Customer, excuse me but could you explain exactly what kind of place this 'dungeon' is?"
Is there a need to explain really? Since everyone in the world will know soon.
Last night's call ended like that. Because I had no particular way to explain the unfamiliar place and word called dungeon yet.
I glossed over it roughly and promised for next time. As dungeons increase one by one, they will naturally come to know.
'It's a situation where I can't deliver right now anyway.'
Soon, my first shop will fail. To be precise, it's a situation where I have no choice but to close the business along with the national disaster situation. There haven't been any special measures yet, but government officials will visit the shop soon. There will be a lot of talk this way and that, but consequently, the surrounding commercial district centering on the store will be blockaded as a restricted access zone.
There is no choice. Other than pulling out the shop.
But I wasn't as largely afraid as before. I will reopen the shop, and I had a place I looked out for the location. However, I just need a little time to put the business item I'm thinking of into action.
What's fortunate at least is that as I obtained Hermes' Compass, I became able to expand the business item further.
'Delivery would be worth doing too.'
Of course, that would be a matter for after a little time passes.
"What do we do if you still can't do this?"
Ye-ri's sharp voice hit my ears.
"Isn't this foam that came out well enough?"
"Does this look like it came out well in your eyes? It's completely crab foam (large bubbles)?"
Guk-yeong checked the foam inside the steam pitcher. An expression that said he didn't know well what went wrong.
I was quietly watching the two people from the hall. Ye-ri was giving 'steam' training to Guk-yeong, and I was one of the people observing that process. Seon-yeong, the morning shift worker, was also standing side by side next to me doing an interesting observation.
"Try again. Foam is life for cappuccino."
Although he has an unpleasant expression, Guk-yeong doesn't particularly express it in words. The more I see him, he was a 'more decent' guy than I thought. Surprisingly, he also had patience.
'Even though Ye-ri is grilling him like that.'
Staff training within the store is mostly taken charge of by Ye-ri. She was the staff who worked the longest, and her decisive personality was perfect for teaching someone.
"Ah, isn't it that Noona taught me wrong?"
"I taught you according to the manual, and you're the one who can't follow the manual."
"Don't misunderstand and listen, Noona. I'm doing this because I'm really curious, but was Noona good from the start? Since I'm really curious."
Ye-ri glares sharply at Guk-yeong.
"What?"
"Ah, no. Should I do it like this, Nuna?"
Guk-yeong showed a sly smile toward Ye-ri. Guk-yeong was the type to pretend to do as told while subtly retorting little by little.
Ye-ri didn't particularly feel bad either. Since she had also said the working hours are less boring thanks to the ticking Guk-yeong.
Seon-yeong was watching those two as if it was fun.
I also had fun in my own way. The sight of two young kids bickering was also quite amusing.
"Boss."
Seon-yeong, who was standing side by side next to me, suddenly opened her mouth.
"Huh?"
"But what on earth is that thing from yesterday? It looked like a person too."
"Well. Maybe a half-human half-beast like in some movie? Something like that?"
"Ey! That makes no sense!"
This morning, no, to be precise, starting from dawn, all media including broadcasters sent out breaking news.
A goblin that appeared in a large mart in Gangseo-gu, Seoul was the main character of the breaking news.
A sudden explosion occurred within the mart, and people who were shopping fell into confusion. Following the emergency announcement broadcast, the majority of people evacuated outside the mart, but the problem was the remaining people who couldn't get out quickly enough.
Damage due to the explosion was minimal. There were only several victims who luckily suffered minor injuries.
But because of just one goblin that appeared suddenly, over twenty people died.
No matter how low the level, a goblin was something an E-class hunter or higher could catch without difficulty.
'The problem was just that the opponents were ordinary people, not hunters.'
The biggest problem of the initially manifested dungeons was that there were no entry conditions.
The only dungeons where ordinary people who weren't hunters could also enter.
Therefore, they were also the dungeons that produced the most casualties.
"They said it was just a crazy person running wild with a knife?"
Guk-yeong, who put down the steam pitcher, said suggestively.
"That's right. I saw it on the news too. They said a schizophrenia patient went on a stabbing rampage."
The media broadcasted the relevant video with mosaic processing to hide the severity of the situation 'for now'.
It would have been to reduce the confusion of the citizens even a little.
People also nodded, and since it's such a turbulent world, the atmosphere moved on as if accepting it.
At least they believed so until dozens of goblins poured out within the mart.
"Ish, it's crab foam again!"
Ye-ri looked inside the steam pitcher Guk-yeong put down and let out a long sigh.
"It's difficult. Among the things I learned so far, this is the most difficult."
Guk-yeong scratched his head as if embarrassed.
"Give up."
Ye-ri shook her head playfully.
"What do I do if you give up on a person so easily, Noona?"
"I didn't give up easily though? Ask Seon-yeong to teach you now. My mouth hurts from saying the same words multiple times."
"Teach me again just one last time. I'll definitely repay the favor later."
"Favor?"
"Well, for example. Like when Noona is suddenly in danger from a crazy guy."
"There won't be such a thing?"
"You never know with human affairs. Just looking at the news these days, it's all scary things."
"You speak well?"
"Even though I look like this, I fight a bit?"
Ye-ri looking at Guk-yeong squintingly as if she can't believe it. Even while doing so, she didn't seem to hate it completely, as she started explaining step by step again.
