Chapter 388 An Ordinary Bow
Elves were not native to the Majia Continent, but they were still one of the largest populations of migrants a long time ago.
But the once glorious race had been withered down. Of the many variants of Elves, only the High Elves remained. The rest of the members of the Elven races had long since disappeared or had chosen to hide themselves away from the rest of the world. There were also a large number who were corrupted by evil.
Ye Ci studied the shrine that was already in ruins. It was not hard to imagine how grandiose it had been before the fall of the Elves.
The Elves as a race was fractured with the passing of Dau’er, the last king of the Elves. The shrine itself was left to ruins as well, abandoned to the mercy of the elements that reduced it into nothing but rubble.
But despite its woeful state, Ye Ci could still feel the presence of the divine in this shrine.
She began marking down her map as she continued exploring the shrine. While the entire mountain range was filled with monsters, the shrine itself was a safe area.
And it was also eerily silent.
It was not easy to search for an item in the midst of such vast ruins. Ye Ci looked high and low in many of the crumbling structures, but could not find traces of a bow. But she did find many treasure chests that she was able to open with her Master Key.
The items within were treasures considered to be very precious by the priests during the olden days. Perhaps the priests had thought of retrieving the items when they fled the shrine, but they never had the chance to return. The metal chests were thus left to rust in the ruins of the shrine until Ye Ci’s arrival.
She was able to obtain rare potions and fruits from the chests. But the flow of time had rendered the fruits useless. Only the potions were of use to Ye Ci.
There was also a large number of books within the chest, but many of them simply turned into dust at the merest touch. Only a tiny fraction of the books Ye Ci discovered were of use.
They were mostly recordings of the history of the shrine and some spells that were written in Ancient Elvish, which was a language that Ye Ci did not have the chance to learn. She could recognise a few characters on the pages of the book, but most of their contents remained unknown to her.
And after a lengthy amount of time searching through the surrounding buildings, Ye Ci finally arrived at the main building of the shrine. Only a tattered roof supported by some pillars remained of the once grand building.
Ye Ci could see symbols of four-leaf clovers etched on the pillars. This was a symbol of the ancient Elves. The building was without a doubt the shrine she had been looking for.
Every race in Fate was represented by their own symbol. The symbol of Humanity was a Gryphon, while the symbol of the Dwarves was a Holy Sword. Each race’s symbol was based on something that was most important to them, be it a building, a weapon, or a piece of equipment.
The holiest of symbols for Elves was the four-leaf clover. It was something that was commonly seen on the clothing of the higher society of Elves.
And the symbols of four-leaf clovers that were carved onto the pillars was an indicator of the significance of this place.
Ye Ci made her way through the deserted plaza that was full of weeds and stood before the ruined shrine.
But she could not find an entrance to the ruins of the main building, for the way had long since been blocked by debris and rubble.
She raised an eyebrow at the spectacle. It seems that I’ll never be able to enter through the entrance. Perhaps there is another way.
Ye Ci finally found a way in after walking around the ruins. It was a very small opening that was covered by a metal barrier that had long since rusted away. A light kick from Ye Ci was able to break the barrier into pieces and grant her entry.
She found herself walking down a flight of stairs. It was dark as sunlight could not penetrate the thick layer of leaves covering the entire building. But she was able to quickly get used to the darkness due to the Elves’s strong night vision.
She found herself to be in the sewer. While the shrine had long since crumbled into ruins, the sewer remained intact. She could see the stain of water on the stones around her, but the sewer had long since dried away. She advanced quickly through the sewer while remaining vigilant of her surroundings.
But no monsters were found due to the remaining divinity left behind by the deity worshipped by the Elves.
The only obstacle that impeded her progress was the confusing terrain.
She finally found her way out of the exit and arrived at the third level of the shrine’s basement. It was originally used as a storage room for the Elves. The large basement contained more than fifty locked rooms that could not be opened even with Ye Ci’s Master Key.
She continued moving up to the second level of the basement. They were living quarters for the Elves serving in the shrine. The many rooms within the level were decorated with the same table, bed, and a rack. There was nothing of value on the level.
The rooms in the first basement were also locked. The doors leading to the room, while elegantly designed, were in tatters. But these doors were shielded by magical formations that denied access to Ye Ci despite her Master Key.
She continued moving upwards and arrived at the ground floor of the shrine. And just like the basement, the first floor was in ruins. The corridor leading to the inner courtyard was filled with cobwebs.
Ye Ci’s attention was immediately attracted by a statue when she made her way into the courtyard. While the surface of literally everything in the building was covered with dust, not a speck of dust could be found on the statue. A golden lampstand was placed in front of the statue, and the white candle on the stand was still burning with a bright flame.
What she saw before her was a sharp contrast to the rest of the shrine. The statue attracted her attention the most. It was the statue of the Goddess of Nature, which was the deity worshipped by the Elves.
It was an ordinary bow, just like the weapon used by players who were new to the game. But Ye Ci knew that the bow was something special. The more precious something was, the more ordinary it would look. Players who judge the item by its appearance would definitely lose a great opportunity.
Everybody knew that one should not judge a book by its cover, but it was human nature to form an opinion based on first impression.
And the same logic could be applied to certain aspects of the game.
She walked up to the altar and looked up at the statue of the Goddess of Nature. That statue is too tall. How do I get that bow? Should I climb up? Or should I pull it down with my Cat Claw?
And after a short moment of consideration, Ye Ci decided to climb up the statue.
But she received a system notification, “You are unable to pass through the barrier.”
