Duke and Vivian appeared at the edge of the square with their patrol, drawing little attention.
Duke's gaze swept across the square and settled on the enormous metal gate and the Thorn Holy Tower wizards standing guard around it.
He could clearly sense the gate's daunting energy fluctuations and immense physical strength.
"Getting in through the front gate looks next to impossible," Duke said quietly to Vivian.
Vivian looked over and nodded. "That's Wizard Bazel at the gate. He's a learned scholar himself, and even he hasn't made much headway. This vault is anything but simple."
Vivian knew the people of the Thorn Holy Tower well and had recognized them at a glance.
Duke said nothing. His gaze slipped away from the gate as he studied where the fortress above ground met the square, then the seemingly ordinary buildings and streets farther away.
His High Earth Element Affinity gave him a sense for the structure of the earth far beyond that of ordinary people.
He was searching for another route into the underground vault, one everyone else might have overlooked.
If forcing or unlocking the front gate was out of the question, perhaps he could go underground and bypass the gate that had everyone stumped.
The vault was a vast, multilayered metal tower buried hundreds of meters below ground.
When Duke probed it with his mental power, he discovered that its entire outer shell was made of Magic Metal.
Energy also flowed within the Magic Metal, making the shell even harder.
Duke glanced at Vivian. She instantly understood what he meant, and the two of them quietly retreated from the square.
Once they were farther away, Duke sent her a message with his mental power: "I can go underground and see if there's a way in."
"Will it be dangerous?"