NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Okami's Point of View

Slight recap. After fighting the players, Wolf and the others went toward the house to rest. They rounded up all the soldiers outside the tent and monitored them for the time being.

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"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Red," I mumbled, while slowly getting up from my make-shift bed. There's no way you could hide that painful killing intention oozing from your body."

The shadow near Ryoshi stepped backwards as soon as I caught its shape. After a few seconds, a girl's figure emerged from the darkness, revealing her crimson dress and a dagger clipped in her hands.

"...."

Red stared into my eyes while aiming her blade at Ryoshi's chest. She was one step closer to her girl, but I caught her in the act. It was up to her if Red wanted to stop this madness or continue our fight.

But regardless of her decisions, I would always win this battle. I already set up a trap before she could even do that. And if Red planned on attacking Ryoshi, she would harm, instead, harm herself.

"That's just your afterimage, am I right? You're already in front of me, waiting to plunge this knife into this murder," Red muttered, while staring into my eyes.

I deactivated my [wolf walk] and appeared myself before Red. She had guessed my motives right through me like an old book she read twice. A smirk emerged from my face as my concealment wore off within a few seconds.

"You're an NPC, yet you sound like a real person," I remarked, while pushing her armed hand away from my sleeping friend.

"You're the number one player, yet you're stupid," replied Red.

We locked eyes for a few moments before averting our gaze. After exchanging insults with each other, Red stood up and trundled towards the exit. Fortunately for Ryoshi, he had not woken up from the noise.

"You can't kill him... Not without my permission," I said, without taking my gaze off from Red.

Red stopped walking towards the door and clenched her hands. She finally turned around and met my eyes for the second time. But Red's eyes narrowed down, with her mouth gritting in pain. Her heart pounded blaring tunes, telling me that this occurrence was not the end of our clash.

"I will continue this as long as I have the energy to do so. And there's nothing you can do to stop me, Okami."

Red called me by my name, which sent shivers down my spine. This girl may have plotted something to use my name against me. But the only thing Red would place in danger was my sister, Himari. If those government agencies found out my name, they would storm my house and take Himari for an interrogation. Since I was still playing this Code, my body would remain unconscious until I completed this game.

And that was what I explained to Red.

"If you tell my name to the world, the government would look for my sister. They would hunt her down and take her to prison," I said."

"Why?" Red asked.

"Before this death game started, I was a player killer…. It's someone who kills people out of fun while stealing their loot. Himari and I are not that rich back on Earth... The world we live in is unfair to us, so I had to stain my hands with blood. And then, I quitted playing this game when I finally paid off my death. But when the death game started, I returned to this world to save Ryoshi…. I know that if I kill people inside this game, they could die in real life. Fenrir was a player killer sought by millions and players. And now, the government wants me dead, considering the stakes we have in this game," I narrated, while swiping my hand upward.

I revealed my system to her and showed her my main account profile. Since Fenrir's account was always available for everyone to see, my character always became the trending person in the search box. And when the game started, Fenrir took the spotlight.

"Everyone expected a mad man running wild in this world. But I can't... Himari was the one who changed me to become a good man. And now that my best friend got trapped inside this game, I finally knew the weight of our lives. That's why I want to stop this madness. Since I'm the number one player, I have this overwhelming responsibility to complete this game, not the government. They wanted to kill every NPCs inside the Code, while I wanted to protect all of you."

"What's in it for you when you protect us? Why would you do this? What's your end goal?" Red bombarded me with questions.

I answered all of them in a sentence. "Himari...my sister. I don't want to disappoint her. If I had this power to change things, I would use it to protect Himari. Every time I see you, you remind me of myself."

As soon as Red heard my words, she dashed behind me and pointed her blade near my throat. She planned on slitting my neck like all the enemies she killed before meeting me.

"You're not like me. I saw your life. You still have your sister, while mine's dead! This game killed her! Players who should protect the city abandoned us! And the one that wanted to save Clementine hit her with an arrow. Now, tell me, how are we the same when we have nothing similar?"

"We have a sister that we love…. A sister we want to protect…. and someone that we can trust, unlike anyone in this world. That's my answer."

Red concluded our conversation and went straight ahead towards the outside. Her room was around upstairs. But after what had happened, that girl refused to return to her bed. With those memories haunting Red's brain, even I would refuse to sleep alone with my thoughts.

"I just hope Match would fill that hole in Red's heart," I mumbled to myself, and returned to my bed.

That was what I intended to do if it were not for someone stalking our talk.

"I'm surprised that Red did not notice you there. Come on, show yourself. You're completely obvious, you know?" I suggested, while scratching my head.

I found it dragged for me to say it. So I waited for that warrior girl to show up and reveal herself to me.

"As I had expected from Wolf! For a minute, I thought you never noticed me. Yet, here you are, telling me my concealment was nothing but rubbish."

Snow White emerged from the shadows, mimicking the moves Red did earlier. However, unlike Red, Snow White had her presence hidden like a black panther in the forest, lurking at her prey. If only I were a novice adventurer, I would have died before I could even react to Snow White's presence.

"How much have you listened?" I went straight to the point and asked.

Snow White showed me a playful smile before answering my question. She was not like this when I first met her. But now that I thought about it, I knew nothing about this warrior besides being a dwarf. Since I had no intentions of learning every detail about this world, that ignorance finally came biting my back.

"Everything. And like you've said before, I know your name. And now, I know that this world is not the world we know of. There is someone out there…. or multiple creatures controlling our lives. You're one of them, but technically not a part of those elite figures."

Snow White caught up fast when she first heard the conversation. If I placed my shoes in her position, I would have doubted everything. But Snow White had a different brain among those NPCs.

I thought she was a worthless blacksmith who could fight. But Snow White proved me wrong.

"So, what's your plan? Are you going to kill me too, like the rest of the soldiers? Or are you willing to place your bets on me and follow my lead?"

"Honestly, after hearing that conversation, I found all those details dubious. Now that I saw your eyes, that information all came together like a puzzle piece."

Snow White walked closer to me and whispered in my ear. "Of course, I will follow you, Wolf. Among the players, if that's what you call them, we faced, you're the one who has a head. Tomorrow, we would interview all the soldiers and set them free. Like you've said, we just need their information. We don't have to kill them for no proper reason."

I gave Snow White a nod.

"And tomorrow, I would also introduce to you the boat you would all board towards Wonderland. If Red hears about the requirements to ride that bad boy, she would not feel happy about it."

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."