Chapter 287: Silver Door

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Silver Door

Seraphina Sinclair withdrew her gaze and refocused on the small iron box in her hands.

The box was made of a cold metal, chilling to the touch. The keyhole was small, its style antiquated.

She tried fiddling with it using the tip of her long knife. She wasn’t sure if it was because the blade was exceptionally sharp or if she had somehow managed to master a bit of lockpicking.

The moment the blade slipped inside, Seraphina Sinclair heard a CLICK. When she tried lifting the lid again, sure enough, it opened.

She looked up to see what was inside.

The box was small, unable to hold anything much larger. What lay inside was something Seraphina Sinclair was all too familiar with—a sheepskin scroll.

This meant the item was either a diagram or some kind of scroll!

Regardless of which it was, Seraphina was filled with anticipation. She gently pulled the diagram out and slowly unfurled it.

’This thing is... a Fine Weapon Engraving—’

[Fine Weapons Engraving Diagram (C-level)]

[Learning Requirement: Intelligence ≥ 39]

[Description: A sheepskin diagram engraved with ancient runes. It is cold to the touch, its surface shimmering with a faint, ghostly purple light. This Engraving Map can only be used once!]

[Material Requirements: Black Fog Essence x1, Sunlight Essence x1, Secret Silver Ingot x1, Iron Ingot x10, Essence Crystal x25, Forging Master’s Approval x1!]

[Current Engravable Weapon: Shadow Assault Fang (C-level)]

[Description: A strangely shaped short blade, its entire body a deep, dark purple, as if absorbing the surrounding light. The blade has several elegant curves that form natural serrations and a blood groove at the turns. The hilt is wrapped in dark sinews, warm to the touch yet with a faint adhesive force, ensuring it will never slip from the user’s grasp. The entire weapon exudes a silent, dangerous aura, like the fangs of a viper lurking in the shadows.]

[Trait: Silent Blade: Attacks made with this weapon are significantly muffled and extremely difficult to detect. On hit, it applies a Dark Corrosion effect for 3 seconds, reducing the target’s movement and attack speed.]

[Note: The best assassins don’t even startle a shadow.]

A C-level weapon!

But it wasn’t a knife.

For Seraphina, who had mastered Basic Knife Skill, a short blade was still a lethal weapon, but it simply wasn’t as intuitive to use as a long knife, which allowed for broad, sweeping attacks.

The Shadow Assault Fang’s traits were geared toward stealth and surprise attacks—more the weapon of an assassin or a scout. It differed slightly from her current style of direct combat supplemented by runes.

Still, the diagram itself was a huge gain.

Besides, a short blade could be remarkably effective in certain environments... like tight spaces, or when needing to silently eliminate a target.

More importantly, this confirmed one of her suspicions:

High-level diagrams like this all seemed to require the mysterious "Forging Master’s Approval."

’Approval... Where do I even get that? By completing a certain quest? Finding a specific place or person? Or... do I need some kind of special credential?’

Seraphina wondered, staring at the Sheepskin Scroll for a few moments longer.

Of all the items on the list, the only one Seraphina could currently come up with was the Essence Crystal.

Black Fog Essence and Sunlight Essence sounded like higher-tier versions of Black Fog Crystals and Sunshine Crystals.

The crystals were E-level materials, so Seraphina surmised these Essences were of a higher grade, perhaps even C-level.

Unfortunately, C-level Supply Boxes were too rare at the moment. Even if she wanted to verify her theory, she couldn’t.

As for the Secret Silver Ingot...

Seraphina was uncertain. She had initially thought it was something that needed to be smelted in a furnace.

But she’d already built a furnace, and the metal ingots it could produce were only Bronze, Iron, and Gold. Secret Silver Ingot wasn’t on the list.

’It seems the method for obtaining Secret Silver Ingots is more unique. Either it’s a product of a higher-level furnace, or... you get them directly from high-level Supply Boxes.’

Seraphina mused, carefully putting the Sheepskin Scroll away.

The remaining supplies were nothing to write home about. Seraphina took one last look around the now much emptier Bronze Gate cabin, then glanced at the spot on the floor where the corpse had dissipated.

The hoarse, bizarre voice seemed to echo in her ears.

She remained silent for a moment before picking up Lucky from her feet. The little creature’s warm body nuzzled against her arm, letting out a soft purr.

The recent explosion and battle didn’t seem to have frightened it much. Or rather, its trust in Seraphina overrode everything else.

Outside, at the end of the dark corridor, two doors stood silently.

The wooden door was plain and simple, giving off an odd sense of familiarity; it was exactly how Seraphina’s mobile cabin had looked at the very beginning.

The other was a silver door.

Seraphina frowned and studied it intently.

The door gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster. Rough forging marks and a few spots of dark red rust were faintly visible on its surface. It looked thicker and heavier than the bronze door panel, emanating a stagnant, heart-pounding pressure.

A Silver Door... It obviously corresponded to a higher-tier mobile cabin, which meant more bountiful remains, and... more terrifying danger.

"A Silver Door..." Seraphina murmured, her fingertips unconsciously stroking Lucky’s smooth scales.

The little creature seemed to sense the pressure emanating from ahead. It squirmed uneasily and buried its head deeper into the crook of her arm.

Rather than worrying about whether to choose the Silver Door, Seraphina was more curious about how this mobile cabin had appeared here.

She had only just managed to upgrade her own mobile cabin to Silver Quality after surviving all this time, and its corresponding door panel was only bronze.

And this silver door...

Seraphina sucked in a sharp breath. ’It must correspond to a Gold-level mobile cabin, at minimum!’

The thought made Seraphina’s heart skip a beat.

’Even a Gold-tier survivor can die in a place like this?’

She stared at the silent Silver Door, the dark red rust on its surface like dried bloodstains, a silent, ominous tale.

’And... at this stage of the game, someone actually managed to upgrade their cabin this far?’

The doubt flashed through her mind for only an instant, quickly replaced by a heightened sense of caution.

’Perhaps no one has reached this stage yet, but time and the very nature of existence in these special zones are clearly different from the outside.’

’These motionless mobile cabins might be from different points in time, or even...’

’Different timelines?’

This reminded Seraphina of the last Path’s Gift, the Little Light Ball, and its exact words—"Usually, it takes a very, very long time for someone to find me."

Perhaps this survival game in The Black Mist World really had been run multiple times. But such speculation was meaningless to Seraphina now.

Right now, she had to make a choice.

She had already explored two free areas. This was her last chance for a free exploration.

The haul from this trip had been excellent.

Seraphina’s gaze flickered between the wooden door and the Silver Door.

Logic told her to choose the wooden door and leave safely. The rewards from this trip were already more than enough.