https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-312-Ascending-Tower-Chronicles-12-/13547740/
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Chapter 313: Ascending Tower Chronicles (Thirteen)
Chapter 313: Ascending Tower Chronicles (Thirteen)
Following the werewolf’s clues, the four quickly located the attic and climbed upward through the skylight’s ladder.
The corridor outside the Room had branching paths, possibly leading to the castle’s midsection. However, Feng Bu Jue and the others chose not to explore it. The werewolf’s hints made two things clear: first, Little Red Riding Hood was powerful and hostile; second, she could return to the castle at any moment.
From a gaming perspective, if an Npc explicitly warns you with two critical pieces of information, acting against them would almost certainly trigger a deadly plot twist—or even an instant death scenario. Thus, they decided not to linger.
The group climbed the ladder for over five minutes. After passing through a patch of motionless clouds, they spotted the ladder’s end. At its peak was a circular black hole, with the ladder’s tip resting on its edge.
This hole was “painted” into the sky, like a cartoonish portal that could be drawn and entered on the spot. Up close, the opening wasn’t narrow—anyone of average build could squeeze through.
The werewolf, however, was out of luck. Due to their curved neck posture, enlarged torso, and the awkward climbing position, they were physically restricted to the space below the fifth floor.
“Hmm… another dark floor,” Feng Bu Jue muttered, stepping onto the fifth floor’s surface. He picked up the broom he’d thrown ahead earlier to test the terrain.
Hong Hu, Qiu Feng, and Ji Chang followed, entering the fifth layer one by one.
“We now know this building—if it can still be called that—has only seven floors,” Hong Hu remarked. “So, we’ve completed four-sevenths of this scenario.”
“That’s not quite right,” Ji Chang countered calmly. “As the saying goes, the last ten percent of a hundred-mile journey is the hardest half. The closer we get to the end, the more cautious we must be. Like stoppage time in a football match—if the team assumes the game is nearly over, the risk of conceding a goal skyrockets.”
“I agree,” Feng Bu Jue said. “In many horror films, survivors are wiped out in the final minutes due to complacency.”
As he spoke, Feng Bu Jue retrieved his flashlight, switching on the artificial light.
He hadn’t reclaimed the flashlight he’d given Hong Hu earlier. After reaching the fourth floor, it had remained in Hong Hu’s possession. Now, Hong Hu pulled out his own flashlight and activated it.
Both men did the same first thing: they swept the beams around the area, then immediately aimed upward.
This floor’s ceiling and ground had reverted to the first floor’s state—floor tiles below, a ceiling height of only four meters. The flashlight beams couldn’t yet reveal the walls’ locations, suggesting another vast, empty space.
“Maybe I’ll scout ahead alone first,” Feng Bu Jue began, but his words were cut off by a voice from the darkness.
"Gentlemen", a child's innocent voice echoed through the system.
This single sentence sent chills down the three players’ spines, their Terror Value instantly surging past 50%. Feng Bu Jue wasn’t scared, but he sensed danger. Could Little Red Riding Hood be waiting for us here?
Hiss—
A soft sound, then a flicker of flame erupted in the dark.
The fire was initially no larger than a grain of rice, but within seconds, it expanded rapidly, illuminating the entire floor.
A small figure emerged in the light—a short girl in a brown cloak. Her cheeks were flushed red, her clothes worn and thin, her feet bare.
In her left hand, she carried a basket; in her right, a burning matchstick.
“This doesn’t seem to be Little Red Riding Hood… it’s…” Qiu Feng lowered his voice, about to voice his deduction.
“Ah… I see,” Feng Bu Jue interrupted. From the expressions of Hong Hu and Ji Chang, they’d also figured it out.
“Please, buy a match from me,” the little girl stepped closer, pleading.
The four players exchanged glances, unsure how to respond.
“Please buy a box of my matches,” she repeated, her tone desperate.
Qiu Feng seemed to recall something. He stepped forward, pulling out the Magic Shoes in his pocket. “Can I trade these shoes for a box of matches?”
The little girl stared at the silver Magic Shoes he offered, hesitating. “Really, sir? These shoes look very valuable.” She was an honest child.
