Ash simply lifted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping across the four of them. Then he let out a faint scoff and lowered his head back into the book.
His calm focus made it seem as though he hadn't heard a single word of the discussion around him.
This naturally made the four of them feel, at the same moment, a kind of condescending contempt from above.
As if Ash was examining them with a detached attitude, treating them like… little brats whose hair hadn't even grown in yet.
"Even though I admit I said that on purpose earlier just to provoke him, he probably isn't really that kind of person. But this attitude of his… it seriously pisses me off!", Lawine was already so angry she couldn't help rolling up her sleeves again, lifting her skirt as if ready to fight him right there.
"So she didn't actually think that way…"
Fern, who had originally planned to go talk to Ash, now felt a mix of complicated emotions after hearing that.
She had been thinking of saying a few good words on Ash's behalf, but now it seemed Lawine's dissatisfaction with him probably had little to do with past impressions. It might just be a difference of personalities or perhaps some emotional entanglement?
"So this is what Ash used to call tsundere?"
Frieren didn't complain to Ash for the moment. Instead she looked curiously at Lawine's situation.
"Tsundere? What the heck is that?"
Lawine had absolutely no idea what that meant, but she had a feeling, it probably wasn't a good word.
After all, she simply didn't get along with Ash. In terms of ability, she did acknowledge him quite a bit and there shouldn't really be any contradiction between those two things, right?
She thought about it for a moment but quickly stopped worrying about it. Before they even had the chance to confront Ash about looking down on them, a blue bird raised by the Magic Association flew in through the window.
With a sharp cry, the blue bird dropped a rolled piece of paper inside. On it were clearly written the time and location of the second round of the exam, along with the examiner's name.
The appearance of the blue bird immediately broke the previously relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.
Especially when everyone clearly saw the examiner's name on the notice, the mood instantly turned heavy.
"Sense? What rotten luck."
Just seeing the name made Lawine rub her head in pain. Even Kanne's expression turned gloomy as she muttered softly, "We barely passed the first round."
Kanne's depressed mumbling carried a faintly pitiful tone. If no one else had been around, Ash would have felt like teasing her a little.
Unfortunately there were too many girls present, and Fern also noticed the two girls' bad expressions and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
"In the past, Sense has overseen four exams. The number of people who passed was zero every time."
Lawine couldn't hide the bitterness on her face. She even glanced at Ash.
"I heard you're on good terms with her. Can't you ask her to make it a bit easier for us this time?"
"I respect Sense's choices."
"But listen, the meeting place she picked is the Ruins of the King's Tomb. The exam site will definitely be inside."
Lawine couldn't help trying to persuade him.
"My brother went there before. Deep in the tomb there's a Water Mirror Demon(Spiegel). It creates perfect copies. Even you would have to face an opponent exactly identical to yourself. Are you really confident you could handle that?"
"What are you thinking?"
Ash couldn't help shaking his head and laughing, "There's no such thing as perfect magic in this world, and there's nothing absolute either. Just like that mercenary mage from the exam earlier. His binding magic could suppress mana, but it still had limits, right? So no matter what kind of magic it is, it always has a boundary."
"But what if you're that boundary? And how can you be sure the limit really exists?"
"Because it's ultimately still a living creature. Not a god."
If it could perfectly replicate all life forms, that Water Mirror Demon would have already been taken out and used to try dealing with the Demon King, or the demons would have used it against the Goddess.
Even though he said that, the others still looked unconvinced. After all, according to what Lawine knew, no one had ever successfully conquered the tomb so far.
Because until now, no one had managed to reach the limit of that monster from the mythological age, the Spiegel.
But Ash just shook his head and sighed.
"Think about it yourselves. It was locked in there by someone. It's basically a gravekeeper guarding the deepest part of the royal tomb. Or do you think it willingly chose to guard the tomb? If its replication had no flaws at all, how could someone have sealed it down there?"
"Uh… now that you mention it, that underground royal tomb was built during the Great Unification era, right?"
With that reminder, Lawine suddenly realized there must be some kind of loophole.
Otherwise how could a monster willingly stay locked at the very bottom guarding burial goods for a dead king? The tomb was clearly constructed properly. The monster couldn't have already been there. It must have been sealed inside after the tomb was built.
After realizing that, when she looked at Ash again her face showed a hint of surprise.
"Old man… you're unexpectedly smart."
"That's not unexpected. And if you're going to compliment me, at least do it properly."
"No thanks. It feels like I'd be losing if I did."
"That's exactly the problem with kids these days… sigh!"
He sighed and shook his head. He wasn't actually that bothered by it. After the brief remark, he simply picked up his book again and resumed reading.
