Sousou no Frieren - episode 18 - 11 Jan, 2024

On the road to Äußerst Fern and Frieren discuss the rarity of first class mages and the difficulty of obtaining the certification to become one. Fern feels uncertain that she could pass the exam, but Frieren lets her know that mana capacity is not everything and that she herself has lost eleven times to people with a lower mana capacity than herself. Elsewhere a mage named Übel is approached by three bandits, she taunts them hoping to fight but Kraft intervenes and fights them off. Kraft tells Übel that he was protecting the bandits from her, as he is aware she murdered a number of bandits, Übel introduces herself to him and they part ways. Fern and Frieren arrive at the association and manage to sign up for the first class exam. After preparing for two months, they take the exam. Frieren is teamed with Lawine and Kanne, who are childhood friends and rivals while Fern ends up being teamed with Übel. The first test of the exam is to capture a Stille, but this proves to be no easy task as the bird moves faster than sound. Frieren is unsure of how to catch it due to Lawine and Kanne constantly bickering, but she notices they have almost flawless teamwork despite that. After Frieren saves her from a monster, Kanne confides that even though she does not like Lawine, she stays with her because Lawine can push her to improve herself. Kanne then mentions something she noticed about the Stille's behavior, which helps Frieren come up with a plan to capture one. (Source: Wikipedia)