Forgot to schedule the chapter for today.
In the fourth year of life in the imperial capital.
The first year of replacing Flamme in teaching Frieren—
In the valley on the back of the Heavenly Dragon:
Agusheed looked down in disappointment at Frieren, who had once again failed to control her magic and runes, falling from a height of twenty meters.
He sighed, snapping his fingers, suspending her in mid-air right before she was about to crash to the ground.
For this disciple who had studied for nearly a year with almost no progress in magic, Agusheed didn't hold back his criticism:
In Frieren's expression of "Here we go again…"
Agusheed once again repeated the same criticism he had said over a hundred times:
"Frieren, you have no chance of becoming a Grand Mage."
Hovering in the air, Frieren showed no trace of shame at being scolded by her teacher:
"Learning to fly with magic in just one year… that's impossible—"
The little mage lowered her head helplessly:
"You're clearly asking for the impossible…"
"Even ignoring the massive differences between demon and human magic systems, just the sheer complexity of the flight magic's runes alone—"
"Even the 'Sages' of the Mythical Era couldn't master flight magic from scratch in just one year…"
Listening to Frieren's protests, Agusheed shook his head.
"Stop making excuses."
He immediately gave her a real-world example:
"Flamme took just half a year to initially master flight magic."
"Compared to her, I've given you double the time."
"But Flamme is the greatest human mage since the Age of Myths! Using her as a reference isn't reasonable at all…"
Frieren mumbled softly, complaining about Agusheed's harsh expectations.
But Agusheed heard her and, with a flick of his fingers, gently set her back down in front of him.
"Using Flamme as a reference isn't reasonable—"
"That's exactly your biggest mistake, Frieren!"
His tone suddenly grew sharper, causing Frieren to flinch.
"Do you remember the question you asked me about a year ago?"
"'Can you teach me until I'm strong enough to kill you?'
"My answer back then was: 'That depends on whether you have the talent and the effort to support that belief.'"
"But over the past year, you've made no progress—there's no sign that you have any potential to surpass the Grand Demons."
"Tell me, Frieren, do you believe your efforts over the past year live up to your dream of surpassing all the Grand Demons?"
This time, Frieren didn't back down.
If there was one thing she refused to let others deny, it was her efforts in magic.
She raised her head and met Agusheed's gaze:
Her answer was simple.
But Frieren was confident that her efforts over the past year were enough to support that claim.
To her surprise, Agusheed didn't refute it.
He even nodded, acknowledging her words.
But in the next instant, he fired another question:
"Then, Frieren, if your 'effort' isn't the issue, tell me—what is the problem?"
"Is it that I don't have enough talent?"
"No, quite the opposite. You have great talent for learning magic."
"So if the issue isn't effort or talent, are you saying the problem lies elsewhere?"
Frieren followed his reasoning and pointed at herself.
This time, Agusheed didn't hold back. He answered her directly:
"Indeed, Frieren, you have always been diligent in your studies. You've never slacked off."
"And you possess a rare talent for magic that surpasses most people."
"You are missing the most important and fundamental quality of any mage—"
Agusheed slowly uttered the word, watching Frieren's face twist in confusion.
He continued to explain:
"Imagination is the foundation of magic; magic is the end product of imagination."
"And you, Frieren… can you truly imagine yourself mastering flight magic?"
Frieren answered honestly:
"I can't. Because magic is based on imagination, not unrealistic fantasies."
"Given the reality, I know that I can't master flight magic—at least not in the short term.
"It's like knowing that a normal person can't crush a diamond with their bare hands."
Agusheed didn't immediately refute her; instead, he raised his hand.
Right before Frieren's eyes, he began casting spell after spell:
[Spatial Transference Magic]
[Elemental Replacement Magic]
One by one, demon-exclusive spells—considered myths by humans—flowed effortlessly from his hands.
And finally, he used his own [Severance Magic].
A continuous chain of magic spells completely flattened a small mountain in the valley on the back of the Heavenly Dragon.
Amidst the lingering dust clouds, Agusheed asked her:
"Can you imagine yourself breaking any of these spells?"
"Just one would be enough."
Frieren's small hands clenched involuntarily.
After a long period of reflection, she shook her head and answered:
"I can't. I can't break even one of them."
"All of these spells… they all belong to Grand Demons you've known. Frieren, can you imagine yourself defeating them?"
"I can't either. The gap is too huge."
Frieren's words made Agusheed chuckle.
He repeated her own words back to her:
"'I can't,' 'the gap is too huge'…"
"Just from a glance, you give up imagining because you think the gap is insurmountable."
"Frieren, this is what you lack—the fundamental mindset of a mage."
With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind swept away the dust in the air.
And then, under the setting sun, he raised his voice like never before and shouted:
"It's not that you can't imagine it, it's that you give up too easily, and that makes it impossible to imagine!"
"At this rate, even if you trained for a thousand years, you would never surpass a single Grand Demon!"
Frieren didn't refute, nor did she respond.
Because even though she thought Agusheed's idea of "mindset" was unrealistic…
His power left her with no room to argue.
So, in the end, she just clenched her fists, glaring up at the visibly frustrated Agusheed.
"Flamme and Serie never taught me this nonsense."
Finally, she resorted to bringing up Flamme and Serie as her defense.
But Agusheed scoffed.
Flamme? Her teaching method could mass-produce high-level mages, but it couldn't create someone truly exceptional.
And Serie? She was purely lucky that Flamme turned out the way she did.
Serie's teaching was nothing but pure luck.
Without even pausing, Agusheed responded:
"That's because they were both unqualified and never even noticed your problems."
"And if you think Flamme and Serie can teach you better than I can—"
Little Mage Frieren was a bit annoyed now.
She stepped closer and lightly kicked Agusheed's shin.
Then, she angrily shouted up at him:
"If it weren't for Flamme, you think I would willingly learn magic from a demon—"
After yelling, she stomped on his foot with all her might.
When she was done, she turned around and dashed towards the castle standing in the middle of the Heavenly Dragon's back.
Agusheed didn't chase her; he just stood there, watching her retreating figure.
"What a stubborn… stupid apprentice…"