In Serlandir, Silver Moon City is considered a mid-sized city, neither too big nor too small.

There's naturally a secret vault here, but there are no particularly top-tier items within it.

However, for Herag, the secret vault in Silver Moon City is more than enough to sustain him for a long time.

Those top-tier items would be useless to him now, as he has no place to use them at the moment.

The items in the secret vault can only be exchanged using two things: Magic Stones and Contribution Points.

Magic Stones are required, but Contribution Points are not mandatory.

It's only necessary to meet certain historical Contribution Point requirements to exchange for corresponding levels of resources.

Herag thought about it; recently, he's had nothing much to do, and Max's matters have been mostly settled, with only some follow-up tasks remaining.

He plans to take advantage of this time to visit the secret vault and gather some resources to enhance his own strength.

The location of the secret vault in Silver Moon City took Herag by surprise; it's located on the west side of the city, right by the prison.

This time, Herag was prepared; he hired a carriage directly, had the driver wait for him upon arrival, offering extra pay.

Last time he left the prison, he didn't see a single carriage around, making commuting inconvenient.

The secret vault is right next to the prison in a castle-like building that looks rather unassuming.

There is a high wall around it, and although it resembles a castle inside, it appears simple and understated.

The last time Herag visited, he thought this might be part of the prison; he didn't expect it to be the secret vault of Serlandir.

The secret vault is surrounded by high walls, with only one entrance at the front.

Herag looked up; the wall here is likely twenty meters high and exceptionally thick.

The main entrance is a heavy black metal door, glistening with a strange sheen.

After observing for a moment, Herag noticed extremely complex Witch Arrays on both the walls and the door.

However, these arrays are usually dormant, so the average person wouldn't notice anything unusual.

The door was tightly shut, and there was no sound from behind it.

There wasn't anyone around either, not even a bird in sight, making the surrounding very quiet.

Herag approached the door and knocked on it.

The door emitted a dull metal sound, but Herag waited for a while without hearing anyone coming to open it.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, he suddenly noticed a humanoid shape emerging on the surface of the black metal door; upon closer inspection, it seemed to be moving within the door.

"Who are you?" the humanoid figure within the door asked, in a young woman's voice.

Her features were indiscernible; only a humanoid outline moved across the door's surface like a fish.

Herag replied, "I am Herag Merlin, with an appointment to visit the secret vault today."

Entering the secret vault requires scheduling in advance; official members of Serlandir can find the entrance via the Talisman Stone, provided their historical Contribution Points are at least three hundred.

"One moment, let me check," the outline said in a pleasant voice before sinking into the black metal door, vanishing as if submerged in water.

A moment later, the outline appeared again, whispering, "You may enter, but leave before sunset."

The black metal door then slowly opened, emitting a dull sound.

When Herag stepped beyond the high wall, the door closed automatically behind him.

He glanced back, witnessing the humanoid silhouette flash across the black metal door as if truly residing within, leaving its nature a mystery.

Herag turned to face the castle ahead, its shape square with a grand entrance in front.

A yellow stone slab path led to the entrance, each slab equally spaced.

Herag took a step onto the stone slab.

"Oh~"

A bizarre sound emanated from beneath his feet; upon looking down, Herag saw it was the stone slab beneath him making the noise.

He suddenly remembered seeing something similar in an ancient text; it was called a Screaming Stone Slab.

While recalling, Herag continued forward.

Every step on a slab triggered the Screaming Stone Slab to scream bizarrely.

Whoever created this unique path certainly had an unusual hobby, laying a path of Screaming Stone Slabs here.

Upon reaching the castle entrance, Herag discovered it had no door, completely open to the inside.

He wondered why the secret vault was so openly accessible, given all the precious items there.

He entered, finding himself in a hall with a red carpet laid out across the floor.

Rows of seats lined the sides of the carpet, resembling an actual hall.

In front of him was a wall, no paths leading further.

Herag looked around, seeing no doors to other areas.

He approached a window and looked outside, shocked to find a vast sea beyond it.

From the view, the castle seemed to be perched on a cliff by the sea.

Herag glanced back, still seeing the stone slab path he came from, with the scenery differing drastically from the seaside visible through the window.

Since the windows couldn't open, with only small holes, Herag couldn't confirm if what lay outside was real or just an animated painting.

Herag suspected the seascape outside wasn't real, as the entire Land of Dawn is inland, with no direct access to the sea.

Hence, it was likely not a real sea.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?" a girl's voice suddenly came from behind, sounding sweet and matching the voice from the door earlier.

Herag's breath paused as he turned swiftly to find a girl in a floral dress holding a basket, looking at him.

He hadn't noticed when she arrived behind him.

"You may call me Alice, one of the secret vault's managers. Is this your first time here?" Alice asked, holding the flower basket.

Her basket contained daisies, seemingly freshly picked.

Yet there were no places around the vault for daisies to grow, leaving their origin a mystery.

"Hello, Miss Alice. Yes, this is my first visit to the vault," Herag truthfully replied.

He couldn't clearly sense Alice's power, nor even determine if she was human.

One thing he was sure of: she was not someone to provoke, and being honest seemed the best course of action.

Alice smiled lightly, sensing Herag's nervousness: "No need to be tense, I won't harm you. It's been a while since I've met a newcomer. Are all newcomers now this adorable? Please open your Talisman Stone and go to your Contribution Points."

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