Bear School Astartes

Thus, after the Lady of the Lake enveloped Lann in the gentle lake light that represented her power, the Sunshine Power surged once more from deep within the Demon Hunter’s body.

Only then did he stand before the Moon God, linked with the Light of the Dual Holy Trees, totaling three lights that protected his body, effectively shutting out the natural allure and influence that higher beings have over creatures of the material world.

As the Lady of the Lake said, ’Lann has already absorbed and mastered my power’...

The gentle lake light was originally just a form of protection that the Lady of the Lake gave her champion.

However, the power imbued within this protection was of ’relatively’ high quality and ’relatively’ large mass.

But ultimately, it was an external force applied to Lann.

Yet, when entangled in combat with the Moon God, and the power of higher beings repeatedly pounded on Lann, exerting pressure without a single opening.

This power began to be truly accepted by Lann.

During this, the Moon God’s body, along with the sword light, was exposed to Lann’s Spiritual Vision, deepening and expanding his perspective.

He even began to understand more about this protective power bestowed upon him.

Up to this point, everything was still within the Lady of the Lake’s understanding.

But what followed...

An Ancient God died, slaughtered upfront, then burned.

According to the rules of the Yarnan World, it was natural for a curse to descend after its death.

And Lann inherited the largest part of it.

But soon, the curse, born of the death of a higher being, upon entering Lann’s body, found itself... unable to escape!

When the entity of the Ancient God appeared before him, the light on Lann’s body instinctively resisted the influence of external high-level powers.

Now that the Ancient God died and the curse was about to disperse, the light realized there was an ’enemy’ inside, and began to circle around and suppress it!

After all this, the curse of the Ancient God was completely pressed onto Lann’s body, not a single head poking out, leaving Lann without any feeling.

Instead, it was the light, first tempered externally by the high-level power of the Ancient God’s entity, now internally suppressing the Ancient God’s curse.

Now it completely takes on the appearance of a ’fully forged light’.

Although the Lady of the Lake wasn’t planning to reclaim the protective power on Lann that belonged to her.

Yet, looking at the situation now... she found it difficult to retrieve it even if she wanted to.

Lann himself scratched his head a bit sheepishly.

How did the protective power someone gifted to him for self-defense inexplicably melt into his body?

It transformed into a state where energy filled his body, overflowing into a glow much like Body Light.

It reacts to ordinary powers not at all, but against highly advanced, extremely essential forces, it emerges spontaneously to resist or weaken them.

It rendered his mind and thoughts clearer and swifter than ever before.

With this Body Light, even if he were to face the Losric Demon King again.

The Mad King whose casual spells were so advanced they bewildered others.

Now, this Body Light should at least withstand several casts of his magic directly.

Back when he truly battled Ausloes, Lann dared not let himself be touched by his magic at all.

Relying purely on skill, mainly on the fact that Ausloes’s soul was mad and ruined, did he manage to win against such a character.

And now, this Body Light within him was clear proof that he had slain an Ancient God and endured the tempering of a higher being’s advanced power!

Unless confronted with power that was deep and advanced enough, there was simply no way to contact the Body Light.

The two parties were on entirely different planes, like two parallel lines that never meet.

However, speaking of which, from the Lady of the Lake’s current perspective.

Lann’s appearance was far more than just appealing in the material world. Although his essence had always been highly attractive, now it was even more so...

On a deeper observational level of the world, the Lady of the Lake viewed the Demon Hunter before her as a beautiful, gentle contour of light, and within that light was a bizarre abyss that drew people in unconsciously.

The abyss had been completely subdued to fit Lann perfectly.

The bright outline was like armor, or like the moral principles of the heart, binding the terrifying, profound darkness beneath.

Yet this only incited a desire to break through the light shell and delve within, seeking out the inner forbidden.

Meanwhile, the Demon Hunter blinked a bit bewilderedly... it felt as if the Lady of the Lake was drawing closer?

Her breath, which initially only lightly scented the air around him, now grew heavier.

The fresh and delicate lake-green skin seemed to press toward his face...

”Ahem.”

Carrying a chill calmness, this cough, as precise as a scalpel insertion, crisply and neatly sliced through the now-ambiguous atmosphere, much like a blade through flesh.

The Yan Nan Hunter always excelled in seizing the moment to make an entrance.

Although interrupted, the Lady of the Lake appeared indifferent.

Lann wasn’t too shy about it, as he had experienced this sort of thing many times before.

The exception was Adeline, whose eyes blinked like a fan, making one wonder if she intended to create wind with her eyelids.

”Is this the norm in this world?” The Blood Nobility pressed the brim of his triangular hat down, the shadow beneath it casting a slight twist at his lips, still managing to maintain his composure. ”...I kind of want to go back.”

