Chapter 24

"Right now?" Rao Ke held a bowl in one hand and a piece of roast duck in the other.

Chrisley continued eating. "After we finish, we'll head to the inner part of the Adventure Forest. I'll find you an opponent."

Rao Ke nodded, excitement bubbling inside her—this would be her first real magical battle.

After the meal, Rao Ke tucked the staff under her arm, and Chrisley led her to a stretch of open grassland.

Chrisley conjured an incredibly ugly golem out of thin air and introduced it to Rao Ke.

Rao Ke: ...

Perhaps sensing Rao Ke's silence, Chrisley coughed a couple of times, her face reddening. "Hurry up and prepare for battle! Don't judge an enemy by its appearance—that's the first lesson I'm teaching you!"

Wenni, perched on Chrisley's left shoulder, rolled her eyes. It was obvious she just couldn't shape golems well; after all, Chrisley had been terrible at golem sculpting since childhood.

Rao Ke naturally said nothing. She took out her staff and faced the golem, poised and ready.

The low-level golem had been fitted with fire and wood attribute magic stones by Chrisley. It had no consciousness and was controlled entirely by her.

Chrisley's expression didn't change. The next second, the golem appeared to Rao Ke's right, and a small fireball came flying straight at her face.

Rao Ke quickly dodged, but the next moment, green vines wrapped around her, spinning her through the air like a whirlwind.

With a wave of her hand, a dagger appeared and sliced through the vines.

According to Rao Ke's plan, she should have been able to escape after cutting the vines, but in reality, she was instantly wrapped into a ball by even more vines.

Though she eventually burned through them with her metal control, Rao Ke was still thoroughly toyed with by Chrisley's low-level golem.

Finally, Rao Ke sat on the ground, panting. The golem lay motionless before her, its magic core pierced by vines.

Chrisley handed her a bottle of water and pulled her up, patting her shoulder with satisfaction. "Not bad. You're improving quickly."

Chrisley packed up the golem and gave it to Rao Ke, along with a bag of magic stones, instructing her to train twice a day, installing two magic stones of different attributes each time.

"In two weeks, I'll come back to check on you personally." Chrisley smiled at Rao Ke.

That evening, Rao Ke wore a blue-and-yellow plaid pajama set, feeling refreshed as she lay in bed, replaying the feeling of casting magic today.

It was awesome and dazzling!

Rao Ke clenched her fist, and with a flick of her right index finger, a small vine sneakily emerged.

Just as Rao Ke was having a great time playing, a black hole suddenly appeared in her room, and Sesame Paste jumped out from it.

"KeKe! I'm back!"

As soon as Sesame Paste came through the teleportation array, it saw Rao Ke lying on the bed.

"Sesame Paste, long time no see!" Rao Ke immediately sat up. "How did the meeting go?"

"Pretty good! We got second place in the management system group, and my master praised me!" Sesame Paste sat proudly on the quilt, sharing the news.

Rao Ke smiled and listened to Sesame Paste's chatter.

When Rao Ke had returned, Xue Jiali had told her that Sesame Paste had gone out for three days on business.

Sesame Paste had also left a message saying it was going back to attend the newcomer system summary conference.

"By the way, Sesame Paste, I have a question." Now seemed like a good time, so Rao Ke decided to ask about that Human Emperor.

"You mentioned before that the greatest Human Emperor on this continent invented the Astrolabe, right?" Rao Ke looked thoughtful. "I always feel like that emperor's actions, inventions, and policies are very much like a transmigrator's."

Sesame Paste blinked its watery cat eyes. "Oh, him..."

"He was an explorer sent by our system to connect with this other world. He just wanted to explore, but he ended up becoming the Human Emperor." Sesame Paste sighed.

"And since we'd grown close over time, he revealed information about the calamity, which got him punished by headquarters. But to outsiders, it looked like he was punished by the gods for leaking heavenly secrets."

Rao Ke munched on some snacks. "So what's he up to now?"

"Nothing much. He was punished, but because he did well in exploring the other world, it was just a minor slap on the wrist. Now he's the librarian at headquarters." Sesame Paste wagged its tail.

Getting the answer, Rao Ke was satisfied.

"By the way, the Beastman Kingdom and our shop have set up a teleportation array." Rao Ke mentioned it to Sesame Paste.

Hearing this, Sesame Paste called up its panel. "I remember there's a collection quest. It should have been sent out already, right?"

"I received it." Rao Ke couldn't help but complain. "I was in the middle of chatting with the Beast Emperor, and the quest suddenly popped up in front of me. I almost thought I was under attack."

"Sorry, sorry. I'll adjust that later." Sesame Paste apologized with a laugh.

"Forget it, I'm not going to scold you." Rao Ke asked, "Xue Jiali invited me to the Elf Festival. Do you want to come along?"

"Of course I do!!" Sesame Paste was still upset about not being taken along on Rao Ke's trip to the Beastman Kingdom last time.

Rao Ke nodded. Then she'd have to ask Chrisley to stay and mind the shop.

Thinking about it, Rao Ke felt she really needed to hire a few more employees.

After mulling it over, she decided to hire four more. She'd put up posters tomorrow and start the selection process when she got back from the Elf Forest.

With that in mind, Rao Ke began designing the recruitment poster.

Since it was a job ad, she didn't add too much—just the employee requirements and interview time, enlarged and placed in the most prominent spot.

