"Wait, wait, wait..." Levi stopped Paige from dumping the green coffee beans into a pot immediately.

"What?" Paige asked.

"Do you know how to roast coffee beans?" Levi asked rhetorically. "We don't want to fuck this up."

"How hard can it be? You're just overthinking shit again." Paige argued, getting ready to dump beans in the pot again.

"Wait!" Grace yelled out. "I have to agree with Levi on this one. What if we mess it up? Think about it like popcorn. Everyone knows you can pop it in a pan, but do you know how easy it is to fuck that up if you don't know what you're doing?"

"Can verify. I've burned more Jiffy Pop than I care to admit, and that comes with directions." David chimed in.

"Fine." Paige relented, setting the small cask down. "Then what do we do, practice with small amounts until we figure it out, and hope we don't waste any in the process?"

"That's not a bad idea," Joe commented.

"Not a bad idea at all, Paige," Grace agreed. "But maybe we could ask around to find out if anyone knows how to roast coffee beans first."

"And let everyone know we have them?" Levi shook his head. "We'd maybe get one cup each before the whole safezone came begging for their share of the coffee."

"To be fair, technically, the only one who actually has any coffee is me," Paige pointed out. Everyone turned a glare at Paige, but she just raised her hands. "I'm just saying you guys are acting really possessive over something that's not even technically yours."

"Jesus Christ, I'd hate to see you in a position of power," Joe joked. "One quest clue for coffee, and you've turned into a tyrant."

"I'm kidding, obviously. But it's been too fun to torture Grace."

Grace huffed. "And you better remember that the next time you need soap. But back on the subject, we definitely shouldn't ask everyone, but if we do it smart, we may get the information we need with only a few people knowing."

"Like who?" Levi asked.

"Hank, definitely," David immediately responded.

Everyone turned their gaze to him.

David began explaining. "Everyone thinks all he does is brew alcohol, but I've talked to him a few times. He trades for meat as much as anyone else. More maybe.

Bring up any subject, and he'll know a little bit about it. I swear."

Joe nodded. "Worth a try. But do you think he'd keep the secret?"

"From what I know about him, which is little, I'd bet he'd keep the secret just to spite half the people in the safezone." Levi glanced at Paige. "What do you think?"

Paige shrugged. "I don't see why not. Worst case scenario, he doesn't know shit."

"I can ask him without him clueing into it too much," David assured everyone. "Trust me, I've been asking him random stuff for a while, just to test him."

----

"Heya, Hank. What are you up to?" David said casually.

Levi watched as Hank actually lit up with a smile for David. "Hey, Bud. I'm just checking on this mead I'm trying to make. I'm done, though. Just get back from hunting? Got a little sample of beer I could trade you for a rabbit."

"Haven't been hunting in the last couple of days. Just resting up. How's Kenny doing?"

Hank's face darkened. "Upset with himself that he didn't really do anything to help... it eats at him. Started talking about going to those sparring pits. But he didn't do anything he regretted, either. He knows it was the right thing, so I'm grateful for that. The kid wears his heart on his sleeve."

"Yeah, he's a good kid." Levi chimed in, only receiving a glare from Hank in return, despite how friendly he was with David.

"I'm glad he's okay. I may swing by and talk to him later..." David trailed off for a moment. "You know, as much as I appreciate you brewing alcohol, I'd kill for some coffee."

Hank barked a laugh. "You and me both, kid."

"Guessing there aren't any coffee beans growing in those crops, are there?" David pressed.

"Nope."

"Damn. Probably wouldn't do anyone any good, anyway. Bet no one would even know how to roast the beans anyway."

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"Well, I imagine it wouldn't be hard to do," Hank answered casually.

"Oh, you know how to roast coffee beans?" David, still pressing, tried to sound casual, too.

"Oh well, I wouldn't say that. The way they do it in bulk is beyond me. I know that you gotta get them to crack once, cool 'em down, then get 'em to crack a second time. You can do it in an iron skillet if that's all you got... stir like crazy. And they smoke like hell, too."

David bumped Levi's arm with a fist. "Told you."

"Dammit, David, you playing your damned game with me again? I told you to stop that," Hank protested.

David grinned and shook his head.

Levi stuck out his hand to Hank, palm up, holding three green coffee beans. "Hope you can keep a secret..."

Hank's eyes lit up as he leaned over to get a better look at the contents of Levi's hand. "I imagine I can, for a small price."

----

An hour later and the group, which now included Hank and Kenny, stood over the freshly roasted coffee beans.

"They need grinding," Hank grumbled.

"I'll handle that," said Grace, pulling out a mortar and pestle.

"Don't grind them too fine. We're going to have to wrap the grounds in cheese cloth. Don't want any getting out," Hank said.

"I know what I'm doing," Grace argued, taking off her hat and shooing Hank back.

Levi spoke up. "Nope. I'm making the coffee. If we're making coffee with nothing but a pot, we're doing it right. Plus, this is the best coffee you'll ever drink in your life."

