52: Chapter 52 The Weight-Bearing Expert and the Crane's Cry in the Sky

Thursday evening, a barbecue stall not far from the school.

A plastic canopy was set up by the sidewalk, with a few folding tables and a dozen plastic chairs. The charcoal on the grill was burning brightly; lamb skewers and chicken wings sizzled on the wire mesh, and the aroma of cumin and chili powder drifted half a street away.

Hu Jinsi, Lin Rui, and Su Wan arrived first and occupied a table near the back.

They asked Zhou Wen if he had time. On the phone, Zhou Wen sounded somewhat nervous, saying, "I have time, I have time," and then arrived before the meal started.

He was wearing a washed-out school uniform jacket and carrying an old schoolbag. He stood at the entrance of the barbecue stall, peering around for a while before walking over cautiously.

Su Wan waved at him, and he hurried to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down with restraint.

"Don't be nervous," Hu Jinsi said, pushing a glass of iced cola toward him. "We're all classmates."

"Exactly, exactly," Su Wan said with a smile, handing him the menu. "Order whatever you want to eat; Lin Rui is treating today."

"Why am I the one treating?" Lin Rui raised an eyebrow.

"Because you sold the rixats elegy and have money to spare," Su Wan said righteously.

Lin Rui shook his head helplessly but didn't argue. He was indeed better off, but he estimated he would be spending it all again soon.

After the skewers were served, Lin Rui ate while explaining some precautions inside the dungeon to Zhou Wen. From the Soldier's four-skill combination to the Swordsman's tower Shield flanking tactics, and from the Shadow Mage's speed-run to the Berserker's drawbridge mechanism, he covered every detail. Zhou Wen listened attentively, nodding from time to time, and then took a small notebook out of his backpack to write them down.

"You should talk about your spells, too," Hu Jinsi interjected. "So we can coordinate better."

Zhou Wen closed his notebook, cleared his throat, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "The magic I currently possess includes [Magic Missile], [Electric Arc], [Grease], [Shield], and [Sleep]..."

"Magic Missile and Electric Arc are my main means of output, Grease is for crowd control, Shield is for defense, and Sleep is okay for small mobs, but basically useless against bosses..."

"What is the effect of Electric Arc?" Lin Rui asked.

"It's an arc of electricity emitted from the fingertips. Currently, it can hit two targets at the same time. Because it's a cantrip, it doesn't consume spell slots as long as it's prepared, but there is a short cooldown after each use," Zhou Wen explained. "The damage isn't very high, but it's very suitable for finishing off enemies."

Hu Jinsi said happily, "Then our output chain is complete. For Soldier mobs, I'll kick them to low health with my Spinning Crane Kick, and you and Su Wan can finish them off; for the Swordsman Lin Rui, I'll flank, and you provide ranged suppression; during boss fights, you coordinate with Su Wan's Thunderwave and Magic Missile, and the damage will be sufficient."

"There's also Grease," Zhou Wen added. "It can make the ground slippery, causing enemies to slow down or even fall when walking on it. Of course, our own people will too."

"That's interesting." Hu Jinsi touched his chin, lost in thought.

The next day, Friday, was the day the combat class students returned to school. The classroom was much livelier than on Thursday, but it was still much quieter than when school first started. The fixed squads had mostly scattered, and many students chose the free mode of temporary grouping. Some people even stopped communicating with each other.

Hu Jinsi found Wang Jingshan during the break. Wang Jingshan's Painted Face class was one of the few classes Hu Jinsi could think of that could handle a 2.5-meter weapon. He was burly and usually taciturn, but he was a reliable front-liner in the dungeon.

"There's a piece of equipment you might be interested in." Hu Jinsi took the [Soul-Crushing Poleaxe] out of his backpack and held it horizontally in front of Wang Jingshan.

A look of surprise appeared in Wang Jingshan's eyes. He carefully took the battle axe, his fingers sliding gently over the axe blade, feeling the cold, sharp Light.

