Equipment Printing School Mage

However, they were clearly not the only guests in the Hall of Miracles.

Outside the Hall of Wonders, another Gond novice was locked in a standoff with a lavishly dressed guest. The guest's style of dress was quite out of place in Baldur's Gate, his face thick with foundation and an unusually strong perfume, suggesting he had arrived from East Faerun.

"—No! I say again, sir!" The novice monk opened his arms and stood in front of the guest. "The main entrance of the Hall of Miracles has been released with divine power, which can dispel the magic on the guests. This is a fact. Because of this, all guests must enter through the main entrance!"

The guest's clothing was rather heavy, and his voice was hoarse and strange, like a chilling wind blowing through a tattered cave. "How can this be absurd? Allowing an outsider to remove the magic from your body? Do you realize how great a risk this is?"

"Of course I know that," the novice said, "but in the hundreds of years since the Hall of Miracles was founded, no guest has ever been attacked here. This is a testament to the credibility of our Gond Church! We demand mutual trust!"

"This is my first time in Baldur's Gate!" the visitor said hoarsely. "Can't you make an exception?"

The novice monk shook his head. "Exceptions are possible. However, the Church of Gund at Baldur's Gate has been extremely busy lately. Unless you have a strong desire to purchase a particular item in the Hall of Miracles, we will consider sending a priest to contact you outside the Hall of Miracles. Which item are you interested in?"

"That's ridiculous! I haven't even entered the Hall of Miracles yet. Do I have to buy the entire Hall of Miracles?"

"That's unfortunate. The rules are here. If you want to enter the Hall of Miracles, you must go through the main entrance."

The guest was obviously very dissatisfied with this, but he did not continue to argue. Instead, he simply stood to the side of the entrance to the Hall of Miracles and said, "Then I will stand here and not leave."

The novice replied, "Unfortunately, there are no official priests in the Gond Church to handle this kind of dispute anymore. I will provide you with breakfast tomorrow."

Obviously, neither side has any intention of backing down.

However, one of the key pieces of information also made Emilia and Mars silent for a moment.

You must be cast dispel magic to enter the Hall of Wonders.

Emiya spoke without hesitation: "--Ms. Silver Shield, did you forget to explain these things to us in advance? It is very unfriendly to have your protection suddenly removed without your knowledge."

Shi Ji II's face suddenly showed regret and panic. "I'm so sorry, sir! I've been too tired these past few days, and there aren't many spellcasters among the guests. So I forgot to remind you right away! But no matter what, I will definitely explain it at the main gate. I absolutely have no intention of harming you!"

But even if she apologized, it would still be of no use - for their team, dispelling the magic would not remove too much magical protection, but it would affect their disguise skills - which would be extremely disadvantageous to them.

If the Gods-Not-Gods Society is still behind all the events in Baldur's Gate, then this group of people who have ruined the Gods-Not-Gods Society's plans twice in a row must have been put on the table of their decision makers.

The Arm of Friendship itself was merely a stepping stone to the Doppelganger community, which was fine. However, the competition ceremony in the Sharptooth Forest, which should have been a sure thing for Korhal, unexpectedly failed—it was bound to attract the attention of the Gods and Non-Gods.

In this case, it would be extremely dangerous if they revealed their true identities in Baldur's Gate.

"…Sorry, I have to discuss this with my friend."

After saying this, the three of them walked aside.

Yin himself was the most open-minded: "I don't think it matters. All your worries now are just the best we can do. But if we really provoke the devil, these measures will not be enough."

Mars replied, "If we don't go to the Hall of Wonders, we might be able to stay in the city for a while. If the Baldor people see our true faces, we must prepare to leave the city immediately - but it doesn't matter if we don't leave the city. I am not afraid of the enemy's attack."

How can you say that as if I'm afraid of death!

These two people said so many words that the veins on Emilia's head bulged slightly.

Emilia also had a temper. He pointed angrily at the radiant Hall of Miracles and said, "Well, let's just go in. We won't consider the consequences of dispelling magic or anything like that. Afterwards, we'll just leave the city. How about that?"

So, the decision was made - finish Emilia's own affairs first, and then go out of the city directly to try to contact Apodel Adrian.