"You think you can make better coffee than the two old fucks here?" Grace challenged.

"I know I can. Just trust me," Levi said.

"Fine," both Grace and Hank said.

"Okay." Levi's smile turned mischievous. "Joe, I'm going to need three eggs. And I will need some of that cheese cloth. Also, toward the end, I'll need the coldest water we can get, so it will need to come directly from the well. And Grace, do you have a bay leaf I can use?"

"Nope, nope, nope. You lost your coffee making privileges," Paige said. "What the hell do you need eggs for?"

"Levi, now isn't the time to be playing around." Grace gave him a glare from under the wide brim of her hat.

Everyone was giving a look like they were ready to choke him.

"Whoa, calm down. I'm serious. It's called egg coffee. I'm not fucking with you guys. I used to make it all the time camping. Way better than using a sock or something. And it really is the best coffee you'll ever drink."

Hank came to Levi's defense. "I've actually heard of it. Never seen it made before. I'll trust you." He shrugged.

"Well, there's actually two types of egg coffee. Most have heard about the Vietnamese version, but this isn't that. That one actually has egg in the coffee when you drink it. The version I am making doesn't. The egg and coffee grounds separate out from the liquid. I'm pretty sure it was originally a Swedish recipe, but we always used it for coffee while we were camping. Plus is tastes great."

"I swear to God, Levi, if you fuck up my coffee, I'm going to skin you like a rabbit," Paige growled.

"I swear, just trust me," Levi assured everyone.

----

Levi looked down at his ingredients. "And you washed the eggs thoroughly?" Levi asked Joe.

"Yes, for the love of god, just get to it."

Levi reached down to grab the bay leaf, but Grace stopped him.

"Wait! Let me do it. You can walk me through it, but I have skills that improve the quality of anything I brew from both my Witch Class and Alchemist Profession."

"Okay..." Levi said, backing up. "Throw the bay leaf into the pot of water while it starts to heat.

Now, while that is coming to a boil, crack your eggs in with the coffee grounds and mix."

Grace was about to toss the eggshell, but Levi stopped her.

"No... put the eggshell and all in. Try to crush the eggshell into small pieces as you mix. Good. You want the result to look like brownie mix, not dry at all, but not too much egg, either.

Add a little more coffee grounds or egg if you need."

Grace followed Levi's instructions. "What's the eggshell for?"

"Supposedly, it has enzymes that makes the coffee less bitter and pulls out more caffeine. Don't know if that's true, but I've always made it this way, and it is definitely stronger and less bitter, so I'm not going to start making it different now."

"And the bay leaf?" Grace asked as she mixed.

Levi shrugged. "Hell, I don't know. Personal touch, health benefits, luck, Cajun magic... your guess is as good as mine."

Grace grumbled at him, but kept stirring.

Everyone was circled around, watching intently. The skepticism had seemed to fade when Levi confidently started giving instructions.

"Okay, now that the water is boiling, put the coffee and egg mixture in. Giving it a couple good stirs right at the beginning, but then stop touching it.

When it reaches a rolling boil again, pull it from the heat. After that, leave it for 5 minutes."

When the water was boiling again, and Grace had pulled it from the fire, Levi instructed Joe to quickly go and get the fresh cold water from the well.

Everyone stared at the pot. It looked disgusting. A strange greyish cake had formed at the top, floating.

"Not going to lie, if you ruined this coffee, I'm going to string you up like a deer so Paige has an easier time skinning you," David mumbled.

Grace shook her head, her face screwed up in concentration. "My alchemist skills would have notified me if this was a failed brew, and it didn't yet. I think this is actually going to work."

When Joe returned with the water, Levi continued.

"Now Grace, very slowly pour the cold water onto the cake at the top. Until it starts sinking to the bottom. Ideally, we'd use ice cold water for this, but well-water should be cold enough.

The cake should hold most of the grounds and egg together, but you can pour it through the cheese cloth to catch any loose chunks."

As she poured a very small amount water over the strange coffee/egg cake, it sank just as Levi said.

As Grace watched the coffee cake sink, her eyes suddenly lit up. "I just got a level and a notification. I created a new brew. I can now transcribe this recipe so other alchemists can learn it. It's called 'The Sage's Morning Brew.'"

Everyone leaned in toward the pot. Sure enough, it had a system tag just like their starting gear.

-

The Sage's Morning Brew

Guided by the instructions of a Sage using knowledge from the pre-system world, a Witch brewed this coffee with great care and system skills. Not only delicious, this coffee provides extra benefits to those who drink it.

Mana and Stamina regeneration is increased by 100% for 3 hours after consumption.

Consuming this coffee greatly increases essence cycling and removes a small amount of impurities from one's Core.

Drinking too much may result in negative effects.

-

After everyone had a cup, no one had any more doubts about egg coffee. It truly was the best coffee any if them had ever had.

For a while, everyone just sat around enjoying the moment.

"Look, I know it is good, but seriously, could you guys please stop moaning every time you take a sip," Kenny finally commented. "It's starting to feel uncomfortable."