Chapter 00281: The Emerald Amulet
# The Emerald Amulet
Chapter 281
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 281 The Emerald Amulet
Being guided inexplicably was usually not a good thing.
Many evil creatures did this to lure unlucky fools into a trap.
However, guidance from a god was another matter entirely.
As a mage, it was difficult for Audel to become a devout follower.
She viewed everything with a critical eye.
In her opinion, gods were merely powerful beings, worthy of respect but not faith.
Therefore, her devotion level had always been 10, never any higher.
But this did not stop her from following the guidance of the Holy Emblem.
She walked to the wall in the deepest part of the room.
It was bare, with nothing on it, but the Holy Emblem hidden in her clothes grew hotter and hotter, telling Audel that she had not come to the wrong place.
She reached out and placed her hand on the wall.
As her fingers gently caressed the surface, she felt a fine crack, barely visible to the naked eye.
Almost at the same moment she touched the crack, the wall in front of her slid open with a soft swish, revealing a hidden compartment about half a meter square.
Inside, there was only a bright silver metal box.
It appeared to be a single, solid piece, with no visible way to open it.
It was incredible.
The Mythic Era was thousands of years ago, yet the box itself showed no signs of the passage of time.
It seemed a powerful spell was protecting it from being eroded by time.
As Audel picked it up, the seamless box suddenly opened, revealing a round, plump object that looked like an amulet.
Its outer circle was wrapped in a layer of iron, while the inner circle was an emerald gemstone.
When the box opened, the amulet emitted a whirring sound, like a fierce wind blowing through a mountain ravine, or the low, deep horn of an army marching to war.
However, when Audel took the amulet out of the box, the sound vanished, and at the same time, the warm Holy Emblem on her chest gradually cooled down.
Audel turned the amulet over.
On its back was carved the holy emblem of the old Demon God.
With a touch of her finger, the holy emblem twisted again, transforming into the shape of a slightly open palm.
"What's that? A treasure?"
The sound from the amulet also attracted the others who were searching for loot in the room.
The dwarf Delge, who was most sensitive to gemstones, stretched his neck, wanting to get a look at the emerald set in the middle of the amulet.
"It's a magical artifact, but I don't know what it does for now."
Identifying a magical artifact took time, and the duration depended on the artifact's power.
Normally, Audel could discern the general abilities of a magical artifact with just a glance, but this amulet was different.
It was too complex and required time to study.
Hearing that it was a magical artifact, the group lost interest.
According to their agreement, all magical artifacts found in the ruins belonged to Audel, while all gemstones and gold coins belonged to them.
Nimia was about to turn and see if there were any missed gemstones, but as she did, she vaguely saw a few blue-green points of light outside the door.
"We've got company! Looks like monsters!"
These words made everyone turn to look at the doorway, and they all drew their weapons, ready for battle.
Several points of light, glowing blue-green in the darkness, swayed from side to side.
It was clear that these things were approaching.
Only then did the thudding of heavy footsteps reach their ears.
They might have been trapped in the room by some kind of large monster.
A moment later, the points of light drew near the magical light source in the center of the room, and their owners emerged from the darkness.
It was a lizard as large as an ox.
Its head was covered with dark red barbs, and the hard, crocodile-like skin on its chin was raised in folds.
Its mouth was short, but it was filled with fangs.
The most terrifying part was actually its eyes, that pair of 'points of light' that glowed blue-green.
"It's a Basilisk! Don't look into its eyes!"
As he got a clear look at the creature's appearance, Perrin shouted a warning.
The four of them quickly turned their heads away, trying to watch the Basilisk with their peripheral vision, and made sure not to look at its eyes.
The Basilisk was not a high-level monster, but its ability was extremely disgusting.
Any creature that met its gaze could be petrified, turning into a stone statue from head to toe.
If one ever saw lifelike statues of animals or people in the wild, it was very likely that a Basilisk was nearby.
This was also a very common monster found underground.
They likely had caves that led to the surface.
There were two Basilisks near the doorway, but there were more behind them.
The two Basilisks let out a low growl from their throats and cautiously approached, as if giving the group a warning.
"Stay where you are and don't move."
Just as a fight seemed inevitable, Audel walked towards the Basilisks.
The Basilisks immediately lowered their bodies.
The blue-green spiritual radiance bursting from their petrifying eyes seemed to intensify, burning like flames.
Audel was level 45, which was a very high level, especially for the Basilisks, which were only around level twenty.
When Audel approached, her presence exerted great pressure on the keenly perceptive Basilisks.
This was also why they had encountered so few monsters along the way.
Only an insatiably greedy creature like the Bulette, unafraid of death, would insist on coming forward to bite them.
And Audel did not use magic, nor did she brandish her magic staff.
She simply maintained a speed that would not overly provoke the Basilisks, approaching step by step.
When she was about three or four meters away, just at the point where getting any closer would have sent the Basilisks into a rage, Audel raised the amulet she had just found.
The Basilisks, which had been vigilant and even furious just moments ago, immediately relaxed upon seeing the amulet.
They even completely dropped their guard.
Whether it was the Basilisks at the doorway or those outside, they all lowered their bodies, bowed their heads, and closed their eyes, like devout followers kneeling in worship.
They were not submitting to Audel, but to the amulet in her hand.
One could also say they were submitting to the will of a god...
–‐‐——–‐‐——
Basilisks were magical beasts, but their intelligence was actually only at the level of a wild beast.
It was unlikely they could understand the concept of faith.
But the truth was happening right before their eyes.
After seeing the Holy Emblem of the Demon God, the Basilisks immediately knelt and then backed away into the darkness as if they had done something wrong.
By the time the four of them came out of the room, the Basilisks had completely vanished.
For adventurers, being able to avoid a fight was of course a good thing.
They had not seen the Holy Emblem on the amulet and just thought that Audel might have used some kind of magic.
After all, she was the youngest high-ranking mage in the City of Academics.
It would not be strange for such a master to know any kind of magic.
Leaving the Rune Room, the group continued forward.
This time, the journey seemed very long.
They saw neither any suspicious places nor any monsters.
If not for the slightly different indentations left on the floor from kneeling, the group would probably have thought they were just walking in circles.
There were too many unreasonable things about these ruins.
It was a bit like an underground dungeon a mage would build, but it was also more like a temple.
Even stranger, various signs indicated that this was a Temple of the Demon God built by humans.
What exactly was the relationship between humans of the Mythic Era and the Demon God?
And why were they later sealed on the other side of the Final Great Chasm?
What role did the Seven Apostles play in all of this?
Audel felt it.
She had touched the cover of an ancient secret.
She could not wait to open this book and see what was inside.
(End of this chapter)