The process repeated itself, the carbonization, the extreme pain. A little less at the beginning, but equally excruciating at the end, and then death.
…
[You burned to death.]
[Fire Resistance updated to Rank F]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne resurrected once again one step away from the bonfire. Without thinking much, once again he jumped into the flames.
And the process repeated itself, this time a little slower, a few extra seconds before the fire could truly consume him.
…
[You burned to death.]
[Fire Resistance updated to Rank F+]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne woke up and, without wasting time, jumped again.
…
[You burned to death.]
[You received: Fire Affinity (F-)]
[Fire Resistance updated to Rank D-]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne resurrected and was about to throw himself into the bonfire but stopped abruptly, throwing himself backward and falling on his butt on the ground.
The reason was that he had finally received something other than fire resistance.
"Fire Affinity." He murmured the term, echoing in his mind like a promise.
He thought for a moment and said.
"Status."
————————————————————
[Immortal Adaptation System — Status]
Name: Kyne Fritz
Age: 18
Talents: Immortal Adaptation (Unknown Rank)
Rank: F-
[Adaptations] (-)
{Spatial Pressure Resistance (A-), Fire Resistance (D-), Slash Resistance (F+), Piercing Resistance (F+), Impact Resistance (F), Fall Resistance (F), Poison Resistance (F), Mana Affinity (F-), Parasite Resistance (F-), Basic Immunity to Bacteria (F-), Fire Affinity (F-)}
————————————————————
The screen appeared instantly. His eyes quickly skimmed through the basic information, going straight to the adaptations. Things had changed quite a lot once again, but he focused on the new entry.
[Fire Affinity (Rank F-): Basic passive ability to sense and interact with igneous energy.]
Kyne closed the screen, determined.
"Really, the way to get stronger for now is dying and dying." He concluded, a smile of determination on his face.
"I will use the bonfire until I receive nothing more."
Decided, he threw himself into the fire once again.
This time, it took several seconds before he even began to feel heat. Several more seconds before he started to burn. And several additional minutes until he finally died.
Kyne realized that fire resistance, upon reaching Rank D-, had increased several times in qualitative efficiency.
It was not just "a little better", it was an abysmal difference.
…
[You burned to death.]
[Fire Resistance updated to Rank D]
[Fire Affinity updated to Rank F]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne did not waste time. He died again in the bonfire.
…
[You burned to death.]
[Fire Resistance updated to Rank D+]
[Fire Affinity updated to Rank F+]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
And again.
…
[You burned to death.]
[Fire Resistance updated to Rank C-]
[Fire Affinity updated to Rank D-]
[You will resurrect in 3… 2… 1…]
Kyne was reborn with each death with a smile on his face as he saw the Rank of the adaptations increasing. He seemed to have developed a taste for it.
It could become another addiction in his life. Now, Kyne was not focused only on the experiences of death but also on what would change in his body after each one of them.
Then, he threw himself into the bonfire again.
But this time, something different happened.
First of all, Kyne did not feel heat. It was as if the fire did not exist. He saw the flames dancing around him and felt the light in his eyes, but his skin remained cool and intact.
Kyne stayed there, at the center of the bonfire, for a full ten minutes. Nothing.
A slight warmth began to form, as if he were under an intense summer sun. Uncomfortable, but not painful. His skin did not carbonize, the pain did not arrive.
Kyne continued for half an hour. The wood burned, the flames rose, but he remained unharmed, as if he were made of stone instead of flesh.
"So, this is the limit, isn't it?" Kyne deduced, stepping out of the bonfire, which was now beginning to diminish, the wood being consumed.
It seemed that he could no longer die to the common fire of a bonfire. His resistance was now Rank C-, compared to the F- from earlier, the difference was abysmal.
At that moment, Kyne felt something else, a slight connection with the fire around him. It was small, almost imperceptible, but existent. Like a tenuous thread linking his consciousness to the flames.
Intrigued, Kyne raised his hand upward and focused. He was not sure what he was doing, he was just following an instinct, a new sensation that pulsed in his mind.
The flames responded.
They bent toward him, as if attracted by a magnet. Pieces of fire detached from the main bonfire, converging in his open palm, where they fused into a small sphere of concentrated flames.
A perfect ball of orange light and heat that gently spun over his skin without burning him.
Kyne did not think twice. He aimed at a tree to his right, a robust one with silvery bark that stood like a silent guardian.
Suddenly, with a thought, the fire flew.
The speed was far faster than Kyne could imagine, an orange ray that crossed the fifteen meters of distance in the blink of an eye. The fireball hit the tree with a small bang and an explosion of sparks.
The fire disappeared, consumed in the impact, but on the tree, where it had struck, a black carbonized circle the size of a plate appeared, lightly smoking.
Then, suddenly, a familiar sound arose in Kyne's head.
'Ding!'
[The Skills Function has been unlocked.]
[You have learned the skill: Fire Manipulation (Rank D)]