Indeed, participating in Ranked Battles proved to not be very taxing. Because Roenaldo was facing opponents who were in the same low rank as him, defeating them did not require much brainpower or planning. He ended up winning 5 of the four games he played, benefiting both his ego and his wallet. With his increased stash of coins, Roenaldo decided to finally fill up his pantry; he was going to visit a grocery store. Having an idea as to where he would find such a place, he traveled in the direction of his living space and traveled up the nearby path. As he expected, he soon found a place called P-O-D some distance away from the restaurants he had visited.
"Okay," said Roenaldo, "Let's see what I can find here." He went inside to see that there were many aisles and lanes, with many customers walking around to find what they needed. Roenaldo looked around, noticing an area housing shopping carts, and he took one of them. He then walked past jellyfish, crabs, and others, keeping his eyes open for any isles relating to food. His wishes were fulfilled when he came across the grains isle. He combed through the selection of items, inspecting the likes of bread, rice, and oatmeal. He soon found some boxes of linguine spaghetti, buying 2 of them for 461 coins. He figured that he would need some vegetables to supplement his diet, so he searched for the aisle containing them. Upon locating said isle, he picked out 2 bags of fresh broccoli for 599 coins. He also visited the fruit isle, buying a bag of Red Delicious apples for 849 coins. Next on his list was some meat, which came in the form of a salmon fillet worth 1635 coins that was found in its aisle. Finally, he bought 3 cans of tomato sauce from the condiments section for 567 coins. Roenaldo was just about to leave, but he remembered that he needed the right tools to make his food. So, he visited the cooking ware section to buy a pot and a set pf silverware for 8060 coins. After getting what he needed, Roenaldo took his items to the bass-operated cash register, and he left after having 12180 coins taken away from the 13000 coins that he had gained from his Ranked Battles. "Wow," he said upon realizing this, "All of that effort...well, at least this food will last me some time! Better than eating out every day, I guess." He grabbed some shopping bags near the entrance of the store and made his way back to his home, where he would make use of his items.
"Okay," said Roenaldo after laying his items on the table, "So...how do I cook?" At no point during his time in Blackbelly Ridge did Roenaldo ever even pick up a ladle, mixer, or chopping knife. He did not know how to make food for himself. He tapped his foot while thinking before shrugging and saying, "Ah, whatever, this can't be too difficult, right? I'll just wing it." Using what he saw his mother do back at his old home, Roenaldo started by using his sink to pour water into the pot. Once that was done, he opened one spaghetti box and attempted to put some of the pasta into the pot only to find that it didn't fit. As a result, he was forced to break it in half. Next up, he placed a third of the salmon fillet right on top of the spaghetti, along with some tomato sauce. "There," he said after dumping his contents into the pot, "Now what? Oh yeah, I should probably heat this up." He carried the pot with its food over to a built-in stovetop, thinking, Hmm, what temperature should I set this to? 100 degrees? 200? 450? I'll just try 324. With that, he set the stove's dial to his desired temperature and was confused to see that nothing happened. "Wait," he said, "What's happening? Isn't there supposed to be a fire? Hold on, there's a label here...'Lite?' What's that supposed to mean? Okay, I'll try it out." He set the dial to the "Lite" option, causing a clicking sound to play, but nothing else. He then twisted the dial some more until suddenly—FWOOSH—a fire lit. Roenaldo jumped back in surprise, exclaiming, "What in tarnation?! Woah, so I guess that's how it's done." He set the temperature to about 324 degrees before looking at the water in the pot, seeing that it started bubbling very quickly. He smiled, saying, "That's what I'm talking about! I'll soon be eating my very own dish! Now, all that's left to do is wait."
So, he sat in one of his chairs, whistling a country tune while he awaited the completion of the cooking process. After about 5 minutes, Roenaldo walked over to the pot to check the progress. What he witnessed was a culinary disaster; the now-short strands of spaghetti had become clumped together due to Roenaldo forgetting to stir, the tomato sauce had dissipated in the water, and the salmon stood out like a sore thumb in the whole mess. Roenaldo winced, saying, "Ooh, that's not how I wanted it to look. It shouldn't be too bad, though; Ma has cooked worse-looking things that tasted amazing. It's time for a taste test!" He turned off the stove before taking the pot to his table. Forgetting to buy plates at the store earlier, Roenaldo opted to eat his atrocity straight out of the bowl. Unable to twist the small pasta onto his fork, Roenaldo instead scooped some of the noodles with his fork along with some fish. Roenaldo immediately gagged. The spaghetti was hard as coral, and the lack of tomato sauce provided zero flavor. The only redeemable part of the dish was the salmon, although the fact that it was unseasoned made it less than pleasant. Roenaldo continued to chew with a disgusted look on his face, thinking, Wow, this cooking business is harder than it looks. As it turns out, just tossing ingredients into a pot is not the answer. Knowing that this was his only food option, Roenaldo forced the rest of the food down his throat. He also picked out one broccoli head from his selection, eating it raw for fear of cooking it wrong.
Once Roenaldo finished chewing the vegetable, he said to himself, "Well, that was a bust. At the very least, I got my food." He sighed wistfully, continuing, "Oh, I'm already missing Ma's home cooking. Her tuna pot pies were the best in town! I would love to come back home just to have another taste of that wonderful dish right now..." He drifted off in thought, thinking of the life he had left behind. He then shook his head, stating, "But I can't head back now. I've made my decision. All I've got to do is learn how to cook better, and I'll be fine! I wonder if there's anyone to help me with this..." Now finished with all his food, Roenaldo went to his bed for an early rest. He was just about done for the day, what with all the ranked matches he had done along with his attempt at cooking.
Roenaldo awoke in the morning, some tomato sauce still on his pants. He looked at himself, finally noticing how dirty his clothes had become with all the battles and other activities he had done. "Wow," he said, "That's a lot of stains. Ah, these clothes are bland, anyway. Besides, I've got no clue where a cleaner is, and I'm trying to save money anyhow." Roenaldo took a quick shower to make himself feel a bit better about his current state. He then grabbed his usual weapon and made his way to Inkopolis Plaza and into the Lobby to do his usual business. Once he went to the terminal to register for a battle, he saw that he had a new notification under his name. "CONGRATULATIONS," it said, "YOUR PERFORMANCE IN YOUR RECENT MATCHES HAS JUSTIFIED YOUR PROMOTION TO THE NEXT RANK. YOU HAVE MOVED UP FROM C- INTO C." Roenaldo smiled, saying, "Nice! I wonder if the rewards will be better? Well, there's only one way to find out, right?" With that, he registered for another ranked match, with the current mode being Tower Control.