NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Everywhere I went, I saw the dead staring back at me with condemning eyes. Some of them had hatred mixed with their pupils, while others had their faces calling for my name.

I saw the coachman gawking at me with intense hatred, wishing I was the one lying around the bushes. Every word he spouted rang inside my ears, despite the soundless voice coming from his lips.

Match touched my hands and told me that everything would be alright. However, as I looked below, her lower half was non-existent in my eyes.

The fresh blood stained my hand and became a reminder of who I am. It did not matter if I was the one who killed the NPCs or others when I murdered these people. I became a murderer to achieve my goal. It was far too late to turn back time or alter my ways.

I had to do everything I could to change this world.

I continued wandering around the streets and stared at the same motionless bodies. These people died from the players who charged in straight towards the castle. Among the deceased people were the merchants and villagers I saw from before. Their eyes stared at me, watching me stride the building. Despite the corpses laid in front of me, I continued travelling inside the kingdom and entered the recognisable room.

A familiar figure welcomed my eyes. The short girl was sitting on the floor, but immediately stood up to greet me. The girl trudged in my direction and addressed my presence.

"You're back, Red!" She smiled and moved closer.

"I'm back, Match."

Match scurried towards me with her arms stretched wide, hoping to squeeze her pocket-sized body. I returned her embrace and leaned my body on hers. The little girl rested her head on my shoulders and wrapped her hands tightly around me.

I had never felt such a warm feeling over the past hour.

I told her not to come out from this inn no matter the circumstances she would face, and she did just that and listened to my words. I even left the spare coins on the table in case I would not come back alive. It would prove valuable for her to use this more than me.

Fortunately, I returned to her in one piece. But we needed to move out from here before the guards with the players noticed us.

"She must have felt alone when I was outside this room." I thought.

I nudge my hands and clasp hers before tidying the room. I placed all our belongings inside the [astral space] since it was convenient storage for me to use. Match never questioned my abilities and continued to help me fix our things.

Match observed my movements, unsure of what to do. Everything that was happening around the girl was so sudden that she could process anything. The girl ran around and helped me without question, but still with her confused expression.

The little girl could not hide her baffled thoughts for long and asked me a question, "Where are we going?"

"We need to save the queen and the princess," I answered while biting the bittersweet taste of my blood.

"What are you talking about, Red?"

Match could not believe what she had heard, but still heeded my word. Who would believe in such a thing that the royals were with us? Nobody but the little lass who was standing beside me. She trailed behind my rear and locked the door of the inn.

The caretaker guided us off with a beam still painted on her face. She did not know what was happening outside. The lady was ignorant of the events, since she was not free from her system.

She was an NPC of this world, just like me.

"You will see," I told Match and went on our way.

I chose not to answer her question and let her see the two people inside the carriage. We did not have enough time to idle around, so the two of us headed onwards into the forest.

We first passed by the ruined forest and treaded the gnarled road. I sensed no monsters or creatures within our vicinity, thanks to the map presented on top of my view.

As we moved around, I noticed Match had a similar system and screens on her fore. I only saw these features to players and me, so I wonder what happened. She should not have that, but the little girl did.

[To answer your question, Match has the features that you have.] The automated voice inside my head replied to my queries as we arrived at the place.

Our eyes locked at the stationary wagon parked on the corner of the trees. Right next to the cart was another path leading to the outskirts of the kingdom, eventually towards the Elven village.

Match was the first one to peek through the interior and discerned the two unconscious women. She also saw the smear of blood on the surface but knew not to ask for any elaborations. The little kid felt silent as she turned around to face me.

"What is happening, Red?" the lass asked while peering her head inside.

I gestured my hand and answered, "Those two are the royalties of the mainland. We need to protect them and seek help from the elves."

"But why the elves?" Match added.

I paused for a while and gawked at the sun ascending from the east, beckoning the night. The moon descended elsewhere and let the brightness fill the world.

"Elves are the only ones who can save us now."

After hearing my statement, Match nodded and sat near the wheels. I perched my body, grabbed the rope, and whipped the ass to advance. The horses nickered from the pain but galloped through the ruined bridge and exited the woodlands.

We travelled the trench viaduct and maintained our balance and pace. The Elven village was a hundred miles away from the mainland. The two of us could see the diamond obelisk fading away from our sight, with the rest of the flying mounts of NPC searching for the royalties.

The crispy flames covering the trees became a wild forest fire. All the soldiers from the kingdom planned on taking down the jungle with the players inside. They planned on killing everyone but the carriage. They knew the cart was immune from blazing attacks, which is why it did not burst into flames from before.

But we had already escaped from the kingdom, and we were now at the border. I saw everything from the map, even the tiniest terrains of the land. It was a place bristling with monsters, a territory that seemed to belong to them. Despite the horde of congested creatures in the distance, I saw colourless hues from their dots on the map.

"What is happening, Red?" Matched ask once again, curious about her surroundings.

I heard a voice croaking from her throat, afraid of what was going on around us. She could not contain her anxiety and quizzed me with the same question.

I deeply inhaled the polluted air and replied, "The players killed the king, so it is our job to protect the last royal bloodline."

"But why would they do that?" Match appended and glanced behind her.

The girl knew that the world surrounding us was peaceful yesterday. But all of this changed when we saw the event obstructing the sky.

"Those players had enough of this game. They had enough for this world, so they wanted to bring a change."

It was the reality that we lived in this game. We were just pawns for the adventurers and means for their quests. All of us lived for the sake of these adventurers. The game developers placed a script to our lines, dialogues, and daily living. These people sitting on their chairs can even kill us with a flick of their hands if they wish to hurt us again.

The creators of this game did not care about our families. These players did not even bother helping my sister. And for that, they shall pay.

Match and I gawked at the marvellous scene at our sides. We saw the grassy lands that separated the two kingdoms. It also splits apart the forest and nature ahead of this bridge.

The gigantic beasts from afar greeted our figure. According to my system, those species were dinosaurs, grizzly bears, and even rare animals found in the game.

These beasts also wanted to live their lives peacefully in their habitats. Unfortunately, the developers forced these creatures to defend their lives and territory. If I recall correctly, missions posted from the obelisk also instructed players to exterminate such species that did nothing wrong to players. The game controlled these beasts that wreaked havoc on the nearby villages. They did those acts not because they wanted to but forced to do it.

The sudden clamour from behind put our thoughts to a halt. As I turned around, I noticed the queen and her daughter awoke from their nightmares.

The queen was the first one to feel aroused from her deep sleep. She panned her head from side to side, looking for someone besides the princess. After realising that the king was nowhere near her, the queen looked ahead and caught Match and me staring in their direction.

"Who are you!" The mother screamed while embracing her child in her arms.

In a panic, the queen gazed around.