Bear School Astartes

”Ah, the grandmaster demon hunter gear blueprints...”

Belengar held the stack of parchment Lann handed to him, watching and speaking with a sigh.

”How long has it been since I last saw these treasures? I remember the last time was in the library at Ker Morhan, where that old fool Vesemir had them hidden among the pages for us to find, but as our numbers dwindled... I bet he himself later forgot where he put them.”

”Grandmaster gear from the Wolf School?” Lann asked with interest while sitting on the chair to avoid being looked up to by others. ”Does it have any special effects?”

Belengar glanced at Lann with his small eyes, speechless.

”Special? Do you think we have special features in the Wolf School?”

”Uh... doesn’t seem like it.”

”Exactly, so there isn’t anything special about our grandmaster gear either, aside from regular enhancements. If anything, it includes more slots for alchemy bombs and magic potions, enabling more flexibility in battle with tools.”

”A chicken rib,” Lann commented mercilessly.

After looking at the young man’s alchemy pouch hanging from his waist, Belengar’s lips moved slightly, but he said nothing.

Just pursed his lips with a bite.

”What about my grandmaster gear, can you handle it?”

Lann steered the conversation towards business, moving past the Wolf School armor.

Belengar responded with a displeased ”huh,” but still reconvened to seriously examine the blueprints.

”Had those dwarves modify it for you, did you?”

He inquired while looking through the documents, not lifting his head.

”Yes, I had the arm guards modified to retain the current functions. As for the parameters of the plate armor, I want to replace the original material with Valerian steel. I also had the person revising the blueprint look over this dagger.”

Lann pulled out the dragonbone dagger from his waist to illustrate.

Belengar continued studying the blueprint, nodding.

”Wise choice. Letting the original blueprint designer alter parameters is much better than having someone else do it, as only the designer truly understands the design philosophy. Even if someone else is more skilled, it’s more efficient and results in better quality than trying to recreate or revise.”

”Excellent equipment; I have no issue with it. Do you have any other requests?”

Belengar provided a definitive answer.

Lann clapped his hands with delight.

”Requests... I hope you can make the armor adjustable in size.”

”Size adjustment can be done, but you need to give me a range. For height differences less than ten centimeters, I can just extend the adjustable buckle straps a bit...”

Before Belengar could finish, Lann interrupted him.

”Two meters fifty.”

”What did you say?”

Belengar looked at Lann, shocked.

”I said, in the end, I might reach a height of two meters fifty.”

The young man shrugged helplessly.

The old demon hunter rubbed his forehead, first indecisive, then calm.

”As you wish, but I have to think about how to achieve this... perhaps I can prepare some plate and chain armor pieces that can be assembled and expanded?”

Belengar considered more and found it feasible.

”These pieces can be attached when you need to increase the size, without even needing a blacksmith’s help—just like assembling armor parts!”

Lann nodded in agreement, as Belengar continued.

”However, if we need to prepare additional armor pieces and chain strips, the total armor build time would be extended by at least a week.”

In response to this news, the first to react was not Lann but Ged, who had been eagerly waiting to retire his advanced Bear School armor behind him.

”Oh~”

He sighed regretfully.

But then Belengar added.

”However, this doesn’t affect the main armor’s fitting timeline; you can collect the main armor before getting the additional components.”

Ged: ”Oh!!!”

With that, the discussion about school equipment was settled.

Lann handed over the bonus reward—a Havier Sword blueprint—to Belengar, bringing immense joy to the old demon hunter.

”Aha! Thanks, mate! This is what I needed!”

Though the Havier Steel Sword blueprint wasn’t as valuable as the demon hunter school gear, Belengar was delighted upon receiving it.

Because this steel sword could allow him to participate in the Novigrad Blacksmiths’ Guild rank assessment and earn a widely recognized blacksmith title.

”In my view, you’d better not get too excited yet.”

Lann crossed his arms, dousing his old friend’s enthusiasm.

”Even if you attain the titles of master or grandmaster, there might not be anyone pursuing your works, right?”

”Most of them still think demon hunters are contagious like lepers.”

”Speaking of which, it’s uncertain if the Novigrad Blacksmiths’ Guild will let you sit for the exam.”

Belengar sneered, his long face becoming longer.

”Pay them, pay them, they’ll have people watch.”

”As for whether anyone will pursue my work? Who cares what they think!”

Belengar’s craftsmanship was undeniable, with no shortage of money from the Valerian steel business.

To him, having his skills recognized and improved was a significant pursuit in his remaining life.

Strictly speaking, his mindset had diverged from those who relied on blacksmithing as a livelihood.

Others are free to buy my works, or not. Creating them simply refines my craft, and that makes me happy!

It resembles the mindset of middle-aged anglers in Lann’s homeland.

Yuna watched Belengar enviously; such a demeanor is this Skellige girl’s ultimate dream for a blacksmith.

And Fergus, his tiny eyes on his big ruddy nose, were swirling constantly.

It seemed this rare dwarf with talent points allocated to ’social and trade’ was already contemplating whether he could ride on Belengar’s reputation as an independent shopkeeper someday.

”And you, Yuna? How have you been lately?”

Seeing this, Lann inquired about the current situation of the Skellige girl.

She gathered her braids hanging over her shoulder with a bitter smile.

”Me? My skill is probably around master level; Fergus is also clamoring to open his own shop. But... ”

As she spoke, Yuna glanced backward toward another corner of the workshop, where Master Tuer Butcher’s forge was located.

”Hey, better let me explain this part.”

Fergus patted Yuna’s arm, shaking his head.

”Her skills are spot-on, but now we don’t know how to address this with the master. After all, all she learned was essentially sneaky; though I learned nothing, I paid plenty to the master—you could say that’s her tuition fee. But you know, the master’s temper isn’t kind to humans, and besides...”

Fergus’ expression turned rarely somber.

”You’ve surely heard, haven’t you? Another racial massacre occurred in Wenger Castle, where almost a third of the non-human district was burned by mobs; dozens of dwarves died, with twice as many elves as dwarves... the atmosphere in cities is increasingly tense, even here in Gos Velen.”

”Because of this, the master’s attitude towards Yuna is worsening. Although he knows the massacre at Wenger Castle has nothing to do with this girl, who can control their emotions?”

Fergus ended, grimly scratching his beard.

”Ah, you shouldn’t get involved in this, nor can you. Yuna and I should clear things up with the master ourselves.”

”Let’s leave it at that.”