Equipment Printing School Mage

"...That's certainly important, but that's not what I want to talk about right now." Metatron said seriously, "Do you want to go and take a look at my Mage Tower?"

This suggestion was like a bolt from the blue, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

Yin, who had originally looked disgusted, suddenly changed her expression, but the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back. Mars asked in surprise, "...Mage Tower? Are outsiders welcome there?"

Strictly speaking, the relationship between a mage and her apprentice isn't that close. Rather, it's extremely rare for someone like Apodel and Metatron to have only one student and yet have a close, parent-child relationship.

"I'm ashamed to say that." Metatron nodded. "That place isn't really a wizard's tower. To be more precise, it's just my residence. It doesn't even have any protection. I simply built a tower to live in order to imitate the wizard's style.

"There's almost nothing in it except my study notes."

Emiya's lips trembled: "...So, what's the point of going there now?"

Metatron was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll tell you a secret I've been hiding from you until now."

"Leaving now?"

"It makes no difference whether you arrive early or late," Metatron said. "You won't get anywhere on foot."

Then, she chanted a spell and summoned a ring-like door in the corridor. Brilliant platinum light gushed out from the ring, bright but not dazzling.

Like the moonlight on a summer night.

"...What is this spell?" Lunia's Emiya had anticipated this day, but she couldn't help but ask.

"The gate to another world." Yin replied.

This spell is not used to travel through the material plane.

*******************

"Wow--"

The next moment you step into the circle, you will hear the sound of the sea water lapping against the shore.

Emilia was very familiar with this voice - because he had been listening to it for several years.

They emerged onto a vast expanse of sand. The sand was as smooth as skin, with no roughness or friction to be felt.

It was not yet night in Candlekeep, but on the other side of the bright door, it was already dark.

To be more precise, it was a dreamlike summer night.

The tranquil moonlight and starlight sprinkled on the boundless seashore, outlining the mottled vegetation and the curves of the human body, and the brightness was just maintained at the limit that was enough to see the appearance clearly.

"Emmya, I never taught you astronomy. You must have made a fool of yourself during your time in Faerun." Metatron leaned over slightly, took off his cloth shoes, stood barefoot in the waves, turned his back to them, and spoke quietly.

Mars frowned at this moment, staring at the sky, and said: "...I did say that. Now I know - I am the ignorant one."

Such bright moonlight should be enough to cover the stars, but at this moment the stars are hanging in the sky in an extremely brilliant manner.

"You're not wrong, Mr. Mars. The stars here really don't have any meaning for prophecy or destiny. They can't be used to guide the way in Faerun."

Then, Metatron picked up his shoes and walked towards the depths of the ocean seemingly casually.

Emiya pursed her lips unconsciously.

Metatron's steps were casual, but not slow.

——But there is a problem.

She walked farther and farther into the ocean, but in Emiya's view, her height did not change at all, and she still occupied exactly the same proportion in his field of vision.

Metatron is growing taller.

In silence, the tall female mage finally stopped and turned around gracefully.

Broad wings like moonlight spread out behind her, like blooming summer flowers.

The smooth skin emits a faint blue-white glow, as if there are stars hidden inside.

She turned into a giantess nearly four meters tall.

Elegant, beautiful, and exuding a breathtaking vitality from head to toe.

"...Teacher." Emilia sighed, "You are an angel."

Metatron replied, "Yes. I am not an Aasimar with celestial power in my blood. I am a Seraph who has lost his master and lives freely in the upper planes. The true name I was given is Metatron.

"Filarrecel, Rashril, and Malkaykid, who are under the command of the Elven God King Corellon, are my compatriots. Zariel is my descendant."

"Emiya, the reason why you have never successfully summoned a magical familiar in all your years of study is actually too simple," she sighed.

"In the first level of the Celestial Realm Mountain, Silver Heaven Lunia, there are no beasts capable of becoming familiars."

Emiya took a deep breath and dumped out all the doubts she had been having for years: "-But I don't remember seeing any other angels."

