15

It was definitely going to be one of those days, Datei was already feeling it as he worked with his co-worker Holz; both wore pressed uniforms, as the two of them worked in registering each Mage that lined up for the upcoming exam. There were the other four, but Datei was more familiar in working alongside his friend Holz on every given day they walked in through the front doors of the building.

"Next." Datei droned on after stamping a mage's papers and handed it back to them, and corrected his monocle over his eye. Being in his early forties, he was feeling his age creeping up on him.

As Datei accepted the papers from the next mage in line, and went over the names with keen eyes, he stamped the paper and handed it back to the mage and directed them away for him to accept the next one in line, "Next!" He hollered out.

"You think this influx of mages is here because of Serie?" Holz spoke up beside him, while the both of them worked around the clock to get every mage registered.

While his eyes were still focused on the next mage's document, Datei spoke aloud, "Most likely…" He answered with a drawl, "Next!"

As soon as Holz finished one stamp of approval on a mage's document, another took their place immediately after, "Really, that's all you got to say?" He remarked to his friend with a wry smirk, giving him a sideways glance in the process, before looking back at his work, "Next!" he hollered.

Datei offered a shrug back at his friend, "What else is there to say?" he retorted, "Nex-oh, Miss Frieren, we were expecting you." he greeted with a formal bow of his head towards the aforementioned mage. He had seen her before when she came in with her daughter not too long ago; their research mages were still poring over the notes her daughter managed to compile over the years.

Frieren, one of the remaining people left from the hero party, was at his front desk. "This is good, with a third grade mage rank, you can apply later for a first grade mage status…if you pass the upcoming test that is." he added with a wry smirk and held his hand out for the Mage to hand her papers over.

Frieren seemed to want to be anywhere but here, or something else he did not know of; from behind the elf, her daughter gently pushed her mother forward, "Go on mother, it's a simple and quick process." she encouraged.

"...Fine…" Frieren moped, amusing Datei that someone as great as Frieren the slayer had her own hang-ups and annoyances with paperwork.

The mage handed her papers over to Datei with a dour look on her face. Datei accepted the paper, quickly looking over everything to make sure it all checked out. "All good!" he announced, before stamping it and handing it back. "And you?" He questioned the two girls that accompanied her.

The daughter offered hers first, allowing Datei to look at it as well, who nodded before giving the papers their stamp as well and handed them back, "Good luck." he bid the daughter.

Right before he could holler next, the purple-haired girl that accompanied the mother and daughter was already up at the desk, reaching up like the Teufel girl to hand her papers over, "Ah, thank you!" he professed as he went through the same process for her papers and stamped them and handed them back, "Have fun!" He said, trying to be nice, and earning a small smile from the girl.

"Next!" he hollered while the three females walked off with their approved papers.

As Datei continued through the motions of stamping the rest of the mages' paperwork, his friend Holz spoke up with a surprised tone, "I…I didn't wake up expecting to see more than one legend today…" He said while focusing on his own work.

Datei nodded in agreement, now he just wondered what sort of mage test would be held.

Frieren

She didn't know why she listened to her daughter and student, but after Teufel insisted she at least apply herself to get some documentation for the present era, she was teamed up on by her cute little apprentice wanting to see how her teacher fared in the third grade mage test.

It wasn't fair.

Looking up from her now notarized papers for the test, Frieren could see from afar the two half elves and human mages were still in line. When she asked what the name of the half elves' elf parent was, they provided the name 'Kraft'.

She made sure to remember the name, there was a chance she came across him.

Looking around the place a bit more, she noticed Serie was up on the second floor, leaning against the railing with that smug look on her face; she didn't know what she had that expression for, the first time she delivered her master Flamme's note to Serie, she refused Flamme's death wish.

And now here she was, the head of the organization of mages, a hypocrite and liar.

That, or she changed her mind over the years, it was a major possibility.

