Equipment Printing School Mage

"Thus, within this realm, sharp arrows are repelled, and no harm can invade. Drought, flood, cold, heat, day, night, darkness, all are determined by me."

At the last moment before the rubble pressed down, an opaque light shield unfolded around Emiya, blocking the three people from the heavy pressure of the rock.

Twelve Death Bringers

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

From the time the first bolt of lightning struck until the entire arsenal was reduced to ruins, only a few minutes passed.

Thick rain and fog had spread to every corner of Friendly Arm, making this already dark night even more difficult to see.

The sturdy building originally made of rocks has now completely turned into history in the thunderstorm.

The shapeshifter named Lorian still wore the appearance of Emya and stood behind the druid, but her gaze was now involuntarily drawn towards the armory.

"You are extremely concerned about the outcome right now...why?"

Without even turning around, the old druid asked, "If they died on the spot, you would be the primary responsible party. It's too late to show mercy now."

"Of course I'm not focused on them!" Lorien took a deep breath. "Forget it... Now even the corridor near the weapons depot has been blasted to dust! Is it really necessary to go to this extent?"

"You guys blew up the Arm of Friendship into ruins. How much energy should we spend on cleaning up after you?!"

The old druid replied, "We were asked to assist you. Of course, the so-called assistance only has one meaning: to leave traces of the Shadow Druids' attack."

"This way, you can naturally stay indoors for a short period of time to complete the integration. After such a great misfortune, it is natural for the Friendly Arm to have some personality changes. At the same time, the owner's [friends] will also come to visit."

"Now, we've only destroyed a weapons cache. No, it's more like we Shadow Druids can't possibly leave a weapons cache intact. It's filled with the very metals and man-made objects we hate the most, so its destruction is only a matter of time."

"..." Hearing these words, Lorian's eyebrows raised slightly, as if she was meeting him for the first time, "...Are you really Shadow Druids?"

The old druid replied, "Other druids think we are the most radical branch of druids, but I don't think so."

"They only care about nature and never take civilization into consideration. We are just the opposite."

"We are the ones who love life the most. We are the only ones who care about the survival of life. They turn a blind eye to civilization, while we devote the most energy to civilization."

Lorien took a deep breath and couldn't help but put her hands on her waist.

There, Emiya's spell book is stored.

"...Will we shapeshifters also be trained by shadow druids?"

The old druid turned and said, "You have already suffered a lot, so you don't need to worry about this anytime soon."

Then, a genuine smile appeared on his face. "Of course, you are lazy by nature and do need encouragement. Perhaps the next time we come..."

Lorien shuddered.

"But that's all for the future," the old druid asked his followers. "What do you think? Are they dead?"

Several young druids exchanged a glance and replied, "If we're serious, we should have been close when the weapons shed collapsed. Rocks as tall as decades-old trees had already piled up on them, and torrential rain had poured in, with lightning flashing one after another..."

"Even if they were golden dragons incarnated as humans, they wouldn't be able to survive such a bombardment."

The old druid nodded. "I think so. Then, you stay here. After confirming that there is nothing else, return to the forest on your own."

Having said this, he paused: "--But don't relax, continue bombarding until the Lightning Summoning Technique is completely over."

"A twenty-year-old third-ring mage... That young man named Emiya might be the [Accuser of the Dead]."

"Any miracle can happen around the deceased."

The old druid said this, hesitated for a moment, and cast his gaze on the huge crystal sword.

On the sharp edge of the giant crystal sword, silver flames were slowly dancing, like winding silk threads.

He stroked his beard. "You don't need that giant sword, do you? I'm a little curious about it now."

"If I hadn't warned you, the young wizard would have already escaped. Your operation would have failed... I should be able to ask for a reward."

Lorian untied the greatsword and cradled it in her hands, staring intently at the crystal-clear blade, reluctant to let go. "...This greatsword is clearly a rare treasure... Everyone can recognize its extraordinary value...! Are you planning to take it away just like that?"

"Indeed, it is. Unfortunately, for this very reason, it is so conspicuous. Even I have never seen anything like it. Such a bizarre thing is nothing but a disaster for you."

Lorian took a breath and said, "How good are Shadow Druids?"

The old druid smiled and said, "We are shadow druids because we lurk in the shadows."

Shadow druids, without exception, all have an open identity. As long as they don't take action, they will always be ordinary druids.

The shapeshifters' imperfect disguises make it difficult for their identities to be discovered.

Lorian let out a breath, and finally handed over the giant sword angrily.

The old druid took it and then walked down the city wall.

On this stormy night, the roar of thunder could make all the animals tremble. In the stable, most of the horses hid under the eaves and shivered.

Only a tall gray horse seemed unable to understand the horror of thunder. It was galloping aimlessly in the rain and fog, running past the old druid.

"...There are horses that aren't afraid of lightning."

Before walking into the tree and returning to his own forest, the old druid sighed, "Life is truly wonderful."

Having said this, he paused and looked into the distance hesitantly.

There, the thunder still hasn't stopped.

"...Could it be because of those young people? That shouldn't be possible... That shouldn't be possible."

He was talking to himself.

The heavy rain streaked down his cheeks, but the smile on his face changed its trajectory: "--But if they are still alive, that would be great too."

"You guys will definitely find me soon, right?"

