Employee 34 - Chapter 1. (Patreon)

Author Note: So This is something I've been work-shopping a bit lately now that I only need to write to write 5 chaps a week.  

It is a Slice-of-Life shop-management LitRPG set in the universe of Defiance of the Fall. follow Ekz, or Employee 34, as he manage the Boundless Dao Training Center, an experimental facility that's testing the possibility of a "soft-integration approach" for integrating new universes, instead of the system's usual heavy-handed techniques.

It has no connections to the main story, more than the shared multi-verse, and the fact that the MC lived on earth until the integration. It's meant to be some lighthearted fun and will not be as serious or gritty as Defiance. 

I'm going to throw up three teaser chapters for Heaven's Chosen shortly, and would GREATLY appreciate any feedback or fun ideas to integrate into the story. 

This story will have no release schedule, and will stay strictly on patreon at least for a while. Will probably upload to RR at a later date.

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Ekz sighed as he got ready for another day of work. He couldn’t believe that the System forced him to open the store at 9 am sharp every morning, even though there hadn’t been a single customer so far. 

[A strong work-ethic will create success over time. Strive for greatness, Employee 34-SLB676-82-DSS7L-VDM]

“Jeez for the last time, call me John. Or Ekz. Either is better than that insane string of letters and numbers” he complained for the umpteenth time to the annoying voice in his head.

[…]

[Confirmed.]

“Really??” 

[Strive for greatness, Employee 34.]

Well, it was in the right direction John, or Ekz as the original owner of this body was called, thought as he got ready for another day of work. After a quick breakfast consisting of some vegetable dumplings he descended from his small living space on the second floor. As he walked the stairs he surveyed his spotlessly clean, albeit a bit empty, ground floor. Ekz had to admit that the System at least knew how to create and maintain an aesthetically pleasing work environment as he looked around his shop. 

When he woke up in this body a two weeks ago he found himself the owner of a run-down apothecary store, selling various dried herbs and a few finished concoctions. However, the place was in disrepair with almost no stock remaining, and the little that was left looked old and moldy. 

Shortly after he woke up in this new world a burst of information was crammed into his head containing most of the memories of the previous owner of the body. Ekz inherited this shop from his departed grandfather two months ago. After struggling as a herb picker for most of his life his grandfather finally had scrounged up enough gold to buy this building in the outskirts of Crown City, the capital Tethus. He moved here with Ekz, his only living relative, trying to create a better future for his progeny.

But business in the capital even of a small country like Tethus was no joke, and his grandfather had barely managed to eke out a living to support himself and Ekz by using the network he created over his lifetime. But that all ended when Ekz inherited the store named Little Herb. He was only seventeen and was naïve about the cruel ways of the world. 

A batch of the spiritual herbs he ordered from a supplier turned out to be normal plants with some spirit-water sprayed on it, giving them a temporary sheen of spirituality. That simple trick would never have fooled his grandfather, but it was enough to start the downfall of the store in his absence. 

Ekz quickly got the reputation of a scammer in the neighborhood in spite of his frantic attempts to explain the situation. He gave back all the money he earned on the plants with profuse apologies, but it wasn’t enough. There was no chance to get a refund either, as even voicing up his discontent had seen him beaten and thrown out of the supplier store.

Desperate to not besmirch his grandfather’s heritage Ekz decided to do something drastic and started to experiment with concocting various medicines in order to restore the shop’s good name. Many successful herbal stores started out with an exclusive recipe of a potent new product, and with that as a foundation was able to create great businesses spanning the whole city, sometimes even the country.

Since he had no help or knowledge he simply experimented on himself to see the effects of his concoctions. And that was how the System got itself a dead body to throw John into when it started this little experiment.

The new Ekz had thought that the System wanted him to keep the shop going after it said it initialized an ‘Augmented Mercantile-System’, but was soon proven wrong. As he was still a bit woozy from the poison his predecessor ingested he soon fell asleep. When he woke up the whole store was completely changed.

Gone was the run-down apothecary store with its wooden shelves and disk in the front. The concoction chambers in the back of the store were also gone, and replacing it all was a large open area. The floor space wasn’t small, measuring ten by fifteen meters, and with its 3.5-meter high ceiling the store had a very roomy feel.

The wall that opened up to the street was also redesigned, getting large clear storefront windows and an automatic glass door instead of the run-down simple wooden exterior from before. By the windows was a group of sofas that could seat roughly ten people and a few meters in from the entrance a simple but elegant counter was placed.

Ekz weren’t really ever behind the counter as there were no customers since he took over the store. Usually, he could be found lazing about on the sofa, enjoying the rays of the sun shining through like a sleepy cat. Sometimes he would longingly glance over at the only other furniture in the store, the recliner chair with its holder for a VR-headset. 

Well, wasn’t really a VR-Headset, as the System called it [Multi-verse Integration Training Prototypes]. After testing them for an hour Ekz gave them the unofficial name Dungeon Goggles. He had wanted to play some more, but the System was ruthless in demanding payment even from its own employees. A glance at the large screen above the counter showed that he could only dream if he wanted to afford his own services.

Boundless Dao Training Center

Activation fee (One-Time)       25 Gold

Beginner Dungeon                      05 Gold/hour

Rules:

Payment in Advance

Maximum Training Time 6 Hours/Day

Troublemakers Will be Removed From Premises

Boundless Dao Café

Trail   Mix                       40 Nexus Coins

Cinnamon   Roll          50 Nexus   Coins

Tea                                  30 Nexus Coins

Water                             20 Nexus Coins

Only one purchase allowed per day

Only currency accepted is Nexus Coins

To cough up 25 gold to just activate a personal account for the destitute Ekz was completely out of the question, as his personal wealth was counted in coppers and barely amounted to ten silver in total. He couldn’t even treat himself to a coffee or some snacks, as the café only took Nexus Coins as payment. Nexus Coins wasn’t something normally used in the country of Tethus, but something you gained while using the Training Center’s VR-Goggles. 

