Lord of Charm

Nina got a lot of inspiration from sensing the mana's behavior from Gale when he spent his time with Sol, which probably sped up her advancement by a year or two.

Gale also didn't just fool around with the girls. After consulting with Lena about it, he decided from time to time to absorb energy from the girls he slept with. Naturally, he didn't want to hurt them or limit their future, so he never absorbed more than once from the same girl before she completely healed back, which was a matter of a week or two.

He used it to learn more about his ability, both to improve his mana control and to try to imitate it consciously later. When he tried doing it consciously after a few months of training, he could take a small amount of energy, but it was only 10% as effective as when he let the ability work automatically. However, it also counts as progress.

"All right everyone, dress up and enough with the games. In a few days we are going to the tournament where you will have a chance to mingle with the other kingdoms' participants and get to know them. Be careful; there are always those who try to act friendly just to make you drop your guard later. Some of them might even aim to kill you, but that's rare."

Shana finished her briefing; all the girls got the spots from those meant for nobles, which meant they took most of the spots for the middle bracket.

"Now go and rest those next 3 days so you can be refreshed for the tournament."

She dismissed them and quickly turned away and left; she knew that the next thing all those girls would do is to compete for Gale's attention, and she didn't want to be there to watch it happen. She even felt a sting of envy that she couldn't find a man from her generation that interested her that much.

As expected, Jay immediately hopped into Gale's embrace, pressing her boobs against his arm and rubbing it 'coincidentally'.

"You know that Dion and Violet won't let you have me all for yourself, how about all three of you come to my room at the same time?"

Gale made the offer he had been fantasizing about for a long time. He rarely slept alone, but he also didn't get to bed two girls at the same time.

"You're greedy today, babe. We all know I give you the best experiences, why do we need them next to us?"

Dion caught Gale's free arm and pressed her against her boobs as if trying to emphasize how bigger hers were compared to Jay's. They were indeed bigger, but Gale liked all sizes so it didn't help her much.

The girls continued to bicker for a while, but they all followed Gale to his bedroom, unwilling to miss their last 3 nights with him. Thanks to his charm and acquired skills, they would enter a world of ecstasy during the nights with him, and they knew they might not get to experience it again after the tournament.

The four indulged themselves in debauchery during the days off while Nina and Lena hung out in the city and went to watch the tournament for the 6 open spots that the kingdom organized for the imperial tournament. There were 2 spots for each bracket, making it 3 different tournaments.

There were 24 arenas, each around 10*10 meters. Since the competition was open to everyone, making a normal tournament would be tedious and long, so the kingdom just put all those arenas and anyone who could stay unchallenged for 2 hours would advance to the finals.

The finals consisted of 16 contestants and the last two participants remaining would be sent to the imperial tournament.

Right now, Lena and Nina were sitting in a VIP booth they rented with Shana's money and watching the games.

All 24 arenas were taken, and fights were ongoing nonstop. A contestant could leave the arena to take a rest without losing his right to get back on it only after 5 successive wins, otherwise, he couldn't challenge the arena again if he left.

The first few hours were boring; there was a flood of average participants who took the stage and used it for various reasons – some used it to test themselves against their peers, some clans used it to compete among themselves without the intention to win the actual tournament, and there were various other reasons.

As the numbers went down, breaks of a few minutes between fights became normal; when the elite remained they were too prideful to challenge tired opponents and wanted to let them get refreshed before their next fight.

"So, anyone caught your eye?"

Nina asked for Lena's opinion. She already noticed two impressive figures.

"Yes, there is one impressive man in the young bracket, and another in the middle one. Nobody else is worth mentioning so far."

Lena gestured towards a young man who stood unchallenged in the young bracket. Although he was only an Expert Magician, Lena was impressed by his prowess because he was a commoner, which meant he probably didn't have guidance on the same level as nobles do.

Next, was a man from the middle bracket. He stood out the most because he was the only mage in a bracket consisting of magicians. Because he only faced magicians, he only used earth magic so far, and they had no idea whether it was his main or sub-element. In a few minutes, three hours would pass and he would be sent to wait for the tournament.

"Although the commoners generally have inferior genes in terms of magic affinity and they lack guidance, there ought to be a few geniuses among them because of their sheer numbers."

Nina nodded in appreciation; she noticed the same two people. A few hours passed and the qualifiers ended, and the tournament was set for the next day.

Nina and Lena didn't bother going back; there was nobody relevant to their fights except for the mage in the middle bracket, but there was nobody who could force him to show his true strength.