"The attributes are a very high match for the Painted Face class," Hu Jinsi said. "Critical hits trigger panic, which, combined with your strength-based fighting style, is a perfect match. It's just that the 2.5-meter length exceeds your usage ability a bit."

"It is indeed a bit long..." Wang Jingshan tried waving it twice, and the tip of the axe almost grazed the classroom ceiling.

"We're all classmates; if you want it, I'll sell it to you for a cheaper price. It's money you saved anyway. You can find a forging-related class to help you shorten this poleaxe."

In the end, Wang Jingshan spent 6,500 credits to take the poleaxe from Hu Jinsi.

"Thanks." Wang Jingshan rarely showed a smile as he carefully put the battle axe into his backpack.

"You're welcome."

There was nothing particularly new this week, but a rumor spread in the class that about four squads from No. 3 High School had failed in Raccoon City, and their forced teleportation talismans had all been used up. It was said that they had all failed while exploring that mysterious underground laboratory.

Regarding this, when the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad explained it in class, they said it wasn't their fault. They were just curious and had brainstormed a bit; the Gunpowder Squad in the class could prove this, as they were present at the time. As for why the No. 3 High School team organized students to go there, it had absolutely nothing to do with them. After the two squads finished inquiring about the news, they didn't even go there themselves.

However, looking at the students' discussions, it seemed as if the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad was scheming and plotting against No. 3 High School. Hu Jinsi felt that this pot of dirty water was going to be splashed on them again, and it was the kind that couldn't be washed clean no matter what.

"Let's mention the underground laboratory less in the future." Lin Rui said to Hu Jinsi in the hallway in a low voice.

"Whether we mention it or not, it's our fault. We can't even enter that dungeon anymore." Hu Jinsi shrugged helplessly. "Just get used to it."

At noon, the three of them pulled in the Gunpowder Squad and the previously agreed-upon Liu Betti and Zhou Wen to share some strategies and various intelligence on the Burning Village dungeon. Su Wan also talked about some changes after level 10. After all, some things in textbooks are just textbooks; actual personal experience is more important.

Liu Betti listened quietly, taking notes in her notebook from time to time. She was very attentive to the comparison between the Cold Plains and the Burning Village, clearly preparing for her later dungeon choices.

During the noon gossip, Chen Yu of the Gunpowder Squad suddenly said: "Do you know? The Nature Squad might be breaking up too."

This time, it wasn't Hu Jinsi who was surprised, but Su Wan. She had always felt that the Nature Squad's battles were very easy and didn't require much effort. Most of the fighting was borne by the summoned creatures, and the three of them mainly just acted as cheerleaders.

"That's exactly where the problem lies," Chen Yu explained. "Right now, the Nature Squad mainly relies on the animals summoned by Sun Yao for output. Sun Yao can currently maintain four summoned creatures at the same time with her own skills and equipment. Although the strength of each individual is not as strong as some classes' animal companions, there are a lot of them.

On the other hand, Yi Chun and Zhen Kai's help to the squad is not as obvious as Sun Yao's. The power of their classes only kicks in after level 11. In their current state, to reach level 11, it will be at least the end of the term."

He paused and continued: "In the dungeons they are facing now, it is very clear that because their squad lacks large-scale clearing capabilities, they can't go to Raccoon City, and Goldshire has been pretty much explored. They can only kill monsters in the Cold Plains.

And you all know about those boss monsters in the Cold Plains; they are all melee killers. Their squad's fighting style simply can't beat those three bosses. It's said that when the three of them were fighting Blood Raven this week, they were almost wiped out, and that's when the conflict broke out."

"What happened afterwards?" Su Wan asked gossiping.

"I don't know the specific aftermath," Chen Yu shook his head. "After all, it's their internal squad matter. What I know are just snippets I heard when Yi Chun and Zhen Kai were bickering."

Regarding this news, Hu Jinsi just indicated that it was normal: "After all, a pay-to-win player can't hang out with two free-to-play players for a long time. Their breakup is only a matter of time. The final destination of pay-to-win players is usually to find more pay-to-win players to group up with."