"When making cappuccino, the most important thing is steam. It's important to make a lot of good foam while maintaining consistent quality."
"Yes sir!"
Ye-ri was teaching Guk-yeong as she learned from me.
Steam is simply put, a method to heat milk. In that process, it creates foam needed for latte or cappuccino.
To speak from the main point, the only way to be good at steam is to try doing it a lot.
Although all work is the same, especially among cafe tasks, steam skills improve as much as one gets used to it.
"Dip the steam tip so it just barely touches the milk surface."
Put an appropriate amount of milk in the steam pitcher, and insert the long rod that heats the milk. The thing looking like a long stick is the steam wand, and there are three or four small holes at the very bottom of the steam wand, which was the steam tip.
Foam is generated through the process of injecting air from the steam tip.
"Be careful because if the steam wand or pitcher shakes a lot, crab foam happens."
If you open the steam valve, air starts being injected from then. When the 'chijijik' sound starts, foam starts being generated from then, and the way to make good foam here was to maintain an appropriate distance between the milk surface and the steam tip.
'At first, that is the most difficult. Because finding the appropriate distance is always difficult.'
Just as relationships between people are like that, the relationship between milk and steam tip was the same. If the distance is excessive, a sound more excessive than the 'chijijik' sound occurs.
A very unpleasant sound to hear. If I were to use a metaphor, maybe like a sound of scratching metal. Crab foam happens then. When the distance is too far, or too close.
"If you think you made enough foam, put the steam wand further into the milk. So the steam tip gets completely submerged."
This process was rolling. The work of breaking down the foam made so far into fine pieces. When the steam tip gets submerged into the milk, the foam gets broken down finely in the process of the created foam being sucked into the inside.
Also in this process, if the milk surges or doesn't get sucked in, this too was mostly cases where the steam tip's position was wrong.
The reason I was observing and reviewing these processes very carefully was just one.
It was because of the unique skill I newly obtained as I reached level 10.
A skill only I can use, just like Coffee Manufacturing.
[Steam LV1] You can heat milk or create foam.
I know, I know. I know too well.
Anyway, it was an important skill to me. Depending on the Steam level, the effect of the coffee or beverages I will create in the future will also change.
There was nothing bad about reviewing during Guk-yeong's training period.
"Ooh! This time seems a bit okay?"
Guk-yeong closed the steam valve. He didn't forget to wipe the milk residue on the steam wand by lifting a dishcloth. Because if wiped late, the milk hardens and doesn't wipe off well. If that happens, it would be very bad hygienically too.
Ye-ri examined the foam Guk-yeong created.
"It's decent."
Meaning it's reasonably good.
"You know how to praise too?"
"If you just do well."
I also checked the foam Guk-yeong completed. As Ye-ri said, it was a not bad state.
Should I call it foam that is thick and dense like yogurt.
It was a large amount of foam for cappuccino, and in the case of a latte, making less foam than this was sufficient.
Because the difference between latte and cappuccino was the amount of milk and the difference in foam.
"I will definitely repay the favor later."
Guk-yeong said with a grin.
"Done. Just maintain this level of quality from now on. Don't make crab foam."
Although she speaks bluntly, she looked proud once Guk-yeong actually made foam well.
'As expected, his learning ability is excellent.'
Maybe that might be an innate ability.
Usually in the case of steam, it takes quite a long time to create that level of quality.
It might have been created like a coincidence, but most staff couldn't even do that much.
'Certainly, his learning ability is excellent.'
Understanding of dungeons, understanding of monsters, once he learned and mastered something, he never forgot. Rather, based on what he understood and remembered, he also had a sense of applying it elsewhere to overcome difficulties in front of his eyes.
'I will make you a more perfect hunter than before.'
Watching the guy's figure, determination soared naturally.
Jingle—!
The store door, which had been quiet for a while, opened wide.
Current time 12:20 PM.
It seems the rush is about to burst. Seeing people flocking in one by one.
The lunch time rush was mostly office workers who finished lunch, neighborhood ladies, or hospital customers.
There was a pediatrics clinic on the 2nd floor of our store building, and from the 3rd to 6th floors were an obstetrics and gynecology clinic and a postpartum care center. Therefore, cases where people who stopped by the hospital passed through our store were frequent, and most bought one or two cups of coffee.
Thanks to that, today's lunch also passed frantically due to the rush.
Most of the beverages sold were Americanos, and in fact, what occupied more than half of the sales was also Americano.
[You have succeeded in Tamping. Proficiency increases.] [You have succeeded in Espresso Extraction. Proficiency increases.] [You have succeeded in Coffee Manufacturing. Proficiency increases.] [Vitality is consumed by 1.] [Experience points increase.] .... ....
Indeed, how many cups of Americano would I be making while working here.
It was a boring daily life repeating the same work every time, but this time it wasn't just blindly boring.
'Because skill levels are rising!'
As a result of the grinding work to raise skill proficiency and working in the store, skill levels rose a lot.
Excluding the 'Steam' skill, all active skills and passive skills became LV10.
Although the method to raise skill proficiency was all about the so-called 'grinding' of repeating the same skill, fortunately, our store was busy until this time.
The store being busy meant I made a lot of coffee.
And that fact was directly connected to the fact that I used skills a lot.
Before the well-made coffee was delivered to the customer, I checked the status of the Americano I made.
[ICE Americano]
Very well-made Americano. Effect: Vitality recovers by 10 with a 100% probability.
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