NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

(Still in Okami's Point of View)

_______________________

"And tomorrow, I would also introduce to you the boat you would all board towards Wonderland. It's a treasure that my people kept for futuristic voyages. But the situation became dire. And you're the one who needs it the most, Okami. If Red hears about the requirements to ride that bad boy, she would not feel happy about it."

I stared into Snow White's eyes at the unbelievable news. After a few seconds, I recognised that Snow's claim hit the nail.

"Maybe you're right. But I can force Red to include me as her adventurer. And she can't do anything about it. Let me guess, that boat needs five people to operate the boat. And since none of us had experience riding or controlling one, we needed more people. I assume you plan on helping us fix it?"

Snow White gave me a playful nod to my question. Despite her smirk, she wanted our team to succeed and save this world.

Before we ended our conversation, I came to her and asked Snow White. "Now that's all out of the way. Do you want to join my force? We have the dark elves waiting inside the forest."

Since Kouran needed more troops, adding the dwarves in our numbers would really help us soon. We were up against players and soldiers from Earth. They also armed themselves with guns and extraordinary weapons in our modern times.

If there was one way for us to win, we would use our knowledge of living in this world. Considering that I was the strongest player in the game, our odds rose to the ceiling.

But that would change upon stepping foot on that cursed island….

Nobody wanted to go to Wonderland. Even though I had the necessary levels and equipment, I refused to visit that environment. I could not fathom why the developers still made that place, despite its dark history. It even cost them the destruction of this game if it were not for me.

"You're going to fight Alice?" Snow White asked, before I could outside.

I nodded my head and answered, "Yes. And how did you know I fought against Alice? Only the higher-ups of this game should know about that battle."

I raised my eyebrow upon hearing Snow White's question, wondering about her intentions. I could only guess that Snow White heard it from other villagers, considering that she was an adventurer who roamed around the places.

"I just knew. Nobody told me, but I realised Alice got defeated by someone. And when I arrived at Wonderland, I returned here and... forgot how I arrived."

"Strange," I answered. "There should be nothing that could control memories in this game. The developers refused to meddle with NPCs and the natural order of Code. And yet, how was that possible?"

All my mumblings never found an answer to the mysterious phenomenon. Snow White could only hum to herself while watching me suffer alone. Since she did not know to think as I could, Snow White did not help me with this problem.

"Well, we should lie low for now. There's nothing I could do about your fuzzy memories. But that would be a different story if you're hiding something from me, Snow White," I continued.

"Hmm…. It seems that you don't entirely trust me, despite working together against those players."

"I trust no one but my sister, Snow White. Your help eased my goal. But you can never earn my trust unless dying for my sake. Maybe I would consider it if you do just that."

Snow White did not utter a word after hearing my sentence. And since we concluded our conversation, I headed outside and prepared my equipment. Ryoshi was still sleeping inside his room and would wake up at the next minute. He was also a diligent student who had a fixed schedule.

I always called him the bookworm or the early birdie when I first met him.

Snow White did not follow me and went inside the shelter. I could imagine that she listened to Red and my talk earlier, so she planned to check on Ryoshi. Since we talked about establishing our trust, Snow White must have wanted to protect my friend and proved her loyalty to me.

However, I needed nothing like that since Ryoshi would already wake up soon.

I stepped outside and watched the stars filling the night sky. It was a lovely night that would make Himari stare with awe if she were here with me. That reason alone was enough to drive me to complete this game.

But before I could meet with Ryoshi, a figure emerged from the shadows. It was someone I knew and met for the past days before arriving in this kingdom. The girl appeared herself from the dusk while calling my attention.

"Wolf, we meet again," Kouran said, while walking towards me. "You were difficult to find. But with the help of this system, I tracked down your position. We finally got the hang of using the party member thing you introduced to us. Although we're not parties, we are still fighting the same enemy."

I was about to mention that when Kouran explained it ahead of me. She was not supposed to be here. And yet, that dark elf girl waltz inside the dwarven kingdom and said hello.

I greeted Kouran and answered, "You should have sent a scout or somebody else if you're going to tell me a message. And besides, leading your troops is more important than sending me something."

"Our," Kouran corrected. "We gathered as much force as we could, but I doubt this would be enough against the gods…. or the game developers you mentioned. But that is not my goal meeting you here, Fenrir."

Kouran went to my side while staring at the place behind me. I gazed at the opposite side of her body and continued listening to her message. All my cells inside my body became wiggly, thinking we did a cool pose. Although I was the strongest player in Code, I was still a teenager who wanted awesome things inside a game.

"The soldiers are getting closer as we speak. Maybe we could hold them off while we could? Or, do you want us to stay hidden in the shadows and wait for your order? Please remember that we need resources to maintain the health and morale of our army."

When Kouran said all of those to me, I lowered my head and stared at the ground. I knew that the world I lived in today changed into a death game. And these NPCs believed and placed their hopes in me. They had nothing to lose but could gain everything that they wanted, including freedom.

I had the responsibility to take care of these people. But thanks to Kouran, she acted as my right and managed my job. All I had to do was to complete this stupid game and free these NPCs.

Himari might have done the same thing if our positions got reversed. Since she was a kind girl, Himari would definitely save everyone in need, despite the NPCs being characters in this world.

But how could I think of those things when Red felt more humane than the rest of the people I knew? She wanted justice for her fallen sister, who did nothing wrong but lived her life. These NPCs could not run away and would beg for help from us adventurers.

Red's reason was enough to move my heart. And if I were the one who lost to Himari in this game, I would have done the same thing. I would seek vengeance while hunting down the responsible people managing Code.

However, killing these developers would cause an uproar for the government. Since these authoritative people had power, they would kill all NPCs… And the same situation happened right now.

"Wait for my signal. And do not engage or kill any people without my permission. Those who would disobey my rules shall suffer the consequences. Banish them from our group and leave them be. We don't need irresponsible NPCs as our members," I announced, and met Kouran's worried eyes.

She gave me a nod, but Kouran could not hide her anxiousness from me. I walked closer to her and stared into her soul, wondering what boggled her head.

"Go on. Ask anything you like," I insisted, and waited for Kouran's response.

Kouran shrugged her shoulders and asked, "But what if the players attacked us first? It won't be long before those soldiers arrive at our base. They may have attacked us already as we speak, Fenrir."

"If that happens, all of you must retreat immediately. Do not kill…. Please, do not kill them."

If these NPCs killed another person, the government would acknowledge them as threats to our society. And since the death game did nothing but prolong our worries, the United Nations would do something extreme to finish the game.

"I have a plan. And it won't be long before we could complete this damn game."

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