“Frieren, did you drool in your sleep?!”
“I didn’t.”
“Then what’s this on my sleeve?”
“Rod, don’t be so shameless! You’re a big kid now, stop wetting the bed!”
“Ugh, you can’t wet the bed and have it reach your arm!”
“Maybe it’s just how boys are!”
“That’s not true! Frieren is just dumb!”
“Rebound!”
“Rebound ineffective!”
Rod, while complaining about Frieren’s mischief, kicked her butt with his foot.
Frieren, in turn, stubbornly denied everything, kicking back with equal force.
As the two of them bickered like immature children, they headed towards the forest ahead, with the maids pretending not to see and stifling their laughter.
The forest trees were densely packed.
The lush foliage blocked out the sun, making the entire forest look dim.
The ground wasn’t ordinary soil; it was mostly giant exposed tree roots, making it quite unsteady to walk on.
Rod climbed to a higher point and reached out to pull Frieren, but she used magic to counterattack, deflecting his attempt with defensive magic.
“Ouch! What was that for?!”
Frieren, being the ultimate villain, complained first.
“It’s all your fault! The dragon aura you’re emitting is so strong that even a single monster or insect is nowhere to be seen in this vast forest.”
“Did you notice the Elder Wood Spirit we passed earlier?”
“It should have been charging at us with a menacing aura, but because of you, it was trembling and wishing it had two legs so it could run away!”
Rod adjusted his magic-eye glasses, pondering for a moment.
“Huh?”
“There’s something called an Elder Wood Spirit… I actually forgot about it!”
Wood Spirits, in simple terms, are trees that have become monsters.
Any tree that absorbs magic, mutates, and becomes capable of attacking humans is collectively known as a Wood Spirit.
Elder Wood Spirits are formed when small Wood Spirits absorb nourishment from the Fairy Spring in the heart of the great forest and mutate.
The Fairy Spring contains an extremely high concentration of magic. It’s said that this power allows Elder Wood Spirits to use water magic.
“If we planted Elder Wood Spirits along the sidewalks, wouldn’t we be able to eliminate the need for manual watering and maintenance of the greenery?”
“And if we planted larger Wood Spirits, Zombie Wood Spirits, and Stone Wood Spirits on the outer perimeter, wouldn’t they act as defensive fortifications?”
The more Rod thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. He patted Frieren on the shoulder approvingly.
“As expected of my teacher! You actually reminded me of this. I didn’t think you’d ever show such impressive wisdom!”
Frieren’s expression froze slightly. She cleared her throat and proudly puffed out her chest.
“Of course, I’m your Master after all. So you’re going to respect me and praise me more from now on, you hear me?!”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
For the rest of the journey, Frieren kept concentrating her magic and launching attacks on Rod from various angles.
Rod was slightly confused, but seeing how serious Frieren was, he decided to play along, treating it as a game.
Soon, Frieren realized that even if she used her strongest attacks, it was difficult to make Rod take her seriously.
While she felt discouraged, she couldn’t help but feel proud of Rod.
Frieren then changed her strategy. She hid in the shade, suppressed her magic, and kept moving further away, trying to find Rod’s magic-eye blind spot that she envied.
She cast spells, aimed at weak points, and got blocked every time.
If she continued this protracted battle, she would surely find a weakness… or so she thought.
“That’s enough!”
The two of them passed through the forest while engaging in their offensive and defensive maneuvers.
Beyond that lay –
Frieren glanced at the cliff behind them and nodded in satisfaction.
“Excellent, Rod, you’ve driven me to a dead end!”
Rod helplessly spread his hands, unhesitatingly exposing her mistake.
“It’s not like you’ve been driven to a dead end, you just took a wrong turn!”
“D-Don’t be so picky! Anyway, if you use magic, I won’t be able to beat you.”
“Oh? Teacher Frieren, you’ve become quite arrogant.”
Rod’s expression was playful as he put his hands in his pockets and chuckled.
“You mean that if I don’t use magic, you can beat me?”
“Yes, from now on, I won’t use even a drop of magic.”
Frieren said nothing.
A monstrous amount of magic, its seal broken, stirred up a whirlwind of air that reached for the heavens!
Silver hair danced in the air, her eyes gleaming with astonishing battle intent.
Rod narrowed his eyes, his smile fading.
“That’s quite a lot of magic… hmm, it’s about one-fifth of mine.”
This was not a sarcastic remark.
Frieren’s magic, suppressed for a thousand years, would make any mage sweat with despair.
However, Rod was a fantasy species even more unique than elves.
Right now, he possessed the power of the Thunder Dragon King!
Rod decided to respond to his teacher’s battle intent with all his strength and prepared to meet the impact.
But then, the next moment.
Frieren suddenly raised both her hands.
“I can’t do it. I surrender! I lost!”
“??? ”
“You seem to have so many weaknesses, but if I recklessly attack, I feel like my head will be gone the next moment.”
“How could I do such a thing to you?!”
As Rod complained helplessly, he walked towards Frieren.
“Alright… ”
But then, in the next instant, Frieren suddenly raised a challenging grin, unleashing a magic slash.
Even so, Rod could still react.
However, Frieren wasn’t targeting Rod, she was slashing at her own feet!
As Rod was taken aback, the ground beneath Frieren began to crumble.
“What the heck! You’re playing dirty?!”