"C'mon Allen, wake up already!," a familiar voice exclaimed from outside Allen's dorm room.
"Nnno," Allen mumbled, still half asleep.
"Hurry up! We're going to be late for class!," the voice yelled, even louder this time.
"Late?," Allen sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. "Wait Late!?"
Allen quickly jumped out of bed, and got ready for his class in probably record time. After putting on his uniform, and making sure the silver "1D" pin is secure to his uniform, he opened up the door to not one, but two familiar faces.
Both Thomas and Cecily were waiting outside his room for him for who knows how long at this point. Thomas had a look of understanding, but Cecily definitely seemed a bit more than mildly annoyed.
"Hey guys," Allen awkwardly said, still trying to fully wake up.
"Geez, how much sleep did you get last night?" Thomas asked. "You certainly look like you didn't get any"
"You're about right on that," Allen admitted, as he was too busy thinking about the events of the previous day.
"We're D ranks now, and we've been D ranks for what, one month now?," Cecily asked. "And yet we are already going to be late to class!"
"It's fine Lily, it's ONE time we're going to be late!. Besides, I doubt Mr. Lyon will care, just like Ms. Florence," Thomas shrugged, not making a big deal out of it.
"Yeah, ONE time too many, Tom!," Cecily exclaimed.
"It's fine Lily, we'll be okay missing a little bit of class!," Thomas gave her a smile, but you could tell he was a little bit excited to not be in class right now.
"Want to say that again Tom?," Cecily asked, glaring at him.
"No," Thomas quickly said, averting his eyes from her.
They're doing it again, Allen thought to himself, as he couldn't help but laugh internally.
As the trio headed to their classroom they've been in for a month now, Allen began to recall the events from yesterday.
He couldn't believe what happened during his meeting with Reynold Windblade (or known as the Demon of Finance), yesterday. Reynold had informed him that one of his clients wanted to remove Allen from participating in the annual magical tournament, which essentially would effectively not allow Allen to continue to his next academy year. Luckily, Reynold was willing to make him a deal instead of resorting to underhanded measures, but Allen could not accept the deals he had offered. In the end it ended with Reynold deciding to remain as a neutral party, but who knows what this 'client' will do?
After Allen had gotten back to the academy by carriage, he had met up with both William and August to discuss the events of the meeting with them. William is unsure of who could try to intercept Allen's participation in the tournament, however he promised to remain on a lookout for who it could possibly be. August promised to do his own investigation, however he has to keep it limited with how busy he is. Allen was understanding and thankful, but he still couldn't help but worry. All he could do at the moment is just do his best to handle whatever may be thrown at him.
Class had just started by the time the trio made it in. Mr. Lyon just gave them a small look while he was organizing papers at his desk.
"See? Basically on time!," Thomas announced as they started to walk back to their desks.
"Uh huh," Cecily rolled her eyes.
Allen noticed Adam, Sybil and Oliver already at their seats, and Adam gave them a playful grin as he noticed them walking in later than normal.
Well, at least we're here before Mr. Lyon started his lesson, Allen noted.
Unlike Ms. Florence from their previous F ranked class, Mr. Lyon actually taught in his class. While he wasn't very effective at it at times, he at least had the decency to do so. However, there were still "self-study" days, as well as days where they went to the training room to practice.
As the three of them finally took their seats in the back (without any dust surprisingly), Mr. Lyon had gotten out of his seat and headed to the front of the room so he could begin his lesson.
"Quiet down, all of you," Mr. Lyon's voice filled the room, and one by one each of the students' conversations lifted. "If you're smart, you will pay attention"
"Another lesson?," Thomas whispered to Allen and Cecily. "We didn't get this special treatment in Ms. Florence's-"
"Terrastone!," Mr. Lyon's voice reached all the way to the back of the classroom.
"Yes sir!," Thomas quickly complied.
"Now then, where were we?," Mr. Lyon asked out loud, as he went through his lesson book.
Allen's eyes shifted to Adam in the front of the class, which he had rolled his eyes while pointing his thumb at Sybil. Sybil had apparently been imitating Mr. Lyon, however exaggerating how she was turning the pages. Adam, Sybil and Allen began to giggle.
