Chapter 00024: The Druid
# The Druid
Chapter 24
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 24: The Druid
Across the computer screen, Li Chengxi watched in confusion as a bunch of tree elves stared wide-eyed at a pigeon, like they were having some intense standoff.
Then one of the tree elves, wearing a wolf pelt, suddenly had a dialogue box pop up above his head: "This is a Holy Emblem I've never seen before!"
Normally, only NPCs who were clicked on to initiate conversation would trigger dialogue boxes.
If one popped up without any interaction, it usually meant the volume of the voice was too loud.
That alone made Li Chengxi a little annoyed.
What’s wrong with my Holy Emblem? You’ve never seen anything so ugly or what?
He right-clicked on the noisy tree elf and opened the abilities tab.
Under the title of this wolf-pelt-wearing tree elf, it read: "Druid of the Springlight Woodland."
Druids were a pretty classic type in fantasy genres.
From what Li Chengxi remembered, they were the kind of people who could transform into bears or wolves.
They'd talk all about protecting nature and peace, but once a fight broke out, they'd go straight for the face without hesitation.
Looking at the skill bar below, Li Chengxi saw things like Wild Transformation, Animal Communication, and Entangling Roots—all the standard skills that screamed druid.
Considering that his presence had added to the fantasy feel of the game, Li Chengxi decided to let the earlier comment slide.
Besides, even he had to admit that the Holy Emblem of the Demon God was a bit on the ugly side...
Casually, he clicked on one of the tree elves in the scene.
This action was equivalent to joining the conversation, which allowed Li Chengxi to see everything they were saying.
"We must contact that princess."
"Perhaps she can help break the power of the Plague Goddess."
"But we still don’t know if that being is an evil god or not. Dealing with a power we know nothing about always comes with a heavy price."
Lines like these left Li Chengxi utterly baffled.
Why do you want to contact Viola?
Who the heck is this Plague Goddess?
And what does it mean to "break godly power"?
Since he had no clue about the context, the whole conversation felt like someone had accidentally skipped over a crucial cutscene, leaving nothing but confusion in its wake.
But wait a sec, is the Plague Goddess an NPC or a player?
Is this game even multiplayer?
He exited the game and clicked open the network usage monitor, only to find that the game AAI wasn’t connected to the internet at all.
Come to think of it, this game even let people reach into the scene and interact directly with NPCs.
Whether it used a cable or not probably didn’t matter anymore.
As for figuring out whether the Plague Goddess was a player or an NPC, Li Chengxi gave up after three seconds of guessing.
With no clues to go on, thinking about it was pointless.
He decided to wait until he encountered her directly.
The more pressing matter now was figuring out why these tree elves wanted to get in touch with Viola.
Li Chengxi could only speak with his followers.
NPCs with 0 Devotion couldn’t hear his voice, so chatting directly with the tree elves on site wasn’t going to happen.
Zooming out the map, he saw that Viola was coming down from the mountain and wasn’t too far from the Distant Forest.
He could have her send a few people over to talk with them on his behalf.
But that felt a bit rash.
After all, he still didn’t know whether these tree elves were foes or allies.
After thinking it over, the only way...
Li Chengxi clicked on the pigeon that had been staring wide-eyed at the tree elf and then picked up his headset.
---
“This is a Holy Emblem! A Holy Emblem I’ve never seen before!”
The druid’s voice was full of shock, as if he could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Because Holy Emblems were the eyes and ears of the gods in the mortal world—their very symbols among men.
In theory, then, every god’s Holy Emblem should be recorded in religious texts.
It was common knowledge that every priest or equivalent had to memorize.
As someone who served the deities of nature, the druid followed these same rules.
What shocked him wasn't just that he’d never seen this emblem before, but that it clearly had the properties of a real Holy Emblem—it was connected to a genuine god, not a false one pretending to be divine.
The nearby tree elves, noticing his reaction, quickly asked:
“Can you find out this god’s name? The more information, the better.”
You couldn’t go worshiping deities recklessly.
The world had many evil gods, and even those who weren’t evil—well, messing around with them could sometimes make things worse.
In their tribe's sacred records, there was plenty of ancient knowledge passed down.
As long as they had a name or a title, they could look up basic information about the god.
The druid immediately began tracing spell gestures and activated the divine art called Animal Communication.
That allowed him to speak to animals freely—a talent exclusive to druids and rangers.
So, the whole group just stood there watching as the druid started cooing back and forth with the pigeon.
"Xiao Bai says this Holy Emblem belongs to the Demon God that Princess Viola worships."
“Demon God?”
Everyone exchanged glances.
Most hadn’t heard that name before.
Only a few older tree elves squinted and said:
“That should be just a legend from the Mythic Era.”
“They say He created all the demon tribes on this continent.”
“But before now, no Temple or Church has ever been built in His name, and He never showed any signs of divine intervention.”
“Wait a minute, if there’s a rumor that the Demon God personally defeated thousands of bandits… doesn’t that mean He was asleep and is now awakening?”
Just as everyone’s chatter began to fill the room, the oldest tree elf—leaning on a staff—slammed it on the table.
“Quiet! This is no time to be discussing myths.”
Once the room had quieted down, he continued:
“If this were truly the Mythic Era, I’d have no doubts that the Demon God would have the power to crush the Plague Goddess’s divine strength. But now? How much power does He really have?”
This wasn’t some random assumption.
A deity’s power came from clerical rites, faith, and followers.
And for a very long time, not a single soul had worshipped the Demon God.
That essentially meant He had no source of power.
What was once perhaps a mighty divine force might not even qualify as Low-tier Divine Power now.
At best, He’d rank as the lowest type of demigod.
Powerful to mortals, sure—but not sufficient when dealing with other divine beings.
“Besides, we know far too little about Him. Are we really going to rest all our hopes on such an unknown deity?”
That sobered everyone up fast.
The excitement just moments ago turned into heavy silence.
After a few seconds, the druid raised his hand:
“I’ll use Vision of Truth. That way, any consequences will fall on me alone. If anything happens to me, I entrust the Springlight Woodland to you all.”
Vision of Truth—a natural, special ability.
It allowed one to detect the source of power through the subtlest clues.
In this setting, that meant he could see the god who was watching the mortal world through the Holy Emblem—with full clarity and direct perception of the god’s power ratings.
But there was a price.
Looking directly at a god this way could put unbearable pressure on a mortal’s mind.
If the god was displeased, going insane would actually be the best outcome.
More likely, the druid’s brain would explode there and then.
When the druid made this decision, it was already with the resolve to die.
He did it for the woodland, for the home their people had lived in across countless generations.
Every tree elf was ready to give their all for the tribe.
Just like how Zhuoya had ventured alone into an unknown city to look for Viola.
One by one, the druid exchanged nods with everyone, as if saying his farewells.
Then he gently reached out and pulled the Holy Emblem tied to the pigeon’s leg.
Immediately, a golden radiance lit up in his eyes, his pupils widened and lost focus.
His sight had already followed the Holy Emblem… into the realm of the true god...
(End of Chapter)