The Gigolo System in the Academy of Magic-Chapter 28: James Fights?

James quickly looked away as if scared, and when he looked back after a while, the red-skinned demon was looking elsewhere.

Back in the arena, the human mage was crumbling. Panic had fully taken over after his initial fire spell was shrugged off like a mosquito bite. He was backpedaling fast, not thinking about positioning, not conserving mana - just reacting. His hands moved on instinct, calling out spells one after another in rapid succession.

"Wind Blade!"

"Ice Spear!"

"Fire Bomb!"

Each spell lit up the arena with a different hue of magic, but it was like tossing pebbles at a boulder. The demon advanced without breaking stride, his stone-gray skin glinting under the arena lights, each spell hitting him and leaving little more than a scuff.

Only the Wind Blade made him dodge but the rest simply fizzled out on impact.

James watched silently.

If the human mage hadn't been so overwhelmed, he might have noticed the one spell that made the demon nervous. But fear was a powerful thing. Right now, the young mage's thoughts were scrambled, survival instincts overriding logic. It had only been several minutes but he was visibly staggering.

When he shouted the next incantation, nothing happened.

He was out of mana.

The demon's eyes flashed. With a sudden surge of motion, he sprinted forward. Before anyone could react, his massive fist collided with the human mage's stomach. A sickening crack echoed as the boy flew across the stage and slammed into the arena barrier. He crumpled instantly.

"I can still keep going! Who's next?" the stone-skinned demon roared, his voice booming through the air.

Tension blanketed the crowd, everyone began talking in whispered voices

"Are they sure he's just a level one mage?"

"He's way too strong. This has to be a trick."

"Is this their idea of a fair match?"

Selena stood tall and impassive at the edge of the arena, her crimson robes fluttering in the breeze. If she was concerned about the demon bending the rules she didn't show it. After a moment of deliberation, she called out a name that made several heads turn.

"Darien Wren, you go up."

A murmur of surprise ran through the crowd.

James blinked. This woman is quite vengeful!

Darien was known for his fiery spells and rare fire dragon bloodline that allowed him to fight in close quarters. But against this stone demon, both his specialties were useless. The enemy could easily tank fire spells and would obviously be at an advantage in close combat.

James leaned slightly toward Helene.

"You said the process would be different, but it seems like I was right."

Helene chuckled, the sound was rich and sultry. Her dark lips parted in amusement: "I was wrong. I didn't expect the opponent to be so weak."

James raised a brow, "So you're saying he was holding back?"

Helene gave a cryptic smile and said: "Why don't you wait and see?"

The match began.

This time, unlike his usual method, Darien didn't charge in. Instead he wisely kept his distance while launching rapid-fire spells. Fire orbs exploded across the stage. The stone demon ignored the hot flames and kept walking toward the retreating figure.

He was conserving energy, planning to let Darien burn through his reserves.

But unlike the last mage, Darien had much more stamina. Thanks to his bloodline, casting fire magic spells consumed much less mana than the average level 1 mage, therefore, this back-and-forth went on for several minutes, like a game of cat and mouse.

Just as people were beginning to believe that maybe Darien could win through attrition, the tide suddenly shifted.

Without warning, thick black vines suddenly sprouted beneath Darien's feet, curling around his legs like living chains. He gasped and immediately cast a flame to burn them, but the vines regenerated faster than he could destroy them.

"What's going on?!" Darien's face was contorted. The last time he was restricted during a match he was brutally beaten.

The stone demon's face twisted into a grin when he saw that Darien was distracted. Then he dashed forward.

Fists flew. One, two, three - solid punches slammed into Darien's chest and face. He staggered. Blood sprayed across the floor. The vines tightened around his body at the same time, causing him to be unable to react to the barrage of attacks.

Darien screamed, his voice cracking in agony.

The crowd was frozen. No one had expected the demon to have this kind of trick. No one had seen where the vines had come from, they seemed to just appear from the ground one second.

Everyone looked at Selena but she didn't make any moves to stop the fight. Meanwhile the demon also didn't have any plans of stopping, even when he saw that Darien was completely lost.

"You were very arrogant when you rushed out before. I thought you were strong, but you can't even beat me!"

After a while, Darien finally fell unconscious and the magic shield around the arena withdrew.

Selena glanced at his bloodied figure and gestured to a pair of faculty members, "Remove him."

Then she added in a flat tone. "Don't cause trouble if you can't back it up with strength."

Her words were calm, but the meaning was evident to everyone. Darien had embarrassed the academy by antagonizing the demons previously, and this was her way of settling the score.

The Ainsworth students fell into a heavy silence. Even the demons exchanged glances.

"This woman is quite cold. She's not bad."

"She'd fit in just fine with our side," another demon added.

Back in the arena, the stone demon finally wavered. His stone armor, once invincible, now looked cracked and chipped. Mana exhaustion was creeping in, evidenced by the flicker of fatigue in his eyes.

Selena glanced over the remaining crowd and, without hesitation, called out the next name:

"James Woodrow."

The crowd stirred again. Even though many people's impression of James had changed ever since he beat Darien before, they still thought he was too lucky, clearly the stone demon was at the end of his rope.