"Grilled meat?"
Genau looked puzzled as he rose to track down the source of the aroma.
It didn't take long for his gaze to land on a candidate sitting leisurely beside a campfire. The examinee had skewered a bird on a sharpened branch and was slowly roasting it over the flames.
Its feathers had turned a crisp golden brown. Fat dripped into the fire with a sizzle, sending up bursts of fragrant smoke.
That rich smell of roasted meat was coming from there.
And the bird's shape was unmistakable—
A Stille.
Crack!
Genau's expression didn't change, but a thin fracture spread across the tea cup he was holding.
"Who is that candidate?" he asked, his voice unreadable. "It looks like he's roasting the exam target."
Sense tilted her head, glanced in that direction, and remained just as unbothered. "I don't see anything special about him."
While they were talking, Ren had already torn off a perfectly browned drumstick, blew on it twice, and took a bite.
"Not bad," he judged. "A bit tough, though."
From a distance, Genau could only let out a silent sigh.
After finishing the entire bird, Ren still didn't feel satisfied. His figure flickered—
And he vanished from the spot.
Less than half a minute later, he returned to the campfire holding two more half-dead Stilles.
Just as he sat down, a worn-out team of three examinees trudged past. All three were covered in dirt and soot, their mana clearly depleted—they had obviously failed their hunt.
"It's too fast. We can't catch it at all!"
"Our binding spell gets dodged the moment we cast it!"
As they slumped in frustration, Ren's voice drifted over lazily.
"Hey, guys."
The three looked up—and froze.
Ren was holding a Stille in one hand, restrained purely by the strength of his grip.
"Want a Stille?" he asked pleasantly. "Alive. Freshly caught."
He smiled warmly. "Five gold coins each. Honest pricing."
The three examinees just stared.
"Y-you're… selling those?" one of them stammered.
"Yeah," Ren said as if it were obvious. "Catching one is catching one. Catching three is catching three."
"If you don't have money, you can trade something equivalent. Like a spell."
A full half-minute of silence passed before that team scraped together their funds and actually bought one.
Once there was a first customer, a second quickly followed.
Soon, word spread like wildfire: someone was doing business inside the exam grounds.
Teams that had failed repeatedly and were teetering on the edge of despair came rushing back, trading all sorts of things in exchange for their mission target.
Over on Genau's side, the atmosphere had dropped below freezing.
"I'm canceling his qualification immediately," Genau said in an even tone—one that barely concealed his anger.
"Let him be," Sense replied blandly. "The rules never said you can't catch more than one. And they never said you can't give what you catch to someone else."
Hearing that, Genau could only fall silent in reluctant resignation.
Sen's gaze shifted from Ren to the sky. "By the way… have you noticed something?"
"Noticed what?"
"Someone is analyzing the barrier that maintains this exam site," Sense said softly.
Genau snorted in disdain. "No need to worry. That barrier is a masterpiece of Serie-sama."
He lifted his tea cup again—though his eyes still drifted toward Ren, who was counting coins with far too much enthusiasm.
"The sun doesn't rise in the west."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Rain poured down in heavy drops, turning the Grobe Basin into a white curtain of mist in an instant.
---
Ren was soaked immediately. He frowned and looked up at the sky.
"So Frieren dispelled the barrier magic."
For some reason, imagining Richter—who always wore that stiff, perpetually grim expression—getting blasted around by water magic like a drowned rat almost made Ren laugh.
The rain gradually lightened, and the bell signaling the end of the exam rang out.
Candidates began returning to the entrance.
Most of them looked miserable, their mana completely spent.
Richter was practically supporting Denken as they walked. Their robes were drenched, caked with mud and grass.
In contrast, Laufen, aside from her slightly messy bun—had protected her birdcage with absolute devotion.
When Richter spotted Ren, his face darkened. "You seem to have had it easy."
Ren ignored the complaint and simply watched the cage in Laufen's hands.
Good. No accidents.
Otherwise, he would've had to sprint off and stuff a bird into that cage before they arrived.
Denken's eyes, however, dropped to Ren's feet—
Where several Stille skeletons lay scattered.
When Denken lifted his gaze again, there was a distinct wariness in his eyes.
"The exam is over. I will now announce the teams that passed," Genau declared.
"The teams that passed are: Team 1, Team 2, Team 4, Team 8, Team 13, and Team 17."
"The second exam will be held in three days. You are dismissed."
"Ren," Denken said, "we'll take our leave."
