chapter 2

Preface: Dark Fairy Tale style / no CP / plot-driven. This work is a full-length Fairy Tale Strange Tales; every Instance is related to a fairy tale.

There are male supporting characters, but no romance. If you’re looking for love, you can exit now~

Warnings are posted in the comments section.

The first Instance is the Novice Dungeon!

Please accept that the female protagonist starts out as an ordinary person, not a superhuman who can punch Ghosts to death.

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This summer is exceptionally hot. At noon, the sun was blazing outside, and there was not even a breath of wind.

Ordinary people would choose to avoid going out at this time, but Tu Nan chose this exact moment, put on a long sun-protection coat, and stepped out.

The coat covered her completely; with the zipper pulled up, only her eyes were exposed, and even those were hidden behind sunglasses.

As she closed the door and turned around, she happened to run into Wang Qian from next door, who was just coming back. Wang Qian glanced at her and nodded.

Tu Nan nodded back. As she hurried past Wang Qian, she heard Wang Qian’s deliberately lowered voice.

“Be careful. Someone from the neighboring community got pulled in again today.”

Her voice was extremely low, as if she was afraid someone might hear, and if you listened carefully, there was a faint tremor in it.

Tu Nan paused, nodded, and thanked her.

A year ago, Strange Tales descended upon Earth.

Getting close to a Strange Tales area gave you a high chance of being selected for a Strange Tales game and pulled into the game.

If you died in the game, you would also die in reality.

Only by clearing the game could you return to reality, but that did not mean it was over.

After being pulled into the Strange Tales world, every seven days you must participate in a Strange Tales game, or you would be forcibly pulled in. The difficulty of a forced Instance would skyrocket, making it virtually impossible to clear.

In just one year, the world’s population plummeted by two billion.

The time and place when Strange Tales pulled people in was unpredictable, but generally, if you went out late at night, your chances of being taken were much higher.

So Tu Nan developed the habit of going out at noon.

No matter how the world changed, you still had to grit your teeth and carry on with life.

She went to the market, quickly picked out a few vegetables, and chose two pieces of meat, making sure she wouldn’t need to go out again for a week.

After paying, she carried a big bag of groceries home. Just as she stepped out of the market, the world-once noisy with cicadas-suddenly fell silent.

At the deserted market entrance, the pork and leafy greens Tu Nan had picked began to rot at a visible speed, finally turning into a puddle of foul-smelling pus.

A thick fog suddenly spread around the market, enveloping it completely. The fog kept expanding outward as if claiming new territory, until it covered the entire block and finally stabilized.

—

Still can’t avoid it?

Tu Nan looked at the dimensional space before her, clearly not part of reality, closed her eyes, and sighed in resignation.

“Congratulations! You have been selected to enter the Strange Tales world! Here you will enjoy a one-of-a-kind dreamlike journey! Absolutely realistic gaming experience, the chance for close encounters with Ghosts, a wide range of game rewards, and a variety of game themes waiting for you to play!”

A shrill voice, accompanied by the sound of confetti cannons, rang in her ears. A black crow appeared in front of Tu Nan, its beady eyes staring straight at her.

A deadly game wrapped in glassy candy paper, disguised as sweet candy, but full of malice inside.

This crow was mentioned in the official guide: whenever someone was pulled into the Strange Tales world, it would appear as the initial guide.

Simply put, treat it as the Novice NPC.

The crow circled above her head twice before finally landing in front of her.
“Please draw your Strange Tales category.”

A huge lottery box appeared in front of Tu Nan, filled with colorful balls.

At this point, she had no choice in the matter.

She had never been a lucky person since childhood; she had never even won a consolation prize like “try again for another bottle,” always just a “thank you for your patronage.”

Tu Nan’s face was expressionless, but she silently prayed to draw a simple category.

She reached into the lottery box, feeling around, but there was nothing special-she couldn’t distinguish anything by touch.

“Hurry up, hurry up!” The Crow flapped its wings, shrieking excitedly.

There was an undisguised malice in its voice, as if it couldn’t wait to see her break down.

Tu Nan took a deep breath and, trusting her instincts, grabbed a pink ball and withdrew her hand.

“Open it, open it!” The Crow’s voice grew even more excited.

It was truly impatient.

Tu Nan sneered inwardly and opened the pink ball in her hand.

The moment the pink ball opened, cheerful bells rang out, and countless ribbons and golden confetti fell from the sky.

“Ding dong! Congratulations, you’ve drawn the Fairy Tale Category! Your luck is truly unparalleled. As the most dreamy and safest Strange Tales in the entire world, the Fairy Tale World is absolutely the best choice for home, travel, and adventure!”

Please remember the absolute Rule of the Fairy Tale World:

As a fairy tale character, please remember your character setting!

In other words, no OOC (out of character), Tu Nan mused.

“Wow, it’s actually the fairy tale theme.” The Crow’s voice was full of excitement and malice. “You’re so lucky, this is the most interesting category in all the Strange Tales.”

The Crow’s beady eyes stared at her, trying to catch a hint of joy on her face.

Then it would ruthlessly shatter her expectations.

This was the part it enjoyed most every time it guided a newcomer.

But this time, it was disappointed.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Crow.” Tu Nan shook the pink ball in front of it. “When can I enter the Strange Tales Instance?”

She was calm, her eyes a clear brown, utterly indifferent.

Her lack of emotion made Mr. Crow feel insulted. It widened its beady eyes, though to Tu Nan, there was no difference.

So Mr. Crow became even angrier, flapping its wings and shrieking, “How dare you ignore me?”

Tu Nan: ?

“I’ll throw you into the scariest Instance, so you understand the consequences of disrespecting me…” Mr. Crow laughed maliciously, but then suddenly stopped.

“…Doesn’t fit the game Rule? Fine, fine… Shut up… I get it…”

Mr. Crow was clearly disappointed.

“Then this will do…”

A burst of cheerful music sounded in Tu Nan’s mind, followed by a female voice mixed with electronic static.

“Welcome to the Fairy Tale theme Strange Tales. Loading for you… Load successful! This Strange Tales theme is-The Little Mermaid.”

[As the most beloved Little Mermaid in the deep sea, you are full of longing for everything above the waves.

On a stormy night, you save the Prince and are captivated by his handsome appearance, falling deeply for him.

For him, you willingly make a deal with the Witch, turning your Fish Tail into legs, and from then on, every step is as painful as walking on knives.

But the Prince is going to marry the Princess.

You are in deep pain.

The Prince and Princess’s Wedding is set for five days from now, and at the first ray of dawn on the fifth day, you will turn into sea foam.]

This Strange Tales theme: “The Little Mermaid”

Mission requirement: Survive until after the Wedding