The three of them quickly made their decision, but the other novice monk hadn't yet decided the outcome with the uninvited guest. The uninvited guest had stopped talking and stood outside the Hall of Miracles, staring intently at the novice monk, motionless like a stone statue.

This was the only obstacle to the Hall of Miracles. Miss Silver Shield breathed a sigh of relief—she looked no more than twenty years old and clearly had no experience in handling such a tense situation.

But Emilia still didn't intend to let her go: "--Then, I request to borrow some clothes from the Gond Temple that can conceal our appearance temporarily. We have reasons why we can't show up."

However, what greatly surprised him was that when faced with this request, Xiao Shi Ji agreed readily, walked into the side hall of the hall, and came out holding three sets of black coats with long hoods.

After a brief thought, Emiya understood the current situation: "It's really not easy to be a priest in the Gond Temple."

It is obvious that there are many people making similar requests.

However, no matter what, the three of them couldn't disguise their size: Mars was so tall that his windbreaker was stretched tight, and the suit that Yin wore simply dragged on the ground.

At this point, there's no need to look back.

The three of them walked through the hallway, their true sizes revealed in the aura of protective magic.

But his appearance is still hidden in the shadows.

At first glance, this hall seems to be an ordinary museum - but in such a Renaissance city, there is a modern museum, which in itself is quite out of place.

The hall itself was deserted, perhaps because Flame Fist's panic had spread throughout the city, or perhaps because Flame Fist had kept all other potential visitors out.

However, a lamp at the end of the hall glowed a dim red. Miss Silver Shield glanced at it and turned back to them, saying, "Three guests. The good news is that there's no one in line ahead, but Master Gutenberg still has guests. Please explore this hall for a while. Honestly, this is the hall's original purpose."

Although generally speaking, the clergy of each church are all priests. In fact, they all have their own exclusive titles. There are also more detailed hierarchical divisions within the church.

But there are dozens or even hundreds of churches of all sizes in Faerun, and each church often has nearly ten levels, so it would take too long to list them all.

Among them, the priests of Mystra are also called spell keepers.

The priests of the Gond Church can also be called Gond people. The highest title in the Gond Church is "Gond Master." The holder of this title is almost certainly the highest leader of the church.

Yin was clearly not interested in this kind of place that was more about technological creations: "...Anything in particular worth recommending?"

As a result, Mars spoke before Silver Shield could, "For me, the most familiar invention is the printer at the end of the hall. It seems to be one of the most widely used devices in the Hall of Miracles."

This time it was Emiya who was surprised: "...What? A printer?"

"Yes. A machine that quickly prints ink onto paper instead of copying by hand. This machine caused a sensation in many places. But unfortunately, its use was resisted by Oghma, the god of knowledge, and the church, so it didn't spread widely."

"Huh? Huh? Huh?"

This bizarre reversal of status clearly shocked the young female novice monk: "Wait... is this the reason why this machine isn't widely used?"

Mars paused, glanced outside, and replied, "In short, the Church of Oghma understands the potential of this machine and the impact it could have on the dissemination of knowledge. However, the Church of Oghma prioritizes the accuracy of knowledge over its dissemination. They believe that this machine will only allow the incompetent to print toilet paper, allowing the talented but unethical to control information, and ultimately destroy the status of knowledge in people's hearts. Therefore, they still choose the most responsible method: hand copying."

The Church of Oghma is one of the important channels for the dissemination of information. If they refuse to use printers, even if they do not resort to violent resistance, the dissemination of such machines will inevitably be blocked.

On this point, even Oghma and Gond, the closest of allies and friends, could not agree.

After a moment's thought, Emiya understood what Mars hadn't said—it wasn't so much that the Church of Oghma was against it, but rather that Candlekeep was against it.

Just as the top students from Candlekeep were bluntly exposing the shortcomings of their old nest, a small door at the end of the hall suddenly opened, and an elderly cloth-robed priest who looked to be about fifty years old and a little boy who looked only fourteen years old walked out together.

"Mr. Gutenberg, I'm leaving."

However, there were still traces of tears on the face of this dark-skinned, curly-haired little boy, probably because he had cried bitterly in there.

