As he was promising his pet an extra meal for finishing these few trips, a knock sounded on the cabin door.
Opening it, Alan found Charles and William standing there. He looked at them with some confusion. Recently, their training had become routine, and they no longer required his constant supervision. He only checked in every few days to collect experimental data. Did they have something important to discuss?
"What's wrong?" Alan asked, ignoring Shunfeng's indignant huff as he shoved a stack of letters into the bird's beak.
"It's like this," William began. "I've been training for over half a year now, and I'd like to have another duel to test the results."
Charles nodded in vigorous agreement.
Rematch? He hadn't realized they were quite so competitive. Alan saw the fighting spirit igniting in their eyes and understood their intent. He pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright. It's a good chance for me to see how much you've both improved."
At his agreement, their spirits lifted. After such a long period of grueling drills, they were confident in their abilities—especially William. Being two years older than Charles, he had always felt his previous defeat was a fluke caused by poor dueling form. He was ready to reclaim his honor, and this duel was his own initiative.
As for Charles, the previous victory had given him plenty of confidence. In his eyes, the "senior" students weren't so special anymore. He was ready to let loose and see what he could do.
The three walked out of the cabin to a nearby clearing. Vivian, Bill, and Evan were already waiting with candies, drinks, and small stools, settled in to watch the show.
Looking at the spectators, Alan said helplessly, "You three should take this seriously. This is a good opportunity to observe. Once your training progresses further, I'll be arranging practice duels for you, too."
"Mhm, mhm," the three replied perfunctorily, their eyes shining. Bill pulled out a large lollipop and crunched on it loudly.
*You'll be crying about it later,* Alan thought, then turned his attention to the two in the arena.
"I won't put any restrictions on this duel, but be careful to stop before anyone gets seriously hurt. You may bow," Alan shouted.
The two drew their wands and performed a standard dueling salute. Their expressions grew solemn; clearly, they now viewed each other as equals.
"Langlock!" "Impedimenta!"
As the battle began, they chose different opening moves. Charles used the Tongue-Tying Spell, attempting to launch a quick, flexible strike. If he could catch William off guard, he could silence his vocal spells immediately. Even if it missed, the incredibly fast projectile was enough to disrupt William's rhythm.
William opted for the Impediment Jinx. He knew Charles was agile and wanted to use a spell with a wider area of effect to force Charles to move.
After casting, both moved instantly. Having trained with Alan for so long, they were capable of casting while repositioning relatively freely, and their initial spells crossed in the air, both missing their targets.
This was followed by a continuous barrage. Both displayed excellent casting techniques with very tight intervals. Often, several spells were exchanged within a few seconds.
After ten seconds of rapid fire, neither side had gained a significant advantage. However, in Alan's view, the differences were showing. Charles was a step behind William in terms of accuracy. William frequently used sudden stops and starts to prevent Charles from anticipating his path; as a result, very few spells were directly blocked by William. Most were dodged. While physically demanding, this allowed him to maintain momentum.
Charles, while agile, was being successfully anticipated by William's high-precision aiming. He was forced to slow his offense, frequently raising his wand to parry or deflect incoming hexes. After a few more exchanges, Charles fell into a stalemate where he was defending more than he was attacking.
Vivian, Bill, and Evan were enthralled, watching the two on the field blur as they dodged side-to-side. When a spell was about to hit, they reacted with a snap, deflecting the magic with their wands before immediately counter-attacking. The instant reaction speed left the three spectators stunned. They finally understood the purpose of the repetitive drills Alan assigned them—the side-to-side jumps and the rapid-fire practice. The results were being displayed right in front of them.
Back in the arena, the tension was taking its toll. Both were beginning to tire. William's constant shifting and sudden stops were physically exhausting, and his breathing was becoming labored. Charles, being suppressed, felt the pressure. He knew that if this continued, he would lose. He was two years younger than William, and his magical reserves couldn't match the older boy's. He would run dry before William did.
With a plan in mind, Charles temporarily slowed his offense, prioritizing defense. Then, during a brief gap in the fire, he pointed his wand at William's feet and used a Transfiguration spell.
William, seeing Charles stop his attack, thought his opponent was flagging. He paused his steps, ready to catch his own breath.
Suddenly, several hands made of earth emerged from the ground, firmly gripping William's ankles.
Charles was overjoyed to see the trap work. He seized the opportunity to fire a rapid chain: "Stupefy! Expulso! Expelliarmus!" The spells were fast and precise, intended to end the duel then and there.
Finding his feet trapped, William felt a surge of panic, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"Lapifors!"
William didn't get flustered, nor did he try to parry every incoming spell. Instead, he used Lapifors to kick up a violent cloud of dust and debris toward Charles. He had used this before to try and blind him, though it hadn't been effective when Charles was free to move. But now, William's intent was simply to force Charles into a defensive maneuver to buy himself a few precious seconds of time.