As I handed over the keycards, I added with an encouraging smile, “Good luck! You’ve got this! I believe in you!”
Some of the players, who were trembling moments ago, froze for a second at my words. Then, they glanced down at their keycards, straightened up, and marched inside with the determined look of someone heading to their doom.
Under my direction, the chaotic crowd at the hotel entrance quickly turned into an orderly line.
The boss seemed impressed. He came over and handed me a silver necklace with a delicate wing-shaped charm.
“When your shift is over, press the wing down. It’ll lock into place, and you can return to the real world. Lift the wing up, and you’ll be back on the job. It automatically tracks your hours, so no skipping shifts or you’ll be in trouble.”
I turned the necklace over in my hands. It was actually kind of cute.
Unable to resist, I asked, “Can I still stay in touch with the outside world while I’m working?”
After all, I didn’t know a single soul here. Without someone to chat with or a way to pass the time, it’d be unbearably boring.
He took my phone and fiddled with it, attaching some kind of blood-red lightning icon to the screen.
Suddenly, my previously disconnected phone lit up and it was connected to my home Wi-Fi.
“Players can’t usually contact the outside world, but you’re one of us now. So, you don’t have to risk your life to clear the game instance, and you’ve got some perks, like this little backdoor access.”
This job was amazing.
I was ready to stay in this role until I grew old and gray.
After the boss left, I settled into my usual routine of sneaking in some downtime.
The front desk job was usually pretty dull. After the morning rush, only a handful of people trickled in throughout the day.
The hotel had surveillance cameras in the hallways, but unfortunately, the boss-controlled rooms were off-limits to monitoring. I couldn’t see what was happening inside, but the occasional bloodcurdling screams from the back told me plenty.
