The Convenience Store Part-Timer Wants to Clock Out on Time
Gray clouds hung low over Seoul's skies on this night. The bustling streets, usually alive with the raucous shouts of drunks, were shrouded in an eerie silence.
S-rank gate 'Twisted Forest' detected in Gangnam-gu area.
Nearby residents: Evacuate to shelters immediately.
The street's electronic billboards flashed red warning text relentlessly. With citizens fleeing like an ebbing tide, the road stood empty. Amid shuttered shops, only one place still glowed: a rundown "24-Hour Convenience Store."
Ding-a-ling. The door rattled open—not a customer, just a fierce gust of wind. Han Siu, slouched at the counter, adjusted his glasses indifferently and glanced down.
"Hmm... viscosity's still off."
Before him lay an odd assortment, utterly out of place on a checkout counter: a tuna-mayo onigiri past its discard time by ten minutes, leftover toilet cleaner from mopping, a battered leather notebook, and a single ballpoint pen.
Siu prodded the onigiri's filling with chopsticks, scooping rice and mayo onto the notebook page. Grease seeped into the white paper, but he ignored it, dripping blue cleaner beside it.
"Fatty acids act as a catalyst, and adding chlorine-based compounds... it'll prioritize corrosion over explosion."
Scribble, scribble. In the store's hush, only the pen's scratch echoed. Siu's notes were dense formulas—cryptic strings resembling ciphers or complex chemical equations.
Variable A (Fat) + Variable B (Chlorine) × Acceleration Formula (Time) = Result Derived
The moment Siu dotted the final period, a faint hum vibrated. The onigiri scraps and cleaner vanished into the paper like magic, defying physics. The page tore itself free, floating midair, transforming before his eyes into something new: a magic scroll glowing faintly red.
"Done?" Siu muttered, picking it up.
◈ Effect: Melts objects within 3m radius with acidic solution and detonates.
◈ Creator: Han Siu
◈ Comment: Smells kinda rank.
Siu clicked his tongue. "Tch, failure. Tuna mayo just doesn't pack the punch. Should've used spicy mixed noodles... capsaicin from the gochujang for fire damage."
Words that would stun anyone else. Crafting a weapon capable of melting monster hide from discarded snacks—and griping about it. Sure, impressive for a hunter. But to Siu, hunter ranks meant nothing. Just a way to kill time on shift, prepping for his future workshop.
"Gotta trash this one."
As he crumpled the scroll toward the bin—crash! The glass door slammed open, flooding the store with the metallic tang of blood.
"Welco—"
"Hah... hah...!"
Ragged breaths cut him off. Siu paused, looking up. Silver hair, soaked and matted to her face. Her torn black suit revealed pale skin streaked with crimson. Her face was unmistakable—anyone in Korea would know it.
Guild master of Korea's Big Three guilds, Valhalla. The youngest S-rank hunter: Baek Seol.
Baek Seol? What's the guild master doing in a hole-in-the-wall like this?
Gone was the poised elegance from TV. No S-rank aura here—just grim desperation. She staggered to the counter like a beast, eyes flashing murder, a limp female hunter slung over her back like luggage. The woman's gut was savagely torn open.
"Potions..."
Baek Seol gripped the counter, voice hoarse. Bloody handprints smeared the clean surface.
"Highest-grade potions. All you got. Now!"
Blatant threat. But Siu didn't flinch, just narrowed his eyes behind his glasses at the stains.
"Ma'am. I mopped the floor ten minutes ago."
"What...?"
"And this is a convenience store. No elixirs here. Red medicine and bandages are aisle 3..."
"You joking—right now?!"
Bam! Her fist smashed the counter, gum packs tumbling. Her bloodshot eyes blazed, ready to tear him apart.
"She's dying! Healers are all down! Give me something!"
Desperation. Terror. Beneath the S-rank title, primal fear of losing a comrade gripped her. Ignoring Siu, she bolted to the medicine aisle.
Crash! She swept antiseptics, hemostatics, bandages into her arms. Teeth ripping a cap, she poised to douse the wound.
Then Siu's gaze locked on it.
Hold up.
The wound was wrong. Not a monster claw—something weirder. Torn flesh edges bruised purple, hissing with toxic fumes.
Siu's mind whirred: [Analysis Algorithm].
Cell necrosis accelerating abnormally. Blood oxidizing black, no clotting. Not physical trauma. Chimera toxin—acid and neuro mixed. Nasty stuff.
His brow furrowed. Pour regular antiseptic or potion now? Alcohol reacts with the acid... chemical explosion in her veins. Not treatment—euthanasia.
Panicked, Baek Seol wouldn't know. As she tilted the bottle—
Smack. Siu vaulted the counter, snagging her wrist. An F-rank touching an S-rank? Normally suicidal.
"Let go! What the hell?!"
She snarled, trying to shake him. Her overwhelming strength rocked him, but he held firm, voice ice-cold.
"Calm down. Pour that, she dies. Boom."
"...What?"
She froze. Siu's eyes burned with certainty—a mathematician who already knew the answer.
"Look at the wound. See the purple smoke? Chimera poison—Venom Spider and Acid Slime. Alcohol's like pouring oil on a fire."
Quick, precise explanation. Baek Seol stared blankly. He was right—the wound bubbled.
"Th-then what? Potions won't work... how do we save her?!"
Tears spilled from the mighty S-rank. Clutching a clerk's pant leg, begging.
Siu sighed deeply. What a pain. Total hassle. Could've ignored it. Hunter world's kill-or-be-killed.
But...
Can't stomach a botched formula exploding right in front of me. Plus, cleanup's on me later.
Not pity. Maker's obsession with perfection. And cold calculation: aftermath would suck more.
He released her wrist, pointing oddly.
"You wanna save her?"
"Obviously! I'd cut off my own hand!"
"...No need for that."
Siu pushed up his glasses coolly.
"Grab cooking oil and flour from over there."
"......Huh?"
Baek Seol's face twisted in stupidity. Cooking oil? Flour? With a life on the line?
"Y-you wanna cook?! No time for games!"
"Not a game. Hurry—making a neutralizer."
Ignoring her shock, Siu pulled out his worn notebook, flipped it open, spun his pen.
"Clock's ticking. Before the next shift arrives."