Chapter 00031: Venturing Out in Search of Treasure
# Venturing Out in Search of Treasure
Chapter 31
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 31: Venturing Out in Search of Treasure
Demon Lord Calendar, Year 648.
April 11th, early morning.
Zola, Captain of the Royal Guards, finished her morning prayer, then hung the Holy Emblem on her chest and slung her backpack over her shoulder.
“We move out. According to the markings on the map, it should be somewhere around here.”
They were currently beneath the Spine of the World Mountains, near the coastal region on the eastern side.
This area was a vast stretch of barren and desolate land.
After a whole day of trekking and a night camping in the wild, Zola had finally arrived here.
“Is the Lord’s map accurate?”
The one asking this wasn’t a follower of the Demon God, but rather a tree elf named Zhuoya, who carried a bow and their group’s supplies on her back.
“I’m not doubting the Lord, but that map is just so vague. And this area… it doesn’t look like there’s anything like ruins or caves around here.”
After their encounter with Princess Viola yesterday, Zhuoya had stayed behind at the castle.
It was the first time the four tree elves had witnessed civilization.
Especially Zhuoya’s younger sister, Lia — after eating some biscuits, she looked like she intended to eat herself to death…
One of the tree elf druids, Simo, had started researching potato cultivation and Lia stayed behind to assist him.
Meanwhile, Zhuoya and another tree elf druid named Al followed Captain Zola of the Royal Guards, along with two other Royal Guards, to this location.
The reason was a treasure map bestowed by the Demon God.
Princess Viola had made the swift decision to investigate its location without delay.
Gold and riches didn’t really interest Viola.
At this point, she had no pressing need to carry out large-scale recruitment, so coins weren’t in high demand.
But since it was a directive from the Demon God, it had to carry great and far-reaching meaning.
Viola didn’t dare to treat it lightly.
Originally, Viola had intended to make the trip personally, but was talked out of it by her Royal Guards — as a princess, it truly wasn’t appropriate for her to take such a risk.
And so the task of leading the expedition fell to Royal Guard Captain Zola, aided by the two tree elf druids.
“The Lord’s wisdom is far beyond our understanding. I will not doubt it. I will carry out the order to the best of my ability.”
A textbook response from a devoted follower.
Zola’s devotion used to sit at 70, but after Li Chengxi cured her pneumonia using cefalexin and cough syrup, both her devotion and favorability shot straight to the maximum.
If she were a bit more obsessive, she might be considered a fanatic already.
In comparison, the tree elves’ devotion capped at just 10, but their favorability was sky-high — even the lowest among them was over 70.
The five of them packed up their camp and, guided by the map, proceeded onward.
To be fair, Zhuoya’s skepticism wasn’t wrong — the map was far too rudimentary to be called a true map.
It was more of a path diagram than anything else.
After getting the map, Princess Viola had spent nearly an hour comparing it to the map of the Leon Territory before she found a region that looked somewhat similar.
But the land had changed drastically over the years — who knew if they were even in the right place?
They set off through the morning mist and walked until the sun was already high in the sky.
Yet even after all that, the sea and mountains at the edge of their vision seemed just as distant as before, never coming any closer.
However, as they crossed over a hill, the group finally saw it: in the rocky, rubble-laden highland, a towering peak stood tall.
It should’ve been part of the mountain originally, but over years of rains and geological shifts, most of the mountain had collapsed and rolled down—only this single peak remained rooted in place.
And beneath this peak was a shallow cave entrance, barely visible behind a scattering of stones, where traces of man-made activity could still be faintly seen…
———
Thanks to the tree elf druid's ability to control vines, clearing the rubble didn’t take long.
Very soon, the entrance — of which only half a door remained — was revealed before them.
“This is from the Mythic Era. I can sense traces of spellwork inside.”
Tree elf druid Al ran his hands over the broken door plank.
Faint glyphs and patterns, too worn to make out, were etched into the wood.
Zola was busy helping to light the torches.
At his words, she replied:
“That means we didn’t come to the wrong place.”
The “Mythic Era” was a rather vague term with a vast span of historical time.
It referred to any time period before clearly recorded history began — and current historical records only dated back to about two thousand years ago.
In other words, five thousand years ago counted as the Mythic Era.
So did fifty thousand.
They left their heavier baggage just outside the cave.
The druid lit a glowing magical orb, while the others raised their torches.
Zola took the lead and stepped into the cave.
Inside the cave, they saw fungi and moss growing all around.
Stalactites dripped down occasionally from the ceiling above.
But what amazed them was that the cave floor bore faint signs of having been shaped by human— or at least intelligent—hands.
Stalactites don’t form in just a year or two.
For them to appear, an immense amount of time must’ve passed since the cave’s construction.
It would’ve taken centuries for the calcium carbonate dissolved in water to drip from the roof and form these formations.
Zola marveled at the ancientness of the place, but beyond the light of the torch, she couldn't see much else.
She only knew they were descending down a sloping corridor, heading deeper underground.
“Careful. There are a lot of pits here, but aside from that, I don’t see signs of creatures or traps.”
“You can see?”
“Elven eyes can see clearly in the dark. I should take the lead.”
This was a trait possessed by all types of elves.
Zola didn’t argue and stepped back half a pace, letting Zhuoya take front.
After that, the group fell silent as they followed the cave tunnel downwards.
Based on their sense of depth, they had probably descended almost thirty meters when Zhuoya said to the people behind her:
“I see level ground ahead.”
After going down just a bit further, the sloping tunnel gave way to a flat passage.
Zola raised her torch and shone it forward — and there, a massive stone wall loomed before them.
The wall still bore marks of being hewn directly from the mountain.
It was smooth and solid, but no carvings or murals adorned its surface — just a huge slab of stone.
“Over there. There’s an entrance.”
Zhuoya, with her superior elven eyesight, spotted something to one side.
Leading the group about ten meters to the left, a perfectly rectangular doorway came into view.
“There’s magic inside. I can feel it.”
The druid nudged the magical light orb toward the entrance.
Though it looked pitch-black before, the doorway suddenly gave off a faint blue phosphorescence.
“A sealing enchantment. No doubt — this place doesn't welcome outsiders.”
The druid examined it a bit more and said,
“If we don’t have the means to dispel the seal, then we won’t be able to get in.”
Zola didn’t know a thing about magic.
And before they left, Viola hadn’t said anything about a sealing barrier.
The three sword-wielding Royal Guards exchanged a glance.
Zola turned to the druid and asked:
“Is there any way to lift it?”
“I can’t say. Magic of the Mythic Era is completely different from what we know today.”
Just then, Zhuoya pointed to the top of the doorway and said:
“There’s a line of symbols up there that looks like writing.”
They all stepped in closer, and Zola raised her torch to shine upon the top of the doorway.
It did indeed look like writing — except none of them could understand it.
The druid studied it for a while and shook his head.
“It’s an ancient language. Hardly anyone today can read it—only the foremost scholars might stand a chance.”
In the remote lands of the Leon Territory, forget top scholars — even literate folk were few and far between.
Did this mean... they had to turn back?
Just as hesitation weighed heavy in the air, Zola suddenly froze for a moment.
Then she nodded and said to the group:
“That inscription says to present a token showing one is blessed by the Demon God.”
As she spoke, Zola took off the Holy Emblem from her neck and held it up before the entrance.
The shimmering magical light instantly cracked and faded away.
Just like that, the barrier was broken.
Zhuoya stared in surprise:
“You can read ancient writing?”
“No.”
Zola calmly reset the Holy Emblem on her neck.
“The Lord told me just now — in my mind.”
(End of Chapter)