9 Quals

On the street outside the barrier, nine Quals were wandering about.

Nine was not an approximation; it was the exact count.

"After I shocked you awake—or rather, called you awake—a moment ago, I threw my longsword to create a flash. Your precise magic attack already took one down; otherwise, we would be facing ten right now."

After hearing Shane explain the current situation, Frieren realized that things had become tricky.

She glanced at the nine Quals wandering through the surrounding blocks, constantly searching for their tracks, and pondered silently.

"When I killed that one earlier, I heard a sound like glass shattering."

"Glass?"

"Yes, they are likely all puppet replicas."

Hearing the word "replica," Shane couldn't help but think of the Tomb of the Fallen King, the site of the future First-Class Mage Exam. Back then, when Frieren and her party participated in the exam, they encountered the "Mirror Demon" capable of creating replicas.

Those replicas were able to perfectly replicate the abilities and combat prowess of the originals.

If the puppet replicas here could do the same... that meant these Quals might possess the strength of the one from seventy years ago.

If that were the case, killing them shouldn't be a problem given Frieren's current strength. The only thing to worry about was how to prevent Frieren from being swarmed.

Suddenly, he thought of a term he used to use when playing games: "kiting."

"Frieren, have you ever played 'Hawk Catches the Chick'?" Shane asked.

"Hmm?"

"It's a game human children love to play. Usually, one person acts as the mother hen at the front of the line, leading a group of chicks behind her. The hawk waits for the right moment to snatch the one at the very end of the line, and so on, until all the chicks are caught."

"...Luring them out and picking them off one by one? That's not a bad idea."

I have to say, the white-haired elf is sharp; she catches on instantly.

Soon, the two of them observed the area, mapped out the positions of the nine Quals, and began studying "kiting" routes based on the street and city layout.

Using the marked positions on the map, Shane devised the easiest "aggro-pulling" route, much like a tank pulling mobs in a game.

"Alright, let's follow the numbered order and start by taking out No. 1."

He pulled the gear he had just acquired before entering the labyrinth from his pack.

Ten kunai shuriken and ten Refined Iron Marbles.

By using these ranged weapons to harass them, combined with the Goddess's Barrier, he had a 50% chance of success.

The two began to act according to their plan.

Frieren first suppressed her mana until not a trace leaked out.

She stayed in place, waiting for the right moment.

Shane deactivated the Goddess's Barrier, stepped out of the house, and slowly circled to the street corner.

Right in front of him was "Qual No. 9," wandering around looking for people.

To be honest, as a very famous Great Demon under the Demon King Army and the Demon Race's premier mage, Qual's combat power was unquestionable.

Even Frieren, an elf mage who had lived for over a thousand years, admitted that Qual might be "a cut above" her in terms of magical attainment.

Facing such a formidable enemy, Shane felt like an ant looking up at a human.

The reason he dared to run out and act as a tank to pull aggro wasn't pure recklessness; it stemmed from the "diagnosis" Frieren had given him earlier.

When he first tried to meditate and couldn't feel a single trace of mana flowing, Frieren had remarked that Shane had absolutely no mana—none at all.

Mages in this world were highly dependent on Mana Detection.

Especially in actual combat, mages with abundant mana or refined skills would keep Mana Detection active around the clock, which meant they gradually developed the habit of viewing the world through "mana."

For monsters like the Demon Race, who had lived for hundreds or thousands of years, this habit was even more pronounced.

A weak human with zero mana likely didn't even exist in their eyes.

Shane thought to himself silently.

Sure enough, he circled to the designated position without any obstruction; he didn't even need to trigger his backup plan for survival.

Crouching on the roof, he pulled a handful of kunai shuriken from his pocket and aimed at "Qual No. 9" on the street below.

It is time for you to pay the price for your arrogance.

Whoosh—

As the shuriken flew, Shane simultaneously cast the Goddess's Barrier to conceal himself.

Qual No. 9 was struck, and he immediately realized an enemy was nearby. He let out a roar and began searching the surroundings.

Because of his roar, the other eight Quals in the distance began moving toward this direction. Among them, Qual No. 1—the target in their tactical plan—fell to the very back of the main group due to his position, falling exactly as planned into Frieren's attack range.

Bang—

A beam of magic shot out without hesitation.

Short, compressed magic, like a bullet, struck the head of Qual No. 1 with precision, melting the hideous skull and obliterating it in an instant.

Shane inwardly marveled, whispering that it was well done.

Because they were far away, the remaining Quals didn't even realize what had happened before seeing their companion die.

Naturally, they failed to discover the hidden Frieren.

Shane quietly circled toward another direction, beginning the hunt for Qual No. 2.

After more than three hours of guerrilla warfare.

All nine Quals had been "assassinated."

Looking at the last Refined Iron Marble in his hand, Shane let out a long sigh of relief; if he hadn't finished them off, he would have run out of ranged weapons.

Frieren looked at him, smiled slightly, and praised, "Shane, you did very well."

That expression of gratification made Shane feel as if he were seeing his own "grandmother" coaxing her "little grandson."

This feeling was not good at all!

Don't go around adding generations to yourself, young lady!

Just then, the entire Gostan City suddenly began to disintegrate, falling apart with a clatter like shards of broken glass.

Shane reacted quickly, lunging toward Frieren and deploying the Goddess's Barrier over their position.

Bang, bang, bang—

The entire city shattered.

Dust filled the air.

Fragments covered the ground.

When the disintegration finally ceased, Shane saw a scene that shocked him.

They had arrived once again at the simple cave they had seen before—

A stone room of several dozen square meters, a simple wooden bed, empty bookshelves, and a desk with a quill pen... everything was covered in dust, clearly having been abandoned for a long time.

The exact same furnishings—this was the room of Mad Sage Charles!!!

However, this time there was no diary on the table, but rather an old page torn from some unknown book.

He focused his mind, and a line of text leaped before his eyes:

[Fragment of Sage Aewich's Notes]

Status: Incomplete

Entry: [Numerical Mirror (Purple Epic)]: Perfectly replicate the opponent's physical stats during combat; let your opponent take a look in the mirror.

Evaluation: A magic formula derived from research into the Mirror Demon; at this experimental stage, it can only achieve numerical replication.