Metatron replied, "—To facilitate data collection, I deliberately placed the Mage Tower away from the traditional areas of the Sub-Sky Clan. Therefore, the people living in the nearby market are all natives of the Outer Planes. They are not mortals in the broad sense, but their appearance is indeed the same.

"But if you walk a few more kilometers, you can see countless animal-headed angels."

"So, why did you kick me out of the Mage Tower?"

"A simpler and clearer reason," Metatron replied. "Mt. Celestial changes the personalities of all its inhabitants. I noticed you were becoming increasingly calm and silent. I decided this couldn't go on, so I found a Chosen of Mystra who wields the Silver Flame and sent you to the Material Plane. Of course, I didn't expect that seemingly kind-hearted old wizard to be so ruthless, casually shoving you into the center of the vortex. You've reached this point in just a few months."

At this moment, a clear cry suddenly sounded in this place where there should not be any wild beasts.

A few canaries came from nowhere and flapped their wings and landed quietly on Sig's head.

The relationship between Silver and Metatron had always been quite delicate. At this moment, Silver's expression was unusually serious.

"...Meta." She walked a few steps along the beach, looked at the solitary mage standing on the shore, and asked, "How much time have you spent on the arcane to reach this point today?"

Metatron unconsciously lowered his head and replied, "I spent decades collecting information, but after I started, I realized my talent was shockingly low. It took me three years to transition from cantrips to first-level magic, and six years to reach the second level... Each level was more difficult than the previous one, and the time it took became increasingly exaggerated and unacceptable. In the end, it took me a full eight hundred years to finally become a ninth-level wizard.

"Then, when I first became a Ninth Ring Mage, I designed an experiment that resulted in a devastating accident. Even worse, I eventually discovered I was completely unable to compensate the victims of the accident," Metatron replied. "I guess the only reason I became a Ninth Ring Mage is because I lived long enough."

And Emilia is the so-called victim.

Returning at 30

"...So, there are no wild beasts here." Emiya confirmed again.

"Of course." Metatron's answer was very firm.

"So, what is this?"

Emiya silently pointed at Sig.

The poet lady has been extremely sleepy these past few days, and she may not be awake for more than a few hours a day. However, today, when defending Candlekeep, she rarely stayed awake.

But after the liches that were besieging the surface retreated, she stretched herself and fell into a deep sleep again.

However, this is not the point.

The point is, in Lunya, where there were no beasts, two canaries were jumping on Sig's little head - and they had tied a lock of her hair with a platinum band.

After noticing Emiya's fingertips, the two canaries on Sig's head froze at the same time, then flapped their wings and flew away as if escaping, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

"......?" Emilia was stunned.

Metatron glanced at Sig thoughtfully and repeated with certainty: "There are no beasts."

…Too many onions.

And Emiya herself is just an ordinary alien.

Metatron hesitated for a moment and said, "Emmya, what are your plans next?"

"...Plans?" Emiya thought for a moment. "It doesn't seem to be anything special... It's just to resolve a question in my mind, right? Go back to Candlekeep to find Hus and see if we can improve their firearms. By the way, try to contact Eltoril tomorrow."

After hearing this, Mars fell silent.

He pursed his lips and patted his companion's shoulder: "Emiya, step back a few steps."

Emilia did as she was told, not knowing why.

The paladin stretched out his hand and pointed at the endless shadow behind the mage tower.

Then, he raised his fingers higher and higher, and Emilia simply followed his movements and looked up at the sky.

At this time, Emilia finally discovered what Mars wanted him to see.

That was not a shadow, but a mountain so high that it broke the field of vision.

For many years, he hadn't realized the uniqueness of Lunia, nor had he noticed the uniqueness of this shadow. Now, he finally realized that the height of this mountain was beyond his understanding, and perhaps there was no end at all.

"Emmya, this is Mount Celestial. This isn't actually where the living should come—they fight for order and goodness in life, and only come here after death. The gods who uphold the ways of lawful goodness have established their kingdoms here, and angels roam here," Mars replied. "Most of the paladins on Faerun come here after their sacrifice and death."

