01x21 - The World of Magic

[bunniefuu]

[rain splattering]

♪

[SERIE] It's been quite a while, Flamme.

♪

Bargland, earth control.

[Kanne gasps]

[rumbling]

[DENKEN] I find the young to be far too hot-blooded.

That so-called privilege is nonsense.

[FRIEREN] Really? What makes you say that?

[DENKEN] You of all people shouldn't have to ask.

The pursuit of magic stirs a far greater joy

than any good fortune a spell could possibly bring.

Plain and simple.

[FRIEREN] I see.

[SERIE] It feels as if the march of time

has become a sprint.

[SERIE] The apprentice I brought up on a whim

has already found an apprentice of her own.

[FLAMME] Meet Frieren.

An elf, huh?

Must be strong. I like her.

If there is any spell you so desire,

just name it and it is yours.

[FRIEREN] Any spell I desire?

Few grimoires have been written

that haven't passed through my hands.

As such, their knowledge is now mine.

Work that would take a lifetime,

any spell you want,

is yours for the taking if you so crave.

Tell me what you want, and I shall grant it to you.

No, thanks.

The pursuit of magic brings far greater joy

than any spell ever could.

[SERIE] Well, Flamme.

My initial appraisal was wrong.

[SERIE] There is no fire within her.

No blazing ambition.

Master, she will someday defeat the Demon King.

If it's peace that we're truly after,

we'll need a mage like her to clear the way.

Are you saying a mage like me can't?

I'm saying the Demon King

will never be the trophy of one who seeks battle.

We exist in chaos and fear.

Think about it, Master.

[FLAMME] Can you even begin to imagine

yourself living in a world of peace?

Frieren is a mage who belongs to a peaceful era.

♪

[FRIEREN] Good answer.

Yours is the mindset all mages should have.

♪

[footsteps]

[LAWINE] Damn it.

No matter what I throw at him, he won't freeze.

The difference between our mana is too great.

Nephtear.

[expolsion]

[RICHTER] You'll have to try harder.

[gasps]

-Kanne! -I'm already on it!

You ladies put on quite the show earlier.

I was right in thinking you gave away most of your tricks.

[shattering]

[RICHTER] One mage with relatively

non-lethal ice magic.

And one mage who can't fight without water.

[gasps]

You're much more of an annoyance than a thr*at.

[RICHTER] "Babysitting" was the appropriate term.

[rumbling]

[LAWINE] You'll change your tune soon enough.

If you keep casting such flashy spells,

you'll be out of mana in minutes at most.

[shattering]

[RICHTER] You graduated from a magic academy, yes?

Are the geezers who run the place

still teaching their students to fight

overly defensive battles of attrition?

[KANNE] What are you talking about?

[RICHTER] You both could use a lesson

in the history of magic

The defensive spell we use today

was created to combat Zoltraak,

and while it is excellent at defending against magic itself,

its effectiveness against physical objects

has hardly increased since its conception.

Naturally, there's a clear reason why that is the case.

[RICHTER] The barrier created is enough to defend

against the physical att*cks of monsters and warriors.

Defensive magic will never succeed

if it's over-engineered.

If we seek perfection, technique grows too complex.

[RICHTER] This has a fatal effect on activation time.

The history of magic is rooted in att*ck and defense.

This explains the trend for modern att*ck spells

to involve controlling matter over magic.

Do you understand what I'm getting at?

[gasps]

Move, Kanne!

[thuds]

[RICHTER] My strategy is to overwhelm opponents

with high-volume physical att*cks.

Now, be smart and stay down.

Huh?

Have I not earned a break?

I'm not here to hurt you girls,

but that can change if you keep acting like you want to die.

[LAWINE] Should you really be approaching us so carelessly?

% of the human body is made up of water, after all.

And what good does that do you?

[RICHTER] Magic is the realm of imagination.

Can you picture how that water is distributed

throughout a person's body?

Can you imagine how you would draw it out and manipulate it?

How you would drive through the mana that protects me?

A mana greater than yours?

Spells can only achieve

what you can see in your mind's eye.

And besides,

even if there was water within reach,

a child like you is not a thr*at to me.

[LAWINE] Old men like you take the fun out of everything,

bluffing included.

But I have figured out one thing about you.

You do think she's a thr*at. You're lying.

[LAWINE] If you love fighting as much

as your lecture indicates,

you wouldn't have weakened one of your opponents

by taking her away from water.

You're afraid of something.

What do I have to fear?

[RICHTER] The only thing I need to worry about

is putting you kids to sleep.

[RICHTER] As long as Denken doesn't lose, that is.

