Having grasped everything, Fang Senyan immediately felt a sense of anticlimax and waved his hand, preparing to depart. However, at that very moment, a string of notifications from the Nightmare Mark stunned Fang Senyan speechless!

“Contractor No. 1018 has passed the Gringotts Vault trial: Devil’s Snare. All team members who passed with him have died. The accrued Merit Points will be transferred to you. You will receive a bonus of 2 Merit Points + 12 points from 5 experienced participants.”

“Contractor No. 1018 has passed the Gringotts Vault trial: Flying Key. All team members who passed with him have died. The accrued Merit Points will be transferred to you. You will receive a bonus of 3 Merit Points + 15 points from 4 experienced participants.”

“Contractor No. 1018 has independently completed a full exploration of the Ancient Goblin Kingdom Ruins, receiving a +5 Merit Point bonus.”

“Contractor No. 1018 has independently completed a full exploration of the deeply hidden secrets of Gringotts, receiving a +5 Merit Point bonus.”

“Contractor No. 1018 has completed the Glorious Deed: Exploration of Ancient Secrets, completion at 71.2%. Contractor No. 1018 gains +1 Fame, failing to meet the conditions for other rewards.”

“Contractor No. 1018 has completed the Glorious Deed: Exploration of Ancient Secrets, evaluation E. Contractor No. 1018 gains +6 Merit Points, failing to meet the conditions for other rewards.” “In this adventure, you have accumulated 43 Merit Points.”

“Your current total Merit Points are 53.”

“You now meet the requirements to upgrade your Nightmare Mark rank and can do so upon returning to the Nightmare Space.”

Fang Senyan stood motionless on the original floor for a long while before finally snapping back to reality. After carefully reviewing his preceding experiences, he gradually understood the reason for this sudden windfall: he had previously adventured in the same team as the Metal Mentor and the others, meaning the Space Evaluation gained along the way must have been substantial. Now that everyone on his team was dead, their evaluations and Merit Points had been counted towards him.

As for the subsequent exploration of the underground ruins, although he had passage made easy by Infinitie’s severed finger key—almost cheating—he still had to risk facing the blow from the Statue Knight in that passage and falling into the abyss. Finally, he had encountered the “Demon King” and triggered the condition for completing the Glorious Deed. Furthermore, before retreating, he managed to placate that pitiful Goblin Ghost using an ancient gold coin, meaning the danger and price paid were not insignificant, thus the evaluation naturally rising from a rather low F to E was entirely reasonable.

From the perspective of the Space, deducting the other rewards and only granting Fang Senyan Fame and Merit Points was considered fair.

With this thought, Fang Senyan couldn't help but query the Nightmare Mark again regarding the settings for Glorious Deeds and Fame. The answers he received were as follows:

Glorious Deeds are the ultimate secrets hidden within every world, extremely difficult to discover and unique. Once a Contractor completes a Glorious Deed, no other Contractors can achieve that goal.

In a non-combat state, Fame level allows the owner to increase their reputation among any plot characters in the Nightmare World. +1 Fame reduces the required reputation value by 10% when increasing standing with any faction, grants a +10% discount when trading with all plot characters, and grants the right to direct conversation with certain high-status plot characters.

In a combat state, +1 Fame simultaneously increases evasion rate and hit rate by 5%!

In the evaluation summary, +1 Fame grants an additional evaluation point!

Strictly speaking, the surge of 43 Merit Points had caused a sudden increase in Fang Senyan’s rank, while the +1 Fame offered excellent long-term benefits and immediate gains. Fang Senyan was quite satisfied to receive these two major rewards, feeling that his difficult journey to this place had not been in vain. At this moment, the Nightmare Mark sent him another notification:

“You may choose to sit on the Golden Throne ahead to immediately return to the entrance of the three major trials of the Gringotts Vault. Please note, once this function is used, there will be no return to this location, and the Ancient Goblin Kingdom Ruins will sink deeper into the earth, forever beyond searching.”

Fang Senyan searched his surroundings, confirming there was nothing more he could gain here, and prepared to return by sitting on the Golden Throne. However, he was constantly troubled by a nagging feeling, as if he had overlooked something crucial. He racked his brain but could not pinpoint the exact issue. Finally, he initiated the teleportation. With a flash of white light, Fang Senyan was transported away.

