I Became a Barista in Another World! Volume 1: New Beginnings [Completed]

Cup 4: A Chance Encounter With a Legendary Beast

Sylfie placed a glowing hand over Ryu, muttering something as the stag charged. She suddenly rolled off of him and notched another arrow.

"Hey, foreigner. You should probably run," she said calmly.

Ryu sat up to see the stag charging at him with full force, ignoring Sylfie's presence completely. He scrambled to his feet running and screaming as the stag followed in hot pursuit.

"You're doing great, nya!" Aurora called after him.

"Easy for you to say!" Ryu panted. He was not used to this much physical activity. Despite his slim build, he was severely out of shape. He spent most days grinding away at World of Glory when he wasn't working long hours at his local Java Roast. He shook his head. He could think about World of Glory another time when he wasn't under threat of being gored to death.

Sylfie loosed another arrow imbued with fire. She hit her mark once again, setting the beast aflame. It howled in pain, though the attack only seemed to make it angrier. Eh? Why isn't my Agility Skill activating? And why is that thing still looking at me?

The stag charged like a raging bull straight towards Ryu who rolled out of the way just as it slammed into a tree. Rows of trunks fell behind the behemoth as it turned around huffing and shaking its head.

The stag's eyes scanned the surrounding area. Ryu hid behind a rock, narrowing his eyes at Sylfie suspiciously. She was out in the open, without any camouflage, yet the monster continued to disregard her.

Wait a minute. Ryu dug through his pocket again, a small text appearing on his skill card.

[Skill Disabled: Swift Foot]

[Duration: 5 minutes]

[Status Effect Active: Aggro]

[Effect Duration: 5 minutes]

Ryu balled his fists furiously, jumping out from behind the rock.

"You, b***h! What's the big idea casting [Aggro] on me?!"

Sylfie grinned, causing Ryu to realize what he had done. The stag snorted angrily, breaking through the rock with its antlers and chasing after Ryu again.

"Kill it! Kill it with fire! Do something! Gahhh!"

Sylfie released a maelstrom of arrows, landing each shot deep within the beast's hide. Still, it continued to charge. Ryu panted heavily. How long would he be able to keep this up? He wished he had never saved the cat. This d*mn cat brought me here to die again! Don't just sit there! Help me out!

"What am I supposed to do, nya?"

Ryu jumped, grabbing the cat on his shoulder by the scruff. "How did you get here?!"

"I'm a talking, immortal cat, and somehow you're surprised I can teleport. Humans are weird, nya," Aurora shrugged.

Ryu made a mental note, so he would remember to feed the cat to the Cerberus if he survived.

"So you're not going to help then?"

"What for, nya? You can outpace the Hibiscus Stag with [Swift Foot] so there's no need for me to intervene. Plus, Sylfie is doing a great job on offense. Go Sylfie!" Aurora cheered.

The skill's been disabled—Hibiscus Stag?

[This coveted berry can only be found in the Polar Expanse. It is often used as bait to lure in the Legendary Hibiscus Stag...]

"We're fighting a legendary monster?!!" Ryu exclaimed. "I'm a godd*mn [Level 0]! I don't have any attack or defense skills! What did you rope me into?!"