NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Chapter 56 - Trouble

The little girl snuck behind the trees and used those barriers to her advantage. Match inched closer until she reached a set of towering weeds, ready to pounce at the tiny creature. With a tongue that she twisted out from her lips, Match leapt from her ground. (Author's note: now that I had written about it, this part sounds so weird XD. You know how people do something crazy? They do the tongue twister, as if it would do anything? Right? Anyway, back to the story.

But it was already too late. Instead of slinking behind the plants producing no sounds, Match trundled and created a cacophony of sounds. She cracked some twigs, crushed the dried leaves, and even rolled thousands of pebbles towards the rabbit. The bunny that she desperately tried getting for the ninth time failed.

This session was her tenth time doing what I had told her to do. After a week, all her efforts of training bore no fruit at all. She cannot get a hare with her bare hands.

"If you want to use the element of surprise, don't crack a twig, destroy leaves, and kick stones. You need to use your speed and precision to snatch the rabbit. Got it, Match?" I said, and heaved out an exhale.

We had been going on for this for two weeks now. Every day she would train her body by running around and exercising. I told her that improving her stamina and muscles would become fruitful soon during battle. A hunter who would gasp for air in the middle of a fight was no hunter at all.

Match's body changed and improved, but it did not match the results. That little girl could travel from a mile away without panting her breath. She could even run with almost the same speed as me if it was not for her petite legs.

That girl did not fit to capture anything or hurt something. Match went all day trying to explain to me that hunting rabbits should not be a thing that she needed to do. She wanted something other than locking eyes with the white animal. But I had no other method besides hunting our course for a meal.

"Rabbits are quick! They have strong and blubbery legs, unlike mine who have skinny thighs!" Match remarked, and shuffled her already crazed hair.

I shook my head and directed my gaze at the rabbit. My hands took something out from the [astral space] and gripped something long and sturdy. It was an elven bow that I stole from Nirvana. I had no time to use it with all these schedules I have with Match, but I thought now could be the perfect opportunity to test things out.

I took a deep breath and latched my fingers around the bow. I aimed at the rabbit who had nestled at a distant place, where grasses grew everywhere it went. Match stared at me in awe and waited for something to happen. The little girl locked her eyes with the rabbit and me.

Upon releasing the strings, the arrow hovered forward with the rustling wind that came afterwards. The bolt was so fast that I never saw its direction. I had realised I made a grave mistake.

The dart hit the rock beside the rabbit, crushing it into pieces. The animal, who knew its life was in danger, looked in my direction before scurrying away to safety.

"I missed the shot," I whispered, and lowered the bow and arrow.

Match did not want to utter a word, since she knew I failed this attempt. That girl also sensed that this was the first time for me to wield a longbow. I usually carry with me the penitent's dagger during our hunts. And Match knew that my accuracy of throwing the blade was off the charts.

But this time, it was different. I needed to learn more about how to handle such a delicate weapon.

"It seems that the two of us would practice together," I exclaimed, and went hunting for rabbits some more.

Just before the two of us went in our daily routines, the emerald obelisk shone a viridescent light from my pocket. The light died after I launched the arrow from the bow. I could not think about anything that made the gemstone react in that way. I paid it no mind and continued with our activities during that day.

Three days had gone by, and Match was unsuccessful in catching a single rabbit. I was getting the hang of it and could aim my arrows to wherever I wanted, within fifty feet of my ground. If the distance grew more than that, I would barely hit my target.

Match cuddled the make-shift pillow I made and went to the mattress, despite the sun beaming its rays to us.

"It's still early to take a break, Match. Why don't we try again? Maybe this time, you could catch something!" I tried cheering the little girl up, but Match had her heart stone cold.

Match knew that if she kept failing the attempts, I would have no other choice but to exclude her from fighting and using her powers. Since she can't handle herself, using those fire elements would cause more harm than good to her body.

"I know you're troubled about it, but I think it's for the best," I continued, hoping that Match would accept the reality she was living in this world.

Some individuals were not born to fight. Some of them had jobs of their own. That ability that Match possessed was an explosion to both enemies and her. I, who deemed her as my sister, could not help but worry about her safety.

I brought her in my revenge, but it did not mean that I would let her fight on my steed. Match was still a kid who knew nothing about killing or hurting creatures. She was just like my younger self, naive and virgin about anything in the world.

"Just give me a couple of minutes, Red. I'll move on about it," Match snorted. "But it doesn't mean that I will quit. Just a few minutes, okay? Or maybe an hour."

"Fine. Don't forget to make the firewood, okay? We still need to eat something," I said, and prepared all the things that I needed to bring to hunt for more food.

I turned around before going into the forest and met Match's eyes staring at me. She tilted her head and asked what it was about. I shook my head and opened my mouth.

"Do you prefer anything? I could go fetch a boar, a bird, or rabbits again?"

I thought that giving Match a feast would raise her spirits skyward. It was not the best gift that I could give her, but a motivation for the depressed Match. Since the situation had gone out of hand, Match's eyes sparkled like the billion stars in the skies.

"Oh, oh, I like boars! Boars have tastier meat than rabbits!" she exclaimed. Within a few seconds, her cheery demeanour changed into something that an angry child would do. "And I hate rabbits! I hate them! They're too fast and taste horrible!"

Match's sudden change of heart for hunting rabbits was a hilarious development for her. She wished to replace that rabbit's meat over boars just because Match couldn't catch any of those speedy hares. I burst into laughter and exited the forest with my blade gripped in my hand.

I tried not to stroll far from the base while looking for domestic animals that we could eat. There were berries and such lying on the ground, so I picked them into my [astral space] and went on my way.

However, no animals lurked in my vicinity. Even the flock of birds that I usually hear during the brightest days vanished near my sight. Not even an insect welcomed my eyes as I ventured forth to the woodland.

"Something's strange," I murmured, and paused for a second while hiding near the bush.

My right eye glowed a colourless hue and activated my combat mode for good measure. But it was not me that switched the power on, but my system. It perceived my surroundings as a dangerous site that I needed to prepare for the worst, hence my illuminating light.

Just as I was about to question my reality, ominous sounds rattled from afar. The bushes and weeds that grew like walls danced with the wind. But there was no breeze coming from that direction.

I clutched my blade and readied myself to retreat from the campfire. My utmost priority was to warn Match and leave this place before everything would turn into a battlefield. Although I could defend myself against a boar, a passel of hogs would become disastrous for me to fight.

And there was no way for me to butt heads with those animals if I did not have to. All I wished to do was to move out in peace and try not to alert them to my presence.

But the twigs beside my foot had original ideas. I moved backwards and pressed a pocket-size branch, and produced a cracking noise from my direction. The boars swivelled their heads towards me with vermillion and frenzied eyes.

There was one thing that I needed to do. I must retreat from where I stood and race in the other direction. That was my initial plan, and so I did just that.

I did not want the mammals to chase me towards where Match was and deliver the trouble there.. Although I desired to escape with the girl, like I schemed a while back, averting the boar's focus would be a wise move that I needed to take.