Su Wan glared at him: "You are too cold-blooded."

"Facts are facts," Hu Jinsi remained unmoved. "The passage of time will prove my conclusion."

After the lunch break, the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad pulled Zhou Wen along to test new tactics.

Mainly, they wanted to test the specific range and effect of Zhou Wen's spells. In particular, Hu Jinsi proposed a hypothesis: Can [Grease] make the second boss, the Berserker, fall? If Grease can make the Berserker fall, then it would be very convenient for Lin Rui to come over.

But Hu Jinsi was afraid that Lin Rui would also fall on the Grease, so he was hesitant and needed to adapt and practice in advance.

On the training ground, Zhou Wen waved his wand and cast a [Grease] on the ground. A piece of ground with a radius of about 3 meters instantly became shiny, as if coated with a thick layer of soapy water.

Hu Jinsi stepped on it to test it, slipped, and almost fell flat on his face. He quickly adjusted his center of gravity and used the [Crane Stance] footwork to barely stand firm, but his movement speed was significantly slower.

"This thing doesn't distinguish between friend and foe." Hu Jinsi frowned.

Lin Rui also stepped up to try. Wearing heavy armor, his feet slipped, and he sat directly on the ground, his tower Shield clattering loudly.

"...Looks like I have to walk around it." Lin Rui got up from the ground with an expressionless face.

"But if we can make the Berserker fall, hopefully make him fall off the cliff directly," Hu Jinsi said. "Even if I slide along with him, it's worth it. The problem is his size and weight; Grease might not have such a big effect on him."

Zhou Wen released [Electric Arc] a few more times, the electric arc jumping between targets, accurately hitting two targets. Hu Jinsi nodded; this spell is indeed useful for finishing off enemies.

"Let's practice here for now," Lin Rui patted the dust off his body. "We'll play it by ear during the actual combat on Sunday."

In addition, Hu Jinsi finally replaced his weapon.

That hardwood iron-wrapped long staff, which cost 80 credits and had accompanied him for more than three months, had to be retired because it was no longer suitable for the intensity of the dungeons. Hu Jinsi spent 2,000 credits to purchase an [Ironwood Iron-Wrapped Staff]. According to the seller, the strength can withstand the slashing of dungeon mobs around level 10.

Hu Jinsi was noncommittal about this, because he originally wanted to buy a version wrapped in cold iron, but after asking, the starting price was over 10,000 credits, and depending on the processing technology, it could be even more expensive, so he had to settle for second best.

"Even the money of a Monk, such a poor class, is earned; these people are truly evil," Hu Jinsi complained privately.

[Ironwood Iron-Wrapped Staff]

[Type: Monk Weapon / Long Staff] [Damage: 8-12 / Bludgeoning] [Attribute Requirement: Strength 15]

[Characteristics: Versatile (Can be used one-handed or two-handed), Monk Weapon (Enjoys Martial Arts bonus), Sturdy (Non-magical weapons are extremely difficult to damage)]

[Effect: The density of ironwood is extremely high, and the impact resistance is extremely strong. When you use this staff to make a push or knockdown check, you get a slight bonus. The steel hoops at both ends of the staff not only prevent cracking but also increase the striking hardness. When attacking objects (such as locks, doors, Shields), the damage caused is doubled (treated as a battering ram effect)]

[Item Description: This long staff is made entirely of rare ironwood. Its color is as deep as iron, yet it is three parts lighter than real steel. Most striking are the steel hoops wrapped around both ends of the staff, glowing with cold Light. It is not a standard military weapon, but a unique piece crafted by a reclusive craftsman for actual combat. When swung, the muffled sound of the steel hoops at the end of the staff hitting the air seems to be able to shatter the stance of ordinary weapons. This 2,000-yuan cost buys a physical hardness that can smash iron locks and shatter Shields.]

Hu Jinsi weighed it in his hand; it was nearly half as heavy as the previous hardwood long staff, but the feel was much more solid. He tried waving it twice, and the steel hoops at the end of the staff pierced the air, making a low, whimpering sound, as if it were growling.

