After roasting and waiting for four more days, I finally got my hands on the well-aged beans.
I'm really glad I bought that ring from <Hunter Market>. Thanks to it, I managed to avoid the interference of the malicious system.
I opened the box and checked the condition of the beans inside.
[Beans (★★★☆☆)
Condition: Aged
Beans that have been aged after roasting.
Properly aged, suitable for making coffee.]
"They're well-aged, why."
"Meow."
I didn't intend to go to such lengths. Maybe this is how a farmer feels when he cooks rice from the grains he planted.
Seeing the vivid brown color of the 'real_final_last_beans,' I felt a sense of pride.
Curious about how they would taste, I decided to make coffee right away.
With the beans in hand, the next step was relatively simple. I decided to use the skill I obtained last time.
'Barista's Extraction.'
The moment I used the skill, the method for extracting espresso came to mind, and my hands moved naturally.
First, I ground the beans with a grinder. I filled the portafilter with the finely ground bean powder and tamped it down firmly with a tamper. After setting up the machine properly, the espresso was extracted.
...Swallow.
The rich coffee aroma made my mouth water without me realizing it.
I filled a coffee cup with hot water, poured in the espresso, and mixed it to complete the Americano.
[Item: Americano (★★★☆☆)
Condition: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00)
Effect: Nullifies debuffs. (01:00:00)]
"I just wanted this one cup of coffee..."
Thinking about all the hard work I put into making this Americano, I felt like tears were welling up. The effect of nullifying debuffs is also incredibly useful.
This time, I filled a glass with eight pieces of ice and cold water, then poured in the espresso. I wanted to try an iced Americano as well.
After stirring it gently to mix it well, it was complete.
[Item: Iced Americano (★★★☆☆)
Condition: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00)
Effect: Using skills does not consume stamina. (01:00:00)]
The effect of the iced Americano also seemed quite useful. It could help when using high-level skills that consume a lot of stamina.
'Who knows if such a day will come...'
"Drink it quickly!"
"Meow."
While I was looking at the status window of the Americano, the impatient cat and slime next to me urged me on.
Then, I will drink these two precious cups of coffee that contain my hard work.
First, I took a sip of the warm Americano. The smooth and deep flavor wrapped around my body, warming it. The tension in my body eased, and my mind became calm.
Next, the iced Americano.
This time, a refreshing taste flooded my mouth. It was so cold it made me feel more alert, and the aftertaste was clean.
The moment I finished the last sip, the quest completion notification sounded.
[Congratulations! You have completed the 'Main Quest: The Path of a Barista (1).'
Please claim your reward.]
[Experience: Gained 200exp.]
[100 Rubies obtained.]
[New Recipe: Basic 5 Menu Items for a Cafe obtained.]
The satisfaction of receiving the reward.
The joy of finally completing the coffee.
The high level of concentration that brought about a sense of peace.
"...Right now."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?!"
"...Meow?"
I selected the golden gacha ticket I obtained from the previous quest in my inventory.
In a state of perfect emptiness. This was the moment to use the gacha.
[Current number of golden gacha tickets: 3]
[Please pull the lever.]
I pulled the lever of the semi-transparent gacha machine that appeared before my eyes. At the end of the hologram where the capsules were rapidly mixed, a white capsule came out.
[Agility status increased by 1.]
[1 Ruby obtained.]
Only one chance left.
"Huh, ha..."
"Tsk, golden items don't come out so easily."
Ignoring Miumi's scolding, I immediately pulled the lever.
"Got it!"
Success!
A golden capsule came out with a different, more dazzling effect.
[Item obtained. Please check your inventory.]
[Item: Stainless Steel Thermos (★★★☆☆)
Maintains the temperature of beverages for a long time.
Capacity: 700ml]
Inside my inventory was a common thermos.
So, just a thermos.
At first, I was disappointed because it wasn't a good item, but as I read the description, a possibility flashed through my mind.
Maybe...
"Why are you like that? Even if you're disappointed, you shouldn't give up..."
"Wait a minute!"
"Why?!"
I immediately made another Americano and poured it into the thermos. Then I checked the status window.
[Condition: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00)]
[Condition: Good (Time Remaining: 00:30:00)]
...
As expected.
