‘You received $2000 USD from Harmony Inc.’

I stared at the notification blankly.

Elena, too, stared at my phone’s screen blankly.

“Ahem.” I coughed. “It could still be a scam. Do not let your guard down.”

Elena nodded, and stood up to wash her face and cool down her mind.

I checked my PoyPol, and sure enough, the balance was actually updated.

I was still distrustful of this whole thing, since there were still many ways they could try and scam me, like asking for ‘a refund’ or something like that.

Those kinds of scams were quite common, though I’ve never heard of a scam where $2000 were actually debited...

Well. The scammer should be asking for a refund soon.

I grabbed Elena’s phone when I saw that he had sent a new message.

‘Did you receive the money?

Can we also discuss about ElenPlay becoming an exclusive tester?’

I replied,

‘Yes, I did receive the money.

Could I know more about the exclusive tester role that you’re talking about?’

After a few seconds, his reply popped up.

‘The winner also gets to work in Harmony Inc as an exclusive tester. I assume ElenPlay is a minor, since you, their guardian is the one currently talking with me, so you can think of this as an internship/part time job.

We will accommodate ElenPlay’s work schedule according to their school timings and what they can manage, and ensure that this will become a very valuable and precious experience for them. I work as a game developer in Harmony, and I can assure you that we place high importance on work-life balance.

Of course, ElenPlay will also be compensated monetarily for all the time they invest for Harmony Inc if they do join us.’

He also sent a document titled ‘Part Time Employment Contract’.

I bit my nails and pondered for a bit, before finally deciding to type,

‘Could you give us a few days?

I’d like to get the contract checked.’

A reply popped up immediately.

‘Sure.’

***

I buried my head into the pillow while flailing my legs.

My heart felt like it was about to burst.

It had already been around an hour since the $2000 were debited, and I was slowly believing that this was not a scam.

My mom told me that she would get the contract checked, and to not keep too many expectations.

But I just couldn’t help but get my hopes up.

The $2000 was the first prize I won, and I was also getting the opportunity to become a game tester!

And, if my mom fully believed this was real, she’d give our address and I’d also get a VR headset!

I opened the game ‘Destiny’. I believed it was my lucky charm.

My heart felt queasy, and the feeling did not subside even after I washed my face.

I looked at the orphan who had burrowed herself into an alleyway once again.

I sighed.

I needed to get her a house, and also a stable source of income.

But... how?

After racking my brain on the issue, I realized that I could try asking James, the representative of Harmony Inc, about it.

I knew next to nothing about this game, so I definitely wouldn’t be able to think of a way for her to earn money.

But, James should, shouldn’t he? He did say he worked as a game dev at Harmony.

However, awkwardness pierced my mind as I imagined asking him questions about how I could progress in the game. He was probably quite busy, and I could just scour the internet about it, or watch a few walkthroughs.

***

Avahul panicked.

He did forge an official website for ‘Harmony Inc’, buy had forgotten to make any posts/videos related to ‘Destiny’.

He subtly influenced her emotions, in an attempt to make her feel that messaging ‘James’ would be better than searching the internet for it.

***

On second thought, I felt that sifting through the internet to find an answer would be quite tiring, so I decided to just message James.

I opened Dismord and typed out,

‘Hi. This is ElenPlay. I have a few questions regarding Destiny. Could I ask you about them?’

I felt dumb after I sent the message.

Why would he even answer questions related to in game progress? Even if he did, he probably wouldn’t reply immedi-

I received a reply immediately.

‘Hello!

I’d love to clarify any questions you have, even questions regarding in game progress!

Just think of me as a fellow gamer and fire your doubts!’

His positive reply made feel slightly reassured, and I asked,

‘I’m currently in the part where Adelle reaches the next village after the dungeon crack.

Is there some way to help Adelle earn some money and rent a house? Or does that come later in the game? Or is that just not something we can do?’

After a few seconds passed, I got a reply.

‘Destiny is based on the concept that the player decides the character’s destiny.

The story is very fluid and changes based on your decisions.

So, you can definitely try and help Adelle earn money right now, if you want to.

My advice is to explore. You might find a dungeon, and you could steal monster cores from it. Or you might stumble upon a dollar bill on the floor.

The possibilities are endless.’

I mulled over what he said. Is he trying to say that Destiny is a literal open world with no whatsoever restrictions?

I found that quite hard to believe, but I decided to follow his advice and just explore.