“Ughh X﹏X”
The sensation of weightlessness kept coming.
Nuo Ai’er felt as if she had been thrown into a giant washing machine, spun dry, and then reassembled, her stomach churning violently.
Finally, the teleportation ended.
She was transported to a forest.
“Pfft… I’m so dizzy, ugh QAQ”
Little Nuo Ai’er leaned against the rough trunk of a nearby tree, dry-heaving twice before managing to suppress the nausea.
“Huh? Where the heck did this drop me?”
She lifted her head, and what greeted her was a suffocatingly oppressive dark forest.
Giant ancient trees loomed overhead. Even though it was daytime, almost no light filtered through.
The surrounding vegetation was thick and lush; not a single flower bloomed on the ground. It was unbearably gloomy.
Just then, a completely emotionless mechanical voice rang out in Nuo Ai’er’s mind.
[Hello, player Nuo Ai’er. Welcome to the Novice Trial Dungeon.]
[Dungeon Name: Little Red Riding Hood and the Dangerous Forest]
[Current Mission Status: Not Started]
[Additional Rule: Players may use their own innate talents.]
[Victory Reward Description:
Since this is the first game for a new player, failure in this game will not deduct points. If successfully cleared, rewards will be given based on the ending achieved.]
[Bad Ending: No penalty]
[Normal Ending: Reward 10 points]
[Good Ending: 30 points]
[Perfect Ending: 50 points]
“? It’s a multi-ending game?”
Hearing that whole spiel, Nuo Ai’er, who had been dazed, instantly had her eyes light up.
Man, if you’re talking about playing games, then she was wide awake.
Sure, she’d been turned into a little loli, but she still had hundreds of games in her Steam library.
Nuo Ai’er: ‘Um, System-kun?’
She tentatively asked in her mind.
Nuo Ai’er: ‘How do I achieve each ending? Could you elaborate on the perfect ending?’
For Nuo Ai’er, 1,000 points was her ransom. To escape from that witch Wei Ran as fast as possible, she had to earn them quickly.
The Perfect Ending gave more points, so Nuo Ai’er would try her best to achieve it.
But… the system just said this was a “Little Red Riding Hood” game?
The only big bad in the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale was the big bad wolf…
Did that mean Nuo Ai’er had to go kill the big bad wolf?
Really? (°ー°〃)
But Nuo Ai’er was overthinking it.
[Answering player Nuo Ai’er—
Normal Ending conditions: Escape the forest.
Good Ending conditions: Little Red Riding Hood successfully arrives at Grandma’s house.
Perfect Ending conditions: …Sorry, regarding this ending, the system does not have permission to provide hints. Please explore on your own.]
“Come on, not this riddle nonsense too (´-﹏-`；)”
Nuo Ai’er pouted. As a veteran of countless games, she knew well that “explore on your own” usually meant either huge difficulty or a trap.
“Ah, whatever. Let’s see what I’ve got on me.”
She sighed and looked down to check her equipment.
The loose men’s T-shirt she had been wearing was gone, replaced by a red-and-white little dress with lace trimmings, paired with white socks and leather shoes. The skirt was poofy. Now Nuo Ai’er looked like a delicate doll.
By her hand rested a finely woven willow basket.
Nuo Ai’er opened the lid and peeked inside: two neatly packed sandwiches, and next to them a small glass bottle with a Red Cross sticker, labeled “Healing Medicine.”
“Food and medicine… that’s it?” Nuo Ai’er frowned, picking up the little bottle and shaking it.
No knife? No gun?
“Seriously… Not even a baguette to use as a weapon, QAQ”
It was clear: this game had no combat, only puzzles.
Other than those, the only thing left in the basket was a red hooded cloak.
“This… is Little Red Riding Hood’s gear, right? Looks like I’m Little Red Riding Hood in this setting.” Nuo Ai’er put the hood on.
