Episode 20

Übel duels Wirbel with a cleaving magic he struggles to track, scoring cuts before he names its weakness, a reach of only five meters. Nearby, Fern faces Ehre and wins by accelerating a saturating barrage of ordinary offensive magic until Ehre's defenses collapse. Wirbel binds Übel with Sorganeil, a spell that holds anyone he keeps in sight, then spares her and demands only the party's Stille. Übel cuts the bridge of his nose, but he simply recasts the binding.

Pressed on whether he has ever killed women or children, Wirbel describes the Northern Magic Corps and the grim reality of northern wars, where child soldiers were sent to die. Übel reads his restraint magic as a tool meant to delay death rather than deal it, sensing that despite bloodied hands he still wishes to remain human. He grins, confirms it, and prepares to finish her, only for Fern to appear and force a standstill. Fern claims she killed Ehre, and Wirbel, believing his party has lost a member, withdraws.

Elsewhere, Land defeats Scharf by revealing that the figure fighting all along was a clone, then knocks him out. Wirbel finds Ehre alive, scolds her loss, and carries his battered teammates onward. He recalls fighting demons for a childhood crush whose face and name he has long forgotten, then luckily snares a passing Stille with Sorganeil.

Watching the second party, Laufen uses the high-speed spell Jilwer to snatch their bird and flee. Proctors Genau and Sense debate the exam's lethality and Denken's motives. Denken and Richter then confront Frieren's group, and Denken recognizes her as a mage famous in his generation. Richter explains the prize behind the first-class rank: the great mage Serie, a living grimoire, grants any single spell the winner desires. He casts Bargland to wall off the battles, leaving Frieren to face Denken alone.

Fern overwhelms Ehre with accelerated basic magic, while Übel battles Wirbel to a standstill and exposes his reluctance to kill. Fern bluffs that she killed Ehre, forcing Wirbel to concede the loss and withdraw. Land defeats Scharf using clone magic.

Wirbel finds Ehre alive and luckily captures a Stille, while Laufen steals the second party's bird with the Jilwer spell. Denken recognizes Frieren as a legend, and Richter reveals the first-class prize is any one spell granted by the great mage Serie before splitting the battlefield with Bargland.

A manga scene of Wirbel recalling a demon battle when he mentions others like Übel is dropped, while the anime adds him donning a mask during his Northern Magic Corps memory. The final panel of the relevant chapter, where Wirbel proposes a deal after Fern's ambush, is also omitted.

The anime has Land knock Scharf out with a small electric shock, whereas the manga has him strike physically. When Richter describes Serie's privilege, the manga shows her enthroned with a Genau-like figure kneeling and adds visuals for wealth, healing, and power, details the anime leaves out.