"Another uneventful day," a youthful convenience store worker muttered. He greeted the usual regular customers as they entered, smiling and waving at them. He knows and recognizes the faces of the people that usually come here.
From the students to the elderly, he knew them.
He was one of the two clerks in the convenience store; they greet him, and he greets back. The usual routine for some time now. Being a convenience store clerk wasn't his choice, but he can't complain about the job.
It earned him enough to buy an electric bike, and for that, he was somewhat satisfied.
The worker behind the counter had a name tag, 'Frizz,' displayed on a rectangular plate. He tinkered with the cash register, confused about the issue before ultimately giving up on it.
"Obviously need a new one." He muttered, tapping it with the screwdriver.
He doesn't know what the problem was, and he wasn't paid a lot to care. Besides, it still worked most of the time. He took a seat behind the counter and absent-mindedly looked outside, staring at the blue sky.
"I should finish that book that I was reading earlier."
« Welcome user, you now have a system. »
Frizz absent-mindedly stared at the glowing screen floating right in front of him, emanating a comfortable light blue hue.
"Welcome user, you now have a system." Frizz read the words visible on the system window. He stared at it for a minute before the situation gradually came down to him.
Finally, he grabbed the soda can beside the cash register and hastily gulped it down.
"Is this real? Systems are real? Superpowers are real..." An awestruck Frizz gripped the soda can tighter and crushed it in his left hand.
A grin formed on his face, and with teary eyes, he felt that this was probably the first time that he smiled genuinely, the first time he felt alive.
[System]
« Hello user, insert a new name. »
A sudden voice broke him from his trance, and he looked directly at the system window in front of him. There were words etched on the system window.
"New name?" Frizz read and muttered.
[System]
« New name acknowledged; you will be known as New Name. »
Broken from his blissful trance, Frizz snapped at the system. "What? No!? What the heck? Change that; I was just repeating what you've said." He reached for the system window, and it just phased through his right hand and arm.
[System]
New Objective for New Name.
New Name registered: Deploying a starter pack.
Received: Two Perks.
A small loading icon, a throbber, is spinning in the middle of the system window.
[System]
New name received: [In Good Faith] and [Daily Life].
A victory sound played after the acquisition of two perks. (Too loud) Frizz thought.
[System]
Displaying descriptions.
[In good faith]
Praying for one minute towards any established god grants a minor increase in all physical aspects for twenty hours.
[Daily Life]
A minor increase in both physical and mental aspects during the day.
A confused and angry look forms on Frizz's face. (That's it? What the heck? No SSS tier perk or talent? No high-quality equipment? No summons or anything? Just this?)
Frizz put his hand on his face. (In the manga or novels, they usually get something powerful that sets them apart from others, or sometimes they usually get some strong equipment.)
"Why do I get these lame-duck perks?" Frizz shouted at the system.
(No wait, I am focusing on the negatives. I still have a system, which in itself is a goddamned miracle. I guess I am going to have to grind to get stronger.)
Frizz crumpled the soda can in his hands, struck a three-pointer pose, and launched it toward the trash can.
*Clank!* It missed.
Undeterred, he straightened up, his expression shifting into one of determination, and with renewed energy and a louder voice, he shouted.
"System, show me my class and attributes!"
[System]
New Name
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
Health: 15/15 (+2)
Mana: 15/15 (+2)
Fatigue: 03/100 (peak)
Class: None
Perks:
[In Good Faith], [Daily Life]
Talents: None
"That's it? Where are my strength, intelligence, magic, and speed stats?" Frizz asked the system, waiting for a reply.
He scrubbed the back of his head; there was no reply, an acknowledgment of his query, nor a pop-up. The confusion coursed through him, noting that the systems in the novels have stats to increase.
"There are talents, though, and a class, but this is rather underwhelming; this is rather underpowered." He mulled, tapping his finger on the counter.
Frizz then focused on the plus modifiers on his health stat. "What do these modifiers mean? Where am I getting the plus two?" Frizz asked himself.
[System]
« You get stat modifiers from perks, talents, class, and equipment. »
"Oh?" Frizz gasped, surprised by the sudden text notification. (Now, you give me an answer.)
Frizz rubbed his chin, deep in thought. (These plus two modifiers must be from my daily life perk. It said that it gives a minor increase during the day, and it is currently...)
He turned and glanced at the wall clock. (12:38 am, the modifiers have to be from that perk.)
Frizz then focused on the class section, his left brow raised. "None, huh? I just started, so I guess it kind of makes sense. I'll unlock it later on." He reasoned, then suddenly caught his attention on the word 'mana.'.
A smile formed on his face, beaming slowly. "Oh damn, I didn't notice. I have a mana stat." He commented as his grin widened, his eyes gleaming, and his face brightening.
"I can cast magic. That's awesomely great!"
Frizz stretched out his arms and faced the tiled ceiling. "I can cast magic! Hahahahahaha!" His almost maniacal laugh loudened, thankfully no one could hear him.
He stretched his back as far as he could; the button from his shirt popped and plopped on the floor. "I can be the strongest!"
Frizz's legs suddenly gave out, and he fell, landing on his buttocks. His back bumped the tray behind him, and several varied gums scattered throughout the floor.
His eyes still watering as his heart beats rapidly from the excitement and exhilaration.
"This feeling... this unexplainable ecstasy... am I high?" Frizz muttered, looking at his trembling hands.
Frizz exhaled out of relief. (I can finally be something; I can finally be worth something.). As his head slowly cleared, he looked up at the status window in front of him.
[System]
New Objectives for New Name.
Take out the trash: 0/3
Reward: 50 Experience.
Clean the glass panes: 0/5
Reward: 50 Experience.
"Cleaning duty? I guess this is the system's way of getting me acquainted with the reward process." Frizz stood up, brushed the dust off his jeans, and gathered the scattered gums from the floor, placing them on the stand with the other confectionaries.
He cracks his neck. "Okay, let's get this over with." He sighs, heading for the entrance.
Frizz picked up the soda can he had tossed earlier and dropped it into the trash bin. He moved back and forth through the convenience store, emptying the contents of the three bins into the larger trash container outside the convenience store.
With that done, he stepped behind the counter, grabbed a soft cloth and a bottle of window cleaner, and began wiping down the streaked glass panes. Humming as he was in a good mood.
"Whew, that should do it," he muttered, stepping back to admire his handiwork and waiting for the system to notify him about the objective completion.
[System]
Objectives completed.
Received: 100 experience.
New Name is now level 2.
Select a perk: [Enrage], [Bristled Back], [Injuring Punches], [Critical Spots].
"Finally, I leveled up, and I get a perk too?" Frizz commented, smiling happily. "System, display their descriptions." He couldn't hold his excitement.
[System]
« Descriptions are displayed upon selecting; previews aren't allowed. »
"So it's a goddamned gamble, no informed choices whatsoever, just trusting your gut and all that?" He clicked his tongue, then shrugged away the annoyance.
"Fine, whatever, give me Enrage," Frizz decided, waving his hand and choosing out of frustration.
[System]
New name received: [Enrage].
Displaying descriptions: Upon a successful roar, strength and endurance are significantly increased for five minutes.
"Okay, not bad, but it sucks that I don't know what I will get unless I pick them. I hate gambling or gachas." He muttered, smacking his lips.
*Ring!* Six students then loudly entered the store and went straight into the beverages section. Frizz straightened his uniform and went behind the counter, forming a smile.
(I might be strong now, but I am still a cashier. I still have to do my job.)