"Wow! It smells so good!"
Several women immediately let out gasps of admiration.
Especially on an afternoon like this, with sunlight streaming through the glass windows to chase away the chill of late autumn, such a pungent and rich aroma made everyone feel instantly relaxed.
Tess took a sip and initially made a face as if it tasted bad, but after smacking her lips, her expression became complex.
"How is it? What does it taste like?"
Tess took another sip, a larger one this time, savoring it carefully before speaking. "It's a bit bitter at first, but there's a sweet aftertaste once it hits your throat. After one sip, you just want a second."
Marlin, who had spent most of his life buried in books, stroked his beard. He was certain he had never seen this substance before, but he seemed to recall reading something similar. "I read in a book once that veterans back from Northrend brought back a liquid called 'Yeti's Milk.' It was bitter at first and sweet later, smelled incredibly fragrant when heated, and was exceptionally good for restoring mana. Could this be the same thing?"
Wayne thought to himself how far-fetched that was—how did this get connected to the Vrykul of the Storm Peaks? But before he could speak, Raymond chimed in, "Something from Northrend? Teacher can actually get his hands on such a rare item?"
"Northrend?"
To them, it was a name both familiar and mysterious.
Wayne opened the warming box and pointed to the coffee bottles. "Don't worry about where I got it. Just remember, this is called 'Coffee.' It's a high-end product of advanced industrial production."
"High-end product?"
"Industrial production?"
"What does any of that mean?"
Wayne was too lazy to explain. He simply wrote the prices and varieties of the coffee on the wooden board and continued drinking his Mocha.
Tess finished her cup and wanted more. As she reached for a bottle, Wayne lightly slapped her hand away. "Minors shouldn't drink too much of this."
Tess frowned. "Why?! You won't let me drink much iced Coke, and now you won't let me have this coffee thing either! Stingy boss!"
Wayne remarked, "Drink too much and you'll end up with stunted growth—flat as an airfield..."
Tess looked puzzled. "An airfield? What does that mean?"
Wayne ignored her and kept drinking.
As a Duke, Shadowbreak was undoubtedly the wealthiest person in the room. Seeing Wayne drinking it himself, he pulled out two gold coins and bought a Mocha.
The heavy, slightly hot glass bottle felt completely different from a Coke bottle. He unscrewed the metal cap and brought the opening to his nose; a rich aroma instantly filled his senses.
He took a small sip. As the flavors of coffee, cream, milk, and chocolate sauce washed over his taste buds in a sequence of bitter, rich, fragrant, and sweet, he felt as though he wasn't sitting in a net cafe. Instead, he felt like he was lying on a lounge chair by the shores of Lake Everstill in the Redridge Mountains under warm sunlight, lazily soaking up the sun and breeze after waking from a sweet nap.
With the second sip, the sweetness and fragrance completely overwhelmed the bitterness. It felt as if small fish in the lake were frolicking before his eyes, occasionally jumping out of the water. Everything felt light and vibrant, as if blessed by the Holy Light.
"Delicious! This is the first time I've ever had a drink with such a soft texture and long-lasting aftertaste."
Encouraged by his words, everyone grew interested. Whether they were playing or just spectating, several people bought different flavors of coffee to try.
Wayne recommended specific varieties based on their preferences. He gave Amy, who was trying it for the first time, a Cappuccino—the easiest to get used to. For Ana, who often felt sleepy while reading at night, he provided a bottle of Espresso.
However, coffee wasn't like iced Coke—a carbonated drink that provided an instant, extreme sensation in the summer heat. Wayne told them to savor it slowly and wait a while to feel the effects.
Meanwhile, outside the net cafe, Katrana's mysterious spy pretended to watch the livestream while secretly monitoring every move inside.
He had already reported the construction of the new cafe. He had also recorded, in detail, the discovery of a divine sword similar to the Ashbringer within Skyrim. But the fragrance drifting out of the cafe now caught him off guard again.
He watched as Shadowbreak and the others drank the potions Wayne provided, which looked like they were contained in glass apothecary vials. He tried to get closer but didn't dare get too near.
"This must be a poison for mind control. No wonder these people are possessed, scurrying inside every day and refusing to come out."
He sniffed hard. "Even out here, the scent is rich and thick. No, I have to get away."
He immediately went to the inn's entrance, stuffed a note containing his intel into a magically marked envelope, and dropped it into the mailbox. This way, the letter would behave like a teleportation spell, appearing instantly in the mailbox closest to the recipient.
Inside the cafe, those who had finished their coffee felt their aches vanish and their fatigue dissolve. In this relaxed state, their focus had significantly improved.
With this physical "BUFF" active, everyone's progress in the game became faster and smoother. They followed Wayne's lead, continuing the main quest of the Dragonborn. At the Greybeards' suggestion, they needed to head west of Whiterun to an ancient Nordic ruin called "Ustengrav" to retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller.
The Greybeards told the Dragonborn that the item would help him master the Way of the Voice more quickly. Wayne teamed up with Amy, her father, and Ana. With Dawnbreaker in hand, he charged at the front while the other three handled healing and crowd control, carving through the crypt like a hot knife through butter.
However, Shadowbreak, Corrine, and the others were in no hurry to move on to the next main quest. The sword in Wayne's hand was too tempting; it was the primary reason Shadowbreak had stayed in Goldshire for several days instead of returning to the Cathedral.
Unlike Corrine, who had already used her stealth skills to break into the Temple of Meridia, Shadowbreak was still wandering around, looting chests and killing wild mobs. The trigger item for that quest only appears randomly in chests after reaching level 12. If you're lucky, you find it immediately; if you're unlucky... well, bad luck usually doesn't last that long.
But Shadowbreak had only just finished learning his Shout at High Hrothgar. He hadn't even reached level 10 to unlock the Dawnguard and Serana as Wayne had. He could only do side quests, hacking at every monster and opening every chest he saw.
Soon, another day came to an end.
When Shadowbreak's screen went dark, his soul felt as though it had been forcibly ripped from the game world. He shouted, "How did it end so fast?!"
Wayne patted his shoulder. "Duke, it's pitch black outside."
Shadowbreak couldn't believe it. He took off his glasses and saw that it was indeed 8:00 PM. For a moment, he felt confused, as if he were still in the sunny, snowy Province of Skyrim. How had it turned dark in the blink of an eye?
Zaldimar remarked with admiration, "Duke, I've played here for quite a while, but you are the first person I've seen who sat down at noon and never got up once—no bathroom breaks, no dinner, nothing."
Gurgle...
Shadowbreak stood up, and his stomach let out a long growl. A wave of hunger and low blood sugar instantly hit him. Although he was impatient, he was a generous man. "Come, come, Boss Wayne, and the little girl waitress, and everyone else who isn't in a hurry to leave. Let's go have a meal across the street together."
He then pulled Wayne outside and whispered, "Can you help me level up a bit? I still haven't found that Meridia's Beacon to trigger the quest..."
In the dispersing crowd, the mysterious spy pulled up his hood and continued to watch from a distance. Seeing Shadowbreak and Wayne acting so close, he spat in his mind at least fifty times, silently muttering a threat.
"Just wait. In a couple of days, I'll give you something to look at! This piece of junk net cafe is going to turn into a pile of ash!"