《Coffee Emperor》 Book 1 Ch 1: Coffee and Retirement Jackie Imperial was thoroughly sick of coffee. Not drinking it, he''d stopped that habit a few years back to better take care of his health once he''d passed his seventieth birthday. Even drinking decaff had made his heart pound in his chest, and on the advice of his health providers, the board of Directors and those few people who were actually close time he''d stopped. He considered it was a funny fact that the CEO of one of the most popular coffee companies on the entire planet no longer touched the stuff and stuck to mineral and vitamin infused water. He presently stood within his personal office, a large wall mounted mirror and walk-in wardrobe in front of him and a large variety of differing styles and fashions discarded on the floor or thrown strewn about. He''d asked his personal secretary Daphne to order him whatever the younger generation in their fifties wore these days. I should have asked for formal wear. Not this..whatever this is meant to be. Who wears this stuff? Wild animal-men? He''d picked up an orange t-shirt with tiger stripes made from faux leather and a furry collar attachment and promptly shaken his head and tossed it into a growing pile of similar style t-shirts. Facing the mirror was a man with tanned skin, bright blue eyes and short grey cropped hair wearing a pair of baggy skinny jeans and a thin muscular chest. ¡®Look at you old man, who¡¯d have thought that you¡¯d end up loving coffee so much that you reached this point.¡¯ said Jackie. On his home world of Belphus, he¡¯d managed to turn simple coffee beans from a crunchy sour snack into a vast array of drinks and foodstuffs. They¡¯d passed laws restricting the consumption of it to certain ages and the amount of caffeine contained in the products but it had ultimately become the most popular drink of choice on the entire planet. At the very least, it took people¡¯s mind off the situation going on with the oceans of the planet. There had been a press briefing by an attractive young scientist turned entrepreneur with her business-minded husband barely out of her twenties who had found a solution which was going to be directly marketed to major business and private enterprise. Jackie chose that moment to stare at himself a little more. If he had any weaknesses, his would be his own vanity. He liked to look good, both physically and in how he dressed and groomed himself. ¡®Those treatments to fully remove facial hair worked a treat. Worth the pain for a lifetime of no longer having to shave. Wearing that mustache which kept drooping into my coffee cup wasn¡¯t worth it just to try and look good.¡¯ said Jackie as he held up another animal themed t-shirt, this one had thicker grey markings and felt rough to his fingers as he threw it aside. There was a reason that formal business wear had remained largely unchanged over the fifty years he had been working in the coffee bean and production industry. The style simply worked. After taking off the baggy skinny jeans, all Jackie saw in the mirror was an old man who was work out, physically, mentally and emotionally he¡¯d given as much as he could. Not only to the business but to those he¡¯d worked with and supported. He had a strong reputation for valuing innate talent and loyalty above all else and it¡¯d paid off. Time for him to retire from the world of coffee and hand over the reigns to the younger generation. ¡® ¡®If that female scientist was so clever with her technology and solution to fixing the oceans of the planet, perhaps she can invent better tasting coffee without all the side effects that we¡¯ve come to love and be addicted to. What was her name again...Cassie? No. I¡¯m getting old.¡¯ said Jackie as he grabbed one of many mobile phones, let it access his DNA recognition and opened it to scroll down the latest business news. Decades of practice had taught him to find specific details. From what he could tell, the young woman and her matching youthful husband Liam stood to become incredibly wealthy and influencial people on Belphus. If he¡¯d wanted he could have even met them in person if he wanted. The man who turned coffee into the most popular consumer product on the planet meeting the woman who turned the tide on the oceans as it was. Too old. Too old to have thoughts of that. In truth, he¡¯d grown tired of the lack of competion and the sheer lack of challengers. His Empire had grown since he had been a pre-teen picking ripened cherries on his family homestead back in his home country. From packaging to experimentation, to serving drinks, working as a barissta, managing coffee houses to running an international company he¡¯d done it all. Still standing there he received an alert on the phone he was casually holding as he gazed into the mirror. Checking the message he saw a message from Daphne, many messages, missed phone calls and even voicemail which all reminded him of the final briefing and meeting with the board of directors who wanted to discuss his final farewell payment packaage and dissolution of his shares and ownership in the company. Let the next generation have their turn. Jackie still held hopes and dreams but they were so wild that he doubted they would come true. Building up a series of coffee chains on the various space stations around the orbit of Belphus, working out how to grow the same taste and breed of coffee on exo-planets or even discover some ancient and long extinct breed of coffee plants were a few on his bucket list but none of them were realistic. Continuing to look at himself in the mirror, he knew that could pass for a younger man if it wasn¡¯t his near total lack of energy. By this point in his life, spending his time in a swimming pool, or even the oceans if he decided to purchase his own stakes in them with the retirement package was a more viable option. Sighing to himself, Jackie turned his attention to the various racks, draws and shelves which held his usual custom-made and designed business wear and after selected his standard black briefs and socks he began to dress himself in the same style formal suit, tie and polished shoes he¡¯d worn for the last fifty years since he¡¯d entered the corporate world of coffee. Old, cold and tired. Except he wasn¡¯t cold or tired, just bored. Tired of coffee and everything to do with it. Giving himself a once over in the mirror he decided to lose the tie and allowed himself to enjoy a little bit of freedom in his last few hours within his soon to be former corporate headquarters. He grabbed the phone which was ringing in his hand and answered it. ¡®Daphne. I know you¡¯re outside, I need to change myself after that final farewell party. Yes, yes, the food fight was all my idea. No. The board won¡¯t care about it. Just pay the cleaners extra and give them a warm drink from my private stash. No, the actual aged beans, the ones that were soaked for a decade. What? No, I¡¯m coming out right this second.¡¯ said Jackie as he pulled open the walk-in wardrobe door to see a women with green eyes, brown hair and matching business attire holding a red briefcase with both hands which trembled slightly. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Her appearance was rather bland in his eyes, mid-fifties at most, brunette with a build that was kept slim and eyes full of a frantic energy. Quite the talent. She fully deserves everything she¡¯s got coming to her. I¡¯ll make sure that she gets it full on. The old eyes of Jackie still held the strength of his leadership position which had worked for decades to earn and further decades to keep. She spoke to him when he¡¯d stared at her for half a minute without speaking. ¡®Excuse me? Mr Imperial?¡¯ said the woman. ¡®Mmm?¡¯ said Jackie. I am getting old at least. There was a time when every single employee would wait for me to talk before talking. Poor thing. She probably thinks I¡¯m in a bad mood after taking so long to get changed. I likely fit the powerful old man vibe inside her mind. ¡®Sir, you¡¯re expected to be in front of the board of directors within fifteen minutes. You did ask me to remind you firmly. I mean, I tried to call but you just didn¡¯t pick up or respond and...well..please don¡¯t fire me.¡¯ said the woman as she shrank back a little. Jackie was upset. Not at the fact that he assumed that he would even consider firing her, he did develop another reputation of a lack of tolerance for those who weren¡¯t willing to either listen or work with him but he didn¡¯t want the poor woman feeling scared like this. ¡®Daphne. I¡¯m sorry for taking so long. I didn¡¯t realise how old that I became. Forget it, that¡¯s an entirely personal matter. You know what you were doing?¡¯ said Jackie as he made his face stern. ¡®Mr Imperial? No, I..it¡¯s your last day and I wanted to pass you something as thanks. I mean it¡¯s not a lot but you always said red was your favourite colour after fresh coffee berries and I..I mean I got you this.¡¯ said Daphne as she held up up the briefcase with two slightly trembling hands. Jackie wasn¡¯t exactly a people person. He liked people, loved having relationships close to family with those he trusted but he¡¯d never been physically attracted to anyone. Not for any gender. Although, it had made for a decent number of funny times when his competitors in business had tried various blackmail events and honeytraps. All those young men, women and in-between had found themselves politely send back. This time Jackie thought that he¡¯d upset the poor woman enough. Forgetting the situation and pushing down his own sense of physical repulsion he took a step forward, calmly took the briefcase from her hands and let it fall before he gave her a deep hug, using a little of his strength. Daphne was surprised as first before she returned the hug in turn and then stepped back as Jackie loosely released his arms before gently bending his knees and picking up the briefcase with one hand. ¡®My dear.I¡¯m not a monster. I¡¯ve already arrived your full retirement package including golden parachute and added in six months paid holiday. Daphne. Trulty I respect hard work and you¡¯ve certainly worked hard for the last decade alone. At least. You can¡¯t be fired if you get to retire with a generous severance package. This briefcase? This gesture means the world to me. Oh, by the way, feel free to report me to Human Resources before you leave for physical harrassment if you prefer. I won¡¯t hold it against you. Even the rich and powerful should be held accountable. You just looked to me like you needed it. No hard feelings?¡¯ said Jackie as he gave his brighest smile, straightened his posture upright and holding the briefcase with one hand at his side held out the other in an open handshake gesture. The women held the folder that she had been holding slightly closer to her chest. Not quite sure how to respond to his words. Jackie hesitated before he waved a hand in front of her eyes and spoke again. ¡®Daphne. Earth to Daphne. You¡¯re guaranteed to retire a rich woman. Now, take the rest of the day off and leave this job and this old man alone. I can surely deal with a few board members without my hand being held. I¡¯ve lasted this long. Go.¡¯ Jackie tried not to make the last word he spoke seem like a command but there was still a strong trace of the CEO that he¡¯d been for the last fifteen years. His old habits were going to be pretty hard to shake he soon realised, even if he was planning to become another rich old man who wanted to leave the industry to go back to his original roots back on his old family farm. His parents had long since passed but he¡¯d hired a managed decades ago to make sure the old place kept turning a profit and was sufficiently taken care of. ¡®Go. And thanks for putting up with me for so many years. All the other PA¡¯s get a similar deal. I¡¯ve arranged it all according to company policy. Tomorrow I¡¯ll be just another ordinary person.¡¯ ¡®¡­Mr Imperial. No, Sir, you¡¯ll never be an ordinary person in our eyes. You¡¯re a legend in the coffee world.¡¯ Jackie inwardly sighed. Building up an image took a lifetime so it was only to be expected that his staff would still treat him with his stupid last name. He had no real clue about why his parents had saddled him with their last name of Imperial aside from some forgotten tale about one of his ancestors had been an Emperor once. ¡®Please don¡¯t call me Mr Imperial. I¡¯m going to get enough of that at the board meeting and my farewell speech later today. At this rate I¡¯ll die of stress before I can finally retire. And Daphne, on a more serious note do you consider my actions reportable to Human Resources? You may not be aware but I prefer not to be touched myself. The money is due to your hard work, not a bribe or a means to keep you quiet. Even in the last few hours I¡¯m in charge here we¡¯re going to stick to it by the book.¡¯ said Jackie as he folded his arms with the red busines briefcase dangling from his fingers One of his many faults Jackie knew, when was he should keep his mouth shut and be aware of the situation. He was half-joking, half-serious when he said it but as soon as the words came out of his mouth the face on his personal assistant Daphne turned white. ¡®Sir? You should never say that. Never! You¡¯re going to live for a good long time yet! After everything that you¡¯ve done for this company you-you¡­.Sir? Can I be honest with you?¡¯ Holding a manicured and tanned hand that become wrinkled with age despite the use of daily moisturer, Jackie let out the breath that he had been holding in. ¡®Sure, I do appreciate the gift though. Personally, I¡¯d report myself but I¡¯m getting a little bit tired now and the board of directors always like to take their time. I need to save my energy for those gentlemen and ladies to question me sufficiently.