| Introduction |
Laufen ｢ラオフェン Raofen?｣ is a third-class mage. She participates in the same First-Class Mage Exam as Frieren and Fern. During the first stage of the exam, she forms the thirteenth party alongside Denken and Richter.
Personality[]
Laufen is not a very talkative individual, but she is shown to be sympathetic as she shows concern for corpses of other mages that have become bait for monsters and refuses to leave Denken behind when Frieren defeats him and threatens to torture him. However, these two instances also show her slight naivety and inexperience as a mage. During the first and second stages of the First-Class Mage Exam, she proves herself to be a reliable and cooperative team member.
Laufen also quickly takes a liking to Denken, who treats and spoils her as if she was his grandchild. She goes as far as to call him her grandfather and even speaks on his behalf with Richter.
Appearance[]
Laufen has a slender figure and appears to be rather young. She has brown eyes and orange hair styled into short, asymmetrical slanted bangs and tied into twin buns, each one decorated with a frilly band, a hanging yellow tassel, and a pair of red spheres.
Laufen's outfit consists of a sleeveless, navy dress decorated with white accents. Her dress has slits and exposed shoulders, and the top of her dress is crossed in the front and back with thick, white straps. The middle of the crossed front strap is adorned with a red gem and two white tassels hanging from it. She wears black shorts underneath her dress alongside elbow-length bracers and calf-high boots, both matching her dress. Her bracers and boots are also adorned with smaller tassels, similar to the ones on her dress.
Synopsis[]
First-Class Mage Exam Arc (First Stage)[]
Laufen's introduction as a member of the thirteenth party.
Laufen is one of the examinees that gather to take the First-Class Mage Exam in Äußerst. She is placed in the thirteenth party with second-class mages Denken and Richter for the first stage of the exam. As they search for a Stille, they witness Lawine of the second party freezing the lake at the center of the exam area and escaping. As other parties frantically attempt to melt the ice, Denken leads Richter and Laufen away with the intention to steal the second party's Stille.
As they search, they come across corpses belonging to other examinees hanging from the trees. Laufen wishes to take them down, however, Denken cautions against it due to the spell casted by the Geisel onto the corpses, which would immediately notify the monsters of their presence. Laufen criticizes the proctors for choosing a location with dangerous monsters and for their lack of concern regarding the lives of the examinees, but Richter explains that the examiners intend to convey the idea that first-class mages are capable enough not to be deterred by such obstacles.
Laufen discusses the second party's strategy.
The three mages travel throughout the exam location, and Laufen mentions that they are having trouble detecting the second party, which Richter attributes to them hiding and concealing their mana. Denken observes a water hole and comments on the faint presence of mana in every source of water they had come across. Although Laufen and Richter both struggle to detect the mana, Denken recognizes that the Stilles are able to sense it and are likely avoiding the water as a result. Laufen realizes that the second party's strategy is to isolate a water source, and Denken instructs his party members to wait for the second party to reveal their location.
Laufen confronts the second party.
Right as Frieren manages to obtain a Stille with her spell that captures a bird, Denken detects her location, and Laufen immediately proceeds to use Jilwer to confront the second party, cornering them. She manages to steal the Stille and hide, leaving Denken and Richter to fight the second party. Frieren questions why they remained to fight if Laufen could just escape with Jilwer, but Denken points out that Frieren could easily track her mana trail due to Laufen's inexperience.
Frieren catches Laufen.
After Richter divides the battlefield, Denken and Frieren fight each other, and Denken is easily defeated by Frieren while Laufen watches from the sidelines. Frieren calls out to Laufen and threatens to kill Denken if she refuses to hand over the Stille. Denken pleads for Laufen to ignore Frieren as she has no intention of killing him and using Jilwer will reveal her location, but Laufen attempts to escape with both him and the Stille anyways. Frieren catches her and retrieves the Stille back, tying Laufen and Denken up against a tree.