The instant Fang Senyan vanished, an object suddenly stirred.

It was a sack—a filthy, tattered, unremarkable sack!!!

This sack had originally been draped over the shoulder of the “Demon King.” For some unknown reason, it hadn't weathered away, and the mouth of the sack actually opened automatically. An object nearby was immediately sucked into it—it was Infinitie’s severed finger key. Fang Senyan had handed this item to Punk Gold earlier to gain the trust of this ghostly Goblin, and after confirming its authenticity, Punk had casually placed it nearby.

The moment the sack’s mouth opened, Fang Senyan, who had already been teleported back to the basement in Knockturn Alley, violently shuddered. That intensely familiar and indescribable feeling flooded his mind once more! He immediately cursed himself for forgetting this matter!

It was this strange feeling that had compelled him to start the mission at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the first place. Having finally descended to the deepest parts of Gringotts, he had intended to resolve this feeling, yet he had forgotten this goal and simply teleported back!

In the incredibly deep subterranean space, the Ancient Goblin Kingdom Ruins began to experience violent tremors, rapidly spreading near the Golden Throne. As the decorations and treasures shielding it were destroyed and crashed down, it became visible:

Around the Golden Throne was an invisible barrier, or perhaps a seal, composed of several lines of mysterious and powerful, massive ancient Hebrew characters. Translated, they read:

“The human body can no longer contain this wicked, powerful soul.”

During the descent into the deep abyss, a massive, black-hole-like array appeared below, clearly possessing an extremely powerful crushing force, seemingly intent on devouring everything. The Golden Throne also began to slowly disintegrate and break apart, and the ancient Hebrew seal on its outer layer finally shattered!

The instant the seal broke, the ragged sack hidden beneath the Golden Throne suddenly opened its mouth. Aiming at the gap in the shattered seal, a beam of light, utterly imperceptible, shot out and instantly broke through the seal before vanishing!

The light beam that shot out was that very finger bone key previously sucked into the bag!

It was clearly perceptible: the finger bone key had transformed. It emitted an indescribable, faint sheen... as if a lifeless object had suddenly acquired its own soul, like a dragon brought to life by the final brushstroke, a beautiful woman stepping out of a painting, or a spirited monkey bursting from a stone. The moment the key shot out, the tattered sack suddenly dimmed, turned into specks of flying ash, and finally dissipated.

Fang Senyan, filled with regret, walked out of the basement. The old black man was still sitting in front of his counter. Seeing him, the old man immediately sneered and waved dismissively, snarling viciously:

“I told you I would adhere to the Ministry’s rules, why didn't you trust me? You Ministry good-for-nothings must have suffered for days in the fireplace! I’ll tell you, without the Ministry’s protection, Kabataba will devour your kin! Kabataba will use your kin to brew soup, Kabataba will turn your kin into trophies to place in Kabataba’s white bottles!”

Fang Senyan ignored him and walked straight out the door. The moment he saw the azure blue sky, having been underground for so long, he felt an emotion close to tears. Staying too long in dark, oppressive caverns could indeed lead to feelings of suppression or even psychological distress.

At this point, less than two hours remained of the seven days Fang Senyan had allotted himself. With these two hours, he likely couldn't take on a quest given his modest Charm points, and he couldn't attempt a major quest... Tasks like completing the final two milestones for the Good Samaritan achievement, whether stealing the blueprints for the new broom or the Firebolt, or obtaining Unicorn Blood, all required considerable time for planning. Two short hours wouldn't even allow for the preparatory work!

While idly waiting, Fang Senyan suddenly thought of the bearded man he first encountered upon entering the Space: "Scissorhands Jack." Fang Senyan was certain he hadn't joined the major conflict between the Symbiote Society and the Banks Gang. This fellow was clearly skilled at playing both sides, deftly avoiding that massive vortex, and appeared to have returned successfully.

Due to the lack of time, Fang Senyan could only head to Diagon Alley to try his luck, hoping to run into a plot character whose "affinity" with him was better. Although, Fang Senyan was acutely aware that for him right now, the most likely place to pick up some temporary tasks was still Gringotts.

Because only the diligent Goblins ignored Charm, treating everyone equally... If one possessed enough Pounds or Gold Coins, that place would be a paradise for those desperate for tasks but lacking in Charm.