"That’s reassuring," Lira laughed lightly, covering a little bit of her face.
’Cute.’
Kyle simply let a small, almost unnoticeable smile form on his lips as he looked at her smile.
Lira, who seemed like a somewhat tough or very "baddie" type of girl to Kyle, now looked surprisingly girly when she laughed. She looked almost too cute for her own good.
’Looks like I didn’t mess it up that much.’
Kyle thought inwardly.
Nothing had changed after the compliment he had given her while trying to do something good for once. She hadn’t become uncomfortable or tried to distance herself from him, which he took as a small victory.
RingRing
Just when the midnight hour struck, Lira’s phone rang, reminding her that her shift had ended and it was time for her to head home.
"Well, later. What do you say?"
Lira said as she turned around and left the counter to get changed and prepare to head back home.
"Of course. See you tomorrow, as usual."
Kyle replied.
She left, and now Kyle was all alone at the counter, waiting for the next guy to come and take over his shift so that he could finish working and go home to sleep.
"It must be pretty boring for her to be alone by herself here at night too. Not to mention pretty uncomfortable. Even though the store is close to the police station, she’s still a woman at the end of the day."
He thought about her as he stood alone behind the counter.
There wasn’t much to do except look at his phone, scroll through reels and shorts, serve the occasional customer, and continue working until the next employee arrived.
The store was practically dead at this hour.
There weren’t many people coming in to shop during the middle of the night. Most of the activity came from the occasional truck arriving to restock the shelves.
Thankfully, the wait wasn’t too long.
The next guy eventually arrived and took over his shift, finally freeing Kyle.
His shift was only fun when Lira was present. Without her, he quickly realized that the job was incredibly boring—far more boring than his old software engineering job.
At least there, he had something to occupy his brain.
At home, he simply chilled for a while, prepared some quick ramen, watched videos on his phone, sent a few more requests, and eventually went to sleep.
"Arrrgh..."
Kyle woke up around nine in the morning with a long yawn.
After getting out of bed, he took a bath and freshened himself up before cooking something better for lunch. He had bought a fish from the shop, so he prepared it and ate it before returning to what he had been busy with.
Sending requests.
Sending messages.
Trying to find someone willing to record the video with him.
[Yo!]
The system suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
"Sup?"
Kyle didn’t mind it appearing randomly anymore. If anything, it reassured him that the system was still there and hadn’t deserted him again.
[Why don’t you start working out?]
The system asked, although its tone sounded more like a suggestion.
"Work out? Bro, I can barely even afford my daily groceries. How the hell am I supposed to start working out and bear the cost?"
Kyle retorted at the thought of actually training his body and becoming stronger.
[Always with your excuses, eh? You really don’t open the system window, huh?]
"What do you mean? I open it often. The last time I opened it was to increase my stats."
He said, slightly confused.
[Do you not realize that increasing your stats isn’t the only function of the system? Why don’t you explore the system a little more yourself?]
The system suggested that he open the system window and actually look through the options he had been ignoring.
"Alright, if you say so, I’ll check it out."
Kyle opened the system window.
The familiar golden interface appeared in front of him.
[
[STEALER SYSTEM]
Status
Quests
Skills
Inventory
Marketplace
Rankings — [LOCKED]
Travel — [LOCKED]
]
Kyle looked through the interface.
He had mostly been using the Status and Quest sections and hadn’t really bothered checking anything else.
"So the Marketplace is the only other thing I can access?"
[For now.]
"Alright, let’s see what we have."
He opened the Marketplace.
Another golden window materialized in front of him.
[
[MARKETPLACE]
Buy — Available
Sell — [LOCKED]
Trade — [LOCKED]
System Points: 20
]
Kyle’s eyebrows immediately rose.
"Wait..."
He looked at the number again.
"Twenty?"
[Yes.]
"How the hell did I get twenty?"
[You’ve been earning them.]
The system answered casually.
[Your first video crossed the required number of views, giving you your first batch of System Points. Your recent interactions, attempts at approaching women, and other progress have also contributed.]
Kyle’s eyes widened slightly.
"So all the shit I’ve been doing actually gave me points?"
[Correct.]
"Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!"
[You never asked.]
"..."
Kyle’s mouth twitched.
"Fair enough."
He clicked on Buy.
The screen expanded, revealing several different categories.
