by Andrew Reise
Alan responded, "They approved the loan! It was crazy. They barely glanced at the paperwork before changing their mind. It was unreal."
Tom coughed and cleared his throat. "Yes, well, that's good then. When will you be open for business?" He didn't even try to hide his eagerness. He'd started having headaches from the lack of caffeine.
"That's why I'm calling. I need to find a space to purchase. Do you have any leads?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Did you not read the business plan?"
"What about it?" Alan asked in confusion.
Tom sighed. "The business plan states the intended property. It's in the heart of the city. There's plenty of foot traffic, plus it's right by a number of large skyscrapers full of businessmen and businesswomen who will want coffee. I...know...the seller. They owe me a favor so they agreed to sell it at a low price."
Alan hesitated. "Alright, well thanks for that. I owe you one. I'll think of a way to repay you."
"How about you make me an extra coffee?" Tom asked hopefully.
"No can do." Alan said firmly.
"Stubborn square," Tom muttered under his breath on the phone.
He and Alan chatted a bit longer before hanging up. He reminded Alan to go to the property today to sign the paperwork and get the keys from the seller.
Alan went to the store. He was surprised to see Tom when he got there.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have work?" Alan asked.
"I work right there," Tom said, pointing at a huge skyscraper of a building across the street.
Alan looked at it. "What a coincidence. Well, I guess it'll be easier for you to get your coffee now."
Tom smirked inside, quietly celebrating his victory.
"Well, let's take a look at your new building shall we?" Tom gestured forward and Alan directed his attention to a building.
It was small, much smaller than the skyscrapers surrounding it. It was only two stories. The exterior was red brick, with large glass windows looking out onto the street. The door was an old wooden door, but looked as though it had been freshly painted.
Tom lead the way inside, Alan following close behind.
A bell rang as the door swung open, not an electronic chime, but an old fashioned that rang when the door was opened.
The inside was bare. It looked as though whatever had been in here before had already vacated. However, Alan noticed that it must have been some sort of restaurant or cafe. A bar, devoid of stools, stretched the length of the right side of the room. Behind the bar Alan saw a door that led into a larger kitchen. Though devoid of any machinery, he could imagine how it would look with the necessary coffee machines in it. Not to mention he might start serving food at some point.
Behind the bar was a cash register. The rest of the room was bare. There were marks from where tables and booths had been at one point.
"You'll have to do some renovation, but the good news is that it's already set-up for a cafe or restaurant, so you'll be able to open for business quickly." Tom told Alan as he scanned the interior.
"What's on the second-floor?" Alan asked.
"It's a living space. You can choose to rent it out, or live there yourself. It's not luxurious, but it's adequate for a young person like yourself." Tom explained.
Alan was surprised, but then immediately grew happy. He would be able to move out of his parent's house now.
As Alan and Tom stood in the room, the bell on the door rang as it opened once more.
Alan turned to find an unexpected but familiar face there.
Chapter 7
The bell on the door rang as it opened once more. Alan turned to find an unexpected but familiar face there: Alexander Willington III.
Tom said, "Alan, let me introduce you to the owner, Alexa-"
Alan cut him off, "We've met. Mr. Willington, good to see you again."
Alexander was shocked to see Alan, someone he'd all but forgotten about after meeting him a week or so ago. "Yes, quite, hello. Your name was…"
"Alan Pender," Tom supplied. "My friend. He'll be purchasing this property today." Tom's tone was vaguely threatening, indicating some displeasure that Alexander had forgotten Alan's name.
"Of course! Alan! Good to see you again. And please, call me Alexander, no need to be so formal," Alexander hurriedly changed his attitude, trying to pacify Tom. Inside his head he cursed his luck. First he drew Tom's ire because an employee of his had fired this Alan Pender, and now he even had to kiss up to Alan and sell one his prime pieces of real estate at such a low price he'd be taking a loss on it. Still, it was better than getting driven out of business by Tom.
Alan just nodded and said, "Well, should we do this?"
They spent some time discuss the particulars, and eventually signed off on a contract that Tom had pulled from somewhere. Apparently his legal team got pulled in last night too.
Just like that Alan was now the owner of his own building. Admittedly, if his business failed and he couldn't pay off the loan the bank could take the building as compensation, but still it was his.
The system suddenly dinged and a new notification flashed in front of Alan.
"Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission. Distributing reward."
"Host has received title: Cafe Owner."
Alan was itching to check the reward, but he forced himself to wait as he engaged in polite conversation with Tom and Alexander.
Finally, he managed to usher them out of the building, promising Tom that he'd call him once he opened for business.
Closing the door behind them, he locked it and leaned it against it with a sigh. Then he looked at the notification.
He tapped on the panel in the air, and it changed to a new screen describing the reward.
Title: Cafe Owner
Description: A title given to the owner of a cafe.
Effect: Decor Rating function added to the system.
"Decor Rating function?" He questioned aloud.
