NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Within a few seconds, I finally thought of an idea. I planned on using that bolt to my advantage and trapping the golem! I had no idea if this would work to my advantage. But there was nothing I could do but to try this out.

"Okami, I have an idea! But I need you to distract the golem! Match, you do the same and discharge your fire spells around the puppet! Can you do just that?" I asked Okami, who would play a vital role in this plan to work.

Okami had a reluctant look on his face, with his furrowed eyebrows at my figure. But instead of rejecting my offer, Okami gave me a nod and looked me in the eye.

"I'm guessing that you don't want me to know your plan, Red, since the puppet would know?"

"I don't have a plan…. but I have an idea," I corrected, while curving up my lips. "Trust me on this one, Okami. I know we will win this fight."

"I trust you more than I trust myself!" Okami shouted, and charged straight at the golem.

All he had to do was to buy me some time and distract the golem. Okami knew only one thing about my plan. He needed to move the puppet around like a crazed warrior fighting for his life. If I could find the perfect angle to land the arrows, this fight would be over soon.

And the trickiest part came into the fray.

Ryoshi claimed that nobody could wield these arrows if that creature was not a hunter or an elf. And I did not have any class that could carry those darts in my hands.

But I did not plan on holding those bolts in the first place.

I charged straight to Ryoshi and dragged his hands like an extension of myself. He acted like a puppet that I used for my own benefit. But it was the other way around. Ryoshi was the key to our victory.

When I moved my fingers, Ryoshi's fingers would move as well. If I walk, Ryoshi will also walk. The only thing that hindered me from performing this plan was Ryoshi's weight pressing on my body.

Despite being characters inside the game, Ryoshi also had a weight like any other characters in Code. As an NPC living in this world, my body could only handle a specific. I cannot carry something or someone heavier than me.

Instead of whining about it, I gritted my teeth and continued moving both Ryoshi and my body. I needed to sync our bodies if I wanted this plan to work out from what I had in mind.

It took me a few seconds to adjust to the weight. But after analysing my movements, I finally got the hang of what I was doing.

After knowing the controls, I went towards the bolts and grabbed all three on the ground. Much to my surprise, Ryoshi's hands picked them without difficulty.

Since Ryoshi mentioned he could only wield them, then maybe I could use his unconscious hands and snatch the arrows. My actions bore fruit as Ryoshi's hand collected all the three darts, with the bow in the other. All we had to do now was to fire these bad boys towards the golem and trap it inside a barrier.

I immediately positioned myself, prepared the arrows, and locked eyes on my target. But as I planned my actions, the puppet noticed my figure.

Despite having no eyes, the puppet glared in my direction. But thanks to Okami's interference, the golem continued fighting the wolf player. Match even helped as she cast both protective spells on me and offensive abilities against the puppet.

We all had ten seconds left on the clock before the other golem moved from its ground. And it was up to these three bolts and me to cage that puppet. And afterwards, run towards the gates, together with the team.

However, that was my main problem. All the battle's pressure turned to me, especially on these darts. If I failed the shot, we would all walk away with our tails behind our backs.

We could also die after this battle, considering Alice's personality.

I dashed to the sides while taking a deep breath. I also activated my [shadow walk] spell, despite knowing the puppet could track me down. That moment should be an impossible feat to achieve. But thanks to my past fights, I could calm my senses down, even under pressure.

As soon as Okami noticed my figure, he launched a blitz of attacks in the puppet's direction. He activated every spell that he had, including his forms and other abilities I did not know.

After three seconds, I released the bolts and aimed the three darts at the ground. I could only hope that my attack would form a triangle when those bolts would crash against the soil. Because if they didn't, we would have to retreat and save ourselves from this fight.

Everyone glued their eyes at the bolts hovering in mid-air. Even the puppet had its figure staring at the darts as they formed a shape on the ground.

But before those arrows could land on the ground, the golem dispatched itself from Okami and fled from the triangle's insides. Okami and I screamed in terror as soon as we witnessed the puppet's body move from the spot.

"No….. We're already too late," Okami whispered to himself, and knelt on the ground.

Match became a statue of some sort as she noticed the event unfolded before her eyes. She could not move a muscle, knowing that we lost. With the last ounce of strength she had, Match stole a glimpse behind and met my gaze.

That plot was our only chance of winning this fight. If we cannot trap the puppet inside the shape, we would lose the battle. Although Okami and I probably hated each other, we still did not want to die. There was still a connection that linked the two of us, which led us to this place.

And now, all those journeys we had would flush into the sewers. It was as if the moon crashed above us even though it was still daytime…..

Even when the world pressed all of its problems on me, a smile emerged from my face. It was a smirk that told everyone that we won the game that the game master played.

The bolts that trapped the other golem from the sides finally escaped that box. Since the barrier lost its time, the other puppet charged straight towards us but eventually met its doom.

The force field emerged from the arrows I placed, trapping the two puppets. If those golems only had eyes, they would have bulged them out from their sockets as they fell into my trap. Even though they had the ability to see the future, I was still five steps ahead of them.

No matter how hard the two golems tried, the barrier that Ryoshi made kept them at bay. Those spells that the puppets conjured were not enough to destroy that force field.

Match and Okami both gaped their mouths open as they witnessed the spectacle before them. Those two knew we would lose and eventually die from the puppets. Even Okami forfeited his life, knowing that we cannot escape this battle.

Luckily for us, I turned the tables around and outsmarted this artificial intelligence. I schemed this plan up ahead, hoping that it would work. It was actually my initial plan when Ryoshi mentioned the word shape, which gave away this concept.

The puppets could also read our plans, which made us difficult to attack. But since all I had was an idea and not a plan, the golems disregarded it. Spells only worked specifically when the user commanded them to the magic circle. It cannot evolve into something new, regardless of the arcane it contained.

The same logic applied to these golems, which followed a certain command. They cannot disobey or jump from a different perspective.

Only humans could do that.

"Are you two just going to stare at the golems, or do you guys plan on heading straight at the gates?" I asked, with my arms holding my hip.

I still had my smirk painted on my face when I queried that question. Wasting no more time, the three of us charged straight at the entrance, with Okami carrying Ryoshi on his back. Since his friend was still unconscious from the fight, Okami had no other choice but to transport him around.

Fortunately for us, we faced no more problems besides the trapped golems. It would be a mess if they came out from their traps without giving us a hint... As luck would have it, that never happened.

The gates slid open, inviting us inside. As the four of us arrived at the other side, the doors behind shut closed, leaving no space for anyone but us.

"We finally made it!" I announced, which marked the beginning of our journey meeting with Alice.