[
[MARKETPLACE — BUY]
Categories:
Tools & Utilities
Technology & Electronics
Weapons & Equipment
Potions & Consumables
Fitness & Health
Skills & Manuals
Miscellaneous
System Points: 20
]
Kyle’s eyes wandered across the different categories.
"Okay... this is actually pretty fucking useful."
He opened Tools & Utilities first.
[
[TOOLS & UTILITIES]
Portable Camera — 10 Points
Mini Recording Camera — 15 Points
Universal Charger — 5 Points
Portable Power Bank — 5 Points
Multitool — 8 Points
Basic First-Aid Kit — 5 Points
]
Kyle’s eyes immediately stopped at the cameras.
"Wait... I can actually buy recording equipment through the system?"
[Yes.]
"That could make things a hell of a lot easier."
He looked at his twenty points.
"Although buying one would basically eat most of my balance..."
He moved on.
[
[TECHNOLOGY & ELECTRONICS]
Wireless Earbuds — 5 Points
Portable Storage Drive — 8 Points
Basic Smartphone — 15 Points
Laptop — 25 Points
Mini Drone — 30 Points
]
"Okay..."
Kyle nodded slowly.
"Not bad."
Then he opened Weapons & Equipment.
[
[WEAPONS & EQUIPMENT]
Iron Dagger — 8 Points
Steel Sword — 15 Points
Basic Bow — 15 Points
Protective Vest — 20 Points
Beginner Combat Gear — 25 Points
]
Kyle stared at the list.
"Why does the system even sell weapons?"
[Because weapons can be useful.]
"Fair."
He wasn’t particularly interested in buying one right now anyway.
He moved on to Potions & Consumables.
[
[POTIONS & CONSUMABLES]
Energy Potion — 3 Points
Minor Healing Potion — 5 Points
Stamina Potion — 5 Points
Basic Antidote — 5 Points
Recovery Potion — 8 Points
]
Kyle’s eyes widened.
"Okay, these could actually be useful."
He continued browsing until he reached the category the system had been talking about.
Fitness & Health.
He clicked it.
[
[FITNESS & HEALTH]
Basic Multivitamin (120 pills) — 2 Points
Electrolyte Pack (60) — 1 Point
Protein Supplement (5kgs) — 5 Points
Recovery Supplement (Pack of Three) — 6 Points
Basic Workout Program — 3 Points
Joint Support Supplement (Pack of 2)— 4 Points
]
Kyle froze.
"Wait..."
He looked at the prices again.
"Multivitamins with 120 pills are only two points?"
[Yes.]
"Electrolytes are one?"
[Correct.]
"And 5kg protein is five?"
[Yes.]
Kyle’s expression slowly brightened.
"Holy shit..."
He looked at his balance again.
System Points: 20
For the first time, the idea of actually working out didn’t seem completely impossible.
He couldn’t afford an expensive gym membership or buy all kinds of supplements with his current financial situation, but the system could cover some of the basics.
"Bro, this is actually useful."
[That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.]
Kyle immediately selected the multivitamin.
A purchase confirmation appeared.
[
Basic Multivitamin
A basic nutritional supplement designed to provide essential vitamins and minerals.
Price: 2 System Points
Purchase?
[YES] [NO]
]
Kyle hesitated.
"Should I really spend the points?"
[You’re the one who complained about being unable to afford basic nutrition.]
Kyle clicked YES.
[Purchase Successful.]
[Basic Multivitamin has been added to Inventory.]
[System Points Remaining: 18]
Kyle looked at the screen with a satisfied smile.
"Damn..."
He glanced back at the Fitness & Health section.
"Two points for something like this is actually cheap."
His eyes then landed on the protein supplement.
Protein Supplement — 5 Points
He swallowed.
"Five points..."
He had eighteen left.
He could technically afford it.
But he didn’t want to blow through his entire balance either.
"Maybe later. Once I start doing proper lifting."
He closed the marketplace for the moment.
At least now he had a reason to start working out.
He wasn’t suddenly rich.
He wasn’t suddenly able to buy everything the system offered.
But twenty points was still twenty points.
And if he could earn more by completing quests, making progress with women, and continuing to build his new life, then the marketplace could become one of his biggest advantages.
Kyle clenched his fist.
"Alright..."
"Maybe I should actually start taking this body seriously."
[Finally! It only took you this long.]
"Shut up."
*****
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