NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Wolf and the rest of us paid our respects to Draven. When the players stormed the village, Draven sacrificed his life while protecting this village. If it were not for him, more dwarves would have suffered from the wrath of those soldiers.

However, the townspeople refused to accept Wolf and Ryoshi. Considering that these two were also players of this game, the dwarves' wounds were still fresh in their minds. And if I placed myself in the shoes of those dwarves, I would also feel the same.

"You monster…."

"You killed us!"

"Get away from this village!"

Those villagers finally dared to shout their inner voices. They pointed their forefingers at the two while throwing debris scattered on the ground. Although Wolf saved them from the soldiers, these dwarves refused to look at the bigger picture.

But Wolf never retorted at the crowd. He pulled Ryoshi to the side and exited the shelter without uttering a word. However, before they could reach the gates, Snow White snatched the two and placed them in the middle.

All the dwarves had shocking expressions on their faces when they met face to face with the two players.

"These two young men are Wolf and Ryoshi! They rescued me from the players out there when our team got attacked. The six dwarves fell into their hands and protected me until the end... just like Draven," Snow White said, while meeting everyone's gaze. "All of you should listen to what I have to say! These two are innocent people! They rescued me instead of taking my life! I led them here to our shelter since we needed backup. And I was right. Draven died for our sake. Believe in this man like how I trust him! We have nothing to lose but plenty to gain."

It was the dwarven queen who made sense out of those panicking dwarves. Since Draven died, nobody else attempted to lead these stranded dwarves to victory. They had nowhere else to go but wander alone, with those players already waiting for them outside.

Wolf could not hide his expression of awe while listening to the queen. After all that had happened in the village, Snow White remained optimistic. She kept trying to find the light at the tunnel's end, despite the dark hour that fell upon them.

Snow White became the image of hope to the dwarves.

"Thank you," Wolf muttered.

Wolf had the power to dominate everything he could see, including the dwarves' lives. Although he was not using his main account, Okami was still the number one player in this game. Ryoshi was just there for some reason.

Regardless of these titles, Okami remained calm and understanding about the game. Wolf even told me he had changed for his sister, especially when he met me.

However, I could not trust him for his words. Despite all those flowery sentences, Wolf was still a player who could kill Match and me. He was also friends with Ryoshi, who was the one who killed Clementine.

Someone pulled the end strings of my clothing and grabbed my attention. As I turned around, I met Match's eyes. She kept fiddling her feet, while mumbling to herself. However, despite these attempts, Match remained silent for a while.

"Do you want to say something?" I asked, encouraging her to speak her own mind.

Match took a deep breath and looked in Wolf's direction. "Aren't we going to help him? He helped us secure this place…. Right?"

I shook my head and refused to give my reply.

Match could not watch the scene any longer as she charged straight towards the three. She said nothing at all, but supported them by walking to their side.

That girl gave me a choice to support Wolf or abandon him in this strife. I would receive no benefit at all if I stood by his side.

However, how could I reject Match's offer with those teary eyes? She was the only one who calmed my senses. And even though Wolf's friend took Clementine's life, I had no choice but to support Wolf…. only for this time.

"Listen, dwarves. You already know me, since I spoke to Draven around days before this happened. Our team fended off those players. And if we had not showed up, all of you would die. This man here planned the attack. We could not have done it without Wolf's and Hunter's work. Listen to him since he's an excellent leader," I exclaimed, while staring at all the dwarves surrounding me. My name is Red, and I am also an NPC. I am also just like you! Those players are on our way to hunt us down. And it's your choice to fight or run away. If you choose to believe my words, you have to listen to Wolf."

The dwarves shared looks, thinking if they would trust my words. They kept wondering what a "player" meant to them, since none of those dwarves knew the game. But I planned on explaining all of that information after this, considering that they needed to believe me before they could listen to the truth.

"I know that it's difficult to believe me, but these two differ from those soldiers out there. He could kill everyone with a flick of his finger…. Wolf could kill me if he wanted to, but he didn't," I continued.

Snow White chuckled to herself and added some words after my sentence. "You heard the warrior. We defeated those bastards. But we didn't kill them…. Although those soldiers killed our friends, we refused to do the same to their kind. But we wouldn't let them roam free just yet…. There's a little arrangement I prepared for the entire soldier population."

A moment of silence filled after those dwarves listened to our speech. Their decisions will affect the livelihood of this village, including how we handle the soldiers. Although staying in this town would bring me nothing but wasting my time, there was one thing I could gain from staying. I still wanted to learn about any information these soldiers had I could use against the game developers.

And I would bet these guards knew something about the game developers and the game itself.

It took the dwarves five minutes before they could give us their answer. An old dwarf, who looked like the representative, was the one who announced the decision.

"We have agreed to believe your words, Snow White. Although we accept this faith with a heavy heart, we do not have any choice but to follow you. As an elder of this kingdom, I will lead these people under your direct command… the three of you," the dwarf said, while lowering his eyes.

"Raise your head," I demanded. "I am no queen or anything with a title. Just lend me a ship that Draven promised, and we will be on our way."

Wolf and Match had a shocking expression on their faces when they heard my crude sentences. They did not expect me to disrupt the serious tone because of my selfish desires.

But I did not go here for charity. Although saving the dwarves was always part of my plan, I wanted to have the ship that Draven offered. That raft would allow us to travel towards Alice in Wonderland, the next obelisk we needed to complete this game.

"Ah, Red. If you're talking about the ship, I already prepared one for you," Snow White said, while pumping her chest.

All my worries washed away from my heart as I heard those beautiful words. Those sentences were music to my ears, sung by a professional bard.

"Well, lead me there then!" I said, and grabbed Match's hands without her consent.

She kept struggling to break free from my latch, but failed. There was nothing that could stop my ambitions from getting that ship!

"But we need to go there tomorrow. It's near the docks, so we need more time to prepare our equipment," Snow White appended, while walking towards the ragged house. "In the meantime, why not take a quick nap. The fight already exhausted all of us. My legs couldn't even take down a boa!"

"Like I would do that!"

Just as I had retorted, my legs gave out, slamming my upper body on the ground. Match, Wolf, and Ryoshi did the same thing and kissed the floor. We were all conscious about our surroundings, but we could not lift our fingers or toes. It was as if the energy we lost all came haunting us back, begging us to rest for the time being.

Snow White also collapsed on the floor and yawned. She was already asleep before walking inside the house.

Fortunately for us, we already rounded up all the soldiers inside the shelter. Wolf and I tied them up with a magical rope that restrained their magical powers. It also decreases their strength, forcing them to sit tight while facing the wall.

Our eyes finally dropped, forcing us to sleep without a bed. And the last thing I remembered was a dwarf carrying us inside a room, together with Match.