Denken scolds Laufen for falling for Frieren's trap, and Laufen protests that Frieren would've tortured him had he not given it up. Denken responds that they would've won in that case, which prompts Laufen to ask why he desired to become a first-class mage. He reveals that he wishes to visit a cemetary in his hometown in the Northern Plateau, where access is restricted to first-class mages.
Denken and Laufen witness the barrier breaking.
While Richter fights against Kanne and Lawine, Laufen witnesses Frieren destroy the barrier. With access to water, Kanne and Lawine manage to defeat Richter. Subsequently, the thirteenth party regroup as Richter is washed to Laufen and Denken's location. Denken asks Laufen, the only one left with mana, if she could remove their restraint, and she stresses that the restraint is too powerful. Denken tells her to cut down the tree instead then, and she complies. Richter tells Denken that they're out of options, and Laufen chimes in that she doesn't have enough mana for Jilwer. Denken refuses to give up and instructs them to look for other the parties.
Laufen treats Denken's injuries.
They discover two members of a party guarding their Stille, despite the death of one of their teammates. When Richter wonders if Denken intends to offer them something in exchange for the Stille, Denken acknowledges that he wouldn't accept if he were in their shoes. Laufen questions him why, and he responds that it doesn't sit right with him. Denken brings Richter along to confront the party and directs Laufen to get the Stille when an opening appears. He proceeds to start a fistfight. The thirteenth party emerges victorious and manages to obtain the Stille, with Laufen dressing Denken's wounds in the aftermath.
At the end of the first stage, Laufen and her party members successfully guard their Stille and thus pass the first exam.
First-Class Mage Exam Arc (Second Stage)[]
During the second stage of the exam, Laufen is one of four mages that decide to stay behind when Denken proposes that the examinees cooperate to clear the dungeon together. The five of them enter the dungeon as a team, skillfully evading traps along the way. However, they soon encounter a group of gargoyles that attack them. Laufen manages to bash one gargoyle to the ground, but it still manages to launch an attack at Länge. Länge is unable to block the attack and is flung into a small room, isolated from the rest of the group. The room's walls, which are covered in spikes, begin to slowly close in on her. Denken tries to break through the wall with his Catastravia spell, but it has no effect. He instructs Länge to break her golem bottle, and after she does so, the rest of the party watches as the golem carries Länge to safety.
Frieren's clone attacks Denken's group, forcing them to retreat.
The group then encounters a clone of Laufen, created by the Spiegel. Laufen engages her clone in close-quarters combat and eventually manages to push it back. Richter uses his Bargland spell, separating them, allowing Methode to finish off the clone. After the battle, Denken observes the accuracy of Laufen's behavior and skills exhibited by the replica, and Laufen expresses her discomfort. As they progress deeper into the dungeon, the next clone they face is Frieren's. This clone proves too strong for them, forcing them to retreat.
Laufen fights against Methode's Spiegel clone.
While trying to come up with a plan to deal with Frieren's clone, Denken's group is joined by various other mages that managed to make their way to the bottom of the dungeon: Frieren and Fern, Dünste, and Kanne and Lawine. Laufen participates in the strategy meetings, and when the plan is set, she, along with the other examinees, engage the gathering clones to slow them down while Frieren and Fern face Frieren's clone. Laufen battles against Methode's clone, during which she notes how surprisingly easy the fight feels.
After Frieren destroys the Spiegel and Methode's clone disappears, Laufen emerges from behind a pillar and eventually reaches the dungeon's treasure room with the other examinees, passing the second test of the exam.
First-Class Mage Exam Arc (Final Stage)[]
Laufen offers her half-eaten donut to Richter.
Before the third stage of the exam begins, Laufen joins Denken to visit Richter at his shop. While there, she offers a donut to the disgruntled Richter, who declines. Laufen listens to the conversation between Denken and Richter, and after Denken leaves, she comments to Richter on how Denken struggles with reading the room and apologizes to him for Denken's lack of tact.
