I looked at Miumi. Her glossy tricolor fur, perky ears, and long whiskers, along with her round paws and pink jelly.
"You're a cat."
But it seemed that wasn't the answer she wanted. A quick "nya-nya" punch came flying.
"I'm not just any cat! I am the seventh agent who executes the system."
"Wow, that's impressive. Cool."
"Do you understand now?"
"Really cool. Amazing. Wow."
In truth, I didn't understand what she was saying, so I praised her without any real enthusiasm.
When I gently scratched her chin, her expression became relaxed. She was undeniably a cat.
"Ahem."
"Miumi knows all the difficult words. Excellent."
"Meow! Are you making fun of me!"
She caught me.
To calm the cat, I had to give her an extra bowl of cereal.
With a bulging belly and cereal crumbs around her mouth, Miumi said,
"Anyway, I'm here to help you. If you complete the quests given by the system, you can receive good rewards."
"Huh? Quests?"
Was there such a thing?
Upon hearing this, I noticed a quest indicator on one side of the status window. I opened the quest window to check.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Let's start by practicing the skill with the simplest coffee.
Brew 100 cups of mixed coffee: 0/100
Reward: Experience (100 exp), 50 rubies, Americano recipe, ???
Wait, brew mixed coffee? That mixed coffee? The one from Macmogol?
I didn't feel like it.
The thought of having to brew 100 cups of the mixed coffee I had grown tired of during my time at the company was not appealing.
I looked at the reward items with a reluctant expression. The item marked with '???' was not visible.
I understood the experience points, and rubies are the currency used in the <Hunter Market>. But since I was just a regular person until a moment ago, I didn't know how much 50 rubies were worth in the <Hunter Market>.
"How much is 50 rubies?"
"1 ruby is worth 100,000 won."
I did the multiplication in my head. 100,000 won per ruby, so 50 rubies... 5,000,000 won.
5,000,000 won?
Suddenly, my eyes opened wide, and my motivation surged.
I had enough money in my account to cover my living expenses for a while, but it wasn't exactly plentiful.
But if I could brew 100 cups of mixed coffee and earn 5,000,000 won...
A simple calculation: 50,000 won per cup. Even if I sold coffee in front of the Big 3 guilds, it would be impossible to make such a profit.
In short, it was a great deal.
I immediately searched the warehouse for the necessary items. Fortunately, I found an electric kettle, paper cups, and a few remaining mixed coffee packets at the bottom of a box.
I was about to start brewing coffee to meet the quest requirements when Miumi spoke up.
"Wait, don't just brew it. Use the skill to brew it."
"Huh? Use the skill?"
She must be talking about the 'Cafe in My Hands' skill.
But mixed coffee only requires hot water. Is there really a need to use the skill?
"Just try it, nya."
"...Alright."
Yeah, this quest is worth 5,000,000 won. For 5,000,000 won, I'll follow her instructions even if I'm confused.
'Cafe in My Hands.'
I selected mixed coffee from the recipe list that appeared in the semi-transparent holographic window. The recipe steps glowed softly, and my hands moved naturally following the light.
"There, it's done."
"Take a look at that coffee."
"Huh? It's just mixed coffee."
I followed Miumi's advice and stared at the mixed coffee. Then, a status window for the mixed coffee appeared in front of me.
Status: Good (Time Remaining: 00:03:00)
Effect: Recovery speed increases by 100%. (Duration: 01:00:00)
"Hey, this is..."
Below the 3-star mixed coffee description, there was a peculiar phrase.
"If you use the skill to make it, you can give special effects to the drink. That's the true power of your skill."
I had never heard of giving effects to coffee, not like potions...
"...I've never heard of it."
"Why not! Of course! Only you can do it!"
So, it's a pretty good skill? I thought for a moment.
...
The remaining time on the status window was gradually decreasing.
It would be a waste to let the coffee go bad after all the effort. I brought the paper cup to my mouth before it cooled down.
Wait, was mixed coffee this delicious...?
The bitter and sweet flavors mixed smoothly in my mouth. I savored every last drop, and an alert sounded.
The alert reminded me of a cafe management game I used to play.
You would defeat monsters to get ingredients, make menus according to recipes to earn money, and use that money to get new recipes. You could also decorate the shop and hire part-time workers, and it was quite fun.
I played without spending any money but worked really hard to reach the top of the rankings.