"Yes, Host." The system spoke. "The Decor Rating function allows the Host to design the interior of the cafe in the system at which point the system will rate the design out of 100."
Alan was speechless. In most novels, didn't the system just decorate the interior for him? Just his luck that he got stuck with a system that just further judged him.
"System, there's really no need to do that. I'll manage just fine on my own."
"Negative, Host. The system will judge Host's decor ahead of time to cover for Host's lack of style."
"System, what are you talking about? I have great style." He struck a runway pose as he said this.
"Host, the system does not yet have the Fashion Rating function, but based on empirical data collected Host is not stylish. Work hard to unlock the Fashion Rating function Host."
Alan sighed. The system really wasn't good for his self-esteem.
Alan looked at the screen again and equipped the Cafe Owner title.
As soon as he did another notification dinged into appearance.
"Commencing Third Mission."
Alan looked at the notification and tapped it to reveal the mission.
Mission: Designing a cafe.
Description: Host must design a cafe that achieves a rating of 90 or higher by the Decor Rating function.
Reward: Cappuccino
"System, what sort of bull crap mission is this?" Alan asked incredulously.
"Host, the system thinks the description is pretty self-explanatory...did Host suffer another head wound when the system wasn't paying attention?"
Alan coughed and said, "System, I thought the goal was to make me the owner of the world's most luxurious cafe? Why are you suddenly teaching me to be an interior designer?"
"Host, in order to be the owner of the world's most luxurious cafe, you need to understand what constitutes luxury. The Decor Rating function will allow Host to better understand what sort of interior makes the cafe luxurious."
Alan shook his head. "I
t's not that hard to be luxurious, System."
"We shall see, Host."
Alan was helpless against the system, and decided to just humor it.
He started up the Decor Rating function.
His surroundings suddenly changed. The space was divided into equally spaced squares that were outlined with glowing lines. He saw a menu to the right of his vision which allowed him to access different types of furniture, appliances, even types of coffee. At the top left he saw a number, an extremely familiar number. It was the amount of the loan he had received. As he watched it started decreasing.
He panicked. "System, what's with the money decreasing?"
"Did Host already forget? Host purchased this location. Thus, the system is subtracting the cost of the purchase from the original amount."
As Alan watched the money stopped decreasing and held steady. It was still an impressive amount.
Alan started fiddling with the Decor Rating function, experimenting with what he could do.
He discovered that, much like a simulation game where one builds an amusement park or a city, the menu separated items by category and told him how much each of them cost.
He clicked on a sofa to see what happened. Suddenly the sofa materialized in front of him.
He gasped in shock. "System, I take it back, this is a pretty impressive reward."
"Thank you, Host. The system is glad you are pleased."
As Alan materialized the couch, he noticed the money he had decrease by the amount the menu said the couch cost.
Alan noticed that there were arrows on each side of the couch on the squares outlined in his vision. He tried tapping the left arrow and the couch suddenly shifted one set of squares to the left.
Alan continued to play around and explore each category. He saw a number of different options ranging from armchairs, to cappuccino machines, to construction efforts like fountains and fireplaces.
Ultimately he deleted everything he clicked on and watched as it dematerialized. At the same time, the amount of money in the upper left of his vision returned to where it had been before.
He finally felt like this system was something impressive.
Alan began designing a cafe in excitement.
Truth be told, though he didn't have much experience in interior design, he did have his own taste and understanding of luxury.
He changed the floors to a dark oak wood. He added dark oak wood paneling to the walls. He repainted the rest of the walls to a beige color. The light beige and dark wood played well with each other.
Next he added a plush carpet to the main seating area. He placed multiple leather armchairs around the edges of the carpet.
As he did this he kept a close eye on his funds. When one option was too expensive, he'd choose a slightly less expensive one.
He put a fireplace against the wall by the carpet, adding some stone in front of it to absorb the heat. He rearranged the arm chairs so they circled the fire place.
Next he added hardwood tables by the window with wood chairs. He purchased cushions for the chairs so they would be comfortable to sit on. He also made sure to add electrical outlets to the tables by the window. That would be a sort of office area, for business people to work.
Then, he started addressing the bar itself. He changed it to the same dark wood as the walls and floors. Then he added comfortable leather chairs that pulled up to it. This bar would not be a traditional bar with stools, but instead a low sitting bar for people to lounge at.
After he finished this, he went into the kitchen and outfitted it with a coffee maker, a cappuccino machine, an oven and a gas stove. He replaced the sink, and added a very powerful and quick dishwasher.
Finally, he got to the point where he could choose his coffee beans.
He explored the various options while weighing his decision.
On the one hand, any coffee he made would be delicious. He could choose a cheap coffee and save money.
On the other hand, the system had repeatedly made it clear that he needed to make a luxurious cafe. Very likely that included the quality of the coffee. Knowing the system, it would probably subtract Decor Rating points from him if he went with lower quality coffee beans.
Sighing, he finally settled on one of the most expensive coffees he'd seen on the list. It was called Prosperidad. He read through the description.