"Ah yes, further into elemental circles," Mr. Lyon announced. "Now then, who can remind me what elemental circles are?"
A girl raised her hand, to which Mr. Lyon nodded in response. "An elemental circle is an ability mages use to allow them to convert mana to magic much easier, rather than basic mana to magic conversion, which it much harder to do without the circle"
"Good job. And who can tell me how we create elemental circles?"
A boy in the room raised his hand, and once again Mr. Lyon nodded his head in response. "We can create elemental circles by concentration. It is also said that experienced mages can create the circles almost instinctively"
"Exactly. And now who can tell me who discovered the ability to use elemental circles?"
Another girl raised her hand, and yet again Mr. Lyon nodded his head. "Approximately 150 years ago, the once Four Great Elemental Families discovered the way to use elemental circles"
"Correct. Elemental Magic circles revolutionized the way mages could use their magic. Since the process to convert mana to magic had drastically decreased, spellcasting became much more quick and efficient," Mr. Lyon explained as he glanced at his lesson book from time to time. "And with this revolutionary discovery alongside magical artifacts at the same time, it made judging a mage's abilities much easier, although not perfect"
"Now then, who can remind me on what two basic principles do we judge a mage's magic abilities?"
Cecily raised her hand this time. "Alright Rivertide, what do you have for me?
"The size of an elemental circle as well as how proficient the mage casts their magic"
"Indeed. This is the basis on how the academy, as well as the rest of England judges its mages. For the most part, it's very close, but as I said it's not perfect. There can be various other factors that can determine a mage's worth"
"Like what? What else could a mage have?," a boy in the class suddenly asked.
Mr. Lyon seemed to grin for a moment before speaking. "Why, take Fleming here for example. We have yet to see him cast a singular elemental circle, yet he has made it to D rank regardless. And why is that, Fleming?"
"Through hard work, dedication, and finding other ways to prove my worth," Allen answered.
"Exactly. While talent may take you very far and quickly, the only way you're going to make it and stay at the top is through hard work. And the only way you're going to stay from hitting rock bottom as well"
Everyone began to look at each other throughout the room, as if this wasn't something Mr. Lyon normally did, and Allen of course was surprised too. After all, he has only been in his class for a month, and yet he's learning so much.
"Take this as my advice for the day, as I have been teaching D ranked students like yourself for several years now: if you want to make it to C Rank or above, you're going to have to work hard for it. No amount of sitting down and staring at a book all day is going to get you there"
Cecily seemed to roll her eyes for a second while Thomas started to bounce in his chair. After all, Cecily is the one who prefers to study while Thomas likes to be in the training room instead of classes.
"That's all for today. You all are dismissed"
"Well, wasn't that a lesson!," Thomas exclaimed. "Lily, you could learn a thing or two instead of shoving your face in your books!"
"Do you wish to have a book slammed on your head again?," Cecily asked glaring up at him while she held her book in her hands.
"No!," he said, almost falling over when he took a step back from her.
"You two certainly have a funny relationship!," Adam exclaimed, laughing.
"Would you also like a book Adam? I have extras," Cecily turned her attention to him.
"No thank you!," Adam put his hands up defensively.
"Oh c'mon Adam, you're really scared of Cecily?," Sybil slapped his shoulder.
"Not particularly, but-"
"I wouldn't push Cecily's buttons if I were you," Oliver suddenly spoke up.
Sybil took another look at Cecily before talking again. "Good point"
The six of them were hanging out after class next to Cecily's desk, since Mr. Lyon didn't care as much if some students stook around after class. Very much different to Ms. Florence, who wanted everyone out of her class the moment it ended.
"So, about your training club," Adam brought up. "Are you able to get us in?"
"About that...," Allen scratched the back of his head. "I still need to ask Ms. Clark about that, however she's been busy as of late"
"Oh yeah, isn't she your club sponsor?," Adam asked. "I thought only teachers could be club sponsors, unless I was wrong?"
"No, you're correct," Allen advised him. "She's a temporary sponsor until we can get a permanent one"
"I'm guessing no luck on that?," Sybil added.
"Yep," Allen nodded his head, knowing they've yet to figure out who they could ask.
"Well, it's no rush, but the sooner the better," Adam gave him a friendly thumbs up.
