Allen was still in the middle of his duel against Nathaniel Rivertide. He had tried to rush in and land a strike on him, only to find that Nathaniel had easily dodged his strike. It was then he remembered that he had beaten Rose in a duel, so he must've been able to keep up with her insane speeds, or easily dodge her attacks. Finally, he realized his duel would be much more difficult than he originally anticipated.

"What's wrong, Allen Fleming?," Nathaniel asked, smirking. "Wasn't expecting me to dodge that strike of yours, did you?"

Allen could only feel frustrated after he failed the first strike, and realized he would have to push harder to win this duel. After all, if he lost, he would lose his sword. His sword is what he offered to give up if he lost, and if he lost it he would lose his only physical connection he has to his real mother. He still has yet to figure out where his real mother is, let alone who she is.

"Hah, take this!," Nathaniel yelled as he sent a magical blast of water Allen's way.

Before Allen could react, it hit him head on and sent him flying back a little. He was too busy caught up in his thoughts to concentrate on his duel. As a result, he got hit and fell on his back.

"Is this really how this duel is going to go? I was expecting more, you know!," Nathaniel laughed as he slowly walked over to Allen, already preparing another spell.

"This duel isn't over quite yet!," Allen yelled as he quickly got back on his feet.

"You still have that much energy in you despite getting hit head on?," Nathaniel asked, with a curious yet mischievous look on his face.

"It's going to take more than that to defeat me!," Allen yelled, preparing himself for his next attack.

"Good, cause I was about to feel so bad for this duel ending so soon!," Nathaniel grinned as he prepared his next spell.

If I want to win this duel, I am going to have to push more for the offensive, Allen thought. I cannot just allow him to stay on the offensive. I still don't know how much mana he has left, or if he will start hitting me with more powerful attacks.

Allen immediately started to concentrate and focus on the mana inside of him. He focused it towards his legs, allowing movement of his legs to be faster and easier to move. In order to strike Nathaniel, he needed to be faster than him.

"What are you doing?," Nathaniel asked, curious. He had noticed Allen took a second to close his eyes. "If you're not going to pay attention, I'll just take you down here and now!"

Nathaniel sent out a powerful blast of water magic, aimed straight for Allen. Allen still had his eyes closed, even after it was cast.

Concentrate, Allen thought. Allow my mana to flow freely to my legs. Allow it to help me push myself further, and take down Nathaniel head on. All I need is one solid strike on Nathaniel, and that should take him down!

Right before the blast hit Allen, he opened his eyes wide and located Nathaniel's position. Focusing where he was, he quickly veered to the right of the magic, dodging it completely. Using his mana to make him much quicker, he rushed towards Nathaniel's position, fast enough for an untrained eye to almost completely miss his entire movement.

"Where did you-," Nathaniel started to say, as he noticed Allen completely vanished from his position in an instant.

"Right here!," Allen yelled as he striked Nathaniel from behind.

Nathaniel just noticed Allen in time to barely veer forward to dodge the attack. He quickly turned around and quickly gathered a spell to send at Allen to buy himself some time to prepare himself for another head on strike.

Allen realized he completely missed Nathaniel with that strike. He quickly put himself back into position and noticed Nathaniel a few meters away from him. He then got ready to push for another strike.

"I'll take you down for that!," Nathaniel yelled as he quickly sent a spell at Allen.

Instead of being able to rush to Nathaniel's position again, he easily sliced through Nathaniel's magic.

"Take even more!," Nathaniel yelled, sending even more spells at Allen. Allen could tell Nathaniel was starting to get frustrated.

Allen cut through each spell, but realized that he had used a bit too much of his mana in his quick attack than he intended. He was getting closer to running out, and didn't want to waste more if he had to. He needed to close the distance once more and land a solid hit on Nathaniel.

"I will not lose to you, Allen!," Nathaniel yelled as he kept trying to hit Allen with one of his spells.

Allen proceeded to slice through one of his attacks and quickly veer to the left. He then headed straight for Nathaniel just like last time.

