The 300% Part-Timer
Akemi was trying to recruit Yunjae into her guild, and Mari, who had traveled all the way to Korea just to partner up with him, couldn't help but tag along out of fear that he might be swayed by Akemi and join the Blast Guild alone. In any case, the most remarkable thing was that while the two women were utterly exhausted from doing nothing but sitting around, Yunjae, who had been managing the convenience store the entire time, showed absolutely no signs of fatigue.
"Ah! That's because my mastery in all classes is at max level!" Scratching his head with an embarrassed look, Yunjae replied.
Akemi looked at him, her face flushing slightly. "Your forearms... they're so pale and pretty."
"Ah! Akemi!" But that was his biggest complex! As Yunjae flinched and quickly hid his arms, she let out a soft giggle.
"Still, our guild is way better than working part-time at a convenience store! You barely make any hourly wage here!" Akemi, who had just woken up from faceplanting on the table, shouted with the table's pattern still pressed into her cheek.
Yunjae shook his head. "Akemi, money isn't everything in life. I don't have much time left to live, so I just want to spend my remaining days doing light, honest work to pass the time!"
"...Eee? But are you really in your seventies?" Unable to wrap her head around his claim of being in his seventies, Akemi turned to Mari with a thoroughly bewildered expression.
"Probably. If he says so, it must be true." Unlike Akemi, Mari had already completely resigned herself to his "seventies" theory.
Chime!
At that moment, the door opened.
"Welco— Ah, Boss!"
"What in the world happened to my store?!"
Myeonghan, who had arrived early to check if Yunjae was doing a decent job, gasped in sheer shock. The store had been incredibly dingy before he left, but now it was practically glowing!
"My goodness!"
The transformation of his low-level convenience store into a max-level establishment was more shocking than a plastic surgery before-and-after photo.
"I can't believe this is my store!"
"Ah! I worked as hard as I could!"
"Y-Yeah..." It seemed his worries had been entirely misplaced. What kind of guy is this? It was as if Yunjae had been born solely to run a convenience store.
Myeonghan had lied about the minimum wage, telling him it was 10,000 won instead of the actual 15,000 won, and had planned to exploit him at a 70% training rate—paying him a measly 7,000 won, less than half of what he deserved. Yet, the kid worked this incredibly well!
"Oh, by the way, Boss! I looked it up, and the minimum wage isn't 10,000 won—it's actually 15,000 won!"
At that moment, Myeonghan's heart skipped a beat. "Is that so? When did it go up that much?"
Mari's eyebrow twitched at his shameless display of ignorance. Look at this scumbag! It was painfully obvious he had intended to cheat Yunjae out of his wages and exploit him.
"Well, you see, a probationary period isn't about making money. It's about learning the ropes, a sort of educational concept. If you wanted to make real money, you wouldn't be working part-time at a convenience store! Ah, it's a bit of a turn-off when someone who's still learning keeps talking about money, money, money! Young people should focus on gaining experience, not letting themselves be swayed by greed."
"What's wrong with talking about money when he came here to work a part-time job to make money?! You absolute scammer!"
At Mari's furious outburst, Myeonghan flinched and glanced between her and Akemi. "Did you seriously invite your friends over? Wow, this is unacceptable! Are you slacking off and letting your friends handle the inventory?"
In response to his desperate attempt to find an excuse to dock his pay—
"Ah! No, not at all! I had plenty of spare time, so I even organized the ledger!"
The max-level player handled the situation with max-level efficiency.
"W-Whoa! Where did you print this out?"
"Ah! I thought Gulim font would be the easiest to read, so I just wrote it by hand!"
Unable to find a single flaw to exploit, Myeonghan let out a heavy sigh. "...Fine, whatever. Since I apparently had the wrong minimum wage..."
He had no choice but to calculate it at 15,000 won.
"Then at the seventy percent rate, that's 10,500 won an hour. Hmm... the 500 won is a bit awkward. Shall we just round it down to 10,000 won?"
"Are you insane? Why are you cutting his pay as you please? I should call the police on you!" As the meticulous Mari argued on his behalf, Yunjae offered a sheepish grin.
"Ah, yes, I also prefer to keep the calculations precise!" Even for the epitome of introverted anxiety, it seemed accurate math was non-negotiable.
"...Fine. You worked twelve hours, so that's 126,000 won. Got it."
Honestly, considering Yunjae had scrubbed away years of grime better than a professional cleaning service, Myeonghan should have paid him far more. Still, he looked thoroughly displeased that his expenses had ended up higher than expected.
"I need to buy bedding soon! I really do love the Provence style!"
"Alright, alright, stop nagging me." Myeonghan grumbled as he opened the cash register. "Oh, looks like we actually had some customers today."