¡¯ said Jackie. Daphne put her both of her fidgeting hands behind her back and stood as though to attention as she fixed her green eyes on Jackie¡¯s blue ones. ¡®You¡¯ve always been an inspiration but...well, aren¡¯t you lonely? Hugging isn¡¯t an issue if it¡¯s accepted by both parties and I accept that you think I needed it. I think my husband may get a little jealous when I tell him tonight and he finds out that we¡¯re both wealthy and can retire but...you¡¯ve never had anyone in your life have you Mr Imperial? Don¡¯t you ever regret that? Love can always be found even at any age...Sir.¡¯ said Daphne. Jackie was lost in words for a moment. Even after he¡¯d worked so hard to reach and establish his company as the best in the entire world of Belphus, this was how he¡¯d been approached by a woman who had worked for him for fifteen years and never raised it before. A laugh built up in his stomach as he began to cough and shake a little before it came out of his throat before he swallowed it down and calmed himself. He¡¯d always been good at being in control of his emotions and not letting them dominate him. He¡¯d been called heartless, an ice man, even a sociopath by those wanted to insult him directly but only those who had worked with him for long enough found his true nature to be stern but fair and understanding in almost all cases. ¡®Daphne. I misspoke. I¡¯m just a little bit tired and a little bit old now. I¡¯m fine, now please take the rest of the day off. I¡¯m sure everything has been arranged brilliantly. You always do a good job and it¡¯s truly been a pleasure to have worked with you. Thank you for putting up with me all these years. To answer your question, I¡¯ve found relationships in those who work with me. There are men and women in this company who I¡¯ve become an almost father surrogate to, we share good and bad times and they know my feelings. I ask for nothing from them and only provide guidance, no financial or illegal activities. Even promotions come from their own hard work. But I¡¯ve needed to keep it private, do you see? Otherwise rumours would ruin their careers and sully my own. Please, I¡¯ll make my own way to the board of directors. You¡¯re effectively independently wealthy as of this morning. Leave this place and find your own happiness, or you can carry on working here with my blessing. Either way, this old man Imperial is done with Strikker Coffee.¡¯ said Jackie. Daphne looked at him as a guant of emotions ran through her eyes and she blinked back tears. Then she shook his hand firmly and left the entrance to his private office, not taking a single look back. ¡®Go Daphne. Go and tell your husband that you can find your own life. I will as well. I¡¯ve had a better life than most but retirement beckons.¡¯ said Jackie softly as he watched her leave. He decided to return back to his walk in wardrobe to wear a business tie after all. For him being fully dressed and well-presented had always given him dutch courage. He¡¯d never been a fan of alcohol as coffee and water had been his drink of choice. I¡¯m going to need a drink of mineral water as well to wash down my emotions a little. As Jackie walked back to find a new tie he failed to notice how the space around his private office began to dim and turn into absolute darkness. Book 1 Ch 2: Worst Barista Ever Jackie didn¡¯t know exactly when the lights in his walk in wardrobe had deactivated himself but neither did it bother him. He was going to leave the company and after he¡¯d just dismissed his personal assistant he wasn¡¯t planning to go straight out and ask her to call out a a repair crew or an electrician to fix up some broken lights or a circuit board on his behalf. ¡®Darkness. Nothing new to me. Where was the door again? I¡¯ve been inside here long enough to know my away around by touch.¡¯ He¡¯d grown up in relative poverty when blackouts had been common enough back on his family farm when his parents and siblings had to work by candelight and emergency lamps. The journey to becoming the CEO of one of the largest coffee companies in the world had been a little more than tiring in his mind. Everything was prepared for him to fully resign, hand over his position to be divided between the board and according to his personal recommendations those members of staff who had proved themselves to be committed, loyal and hard-working to the ethos of the business. Part of him was sad that he had to give up this life but another was pleased to return back to his roots even if technology had rapidly increased and he was a beyond wealthy individual. The fact that he¡¯d never married nor had any children had never bothered him. He¡¯d adopted more than a few times in his life, mostly those who had been abandoned and divided his time between his work and raising them. As a single father his adopted kids had always asked why he didn¡¯t go on dates or marry when in truth he wasn¡¯t interested in either gender of the opposite sex. Yes, he¡¯d shown love and attention for his family and cared and given up his time to those children who been given up by their own parents but for him romance and love were simply expressed in a different form. ¡®When did I get so old? I don¡¯t remember my walk-in-wardrobe being quite this large. Or I¡¯ve just died and this is the pathway to the afterlife. I expected a little more than this than pure darkness.¡¯ said Jackie. He grasped his arm and gave it a squeeze to see if was breathing before he put a hand over his mouth and breathed. Warm, moist breath came into his palm as he realised that he hadn¡¯t died but nor was he uncomfortable with standing in the dark after walking for a few minutes. Considering taking off a shoe and throwing it against the wall to measure distance Jackie simply stood still. He¡¯d heard old myths about the gods of Belphus and how some of them had liked to play tricks or mess with individuals like this. Not that he was interested in standing for it, those were stories though and was an old man. Not one in his lifetime had he ever experienced a brush with the supernatural. A few close shaves with death with various industrial company accidents due to bad working practices and worse ethics which he¡¯d resolved but nothing out of the ordinary. The alternative was that a suprise party was being set up in a rush outside his personal office and Daphne was in on it. All they had to do was turn off the lights in his walk-in wardrobe, get him a little disorientated and then as soon as they were prepared the lights would turn on and he¡¯d either get a heart attack due to the sudden noise or reward them with one of his rare smiles. Standing still in the dark Jackie decided that the situation was going to be the latter. One last big farewell for the old grumpy man who only smiled truly with his eyes and mouht when he was genuinely happy or at shareholder meetings. ¡®Alright, alright. I¡¯m clearly being recorded so you can share this moment with all the company staff. Not like you¡¯re going to spend the money to fit all of them into a massive event centre. Better to give them a month bonus reward out of my pocket eh? Fun is fun. You can turn on the lights now, I¡¯ll leave and pretend to be surprised. Sounds good?¡¯ said Jackie. For a moment he wanted to strip off his clothes, throw them to the side and show them how an old seventy-five year old man looked who kept himself in great shape and focused on daily training routines. He¡¯d do it as long as it meant that they¡¯d close their eyes and let him grab his clothes, run from the party, avoid that final board meeting and finally retire. ¡®I¡¯ve come up with a better plan. You either turn the lights on Daphne or whomever is outside my office and then I won¡¯t strip naked and come out in my birthday suit. How does that sound? Consider it a final request from an old man who wants to retire and go back to his old coffee plantation. I know the places are mostly automated but I deserve that much at least. Here, I¡¯ll sweeten the deal. I¡¯ll even finish dressing up as a promise. My finest business suit, shoes, trousers and jacket. All good?¡¯ Inside his walk-in wardrobe with his arms still folded Jackie tilted his head back with arms folded as the interior lights lit up again. Nodding to himself he congratulated himself for his efforts in negotation. He¡¯d always been a tough but fair leader but fired those who were toxic, lazy or came up with excuses. The fact that his company had grown so much had been down to his leadership he knew and he personally held himself accountable for all the decisions and influence he held. ¡®Better. Leave the lights on, I¡¯ll get dressed and then walk out into my personal office with a look of surprise. Wait, let me practice. How does this one look?¡¯ said Jackie. He opened his eyes wide and stuck his hands by his mouth in a gesture of mock surprise at odds with his business suit before he switched to another pose with a hand on his hip. The suprise party had likely been planned by one of his adopted kids. They¡¯d all grown old enough to be in their forties to fifties and had their own children, the ones who¡¯d chosen to get married that was. Jackie had always held a tight control on his emotions after he¡¯d been betrayed both in business deals and in close friendships by those looking to take control of a popular rising star. The benefit of his preference towards both men and woman and his complete lack of interest in carnal desires and romance meant that anyone who¡¯d tried to honeypot him or marry him for money had been in for a good surprise. The only ones he had truly cared about were the kids that he had raised and all of them had worked their own ways up in Strikker Coffee. Some had taken the corporate path, others had worked in research and development departments but he¡¯d made them all work hard for their success just as he had. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡®I¡¯m getting dressed. Turn off the camera or nano-bots recording me or whatever the technology is these days. I¡¯m an old man and old men want peace and quiet when they¡¯re choosing a decent tie to match a fashionable suit.¡¯ Jackie walked over to the same mirror he had seen himself in earlier. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was side-effect of being in the dark but his short cropped hair appeared little less grey than before or if was more just the hopeful wishes of an old man who wanted to look better. In the corner were the discarded t-shirts he¡¯d tried on and thrown aside as were the pair of baggy skinny jeans he¡¯d been wearing. Giving it a second thought he grabbed one the shirts and put after taking off his business jacket and shirt and folding both up neatly and putting them on nearby shelf pulled it over his head and gave himself a once over. ¡®There you go old man. Give your kids a surprise that their old man can change. I think I¡¯m going to make a last minute change and skip the tie. The shoes can go as well. In fact, I¡¯ve been wearing the same outfit for decades for work. Why not change the whole thing? They can laugh at me during the board meeting but given it¡¯s my last day why not? I¡¯m an old man. What do you think old man?¡¯ said Jackie as he looked over his reflection in the mirror. He put back on his baggy skinny jeans, added the orange t-shirt with faux leather tiger stripes and furred collar and grabbed a black puffer jacket as he searched around the piles of freshly ordered clothing for a pair of colourful striped socks and finally a pair of custom-made lace-up military style ankle boots. ¡®Better. I look like an old man who lost his mind or worked in the fashion industry for decades. Change is good and I can donate the rest of the clothing to charity. Can¡¯t imagine the look on the faces of everyone at that surprise party when I go out like this. No. Needs more. I need accessories. Just a little though. Got it, a single earring and a chain necklace. No, a gold chain necklace and a few golden rings for my fingers. I think they call it bling-bling. Yeah, I¡¯m not the CEO of a coffee company. I¡¯m a retired pop star who grew old but kept in shape. Heh. Looking good old man.¡¯ said Jackie as he turned sideways to look at his slim figure in the reflection. A faint voice entered into his ears. [You...uh¡­.you look pretty good. Are you dressed yet? I mean, I¡¯m kinda trying to get the mixtures right but...to be honest it smells bad and looks worse. Sorry, sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have spoken. I¡¯m..uh..sorry. I¡¯ll see you when you come out. Sorry. I¡¯ll get back to making the coffee.] Jackie paused for a moment. He¡¯d asked the people outside at his likely surprise party to shut down all nano-cameras, even if he¡¯d ingested some. Or the installed camera inside his walk-in-wardrobe. Sending him a direct messahe while not a major issue would have been nice if they asked first. He decided to cut whomever had sent the message some slack. They sounded awfully young, early twenties at most or maybe an older teen and more than a little nervous. The person could have been one of his grandkids from his adopted children who¡¯d grown up but he didn¡¯t recognise the voice. There was a mild distortion to it that he simply out down to the electronics failing in the room or something had happened when they turned off the lights ¡®Hey kid. No, that¡¯s pretty offensive to call you that. I was called that plenty of times when I was young a million years and ago and grew to hate it. Young person of unknown personality. Better? I don¡¯t know who put you up to communicating with me but I promise you that any coffee that you made for me as a final farewell at that party outside is going to taste amazing. And if it doesn¡¯t? Then I¡¯m going to drink it, just for you and you have plenty of time to improve. Just believe in yourself and only apologise if you want to. I¡¯m dressed. You like my outfit? I¡¯m going bling-bling all the way today. I¡¯m Jackie. Jackie Imperial. Your voice isn¡¯t familiar but in case we didn¡¯t meet before nice to meet you. Give me a second to put these tried on clothes in few bags so they can be given to charity along with the rest of the stuff in this room.