just a solitary Sharan sitting around. The Mages' Guild wasn't some rundown, single-room establishment like it appeared in the game. Instead, it was a massive, sprawling academy.
As he entered the grand facility, he spotted numerous figures wearing long robes and carrying thick books, milling back and forth with long staves clutched in their hands.
Sharan, who had personally gone out of her way for him earlier, was currently standing right before a massive set of doors. Holding a star-tipped wand that was only about the length of a human arm, she was patiently instructing two children who couldn't have been older than eight or nine.
Li Ke stood a polite distance away, waiting quietly for Sharan to finish her lesson.
Seeing Sharan this time, the cold, detached expression she usually wore had practically vanished. As she watched the children and guided them through the principles of magic, a genuinely beautiful warmth softened her features the moment the little ones successfully cast two beginner spells.
Her body contours remained as incredibly alluring as ever. Whenever she bent down to speak to the children, her already voluptuous breasts looked exceptionally full, rounded, and bursting against her top. Yet, what drew Li Ke in even more was the captivating mix of her maternal, earnest aura paired with that fiercely provocative evening gown. The combination framed Sharan beautifully, making her look exactly like a highly refined, sensual noblewoman—which, in fairness, she already was.
After sending the children on their way, Sharan turned her gaze toward Li Ke. She had encountered countless humans in her long life, but Li Ke was the type who caught her attention. His facial features might have been somewhat plain, but that unmistakable aura of someone who had repeatedly faced life-threatening situations was something that could never be faked.
Not only that, but the closer she got to Li Ke, the more intrigued she became. She could sense a lingering trace of some profoundly powerful force within him. Yet, the stark, contradictory reality was that Li Ke did not possess a single drop of mana in his body.
"Yo, Miss Sharan, good morning. I came by today to thank you for this," Li Ke said, pointing to the brooch pinned to his chest. He reached into his pocket, pulling out half of his remaining gold coins to offer them to her.
"There is no need for money. I came to this world specifically to aid those in need," Sharan replied, looking at Li Ke with deep interest. She had noticed that while he was watching her teach the children, a portion of his gaze had naturally locked onto her legs and chest, but the vast majority of it had been intently focused on the magical incantations she was demonstrating.
The raw desire in his eyes was absolutely impossible to fake, and she was far too experienced to misread it. That specific gaze belonged to those who desperately craved power.
And magic was power.
"You caught me. I'm actually very interested in magic," Li Ke admitted with a straightforward nod. Swordsmanship was cool and something he had to learn, but if he could actually learn magic—
"Then follow me. This is also one of my responsibilities here," Sharan smiled. She pushed open the heavy doors behind her and stepped inside first.
Li Ke hadn't expected it to be this incredibly easy. He eagerly followed her inside and turned his eyes back to her.
With a casual wave of Sharan's hand, several crystals of various colors instantly flared to life, illuminating the room. She turned back to him, pointing toward a pentagram magic circle etched into the center of the floor.
"Step inside, then close your eyes and try to capture the energy around you. You can use your imagination if you need to—look for energy that possesses its own distinct colors and emotions. If you can grasp it, then you can learn magic. If not, then there's simply nothing to be done."
Li Ke nodded without a word and stepped straight into the circle.
His decisive attitude earned an approving nod from Sharan. She snapped her fingers once more, and this time, even Li Ke could perceive a distinct ripple of energy surging through the room. He tried to sense the forces around him but felt absolutely nothing at first. Remembering Sharan's instructions, he began to visualize colors in his mind, attempting to seize them.
He pictured four distinct colors, but the closest one to him was a deep, pitch black.
Within that darkness, he felt a sudden chill that made his heart shudder. Craving warmth, his subconscious instinctively conjured a brilliant flash of red in his mind.
He tentatively reached out to grasp that crimson hue. The very instant his consciousness formed the intent to capture it, a wave of violent, turbulent warmth washed over him. Right on cue, Sharan's voice echoed in his ears.
"That's enough. Congratulations, Mr. Li Ke. You possess the aptitude to learn magic. Though it is faint, you should be able to feel the surrounding mana gathering toward you right now."
Li Ke snapped his eyes open. He realized the warmth he felt wasn't a mere illusion—it was real. A small sphere of flame was hovering right above his palm, radiating a comforting heat.
He could actually feel a strange, mystical force slowly seeping into his body from all directions, converging into his hand. Combined with the ambient elemental forces in the air, it formed the fireball hovering right before his eyes.
With a gentle wave of Sharan's hand, the fire elements gathered in Li Ke's palm instantly dispersed. Li Ke then consciously focused the inner current of energy within his body, causing a faint, shimmering glow to emanate from his hand.
Staring at the luminescence, he still found it hard to believe. Just like that, he had effortlessly obtained the extraordinary power he had dreamed about for so long.
"This is... mana?"
Sharan smiled warmly, her joy stemming purely from witnessing another person awaken to mana and embark on the path of a mage.
"Exactly. This is mana. Once you grow accustomed to its presence, your body will eventually be able to generate it entirely on its own."
Li Ke studied his hand closely. He could tell that controlling this mana was a bit unwieldy, but as long as he focused his mind, he could guide it. It simply required a fair amount of mental energy.
Staring at the glowing energy, he was still struck by a sense of disbelief. How could an ordinary guy from Earth like him wield magic this easily? If it wasn't due to his system's hidden influence, then the mana of this world was truly a miraculous thing.
He turned his gaze back to Sharan.
"So, what's the underlying principle? I definitely didn't have any mana before this, so why can my body suddenly generate it now?"
Sharan's response was remarkably blunt.
"I don't know."
"Huh?"
Seeing Li Ke's dumbfounded expression, a playful smile returned to Sharan's lips.
"There are many theories out there. Some say it comes from the soul, while others believe it's a combination of mental willpower and life force. But what I want to tell you, Mr. Li Ke, is that every mage eventually finds their own answer. Yet, I can also tell you that all those theories are wrong."
She paused, her smile deepening as her gaze locked onto him.
"But at the same time, they are all absolutely right."