The party needs to see the king of Lacuer, but the king is busy with the local Armory Contest, a competition of fighters and their weaponry. The solution? Enter Claude into the Armory Contest and hope he wins, earning him an automatic meeting with the king. Sounds like a plan.
Once you've entered Laquer Castle and spoken to the receptionists at the front desk you'll be locked into the Armory Contest sequence, and you won't be able to leave Lacuer City until you've done a few things. First is signing up. If you didn't do this the first time, go back and speak to the receptionist again.
The next step is to choose one of the four Weapon Shops in Lacuer City as a sponsor for Claude. He will have to wear that shop's weapon and armor set and use that shop's items, and nothing else, for the duration of the competition. All four shops are just south of the entrance to Lacuer Castle. They are as follows:
- Fastred - Offers a decent balance of offence and defence
- Forlong - Offers generally poor equipment
- Dagol - Offers better defence than offence
- Edda (inside the shop on the left) - Offers better offence than defence
Head to the Inn in Lacuer once you're ready to participate in the Armory Contest. You'll be allowed to stay at the Inn for free, though checking in will lock you into the event until it ends. At this point how the scenario plays out changes between Claude and Rena, with Claude relegated largely to combat while Rena handles the background plot.
Claude
Check in at the Inn and Claude will be stuck there until the day of the tournament. Head to Lacuer Castle and head to the Arena, beneath the throne room, and speak to the soldier behind the registration desk. Rena will leave, and you'll need to enter the western waiting room to kick things off.
This begins a series of one-on-one battles between Claude and three other combatants. You'll only be allowed to wear the weapons and armor supplied by the sponsor you chose earlier, and Claude will only have access to a small pool of restorative items. Ideally you'll use Sword of Life to heal Claude (and keep enemies at bay), and otherwise just smack your opponents around.
Your enemies are as follows:
- Amon Rau, a swordsman who can hurl his weapon. Pretty easy, especially if you counter his attacks when he flashes red.
- Dorr Adan, a hefty sasquatch who will try to slap Claude to death. Again, try for counters.
- Woses Durahan, a beefy ogre who will punch and bite Claude. Like other, similar enemies, Woses isn't easy to stun, so try for counters or use Special Arts that hit at a range, like Air Slash.
Rena
Once you sign into the Inn Rena will decide to go for a walk. Head to the west side of Lacuer and you'll see a little girl named Sufia, who is trying to persuade a swordsman to use her grandfather's sword in the Armory Contest. He brushes her off, and Rena offers to help Sufia find an appropriate warrior.
Head to the Bar, on the west side of the main square. Keep speaking to the warriors inside until Sufia moves up to the group of three men in the middle of the Bar. Try to leave the Bar and none other than Dias will walk in. He'll end the discussion and run off with Sufia.
Head back to the Inn to rest until the day of the contest. Head to Lacuer Castle and into the Arena, which is located beneath the throne room on the castle's top floor. Speak to the receptionist to trigger a cut scene, after which Rena will follow Dias, whose weapon hasn't arrived, out of the castle.
Run to the shack where you met Sufia, in the west of Lacuer City. Head inside to trigger a cut scene, then run to the Bar from earlier. You'll fight three weakling opponents, then retrieve the Swallowblade they stole. Rena's relationship with Dias receives a little bump, and then you'll be off to the castle again. Speak to the receptionist outside the Arena to get the ball rolling.
The rest of this scenario is on autopilot for Rena, more or less. Head into the Arena and look for the rest of the party on the far side of the stands. After a few cut scenes you'll need to run to the opposite side of the Arena, where you can speak to Gamgee, who made Dias's sword. Hurry back to the north side after the conversation to trigger Claude's next match, then run to either side of the Arena to activate the trigger for the next match. Head back to the stands in the north to watch.
Assuming Claude wins his one AI-controlled match, the tournament comes down to Claude and Dias. Move to the sides of the Arena one more time, then return to Rena's seat to watch the final. As with Claude's scenario, he cannot win against Dias. Still, second place ain't bad.
Regardless of your character, the party will regroup in one of the changing rooms. After a conversation with Dias you'll be free to leave. Head to the shop that sponsored Claude and speak to the owner to receive your prize for second place: All of the equipment Claude used during the contest, along with 6,500 FOL. Not too shabby.
Head to the entrance of Lacuer City. You'll receive the A Growing Experience Achievement (Claude) or the Whatever the Outcome... Achievement (Rena), and the group will have a new destination: Linga, to the south. (If you recruited Precis you've already been there, so feel free to Fast Travel.)
Should you leave yet? Not quite. First, go visit Gamgee's home, on the west side of Lacuer City. Assuming Claude managed to get all the way to the battle with Dias - which isn't too difficult, so long as he's over level 20 or so - Gamgee will give you the Deadly Edge. This is a nice little weapon on its own, but the Deadly Edge can be refined into the Aeterna, a blade that makes Star Ocean The Second Story R laughably easy. We'll discuss how to turn the Deadly Edge into the Aeterna in another section of the guide.
Assuming you have a minimum of four characters in your party, you'll see a Private Action pop up in Lacuer City once the Armory Contest is over. This happens for both Claude and Rena. Check out the bridge leading to Lacuer Castle and a girl will drop out of the sky and onto your head. (It all makes more sense if you've played Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.)
This is Welch, an... oddball... crafting expert, and she'll try to barge into the party. Welch is below average in combat, but she's great at Item Creation. You'll have to ignore other characters down the line, so think carefully before you decide to bring Welch along. You'll receive The Spitfire Creator Achievement for recruiting Welch.
One last thing. If you haven't recruited Ashton you now have yet another opportunity to bring a new member into the fold. Head back to Hilton and visit the Bar, in the north. Here you'll meet a mysterious, three-eyed woman name Opera. She's looking for a man who also has three eyes, and when you mention that you saw just such a fellow near Krosse Castle she'll run off. If you follow Opera to Krosse Castle you'll unlock the opportunity to recruit both Opera and the man. This will lock off Ashton forever, so choose wisely.