"I'm going to win this time, Allen!," Rose shouted, running straight for him.
"I think you mean me, Rosy!," Allen grinned, blocking her attack with his sword.
"Excuse me? Want to say that again?," Rose asked with a small glare, as she was trying to push Allen's sword with her own rapier.
"Sure. I said I think you mean me, Rosy!" Allen repeated himself, pushing her rapier off of him, and going in for a strike.
"Oh, you're getting it now!," she shouted, quickly maneuvering to dodge his attack, and then going in for another one.
All of the training club members were present, as they were preparing as much as they could for the preliminary rounds that are about to begin. Everyone was training, except for Sarah, who watched in the sidelines as each of the members were dueling against each other. Rose against Allen, Thomas against Cecily, and August against Stephen.
"C'mon Allen, I know you can win!," Sarah shouted, cheering him on.
"Oh? Seems like you have a fan, Allen. Should I show her how quickly you could lose?," Rose asked, with a menacing smile.
"Ah, I'm going to take a hard pass on that!," Allen shouted, remembering what Rose could be like when she's like this.
After all, Stephen was still recovering from what Rose did to him during the assembly to announce the preliminaries, Allen thought as he grimaced.
After their duel continued for a few minutes, Rose had finally beaten him fair and square.
"And that's my victory once again!," Rose declared, proud of herself.
"Okay, but I won last time," Allen reminded her.
"Last time doesn't matter!," she gave him the same, menacing smile as before.
"I guess last time doesn't matter!," Allen quickly agreed with her.
"Thank you," she gave him a big smile.
Allen looked at her, and then quickly looked away in both fear and surprise. Once everyone was finished with their own duels, all of them reconvened to take a short break.
"So Allen, any news on who could be our club sponsor?," Stephen asked.
"Yeah, I did"
In the short week since William had advised Allen that the training club could not get more club members until they had gotten a permanent club sponsor, Allen had been informing the rest of the training club of the progress he has been making so far.
Shortly after Allen had asked Mr. Lyon if he could be their club sponsor and he declined, he had informed Thomas and Cecily the next day, in addition to Adam, Sybil and Oliver. Adam had suggested that he ask the rest of the club members if their teacher could be their club sponsor.
"And? What was the response?," Stephen asked, eager for the answer.
"Yeah, I had asked Mr. Lyon, but he's already a sponsor to another club," Allen advised him.
"Ah, that's such a shame," Stephen shook his head. "If only we knew sooner about this new rule…"
"From what I could tell, William was informed of this not long before telling me," Allen advised him.
"Hmph, this whole situation is annoying," Rose added. "I would ask my own teacher, but I know he's a sponsor to a club already. What about you Stephen?"
"Yeah, good idea. I should ask my teacher," Stephen nods in agreement. "After all, I would love to talk to her anyday"
As his usual grin appeared on his face, everyone in the room rolled their eyes. Rose was about ready to smack him, before Stephen pleaded for forgiveness.
"What about you Sarah? Could you ask your teacher?," Rose asked, still keeping a close eye on Stephen.
"Unfortunately, my teacher is already a club sponsor to my fan club," Sarah sighed.
Oh no, Allen thought. Not that fanclub.
Allen remembered the first time he met Alice's other half, Sarah, in the hallways after training one day. The hallway crammed with her"fans" as Sarah proceeded to pose for them to gain their attention and favor gave him the shivers each time.
"Your teacher is the sponsor for your own fanclub?," Rose asked, disappointed.
"Well, all clubs have to have club sponsors!," Sarah reminded them, with her finger up to prove her point. "Don't worry, he had my permission"
"So, it's confirmed she likes her own fan club," Thomas said, his face looking like it lost all the energy out of it.
"Seems so," everyone else said in response, same looks on their faces.
"Allen, you should join my fanclub!," Sarah exclaimed, quickly trying to grab him. "I'd make you the new club president!"
"No thank you!," Allen declared, doing his best to dodge every single move she made towards him.
"The preliminary rounds are finally here!," Lisa announced to the crowd. "Unfortunately my twin Misa will not be here today, however you'll see both of us together for the actual tournament!"
Allen, as well as the rest of the members of the training club were all sitting together, except for Thomas and Cecily, waiting for the first rounds of the preliminaries to begin.
"So, how do you think they'll do?," Stephen asked Allen, while they happened to be sitting next to each other.
"I think they'll do just fine," Allen said, confident in his friends' abilities.
