"Use the body buff of your main element only and practice combining the same 3 sequences we've been practicing this month."
Gale buffed himself with fire mana and Ronda buffed herself with wind mana.
"Start!"
It was class practice, and the boundaries were clear; they were trying to beat each other using only the 3 sequences.
Ronda, boosted by wind mana, was slightly faster than Gale. She launched the first kick and got the initiative. However, this time, Gale didn't try to dodge it.
As a higher ruler human, he had his body strengthened to the extreme by the fire mana, which made his base power and even base speed far superior to Ronda's. His brain was also sharper and had a much better reaction time and perception than a mere lower elite human.
He blocked her roundhouse kick with his left arm and attacked by sending out a straight punch with his right hand. If their powers were the same, it'd never be possible; he wouldn't be able to take on a roundhouse kick with one arm and still have a stable pose to throw a powerful punch.
But the already existing power difference between them was empowered by his fire spell, and Ronda made a mistake by going for a long kick since she was used to fighting people with far weaker bodies than hers.
The punch connected with her chest and sent her flying. Despite the order to use only buffs on their body, she used an earth spell at the last moment to avoid being injured too badly to continue.
But Gale didn't plan to give her a break; despite blocking the hit she couldn't stop the shock from it, so it still hurt and blew the air out of her lungs. Gale continued with the punching sequence with a hook to her jaw, and she defended with another spell.
She didn't dare use an offensive attack because it'd mean admitting her loss completely, but by using a defense spell strong enough to prevent heavy injuries but not too much to block any kind of damage, she could still fight back.
This punch sent a shock to her brain, making her dizzy and almost fall and lose consciousness. But she persistently held on; she'd never agree to lose to Gale.
"You underestimated me. I guess you aren't used to fighting people with stronger bodies than yours. Well, try to survive to the third sequence!"
Gale provoked her as his next punch landed on her neck and made her choke. She was struggling to take in air when the next punch to her stomach blew out any air she managed to take in.
Gale charged at her again, and she tried to focus on his figure. Her vision was blurred, and she knew she didn't stand a chance of fighting back in her condition. Her first mistake was just fatal.
'No! He killed Joanna, I can't lose!'
She used a sphere of water around her, revealing her third affinity. Gale's fist was negated completely, sent away with the sphere current. She used this chance to start the punching sequence herself with the same straight punch Gale sent to her earlier.
Gale couldn't dodge it nor block it; she was slightly faster than him with her wind mana buff and he was caught unprepared with the water sphere.
"AHHH!"
A feminine scream echoed in the room. The one screaming was none other than Ronda; Gale didn't plan to take on the punch because of Ronda's cheating, so he just cheated too. Her punch entered a hot fireball for a fraction of a second before she pulled it out, but it was enough to leave a huge burn on her whole unprotected hand.
"Ronda, Gale, stop!"
Mercury gave them the instruction to stop and raised a wall of stone between them. He only took it down after they took a few steps back.
Gale looked at Ronda with a smirk while Ronda looked at him hatefully. But Gale's plans didn't end there; there was still one step left. He had to leave an idea in her mind when Mercury was distracted by another student who cheated to claim a win and didn't pay attention.
"Joanna was too weak to deserve you. Only someone as strong as you can be by your side."
His eyes shone with a strong green light as he charmed Ronda. Ronda felt that what he said made sense; she needed a partner who could stand by her side as an equal rather than someone who needed her protection. Unbeknownst to her, she entered the first phase in Gale's plan for revenge.
Alice thought they will just hate each other but be unable to harm one another, However, that's only because she didn't know of Gale's ability to charm others, and most importantly, his ability to steal affinities.
After class, he went to visit Valentina again in her room. She was still lying in bed but wore different clothes. This time she expected him, so she prepared and changed her clothes to something better looking.
"Hey Vale, how are you doing?"
"I'm doing great, I'm glad you came."
"Of course I came. I thought about it, what do you think about moving to my apartment at least until you get better? You don't have free deliveries and you can't go out, and everything in my apartment is bigger which would be more comfortable for you."
"No, thank you. Although there is no rule banning it, it's heavily frowned upon because it'd reduce the ambition and drive to improve and rise in the ranks. It's fine, I will recover in a few days."
She refused and explained her reasons. Gale nodded and didn't pursue the matter anymore. He understood Valentina was a prideful woman and wanted to earn her privileges rightfully and not get them from him.
"Just in case, I've instructed Alessa to allow you into my apartment without requiring my permission, so don't hesitate if you want to move."
"Thank you."
She smiled at him and thanked him for his goodwill. He accompanied her until the evening and helped her eat and take a shower. He only left when she felt tired and sleepy again from the potions.