When Ekz used his employee-trial hour with the Dungeon Goggles a week ago he was transported to a cave. Well, not in reality, but with the glasses. The quality of the game could only be said to be 100% immersion, as it felt like he truly was there. Had it not been for the confirmation by the voice in his head he would truly have thought that he was teleported somewhere. No matter if it was sound, smell, or touch everything felt completely real.

Interestingly enough, he was teleported to the cave with his own, or Ekz’s, body. He even wore the same clothes, and in front of him floated an assortment of icons. The buttons had various motifs and were placed in a circle, with an eye on the top icon and a Sword on the bottom one. It felt pretty obvious the game asked him to choose a class among the eight buttons, but they had no names attached.

[The Limitless Dao produces the Delimited]

[The demarcation of Yin and Yang is born]

[Two Forms creates the Four Emblems of Heavens and Earth]

[The Emblems of Heavens and Earth act on the Eight Trigrams]

[Heaven, Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Lake]

Those lines were imprinted in his brain when he pestered the System for an explanation, and after that it gave no further information, leaving Ekz completely confused. 

The eight forces in the last line seemed to correspond to the icons, but not completely. For example, the Fire one was just fire, but the wind icon showed a bow and arrow. The water icon showed icicles, and the lake icon a glowing plus-sign that made Ekz think of the healer class. Thunder was two daggers and Mountain was a Shield.

Ekz chose the fire icon after some deliberation. Heaven honestly sounded the strongest, but the icon was a stupid eye, and it didn’t seem very fun to play. After his choice the icons disappeared except the one he chose, which instead blasted into his chest with a flash. 

He was given a skill called Lesser Fireball, and what followed was a standard beginner dungeon of a video game. It was fairly easy to traverse and he even blasted some goblins who were placed in the brightly lit caves with his new skill. Ekz had a lot of fun until one of them shot an arrow at him that pierced into his head. It hurt like hell and he actually died, waking him up with a scream. 

The system ensured it only used 10% pain in the game, but Ekz was doubtful, that arrow hurt worse compared when he broke his leg as a child when he still was a normal human on Earth. But the game was simply amazing, far better than anything Ekz ever played back home. 

Even more amazing, gaining levels in the game actually made one stronger in reality. Ekz hadn’t believed the voice until it sent a burst of information about the product he was supposed to be selling.

It was a product aimed at the so-called cultivators of this world. They were humans who could get stronger by absorbing something called Spiritual Energy in the air, and essentially gained levels. The cultivators called it cultivation stages though rather than levels. Ekz possessed some knowledge of the cultivators in inherited memories, but the old him never came into contact with them as he was only a lowly store clerk in the slums. 

That was the main reason why there was so little foot traffic. There had been a few individuals whose interest was piqued by the redecoration of the store that magically happened overnight. The new sign out front said “Boundless Dao Training Center”, sounding very grandiose and refined. But when they entered and saw the weird décor and the absurd prices they immediately threw a string of curses at Ekz and left. They were just normal mortals from the neighborhood, and they thought that Ekz was trying some new method to scam honest people.

The sound of the automatic doors opening woke Ekz up from his blissful nap on the couch, but not to the point he deigned to open his eyes. Without looking up he groggily pushed out his mantra for any curious neighbors.

“Prices and rules are on the sign, let me know what you wish to buy.”

Silence was the only thing that met his pitch, and as time dragged on Ekz started to wonder whether the latest lookie-loo was illiterate.

“Ehm… If you are unable to read I can…” Ekz began to explain as he started to sit up, but his words were stuck in his throat as he saw his customers.

A gorgeous girl roughly the same age as himself, well his new self, was looking curiously at the Dungeon Goggles whereas two muscular men stood guard behind her. One of them stared daggers at Ekz, not saying anything but seemingly daring him to finish that sentence. The group was obviously not some curious neighbor, as any one of the jewels the girl wore was likely more valuable than the house they stood in.

“What is this place? Everything in here is so weird,” the girl curiously asked as she looked at the board. Both the large electric display and the futuristic chair that players were supposed to sit in while using the goggles were likely different from anything she had ever seen before. “Is this really a training center for cultivation?”

“Good eye young lady. This is the Boundless Dao Training Center, where any cultivator can reach for the Supreme Dao. With just a small monetary investment you can set foot on the path to the peak,” Ekz explained after a yawn. “We sport the most novel tools to gain strength. As you know the struggle among competitors is intense, but we will give you the tools to survive and thrive!”

It was far more words than the shiftless Ekz would have like to say, but he desperately needed a customer. He hadn’t figured out any method to lure any cultivators to his remote store so far, and he wasn’t about to let this fat sheep off the hook.

“Young lady, you mustn’t. This place feels off. And while it is not a lot of money the clan would become a laughing stock if we got taken advantage of” a guard hastily interjected, but the girl’s curiosity was piqued and she ignored his advice. 

“You’re saying I will get stronger if I buy your services?” she asked, glancing doubtfully on the chair with the Dungeon Goggles.

“You have honest Ekz’s guarantee. Money back if you don’t find the service satisfactory.” Obviously he wouldn’t give any money back. He wasn’t even sure if he had the option to give out refunds as most of the functions were controlled by the System. He knew it was his glib tongue and loose definition of the truth that got him whisked away to this fantasy world, but it couldn’t be helped. 

He needed to make a sale.