NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Two boars emerged behind the bush, one with a horn and the other had none. The monster with the tusk sprung into action while baring its teeth to me. It tried to impale me, using its pointed tusk aimed in my direction.

I swivelled at the sides and counterattacked the monster by lunging my dagger forward.

My blade went right through the animal's body, killing it within seconds. The sensation was like cutting butter using a knife. I did not need to push it with brute strength, but guide my weapon inside the boar's organs.

I aimed at the pig's heart, after all. The penitent's blade did wonders to the enemy, as if giving me the strength to beat the boars. There was a warm sensation surging from my eyes. Upon looking at my reflection from the nearby lake, my right eye was glowing with a colourless hue.

But I had yet to win the battle. The hornless hog charged straight at me, using its head to tackle me. This boar was even bulkier than its companion, making it more strenuous for me to land a blow on the animal.

I tumbled sideward and used my feet to disrupt the balance of the swine. With an oinking sound, the pig fell to the ground, rendering it confused.

The fall of the boar was my chance. I raced forward and stabbed the pig multiple times until its eyes grew dark. The animal tried breaking free from my latch, but its efforts were futile.

After twenty slashing marks of my blade, the pig had finally died in peace.

Match was watching the occurrence from afar, knowing she would have not anything from the battle. The little girl knew her body was not fit for battle. Her spells would also cost Match to burn her hands.

The little Match could only cheer for me from afar, in a safe place where no monster could reach her. Now that the skirmish had ended, Match moved to my side and poked the boar's head with a branch.

"Is it dead?" Match asked. "It's not moving, isn't it?"

I gave her a nod. "This will be our food for two days."

The burning sensation in my right eye ceased to exist. I spared a glance at the water and noticed that my right eye had turned back to normal. It was not glowing anymore.

That ability only happened every time I was fighting against foes. It also happened during the battle in the Mainland and Nirvana. If my right eye illuminates, my system partially takes control over my body.

It had been three days since we escaped the realm of Nirvana. There were no elves that pursued our tails. I knew the players would not breach the Elven Kingdom, given their limited number of players on the battlefield.

"Can you set up the firewood, Match?" I instructed.

Match giddily moved towards the wooden planks and produced fire by rubbing two sticks at the site. I did not know how she does that, but Match told me she learned from her deceased sister.

"You'll never know when to use it!" Match exclaimed, as she summoned the fire within thirty minutes.

I was extracting the boar's blood and letting it dry. The automated voice inside my head instructed me to do these before cooking any wild meat. Match and I did this to the horses from the carriage. It was an unfortunate event, but we needed to do it. The road damaged the cart, making it useless for use. So the asses did their purpose and nourished the two of us.

While I was butchering the boars, Match took glances in my direction. The little girl thought I wouldn't notice her gawking eyes locked onto my body. I stood up and went in her direction, asking Match if something worried her mind.

"Well, I was thinking, Red." She said, while wiggling her feet back and forth. "Don't you think that I'm ready to use my powers?"

Match gripped her stave tight in her hands as she looked me in the eye. I returned her gaze and clenched my fist, remembering Match's burned hands and upper body.

Match used her powers to save me from the players. She used a violent spell that overwhelmed them, crisping those adventurers within seconds. That little girl had supreme arcane flowing in her veins. But it was a double-edged sword that Match needed to avoid.

"I don't want you to get hurt. And I think you're not yet ready to fight." I answered.

I never told Match that she killed those players before. I only told her that those people got rescued by their teammates and were now living somewhere else, far from our place. If the little kid knew that she killed someone, her mind would shatter into pieces.

Match was still an immature child. I did not want to risk her life in front of the battlefield.

'Maybe it is time for me to leave Match and let her live her life?' I thought, but I brushed that idea to the side for now.

That little girl needed me, and I needed her at my side. We were a team. But seeing her getting hurt from all these things makes my heart melt. More dangers waited for us ahead.

"I will think about it," I answered, and skinned the boar from their hairs.

The sun grew old and made way for the moon and the stars. Our bright scenery turned into an obsidian painting. Instead of the birds flocking around their nests, bats now reigned in the skies.

"It's ready!" Match announced, and lured me near the campfire.

I brought the fresh meat over to the campfire and impaled it using the sticks. The meal looked as if we were eating barbecues out in the wild. But Match and I weren't.

The two of us were just surviving in an uncharted place.

We placed the food on top of the fire and waited for twenty minutes. I rolled the stick and monitored the flesh, becoming pinkish to dark red. The smell of fried pork hovered in the air, tempting us to eat the meat raw.

But it was yet to finish. The meat needed a little more time before we could eat our fill.

Match kept looking in my direction while fiddling her fingers. She wanted to say something, but refused to voice out anything. Within a few seconds, the little girl finally seized her courage and opened her mouth.

"Can I ask you a question, Red?"

"Go on, Match. Ask me anything," I answered.

"How does it feel like to kill someone?"

My eyes blinked a hundred times after hearing such a question. It was a query that did not suit the likes of a child, especially from Match. I faced Match and confronted her, with the fire still burning at our fore.

It was the only noise that surrounded the silence standing between us.

She may had asked that specific question since Match had killed someone else during my fight with the players. Match may have held herself accountable from that skirmish.

"Why'd you ask?" I threw her a question of my own, avoiding such a topic in our conversation.

"I saw you killed the horses, rabbits, monsters, and some adorable creatures. I was just wondering if you feel something about them. If I found myself killing the horses, I couldn't see myself do it," Match confessed, but waved her hands afterwards. "Don't get me wrong, Red! I know we need food since we finished the meal that you gave me! It's just that, don't those animals have feelings too? They have a family and a life?"

A sigh of relief escaped my lungs as I heard her question. Match was not portraying those individuals I had killed during the fights. I thought that Match would eye out for those occurrences and ask me something related to that topic.

"Animals are cute, I know. But we need to survive too. We could eat vegetables, but there isn't anything right now that we could use to plant. And those animals are in a food chain in the forest. Those monsters that ruled the forest would eat them, too," I answered.

Those were the only things that I knew about those animals. I met a butcher once that told me the same lines that I mentioned to Match. The little girl gaped at her mouth and nodded to herself.

"I see. It can't be helped, right?"

"Unfortunately, that's how it goes. We need to survive too. Maybe next time, we'll make a better world for them! And, who knows, we might make those rabbits as pets, am I right?" I appended.

"Yay! Rabbits as pets! I'm excited!" Match exclaimed, and stared at the cooked meat, brimming with excitement.

"Can I ask another question, Red?" the little girl once again asked.

I reached out for the stick and answered, "Sure. Go ahead. And remember to eat your food while it's hot! You don't want them to get cold now, do you?"

Match shook her head and extended her arms. I gave the stick to Match's waiting hands and flashed her a smile. Her miniature fingers gripped the warm stick, but Match jolted back, surprised that it nearly burned her hands. With a powerful puff, Match blew the scorching meat and gobbled it like a caveman.

"Delicious!" she said, and wiped her mouth.

Her curved mouth curled downwards as she met my eyes. "Have you ever killed someone before, Red?"