First purchases and first disappointments (2)

The city was quite crowded, especially during the first weekend after joining the guilds: newcomers were choosing their weapons, armor, and magical amulets, while senior guild members bought these items for them on credit against their future achievements.

If Katrina were in her usual state here, there would have been the grandest funerals in the kingdom's history the next day, not counting the time of the great plague during the necromancer era. But recently, we learned that not only did her power affect me, but vice versa as well. As long as I was close to the princess, her electric field contracted so much that only those who touched her could be fatally shocked. It significantly simplified our lives, although the students, hearing about Katrina's abilities, pressed themselves against the walls of buildings when they saw us walking down the center of the street.

In the crowd, familiar faces could be seen. Alfred was parading his guild, which looked more like a herd of obedient zombies: they were clearly charmed by his charisma and followed any order. They were all low-class mages and warriors, hoping to bask in the glory of the Guild Master. But among them were more pragmatic individuals. Three people followed a little behind the main group: Milena and Miguel Warden, siblings and children of one of the archbishops, both strong mages, and far from religious fanatics. They clearly didn't join Alfred for noble reasons.

Miguel was known for his cruelty; he enjoyed challenging first-year mages to battle and beating them to near death. Killing was, of course, prohibited, even in duels, but he knew how to torture his victims without causing a fatal outcome, and his powerful level three fire magic helped him in this. In the future, he would become one of the best inquisitors of the church.

Milena, a seemingly quiet and sensible girl, was a fourth-level water mage. In the future, she could have entered into a marriage of convenience arranged by her father and live a quiet, unremarkable life in some grand castle. However, that clearly wasn't in her plans. She was much smarter than her older brother and often encouraged him to engage in battles with random opponents. It seemed she wanted to discredit him in the eyes of their father to become the primary heir. But it's possible her plans were calculated many moves ahead.

The third person following the crowd was that same girl who inquired about the guilds' financial status during the ceremony. Her choice was evident, but her expression indicated that the guild's financial situation wasn't as prosperous as they claimed.

Fortunately, they passed by without noticing us, but we couldn't avoid the next group of people. It was the Asura guild, consisting of only four members, and it seemed they had no plans to expand. Besides the Guild Master, the guild included two twin sisters, Vivien and Miriam Deterim. They came from a humble soldier's family, and since they were the only children, their father taught them martial arts instead of the sons he had longed for. Growing up in strict military discipline, they unquestioningly obeyed Asura and seemed ready to sleep standing in armor and full gear if necessary. Vivien carried a long spear, the tip of which was covered with a leather sheath, while Miriam checked the string on her new bow. Both girls were attractive and had athletically toned figures. Their attire was modified to allow for swift movement: their skirts were shortened, and their sleeves and shoulders were absent. Vivien wore light leather armor over her dress, which hardly restricted her movements while providing decent protection against random strikes, and she also wore high boots with leather knee pads. Miriam wore the standard warrior faculty uniform and a thin steel chainmail covering her body, with a high metal collar protecting her neck. It was evident she wanted to protect only the critical points while maintaining agility and stealth. Both had long chestnut hair tied back in a ponytail, and the only difference between the twins, apart from their weapons and attire, was their positioning. To keep things simple, I decided to call them Right (Vivien) and Left (Miriam). The fourth member of the guild was a guy about whom little was known. As far as I recall, the fourth name on Asura's list at the ceremony was a certain Werner Frageel. He wore the warrior faculty uniform but didn't give the impression of being particularly strong, and it was evident he was accepted into the guild merely for the numbers. From the look in his eyes, it was clear he joined the guild solely for the three beauties, perhaps even just for one. His role left no doubts - he was the carrier. Not a combat position, but a very useful one: he was responsible for carrying the equipment of other guild members before the battle and collecting trophies afterward. This helped the main fighters preserve more strength for the battle and carry away more loot. Many joined powerful guilds and squads as carriers to have a chance to train with more experienced comrades and later become full-fledged members of the group. Although Werner had a short sword hanging from his belt, I doubted he knew which end to use.

Judging by their equipment, they had finished shopping and were heading back to their headquarters. However, when Asura spotted me from a distance, she decisively walked in my direction, clearly intending to ask about what was on her mind since the last ceremony.

"Seems like you've also come for equipment?" Her voice was as cold as an iceberg. "So, you did join some guild after all?"

"Well, something like that. Although I don't know how long these merry days will last with a Guild Master like ours," I replied.

By this time, Asura noticed Katrina, who was in the city for the first time and gazing around with an excited look. Flashes of anger sparkled in the azure-haired swordsman's eyes, and her hand instinctively reached for her katana.

"And are you sure it's safe to let such a dangerous apprentice roam freely in broad daylight?" Asura asked, squinting her eyes slightly, not letting go of her sword for a second.

This insult couldn't leave Katrina indifferent, who until then hadn't paid any attention to the warrior standing before her.

"What did you say?" Electric discharges crackled in Katrina's hand again. "I've been dealing with my problem just fine, and so far, nobody has dared to touch me. But you can try and see for yourself."

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid your father wouldn't be pleased if anything happened to his precious daughter."

This had to stop because if Katrina continued to get angry, her power might go out of control again.

"Asura, calm down," I firmly intervened between the two girls. "For some reason, as long as I'm near Katrina, she's only dangerous to those who directly approach her, and we've been trying to avoid such situations so far. Katrina, please, don't get heated up. You know that your strength increases when you're angry."

After staring each other down for a while longer, the girls turned away demonstratively.

"Fine, I'll calm down," the princess snorted. "But she better refrain from groundless insults."

"As long as you're not a threat, it's fine," Asura said, finally leaving her katana alone. "However, Krito, I had a better opinion of you," she disdainfully remarked, folding her arms across her chest. "So, you went after her just because of her beauty?"

"No," I replied indifferently. "But the fact that she's a princess significantly shortens the path to my goal."

"I see," the warrior said, tilting her head slightly. "I understand you, but if you ever decide to give up magic, you can join my guild."

"You too, if you get over your dislike, can join mine."

With a barely noticeable smirk, Asura walked away, and I let Werner go, who stayed behind to apologize for his mistress's tactlessness.

Today's meetings with classmates were over, and now we had to do what we came here for: find the weapons our guild needed.

We couldn't rely on Katrina for this matter because she chose her weapons the same way she chose a house: "Grab the first thing you like, and then figure it out somehow." Our budget was only forty gold pieces, and we couldn't afford to spend it on just anything. With these thoughts in mind, I managed to drag her away from a display of ornate lacquered staffs, clearly made of birch and not intended for real combat.

After giving her some advice not to fall for appearances alone, I found myself persuading her not to buy a super set of magical iron wands charged with all kinds of magic, capable of summoning even a fiery storm with the right usage.

Eventually, losing all hope of instilling even a bit of common sense in her, I decided to take her money and lead the way through the territory filled with cunning merchants.