NOVEL NEXT Chapter 628
“Did you just take my avatar while I was away? You didn’t do anything weird with my body, did you?”
“Hehehe, I was just copying my sister! If that’s a crime, then behead me now!”
“Hey, you talk pretty well.”
I ground the coffee beans finely and measured out the right amount into the porter filter.
I tamped it down flat to ensure all the coffee grounds in the filter would receive the same pressure.
“It may seem trivial, but overlooking this process directly affects the taste of the coffee. Why isn’t this going in…? Hold on a second…”
Duk duk –
“Did it go in…? Ah, got it! Now all I need to do is extract the shot here, and we’re done.”
Happy happy Na-me ha ha ha
Did I just hear something break?
Stop trying to solve everything with brute force ha ha ha ha!
It’s virtual reality, so it’ll be back up in no time.
If that was real, it would have cost 30 million won…
Na-me, just don’t ever work part-time at a cafe, okay?
Still, since this was my second time playing, my skills had improved a lot.
Outside the window, a fierce battle was going on with the Wihwa-do army.
Soldiers in dust-covered, blood-stained uniforms moved forward in silence, heavy steps echoing.
They were heading towards a decisive moment that would change the fate of Goryeo.
I opened the window and abruptly handed out a cup of Americano.
“Hey, soldier uncle, catch!”
The Goryeo soldier stopped in surprise and shouted.
“G-Ghost!”
“You’re such a coward!”
“Wait, when did this hut appear? What… is this?”
“You must be tired, right? Drinking this will help keep you awake.”
“Is this like an energy drink? Ugh! Tastes just like sewer water!”
“Eat it.”
“Huh?”
“If you don’t like it, want to try a taste from my house cat?”
I yanked on the chain to wake up the house cat that was curled up in a corner of the cafe.
Grrr…
The house cat, a tiger, gave a stare that seemed ready to rip the soldier apart with a roar like a steam engine.
“Ah, so it was a divine being! Glug glug glug!”
With the appearance of this raid boss from Korean history, the Americano cup was emptied in an instant.
Indeed, nothing beats a tiger for upping the negotiation power stats.
No way ha ha, is this a cafe or a mafia?
My house cat scratches! ^^
Honestly, Na-me shouldn’t have been born in Korea.
If every cafe had a tiger, we could deal with troublesome customers!
This game is truly absurd ha ha ha ha.
After the tutorial, the real story began.
“I’ll play this round according to the rules.”
“Oh! No cyberpunk Joseon?”
“Honestly, that was too hard.”
To maintain the Joseon Dynasty as a modern state with cutting-edge robotics, proper interventions were necessary along the way.
From that point on, it wouldn’t just be a healing game; it would turn into a full-on civilization.
I spent my time with Saetbyeol shelling some nuts until the next customer arrived.
“That outfit looks great on you.”
“Hehe, really? Should I wear this outside too? Oh, but I can’t. This garter belt is super tight. Look, I already have skin marks here.”
“Hey, pull down your skirt a bit.”
“Eek, are you a Confucian girl? I only raised it this much!”
Ding ding!
A cheerful bell rang.
A plump, pot-bellied uncle dodged the heavy rain and entered the cafe.
“Whew. As the universe changes so drastically, humans too must adapt to these changes. I’ve taken shelter here for a while.”
As soon as the word Confucian came out, the ultimate figure appeared.
[Jeong Do-jeon, the Architect of Joseon]
“Welcome!”
As we greeted him energetically, the uncle’s white eyebrows twitched.
A ten-year-old girl with long hair like a maiden ghost, a cat beastman in a maid outfit.
Grrr…
And the house cat… or should I say tiger.
I could guess what he would do next.
“I feel like I’ve come to the wrong place.”
“Bring it on.”
The massive tiger leaped onto the table.
*
All primitiveness is relative.
In modern times, Confucianism is often seen as an outdated thought, but from Jeong Do-jeon’s perspective, the Goryeo dynasty must have appeared equally primitive.
Didn’t a mere 8th rank official suffer a coup? Didn’t the son of a salt merchant break the king’s spine and kill him? Wasn’t there an era where a single individual seized power with just 100 guards?
“I’ll give you the position of Bonghwa 백 and more, just spare my life.”
“Come on, stop being pathetic. This is a cafe, so hurry up and choose something from the menu.”
“What even is all this…? Honey and cinnamon?”
“One Cinnamon Honey Latte and a Bungeoppang, please!”
Della, why order a Bungeoppang you didn’t even ask for?
Honestly, your actions are the essence of a malicious business! Ha ha ha!
If you don’t want to get hit by a tiger punch, better eat quietly.
Seriously, that tiger is so nerve-wracking ha ha ha!
I decorated the edges with caramel syrup and cinnamon powder.
On top of the honey cinnamon syrup, I added two shots of espresso and mixed it well with a frother.
I dropped in three ice cubes and topped it off with smooth milk underneath the foam.
After adding cinnamon powder and a cinnamon stick on top of the coffee crema, it was complete.
