Frieren: Serie's Apprentice

"What's the big deal."

"So what if I've embarked on the path to godhood? Life still has to go on as usual."

Just as Gut was crouching by the roadside muttering quietly, the elf behind him suddenly stepped forward, kicked his butt with her toe, and asked in a cold tone:

"What are you mumbling about?"

"I told you to call a carriage—it's been so long and one still hasn't arrived?"

"Can't help it." Gut patted his butt and stood up from the ground, spreading his hands and looking helplessly at the empty street before them.

"As you can see, the streets are this deserted today. I can't exactly get on all fours and be your carriage, can I?"

"Sounds like something you'd do," Serie said mercilessly.

Gut: ...

"Teacher, if you talk like that, I'm going to get upset."

The elf couldn't help but smile. Seeing this, she stopped teasing her disciple and patted Gut's shoulder, saying: "Since we can't wait for a carriage, let's just walk there."

"The time difference won't be too much anyway. We'll just let Little Ronny and the others wait a bit."

"Mm."

Since his teacher had made the decision, Gut accompanied the elf as they walked toward the Ronny Magic Equipment Shop.

That morning, the teacher and disciple had an in-depth discussion about staffs.

Although the elf still looked at Gut's strange staff with disdain, she had to admit it was indeed suitable for Gut.

A staff that could transform into a greatsword for close combat paired with a "brute force mage" who could twist door handles into iron balls with his bare hands—it was surprisingly fitting.

However, while this staff was impeccable in its forging materials and magical circuits, it appeared extremely crude in design.

According to Serie's exact words, it was like mass-produced standard equipment, lacking much customizable adjustment.

Therefore, the elf suggested that Gut take this staff to Ronny Magic Equipment Shop again. With the dwarven craftsmen's exquisite skills, they should be able to bring improvements to the staff.

Facing his teacher's suggestion, Gut naturally agreed.

Moreover, although the elf didn't say it directly, from her tone Gut could sense that his teacher also quite wanted to see this old friend.

As a disciple, Gut naturally wouldn't obstruct his teacher's meeting with an old friend. What would obstruct them, however, was the "shortcut" Serie had currently chosen.

Under her disciple's strong intervention, even Great Mage Serie had to listen to his opinion and choose to take a "detour" to reach their destination.

Gut's insistence wasn't unreasonable troublemaking.

After all, the so-called "detour" was merely walking a few more blocks.

But if they chose that "shortcut" that passed through the marketplace, as long as they encountered any antique-related stalls, the time consumed would be endless.

Upon learning she couldn't go through the marketplace along the way, the elf's expression visibly soured considerably.

Not only did she puff her cheeks in dissatisfaction, she also turned her head away from Gut's side, deliberately ignoring this disciple.

[Serie (Cold Face).jpg]

Teacher so cute.

However, for the sake of harmonious teacher-student relations, and Gut really did have a cultivation question he wanted to ask the "magical old-timer."

Therefore, after signing an "unequal treaty" promising to give his teacher shoulder and neck massages twice and make another ice cream, the elf finally agreed to stop being sulky with her disciple.

"Ask whatever you want to ask. For the sake of the benefits you promised, I'll answer seriously."

"Then teacher, does a magic's power really have an upper limit?"

"Or rather, even for a great mage like you, the power you can display with the same magic wouldn't be much stronger than an ordinary mage?"

After listening to her disciple's confusion, a gleam flashed in Serie's eyes, but she still responded in a bland tone.

"Isn't this common knowledge in the human magical world? Even if I haven't taught you, you should have heard it from other mages, right?"

"As long as magical power supply can keep up, whether a great mage or an apprentice mage, the power of the same magic they cast won't show qualitative differences. What truly determines superiority is the magic that mages have mastered."

"But I don't believe it."

Gut answered very decisively. "That's just common knowledge in the human magical world, not your understanding, teacher."

"Tsk-tsk—"

The elf, who was usually emotionally indifferent, now showed a very obvious smile on her face.

"Gut, you finally have the appearance I like."

"Only this kind of ambition to explore magic's peak is worthy of your aptitude, worthy of being a disciple I've taught."

Gut: "So can I understand this as teacher liking me?"

However, facing her disciple's keyword extraction, Serie didn't respond, only continuing to speak:

"Logically speaking, a mage of your level shouldn't have access to such things yet."

"But to satisfy your curiosity, I can tell you."

"Then thank you, teacher?"

Serie's pace slowed slightly, and even her expression when speaking became more serious than before.

"The history of human research into demon magic can be said to be vast and mighty."

"Everyone exists within history. During this time, many mages, through their own efforts or luck, have touched the pinnacle of magic."

"However, standing at the pinnacle of a magic, while able to produce excellent effects, they also fall into a predicament where they can advance no further. If they want to continue improving their strength, it seems they can only cultivate other magic, relying on quantity to win."

"But actually, what human mages call their limits isn't the true upper limit of a magic."

"In the hands of the demons who created magic, they can rely on their racial talents to continuously push a magic to greater heights through time's accumulation."

"Therefore, most demons actually only major in one magic their entire lives. Many curses we define were originally just in the category of magic in their early stages."

"Magic ten years from now will definitely be better than now—this is a maxim circulating within their race, and also the cultivation portrait of most demon mages."

Hearing this, Gut asked further: "Teacher, then does demon cultivation of a magic also have limits?"

For this question, Serie thought for a while before answering.

"Perhaps."

"Judging only from the few I've fought, although their magic still gradually improves with time's accumulation, the annual increase has dropped to a negligible degree."

"In a sense, even demons probably have limits."

"I see." Gut stroked his chin, thinking.

According to his teacher's explanation, the purple-grade talent trait Magical Seeker had the effect of breaking through ordinary human mages' talent limitations, enabling the activator to cultivate magic to a degree similar to demon mages.

That is, having the qualification to cultivate curses, or to cultivate ordinary magic into curses.

And the upgraded gold-grade trait Magical Transcender meant having the qualification to break even demons' limits.

Theoretically, the trait owner could cultivate magic within the current magical framework to a degree that even the demons who created the magic couldn't understand.

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Powerstones?

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