The revenue was surprisingly decent compared to usual—about 400,000 won! While it was only a fifth of the average daytime sales, it was an impressive feat considering most customers shopped during the day due to hunting schedules.
"I did my absolute best!"
Although it was a shame his wage scam had been exposed, Myeonghan figured it was still a win. Believing he could easily exploit this kid for the next three months, he said, "Right. Work harder next time, okay?"
With a pompous expression, Myeonghan counted out the cash. "Here, 126,000 won."
But the moment he handed the cash to Yunjae—
"...Huh?"
He thought he had handed it over, but his hands were still counting bills.
"Wh-What? What's going on? Why is this happening?!"
Completely against his own will, the pile of cash kept growing until it reached 378,000 won! The night shift's total revenue was 400,000 won, meaning he had just handed almost all of it over to Yunjae.
"Aaaah! What is this?! Why won't it stop?!"
"Ah! That's because my rewards are multiplied by 300%!"
"Aaaaargh!"
In the end, Myeonghan, who had unwittingly hired a premium convenience store part-timer at an hourly rate of 31,500 won, shrieked in agony. However, there was no defying the absolute, conceptual force of Mamon's Grace.
"This is ridiculous! This is a scam! Give it back right now!"
"Ah! I'd love to return it, but since it was given as a reward, the system enforces it, so I physically can't!"
"This is insane! Absolutely insane!"
Watching the man plunge into the abyss after trying to scam them, Mari smirked. "Serves you right."
"Eh? Why?" Akemi, who, like Myeonghan, was still unaware of Yunjae's 300% reward passive, stared at Mari in confusion.
"His rewards are always tripled. Anyone who tries to rip him off is going to end up just like that." Then, Mari tilted her head as if remembering something. "Come to think of it, that guy looks a lot like that real estate agent."
"Heh, he has an ability like that too? As expected of Slender Forearms, you're amazing!" Regardless of the details, Akemi cheered at the incredible ability to triple rewards. That was likely the single most coveted ability for the Blast Guild! If they hunted together, all rewards would be tripled!
I want him! I want Slender Forearms!
She didn't particularly care about money, but she absolutely adored his pale, slender forearms, and she wanted him all to herself simply because of how unique he was.
This girl is dangerous! She's planning to make him her partner!
Mari felt a surge of anxiety as she read the look in Akemi's eyes. Even an incredibly powerful S-class hunter was coveting Yunjae! There was no way a mediocre C-class hunter like herself could win in a competition against her.
"G-Get out right now! You're fired!"
"Ah! Why?! I worked so hard!"
As Yunjae looked at him with deeply hurt eyes after being fired, Myeonghan clutched the remaining thirty-odd thousand won and screamed. "My profit margin! There's no profit margin left, you bastard!"
"But the 300% reward is a forced passive, so I couldn't help it!"
"I don't want to see your face ever again! Get out!"
If this had been a monthly salary instead of a daily wage? Judging by the kid's work ethic, he wouldn't have taken a single day off, and his monthly pay would have easily exceeded ten million won.
Shudder!
And once the probationary period ended and he qualified for the full minimum wage? A terrifying rate of 45,000 won per hour would assault his bank account.
"Aaaah! Just get out!"
Shivering as if he had just encountered a ghost, Myeonghan shrieked. Yunjae took off his convenience store vest with a dejected expression. "I'm sorry."
As Yunjae stepped out of the store, Mari and Akemi glared at Myeonghan before following him.
"Don't live your life like that, you scumbag!"
"Hmph! Stupid idiot!"
"He took all my revenue! He made more money than me!" Myeonghan whimpered in self-pity, but there was no one left to listen to his grievances.
"I can't believe this. I thought I did a good job, but I got fired..." Pocketing his daily wage of 378,000 won, Yunjae let out a deep sigh.
"To begin with, you'll never be welcome at any part-time job with that 300% reward passive." He received triple the minimum wage. Sure, he worked exceptionally well, but with labor costs skyrocketing like that, what business owner in their right mind would hire him?
"But since it's a forced passive, there's nothing I can do."
"Just go on a hunt every now and then. Being a hunter is your true calling!"
"But what about working as a waiter..."
"Who on earth would pay forty-five thousand won an hour for a waiter?! They'd go bankrupt!" Why pay one person the wages of three? No business owner would ever agree to that!
"Sigh... It really is a useless ability. I still can't escape it."
To think he couldn't even work a simple part-time job because of his own body! Seeing him so downcast, Mari felt a pang of sympathy. "Cheer up. Why don't you stop dreading it and just work as a hunter with me? It's incredibly easy."
"Mmm..."
Unlike before, Yunjae seemed to finally realize that working a regular part-time job was impossible due to Mamon's Grace.
"That's right, Slender Forearms! Join our Blast Guild!" At that moment, Akemi openly made her pitch.