With that, he departed with Richter and Laufen.
"See you," Ren replied with a nod.
---
Back at the inn, Ren slept like a rock.
The next morning—
The moment he opened his door, he saw Fern in the hallway, hands on her hips, scolding Stark.
"Stark, were you sleeping just now? Did you stay up late again?"
Fern puffed out her cheeks.
Stark drooped his head and admitted obediently, "I did… and I drank juice while I was up."
Watching the young couple bicker, Ren muttered under his breath, "Whipped."
Fern's ear twitched. She turned a frigid gaze on Ren.
Ren laughed awkwardly and quietly retreated outside the inn.
Looking around, the streets were still quiet.
As he rounded a corner, he ran into Denken, Richter, and Laufen coming from the opposite direction.
Laufen was carrying a woven basket filled with golden donuts, the sweet scent wafting out.
"Morning, Sir Denken," Ren greeted.
Denken nodded.
Richter only gave Ren a cold glance.
The moment Laufen saw Ren, she hid the basket behind her back, instantly on guard.
"These are from the old man! I'm not sharing!"
Ren looked at Denken. "Sir, finders keepers. I want some too."
Denken stroked his beard and smiled. "Let's eat first. Sweets can wait."
They headed toward a modest restaurant.
Walking beside Laufen, Ren swiftly reached out and plucked a donut from the basket.
Laufen felt the basket lighten and turned around.
Ren was calmly admiring the scenery as if nothing happened.
Except—
A single grain of sugar was stuck at the corner of his mouth.
Laufen stared at it, wide-eyed and silent for a long time. She didn't say a word, but her expression screamed "Admit you stole my donut."
Richter sighed softly to himself. "Two kids…"
As they walked, they entered a simply decorated restaurant.
Frieren's party of three was already seated inside.
Ren raised a hand. "Small world."
"Mm-hm." Frieren smiled and nodded.
Fern seemed to be in a good mood and even offered a rare smile. "Mr. Ren. What a coincidence."
Stark also gave Ren a friendly grin.
They took seats and ordered.
The restaurant gradually grew lively—cutlery clinking, voices overlapping.
After eating for a while, Ren stood up and said his goodbyes.
There were still three days until the second exam, and he didn't intend to waste them.
Outside Äußerst, the forests were home to plenty of sturdy monsters—perfect targets for Ren at his current level.
For three days, screams echoed repeatedly from deep within the woods.
---
Three days later.
The notice for the second exam arrived right on schedule.
Location: The Ruins of the King's Tomb.
The Royal Tomb lay within a desolate mountain range north of Äußerst.
Ren arrived early at the entrance.
The tomb was built into a barren mountainside. Four stone archways descended into the darkness below.
Plenty of examinees had already gathered. The atmosphere was tense.
Ren saw Denken, Richter, and Laufen—
And he also saw Fern carefully fixing Frieren's hair.
They exchanged nods without speaking.
Before long, a petite figure appeared before everyone.
Her smooth hair fell nearly to the ground. Her face was delicate, doll-like—yet her eyes felt empty, almost void.
It was the chief examiner for this test:
Sense, a First-Class Mage.
"This is the Ruins of the King's Tomb," Sense said flatly.
"The exam is simple. Clear this labyrinth. If you reach the deepest point, you pass."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd.
Behind Sense, her hair suddenly moved like a living creature. It coiled around small clear glass bottles and placed one into each examinee's hands with uncanny precision.
Inside each bottle was a tiny golem.
"This is for escape," Sense continued. "If there's an emergency, crush the bottle. The golem will carry you outside."
"Of course," she added, "that also means you forfeit."
She paused, then said bluntly, "I'll be entering too. Don't expect me to help."
"…The exam begins."
Soon, candidates exchanged quick words and began moving.
Ren didn't choose to travel with Frieren and Fern.
They were the type to fully explore everything—and Frieren, especially, had a talent for getting eaten by mimics.
In the end, aside from Ren, only Denken, Richter, Laufen, and two other candidates remained at the entrance: Methode and a younger girl named Leg.
Ren stared into the deep, shadowy passage—oddly excited.
The worst part of the Royal Tomb wasn't the maze itself.
It was the Water Mirror Demon.
A monster that could perfectly copy an intruder's strength, memories… even their combat techniques.
In other words—
Your greatest enemy… was yourself.
"My duplicate, huh?" Ren murmured, lips curling slightly.
"Interesting…"