NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

After failing my attempt to kill Ryoshi in his sleep, I went back to my room and spent the night thinking about Clementine. All my brain wanted to do was to kill that player who murdered my sister. However, the person who I treated with utmost respect was the one protecting Hunter.

"If only you're not acquaintances with Ryoshi, maybe we could have worked together," I mumbled to myself, while finally falling asleep.

As the sun rose from the east, I picked myself up from the bed and went outside the room. Match stood on the grass, waiting for me to come down. She woke up even before I could, telling me she could not wait to do more stuff than before.

Since we barely failed our mission, Match might have thought that she needed more strength to withstand our enemies. Match had a spark in her eyes, telling everyone she wanted to train more than she did yesterday. And that fire kindled my flames, motivating me to improve my strength with her!

I caressed Match's crazed her a million times while waiting for Wolf. That man said to meet him in front of the shelter. But he was yet to appear in front of us.

"Maybe he chickened out when I tried killing his friend?" I groaned to myself, while stomping my feet from impatience.

I wanted to train right now with Match and test some new abilities. Since the gun I stole from the players proved its worth, I wished to practice it more against my enemies. And I also had to keep in mind that those bullets would take someone's life if they hit them on their head or vital organs. Those bullets worked like a charm and would instantly kill anyone standing in their way.

The gun that the elite soldier had got destroyed after I attempted to touch it. It malfunctioned and shared a screen to my system, saying that it would not work unless the soldier would use it. Much to my surprise, the gun had a feature.

[The rifle would only function if the player holds it in his hands]. That sentence was the only description that my system explained to me.

So I needed to increase my accuracy by training my gun skills. I could barely use my bow and arrow during combat. And now, I had a hard time dealing with my gun. We needed to train as soon as possible before boarding the ship.

But before we could proceed to that schedule, we had more important things to take care of. Two figures appeared in the distance as they walked closer towards us.

I looked around and spotted Snow White and Wolf walking together in my direction. If I could guess their routes, those two went near the abandoned streets while mumbling to each other. Since they already met each other before we could greet Snow White, I could only guess they talked about something important related to me.

Wolf and I slept in our buildings, standing right next to each other. And when I attacked Ryoshi in the middle of the night, Wolf was still awake, ready to attack me. But now, he looked refreshed as fresh eggs plucked on the morning nest. I could even picture the smirk on his face as he got closer towards me.

"Everyone's finally here," Wolf said, when he reached in front of me.

Snow White just stared at us in silence while gazing into our eyes. Match titled her, wondering what happened between Wolf and me. Despite not knowing the situation, Match already knew that something had come up between the two of us.

But she kept quiet about her thoughts and remained silent about the matter. Match knew how to behave during these situations, considering that she had been through a lot on our journey.

"What do you mean, finally? We arrived here minutes earlier than you two!" I exclaimed.

Wolf shook his head and answered, "We went to the port to check on the boat. Since I already knew you would want to see it, I already fixed the engine and got the bad boy to work."

Ryoshi waltzed into our circle and went beside Wolf to listen to the talk. His half-awake eyes invited me to punch him. But I couldn't since we were in a serious conversation. If I instilled violence every time I saw Ryoshi's face, Match would imitate my actions. She might do the same in the future.

"Then, where is the boat?" I asked, and crossed my arms.

Wolf turned around and went to the road he just came in just a few moments ago. "Follow me."

We had no other choice but to heed his instructions. Snow White grunted to herself as if she already knew Wolf would say those lines. Hunter got left behind for a while, but I did not care a thing about him. Even Wolf, who was his best friend, did not come back for him. So, why would I?

After a few seconds of venturing in the dull grass, our group finally arrived at the shore. The smell of fresh, salty water came zooming through my nostrils. There were dozens of waves crashing against the rocks, with the fishes swimming nearby. Those sea dwellers also roamed around near the sea, hunting for their prey.

"I did not think there would be a shore near the village. I thought this is a remote place filled with nothing but green lands," I remarked, while touching the wet ground with my feet.

"Be careful, Red. Some lobsters could grip your toes if you're not watching," Wolf reminded, while gingerly skipping at the aligned rocks.

I did not listen to Wolf's warnings and continued running on the beach-like setting. Despite experiencing dangerous occurrences, there was still a kid inside me. She was a little child who wanted to live my life as a youthful young girl.

However, that thoughtless claim got disrupted by the throbbing pain resonating through my feet. As I looked on the ground, the lobster's claws met my eyes.

A puddle of blood formed beside my feet, but I already became accustomed to that pain. I lost Clementine and fought vicious monsters before arriving at this place. This lobster would not make me scream or feel threatened at all.

I kicked the damn sea creature back from where it came and continued strolling on the blue sea. Wolf, who saw everything, held his laughter while resuming his walk towards the port. Match also shared his emotions as she giggled out loud beside me. She could not contain her excitement after seeing me struggling with the lobster.

We climbed the stairs and arrived at the make-shift port the dwarves built to fish. Although the school of fish came into view, those sea creatures were not edible to eat by any creature. Some monsters who tried chomping those beasts down got poisoned instantly before they could even vomit what they had eaten. Within seconds, those fiends died, while the monsters lived as parasites inside the host's body.

"Those are scary fish. I wouldn't eat seafood for a long time after seeing their faces," Wolf mumbled to himself, while inviting us over to the port. "Welcome aboard, everyone. This place is Snow White's port. And the boat is right about there."

"Where is it?" I asked.

"I can't see anything," Match added.

Much to our surprise, the scene changed, revealing a massive boat in front of us. If I squinted my eyes closed, the little holographic features appeared before us, which concealed the boat from the naked eye. Now that we witnessed the gigantic raft, it was about time for us to enter the platform.

"Thank you, Snow White. We will head out later. We already prepared all the equipment we needed for our voyage. All that's left is the direction towards Wonderland, which I already had," I exclaimed, and went inside the ship.

The vessel had the size of a palace, excluding the inner rooms built in this watercraft. I went deeper into the rooms and took a step closer inside, meeting the desk that belonged to the captain. When I exited the place, I went towards the helm and spun the wooden wheel. As I had expected, the boat did not move a muscle. As I raised my head, the sail remained curled upwards since we had yet to trek the ravaging sea.

But before I got excited about our trip, the words Snow White and Wolf echoed inside my head. Wolf told me about how he repaired the ship, and Snow White showed the boat to him before me. It only meant one thing, which an elementary student could figure out.

"You're not coming with us, Wolf. Well, especially you, Hunter!" I shouted, whilst pointing my forefinger at the two of them. "This ship belongs to Match and me! We're the ones who requested it from Draven! You just passed by me and helped us fight the players!"