NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

"Have you ever killed someone before, Red?" Match asked.

Her words did not have any sinister thoughts or hidden meanings. She was not like this before, but the girl had noticed something different lately. With all the constant battles against people that wanted me dead- and I want to kill them, Match had caught up with the situation.

But I had never guessed that time would be right now.

Match\'s eyes gaze into mine, observing my facial expressions. The little girl had a curious look on her face that I had always seen before. Her breaths became static as she looked into my eyes, but her hands moved otherwise.

Match was still the little girl that I knew. However, the question rang in my ears.

The world surrounding us became silent, but my head grew louder every second. The trees never danced through the wind. They never made a sound. But the words yelled at me, saying that I should give Match what she asked from me. I did not know what to say or even react to the question, as it caught me off guard. I opened my mouth and tried forming up a reply, but I couldn\'t.

\'Match would remember my answer, since she\'s just a little kid,\' was all I thought about inside my head.

If the little girl knew I killed thousands of players and non-player characters, she would feel upset. Nobody wants to stick around a killer, knowing that person might kill you too. The idea could also apply to Match, given that I had killed all my enemies for my goal.

And I can\'t let Match take revenge for the game developers. All I wished for her is a life that she deserved.

"No. I haven\'t." I lied. "To those people that I\'ve hurt, I think they\'re healing too. I don\'t know where, but they\'re still alive."

It was the worst thing I had ever said in my life, but I couldn\'t bring the truth to Match. If she knew, that girl would think of me as a murder, not an ally. But saying it right now would bring more harm to me than her.

I was not ready for any confrontations like this. I did not want Match to trek the path I had paved for mine. If I had to paint my hands with blood, I should do it on my own. Match would never have to do anything unjust, such as the revenge that I kept seeking.

\'Match sees me as a sister. I must preserve that.\' Those were the only words that kept me going in life.

\'If I can\'t tell the truth to Clementine, I can\'t do it with Match too.\'

After our exchange, we went to bed and had a well-deserved rest. That was what I thought, not until the words remained buzzing through my ears.

Every time I shut my eyes, I could recall the faces that I had murdered. This game became a death game for the players and punishment for NPCs like me. Those people kept begging for me to spare their lives. However, like an emotionless robot, I slit their throat and carried on with my life.

It was an inhuman reaction. But for me, it was the right thing to do.

The night grew old and made way for the yellow star to shine its light on the world. The morning birds fluttered from their nests and fetched their offspring something to eat. I, who was also older than Match, hunted down the rabbits nearby.

The little girl was still asleep on her bed, embracing the make-shift pillow made of leaves. Match groaned with every second of discomfort as the weeds crept closer to her skin. But the sensation was not enough to wake her up, which made it perfect for me to find some animal to eat.

"It should be fine to leave Match alone," I mumbled, and got off from our base.

My right eye glowed a colourless colour. It partially illuminated my surroundings, making everything crystal. That ability heightened my senses and combat ability. But I still cannot control my prowesses yet, given that I was not a fighter in this world.

"There it is," I whispered.

A figure hopped in front of me, feeding on the grass and berries on the ground. It was a hare with dirty-white fur like its skin. The unfortunate animal did not know that someone was hunting it. And that someone was me.

I used my penitent\'s dagger and threw it in the rabbit\'s direction. The hare did not have time to react as the blade landed on its chest. With a high-pitched shriek, the rabbit left the world.

"You\'re awake, Red!" Someone called out for my name

My body startled and jolted behind. I widened my eyes at the sight of Match, watching the entire scene unfolding before me. Her eyes glided through my hands, gripped by the rabbit\'s corpse.

"Our brunch. The rabbit looks fat as well," I said, destroying the silence that stood between the two of us.

With an "okay!" answer, Match and I returned to our campfire and prepared the materials we needed. Match did her thing and readied the woods and fire, using the dry woods I collected. I butchered the corpse and drained its blood.

We were nowhere near the dwarven kingdom. It would take around over fifty miles and two months to arrive at that place, especially on foot. If we had a carriage, our journey would be an uncommon thing. But we did not.

Thanks to the damage it had received from travelling at intense speed, the royal cart broke down before it could even transport us near a village. According to my system, there was a small town close to here. It stood at twenty-five miles, sitting between our place and the dwarven empire.

Yesterday repeated itself as Match went beside me and asked for my attention. The girl clasped her fingers on my clothes and looked me in the eye.

"What is it, Match?" I answered.

Match hesitated for a bit, but took a lengthy inhale. "Can you teach me how to fight?"

I blinked a billion times and leaned closer to her face. I had never expected Match would come and ask me to teach her things about fighting when I could barely even stand against other players in battle.

"What makes you ask that question?"

"It\'s because I realised that if something bad happens, I can\'t do anything about it. So teach me how to fight!" Match suggested, and lowered her head.

"If this topic is about yesterday, you have to kiss that idea behind, Match." I retorted.

"No!" Match answered. "It\'s not that! I don\'t have to use my fire ability if you don\'t want to. All I want is to defend myself when things, you know, go from bad to worse."

I had some doubts about what Match wanted. If she wished to fight, Match would pair up against a player that would be more experienced than her. That little girl would definitely lose against a one-on-one scenario with anyone who had killed someone before.

Match was like me, but with a different cause. She wanted to learn the things I do to defend herself and me. That girl did not want to fight because of revenge. Match only yearned to survive in this crazy world.

"I can\'t teach you, Match. I don\'t even know how to fight," I answered.

"Why? Can\'t you teach me how you threw that dagger and hit the bare in the chest! Or, or, something like kicking or punching things! I can dodge, Red! Look!" Match announced, and rolled on the ground.

But her posture was inappropriate for tumbling at the sides. Match eventually hit her head on a rock, creating a hill that emerged between her hairs. The little girl groaned in pain and rubbed her hands on her scalp, regretting what she had done.

"I\'ll think about it," I answered, and carried on chopping the meat into pieces that would fit in our mouth.

However, Match was not happy with my answer. She went back to me and hauled my red hood, begging for more.

"I want to help you when the time comes. It doesn\'t have to be the fire skills that I have. I can learn something different! Maybe to test my limits!" Match insisted.

Her eyes glowed like a star, brimming with tears almost cascading from her eyes. I heaved out a sigh and went along with Match\'s persuasion. I can never say no with that face.

"Fine, I will teach you. But I told you already, I don\'t know how to fight," I confessed. "Every time I engage in combat, my right eye glows. And then I could move and dodge everything thrown at me. Get it?"

Match shook her head and replied, "Nope! What does that glowing light do?"

I knew that Match also had this illuminating light on her left eye.. The colour of that glow was crimson, like her powers that came from the stave.