Evren held the sword in his hand, appraising it. The grip had been installed by using leather and a glue he made from tree resin. Much of the blade was still covered in soot, but the blade itself was relatively straight. Now he would be using some of the various tools he has at his disposal to clean up the appearance of the sword. Various files and stones were available to use to polish up and sharpen the blade, with chisels and stamps available if he wanted to try decorating the guard and pommel. For now, he just wanted the sword to not look like it was unfinished.
He had spent more time in the forge lately. He had made things from wood and iron previously in life, but that was using power tools. He had never made a weapon before either. In one of the books he found, he had read that there was the ability to put magical enchantments onto items, but there were no specific enchantments listed, nor how to do so, so he tried something else.
He remembered from Anomaly that image was important to using magic, so he would pour magic into the sword while he was working on it, with the image of what he's doing in mind. For instance, if he wanted a sharp blade, he would imagine a sharp blade while he was sharpening it; or a mirrored surface while polishing it.
On the pommel he had put his old unit insignia from the military, an angled downward facing dagger with a flame. The guard had a claw shaped quillon, and he had engraved his nickname down the blade in his native language: War Dog. The name was originally an insult given by a superior officer to him, but others heard it and started calling him that as well. He didn't mind the insult and kept the name through the remainder of his military career.
He had spent a month and a half on finishing the sword before he finally got around to making a scabbard for it. Fortunately, he did find a book that showed him how to do so properly. The biggest problem he faced was yet before him, as he had no clue how to use it. Unfortunately, he found no books to help him learn.
He would spend the next couple of weeks getting ready for travel. Everything he though he would need was packed into the cart. He added some poles to the cart to make a tent above the cargo area. He had killed another boar and used its immense pelt as a tarp for the cargo area. He had boiled fats along with the brain of the boar, and bark from a tree in the forest. He then soaked the hide in the solution for a week before stripping it of the fur and stretching it out to dry. When it was dry, he coated it with oil every day for a week.
He had several jars filled with dried and crushed herbs stacked neatly in the center of the cart. Around it was the clothing and bedding he would be using, along with the tent. Next, he had the various tools he would be bringing with him, and spare parts for the wagon. He had various dried meats and vegetables, along with cooking gear for outdoor use taking up the remaining space. The maps and books he found useful were put into a small trunk he had attached to the side of the wagon, and a place to hold his bow and sword near the front was made.
He had made a couple extra swords using the same mold he used for his current sword, but he made these to practice with. The only part finished on it were the grips. He had hardened and tempered both practice swords to ensure they had the same feel and durability, but the edges remained blunt, which added more weight.
He had a route planned out, which followed the roads on the maps. There were a few settlements along the route, but more than that, there were potential places nearby the towns were people could hide and take refuge. He was hoping the Holy State military forces weren't smart enough to figure out these places. He also anticipated the Holy State would be using one of these towns as their forward base. He would definitely have to scout those places before he approached.
As the days passed, he would alternate times between launching rocks at his target and swinging his practice swords. He figured he should at least learn the feel of swinging the sword around, as well as getting his muscles used to the strain. Since the only thing he had studied was the martial arts he had learned, and baton training he picked up in the military. Whenever he felt awkward with a strike, he would modify it until it felt better and continue practicing.
His proficiency with telekinesis had improved to the point where he could launch two rocks simultaneously. He was also no longer grabbing a handful at a time, instead he would pull them from the bucket one or many at a time. He began to "feel" feedback from using that ability. When drawing rocks from the bucket, he no longer needed to look, he could instinctively feel the different rocks in there.
While expanding on this feeling, he changed his practice a bit to instead of launching stones, he would close his eyes and feel the environment around him. At first it was only general shapes, and he couldn't move when doing so. Eventually he could move around, his vision getting somewhat augmented by his feelings. It wasn't more of being able to see better, but more of seeing more completely. If he looked at something, he would know what is on the other side of it, to an extent. He still couldn't feel details, just shapes.
He would practice with his bow from time to time, but he really didn't have a target that was able to repeatedly be used. Either the arrow would strike and go too deep, requiring him to dig it out, or it would destroy the target completely after repeated hits. One of the deer he had hunted previously almost had the arrow go completely through it, and that was at a distance of around 100 meters!
When he finally noticed the days getting shorter, he realized he needed to prepare clothing for cold weather. He wasn't sure how cold it would get so he considered it would get very cold and planned accordingly. In addition to the bedding and blanket he had; he made a heavy fur-lined cloak with hood. He also made simple mittens, which were basically socks for hands, and over-boots to go over his boots and halfway up his calves.
The last couple of weeks before his planned departure was spent pulling a fully weighted wagon around the outside of the town walls. His body was strong enough to pull the wagon on flat ground, but he didn't have any hills aside from the small one leading to the large house. He could power up the hill if he was moving, but to get practice, he would stop at the bottom of the hill, pull the wagon to the top, then pull it to the bottom in a way where he wouldn't lose control.
Thus, his days continued; swinging a sword, pulling a wagon and feeling the world around him until the day came where he pulled the wagon out of town for the last time. When the day finally came, he finished packing after breakfast, pulled the wagon out of town, and shut the gate behind him. Looking back only once, he pushed the wagon on to the start of his new journey.
