"Hey, congrats on the win," I remarked with a smile.

"Thanks, you too! Even though I knew you'd gotten stronger, I didn't expect you to defeat Kelsey so easily. You got faster at the end, was that Arouse or Enrage?" Responded Ariella, sounding pretty cheerful.

"Arouse. Enrage felt like it'd be overkill," I replied wryly.

"Yeah, true. She's super strong, but her speed's on the lower side, while it's pretty much the opposite for you. Same goes for me too, I can't match her in brute strength, but I usually have the upper hand whenever we spar since I'm faster."

"Mhm, which is pretty unusual for a Brawler, the vast majority of Hunters in your Class typically focus on developing their brute strength, while you're more focused on speed and agility," I mused thoughtfully.

"Yup, I was honestly pretty disappointed when I found out my Class was Brawler. I didn't want to get all big and muscular, you know?

I mean, no offense to anyone who is all jacked and stuff, but I just didn't want that for myself," She admitted sheepishly, before adding, "Then, I realized, there's no rules against Brawlers working on speed over strength, and that was that."

"True. While it's probably easier to master the primary Hunter Classes since there's a significant sample size to use as a guide, the downside is that most Hunters probably won't try anything new, experiment or think outside the box with their abilities since it's easier to just follow the standard practices and templates that have already been tried and tested by others," I reasoned with a nod.

"Hey, that's a good point. I'll have to keep that in mind, maybe mess around with my powers...who knows, I might discover a new Skill or ability. Heh, or maybe I've already done that...guess you'll have to wait and find out."

The first round of the tournament is almost over, I texted her to congratulate her on her win, and she responded by video-calling me.

The second round is set to start immediately after the first, so as soon as the final match of round one ends, it'll be my turn to fight again.

"Well, now, consider my interest piqued," I remarked in intrigue, before sitting up as the sixteenth and final match of round one began.

"Oh, looks like your next match will start soon. Guess I should let you go. Good luck, I'm hoping we get to face each other, I-...," She began, before trailing off.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Wait, are you not watching the matches? Because it just ended," She replied, right as the announcer declared the winner.

What, already? No way, it literally just started.

"Guess I should get ready," I responded in bemusement, as I stood up and stretched my arms out.

"Yeah, you don't want to be late. Good luck, Kai," She remarked encouragingly.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Talk to you later," I smiled, as I made sure my blade and gun were securely fastened.

"Mhm, later!"

As she hung up, it didn't take long before the light in the room lit up. I stepped out of the room and headed down to the arena, no boos this time as I walked out and approached the arena, though I could feel a lot of stares on me.

"Hey, it's been a while," My opponent greeted me with a smile, as the announcer did his thing.

"Yeah, it has. I was impressed watching your first match, you've really improved," I replied as I began warming up.

"Thanks, but coming from you, that's a bit, uh...yeah," He responded with a wry smile.

"Fair," I chuckled as the barrier formed around the arena.

"Not too stoked about my odds after seeing you take down an Ace, but hey, I'll give it my best shot," He remarked, before the two of us got ready as the countdown ticked down to three.

Two.

One.

I cracked my knuckles as the countdown ended, the Lancer rushing in towards me with a determined gleam in his eyes, spinning his spear around as he closed in, before whipping the bottom of his handle up towards me.

I took a step back as the bottom of the handle came zipping up to my chin, evading it before he lunged forward and chanted under his breath as he drove the blade of the spear towards me.

I shuffled across to my left to evade it, before weaving back across the space as he chased after me, unfurling a fierce barrage of thrusts and slashes.

The edges of his spear whizzed past my sides as I reacted to each of his attacks, a growing sense of frustration around him as I dodged without any real trouble.

He gritted his teeth, straining himself to attack with more speed as I evaded all of his strikes...but he was overreaching beyond his capabilities, and as a result, his attacks were starting to get a bit clumsy and easier to dodge.

I ducked as he swung his spear across at my head, before springing back as he whipped the blade of his weapon down towards me, the blade striking the arena with a sharp clang, before he chased after me again, chanting as he closed in on me...

"[Strike], [Double Impact]!"

I tilted my head across as he unfurled a vicious thrust of his spear at my head, the blade whizzing past my right ear.

I swiftly reached out and grabbed the handle of the spear before he could pull it back, tightening my grip on it before giving it a swift tug, pulling him off-balance.

As he stumbled forward, I got low and swung my foot across and struck his ankle before abruptly letting go of his spear, a startled yell ringing out as he fell over and hit the floor with a thud, his spear skidding away with a clatter as he lost his grasp over it.

"You should give up...because if this isn't strong enough to kill you, it'll hurt like hell," I warned him, as I placed my palm over his solar plexus.

"Mana Pulse, huh? Yeah, okay...I give up!" He called out, before I took my hand off and stepped back as the barrier faded.

"And the winner of the first match of round two is...the mysterious, apparently J-Ranked, contestant, Kaivel Intrix!"

"Damn...couldn't even get you to draw your weapons or use any Skills, that's a blow to my pride," The Lancer sighed in disappointment.

"Not sure if this helps make you feel better, but you've definitely improved immensely. It's just...I've improved a lot more," I replied with a smile, before turning around and walking off the arena...

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