Frieren?

"Galan--"

Seeing Galan walk over from a distance, Lia, who had been sitting there looking exhausted, stood up again and lunged at him unceremoniously.

"Hey hey, at least have some self-awareness as a woman."

Though he looked at Lia, who was a head shorter than himself, as if she were his younger sister, there was still a difference in gender after all. This kind of intimate behavior still made Galan, single since birth, blush.

The sight of these two acting "indecently" in broad daylight made Duncan, standing to the side, shake his head repeatedly.

"Didn't Galan say he likes being hugged like this?"

"Don't frame me, hey! When did I ever say such an embarrassing thing?"

Lia buried her face in her clothes that had just air-dried, and suddenly she made a disgusted expression and backed away.

"You're definitely covered in sweat right after running, plus it was clearly you who rushed over, don't make that kind of expression again!"

Clearly, the stench of sweat was a bit too much for Lia to bear. Just how dull was her sense of smell? It took her a while of hugging to finally notice it.

Duncan also walked over slowly from not far away. Adjusting his monocle, he reported to Galan on Lia's training progress over the last few days like a tutor.

"Long-range magic similar to [Zoltraak] can only be formed by combining the three essential elements of a mage: the amount of mana, the mana strength when casting magic, and the ability to control mana. Overall, Lia has a massive total mana pool and sufficient mana strength when casting magic, but once the attack range exceeds a limit, her ability to control mana drops rapidly."

He pointed to the giant boulder on the opposite mountain.

"The attack just now dissipated right before it reached the target, but there's no need to be overly hasty. Her current rate of progress can already be called terrifying. It's estimated that in a few more weeks, she'll be able to shatter that giant boulder. After all, she has a fairly enormous total mana pool; as long as she can reach that distance, even without precise mana control, she can still cause considerable damage."

Hearing Duncan's words, Lia wore a proud expression, the ahoge on top of her head swaying left and right in the breeze, which made Galan itch to grab it.

Still, looking at Duncan, who was still analyzing and teaching with a deadpan expression, he suppressed this impulse.

"However, this poses a huge obstacle to her future progress. Relying on her astonishing casting speed, if she solves this bottleneck of mana control, perhaps she will become the fourth Great Mage. But if she relies on her massive mana, it will be very difficult for her to make a breakthrough."

"The fourth Great Mage?"

Come to think of it, Serie was also a Great Mage who had survived from the mythic era to the present day. Could Lia really compare to such an invincible existence?

Galan looked at Lia, who looked dim-witted and harmless to humans and animals, and a huge question mark appeared in his heart.

Yet she was the child he had brought back after all, and he really did feel a bit like an old father. Hearing Duncan give such high praise, pride welled up inside him.

No matter what, he had to find a chance to get her a new staff. Holding a burning stick in front of Duncan was just too humiliating.

On the bustling street

Pedestrians shouted loudly, attracting the adventurers who traveled there.

An elf wearing red earrings and carrying a suitcase walked into an herb shop.

"Shopkeeper, do you have any Dark Dragon horns here?"

The white-haired shopkeeper paused for a moment, thinking in his mind.

"Dark Dragon horns? Our shop doesn't have such dangerous things. Come to think of it, I remember that thing even gives off black vapor, it looks quite creepy."

The shopkeeper sat behind the counter, holding a magic device and intently examining a damaged magical artifact.

Well, Himmel said the same thing, though I don't know if it's actually harmful or not.

Hearing that they didn't have it here either, a trace of regret flashed across her face.

Having traveled for so many years without being able to find a second one, it seemed her only choice was to go back and find Himmel later, and ask him to return that Dark Dragon horn she had plundered from the Demon King's Castle and left in his safekeeping.

"Then do you sell wolf-tail grass here?"

"There was a last batch before you came, and it was all bought by the customer just now. He's a famous pharmacist in Rogley. If you really need it, you can go look for him."

"Is that so... Sorry for the trouble."

After looking around and finding no herbs she needed, the elf turned and walked out of the shop.

The shopkeeper couldn't make sense of the runes carved on this magical artifact no matter what. With a heavy sigh, he put down what was in his hand, thinking to himself that he hadn't bought another fake, had he?

He raised his head, and as the customer stepped out of the door, he instinctively cast a glance at her. An inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.

So familiar... It felt like he had seen her statue somewhere?

Frieren arrived on the street

Looking at the bustling crowd, her thoughts inevitably became chaotic.

Pharmacist Galan, in such a huge city, where should she go to find this person?

"Recovered not long ago and you're already clamoring to drink. Did this guy get infected by Rock?"

Galan cursed as he sat down in his seat, holding the newly bought wolf-tail grass in his hand with a sincere smile on his face.

Despite saying that, Galan was still very glad to see this old buddy show a glowing side once again. His confident smile at this moment fully manifested the pride and honor of Glenn the [Black Sword].

"A promise is a promise to treat you to a drink, I certainly won't go back on my word! Boss, bring two barrels of good liquor first!"

As two wooden barrels filled with golden-green liquor were placed on the table, the two began to chat heartily over the alcohol.

"You said you want to learn warrior training methods?"

With more than half a barrel of liquor down his throat, Glenn's face was also somewhat flushed; it seemed he was a bit tipsy.

"So-called warriors... burp... just need to completely suppress the opponent in momentum..."

"Momentum...?"

Galan hadn't drunk as much as Glenn, but after a little over half a barrel, he was still a bit muddle-headed.

"Do you warriors all talk about this momentum business? Can't you come up with something solid..."

"Alright, alright... Mhm... Actually, brother Galan, your skills aren't really that bad, though I'm not entirely sure just how strong you are... If you want to improve your actual combat ability, you can actually go to the Adventurer's Guild to find some work to do. Subjugating monsters is quite good for training warriors, and it gives much more intuitive feedback compared to training by yourself."

He paused, his gaze somewhat hazy. Come to think of it, before calling Galan to drink, he had already gone through a round of drinking himself. As expected, he was probably drunk.

"Why don't you come spar with me next time, and let me weigh your capabilities, young man."

"Oh, to receive guidance from Glenn the [Black Sword], I'm somewhat flattered."

Galan joked, but he was exceptionally delighted. If he could obtain Glenn's help, it would boundlessly benefit his own training.

Jingle-ling--

The welcome bell chimed on the pushed-open door.

An elven woman dressed in white mage robes walked into this tavern.

Being completely out of place with the bearded uncles around her, her existence was like a pure white seashell on a beach, standing out remarkably in the crowd.

"Does anyone here know the pharmacist Galan?"

The elf's voice was not loud, but Galan, with his exceptionally good hearing, caught that call amidst the noisy crowd.

Who would be coming to look for him at this time?

Lia?

Impossible, Duncan must be dragging her to study "magic history" right now.

Then who could it be?

He turned his head to look at the source of the sound. The moment he saw that person, his originally hazy thoughts were instantly yanked violently, the alcohol buzz vanishing in an instant, leaving his heart filled with astonishment and disbelief.

"Frieren?"