”No, that’s a misunderstanding.” Lann refuted righteously, stepping smoothly to Maria’s side, ”The atmosphere here is actually quite nice, and such incidents are rare, indeed.”

As he spoke, Lann nodded to himself, as if in agreement with his own statements.

Maria, meanwhile, pulled down her triangular hat, her eyes looking first at the nonchalant, somewhat unsatisfied Goddess.

Then back to Lann’s face.

Finally, for some reason, she nodded in understanding: ”Indeed... It’s probably quite rare.”

”Alright, we need to prepare to depart.”

After correcting the ’stereotypes’ of the friends newly arrived in this world, Lann waved and spoke.

”Since I brought them here, and you haven’t commented much until now,” the Demon Hunter turned and smiled at the Lady of the Lake, ”does that mean their special blood no longer carries hazards that merit your attention?”

The Lady of the Lake was the guardian of the Celestial Sphere Convergence Rift, a decision formed by her and ’those friends of hers.’

Her primary task was to ensure nothing capable of threatening this world emerges from the rift.

And it was precisely because of this task that Lann forged a contract with the Lady.

Normally, guardians aren’t supposed to let anything in.

However, both Rong Buqiu and Qilin had long proved that the Lady’s guardianship was far from rigid.

That’s why Lann brought Maria and Adeline here, seeking a stable treatment plan.

”Their blood is very tainted. Initially, I even thought it was my mistake.” The Lady sat on her throne of waves, twirling a strand of her deep green hair with a finger, speaking.

”However, there’s no major issue, as that taint no longer carries any significant power. As for the specific treatment, or a full blood replacement even, that’s a matter for you to discuss with your female warlock lovers. I’m just a goddess, ignorant of such things.”

Lann raised his hands slightly, indicating his surrender, preferring she not tease him further.

”Speaking of your lovers,” the Lady of the Lake recalled something amusing, ”that golden-haired one came asking me why you didn’t bring the little cat and the unicorn, looking quite worried.”

”Having a female warlock come knocking is indeed a fresh experience.”

Previously, Lann had brought Tishaya over, technically as an introduction.

Being directly found by a female warlock was a rarity for the Lady of the Lake.

During the golden age when warlocks first began emerging, those powerful warlocks each pursued their own goals and worries, paying little attention to the divine beings.

In today’s era, most young warlocks are proud and don’t believe in the existence of divine beings.

Upon hearing the Lady’s words, Lann lowered his head and chuckled, with a warmth in that smile.

Previously, due to not having truly interacted face-to-face with Yarnan’s ancient gods, Lann wasn’t certain whether they, even across worlds, might cause unusual responses simply from their names being mentioned, like associated dream realms, for example.

So he had only communicated with the Lady of the Lake.

Reflecting on this, he felt more nostalgic for the headmistress’s bedroom at Airetusa.

”Thank you for informing me, Lady. I’ll handle the rest.” Lann took a hooded cloak from his Alchemy Pouch, draping it over himself, and incidentally rubbed the Magic Ring on his hand.

Meanwhile, beyond Gos Velen’s coastline, a thunderbolt cracked loudly, seemingly out of nowhere, over the once-clear blue ocean!

”Crack!”

The sound of high-voltage current piercing through the air and crashing onto the ocean seemed surprisingly crisp.

Sky suddenly echoed with a single blast of thunder under the clear sky, and only this single thunder.

Such peculiar thunder was strange even amidst the ever-changing marine weather.

Yet if thunder were induced by a creature, it’d be completely understandable.

”Splosh!”

A large, blue-and-white feline-like face emerged from the ocean, shook its head slightly, and its hydrophobic fur dried instantly.

On its feline-like face, however, the corners of its mouth held a piece of seaweed, and its ruby-like eyes blinked absent-mindedly, as its mouth crunched the seaweed progressively shorter.

The tranquil dazed appearance, it looked quite like a capybara.

After the seaweed was completely sucked into its mouth, it eventually seemed to grasp the sense of its sudden appearance.

Then, as though stepping onto a stair, it easily stood atop the water, rising from beneath the surface.

Electric light flickered through its mane, causing gloomy black clouds that sparked with lightning to appear abruptly overhead.

The Qilin had only run a couple of steps, then seemed to remember something and bucked a little. The thunderclouds above and the glow of electricity on its body vanished simultaneously.

It exasperatedly snorted hot air from its large, moist nostrils.

Followed by a sharp, tiny blast! ”Whoosh!”

The Qilin’s figure abruptly disappeared, and the wave it stirred rose mightily only two seconds later!