I opened the skill window. All the skills I had acquired so far were listed. They were all pretty useless, but there was one that might help me now.
[Barista's Extraction (D)
Details: (Lv.1) Extracts espresso from ground coffee beans.]
Sugarcane isn't ground coffee beans, but extracting sap from the stem is still a form of extraction, right?
Anyway, it's a win-win situation. Let's give it a try. I held the dungeon sugarcane in my hand and used the skill.
'Barista's Extraction'
[Skill level is too low to extract.]
[Extraction may fail. Do you want to proceed?
Yes / No]
Instead of the skill being used, a warning window appeared. Without hesitation, I chose 'Yes.'
[Due to low level, stamina is used three times as much.]
[Stamina used. 85/100]
I felt a slight drain of energy as the skill was used.
[Extraction completed.]
However, the stem of the dungeon sugarcane disappeared, and what was left in my hand was not sugar but a black, sticky lump that emitted a foul odor.
The cat and the slime fled from me, saying the smell was terrible. Moreover, the slimy, sticky feeling was extremely unpleasant. Ugh, it feels like the smell will stick to my hands even after washing them.
[Item: Failed Dungeon Sugarcane Sap (βββββ)
This is the sap of the dungeon sugarcane that failed to be extracted.
It is useless as it is.
Please dispose of food waste in the food waste bag.]
Does the system message have a hint of mockery? Is it just my imagination?
But it's too early to be disappointed.
When I used the skill, it clearly said, "Skill level is too low to extract." It didn't say, "Not applicable to the skill" or "No effect."
In other words, if I raise the skill level, I can extract sugar. However, so far, completing quests hasn't raised the skill level.
"Mi-eum, how do you raise a skill level?"
"You don't know that? If you have skill points, you can raise it... Meow! Get away from me!"
Mi-eum, who fled because of the smell, bristled her fur.
Skill points. I've heard of them somewhere recently.
Ah, right. This is it. There was something in the quest window that I had been neglecting because it seemed troublesome.
[Side Quest: Ultimate Coffee
Make a deep bond with a true friend by offering ultimate coffee.
Deliver ultimate coffee: 0/1
Reward: 1 Skill Point]
But the quest description was quite ambiguous.
What is ultimate coffee? Is my labor-intensive Americano not good enough? And what is a true friend and a deep bond?
I wish the system would use clearer words. If the game system uses such ambiguous expressions, complaints will pour in. Despite my complaints, the system didn't even acknowledge them.
Ding.
Ah, a new notification. It must be a hint...
[Ultimate coffee... because it's 'ultimate'.]
...Is it mocking me?
* * *
I decided to find a way to complete the quest later and returned to the store with a few dungeon sugarcane stems for practice.
While looking for a suitable box to store the sugarcane, Mi-eum suddenly pounced on it.
Paw!
"Huh?!"
She stood on her hind legs, supporting her body while swinging her front paws quickly. The leaves of the sugarcane, hit by the "nyang-nyang punch," fluttered and swayed.
"Mi-eum, what are you doing?"
"Ahem, nothing."
Something seems suspicious...
I grabbed the stem of the sugarcane and gently shook the leaves in front of Mi-eum.
Mi-eum, who was trying to act cool and avoid looking at me, pounced again, swinging her front paws. She jumped up, trying to catch the leaf that seemed to be within reach but always just out of reach.
After a while, Mi-eum, who had been engrossed in the game, finally came to her senses and made an excuse.
"W-well, it just started moving in front of my eyes, and I couldn't help it."
I felt betrayed. You didn't even look at the toys I bought for you, and you... have such a taste? How much did they cost...?
I could deeply empathize with cat owners who raise cats that ignore expensive toys and play with scraps of paper.
Eh, whatever. As long as she's having fun.
I gently shook the sugarcane stem in front of Mi-eum. Paw!
Just as her paw was about to touch it, I quickly moved the stem away. After a few repetitions, Mi-eum got angry.
"Meow! Do you think this great agent can't catch such a thing? Do it again!"
"My arm is getting tired..."
"Do it again!"
Paw!
"What even is an agent?"
Paw!
"What! Don't you know? An agent who embodies the will of the system and manifests in this world, great..."
"But Mi-eum, you don't do anything."
"Why?!"
