NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

"A unique skill?" I mumbled, while accepting what the system had offered to me.

As I changed the page of my box, the system finally announced my unique skill. It was an ability linked with the number of species I interacted with and used their weapons. My weapons include a penitent\'s blade, a bow and arrow, and a gun. Since I couldn\'t use all of them, I stuck my hands using my penitent\'s blade, leaving the two ranged weapons untouched.

However, that was not all. Because of this change, I might wield three or more weapons without thinking about the consequences. And if that would happen, I could finally add more firepower against players standing in my way.

[Processing..... Successful!]

After a few seconds, the system announced that it finally finished uploading its documents. I did not know what happened, but I waited for the box to appear.

"There\'s nothing he-."

Before I could even finish my sentence, my system activated my inventory on its own, revealing my three weapons stored inside. As soon as it got released, those three weapons circled in front of me. All three had light of some sort covering the objects. It was as if covering it with the light coming from the system.

[Processing combination….. Successful]

Another set of texts appeared in front of me, telling me that the system converted the weapons. I did not know what to expect, but my weapon would prove its worth on this trip.

After a few moments, the light coming from my three weapons faded out. When the last light disappeared, my weapon returned to my hand. Much to my surprise, the weapon never changed into something else. It was still my penitent\'s blade, but with a little twist in its design.

"Nothing changed, Red!" Match remarked, while staring at my dagger.

But upon twisting my dagger, my blade became a pistol. According to my system, a pistol is the smaller gun that came from those rifles. Despite its size, the pistol\'s damage remained unchanged.

When my penitent\'s blade became smaller, my heart raced a billion beats per minute, thinking that the system toned it down. But when the information appeared before me, I heaved out a sigh, knowing that did not happen.

My penitent\'s blade did not even take a second before transforming into a pistol. The transformation would appear if I called upon my pistol. It even changed even when I did not think about it, making it quicker to call for my weapon.

My pistol could also become a blade if I wanted to without changing it to its basic form. However, the weapon would become bigger, which would pose difficulties if I could use both the gun and the blade.

"How about the bow?" I whispered, and conjured the weapon.

I moved my hands like a bow and pulled nothing as if it was the recurve\'s strings. The recurve appeared before me as if it was second nature. It popped up and went perfectly in my hand, without even having the weapon appearing from our eyes. But if someone could sense arcane, they could picture the bow in my hands, carved with my magic.

Match even pointed her forefingers at me while mumbling about the recurve resting in my hands. She claimed that magic should not work like that. Arcane would only appear if the user could concentrate their thoughts on that spell. Other sorcerers could summon magic without solely thinking about it. But…. that would only work if you had a powerful item in hand.

And when I did not want to use the bow anymore, I would revert to my penitent\'s blade, with the gun still intact. And when I did not want to use my gun, I would just return the pistol to my dagger.

The item worked the same as before, but with added features. As luck would have it, all the damage to my weapons increased three times. I could compare its power to a speedy ship hitting us in our direction. Instead of summoning the weapon from my inventory (which would take more time to swap each weapon), I could easily equip any weapon I wanted. After equipping my chosen weapon, I would effortlessly use it in battle without having a second thought.

I also learned professional movements and reaction time when using my weapons. When I planned on using the bow, the elves\' techniques would enter inside my head. I would apply all those skills they had and use them in combat.

And if I would use my gun, the techniques used by those soldiers would immediately enter my mind. I could maximize their efficiency and use my weapons to their maximum potential. There was also a deactivate button if I needed to if these techniques would backfire. While using these weapons, I could activate my original spells on top of my arsenal.

And if the situation became dire, I could instantly swap my weapon in and out, causing no issues. The system also had another slot that I could add in the future. I did not have any weapon in hand, and I did not know what to add to that empty box.

I pushed that problem aside and continued digesting every information I had inside my mind. I would focus on that problem another time if I could face it again. But for now, everyone had reassuring eyes carved on their faces when they witnessed my unique skill.

As soon as I understood everything, I explained to everyone about my system. All of them nodded their heads as they listened to my narration. Okami shared his thoughts and said that the instant weapon summoning system would work wonders in a fight.

"Since we cannot dictate the battles, changing weapons would be a valuable weapon…. both literally and situationally…. I don\'t know if that\'s a word, but okay," said Okami, while shaking his head. "However, the downside for that skill is you need to master the three weapons, potentially four, in order for it to work. Because if it doesn\'t, that fight would cost your life. And we don\'t want that to happen."

Ryoshi also said his fill. But I did not listen. Why would I even listen to that murderer, anyway? It was not like he had something important to share with me.

"That\'s so cool, Red! You could use any weapon during battles! I could only use one, even when I have the inventory! It\'s hard switching weapons during a fight! Even if I could, I wouldn\'t! Since it\'s hard mastering a weapon! Having three more is like boooom inside my mind," Match remarked, while imploding her hands, reaching outward to the sky.

"You\'re absolutely right, Match. I don\'t know why, but I think we need these weapons later. We\'re up against a puppet master named Alice…. And she\'s the strongest being in Code," I replied, while caressing Match\'s hair.

Match allowed my hand to rest on her head and retorted, "Of course, I already know that! You\'re treating me like a kid again! Red, stop it!"

Despite telling me to stop, her head showed otherwise. Match kept rubbing her head against my hand as she gawked at the ground.

I almost forgot that Match was still a kid, despite her attitudes sometimes. But after witnessing our current exchange, Match showcased her childish child once again in front of me.

"I hate to break it to you, Red, but we have to fight without mastering those three. Are you sure you\'re ready?" Okami asked, while raising his eyebrows.

"Yes. I was born ready," I answered.

Even though we had a few arguments before, Okami was still a remarkable player for me. He had overpowered skills that could annihilate players in the blink of an eye. Okami was even using his smurf account. Although the two of us were like fire and ice, I still respected the man.

"Good. It\'s because we need it," Okami concluded, as he motioned with his hands.

After our exchange, Okami led the pack while gesturing his hand. He briefed us before all these signs we needed to understand before proceeding towards the citadel. Now that we know those signals, we could now move with precautions.

But before we could even close the distance, a trap set by itself. Someone must have stepped on something that was not the soil. As we turned to each other, no one admitted who stepped on the mine. Everyone knew that nobody would lie, especially in this dire situation.

Within a few seconds, Okami recognised something as he shouted, "DUCK!"

All of us heeded his instructions as we lowered our heads and kissed the ground. I wrapped my hands around Match\'s body, hoping to protect her from this event. It was just my added layer of protection, since we did not know who we were up against.

We waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. The forest remained silent, even after hearing a clicking sound. But when we lifted our heads, those magical projectiles came flying in our way. Fortunately for us, we found a way to stop them.