Book 4: Chapter 6: Alert


    Within the walls of the granary, the world slowed to a crawl. My most-recent breakthrough had given me a previously unknown level of perception, which let me witness every moment of ws and Cinnamon’s flight through the air. Their eyes, promising violence, were pinned on the mastermind of their tumble down the chimney.


    <em>Me.</em>


    ws spun like a torpedo, little jolts of electricity arcing all over her body as she flew directly for my core. Cinnamon whirled in midair, one rear legshing out to kick off of George, who was off-bnce in his attempt to flee.


    <em>Poor bloke...</em> I thought, watching as he ragdolled across the room and mmed into a far wall. He was fine, of course; no matter how upset Cinnamon was, she’d never hurt him. <em>Well... not seriously, anyway,</em> I amended as he slid down the wall.


    Maria made it out of the room at thest moment, and I mmed the door behind her, sacrificing George and Geraldine. “Every man for themsel—”


    ws shot <em>through</em> the door and into the wall next to me, her muscles bulging with electricity and righteous fury both. Cinnamon came barrelling through the remnant of splinters, already twisting, preparing to kick off the wall and into us. Both animal pals unleashed high-pitched war cries, a dual promise of retribution for my trickery.


    Hand in hand, Maria and I sprinted away, our giggles only increasing the rageing from Cinnamon and ws. We barely made it out of the granary before their first volley of attacksnded, and the next few minutes were a blur as we dashed around the vige, exchanging blows. Cinnamon and ws’s anger swiftly faded, reced by an animalistic thrill as our faux battle continued, slowly growing more intense. We only stopped after ws got a little too excited, which would have resulted in some poor family’s backyard getting obliterated if I hadn’t nullified her headbutt with a wall of light.


    ws lounged in my arms and Cinnamon in Maria’s as we walked back to the granary. We found George and Geraldine sitting before the machine, their necks craning to take in its impressive form. I’d had to push back the System earlier to stop it from drawing my eyes in, wanting to wait until after ws and Cinnamon had enacted their vengeance.


    Still holding the System at bay, I quickly took in the physical form of the roaster. At the very top, a metal hopper stood proud, made of the cone George had created. It had increased in size slightly with the System’s transformation. The hopper fed into a chute that had a gate attached, able to be opened and closed with one of the wooden handles Maria made. Next, there was a giant drum, which was thepartment where the roasting would take ce. A series of smooth metal arms connected within the drum, the apparatus that would spin and agitate the green coffee beans, ensuring an even roast. There was something attached to it, a smallpartment I didn’t recognize despite my surface-level understanding of such machines.


    I returned my attention to the parts of the roaster that I recognised, leaving the unknown addition forter.


    When finished roasting, the beans would drain into a round tray at the front of the machine. There were more metal arms within it, which would spin and circte the cooling beans. Below all of this, the furnace sat, its metal doors somehow still attached despite ws and Cinnamon’s aggressive exit. The entire machine stood flush against the stone floor, looking as though it was part of the building, there from the very beginning.


    The more I looked, the more excited I got, and I couldn’t hold the System at bay any longer. I let the creation draw my vision in, its description filling my mind’s eye.


    <strong>Coffee Roaster of the Redeemed</strong>


    <strong>Rare</strong>


    <strong>Created by a congregation and their chosen deity, this coffee roaster is a representation of the congregation’s belief in their god. Beans processed in this roaster will always have a minor boon, with slight chances of a regr boon, and rare chances of a major boon. The boon granted is influenced by the ingredient(s) ced in the infuser.</strong>


    I shook my head to clear my vision, my skin tingling with adrenaline as the words’ meaning sunk into me.


    “Well, then,” Maria said. “Looks like the System acknowledges you as the church’s deity.”


    I licked my lips. “Yeah…” Not wanting to dwell on that for too long, I stepped toward the machine. I raised a hand and touched the smallpartment attached to the drum, finally understanding what it was. “Infuser...” I said, my eyes narrowing in consideration. “Fascinating.”


