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''the fucker is more powerful than i imagined.''

brad gnashed his teeth in pain and envy. he wanted strength like that as well. naturally, he knew the one-horned race was physically stronger than the others but still.

the impact from the collision had shaken his system in ways he hadn''t thought possible. he may be the user of sound but that didn''t mean the vibrations didn''t affect him.

especially when it results from the impact of two powers colliding, looking around, he noticed the changed terrain and the spot ross was at.

the distance was several hundreds of metres, but hunters at their level had no problem covering it in a heartbeat.

''a changed terrain means we should be expecting our interruption very soon.'' he figured as he moved out of the crater he was in and walked forward.

after a few seconds of recovery, ross was able to see clearly without everything vibrating in his face. the only issue was the ringing sound still in his head. it made hearing difficult, but it was something minor.

all he needed were his eyes to see what his opponent was up to and saw he did. he observed as brad made it out of his crush site and walked with purpose in his direction,

''i can''t waste any more time. we can be interrupted at any moment, and the fight could go either way as a result.'' he noted as his eyes looked around, hoping he didn''t see anything unusual.

with a whoosh, he disappeared, heading straight for brad was momentarily startled before regaining his composure and bolting as well.

he understood what ross wanted to do and he agreed. their fight could go any direction from this moment on, and the more they delayed, the more unexpected variables played into their fight.

it was better that they ended everything right here and now than it being left to chance.

circulating his mana, ross'' head, legs and hands blazed in flames as the surrounding air heated wherever he passed. its intensity incinerated the flowers and weeds in his path and the closer he got to brad, the more powerful the flames grew.

brad watched the incoming mega explosion with a dumbfounded expression. he cursed his shortsightedness for not going all out like ross.

the attack he just unleashed was one of his trump cards; it was a dangerous ability that unravelled the forces holding matter together.

while it couldn''t do the same to a being yet, especially hunters, it had the potential. at this stage, however, it shatters the eardrums and bursts the eyes of the beings in its path.

it was enough to put ross out of the fight and then take him out with ease. but he had miscalculated. it was his loss.

with his acceptance and no escape path, his emotions settled as he embraced his defeat. naturally, he wished he could have moved further to amass more points.

''at least i learnt something from this fight...''

finally, the super explosion engulfed him as it swallowed everything in its path mountains and all. it was their fortune they did not encounter any interference.

[winner: ross ...]

the spectating students went into an uproar once the fight ended with many commenting on the intensity of the fight.

it was definitely one of the most satisfying matches so far.

"that was impressive. they aren''t in the top classes for nothing."

"i hear that ross fellow is the second or third strongest first year. that last move though..."

"... it''s not something you can do in real life. utilizing all his mana in that final attack would leave anyone drained and extremely weakened."

the students commented on the battle as well as pointed out minor issues here and there. what was doable in the vr world might not be a smart move in the real one.

"yeah... i''m sure he knows that. he just took advantage of what the vr world made possible."