by John Rickett
“A compliment? From you?” Gabe said.
“Closest he’s going to get.”
“She’s right. All things considered, you did good, big man.” He threw his finger in the air. “No murdering required.”
“Unfortunately.” Grum grabbed a handful of beans and squeezed. “Have I succeeded my quest?”
“G… Gotta say, man, quest complete. Well, the first part of the main storyline, I guess, if we’re still on the video-game thing.”
With how difficult—or at least different—this new world could be, success at a tutorial mission felt like progress. Perhaps this world was Hard Mode. What would the next quest bring? What gear? What experience? Hopefully, more things to kill. This quest had failed to put enough blood on his face or numbers in his damage log.
Candice took the crushed grounds, and brewed each of them a Rich Hazelbean, adding an extra shot to Gabe’s who loved his a bit on the Asphalt side.
Gabe raised his cup. “To Grum, the Grinder.”
Another title to add to his bulging list? An intimidating one. Let foes use their imagination. Would he be grinding coffee beans or the bones of their children?
“To Grum,” Candice said, raising her cup.
Grum raised his cup, warm even through his gloves.
Grum the Grinder. A new favorite to replace Defiler of Corpses.
“To the spoils of war,” Grum said.
He took a sip.
Grum takes 2 points of burning damage!
HP: 9966/9999
“IT ATTACKED ME!”
“It’ll do that,” Gabe said, placing his own cup on the counter. “Gotta let it cool off.”
“We have to wait?”
“Yup.”
Grum poked his raw tongue into his teeth. “No potion is worth waiting for.”
Candice cradled the cup to her nose. “Trust us,” she said. She closed her eyes and inhaled. “This one is.”
Achievement: Café Conquerer! 100xp
You have taken the important first steps of the path of the Barista.
Quest Complete: Legend of Latte! 120xp
The horde has been placated and retreated into their cubicle netherworld. Until Tomorrow…
Level up!
Grum has reached Level 2 Barista
New Skill Acquired: Latte Art (Basic)
The coffee had tasted as good as it smelled. Better even. It filled Grum with energy he hadn’t felt since downing Potions of Stamina during the Siege of Fasthold. The caffeine surged in his veins, vibrating every nerve, every muscle fiber. His vision was as crisp as a falcon familiar. His hearing thrummed.
Yet Helen had managed to sneak up next to him to grab his empty cup. She was no longer hunched over. Her body was strong and stable. She looked up at him, a brightness in her eyes that defied her age. “He needed you out of the way,” she said.
The caffeine. It wasn’t supposed to muddle his thoughts. Who needed him out of that way? Albatross? Grum shook his head, and rubbed his eyes to make sure he saw her clearly. “What did you say?”
Helen stood hunched, craning her neck to look up at him with tired eyes. “The cup,” she said. “Let me get it out of the way.”
She took the cup with a shaky hand and smiled delicately. “It’s easier if things aren’t in the way.”
Author’s notes
Loved Grum?
Hated him?
As an indy author, reviews (and fans) push us to continue what we’re doing, or cry spiteful tears into our Rum. Either way, your voice matters. Let us know!
We’re also a bit more flexible than those big guys. So…
Have an idea where Grum can go next? Want to be a character who Grum cleaves down in a rage-fueled fervor? Wanna just and talk about Dungeon Mastery as a euphemism? Or discuss the insignificance of humans as a species?
I’d love to hear from you!
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LitRPG is a budding genre, combining all the awesome things gamers love about stories and… well… games! From table-top to video, many stories feature numerical growth (levels, stats, etc) and even gear-acquisition in tandem with the character’s arc, to show readers a progress that is familiar to us.
Hero entered the new world at the beginning of act II? Yeah, I guess that’s cool. Gained a new skill and a +1 fucksmiter dagger?
Heeeeeeellll Yeah!
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John Rickett dwells in the armpit of America, where he escapes his suburban-zombie nightmare by moonlighting as a word-sorcerer. His work has been published in digital, print, and audio. His post-apocalyptic fairytale retelling, Three Brittle pigs was selected for The Molotov Cocktail's 2015 prize-winners anthology.
Special Thanks
Tao Wong
Ashley Kim
Ross Allaire
Casey Rickett
Clyde Starr
Hey. You.
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This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be lent, resold, hired out, traded for ‘favors’ or otherwise circulated or used an instruction manual for life without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover (even dried flesh) other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Phew… Under no circumstances may any part of this book be photocopied for resale. Feel free to photocopy your naughty parts for whatever reason you might do that, but keep this book out of it.
This is a work of fiction, and mostly the result of hallucinogens. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, or somewhere in-between, is unintentional and coincidental.
