The sparring match between Ben and his 11 ex-students displayed the gap in power between them. Now they know the 11's strength, but not Ben's strength because he hasn't shown it yet. He just used his physical strength and one spell during the sparring match, so no one has seen his full power.
"YOSH, NOW IT'S MY TURN!" Natsu shouted as he rushed at Ben with a flaming fist.
Ben just smirked and increased the gravity around Natsu's left foot a little. The gravity holds Natsu's left foot and causes him to fall on his face comically like he tripped on something. Most of the audience really thought that was the case because they can't see the gravity spell that Ben used.
"Are you tripping on something, Natsu? You need to be careful while running." Ben mocked him.
"GRAAH! DON'T MESS WITH ME! FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" A stream of fire tunneled out of his mouth.
Ben smirked and remained in place. He didn't move a muscle and let the stream hit him. Everyone was surprised to see it and Natsu laughed happily because he thought he had successfully hit Ben.
"HA HA HA, I'VE DONE IT." Natsu said happily.
But then their jaws drop when they see Natsu's fire being sucked up by something. Ben ate Natsu's fire like it was a snack. Natsu was shocked as he was normally the one who ate fire, not someone else.
"Hmm, so this is how a Fire Dragon Slayer's fire tastes. Certainly better than a normal fire, but not hot enough. You should work on the temperature of your fire, Natsu. This is more like the fire of a candle." Ben muttered.
"Ca-candle?" Natsu asked, dejectedly.
"That's right. Allow me to show you what real fire is." Ben said as he generated a small flame on his fingertip.
Ben flicked the fire at Natsu and the latter just watched it as it moves towards him. Natsu believed that the fire wouldn't affect him because he is a Fire Dragon Slayer. He would soon regret that belief after he caught the flame with his right hand.
"GYAH! HOT! HOT! HOT!" Natsu shouted right after he grabbed the flame.
Everyone was surprised Natsu couldn't handle a fire. They always thought Natsu was immune to any kind of fire, so this left them stunned, even Makarov was surprised.
"Just because you're a Fire Dragon Slayer, it doesn't mean no fire can harm you. Sure, you are immune to fire, but it's called immunity for a reason. There is a limit to an immunity and you will be affected by something beyond that immunity." Ben informed him.
"DAMN, NOT YET!" Natsu shouted as he charged at Ben with flaming fists.
This pissed Ben off.
"Can't you listen to me for a moment?" He demanded.
Natsu didn't listen and rushed at Ben, pissing him off even more. So when Natsu threw a punch, he grabbed the fist and then hit Natsu on top of the head. Natsu crashed to the ground and fainted immediately.
"Damn, I tried to teach him an important lesson because our magic's properties are similar, but he wouldn't listen. Tch, I won't teach you another lesson again from now on." Ben grumbled, as he angrily walked away and left the unconscious Natsu on the ground.
"Natsu is really good at pissing people off." Gray sighed.
"That's Natsu for you." Happy said.
Ben was in a bad mood that day and it kept people from challenging him again because they were afraid. Fortunately, it only lasted for a day and he was soon back to normal.
"It's only been a few days since I joined this guild and I'm already affected by their idiocy. It's out of character for me to be that childish." Ben lamented.
"HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" Everyone protested.
"Figure it out yourself." A tired Ben remarked.
The others protested, but Ben ignored them.
"Ben, can we talk for a moment?" Makarov asked.
He nodded and followed Makarov to his office.
"What's the matter, master?" Ben asked.
"You've got a message from the Council." Makarov answered as he handed a letter to Ben.
He took the letter and opened it. He was surprised by the contents, it was an offer to become a Wizard Saint. There are 2 vacant spots in the rank after Jose was stripped of his and Siegrain was never a official Wizard Saint in the first place. So now they were trying to fill the spots and Ben was one of the candidates.
"Actually, they've wanted you for a long time. But they didn't dare cause trouble with Roubaul. He is just a spirit, but he had a lot of influence because he was the only one who could seal Nirvana. So now with him gone, the Council is trying to make you a Wizard Saint." Makarov explained.
The Council not only wanted him because of his strength, but he also had a lot of contributions. His advanced motor engine model has improved Ishgar's transportation technology by light years.
"I refuse. Being a Wizard Saint is a hassle." Ben turned the offer down.
"I expected you would refuse. But you still need to go to the Council and refuse it directly." Makarov said.
"Eh, can't I just send a letter?" Ben asked.
"No, they will get mad at you and it will cause more trouble. Besides, they want to discuss another matter with you." Makarov replied.
"Fine. But I don't want to go alone. Those guys are irritating." Ben sighed.
"Don't worry, I will go with you because you are a member of my guild." Makarov said.
Ben and Makarov plan to head to the Council next week. They didn't know what the Council wanted from him besides wanting him to be a Wizard Saint. They just hope it's not something bad because they have a poor relationship with the Council.
"Ah, one more thing Ben. It's not a request from the Council, but me. You are a craftsman of magic items, right? Roubaul-san once said that your crafting ability has surpassed his, so I have a request for you." Makarov said.
"Surpassed that old man? I'm not even close to his level." Ben questioned.
Makarov smiled.
"Well, it should be better than most craftsmen if Roubaul-san praised you like that. So here's my request, can you-."
Makarov trailed off because his body suddenly seemed to be pulled into the sky and turned into light. Ben was surprised and tried to catch him but his hands just pass through the old man's body. Then he realized the building was also being sucked up and a loud rumbling noise was heard outside.
Ben's eyes suddenly widened.
"Wendy!" He yelled.
He immediately teleported to the guild hall. Well he tried to, but he can't control his magic power so he can't use magic. Suddenly, his body also started to be pulled up along with the guild hall. Ben tried to resist it but to no avail and he kept getting pulled up by a strong force.
A bright light then shined in front of him and a thundering noise can be heard all around. The light and noise disappeared after some time and everything returned to normal. That would've been the case if he didn't find himself falling from the sky and crashing to the ground.
"Damn, why did I suddenly appeared in the sky? And where is this place?" Ben asked as he looked around.
He found himself in a foreign place with some floating islands.
Ben's eyes blinked in shock.
"Seriously, where am I?"