11

Continental Mage Association

Testing grounds

After demonstrating to Serie the few spells Teufel managed to work in conjunction with using mathematics, the young half elf was now tasked in showing her written work that she brought with her. With a simple wooden table available for Teufel to set her things on it, the half elf had her briefcase atop it with it open for all to see the many stacks of papers and notebooks she stashed into it. Given her current body height though, Teufel was given a stool to stand on while Serie stood beside her as the elf watched the half elf pick out her notes.

Frieren herself was standing opposite side of the table from her daughter, she's seen enough of the work her little Teufel has put into her project, so it was no surprise to her to see so much written work involving many diagrams and numbers; there was a time her little Teufel needed help understand their world's magic, but after that, her daughter took on magic like a duck to water.

Sense, seeing the amount of work the half elf put into her study of math being interwoven with magic, whilst standing on the same end of the table as Frieren, looked over at said elf with a curious look and calmly spoke, "By the way, there was a girl my master and I saw walk with your daughter out of the city a year back, is she your student?" she questioned, curiosity burdening her mind to ask the elf outright.

"Hmm?" Frieren hummed in question, giving Sense her attention while Teufel was organizing her paperwork from out of her briefcase, "Oh…" the elf began to say, smiling a bit in response, "Somewhat, I'm helping her finish develop her mastery of Zoltraak, on top of some other business have for the temporary time I am staying in this region." she answered the apprentice of Serie.

Eyes widening partially at the tidbit of information, Sense looked at Frieren with an uncertain look, "But that girl couldn't be anymore than eleven or twelve when I last saw her." she remarked, surprised that a young girl was practicing her mastery over such a spell.

Frieren shrugged at Sense's response, "She's been doing fine so far, she just has trouble keeping her mana steady and consistent for the spell to work at its peak performance." she answered, expressing a small smile.

Looking up over at the two, Serie allowed herself a smug smirk at Sense, "You should get used to the idea of old spells becoming easier to cast as time moves forward, Sense, not but fifty years ago, give or take, Zoltraak took any normal mage a considerable effort to understand and cast." She informed her study, earning the attention of both Sense and Frieren while Teufel busied herself pulling out her notepads and making sure they were what she needed.

With a somewhat annoyed look that Sense gave her master, she spoke with flat tone, "Master, I just turned twenty, I've yet to even experience that length of time, so please, do not confuse me with Lernen or someone else that knows what it was like for spells of old to become common practice."

Unable to help herself in giving her apprentice a smirk, Serie looked over at Frieren with an expectant look, "Nevertheless, after this is over, if that young girl of yours finishes her mastery of Zoltraak in time, I am sure the upcoming third grade mage exam would be easy for her." she noted.

Looking up while pausing in pulling out another notebook of her work, Teufel looked at Serie with a curious look, "Are there advantages to earning such a rank?" She questioned the elf, surprised at herself that she did not particularly know that much of the world she had come to know in her third life.

After hearing the half elf speak beside her, Serie looked back at Teufel, "A few." the elf answered, before gesturing at all her written work she pulled out, "But we are getting off track a bit." Serie remarked with a satisfied smirk while Teufel continued to pull out her written work, "I'll look into copying these documents with one of my spells." she noted, giving Teufel a sideways look of appreciation.

Pausing in checking her papers of various diagrams she had drawn out for her spells, Teufel looked over at her mother with curiosity, "...Mother…did you ever know any such spell?" she asked, as such a spell would have been instrumental in creating copies of her work early on in case some of it was destroyed.

Two years spent rewriting her notes after losing it from water damage, a hassle she later made sure to always keep her documents safe inside her briefcase.

Frieren shrugged at her daughter with a nonplussed look of indifference, "I do…but you never asked…" she answered with a certain shine of amusement in her eyes.

"...Right…" Teufel glowered a bit at her mother, before finishing up in pulling out her last notebook.

The table was now covered in years of paperwork and notebooks that Teufel had spent delving into her field of magic study, Serie reached out and grabbed a notebook to begin flipping through it to skim through it, "This is good…very detailed…" she noted, and placed it down to pick up another notebook that was nothing but writing inside it, "And good penmanship." she added, before putting it too back onto the table.

Teufel looked at Serie expectantly, "So…is the deal settled then?" she questioned the elf, who continued to look over her books and papers with an excited look.

Pausing, Serie placed the piece of paper she had just picked up to look at Teufel with a satisfied smile, "Yes, I do believe you accomplished the challenge I gave you." she answered, while turning fully to look directly at the half elf that was standing on a stool.

"Do you already have a spell in mind that you know you want to learn?" Serie questioned Teufel, expecting the half elf to ask for some spell that her mother probably does not know.

Teufel pursed her lips in thought, before answering while giving her mother a sideways look, "That depends…mother, do you know a spell that aids the thought process of the mind?" she questioned Frieren.

With a surprised look on her behalf, Freiren tilted her head a bit to the side, "hmm?" she made a thoughtful look before shaking her head, "No…not yet…" she answered.

