RCJoshua

Chapter 39: Unsaid Things

The night wore on to the still-dark early hours of the next day before people finally started peeling off. Although Ella had made a literal mountain of food, it was still finite, and Arthur’s friends weren’t the only ones eating it. When the food was finally gone and everyone had calmed down, it was time to say goodbye.

Rhodia peeled off first, promising to come by tomorrow to help Milo design and make the tools for her glassblowing. The combat-classes were next, which surprised Art...

Chapter 38: Rise Together

The buying hour was magical. Arthur’s pocket money was light compared to a few days ago, but by the time he had spent his last coin, he had replenished his stock of starch, the teas he generally used, a few spices, and even bought an upgraded icemaker.

With Lily’s help, he pumped out a bunch of boba in record time, then ran downstairs to help Ella with her preparations. The entire kitchen was in use. Every heat source was busy either baking bread, roasting meat, or toasting crackers...

Chapter 37: Citizen of the Day

From the moment Arthur put his first pot of water on a heat source, the day became a blur.

Lily worked like a whirlwind, running to get him water, taking pots off heat when they were ready, bringing him tea leaves, and generally filling whatever gaps she could. The drink-runners showed up with almost perfect timing and carted off crates of drinks as soon as they were ready. They then sprinted back with empty cups, which Lily furiously cleaned to put them back into service.

Somewhe...

Chapter 36: Assistants

Arthur made his way home.

The worst part about his walk was a moderately sore set of legs. It almost felt wrong. This was a place everyone referred to as the demon world, a land of magic completely different from his previous hum-drum, unsatisfying life. In almost any fantasy story he had ever read, that meant learning to use a sword. It meant hucking fireballs. And, very relevantly, it meant almost always getting ambushed with some kind of trouble when you were just trying to walk home...

Side Story: The Voice and the Bear

Hey guys, this is one of our first side stories, bridging together Deadworld Isekai (our first story) with Demon World Boba Shop. Hope you like it.

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For a bear demon, most things were confusing.

Even the smartest of the bear demons was not all that bright by the standards of the spawn of the demon lord. Were they strong? Yes. Surprising fast? Sure. Could they nap better than most? Always, for-sure, and absolutely. But in terms of thinking power, they weren’t the best. T...

Chapter 35: Bear Demon

As the sun pulled high in the sky, Lily was puffing away on a crate. The exertion had finally caught up with her and weakened her enough that she had actually listened to Arthur when he forced her to sit, crammed a drink into her hands, and told her to rest.

“I could still work. After I rest.”

“No, you couldn’t. And Ella said you need to come back, remember? She won’t let you come anymore if you don’t listen to her. You know how she is.” Arthur doubted the little gir...

Chapter 34: Tea of the Rock-Thrower

“And what do these do again?” The wolverine commander was glaring at Arthur out of his one good eye. Probably. It was possible he just always looked like that. Arthur tried hard not to take it personally.

“It’s a small buff to vitality and dexterity. Not much, but I can make a lot of these.”

Having dragged his wagon to the bottom of the wall, Arthur was now dealing with a problem he hadn’t expected. It was also one that made perfect sense. A random new demon showing up...

Chapter 33: Monster Wave

Between the over-pepped tea and the new fruit tea combinations, a new wave of interest swept over Arthur’s food cart. Enough demons were trying, enjoying, and complimenting his drinks that Arthur felt like he was serving the entire city every day.

After a particularly busy lunch rush, Arthur noticed something strange.

Everyone who was walking in the square was moving oddly, just a bit faster and more determined than normal. He hadn't sold tea to nearly enough of them, so his new...

Chapter 32: Sourmouth Meltdown

“What in the world happened in here?” Milo said, staring at the thoroughly pulp covered room in awe. “It looks like an orchard exploded.”

“That’s not… Kind of. I’m doing some tea experiments. I’m not sure how it’s working out so far.” Arthur gestured towards the juice combinations he had accumulated on the counter. “Want to try some out? I could use a second opinion on some of them. All of them, I guess.”

“Oh, absolutely. But wait a second while I get m...

Chapter 31: The Great Juicing

Now that Arthur had some at least mild success with his shop, he had a bigger job ahead of him. He had customers, sure. But a good portion of the interest in his boba was driven by novelty. If he lost the thread on that bit of things, the long-term prospects of his business would suffer.

And that meant variety. It wasn’t just a hunch. The customers had been telling him so.

—

“So there’s the darker tea, the lighter tea… and a dark and light pepped tea. And that’s ...