"Actually about that…," Allen started to say, getting his stuff together.
"What's wrong, Al?," Thomas asked.
"I actually needed to meet up with the head director regarding the club anyways. I promised I would meet up with him after class ended"
"Well, you don't want to keep the head director waiting," Adam laughed.
"Well… nevermind. Anyways, I will see you all later," Allen waved them goodbye before leaving.
"Cya later Al!," Thomas waved goodbye alongside everyone else.
I'm glad everyone is getting along, Allen thought, as he couldn't help but smile. To think, only about a month ago did Adam, Sybil and Oliver challenge us to a duel.
Allen quickly made his way down the halls of the academy, not only to get to William's office as fast as he could since he was already late, but to also avoid the crowds of people in the halls.
Ever since he became a D rank, he had been getting even more attention than he had already been getting before. "The Weakest Mage" was finally started to rise through the ranks, even if slowly. Whether it was positive or negative attention, Allen didn't want either.
Right before Allen could knock on the doors to William's office, he already heard him as per usual.
"Come in," his voice came from inside.
Why do I even bother, Allen sighed as he opened the door to his office.
"Take a seat," his hand motioned to the empty seats in front of him.
Allen decided to take the seat he normally takes while in his office and made himself comfortable.
"Sorry I was a bit late," Allen apologized as William was quickly throwing papers around to organize his desk to the best of his ability.
"Ah, don't worry about it. As you can clearly see, I have been busy as of late," he rolled his eyes as he motioned to the papers that still remained on his desk.
"Right… busy…," Allen gave him a doubtful look.
"I'm serious! But anyways, I needed to talk to you about the training club," William's face began to turn a bit more on the serious side.
"What's wrong?," Allen asked, getting a little worried. Would he be able to get Adam, Sybil and Oliver into their club?
"I'm aware that you are looking to get new members into your club, yes?," William asked, leaning in a little.
"Wait, how do you know?," Allen asked, surprised.
"I have my sources. Reliable sources," William pushed his glasses in. "No, but joking aside, Rose has been keeping me updated here and there, as she is required to be in my office anyways with student council related matters"
"Figures," Allen said, picturing Rose slamming his door open and throwing papers on his desk yelling at William. The thought definitely amused him.
"However, I cannot allow the training club to gain new members at this time I am afraid," William lowered his head a little.
"What do you mean?," Allen asked. "I'm sure it's not your fault, right?"
"No, it's not, I promise. It's just at this time, any clubs are not allowed to gain new members unless they have a permanent club sponsor. This affects your club, as you have Martha, or excuse me, Ms. Clark, as your temporary club sponsor"
"Right…," Allen remembered. "We can't have directors be permanent club sponsors. But what started this new rule? We were able to have Alice and Sarah join just fine?"
"As you may be aware, the academy was founded by the Council of Magic, now known as the Triumvirate. As such, they also own and fund the academy…," William began to explain.
"Right, I remember that," Allen thought, thinking back to his studies with Cecily and Thomas.
"As of lately, they have been slowly putting more rules and restrictions on the academy, which includes rules on the clubs. In this case, would be the fact that a club requires a permanent club sponsor to gain new members"
Why would the Triumvirate want to suddenly meddle with the academy like this?, Allen thought. Could this somehow be connected to the client that Reynold Windblade mentioned?
"I fear that change may be coming soon, and not the kind we want…," William lowered his head. "And just when Rose and I were starting to accomplish so much…"
If William is concerned about what's going on, then something serious must be coming, Allen thought. And the preliminaries are about to begin too.
"Well the academy year is over half way done. Should I at least be fine with the tournament? Has anything changed with that?," Allen asked.
"I can't say for certain. The most I can tell you is you should at least be fine with the preliminary rounds. Only time will really tell," William explained, adjusting his glasses on his face.
"I guess," Allen said, who couldn't help but feel worried.
I guess for now all I can really do is just work on what I can do for right now, which is finding a permanent club sponsor, Allen thought.
"Do you have any ideas as to who you'd want as your club sponsor?", William asked, changing the subject.
"Hmm, I think I have an idea," Allen said, the thought forming in his head. After all, who would be better than asking the very teacher he has right now?