15 Resistance Skill
Finally he saved the most dangerous looking magic skill for last, [Fire Cloak].
According to the description this skill seemed to be a double-edged weapon since it would indifferently deal damage to both him and his enemies.
Realizing that among the many inherent dangers of this magic skill there was a serious risk of his only clothes getting destroyed he decided it would be best to remove his custom designed Italian silk PJ's, an place them into the safety of his [Spatial Storage]. As he removed his shirt he suddenly heard a low-pitched "DING!" sound.
Intrigued, he quickly checked his status an discovered that the "Equipped" line now displayed (Black Silk Pajama Set [Black Silk Pajama Pants]).
Putting his shirt back on he suddenly heard a high-pitched "DING!" sound and realized it must be the system informing him that he was equipping/unequipping an item.
Having discovered the cause of the "DING!" he contently proceeded to remove his top, stowing it safely in his [Spatial Storage] together with his silk pajama pants.
Now standing naked he braced himself taking a breath before quickly casting the magic skill with a shout.
"[Fire Cloak]!"
Instantly his body was bathed in red hot fire, as the scorching flames softly roared into existence aloud roasting his flesh like a overcooked steak.
As he felt his skin begin to char he gritted his teeth, using his iron will tempered through the hellish crucible of countless life and death situations in order to suppress the urge to scream aloud all the while thinking to himself, "Hmm....stings a bit."
As the flames intense heat began melting his skin he began to worry that he might have been too hasty in using this skill since the damage may be irreversible, however almost instantly his burnt flesh began to rapidly heal appearing to reach a critical point triggering the rapid healing of the skin as it began to grow back better than new.
Watching, and even more so feeling his body go through the endless cycle of being seared with deadly flames that covered his body with 4th degree burns before melted his flesh almost to the bone only to then see and feel the flow of destruction reverse as his body began to regenerate at an insane speed instantly being healed filled him with a strangely morbid curiosity as he watched his body constantly being forged in the diabolical fires of his own skill. After what seemed like an eternity but was in fact only a mere 60 seconds, the skill deactivated and the fire instantly disappeared.
Checking himself for any permanent damage he examined his naked body finding all of his countless old battle scars had disappeared with his skin now as smooth as a newborns. With his skin restored to a factory mint condition, the only real problem seemed that all of his body hair was gone.
"DING!"
[System Notification: Skill Experience Reached. Skill [Fire Resistance][Lv. 1] Acquired.]
[System Notification: Skill Experience Reached. Skill [Pain Resistance][Lv. 1] Acquired.]
[Fire Resistance][Lv. 1] - You resist 10% of all fire damage.
Type: Passive.
Exp. 0\1,000
[Pain Resistance][Lv. 1] - You resist 10% of all pain damage.
Type: Passive.
Exp. 0\1,000
"DING!"
[System Notification: Class Skill [Resistance Skill Mastery] Unlocked.]
[Resistance Skill Mastery][Lv. 1] - You are now innately gifted at resisting all types of damage. All resistance skills receive a 100% performance boost and a 10% chance of damage reflection (Damage Sent × 2) to damage source. All resistance skills receive a 100% experience boost.
Exp. 0\100,000
"DING!"
[System Notification: New Title [Iron-Willed] Acquired.]
[Iron-Willed] - You possess an iron will allowing you to retain your sense of self and resist things thought to be impossible too. As such, you now resist 20% of all damage.
"Interesting" Salvatore thought realizing that it had been worth suffering silently through the mind-crushing agony of having his flesh roasted since it had ultimately resulted in him acquiring two new skills with the added bonus of a powerful new title. The moment he read the two new skills description he shouted excitedly.
"This is it! This is what I've been missing!"
For it was exactly these two resistance skills which were the key to mastering the [Fire Cloak] skill. As long as he could neutralize the skills negative aspect, he would be able to add a powerful new weapon to his magical arsenal. He could see it already, a group of enemies try to surround him, coming nearer and nearer, then, at the exact moment they are in range, "BOOM" he activates [Fire Cloak] and they are trapped in a sea of flames. Hell, with the level of destruction [Fire Cloak] could cause simply grabbing onto someone and not letting go would deal them serious, if not fatal damage.
With this realization he immediately casted the skill again.
"[Fire Cloak]!"
As the fire instantly blazed into existence covering his body in bright orange flames he instantly realized their temperature had slightly dropped. Examining the easier burnt places on his body he realized the rate of destruction was somewhat reduced in comparison to his previous attempt. Furthermore the amount of pain he felt from the ruthless flames was to some extent also equally reduced.
As the minute ran out he heaved a sigh of relief, pleased that his conjecture about the two resistance skills had been spot-on. Breathing deeply, he rested for a few seconds then with a low guttural shout casted the skill once more.
"[Fire Cloak]!!!"
Immersing himself in a sea of fire, he calmly endured the torment of the pitiless flames, which seemed hell-bent on cooking his flesh like a piece of meat over an open fire.
Like an indomitable mountain which had withstood the test of time, Salvatore stood resolute with both his feet firmly planted on the ground. His straight back was like an insurmountable rampart, while his smooth brow exuded a soul soothing calmness.
Even the sturdiest of individuals would find it difficult to maintain even the slightest semblance of normalcy, whilst persevering against the relentless assault of the insatiable flames, which ravenously consumed his flesh.
Yet Salvatore seemed to be an exception to this tenet, for he did the unfeasible appearing as though he were standing comfortably within a soothing hot spring instead of a person immersed inside a sea of flames hot enough to cause ones flesh to drip from their bones like melted candle wax, whilst exuding the air and noble countenance of a supreme sovereign.
