Nat goes in for a finishing blow, but the timer runs out and Rodrigo's voice echoes throughout the ring.
At the same moment, I release my buff and take away Nat's flames and power.
"That ended our first semifinal match! Another unexpected chain of events! It seems the Flame Emperor will bestow its power to anyone who calls its name... They just have to believe...."
He grins, turning to all of the Regional Directors.
"Nonetheless, this match has ended without a kill. We will count a vote from our Directors to find out who has won!"
After about half a minute, the votes come back with Natalie being the winner 6:1.
The Bedrock director voted for his applicant even though it was clear he had no hope of pulling out a victory in the end.
I whisper under my breath.
"An expected turnout..."
Dane stares wide-eyed at the dome that still crackles with flaming residue.
"You... expected that...?"
A flash of white light brings Ember away and into the room we stand in about 5 meters to my left, and immediately I watch the healer at the back of the room approach him.
I can't help but let out a small laugh at the reactions of other hunters' surprise when he refuses her heals, then walks over to us covered in burns and sear marks on his cloak.
He stares forward at the ring just like me, crossing his arms while I give Nat Self-Regeneration and she walks back to her room.
He speaks to me through our link.
"I hope you had a good reason for all of this. I wanted to take a crack at that lightning user too... I wonder where he managed to get a divine fragment. Even if it was a weak one, mortals shouldn't be playing around with power like that. Especially at this low of a level, that easily could have killed him."
I raise an eyebrow and reply to him through our link while the arena is cleaned up to prepare for the next match.
"So it was divine energy... It messed with that concealment item you made when one of the bolts got close."
"Yeah, it might have even completely unraveled the barrier if it was a direct hit..."
My eyes widen, but I continue to stare forward with a blank expression.
"What do you mean unravel? What are those things? What is divine energy anyway? I can't even perceive it. If I wasn't already suspicious, and didn't see the light show that followed, that stone looked like nothing more than a red rock."
He grunts and shrugs, looking over his shoulders then back toward the arena as the apex workers leave a shiny brand-new arena behind.
"It's more complicated than just simple energy like mana or qi, or even demonic energy. It shouldn't even be manifested in such a rudimentary form on this world... Something is very wrong about all of this."
Ember's face twists a bit, and I can tell he's genuinely in deep thought.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo speaks up and two more fighters enter the ring.
Trax limps his way to the center of the arena, and Mack, the battle healer, walks in to face him with a confident stride.
I reply to Ember while their room doors close and the fight clock starts to count down.
"I'm going to need more of a response than that... Now isn't the time to be withholding information. However improbable it may be, it just happened. You saw how unbothered the Apex Region was after that light show, didn't you? Those golden eyes... I know you felt them too. Are you sure the Sun God isn't one of you Divine Beasts?"
He shakes his head and continues to stare forward.
"I'm sure of it, he isn't."
At the same time as these words hit my mind through our link, I witness the healer from the Apex region walk forward and place both of his hands on Trax's chest and a blinding series of light pulses fill the ring.
It's not teleportation magic, it's healing skills being activated.
Seconds pass and the lights fade.
Trax is now the one standing tall with a determined and evil smirk across his face while Mack falls onto the ground pale, sweating and shaking just as Trax looked moments ago.
A whisper escapes from his lips.
"I- I surrender. I've done my duty."
He's teleported out of the ring and into the finishers stands right behind us.
Trax makes a slow walk around the ring while Rodrigo yells with an excited tone to the crowd.
"That settles it! An unorthodox win, but Trax is now moving onto the Finals to face Natalie. Two applicants from the Apex Region will be facing each other in a final bout. The self-proclaimed strongest Lightning Mage in the world, and the follower of the Flame Emperor. Who will claim this year's prize and win it all?"
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Author's Note:
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[CH399+ Continued] Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power
FantasyA story following a young hunter named Jay. He has grown up in a world where dungeons, monsters, and humans with leveling systems are a cultural norm. At the age of 20, he awakens a skill that allows him to steal the abilities of monsters. While oth...
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