A huge wall of fire stood in front of Varian. The temperature spiked in the blink of an eye.

Varian was tempted to teleport but instead he guarded his face and with the momentum he couldn't stop, dashed through the wall of fire.

Narcis, Ryan and Adir all gaped at the scene. They were Level 3s and would easily win a peak Level 2.

But only now were they slowly getting to know why this guy they looked down on so much was the first ranker.

Varian was fearless and exerted his complete strength. Despite being the stronger one, his opponent was suppressed psychologically. He was disturbed and wasn't able to exert his full strength.

Who wouldn't be in front of his abnormal monster?

Pain. Battle. Death.

Varian had no fear of these three. If an awakener achieved such a state, they'd always fight at their 100% while suppressing their opponents mentally.

'But such a state can only be reached by a handful. It needs decades of practice. He's so young...so when and why did this guy practice so hard?' Seth wondered but nevertheless, appreciated Varian.

"Haa!" Varian dashed through the wall of fire.

A burning pain spread from all his body. But in that moment, Varian only saw one thing.

His opponent.

"Th-ank you." He uttered and punched his opponent's horrified face.

"Click!"

"Bang"

His chin broke and he crashed into the ground and broke his bones.

The scorching wounds from his left shoulder reminded him of his first injury.

"Die." A fire ball shot at him.

Varian dodged it as the fire on his body burnt through his muscles.

"I said I'll beat you."

He kicked his opponent's left arm.

"Click"

"Aargh"

The bones of left shoulder and arm were broken.

The pain from his chest was another reminder to Varian.

"Sp..are" He said but the next moment another fire ball shot at him.

"I return what I get."

He kicked his chest.

The ribcage was broken directly and he was gravely injured.

After all, Fire Awakeners didn't have a body as strong as physical awakeners. The only reason he didn't die was because Varian was injured and could only exert less strength.

Varian was about to continue when Seth appeared on the stage.

"Varian is the winner." He said and held Varian.

Varian felt the world spin and the air hit him. The next moment, he was in the infirmary.

"Get well soon, young man." Seth smiled and said to the caretaker "Put the charges on me."

Varian took off his clothes and submerged into the healing pod. The healing liquid soaked him and seeped in.

The adrenaline rush ended and the pain caught up to him.

"Argh"

"Argh"

He winced and spasmed in pain. It was horrible. He felt pain from every inch of his body. It was like every part of his body was grilled.

"Arrgh"

"Kghh"

The healing liquid's effects finally set in.

A cooling sensation spread through his body and Varian felt the unbearable pain slowly decrease.

His frowning brows finally relaxed and he slowly fell asleep.

"Ding"

Varian woke up puzzled and finally remembered the duel.

He took the space ring near the pod and wore another set of clothes.

{You have been credited 30 merit points. You have 21 mp of penalty due. Do you wish to pay now?}

"Pay."

{Penalty paid. Do not repeat the mistakes again. Penalty increases each time.}

Varian rolled his eyes and stretched his arms.

There was not a single wound on him. His burnt skin, scorched muscles were all healed.

[+30 Xp.

Body Path Level 2: 40/200]

Varian saw a aura crystals vanish from the space ring and the next moment, chi in his body increased.

It flowed in every part of his body. In blood, bones, muscles and organs. His body was also slowly becoming more adaptive to it.

All his stats were increased significantly.

[28% Greater Human]

"I should thank the Instructor. He brought me here and also made sure Narcis followed the agreement."

Varian muttered and reached the counter to pay.

The lady saw him and smiled "Your fee is paid by Mr.Seth."

"Huh?" Varian was puzzled but didn't linger any longer.

It was 1 PM and the classes were finished. Varian grabbed lunch in the cafeteria and gorged himself. He saw a lot of students giving him weird looks.

At first he thought it was because of his eating, but then he realized they were all playing and sharing the video.

The title was <<Fire won't stop me>>

"Cough cough." Varian wanted to slap the guy who named it. It was too edgy.

'It's weird. I have whole day after lunch. Shouldn't military academies be strict?' He returned to his room and wondered.

Then he shook his head.

'Everyone needs to meditate and take in the aura from the surroundings to progress in their Divine Path. This needs a lot of time. Presumably, this is the intention.'

Varian sat on his bed cross legged and recalled today's fight.

'If the fight began with me our distance being closer, it would've been way easier.' He rubbed his chin in contemplation.

'Elemental Awakeners have weak bodies. Even though they can make up for it at higher levels, my peers can't. A direct hit will end the job but most can't get close.'

He channeled the space power in his body and smiled 'But I can teleport. Once I master teleportation, they will be taken down in one hit.'

Varian took out the aura crystals and started his training session.

Even though today's match seemed like a narrow victory, it was because he didn't use his space powers.

If it was a life and death match, the odds would favor him heavily.

Varian absorbed the aura from the aura crystals, a luxury to most students and sinked into training.

The aura converted into chi and space power. Varian lost the track of time and his comm woke him up.

[+5 Xp

+0 Xp

Body Path Level 2: 45/200

Space Path Level 1: 70/100]

'No progress in space path. I should attend space specialization class.' He noted and checked his comm.

{Tutors will pick their pupils in 1 hour}