Seven days later, Shichen and the others finally arrived at their destination.
They could have arrived in about four days, but Furalme wasn't in a hurry to get there so early; she was very interested in the scenery along the way.
She hadn't seen her master in a long time, and the scenery along the way had changed so much that she was reluctant to miss it.
Shichen also wanted to spend more time with the two of them, regardless of the occasion, so he didn't mind.
However, Frieren kept complaining the whole way, wanting to reach the destination quickly and lie down like a corpse, as she walked for most of the day every day.
She had never walked so much before; it was too tiring for her.
Unfortunately, Shichen and Furalme completely ignored her.
If Shichen hadn't carried her for a while, she might have truly laid down on the spot and refused to move.
"Is this where Grandmaster lives?" Shichen asked curiously, carrying Frieren on his back and examining the stone-built cave entrance before him.
The cave entrance was unremarkable, with no sense of mystery or atmosphere, nor any protective measures.
However, inside the cave, Shichen sensed a vast magical power.
This magic was no less powerful than the Fourth Progenitor.
"Master doesn't care about external appearances, and with her personally present, everything else is irrelevant," Furalme explained with a smile.
"That's true."
In this world, magic is an incredibly convenient thing; if you know all kinds of magic, you essentially lack nothing.
"Let's go, let's head inside," Furalme said, leading the way into the stone cave.
"Frieren, wake up, it's time to see Grandmaster," Shichen said, gently shaking Frieren on his back.
"Mmm…" Frieren groggily opened her eyes, then closed them again.
Shichen shook his head with a smile and followed Furalme.
Frieren wasn't heavy, not even as heavy as his schoolbag when he was in junior high, and her slender limbs were cool to the touch, making it quite comfortable to have her arms around his neck and her legs tucked at his sides.
Upon entering the stone cave, there was a world of its own; unlike the dark entrance, it was exceptionally bright and vast inside, looking just like a palace.
The floor was made of stone slabs, and the surroundings had stone walls and stone pillars, much like Shichen's imagination of ruins.
Shichen thought of the big boss's room when entering the final level in a game; Serie was indeed a big boss in a sense.
After walking with Furalme for not long, Shichen distantly saw the end ahead, where there were mountains of books, all of them magic books.
And in front of the mountains of magic books, there was a damaged stone seat, on which sat a petite girl.
She had striking bright golden hair, and her ears were long and pointed on both sides; like Frieren, she was an elf.
However, compared to her elven appearance, the arrogant smile on her delicate face was even more captivating.
Her sitting posture was equally arrogant; she wore a coat, with one leg crossed, one hand resting on her knee, supporting her chin, watching Shichen and their arrival with abandon.
Lazy yet domineering, like a demon king.
She was the pinnacle of mages, the Great Mage who had lived since the Age of Mythology, the elf closest to the omniscient and omnipotent goddess, Serie.
Furalme was the first to reach the steps; she knelt on one knee and respectfully called out in a low voice, "Master."
"Furalme," Serie's expression remained unchanged, looking at Furalme with a cold smile.
Shichen, carrying Frieren on his back, came to Furalme's side; he glanced at her, then thought for a moment, and decided not to kneel on one knee like her.
Furalme didn't say anything either.
"What's wrong with these two? Are they your disciples?" Serie asked, staring intently at Shichen.
"Yes."
"Heh heh, time really flies; the disciple I impulsively took in back then is now bringing a grand-disciple."
Serie rose from the stone seat, barefoot, and slowly approached Shichen; she glanced at Frieren on his back.
"Oh, an elf, of my own kind."
"Master, his name is Shichen, and the one Shichen is carrying is Frieren."
"Very good."
Serie didn't look at Frieren much but instead looked at Shichen with a wild smile, and in her golden pupils, there seemed to be a fighting spirit.
Shichen truly felt it; indeed, Furalme had been right.
However, it was also normal; Serie sought opponents, and he hadn't hidden his magic power; with a magic power that rivaled hers, it would be strange if she didn't feel a fighting spirit.
But more than her rising fighting spirit, Shichen was more concerned about something else; just now, the "her" in his mind spoke.
[Divine fragment host detected!]
[Target: Serie.]
[Quest: Engage her in combat, defeat her, and conquer her to collect the divine fragment.]
It was one thing for Serie to have a divine fragment, but the quest was actually like this.
What did "conquer her" mean?
Are you peeking into my thoughts?
By the way, why doesn't Master have a divine fragment?
Are you looking down on her?
"Grandmaster," Shichen ignored Serie's fighting spirit and called out softly.
"Heh~" Serie sneered and made a move, asking Furalme, "Furalme, where did you find this guy?"
"Master, I met him by chance," Furalme stood up and smiled gently.
She naturally saw that Serie was interested in Shichen.
"By chance? It's amazing that you could meet two such strong people; I like them very much!" Serie made no secret of her fondness for Shichen and Frieren, even if one of them was still asleep.
"Frieren." Shichen ignored Serie; he called Frieren, then squatted down and set her down.
"Mmm…" Frieren looked half-asleep; after landing, she swayed and grabbed Shichen's clothes.
Shichen looked at her with amusement, then mercilessly flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!" This made Frieren wake up; she covered her forehead, pouted, and looked aggrieved.
"Don't sleep yet; Grandmaster is right here," Shichen reminded her.
"Huh?"
Frieren looked at Serie helplessly and casually called out, "Grandmaster."
"..." Serie was silent, her expression unchanged, a half-smile, as if she was about to hit someone.
Frieren didn't care at all, leaning against Shichen, half-asleep.
"I apologize, Grandmaster, Frieren is just like this," Shichen said apologetically to Serie.
"Heh heh~" Serie sneered, then looked at Furalme.
"This guy is hopeless."
"No, Frieren is very strong," Furalme denied with a smile.
"Whatever, your name is Shichen, right?" Serie asked Shichen.
"Yes, Grandmaster," Shichen nodded.
"Very good, I remember you. You are worthy of knowing my name. I am Serie."
"I already know," Shichen said with a slight smile.
"..." Serie paused, then sneered and continued, "Heh~ Even better that you know. You, fight me."
"I'm not in the mood right now," Shichen shook his head and refused.
"..." Serie's expression seemed to freeze for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
"Grandmaster, we just arrived here, having traveled exhaustingly all the way. It's one thing that you don't let us rest properly,
but you haven't even given us a meeting gift as Grandmaster. Why should I fight you?" Shichen retorted.
"..." Serie looked at Furalme.
Furalme smiled and spread her hands.
"Good, very good."
Serie turned her head, nodding, and looked at Shichen with a dangerous smile: "Tell me, what magic do you want?
I have all the magic that has appeared in human history."
"Not just me, but Frieren too," Shichen reminded with a smile.
"...Fine, what magic do you two want?"
"No rush, let's choose tomorrow. Let's get some good rest today," Shichen replied softly.
Serie: "..."