NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

"I\'ve heard enough." Robin turned his head away from the three NPCs and went toward a guard who had a crest that showed his high rank in the army.

The guard gave him a salute. Robin just shook his head and placed his arm on the guard\'s shoulder. He gave a light tap and issued his order.

"Kill the Queen, but leave the elf and the little kid alive."

"Yes, Robin."

With one word, the soldier fired his gun at Guinevere. She knew these people would kill her. So before the soldiers took her down, Guinevere stared into my eyes and gave me a brief nod. I knew what she meant. Guinevere wanted me to take care of her only daughter, Eve.

Everyone had a shocking expression etched on our faces, except for the soldiers and Robin. Even the elves that were still fighting from afar heard the gunshot. As they swivelled their heads in our direction, Guinevere fell to the ground.

"Your majesty! Why?! Why would you do this! You monsters! I will kill you! I will kill all of you!" Elina tried slipping through the cords, but the locks were too tight for her to break free.

Red marks stained her skin as Elina desperately tried to move towards Guinevere. I also had a fair share of doubts about why Robin would kill an innocent person. Robin told me from before that he wasn\'t a murderer. Robin valued the lives of NPCs and players. But what he had presented to tell otherwise.

"Why would you do that, Robin?" I could not help but voice my concerns.

Robin just looked me in the eye and answered, "These NPCs killed Mer. I rarely kill. But an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. I remember that phrase, and you did it too. We can never forget the blood spilt on your filthy hands, NPCs. You kill our players; we will kill your people in return. They killed Mer; I will kill them too."

Guinevere\'s body became pixelated within seconds. This event proved the gun dealt more damage than any weapons made here in Code. It was always like this in the game. But now, these soldiers have introduced such a dangerous arsenal in a fantasy world. Who knows what they could do to achieve their goals.

I did not give Robin a reply, since I expected Mer to fail. Although Mer was the Western Guild\'s leader, he brought a few men against thousands of elves, battling inside their territory. He had no chance at all saving the prisoners of war. So I used that chance to get inside the cell but expected nothing about Robin arriving in Nirvana.

"I see. That\'s unfortunate news," I reacted, and gave my condolences to the player I knew for a short while.

But Robin had original plans. HE did not mind my saddest attempt to express my grief. He went to Elina and banged her head using the ends of his bow. A blaring thump resonated from Elina\'s body. Robin took her motionless figure and threw it towards Ryoshi. My best friend caught the elf in the nick of time but had question marks raised above his head.

"Eh?" Ryoshi said, but couldn\'t express anything more.

Robin opened his mouth and instructed the two of us. "You. Are you with him? Wolf?"

"Yes. My in-game name is Hunter. And I am a companion of Wolf. He\'s my friend." Ryoshi replied, still bracing the sleeping Elina with his arms.

"Good."

Robin urged Eve, Guinevere\'s daughter, to go beside Ryoshi. Eve, who did not know what was going on around her, followed along and hid behind Ryoshi\'s back. She clipped her hands at the ends of Ryoshi\'s clothes and whimpered in fright.

"Take that little girl with you and leave this forest," Robin said. He turned around and faced me. "You. Don\'t you think you\'re a little suspicious about everything?"

A mini-heart attack erupted in my chest. It was like a sudden quiver that violated my body, yet the pain was not enough to kill me.

\'Did I do something to Robin? I don\'t know! Am I a bad guy?\' Nobody gave me an answer. Only the chilling glare coming from Robin was my hidden clue.

"Suspicious about what? I did nothing! And it wasn\'t me who killed La Finta! I was trying to save her!" I croaked.

"I am not talking about that, Fenrir. The player killer who murdered billions of players, stole their experiences and gold, and reigned at the top rankings for a year. You caused a lot of trouble for me back then."

My eyes widened upon hearing the in-game name I had not heard for a long time. Fenrir was my main account and my history. I couldn\'t access it by the time I wanted to enter Code and rescue Ryoshi.

\'But how did Robin know? And when did he realise I was Fenrir? I was using Wolf, a nameless account that has nothing related to Fenrir, and yet…\' All those questions left unanswered made me anxious. My hands shivered, unsure of what awaited my fate.

"Was it because I was a smurfer?" I asked.

Robin gave me a nod. His lips grinned as he pushed me away, with my friend behind my back. Ryoshi, who also had his eyes widened in fright, whispered.

"What are we going to do now?" Ryoshi asked.

"I know, Hunter. Run away as fast as possible for ten seconds. We will kill you if we ever see your figures. And you, Fenrir, or Wolf, whichever you prefer, will decide if you want to stay here and stop us, or run away with them. You could risk your friend\'s life, that girl elf, and that child. Or, you could stay put so we can dance here and end your killing spree right now." Robin retorted, and raised his hands.

"But I am not that kind of person anymore, Robin! I\'ve changed! I am not a killing machine or anything! All I ever wanted was to save my best friend! I never wish to kill you or any NPCs anymore," I pleaded. But my efforts were not enough to stop them.

"I\'ve heard before. You stab people in the back a million times. That will not happen again." Robin interposed.

All the soldiers aimed their guns in our direction. Robin had yet to count down the numbers, so my friend had more time to escape out in the woods. We had ten seconds before these people would kill us.

I had no choice but to stick around and buy Ryoshi for some time. I gripped my dagger tightly in my hand and prayed that I could activate my first form.

"Go, Ryoshi. I will catch up with you." I murmured, and spared him a glance. "You know me. I\'m the top one player in the world, right? This is a challenge. If I get too rusty, that only means that Code is not my game."

"I believe in you. Take care, friend. I will meet you on the other side."

After our exchange, Ryoshi used his extreme speed and carried the two NPCs on his shoulders. A gust of wind trailed behind him as Ryoshi escaped the woodland. Those ten seconds were enough for him to flee. But I doubt I would do the same.

"So you stayed. How admirable, Fenrir." Robin mocked while curving out a sinister smile.

He knew that the battle was one against a thousand, or even more of them, if I had to count the ones hiding behind. Those were snipers that aimed at my head and the centre of my body. Robin calculated everything, even before breaching Nirvana.

"We could\'ve been a team, Robin. I know how to complete the game."

"I don\'t care," Robin said, and began his countdown.

"Ten…"

"Nine…"

"Eight…"

I used the little time that I had to think through this occurrence. There was no option for me to escape, not with these guns directed at me.

\'If only I have my first form of Lycanthrope, I could kill some of them and use my [wolf dash] to escape.\' I thought, and prayed for my last glimmer of hope.

[Wolf Dash] was another ability that I could learn if I unlocked my first form. That transformation would enhance any spell that I have within a time limit. However, my character was still fifty levels below that first form. If I were a novice, I would give up right now and die on the battlefield.

I fiddled with my settings, hoping I could use some of my knowledge to summon my first form.

"Seven…"

"Six…"

"Five…"

\'I think I got it!\' I exclaimed. My system followed my expression with an azure box popping out in front of me.

[First form unlocked! Despite your character being a low-level Lycanthrope, the first form will last within ten minutes. You can never use the first form again, unless you reach level seventy]

With all the options exhausted, I clicked the yes button and activated my trump card.