Ryu approached the outdoor seating area of the café cautiously, relieved when he saw Sylfie and Wisteria chatting pleasantly with one another, back to their usual selves. He took a seat at the table waving over to one of the waiters.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting,” he said.

“No worries, we weren’t waiting very long,” Wisteria smiled. “I ordered for the three of us. Giuseppe should be here shortly with our lattes.”

Lattes—one of the most popular drinks at Java Roast next to the classic black coffee. Ryu still had nightmares thinking about the morning rush, or when they had run a limited-time promotion in the fall, using the pumpkin spice recipe from their American counterpart. It was pandemonium, to say the least.

Despite the horrors that the drink summoned in the form of customers, it was relatively simple to make. Similar to a cappuccino, the ingredients were the same with tweaks to the added ratios to make the drink stand on its own.

A man dressed in [Brewer’s Attire] came out of the café, holding a tray with three cups in saucers. He set the cups down in front of them, taking a short bow.

“Buongiorno, I hope you enjoy,” he said.

“Giuseppe, these are the adventurers I was talking to you about,” Wisteria said, introducing Ryu and Sylfie.

“Ah, I see, a pleasure to meet you two. And who might this little one be?” he asked, tickling Aurora playfully.

“This is Aurora, their pet—”

“Hey! I’m no pet! I’m a valued member of this party, nya! Isn’t that right, Ryu?”

“That’s right,” Ryu nodded.

Giuseppe narrowed his eyes at him, making him slightly uncomfortable. The café owner leaned over the table, a serious expression on his face. He swatted Ryu’s hand as he attempted to pull out his purse to pay.

“You do not pay.”

“Huh?” Ryu sat there dumbfounded.

Giuseppe pointed at Ryu. "You are not like others. You have the potential for great things. Please, your presence is payment enough at my café.”

Sylfie raised an eyebrow. “What is he talking about?”

Ryu shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. He hadn’t a clue, but he was not one to pass up on free food or drink.

“Thanks!” he grinned, sipping on his latte.

Wisteria eyed Ryu suspiciously paying the fee for her’s and Sylfie’s lattes.

Giuseppe left them to enjoy their coffee in peace.

“Don’t you look at me like that,” Ryu responded, indignantly. “Maybe my reputation precedes me. I did beat your brother in a Brew Battle, remember?” he said to Wisteria.

The ladies remained unconvinced. “He’s hiding something,” Sylfie whispered to Wisteria.

“I agree, there’s no way Ryu’s reputation warrants this kind of special treatment. I wonder what he’s done this time,” Wisteria whispered back.

“H-hey! I can hear you! We’re not sitting that far away from each other!” Ryu exclaimed, growing red. “Is it so hard to believe I may have done something impressive enough to be treated nicely?”

“Yes,” they responded, without hesitation.

The confidence with which they answered dealt a blow to Ryu's psyche. He swore revenge for the slight.

As he sipped his latte, grumbling and glaring at his companions, mirroring their hostility, he furrowed his brow. His tongue felt tingly. He contemplated the sensation for a moment, rolling the coffee around in his mouth.

He took a small spoon and skimmed the top of his latte, tasting the milk foam first. Nothing. The tingling sensation didn’t occur. He tasted the milk and espresso mixture underneath, and there it was again. The tingling sensation was coming from an additive in the milk coffee.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He scratched his head trying to figure out whether it was the steamed milk or the espresso itself that caused it.

I'll have to ask Giuseppe about his latte whenever he comes back.

“Interested in his recipe?” Wisteria questioned.

“Something like that,” Ryu answered.

“He's pretty tight-lipped about his brews. I think you'll be hard-pressed to get that information out of him,” she remarked.

Ryu sighed. “Maybe I'll just leave it then. I'm not too sure I could cast the proper enchantments anyway. He's probably ranked as a Master Brewer or whatever.”

“Speaking of ranks, do you know how they work?” Sylfie interjected, a milk mustache above her lips.

Ryu shook his head.

“That’s basic knowledge! Did your mother never teach you?” Wisteria said in disbelief.

“I'm not from here,” Ryu shrugged.

“The rank system is worldwide. Surely, you must know something.”

Ryu pondered for a moment. He knew of a few classes in Adventuring: Novice, Warrior, Hunter, and Mage. He was also familiar with a few in Coffee Brewing: Novice, Coffee Connoisseur, and Master Brewer, as well as the rank of Royal Brewer.

He mentioned what he knew, to which Wisteria breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, you're not totally helpless.”

“Thanks,” Ryu said dryly.

