Water Mirror Demon

Fern stared blankly at the happy Rienta and Frieren.

He said softly, "I became a mage to repay someone's kindness."

"At that time, my life goal was to become a fully-fledged mage; I never thought about what would happen next."

"I think my passion and obsession must have run out by then."

"Then why do you continue to explore magic?" Sense, somewhat puzzled.

"They seem really happy, right?"

Sense followed Fern's gaze and looked at Rienta and Frieren.

The two would occasionally pick up a so-called treasure and boast to each other about their discerning eye.

The noisy scene captivated Sense, leaving her somewhat lost in thought.

"Yes..."

"The first time I entered the labyrinth, Lady Frieren collected a huge pile of scrap metal, just like today. She even seriously tried to convince Rienta that there were secret legacies left by the ancients inside."

At this point, Fern seemed to have thought of something happy.

He chuckled softly before continuing:

"Rienta is usually very clever, carefully collected those junk items. Whenever he had free time, he would take them out to study them, trying to find the secret inheritance within."

"But they were all laughing happily at the time."

Seeing their smiles, I couldn't help but smile too.

"I think it must be because they enjoy seeing them so happy that they continue exploring magic with them."

After saying that, Fern walked towards Rienta and the other two.

"Rienta, Frieren. It's about time we continued our journey."

Sense got up and followed.

Looking at the three people walking ahead, chatting and laughing.

This reaffirmed my conviction.

She made the right choice.

Even amidst the perilous ruins of a declining royal tomb, one can still find enjoyment in following them.

On the other side.

Squad 8 gradually approached the depths of the desolate royal tomb.

Ehre, who was walking at the back of the group, was suddenly controlled by the 'Gaze Binding Magic'.

"... Wirbel..."

"What's wrong? Can't you walk anymore...?"

Before Wirbel could finish speaking, Ehre interrupted him.

"I've been ambushed! There are three mages hiding nearby."

"... Oh."

Wirbel turned around, looked at the familiar magic on Ehre's body, and chuckled softly.

Defensive Magic was cast in front of the bound Ehre.

It blocked the ensuing Offensive Magic.

"Sherlock, cover your eyes! Ehre is under my spell."

Sharf's magic is 'petal steel magic'.

As he lightly tapped the ground with his wand, an iron shield made of steel petals appeared in front of the three of them.

Wirbel took the opportunity to dispel the magic from Ehre.

As the smoke dissipated, three figures identical to them appeared.

"No wonder the ruined royal tombs have been so difficult to conquer; it turns out there's something like this here."

After identifying the attackers, Wirbel calmly began to plan his tactics.

"Sherlock is dealing with 'me,' Ehre is attacking 'Sherlock.'"

"I'll take care of dealing with 'Ehre'."

At the same time.

The four players, including Dunkel, who were the fastest to reach the deepest part of the Decaying Royal Tomb, had already arrived.

Before entering the last room, they encountered a clone of Laufen.

With everyone's cooperation, the problem of 'Laufen' was easily solved.

As the clone slowly dissipated

Dunkel concluded, "This is a clone created using magic; it was probably done by demons or monsters."

"I have never seen magic that can be copied so perfectly to others."

"Whether it's magic or skill, she's on par with Laufen, even their mannerisms are the same, and perhaps even their memories have been copied."

Laufen, who was standing nearby, felt somewhat uncomfortable watching this scene.

Judging from appearance and ability alone, they are practically identical to me.

It felt like I had truly killed myself.

Richter added, "Fortunately, we can recognize the clones at a glance, so we don't end up killing each other."

"If the enemy can control multiple clones simultaneously, that would be troublesome," Metti said with some concern.

"Regardless, choosing to cooperate was the right decision. This gives us more options for dealing with the enemy."

Dunkel stopped looking at the now-vanished 'Laufen'.

He led the group to push open the gate leading to the depths of the maze.

Inside the room.

'Frieren' stood silently in the air, wand in hand, looking at the newcomer with indifferent eyes.

Upon witnessing this scene, Richter couldn't help but ask:

"Dunkel, is this someone we can handle? (#`O′)"

Dunkel felt helpless, but he had reasons why he had to become First-Class Mage.

"All I can say is, if this weren't a test, I would have smashed the bottle long ago."

Having said that, he reached out and summoned his magic wand.

Seeing this, the other three also summoned their wands.

Dunkel felt slightly relieved and said, "We're four against one, we still have a chance..."

Before he could finish speaking...

'Frieren's' magic has been fully condensed.

His first move was a saturation attack that covered all four of them.

Each of the Offensive Magic contained magic power several times stronger than the Offensive Magic that Frieren had used when she got close during the first round of the exam.

They realized that this time, 'Frieren,' the clone, was holding nothing back.

Having experienced Frieren's Offensive Magic up close, Dunkel was quite helpless in the face of this situation.

He shouted urgently, "Get out of here first!"

Fortunately, the door wasn't closed after I came in.

Dunkel and his three teammates dodged the first wave of attacks somewhat awkwardly.

They successfully retreated back outside the room.

'Frieren' did not chase after them.

"What should I do...?"

Within the Continental Magic Association.

Genau picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said to Falshu in front of him:

"We call the current owner of the Decaying Royal Tomb the 'Water Mirror Demon.' It is a monster recorded in the mythical era of the Sage Aiwisi's Chronicles."

"We believe the 'Water Mirror Demon' reads the memories of those who enter the Fallen Royal Tombs, thereby creating clones of them."

"Similar monsters exist now, such as the Phantom Demon."

"However, the difference is that the clones created by the 'Water Mirror Demon' are physical entities, and their magic and skills are basically the same as the originals, making them practically perfect. This is why the Declined Royal Tomb has not been conquered to this day."

Falshu picked up the tea that Genau had poured for him and took a sip.

Puzzled, he asked, "Why did Sense choose this royal tomb as the examination venue?"

"The clone and the original are evenly matched," Genau said calmly.

"If you don't want casualties in battle, objective self-analysis and teamwork are essential."

Having said that, he shook the teacup in his hand and added:

"For the pacifist Sense, this examination venue was undoubtedly the perfect fit."

Falshu was silent for a moment, then said:

"During the first round of exams, someone broke the barrier personally set up by Lady Serie, right?"

"The Last Great Magician— Frieren."