¡¯ said Jackie. He could have easily left his walk-in-wardrobe to be cleaned up by a member of staff but his parents had taught him four things in life. To care about those close to him, to be polite with good manner, a strong moral work ethic and always tidy up his own messes. After admiring himself in the mirror and forcing down a grin as well as the rising sense of embarrassment he was experiencing Jackie folded away all the discarded pile, straightened out the ties, shirts and business suits he¡¯d brushed aside and generally left the condition of the space the same as when he¡¯d entered earlier. As an afterthought he grabbed a deep purple tie and fashioned it around his neck so it looped underneath the golden necklace and around the furry collar attachment of his t-shirt. ¡®Old habits die hard you ancient geezer. Huh, my hair does look different. Guess a change of clothing really does make you feel young once again.¡¯ He looked at his hair once more and ran his fingers through it sure that the reflection in the mirror of his new fashion choices had altered his hair as there was a small thin streak in the front of brown where it had been purely grey. Or he¡¯d rubbed some colour into it after his hands had touched some clothing. After he laced up his military style ankle-boots he gave himself one last look in the mirror and a fake smile before he walked over the entrance door of the large walk-in-wardrobe and gave it several knocks to let those outside that he¡¯d be out. The same voice from before called out but the sound wasn¡¯t as faint as before but there was a noticable worried tone. [I uh, I like your fur collar. The jewellery is a good idea, you can trade it when you arrive at a town for mercenary protection. Great idea having a thick jacket and tough boots. The weather can get pretty cold on the continent.] This time Jackie had no clue about what the voice was planning as he¡¯d made no plans for immediate travel except straight back to his family coffee plantation but he was glad that whomever had been speaking had a measure of confidence. ¡®Sorry, but I have no plans to travel. How¡¯s the coffee coming along? You sound a whole lot more confident. I like it. Say, what¡¯s your name? Do I know your Dad or Mum? I¡¯m an old soon to be retired man. Forgetting things allowed at my age.¡¯ His hand grasped the door handle to his personal office as the voice spoke once more but this time Jackie almost paused before he began to pull the door open with one ringed hand. Shaking his head at the attitude of the young generation which was scared of making the same mistakes he did he yanked over the door with more force this time and stepped through trying to frame his face for the right look of surprise for his farewell party. He hadn¡¯t expected to enter a Coffee House. Book 1 Ch 3: Wannabe Coffee God Jackie knew the smell of coffee, appreciated it, loved it and eventually grown sick of it but he hadn¡¯t smelt badly burnt coffee in quite some time. Not since he had attended the company training sessions for new barista employees and corrected the procedures himself by getting hands on and showing them exactly how to brew coffee the right way. Yeah. Someone made an error, has a lack of training or is trying to roast coffee beans for the first time. Takes me right back to when my Dad used to make me drink the bitter stuff each time I failed. So, so glad I never did that to my own adopted kids. Tough luck Dad. He had managed to build one of the most successful coffee companies with a global reach through choosing the right employees and filtering those who decided to make a lack of effort or lacked engagement. Making mistakes was common, the inability to learn from those mistakes and either listen or adapt was an issue for him. Even with his own adopted children, he had let them learn directly from experience and choose their own paths and they had all chosen to follow in his own footsteps with in their own style. Not a single one of them nor his grandchildren had been actively supported or endorsed by him to succeed. They either chose to work in the family business or they could focus on their own lives. He¡¯d given them sufficient financial support to make their lives comfortable with housing and minor investments but not enough to make them fully rich and lazy. That burnt coffee is seriously bringing back old memories. Getting old isn¡¯t any fun. Who knew? He had yanked open the door to his personal office to find the entire space had transformed and the smell of ruined coffee beans had just added to his confusion. Either he was getting older than he thought, had spent far longer getting changed than he realised or someone had carefully planned the entire transformation of his personal office into a makeshift Coffee House. What? Who exactly decided that this was a good use of company resources? In front of him there was an open space where his office floor carpet had been, the office view window had been replaced with a mock white brick wall and a counter with all the necessary coffee shop equipment behind it. The blackboard which should have displayed a list of the drinks available was blank aside from a children¡¯s stickman drawing of someone holding a cup with steam lines rising above. A glass case was entirely emptyn aside from several old looking plates and cups which had been placed inside without care. From a glance, Jackie could immediately tell that they hadn¡¯t been sterilised and had no business being on display to customers. The style of them was archaic and he was certain that they were made of clay or another base material. There was no way that he would ever serve those unless they had been cleaned, checked for minor damage and thrown in the rubbish bin and new fresh plates and cups used. Jackie knew that appearance mattered when you wanted to drink your coffee in a nice environment. Otherwise, people would have wised up, picked up their own equipment, ground their own beans and stayed at home. All they needed were good quality beans, roasted to a high standard and picked from good stock. People wanted an experience, a comfortable place which made them relax and share a drink with friends or some time by themselves. The rest of the room was nothing special, the flooring had been changed to bare concrete but stripping away the carpet made sense and the other walls were different colours. The ceiling was the biggest surprise to Jackie and perhaps the only piece of interior design which he appreciated. ¡®Hello? Is this it? I am impressed with the style, certainly unique but you can turn all the companies Coffee House¡¯s into this when I fully retire and not a second before. I¡¯m not going to sign off on this. Hello?¡¯ said Jackie. The lack of response didn¡¯t bother him. Likely, he was being directly recorded and broadcast across the corporate headquarters and streaming for everyone, shareholders, his adopted children and grandkids all smiling or shocked at his strange decision of fashion. ¡®Oh no, someone changed the room into something else! Surely a massive surprise for me. Not the best design certainly unless you¡¯re been digging deep through my ancient early interior decoration designs and then playing mix and match. Good try though.¡¯ said Jackie as the Coffee Shop remained entirely empty. There could have been members of his close staff of family in hiding so Jackie would play along just a little. Being a tough, successful CEO didn¡¯t mean that he lacked a sense of humour or appreciation. As long as they didn¡¯t want to kill him with a shock by declaring this Coffee Shop as the new face of the company fully endorsed by him then he wouldn¡¯t mind. The condition and state of the company weasn¡¯t going to be his concern and truthfully, he¡¯d worked hard enough to know when to let go and new ideas come in. Not the best styles though. A total mismatch in my eyes. Someone has clearly not been taking a page from my original design notes. In order to build his own initial chain of Coffee Houses he had tracked down designers, highly discerning customers and old-school experts to widen his team. Then he¡¯d recreated a the same Coffee House in a converted garage inside his own house and acted as the main barista, serving, cleaning and supplying drinks. All for profit though. Even on a bad day the quality of fresh cups of coffee he could produce, either chilled, hot or lukewarm were all better than the mass produced stuff available. His own adopted kids had chipped in as well outside of their school hours even when they¡¯d begun secondary school although he understood that other priorities took their time away from him. As a single Dad it had taken him a ton of energy and the help of more than a few friends but the rebuilding and building of the perfect Coffee House in his eyes had been totally worth it. In the end he¡¯d done fantastically well and built new branches, processing plants and even his own coffee plantations. All of his success was owed to those he worked with, he just operated as the leader and the main driving force. But this Coffee Shop was a complete mess by his usual standards. Even one of his kids who had chosen to work in a different field within the main company had the skills to design and produce a layout better than this. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡®Uh...wow. The fashion is so...out there! I¡¯m truly shocked and stuff. Oh, I¡¯m just an old jacked man wearing a shirt with a furry collar, jeans and army boots who has apparently lost his mind and walked into a Coffee House instead of my personal office. Wow, I¡¯ve been transported into a another world where this is the future of my soon to be former coffee houses! What shall I do?¡¯ said Jackie as he raised both hands to his cheeks in mock surprise. The gold necklace and rings on all his fingers clashed together as he took in the rest of his transformed personal office space. There was obviously no sign of Daphne, his personal assistant, who had either been in on the joke or had left to begin her new life of wealth with her husband. Not that he blamed her. Whomever had pulled this joke was going to receive a decent tongue lashing for wasting resources and his personal congratulations for trying to be creative beyond measure. Then he¡¯d walk off and leave them to it, none of this was going to be his business for much longer. ¡®Oh, you¡¯ve even designed spaces for guests to be seated at. I¡¯m not sure some of those would even fit me but a good try.¡¯ said Jackie. There was a grouping of chairs and tables for customers but all of them were entirely mismatched, both in colour scheme and style all of it clashed. Unless the people who were going to attend the Coffee House were either shorter or much taller than an average human he didn¡¯t see why anyone would want to use them aside from a set for some type of fantasy series. The mixture of wood and stone for the materials used to make them as an inspired choice but they looked to belong more in a museum of archaic design or a more rustic setting than what he was used to. Wait. What was the name of the kid who interrupted me when I was getting changed? The one with the weird voice, used a voice changed or whatever fancy technology the young people use these days. He recalled that there had been the voice of a young kid saying that they had coffee burning and not asked him to come in. He didn¡¯t remember it but it had been a while since he had seen any of his grandchildren and they had all grown up faster than he had imagined. ¡®Hello. Linas? Sorry, but I think I¡¯ve already worn enough bling bling as it is. I walk out of my corporate headquarters like this and the media and all those people with their handheld recording devices are going to have a field day. I appreciate your fashion tips about my fur collar and the military style ankle boots. Old jacked CEO decides to become a fashion guru on his day of retirement. Hello? I¡¯m waiting for the surprise.¡¯ ¡®Burnt coffee. You¡¯ve chosen to roast the beans for too long or have too high a temperature. Trust me, I¡¯ve chosen to drink the stuff as an example. Tastes pretty bad but I learnt from the experience. Still, the fact that you know that you burnt it is a good sign. Huh, everyone went all out in transforming my personal office into¡­.a Coffee House with a unique style? Is this place meant to match my unique fashion choices? Is this being recorded as well?¡¯ The sight of the Coffee House in his immediate field of vision made Jackie consider the amount of money spent to create such a rich visual experience. Yes, it was a mess and a mixture of ancient style materials mixed with new ones but at least they had one part of it done right. When he looked upwards the ceiling of his former personal office appeared to stretch into the distance as he saw distant stars overhead. Some of them even twinkled as he watched. ¡®The infinite ceiling is a good trick but you need your money back from the designer. Or if you designed it yourself then you need to do a far better job of studying. All these colours clash. Badly. Extremely badly. The furniture is entirely mismatched and those tables are obviously too high for the rattan chairs. Is this the point where my kids jump out and yell surprise? I¡¯m an old man. Just give me my coffee to go and¡­where is anyone? Come on, I¡¯ve been standing here enjoying the view and expecting a hidden doorway to open or a trapdoor and someone yells surprise. This is meant to be my retirement day, not a make fun of the old man day.