Axir wanted to check some stuff because he knew this Suryax Kingdom existed in his past life's World of Belkris as well, though its geographic location was different this time.
"Stop. You can't go any further unless you have an invitation card or an entry token."
Level 100 guards stopped him from entering the Suryax Palace.
Well, that was given.
Axir smiled at the guards and politely said, "I do not have an invitation or entry token. However, I do have something that will interest the royal heirs of the kingdom. Would you mind relaying to them that I have a Mysterious Deck?"
The guards raised their eyebrows.
"Wait here."
One of the guards went inside.
Axir patiently waited for five minutes before a man wearing a sash, jewels, and a loincloth arrived.
He had an vermillian-orange, fiery sun tilak on his forehead.
[ Vedan Suryax ]
Level: 493
He was the youngest prince of the kingdom.
"Follow me."
Axir followed him as they walked through the large garden with a fountain, an array of colorful flowers, and trees before entering through the palace door.
They walked for five more minutes before arriving on the second floor's garden balcony and sat at a table.
"I am Vedan, the youngest prince of the Suryax Kingdom. Nice to meet you, brave one." Vedan introduced himself as he stretched his hand with a faint smile.
"Hi, I am Ace." Axir smiled. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
He knew everything about Vedan. Not only him, but the whole royal family of the Suryax kingdom, as he had acquired maximum favorability with them in his past life.
"Here, the Mysterious Deck." Axir took out the mysterious deck, which was basically a single black card with golden patterns of eldritch eyes.
"Indeed, it is the mysterious deck." Vedan's eyes flickered. "But why did you bring it here instead of using it right away?"
"I did go to sell it, but then I was told that Mysterious Decks can unlock the ancient trial ground of the Suryax Royal family, so here I am." Axir smiled.
Not just the Suryax Royal Family, but the mysterious decks were mainly a type of key to open ancient trials everywhere in all kingdoms and other areas.
But of course, it required more than a Mysterious Deck to unlock those trials.
"That is indeed true." Vedan looked at Axir, his eyes narrowing, "but not just anyone with a Mysterious Deck can get an opportunity to enter."
"I believe that." Axir nodded, his expression turning solemn. "I admire the way of Suryax. I will do whatever it takes to get the opportunity. What do I have to do?"
Vedan laughed. "I like your attitude. I would love to give you a task, but your level is too low for even the lowest task I have. How about you level up to 100 first and come back?"
This was usually. Mysterious Decks can only be used for trial grounds after level 100, as the other requirement to open them was high, with a minimum of level 100 resources. Some trial grounds required rare resources of far higher level like level 500 as well. The Suryax Kingdom had two part-ancient ground, and one required a level 400 resource.
But Axir had a way to acquire a required resource at his level thanks to the Mimic Shift card. He could at least succeeded in getting a lower-level requirement with it.
"I believe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, especially a book like me." Axir cheekily smiled. "Please allow me to prove myself, Prince Vedan."
Prince Vedan raised his eyebrows briefly before lowering them. "Since you insist, then I shall give you one. Suryax Ancient Ground requires not just a Mysterious Deck, but also a Sunborn Tejas Flower. They are found only on Sunborn Peak. If you can bring me one Sunborn Tejas Flower, you will be permitted to enter our ancient trial ground."
Now, he wanted to gamble.
These NPCs were real people. At least, that's what he determined after five years of his interaction with them.
So he was going to make a bet and boast.
"And I give my word." Axir stood up and clasped his hands. "Prince Vedan, I shall return with one in the next seven hours."
'Please, trigger it.'
"In the next seven hours?" Prince Vedan's eyes widened before he burst into laughter. "Ace, if you, a level 20 being, can bring it in seven hours from now on, I shall guarantee you the entry into the deepest part of the ancient ground and grant you an additional reward."
"However…" Prince Vedan's eyes turned chilly. "If confidence is rewarded, then overconfidence must be punished. If you fail to bring the flower to me in the next seven hours, you will be banned forever from this kingdom."
'Let's fucking go!' Axir's eyes danced with excitement.
The benefits of using NPCs in this game were massive.
Axir smiled. "Please wait for the good news."
3-star card, Rocket Wings!
Shroooo! Swoosh!
As Vedan saw Axir fly away, he muttered. "Why do I have a feeling he will bring one in seven hours?"
"A level 20 going to a level 200 area…no amount of brawl would work there unless he has brains and arsenals to navigate there."
A faint smile formed on his face. 'Well, I should think about the additional reward in case he succeeds.'
…
Axir opened the map and zoomed in on the southeast area.
Roughly two hundred kilometers south was a town that was part of the Suryax Kingdom.
And past that town was a mountain range. One of the mountains among them was utterly tall, going past clouds as it stretched almost 11 kilometers in the sky.
Sunborn Peak was the peak of that tall mountain.
The surrounding mountains were level 100 - 150 areas, while the Sunborn Mountain was a level 150 - 200 area.
The upper half of this Sunborn Mountain was entirely filled with dangerous monsters of level 200. There were Elite Monsters, and even stronger versions than them called Champion Monsters, who had more powerful skills and combat styles.
As Axir began flying there, he sent a message to everyone in the party chat.
[ Axir: Everyone, I am going out of the city to explore since I have Rocket Wings. Mainly, I want to find some rewarding areas and dungeons. ]
[ Selena: Got it. You do that, while we will headhunt for NPCs who give quests and stuff before moving out to hunt monsters and catch up to you in levels. ]
[ Aoi: I found a crazy good Pastry Shop. I tried one, and I got a buff for one hour! It's also super tasty, but I am out of money now… ]
[ Kazuo: Dumbo. Now, don't waste the buff and go out of the city to kill monsters in the wilderness. ]
[ Aoi: But it's not a combat buff. It makes me look beautiful and increases my charm by 10 for one hour. ]
Axir blinked. 'So, she got that buff. Charm stat boost has 1% chance of appearing when eating pastries. She sure got lucky.'
He decided to give his input.
[ Axir: Charm, huh? Then I think Aoi should interact with some NPCs. High charm usually increases the chance of getting a quest in this type of game. ]
[ Aoi: Ohh! Then I'll do that! Wait for the good news, hehe. ]