The price of rank 1 Metac also made him realize that the amount of money that he managed to borrow from the lenders wasn't actually much. So he looked into how to borrow more money.
After asking around, he learned that aside from undergoing a thorough evaluation now, he would have to wait for at least one month before he could borrow more. He was told that the longer he survived in the initiation program and the better he performed in it, the higher his evaluation would be and the more he would be able to borrow.
So he had to wait if he wanted to borrow more money. Since his mind was made up on cultivating, he didn't mind that he couldn't get Metacs for now. But that didn't mean that he couldn't observe the market more, learn new things, and widen his horizons.
He decided to return to cultivate with the 100 energy stones yet. So he went around the market perusing their wares.
After checking out the Metacs, he went on to check the weapons. Weapons were cheaper than Metac in general. But one type of weapon was very expensive and also very interesting to him.
This weapon was a large metallic humanoid structure. It had large metallic arms and legs that resembled those of a human, but it didn't have a head and had a large cylindrical body that resembled a drum, which served as its torso.
The large metallic arms and legs were attached to the cylindrical drum, which gave it a humanoid form. The arms and legs were agile like a human, but they were also able to twist and turn in ways that human limbs couldn't.
The front of the cylindrical drum was open and covered with an iron net and a transparent, but strong material. This allowed the person sitting in the cylindrical drum to see the outside world, and allowed Loki to see that there was someone in the cylindrical drum who was controlling the humanoid weapon with levers and pedals.
This sight made Loki's light up in delight as he said, "No wonder it doesn't need a head. There is someone in it who can use their own eyes to see."
The whole thing could be called a large metallic barrel with limbs, but it reminded Loki of the giant mechs and mechas of his past life. So no matter how ugly it looked, it was still interesting to Loki.
The man in the walking barrel saw Loki watching intensely, so he switched off the mech and wiggled his way out of it through a small hatch in the back.
By the time he became free of the mech, he was sweating and panting hard. It was clear that it hadn't been easy for him to get out of the mech.
The man took a dirty towel from the wall and used it to wipe his sweaty face. Then he wiped his sweaty neck and arms.
After doing this, he walked over to Loki and said, "Do you like what you see?"
Loki nodded calmly, not showing too much excitement, and said, "What is it?"
The man turned to the mech and beamed with pride as he said, "This here is my most prized possession. It is a combat armor. Specifically, it is a rank 2 combat armor."
"This combat armor isn't like the golems and puppets that others control with their mind. Those golems can only use their power to fight, but this combat armor can combine my power and energy with it, so that I can produce a higher power output."
"So the combat armor is a precious tool for the unification of man and machine. It is so good that its power increases with the cultivation of its driver. It is unlike golems and puppets, for which the power of the controller has very little impact on their power output."
Even without Loki asking, the man was willing to divulge information about his prized possession. Through what he said, Loki was able to learn about golems, puppets, and combat armors.
He learned that golems were mechanical beings that were capable of independent actions and didn't require controllers. All they needed was an instruction, and they could execute this instruction without much help. So golems were intelligent.
Puppets, on the other hand, required active control from someone with. This made puppets cheaper and easier to make than golems.
Of the three of them, the combat armor was the most expensive. This was because of the complex control system and the power Core that allowed for the fusion of the power of the driver with that of the combat armor.
Loki also learned that these three mechanical structures were products and tools used by the forging Branch of the Four Directions Sect. Apparently, it was a main school in the sect and a field that he would have the chance to specialize in in the future.
After listening to the man drone on and on about his combat armor and how great it was, Loki asked him, "How much is it?"
His question made the man chuckle and shake his head before saying, "I doubt you can afford it. Anyway, it will cost you 3,000 energy stones."
Loki nodded in understanding before asking, "What if I want to learn it?"
The man began wiping the combat armor as he said, "My skills are not for sale, young man. It is my livelihood. No one sells their livelihood when they can use it to earn more money."
He was using the same towel that he used to wipe his face earlier to clean the combat armor. This didn't faze Loki because he had seen and experienced worse.
So Loki skipped over the matter of the tower and chuckled as he said to the man, "You're somewhat right. It is unwise to sell one's means of livelihood when one can use it to earn money. But one can sell it if the price is compelling enough or if one is desperate for quick cash."