《NPC Code: Red Riding Hood》Chapter 96 - Your Word
Advertisement
The world surrounding us made a tremor, causing the already mixed and matched books to shuffle once more. We did not even have the chance to view the insides of the library as Match and I barely maintained our balance.
I reached out for Match's hands and held her tight, not wanting to slip her from my sight. We stayed intertwined with each other for a couple of minutes, waiting for the sudden shake to die down.
But as soon as the library turned silent, another problem emerged from the surface of the cavern.
"Find NPCs around this forest!"
"Leave none alive!"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
Those voices came from the sounds of the soldiers marching through the woodland, hunting down our kind. Although it was impossible for us to perceive their conversations, Match and I heard the players with ease. It was as if the library itself made it possible for us to pry in their goals.
Match snuggled her arms around my waist. I was the only comfort she had, so the little girl stayed by my side.
"What are we going to do, Red?" Match asked. Even though she was a smart girl that could solve puzzles and riddles, she was still a youthful lass.
"We should finish the puzzle. We only have one riddle to answer. Let's answer it before the guards find this cave," I answered.
I did not know how the players already reached this place, but their presence only meant one thing. We needed to make things happen right now, or else those soldiers would kill us.
I slid my hands over and opened my monitor. The system understood my gestures and revealed the last riddle for the entrance.
"[Fourth Riddle]," I read. "[What can you keep after giving to someone?],"
The riddle was unbelievably difficult to answer. Match, who paved away the answers for each riddle, glared at the monitor at our fore. She, too, did not know what to answer for that riddle.
However, the two of us had a clue. From all the ten options that we had from each book, only one remained answered.
"We need to find the book with the title 'your word'," I instructed Match.
"That's what I am going to say," Match seconded my statement, and flashed me a smile.
Advertisement
We turned our focus back to the library and discerned the entire room. But as soon as our eyes wandered around the book room once again, another floor emerged from above.
The library created another storey, storing more bookshelves and books that we needed to find. Match and I did not have any time for this ridiculousness, and this labyrinth still refused to help us in the end.
It always exceeded its trials, as if someone was pulling the strings behind this madness.
"You search the entire first floor. I will search the second and the third floors!" I commanded Match, and headed out to the stairs.
Match couldn't react fast enough to my instructions as she accepted what I told her to do. The little girl rushed straight towards the shelves and fiddled with her hands between the dominoes of books.
I had the exact job, but I needed to browse two floors. It only meant that I had twice the effort than the girl below me. However, that trivial thing did not matter to me, since I had a more agile body than Match.
I activated my right eye to heighten all of my senses for this quest. That glowing eye that my system activated would improve my reaction time, eyesight, and reaction time.
But not in combat. Match and I did not encounter monsters inside this labyrinth, so readying my weapon was out of the options. These small upgrades would help me find the book around these shelves.
As I dashed through the cabinets, all my eyes could discern were the volumes we already found and used before. Those books meant nothing to us, considering their unrelated concepts for the latest riddle.
"'Your word', where are you?" I murmured to myself while jolting at one shelf after the other, scanning every nook and cranny of this place.
But alas, the book that had the title "Your word" did not appear at the second level. I could only guess that the volume was at the upper storey. If Match and I missed such a hardbound book… we would look for it again before the soldiers would seize us.
I leapt from the ground and went to the third floor. Just like the second and the first storeys, the third floor filled itself with books and documents. There was nothing out of the ordinary besides stacks of papers lying in the cabinets.
Advertisement
I shook my head from staring at the mountain of papers and looked for the book.
It usually took me around thirty minutes to an hour to finish browsing half of the floor's contents. But because of activating my right eye, I could control my body more than I used to, making it effortless for me to roam around. My eyesight also got enhanced, giving me a full vision of my surroundings.
Those lengthy times got shortened as I finished looking around the entire third floor. It took me around fifteen minutes to circle the place instead of thirty minutes.
However, despite the trimmed time, I still couldn't locate the book.
"Match, did you find something yet?" I shouted, while I gazed below ground at the verge of the rails.
Match, who heard me from above, shook her head and replied, "Nope. I found nine of the books, but not the ones we need. And I found all of them peaking through on the board! I don't even need to find those books, Red."
It was ironic that all of those worthless volumes stuck around on the first floor. According to Match's claims, those books also hid in plain sight. It meant that they were in front of her all along.
"That's strange," I remarked. "How come I've seen no books on the second and third floor? If I'm playing with chances, the book that we need should be right here. Why can't I find that stupid book!"
I almost cussed out loud after pondering my rhetorical question. Nobody could give me an answer, since I was the only one present in the third storey.
Before I could even continue my monologue, the ground and the ceiling rumbled again, with debris falling from above. Marching sounds reverberated through the room, with the voices of the soldiers squeezing through the walls.
