“Are you done stocking those fucking shelves yet, Sam?!” An angry voice shouted across the corner store. The shouting was from a short, balding and slightly chubby man standing behind the cash register of the store, he was surfing something on his phone looking dissatisfied. He wore simple clothing with a T-shirt that had a written logo over the heart with the words ‘Everyday Essentials’, underlined by a wavy line and a nametag fastened just below it reading ‘Larry Thompson, Owner and manager’.

The store itself was somewhat tight, using space as much as possible. The shelves were thin and needed to be restocked often to compensate for when sales happened. The air was moved slowly through a single air outlet in the corner. The shelves were stocked with the most common of items like snacks, bread, deodorant, toothpaste and so on. But it also had other common things like simple Arcane Crystal Batteries which were like disposable batteries, just much longer lasting.

A wiry and lean young man in his early 20s replied. He had brown tired eyes, and lightly tanned skin with a hint of freckles from being outside a lot. Short barely managed beard and hair, looking like he managed it himself with cheap tools, got some visible scars on his face and arms from long ago. He was wearing simple and worn clothing with the same T-shirt as the yelling man, his badge read ‘Sam, Sales associate’.

“Yes, Mr. Thompson. I’m just about done now.” His voice was polite and positive toned, however it was a clear facade that anyone working in retail or customer care knows all too well.

His expression was tired and worn like his dreams had died and he had no better options than the one he was in. Larry locked his phone and put it in his pocket. “Then fucking get over here and take over, I want to leave already.”

“Will do, Mr. Thompson.” Sam replied in his practised tone and fake smile as long as he faced his boss. He put some empty boxes just around the corner in the back room before walking to the cash register to a very annoyed short man.

“Good fucking lord you’re slow, I’m almost regretting hiring you off the streets. Felt nice that day but I’m regretting that now!” The man yelled like everything was Sam’s fault.

“I’m very grateful you did, Mr. Thompson. I’ll try better.” His practised fake smile became a more honest one when he thanked him, at least that part seemed legit, but it went back into the Retail-smile when he promised to try better.

“You fucking better, or I’ll just fire you and hire some teen looking for work experience.” Larry huffed as he walked past Sam into the main store, heading towards the back room. “When I get in tomorrow you have better done the cleaning properly this time.” He commented, disappearing without giving Sam a chance to answer.

As soon as Sam heard the back door closed he let out an annoyed sigh. His fake smile became a piercing stare of anger and annoyance, the kind that would have you flagged on a list and get kicked out by most people. Thinking to himself how much he hated working for Larry, he also knew that he didn’t have anything better. A man with his background, or lack thereof, without any family, experience or even an address, didn’t have much to go on. He briefly mused back on the six-eyed gigantic lizard-like monster that rampaged in his neighbourhood and took out his family, their house and everything at once. He was lucky to make it out alive but the hospital bills from his damage drank up all the remaining funds they had. And apparently, the insurance didn’t cover monster attacks so... He ended up on the street for quite a time, he lucked into persuading Larry to give him a job, just anything, at least it paid enough to let him live in a hostel in the area.

Thinking back on all of this mellowed his expression out, though Larry was an asshole he at least gave him a job, a shit-paying job but it was enough to let him live, got him off the streets enough to have somewhere to sleep safely, to shower... He was eternally grateful but at the same time, he didn’t have to be such a fucking ass about it.

He sighed again, much calmer this time with a solemn expression on his face. He needed to use more time to find a better job, at least the job here had given him some experience, but it wasn’t easy to talk to someone else and say that he had half a year of experience with a corner store, and that’s it, no education or anything. And since he didn’t have a proper permanent address it was harder still.

Since there were no customers at the moment, he decided to get a head start on some of the later chores, he wanted to dick around on his phone but Larry sometimes checked the surveillance, which had caught him before, no matter how short it was. So he took a round in the store checking the shelves instead.

Passing by one of the large windows, he looked outside and saw one of the large billboards that was plastered across the New York cityscape, it was one of those that flipped through several different ads for various things, but one always caught his eye. In an advertisement for The Aetheric Concord, abbreviated TAC, the ad’s question asked if you had recently become a Player, and if so you should sign up with them. They had training and could help you with jobs, all for only a small cut of your rewards. He knew about them, and who wouldn’t like to be a Player, to be powerful, to get all the money, all the women, all the fame... It was just all-around good, even if they took a cut it would be so amazing. But, it was a pipe dream like everything in Sam’s life.

The rest of the day was slow and normal, he had stocked the shelves, cleaned up and gotten the things out as Larry had earlier taught him, he tried doing the cleaning a little better than normal, but he doubted that there would be much difference in his boss’ expression tomorrow anyway. Lowering the security grill a little bit, he walked over to lock the door before he lowered it all the way, but as he got close to it, the door opened and a man in a hoodie entered with force and speed, before Sam could react he had a boot in his gut that sent him backwards.

