After a while, Ronan slowly closed the thick grimoire.
He shut his eyes and let out a deep breath, impressed by how effective the spell really was.
No wonder it was a staple for every adventuring party.
Worth every gold coin.
He was about to look for Frieren to test it out, but when he looked up, he suddenly noticed her standing hesitantly in the corner.
Ronan frowned and walked over, asking: “What’s wrong?” “Still not used to the environment here?” Frieren hesitated, as though she wanted to say something.
But then, she seemed to remember something, quietly pressing a hand to her pocket while slowly shaking her head, saying softly: “No…
it’s nothing.
Have you finished learning the Detection Magic?” It was clear she had something on her mind.
Ronan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering on her face briefly.
Then he exhaled and changed the subject: “Yeah, I’ve finished it.” If she didn’t want to talk about it, fine.
It probably wasn’t anything major anyway.
At most, she’d seen something she liked and spent some of the allowance he’d given her.
No need to dig further — she’d bring it up when the time was right.
With that thought, Ronan paused, then continued: “It’s simple, and quite practical.” “Frieren, do you want to know your own strength?” Frieren was somewhat surprised — anyone could tell what Ronan meant by that — but she looked puzzled: “If I remember correctly, Detection Magic can only detect monsters…
and only identify their species.” “Elves…” She was about to say more, but Ronan cut her off: “They are them.
I am me.” Ronan didn’t care whether Martin and Old Dirk, chatting not far away, could hear or understand.
He raised a finger, its tip glowing faintly with magic power, and explained softly: “People only think this spell is meant for detecting monsters.” “You said it yourself before — magic is a world built on imagination.” “If you can detect monsters with your imagination, why couldn’t you detect other creatures too?” “I haven’t known you very long, but I can roughly sense the strength of your magical aura.” As he spoke, with the Detection Magic active, information quickly surfaced in Ronan’s mind.
Carried along by the flow of mana, it appeared clearly before his eyes.
He carefully read through it before quietly explaining the results to Frieren.
Of course, he kept his voice low so no one else could hear — this was Frieren’s private information, after all.
“Your total magic power is around one thousand, measured in units.” “Martin and Old Dirk also have some magic power, though one has fifty and the other only two hundred.” “For a human’s age, that’s normal — the average increase is three to five units a year…” At this point, Ronan’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he’d spotted a blind spot.
He looked at Frieren and asked: “Frieren, are you over two hundred years old this year?” Frieren froze, then held her breath and quickly glanced around, terrified that someone might overhear her secret.
Only after seeing that Martin and Old Dirk were still each occupied with their own business, showing no reaction, did she let out a small sigh of relief, her tensed shoulders loosening slightly.
Two hundred years old — among elves, that was very young.
But in human eyes, that made her an undeniable old monster.
She’d been through this before — becoming friends with human girls passing through a village.
Then those girls had all distanced themselves once they learned her age.
They didn’t envy that she, “old” as she was, still looked young — they only felt she was more terrifying than their own ancestors.
Because their ancestors were only eighty or ninety.
Ronan…
“No need to worry, Frieren.” Ronan seemed to have noticed her unease.
He smiled faintly: “I don’t care about your age — you’re an elf, aren’t you?” “Of course, honestly it was my own oversight.
Who would’ve thought you could tell someone’s age from their total magic power.” “…” Frieren took a deep breath, seeming to calm herself.
After a moment, she spoke with a hint of relief: “I’m glad you don’t mind.
Sorry, I should have told you about this earlier.” “A thousand units?
Thank you for telling me — I’ll remember it well.” “I wonder, how much is your total magic power?” Frieren was curious.
She’d never heard of “units” as a measure before, but analyzing it from the nature of magic power itself, it made perfect sense.
No doubt, if this unit were to spread and become widely adopted, it might spark another revolution.
Truly impressive — and this was only two short days.
Two days, covering what took others decades.
A few more years, and he’d probably catch up to the continent’s number one mage.
Ronan smiled and was just about to speak.
He had no intention of keeping it secret — his total magic power meant nothing to him, and sharing it would only help bring them closer.
But just then, a sudden boom rang out from outside, shaking the entire room.
The sound cut Ronan off mid-sentence.
He instinctively turned to look, but before he could figure out what was happening outside— Old Dirk suddenly stood up, eyes wide with alarm, cursing through gritted teeth: “Damn it, those beasts are attacking!
Why so soon — it hasn’t even been a month since last time!” “Damn it all!” “Martin, get these two distinguished guests out of here, now!” With that, he slammed a button on the counter, and one by one, the goods on display rapidly vanished.
Martin’s expression turned serious as well.
Noticing the slight confusion on Ronan and Frieren’s faces, he stepped away from Old Dirk and hurried over to the two of them, leading them outside while explaining: “Lord Ronan, as you can see, since the ruin dungeon is only twenty li away, monsters often come here to attack.” “Though adventurers are stationed to guard and clear them out, the number of adventurers isn’t fixed.” “The strongest team here used to be the Savage Beast Adventurers, but as you know their situation…” He paused briefly, a flash of helplessness in his eyes.
“In any case, it’s probably because of their disappearance that the attack came early.” “There’s no need for you to feel sorry or worried about it.” “…” Ronan fell silent.
Seriously?
He hadn’t felt much about it at first — just thought it was some monsters, easily handled with a snap of his fingers.
But now…
this kid sure knew how to talk.
Well, never mind.
Perfect timing to test out Detection Magic.
He’d had some reservations about altering Frieren’s stats, but altering a monster’s stats…
A pinch of physical strength paired with a pinch of total magic power…
Would it die from a gust of wind?
He was almost looking forward to it.