16 Ending The Tutorial

He explored the various options while weighing his decision.

On the one hand, any coffee he made would be delicious. He could choose a cheap coffee and save money.

On the other hand, the system had repeatedly made it clear that he needed to make a luxurious cafe. Very likely that included the quality of the coffee. Knowing the system, it would probably subtract Decor Rating points from him if he went with lower quality coffee beans.

Sighing, he finally settled on one of the most expensive coffees he'd seen on the list. It was called Prosperidad. He read through the description.

Coffee: Prosperidad.

Description: Grown in Colombia, only one or two batches are put out every year, and of those, only one in every four is sold after going through the coffee producer's quality control. Grown in volcanic ash, Prosperidad coffee beans have clean notes of caramel and nut, making for a finish unlike any other.

Price: $120/pound.

The price made him sweat.

It'd be one thing if he was just buying it for his personal use, since he wouldn't need so much. However, for a cafe, he would need hundreds of pounds of it.

He'd hoped to save some of the loan money for overhead in case the cafe needed something new he'd forgotten about. However, at this point, he only had approximately $10,000 remaining. While that was a lot compared to yesterday, it was pretty small compared to how much he was spending to get his cafe up and running.

He next off selected a number of high quality ingredients for his shop, like milk, sugar, and so on. Since he ordered in bulk and the ingredients weren't rare, the total cost wasn't too overwhelming.

He finished off by purchasing dining wear like forks, spoons, plates, and cups. He even got to-go cups.

He finished off with approximately $7,000 left. He'd be able to get more supplies as needed, so this way he had a bit of overhead. As he completed his design, the system suddenly dinged with a notification.

"Host's design has received a score of 96 by the Decor Rating function. Congratulations Host for completing the mission. Perhaps the system was correct to choose Host after all."

Alan felt smug since he had proven the system wrong. However, before he had time to celebrate the system spoke up again.

"Host has completed the third mission. Ending Tutorial."

Alan paused. "What do you mean tutorial, system?"

"Host, now that you own your own cafe, the system has exited Tutorial mode. As a result the system will be implementing a number of new restrictions due to Host's low level. As Host completes more missions and levels up Host can then reduce the restrictions."

"What restrictions?" Alan asked warily.

"You'll find out as you go Host. However, Host should know, before adding to go cups, that Host will not be able to serve takeaway coffee."

Alan was silent for a moment before exploding. "What do you mean I can't serve takeaway coffee? You let me do that at the other shop!"

"Host, system was still in Tutorial mode, so Host did not have to comply with as many restrictions. After all, Host wasn't in charge and therefore couldn't make many decisions."

"Then why did you not let me serve that woman multiple cups of coffee?" Alan demanded angrily.

"Everyone must have a bottom line, Host. If Host does not even have sufficient pride to stick to one rule, then how could Host ever endeavor to run his own cafe and enforce multiple rules."

Alan was left speechless. "What sort of screwed up logic is that?"

"System is designed to allow Host time to grow. However, now that Host has grown, system will no longer coddle Host. Please endeavor to become the owner of the world's most luxurious cafe."

Alan felt helpless. "Oh well," he thought. "At least I have a fully functional cafe."

He went to sit on one of the chairs and fell through it.

He landed on the ground with a loud thump, his head smacking against it.

As he clutched his head, he heard the system.

"Host has sustained another head wound, system entering recovery mode."

After he was healed, he began questioning the system intensely.

"What's up with the illusory chairs? You subtracted all that money from my account for fake furniture?"

"System cannot materialize matter Host. The Decor Rating function merely allows the Host to simulate the various potential builds for the cafe. The figure on the top left reflects how much money Host would have left after creating this place. Of course, that figure does not factor in shipping costs and the cost of hiring contractors. After factoring in that amount, system calculates that Host should have just enough money to get the cafe opened."

Mournful cries echoed from within the building as Alan once again cursed the system for deceiving him.