Jacob remained silent for a moment after he heard the content of this Dark Mission while he looked at Hallberg with a peculiar glint in his eyes.
"You want me to escort you to the Epic Plains? Is Dark City running out of manpower?" Jacob asked impassively.
But his tone was pretty much disdainful because, in his opinion, Hallberg was demanding something absurd from him. Not to mention escorting Hallberg out of the Rare Plains, he didn't dare to leave without being absolutely careful himself.
Unlike the Rare Plains, where the power level was bonded by a bottleneck, the Star Ocean wasn't like that at all. He had seen the map to the epic plains, and he knew it would take him about three to five years to reach it if he didn't encounter any danger or somehow lost his way.
Hallberg clearly knew what Jacob meant by those words, and he didn't seem flustered at all and said, "I know you probably think this is some kind of a joke since a Dark Earl like didn't need an outsider to be my escort. But hear me out first, and then you can reject me all the same. If a request is not a command, you have full right to accept it or reject it."
Jacob thought for a moment before he nodded, "I understand."
Hallberg then didn't delay and speak, "The thing is, like the three hegemonies, the Dark City has its own customs, and trust me when I say these customs are absolute and far stricter than the three hegemonies.
"One of these customs is the process of ascending a plain. You could take it as a trial by fire. If an official Dark City member wanted to leave a Dark City in a lower plain and enter a higher-level plain's Dark City, they had to do it according to the Dark City customs unless they wanted to get expelled from the Dark City."
Jacob finally showed a hint of interest as the Dark City was quite mysterious, and it was the first time hearing about its customs. Besides, by Hallberg's solemn expression, Jacob knew he wasn't joking.
"How did Dark City select its official members?" He couldn't help but inquire.
Previously, Jacob thought that the Dark Nobles were the official members of the Dark City, but it clearly wasn't the case, as the Dark City gave those titles to anyone who cleared Dark Missions. There was no restriction on the person's affiliations.
Unlike the three hegemonies who didn't allow their official members to join the ranks of the other hegemonies' official members, the Dark City seemed to have its own unique system.
That's why he asked Hallberg, who seemed to be an official member, since it was a rare chance. But Hallberg's reply was not what he was expecting.
"Please forgive me. I can't reveal this information to you. All I can comment on this topic is the Dark Cities demand absolute loyalty from its members." Hallberg ambiguously stated.
Jacob frowned ever so slightly, but he didn't push the matter further since it seemed to be some kind of core secret of the Dark City.
Hallberg also didn't want to dwell on its topic and continued about that trial of his, "Anyway, as I was saying to leave a lower plain Dark City, an official member needed to clear certain conditions which I also can't reveal to you.
"After those conditions were complete, we can proceed with our journey toward the higher plains, which is the actual trial by fire. In which we can only select one escort from the same plain we want to leave.
"If you think that this system can easily be cheated since no one can monitor us, then you couldn't be too wrong. We are required to wear our star watches all the time, and Dark Rose will monitor the entire thing once we call it the start of the mission.
"The chosen escort will also have to sign a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and be part of the same kind of monitoring. If anyone is caught cheating, then the escort will be banned from entering any Dark City while the trial taker will suffer a fate worse than death."
Jacob finally showed a clear frown on his face as this entire thing was too absurd for him, especially the conditions inflicted on both parties involved in this absurd trial of fire thing.
"Is it worth taking all this risk just to be part of an organization?" He couldn't help but question with a cold tone.
Jacob's impression of the Dark City greatly plummeted after he heard about this trial and just how harsh they were toward their own members, who probably served them faithfully for decades.
Especially someone like Hallberg, who would leave all this luxury behind to go to the Epic Plains. Yet not only he has to take the risk of going there by himself, but he also had to be under constant monitoring.
Hallberg suddenly smiled in a decisive manner as he nodded without hesitation, "If you're a member of the Dark City, then you will know this small trial is nothing in front of what you can gain. It's absolutely worth it!"
Jacob's frown deepened as there wasn't any hint of falsehood in Hallberg's words or his expression.
Hallberg still wasn't done as he continued, "Look, the reward I promised you are the one I will give you personally, not the rewards you will get from the Dark City."
Jacob cocked an eyebrow when he heard this and said, "So you can make anyone Dark Baron, and what kind of rewards are we talking about?"
"I can naturally bestow Dark Baron title once I reach the Epic Plains, and the 1 million ZC will be your advance payment. As for the reward you will get from the Dark City, I can only say they will be as lavish as the rewards you got from the Champion Shop!" Hallberg said matter-of-factly.
Jacob finally fell into silence at this moment when the champion shop was brought up. He knew better than anyone just what kind of status the Champion Shop represented. That shop has anything that could exist in a plain which makes it alluring to anyone.
'If he's telling the truth, then I can get many things right off the bat after I entered the Epic Plains. I had to go into the epic plains either with him or without him, and I would be at the bottom of the epic plains once I got there.
'So, if I take this risk, I can change my situation around…' Jacob thought as he couldn't ignore rewards akin to the champion shop, especially if this shop's content were from the epic plains.
"So, are you in or out? Because trust me, you would want to leave this place after you know what's coming." Hallberg smilingly asked as he knew he almost convinced Jacob by his subtle silence, so he decided to reveal his final trump card.
Jacob squinted his eyes as he asked, "What's coming?"
Hallberg's expression went dark as he gloomily said three words, "The Dark Being!"