Wirbel

Wirbel (ヴィアベル) is a former second-class mage and the leader of the eighth party during the first stage of the First Class Mage Exam. He is the captain of the Northern Magic Corps and is thus a very experienced mage. He later passes the First Class Mage Examination after Serie finds him suitable.

Personality
Being the captain of the Northern Magic Corps, Wirbel is used to war and, like Serie, views magic only as a tool for killing. He can be quite blunt and rude because of this, and coupled with his intimidating appearance, people who do not know him well consider him quite unlikeable, with Fern even going so far as to call him someone who looks like they would "kick dogs". Despite this, he does not enjoy killing and immediately stands down if he judges killing to be unnecessary, such as when Fern lied to him about killing Ehre during the first stage of the First Class Mage Exam, meaning he'd lost and any further killing would be pointless. He later admitted to Frieren however that the world might be better off if he had killed Übel. Wirbel can also be quite kind, helping an elderly woman with magic when she knocks over a basket of apples and carrying Ehre and Scharf during the first and second stages of the exam when they exhaust their mana and are left unable to move.

Appearance
Wirbel is a fair, middle-aged man with messy, asymmetrical white hair. He wears two earrings on each ear and a belt-like choker around his neck.

His outfit consists of a long white coat that extends below his knees, embellished with thick black fur lining on the collar and sleeves, and tassels adorning the chest. Beneath the coat, he sports a white shirt with black spots and two crisscrossing straps creating an X-pattern across his torso. This is paired with black shoes and long black pants wrapped in black bandages around the thighs and ankles.

Synopsis
Wirbel, a renowned second-class mage and the captain of the Northern Magic Corps, makes his debut in the First Class Mage Exam. From the start, he garners attention as one of the more notable candidates due to his combat prowess and impressive reputation.

History
Wirbel was born and raised in a village located in the remote northern region that had once been visited by the Hero Party. Though the young Wirbel was enamored by the epic stories of the exploits of the legendary party, he had been disappointed to hear that the elderly citizens would only wholeheartedly talk about the seemingly bland assistance that the party provided such as escorting merchants and transporting goods. After his village was attacked by the remnants of the Demon King’s army after Himmel’s death, he understood that the epics of the Hero Party were irrelevant in the face of the village citizens who want nothing more than to protect their daily life. This experience served as the primary motivation for him to provide what can be seen as trivial assistance to anyone he can.

Wirbel became a second-class mage and the captain of the Northern Magic Corps before the First Class Mage Exam arc. As a member of the Northern Magic Corps, he has engaged in various combats against demons and even humans during international warfare. Due to this, he has become used to killing women and children during war. At some point when Ehre was a young child, she witnessed Wirbel saving her village from a demon alongside other mages.

First Class Mage Exam - First Stage
In the first stage of the exam, Wirbel, along with Ehre and Scharf, forms the Eighth Party with the mission to capture a Stille. They encounter Fern, Übel, and Land, who have already captured one. Wirbel battles Übel and uses the Spell of Binding: Sorganeel to restrain her, offering a final chance to release the Stille. Übel tries to disrupt Wirbel's line of sight by throwing the Stille into the air and attempts to attack him, targeting his eyes with Reelseiden. Wirbel dodges this, but receives a lateral wound above his nose before once again binding Übel with Sorganeel. Übel inquires about Wirbel's past, and he shares his experiences in the Northern Magic Corps, including having to kill women and children. She insinuates that his binding spell must originate from his desire to delay deaths until necessary, indicating his wish to remain humane. Wirbel decides to kill Übel but is interrupted by Fern, who falsely claims Ehre's death, prompting Wirbel to leave under the assumption that he is already disqualified. Übel's attempts to attack him from behind before being stopped by Fern, while Wirbel emphasizes that an unnecessary kill will only become necessary if Übel continues. After leaving the battleground, a relieved and annoyed Wirbel finds Ehre unconscious and wakes her up. Ehre, unable to walk, scolds Wirbel for treating her like an object with magic and forces him to carry her on his back. They later regroup with Scharf, who is also immobilized after losing to Land, so Wirbel carries him using magic. Despite their apparent failure, Ehre appreciates Wirbel's kindness and assumes it's the same kindness that motivated him to fight demons and save her village in the past. Wirbel admits his initial motivation to fight demons was to impress a girl he can no longer remember in his childhood. As Wirbel discusses the challenges of returning home by ship due to his seasickness, Ehre spots a Stille nearby, and Wirbel captures it using Sorganeel, helping the Eighth Party pass the first exam.

In the intermission between the first and second stage of the exam, Wirbel takes on a subjugation quest for a fresser lion boar with Scharf, leading the two into a search for a capable warrior before initiating the quest. The two eventually run into Stark and take him away with Fern’s permission after assessing his body. The three are eventually successful with Wirbel being particularly impressed by Stark’s ability.

First Class Mage Exam - Second Stage
During the second exam stage, Wirbel, unwilling to work with those he is unfamiliar with, ventures into the Tomb of the Ruined King with Scharf and Ehre. They progress deep into the dungeon before encountering Spiegel clones of themselves. Wirbel faces Ehre's clone, instructing Scharf to take on his clone and Ehre to combat Scharf's clone, resulting in victory for the group. The trio eventually meet Methode, who explains that the remaining mages in the dungeon have a plan to confront the clones and buy time for Frieren to eliminate Spiegel. Methode requests their assistance. Amidst this, news arrives about Sense's clone's defeat by Ubel, which doesn't surprise Wirbel. Wirbel agrees to help, and their group is assigned to face the clone of Denken. They successfully hold the clone at bay until Frieren destroys Spiegel, conquering the dungeon. Comically, Scharf and Ehre find themselves unable to walk again, prompting Wirbel to carry them to the deepest point of the dungeon where they officially pass the second stage of the exam.

