Bear School Astartes

The Adrestia sliced through the blue and clear waters of the Aegean Sea.

”Ah, it’s really nice to travel with you again, Lann.”

The enthusiastic and slightly chatty Barnabas gave the Demon Hunter’s arm a hearty pat.

Seeing Lann again after a few months, he was once again amazed by his growth in height.

And he repeatedly stressed: Could he stand on Lann’s shoulders to take a look if he ever grew as tall as the giants of myth?

Lann had to try very hard to get this devoted believer of the Greek gods to abandon this idea, making him understand that his current height was his limit.

On the journey to Andros Island, Herodotus was still accompanying them.

It seemed that compared to being Pericles’ advisor in Athens, this scholar and traveler preferred to directly participate in the adventures of the Hawk Trainer and record them.

Lann thought that in most of his future endeavors he probably wouldn’t want to be apart from Cassandra. After all, throughout the entire Greek World, there were likely few adventures as exciting as these.

”Andros Island.”

Barnabas supported his waist, standing by the ship’s railing, looking with his one eye at the white beaches and rocks coming into view, quite excited.

”This is a great place, Cassandra!”

Lann stood by Cassandra, watching as the Hawk Trainer’s expression turned confused and a little embarrassed.

”Andros Island, I’ve heard of it before, it’s a great place... hmm, a great place!”

You actually haven’t heard of it at all, have you?

Lann tilted his head to the side, sneaking a laugh while internally jesting.

Clearly, from Cassandra’s confused yet forced knowing tone, Herodotus understood as well.

He looked at the female mercenary beside him in disbelief.

”This is Andros Island! It produces the best quality and most expensive marble in the Greek World!”

Cassandra pursed her lips, saying nothing.

Barnabas laughed heartily, adding, ”And there’s also the grave of Greece’s foremost warrior, Achilles, here! We could pay our respects.”

”Oh!” Following Barnabas’ explanation, Cassandra’s eyes lit up, and she let out a sound of sudden realization.

”It’s that Andros Island!”

Clearly, explaining commercial trades, products, and origins to Cassandra was far less effective than directly telling her about heroic epics and legendary tales.

Barnabas and Cassandra both burst into joyous and hearty laughter, carrying with them a sailor’s panache.

Yet, their lack of knowledge caused Herodotus to clutch his head.

”You two are hopeless.”

Laughing along, the historian sighed helplessly.

The Adrestia quickly docked at a natural harbor on the island, and Lann and Cassandra disembarked together, heading inland.

Most of the island was composed of white rocks and beaches, and moving toward the center of the island would lead to vegetation and animals.

Under Icarus’ high-altitude reconnaissance, Cassandra quickly found the target.

It was a large door embedded into the mountain on the island, blending with the stone.

This large door clearly showed human markings: horizontal and vertical lines, aesthetically pleasing geometric shapes... no wonder Herodotus, after long travels, still remembered this place vividly and had guided Cassandra here.

The patterns full of mathematical beauty and the aesthetic style were very similar to the lines on Cassandra’s broken spear blade.

In an era that generally pursued the beauty of biological motion and the grand aesthetic of religion, this rationally celebrated art style was unique and distinctive.

Lann’s hand tapped on the massive and heavy stone door, producing a solid ’thud thud thud’ sound.

”This door must weigh at least several hundred tons.”

The Demon Hunter looked at the tightly sealed seam in the middle of the door, frowning slightly.

”How do we get in? Do you have any idea, Cassandra?”

When Lann turned around to look, he saw that the Hawk Trainer was lost in thought, staring at her broken spear.

As if she was caught in some memory.

”Hesitation only quickens one’s entry into the grave.” Moments later, Cassandra murmured, dragging herself out of her memories. ”Mother, I have never forgotten your teachings.”

Lann watched quietly from the side. For someone whose family had been torn apart, living alone for ten or twenty years, memories of family must be precious and private.

It’s better not to interrupt rashly.

Cassandra walked straight to the door, holding her broken spear like it was a torch. As the broken spear got closer to the door, its blade emitted a gentle golden glow, with the steel material glowing like yellow jade.

The door rumbled open, shaking down some dust as it slowly parted to both sides.

The two people then walked inside.

”’Hesitation only quickens one’s entry into the grave’...”

Walking along, Lann mentioned to Cassandra.

”Is that what your mother taught you?”

”Yes.” Cassandra nodded lightly, ”That was a long time ago.”

”It seems wise people think alike.” Lann followed behind Cassandra, talking, ”A master who taught me a set of swordsmanship warned me: Hesitation leads to defeat.”

The further they walked, the more apparent Cassandra’s shock became.

The architectural style and scale here clearly overwhelmed her, even after having been to Athens.

”Something is glowing.”

Lann keenly sensed an anomaly in the distance.

It was a platform surrounded by four stone pillars, one of which had a spear-shaped outline emanating golden light.

As if sensing the approach of Cassandra’s broken spear.

With such an obvious pattern matching, there was no need to say what to do.

Cassandra placed the broken spear from her back into the outline on the stone pillar.

As a result, some incomprehensible symbols and a few triangular recesses gradually lit up on the otherwise unremarkable stone pillar.

Cassandra stood slightly agape, still processing her somewhat baffled state of mind.

Having already witnessed scenes of the human Interstellar Empire in the ”Memory Dive,” Lann was handling it better than she was.

The Demon Hunter’s fingers ran over the triangular outlines, finding a sense of familiarity in both size and thickness.

”This is kind of like... the Divine Artifact fragments I got from those members of the Divine Teachings?”

Lann and Cassandra exchanged glances, each producing a piece and two pieces of triangular fragments from their possessions, placing them there.

Amidst a gleaming burst of golden light, a female voice they had never heard before started to broadcast.

”Forge activated. Synchronizing data transmission continuity... contact established.”

In the golden light, the spear’s blade seemed to erupt with some holographic data matrix.

Without a doubt, this tool Cassandra used for fighting was indeed a supercomputer.

When Cassandra carefully took the broken spear from the stone pillar after the golden display.

The previously rough and worn-out broken spear handle had been transformed anew, with a grip-friendly feel and intricately wrapped leather...

Leaving one to wonder what sort of transformation it underwent.

The enhancement of the broken spear also led to Cassandra’s enhancement.

Further ahead on the platform, there was an inaccessible door sealed entirely by golden energy.

And on some other pillars of this platform, there were outlines of weapon grooves.

Cassandra recognized that one sword-shaped groove corresponded with the weapon her brother, brainwashed by the Divine Teachings, had at his waist.

However, after searching all over, Lann couldn’t find a groove that matched with the Anka in his possession.

This artifact, capable of easy biochemical transformation, showed no connection or reaction with anything inside this structure.

It seemed they had no relation to the First Civilization at all.

This left Lann with a somewhat anticipated disappointment.

After all, it seemed that Hapalos obtaining this artifact from Egypt was an accident.

Finding a forge connected to it just by chance was certainly unrealistic.