After seeing Verno and Teresa Moon get one-sidedly beaten, the Third-year students became hesitant and vigilant.

However, Arthur was beckoning them one by one, and when they didn’t attack, he would rush instead.

In the blink of an eye, twenty minutes passed and almost all 20 students were groaning in pain as they fearfully looked at Khalil.

While pushing back his long braids, Arthur stared at the last student.

Nader Coach stepped forward while expressionlessly staring at the parasite.

“I’m Nader Coach.”

He introduced himself before changing his stance and taking a deep breath.

Arthur chuckled and signaled for the youth to attack; Nader’s speed was slower than Teresa or even Reyna, but his movements were almost flawless.

‘Martial Arts!’

Arthur raised his hand to stop the incoming punch, but it was only a feint as Nader side-stepped and swept his leg upwards.

The hit did connect, however, Khalil didn’t even budge as he spun his body and retaliated by stomping the ground and imitating the student’s same kick.

Nader hastily somersaulted then, as soon as he landed, he kicked the ground and shot at Arthur.

Close-quarter combat class taught students how to defend and attack without relying too much on Mana or Magic.

They weren’t strictly forbidden from enhancing their bodies using Mana, but the Third Years, especially, cared more about improving themselves than showing off.

Arthur had easily beaten them but not once did they use flashy magic or petty tricks. In comparison, Reyna had previously started with using Magic with her attack, which still didn’t work on the parasite.

With [Magic Sense] active, Arthur tried to see the unfamiliar aura swelling within Nader, but he noticed no peculiarity, much to his surprise.

The youth’s speed almost doubled as he unleashed a torrent of punches at his teacher.

Arthur was able to block them, but he was still deeply astonished. Nader neither used magic nor had a particularly muscular body yet he was drawing from a mysterious energy to considerably increase his physical capabilities.

In the end, Arthur was hit in the chest and pushed back a step, but Nader didn’t continue as he shook his numb and aching fist while frowning. It was clear that the expressionless youth was more surprised than Arthur as he bowed his head and walked back next to his classmates.

‘If it had been an artifact, I would have noticed it. Is he really a Martial Arts master?’

“All of you seem to be tired, so we’ll end it here. This will be the only time I indulge your whims. I want to hear nothing about qualifications and all that bogus.”

Arthur dismissively waved his hand at them and sat down.

In just two minutes, the third year students dispersed and left the training facility. Only one person was standing a couple of paces away from Khalil.

“What do you want?”

“To fight you.” Responded Teresa Moon with a determined expression.

The dullness that had been lingering in her eyes was replaced by an explosive eagerness and anticipation.

“I’ve no time to deal with you. Class has ended.”

“I seek power. I can obtain that only by fighting strong people. It is the sole reason I came to the Nemia Academy.”

Arthur sighed and glanced at the silver-haired young demon, still disinterested in her motivation.

“Do I look like I care? You students really have too much time on your hands.”

He left right after saying that, paying no heed to the girl who’s gaze was glued to his back.

While enjoying a large piece of steak, Arthur was contemplating his choices. Making ‘his’ students spar each time wasn’t productive or efficient. The issue laid in his inexperience in the teaching field and his lack of knowledge about close-quarter combat.

Yes, he had useful skills and was physically strong, but that was just it.

For that reason, he grabbed a couple of books from the library and headed to one of the empty training facilities.

As he had to learn the basics, Arthur didn’t try to look into the complicated stuff and simply followed the illustrations.

He started punching and kicking the air a couple of times only to be startled by a System notification.

[You obtained the Martial Arts(Passive Lv1) skill!]

[All stats +2]

‘Huh? Just like that?’

The concept of skills and System was completely foreign to the inhabitants of Astria. They would strengthen their respective abilities, physical or magical, by constant training and hardwork, although talent and genetics played a big part as well. That was why nobles held an overwhelming advantage as they were born with special ‘skills’, just like Leonis Sanguis.

Arthur was momentarily rendered speechless by the notification, so much so that he stared at it for a couple of minutes.

‘Let’s be logical here: Except for movies I’ve watched and these books, I had no prior and relevant knowledge about martial arts. Even if my stats are high, it still wouldn’t make sense to acquire a skill instantly. There must have been a catalyst…’

Although Arthur had possessed a fair number of bodies so far, none had the Martial Arts passive skill, however, they had weapon-related mastery skills.

Arthur’s only hypothesis was that there were skills that complimented each other.

‘Maybe it was the Flexibility skill? Or is my talent really that prodigious? That’s plausible but needs more verification. Then again, I could be absorbing people’s ‘talents’ or ‘potential’ along with their skills. Nononono… if it were the case, some of my other skills would have advanced at a relatively faster pace.’

Although confused by the unexpected result, Arthur paid great attention to the illustrations and spent three eyes meticulously imitating the movements.

[Martial Arts(Passive) has leveled up!]

By evening, he managed to level up the new skill once.

From Arthur’s understanding, any skill that was Lv7 or higher meant that its holder was a master at said skill.

For instance, the Faceless Death Agent he had possessed had [Sword Mastery] at Lv7, which wasn’t surprising since the man was deadly with a sword in hand.

A skill between Lv1 and 3 meant basic mastery, and if it was between Lv4 and 6 then one could efficiently but not flawlessly use it.

Arthur had five skills at Lv7 or above, two from the vampire ‘Rodrick’, one was [Sanguis Barrier] which he had leveled up on his own, and was from Latif [Corpse Dissection (Active Lv12)].

Unfortunately, Arthur had no reason to use [Corpse Dissection] so far, but, thanks to it and [Medical Field], he had a thorough understanding of the anatomy of humans. Practically, it didn’t help that much in combat, but it allowed Arthur to know where to strike, though that was only if he had the time and strength to deal a precise blow at a specific vital point. After all, he would usually fight recklessly and make use of all of his available active skills.

“It’s a nice addition, but I’m not that worried about my current fighting style.”

When the sun started to set, Arthur left the training center only to find a cheerfully smiling Feylord waiting for him.

The blond-haired youth handed him a towel and performed a polite greeting.

“Miss Reyna expresses her deepest and sincerest apologies. She hopes you can forget about the misunderstanding.”

While saying that with a wide smile, Feylord took a black leather pouch from his pocket and presented it to the chuckling Khalil.

“Is this a bribe?”

“Not at all, sir. Consider it a token of appreciation from Miss Reyna. She appreciated your teaching method so much and wanted to showcase her approval.”

In half a beat, the pouch was snatched from Feylord’s hand. Arthur curiously peeked inside then whistled in amazement. There were at least 100 Blakin Gold Coins inside, which was half the annual salary of the academy’s teachers.

Seeing the bronze-skinned teacher put away the pouch and wiping his sweaty and half-exposed upper body without paying him any attention, Feylord contained the urge to grumble and said,

“Does this mean you will let bygones be bygones?”

“Yes, provided you lot stop being a bunch of stuck-up idiots.”

“Is that so? Alright. Thank you.”

Feylord bowed and departed thereafter, unwilling to converse with Arthur for an extra second.

‘I saw him with Verno’s group and Reyna. Is he part of the Brutal Prince Order? I was going to use him as my second host but it would be a waste. There are better uses for someone like him.’

Arthur softly laughed and returned to his room. It was going to be a long night and he couldn’t spend everyday hunting in the Blue Blossom Forest.

As Arthur’s objective was to get into Verno’s entourage, he needed to catch and possess an appropriate host and tonight was as good a time as any.