A white-haired loli Little Red Riding Hood. Mmm… got the vibe, nya.
Then, the moment she put on the hooded cloak, a panel popped up.
A line of faint translucent blue text appeared before her eyes.
[Equipment Name: Red Hooded Cloak]
[Attribute: Defense +1]
[Possesses a special effect.]
“Special effect∑(°口°๑)”
Nuo Ai’er was surprised.
Could this hood have some super-strong characteristic?
“Let me see, let me see (✧∇✧)”
Nuo Ai’er’s eyes sparkled as she opened the panel.
[Special Effect: …It has an amazing sun-shading effect! No matter how harsh the sunlight, as long as you wear it, you won’t get tanned at all～!]
“ (O_O) ”
Nuo Ai’er was silent.
She remained silent for a full five seconds.
“What good is sun-shading effect for?! (つД`) ” Nuo Ai’er wanted to cry but had no tears.
So she was just a weakling with zero combat power, exactly like the original Little Red Riding Hood…
But complaints aside, she had to face reality.
“Sigh… Looks like I can only rely on my wits.”
Nuo Ai’er took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Her current body was just a frail little loli, with no combat ability—that was a given.
But… her time-reversal talent could still be used.
“All for the sake of my ransom, QAQ”
Nuo Ai’er picked up the basket. Though tears glistened at the corners of her eyes, her gaze gradually became determined.
“I just need to follow the fairy tale script, right? I’m Little Red Riding Hood. I have to deliver food to Grandma’s house on the other side of the forest. As long as I obediently hand over the sandwich to Grandma, I should at least get the ‘Good Ending’ and earn 30 points.”
As for that so-called Perfect Ending… she’d put it aside for now. She didn’t even know the conditions.
With that thought, Nuo Ai’er took a deep breath, prepared herself, then hooked the basket over her arm, tightened her red cloak, and stood before the path leading deep into the forest.
[System Notification]:
About to enter dungeon area.
Warning: The Dangerous Forest is home to various monsters and strange creatures. They have a strong craving for fresh lolis. Please proceed with caution and remain alert at all times.
“What do you mean by ‘craving for fresh lolis’? That’s so weird (〃﹏〃)”
Nuo Ai’er shook her head. Never mind that for now.
She had watched hundreds of horror movies and played countless Souls-like games before. She was a hardcore player.
She knew the forest dungeon routine well!
As long as she didn’t walk at night, didn’t take random side paths, and made good use of the terrain, she should be fine.
While mentally planning various tactics, she took her first confident step.
“Come on, I, Ailuo, have to turn back into myself… Huh?”
Just as Nuo Ai’er’s second foot touched down.
The humus beneath her feet suddenly loosened, making an extremely faint crack sound.
“No way…”
The smile on Nuo Ai’er’s face froze instantly.
Before she could react, several pitch-black vines shot up from underground!
One thick vine precisely wrapped around Nuo Ai’er’s stomach and tightened.
“Mew, QAQ”
A short, cute cry of distress squeezed out from Nuo Ai’er’s throat.
Then, more vines came from all directions.
Some coiled around her slender wrists, some locked onto her calves, and one vine even lightly patted Nuo Ai’er’s cheeks.
But these vines only held her gently—they didn’t actually hurt her.
“W-wait! What’s going on? (๑˃ಐ˂৭)”
There was a death trap right at the start? This wasn’t fair.
Just then… a mechanical voice sounded in her mind.
[Moment of Choice!]
[Faced with the vines’ encirclement, you choose…]
[A. Shout for help.]
[B. Find a way to free yourself.]
[C. Be a good kitty and let the vines handle you.]
“Huh? This is…”
Nuo Ai’er heard the voice in her head. It should be the same situation as with Wei Ran earlier—she had to choose correctly.
But…
What did C mean?! (〃д〃)
But the vines didn’t seem ready to let her go.
She had no choice. Nuo Ai’er’s decision was…