The surrounding darkness gradually receded, and Leona fell into a void.
Immediately after, a mechanical, synthesized voice sounded in her ear.
“Ding. Congratulations on clearing the Little Red Riding Hood instance. In view of your clearing the instance via the third route, your rewards are now being issued: Rank-up Draw, Remnant Page x200.”
Rank-up Draw: This ability takes effect immediately, randomly selecting an item in your possession to upgrade.
“Ding. The instance hunter has bestowed a blessing upon you. Your strength has increased by 2 points.”
“Ding. Leona has bestowed a gift upon you. You have obtained a personal exclusive space: Sanctuary.”
Three successive prompts flooded into Leona's ears, and the original wheel appeared before her once more.
Only, out of the twelve slots on it, seven were labeled “Miraculous Bandage,” four were labeled “Crimson Cloak,” and the final slot was labeled “Ordinary Fruit Knife.”
“My strength increased by two points. Now my strength is around 9 points. Although that's close to an adult male, it's nowhere near enough when facing those monsters.”
Recalling the hunter's superhuman physical conditioning, Leona couldn't help shivering.
She focused her attention on the wheel, feeling a faint pang of regret.
If she hadn't drunk that bottle of wine, perhaps an upgrade could have significantly boosted her attributes.
Yet there was no turning back once an arrow left the bowstring. Besides, if she hadn't finished that bottle of wine, she might not have made it this far, and the wheel might not have landed on what she wanted anyway.
Thinking of this, Leona felt somewhat better.
She pressed the button before her, praying in her heart that it would be anything but the fruit knife.
After all, the other two items had special functions, whereas the fruit knife had none. Even upgraded, it would probably be no better than an ordinary tool.
Yet what one feared most often came to pass.
A one-in-twelve chance, and Leona had hit it square on.
The pointer came to a stop on Ordinary Fruit Knife. The fruit knife at her waist slowly drifted out, floating in midair as white text appeared above it.
Special Fruit Knife: Good heavens, this fruit knife can adhere seamlessly to skin! Possessing it, perhaps you could become an assassin.
Leona took the fruit knife and pressed it against her arm. Miraculously, it took on the exact color of her flesh and melted right in. An outsider wouldn't be able to detect it at all, yet Leona could distinctly feel that it was truly right there.
“Well, at least it has some use,” Leona muttered with a curl of her lip, then added, “Just barely any.”
Although the fruit knife could be hidden now, its sharpness hadn't changed. Earlier, had she stabbed the wolf anywhere other than the nape of its neck, the blade definitely would have snapped.
“Sanctuary?”
Leona murmured the third reward she had received.
Just as she was wondering what on earth it was, her consciousness gradually grew heavy, as though falling asleep, yet not completely. She could feel her body moving, as if entering another world.
The drowsiness slowly dissipated, and Leona opened her eyes.
At this moment, she was seated in a chair. To her left and right in front of her were four chairs on each side, though all were vacant and unoccupied—nine chairs in total, with her in the head seat.
A candelabrum was set upon the tabletop. Although the light was dim, the flame atop it flickered ceaselessly, seeming as though it would never extinguish.
The place seemed ancient. Rather than a sanctuary, it felt more like a church.
Leona surveyed her surroundings and discovered a mural hanging behind each seat.
She looked toward the mural behind the first chair on the left.
The painting contained two scenes: in one, a voluptuous, alluring woman preened her figure before a mirror; in the other, seven dwarfs wept continuously around a crystal coffin. Lying inside the coffin was an exquisitely beautiful maiden, her skin white as snow.
Evidently, the painting depicted the story of Snow White.
She turned her gaze to the second mural.
There was also a girl, except her face was covered in dust and ash. She was extending her foot to slip into a glass slipper, while the prince kneeling before her wore an eerie smile.
This was the story of Cinderella.
She looked at the third mural.
Unsurprisingly, it was The Little Mermaid.
The remaining murals were likewise fairy tales familiar to her.
Could the eight seats before her correspond to the protagonists of eight fairy tales?
A conjecture formed in Leona's mind, and she turned to look behind her.
