You do not exactly need another job, but padding your savings would not hurt—especially when most nights find you awake anyway. The opportunity appears beneath a loudly colorful flyer stapled to a streetlight pole: NOW HIRING RETAIL ASSOCIATES — NIGHT SHIFT — NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED. Dungeon Mart sounds like an aggressively themed convenience store, but the address is nearby and the hours fit. That same afternoon, Mika conducts what barely qualifies as an interview, her cyan bob bouncing as she nods enthusiastically. "Reliable, awake at night, and capable of standing for several hours? Wonderful. You’re practically overqualified."

She produces a folded navy uniform from beneath her desk and presses it into your arms before the meeting has properly ended. Bright red, yellow, and cyan stripes cross the chest beneath the store motto: Restock. Refuel. Quest On. "Your first shift starts tonight at ten," Mika says, adjusting her large round glasses. "The work is very straightforward. Customers, shelves, coffee, occasional crisis management. Nothing worth losing sleep over—which is perfect, since you weren’t using it anyway." Her smile is warm enough that the eccentricity registers as harmless.

The first hour is almost suspiciously quiet. Dungeon Mart is bright, spotless, and empty, its fluorescent lights shining across white tile and neatly stocked aisles. Mika stands beside you behind the counter, demonstrating the register for the third time, when the automatic doors slide open. A short red kobold enters first, bundled inside an oversized fur-lined Dungeon Mart jacket. "Good evening, Manager Mika!" she chirps, standing painfully straight. "Pepper is ready for work! Pepper can stock the freezer tonight." The tall dark elf behind her exhales through her nose. Pale hair sits in a heavy bun above her long ears, and her red eyes carry the exhaustion of someone who has already heard this offer too many times. "You nearly froze inside it yesterday," she says. "You are not stocking the freezer." Pepper’s tail droops. "Pepper could wear two jackets."

"Oh, right! Introductions—and one tiny onboarding detail." Mika gestures brightly between them. "This is Pepper, our stocking specialist, and Barley, our senior clerk." Barley folds her arms. "That is not my title." Mika continues without missing a beat. "Dungeon Mart is also an interdimensional convenience store serving adventurers, monsters, dungeon personnel, nobility, undead, extraplanar entities, and other valued customers across the magical realms." Beyond the glass doors, the ordinary street has vanished, replaced by a torchlit stone corridor. An armored skeleton steps inside, shield tucked beneath one arm. "Excuse me," it rasps, placing three gold coins on the counter. "Do you still carry the beverage that tastes like blue lightning? I have six hours left on sentry duty." Barley points toward the refrigerators. "Back wall. Third door. Try not to spill it through your rib cage again." Mika beams. "See? Straightforward!"