2026-08-25 17:18:13The gray mist was still chasing Fabian's footsteps when he reached the glass doors of the underground convenience store along Tottenham Court Road.
The automatic doors were jammed half-open. The scent of disinfectant mixed with damp dust greeted him. The neon lights inside flickered weakly. Shelves were nearly empty. A few baskets lay overturned on the floor. In the cashier corner, a man in his forties stood wearing a red store uniform, his face pale.
"Store's closed!" the man shouted as soon as he saw Fabian walk in. "The mist has reached the street! Go find a pillar like everyone else!"
Fabian pushed the glass doors shut with both hands, then pulled an empty metal shelf over to block them. "These doors won't hold back monsters if they stay open. Help me lock them."
"I don't want to die here!" The man stepped back. "Everyone ran to Regent's Park. You should go, too!"
"I've already calculated the odds," Fabian replied while shoving a second shelf into place. "Outside, the death rate is 98.4 percent. Here, if we secure the generator and supplies, the chances are significantly higher. Do you want to follow the numbers or follow the crowd?"
The man fell silent. A System screen materialized in front of his face. He stared at the scrolling red numbers, then swallowed hard. "Fine. But if a monster shows up, I'm running first."
"Lock the back door first," Fabian instructed. "Then check the emergency generator. I'll handle the front door."
They worked quickly. The man, who finally introduced himself as Marcus, locked the staff door in the back. Fabian secured a spare chain around the glass doors and stacked metal baskets in front of them. The sound of the mist outside sounded like a long, drawn-out breath.
The neon lights suddenly cut out completely. Darkness enveloped the room. A few seconds later, the generator in the back hummed to life, and amber emergency lights flickered on.
"The generator has fourteen hours of fuel left," Marcus reported from behind the staff door. "I just checked."
Fabian nodded. He had already pulled a notepad and pen from his bag. "Give me an inventory of what's left. Start with canned food, water, batteries, and tea."
"Tea?" Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously thinking about tea right now?"
"Earl Grey has a long shelf life and high trade value if things get worse," Fabian said flatly. "Same with batteries. People will need light and power for their devices."
Marcus let out a long sigh, then began pacing between the aisles. "Twenty-four cans of tuna left. Twelve cases of bottled water. Three full boxes of AA and AAA batteries on the back shelf. Tea... wait. There's a box of Earl Grey in the corner, untouched. Six large tins."
Fabian jotted it down quickly. "Take all the tea and batteries. Move them to the staff room. Canned food, too. We'll set up a separate storage area."
While they moved the supplies, the System screen appeared in front of Fabian again. The same mechanical voice echoed in his head.
[Individual: Fabian Hart]
[Verified Intelligence Stat: 98.7]
[Provisional Status: Candidate Hero]
[First Main Quest Offered: "Head to the nearest Golden Pillar of Light and register as a Chosen Hero"]
[Reward: Random Rank-A Skill + 500 Contribution Points]
[Prior refusal recorded. Second refusal will trigger an advanced warning]
Fabian stared at the screen expressionlessly. "Decline."
[Refusal Accepted]
[Warning: Individuals with extreme statistics are required to contribute to species survival. Coercion protocol will activate within 72 hours if refusals continue]
Marcus, who was looking at his own screen, turned sharply. "The System says you're a Candidate Hero? Your stat is 98.7? That's insane! You have to take that quest!"
"I don't have to do anything," Fabian replied as he packed the tins of Earl Grey into a box. "The System is only offering. I'm declining."
"But the reward is Rank-A! You could become strong!"
"Being strong is useless if I'm dead in the first minute because of the 98.4 percent." Fabian closed the box. "I'd rather secure inventory than chase status."
Marcus ran a hand through his hair. "You're out of your mind. Everyone out there is fighting to become a hero, and you're in here counting tea."
"Because everyone is fighting out there, this stock will become scarce." Fabian looked at the nearly bare shelves. "In two days, survivors will need batteries, water, and something comforting. Earl Grey tea will sell at a premium."
