Frieren: Attribute Hero Chapter 35: [Numerical Mirroring]

[Nurical Mirroring (Purple/Epic)]: Perfectly replicates the opponent's physical stats during battle. Let your opponent take a look in the mirror.

The mont he read that line, Shane finally understood where the 1 to 9 Qual had co from.

So the demon sage had actually been serving as a test assistant for the human sage.

Seriously?

He stepped forward, picked up the torn page, and examined it closely.

This fragnt was clearly different from ordinary paper. At certain angles, faint patterns ford by magical symbols could be seen embedded within it.

Shane guessed these hidden magical patterns were the reason the page had not decayed for a thousand years.

So kind of preservation magic, perhaps?

Frieren also walked over. When she saw the page in his hand, her eyes lit up.

But when she realized there was only a single page, her expression dimd slightly.

"This is a fragnt from the Diary of Sage Ewig. It should be genuine. This kind of treated paper was commonly used by great sages skilled in alchemy. Many books passed down from before the Unified Empire used this special material."

Shane nodded. It matched his earlier guess.

"I've heard Flam ntion Sage Ewig many tis. He was said to be a great sage of the Mythical Era—the very first sage. He created many powerful magical tools and invented nurous spells unique to humans. Hmm… I think research into ntal magic began with him as well."

She paused, then sighed.

"Too bad it's only a fragnt. The content is incomplete, making it extrely difficult to analyze. Its research value is quite limited."

On that point, Shane disagreed.

It might seem useless to others, but he knew the true value of the affix [Nurical Mirroring] written on that page.

Even though it was still in the experintal stage and could only copy physical stats, it was already ridiculously powerful.

Just imagine—if he fought Frieren, wouldn't he instantly gain magic power comparable to that old monster?

And if he fought Aura the Guillotine… even the scales would probably be confused.

Of course, battle outcos weren't determined by stats alone. Magic types, combat experience, and tactical choices could all be decisive factors.

And then there were additional equipnt attributes.

Still… stats were a man's romance.

And he loved it.

…Wait.

Shane frowned, suddenly realizing sothing unpleasant.

If it copied stats against strong opponents, then it would also copy stats against weak ones… So what if he fought a sli?

That's bad.

This was a chanic-based affix!

Does that an I'd be evenly matched with Frieren… and also evenly matched with a blob of sli?

…

Because the fragnt was so special, Shane didn't imdiately Extract the affix. Instead, he stored it in his inventory.

He planned to copy it down first as a backup before extracting it.

After all, he still needed to compare it with the Diary of Sage Ewig in Heiter's possession.

The mirrored Gostan City had now shattered into countless glass-like fragnts.

What lay exposed beneath was a dark underground cavern.

Leaving the bedroom of Mad Sage Sharl, Shane and Frieren entered the outer laboratory.

The floor was littered with debris—broken weapons, scattered arrows, and fragnts of damaged armor.

Among the pile, Shane found several emblems bearing the city hall insignia. He picked them up one by one and stored them carefully.

These were probably the markers worn by the fallen advance team. At the very least, bringing them back would allow their families and friends to pray for them… and give them a proper burial.

As for the rest of the broken equipnt, following the principle of not wasting anything, he swept it all into his "inventory".

More affixes to farm.

"Shane!"

Frieren's voice ca from ahead.

After finishing up, he walked over—and was imdiately stunned by the sight before him.

In the vast underground cavern, more than a dozen treasure chests were arranged in neat rows.

Frieren's eyes glead with excitent.

"This mana… I can feel it. There are over a dozen grimoires."

Shane swallowed and whispered, "Hey, Frieren… maybe we should use Treasure Chest Identification Magic first, just to be safe?"

But Frieren was already crouching in front of the nearest chest, completely unmoved.

One look at her posture, and Shane knew—she had definitely already checked.

She just didn't believe it.

Sure enough, in the next mont, Frieren placed her hand on the lid.

"Shane, that spell only has a 99% accuracy rate. It's not a reliable spell."

"…"

"Throughout history, the greatest mages made their discoveries by seizing that remaining 1% possibility. And besides…" she smiled, her hand firmly on the lid, her tone certain, "based on my years of dungeon exploration, there must be a grimoire inside this."

"Wait—"

Click.

Before Shane could finish, Frieren lifted the lid.

A massive tongue shot out in an instant—snap! It wrapped around her and dragged her straight into the chest.

Clack clack.

The mimic began chewing loudly.

Shane froze on the spot.

As expected, a mont later, Frieren's screams echoed through the cavern.

"It's so dark—so scary—!"

Her upper body was trapped inside the mimic's jaws, leaving only her hips and legs sticking out, kicking wildly but unable to escape. Her muffled cries reverberated endlessly.

Shane's mouth twitched.

How should he even describe his current feelings?

…

After an entire night of chaos, the two finally left the underground cavern.

Frieren was wrapped in a blanket, completely drenched, trailing behind Shane with an unsatisfied look on her face.

Shane, anwhile, rubbed his aching lower back, utterly exhausted.

No… seriously, this was too much.

One Frieren versus more than a dozen mimics—this dungeon was straight-up "hell difficulty."

"Heroes!"

The mont they exited the dungeon, General Glux, who had been waiting outside, rushed over.

He looked them up and down, genuine relief written all over his face. "Thank goodness—you've returned safely!"

He imdiately ordered the priests behind him to step forward and begin diagnosis and treatnt for both of them.

Seeing the bloodshot eyes of the general, Shane felt a bit moved.

Had this city's commander really been standing here the entire ti since they entered the dungeon?

"I've already prepared food and rooms for you. Get so rest first. As for the follow-up operations, I'll hand them over to the city hall."

"General, we've already cleared the dungeon."

"What?!"

Glux was stunned.

He had assud they would at most bring back useful information—but they had cleared it entirely?

He could hardly believe it.

Shane took out the emblems from his inventory and handed them over.

"We also found these inside. Hopefully, they'll be of use."

"These are…"

Glux froze.

His hands trembled as he accepted the emblems, holding them carefully. He remained silent for a long mont.

"Thank you."

"Gostan City will never forget what you've done."