"Thank you, dear. I really like these gifts."
Margaret leaned close to the young man, gently kissing his earlobe.
She had received many gifts, mountains of them from both men and women, due to her beauty, family, power, and status.
Gold, silver, and jewels, dazzling and brilliant.
The gifts she received from childhood to adulthood could rival the dowry of a princess from some small northern countries!
Logically, these were just two weapons.
Unromantic, bloody, barbaric... what woman would like such things?
Whips that could tear flesh from a human body, firearms that could pierce through a person... she wasn’t one of those bloodthirsty maniacs who couldn’t sleep without seeing blood!
But this time it was different.
Because the one giving these was different from the rest.
Hence, Margaret’s affection for these two gifts was also different.
People give gifts hoping that the recipient will love them because they love the gift.
But for some people, the love for the gift comes simply because it’s from him.
"You set me ablaze with desire, dear."
The female warlock whispered into the demon hunter’s ear, exhaling a seductive fragrance.
It was a magical charm cream, which Margaret always used when she was with him.
She was willing to go to great lengths to adorn herself for the man she cared about.
And what could the demon hunter, faced with such an overt declaration of love, say?
"Can you open a portal directly to the bedroom?"
"Why teleport? Carry me over. I want those young apprentices who can’t have you to see that you’re still mine! These four months, I was not dumped by you!"
"So, you two have been in the room until now..."
Belengar struck the dark red steel billet with a resounding ’Duang’. Then he looked up at the clock on the wall.
"Hmm, twelve noon on the second day?"
Belengar stood bare-chested, wearing only a thick leather apron used by blacksmiths to shield against sparks, with sweat and grease mixed with black coal dust on his body.
This was a large blacksmith workshop by the walls of Gos Velen City.
Built and staffed by the Airetusa Academy. Its main business was hammering Valyrian steel into ingots for easy transportation and settlement.
However, due to the waves and reputation this new type of steel caused in the continental market, many skilled blacksmiths, eager for technological innovation or hoping to make a name for themselves with a masterpiece, chose to directly purchase Valyrian steel ingots here for forging.
Since Tuer Butcher, a dwarven master blacksmith with a master license from the Novigrad Blacksmiths’ Guild, forged the first Valerian Steel Sword here using the Mahakan Rune Sword style, this practice became even more revered.
That Mahakan Rune Sword fetched three times the market price at auction!
Moreover, after witnessing it, the Novigrad Blacksmiths’ Guild awarded Tuer Butcher the title of Grandmaster Blacksmith!
This honor, prestige, and the inevitable wealth that comes with it, what more could a blacksmith aspire to in life?
Of course, this also incited Belengar, who had relocated from Airetusa’s smelting room.
After all, in the eyes of the Old Demon Hunter, he was the first in the world to forge a Valerian Steel Sword!
It’s just that due to his identity as a demon hunter, his work went unnoticed.
"Hey, don’t make me out to be like a beast, okay? I’ve been a little sensitive about the concept of ’beast’ these days."
Lann quipped irritably. Thıs text ıs hosted at novęlfire.net
The workshop was filled with dark red steel ingots, and blacksmiths drenched in sweat working fervently.
But the fully dressed young man hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Not only was his body temperature high, but his tolerance for heat was also immense, to the point where the workshop’s temperature couldn’t faze him.
"Let me put it another way, hmm..." the old demon hunter mused briefly, "Male Night Demon?"
The young man fell into silent thought: "...Is this some kind of Wolf School mutation trait? Mastery of lame jokes?"
Belengar squinted and smiled, saying nothing.
His eyes were naturally small, and when he squinted, he appeared eyeless to those staring at him, which was one of the reasons he managed to work as a dock laborer for over ten years.
"Alright, let’s get back to the main point, Duang!"
The Old Demon Hunter said as he hammered the ingot.
"You’re looking for Bear School armor blueprints, so finding an active Bear School demon hunter is the right approach. But you shouldn’t be asking me; I’ve been out of the industry for decades."
Lann scratched his cheek: "Well, I thought since you’re older, you’d know more people."
Belengar shrugged: "You’ve got the wrong idea. When I was a demon hunter, I was too busy worrying about my next meal to make acquaintances."
"Well, I figured this guy wouldn’t have any leads."
Beside Belengar’s forge, the dwarf Fergus crossed his arms and shouted gruffly.
"If you ask me, just go with the old set you used to wear and call it a day! I think that craftsmanship is good enough! What more do you want?"
His voice was pretty much a shout, a norm in the noisy blacksmith workshop, and it could be considered an occupational hazard for blacksmiths.
Master Tuer Butcher was still forging new pieces there, so Fergus, as an apprentice, continued to assist.
Of course, under the guidance of this silver-tongued dwarf, the real apprentice learning skills—Yuna naturally followed as a helper.
At this point, the human female apprentice retorted at Fergus without reservation.
"Shut up, Fergus! Warriors have no end to their pursuit of high-end armor and weapons! As long as a warrior has courage and passion, they’ll surely be ! That’s a real man!"
Fergus was used to being scolded by Yuna in private, so he nonchalantly scratched his butt, murmuring under his breath.
"I’m a man too, but I just don’t like iron stuff. Making friends and playing Gwent is more fun."
Neither Yuna nor Lann paid any attention to the ’unique’ dwarf.
The human female apprentice, after some thought, offered Lann a sincere suggestion.
"I kept the complete blueprints from when the master repaired your armor last time. If you’re in a hurry, I’m confident I can make it for you myself. But apart from enhancing the overall protection with Valerian steel, I don’t think it would be better than a more advanced Demon Hunter Armor."
"Your armor incorporates some alchemy in its manufacturing process, hence giving it unique effects. Like your previous set of advanced Bear School Armor, which made enemies bleed more easily—more advanced blueprints would certainly have more advanced features, which simply adding more Valerian steel wouldn’t achieve."
Yuna’s words further solidified Lann’s resolve to obtain an advanced blueprint.
At this time, Belengar looked at Lann’s expression of determination and paused his work, pondering.
"If you really want information... at my age, I can’t say I have nothing at all."
Immediately, Lann’s expectant gaze fixed on the old demon hunter.
Belengar put on a face of effortful recollection.
"After the Bear School split to Anahad, I heard they settled in the Amel Mountains and formed a collaborative relationship with the local dwarves and gnomes... When they split from the Demon Hunter Order, they didn’t take many blacksmiths with them. With their level, they shouldn’t have been able to develop their own school armor."
Upon recalling this, Belengar and Lann exchanged a glance.
Both demon hunters arrived at the same conclusion: Bear School’s armor likely wasn’t their design.
The blueprints were most likely from the dwarves and gnomes of the Amel Mountains!