Laufen is later among the rest of the examinees that listen to Falsch explain the contents of the third stage of the exam. She is the third to speak to Serie and is one of the examinees to be failed instantly, presumably due to her inability to visualize herself becoming a first-class mage or her fright of Serie's mana.
Later, after the conclusion of the First-Class Mage Exam, Laufen and Denken are in a bakery where they run into Fern and Stark. Both Laufen and Fern pick out the same pastry, which leads to Denken buying sweets for the entire group to share. After the group sits down to eat together, Laufen listens to Denken's conversation with Fern and Stark as she enjoys her sweets. Later, as Frieren's Party departs from Äußerst, Laufen is seen enjoying a meal with Denken and Richter.
Abilities[]
Laufen demonstrates her hand-to-hand combat proficiency against her clone.
Although Laufen is considered a novice mage by Denken,[1] she is able to fight on even footing against the Spiegel's clone of Methode, a powerful mage who eventually became a first-class mage. Laufen even considers the fight to be easy.[2]
- Agility: Laufen is quite agile and athletic, as she is able to jump to great heights and dodge Gargoyle attacks,[note 1] even without utilizing Jilwer.
- Hand-to-hand combat:[note 1] During her fight against her Spiegel clone, Laufen demonstrates proficiency in martial arts and is able to use her staff in conjunction with her hand-to-hand combat as a melee weapon.
Spells[]
Laufen confronts the second party with Jilwer.
- Jilwer: Laufen utilizes the spell Jilwer, a folk spell that belongs to a mountain tribe in the Southern Lands, which allows her to move at incredibly high speeds.[3] The speed at which she moves is faster than the eye can see, and she appears to be capable of going to Jilwer's speed from sitting still almost immediately, giving the impression that she can disappear.
- Unnamed whip spell:[note 1] Laufen can transform her staff into a long and flexible whip, which enables her to attack from a further distance.
Manga Appearance[]
| Chapter 77: A Thunder of Dragons | Absent |
| Chapter 78: Lake Korridor | Absent |
| Chapter 79: The Great Tor Canyon | Absent |
| Chapter 80: Holy Snow Crystals | Absent |
| Chapter 81: The Golden Land | Absent |
| Chapter 82: Diagoldze—The Spell to Transmute All Creation into Gold | Absent |
| Chapter 83: The Stone Bracelet of Servitude | Absent |
| Chapter 84: Daredevil | Absent |
| Chapter 85: Malice | Absent |
| Chapter 86: Discussions | Absent |
| Chapter 87: Affection | Absent |
| Chapter 88: Solitär | Absent |
| Chapter 89: Guilt | Absent |
| Chapter 90: Glück | Absent |
| Chapter 91: Onstage | Absent |
| Chapter 92: The End of Weise | Absent |
| Chapter 93: The Great Barrier | Absent |
| Chapter 94: Analysis | Absent |
| Chapter 95: Nameless Great Demon | Absent |
| Chapter 96: Master and Apprentice | Absent |
| Chapter 97: Observation | Absent |
| Chapter 98: Retribution | Absent |
| Chapter 99: Offense and Defense | Absent |
| Chapter 100: The Fundamentals of Mages | Flashback |
| Chapter 101: Breakthrough | Absent |
| Chapter 102: A Tie | Absent |
| Chapter 103: Time for Retribution | Absent |
| Chapter 104: A Visit to Her Grave | Absent |
Anime Appearance[]
Trivia[]
- "Laufen" is German for "to run" or "to walk."
- Laufen ranked the following in the official popularity polls:
- 40th in the first popularity contest.
- 19th in the second popularity contest, where multiple votes per character were counted.
- In this same contest, Laufen ranked 13th when counting only unique votes (one vote per character per person).
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Manga: Chapter 43 (p. 7).
- ↑ Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Manga: Chapter 54 (p. 5).
- ↑ Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Manga: Chapter 43 (p. 6).