Bear School Astartes

In Lann and Belengar’s eyes, the local armor designs of the New Continent were basically "way too flashy, all about visuals."

But it wasn’t that the craftsmen were deliberately going for gaudy; it was an aesthetic that had naturally been cultivated in this environment.

The goal of the New Continent Expedition Team was to uncover the secrets of the New Continent’s ecology; they were constantly competing and cooperating with the countless monsters that lived here.

Monster materials were extremely important resources in this world, practically one of the pillars of local materials science.

Like the captain of the Second Expedition Team: when it came to controlling the properties of steel, he was slightly lacking, something Belengar spotted at a glance.

But if you were talking about how to properly process and use biological materials, there really was no one more professional than him.

As a craftsman in this world, you had to be good at using monster materials.

So of course, in the Expedition Team’s various armor sets, there were basically very obvious traces of biological materials.

Outer armor of scales, gloves and boots made from monster claws and fangs, helmets and pauldrons made from monster shells, knee guards...

The patterns of monster plates were everywhere on the gear; monster shells and claws were basically just lightly reshaped and polished, made to fit the human body, and then slapped on.

The style was so rough and feral that once someone had seen the monster itself, they only needed one look at the armor made from its materials to recognize it without any introduction.

Because the armor retained way too many of the monsters’ biological traits.

And when all those wildly styled monster traits showed up on human armor, the word "flashy" was almost inevitable.

Take the Horned Dragon armor set: the pauldrons were literally just its two iconic horns, polished a bit and mounted—two thick, over-one-meter-long, earthy yellow horns braced on the shoulders.

"You still think this is over the top?" The Second Team captain shook his head and sighed, clearly baffled why his design was called "flashy." "I was already holding back a lot."

Belengar said from the side, "We’ve gone through several versions of the design. I’ve tweaked them quite a few times, but this is still the ’least conspicuous’ one."

As he spoke, the Old Demon Hunter also looked at the one-eyed bald brute and helplessly shrugged.

Compared to him, Belengar’s past Demon Hunter career made it much easier for him to understand Lann’s practical needs in armor usage.

But both sides were highly skilled craftsmen; how could they easily compromise on style?

After grinding and revising back and forth, they barely managed to reach a compromise.

They settled on the version that Lann was holding right now.

But during this mutual grinding process, Belengar had clearly been influenced as well, which was why, when this blueprint was placed in front of Lann, he could still instantly see the local style.

Lann checked the stress analysis that Mentos projected on his retina while making deletions and additions to the armor’s appearance.

"You guys even added a helmet... fine, add a helmet, but why this style?!"

Lann complained weakly.

He’d more or less figured it out: Belengar’s original armor design style should have leaned toward the plain and practical—the standard Magic Middle Ages look.

But after coming to this world, interacting with the local craftsmen, and seeing monster materials with such absurd creative potential, he’d gotten a bit "hyped up" too.

And the evidence was—Lann shoved the blueprint in his hand right up to Belengar’s face, his finger jabbing at the helmet sketch.

It was a helmet shaped like a skull wearing a crown.

Lann wore an expression like "so you’re a weeb too," making Belengar subconsciously turn his head away.

"This is copied from the Wild Hunt helmet, isn’t it? Isn’t it?!" Lann pushed the blueprint even closer. "You trying to do folk legend art on me here?"

The Old Demon Hunter muttered a low-key defense.

"Hey, you can’t call it ’copying’ when it’s a craftsman’s work. It’s... referencing! This is referencing!"

"Didn’t you say last time? The Wild Hunt isn’t a Magic phenomenon, it’s a group of highly advanced intelligent beings. So referencing their armor design is totally normal!"

"I’ll reference your hammer, how about that!"

Lann deadpanned.

Seriously, he’d just been criticizing the local blacksmiths for being too flashy, and now this thick-browed, upright guy pulls this stunt?

The blacksmiths of the New Continent at least made armor that was rough and feral like the monsters that supplied the materials; but once Belengar got involved, the design was sprinting straight toward "Ghost Knight."

Lann was someone who often dove headfirst into various worlds, usually starting out as a complete stranger, a Demon Hunter.

And he was supposed to wear this suit?

Instantly flagged as the villain, right?

How was that even playable?

Lann pressed a hand to his forehead, his mouth opening and then closing again.

Normally, whenever he first arrives in a new world, he doesn’t even dare drink Magic Potions.

He’s terrified that after he drinks them, the Demon Hunter’s physical reaction—that is, the toxins gathering in the blood vessels around his eyes, making his face corpse‑white and his eye sockets pitch‑black—will make people think he’s some kind of sinister freak.

People shouldn’t judge by appearances, sure, but you can’t deny that a creepy face absolutely bumps up strangers’ vigilance, even fear. And that means trouble.

Lann looked down at the rough sketch in his hand, then at Belengar, then back again, several times.

