Bear School Astartes

Fortunately, Margaret still remembers her duties as the head of the Academy.

After the signing event, she needed to store this contract in the Academy's archive, and Tishaya would join her to cast protective magic on the document.

Both past and present directors could clearly sense that this Valyrian steel business might become the main source of profit for Airetusa Academy in the coming years.

After Lann walked away from the reluctant Margaret who was smacking her lips, he followed her directions and went down to the lower levels of Airetusa.

This place was originally similar to a warehouse, built by hollowing out a part of the massive rock on which Airetusa was situated.

When Lann finally reached the bottom, he wandered through the winding stone corridors before arriving at a massive steel door.

"Whew~"

The young man whistled when he saw the massive steel door.

Fresh scratch marks could be seen on the door frame structure, evidence of the door being embedded into the rocky wall.

The convenience of magic is precisely this, even in Lann's home world, embedding such a door, weighing at least several dozen tons, into a hard rock wall without destroying the existing structure would not be an easy task.

Yet, in Airetusa, no one even noticed a trace of disturbance during the construction.

A small talisman was raised by Lann, giving a slight wave at the gap of the door.

The massive door opened directly with a 'creaking' sound.

Accompanied by a glow of dark red heated metal, a heatwave radiated from inside the door.

Lann looked up and saw a tall, slim figure with a sword on their back walking towards the entrance.

"Hey, how are you, Belengar?"

The young man put away the door-opening talisman and raised a hand to greet his old friend.

This long-faced demon hunter had dark circles under his eyes but was in high spirits and excitement.

"Are you overly excited? Do you need me to prescribe some medicine?"

"Medicine? No, no need. I've consumed quite a bit of stimulant just to hold on until this equipment was put on track. Now, I need to conduct a few more tests, and then it can work day and night nonstop!"

Belengar laughed heartily, stepped forward, and gave Lann a big hug, excitedly patting the young man's back.

This unusually enthusiastic gesture left Lann feeling somewhat awkward.

"No, let go first. Is a promising job and shares enough to make you this excited?"

"Excited? I'm more than just excited!" After being pushed away by Lann, Belengar didn't feel disappointed; rather, he remained quite cheerful.

His cat-like eyes were gleaming brightly.

"I feel like I'm young again, Lann! A respectable, safe, and prosperous job! Do you know how long I've dreamed of this day? I've even lost count of how many dreams I've had, envisioning myself owning a widely recognized blacksmith shop. And now, you've made that dream a reality, far beyond my wildest dreams!"

Lann smiled as Belengar expressed his feelings, though he himself was not fond of blacksmithing, he respected others' dreams.

Once Belengar calmed down from the excitement of seeing him, Lann spoke up again.

"So, tell me, what have you been up to since you came to Airetusa? Have you spent all your time here? Surely, this looks like a colossal project."

Lann walked inside the room, while Belengar waited until the steel door was completely shut before following.

It seemed during this period, he not only acted as a metallurgical consultant but also handled the security for this room.

As for this room, the smile on Belengar's face grew even more proud.

"Yeah, it's certainly not an easy gig."

The long-faced demon hunter quickly stepped forward to lead Lann through.

This is a huge room, resembling a gigantic smelting chamber.

Rough iron ore was heated to a dark red glow by the furnace, then, through the conventional method of processing and shaping, placed on a seemingly unnecessary conveyor belt before being laid aside to naturally cool.

Excluding the massive scale, in terms of procedure alone, it was similar to a village blacksmith smelting iron ore into ingots.

Technically, this smelting chamber was frighteningly simple.

But this was precisely the commercial heart of Valyrian steel.

"There's not much else to say. I simply communicated some smelting techniques and experiences to the female warlocks, and they completed all of that with magic. Magic is so convenient, though it's a pity the warlocks didn't value the dirty blacksmith craft before. The key is that conveyor belt..."

Belengar led Lann to take a closer look.

There was a groove on the conveyor belt, holding a huge crystal ball that powered the conveyor belt with magic power.

"Lady Margarita and Lady Tishaya extracted magic runes from the Valyrian steel enchantments; the raw ore only needs to roll once on this conveyor belt to be enchanted. And the magic-infused blood or biological material containing magic power is right above."

Belengar pointed above the conveyor belt where pipes were transporting something, connecting to the conveyor belt.

"That's the monster materials collecting dust in Airetusa's warehouse, such as water essence or the tongue of a tomb witch, anyway, the forging process isn't picky; it can all be used."

"These cooled ores will be sent to ordinary blacksmith shops outside, where there's no core technology, just normal forging. Once reforged, it becomes a qualified, marketable Valyrian steel ingot."

"Ingot? Others don't know the re-forging techniques for Valyrian steel."

"Don't worry." Belengar thumped his chest in assurance, "We don't engage in deceitful businesses; with every purchase of the steel ingot comes an alchemy potion. The recipe was concocted by Lady Tishaya, affordable and effective, capable of replacing the normal re-forging spells."

After saying this, Belengar spread his arms, gesturing towards the pile of glowing red ores in front of Lann.

"We can make a fortune! Lann! Woohoo!"

Yet, the young man didn't seem as thrilled as Belengar; making money was something he wasn't particularly invested in.

He only dabbled in it when money was tight.

Moreover, beyond the simple notion of making money, the shock he felt while looking at this equipment wasn't about the profit it entailed. It was the idea...

The warlocks have begun attempting assembly line and automated operations... using magic.

In previous eras, magic was a luxury only a few could enjoy or exploit.

Those who wielded supernatural power served only the high and mighty for profit and authority.

But now, they began to realize how effective it could be to apply magic to production.

Maybe this idea in their minds was simply for convenience, but there's no doubt that the seeds propelling forward the times were sown within.

As a once history enthusiast, Lann felt like standing at a historic crossroads, the intriguing feeling of being right in its center.

Fortunately, this sensation didn't last long; his main focus still lingered on the celestial rift.

If another Da Gun, or perhaps a stronger one, emerged from there, the era... it wouldn't matter to anyone.

"I hope your work here doesn't delay the orders I placed, Belengar."

Lann crossed his arms and tilted his head towards his senior.

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

Belengar had a serious look.

"Any order you place, I prioritize as number one. That's my promise, mate."