Inside their rooms, they felt like they were in luxury. Their bathroom had a tub. There was a computer, a map of the hotel and the surrounding arena. Some hotels had shopping in them. The first floor of each had a spa, beauty shop, barber shop, dry cleaning, and a sit-down restaurant. Hotel 1 had a VIP area which took two floors. The lobby was essentially two floors with no elevator stop on the second floor. There was a lift that allowed customers to travel between floors but the elevators were used for those staying there. Guards were stationed outside a separate elevator that went to the upper floors where the leaders stayed that was accessed from the outside so the leaders didn't need to enter the lobby to access their rooms. Lana wanted to treat her team to a nice meal in a high-priced place so she was hoping to do so here as a celebration for her brother doing well. This meant she and Kattie would need proper attire. She had just finished perusing the map, not unpacking, when there was a knock and everyone entered her room.
"Alto, I was thinking about this. Are you getting bullied any more?"
"No actually. I have not been bothered in some time."
Lana nodded. "Here is your card back." She went into the accounting and turned off the auto-forward to his money to her account, the same with Dobin. "You have 65 credits right now. We will turn off the auto payment for your Power Fighters from my card once we return or you can handle that on your own. Just have it switched to your card. I'll have Dobin do the same. Everyone, give me your watches." They did and she gave everyone but Duff 10,000 credits. Duff got 2,000 credits. If you find something you want, you can purchase it, this should help you."
Duff was in shock. "How do you have so much?"
She shrugged, "Our green portal outing." She then looked at them all. "At some point, I want to hit the spa and I want Kattie and I to go dress shopping. Do you guys want to go walk around the arena and see what shops are there? Let's look before we spend so we can get an idea if something is a good deal or not."
They all agreed. She missed Dobin but was very proud of him for being in the event.
They all enjoyed the stroll. As time went by, the platform was filling up as the other schools arrived. There were a lot of small shops and only one that had armor which is what she was looking for with regards to getting something for her brother. She didn't find anything she liked, however. Alto found intermediate-tier speed boots. Almin found a proper sheath for his axe so he could carry it on his back. The sheath was special in that it made the blades sharper when the axe was pulled out which cost him most of his budget. Kattie found armor for her legs and arms that matched. She had to dip into the allowance from her parents but she felt it worth it. Lana wondered if she could find something in the VIP shops, so they went there after getting a bite to eat.
They found the place listed on the map. She had to present her watch to prove she was in school as a VIP and allowed the others in because they were with her. She asked the clerk where the boots were and was escorted to the area. The attendant asked if they were for her and what she was looking for. She explained her twin was in the tournament and she wanted to get him something nice. She was hoping for something speed related and maybe an extra skill or two.
"Would you like these to be delivered to him so he can use them in the tournament?"
"Can you do that?"
"Of course, dear. They are his, are they not?"
Lana smiled brightly. "What are the options?"
"What is the price range?"
"Um, let's go 100,000 credits."
The others looked dumbfounded. They didn't know she had been paid for the commercials and such by the Green Family.
The attendant nodded. "They only allow up to advanced tier in the tournament so you won't spend that much. I have some speed books that have two skills in them. Would you like to look at them?"
Of course, Lana nodded. The attendant brought out two pair. "These are both 40,000 credits. They increase defense, speed and have two skills. One is called Wind Walk with makes one move faster for a limited time then can't be used for 5 minutes but it has unlimited recharges. The other is a jump skill. It increases the height and distance one can jump. The recharge is the same as with windwalk."
Lana noticed the difference really was color. Dobin's armor was red. She then looked at Duff. She had not seen his armor yet but she made a decision. "Can I get them both? The red ones need to be sent down to Dobin Plantwell from Military Base 2. He's in the fighting tournament."
The attendant nodded, writing it all down. "May I get your name, dear?"
"Lana."
Lana passed the other pair to Duff.
The attendant nodded then swiped her watch to charge for the boots. "He will have these tonight."
"Thank you!"
"Of course, dear. Come back and see us if you need something else." The attendant then walked her to the door with a smile.
At this time, it was getting late and they had done a lot of walking. Lana wanted to go to her room to rest. She set up her kitchen and left it in the corner of her room. She made herself some nice tea then made herself a bath with nice-smelling bath salts. While the tub filled, she unpacked. Caser sat on her shoulder the whole time with his tentacles around her neck. Soon she would need to have some sort of shoulder platform for him to sit on. He was still unable to regulate his own body temperature so he still lived in her bra. She had taken to inserting a cloth baggie thing to wrap around his back side. This enabled him to relieve himself without mess. It was working out pretty well for the two of them. She was just thinking about getting out of the tub when she heard her door open. She had gotten a spare key, telling them it was for her brother to come visit once he was done in the tournament. While walking around, she saw Vorden and slipped it into his pocket. He was hanging out with his friends and she didn't want to disrupt him. Especially since she was doing the same.
He switched to Sil who started looking around for her and found her in the tub, he was carrying the outfits she had bought. He refused to allow them to stay with her in the luxury kitchen and wanted them in his room. He didn't want them discovered by her friends. She didn't much care as long as it was him she was wearing them for.
He stayed the night in her room and they enjoyed each other's company. The next morning, Fex made it to Quinn's room before Vorden. Just as Quinn stepped out of his room, Vorden was seen coming down the hall with a huge smile on his face, "sorry, I had something to deal with."
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Those participating in the tournament were taken through the arena and into the section below the hotel arranged just for them. There was a large training area for all the events. Which is where everyone was taken. They were pointed toward their rooms which were to the right. The elevator to the arena was behind the general. The students were then broken down by event and given the rules for their individual events. Dobin saw Peter being guarded by two heavily armed soldiers. He didn't know the others very well, though he had seen them. Peter lived next to him in the dorms so he saw him frequently. Dobin even remembered a time when Peter was forced by his roommates to sleep in the hall and he cried all night. He wondered what happened. They were in the same event so maybe he'd learn.
They were informed they could forfeit, get knocked off the platform or get declared the winner/loser by the referee in the ring. There were no other rules. If the ref thought a person was being excessive, however, he would act. There was no curfew for the students no matter if they were a participant or not. Participants had to stick to this area until they were eliminated but they could choose the training area or their room to hang out in. Dobin chose to watch the others for a while then retired to his room. Later, as he was getting ready to go to sleep, there was a knock. It was a delivery person with a box. He took it and opened it. There was a card from his sister telling him good luck and a pair of boots. He went to sleep with a huge smile on his face.