NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

"From what I remembered, the road towards Mainland did not have any snow situation. Only lands filled with grass and mountains….What happened here?" I asked myself, while marching on the slipper surface.

When I read books about the map around Code, those notes told me that the kingdom had a forest. This place also had a myriad of hills and other canyons that tourists and players enjoyed visiting. 

But behind those magnificent areas had dangers near them. The villagers often told children that bandits and other scary monsters lived in this area. It was the reason the soldiers refused to allow us kids to enter this realm.

However, I remembered players saying something about this site. If I recall the words correctly, those adventurers mentioned a levelling camp around this Mainland's threatening side. After killing dozens of monsters, players would level up like crazy, which would give them an advantage in fights. 

But as I entered this place, none of that happened. 

Thanks to the snow hailing towards this place, no monsters or bandits greeted my sight. Although there were some polar bears and other creatures lingering near my vicinity, those monsters did not attack me. 

It almost felt like these monsters wanted to run away at any sight they saw. And as soon as they noticed my presence, they would scurry from me.

I did not want to fight them, since I needed to learn the terrain. If I learned the areas of this icy place, I would definitely kill one of them. 

"Something's not right. Why are the monsters here even afraid of me?" I pondered that question, hoping to know the answer.

But as I trundled forward, a pile of corpses greeted my eyes. It was a war of soldiers, adventurers, and NPCs battling for their lives. Those knights belonged to the Mainland, while those players had more unique guns. Those rifles they used must have received some adjustments and enhancements, considering their standings. 

Upon inspecting the players, these people had different uniforms. If I could compare it to the ones I fought before, these carcasses had more armour and improvements to their equipment. The NPCs that they found also used those guns that these soldiers had.

And their fight did not end well as it took everyone towards the underworld.

This scene would happen more if the death game would continue. However, I couldn't care less about it. Those guys would die, and I would never bat my eyes.

As long as I could fulfill my revenge against those game developers, I would live my life to its full potential. My enemies did not matter to me, since my goal had been set on stone.

"Why aren't these bodies dissolving like in the game? Shouldn't they turn into little particles?" I asked myself, while heading onwards.

If someone or something died in the game, they would turn into pixelated fragments. According to Okami, that matter was the script of this game. It was the same thing that created the players, non-player characters, and everything we could imagine. 

And if these people hadn't disappeared from this world, it only meant that they had a fresh battle….Or, something could have happened from the system, since the death game occurred. 

Those dead bodies continued over for a mile as I trod onwards this snowy terrain. My feet had a difficult time swatting the icy powders towards the side. But after countless efforts of shoving those white blankets, I finally made it towards the battle's origin.

It was a camp belonging to the players, since I saw one from my previous fights. However, compared to the ones I remembered, this place had more fundings than the scouts. I could only assume that this group of players became more formidable than the ones who were hunting us down.

Before I could enter the place, I hid my body from the camp. I also used my [shadow walk] spell to secure my hiding spot. If I wanted to discern and breach this place, I needed to be as stealthy as possible. 

After ducking my head, I activated my two glowing eyes to hear the conversation from afar. As luck would have it, those two briefed something near the gates. It only strengthened my claim that the battle outside their camp happened not too long ago. 

Even without warning, my instincts knew that something was going on inside that place.

As it turned out, there were still soldiers alive from that battle. And this place still had some active defenses covering the area. Those players did not obviously place those traps set for any intruder entering this place.

If I walked in front without noticing the traps, I would have died before I could even kill one soldier.

"Have you taken all the trash?" 

"Sir, yes, sir! All four hundred non-player combatants were wiped out clean from the East!"

"Very well, captain. However, I want you to survey the scene. I don't want to create a fuss when Warner Asimov is underground."

"Sir, yes, sir!" 

After the conversation, the soldier called his troops and went to scout the area. The one who commanded the captain returned inside the base.

  But before he could enter his building, that bloke glared in my direction. He raised his gun and fired at the hill I used as my cover. The bullet destroyed the lump of snow, but it did not reveal my figure.

"I thought I noticed something. This shitty game isn't worth playing. Why do young people like this game anyway when it ruins one's senses," the man grumbled, and left the scene.

Fortunately, I laid my body flat on the floor and remained silent for the rest of that scene. I did not move a muscle and waited for the man to leave this place for good. As soon as the general entered his base, I heaved out a sigh and thanked my eyes for spotting the event.

(Author's note: Red knew all of those while leaning her back against the snow. The general noticed Red because he also maxed out his senses, since, well, he's a soldier. He doesn't want anyone hitting him from the back (not in a sexual way))

My system notified me about the man's ability, especially when he nearly found out where I hid. And when the screen popped up in front of me, it told me that he had some skill that helped him. But the name of that skill did not show up in my list. I could only guess the general hid that skill from anyone besides his allies.

That feature was also a skill that anyone could learn, especially for and against an assassin.

"I thought I was dead for a second! Oh my god!" I exclaimed, while feeling my heart beat for a thousand pumps a second. 

And when my heart finally reverted to its calm state, I finally opened my system and asked it another query.

"Who is Warner Asimov?" 

It was the name that these two soldiers mentioned in their conversation. I believed that person was someone important to the players, which made me tap my interest.

It took the system a few seconds before giving me its reply. And once it revealed me the answers, my eyes widened in shock, with my hands clenching for a fist.

"It can't be…..That's the guy who created the game?" 

The system told me that Warner Asimov was the creator of Code and the one who managed it. He also had some people to help him with this project, but it was Warner who made it happen. My system also gave me some documents that proved this claim, together with some photographs. 

"So that's him…" I repeated, and gritted my teeth. "You're the reason why this shit happened. YOU KILLED CLEMENTINE AND RUINED MATCH'S AND MY LIFE!"

I wanted to shout those words, but my mouth hindered me from doing it. There was a metallic taste lingering inside my lips, paired with some burning sensation around it. But I paid no attention to that, since none of it mattered.

After countless months looking for this bastard, I finally had a lead that I could rely on. It was the happiest thing I ever learned throughout my suffering. And I would transfer that feeling to this madman.

I resumed my stealth mode and prepared myself for breaching this base. My skill remained activated, considering that I would finally enter the place. If my system told me everything, that Warner Asimov might be the one I was looking for, together with his accomplice.

If I needed some answers, I would have to enter this place and look for a guy named Asimov. He would be the one I needed to meet and kill after all of this. However, if that man escaped from this place, I would still look for the fourth obelisk….The diamond obelisk would be the ticket for me to attract his attention.

And if I was lucky, those obelisks could give me something valuable for my journey.