[System Unlocked: The Convenience Store Villain's First Real Reward]
By Friday, the day had arrived.
Morning hours belonged entirely to training Maria.
It wasn’t exactly “education.” It was more like one convenience-store employee slowly teaching another exactly what every single customer-facing task entailed.
“Okay, this machine handles calculations. Scan the barcode on an item and… it shows up on the screen, right?”
Maria stared at me with wide-eyed wonder while absorbing every single piece of information I gave her, learning fast and steady.
*Beep*
“Three thousand two hundred Luos received~”
“Does that mean I can pay with Sanctum Pay too?”
“S-S-Ssanctum… Jinho-ssi…!”
“Yeah, yeah. Just tap that button and scan the code.”
Every time she hit a wall and didn’t know what to do, she bit it back and called me over like it was the most natural thing in the world. Among the people I’d been training, Maria had the quickest learning curve by far.
Beside us, Kim Gichan—who was roughly double her height—handled the line at a speed that felt like a walking calculator. He was already done with three customers while she was still on her second.
“Hey, newbie. Why does the workload feel harder when there are three of us?”
“Didn’t you ever hear ‘one child is raised by the whole village’?”
“That’s not my child, it’s yours!”
I felt a little bad for Kim Gichan, but I’d already promised him I’d only need him for a couple of days. In that short window, I planned to make sure Maria learned the basics cold.
“One world-tree hybrid and one cartridge, please.”
“Sure~ Just a second~ So a hybrid is…”
“It’s over there on the left. No, second from the right.”
“Here?”
“…Not that one. A little higher. Higher. Yeah, that one.”
Cigarette varieties still looked a little alien to her. I hadn’t expected her to memorize every single brand on day one, and honestly I’d braced myself for her to blank and make me chase her around the store. She was learning faster than I’d dared hope.
In the afternoon, Visor showed up.
“Next customer~ Oh, Supervisor!”
Kim Gichan and I watched him line up with a simple coffee and a few finger foods like it was the most normal thing in the world. Rules were rules—no one was banned from using the store, even corporate supervisors.
When it was his turn, Visor placed his order right in front of Maria, then turned to me with that same emotionless expression.
“Yu Jinho, employee.”
“Ah, yes….”
“I mentioned last night about the Backroom situation—could I have a moment?”
“Would you like an envelope too~!”
The moment Maria shouted that she’d finished scanning the last barcode, Visor’s sentence cut off cleanly.
“…”
“? Envelope for the—”
“Please include an envelope.”
Before Maria could ask again, Visor answered smoothly.
“Would you like me to take you to the Backroom?”
“When the Facility Management employee arrives, we’ll handle everything together.”
He glanced at his wristwatch and addressed me directly. The Facility Management Division… the guy Kim Gichan always complained about because he was too good-looking for his own good. I really wanted to see his face right now.
A few minutes later I got my chance.
“Hello. I’m Mika from the Sanctum City Facilities Management Division, Dimensional Anomaly Repair Team.”
The new arrival was an angel. Straight-up angel.
Silver hair, blue uniform, white coat, and those pure-white wings on his back were impossible to mistake. I remembered Rafa from the delivery job—same silver hair, same impossible curves. Now I was comparing a man to a woman and it was starting to feel like a cosmic joke about angel genetics.
“Kim Gichan, still the same, and this is the new guy I haven’t met before, right?”
“I’m Yu Jinho, the new employee. Nice to meet you.”
“Same to you~”
I heard Kim Gichan click his tongue. That was definitely envy. Whether Mika qualified as a rival in Kim Gichan’s book was one thing, but as a person he radiated genuine warmth and charm at the same time.
“Since the Facilities Supervisor is here, shall we head to the Backroom?”
I followed Visor’s guidance, leaving Maria in Kim Gichan’s careful hands.
“Hyung, watch over Maria for me, okay?”
Kim Gichan’s face was grim. Clearly yesterday’s events had left deeper scars than I’d realized.
He scanned the area, then locked eyes with Maria. Leaning in, he whispered to me.
“Jinho-ya… maybe I should take every single customer instead.”
He looked genuinely desperate. I had no choice but to tell Maria.
“… Ms. Maria. Shall we head to the Backroom together?”
