After Allen returned from the Red Brotherhood's hidden camp to the elven city of Elaraclay, he enjoyed a fairly peaceful stretch of life.
At Ardalia's invitation, he also entered Elaraclay's annual tournament and even took second place.
Though Allen was already a powerful fighter, he was far from the best in this castle full of elves, even without counting the heads of the four great elven families, all of whom were Apocalypse Knights.
Without using magic, Allen lost the final to a Twilight Knight even stronger than Hollimion, giving him another clear measure of his fighting ability in Pendor.
Although he still fell short of the very strongest, he appeared to rank among the first tier.
As for why he had not used magic, Allen felt that his roots on the Pendor Continent were too shallow. Without a solid power base behind him, he remained cautious even in front of his allies.
Yet even second place spread Allen's name throughout the elven city, and the Noldor Council, which had organized the tournament, awarded him a Dragon Tear Gem.
After all, humans who could fight an elite Twilight Knight to a standstill were exceedingly rare. A human with such deep ties to the elves was rarer and more valuable still.
His impressive tournament performance made Allen even more welcome in Elaraclay.
The elves' attitude toward him almost gave Allen the illusion that, if he just kept working at it, he would soon be able to learn the secrets of elven equipment.
This was something Allen had sought from the very beginning, whether to forge Sigil Equipment in Middle-earth to arm his troops.
Or for founding his own knightly order on the Pendor Continent, this knowledge was critically important.
Risadilan, however, having traveled through the human world with Allen, could no longer