Sure enough, behind her own seat hung a mural as well.
The protagonist inside was indeed Little Red Riding Hood, but the story was not Little Red Riding Hood.
Inside a dim room, Little Red Riding Hood sat in the center, hands crossed upon the table, the eight flanking seats equally vacant—identical to Leona's current situation.
This was...
The story of the present!
Yet there was one difference: Little Red Riding Hood in the portrait had two eyes, whereas Leona had only one.
When Leona met the gaze of herself in the portrait, her eye began to ache again.
“Here it comes again,” Leona muttered through gritted teeth, clutching her eye.
Her consciousness began to blur, and she was forcibly expelled from the Sanctuary.
When she opened her eyes again, Leona found herself in a room barely ten square meters in size, devoid of anything except a bed and a corpse.
Simultaneously, a piece of information flowed into her mind.
The Sanctuary would summon her inside from time to time. Additionally, she had only one chance each month to enter the Sanctuary voluntarily using her own will.
Which meant the Sanctuary was alive.
Yet aside from the two points of entering voluntarily or involuntarily, Leona knew nothing of the Sanctuary's other capabilities.
Since she couldn't understand it, she simply stopped thinking about it.
She turned her thoughts back to the present.
“Is this... the Prison?” Smelling the rotting stench of the corpse, Leona covered her nose with her hand.
She looked at the bed and corpse before her.
The bed was made of wooden planks, strewn with a very thin layer of weeds.
The corpse before her had likely died only a few days ago, not yet fully decomposed. Judging from the bone structure, it belonged to a girl who had just reached adulthood.
She frowned. Apas had mentioned that after clearing an instance, one had to stay in the Prison for seven days. For those seven days, she would most likely have to sleep and eat right here.
She noticed the wooden door nearby and took a step forward, wondering if she could go outside.
If she truly had to stay in this cell-like room for seven days, she would probably go insane.
Fortunately, the door opened.
A shrill voice suddenly rang out.
“Everyone, look quick! A newcomer has come out of Lina's room!”
“No, no, let me see what she's wearing. Good grief, I can't believe it! The identity she drew is actually Little Red Riding Hood! This is probably the only Little Red Riding Hood to ever come out of an instance alive!”
Leona took a step outside the door. Ignoring the voice, she calmly surveyed her surroundings.
Every five meters to her left and right stood a wooden door. The ground was composed of dirt and sand, exceedingly filthy. The air reeked of blood and urine, and she even spotted a pool of unidentified liquid beside a nearby dwelling.
She began to understand what Apas meant by the Prison. In fact, that wasn't even accurate enough; calling it a colossal dungeon wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Then, she noticed a crowd of people sizing her up. Their attire varied widely—some wore tattered shirts, some wore suits of armor. The one who had uttered the shrill voice earlier was a man dressed as a clown.
“Pardon me, sir. This is my first time here, so I'm not very familiar with things. What do you mean by ‘the only Little Red Riding Hood to come out of an instance alive’?” Leona raised her head to meet the clown's gaze and asked.
She was certain this would be useful information.
Just then, only a few meters across and not far from Little Red Riding Hood, a large door suddenly flew open. A young man covered in blood bolted out. The moment he faced Leona, boundless panic flashed in his eyes; he stumbled back several steps, his legs giving out as he fell to his knees.
The man's actions drew everyone's attention.
“Look, another newcomer.” The clown gave a bizarre smile, facing Leona while pointing at the man. “He seems to have gone through the same instance as you.”
Leona looked along the clown's fingertip. Tucked behind the man was a brownish-gray tail. Leona knew with complete certainty that it was a wolf's tail.
Something even more horrifying followed: the man lay on the ground in agony, incessantly babbling apologies. Then, as if overcome by nausea, he sprawled forward and began vomiting, adding a distinct stench to the already foul dungeon.
Leona's pupils shrank in shock. Mixed within the man's vomit were several human fingers.
The clown's voice came again.
“Looks like the identity he drew was the Big Bad Wolf. To complete the Main God's quest, he devoured Little Red Riding Hood.”
Rate on N.U.
