Cutting to Life: an NPC LitRPG (Battle Royale)

The World of Wills had three Gods: the dragon god, the lion god and the butterfly god. They were the three pillars of their world, and legends said that if any of the three died, their section of the world and their followers would die too.

The Violet Queen was the hand of the Butterfly God, her voice on the ground - but the giant butterfly hovering above Flapnap was the actual god in all its purple, glowy glory.

There was a non-zero percent chance that if they wanted to kill the Violet Queen, they would also have to fight one of the three Pillars of the World.

"Are you aware of the probability of this task?"

"If you won't help me, I can do it myself." Ven growled the words out, and her nose wrinkled bitterly upward.

"I did not say I would not help, I simply asked you to make yourself aware of reality. The Violet Queen is not only a Queen, she is considered a Goddess-- and engaging her would surely summon the attention of the Butterfly God Lepidoptera."

Ven pulled an angry breath in through her nostrils, her chest rising. "I don't care about how powerful she is, I care that she needs to pay for what she's done to me. If we can't kill her, we can find someone who can-- but she needs to die, and I'm going to kill her. I'm going to kill her."

"Okay," Nikola said, "okay. We will devise a strategy once we awaken. If Luke and Violet do not agree to accompany us, you and I will go alone. Is this acceptable?"

The Mage uncrossed and re-crossed her arms a few times, not sure what to do with her hands when they carried so much anger within them. "Yes. But I'm still-- angry, is this angry? I'm carrying so much angry all of a sudden, I just-- I just want to rip her wings off and put her in a big butterfly cage. And let everyone she imprisoned run her through with a knife, until she's full of holes."

"You wish to make the Queen into emmental cheese. I will aid you in your quest, but this will not be a simple task, Ven. Most would consider it impossible."

"Then let's make her into impossible cheese," she said so dreadfully seriously that Nikola started to chuckle, and then chortle, causing the two to her left to stir.

"I will inform the others that this is our decision in the morning. We will need to begin by training. As you are, you would be unable to kill one of the Queen's guards, let alone the Queen herself. You have been informed of how to draw pictures in the sky to summon your menu, but you can also use them for combat. I will show you how once we have awakened."

Ven huffed and puffed at that, but looked at her scrawny arms and ultimately agreed. She had been sedentary for her entire existence so far. Her anger could only do so much on its own. "Fine. I'm going back to sleep until then." She would be worried that the boiling pit in her chest would keep her from sleeping, but sleeping the entire day away regardless of her mood was her only skill.

"That would be wise."

Moments later, she was out. Her fiery eyes were closed, sealing away her murderous intent. For now.

So Vengelica wanted to eliminate one of the three most important entities in the world. In the description of the card that had awakened her, it had said she could decide just how much freedom to 'give to her NPC', but did she truly wish to stifle her? At the same time, did she want to end one third of the world if she actually did succeed at this impossible task?

Ugh. Nikola flopped down into her bed and willed herself to drift off until her alarm reawakened her.

At 11:40, it did.

She opened her eyes to the same scenery that had been there when she had fallen asleep; the other members of her party were beneath their sheets, recovering, and the room was dark with only the illumination from the Copper Citadel street lights streaking across it.

Nikola knew that her task was to move to the outskirts of the city undiscovered.

She left her blankie and her bag where they were, not daring to move anything unnecessarily. She tiptoed to the front door, staying on the supporting beams beneath the wooden slats of the floor as much as she could. Then, when it was time to open the door, she grabbed the handle and turned it slowly. Slowly. And then yanked it open, keeping a palm pressed to the door to deaden any noise.

Then, before she knew it, she was out.

The Rogue padded down the stairs on the frilly socks the Archer had given her earlier that day.

She had no idea if this was a good idea, but as the cool night air hit her skin, there was no turning back.

At this hour, the streets were empty. The merchants had gone to bed and many of the players had as well, though she could still see some of them in their colourful fabrics, bunched in groups. She beelined for the arch that marked the city's entrance, quickly but not so quickly it would draw anyone's eye. She had to look normal. She had to not attract attention.

Her pajamas were probably not helping her with that, but if she started getting changed out here in the open it would only worsen the problem. She had to wait until she was somewhere where fewer eyes would be on her.

She reached the arch.
She walked through the arch.
She arced around the city's wall and followed it until she got to the Southern end.

She checked behind her. Nobody was following her that she could see, and the grassy area outside the Citadel was even more dead than the inside. The blades of grass were waving gently in the breeze, with very few footprints sprinkled amongst them and even fewer people.

One foot in front of the other. Wetness was beginning to penetrate the fabric of her socks.

She arrived at the edge of the woods outside of the city's Southern-most exit at 11:56.

Four minutes early.

The bottoms of her feet became fully saturated in morning dew as she stood there. Midnight dew?

Had she been stood up?

Either way, she chanced moving beneath the lovely canopy of a tree for the quickest of moments to don her new armour for the first time. She opened her Red Box, checking over her shoulder frequently. She clicked on the armour from her Inventory screen and a quick-equip option showed up, which she gladly took given the circumstances.

The armour encircled her limbs and torso instantly, summoned by only her finger. It felt immediately heavier than her previous outfit, which was now tucked neatly away in her inventory, labeled as [Silky Heart Pajamas].

According to her Red Box, it was now 11:58. She was beginning to wonder...

Had she been lured here after all? Separated from her party for sinister purposes? Should she draw her weapon, or would that blow her cover? Had she already done so by equipping her set of armour?

Did she care?