All the players instructed their teammates to search the area. Judging by the directions of their sounds, these soldiers already found the cave. It would be a matter of time before the players could enter the library and kill us with their guns.
My system and map also warned me about the soldier's presence. The red buttons revealed themselves on my map, colouring half of the place with the player's numbers. Match and I could never fight the soldiers head-on.
The only way we could escape with our lives was to find the book with the title "your word."
"What are we going to do, Red?" Match asked.
"I will find the book here on the third floor. Match, you stay just where you are, and tell me if you notice something strange," I answered.
"But, Red, I want to help too!"
"I know, Match. But I have heightened senses. Trust me on this."
After our exchange, I roamed around the shelves once again. I circled every space that the book could've fallen off, trying to find clues about the whereabouts of misplaced books. I also peered my eyes at the fore of every cabinet, hoping to see a book sticking its pages outside.
However, that was not the case. No matter the amount of energy I exerted, the book we needed never appeared in front of me… Not until now.
"Why am I looking for a book when it could've been the documents!" I whispered, and flicked my fingers on the stack of papers lying on the cabinets.
It did not take me some time before finding the bunch of papers with the title "your word" on the front page. Although the texts had a different size, it was still the answer to the riddle.
"Red, the players are coming!" Match shouted, and warned me about the intruders entering the cavern.
The soldiers took their time and finally entered this place. Match and I needed to rush towards the pedestals and place these documents on the empty slot.
"I will push the players. Red, please do the honours," Match said, and fired a ball of fire in the entrance's direction.
She had her left eye glowing. I could already feel Match's powers intensifying because of the spell's activation.
"I will leave those bad guys to you, then," I answered, and sprinted my way towards the protruding altar.
"I hope this works."
Although Match and I knew that the phrase "your word" was the answer, we had no explanations for it. We just accepted that line by eliminating all the options. We could only hope that our answer would unlock the secret passage and lead us to the dwarven kingdom.
Advertisement
- In Serial187 Chapters
The Hidden Myth of Ji Dara
They say Karma [Payback] is a bitch, but could they be any more wrong? This is because according to this book, Karma [Payback], came as a 6 feet tall, golden skinned, devilishly handsome guy… thus, what would we call Karma in this case?Thus is the life of Ji Dara who initially thought that, according to all these cliché novels, that; our earthly civilization is way much better than that of the cultivation world…But, who was he kidding? Who in their right mind would believe that people who could flip entire mountains and boil entire seas and oceans would have a mediocre mindset or old school way of thinking compared to modern day earth who relies on machines to do the fighting for them…Moreover, that is not even considering the fact that the strongest weapon on earth at the moment can’t even dry up the Mississippi…Thus, Ji Dara is not here to speak or live according to these mundane mindsets, rather, he is here to tell everyone the difference between that mediocre mindset of earthly beings and the true reality of what it means to live in a cultivation world where beings tame dragons like they were dogs and phoenixes like they were docile cats…That’s enough… if you wanna find out about the rest, read the novel itself and be very open minded and dynamic, or else, you might end up forgetting what is real and what is fantasy.***1 = This is a book that will appeal to your emotional intelligence, because as the author of this book, i want all my readers to grow so much emotional attachment to this book that I will get responses full of rage, joy, bliss, disappointments and also dedication of my readers, thus, it is going to be a MASTERPIECE…2 = There are going to be many street-smart quotes and actions within it, thus, if you are a hustler who is looking to be successful in life, look out for these hidden tips and secrets that are present in this novel… They are heavy secrets about the society that you will fear of tapping into its benefits…
8 565 - In Serial26 Chapters
Peerless Hegemon [OLD]
He traversed two paths in total and left them with an empty heart. He traversed the third path and felt a void in his soul. He let others imprison him so he could seek answers and then recreate the Universe. The Answer was found, yet he was left unsatisfied. Led by the Beast that watched the Universe till its destruction, he found new meaning. In the new life he created, he began walking a path of blood. He choked a Prince with one hand and beheaded a King with the other. He killed a General ten kilometers away with an arrow and even dragged a Continent in order to get what he wanted. Yet beyond the never-ending river of blood, the core of his heart blossomed as he found himself a reason to live other than glory. Under the bleak life of chaos, blood flowed to nurture a flower, that bloomed to represent himself. Instead of Emptiness, he found life from death, and as he looked back at the path he had walked, he smiled as blood coated his lips. This is him, trying to find a place where he can gain humanity. == This story focuses on the world and the characters; there would be genocide, fights, and some bloody encounters. This is not Harem, sorry for Harem lovers, but that’s just how it is. The art for the cover isn’t mine. The credits go to its original creator.
