Eating breakfast at the table was something that he hadn’t done in a long time. Before he had moved out of the house, eating with his family had been a regular morning ritual. Sitting there, he could almost hear his father joking with his mother, his brother chatting him up about the latest manga he had read. It made Nick miss them with an intensity that took his breath away.
They might still be alive. Don’t lose hope. After you help win the Earth back, you’ll find them again. He sat there, tears streaming down his face for long minutes, before he caught a whiff of something that dragged him out of his reverie and back into the present.
Looking in the direction of that delectable aroma, Nick spotted a cylindrical canister with a spigot, sitting on the bar beside the fridge. Is that… oh gods, please let it be. He sprang from his seat and ran over to the container, the light of hope burning bright within his breast. He cracked open the top, stuck his nose in, and took a big whiff, praying all the while that his instincts were correct.
When the aroma of cold brewed coffee rose to fill his nostrils, he began to cry, tears of joy washing away the last traces of his sorrow. Finally. We are reunited at last, my love. I never thought that I would feel your tender touch again. At long last, over a month since the System had entered his life, Nick was going to drink a cup of fucking coffee.
As much as he wanted to guzzle it down, this moment was too perfect to spoil by gulping it cold from the canister. While cold brew was great on a hot day, Nick preferred his coffee piping hot. Dancing with excitement, he fished out a mug from the cabinet, filled it to the rim with the thick, dark brew, then started looking around for a heat source. There must be a way to warm food up around here somewhere. Aha!
Nick spotted several circles of various sizes set into the surface of the bar, formed from rings of copper that reminded him of an electric stovetop. He sat the mug down inside one of the smaller rings, then went to work trying to figure out how to turn the device on. He had a breakthrough two minutes later, when he noticed a series of gemstones embedded into the countertop beside the metal rings.
He tried touching one, and the jewel lit up with a cheerful orange glow. When he held his hand over the ring, he could feel heat rising from its surface. Alight with anticipation, he waited until the cup was warm and then brought it to his lips, savoring the experience that he had dreamed about for so long.
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The instant that hot, perfectly brewed coffee touched his tongue, he moaned, overcome with delight as he rolled the dark roast across his palate. It might be months or even years before he found a reliable supply, but now he knew for certain that coffee had not been erased from his life. That Nick would know the loving embrace of caffeine once again. He took another slow sip, marveling at the rich notes caressing his tongue, the flavor enhanced by his upgraded mind. He could already feel the electric crackle of caffeine jumpstarting his nervous system. He took another long plug and then walked back over to the table.
He sank into the chair and propped his elbows on the tabletop, enjoying the sensation of stretching out his legs with a full belly for the first time in what felt like ages. Sitting there, with the taste of coffee and smoked meat dancing across his palate, it hit him.
At last, for the first time in over a month, he was safe. For the next three and a half days, give or take a few hours, Nick was residing somewhere where nothing was trying to kill him. A place where nothing could even hurt him unless he managed to injure himself. He had already known that it was true in his head, but now he could feel it deep in the bowels of his gut.
Nick had forgotten what it felt like to unwind without Taltos and the System breathing down his neck. To be free from ravenous beasts forcing him to fight or flee. Rather than trying to process what he was feeling, he simply sat there and let his psyche recover, knowing that the wounds to his heart would take longer to heal. At last, the better part of an hour later, he was able to come down completely from his survival induced state of hyper-vigilance. He let down his guard, no longer trying to shield himself from every angle, anticipating an endless procession of potential dangers.
While it was only a brief window of calm, he savored this moment of security, although he knew that another storm loomed dark on the horizon. While this period of rest would only last for another few days, making it this far was cause for celebration. Rather than ruminating on the dark days ahead, for just a while longer, he let himself bask in his accomplishments.
He had survived integration and the tutorial, island and dungeon alike, dodging the reaper’s scythe by the skin of his teeth. Nick had beaten the odds and walked away from an arena battle with one of the fallen, although not everyone in his party had been so lucky. He had acquired his first pair of abilities, gained a rare and powerful item, and replaced his basic Survivor class with one that suited him better, picking up an improved version of his trait in the process.
In short, Nick had fared far better than he’d feared, although he knew deep in his bones that the worst was yet to come.
With that sober reminder, he was ready to get down to business. Now, with caffeine singing in his bloodstream, he felt ready to take on the world. It was time to find out just what the Mad God had in store for the survivors of the human race.