The damage of the entire Ironwood Iron-Wrapped Staff was no different from the previous hardwood iron-wrapped long staff. The price of nearly 2,000 credits was actually just buying an additional sturdy characteristic, achieving the effect that non-magical weapons are extremely difficult to damage. Otherwise, there was no change.

"At least I don't have to worry about the staff breaking while fighting." Hu Jinsi comforted himself.

Lin Rui also sold his [rixats elegy] and finally sold it for 15,000 credits. He turned around and spent 15,000 credits to buy a strange firearm that was between a pistol and a shotgun.

[MS-15 "Steel Nail" Heavy Pistol]

[Type: Pistol / Shotgun]

[Damage: 8-18 / Piercing, Single-shot mode]

[Special Damage: S-shell mode, consumes 3 rounds of ammunition, fires a scattering barrage, causing 8-18 piercing damage to all targets within a 5-meter cone in front]

[Range: 75 meters]

[Ammo Capacity: 24 rounds]

[Characteristics: Modular design (Can switch between "Single-shot" and "Shotgun" modes by replacing the barrel, requires short rest to adjust)]

[Effect: Door-breaching expert, for inanimate doors, locks, thin-walled obstacles, single-shot damage is treated as 18 points. Tactical mount, the gun body comes with a Picatinny rail, can be mounted with a simple red dot sight, providing a slight (+1) hit bonus]

[Negative:

Scattering decay: S-shell mode damage drops sharply after 5 meters, causing 1 point of damage beyond 10 meters.

Maintenance nightmare: After using S-shell mode 3 times in a row, it must be maintained for 6 seconds, and there is a probability of failure (short rest cleaning).

Special ammunition: Must use special high-explosive shotgun shells, priced at 5 credits/round.]

Hu Jinsi took the gun and examined it carefully. The gun body was a whole circle larger than a Desert Eagle, and there was a replaceable additional barrel under the barrel. The grip was wrapped with anti-slip tape, and the whole gun exuded a rugged industrial aesthetic.

"This weapon's damage is explosive, sure," Hu Jinsi commented, "but Lin Rui, you didn't just get a weapon; you got a burden. It's hard to maintain, and the ammunition is expensive."

Lin Rui rolled his eyes at him: "If it didn't have so many issues, how could I have snagged a weapon with such high damage for 15,000? What are you thinking? Five credits per bullet—do you really think I'd use it on small fry? This is obviously meant for bosses."

Lin Rui's words made Zhou Wen, who was listening from behind, nod frantically, his eyes fixed on the heavy pistol with a look of longing.

"You want one too?" Hu Jinsi asked Zhou Wen.

"I do..." Zhou Wen nodded honestly. "But I'm a Mage, so I can't use it. Still, I could find an Artificer in the future to custom-make one I can use."

"You want a weapon that's this expensive and such a hassle?" Hu Jinsi asked, puzzled.

"I'm a Mage. Once I get the ability to craft spell scrolls in the late game, isn't making money just easy?" Zhou Wen asked, looking at Hu Jinsi innocently.

This time, Hu Jinsi once again felt the disparity of the world and the unfairness of the classes.

On Sunday morning, the three team members and Zhou Wen appeared once again at the entrance of the Burning Village dungeon. This time, it was the version with an additional 50% difficulty.

A greyish-white vortex swallowed the four of them. The scene before them was identical to before: scorched earth, burning thatched cottages, and a suspension bridge vaguely visible in the distance. However, the air was filled with a more oppressive atmosphere, like the mugginess before a storm.

In practice, the 150% difficulty didn't put too much pressure on the team. It was nothing more than the mobs having slightly more health and higher attack power. But now, with an extra person, even if Hu Jinsi's [Spinning Crane Kick] couldn't kill the Soldier in three rotations, Su Wan and Zhou Wen in the distance could help him finish them off.