8 178 - In Serial20 Chapters
Tale of an Anomaly
It was supposed to be a normal weekend, staying a little bit longer in bed, not worrying about work, spending quality family time, or partying late night for some people and hoping to get a little lucky. Then why the hell were half the buildings disappearing right in front of them? What was the big message in the sky supposed to mean? And why the fuck was there a dragon in the middle of the city?! Follow Bharat, an ordinary freelancer out for a job, who, after getting caught up in an unfortunate series of events finds himself all alone in a forest full of dangerous creatures out for his blood, along with a strange screen in front of him that felt awfully similar to the games he used to play and the books he used to read as a kid. Maybe his countless hours of gaming weren’t useless after all! Release Schedule: 4 days a week About the author: Just an amateur writer from India who started writing as hobby during quarantine. English is not my native language, so any kind of feedback is most welcome. Don’t take the tags and warnings too seriously though. It’s just to prevent flames later, just in case.
8 240 - In Serial6 Chapters
Nend Ardhon Chronicles
In a future not so far away, a young female pilot was flying back to her home Planet transporting the junior team of Chess, that was returning victorious from a Galaxy tournament.Upon being hit by a small meteorite, she had to do an emergency landing on a moon of a desertic Planet. With all her effort and resolution, she managed to land everyone safely, except for her. A huge chunk of metal was stuck on her chest and the team’s Teacher held her hand on her last breath.When she woke up, she was surrounded by darkness. Reaching out with her hands, she felt a surface that she scratched. A hole opened, that she made bigger and bigger. Around her, water everywhere. In front of her, was a big smiling Dragon. That was when the young pilot noticed that she was reborn with claws and a tail. She was now a Water-Dragon. The chock of the events that followed her exit from the egg, blocked her former life memories.Join Byia Calla on her new life as a Water-Dragon. Will her memories help her in her new life? Or will they become a burden too difficult to endure?
8 126 - In Serial35 Chapters
The Many Blades of Wuxia
Hundreds of years after the Heretic wars ended, life has returned to its blissful ignorant state that only peace could bring. Whilst the never-ending war between Man, Beast and Mutant rages on, most are not even aware of a war that happened between men. Its prophecies shattered, their remnants surviving only in obscure bard tales. One is about to grow. On the cracked face of the world, Essence storms and Beast Waves keep the citizenry locked atop the Emperor city of Qaelang. Knowledge of the past is as rare as the metals that flow into the hands of Sacred Artists and at the root of it all are whispers of a malignant force, ancient and terrible. Holding humanity back from achieving greatness, but hiding too are secrets best left untouched. Balance, discipline and order have held Qaelang secure since time immemorial, the powers within claiming to adhere to them. None are more fearful of change than the ones with the most to lose, but change is coming. Blade of Wuxia is a long character-focused epic fantasy with progression and growth. It's about a boy's quest to become powerful enough to save those he cares most for and give them a better life. It's set in a world of hidden pasts and uncovering them will set him on a path that shakes the Empire. As this is a rewrite that took on a wildly different spin, reviews are most welcome and help me do better. What can the reader expect? A Wuxia society set in a High fantasy world. People are only doing what they know and may have mistaken beliefs. A clever resourceful protagonist with human flaws A far-reaching hidden fantasy world, rich in history. Multiple points of view are used to follow the story to its natural conclusions, not every NPC has all the answers, but there is one MC in this book. Progression will take time and sometimes even unknowingly. MC is not trained in the ways and knowledge must be tempered against experimentation. Release Schedule. 2 chapters a week, family and work permitting. Only if I'm happy with the chapter will I release it. That being said I am open to revision should an articulated critical response show merit. This story is not completed yet but I do have a general idea of what the end looks like for both MC's (yes both) Ultimately feedback will be most influential on the progression of release as it's you guys I'm looking to entertain. Expected Changes None really, I'm writing as I go and have a path planned for 6 books Chapter release rate might change if we take off and feedback starts flowing, but for now, it is just about making sure Arcs flow smoothly onto the next. Cover, yes absolutely! If there is enough interest I will open a Patreon account and use the first proceeds to commission an EPIC cover and hopefully a few scary artworks of our brave Cultivators and the foes they face.
8 188 - In Serial25 Chapters
This is the Book of my OC from the fiction i will write
OC description:-Teen Wolf-Twilight-Fast and Furious-Shameless?-Fear The walking Dead?-The Vampire Diaries-Harry Potter-Riverdale-The Walking Dead-Fairy Tail-Shadowhunter-One Piece-American Horror Story?-Animal Kingdom-Chicago Fire?-Chicago PD?-Gotham-Game Of Throne-My Hero Academia-Haikyuu?-Kuroko No Basket?-Avengers-Supernatural-The 100-Merlin?-Sons Of Anarchy?-IT
8 203

