"Oh? I didn't expect the exam site to be chosen here."
Fíliya looked around at the vast forest and lake, and couldn't help but exclaim.
"Hm? Is there a problem with this place?" Ehre asked curiously.
"Mm, no problem at all. I just used to play around here a lot when I was little, so it brings back fond memories." Fíliya said with a smile.
"So that means you're familiar with the terrain here, Fíliya? That means we've already seized the initiative." Wirbel pinched his chin, his thoughts quickly entering battle mode.
"Tsk, Wirbel, you're so boring... The surroundings are so beautiful, yet your mind is only on fighting." Fíliya looked at Wirbel with disdain.
"By the way, what's your favorite magic, Wirbel?"
Wirbel let out a cold laugh in response to Fíliya's question.
"Heh... Magic is just a tool for killing in the end. What's there to like or dislike about it?"
"So boring. This guy is truly dull! Listen up, Ehre, you absolutely must keep your distance from boring men like him, or you'll end up unhappy, you hear?" Fíliya mercilessly disparaged Wirbel's ideas. She wrapped an arm around Ehre, giving Miss Ehre's shoulder a pat.
"Mm... oh..." Ehre, still somewhat bewildered, just nodded, humoring Fíliya.
Fíliya then turned to mock Wirbel again.
"Wirbel, with an attitude like that, you'll never reach the profound realms of magic."
But Wirbel remained unfazed, his tone steady.
"I never intended to explore the profound realms of magic anyway. I just need enough strength... enough to battle the Demon Race."
Fíliya's brow furrowed, and she lowered her head, falling into thought.
In that instant, she suddenly became aware of something.
That was... not all mages, like her, pursued the highest realms of magic.
For most pragmatic mages, magic was indeed just a tool to achieve their goals.
"Mm... I truly was judging others by my own standards. It seems Sense was right; I truly do need to interact more with other mages and understand what 'magic' truly means to others in this world."
***
Soon, Genau led a group of examinees to the front of a massive magic barrier.
He first distributed an exquisite birdcage to all the teams, then gave the examinees a detailed explanation of this round's exam content.
"Within the area covered by this large barrier, lives a bird-type monster called the Meteoric Iron Bird. Your task is singular: find a way to catch a Meteoric Iron Bird, and then put it into the cage."
"There are two conditions for passing. First, by sunset tomorrow, you must possess a cage containing a Meteoric Iron Bird. Second, all members of your team must be present."
"During the exam, you may take any action. That is all."
After the brief explanation, Genau urged the examinees to enter.
"Oh? 'Any actions allowed'... does that mean examinees can slaughter each other? In that case, we might not need to look for those birds at all; we could just find a team that's caught one and snatch it."
"Of course, there's also a second option. Since 'all team members must be present' is a passing requirement, we could just assassinate other teams."
"As long as we manage to strike first and eliminate one enemy, their team will immediately lose its qualification to pass. They probably won't fight us to the bitter end either..."
"After all, these are just temporarily formed teams; they likely won't consider avenging teammates they've just met."
Wirbel immediately shot Ehre and Fíliya a look, but clearly, neither girl had any intention of engaging with him.
Fíliya immediately walked toward her target—Sense was standing beside Genau, waving at her.
As for Miss Ehre, she merely looked helplessly at Wirbel, then shook her head.
"Wirbel, everyone here is just a mage participating in an exam, not a mortal enemy..."
"I understand that your years of battling the Demon Race have made you accustomed to thinking this way, but let's not ambush others."
"Even if we snatch someone else's prey, let's fight honorably. We'll defeat them and then take their cage."
"Tsk... whatever, you're truly a naive kid." Wirbel scoffed dismissively, but ultimately compromised, agreeing to Miss Ehre's suggestion.
***
Fíliya and Sense merely nodded in greeting; their relationship was too intimate. After two seconds of eye contact with Sense, Fíliya then turned her gaze to the other First-Class Mage.
"Yo, Brother Falsch... long time no see."
That's right, the second person Fíliya greeted was the mild-mannered young man in glasses.
"Mm, welcome home, Fíliya."
Falsch slowly nodded.
Falsch was Fíliya's second acquaintance in the Magic Association, besides Sense.
After all, this 'motherly' figure had looked after her quite a bit during her time working at the Magic Association.
Of course, most importantly, the guy was an excellent cook. In Fíliya's estimation, only Solitär could surpass Falsch in cooking skill.
"Ahem..."
Just as Fíliya was greeting Falsch, the perpetually expressionless Genau suddenly coughed twice, unclear if he was hinting at something or trying to assert his presence.
"Hm? What's wrong? Did you get a fishbone stuck in your throat?" Fíliya asked curiously.
"Tsk..." Genau grumbled with a frustrated frown.
"He's probably asking why you're not greeting him." Falsch adjusted his glasses and glanced at Genau.
"Then I certainly can't greet him. Our ideas just don't align." Fíliya shrugged.
"Mm, true enough... Genau, if you want others to greet you, I think you should first put away that sour face of yours." Falsch turned to remind Genau.
Feeling consciously snubbed, Genau fell completely silent, no longer bothering with them.
"Alright, then, what exactly is this 'additional test' for me? So secretive, and you had to wait until the very end to tell me." Fíliya asked curiously.
"Within this large barrier, there are three hundred Meteoric Iron Birds in total. Other teams only need to catch one to pass, but Lady Serie's instruction is for you to catch all the remaining Meteoric Iron Birds, regardless of how many the other teams capture."
___
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