Eighteenth day of the winter journey—
After that day's conversation, Agusheed expressed that he needed some time alone on the Heaven Vein Dragon to think.
So after a long time, Flamme once again took over Frieren's instruction from Agusheed.
In front of the forest cabin in the early morning,
Flamme dragged the still-dozing Frieren all the way out,
Leading her to that flower field that bloomed in winter under the protection of the Grand Isolation Barrier.
————
"Mm... Frieren."
Standing in the center of the flower field—
Flamme ruffled the half-asleep white-haired elf's hair with a faint smile.
She looked at the flowing magical power on Frieren's body, which had reduced its fluctuation frequency somewhat.
She could clearly see how much effort Frieren had put into this.
And because she was in a very good mood recently, Flamme didn't hide her praise.
"Without realizing it, twenty years have passed since I had you suppress your magical power..."
"Past hard training plus Agusheed's instruction these past few years—"
"Hehe... my silly disciple has achieved some success in this area."
Hearing herself being praised, Frieren rubbed her eyes. Even though she was still drowsy—
She still put on a 'that's just like me' expression.
However, Detective Little Magic Sprout, after becoming slightly more awake—
Noticing the smile on Flamme's face that still hadn't faded,
She once again keenly sensed something was off.
"Flamme, you've looked very happy these past few days..."
Frieren stood on her tiptoes with suspicious eyes, her nose tip almost touching Flamme's chin.
"And it's completely not like you're happy because of me."
Winter sunlight shone through the barrier onto the flower field.
Unable to suppress the corners of her mouth, Flamme looked at the confused silly disciple before her and chuckled.
"I'm happy for myself, Frieren."
Flamme's eyelashes trembled lightly, and the blooming flowers in the field swayed gently behind her.
"Happy for yourself... there's definitely something you and Agusheed are hiding from me again—"
"You two really, you never tell me anything."
Frieren was almost at her limit of dissatisfaction with her teacher couple.
In their family of three, only she was like a stranger, having to guess everything all day long.
"It's still too early to tell you now..."
Flamme reached out to pinch Frieren's cheeks, pulling the soft skin outward into strange shapes.
"These aren't problems a child should worry about."
She said while using her thumb to wipe the faint dark circles under Frieren's eyes.
"Always saying that—"
"In your eyes, I'll never grow up, will I, Flamme?"
Flamme didn't deny Frieren's statement, because Frieren was right.
In her eyes, Frieren was indeed just a child.
And during her lifetime, Frieren probably wouldn't change one bit.
In a sense—
This silly disciple was equally obtuse as Agusheed.
Flamme shook her head, pushing these wandering thoughts from her mind.
Then she put her hands on her hips and began today's main topic—
"Frieren, the past few days we tested your magical perception and magical control—"
"So today's test content will examine your magical prowess."
Flamme looked at Frieren's guilty expression and continued with considerable curiosity:
"Come to think of it... these past few years I've basically never interfered with Agusheed's teaching of you."
"Today's a good chance for me to see what magic he's taught you."
Regarding the test of her magic, Frieren wasn't actually too worried.
But thinking of that difficult barrier she could never overcome no matter what—
She asked rather nervously:
"So Flamme... which magic should we start with?"
Flamme's response came at a moderate pace.
She touched her chin, pretending to contemplate for half a minute.
"I heard from Agusheed that your learning progress with Killing Magic far exceeds other magic."
"Let's start with Killing Magic then—"
Flamme's answer made Frieren breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Without much hesitation,
Following Flamme's request, Frieren stepped back two paces and stood ready.
After finding a suitable position, she raised her right hand toward that large tree in the distance.
Drowsiness instantly faded from her eyes, replaced by the focused gleam characteristic of mages.
Flamme inconspicuously pulled her shawl closer, watching dark gray magical power rise from her disciple's palm.
The unique light of Killing Magic immediately bloomed without mercy—
A swift and unstoppable gray beam instantly pierced through half the tree's body.
The large hole left behind didn't have even a speck of dust or debris.
More importantly, except for this, all other parts of the tree remained completely unharmed under Frieren's deliberate control.
"Indeed, just as Agusheed said, when using Killing Magic, your level of magical control is even much better than usual."
Flamme stared at the effect Frieren had produced and sighed softly.
Then with a wave of her hand, she restored the tree that had lost half its body.
"Next, try normal attack magic—"
Following Flamme's instructions—
Thunder of Destruction Release Magic
Hell Fire Release Magic
Heaven Wind Summoning Magic
Light of Judgment Release Magic
Rock Collapse Earth Split Magic
And a series of other destructive magic with considerable power and extremely wide range were released from Frieren's hands in succession.
Since this was just a test, she didn't use much power.
But even so, under this series of bombardments, the surrounding dense forest suffered a devastating disaster.
But with Grand Mage Flamme present, such things weren't a problem at all.
Restoring and regrowing the destroyed and broken trees—
Flamme nodded at the little magic sprout with great satisfaction.
"Very well done, Frieren..."
"Whether it's precise control of magic or accurate manipulation of magical output, your level has far exceeded ordinary mages."
"Even among my disciples, you barely count as one of the more outstanding ones."
Flamme's voice was very gentle, and this praise made Frieren particularly pleased.
But this pleasure didn't last long.
Just a moment later,
The next sentence from her teacher's mouth began to make the white-haired elf's expression change dramatically—
"Next up is Flight Magic."
Looking at her silly disciple who could be called an idiot regarding Flight Magic,
Flamme mischievously curved her lips:
"I remember Agusheed told me his current requirement for you is to try to reach one hundred meters..."
"How about it, Frieren? What's the highest you can reach now?"
Hearing the words Flight Magic, Frieren's proud little face immediately deflated.
...
...
Despite reluctantly remaining silent for a long time, she ultimately gave Flamme an answer.
—Fifteen meters.
This was her current limit distance.
Forget about being nowhere near the goal Agusheed had set for her,
She couldn't even reach some fruits on giant trees using Flight Magic.
Regarding this answer,
Flamme wasn't surprised at all. Rather, she had roughly estimated this from the beginning.
Looking at Frieren, who was hanging her head in disappointment—
Too embarrassed to demonstrate because her Flight Magic level was truly terrible,
She smiled lightly and, according to her inner plan, took out a magic book from her bosom.
"Frieren... do you want to fly high up?"
Meeting the white-haired elf's dazed gaze, Flamme spoke with an enticing tone.
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Powerstones?
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