"Yeah, I think so too," Stephen agreed. "I am sure they may be nervous, but this will be a great way to get a grip of their abilities against other students other than ourselves"
"Good point Steph, you actually said something smart for once," Rose blurted out, covering her mouth to hide her laughter.
"Hey!," Stephen glared at her, while Rose happened to be sitting on the other side of Allen.
"Alright enough you two," Allen put his hands up in front of them, to prevent anything from happening.
"Aww, no fair. I want to sit next to Allen!," Sarah exclaimed.
"No, you cannot sit next to him. I don't trust what you may do," Rose said, turning her attention towards her.
"Can I sit next to him if I ask really nicely?," Sarah pleaded.
"No," Rose repeated herself, sticking with her original answer.
"Well I am going to make my way over there then!," she raised her voice, trying to push Rose out of the way.
"Hey! You!," Rose raised her own voice, getting the attention of the other students around them.
"Aren't you going to stop them?," Stephen asked as Allen tried to keep his distance.
"Stop them? No, I am going to hide from them!," Allen exclaimed, thinking when would be the best time to quickly escape.
"Allen," Stephen started to say. "You should be glad that two girls are fighting over you-"
"Stephen. Do not make me," Rose's attention was immediately turned to him.
"Yes ma'am," Stephen quieted down.
"Steph, you should quiet down before we all get kicked out of here first," August suggested, who was sitting on the other side of Stephen.
"Good idea," Allen agreed, sighing as he was caught in-between all of it.
"And now for the next round!," Lisa started to announce.
"Hey look!," Stephen grabbed Allen's shoulder. "Thomas is up!"
Everyone looked down to see Thomas in the arena, who seemed to be preparing himself with a few light punches in the air.
"And look who he is up against!," Rose pointed at the student across from him.
From what they could gather from Lisa as well as their appearance, it was a year 1, C ranked student whose elemental attribute was air. This would mean Thomas would be at an elemental disadvantage since air is strong against earth magic.
Everyone in the audience around them seemed to think that Thomas was going to lose, but Allen knew better.
"So what's your take on it?," Stephen asked, leaning in towards Allen. "How long do you think he'll last? I give it a minute at best"
"No," Allen shook his head, smiling. "It's going to be done as soon as it starts"
"Really? I know of his capabilities, but that might be too generous. I don't know what that student is capable of"
"Just wait. Just have faith in him," Allen put a hand on his shoulder, as he gestured over at Thomas.
After a few stretches and light punches, the nervousness that was on Thomas' face faded away as it was replaced with a newfound confidence.
"Let the duel begin!," the duel referee announced, initiating the beginning of the duel.
While the air mage began to cast his air elemental circle to prepare his first spell, Thomas had already made his move. Almost copying Allen's quick movements, Thomas rushed completely in.
"What's this?," Lisa raised her voice, "The F Ranked Terrastone is already moving in?"
Thomas' grin grew as he was already at the air mage's position. Before he could fully react and cast a spell at Thomas, he had already thrown in a powerful punch, sending the air mage out of the boundary zone just as fast as the duel began.
Lisa and everyone else in the audience took a moment to take in what they just saw as Thomas threw up a fist in the air to celebrate his quick victory.
"Well now, wasn't that something everyone?," Lisa blinked a few times before continuing. "Well?"
"Thomas Terrastone knocked his opponent out of the duel boundary zone. Therefore, Thomas is the winner!," the duel referee declared.
"I told you Stephen, he's got it!" Allen grinned as Stephen rolled his eyes.
"I knew he was going to win," Stephen said as he shrugged. "But I was not expecting that"
"Could use some work, but I think Thomas is getting it down," Rose commented, as she put her hand to her chin in thought.
"Oh cut him some slack," Stephen remarked. "He just won, did he not?"
"Okay," Rose reluctantly agreed. "Just this once"
After some time had passed, it was finally Cecily's turn.
After Lisa had announced the two of them, Allen noticed Cecily was up against a second year, D ranked student. While the student was a whole year above her, at least he was a D rank. However what could be the most troublesome is the fact that her opponent was an earth mage, putting her at a disadvantage.
"Again with the elemental disadvantage," Stephen commented. "It's like they're intentionally after them"
Allen remembered his discussion with William, how Allen may be targeted in his own duels. However, he doubted this mysterious person would be after both Thomas and Cecily, but it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. For the time being, all he can do is wait and hope.
Just like Thomas, Cecily seemed to be a bit nervous as she prepared herself in her own way. Instead of light punches and stretches, she had her eyes closed.
"Just what is she doing?," Stephen asked out loud, a little confused.