Serie

"Master." Sense spoke, her footsteps making soft sounds as Serie's student approached her from the side, prompting her to stand away from the rails and direct her attention to her apprentice, "Ah, Sense, I take it Felson agreed to let me take over the test?" she asked, earning a gentle nod from Sense.

"Indeed." Sense replied, her expression remaining dull and passive, before glancing to the side in thought, "Though, I think it was for the best he handed it off to you, he seemed to have been under immense pressure involving more mages to proctor than he expected when I confronted him." she explained to her master.

Serie offered an amused smirk, "Then it was his lucky day." she remarked, before making her way back to the rails, "Let's see…. it looks like all of the mage aspirants have finished applying for the exam." she announced, earning a nod from her apprentice as Serie walked over and glanced down at the first floor filled with mages and admins.

Waiting for a bit to let the mages group up for one reason or another, Serie smirked as she used a spell to let her voice be heard widely across the entire room, "Settle down now." she ordered, earning a quick reaction as every mage looked up at her, all giving her varying degrees of awe and surprise.

Passing her gaze along the crowd, she continued to speak, "Good." She announced, as the hushed murmurs quieted down enough for her to fully speak without being interrupted, "Now, while I know this third grade mage exam is not supposed to be anywhere as difficult as a first grade mage exam is, there should be, at the very least, a certain pedestal to hold a third grade mage to. Correct?" she spoke to the crowd, earning quite a few nods.

Serie continued to speak with a mirthful smile, "And don't you worry." She began by saying, her eyes swept across the crowd of mages, "I have nothing in mind that involves possible death." She joked with a rueful smile, earning a few nervous laughs and coughs.

The rumors and tales of how difficult the First Grade mage exams her apprentices host do spread quite a bit, of course; she was curious how her apprentice Sense would host her first test…perhaps she'd let her host a second grade mage test first….

"Now," Serie began as she walked towards the stairway down to the main floor, "Please make your way to the back exit, we have a nice outside testing ground where I know we can put your magic skills to the test."

While Serie was making her way down the stairs with Sense trailing not far behind her, she spotted Frieren and her two little ones heading off to follow the crowd to the back, "Frieren, I want you to stay behind." she announced, earning quite a few head turns looking where she was eyeing Frieren.

"Oh my. That's Frieren!?"

"So she is an elf!"

"Hey, she looks just like that statue in my hometown!"

"Holy Goddess! It's Frieren the Slayer!"

"I was right! She is Frieren!"

"Told you she was her!"

Serie was amused at the various reactions, but that was not why she called out Frieren amongst the crowd of mages…well, part of it was. She wanted to use Frieren as a good benchmark, that is, if she knew how to hold herself back in the test; oh Serie knew Frieren was better than any of the other aspiring third grade mages, but if Frieren has been slacking in controlling her mana, she'd be surely disappointed.

"Move along now!" Serie urged the other mages, making a flippant gesture with her hand once she reached the first floor, prompting them to get going.

Serie couldn't help but smirk at the annoyed expression Frieren was giving her, "Oh relax." she chided as she approached the other elf, eyeing her two little girls. "You two can get going." she encouraged them, smirking all the while as she stood across from Frieren.

Teufel glanced up at her mother, who nodded at her before she departed with Fern following close behind.

Serie watched the two leave, and once they were out of earshot, she looked back at Frieren with a smirk, "Curious as to why I singled you out?" she asked.

Frieren blinked back with a bored look, before answering her, "I can think of a few reasons, but I don't see why you had to do what you did earlier." she pointed out.

Serie expressed amusement toward the other elf, "Simple, I want to see how far you've progressed in controlling your mana, to see what the apprentice of Flamme has accomplished other than killing the Demon Lord in her lifetime." she explained.

"Hmm." Frieren frowned in thought, before speaking up, "Sounds annoying…" she stated with a displeased look.

Serie chuckled with mirth, before replying to Frieren, "Oh? I figured you'd be more than willing to show how well a third grade mage can cast a spell, set the bar for the standard of what the grade should expect out of all mages." She challenged her.