Landing into one of the shelves filled with snacks he grabbed his stomach in pain, coughing and did his best to get back on his feet. The man who entered turned around and locked the door before he turned back to Sam. He walked over and kicked him in the face, it wasn’t enough to make him black out but it gave him something else to consider as the man walked around in the store for a brief moment.

The few things Sam managed to notice between his fingers, clutching his damaged and bloodied face, was that the man was walking around and spray-painting the security cameras, he knew where they were and was done in record time before he came back to Sam again, crouching down to his level.

“So, open the register, gimme the money.” His voice was commanding and surprisingly calm.

Sam didn’t get a proper glimpse of him. The man was wearing loose-fitting clothing, everything super common and things he had seen hundreds of times before, his hood was up and his face was covered in a Balaklava, his eyes covered in a mirrored ski-visor, he had gloves and every bit of him was covered. The only identifying aspects were his voice and his height.

Sam nodded, from his time on the streets he knew how this would end. Either with the man getting what he wanted and Sam being left in pain, or the man getting what he wanted and Sam being left in even more pain, if alive at all.

Doing his best to force himself to his feet, he walked over to the register, it wasn’t easy as the blow to his gut made even keeping his balance problematic. Accidentally knocked over things as he shambled around the counter to open the cash registry, the emergency button was also there, as well as a baseball bat for defence. The man had no weapons so that mix of things felt good in his mind.

Stepping in there, the man followed him very, very closely. Sam had the idea to feign falling forward and hit the emergency button at least. As he got in range he forcefully had his leg hit something and fell forward, he pressed the button as he caught himself but there was zero chance of getting the bat. Instead, he needed to stall for time.

He fumbled with the registry, this part wasn’t even him pretending, he was hurt and scared by the man who had shown before that violence was not foreign. Using it for what it was worth he failed again and again to open it.

“The fuck’s the holdup, c’mon man, get it open or I’ll fucking kick you in the nuts!” The threat was low enough that it felt real, and terrifying enough that it worked well.

“I’m trying, I can’t see properly.” Sam lied, though not entirely a lie as there was blood in his face from the kick he got earlier.

Before he could comment or try anything else he felt the pull of his clothing as the man just yanked him away, throwing him into the other side of the counter.

“Tell me how to open it, what do I do?!” The order was simple and harder to fake.

“Just type in a number and press Cash.” It wasn’t a hard process, but it seemed that the man at least bought his earlier lie.

As the man pressed the buttons and the sound of the drawer opened, Sam saw his opening. He grabbed the bat placed easily accessible under the counter and swung for the robber’s head. The swing landed with a surprisingly satisfying feeling, but the man didn’t go down.

The man’s head had only been tilted to the side from the blow, he just lifted it back upright as he turned around. “That’s not a smart move.”

Sam’s heart dropped, this was a Player. One of the powered-up people given abilities by the Towers around the world, most physically aligned Players had heightened damage resistance... Most people, at least not someone as lacking in physical prowess like Sam, had little chance against them.

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The last thing he saw was a fist coming his way.

“Hey, hey, wake up!” Sam heard the faint echo of a voice as something lightly tapped his cheek, it hurt, quite a lot, from the earlier blows to his face but it got him awake.

He looked into the face of a relieved police officer.

“Take it easy, you’re safe now.” The man was smiling and looked honestly relieved.

Sam took a look around, there were other officers in the store, a car with blue lights blinking outside and he could barely see some police tape barring the area being set up.

Letting out a sigh of relief his head dropped back to the floor.

“You took some blows to the head, just relax, the EMTs will be here in only a moment.” The officer comforted.

Sam relaxed, that was good news, everything sounded good but suddenly his mind realised something, he couldn’t go through that again, he couldn’t afford this. “N--No, I’m fine.” He forced himself to sit up. He had taken blows to the face before and though this was the first time he had blacked out completely, he at least had some vague ideas of the process.

“Dude.. No, calm down, you need medical care, you don’t look too g-” The police officer insisted and though he didn’t forcefully hold Sam down, he at least put a tiny bit of pressure on him to suggest he remain there.

“No, I’m fine.” Sam forced himself up, grunting through the pain. “I refuse the medical aid.” He forced out, he didn’t know if that would mean anything but if he got another medical bill, it would most likely empty the tiny remaining sum of his account, he didn’t have much left and was already living paycheck to paycheck.

The officer looked almost insulted, but strangely he also seemed like he understood. “That’s fine, but at least relax, we need to take your statement of what happened here. The camera’s sprayed up so they aren’t any help.”

Sam sat himself up, using the counter for back support and started going through everything that happened, he shared any details he could think of. If nothing else the surveillance cameras should show him getting booted in through the door and attacked.

It didn’t take too long before Larry came bursting through the back door. “Sam, the fuck happened here?!”

Sam’s heart almost stopped, he didn’t want his boss’ bullshit on top of all of this. “Th... there was a robbery, some guy kicked me in and locked the door-”

Before Sam could continue, Larry interrupted him. “The fuck happened to you?” Almost as if he didn’t hear what Sam just said.

