Frieren’s expression suddenly became a bit complicated.
She curled her lip.
“Let’s forget about that kind of magic.
I should teach you flight magic instead.
Your landing posture just now was hideous; you basically just slammed into the ground.”
“I already learned that from Fern before I came here,” Arata retorted instinctively, only realizing after the words left his mouth that this was Frieren’s way of changing the subject.
She didn’t want to dwell on the Magic of Obedience, nor did she want the atmosphere to linger on the heaviness of departure.
“How sly,” Frieren grumbled softly, turning her face away so he couldn’t tell who she was talking about.
The moonlight hit the side of her face, and Arata could just barely see the corners of her mouth turning upward.
“Back then, you only taught me levitation, not flight magic,” Arata said, finding a relatively flat patch of scorched earth to sit on.
“That was tailoring the teaching to the student,” Frieren said with practiced composure as she walked over and sat down beside him.
“Besides, aren’t you flying well enough now?”
“The kind of ‘well enough’ where I almost died from the fall?”
“At least you didn’t die.”
The two looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.
The sound echoed across the open wasteland, startling a few nocturnal birds resting in the distant trees.
They sat there by the edge of the deep crater, lighting a small campfire and chatting idly.
They talked about the little things from this journey, the strange spells Frieren had collected, and the increasingly obvious rapport between Fern and Stark.
They talked about the novel ingredients Arata always tried to use when cooking, the narrow escape during the battle with Qual, the Elder Sage of Corruption, and the mana treasures found in the Crimson Mirror Dragon’s nest.
Neither mentioned the impending farewell, nor did they speak again of the boundary between demons and humans.
They were just two ordinary traveling companions sitting by a campfire after a day of adventure, reminiscing about the past.
The moon grew brighter, and the galaxy unfurled across the canopy of the sky.
The Count’s carriage arrived in the middle of the night.
Accompanying him were Fern, Stark, the butler, and a group of guards.
After the Count thanked Frieren, the old butler excitedly led him to a set of armor on the battlefield.
Hanging from the neck of the armor was an identity crest belonging to the Count’s family.
The Count knelt down and stroked the armor, his hands shaking violently.
He bowed deeply to Frieren and did not straighten up for a long time.
“Thank you once again…
This time, for preserving his final dignity.”
Frieren simply nodded silently.
The memorial service was held under the moonlight.
There were no priests and no grand rituals—only a father saying goodbye to his son.
Arata watched quietly from the side.
The effects of Sanguine Healing had worn off; his injuries were mostly healed, though the internal damage remained.
A priest hadn’t come along because there were too many people in the city who needed treatment.
It didn’t matter, though.
Arata had read online before entering that once he evacuated, his status would be fully restored since he was using a loadout body.
However, this experience with the injury made him certain of one thing: he needed to keep recovery items on hand at all times.
They were incredibly useful.
Otherwise, his injuries might not have lasted until he could find a priest in the city.
When the ritual ended, the Count and his retinue departed first, leaving only Frieren, Fern, Stark, and Arata on the wasteland.
“You’re leaving?” Fern spoke first.
She had heard the news from Frieren.
Clasping her staff, she looked at Arata with a complex gaze.
“Yeah, it’s time,” Arata nodded.
“Thanks for teaching me magic, Fern.
You’re definitely going to become an even lovelier girl in the future.
I’ll leave Frieren in your hands.”
Fern pursed her lips and turned away, walking into the distance.
She seemed uncomfortable with this kind of occasion.
“Safe travels,” her voice drifted back on the night wind.
“Don’t forget us.”
Arata felt his eyes grow tight.
“Really, don’t be so stubborn in the future.”
He pulled Stark over by the shoulder and whispered, “Keep it up.
Be brave like a warrior, both in battle and in life.” Arata winked toward Fern’s retreating back.
Finally, he patted Arata on the shoulder, the force making Arata stagger.
“I’m not…
Take care of yourself.
If you have time before you leave, let’s find a place in the city and I’ll treat you to a strawberry sundae.
They’re delicious.”
“Maybe another time; it’s too cold for that,” Arata laughed, patting him back.
“You take care too.
Remember to work on your courage.”
“I’m already trying my best!”
“Right, right…”
Frieren stood a few paces away, not participating in the farewell.
She just watched, her long white hair fluttering gently in the night wind.
Eventually, Fern and Stark turned to leave.
They needed to go back and help rebuild the city and handle post-war affairs.
After walking a certain distance, Fern looked back and gave Arata a small wave.
Once again, only two people remained on the wasteland.
Frieren walked up to Arata.
“Are you leaving the world from here?”
“Yeah.” Arata looked ahead, where a pillar of pure white light was quietly descending.
[Hero’s Tomb Teleport Point Unlocked.]
“I’m going now,” Arata said.
Frieren nodded.
She seemed like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just reached out and gently patted Arata’s head, much like she sometimes did with Fern.
Arata smiled.
He turned and walked toward the pillar of light.
Just before stepping in, he looked back one last time.
Frieren stood where she was, the moonlight silvering her silhouette.
She raised her hand and gave a small, slight wave.
Arata waved back and stepped into the light.
…
[Collision World H-07: Evacuation Successful.
Settlement beginning.]
