The Question of Combat Strength (Part 2)

Lowell tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, making a rhythmic sound. His gaze was distant, as if he could see through the wooden walls of the inn and gaze upon those figures who stood at the pinnacle of humanity.

"And then..." he began slowly, his tone becoming more solemn, "There comes the third tier: Great Demons, Great Mages, and so on... Those who reach this level are worthy of being recorded in history and become legends."

His gaze casually swept over Solitär was resting her chin on her hand and observing the passersby by the window.

"For example Solitär,"

Lowell spoke calmly, as if stating an objective fact, "She may still not believe that Demons and humans can truly 'coexist,' and deep down she may still regard humans as interesting subjects for observation."

However, it cannot be denied that she harbors an almost obsessive desire to explore the very concept of 'understanding humanity.' This 'admiration,' while stemming from a research fascination, also sets her apart and gives her a unique understanding and application of magic related to humans."

Upon hearing this, Solitär simply responded with an even sweeter smile, without denying it.

He paused, then gave an example. "Her strength is beyond doubt. Several First-Class Mages once joined forces to set up a barrier in an attempt to trap her, but she was able to easily see through it and dismantle it with a mere gesture."

Her mastery of 'Killing Magic' and its corresponding Defensive Magic, along with her unique 'Scattering Magic,' gives her the qualifications to be ranked in this tier. She is the 'Nameless Great Demons,' precisely because of her elusive nature; none of her opponents who have seen her true face have survived to date, hence the lack of a title. Oh, except for us."

Then, he turned his attention to other powerful figures.

"Eisen, a dwarf warrior. He briefly clashed with 'the Bloodstained War God' Rivale. Although he was at a disadvantage, he managed to remain undefeated for a short period thanks to his tenacious will and superb combat skills. Based on this battle alone, he is worthy of the title 'Strongest of Humanity warrior.' His friend Ransen is nearly as strong as him."

"Heiter, don't be fooled by his usual carefree and drunken appearance. At the age of sixteen, the magical power he possessed was already on a scale that ordinary people could only achieve after five hundred years of arduous cultivation."

He can cast Goddess Magic that allows multiple people to survive for two months without food, water, or breath, as well as Concealment magic, healing magic, and so on... At least as far as I know, among human monks today, if he claims to be second in magical power and mastery of Goddess Magic, no one dares to claim to be first."

"And then Ruby, that child. At the age of ten, her magical reserves were roughly equivalent to what an average person accumulates over three hundred years. The variety of magical types she's familiar with is so vast that she's practically a mobile miniature magic library."

Who knows how much Serie favors her? She already possessed the strength of First-Class Mage when she was ten years old, so calling her a 'Great Mage' now wouldn't be an exaggeration. Besides, she's still too young; her future is terrifyingly long."

He concluded, "This level can be considered the theoretical pinnacle that ordinary humans can reach through talent and hard work. However, throughout history, countless brilliant individuals have devoted their entire lives to achieving this level without success."

Lowell picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and his tone became calm.

"Above that is the second level: a peak that is almost impossible for ordinary humans to reach. Those who reside here are beings like the 'Seven Sages of Destruction,' and a very few beings who transcend common sense."

He looked at Lupa with a serious expression. "Don't underestimate the Seven Sages of Destruction just because they seem to have been defeated quickly. For example, Aura. If I and Frieren hadn't been there, and Aura had used the Scales, Ruby not have been able to interrupt Aura's spellcasting at that time."

While Himmel and Eisen are powerful, they are ultimately just warriors, far inferior to Aura in magical power, and are highly likely to be transformed into puppets by her Libra magic. The most terrifying aspect of the Seven Sages of Destruction lies in the unique, almost unsolvable magic they each possess.

"Qual is also among them. His unique and mastered 'Killing Magic' remains unmatched to this day. The threat he poses to humanity is comparable to that of the Seven Sages of Destruction. As you saw, back then, the seven First-Class Mages of the Magic Association, plus one experienced master, specifically prepared for Killing Magic, and they only managed to fight him to a draw."

"Although Aura and Qual seemed to be quickly defeated by us... Aura lost due to insufficient intelligence and carelessness; she encountered us. As for Qual, it was actually my lack of martial ethics that led me to ambush this old comrade. Otherwise, the four of Himmel would have been killed if they hadn't been able to defeat Qual."

"Himmel and Ruby were indeed still growing at the time, but the monks' combat power comes from their faith, and they haven't grown much over the years. Eisen, on the other hand, was almost at his peak. Even with my Gravity Magic, the improvement wasn't significant. This shows how weak Qual's combat power is."

More importantly, although I deliberately assigned Qual to be a sparring partner for Serie's students, given Qual's talent, his strength will only increase during the sparring process."

His gaze returned to Frieren, who was quietly turning the pages of a book beside him, and his eyes softened. "Frieren..."

He paused, "She's lazy and dislikes fighting, much like me. But there's one crucial point—'the magic system of the Demons race is vastly different from that of Human race.' And as Demons myself, being by her side meant that when she learned Flight Magic, Killing Magic, and many other Demons magics, her efficiency was several times, even dozens of times, greater than that of ordinary people. Although her talent wasn't as exceptional as that of a freak like Qual, she had accumulated far more experience."

Now, she possesses the strength to defeat Qual and some of the Seven Sages of Destruction, and her overall strength has firmly established her among them. After all... she is actually a disciple that Flamme and I both trained. Of course, we are from the same generation, from the same generation."

"And then there's 'The Bloodstained War God' Rivale," Lowell's eyes narrowed slightly, "I've never seen that guy defeated. Even after Eisen's all-out 'Sky-Splitting Strike' following my Gravity Magic training, it only left a deep scar on his face... His strength is unfathomable. The only warrior who could possibly win a head-on fight against him is probably Sam."

"There's another one... who's a bit of a pity in terms of individual combat strength, but she herself has never regretted it."

Lowell said with a hint of regret, "She was described by Serie as someone who 'could surpass her,' but Flamme's ambition was not to pursue the ultimate in individual power."

She is captivated by magic as vibrant as the Flower Field Magic, and her ideal is to 'make magic benefit all beings,' integrating magic into daily life and igniting the spark of Human race civilization.

She Human race with the foundation to directly confront the Demons, a contribution far exceeding ordinary combat strength. Serie later even praised her, saying that "with a short human life, she accomplished what the elves could not achieve even in their long lives," and thus founded the Continental Magic Association.

Unfortunately, Flamme never heard this assessment firsthand. And it was precisely because her ambitions lay elsewhere that her personal combat prowess remained stagnant; otherwise...

He shook his head, his unfinished words carrying a deeper meaning. "Now there's a country where every aspect of life—watering flowers, weeding, washing clothes—is done with magic. In my opinion, she would be even more proud of that."

He pondered for a moment and assessed, "A powerhouse of this caliber is usually capable of handling six to a dozen ordinary First-Class Mages at the same time. Even if multiple Great Demons join forces, they can often defeat them."

Just like the previous Great Demons Snow Witch Monet 'Miraculous Grausam's' team up, even without my intervention, Himmel could have sensed Grausam's presence with her eyes closed and focused, quickly inflict severe damage on him, break the illusion, restore the entire team's strength, and then defeat Monet and Grausam...

Of course, this was also due to Grausam's over-reliance on Mental Magic and a slight underestimation of his opponent. Moreover, Himmel was only twenty years old then, and now he is twenty-one. After a year in the Demons realm, his strength will only increase, and his future growth potential is still immeasurable.