NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Okami separated us into two groups. The attacking one would draw the attention of these puppet guards away from the gate. We also had goalers who would sprint towards the gates and open them for the attacking batch.

Okami placed me in Match, while he assigned himself to Ryoshi. It was better that way, since Match and I complement each other, especially in combat. And that pair would definitely work more efficiently, since they called each other friends.

As we readied ourselves crossing the line, Okami ordered Ryoshi and Match to fire at the sides. He specifically pinpointed the location and instructed the two of them to shoot with their long-ranged attacks.

Match and Ryoshi followed his instructions and discharged their spells at that place. Within a few seconds, small f8igures dashed away as if they got hit by the burning spells and arrows.

"What was that?" Match asked, with her magic circles ready to fire for the second time..

"Judging by the height of those shadows, those things we saw are puppets. Those marionettes were also the ones who cast the spells from afar," Ryoshi confessed, while readying to fire again. "I guess we're dealing with two things, Okami. We need to get through these golem-like puppets and the ones roaming in our vicinity."

Okami grumbled after hearing Ryoshi's statement. Of course, he would, especially now that we needed to deal with two things at once. We cannot force our way through the two bodyguards while defending ourselves from the raining spells from the outsider puppets. And we cannot just attack those bystanders puppets, since they would run away from us and waste our time.

"Can we dig up a hole and create another entrance?" Ryoshi suggested, while stomping his feet on the ground.

It was actually a brilliant idea. Creating a path inside the citadel underground was something that we could do to avoid the two elements. However, as much as we wanted the idea, Okami shook his head.

"We can't just do that. We could make a hole underground, but there's nothing below this floor. And I doubt Alice would not have prepared something like that for her fort. Considering the brain of that princess, she would have laid a trap for that plan."

As we continued conversing with each other, the puppets bombarded us with attacks coming from above. When everyone noticed the skies, all of us shielded ourselves with the spells we knew, especially Match fire shield.

Fortunately, none of us got hurt after receiving an entire set of spells hurled in our direction. If it were not for Match's shield, we would have probably been in a pickle right now.

After dealing with those pesky magic attacks, Match deactivated her spell and asked. "I thought those puppets would not attack us since we're near the castle?"

I also wanted to ask that question. Luckily, Match was the one who voiced the team's concerns.

Okami looked around and answered, "I don't know. I fought against Alice last year. Things must have been probably different right now since this world is always expanding."

Okami also mentioned that the game developers constantly updated this game in peak condition. Although he knew those bastards touched nothing inside Wonderland, Alice might have upgraded her minions without the help of the game developers.

Alice was an uncontrollable being who was both separated and included in the game. Since she was the strongest being in this world, the game developers turned this place into a jail. However, since this place got neglected by the game developers, Alice seized that chance and enhanced the area.

If these puppets were strong enough to push us back, Alice could take us down by exerting no effort.

Okami snapped his fingers and went to Match side, which made the little girl widen her eyes. "Can you create a wall of fire at our sides? Can you make it durable enough against those spells while attacking those two golems?"

After hearing those questions, I had an idea about Okami's plan. He wanted Match to shield us both while attacking the golems in front. Okami also asked the same question to Ryoshi. Since he had arrows that could create barriers out of elements, Okami wanted to use every little spell we had against our opponents.

"I could, but it's going to be very hard for me…." Match confessed, while gazing back at Okami's eyes. "I could always try. But I might lose my arcane."

"How long can you cast your spells continuously? With the walls and the attacking spells?" Okami asked away.

"For about five minutes. I can hold on for around five minutes."

"Well, that's enough for us."

Match knew her limitations about casting her spells and protecting us with that pillar of flames. We all understood that those spells conjured by Match cost countless mana inside of her. Since each of us owned a system, using mana was not something new for us. And when a player overused their mana, they could fall unconscious and die from the game.

Okami asked Ryoshi the same thing about his duration and concentration. Ryoshi answered he could do just fine by creating a barrier using his bolts.

"As soon as I placed these arrows, a magical force field would appear at a specific location. But if we want a stronger shield, I would use more mana to pour it. Since my strength is equal to the amount of mana I place on my arrows," Ryoshi explained.

As soon as Ryoshi finished his explanation, he showcased his arrow to the team. It was ordinary to my eyes, with no special abilities. But when I activated my right eye, a congested arcane aura covered the entire dart.

"How long does that arrow last?" Okami asked. "And how strong are those arrows against spells and physical attacks?"

"Around five minutes, just like Match. Man, if this lasted around an hour, people would always pick the Ranger class," Ryoshi replied. "If you're talking about its durability, I could say that it negates both physical and magical attacks 100%. I've bought the latest edition and spent every Yen inside my wallet because of it."

"YOU SPENT WHAT EXACTLY?!" Okami reacted, but immediately brushed the thought. "You know what? You're rich, so I don't care."

"We're not rich! I just have a part-time job, that's all!"

The two fought against each other while those puppets were preparing another set of attacks. I wanted to split them in half, but Okami might have thought something about it.

But before Okami could make another comment, he turned around and asked Ryoshi once again, "What kind of arrows do you have, Ryoshi?"

"What do you mean?" Ryoshi asked.

"You have arrows with all the elements... okay, most of the elements. You could also create barriers that stop magical spells 100%... Doesn't that mean you have arrows that trap enemies inside using that kind of force field?" Okami queried.

"You know, maybe you're right about that. Yeah. I have those arrows in my quiver. Why'd you ask?!"

"Sometimes, I doubt that you're intelligent, Ryoshi."

"Hey, shut your crap, Okami! I'm smarter than you!"

"Not in this game."

After their exchange, Ryoshi explained the descriptions of those arrows Okami mentioned. Those arrows had the same effect of blocking spells from both sides. Ryoshi narrated to us the game plan of this fight. As long as he placed the arrows correctly, the force field could trap anyone inside for five minutes. The barrier created from the bolts would work like wonders, since nobody could destroy it.

"Okami, from my experience, these arrows work if we can form a shape. And I always use a triangle as my trap, since it uses fewer arrows. If we're going to go with your plan, we need to trap the golems using three arrows. And I have seven of them in stock inside my quiver. These arrows take around an hour to cool down," Ryoshi explained.

The two guys conversed with each other and finally concluded their topic. As soon as they finished talking, Okami went to Match and me. He explained what our new plan was going about.

"Scrap the idea from before. All we need to do is let Ryoshi discharge those arrows on the correct placements. Those arrows would trap those two golems for five minutes, which would be enough time for us to head inside the citadel. But we won't trap them together. Those golems are pretty smart for that. And as soon as they realised something is off, those puppets would probably change their tactics against us. We need to trap one golem first before the other one, while defending ourselves from the raining magical spells. That's where you show up, Match, and protect us. As soon as he landed those arrows, we ran in the wind and entered the citadel," Okami announced, as he stared at our eyes. "We only have one shot for this, okay? Fortunately, Ryoshi has seven arrows to work with. If he misses once, it's okay. But if Ryoshi misses twice…. it would be game over for the rest of us."