NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

(This is a unique perspective of the other protagonist. I have two protagonists, and I am about to introduce the second one right now.)

...

"We are reporting to you live here in the district of Shirakawa, Koto City, Tokyo, Japan. Our sources caught a mysterious NPC or non-player character placing a bounty on top of the King's head and kidnap his family. One billion gold coins are hanging on the line if a player completes this absurd quest from an unusual NPC."

Everywhere I went, I saw the same news playing in front of the television screen. The information thrown from the channel became redundant in my ears. If it were not for the price set by the quest, I would probably return to his bed and doze off for a couple more hours.

Money was everything we ever wanted.

I perched on a comfortable mattress, enough to cater for my long legs. The tattered and unpainted walls surrounded my view and addressed the creaks and holes above the ceilings. Every time I stood up, the roof above me would thump my head. It was tiring to sit down, but there was not a thing I could do about our circumstances.

We were living inside an inexpensive apartment. It had the essential rooms to cater for the kitchen, living room, and a bedroom for the two of us. My sister and I had separate mattresses to sleep on the floor. We could not afford a king-sized bedroom, so we had to make do with what we currently have.

I can still remember the memories inside my head. It was when I had to place an ice pack on top of my scalp to mend my swollen wounds. From that day onwards, I was afraid to jolt upward inside the comfort of my house and hit my head again on the panel.

Despite these unfavourable circumstances, the bittersweet of life was still with me. As long as I have my sister, nothing can change me.

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All our problems happened a year ago.

....

Our parents left us with unpaid loans and tabs coming from several banks and other companies. When they died in a car accident, the loans inside the credit card disappeared like a bubble floating in mid-air. By the time we wanted to ask for the information about the card, banks shut their doors and gave us spare change instead of the actual amount we borrowed. The bank tellers also issued us a complaint and sued us with a law that we did not know existed. With their illegal claims, the judge announced more debts than we ever imagined. We were still thankful for the public judge we had during the trial and asked for any allowance we could receive, since my sister was still a minor.

However, our problem did not stop there as the company filed a case against us and revealed the loan that my parents could not pay since they were all dead.

We had a total debt of five million yen that we needed to pay. The company gave us twenty years to pay off the loan with the help of our public judge. If we worked in a part-time job, we would send most of the salary earned to the corporation, leaving us a sum enough to buy what we need inside the house.

The child care organisation did the best they could to help, but the amount was too gigantic for them to handle.

Everything changed when I bought the game "Code" and played the game. It was a popular gaming console that gave players actual money for the currency of the game.

For a year, Code hailed me as the top ranker of the game. I hid my identity from the public and used my Alias, Fenrir, to finish quests and earn money.

Every day I would log in from the game and ditched my classes. I stopped attending my school and played day and night to win over the quests of the NPC. I finished their missions without drinking or eating anything.

Himari knew nothing about this. She thought I was still studying in the public school and kept hanging out with my friends every time I went home late at night.

The fruits of my labour finally paid off, both literally and metaphorically, as I grabbed hold of the legendary items found inside the labyrinth. I sold all of my equipment and rushed towards the nearest exchange centre for actual money.

I paid our debts after a year and bought ourselves this tiny house that we called home. But after paying our charges, my body fell on the ground and left me hospitalised for a month.

According to Himari, the doctor told me that my brain was in a severe state of fatigue brought on by the holographic game. Because of the latest technologies in medicine, the doctor deduced the cause of my fatigue and explained everything to Himari.

By the time I woke up after a month, Himari braced me tightly in her arms with a river of tears flowing from her cheeks. The warmth transferred to my skin. As I lowered my head, I saw Himari's face still crying on my chest and eventually fell asleep.

After that event, Himari requested me to avoid playing the game at all cost. She was afraid to see me lying in that hospital again, unable to wake up from my nightmare. From that day onwards, I never touched Holographic Reality again.

......

"Big brother, you need to stop watching television and prepare for school tomorrow!"

A voice snapped me from my daydream. My sister, Himari, nagged me again after seeing me lying around in bed. Who would want to go to class early in the morning? However, I pushed my limits and went towards my cabinet and fixed my uniform.

As soon as we finished our routine, we both headed outside and went to our respective schools. Himari insisted on enrolling me in a university near our town. My sister also told me she preferred studying in an unknown public school rather than a private academy or a university.

"We already paid our debt, so don't you go skipping school, idiot brother!" Himari shouted and slapped my back.

I jolted backwards and pursed my lips. "Do not go skipping school, idiotic brother."

Himari pouted and turned red as a tomato. With clenched hands and narrowed eyes, she sauntered towards me. I was quick with my feet and dashed straight towards the opposite side of the road.

"You will pay for dinner later, okay!"

"Fine!" I answered.

I tried rejecting her offer and suggested entering a public college school since it would cost less than a university. However, Himari glared at me with icy eyes and forced me to pass the requirements needed to enrol in my school. And now, here I am, standing in front of the gates of the mammoth-sized school.

Before I could step foot inside the academy, I glanced around and noticed everyone had their gears around their heads. The Holographic Reality was a gadget surrounding the head and will let the player imagine and play the games while wide awake.

I entered my designated room and found out all my classmates wore the same thing around their heads. Each of them had various colours and sizes that suited their features.

A student walked up to me and offered his hand. "Hello! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet yo-,"

"Do you play Code?" She interjected my sentence.

The group of girls behind her back stared at me with cold and disgusted eyes. They knew I was not wearing the Holographic Reality, so they planned on bullying me and humiliating me in front of the class.

But I accepted my fate and answered. "I do not play Code. Well, not anymore."

All the students inside the classroom burst into tears, laughing in my direction. Their hands marked my figure with their scandalling eyes. If stares could kill a man, I would have been probably lying on the ground, dead from their glares.

However, there was nothing for me to prove to them since I knew nothing about their identities.

"Laugh all you want."

A man stood up and walked in my direction. "What did you say, punk?"

"I did not know this university had a grade-schooler mixed with them?"

Silence filled the room after hearing such bold but truthful phrases coming from me. But I did not dare to filter out my words, knowing it was not worth it to feel small in front of a jackass like him.

Fortunately for me, the professor entered the room before the bastard could raise his fist against me. Throughout the class, he directed his leer in my direction. He filled his orbs with anger and hatred as if wanting to kill me right here and now.

The class ended in a breeze, so I headed outside and bolted away from the school. I knew what fate awaited me inside the room. That bully would wait for me from the gates and beat me up in the corner of the streets when the professors were not looking.

If I had to guess their status, one of them must be the son of a director or a boss in a company.

(Author's note: Not every son of a corporate leader acts like this. Some sons and daughters of large corporates learned proper manners and kindness)

As I journeyed to the streets, I stopped at a store with an advertisement too recognisable for me to see.