The Gigolo System in the Academy of Magic-Chapter 27: First Match

[Recurring Achievement: Establish New Contract]

[Reward: Pleasurable Touch]

"Pleasurable touch?"

James glanced at the system again.

[Silver Level Item: Pleasurable Touch]

[A spell that makes one individual feel pleasure when touched by the host. Degree of pleasure depends on the area being touched.]

[Note: Can only be used on mages level 6 and below.]

James was thoughtful. This was neither a bad reward nor a great one. After all, this was not a normal world, but a magical world. He knew that the Instant Love contract he had used on Selena was undetectable but he wasn't sure if this would be too.

James didn't waste any time and immediately wanted to cast the magic, any increase in favorability from this point on were all affection points waiting to be gained.

[Does the host want to cast the magic spell 'Pleasurable Touch' on Helene Ashvane? Yes/No]

"Yes."

He seemed to see a bright pink light flash by his eyes and fall into the distance.

[Congratulations! 'Pleasurable Touch' has been cast!]

Just then, Selena stepped forward to address the gathered crowd of students, her voice ringing clear through the courtyard.

"In honor of welcoming our new demon students, why don't we have a friendly competition?"

James's eyes narrowed slightly. Though Selena sounded polite, he could tell from her tone and body language that this wasn't her idea. She was simply following the vice-principal's plans.

Helene, standing nearby with a calm and collected demeanor, nodded in approval.

"That sounds fair. I'm sure my students are excited to test the strength of the most talented mages in the human realm."

Some of the demon students standing behind her snickered loudly, obviously, they didn't think they would lose.

Since there were only twenty demon students, it was quickly decided that the competition would be held as a series of short one-on-one matches.

From the human side, the top ten students from the previous academy tournament were selected, as well as a few other students. Unsurprisingly, James was among them. However, what caught him off guard was when Selena also called out Darien's name.

Well this was not too bad either.

He didn't think Darien could defeat the demon students, so James was looking forward to seeing him getting beaten.

Because there were only a few students competing, there were no matches happening concurrently. Instead a large arena was erected, and all the students crowded around it. Everyone was excited, each side clearly thought they would defeat the other easily.

The first match was between a demon student with stone-gray skin and a bulky physique and a human student James didn't recognize. There were both level 1 mages. It seems the professors planned to leave the strongest matchup till the end.

Selena took her place as referee, standing near the edge of the arena.

James, meanwhile, stood slightly apart from the crowd, arms folded, eyes scanning the arena. He was deep in thought, analyzing the matchup, when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

He turned—and was surprised to find Helene Ashvane standing there.

But at this time, instead of the usual smile on her face, her expression was somewhat weird and her eyes looked complicated. This face only lasted for a second before it was quickly replaced by an enchanting smile, but James immediately caught it.

It's already working? James commended the system for being a hard worker in his mind and then put on a confused expression.

"What's wrong professor?"

"You're the one who wanted to curse people in the library right? I didn't realise you were a first year student!"

Helene spoke in a low voice as if she'd found out a dangerous conspiracy but her eyes betrayed that she was teasing.

"No, no," James replied hastily, "I was just researching. Please don't say things like that; it can be easily misunderstood."

He was grateful she'd spoken softly. The last thing he needed was for rumors to reach Ryan Everheart's ears. Yet judging by the way some students were already glancing over at him with strange expressions, it seemed attention was inevitable.

Helene laughed at his nervous look. Her laughter was light and melodic, like music in his ears. James felt his heart rate increasing and a blush almost appeared on his face.

Thankfully he had very strong mental strength after the fusion of two souls so he could suppress the various thoughts that emerged in his mind, but he was still very wary in his heart.

Is this some kind of magic ability?

James narrowed his eyes. This woman was very dangerous.

Helene didn't seem to notice his struggle, she turned to the arena with her arms folded across her chest, exaggerating her assets even further.

"Who do you think will win?"

James looked at the countdown on top of the arena, [10...9...8...].

The match was about to start but he wasn't very confident in the human mage. The tall burly demon was clearly good at close combat, and this was a major weakness of human mages at the low levels. As long as the demon student could get close then the match would be over.

He wondered how he should reply, but after a while he decided to tell the truth. He explained his thoughts to Helene in a calm voice.

Helene nodded approvingly: "Good analysis. I agree with the result, though I suspect the process will surprise you."

Just as she finished speaking, the match began.

The human mage immediately began retreating, chanting as he raised his hands. A torrent of flame burst from his palms and shot across the arena.

"Fire Blast!"

The demon didn't flinch.

His gray skin shimmered and then hardened visibly into rough, stone-like plates. The fire washed over him and fizzled out as though it were a mere breeze.

The crowd gasped.

"What?!"

"Did he just tank a fire spell head-on?!"

"Impossible!"

They had never seen someone take a direct spell attack with just their body before.

The demon students scoffed.

"These humans are so easily impressed!"

The pale, snake-like demon who was one of the first to speak out before laughed. He turned to a red-skinned demon beside him with a sycophantic smile.

"Amon, it looks like this match will be over in seconds."

But Amon didn't reply. He wasn't even watching the match.

Instead, his golden eyes scanned the crowd, pausing briefly on several individuals. James noticed that Amon's gaze lingered on a few of the more powerful students—those who had reached Level 2. Eventually, his eyes locked onto James, who stood beside Helene.

Their eyes met briefly.