Alexander woke up and began his ritual of going for a morning run and swinging his wooden sword, practicing just as his father taught. Upon returning to the house for a nice bath, Alexander saw Quicksilver, who avoided his gaze, grimacing as he went outside, bearing a frown. Alexander felt confused about this; after clearing his name of the altercation, he thought his father would be happy. After everything was done, it was like Alexander's father was avoiding him, never making eye contact. This made Alexander very sad, and he just let a deep sigh escape his lips as he watched his father train, wearing a sad expression. Alexander walked towards the door, preparing the words to say to his father, but as he gripped the handle of the door, Elizabeth grabbed his hands, and as he looked up to her, she just shook her head. Elizabeth said, "Your father is a simple man. He just feels guilty for hitting you." Alexander tensed at the memory of his father hitting him. It reminded him of all the abuse he took in his previous world. Elizabeth just shook her head, saying calmly, "Your father has always worried about you and… Well, he didn't know what to do. You have always been such a well-behaved child that the thought of disciplining you never crossed our minds. Let him build the strength to say what needs to be said to you, and please be patient. We try so hard as parents, but we make mistakes too." Alexander just hugged Elizabeth and kissed her on the cheek, saying, "It's ok, Mom. I will be here." Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "You're growing so fast."
Alexander left the house heading back towards the corner of the village, going towards the same house as last time. Before Alexander could reach the house, a kid hopped down from a tree. Holding a wooden staff. Alexander could detect faint hints of mana fluctuating off the staff. The kid said, "What do you want?" taking a combat stance with Alexander. Alexander assumed a ready stance, and this made the boy flinch for a second. This caused the boy to get angry, and dashing towards Alexander. Alexander, noticing the boy's swift speed, decided to dampen the ground with water magic, making it slick to slow his opponent's movements. The boy was preparing a swing, and Alexander was preparing to evade when a solid wall of ice appeared between the two as Merlin and Viviane came from the house. Merlin spoke to Viviane, obviously not caring about the scuffle going on, saying, "Well done." Viviane was obviously pleased with this compliment, turning red, saying, "I only learned so fast because you're a good teacher," while maintaining her icy look. Merlin adjusted his glasses, saying, "Welcome back, Alexander. I see you've met Lancelot". Alexander just shot Merlin a dirty look, saying, "You need to keep your dog on a leash." Lancelot, clearly steaming from this insult, replied, "Who are you calling a dog? Bird brains". Alexander and Lancelot were steaming, getting into each other's faces, and having a shoving contest. Vivian splashed the boys with water magic, saying, "Cool it, boys." They both shook off the water like dogs looking at each other as if to call a truce. Lancelot barked some words towards Merlin, obviously angry, saying, "Why is he here anyway?" Merlin said, Why don't y'all square off so you can see for yourself?" Lancelot assumed a ready position. Merlin just facepalmed his own head. Viviane said, "I got it," grabbing Lancelot by the ear, causing Alexander to laugh until she grabbed him by the ear too, dragging them both into the backyard of the house. The backyard was big with a privacy fence at least 20 feet high made from wood. The backyard had a rectangular box area with a line with a circle in the middle and a circle on all sides of the rectangle, which was easily 50 meters long and 20 meters wide. Once everyone arrived in the backyard, Merlin said, "Get to the opposite ends and assume a ready position; the duel will begin and end on my command." Merlin looked at Lancelot and then back at Alexander and said, "That reminds me." Merlan used earth mana to create a sword, heated it up, and repeated the process, blowing it off, saying, "This seems more your style." Alexander was shocked; he gave it a practice swing, and it was even better than the wooden practice sword his dad had given him. The blade could be held in one hand and was tailored to his exact size and weight. Lancelot saw this and gritted his teeth in anger. Alexander walked back to his position and assumed a ready stance. Merlin looked at both Alexander and Lancelot, saying, "Begin." Alexander and Lancelot darted towards each other. It only took a breath for them both to close the distance as their respective weapons clashed with each other. Alexander gritted his teeth while Lancelot was turning red, wincing in anger, until Alexander finally decided to change tactics, acknowledging Lancelot as his equal in terms of strength. Alexander went with the flow of Lancelot's staff, attempting a leg sweep just to get his leg checked by the staff, receiving a skilled blow at his hip for his troubles. Alexander replied with a flurry of attacks, but none met their marks. Merlin adjusted his glasses, speaking to himself, "I never would've guessed Alexander would be so skilled with a sword. But no matter how much Lancelot lives for combat, Viviane loses her usual icy expression for a brief moment, torn between Lancelot and Alexander. Viviane's face said it all. She didn't know who would win. Lancelot looked up at Viviane and grew even angrier, increasing his ferocity. Alexander's detect mana helped him see the attack patterns more clearly. Alexander realized the mana he was detecting was the staff actually getting longer as he struck. Alexander realized the longer they went that he was actually losing and that Lancelot was better at close combat than him. Alexander pushed off Lancelot to create distance. Alexander was heaving deep breaths as he said wind torrent, releasing a wave of wind, but what happened next threw him off as Lancelot struck his spell down in the middle, continuing his vicious assault, catching Alexander with a strong blow to the gut, making Alexander feel as if he was gonna throw up. Lancelot smirked as if to say he won already. Alexander didn't understand what it was about his face or just him that made him so angry, but Lancelot pissed him off. Alexander never got so frustrated with a person in both his lives. But Lancelot really pissed him off. Alexander feinted an injury, baiting Lancelot into causing Lancelot to strike for the same spot. At this moment, Alexander stepped just outside of range and swung at Lancelot's knees, but this was blocked. Alexander smiled, but Lancelot realized his own blunder too late, just bracing for the inevitable strike. Alexander hit Lancelot with a booming punch, sending him flying, Lancelot spat some blood out, getting up, but his legs were wobbly from the punch. Lancelot said, "You hit like a girl." Alexander just shook his head, pointing his fingers towards Lancelot, saying, "Shock cannon." Lancelot fell to the ground. Alexander said, "Must be a pretty strong girl then.". Merlin stepped into the ring in a flash, saying, "Lancelot is unable to battle; Alexander is the victor." Lancelot just scraped the dirt in his hands, just barely coming to his knees, soaking the ground with his wet tears, unable to lift his head, not wanting the others to see his tears. Lancelot began pounding the ground. Alexander felt bad and wondered what could cause him to be so infuriated. Alexander didn't like the kid, but he wanted to say something to calm him. Alexander watched as Viviane walked over to Lancelot, but before she could touch him, Merlin grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. Merlin said, "I think it's best if we go inside for a little." Everyone except Lancelot went inside, going to the basement. Alexander said, "What was all of that?" Merlin replied, "Something that needed to happen for character development, of course. I wouldn't slack off if I were you." Alexander retorted, "I wouldn't dream of it." Viviane spoke up, "Lancelot has vowed to never lose. He trains day in and day out. Merlin is the only one that knows why he works so rigorously." Merlin just sighed and said, "Lancelot will tell you both when he is ready." Merlin looked at Alexander, then at Viviane, and said, "Well, maybe one of you.".
Alexander said, "I thought you said you could make me stronger?"
Merlin adjusted his glasses and said, "I will, and after I give you something to help with mana recovery, we can duel. That last spell cost you a lot of mana, I could tell."