Frieren: Serie's Apprentice

As for chuunibyou mages wanting to participate in the test at the last moment...

In a professional school of thought that primarily values rational thinking, such idiots should also be uncommon.

Looking at the clock on the distant church, there were now less than two minutes remaining until the end of the mage examination hosted by the Continental Magic Association.

If someone really could pass the test in this short time...

Gut secretly glanced at the straw shoes his teacher had taken off under her chair.

Then what if I eat them cold and raw?

One minute later.

Looking at the mere 30 seconds remaining on the clock, Gut was confident.

10 seconds later.

Watching a mage candidate leap down from a carriage and sprint over, Gut remained confident and marveled that such idiots really existed among mages.

3 seconds later.

Seeing this candidate squat down at a position still over ten meters away from the test statue, Gut's confidence swelled tremendously.

"17 seconds and you can pass? If you can clear it, I'll eat this shoe on the spot! Eat it plain! Without any seasoning!"

7 seconds later.

The crouching mage erupted with an extremely powerful magical reaction. In an instant, he flickered to the front of the chosen challenge statue and shattered the agility-oriented challenge statue to pieces with a single Basic Attack Magic.

Gut: ???

"No way, buddy!"

"Don't actually clear it!!!"

5 seconds later.

The mage candidate aimed toward the great hall and crouched down again.

Gut immediately reacted, saying to junior disciple Zenn who was squatting by the door: "Close the door! Close the door!"

The final second!!!

A slender figure carrying tremendous momentum squeezed through the gap just before the door closed and rushed in. Before stopping, a unique Sealing Magic attempted to envelop Serie's location.

However, this Sealing Magic barrier had barely begun to rise before being casually crushed by the elf.

Standing guard beside the elf, Gut could clearly feel that his teacher had merely lightly swayed her vast magical power while reaching out, and this hastily constructed magical formula quickly collapsed due to its inability to withstand the impact of the magical tide.

"The sealing technique is rather crude. However, the courage to attack me is quite commendable."

The church bells rang in the distance. Serie stood up from her chair and spoke to this mage candidate who had squeezed in at the last second.

"However, to find a course of action that satisfies me in such a brief, fleeting moment..."

"You pass."

Gut: ...

"666, this coincidence must definitely be me getting played by the capital selling straw shoes!"

Looking at the two straw shoes under Serie's feet, Gut unconsciously swallowed.

"Those who break their word should suffer the punishment of eating stone."

Good heavens, You're really making things difficult for me.

On the final day and final second of the examination at Holy Capital Headquarters, Serie accepted her seventh disciple since birth—Ancheit Ross.

And in Gut's mind, the system notification for task completion also sounded.

[Ding!]

[Main Quest · Maintain Examination (Part II) completed]

[Quest Requirements: As the contemporary chief disciple of Great Mage Serie, you need to assist your teacher in completing the second half of the examination held at [Holy Capital] Strahl headquarters (Completed)]

[Quest Rewards: Random Otherworld Item X1, Talent Trait Upgrade Opportunity X1, Talent Trait Draw Opportunity X2]

The next day, morning.

Serie, who rarely slept in, unusually got up to open the door for Gut after he knocked according to routine. After receiving the breakfast her disciple brought, she asked him about something.

"Gut, teacher has something she can't figure out."

"What is it, teacher?"

"One of my shoes seems to be missing, but I have absolutely no memory of when I lost it..."

Serie touched her chin, looking at her disciple with scrutinizing eyes and asking, "Gut, do you have any clues?"

"Mm... about that..."

Pressing his lips that were swollen and red from friction, Gut also fell into deep contemplation.

The elf, who had originally wanted to cast tracing magic on her disciple, dismissed the idea after hesitating for several moments.

She wasn't afraid of guessing wrong and wronging her disciple—she was afraid... of guessing correctly!

If the magical trace revealed her disciple's mouth glowing green, what would she do...

That image was truly too beautiful. Even Serie, who had experienced long years, couldn't imagine how to face it.

Finally, the elf actively chose to change the subject.

"Let's not talk about this. I'll buy another pair of shoes later and cast Tracing Magic on them to prevent loss."

"I called you over this morning for this."

Serie said, pulling an envelope from the table and handing it to Gut.

[To Lady Serie]

[After receiving your message, I was overjoyed, especially upon learning that one of my early works could help your disciple—I feel deeply honored.]

[...]

[I will bring my disciple and arrive punctually at the time mentioned in the envelope, doing our utmost to craft a staff most suitable for your disciple.]

[With respect to you, Little Ronny]

"This time, isn't it today?"

Gut looked at the content and time recorded in the envelope, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.

The observant elf naturally noticed the abnormality on her disciple's face and directly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Shouldn't you be happier about getting a staff suitable for yourself?"

"Normally speaking, yes."

Gut replied with a bitter smile, then waved his hand in the air. Under the elf's bewildered gaze, he summoned a staff that was slender throughout with a blue gem embedded at the top.

"What an unusual staff, not like common design schemes."

Serie said thoughtfully, "Did you find this through special channels again? Can you let me take a look?"

"Of course."

Gut readily agreed, but when handing the staff to his teacher, he specifically warned Serie.

"Teacher, please go easy on the magical power input. If you input too much, something will happen."

"Oh?"

Her disciple's words made the elf even more interested. After gripping the staff, Serie relied on her precise control over magical power to gradually input magic bit by bit, until the staff's magical capacity reached a critical point.

This feeling...

So there's some kind of magic inscribed inside the staff. No wonder Gut warned me to be careful with magical input.

Well then, let's try it.

"Whoosh!"

The moment Serie made her decision, a dazzling blue-white light frantically surged outward from inside the staff, until it constructed the form of a long sword on the staff's exterior.

Serie: ...

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Powerstones?

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