If he runs around everywhere wearing this getup and that helmet...

"Belengar, as far as I remember, I haven’t actually wronged you or anything..."

"Hey? What’s that supposed to mean!" Belengar’s long face flushed, and he hurriedly yanked the sketch out of Lann’s hand. "No helmet, then no helmet, fine."

The captain of the Phase‑Two Team next to them opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

Strictly speaking, by the local Investigation Team craftsmen’s usual design logic, a helmet is a mandatory part of any equipment set.

But that’s not how it works for Demon Hunters.

"Anyway, these Dragon Scales and Dragon Hide are already totally dead, no vitality, and none of that so‑called ’monster essence’ you guys talk about. Your whole set bonus doesn’t work; this time it’s my way that counts."

Belengar spread his hands at the Phase‑Two Team captain.

The Investigation Team’s craftsmen all learned their trade back on the Old Continent. Over long years and countless hunts, the Hunter’s Guild has sorted out a complete set of standards for equipment.

How many gear pieces can carry how much ’monster essence’, and how much ’monster essence’ can ultimately achieve what effect—this has basically all been mapped out.

That’s what the Investigation Team calls the ’set effects’ when they craft gear.

So the Investigation Team’s craftsmen naturally tend to keep a full ’set’ of armor intact whenever they forge something.

Lann’s original Grandmaster Bear School Armor had been completely taken apart and laid out to the side.

At the same time, the Phase‑Two Team captain finished taking Lann’s body measurements.

The three of them stood before the line of Demon Hunter School armor pieces that had been taken off and laid out, all staring at that sketch.

Since Smaug’s bodily tissues are totally dead, the local ’monster essence’ tech can’t be used. So without a doubt, Belengar is the one leading the tech this time.

Consider it letting him vent a bit of his "Muddy Stream got modified without so much as a heads‑up" anger.

The Old Demon Hunter used the row of armor pieces in front of him as props and started explaining to the one‑eyed bald brute beside him how, in the Magic‑and‑Alchemy system, occult powers actually operate on armor.

He gave the Phase‑Two Team captain a quick rundown of the process used to make these armor components, what that process means in Alchemy, and what effects it can produce in the end.

"You take the Chaos Magic Power that’s already formed into Magic Seals and dispersed, and you recycle it. Then the next step is Bear School knowledge."

Belengar picked up the bear‑hide collar from the Grandmaster set, pushed aside the thick, glossy bear fur to reveal the skin underneath, where rune patterns were etched. He showed it to the two men beside him.

"When they designed armor for the Bear School back then, those Dwarves definitely had Anahad’s own knowledge as reference."

"By applying Bear School’s school lore, those Dwarves managed to design a function that takes the scattered Chaos Magic Power, turns it back around and reuses it, forming a spontaneous ’Quen Rune’."

Belengar’s explanation went from simple to complex, and the Phase‑Two Team captain, hearing this sort of knowledge for the first time, couldn’t stop nodding.

The ’lecture’ in occult studies even drew all the apprentices in the workshop over, crowding around, wanting to listen to Otherworld tech and the mysterious ’Magic and Alchemy’.

While talking about the design logic and origins of this set of armor, Belengar couldn’t help slipping into his usual habit of snark, taking the chance to poke at the one‑eyed hulk next to him.

The Old Demon Hunter twisted his long face to the side and said teasingly,

"Don’t get cocky just because you guys here use monster materials bursting with absurd amounts of Life Force and have complete experience and knowledge about that. When it comes to occult theory, you’re still amateurs."

"You don’t know how to deal with Curses embedded in materials, don’t know how to protect yourselves when using materials that contain foreign energies, and you don’t know how to handle hatred or obsession bound up in weapons and armor."

"Like that time when you didn’t know jack and still dared to use some back‑alley ritual to smelt and forge the ’Muddy Stream’ in that condition—tsk tsk tsk..."

Belengar clicked his tongue non‑stop.

"That sword definitely chopped something serious. From what you told me, being able to mess with your head and even influence your Dream Realm without very strong malice—that’s not a weak kind of power."

In the first half of the sentence, the Old Demon Hunter glanced at Lann. Seeing that he kept his mouth shut like he hadn’t heard a thing, he understood this was probably something that couldn’t be discussed, so he very tactfully didn’t press further.

The second half was aimed back at the Phase‑Two Team captain.

His career as a Demon Hunter hadn’t been exactly glorious, but under Vesemir’s tutelage he wasn’t lacking for knowledge.

A Curse or monster whose name can’t be mentioned or clearly stated—either way, you don’t want to mess with it.

Since Lann already cut the thing down, best to rein in any curiosity that’s not strictly necessary.

"The fact you managed to complete that smelting with some half‑baked ritual based only on surface appearances—gotta say, you really were born lucky."

Belengar ribbed the Phase‑Two Team captain beside him, while the latter stroked his wire‑brush beard, looking thoroughly enlightened.