Concentrate, Allen thought. I need to do everything I can to improve on my mana use.
Allen decided he would take some time to train before his upcoming duel against Charles, his "Self Proclaimed Rival", later today. He needed to do everything he could to prepare himself to win against Charles.
While Allen may have won really quick the first time he dueled against him in the academy entrance exam, this isn't to say that he will completely win against him now. Who knows what Charles may be capable of now? Allen never wants to underestimate any opponent. After all, that was one of the things William taught him.
"It's very important that you do not underestimate your opponent, ever," William had advised him one day in the morning of one of their training sessions, back when Allen was still young. "You may not know what your opponent is capable of, and they can sweep the rug from under you. Respect your opponent, and defeat them with all you have"
Allen has always taken Williams' teachings to heart, making sure to follow them as best as he can. William was the strongest mage Allen knows, even to today.
Luckily it was not required for preliminary attendees to participate in their classes, so Allen had been spending all the time he could training away in the training room, which just so happened to be where their preliminaries have been held.
He thought back to when he had trained with Rose for the first time, before his duel against Nathaniel Rivertide. She had told him before that the training room where the preliminaries would be held, and she was right.
"Hey, you'll do just fine," a familiar voice came from behind, putting Allen out of his thoughts.
"Oh, it's you Tom," Allen smiled at him.
"What? Did you already forget we've been training with you in here since the beginning?," Thomas laughed.
"He's probably been wrapped up in his thoughts about his duel against Charles coming up," Cecily advised, walking up from the behind of both of them.
"True Lily, but I won my duel easily! I'm sure that if Allen is going up against Charles, he won't break a sweat!"
"Perhaps, but you have to remember that even Charles is not a fool. He's probably been training just like we have been," Cecily reminded him.
"Right. If only half this academy's students trained as much as we did," Thomas rolled his eyes.
"Wouldn't that mean you'd have less of a chance to win in the tournament?," Cecily tilted her head, giving him a look.
"Maybe, but maybe then there would be less class time and more training- ow!"
"Learn your lesson already," Cecily narrowed her eyes after smacking him on the head.
As the two of them continued to bicker, Allen decided to continue his training.
"The next preliminary duel has finally arrived!," Misa announced, hyping up the crowd. "And today's first preliminary match will be between Allen Fleming and Charles Rivertide!"
The time is here, Allen thought, as he prepared himself. My duel against Charles.
Both of them were already on the arena floor, seconds away from their duel beginning. Both of them were eager, as this was the first official duel against each other ever since the entrance exam duels months ago.
"Alright my rival!," Charles shouted, pointing a finger at him. "This time, I will definitely defeat you, and make things even between us! I have been training for this very moment!"
Allen grinned a little before he spoke. "Very well then Charles. Give me everything you've got, because I have been training too!"
Allen was glad, because things had certainly changed a lot between them since the entrance exam duel. From what started as bitter feelings slowly turned into a bit more of a friendly rivalry, even if the whole rivalry is primarily one sided.
In addition, Charles had definitely improved as a person since then. Charles had gone after Allen intentionally, knowing Allen's magic output was weak. However now, Charles has grown a respect for Allen, and knows what he is capable of. This had all primarily begun to start ever since the club training camp that William and Martha had hosted at the beach for the training club members, and Charles had been invited as a special guest by William.
The duel referee had stepped forward to confirm that both Allen and Charles were ready, before giving them the standard rules for duels.
"And your duel may begin!," the referee announced.
"And the duel between Charles Rivertide and Allen Fleming has begun!," Misa announced to the crowd.
"Alright Allen! I hope you are prepared!," Charles shouted, already preparing a spell with the formation of his magical circle.
"Anytime!," Allen shouted back, preparing for whatever Charles had in store for him.
Now then, Allen thought to himself. What is he going to do this time?
Allen had already unsheathed his blade, ready to cut through any attack that Charles may send his way. He also had to be careful for any unexpected attacks Charles may decide to pull. After all, Charles has seen firsthand what Allen's sword is capable of.
"Alright, my rival! Take this!," Charles shouted, sending his first spell Allen's way.
Just like how Allen has done many times beforehand, he had cut through Charles' magic very easily.
Just what did he hope to gain from that?, Allen thought. Was he looking to test me?