Coffee: Prosperidad.
Description: Grown in Colombia, only one or two batches are put out every year, and of those, only one in every four is sold after going through the coffee producer's quality control. Grown in volcanic ash, Prosperidad coffee beans have clean notes of caramel and nut, making for a finish unlike any other.
Price: $120/pound.
The price made him sweat.
It'd be one thing if he was just buying it for his personal use, since he wouldn't need so much. However, for a cafe, he would need hundreds of pounds of it.
He'd hoped to save some of the loan money for overhead in case the cafe needed something new he'd forgotten about. However, at this point, he only had approximately $10,000 remaining. While that was a lot compared to yesterday, it was pretty small compared to how much he was spending to get his cafe up and running.
Next off, he selected a number of high quality ingredients for his shop, like milk, sugar, and so on. Since he ordered in bulk and the ingredients weren't rare, the total cost wasn't too overwhelming.
He finished by purchasing dining utensils like forks, spoons, plates, and cups. He even got to-go cups.
After his spending spree, Alan was left with approximately $7,000. He'd be able to get more supplies as needed, so this way he had a bit of overhead. As he completed his design, the system suddenly dinged with a notification.
"Host's design has received a score of 96 by the Decor Rating function. Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission. Perhaps the system was correct to choose Host after all."
Alan felt smug since he had proven the system wrong. However, before he had time to celebrate the system spoke up again.
"Host has completed the third mission. Ending Tutorial."
Alan paused. "What do you mean tutorial, System?"
"Host, now that you own your own cafe, the system has exited Tutorial mode. As a result the system will be implementing a number of new restrictions due to Host's low level. As Host completes more missions and levels up, Host can then reduce the restrictions."
"What restrictions?" Alan asked warily.
"You'll find out as you go, Host. However, Host should know, before adding to-go cups, that Host will not be able to serve takeaway coffee."
Alan was silent for a moment before exploding. "What do you mean I can't serve takeaway coffee? You let me do that at the other shop!"
"Host, the system was still in Tutorial mode, so Host did not have to comply with as many restrictions. After all, Host wasn't in charge and therefore couldn't make many decisions."
"Then why did you not let me serve that woman multiple cups of coffee?" Alan demanded angrily.
"Everyone must have a bottom line, Host. If Host does not even have sufficient pride to stick to one rule, then how could Host ever endeavor to run his own cafe and enforce multiple rules."
Alan was left speechless. "What sort of screwed up logic is that?"
“The system is designed to allow Host time to grow. However, now that Host has grown, the system will no longer coddle Host. Please endeavor to become the owner of the world's most luxurious cafe."
Alan felt helpless. "Oh well," he thought. "At least I have a fully functional cafe."
He went to sit on one of the chairs and fell through it.
He landed on the ground with a loud thump, his head smacking against it.
As he clutched his head, he heard the system.
"Host has sustained another head wound, the system is entering recovery mode."
After he was healed, he began questioning the system intensely.
"What's up with the illusory chairs? Yo
u subtracted all that money from my account for fake furniture?"
"The system cannot materialize matter, Host. The Decor Rating function merely allows the Host to simulate the various potential builds for the cafe. The figure on the top left reflects how much money Host would have left after creating this place. Of course, that figure does not factor in shipping costs and the cost of hiring contractors. After factoring in that amount, the system calculates that Host should have just enough money to get the cafe opened."
Mournful cries echoed from within the building as Alan once again cursed the system for deceiving him.
Chapter 8
As Alan sulked over the fact that the system wasn't going to set up the cafe for him, he went ahead and began ordering the various furniture, equipment, and stock that he'd included in his design. Luckily, though the design wasn't real, it was accurate.
After he finished ordering everything he called Tom and asked him for the number of a contractor he uses.
Tom told him not to worry about it, he'd send someone over. Alan was going to argue, but Tom promised he wouldn't have the contractor do it for free, he'd just make him go there faster.
Pretty soon he'd spoken with the contractor and had them draw up plans for his fireplace, the changes to the floors and walls. The contractor also pointed out he'd need custom lighting. All told, it ended up costing him the remaining $7,000 he had. He was as broke as he had been yesterday, only more so because now he was in debt.
He still hadn't paid off his student loans either. Alan suddenly felt nervous.
"Was this really a good idea?" He wondered. He was risking a lot here. If he didn't succeed then he wouldn't be able to dig himself out of this financial hole for the rest of his life.
These days it was hard for students who took out loans to go to college and graduate school. Supposedly they were more hirable, but from Alan's experience that wasn't the case at all.
He could only work hard. If the system had heard that thought of his it would surely be ecstatic.
Of course, it wouldn't realize that he meant he'd have to work hard to pinch every penny he could from this extravagant, stingy system.
For example, when he ordered supplies just now he'd made sure to purchase enough to get free shipping. If one place didn't offer free shipping he found a different one. With that, the system's estimate was slightly off. Of course, that money then went down the drain when he had to shell out for the lighting system.