    “You didn’t know what it was before?” Maria asked, standing to join me. “Did people not use something like this back on Earth?”


    “I’m not sure if they did, to be honest, but I certainly didn’t know about it. Coffee was for sure infused with various vors, but I assumed it was done by soaking them before roasting. Or adding the ingredients to the already roasted beans, I guess. Having a separate chamber seems a little extra.” I raised an eyebrow at Maria. “Ready to catch me?”


    She nodded seriously and stepped closer. “Ready.”


    I extended my senses toward the machine, and when I found the intricate lines of essence within it, the air was knocked from my lungs. I managed to remain standing, my senses swimming, but I could only stand the overwhelming experience for a fraction of a second.


    I withdrew my attention, the world going dull once more as the impossiblyplicated lines of essence connecting the artifact’sponents faded.


    I took a steadying breath, trying toprehend the purpose and intent of the thousands of microscopic tubes and tunnels, each an integral part of the coffee roaster’s functions.


    “Uhhh...” George said. “Fischer?”


    “Yeah, mate?” I rubbed my eyes before looking at him, my vision still a little strained. “What’s up?”


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    “What was that? Why was Maria ready to catch you?”


    I opened my mouth to exin, but Maria beat me to it. “We haven’t really been advertising it, but since Fischer’sst breakthrough, he is able to see how all the chi-powered buildings, machines, and tools work. It’s...”


    “Overwhelming,” I finished, giving them a tired smile. “I can see it, but seeing is different to understanding. It feels like trying to shove a square into a circle hole. The first time I tried, I attempted to peer into one of the smithy’s furnaces.”


    Maria let out a giggle. “He almost fell into it. Oh, don’t give me that look, Fischer. Even if you fell into the fires of Hades, I’m sure you’d be fine.”


    I grinned back, letting the false hurt fall from my face. “Sorry. I’ve been spending too much time around Corporal wstely.”


    Said otter gave a wicked grin and patted me on the shoulder, encouraging my attempted trickery.


    “Anyway,” I continued, “I saw what I wanted. The infuser isn’t just some box tacked onto the side. There are thousands of chi lines connecting it to the drum and the furnace, so anything ced in there will definitely be used for System shenanigans.”


    Geraldine had been quiet the entire time, her anticipation slowly building with each bit of information revealed. She licked her lips and cleared her throat. “The possibilities andbinations... they’re almost endless, are they not?”


    A smiled at her and George, delighting in the passion radiating from their cores. “I have a favor to ask.”


    “Anything within our power,” George replied. “Just name it.”


    “Well, I know we made this as something for you guys to do, but do you mind if we help? At least initially. You probably want freedom to experiment with it, but...” I trailed off, my brow knitting. “Why are you bothughing?”


    “Because it was a silly question,” George replied, shaking his head. “You can help as little or as much as you like.”


    “It was funny because you didn’t need to ask,” Geraldine added.


    “Though,” George continued, “your overly polite demeanor <em>is</em> appreciated.”


    I shrugged, returning their smiles. “Never hurts to ask.” I rubbed my hands together, already considering the different infusions we’d have to trial. “Now, where shall we begin…?”


    A half hourter, I cackled at my own brilliance as I upended a small bag, pouring its contents into the infuser. The first few items to hit the container made soft <em>tink </em>sounds, swiftly transforming into a torrent of noise as more and more of them crashed atop each other. I only closed the bag’s opening when the infuser was filled to the brim.


    “For the record,” Maria said, “I still think this is a terrible idea.”


    “Heresy,” I softly gasped. “You take that back.”


    She just shook her head softly, giving me an amused look. “Knowing you and what you’re like after drinking regr coffee, this could have dire consequences for the entire vige.”


    “Dire consequences?” came a familiar voice. “What do you mean?”


