All of the students, teachers, faculty of the academy once again gathered for the Annual Magical Knights Tournament. With the first round of duels completed, many eagerly gathered to watch the second round of duels.
But not only those who attended or taught at the academy attended, for even magic and non-magic citizens alike were welcome to attend, and watch as the next generation of students went up against each other, hoping to be noticed by magical knights.
A recent duel had just finished, with the official twin announcers Misa and Lisa up in the stands, where everyone could see them, raising their voices to grab the attention of those in the stands to announce the victory.
"Alright everyone, I hope you are all prepared for this next duel!," Lisa raised her voice, instantly capturing those in the stands. "Misa, if you will"
"Of course my dear sister!," Misa put on a smile, as she looked from her sister, to those in the stands. "To our left entering just as we speak, we have none other than the Rank 1F, air mage everyone is talking about! The Weakest Mage, Allen Fleming!"
The crowd once again had a mix of emotions as Allen entered the arena. It was a bit more positive than last time, with Allen proving himself in his first duel. However, there are those that may have a grudge against him for pulling such quick and potentially seen as underhanded tactics.
"And to our right," Lisa chimed in. "We have a Rank 2A, water mage. She's been making a name for herself since her first year and participated in last year's tournament. Give it up for Blanche Dene!"
As Blanche entered the arena, there was a bit of cheering, mostly from the second and third year students. With her participation from last year, as highlighted by Misa and Lisa, there's no doubt she must have gathered a few fans.
Blanche had a calm but determined look on her face, as if she was ready to defeat Allen and make her way to the third round of the tournament. But the look almost seemed a bit too personal, as if she also desired to be the reason Allen would be expelled, as his defeat would bring him to fail his conditions.
"What's this?," Misa raised her voice, gathering the attention of the audience once more. "Lisa my dear sister, do you see who I think I see?"
"Yes, I do my dear sister!," Lisa responded, eyes now landing on her. "It appears that our current Head Director, Ellen Marion, is present once again! Could she be here to watch Allen Fleming's second duel?"
"We would have to assume so, as the only other duel she was present for was our Student Council President and her own daughter's, Rose Marion's, first duel!," Misa responded, putting emphasis into Rose's name.
"Ellen is also the reason that Allen Fleming was demoted from D rank to F rank. Another one of his conditions was to reach C rank, is it not my dear sister?," Lisa asked.
"Yes, it indeed was, from what I've heard my dear sister!," Misa responded, her eyes wandering around the crowd. "While many students can easily rank up from victories in the tournament, will things be different for Allen?"
"I suppose we'll have to wait and see, my dear sister!. But for now, let's watch Allen Fleming and Blanche Dene's duel, once it begins!"
As Allen Fleming entered the duel arena, he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself.
Allen's first duel might have been very quick and easy, but there's no guarantee that his next duel will go as smoothly for him. He will need to prepare for any scenario that may occur.
"Remain calm against any opponent, whether they are stronger or weaker than you," William's, Allen's former mentor's, words came back into Allen's mind, helping to give him a breather. "If you can keep your cool, you can turn a duel into your favor"
While William will not be present for Allen's duels, and perhaps never at all for the entire tournament, he can at least think back to his training days with William, before he turned fifteen years old. In a way, reminding himself of the words of his wise and former mentor, was almost like he was here, cheering him on.
But enough of that, Allen thought, shaking himself back to reality. It's time I get ready for my second duel. My continued attendance depends on it.
Allen made his way to the center of the arena, with his duel opponent Blanche facing opposite of him. The duel referee was also nearby, referencing something from sheets of paper.
Blanche takes a good look at him, almost sizing him up. Her combined look of calmness and determination remained, even with their duel minutes away from beginning. Allen almost respected her from that alone, instead of her taking an arrogant approach.
"So, you're Allen Fleming," she began to speak, looking him directly in the eye. "I've seen you several times, whether in the hallway or at major events such as the announcement for the tournament. Now that I have a better look at you, I'm honestly not impressed"
Well, any respect for her is pretty much gone, Allen thought to himself with a sigh. So she's a bit arrogant, just not very forward about it. Must come with the territory of being a higher rank.
"And so what?," Allen responded back to her. "What you think of me matters little. Only thing I am worried about is our duel minutes away from happening"
"Hmph, I've seen your duels in the past," she spoke, moving a strand of her hair away from her face. "Most of the time, it seems luck is on your side to help you win. I can assure you I'll defeat you here, with my skills. No luck will be able to help you"
"Is that so?," Allen asked, tilting his head. His eyes averted to her neck, where he saw her wearing a silver necklace with a blue gem. "We'll see about that"
"Hmph," she put a hand to her hip as she averted her eyes from Allen, waiting for the duel referee to begin.
Another magical artifact?, Allen asked himself, just after noticing the amulet on her neck.
Assuming it was a magical artifact, that would mean that the issue Allen encountered in his first duel was reappearing. His duel opponent could have gotten her magical artifact from Ellen, simply to gain advantage over Allen in the duel. However, they could still not prove it at this time.
