NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Wolf Okami's Point of View

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"We're here," I announced, while pointing my forefinger at the cave.

A mountain stood tall outside the forest, blocking the magnificent view coming from either side. Found at the summit was an underground passage that would lead to the dwarven race inside. The exterior part of the mount was like any other landforms seen everywhere.

However, this mountain stood tall amongst its terrains. It had more mining areas and jewels beyond imagination! That reason was enough to make a dwarven's eyes glitter like the night stars.

The field also had deteriorating soil. That land did not let any plants grow, except for peculiar herbs and mushrooms. Those plants were still unknown species left undiscovered by players. I, who was an adventurer, paid no attention to those green figures.

Only a handful knew this place, including the adventurer guild masters and some high-privilege players. Considering the secrecy of the dwarves and the rich land, these leaders wanted to take this environment to their advantage. I did not know the details of their contract, since I excluded myself from any organisations.

But I was still one of the lucky lads who had visited the dwarven kingdom, despite their closed barriers. "Visited" might be an understatement if some people would ask me. After I traversed the foreign lands, I stumbled upon that mining place…

Although the dwarves disliked my attitude and title, those brats got the best out of me. They learned so much for a wanderer that I nearly gave them the information to make guns. Those scripts meant for dwarves made me forget they were non-player characters in the game.

After I recognised these NPCs played me, I went away and did not finish our project.

There was also another reason they did not kick me out when the dwarves had the chance. Since I was an overpowered individual, these kingdoms did not want to make an enemy out of me. I would never anger myself, too, knowing I could destroy Code if I wanted to.

"Are you sure that's the dwarven kingdom? It ain't nothing from what I imagined…," Ryoshi expressed his doubts, as we went to the side undetected.

I gave him a nod and smacked his face. "You idiot! I thought you were studying the map of Code! But seeing you right now makes me want to vomit."

"You don't have to hit me!"

"I do! I need to juggle your head, in case you remember something!"

After our skit, we crept our way towards the mountain's bottom. But as soon as my system notified me about something unknown, I snatched Ryoshi away and waited for the notification to disappear.

It was a handy feature meant to detect anomalies around the area. I usually turn this thing off because of the blaring sound, but it was still helpful during stealth missions! It also worked wonders during our camping time, where I did not have to worry about monsters ambushing my nap!

"Why the hell did you pull me back?" Ryoshi shrieked, but my hands were quicker.

I covered his mouth and shook my head. "Soldiers are wandering around our vicinity. If you like, you could go and get yourself arrested."

Ryoshi could only grumble to himself as he painfully listened to my mockery. As our trivial conversation died out, the two of us spotted the swarming soldiers patrolling the area. All of them armed themselves with high-calibre rifles that could effortlessly kill us in the distance!

"Damn those OP guns. That's why RPGs don't let players get their hands on those weapons! It's illegal!"

"And the place looks like a crime scene… The only thing those soldiers need is the yellow thing that says 'keep out' if you know what I mean?"

The two of us remarked while observing the marching soldiers walking by. If we went straight ahead, those soldiers would kill us upon sight. But we needed to go through that bottomless pit and solve the riddles before entering the dwarven kingdom.

"Do you have a plan?" Ryoshi queried, while looking at me with a worried expression.

I, who already thought of something, answered, "I thought you would never ask! The plan is simple. Kill all of them."

"I thought you weren't willing to kill people!" Ryoshi retorted.

He had a point about that. "I was just kidding. Of course, I do not want to spill blood with my hands. We only need to kill them if we have to. If we don't, we won't."

Ryoshi heaved out a lengthy sigh after hearing my words. Although his face told me he was not up to kill anyone, we had no choice but to progress.

"We will pass through them with stealth rather than brute force," I exclaimed.

"Like an assassin?" Ryoshi interposed.

"Cliche as it sounds, but yeah."

"So you're telling me to sneak over a bunch of military soldiers, who trained themselves against terrorist and war, to bypass them?"

I nodded my head. "Yes. Stop being a pussy and follow my lead."

A man never backs down to his word. That phrase was enough to constrict me from killing these soldiers. But if they caught us red-handed, Ryoshi and I would have no other choice but to fight our way through.

My sister, Himari, would scold me if I ever broke my promise. Although I already shattered my word when I defeated a battalion of soldiers before, I could easily slide it off as self-defence.

"Wait! Before we could do that, why can't we use your [wolf walk]?" Ryoshi asked, stopping our tracks.

"If I could, I would. But I can't risk activating my spells in front of these soldiers. If the game developers sent them, they would easily track down my magic ability. Since these soldiers have guns, I would not be surprised if they have something like a device to sense arcane."

"You know… I never thought you could actually think that through!" Ryoshi confessed, mocking me with his disgusting smile.

I, who had lost all my energy, couldn't laugh.

The two of us went to the sides and started our plan. Ryoshi became my shadow, mimicking every movement I made. Although he was a picky man, Ryoshi knew the weight of our situation. He may be a scared cat, but he was an intelligent man that could read his surroundings.

"Watch my back, and I will watch yours," I said, and Ryoshi nodded his head.

"Move to the right," I instructed, and leapt towards the ground.

In a flash, I already arrived at the other side. Ryoshi followed afterwards.

"A soldier is passing to the left. I will throw a twig at North West. Once the twig hits the ground, I want you to find an entrance."

"Roger that."

Ryoshi did as he mentioned and threw a stick in the North East. Since he was viewing my rear at a mirrored angle, the sound came from my right inside of my left. It was still Ryoshi's left side, so I did not become confused.

As the crushing sound of the thrown twig hit the ground, I tugged Ryoshi and dashed straight towards half the distance from our goal. Although there were dozens of guards wandering in our vicinity, they were no match against the two of us!

During our childhood days, Ryoshi and I played stealthy video games. The game that we played also had these game mechanics. Passing through these soldiers felt like walking in a park.

"We made it for the first half! Remember, Ryoshi. Things will only get more difficult from here on out!"

"I know, I know! Sheesh. You don't have to tell me twice."

After our brief break, we did the same thing again, but we took extra precautions. Instead of a guard patrolling an area, five guards also watched the scenes.

"What do you want to do?" Ryoshi asked. "Do we have to kill them?"

I shook my head. "Nope. If we killed them, we would only attract more attention. And besides, I don't want to stain my hands, remember."

Ryoshi fell silent after hearing my words. Even though I had a confident smirk carved on my eyes, my friend also saw the pessimistic part of the plan. He was a guy that loved worrying about things.

I couldn't help but let him do his thing, considering the pressure of stress that the two of us had been through. But that worried expression did not hinder us down. Ryoshi always found ways of dealing with these difficult circumstances.

"Can we dig underground?" Ryoshi asked.

"You fucking idiot! That's a stupid idea! We don't have a shovel or the tools to dig! How are we supposed to do that?!"

I took that back. Ryoshi did not have a plan during this crisis.

"I was just kidding. You actually believed that sentence? Come on, Okami. You're better than that," Ryoshi chided, while flashing me a stupid-looking grin. "You told me we could not use magic. But you didn't mention using physical attacks, right?"

"Don't tell me you plan on attacking these guys, aren't you?" I retorted.

"No, you fucking moron. Along the way, I found these mushrooms and shrubs. And I thought we could use them!"