¡¯ Said Jackie. He looked down at his own body and the unique fashion choices he had made. Nope, he wasn¡¯t dreaming this. Someone was messing with on purpose. They had tricked him with a little light trick inside his personal wardrobe and then delayed him for as long as they could while setting up the sheer mockery and impression of a Coffee House with bright colours that were popular when he had been starting out as a young man in business. Given his still present status as the CEO of Imperial Coffee, at least until his formal retirement was accepted by the board of directions, what he didn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have to accept. Jackie had been working for long enough to know ther trick of authority was to make your words clear and stand out and always give the impression that you knew what you wanted. ¡®Right. Fun time is over. I tolerated the trick with my walk in wardrobe. But all this fancy technology or rapid set design would only impress me if you stuck with attention to detail. This place is a total mess. I repeat. Give me my badly made coffee and I¡¯m out of here. Linas. I don¡¯t know who set you up for this little trick but please give it up.¡¯ Said Jackie. As an afterthought he reconsidered his words. Someone had gone through a great deal to make this happen and¡­.coffee. He smelled burnt coffee once more. The entire time he had been staring at the Coffee House the thought had largely slipped his mind as though he had forgotten it. There were no visible signs of heat, steam or any of the machinery behind the counter having been used recently. Rubbing his chin with a gold ringed hand Jackie walked over to the counter and leant over, seeing that it was also entirely empty and vacant despite the smell of burnt coffee growing stronger. A presence in the room flashed into existence as he turned around and saw a white light and a figure appear holding a glowing ball of fire in which the ashes of roasted coffee beans in their hands could be seen. The voice of the figure was odd, as though amplified but filtered to make it clearer. Not like a machine but purer in a way. Jackie saw the young face of someone in their late teens at most wearing an even more garish imitation of his own clothing. A bright blue coat with a furry mane and matching boots completed the outfit. Delicate features and extremely white teeth with mid-length messy brown hair showed a face which was verging on tears casually holding the glowing ball of fire with no obvious signs of discomfort. Jackie didn¡¯t have the time to sigh as a beam of energy flew from the glowing ball of fire and hit his own clothing, not igniting it as he had expected as he eyes gently closed and he found himself falling asleep despite standing up. Guess I was dreaming after all. Wake me up when the real surprise retirement party begins kids.Wait, I never had a grandchild called Lina- Book 1 Ch 4: Young Coffee Consumer The smell of coffee wafted through the air then an ice cold glass was pushed against Jackie¡¯s face as he shot up and immediately fell off the overlarge chair he had been placed in. His body reacted before he was fully conscious as he involuntary threw out his arms and knocked the chilled glass of coffee before it floated mid-air and drifted across to rest on another table. Falling down onto the grey concrete floor Jackie fell straight onto his behind as a gold necklace around his neck swung up and hit him hard in his forehead causing a minor cut. Blood began to drip from the wound as he raised a hand protectively to his head and brought it back as he saw spots of blood on his fingers. His temper began to rise deep within and remembering part of the training he had undertaken to keep himself fit and trim he threw one arm behind him, palm pushing on the floor and kept the other raised as he stepped back and onto both feet. ¡®Back off. Just back off.¡¯ he murmured the words as his conscious brain kicked in and reminded him that he was inside a mockery of one of his original designed Coffee Houses and this was meant to be his retirement day. His eyes were clearer than before and despite having fell off a chair and had his head knocked by one of the golden necklaces he had decided to wear in his walk in wardrobe his entire body was fresh. Far fresher with not a single protesting ache or creak which accompanied his advanced age. A soft voice called out as a hand reached out behind him and touched his shoulder as a stream of energy ran into him, both calming him and stopping the minor cut on his head from bleeding. said the feminine voice from behind him. Jackie froze and then considered his options. If he was dreaming about the ball of fire in the young man¡¯s hands and the burning coffee then why not carry on with it. And if this was another situation entirely then he¡¯d roll with as well. On his home planet of Belphus there had been superhumans once and even runours of gods and other fantastical ideas. All from ancient stories though and largely turned into fiction for the purposes of entertainment. If he was truly honest with himself, he had grown bored of the corporate world at least a decade ago. The true excitement in his life had been building something fresh, something new and engaging. But he wasn¡¯t able to deny those who looked up for him for leadership and holding onto the core values of his coffee company. Those he¡¯d worked with for decades had retired or started their own firms as younger people took on more C-Level titles. Regardless, he¡¯d need to ask a question first. Or at least several before he turned his back. He had a rough idea that he¡¯d see something special like he had with the young man but he wanted to be sure. He wouldn¡¯t have been the only person suddenly vanishing out of existence in the history of Belphus. Plenty of notable individuals had done so only to talk about adventurers they¡¯d had or had come back half-mad. For the most part people just got on with their lives and tried to ignore it. ¡®Wait. You just healed me. Correct?¡¯ said Jackie as he closed his eyes to the mockery of a Coffee House and touched the skin on his forehead. The voice from behind him lightly sighed as she spoke. said the feminine voice which was now directly in front of him. From the sound of it she was close, not skin close but an arms length away. The distance of two chairs facing each other across a table. Not a Tourist. Good. Good. My family are safe. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Opening his eyes Jackie saw that he was in fact sitted down at one of the larger style tables which were clearly oversized for human use. The chair itself made him feel small despite his relative height but his entire body was fresh. Directly in front of him resting between his hands was a cup of iced coffee but served inside a clay pot. The smell of it was fragant and far freshed than it had any right to be. A woman sat opposite him with her hands neatly folded on her lap. She wore a long flowing blue dress which shimmered along with greenish hair with streaks of grey and a wry smile on her face. Standing next to her was the same young man with mid-length hair he had seen holding the glowing ball of fire. His hands were empty and held tightly together and his head was slumped forward with a look of mixed anxety and embarrasment as a hint of red flushed his pale face. The woman held up a hand and spoke without taking her gaze off of Jackie. Sitting down, Jackie raised his hands without thinking and tasted the iced coffee in front of him. The taste was delicious and it was indeed Creamy Boozy Iced Coffee. Smooth, creamy and rich with an aftertaste of frangelico. Just the sort of drink he¡¯d loved when he¡¯d been two decades younger in his fifties but had stopped due to concerns about his health. ¡®Delicious. A hidden treat to itself but explain to me. I¡¯m not dead am I?¡¯ asked Jackie as he carried on taking small sips of the chilled drink. The woman in the flowing blue dress shook her head before she raised a hand and the glass in Jackie¡¯s hand filled up once more. ¡®Not something I should be drinking at my age. My own kids, they¡¯re all pretty old now, always told me I should aim to live for a hundred at least.¡¯ said Jackie as the young man¡¯s face reddened deeply and the woman in the flowing blue dress frowned. said the woman as one of her hands clenched tightly. Jackie was observant to recognise when a mother was annoyed at her child. He decided to give the kid a break. At least the coffee tastes good and using a clay mug was a nice touch. ¡®No, no. Kids make mistakes, even when they grow up. I had to bail my own out a dozen times over. Ah, I never married so I chose to adopt some who lost their own parents after a conflict. Still, I became their Dad through hard work and plenty of tears. So you¡¯re a Goddess called Vatn and your son also happens to be a god is called Linas. Nice to meet you both. Please, call me Jackie. Mr Imperial sounds like an old man. Which I am. Or not. You clearly did something to me and expect me to be shocked. I¡¯ve dealt with geneticists before who claimed to be able to turn a human into something else. I even met a prodigy once. A young woman called Carissa Acqua who wanted to become capable of living in the oceans of Belphus. What¡¯s your business plan? Or your order of business? Come on, I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯ve worked in the corporate world long enough to know when someone wants something. Linas, you can apologise and I¡¯ll accept it and we move on. Sound good?¡¯ said Jackie as he finished drinking the entire clay cup of iced coffee. This time the woman in front of him who was a goddess from her actions and magic didn¡¯t fill it up. At his advanced age, Jackie doubted that his stomach and bladder would hold it for long. He took a good, deep look at his hands. Turned them over and then applied themselves to his face and ran his fingers through his hair. Either it was his imagination or his body had been rejuvenated, restored to relative youth. Judging from the condition of his skin he guessed early twenties. ¡®I¡¯m young. You made me young again. Heh. Well, thanks for letting my kids and everyone at the old headquarters that I¡¯m on a trip of a lifetime. The note was a nice touch.¡¯ Jackie took in the mockery of a Coffee House and the young man standing before he placed the empty clay cup of iced coffee and ran the back of his hand across his mouth wiping it clean. He pointedly looked at the young god called Linas and cocked his head to his side before he mouthed his thanks at the woman in the blue dress. The young god wrung his hands together and raised his head, looking Jackie in the eyes for a split second before he spoke in a hurry and slumped his head once more. An impression came from his voice which was pushing down Jackie, a presence which was making himself known was suppressing him and make him glad that he was already sitting down on the chair or he would have fallen again. A wave from the woman in front of him caused the pressure to immediately drop as the young man vanished with an afterglow of white light. ¡®He seems like a good kid. A little young, a little naive and over eager to please but weren¡¯t we the same relatively speaking? Far be from me to ask the age of a..mature woman like yourself but I bet you were the same. I was. Got tricked out of my business funds before I wised up. All of this place was his work? Rough but from the heart.¡¯ said Jackie as he spread his arms wide as though to encompass the entire Coffee Shop in them. If he¡¯d judged correctly, the son was looking to enter into the coffee selling business. As for the fact they were gods his grandmother had told him stories of statues in which the essences of gods had been locked in. There had been a secretive facility which had removed all traces of them from human history and memory. Experiments to contain them had succeeded I loved you Nana but telling a six year old nightmare stories of ancient desert empires was a no-no. Your turn Lady. The negotiations begin unless you¡¯re reading my mind. In that case shall we begin? The woman folded her arms before she broke into a wide smile and spoke. ¡®Mr Imperial. I do believe my husband would take a liking to you. You and him are similar in many ways. Despite his rough exterior he truly cares deep within. A contract. We shall sign a contract, to explain our situation is simple. We come from a world where is a market gap for coffee and you will act as a representative of my son in cooperation with him to first introduce and make it a drink of choice.¡¯ said the goddess sitting opposite Jackie. Turning his hands and feeling the smoothness of the skin on his face and the energy of youth within him once more Jackie returned her smile. Coffee, magic and gods. Why not? Why not indeed. Jackie reached a hand across the table to seal the deal. All contracts were based on trust and he¡¯d take the initiative to gain a better deal. After all, he had just retired. Book 1 Ch 5: Business Opportunity of the Gods The first request Jackie made was full operational control of the business and all subsidiaries. He had the knowledge, ability and determination to see business succeed but there was no absolute guarantee. ¡®You set up your standard contract with me as a contractor rather than as an employee. I¡¯ll need to have full control off the business but there will be direct oversight from your part. In other words, you think I make mistakes you have the authority to step in and intervene. I¡¯m not overly interested in share percentages, I want a role, not full ownership of this enterprise. Not that you¡¯ve explained much to me. We still need to talk about the current market, logistics, existing coffee plantations and present business and environmental conditions. Tell you what, you draft up a contract which you¡¯d usually sign with a regular...mortal on your part, hand it over to me and I¡¯ll give it a check through. Then we can hash out the details. Thanks.