The time remaining did not decrease while the coffee was in the thermos.
With this thermos, it would be possible to drink good coffee even in places far from the shop.
So, it's a good item, isn't it?
Feeling elated at the success of the gacha, I suddenly heard my phone buzz. It was a text message.
What is it? There's no reason for me to receive a text message.
Usually, I would have dismissed it as an advertisement, but why did I feel so uneasy?
...Swallow.
Ah, it must be just my imagination.
The pounding in my chest must be due to caffeine, and the chill down my neck must be... Yes, it's because I drank the iced Americano.
I unlocked my phone and checked the message. To my surprise, the sender was Kwon Jiwoon.
[Riul, how's the shop doing?]
[Come to the guild sometime. Let's talk^^]
The incongruous tone. The even more unsettling smiley emoticon.
Thump, my heart felt like it dropped.
* * *
The next day.
I was looking at the text message from Kwon Jiwoon on my phone again.
Ugh. Just reading the short message made my stomach hurt.
Kwon Jiwoon doesn't call me like that. He only sends messages through guild members, and he never welcomed me to the guild.
And what's with the '^^' emoticon?
Ugh...
I clutched my aching stomach several times when Ki Yuhyun arrived at the shop.
I had just contacted him to let him try the delicious coffee I mentioned earlier.
Phones don't work inside the dungeon, so I thought it might take a while for him to reply.
Ki Yuhyun arrived at the shop about 20 minutes after leaving a message.
Isn't this place quite far from the <Cheongra Guild> building?
However, Ki Yuhyun, with his still sparkling face and a smile, looked very relaxed as he knocked on the door.
"Ki Yuhyun, aren't you going to the dungeon?"
In any case, it's true that I promised to let him try the new coffee. I asked while putting the beans into the grinder.
"Haha, the guild members feel burdened when I go with them."
Does that mean it's a burden to have an inexperienced hunter in the party, leading to a loss of combat power?
"And the deputy guild leader, Han Isung, told me to go early."
"...Really?"
"Yes, he's not usually like that, but something must have come up..."
According to Ki Yuhyun, when I said I had business at our shop, Hunter Han Isung immediately sent me off, telling me to go right away.
They said all the guilds were busy because a C-rank instance dungeon had recently appeared.
From his words, it seemed he didn't want to take Ki Yuhyun to the dungeon.
While survival of the fittest is the norm in the hunter world, it was still a bit pitiful.
The main party of the <Cheongra Guild> is famous, but even so, not going to the dungeon together is unusual.
The last time I saw him, he seemed quite strong.
By the way.
While making a warm Americano, I brought up a fact that had been bothering me.
"Um, what does it mean when someone who doesn't usually do something suddenly starts doing it?"
"Did something happen?"
Ki Yuhyun was watching Lime, who was bouncing around the shop. When he asked where I got the pet slime, I told him I found it nearby. Well, it's not a lie. I picked it up from my inventory.
"No, just in general."
Actually, while making the coffee, I kept thinking about Kwon Jiwoon's text message.
At first, I wondered if I had misread it or if it was a spam message from someone with a similar name and number to Kwon Jiwoon.
However, denying reality had no effect. No matter how many times I looked, it was definitely a message from Kwon Jiwoon.
I decided to visit the guild a few days later, but I had no idea what it was about.
"I'm not sure. Generally speaking..."
"Generally speaking?"
Lime bounced away from Ki Yuhyun's touch.
"Maybe it's because they're about to die."
"Ah, that's not it."
Kwon Jiwoon is the best healer in the country.
Even before the regression, he was always healthy. He didn't suddenly change because he was sick.
Ki Yuhyun looked at me with a slightly exasperated expression and continued.
"Maybe something happened that caused a change in their mindset? For example..."
"For example?"
"Maybe they regressed."
Thump, my heart felt like it dropped.
Ki Yuhyun was still admiring Lime's translucent body. Because he had turned his head slightly, I couldn't see his expression.
"Well, it's just an example. The system has been creating Awakened for 20 years, but there have been no observed cases of regression... yet."
"Y-Yeah. Hahaha..."
I was startled when he suddenly mentioned regression, wondering if he knew about my regression.
Why does he have to say such things so meaningfully? It's scary.