Red Ridinghood

-TV News-

"Hello, it's me again, Aika of "What's New in New Life Online"! We already got the report from one of our sources that Order of Light's officers failed to capture the culprit. They also mentioned that Vanguard's Guild Leader, Siegriel helped Scythus. What will the Order of Light guild do after these events? Is there going to be a conflict between these guilds? And why did they help the one who committed a huge crime? No one can still answer our questions but we will eventually hear some answers when we can get an interview with the Order of Light's Guild Leader. Fellow New Life Online fans, you have a wonderful day!"

-Vanguards Stronghold-

"So, what's our plan next? Order of Light guild can't just go to Vanguards' territory after what happened. That's a good thing for us. Anyways, it's already morning. How about we log out for now and meet again later after?" I asked them.

"Well ok, just whisper us in case you get online first. We'll be back in an hour," Elou said. "In an hour" hmm they really are into the game for going online as soon as they finish breakfast.

-Aries' Home-

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!* I went in front of Mari's room and knocked.

"Mari it's time to wake up,"

"I'll be right there, Bro," She answered.

Ugh! I saw the food I prepared last night. They didn't eat dinner. Jeez, well they can't really leave the game last night because of what happened but they should at least eat something after the fight.

I'm done preparing the food. They came to the dining room and they look really hideous. They haven't even fixed their hair...

"What happened? You guys look really awful..."

"Ugh. Our guild leader is really pissed about what happened last night. He even scolded us really hard and thanks to your wake-up call we somehow had the reason to log out of the game and escape from that nightmare," Mari... Well, I can understand the frustration of your guild leader. It's because even with your best forces, we still managed to escape. How great was that?

"Bro, why are you smiling? It's really creepy." I didn't even realize that I was smiling. I stopped after she caught me grinning.

"I don't know why but I can't hate that Scythus guy. For some reason, he saved me from one of his ally's attack earlier and he only made me unconscious to avoid the combat. I don't want to say this but I think he's into me," No, I'm not, I sincerely assure you that.

"Yeah right, I hate that girl who also uses fire spells. Next time we meet I'll definitely win and settle things!" Azzie is really furious. I can see that she finally found her rival.

"Hey, guys. Why don't you just relax and take it easy? Maybe you failed this time, but there will be always next time," I don't want to see my Sis being so upset about something I did.

"Yeah, you're right. We've been slacking off around the castle lately and didn't have the chance to train. Azzie let's hunt later and improve our spells," They talked about their plans and also left after that.

If sis would know it's me, it'll be really bad.

-Vanguard's Stronghold-

"Hello, guys. Are you online?" I whispered to my party.

"Yes, we already are. And we're checking out shops here. Go to the marketplace and meet us here. It's the center of the stronghold," Akko replied.

The stronghold isn't as fancy as the Order of Light city but it has some good points too. They focused on defense so most of the buildings are made out of concretes. The gate walls are also really tall. It might be somewhat not as populated as the Order of Light city but most of the players around here are really strong. Maybe it's because you can only enter the city after you get past the Dark Forest infested with high-ranked monsters.

So, I went there and looked for them. They were checking new equipment and other stuff. I just remember the stable at the Order of Light city. We still have ordered a wagon but how do we get it later? Jeez.

"Hey, Scy! How about you check some equipment too here? We will also need thick clothes in case you want to check out the tundra, right?" Elou asked.

"That's right. Let's go!" I replied.

After checking shops and buying supplies, thick clothes, and other stuff we need, we decided to move out and head to the tundra, north of the Vanguard stronghold. Unfortunately, we don't have many gold coins to purchase new sets of equipment.

-South Icy Plains-

"It's so cold! I feel like I'm not going to last long with this kind of climate!" Akko is really freezing even with the thick winter coat.

I took out our newly bought fire container. It's like a bowl made out of metal with handles on its side. You just need to create a fire on top of it and you can use it as a heater for everyone but you also need to maintain the fire using your own mana. That's why we bought two for Akko and me. I lit mine and so far, it lessens the coldness.

"Thanks, Scy, I'm not that cold anymore," She said but so far, we are just at the entrance of the tundra. If we somehow managed to go further it will be a lot colder.

"No problem, we shouldn't go too far or it might be a problem," I suggested.

The monsters around so far are snow wolves which are kind of stronger than regular wolves. With their thick fur, it helps them to resist the cold.

(SNOW WOLF RANK: D)

"AWOOOOOOO!" Ugh! That's the wolf's sign of asking for help! Since when did I learn their language? Maybe it's because of fighting the wolves near the Green Leaf village.

We decided to check it out and see what's happening...

A girl with a red hood and cloak, holding a wolf's head, is currently fighting with the wolves. She's soaked with their blood! She is wearing a simple armor which really doesn't provide cold resistance! How can she move in this climate!

(MAISIE / BERSERKER: A)

She moves really fast slicing every wolf near her with her longsword that looks like a katana, a Japanese sword. Without any mercy, she rips them like a madman. But we can't get her out of our sight. It's like she really enjoys what she's doing.

Ugh! She found us looking at her. She looked at us like she was disturbed and stopped what she's doing.

"Tsk..." That's the only sound that came out of her mouth.

She walked out and left us. She might be really friendly but the clues are nowhere to be found.

"That's one friendly fellow. So, what should we do next?" Elou asked.

"How about we hunt for some Yetis?" Akko answered.

(YETI RANK: C)