The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 321 Dropping a Class

"What is your name?" the pugilist boy asked after shaking off his confusion.

"Maximus," Damian replied with a smile. "Your..?"

"Karl." He said returning his smile politely before adding, "Why haven't I heard of you? You weren't in the top 25 ranking this year. With your skills, it should've been easy."

"Right? Such unfairness," Damian said shamelessly.

The pugilist boy chuckled after a moment, realizing he was joking. They once again fell into orderly lines, Sam somehow finding his way beside Damian.

"You traitor!" Damian accused, picking up Toph in his arms.

"Hehe… Did you see me? I was so cool," Sam replied, ignoring the accusation.

Professor Bloodedge continued, "Good. That was better than I expected. Some of you are already at a certain level, while others still need practice. But there are many things all of you need to learn. For example, I noticed several of you…"

He went on to lecture about proper positioning for balance and agility, covering punches, kicks, and other offensive techniques, as well as defensive moves to counter attacks. He called on students for demonstrations when necessary. It took quite a long time, but if a person just knew the basics and had just started getting into proper fighting techniques, the session was invaluable.

At last, he concluded, "Practice the moves I showed you. For those who found this a bit too advanced, I'll send a list of activities to your badges. Start with those. After today, at the beginning of each Combat Arts class, all of you will complete those exercises as a warm-up before we move on."

Damian, along with everyone else, activated his badge. For pugilists, the badge came with an embedded mana stone and an activation switch, so it worked without requiring mana input. However, this meant they only had access to general features, not the more personalized options. That was just the way things were—mana in this world was as invaluable as electricity was to humans on Earth.

Of course if one was a simple farmer or merchant, it wasn't much of an issue. But as one got higher in social hierarchy, the use of such runic tools was common. Being a pugilist had its own benefits, but also disadvantages.

The list included:

Dynamic stretches: 6 minutes

Running: 2 laps around the training ground

Push-ups, squats, and core exercises: 2 sets of 25 each

Reaction drills: 10 minutes

Counter techniques: 10 minutes

It seemed simple enough, given their superhuman strength. However, first-rankers with low stamina might struggle—especially mages, though few were present. In truth, this level of fitness should've been mandatory for all mages. On the battlefield, it was essential. Still, it was nothing compared to Captain Mira's training.

Damian busied himself practicing stances and techniques demonstrated by the third-ranker, along with the rest of the class. Sam and Karl on each side. Damian did notice earlier the Dawnstar prince moving past many students to pair up with Lucian, and she didn't question it either. Accepting it as if it was natural - her neutral face betraying no emotions. That felt like a done deal.

The Baron had done a pretty good job, though Lucian with her talents and looks could be considered a perfect candidate for courtship. After all that was the second most popular reason why nobles came to this academy, the first was of course, to get their Highsword ranking and gain a chance to become a member.

It was an okay session, but he planned to see how advanced Bloodedge's lessons would get. In any case, he could always practice aura blade during this hour, so even if the class remained basic, it wasn't a waste of time.

The next class was Beast Studies again. Damian hesitated to go but decided to give the professor another chance to prove the class useful.

He regretted it almost immediately.

The bizarrely dressed professor droned on about taming beasts for battle and asserting dominance. Damian might have ignored it if it had stayed a lecture, but when the professor asked to use Toph to demonstrate "taming" a wild animal, Damian's answer was simple:

"No."

The entire class stared at him as though he'd cursed at the professor.

The second ranker outsider professor pressed on though, "I'm not asking to keep your pet, boy. I just need it for a minute."

"And I'm not comfortable handing him over, even for a minute," Damian refused again.

"You do understand I am the professor here, right..? I am evaluating your everyday behaviour in your final ranking too, you know..?"

"Evaluate whatever you want. Toph is off-limits."

"It's a magical wild beast, boy! How long will you treat it like an ordinary pet? It needs to be taught who the master is.." the man said, stepping closer and glaring at him.

Damian sighed. "Fine, it was a waste of time anyway.." The professor grinned and extended his hand, only for Damian to swat it away. Staring back into the man's crazy eyes, Damian stated, "I quit your lame-ass class."

With that, he stood up, turned around, and started walking out.

For a brief, stunned moment, the professor and the class froze.

Then the "professor"—more of a hoodlum—snapped and actually tried to punch Damian with his bare hands.

Toph trumpeted in alarm as the second-ranker's fist came barreling toward Damian's head. Without even turning around, Damian activated one of his two always-ready spells: Gale Barrier.

It was a simple gale barrier, but instead of using it as a barrier Damian had modified it to release it like a fireball, with quite a force. The intensity of wind, he kept on the bit slower side, so it would just injure and not really kill.

The giant sphere of fast twisting sharp winds slammed into the second ranker, throwing him with a force. The "professor" slammed into the wall with a deafening crash, the force cratering the surface around him - as he blacked out, spitting blood. The wall buckled inward, forming a jagged, human-sized indentation. Cracks rippled out like a spider's web, spreading across the surface as dust and debris rained down from the fractured stone.

"Wheee!" Toph squealed excitedly.

"Yeah," Damian muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Guess we're eating early today."