"Hm…not really." Frieren shook her hand, frowning a bit, "Never really cared for expectations." she revealed.

Serie tutted at Frieren, then spoke her mind, "Really, Frieren, is it so hard to at least show some imagination for other mages to dream of attaining? Is it so hard to think of what years of experience shows?"

Freiren offered a hapless shrug, "But that's the thing, Serie, I've lived longer than any of those human mages, it's not quite fair to make them assume that I should be a benchmark." she rebuked.

"Oh? Then tell me, how many times have you been beaten by a human mage?" Serie challenged, only to get the question thrown back at her.

"That depends, how many times have you lost against a human?" Frieren retorted.

With a frown, Serie gave the other elf a momentary glare, "Look, Frieren. We can argue all day…" she began to pace around the other elf, circling around her to stand beside her with a sideways glance, "Or, you can help by at least showing a good Zoltraak spell. I hear that it's all the mages use these days. Try and show them a few low mana cost spells that can do immense damage!" she requested, insistent on getting the other elf to show the other mages how it's done.

"Then why don't you?" Frieren shot back, making Serie frown in annoyance and walk away from the elf.

"Fine, then perhaps I'll use that first apprentice of yours!" Serie suggested, pausing in her steps to peer over her shoulder with a smug look, "For a young girl such as her, I felt quite the measure of control of mana from her, and at such a young age! Definitely a good benchmark to show any mage can fire a Zoltraak at her age….that is, if she mastered it completely."

Turning around fully to see Frieren actually measuring her options, judging by the look on her face, she pushed her further, "Or perhaps…I'll use your daugh-"

"No," Frieren stated flatly, giving Serie a stern look, "Serie, I am proud enough that Fern has mastered her Zoltraak spell, but I don't want to pressure her to be an example." She explained, face flush with concern. "But really, must you drag my daughter into this?" she questioned, giving the other elf a disapproving frown.

Serie backed up a bit while giving Frieren an apologetic look, "What can I say, I've been wanting to see how well you did in teaching either of those girls. So which is it, you, or those girls of yours?" She offered.

Frieren sighed to herself, and looked to Serie with a frown, "I knew signing myself up for this test was trouble." she grumbled in distaste, before answering Serie fully, "I am proud enough and confident that Fern can successfully fire off a Zoltraak, but I'm not sure if Fern works well under pressure." she explained.

Serie offered an amused smile in reaction to Frieren's choice, "Excellent, and this will be that test for her then. All mages at a certain level will eventually need to work under pressure, and I believe this test will reveal what your apprentice can handle."

Fern

While the clamoring and idle talk persisted amongst the crowd of mages outside the back of the building, where one could see evidence of many testings have been done involving spells, Fern on the other hand paid more attention with the discussion she was having with Teufel.

"So is this the place Serie had you show your spells at?" She questioned the half elf, who nodded.

"It is." Teufel stated simply, gesturing over at the obelisk in the distance that showed signs of burn marks, "She more or less had me fire my spells at something like that over there, to prove my spells worked." she informed her young friend.

"I see…" Fern noted as she peered at the object in question, "do you-" she was about to ask more, before the voice of that elf Serie stopped her from speaking any further.

"Alright, now that you are all out here-" Serie's voice carried across the crowd, prompting both Fern and Teufel to listen her, "I'll be having all of you cast a specific spell, and I want to see the best you can do with it." she instructed.

Fern grew concerned, other than a few minor spells, her only good offensive spell, if that's what would be tested, was Zoltraak. She leaned over to whisper to Teufel, "this isn't good, I hope-"

Serie's next choice of words silenced Fern's worries, "I want to see you all perform a perfect Zoltraak, a spell that has become almost a staple to any mage's repertoire in the past few decades. Fern, please come up front."

Surprised at the change of circumstances, Fern jumped a bit at being called out, before being patted on her shoulder by Teufel, probably to reassure her. Fern nodded to Teufel with a grateful smile, and made her way through the crowd, "Excuse me…pardon me." her young voice carried into the crowd.

