Chapter 11: Chatting Costs Extra
The next day, Donape woke up with a groan, his muscles aching.
Yesterday had been an utterly exhausting, chaotic whirlwind. Everything had happened at a breakneck pace with zero order, forcing his mind and body to just ride the wave whether he liked it or not.
But there was no time for a slow morning. While he was still mid-yawn, scratching his messy hair, a cold neon glow flashed before his eyes as the God-Tier VR Cafe System manifested unbidden.
[It is almost opening time, mortal. When do you intend to unlock the doors? Or perhaps the Great Me should utilize a bolt of Divine Lightning to energize your day properly?]
Donape’s left eye jerked violently. He had just been trying to process the strange, extraordinary events of the previous day, only to be slapped in the face by the harsh reality that it wasn’t a dream. And that text prompt was a very blatant, very real threat.
Bolting upright, Donape instantly cleared his throat. "No need, System! I am completely refreshed and opening the shop right now!"
And just like that, the second day of Origins VR Cafe officially began.
Donape stretched his limbs and brushed his teeth, his eyes sparkling as he stared at the brand-new, God-Tier VR Capsule installed right behind the counter.
Ever since the shop officially opened, his anxiety regarding the System had completely vanished. In fact, he had almost forgotten that he was supposed to get his own dedicated capsule until his eyes caught the sudden layout change in the room.
"Hehe. This one is special," Donape mumbled, aggressively scrubbing his molars. "It caps my gameplay synchronization at a flat twenty percent right from the start. It won’t be long before I can fly through the sky and shoot flames from my palms!"
He blabbed enthusiastically with a mouthful of foam, sending tiny splashes of toothpaste flying here and there.
At his core, Donape was a simple man. Ever since the shop manual and quest reward information had been engraved into his mind, his ultimate goals remained straightforward: make money, and get real-world superpowers just like the ones in anime or webnovels.
He didn’t like to overthink things, nor did he bother questioning why such a system had manifested in this world in the first place.
His brain didn’t even care to consider that this very shop might completely crumble the world order once regular citizens started mastering whatever supernatural abilities, mystical arts, or otherworldly skills the games offered.
But his euphoria didn’t last long.
The shop doors swung open, revealing seven people flooding inside all at once.
It was the same five faces from yesterday, plus two newcomers—a young man and a young woman: Jeon Jae-Woong and Yoo Ga-Eun.
However, the two new faces weren’t together. Jae-Woong had arrived trailing behind Young Master Baek, while Ga-Eun had been dragged along by Irene.
But what really made Donape’s face contort in annoyance was the presence of Butler Lee and the two bodyguards, A-Ji and Ji-Ga, lurking in the crowd.
’Why are they here again when they didn’t even bother spending a single cent yesterday? Oh well, I guess I can only blame the shop’s current lack of regular products for that.’
Shaking off his annoyance, Donape put on his business face. "Welcome, customers. Your playtime has reset, so you are all eligible to play again today."
"Shopkeeper, there’s no need to announce the obvious. We aren’t internet cafe amateurs, even if your rules are as strange and arrogant as they come," Irene pointed out, crossing her arms with a smirk. Then, she proudly gestured to the girl beside her. "Look who I brought today! This is my friend from the nearby college campus. How about it? Do I get a referral discount or maybe some extended playtime?"
With a triumphant grin, she pulled Ga-Eun directly into Donape’s line of sight.
Ga-Eun wasn’t quite as tall as Irene, but in terms of sheer visual appeal, she wasn’t inferior to the fiery red-head in the slightest. With her sharp, stylish short black hair and bright demeanor, Ga-Eun was the epitome of a cute, charming beauty—the kind of girl whose every single movement practically screamed ’adorable.’
Personally, Donape would have loved nothing more than to offer a discount. A new customer meant a higher possibility of getting another soul hopelessly addicted to his VR setup.
From a business perspective, his natural mindset was to be kind and offer incentives to anyone who brought him advantage.
But he was just a slave—no, a shopkeeper with absolutely zero decision-making power.
Donape could only offer a wry smile. The day had barely even started, yet he could already tell it was going to be an incredibly long one.
Anyway, he deeply envied Irene’s freedom to complain to his face without any consequences.
If he ever dared to do the same to that Tyrannical System, he would be left lying flat on the pristine floor, deeply regretting his life choices as electricity coursed through his body.
