Jules wasn’t exactly in a rush to prepare for the landshift. Although a month and a half didn’t seem like enough time to prepare for such a big event, Many Worlds had only been launched for two weeks. This meant people still had approximately three times that amount to prepare. Certainly, it would not have been enough time if they were required to make all of the preparations, but they were really just a bonus that wasn’t included in the preparations to begin with. Unlike other game stories, the adventurers weren’t some amazing force come to save the world. Instead, they just happened to arrive, as explorers. Jules was glad that he wasn’t expected to save the world, since he didn’t want that level of responsibility. More importantly, it gave him some amount of confidence that there wasn’t any way to predict the future in the hands of the makers of Many Worlds- likely the government. Jules hadn’t really done any digging on that subject, because he just assumed it was true now. Jules also maintained the hope that there wouldn’t be any extremely world shaking events happening any time soon- besides the obvious, literal version.
Jules took a few moments to ponder weaponry again. The existence of swords somewhat surprised him. In addition, assuming that secondary classes were intended to be useful, Jules could then assume from Mary’s “Samurai” class that swords would be useful. He couldn’t be sure that secondary classes would be “useful” though, but instead it was possible that they were just suited to the user. However, Jules considered scenarios in which ranged weapons, especially futuristic ranged weapons, wouldn’t be useful. First, enemies that could move, or more specifically dodge, fast enough to avoid being hit by bullets, or being struck by all of a laser shot. Hopefully this would be because of intelligence and some prediction of attacks and not pure speed. Otherwise, melee weapons would be even more useless. However, a sword or some other melee weapons could perform a sweep, more likely catching an enemy. Guns could sweep too, but with a serious loss of precision. That might be an important factor. Finally, melee weapons would be useful in the situations where it could be assumed that the enemy would be fast enough or numerous enough to survive whatever gunfire was aimed their way, inevitably arriving in melee range. Perhaps there were other reasons as well, but Jules could see why melee weapons might have survived. And, unlike the light combat daggers that would be more useful against humanoid opponents, heavier weapons might be needed to penetrate the hides of some enemies.
The reason Jules was thinking so much about weapons, of course, is because he couldn’t just pick up a few and try them out. Weapons were expensive, even if they were somewhat common here. At least, they were expensive for someone who had only been gathering currency in this world for less than two weeks. Fortunately, he didn’t have any expenses here. He didn’t sleep here, didn’t buy any food in the city (though some people did), and hadn’t even needed to pay Uaqilius to learn telekinesis. That last was fortunate, because he imagined it wasn’t cheap. Though, it seems adventurers got a discount since they didn’t take a large quantity of time or effort.
Jules continued to work with Irikan making toys, puzzles, and other devices that required telekinesis to put together “properly”. There were other ways to make devices that couldn’t be taken apart without breaking them, but Jules thought they were less elegant. Metal pieces could be welded together, or parts could be molded into their final position. For some things this was fine, but welding specifically often left imperfections. Jules enjoyed this job, not only did he get to practice fine manipulation with telekinesis, he learned about many kinds of hooks and latches, as well as various other “locking” type mechanisms. He even made a few simple puzzles that could only be properly solved with telekinesis. Jules enjoyed using his telekinetic senses, which allowed him to “see” the shape of things. As he practiced more, Jules actually realized he could sense, not just the shape and position of things, but he could also receive a good sense of its velocity, and more interestingly, momentum. This was different from checking something with his View Data ability, it was a more natural sense instead of reading numbers off a sheet.
Jules was planning to join Mary and her party so he could get some experience in combat, after he got a weapon. In the end, he decided that he would get a “standard” projectile weapon. Although laser weapons were often more powerful, they were more expensive. In addition, Jules was certain that his aim would be poor. He wouldn’t be able to redirect laser fire with his telekinesis, but he could nudge projectiles to be slightly more on track. His senses could help him aim properly to begin with, which meant that a laser weapon would be better, except that his physical body couldn’t keep up with what his mind wanted. He wasn’t particularly strong, and his muscles trembled. At any point, his aim could be thrown off before he shot, requiring him to “fix” his aim. Certainly, with practice he could overcome this, but he still thought that a projectile gun fit his abilities better. As for melee weapons, Jules couldn’t afford to also get a sword or such, and he already had his combat knife. The same physical limitations also applied, so he was already sufficiently equipped. He just hoped that he wouldn’t have to actually use it. Preferably, he would shoot at his enemies and they would die before they got to do much of anything. What Jules finally purchased was considered a “standard” handgun, but of course it looked very little like a gun from Earth, at least in style. Practically, it still had a grip, trigger, and barrel, but the aesthetic standards were different here. Instead of retaining its silvery metallic sheen, or being black, it was a muted brownish purple. It was probably a more practical color, since it wouldn’t be particularly reflective of the light, and would, at the very least, not blatantly stand out from the land around him like silver would. Jules had a chance to fire a few practice rounds, and the feeling of power made him really want to try putting it to practical use. This was offset only by his desire for safety. Jules shrugged. He’d have to get used to danger eventually, so he might as well start soon.