"Sell me this pen."
"Uhm, sir, do... Do you need a pen?"
"No."
"Then why would I sell you this pen, sir?"
The interviewer sighed.
"A salesman can sell anything if he puts his mind to it. Is that the best you can do?"
'Only if the customer is an idiot like you, Julien thought, keeping a polite smile fixed on his face.'
"If there isn't a need, sir, then... no matter what I say, you wouldn't buy it, right? It would be dishonest and unethical."
The man who asked the question frowned, then turned to chat with the colleagues beside him, dismissing Julien's existence entirely.
"We'll discuss your application and call you again. Thank you."
'The same reply.'
'I know that call is never coming.'
Julien, a black-haired youth in formal attire, stood up, making the chairs creak. He bowed to show respect he didn't feel, and exited the hall.
Four other candidates were sitting outside, waiting for their turn. Noticing his exit, one of the younger guys ran over to him.
"How was the interview, brother? Can you share some tips, please?"
Julien looked at him, feeling a hint of pity.
'It looks like this is his first interview, and his eyes were filled with hopes and dreams.'
"Can you sell a pen?" Julien asked.
"Pen? Isn't this an interview for an accountant?"
"You won't pass if you act clever like this. Just do whatever they say."
The young guy looked confused, but Julien didn't stay there to explain anymore. He exited the building and immediately loosened his top button; it felt like the tight cloth was choking him.
'I don't know how much 'lose until you win' I've got left in me.' He thought to himself
His phone let out a beep. He pulled it out to see a message from his best friend.
[Chris: Mf I got the job finally whooo! what abt u??? Reply fast lets party tonight.]
Lucky bastard.
A small smile crept onto Julien's face. He wasn't jealous of his friend over the interview. He just felt empty, wishing he could exhibit the same enthusiasm over his success.
Suddenly, his phone let out a loud, alarming shriek. His eyes looked down at his phone, which showed a screen he had never seen before.
[EMERGENCY ALERT]
'What?'
Then, every phone in the vicinity began to scream at once, creating an echo of digital alarms, making everyone look at each other.
'What is happening?'
Confused and fazed by this, Julien ran toward the bus stop, just wanting to get the hell away from the city centre. Suddenly, his phone rang again.
This time, it was a call.
"Hello? Chris? What is it?"
"Juli...en... somet...fa..." Static drowned out the voice.
"Hello? I can't hear you!"
"Loo... at... sk..."
'Sky?'
Julien looked up from the stop where he was standing. His face went pale at the sight of what he was seeing.
The sky, usually light blue, was turning red. It then turned into a dark purple and black, blocking the sunlight.
A rift, or portal-like structure, opened through the clouds, and something massive fell from it, impacting the building he had exited only minutes ago with a loud thud.
BOOM.
Everyone's face on the ground paled.
[EARTH INTEGRATION COMPLETE]
[PLAYERS, WELCOME TO THE MULTIVERSE]
[YOU WILL ALL BE AWAKENED SHORTLY]
[TRY TO SAVE YOUR WORLD]
What the fuck?
*******
And that was how the apocalypse descended on Earth. Cliche right?
You know what happens after that.
Some strong hunters got gifted with powerful abilities. And some people got the "Jin Woo treatment", the pre-system weakling phase.
And me?
'Apparently, I belong to the top 1%, whatever that means.'
Special humans who awakened SSS-rank skills that no one figured out or disclosed. With that many S's, you'd think I got some god-tier ability, wouldn't you?
That's not what happened.
'I got the most useless ability in existence. In fact, I'm sure this skill doesn't even exist in the rest of the multiverse. The higher beings just gave it to me as a cosmic joke to make the gods laugh.'
"Are you in your monologue mode again?"
Chris stood by the door, working on his heavy leather gloves. His armour was cracked and dented from use.
"Of course not," Julien lied, lying back on his bed.
"Then why are you still not dressed for the raid? I can power-support you, you know. You just have to be there to pick up the XP and some other foils."
"I wish, man. But if you saw my stats, you'd realise you're better off bringing a pet rock. At least the rock won't die of a heart attack."
Chris let out a tired sigh.
"You can't keep living like this, Julien. It's time you got used to this world."
"I'm not doing this out of selfishness, Chris. I literally can't fight those monsters inside the gate. I would die if a goblin so much as farts on me."
Chris was at a loss for words. He remained silent because it was true.
Every test they'd taken, Julien showed nothing but pathetic results. In fact, his strength was currently lower than the average pre-apocalypse human male.
'How is that even possible for an Awakened?'
"Well, take care, I guess. It might take me longer to return this time. It's a B-Rank gate," Chris said, adjusting his sword belt.
"Be safe, Chris. Don't trust those S-rank bastards."
"You're one to talk." Chris waved and left the room, leaving Julien alone in the dim apartment.
Chris was only a C-rank hunter, but his potential was unlimited. He constantly developed new abilities every time he raided a gate and absorbed the cores.
And I haven't even set foot in one.
It had already been a year since the Earth changed.
Governments fell to the strongest hunters; society had reverted to the survival of the fittest that once existed. Julien knew if he revealed his SSS-rank status, the world would go crazy hunting him down.
But there was just one problem.
He couldn't activate it.
"Status window."
Nothing.
"Window status."
Silence.
"Damn it! What is the point of an SSS-rank if I don't know what the skill is?"
Julien slammed his fist against the bed, letting out his anger.
RUMBLE.
The coffee mug on his nightstand shook.
'What was that? Did I just suddenly awaken my power?'
Then, the entire floor shook hard.
'What the fuck?'
An earthquake? No, we don't get those anymore here.
BOOM!
The temperature in the room changed as the building slowly disintegrated, its walls breaking on all sides.
Dust and concrete rained down as Julien was thrown off his bed, crashing hard against the far wall.
Cough! Cough!
"What...?"
He looked up through the hole where his wall used to be. Something was floating just outside his second-story apartment: a portal of black and red energy.
A Dungeon Gate.
And not a normal one. It had opened directly next to his building, its force pulling the structure of the apartment apart brick by brick.
The ceiling above him creaked slowly.
"Oh, sh-"
A massive pile of concrete collapsed, slamming on Julien's legs.
"AGHHH!"
Pain shot up in his body. He tried to pull his legs free, but he was too weak.
He was always too fucking weak.
From the swirling gate, a clawed hand the size of a bus reached out, gripping the edge of the building.
A creature pulled itself into reality, its glowing red eyes locking onto the helpless human in the cement.
It's stare pierced through his heart.
Julien stared at it, the pain in his leg slowly making the vision blur.
I'm going to die.
He looked at the creature, then at the cement crushing him.
"I don't want to die..." he screamed, blood trickling from his forehead. "I'll give anything. Someone... just take it! Save me!"
The monster lunged forward.
As the monster's jaws opened to tear him apart, a golden light erupted from Julien's chest, blinding the creature.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Desperation Detected. Transaction Parameters have been met.]
[User is offering "Anything" in exchange for "Survival".]
The holographic screen appeared in gold, unbeknownst to what others say.
[Unique Skill: 'The Infinite Warehouse' (SSS) has been activated.]
[System Query: Do you wish to open the Store?]
"YES!" Julien screamed, blocking his face.
"OPEN THE FUCK UP!"
[Shop Opened. Welcome, Merchant.]