♪

[DENKEN] At this rate, our battle will end

when she exhausts my mana.

This is a bit tough on my old bones.

It's been an honor, Frieren, but I need to settle this.

Quickly.

Waldgose.

Daosdorg.

♪

Very subtle.

What is that curmudgeon up to?

[GENAU] It seems that old man is not one to hold back.

[SENSE] Think the barrier will survive this?

Yes, of course.

The great mage Serie's construction

is not a thing that needs to be questioned.

[GENAU] It cannot be destroyed by brute force.

I see. Well, that's good.

By the way, since last night,

someone has been analyzing the barrier.

[gasping]

Why would they do that?

[SENSE] I don't know.

[GENAU] In any case, they're wasting their time.

Do you think there's a mage in this world

more powerful than Serie?

Huh?!

[grunts]

[DENKEN] Catastravia.

♪

[DENKEN] A counterattack? Impossible.

My arrows of light were launched

in a continuous barrage. There was no opening!

[expl*si*n]

[DENKEN] I'm out of mana. So, this is the end.

I don't believe it.

She was able to best me

using only the most basic of combat spells.

This felt no different from a training match

between a master and their apprentice.

I'm surprised.

No matter how far I've come,

there is still someone above me.

Tell me where your teammate Laufen is.

And don't pretend you don't know.

I'm going to take back our Stille.

[DENKEN] If you were in my position,

how do you suppose you would answer that demand?

[FRIEREN] Good point.

[thudding]

[groaning]

Laufen?

You've been hiding nearby, haven't you?

[FRIEREN] I need you to bring me the Stille.

If you don't, I will k*ll Denken.

[DENKEN] Do not listen to her, Laufen.

She doesn't intend to k*ll me.

You can tell that much.

[LAUFEN] She's a much better mage than I am.

Even better than Richter.

If she can b*at the old man,

she could pummel the both of us in an instant.

But she's letting her guard down.

She's not maintaining contact with him.

[DENKEN] Whatever you do, don't use Jilwer.

If you move, our failure is sealed.

Release any mana at all, and she will detect you.

[LAUFEN] From this distance,

I can retrieve him quickly and flee!

[DENKEN] Stay where you are. It's a trap.

[FRIEREN] You leave me no choice.

Please know this doesn't bring me any joy.

[Laufen gasps]

[FRIEREN] There you are.

[whimpering]

[DENKEN] You fool.

[bird chirping]

You knew she wouldn't k*ll me.

If you had any experience, you would have trusted in that.

[LAUFEN] She may not have k*lled you,

but she was obviously going to hurt you if I didn't come out.

[DENKEN] And when we won,

the pain would soon be forgotten.

[sighs]

I don't get it. Why is someone like you

so desperate to be a first-class mage, anyway?

You're wealthy and powerful.

What could this bring you that you don't already have?

[DENKEN] My homeland is located out in the depths

of the Northern Plateau.

With the increase in demon activity,

only first-class mages can enter the area now.

I want to visit a grave I haven't been to in a while.

Plain and simple.

Don't you think you should go help your party members?

There's a decent chance you may already be too late.

Richter will surely dispose of those children

before he comes down to challenge you.

He's capable of a harsh pragmatism

that many of us are not.

My party will be just fine. In fact, they will win.

[DENKEN] Huh?

[FRIEREN] I just finished analyzing the barrier.

Hmm...

[RICHTER] I wasn't expecting Denken to lose.

Sorry, ladies.

I suddenly have more important things to do

than babysit.

[expl*si*n]

[gasping]

With his boss down, he's actually

trying to k*ll us.

[LAWINE] I don't think we'll last a full minute.

You're done "analyzing the barrier?"

What does that even mean?

[DENKEN] [gasps] Wait, Frieren.

Don't tell me you're planning to...

♪

[SENSE] Genau.

It will never fracture. That much I'm sure of.

[GENAU] Not even if the world were turned upside down.

♪

Then "never" is here.

[shattering]

[GENAU] Sense?

I need you to tell me just who that elf is.

[SENSE] According to the list of test-takers,

her name is Frieren.

[GENAU] That's the name of the mage

who traveled with the party of Heroes.

[SENSE] Not only that,

but she was carrying a holy emblem with her.

[GENAU] The last great mage is before us.

[SERIE] Now you've done it, Frieren.

It's been a thousand years, and this is how you say hello?

You've reminded me why I will never retire.

For in the world of magic,

creation itself can be turned upside down.

[DENKEN] I didn't take you for the type

to break the games you cannot win.

Why'd you destroy the barrier?

[FRIEREN] Largely because I felt sorry for Kanne.

Everyone should have access to their magic.

