First-Class Mage Exam Arc

Background

The exam, held every three years by the Continental Magic Association, has three stages, each set by a different first-class proctor. Candidates normally need at least fifth class; Frieren was let in after Lernen recognised her Holy Emblem. In the first stage, run by Genau, 57 examinees are split into nineteen parties of three and must catch a Stille, a meteoric iron bird, in the Grobe Basin; Frieren and Fern are in different parties and both pass. In the second stage they must reach the depths of the Ruins of the King's Tomb, guarded by a Spiegel that makes copies of the examinees, and they join with the others to beat the copy of Frieren at its core. In the final stage Serie interviews each examinee herself; she fails Frieren but passes Fern. The party then leaves Äußerst for the Northern Plateau.