NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

After giving her a nod, La Finta ordered me to become a distraction to Wolf. I had no clue what I needed to do, but I tossed my body in the middle and prepared my blade. There was nothing else left for me to perform other than attack Wolf blindly. I killed people in the dark and using my tricks to my advantage.

Nobody ever told me how to fight against someone in a fair battle. It had always been smooth sailing for me.

Being in here now, fighting toe-to-toe against a veteran player made all the difference, even if we were both underleveled.

My right eye shimmered a colourless light, showing me I was engaging in combat. There was a deluge of uncontained magic tingling through my veins afterwards. It always happens when I unconsciously think that I was in a battle, and my system activates itself every time it feels that I am in danger.

That time was right now.

'Besides, I fought against him earlier. This thing is nothing new,' I thought, and steeled my heart.

Wolf smelled blood. Like his name implied, Wolf almost dashed on all fours, observing La Finta and me. He was like a feral beast, hoping to kill us both. But something restricting his goal. A sincere feeling covered his eyes, so he refused to kill anyone right now. That was what I had thought.

However, Wolf had not landed a scratch against La Finta, and after that graze from before, La Finta could not hit him with her arrows. She tried various elements and overpowered skills that even I was unaware of, but Wolf eluded it all. We were in a stalemate, but now it was different.

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La Finta had me.

"You can't fight me head-on," Wolf bickered. "And I'm not planning to kill one of you or both. I'm just here for my imprisoned friend."

"Save your plea, player." La Finta was the one who replied, and fired yet again in another series of bolts in his direction. "There are a lot of players we held hostage inside our dungeon. We might have even killed him before you arrived here."

"Impossible. He's still glowing green in my screen," Wolf said, but swiped his monitor away. "Tall guy, has a bow like you, and even looks like a novice adventurer."

But Wolf-as he had always done, sidestepped the approaching multishot. Those arrows came darting both my sides. The whirling wind touched my skin and even flew my hair away. One slightest move would end my life if I were not careful.

'I needed to move forward,' my mind screamed, and so I advanced.

The blitz ended. Now was the chance for me to land a hit towards Wolf. But if that player turns the table around, I would retreat and secure my life. I did not want to die here because of a mistake.

I still needed to accomplish my revenge.

Like the arrows racing to him, I sprinted forward and swung my blade and aimed for his sides. Wolf noticed my movements and rolled eastwards, avoiding my attack. My dagger landed on the ground, but I used my momentum to charge up an assault once again. This time, I used my leg and kicked him towards my right.

Wolf shielded my strike, using his shoulders crossed in front of his face. His body took the recoil and moved back from the force. At that moment, an arrow came crashing towards him with an immeasurable speed unlike before.

Wolf, for the first time, felt afraid. He stared at the bolt for a few seconds before doing anything at all. His shivering hands told me everything that I needed to know.

That player was holding back. It was like what he had said earlier. Wolf never wanted to kill us. He just wished to save his friend.

The arrow went right through him, but Wolf's figure was nowhere at our fore. His image vanished like smoke, telling us that what we saw was an afterimage of him escaping.

"[Shadow Walk]!" a voice whispered through my ears.

La Finta had not heard it, as it showed from her expression. But I did.

The name of my skill reverberated from his direction. My system also announced that someone had activated this ability. Throughout our match from before, Wolf only used his [Wolf Walk] to travel at different sites with the speed of sound. He activated nothing disparate besides abilities that made him slip through the arrows and my lunges. Now, he was using the same prowess that I have and travelled in the shadows.

My eyes caught sight of him running through the corners, where darkness prevailed and no light shined upon the place. He dyed his eyes in bloody vermillion, staring at La Finta and my figure.

"I don't plan on killing you. I am not your enemy," Wolf announced, but it was too late for that.

A sinister aura escaped inside the room. It was as if a hunting hound locked us inside the jet-black night. The leering eyes came from Wolf, who had stationed himself at the far end of the chamber.

My entire body quivered in fright. I was living in a nightmare with my eyes peeled open. The Grandmother also felt the same sensation, but she had it worse. La Finta knelt on the ground and used her enchanted recurve to help her fragile body to stand. Every time she picked herself, her vessel would tumble on the floor. So she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand on both feet.

After a few moments, she was back in her original position.

"There was only one person who could make me feel overwhelmed like this," La Finta grunted. "Are you him? The one who stole our fountain of life!"

I was unaware of their topic. These two left me miles apart from their conversation and did not even try including me with their talk. But that did not make me ignorant about my surroundings.

'What does that fountain of life mean!' I wanted to shout, but I kept my lips tight.

"Heh, so you do know me?" Wolf replied.

"The more reason to hate you now!"

Despite their exchange, La Finta had doubts attacking him right now. The long-eared elf held back, firing her arrows towards Wolf. But it was far too late to go back. She needed to kill him now, since Wolf was a threat to Nirvana.

A sudden marching sound resonated behind us. If I had to guess, the origin of the noise came from the rangers gathering in this room. Most of the wardens rushed towards the entrance, battling against players that Wolf knew. These long-eared Elven soldiers were the remaining rangers to defend the castle.

Wolf's eyes wandered everywhere, trying to figure out his next move. He was running both of time and arcane left inside his body. I could not see his mana capacity, but I knew Wolf could not use his spells in succession, unlike before.

If Wolf wanted to act, now was the right time.

"I'm sorry, La Finta. I need to put you asleep."

Wolf careered through the room, distracting La Finta from where he was going. The Grandmother desperately fired her arrows in chains but still failed, hitting Wolf. After a series of cat-and-mouse, Wolf finally closed the distance and slipped through her defences.

Wolf tried smacking La Finta using his pommel-the back part of his sword. He poured the last ounce of his strength and arcane on his arm and pushed through his blade to La Finta's chest.

That attack would make La Finta immobile for some time since Wolf aimed to deal enough damage for her to become unconscious. Since this is a game, her heart would not stop beating. La Finta would still be alive after receiving such a blow.

That was what he had thought.

However, Wolf's eyes expanded as the blood splattered across his face and clothes. His attack would not produce any spurt of blood coming out from La Finta's body. Wolf knew he pounded his weapon at her chest, but that alone would never create a fountain of blood from her body, not until he saw the tip of the blade in front of him.

A clamorous sound ripping through a flesh blared from everyone's ears. The knife gripped in my hands went through her chest like paper, slicing through both La Finta's heart and lungs. The unfortunate elf coughed out blood as soon as she felt the blade entering her organs. Those pair had themselves wondering what happened.

By the time that they realised I was behind the long-eared creature, it was too late.

"You... killed King Arthur…" Her voice was incoherent for me to hear, but I knew what La Finta wanted to say.

She twitched her hand, wanting to repel the dagger stuck inside her body, but could not do so. I was behind her back, pushing the penitent's dagger deep through her skin. My efforts accumulated her internal damage beyond repair.

Those were the last few words that escaped her mouth before closing her eyes.