[DENKEN] She's the young mage who manipulates water, yes?

Magic's the realm of imagination.

[FRIEREN] Can you picture a world

in which you'd win a fight against a mage

who can control the rain? [rain splattering]

I know that I, for one, surely cannot.

[FRIEREN] And I doubt your friend Richter can, either.

The barrier's down.

[RICHTER] What happened?

[KANNE] It's raining.

[RICHTER] No. This is not the time to assess the situation.

I must finish them off imme--

After all that talk, you gave us an opening.

[LAWINE] Your panic is disrupting your mana.

[RICHTER] You've only bought yourselves time!

[gasping]

[LAWINE] Now it makes sense.

I understand the reason you were too scared

to fight us by the water.

[LAWINE] This is the perfect example

of the high-volume physical att*cks

you mentioned being hard to defend against.

Lawine, don't let him escape.

Reamstroha!

[RICHTER] You realize there's nowhere for me to escape to.

This is exactly why I hate the water.

[water crashing]

[water burbling]

You claimed the victory, then.

Let's move before we rejoice.

We have two hours until sunset.

Conceal your mana until then.

Yeah, I don't have any mana left to conceal.

I see. Great work, you two.

[laughs]

Don't pat me.

[RICHTER] Sorry.

[DENKEN] It was inevitable.

[RICHTER] Denken and I are both completely out of mana.

There are only two hours left,

which means we're as good as finished.

Hmm.

[DENKEN] Laufen. Can you dispel the binding?

[LAUFEN] You have to be kidding.

There's enough mana here to hold back a dragon.

[DENKEN] Let's get creative, then.

Fell the tree.

♪

[tree crashing]

[sighs]

[RICHTER] Denken. There's nothing we can do.

I'm running so low on mana

that it's safe to say using Jilwer is out of the question.

[DENKEN] Come, now. Both of you.

What do you suppose an imperial mage would do

in a situation like this?

No matter how ugly it may be, we fight until the end.

Let's see if we can pick up on the trails of other parties

and track them down.

So, Fern, are you aware of how deeply boring you are?

I've only ever seen you cast the most basic of spells.

You should take your complaints to Mistress Frieren.

It's so strange to me that mysterious elf lady

is your master.

[UBEL] Speaking of, it's her fault

we're soaking wet right now.

Make sure that you give her an earful.

[FERN] Trust me, I intend to.

And I have cast interesting spells.

She only limits my combat.

Oh, yeah, that bird-catching spell you used

is actually impressive.

What other exciting stuff are you sitting on?

Well, um...

I have a spell that allows you to see through clothes.

[FERN] I am not going to cast it.

Wise decision.

While I hate to interrupt pleasant conversation,

perhaps we shouldn't reveal too many

of our tricks just yet.

[LAND] From the second test onward,

we'll be competing against one another.

Mm. You make a good point.

[UBEL] [chuckling] I'm sorry.

Teamwork's not your strong suit,

but you could've opened up to us a little bit, four-eyes.

[DENKEN] There they are.

That must be the party that fled.

The corpse of their third member is just up the road.

Even though there's no way for them to pass the exam,

they're holding tight to their Stille all the same.

Well, should we try to negotiate with them, then?

[DENKEN] They wouldn't cooperate.

If I were in their position, nothing would sway me.

I'd refuse even money.

[LAUFEN] Why's that?

[DENKEN] Because it wouldn't sit right with me.

Those men are past the point of logic.

[RICHTER] Mm.

[DENKEN] You will wait here, Laufen.

If you see an opportunity, take their Stille.

Richter, you come with me.

But what is our plan?

Huh?

Approaching them head-on won't work.

Both of us are fully depleted of mana.

[DENKEN] Use your head for a moment.

They are clearly in the same boat.

Prepare yourself.

[clothes rustling]

We're all men here, are we not?

Come on. You're joking.

[DENKEN] We will settle this with our fists!

♪

[GENAU] It is time.

Now that the sun has set,

the first test is officially over.

Six parties and eighteen individuals remain

and will move to the next trial.

The second test will take place in three days.

You will be informed of the details later.

That is all. You're dismissed.

[STARK] It's only been two days

since they headed off for the exam.

I can stay up as late as I want,

and Fern isn't around to get mad at me.

I'm so happy that it's almost frightening.

[MALE BARTENDER A] Bless you, buddy.

Sounds like you've been through it.

-[LAUFEN] I'm not sharing. -Don't talk about that.

[KANNE] You're even more spoiled than me.

[DENKEN] You must eat your vegetables, too.

[RICHTER] We're no longer party members.

[LAWINE] Past allies are future enemies.