Chapter 1 

Holidays have begun

It was the start  of summer. The holidays had begun. The nerds were sad , the dummies were happy and mostly everyone was happy. I was happy as well, but I was also going to miss my teachers and a few friends whom I couldn't meet this holiday . When I reached home , I threw my bag on the couch and went to my room . I took my favorite pink top and jeans,

and changed into them.

Then I checked my holiday homework

on the phone and decided to do the assignment workbook pages.

We had to do pages 12 to 20 and some exercise questions in the text book .

 But on page 13 (unlucky number) I found a passage saying , 

"Ignore this message , and you will have an unlucky life. There is another universe with your future. Tempting to see who you will become , your grades or will you be a millionaire or not ? Well this could be worth it , but success will not come too quickly , crack this code then you will be in that universe , fail and lose an opportunity of a lifetime. Where is the code and details to the quest ? go to page 111."

Why that was creepy , but I wasn't sure that if this was real or just to freak us out . It said , "crack this code then you will be in that universe" well if I cracked this 'code ' and nothing happened it would just be something stupid . But what if I called my friends and see what they were doing ? Yes that was a good idea . So, I called them and they didn't reply. Weird because they always pick up. So , I checked page 111 and found another passage that said, "Good . You read the message written on page 13 and are ready for the test . Right? Ready?

The first two letters signify a male, the first three letters signify a female, the first four letters signify a great, while the entire word signifies a great woman. What is the word? "

In what of history was that ? if first two letters signify male and three female , it can only be he with two letters and her with three , it can't be she with three letters and if first four signify great it has to be her with another letter , so hero adding o . If the entire word signifies a great woman but hero is man , we have to change the gender of the word. So , it must be Heroine ! It matches the facts. When I said the answer , a portal opened and I stepped inside. 

Chapter 2 

In the portal

In the portal , I was wirling and wirling . Then I heard a voice saying , "You chose to see your future and you answered the question correctly , but the word 'Heroine' is a code . It is your job to crack it . In the other universe there  will be hints to crack the code and many obstacles you will need to face . But beware of the howler monkeys. And good luck." 

For those who don't know , Howler monkeys are the loudest of all monkeys. They call to let others know where their territory is, alerting them to stay away. The calls sound like a loud whooping bark or roar. After one group of howlers call, another group answers. Howler monkeys usually do this in the morning and at the end of the day.

These monkeys live in Central and South America. At home in the forest, they hardly ever leave the treetops. They don't move very far each 

day, feeding in a relaxed way at the very top of the forest canopy  .  Howlers mainly eat leaves, as well as fruits, nuts, and flowers. Howler   monkeys get almost all the water they need from the food they eat.  One of  the few times they can be spotted on the ground, however, 

during very dry spells when they need to find extra water.

The other universe was way different than our earth. 

The sky was lavender, with floating jellyfish-shaped clouds that shimmered like glass.
The trees had glowing blue leaves, and their trunks hummed softly, like music.

The ground wasn’t dirt—it was smooth crystal, and every step made it light up in different colors: pink, gold, green.

Far in the distance, there was a city built into the side of a mountain—but it hovered in the air.
Bridges made of light connected tall, spiraling towers.
And in the center was a giant eye-shaped moon, watching silently.

But then I saw something, someone . Someone familiar. They were people . They were my friends!! I waved and they saw me . We were so happy to see each other . That is why they didn't answer my calls. I figured that each of us got different questions , different codes of different pages. Here are all the questions:

1.  I come from a mine and get surrounded by wood always. Everyone uses me. What am I? Pencil lead

2. A is the brother of B. B is the brother of C. C is the father of D. So how is D related to A? A is D's uncle

3.  Which word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly? incorrectly

So we figured out that we needed to go separately and we couldn't go together.  We decided we would communicate through our phones and tell each other everything.

Chapter 3

Knowledge Obstacles 

So I walked further and saw a message written on a paper.

In front of you are  The Big Four (snakes): Chain snake, Common Krait, Indian Cobra, and Indian saw-scaled viper. Yes. venomous snakes as you can see. One wrong move and you are gone in heaven. Figure out which is which and successfully move on to another obstacle.

The first snake had a distinctive hood, with a spectacle-like or monocle pattern. It looked like the Indian cobra as it was the only snake with a hood and it hissed and expanded it's hood when threatened. 

The second snake looked like the 

common Krait

The common krait averages 0.9 m in length

 but can reach up to 1.75 m. Males are usually longer, with a flat head, tube-like body, and short, rounded tail. Its eyes are small, and the scales are polished, arranged in 15-17 rows. Color is usually black or bluish-black with around 40 white crossbars.

The third snake looked like Russell's viper . The head of the Russell's viper is flattened and triangular, with a blunt, rounded snout and large nostrils . It has broken-up crown scales and

 well-known eyes surrounded by scales. 

The strong body features keeled dorsal

 scales and a color pattern of deep yellow or

 brown with dark spots. Its average length is about 120 cm, reaching no more than 166 cm, and it possesses two pairs of chin shields and multiple fang pairs.

The fourth snake looked like the Saw scaled viper. 

