The girl sprang up right away, wondering what had happened. She remembers being pulled into the book by a cruel hand and watching the life and story of a man from a third-person viewpoint. She was still drowsy from being exhausted, so she decided to just lay down again.
She lingered for a few seconds, staring at the attic ceiling, before some of her experience and memory came back. As she remembered what had actually happened, her heart rate sped up a little, and she felt frightened.
She attempted to remain calm and tried to believe that it wasn't real. 'This is not true.' She reflected to herself. Everything was in her head.
"The man, his narrative, the little kid, and everything else are all creations of my mind." She told herself, "I can do this."
"Everything will be alright if I remain cool and continue to take deep breaths as before."
-----
She sighed, "I'm hungry," as she felt her stomach. She stretches, saying, "I guess it's already morning," before getting up, gathering her things, and deciding whether or not to take the cursed book with her. "If this is a genuine sage's grimoire, then it's worth studying," she reasoned, placing the book into her bag.
She then descended from the attic and proceeded to the rear door of the abandoned house. She moved to the other wall to retrieve her cart and load her luggage onto it. She then proceeded to stroll along the street; it was already dawn, and there were many people shopping at the market.
She waits in line at the juice bar and orders a fruit juice before proceeding to the Adventurers Guild.
The weather was beautiful and mild, with only a trace of autumn in the air, which conveyed the perfume of autumn to her nostrils. She felt revitalized after her quick commute to work.
When she entered the guild, she noticed several individuals murmuring. She entered, curious to find all of the guild members and employees inside attending a meeting.
A receptionist appears on stage with a document declaring that all guild members must cooperate. "This is a special A-rating quest," she said, holding the document in her hands for the members to examine.
"We all know the current state of the war right now," she said, "and we don't have the power to go against the kingdom if they want us to send some adventurers to be mercenaries." The guild members all stayed silent, unable to argue with the assertion.
"But..." she said, looking at the crowd. "We have a special quest right now: a labyrinth has emerged and was discovered weeks ago at the Malaska Plains."
"Anyone who wants to take the quest must walk forward to the reception desk and apply for it."
"Those who accept the challenge will receive ten gold, and those who discover and submit rare items from the labyrinth will receive another five gold."
"Only adventurers from Silver one and up are permitted to take this quest."
Hearing this, the girl's ears perk up; as a qualified courier, she must accept the job. Many explorers will hire a porter for this trip, and she will not pass up this opportunity. She dashed over to the quest board and stood there. She opens her luggage and pulls out a wood sign with the words "Porter Available" inscribed on it.
She waited for an hour until someone approached her and asked, "Hello, you're a courier, right?" A guild member approached her.
"Yes?" The guild staff grinned and added, "We want to hire you to be a part of the guild during a special mission. Have you heard about it?"
She nods repeatedly. "Yes, yes! Hire me, please," her spirit rejoiced, "then please follow me," the lady directed her in the rear of the adventure guild.
They entered via the huge entrance on the side opposite the other members. "This is all of the courier we hired today," the lady explained softly.
"We have recruited some of them from other places, and they will assist us during the special mission."
A man in his late forties smiled at them and said, "Good, get the contract and let them sign it." He then exited the area. The men who were in charge of their missions nodded at each other before looking back at the lady. The lady then went back to the room where they put all the papers.
They were all staring at the contract documents that the staff member was carrying. "The contract is pretty straightforward. We need to go there and meet your contact, and your mission will be based on the information you find on our contact," she said as she gave them all one piece of paper.
"We'll give you an hour to read everything that needs to be read, and if we see any questions or concerns, please let us know before you leave."
The small girl tried to read while holding the contract; unfortunately, she thought she could because of the magical book she had gotten, but she couldn't.
Even though she couldn't read it, she knew it was a contract and she could make a lot of money from it. She seals the deal by dipping her thumb into the ink and pressing it against the paper. The other courier are disappointed; she didn't even read the contract and simply signed it without thinking, but at the end of the day, they'd signed it as well.
The lady returned to the room. "I received the contracts now, and I hope you read them all the way through before signing them." She passed the papers to the other staff before instructing the applicants, "All of you will leave by tomorrow morning; the meeting place is at the city gate, and I hope all of you are well prepared throughout the journey."
"You can leave now and prepare everything; see you tomorrow," the lady said, nodding in contentment.
*****
Before returning to the abandoned house, the young girl went to the bar to get some milk, and when she came back, she proceeded to the attic. She then set her backpack down, grabbed the grimoire, and placed it on her lap. "Okay, let's do this, but first..." She placed her handkerchief on the floor and knotted it, revealing crumbled bread for her meal and a glass of milk within.
The room was dark, and she had the lantern on the table with her. She looked at the tattered book in front of her with an excited feeling and slowly started reading the first page. It is written in an unfamiliar tongue at first, with no translation.
The book title then reappeared, "Sage: Great Reset." A flash of light appears and suddenly vanishes from the book. "Here it is; once I turn the page again, a hand will appear and drag me inside the book forcefully." She prepares by inhaling and exhaling before flipping the page.
A large hand reached out and grasped her entire face, dragging her into the cursed book. The light was so intense that she couldn't see anything, and all she could hear was a buzzing in her head.
Except for the ringing in her ears and her heart hammering hard against her chest, there was no sound. It took some time for her to return to reality, but when she did, she discovered she had passed out and had been effectively drawn inside the cursed book.
She gently opened her eyes to find herself in a dark room with nothing except a few candles on the table, which were burning slowly and producing little light. Everything was peaceful and silent, just like everything else in this particular spot, but there was one thing missing: the sage himself.