Serie expressed a satisfied smirk at the two, and looked at Teufel, "Of course you should ask what your mother knows first" she commented to the half elf with a broad smirk, "Afterall, she has lived long enough to have a wide knowledge of spells." she noted, pleasantly glad the half elf had enough sense that she had two present elfs that could teach her spells.

With everything said and done, Serie had Sense acquire some help in gathering some blank books for her to copy the written work of Teufel; it was later after everything was finished, that Teufel packed her written work back up and followed Serie and Sense with her mother to a room where Serie kept a good portion of her grimoires within the building.

Later

A loud creaking sound of wooden doors opening greeted the room and the present three soon-to-be occupants as Serie led Teufel and Frieren into the room, Sense had wanted to busy herself with her own personal study of magic for the rest of the day, which suited Serie just fine.

As Teufel followed Serie in, with her mother trailing behind her at a relaxed gait, the young half elf took in the sight of the room; a few tables were littered with piles of books, to which she had noted the table were either built sturdy enough for such a feat, seeing how the piles nearly reached the ceiling, or the table were enchanted with magic to withstand the weight.

Given the circumstance, Teufel wagered the tables were built to be sturdy to hold such weight, but after a time, an enchantment would be needed to hold the insurmountable weight of books that piled atop them.

Teufel also saw that plenty of book piles littered the floor, which left her in the belief that Serie really needed to acquire herself bookshelves than simply let what she could only assume were the many grimoires that the elf had collected over the many centuries.

"Enjoying the sight?" Serie questioned the half elf as she approached her lone stone chair, and turned to sit in it, "It's nothing like my personal room in Äußerst, but it holds a good collection of my grimoires." she said to Teufel with a smug smirk as she relaxed in her chair.

Blinking a bit at the sudden question, Teufel stood before the half with Frieren standing beside her taking in some of the sight of the room Serie took them into, "I'm sorry to ask, but do you have anything against bookshelves?" she asked, since the topic was provided for her, Teufel gave Serie a questioning look, "Surely it would be better to shelve these books in an orderly fashion." she pointed out.

While Frieren looked around and nodded in agreement, as it did make sense to have at least some orderly sense, Serie ceased making her smug smirk, and frowned a bit when she was questioned by the half elf. "I would…" she began to answer, and looked sideways a bit with a pondering look, "But I never get around to it…" she mused, before looking back at the two, "But you are right, it would be sensible to have these books shelved."

Frieren, ever curious about the state of the books, with some looking ancient, questioned Serie, "Some of these books look beyond a thousand years." she remarked, and looked straight at Serie, "I've never really looked at your collection of books to notice much until now." she noted.

Serie glanced in Frieren directions, and spoke back to the elf with a proud smirk, "I have a few that are two thousand years old." she informed her, "I have, in fact, quite a few spells on hand that can rejuvenate papers, repair books, restore them." Serie then leaned to her side to reach for one of her books and held it up for the two to see, "This one is my favorite." she remarked, its age looked remarkably pristine.

"This book." Serie held it firmly in both hands, and smiled broadly, "Is over three thousand years old." she said, a certain spark shone in her eyes as she presented it to Teufel and Frieren for their eyes to see, "A goddess grimoire, no less." she smugly finished explaining, before setting the book aside.

"A goddess grimoire?" Teufel thought to herself with a questioning look on her face, and spoke aloud with a pertinent tone, "Wouldn't such a book belong in a more protective place?" she asked, before realizing something, "You copied its contents." she pointed out.

Serie smirked at Teufel as she rested her chin onto her fist as she shifted her seated form into a cross legged one, "Indeed, I did. Afterall, even if I returned the book to its pristine condition, it wouldn't do to have such a rare book of an age go missing and lost to time." she answered, earning a nod from Freiren in agreement, while Teufel looked around a bit more.

"So." Serie spoke some more, watching the half elf look around, "Tell me, what sort of method do you want enhanced thought?" she questioned the girl.

Looking back at Serie, Teufel dwelled on her thought for a second, before answering the elf, "That depends, I want something that can aid my thoughts without severe side effects." she answered.

Frieren looked at her daughter with an ever curious look, "Care to elaborate on this spell you are looking for?" she asked Teufel, "It might help narrow the specific spell that a grimoire would provide." Frieren explained to Teufel.

Earning her attention, Teufel looked back up at her mother, "a combat advantage, really." she answered, earning some note of understanding in her mother's eyes, "While the spell I am looking for may help the thought process in thinking over things, I am looking for something that will help me in combat."

"Oh." Frieren realized, and turned to fully face her Daughter with a more curious look, "Is it because of those instances we ran into dragons and other beasts that dwelled in the dungeons I took you with me into?" she asked, remembering when she and her daughter went on more adventurous tasks after she was sure Teufel could handle herself in combat.

Teufel shrugged at her mother's question, "Not exactly." she began to express an uncertain look, as she thumbed her chin in thought, "It's not that hard to out think a simple beast or dragon that acts on instincts." she explained, and began to look once more around the room at all the grimoires available, "If anything, I want something that benefits me in potential conflicts against other human mages, a trump card perhaps if possible."