“V.”
Even I thought it was made perfectly!
I planned to take a commemorative photo to brag to Abeoji later.
“Here’s your Cinnamon Honey Latte. I’ll heat up the Bungeoppang in the microwave.”
The Bungeoppang is even frozen! Ha ha!
Your level of serving is out of this world.
Na-me actually has barista talent, doesn’t she?
V is so cute hehehe.
“Did I mistakenly wander into the realm of the gods? Or am I possessed by a demon?”
“This is a Dimension Cafe. That’s all I can tell you.”
As expected of a game following history, there are no bad endings, but game overs do exist.
1. Keep quiet about the significance of the Dimension Cafe.
2. Avoid breaking the fourth wall as much as possible.
3. Do not disclose events that will happen within 100 years.
The problems usually arise from point three.
Once, when I told General Douglas Haig of England about the “First World War,” he comically replied “Wait a minute, are you saying it’s not the Great War but the First World War?” and the game ended there.
There are often reviews that criticize it, saying it feels more like a forbidden word game rather than a healing game.
“Surely this isn’t poison, right?”
“Well, it should be better than being torn apart by a tiger, right?”
“The aroma is definitely good.”
He lifted the cup, carefully bringing the drink to his lips.
Glug!
Tasting the aroma, he closed his eyes and took a sip.
“Oooh! The sweet taste of honey spreads gently followed by the scent of cinnamon!”
He wore an exceedingly satisfied smile.
The system rated the quality at 96.7% S-class.
This greatly increased the likelihood he’d accept the customs I introduce.
“I want to offer you my gratitude, but I don’t have anything in my pockets.”
The time had come.
I opened the hologram and retrieved the first technology from the previously set tech tree.
[Science – Magic Studies – Slate Studies – Slate Manufacturing Technology]
Now, let’s have some fun teasing the brain of this Jeong Do-jeon NPC.
“The universe consistently nurtures all things. Do you agree with this statement?”
“Do you know the Doctrine of the Mean? I agree. I fully agree.”
The man took the Bungeoppang I offered, somewhat surprised.
“Generally, the Qi of the universe flows continuously and the creation of all things receives this Qi, becoming thick or thin, tall or short, each having its form and nature.”
Everything in this world often seems to happen by chance, like a cow stumbling upon a rat.
Penicillin, X-rays, saccharin, Velcro.
It’s also worth noting that the entanglement phenomenon of photons, the basic particles that constitute light, resembles the patterns of Taeguk.
“When Descartes and Gassendi were advancing slate studies into magic circles in 17th century Europe…”
“Evidence exists that Yi Sun-sin had used slates to cast 5-circle water magic in 16th century Joseon.”
“Nevertheless, the reason it has not been recognized by the world ultimately stems from technological shortcomings.”
“And this slate is, before it possesses its nature. It is truly a thing of endless possibilities.”
Long ago, Joseon saw the potential of slates, tasted the Imjin War, and ended up abandoning slate studies to enter the era of matchlocks.
I carved the runes, the backbone of all magic, onto the slate and traced a magic circle.
[Casting: Gyroscope]
Three rings of mana began to gracefully spin, emitting radiant light.
“You don’t need to understand. Just leave it for future generations.”
After all, Jeong Do-jeon was a philosopher and revolutionary, not a scientist.
As long as the slate technology is passed down to Sejong, the pace of civilization development could accelerate exponentially.
“I will look into this.”
He accepted the slate marked with the gyroscope magic circle and the hundreds of manuals with a solemn expression.
Then, he glanced over at Saetbyeol once.
“Is that also a spirit? It looks more like a cat that catches mice than a tiger.”
With that statement, he elegantly exited the Dimension Cafe.
“Did that old man just treat me like a cat? Wow, what a joke! Ugh, I can’t believe this!”
Spare us from the hellish Joseon patch ha ha ha!
Wow, this round smells like a huge success!
Teaching slate studies in the first tech tree is seriously no easy feat.
Using magic cheats from the very start is just too unfair!
The advancement of Joseon’s development pattern was projected through the window for another century.
[All Skip Mode]
In the meantime, two significant historical changes occurred.
Woohoo!
The Great Majesty King Sejong!
Just existing is a cheat key!
He was alive… N’s will.
One was that Sejong succeeded in creating printing presses for Hanja and Hangul, bringing the development of civilization forward by a century.
Oh, strengthening the borders.
Teaching pirates a lesson, this is good!
???
What the heck?
Oh, wait a minute?
Since it’s come to this, let’s launch a full-scale attack!
This country was doomed from the start!
The second was that Yeonsangun declared war on Japan and suffered enormous damages.
[Year 1513 (Jungjong 8)]
[Jo Gwang-jo]
Time froze.
“Close call, we just barely dodged that absurd situation. Should we proceed with this? I was planning to save it for right before the Great Famine of Gyeongsin, but I should move it up.”
[Science – Chemistry – Biochemistry – Nitrogen Fixation Method]
It’s time to cast the magic that turns air into bread and death.