Chapter 17 - Thoughts

"What do you think happened to me?" RageHeart replied, tracing Ethan's line of sight to his bloody fists, which were concealed under the singlet parts he had torn to cover his wounds.

As he looked at his somewhat unsightly hands, RageHeart clenched them slightly, immediately feeling a pang of pain coursing through his body. Reacting to this sensation of pain in his hands, all RageHeart managed was a barely audible groan.

"I don't even know what's happening, Aurora, but I think this world is real," RageHeart suddenly said, catching Ethan and the curious Mia—who had been listening—a little off guard.

Ethan wasn't taken aback by RageHeart's words, as they aligned with his own thoughts. What surprised Ethan was the sudden way in which RageHeart had spoken about it; it seemed to come out of nowhere. Before Ethan could delve deeper into his thoughts, RageHeart spoke again.

"You might think I'm spouting nonsense, or maybe I'm going crazy, but trust me, man, this world is real," RageHeart stated, the latter part of his words sounding firm. However, Ethan noticed a slight fear emanating from him.

Strangely, even with his imposing physical appearance, the fear that came from him didn't seem out of place.

Ethan and Mia didn't consider RageHeart crazy, because they themselves had similar thoughts. Mia had firsthand experience, and Ethan had thought things through based on everything that had been happening since he arrived. This world certainly looked as real as it could get. The only thing preventing them from fully confirming this notion was the lack of concrete evidence.

Even if one of them died and didn't wake up, the idea that this world was as real as Earth still wouldn't be proven, as it would only happen to one person. Who knew if this was all still a game and the developers wanted it to be as realistic as possible, so that if someone died, their body wouldn't disappear but remain.

This was something Ethan, and even RageHeart, had considered. However, even though both players were eager to determine whether this world was real, dying was not part of their plan.

Game or not, death was never in their intentions.

As several thoughts began to race through Ethan's mind, it became evident that RageHeart wasn't finished speaking.

"When that wolf attacked us, I thought it was all just a game, but they died, man," RageHeart said, his voice visibly shaking this time. "Those guys died right in front of my eyes while I fought those wolves."

After uttering this, RageHeart took a deep breath and weakly smiled at Aurora while ignoring the entire existence of Mia.

"If those players hadn't been injured by those other guys, I would've died, Aurora," RageHeart stated, adding, "And trust me, unless those game developers are real killers or had something seriously wrong in their heads, there's no way they could have made the deaths caused by the wolves and by me so perfect."

"Do you think I'm crazy, Aurora?" RageHeart asked, his smile weak and his demeanour subdued.

Hearing RageHeart's words and observing his initial confidence wane as he spoke, Ethan pondered for a moment before responding.

"I don't think you're crazy or anything like that. I just believe you're dwelling too much on matters that may not be crucial," Ethan stated.

"What do you mean?" RageHeart asked, confusion evident in his expression. He was grappling with the question of whether this world was real, and he wondered if it even mattered to Ethan.

"What I'm trying to convey is that instead of fixating on the authenticity of this world, our focus should be on staying alive and surviving," Ethan replied, offering a reassuring smile.

It would be disingenuous to claim that Ethan had no fears, but he recognized that there was little he could do other than adapt to the circumstances at hand.

RageHeart, being human, understandably experienced fear. However, as Ethan had mentioned, allowing fear to dominate their thoughts wouldn't improve their situation.

Instead of dwelling on it, why not direct their attention to what truly mattered and what was immediately before them?

RageHeart finally comprehended Ethan's point, and a smile crossed his face before he spoke.

"Thanks, man," RageHeart expressed to Ethan, who sensed a return of the former's confidence in full force.

"No problem," Ethan replied, walking closer to tap RageHeart's shoulder. After the tap, he continued speaking.

"Now, let's check out what this system blessing is."

Ethan cast a glance at the castle situated at a distance before he began making his way towards it.

"Yeah," agreed RageHeart, falling in step.

Mia, meanwhile, had already begun moving as soon as Ethan's feet took the first step.

All three players existed within their own sphere, seemingly oblivious to the presence of the other humans, treating them as if they were nonexistent.

"..."

"Am I the only one thinking that those two are World Rank gamers, RageHeart and Aurora?" a young man, who appeared to be in his late teens, remarked, prompting the male beside him to nod with an uncertain expression on his face.

********

"It's huge," Ethan muttered aloud, gazing up at the majestic castle gates that loomed above him.

"It really is," Mia whispered softly beside him, her voice barely audible, resembling the buzz of a mosquito.

Ever since the realisation that she was amidst two World Rank gamers, Mia had unconsciously been doing her best to diminish her presence, influenced by her sense of inferiority.

"Shall we go in?" RageHeart inquired from the other side of Ethan, beginning to flex his muscles as a warm-up.

"Yeah, let's head in," Ethan responded.

All three players proceeded through the castle gates, their minds filled with curiosity about what awaited them on the other side.