The girls, meanwhile, started chattering again about the content of the upcoming exam, trying to figure out a way to conquer the royal tomb.
———
On the day of the official exam—
In the early morning, the familiar petite girl had already arrived, standing alone at the enormous entrance of the royal tomb.
On both sides of the tomb's four massive entrances stood five gigantic statues each. In the center was an elderly man holding a scepter and wearing a crown. Perhaps he was the owner of this royal tomb.
Each entrance and the statues beside them stood over twenty meters tall. From a distance, the sight was undeniably magnificent.
Compared to that, Sense standing beside them looked far too small. Ash almost felt the urge to walk up and ruffle this fluffy, perfectly legal shorty.
Unfortunately, considering the public setting, he merely stepped forward to greet her.
Sense, on the other hand, lowered her head guiltily and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"I'm sorry, Lord Ash, I already submitted the exam content to Lady Serie beforehand. When she heard you would also be here, she firmly refused to allow any changes."
"That really does sound like something Serie would do."
He smiled lightly and waved his hand.
"But you don't have to worry about it that much. I can still handle something like this."
Soon afterward he returned to the line of examinees, planning to at least keep up appearances.
His words finally let Sense relax. She let out a small breath and calmed herself, then looked toward the gathered crowd and slowly spoke.
"The content of the second exam is to conquer the Ruins of the King's Tomb. The passing condition is only one: reach the deepest part of the tomb."
"I'm a pacifist and don't like fighting, so as long as you reach the deepest area, you pass."
After emphasizing the time limit, tomorrow dawn, and explaining some details, Sense's lively hair somehow produced a series of glass bottles containing tiny golems.
She distributed one to each person in a very official manner, explaining that they were experimental escape golems developed by the first-class mage Lernen.
Once the bottle was broken, the golem would automatically expand and protect them, carrying them away from danger.
After all, they were mages. With a warrior-type golem protecting them, their survival rate would be much higher.
"Something new Lernen made, huh?"
Lernen specialized most in golem magic and had devoted his entire life to that field. Ash knew that much at least.
Still, he only glanced at it with curiosity before casually stuffing it into his pocket.
Without even waiting for the others to react, he walked past Sense, who was still answering questions, and quickly stepped into the dungeon.
Everyone was slightly surprised by this scene, especially Fern and the others who knew something about the Ruins of the King's Tomb because of Lawine.
"Lord Ash!"
Fern instinctively tried to chase after him to stop his actions.
But Frieren raised a hand to block her. When Fern turned back in confusion, Frieren slowly shook her head.
"That guy's probably going to deal with himself. There's no point in you going."
"How could that be! At least—"
"The difference in mana is too big. If he releases it at full power, the overflowing mana alone would knock your magic away."
"To be honest, I've only seen that level before with the Demon King and Serie."
Frieren carefully chose examples for comparison, ignoring the shocked looks from the people beside her.
"Although Ash hasn't reached their level yet, he's still far beyond your limit. Deflecting or canceling ordinary magic would be very easy for him. Just like what I told you before."
"If I encounter a Greater Demon I should run away immediately, because right now I wouldn't have any chance of winning?"
"Exactly. And ordinary Greater Demons aren't even as outrageous as Ash."
Looking at the figure disappearing into the darkness, Frieren unconsciously murmured softly, "Why are you still pushing yourself this hard at your level. The Demon King is already gone. Are you doing this to deal with that hidden mastermind somewhere out there?"
"Is the old man really that strong?"
Kanne, who had been quietly listening, couldn't help asking.
Lawine stared at the vanished figure and muttered, "I knew he was strong, but that guy… is he really that gentle?"
"Hard to say exactly how gentle. But Ash has always had a strong sense of responsibility. He's definitely not a bad person."
Frieren smiled faintly as she spoke up for him, still hoping Lawine and Ash's relationship could become normal.
But at the end she added uncertainly in a small voice, "Though he might have done some bad things before."
"So do you trust him or not?"
Lawine couldn't help laughing helplessly.
"At least I believe he'll be fine. And when it comes to major matters, his character is definitely trustworthy. At least that's what I think."
"Is that so? Well, I guess my impression of him did improve a bit, but..."
Admitting it honestly now somehow felt like losing, which made Lawine a little irritated. After hesitating and starting to say something, she ultimately chose to keep quiet.
The group began discussing ways to conquer the royal tomb in small clusters.
Most of them planned to wait for a while. Even if they didn't know the situation inside, having someone scout ahead first was always helpful.
After all, the goal was simply to reach the deepest point. Arriving a little later didn't matter, right?
As the examiner, Sense kept watching the entrance. Her expressionless face made it hard to tell whether she was worried or thinking about something else.