¡¯ said Jackie. Even a new product line market tested, advertising boosted and backed by his former company Imperial Strikker would fail if consumers didn¡¯t like the taste. He¡¯d gone through the motions during this time as CEO of his own company of younger people with fresh ideas who¡¯d had a push from marketing and sales for new products which were going to fail. Brewing coffee was both a complex and simple affair depending on the quality and freshness of the coffewe beans. As long as you knew what you were doing you could produce coffee. Even with a metal pot, crushed coffee grains and water you could produce a beverage which could be consumed. Cowboy coffee was produced with roasted green beans with a pan over a campfire and grinding the beans to produce a bitter dark liquid which was popular with some but not with others. When producing coffee you needed to consider the quality you were going to offer then people understood what they were buying. Trying ideas like mixing soda drinks with freshly boiled coffee without the benefits of sugar and additional flavourings wasn¡¯t an issue of breaking rules but if it produced a drink that tasted disgusting then it didn¡¯t matter how much a celebrity endorsed it. Jackie watched the woman in the blue dress wave a hand in the air as a large roll of parchment appeared and unfurled itself to reveal blue letters as she nodded her head to him and then ignored his presence. She had left him with little to do aside from start a discussion, show impatience by asking further questions or simply letting him think to himself. Jackie preferred to choose the latter for now. He was going to be entering a place that he knew nothing about aside from the fact there were gods and magic involved. He¡¯d gained a minor advantage given his relative old age wisdom and decades of experience but Jackie was aware that to build a lasting business model required pure trust between all business partners. In this situation, although he had initially agreed to sign a contract with the Goddess sitting opposite him who had created a strong impression, healed him and showed that she possessed magic power and the nature of a loving mother it didn¡¯t mean that he was going to agree to all of the terms. She wasn¡¯t the one who had originally contacted him, her son Linas had and he had been polite but uncertain. This woman had showed displays of magical power and a small degree of impatience. Jackie didn¡¯t overly care as long as she wasn¡¯t from the rumoured Tourism Board which he had only been made aware of during his last few years in his position. An organisation from beyond their reality who made a living from worlds which were either on the path or had reached total planetary collapse. He didn¡¯t know their motives, but only to ask when encountered with otherworldly beings. Power and money give a lot of answers to a bored old man. From his perspective he didn¡¯t know if the woman calling herself a Goddess in front of him was telling the truth but she¡¯d displayed nothing but concern and respect towards him. Presently he was sitting on the same oversized chair inside the Coffee House while the woman was running through entire lines of text on the unfurled parchment which was entirely incomprehensible to him. One of her fingers glowed as she drew marks on the text. Jackie simply accepted the situation. He was overly tempted to take a look around the mockery of a Coffee House to identify improvements, check out the styles and even make himself a coffee with the machinery at the back. Granted, the fact that it had likely been built with magic made more sense than an entire interior design team coming in the space of thirty minutes to strip the carpet, remove all of the d¨¦cor and furniture of his previous office and the install the new space. Even as he was becoming an old man, his grandchildren and children had tried to get him to embrace new technology and ideas and he¡¯d even been approached once by someone who¡¯d been introduced by a family member for an insane idea of putting the souls of workers into virtual reality settings. By making them effectively immortal they could work inside robotic bodies and then have accelerated downtime inside carefully constructed rooms like this Coffee House for example. Jackie had ignored the rantings of the man but had listened to the potential of it, in truth it was a valid idea but granted that there were already enough people who could freely work and head back home he had suggested to the man to consider it as an option for more hazardous environments like underground Mining Facilities. Or somewhere which humans were unable to operate, like the surface of an asteroid or a moon in deep space. He¡¯d cut the meeting short after the man talking about building a self-generating algorithm which would act as an enternal company, taking care of workers and recruiting new ones while building a viable business. Jackie had little interest in wild theories regarding artificial intelligence and even though the man had given his business card, he¡¯d directed him to one of the other rich people on the planet more interested in space exploration or work under the sea. He¡¯d liked talking to the wife of Liam Acqua more but she¡¯d seemed less business minded and more project driven when they¡¯d met a few years back at one of the largest gatherings for the rich and influential on Belphus. Norm Vied was an odd man. Could be a genius but handing him over to Liam Acqua was the only way to get him out of my way. This Goddess is taking her time with the contract. Time for some Q&A before I make my own position clear. Always start from a strong position, then tear it to pieces and make it equal for both parties. Jackie raised his hand into a fist and brought it to his mouth, coughing politely to draw the attention of the woman in the blue shimmering dress sitting opposite him. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡®Excuse me. You don¡¯t appear concerned about my lack of surprise. You or your son restored my youth. I never asked for it and you mentioned a blessing and involvement with an immortal. To make it clear, your son Linas messed up and you¡¯re trying to fix his mess. From one parent to another and with respect you¡¯re indirectly hurting him. I know this from personal experience. He apologised and I accepted, no need for demanding or threats from me but who am I entering this agreement with? You or him?¡¯ Said Jackie as he carefully examined the body language of the woman. Goddess or not she hadn''t tried to approach him directly and he doubted that she would have made such a mess of the Coffee House. The drink that she had provided him and refilled a few times times was proof of that. She wanted quality and had only intervened due to a mistake on the part of her son, or there was a specific rule regarding the gods from her reality interfering with his. The laws of causality which she said she had broken to provide him with a single chilled coffee which she said she had purchased were something else. All in all, it was far better for Jackie to focus on his strengths, the rest of it was just business on the side and could be worked out. Becoming young again hadn¡¯t been part of his plans but he¡¯d enjoyed his life enough that he didn¡¯t need to relive his youth again or seek out new passions. Truthfully, if he¡¯d been given a new chance then he¡¯d love to do the same all over again. Starting out from nothing, building friendships, connections even family and the gradual challenge of seeing a business worked on with his two hands grow was a pure delight. That coffee. Laws of casuality. She made it sound like a large deal but I could buy something like that or even brew my own given the right equipment and a little time. Not as good as it would have been but still good enough. Still...something was odd aobut it. The taste of the drink had been decent but not outstanding. With a little time to lliterally digest the flavour In his mouth the aftertaste of the alcohol had been a little overwhelming on his throat. There had been something mixed in with it which had reacted to his senses wrongly. Not badly but something which he didn¡¯t overly like. Likely it was an after-effect of the energy surging through his own body. The water had been fresh though, far fresher than it had any right to be given the conditions of Belphus. In another time he would have been keen to talk with her about that but he¡¯d had enough of the affairs of his own world. The waters of the planet were suffering and needed to be fixed before the oceans themselves became contaminated but Jackie had nothing to do with worldly affairs. Not any more. He¡¯d provided his kids and grandkids with enough money, power and resources in his own retirement package for them to find their own way in life. The shift from the woman sitting opposite him was more than just her movement. There was a dryness inside his mouth and on the surface of his skin. Her eyes emitted a low glow which he¡¯d never seen in a normal human before. She stopped running her finger down the floating magical parchment and flicked it as the entire script dissolved into drops of barely perceivable drops of water which evaporated before they hit the concrete floor of the mock coffee house. The area around them grew darker as she turned to face him directly and planted her hands on the oversized table causing it to creak as it was forced down. ¡®Do you know how long it''s been since a mortal talked to me in that tone?¡¯ said the woman as she raised a hand and a globe of water formed around it. She threw her hand casually and it flew through the air and smashed a hole in the wall behind Jackie. Narrowly missing his ear. ¡®Nothing. Not a single flinch. What would you do for your children Mr Imperial?¡¯ said the woman as her blue dress rippled and began to flow with a watery surface. Her eyes began to glow a deep blue as Jackie experienced a tingling on the surface of his skin. Not painful but enough for him to notice. Like having a shower and then the temperature was either increased or reduced. Goosebumps appeared on the surface of his skin, even beneath his clothing. He flipped up the fur collar of his shirt to show his lack of interest. The temperature inside the room wasn¡¯t increasing which made him thankful as he¡¯d been wearing a heavier coat over his jeans and fashionable fur and stripes t-shirt. He didn¡¯t want to have to take it off and show any signs of discomfort, not when they were meant to be discussing a business contract. Jackie responded without thought, without hesitation. Once he would have been scared or even overly curious. As it was he saw things differently now. Age amongst other things had changed him as a person. ¡®My kids. All of them. And their spouses and their kids. I adopted them but raised them all on my own. And if you ever, ever threatened them I would do the same. But you''re playing with me aren''t you. Save the tricks for the young ones. The ones with bellies full of fire and fear. You and me? We''re done with that. So stop your little display, call your son back here and fix this place. Working on a Coffee Shop doesn''t mean working in a Coffee Shop.¡¯ said Jackie. Despite the growing darkness inside the mockery Coffee Shop Jackie smiled. He knew people well enough and this was a show, a test to see how he responded. She wanted him under pressure directly to gain better or more favourable terms for her son. There was the detail that despite her power she hadn¡¯t told him to follow her or awoken him inside some different world and abandon him to his own devices. Limits then. Everything had limits. I was close to reaching mine. Main reason for retirement and a decade spent back on my family farm before I passed on. Pretending to yawn he leaned his arms on the table and rested his head on his hands. Closing his eyes he experienced the energy that remained flowing through his form. He hadn''t felt this way for over fifty years. Physically and mentally he was sharper but possessed the edge of experience and wisdom gleamed by an old man at the top of his profession. Despite his interest in the idea of building an entirely new coffee empire he was going to do it more on his terms this time and work through the mistakes he had made before. Mostly, the hesitation and uncertainty of making mistakes and learning had taken him long enough. The pressure and darkness inside the room dropped away as the woman stood up from her chair and waved a hand bringing a cool breeze inside the room and the smell of fresh flowers. said the woman as the glow from her eyes began to dim. Jackie smiled and pulled the collar on his heavy coat up by then lapels. ¡®With all due respect Goddess Vatn but if I¡¯m not going to be your avatar then we don¡¯t have anything further to talk about.¡¯ said Jackie. The woman snapped her fingers and the space around them shifted as Jackie¡¯s vision began to blur and he slumped forward in his oversized Coffee House chair. ¡®The hard way it is. Welcome in advance to the magical continent of Food and Drink, welcome to Odora.¡¯ Book 1 Ch 6: Free Market Beans Jackie was chilly. Despite the heavy coat he wore there was a strong breeze and the air was cold enough to wake him up. His body didn¡¯t creak or protest as he pushed a hand out and pushed himself up into a sitting pose as he opened his eyes. The night sky with a few odd stars twinkling high above gave him an indication of time. A bright moon was shining down giving enough illumination for him to see around him despite the encroaching darkness of the evening. The colours of the moon shifted even as he looked at it but Jackie ignored the relative strangeness. He¡¯d already met gods and experienced magic and even confirmed that rumours of a Tourism Board were true. As long as his family and friends were safe then that was all that truly mattered. His body wasn¡¯t hungry or thirsty as the leftover reserves of magical energy remained inside him. There was an aftertaste in his mouth of pure and fresh water which had washed away the taste of the coffee. Around him was a forest, nothing special or out of the ordinary aside from a figure who was standing there but hovering or floating just above the surface of the ground. Granted that his vision remained a little blurry but his body remained fresh, young and full of energy so he could have been mistaken. The cold breeze returned once more wafting over him bringing with it the smell of nature, mostly wood with an edge of smoke from a burning fire somewhere much further way from his immediate location. ¡®Linas. Good to see you again. I believe that I asked for a better setting to sign a contract between us as business partners but dumping me into the woods is a little much don¡¯t you think? I mean, I¡¯m here to help you with a coffee issue, not to go on an adventure in the wildnerness like some of outdoors survival camp. Did you bring a tent, rations and equipment at least? If I¡¯m to be an avatar of a god like yourself then you should be bringing something to the table. Or better yet, take us back that half-decent attempt at a Coffee House of yours so I can at least make us a warm drink or teach you a little. No? No response?¡¯ said Jackie as he shook dirt off his hand before he ran a hand through his hair. Definitely thicker than before. More energy, no creaks and joint pains. I¡¯ll need a mirror to determine my actual physical age though. I¡¯d grown to like having grey hair. So great I never went bald. So great. Look at this kid, all confused as to what to say. Jackie pushed himself up and sat down on the floor, the baggy skinny jeans along with the rest of his clothing had been extremely high-end, expensive quality built to last. He had left a note to have the rest of his clothing in his walk-in wardrobe to be given to charity but it didn¡¯t mean that he scrimped and saved on clothing. The military style lace-up ankle boots alone cost him more than a Directors annual salary at Imperial Strikker Coffee. Ah. I don¡¯t work there anymore. Not even on the same plane of reality. This kid, not even trying to give me a hand to stand up. How much did his Mum take it out on him? ¡®Linas. The step to a Coffee Empire starts with a single cup at a time. No, scratch that, a single good quality bean at a time. Are you going to give an ol-, young man a hand up or stand there watching? I am so glad that you asked me to wear a coat. This place is cold, seriously cold.¡¯ said Jackie. He looked around the rest of his immediate surroundings. In the distance above the treeline there was a distinct pattern of smoke clouds which had likely been the cause of the burning he had smelt. If that was a forest fire then he¡¯d need to get a move on but the smoke was rising directly upward into the skies. Jacke was pleased to see that Linas wore a style familiar to his own but with a few minor details fashionwise that were different. He was wearing silver jewellery rather than gold, and he lacked the same fur collar on his t-shirt. The heavy jacket was a lighter brown colour with larger pockets and the hood was drawn up. The face of Linas could still be seen underneath the baggy jacket hood, he was tense, uncertain and excited from what Jackie could make out. In another situation and another time seeing a young man wearing a hood alone in the forest would have been a cause for alarm but there was no visible pressure or threat emanating from him. Jackie cut off him off with a swipe of his hand as he pushed himself to his feet. Getting used to being a young man again was going to take him some time. In his mid-seventies, he¡¯d seen people the same age or even a few years younger than him take a fall and end up bed-ridden due to injuries. At least this time around he wasn¡¯t going to imagine that he was young and immortal, unless that was going to be included as a blessing though. Eternal youth sounded fun but not if he was stuck at the same age, he wanted a little more maturity and wear and tear on this fresh body of his first. ¡®Linas¡­.no. This isn¡¯t working. God Linas. Wait, what are you meant to be the god of exactly? I was told that this is a continent of Food and Drink gods, sounds simple enough. God of Cheese, God of Hazlenuts, Goddess of Wine but how about you? I¡¯ve got an idea of what your Mum is meant to be but right now she doesn¡¯t matter. Only you and me matter as business partners in this venture. You can start by telling me what you represent as a god.¡¯ said Jackie as he brushed off the last of the dirt off his hands and stuck them into his own baggy long-length jacket pockets to take the chill off. There were sounds in the distant forest as his senses grew used to the new environment. Smells which were both familiar and odd to his nostrils. This much was certain, Jackie was aware that he wasn¡¯t living on Belphus. He¡¯d never heard of a planet with a single moon in the sky for starters and the sky was a variant colour even with those few stars in the sky. A new place and a fresh start. Come on kid, don¡¯t make me consider I was wasting my time. Time for you to grow up a little and make some effort. We all make mistakes, just learn from them. After he didn¡¯t receive an immediate repsonse, Jackie decided to begin walking in the direction of the smoke which rose into the air above the tree line. If he was lucky then he¡¯d be relatively near the edge of the forest. The trees around him were high enough but not old enough to be reaching high into the sky blocking off his immediate view and blocking out all the remaining light. There were insect sounds, birds and other creatures but he¡¯d been threatened back home in one of the ancient forests where species of fire-breathing bears still lived. Granted, he¡¯d done so from the safety of a secure vehicle as part of an expensive tour group but nothing here had threatened him yet aside from the apparent insecurity and uncertainly of a young god. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Jackie was far too old to be hanging around waiting to be told what to do, he¡¯d choose a relative direction, find some locals and get a much better idea about what the continent of food and drink offered him. And if it proved dangerous then he¡¯d need to find someone to keep him safe while he conducted his own business of introducing coffee. A voice called from behind him as his military style ankle boots crunched on twigs and broken forest underbrush beneath his feet. Rather than stop, Jackie simply waved a hand to acknowledge that he heard. said the voice of the young god Linas as Jackie paused in his tracks. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t being reasonable in his own mind but he¡¯d given more than enough. Being taken to this place, his personal space and relative freedom being given up for youth he¡¯d never asked for. The only reason that he was willing to go on with was the promise of a challenge. The older female goddess had threatened with a little magic power and had wanted him to sign a contract but she¡¯d appreciated his response. Besides, he¡¯d seen how she dealt with her son. From his own adopted kids, some were easier or more difficult than others. He knew a spoilt brat when he saw one. Taking personal responsbility was the first step to greatness, even if it was over small affairs. ¡®Coffee. You¡¯re the god of coffee? Correct me if I¡¯m wrong but this continent doesn¡¯t even know what it is. If that¡¯s a direct reflection your power and status then we¡¯re on the same starting level. As a god though you must have some degree of power. Say, I formally agree to be your avatar and you provide me with a blessing does that also give me a magical ability then? As for a tutorial just point me in the direction and we¡¯ll see how the challenge does. I¡¯m not here to fight monsters and become an avatar of destruction. You could have chosen a military or mercenary for that, I was selected for more than half a century of experience in the coffee industry. Oh, the smell of burning is closer. Just up ahead through those trees then, unless you¡¯re willing to give me a better explanation I¡¯ve given enough. Your turn God of Coffee.¡¯ said Jackie. The sound of rushing footsteps on soil, rock and wood came from behind him as an arm wearing a similar jacket to his own grabbed his with suprising strength. Out of all of it, Jackie had one issue, he didn¡¯t like to be touched by those he wasn¡¯t familiar with. He shook off the arm of the young god and pointed towards a deep glow of red now clearly visible between a treeline ahead. ¡®Over there is civilisation. Here, we¡¯re stuck in the woods. Do you think that forest animals have any interest in coffee besides eating the berries and defecating them out? I mean, there is a particular type called Kopi luwak which is partially digested by a small mammal, fermented as it passes through the digestive tract and then defecated out. But unless there happens to be an existing coffee plantation which is around this forest then I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯ve been needed so badly. I¡¯m held back from asking questions and tried to focus on the actual task but you don¡¯t seem capable enough to even answer some. So Linas, God of Coffee. What do you want to do? Explain a few things to me while we walk to that direction of a fire with actual living things judging from the smells being carried by the breeze or you drop me right back in my home office on Belphus and I go back to being an old retired man? Enough is enough by this point. Use or lose it.¡¯ said Jackie as he shook off the grip of the young god who was trying to hold onto his arm. At this point, he was being unfair to the young god, but given that his physical appearance was that of a young man it wasn¡¯t as though he was shouting at a boy and venting his frustrations. He could accept a business partner with weaknesses and a complete lack of knowledge and ability, but someone who kept on hesitating without taking action was going to hold both him and the business back. Running a hand through his now thickened and restored hair which had grown longer and thicker to match that of his younger self Jackie pulled his other hand out of his pocket and planted both hands on the shoulders of the young man looking him directly in the eyes. ¡®Sit. Come on, sit with me and work this out. You give me a better idea of the tutorial, how we go around spreading the value of coffee in this magical continent of yours with gods and who knows what and we get to know each other a little. By this point, I¡¯m basically the same physical age as you. Look at our clothes, we could even pass for a pair of brothers. I¡¯m willing to give you trust, how about it Linas?¡¯ said Jackie as he roughly sat down on the ground and extended an open palm in greeting. Seeing the young man hesitate he spoke again. ¡®I, name of Jackie Imperial, no middle name agree to be the chosen avatar for the God of Coffee called Linas. Allow this formal contract to be set as long as I¡¯m physically alive. Business partners in name and nature until the end.¡¯ said Jackie as his own hand began to glow within the edge of the forest. A few creatures scattered away from the appearance of a light source and he saw the face of Linas shift a little as the young god pulled down his jacket hood and dropped himself adopting a cross-leg pose opposite Jackie holding out his own glowing hand. The pair shook hands and looked each other in the eyes, then Jackie threw his own head back and began to laugh. He let go of all the stress and pressure that he¡¯d been able to stuff deep down inside him and the fear of his own family and world as he embraced his new life. Opposite him Linas tried to keep a straight face but also began to shake and laugh as the two young men put a hand over the initial handshake and clasped tighter before they both released it and fell backwards from their own sitting positions onto the dirt of the forest. Jackie was the first to stand up and stretched out his hand to Linas pulling him off the floor. ¡®Good. Good. So, with this tutorial, do I need to kill, survive or trade and can it be skipped? My next question is that for a blessing I¡¯m going to need some coffee beans. I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re going to be lower quality with your lack of power but we¡¯re in this together. Business partners to the end?¡¯ said Jackie as he pointed with his free hand towards the large glowing flame beyond the treeline. Linas did the same and copied his gesture before he waved his hand, stopping the glow around their hands much as his mother had done. said Linas. Book 1 Ch 7: All about the Grind Jackie wasn¡¯t quite clear what a goblin was meant to be as he¡¯d never really read much up on fantasy or even travelling to continents where gods of food and drink existed. He¡¯d wanted more time to examine this world, to get a grip on basics first rather than being thrown into it but really only three things mattered. asked Linas. The first was that he had formed a business partnership with an inexperienced god who had rapidly matured when they had verbally made an agreement. There had been an impact he knew, he had already seen the ability of the power of the two beings who called themselves gods of the continent of food and drink when he had been inside the badly designed Coffee House. His attention was drawn by Linas who was trying to get his attention just as they walked through the darkened treeline to see the fire which he had seen earlier. There was a smell in the air and noise, voices but Jackie had been inside jungles and forests before. After spending so long in the corporate world and the city he was looking forward to roughing it a little. He popped the collar of his heavy coat up and slipped off a few items of jewellery he was wearing into his pockets. He¡¯d rather not turn up uninvited and then be forced to give up the bare wealth he had. God of Coffee or not, the lifeblood of commerce remained tradable currency or other resources. <...Jackie? I should really tell you something about this world. I mean, you have movies on Belphus and I watched a few to get a better understanding of your culture but most of it was concerning your life and achievements. Uh, I¡¯m messing this up. To make it simple, this continent is populated with humans and no-humans. No judgement from me though. People are people in general. Some are jerks and¡­.are you even listening to me?> said Linas as the young god of Coffee copied the actions of Jackie and popped up the collar on his own blue coat with fur trim. The action wasn¡¯t entirely unnoticed by Jackie who wondered if forming a contract between an avatar and a god didn¡¯t work the other way when it came to boosts. He had confidence, age, wisdom and experience and from the look of things the young god had raw power and understanding of the rules of the world. He¡¯d even chosen to appear in front of Jackie with the same style of outfit, excepting the golden jewellery. A small ache in his stomach reminded Jackie that he hadn¡¯t exactly kept track of how much time had passed since he¡¯d left his office walk in wardrobe to a mock Coffee House and then a meeting with two gods who needed his expertise. ¡®Yeah, so I¡¯d like to make something clear Linas. I¡¯m hungry. I mean, I could chew a few coffee cherries to try and stop my appetite a little but when you changed me back into a younger version of myself it came with all the extra calories needed. I appreciate the body toning though. I only worked on building up serious muscle when I grew older. I wanted to be a mild jacked old dad for my kids. They used to hate it when they hit their late teens and their friends wanted to meet me. I guess I aged pretty well. Sorry, not eating has another side effect. I get a little cranky. Tell you what, why don¡¯t we play a game to pass the time. You ask me a question about something that¡¯s my favourite and I¡¯ll ask you. We can get to know each other a better before we reach the...goblin encampment? One of those words makes no sense.¡¯ said Jackie as he paused and gazed up at the night sky and the bright moon. He took in a deep breath as his lungs took in the night air without him worrying about catching a cold. Jackie was adaptable certainly, he never would have reached the height of the corporate world and established his own Strikker Coffee as the main provider and producer of coffee on Belphus but being young again would take him a little longer. Raising a hand above his eyes he saw that there were dwellings in the near distance, none of them were more higher than any village house he had seen as a kid growing up in but there was an oddness about their appearance. For one thing they were smaller than they should have been for regular sized people. ¡®Wait a second, just one question. Linas, you said that this place has humans and non-humans. In that makeshift Coffee House, which you did try your best with I assume, there was seating that was odd. Some of it was smaller than normal and some was overly large. These goblins, are they taller or shorter than me?¡¯ said Jackie. The wildlife in the forest around them died down as they continued casually walking forward towards the dwellings as Linas stopped and hovered above the ground a little held up one palm and it glowed brightly. Jackie noticed that despite Linas was talking plenty he didn¡¯t in fact give any direct answers to any questions. He didn¡¯t bother to push any further but reminded himself that he was a young body again with an old mind. He needed to try and loosen up a little and adjust his mindset to be more open and accepting of situations. His brain was physically younger and he needed to accept that. ¡®I love drinking fresh water. I mean coffee is nice but I developed the habit of drinking fresh water and avoiding alcohol after an unfortunate accident when I caused an accident back in my younger days. I sort of ruined an entire coffee crop by adding the wrong mix. So, yeah, I don¡¯t drink alcohol. Your turn. Anything that your favourite.¡¯ said Jackie. The young god paused as Jackie observed his face and his appearance. He¡¯d taken to copying him, either he was fairly young and impressionable or the connection between an avatar and a god was deeper. ¡®Take some time to think about it, no fresh. Ah, we¡¯ve arrived. I plan on walking in and getting something to eat, after introductions. These could be the first potential customers for coffee. I have a few ideas on how to start but it depends on the quality and quantity that you can produce.¡¯ said Jackie as he approached the encampment. He saw that the source of fire was a massive bonfire in the middle, and there was a decent number of shadowy figures running around. None of them were human sized and were either the shape of young teenagers at most with a few coming across as kids. There was a lot of conversation and laughter in the air but none of it made any sense to him. His ears heard it, his brain processed it but the language was just so different that he couldn¡¯t realistically make it out. As he drew closer he saw that he had been right and the buildings were also smaller than average but none taller than a standard village house all being one story dwellings. With his bright blue coat and fur collar popped up, Jackie straightened out his posture and purposefully put a gentle smile on his face. He directly entered the goblin encampment as he noticed that there were no walls in place, no security guards or other forms of protection in place which appeared out of place to him given the closeness of the forest. He had been told that there was magic, non-humans and gods. Aside from the forest and the strange coloured night sky and single moon he hadn¡¯t seen a single other person. He had brought no technology or devices from him from his home world of Belphus and the only visibility of lighting was the moon and the fire encampment. As far as Jackie knew in the stories that his Nana had frightened him with as a boy with tales of ancient desert Empires and statue gods and an Emperor who had ruled over them they all involved magic and supernatural elements. Not a trace of modern technology. Perhaps this new continent would be the same, not that it mattered. The opportunity to be young again and the challenge to make coffee popular from scratch in a place where it had never existed had been too good to pass up. Shrugging his shoulders Jackie simply walked into the encampment and towards the main bonfire and ignored the strange stares as he pretended that he was an invited guest at a random party and smiled and waves at anyone who pointed in his direction. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Green. Small and green. Oh, sharp teeth. Lovely. At least they¡¯re dressed and not armed...oh some of them are. With knives. Smile Jackie. Remember you asked for this. Stick to the plan. Trust in Linas to have your back. *** Linas smiled as he saw the lack of immediate hostility in his avatars personality and body language. He had been warned about the violent ones, the ones who were dangerous to themselves and others and either saw the tutorial as a game or an outlet without consequences. He¡¯d need to talk to Jackie about the basics and the consequences of the avatar blessing and the magical agreement they¡¯d both formed. When the connection had been established he¡¯d experienced a surge of confidence and experience flowing into him. Nothing that he could actually access but enough to draw him out of his usual timid self and finally step out of the shadow of both of his parents. If Jackie showed any signs of fear or uncertainty he simply hadn¡¯t shown it except when he¡¯d been concerned about the Tourism Board. From what Linas knew, they were an existence far beyond his own continent and magical world who wanted two things. The first was to turn worlds into attractive sites of interest and promote travel amongst their own kind. The second was that they¡¯d wipe the slate clean and start again if they wanted. In short, they were monsters. Linas had been taken to some of the worlds that they had developed, barren wastelands filled with radioactive flesh abominations or worlds where singular artificial minds had turned entire populations into slaves to dig into rock and mineral for profit. That had been a simple education in how lucky he actually was to exist on his own world and a warning that despite his power and that of the other gods not a one of them were omnipotent. They simply had more than others and needed to keep a fine balance to stop the world descending into a pit of carnage and chaos. Warfare was strictly limited and regulated, conflict was purely localised and diminished. No. None of us work for the Tourism Board. Or this place would have become a living world. This isn¡¯t one of their Seed Worlds nor one of their projects. We¡¯ve managed to become an outlier world. Relatively peaceful and secure. You got lucky Jackie and so did I. Oh, he¡¯s here. About time the old man turned up. This is going to be fun, but where¡¯s his granddaughter? *** Jackie remained relatively clueless. Goblins were a smaller than human green skinned race but there was a multitude of shades and hues of green to each of them in the same sense that humans had different levels of melanin in their skin. He didn¡¯t see any of them with facial or hair on their heads though. A few of them wore flat caps as coverings with younger ones having a layer of fuzz on their heads. He¡¯d walked in all smiles and even got a few toothy ones in return, they¡¯d been happy to see him and he knew that he¡¯d made the right approach in being friendly. A few of the younger ones, children he saw, judging from the expressions on their faces and higher pitched voices and sizes, had run up to him and grabbed his clothing. The whole sensation wasn¡¯t that different from entering a market in one of the Nature Seeker Village Compounds desert regions on one of the edges of a Park of Gaia. The people living there were friendly, granted that they benefited from living so close to one of the miracles of Belphus but they were happy. Living on the desert edge of a giant botanical garden where they were unable to enter the surroundings grasslands they had developed a peaceful life. Most of the tourists unable to enter a Park of Gaia itself would often go there for retreats. This place is nice. Got an obvious language barrier but nice. The glow from the main massive bonfire in the centre of the encampment wasn¡¯t the only source of visibility that Jackie saw. On each wooden village building were glowing boxes which swayed gently. He didn¡¯t see any wires, lightbulbs or any other forms of technology but the goblins around him were clothed if simply and were healthy and clean, at least to his eyes. The fact that a large number of the adults held sheathed knives on their belts could simply have been a cultural possession. He didn¡¯t know this place and he was likely the one who was strange here despite the god Linas and his mother having taken human form when they¡¯d talked to him. None of them wore any shoes or other footwear though. Clothing appeared to be the same standard style, a shirt along with dark leather trousers for men and some of the woman wore the same or skirts. The children wore smaller versions with decorations. The rest of the encampment was a simple enough affair but Jackie identified various buildings, a larger hut with secure and barred doors was likely used for food storage judging from the large number of sacks and metal equipment stacked up outside. There was a larger than normal hut nearer the centre with adornments and flags above it which Jackie assumed to be the dwelling of the leader of the area. All in all, it came across as a friendly place. There was a smell of cooked food and vegetables in the air but Jackie wasn¡¯t quite clear on which building had produced it. The flooring was clean but basic, mostly packed down dirt sprinkled with small stones which had been compacted. These goblins are organised and friendly. I wonder how they¡¯d take to coffee. A tutorial though implies that I need to show or learn some basic skills and likely pass a test. And answers ideally. Jackie turned around expecting to see Linas behind him but saw no sign of the young god. Then he saw that those goblins around him had taken their children and herded them away heading back into their own homes as a gruff voice called out. Despite not being able to understand their language, Jackie had picked up on tone and intent. All the goblins, the children and adults he had encountered walking in to nearer the main bonfire had been friendly and curious. None of them had shouted at him or raised their voices. The massive bonfire in the centre flared up as Jackie raised a hand to protect his vision as a deep trawling noise came into his ears. Something heavy was being dragged along the floor as he saw a larger than normal goblin dragging along a huge jagged metal sword that was longer than Jackie was tall. As the light from the massive bonfire dimmed a little and Jackie blinked his eyes he was able to make out a heavily muscled goblin who was clearly older than the rest and wearing an armoured breastplate and boots with a bare head and a scowling mouth. The goblin pointed at himself and then at Jackie before slamming a fist into his chest-plate a few times and then spitting on the floor before lifting up the jagged metal sword up and resting it on one shoulder. Jackie knew a challenge when he saw one but the sight put a smile on his face. He¡¯d once been a jacked up old man too, and building up all that muscle had been seriously hard work. He gave the old goblin a thumbs up and a bright smile. ¡®From one previously old man to another, you¡¯ve done a good job. Pretty jacked. Are we expected to fight? Linas? Joke¡¯s over. I don¡¯t have the patience for games. Make it so they understand me. Linas. Last warning.