The next morning, after finishing breakfast, I stepped out of the lodging and made my way to the magic hall.
As I passed the training ground, I caught a glimpse of Jonah and the others training.
There was something in their training that caught my interest.
"Real weapons?"
I asked them.
"Yes! We decided to train using real weapons from now on. At least us in the Party 1."
Jonah said to me.
"Since in here we're going to get healed right away anyway, we thought 'why not?'"
Shanny supported.
"It definitely helps us prepare for real combat."
Trudy added.
I noticed there were many wounds in the process of healing on Trudy's body. A result of their risky training, no doubt.
"I was a bit hesitant to shoot my real arrows at them during our sparring, but they insisted."
Cecily said while pulling out arrows from the ground.
"Hey, it paid off! We got something from training like this."
Shanny shouted.
I squinted my eyes upon her remark.
"What do you mean, Shanny?"
"Ask Trudy. She got a new skill after getting many wounds."
I turned to Trudy and she proceeded to tell me her list of skills.
[Trudy Calle (★) Lv.4 (Exp 6/40)]
[Class: Novice]
[Strength: 12]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Stamina: 13]
[Agility: 11]
[Skills: Basic Shield Technique Lv.2, Basic Swordsmanship Lv.1, Pain Resistance Lv.1]
Trudy had gained a new skill called 'Pain Resistance.'
Apparently it was a skill that increases one's tolerance on feeling pain.
"After gaining the skill, I definitely felt the pain from my wounds becoming much more bearable. They still hurt, but not as much as before."
Trudy explained.
Like a stroke of lightning, an idea flashed through my mind upon hearing Trudy's experience.
"What if you guys burn yourself?"
All four members of my party suddenly stared at me as if I was mad.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Shanny asked.
"If you could get a skill called 'Pain Resistance' by repeatedly hurting yourself. Don't you think you would get 'Fire Resistance' if you keep burning yourself?"
I proposed.
"Pain Resistance is one thing. But why would we try to get Fire Resistance skill?"
Cecily asked with a frown.
"You were lucky enough to not experience it yet. But when I casted my fire magic, I also burned those around me. Not just the enemies. Trudy can testify to that."
The former maid nodded strongly to me.
"That was actually true. In the second floor my entire arm got burned when Serafina casted her spell. Thankfully the trial ended right away, if not, I doubted I could continue fighting."
"If we are going to fight together, you needed to be able to withstand my fire. It would be too risky if you can't handle the burn sensation."
I said to them.
"So we need to burn ourselves till we get Fire Resistance skill?"
Jonah asked.
"Perhaps the Pain Resistance skill already covers burning sensation? Maybe we can just train as we are with real weapons and don't need to burn ourselves."
Cecily tried to suggest.
I immediately manifested a ball of flame on my palm and hovered it in front of Trudy.
"Let's find out, shall we? Trudy has the Pain Resistance skill. It already works with wound pain. Let's see how she deals with burns."
They all turned to Trudy.
Of course, Trudy was a bit hesitant to throw her hand into the fire.
But eventually she steeled herself and stretched her arm.
Tsss…
"Grhh!"
Trudy quickly pulled herself away. A terrible burn wound was quickly healing on her arm. But it was apparent that she was in great agony.
It was clear that the Pain Resistance did not work against fire.
"I guess that settles it. You guys need to burn yourselves until you obtain Fire Resistance skill."
"Wait a minute! How do we even know there's even such thing as Fire Resistance skill? We might burn ourselves for nothing!"
Shanny asked in a serious tone.
She had a point though.
My suggestion for them to burn themselves until they gain Fire Resistance skill was just a hypothesis.
I did not certainly know if such skill even existed within the laws of the forged land.
But thankfully, someone saved us from wondering.
"I'll do it."
Jonah volunteered himself. He continued.
"I'll spend the day trying to get Fire Resistance skill."
"Are you sure, Jonah? It means you'll have to burn yourselves repeatedly. It'll be a painful process and it might be for nothing."
I reminded him.
"It's alright. If you says we need to learn it, then I believe it must be done."
He said convincingly.
Thanks to Jonah's declaration, the others nodded their heads in agreement.
"If Jonah get the Fire Resistance skill, I won't mind burning myself."
Shanny stated convincedly.
"Me too."
Trudy joined.
"Um, I'll probably see how things goes."
Cecily said hesitantly.
"You, of all people, need to acquire the skill given you'll be by my side most of the time."
I said to Cecily in her dismay.
Having settled the decision on learning the Fire Resistance skill, Jonah returned to his room. He intended to learn the skill without anyone watching.
It would definitely be a terrible sight for us to see him burning himself and cry in pain.
Fortunately, master was not calling for us the day.
They were having the other parties to climb the first, second, and third floor.
With that, we were given ample time to train ourselves, including researching whether we could acquire Fire Resistance skill.
I, of course, were mainly locked up inside the magic hall for the entirety of the day. Researching as well as practicing magic.
Having spent the entire day training by myself, I returned to the lodging for dinner.
It was there that I found Jonah and the others gathered at a table.
He was wearing this pleasant smile on his handsome face. I meant face.
"You're awfully happy for someone who just spent the day burning himself."
I spoke to him with a slight tease.
He wasted no time to grab a burning candle and held it in front of me.
The shepherd then hovered his arm by the calm flame.
I could see his arm got burn but Jonah did not let out a terrible cry.
He only grunted softly. His arm remained steady within the candle flame, not hurrying to pull out anytime soon.
I could not help but to grin upon this sight.
"Would you look at that? The shepherd has acquired fire resistance."