The noisy sounds of traffic outside woke Eli up.

He flipped his phone over and realized it was just six in the morning, still an hour until his coffee shop opened.

"Another busy day ahead..."

Eli mumbled as he got up from his bed.

He put on a soft black turtleneck sweater and quickly tidied up his bedroom before heading out.

Eli's main job was running a coffee shop that he inherited from his parents, who had passed away a few years ago in a car accident.

Although he had been doing this job for four years since graduating high school, Eli always felt lucky to work at something he loved every day.

The customers who came to the café were all regulars, some of them even came every day and on time, almost like a compulsion.

Perhaps it was because the caffeine addiction syndrome was becoming more common in modern society.

Eli opened the bedroom door and walked downstairs; the cafe was right on the first floor of his house, which was very convenient and economical.

After making a simple breakfast in the kitchen, it was time to prepare for the morning business.

Regular customers usually came in the early morning, and a black coffee was the perfect formula to start a stressful workday in exploitative capitalist companies.

"Welcome."

The first customer of the day had arrived.

Eli recognized her as Luna, an office worker at a real estate company a few hundred meters away. She was one of the "caffeine addicts" who checked in daily at his café.

"A black coffee with three sugars, please."

Luna said with a tired expression.

"Please wait a moment."

Eli's hands quickly completed the first order of the day.

He enjoyed interacting with his customers, which made Eli—someone who was almost isolated from society—feel more sociable.

He asked Luna:

"You seem to have had a tough workday yesterday?"

Luna yawned broadly, the dark circles around her eyes looking a little darker.

"It was a busy day."

She took the coffee cup and immediately inserted a straw, pouring caffeine mixed with sugar into her system.

"The 'Black Wolf' guild suddenly opened an A-rank gate; we had to work overtime until midnight to support the hunters in closing that gate before we could leave at 3 AM. And now I have to go to work today!"

Eli smiled with a blank expression.

Honestly, he couldn't understand what Luna was complaining about.

What was the Black Wolf? And what was an A-rank gate? A new real estate project from her company?