Beast Slayer Online: Initialization
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 177: Beyond the Last Kingdom
Lannor’s hand went to the small of his back and drew the dagger. Berengar flinched.
By the old witcher’s own reckoning, the two of them got along well enough. But anyone sitting at the same table as Lannor would feel his liver tighten the moment the lad drew steel.
Fortunately, Berengar had once been a witcher. He crushed down that faint fear born from an absurd gap in strength and fixed his attention on the blade now lying across the table.
The dagger’s surface carried rippling patterns like water, while the black lines running through the steel sank deep as smoke. Berengar’s gaze caught on it and stayed there.
“The hilt is dragonbone, same as the bone you brought back. But the blade ... triple-hammer forging? No, stacked forging doesn’t leave a pattern like this.”
Berengar looked up at Lannor.
“May I?”
“Suit yourself.”
Berengar immediately picked up the Dragonbone Dagger and held it before his eyes, studying it closely. From time to time, he dragged the pad of one tough finger lightly along the blade.
“Light. Excellent toughness too...”
The old witcher glanced down at his wolf medallion.
“No trace of magic in those properties ... You brought this from the other world? What steel is it?”
Berengar’s interest had been hooked clean through. Back at the Wolf School, forging had been the one craft he had shown real talent for. The cruel, dangerous training of a witcher had driven him to the forge as a way to bleed off pressure and fear. The more brutal the training became, the deeper he sank into hammer and anvil, and his skill had grown with it.
“Valyrian steel. Best steel in that world. I was told magic is applied while the ore is still in the billet stage, and the finished metal naturally takes on these qualities.”
Lannor tapped the dagger’s blade with a fingertip, producing two crisp, bright notes. Then he drew the superior Bear School steel sword from his back and set it on the table as well.
On the blade, once clear as autumn water, Berengar immediately found the small, easily missed notch.
“You crossed this dagger against your steel sword?”
“Wouldn’t even call it crossing blades. I just used the edge to lever it once, and this happened.”
Lannor’s answer made Berengar click his tongue in wonder.
According to Lannor, the dagger had not been reinforced with monster tissue or any other material that could greatly strengthen steel. Ordinary metal touched by magic during the early forging process had still managed to overpower a superior witcher steel sword in toughness. That was frightening.
Among witcher School gear, “advanced” was already high grade. Above it were only master and legendary pieces.
And those two grades? Search an entire School and you might not find a complete set. Truth be told, finding the diagrams alone would count as outrageous luck.
Basic and advanced gear were the true backbone of every witcher School.
Witchers wore such gear to hunt griffins, cleanse spirits, and fight rogue golems. The strength of these arms and armor was far beyond tools ordinary men used to hack one another apart.
That difference came from both the strength of the prey and the cost of the equipment.
So when Lannor fought fully armored knights, even if a longsword was not made for breaking plate, he had never worried the weapon would fail.
“Otherworld curiosities indeed.”
Berengar rubbed his chin with growing interest. The old witcher saw through Lannor’s intent at once.
“You want me to see whether it can be reproduced?”
Lannor nodded openly.
“Valyrian steel has great potential. If it can be reproduced, it’ll be useful. We may even be able to make changes to existing School diagrams.”
“I can try. But you’ll pay my wages, and you’ll pay for the failed attempts.”
Lannor accepted that as only natural.
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