"Done! Time to sleep!" Rao Ke stretched, pulled up the covers, and turned off the light.

The next morning, Rao Ke posted the printed flyers in the shop's most visible spot.

Customers who came early: !!

They immediately pulled out their Astrolabes to contact family and friends, while some with aspirations carefully compared their own qualifications against the requirements.

[Promotion Quest: Promote the clothing section of Keke Shop in the Elf Forest!

Time: 3 days

Reward: Shop Villa Expansion Card]

Seeing the new message on her tablet, Rao Ke looked at Sesame Paste. "When did our shop get a clothing section? It wasn't unlocked yet."

Sesame Paste licked an ice cream. "It's probably a sudden quest. Check the system mall—clothing items should be temporarily unlocked."

Rao Ke checked the system mall and, sure enough, saw a dazzling array of clothing styles.

"Not bad at all." Rao Ke casually bought a few items, and when they arrived, both the cut and the fabric were excellent.

Sesame Paste wagged its tail. "Of course. Everything in the system mall is top quality. They never cut corners."

Rao Ke got ready and went to Xue Jiali's room to ask about the clothing preferences of elves.

"Knock, knock!"

Rao Ke knocked on the door, and after a moment, it swung open. Seeing Rao Ke, Xue Jiali stepped aside to let her in.

Xue Jiali's room was a sea of green, filled with all kinds of plants.

There were even little translucent glowing orbs everywhere.

"What are these?" Rao Ke carefully picked up one of the small glow orbs, which felt cool to the touch.

"We elves basically all have the ability to cultivate and bond with plants. Spirits gather mana spirits around them, which have self-awareness. Different attribute elves have different kinds of mana spirits around them." Xue Jiali explained.

As one of the mana spirits drifted toward her, Xue Jiali gently caught it. "These are ice-attribute mana spirits."

"So cute." Watching a mana spirit nuzzle her finger, Rao Ke gently placed it back on a nearby plant.

Rao Ke looked around at the plants, feeling her mood lift, as if she were in a natural oxygen bar. "You have so many plants in here. It feels really comfortable."

Xue Jiali smiled. "Elves naturally prefer to be in places with lots of plants. It's relaxing."

Rao Ke was stunned for a moment at Xue Jiali's smile, then praised, "Xue Jiali, you look really nice when you smile. You should smile more."

Xue Jiali froze, his ears instantly turning red. He quickly changed the subject. "Did you come to my room for something?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask what clothing styles elves prefer." Rao Ke pulled out her tablet and showed Xue Jiali various clothing designs.

Xue Jiali looked at the different outfits on the tablet. "Most elves prefer loose, soft, simple solid-color clothes, but some like these dazzling, intricate dresses."

After discussing for a while, Rao Ke settled on the general styles.

"Alright, I'll be going now. Thanks for your help." Rao Ke stood up, said goodbye, and left Xue Jiali's room.

After Rao Ke left, Xue Jiali's cheeks only gradually cooled down.

When Rao Ke had complimented his smile, Xue Jiali almost said her smile was lovely too, but he managed to hold back at the last moment.

Xue Jiali couldn't understand why he'd reacted that way and decided to ask his teacher about it later.

After two busy days of preparation, Rao Ke entrusted the shop's affairs to Chrisley and set off with Xue Jiali for the Elf Forest.

Since Xue Jiali wasn't in a hurry, they traveled to the Elf Forest in the off-road vehicle.

Xue Jiali drove, since he was curious about the car and Rao Ke let him try it.

Learning from Chrisley's example, Rao Ke gave Xue Jiali very detailed instructions.

The main point she emphasized: No reckless driving!

To Rao Ke's surprise, Xue Jiali picked it up quickly and drove pretty well.

By the time Rao Ke woke up after dozing off, they had already reached the entrance to the Elf Forest.

"Let's go. I'll take you in." Xue Jiali had Rao Ke stow the off-road vehicle, then grabbed the hem of her clothes, and the two stepped into the Elf Forest.

Xue Jiali explained, "You need an elf to guide you to enter the Elf Forest."

"I see." Rao Ke didn't ask further. This was probably one way the elves kept their peace.

They hadn't gone far when several figures suddenly appeared before them.

"Xue Jiali, you're back!"

"Long time no see! Who's this with you?"

...

Looking at the elves, who were all beautiful in their own unique ways, Rao Ke felt her eyes were in for a treat, and even the earful she was getting could be temporarily forgotten.

"This is Rao Ke, the owner of KeKe Shop and my employer." Xue Jiali introduced her solemnly to the surrounding elves.

The elves had a realization and gathered curiously around Rao Ke. If she could keep someone as picky as Xue Jiali as her employee, then her shop must have something special.

Xue Jiali came to her rescue. "I brought a lot of things back. Come by my place later to pick them up. Don't you all have work to do?"

The other elves laughed. "Alright, we get it! See you tonight!"

Watching the elves leave, Rao Ke was still stunned.

She'd thought elves were all aloof and distant beautiful creatures, but while they were indeed beautiful, they were actually very easygoing.

If others knew what Rao Ke was thinking, they'd be speechless—those elves were always aloof and unapproachable to outsiders, not to mention powerful in magic, so no one could beat them anyway.

"Sorry about that. They mean no harm—they're just excited to see you for the first time." Xue Jiali looked at Rao Ke.

Rao Ke naturally didn't mind.

"Let's go. I'll take you to drop off your things first, then we'll go meet my teacher."