In the blink of an eye, another ten hours went by before Vaan heard another notification from the system.

Ding!

<Your body has been tempered by fire>

<You have gained one point in defense>

<You have gained two points in strength>

<Your fire affinity has increased>

..

<Your fire affinity has reached 62%>

<Your Fire Spirit Body has improved>

..

Although it took twice the time to raise his fire affinity by the same value, any improvement was still an improvement.

Vaan didn't care for the time.

As long as he sensed improvements in his body, he would continue to temper his body in the first stage.

At that moment, numerous dragons and magma wyrms had also entered the first stage to challenge the Trial by Fire.

At first, Vaan thought he would at least encounter one or two troublemakers. But contrary to his expectation, the dragons and magma wyrms all minded their own business.

They didn't have the spare energy to look for trouble, not when they could barely endure the scorching-high temperatures of the first stage.

On the other hand, the stronger magma wyrms and dragons had all descended to the second stage and beyond.

As such, Vaan was the only one who felt relaxed in the first stage.

Furthermore, the Quasi-Divine Fire Spirit oversaw the entire Trial by Fire to carry out the late Fire Dragon God's will.

No one was allowed to help another in the trials. That also meant no one could sabotage another and prevent them from passing the trials.

Seeing how there weren't any conflicts in the first stage, it was that the dragons and magma wyrms were all repeated challengers.

They understood the consequences of causing trouble.

Van could only imagine the punishment.

Another twenty hours quickly passed, reaching thirty-five hours since Vaan entered the first stage before he received more notifications from the system.

Ding!

<Your body has been tempered by fire>

<You have gained one point in defense>

<You have gained two points in strength>

<Your fire affinity has increased>

..

<Your fire affinity has reached 63%>

<Your Fire Spirit Body has improved>

..

After that, it took a whopping forty hours before Vaan heard the following strings of notifications from the system.

Ding!historical

<Your body has been tempered by fire>

<You have gained one point in defense>

<You have gained two points in strength>

<Your fire affinity has increased>

..

<Your fire affinity has reached 64%>

<Your Fire Spirit Body has improved>

..

Nevertheless, Vaan no longer paid attention to the system notifications.

Having spent over three days tempering his body in the first stage of the Trial by Fire, Vaan gained a solid grasp of his body.

He could sense the micro-changes occurring inside his body, letting him know when his attributes were improving, even without the system's notifications.

At the same time, he felt like his mind and body were in complete sync, which allowed him to maneuver according to his will flawlessly without a margin of error.

Nevertheless, it would just remain a feeling until proven through the practice of some physically-straining martial arts.

'I guess this is what it meant by the benefits of meditation; there's a chance to experience spiritual enlightenment,' Vaan mused.

But achieving a state of emptiness in meditation while simultaneously undergoing a body-tempering process was extremely difficult.

It was hard to say how many people could replicate the same feat.

..

..

..

Outside the Trial by Fire, Astoria stood edge of the ninth mountain's hollowed peak and glanced down into the Land of Fire with a face riddled with concerns.

If not for Lord Narvim periodically entering the Trial by Fire to check on Vaan, she would have already thought he experienced a mishap inside.

On the other hand, Eniwse and Aeliana were completely calm since they shared a special connection with Vaan.

They could vaguely sense his status and knew when he was in actual danger.

Nevertheless, despite their repeated reassurance, Astoria couldn't stop worrying. After all, she had heard it wasn't normal to spend three days in the first trial, even for first-stage repeaters.

"You worry too much, Headmaster Astoria. In fact, your level of concern isn't normal. Even lovers might not be as concerned as you are," Hester mentioned before asking, "Have you fallen for Sir Vahn's charms?"

"What? Of course, that's not true." Hester's question made Astoria's heart skip a beat, but she quickly denied it, "You're overthinking it, Lady Hester."

"In this day and age, love isn't even worth mentioning; people only dual-practice for benefits or to continue the lineage," Astoria calmly continued as if love was something trivial.

"However, all is meaningless if we don't even have the freedom to live. After learning just how big of a threat Gehenna poses to our world, I expected you to have a greater sense of urgency. Vaan is the only person in three hundred years I've seen with overflowing talent and knowledge."

"No one can even compare to him. With him around, we might actually have a chance to overcome the worldly crisis. But without him? Our future would be very grim," Astoria stated.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Hester casually replied. She was amused to see how desperate Headmaster Astoria was trying to defend herself.

"But as you said, Sir Vahn has overflowing talent. Neither man nor witch could compare to him. If we don't let him grow, he'll never reach the same heights as the Great Devils."

"Don't tell me that you think his knowledge, alone, can raise many witches to stand up to the Great Devils, Headmaster Astoria?" Hester cast a sidelong glance at Astoria.

In the past three days, Hester had thought about many things.

She had come to terms with the fact that even if she didn't want to fall behind, she had no way of catching up to Sir Vahn's improvement speed.

Once she came to that realization and accepted it, she felt like she had left behind a huge burden.

At the same time, she was no longer as nervous when facing a reputable High Witch like Headmaster Astoria, and could even joke with her.

"You can fool me, but you can't fool yourself, Headmaster Astoria. You like him."

"I.."

After being called out blatantly, Astoria's mind became a mess; she could not think.