The day of the First-Class Mage Exam arrived.
For Stark, however, it was just another day at the grindstone. He trudged toward the training grounds, an isolated clearing where my clone had set up a specialized pocket dimension.
I called it the Pseudo-Virtual Combat Arena. It was a patch-worked system, combining localized spatial magic with the simulated combat data from my Main Unit. It lacked the flawless perfection of the original, and it couldn't be moved easily, but it served its purpose.
More importantly to Stark, it meant he didn't have to fight me directly anymore. Instead, he sparred against highly tuned, simulated constructs of the monsters and demons I had recorded.
"Query: Have Frieren and Fern departed for their testing venue?" I asked as he dropped his gear by the entrance of the spatial distortion.
"Oh, yeah," Stark said, stretching his arms. "They left at the crack of dawn." He paused, looking back at me. "Come to think of it, today is the last day of my training schedule, isn't it?"
"Affirmative."
Over the past few weeks, the red-haired warrior had suffered immensely. Yet, his growth was undeniable. His muscles were denser, his reflexes sharper, and his combat instincts had been honed to a razor's edge.
"Notice: Today is your 'Final Exam'."
"An exam?" Stark blinked.
"Explanation: A comprehensive test to verify the results of your training."
Stark tightened his grip on his battle-axe. He didn't whine this time. A confident, fierce grin spread across his face.
"Understood. I'll give it everything I've got!"
Without another word, he dove headfirst into the shimmering veil of the training ground.
…
While Stark faced his trials, I stood on a high cliff miles away, overlooking a massive, dense forest that bordered a vast lake.
A shimmering, transparent barrier dome encased the entire region. This was the testing ground for the First-Class Mage Exam's first phase. Frieren and Fern were somewhere down there, navigating the dense woods.
"Curious about the new batch of candidates?"
A voice drifted from behind me. I didn't turn. My sensors had already logged her approach long before she spoke.
Serie walked up to the edge of the cliff, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with me to admire the view.
"Query: Do you require something, Serie?"
"Are my intentions that obvious?" She smiled, folding her arms. "I'm just curious. As the proctor for the third and final phase, what kind of 'trial' have you prepared for them?"
"..."
I remained silent, turning my head to look at her. She met my gaze, completely unfazed by my lack of response. We stood there in silence for five full seconds.
Finally, I raised my right hand.
Golden light gathered above my palm, condensing into a small, perfectly smooth sphere.
Serie stared at the glowing orb. Her eyes widened slightly, and then she let out a sharp, amused laugh.
"Hoh? Now that is very like you," she chuckled, clearly recognizing the dense, complex nature of the object I had created. "But aren't you worried? With a test like that, you might fail every single one of them."
Serie never interfered with her examiners' choices, but my test was so absurdly far beyond the standard curriculum that even she felt compelled to comment. For a human mage, overcoming the object in my hand was practically impossible.
"Answer: If they discover the correct methodology, they will pass. If they do not..."
I let the sentence hang. Serie understood perfectly.
"Well, do as you please," she sighed, turning away. "It's not as if any of them are in real danger of dying this year, anyway. Thanks to those little 'trinkets' you handed out."
Normally, Serie wouldn't care if unqualified mages threw their lives away in her exams. Survival of the fittest was her core philosophy. But my safety bracelets had changed the rules of the game.
"These candidates are incredibly lucky to have a 'person' like you around," she said over her shoulder, walking away.
I ignored her cryptic farewell and returned my attention to the barrier below.
…
Deep within the forest, Frieren suddenly stopped walking.
"Lady Frieren? Is something wrong?" Fern asked, halting a few steps ahead alongside their temporary teammate, Kanne.
Frieren looked up toward the northern cliffs, far beyond the tree line. She couldn't see anything, but she felt a familiar, sweeping sensation, like a cool breeze brushing against her mind. She glanced down at the platinum-gold bracelet on her wrist.
A small, knowing smile tugged at her lips.
"No, it's nothing," she said, her voice light. "Let's keep moving."
…
BOOM!CRASH!
Even from the cliffside, my optical sensors picked up the chaotic flashes of magic and the plumes of smoke rising from the forest below. The candidates were fighting fiercely, battling both the environment and each other.
I accessed my database regarding the objective of this first phase.
Task: Capture a Stille bird within the time limit.
I tilted my head, looking down at my own right shoulder.
Sitting there, casually preening its feathers, was a small, unassuming bird. It looked perfectly ordinary, save for a slight metallic sheen to its plumage.
A Stille.
It was a species renowned for its extreme sensitivity to mana. At the slightest hint of magical intent, it would flee at speeds breaking the sound barrier. Its body was built to withstand that immense kinetic force; if a Stille crashed into you at top speed, it would shatter your bones like glass.
Down in the forest, dozens of the continent's best mages were tearing their hair out, setting traps, and blasting each other to pieces just to catch one of these elusive creatures.
Yet, here one sat, resting comfortably on me.
It looked at my face, tilting its head curiously, as if wondering why the strange "tree" it was perched on had moving eyes. Because I possessed no mana, and my Dimensional Energy was perfectly contained within my chassis, the Stille registered me as nothing more than an inanimate object. A particularly warm rock.
I observed the tiny creature.
"A biological organism capable of generating supersonic velocity without self-destruction. Hypothesis: This is a prime example of the illogical wonders of a 'magical' ecosystem."
….
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