    I beamed a grin at the open doorway and the man peering in through it. “G’day, Ellis. Maria is just ying around. She doesn’t really mean—”


    “He’s infusing coffee with more coffee,” Maria interrupted, gesturing emphatically at the bean-filled infuser.


    “Hey! I was saving the reveal!”


    “Everyone’s safety is more important than your big reveal, you maniac. Last time you had too much coffee, you jumped to the other side of the river and left a crater the size of a house behind.”


    “Oh,e on! That was one time!”


    ws let out a chirp to get our attention, and when I looked her way, she held up two of the toes on her forepaw.


    I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Fine! It happened two times! Whose side are you on?”


    She let out a shrill chirp and leaped into my arms, raising her head to rub her whiskers against my chin.


    “I love you too,” Iughed, “but you’re not helping me make my case here.”


    “Coffee infused coffee, you say?” Ellis asked, bringing us back on topic. “How does that work?”


    I gave him a basic rundown of the roaster and the attached infuser.


    “Fascinating,” he replied. “What other ingredients have you thought about infusing?”


    I snapped my fingers, a full tray appearing in my hand. “We’ve got lemon, sugar, salt, passiona husk, and more coffee.”


    “Why do you have more coffee?” Maria yelled, trying to snatch the bag.


    “Because what if I want to <em>triple</em> infuse with coffee? Why have coffee-infused coffee when you can have coffee <em>infused with</em> coffee-infused coffee?”


    The entire room blinked at me, and Maria narrowed her eyes. “It’s finally happened. You’ve gone mad with power.”


    I let out a viinousugh, arching my chest and projecting my voice. “And it’s toote for anyone to stop me!”


    Corporal ws joined in, her high-pitched trillplimenting my cackle.


    Letting out a theatrical sigh, Maria picked up a sack of green coffee beans and emptied it into the hopper. “I guess there’s nothing to do but ept our fate.” She opened the valve, letting the beans pour down into the drum.


    “Showtime, ws.” I set her down on the ground and gave her a quick scritch before striding over to the machine. When thest of the beans had poured down into the roaster, I closed the door to the furnace and pressed a button on the side. Heat immediately bloomed within the construct.


    “Does it not require wood to burn?” Ellis asked. “Why does it have a furnace, then?”


    “You can do both. I’m guessing wood could add some, <em>er...</em> woody vors. This is just an experiment to see if we can make really strong coffee, so using the magical heat source is fine.”


    The agitator within the drum sprang to life, slowly churning the contents as the heat rose. The smell was wondrous, and I marveled at the chi that seemed to circte around us as the beans continued roasting. We watched on in silence, only the scratching of Ellis’s pencil on his notepad interrupting the quiet. Ambient chi rose upward, gravitating toward the beans.


    Those in the infuser started breaking down, reduced to tiny little trickles of chi that poured down into the drum. The scent of roasting coffee, the sound of churning beans, and the sight of undting chibined into an experience more peaceful than I could remember. My breathing slowed as I bathed in the sensations, letting them ground me, and time became a faraway concept as I sunk further into the moment.


    When the roaster finished, the sudden silence was deafening.


    Maria stepped forward and pulled a level, causing the beans to pour from the drum down into the cooling tray. Once there, I flicked a switch, causing the metal arms to spin to life. With the coffee beans exposed to the air, their concentrated scent wafted around the room, making my mouth water.


    “Oh my...” Geraldine said, her eyes fervent. “They smell wonderful.”


    With a hesitant step, I approached. If the coffee made from them tasted even half as good as it smelled, we were in for a treat. And that wasn’t even considering the caffeine content, or the subsequent boost to productivity they might produce. I bent to scoop some of the still-hot beans up, intent on inspecting them.


    But before I had the chance, an unexpected message upied my field of view, halting me mid-step.


    <strong>Quest Alert!</strong>


    <strong>Quest: In Defense of Tropica Vige</strong>


    <strong>Alert: A spirit beast has been detected within the bounds of your Domain!</strong>


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