At noon, somewhere beside a spring at the foot of a mountain in the first-round exam grounds for the First-Class Mage Exam, in the Grobe Basin.
At that moment, the midday sun shone through gaps in the dense canopy, casting dazzling spots of light across the leaf-strewn ground. The air was filled with the scent of earth and plants, as well as a faint, distinctive freshness that came from the mountain spring.
Clearly, this was an excellent place for certain animals to come and drink!
After successfully freezing the vast lake in the center of the basin and spending most of the day hard at work, Frieren, Kanne, and Lawine had gathered beside this relatively secluded spring pool, where only a trickle of water seeped out.
That's right!
They had carefully chosen this spot as their final hunting ground and the place where they would set a trap to catch the Stille.
"Phew—"
After running over, Kanne wiped the nonexistent sweat from her brow, then let out a long breath before reporting her results to Frieren:
"Frieren..."
"I did everything I could!"
Her voice held the relief of having completed a difficult task, along with a hint of helplessness and gratitude.
"I put a little bit of mana into most of the springs and small ponds I could find, and even the streams I could see."
"Maybe..."
"Maybe there are still some places I missed?"
"But these exam grounds are enormous, and I had to avoid the other mages, so I really couldn't cover every place with water and put mana into all of them by myself."
She even raised a hand and swore that she really had done all she could.
"I understand."
Frieren listened quietly, her calm gaze sweeping over the surroundings before she gave a slight nod