"Young people like this can't be satisfied with an ordinary and peaceful life."

Thirteen Counterattacks

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The thunder never stopped. Every few seconds, the deafening roar exploded beside the ears of the three of them, bringing a buzzing sound.

And Emilia, at this moment, was stroking her pulse, silently estimating the passage of time: "One thunderbolt every two seconds."

The solid stone bricks have been turned into tiny fragments by repeated bombings.

Tens of tons of rock had already fallen, and the weight of gravity made the rocks creak. But this was only the mildest of the disasters they were experiencing.

The pouring rain made the shattered stone chips stick together again, forming a solid cage and blocking their way out.

Outside the cage, the lightning had already ignited other debris, and the crackling sound of burning flames was endless - and even the most ordinary stagnant water was probably full of deadly electricity at this moment.

Even at this point, Thunder still showed no sign of stopping.

No matter how you look at it, it's a dead end with no way out.

The only thing that could protect them was the light shield held up by Emilia.

Leon's lips trembled, and he pointed at the slightly shaking light shield and asked, "...Um, Master Mage, do you know when this light shield will be shattered?"

The light shield was a hemispherical space with a radius of approximately three meters, which was originally considered ample. However, the space available to the three of them was precarious due to the large amount of scrap metal.

Emilia, however, seemed oblivious to the danger. She leisurely sat down and began to examine the steel material at hand, muttering to herself, "...The material used is surprisingly good. I originally thought that these damaged items were made of low-quality iron..."

When Leon asked the second question, Emilia finally answered: "I don't know, I don't know when it will be broken."

Leon gasped: "Why are you so leisurely now? When this protective shield is broken, we will have nowhere to run?"

"If you mean being crushed...that's impossible." Emiya looked up and observed the situation outside, then looked away.

"I don't know if the Shadow Druid has any other tricks up his sleeve, nor do I know how powerful that old druid is. Even if that old druid takes action, this cabin still won't be safe enough."

“But at least a few dozen tons of pressure and dozens of lightning strikes are not enough to destroy it.

Leon blinked. "...So, we are safe. Then it must last for a while."

"Indeed," Emiya replied as she sorted through the scraps. "It only lasts eight hours."

As soon as these words were spoken, even Mars, who was resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes.

"Oh, that's a long time too, eight hours... eight hours?!" Leon exclaimed, "Can we even take a nap here?"

"I even doubt the purpose of this spell is just to provide a safe place to sleep." Emilia sighed. "I used to think that casting this spell in the inn was both disrespectful to the owner and somewhat unnecessary."

"I'll make this a habit in the future."

At this moment, Mars suddenly said, "Good news, that high-level druid has left. We now have a chance of winning."

"......?" Emilia frowned. "Do paladins have the means to detect the outside world?"

Mars shrugged. "My mount and I have a telepathic connection. To outsiders, it might just look like a warhorse that got frightened in the storm."

In the wizarding world, telepathy is a term.

Thinking of this, Emiya understood: "Summoning a mount is a second-level spell."

"Yes."

"So, you are a second-ring paladin."

A smile appeared on Mars' face: "-Yes."

The Paladin is a profession that releases divine spells, but its spellcasting ability is about half that of a priest - when a priest can cast third and fourth level spells, a Paladin can only cast second level spells.

In short, Mars and Emiya are at the same level.

The paladin then added, "And then, some bad news, Emya. The druid took your sword."

"That great crystal sword."

"What did you say?!"

This sentence made Emiya's expression change for the first time.

The giant crystal sword itself has no particular value and cannot be used as a weapon. It is actually more of a decoration.

In fact, it has only one use, which is to exchange for his teacher's promise.

Although the giant sword looked intact and priceless, that was only on the surface. In reality, the sword was still riddled with holes.

Emiya's teacher asked him to repair the giant sword and promised that when the giant sword was restored to its original state, he would send Emiya back to Earth at any cost.

In other words - that great sword is Emilia's only hope of returning home.

During this time, Emiya had only been able to barely repair the physical appearance. In fact, to restore it to its original state, it would also require repairing the magical runes within it—an extremely large and destined to be extremely difficult project.

But this is still the only hope.

Emilia would never tolerate this hope slipping away from his hands in such an inexplicable way.

"……call."

Emiya clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "...I'm sorry, that greatsword is very important to me. If I let that shadow druid leave like this, it might be difficult for me to find him in the future."

"So, I must strike now—I even have to try to capture those druids alive."

Druids are known for their secluded nature, let alone their secretive whereabouts.

The few young druids and non-gods who still remain here will be the straws he will have to grasp.

Mars clenched his fists and said, "I don't have the habit of swallowing my anger. Tonight's feud should be settled before dawn. So, there is only one problem now."

"I can live without armor, but I need at least a sword."

"As long as you give me a sword, I will rush out with you. The dangers of this journey are not within my consideration."

Emiya nodded: "Well, I have good news."

He clapped his hands, and the scrap metal on the ground suddenly lost its original shape, slowly gathered into a ball on the ground, and finally floated between the three people like a living thing.

"—I have armor and a long sword."

Fourteen Counterattacks (Part 2)

This transmutation spell was a whopping fourth ring, a level that many, if not most, ordinary mages would shy away from.

However, despite its high casting difficulty, it is rarely used among the fourth-level spells.

In theory, its effect is just to change the form of matter.