The morning mist slowly dissipated among the trees.
Rohan followed a few paces behind Frieren and Fern, a not-too-heavy luggage pack now resting on his back.
He vaguely remembered from the original story that Frieren seemed to stuff all sorts of things into her bags—there was even that potion that could dissolve clothes.
Her sense of humor was truly wicked.
Fern carried her own small bag, glancing back at him from time to time.
However, her gaze was already much less guarded than when they had first met.
The three of them walked down the mountain path in silence.
As he walked, Rohan observed them.
Frieren’s footsteps were steady; every step was placed perfectly, neither kicking up too much dust nor making much noise.
Fern, on the other hand, still had a bit of childishness in her gait.
Occasionally, she would kick a small pebble or let her attention wander to the scenery along the road.
“Lady Frieren,” Fern finally couldn’t help but speak up.
“Can we find a place to rest?”
“I remember there should be a village up ahead.
I wonder if it’s still there,” Frieren replied.
“We’ve walked so far already…
I really want to eat something sweet,” Fern said, her voice full of dejection.
“The Mercury Pudding in the trade city was delicious.
I wonder if this village has any.”
“Lady Frieren, you don’t have any secret savings left this time.
We’re going to have to earn some money.”
“Don’t worry, Fern.
You have to rely on adults once in a while.” Frieren made a slightly exaggerated gesture.
Fern pursed her lips helplessly and fell silent.
Rohan listened quietly.
According to the plot, Frieren should have finished her period of seclusion following Heiter’s funeral and set out on her journey once again.
And Fern, the disciple entrusted to her by Heiter, was already capable of standing on her own.
Mercury Pudding in a trade city?
That sounded like the plot point right after Fern’s birthday.
Looking closely, her hair ornament did look familiar; it had appeared in that part of the story.
“Hey.”
Rohan snapped back to reality and found Fern glaring at him.
Fern waved her staff.
“You’re a demon, right?
You’re using Lady Frieren’s desire to cherish magic to deceive her.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on you.”
Rohan found it somewhat amusing.
He glanced at Frieren’s back.
She didn’t turn around, but her pace seemed to slow for a half-beat.
“I didn’t want to be a monster either.
I’d rather be a human.”
Rohan felt helpless; the fact that the contract prevented him from lying was quite a nuisance.
“Don’t worry.
With the Contract Magic binding me, you don’t have to worry about what I might do.”
Fern huffed and ignored him, quickening her pace to catch up with Frieren.
Rohan quirked the corner of his mouth.
Relieved that she hadn’t continued her interrogation, he let out a breath.
At noon, they found a place to rest near a dilapidated building.
Frieren took some rations out of the luggage bag—simple fare: hard bread and dried meat—along with a pen and paper.
She handed Rohan a portion of bread and the writing materials.
“Show me your Contract Magic.”
Rohan took them, only to realize that while his innate template provided him with the language, he didn’t actually know how to write.
“I’m just a Mimic.
I don’t know how to write.
I’ll explain the Contract Magic to you verbally.”
Rohan didn’t dawdle and explained how to use the Contract Magic in one breath.
Frieren and Fern listened nearby.
Once he finally finished, Rohan breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked at the bread in his hand and took a bite.
it was a bit hard and scratched his throat.
“Lady Frieren,” Fern said while gnawing on her dried meat, “will we reach the village by evening?”
“Yes.”
“I want hot soup.”
“Just endure it.
We’ll talk about it once we get to the village.”
Rohan quietly ate his portion.
He noticed that Frieren ate very little—a few bites of bread, a small piece of dried meat—and then she stopped to begin studying the Contract Magic he had just taught her.
“Do you…
have a name?” Frieren suddenly looked at Rohan.
“It seems you really weren’t lying earlier.
I’m actually quite surprised.”
Rohan’s hand trembled slightly.
Being asked his name felt like he had reached a preliminary level of safety.
“Rohan.” He looked up into Frieren’s eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to learn and analyze the Contract Magic so quickly.”
He threw in a bit of flattery; this was what people called social intelligence.
Inside his mind, Rohan was putting on a strange little theater performance.
Frieren stared at him for a few seconds, her emerald-green eyes devoid of emotion.
“I’m Frieren.” She turned back to pack away the pen and paper.
“I won’t kill you for the time being.
Don’t disappoint me.
It wouldn’t be difficult for me to break this Contract Magic now.”
“Don’t worry.” Rohan stood up as well, patting the dust off his backside.
“I really have no intention of eating people or anything like that.”
Frieren didn’t say anything more.
She got up to wash her hands by the stream, but it was clear that her posture was no longer as guarded as it had been on the road.
Fern leaned in, lowering her voice.
“Are you really a monster?”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.”
“How strange…
a demon who doesn’t want to eat people.
What will you do later?”
“I’d like to travel with you for a while.
I don’t understand human society here, and I don’t know any other magic.”
“Oh, right.
It seems you’re having some financial difficulties?” As he spoke, Rohan tried to retrieve the coins from inside his body.
To his surprise, several coins were spat directly out of his mouth.
“Huh?” Fern clutched her staff, looking startled.
“What is that?”
Rohan was also stunned.
Why did they come out as vomit?
But then he thought about it—it made sense.
He wasn’t a creature with an internal pocket dimension.
He had taken on a human appearance, but his internal structure was still that of a Mimic…
To take money out, he naturally had to spit it up.
Rohan picked them up and saw a handful of gold coins from an unknown kingdom, though they were covered in a bit of mucus.
