After completing her long-term mission for the Empire, Frase was granted a rare period of leave.
The Imperial command gave her this free time to rest and recuperate, but Frase chose to spend every available moment with her grandson.
She wanted to see the progress of Geehrt with her own eyes.
During their time together, she did more than just watch. She imparted wisdom that could not be learned from books or training dummies.
She spoke of the political landscape of the Empire, warning Geehrt that her position as Captain of the Imperial Mages was a coveted throne.
Countless ambitious nobles and mages would do anything to usurp her, and by extension, they would target him.
She taught him that in the capital, a smile often concealed a dagger.
Eventually, words gave way to action. They moved to the training grounds to spar.
As they took their stances, Frase analyzed her grandson. She saw the way he held himself, his guard relaxed yet impenetrable.
His fighting style and his spell-casting efficiency did not resemble that of a child.
It looked like the hardened technique of a veteran mage who had survived countless wars.
It was the mark of Kanone's excellent instruction, combined with the techniques Frase herself had passed down, but the execution was uniquely Geehrt's.
Frase decided to test him properly. She raised her wand, and the air crackled. A streak of azure lightning erupted from the tip, slithering along the ground like a serpent seeking prey.
Simultaneously, she cast a second spell with her other hand, conjuring a massive, pressurized sphere of water that hovered above the lightning, creating a deadly combination of conduction and crushing force.
Geehrt did not panic. With a calm expression, he raised his left hand and materialized a geometric shield.
The hexagonal barrier expanded instantly, enveloping the giant water ball and sealing it off completely.
At the same moment, his right hand glowed as he summoned a whip made of pure lightning.
Instead of just striking, Geehrt displayed a terrifying level of control. He lashed his lightning whip forward, intercepting Frase's ground lightning.
His spell acted as a conductor, absorbing the energy of her attack.
With a flick of his wrist, he redirected the combined electrical charge, snapping the supercharged whip back toward his grandmother.
Simultaneously, he dismissed the shield around the water ball, letting gravity take the heavy sphere now that the electrical threat beneath it was neutralized.
Frase's eyes narrowed in approval. She realized that stationary attacks would not work. She cast Jilwer, turning her body into a blur of mist and speed to close the distance instantly.
Geehrt, however, was ready. He stared calmly at Frase's approaching figure. His hands shone with a bright, ominous light. He began to cast Zoltraak. He did not fire just one.
He unleashed a barrage of the killing magic, turning the air into a storm of black beams. The sheer volume of fire forced Frase to abandon her advance and retreat.
As she backed away, Frase slammed her staff into the earth. She deconstructed the landscape beneath Geehrt's feet, turning the soil and rock into a weapon.
The debris swirled together, forming a massive stone golem that towered over the training grounds.
The construct began to channel mana independently, its core glowing with a threatening red light.
Geehrt activated his Six Eyes. The world slowed down as he analyzed the flow of magic. He saw that Frase was acting as an external power supply for the golem. The mana was funneled directly into the construct's eyes, which served as the firing mechanism.
The golem reached critical mass. A searing laser of concentrated heat erupted from its face, aiming to vaporize the boy.
Geehrt did not dodge. He calculated the trajectory and the mana density in a split second.
He summoned a single, hyper concentrated beam of Zoltraak and fired it directly into the center of the incoming laser.
The black magic drilled through the red beam, striking the golem's core.
A massive explosion rocked the estate. The golem shattered, raining boulders down upon the ruined garden.
The two continued to spar amidst the dust. The damage to the residence grew larger with every exchange.
Despite both of them holding back their lethal intent, their strength was simply too great to contain.
The ground was scorched, the walls were cracked, and the beautiful landscape was being turned into a crater.
Frase blocked another one of Geehrt's attacks and suddenly lowered her wand. She looked around at the destruction and realized that if they continued, there would be no house left to live in.
Geehrt stopped as well, his breathing steady.
