NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

"You know I cannot leave rookies alone out there full of monsters." The man named Robin snatched the mug and poured it with a whiskey-like bottle. "What if they died and I could still save them? Those ostrich-brain adventurers would never dare to rescue those newbies."

He had a soft but firm voice when giving a reply to the bartender. Robin played with his cup and tilted the glass. He looked at the ale almost dripping from the other side as he balanced his drink.

Any nourishment, including alcohol, will not affect our body, but the tastes remain in the beverages. Even if we devoured a bucket of chum and intoxicated ourselves with alcohol, it will not destroy or digest by our organs. The sensation will persist in our head and experience it in actual time.

The holographic set worked that way.

"You may become a paedophile if you continue saving them without a cause," the bartender said, as she swiped the bottle away from Robin.

The man frowned as he saw the ale drifting apart from the board. Robin wanted to reach out and retort, but could not do so. He succumbed to himself with the last pinch of beer left from his mug and chugged it down to his throat.

"Oh, come on, little brother! If that were you in the woods, I would also help you, you know?" Robin exclaimed, and xertz the last ounce of beer through his mouth.

A blaring burp escaped from his lips as he looked me in the eye. I stared back at him and uttered nothing but silence. He thought I was still a youngster, wanting to become a hero inside Code. Because of my tiny avatar, Robin believed I was a vulnerable child lost in the forest.

Little did he know I was Fenrir, the legendary player, dammit!

That alone was not enough to surprise me. I shifted my view to the server, whom Robin called the girl as his younger brother. I blinked a million times, hoping that the image before me would change into something else. As soon as the figure remained the same, a sigh fled from my soul.

I was not against people changing genders in real life or inside the game. I just wanted to confirm what his or her identity was to address the person. It would be troublesome for me if I did not call the person correctly.

"That girl is your brother?" My thoughts got the better of me as I let my question out loud.

I jerked my hands and covered up my mouth, trying to redo everything I did. However, I already unleashed my words on their ears as the two of them returned my gaze.

"Yes. I am a man who has four kids at home." The girl spoke with a sombre expression.

Despite my revelation, the server had a captivating high-pitch voice of a girl in her teenage years. Her bouncing chest made all the difference. I cannot look straight at the elegant figure, despite forcing my eyes to talk to the girl. It was not because of her sexual identity, but a fragment of my past haunted my brain every time I gaze into her body.

I remembered myself changing my avatar once when I was still a beginner in this game. I tried becoming a girl character for a week, but Himari\'s friends made fun of me. It was a grim memory, but I beat the shit out of those homophobic assholes who discriminated against other genders.

"Are you like those homophobic bastards?" the girl said, and smacked the mug on the board.

The server\'s eyes locked onto mine, not letting me escape from her glare. She wanted to squeeze something out of me, but my face was as hard as a stone.

"No! I am open with you, you know. You can be who you want to be!" I croaked.

"Good. I thought you\'re against gay people. I would\'ve crushed your neck if you answered wrong."

My hands instinctively palpated my nape, hoping that it was still on my head. After feeling my pulsating skin, I exhaled, all the tension dwelling inside of me.

"Forgive my brother. His son is bisexual, so he wanted to support his child by dressing up as a woman in Code. Now that he is stuck being a woman, please treat my brother as a girl to avoid any confusions," Robin expressed. "By the way, I am Robin Fitzfoot, and this is my brother, Friar Fitzfoot, a married man. We are both living in London but took a day off in America."

The two brothers were English men, foreigners, different from the country I knew. I grew up in Japan, so their culture differs from mine. We should not interpret our words, but we understood each other because of Code. The game could translate overseas languages into something players could understand, regardless of the language.

"A dime a dozen, that\'s how it is," Friar added.

"I\'m-," I hesitated, knowing that my name sounded unintelligent when someone said it out loud.

"You are?" the two men asked in unison.

"I\'m bigbadwolf. You can call me wolf," I continued.

The pair held their laughter and gave me a nod. The two thought I was kidding around. But once the blokes looked at my status identification, Robin and Friar realised I was telling the truth. Robin cleared his throat and slid his fingers in front of him, activating the system.

"Let\'s not beat around the bush and focus on the task." Robin opened his system and presented his screen.

An azure box materialised in front of him and showed an announcement given to all adventurers in the guild. Similar to a computer beeping sound, the monitor flashed us the latest events happening to us.

I did not apply for the adventurer\'s guild yet, so I had gotten no messages from them. I made this avatar recently, and I had expected much, receiving no news in Code. However, that did not mean I was ignorant about the world.

"Warner Asimov, the game developer, wanted us, adventurers, to rally against the Elven Kingdom," Robin explained, and read the first few sentences of the texts. "He also mentioned his soldiers are on their way to give us support but did not know when they are going to arrive."

"He said that we need to kill all the NPCs and save the rest of the players trapped inside their dungeon before the elves behead them," Friar added, and crossed his shoulders.

"We kill if we must. If we can still communicate with the long-eared creatures, all of us can end the war without hurting anyone!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs.

He was a kind man that never wanted to fight. Robin had a recurve strapped behind his back and a dagger hidden on his hips but refused the idea of murdering people, especially non-player characters.

"They\'re still people, brother."

"Asimov and his team created those creatures that you call people and intellectuals. None of them is real," Friar opposed.

Before they could continue their dispute, a clamorous shriek echoed outside. The three of us and the rest of the consumers went to the plaza. All of us hoped to see the origin of the sound.

Upon arriving at the district, a man wearing a thick silver plate guarding his chest with a two-handed sword gripped at each of his hands welcomed our eyes. Kneeling in front of the warrior was a merchant whom I saw before and chased him in this kingdom. The trader had a pale face drenched in sweat, hoping that the man behind him would spare his life. His tattered clothes told us that the players caught him red-handed and offered him to the death\'s door.

"Please spare my life, adventurer! I will give you everything that I have! Money? Potions? Women? I-I know a red-light district near here! Please, just don\'t kill me!" the merchant pleaded, but none of the players listened to his words.

Robin marched towards the bulky man and prepared his bow. He did not want to hurt anyone using his weapon, but that did not mean he planned to go there unarmed. The man wished to defend himself and his close friends nearby.

"Release him, now!" Robin shouted.

Everyone\'s attention went onto him, locking their eyes to the figure. The children and their mothers looked at the scene with frightened hearts. They wished the madness to end, but that was far from the truth.

It was only the beginning.

"Playing hero?" the paladin asked. "Do you know how many NPC killed us, players?"

"I am aware," Robin answered. "But it does not mean that merchant is a dangerous man!"

I crept into the crowd and watched the occurrence happening before me. There was no need for me to interfere or to help the man, but watching him while I did nothing left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I readied my dagger if something happens to him.

"This merchant and his friends are all animated beings! They don\'t possess any life or emotions! These NPCs killed my friends because they wanted to! If they died, the game developers could add them whenever they want. But my friends, they are long gone!"