chapter 3
Please remember the following Rules:
Rule One: The Fairy Tale World at night is somewhat different. Please try not to go out. If you must go out, don’t worry – until the final moment arrives, the Fairy Tale World is always so beautiful.
Rule Two: Remember you are a Mermaid. Mermaids need to replenish water in time.
Rule Three: The Princess is beautiful and kind, dressed in a white dress. In everyone’s eyes, she is a sweet Little Cake.
Rule Four: Please be cautious when eating food in the Instance, even if it smells delicious.
Rule Five: A Wedding is a happy and joyful day. Everyone will celebrate the Wedding in their own way on that day.
[As this is a Novice Dungeon, Novice Protection Mode is enabled. Players do not need to look for additional Rules.]
Tu Nan quickly jotted down the Rules, her eyes catching a line of small text below.
Current Debuff: Mr. Crow’s Curse (Duration: Seven Days)
(Special Note: Mr. Crow dislikes impolite children, so within his authority, he has placed a curse on you:
Your luck is always extraordinarily bad.
If you eavesdrop, you’ll definitely be caught. In Werewolf games, you’ll always be the first to be eliminated. Under equal circumstances, the strange and uncanny will always target you more easily… In short, Mr. Crow wishes you good luck.)
Tu Nan: …
A duration of seven days-meaning she would be cursed for the entire Instance.
Strange Tales are already full of dangers, not to mention adding this unlucky Debuff.
That petty, vicious dead crow.
…
[Instance information transmission complete. You are about to enter the Instance. Wish you a pleasant game.]
Before Tu Nan could react, the space before her suddenly began to crack, collapsing abruptly before her eyes.
After a dizzying moment, she opened her eyes.
Waves crashed onto the shore, and the damp, salty sea breeze rushed toward her.
She looked up to see a breathtakingly beautiful sea stretching endlessly before her, the afterglow of the setting sun casting a golden sheen across the water.
The waves rolled and crashed onto the beach, soaking her fair, slender calves.
Only then did Tu Nan notice she wasn’t wearing shoes.
She tried to stand, but the moment she did, a pain like being cut by knives sent her collapsing back down.
…
Frowning, she began to recall the information the System had just transmitted to her.
Clearly, the theme of the Strange Tales was the well-known story of the Mermaid Ariel.
Ariel, for the sake of the Prince, traded her beautiful voice and long golden hair in exchange for legs, but every step she took was as painful as walking on the tip of a blade.
The first Novice Dungeon was already such a hellish start. Remembering what Mr. Crow had said before the Instance selection, Tu Nan felt a headache coming on.
It seemed he had carefully selected a Novice Dungeon just for her.
Tu Nan tentatively pressed her throat and opened her mouth, but only two faint whimpers came out.
Great, she started out mute, and walking was almost like being half-disabled.
“Oh, my God, how could there be such a delicate lady here? Beautiful miss, do you need my help?”
A magnetic voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Tu Nan froze for a moment and turned around. At some point, a man in court attire had appeared on the previously empty beach.
He had a face that could only be described as perfectly sculpted.
Chiseled features, deep-set eyes and brows, and an outfit that was clearly extraordinary-this man’s identity was already obvious.
The Prince with whom Ariel fell in love at first sight.
Tu Nan remembered that in The Little Mermaid, when Ariel faced the Prince she loved, she ought to be a little shy and gentle.
She could not speak, so she could only lift her eyes and gaze at him quietly with a pair of tender, affectionate eyes, then point to her own throat and gently shake her head.
Her skin was as fair as milk, her eyes a beautiful blue, shimmering like the Sea under the sunlight, making people want to lose themselves in them.
What a lovely girl.
Young, beautiful, delicate.
Eric could not help but sigh.
He was experienced and knew what kind of tender flesh such a young girl possessed-just a light pinch would leave red marks.
They would look at him in fear, their beautiful eyes wet and wide, crystalline tears brimming in their eyes, finally overflowing and streaming down their soft cheeks.
“You can’t speak?” Eric crouched down to look at her at eye level, his voice gentle, but if one listened closely, there was a strange hoarseness to it.
A beautiful, young mute girl-she was simply a treasure bestowed upon him by God.
Just imagine, her body would tremble slightly in extreme fear, her cheeks wet with tears, yet not a single sound could escape her lips.
He was nearly dizzy with excitement at the images in his mind.
A strange feeling surged in Tu Nan’s heart.
The Prince’s gaze was unusually intense, as if he had discovered some fragile treasure, while also desperately restraining himself, to the point that even the smile on his face looked a bit stiff.
The Prince was acting very strangely. Although nothing dangerous usually happened on the first day of a Strange Tales event, she still bore the Crow’s curse, so Tu Nan dared not be careless.
She nodded, pointed to herself, and wrote her name in the sand.
“Ariel.” The Prince saw her name and praised her with a smile. “What a beautiful name. My name is Eric. Where is your family? How did they leave you here alone?”
Tu Nan shook her head, lowered her gaze, and put on a sorrowful expression.
“Poor girl.” Eric seemed to understand, and his gaze grew even more heated.
He licked his lips.
An orphan girl would save him a lot of trouble.
Tu Nan frowned imperceptibly.
Did she just hear the sound of someone swallowing?
“So, how about coming home with me?” Eric extended his hand to her gracefully. “I am the Prince of this country. In five days, I will have my Wedding with Princess Grace of the neighboring kingdom. I think Grace certainly won’t mind having one more guest at the ceremony.”
Compared to the dashing, handsome, and very gentlemanly Prince in the fairy tale, the Prince before her was visibly odd, but she had no choice.
The Prince was one of the most important characters in The Little Mermaid, and the story revolved around him. She had to stay by his side.
So she tilted her head slightly, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then bit her lip anxiously and placed her hand into his palm.
Eric helped her up. The moment her feet touched the ground, Tu Nan’s face twisted for an instant, and countless words flashed through her mind.
Fortunately, she could not speak now, or her fragile disguise would have been shattered instantly.
Damn Crow, one day she would pluck all its feathers and boil them in soup.
“What’s wrong?” Eric noticed her abnormality and asked softly.
Tu Nan snapped back to her senses and immediately responded, lowering her head and pointing to her bare feet.
She seemed a little shy, her fair toes curling tightly.