Frieren 13

Title: The World Five Hundred Years Ago

That night, the two drank a lot of wine. The next day, thanks to her efforts, Cassie successfully left the military.

On the same day, Ash parted ways with her in the snowy plains.

Standing in place, Cassie watched the familiar figure slowly fade into the distance, then muttered to herself, “Sir Ash… you’re truly pitiful.”

(Pitiful? Me? Why? Because I’m different?) —A familiar voice carried by the wind from behind confused her.

But Ash paid it no mind. He simply walked away. After leaving Cassie’s sight, he asked the system to perform a miracle—travel to the world five hundred years ago.

In the vast snowy plains, a figure suddenly appeared and slowly landed in the snow.

“What the heck, why am I still in this place? But… I heard the mage closest to the goddess, Serie, is in the south. There are just too many suspicious locations… Hmm, looks like I’ll have to take my time searching for her.”

Ash irritably pulled out a map marked with numerous points.

Though there were too many suspicious locations, he could only search them one by one… Fortunately, as a demon, he had plenty of time.

The world five hundred years ago wasn’t much different from his time.

At least according to Ash, technological progress during this period was nearly nonexistent, and magic was far less advanced. Clearly, humans hadn’t yet begun studying magic widely.

So, he kept training while searching for Serie’s whereabouts.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Six months later,

Deep within majestic ruins made of neatly arranged giant stones, still standing strong despite their age, a faint beam of light pierced through the dust of time, illuminating a corner at the far end.

There, stacks of books taller than a person were piled up, and at the end of this sea of books, his gaze finally landed on the long-awaited target.

On a large stone chair resembling a king’s throne, a petite elf woman with long ears and golden hair lounged in an utterly unrefined posture. Propping her chin with one hand, she looked with great interest at the guest slowly approaching the steps.

“You must be Serie, the mage closest to the goddess on this continent.”

“You’re really interesting. This is the first time I’ve seen a demon like this, and…” Serie grinned, showing a playful smile as she observed him. “Even though you know who I am, you still dare to show up in front of me? Are you here to challenge me?”

“No, I came to seek guidance.”

“Ridiculous. A demon asking for my guidance. Though I’m an elf, I’m broadly considered human, and we’re sworn enemies of demons. You’re asking me for guidance? Is your head okay? Wait, you don’t even have horns—something’s definitely wrong with you, right? We’re two completely opposing races!”

“…What you’re saying makes sense, but I think I’m normal. Besides—at least I know you don’t want world peace, do you?”

“Oh?” Ash’s firm statement made Serie narrow her eyes.

“If you wanted it, you could’ve achieved it long ago.”

“You sound like you know me well.”

“I did a bit of research.”

“I can tell. You’ve killed a lot of people. Why should I teach you magic?”

“Honestly, I’m puzzled about that too.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?”

“I have to try first.”

“…Good, I like that.” After a long silence, Serie burst into laughter, slapping her thigh:

“—I’ll see what kind of demon I can train.”

“Uh… though it’s weird for me to ask, isn’t this a bit odd?” Though Ash had somewhat expected this from his research, such a reason still stunned him.

“It’s interesting, isn’t that enough? Tell me what magic you want—anything goes!”

“Anything?”

“Then, immortality magic.”

“No such magic exists.” The moment he said it, Serie shot back with wide eyes. “If it did, would humans still die?”

“…Then how about this.” Ash closed his eyes and thought for a moment, recalling his biggest problem on the battlefield—as a mage, his body was too weak!

So, he asked, “Is there magic that can make my body as strong as a warrior’s?”

“In the Mythical Era, the magic you’re asking for did exist.”

“Really?”

“Yes. That magic allowed mages to freely transform their magic and unleash combat strength equivalent to a warrior of the same level. It was a very useful spell. In critical moments, its surprise effect was excellent, but…”

“But?”

“I can’t do it.” After pondering for a long time, Serie casually spread her hands, making Ash barely resist the urge to hit her. “Wait, what? Didn’t you say you could do anything?”

“I’ve mastered almost all human magic, but ‘almost’ isn’t ‘all.’ Besides, this magic wasn’t created by humans—it was made by high-level demons. I’ve studied it for thousands of years and still haven’t succeeded. But I can give you all my research results through Transaction Magic.”

Transaction Magic allowed someone to fully transfer their magic to another, at the cost of losing that magic themselves. Even if the magic was incomplete, Serie could still pass it on.

Though Ash initially wanted to complain again, since it was magic from high-level demons, he couldn’t say much.

After all, unique magic mastered by high-level demons was fundamentally impossible for humans to learn, because—the magic of other races and demon magic were essentially different.

Humans, including elves, only tried to mimic the effects of demon magic. But the casting process was vastly different. Many things couldn’t be replicated.

Generally, while they could study the principles of casting, they lacked the magical organs of demons. Especially for high-level demons, their uniqueness made it utterly impossible for humans to replicate.