The cameras clicked like rain on glass.
Jun adjusted his collar, steam rising from the freshly brewed cup in front of him. Around him stood judges, reporters, baristas from Tokyo to New York. A massive screen behind him displayed it all:
[Barista System – Rank: World-Class]
[Current Task: Brew for Legacy – 0/1]
He smiled—not because he had made it, but because he remembered where he started.
Back then, no one looked twice at him.
No café.
No dreams.
Not even a place to sleep that night.
Two years earlier...
The streetlight flickered above him, buzzing like it was tired of existing too.
Jun sat on a crate behind the convenience store, hands stuffed in his hoodie, a cup of hot water cradled between them. He stared down at the instant coffee packet—his only dinner.
"Just one win," he muttered. "Just once… let me move forward."
Then it appeared.
[You have unlocked the Barista System.]
Welcome, Jun. Your grind begins now.
He dropped the packet.
"What the hell?"
The message hovered in midair, glowing faintly, as if the air itself had turned digital. And when he blinked, it remained.
Then came the second message.
[First Task: Brew Real Coffee – Reward: Beginner Brewing Set + 50 XP]
No explosions.
No music.
Just the quiet hum of destiny shifting in a back alley.
He didn't know it yet—but that night, with a borrowed kettle and a cracked mug, he would begin the slow, steady journey from nobody to legend.
One cup at a time.