NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

With one suggestion from Match, my thoughts got swayed as the two of us ended up running towards the fight. As soon as we arrived at the site, Wolf glanced at our figures. Even with their veteran experience, these two players still had problems fighting against the worm.

"Do you want to help us or what?" Okami asked.

"I thought you're the strongest player in this world? You should deal with that with ease, right?" I mocked, waiting for an answer.

Since Okami had claimed himself as the most powerful player in Code, he should know about taking down this worm. He had faced ferocious monsters that ever existed in this world. But Wolf struggled to keep the worm at bay.

"This worm is around level 100. Snow White is barely level 50. Ryoshi is 28. And I'm around 20. Do you think that my damage would be enough to take that monster down? I could, but it would take an hour before finishing this creature," Okami explained. "Your sister… that girl, Match, has the highest arcane from all of us combined! I think that Match could even severely injure that worm with one spell if she wants to. And that blade you're holding has some decent effects on taking down stronger enemies. Since you have a weapon, and I don't, why not give us a helping hand?"

The way Okami said it dove my nerves. He mocked me while explaining his reasons against that monster. However, I could not help but agree with those points, considering that the two of us could see each other's status information.

It was like Wolf had mentioned. He was around level 20, and Hunter reached level 28. And when I stared at the worm, the system showed that it had 100 levels beside its name.

"We need to take that thing out before it could unleash something powerful!" Wolf cried.

Hunter continued, "Wolf, kill all the five hearts! Worms have five hearts!"

"Got it!"

After their conversation, the three of them sprawled into action. Hunter, Snow White, and Wolf went into their position and handled the worm. However, after staring at the scene, I knew these three needed our help. Match and I were the only ones that could deal some direct damage to the creature.

I glanced at Match, thinking that this fight was a dangerous battle. She had the most arcane of the four of us. But the world would fall differently if we tried clashing against an overpowered monster.

One minor mishap could claim all of our lives, regardless of wishing upon the stars. If there were one way to deal with the worm, running away would be our utmost priority.

However, Match stood her ground and gave me a nod, telling me she was ready to fire those reserved spells. I knew that Match would follow my words, so she wanted to ensure that we would fight against the worm with this temporary party.

"Just don't die, Match," I murmured, and gave my go signal to Match.

The little girl noticed my cue and discharged all the contents contained inside her magic circle. Within a split second, a twirling blaze emerged outside from the arcane. That lava-like power dashed straight towards the worm, aiming for the kill.

Snow White and Wolf were already aware of the assault as the two of them dove to the sides. They evaded Match's attack and went for the flank. Since the worm needed to focus on the ray of flames, that monster did not notice the two.

Hunter accompanied Match's attack and fired a barrage of bolts straight towards the worm. Those arrows served as protective measures. Those darts were precautions if Match's flames would not take the monster down.

I went all the way to the worm's rear and readied my dagger. Since everyone caught the monster's attention, it became effortless for me to move around.

And that was what I did.

I readied my penitent's weapon and sprinted straight towards the creature. I also activated my spell [shadow walk] to heighten all of my senses. Everything surrounding me became sluggish like a turtle, except for Wolf. Since he could also use another version of this spell, Wolf moved just fine.

Within a blink of an eye, my body zoomed beside the worm, with my dagger piercing its skin. The meteor ball launched by Match also hit the creeping creature. There were also arrows flying from Hunter.

Wolf and Snow White wasted no time as they sliced and diced the worm's meat. Everything could have gone as planned if only Wolf did not travel in front of me.

"You idiot! What are you doing?!" I screamed.

Wolf obstructed my view after dodging Match's attacks. And before I could even strike the worm's hearts, an arrow struck my shoulder, dealing an instant pain at my right side.

After a few seconds, the pain temporarily subsided. Since I grew accustomed to this sensation, having my right arm injured was nothing of the ordinary. The only thing that got my attention was my dominant hand.

That arrow remained to impale my shoulder, hindering me from plucking out or use my right hand. And since I considered my right hand as my dominant hand, fighting against this worm became a problem. If I had to go in front, I needed to use my left hand.

And that was no easy feat to do.

"Shit," Hunter exclaimed, as he squinted his eyes in my direction.

However, no matter how much he regretted his actions, Ryoshi could not rewind the past. It was the same event that killed Clementine. But this scene came from our own mistakes.

We did not have any teamwork at all. Despite the plan Wolf laid out earlier, we still ended up losing the fight.

The worm grasped its chance and hurled everyone away from its body. All three of us got pushed back at the corner, slamming ourselves at the wall. The stone we collided with blared out a crack as our bodies touched the panel.

Fortunately for me, Match was not part of this madness. She hid behind a stone before that violent creature could even harm her body.

Ryoshi was not that lucky. When the worm twisted and turned its body, a gust of wind came in his direction. Hunter got tossed to the opposite side and also smacked his back at the wall.

But that event did not stop from there. The worm noticed these two and threw two stones each in their direction. Match cast a blazing spell once more, but the magic attack did not slow down the rock.

It was only a matter of time before that boulder crushes Match.

I rushed towards her way, but I knew I was already too late. I even disregarded my right arm from swelling. But all my efforts went to the drain, telling me I won't make it to Match.

However, the stone never reached Match's figure. That hovering rock shattered into a million rubles raining down from the ceiling. When I narrowed my eyes, a dart flew by and pierced the ground.

As I slid my eyes to the other side, Hunter's bow welcomed my eyes. Despite slamming his body on the wall, Ryoshi remained on his ground. With the last ounce of energy left inside of him, he fired that arrow and saved Match.

But the stone that the worm hurled reached his figure, crushing Hunter once again. Within a few moments, his body fell to the ground. The only fortunate thing that happened was... Ryoshi was still alive.

I did not know how to feel. I wanted Ryoshi to die, but he saved Match. If it was not for him, the stone could have severely injured Match. That action did not change my view of him from the past. But I was still grateful for him to save Match….

He was there for Match when I couldn't defend her.

But unlike us, Hunter got himself unconscious, leaving us four fighting against the massive worm. Match did her best to stand up from the ground and ran towards Hunter. Although I hated that man, Match yearned to save him. She even cast a shield made of crimson fire just to protect the two of them.

Match looked me in the eye when she finally arrived beside Hunter. I gave her a nod, since she was already there to help him. Although my hatred continued circling inside of me, I did not want Hunter to die.

But that occurrence was the least of our problems. We needed to deal with the worm first, before anything else. Now that we lost two long-ranged attackers, our battle would become more hectic than before.

Adding the cherry on top, we lacked coordination between each other. All of us wanted to do things in our own way, making our structure worse than before. Since the worm was a high-level monster, we needed to act together; if we wished to win this fight.