"Ah." Serie noted, her interest peaked a bit as she removed her chin from her fist and rested her arms down against her knees and leaned forward with a keen look in her eyes, "That does indeed help narrow down the list of grimoires I have." she remarked, and hopped down from her chair to walk over to one of her piles of books, "In fact, I have several books that provide different methods of enhanced thought." she added.

Frieren, still looking down at her daughter, tilted her head a bit in questioning, "I would have thought that you wanted such a spell to fight against potential demons." she noted, an ever curious tone in her voice, before looking off to the side, "Then again, I can count the few times on one hand that human mages have beaten me before." she nodded to herself.

While Serie was sorting over the various books she had on hand that would suit Teufel request the best, said half elf turned to speak directly with her mother, "Exactly the point. I am under no illusion that I will one day find myself in a situation that requires some hyper thought process in a combat situation, if anything…" Teufel turned forward to cup her chin and angle her head up in thought.

"Perhaps a calming spell would suit me otherwise, to help me mentally in such a situation…" she mused with a narrowed eyed look.

Pausing in thumbing over the covers of her grimoires, Serie looked over her shoulder with a tilted head, and smirked a bit, a certain shine sparked in her eye, "You know…you could become my apprentice and learn all you want." She proposed, giving Frieren a rather devious smile.

"Denied." Frieren spoke immediately, earning a raised brow from Serie and a surprised look from her daughter, as she stepped forward, a firm look present on her face, "You already have an apprentice of your own." she affirmed.

"Oh please." Serie brushed off Freiren's denial, and went back to looking through her grimoires, "Sense is just one of my apprentices, I can have more than one." She then pulled a few books off from the pile she was looking through and carried them back to her chair, "And besides, I am pretty sure your daughter would do better under me than you." she remarked smuggly.

Teufel, not one to be left out for her choice in the matter, glared a bit at the elf, "Excuse me, but such a choice should be up to me, not either of you!" she said, giving her mother a rather annoyed sideways look.

Frieren grumbled a bit, realizing that her daughter was right; she already lost Himmel to the ravages of time, and she still regrets not simply living with him like a normal family with their daughter, but now she has to live with the fact that she didn't spend more of those precious times they had together as a family. It was one of her failings she realized too late, now she wants nothing more than to have Teufel with her at all times.

"But my answer will be no." Teufel continued with saying, earning a surprised look from Frieren, and a disappointed one from Serie. "I appreciate the offer, but for now, I am comfortable with traveling the continent with my mother." she remarked, earning an appreciative smile from Frieren.

Once Serie seated herself into her chair, she eventually smirked a bit at Teufel's simple explanation, "That's fine…" she mused, "But the offer still stands even a hundred or even a thousand years from now, I can wait." Serie smiled.

Teufel grumbled a bit, "You make it sound like a half elf's lifespan stretches as far as a normal elf's." she remarked, earning a chuckle from Serie and an amused look from Frieren, which made her look between the two, "What?" she asked the two.

Serie looked over at Frieren with an ever amused smirk, "You forgot to tell her, didn't you?" she probed the other elf for the answer.

Frieren shrugged, and gave Serie a plain look, "The topic never once came up." she answered.

Serie glanced back at Teufel, and rested her chin into her palm, while said half elf was giving her an expectant look, "I do not know where you got the notion that half elves do not share the same life expectancy as normal elves, but you are wrong." She informed the confused half elf

Serie began to tap at her cranium with her free hand after setting aside the books she carried under her arm with it, "The only difference half elves have with normal elfs, is that their minds and mentally develop faster. Essentially, they take from their human side the positive side effect of developed minds faster."

The elf then pointed at Teufel, "At your age, a normal elf would still act like a child, but since you were born of man and elf, you are given the benefits of both worlds." she informed the child of Frieren.

"...Ah…" Teufel realized, realizing her mother never did worry that she'd have to see her own daughter age and die before her eyes.

With the minor topic about elves and half elves finished for the time being, Teufel would spend the remaining day choosing which grimoire suited her the most, with the help of Serie explaining what spell did what and how far it matched what the half elf was looking for. By noon, both mother and daughter left the building, with Teufel carrying a book under her arm.

Seeing them off, Serie kept her smirk up as she watched Frieren and Teufel disappear from sight and leave the city; it wasn't long until a set of soft footsteps stopped beside her, letting her know Sense finished what she wanted to do and was now standing beside her.

"Let me guess…she denied the apprenticeship." Sense asked with a nonplussed look, not at all worried that her place beside Serie would ever be replaced. She was after all among a long line of apprentices that Serie took under her, so she would have been surprised if she was right that Serie wanted the half elf as an apprentice.

Especially given the circumstance of who the half elf came from, from the Great Mage Flamme, to the Demon Slayer Frieren, to now Teufel that has now proven that mathematics had a ground in magic.

Frowning a bit, with some stark annoyance marring her features, Serie shot her apprentice Sense a sideways glance, "Am I that predictable?" she questioned her.

Sense, allowing a soft smile of amusement to for once grace her features, still looked ahead while paying no mind to the look her master was giving her, "Master, you can be rather simple at times…" she answered, before excusing her to head back in.

"...These apprentices up mine are getting more sassy with each generation…." Serie grumbled to herself while looking off to the side with her annoyed look still present.