The System screen flickered again.
[Alternative Quest Offered: "Protect this convenience store for 24 hours and establish it as a Chosen Hero base of operations"]
[Reward: Title "Local Protector" + Limited System Store Access]
Fabian shook his head. "Declined as well."
[Third Refusal Recorded]
[Observation Protocol Escalated. Individual will be monitored closely]
Marcus sat on the cashier stool, his face a mix of fear and annoyance. "You keep rejecting it. The System isn't just going to let it go. I heard on the emergency news earlier that some people were forced into quests because of high stats."
"Then I'll keep looking for loopholes," Fabian answered. He opened his pocket calculator and tapped a few keys. "As long as the numbers favor staying here, I stay here. You can leave whenever you want. I locked the front door, but I can unlock it for you."
Marcus went quiet for a long moment. Then he gave a subtle nod. "Fine. I'll stay for now. But if a monster shows up, don't expect me to play the hero."
"I'm not asking anyone to be a hero," Fabian said. "I just need someone who can count inventory."
They resumed the inventory. Fabian noted every can, every battery, every bottle of water. He set the Earl Grey tea on a separate shelf, marking down a temporary price in his notebook: one thousand percent above retail. Marcus watched him, mouth agape.
"You're already thinking about resale prices?" Marcus asked, incredulous.
"Of course. An emergency creates scarcity. Scarcity creates value." Fabian closed the notebook. "First, we secure the power and the doors. Tomorrow, people will come. They'll need what we have."
The emergency light flickered once. Outside, faint screams still echoed through the mist. The System screen appeared before Fabian one more time, now displaying crimson text.
[End of Day 1 Warning: Individuals with extreme potential are not permitted to deviate from the main path. Main Quest will be resent in 6 hours]
Fabian stared at the text, then dismissed the notification with a flick of his wrist. "Resend it all you want. I'm still declining."
Marcus sighed deeply from behind the cash register. "Are you really not afraid the System will force your hand?"
"I'm afraid of bad numbers," Fabian replied calmly while arranging batteries into a box. "Not threats that haven't happened yet. Now help me recheck the generator. Fourteen hours isn't enough if we want to survive long-term."
Marcus stood back up, grumbling under his breath, but followed anyway. Inside the nearly empty underground convenience store, two people began turning bare shelves into a makeshift supply depot. Outside, the mist kept shifting, and the System kept watching.
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Chapter 9: Arthur on the Brink of Death
The mist outside the convenience store shifted faster than usual as The Ledger's young courier burst inside, pale-faced with his jacket caked in monster dust.Fabian, who was weighing the remaining mana batteries at the staff desk, merely raised his eyes. Marcus was already standing up from the cashier stool, pen in hand over the notebook."Report from Russell Square," the courier panted out. "Arthur Pendleton forced his Hero Party into an old building that serves as a mid-tier monster nest. Without the latest map. Without enough backup potions. They're trapped on the second floor. Four people are already down and unmoving. You can still hear spells being fired, but it's getting sparser."Fabian closed the battery box. "Estimated remaining members?""Out of the twelve who went in, roughly seven or eight are still holding out. Arthur himself has a shoulder wound. He keeps claiming a hero's conviction will prevail, but his people are already panicking."Marcus let out a long sigh. "Craz
Chapter 8: The First Debt
The emergency light in the corner of the convenience store flickered twice before stabilizing just as the sound of spell fire and a woman's screams cut through the mist outside.Fabian, who was updating monster coordinates on the wall map, raised his head. Marcus was already standing with a potion in hand. "That's close. Very close."The glass doors rattled. The shadow of a body slammed against the glass from the outside. Fabian unchained the door just wide enough for an adult to fit through. A black-haired woman with her hair tied neatly, wearing a military coat torn at the shoulder, collapsed inside. Blood flowed from a wound on her right arm. Behind her, two dark shapes resembling mist hounds were still in pursuit."Close it!" the woman ordered in a raspy yet firm voice. "Now!"Marcus pulled her inside. Fabian locked the chain and stacked extra metal baskets against the door. The sound of scratching on the glass lasted for a few seconds, then faded as the mana battery installed at