“Yes, Jinho-ssi!”
Having her at my side was actually safer.
***
Visor, Maria, and Mika walked into the Backroom. It was still quiet and vast inside.
“Whoa, the hole got torn open pretty violently.”
Mika crouched right next to the ruined door and let out a whistle. The Facilities Division rating it that way made me wonder exactly how violently the Demon King had ripped it off its hinges.
“I’ll handle the repairs. Supervisor, please proceed with your business first.”
“Understood.”
Mika began measuring the door. Visor fiddled with the right-side panel a few times, then started tapping a fixed rhythm on the attached bell. A clear tone rang out and—mere seconds later—a panel on the side shelf slid open with a soft hiss.
My whole body tensed.
“Wow~”
“Ugh…”
Inside the dim shelf waited the severed tip of the giant tentacle that had flattened me and killed me two days earlier. Maria gasped at the sight, but I stared at the tentacle straight on and felt nothing but dread.
“Then I’ll calculate the Backroom damages.”
Visor flipped through his folder and began calmly.
“First, regarding Yu Jinho’s death and resurrection costs. The victim died in the cleaning zone under the work manager’s watch, then returned to duty afterward.”
He turned one more page.
“However, this incident occurred during regular maintenance hours and is directly linked to the Backroom’s inspection system. The company therefore acknowledges partial responsibility.”
“That means…”
Visor adjusted his glasses. Even in low light they caught the glow.
“We are recognizing it as an industrial accident and covering half of the worker’s biological resurrection cost—three million Luos.”
I was grateful the workers’ compensation angle was already covered.
“Next, the damage to the Backroom entrance door.”
After Visor finished, we all turned toward the door. Mika was crouching beside it, notebook in hand, jotting down supplies and estimates.
“During regular maintenance, forced opening caused frame deformation and lock breakage.”
“The central section appears to have been completely ripped away. Replacing the entire panel seems most efficient.”
Mika rose and answered.
“Shanks security products are expensive. After searching for identical replacements, the figure is eight hundred twenty thousand Luos.”
“Therefore I will assess eight hundred twenty thousand Luos in repair costs.”
No argument there. This was my fault for asking him to come.
At the time I’d only wanted to escape.
The final amount came to two million three hundred twenty thousand Luos—half of the resurrection fee plus the door replacement.
Higher than Maria’s share, but still lower than expected. A lucky break.
“Thank you, Jinho-ssi!”
“Haha…”
If that was all the damage, I could handle it. Keep Maria happy for a week and the debt would vanish. By then Kim Gichan would be gone too; I could always ask for extra hours.
***
“Total damages are two million three hundred twenty thousand Luos. Next, responsibility allocation.”
Visor glanced briefly outside the store.
“Kim Gichan, the previous employee, failed to give sufficient advance notice regarding regular Backroom inspections and various hazards inside. He also left the site while the new employee was left alone in the Backroom.”
Kim Gichan had been busy with customers and never made it inside. No argument there; the facts were clear.
“Therefore I will assess eight hundred twelve thousand Luos—thirty-five percent of his responsibility.”
I would have preferred he took fifty percent, but this was acceptable.
“And the work manager.”
“W-What? Am I also responsible?”
I stared at Visor. I hadn’t expected my own title to come up.
“Jinho-ssi, you told the worker ‘that thing’.”
“I-I didn’t call it ‘that thing’…”
“Despite being attentive to work, you failed to verify the employee and mistook the impurity for a threat. We classify this as an error in job performance.”
The tentacle inside the drawer twitched slowly.
“Accordingly, I assess fifteen percent of the remaining responsibility. However, that amount will be offset by the increased working hours.”
The tentacle sharing responsibility… that felt strangely off. Treating it like a normal worker was weird.
“Therefore, Yu Jinho will be assessed the remaining one million one hundred sixty thousand Luos.”
“…Understood.”
I felt almost light. After owing a few hundred Luos before, this was nothing.
“Thank you, Jinho-ssi! Thank you too, Tentacle-ssi!”
“Whoa~ I don’t really understand, but thanks for your hard work~”
Maria cheered for both of us. Even Mika joined in.
The way the tentacle twitched in response to Maria’s words was… disturbingly cute.
