Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 387. I cannot afford it

Theo could only nod at that. He hadn’t visited the other stations himself, so he couldn’t judge.

"And we are very honored to help get Clara her gear as well, young master," Lando chimed in with a proud smile.

"You may already know this, but she was once an up-and-coming adventurer in our town. She even earned the silver rating in the Merrick Barony within just a few years."

"Lando, you’re embarrassing me." Clara couldn’t help but look at him with a frown, and Theo almost saw the man’s face turn deadly pale.

"My apologies. We are here," Lando said.

Theo could already see a whole metal shelf filled with neatly lined knives.

"So, from right to left, we have eight different kinds of throwing knives in our inventory," he explained.

"Eight different kinds? Isn’t that a lot?"

"Well... not really. If you go to a blacksmithing station or a weapon shop in a bigger town, you will find more than thirty options, young master."

At the mention of another big town, a vein popped on Theo’s forehead.

"Hmmm. What’s stopping our town from getting that thirty throwing knife variety?" Theo asked with a smile that didn’t seem particularly pleasing.

However, since his tone sounded normal and Lando wasn’t looking at Theo, the man answered enthusiastically.

"Well, it’s mainly because there isn’t much demand for it here. The Whispering Forest is very large and has different difficulty levels, but it gets occupied very easily. By the quarter of the summer season, most of the surplus beasts are already hunted down by the adventurers," Lando explained.

"And because of that, the adventurers usually leave our town to head toward the bigger towns for better opportunities."

Once Lando seemed to have finished and began taking all the different types of knives off the shelf to place them in front of the group, Theo looked toward the head butler for confirmation.

"What he said is true. The Whispering Forest only becomes truly dangerous in its deepest layers. Only a select few can enter that place, and they have to be very strong."

"I have heard about that, but never about the beasts being depleted."

"That happens in almost all the towns, young master. Don’t worry about it. It’s the natural course of how these things work," the butler said, making Theo nod.

But Theo’s mind lingered on the words ’natural’ and ’environment’.

’Maybe when my affinity improves, I could help the beasts in the Whispering Forest evolve to breed in larger numbers and at a faster rate...’ Theo thought.

That idea made so much sense to him that he took a minute away from the group and quickly wrote it down in his smaller pocket journal.

By the time he got back, the daggers were already ready to be discussed.

"Alright, starting from the right, we have the balanced throwers, young master," Lando said, picking up a knife.

Theo had seen that very knife a thousand times by now.

"These are the standard ones. They have evenly distributed weight, making them steady in flight and, most importantly, easy to train with," he explained.

"Then come the heavy penetration knives. These ones have thicker spines, denser tips, and are more front-heavy. They’re normally used against beasts with tougher skins, like the forest’s Silver Direwolves and the Ironclad Boars."

"Clara usually carried half balanced throwers and half heavy penetration knives, even though we have suggested many times that she upgrade."

When the explanation ended, Theo glanced at Clara, who quickly averted her gaze. She clearly wasn’t eager to hear another lecture.

"Now we move to the newer ones, the types Clara might have tried but doesn’t use in every hunt."

"The third type is the needle thrower. They are long, narrow, and extremely sharp at the tip. And if we have to put it in simpler terms, these knives are used more for precision than force. They are ideal for targeting weak points like a beast’s eye or any other vulnerable spot that has been identified."

"Some hunters even claim they know the nerve points of the beasts so well that they can paralyze one with a single prick. Though, to be honest, this claim hadn’t really been proven," he added at last.

Theo studied him, wondering just how knowledgeable he was about these weapons.

Even as someone who didn’t throw knives, Theo could clearly understand the difference between the three types Lando had just introduced.

"Next are the hooked return knives. While the name suggests they could return back to hand, that’s not actually the case. Instead, they have a slight hooked edge to them," he said, holding one up and showing them the curve.

"Once you have thrown it at the target, you pull on the attached string. Rather than returning cleanly, the hook tears through more of the flesh in the process. This helps parties in the long run, as the beast bleeds out very quickly, which is helpful in prolonged hunts."

After explaining, Lando looked toward Theo, who wore a genuinely surprised look on his face.

"Clara, why haven’t you used one of these till now?" Theo couldn’t help but ask.

Clara couldn’t avoid his gaze this time. She looked at Theo and muttered slowly, "It’s because of the price tag, young master," she said, clearly embarrassed.

Theo immediately decided not to ask such a question when they were in such a large group.

The head butler glanced at the price tag beside the weapon and then at Clara before nodding with a quiet sigh. Compared to what an attendant earned, it really was expensive.

"Shall we move to the next type, or would you like to make a purchase of these two first?" Lando asked with a confident smile, as if pleased with his explanation.

"Give me twenty needle throwers for her to practice with first, and for the hooked return ones, choose whatever quantity you think is right for long-term hunting sessions, Lando."

At that, Lando’s smile faltered slightly, and even the head butler looked at Theo for a moment.

Had he just given Lando a test of trust?