"I mean, is that even possible?"
Although Li Ke wasn't particularly invested in the lore of Dungeon & Fighter, he knew one basic fact: anyone capable of achieving a class advancement was already a professional-tier combatant. And those who could claim the title of an "Awakened" class had each shattered the limits of ordinary mortals, peering into the very essence of their power. They were absolutely not weaklings.
Aside from a few joke classes—like a Goblin, a regular Goblin, or a Throwing Goblin (otherwise known as a Male Brawler)—there was practically no class archetype in existence that should be desperately hurting for cash.
After all, Male Brawlers notoriously had it significantly worse than Female Brawlers.
"Well, she told me with her own two lips a few months ago that she was completely broke," the female Brawler replied, nodding firmly, thoroughly convinced of her own logic. "Apparently, it has something to do with her physical condition, so she must be desperate for coin!"
Noticing the sheer skepticism plastered across Li Ke's face, she gave his shoulder a heavy, resounding slap.
"Anyway, just trust me!"
"I don't even know your name, and you expect me to trust you...?"
Li Ke buried his face in his hands. He felt like his perfectly good plan to cash in on a life-saving favor had completely devolved into a total farce, and the female Brawler beside him was undoubtedly the prime culprit.
He was supposed to be maintaining a hardcore, deep, and brooding protagonist persona. So why did he keep running into such utterly unreliable people?
Li Ke desperately wanted to ask the universe why.
"If it's a name you want, yours truly is called Galina! The woman destined to become the next 'Poison Master'!"
The female Brawler flashed a fiercely confident grin, jabbing her thumb forcefully against her chest to emphasize her pride. The blunt impact deeply indented her chest, giving Li Ke an unhindered, up-close view of an incredibly enticing "crater" of cleavage.
"I'm Li Ke... let's just leave it at that."
Li Ke had completely lost the will to even complain. At this point, any lingering romantic or erotic expectations regarding the friend Galina mentioned had entirely evaporated. Instead, he found himself genuinely intrigued by the Grappler class.
He used to love playing a Grappler back in Dungeon & Fighter. It was just a pity that the class had eventually been abandoned by the meta. Even though it received several rebalances and reworks later on, the Grappler class had already declined to the point where practically nobody played it anymore.
And then, just as he expected—the situation blew up in his face.
"Uh, well..."
Perched on top of a shipping container was a girl with short hair and a remarkably voluptuous figure, clad in a tight wrestling bodysuit. Looking rather shy, she stared in utter bewilderment at Li Ke and the female Brawler standing before her. She couldn't help but scratch her cheek with her index finger before finally speaking up, completely at a loss for words.
"While I did tell you I was short on cash, things haven't actually devolved to that extreme of a point... It's really about the musculoskeletal enhancers. Since my physical strength has hit an absolute bottleneck, I want to try neutralizing the effects of the enhancers I was injected with back when I was desperate to become a Grappler. I guess I was a bit too impatient for quick success back then. Now, because I want to reach a higher tier, I want to try moving forward without relying on drugs, which means I need to save up some coin. But that doesn't mean I can just make that kind of money by selling my body! Besides, I don't want to get married and have kids this early."
As she spoke, she glanced at Li Ke and offered a polite yet incredibly awkward smile.
"So, whatever she told you about that, please just pretend you never heard it."
Granted, there truly were plenty of Grappler stars or apprentices who, running out of funds during their training, relied on their superior bedroom grappling skills—or pinning techniques—and stunning figures to hook up with wealthy merchants early on. After all, core strength, waist flexibility, and leg locking techniques were incredibly vital for a Grappler, to the point of being highly specialized.
In many instances, these physical attributes possessed miraculous efficacy in certain "magical" situations. For instance, a signature move like Spire, historically known as the Hell Cradle. When used on an enemy, it was a lethal, bone-shattering finisher; but when used on a husband or a lover in bed, it transformed into an unrelenting, repeating sequence of cowgirl-style, fleshy bombardment.
Legend had it that very few men could ever survive it.
A great many people absolutely adored the python-like constriction a female Grappler could provide. While she herself wasn't fond of exploiting such things, she was well aware of the rumors. After all, not everyone was like her, dreaming of scaling the absolute pinnacle of martial arts and pushing the limits of the Grappler class. Most people learned grappling simply to master a trade or combat skill, allowing them to compete in tournaments or earn coin during dangerous adventures. Since it all amounted to selling one's body anyway, if the alternative method felt amazing and secured a hefty retirement fund for the rest of one's life, why wouldn't they do it?
However, the sheer amount of wealth she required wasn't something that could be obtained so easily.
Setting aside the exorbitant price of a neutralizing agent that could erase the drug's chemical effects without leaving permanent side effects on the body, the rehabilitation costs during her weakened recovery state alone were astronomical. Add to that the lost wages from being unable to fight while rebuilding her strength, and the emergency fallback funds needed to reinject an even stronger muscular-spinal enhancer in case she failed to break through her natural limits—it was all just too much.
She could afford any single one of these expenses on her own, but paying for them all at once completely emptied out everything she had earned since her debut. That was exactly why she had lamented her lack of funds to Galina while they were out on a mission together.
But since she had no intention of selling her body, and Li Ke didn't exactly look like a walking vault of wealth, she turned the idea down quite decisively.
"Huh? So just how much cash are you actually short on?"
Galina's mouth twitched. She had assumed the Grappler was literally starving. As someone who mixed in Brawler circles, she didn't pay much attention to the Grappler scene.
To be precise, the two factions were constantly at each other's throats.
Well, to be even more precise, Brawlers looked down on everyone, and all the different martial arts schools looked down on each other, but the ones they despised the most were still other Brawlers.
"Around twenty to thirty thousand gold coins," the female Grappler, who held the title of Storm Eye, replied.
The moment that number left her mouth, Li Ke could clearly sense that the female Brawler beside him suddenly stopped breathing, her respiration turning incredibly shallow and rapid.
"Twenty... thirty thousand?!" Galina squawked out in sheer disbelief, her mouth hanging wide open.
"Yeah, and that's the discounted rate because I found a mutual acquaintance, plus Norton owes me a favor."
'Storm Eye' nodded naturally. Looking at the Brawler who looked like she was just recovering from a severe illness, she asked with genuine concern, "But are you okay? Last time we were on a mission together, you were literally coughing up blood."
"I'm fine. Anyway, if you aren't planning on that, just pretend I never said anything... I'm leaving."
"Eh? Aren't you going to stay a bit longer?"
"The others don't welcome me."
"This..."
Galina fell silent. When she realized she had risked her life in an underground match for a measly ten-gold-coin potion while her peer was talking about tens of thousands, she felt incredibly foolish.
Yet, she also knew that even if time wound back, she wouldn't ask the person in front of her for a loan.
Brawlers relied on themselves! What kind of skill was relying on others!
"Let's go, I'm taking you to ask someone else!"
Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, the female Brawler quickly grabbed Li Ke's hand and pulled him out of the Grappler dojo. Li Ke didn't say anything and just followed along.
He was now genuinely curious to see what kind of antics this female Brawler could pull off for him next.
However...
"One more stunt like this, and I'm going back to serious business."
Looking at a tavern with a bright pink sign not too far away, Li Ke spoke to Galina with a very serious expression. He had no time to waste on running around aimlessly.