NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

(Okami's Perspective)

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After defeating the adventurers inside the cave, I escorted the royalties to the carriage. The crimson blood left from the battle coated both of my hands. I can even smell the faint metallic scent whiffing through my nostrils.

The king stepped his foot inside the cart and offered his hand to the two royal women. With a light shake, the queen and the princess accepted his hand and went inside the wagon. I tried following behind, but the captain extended his arm and halted me from entering.

"The carriage is too small, Milord." The chief knight said, with his eyes gliding around the window and onto my side.

He was giving me a hint that I should back off the cart and observe their privacy. The knight wanted to express that I was still a stranger to his eyes. I backed off, and I complied with the captain while standing beside the carriage.

These people still did not trust me, despite knowing my identity. I cannot blame them for acting such, since I was not using my Fenrir account.

To their eyes, they saw a man wearing light armour and a puny dagger that could only slice bread. My arcane was even comparable to the slimes wandering around the forest, so they thought I did not have any talent.

The king closed the doors and answered, "It would be alright as long as you can guard us."

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All the knights moved forward and safeguarded the carriage with their lives. Their hands gripped their handles, ready to swivel their blades if they had to kill someone. I tagged along at the flanks and observed my surroundings.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw something bright and pixelated. But as I squinted my orbs near the bushes, the light faded away.

This occurrence only happens when an NPC dies. They coat themselves with pixilated or nanotechnology and disappear through the atmosphere. The event was identical to a player's death. The only difference was that we could revive after waiting for the cooldown death timer, while the NPC cannot live a second time.

"Strange," I mumbled to myself, but continued following the moving cart.

The fading features also applied to living creatures inside Code. Some beings wane in a matter of a few seconds, and others dissolve in a while.

We travelled for fifteen minutes along the charted road. I could see the shrubs and gigantic leaves falling off from the branches. The shadow of the night surrounded us and helped cover our cart, but there was something eerie beside the cliffs.

My guts proved me correct as I saw warriors and paladins marching in our direction. They flexed their blades, even licked the tip of their sword to show dread in their numbers. Blood gushed through their tongue after coming into contact with the sharp end of the sword, but they paid it no mind.

I used my heightened senses as a Lycan and saw through my environment. At the verge of the ridge laid the magicians, archers, and long-range attackers waiting for our next move. They locked their sight in our direction without letting us escape.

The knights launched their attacks in the absence of this knowledge, hoping that they could catch the players off guard.

The elite guards swung their blades as they did from their training. I felt the gust of wind following afterwards. They stood on equal terms and even pushed the users back from their post. The players glared at them with intense rage and disbelief. They thought nothing about the strength of these royal soldiers.

However, the tides turned when these players used their magic.

These knights had high levels and status points compared to the players, but they were weak against them. These soldiers could not control any arcane in their will and depend on their armours, blades, and sheer strength in their muscles.

Soldiers could manipulate arcane to an extent, but indirectly. Knights could only reinforce their bodies and add physical and magical defence by coursing it in their veins. These soldiers cannot cast any magical attacks or project magic from their bare hands, unlike us.

Not everyone shared the same gift as them since arcane were the assets of the game developers. Only the court magicians and other alchemists working for the kingdom could bend elements to their will.

Other species like the elves, dwarves, Animalia and the dragonewts could have unique spells that only they could exploit. If humans tried replicating such abilities, the arcane output from the divergent spell would increase by two folds and decrease the amount of damage because of the different affinities.

The same rule applies to the soldiers and players of Code.

The players were different beings in contrast to the NPC. We can conjure arcane with a flick of our fingers or a thought inside our head. Our system guides us to discharge magic attacks and handle our skills. Since this entire world was a game, we did everything to satisfy our entertainment.

Thousands of asteroids fell from the sky as the mages perched atop of the hills controlled the atmosphere. The heatwave surged through our skin as we watched the molten rock hit the atmosphere and pull by gravity. Clouds also formed above our heads and generated lightning surging through the gases. These mages and sorcerers created the weather using tier 5 spells.

We cannot defend that on our own. I could, but not with my state right now.

I bolted from the ground and safeguarded the royalties, leaving a vast crater from where I jumped. These three people were my utmost priority, and I shall protect them with my life. I narrowed my eyes and felt the salty liquid dripping on my face from anxiety.

"If only I used my main account," I said out loud while gawking at the meteorites.

One kick or punch from my original account would blast those rocks away from Code. I would even toss that hovering boulder to the bandits using my first form if I have to, but I could not.

Fenrir was not even with me in this level of one character that I control. I was a novice who had nothing but the wimpy items given to new players.

"I need to kill the mages first," I thought, and sprinted straight to the mages, hoping to kill them first before the warriors in front.

Gamers would usually target the back lines since they were the weakest on the ground and kill the front lines afterwards. These mages and other sorcerers were at the farthest part of the battle for a reason, so I should be there to stop them.

I revealed my claws and slashed at the unfortunate players, picking them off before they could even react. My fighting style did not suit my crooked blade, but I still used it from time to time. The other players saw me baring my fangs and thought I was a shapeshifter, a Lycan class.

These people hunched correctly, but I already slaughtered them.

A well of blood poured from the hills, creating a landslide made of crimson fluids. The funky smell of the blood made its way to the carriage, creating a nauseous feeling in their body. I even saw the players complaining about the reek despite their senses limited by the game.

The mudslide hit the group waiting below and eventually killed them.

"Two birds, one stone." I could not help myself but comment on the scene in front of me.

I withdrew to the caravan and defended our flanks. Warriors and swordsman were ambushing us from left to right, unwavering because of their numbers. They filled their eyes with green as they brandished their blades to kill the crown.

I defeated them at once thanks to my pointed claws and stout dagger. Blood oozed from the tip of my weapon, but the crimson liquid faded away afterwards. It became pixelated like the rest of the fallen preys in front of me, showing that they died from battle.

I curved up a smirk as I saw them perish with my hands.

I can only feel exhilarated since nobody dies in actual life in this game. These players were just kicked out of the holographic reality and logged off from the system. People hailed me as the champion of the world, and they called me that for a reason.

But I lost despite winning the battle.

I turned around and spotted an arrow piercing through the king's throat. A shower of ichor followed afterwards and streamed through his neck. By the time that I had realised, the ruler had already gone to the afterworld.

I shifted my gaze towards a girl sitting up front, near the horses. The youngster looked back at me with regret, yet showed a resolved expression in her eyes.

"You are not the coachman, are you?"

I announced, and revealed my daggers. But I was too late to react and saw her off with the royalties still inside the cart. She swivelled the ropes and whipped the horse to dart away. The waggon wiggled as it careers through the road. I fell on the floor from the sudden force of the caravan, pushing me to the side.

However, I cannot give up.

I raced behind and hoped to catch the perpetrator fleeing from the scene. We reached outside the extensive forest and passed millions of trees. But the girl with the red cape refused to slow and continued advancing.

I heard the knights screamed in terror as they recognised the carriage left off the battlefield.. They ran as fast as their metal legs could and caught up at my rear.