Lernen

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> “
> We're only human. Our time is limited. There is no such thing as "someday" in our lives.
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> —Lernen to Edel, in Chapter 82
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## Lernen

* Present
* Past

## Biographical Information

### Affiliation

Imperial Mages (formerly)
Continental Magic Association

## Series Information

### Manga Debut

Chapter 37 (partial appearance)
Chapter 48 (mentioned)
Chapter 57 (full appearance)

### Japanese VA

Atsushi Miyauchi

**Lernen** 「レルネン, *Rerunen*?」 was the very first mage to ascend to the rank of first-class after the foundation of the Continental Magic Association, and an apprentice of the Great Mage Serie. He is a well-respected figure within the Continental Magic Association, and usually conducts the third stage of the First-Class Mage Exam every three years.

## Personality

Lernen is a modest and cautious man. Serie remarked that ever since he was a young boy, he had been timid but always reliable. Lernen himself mentioned that he was socially awkward and did not know how to get along with most people, a factor that contributed to him being expelled from the Imperial Mages early in his life. However, he is greatly respected within the Continental Magic Association and even among the first-class mages, as he is the oldest first-class mage and the longest surviving one. Serie evaluates him highly and usually entrusts him with carrying out the final stage of the First-Class Mage Exams.

Despite his outward manners and self-evaluation, Lernen is actually quite a strong-willed and rebellious person. Even when he was young, he was willing to go against Serie's instructions to wait in order to request that she did not kill Macht and instead let her apprentices seal him, as he wanted to find a way to save his best friend's hometown. Although he said he had lived as long as he had because he always knew when to quit, Lernen was quite willing to take on difficult challenges and danger to achieve his goals, such as when he attempted to duel Frieren as a means of leaving his mark on history. He goes to great lengths to make the people important to him happy and fulfil their wishes. He challenges Frieren because he wants to repay the time he has spent as Serie's apprentice by leaving a mark on history as her disciple. He also endangered his life venturing into the Golden Land and confronting Macht in order to secure intel for Denken to grasp the chance of defeating the Sage of Destruction and save his hometown.

## Appearance

Lernen is an old man who wears a white robe. He has a moustache.

When he was young, he had short, light hair and a clean baby face. He was shown to wear attire in darker colors.

## Synopsis

### History

Lernen came from nobility. When he was young, he was an Imperial Mage in the Empire where he met Denken. The two quickly got along and became good friends. Unfortunately, talented as Lernen was, he was not good at getting along with others, and was soon expelled from his position. Denken had defended him until the end, for which Lernen felt grateful and indebted to.

When the Continental Magic Association was established, Lernen was the first person to qualify as a first-class mage. He became Serie's apprentice and eventually grew to be a powerful and respected mage.

After the Fortified City of Weise was transmuted into gold by Macht, Lernen and his fellow first-class mages at the time escorted Serie in eliminating the Sage of Destruction. However, Lernen and the other apprentices intervened in the middle of Macht and Serie's battle and proposed that they would seal Macht inside a barrier until a way to return Weise back to normal could be found. Serie reluctantly agreed, and her disciples created the Great Barrier of the Golden Lands.

Lernen would become responsible for conducting the final stage of the First-Class Mage Exam in Äußerst every three years to pick out the next first-class mages. His test was implied to be very arduous.[*citation needed*]

## Relationships

### Serie

Lernen is one of Serie's many apprentices. He was the first mage to ascend to the rank of first-class mage. Serie always saw the potential in Lernen and was pleased when he was able to see the instability in Frieren's mana restraint. However, she expressed disappointment that because of his limited lifespan, there are heights he would never be able to reach, as in the end he still wasn't able to sense Serie's own mana restraint. Lernen cares deeply about Serie and is considerate of her long lifespan. He expresses regret that because he lived in a more peaceful era, he would be unable to ever make his mark on history, and thus upon his death another marker of the Great Mage Serie's life would disappear. In order to create a legacy for himself so that Serie would not be left alone and lonely in the future, he is willing to challenge the legendary mage that defeated the Demon King, Frieren, to a duel to the death. According to Frieren, Serie is awkward and incapable of expressing her feelings honestly—even if Lernen never makes his mark on history, Serie will remember him anyways.

### Denken

Lernen and Denken have been good friends for many decades. Even though they came from different backgrounds[*citation needed*] they got along well, and they would both listen to each others' qualms and support one another. When Lernen was ousted from his position as Imperial Mage, Denken was the first to come to his defense. Though this ultimately was for naught, as Lernen was still ousted from his position, Lernen has remained deeply grateful to Denken all this time, and resolved to one day pay his friend back.

### Ehre

Lernen is Ehre's grandfather. They seem to be on good terms, as Ehre brings up Lernen casually in conversations, and he makes the time when she wants to introduce the other members of the thirteenth party to him after the conclusion of the First Class Mage Exam.

### Edel

Lernen has great faith in Edel's abilities, going so far as to choose to hire her for her mental magic services and bring her to the Golden Lands to confront Macht. He also treats her like a granddaughter as he buys her cakes and treats from the bakery before missions. He considers Edel a braver mage than himself.

### Frieren

Lernen admires Frieren and respects her. He refers to her formally, and is the only one shown to recognize the Holy Emblem that Frieren possesses. Despite the respect he holds for Frieren, he challenges her to a duel to the death as he wishes to earn notoriety in some way so as to not be forgotten by history, thus ensuring that one of the marks of Serie's existence will not be erased.

## Abilities

Lernen is an incredibly powerful and accomplished mage whom Serie considered capable of defeating Frieren.

* **Mana detection:** Lernen has excellent mana detection. He is capable of seeing the instability in Frieren's mana in a single glance, a feat previously only accomplished by the Demon King.

* **Magic Golem:** According to Serie, Lernen's favorite magic is creating golems. The golems he created are sturdy and strong, as depicted in the second stage of the First-class mage exam where they easily nullified the dungeon traps and rescued the examinees from grave danger. The golems were also capable of casting healing magic.

* **Unidentified Offensive Magic:** A Zoltraak-like spell Lernen used to attack Frieren. It is capable of breaking Frieren's defense magic.