Chapter 266: The Dark Chamber
"Such a waste, such a waste!"
Looking at the treasures inside the display racks on both sides, each one seeming to float in a boundless starry sky, Zhou Ning suppressed the urge to reach in and fish them out. Instead, a faint sadness welled up in his heart. Sometimes the most heartbreaking thing is knowing what should have been yours.
The entire showroom was far larger than he had expected. A brightly colored carpet embroidered with elven patterns stretched across the center, while finely carved stone pillars rose upward to support the vaulted ceiling above—unmistakably Baroque in style.
Passing rack after rack of rare treasures, Zhou Ning walked with a grief even heavier than the day his house collapsed and his shop caught fire. After at least ten minutes, he finally reached the end of the room. There, he found a tightly shut black stone door. No—by the light of his lantern, he also noticed two more doors to the left and right.
"This is normal. The Elven Kingdom has always revered the number three—in both daily life and architecture. Male elves usually have three wives, eat three meals a day, and each meal often has three dishes. Rooms typically hold three lamps. In noble residences, there are often three doors as well. It even leads to them occasionally getting lost in their own homes," Molly explained.
Interesting. The corner of Zhou Ning's mouth twitched. He thought back carefully, and yes—it seemed true. Earlier, he had indeed entered through the leftmost of three passageways.
Faced with the three doors, Zhou Ning casually chose the leftmost one. Generally, the doors to the sides carried less danger. If this one was a dead end, he could always return and try the other two.
Just as Zhou Ning placed his hand on the stone door, ready to push, an image suddenly appeared before his eyes.
In it, as soon as he opened the door, some kind of mechanism triggered. Several sharp arrows—clearly enchanted, glowing faintly blue—shot toward him, aimed at his head and heart.
It was a vicious trap, but after "seeing" it in advance, it was useless against him. Considering that the quantum computer was likely spying on him at this very moment, Zhou Ning decided that even if he had to match wits with the air itself, he would still maintain his idol-like composure.
He pressed his hand against the stone door and pushed firmly.
Creak!
With a teeth-grinding sound of stone scraping, the heavy door slowly swung open.
Just as his Observation Haki had shown him, several arrows shot forward. Zhou Ning only needed to lean slightly to the side, and the arrows brushed past his cheek and chest, whistling harmlessly into the distance. The motion was effortless, almost elegant.
Before him lay a pitch-black chamber. Something inside seemed to absorb light, keeping the room shrouded in darkness. His lantern's glow illuminated only a tiny area. From deeper within came the sound of countless footsteps—pitter-patter, unnerving in the extreme.
"This must be the tomb of some great elf. In ancient times, elves called themselves Dark Elves. They revered the night, believing that after death, all life returned to darkness. That's why elven nobles often set light-absorbing arrays in their tombs… You must be careful. I sense several powerful presences wandering nearby," Molly said gravely.
"Dark Elves? Do they have violet skin? Do they wear facial markings?" Zhou Ning asked reflexively.
In the Empire's Tempest instance, there was indeed a race called Dark Elves. Zhou Ning was highly alert to such details now.
"I've never heard of that. But I can confirm that High Elves are always quite fair-skinned," Molly replied.
Heh… so it was just a coincidence, a similar name. As for the darkness before him—though it was only a side chamber, he dared not rush in blindly. In this situation, it was time to rely on modern technology.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ning pulled the Phoenix Battle Suit from his inventory and equipped it. In an instant, he was clad in pitch-black armor.
Although its power boost was no longer as monstrous as before, Zhou Ning now valued its practicality more.
Activating the helmet's night vision, the room's details snapped into view, making his pupils constrict.
The vast chamber was patrolled by three Mithril Golems—the very same kind he had just fought. One of them wandered barely ten meters from him, nearly colliding head-on. At the center of the three golems lay a massive silver coffin, five meters long and two meters wide, covered in intricate engravings.
Three boss-level Mithril Golems… the elves truly did love the number three. But these three were a real headache.
Wait—that was…
Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes. On the wall to his left were strange markings, twisted characters forming a bizarre inscription.
"That should be Elvish. Get closer and take a look," Molly urged.
Softening his steps, Zhou Ning moved soundlessly toward the wall. With his agility and control, staying silent was easy. He lifted his lantern toward the markings.
"…It is Elvish. This tomb's master was the chief blacksmith and great astrologer Oscard, who served Elf King Alfred. He was buried here together with his forging creations," Molly whispered.
"And the rest?" Zhou Ning asked instinctively. The inscription stretched on for hundreds of words—surely not just that one sentence.
"I don't know the rest. I only recognized a few words in the beginning. A historian's specialty is, after all, a bit of educated guessing," Molly said, perfectly serious.
"Hah, and you call yourself impressive," Zhou Ning sneered.
"Then why don't you try?" Molly snapped back.
After a brief spat, Zhou Ning turned his focus back to the strange writing. In this chamber of utter darkness, such symbols carved into the wall had to mean something unusual.
Searching carefully, he soon discovered a faint indentation at the lower part of the wall—a palm-shaped recess. He froze. It looked oddly like Baidu's logo. Supposedly, elven palms were shaped like this. If he hadn't looked closely, he might have missed it.
There was definitely something about this palm mark.
Zhou Ning pressed his hand against it. His palm was slightly smaller, but once placed inside, he felt some looseness, like part of a mechanism. Slowly, he pushed inward.
Click!
A stone drawer slid out from below.
So it was a hidden switch—cleverly concealed. Without night vision, even if a player reached this place, they would leave empty-handed.
The moment it opened, a dazzling light burst forth, only to be instantly absorbed by the array and swallowed by the darkness. Looking inside, Zhou Ning saw a hammer and a pile of priceless forging materials. They could have produced countless extraordinary items. Though most had long since lost their magical properties after millennia of erosion, several pieces still retained tremendous value.