Hm...yeah, I might be screwed.

My next opponent is on another level...I already knew of her, she's highly regarded in Sanctuary Theta as arguably the most powerful active Hunter in the Sanctuary, and among the top ten Aces in the entire world, not counting the X-Aces.

She used to be known as the Explosion Mage, but after the term Arcane Mage was renamed to Arcane Hunter, she changed her title to Explo-Blader.

Little bit of a tongue twister, and I think Explosion Mage sounded better, but that's not really important right now.

I managed to get changed and watch her previous matches before the break ended, and the reason I managed that was because...all her previous matches lasted no longer than a few seconds.

I was currently approaching the arena, deafening cheers ringing out in anticipation across the entire stadium, my opponent approaching from the other side.

I cast Appraisal as soon as I caught sight of her, and her stats are pretty alarming:

Personal Details:

Name: Ciel Campbell

Age: 32

Gender: Female

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 80 KG

Hunter Details:

Type: Arcane Hunter

Class: Explo-Blader

Attribute: N/A

Spells: Explosion Bullet, Explosion Sphere, Explosion Arrow, Explosion Bullet Scattershot, Explosion Sphere Scattershot, Explosion Arrow Scattershot, Explosion Spear, Explosion Spear Scattershot, Explosion Nova

Skills: High Elemental Resistance, Mid Status Effect Resistance

Stats:

HP: 953

MP: 994

Strength: 955

Agility: 702

Vitality: 951

Perception: 898

Power Level: 908,900

Potential: 961,300

Without a doubt, the highest Power Level I've ever seen.

And even though her build is more Strength and Vitality-focused, her Agility is still a lot higher than mine.

And to make matters worse, Enrage is still on cooldown, I won't be able to use it again for a bit over twenty minutes.

But even if I could use Enrage, only my Agility would be higher than hers, she'd still have me beat with all her other stats.

"You've caused quite a stir, haven't you? Your abilities are fascinating, I'm rather looking forward to this," She greeted me with a smile, as we stepped onto the arena.

"Well, you seem awfully calm. That certain you'll win, huh?" I replied wryly.

She had dark blonde hair with an orange tinge to it, tied up in a ponytail.

Her eyes were strikingly beautiful, her irises a sort of gradient mix of yellow, orange and red. She had a light brown complexion, with a strong, attractive build.

Despite her super high Strength and Vitality, she didn't look all that muscular.

From what I know, once you reach a certain level, your body effectively evolves, including your muscles.

So, even though she's got the highest Strength stat I've ever seen, she wasn't all bulky and jacked.

Her arms looked pretty toned and sturdy, she's definitely very well-built, but visually speaking, I've seen Hunters who look way more muscular than she does while having way lower Strength stats.

Her gear is fairly minimal, she had on a sleeveless, unzipped dark orange jacket over a tight, long-sleeved black top, and a red waist cape that went just past the back of her knees, over black trousers and black boots.

She had a sword strapped to her belt across the left side of her waist, and a pair of rectangular goggles with a red frame hanging around her neck.

She had a red Aura, and wore rings on both her index fingers, each embedded with Mana Orbs of a similar hue to her Aura.

"No, my victory is far from assured. But, well...I certainly do have the advantage. Your Aura is impressive, and you even have the ability to boost your power, like you did in your previous match. I can't afford to take you lightly," She responded, putting her goggles on as the barrier formed around the arena.

"This is it, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the final of this year's edition of the HCC! This is sure to be a fiery battle, so make some noise!

Our first finalist, the one who's stolen the spotlight in this competition, the J-Rank who's definitely not J-Rank, Kaivel Intrix!

And our second finalist, a woman who needs no introduction, and a two-time champion of the HCC, we've got Ciel Campbell of the Demonsbane Guild!"

"I don't know about you, but I find this part pretty embarrassing," Smiled Ciel sheepishly.

"Yeah, it's a bit much," I nodded in agreement.

"Now, without any further ado, it's time for the countdown! Yell it out for the whole world to hear! TEN!!!"

"NINE!!!" The crowded boomed in deafening unison.

"EIGHT!!!"

"SEVEN!!!"

"SIX!!!"

"FIVE!!!"

"FOUR!!!"

"THREE!!!"

"TWO!!!"

"ONE!!!"

I swiftly drew out Desecrator as the countdown ended, raising my blade up as Ciel raised her left hand towards me, a red glow shining out before she manifested a ball of red energy, swirling around intensely as it steadily expanded.

"Let's kick this off with a bang! [Explosion Sphere]!" She chanted, before exclaiming as she fired it at me, "BOOM!!!"

"<Drain>!" I swiftly chanted in response as the ball of explosive red energy came shooting towards me.

I expanded the jaws of Drain as the ominous projectile closed in on me, swallowing it up.

Alright, now-...huh? She's gone completely quiet, standing still with a strange look on her face.

"What's your problem?" She muttered icily.

"Uh...what?" I responded in bemusement.

"Dodging is fine, just so long as the explosion happens. But you made it disappear, there was no boom. Damn it...damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!!! I...I feel so...so dissatisfied! [Explosion SPEAR SCATTERSHOT]!!!" She snapped furiously, a barrage of narrow, rapid explosive projectiles shooting towards me.

I raced across the arena, evading a few of the explosive spears, swallowing up a couple with Drain as a chain of explosions erupted across the space behind me, before my eyes widened as she shot towards me with immense speed, closing in on me in a matter of seconds as she drew her sword out, before unfurling a rapid slash of her blade at my head.

I narrowly ducked under it, the blade severing a couple of strands of my hair, before she swiftly sprang back as I began to swing my own blade up at her, firing out another explosive projectile at me in an instant.

I quickly twisted my body across as I failed to get Drain in the way in time, my blood running cold as her attack missed my chest by barely a millimeter, before shooting past me and exploding as it hit the wall of the barrier...holy shit, Ariella's explosive flames in her Blaze Ignition state were powerful, but they were nothing compared to the sheer force of Ciel's explosions.

"Ah, that's a lot better...nothing like a good explosion to lift the spirits," She smiled as I backed away and got some distance, a content look on her face.

Seriously? She flew off the handle just because I swallowed up her first explosion?

What, did she feel blueballed or something? Think she might have a screw or two loose in there...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.