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Jesse stood on the stage, not bothering to check his opponent's information since their rank was slightly below his.
His opponent stepped onto the stage, and Jesse blinked at the familiar face. The pressure he emitted was compelling, and he didn't emit such pressure the last time they met.
"Inspect."
[Name: Flynn Redhart]
[Race: Human]
[Status: Awakened]
[Ability: Fire]
[Tier: Intermediate]
[Level: 4]
Jesse's lips twitched. The orange-haired boy was the same one he had beaten up to gain access to the hospital's lab. But how did he reach the fourth level of the Intermediate tier so quickly? He was even on the verge of breaking into the Advanced tier, judging by the air surrounding him. If Flynn had always been this strong, he would've put up more of a fight that night.
Suspicion clouded Jesse's eyes as he activated his search skill.
"Activate Pure Ceteorin Search."
[Pure Ceteorin Search activated.]
[Pure Ceteorin detected a few meters away from you.]
His face scrunched into a frown. Unlike Gary, the orange-haired boy had taken pure Ceteorin instead of the semi-processed type. Therefore, Jesse couldn't judge Flynn based on what he'd seen before. Did Billy O'Malley sell this one, too? How did he keep getting his hands on all this Ceteorin? Each question only led to more, and Jesse wanted answers. But first, he needed to find Billy O'Malley—and to do that, he had to end this fight quickly.
"Are you ignoring me?" Flynn's voice snapped Jesse out of his thoughts.
"Did you say something, orange?" Jesse asked, watching as Flynn's face contorted in anger.
Flynn had faced his fear and done everything he could to return and defeat Jesse. But still… Jesse didn't care.
"-Begin!-"
The trumpet blared, but Flynn and Jesse remained motionless. Flynn knew better than to charge in first; he'd seen enough of Jesse's past duels. Jesse, meanwhile, wasn't one to rush into a fight.
"What are you doing?" Jesse's frown deepened as his patience wore thin.
"Come at me!" Flynn yelled.
"..."
Seeing Jesse's uninterested look, Flynn gritted his teeth as flames wrapped around him. They formed a string of fire that slowly took the shape of a dragon.
The fiery dragon coiled around Flynn, its heat distorting the air between them as it roared to life. Jesse's gaze remained steady, his expression unreadable. The tension between them hung heavy, thick with anticipation, but Jesse's hands stayed still by his sides.
"Come on, Jesse!" Flynn shouted in frustration, his voice sharp. "Fight me like you mean it!"
Without waiting for a response, Flynn swung his arm forward, and the dragon lunged toward Jesse, its searing fangs aiming for his face. Jesse moved swiftly, shifting just enough to evade the molten maw by a hair's breadth. His footwork was precise, barely disturbing the ground beneath him.
Flynn's eyes blazed with intensity. "You're going to regret underestimating me!" he roared, shaping more strings of fire that shot toward Jesse's torso. The flaming tendrils spiraled through the air like whips, crackling as they slashed the space between them.
Jesse's movements were smooth, almost casual. He leaned back, letting the flames pass mere inches from his chest before stepping forward again, completely unharmed. It wasn't as easy as it looked— the heat from the dragon was intense, but Jesse could endure it thanks to his fast healing.
"Stop dodging!" Flynn's voice cracked as his frustration mounted. He clenched his fists, and the fire around him swirled into a vortex of heat. With a flick of his wrist, he sent more flaming strings toward Jesse's abdomen. Jesse twisted his body, letting the fire shoot past him harmlessly, his eyes never leaving Flynn.
Flynn growled in frustration, gathering more fire and coiling it tighter, increasing its density and heat. The flames around him intensified, turning from orange to a fierce blue as he hurled another barrage of attacks at Jesse. Each fiery lash aimed to burn through Jesse's defenses, but he evaded with practiced ease, always one step ahead.
"Why won't you fight back?!" Flynn shouted, his breath ragged. His control over the fire grew erratic as he lashed out again, this time with two long ropes of fire—one aimed at Jesse's chest, the other at his abdomen. Jesse sidestepped the flames once more.
The crowd watched in awe as Jesse continued to dodge every attack without lifting a finger to retaliate. Flynn's frustration turned to desperation as he drew even more fire from the air, molding it into a massive wall of flames that surged toward Jesse like a tidal wave.
Jesse's eyes narrowed, and in a swift motion, he crouched low, allowing the wave to pass over him. He sprung back up, still untouched, closing the gap between himself and Flynn.
"You can't ignore me forever!" Flynn's voice cracked as he sent another fiery string at Jesse. But this time, Jesse didn't just dodge. He stepped forward, swiping his hand through the air as if batting away a mere insect. The fire dissipated on contact, as though it had never existed. The flames burned through his clothes and scalded his flesh, but his rapid healing went unnoticed by the spectators.
[HP - 299/300]
Before Flynn could conjure another flame, Jesse attacked. He had no desire to use his ability reaver skill, so he opted for a different approach—using his newly acquired knowledge.
He immediately located the carotid artery in Flynn's neck, grabbing him as if to strangle him, but instead, applying pressure to the artery with his thumb.
Flynn flailed, conjuring another, much smaller flame dragon.
Jesse jerked back as the flames burned through his shirt. The fight was dragging on longer than it should have.
As Flynn struggled to keep his dragon burning, Jesse activated his claw skill, but only on one finger. Ignoring the heat, he ran through the glitching flame dragon and grabbed Flynn's arm, sticking his clawed finger beneath it, steadying him.
"Argh!" Flynn screamed in pain as Jesse's claw pierced his arm, but to the spectators, it looked like he was merely trying to break Flynn's bones.
"Consume."
[Using this skill risks extracting the opponent's ability. Do you still wish to proceed?]
Jesse stared blankly at his screaming opponent—a bully and a cheat. Such people didn't deserve to have abilities.
"Yes," Jesse answered coldly.
[Extracting Pure Ceteorin...]
[...]
The flame dragon vanished, leaving only wisps of fire. Dark blue veins popped from Flynn's arms before fading.
[Pure Ceteorin successfully extracted.]
Flynn fell limply to the ground as Jesse let go of him.
"-The winner is Jesse Louis!-"
The crowd erupted in cheers as Jesse walked off the stage. It was time to find Billy O'Malley.