Lernen

"We're only human. Our time is limited. There is no such thing as "someday" in our lives."

- Lernen to Edel

Lernen (レルネン) 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 Association, and usually conducts the third stage of the First-class Mage Exam every three year.

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 social awkward and did not know how to get along with most people, a factor that contributed to him being expelled from the Imperial army 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, as well as one who had survived the longest. Serie seems to evaluate him highly and entrusts him with carrying out the final stage of the First-class mage Exams.

Despite his outward manners and admittance, Lernen is actually quite a strong-willed and rebellious person. Even when he was young, he was ready to interfere with Serie's intentions in order to find a way to save his best friend's hometown. Although he said he had lived this long 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 name in history. He will go to great lengths to make the people important to him happy and fulfil their wishes. He challenged Frieren because he wanted to return Serie's tutelage by leaving a mark on history as her disciple. He also endangered his life venturing into El Dorado and confronting Macht in order to secure intel for Denken to defeat the demon 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 an attire in darker color.

History
Lernen came from nobility. When he was young, he was enlisted in the Imperial Army 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 in the world, 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 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 intervened in the middle of their battle and proposed that they would seal Macht inside the city until a cure for his magic could be found. Serie reluctantly agreed, and her disciples created the Great Barrier of El Dorado.

Lernen would be responsible for conducting the final stage of the First-class Exams every three year to pick out the next first-class mages. His test was implied to be very arduous.

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 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 granddaughter. 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. He also treats her like a granddaughter as he buys her cakes and treats from the bakery before missions.

Frieren
Lernen admires Frieren and respects her. He refers to her formally, and is the only one shown to recognize the Holy Wang 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 seems capable of penetrating defense magic.

Trivia

 * Lernen is German for "learn."