NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Chapter 12 - Devious

Before I could even proceed to the carriage, I stopped by the wandering players near the citadel. I sneaked past the skirmish over the tunnel and headed over to the extensive woodlands. These couple of adventurers knew the royalties would escape from the backside, so they kept waiting outside. Armed with various tools and weapons, these players were ready to kill the king and kidnap the two women.

This mob also had their group waiting on the cliffs beyond the forest. Thousands of mercenaries gathered around, planning to disrupt the peace in the kingdom. As long as there was money on the line, they cared nothing but to finish the job.

Despite their scheme, the group looked unaware of which part the royalties would come outside from the cave.

The castle's rear had thousands of routes and traps laid for invaders and bandits. The architects designed the place to confuse anyone wishing to enter the fort, and the players outside were one of them.

I instructed them to wait at the exit by throwing some rocks to attract their attention.

As an NPC girl, I knew these perverted creatures as a greedy bunch of players. They wanted nothing more but money and lust inside this game.

These players had violated Countless NPC women in my village. I was lucky enough to escape a group of adventurers that eyed my body. It was thanks to the player that I met from before.

I believed his name was Fenrir. He was the number one ranking player of all time who visited the village to buy all the fresh stocks of the market. Fenrir wanted to support the local market since poverty struck the mainland. Using his coins, he purchased all the products and gave them to the unfortunate.

All of this happened before. Among the players, he was a unique fellow. But that past did not matter right now.

I impaled the tip of my blade onto the coachman's back and cracked his neck, using my free hand. With a snapping sound and a soft groan coming from his mouth, the coachman inhaled his last breath before staring ahead of me.

The mellow blood courses through my skin as I gripped my dagger in my hands. Small jerks quivered my weapon, but the man in front of me was already deceased. I looked down at the motionless body and pulled my blade from his chest. His neck continued oozing the crimson liquid from the wound.

All my clothes soaked with the fountain of blood, but I had to do it to finish my job.

I shifted and locked my eyes on the coachman, unable to change the path I had chosen. Nobody taught me how to kill or how to use my ability, except for the system. The pain came crushing on my right eye. It was also illuminating a part of my shoulders.

Maybe it was the guilt for killing the defenceless coachman? I did not know.

But there was no turning back now.

The dead man stared at me for the last time before we parted ways as I threw him away from the vicinity. It was like I was carrying a boulder behind my back. For some odd reasons, the coachman did not disperse his body and took its precious time to disappear.

"It should be pixelated by now," I thought, and curled my hand.

The situation inside the tunnel added something worse to my situation. The player guarding the royalties had slain the last man standing and urged the rest of the knight to proceed at the exit.

Fortunately, I had more than enough time to change and use my ability.

[Do you want to change into a coachman?] My system queried me a question.

I clicked the yes button as my answer.

I activated two of my latest arcane. A whirlpool of glint surrounded me and soon changed my appearance into someone else that I did not know.

I sensed the notable changes in my body. My scarlet cape and hood turned into a black vest and white sleeves. All my upper and lower limbs stretched through the horizon, similar to a man. I even mimicked the moustache carved on his face, paired with the puffed and rough cheeks.

But the stench and the smear of blood were still on my clothing. I had no time left to fix my suit, so I carried on and hoped for the best to reason myself out of the occurrence.

The windows from the system also changed into something else. In the picture, I increased my level one status information. It soon became a level five coachman, identical to the one I killed. I took all the information from the deceased man and made it my own.

All the players had systems that could scan anything for information. It was a humongous advantage against non-playable characters who knew nothing about this ability.

After a few seconds of waiting, they finally arrived at the entrance. I saw the player's hand bathed with a scarlet hue that came from the people he had killed. (the correct terminology for this is logged out)

Little did I know that the blood on my attire had already vanished, with the corpse lying behind me. I saw a faint glimmer of light hovering and fading away. The luminance meant the disappearance of the pixels formed inside our bodies. Since we were both living and non-living beings in this world, non-playable characters came from nanotechnology from the game.

(My system told me all of this.)

I acted as if I was the master of the carriage and invited them over to the seat.

The captain slid into the wagon's door and inspected the insides. He was dubious enough to enter the car, but the king sat on the couch. He urged his daughter and wife to tag along and occupied the space.

"The carriage is too small, Milord." The chief knight said, with his eyes gliding around the window.

The king closed the doors and answered, "It would be alright as long as you can guard us."

All the knights bravely moved forward and guarded the carriage with their lives. They left their families behind, if they had one, and vowed to protect the royalties.

I had no experience in horse riding, so the system took the wheels. I somewhat learned the ability to ride a wagon upon touching the ropes tied around the horse. The training I received from the farmer back then also paid its tribute to me. If I had not practised riding on that mount, I could not have done all of this.

We travelled for fifteen minutes along the charted road. I could see the trees disappearing as we trod forth to the plains and eventually reached the stream and the cliff. The darkness surrounding us helped our cover, but I knew what was about to happen soon.

Just as I had expected, the players readied themselves on the cliff. As soon as they saw our figure marching onwards, they had to make a move.

Those groups did not hide their presence. The warriors and paladins jumped from the flanks and swung their gigantic blade in the knights. Those few who got hit by the brand perished instantly, showing the moving dots escaping their bodies.

The knights fought back and launched an all-out attack against the hoodlums. With long-range attacks and unique martial arts, the remaining elite soldiers stood on their ground and fended off the players for a moment.

"Who knew that these guys are way tougher than what I had expected!" One player commented as he waved his stave and summoned a speedy fireball.

Their armours were not flammable, so they dealt not as much damage as those piercing spears. However, the attack was solely for distraction.

The actual attack came from above.

Hundreds of meteor fell from the sky as the mages standing atop of the hills controlled the weather. We did not know how they conjured such a massive spell, but we cannot defend that on our own.

The player who had safeguarded the royalties until now bit his lips and clenched his fist. He narrowed his eyes and bathed himself in his sweat after seeing such arcane on the clouds.

"If only I used my main account," I heard him murmuring to himself.

The knights and the player dashed straight to the mages, hoping to kill them first, before the warriors in front. With remarkable speed, the level one player reached his way towards the magicians and slaughtered them with a slash.

A well of blood poured from the hills, creating a landslide made of crimson fluids. The funky smell of the blood made its way to us, creating a nauseous feeling in our body. The mudslide hit the group waiting below and eventually killed them.

"Now is the time," I told myself and looked inside the carriage.

"I need you three to hold on tight," I said, with beaming eyes to the shocked individuals.

The royalties were oblivious to the outside world, but knew their lives were in danger.

"What do you mean?" The king croaked.

"Just trust me."

Royalties possessed the ability to scan people similar to what players had with the system. The queen heeded my words and gave me a nod. I saw her arms bracing around her daughter as she entrusted her faith to me.

The trio still did not know my identity and thought that I was their coachman in charge of the wheel.