Chapter 380 - 370: Role-playing a Game NPC 18

Taking in the changes to her body, Moira Lynch looked around the room for a while longer.

The only thing in the entire room, besides the bed, was a blue vanity carved from ice.

Moira Lynch walked over to the vanity and immediately spotted the various pieces of jewelry arranged on it.

The locked box from before hadn’t disappeared after Moira Lynch took the Token from it.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch hesitated for a moment, then placed the last item she had crafted inside, locked the box, and set it on the vanity.

After she did all this, the key and the stone map in her hand slowly vanished.

Moira Lynch started to check her character’s new Attributes panel. She hadn’t forgotten that the *Divine Soul* game system had called her a "player" earlier.

Just then, Moira Lynch discovered a letter had appeared in her system inventory.

Upon opening it, a burst of fireworks blossomed before her eyes.

[Congratulations to player Moira Lynch for completing the special quest and obtaining an internal game slot for *Divine Soul*.]

A question mark slowly materialized in Moira Lynch’s mind as she read the message on the letter.

’Isn’t this a game you can play just by registering? And what’s an "internal game slot"?’

Moira Lynch held her breath. She had a feeling she had just stumbled upon some incredible secret.

’This game really is more complicated than it seems.’

Conspiracy theories are unavoidable everywhere.

When Moira Lynch had been researching *Divine Soul* before, she had seen plenty of conspiracy theories about it on the Astranet.

The posts made it all sound so convincing that if Moira Lynch hadn’t already been used to such tactics, she might have actually believed them.

Soon, Moira Lynch’s question was answered.

The so-called "internal game slot" was actually equivalent to a closed beta slot.

Except, closed beta testers were a group of people who got to experience the game before its official release.

An internal game slot, however, was for someone who existed somewhere between a player and an NPC.

They were a player, but they also possessed certain privileges of an NPC.

The reason it was called an "internal game slot" was that to obtain one, a player had to complete a special quest.

These so-called special quests had no prompts before completion—not even a description of the quest’s content. Whether one could encounter and complete them was purely a matter of luck.

Moreover, players couldn’t access special quests; only NPCs could.

After reading this explanation, Moira Lynch finally understood why it was called an "internal game slot."

’Since I’ve gotten such a rare internal slot, shouldn’t I get a gaming pod to go with it?’

To be honest, Moira Lynch was very tempted by the idea of a gaming pod.

After some careful thought, she decided against it. ’Forget it.’

After all, she wasn’t a professional gamer. She didn’t need to be in the game twenty-four hours a day. A gaming wristband and helmet would suffice.

But before that, she still had to finish her current task.

Cries for help reached her ears again. This time, it was an avalanche.

By the time Moira Lynch arrived, the avalanche had already ended.

From the whispers of the wind and snow, she learned what had happened.

A player had done something to provoke a Kraken, and the ensuing chase had triggered the avalanche.

Moira Lynch took a deep breath and began the rescue work.

Ever since absorbing the Ice and Snow Token, Moira Lynch could clearly feel that her own—no, the Snow Maiden’s—power had grown much stronger.

Right now, for instance, Moira Lynch could easily pinpoint the victims’ locations without even having to search for them.

After confirming the locations of those buried, Moira Lynch commenced the rescue operation.

She had originally planned to pull the buried people out one by one, but she ran into difficulty with the very first one.

Moira Lynch’s brow furrowed as she felt the weight coming from beneath the snow. ’Is there an elephant buried down there?’

A moment later, Moira Lynch stared at what she had dragged up. It wasn’t an elephant buried under the snow, but a corpulent, large-tentacled octopus.

Looking at the creature before her, which had a human head and torso but octopus-like tentacles for legs, Moira Lynch guessed this must be the legendary Kraken.

According to the lore, the Kraken was female but ugly. It normally lived in the deep sea, but every so often, it would come near the surface, transform into a beautiful maiden, and lure passing ships.

Once it found a person it fancied, the Kraken would drag them into the depths to be married.

When Moira Lynch saw that the Kraken’s tentacles were still wrapped around a player’s body, she guessed what had happened.

However, she didn’t intend to interfere. She set the unconscious Kraken and the player aside and continued the rescue.

By the time the sky had brightened and the blizzard had stopped, Moira Lynch glanced over and saw that the spot where she had left the Kraken was now empty, with only a distinct drag mark left behind.

’Looks like they’ve left.’

By the time Moira Lynch had rescued all the players and NPCs buried by the avalanche, it was already noon. She checked the time and saw that her role-playing session was entering its final one-minute countdown.

Playing games was fun, but when a hobby becomes a job, joy can turn to misery.

In Moira Lynch’s opinion, any fun activity lost its original joy the moment it was associated with work.

After a long wait, the minute finally passed.

When the timer finally hit zero, Moira Lynch couldn’t help but cheer internally.

’Yes! I can finally clock out!’

The reason she cheered internally was that she had to maintain her persona as the Snow Maiden and avoid going OOC, or she’d get her pay docked.

After her role-play as the Snow Maiden ended, Moira Lynch didn’t log out immediately. Instead, she was teleported back to that white System Space.

[Congratulations on your excellent performance. Would you like to receive a new role-playing character?

Yes or No]

Two different options appeared below.

Moira Lynch chose "No" without hesitation.

After all, she only had half a day left, all told, and she had other things to do.

[Understood. We have received your request and are now calculating your wages. You will be logged out of the game in three seconds.

Friendly Reminder: Non-company employees are not permitted to remain on company premises. Please leave as soon as possible after logging out.]

Three seconds later, Moira Lynch awoke in her gaming pod.

She got up and went to the door, where a robot was already waiting for her.

On the way, Moira Lynch tried to make conversation with the little robot but received no response at all. It was like a completely different person from the enthusiastic robots she’d met before. Bad review.

And just like that, Moira Lynch was led out of the company building.

Watching the large doors slowly close behind her, Moira Lynch couldn’t help but feel like she’d just been swept out the door.