Mike leisurely sipped on his cold beer, enjoying the bitter taste that washed away down his throat. He let out an exaggerated sound of bliss from drinking the cold beer. He slammed the beer onto the table where his group, the Golden Phoenix, which was the usual five members excluding Dairen, sat around him enjoying their meal.

From his left, Frag, with her usual frog pajamas like armor and her cute face, twirled around a fork a few times as her hand rested on her head. She looked at her group and stabbed her meal in front of her a little too viciously.

A golden hair man named Joe with a buff body and a very thick beard that reached down his chest spoke with great vigor. "Hero Mike." He goaded, giving him a mischievous smile. "I heard you came out from the Dragon Express's room. Did you get a chance to talk with Heather?" he wiggled his eyes with interest.

"No." Mike dipped his spoon into a fresh pile of mashed potatoes. "She was too busy."

Joe waved his fork in front of him, "What about Snow? The famous cold beauty. You got any high-level quest?" Leaning forward with the beer in hand, he asked his friend. "Though you got to admit she's quite something to look at. Heather just has this amazing figure that makes you drool, while Snow just has this mysterious aura around her that makes her attractive."

Kim rolled his eyes, grabbing a cup of water to drink.

Mike didn't say anything as he quietly ate his food.

"You did see her." Joe gaped, "and even got a high-level quest. You bastard."

The others instantly looked towards him as a girl with ponytails in a leather suit named Stacy spoke up with excitement. "What is it? What is it?" Her words were stumbling amongst each other, becoming a slur. "Did Dairen get it too? He usually gets the good ones that he shares with us."

Mike replied with a slow nod. "Yea, we'll see her later."

"Great!" Stacy cheered at the thought of a new mission.

Joe cut in, bringing back his thoughts to the table. "I've been thinking. Snow is a bit too mysterious. Her status information is usually blank. You think she cast some kind of hex on it or something?" He leaned a bit back. "I wonder if the Gods are even doing their jobs. I thought we all have some kind of blessing to see the status window for basic information."

Kim, a young Asian man with an oriental style clothing, who was sitting next to Joe, elbowed him hard.

"What?" Joe rubbed his sides. "It's not like I'm cursing the Gods."

"Be respectful. The Gods in this world are powerful. One mess up and you'll end up like that idiot who got cursed for a year."

"Well, that was that fool's problem. I wasn't even targeting a specific God anyway."

"Doesn't matter, plus the story goes that the God of Light and Darkness dictates most of this world. Plus, I don't think that the Yami Hikari company has the full kinks and extra tidbits of the world solved yet. It's almost like this world is real. Even still, the interaction between each quest is like a one-time event." Kim wiped his mouth with a napkin. He rolled it up into a ball and placed it on a paper plate. " This just shows us how much power they have that can affect our own."

"Or it could mean they are powerless." Joe curtly replied back, not really taking on the fantastical stance of what Joe had stated. "You have been blessed by a smaller god's power, not like the major Gods. Getting even a blessing from them is like finding a needle in a stack of hay. Everything here is just a figment of virtual reality. Let's not take it too far. Alright?" He replied.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The crew ate with a heavy silence.

Mike didn't even chip in on their bickering as he was too engrossed with his food.

It didn't take long before Dairen came over to join as he saw his merry bunch of groups, chatting away loudly. They goaded and made fun of each other, laughing at their stupid jokes.

Mike's eyes brightened when he saw Dairen, who seemed to still be in his own happy place. He wondered what Snow had given him.

"Dairen," Mike called out.

"Yea?" Dairen sat down, taking a quick drink from his cup.

"What did Snow give you?"

"The usual. A seed."

"A Seed?" Mike was thrown off by the answer, wondering what was so special about it, until it hit him. "Oh, you mean back at home. Your greenhouse."

"Yep. I already collected over fifty different varieties of unique seeds I need to transfer over. It sucks I can't bring more."

Mike nodded, understanding what he meant. The amount of things that they could transfer over was minimal and small. The others quieted down to listen in on Mike and Darien's conversation.

"I'm so jealous," Stacy spoke out, she gave Dairen a pout. "I wish I was so close to Snow. I don't get any quest from her. It's too difficult to even start a conversation. How are you able to even get so close?"

Dairen replied, "She's a good friend."

"Friend, my ass. You like her, don't you." Joe egged him.

Dairen cast his gaze down, turning red.

The other's delightfully started to smile at Dairen's reaction.

Mike couldn't help but ask, "since when?"

"Since the Wendigo incident."

Everyone reminiscences about the fight. It was their first time ever fighting such a boss with a large mobs. It frightened them as it was completely different from the regular battles that they have gone through. They could still feel their beating heart as the fear and adrenaline washed over them for a split moment.

A good one-fourth of the Players were killed, meaning they weren't able to come back to this world even if they wanted too. Everyone knew this as they all were a lot more cautious about how they played in this world.

"Well, how far have you guys gone?" Mike leaned forward, clasping his hand in front of him, waiting for Dairen's answer.

Dairen didn't answer. Instead, he seems to be holding back on what to say.

"Come on." Mike replied, "it's not like everybody doesn't know. It's been quite obvious, plus Snow is the only airhead who doesn't see it."

With a scowl, he spoke. "Nothing."

"Thought as much." Mike snorted into laughter. "I was hoping that you at least went to holding hand stages."

"Whatever, man," Dairen replied, annoyed at Mike. "Just shut up."

The others laughed as they saw him become uncomfortable.

"I can't believe you like an NPC," Joe replied. "It's so weird."

"She isn't an NPC." Dairen sharply replied. "I told you guys many times, this world is real. Not a game." Everyone could hear the slight tension in his voice.

"Okay. Okay." Joe threw up his hand, not wanting to argue. "Whatever you say, bud. Love is for whoever and whatever. Even if it's 0's and 1's."

"Agreed. Love is love." Stacy said with dreamy eyes as she longed for a love herself.

Mike eventually tapped the table a few times. "Anyways, tomorrow we got a mission escorting Snow around at 6 am. She asked us personally."

Everyone, except Dairen, leaned forward with excitement as if they were all sharing a secret.

"Oh my god. The other's going to be so jealous when they hear about our mission." Stacy squealed. Mike shot her a glare. She quickly reached up to cover her mouth.

"Be sharp on time, or I am going to leave without you guys." Mike sternly stated. He was a man of his words.

"You got it, boss," Stacy replied, pumping her fist in the air.

"Whatever you say." Joe shrugged, not caring about what time they were going to get up.

Kim nodded.

The others quickly got up as they were headed out to finish the day with a simple relaxation as they split ways.

Dairen and Mike stayed behind, they both sat in silence until Dairen spoke.

"Why are you allowing me to stay with your team?"

Mike replied. "Because you are useful." He bluntly replied, "plus, I scouted you out for the reason because we needed an archer. From my understanding, I heard you are working on your close combat as well."

With a nod, Dairen sat silent.

"Not only that, you have been scouted out by many others, but why us?" Mike couldn't help but ask, he had known Dairen for a long time, and this was something he wanted to know for a while.

"Because your reputation as a Hero benefits me."

"How so?"

"You and jobs have one of the best teams."

"True. Anything else?"

"Nope." Dairen seems to be unphased with Mike's questioning.

"Alright." Mike wasn't too phased by what Dairen had bluntly stated. Instead, he related a bit more in understanding Dairen's mind. Though with a hint of mischief, he spoke, "I think I'll go talk with Snow a bit more." He winked.

Mike got up in a bit of a hurry, laughing as he seemed to run away as Dairen sat still as he heard him shouting.

"You asshole!"