"Hiss..."
Fíliya gasped upon hearing this.
"Hah?! A three-person team only needs to catch one to pass... but I need to catch the remaining two hundred plus? Has Serie gone insane?"
Fíliya shouted with a face full of shock.
"Watch your language. Disrespect towards Lady Serie will not be tolerated."
Genau finally found a chance to speak, his tone sounding quite displeased.
Although Falsch and Sense were not as direct as Genau, they clearly frowned slightly as well.
"Alright, alright, I was wrong. I was just too shocked just now... pretend I didn't say anything."
Fíliya spread her hands. She knew these First-Class Mages revered Serie, so she really shouldn't have badmouthed her in front of them... Hmm, consider this a lesson in emotional intelligence. Fíliya quickly found a way to excuse herself in her mind.
"We also felt that such a test was too harsh, so we raised questions to Lady Serie at the time. But Lady Serie told us that for the current you, this test is not an 'Impossible Mission'... Lady Serie also said she looks forward to your performance."
Falsch pushed his glasses as he spoke—a habitual small gesture of his.
"Tsk..."
Hearing this, Fíliya clicked her tongue.
I see. So nothing can be hidden from that God of Magic... We haven't even met yet, but that eternal shut-in probably saw through my entire background while hiding in her room, didn't she? Honestly...
However, fellows like Solitär and Frieren who have lived for over a thousand years can spread their Mana Detection over dozens of kilometers... A boss-level character like Serie covering a few hundred or even a thousand kilometers is possible... Tsk, is living a long time that amazing?
After grumbling inwardly, Fíliya finally raised her head.
"Fine, I'll accept this mission. It's been a long time since I got serious anyway."
Fíliya chuckled lightly, then gave Sense a reassuring look before returning to her team.
*
"Did you fish out any useful intelligence?"
Wirbel asked immediately upon seeing her return.
"No. Little Wirbel, can you drop that utilitarian mindset for a moment? Honestly."
Fíliya looked at Wirbel helplessly.
Seeing this, Wirbel stopped talking. Of course, neither he nor Ehre would commit the offense of asking what Fíliya was discussing with the examiners. Not just them, but all the examinees present could tell at a glance that Fíliya was a local "connection hire." After all, Fíliya was currently wearing the same Association uniform as the First-Class Mages.
But the Continental Magic Association was the most recognized and prestigious magic organization on the continent, so Wirbel was certain Fíliya wouldn't receive special treatment due to her status... Judging by the grave expression on her face when she returned, this guy might have actually received... an additional mission different from the general examinees.
However, for this monster, the task of catching a Meteoric Iron Bird (Stille) was indeed a bit too simple.
Thinking of this, Wirbel finally opened his narrowed eyes slowly.
"Alright, let's hurry up and enter the barrier."
*
"Hoh, these people sure ran away fast enough."
Fíliya watched the teams that fled immediately upon entering the exam site and couldn't help but shake her head with a sigh.
"Isn't that normal? Once we enter the exam site, everyone becomes an enemy. In this situation, prioritizing putting distance between ourselves and other teams is the wise choice."
Ehre said casually.
"That's true too. Let's head deeper then. As for catching the bird..."
Fíliya paused here, seemingly thinking of something, then looked at Wirbel.
"This mission is really too simple for us. Wirbel, you can easily catch one with that magic of yours, right?"
Fíliya was referring, of course, to that "Visual Restraint Magic." Fíliya had quite an impression of this magic.
One only needed to see the target's whole body to suppress them into immobility. It could be described as a very efficient type of magic.
"Naturally. If the content of the test was just to catch a Meteoric Iron Bird and be done... we could almost say victory is guaranteed."
Wirbel's tone was flat.
"Mm, that is indeed the case. So the real danger actually comes from other teams? Even though they could have set the test to complete immediately upon catching a Meteoric Iron Bird, they limited it so we must wait until tomorrow evening to turn it in... This is simply actively forcing the examinees to fight each other."
Miss Ehre was obviously not a naive sweet girl; she immediately understood Wirbel's meaning.
"Mm... but if a fight really breaks out, the other teams should be the ones afraid of us."
Saying this, Wirbel couldn't help but sneer as he looked at Fíliya.
He always had a vague feeling—a fact only perceivable by those who had walked the edge of life and death for years—that Miss Ehre was obviously lacking in this regard.
Although they were teammates, whenever Wirbel stood next to Fíliya, his instincts were constantly warning him: this woman is very dangerous.
If this woman wanted to kill him... Wirbel was shocked to discover that he couldn't imagine any possibility of his survival.
By the same token, if this woman went to kill other teams, he also couldn't imagine how those teams would survive.
No matter how you looked at it... he could just coast to victory this time, right?
Wirbel breathed a sigh of relief at this thought.
Just then, the three suddenly heard a violent explosion. Miss Ehre couldn't help but tremble for half a second at the commotion.
"Wh... What's the situation?! We've only been in here for a moment; have teams started fighting already?"
Ehre said with a face full of shock.
"No, that's the sound of a Meteoric Iron Bird flying."
Fíliya quickly stood beside Miss Ehre and patted her shoulder to comfort her.
"Huh?"
Miss Ehre looked shocked. She immediately recalled the image of the Meteoric Iron Bird when the examiners displayed it earlier.
"That tiny little bird... can actually create such a commotion?!"
Ehre murmured in disbelief.
"Ehre, I think you need to brush up on your knowledge of monsters. Does the magic school really only teach magic?"
Fíliya looked at Ehre helplessly, then continued to explain.
"Where do you think the words 'Meteoric Iron' in its name come from... The flight speed of this little thing is exaggeratedly fast, enough to directly generate a sonic boom. To match this exaggerated flight speed, its body strength is naturally also exaggeratedly high... If this thing were just a bit larger, it would be a highly dangerous high-level monster."
___
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