NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Red Rose's Perspective

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After a few hours, we resumed our journey to find Snow White. Although we had little knowledge about our surroundings, my system proved its worth. It brightened up our view and revealed uncharted places that we still left unexplored.

It was a matter of time before we could finally meet with the dwarven's queen.

However, Draven also reminded that Snow White was not a friendly person. She could hardly believe my words and would fight me. Draven warned me all about that. So, he advised me to fight against her in a one-versus-one battle.

And since Snow White also lost her comrades during the war, she would vent her revenge to me. I could only guess that would happen once we saw each other face to face.

[There is a lagoon up ahead, Red.] My system notified me and placed a blue marker on the terrain it mentioned.

Match and I had no other option but to follow the system's lead. The two of us would love to have something to drink, especially after a long day's trip. We were fortunate enough to find a body of water around this place, and could become our temporary base for now.

However, upon approaching the place, the resting soldiers greeted our eyes. All of them looked like they were resting after a defeated battle.

"Do you really want to drink in that lagoon, Red? It's infested with guards, you know?" Match raised her concerns, while heaving out a sigh.

I gave her a nod and replied, "Yeah. Since we are already running out of water, we might as well refill our bottles. And besides, it's cheaper and efficient this way."

After considering my claim, Match allowed me to fetch some water. However, Match added that she would not include herself during this mission. She told me it would be a waste of demonstrating her power to these guards.

"I might kill them," Match exclaimed, as she nestled her head beside the ancient bark. "I still can't control my powers, especially those soldiers."

I could only think that this little girl had matured throughout our journey. After Match came into realisation that she killed those people before, she doubted herself and her powers. Although she used her arcane at some events, Match's eyes told me otherwise.

"Okay. I got this. I just need to take some water from the lagoon," I answered, and conjured a magic spell surrounding me.

Magical runes and circles appeared before my eyes and covered my body with [shadow walk]. It was a spell that allowed me to walk through shadows without making a sound. I became fond of using this spell, since it cost me little mana compared to the other abilities that my system had.

But if I had to look at the bigger picture, I had a smaller set of skills rather than my fingers combined.

As soon as I activated my ability, I dashed towards the side and snuck my way inside. The soldiers did not mind my presence and still looked away from my direction. But upon arriving at the moist site, a cough blared out behind me.

I prepared myself to look around and readied my weapons in case of a sudden battle.

"Are you here for the water too?" a voice of a man asked me, with a click coming from somewhere.

I could only guess that the clicking sound came from a gun. Which I also learned after studying the weapon. Before that person could fire his firearm, I turned around and disarmed the man. However, I got way ahead of myself and tumbled out of nothing.

The man, dressed in a dark green vest, met my eyes. He had a glittering star patched around his breast pocket, with a bear reaching around his neck. The soldier, who I assumed had an authoritative figure on this base, walked to me with an expressionless gaze.

After a few seconds, the man sighed and opened his mouth. "You can take the bottle and leave this place. Let's just say I never saw you come here, and you never saw me pull a trigger…. You never saw me at all. I like that more than the former part."

Despite the fierce look of the soldier, the man let me off the hook and turned a blind eye. The bloke followed his words as he stood up and swivelled his back around from mine. My mouth remained gaped wide open, unable to comprehend the situation.

That bearded man knew no bounds, with his exceptional pistol clipped in his pockets. If he pulled the trigger and aimed for my heart, I would have left Match all alone from the woodland.

"Why?" I asked.

I did not add more to my question, since no words came afterwards from my mouth. The man heard my query and stopped walking from the drenched soil. He glanced in my direction but refused to face me head-on.

"I should be dead right now. But here I am, alive and standing in front of you. The boy that came before you taught me a valuable lesson that no soldier could learn. I guess keeping you alive meant to atone for my sins," the bloke explained, with his hand pointed downwards.

"I'm an NPC. I thought all the soldiers would want to kill me… You're different," I exclaimed, with my eyes widened in shock.

The man stood still and continued watching me. I returned his gaze and continued my sentence.

"Are you sure this is okay? You're not scheming for anything now, are you?"

The man shook his head and answered, "No. My son wouldn't forgive me for killing an innocent girl. You should hurry and leave this place, Red…"

After saying his goodbyes, the general went inside the shadowy road. Within a few seconds, his figure disappeared from the smog, filling the air.

"Who was that guy? Why does he know my name?"

A shudder coursed through my veins upon as I heard the man calling out for me. He knew my identity without even exchanging information. If I had learned this scene earlier, I would have squeezed the guy for some answers.

But I had already used my luck and got to keep my life with me. That general had the upper hand, and a gun pointed behind me. If that man wanted to kill me, he would have pulled the trigger and announced my death.

However, none of that happened. Instead, the man walked away from me without harming my body.

I went to the lagoon and refilled my jars with fresh water. The reflection from the lagoon reflected my face, revealing the tired expression carved on my eye bags.

"So, this is me when I'm tired?" I asked, refusing to look anywhere but my image.

But the fun time did not last for long as the stomps of soldiers in the distance alerted my brain. I snatched my bottles away and activated my [shadow walk]. Since the general was the only one who noticed my spell, I concluded he was more powerful than anyone in this camp.

With my spell enveloping my body, I escaped the campsite and met Match. Upon reaching the base's exterior, a figure of a girl welcomed my sight. However, instead of greeting me, the recognisable lass snored like a rabbit.

There were dozens of firewoods beside Match that came in all different sizes. Each of the boughs had different colours. Some of them got burnt, while others still had fresh marks on their skin.

I could only guess that Match studied the power of her flames when I was fetching some water.

"Look at you, working really hard," I remarked, and sat beside Match.

I used the dry leaves as our make-shift blanket and covered the two of us under the moonlight. The wind blew through our skin, telling me that the night had finally turned old.

However, I never felt fazed by the atmosphere and continued cuddling with Match. This girl was in a heavy sleeper. She refused to wake up even at the noises sound coming from a crashing branch.

Just as I found a comfortable area, Match leaned her head and continued sleeping on my shoulders. My entire body froze as soon as I felt the warmth of Match beside me.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you, Match," I whispered, while caressing her forehead.

My imagination failed every time I thought about a world without this girl. It was as if the worst punishment I could receive when the thought came haunting me down.

But no matter how hard our journey could become, I vowed to stay by her side. I would always protect Match and give it everything I got for this little girl. She reminded me of Clementine… the sister I couldn't save when she needed me the most.

It had been months since the death game started. If only Clementine survived; I wonder what life I would live right now?