"Who knows? Maybe she's mentally preparing herself," Rose suggested.
No, Allen thought. She's already coming up with a solid plan.
During their past month of intense training to prepare for the upcoming tournament, all of them grew in their strengths, and started to cover their own weaknesses. Thomas in his own duel had shown more of his newfound strength. Now, it was Cecily choosing to overcome her weakness.
"Let the duel begin!," the duel referee once again announced.
Cecily immediately started to cast an elemental circle, however it was a bit larger in size compared to those she had in the past. The other student decided to begin to cast their own.
"And the duel already begins, with both contestants preparing their magic!," Lisa announced, as the audience waited for what would happen first.
The other earth mage was first to cast their magic, sending it Cecily's way. Cecily had several limited options, considering she was at an elemental disadvantage.
As Cecily prepared to make her move, it seemed as though she was planning this from the beginning. She had quickly sidestepped, dodging her opponent's magic, then immediately casting her magic towards him.
Her opponent quickly turned gears, getting ready to cast magic to intercept her own. As he prepared to do so, Cecily decided she would start making her move.
"And Cecily's already making the first major move as she circles around her opponent!," Lisa announced, as the audience watched what was currently unfolding.
Just as her opponent intercepted her spell with his own magic, Cecily was already near his position, ready to cast a spell at point blank range.
Her opponent's eyes widened in fear, as he made a one last desperate attempt to stop Cecily's coming spell. However, Cecily seemed to be expecting this, as she instead moved around his position, casting a quick spell to send him outside of the boundary zone.
"Cecily Rivertide has knocked her opponent outside of the boundary zone. Therefore, Cecily is the winner!," the referee quickly announced.
"And just like that we see a victory from Cecily Rivertide!," Lisa announced. "That makes two victories from two F ranks in a row! What a crazy day for preliminary day one!"
The audience went crazy with amusement at the ending of Cecily's victory. She in the end decided to outwit her opponent, doing her best to cover her weakness of using her own magic.
"I just knew she'd win. She did really well," Stephen commented.
"I'm so proud of Lily, she's been doing so well lately during our training sessions!," Rose added.
"Then again, you have been pretty much her dueling partner like each time we train," Stephen shrugged.
"Oh? Are you telling me you wish to duel against me instead?," Rose asked, grinning.
"No ma'am," Stephen immediately looked away, knowing what could happen if he did.
"I want to be Allen's dueling partner again!," Sarah exclaimed, trying to move past Rose again.
"Hey!," Rose yelled, keeping her back.
"When can we leave?," Allen sighed as he tried to ignore Rose trying to keep Sarah back as August was laughing in the background.
Several days had passed since Thomas and Cecily both won their preliminary duels. The three of them were back in their class, the D ranked class, with Mr. Lyon as the teacher.
Both Stephen and Rose recently had their own duel, and both of them won with ease. Stephen liked to brag that he managed to beat a third year with ease, but Rose had pointed out that he was a C rank. Rose was up against a first year A rank, and Rose had no problems of her own.
They had also watched Adam, Oliver and Sybil's duels, and each of them managed to win theirs. It was almost a surprise, honestly, that all of Allen's friends were succeeding with their own duels. Perhaps everyone's training was paying off?
But, when will my duel be coming?, Allen thought, getting a little worried. And will I be able to win mine?
Allen reminded himself that he needed to do his utmost best in his preliminary duel to ensure he had a spot in the actual tournament. Otherwise, he will be unable to win four consecutive rounds, which would make him automatically disqualified to continue on to his second year.
Luckily, the preliminaries had a rule that even if you lost, that wouldn't make you ineligible. What it really came down to is how well you performed, and Allen was going to no doubt perform his best.
Just as Allen was finishing up his thoughts and getting back to concentrating on his classwork, Mr. Lyon had approached him.
"Fleming, your opponent for your preliminary round will be as follows," Mr. Lyon slid him an enclosed piece of paper.
"Oh, is Allen finally going to have his round?," Thomas asked, glad for a reason to be distracted from his classwork.
"Back to your work, Terrastone," Mr. Lyon advised him.
"Yes sir…"
Hmm, let's take a look, Allen thought, as he opened up the paper.
He read through the paper, which at first listed the general guidelines and rules for the preliminary duel, until he finally reached who his opponent will be.
No way, this can't be coincidence, can it?, Allen thought, with his eyes wide when he saw his opponent's name on paper.
"Charles Rivertide," Allen said out loud, loud enough for Thomas and Cecily to overhear. "My opponent will be Charles, who proclaims himself as my rival"