Rather than make a decision immediately, and at Dovgrey's insistence that he would not open his cart till tomorrow, Arthur chose to sleep on his choices. It did mean that he woke up early in the morning, his enhanced body requiring only a short five hours to recuperate after all the beating it had taken.
Not that he had all the time in the world to think, what with the need to recover, refine and cultivate ever more energy for his reserves. If he was stuck here, at least for a few more hours, he best make sure he top himself up. The fact that he was already facing the mini boss wasps meant that soon enough, more dangerous wandering monsters would appear.
Time was running out.
Which weighed on his decision a little, Arthur had to admit. Getting either his armour or his spear fixed would cost time. How much, he wasn't certain; but enchanting in any form wasn't instantaneous. Of course, Dovgrey was much higher level so he likely could do it much quicker, but still...
Defense, offense or something new?
Enhancing equipment was always tricky. Most times, you tossed what you got from Beginner Towers soon after you enterred an Intermediate Tower. The difference in quality and ability was just too great, that it was rarely worthwhile to do so. On the other hand, he still had at least one, if not two Beginner Towers left to run before Arthur felt confident enough to run an Intermediate Tower. Something more than the Beginner ones.
If anything, all his plans once he left the Tower was now thrown away. Rather than just focusing on what was easy to get to - Penang and then, more dangerously, Singapore - he could actually consider maybe leaving the country, doing another country's Beginner Tower. He might even have to start looking at the Tower rating scales at a more granular level, using some of the competing category classifications like the Adventurers Guild star categories or the competing Climber Tower Six Point Rankings.
Later, though.
If that was the case, if he was really going to have more options, than the use of either armour or spear - enchanted as they would be - would become much more important.
If he could get self-cleaning and repair on the armour, in by itself, it would make a big difference. Increased durability would help too. Arthur's fingers traced the depression in his breastplate, felt along the scarred sides where spears, claws and stingers had torn into the hardened leather.
This armor might last the rest of this Tower, but it wouldn’t be much longer. The problem was the material. It just wasn’t that great, and that was the major concern because even if he upgraded it, it felt like it was just putting a new coat of paint on a sixty year old Proton Saga.
No, the armor was not the best choice. He’d also noted the subtle hint offered, about something potentially available to buy in the tinker’s goods.
So, spear or technique. The first was rather obvious. Arthur picked up his spear, looked over the black wood shaft and the black steel spear itself, feeling the worls on the shaft, the minor notches from blocked claws and weapons. For all that, the weapon was still in good condition, the shaft incredibly sturdy for something he had utilized since the first floor and abused.
He tested it then, checked the shaft for potential breaks, for places where it might bend and break and found nothing. Good quality, almost perfect really. It made sense to enhance the weapon, especially since there was no mention of upgrading the kris.
On the other hand, a new cultivation skill that filled in a gap could be incredibly useful. Equipment came and went, but skills… those would be his forever. Of course, eventually he’d upgrade or combine skills, discard the ones that he utilized for something better.
Seven Cloud Steeping technique might one day become a real flying technique, combined with something that made him faster. Maybe even a full body movement and speed technique, making Heavenly Sage’s Mischief defunct.
But what did he miss?
Something that could deal long range damage repeatedly. A technique to capture or hold opponents. A buffing technique for allies or a healing technique for others. Maybe a taming technique? He’d heard of those too… Sensory techniques would be useful. He was missing that entirely.
That brought speculation to a stop for Arthur. As much he might believe battle skills was being discussed, utility skills were just as likely to be added. Everything from skills that would make his cultivation grow faster, storage skills like his Pocket Simpanan, sensory techniques or aura boosting techniques were all on the table.
All of which were useful, but they had two major disadvantages. Firstly, it might push Arthur down a path that he didn’t want to go and secondly, any technique scroll given to him would still have to be studied. He literally had a mental defense cultivation technique that he hadn’t found the time to work on.
"Hun dan," Arthur swore as he came to that realisation.
Well, if that was the way it was, that was the way it was. Setting his spear down, eyeing the shadows outside, he extracted another monster core.
Best to get refining, if he was going to be stuck here. Maybe he'd even upgrade himself a little, by the end.
***
"You're certain?" Dovgrey asked, picking up the spear that Arthur had offered to him.
"No. Especially since you won't let me look at your inventory till I choose," Arthur replied, trying for a slight wheedling tone. "Come on, boss. Please?"
"Nope." Tugging the spear closer, Dovgrey spun it around as his shell popped open, allowing him to slide the whole spear into one compartment. That, of course, made no sense physically but Arthur knew better than to complain. He did, however, feel a twinge of regret, wondering if he had just given up a storage technique or something. "Alright, come with me."
Trailing along like a good puppy, the pair reached the cart that had been left to dry under the simple open air stable, Porta happily munching hay alongside the vehicle. Porta herself was not tied up, a minor fact that surprised Arthur, but he assumed there were other things tying the creature to the village and stall.
Well, besides the hay.
"Here, you go feed her some corn," Dovgrey shoved the aforementioned bucket of vegetables at Arthur as he continued. "I got to set-up."
"Uhh..."
His hesitation was entirely ignored as Dovgrey began the process of pulling his cart apart, extracting the hatches and then attaching it to the sides of the vehicle. In short order, he had the cart turned into a makeshift stall with numerous pieces set aside. He also had the various armour pieces and weapons they'd stored extracted, but those were propped up in a bag to the side.
"You look it over, don't touch. I'll know. I'll get these sold." A gesture to the pieces. "Blacksmith will buy them for a good price."
"Really?"
"He will for me." Grinning wide, Dovgrey grabbed it, shot a cautioning look at Porta and then Arthur and then stomped off, leaving Arthur to stare at the goods laid out all around the stall on the makeshift tables.
All alone, but for a donkey. Which meant that a light-fingered and loose moral’s Climber could take what he wanted.
"As though it's that easy..." Arthur scoffed, putting his hands resolutely behind his back. He knew exactly how these kinds of stories went, and they generally did not include a happy ending for the thieves.