First Class Mage Exam - Third Stage
In the third exam stage, Wirbel alongside the 11 other mages are screened individually by Serie, the head of the Continental Magic Association. He is acknowledged by Serie as the greatest second-class mage combatant, who understands that Wirbel judges her to be an unbeatable enemy through logic rather than fear. When asked what magic it is that Wirbel likes, he responds that he believes magic to be a tool for killing that are neither to be liked or hated, a response that Serie finds agreeable. As a result, Wirbel passes the third stage of the exam and becomes a fully fledged first-class mage. He is later seen comforting Scharf and Ehre who were both failed by Serie.

After the exam, Wirbel runs into Frieren after assisting an old lady that Frieren ignores after being concerned for a moment. Wirbel justifies his actions against Fern and her party to Frieren as they were only threats, though he implies that the world would be better off with someone like Übel dead. Wirbel explains to Frieren that he became a first-class mage purely to amass powerful spells that would allow him to protect his village and kill demons, yet he makes it a point to extend a helping hand to anyone whenever possible even if it is irrelevant to his goal. He continues to tell Frieren about his upbringing and how the silly stories of Hero Himmel had a major impact on him. As Wirbel bids farewell and regroups with his party, Frieren smiles as she reflects on the actions of Himmel and how the world has changed based on Wirbel's story.

Continued Northern Travels
Shortly after, Wirbel's party encounters Frieren, Stark, and Fern at an inn located between the Northern Plateau and Neutral Harbor. Wirbel explains that he had to return through the sea urgently because demons had begun to rampage in the north again. This allows him to travel with Scharf and Ehre until they reach the Royal Capital's port town. Wirbel reminds Stark of his proposal to join the undermanned vanguards of the Northern Magic Corps for two to three years but is turned down. Frieren, uncertain about Stark's true desires, permits Wirbel to attempt to persuade Stark once more. Ultimately, it is revealed that Stark has rejected Wirbel's proposal once again. The next day, Wirbel and his party bids farewell, confident that they will meet again when Frieren's party visits the far north.

Scharf
Scharf and Wirbel are placed in the same team for the first stage of the First Class Mage Exam. The two become friendly with one another, and are willing to interact even outside of the exam, as shown when they take on a subjugation request for the Fresser and go hunting for a vanguard in town together. Though exasperated, Wirbel levitates Scharf whenever he runs out of mana during the first and second stage of the exam. He is convinced by Scharf and Ehre to travel with them back to the Northern Frontier.

Ehre
Ehre and Wirbel are placed in the same team for the first stage of the First Class Mage Exam. After Ehre is defeated by Fern, he lightly goads her for running out of mana when she was the top student at the Academy of Magic. He deduces that Ehre's defeat by Fern was more telling of Fern's own strength than Ehre's weakness, but tells Ehre that it was a battle she could have won had she not chosen to fight Fern head on, showing he respects her capabilities as a mage. To Wirbel's annoyance, she expects him to give her a piggy-back ride rather than levitating her like an object once she runs out of mana in the first stage of the exam, though he acquiesces anyways. When Ehre was younger, Wirbel was one of the mages who defended her village from demons. She questions him on his motivations to become a first-class mage, to which he tells her that he simply wanted to impress his crush when he was younger. Wirbel trusts both Ehre and Scharf enough to team up with them again during the second stage of the exam. After the exam, Ehre introduces Wirbel to her grandfather, Lernen, and she and Scharf convince Wirbel to travel to the Northern Frontier with them.

Übel
Wirbel and Übel face off in the first stage of the First Class Mage Exam. The two are shown to understand each other well. Once Übel goes for his eyes instead of his neck with her slashing magic, Wirbel judges her to be a freak that enjoys killing. Despite this judgement, when Übel asks him questions to buy time, he bites and shares his experiences in the Northern Frontier with her. When Übel judges that despite the blood on his hands, he still wishes to stay human, Wirbel tells her she is correct, but that he has never run from a necessary kill. Later, after the First Class Mage Exam, he declares that he should have killed Übel, as it would have made the world a better place.

Himmel
Growing up, Wirbel deeply admired the Hero Himmel for feats such as conquering the Thousand Mirror Tower and defeating the Immortal Böse. However, once his village was attacked by demons, he grew to realize that it was the smaller actions of the Hero Himmel, such as helping villagers with small daily tasks, that helped them keep up with their daily lives. Because of this, Wirbel grew to have the mindset to lend a helping hand to anyone in trouble as much as possible. He tells Frieren that it was the silly adventure stories about the Hero Himmel that brought him this far.

Abilities

 * Spell of Binding: Sorganeel: Wirbel's main spell is the binding magic Sorganeel. When used, the spell completely prevents someone from moving or accessing their mana to cast spells. However, the requirement for activating and maintaining it is that Wirbel must have the target's entire body in his vision. This means it can only be used on a single target at a time and it will not activate if even a single part of the target's body is out of his vision, for example, Sense's hair.

Trivia

 * Wirbel is German for "whirl", "vortex", "fuss" or "vertebra".