No one in this world knew the sheer misery and heavy responsibility he carried, making him feel completely isolated in the small shop despite the crowd.
Swallowing his inner tears, Donape forced a calm, professional, and slightly detached smile onto his face—the perfect mask of a mysterious, unfazed expert.
"No discounts. No extensions," Donape said flatly, keeping his voice entirely neutral despite the mental abuse he was suffering. "The prices are absolute. Twenty BC an hour, one hour per person. There are no exceptions, even if you bring in a new customer."
Irene pouted, letting out a loud, dramatic sigh. "Tch. Cheapskate. I knew you’d say that."
Beside her, Yoo Ga-Eun blinked her large, cute eyes, looking back and forth between her friend and the stoic shopkeeper. She tilted her head, her short hair swaying gently.
"Irene... is this really the legendary place you talked about? It just looks like an ordinary, slightly empty internet cafe. And twenty BC for just a single hour? Isn’t that a total scam?"
Irene smiled at Ga-Eun’s words. She also thought the same yesterday.
However, Young Master Baek—Baek Ji-Hong—shattered the tense atmosphere by jumping straight into the conversation uninvited.
"Ah, Boss! Go ahead and turn on VR Capsule number three first! It’s for my friend here, and I’m paying." Ji-Hong grinned, rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you seriously wasting your money on this? This place doesn’t look credible at all," Jae-Woong whispered urgently, nudging his side.
But Ji-Hong just slapped his shoulder reassuringly. "Trust this bro, dude!"
On the other hand, Donape nodded at Ji-Hong, signaling to proceed as he activated VR Capsule 3 from the counter.
Ji-Hong practically dragged Jae-Woong toward the machine. He then put his friend’s hand over the scanner and swiftly tapped his own smartphone to pay.
As a hefty 180 BC vanished from his account like the wind, the capsule’s glass lid slid open, and he unceremoniously shoved Jae-Woong inside.
"Don’t forget—do not skip the tutorial! I’ll beat you to a pulp if you do!" Ji-Hong shouted.
Jae-Woong barely had time to yell a protest before the lid slid shut, sealing him into a world of god-tier graphics.
Ji-Hong had a very specific, strategic plan in mind.
Yesterday, he foolishly skipped his own tutorial, preventing him from knowing the storyline.
However, he had learned from Butler Lee that if a player actually chose to experience the tutorial, the capsule would broadcast everything directly onto the glass lid—from the cinematic intro lore all the way to the entrance ceremony of the Heavenly Cloud Sect.
Ji-Hong didn’t care about the basic gameplay mechanics, but he was completely charmed by the NPC character, Cheon So-So.
To trigger the exact romantic reactions he wanted from her, he desperately needed to understand the player’s scripted past and the game’s overall storyline.
Since the tutorial option was permanently locked for his account no matter how many times he restarted the game, using Jae-Woong as a live lore stream was his perfect solution.
Meanwhile, watching the scene unfold from behind the counter, Donape’s lips twitched. ’A hundred and eighty BC just like that... rich kids really are built differently.’
Before he could even marvel at his climbing revenue, Irene’s voice snapped him back to reality. "Hey! Shopkeeper! Don’t ignore me. Are you not interested in money anymore?!"
Donape scoffed. "Of course I still like money. Who wouldn’t be? Money solves all problems, kid."
"How dare you call me a kid? Who do you think you are?" Irene said, narrowing her eyes playfully.
"You study at the campus nearby too, don’t you, just like your friend here? That makes you both my juniors."
Irene raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What year did you graduate then? Just how old are you?"
"Twenty-five," Donape said, puffing his chest slightly. "I graduated last year."
"Bah! You’re ancient, senior!"
Ga-Eun chuckled from the side, quickly nudging Irene to stop insulting the shopkeeper.
Seemingly unaffected, Donape began while gesturing toward the row of machines. "So, are you two actually going to use the VR Capsules, or did you just come here to chat with me? I should warn you, even though it’s not written on the digital board above, chatting with the shopkeeper costs a flat hundred BC per hour."
"You money-grubbing bastard!" Irene yapped, though a smirk played on her lips. She swiftly pulled out her phone. "Activate VR Capsules one and two for us. That game has a multiplayer function, right?! Great!"
With a triumphant grin, Irene waved her hand dismissively, flipping her fiery red hair as she dragged a giggling Ga-Eun toward the machines.
Donape rolled his eyes. ’That woman... she literally asks her own questions and then answers them herself.’