I start to step back, grab the handle of my sword, and activate all of my stat-boosting skills at once.

However, the other three guards blip over to me faster than I can even react.

Two place their hands on my arms, and another stands at my back, raising a dark black sword of its own, not letting me move anywhere but forward, closer to the 3.5-meter tall Royal Guard.

Its robotic, static tone vibrates through my head again.

"This is an order, from the Dark One."

Almost immediately, before I can react, the guard with his sword at my back speaks in a low static tone too.

"You'll be awarded the full 10% of betting transactions on this match. Consider it a gift for entertaining the King."

I think about activating my Red Hydra's buff and breaking out of this dome entirely for a moment, but stop myself before doing anything too rash.

The taller guard looks down at me and speaks again.

"Use all of your abilities. Stolen power or not, you'll need it."

Before I can blink or even try to respond, all 4 of the guards disappear in a flash of white light.

Using all of my scanner skills, their items and status came up with distorted [Access Denied] messages covered in weird letters and question marks. Our interaction only lasted a second at most, but I couldn't gauge their strength or capabilities at all...

The roaring crowd and the announcer's voice come back to my senses.

"Let's give it up one last time for The Flame Emperor! Now, I'm sure we all thoroughly enjoyed the show, but I have to ask; Will you be moving on to the 8th Stage?"

The arena goes silent, and some audience members in the crowd are already turning to leave in order to beat the lines and crowds that follow after an event like this.

However, people start to grow restless when I don't immediately decline.

"What's taking him so long?"

"Why isn't he moving? Is he that hurt from the fight before?"

"There's no way he's actually considering it... A monster over level 700? Is that even possible?"

"I don't know, man, I've never heard of anyone challenging the 8th Stage."

I take a deep breath in and out, assessing my situation. Ember, Monk, and Lith; all possibly stronger and wiser than myself, told me I'm surely not strong enough to fight the Dark One. Considering this... it would not be a good idea to get on its bad side right now.

If I'm still just this entity's evening entertainment, it's best I don't disappoint. On top of that, opportunity awaits. It's time to push my limits even further and put on one heck of a show.

Once I've made up my mind, I step forward and raise a thumb straight up in the air.

"Bring it on!"

The audience and the announcer both stay silent again.

Whispers and small talk in the crowd cease while their minds begin to register what's happening.

An eruption of cheers makes the stadium shake, and after a 10-second pause from the announcer that seems like a lifetime of waiting, he finally speaks again.

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"Our First Challenger of the 8th Stage. The Flame Emperor, will be facing off against a level 779 Wraith. Let the betting begin!"

I can barely hear myself think with the crowd yelling around me and the announcer's voice echoing through the stands. He's continuously hyping up the next match and yelling out the live betting odds while I lean against my sword dug into the ground by my side.

Controlling my breathing, I take the remaining time I have in between matches to use my self-regeneration skill while plundering as much excess mana in the ring as possible to heal my fatigue.

About 3 minutes pass before the fans begin getting extra rowdy, but this is enough for me to heal myself back up to fighting condition. Luckily, I only had my buff active for a few seconds last match, and didn't have to use too much extra power. I may not be at 100%, but I've fought in worst condition.

The announcer begins counting down from 10, signifying the betting is close to ending, and that the match will soon begin.

I raise my sword in the air and let it flicker with flames to show the crowd I'm ready to fight, and bet 26 platinum on a 1.87x multiplier for me to win. This leaves a clean 200 in my balance. I have no idea what my opponent will really be like, so it wouldn't be wise to go all in on a gamble match like this...

It seems like a lot of people still believe in my abilities to win, but there are definitely a lot of doubtful bettors that feel the outcome of this match is unpredictable. Considering the 10% take from the house, the audience's bets are nearly split 50/50 down the middle.

The screams of anger and joy coming from the stands show the conflicting opinions are mostly just excited fans throwing their money on an extra bonus event they never knew was even happening tonight.

Not a single person in this stadium knows what's about to happen in this Stage 8 matchup.

"3... 2... 1..."

I activate my perception skills to their max, and ready my weapon along with my other abilities at a moment's notice.

"0... Let the match begin!"

A large white flash of light appears at the far side of the ring.

My scanner skills immediately pick up a similar status to the Ghouls I faced in the round before...

A [Lv. 779] rating pops up on the top, and no skills or items appear in its other status boxes.

The only thing I see is the familiar-looking buff [Curse Mark of The Lich King] at the bottom of its status before my attention is brought to the hand of a skeleton that emerges from the white light.

I activate all my stat-boosting buffs in this moment.

As the rest of the teleportation magic fades, a black cloak hovering about half a meter above the arena floor is left in its place.

There are no facial features visible through its shadowy hood, and the bony hands I watched emerge from the white magic before are connected to thin bone-white arms that protrude from the wavering black mass.

It looks as if there is a breeze fluttering the edges of its ripped-up and tattered cloak, but the air in this arena is still...

An overwhelming aura fills the ring like a dreadful version of my intimidation skill, so in return, I activate mine and let our invisible energies clash.

The ring fills with a buzz of power, and an orange aura comes seeping out from the creature's robes. Streaks of black energy leave the Wraith's body as the Orange Soul energy leaks out, mixing into the aura and staining it a much darker color closer to crimson-brown.

It raises both of its bony hands in the air, revealing 10 individual bones for fingers, then moves its shadowy hood right in my direction. If it had eyes I could see, they'd definitely be staring directly at me right now.

Two orbs of dark orange and black energy begin to grow in both of its hands, and I take this as a cue to activate my Red Hydra's Buff and prepare for the worst.

An eruption of power beams off me as I grip my sword and run in a zigzagging pattern as fast as I can, but the monster's jet-black hood tracks me with ease.

The orbs in its hand glow brighter and brighter, as it concentrates soul energy in its bony palms and I wait for it to make the first move.

I don't want to get anywhere near it before I know its capabilities.

Just from my visual senses, along with my enhanced mana and Qi perception, I can tell this energy is multiple times denser than the Ghouls in the previous round. However, these black streaks are a mystery to me. The only thing clear is this is a monster on a level I've never witnessed in person before.

Controlling my breathing, keeping my eyes locked on my enemy, and channeling Qi into my sword along with the overflowing fire magic of multiple element stones, my own skill, and the overwhelming buff of the red hydra coursing through my body; I feel like an unstoppable force.

However, as the Wraith swings its left hand, sending an Orb of Hot Orange energy hurtling through the air toward me, my survival instincts scream for me to run. Without a moment's hesitation, I harness every drop of energy I possess and lunge to the opposite side of the ring, driven purely by the primal urge to escape imminent danger.

My neck cranes to the side as it swings its right hand too, releasing the second orange orb.

My heart races faster, and I use Qi-infused steps, extreme speed buffs, and even wind magic to push myself away from the ominous approaching ball of light.

But it's no use. The attack I previously dodged turns in mid-air, rocketing back toward me at an even faster speed than it started.

In the same instant, the other orb shifts its momentum to follow me too.

Fractions of a second later I'm backed up against a wall, with both orbs of energy closing in.