Bastian, like most human beings, was not fond of pain. He dreaded it. A harsh surge of pain struck him, it was the worst pain he had ever felt. Mark’s flaming arrow only struck one spot but the pain instantly attacked every part of his body. Bastian had experienced without a doubt the most excruciating pain he had ever felt.

Almost every movement he made caused him to grit his teeth. He wasn't sure how deep the damage was, but he was sure that one of his ribs had been broken. A sharp pain in his abdomen that made him want to scream was the only reminder he needed to realize one important fact. A fact that he not noticed due to his own negligence.

I could die here...

Angry at himself for being so careless, Bastian decided to take action. After standing up, Bastian examined his surroundings. He looked forward and saw the trail of destruction left behind by his body. Broken trees with trunks as think as cow’s body were snapped in half as if they were tooth picks.

Astonished, Bastian decided to study his own body. They were plenty more bruises and cuts to add to the previous ones. Bastian had no doubt from the pain he felt that he had quite a few fractures. Yet he was still in one piece!

This body is incredible! I'm basically unharmed!

Bastian's examination of his own body turned up some interesting results. All of his most serious injuries, like his possible broken rib and fractures were all concentrated in one area. The front of his body, which had also been the impact point of the flaming arrow.

In other words, the impact from crashing into all those trees had barely harmed him at all!

There was also another interesting discovery Bastian made about his body. There wasn't a single burn!

Although warriors of the fire attribute had a certain resistance to fire, that resistance was limited by factors, such as your own cultivation. The enemy’s cultivation and level of attack also determined how much damage one would receive.

Bastian also had the water attribute, by having attributes that clash, so he should be weak in terms of defending attacks from both attributes, yet the fire had not done anything at all. It was still quite hot, but no visible damage was there.

Since his awakening, Bastian had not had the chance to truly test his immunity to fire. Most of his time was spent testing his attributes as a mage. Fire mages were not physically immune to fire but they could create defensive spells using it. In the library Bastian failed to find a spell that fit his needs in terms of strength.

Thus Bastian decided to focus on other forms of magic available to him. Through certain interactions, Bastian did know that he had a certain level of immunity to fire, but he had no way of knowing the degree to which this immunity would apply.

This flame arrow was a blessing in disguise for Bastian. Although it had injured him severely, it had also allowed him to learn a crucial fact. Bastian was immune to fire from a top grade Fighter! This information was very important, as it very important to know one's own weaknesses in battle. This led to Bastian having a thought, one that would continue to gnaw at his mind throughout the entire day.

The immunity is already this strong and I'm only a Student. What level will it reach if I became a Fighter, or better yet a Teacher!

Bastian could not help but grin at this thought. Bastian wanted to be a mage, but a mage's biggest vulnerability was physical weakness. Now that he knew how durable his body was and how immune it was to fire, Bastian could not help but grin.

After looking around, he picked up the swords that had followed him during the result of the clash. He had managed to remain gripped to them until the final moments. Fortunately they had not fallen far from him.

After picking the swords, Bastian stretched a bit and picked his targets with his e-vision. With e-vision, this distance and cover were of little concern. Even if Bastian and the group of soldiers were covered by a hundred more trees, Bastian would still be able to see their bodies.

Their bodies were like figures that burned in the middle of the night. Sticking out like a sore thumb. Bastian took his time to aim and let the swords fly, their paths were parabolic in nature, taking care to avoid being obstructed by the trees ahead.

Their speed was fast yet they barely made a sound as they moved, leading to two more warriors meeting their demise. From this distance, Bastian could barely hear their voices. Bastian judged that he was roughly four hundred meters away from the group.

Their normal voices were hard to pick out, but their screams were as clear as day as far as Bastian was concerned. Bastian observed his two targets fall. Bastian had picked targets that were a bit far apart, because he wanted the warriors to know a crucial fact.

No matter where you are, I can see you.

The moment the targets had fallen, Bastian started running to the group, as he ran, he had already noticed quite a few warriors getting ready to run. He had intended to chase after them and pick them off one by one, until he saw them stop. Bastian was now closer, so he heard Kenshin warning the group, making them stop.

Kenshin you d*ck! Is the whole point of your existence to screw me over?

It is much easier to kill someone when they have their backs to you, especially when they are alone. But the remaining warriors were together, and thanks to Kenshin's words, they were alert.

When he was a hundred meters from the group, Bastian decided to stop. This distance was close enough for him to hear what they were saying and was also close enough for him to take action if anything noteworthy occurred. Bastian wanted to use this opportunity to frighten the warriors.

Bastian knew that his absence would do quite a bit of damage to them psychologically. So he bided his time and waited, observing and formulating a plan at the same time. At this time, Bastian was still using e-vision, so he quickly noticed something strange. All of the fire and earth World Energy was started to accumulate in one area.

At first the movement of the energy was a bit odd, but it didn't take long for Bastian to notice where the energy was going. It was headed toward Mark. Or rather to be more accurate, it was being devoured by him.

Mark had cancelled the Martial Technique and was sitting down cross legged. Bastian then noticed the movement of World Energy picking up speed. The warriors around Mark also started noticing what was happening. Although they were not strong according to Bastian's standard, they were experienced enough to know exactly what was happening. The energy ripples around them being their guide.

With haste, all of the remaining warriors, including Ruka, formed a circle around Mark. Bastian found this action rather odd. But after putting two and two together, Bastian realized an important fact.

They are protecting him because they think he is their only chance of survival!

Bastian had never seen anyone breakthrough before, so he was not familiar with the process. After seeing the abnormal behavior the warriors had and the vortex of World Energy however, Bastian came to a frightening conclusion. Mark was attempting to become a Teacher!