However, I had to quit after being hacked. The shock of seeing my precious character standing in an empty shop wearing only a pair of panties was too much.
"Why are you like that? You look like you're cursing someone in your head."
"...It's nothing."
I silently wished for the hacker's future to be anything but smooth.
Anyway, this system reminded me a lot of a cafe management game. Hunters say the system is similar to a game, and this is what they mean.
Complete quests, receive the next quest, and get rubies, which are cash, each time.
I get it, I get it.
I understand the feeling.
The first quest is worth 5,000,000 won, so the next one will be even more. Then...
Is this a quick way to become rich?
I felt my heart race as I imagined a golden future.
Great, brewing 100 cups of mixed coffee is no big deal. I'll brew them quickly, get the 5,000,000 won, and then take on the next quest to become rich.
"Hehehe..."
I decided to use all ten packets of mixed coffee I found in the warehouse.
'Cafe in My Hands!'
'Cafe in My Hands!'
As I poured the coffee mix into the paper cups, Miumi interjected.
"It's better not to make too much at once."
"Why? It's better to complete the quest quickly."
Ignoring Miumi's warning, I poured hot water as the golden light flashed.
However, things didn't go as planned.
* * *
My heart was pounding, and my head was throbbing. I pulled the blanket over my head, but sleep wouldn't come, and my mind was clear.
I stared at the alert window that appeared in front of me.
You have consumed too much caffeine.
Use coffee more wisely.
Time remaining until reset: 02:58:34
[Time remaining until reset: 02:58:33]
...
Save me.
* * *
Three days had passed since I met Miumi at the grandmother's shop and awakened.
I opened the quest window to check the progress.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Let's start by practicing the skill with the simplest coffee.
Brew 100 cups of mixed coffee: 10/100
Reward: Experience (100 exp), 50 rubies, Americano recipe, ???
Despite my initial determination to complete the quest and get the 5,000,000 won, progress was slow. The reason was the terrifying caffeine addiction.
"Ha..."
The system counted the number of cups after I had drunk them all, not just brewed them. In other words, I had to drink all 100 cups to complete the quest.
'Too many, but I'll drink them all at once.'
Thinking this, on the first day, I brewed all ten packets of mixed coffee and drank them one by one.
One cup, two cups, three cups...
Up to three cups, nothing happened. It was just a sweet taste and a boost in energy. But the moment I drank the fourth cup...
"...Cough, cough?!"
I spat out the coffee in my mouth, feeling something strange.
Ugh, what is this? My stomach felt queasy, my head was throbbing, and my hands were trembling. As I lay on the chair in agony, Miumi scolded me.
"Caffeine addiction. I told you not to make too much."
"Ugh... I didn't listen."
"You didn't listen."
"Ugh..."
I had no words.
Caffeine addiction was no laughing matter. The throbbing pain made it hard to move, and I couldn't sleep.
In the end, I had to stay awake for five hours until the abnormal state wore off.
"Ugh..."
In other words, drinking more than three cups of coffee a day caused an abnormal state. I didn't want to experience that terrifying ordeal again. Absolutely not.
The problem was that I could only drink up to three cups a day, which meant it would take time to complete the quest. By simple calculation, it would take about a month to brew 100 cups at three cups a day.
A month of just brewing mixed coffee?
When I played games, I skipped the story and skill animations to play quickly. The idea of dragging a tutorial quest for a month was unbearable. The spirit of a K-gamer was boiling.
I considered buying a recovery potion to cure caffeine addiction. But when I casually asked Kwon Ji-won...
"Abnormal state recovery potion? Of course, we have it. Price? Hmm... The price has dropped recently, so it's about 1,000,000 won per bottle."
I got this response.
"Kwon Ji-won, why? Do you need it?"
"No, no, no. I was just curious. I'll call you later."
"Is there a problem? If something happens, tell me right away."
"Ahaha... There's really nothing wrong."
I couldn't spend 1,000,000 won on a recovery potion to get the 5,000,000 won quest reward.
Moreover, the effect of the 'Cafe in My Hands' skill is 'high completion when making drinks inside the shop.' In other words, it's ineffective outside the shop, and the preservation time is short. So, it was difficult to give coffee to someone far away.
The only remaining option was for someone who came to this shop to drink the mixed coffee I made.
This place, in front of the dungeon gate 3 of the Great Dungeon, is on a deserted road!