Chapter 267: Promotion (2)

Adrian didn’t stay for any pleasantries. The white light of the arena dissolved, depositing him back into the chaotic, noisy Bronze League Lobby.<Reward: 0 GC.>

<Notice: Ranked Challenges below Silver Rank do not accrue monetary rewards. Your Rank has been Updated.>

"It’s kind of unfortunate," Adrian muttered to himself as he navigated through the crowd. "All this effort and not a single credit."

But his interest wasn’t to make money just yet. He pulled up his updated profile.

[LEAGUE: Bronze]

[RANK: 61]

[WINS: 2 | LOSSES: 0]

[KILLS: 0]

His rank had jumped massively, taking the spot of the fighter he had just defeated. But it still wasn’t enough to trigger the Promotion Challenge option on the terminal.

The rules were clear: to challenge a higher league, one needed to be in the top 100 and have a minimum of five consecutive wins within their current league to prove consistency.

"Four more wins to go," he said, his eyes scanning the list of online fighters. He didn’t waste time. He joined the queue again.

Two Minutes Later...

The lobby blurred as Adrian returned from his fifth consecutive victory. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. The opponents at this level were sluggish, predictable, and reliant on simple tricks. He checked his profile again.

[FIGHTER PROFILE: Project_Prometheus]

[CIVILIZATION: Sparkborn (Tier-1)]

[LEAGUE: Bronze]

[RANK: 2]

[WINS: 6 | LOSSES: 0]

[KILLS: 0]

’Perfect,’ Adrian thought. He walked up to the registration booth, bypassing the standard line for the "Promotion Challenge" terminal. The alien attendant looked up, bored, until they saw his request.

Adrian didn’t aim for the bottom of the Silver League. Given his victory against Grok, who was Rank 32 in Silver, he knew he could aim higher. He scrolled through the available Silver League opponents and selected one.

[Target Selected: Iron-Hide - Rank 43 (Silver League)]

The receptionist’s four eyes widened in genuine surprise. "You are challenging Rank 43 for your first promotion attempt? That is... highly ambitious, rookie. Usually, Bronze fighters challenge the bottom 100 of Silver to secure their spot."

She tapped her console, a look of warning on her face. "Be aware: if you fail a Promotion Challenge, you are locked out of further promotion attempts for a full 24-hour cycle. Are you certain?"

"I am," Adrian replied. He was actually curious why the punishment was so low; only 24 hours? Perhaps the Concordat wanted to encourage this kind of reckless ambition. It fueled the spectacle, after all.

"Challenge sent," the attendant said, shaking her head. "And accepted. Good luck."

The white light consumed him immediately.

He materialized in a new arena. This one was different. It was a "Heavy-G" arena, similar to the one he fought Grok in, but filled with jagged, metallic spikes jutting from the floor.

The crowd here was larger, the holographic stands filled with thousands of spectators.

A new set of commentators appeared on the floating screens.

<"Welcome to the Silver League Promotion Trials! We have a bold one today, folks! A Bronze rookie, Project_Prometheus, is skipping the line and going straight for the throat of Rank 43, Iron-Hide!">

<"That’s a risky move, Jim. Iron-Hide is a veteran. He’s got armor that can tank a plasma bolt. This rookie might be in over his head.">

<"I don’t know about that, Bob. It seems you haven’t checked the logs. This ’rookie’ is the one who took down GROK THEE CRUSHER in a public match just a few days ago! He’s currently undefeated, six for six!">

<"Wait... really? The Grak Champion? Well then! Folks, forget what I said! This fight just got a whole lot more interesting!">

Across the arena, Iron-Hide materialized. He was a massive, bio-mechanical creature, a cyborg whose organic parts were almost completely encased in thick, heavy, grey plating. He revved a massive, spinning saw-blade built into his arm.

Adrian didn’t waste time. He knew this opponent was durable.

"Equip," he whispered.

A shimmer of blue-black nanites flowed over his body, and the Power Suit materialized, its eyes glowing with a calm, deadly blue light.

~GONG!~

Iron-Hide charged, his saw-blade screaming. He was fast for his size, a tank with a jet engine. But to Adrian who was now familiar with the environment, he was moving in slow motion.

Adrian didn’t dodge. He met the charge. He used Phantom Steps to slide under the massive saw-blade, the wind of its passage ruffling his hair. He appeared directly in front of the cyborg, his fist glowing.

[Resonant Fist]

~CLANG!~

He struck the center of Iron-Hide’s chest plate. The vibrational pulse didn’t just dent the armor; it traveled through it, bypassing the external plating and shattering the delicate internal servos and biological organs within.

Iron-Hide froze mid-stride. The saw-blade spun down with a dying whine. The massive cyborg teetered for a moment, sparks flying from his joints, before crashing face-first onto the metallic floor with a deafening thud.

It was over in seconds. Total domination.

<"UNBELIEVABLE! ONE HIT! HE TOOK DOWN A TANK WITH ONE HIT! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME PROJECT_PROMETHEUS TO THE SILVER LEAGUE!">

The crowd roared, a thunderous sound of approval. Adrian stood over his defeated opponent, his suit retracting. He had won. He was now a Silver League fighter.

But as the white light enveloped him to take him back, a frown touched his lips. He looked at his hand. He had been forced to use the Power Suit to ensure a one-hit victory against a mid-tier Silver opponent.

’I had to use the Suit so early,’ he thought, a seed of worry planting itself in his mind. ’Iron-Hide was tough, but he’s nothing compared to what’s waiting in Gold, let alone Platinum or Diamond. My own cultivation... it’s lagging behind.’

He reappeared in the Silver Lobby, with the cheers of the crowd still echoing in his mind. He had climbed a rung, but the ladder was impossibly high.

’If I have to rely on the Suit for every fight, I’ll hit a wall. I need to get stronger. I need to fix that.’