Chapter 21

"I think with that new skill of yours, leader, we can win the guild wars." Yazoyo cheered and took a sip of his juice.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." I was still stuck on what the developer told me, "Though your skill may seem OP, there are still consequences. ꉂꉂ(ᵔᗜᵔ*)"

I wonder what those consequences are. So far, I feel perfectly normal. No scratches. No nothing.

"Here, have some more meat." Sakura passed me a bowl of the bear meat.

"Thanks." I grinned at her.

"So, when's the next guild war?" Yazoyo asked.

"If I remember, the announcement said next week." I responded.

"Do you think we'll be ready by then?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not sure. Now that we lost a guild member, I'm not sure how we'll do." I looked at my piece of meat.

"As long as you guys have that guild skill, I'm pretty sure you should be fine." Dana informed us.

"Will we really?" I muttered.

"Well, we should probably sleep for now. Tomorrow will be a new day." Sakura stretched.

"Won't we die sleeping in the cold?" Yazoyo asked.

"Well, we are in a cabin with fire, so I think we should be fine."

Though they can sleep, I can't help but worry about what lies in store. Yumi is dead in the game. The only question is that does in game affect real life? Is Yumi and her baby still alright?

I decided to walk outside when everyone fell asleep to clear my mind. The sky was a beautiful navy blue color. Each star in the sky seemed to be placed perfectly. Why did this world seem so real?

The sky, the snow, the cabin, the fire, our bodies, everything just seemed so real. How could this possibly be a game?

"Are you alright miss Haruta?" Dana asked from behind me.

I turned around and looked at him. "Ah. Yeah. I'm alright. Just examining the area."

"I see." Dana walked up to me and stood to my right. "Makes me wonder if this world is actually real."

"You too?"

"Yeah. Everything seems very real. You could even feel cold in this winter."

"Do you think if someone dies in the game, they are dead in real life? They couldn't respawn in the game, but are they really dead?" I bluntly asked.

Dana looked at me with a serious face. I was surprised. I expected him to look at me with confusion. "I'm sorry. I don't know the answer to that. I wish I knew. If I did, then I would have tried protecting more and more people."

"You don't have to be sorry." I forced a smile. "All we can do now is try our best to survive. Dana. I'm still offering an invitation to our guild. I know that you don't want to be part of any more guilds, but truthfully, we need you."

"Haruta..."

"So please reconsider. Even if it takes 'til the day of the guild war, still consider it." I looked at him with worry.

Dana looked at the ground and then back at me. He then smiled. "I'll reconsider."

"Thank you. I'd rather try to keep as much of us alive as we can." I nodded my head.

"Thanks for having hope in me, Haruta. I really appreciate it."

"Shouldn't we all have hope if we want to live? Hope is the essence of life." I smiled.

"I'll let you know about my answer as soon as I can." Dana smiled back. "Good night."

"Good night."

Hope is all that we have left. Without it, I wouldn't have survived.