"Be careful on the road, Will. Remember, don't tell these words to anyone else for a while."

Eight Sacred Swords

The little boy named Will sobbed and said, "I know."

"Also, you're grown up now. Stop crying in front of people."

"—I know!" The black boy named Will finally sniffed. When he saw Shi Ji II standing beside him, his dark face flushed with shame. He immediately ran out of the hall without looking back.

Reverend Gutenberg was dressed in typical Gond priest attire: a beige tunic with a bright red shawl embellished with saffron. He also wore a long shoulder sash covered with a dazzling array of gadgets: gears, keys, pliers, scissors—some particularly suspicious, looking like lock picks.

Gutenberg's face, which seemed a little sinister at first glance, became amiable against the backdrop of the huge sun hat that was wider than his shoulders.

Gutenberg looked past the three men and behind them, then at the nearest novice monk: "Shi Ji, besides these three, are there any other guests?"

Shi Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "There is a guest who doesn't want to go through the hall..."

Gutenberg shook his head and interrupted her: "It's too late today. If he doesn't want to follow the hall's rules, let him come back tomorrow. Maybe one of us will change our minds."

Although Mars only admired the printer in the Hall of Miracles, this hall actually also contained a marvelous water clock. At this moment, the water clock, along with the adjacent Hall of Supreme Miracles, emitted seven resounding clatters.

Apparently, it was already seven o'clock in the evening.

The Master Craftsman Gond narrowed his eyes, perhaps feeling a little sleepy. He looked outside and shouted, "Alright, Papil, you and Shiji should go back together. I'll be the only one in the temple tonight!"

It was obvious that the disparity in status between a few novice monks and the highest-ranking priests in the church was too great. The two men didn't even have the right to refute. They bowed respectfully and then backed out of the Hall of Miracles.

Suddenly, apart from the uninvited guest, only Master Craftsman Gutenberg and the three of them were left inside and outside the Hall of Miracles.

Emilia blinked in surprise: "--You don't have any guards around you?"

Gutenberg said unhappily, "Very good! Young people these days are truly more talkative than ever. But unfortunately, if you want to assassinate the Gund Church, another master craftsman would be a more ideal target. So I have nothing to fear. So, what do you want?"

Emilia hesitated: "Can we..." He pointed to the hidden little door.

Gutenberg patted his hat, and the small ornaments on the shoulder straps in front of him suddenly tinkled like wind chimes. "You are really old. Come with me."

Seeing this, Emilia felt relieved. It was obvious that Madam Adrian's keepsake was not something that should be easily exposed. If the problem could be resolved without revealing it, that would naturally be the best.

Behind the small door was apparently a confessional in the Gond Church, except that there were no walls separating people from each other.

After the small door closed, even the sound of the night wind from Baldur's Gate instantly disappeared. The silence in the room was almost eerie.

Gutenberg yawned. "Well, this is a place meticulously built by us Gonders to isolate ourselves from the noise and light. Young man, if you have any questions or requests, please tell me. If they're interesting, I'll even do it for free. If they're more routine, I'll clearly state the price... then I'll ask for a donation."

It seems that the old man was really tired and almost let the cat out of the bag.

Silver's identity was too dangerous to discuss in an unfamiliar temple, and the Gond Church wasn't known for its long history or well-informed information. However, I could ask here for clues about the Confessor.

Emiya carefully opened the dimensional hole and dragged the Confessor out.

Master Craftsman Gutenberg had been quite relaxed, treating them as ordinary guests at Baldur's Gate. However, as soon as he saw the broad hilt of the Confessor's sword, his eyes widened. And as the Confessor's crystal-like blade left the dimensional hole, Gutenberg's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His initial fatigue vanished in an instant.

He almost immediately turned around and glanced at the door of the secret room. After confirming once again that it was well sealed, he turned around and asked, "What is this?!"

Emilia was actually a little disappointed with this reaction - if Gutenberg recognized the sword, the first thing he would ask would be, "Where did you get this sword?"

However, Mrs. Adrian also made it very clear.

She had once traveled extensively with Apodel Adrian, and regardless of age, knowledge, and experience, she was superior to the master craftsman before her. Even so, she only vaguely remembered a fleeting glimpse of a similar weapon.