"Huh? A guild?"
"Ah..."
Mari froze, her face falling. As a mere C-class hunter, she couldn't possibly compete with the world's greatest guild, the Blast Guild. If Yunjae was giving up on part-time jobs, joining them was the obvious choice!
"There are plenty of other ability users like you there! Let's work together!"
"Like me..." Yunjae's eyes wavered at Akemi's words.
"...Yeah. It'll be a great opportunity for you," Mari advised, swallowing her disappointment. Although she had traveled all the way to Korea to partner up with him, she couldn't bring herself to hold him back from such an incredible opportunity.
Just like back in Point 6, Mari spoke with absolute sincerity. Sensing her complicated emotions, Yunjae stole a glance at her. "Mari."
"...You have to make the choice that's best for you."
At her words, he nodded understandingly. "Thank you so much, Mari."
"Well, it's not like you have anything to thank me for." After all, Yunjae had paid for her plane ticket too.
"Akemi."
"Yeah!"
Mari's only worry was that once he joined the Blast Guild, she would have to go back to hunting all by herself. Stepping in front of her, Yunjae spoke with a solemn, determined expression.
"Do they have office jobs there?"
Part 4: Level Gap 1
"To think I can't even work a part-time job..."
An hourly wage of 45,000 won. Since he was forced to receive that much no matter what he did, regular part-time work had become an impossibility. Yunjae wore a deeply dejected expression.
"You could have just negotiated a lower hourly wage from the start. Just like how that scumbag tried to scam you."
Mari, who had tagged along in the taxi heading to the Blast Guild, spoke with a slightly frustrated sigh. His 300% forced reward passive was something that logically shouldn't exist in the real world, but she had already witnessed it happen three times. When she suggested setting a lower base wage to offset the multiplier and meet the actual minimum wage, Yunjae replied:
"But if I tell them I'll work for five thousand won an hour, and then explain that my rewards are actually tripled so I'll end up getting the normal minimum wage anyway, that sounds incredibly sketchy! They'd think I'm a weirdo and refuse to hire me!"
"Mmm."
As the epitome of introverted anxiety, it seemed he was simply too embarrassed to bring up such a bizarre topic during a job interview. "True, it does sound weird."
No, actually... "Even if you didn't explain it beforehand."
"Ah!"
In truth, his logic wasn't flawed. No one would believe a 300% reward multiplier unless they experienced it firsthand. It was hard to explain and even harder to demonstrate. If an employer didn't believe him, they wouldn't hire him in the first place. And even if they agreed to a 5,000 won wage, they would still end up paying the full amount anyway, which would only breed resentment. Above all, as Yunjae said, bringing up such a ridiculous claim would make him look completely insane, ensuring no one would ever hire him as a part-timer.
"But wouldn't an office job be the same?"
"It's different! Office jobs aren't just part-time gigs; they have contract positions where you negotiate an annual salary! Besides, Akemi already knows about my situation, so I won't feel embarrassed talking to her about it!"
It seemed that was his primary reason for aiming for an office job.
"Right, you're a genius."
In any case, he was currently on his way to the world's strongest guild, the Blast Guild, to apply for an office job.
"Eee? An office job?! I never saw that coming! Let me go ahead and discuss this first! I'll give you the address, so come find me there!"
Utterly flabbergasted that he wanted an office job, Akemi had blurted out those words before teleporting away to consult with the guild leader, Taejun. Regardless, the two of them were currently heading toward the Blast Guild Headquarters.
"But seriously, why an office job?"
"Ah! I just thought... maybe working in an office would lead to a romance with a female co-worker...!"
"You idiot, you just wanted to flirt?!" First the waiter job, and now this—why did everything have to revolve around romance?! It seemed his entire motivation for finding a job was solely to experience an office romance.
"Ah! But I've never even been in a relationship! Being a virgin in my seventies is just too depressing! I know no woman would ever love a loser like me who wasted his entire life on a video game, but I still want to feel my heart flutter at least once before I die!"
Even the epitome of introverted anxiety had his limits. At his unusually passionate, soul-baring cry, Mari let out a long, speechless sigh.
"Anyway, once you get in there, don't act like you usually do. If you keep acting like this, people will look down on you."
"But it's fine because I have you with me, Mari."
It seemed Yunjae assumed that she, who had been by his side since Point 6, would be joining the Blast Guild with him. At his words, she offered a bitter smile. "Someone like me can't enter a place like that."
"Ah! Why not?"
"Because I'm just a low-ranking hunter with no special abilities. The Blast Guild only accepts high-ranking ability users."
That was the harsh reality. For someone struggling to survive like her, the only option was to team up with people in similar situations and scrape by day by day.
"Ah! Is getting an office job really that difficult?"
"We were talking about the office job?!"