"I expected that!," Charles shouted, pointing at Allen again. "I totally was not expecting to win by that alone!"
"Sure, sure," Allen said, as he rolled his eyes.
"And the duel has already begun with Charles sending the first spell!," Misa continued. "Now, what will Allen do?"
Well, if he's going to test me out, guess it's my turn, Allen thought, as he was already preparing himself.
"Take this too!," Charles yelled, already sending the next barrage of spells at him.
Allen quickly moved his sword to cut through each of them, while he analyzed Charles' position at the same time.
Allen had decided that he would go ahead and run straight for Charles, like he did in his original duel with him. However, he will be still taking Rose's teachings into account, and not use or waste any of his mana in the process.
"That same trick will not work on me!," Charles had shouted at him, while Allen was already heading for his position.
As Allen ran straight for him, Charles began sending quick spells his way, which forced Allen to react and cut through each of them. This had allowed Charles to move and keep his distance, as even he knew that he stood no chance with Allen up close and personal.
"What's this?," Misa shouted. "Allen has already made his way in towards Charles, but it looks like Charles is not letting him!"
He's learning, Allen thought to himself, as he cut through each spell one at a time. Instead of aimlessly casting his spells, he's actually aiming for spots I'm heading towards, keeping me from advancing my position as fast as I could.
Just as Allen had almost closed the gap to Charles, Charles had already prepared a spell to counter him, sending it faster than Allen could cut through. Allen had to quickly dodge as Charles once again kept his distance from him.
As both of them gained their composure, it was clear to the other that each of them had been training in their own way.
"Not bad Charles," Allen said, catching his breath. "You've certainly been busy"
"As expected of my rival!," Charles grinned, as he too caught his breath. "You've done more than just swing your sword around!"
With the newfound respect for one another continuing to grow, each of them grinned at each other, but still having the underlying desire to defeat the other.
"Out of respect for you Charles, I, Allen Fleming, will come at you with everything I got!," Allen declared, pointing his sword at him.
"And I, Charles Rivertide, will not hold anything back, and I will defeat you this time!," Charles declared, pointing his finger at him.
"And would you look at that everyone!," Misa rang in with her next set of commentary. "From what seemed like previous bitterness to now a respectful rivalry, the two of them are going to show us everything they've got!"
I need to win this if I want to make it to my second year, Allen reminded himself. Charles may want to make things even, but I have goals of my own that I cannot afford to lose!
"I am not going to let you win this time Allen!," Charles reminded him. "I will show you the power that I have gained from all of my training!"
Charles began to use any and all of the mana he had, creating a large elemental circle, the largest Allen had ever seen from him.
"Charles is casting a very large spell?," Misa slowly started to raise her voice, getting everyone's attention. "Just what is he planning?"
With a very large spell like that, I will have a very difficult time trying to dodge or cut through it, Allen thought to himself, feeling the tension rise. He must have figured this out, if he's trying this.
Allen could try to rush him before Charles could finish preparing his spell, but he knew that would be risky too. After all, it is highly possible that Charles could finish his spell before Allen reaches his position, and receive all of the spell at point blank range.
He could of course use all of his mana to reach him faster than he can cast, but that would be risky too. After all, if Charles managed to outplay him, Allen would have exhausted all of his mana reserves, and would lose most of the edge he would normally have in a duel.
No, Allen thought. I need to do something different… to try something different. But if I were to try what I am thinking of, it would be highly risky.
Throughout all of Allen's training during the year, he has tried out many different things he could do to put himself in a position higher than his opponent. He's already very limited as it is since he cannot cast a basic spell, so he needs every ace up his sleeve if he wants to make it through the tournament.
Guess there's only one way to find out, Allen thought, as he took a deep breath.
"Get ready my rival!," Charles shouted, with a satisfied grin on his face. "I am about to give you everything I have, and finally defeat you!"
Allen ignored him as he remained focused, eyes closed, preparing himself for his counter to Charles' spell. He took another deep breath as he got himself into position, getting his sword ready. He would only have one chance with this, so he would need to make this count.
"Now then Allen, take the full extent of my magical power as you face defeat against me for the first time!," Charles shouted as he finally cast his spell.
Charles' large magic spell had finally left his elemental circle, coming full force towards Allen at a high speed.
