4-02: Tournament Prep I

Veronica just sighed at her new challenge. She shouldn't be surprised at this point.

'This is going on the bottom of list and it's staying there for a long time.'

"What's up, Ver?" Cassidy asked.

"A challenge that really wants me to ruin my school life. So I'm not going to do that for a few years."

"And that challenge is?" Eleanora asked as Aviris leaned in to listen.

"Ugh... It wants me to... have a child. Either by getting someone pregnant, or getting pregnant myself. Neither of which I plan on doing soon. For now anyways."

The girls went silent for a while before Cassidy grew a huge, sly smile.

"Looks like we'll have to quite busy for the next many nights~"

"I said I'll do it later! You know, after we graduate and get some adventuring under our belts. It would be useless if I threw it all away now."

"Oh fine... hmm... I wonder..." Cassidy was most certainly thinking of a devious plan.

"Cassandra. No." Veronica sternly said.

"Fine..."

"Now that I think about it, it's quite odd that it wants you to do the exact thing that Tisha told you specifically not to do." Aviris said, leaning her head on her hand.

Veronica nodded and tried to think of something else to do to distract her from her curse of sexual challenges.

"I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back in a while." Veronica stated as she headed for the door.

"Hold your horses missy! You can't leave before you give us a goodbye kiss!" Cassidy yelled out.

"Eh- A... Fine. Everyone who wants a kiss, come by and line up." Verinica relented.

All three girls lined up in front of her. First, of course was Cassidy, who tried to worm her way into a long make-out session but was easily refused. Second was Aviris her took her quick peck on the lips gladly and went her merry way. And last, but not least, Eleanora, who got her kiss and carried on like nothing happened.

Finally, Veronica was able to leave. She stepped through the halls slowly, trying to think of various things. Perhaps the tournament? Figuring out who would be there could prove useful, especially if she can figure out team compositions, strengths and weakness all before hand, so she can draw up some plans.

But of course, she needed information first. How lucky would she have to be to just randomly stumble upon information like that?

"So, I heard that Xander's team is entering the tournament." A girl spoke to her friend as if this was something special to her.

"Isn't Xander and his group all level threes? Those boy's will easily win against the other first years." The friend agreed.

"I'm certain they will. Though, I heard he's afraid of the dark. How silly is that? Some macho man." Ghe first girl said with sarcasm.

"Isn't that just a rumor? I mean, how can a guy like that be scared of something so simple?"

"Sure, but rumors start somewhere. I mean, he's good with a lance, and his boys are all somewhat decent swordsmen. Like, they'll definitely win."

"Yeah, definitely."

'Well how convenient...'

Just barely left the apartment and she's already got some information. Information that could in fact prove useful. Maybe Cassidy to whip something up for that.

Veronica continued her casual stroll mixed with an information hunt, just mindlessly wandering until she heard more voices.

'Am I lucky again?'

"I heard Rose Garden is going to be watching the tournament!"

"Rose garden?"

"You know, the best third years in the school. Actually, not even simply third years, they're the best team in the school! They're all level nine!"

"Oh right! I think I heard their leader actually just got to level ten. What was her name again? It started with an S or something..."

"Sarah? Stephanie? Wow, I don't remember."

"Oh well, doesn't really matter to us. I mean, how are we gonna get their attention? We're just lowly craftsman."

"True... Well, maybe a decent team will get lucky and get taken under their wing."

'Rose Garden? I think I heard of them...'

Veronica went through her mind trying to remember what she could about Rose Garden.

The team was all female, and they not only have had the best grades since their first year, but also have completed the most amount of requests that students can do. Multiple of these requests also included more difficult requests, which included things like bandit slaying.

Rose Garden are know to be a great team for a reason. They're strong and smart. They work extremely well in a team.

Veronica had continued her wandering, not really paying attention to where she was going. At some point, she eventually found herself outside. The fresh air was nice. And surprisingly, it was quiet. Not eerily quiet. But more calming than anything.

So, she kept on walking and walking, and soon she saw that she wound up in front of Liafi's shop.

"Might as well check in. Maybe Liafi will have some info, and or at least stuff we can use for an upper edge. If the rules allow for it."

Veronica opened the door and entered the store, and immediately, she heard a voice she didn't recognize.