[Highlight Memories:]
[Assisted in the subjugation of Qual, the Elder Sage of Corruption: Obtained 410 Points]
[Participated in the Crimson Mirror Dragon subjugation battle: Obtained 260 Points]
[Participated in the slaying of the Blood-Manipulating Mage Lugner and his subordinates: Obtained 145 Points]
[Personally slew Aura of the Seven Sages of Destruction: Obtained 2400 Points, Legend Renown +1.]
[Successfully evacuated World H-07, Rating rising…]
Arata checked the list; there were also some miscellaneous points for killing things like Einsam, totaling 3,342 points.
Based on what he had learned online before entering the Collision World, this was an absolute fortune.
However, he would have to look up more information on Legend Renown later.
There were still the evacuated items to settle.
Arata felt the information coming from the Collision World and continued reading.
[Treasure Acquisition:]
[Flamme’s Notes (Gold): Can be exchanged for 1000 Points.
Use to obtain a World H-07 Story Quest.]
[Folding Space Pouch (Blue): Can be exchanged for 60 Points.]
[Azure Heart Staff (Blue): Can be exchanged for 32 Points.]
[Five Blue-grade Magic Items…
Total exchange value: 121 Points.]
Arata thought for a moment and decided to exchange the five magic items immediately, keeping only the space pouch and the staff to ensure he had some capabilities in the Real World.
Regarding the Gold-quality notes, Arata connected with his consciousness and opened the quest description.
[Flamme’s Wish]
[Flamme spent her life dedicated to supporting the human race.
Though she died without regrets, she still worries for her master, her apprentice, and the future of humanity.] Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
[Upon using the Notes, you may re-enter World H-07.
For this entry, you will receive a Universe-grade Loadout and be accompanied by the guardian spirit Flamme.]
[Witness the current prosperity of the human race (0/1)]
[Meet the master, Serie (0/1)]
[Meet the apprentice, Frieren (0/1)]
[These three requirements must be met.
Reward upon completion: 300 Points.
You will be immediately teleported out after the quest ends.]
Arata kept Flamme’s Notes without hesitation.
Back when he was an ordinary person, he had never even heard of items that could grant story quests.
Furthermore, everyone could only enter a specific Collision World once per cycle.
Items that allowed one to re-enter a story world were definitely worth far more than 1,000 points.
After all, this was the equivalent of being allowed to retake an exam; a previously unfamiliar Collision World would now be familiar territory.
After communicating his intent, Arata exchanged the five blue magic items for points.
Including his evaluation rewards, his total points reached 3,463.
Arata continued looking at the settlement panel:
[Bloodline: Monster – Mimic (30 Points).
Exchange?]
Arata’s face went dark.
Was this a joke?
He definitely wasn’t exchanging for that.
He skipped it and looked further down.
[Your settlement attributes are: Strength 10 (100 Points), Agility 10 (100 Points), Intelligence 14 (140 Points)]
[Synchronizing to the Real World requires a total of 340 Points.
Exchange?]
“Exchange.” Arata didn’t hesitate.
Points were meant to be spent, and this was being spent on his actual body in the Real World.
However, he was curious about future attribute exchanges.
Would future evacuations add to his attributes or overwrite them?
Arata decided he needed to get in touch with some organizations in the Real World to learn more.
The information available on the public internet was too limited.
He continued down the settlement panel.
[Skills Acquired: Contract Magic Lv.1, Defensive Magic Lv.2, General Offensive Magic Lv.5, Levitation Magic Lv.2, Flight Magic Lv.2, Illusion Magic Lv.1, Lightning Strike Lv.1, Magic of Obedience Lv.9, various lifestyle spells (e.g., making grapes sour, fire control, etc.).]
Skills didn’t cost extra points to acquire, which relieved Arata.
It seemed the Collision World wasn’t entirely a rip-off.
[Based on your performance in the Collision World, your current alignment is Lawful Good.]
Lawful?
I guess dancing in chains alongside Frieren gave the Collision World a bit of a misunderstanding about me.
[Comprehensive Evaluation calculating…]
[Comprehensive Evaluation Rank: Mystic]
[You have obtained one Mystic-grade Loadout opportunity.]
[Ding!
Successful evacuation detected.
Talent: Myriad-Form Body activated!]
[Your body and memories at the time of evacuation from World H-07 will be recorded at their peak state.
You have obtained the Talent Derivative Skill: First Manifestation.]
[First Manifestation: Leaves a mark on World H-07 to record your legend.
Allows for the summoning of a projection in the Real World.]
[Monster: Mimic (Maintained via Humanoid Transformation Magic)]
[Base Attributes] Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 14
[Skill Slots] Contract Magic Lv.1 Defensive Magic Lv.2 General Offensive Magic Lv.5 Levitation Magic Lv.2 Flight Magic Lv.2 Illusion Magic Lv.1 Lightning Strike Lv.1 Magic of Obedience Lv.9 Various common spells with intensity too low to be ranked (Ignition, Fire Control, etc.)
A stream of light enveloped his entire body.
The world before his eyes faded, decomposed, and restructured itself.
The words “First Manifestation” in his skill slot gradually solidified.
“So I actually had a talent?
I guess it only activates during the settlement phase.”