“…Thank you. Is it over now?”
I asked Visor, drained. If it was finished, I just wanted to go back to the counter.
“Yes. Additionally, the work manager expressed a desire to apologize for the mistaken judgment.”
“Apologize?”
The moment I asked, the tentacle twitched, vanished back into the drawer, then reappeared holding something.
“…A badge?”
The small silver disk in my palm shimmered. In the center was a simple engraving of a tentacle—identical to the one in front of me. I stared at Visor in confusion.
“Allow me to explain. What the work manager delivered is an identification assistance marker. Wearing this badge raises recognition rate and increases intimacy with the assigned worker.”
What did he just say?
“Intimacy…? With who?”
Was this about…
“The work manager.”
Of course.
“Raising intimacy will prove useful in the future.”
I had zero desire to increase intimacy with a tentacle, but I couldn’t say it out loud. Biting my lower lip was all I could manage. I couldn’t just smack Maria’s head for jumping around yelling “Congratulations, Jinho-ssi~” while she had no idea what was going on.
He gave it to me as an apology, right?
But then… what was I supposed to do with this?
I liked money, damn it.
Not this kind of gift!
“T-Thank you. Yes.”
Since the tentacle kept bowing—twitching up and down—I ended up just finishing the paperwork. I prayed it wouldn’t try to kill me again while I was wearing the badge.
If it did try, I’d show this Earth human exactly how scary that was.
***
“My duties are complete.”
After finishing his work, Visor left with the coffee pot he’d bought. The work manager slid back into the drawer. Mika said the door repairs would take a little longer, so Maria and I returned to the counter to update Kim Gichan on the results.
Total assessed amounts:
Kim Gichan — 1,196,000 Luos
Yu Jinho — 1,160,000 Luos
Maria — 1,536,000 Luos
“…We’re all broke now.”
We’d only been here a week, chasing money, but the reality staring us in the face was a mountain of debt already.
“Well, what can we do.”
“But how will you pay, hyung? You’re quitting in three days.”
Kim Gichan scratched his head.
“Who knows. Probably working for free until retirement, then dipping into the unused severance to cover the rest.”
“Harsh…”
“Still, better than I expected.”
I agreed. In this place, we could all clear our debts within a week.
We were in full agreement.
“Let’s stay alive and win.”
“Yeah.”
“Great~”
Just as we stood back in front of the POS, something flashed in my peripheral vision.
**[Health Check]**
The **[Trial Version]** button on the POS was glowing brighter than ever, blinking like it had something important to say. I’d completely forgotten it existed. The light was so intense it made me squint, but Maria and Kim Gichan didn’t seem to notice it at all.
“…Ms. Maria, is there anything strange on this screen?”
I held the POS screen up to her and asked casually, but…
“Hm? What is it? Um… is it because I haven’t mastered the job yet? Waaah…”
Maria’s eyes showed no trace of the weird glow.
“No, no. It’s nothing. Go finish stocking the side display.”
“Yes~!”
The second Maria was gone, I slipped the **[Trial Version]** button with a finger and prayed it wouldn’t be obvious.
A cheerful chime followed, and system text began scrolling across the POS.
**[Congratulations!]**
**[Gifts Added]**
**[Trial Version Complete (4/4)]**
**[Conditions Met — Trial Version Ending, Full Version Unlocked!]**
Trial Version ending? What—
“Ugh?!”
Before I could process anything, a semi-transparent window suddenly bloomed right in front of me.
**[POS]**
» Employee Information
» Gifts (Open!)
» Customer Information
» [ ? ]
I leaned against the counter wall and stared blankly at the window.
It looked exactly like the screen I’d seen days ago. Except now the **[Gifts]** section was open, and a brand-new **[Customer Information]** category had appeared.
“…”
I glanced around quickly. Kim Gichan was busy with a customer, ignoring me completely. Maria was still wandering the display looking for stock, completely unaware of the change.
*Swallow.*
Fear and curiosity tangled inside me. The system that was invisible to the other two employees was only showing itself to me. Why? I still didn’t know, but the question burned.
Wasn’t poking around a little safer than doing nothing?
Slowly I reached out and tapped the **[Gifts]** section on the POS window.