In the end she chose to trust Serie's judgment.
Not long afterward, people began entering the tomb in groups of two or three. She eventually decided to follow Frieren as well.
After all, aside from Ash, this mage who had supposedly helped defeat the Demon King was also someone worthy of trust.
———
Meanwhile, inside the royal tomb—
Magical stone lamps and candles lit by someone provided a faint glow for the dark and damp underground catacombs.
The air carried the smell of mold, along with the chill unique to subterranean places.
The overly wide yet enclosed space caused footsteps to echo endlessly as one walked through it.
At first there were only a few gargoyles. Before they could even transform from statues into monsters, a simple slap shattered them into broken stone, ending the matter easily.
But after walking casually for about an hour—
"What's this, Lawine and Kanne?"
Ahead on the path stood two familiar girls that looked as if they were made of stone.
Though they appeared stone-like, the sculpted shapes were incredibly refined. Aside from the color, they were almost indistinguishable from the real people.
The two clearly couldn't speak, or rather, the replicas simply didn't have that function.
Kanne raised her hand silently and released a beam of light, a basic offensive spell. Beside her, numerous ice spikes appeared around Lawine.
At this moment, however, there was no one else around him.
Ash didn't even bother using defensive magic.
The enormous mana he no longer suppressed directly interfered with the surrounding spells. The moment the attacks touched him, they twisted and dissipated with ease.
Both the beam of light and the ice spikes lost their effect instantly.
Ash simply walked forward.
With a casual motion of his hand, the two replicas hadn't even noticed the attack before they were cleanly cut in half.
When the two stone figures fell to the ground and tried to reach out toward him, he was already walking deeper inside as if nothing had happened.
Along the way, more and more replicas emerged from the depths.
They appeared one after another, their strength gradually increasing.
It was obvious that the stronger a person was, the longer it took to create their replica.
But Ash couldn't even be bothered with them. When he encountered them, he simply dashed past at high speed and avoided them easily.
And when he finally reached the deepest level, quite a few people had already appeared in the final hall.
Even the recently destroyed Lawine and Kanne had appeared once again.
"So they can revive too. Interesting."
Looking at the replicas ahead of him, Ash couldn't help smiling.
The stone floor of the hall was carved with patterns resembling an ancient sun.
Standing at the very front were replicas of himself, Frieren, and Sense.
Though he said quite a few people were there, it wasn't really many. Besides those three, only Denken and Fern were hiding off to the side, seemingly acting as supporters.
Aside from Lawine and Kanne, who had just been recreated, the rest were all among the best of the second exam.
"Well then… let me finally enjoy myself properly again!"
Ash grinned, and at that moment his body began to change.
Already not short to begin with, his height gradually increased. Every part of his body grew proportionally, swelling under a dark purple glow until he reached around two meters tall.
Two demon-like horns also sprouted from his forehead, further increasing his height.
His originally loose clothes bulged under the larger frame. A circular shockwave swept outward, stirring up dust across the floor.
The overwhelming mana capable of easily bringing despair now fully manifested from his body.
The surrounding space itself seemed distorted, showing unnatural fluctuations.
A terrifying storm of mana filled the vast hall. Even though the raging flow of magic was restrained somewhat, the entire dungeon still seemed to tremble slightly.
Every mage who had entered the dungeon suddenly felt a chill run down their spine.
Even though they couldn't directly sense the mana bound deep below, they could still feel that something terrifying had appeared down there.
———
The moment Ash released his power, all the replicas across from him raised their hands almost simultaneously and unleashed magic.
At the same time, Ash and his own replica both stomped forward onto the ground.
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, purple gravitational lightning smashed into the floor. Even with powerful defensive magic protecting it, the ground sank and cracked apart, causing the entire dungeon to shake violently.
The lightning spread like a giant serpent, instantly increasing the gravity of the entire area.
Within this confined space, Fern and Denken were slammed to the ground, their spells interrupted.
If not for their own mana resisting it, they would have been crushed into fragments like the floor tiles themselves.
Lawine and Kanne, who reacted a moment too late, were far less fortunate. They were directly crushed into pulp, meeting death once again.
Only the three figures within the small area beside Ash's replica managed to hold their ground while resisting the lightning.
The next moment, Sense's hair suddenly expanded and transformed into countless drill-like shapes, crashing toward him from all directions with tremendous force.
In front of Frieren's staff gathered white-purple lightning, Destructive Lightning, the very original model Ash had referenced when creating his gravitational lightning.
Meanwhile, Ash's own replica remained in human form, drawing a blade and transforming into a gust of wind.
Moving at extreme speed, it instantly arrived right in front of him.
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