But an amulet magical artifact?, Allen asked himself. Not a ring-type, like before?
Allen thought back to the days where he would tour around the shops of London with his friends Thomas and Cecily. Many mages associated with Reynold Enterprises, or some of the smaller companies sold magical artifacts. While they were high in price, they were also highly sought after, since they were limited altogether.
Generally speaking, ring type magical artifacts offer offensive boosts (like how Anthony Lowe, Allen's first opponent, had an improved casting speed), while amulets and necklaces offered defensive boosts.
So, she most likely has a defensive-type boost, Allen thought to himself, while examining the amulet. Just how will it potentially work in her favor?
Just before Allen could give it some more thought, the duel referee was already between the both of them, giving them the standard rules for the duel, just like the first duel. Afterwards, it was only the rank acknowledgement, and then their duel would begin.
"Allen Fleming, rank 1F air mage, and Blanche Dene, rank 2A water mage, your duel begins in three-"
With the countdown already beginning, Allen instantly began to both physically and mentally prepare himself. He unsheathed his sword, got into position, and awaited the finish of the countdown.
With my opponent, Blanche, being of A rank, I need to play defensively for the first half, Allen thought to himself. She is an A rank, and I already know what beasts Rose and Stephen can be with their magic.
"Begin!"
Without wasting a second, Blanche begins to immediately cast spells at Allen. Allen carefully watched each one as they reached his position, and cut through each one with his sword with accurate precision. There was no need to panic or fear, with the amount of practice he had with Ms. Florence and Mr. Garet.
"Cut through each spell, and do not get hit by or dodge any of them," Mr. Garet's words echoed in Allen's mind, back when they were training him everyday with almost no free time. "We will keep doing this until you can do this without any mistakes"
At first, Allen had a lot of trouble, since he had gotten into a habit of dodging some spells in the past. While dodging is an effective method to avoid getting hit, it also gets you moving, making you have to do more at once. If he can keep his position and a concentrated mind, he can use that to his advantage.
Allen grinned as he swung his sword around, almost exaggerating his skills. Noise erupted from the stands as everyone took in the first engagement of the duel.
"And with the first set of spells, the duel is already under way!," Misa was the first to speak, after the crowd started to get noisy.
"Definitely not like the Weakest Mage's first duel!," Lisa pointed out.
"You're right, my dear sister," Misa responded. "We can now really see how they can showcase their abilities!"
Blanche had an annoyed look on her face as she watched Allen from the other side of the arena. Without wasting another second, she prepared her next set of spells.
I managed to cut through her first set of spells, but what is she planning now?, Allen asked himself, as he kept his sword up.
Blanche seemed to make sure to maintain her distance, moving anytime Allen made any sort of movement of his own. She then cast her next set of spells, aimed directly for him once again.
Allen realized that these next set of spells were a lot more accurate than the first set. This time he actually had to dodge a few, otherwise he would've missed it and got hit by them. Is she getting better with each spell she throws at him?
No, she must have been testing me out the first time, Allent thought to himself, as he got back into position. Now that she has a good idea of what I do, she's now casting more accurate and more deadly spells. I'll need to be careful from here on out.
As Blanche prepared her next set of spells, Allen realized that standing around wasn't going to help anything. She could keep sending spells his way, and he wasn't going to get anywhere. He needed to get up close and personal and see how she reacts.
She does have that magical artifact around her neck, Allen thought to himself. Let's see what it may do for her.
Without using any of his limited mana, Allen decided to move in towards Blanche with no time to spare. Blanche was still in the middle of preparing her previous spells, when she realized what Allen was up to.
Once Allen reached her position, he gave a few swings at her, ultimately stopping her from finishing her spell. Blanche gritted her teeth as she quickly had to turn gears and dodge Allen's attacks.
She's good at dodging?, Allen thought to himself as he swung his sword at her, with her sidestepping him each time.
Blanche had a small smirk on her face as not only she dodged and sidestepped his attacks, but seemed to be gaining further distance from him, so she can once again gain the distance advantage.
Did she prepare for this ahead of time?, Allen asked himself. Could this be potentially the work of her magical artifact?
Allen started to quickly realize that he needed to start using his mana if he wanted to win this duel. While he's been learning to limit his mana usage as best as possible, he knows that there will be times that he will need to use mana to win his duels.
After all, this is a mage's duel, not a swordsman's duel, Allen thought to himself. If I just keep swinging my sword around and don't use mana, I am no mage.
"Would you look at that everyone!," Lisa raised her voice, as the crowd took in the duel. "Blanche has been sidestepping Allen's attacks! Could Blanche have the advantage in this duel?"
"I too wonder, my dear sister," Misa spoke up. "Could this perhaps be the end for Allen?"
"I suppose we will have to see, my dear sister," Lisa continued. "We haven't seen Allen show us all of his abilities in this duel yet!"
The crowd became noisy as Allen tried to take a moment to himself to breathe.
Calm down, Allen, he thought to himself. I need to remain calm. Concentrate. Begin to use the mana within me.