"Do you want to continue?" Frase asked, her face wearing a curious expression. She wanted to see if his battle spirit was satisfied.
"No," Geehrt answered bluntly. He lowered his hands, dissipating the mana around him.
To Geehrt, continuing a fight without the intent to kill was meaningless. He believed that true growth only occurred on the edge of death.
Sparring matches where safety was guaranteed were as pointless to him as basic mana capacity exercises. They would maintain his skills, but they would never force him to evolve.
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Following the destructive sparring match that nearly leveled the garden, life for Geehrt and Frase returned to a semblance of peace.
The days fell back into a quiet rhythm. Frase spent her time observing her grandson from the balcony or the edge of the training grounds.
She watched him focus intently on his Goddess Magic, a discipline that usually required decades of piety to master, yet he wielded it as easily as breathing.
Frase often found herself looking up at the sky, staring past the drifting clouds and into the heavens themselves.
'Is my grandson really allowed to exist?' Frase wondered, a chill running down her spine. 'Goddess of Creation, is this boy your personal favorite among all living beings?'
She could not help but think this because every aspect of magic Geehrt touched was elevated to another level entirely.
Every spell Frase had used in their sparring match, no matter how complex or unique to her own style, had been analyzed by the boy instantly. He was able to copy them by instinct alone.
It was a terrifying talent, reminiscent of the intuitive genius of natural born monsters who could replicate magic simply by feeling it once.
While Frase was deep in contemplation, a black crow descended from the sky. It cawed loudly, circling once before landing on the railing of the balcony.
Frase immediately understood the significance of the bird. It was a messenger from the capital.
She extended her arm to welcome the creature and fed it a small treat before untying the scroll secured to its leg.
She unrolled the parchment and read the contents. The message was concise and urgent. Frase was required to return to duty immediately.
Intelligence reports indicated that the remnants of the Demon Army were beginning to advance toward a village near the City of Eiseberg.
The location was strategically critical. It was incredibly close to the major city and was likely being used as a forward operating base by the demons to plan a larger-scale siege.
Frase stood up abruptly. She realized the gravity of the situation. The peace was over. She began to organize her affairs, but as she moved through her room, she glanced out the window one last time.
Down in the yard, she saw her grandson. He was in the middle of an intense physical training exercise, swinging his sword with perfect form.
Yet, despite the exertion, there was a look of utter boredom on his face.
He yawned mid-swing. The routine had become too easy for him. He was stagnating.
Frase paused. She remembered their spar. She remembered that his only weakness was a lack of true, life-threatening experience.
After a few minutes of deliberation, Frase finished getting ready. She descended the stairs and headed toward the training grounds.
As she approached, she noticed the duality of Geehrt's training.
While the original body was going through the motions of physical conditioning, a clone was sitting under the shade of a tree.
The clone was surrounded by stacks of grimoires and books on magical theory.
It was devouring knowledge on computations and inscriptions, dissecting the complex geometry required for high-level magic circles.
These texts explained the fundamental logic that started the Era of Humanity.
As the legendary mage Frieren once noted, humans had a terrifying tendency to adapt and innovate magic much faster than the long-lived races like elves and demons because their short lifespans gave them no time to waste.
Geehrt, whose Six Eyes were always active, spotted his grandmother coming from a mile away. He stopped his sword practice and turned to face her before she even stepped onto the grass.
"Pack your things and come with me," Frase said abruptly.
Geehrt looked at her with genuine confusion. It was the first time in his life that Frase had invited him to go somewhere outside the villa, let alone with such urgency.
"Go where?" Geehrt asked curiously, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Frase looked him in the eye, her expression unreadable.
"We are going to hunt some demons," she said in a calm, flat tone.
Geehrt's expression transformed instantly. The look of boredom vanished, replaced first by curiosity, and then by pure shock.
He stared at her, unable to believe that his overprotective grandmother was actually inviting him to step onto a real battlefield.