"This is where the gods gather and where mortals end their lives—" Mars pointed to the top of the mountain. "The kingdom of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, and Tyr, the God of Justice, is perhaps only a day's journey away from us."

Emiya narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to use the moonlight to take in the entire mountain range, but in the end it was futile: "So?"

"...Ms. Metatron, please allow me to make a bold guess," Mars asked, "You brought us here to say that if everything is truly irreversible..."

Metatron didn't answer immediately.

With a slight flutter of her wings, she landed beside Emiya and her group like a meteor. Her wings spread out around them like clouds. "...Yes. This is the escape route. If you don't want to continue, you can always come back here."

Emiya sighed deeply. "Teacher. Although at the beginning, I seemed to be drawn into the vortex of the world... but now, I have seen myself clearly - I took the initiative to step into danger."

From beginning to end, their team had countless opportunities along the way as long as they wanted to stay away from danger.

The path of concealing one's edge, hiding one's identity, and retreating from the front line of the battlefield to behind the scenes has always been open to them.

But in the end, they are still running towards the most dangerous place.

Mars is arrogant, Yin is indifferent to life and death, Sig is interested in the benefits behind the risks, and Elaster is in love with the risks themselves.

As for Emilia, she couldn't bear to see others struggling between life and death while he himself was living a carefree and decadent life.

"We choose our own path," Emilia replied.

***********************************

"...You let the young men fight to the death just a few feet away, while I sit back and drink tea in peace."

Storm Silverhand watched the tea leaves swirling in his cup, stopped writing, and sighed sadly.

She had thought life in Candlekeep wouldn't be so thrilling—it turned out she had underestimated her enemy's keen sense of smell.

Perhaps they still didn't know that Candlekeep housed two of the Seven Sisters, but they did know that Candlekeep was a worthy target.

At any other time, such a thing would have been a source of great joy to them – the Harpers were known for lurking in the shadows, but their enemies were often less than aboveboard, and seldom attacked a well-defended rampart.

Relying on the defense of Candlekeep to inflict heavy damage on the enemy, this should have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She glanced at her sister and shook her head.

Xinbu was actually quite difficult to get along with. Time had smoothed Storm Silverhand's edges, but it hadn't yet dulled the Witch King's interest. As a result, the Witch King fell in the storm of the Magic Web. Now, she still loved magic, but she had lost that edge that made people afraid to approach her.

The magic competition with the little girl from Emiya's team in public would probably become a history that Xinbu would never want to mention again.

Although, that little girl was indeed very...unusual.

Every time I see her, I feel a sense of closeness that is hard to describe.

Storm Silverhand shook his head, driving the messy thoughts out of his mind.

Originally, she had only just encountered the Emiya team, so she could have found some reason to keep the secret in her mind. But now that she knew Larloch was preparing for battle in his lair, she had no reason to hide it.

She estimated that Il had already given away a large amount of the hidden magic in Harp's hands - then, all she could still offer was various combat experiences and knowledge of magic use.

She picked up the stack of papers in her hand, looked at her work with satisfaction, and blew on it gently.

Silverhand glanced out the window. She had only casually glanced, hoping against hope that there was a slim chance she could find Emiya and the others and directly gift them her work.

However, she was somewhat surprised to find that tonight's night was exceptionally dark. The stars and the moon seemed completely hidden behind the clouds.

"...Is it a new moon today?" Storm Silverhand trembled unconsciously.

Although she lost most of her strength, her silver fire became much stronger.

She shouldn't be afraid of Qiu Han anymore.

***********************************

Emilia and her group stayed in Lunya for just a little while longer - they collected a few cans of sea water that could be used as holy water in Lunya, bought some things at the nearby market, and relived Emilia's life as a student in Lunya - meaning Emilia cooked.

It took only an hour or two, but when they returned to Candlekeep, the dark mist almost completely covered the castle, and Emiya almost thought she had taken the wrong road.

"...?"

Emiya was a little surprised: "...My first time using the other world teleportation, it went wrong?"

Silver looked around for a moment, then said with certainty, "No. This is Candlekeep."