Bear School Astartes

Belengar is a Demon Hunter who, due to hormonal mutations, is full of energy. When Lann first met him, he was using his dockworker wages to solve physiological needs.

He has seen and experienced a lot over his long life.

The old guy didn't believe for a second that this Female Warlock, whose eyes seemed to burn with fire, could 'keep her distance' as she claimed.

But seeing Lann's expression... hey! He believed it! He really believed it!

At the drinking table, Triss put aside the awkward silence from when she sat alone with Belengar.

In a voice as clear as a canary's, she described to Lann the current situation and changes in Vizima.

Veltrest was troubled by several border disputes with neighboring countries, Steza's former subordinates were a bit restless, but the King suppressed them with a backhand...

Belengar looked at this Royal Female Warlock Advisor who regularly rode to Darkwater and felt that compared to before, even her brow and eyes seemed alive now.

Very good.

The Old Demon Hunter became more confident in his judgment.

Matters of affection between men and women can't be controlled when the atmosphere is right.

In this area, the lad in front of him is still a little green, but he believes that soon, he will mature.

"What are you laughing at?"

Lann raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask Belengar, who was holding his wine glass with a strange smile.

Belengar covered the lower half of his face with his drinking posture and replied gruffly.

"Nothing, nothing... I just suddenly feel that your Bear School training doesn't seem all that comprehensive."

Lann thought, isn't that obvious? I still had to take extra lessons from you on alchemy, curses, and monster knowledge.

In the subsequent chat, Triss indeed didn't keep staring at Lann's profile. She also distanced herself, avoiding her body accidentally brushing against him, which might cause some Magic Power 'reactions'.

And after another round of drinks, she decisively rode away from Darkwater, heading to Vizima.

"You've been laughing since earlier, Belengar! You haven't even stopped."

After the sound of Triss's horse hooves faded away, Lann firmly looked at the Old Demon Hunter in front of him.

"Hey, I just finished a task from a perilous interdimensional journey, and this is how you treat your friend and employer? What's so funny?"

The Old Demon Hunter never moved the large mug of beer from his mouth, speaking roughly.

"I've thought of something happy... pfft!"

"Alright! Don't look at me with those eyes as if I'm scum! This is the first time since meeting you that I've felt not so worthless! You're not taking this joy away from me!"

Belengar said decisively.

"This is something you have to experience and learn for yourself! Without this experience, you'll regret it in your future life! Remember it, young Demon Hunter. This is an elder's teaching for you."

Lann didn't really want to delve deeply, so he sneered and didn't discuss it further, instead easily deflating the Old Demon Hunter's good self-concept.

"Failure."

"You should add a qualifier before 'elder who gives guidance' — 'failing.'

Mentos timely presented a batch of firework effects on Lann's retina, and in the middle were the large words, "Explosive Kill!"

There was no denying that the bio-intelligence was getting better at flattering people.

But Belengar was long since unfazed by scalding water.

I, a Demon Hunter, even went to work as a laborer for overtime pay, why would I care about what you say?

With your face and build, and that Magic Power reaction... heh, there will be plenty of fun to watch in the future!

Female Warlocks fighting is guaranteed to be more exciting than Knight tales!

With an attitude of looking forward to future drama, Belengar only felt the Codwin Black Beer diluted with water tasted a bit crisper.

"Alright, now that Triss is gone, let's cut the jokes. Come on, I'll show you the goods, 'Employer Sir.'

The large wooden mug hit the table with a "bang," and the Old Demon Hunter stood up confidently.

Lann also remembered that when he first stepped into the Conjunction of the Spheres, Belengar's progress on replicating Valyrian Steel was nearing completion.

A few months have passed by now, and he must have some results.

After all, when talking about his smithing skills, he always said, 'Even if you included the Dwarves in this world, there wouldn't be many blacksmiths with more smithing time than me.'

Lann also finished off the remaining half-bottle of rye vodka.

The cold, strong liquor slid down his throat, and only then did he feel the stark contrast of his burning body temperature.

The comfortable high temperature posed no discomfort, making the cold drink even more refreshing to him.

"Phew~ let's go. This time in the otherworldly realms, I've learned quite a few powerful new things, and ordinary arming swords don't quite fit my hand anymore. Once the Valyrian Steel replica is completed, I'll be changing my gear."

Belengar said confidently, "Your investment will definitely exceed your expectations, don't worry."

The two walked out into the bustling tavern. As soon as they opened the door, the warmth inside whooshed out through the crack, turning into a visible white mist in the cold air.

The villagers at Darkwater had already accepted Belengar's presence.

With Lann's investment, he had taken over half the area and equipment of the village blacksmith shop for his workbench.

Lann followed Belengar inside and saw the Old Demon Hunter take out a standard-sized steel ingot from a miscellaneous bag on the ground, smiling as he gestured towards Lann.

"Swoosh!"

Lann's long, neat eyebrows arched involuntarily, and he whistled.

"The pattern is beautiful."

The steel ingot in Belengar's hand had patterns identical to the blade of the Dragonbone Dagger at Lann's back waist.

Wave-like patterns, with the black parts resembling deep black smoke.

"Don't just look at the pattern, check out the quality."

Belengar crossed his arms, looking quite confident.

Lann drew the Dragonbone Dagger from his back waist and slid the back of the blade along the steel ingot.

After the sound of steel scraping, he carefully scrutinized the contact point with a cat's eye.

"Sir, taking your vision limit as the observational standard, this steel ingot already equals Valyrian Steel in hardness. Or rather, this is a piece of Valyrian Steel ingot."

Mentos analyzed through Lann's eyes, and Lann nodded in understanding.

"You really did it, Belengar. Congratulations, you've forged a type of steel that has never appeared in this world."

In Alia's world, a Valyrian Steel ingot this size was enough to trade for a small castle!

Because there, it's not just the material for a weapon to be passed down through generations. The weapons made from it are symbols of noble lineage and family.

And for that symbol, many nobles would be willing to bleed dry.

However, once the technology crossed worlds, replicating it became not that difficult or costly due to differing knowledge across worlds.

According to Belengar, this Valyrian Steel ingot of standard size from the Temerian Blacksmiths' Guild had a cost of around fifty Oren.

Cheaper than refined ingots of antimagic gold by half!