Chapter 34: Seraphel Kingdom’s Ancient Ground Quest
Six hours had passed since the day started.
For most people, including Axir and the others, only six hours remained until it was time to log out.
Axir, Aunt Kira, Siddha, James, Ling, Maria, Robin, and Sakamoto appeared back in the Seraphel Kingdom after finishing their expedition.
They had cleared six Elite Dungeons. Five in the Crossberg Kingdom, and one in the Suryax Kingdom that Axir had already discovered.
The 50 stat points he gained for discovering the five Elite Dungeons were put into Constitution and Perception, making both reach 85.
He still had 65 stat points from leveling, so he used 30 more to raise Constitution and Perception to 100.
Now all four of his basic stats were at 100, on top of the stat boosts he already had.
At level 50, the average player would have a total of 300 stat points: 250 from leveling and 50 starter points.
But Axir already had 400 stat points, with 35 still unused, making a total of 435.
’Things are proceeding nicely.’ Axir’s eyes glinted as he walked alongside the group while they entered the royal palace of the Seraphel Kingdom.
"By the way, each Ancient Ground has different themes, but each theme has myriad possibilities. So even if multiple people enter the same Ancient Ground, each one will receive a different deck."
The group followed a maid to a large garden and sat down at a long table.
"Please wait here for a bit."
After saying that, the maid left.
They didn’t have to wait long before a woman who looked to be in her late twenties arrived.
She had sky-blue wavy hair and wore a sharp, regal white dress.
Level 500, her presence exuded natural intimidation.
"So you have Mysterious Decks? However..." Her eyes narrowed. "None of you have reached the required level to accept the quest to enter this kingdom’s Ancient Ground."
"But what if we manage to complete the quest despite our low level?" Axir asked with a faint smile as he snapped his fingers, taking out his Shivanta Sunborn Artist deck.
"As a matter of fact, I have already entered the Ancient Ground of the Suryax Kingdom and acquired this."
The woman raised her eyebrows, surprise clearly visible.
"Well then... I shall give you the benefit of the doubt despite your levels. However, if you fail to complete the quest within one day, you will never gain entry to this kingdom’s Ancient Ground."
[ You have acquired a quest — Death Virtue Orchid. ]
[ Death Virtue Orchid ]
Objectives:
—> Pass through the Karaga Ruins to acquire Death Aura.
—> After acquiring 1,000 Death Aura, head to the Nether Canopy, where your Death Aura will trigger a path to the Underworld.
—> Collect 1 Death Virtue Orchid from the Underworld.
Reward:
—> Entry into the Seraphel Kingdom’s Ancient Ground.
"Thank you." Axir smiled. "We’ll be back."
’Alright, this is completely new. I’ve never heard of the Underworld, Karaga Ruins, or Nether Canopy.’
These areas were part of the 50% of the world that was new to him.
’This will be fun. I wonder what level these areas are.’
The group left and arrived at the plaza.
"We got the quest, but Karaga Ruins is a freaking level 200 area," Robin said, speechless.
"And the Nether Canopy is a level 300 area," James added wryly. "Did you also venture into high-level areas?"
"Yep." Axir chuckled. "But that’s the fun. I’m sure we’ll figure something out."
’And even if you all fail, I still have a way to get you into an Ancient Ground.’
But he wasn’t going to tell them that right now. After all, he still had eight stalks of Sunborn Tejas Flowers. One flower equaled one entry.
"Then I guess we should fly to get there faster," Siddha said, looking at the others. "You all learned the Mana application for flight, so while Axir carries us, we should practice controlling Mana to lessen the load and fly faster."
"Yep, that’s best." James nodded. "We should master Mana usage quickly with continuous practice, especially outside the game."
"Let’s hope the world doesn’t get too chaotic for that," Maria said with a wry chuckle.
...
The Karaga Ruins stretched endlessly in every direction.
What had once been a grand city now stood as a graveyard of stone. Towering structures lay collapsed into jagged heaps, their broken silhouettes clawing at the ashen sky. Roads of blackened stone crisscrossed the ruins, cracked and uneven, with deep fissures seeping wisps of violet-black mist.
Ancient pillars rose from the ground like fractured bones. Many were snapped in half, and others leaned precariously as if moments away from collapse. Carvings along their surfaces depicted scenes of judgment, execution, and sacrifice, their details eroded yet still heavy with malice.
A deathly silence dominated the area.
No wind stirred. No insects buzzed. Even sound itself seemed reluctant to travel.
"This place feels... dead in a way that’s different," Ling said softly.
Siddha closed his eyes for a moment, sensing the surrounding Mana. "Death Aura density is high, but it’s stable. Old. Layered over centuries."
Dark moss clung to shattered walls, pulsing faintly as if breathing. Pools of stagnant liquid gathered in craters between broken stones, reflecting distorted images of the ruins above.
Axir took a step forward.
The moment he crossed an invisible boundary, faint wisps of black energy drifted toward him, clinging to his skin like cold mist before sinking inward.
[ You have entered the level 200 area — Karaga Ruins. ]
[ Death Aura absorbed: +1 ]
Robin stiffened. "It’s already starting. I just felt a chill crawl up my spine."
James scanned the surroundings, eyes sharp. "This entire ruin is a passive accumulator. The longer we stay, the more Death Aura we gather."
Deeper within the ruins, something shifted.
A low, distant scraping echoed through the broken avenues, followed by the sound of stone grinding against stone.
Maria tightened her grip on her weapon. "We’re not alone."
Axir’s gaze locked onto the darkness ahead, a glint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
"Good," he said quietly as a decagon spiked sun-symbol flickered in his eyes. "Let’s begin."
Ten weapons appeared above him.
"Take your pick and read the details. Some weapons deal enemy max-health percentage damage. Some stun, stagger, and force enemies to stop moving. Some inflict useful debuffs, and there’s one that can revive monsters. That will be our main tool to snowball this area. We’ll use the monsters we kill as tools. With these weapons, we can hunt even in high-level areas."
As everyone finally read the weapon details, they were dumbfounded.
"Batshit crazy weapons."