Zhou Wen's [Arcing Shock] was particularly useful; not only did it not occupy a spell slot, but it could also hit two targets at once, achieving quick cleanup. Blue electric arcs jumped between the Soldiers, precisely taking the lives of low-health enemies. As for Lin Rui, he fired a few shots to test it out—it was very strong, but also very painful for his wallet; the ammunition was quite expensive. This gun was better suited for the Gunpowder Squad, who could craft their own ammo.

The first boss, the Shadow Mage, didn't show much strengthening, other than the skeleton minions around him increasing from 10 to 15. There might have been a slight increase in health, but for a Mage who was already low on health, this slight increase didn't have much effect.

Facing the powerful level 10 Su Wan, because she didn't need to hold an instrument, her mobility was significantly improved. The [Requiem Chant] lasted less than 20 seconds before it purified these undead. After losing the assistance of the skeleton minions, the Shadow Mage was quickly taken down by the four of them.

After the Shadow Mage died, it left behind another [Death-Resistant Cap], with the same attributes as before, which was given to Zhou Wen.

After passing the first Shadow Mage, a type of Archer appeared among the new enemy mobs, which was slightly annoying. They needed Hu Jinsi to engage them in close quarters; otherwise, those Archers would generally prioritize attacking Su Wan and Zhou Wen's side. Fortunately, the number of Archers wasn't very high; there was usually just one mixed into each batch of monsters.

Once Hu Jinsi discovered them, he used [Chi Torpedo] to rush to their front and swept with his iron-wrapped wooden staff, [-8]. The Archer's health wasn't high to begin with, and after a few hits, it dissipated into points of Light. Hu Jinsi remarked that he still preferred these unarmored classes.

As for the second boss, the Berserker, the four of them didn't find any strengthening either. Maybe it was tougher? Or had stronger attacks? But it still couldn't move.

Hu Jinsi stopped Zhou Wen from using [Grease]. He always remembered that day on the training ground when Lin Rui had fallen flat on his back. If they weren't careful and everyone ended up falling flat on their backs on the [Grease], it would become a joke.

Only after Lin Rui had thrown Su Wan and Zhou Wen to the other side to be caught by Hu Jinsi, and Lin Rui had dashed over himself, did Hu Jinsi let Zhou Wen cast [Grease] once to test the Berserker's reaction.

Zhou Wen waved his wand, and a glossy, oily sheen covered the ground beneath the Berserker's feet.

The Berserker stepped on it and fell. But it seemed to trigger some kind of mechanism; while on the ground, it immediately released [Whirlwind Strike] on the spot! The giant hammer carved out a violent arc, sweeping in a circle with a whistle that tore through the air. That giant hammer, which was as tall as half a person, smashed solidly into the suspension bridge's support pillar.

"Boom!" The suspension bridge snapped in response, and the wooden planks and ropes plummeted into the abyss.

Hu Jinsi wiped away a cold sweat. Fortunately, his gut feeling had been wrong at the time, and he hadn't let everyone test it while on the bridge. Otherwise, the other three still on the suspension bridge would have all been sent away.

"The boss mechanics in this dungeon are truly disgusting," Hu Jinsi said to the others. "All sorts of tricks are just there to prevent you from cheesing your way past the Berserker. I don't think we need to test other methods that could make it fall or move; there will definitely be even more disgusting countermeasures."

In response, the other three, having seen all of this, didn't object to Hu Jinsi. Because they had Zhou Wen's assistance this time, the four of them, having already crossed the bridge, killed the Berserker in under 3 minutes.

Lin Rui's newly acquired shotgun made a great contribution in the battle. Although the bullets for this shotgun were quite expensive to use each time, the S-shot mode was simply fantastic for a boss of this size. All the spread attacks hit the boss, and the damage was even higher than the Mage's.

Unfortunately, this Berserker didn't drop any valuable equipment.

The four of them saved the final boss, Skarn, for the next morning. They wandered around the village, cleared out all the mobs they could, and spent the first night in the village.

In the final boss fight the next day, Skarn itself didn't have many changes. After all, it was only a 50% difficulty increase, so the health definitely increased; according to the estimate after the fight, it should have been close to 200 HP. Besides that, when Skarn called for reinforcements, it changed from the previous Soldiers to a mix of Soldiers and Swordsmen, half and half.