“It’s fine. I think this is a fair trade,” Qiu Feng replied.
“Okay then… thank you, sir,” she said.
Just then, the match in her hand extinguished, plunging the floor back into darkness.
Qiu Feng’s world went pitch black. Fortunately, his teammates rushed over. The flashlights illuminated his surroundings, but the little girl had vanished, along with the shoes in Qiu Feng’s hand.
“There!” Feng Bu Jue’s sharp eyes caught a clue first.
Where the little girl had stood was a matchbox. On the floor tile beneath it, smoke had left a line of Latin text: [Genuine kindness, no expectation of return.]
“I see now,” Ji Chang said. “The Magic Shoes were meant for this. I thought we’d encounter a ‘Cinderella’ plot.”
Qiu Feng picked up the matchbox. “I just had a sudden idea when I saw she had no shoes.”
“Loli and ankle fetishist…” Feng Bu Jue mused, stroking his chin.
“Why does everything you say sound so depraved?” Qiu Feng retorted.
“Did any of you observe the environment during those few seconds the floor was lit?” Hong Hu redirected the conversation.
“Yes,” Ji Chang replied. “The entire floor was empty, except for one direction…” He raised his arm, pointing. “There’s a door.”
“Same as my observation,” Hong Hu nodded. “So… do we head straight there?”
“Let me light a match first,” Qiu Feng said, opening the matchbox.
Inside were only four matches.
“Haha! No need to discuss—let’s each take one,” Feng Bu Jue said, eyeing the box.
The others didn’t object. They understood that when the number of story items matched the player count, it usually meant something.
Rather than wasting limited matches to scan the environment, the four relied on their flashlights, heading toward Ji Chang’s indicated direction. Soon, they reached the door.
“An elevator?” Ji Chang remarked, staring at the metal doors.
Externally, it was identical to the elevator in the Login Space. Beside the doors was a single button, its function obvious.
Ding—
Hong Hu pressed the button, and the elevator doors slid open sideways.
The four entered one by one. Inside, there were no controls or buttons.
After five or six seconds, the doors closed automatically and began ascending. Whether it was remote-controlled or operated based on internal weight was unclear. In this fantastical scenario, an elevator with autonomous consciousness wouldn’t be surprising.
The ride was short—about one floor’s height—before it halted. The doors opened again.
The players safely stepped into the sixth floor’s area.
“Actually… my earlier assumption about odd and even floors was completely wrong,” Hong Hu said as he exited the elevator.
“That’s true,” Qiu Feng replied. “But from the first floor to here, the difficulty has been surprisingly low. Except for *-233, there haven’t been any particularly tough puzzles, and no combat at all.”
“Not necessarily,” Feng Bu Jue countered. “We might’ve already encountered several ‘instant death’ traps without triggering them, which is why you feel it’s easy.” He gestured toward the elevator. “Ignoring * for now, the werewolf earlier was clearly a party-wipe monster. Also, we now know to give the shoes to the match girl. But what if we’d made a wrong move—like offering the wrong item, or failing to respond before the match burned out?”
“That’s true,” Ji Chang nodded. “Even seemingly safe scenarios might hide multiple one-hit kill traps. We can’t afford carelessness.”
As they spoke, the four had already surveyed the sixth floor’s layout.
This floor resembled the fourth, but the environment was vastly different.
The ground was a muddy swamp, with limited dry footholds. The walls depicted dark forests and shadowy mountains. The ceiling above was a night sky, dotted with sparse clouds and countless stars.
At the ceiling’s edge hung a paper-moon, casting a cold, pale glow over the swamp.
The path upward was clear—directly opposite the elevator, on the wall ahead. There, a winding stone staircase was painted, its lowest five steps extending from the wall into the three-dimensional space.
Movement here was restricted. Players had no choice but to step carefully across the few dry footholds toward the stone steps near the opposite wall.
“Watch your footing,” Hong Hu warned, leading the way. “We don’t have any artifacts now. If someone slips into the swamp’s center, it’ll be hard to pull them out.”
“Hey… did you hear that?” Feng Bu Jue suddenly said, tilting his head upward.
(End of Chapter)
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