[CH399+ Continued] Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power

Chapter 551

Pulses of water and healing magic flash behind me as I take Nat's buffs down from their max to zero while giving her self-regeneration to instantly heal her fatigue.

Rodrigo's voice yells out to the arena as the flame residue dissipates.

"That's it! The winner of the entire 4th Stage tournament is Natalie Sterling of the Apex Region. You've now earned yourself a seat on the Association's B-Class board, automatically receiving a B-Class hunter's ID, and have the choice of a long-term contract with any Region of your choosing!"

Slow claps begin to sound from the audience of Directors.

I grin while watching the Bedrock Region's director point at the leaderboard and celebrate while the claps from his section echo the loudest.

The last moments of the battle happened so fast, it was almost impossible to see.

Even the 40 or so applicants in the second viewing area are particularly confused when the fire and lightning residue clears.

They all begin to clap slowly too.

The other Directors and their guests are still discussing the Flame Emperor's power, and many have more faith that there is something mystical behind it and it's not just a powerful artifact.

However, in the top 20 viewing area, there is a far different reaction. All of the hunters present are either partially paralyzed by the lightning residue that ricocheted off my attack, or they're stunned by the fact that two hunters just mutilated the top-rated Apex Region's hunter without thinking twice.

Many of them yell at Ember and me with anger in their voices.

"Why would you do that?"

"What's wrong with you? A cheap shot like that when he was disoriented from losing the match.... Nice way to kick a man when he's down."

"Just because you lost to his artifact doesn't give you the right to make such a brutal assault when he's unguarded."

I shrug off the insults and watch Nat make her victory lap around the ring.

None of the Apex guards have anything negative to say to me or Ember. Neither Callum nor Mack, the battle healer, say a word to us either. They're the only ones that understand we just saved all of them from being at the mercy of whatever that orange gem would have produced from Trax.

Nat's respawn item begins to flash and blink, then she is also teleported into the viewing area with all of the other top 20 finishers.

Rodrigo continues to speak to the crowd.

"Thank you all for coming out this evening. I know your travels out to the Apex Region were rather abrupt, but I believe the show tonight was well worth it!"

More chatter comes to the crowd as the arena is cleaned up of the leftover residue and Rodrigo floats down into the ring to speak directly to the Directors.

"Our winner will have time to decide which contract to draw up once the exams are over."

He points toward the box of 40 or so applicants across the ring.

"These fighters, however, have already been disqualified from reaching B-Class status this year. All of their contact information has been provided before this event, their test scores and marking from the first three trials have also been provided for your leisurely study as well. Please do reach out, and know that all short-term contracts that are done outside of one's home region below one year long will have their payouts doubled by the Apex Region. The friendly trade of resources between the eight great regions is recommended and rewarded!"