Saw-scaled vipers are small snakes, usually under 90 cm long. 

They have a short, wide head, large eyes,

 a moderately thin body with keeled dorsal scales, and a short tail.

That was what I answered . And I was right. I told my friends that I had completed the first one. They had to identify birds, fossils and bats . I went to the next challenge and found out that a red panda was all ready to declare her love to her sweetheart, but he's nowhere to be found. Now you may think pandas were black and white , red pandas are a total different species. They usually hang out alone, but once a year girl and boy pandas get together to show they like each other . If those two red pandas can't find each other soon, they'll have to wait another whole year. It is up to me to find out where is the missing red panda . And I got the ability to talk to red pandas. She said .................

If you don't find him soon , I'll have to wait a whole 'nother year to tell him how I feel about him.

I searched around for clues . I did not see any footprints either . 

But I didn't see bamboo as well. Red pandas love

bamboo. Maybe her love (named Johnny) went to 

find bamboo? Then I saw a bamboo field ahead and decided to start there . When I was close by , I heard 

someone munching . Maybe that was Johnny. When I checked , it was just a bamboo rat. He 

told me that he saw Johnny . I was on 

the right track. But then, the female red 

panda (named Judy) smelt his scent. Red

pandas leave a scented trail when in love. 

We followed the trail and it lead to a dead 

end . A tree stump.

Judy smelt the stump and said that Johnny marked the stump with his special scent. And it was fresh . He must be nearby . Then she started to chirp. Red pandas chirp to each other sometimes when that are in love. If Johnny was close by , he would chirp back. And he did. I found him . Judy asked him why did he go. He went there to give Judy bamboo blossoms to show how much he liked her. I did it . I solved a mystery. 

                    S u m m a r y 

Despite their name ,red pandas aren't closely related to panda bears.  Though both species love to eat bamboo. Red pandas usually live alone. But once a year , the boys and girls get together. To find each other, they make chirping noises and leave special scent markings. 

Chapter 4

Adventure Challenges

After solving the knowledge obstacles, I called my friends. But sadly 1 of them was disqualified and went back home. In the portal it said the word Heroine was a code and I would get hints. I got my hint .

"“Your first letter is the one that starts ‘Hero’. Count forward through the alphabet… then double it!”" I thought “Starts with ‘Hero’... that’s H, right?” I paused. “Wait… count forward? Like... A is 1, B is 2…” I started counting on my fingers: “A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H... H is the 8th letter!”  “And double it? 8 × 2... that’s 16!

The second challenge . There was a rock that had the rules. 

Step Carefully: You must only step on one stone at a time. Test it before putting your full weight.

I stood in front of a long, crumbling bridge. Lava bubbled below, glowing hot orange and spitting fire sparks into the air. The bridge was the only way forward—but it looked like one wrong step could send me straight down into the flames.

I took a breath and stepped on the first stone. It wobbled under my foot, but held. I kept going—carefully. A stone cracked behind me and dropped into the lava with a hiss. I couldn’t stop now.

Halfway across, smoke started rising. The bridge was burning at the edges. I had to move faster. I sprinted the last few steps and jumped just as the final stone gave way— I landed safely on the other side. Barely.

Whew! That was A close one. I went to the next challenge . As usual the rule were written on a rock.

I entered a silent stone room. The air was thick, heavy, like it was pressing down on me. My chest felt tight. My arms suddenly ached, like I had been climbing for hours.

Then I noticed it: a glowing hourglass in the corner, and my reflection in the shiny floor—it looked older. Much older.

I realized what was happening. The room was draining time from me.

I looked around and saw the door I came from had vanished. There was only one exit ahead, sealed shut. I rushed toward it, pulling levers and turning stone wheels, trying anything. My legs felt slower. My hair brushed my cheeks—it was longer now.

Finally, I found a hidden switch under a tile. The door creaked open just in time. I stumbled out, gasping for air. I was free.

But I had definitely aged a few years in there. 

But I aged back.  And I got second clue . “The second letter is in ‘Evening’. Count its place in the alphabet… then jump forward 4 times.” 

I thought for a second.
“Evening… starts with E. Okay. A, B, C, D, E… That’s the 5th letter. Wait... What if it is like the last one. Multiply!

5 times 4 is ..... 20!"

Chapter 5

Problem Solving Skills Test

After I got the hint , the next challenge began. I was transported into the past . The times of the kings and queens . There were no electronic devices and modern times items . The problem was  A King named Hobu didn't want dust to touch his royal feet. 

He shouted, “My royal feet must never touch dirt! This ground is dusty! It must be cleaned — immediately!”

People in the kingdom rushed around, scrubbing roads, laying down soft cloths, even spreading rose petals. It looked chaotic.

Then his ministers stepped forward, each with their “big” ideas.

“Let us cover the entire kingdom with white marble!”

The king nodded thoughtfully. “Hmm…”

But I thought — that would take forever.

“Let us build floating shoes powered by the wind so Your Majesty never has to touch the ground at all!”

The king clapped once. “A brilliant invention!”

But I whispered, Floating shoes? What if he tips over?

“We will sweep the land every morning, afternoon, and night!”