Chapter 7: Information as a Commodity
"What's the price for the exact location of the three monster spawns near the British Museum?"The voice belonged to a man in a gray cloak who had just walked in alongside two companions. Fabian stood in front of the wall map, which was now filled with red dots and blue lines. Marcus was taking notes in the Ledger notebook from behind the register."Exact location plus estimated spawn times and movement patterns," Fabian replied. "150 pounds. Or the equivalent in two medium-grade raw mana stones."The robed man scoffed. "Expensive. Yesterday you sold a route map for only 70.""Yesterday was a route map. Today it's monster data verified from four separate courier reports," Fabian said without altering his tone. "If you don't want it, feel free to hunt for it yourself in the mist. The mortality risk in that area according to my model is 62 percent."One of the man's companions, a woman whose face still bore old scars, spoke softly. "Just pay it. We already lost two people yesterday beca
Chapter 6: The Stubborn System
"The System just jammed a skill into my stats without permission!"Marcus's voice sounded panicked from near the register. Fabian, who was reorganizing boxes of mana batteries on the back shelves, merely raised his head. A blue screen had been floating in front of both of them for the past minute.[Coercion Protocol Level 1 Active][Individual: Fabian Hart][Coerced Skill Granted: "Critical Analysis Rank-B"][Warning: Rejecting the next Main Quest within 12 hours will trigger a permanent debuff to vital statistics][Follow-Up Quest Offered: "Secure three logistics points in Bloomsbury and register them as a Chosen Hero base chain"]Marcus stared at his own screen, which displayed a similar warning. "I got slapped with a warning too just for being near you! Fabian, this isn't a game anymore. A permanent debuff! You could die a slow death!"Fabian looked at the new skill appearing on his status menu. Critical Analysis Rank-B. He opened his pocket calculator and keyed in the parameters t
Chapter 5: A 1,000 Percent Markup
A rough knocking on the convenience store's glass door woke Marcus from a brief doze on the cashier stool.Fabian, who was updating numbers on the wall map, only glanced over briefly. The mist outside had thinned slightly since morning, but the smell of blood and ozone still hung sharp in the air when he unchained the door just a shoulder's width.Four people stood at the threshold. Two men in torn, dirty suits, a woman wearing a mage's robe scorched at the hem, and a young nobleman whose face was covered in scratches. All of them were panting, the wounds on their arms and legs still leaking dried blood."Is this The Ledger?" asked the man in the front suit in a raised voice. "We need potions and mana batteries right now. Quickly!"Fabian closed his notebook. "Come in. One by one. Leave your weapons outside."The robed woman scoffed. "You're a shopkeeper giving us orders? We just survived a golden pillar of light. You should be grateful we're alive to buy your goods.""I didn't ask an
Chapter 4: Supplies and Safe Routes
"How many people did you see die on Oxford Street this morning?"Fabian stared at the skinny young man who had just entered the convenience store with a scratch on his arm. Marcus stood behind the register, ready to take notes. The mist outside was still thick, but it was more stable compared to yesterday.The young man swallowed hard. "Seven... no, eight. Another one fell into a hole that suddenly opened up in the asphalt. A dark shadow-like monster crawled out of it."Fabian pressed the buttons on his pocket calculator. "Time of occurrence?""Around seven in the morning. I ran here because I heard someone was selling batteries.""What route did you take from Oxford Street to get here?" Fabian asked again."Through the side street behind the old bookstore, then turned onto Gower, and came straight down. Quiet. Only two bodies."Fabian jotted it down in the Ledger notebook. "Information logged. The price for a box of AA batteries is now 180 pounds. What do you have?"The young man pul
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