"Wow! Charles' spell is finally cast and is heading straight for Allen!," Misa raised her voice, as the spell was cast. "What will Allen do in the mere seconds he has?"
Allen opened his eyes as he was already in position, ready to cut through the entirety of Charles' spell. His sword reacted with Allen's intentions, ready to take on the spell that Charles had coming his way.
The white four sided star that was on the hilt of Allen's sword now glowed a bright blue, matching the color of water magic. The middle of his sword seemed to open up a little, at first glowing white and then matching the same blue that the four sided star held.
"Now then!," Allen shouted, raising his sword up. "Magical Release!"
With all of Allen's might, he swung his sword in a vertical arc, releasing all of the water magic that had stored up in his sword throughout the entire duel so far.
"Huh?," Charles asked, dumbfounded, as he saw an entire arc of water magic heading straight for him, faster than he could try to react.
"Heh," Allen muttered, as the energy in him quickly went away and he began to feel tired. "I managed to do it"
Allen thought back to his non-stop training that he had been doing for the past month, all for preparation for the tournament.
"So, is there anything else your sword can do?," August asked Allen, during one of their training sessions.
"Huh?," Allen asked, confused.
"Well, your sword can cut through magic, right?," August asked, inspecting his sword from a distance.
"Yeah, something like that," Allen asked, putting up his sword to get a better look at it.
"Cutting through magic is definitely not a normal thing," August pointed out. "Just how does it do that?"
"How?," Allen asked, confused at the question. "Wait…"
Now that he gave it better thought, just how did his sword cut through magic? Normal swords and other weapons cannot, otherwise using weapons with magic would definitely be more commonplace. Just so how did his sword do it?
Allen truly knows nothing about his sword at all. Of course, he knows that it was once his mothers sword, gifted by William at the end of his training. It certainly didn't help that William refused to tell him anything at all, but surely he would have told Allen about the sword?
After talking things out with August, and doing some testing with his sword during the training time he had, he came to a rough conclusion - his sword doesn't cut through magic… it absorbs magic!
Anytime Allen "cuts" through an opponent's spell, his sword actually absorbs the magic into the sword, which is why the opponent's magic dissipates. Overtime, the magic slowly drains from the sword, allowing him to absorb more magic for his next duel.
However, if he collects the magic during a duel, he can then use something which he calls "Magical Release". Using all the stored up magic, he can then release all of the magic at his opponent, in an arc shape. The neat part is the white four sided star on his sword glows the same color of the magic that he has collected, and then a line is formed in the middle of his sword, matching the glow from the star. The only drawback is that once he has used the ability, he suddenly feels weak and tired, taking a lot out of him.
He hadn't had the chance to test it as much as he had liked, so using this trick in his duel against Charles was definitely a gamble. However, in his case, it was the winning move.
The magic arc had completely canceled out Charles' large spell that was sent straight for Allen, and instead Allen's "magic release" spell had gone straight for Charles now, completely knocking him out of the arena.
Misa and the crowd all had to take a second to process everything they had seen just in mere seconds. Just what did Allen do? How was he able to use water magic against Charles? From their perspective, they had no idea what was going on.
"Wait- just what did Allen do?," Misa asked, leaning forward in complete curiosity and surprise. "It's as if he used Charles' magic against him?!"
The duel referee hadn't announced Allen's victory yet, but instead was staring at Charles in shock, just like the rest of the audience.
"Well? The result?," Misa asked, which everyone else was waiting for.
"T-The duel is over!," the referee announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Allen Fleming has sent Charles Rivertide out of arena bounds, therefore Allen Fleming is the winner!"
The whole crowd yelled in excitement at the announcement of Allen's victory. Allen had prevailed, and once again had beaten Charles Rivertide, a year 1 rank B. This was the first mark towards his goal of winning his required rounds in the tournament.
The nurses from the infirmary had quickly rushed over to Charles, to make sure he was okay. Allen could tell he was just fine, as he seemed to have been yelling at them to keep their hands off of him. Charles' loss against Allen definitely affected him, but he could tell Charles would be fine in the end.
However, not the same could be said for Allen. All of the strength had left his body, and the exhaustion had finally caught up to him. The last thing he had seen as he grinned to his victory was the ceiling to the room as he fell over.