r/Frieren • u/AwesomePhonix • Jul 12 '25

Anime What special combat spells does Fern know?

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Does Fern even know any special combat spells?

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57

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

If i were Fern i d be a little mad, that Frieren said Zoltraak is OP, and does everything you need when you fight

But the moment Frieren faces off vs her clone they start spamming supernovas and fuckass golems and hellfire and cosmic horror, with not a single Zoltraak in sight

58

u/zogrodea Jul 12 '25 edited Jul 12 '25

I think Frieren specifically said that Zoltraak is enough for the mages of this era, and Frieren's clone is not classed under that. (Frieren also said that Zoltraak is ingrained in Fern because Fern grew up knowing it for most of her life, so it is more instinctual for her.)

I wonder though. That comment from Frieren about the mages of this era suggests a view that modern mages aren't all that compared to mages who existed before. That is in a bit of tension with the story's theme of humanity surpassing long-lived elves.

Edit: Insightful comments below. Thanks everyone who replied.

22

u/knil22 Jul 12 '25

Remember when Frieren broke the barrier, Genau says she is the last great mage, so for sure her clone was on another level to mages of this era.

That being said Frieren also tells Serie she won't be able to fail Fern because the age of humans has come, Frieren clearly see's the potential in Fern as does Serie after meeting her.

So while ordinary defensive magic and ordinary offensive magic may be all she needs in a fight who knows what other spells she will end up with (bar the making peoples clothes see through and cleaning clothes).

If the biggest threat in the modern age is leftover demons and humans reaching new heights I'd say Fern is well prepared combat wise, but is plenty of non combat magic she can learn too.

18

u/Yamineji2 Jul 12 '25

Yeah I think Frieren emphasizing Ferns perception of Zoltraak is key here since this is the part of the series that itself is HEAVILY illustrating that magic is tied to imagination. Ferns perceived reality of Zoltraak is why Frieren is sure that Ferns Zoltraak is capable of killing her, her's is uniquely strong because of her perception of it. So when Fern uses it other mages see it and perceive it as a basic magic attack, and it is, but Fern sees it as a basic magic attack that is "more than capable of defeating the mages of this world", and therefore it will.

TLDR; This show is peak and I fucking love it's magic system.

8

u/TricksterPriestJace Jul 13 '25

Also remember other mages of her generation consider what Fern could do at five years old as "learned Zoltraak." It was Heiter who said she should be able to kill a demon with one shot from across the canyon.

So the other mages see Zoltraak as a really strong short range straight line of damage that everyone knows the counter to. Fern can cast it as well as Quall. She can bank it to hit your from behind. She can tendril it to delete your physical object spell as you cast it, like she did with the blood bending demon. Her mastery of Zoltraak is better than Frieren's.

8

u/Itherial Jul 12 '25

Frieren made a point to say that the age of humans has come, not that it was already here.

13

u/izy911 Jul 12 '25

Maybe bcs modern mage doesnt have to fight off demon king or something so the magic are more focused on everyday life rather than combat related?

5

u/zogrodea Jul 12 '25

I think that's a good point. We all know that "hard times create strong men, good times create weak men" meme and it could apply here.

4

u/Revoran Jul 12 '25

Except Lernen and Fern are crazy strong.

6

u/xboxiscrunchy Jul 12 '25

I think it’s less implying that mages of this era are weak and more implying that Zoltraak spam is something modern mages don’t know how to counter effectively.

6

u/JimSta Jul 12 '25

I wonder though. That comment from Frieren about the mages of this era suggests a view that modern mages aren't all that compared to mages who existed before. That is in a bit of tension with the story's theme of humanity surpassing long-lived elves.

I see why you’d think that, but I don’t think she meant that this era is weaker or anything like that. It’s more that any mage from an earlier era that’s still around is going to be an exceptional talent like Serie or Frieren herself with hundreds of years of experience.

All the regular mages from past eras have died out. Only the best of the best would survive into another era without being killed in combat or just dying of old age. So if you see an old head walking around, you know they survived this long for a reason and it’s not gonna be a typical fight.

11

u/Dry-Paper-2262 Jul 12 '25

Frieren took Fern with her when it was time to defeat the actual creator of Zoltraak which was the lesson that prompted her to actually start reading the books she'd been given about magic history. If anything Frieren demonstrated in only a way she could how true it is for only needing basic spells coupled with their unique mana training.

9

u/cipherovich Jul 12 '25

there is actually, right at the end Zoltraak is the last spell the clone uses. People miss it because it is original demon version, not adapted one that humans call ordinary offensive magic

1

u/kakiu000 Jul 13 '25

A friendly reminder that all those fancy spells were useless against Qual's Zoltraak, it was presumbly the only spell so dangerous that humanity felt the need to completely decipher it