"No you won't!," Nathaniel yelled as he prepared a spell and prepared to quickly move out of the way.

But Allen did something Nathaniel wasn't expecting. He had quickly gathered his mana to his arms, just like he would with his legs. This allowed him to move his arms faster, about as fast as his legs. His strike had doubled its speed compared to the last strike, even faster than Rose's strikes with her rapier. Nathaniel had to quickly switch to the defensive with his spell instead of trying to get away.

"Take this Nathaniel!," Allen said as he cut through Nathaniel's spell at high speeds, and slightly cut him.

"How dare you!," Nathaniel howled. There wasn't much he could do to get away, so instead of trying to get away he decided to try to play offensively in that position. He began to prepare the quickest spell he could, hopefully to hit Allen right after he had just landed his strike and before he could try to defend or strike once more.

But instead of quickly striking again, right after he landed his strike he had quickly turned his body around. After he had swiftly turned his body around, Nathaniel became confused for a moment before he realized what was happening.

"Wha-," was all Nathan could say before Allen kicked him full force in his chest. He got sent flying back and landed on his back just a bit before the end of the boundary zone.

Allen took a second to breathe. He had used up almost all of his mana in that short moment of series of blows and was tired. But it was finally over.

"It's over Nathaniel," Allen announced as he walked over to him, laying on his back.

"No," Nathaniel said while just laying there on his back. Allen barely heard him as he was walking up to him.

"I've won, admit defeat," Allen commanded as he stabbed his sword into the ground near Nathaniel's head.

The crowd watching became silent as they waited for what would happen next. Ms. Lynde had yet to officially announce that Allen had won. All Allen needed was Nathaniel to finally admit defeat and it would be over. If he refused, Allen could just move him outside the boundary and win that way. But Allen would rather Nathaniel admit his defeat more than anything.

"I beat you Nathaniel. Fair and square. Just admit your defeat and this will be over," Allen announced.

Nathaniel proceeded to laugh so hard, even people in the crowd were confused. Allen didn't understand why he was laughing so hard. Did he really think his defeat was that funny? Did Nathaniel even know what defeat was?

"I haven't been defeated by you, Allen," Nathaniel mischievously grinned. "This duel isn't over"

"What?," Allen said, utterly confused. Here he was on his back, most likely out of energy and here he was trying to tell Allen the duel wasn't over.

"After all, I still have this!," Nathaniel said with his eyes wide open.

Nathaniel proceeded to put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a gold ring with a blue gem in the center of it. He put it on his middle finger on his right hand.

Wait, Allen thought. Could that be a magical artifact?

Allen's question was quickly answered when suddenly he felt some sort of magical presence from behind him. How could there be magic aimed at him from behind? Was someone trying to cheat and take him out? Allen was sure Ms. Lynde would've said something if someone had stepped onto the duel grounds to interfere.

"This isn't over Allen," Nathaniel said as his eyes widened and wore a mischievous smile as he cast his spell.

Just as Allen turned around, he got hit by the spell Nathaniel cast with no room to dodge or cut through it. Nathaniel had somehow cast an elemental circle across the duel grounds, instead of outside of his hand like how mages normally cast spells.

"How do you like that, Allen?," Nathaniel laughed from behind him.

Allen turned around to see him already preparing another spell. Allen was already almost out of his mana and his strength was already starting to fade. Whatever Nathaniel did - whatever ring he put on suddenly made his magic stronger - Allen wasn't sure how long he could last against it.

"Where was your strength from earlier? Where was the part you said you would beat me? Just because you wield a sword you think you can beat me with that alone? With such weak magic?," Nathaniel insulted him as he just finished preparing his next spell.

Allen readied his sword in preparation to defend against Nathaniel's next attack. But he was already feeling like he would collapse soon. But he refused to give up and lose to Nathaniel here.

"Get ready Allen!," Nathaniel yelled as he cast his spell.

