Lord of Charm

Mercury didn't intervene in their conversation but just listened. When he thought it was enough, he raised his hand and spoke.

"Since you two want to duel, our lesson is a great time to do it. Enter the ring and fight. You don't have to worry about getting hurt; since I'm here, I will stop the battle when the winner is clear."

Gale nodded and entered the circle of students that made the ring. The students took a few steps back to give them more space and Mercury gave the signal to begin.

"Don't worry about anything, all the professors in the academy, me included, are at least Expert Mages so you can go all out."

Gale already decided it was a great chance to make an example out of the first challenger to reduce the number of people who might dare challenge him later.

Mars used his magic to create water bulls, which charged at Gale as soon as they were formed. Gale looked at them and just waved his arm, creating a firestorm.

As soon as the firestorm radiated a wave of heat, all the students took another step back and generated some light defenses.

"I'm pretty sure it's over for Mars."

A few students muttered to their friends, and their prediction came true right away. The bulls evaporated as soon as they met with the firestorm, and Mars' water sphere was evaporating just as fast.

Suddenly, a huge wave of water raised and put out the firestorm. Gale looked in the direction the wave came from and saw Mercury nodding at him with appreciation.

"Match over, Gale wins."

He announced and Mars fell to his knees in defeat.

"Welcome to the class, Gale. Now take a spot and let's begin. Today we practice martial arts."

This time Mercury had a better attitude; power was respected in Dream's Peak Academy, and Gale had proved himself.

"Although many mages neglect their physical abilities due to the belief they only need their magic to win their fights, physical abilities can boost your overall power by at least 20% if you utilize them right. This boost can make the difference between life and death in a battle. This applies even more in a chaotic battle with many soldiers."

Gale agreed with him; he already saw how Nina nearly beat the much more experienced Lara in the tournament due to her physical abilities. He also saw Lena wiping the floor with Florian's ass with martial arts and physical abilities only.

"Now pair up, I will show you different exercises and you can try them on each other in turns. Don't be a bunch of wimps, deal with the pain."

"Gale, do you have a partner? I'm available too! Want to pair up for today's class?"

"Hey Gale, I'm also available. I can also show you around the campus later and have lunch together."

Two girls immediately pushed themselves on Gale and started barraging him with their offers.

"Don't those two always pair up with each other? Is he so great that they just forgot they were partners for half a year?"

Mars said with envy to his partner, who just shrugged in response.

"Wouldn't you leave me too if he offered you to spar with him? Even if we don't get into his bed, being friends with someone so strong can save your life in our academy."

A few other girls instantly discarded their initial hesitation and launched themselves the same way as the first two girls.

"Begone, thots! Gale, don't let those thirsty girls trap you, what you need is a real friend during your time here in the academy."

One guy barged into the mess and approached Gale while pushing the girls to the side. Gale was about to agree to his proposal when another girl pushed him away.

"Shut up Margi, everyone in the class knows you're into boys."

Gale widened his eyes; it was a close call!

"Enough, Gale you can practice with either John or Ronda. Ronda is ranked third in the top 10 and John is ranked sixth. They can make good partners for you."

A mental pressure pressed on the students around Gale, and they took a step back. Mercury pointed at two students, and Gale was about to pick John who seemed to be friendlier.

"I will be his partner. John, do you have any objections?"

However, Ronda stepped forward first and took the spot next to him.

"Uhm, no. Go ahead, Ronda."

John stepped back and Gale noticed some students looking at him with surprise. Some were even whispering quietly to their friends, yet Gale had no idea what all the fuss was about.

Mercury demonstrated a sequence of kicks twice to the students.

"Everyone, now do those kicks against the air. When you master the sequence, practice them on your partner in turns, and your partner's job is to either dodge or block your kicks. Good luck."

Gale and Ronda started practicing the kicks against the air. Evidently, Ronda was well-versed in martial arts; within a few attempts, she already got the sequence right. In contrast, Gale was getting only half of it right.

Although he practiced dodging and using his body under Shana's instructions, it was only the basics. He didn't have much time to learn how to fight.

"The fastest way to practice those arts is in a real fight, you're wasting your time by kicking the air. Let's practice, I will start."

Ronda said to Gale and immediately started acting on her words. She launched forward and started the kicking practice. Gale quickly took a step back to dodge the first kick and ducked to dodge the second. However, the third one connected with his chin, sending him a few steps backward.

Ronda didn't hold back; she continued the sequence ruthlessly, swiping his legs next to make him fall, followed by an axe kick to his chest.

"Ahhh!"

Gale groaned in pain after the last kick. Luckily, Ronda didn't boost her power with additional spells, so although the kicks hurt as hell, he didn't break anything.

"By the way, when Joanna challenges you, you better lose and give him your position. Now stand up, it's your turn."