The Question Game: Part 1

From the intel that Amelia and Mark had gathered, they would need one hundred grade 3 Mana stones to reach the Imperial city, and then another ten for each of them to participate in the tournament.

They could earn enough by selling the same potions they were selling before, but they wanted to improve the quality of their potions.

To do that they, or rather Mark, would need to learn about more complex and powerful herbs and then get practice using them to make potions. Mark decided that he would limit himself to two weeks, that way he would still have enough time to amass the amount of Mana stones they needed.

He gained access to the third floor were more information for potion makers by the reputation he and Amelia had gathered when they started selling potions two months ago.

For the next two weeks Mark studied and practiced countless times while Amelia trained, but he only managed to successfully create one new potion, the Body Strengthening potion.

It would temporarily enhance a person's strength depending on how strong they already were. The weaker they were, the stronger the effect of the potion. At the peak of its effect, it could triple a person's strength. Of course, that was before enhancing the potion. After enhancing the potion, its max effect reached ten times stronger.

During his two weeks of study and practice, he also made fifty of the potions he was already able to make. The potions showed a better effect than they did previously, probably due to the increase in his strength, understanding of herbs, and control over the herbs' essences.

While mark was training as a potion maker, Amelia steadily increased her own strength. Her Mana reserve increased, and she didn't need as much focus as before to activate her spells.

"So are you finally done your study of herb?" Amelia asked after two weeks had passed.

"Yes. Now we can start up the business again before we head out to the Imperial city," Mark answered.

"This should be a good chance to relax after all of that training you put us through," she said in anticipation for the break.

"Sound good," Mark said.

...…

The first week passed quickly and by the end of it they had more than enough funds.

Amelia tossed a ring up in down in her hand. Inside of it lay the fruit of their labor, two hundred some-odd grade 3 Mana stones. They originally had more than that, but they spent the remaining money they earned on necessities, such as the ring in Amelia's hand.

Costing the same amount as the journey from here to the Imperial city, one hundred grade 3 Mana stones, it was by no means cheap. It wasn't the cheapest one available, but it had the amount of space inside of it that they needed.

This type of ring was manufactured throughout the world, similar to weaponry, and its use was just if not more important.

Mark and Amelia were able to get by traveling without one of these rings because, to Amelia's amazement at the time, Mark didn't need to eat. All of the food that they needed was always securable by killing and cooking a beast from nearby, so Amelia didn't even tell Mark about the existence of such a ring, not that they would have been able to afford a decent one.

The one that they had now was able to warp space enough to fit three cubic meters of space. They had filled it with necessities like food and portable shelter, as Amelia didn't want to have to sleep on bundled up leaves again.

"Now we can just relax for the remaining week right," Mark asked Amelia.

"We could… but I want to learn more about you," she answered as she looked into his eyes.

Mark averted his gaze from her eyes and spoke in a small voice, "Equivalent exchange."

"Okay, we can do it that way too. I'll ask you a question and then you can ask me a question. We'll even make a game out of it! Whoever answers the most questions win. Whoever wins gets to ask a question that the other person has to answer, deal?"

"Alright then," he nodded. They both wanted to learn more about each other. They considered themselves to be best friends in their minds, though neither of them spoke it aloud.

"I'll go first. You can choose not to answer, but then you won't get a point towards victory," Amelia said. She paused as she thought about what her first question should be.

If she asked something he wasn't ready to answer yet, then she might not be able to get him to answer the questions later on. She didn't really care who one, she just wanted to learn about Mark.

She'd have to start out slow, she thought. If she asked questions that were easy to answer and then slowly ask more important and personal questions, then Mark would be more likely to answer them, Amelia continue planning. She also thought that she would need to answer all of his questions so that he would feel obligated to answer her's. She couldn't think of anything that she didn't want to tell Mark, so she started her plan.

"What's your favorite color?" Amelia asked.

Mark looked at her with surprise. He thought that she would ask a question that would be harder to answer. His past was something he felt uncomfortable talking about, but he was willing to share it with Amelia, however it seemed that she wasn't going to ask about his past yet, thought Mark.

"It's blue," he answered.

"Why's it your favorite color?" The question flowed from Amelia's mouth quickly after he answered the first question.

"It's my turn now," Mark said, refusing to answer the question.

"Oh come on. It's such an easy question to answer," she said in a pouting tone.

"No cheaters allowed. I'll ask my question now if you don't mind," Mark said. He wanted to learn about her just as much as she did him, as it was an enigma to him why he liked being with her. He figured he might be able to find out by asking her personally.

"What's-