Mi-eum looked at me with a shocked expression. A piece of sugarcane leaf, torn by her claws, fluttered to the ground.
But this cat has only eaten, slept, watched TV, and rolled around. Lime at least helps with peeling coffee beans.
Especially when I almost became monster food, she disappeared somewhere. I didn't say much because she claimed to have been scolded by the system.
"Why..."
Mi-eum made a dejected sound and lowered her head.
"Why wouldn't I want to help? As an agent serving the great β‘β‘, I want to impart the knowledge of β‘β‘."
[System Error: β. β.β]
Another error window appeared, probably due to what Mi-eum just said.
"But I can't tell you much yet. Because of the system's limitations... To avoid the gaze of β‘β‘β‘β‘... Anyway, I can't even peel a single bean, and I'm useless..."
Uh, what do I do... I didn't expect this reaction. I just wanted to tease her a little...
I feel like I've become a bad human who nags a cat to earn its keep.
"Mi-eum, here, this."
I shook the sugarcane stem again. But Mi-eum only lowered her head and mumbled dejectedly.
"I can't do anything... Just eating..."
"But at first, Mi-eum explained a lot. You even taught me how to use skills."
"That was only at first. Now you do everything well on your own. Why..."
No matter how hard I tried to shake the sugarcane in front of her, Mi-eum ignored it and continued to sulk.
You're good at sulking, huh...
Lime rubbed against me, trying to comfort her, but it had little effect.
"Right! Do you want a snack? Are you hungry?"
When you're sad, eating something sweet is the best. I took out a box of Choco Chex I had saved and shook it in front of her.
What do I do? This isn't working either.
This time, I scratched under Mi-eum's chin.
"Why..."
Despite making a sleepy sound, Mi-eum didn't perk up at all.
As a last resort, I brought several square tissues and an ink pad used in the store. I pressed Mi-eum's paw onto the ink pad and stamped it on the tissue.
"Our Mi-eum has such pretty paw prints. Should we put paw prints on the store tissues? They would be popular because they're cute. Right?"
"..."
Oh, it had a little effect. Although she tried to hide it, I could see the corners of Mi-eum's mouth twitching. I stamped her paw on the tissue again.
At that moment, my phone, which I had put in my pocket, rang.
I handed Mi-eum to Lime and checked my phone. It was a message from my friend Mira.
[Shin Mira: Have you heard about him?]
[Shin Mira: Did you hear he became a hunter??]
[Me: Who is he??]
She still has the habit of forgetting the most important subject.
Who is it? Even when I tried to recall my past memories, no awakened person came to mind. Awakened people aren't that common...
Despite the sudden content, Mira didn't reply to my text for a while. She must have been dragged away while chatting.
I was curious but put the phone back in my pocket. It was almost time. I really didn't want to go, but... I had something to do today.
"I'll be back in a bit."
"Meow."
"Why..."
The two animals bid me farewell with listless voices.
* * *
I filled the thermos I got from the golden gacha with hot Americano.
[Item: Americano (β β β ββ)
Condition: Good (Remaining Time: 00:30:00)
Effect: Nullifies debuffs. (01:00:00)]
The remaining time in the status window didn't decrease, confirming that the thermos was working properly. I took the thermos and left the store.
My destination was the <Silver Guild>.
Yes, today was the day I was supposed to meet Kwon Ji-won.
The reason I prepared the coffee was simple. If Kwon Ji-won knows I've awakened, I want to show him that I have a skill to make such coffee.
Even if I tell him I'm not going to be a hunter but run a cafe, at least... he won't find it annoying. My steps were heavy.
I took the subway and got off at the Guild Central Station. A short walk from there, and the building of the <Silver Guild> was in sight.
The last time I came here, I was so disoriented after the regression that I didn't notice, but the <Silver Guild> had an intimidating atmosphere. There wasn't a speck of dust in front of it.
I entered the entrance of the white, shiny building with a slightly nervous feeling and headed towards the reception desk.
"I'll help you with your identification... Ah, Mr. Kwon-ri. They are waiting for you upstairs."
It's convenient to be recognized by my face, but I can't get used to this cold atmosphere.
I took the elevator to the top floor and was about to head to the guild master's office when someone came out from the opposite direction.
"..."
I involuntarily frowned when I recognized who it was. Of all people, I had to run into Park Hee-young.