They were the “lures” stored inside the Mimic’s body.
The coins that were originally there were gone, too.
It seemed the Mimic identity came with some starting cash.
Not bad.
“Teach me some magic.
Even Defense Magic would do, just so I have a little bit of self-defense in the face of danger.” He took his waterskin and rinsed the gold coins before making a gesture to hand them to Fern.
“It seems you’re quite interested in other magic.
Take them, Fern.
It’s the perfect time for a lesson.
I originally intended to teach you how to use Defense Magic anyway,” Frieren spoke up from the side.
As she spoke, she picked up a branch and began explaining the principles of Defense Magic, starting from the basics and moving to the more advanced concepts.
Then, she drew a simple diagram on the ground and had Fern prepare for a practical simulation with her.
Light filtered through the tall trees, casting dappled spots on the clearing.
Rohan watched as the master and disciple took their positions.
Fern held her staff, her posture upright and her breathing steady.
Opposite her, Frieren maintained her usual cool and indifferent expression.
Rohan watched from the sidelines as the tip of Frieren’s staff lit up.
“Offensive Magic!” A condensed bolt of mana shot out rapidly.
A massive blue-white beam of light erupted from the floating magic circle in front of her staff, kicking up a cloud of dust around Fern.
When the dust cleared, Fern was seen holding up her staff.
A “Defense Magic” barrier, exactly the size of the mana beam, had deployed instantly, steadily intercepting the strike.
Rohan felt a memory stir within him.
He remembered this part.
Frieren’s next line would be…
“You’ve gradually grown accustomed to Defense Magic.
Now, let’s apply it.”
Here it comes.
The ancient white-haired elf’s show of skill.
Frieren released an Offensive Magic bolt that moved like a white snake, easily bypassing Fern’s Defense Magic.
The maneuver startled Fern so much that she slumped to the ground, and the lecture began.
Frieren then launched a relentless bombardment, putting a great deal of pressure on Fern.
“Defense Magic is powerful, but it consumes a vast amount of mana…” As Frieren attacked and taught simultaneously, Fern seemed to realize something.
“Now, Fern, you attack, and I will defend.”
Following Frieren’s instruction, Rohan was a bit surprised.
The current development seemed slightly different from the plot he knew.
But this was fine; it meant he could learn even more.
Fern seemed a bit piqued after being startled earlier.
She raised her staff without hesitation, firing several beams of light from different angles in quick succession.
However, they were all blocked by small fragments of Defense Magic that materialized around Frieren.
“Fern, did you notice my defense just now?” Frieren signaled for her to stop and walked over to her side.
“Faced with an area-of-effect attack or an unavoidable fatal blow, deploying a full defense barrier is correct.
But you must understand that if a mage maintains a large-scale defense barrier at full power without restraint, their mana will only last for a few dozen seconds at most.”
She looked at Fern, her gaze becoming serious.
“While Defense Magic can block almost all offensive magic, its greatest weakness is that its mana consumption far exceeds that of an attack.
Therefore, truly sophisticated defense involves neutralizing the threat at the minimum cost.”
Fern looked thoughtful.
“You mean…
instead of maintaining it constantly, I should deploy only a small section of defense at the point of impact the moment I’m attacked?”
“Exactly.” Frieren nodded.
“Predict the trajectory of the attack and precisely defend the most critical point.
It’s like using the center of a shield to meet the tip of a spear, rather than holding up a wall to block the rain.
Only then can you maximize the advantages of Defense Magic and maintain the ability to fight a prolonged battle.”
She paused, her tone carrying a trace of almost imperceptible helplessness.
“It seems you didn’t read those theories on the history of magic I gave you very carefully.
In magic, practice isn’t the only important thing; the history and principles behind it can often save your life.
It seems I’ll have to slowly explain these details to you before you go to sleep.”
A hint of embarrassment crossed Fern’s face.
“I’m not a child anymore.
I’ll read them myself.”
“Deploying a small section of defense at the moment of impact is the right way…” Fern murmured to herself, running back to the luggage and pondering as a hexagonal fragment of Defense Magic materialized in her hand.
At that moment, as Rohan desperately tried to understand and absorb the principles of Defense Magic, he heard a notification sound that was like celestial music to his ears.
[Ding!
Detected: Frieren has taught you Defense Magic.
Would you like to learn it?]
As expected, the online guides were right!
As long as a world native taught you and your understanding reached a certain level, the Collision World’s auxiliary mechanism would activate, allowing you to learn it directly as a skill!
“Yes!” Rohan suppressed the excitement in his heart.
After confirming his choice, data flooded into his mind:
[Rohan (Monster: Mimic)] [Strength: 2] [Agility: 1] [Intelligence: 1] [Contract Magic Lv.1] [Defense Magic Lv.1]
Aside from his starting skill, he had learned his first new skill.
Next, he needed to learn at least an ordinary offensive magic.
By then, if he could earn a decent evaluation, even if he only took these two skills back with him, his strength in reality would likely be significant.
As for the three attributes of Strength, Intelligence, and Agility—though he had long known the evaluations were very broad—he hadn’t expected them to be displayed as such simple numbers.
But it was understandable.
Otherwise, the templates of those big shots who had been through several Collision Worlds would definitely be a mess.
Still, these values were truly low.
No wonder this was the lowest “Desolate-grade” loadout.
Then again, it made sense.
If not for his own consciousness intervening, a Mimic would just be a stationary, mindless, low-level monster.