"So, regarding the matter of killing Frieren, do you guys have any suggestions? It doesn't matter, everyone can speak freely."
Under Fíliya's lead, a crowd of mages sat cross-legged in a circle before the giant gate, unfolding a brainstorming session.
"Hey!"
However, unlike the grave expressions of the gathered mages, the white-haired elf who served as the topic of discussion was obviously quite displeased with Fíliya's remarks.
This was understandable; after all, gathering a large group of people to study how to kill oneself would feel very strange to anyone.
"Urgh... Direct combat seems to offer slim hopes. To be honest, if we weren't in the middle of a test right now, I would have already wanted to withdraw from this labyrinth."
Denken shook his head helplessly.
"Then why not just swarm her all at once? Anyway, Frieren herself is right here. That thing couldn't possibly be stronger than the original, right? If we stall for time, Frieren will definitely be able to find an opportunity to finish that thing off."
The ice-using haughty girl—Lawine—spoke up.
"That won't work."
Although Frieren instinctively felt some aversion to this conference discussing 'How to kill Frieren', she immediately became serious upon hearing Lawine's suggestion.
"While ganging up is a straightforward and effective method, it must be established on the basis that the disparity in strength isn't too large... In short, Lawine, if we go by your plan, everyone here will die very miserably."
Frieren spoke with a calm face.
"Uh... In other words, we don't even have the qualifications to 'stall for time'?"
Miss Lawine lowered her head, feeling somewhat dispirited.
"Tsk, speaking of which, how can there be such a thing? For a replica with strength comparable to Frieren to be guarding the end of the level... isn't that too unreasonable? Moreover, the mana required to maintain that thing's existence must be incredibly exaggerated. Just what on earth is inside this labyrinth? To actually be able to create a replica with strength exactly identical to the original..."
Richter looked gloomy.
"Who knows? That examiner over there surely knows something, right? Though looking at her, she doesn't seem prepared to explain."
Denken narrowed his eyes and looked toward Sense, and the others also tacitly cast glances in Sense's direction.
That Miss Sense, cute as a doll, naturally noticed those gazes locking onto her, so her expression appeared somewhat hesitant.
The development of events truly shouldn't have been like this.
Sense naturally knew the secret of this labyrinth.
When reporting the test content to Serie, she had already hesitated slightly. After all... she had initially planned to let 'herself' be the boss at the end of the level.
But what she hadn't expected was that her own sister had grown to such an extent, and... there was also a white-haired elf she couldn't see through at all.
With things as they were, the current difficulty of this labyrinth indeed appeared to be somewhat 'substandard'—or rather, excessive.
But just as she planned to modify the test content, Lady Serie stepped forward again.
"Oh? Isn't this very interesting? Why change it? We should let those bastards face an opponent of their own level; otherwise, this test would be too boring."
Hmm... Anyway, it was also under Serie's authorization that Sense continued this test. Just in case, she had even requested many emergency escape golems from the First-Class Mage Lernen.
However, this type of golem certainly couldn't be used in a battle against Frieren's replica. In other words, whoever went to face that replica of Frieren had to be prepared for a one-way trip.
As the examiner, should I explain this to these examinees after all...? This seems against the rules, but the current situation is indeed caused by my oversight.
Sense frowned slightly; those who didn't know better might think she was angry because of Denken's words. But this Miss Sense, with hair reaching the floor, was clearly thinking about something else.
"What is sealed inside this labyrinth should be the [Water-Mirror Demon], right?"
Ultimately, it was Fíliya who stood up.
"[Water-Mirror Demon]?"
The others present were all bewildered, and only Frieren nodded as if she understood.
"Mm, a type of monster from the [Age of Gods]. It should have gone extinct originally, but I heard before that the Association still had one sealed away. I didn't expect it to be in this place."
Fíliya continued explaining. The so-called [Age of Gods] was naturally, as the name implied, the 'Era when Gods were active'.
"The characteristic of this monster is that it meets strength with strength, and weakness with weakness. If the ones challenging the labyrinth today weren't us, but just any random ordinary person, then this [Water-Mirror Demon] would only be able to replicate an ordinary person. Perhaps they could clear the level with ease... Of course, that's assuming they could survive the monsters and traps in the middle layers and reach the deepest part."
"Then... does this monster have any weaknesses?"
Denken hurriedly pressed for an answer.
"Mm... Of course it does. That is, its main body is incredibly fragile. It is literally a mirror; it shatters at a touch. Anyone can kill the Water-Mirror Demon... Therefore, if one encounters a [Water-Mirror Demon] in the wild, the correct strategy is indeed to swarm it. Most people stall the replica, and then let one person break through the encirclement and directly smash the Water-Mirror Demon's main body to resolve the crisis."
"Is that so... but we are currently inside a labyrinth... and the one guarding the gate is that Frieren."
The hope that had ignited in Denken's eyes instantly dimmed again.
After all, even he didn't have the confidence to ignore that Frieren and rush all the way to the innermost part of the labyrinth in one breath to kill the [Water Mirror] first.
...That process is enough for me to die dozens of times, Denken thought to himself.
"Then, does this [Water-Mirror Demon] have any other characteristics?"
A new face stood up. Fíliya focused her gaze and saw it was a woman with long brown hair. Judging by her temperament, one could tell at a glance that she was someone who fit the definition of a 'Gentle Big Sister' even more than Frieren.
What made Fíliya even more curious was that this big sister held a staff in one hand, while a holy scripture rested on her thigh.
"Oh? Truly 'multi-talented', isn't she?" Frieren understood instantly; this was a dual-class practitioner who balanced the roles of [Mage] and [Priest].
"There are. The [Water-Mirror Demon] is a monster from the Age of Gods; trying to suppress it with numbers is impossible. No matter how many people come, it can definitely replicate the same number of people... Speaking of which, I felt it was very strange just now. Why is there only one Frieren inside? Reasonably speaking, all of us should have been replicated by it... Did you guys encounter other replicas before coming here?"
Fíliya looked around the circle and then asked.
But everyone present tacitly shook their heads.
"I'm afraid it's because the Water-Mirror Demon's replication only begins to take effect when 'someone has reached the deep layer', right?"
Frieren held her chin, speculating.
And very quickly, someone stood up to corroborate her guess.
"Hey, did everyone encounter a type of replica that looked like it was molded from clay?"
She only perceived four figures slowly walking into the hall.
____
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