"And then the lass just tried to cut him! Though, instead of slicing him, she just fumbled, dropped her blade, and fell face first. Needless to say, we're limitin' her drinkin'." A woman's voice off to the side. It was sultry, but rough, as if she had been barking out orders for years on end.

"So that explains why the sword was nearly folded im half. I usually don't question things like that, but it's pretty hard to do that with proper steel..." Liafi responded.

Veronica looked towards them and saw that they were simply sitting at a table, which had a curved blade on it, certainly after having been repaired.

The unknown woman seemed to have known Liafi for a while. She was pretty tall with slightly baggy clothing. Her hair was long and dark red, like Eleanora's but darker. And, needless to say, she was certainly well endowed, but dressed rather conservatively, with only some slight cleavage visible. She had a triangular hat resting upon her head.

The woman certainly heard Veronica walk in as she moved her head slightly in Veronica's direction.

"Aye. Ah, seem you have a customer. I'll see you again some day, Lia. Be safe, and have a good day." The husky voiced woman said as she grabbed the sword and left. As she approached the exit, and Veronica, she gave a slight bow and left.

But Veronica noticed something interesting. The woman was blindfolded. How could she see through that? No matter, it's none of Veronica's business.

"Did I interrupt something?" Veronica Asked.

"No, no. We were just finishing on catching up with each other." Liafi responded, getting out of her chair and walking towards the counter.

"You know each other well?"

"Oh yeah. I've known her for a good... oh... two hundred thirty years or so. Though, the last time we saw each other, aside from today, was about fifty years ago."

"I see. Interesting. What does she do?"

"She's uh... a sailor of sorts."

"Oh, that's neat."

"Fairly. She's got many stories too. Anyways, enough about that. What can I help you with?"

"Well, we recently decided to enter the tournament. And so, on a whim, I decided to try and get us as much advantage as possible. I was hoping you had some gear or information."

"Hm... well, for information, the things I got are small. There's going to be a magic dome that makes sure that no one dies or gets seriously injured. And as far as gear rules go, everything's fair game." Liafi explained.

"So they're allowing us to go all out. No holding back, right?"

"Yup. Now, for equipment... I got some basic potions from a trade a little bit ago... some explosives too."

"Hmm... do you have any enchanted gear? A piece per person is fine."

"I may have something. What are you looking for exactly?"

"Well, Cass is an attack mage type, so something that could either increase her magical abilities more, ore something to help her cast more spells. Elly is more like a cleric of sorts, so something for added defense or something to boost her healing magic. Avi is a rogue type with some stealth skills, so something to help with that would be nice. And for me... I think just defense is fine."

"Hmm... let me see what I got." Liafi said, going around the shop to find enchanted gear that matched Veronica's specifications.

It took a small while, but after some looking around and moving items about, Liafi came back with some gear.

"Alright, to start us off, we have a ring for Cassidy, it's enchanted to greatly boost magic capabilities as a whole, so she'll get to cast more while doing more damage. For the princess, I got something that mixes the two you asked for. A necklace that enhances holy magic and creates a form of shield around the user, protecting them from a good chunk of damage. For Aviris, I've got a belt that greatly increases one's agility, so theoretically, if she's faster, it'll take longer for her to be spotted. And for you, my dear, one circlet that provides a huge defense bonus to magic attacks. So much so, that you become immune to basic low level magic."

"W-Wow... this is... amazing... how much do I owe you?"

"About twenty seven platinum coins."

"Huh?"

Twenty seven platinum coins would be enough money for Veronica to live peacefully for the rest of her life and makes sure that up to her great grand children wouldn't have to work a day in their life.

"I could give it to you for free though. However, you would need to cash in that second discount first."

"The... oh... r-right... um... wouldn't you lose money on this?"

"Nope. Someone used a couple of these as collateral some years back. They never paid, so I got to keep these. Too bad they're so expensive. Can't get a buyer outside of the Royal family, and they didn't want them. So I got stuck with them."

"I see. So... if I want them..."

"You either pay me with a lot of money, or..."

"I have sex with you..."

"Bingo!"

Veronica thought about it. Really good enchanted gear for free? It sounds too good to be true. However, Liafi hasn't shown a reason to not trust her.

"F-Fine. I-I'll do it."

Liafi grew a lewd smile. She ran over to the door, locked it and made sure that people know that the shop was closed. She then grabbed Veronica by the hand and dragged her off to Liafi's bedroom.