Rita was so moved that her eyes teared up—well, mostly because she was holding in a yawn. She was utterly exhausted. "Let's go home. I found a person who might be a player, but we haven't met directly. You might even know him."
On the way back, she explained her "discovery." "You can't be too obvious when asking about this kind of thing. Everyone's keeping it under wraps. I didn't meet the person directly—we were both being cautious. So, I changed my approach and started asking if anything strange had happened, and I found out something."
"Do you know a game streamer called 'WinterSnow'? His skills have improved dramatically lately, right?"
Rick's eyes lit up. "Yes, we've been friends for a long time. Recently, people in our gaming group have been talking about him, saying it's like he's suddenly unlocked his potential."
Rita nodded. "Yeah, when I was talking to that player, they mentioned Julian, too. They suspect he has a voice-related ability. I watched some of his recent streams, and every time he shouts things like 'Stand up! You've got this! I believe in you!' his team suddenly performs much better."
Rick looked confused. "What?"
Rita explained further, "I told you about **Divine Gifts** before, right? They're weird and varied. I can manipulate a person's luck for a short time, so it's not impossible that another player's ability could affect others through their voice."
Rita left the Julian situation to Rick. For now, he was still a normal person, and whether he could leverage his friendship with Julian into a closer alliance was up to him.
When they arrived back in town, Rita didn't let Rick take her back to her little villa. She didn't like others stepping into her private space. In fact, she was planning to sell the villa soon and buy a small apartment that might host a dungeon portal in the future. That way, whether she traded resources with the authorities or kept the place to farm dungeons herself, it would be a smart move.
After dinner at the Wilson house, she turned down Rick's offer to drive her back and returned to her villa alone, ready to immerse herself in study once again.
It turned out that the reason she wasn't a top student in the past was because she hadn't found the right subject.
For the next while, Rita dedicated herself to studying with an almost religious fervor. She meticulously reviewed every alchemy recipe she had, both beginner and intermediate levels, watching the accompanying instructional videos again and again, memorizing every movement of the undead instructor.
After watching all 400 recipes, she started from the beginning and watched them again. This time, she noticed that the undead mentor would occasionally offer brief explanations during the videos.
Rita thought, *Teacher, you're helping the enemy!*
Perhaps to a true scholar, there was no difference between human and undead students. Just as goblins cared only for money and business rather than war and glory, once a person reached the level of a legendary craftsman, all they valued was the passing down of their skills.
She didn't dwell too much on this, instead choosing to cherish the opportunity. Whenever she hit a mental roadblock, she would step outside to cook a meal for the neighborhood cats. The cats of the "Meow Meow Inn" came and went frequently, but none stayed for more than a few days at a time. Although there were stray cats who lived in the area permanently, they only occasionally stopped by for food and didn't linger.
Though Rita loved cats, she had no plans to keep one as a pet. She was too busy, constantly running off to do her thing. She had no time to care for a pet that needed regular attention.
The current arrangement was perfect. She would prepare extra, lightly seasoned meat when practicing her cooking skills and leave it outside. In return, she got to cuddle and play with different cats, all without the responsibility of owning one.
It was an open relationship… with cats.
Though the ingredients she used were ordinary in the real world, the food she made still had slight buffing effects. Some meals increased strength temporarily, others speed. Both Rita and the cats enjoyed the results.
Even though the skills she learned from the otherworld were delivered directly into her mind, making it feel like an instructional video, following along and practicing herself wasn't the same. After all, the former imprinted the knowledge directly, shortening the learning curve and strengthening memory retention.
Within just half a year, Rita had gone from a novice cook to a master with hundreds of dishes under her belt.
Having mastered the basics, she could now cook meals from scratch without following a recipe. Though these dishes lacked magical effects, they still tasted great.
She hadn't ordered takeout in a long time. Her cooking was far superior to anything she could buy outside, and some dishes gave buffs like "Increased Focus," even if only for a few minutes. Those precious moments of heightened concentration significantly boosted her learning efficiency, allowing her to notice details in the alchemy videos she had previously overlooked.
Rita took half a day to bake over a thousand focus-enhancing cookies, nibbling on them as she studied.
By August, Rita had even made time to return to her company and officially terminate her contract. She then announced her retirement from the entertainment industry. Given her current circumstances, staying out of the public eye was the safest course of action. The story she told Rick about Julian's growing notoriety wasn't entirely false—after all, Rick's gaming group had indeed been talking about it. Such developments might seem like mere gossip to non-players, but to those in the know, they could quickly connect the dots to the game.
She suspected that in her past life, Julian's sudden move to Los Angeles to join Rick had been driven by similar suspicions—that someone had noticed his unusual behavior, and he sought refuge with a trusted friend.
Rita's retirement announcement caused a brief stir online. People dug up the recent incident where her former agent had died and speculated whether Rita had been affected by the scandal.
Rita responded to the rumors, clarifying what she could. Just because she didn't care about her fame didn't mean she was willing to let people tarnish her name.
"I'm fine. I wasn't hurt. I just feel tired and want to take a break and live the life I really want."
"No, I haven't suddenly struck it rich or married into a wealthy family. I just did the math, and my savings are enough to live comfortably."
"Yes, that was me selling my designer bags. I never really cared for them. I only needed them for my work as a celebrity. Now that I'm leaving the industry, I don't need them anymore."
"If I were truly broke, I wouldn't be retiring. Thanks for the concern, though."
"The company and I parted on good terms."
"No, I don't have a wealthy boyfriend. I'm not interested in dating or getting married. I don't want to spend anyone else's money—I've got enough for myself."
Rita spoke with such confidence that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had robbed the Lopez family of their gold just a few weeks ago.