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 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 fits 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 retain his grip 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!
The might of late stage Foundation Building Cultivators was truly astonishing. Teachers and Scholars were feared throughout the Sovereign Continents as powerhouses. Not to say there weren't more powerful cultivators.Cultivators who were above the Foundation Building realm, rarely took part in matters of the continent itself. Or to be more accurate, matters that the public knew of. The continent was so large that it made sending and receiving information across it extremely difficult. For commoners, low ranked nobility and the majority of the populace, word of mouth and letters were the most reliable means of long distance communication.Sebastian Tirius himself was from a very powerful noble family. Due to this, he had been in contact with many powerful cultivators. Yet, despite the power and knowledge that was at his feet, the young Sebastian never took an interest in matters of cultivation. The only information he knew was what his family had forced him to learn.
The might of late stage Foundation Building Cultivators was truly astonishing. Teachers and Scholars were feared throughout the Sovereign Continents as powerhouses. Not to say there weren't more powerful cultivators.Cultivators who were above the Foundation Building realm, rarely took part in matters of the continent itself. Or to be more accurate, matters that the public knew of. The continent was so large that it made sending and receiving information across it extremely difficult. For commoners, low ranked nobility and the majority of the populace, word of mouth and letters were the most reliable means of long distance communication.Sebastian Tirius himself was from a very powerful noble family. Due to this, he had been in contact with many powerful cultivators. Yet, despite the power and knowledge that was at his feet, the young Sebastian never took an interest in matters of cultivation. The only information he knew was what his family had forced him to learn.
Bastian's attempt to affect the minds of those present had gone well. Mark's quick response however made things more difficult. The warriors became afraid of Bastian, that was evident, but they were even more afraid of Mark. Even as a quasi-Teacher, he was still far more powerful than all of them combined. Mark decided to harness that fear and use it to his favor.Mark's objective was to use these warriors to test Bastian. There were still quite a few warriors that were supposed to be able to get Bastian to act. At that moment Mark wanted to know as much about Bastian as possible."Everyone, attack the boy now. Either you die by my hands, or you take a chance and fight him. I give you 10 seconds to decide." As Mark spoke, his eyes were filled with cold killing intent, he no longer saw the people around him as fellow warriors but as tools for him to do as he pleased. Such was the fate of the weak; the strong could do what they wanted with them.As warriors, as gl
Face was an important factor for those who lived in the Sovereign Continent. For cultivators, especially warriors, face was even more important. Mages were more liberal in their behavior and would often resort to any means to win a battle. Warriors on the other hand, did not have such a luxury.By the time Ruka had come to, Bastian had already wiped out every warrior before her. To Bastian, most of the battles that day were like a blur. He had fought for so long and had fought so many battles that he was then essentially fighting on a subconscious level. He was still clear headed but he had realized long back that Kenshin's experience was more effective, the less he thought about it.It was similar to walking. If one had to think about where one would place his or her foot consciously with every step one took, then walking would be a very arduous process. Bastian already had Kenshin's experience, so the process was already somewhat familiar to him. All he had to do was
As Mark and Bastian's battle raged on in the forest, Kenshin silently observed the battle. He had kept his word and had not interfered. His face was as stiff as always but he was quite impressed by the progress Bastian had made throughout the day.A body that has awakened from such a powerful beast's bloodline is truly remarkable. Bastian's rate of improvement is truly astonishing.At the beginning, Kenshin had no intention of helping Bastian improve himself but as time went on; Bastian's memories cemented themselves into Kenshin's mind. At first this was a bit tricky, due to the fact that Bastian's perspective was also included as well.If Kenshin had been a weak minded person, he would have suffered from a mental disorder.Overtime Kenshin realized that he liked Bastian's character. Things like the fact that he came from another world did not matter much to Kenshin. What mattered to him was Bastian's personality.He is wise, and humble, intellige
"You are only delaying the inevitable! Stop running like a coward and face me!" bellowed Mark as he chased after Bastian's figure frantically. "It's not running. It's a strategic retreat." said Bastian with a snicker.Mark had grown tired of chasing Bastian. For the past ten minutes, he had covered countless meters going for Bastian, only to have the latter dodge him at the last moment. He felt like someone who was about to eat, only to have their meal taken right in front of their eyes.Mark was a patient man but this was pushing his limits.He won't be able to keep this up for long, I've almost got him. I don't know why he is also becoming faster, but my rate of improvement has become faster than his. It is only a matter of time before I end him!At first, the two were both improving but Mark's rate of improvement became higher than Bastian's at some point. With every second, with every movement, Mark was consolidating his cultivation base and getting u
Bastian had a unique perspective in this world, in regard to what magic and martial arts were. To him, science was attempting to understand the laws of nature and using them to your advantage. Whereas, cultivation was attempting to bend these laws, or perhaps even break them.Things like creating water, compressing it to no end, being immune to fire, flying and many more, all things that earthen science hand deemed impossible. Bastian himself knew that his body was unusually strong and steady. Yet at the same time, it was not heavy. His skin was much tougher than usual, yet it was soft to the touch.Countless contradictions made Bastian come up with one conclusion, that he could never truly understand everything. Thus, he would do the next best thing, which was, to use what he understood and just go with it.An example of this was pressure magic itself. Normally, if one wanted to create a tornado, a sufficient amount of mana would be needed. A Novice could not c
Ruka started despairing. She knew from the way Bastian had acted that he was not a person who showed mercy upon his enemies, this thought was further cemented by looking at Mark's corpse. She was barely able to tell that the corpse was even that of a human, but she had no doubt in her mind that it was Mark.She did have one more card to play, but it was a card she did not want to use, because the consequences of using it would be dire, whether it worked or not. Yet one more look at her companion's remains forced her to steel her resolve.Bastian on the other hand was cursing in his head. His was cursing himself for underestimating the power of his own technique. He had been caught in the blast radius and flung around like his body was weightless. The result was him injuring one of his legs, making it a hard task to even walk.Bastian was not even concerned about the fact that his gamble had paid off. His embarrassment outweighed his instinct for survival, especi