Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, also known as Chronicle of Frieren the Warrior, told the story after the hero Himmel and his party defeated the Demon King.

Its protagonist was Frieren, the Elf Mage of the hero's party.

After she and the heroes defeated the Demon King and returned home in glory, a once-in-fifty-years meteor shower occurred. Having watched it with her three companions, Frieren suggested that they go somewhere better to watch it again fifty years later.

But fifty years later, the human hero Himmel had already become frail with age, while Frieren had not changed in the slightest.

In this world, no matter how powerful humans became, their lifespans were no more than a mere century. Elves, meanwhile, possessed nearly eternal lives and were true Long-lived Races.

For that reason, elves were mostly quite slow when it came to emotions, and their sense of time was completely different from that of humans.

To Frieren, fifty years was no more than the blink of an eye. But to the hero Himmel, fifty years was enough to burn through the rest of his life.

Only after the hero died did the slow-witted elf finally realize what had happened.

Belatedly, she felt grief and regretted not taking the time to truly understand him while he was alive.

After the funeral, prompted by the hero's death, Frieren first developed the desire to understand humans, thus beginning an entirely new journey...

Lin Yu had watched this anime in his previous life as well. So when he discovered that the Flamme before him was that Flamme, he immediately realized he had arrived a little early in the timeline.

As the protagonist Frieren's teacher and the Great Mage of fairy tales and legends in later generations, Flamme bore the title of Progenitor of Human Magic.

She had trained many human mages and played an immensely important role in advancing the spread and popularization of magic among humans.

Simply put, she was a founding-ancestor-level figure who usually appeared in Frieren's memories in the original work.

For Lin Yu to encounter her in this world meant that the official story was still roughly a thousand years away...

But that was fine. When it came to lifespan, Lin Yu was confident he could outlive an elf, so he did not care about the timeline.

Still, after living together for half a month, he had never once suspected that this Flamme was that Flamme.

That was not entirely his fault. The difference between an anime character and a real person was simply too great.

Other than her hair color and gold jewelry, the Flamme before him matched none of the Flamme in Lin Yu's memories.

Her facial features especially could not be said to be identical to the classic two-dimensional anime face—at the very least, they were worlds apart.

Furthermore, the pronunciation of the Continental Common Tongue differed somewhat from Japanese-style English.

Judging only by the pronunciation of the name, one could only say they sounded similar; it was hard to say they were the same name.

If not for the character setups of an elf teacher who had lived for who knew how long and a genius human disciple, he likely would not have realized it until Flamme took Frieren as her apprentice.

No, it was still too early to draw conclusions.

Lin Yu came back to his senses and feigned curiosity as he asked, "Flamme, what magic do you like best?"

Flamme froze slightly before saying hesitantly, "F-Field of Flowers Magic."

It really was!

Lin Yu's expression turned strange.

Flamme misunderstood his reaction and, for the first time, showed a slightly bashful demeanor.

However, that demeanor lasted only a very short time.

Soon, she returned to her usual self and sighed.

"If you want to laugh, then laugh. I know this answer may sound childish, but I..."

Lin Yu did not hear the rest. At that moment, he had completely confirmed the identity of this world.

Because the magic Flamme loved most in the anime was precisely Field of Flowers Magic. Combined with her teacher Seirei, as well as the hair color and jewelry similar to her anime appearance, there was no doubt that she was the real one!

Good grief. He had thought this was a proper Western fantasy world, only to find that it was actually Frieren: Beyond Journey's End...

Come to think of it, this anime's world seemed to have some mysterious goddess worshipped throughout the land. Why had he been here for so long without that woman coming over to say hello?

...How rude!

Lin Yu grumbled inwardly.

At the same time, Flamme seemed to take Lin Yu's silence as an opening he had offered her and smoothly changed the subject.

"Lin Yu, are you truly from another world?"

"That's right."

Lin Yu nodded calmly.

When explaining his origins, he had called himself a visitor from the New World and introduced Flamme to Earth's civilization from his previous life, as well as what a world without Magic Power was like.

The reason he had been so straightforward was mainly because Lin Yu's starting point was simply too high.

Other transmigrators either kept their origins secret because they wanted to monopolize knowledge and seek profit, or because they had reservations and believed revealing the truth would bring them harm rather than benefit.

But Lin Yu was different. He wished more people would come looking for him because of it.

Ideally, several more geniuses like Flamme would come along, so he could use their wisdom to solve the problems he carried.

Looking at the composed Lin Yu, Flamme's gaze shifted slightly as she softly asked, "So, does the science you spoke of also exist in this world?"

"Of course!"

Lin Yu rolled his eyes, then said, "First, I need to correct one thing. Science is not some independent system. It is a body of knowledge that uses practical methods to understand the essence and laws of the world."

"In other words, in a world where 'Magic Power is an objective fact,' magic is also a branch of science."

"The 'science' you mentioned should more accurately be called natural sciences, things like physics, chemistry, and biology..."

"I see." Flamme's expression became serious as she said earnestly, "I have learned much!"

After saying that, she swiftly assumed the posture of a seeker of knowledge and asked with shining eyes, "Can this knowledge called natural science truly allow humans without talent to wield power equal to that of mages?"

"Of course!"

Lin Yu smiled. "Didn't you already witness the power of Black Powder yesterday?"

Flamme nodded and softly said, "That thing truly has limitless potential, but turning potential into power requires long years of research and the wisdom of countless people."

"If I merely take it away, I fear it will not cause much of a stir."

"You may not yet understand that, because of Magic Power, the average physical constitution in this world is extremely high. Those extraordinarily gifted warriors can even fight dragons with their bare bodies. Natural science at this level cannot even injure them, much less arouse humanity's interest."

Lin Yu smiled. "Aren't you interested?"

Flamme shook her head. "I can see the potential hidden behind this simple material reaction, but that does not mean everyone else in this world can do the same."

As she spoke, she sighed. "Forget natural science. Humans today are not even willing to accept magic..."

Lin Yu smiled. "Then why even ask?"

Flamme replied calmly, "They will have to accept it eventually. To be honest, my previous ideal was to popularize magic, so that everyone in the world could enjoy the convenience it brought."

"Previous?" Lin Yu caught the keyword. "Then what about now?"

Flamme did not answer directly, merely saying softly, "The natural science you speak of has an even greater need to be popularized than magic."

Lin Yu shook his head. "Better not. If you take too big a step, you might tear—cough, you might fall easily!"

"Since the humans here cannot even accept magic, I advise you to proceed more cautiously first."

"After all, magic has limits of bloodline, talent, and aptitude, so it can easily be integrated into the ruling structure of those in power."

"But if natural science develops, it will inevitably awaken a dragon capable of destroying the foundations of noble rule and dragging them down from the clouds into the dust!"