NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Prologue

Himari's Point of View

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[Hello, Dawn! Welcome back to playing Code! You are currently an S. support class.] my system greeted me as soon as I was inside the vacuum linked towards the game. {Do you wish to change your appearance?]

I immediately accepted yes and chose an outfit that would make other players second guess who I was. Since I also played with my friends in school, they would know my attire and skills in the game. And if they recognised my identity, my classmates could sell me to the government.

If Warner found out about my brother and my existence, they would have probably detached us from the headgear or imprisoned us for a lifetime.

After sliding the box, another box popped out. It was the system bombarding me with questions needed for veteran gamers..

Veteran gamers differed from smurf players. Veteran players always used their accounts on any occasion. They did not care if they had higher levels compared to other players. The system called the players who quitted the game for a long time veterans.

Smurfs were mountains apart from the veteran titles. These players were the trash group of the gaming community, considering their ego. Smurf player's only goal was to ruin beginner gamers inside Code.

And a smurf player I knew was my own brother, Okami. I didn't know why, but my brother did not use his Fenrir account when he went inside this game. If he had that overpowered character, he could have found Ryoshi instantly without breaking a sweat. And if my brother wanted to, Okami could have ended this death game within two days!

I hated to say this, but my brother was more powerful than me. I needed twenty versions of myself before I could wound his face. But besides injuring him on the face, I could never stand beside my brother.

Despite all our trivial quarrels, we still care for each other. Okami became the strongest player inside this game for the sake of paying our bills…. It was for the sake of me.

"Himari, remember all the things you need to know before entering this place," I told myself, while recalling everything.

The only information I had in hand was; my brother and his best friend and the emergence of soldiers trapped inside the game. Warner Asimov also claimed that the only way to finish this game was to complete it. However, if I could even meet my brother, he probably knew a better way to fix this beta of a game.

As soon as I placed my headgear, the game immediately started. Code, which was the game's name, transported me into the game world.

The game usually threw their players around Mainland, inside a tavern or an inn. Mainland was a place where humans, NPCs, and other creatures coincide, considering it was the largest place inside the game. There were even merchants and adventurers that would welcome new players.

However, that did not happen to me. When my feet reached the wooden floor, the entire kingdom made no sounds. It was as if everyone got muted as soon as I arrived at this place.

Upon walking through the window, the empty streets of Mainland greeted my eyes. Those buildings that I knew since the day I played this game became rubbles kissing the dirt. Every house from the road got trampled, but remnants of magic and arrows, while some had slices coming from swords.

I could only guess that a big fight broke out from this kingdom. And the people hid because of the commotions. But even though that possibility happened, there should be at least one person roaming around the place.

However, there was nobody there to greet me, not even a ghost lingering near the site. As I stepped my foot outside, the ashes from the structures touched my body.

If this world was not a game, thousands of corpses would still occupy these darkened roads. But because of the game's features, those dead non-player characters did not appear on roads.

Seeing no carcass on the street, I could deduce that countless NPCs and players died in this game. And if both parties perished, they would form both worlds.

But before I could leave this place, a pair of footsteps entered my ears. I hurriedly hid behind the building and used my stealth mode [Shadow Walk]. It was a skill that allowed me to move through shadowy spaces, even when the sun shined above.

After concealing myself in the corner, the group of people finally arrived at the scene. Two adventurers, armed with guns, walked around the vicinity. They did not look like soldiers to me, but they had guns inside this game. The articles only said that the only players who had guns were soldiers. But now, things drifted on the other side.

However, that did not stop me from meddling around. If I wanted to save my brother and know about this world, I must dig deep into these occurrences. And thanks to my current features, my character could overhear their conversations.

"Why does Asimov love surveying this place? I mean, just look at this shit hole! Will the NPCs even hide around these houses?"

"Well, with all the NPCs roaming around, that man wanted us to kill all of them…. And there are rumours out there, saying that the NPCs formed a group."

"A group of NPCs? Fuck, that's a lot of enemies if they want to fight us. But even if they did, we still have our guns in our hands."

"You bet we would win that fight! But I've heard his son is an NPC, right? I've heard about that kid…. I was watching the news, and the anchor said Clement died."

"Clement? Asimov's son? Oh shit! That's some news you got there, man!"

And the two adventurer's conversation continued as they went ahead along the empty road. Their talk proved my hunches correct, considering that news came from our public source. Now that I went inside the game's heart, I would better know the information spreading inside this game.

However, despite being an overpowered character, I still needed two rules for me to apply. My first rule was killing no one but those who already threw their humanity. My second rule was finding a party to work with without asking for those adventurers.

So my only option was getting my party members from NPCs…. However, I could only achieve that goal if I proved myself worthy of their time. Since we were facing a virtual war against players and NPCs, those non-player characters would feel dubious about my side.

I wanted to help all the players in this game. But I did not want to kill anyone besides those pests in society. If there were an option I could choose from, I would become a pacifist in this game.

And I hope my brother could be that kind of person, too.

I vowed to kill no one inside this game. Killing the players in this game would immediately stop their hearts from beating because of the headgear. It was the NPCs' wish. Not even the game developers could touch. And since it had already come to this, taking someone's life in the game would make me a murder.

"But that doesn't mean I can't knock them out, torture them, and squeeze some information," I mumbled, and leapt from the ground.

I gracefully landed on the roof, making no sounds, thanks to the footwear my brother provided. But within a few seconds, the players glanced behind as if they sensed someone watching them.

Only veteran players or higher-ranking players could only notice my presence. Those who did not possess such power could not perceive my existence.

"What the…."

Before I knew it, those two adventurers fired their guns in my direction, paired with the bullet coming from their guns. Two magic beams zoomed in straight in my direction, followed by the shells. All those attacks had a considerable amount of damage that could kill even a dragon!

But with that low-level skill, the speed coming from their magic spells and weapons did not even reach my figure. I already left when they spotted me on that roof. And right now, I already hid behind the fallen house near the road.

"Did we get her?"

"You bet we did."

Those two adventurers exchanged comments as the smoke from my previous spot vanished. However, the corpse that the two expected did not appear from the roof.

"I thought you're better opponents, since you have a better toy," I exclaimed, while gazing at their modernized weapons.

We lived in the days where we used our swords and magic. But these soldiers had to ruin the fun as they brought these guns into the game.

I was just a support class, for fuck's sake. But now, I had to knock these two hoodlums out of the game. Fortunately, I still had the power to do that as I sprung into action.