“The ranking system is pretty simple. You gain ranks from leveling up. The higher your rank, the more abilities and skills you have access to, and your chance of getting rare drops or items increases. Consequentially, it also takes a significant amount of effort to raise your rank and you’ll need to reach certain ranks to get the most out of your preferred subclass. You want to be a mage specializing in water, so you’ll need to reach at least [Level 46] in order to take full advantage of spellcasting,” Sylfie explained.

“As for Coffee Brewing, you’ll gain access to more abilities that help you brew unique blends and make use of certain techniques and combinations of ingredients. The rarity of ingredients you find will also increase with rank,” Wisteria added.

They wrote down a list for Ryu, compiling the rank order for both Adventuring and Coffee Brewing. Seeing the respective levels needed for each rank gave him a better perspective on how he was doing in both.

[Adventurer Ranks]

Novice [1-10]

Explorer [11-25]

Warrior [26-35]

Hunter [36-45]

Mage [46-55]

Dungeon Crawler [56-65]

Raider [66-75]

Titan [76-85]

Ascendant [86-99]

[Coffee Brewer Ranks]

Novice [1-10]

Connoisseur [11-25]

Seasoned Brewer [26-35]

Golden Brewer [36-55]

Radiant Brewer [56-65]

Master Brewer [66-75]

Etherial Brewer [76-85]

Royal Brewer [86-99]

Ryu grimaced, scrolling down the list. He had a long way to go before he would reach his goal. Well, at least it gives me something to look forward to once I’m done. An easy life as a Royal Brewer of the king's court ironically didn’t come so easy.

“I appreciate the list. This’ll come in handy,” he said. “And thanks for taking me around the city, Wisteria. I know it probably wasn’t easy with my title and all.”

Wisteria's expression faltered. Her face turned red as she covered it, realizing what she had done. It seemed she had remembered his deeds but failed to remember that it was on display for everyone else to see as well.

Ryu attempted to ease the situation. “Maybe I shouldn’t have—”

“I’ve been walking all over the city with the ‘Panty Snatcher’! I’ve besmirched my family name!” she wailed. “What would my mother think if she saw me?! She would call me a harlot!”

“Imagine that. The ‘Saintess of Hurricanes’ walking all over town with the ‘Demonic Panty Snatcher’,” Sylfie snickered.

“No!!!! You shouldn’t be talking either! Your reputation is at stake too!” Wisteria protested.

“My reputation was in the gutter the moment I partied up with Ryu,” the elf smirked.

“Don’t say that so proudly!” Ryu exclaimed. “I’m not some ill omen!”

“I don’t know, Ryu. The Cerberus, the Night Crawlers, Don Puccino’s beans, the Slime King, Faye and Morgana—you’re the luckiest unlucky person I’ve ever met, nya.”

“Some of those were your fault!” he exclaimed.

“Yeah, but you were there, that’s why, nya.”

Ryu dismissed the conversation, sulking. “I’m not bad luck,” he grumbled, though the examples Aurora had given him were hard to refute.

Giuseppe came back to the table at just the right time. Ryu took the opportunity to redirect the conversation.

“Is everything to your liking?” the café owner asked.

“More than okay, this latte was delicious,” Ryu replied.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Giuseppe chuckled.

“I was wondering, how did you create that tingling sensation with the latte? It gave the coffee a certain depth—”

Giuseppe’s expression turned cold. “If you want to know my trade secrets, you’re going to have to buy me out. I respect you because of what you’ve been able to accomplish, but when it comes to my recipes, I won’t disclose them to anyone, especially fellow Coffee Brewers.”

Ryu relented, not wanting to cause trouble. They got up to leave, when—

“I suppose there may be another way you could earn the recipe…” Giuseppe grinned, sizing up Ryu.

Ryu clutched his shoulders. “You don’t mean…my body—”

“No, what the f*ck? What’s wrong with you? I was going to suggest a Brew Battle. Mutually agreed upon, of course. You would be able to source ingredients from anywhere, or you can take a look at my pantry and pick from there as well,” Giuseppe said, looking disturbed.

“Ah, s-sorry. I think I spent too much time around Agrius.”

“You were an idiot long before you met Agrius,” Sylfie snorted.

Ryu ignored her snide comment, his cheeks turning a scarlet hue. “I think the Brew Battle is a good idea. Want to stick with lattes?”

Giuseppe nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me. If you win, you get my latte recipe, and if I win, you have to teach me some Dark Elf magic. I’ve been dying to make that cold brew of yours.”

Ryu shot a smug smile the ladies’ way, turning back to Giuseppe.

“Deal." He rolled up his sleeves, eager to get started. "Time to brew some lattes!”