Chapter 581: Jealous Prince
After getting a detailed explanation of all the rewards and claiming them, Sam was sent off to the hall of the Palace and by the time he came all the remaining candidates also just appeared out of thin air.
Everyone has a different range of expressions. Some are ecstatic and some are just normally happy but some of them are disappointed and expectant.
The Avatar made some regular announcements of the next Palace of Inheritance for the Players and the subsequent entries that Naga Loka could have.
After that, they reappeared once again at the entrance, where the Emperor is still waiting. At this moment, the three selected candidates are all looking at the four players with some sense of hostility.
Particularly, the Prince.
Sam didn't know, who he encountered as his opponents in the test, but since none of the Naga Loka candidates didn't make it to the finals, they must have been eliminated in the early rounds and they are not willing to swallow it.
And the prince is one of the candidates who were disappointed and expectant.
The Emperor asked the three candidates some simple questions and came to the players to ask the same questions and all of them are invited to the Imperial Palace that evening for a personal dinner and discussions.
But before that, they are invited to rest.
The Emperor led them out of the sacred grounds and led them back to the Imperial capital.
Sam went to his residence along with the rest of the Players. Currently, he is staying in one of the VVIP rooms in Paradise.
This is a permanent reservation given to him by Vasu after the business transaction and it is a suite. There are three rooms for them to temporarily rest.
Noah didn't talk much and went to a room and closed the door. Sam and the rest didn't disturb her privacy.
Arman, Sam, and Arkiv all ordered a sumptuous feast, and only then did they give her some food and didn't interact anymore.
After eating to their full, Sam called for a massage and relaxed. He even took a nap. It has been a long time since he slept. But it is a good thing to sleep once in a while.
Only in the evening did he wake up and got ready to go to the Palace. It turned out that an attendant came here and gave them a time regarding their visit to the Palace while Sam is asleep.
They went to the palace and without any questions the guards let them win. After walking for a few minutes one of the attendants came running and led them towards a room within the Imperial Palace.
There, the three candidates of the Mov empire are already there. The players didn't think much, they just greeted them normally and sat down opposite to them at a long table.
It seemed to be a private dining room that can house ten people at most apart from the host.
There are five chairs on each side and the players took one side, as for the other side, there is a gap of one chair between the three people and the prince sat closer to the host's chair.
As they sat down and waited, the Imperial Prince looked at Sam and the rest of the Players and asked.
"Where are you guys from? What did you get in the Palace of Inheritance?"
He asked with his tone oozing the sense of superiority.
The whole group was silent and from Sam's glance, Arman got the message and replied.
"The place we are from is not known to you. It is useless even if we tell you. As for what we got, it is a little personal to disclose it to you." He replied with a polite tone and calm smile.
Prince didn't seem to like this answer and asked one more time and a tad bit colder.
"You will answer whatever I want. Tell me or you will face consequences." This time all the players frowned. They didn't like the prince's tone from the start and his gaze made it sure that he doesn't like them either. But they are fine with it, but this is too bad.
If they don't know anything about the palace or the Imperial family, they might not have been disappointed at all. But since they already came into contact with the Emperor and had interacted with him and seen how humble he actually was even in his position, they had some expectations from this Prince.
But it seems like they expected too much. It is good that he is not the crown prince. Or the respect earned by the father would have gone down the sewers.
Arman was about to reply, but Sam just gestured him to stay put and all four of them stayed silent.
Seeing this further infuriated the Prince and he was about to start talking, but before he could do so, the emperor came in and the Prince took back all his hostility and just gave out a calm expression. But the emperor is no idiot, he could clearly see that there is some sort of tension in the air.
But he didn't broach the subject and soon the attendants started serving. Sam took out few wine gourds and gave them to the Emperor. They are the recent products of the Ape inside Divine dimension, made with the local delicacies.
He gave them out of gratitude. Due to the Emperor, they were at least able to get into the Palace without much trouble. If the Emperor is as cranky as the prince in front of them, they would have had some serious trouble.
The dinner went normally and there are no serious questions regarding the Palace while eating. After the meal is done, they all sat there and drank wine.
Then came the question.
"Since what you came here was is over, what do you plan to do from now on?"
The Emperor asked the four of them.
"We will be staying here for quite a while. I already have some business ventures, so I would manage them along with my friends. But they might enlist in the army if they like to." Sam answered this question calmly.
"I would like to know more about this Palace of Inheritance, can you elaborate? If it is not too private, that is."
The four players exchanged glances and nodded.
"Please do ask what you want to know, we will try to answer to the best of our abilities. If they are to be kept secret and cannot be divulged, please forgive us for the offense." Arman replied.
And the questions went on and on. But The Emperor didn't ask anything too deep.
It is just what kind of people are handling the Palace and what those old men with white hair and long beard are etc.
He didn't go deep regarding who the master of Palace is. The one question he asked was who Kartikeya was and for that, they didn't answer completely. All they told him, he is an extremely powerful person who could destroy a realm with a mere thought.
The last question was regarding their home. Seeing the expectant Emperor and his hospitality, Sam decided to say something.
"We are not from Naga Loka."
That is the only answer he gave him though. The Emperor took a deep breath and the atmosphere was quiet for a while before saying.
"I think it is already late, you can leave now. You can stay here as much as you like. If you really want to join the army, I think you wouldn't have any problem with the enlistment with Sam and Yodha here. I hope you have a good time here."
With that, The Players all came and went back to Paradise.
But the three candidates are still there and Emperor asked for their prizes to be shown. The Special squad candidate got a spear technique that has many levels. It has twelve sets of moves when combined will create a single greater move.
The Imperial guard candidate got an even better reward, a cultivation technique and it seemed to be an extremely high grade one and his other reward is a chance for him to re-cultivate using this method. He was given a method to do so but was told that it was only good for him and no one else as everybody has a different body and a different situation.
But when the Emperor read through the Cultivation technique, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. As for the Prince, he got some battle formation plans to lead the soldiers. Even though, the formation plans are profound his reward is the lowest of them all.
Apart from that, they also got some weapons. And even in this, the Imperial guard candidate beat them. As he got a full set of armor, gauntlets and that even included a helmet and a weapon of his choice.
But he cannot wield it because it was way out of his strength at this moment and he cannot give it away because it was a life-bound treasure. It would live with him, and die with him. He can only pass it to his descendants.
He didn't take the two soldiers' treasures away, but he didn't ask them for a copy of the techniques after confirming that there is no clause of distributing them.
As for the Prince, he stayed there and the Emperor's eyes became stern as he said to him.
"I was already disappointed with one of my children, so don't be the second one. There are many things you wouldn't understand even if I tell you unless you experience yourself. Those people are from the Naga Loka.
Since they were able to come here all by themselves, their backgrounds are not something to be trifled with. Whoever it is behind the Palace of Inheritance, he made it exclusively just to merely test them and you were all just some add-ons for their trial, but even you people got such great presents. So, it is better if you become content with what you have and don't piss them off. I don't know why you are so hostile towards them, but I wish you would think properly with a calm mind. An unreasonable hostility will never end on a good note.
But if you still don't listen to me and still butt heads with them. I wouldn't mind. But unless it comes to your life, I wouldn't interfere in this matter."