39. Shopping for Supplies

"If we are going to be at risk of fighting a Rank C beast, I think we should all get new weapons and maybe some armour." Aala spoke up. Aala, although she still kept her cloak on, had grown as well. Due to her fairy race, she was a little shorter at 3'8 high.

'"I agree. The weapons you and Sarah have are starting to show their age and barely do much damage to the dummies, even with the constant care you guys put into them."' Zion gave a nod to Aala.

"Plus, some potions would be a good idea. Ones for healing and mana recovery. Maybe a couple to help hide." Ithil said thoughtfully.

"Shopping trip!" Sarah and Aala spoke at the same time with a wide grin. Zion and Ithil gave each other a look that spoke a thousand words as they were soon taken out of the academy grounds. Thankfully, as long as they showed their academy badges, they could re-enter easily.

People were surprised to see a fox as tall as Zion surrounded by three children. Thankfully, now that they had grown, they stood taller than Zion, who, when standing usually, was around 3 feet tall. Only Aala was cutting it a little close.

They soon found an area filled with shops, all selling various items. Zion glanced at the kids, '"Alright, first things first. How much money does everyone have?"'

Sarah seemed thoughtful, "I think I have about 9 silver pieces."

"I have 8 silvers." Aala said.

"I have a little more at 10 silvers." Ithil said. Each of them had been sent a little money in the last two years from their families.

Zion seemed thoughtful, '"Alright. Let's head to the armour shop first. Attacking is secondary. If you can't even defend a hit, how can you dish one out."' Zion looked at the three, who nodded in response to his words.

They all headed to the armour shop, where a few adventures were going in and out. The group of kids with a large white fox caught attention but not as much as you would expect since these men and women had seen many strange things.

They walked up to the bench where a lady was finishing up serving a customer. She noticed the group, "Hi, kids, are you lost?" She asked before seeing the school badge, "Oh wait, sorry. My mistake. You guys are year 3s at Zotine Academy. If I have my timing right... I assume it's time for the forest training?" She smiled kindly at them.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, we were told to buy supplies in the city. We need armour. Light armour for my friend here, shes an archer. My other friend is a mage, so chain armour would work for him. And I'm a swordswoman, so something heavier but not bulky." Sarah smiled at the lady.

She nodded, impressed with Sarahs' accurate judgement on her team's needs, "I think we have some things in your sizes. Here, come with me." She walked from behind the bench and went to a nearby door, the group following her curiously.

She opened it, then walked in with them, showing a large room filled with children-sized armours, "Go ahead. There's something for everyone here." She smiled.

The three of them spread out to find the best armour while Zion just waited next to the door.

After an hour, all three returned with new armour on. Ithil had chosen a light Steel Chainmail, which fit under his mage robes quite well.

Aala chose a leather armour made from Stone Tusk Boar hide, which made it slightly sturdier than standard leather.

Sarah had chosen Iron Lizard Armour, which was both plated enough to protect from quite a lot of damage, but also light enough that it won't hinder her movements.

Zion smiled at their choices and followed them out. In total, the armours cost 5 silver.

Once they left, Zion looked at the girls, '"Okay, Aala and Sarah. You two go to a blacksmith and try to find good weapons to replace your old ones. Ithil and I will go shop for potions and other supplies. Meet up at the fountain in the market square in an hour."'

Sarah and Aala nodded and giggled, running off together. Ithil watched them leave, and then looked at Zion, "I didn't expect you to let Sarah go without you."

Zion gave the equivalent of a fox shrug, '"I don't use weapons so I'm not interested in the blacksmith. I'm curious about potions though, since I haven't seen any before."' He followed beside Ithil, who walked without another word.

They soon reached a potion store and walked in. There weren't quite as many people as in the armour ship, but there were still at least half a dozen people there.

Ithil looked around at the shelves and would study a potion before returning it to the shelf or putting it in a small bag he brought with him.

Zion followed him, using analysis on all the potions that crossed his vision when suddenly he paused. He turned his head and focused his sight on a small table in a corner that seemed to have basically been abandoned.

He walked over to it where only a single potion bottle sat with a faded sign in front of it. It was a bottle about 10cm long with a dark yellow liquid inside. It looked normal and pretty boring, even the sign said, *Mystery Potion. 75B to buy*

He tilt his head as he looked at it, 'Mystery to everyone else maybe. Analysis.'

Immediately after, a screen showed up in his vision, causing his eyes to widen. He immediately grabbed the bottle gently in his mouth and brought it to Ithil who had just finished choosing potions for them and was lining up to buy them.

As he placed the bottles on the bench for the man to calculate together, Zion also placed the bottle on there.

Ithil raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and brought the potions for a total of 7 silvers.