'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.
He planned to go all out. There was no need to worry about the quantity of mana left as they got a reset whenever they began a new match. The academy ensured everyone was in their best state to spare themselves the bitter complaints of losers.
Taking a page out of his book, Brad did something else with his sound abilities. He concentrated his mana into his hands as the very air molecules in the vicinity vibrated with visible waves.
Subtly, he did something else only he was aware of. He solidified the mana close to his ears to create something akin to earplugs. Its purpose clearly obvious, at least to him.
A couple of meters before the two clashed again, Brad let out a small smile as he looked directly into Ross's eyes. The flames surrounding him and emitting from his eyes gave him a uniquely imposing aura.
Ignoring all of that, he brought both hands in front of him and clapped. And the moment the two palms met; a powerful sound pulse accompanied by a higher frequency ringing sound exploded from his palms.
They spread outwardly at speeds visible to the naked eye. The waves followed each other in succession as whatever they encountered in their path was shredder.
Rocks crumbled to dirt, untangling the forces that held them together, and weeds disintegrated as their molecules failed to contain the energy that shook their bonds.
It was a marvel.
But Ross was not outdone as the moment he noticed Brad's open palm closing in on each other, he had a feeling as to what he was about to pull off.
'Let's see how you fare with this one!'
Before the palms even met, he leapt from his position and rose high above the ground, rising several metres and out of the range of the shockwave.
And while it continued to increase its range as it spread out, what Ross planned to do just needed a second.
Getting to his maximum height, he assumed a fetal position and concentrated all the mana in his cells, increasing the flames around his body as it took on a spherical shape around him, the heat increasing even more.
With a loud roar, he unleashed all his mana, and the raging fire within him exploded with the might of a small supernova.
The sphere grew in size and power as the heat waves spread out in all directions.
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."