As Blanche began to prepare her spells again, at a good distance away from him, Allen closed his eyes and began to prepare the mana moving throughout his body.
I'll use this distance we have from each other to my advantage instead!, Allen thought as a small grin formed on her face. I'll use this time I have while I prepare my mana!
Allen could already hear Blanche getting ready to cast her next set of spells, but Allen just needed a little more time.
"Take this!," she yelled from across the arena, sending her spells his way.
Allen opened his eyes for a moment, to defend against the next barrage of spells. He did what he could to make sure he cut through as many of them as possible, as he would need it.
Allen gritted his teeth when a few of her spells hit him with pinpoint accuracy, but he did his best to ignore the pain and hold his position.
"Blanche casts more spells at Allen!," Lisa yells from above. "Allen managed to cut through most of them, but got hit in the process! Could this be the end for Allen?!"
"Maybe not quite, my dear sister!," Misa raised her voice. "It seems Allen is up to something! Could he be doing what we think he is?"
Concentrate, Allen thought to himself, as he finished up moving the air mana within him where he wanted it to. Ignore the pain. Careful of the fire mana within me. Concentrate on the air mana within me, and make it go where I want it to!
"Just lose already!," Blanche yelled from across the arena, preparing even more deadly spells than before."You will lose!"
Allen noticed her elemental circles a bit larger than before, which meant not only was she using more mana than before, but she must be going for a desperate, large attack to defeat him.
She must be somewhat aware of what my sword can do, Allen thought. I'll use that to my advantage.
As Allen began to finish up moving his air mana around, Blanche casted her spells at him, heading over to him with deadly accuracy once more.
Allen gritted his teeth as he prepared to defend against her attack. He cut through most of the spells, but once again got hit by a few of her spells, taking further damage.
Ignore it!, Allen gritted his teeth as he got into position.
"I won't let you!," Blanche yelled as she prepared a much larger spell.
Now!, Allen thought, as he ran straight to her position, a speed boost from his mana.
"No!," Blanche yelled, already getting prepared to side-step him.
Allen quickly changed gears, and instead of continuing to rush to her position, he turned his body towards where she was moving.
"Gotcha!," Allen yelled, with a grin forming on his face as he realized Blanche took the bait.
"Wait-," her voice came out as her eyes widened as she realized what was starting to happen.
Allen prepared his sword, getting ready for the swing. He knew that Blanche would have no time to dodge this one, with or without a magical artifact assisting her.
"I won't lose!," Blanche yelled, becoming aggravated as she realized what Allen was doing.
In the very few seconds that Blanche had left, she prepared a large elemental circle, hoping to hit Allen with enough force to stop him.
"It's too late!," Allen yelled, as he was a moment away from swinging his sword. "Magical release!"
With the last word coming out of his mouth, he swung his sword with as much force as he could, releasing all of the stored mana that was in his blade.
"No!," Blanche yelled, casting her spell, with enough force that it would send Allen flying.
But it was already too late, as Allen's magical release had already been cast, cutting through Blanche's last second attempt. Blanche's eyes widened with fear just a second before it collided with her, sending her flying out of bounds of the arena.
It was completely silent in the arena, with Allen regaining his composure and breathing. All he had to do was await the words he most wanted to hear.
"It's over!," Misa yelled from above, after confirmation from the duel referee. "The Weakest Mage, Allen Fleming, wins!"
"Allen makes it to the second round!," Lisa finished her sister's sentence.
Noise erupted from the audience, filling Allen's ears from below. It was once again a mixture of applause and complaints, with the crowd having mixed emotions over Allen's victory once again.
"Heh, I did it," Allen grinned, as he couldn't help but relish in his victory. "Only two more to go…"
But then Allen had a grand idea out of nowhere, hoping to spite someone specific within the crowd. He raised his sword up in the air, to further signify his victory against not only a second year, A ranked student, but a student who also held a magical artifact meant to counter Allen.
It had the effect he wanted, with Ellen Marion clenching her fists out of frustration. It was hard for Allen to make out, but he almost knew she was. She quickly got up from her seat, and almost seemed to storm out of the arena.
Mr. Garet?, Allen thought to himself, as he took note of him sitting in the Vice Director's chair. So he really was watching my duel this time.
Mr. Garet seemed to be holding in his laughter, as he had noticed Ellen practically storm out. He gave Allen a quick solid look, before turning his attention back to some paperwork in front of him.
I suppose we'll leave it at that for now, Allen thought to himself, as he knew that Mr. Garet was paying attention this time. I can't argue too much regardless, as he has been a major help to me so far.
Allen noticed some of the academy's nurses head over to help Blanche, who tried to push them away. She didn't seem to be in any serious injury, so Allen was glad.
Although Blanche wasn't very nice to Allen from the beginning, he couldn't help but be a little worried about her. She is still a student of the academy, and perhaps one day may change.
As Allen made his way back to the stands so he could see the rest of his friends participate in their own duels, he had no idea of what was coming ahead. His first two duels may have been very easy for him, but his third duel would be a big obstacle ahead.