Chapter 263: The Mysterious Palace
"Quite a lot of experience!"
Although the players had lost some experience from their earlier sudden deaths, their experience bars had shot up right afterward, which made them overjoyed.
Since he had already brought the players all the way here, Zhou Ning naturally wouldn't be stingy with the quest quota. Glancing around, he noticed a few scattered ghostly sentinels still standing on the altar. Though their levels ranged from 45 to 59—far beyond what the players could handle—the players could at least tag along for the sake of participation.
He casually drafted a quest and sent it out, and the players immediately felt the notification. They hurriedly opened their quest panels.
[You have triggered the quest: Battlefield Cleanup]
[Quest Requirement: Assist the protagonist in cleaning up the battlefield by eliminating all remaining monsters.]
[Reward: 60,000 EXP, 15 Vecktas]
With a goal to work toward, the players threw themselves into the fight with their strongest attacks. Brilliant effects lit up the area, and though their damage was still pitiful, their enthusiasm was commendable. Before long, alongside Zhou Ning and the others, they had wiped out the remaining monsters on the platform.
According to information from the official site in his past life, up until a few centuries ago, the Western Continent still had many active elves. One of the Four Heroes, Louisa, was herself an elf. Later, some elves intermarried with humans, while others went overseas in search of their lost elven kingdom—and never returned. Yet whether in official lore or within the game, records of the Elf King were nearly nonexistent, which left Zhou Ning curious.
By now, the already gloomy sky had turned completely black. Zhou Ning took a lantern from one of Richie Burke's underlings and approached the statue.
When he finally came before it, the lamplight revealed its features.
The carving had clearly been beautified. It depicted a sharp-eared elf with long brows and gentle, handsome features—not as handsome as himself, of course. Upon his head was an exquisitely crafted crown. He stood proudly, holding a splendid scepter, the perfect image of an Elf King ruling a magical kingdom.
If not for the time, place, and the risk of breaking character in front of the players, Zhou Ning would have loved to haul the statue back home and test whether his Stand ability could revive it.
After a brief moment of thought, his gaze shifted to the great door behind the statue. At first glance, it seemed to lack any panels, leaving the scene behind it visible—nothing at all. It looked like mere decoration. But hadn't the trail of that wanderer vanished right near this door?
Murals lined the walls on both sides of the gate. Most had decayed over time, flaking into illegible fragments. Only one on the right side remained mostly clear.
It depicted a grand war between humans and elves. Corpses of both races littered the battlefield, alongside fallen horses and broken chariots. On the elven side stood a tall figure crowned like a king.
Around him gathered countless robed elves, staffs in hand, casting spells of ice, fire, lightning, and more. Over their heads hovered an enormous floating city.
Beside the Elf King stood a human cloaked in gray, his appearance obscured.
On the human side loomed a colossal figure, so tall his head nearly reached the floating city. Around him clustered several winged angels, radiating divine light.
Was this the war between elves and humans that Molly had mentioned earlier? It was said that in this era, the elves under Alfred had become arrogant beyond measure, frenzied, and bloodthirsty. And that colossal figure… was it some god of the Apocalypse world? Zhou Ning almost froze in place.
But wait—according to the lore, gods had no concrete forms, and they certainly wouldn't be so gigantic. That figure was like a giant among giants. Could it have been some ancient god from an even older age?
He hadn't expected Elf King Alfred to be this powerful—not only building an artificial divine kingdom but even contending with gods themselves?
A faint shiver crept through him, the kind one gets when brushing against a hidden truth of history.
Zhou Ning exhaled slowly and turned away. Everything around looked ordinary, just another altar. Until… what was that?
He felt a strange pull coming from near the door. Searching carefully, he found a circular groove in the wall by the doorway, surrounded by a string of intricate arcane symbols. It looked like something was meant to be slotted inside.
Zhou Ning pressed down the brim of his hat, brows furrowing. A peculiar thought arose—the groove's size matched that of a mirror's outline. Could it be that Damian's ordinary mirror needed to be placed here?
Well, no harm in trying…
He retrieved the mirror from his inventory, held it up to the groove, and found it fit perfectly. Shaking it lightly, he told the others:
"Don't move. Stay here. If anything happens, take this mirror and leave first. I'll come back for you later. Oh, and don't think about running away. Otherwise, I won't mind turning you into living bounties."
That last part, of course, was directed at Richie Burke and his men, who hurriedly nodded.
Having warned them, Zhou Ning carefully placed the mirror into the groove.
In an instant, the arcane symbols above flared to life, glowing with ghostly blue light. The once ordinary doorway now shimmered with a membrane, its interior rippling like water as the scene beyond shifted.
What had been empty space now revealed drifting clouds and, suspended among them, a magnificent palace. A winding staircase spiraled downward from its base, though its length was impossible to discern.
It worked… Zhou Ning and the others stared in shock. Without thinking, he stepped forward and passed through the gate.
The others exchanged bewildered looks. Richie Burke instinctively tried to follow, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cross. The players attempted as well, but all failed.
"What now? Are we really just supposed to wait here?" asked the flame mage Sheldon.
"Let's wait a bit," Richie Burke muttered, crestfallen.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the gate, Zhou Ning was struck first by thin air and the rush of wind.
His vision darkened briefly, revealing a starless night sky, before he realized he was standing before a grand palace. He had indeed entered another world!
The palace bore the elves' extravagant style, far more intact than the ruins outside. Its doors stood open, as though someone had entered before him—most likely the missing half-elf wanderer. But how had she gotten in?
Carrying a trace of unease, Zhou Ning stepped inside. Everywhere gleamed golden vessels, while the ceilings and walls were adorned with lavish, ornate reliefs. After walking some distance, he came upon a charred corpse—not far from the entrance. The body looked to have triggered a trap, dying where it fell. Without doubt, this was the very target he had been seeking.