Despite having a wide variety of weapons to choose from, Kyle wanted to take his time and not rush to hastily grab the strongest weapon.
Though the opportunity was quite enticing, he clearly knew that neither Selene nor he himself was in a position to wield weapons that had been forged from high-quality ores.
Most of the magnificent-looking weapons were quite heavy and required a high demand of constant and rich supply of energy to be wielded efficiently.
Thus, they had to be more careful in picking a weapon that was one of the most important assets to survive in the wilderness.
Kyle launched into a lengthy speech as he kept pointing at the weapons and explained to Selene the most basic things she had to pay attention to.
"The final decision is yours, but there are a few things you have to reconsider before choosing a weapon. First, you have to know what you want the weapon of your choice to be and what it should be able to do. This is important as you will have to consider what ore the weapon should be made of.
If you want a dagger, it has to be swift and cannot be heavy, as the blade can serve varied purposes such as cutting, slicing, puncturing, or hacking if necessary. The faster and more accurate you can move, the better!
As for the handle, it would be most suitable to have a customized weapon that suits your constitution which includes how you hold your dagger.
There are several standard ways to wield a dagger. To put it simply, a handle can determine how much potential you can extract out of your weapon, as it may allow you to subconsciously think of the dagger as an extension of your arm!
There are several more things, but you have to choose a weapon in which you can insert primordial energy. Some ores accept all kinds of energies, but there are certain materials that repulse specific energies!
As for our current situation, a relatively simple weapon should be the best choice. We don't have much energy to spare while fighting either way!"
Meanwhile, Gard, who was standing with his hands folded across his chest, silently observing the pair, could only nod his head at Kyle's words. He was unable to deny that he was amazed to see that the young man in front of him was far more knowledgeable in weaponry than he had assumed him to be.
Kyle didn't point out everything in detail but gave her a quick summary of the important facts.
Despite listening to every word spoken by Kyle in rapt attention, Selene was able to comprehend the meaning behind only some of his words. No one had bombarded her with so much information before so she found it a little hard to digest the same.
Instead of sharing his insights with her, it might have been easier for him to choose a weapon for her, but Selene felt that she was being put to a trial she had to pass on her own.
When she realized what he expected her to do, it was not difficult for her to focus on the task at hand.
Now that he had educated Selene a little, Kyle was able to take a look at a proper look at a weapon he wanted to choose for himself.
His choices were even more limited than Selene's as the weapons would extract a high amount of energy for every use of the Nurture ability.
Furthermore, he had yet to enter the Fortification stage and create a vessel to properly store soul force inside!
With that in mind, he had to choose a weapon that served the purpose even with a low or bare minimum energy supply.
At the same time, it should have certain enhancements that weren't limited to a specific type of cultivation energy and could be utilized by all.
At first glance, these requirements might look harsh, but in the long run, they would prove to be extremely useful!
"I'll take the ranked black steel machete!" Kyle announced after he had tested the weapon with a sharp chopping blade for hacking and a sawtooth side for sawing through thick tree trunks and other wooden objects.
This dual-use turned it into both a weapon to kill and a utility tool.
Its total length was around 65 centimeters with a 15-centimeter long steel handle that was tightly wrapped in black leather.
There were multiple reasons for him to choose a machete, but the simplest was that it felt comfortable in his hand, whether it was the weight, length of the weapon, or its balance while slashing out in the air, he felt confident of using it.
Other than that, black steel was perfect for his current situation. Kyle had to make optimum utilization of available resources which included that the machete's backside could be used as a saw!
Selene had also chosen a weapon made out of black steel as well. It was a simple 30-centimeter long dagger, but Selene seemed to be satisfied with her choice.
Thus, after they had made their final decision, Gard nodded his head before he walked behind the corner to take out two scabbards.
Both the scabbards were ordinary-looking but the two didn't mind it.
Happy with their purchases, both of them had just walked out of the small shop when Mell gave them a warning.
"With your new weapons, it is much easier to defend and protect yourselves now. However, Alsa village has many greedy villagers and if I were you, I would store the weapons inside the backpacks first before heading out.
There is no need to provoke a burglary. I know that the doors inside the tavern can't be locked. Be careful!"
After acknowledging Mell's well-meant advice, the two immediately stored their weapons and scabbards inside their backpacks before they left the small shop.
With a few hours left before it was evening, they had plenty of time to do many things. However, instead of leaving the village to look for wilted meligna grass, hunt beasts, or visit other shops, Kyle planned to do something else.
While heading to their room, he simply plucked a few blades of grass on the way which he stored inside the backpack before they returned to the tavern.
Once he was inside their room, Kyle took one blade of grass out of the backpack before he activated the Nurture ability.
Selene could only eye his actions with interest, as she was not able to see the mysterious energy that radiated from his hands.
It felt invigorating, and based on the familiar currents she perceived, Selene comprehended that it was the same energy that had soothed her pain!
She was interested in finding out more about the energy and Kyle but didn't dare to ask and interrupt him.
Kyle didn't notice Selene's behavior either and simply focused on the first step of his experiment.
He wanted to see how much energy he required to nurture and revive a freshly plucked blade of grass in comparison to stored ones.
With multiple experiments including the timestamps in which he had plucked the plants, it would be possible for him to determine how high the difference in energy the Nurture ability required to revive a wilted plant and increase its quality.
This knowledge could be applied in different situations, and to figure out more about nurturing other living beings and possibly healing their diseases or injuries.
At least, that was what Kyle was assuming.
While he was testing a few different scenarios, Selene had started to absorb the surrounding primordial energy, ignoring the pain that spread through her body.
Because he didn't have much energy to use the Nurture ability, Kyle's test ended in less than ten minutes.
Fortunately, his body was already filled with a newly generated soul force, and he could annex it smoothly.
The small Emerald fox cub was lying in his lap, absorbing the surrounding energy before converting and transferring it to Kyle.
He did not think that it was possible for the Emerald fox to simply transfer soul force if it was not inside him, but it was certainly advantageous.
If his Spirit Soul had been able to absorb the surrounding energies without leaving Kyle's body, the Emerald Fox would certainly be perfect.
Despite it not being possible, Kyle felt satisfied, and there was nothing to complain about.
The plan he had in mind was advancing faster than he had assumed, and there was more than enough time for him to cultivate!
Caressing his 8 centimeters tall Spirit Soul that was still in its infant stage, Kyle smiled lightly before he focused on annexing the transferred soul force.
Several hours passed in which he continued doing the same after which Kyle opened his eyes with renewed vigor.
There was no light inside their room anymore, but he could only see Selene's outlines through the faint rays of light that shone through the small door gap.
Standing up, he tried to be as silent as possible as he walked out of the room.
The Emerald fox seemed to have awoken from the focused state it had entered to absorb the surrounding energies and entered Kyle's body again.
When he walked down the stairs the stench of alcohol and vomit permeated the air.
Kyle could barely stop himself from holding his nose in disgust as he walked towards the counter to order a beer and some snacks to eat for one Maest crystal.
He didn't like beer if it was not well-made but it was necessary to not attract too much attention which was the reason for him to order it- to eavesdrop on others' conversation and procure information without sticking out like a sore thumb!
Other than that, the dish he received was something Kyle would save for Selene. He couldn't get himself to eat with the reeking stench around him!
Less than an hour passed and he was still sipping on his first beer that tasted more like water than anything when he finally heard something interesting spoken by the drunken villagers that were talking next to him!