FORTY-SEVEN

"Found within the skull of a dead Retrospector ... " I said out loud as the words didn't make sense.

I had no idea what a Retrospector was but from the info given a Retrospector was not an Astor Bonechill. So, what was an Astor Bonechill doing with something that belonged to another creature?

Given that the creature was dead, could the Astor Bonechill have stolen from the dead body after it had died?

Or was the Retrospector killed by the Astor Bonechill?

My list of unanswered questions only seemed to grow and grow as time went by...

Mind battles ... I had done it twice but it still was as mysterious as the Cold Land. Would I have ended up a pile of bones if the Astor Bonechill made my mind disappear?

The two were still out cold... So, I had to check out if maybe anything had changed in the player's shop.

"If there could be a magical cart or something that I could use to carry them. Or even one that ran on mystical fumes that can carry us all"

I shouted to the open just in case those in charge could hear and could change it like they did earlier when I found the winter clothes in the player's shop.

I knew that was a dangerous thing to do. Who knew what lurked in the cold land with us? I could be making it easier for it to locate us if it hadn't already.

When I opened the player's profile I saw the message box active with the number sixty on it.

It had been a long time since I went there. The last time I did I saw the strange messages from the strange group chat. But I didn't check it out to see what was written in there. I turned my gaze to the words 'Player's shop'

Upon opening it, nothing had changed; it was still the same winter clothes and items as before.

It was disappointing that the item that we needed didn't magically appear when I screamed it out.

Even if it did I wouldn't be able to pay for it because it would probably be too expensive especially with the small amount of coins I had on me.

I then stood up and started circling Sky and Hassan while aggressively pointing at them.

I was trying to signal whoever was in charge to help us ; it was an indeed useless gesture.

If I was back at home and did this kind of thing I'd be immediately rushed to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

But I wasn't at home and I was trapped in some simulation ...

'Simulation ' I thought. It wasn't a rare thing back at home that some people thought that we were stuck in a simulation.

Sometimes when I found myself outside at night (maybe due to an errand or coming back from work late) I'd look up to the sky and think

'What if that was a large screen for an exhibition or a show and we were the show? '

But now I couldn't seem to help but think it... I still thought it was something organized by the world's richest people but something about what was happening was too mythical and other-worldly to be organized by humans.

'Aliens then? ' I thought.

Maybe they were tired of seeing us mess up the world and then sent all of us into strange lands to fight for our survival till the human race all eventually went extinct. But from the number I saw in the arena, they weren't even up to one-eighth of the world's population ...

"Priorities," I said as I slightly slapped my facial cheeks.

That was when a thought popped into my head. I could slap them out of their sleep... That was a sure way to wake people up. A tested and trusted way that had gotten me on many people's bad side for a while or longer depending on the person involved.

"Sky! Hassan!" I screamed as I tapped their cheeks simultaneously and aggressively that it might have fallen off if I had just been slightly more aggressive.

But that didn't work. They all lay there with the same blank look on their face like they didn't have a care in the world.

'Are they still alive ?' I thought as I hurriedly went over to check the pulses in their necks to find them beating against my two fingers.

'Phew'

The winter clothes had already started to work and I couldn't feel the cold as I did moments ago but staying like that did us no good. Who knew what would come next and if I could fend it off?

Then another thought popped up in my mind. I could somehow transfer my mind into Hassan's mind and then make him carry the both of us...

"Okay. That's too far " I said as I shuddered by the grim thought that had popped into my mind.

Even if Hassan was strong, it would be cruel to make him carry two people as he struggled through the deep snow. That would be too cruel... I was disappointed that the thought even popped up in my mind.