Equipment Printing School Mage

"You don't have to tell me." Mars's face didn't even show any fluctuation. "I have no intention of escaping without a fight."

Emiya nodded, then looked at the most seriously injured of the three. "Also, Leon, I won't let you be used as bait, and I will do my best to take care of you. However, whether you can survive the battle is beyond my control."

"I understand. Those who fear death don't join the Hell Knights! Where are we going next?"

Emiya replied, "To help you recover your weapons and armor, of course."

In any case, they must first arm themselves.

The gap between a bare-handed warrior and a fully armed warrior is still too huge.

His Divine Craftsmanship can indeed make use of the scrap metal on the ground - but Divine Craftsmanship is a fourth-ring spell with huge consumption and should not be used carelessly.

"The Friendly Arms' armory is on the other side of the first floor. You'll pass by the inn counter on the way. Follow me."

Seven professions rarer than mages

"These bandits!"

Emiya's sigh summed up their gains in the center of the inn.

This used to be a temporary storage area for supplies, but now it's as empty as if a hurricane had passed through.

His spellbook and the greatsword given to him by his teacher had apparently been taken away, and the spoils brought by the other two men had suffered the same fate.

The significance of a spell book to a wizard, if compared with modern life... is probably like the real estate certificate that an ordinary person gets after working hard and taking out a loan.

"……call……!"

Emiya took a few deep breaths.

"Then I'm afraid we'll have to go to the Armored Depot - that place is almost impossible to leave undefended, so be prepared."

Amidst the noise, the first floor of the Friendly Arm became a little quieter.

The three of them walked out of the cellar with caution, and all the footsteps were far away from them.

Through the window, they could see countless figures moving on the city wall, and a misty rain cloud was spreading towards the direction of Friendly Arm. The bright moonlight was gradually dimming.

At this moment, a terrified scream was heard from a tower: "—He ran away! The one called Emiya ran away!"

The cry exploded within the towering city walls, and the shrill sound echoed along the rock and earth within the closed arms of friendship.

The footsteps coming from afar became more frequent because of this shout.

The three of them lowered their bodies almost as a conditioned reflex so that their whereabouts would not be observed by others from the outside.

Mars whispered, "They actually just discovered that you escaped? The enemy doesn't seem to be that capable."

Emiya was less optimistic. "Unfortunately," she replied, "one of the shadow druids immediately sensed this possibility. He's likely incredibly powerful and experienced. He'll be a formidable foe." Emiya whispered, "We need to hurry."

If the weather changes again, their situation will become even worse.

Storms, heavy rains, thunder... these natural disasters are only friends of druids.

The only good news now is that the Friendly Arm is a real castle, and more than 30 people are not enough to block every corner of the Friendly Arm.

If their enemies wanted to block the exit, they would have to spread all their manpower to various parts of the castle in order to barely hold the main traffic routes.

Leon has recovered some strength at this moment and is now able to move freely.

On the way, Leon lowered his voice and said, "I think the armory is not guarded by anyone... Shapeshifters don't use weapons, and druids don't use iron tools. Do these two groups know the importance of the armory?"

Without even turning around, Emiya replied, "That's true for ordinary druids. But shadow druids are probably the only exception."

"They firmly believe that civilization weakens life and keeps it away from necessary experience. Therefore, they spend their days calculating how to torture civilized residents. Almost every shadow druid is experienced and would not make such a low-level mistake..."

The tall and strong Mars was walking in front. At this moment, he suddenly stopped and gestured for silence.

At the same time, clear and undisguised conversations were coming from the corridor diagonally in front.

The corridor was long and narrow with little decoration, except for the torches on either side that cast light, eliminating any shadows in the corridor.

There is nothing that can be used to obstruct the view.

At the other end of the corridor is the Arm of Friendship's weapons depot.

After Emiya quickly explained the situation, Mars couldn't help but sigh against the wall. "A twenty-meter-long corridor? Fortunately, the shapeshifters don't understand weapons, otherwise we might have become human targets before we even rushed over."

Leon muttered softly, "Such a long distance? How are we going to get through? If the other side is already on high alert, we'll probably be discovered halfway."

Their goal was to seize weapons from the armory, but putting on armor took time.

If they force their way through the corridor, they will be discovered halfway and the enemy will naturally sound the alarm immediately.

Then they might be surrounded before they could even get dressed.

Worse still, before they devise any strategy, they must be mindful of one thing: they have more to fight than just this one. Squandering existing resources might solve the current difficulties... but they would be forced to pay double in the future.

“…Without any shelter, it’s very difficult.”

Mars hesitated for a moment, finally sighed, and looked at Emilia.

"Master, do you have any solution?"

Emilia raised her eyebrows. "That's a very subtle implication. I'm a mage, so I should have a solution, right?"

However, he does have a solution.

Moreover, the solution is crude.

Emiya first looked at Leon: "Leon, how are you recovering now?"

Leon clenched his fists, his face slightly bitter.

His gaze lingered on Mars's face for a moment, and he finally said, "I'm afraid... I haven't fully recovered."

Emiya pondered for a moment, looked at the silent and mysterious black-haired young man, and said, "Mr. Mars - now is a critical juncture..."

"You're still hiding something from me. Perhaps you don't trust me... This is normal, but this situation is extremely dangerous. If you continue to hold back in the next action, the outcome will be unpredictable."

"Please make a decision. If you don't trust me, we should give up fighting back now and focus on escaping. That way, I won't be able to harm you. If you trust me, please give it your all."

"Whether you trust me or not is irrelevant to me. But please don't be hypocritical in a place like this."

Mars stood up straight, and the two looked at each other closely again.

Emiya was over 1.80 meters tall, which was considered quite tall for a human, and she never neglected to exercise. But Mars was nearly 2 meters tall and weighed nearly 100 kilograms, so Emiya looked a little thin in comparison.