Therefore, Su Wan and Zhou Wen needed to assist Hu Jinsi in dealing with some of the Swordsmen enemies. Hu Jinsi himself couldn't kick those heavily armored classes, but containing them was no problem.

He used the agile footwork of [Crane Stance] to weave between the Swordsmen, his long staff blocking the Charges of the tower Shields, drawing their attention. Su Wan's [Thunderwave] pushed back the Swordsmen attempting to close in, while Zhou Wen's [Arcing Shock] jumped between the low-health Swordsmen to finish them off.

Around 8 a.m., the final boss lay on the ground.

It was another [Fortress Cloak]. Su Wan took it; although the cloak's attributes were average, its appearance was quite nice, and it was warm, which was quite suitable for the December weather.

The four of them farmed two more runs during the time before the bus arrived, and finally returned to the school gate by bus on Wednesday, each going their own way home.

The last two runs combined only dropped one piece of equipment, which none of them could use, so it had to be handed over to the class monitor to deal with.

The good news was that due to Zhou Wen's addition, the consumption of Su Wan's [Magic Missile] wand became extremely low. Su Wan only needed to consume six Charges each time, and the remaining damage was supplemented by Zhou Wen.

One run sent Zhou Wen straight to level 8. Lin Rui and Hu Jinsi also leveled up to 10.

For the level 10 "choose one out of 20" feat, Lin Rui chose a niche feat that Su Wan and Hu Jinsi had never seen before in their general education classes.

Although it looked very powerful, Hu Jinsi and Su Wan were a bit puzzled: why didn't Lin Rui choose the prerequisite feat related to the Weapon Master class that he had already started preparing for?

Lin Rui only replied, "I saw this feat and felt that I had a real connection with it. Besides, who says you can't follow the Weapon Master path while using different types of Shields? A Shield is also a weapon!"

[Load Expert: Carrying three times your own weight in iron walls amidst a hail of bullets, your tendons and bones have been forcibly reshaped, enough to bear the weight of steel. Effect: Your carrying capacity is doubled (multiplied by 2). In addition, when you carry a Shield while performing [Tactical Roll] or [Charge], the bludgeoning damage dealt is based on the number of types of Shields you are currently carrying (each type adds 1-6 damage, cap of 3 types), and you will not suffer agility check penalties due to being overweight.]

After carefully reading the description of this feat, Su Wan and Hu Jinsi had to admit that this feat was practically tailor-made for Lin Rui. Lin Rui happened to be carrying three types of Shields: a tower Shield, a police riot Shield (heavy Shield), and a round Shield, which could maximize the damage of this feat.

At the same time, this feat also caused a qualitative change in the [Tactical Roll] and [Charge] skills, turning them from displacement skills into skills that combined displacement with powerful damage.

Sometimes one has to marvel at how sensitive a professional's intuition is. If this feat were placed in front of Hu Jinsi and Su Wan, neither of them would have chosen it, yet Lin Rui picked it out from the 20 feats at the very first moment.

For the level 10 "choose one out of 20" feat, Hu Jinsi chose [Crane's Cry to the Nine Heavens].

[Crane's Cry to the Nine Heavens: Your rotation is no longer a small-scale whirlwind, but turns into a storm sweeping across the battlefield. Where the crane's shadow reaches, the energy runs rampant; no one can stand safely within your domain. Effect: The area of effect of [Spinning Crane Kick] is expanded to a radius of 4 meters.]

This feat had appeared in Hu Jinsi's early options. He chose it this time among the 20 options, not because it was the strongest, but because in the upcoming winter break, Hu Jinsi would definitely have to go into dungeons solo. This was a feat chosen for future soloing, although it was still very strong for regular dungeon runs.

After Hu Jinsi showed this feat to Lin Rui and Su Wan, they both gave it a high rating. After all, with this feat's blessing, the total attack area of [Spinning Crane Kick] had already exceeded 50 square meters, which already surpassed the basic AOE range of many classes.