Chapter 30: Are you sure you want to argue?

“No. I won't.” Lily pushed the tea away, careful not to slosh it. “I don't have to.”

“Oh, okay. My mistake,” Arthur said. “I thought you wanted to work.”

“Work?”

“I need this tea tested. It's new. And you’re the only sick person I have working for me. I could find someone else, but…”

Lily eyed the tea warily, but Arthur's perception caught some undertones of actual hunger leaking out in the same glance. “And this is useful?” she...

Chapter 29: Medicinal Brewer

It was really, really hard.

It wasn't just hard because Arthur didn't really know what he was doing. If that had been all it was, it would have been bearable.

This was hard in a different way, like running laps after a long winter of sitting on the couch. Arthur made the mistake of awkwardly asking the system to make the teas have some magical healing property, offering himself as a fountain of majicka for that purpose. That was a bad idea. It was like being hooked up to a very la...

Chapter 28: Passive Majicka

“No medicinal tea leaves? None?”

“For the third time, Arthur, that's not a thing.” The restaurant supply store manager was doing his best to stay calm in the face of Arthur's worry-driven disbelief. “There's medicine, and there's tea. The best I can do for you are some brews that are supposed to help you sleep.”

“Do they?”

“Anything does if you think it does, and it doesn't have pep. But really? Probably not.”

“Dammit. There must be something.”<...

Chapter 27: New Responsibilities

“What do I have to do?”

“What do you have to do?” Itela asked. “Not a thing. I however, have to do sort of a lot.”

Itela stood from her desk, suddenly glowing with light.

“Being a god is about being part of the universe, a medium that everything resonates with. Being a cleric is about resonating a bit harder with that material than most.”

“What’s she doing?” Arthur asked, nudging Milo.

“Shh. Let her work.” Milo’s eyes were open. “Nor...

Chapter 26: Lost Child Scry

The next week went by fast, and slow, depending on how Arthur looked at it. Until that point, every day had brought something vastly different, some new test, struggle, or triumph. It had all been novel, new, and changing.

People had warned him, again and again, that eventually things would slow down. The levels would still flow in, but as drops rather than a big torrent. The progress would come, but only with painstaking work. Eventually, they said, it would all calm down.

He had...

Chapter 25: Skipping Home

A bunch of information suddenly clicked into place for Arthur. A distrustful kid, one who was just a little dirtier and less taken care of than all the others. A bad attitude that was always on the defensive. A reluctance to take charity. It all made much more sense now.

“You didn’t know? What did you think?” Spiky said. “It’s pretty obvious nobody is taking care of her.”

“I thought maybe her family was poor or something. And I’ve only talked with her a few times. ...

Chapter 24: Machines and Parents

Arthur poked his shell-shocked friend as Milo stood there. The sparrow’s eyes panned back and forth at the empty space in front of him. “Is it good? The skill?”

“It’s a machinery skill, Arthur. An actual machinery skill.”

“That’s amazing,” Arthur smiled and side-hugged his friend, trying his best to share in the excitement. “I’m happy for you. And it should as always be noted that I have no idea how good that is, or why. But I’m psyched if you are psyched.�...

Chapter 23: Genius at Work

“Do you think it’s something that you’re saying?”

“It could be, but I can’t think of what.”

“Well, let’s give it a shot. Try selling me something, Arthur. Like I’m a new customer.” She curled around the counter to the front, then put on a fake new-customer persona. “Oh, hi! This stand looks interesting. What do you make here?”

Arthur ran through his little routine, handing her a pearl, listing off the kinds of teas available.

“So it’s a te...

Chapter 22: Sales Trouble

Uniforms, it turned out, were not really a thing for food stand owners. The associated gaggle of friends who had shown up to watch him set up the shop had been very clear on that subject.

“No paper hats, or anything?” Arthur asked.

“No, why? It’s not like it’s hard to tell that you work there. You’re the guy on the owner side of the counter. Who else would you be?” Rhodia said, leaning on the side of the stand. “Are those cups going to work? I’m going to rework t...

Chapter 21: Practice Makes Perfect

After his skill came, everything started happening very fast.

Ella sent a message to Pico, letting him know about Arthur’s class and asking for a day or so more to break it in. And the mayor eagerly agreed. And she did all that, Arthur noted, without breaking a single window.

Arthur’s next day devolved into a mad scramble to put together real boba. So far, he had been preying on the demons’ innocence, presenting them with bread that simulated some part of the drink ...

