Bear School Astartes

Chapter 448: 448. Drawings and Clues

”No external injuries, no obvious traces of toxins on the bodies... Were they killed by magic?”

Lann turned over a corpse’s head without hesitation and began inspecting its teeth and bones.

Ged stood behind him, the vertical pupils in his cat eyes contracting and expanding as he scanned the surroundings.

”Not surprising, Anahad’s era was the golden age of Demon Hunters. It wouldn’t be strange for a mage to reside permanently in Heinkawei, let alone magic traps.”

”Besides, it also explains why we found nothing. There’s no mechanism visible here, no detectable toxic potions... because the chaos magic power in the magic traps has dissipated completely over the decades, so much so that even our necklaces can’t sense it.”

Earlier, Lann gained nothing from his observation with [Spiritual Vision].

However, out of a principle of caution in all things, and due to Anahad’s renowned name, he still chose to act cautiously, assuming he might have missed something.

So he decided to probe with a single cast of [Alder’s Rune].

Now it appeared that the lethal traps here really did vanish after being used.

But this didn’t mean they were safe. On the contrary...

From the depths of the secret chamber, from around a corridor corner, the rustling sound of rusty iron chains began to emerge.

Simultaneously, flickering ghostly green firelight slowly peeked out from the depths of the dark corner.

Ged, with immediate reflex, caught the ghostly green firelight, as they had encountered it not long ago.

Quietly, he drew his Reinforced Bear School Silver Sword from his back.

Meanwhile, Lann, squatting with his back to the corner, raised his head, resting his left hand on the sword sheath at his waist.

”Their fingers were twisted almost into chicken claws... This magic caused them to die in agony.”

The young man spoke softly with a calm voice as he rose from the ground.

Turning around, Ged kept his gaze fixed on the direction where the ghostly green light grew stronger and remarked.

”It’s evident. I can even hear their wailing filled with hatred toward the living.”

The voices of the Demon Spirits were something no living person could ever get used to.

Their jaws clicked open and shut, and throats, devoid of vocal cords, would unleash heart-wrenching wails.

Those wails were filled with hatred and envy, like someone revealing their malice towards you without reservation.

That malice sent chills down one’s spine.

But like many humans’ malicious assumptions—

Demon Hunters didn’t seem quite human; they felt nothing from it.

The rusted thin swords of the Demon Spirits scraped against the bodies of the Demon Hunters, exploding upon the protection of the [Quen Rune] into large fragments of gold.

The bright silver sword slashed down vertically, the body bending like a drawn bow let the silver sword whip down, its blade like a lashing whip.

On the other side, Lann swung his long knife in a similar posture.

However, the blade stirred a surge of air, even as the blade halted in midair, the air it moved crashed like a waterfall onto the ground, swiftly dispersing into nothingness.

The three isolated Demon Spirits, aside from their slightly annoying ability to teleport, lasted barely a minute in front of Ged and Lann.

Then three piles of sparkling Evil Spirit Dust lay on the ground.

Amid the pleasant sound of metal rubbing against the sheath, Lann sheathed the Lady of the Lake’s Sword.

Grinning, Ged knelt and swept the Evil Spirit Dust into his pocket.

”Your downward powerful slash could connect seamlessly, hitting twice... It’s similar to school Swordsmanship, yet somewhat different.”

As he collected the spoils, he asked Lann.

”Is it okay to let me see just like that? After all, our Swordsmanship foundations come from the same source.”

Such a question was quite necessary.

In the realm of melee combat, techniques were like heirlooms.

Not only would the East hold back secrets until the master’s death when teaching disciples, but the Western Sword Masters also had various confidentiality measures.

Like writing Swordsmanship concepts into sonnets.

”If you want to learn, I can show you the original version, but don’t learn this current one.”

Lann tapped his left hand finger idly on the hilt of his sword.

”The current version exerts a lot of pressure on the bones; I’m not sure if your ankle bones can withstand this method of exertion. You understand, right? Ankles, being highly flexible joints, are fragile.”

In fact, after his bone-strengthening process began, Lann simultaneously started optimizing his techniques.

The increased bone strength correlated with enhanced physical resilience.

Many exertion methods, which previously tested the limits of his body, now fell within the normal range.

To achieve a high level of combat proficiency, it was natural to test repeatedly at the physiological limits, striving for ultimate performance.

Increasing the maximum twist angle between joints slightly means a significant boost in accumulated, unleashed power!

With Lann’s innate talent in Swordsmanship and Mentos’s calculations, his Swordsmanship was undergoing certain optimizations.

To put it simply... the entry requirements for his current Swordsmanship were moving beyond the ’mortal’ category.

Ged wasn’t a pretentious guy; after Lann showed no reluctance to share, he eagerly hoped for some guidance.

Thus, Lann informed Ged of his locations like he had once told Vesemir and Geralt.

After eliminating the vengeful Demon Spirits, there were no more obstacles in Anahad’s secret chamber.

The three of them smoothly entered the deepest area.

It resembled a researcher’s bedroom here.

A desk, an experiment table, a bookshelf, a bed, and a storage chest.

Several half-burned candles, with melted wax, had solidified on the ground and the table surface.

With a snap of his fingers, Lann lit the candles with a simple [Igni].

Lann first checked the bookshelf that interested him the most, yet with Mentos’s aid in speed-reading, he found nothing.

All these books appeared in the library of Airetusa and lacked the anticipated ’little secrets of Demon Hunters.’

The only find was a piece of old parchment with a formula deduced after various chaotic calculations.

[Bear School Mutation Formula]

This was the origin of the Bear School’s unique characteristics compared to other schools.

Meanwhile, Ged found a stack of equipment blueprints in the storage chest.

Made from similarly old parchment with complex calculations, the seven sheets resulted in one set of equipment.

It was the Bear School’s school equipment, including a steel and a silver sword, a crossbow, and a set of armor.

”Woohoo!” Ged cheered, waving the stack of parchments in the flickering candlelight towards Lann.

”Grandmaster-level! A complete set of Grandmaster school equipment!”

”I just knew there were good things hidden in Anahad’s secret chamber!”

Taking a glance, Lann found this set surpassed his current high-level Bear School attire but still wasn’t his goal.

Thus, the young man remained rather composed.

”It’s impressive gear, but I’m after Grandmaster level. Besides, these blueprints should be... revised editions? Look at the calculation marks; it’s hard to say how much the final drafted blueprints differ from them.”

”But these are still master-level equipment blueprints!”

Lann’s understatement couldn’t put a damper on Ged’s spirits; he was already accustomed to hard times and was overjoyed now.

”How about we look at this then?”

Near them, Regis raised a slip of paper in his hand.

He was the one who had checked the experiment table and desk earlier.

”I think there’s useful information on this.”