NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

We, the two ships, travelled back on the dwarven island. Since we would retrace our steps, we would encounter a violent storm once again. But we were more experienced compared to the first take we did from before. So we cruised the entire ocean and witnessed the island within a few hours, unlike last time.

"Who's Kouran?" I asked, wondering about the identity of this girl. "Because I saw someone hiding behind the bushes when we first set sail. Is that the one you're talking about?"

Okami looked at me with surprised eyes and answered, "Yeah. Well, Kouran is a dark elf I recruited when Nirvana fell from the player's hands."

"No long-eared elves survived that colossal war, since thousands of players and soldiers showed up afterwards. When I retreated from the soldier's ambush, Kouran saved our group. We are recruiting all NPCs since those players want us dead. If we want to fight, we will need numbers against those players. We are up against two billion players across the world, and there are just thousands of us NPCs. Although I am... was an overpowered player, I can't handle all of them using this account," Wolf continued, while gazing into my eyes.

I wanted to meet this Kouran girl and asked why she wanted to team up with a player. But as long as they did not plan on hindering my way, these NPCs were okay for me.

Wolf told the pirates to wait for a dark elf girl that would guide them to the shelter. But along those lines, Okami told Kouran to recreate the shelter and confused a traitor among the pirates. Since he was a player and not an NPC, he would definitely send our information to the game developers, a.k.a. Warner Asimov. That man wanted to kill every NPC he created, respecting the government's orders.

"This dark elf must be an ally of yours if she trusts you," I commented, as we approached the dwarven docks.

"Yes. La Finta trusted me moments before her death. And these dark elves are not an enemy of the long-eared ones. In fact, they are considered as the shadow knights guarding Nirvana…. Think of them as the elves' protectors in the shadows. If word came out that these dark elves helped the long-eared ones, those players would have…. done something about it."

Okami tried explaining the relationship between the dark elves and the long-eared ones to me. Since the world knew that these two factions fought against each other, I couldn't believe this man. However, Okami had no reason to bluff with me, considering that this information could be vital in our mission.

I could only blindly agree and believe whatever he had to say, regardless of Okami's credibility. And since he would only tell information that could benefit the group, that player won't do anything stupid.

As soon as we arrived at the designated place, Kouran, the dark elf, stood there, waiting for us. Upon landing on the dock, the pirates greeted Kouran, telling them they were ready to board the ship.

"Perfect, since our shelter is around the corner. And we could use the boat to arrive faster," Kouran exclaimed, while getting on the ship. "I will always brief you about our cause. Since this man wanted an army of NPCs, I believed we would need your cooperation, pirates. And, of course, we will reward your efforts in exchange for valuable treasures."

I also told Kouran about summoning Black Pearls, the rocks that had no real value. After telling the magical concept of the stone, Kouran effortlessly picked up the instructions. She could conjure those rocks with ease, which she would use to trick these pirates.

Fortunately for us, the traitor player pirate did not expose us to our rigid exchange. If he did, we would have no other choice but to fight them once again. If the worst would happen, Kouran and the elite NPCs would toss them into the ocean.

As she climbed onto the pirate raft, Kouran met my eyes and gave me a nod. Those gestures told me that Kouran knew the identity of this pirate traitor and would keep her eyes open for me. Thanks to the system, we could exchange messages via chat to know the condition of this traitor. The elite dark elves already disguised themselves as villagers inside the shelter.

Kouran and I prepared everything beforehand since we were all up against an intelligent man like Warner Asimov.

"If the worst comes to worst, call me. Whatever you do, it's to your own accord as long as you choose the best option available."

After saying my ultimate request, Kouran and the rest of the pirates sailed through the briny ocean. Our team got to watch them off from the shore, waiting for their ship to disappear.

"You should've joined them, Okami and you... bastard," I exclaimed, while heading upward to the ship.

Match tailed close behind and followed my trails. She did not want to cause any trouble and let my moody nature show. That mage girl knew how irritated I was every time I looked at those two idiots.

I could not blame her, since I wanted to kill the Hunter while tossing Okami into the ocean.

Those two players did not reply to my mockery as they followed behind me. Okami and Ryoshi made sure that they stayed far from me when possible, considering my hatred consuming my body.

As we finished preparing our ship, we set off from the dock and continued our voyage. Since we already trod this area, our adventurer became smooth and swift. After a few hours, we arrived at the place where we left earlier.

Within a few miles ahead, we would finally reach Alice in Borderland. But before we could even move from our place, Kouran immediately sent a message to Wolf via chat.

"This is Kouran speaking. I found out that the traitor would leave the pirate group within a week. If that happens, I would trail him and absorb everything he has to say about the shelter. Do I have to kill him or restrain his movements?" Kouran asked.

"No. Don't even bother killing that player. Let him live and give the higher-ups false information..." Wolf said, but corrected himself afterwards. "Actually, save him when the time comes."

"Save him? Apologies, but I have to return to my post. Thank you."

After their exchange, Wolf steered the wheel forward and cruised against the mini-whirlpools. Those twisters did nothing on our ship since Kouran and her elite elves upgraded our raft earlier. They did not add materials, but cast some protective spells they knew would protect us from sinking. Those dark elves explained the dwarves taught them these spells, which would become handy in the future.

Kouran and the others could not believe their eyes when the time finally came to cast those protective barriers.

But as we progressed, the sea creature that we feared came into my mind. Match had the same idea as she opened her eyes and met mine.

"THE KRAKEN?!" we shouted.

Despite our warning, we were already too late. The water surrounding us created waves that wiggled our ship, regardless of those protective measures. After a few minutes, a shadow emerged underwater, swimming right past our raft.

That shadow had multiple tentacles that reached the size of a mammoth. It was around sixty feet in length that swam like a shark around our boat. None of us could picture the Kraken clearly despite its shadow, which only instilled fear in our minds.

"Hold on!" Wolf said, and tried changing the course of the ship.

But the Kraken had already tackled the boat, which destroyed the barriers instantly. Thousands of sparks emerged at the ship's bottom, showing that the shields got dismantled. The shadow, which we saw before, moved ahead, waiting for us to continue forward.

"We need to retreat right now and form a plan!" Ryoshi screamed, which we all agreed.

Despite having four members on the ship, we completely forgot about the sea creature lurking around Alice in Borderland. Since we finished the events with the pirates, the Kraken went outside of our heads, claiming it was an unnecessary thought for us to fight.

But alas, that proved us wrong. We could barely even see the creature, and we already knew we couldn't fight it. None of us even had the proper elemental magic that could fight something underwater.

Ryoshi was about to fire his electrical bolts to distract the Kraken out of fear. Fortunately, Okami saw that coming and hindered him from firing those bolts.

But it was too late. A dart came flying towards the Kraken, hitting it at the centre of its body. Within a few seconds, the sea creature erupted. It created water pulses and waves crashing against our ship, nearly sinking our raft.

Our boat miraculously survived the tsunami, but we ended up far away from the site.. Upon opening our eyes, the Kraken emerged half of its body out from the ocean, revealing its hideous skin and mouth.