Teufel

Pushing her way through the crowd as well, she wanted to at least see the attempt by Fern. The girl had been earnestly training many years to get the spell down pat, so Teufel assumed the test was in the bag for her. 'That begs the question though, what's the perfect Zoltraak spell that Serie is wanting to see?' Teufel asked herself.

She was more than able to cast the spell without a problem.

As the young half elf made her way to the front, she was already hearing whispers among the mages, such as "She's so young!" to "No way a young girl can cast the spell." If Teufel was being truthful with herself, it felt like some scene straight out of a shonen anime. A young up and coming kid training their best to surpass expectation, and deliver with explosive results.

Thinking back on her second life, and reflecting on that last thought, perhaps she too had a slice of that experience….she had been too involved in trying to study and figure out a way to get a high position away from the frontlines.

Stupid Being X…at least he should not be able to show up now, if that Goddess was being truthful…but that certainly didn't mean she'd trust the words of some deity. She already had enough dealing with meddlers such as them, and it would be a cold day in hell before she let down her guard to that Goddess if she ever showed up again.

But if she was being truthful with herself, the elven looking Goddess was at the very least amicable…bar the abrupt ceasing of her spells against the Goddess; figures the deity of this world would know better than to let her own people fire at her with her own spells.

'Feels like there's more to that than I know, but I can't place my finger on it,' Were Teufel's inner thoughts as she eventually made it to the front of the crowd, just barely missing the sideways look she was being given by that pair of half elves and their human friend. 'Ah, so that's where they are.' she mused as she turned her focus back to the front.

Witnessing the scene ahead of her unfold, she watched as Fern approached Serie with Frieren standing not far from the other elf. "So little one, how old are you?" Serie questioned Fern with a brimming smirk.

Fern looked a bit surprised, before answering the elf, "Ah, oh, I've just turned thirteen, miss Serie." her human friend replied back to Serie in a polite tone.

"Where's she going with this?" Teufel mused with a narrowed gaze.

Serie grinned wider, before speaking again, "Interesting…and you can fire off a Zoltraak, correct?" she asked her next question.

Fern nodded to the elf, "Indeed I can!" She responded, before making her staff appear in her small hands.

"It still looks a bit comical for a small child such as her to hold such a big stick…" Teufel reflected. Then again, she had her own equally sized staff…

Serie's smirk widened, while the crowd made murmurs of disbelief, "Excellent, now I want you to fire one off at that stone wall over there, as quick as you can…I'll give you ten seconds to prepare yourself." she warned.

'So…perhaps Serie wants to put Fern in the spotlight? Show that if they can't fire a Zoltraak better than a child, then they fail?' Teufel mused, palming her chin in thought on what Serie was doing with Fern.

"Right!" Fern answered with determination and stepped into place, holding her staff at the ready.

"There's no way-" A random mage aloud, before he was proven wrong, as Fern fired off a Zoltraak into her designated target.

Bweem, BOOOM!

Serie looked quite amused, while that apprentice of hers, Sense, spoke up on her behalf, "That was…a good one and half seconds of casting time, Master Serie." she spoke up.

Serie smiled at her apprentice gratefully, before giving the rest of the assembled mages a smug look, "As you can see, this will be a benchmark. If you can't fire off the same spell that a mere child can at her age, then perhaps you're going to need to start back at the basics…" she explained, giving the entire crowd a firm gaze. "Her precision and casting time are still in much need of improvement, but with time, I do expect her to improve. That's what I expect out of all of you, to improve if you don't measure up and fail."

The crowd began talking in hushed whispers after that, while Teufel listened to the conversation between Serie and Fern.

"I look forward to when you come for the first grade mage exams." Serie told Fern, before ushering her over to stand with Teufel's mother.

With Teufel, she was fortunate she had trained more than enough times with the spell, but it remained to be seen what the other mages would be able to accomplish.