novelODS Chapter 12: Benefits of Reading a Walkthrough
Chapter 12: Benefits of Reading a Walkthrough
The inside of the cave was darker than Chen Mo had imagined.
Benjamin's fingertips glowed with an orange-red light, barely illuminating a few steps ahead. The light reflected off the damp stone wall, creating a dim sheen, like slimy trails left by something crawling across the rock. The air was cold and damp, carrying a strong, nauseating stench—more than ten times stronger than outside.
Chen Mo's boots crunched on the gravel. Each sound was amplified in the narrow cave, becoming an unsettling echo. He instinctively slowed his pace, holding a short bow in his left hand and an arrow nocked in his right, ready to fire at any moment.
Benjamin walked behind him, his spellbook open in his left hand, flames gathering between his right fingers. The old man's expression was more serious than Chen Mo had ever seen—his brows were furrowed, his lips pressed into a line, and his grey-blue eyes appeared exceptionally deep in the firelight.
"It seems we have no choice but to go deeper," Benjamin said in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the bottomless darkness ahead.
Chen Mo hummed in response, but did not quicken his pace.
His gaze swept across the stone walls on both sides of the cave, as if searching for something. By the dim light from Benjamin's fingertips, he carefully examined every fold in the stone wall, every protruding rock, and every possible depression.
Benjamin quickly noticed his unusual behavior.
"What are you looking for?" the old man asked, puzzled.
Chen Mo did not answer.
His gaze passed over the main passage ahead and landed at the corner of the cave—where a huge rock jutted out from the wall, its top shrouded in shadow, obscuring what lay above. But in the firelight, he could vaguely make out traces of human carving on the rock's surface.
It is not naturally formed.
His eyes lit up.
"Got it."
He strode toward the rock, with Benjamin following behind, looking puzzled.
The rock was a head taller than Chen Mo, with a rough surface but several obvious grooves—stepping points carved out by human hands. He looked up—the top of the rock was about three meters above the ground, with a platform-like protrusion on top, and something seemed to be connected behind the platform.
"Come over here." Chen Mo beckoned to Benjamin.
Benjamin walked over, looked up at the rock and the platform on it, and frowned even more deeply.
"Where am I...?" he asked, puzzled.
"Give me a hand and help me up," Chen Mo interrupted him.
Benjamin glanced at him, his lips moved as if he wanted to ask something, but he didn't speak in the end. He tucked the spellbook under his arm, raised his right hand, and uttered a short syllable.
A gentle force supported Chen Mo's body—not the kind of force that violently throws a person up, but like water, lifting him from the soles of his feet upwards, making his body feel light and airy.
Levitation.
Benjamin walked to the rock, placed his hands on his knees, and assumed a stepping position. Chen Mo stepped onto his hands, and using the buoyancy of the levitation spell and Benjamin's upward lifting force, easily climbed onto the rock.
The top of the rock was a small platform, about two meters square, with a relatively flat surface. Scattered on the platform were some pebbles and dried moss, but what caught Chen Mo's attention most was—
Behind the platform, right next to the stone wall, there is a door.
It wasn't a natural crack in the stone—it was a real door. Made of wood, blackened by time, with rusted iron edges. There was a simple iron handle on the door, no lock, but it was firmly embedded in the stone wall, almost becoming one with the rock.
If it weren't for this angle from the platform, the door wouldn't be visible at all from the main passage below.
Chen Mo lay on the edge of the platform and reached his hand down.
Give me your hand.
Benjamin looked up at him, hesitated for a moment, and then reached out his hand. Chen Mo grabbed his wrist and pulled him up forcefully. Although Benjamin was old, he was still quite agile. With Chen Mo's pull and a simple jump, he quickly flipped onto the platform.
After the old man regained his footing, the first thing he saw was the door.
His eyes widened.
"A hidden passage..." he murmured, turning to look at Chen Mo with surprise in his eyes. "How did you know there was a door here?"
Chen Mo had already reached the door and was checking its condition. He tried the iron handle—the door wasn't locked, but it was jammed by rust and required force to pull open. As he pushed the door, he casually replied:
"Well, a friend told me."
Benjamin stared at his back for two seconds, his lips twitching, clearly not satisfied with the answer.
But he didn't press the issue—in such a place, the timing for asking questions was clearly inappropriate.
The door was pushed open.
There was no harsh creaking sound—the rust on the hinges made its movement almost silent, only a dull, low thud of stone against stone. Behind the door was a narrow passage, wide enough for only one person to pass through. The passage was flanked by rough stone walls, and overhead was an arched dome. The air was drier than outside, and the stench of decay was much fainter.
Chen Mo peeked into the depths of the passage, and after confirming there was no movement, he squeezed in sideways. Benjamin followed behind, casually closing the door slightly behind him.
"Let's go this way," Chen Mo said in a low voice. "Be careful."
……
At the end of the passageway lies the base of a tower.
The tower's interior is a hollow circular space, with walls made of huge gray stones, the gaps between which are filled with dried moss.
A narrow spiral staircase clung to the wall and ascended, disappearing into the darkness overhead. The staircase had no handrail, and each step was high, producing a faint, muffled echo.
They were located on the very bottom floor of the tower.
The ground was uneven stone slabs, and in the corners were piles of broken wooden boxes and rusty ironware, which looked like they had been abandoned for a long time.
There was a musty, dry, dusty smell in the air, a stark contrast to the putrid stench of the cave.
Chen Mo looked around, his gaze sweeping over the shadows.
Then he saw it.
On the back of the stairs—in a corner completely obscured by the shadow of the spiral staircase—there was a box.
It was an oak box, not large, but exquisitely crafted.
The corners of the box were covered with copper sheeting, which was engraved with simple geometric patterns. Although it was covered with a thick layer of dust, its former value was still evident.
A padlock hung on the box, its top covered in reddish-brown rust spots.
"Benjamin," Chen Mo called to the old man in a whisper, gesturing towards the box.
Benjamin walked over, squatted down in front of the box, and carefully examined the lock.
He opened the spellbook, turned to a certain page, and lightly ran his finger across the page, uttering a short syllable.
A faint blue wisp of light drifted from his fingertip and entered the keyhole. The wisp twisted and turned a few times inside the keyhole, emitting a soft "click" sound—
The lock is open.
Benjamin removed the lock and gently lifted the lid of the box.
The box contained more items than Chen Mo had anticipated.
At the top was a pile of gold coins—neatly stacked, gleaming golden in the firelight. Chen Mo reached out and touched them; they felt heavy. Each coin bore the imperial mark—a simplified Talos amulet design.
"About five or six hundred gold coins," Benjamin said in a low voice after quickly counting them. "Hey, we've struck it rich."
Beneath the gold coin was a short sword.
The scabbard was made of black leather, which felt slightly cracked to the touch. Chen Mo drew the sword, and the blade gleamed with a dull silver light in the firelight—not the bright, dazzling silver of a brand-new sword, but a warm, lustrous sheen from use and care.
Several lines of small characters were engraved on the blade near the guard. Chen Mo couldn't understand them, but he could feel a faint, peculiar sensation on the blade—not the coldness of metal, but as if something was sleeping inside the blade.
"Enchanted weapon".