The Exam

A deep orange bird fluttered its wings twice

and flew down from a branch in the woods.

After looking around in midair,

it finally landed on Duncan's hand.

The three of them were beside a small pool in the woods,

where a stream burbled pleasantly.

"Meteorite Birds are extremely sensitive to mana."

"They're also the best examiners for testing a mage's ability to conceal their mana."

"If you can't hide your mana well enough, they'll do this—"

The instant Duncan let his mana leak out, the Meteorite Bird seemed to sense something.

In a flash, it vanished from his hand.

A sound rang out as it tore through the air, an orange streak cutting across the sky and leaving several Mach rings in its wake.

"That's ridiculous..."

Although Galan had known about these things before,

he couldn't help being shocked when he saw one with his own eyes.

That tiny body really could burst out at the speed of a fighter jet.

Lia blinked her big, bright eyes twice, looking at Duncan and then at Galan.

Under their encouraging gazes,

she composed herself and sat down on a large rock beside the pool.

She gradually settled into it.

Withered fallen leaves carpeted the ground,

and they couldn't help but crunch beneath Galan's feet.

He found a bare tree nearby and leisurely sat down against its trunk.

Although it was still late autumn, the temperature had plunged.

Depending on the species of tree, the mountainside ranged from pale yellow to brownish black, sparse and desolate.

It was as though winter had arrived early.

That morning, everyone had shivered as soon as they got up.

Fortunately, Duncan had thoughtfully lit the fireplace early, letting the bright flames slowly warm the cabin

and ward off the chill.

Before they went out, Galan had made sure to wrap a brown camel-hair scarf around Lia's exposed neck.

He had seen it at a general goods stall yesterday after parting ways with Frieren.

He had gone over and felt it a few times. The material seemed good, so he had bought one for each of them.

The one for Duncan was a khaki scarf.

Galan thought the color suited Duncan's bearing better, making him look mature and steady,

although Duncan still had more of a refined, scholarly air about him now.

But in the near future, he would surely become that kind of man.

Galan breathed out, and his breath quickly condensed into white mist.

"Time really flies."

"I wonder how long it'll be before we see snow."

Duncan, standing nearby, only smiled without replying.

From beginning to end, his gaze remained fixed on Lia, who sat upright like an old monk deep in meditation.

He actually regretted scaring that Meteorite Bird away just now.

Meteorite Birds didn't seem to appear very often at this time.

Even though Lia had sat there for a long while, a second one hadn't come.

For someone with as much mana as she had, perfectly suppressing the mana in her body was no easy task.

It wasn't something she could accomplish in such a short time.

Fortunately, Lia seemed to have undergone similar training before. After adjusting herself a few times at the start,

she slowly got the hang of it.

"Here one comes."

Suddenly,

Duncan's gaze sharpened.

An orange figure flashed across a dead tree.

This Meteorite Bird's feathers were much brighter than the previous one's, making it especially conspicuous on the branch.

"It should be a fledgling. Adults have darker feathers."

"Does that make a difference?"

Galan casually chimed in.

After all, as far as he could see, the only difference between it and the previous bird was that one was bigger and the other smaller.

"Those old geezers at the magic academy used a large number of specimens to test this in the past."

"Generally speaking, fledglings are much more sensitive to mana than adults."

"Huh? Doesn't that make it harder for her?"

Hearing Duncan say that, Galan couldn't help looking toward Lia.

But the Meteorite Bird was now nimbly turning its head and hopping from side to side on the tree.

It didn't seem to have noticed her.

"Don't underestimate Lia."

"She's much more capable than you think."

Duncan's face showed no particular expression, but Galan could still sense the deep trust in his words.

He really does think of her as his own daughter...

Galan grumbled to himself.

Whoosh—

The Meteorite Bird suddenly flapped its wings twice and flew down from the branch.

It landed steadily on Lia's golden hair.

She could keep her composure and suppress her mana even at that distance.

Clearly, Lia had passed this round of the test.

"Boom!"

A huge rock was pierced through by a beam fired from the opposite cliff,

leaving a hole with smooth edges.

"Hey, hey... Isn't that a little much? If I remember right, she hasn't been learning from you for very long, has she?"

Compared to the previous test,

this one shocked Galan even more.

He still remembered clearly that a little over a month ago, Lia hadn't even been able to hit the rock on the other side.

But now,

not only could she reach the rock, she could even control her mana precisely.

Instead of releasing an excessive amount of mana, she compressed an appropriate amount to a point of balance,

maximizing the conversion rate.

It not only increased the range but also improved the penetrating power.

[High-Compression Ordinary Offensive Magic]

"Duncan, you actually taught her this?"

Seeing Galan's surprise, Duncan smiled faintly.

He looked quite satisfied.

"I told you, don't underestimate her."

"Besides, you barely paid her any attention before, did you? How would you know how much effort she put into this?"

At that retort,

Galan felt a little guilty.

Looking back, he really hadn't paid much attention to Lia's studies all this time.

Usually, he was either trying new medicinal formulas or training with Glenn.

He had left everything to Duncan and played the hands-off manager.

"Galan! Duncan!"

As the two were talking,

Lia hugged her new wand and jogged excitedly over to them.

"I did it! Hehe... I always fell a little short when I was practicing before."

"That's because you really worked hard."

Duncan stroked Lia's head and smiled.

"Hehe! So does that mean I've passed the exam?"

Galan also looked at Duncan,

his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

He hadn't expected the exam to end so smoothly.

But for him, the truly difficult part was probably bringing that matter up with Lia...

The two had been together for so long.

If they suddenly had to leave, either of them would be reluctant to part.

When we are with people close to us, we always seem to lose track of time, always thinking those days will go on forever.

But time spares no one who fails to cherish it.

Everyone moves forward.

Pushed along by time, no one can stay in one place forever.

"No, there's one final test."

Duncan smiled.

"Huh?"

Both of them were taken aback.

Lia really couldn't remember what other test there was.

After all, aside from theory, Duncan usually only guided her in practicing those two things.

"Lia, you still have to have a duel with me, mage against mage."