Chapter 20: Majicka

“Oh shit. I got it.” Arthur looked up from his skill before even reading the whole thing. “I got the skill, Ella.”

“No way. Just like that?” Milo jumped up, ran over, and leapt to wrap Arthur in a big, feathery hug.

“Just like that. I think… Actually, Ella, what happened here? I wasn’t even all that careful with this tea.”

“Tastes pretty good to me,” Chuck said, slurping the last pieces of soggy bread off the bottom of his cup.

“Thanks, but it...

Chapter 19: Teashop Brewmaster

By the time Arthur had bathed, put on his newly tailored clothes, and returned to his workshop, Ella was waiting. She wasn’t alone. With Milo in tow, she walked up to Arthur, handing him a kettle and a fresh pail of water.

“Make this boy tea,” she said. “Your boba tea.”

Arthur looked around the room. Ella had cleared out every speck of food he had prepared last night and replaced it with new ingredients. He had nothing ready.

“I don’t have anything ready.” 2024-03-20 22:03:05 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 18: Perfection

“I bet you do. And I wish I could tell you no as punishment for breaking my window. But it wouldn’t be fair to the boy, I suppose.” Pico nodded towards a small meeting table at one corner of his surprisingly large office. “Sit. We can talk this out.”

After calling for some cold drinks and cracker-like snacks, Pico looked at Arthur across the table. “So you already have your class? That’s quick.”

“It was sort of an accident. I didn’t know about the visions. And ...

Chapter 17: Food Cart

“Arthur. Arthur. The demon world would like a word.” Noises that sounded suspiciously like Milo’s voice floated through the fog that was Arthur’s head. “Arthur. Wake up.”

Arthur felt a sudden impact on his arm, which finally snapped him out of the mist of romantic fantasies.

“You hit me!” Arthur rubbed his arm.

“I did. I was worried you were poisoned, or something.” Milo grinned at him. “Now that I see you aren’t… you talked to her, huh?”

�...

Chapter 16: Blue Star

“Oh, hey,” Arthur said, thrown off.

She nodded at him slightly, then stood there. And stood there. She seemed content to stand quietly and politely until he said something. “So you were looking at that flower?”

“Yes.”

“Just looking, or do you know something about it?” Arthur said, then realized that might be a bit pushy. He tried his best to adjust. “I’m new to this world. I don’t know much about the plants here.”

“I see. I know of this flower...

Chapter 15: Forest Day

“How worried should I be about this?” Arthur wasn’t exactly scared, but he was only several days into a new life. He didn’t want to find himself bleeding out on a forest floor because of some unexpected threat on what was supposed to be a nice trip.

“Hardly a risk at all. We won’t be that far from the city. It would have to be something that wandered in this direction, which is barely a chance at all, then decided it wanted to stay in the forest, which is barely a chance aga...

HTS Update + New book

Hi guys,

So we have a bit of bad and a bit of good news.

TLDR:

- For the next two weeks, How to Survive is going on hiatus.
- We’re launching a new book called Demon World Boba Shop.
- We'll be adding chapters of DWBS to Patreon starting Wednesday.

So a couple of months ago, Dotblue and I  managed to get a rare chance to meet in person over iced beverages and  he asked me what I was writing next, I took a look around the shop,  slurped up a ...

Chapter 119: Goblin Quest

Could he kick my ass? I mean, he’s stronger than me. Better stats by far. Full class, with all that comes with it. He has a combat skill, I don’t. He got a lot of items and achievements from that competition, too.

He has better weapons, for sure. Weird ones. Weird powers to back them up.

Shit. So much for walking quietly home.

In retrospect, Sean realized that winning an unwinnable game probably wasn’t the best way to keep a low profile on hi...

Chapter 118: Hitting Machine

Lina, it turned out, was fast. She didn’t move fast much, at least judging by what Sean had seen of her so far, but now that she had somewhere to be that she herself found interesting, she was off like a bolt, not running but still covering so much ground so quickly with her tiny legs that Sean almost had to break into a trot to keep up.

“She’s a class related to shipyards, specifically. A ground class. She’s unbelievably valuable to our people.” Itto huffed along, struggling ...

Chapter 117: Portable Dent

No, it’s not like that. There’s no exact plan in play here. You’re looking for an exact blueprint on how we plan to win, and it’s not like that. I never said it was.

Think about it. One day I woke up to find me and my buddy had got blasted out of time. I’m stronger than him, I’m tougher than him, and I can do more things than he can do. I’m even smarter in some ways. You’d think I’d be the hero, right? Beer belly and all, I’m more qualified.

<...