“I... I was attacked, he knocked me out and stole the m-” Before he could complete the sentence Larry snapped.

“You fucking let him take the money?! The fuck am I paying you for, can’t even protect the store from a robb-” He had started a ranting rage, it wasn’t the first time Sam had been on the receiving end of this.

“It was a Player, I hit him in the head but he di-” Again Sam didn’t get a chance to defend himself.

“You hit him and still didn’t manage to stop him? Good fuck you’re shit. I th-.. I.. You know what, I’ve had it with you, you’re fired. Leave your shirt and don’t come back.”

Larry didn’t seem to know where to even begin with this, but in the end, it fell on Sam not doing his job.

The officer had gotten up and tried to calm him down, but Larry wouldn’t hear any of it, the only thing he was after was that they get the man who did this, and how disappointed he was in Sam.

Sam managed to get himself to his legs, he started walking towards the back door. On the way he wanted to fuck up his boss something fierce, he wanted to punch him, he wanted to use the bat and fuck up his head, he wanted to stab him in the throat with a shard of glass. But alas, there was nothing he could do, whatever he did it would be considered an assault, and the store was filled with cops so he’d be fucked. Even more than he already was.

Stumbling into the back room, he used considerable time to get his shirt off, showing considerable, long-since healed, scarring across his torso. Though he considered just leaving with it, after all, he doubted that Larry was going to come after him, at the same time it sounded plausible and he was the kind who commented that he would sue customers for certain things, he just didn’t want to gamble on it.

After finally getting it off, he threw it on the boss’ desk before using just as long a time to get his jacket on before leaving.

He was let through the blockade without much question, confirming that he had already spoken with the officer inside, a quick radio confirmed this and he was let go. He had some distance to go to the hostel, he felt like sleeping anywhere at the moment but the pain kept him awake, very much so.

Limping through the streets he was given zero attention, most people walked past him like this was a normal thing to see on the streets. There weren’t that many people this time of day, it was in the evening and somewhat darkening this time of year.

Coming out from a side street he crossed a large plaza, looking to his side he saw the New York Tower, it was massive, reaching hundreds of stories into the sky. It started very wide, several skyscrapers in width but quickly tapered into the main Tower body, which reached tall into the sky. The New York Tower was surprisingly smooth, though it seemed to have some segments that almost looked attached to it, it had an almost white concrete appearance, save some of the spaces between these plates, where most of it looked black, almost obsidian in its shimmering translucence. A pulsing blue light went up the larger opening in the centre that reached almost the top. He often walked past the Tower on the way to and from work, it was nothing short of gargantuan, after all, so it could be seen from anywhere in the city due to its height. He often marvelled at how cool it could be to enter it, fight for amazing treasure, level up, get stronger, get loot and work your way through the levels and beat it.

But, better men than him are trying, and failing, so that was even further into the void as a dream. All he could hope for now was to find a new job.

Putting his dreams of glory, fame and amazingness to the side, he kept walking through the city until he finally got to his hostel. Entering it the door creaked, it was run down, had the barest minimum of maintenance, was quite dirty and was... just the minimum. Walking past the price board that initially got him here, listing that they are the cheapest in the city, costing only $10 per night or a discounted $60 for a week, it was what he could afford. It was cheap and had the barest of a minimum of things, though he shared the room with five others in bunk beds.

Walking past the reception, the clerk stopped him and asked to confirm his ID. He showed it to her and she looked him up on a computer. “Ah, Mr. Carter. You only have two days left of your prepaid week, if you want to keep it for another week you need to renew tomorrow at the latest.”

She gave him a trained fake smile and polite tone, one he knew all too well. All he could do now was nod at her and go to his room.

The stairs were murder, hard to walk up, opening the door to his room it seemed everyone else was already asleep, just as well as he didn’t want to talk to anyone. Luckily enough he had the bottom bunk. He walked over and just rolled into it, passing out almost immediately.

He woke up to the startling sound of something falling on the floor, his head snapping towards it with an intense fury he saw that it was just one of his hostel roommates who had dropped something from his locker. A second glance showed that it was just a sturdy lock with a whole keyring in its keyhole. It seemed like he just accidentally dropped it.

Sam sighed, his head feeling like he headbutted a brick wall, his stomach feeling like... well... like he was stomped into a stoor shelf. Having just one more night left in the hostel, he just lay there as he took up his phone, checking his account. He had enough for another week if he skipped a few meals... It was going to be tight but he had to find something else to do.

He focused back on his phone and with the remaining battery he started looking at places hiring people without experience or an education. There was not much but a few jobs looked acceptable. They all paid shit but he just needed something that kept him housed and fed, he could keep looking then.

As he fell further and further into despair, finding fewer and fewer jobs he could have a chance at, something happened which changed his expression.

What looked like a fancy metal-grey menu window came into view, the border of it had some filigree-like things around it filled with some black lines along its edge. His eyes looked to the sides, the window remained where it was until he turned his head, it kept itself in his view but didn’t remain locked in the centre of his focus.

[ Are you ready to become a Player? ]