NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Before Wolf could let out his reply, a voice interrupted our conversation. As I glanced at the side, an image of a girl dressed in warrior's clothes welcomed my eyes.

That woman had a sharpened blade clipped in her hands. If I could squint my eyes, the sword would change its shape. It was a pointed object from afar and a hammer up close. I could only guess that the girl was both a blacksmith and a dwarf.

But the weirdest part did not stop from there.

Despite the girl having a warrior outfit, her height told me otherwise. That woman stood tall, with an average height of a human. Dwarves' typical height would be around four feet. However, this girl proved me wrong.

"You're a dwarf?" I asked, making sure that I had the correct answer.

I was looking for a dwarf named "Snow White", the ruler of this dwarven kingdom. And since this girl was the only dwarf I saw, I pressed her on my question. Despite shifting my focus to this dwarf girl, my right eye remained glued to the archer.

"Yes. Do we have a problem with that, red girl?" the dwarf answered, while returning my question.

"Are you perhaps… Snow White?" I asked once more.

I grasped that was my last question, considering the number of queries thrown in this conversation. After a few seconds, the girl nodded her head.

"Yes. I am Snow White…. Why do you know my name? Did someone send you to hunt me?"

I shook my head and replied, "Yes. And the one who told me to fetch you was a dwarf with the name Draven. He told me to escort you back to the shelter."

"And why would Draven send someone like you? I mean, look at you! You look like you have eaten nothing for a week! He could have told other blacksmiths to come and look for me!"

"That's the idea, Snow White," I answered. "Draven told me that most of the soldiers got wiped out from the attack. Only a quarter of the dwarven race survived. And they are all huddling with each other inside a shelter!"

"Those dwarves need you, Snow White. You should come with me and…"

Before I could even continue my sentence, Snow White went beside Wolf and the archer. That girl acted as if she was in Wolf's team this entire time.

And she did. Snow White confirmed in front of me she allied herself with Wolf.

The dwarf girl rested her hand on Wolf's shoulder and looked at the two players. "Do you know these two girls? Should we take them down as we did to the soldiers?"

Snow White's conversation felt like they were talking about something that happened in the past. Considering the girl spoke, I could only guess that these three people rendered the players defenceless in the lagoon.

It was also the reason Match and I got out of that place. Since the soldiers received massive damage from the previous assault, those players had no other choice but to repair all the wreckage they experienced.

The general we met also looked like he got wounded from an earlier fight. I never guessed that these two already made their move to gather some refreshments from the lagoon.

Wolf and his teammates had the same idea as we had. But now that our separated journey ended, our team finally met with the players… And that fate led me to the killer of Clementine.

"So, Snow White… You're with him??" I asked, while preparing my sword. "Did you brainwash the dwarven's queen, Wolf?"

"If I have that sort of power, I would've enchanted you earlier. But I didn't," a masculine voice replied in the distance.

After hearing my story, Snow White walked sauntered towards me and prepared her weapon. I could already guess that this girl would love to fight me even in this circumstance.

"I don't want to waste time fighting you, Snow White! I need to bring you back to the shelter!"

If I wanted a boat for Match and me to travel in the sea, I would need Snow White's cooperation. However, that idea did not go as planned.

"I know. And I would return to the shelter with these two with me. But only if you could defeat me," Snow White proclaimed, as she performed her battle stance.

An exhausted sigh escaped my mouth, thinking that the worst had already happened. I did not get my revenge on the archer. And now, I still had to deal with this war freak dwarf!

A pinching sensation alerted my back and attracted my attention. As I glanced behind, Match looked at me with worried eyes. She tugged at the ends of my clothing, trying to comfort me to the best of her abilities.

Her thoughtfulness alone lifted my stress as I caressed her fluffy hair.

"Thank you for being here with me, Match… and I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess….," I said, and apologised to the little girl.

However, Match shook her head and readied dozens of magic circles behind her. Judging from those arcane symbols, Match hid these spells from the naked eye. And the only people that could see these runes were the two of us.

"I want to fight with you, Red! I want to help you win and help you feel happy!" Match confessed, and showed me her grin.

My eyes widened in surprise as I heard her voice. Match's determined look carved on her face was enough to soothe me down.

However, my mind sensed danger from our opponent. Snow White looked like a person who even I could not handle alone.

That dwarf was the queen of dwarves. I just planned the deaths of those royalties that I killed before. They did not struggle. Those crowned leaders never fought against me, since they never got that chance.

But the tide had changed for this fight. I had to clash swords against this veteran dwarf. And bringing Match with me on this battlefield would mean sudden death for the two of us. Even if Snow White would hold back, I could already guess the end game of our fight.

"It's too dangerous for you, Match. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Well, I don't want you to get hurt too!" Match retorted, and acted like a stubborn child. "Do you think I want you to get hurt?! No! Please, Red! I'm not useless! I can fight by your side!"

This event was the first time for me to see her childish side. Match never showed this part of her, thinking that she needed to become mature with me. Since we would explore various dangerous places, Match tried her best. She thought that slowing me down would anger me.

"....."

After a few seconds, I succumbed to her desire and motioned her to move beside me. No words could explain my excitement right now that I could fight with Match against someone beyond our level.

'I trust your magical spells, Match…,' I whispered.

But my voice never flowed out from my mouth. It was as if something strange had occurred before our match could even start. As soon as I gazed at Match, that little girl gave me a smirk and whispered inside my head.

"Wow, Red. This feature is so cool! I never thought we could communicate using you in-voices inside our heads?!"

Just as I heard Match's comment, a notification alerted my senses. Two windows came crashing by, telling me that an extra feature got updated by itself. Since I did not know how the system worked, I skimmed through the texts.

[Congratulations, Red! You can now use "Whisper". The whisper feature grants the player to communicate to another ally through a smart chat box. The thoughts laid out inside your head would turn into murmurs of the teammates. You can only send messages via whispering to your teammate or party member. But beware! Some players and class upgrades could also detect whispers during battle.] 

Thanks to the recent upgrade, I could finally send instructions to my teammates. The system recognised these allies for me. I could also reject any members included in my party.

And I could only guess that Match received the same thing, since she heard my whisper.

However, an odd feeling enveloped inside of me. As I looked up ahead, I caught Wolf staring at our figures, mumbling to himself. When the system explained to me the description, I immediately knew the problem.

Wolf could also read my messages sent for Match.

However, I remained ignorant about the matter. I could also use this feature to my advantage soon. And right now, fighting Snow White would be our utmost priority.

Match and I needed to stay alive and win this battle if we still wanted to reach Alice in Wonderland.

"Two against one? Isn't that unfair?" Snow White asked.

Wolf retorted and explained, "It's okay. You're an overpowered beast. You could deal with these two, right, Snow White?"