Allen managed to cut through the magic Nathaniel sent his way, despite him being exhausted. However, Nathaniel had also cast a magical circle from behind him. Allen can normally detect magic if its cast close enough to him and he is concentrating, but since he was exhausted he had a harder time concentrating. The magic from behind hit him and he almost fell over.

"Wow, is that really it? You ran out of mana just like that?," Nathaniel kept laughing as he kept hurling magic spells at Allen.

Allen was beyond exhausted at this point. Not only was he practically out of mana, but his body was physically exhausted as well. Normally he could fight longer, but by utilizing his mana within his body, it can make him exhausted faster. Allen isn't entirely sure why that is, but he had to deal with it regardless. But before he could try to come up with an answer, several more spells hit him before he could attempt to dodge or cut through them.

"This is absolutely hilarious! You're just going to stand there and let this happen? Why don't you admit defeat already?," Nathaniel continued to insult him.

After already getting hit with several spells, Allen was just about ready to collapse. The crowd seemed to watch with awe as Allen kept getting hit and was unable to fight back at this point. But he still remained conscious and refused to give up. Ms. Lynde had still yet to declare anyone a winner or even say anything at all.

"You're still not going to give up? Then take this!," Nathaniel roared as he prepared the largest magical circle yet. He then sent his magic towards Allen at full force.

Allen no longer had the energy to even attempt to defend. He got hit full force and was sent flying back. His body flipped while in the air and he landed on his stomach. His sword fell out of his hands while he had flailed through the air and it landed not far away from him.

"Wow just look at that," Nathaniel said as he began walking over to him. "Look at how our roles have reversed, only this time I actually won"

Allen tried to get up, but he was physically unable to. Every ounce in his entire body wanted him to get up and keep fighting, but he was out of energy and mana.

"The Weakest Mage, they call you," Nathaniel said with an evil looking smirk on his face. "Barely any mana and has to fight with a sword. Pathetic. Only individuals blessed with high amounts of mana should be able to become mages. And yet people like you, the trashy peasants, come running down proclaiming themselves as mages"

"Shut up," Allen mumbled. He tried to speak louder, but he was close to passing out from exhaustion.

"Look at him, everyone! Here is our academy's Weakest Mage, for everyone here to see! This boy here thinks he can become a magical knight despite not even being able to cast a single spell of mana!," Nathaniel howled with laughter.

"Seriously? He can't even cast a spell? I thought he was saving his mana!"

"Who even fights with a weapon? How cowardly!"

"He dares to call himself an air mage with that low amount of air mana?"

The crowd's insults hit Allen each time he heard them, but he still refused to falter. He refused to give up, despite being on the very verge of passing out.

"Listen to this everyone! This F rank needs to reach at least C rank to graduate his first year!," Nathaniel laughed. "The head director even said so''

"Seriously? He has to get to C rank to graduate?".

"With that weak amount of mana he'll never get to C rank!"

"I remember this from the entrance exam. This weak mage was accepted with that condition! Pathetic!"

The crowd continued to laugh alongside Nathaniel's comments. Allen managed to stay conscious, but it was only a matter of time. He began to concentrate as hard as he could looking within himself, and ignored Nathaniel and the crowd. He tried to find any air mana he could within himself.

"Not only that, but he has to win four consecutive rounds of the tournament to graduate! Yes, you heard that right! Four rounds of the same tournament that's held every year. And he can't even defeat me, how does he expect to make it through all four rounds? What a pathetic mage," Nathaniel laughed alongside the crowd.

Nathaniel finally made it to where Allen was laying on the floor. Allen was still awake, but he made no indication of paying attention to Nathaniel. Nathaniel noticed his sword on the ground, just right next to his feet. He proceeded to lift Allen's sword from the ground into his hand. It was heavier than he expected, but since he practically won this duel it was now his.

