Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 388. I can’t get you dragon armour but I can still do this

Lando stared at Theo with a serious expression before his usual poker-salesman smile returned.

"Certainly. Twenty is a good number for practice, maybe a little high, but still reasonable enough. As for the hooked ones, for long-term hunting sessions... how long would it last, young master?"

"Around four days minimum," Theo said, keeping a calm and approachable expression.

"Four days is already the lower end of a long hunt. So I would say you should carry at least five with you. They are quite durable, but if not used properly, the metal rope can turn on your hand and leave deep cuts, young master," Lando explained, making Theo nod.

"Clara, you can use this safely, right?" Theo asked. During a hunt, if she ended up with cuts all over her hands, it would only hinder her in the long run.

"Then the next one is a bit of a niche item, young master. We call them the Split-Balance Knives," Lando continued. "They are deliberately made with uneven weight distribution. And using them can be a disaster for a beginner, but veterans take advantage of it to break the opponent’s read."

"So you like this one?" Theo asked Clara, who simply shook her head.

"Give me two of those for starters. If they’re any good, I will order more later," Theo said.

Lando nodded.

"The next is quite similar to normal ones. They are called the Broadhead Throwing Knives; as the name suggests, they have a wider tip and a larger cutting surface. They trade away penetration for wider wounds and are really effective for inflicting panic or pain in a beast."

He paused slightly before adding, "But I would suggest only taking a few of these for emergencies. They can get quite the unreasonable reactions from beasts."

"The next isn’t exactly a knife but rather an attachment. It’s called the Thread Ring." Lando picked one and continued.

"It has a ring at the end for clotheslines or retrieval cords. Most people don’t bother with them, but a clever thrower knows that they can be used for recovery or rapid reuse."

But he wasn’t done yet.

"But if a knife thrower isn’t used to the threads, they can be quite the annoying thing to deal with. They might get caught during a throw, or the attached line can make the shot tough. However, if you master it, you can retrieve your knives with a single tug."

Instead of saying anything, Theo looked at Clara, who was deep in thought.

"That will get quite expensive..." she couldn’t help but say, even though she knew it would only annoy Theo even more.

"Just tell me, can you handle adapting to this new throwing option? We can get this attached to all the knives you own. I have seen how retrieval becomes a hassle during fights for you."

Clara didn’t speak, but Theo only needed one look into her eyes to know the answer.

"Please get this attachment for all the knives she already owns and also the ones she will own after today’s purchase."

"As you wish, young master. Everything will be done by today; we will deliver them to the barony tomorrow once we are done," Lando said.

He carefully placed his hand on the next knife.

Theo noticed that immediately and could tell it was quite different from the others.

Aside from having a long, pointed tip, it also had several small grooves carved into the blade.

"Now, the last one we have is quite the unique one. We have only recently started introducing it in the town as well. It’s called the Poison Groove Knife."

"Look at this." Lando lifted the blade and pointed at the grooves Theo had noticed earlier. "The blade has fine channels near the center and the tip is designed to hold venom or any other special liquids."

"Now, some might argue that you could simply buy poison from the apothecary and coat it on a normal knife until it dries. You can then use it and easily poison the beasts."

Lando paused, his confident smile widening as he continued. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"But with this one, the poison will always remain in the liquid form, or even powder. It will be stored inside it until you strike a beast with it. Once it’s inside the beast, the poison starts acting in a far more potent way."

Theo looked at the blade with even more fascination than before, but when he glanced at Clara, he could tell she seemed a little disappointed.

"Speak your mind," Theo said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"This is great. Sounds technically smart too. But these channels we have here..." she said, moving her hand closer and pointing along the blade.

"These will reduce the penetration power compared to a normal blade. There’s also a possibility that it might get stuck in the hide or the fat underneath, and then the poison channels won’t all go in," she explained.

Theo looked at Lando, who was staring at Clara as if she had just won his heart.

He coughed slightly upon noticing Theo’s stare and quickly began explaining further, "This isn’t meant to be a main weapon, young master. And I was just going to tell you that it works best if you target the softer areas, the joints and thinner points you are already familiar with."

"It’s not made for penetrating thick hide or fat layers. If you want something like that, it would need to be a custom order instead."

Theo glanced at Clara and figured as much.

"We won’t be needing this one yet. But it’s a good product nonetheless," Theo stated before turning to the butler.

"You have gained quite some insight today, young master. I will take care of the other arrangements now."

Thoe nodded and signaled for Clara to follow him.

While the order was being prepared, Theo also had her armor upgraded.

Clara was very reluctant, but Theo remained adamant. His people needed better gear; he had learned that the hard way.

"I can’t get you lesser dragon armour yet, but I can at least get you something better than what you have. Let me do that."