Mars didn't remain silent for long. Finally, he nodded slowly: "...You are right. This state of seemingly working together but actually being suspicious of each other cannot continue forever."

"But my secret is actually very simple."

The tall warrior walked over to his frail companion and held out his hands, palms facing inward, fists apart.

Then, a golden light silently appeared in the calloused palm.

Leon obviously knew what was going to happen and stood up straight immediately.

These rays of light fell on Leon like golden sand. Wherever they touched, the deep wounds on the blond young man's body that were visible to the bone recovered quickly at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they had never happened.

In this world, healing is a rather luxurious power, and the related magic is almost always closely related to the gods, making it a forbidden zone that mages cannot touch.

Emilia murmured, "This gesture... doesn't use any incantation... doesn't use any holy symbol, so it's not a healing spell, nor is it a priest's channeling of divine power."

Furthermore, priests were not encouraged to use sharp weapons. Weapons like the two-handed greatsword were practically inaccessible to priests.

In this world, spells can be roughly divided into arcane and divine.

However, a certain divine profession was world-renowned for its difficulty and was extremely rare in this world. Most people could only see them in the poems and books of bards.

It is difficult to get a job and even more difficult to stay in the job, as you may lose your qualifications at any time.

Mars withdrew his hand, and Leon's condition had fully recovered in a few breaths.

What Mars is using is the holy healing ability unique to this profession.

The black-haired young man's expression turned serious.

"I'm sorry, my identity is a bit complicated, so I have to act conservatively sometimes."

"Now, please allow me to formally introduce myself."

"My name is Mars. I'm from Candlekeep. I'm a paladin who swore to dedicate my future and ideals to magic and knowledge, following the Oath of Quest."

The Oath of Quest: A vow emphasizing knowledge, magic, and goodness. Since Oghma, the god of knowledge, does not recruit paladins in this world, paladins who swear by this oath are exclusively under the command of Mystra, the goddess of magic—of course, these are all myths. However, Mystra paladins do exist. In the third edition, it's clearly stated that paladins of Mystra's church are called Knights of the Secret Fire.

**While the 5th edition rules significantly relaxed the paladin's oath, this won't happen in this book.

Eight players' hearts are dirty

I thought he was a warrior's traveling companion, but in fact he was a paladin.

Then, the chances of winning the next battle will suddenly increase.

The more uncertain the situation, the more powerful the spellcaster becomes. Meanwhile, the warrior's greatest strength lies in being the team's terminator.

In Emiya's view, other professions are responsible for improving the odds of winning, while warriors are responsible for turning odds into victory.

The Paladin is probably the most balanced profession among many.

"So, what exactly do you have in mind?" Mars asked seriously, "I'm really at my wit's end right now. I can't think of a perfect solution."

Emiya raised her head slightly.

They were still quite a distance away from the corridor, and shapeshifters were not known for their sharp eyes and ears, so their conversation would not attract attention.

One piece of evidence is that the shapeshifters guarding the armory are chatting nonchalantly, and every word they say can be heard clearly.

And, there are only two voices.

"It's simple," Emiya said simply. "Next, the two of you will lie in ambush outside the corridor and wait for me to lure them in. If I fail, we'll have to storm."

"The final storming is no problem. The question is, how are you going to lure them over?" Mars asked. "Although the shapeshifters are greedy, they are not stupid. They are elite in organization. If they are ordered to guard the weapons depot, they can't be lured away by some simple tricks."

Emiya nodded as if it was a matter of course. "Yes, that's true. So they might be transferred away by me in the simplest way."

He didn't explain much - it would be somewhat embarrassing if he had hyped it up in advance and it didn't work out in the end.

But his method is really very simple.

Under the shocked gazes of the two men, Emiya did not put on any disguise and walked into the corridor very quickly and decisively.

"...?!"

On the battlefield, both the enemy and our side often need to identify each other, otherwise it is easy to cause accidental injuries.

Some people may think that if I deliberately change into the enemy's identity, it would be easy to fish in troubled waters.

Maybe, but a lot of the time, it just creates more chaos.

And this is exactly the situation now.

Emiya used magic to tidy up her clothes slightly and cover the marks on her wrist. After making sure that there were no longer any signs of imprisonment on her body, she walked towards the armory with great calmness.

His footsteps were crisp and clear as he stepped on the stone bricks of the castle, without any intention of concealing his whereabouts.

Naturally, as soon as his footsteps sounded, the conversation in the direction of the armory stopped immediately.

Emiya took a deep breath.

The shapeshifter who imitated him was named Lorian, and his status was clearly higher than that of his kind.

At the same time, the shapeshifters clearly plan to occupy the Friendly Arm for a long time, so they should have begun to imitate the Friendly Arm's operations.

Combining the two, what he really needs to do is actually very simple.

First, we must seize the initiative.

Although shapeshifters can read the surface thoughts of others, this is not a constant mind-reading ability, but a kind of supernatural ability that needs to be activated.

And this is their flaw.

Although he did not understand the true social structure of shapeshifters, mind reading was undoubtedly an extremely offensive act, and this was probably no exception even among shapeshifters.

So, from the very beginning, we need to bring the thinking of these shapeshifters into rhythm.

Two figures emerged from the shadows of the armory. As expected, these shapeshifters were acting as employees of the Friendly Arm. The two shapeshifters' current appearance also made them look like Friendly Arm guards.

Two shapeshifters walked out of the shadows, holding spears in their hands. They just opened their mouths, but before they could ask any questions, they were interrupted seriously by Emilia.

Emilia pushed the spear aside expressionlessly, as if nothing had happened. "It's me, Lorian."

"—Didn't you hear the shouts? Follow me immediately!"