"Clearing mobs will be even more convenient in the future." Su Wan calculated, "A 4-meter radius, 8-meter diameter—it can almost Block a path."

"I won't be afraid of being surrounded when soloing anymore." Hu Jinsi gripped his iron-wrapped wooden staff and swung it twice in the air, "Kick as many as come."

Temporary Teammate — Zhou Wen

Status Card:

Name: Zhou Wen

Gender: Male

Age: 17 (Same grade as Hu Jinsi, first semester of sophomore year)

Class: Mage

Level: 7

Talent: Linguist

HP: 96 (Constitution * 8)

Strength: 12

Agility: 12+1 (Class bonus)

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 15+3 (Class bonus) + 1 (Talent bonus)

Perception: 14+1 (Class bonus)

Charisma: 13

Magic: 0-level spells (Arcing Shock, Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light), 1st-level spells (Ray of Enfeeblement, Shield, Magic Missile)

Spell Slots: 5 0-level spell slots, 3 1st-level spell slots (0-level spells have no cost and can be used at will, but need to be prepared. 1st-level spells are recovered after a short rest and also need to be prepared.)

Feats: Martial Arts Training, Spell Penetration

Equipment: Apprentice Mage Robe, Apprentice Wooden Shield, Amethyst Staff, Scholar's Soft Cap, Marching Shoes, other white-grade equipment omitted

Inventory: Omitted

Description:

Talent: Linguist, Intelligence +1, master three ordinary languages directly, gain reading ability, master elementary cryptography.

Magic: Omitted

Feats: 1. [Sorcery Training: You can detect magic through intuition.] 2. [Spell Penetration: When resisting a target's spell resistance, your spells are harder to resist.]

Equipment: 1. [Apprentice Mage Robe] [Type: Clothing / Torso] [Rune Resonance: You gain a slight (+1) bonus when making Arcana skill checks.] [Item Description: This dark grey coarse linen robe looks ordinary, but it is actually reinforced and woven with mithril threads. Runes that are hard to detect are embroidered on the hem, which emit a faint blue Light when casting spells, keeping the wearer's casting posture stable amidst the chaos of the battlefield.]

2. [Apprentice Wooden Shield] [Type: Shield] [Armor: +1 Armor] [Emergency Block: When you use "Shield", you can raise your Shield at the same time, giving this spell a slight (+1) bonus.] [Item Description: A round Shield made of Light wood, the surface is painted with cheap black lacquer, and an unpolished brass disc is embedded in the center. Although it cannot Block Heavy Strikes, it is enough to buy critical casting time for a fledgling Mage.]

3. [Amethyst Staff] [Item Type: Focus / Two-Handed] [Damage: 3-9 / Bludgeoning] [Magic-Conducting Core: When you cast "Magic Missile" with this staff, the damage of each missile increases by 1.] [Item Description: A purple crystal staff body about three feet long, with a non-slip black leather strap wrapped around the handle. The crystal tip is not sharp, but it is always surrounded by a faint electric arc, and a crisp hum can be heard when it gently taps the ground.]

4. [Scholar's Soft Cap] [Type: Clothing / Head] [Thought Condensation: You gain a slight (+1) bonus when making Arcana or Perception checks.] [Item Description: A dark blue felt hat with the brim pulled very low, with a few small buckles sewn on the inside for holding quill pens. Although it looks like a standard item in a scholar's study, it allows the wearer to maintain calm thinking on a battlefield filled with artillery fire.]

5. [Marching Shoes] [Type: Clothing / Feet] [Agile Steps: When you dash, you will not gain fatigue or exhaustion from continuous running. In addition, when you are on a long journey, you can travel 2 extra hours per day without incurring additional burden.] [Item Description: A pair of casual shoes made of soft deerskin, with wear-resistant cork pads nailed to the soles, and laces woven with elastic animal tendons. They feel Light when worn, and you won't feel the heavy, lead-like sensation in your calves even if you run continuously on scorched earth and gravel.]