Cursed Immortality

After the banquet, Jacob locked himself in the Dark Room again, this time with no intention of coming out unless he created a new weapon or something like the attack of the Star Hackers happened again.

Moreover, the very next day, Jacob finally receives his compensation and rewards for killing the Star Hackers from both the Dark City and the Star Network. The Dark City really represented Jacob as his proxy to claim rewards from the Star Network for him. This was one of the biggest benefits of having an organization behind you.

He earned 1 billion ZC from the Star Network and an advanced unique rank defensive magic scroll, but no honorary badge; maybe it was because Jacob already had two, or it was because just those guys weren't enough to earn himself another honorary badge. Maybe if he took down the headquarters of the Star Hackers, he'd earn some pretty high rewards.

But he was most surprised by the rewards he got from the Dark City. First, he got 10,000 Dark Credits. Second, and most importantly, he was directly promoted to the Dark Earl Dark Noble Rank and given another 500 Dark Credits, and he was directly anointed as a fief lord of the Dark Kingdom!

Now, he can enter the Dark Kingdom and enjoy the benefits of a fief lord by ruling an entire island, and even the Dark Duke can't do anything about it since Jacob's achievement is quite high. He single-handedly took down a Dark Marquis-level spy and others like him, so raising his rank was only right.

Dark Rose was completely impartial when it came to rewarding the personal members, and no one could interfere without good reason. So, now that Jacob was a Dark Earl, he was even more untouchable and became more important to the Dark City.

This event also made Jacob clear about something; the Dark City wasn't completely under the Dark Duke's control, and he could only interfere with good reason with personal members.

So, even if the news about him having ties with Free Sword or even having the legendary key leaked, Dark Duke won't be able to deal with him under the Dark City rules unless he wants to become a criminal and surrender his authority.

Nonetheless, Jacob wasn't going to stay here and become a target; he wouldn't feel safe unless he could deal with those three steps of legend experts himself, and Dark Duke was one such person.

Lastly, Jacob wasn't planning on leaving the Unique Plains because this was a safety net that no one above the Unique Rank could enter. He was invincible in this place, even with an army facing him.

At this moment, Jacob opened his eyes in the crowded Dark Battle Arena Lobby.

"Welcome to Dark Battle Arena Lobby, Iron Warrior Dictator!"

"Dark Arena Name: Dictator

"Dark Arena Rank: 2nd Rank Iron Warrior

"Next Dark Arena Rank: (Remaining) 1 Iron League Promotion Match!

"Fight Win: 50

"Fight Lost: 0

"Win Streak: 50

"Wind Rate: 100%

"Dark Credit: 11,810

"Dark Battle Arena League: Iron League

"Start Battle?

"Time Reaming before Break: 799H: 59MM

"Exit Dark Battle Arena?"

Looking at his Dark Battle Arena status, his eyes shimmered with anticipation since it was going to be his fifty-first streak match, which meant his opponent would have the same battle record as him.

Although he didn't encounter any more opponents like Flame Calamity again, every opponent after the ten streaks was quite strong, and he guessed that they were all at least at the level of Beyond Unique Rank.

They always gave more soul vitality, and because of this, his time in this place increased by tens of houses. This was evident in his soul becoming more powerful, and in a sense, he could even check his progress this way.

'After this battle, I'll focus on the forging since I finally completed the design, and its success rate is over 81% in the dreamscape nightmare realm. So, I won't have time to come here. Well, I guess Nyx will be able to focus on Flame Calamity's dreamscape realm. He's probably a Quasi Legend Rank expert; I'm looking forward to what kind of soul vitality he'll deliver to me and if I find another opponent like him in this match as well…'

Jacob's eyes shimmered with dark anticipation as he ordered, "Start Battle!"

He vanished from the lobby like always and appeared in the Iron League arena, but to his surprise, it was not the plane-gray battlefield anymore. Instead, he appeared in the center of a huge golden Colosseum!

Jacob's expression changed as he suddenly remembered something, and Dark Rose's voice rang again.

"Your next match is your 51st match after your 50 Kill Winning Streak!

"Your next match will be your First League Promotion Match of the Iron League, and if you win, you'll be promoted to Bronze League!

"A Betting Pool has been opened.

"Dark Prestige Display No.8 will stream your battle for everyone to see your Prestigious Battle!"

"Searching for Opponents…"

'I completely forgot about this fifty-win streak milestone. This sort of match will be displayed on the prestige display for everyone to witness, like the matches in the Silver League. The figures in that league are almost on the same level as Flame Calamity, and only 198 are in the Silver League. They are all extremely recognizable figures among the Dark Battle Arena gathering.

'If my moves and fighting style become wildly famous, even if my Star ID isn't showing here, someone might discover who the Dictator is. I've already had quite a reputation since the betting on me is becoming quite high.

'But I can't risk dying here; I just have to be careful not to show too much of many abilities.' Jacob mused grimly.

At this moment, Dark Rose's voice rang again.

"There is no one in the same league as you with a 50-

win streak, and the first Ranker of the Iron League is offline.

"Please choose between these two options.

"1. Fight a Ranked Bronze League Fighter

"2. Cancel the battle search and activate a Battle Arena Match alarm on your Star Watch. The moment we find a qualified opponent, you'll be instantly informed about this option!

"You have also been rewarded with a Special Achievement Badge for this achievement: Silent Arena.

"Silent Arena (Dark Battle Arena Achievement Badge): You now have the privilege to 'Search Again' if you want to change your selected opponent once every ten matches.

"NOTE: This privilege can't be stacked and reset after every ten battles!"

Astounded, Jacob didn't expect to get such an unexpected reward and a choice.

'A bronze league ranked fighter should be between the Beyond Unique Rank and the Inception Legend Rank…' Jacob mused before he replied decisively, "I chose the first option!"

"You have chosen to battle the Ranked Bronze League Fighter!

"If you won, your winning will be multiplied by 2X!

"Searching Opponent…

"Opponent has been discovered!"

This time, it didn't take long before the opponent was selected. However, the moment Jacob saw who the opponent was, his expression became gloomy.

At the same time, the opponent's eyes also shimmered with a hint of confusion before he winded them as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Lord Club has entered the Arena!

"Match starts in 10 Seconds!"