Early in the morning when the rays of sun just have descended on the forest, the adventurers met each other at the side of the forest, they were very early after all today was the promised day, the day they take down the Hobgoblin.
"First let's check our equipment and potions" said John as he drew his long sword, made sure it was sharpened and in a good condition, checked his potions and finally hanged another short sword on the other side of his waist.
John was a rank four worrier, he was good at using his aura, he was able to increase his speed and jump from one tree to another, today he carried another weapon with him, the short sword, just in case if he lost his long sword, then he would find something to use.
Hazel the mage carried her staff, the mages use staff to decrease casting time, have better control of the mana and improving the final spell, of course all of that was only to some extent. Using a staff would not make the mage able to cast higher level spells than he could originally cast without it, nor it would enable him to over come the difference in magic between him and a mage of a higher rank if they compared mana, you can say it is generally act as an optimizer, helping mages achieving better outcomes, by using the same amount of mana in a better way.
Hazel also carried a short dagger and lots of potions most of which are mana potions. Unlike martial artists, mages usually depend fully on mana, so they can't risk running out of it. A martial artist without aura is a strong person with a flexible body and high endurance and stamina mastering the use of various weapons capable taking opponents especially using melee attacks.
A mage without mana is just an average person, you would be breathless just after running for some time, even martial artists who don't use melee attacks like archers still have way stronger bodies then mages.
Then why don't mages train their body to make up for this weakness? The answer is simple because it is not cost-effective, for them it is just a waste of time. Instead of spending years training to able to handle wearing a heavy armor, a mage would be able to learn casting a protective barrier in less of half that time.
For martial artists training their bodies and mastering weapons would strengthen their aura help them in advancing to the next rank.
Mages are usually long ranged fighters not because they can't attack from short distance, but because casting a spell on a close target would usually take the same amount of mana and time roughly as casting a spell on a far target, if can attack someone from afar while dealing the same amount of damage as if you were directly in front of him, would you get close to him?
Not mentioning that lots of spells have collateral damage spreading on small or large area, who would want to get caught in his own spell? Also spell casting is not an instant action, it is a process which needs time so being far away gives you enough time to complete the casting before the enemy attacks you.
Being a mage was in a way or another better than being a martial artist, they were far rarer than martial artists, although you can't say one hundred percent that they are stronger than martial artists, generally they hold the upper hand.
Not only that, mages can take different pathway in other professions away from fighting, mages brew potions, mages make enchanted and runic weapons, mages create magic scrolls, some mages take the pathway of healers, in fact mages who specialize in one of these professions are valued much higher than fighter mages, since only a selected few of mages are able to take these paths.
That being said of course being a martial artist had its unique advantages in the end it was better than being a regular human, but overall being mage was way better to the point that some people dared to said that martial artists are just people who awakened their power but failed to become mages!
Gallien carried two bows on around both of his shoulders, his main bow and another spare bow. He carried a quiver full of arrow on his back, most of which had metal pointed heads, few had a black ball in the place of the arrowhead. Two of the arrows stood out in particular, they were made total of black metal, their shafts were longer and larger than regular arrows, their heads were also lager and sharper.
Even though he was an archer, he also carried a short sword around his waist, it seems the three adventurers experienced something in the past which made them ready for the transition to an all-out melee combat at any moment, that would enable them to withdraw safely while sustaining minimal losses.
Dreue only brought his small dagger and some recovery potions with him, he brought mana potions, they wear the same mana potions he used while carving, he put them back in the bottles, he gave most of them to Hazel, after all he will not be able to use them himself.
He was still wearing the eyepatch on his right eye; he was afraid that people would see the symbol burned on his right eye when he opens it, that would be bring him trouble.
Dreue preparations were the simplest, in fact it can be caid that he didn't prepare anything at all, he just brought the small dagger which he usually brings to hunts in the first place.
All of the three looked at him with a questioning expression.
"What? I thought we agreed that my role will be only detecting monsters and telling you about their location, I don't need to prepare anything else since will not even try to defend myself, remember to protect me, my safety is your responsibility, after all I am paying you for that in way or another" Dreue said rudely.
The three adventurers looked awkwardly at each other and thought what troublesome arrogant fellow, they started regretting listening to his honey covered word at the inn, maybe teaming up with him was a mistake!