NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

After our exchange, I thought that Match and I would become an unstoppable force and meet our expectations. We trained for a week later, but the results did not give us what we wanted. I still couldn't aim at my desired target, while Match kept struggling to control the bare minimum of her powers.

My right eye remained glowing every time fatigue hit my body. I was desperate to achieve what I yearned for, but my emotions got the better of me. I needed to deactivate my powers to enhance my physical body without the help of my right eye illuminating a colourless light. My system event told me that this method could enhance my arcane output. If my mana manipulation became smooth as the ocean, I would have more room to train and use those spells. I also learned that my right eye shines every time I feel uneasy about my situation. This event always happened during my training hours. Deactivating it during my drilling proved to be a strenuous task. And every time I aimed my bow without the help of my right orb, my arrows would miss the shot.

Anxiety took me away beyond what I ever imagined. All my appendages quivered, begging for me to stop doing these exercises. Well, given the timetable of arriving at the dwarven kingdom before the soldiers do churn through my senses. By the looks of it, we had approximately a month to two months left before reaching the land of Wonderland.

Match still needed to work on her fiery arcane. She still burned her fingertips the last time Match used her powers. Thanks to my intervention, I turned the damage to a minimum. She could unleash an ember of fire on her fingertips. Her spells worked as a candle, and that flame never burned her hands.

And right now, she would be the one to show her progress.

"Give me all you got, Match!" I motioned for Match to come at me.

"Better watch out, Red! This fire might hurt you a little!" Match replied.

We were in the middle of nowhere, where the grass danced with the wind. The road was still up ahead, but the two of us planned on beating each other up to train. We also wanted to use those animals for our advantage, but we would leave that part later.

I suggested having a training ground where the two of us would fight against each other. But neither of us would strike to kill our opponents. Fainting was okay in the field, but the two of us would just try to wound each other to test our limits.

And that was what happened.

I launched myself towards Match and readied my bow and arrow in my hands. But before I knew it, my fighting style should not be like this anymore. Since I was holding a longbow, a marksman must be far away from the enemy. Creating a distance between my opponent and myself would play a vital role in my archer ability.

But my bad habits stuck inside of me, placing me in a spot that I would do when I equipped myself with a blade. And right now, I did not have my melee weapon with me. I also refused to use my right eye for this battle to push my boundaries.

Match used this opportunity to cast her spell in front of me. A vibrant orange fire emerged from her extended palm and flowed in my direction. It almost looked like the fire wanted to devour me if it could touch my skin. But the flames were close to the size of Match's arm, making me think that the fire was harmless to me.

But I thought wrong.

Match's spells accidentally touched the surrounding grasses as they went into flames. The fire spread throughout its surroundings, but not enough to burn the entire forest. It created a cloud of smoke from where Match stood, but that was all we saw. After the red light died, the grass became charcoal.

The little girl gave me a wide grin, thinking that she had me. Match called forth more of her arcane and directed the flames towards me.

Match's arcane did not hurt hands. She only expressed that her hands become warm after conjuring such a spell. Although Match was using her glowing red eye, she did not have any intentions of killing anyone.

Match only wanted to surpass me and proved she could defend herself and me during dangerous times.

She knew I was out of position to do anything besides using my shafts as a stick to bang her head. If I could, that would become a hilarious fight of an inexperienced archer against a mage. I had never seen a marksman try using the bolts as their weapons. But if I saw one, I would deem them idiotic like me.

Thanks to my reaction time, I slid towards the side and evaded the pillar of flames. Despite dodging the assault, the blaze pursued my tail. It moved like a snake that slithered through the ground, hunting for its prey.

I, who became a wanderer on the training grounds, kept circling the bushes, hoping that the fire would not touch me. However, Match laid her eyes upon me. Wherever I went, that little girl chased me, even to the ends of Earth.

"You're becoming a good mage! But you need to be accurate with your attacks, or else your enemies would dodge it!" I voiced, and continued sidestepping my way out of my scorched situation.

"And you're good at running away from me, Red!" Match snorted.

We were both mocking each other during the battle. But our conversation only meant that the two of us were on the same team. If we could unleash our potentials, we would outmanoeuvre the players, despite the disadvantage between levels.

I was only level 10, while Match was level 8. That little girl levelled up when we were fighting against the boars. Match also levelled up when she killed those players in Nirvana. Although she killed more players than me, Match still had two levels behind me.

I, who killed two prominent rulers in Code, only got five levels each from them.

The only explanation that I could think about was our classes and the features of the game. I was not an expert, but I knew that the game disliked killing other players and non-player characters. Although some quests would order players to hunt down criminals, these adventurers could gain experiences from the task given by a guild. Those benefits alone made them improve their levels.

Match and I did not have any of those, hence our levels. Although we were mountains apart from the veterans playing this game, skill should always be the standard in fighting.

I finally took ground and created a distance from Match. My hands prepared a shaft and pulled the cord from my longbow. The attack generated a whirlwind that went "Whoosh!" within the air. My bolt was not a pointed arrow, but a dull stick that would deal less damage to enemies.

Match was lucky enough to dodge my bolt with five centimetres. The wind blew my calculations away, as the arrow hit the nearby tree instead of Match.

'If I had measured the wind's speed, maybe I could've hit Match!' I thought, and gritted my teeth.

I almost had it! The arrow almost got into Match, but the environment was not in my favour.

Match used this window to discharge her attack. Another twister made of fire emerged from my ground, burning the grasses beside my feet. I had no other choice but to leap from my place, but I couldn't

It was as if the fire did not let me do anything. I couldn't leave my ground.

Out of desperation, I pulled one arrow and directed it towards Match. It was now or never if I wanted to land a hit against the little girl. She was out in the open, which made it effortless for me to aim in her direction. Match knew that I was aiming for her chest, but she couldn't cancel her spell.

We unleashed our all-out attack and braced ourselves for the aftermath.

Match clasped both of her hands and ordered the panel of flames to consume me. She also paid close attention to whether the arcane she used were too much that could injure her arms. Match was fortunate enough to give out a strike without forcing herself to burn her body.

This exercise was a perfect experience for Match. She finally understood the limit of her power. But I knew Match was only tapping the surface of her magic. She had more potential than any other players or mages I saw in my lifetime.

I took a deep breath and calmed my senses. It was now or never, so I had to place all my concentration on this attack.

I pulled the cord and launched my arrow, hoping that it would hit the vulnerable Match out in the open.