The first exam begins

The first examination venue in the Northern Countries, the Grobe Basin.

Sunlight filtered through sparse clouds, illuminating the vast basin. A gentle breeze carried the scents of earth and grass.

The three members of Frieren's team stood in an open space. Rabiñe and Kanne's hands were both gripping a small Birdcage, neither willing to give way.

"Give it to me! I'll take it!" Rabiñe pulled hard on the Birdcage's handle.

"It should have been me..." Kanne retorted without backing down, gripping the other side of the Birdcage tightly with both hands. The two of them were locked in a tug-of-war, neither willing to let go.

Frieren stood to one side, her silver hair fluttering gently in the basin breeze. Her emerald eyes narrowed into slits, and the corners of her mouth turned down, forming her signature cat-like mouth, tinged with helplessness and a hint of disdain. She looked at her two temporary teammates, who had been arguing all the way from the interior of Oysast to the Grobe Basin, with a slightly resigned expression.

Lanto held the Birdcage belonging to their team steadily in his hand. Ubel stretched out his slender fingers and gently tapped the Birdcage bars, his fingertip tracing an almost invisible fine line, a faint smile of "I see" appearing on his face.

"Look, there are very faint magical traces on it; they're runes used to bind certain small monsters. It seems the exam will require us to capture a small bird-like monster?"

Fern's pale purple eyes calmly observed the Birdcage, and she nodded. "It seems so, Miss Ubel."

"I already told you to just call me Ubel."

Lanto pushed up his thin-rimmed glasses, said nothing, and simply examined the structure of the Birdcage carefully.

Duncan, a skilled old magician, held the birdcage, carefully rubbed the cage body, and looked at it thoughtfully. Another teammate, who looked a little decadent but looked like a well-dressed middle-aged uncle, sat on the stone next to him with an indifferent expression, as if the exam had nothing to do with him. Next to him, a girl wearing a cheongsam-style mage robe and a bun haircut had a gentle smile on her face. She seemed to be quite satisfied with the grouping. I wonder if the back door had been opened.

Genau waved the empty Birdcage in his hand, the same one used by the examinees, and his voice clearly echoed throughout the hall, "Now, I will explain the specific rules for the first exam."

"This basin forest is inhabited by a small magical creature called the 'Stille.' We've provided each team with this specially made Birdcage."

"There are two conditions for passing the first round of testing: First, you must have a Birdcage containing at least one live Stille before sunset tomorrow; second, all three members of the team must be present at the designated time."

"During the exam, everyone is free to move around. However," he emphasized, "Any team member who leaves the exam area within this basin without authorization will be disqualified. Furthermore, their entire team will be disqualified."

After listening, Ubel winked at Lanto and Fern beside him, his tone tinged with a hint of smugness. "See? I told you it was a bird-catching test, didn't I? Glasses Guy, little cutie?"

Fern: "..."

Lanto pushed up his glasses, glanced at Ubel expressionlessly, and also didn't say anything.

Ubel feigned a sigh, "Hey, let's talk. We just met, Glasses Guy, don't be so quiet. Chatting more will help us get to know each other better. My little darling, Fern, we've been together at the Continental United Academy for years now, don't you miss me? How about a long-awaited friendly hug?"

As she spoke, she opened her arms to Fern, as if to hug him.

Fern immediately took a half step back, raised one hand, palm facing outward, making a clear and firm "stop" gesture, his tone calm and even. "No, please don't do this."

"What Bingbing person..." Ubel feigned sadness, then, as if remembering something, looked around. "Speaking of which, including the examiner, there are 84 people in total, which makes 28 teams. In such a large forest, if there are enough Stille, theoretically everyone could pass, right? After all, look, there are so many students from the Continental United Academy in the examination hall; everyone should help each other out, right?"

Fern shook his head slightly, his pale purple hair fluttering slightly. "... While that's theoretically true, isn't it essentially 'cheating'? I think the examiners' original intention in setting up this exam was probably to have everyone fight for a limited number of Stille. I learned about these birds when I was preparing for the exam; their population isn't large, probably not enough for 28 teams to share equally."

A hint of interest flashed in Ubel's eyes. "Is that so? Then it seems... it's bound to turn into an interesting battle in the end. Glasses Guy, what do you think?"

Lanto glanced at her, his tone remaining calm. "My name is Lanto. I'll stand and watch."

(On the other side, Frieren's squad)

Rabiñe and Kanne were still engaged in a "fierce exchange" over ownership of the Birdcage (mainly with Rabiñe dominating Kanne, while Kanne was baring his teeth and claws from below).

But when the examiner announced the rules, the two of them unexpectedly stopped what they were doing at the same time.

Although the posture remained unchanged.

Rabiñe chuckled and whispered to Kanne beneath him, "Hmph, they've clearly set up a powerful barrier that prevents even a speck of dust from escaping, surrounding the entire basin like an iron barrel, and yet they still talk about 'disqualification if you leave the examination hall'..."

"There's no way we can get out," Kanne chimed in.

At this point, examiner Genau announced, "The first round of the exam now officially begins. Dismissed!"

Once the rules were explained, the brief peace between Rabiñe and Kanne immediately shattered, and the Birdcage battle resumed in an instant.

Kanne struggled below. "Hey! We should come up with a strategy first..."

Rabiñe pressed her down hard. "Are you an idiot? You haven't even found a single feather, what strategy are you talking about!"

Frieren watched this scene unfold, her kitten-like lips pursed even tighter, a silent sigh escaping her lips: They're arguing again...

She finally couldn't hold back any longer and suggested in a slightly helpless tone, "Um... how about we look for it as we go, and introduce ourselves while we're at it? Also, about who takes the Birdcage... you can decide by rock-paper-scissors, right?" She tried to resolve the dispute in the most direct way possible.

Upon hearing that they were to introduce themselves, Rabiñe and Kanne temporarily ceased their fight once again. Rabiñe rose from Kanne, straightened his slightly disheveled robes, and cleared his throat. "I am Rabiñe, currently Third-Class Mage."

Kanne also got up, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. "My name is Kanne, and I'm also Third-Class Mage. Rabiñe and I have known each other since childhood, we're childhood friends, and we both studied at the Continental United Academy. Our grades... well, they were both pretty good, but..."

Frieren blinked. "But?"

Kanne scratched his head a little embarrassedly. "In the academy, if you excel in a particular subject, it carries a lot of weight in your exam scores. Rabiñe and I are actually quite good in our respective subjects, but in other areas..."

Rabiñe immediately retorted, "That's you! I excel in every aspect!"

Kanne's eyebrows shot up. "What did you say?! I clearly scored higher in the last simulation!"

"That's because you used that inhumane magic!"

"The college does not prohibit its use!"

But you clearly said you wouldn't use it anymore!

The two looked like they were about to start fighting again.

As Frieren watched the two arguing again, her emerald eyes completely lost their luster, her cat-like mouth drooped even more, and her face was filled with a sense of utter despair, as if she couldn't handle it anymore.