A long silence fell over the crowd before a flurry of low chatter broke out. Although they deliberately kept their voices down, Leona couldn't help overhearing a few louder individuals.
"Snow White? That instance has never opened before, has it? This is bad news—it means the newcomer won't get any useful intel."
"Strange. For a new instance like this, the Main God usually selects participants from at least the seventh floor up. How did a fresh newcomer like her get chosen for it?"
"A fairy tale with such a vast lore won't be limited to just a few characters like Little Red Riding Hood. Just counting the main characters—the princess, queen, prince, hunter, and dwarfs—it already has several times as many people."
"Let's hope her Main God quest overlaps with other Interveners, or she'll be fighting all alone."
Leona blinked, silently committing these words to memory.
She looked at Granny Hilda and forced a sweet smile. "Granny Hilda, if possible, could you give me even a tiny hint?"
Granny Hilda shook her head with a sigh. "I'm sorry, child. I know nothing about brand-new instances like this either. You could join either God's or the King's faction; perhaps they can offer you some help."
God? The King?
Leona instinctively glanced at Aria, whose eyes flickered away as if hiding something.
After thanking Granny Hilda, Leona turned to leave. Weighing the situation, she felt it wasn't right to leave like that, so she left behind 20 Remnant Pages before quickly stepping away.
"What an honest child. Your luck won't be too bad," Granny Hilda said with a smile as she watched Leona's departing back.
Then, she resumed performing divinations for the people waiting behind her.
Leona walked back to Aria's side and whispered in her ear, "Can we speak in private, Miss Aria?"
Aria nodded. "My thoughts exactly."
A few minutes later.
The two arrived at the messy wooden hut that Leona hadn't had time to clean up.
Aria sat without hesitation on the bed that many dead people had slept on before.
Leona sat down as well; at least for the next seven days, she would have to rely on this small bed for sleep.
"Miss Aria, may I ask which faction you belong to—the King or God? My guess is the King," Leona cut straight to the point the moment she sat down.
Aria seemed to have mentally prepared for this, but she was still slightly surprised.
She pouted slightly. "Can't I belong to neither side?"
Leona gave her a look of complete disbelief. "Going solo isn't a smart decision. In this place, there are merchants who trade, witches who brew potions, and perhaps blacksmiths who craft items. Gathering capable people together undoubtedly yields a much higher survival rate than going alone."
"Besides, nothing comes for free in this world, and you haven't gained anything beneficial from me yet. If I'm not mistaken, protagonists are rare, and you want to recruit me, don't you?"
Aria felt she had to reevaluate the Little Red Riding Hood before her.
Judging by appearance, Leona looked like a harmless, adorable rabbit, but the way she spoke gave the impression of an old fox that had lived for ages—and an old fox that ate wolves at that.
"Does it always have to be about benefits? Can't it be that I was just enamored by your beauty?" Aria said half-jokingly.
Leona crossed her arms, staring coldly at the witch before her.
"I'd prefer the truth."
"Alright, alright," Aria raised her hands in surrender. "I admit I wanted to recruit you. You're right—protagonists are indeed very rare."
She turned her head, asking with a look of confusion, "Though, how did you guess I'm with the King?"
"Because you only mentioned the King. When two equal factions exist, outsiders naturally bring up the other when discussing them."
"And I noticed early on that you intended to recruit me. Intentionally avoiding any mention of God—wasn't that just to keep me from joining the other side?"
As she spoke, Leona offered a meaningful smile.
"It seems the relationship between your two sides isn't very friendly."
"Considerably unfriendly." Aria sighed. Seeing that Leona had already guessed most of it, she decided to lay it out openly to avoid deepening any rift between them.
"I admit I belong to the King's side, and I hold quite a bit of authority."
"Sounds like you've even established an institutional system," Leona said, growing increasingly curious to see the Upper Floor.
"Yes. The center of power is the King, followed by the Queen—though 'Queen' is just a title and doesn't mean she's the King's wife. Below that in order are Nobles, Lords, and Pawns. There is one Queen, four Nobles, twelve Lords, and a number of Pawns."
"And you..." Just as Leona was about to ask, Aria cut in.
"I was fortunate enough to become one of the twelve Lords," Aria said, rubbing her nose with pride.
Leona let out a dry laugh. She had assumed Aria was a Noble, but a Lord was only second from the bottom.
However, she didn't look down on Aria. In a place like this filled with corpses, survival itself was difficult, yet Aria had managed to make a name for herself within a faction—that already put her ahead of the vast majority.
"Can you tell me about God's side?" Leona asked again.
Aria was a little reluctant, but she explained it to Leona nonetheless.
"God's faction is led by God, followed by Archangels, Clerics, Intercessors, and Devotees. There are three Archangels and three Clerics, holding equal status, nine Intercessors, and a number of Devotees."
"What are the benefits of joining a faction?" Leona asked the most crucial question.
However, she had no intention of joining either faction. If possible, she would rather have a team of her own.
Unknowingly, something called ambition began to sprout in her heart.
"I would've told you even if you didn't ask. A faction provides powerful items and grants monthly Remnant Pages based on your rank."
"The most important point is that both God and the King have the authority to alter Main God quests. As for why? I have no idea."
"Complete alterations?" Leona asked in doubt.
She found it hard to believe that either side possessed such terrifying power, or they would have escaped long ago.
"No, it's just choosing between the opposing sides. You know, every instance with a protagonist has a corresponding villain. The Main God's quests randomly lean toward one side—like killing a figure on the good side, or helping the protagonist accomplish something."
"So God and the King essentially turn a random alignment into a designated choice, though the quest is still issued by the Main God. This prevents members of their own faction from ending up on opposing sides and killing each other, and even allows them to help one another."
Leona's mind worked quickly, and she articulated the key point.
"You're spot on," Aria said with a nod.
"Then what's their goal in establishing these factions?" Leona still felt something was off.
If it were merely about escaping, there would be no need for the relationship between the two sides to become so strained.
Furthermore, they had even established formal systems, as if planning to stay here long-term.
"God and the King have indeed helped many people survive who otherwise wouldn't have, but their philosophies differ.
God believes fairy tales are evil and that the Main God brought us to this world purely for entertainment, so everyone on God's side tries to kill the people of the fairy tale worlds whenever possible.
The King, on the other hand, believes that the people in fairy tale worlds are living beings too. He hopes the two can coexist, so those on the King's side won't kill story characters unless absolutely necessary."
Leona quickly sorted out the relationship between the two.
To put it bluntly, God was a tyrant, while the King was a saint.
However, this was merely a conclusion drawn from one side of the story; without meeting them in person, she couldn't be certain.
She pondered Aria's words and suddenly realized that the story hadn't mentioned any idea of the two leaving.
She raised her head and asked, "Have they never thought about how to get out?"
Aria's expression suddenly turned grim.
"As much as I hate to admit it, both of them say the exact same thing on this matter."
She let out a sigh and proceeded to deliver a fact that Leona found hard to accept.
"No one can escape this place."
Rate on N.U.
