"Snow White" is a fairy tale widely circulated across Europe. The most famous version is from Germany's Grimms' Fairy Tales in 1812; the character of Snow White might have been inspired by a noblewoman from western Germany in the early 18th century.
The "Snow Queen," on the other hand, is a fairy tale created by Hans Christian Andersen.
The story of "Snow White" is roughly as follows: Snow White, hated and hunted by her jealous stepmother, flees into the forest. There, she receives help from seven dwarfs but is later tricked into eating a poisoned apple, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. She is eventually awakened by a prince's kiss, and they marry happily.
The story of "The Snow Queen" is about a devil who created a Magic Mirror capable of inverting good and evil. When the mirror accidentally falls to earth, it shatters into countless pieces, like snowflakes. One shard enters the eye and heart of a little boy named Kai, turning his heart to ice and making him shun his childhood friend, Gerda.
The Snow Queen then abducts Kai. Gerda, heartbroken, embarks on a perilous journey, pursuing the Snow Queen's sleigh. After enduring many hardships, she finally finds Kai. Her loving tears melt the mirror fragments in his eye and heart, restoring his human emotions and leading to a joyous reunion.
Judging by their original stories, Snow White appears to be a naturally gentle and vulnerable young woman, easily bullied. In contrast, the Snow Queen can conjure ice and frost from nothing, unleash the Aurora Flame, create Snowflake Warriors, use the frozen Sanity Lake to observe the entire world, and even artificially cool volcanoes.
Although the Snow Queen is merely a fairy tale character, her displayed abilities are in no way inferior to Cataclysmic Level final bosses found in other works of fiction.
(The highly popular 2013 3D animated film "Frozen" was adapted from "The Snow Queen," with Princess Elsa of Arendelle corresponding to the Snow Queen.)
John Joyce, Julia, Smoker, and Bob all hailed from European or American countries. They were familiar with this fairy tale and naturally understood the Snow Queen's Cataclysmic Level capabilities, which explained their somewhat subdued and somber expressions.
"Alright, stop overthinking it."
John Joyce coughed and said in a deep voice, "The name of this mission, 'Not Your Usual Fairy Tale,' implies that the fairy tales we know might be drastically altered in this script world. We can't entirely rely on our existing knowledge."
"That's right."
Julia nodded, her brow furrowed. "The mission rewards are standard, but both the time limit and the failure penalty are listed as 'None.' Based on past instances, this could mean there's an unseen time limit. Exceeding it might lead to dire consequences, like the Magic Mirror shattering completely, making it impossible for us to complete the mission and trapping us in this script world forever—or worse."
No one wanted to remain trapped in a script world. Under the perverse rules of the killing game, even worlds based on fairy tales could become more perilous than the most terrifying supernatural realms.
John Joyce shook his head. "Regardless, let's begin by scouting. We need to find the nearest human settlement."
After speaking, he deliberately paused for a moment or two. Seeing that no one stepped forward, he could only sigh inwardly. Pretending everything was normal, he rubbed his hands together and walked towards a towering tree by the roadside.
"Looks like there's a medieval human village at the foot of the mountain to the east. We could head there to gather some intelligence."
The other players had no objections. The absence of a time limit for this mission only underscored the preciousness of time; it wasn't wise to delay any further.
Moreover, this was a Fairy World set in the Middle Ages, where Witches and Magic were almost certainly part of the setting. Therefore, it was best to explore more of the world's established rules before considering the use of overly advanced technology like drones.
The players, each with their own thoughts, used their scouting skills to quickly survey the surroundings. After confirming they hadn't missed anything, they proceeded along the forest path toward the village.
While walking, the players briefly introduced their specializations to facilitate cooperation in the tasks ahead.
John Joyce was skilled at solving puzzles and specialized in close combat. Julia possessed comprehensive scouting abilities and could provide intelligence and technological equipment support. Smoker, a Latino youth, was adept at stealth, assassination, intelligence gathering, and emergency medical aid. Bob, an older African American man, excelled in occult knowledge and specialized in long-range sniping.
After everyone introduced their areas of expertise, they all turned their attention to Li Ang, who remained silent.
This teammate, cloaked in a black cape and wearing a red sweater, had been quiet from the start. Combined with his peculiar outfit, he was indeed rather suspect.
Feeling his teammates' gazes, Li Ang spoke in a hoarse voice, "Just call me Brother Dao. My strength lies in an exceptionally resilient body. I can smash watermelons with my head, pop hot water bottles by blowing into them, swim in a pool of liquid nitrogen, and run naked through the snow to perform my 'Bold Blade in the Snowy Run.' Since such feats are impossible in the three-dimensional world, everyone praises me as a character from the two-dimensional world—the Godfather of 2D, the Guardian of the North, Jon Brother Dao."
Li Ang wasn't particularly fond of his new foreign teammates. Since he hadn't revealed his player nickname earlier, he decided to improvise a new Vest.
Upon hearing his claims, the expressions on the foreigners' faces changed. The killing game's built-in translation System allowed them to roughly understand what Li Ang was saying.
Swimming in a pool of liquid nitrogen wasn't something an ordinary person could manage. Could this Jon Brother Dao actually be that formidable?
Amidst their uncertainty, a clear and pleasant singing voice suddenly rang out from the forest not far ahead. The players' expressions shifted as they instinctively crouched down, concealed their presence, and hid themselves in the underbrush.
Using their scouting abilities, they clearly saw a little girl in the forest ahead. She looked as if carved from jade, wore a red velvet cap, hummed a tune, and skipped along the forest path with a small basket in hand.
Little Red Riding Hood?