The introduction with Funf-san proceeded in an incredibly pleasant atmosphere. She was a very kind person, and our conversation flowed naturally.
Once we finished discussing the schedule for Sieg-san’s training, we moved on to idle chatter. The topic inevitably shifted to our mutual acquaintance, Fia-sensei.
"Fie has been absolutely hopeless in a fight since the old days. During the war a thousand years ago, I was constantly worried about her."
"Eh? But isn't Fia-sensei at the very top of the Count-class?"
I had assumed Fia-sensei was among the strongest of the Count-class—someone with the power of a Six Kings' Executive. Funf-san’s tone, however, suggested otherwise.
I stole a glance at Sieg-san, who looked just as puzzled as I felt.
"Oh, Fie is certainly top-tier Count-class, but her combat power... or rather, her offensive output, is so low it’s faster to count from the bottom of the rank. After all, when it comes to attack magic, Fie can only cast beginner-level spells."
"Is that true?"
"Yes. Of course, her raw magic power makes them fairly potent, but they’re still not at a level that would deal significant damage to an equal or higher-ranked opponent. On the flip side, her recovery and support magic are staggering. Fie is the type of person who is only truly powerful when she’s fighting alongside someone else."
That revelation was surprising, yet it made a strange kind of sense. No matter how strong Noin-san and her comrades might have been a thousand years ago, it had always been hard for me to imagine them overcoming a peak Count-class opponent, especially after meeting the other Six Kings' Executives.
But I see. If Fia-sensei was purely a support specialist with no real offensive capabilities, the fact that they could even stand against her became much more plausible.
"...In other words, you’re saying Fia-sensei isn't suited for combat because she's specialized in support?"
Sieg-san asked the question with a contemplative look, having reached the same conclusion I had. Funf-san let out an amused chuckle.
"It’s easy to think that, isn't it? But that’s a major misunderstanding. In reality, there are only a handful of people—even among the Six Kings' Executives—who could actually win an all-out, one-on-one fight against Fie."
"What?" we both blurted out in unison.
"For the record, I don’t have a path to victory against Fie either. If it came down to a fight to the death, I would lose 100% of the time."
I was lost. Nothing Funf-san was saying now seemed to reconcile with what she had just told us.
"The secret to Fie’s strength is her overwhelming magic power recovery speed. Among the Six Kings-sama, she’s closest to Lilliwood-sama in that regard. Her mana recovers at such an absurd rate that even if she were completely drained, she’d be back at full capacity in less than a minute."
"That is..."
"Incredible," Sieg finished for me.
Magic power recovery varies by individual, but it generally isn't that fast. In my own experience, it usually takes about a full day to reach a full recovery state.
"Fie’s mana is virtually inexhaustible, and she has a terrifying talent for support and healing. She’s also exceptionally resistant to indirect tactics like sealing formulas. Truly, only a select few can actually put her down for good. Depending on the matchup, even a Six Kings' Executive-class fighter might find themselves with zero chance of winning the moment the battle starts."
"So, Fia-sensei is a Durability Monster? Like someone who just keeps getting back up no matter how many times you beat them?"
"That’s exactly right. That’s why a serious fight with Fie almost always turns into a miserable battle of attrition. This is an old story, but when Zex and Fie once had a serious mock battle, they fought for eighteen straight days. In the end, Zex was the one who threw in the towel, exhausted, while Fie was still at peak condition with her mana and health fully recovered."
I see. Depending on a person's fighting style, they really would be completely stalemated. Even if her offensive power was low, it was still at the Count-class level. Couple that with inexhaustible mana, mastery over recovery magic, and endless stamina...
Furthermore, the sealing magic that should have been the natural counter to such a foe wouldn't work because she was a master of auxiliary magic herself. She really was a powerhouse in her own right.
"It’s hypothetical, of course, but even when Noin defeated Fie... if Chrome-sama hadn't appeared right after, Fie would have likely been fully recovered in a matter of seconds. Fie admitted defeat, but if they had truly fought until one side was annihilated, Noin and her group wouldn't have stood a chance."
"I don't know what to say... the top of the Count-class is just on another level."
"Well, Fie hates fighting to begin with. She only learned beginner attack magic so she could focus entirely on support. Her maximum magic power amount is too different to compare her to Lilliwood-sama, but she uses that recovery speed to channel mana into others. She only shows her true value when she's in a team. Even during the battle with the God Realm—though Ein-nee-san was there too—the only reason we were able to hold our own against the buffed God of Space-Time was because Fie kept us supplied with mana, allowing us to spam our most powerful techniques."
I had learned about Fia-sensei’s true strength in the most unexpected way. But more than that, hearing that she hated fighting and never bothered with powerful attack spells felt very much like the Fia-sensei I knew. It was a comforting thought.
Fia
A "Durability Monster" whose mana and physical health are essentially under a permanent, high-intensity regen effect. No matter how many times she is defeated, she recovers to full strength within moments. This trait has left Zex with lingering trauma regarding fighting her.
In essence, she is built for auxiliary roles and excels at support, particularly mana supply. She has excellent synergy with Funf, whose techniques have a massive area of effect and high power but consume enormous amounts of mana. When the two of them form a combination, they are incredibly formidable.
However, since her maximum magic power amount is far lower than that of the Six Kings, she cannot supply mana to them.
(Note: Lilliwood possesses inexhaustible mana and can supply multiple Six Kings simultaneously, making her a complete superior version of this trait.)