¡¯ said Jackie as he fixed his own scowl on his face and crossed his arms as he stared down at the jacked old goblin. Yeah. I¡¯ve been old as well. When you get to that point...well...we¡¯ll see won¡¯t we. Book 1 Ch 8: Cheap Blends People assumed that Jackie Imperial was a man who had been born into wealth at first appearance until he had decided to publish his life history and made it obvious that he had come from humble origins. The truth was that despite his family having owned a coffee plantation it never meant that he was enjoyed a good quality of life early on. His parents had saved as much as they could to try and expand the business and give Jackie a good chance at education when he finally became an adult. They didn¡¯t care if he had to wear second hand worn clothing to school as a teenager as long as he produced top academic grades and standards. Nor did they know that he used to have to match himself up against local youth gangs which tried to steal his textbooks or thought that he was an easy target to relieve stress on. In short Jackie had learned to fight, and learned how to fight dirty from a young age. He had enhanced this with decent enough training from various private military companies and even had an instructor for six months who called herself Riko Zero but in fact preferred to be called Mariko. Even with all this, Jackie was aware that he was ill equipped to handle a single swipe from the massive jagged sword resting on the shoulder of the old, jacked goblin. He had trained to stop people from kidnapping him, from being able to physically and mentally resist forms of mild torture and coercion until he was rescued. Fighting hand to hand was one thing, and even though Jackie had become a young man again in his early twenties the memories of the old man he had been remained. He¡¯d learnt to calm down with time, to talk and to work with others. And then to pay people obscene amounts of money to protect him and beat up those who threatened himself or his adopted children and grandchildren. ¡®I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t understand me either. How about hand signals? You understand some hand gestures then? Seeing as how all the other goblins decided to take their cute kids and leave you¡¯re either the boss of this encampment or a bully. You look a little long in the tooth for that. Handsome though. Not my type though. Granted I don¡¯t have a type or preference. How about some of this?¡¯ said Jackie as he gave a few hand gestures of his own. One of them must have been universal because the face of the jacked old goblin twitched a little and his face reddened as he let out a deafening roar of anger. A muscled green arm grabbed the sword hilt as the goblin pointed a hand at Jackie and spewed out a series of rapid words which could have been curses given the tone behind them. This is getting ridiculous. A perfectly good bonfire in the centre of this encampment would make for a decent party. A little food, a little dancing and some music and everyone would get on fine. Wait, is this meant to be part of the tutorial? Am I meant to fight this old geezer? A huffing sound came from behind him as Jackie kept his eyes fixed on the jacked old goblin giving back the hard state he received as a familiar voice from behind called. Linas was half bent over out of breath and he had removed his own blue furred imitation jacket variant of Jackie¡¯s to reveal a tight blue compression shirt and military style fatigues. Wait. Isn¡¯t he meant to be a god? Gods get tired? Forget it. Trust in your business partner Jackie. Or at least make him regret his bad choices. Standing there next to the bonfire, Jackie failed to experience heat or the desire to remove his own jacket. The moon remained brightly lit overhead and lightly turning his head to the side, Jackie saw that the goblins and their kids were all on the outsides of their own wooden village huts. Not close enough to get involved but enough so that they could visibly make out what was happening. Some of them noticed Jackie looking and gave him a thumbs up. Wait. Do they know what thumbs up mean? Am I the idiot here? Did I walk in and cause massive offence because of¡­.huh. Maybe I did. I guess I should have waited for Linas and¡­.wait a moment. I know this trick. I played it as an old man. Jackie decided to relax a little and sat himself down on the ground as he moved a little closer to the massive bonfire in the centre of the goblin encampment. He mimed eating food and drink and the sensation of hunger and thirst as he waved back at the goblins in their own homes. Watching Linas approach the jagged sword bearing jacked old goblin Jackie tried his best to listen to the language but it simply slipped past his understanding. He could hear the words, the tone and the intent but the words were impossible to identify. For all he heard they could have been a pair of robots talking in binary code and he would have been able to hear the same numbers in repetition. Linas had bowed in the direction of the jacked old goblin and waved a hand in Jackie¡¯s direction when he saw him sitting on the packed dirt floor making himself comfortable. Waving a hand which glowed Jackie experienced a tingling sensation on his tongue as he received a message inside his mind¡¯s eye. [Congratulations Avatar: You have received ¨C Gift of Tongues. -All languages for Human, Demi-Human and Non-Human will be understood by you. -This only applies to sentient beings and not any undead, constructs or demonic beings.] The sensation of having a message in his minds¡¯ eye wasn¡¯t an odd one. He knew that the level of technology back on Belphus had resulted in all sorts of genetic plug-ins and implanted technology being used. Obviously in this place magic was simply another method for it. The words which the goblins had been calling became clear to him. He heard the word fashionable repeated a few times along with idiot. Then he clearly heard the grizzled tone of the old jacked goblin who remained holding onto the jagged blade perched over one shoulder without any signs of discomfort. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®Combat. Combat to the death for the right to enter the tutorial stage! Why did you bring such a fashionable, handsome but idiotic person to the tutorial stage without giving them a set of armour and weapons? Ahhh¡­.the young these days are so stupid. In my day we fought to the death when we needed to choose who would get first rights to fresh food. Hey, hey you understand me? Linas, does your chosen understand me? Good. You and me boy. You and me are going to...going to...wait a second. I need to put this sword down. May back isn¡¯t what it used to be.¡¯ said the jacked old goblin as he casually lifted the jagged sword off his shoulder and let it drop to the ground keeping a tight grip on it. Jackie simply smiled. He¡¯d been old once and when he¡¯d built up enough muscle he¡¯d grown mischievous when he grew bored and wanted entertainment. Just because his body had grown young in an instant wasn¡¯t going to wipe away more than seventy-five years of living. Someone was having him on here and he¡¯d roll with it a little, just a little until the situation changed. ¡®Yeah, being old sucks. Hey there Grandad, do you need to warm up a little before our big fight? I mean we have this massive bonfire here to keep me warm but I bet your feet get cold in bed at night don¡¯t they? Hey Linas, go and get me a weapon. He has his massive sword so you need to find me a hammer. We can have a fight to the death right after we exchange our names unless Grandad here is so old that his hearing is gone and he can¡¯t remember if he needs to go to the bathroom before or after fighting.¡¯ said Jackie. He remained sitting in the same position and made his voice loud enough to easily be overheard. Jackie would never had spoken that way to his own grandparents when he¡¯d been a young man, they would have beaten him for it and told him to work on the coffee beans with dry milling for a week as a punishment. Using his hands and the bare minium of tools. With his fresh energy from his status as an avatar Jackie noticed that there were definite physical and mental improvements that went beyond him simply been returned to having a strong body of an early twenties young man. For one thing, he had been fairly scrawny when he¡¯d been young and the fashionable clothing he was wearing should have been far baggier than he was wearing. His chest was muscular and his arms and legs were toned, not to mention his full head of healthy mid-length hair. Jackie wanted to have a little more fun so he reached inside his pocket and pulled out one of the expensive items of gold jewellery he¡¯d decided to wear back in his walk in wardrobe and still sitting down threw it casually in the direction of the old jacked goblin who had remained standing. The gold bracelet clanged against the edge of the large jagged metal sword as Jackie looked up and waved a hand. ¡®Grandad, hey there Grandad, how about you buy yourself a new sword. Something that doesn¡¯t look all worn out. Just like you in fact. Why, you can even go and buy me a weapon as well given that our mutual friend Linas is standing there with his mouth open like the young idiot he is. I¡¯m pretty comfortable here and I don¡¯t feel like moving. Oh, hey Grandad, how about you buy yourself a hat as well. That bald head of yours must get cold in the winter, maybe throw in a pair of socks to keep those feet of yours warm in bed.¡¯ said Jackie. This time, there was a definite response from the rest of the goblins who had moved away from their huts a little. Jackie heard chuckles, even bouts of laughter and younger ones who were asking why the strange man was throwing gold at the encampment Chieftain. *** Linas was standing there confused. He¡¯d been given a boost of confidence when he¡¯d formed a contract between a continent god and a chosen avatar but his age still belied him. He¡¯d been told by his mother who¡¯d had come to blows with her own avatar during the early days of the tutorial when she¡¯d refused to obey. He knew that it was a risky strategy but there would be times when conflict would be necessary and he wouldn¡¯t be able to give Jackie any sufficient protection, not unless his power levels matched the popularity of coffee on the continent. As it was he was able to be a little stronger during the tutorial stage as a security measure to stop the avatar from slaughtering the entire goblin encampment as per the standard agreement made. Despite Linas only just having met Jackie, he¡¯d support him but at the same time he¡¯d wanted to see how he would handle the direct threat of combat. He knew that Grucs wasn¡¯t going to hurt him, not seriously but he had little choice left. The protection of the goblin encampment and the gods who had arrived with avatars had been so few and far between that they had largely lived in peace and security for at least two generations. Only the older ones remembered the previous adventurers who would hunt them down, cut off their ears and hand them in for bounty for killing non-humans just out of racial hatred or an excuse to kill monsters for money. The rest of the goblin tribe within the encampment were secure for the future but at the cost of not being able to leave the immediate areas of the forest or beyond. There were those who chose to voluntary leave and explore the world on their own but only after they had learned the human language. Some had returned, some hadn¡¯t. He¡¯d not given Jackie the [Gift of Tongues] mostly because he¡¯d been so excited to actually sign a contract with a mortal that he¡¯d largely forgotten. His role was to support Jackie as he spread and introduce the plant cherries known as coffee on Belphus to sufficient popularity. When he¡¯d asked his Father for advice, the old man had simply said that all avatars grew through innate conflict and struggle and he needed to make sure that it was a true partnership that was formed. Either side could end the formal contract but there would be a magical backlash on both sides which usually meant it wasn¡¯t worth it. Focus Linas. You got this. Why is Jackie acting so strange? Unless...no. The [Gift of Tongues] is a standard blessing every avatar receives. ¡®Uh¡­.Jackie. I think that there¡¯s been some confusion going on. How about we forget about it? I mean, a fight to the death is a little strong to start out with. Grucs we can put a hold to it until Jackie can show us what he can do with his new foodstuff. You¡¯ll love it, everyone will. They call it coffee and you can drink it an-¡¯ said Linas as he was interrupted by Jackie who had stood up and waved a hand but showed a look of anger on his face. The bonfire remained burning without anyone throwing in extra wood but there were more goblins who had decided that the drama was far too entertaining to watch from the sidelines and had either left their children or brought them closer and formed a large loose semi-circle. A few of the older ones played with the sheathed knives on their belts and looked at Jackie with a little hostility and boredom but most were cheering him or the jacked old goblin by this point. Linas decided to keep his mouth shut, stand still and see how this situation was going to play out. He¡¯d followed the basic rules of the tutorial to apply pressure to a fresh avatar but somehow it had all backfired and his borrowed confidence from Jackie was going to eventually run out. *** Jackie shook his blue fur collared jacket before he took out another piece of gold jewellery and gestured for one of the adult goblins to come over as he handed over the ring and his jacket with a quick thanks. Then he stretched out a little and turned his full attention and the entire weight of his more than seventy-five years towards the jacked old goblin. He¡¯d dealt with directors, ruthless competition, mad scientists looking for investment for insane Mining programs and those wealthier than gods back on Belphus. He¡¯d played this little game for long enough and he wanted it dealt with and this tutorial to progress. It was time for him to have a little talk with the jacked old goblin from one Grandad to another.