NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

[Destroyed: Kingdom of Mainland]

"No...it can't be," I gasped.

I swiped the notification aside and gawked at the scene before me.

The pieces of wood connected to the building fell to the ground with an ear-splitting thump. It almost hit me by a breadth's length, but I skirted it in time. Everywhere I looked, the ashes from the leaves fluttered with the wind, whispering through me. Not a single soul accosted my eyes as I wandered forth at the ruined city. I can still remember the first time I had arrived in the town, engulfed with festivals and such.

My feet dragged my sluggish body in front of the unwelcoming gates. Behind the ingress lay the citadel was once a glowing castle built by the excellent architectures in Code.

However, the fort was not like that anymore.

Half of the structure became close to charcoal, with all the obsidian hues covering the walls. The pungent smell of burnt wood continued poisoning my lungs as I let out a horrible cough. Hundreds of debris kept falling on the ground as the wind gusted the panels. My heartbeat skipped under the bed of needles while staring at the terrible sight before me.

I accidentally stepped my foot on top of a hand, crumbling with the dust. Beside the amputated limb were pieces of plate armour worn by the soldiers and players living in the kingdom. I knew that this equipment belonged to them since I had worked for the majesty before.

More corpses were lying in wait deep inside the castle. Their emotionless orbs peered through the holes and on the windows, looking at any visitors of the place. I refused to enter the citadel, since there was not a thing that I could do inside. I swivelled behind and bolted away from the fallen kingdom, bringing with me the dead weight, desperate to pull me back.

I arrived in the forest and spotted a stray bloke. The man had bulky clothing, with a hazel-coloured cloak covering his entire body except for his face. Beside his hips were three potion bags with a packed meal at the other.

'The lad I met must be a merchant,' I thought, and sauntered towards the figure.

I addressed the man and waved my hands, hoping to catch his attention. Upon discovering my presence, the man opened his mouth and let out a blaring shriek, unbefitting for a trader. The merchant jerked back afterwards and retreated towards the woods without daring to look back at me.

"Hey, wait back!" I tried calling for his attention, but he continued sprinting to the charted road.

I had no other choice but to follow his trail, hoping to find any civilization or people I could talk to about the game.

I passed by the sea of trees while chasing after the man. After a few seconds, the merchant disappeared in front of me, leaving me alone in the quiet woodland. I ceased chasing blindly for the person and planned on studying my surroundings.

There must be a monster still lurking around the forest, so I needed to be cautious.

I was between the Mainland and its other neighbouring town. The game announced that this place was the den of monsters that appeared at the event. That announcement killed half of the rookie players and non-player characters.

It was a grim update that nobody expected to receive, but they did.

I revealed my blade and planned on activating my set of spells if the creature pounced in my direction. If I have to escape, I could just use [wolf walk] and retreat from where I had come from before. It was a reliable ability that I could use whenever I wanted to flee.

The rumbling trees up ahead were but wind and not from a monster. A sigh of relief escaped from my lips as I sheathed my blade back inside the scabbard. But the rustling leaves refused to stop, which gave off an eerie feeling of dread.

I wanted to investigate the sound, so I moved forward and checked what was behind the bushes.

My eyes expanded as the crisping flames of the campfire accompanied by walking adventurers welcomed my eyes. The pocket-size castle-which had the same designs as the Mainland, stood tall in the middle. Deep inside the rooms, there were the rest of the people cheering for their mugs. Down below was an entire kingdom, populated with various players and whatnot.

However, none of them had any non-player characters with the group. All of them were people found on Earth.

I slid down the cliff and arrived on the ground in one piece. Upon heading forward, a ward spotted my existence. Their sharpened blade pointed in front of my face as they circled me.

The leader of the scout moved forward and inspected me, using his system. Within a few seconds, he raised his hands and ordered the players to cease the attack.

"False alarm! It's just a newbie!" the man shouted.

Everyone lowered their weapons and approached me with a smile. Men and women of all ages poked my body and looked at my sword. After a few seconds, they burst into tears, laughing about the beginner's weapon gripped in my hands.

I remained silent and expressed a faint smile. Nobody would believe that I was Fenrir, the player who killed an entire empire with a flick of my fingers.

"We should have killed the man since he will be dead already!" the player beside me said.

A woman wearing level 15 clothes and equipped with a bow and arrow aimed her weapon at me. "Just say the word, and I will kill him!"

For two brats, their language was harsh compared to a sailor. Nobody wishes someone to die, especially in this death game. Are these people aware that once we die in Code we die in real life?

A blaring smack echoed in the forest as the two players who belittled me received their punishment. The captain, who was the normal person in their group, lowered his head.

"Sorry for their rude behaviour. They are just kids, my elementary students. These two still did not know the situation," the man explained, and expressed a wry smile to the pair.

He was using a distinct language besides Nihongo. Fortunately, I knew that Code translates all those languages into something that we could understand.

I shook my head and replied, "I know. I have a little sister in my house."

The two of us smiled and understood each other for a moment. I knew the hardships of babysitting younger children since I had one back home. Our parents died early, so I acted as the dad to Himari.

"Follow me to the shelter," the bloke added.

He gestured his hands for me to follow behind. The two children tagged along beside him. Upon glancing back, they stuck their tongues out and mocked me. I brushed off their imprudence and walked forward with the player.

The musical sounds of the bard strumming his guitar welcomed us four as we entered the town. Dozens of lights flashed from above, serving as lamp posts for the drawing night. However, there was a depressing mood lingering in the atmosphere.

The faces of the people seated nearby had a stern expression with sorrowful eyes. Their eye bags were visible on their eyelids as they continued crying in the corner. Players who had the figure of a mother caressed their children around their arms, hoping they would cease to wail.

Everyone had lost their hope as they walked back and forth on the bustling streets without energy or motivation. Their eyes slumped downwards, staring at the concrete floor without a mind for the world. Heavy breaths fogged the air as I trod forward.

We stumbled upon the tattered building, covered with tints of blood and slashes carved from blades. The walls looked like they would crack with a single nudge of my hands. Even the door-which used to be sturdy to defend blows of arcane magic was hanging through a thread.

The repellent eyes glared at us with gritting teeth. They thought we were a criminal of some sort that entered the place. However, when they used their scanning abilities to me, the patrons averted their gaze and resumed conversing with each other.

All four of us marched to the desk and met a young adventurer with a voluptuous body. The woman had her hair tied up in a bun, befitting an elegant server hired in a five-star hotel. She wore a brown and tight pants that presented her mountain-like buttocks. Her breast was like Mount Everest, two of them pointed at our heads.

Those two watermelons jiggled at each stroke of her hands while she cleaned the smutted mug.

"You are back early, Robin," the woman said, and placed the cups back on the shelves.

She directed her gaze onto me, trying to remember if we had met before. After a moment, the bartender sighed in defeat and shifted her view to the man called Robin.

"I can see you brought a stray dog, a beginner player too.." She gyrated around and took the containers from above.