Bear School Astartes

”Spare you?” Lann looked curiously at the leader of the second group, ”What nonsense are you talking about?”

”It’s not nonsense... tsk, explaining a blacksmith’s work to an outsider like you is pointless.”

The bald, one-eyed uncle stopped halfway, shaking his head with disinterest.

But this only piqued Lann’s interest further.

”Are you serious?” The Demon Hunter raised an amused eyebrow. After experiencing the fierce side of this sword, he thought he had seen through the reasons behind the second group’s leader’s weariness. So he relaxed more.

”Surely you’re not planning on selling your blacksmithing skills like some masterpiece, spinning legendary tales to boost its allure, are you?”

”It’s not like I haven’t done that before.”

The second group leader casually revealed a glimpse of his ’dark’ past.

”After all, it’s about earning money from those wealthy folks who want to flaunt their bravery with weapons but are unwilling to hunt themselves. No big deal.”

”But this time is different, Lann... different.”

He wiped his face with a hand clad in heat-resistant gloves, indifferent to the furnace ash staining his skin.

”This is a fine sword, even before it came into my hands, it was a fine sword, with craftsmanship beyond reproach.”

”But it’s not the craftsmanship that started to unsettle me...”

He glanced up at Lann, who was intent on listening.

”The process you told me about for melting Valyrian steel was incorrect, which is why I couldn’t melt it at first.”

”Are you joking?” Lann frowned at this, ”I detailed the technique fully to you, and even tested it myself elsewhere before you. It could fully achieve the expected resul...”

Before finishing the word ’result,’ the second group leader interrupted Lann without hesitation.

”The method you provided is for melting Valyrian steel. But it’s not meant for melting your sword, Lann!”

My sword isn’t just a single piece of Valyrian steel?

Lann’s puzzled expression conveyed this question to the second group leader.

”Which is why I initially asked you, ’What exactly have you cut with this?’”

The bald, one-eyed man spoke seriously.

”I’ve analyzed it with you before, Valyrian steel is a highly biologically cohesive alloy. Perhaps something you fought with changed the original alloy structure... that was my simple initial assumption.”

”You said ’initially’?”

”Indeed... ’initially.’” The man shook his head, as if recalling a painful memory. ”It wasn’t until I enthusiastically studied the alloy structure of the sword for an entire day and prepared to rest in bed... that I began to dream.”

Lann’s gaze grew intense.

The dream...

”What did you dream about?” Lann asked softly.

”What did I dream about?” The leader shook his head, ”I can’t remember clearly, just a distinct feeling. It was dangerous, urgent... helpless. Even when suddenly waking, this feeling lingered inside me until I stood before the furnace again.”

”The sword was urging me... no, threatening me to immediately reforge it!”

Unconsciously, Lann’s hand touched the broad hilt on his back.

”But you just said you had no way to melt it.”

”Heh,” the man laughed bitterly, ”Methods are found by people, especially those pressed to their limits. The ideas just flow... After not sleeping for three continuous days, I used an old method I once witnessed.”

Not holding back, the second group leader straightforwardly explained.

”I built a shrine for this sword, laid out offerings. And placed the materials you gave me: the Extinct Dragon’s gem, regenerative shell, and sharp claws on the sword.”

”Then I wrote words on the Extinct Dragon’s skin like ’I will inevitably use these materials to reforge you’ and threw them into the brazier. Finally, the ink burned away, and now the dragon skin is wrapped around the hilt.”

Lann tilted his head, listening to this ritual that sounded like the mutterings of a village Witch Doctor: ”Wait, so after that, it just...”

”Yeah.” The man nodded wearily, ”Then I followed the melting process you provided all over again, and your sword was smoothly melted.”

”Thanks to the biological cohesion of Valyrian steel, these materials from the Extinct Dragon were fully integrated into what seems like a purely steel structure.”

In other words... within a week’s time, he spent the first three days sleepless, and in the following four days completed the sword in one go?

Lann was now somewhat worried that this guy might suddenly drop dead in front of him.

”Did you dream again afterwards?”

Not hearing any other signs related to the ’Ancient God,’ Lann cautiously pressed, but the other just shook his head.

”After I set up the shrine, I didn’t dream anymore.”

”But after integrating the Extinct Dragon materials... this sword began looking at me again with an aura that was no longer bizarre, but several times more fierce! Urging me to get to work!”

”...Damn it! One problem solved, but then another shows up! This will kill me!”

The second group leader broke down swearing, causing Lann’s embarrassed gaze to wander off to the side.

But after his rant, his eyes still lingered on the sword hilt showing over Lann’s shoulder, filled with pride, cautiousness... a complex expression.

Finally, he let out a long sigh and resumed his blacksmith duties: finishing up the commission.

”[Murkflow·Extermination], it should be called that.”

”As for what the embryo [Murkflow] was like, I don’t know. Let me tell you about what happened after adding the Extinct Dragon materials.”

He waved for Lann to take the sword off his back and place it in front of him. He pointed with his finger as he explained.

”Do you see the black on its blade, and the white on the edge? These are the Extinct Dragon’s regenerative shells, regenerated parts, equivalent to those iconic bone spikes. And its gem, I melted into the blade, as the core of the entire structure.”

”In forging, I discovered, that Extinct Dragons should be creatures with enormous appetites. Their exaggerated regenerative abilities derive from usual nutrition, stored and amplified by the gem. So if you wield this sword, you don’t need to worry about wear and tear, just hack at monsters.”

”The regenerative shell and gem will automatically activate after ’feeding.’ It’s also thanks to the properties of Valyrian steel.”

”Oh, there’s something else I need to ask you.”

The second group leader spoke while looking up to ask.

”Are you sure the Extinct Dragon’s spines only have black and white states?”

Lann nodded honestly, ”That’s right.”

The bald man rubbed his chin, frowning, ”But I feel like these spines are far from their limits... could it be that the Extinct Dragon wasn’t in its adult form?”

Lann tilted his head, asking, ”Will that affect my sword?”

The second group leader waved his hand, ”Your sword has the gem, the regenerative shell, and combined with the optimal biological cohesion... calling it a ’mini Extinct Dragon’ isn’t an issue. Anyway... it’s just battle. Cut enough, and maybe this sword will grow even faster than it did.”