Allen still layed on the floor, ignoring Nathaniel's movements towards him. He searched within himself, locating the mana within him. He felt all the fire mana within him, that he so desperately did everything he could to keep it sealed within him. He noticed the fire mana reacting to the air mana within him, keeping the air mana from flowing like it should. Doing the best he could, he moved his fire mana around so he could gather more air mana where he wanted it to. He had to do this slowly, otherwise the sudden movement of his fire mana could easily trigger anyone who was sensitive to sensing mana like William and he was.

"Look at this everyone! This is the sword this self-proclaimed mage wields!," Nathaniel showed the sword to everyone in the audience. He did his best to hold it high so everyone could see and laugh, but he was having slight difficulty with it as it was a bit too heavy for him.

Nathaniel proceeded to inspect the blade for a moment. At glance, it looked like a decently sized sword. A dark gray handle and hilt with a light gray blade. Nathaniel noticed a four sided star in the center of the hilt, which seemed to look directly into his body when he looked at it. Just holding the blade gave him a weird feeling. The longer he held the sword, the worse the feeling started to become.

"Weird," Nathaniel mumbled to himself. "What's wrong with this stupid sword?"

Suddenly, Nathaniel felt the extreme urge to drop the sword out of his hands. It felt like the sword was cutting straight into him, but he had no idea why. He did everything he could to ignore the feeling, so no one would catch on.

"Well, it seems I don't even need this pathetic sword to begin with. Why bother when my magic is way stronger anyways!," Nathaniel announced as he did the best he could to toss the sword back at Allen without making it seem like the sword was affecting him.

Allen was still on the floor, saying nothing. At this point Nathaniel was starting to get bored of this. He was having so much fun humiliating Allen, but it wasn't as fun when Allen wouldn't even respond to or react to his insults. What was Allen doing, anyways?

"Look at him, everyone! It seems like he has given up, but he can't even say it himself!," Nathaniel and the crowd laughed again.

Ms. Lynde walked closer over to Nathaniel, but still remained outside the duel grounds as best as she could.

"Well, aren't you going to proclaim this duel as my win?," Nathaniel asked.

"He looks unconscious, so I will give the announc-"

Before Ms. Lynde could finish her sentence, Allen suddenly sprang up from where he was laying and dashed towards Nathaniel at high speed. Allen's sword seemed to almost spring up and land right into Allen's hands, but it mostly looked like Allen had picked it up himself while he was in the motion of moving towards Nathaniel.

"Wha-," was all that Nathaniel could make out before Allen finally reached his position.

Allen had his sword barely pressed against Nathaniel's throat. He was staring straight into Nathaniel's eyes, with the most determined look on his face. It took everything he had to muster up the strength to reach where he was now, but now that he was here this was checkmate for Nathaniel.

"How did you-," Nathaniel said as he noticed Allen right in front of him. Nathaniel was so flustered that he couldn't even move or say anything else. He was beyond surprised to the point that all he could do was look right back at Allen's eyes. The feeling he got from when he was holding Allen's sword he felt now, but it was way worse. He stood there, waiting for Allen to finally finish the duel off.

Everyone in the crowd was in pure shock at what they had just witnessed. The last thing anyone expected was Allen to be suddenly at Nathaniel's position, staring him down. The crowd suddenly went silent, awaiting for what Ms. Lynde would say.

"The duel is over!," Ms. Lynde announced. "Nathaniel Rivertide is the winner!"

Nathaniel was in pure shock of what Ms. Lynde had just said. In fact, what she had just said finally put him out of his confusion and he looked back. She pointed down to his feet to which he promptly looked. Allen's foot was just right outside the duel boundaries, which meant that Allen had lost.

"Allen had stepped foot outside the boundary zone, therefore Nathaniel is the winner!," Ms. Lynde confirmed to everyone what she and Nathaniel just saw.

The crowd was still silent for a moment, confused. Finally most of the crowd cheered for Nathaniel, since they didn't want Allen to win.

Allen, after he heard what Ms. Lynde had announced and looked down to confirm it, finally fell on the floor once more. That last minute attack he pulled was what finally made him lose consciousness. As he fell to the floor, passing out, his only thought he could muster was:

"Why?"

Volume 2 End