NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

There was nothing inside this safe room besides some furniture, tables, and chairs. But our health points and mana went up, just like Alice had mentioned before. Thanks to the rejuvenating effects, we would have a fighting chance against Alice….. However, that would only happen if we all planned to attack Alice on her throne.

Since we had this safe room, we all shared the same sentiments of staying inside. And since this place had every basic need, we did not have to force ourselves to do anything arduous. Who wouldn't want to live in a place stress-free with all the things laid in front of you?

Well, Okami was the only person who had an original idea. After two hours of eating our meal, Okami called out for our attention.

He gazed into everyone's eyes and exclaimed, "After an hour, we need to fight, Alice. Every second wasted inside this safe room, our real bodies deteriorate on Earth. And if that happens, all the people playing this game would die….. I don't want that to happen to Himari. I don't want to die because of my selfishness/"

I stood up from my seat and replied, "Since when did you care about someone else? All those players meant nothing to you! If those players wanted to kill Himari, you would gladly kill them. And if they did something to Ryoshi and your sister, you would do the same thing to them."

Okami wanted to retort but couldn't. Those words I spewed hammered the nail inside his heart, since I never lied about it. Even Ryoshi couldn't say anything, considering he must know Okami's perspectives as his best friend.

"What do you plan to do, then? Sit here doing nothing but eat and sleep? How about your revenge against those game developers? How about Clementine?!" he exclaimed, as he gazed into my eyes.

Okami was on point when he told me about those lines. I got off track for a second and forgot about the meaning behind my journey. My eyes glued themselves to my surroundings, inspecting all the things inside this safe room.

"Guys, we need to calm down…. We're just stressed out fighting those golems. We even barely won against them, if it weren't for Red's plan. And now we all have to fight Alice, the strongest character in this game. If we want to win, we need to fight together...as a team," Ryoshi was the one who stepped up in this conversation.

However, I did not have the patience to hear his words. I averted my gaze from Ryoshi and went to fix my things. Even though I did not like him, I still needed to do this, with or without them.

I looked at Match's face whilst thinking about our future. This fight was not something we could win easily. If we're not careful, we could lose someone before we could even win against Alice.

"Is there something on my face?" Match asked, as she tried wiping down her cheeks using her fingers.

"Nothing. You're just as cute as always," I answered, while flashing Match a smile.

"I'm not a kid anymore! I even helped you defeat the golems! If it weren't for my fire protection, you could've been squashed by those puppets! Although I'd hate it if that happened to you, but that's not the point!"

"Yes, yes. Thank you, my little angel."

After our exchange, Match went to sleep, saying that she needed to recover her mana. She also told me that if we planned on fighting someone strong, we would need her spells again. Match did not want to be someone useless in a fight. That girl always wanted to help me achieve anything, since I was the only one she got. And Match was the only one I had since the death of my sister.

When Match fell asleep, I turned around and faced Okami once again. "I don't need you. But if I want to win, I need as much help as I could get from the two of you…. Even though I hate Ryoshi's guts, I cannot choose my teammates in this fabricated world."

"Well said, Red. Of course, we will help defeat Alice. I really want to return to my sister and eat her curry," Okami answered, and nodded at my words.

Ryoshi kept his mouth shut after hearing my sentences. He knew that if he said something in this talk, I would have smacked his face. I would have done that without thinking twice.

As soon as we finished our conversation, we all rested on the bed and recovered our lost health points. That fight against the two puppets drained out our health points and mana down to the bottom. Thanks to the time Alice allotted, Match could also use her lava for five minutes in the fight instead of two minutes and thirty seconds. That skill would play a vital role in this upcoming fight, since we cannot gauge the power of our enemy.

"As soon as Match wakes up, I will tell everything we need to know about Alice," Okami announced, as he went to the spare bed inside the safe room. "For now, all of you shall rest. Take as much sleep as you need. We're up against the monstrous character inside this game. Although the game developers changed her up, her powers are unbelievably strong."

Ryoshi and I followed his advice and went to bed. Since there was nothing we could do, for now, I also slept for the time being. I needed to recharge myself for this fight. It took me around a few minutes before falling asleep.

However, after a few hours of living in my dreams, the blaring sound of the system woke me up. Upon opening my eyes, a window greeted me with the words written inside.

[The obelisk is inside the cellars. As soon as you grab hold of that item, there's a passageway at the back. That door will lead you to the back of this castle. And that path would go straight to the dragonewts. You are the only one I told about this information]

Another window slid open as I pressed the next button.

[Do not trust Fenrir. He is just manipulating you to get the obelisk. He is also a player in this game. How much do you trust this guy who killed thousands of NPCs during his prime? I was one of them... We share the same path, Red. I lost someone dear to me. Those bastard game developers killed my father and took everything from me. And now that I have the power to change the world, they locked me up inside this cell. Those game developers felt afraid when they knew I wanted freedom... We all want to be free from this and become real people, right? It's your choice to trust these foolish players. And if you have the obelisk, Okami and his friend could easily kill you and escape from this game."

"Why would you send me this hint, Alice? And why would you tell me all of those? I don't understand….. Is Okami hiding something?"

Like the wolf inside the sheep's clothing, my mind changed when Alice sent me this message. Okami and I had crossed paths and blades, but he never took my life. I saw a glimpse of his memory and told the truth about his sister.

Okami wouldn't lie to me…. Would he?

I did not know the reason behind sharing this information. But upon receiving this intel, I might as well try it. Although this piece of news could be a trap, there was nothing else I could do but try.

As soon as I got this text, I sat and stared at my surroundings. I wanted to tell the team that Alice messaged me and told me about the obelisk's location. But as I realised the message's weight, I held that thought inside my head.

I did not want to move without thinking this thoroughly in my brain.

"If I tell this piece of information to Okami, will he join me afterwards to the dragonewt? Am I going to trust him, or am I going to trust Alice's words?"

Alice was a stranger in my eyes. I knew little about Alice's past, considering the life I lived in this game. The only information I had with Alice was the narration told by Ryoshi and Okami. But besides that, I knew nothing about her compared to Okami.

Ironically, my ears caught moaning sounds coming behind me. As I turned around, I met Okami's half-asleep eyes staring at me.

"Are you still awake, Red?" Okami asked.

"Yeah…. Just had a dream," I answered.

"Then go back to sleep. You need against Alice."

As soon as he said his fill, Okami went back to sleep without a care in the world. I, who lied and kept Alice's message a secret, went to bed once again.

"I trust Okami... for now. But I will use this information for myself instead of saying this to them," I thought, and closed my eyes.