Although Master Gutenberg looked elderly, he was still a normal human being. If Lady Adrien's true identity was as Emilia suspected... Gutenberg might not even be half as old as Lady Adrien.

It would be more natural that he should be equally ignorant of the confessor.

He came here just to get the opinions of his fellow craftsmen on the material of the sword itself.

Gutenberg asked almost subconsciously: "Which ancient tomb was this taken from—"

He quickly shook his head mid-sentence. "I don't mean to pry into your privacy, but its unusualness is self-evident. If I could learn some information about it, subsequent identification would definitely go much more smoothly."

Unfortunately, Emiya herself knows nothing about this question: "I don't know. This is just what my teacher taught me. My teacher didn't tell me anything."

"Aha." Gutenberg remained noncommittal. "A friend gave it to me, a teacher gave it to me, it was handed down from my ancestors, I found it on the street... so I can only do my best."

It was obvious that the old pastor did not believe Emilia's words at all.

Emiya sighed and said, "Actually, this sword is the result of the prophecy spell Mastery of Legends."

Of course, he learned this spell urgently after he was promoted to the fifth ring - of course, the result was very disappointing to him.

"Oh?" Gutenberg's eyes suddenly lit up.

Emiya recalled it again and replied, "It originally belonged to a powerful, wise, and loyal servant. However, when the servant tried to stop his master's mad suicide, his master ruthlessly shattered it. The master's disappearance ultimately shocked the world, and the servant has lived in endless regret ever since."

Obviously, Legend Mastery, as one of the most famous prophecy spells in the arcane, has long been known for being reliable but ineffective: the less Legend Mastery is needed to decipher something, the more accurate the information it provides. However, when its help is needed more, it often begins to pretend to be profound.

Therefore, Emiya didn't even tell her two companions the news.

Mars wasn't angry about this, but his eyebrows knitted together. "News about the time, place, and people being completely missing? It's shocking. That's not too much, but not too little either. It's too vague. I have no idea."

Yin's focus was as outrageous as ever. Her face immediately puffed up. "What do you mean? A servant wants to stop his master? Isn't this the master-servant relationship reversed? If a servant constantly orders his master's actions, he's called a guardian, not a servant!"

Emilia's eyebrows twitched wildly. "Life is as important as magic. Didn't you say that just a few days ago?"

Silver's counterattack was equally resolute: "If it's for magic, even life can be sacrificed! If it were me, I would be stopped by my own servants no matter what I wanted to do. The more urgent the situation, the harder I would hit!"

Emiya snorted coldly: "Thank you, I will never be your attendant in the future."

"Thank you. I will definitely not choose someone like you in the future." Yin had no intention of backing down.

Gutenberg also looked confused and finally shook his head.

"Young man, although I am very interested in this sword, Baldur's Gate is currently unstable. My position is special, so I cannot expend divine power for my own personal interests. I intend to provide you with some help and guidance using the methods of the people of Gond. What do you think? Of course, in this case, tonight's service will be free of charge, and I will strictly observe everything that happens here. Just think of it as you chatting with a bored old man."

The guidance a priest can provide is not limited to spellcasting, so Emilia has no objection.

After getting permission, Master Gongde naturally got into the state immediately.

While the Gond Church does not oppose magic and even advocates it, they also revere tools that don't rely on it. This attitude is unique among many churches.

Gutenberg could hardly wait to untie the tool belt that the people of Gond almost never took off. Various tools collided with the table, and the sound of metal clashing rang out incessantly.

"First of all, this material..."

Gutenberg held a magnifying glass to his eyes. "The transparency is astonishing, comparable to the purest gemstones. Such a shame. When it was intact, it would have been a work of art that would have commanded awe."

Then, the muscles in his arms bulged slightly, and he pursed his lips as he gripped the Confessor's hilt and lifted it with great effort. "This center of gravity is a bit too much! This is a decorative sword, right?! As a sword, its center of gravity is too far forward, and too much energy is wasted when swinging it! If I were a warrior, I would rather use a blunt weapon instead."

"Maybe," Emiya replied.