Frieren gazed at the dim, round sun, finding the situation quite marvelous.
Could it be that she also possessed some kind of "Magic of Persuasion"? Frieren wondered to herself.
The test was about to end, a time when panic should naturally set in, yet these teams—originally locked in confrontation—were actually cooperating under Fíliya's command.
If their positions were swapped, Frieren had zero confidence that she could persuade these squads to unite.
The subsequent developments proceeded exactly as Fíliya had arranged. Various squads shuttled rapidly through the forest, searching for the silhouette of the Stille. Once a new discovery was made, those squads would contact Wirbel to go and capture it.
Meanwhile, Frieren and Edel remained in place, acting as the core for the magic that allowed the squads to communicate without distance or obstacles.
As for Fíliya herself, she was currently giggling foolishly at the Stille she had snatched from Fern's hands.
What on earth was this guy giggling about? And it wasn't just giggling; from time to time, she would mutter to the Stille, making it seem as if she could actually converse with monsters.
Frieren couldn't figure out what Fíliya was doing, but the scene alone was enough to shock her.
This place was tainted with the mana fluctuations of numerous battles. According to the habits of the Stille, it should have flown away the moment it was released from the cage... yet now, that Stille resting in Fíliya's palm was inexplicably quiet. At most, it would hop from Fíliya's palm to her shoulder, showing absolutely no intention of fleeing.
It seemed Fíliya had achieved yet another feat that defied common sense...
Frieren's gaze toward Fíliya gradually became subtle, for she had noticed something else.
That was the situation when Fíliya was instructing Kanne. Although Frieren had been below the high ground at the time and hadn't seen it with her own eyes, given her level of sensory perception, she could easily deduce exactly what had happened up there.
Mages in this world could generally be divided into two types. One type cast spells based on "Logic," learning magic through understanding its principles coupled with long-term practice. The other type cast spells based on "Intuition," utilizing what could be called the "Power of Subjectivity." Such mages were often natural-born eccentrics; they didn't need to understand the internal principles of magic, relying purely on innate "Inspiration" to master many things.
However, looking through human history, one could hardly find many mages who possessed this "Power of Subjectivity." After all, humans are educated in logic from birth; a normal person cannot convince themselves to believe in "Subjectivity." Thus, this ability basically relies on being born with it.
Yet, Fíliya seemed to be genuinely attempting to guide Kanne—a child accustomed to "Logical" thinking—toward "Intuition."
This was quite fascinating. Was such a thing really possible?
In the past, Frieren would certainly have been skeptical, but the facts forced her to believe.
After all, Fíliya herself was the best example of transitioning from "Logic" to "Intuition."
During these days, Frieren often discussed magic with Fíliya. She could see that Fíliya's understanding of magic followed "Logic" completely, and she possessed a deep knowledge of various magical theories.
But in practical application, Fíliya could often achieve things that theory could not explain. This meant that this fellow had acquired the "Power of Subjectivity" post-natally.
Hmm... this unreasonable attitude of treating magic as a "matter of course" was indeed extremely similar to the Demon Race... Could this be something Fíliya learned from that Demon "friend" of hers? Come to think of it, can that sort of thing even be "learned"?
After a fierce storm of brainstorming, Frieren looked at the green figure not far away and couldn't help but sigh.
She thought she was coming to understand the existence known as Fíliya more and more, but as time passed, her curiosity and confusion regarding Fíliya only accumulated further.
With various curiosities intertwining, Frieren finally couldn't sit still. She stood up directly and walked toward Fíliya.
"What are you doing? You haven't stopped giggling," Frieren said, feigning calmness.
"Naturally, I'm testing the thoughts in my heart. I'm already ninety percent certain."
Fíliya turned her head and flashed a brilliant smile directly at Frieren.
Tsk... Frieren subconsciously pursed her lips, thinking that when this guy wasn't acting weird or showing that infuriatingly smug smile... she actually looked quite nice.
"Since you've pretty much finished testing with one Stille, why make the other squads catch more?"
Frieren slowly squatted down beside Fíliya.
"Umu... because out of the kindness of my heart, I'm giving them a sense of participation. I'd feel bad if they were too bored," Fíliya snickered, covering her mouth.
"Hah?" Frieren's eyes widened, clearly startled.
Seeing this, Fíliya hurriedly waved her hand. "Just kidding, you actually took it seriously... Mm, I do indeed need them to help me catch a few more Stille. After all, I'm not clear on exactly how much 'individual variance' exists among the Stille, so it's always good to catch a few more for observation."
"...So what exactly are you up to?" Frieren asked, taking a deep breath.
"Mm... I'm testing to see at what level I need to control my mana to successfully 'attract' a Stille."
Faced with Frieren's question, Fíliya answered with exceptional frankness.
"Attract..."
Frieren made a murmuring sound, thinking that this guy's brain circuitry was indeed different from normal people. Faced with a monster so sensitive to mana, she was actually thinking of attracting them? Wasn't that harder than just catching them? If one simply wanted to catch a few Stille, it could be done easily with the right counter-magic.
Why was this guy pursuing such a roundabout method?
Frieren was puzzled, and Fíliya seemed to notice her confusion, so she continued to add:
"Mm, because I don't want to catch just one or two, nor just dozens... If I want to catch all the Stille inside this barrier in one go... I can only use some laborious methods."
"Hah?" Frieren wondered if she had heard wrong. "Wait... you said you want to catch all the Stille? Why?"
"Mm, because a certain brain-damaged ancient shut-in told me to do so," Fíliya explained in a brisk tone.
Brain-damaged ancient shut-in?
Frieren first narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, then her brow smoothed out, and a smile appeared at the corners of her mouth, thinking this was truly an apt description.
Clearly, she immediately understood whom Fíliya was referring to.
Although most elves are homebodies, often staying in one place for decades, if one had to select the ultimate "Shut-In" elf, Serie would indeed be worthy of the title.
"I see... an extra test? Serie really does like to pull this kind of thing."
____
New Story: Starting from Their Seventeen Years Old
🔥We're handing out that '30% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan