《Dawn of a Sage (Part 2.5) ~ The Champions of Leray Magic》


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    All material is copyright ? by the author of Dawn of a Sage (Part 2): The Champion of Leray Magic


    Dylan Frendo


    November 1, 2018Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    {Content Edited in November 2024}


    Official Revision Version: 09


    Royalty Free: The cover image was altered from a royalty free image.


    All rights reserved


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    This is book #8/19 of the official Leray Series.

 Chapter 41: Eldora

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    <02/10/1972 ¨C 23:45 | Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    Only minutes into the block, Jane and her friends made it into Eldora City in the night, noticing how shiny and impressive the area remained even at this hour. Rontellov already branched off to the bike shop with their broken bicycles, after which he will supposedly go into the Leray Headquarters. Jane only learned tonight thanks to the detailed map that there is actually a public place for Leray agents in this area, even though they deal more with federal cases than local types, and this was just the tip of the cake.


    The lights from above pounded on their eyes from every angle, but the most impressive building so far was clearly the most visible. With filtered lights all around and on top of the structure, the site known to this place as Eldora Tower stood out with its massive size and a height of about 2,400 meters tall. Instead of having a rectangular shape, the building was cylindrical, making its design curious and impressive to their eyes. Jane however was supposed to be leading them to the nearby hotel. There are technically supposed to be several within the entire city, but Greene Hotel is the closest one nearby, and defiantly within the price range despite not being too poor for Jane to afford a few nights here.


    There wasn''t much to walk from here to there according to the map. Jane had to take a left turn on the road, and found the design of the ground here interesting. The solid cement is designed similar to that of a city road built for automobiles, even though Jane had no such thing to compare that to in her mind. The path intersected with other areas in multiple locations, and was obviously designed for groups of bikers. Sidewalks were of course provided, and the floor seemed clean enough to eat off of. Despite what many thought when associating vivid imaginations with a city of any kind, Eldora has a fancy appeal that is well maintained, while the use of electricity here is astonishing. Street lamps covered every corner with an attractive orange radiance of light, while the LED lights on the tops and sides of buildings provided a clear picture of the city''s height from an aerial perspective.


    On the block Jane turned from, there were places to stop by everywhere. Some compared this much like the same infrastructure of an outlet mall. Block by block, places like restaurants neighbored other stores such as jewelry stores, grocery stops, clothing stores of the highest expenses, and several private corporate buildings with restricted access. The sights alone were inspiring to the eyes and exciting for the senses. Plenty of people were walking around too on the sidewalks, though not nearly as many as the amount that gathers in the daytime. Big businesses create thousands of jobs here, and the living location of either houses or apartments is set somewhere away from the bustle.


    Before walking much further, the sudden sound of blasting wind prompted all three of them to glare straight up into the sky, revealing an airliner passenger jet climbing for altitude. The roar of its engines slammed their vibrations into the ground below them, giving Taylor and the others a potent sense of the sound''s penetration. Though Danny and Taylor have seen at least one before pass near their homeland, seeing an airplane was a moving sight soothing enough to make them pause behind Jane. It must be from the airport in Sprawn Valley just southeast of the city. The plane''s flashing lights quickly revealed its visual location from the ground, and it was clear that the jet was on takeoff from the airport to go somewhere outside of the country. To Jane''s knowledge, even though she had never seen an airplane before with her bare eyes, she knew of them and their existence here. Danny and Taylor on the other hand were awestruck by the surprise, asking Jane about the business of airliners in the vicinity.


    After only a short distance on foot, they made it to the entrance of Greene Hotel. The interior of the building was more impressive than the exterior. The entrance was a sliding spinning door, of which Jane and her friends were totally unfamiliar with. It took all three of them at least twenty seconds to figure out how the thing works.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Magic ~ Green Sun</a>


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    Aside from entering a new place, even Jane was too curious to prevent gazing in all directions. The color of the walls and the lights together created an interesting sensation that made them feel totally at home and relaxed. The tall building even had two elevator systems each capable of going up twenty entire floors. The front counter was decorated on each side by symmetrically placed beautiful plants as tall as people, and the female sitting behind the desk gave all three of the lost kids a warm welcome.


    "Welcome to Greene Hotel. Is this your first time visiting our resort?" She was wearing a very expensive and dark colored executive suit. Nothing else made her stand out more than this, but the trio in front of her paid the desk clerk a lot of attention upon introducing herself.


    "That''s right." Jane got closer to the counter while pulling out her Leray license and the Eldora access pass card given to all three of them by Rontellov himself. Taylor and Danny followed the same lead without saying much. After Jane handed over all of the licenses and cards to register themselves here, she elaborated on her intensions of visiting. "We plan to stay for only three nights here. I may extend that time should our business keep us here." Jane wasn''t trying to sound secretive for the purpose of their stay, but this desk clerk is still just another stranger. The process of booking a hotel room is already intrusive as it is, but she didn''t need to give many details in order to get the room needed.


    After scanning all six items in the automated computer system, the desk clerk handed them back after making the calculations and discussing the terms of their stay. "I have suite room 1845 on floor thirteen. The cost of charge here with your Eldora pass will be 745 credits per night for each person. Would you like to make the transactions?"


    "Yes please." Upon agreeing, Jane watched the lady swipe all three licenses to subtract the total amount of funds from each card. It defiantly wasn''t cheap, but they needed to stay somewhere somehow. Besides, after winning the championship, credits earned from that will skyrocket to new amounts she could use later to buy things from the Leray stores.


    After having their licenses handed back to them, the desk clerk gave Jane the one and only card capable of opening the door by means of swipe and scan systems. "Have a nice visit!" she called as they began heading towards the elevators.


    As the automatic doors began to seal them shut in the room, Danny and Taylor nervously glanced around, trying to deduce the design of the room. "Is this where we stay?" The sudden shift in movement of the elevator heading upwards made him jump, while the continued distortion of slightly higher gravitational force from moving up quickly gave Danny a dizzy sensation. He hunched down on the floor, afraid of what would happen next.


    Jane turned around to find that Danny was tripping over nothing, but even Taylor held on to the small railing bars behind her, her eyes rapidly scanning the room for answers. "Have you two never been in an elevator before?" Jane waited for a response, and based solely on how long it took either one of them to nod for a no, it was clear that they''ve had no exposure to a place like this at all. "Kalamo sure doesn''t sound like it has much. It''s a transport room!" Jane emphasized every word, which neither one of them seemed to like.


    "Wha¡ª I knew that," Danny bluffed.


    Taylor glanced up at the top of the room, wondering about the design. "How long does this take?"


    Jane muttered, "Uh-huh," under her breath to Danny first, barely remembering Taylor''s question. Jane glanced at top at the blinking lights of numbers, all counting up from one. As soon as they hit floor twelve, the acceleration they felt became lighter, until they finally reached the thirteenth floor. There was a sudden whoosh of G-force in the reverse direction that even made Jane feel strange, but it was only momentary. "We''re already here." The automatic doors began to slide open, revealing much more open space to the hallway on this level.


    Taylor followed Jane out the doors, making sure Danny wasn''t left behind either. In the hallway alien to them, the only noticeable pattern was the remarkable narrowness of the path in either direction, giving little room to walk straight. There were metallic doors everywhere with different handles than what was originally seen. Taylor soon noticed all of the other devices jammed inside of each door, giving off a tiny red LED light.


    Jane counted the numbers on each door, going higher until she got closer to the number given to her by the desk clerk. 1845 didn''t show up right away, but it wasn''t much longer than a sharp turn to the right and left. Jane found the matching number, and took out the electronic card given to her. Danny and Taylor probably didn''t understand how this worked either. They''d be eaten alive in this place left on their own. Jane swiped the card into the scanner, after which the red LED changed its color to green, producing the sound of something unlocking by itself. Jane then turned the handle, wondering if the other two would have been able to copy this from her if she wasn''t around after tonight.


    As Jane opened the door, Taylor finally recognized part of a design to a hotel room, but this was nothing like Monoc Port''s rooms. The bedroom expanded into a vast area of open space between the two queen sized beds and a mounted television screen of a good size. The bathroom just on the right from here wasn''t too bad either, and at the end of the room was a solid sheet of glass showing an expensive view consisting most of the entire city. Danny and Taylor both rushed to the window, excited by the view new to them. Never had they been so high up like this, not without danger and a wonderful view. All of the city lights seemed even more beautiful from here. Taylor examined the entire pane of glass, impressed by the size of a single sealed window. Falling through that would kill anyone, right? Even in Sprawn Valley, how could a fall to the ground that steep be livable even with Leray protection? She took a step back, not wanting to find out.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Jane noticed a large closet empty of items, though immediately got to work with using it. After pulling out her supply sphere, Jane tried to locate all of her personal cosmetic products. A rather unsatisfying thought crossed her mind; she had not taken a shower since the night before heading to the Alpha Zero, after which medics only sanitized her wounds. Not wanting to imagine what kind of smells she was giving off to the others, or how terrifying her hair became in the night, Jane rushed herself to take first action in the shower. Jane got as much as she could for herself, packed since leaving her home, and took it with her into the bathroom.


    Danny sat back on the bed, relaxing himself while waiting on Jane to shower, made apparent by the sound of rushing water behind the walls. After all of that walking he did today, sitting back provided an amazing feeling on his bones and limbs. "Ahhhhh... What a long day!"


    For what seemed like twenty minutes, Danny and Taylor spoke mostly about little things happening in their past and in school. Such distant memories were made even more by what has happened to them so far. Just from hopping on an international cruise, all of this adventurous involvement continued. Danny thought all the way back to the beginning of finding Sprawn Valley while nearly drowning in the stormy ocean. The town of Fronas was the first civilization they stumbled upon here, and yet it changed everything. Learning about Leray magic, battles, secret crime organizations, and befriending Jane; all of this seemed so passive, yet the sensation of everything was too real to deny.


    "What do you think about Leray magic?" Taylor responded to the similar topic they were already on, after Danny was silent for some time. She was sitting on the edge of the same mattress material, winding back a little to read his expression.


    With a delayed answer, he sat up straight giving the matter much thought. "When I first saw those Leray agents prove to us that magic does exist in this world, I thought I had been dreaming for several long nights or something. But I quickly became obsessed with how awesome these powers are, especially when Jane got me to learn Radial Stars..." He thought back after that moment of leaving Fronas. Everything that happened since sort of revolved a lot around Jane more than it did for any other person, but even in his own perception, learning all of these new battle skills to become a better Leray fighter seemed less and less satisfying the more it happened. What was really the point of it all anymore? "But now... I just want things to go back to the way they were, or whatever passes for normal these days."


    Taylor pouted in disappointment. It wasn''t what Danny felt about it, but rather how true it was becoming over the days spent here. "You too, huh..."


    "What''s that for?" Danny tried. "Taylor, don''t ever be afraid to ask me about something important if you feel a certain way about it."


    Taylor swiftly denied, "I wasn''t afraid of anything!" After confirming that Danny had misread her, Taylor eventually elaborated on what Danny was talking about. "I just feel the same way is all. The magic is fun to use and all, but can it actually help people?"


    "I don''t know that yet," he admitted. It''s the question of the century. First, it seemed flawless, but if criminals can use magic and take advantage of a dark and more powerful format of energy, how could anyone be safe? Magic isn''t supposed to be used to kill, but that has obviously been debunked at this rate. Uncle Nyar made well-placed concerns after all. Knowing this - eventually bugged Danny with a new question. How does Nyar know this much about magic if he has never been here himself?


    "Outside of Sprawn Valley, Leray magic doesn''t work anymore - I don''t think. So that means you would have to live in Sprawn Valley in order to use magic."


    "Well at least here you can''t kill anyone or get killed from other things." Danny paused to reconsider the thought. "Actually, that isn''t true. The use of dark magic, and that evil dark zone Lennith has over their head is just as dangerous as any other thing outside of the country. Plus, people here have to worry about drowning at sea, or illnesses, or starvation." The system isn''t perfect at all.


    "That''s what I''m saying," Taylor added. "I don''t know what the overall point of this is. Was Leray magic invented just to have fun in battle?"


    "I don''t know yet," Danny answered honestly. Kain basically pushed himself and Taylor into learning it despite being forbidden, but he had all good intentions in mind. Kain said it was a good method of self-defense, and given the results of all, Danny knew he could no longer argue with that. If he had not learned any magic, Jane would have been done for a long time ago. He along with Taylor would have been ruined! As he waited for Taylor to say something else, Jane opened the door from the bathroom, blowing a lot of warm mist into the air-conditioned room. "But there is one thing I do want to know..."


    Taylor and Danny were momentarily distracted by Jane''s appearance as she walked into the room. It''s obvious that the reason there was an extra ten-minute wait after the water was shut down was because of how much Jane was taking care of in the meantime. She had tied her dark hair in a bun, though a lot of hair fibers poked out at random. Wearing a light tank top and comfortable looking shorts, Jane looked much different than before. Perhaps they became used to seeing her only wear the same dark black and blue battle suit all the way from Lennith City. While homing in on the conversation, Jane struggled to get any understandable words out with the toothbrush in her mouth. "Wha¡ª would dat beur?"


    Danny didn''t fail to understand what Jane was asking him about, but the thought of Jane preparing for the big battle streak of the championship flooded his mind. He had no real clue what it might actually be like, but Jane was defiantly taking care of herself in a way that emphasized how important looking presentable may be. Then again, neither one of them have showered in a long time. He and Taylor had not gotten the opportunity since the eighth night in Monoc Port''s hotel room, which meant it had been days since. His response was delayed by several side thought processes, including how odd it was to see Jane''s bare arms and legs after an entire week or more of time. What''s more incredible is that the last time they saw Jane''s skin, it was all scared and bruised up from Alpha Zero, but now all of that damage was healed, all but a few faded cuts and little change in hue. Her entire face was completely without any form of visible damage whatsoever, proving to him that the so-called Starlov Boosters really work quickly on healing real time damage, faster than a person normally heals from damage outside of Sprawn Valley by natural processes. "That would be - about that guy that gave you your symbol."


    After fixing the brush in her mouth, Jane popped it out to speak more clearly, though she still had a lot of saliva and paste accumulating on her tongue. "He didn''t give me the symbol." While waiting on the meaning of her correction, Jane went to spit the rest out in the sink and rinse her toothbrush, taking her time to return and elaborate. "He gave me the experimental spell bomb containing the seal for the symbol, and whoever this guy was didn''t tell me anything about what it was supposed to do."


    "Then why did you try to use it on yourself?" Taylor probed.


    Jane brought herself back to that same moment of the past, which became more clear than it had vague. "He basically gave me a vague summary of what it was designed to do, which made little sense to me at all. Suppose to make you stronger, dangerous in the wrong hands, and a lot of other stuff that made no sense to me at the time."


    "Well I know that," Danny interrupted. "But who was the guy? What was he doing there? Why did he have an illegal experimental spell bomb? Why was he being chased by other people as you put it? Any why did he just give it to some random person in Blue Port like that?"


    Jane announced, "You know I have no new answers to any of those. I haven''t been able to learn anything new from it, but I do remember the guy''s face, for whatever that''s worth. His hood didn''t really work to hide him as he meant it to." In truth, Jane didn''t recall his face in the weeks earlier, but after having the same reoccurring nightmare of reliving that moment so many times, the clarity of her memory became stronger each moment. Still, it did so little to help her today.


    "So he had a hoodie?"


    Jane ignored the obvious comment from Taylor. "All I know for sure is why the guy gave it to some random person in Blue Port. Whoever was chasing him really must have been after the orb. By hiding it among the average crowd, how would the real creators of the orb find it?"


    "I can understand that," Danny continued. "But then wouldn''t they notice the gigantic light in the sky that literally turned day into night and warped weather itself? Or did they really have no idea what this orb was capable of?"


    "I can''t say. I don''t think that anyone would have expected me to hide it by making use of it on myself, but whoever was after him might be after me now. That''s why I have to be careful with exposing the design in my hand. I''m getting better at making it more discrete too. I didn''t need that symbol for the entire time I fought Rontellov."


    "Yeah," Taylor agreed. "But it''s more than just that. You''re going to have to hide that crest from everyone watching and taking part in the League of Elite battles. If you expose that symbol to the champion, won''t this whole plan of yours about taking Brightworth down backfire?"


    Jane''s expression changed quickly, cringing at the very thought. It was a long moment before she was able to speak about it. "Leave the concerns about public exposure to me. I''ll also need some time to train on more spells before such battles. Tomorrow morning, we register first thing."


    "Aw, come on!" Danny whined. "Can''t we explore some of the city first? It makes no sense to jump right into this in a place we all don''t know. Do you even know where or how to register for that thing?"


    Jane didn''t answer him, but her expression made it clear that he was right. Jane didn''t know the exact process of registering. What was the wait time? Where was the front desk for it? How would she train more before getting those fights? Still, the thought brought up by Taylor was more disturbing. That has no easy answer. Battling the entire League of Elites with the hidden assistance of a single symbol...


    "Everything okay?" Taylor noticed some internal struggle about Jane. What exactly bothered her wasn''t something Jane made easy to detect though.


    "It''s fine. You should shower now, before it gets too late and the sun comes back up. We leave here by noon tomorrow, so get enough sleep and all."


    Taylor got her things ready, but focused on Jane. Jane didn''t seem as if she was on par with the plan. More so was she distracted by some kind of concept or thought process. It didn''t feel like Jane was ready to share either. While Taylor was about to make it to the shower, she considered whether Jane was contemplating the mystery origin of her symbol, or what would happen after destroying the dark zone. Jane stopped her by the tug of her arm, lending her a hairbrush and a few other products that Taylor did not actually pick up on the way here.


    "We can go to a store tomorrow that sells these things. Danny? I think we will explore Eldora first. Might as well learn how to register in the proper way, if I''m to make sure nobody suspects that I''m marked."


    Danny waited for Taylor to go ahead and take her turn in the bathroom before confirming Jane''s cautions. "I''m guessing they won''t be happy to just let people who are marked walk in and brawl with the champion?"


    "I''m sure his name is Danton. Or that might be his last name? Anyway, you''re not wrong there."


    "Are people really afraid of marked ones, to the point where they imprison them?"


    Jane regressed again. It''s a terrifying thought, and a major risk to her entire self. If they discover she is a marked one, Jane will have no career, and she will ultimately become a fugitive. Still, one thing was for sure. No security team will hold her while that real threat just north of Lennith tries to swallow the entire nation. Something has to change in the plan, some sort of insurance policy... "Afraid so. I don''t think everyone is scared to death of marked ones, but after the War of Mages two hundred years ago, people are skeptical to trust marked people for their innocence."


    "Well we trust you," Danny promised. After getting Jane''s attention, her sad expression was slowly lightening more. "We''re with you on this Jane, all the way through."


    "Thanks. I''m lucky to have friends such as yourself." Jane was sincere in her remark. Danny and Taylor have for whatever reason been totally attracted to Jane and her entire situation from day one. Doing this all by herself would be unthinkable. But even with that on mind, how much longer will they last here? Danny at least has to be getting homesick by now. Leray magic is indeed awesome, but how much does that mean to outsiders?


    "Now is there anything good on TV?" Danny struggled to work a primitive remote, again reminding him how different the standard of living is back home. Jane walked in to help him, wishing the night to end more peacefully than the last.


    After Taylor and Danny finished their turns showering, Jane had herself and Taylor share the large bed on the right, of which there was plenty of room. With everyone ready for the next day, the television wasn''t kept on for very long. Getting to sleep would not be difficult at all with all of the physical fatigue from the battles behind them. The night remained uneventful, with tomorrow promising another kind of adventure.

 Chapter 42: League Infrastructure

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    <02/11/1972 ¨C 12:11 | Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    After all three of them met at the exit doors of the hotel, the plans of what to do right now were discussed. Jane, Taylor, and Danny all ate the last of their food rations in the room of their stay. They prepared themselves to head out into the city with vague plans about what to do. Jane was tugging on the hopes to go ahead and train herself with more abilities immediately.


    But Danny quickly won her over with the ideas of exploring a city most unknown to all of them. "You can train later today. How are you supposed to fit in with Eldora and the championship rules if you don''t even know anything about where we are?"


    "It''ll be fun, Jane."


    Hearing that both of them were on the same desire to relax after the exhausting night behind them, Jane sighed while thinking about the entire plans for today. "Alright... But we stay together." Jane pulled out the map of the area, though the specific details were very confusing even at close glance. Danny and Taylor were jumping for joy, giving Jane more urgency to walk them out of the front door. It was already a quick start to an exhilarating morning.


    On the way to the great outdoors, the team was suddenly met with the new life of the city. Compared to late last night, Eldora seemed far from the same as before. Already twenty minutes past noon, the sun illuminated every corner of the place less it be blocked off slightly by the height of a tall building. The streets were completely filled with people. Only a portion of those travelers and pedestrians were on bicycles, riding on a separate dedicated lane separating them from the walkers. A lot of the population was wearing something formal, indicating the density of jobs in businesses here. Despite a city in which motorized automobiles did not exist, the traffic flow of people alone made it nearly impossible to think about crossing the road to the other side of anything.


    "Let''s just figure this out from the park. Stay by me!" Jane made Danny and Taylor follow her closely behind as Jane decided to follow the direction of the crowd after a brief glance of the map to determine the general direction of this park. So many people passing by allowed for physical separation to become a higher probability. So Danny and Taylor stayed bunched together just behind Jane. Every once in a while, they would glance up and around them, getting to know Eldora even better.


    Only a ten-minute walk led them into a less busy flat land of Eldora known as Meaj Park. The entire section of land was basically a few acres of fresh cut grass holding up a large circular water fountain, several swing sets and slides for kids, and some sections that seemed to be devoted to the people walking or playing with their dogs. Danny had never considered the possibility that somebody would take their dog into Sprawn Valley, and apparently it was Jane''s very first time seeing one.


    Danny and Taylor both had to explain carefully to Jane that a normal dog is actually an original creature imported into this nation, and not something affected by magic. Jane need not to worry enough to attack somebody''s personal pet. Though Danny held on to the hopes that the animals here would not suddenly start growing wings or breathing fire.


    After Jane quickly warmed up to the fluffy creatures here, she found a good resting spot to better plan out their walk around town. She pointed to the sections of interest while holding the map in front of Taylor and Danny''s eyes. "Here is a grocery shop, Taylor and I might visit this clothing store... Right here is the Petrissian Leray Store, and there is another one on the other side, Vascal Wares."


    "I want to get something to eat. Which one of these restaurants is any good?"


    Glaring at Danny annoyed by his distraction, Jane pointed out an obvious flaw. "You just ate! And now you want more food? Every one of these places are going to be four or five star restaurants of very high quality, and that means a lot of credits we barely have."


    "Should we do Leray shopping first to make sure we''re ready for Alpha Zero?" Taylor had a legitimate question, one that was on Jane''s mind since last night.


    Having already found an answer to the conflict, Jane decided, "We''ll just restock equipment and essentials for now. We can wait on defensive items until after I defeat the champion. After all, taking part in such challenges rewards some very heavy loads of credits by default."


    "Nice," he remarked.


    Jane deterred from the other things she was barely interested in for now. "They actually have a Leray museum here. Seems like it has a lot of historical origins and artifacts related to the history of our entire magic."


    "Boooorring!"


    Staring at Danny without turning her head, Jane remarked to him, "I''m going to pretend you didn''t say that, for your own safety."


    "Then can we at least get started?"


    Taylor announced, "Why don''t we just split up and explore things on our own? I think it would be more efficient that way."


    "What''s your idea then?" Jane questioned. Jane didn''t want to split up, as it could cause problems reuniting later.


    Taylor easily came up with the plan of diversity. "We''ll let Danny handle his stomach and possibly some of the other stores. I''ll handle restocking on Leray supplies as best as I can. I''m also going to hit that fashion stock too, and then I guess you can look into that museum if you want."


    "Where do we meet up afterwards?" she questioned.


    "Hotel entrance would be the best place to spot each other. Is that okay with everyone?"


    "It works for me, so let''s go with it." After agreeing to Taylor''s unique solution to fulfilling everyone''s sudden desire to explore Eldora, Jane walked off towards the direction of the museum, leaving her friends to get around by themselves out of faith they will find their way. This paper map isn''t the only instructions around here. The tourist trap in Eldora basically took care of the urgency to erect several detailed maps capsuled in frames, even in the park here.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: Play With Me, My Fellow! ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


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    Eldora City was much larger than it seemed in Danny''s perspective. A lot of walking traffic slowed his pace towards the grocery store in the northwest section on the road. The store had little distinction to identify itself other than its import name. Danny hesitantly walked into the store, letting the automatic sliding doors make the task easier on himself. Though the air temperature outside was at a comfortable sixty-seven degrees, the air conditioning in the store rushing on him was surprising as a result. The air was colder, but it felt just as fresh and easy to breath.


    Now inside of the store with his job to restock on food, Danny needed to learn where everything would be. The inside of the store was deceptively huge, with seven separate register lanes, and nearly fifty separate isles with different brands of food. As Danny cautiously scanned the entire area, he soon noticed that this place is more of a megastore. It was only made obvious by the difference in products and brands. Half of which are imported from American and Japanese made brands outside of Sprawn Valley. The rest were all foods native to this land, and advertised by different corporations of markets.


    The place was surprisingly not very busy despite the population outside. Still, Danny felt the vast openness of such a wide space trap him with a sense of solitude. There wasn''t any sense in staying here for very long. Despite wanting something to fill his stomach in the meantime, Danny knew it would be better to wait on a restaurant until Taylor can arrive with him. Danny began walking towards the back of the store, scanning shelves and seeking first the essentials. With such an expensive store in an expensive city, he wasn''t expecting much luck with finding cheap, low quality food to take with him on the go.


    As his predictions played out, he soon realized that none of the food here looked anything like the stuff they sold in Blue Port Town or in Monoc Port. Most of the meals were meats or gourmet meals that needed to be cooked kept in frozen storage. Items such as chips and snacks were very rare to find, only in a section of the pasta isle. Even their names didn''t make any sense to pronounce. Grabbing only what he could into a small store basket, Danny slowly filled the container with as many portable foods as he could. He had to add in a few cookable meals too, since they would be staying in Eldora for the time of Jane''s championship matchups. There was always the chance that Jane may get something else to eat too.


    Already done with the feeling as if his wallet had been emptied in just two minutes, Danny rushed himself to the open counter. At the end of the register was one of the workers, a blond lady in her early twenties working the station. Only seven people were into the store who were customers, six of which were behind him and stalling their time while the other was already being cashed out at a different lane.


    She greeted Danny as he placed the basket in front of the lady to ring up all of the items. "Will that be all for you today, sir?" Danny only nodded to her as she rang up each item into a bag. "Can''t say I''ve seen you around. New in town?"


    Danny wasn''t expecting to make small talk, but be played along anyway. There was just something strange about talking to people in this city with regards to what he was doing here. His business was really Jane''s business, and that was a secret for the most part. Refusing to be shy about it, Danny casually gave hints about the details. "Aw - you know. Just here to watch the championship match again."


    "Right!" she agreed excitedly. "I love that show! I wish it would get more interesting though. The next one is tomorrow, and it comes on only once a week."


    "They only conduct the battles once a week?"


    "Hm-hm," she confirmed. "Every Saturday only. It''s pretty much routine here, but the next competition isn''t looking that strong."


    After getting all of the items in the bag handed to him, Danny had to be charged for the groceries. The electronic reader displayed the value due on a small screen in front of him, prompting him to pull out his Leray license. "I wouldn''t bet on it being boring this week." Danny handed the card to her, though she paused before scanning it.


    Leaning in with her hands on her cheeks, the girl looked Danny dead in the eyes. "Got an inside source I should know about?"


    Danny inched away awkwardly. Her stare was intensely seductive, while his eyes bounced around everywhere, avoiding contact with the employee. "I''m sure that I do not." He focused on the number yet to be subtracted from his card, remembering the amount he had on there earlier. Five hundred sixty credits was to be subtracted, leaving him with only 6500 credits remaining. It wasn''t too bad considering they were all in conservative mode, but he then remembered that each night at the hotel costs another 745. So all he had now after getting back his card was 5755 CR.


    She returned her stance to normal, and gave Danny his bag of food. "Guess I''ll see you around then." Rushing to get his bag and leave, Danny nodded and turned to walk out of the exit door... The realization of how awkward that was hit Danny just as he was back outside. The girl back there must have been interested in something about him or his hint of an inside source of information. Thinking about that and Taylor at the same time felt so strange.


    Deciding to shrug it off and continue exploring, Danny quickly found an interesting place called Junon Heights. The advertising cover on the front window sort of resembled something portrayed as a comic book store, but it wasn''t very clear either. Danny took his chances walking into the place, which was much smaller than the store he was just in.


    Upon gazing at the stock and products, Danny''s eyes lit up with curiosity to the interesting concept. He heard all kinds of strange things about Leray movies and shows. This right here appeared to be an entire collection''s worth of such movies. All sold on VHS tapes with expertly designed covers, the shelves were packed with different movies and shows all showing some sign of Leray magic activity on the covers. Most of the stuff appeared as if the shows hosted fictional super heroes for younger audiences, but even from this distance, other covers stood out.


    With his grocery bag weighing his hand down, Danny reminded himself first to take out his supply sphere and keep the items quarantined in the extra dimensional space used by the sphere. Each item had to be added individually, but Danny took his time to glance around the place during that moment of beaming items into phase. In that moment, there was a lot to think about regarding how critical the culture of Sprawn Valley reflected Leray magic in almost every way possible. There were categories for just about everything. Over thousands of items were sold here. Business was about as proportionate as the grocery store was today, but this seemed to be of a more interesting collection.


    Danny hovered around each shelf in the movie store for just a few minutes, interested in the amount of different films produced just from the inspiration of Leray magic. From the perception of a kid, or from someone experiencing this for the first time, it seems really awesome. Danny hated that he knew what else magic was used for. Leray magic can unfortunately be learned in order to cause harm to others despite what is taught here. The Scarlet Cult and Alpha Zero were evidence of that. He promised himself he would not ever find anything in here related to such incidents. Then again, if there was such a film related to the Amahar spell bomb, would that be a similar match to the same spell bomb or symbol Jane had with her?


    There wasn''t any use in finding out this way. There would be better sources for that somewhere else. After leaving the store empty handed, Danny soon realized why this area was called the tourist trap. Another place caught his eyes just across the block. Adam Armaments. Whatever the place was had see-through windows on the front and sides of the short building. Danny saw several strange items on display from his distance and past the moving crowd of people. Knives, bayonets, water containers, military grade boots... He had to learn more.


    Danny crossed the street heading for the only other thing that would pass the time and ease his boredom until it was time to find the others. Adams Armaments appeared to be some sort of survivalist store. This is not a Leray store on the other hand. One of the quotes on the posters said something about surviving in the outside world. Did they mean outside of Sprawn Valley? Is this all things to survive outside of this one country?


    Survival packs and hiking bags were on shelves, as were other electronics in the back. Danny entered the store with high hopes of which were met by the sophistication of quality goods. Small ham radios and hand crank lights were just as abundant as packages of MREs or the tents hiding near the back of the store. Danny quickly wondered why it was set up like a camping trip dispensary. Did these people really expect places like New York to be so poorly developed as to need to survive in the wild? Some things like the iron cast knives made more sense, seeing as dying outside of Sprawn Valley was made incredibly easy, but the rest seemed a little overboard. Then again, it would come in handy in emergency situations so it seemed.


    The prices on the other hand were outrageous. At least according to the funds he had on him, Danny would not really be able to make a single purchase here for anything useful. It didn''t deter him from staying though, as the items here were interesting enough to gawk at. Much of these were actually imported from the outside world, so to provide true authentic products that work as instructed. Even if he couldn''t get anything here, looking around would not hurt. Taylor is probably having as boring of a time as he is anyway.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Conscious Droplets ~ Kaminanda</a>


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    On the Northeast side of Eldora City, Taylor found one of many in-town Leray stores. The Bushido Leray shop seemed more artistic in the interior of the building than in the other structures. Taylor held her breath and walked into the place, amazed by what she saw around her. The place was deceptively larger than what it appeared to be inside. Shelves hung in front of her, while an odd enticing smell protruded the air. The place was packed with everything a Leray wielder could ever want.


    Weapons to the right, dress spheres to the left, and thousands of magical orbs in the center between the isles. Specialized armor hung near the back, while hundreds of instructional training books were stacked by both sides of the entrance doors. "I came here for restocking." Taylor assured herself that buying Leray equipment would have to wait a while, but that didn''t stop her from having a look around. This place is three times the size of the Leray store in Monoc Town or Lennith City, and three times as impressive with their items and organization.


    Taylor saw swords on the rack of the shelves in the weapon section, along with short blades, sub-machine guns, pistols, boxes of grenades, magic staffs, a bladed lance, and even a combat gun-blade capable of firing special rounds while retaining the properties of a sword. All of the dress spheres were specialized under many standards. The very dark and gothic dress is said on the description to double the effectiveness of elemental magical potency. The black battle suit with green stripes (designed as a suit and a dress in the form of a hybrid, combining a long skirt at the bottom with layers of protection on side of the elastic suit itself) - is designed for agility and multi-protection in battle. There were even dresses that specialized very specific attacks, or simple bundles of denim pants with a shirt to appear as ordinary. It was all amazing! Taylor spent much more time in the dress sphere section than anywhere else. She checked out every single item with her eyes, and kept a closer attention to an interesting dress sphere that took the form of a long and thick-sleeve shirt white with blue strips, bundled with tight darker blue shorts and a skirt. The Winter Dream dress sphere as it was called, provides fire and ice protection, while providing the user an increase in potency for the specialization of ice and wind magic, already specific to Taylor''s own technique. She already saw herself wearing the thing. It''s a shirt that sort of resembles a sweater, and the skirt goes over the shorts by design.


    For 1200 credits, it was well worth it too. Taylor tried to walk away from the entire section before she became tempted, but after walking just five steps in the opposite direction, Taylor stopped herself again. Like the itch in the back of a place unable to be scratched, not having the dress sphere of at least one new item on the shelf bothered her so. She turned around again, deciding on spending her own money to get a new upgrade. Placing the dress sphere item in her basket, Taylor moved on, excited by her choice of purchase. There was much more on that shelf she wanted to have, all out of her price range for the moment.


    While making it to the healing orb section, Taylor took note of all the other orbs nearby. Most of them were spell bombs, attack kinds that support people in battle by creating artificial spells or even summons. Thinking about relying on those made her pockets crap in resistance. To never rely on one''s own training would burn a hole in all financial support to a Leray wielder. She ignored the rest of the infinite amount of other kinds of spell bombs and support orbs, and went with what she needed. Healing orbs, also known sometimes as med kit orbs only had two types. The cheapest ones work, just with more of a delay. Taylor went with the special kind, since they would be up against the dark zone soon. They also sold interesting protection orbs, said to resist dark magic. It looked and sounded as though it were a scam. Jane and Claudia already said there is no such protection from dark magic. Aren''t Leray orbs part of Leray magic anyway?


    She shook it off and cashed out her items at the front desk. After paying for sixteen healing orbs, and five magic restorative orbs in total, Taylor''s debt rang up to 300 credits, which only included the orbs, not the dress sphere itself. In total, Taylor had to pay 1500 credits, leaving the remaining amount on her card at 4765 CR. After placing her purchased items in her supply sphere and leaving the store, Taylor went to find another one.


    The difference this time is that inside of El Sre''Flonc, thousands of items of clothing are sold, with two entire floors of stock available. The real difference is that they sell regular clothing, unimbued with the Leray coat that protects the clothing from physical or Leray damage. They were specific for fashion only, not for battling. Yet for that reason, they would be surprisingly cheap compared to the average dress sphere. Then again, with a brand name like that, Taylor knew it was futile to count on that logic for the price ranges. Still with a lot of time in the day on her hands, she decided to indulge herself further by going in.


    The place was even bigger than she could have imagined. There was an entire escalator leading up to the second floor, a backdrop to the side, several changing rooms further back, and amasses of clothing beyond counting numbers. Any kind of clothing that exists, they have it all here. Taylor felt as if she was visiting the mall, something she had only done once as a kid when they could afford going there to browse.


    Feeling dizzy by the amount of options suddenly available, Taylor stepped forward towards the sunlight coming from the roof skylight. The place wasn''t empty. There were at least thirty people nearby just on the first floor. From a skewed angle, she could make out more people just at the top of the escalator ramp. Every customer here was female, which wasn''t odd considering the store only sells women''s clothes. After making the decision to go to the next floor, Taylor hesitated short of the escalator. Uncertain how safe the automatic staircase was, she made sure her feet were not going to get cut off or sucked in. Kalamo never had a place with an automatic staircase before, only adding to her confusion. After being lifted to the top slowly and effortlessly, Taylor jumped off at the end, only to find that the second floor had been hiding most of the entire stock, at least 70% of it. One thing was certain. "This is going to take me a while."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track 04</a>


    <hr>


    Further towards the center of the city block emptied of all other buildings for 200 square meters was the center of the history for Leray magic. The Junon Leray Museum of History and Technology (Junon Magic Museum for short) is the center of all Leray information in Sprawn Valley, also housing inside of the structure - the National Records Hall. Everything Jane could ever want to know and learn may be inside of there.


    The JMM structure had the entrance populated with several hundreds of people just hanging out as if a grand opening was upon the site. Tons of people were taking pictures with their cameras, indicating that they were not even from Sprawn Valley in the first place. Jane spotted several unusual kinds of people hanging about in this area, obviously not native to the country''s bloodline in any particular manner. Some were Hispanic, some were French, others were German, and some were African. Jane had only heard of people with different skin tones and colors that have very high deviations from that in Sprawn Valley, given preexisting demographics to Gulop, but this place seemed to attract all kinds to the single point of the area.


    The museum wasn''t closed despite what it may look like. The long ladder of stone stairs led up to the massive entry doors up top, entering the building that took up the most amount of space of all the buildings in Eldora, despite not being tall. Actually, Eldora Tower came very close to being wider, but it''s harder to compare the structure since it is cylindrically shaped. With the impressive exterior design to the museum, the stone pillars and metallic exterior show off an impressive defense of structural integrity, but that was all she could determine from the looks. Jane wanted to get inside of the museum itself, so she took some more steps forward.


    "Are the answers I seek hidden in here somehow?" Jane spoke to herself verbally, expecting only to have an answer with real research into the history of the mages. There was a lot stacked upon Leray history that is commonly known here, but only from a vague perspective. The museum would have everything regarding technological advances in Leray magic - such as Leray related weapons, spell bombs, dress spheres, even specific magical symbols. The information of course would not stop on that concept, but branch towards how the existence of such magic came to be.


    Jane carried herself all the way up the top of the stairs and into the building, immediately overwhelmed by all of the impressive scenery of the statues of popular mages and paintings in the auxiliary exhibit room. Standing in front of her now is the carved monument of Lysander Leray, the sage responsible for bringing the concept of Leray magic and its daily uses to rebuild the civilization of Sprawn Valley again from the ground up. One of the first accomplishments after exploring much of the land was the use of electricity after Leray magic became easier to invoke within the people affected by the lunar crystals, but he is best known for the invention of the Leray field over the entire valley, the process known as Energy Infusion. Powerful mages go to the top of Eldora Tower, bringing forth very specialized and energized lunar crystals of different elements. Together, those mages perform some kind of magic that renews the Leray veil of protection, giving people protection from death while also enabling Leray magic within them. The process is said to require renewal every two years by Eldora''s chosen five; otherwise known as the Elite Five.


    Several expensive paintings also hung on the walls surrounding Jane''s visual perception, but this wasn''t exactly the place she wanted to be in right now. Still, every piece of work here was in some level entertaining to her mind. If it were never for these people, Leray magic would have never existed. Jane tried to go down another corridor leading into one of several large open rooms with different categories. The next one she ended up in turned out to be the section of history dedicated to the War of Mages, taking place a little less than 200 years ago. Nothing in particular stood out for anything Jane wanted to know until she reached the weapons development platform to the edge of the wall. Leray weapons existed before then, but became specialized to assist the war efforts on both sides.


    Jane knew so little about the two separate factions of the war, but it turns out a third faction emerged in the middle of the deadly battles. Several monuments and carved messages served as little notes of key details that Jane never learned about in class, already pondering the reason for it. The Avion War was between two groups known as the Sentinels and the Liberators. The Liberators were a faction of people who initially wanted to grant the newly discovered Leray field as a gift to all people. The field would force the magic to assimilate into every living creatures within the radius of the entire valley, thus granting people resistances to unnatural causes of death. The Sentinels formed because their opposite desires failed to influence the new creation of the council of mages. Sentinels only wanted to defend their homeland from this magical influence that they didn''t want to become a part of.


    That was the initial dispute. Both factions learned aggressive Leray magic, including dark magic to use against each other should either side overstate their welcome. When the already existing Leray veil of protection became extended onto the top of Eldora Tower in order to spread the radius across the entire area of Sprawn Valley, the war started. But soon into those battles, both sides nearly forgot what they were fighting for, turning the warzone into a blood bath of death and destruction. The Liberators and Sentinels brutally killed each other or suspected members just out of hatred and smaller disputes. It boiled down to fights over specific areas of land, ownership of civilian protection zones, technological installation or integration into society, and eventually just the blind idea of emerging more powerful than the other.


    From the heat of the conflict several decades into the war, a third faction was born. Leading no particular name at the time, the faction was formed by the many people including civilians who used Leray magic to fight against both sides, wanting an end to all of the violence. The third faction faced very heavy resistance from both sides, but they grew in numbers and were supported by the overwhelming desire of the natives to stop the war and continue on with their lives with or without the veil. It demoralized the Sentinels and the Liberators, breaking down both armies due to a lack of allegiance and morale. Members of all factions began disbanding just to protect civilians, structures, homes, even natural habitats from illegal or unjust colonization. Nobody cared if they had Leray magic under their head every day, not those fighting to end the violence. After all of the destruction the war brought on, they simply wanted peace in their land again, realizing what they had lost in their initial disputes. After ending the war only by defending any key section from any aggressive or hostile action, the naive heroes became recognized for their efforts by the new council of mages, and a call for the end of all hostilities was exercised nationwide.


    This of course took many years under heavy conflict, especially when previous war criminals announced that magic should only be used by the strong, determined by bloodline or gory battles to the death, though they were chastised away from the colonies. Changes were made to politics, freedom was stretched and tested as far as it could possibly go, until Sprawn Valley turned into what it has become today.


    "Is there anything I can help you with?"


    Jane turned her head aside to see the tall man standing with his arms behind his back. His uniform presented that he works at the museum. Jane knew that from an outside perspective, it seemed she was genuinely interested in the history of the War of Mages, but there were still more specific questions she wanted answered, without raising a certain amount of suspicion. After inhaling intensely Jane replied, "I was wondering what kind of weapons the people used before now, during the war I mean."


    Kellog was the name on his tag. He stood at attention, now facing the models and images in front of him that symbolized the many factors of that war. "Ah yes. There were many weapons involved in the Avion Wars. Previous weapons already existed under experimentation, but the war efforts energized the crucial demand for new and better weapons, including better armor. It''s a shame they were put to such horrible use."


    "But what kind of weapons exactly?" Jane faced Mr. Kellog, hoping he could accidently answer something about the technological history of all spell orbs. "How did magical spell bombs and orbs come to help at the time?"


    "You have a peculiar interest I see. When fighting in a Leray battle, even to the death - people who use that magic still have to rely on their physical magical reserves, the thing we commonly call Magical Potential, or MP for short. The literal value of such magical potential raises slightly for a person with more usage, but even naturally, everyone has differing ME points within the same standard deviations - assuming the experience is all the same. With the concern of running dry on magical potential, and the need to rely on dark magic in areas affected by the veil, the mages developed an alternative way to battle. Healing orbs were ineffective at the time, since they could not heal real time damage. But spell bombs created by magical infusion through an interesting dimensional medium proved to be highly useful in the potential to inflict some level of harm on others while allowing the mages to conserve their MP during such fights. So spell bombs were defiantly a critical link in the chain for weapons development."


    "I would like to know more about the development of spell bombs, if you don''t mind explaining it to me."


    "Why would I mind?" Kellog allowed. "It is my job to inform anyone who has questions about such knowledge. Of course this information is not displayed for public eye to see, we have several on site documents that support more information than what is displayed here."


    Jane tested her luck. "What can you tell me about the Amahar spell bomb?"


    "Amahar..." Kellog struggled to remember that odd connection. "Though very powerful, they were also considered rare during the war. Developed in the experimental stages, the Amahar spell bomb affected users, giving them a long lasting though temporary status of what we call burst mode. It doubles or triples the power level of all magical related attacks, including those associated with dark magic, but it has a high cost to the defense for the same person. They would inevitably become highly weak against all forms of magical damage. The simplest spell may be enough to knock out one who is in burst mode, so they weren''t at all that popular, nor did their development ever achieve any breakthroughs during and after the war. The particular project was discontinued and abandoned, which is why the spell bomb is never seen to this day."


    "And after the war ended?"


    "Sphere Incorporated was eventually created as a means to tackle all of the financial situations associated with controlling the development and distribution of all magical spell bombs. At first, they had the same difficulties any small original business was to have, especially with the war now over and little demand for such products, but after Leray battles became safer and something among a recreational sport, the business suddenly began booming. However, several legal issues with contractors and the ownership of their copyright were up in the air. They also failed safety inspections; many accused them of conducting shady business behind the scenes. It eventually broke down their company, allowing dozens of more separate developmental teams to come up with their own type of spell bomb. All of which were the same, though faked to have different names and perform better, so they all said. Sphere Inc. thus went bankrupt from their previous plummet in stock prices."


    "So that''s where the spell bombs went from there," Jane confirmed.


    Kelly continued the story, since Jane was so interested. "Sphere Incorporated tried a lot of things to revive and take back their business. The first thing their people did was rename their business and change a lot of their standards. Suddenly, they were developing highly unusual spell bombs, including some capable of inflicting indirect dark magic damage to others. With such dangerous experimental procedures, the team of investigators found their experiments to be inhumane and highly illegal. Sphere Inc., or whatever they turned into was shut down after that, never to be heard or spoken of again."


    "So..." Jane summarized all of this in her mind. "There is no possible way that illegal experimental spell bombs can be created outside the scope of the Leray investigation teams and legal protocols?"


    "I guess. I hope what you''re asking me isn''t to imply that you perhaps suspect corruption in any particular company creating spell bombs. Because if you do, I suggest maybe speaking to the agents about the possibility of such. You might get an investigation at least."


    "I''m good, and there is nothing like that to worry about." Jane didn''t want random people to get too involved in the same matter she had been investigating, less she becomes discovered as a marked one in the heart of all Leray magic. "I need to be going now."


    "Glad I was of some help, ma''am."


    Jane nodded and casually walked away towards the exit of the building. Kellog sure knew a lot about spell bomb distribution, but it didn''t do anything but lead to the same dead-end. Somebody manufactured the unknown spell bomb that gave her this symbol, and as unusual as it gets, no such spell bomb is registered to have ever existed before. Having a symbol alone is illegal, but developing one has only ever been rumored to be a voluntary process of pure magic and a lot of intelligent information about how to make it work properly. Which company is responsible for this?


    <hr>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Tavern 7 ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    With a soft and stressful sigh, Danny used the computer mouse to click the exit button from the browser on the screen, just after which he noticed Taylor standing just to the side of him. "Tay? Wh-where''d you come from?"


    Taylor felt so happy inside from her earlier experience. Now that she found Danny, it was time to take him and meet up with Jane again. "El Sre''Flonc." She replied to Danny''s curiosity with an answer knowing he would not be able to guess how awesome her shopping spree had gone. After coaxing herself not to spend too much money on clothes, Taylor was now down 3240 credits, all spent on twelve new and amazing outfits. None of them were designed for Leray battles, but they were still amazing for each find. All of them were very fashionable and relatively cheap per outfit, though the numbers still added up. With only 1525 credits remaining on her card, Jane will likely be upset by how much she spent on herself. After seeing all of those options though, resisting was impossible. "What about you?"


    Danny inhaled briefly, realizing that his business here at the library didn''t matter right now. After spending over thirty minutes looking into all possible matches of unregistered or underdeveloped spell bombs or symbological technology, nothing closely resembled Jane''s situation. As a much worse case scenario, the incident of light falling from the sky in Blue Port Town in front of several eyewitnesses eventually made national news with investigations failing to pinpoint the culprit of the dangerous light. It was a miracle that Jane''s own name had not been discovered, seeing as she was directly related to the events. Nothing online could possibly have helped Jane at this point, and after remembering what Jane''s business was at Tilsit Port, he now had some sympathy for his friend. With the internet of no use to him right now, Danny figured it was a good enough time to try and find Jane again. "I got all of the food and water restocked. What about the supplies?"


    "I have them all. Jane should be at the museum. But if not, we''re to meet up at the hotel again."


    "Good." Danny stood up and collected himself. After spending so much time exploring Eldora City, his mind was rather exhausted and underwhelmed compared to the excitement he felt since yesterday. One of the first things Danny noticed about Taylor after paying more attention was a new wardrobe. She was now wearing a pale colored prairie skirt with a maroon colored hem at the bottom layer, mostly covered by another overskirt from the long dress of sky-blue shade she had equipped. The sleeves of her dress went all the way to her wrists, which had extra fluffy white bangles made out of the same thin material. It was amazing that he did not notice Taylor''s amazing wardrobe shift from his peripheral. The clothing seemed very high class, as if Taylor was about to go to a fancy ball. "You... You went shopping again, didn''t you?" Danny didn''t have to say how stunning Taylor looked right now. He felt as if he was about to attend a ball with Taylor any moment now, but knowing her, it was just something to wear around for fun.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "I had to get myself something," she answered with a happy expression. "Let''s go see Jane." Taylor held out her hand for Danny to hold while they walk back to the hotel entrance. It was mildly obvious that Danny couldn''t get over how much of a difference the wear made in her appearance. Taylor rarely looked this beautiful for anybody, and Danny showed a noticeable reluctancey to go with Taylor, for he would be holding her hand. Being seen with a girl dressed like a goddess was more the reason for his slight disturbance; for this would now make both of them much more popular in public.


    Taylor blushed at the thought that she now had the power to make Danny a little nervous around her; the situation was in reverse last night when he surprised her be asking her out so casually. Taylor still tried not to turn it into a big deal for either one of them. It was time to find Jane, and that meant walking around the city again. At least this way, the massive lines of walking people wouldn''t separate them both from each other.


    Upon snooping around random blocks moreover, the Kaiolithic Jewelry store stood out calling Jane from in front of her. Jane really had no more particular reason to stick around after the visit to the museum, though the turn up of no answers to the growing questions in her mind just made her head spin in ways more painful than she could have hoped for. So from the glass windows displaying all of those flashy gems and rings from the counters and displays of the interior of the building, Jane soon found herself unable to resist the prettiest of all items.


    After following the desire in her eyes all the way to the interior of the store, Jane quickly noticed how well done the structure was on the inside, with a stain resistant carpet as the floor, and several small podiums used to feature special items sold in the shop. It''s all just jewelry here, from earrings to regular rings to bracelets and necklaces. It''s almost equivalent to walking into the heart of places aired on the gem-shopping network, only with a more fancy scenery and a professional design.


    With the display of gems being so open even behind the glass podiums, it would seem incredibly easy to steal the items, but Jane knew otherwise from her extensive technical knowledge of the general system. First of all, there are installed security cameras hiding out of plain sight here. Secondly, no matter how hard you try, you cannot beam an item out of registered ownership into a personal supply sphere, making such an item that much harder to hide. Thirdly, the security force in Eldora is fierce, and would immediately notice and track down any mischievous act committed here or anywhere else in the city.


    Everybody else in the entire room seemed to fit in well, wearing robes of very fine material from hides and other clothing that screamed how much money they had on them. Very few such as Jane stood out from this, but she didn''t mind. After all, she would be meeting Danny and Taylor at the hotel soon enough. What else would there be to do if she cannot figure out the secret behind this curse on her hand?


    "Come big - come small! Come one - come all! Come once ¨C come twice, for our excellent quality and price!" Jane was immediately delivering her attention to the merchant advertising all of the wares from behind the counter full of priceless gems. "Feast your hearts on our gems of desire. Get the gift that will never fail to warm the hearts of your lovers!"


    Jane quickly found out one of many reasons people are so motivated to buy these things. With advertising like that, who would want to resist the idea of easily buying the hearts of others with such beautiful jewelry? It certainly has a persuasive argument. Nothing in this entire store was cheap or dull. Jane knew nothing was affordable for her here, but she didn''t deny her eyes the pleasure of glaring down the many colorful gems at the counter. Black opals, blue diamonds, green gems, one of every color flooded the area of display just in this section alone, populating mostly bracelets or rings. Jane never got to look so deeply into a jewelry store before, but an inexplicable sensation of want came over her. She wanted to buy everything and swim in the wealth, but even affording just one would bankrupt most commoners.


    It made her wonder how people in Eldora obtain such wealth without much ties to Leray magic. Gems and stones really have nothing to do with the whole Leray system, other than the magic crystals used by the mages every one to two years, but those aren''t sold anywhere for any reason, as they hold no use to civilians or armature wielder, nor are they possible to obtain legally. With that, Jane allowed her mind to drift off about the concept of Leray magic, going all the way back to her childhood thoughts about how cool and mysterious the system is. Even today, that same sense exists within herself, but with everything going on, it''s hardly the same.


    "Can''t decide on a jewel?"


    Jane winced back by a hair, startled by the random voice piercing her ears. The woman at her side didn''t speak very loudly, but her voice packed such a clear set of frequencies that it sounded as if she could yell everything she says without speaking up. Jane wasn''t here to buy anything though, and she had to dismiss the curious woman. "I''m not a buyer today."


    "Oh." The girl put a clenched hand to her lips in thought, drawing Jane''s green eyes to her with her attractive white and silky dress that made it look almost as if a wedding was nearby. She was actually older than her voice made her sound, but only around twenty-one by the looks of it. "Out of your price range then?"


    "Hey!" Jane found her comment rude and insulting, especially coming from someone who already had an expensive clean dress to prove her own worth before setting foot into this store.


    But she quickly waved both hands in front of her, signaling an apologetic hand gesture. "No-no! I didn''t mean it like that. I can''t afford these things either."


    Jane wasn''t sure how sincere the young woman was, so she decided to shrug it off and continue staring off into space with her arms folded across her chest.


    "Perhaps you have different interests?" After getting Jane''s curious attention again, the woman introduced herself before elaborating. "My name''s Jaz." She held out her hand to shake it with Jane''s. "I can tell by a quick study that you''re wearing an actual dress sphere. So that must mean you''re a student at Eldora Heights?"


    After shaking Jaz''s hand and returning the introduction, Jane put truth to the claims. "I''m Jane, and I''m not even native to Eldora. But you''re right about the Leray wielder part." Jane noticed again that she was wearing one of her earlier versions of a dress sphere, nothing that remotely resembled a battle suit or an academic outfit. This way, she fit in a little better in a crowd. It was the same dress sphere given to her as one of the parting gifts from her class in Lennith City; a dress with a short skirt with protective pant legs.


    "A traveler huh? Come for the championship?"


    "How did you know?" Jane was interested already in who Jaz is and why she could so easily read into Jane''s personal profile without ever advertising it. Jaz most likely worked here as a seller, but Jane became less sure of the fact after another moment.


    "It was a simple guess," she replied. "Almost ninety percent of all traveling Leray wielders that enter to Eldora from elsewhere come just to challenge the championships. Of course that doesn''t mean they all get by our gradyent. Any specialties you plan on using this time?"


    "Uh, not really." Jaz seemed more harmless in Jane''s eyes than she previously deduced, but also a bit intrusive. "Anyway, I was just about to leave. I have to make sure I know how to register for tomorrow''s chain."


    "Ya¡ª..." Jaz seemed confused and surprised, leaving her speechless for a full second. "You don''t know how to register?"


    "Why is that so surprising? I''ve never been here before."


    "Oh, this won''t do," Jaz complained. "Though you can still register tomorrow on the spot, there''s still a screening process they put you through, and you may not even get a chance to battle a single person if you wait. Anyone who tries to register knowing nothing will defiantly not make it past the first battle. Do you even know how the rules work?"


    "Say? How is it you know so much about the rules of the Eldora championship?"


    Jaz replied hesitantly, "Uh, my assistant knows these things... Maybe I can get you an audience with him this evening? You and Mr. Bennete could sit down and talk about how the championship really works. We''re located at Chapel''s Diner, and it''s free food if you agree."


    "Wha¡ª" Jane was defiantly surprised by such generosity, but was Jaz asking Jane to meet someone for information, or for something else?


    "Jane!"


    Again distracted by the external environment, Jane had to pause on making such a decision. Taylor was calling to her, apparently able to find Jane by accident with Danny in tow. But never mind that detail. What on Earth is Taylor wearing?!


    Taylor happily walked up to Jane, after searching for ten long minutes. "You weren''t at the hotel, so we came and looked for you."


    "What are you wearing?" Jane pleaded. "Did you go shopping with your own funds?" Long before Taylor came up with a response, Jane checked Taylor''s outfit up and down. It was stunning and very fashionable. Somehow, Taylor managed to buy into something that made her fit in with the rich class walking around her. Taylor looked as though she belonged in a place such as this jewel store, and could possibly get a boyfriend with anybody in the entire city by the outfit alone. What a great find!


    "You like it?" Taylor sounded excited about having such a high new wardrobe, and took some pride in how quickly her luck for finding Jane turned out. "I know we were supposed to save some money, but..."


    "She couldn''t help herself apparently," Danny finished. Though he meant it to, his tone didn''t come out as annoyed at Taylor''s self-indulgence.


    "I can see why," Jane agreed. Danny couldn''t even judge Taylor for it, seeing as his credibility will soar so high up just being associated with Taylor in short of time. "I''m so jealous."


    Danny addressed the concern of Jane''s visit more than Taylor''s ability to indulge herself. "Did you find anything out at the museum?"


    "It was enlightening." Jane used the most sarcastic tone of voice when answering to Danny, that her frustration in finding nothing useful could have been felt by any person in the general vicinity. Jane soon forgot about it, and thought about all of the things she could learn about the championship battles from Jaz''s supposed partner. Jane already knew of the championship, but she only had a general idea of the basic rules. It is common sense on the outside, but apparently, it was different with a closer look. "So Jaz? Can we meet this Mr. Bennete at the place you said a minute ago? And with that, can we all get free food? They''re traveling with me, so..."


    "Of course. I''m not sure how happy he''ll be raising one person to three on getting that much extra, so I should ask that your friends don''t pig out."


    "Hey, who do you think I am?" Taylor snapped. "Do I look like the person to pig out at dinner? That''s Danny''s thing."


    "Yeah... Wait what?!" Though Danny agreed to assault his own character with such a swift reply, it went ignored by the sudden agreement to go somewhere with this Jaz person who he and Taylor didn''t know well enough.


    "It''s settled then. Meet up here in an hour? I''ve got to get back soon." Jaz handed Jane a card, only with the name of the restaurant and the instructions on where to go in order to get inside. It wasn''t surprising considering how big and new the city was to the three of them, and with that, Jaz took off.


    Still, while Jane had to worry about talking to her friends about what conversation just took place, there were still things on her mind from the museum. She recalled reading some things about the process of lunar crystals and the mages that use them. Somehow, there is something about this connected to the Eupharus region of Sprawn Valley, the tiny island with an active volcano far east over the sea from Eldora City, with no way to access the site without either a boat or teleportation. Supposedly, the island is restricted only to the head mage of Eldora and their assistant, and is somehow responsible for the charging of lunar crystals... or something like that. Then there was the matter of Iktal Island, far in the southeast corner of Sprawn Valley, which also can only be accessed by sea travel. The only thing related to the discovery here is that Iktal Island also happens to have a different museum dedicated to something else. Jane still knew so little at this point, and it seemed as if discovering the secret of her symbol was becoming more of a challenge than ever before.


    "Are we leaving yet?" Taylor called. Jane agreed to go immediately; though her delayed posture showed how much was on her mind. As they all exited from the jewelry store, Taylor decided to start the conversation now. "So who was that person, and what was that all about?"


    Jane knew she had some explaining to do, but it would have made more sense for them both if they could just be patient and see for themselves. In one hour, they all must meet up at Chapel''s Diner. Whoever Mr. Bennete is, he better be useful to tell Jane what she needs to hear.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Kishiouno Hokori ~ Kenji Kawai</a>


    <hr>


    As the hour passed, Jane found the section without too much delay. Chapel''s Diner wasn''t entirely what Jane or her friends imagined. The restaurant was more of a hybrid between a dine-in restaurant and a sophisticated bar. The counter housed a bartender shift and several hundreds of types of vintage bottles of wine and champagne. The interior was very roomy for customers, and the space always kept clean. They even have a small-boxed television hanging up on the wall in a corner up to the ceiling, as well as a good A/C system blowing out air at the temperature of 68<sup>o</sup>F.


    Business seemed slow for the moment. Only three other couples were here, already seated and eating in private at the cushioned booths. At first glance, Jane already assumed that she could actually afford to eat here, but just barely. Jaz let them follow her to their booth already reserved by the person she was talking about before. As they all sat down, Jaz made sure they settled in before announcing, "I''ll bring Mr. Bennete for you." Jaz turned around towards the kitchen area, which must have been where he was at the time. It left Danny and the others time to look at a menu for lots of delicious meals.


    "Why are we here again?" Taylor probed. Only Jane would have the answer to this weirdness.


    Jane wasn''t entirely certain herself. It seemed like a nice change in pace to get free dinner after all of today''s work in a fancy restaurant, but this was Jaz''s idea, all for the sake of helping Jane understand how to register. Still, why add in another unknown contact to explain it to her? Didn''t Jaz understand that with any demonstration of her own skill or promise, she could be setting Jane up with a bad reputation of just agreeing to free things? Jane believed up until now that it was as simple as signing her name on paper and going to battle. "I''m trying to figure that out myself. I think Jaz wants to explain to me how I''m supposed to register."


    "Wouldn''t it be as simple to sign your name on paper?" Taylor repeated.


    Having not have heard the logic in Jane''s mind, Jane found it a little surprising that Taylor shared the same opinion on how strange it was for a random person to give them three an audience with some stranger. Something didn''t feel right already. By the time they all had their orders in their mind, Jaz stepped out with a tall man in his later thirties in tow. Mr. Bennete perhaps?


    "I''m back," she announced.


    The man behind her took charge of whatever Jaz was trying to do by getting in front of her, and hoping for immediate introductions to the three kids. "I do apologize for Jaz''z behavior lately. I wasn''t made aware that I was having guests until now."


    "Seriously?! Taylor shrieked. "What''s wrong with you Jaz?" What a waste of the man''s time. Would they be in trouble now?


    She apologized rather fast. "I''m sorry! Bennete was busy so..."


    "You''re slipping Jaz." It was only now when the strangers noticed his deep yet soothing voice, but the way he spoke to Jaz had some other hidden meaning alien to the trio. After Bennete calmed down and took in their faces one more time, he realized that what was done was already done. "Since you are all here, I might as well keep to her promises. I know you were granted access to free food, but this is such short notice for us. So I do ask that you try to keep the costs down to a minimum."


    "That''s okay," Jane replied. "Jaz brought us here for an audience with you anyway. Something about the process of registering for the championship?"


    "Ah!" he exhaled before allowing a moment of nothing to pass. "I see now." Bennete took off his glasses and tucked them into his tuxedo. "First I shall ask that we dispense with the formalities then. Most people call me Mr. Bennete when addressing something business related, but for this meeting here, please call me by my first name, Ryan."


    "Well then Ryan," Jane projected. "My name is Jane. These two here are my friends, Taylor and Danny. It''s good to meet you."


    "Likewise," he responded as Ryan sat down at the other end of the booth, while Danny and Taylor sat closely together. "I suppose you''re mostly interested in how the Eldora Tower functions in all of its glory. It''s an amazing structure if you''ve not seen it already. It''s has several hundreds of floors each separating sections of the tower, with the peak standing at exactly 2,400 meters tall at its base."


    "Is that where the mages renew the Leray field?" Danny interrupted.


    "It is. Of course, only the chosen five and champion are allowed up on that section, as well as those the champion makes exceptions for. Security there is tight for several reasons, and a long screening process takes place before your name is even placed into the system. You can of course register at any time, but since the battles only happen weekly, you have until tomorrow morning to make sure you get there in time and not miss the next window."


    "That''s so cool!"


    Following Taylor''s excitement, Ryan continued the vital details of his explanation after sitting down in the booth next to Jane, since she was by herself on that side. It occurred to him now that Jaz could have simply explained this much, and he questioned why she couldn''t just tell them. Perhaps she forgot some of those rules again. "The rules of battling in the championship are much the same in a normal Leray battle. There are some subtle differences, but none that negatively impact the actual experience."


    "What kind of differences are we talking about?" Jane questioned.


    "Well for one," he continued, "the battle is judged solely by the referee. He or she will announce the winner no matter what happens. If their declaration seems unfair, a second opinion among the entire Elite Five will initiate to discuss why. As for the artistic beauty of battling in the championships, the entire thing is televised live to our audience."


    "Jane gets to be on TV?! Mmmmn!" Taylor sounded so jealous, but she knew Jane might very well be nervous about the idea too. Having so many fans watching can really add on a lot of pressure. Still, Jane gets to be on television!


    "I see you make it a form of entertainment," Jane commented casually.


    Danny could silently agree, since he heard from one of the clerks at the grocery store that the championship battles are an actual show that displays once every week. It''s entertainment for the people because the stakes are so high, and heavy on the challenger for similar reasons.


    "People watch because they are interested to see the strengths and growth of each participant, wondering if any of them have what it takes to tackle a single elite. About 96% of all participants never make it past the first round though, which is kind of rough. There is no such thing as going easy on customers in the league. Once you''re in, you better have what it takes and give it all you''ve got."


    "What about the other rules?"


    Ryan answered Jane swiftly. "Obviously as in any other battle, the use of dark magic is strictly forbidden. If that happens during a championship battle, the participant is automatically disqualified. Sometimes people try to use unusual spells to mask trying to make dark magic work, but as the scenes are recorded and transmitted to security teams, every single magical ability is fact-checked for clarity and assurance. And of course, things like symbols from marked ones are not allowed to fight either. I don''t think we''ve ever had one make it in though. With tattoos on people''s body, it''s hard to miss during the screening process."


    "I don''t know about this."


    "It''s easy," Ryan assured. "All you have to do is arrive to Eldora Tower early. Registration is on the first floor, and all you have to do is give them your name and a valid license to prove you at least have some experience. We don''t accept people with only basic Leray training. They have to be past level two on the card."


    "What a relief," Jane sighed. She had level three experience validated by her last teacher Claudia. The validation process may not have been entirely legal, but it was still official for her now. How wonderful it is that Claudia''s idea turned out to have a purpose! But did she know about that ahead of time? "It''s sounds easier than I made it out to be."


    "Indeed," Ryan agreed. "But of course, you should also be prepared to fight as well. You''re not allowed to carry in your own items to the battles. Healing orbs are provided to both parties for no charge before and after each battle to make sure everyone has a fair chance at full health and magical capacity. If you aren''t prepared as far as your experience is concerned, you''re wasting your time."


    "I have a question," Danny stated. "How does the money thing work? If people win a large amount of money after winning each battle, how do you guys not go bankrupt?"


    "Curious, but spot on," Ryan judged. "Only participants can win credit spoils if they defeat elite members in the championship. The league members themselves don''t win such spoils, as they are on a salary instead. The reward for each member is not decided by either participant. The values are fixed numbers that subject to change annually. When you fight the very first elite, we''ve made the reward in credits to a very low amount. People come here all the time hoping to score a lot of funds just by battling elites, not really aiming for the top, but that isn''t what we are about. So to maintain the threshold, the first battle wins the participant hardly anything should they succeed. For the second battle and those after that, the value is raised dramatically, because then the person has at least shown some skill and proven that they are not just there for the money. At least I hope that would be the case."


    "Well I don''t care about that," Jane claimed. Letting in the burning sensation of how important this all is, Jane lifted her fist in concern of her own intention. "I''m here to defeat champion Danton himself. I don''t care what stands in my way. I''ll make it all the way to the top, and teach him something he has yet to learn."


    To Jaz, the glimmer of excited determination in Jane''s eyes was impossible to look away from. Her body was so tense when she spoke just now, she may as well be on fire! "Wow Jane! I''ve never seen someone so stoked to win all five battles. I hope you get to the top."


    "Yes," Ryan followed. "Very interesting. You seem so sure of yourself that I''m convinced that you shall make it past the first round with little difficulty. Confidence is a good virtue Jane, but don''t get too cocky. These people won''t show any mercy... I think I will watch the battles tomorrow. I''ll be looking out for Jane, in hopes that I get to see her dream come true. It''s my dream to see someone such as yourself wipe that cocky smirk off of Danton''s face. So don''t let us down."


    "N-no pressure, r-r-right?" Jane''s heart was pounding from the earlier notion that the entire event would be televised. If she messes up and her symbol shows itself, the entire world will then know she is a marked one, and down she goes...


    "No worries for me either," Ryan stated. "Some people actually take bets and run pools based on how long contestants last or what round they make it to. Sorry to say that I don''t put money on unknowns."


    "How wonderful." Jane''s tone became entirely monotone and sarcastic at the thought. People might bet on her victory or loss, but then if her secret is discovered, all the more reason to spur panic and chaos among the area.


    "You should finalize your training tonight if you are not too exhausted. Just make sure you don''t arrive late tomorrow. It''s first come first serve in that madhouse."


    "Right." Jane thought of the list of spells she had left over from Claudia. Refusing to pull it out now, Jane simply remembered each name, as well as some unnamed abilities or skills that she modified and created herself in the hopes to actually surprise the Elite Five. Already fired up to train right now, Jane stood up from her seat. "I''ll need some good space tonight for my training. Perhaps the park shall do nicely? Maybe they have some other abandoned place around here."


    "You''re leaving now?" Taylor freaked. "But you just got here!"


    "I''m not hungry," she proclaimed. *Gurrrlllup!*


    The bubbling sound in Jane''s stomach brought everyone''s attention on her. Jane quickly blushed by her own excitement while she held her stomach from the discomfort that hit there afterwards, and she sat back down in defeat. Taylor smirked at the entire reaction towards Jane, proving how ahead of herself she always gets. "Sure about that?"


    "I guess I''ll eat first just to be sure..."


    Danny took satisfaction from how imminent they were from chomping down, but also remained aware of how excited Jane was just a second ago. There was really nothing else to compare it to, which was interesting. Jane never actually gets hyped up about anything in the world unless it has to do with Leray battling. It''s truly amazing that she can still love magic so much after all the stuff it caused her so far. She''ll probably choose to use magic over finding a man.


    "Alright then," Ryan clapped. "What are we having?"


    From that moment on, things rolled onwards smoothly. Jane and her friends had a very tasty meal, compliments all going to the chef with some extra tips for Jaz. After they finished, Jane announced her plans again to train tonight, but made sure that Danny and Taylor were totally aware that she was to train completely alone. Oddly to Jane, Danny also preferred to branch off and do something of which he had not declared details for. It''s odd because for a cute couple such as Danny and Taylor, they should both want to spend the day together, not apart. Taylor wasn''t thrilled about it either, but it was her problem now. Jane needed to be ready.


    <hr>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Leonidas Extended ~ Halo 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    After training later that day until dawn light, Jane completely exhausted herself moving around in the open space of the park in the short cut grass. Trying to master several skills on a list she had created earlier using the rest of Claudia''s ideas given to her on a separate note, Jane managed to invoke each spell at least three times at her random pace of randomizing her training after mastering each ability. She attracted a lot of attention practicing in front of other people, but the park wasn''t nearly as crowded as it was before. The entire city seemed less populated after three pm for whatever reason.


    Jane had sweat rolling down her neck from her scalp, her hair all frizzed by the intense work out. Her breathing was fast paced with her body bobbing slightly to try and calm itself. Did I do enough? Is my new training adequate? Jane had to ponder the question in her mind. Not only did she learn several new Leray spells from the list she had, but she also got to test out and experiment with some of her original ideas using other previously used abilities. Other easier and more common abilities were of her concern as well. Jane made sure she first knew about the spells of Ice Blade, Thunder Flare, Water Blast, and Telepower. Ice Blade allowed Jane to get an edge in a physical elemental attack, and could also use it with more practice ahead to apply the element of ice onto her personal daggers. Otherwise, Ice Blade would cost more MP just to spawn the long blade itself. Learning Thunder Flare wasn''t easy, but the ability is common too, and it gave Jane a good idea in combination with another specific attack sequence. While Telepower is its own dedicated Leray ability capable of using telekinetic forces and controlling separated auras, Jane also used that for inspiration of adding much more spice to her other skills. All of them would be very important for the fight ahead.


    There were now several new things Jane would be capable of, all without relying too much on the symbol imbued on the top of her right hand. Since Jane was wearing one of her other dress spheres all day including the training, she was actually taking a risk with her entire arms and hands exposed to the environment. Symbols are only known to appear on the place of skin constantly. They are tattoos that never have the chance to hide anywhere. Jane''s on the other hand goes completely invisible, yet remains partially active all the time with passive effects on her body. It''s not something symbols are supposed to do. Even after researching for that info today, Jane found no correlative answer to anything remotely related to her situation in the archives. At least her training wasn''t a total bust. The passive effects speeding up her ability to learn and master new spells was about as astonishing to Jane as it was previously. Somehow, she was strengthening her very connection with the Leray energy veil and that of her controllable spells moreover. Whether this was a symbol side effect, or simply the result of such long training - wasn''t apparent to Jane in the moment. With the late dawn approaching, it would soon be time to head back to the hotel room.


    Meanwhile, Danny''s second attempt to search for clues at the library again ended as badly as they did last time. He nearly came close to slamming his fist on the keyboard in front of some of the people monitoring the civilians here, making sure they remain quiet and peaceful. With his body tense and his hands balled to fists, he quickly exhaled with a deep release of air, allowing him to calm down. There has to be more! Confidential or not, something has to trace back to Jane''s hidden symbol. Danny was determined to find it, disregarding how slumped he felt after sitting down for too long.


    7:15 PM. The clock on the computer''s desktop reminded Danny how late the day was getting, but he refused to give up. Maybe adding very specific key words in the search box will help. It''s possible that he simply never tried the right combination of key words to navigate to the target of information. It would be faster to go by the symptoms of Jane''s symbol individually. Looking for a blast of light from the sky wouldn''t be adequate, and may just attract attention to himself. Who knows if these searches are tracked?


    Jane''s symbol gives her increased magical energy points abbreviated as Magical Essence, or ME. It was one of the things Jane explained to himself and Taylor in Lennith City while they forced her to tell them the entire truth of what was going on. Increased ME means much more endurance for the amount of MP a person has while expending that in battle, and Jane''s is supposed to be elevated. Only one thing that can do that. Danny ran two separate searches at once. One had the combination of "symbols" and "ME up," while the other search contained the root concept of "spell bombs." Results showed up related to spell bombs and symbols, but nothing at all hinted or pointed to either of which having any effect on the ME of a person. There was even part of a blog showing on the searched page, discussing in question the possibility that a spell bomb could raise a person''s ME levels, with the replied answer saying that to be impossible.


    With one combo ruined, Danny moved on. What other passive effects does Jane have with that thing in her hand? Quicker learning time for out of battle experience. Jane learns abilities so much faster than average now, which cannot be a coincidence. Jane even proved it to him and Taylor before the incident at Tilsit. After another search attempt of using the phrase "cognitive/learning enhancements," nothing was found at all. Only useless advertisements related to learning how to use spell bombs... Frustrated, he tried again. From the very beginning of having the symbol, Jane has always had a weaker defense with double the magical potential in her abilities. Before Lennith City though, Jane had no way to compensate for her defense, such as her modified power shield, which is why she lost the first four battles in the Gulop region. It''s more commonly referred in this place as burst mode; the sacrifice of defense to boost offense in magic. Typing that in should get somewhere... Showing results for Amahar Spell bomb.


    Danny growled under his teeth, wanting to rip his hair out! It was the same result he got earlier today while in this room. The Amahar spell bomb does have burst mode on it, but it is hardly the same thing Jane used the night she was branded. With another stressful sigh and a wipe to his left brow, Danny tried again. Maybe looking up a modified power shield in unison would be enough... Then again, since the only thing showing now is an ordinary power shield spell and its effects, it proved that learning a power shield had nothing to do with the symbol either. Jane must have been able to modify the thing because of all the newfound energy she has with that mark in her. Something! Something has to match! Symbols that randomly invoke themselves? Symbols that give off sharp pink glows when they are invoked? Why isn''t there any information remotely related to this device? Danny shoved the keyboard away from him in frustration, immediately turning heads his way to figure out the cause of distress. Finally giving up, Danny let it simmer in his mind for a good minute or two before deciding to just give it up for tonight. While walking out towards the exit of the building, the doors opened with Taylor on the other end standing outside.


    "You''re still here?" Taylor had been searching for Danny after he left to research more on the city, but that happened two hours ago.


    "I was just leaving," he replied prudently. Taylor didn''t know what he was searching for here, and Danny didn''t feel comfortable with Jane knowing that he was searching for answers, not if he couldn''t at least bring something up that could possibly help Jane understand what happened to her that night. He soon forgot the reason why he was so intent on figuring it out for her, but it was already time to head back to the hotel, Taylor already waiting for him out front.


    Taylor watched Danny walk out towards her, but he was a bit stiff, like something made him tenser than he normally is. Something must have upset him, though it didn''t appear as if he was going to keep it on his mind with how quickly he changed the subject and his overall mood.


    "Let''s be getting back. Jane will be waiting for us."


    "Find what you were looking for?" Taylor investigated. "You were in there for a long time."


    "Must have fell asleep then," Danny curved. "It was really just boring, and I won''t be doing that again. Anyway, you think Jane is done training?"


    "That depends on whether she is back in the room or not. And she actually has the key card, so we''ll know if we are locked out."


    <hr>


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: When I First Met You ~ V.A (DeVso)</a>


    <hr>


    "What do you mean seven?!" Danny wanted to crumble the words Jane just spoke into pieces and sweep them under a rug. Nobody could look at them while arguing since they were back in the hotel suite. "It''s too early considering what time we woke up today."


    Jane argued back at Danny''s refusal to cooperate. "Seven A.M. is the deadline to get in line for the championships tomorrow, and the battles begin at eight A.M. So we will be at the tower''s registration by then." She made herself sound so firm. No way was Danny''s laziness to sleep-in going to ruin her only chance. The longer she waits to invade the dark zone and take Brightworth hostage, the less time Lennith City has to live before being swallowed up by the growing field of Alpha Zero. "Go to sleep early if you''re too worried about having trouble waking up tomorrow. If you refuse to wake up, I''ll leave your ass right here in this room."


    After some silence endured, Taylor was able to conclude that Jane''s plan to wake up early next morning was set in stone. Normally it would make more sense just to register right now, but the office for that closes after eight P.M. for every day. Taylor used the moment to ask how things went. "How was your training out there? I don''t know where you went to do all of that."


    "I was in the park of course." Jane quickly recalled the progress of her training, knowing every new skill by heart. They should be easy enough to invoke tomorrow, but some of those skills would take more real use to train herself when to use them. This might be rough considering losing is not an option for her. "I got some basic new spells down that should help me out tomorrow, and I also managed to add on a few extra unusual ideas to my own style of attacks. At the very least, I''ll surprise people in the battle of leagues. I think I learned about twelve?"


    "Twelve new spells in just three hours?!"


    "Six hours," Jane corrected for Taylor.


    That''s insane! Nobody is supposed to be capable of learning new Leray abilities that quickly no matter what! Even for a person such as Jane, that level of gained experience at that particular rate is beyond astonishing in comparison. It took Danny and Taylor an entire day just to learn Radial Stars. Back in the forest surrounding Fronas, Jane taught them a few elemental bolts, but they trained before learning the skills days earlier. Nobody was that fast at learning new abilities. Jane was certainly setting a new record! It might look too suspicious to the council to hand over a championship title to some young teenage girl who has only graduated from basic training for less than a couple of months'' time. The champion probably graduated decades ago! "That symbol really works wonders, huh?"


    "Mhm!" Jane clenched at the words. Taylor was absolutely right. The rate at which she learned those spells wasn''t fair at all. Jane would have preferred learning the new abilities in about a year of time, even though she didn''t have that much time right now due to the circumstances of Alpha Zero. Still, what''s the fun in learning Leray magic when it can just be handed to her on a plate as easy as that? Such amazing and elegant magical skills, all given to her easily because of some stupid circular crest on her skin... It''s just wrong!


    "You-you okay?" Taylor nearly stuttered on her voice realizing that Jane had just cringed at something she said, but it wasn''t very clear as to what. The sudden distress was in her eyes, though Jane faced away from them suddenly.


    Jane turned around, silently pondering her thoughts further. It''s not just the abilities themselves, but the entire principle of batting too. Jane''s power shield was barely considered fair even though it compensates for her terrible defense. Her very skill level from her elevated ME numbers were beyond normal even for the best of the best. Jane was basically cheating in every battle she ever had, even in battles where her symbol didn''t activate itself in the middle. It''s cheating because even with the symbol dormant in a battle, its passive effects alone are still amazing. Jane has unfair advantages and incredible regeneration on her MP due to the changes. Defeating the champion will all be in vain. It won''t be a fair fight, so neither will the win. The very quest of becoming a Leray master will forever be tainted... Jane began trembling, hating every word in her mind. No! I mustn''t think like that! I''m not doing this for me, I''m just trying to save Lennith. After that, the army can have me. Maybe they have a way to remove symbols after all, but there is only one way to find out...


    "Jane?" Danny called. Jane didn''t turn around or address him yet, not for a long time that passed endlessly. Danny gritted his teeth and shut his eyes in empathy. The way Jane feels right now, it''s just too obvious not to see. She really hates that symbol under her hand. From the very first day she got the thing, all she''s ever done was criticize her new abilities and run away to try and remove the tattoo. Danny wished he could just walk right over and rip the ink right off her hand!


    Danny knew from the beginning of Jane''s behavior that the symbol and its effect of the spell bomb had Jane all messed up. She has never truly been herself ever since it happened. The symbol blasted her from the sky with painful bursts of energy, then it made her sick. Then it messed with Jane''s own Leray battling parameters, something she had previously calibrated so well, teasing her very fate and dream away from a feasible view. Jane hated that symbol for sure. It made her lie to her friends out of fear they would judge her for having it. It put her in impossible choices since it is illegal to have a mark in the first place. Jane even tried to run all the way into the deadly dark zone itself and talk to a national criminal just to have the thing removed, and even now, just with the only intension being to save Lennith City, Jane still obviously doesn''t tolerate that thing inside of her. Even now, she might be plotting to capture Brightworth and let him go for leverage on possibly removing the same crest...


    It just isn''t fair! Danny wanted to say that aloud, but found the words hard to get out. Jane deserves to at least be herself. She hasn''t been able to ever since this incident happened. Jane has only been able to have concerns about removing the symbol or saving Lennith City from destruction. She can''t focus on the things she wants to anymore. How could Jane have such focus? Right now, she plans to take on the entire elite squadron of league warriors, champions of magic no less, and yet, she has to use forbidden techniques just to do it. Jane isn''t fulfilling her wish to become a Leray master, and she isn''t going to have much fun trying to compete with such a burden on her mind. She probably won''t even count the win in her head after it is all over... But that still doesn''t mean it is hopeless. Maybe Brightworth is capable of removing symbols after all. If that is true, then this plan may in fact work out to benefit everyone. If they can capture Brightworth, they can also make him do his magic to reverse this cursed spell on Jane. She needs to know that. "Jane," Danny repeated again. "Don''t give up on hope. There is a way to get everything back to normal. Please believe in that."


    Taylor shifted her head towards Danny and Jane nervously. She missed something, but Danny was suddenly tense and emotional. "What''s going on?"


    Figures she didn''t understand it; Danny had a feeling Taylor wasn''t paying attention. Jane had become worse ever since arriving in Eldora City, and he at least knew why after tonight. Without the ability to follow her dream and her own heart, how can Jane actually be her old normal self? Without that symbol, everything would have been better for all of them. Jane would have been the Jane they once knew, always the excited energetic girl who would never stop training for greatness. Now that training has been tainted for her, who knows what kind of dark thoughts are running in her head? "You aren''t going to end up with that thing in your skin forever. I promise!"


    Jane couldn''t believe it! Danny was suddenly so understanding, like he just read everything on her mind in a single instant. Did he even know about how much will be ruined with this symbol inside of her? Did he really have a way or plan to remove this thing once and for all? Or was he simply trying to keep her spirits up? Jane knew it would have been impolite to ignore him after he tried so hard to feel the same struggle Jane was going through. Jane turned around to face them again. Taylor seemed a bit confused, but Jane only needed one of them to understand, and right now Danny was in line. "Thank you, both of you. I never asked for you to help me with such a serious problem before, and yet you keep volunteering to try and make this okay." With a quick exhale, Jane felt better that her friends cared about her so much, even if they had such little of a solution to offer. "You''ve both been with me since I started my journey, never trying to leave my side no matter how obnoxious I''ve become over this. Neither one of you actually belong on this continent. I''m so amazed that you both can be at so much peace being here in a world so alien to you, going through such terrifying lengths to try and help me."


    Taylor still didn''t get why Jane was being so sentimental all of the sudden, but she did feel as if it had something to do with how nervous she was becoming with tomorrow''s battles. She already had one thing wrong about the reason for their stay. "You''re wrong about one thing Jane."


    "Hm?"


    Taylor repeated her thought to full explanation. "We didn''t stay here because we thought magic was cool or because we had problems finding a way out. Right Danny?"


    It was only half-true, even though Danny nodded yes to allow Taylor to continue. He and she both planned on splitting away from Jane after reaching the Junon airport. Jane was simply their only best method to get them there, since the place was literally in her travel plans, but that plan fell apart after Taylor let the truth rip out to him, since Jane was expected to take the longest time to travel.


    Taylor continued while letting Danny hear it all as well. "We were both terrified of Leray magic after learning about it, but you were the only one in Fronas capable of making it all okay. I fell in love with your spirit, your very determination to fulfill something you''ve always wanted to do. Even I believed that it was destined to happen no matter what. That''s why we became friends to begin with, isn''t it?"


    Jane was too amazed right now to respond. How did she forget to consider this before? Did Danny and Taylor really stay to help Jane because they just wanted to spend more time with her that much? No, such people couldn''t go through great lengths for that simplicity!


    "We went by your example because it felt good to do it. Even if we don''t find Leray battles as fascinating as you do, the thought of following your heart wherever it takes you is just too intense to get away from. We trained with you because of that reason. We followed you out of your home town so that Danny and I could find ourselves using you as a guide post."


    Danny was feeling lightheaded too. Taylor failed to sense Jane''s concern for her symbol, so how in the world did she suddenly become so poetic and cognizant about the three of them? Danny was hearing things he didn''t even consider until now.


    Taylor continued until her mind stopped racing to convince Jane of the real truth. "Even after everything that''s happened, I''m not going to let you think for a second that your own desire was just a distasteful lie. You might feel different from before because of the stress of things that has happened, but that doesn''t mean that you''ve changed. I want the same person that we met in Fronas to still be with us now, as excited and as happy as she has ever been before. Without you, there would be no business for us in Sprawn Valley. You''re the reason we don''t want to leave! The crash that left us on the outskirt islands around Fronas was not an accident. It was fate bringing us all together. Nothing that happened to any of us was a mistake!"


    Danny could swear at least that falling off the Tidal Max to nearly drown in the ocean wasn''t part of the plan, and that it defiantly did not happen on purpose... Still, after weighting the possibility of never discovering this world, he knew it was better this way.


    Jane felt awkward by how long Taylor could continue going on, but she hung on every single word. Danny was slightly bobbing in response to agree with the speech. So he felt this way too? Of all the things these two could turn into... There was a reason Taylor was spouting all of this. She and Danny are not ordinary people from the outside, not anymore they aren''t. That''s what Taylor is getting upset about. She doesn''t want to leave Jane. Sprawn Valley and magic itself means much less to either of them without Jane being here in their presence. With a single moment of silence indicating that Taylor was done, left by her loud breathing for air, Jane had more to read from her fast-paced speech. Nothing done here was ever a mistake or an accident... What did she mean? Danny was giving her reasons to never give up in her dream, and Taylor was yelling at her passionately about making things work with everything she has, despite the circumstances...


    It was hard to make sense of it, but Jane felt as if she had at least one epiphany. The way things are going might not be what she wants them to be, but there is a reason she pushed herself to this city to begin with. There is a reason her own cursed symbol had some good in it after all. The amount of times that symbol has saved her life, and more importantly the lives of her best friends... It was also going to give her the ability to fight in the dark zone to reach Brightworth in the first place. It''s not just about the symbol anymore, nor was it ever. This fight is about everything. Jane was doing this to save the people in Sprawn Valley from the chaos being caused by the dark zone. She is still fighting for her future no matter how indirect it may be, and the only reason for doing that is because this is the right thing to do. Even if the experience isn''t the same on a physical level, the scale can be proportionate. There are things Jane can do that others can''t, things that are in the name of good. With her only two friends in the world here to support her, here to tell her that the path she is on now is the correct one, how bad can this plan really be? After all they''ve done for her, why now would they let her down with anything?


    Danny couldn''t read Jane just now, but he felt she was upset by how stressful Taylor was being on her. "Jane," he tested.


    With just a few more seconds of thought, Jane nodded her head as if to snap out of some trance, and hunched her limbs closer to her body with a slight tremble. "I''m so sorry!"


    "Sorry about what?" Danny didn''t get much of an answer when Jane began to slowly break down into tears while standing up. Before he could react to it, Taylor stepped closer and hugged Jane in her embrace. Now Jane was crying on Taylor''s shoulder, either upset by what Taylor said, or upset at herself for not realizing it sooner.


    "I wasn''t trying to sound so stiff," Taylor apologized.


    "No, I''m the one who messed up." Jane''s voice was totally muffled into Taylor''s dress, who was okay with Jane''s tears disrupting the new fabric. Why does it have to be this way? Why? "I haven''t put any faith in what I wanted to do. And worse, I didn''t put enough faith in either of you! This is all my fault."


    Taylor lifted Jane up to a more eye level height while getting her face off of her shoulder, but she was hard to look at with such watery eyes and a fully red face of despair. The sight made Taylor feel the need to cry in empathy. Taylor held Jane by both shoulders, certain of herself. "Nothing is anybody''s fault. You''re going to win that tournament tomorrow. It won''t make you become a Leray master, but you''ll help save people for doing it, something that only you can do right now, and we aren''t just going to sit here and watch. Once we''ve all taken care of the Alpha Zero together, we''ll also figure out what to do about that symbol too, as a team. Danny and I won''t let you go through this alone, never will we do that."


    "What about you?" Jane begged.


    Replying immediately to her understood words, Taylor instructed, "Let me worry about my future and Danny worry about his. We both actually don''t know what we want in life yet, but if we think we need help, I won''t be shy to ask you about it. I want you to keep doing what you planned for all of us, and know that we have your back."


    Taylor understood this after all, and how lame had he been to think that she wasn''t paying attention? Danny knew this was right. Whether his parents hunt him down or not, Jane is the priority. Is it because she is inspiring, or hot headed? Those are just traits, for better or for worse. But the moment he and Taylor laid eyes on this energetic woman, they''ve been branded best friends ever since, and right now, Jane needs all the help she can get. If that means endangering his own life and getting completely involved in Leray magic to do just that, so be it! It wouldn''t be right to leave things the way they are now. Jane doesn''t ever have to ask for help! This is the true meaning of friendship. "That''s right," Danny flexed. "It''ll all work out in the end. If it looks like it won''t, then we''ll have to change that ourselves. One way or another Jane, we are both going to make sure you come out of this alive and happy again. That''s what friends do for each other."


    Danny pondered how long Jane has stopped herself from crying over this, unable to imagine just how scary this has been for her, becoming marked, having her dreams transform to nightmares. If it were him instead of Jane, he too would beg for help from anybody nearby. Helping Jane is a minimal requirement!


    Jane stepped back a little to make it easier to look up at Taylor. Jane''s eyes burned from the tears while her lids became dry with the evaporating fluid. Somehow after everything that happened today, this felt so much better, so much freer. Even though Jane hated to cry or breakdown in front of anyone, she felt so liberated, and all for this one quest. Battling the championship for honor will just have to wait. Fighting to protect the safety of this world and her friends in that process is next in line. If it works, someone might actually think to help her with the symbol problem rather than judge her for it. The reason for fighting Danton has now become as clear as day. With Danny and Taylor on her team, how could any of this go wrong?


    "I''ll set up our things," Danny decided. It looked as if Jane was going to be spacy for a while. Why did she let all of that stress and confusion build up in the first place? Wasn''t she aware of their faith in each other from before? It sure wasn''t normal to see Jane like this with so much pressure on her at the same time. All of this just because of some stupid symbol! So much has happened over the challenging days. Even if she is broken, lying, afraid, or completely insane, Jane Venn is still his friend. Right now, she is only trying to do the right thing. It''s no wonder why she isn''t the same... But then maybe she is.


    You can still be the same person, but appear so different when totally depressed or defeated. Without a shred of hope for her future, that would destroy anyone including Jane Venn. However, if this is finally Jane being her real self, the same person she has always been since the beginning of their friendship, Danny knew everything would become better in time. She has to have grown in all of that duration even with this hardship. Danny could feel that he too wasn''t entirely the same person as before coming here. Being careful and thinking on things longer, that is his growth. Taylor seems to be brave these days too, but Jane, she is different and the same in hundreds of ways. This is still Jane, the same person as before. She just needs to pull through this one mission. The lingering thought of heading to the airport and going home had long since been defeated. His family will just have to sit this one out.


    "Come on," Taylor supported. "We can''t go to the tower unprepared. Want to pick out a good dress sphere for tomorrow?"


    Jane was stumped. She didn''t buy herself a new dress sphere today for several reasons, most of which were financial. Besides, the black and blue suit from Lennith''s training academy is still actually the only thing in her supply sphere that can provide adequate protection and defense along with some supportive agility. Wouldn''t an actual dress or skirt just slow her down?


    "Of course you do," Taylor assumed. She grabbed Jane by the hand and pulled her towards the bathroom where she left some of her other decorative supplies. "Come on, I''ve got some ideas." Leaving Danny to loaf on his bed with the television on to be the only method of entertainment preluding his sleep, Taylor decided to stay up a little later to make her previous statements last forever. Danny on the other hand wasn''t paying full attention to the screen anymore, aside from Taylor''s knowledge. Whatever Taylor was up to in there, it could only be something wonderful.

 Chapter 43: Eldora Tower

    <hr>


    <02/12/1972 ¨C 06:45 | Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    "Are you done in there?" Danny followed his question with a very wide yawn of his jaw. Jane and Taylor have been in the bathroom together for some time now. Danny took a quick guess that they were helping each other apply makeup; redesigning their faces to look good for the tournament.


    With the door slamming open, Taylor zipped through the archway standing tall and proud. "I''m done!" Letting out the energy in her voice, Taylor stepped from the doorway to allow Jane plenty of room to walk out. "I present to thee - the ultimate dress sphere!"


    Does it have to be so dramatic? Jane puffed nervously, and walked out of the bathroom wearing one of the same battle suits she had on earlier since acquiring one from the training school in Lennith City, but the dress had been totally modified from its original form. The pitch-black color pallets were all removed, and replaced by some type of paint or dye turned into pitch-white instead. The hem of the suit was redesigned with interesting stripes of vibrant green colors, giving the dress sphere a very interesting appeal. Many green colored shapes and designs populated the material all over, included with letters and words in various places. The material retained most of the same texture, other than having an overskirt attached where there was none previously. On the left armlet, green ink printed the name of Danny. On the right armlet, Taylor''s name was printed on there as well using the same font and bold letters. And on the back of the dress sphere just below Jane''s shoulder lines, her first name was printed too, identifying herself should nobody get confused by the other names. On the front where the material met the top of her breast line, the large bolded acronym clearly outlined the motive of the decorations. JDT, as it outlined the chosen acronym, standing for Jane, Danny, and Taylor. It signified all three of them as a team, which was something Jane was proud to wear, but the suit itself was so different now, that it was kind of embarrassing just to show it off at random without having the chance to get used to the material.


    Unable to change his gaze, Danny saw a big difference in the dress sphere used before, initially believing the outfit to be entirely new instead of modified. Designed with the modifications, it almost resembled something one might actually wear in a formal setting to some level. At the least, Jane didn''t stand out much in such a crowd anymore compared to the last battle suit she was using. At the same time, the bold white and green that happened to match the same colors as Taylor''s previous dress sphere gave an unusual outlining shine to Jane''s entire figure. The green-lit material had some kind of shine to it, almost as if it sparkled with the reflection of nearby light, while the color alone perfectly matched the same color as Jane''s eyes, amplifying their intensity together, which wasn''t some magic trick. Even Jane''s face now has a soft glow to it. Just by the colors and design alone, it was already a major improvement from the previous black and blue she had on it before. Jane wasn''t saying much though, and it immediately made Danny nervous after realizing that they were expecting a verbal response from him. It was another shock in itself to see that Jane and Taylor had momentarily switched places figuratively. Normally, it would have been more like Jane to design and present herself or another by slamming through the door, while Taylor was often the shy one in comparison, but not this time. "You look amazing!"


    Jane wondered just now if Danny was overselling it. What did Taylor expect him to say without accidentally making her jealous? But if he really did think it looked that good, maybe it is worth using in the tournament after all. Jane perked herself up slightly, making herself stand taller and stiffer. "So it''s not too bad?"


    "Oooooh! I knew it would look good on you!" Taylor pranced. Her excitement filled her body language and her voice. Having worked on this all night and morning, she had to at least be proud of her own work. "You should always wear it for good luck."


    "I will." Jane went back to the mirror to examine herself. Her hair was done perfectly, tied up in the back without too many curls to ruin the style, and the big letters of JDT on the front were really inspiring to see. Danny and Taylor really care about her this much, which is more than she would have ever realized before last night. Jane was also intrigued by how much color went to her eyes with the reflection of the stripes and designs of green lines and shapes postulating the dress sphere. As far as looks were concerned, Jane was absolutely ready to take on anything.


    Using the clock set up in the hotel room, Taylor kept track of the time and made sure they would not be late. "It''s six forty-five everyone! We should get going soon, or we''ll be late."


    "I''m ready," Jane announced. After a quick glance at Taylor, Jane noticed she wasn''t wearing the same outfit as yesterday either, the one that really stood out and screamed with a high credit value of class and style. Taylor''s current wardrobe wasn''t unusual either. The Laundromat wasn''t located in the same building, and Taylor felt ill about leaving some of her clothes there in the hands of others to wash and dry them. So instead, Taylor picked out a flamboyant floral maroon colored dress with ultra-dark denim shorts. The gear was obviously not that of an official dress sphere, but Taylor would not be battling today, and neither would Danny.


    "Let''s get going then." Danny struggled to stand upright, still drained from the long sleep. He followed closely behind Taylor and Jane, hoping she would know where exactly to go from here.


    At 06:58 hours, Jane and the team made it to the outer entrance of Eldora Tower. The tall structure stood at an incredible height. 1,050 stories high in the sky, with the top almost to the clouds. The sky was clear today, so the visibility was absolutely perfect to see the summit from here. With each floor of the building being about eight meters tall vertically, that made the building about 2,400 meters high in total, and the building is also cylindrically shaped. Some of the floors still have a boxed shape within the structure regardless, but Jane struggled to remember the rest about the structure in the moment.


    There were at least three large entry doors all automated and installed with a virtual security system, and people were pouring in by the masses. Not everybody here was a Leray wielder, but their families and friends all came to the same building to watch. Jane wasn''t entirely certain about how the populous is supposed to watch the battles when only wielders are allowed past the first floor.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Theme of the Academy ~ FFXIII-2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    Speaking of which, the bottom floor of Eldora Tower turned out to be the busiest and largest part of the building. The space was massive, defiantly designed bigger than one of the storage floors by far. By width, the reception area, food court, and recreational location was all sectioned here. The building made up for its incredibly tall size by radius and volume as well. Taylor thought for a moment that she was inside of the section of the mall just by the special area given to her at first glance.


    The sound of people chatting roared everywhere in all directions. Jane took it all in, walking more slowly and nervously to figure out what exactly to do. She was supposed to register at the reception center, but there were other spots everywhere. The food court has its own dedicated kitchen set up in the form of fast food, selling it to the nearby people since so many arrive. The recreational center was filled with hundreds of chairs, couches, and other formal furniture, all facing the 500 inch wide flat screen mounted high on the wall. The technology level here was already highly impressive.


    That''s right! Jane just remembered; the way in which the crowd of fans watching the battles is through a live feed on television. They have their own dedicated network and station to broadcast it across the entire nation. Everything the champion and challenger does is recorded directly. The people here must come to watch on the gigantic flat panel. There was another long line leading all the way to the reception counter. Surprisingly, there was only one single reception area allowing people through, which naturally seemed to make things slower. Then again, based on the security parameters of the place, it seemed to be intentional. A large metal detector was literally the only possible way to get by both counters. The one on the left was there for security monitoring and direct searches. The one on the right was the one taking the line of people, evaluating their licenses and other situations.


    Jane knew so little about the place for wanting to take on the champion. Though since she was fighting them for a different reason, it seemed acceptable for now. It wasn''t exactly clear how this works either. Mr. Bennete specifically explained how simple it was to register and where to go, but so much still felt unknown to her. The first time being inside of Eldora Tower, it''s totally breathtaking! Jane nearly jumped at the sense of someone else''s hand on her left shoulder.


    "Don''t be too nervous," Taylor advised. Jane certainly seemed like she was already on edge. The excitement and stress had to be building up inside of her. A lot of pressure would be added with the entire world watching her every move.


    "I''ll be fine." Jane sounded reassuring and calm, quickly coaxing herself to take things easy for now. "You two should find a good seat over there before someone else does."


    "You know we''ll be cheering you on," Danny replied.


    Taylor nodded happily with a response. "We''ll be cheering as loud as we can."


    Blushing at the thought, Jane replied, "Great." Danny and Taylor do seem like the type today to make themselves more noticeable. They might be jumping around in front of people just as she makes her appearance on screen, annoying everyone else trying to watch and act normal. It''s so embarrassing! They better behave themselves!


    As soon as Jane found the line, she stood behind everyone alone. The line wasn''t too long, but the process took a long time per person, so the scale wasn''t exactly eye level. At least fifteen more people were ahead of her. Jane simply stood still, waiting the minutes by. At eight A.M., the screening is over.


    The way this it works is that people who are examined are looked at by probable skill level, credits, and training. The people with the most training are actually put in the back of the que, because the process supposedly saves the best performances for last. The fights themselves can also last all night though. Jane never really thought about how long she might be here until now. Then again, with only advanced level three training on herself, she may be pushed up to the front to battle first. It would be doubtful if anyone actually came in here with basic training. Actually, Ryan said before that basic level training wasn''t even adequate enough to be accepted, so she really would be up first or second, if that is how things work here. At the same time though, Jane knew if she applied for the highest training level there is, she could legally get that license upgrade and rank. Of course, that takes years even with the experience in hand. So people may not really bother with that.


    Then, there were those who were rejected. Jane learned this in the immediate moment right now, as a pretty blond woman was rushing towards the exit from the front of the line, her face in her hands hiding the tears with her muffled voice. Jane didn''t actually know the reason for her getting rejected like that. Criminal record? Inexperience? What exactly renders one''s right to fight in this thing void? As the person before her left in tears, the line moved up slightly. Jane glanced behind her to notice two more people in line behind her.


    Though she was nowhere near the evaluation point yet, Jane noticed a poster on one of the walls. It was hard to read from this distance, but it states some of the minimum requirements to make one eligible to battle here.


    Requirement one: participant must be of a legal age of thirteen years old or higher to compete. However, only participants of age fifteen or higher may be eligible to win the title of championship status. Requirement two: Participant must have a registered and valid Leray wielder''s license of any rank above level two basic. It basically means that graduating above level two elevated training is a requirement. It was a surprising thought. How many people get accepted and only have level two? Do they humiliate themselves on live television? How many people go home every week in tears because they lost to the first elite warrior?


    Requirement number three: All participants must either be a resident of Eldora City, or have obtained a valid Eldora pass card. Jane''s pass card, the one she obtained by defeating the gradyent known as Rontellov was given to her last night. That battle was something else...


    Okay, so even with level three training, only people who enter the tournament unprepared can enter if they live in Eldora City. You can''t become a resident simply by moving there before getting basic, right?


    Requirement number 4: All participants must wear appropriate dress spheres approved at desk. Normal clothes not allowed! Well that makes sense. Why would one go into a battle shown to the entire world wearing clothing that can easily be destroyed with a single Leray attack? People who don''t know that rule shouldn''t even be allowed to call themselves a wielder.


    Requirement number five: All items and supply spheres are withheld at the front counter, as take-in items are forbidden. Jane already gave her supply sphere to Taylor for safekeeping. She didn''t want to trust the receptionist with her things, not with what she plans to do today.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Gracemeria Patrol ~ Ace Combat 6 OST</a>


    <hr>


    As Jane managed to move up three more spaces, she saw that the rule board had nothing else on it. The "no symbols allowed" thing must be an understood rule. It''s illegal to be marked in the first place. People who come in with symbols are thrown into prison, not just turned back from the front counter. Jane strayed from her thoughts for a moment, taking looks at the people in front of her. A few actually looked like tough customers. Several men and women wanted nothing more than to compete, and for now, nobody was being rejected. There was a separate waiting line in the room far west of the counter, though it was a walk to get there. The championship may have five elites, but each participant can only battle one person at a time. So that means there is a limit to how many people can apply for one day. Very rarely can exceptions be made to allow some battles to continue the next day after, but they won''t extend past that. Nobody can make reservations in advance by calling in the phone, so it really is a first come first serve thing. Jane arrived before seven, and it still seemed like her hopes were going down in flames by the long wait time. Supposedly, she can register before the main event every Saturday, but somehow, the list wasn''t yet full for today. If it were, Jane would be forced to turn around and come up with a new plan.


    Finally, just as Jane made it up to the counter with only one more person in front of her, she got to see how the entire thing operates. The mid-aged lady at the counter has a sit down with the next person in line, performing a physical evaluation first. The complexities of this run much deeper than Jane originally thought. After acceptance, you are given a three-digit number to remember, and then that plus your name is placed on a waiting board to determine who goes next. As more entries are accepted, the order of which you are on the screen is subject to change until people stop coming in to register. That means until no more people are being taken, nobody knows who will go first or last. Jane saw the digital white board behind her. It was a separate much smaller screen to the right of the larger one, the flat panel laid with digital names, ranks, and assigned numbers all in a single roster. The names at the very top of the list go first.


    Just behind the large detector-shaped doorframe, the automatic slider doors to the elevator were tucked to the wall, left shut for now. Jane tried to pay some attention to what was being said to judge how this might go down.


    "Right then, you''re all set. Please step into our scanner for symbol screening please."


    All of Jane''s nerves jumped up, making her whole body tense and tingly. The scanner can detect symbols?! Ryan didn''t say anything about an actual scanner! Jane held her hands to her face, more nervous than ever before. How is she supposed to get past that thing? This is all some sort of trap!


    As the older woman stepped into the scanner, the light on top pinged with a green color, and she was instructed to step back again. "You''re clean. Please wait in the room just down the west hall."


    Huh? Jane watched as she left to go to the waiting room. Apparently, they scan people before even getting them near the elevator doors. The section further past the counter is where participants go through to battle the elites. How frustrating! How is she supposed to make it past security now?


    "Next please."


    Jane''s head turned fast to the lady calling her. Jane lost her place momentarily tracking the last woman that just left here. Jane stepped forward and sat in the comfortable chair in front of her. She didn''t want to look at the line behind her. As Jane sat down, she had already prepared her Leray license and Eldora pass card in her hands, assuming those two things would be needed first.


    "Welcome to the Eldora championship tournament," she started. "My name is Julia. Please give me your license and pass card please?"


    Jane handed over her cards without saying a word, too freaked out to speak a single letter. She could feel herself trembling slightly, but she hid it from others around her.


    "Jane Venn. Born on March fifteen, age sixteen..." The lady was rambling quietly while entering the information into the personal computer, and it did not take long at all. "I see here that you have level three training... And yet you have a pass card."


    "Th¡ª that''s okay right?"


    "Of course," Julia replied. "We get people like that all the time, information not as updated. Level three isn''t normally enough to overcome a gradyent, so you must have trained very hard since then on your own."


    "That''s right." Jane forgot that Julia would have no way of learning about the time gap in between when she graduated with level three and such training. The day one graduates from a facility is never displayed on Leray licenses directly. For all they know, Jane could have been training for years before coming here.


    Still, just because those dates aren''t visually apparent on license cards doesn''t mean that the digital chips don¡¯t track such data in the first place. The card reader was pulling up everything for Julia to see on the monitor. "But I also see here that you''ve not been a wielder for that long. You graduated from Dakota''s facility on January the fourteenth this year. It hasn''t even been a full month yet."


    So it isn''t hidden! But that doesn''t matter. Jane still had plenty of Leray training in herself to take on the toughest challenges. "But I''m highly experienced," Jane argued. "I''ve faced a lot of challenges and have trained really hard. I''m ready to defeat the champion. I''m not like the other people here¡ª"


    Julia put a hand in front of Jane to stop her from continuing, as she was making a fool of herself in front of the other wielders waiting in line behind her. "I didn''t say you were ineligible. I''m just concerned that a couple of weeks'' time is not enough for you. But if you do want to try... Where did you get level three?"


    Jane sensed Julia was confused by the problem. So she can see the other time gap too! This is bad! People don''t normally graduate within a few days from any facility even with exceptions. Jane had to make something up on the spot for Claudia''s sake. "I graduated from Lennith when I got there. I convinced them that I already had the skills and knowledge for the final test, and wanted to upgrade my card. An exception was made to physically evaluate my readiness, and I passed."


    "I see now. I thought that glitch looked funny, but it''s normal for expedited tests to determine acceleration too." Julia saw Jane take a deep breath of relief, but didn''t ponder it far. "Hm, so tell me a bit about yourself Jane. What town are you from?"


    "Fa-Fronas?"


    "Please relax," she instructed. "There is no need to be nervous." The poor young girl must have never done this before, but the reason for her distress could have most likely been the thought of performing live for the entire nation. "I need some of this information in the event we use it for the final battle. People who make it to the top are more properly introduced with that information, so I promise that I''m putting it to good use."


    Jane was making a fool of herself in front of security and reception, and she steadied her breathing and calmed her mind to try and stay safer. "I came from Fronas, which is in the Gulop region."


    "I see from your card, you''ve battled a total of sixteen times. While I will say that isn''t much, twelve of those sixteen battles ended in your own victory. A three to one ratio isn''t bad for a beginning wielder."


    The card tracks wins and losses for all battles? "Um, I''m good enough to challenge Danton himself and win. So if you''re going to keep doubting me, I¡ª"


    Julia stopped Jane a second time with her hand signal, soon to be frustrated that she was getting impatient and smart. "Based on factual experience, I have all the reason in the world to doubt you, but I only do so because of how many people just like you think they are ready, and lose the battle before even getting one single spell cast in. The elites basically warm up with target practice in the beginning of the day, but I''m not going to stop you from your right to be in the tournament. So far you''ve complied with the technical requirements needed to get in, and I am a bit moved by your spirit to win Jane."


    "Then let me go first. I''ll prove how wrong you are about me."


    "I still have two more questions for you." When Jane was finally waiting patiently, Julia gave her the next question. "You said you are from the Gulop region, and yet you''ve made it all the way here in such little time. May I ask what your goal is for the future you''ve chosen?"


    Jane knew this one was easy, the same dream always on her heart. "I aim to become a Leray master." Too bad it will never come true, less Danny be serious earlier about figuring out a way of removing the mark.


    "Really? Leray master is the best rank there is, and they don''t just hand that out with graduations. I think it''s a wonderful dream!"


    Then why does it sound like you''re lying through your teeth? Jane shook off any distraction in her mind to keep going. "Defeating Danton still won''t just make me one. Training is eternal even after becoming the strongest."


    "And you said you wanted to go first?" Heavens forbid this child from winning, less she suddenly be in charge of the General Army to mess everything up, at least until the next strong mage steps up to take her place. "Normally, I can''t pick and choose the order of such things, the system automatically determines that from the data... But based on what I have here, you''re actually up second based on the predicted system rules. Our first to battle is already on his way up here."


    "Is it that time already?" Jane questioned.


    "No silly," Julia nodded. "The battles aren''t supposed to air until eight A.M. But we normally start those ten to fifteen minutes early behind the scenes. Are you aware of how the rules and camera crew works?"


    "Uh, camera crew?"


    Julia didn''t mind explaining that part. It was obviously this poor girl''s first time in Eldora Tower. "All battles are video recorded by a live feed using special high quality cameras immune to all magical attacks. The cameras themselves contain special filters that render the captured sight of the Siriean dome invisible, but we have our own editing crew constantly on the scene for a reason. All video feeds are held back by ten minutes, so nothing is actually live in real time."


    "That seems disenchanting," Jane joked.


    "In case something happens on the field itself that is not allowed to be aired or inappropriate to air, we can immediately allow the crew to adjust the video feed and cut out any portion that may have been messed up. We normally cut out any moment in which the referee calls a time out in the middle of a battle before they prepare to resume the fight. If an accident occurs or illegal magic is used, the viewers do not get to see any of it. That is our policy, and is the reason our first contestant will begin battling at seven fifty instead of eight."


    "I get it now." It gave her some peace of mind, knowing that any potential slip up that would actually stop a battle is not filmed live at all. If anything bad happens, if her symbol starts showing, the entire world won''t have to know. Then again, that scenario would still lead to mission failure.


    "And you are aware of the rules?" Julia continued explaining them before Jane could give an honest answer. "Similar rules to Leray battles do apply. Items are obviously not allowed by either contestant except for their one and only main choice of registered weapons, and the winner of the match is not decided by the automated digital space of the Leray veil, rather the referee himself. Spoils and rewards are fixed and non-negotiable. Timeouts to battles may occur at any time for any reason. Should either contestant enter critical condition and have their health fall below the threshold of ten percent in the same instance, the referee will automatically be inclined to declare that victim''s defeat. The elites will begin the battle with 110% health reports on their energy scopes, in order to allow them to withdraw from battle consciously with ten percent or less health remaining. You do not have to knock the elite unconscious to win, as all are trained to give up below ten percent health."


    Jane handed her daggers on the counter realizing something crucial. "My Rigel Ruins are my main weapon."


    Julia entered that small detail into the system under the editing option for the profile of Jane Venn. "Very well, these are now registered."


    Jane took back her daggers, realizing that Julia didn''t need to hold them, check them, or scan them for anything weird. "Is that all?" Jane knew she sounded rude in her question, but she did know most of this stuff already from Ryan. Though the 110% thing was new; it would be an interesting concept to see unfold.


    "All four elites under the champion have taken interests in specializing their styles and tactics. So each one has different strategies that are not revealed to any of our viewers, only to the contestant should they win the first battle. That being said, your first fight will be an opponent whom you naturally have no prepared advantage or knowledge against. But should you win, that elite shall give you some hint about how to battle the next one after themself. That is all."


    "Okay." Jane waited awkwardly until she was accepted in.


    "Alright, since only one person is in front of you, we will ask that you stand behind the counter to the left side for the remainder of your wait, and do step into the symbol scanner for us before you do. We need to check and see if your dress sphere is adequate enough to use."


    Jane didn''t understand why the scanner had multiple intentions and functions, but it was called something it wasn''t mainly intended for. She knew her dress sphere was fine; that wasn''t the problem she was worried about. Apparently, that scanner can detect symbols and invalid dress spheres. Jane stood up with a hesitant gulp. If she steps in here and the scanner is advanced enough to see an invisible marking on her hand, she is done for!


    "Look!" Taylor pointed towards the name screen. "Jane made it up there, and she''s going to be the second contestant!" Taylor and Danny stood by each other, but they were in the recreational center surrounded by hundreds more people other than themselves. Taylor was loud enough to get Danny''s attention to the screen and check on the details.


    "Looks like I worried about the wait time for nothing."


    Jane stepped into the scanner, the rumbling machine formed as a loud metal doorway. The machine was defiantly more advanced than a metal detector, it has all kinds of moving parts inside of it, possibly equipped with magnetic sensors too. While being scanned, Jane heard Julia call something out, but she could barely focus on anything except for her own fear. Jane''s heart was pounding in her chest, her arms and legs shivering at how close this might be!


    "We are only accepting three more participants. Anyone behind the third person from next needs to step out of line and try again next week!"


    Jane clenched her teeth and shut her eyes. She felt so tense, the scanner violating her entire body and skin structure just to search for something that she knew was defiantly there. She expected now to open her eyes with guns in her face. They''ll probably arrest her on the spot and drag her out of the building by force in front of everyone. Jane will never get the chance to talk to Danton about the situation north of Lennith City, and then the light of day will forever disappear.


    The ping sound in Jane''s ears ended the scanning cycle, and though Jane seemed a little fazed about something, Julia noticed no problems whatsoever. "Okay Jane, step behind the counter please and wait your turn."


    "Huh?" Jane glanced above her, the green light up top signaling that she had no symbols. How is that possible?! The scanner designed to sniff out symbols failed to detect her own! Jane knew it was there, and she stepped behind to counter inconspicuously to ponder the thought further.


    There were several reasons this could be happening. Was her symbol really even a mark? It could resemble one and be something totally different. After all, it comes from a spell bomb prototype by some unknown corrupt company used to fund illegal research into such devices. Nothing online could be found regarding the shape or its effects. Does that mean the scanner only detects known marks? Or was the reason something else? Is it because Jane''s own mark does more than just fade invisible? Does it become completely inactive while it doesn''t show up? That can''t be, since there are passive effects during that time too... Why did the scanner fail? Jane proceeded towards the waiting spot standing in deep thought, her nerves all shot from that horrifying moment.


    Seventeen minutes passed when the final declaration of the first participant was declared on the large flat screen. Jane could see the screen from even this angle, though the focus was way off at the same time. Still, it became obvious very fast. In just short of two abilities, the first contestant was flattened and destroyed, his HP running all the way down to zero. Luckily there are crews that literally escort their bodies out of the area and into a small off-site medical bay, but the battle began and ended so quickly. Jane caught a short glimpse of the woman, the first elite warrior. Nobody told her any of their identities yet, which must be something one has to look for in order to know. The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, very attractive too. She had short cut hair dyed to a dark naval blue, which stood out more than her interesting dark colored battle suit. The woman seemed confident and experienced, perhaps even a little bored of her victory.


    Jane inhaled a deep breath and coaxed herself. They all will be tough, but none of them are impossible to beat. Jane knew she had all of her fighting experiences on her. She knew exactly how high her own potentials went. She checked her hair and dress to make sure everything was perfect for this. Jane was only on a network show once, and it wasn''t as exciting or exposing as this is, the match that was recorded in Gross City. This will be nothing like that at all. Jane could still feel herself shaking nervously, even though she knew she was going to win if she could just focus.


    "That was fast," Julia announced. Having no more people to register, she had the ability to stay relaxed at the moment; the busy part of her job was done and over with. "Well Jane, looks like you''re up next. Go ahead and enter the primary lift now, that door behind you. It will elevate you to the 100<sup>th</sup> floor of Eldora Tower, where your first challenge awaits."


    Jane could feel the beating pulse of her blood everywhere. She hadn''t had enough time to mentally prepare herself. This is all happening now! Focus! Focus! Focus! Jane exhaled a calm breath, clearly showing to Julia that she had never been in a live audience before. Jane didn''t want to say anything, in fear she could mess up even a simple greeting. She turned around and entered the elevator behind her, the doors automatically opening and shutting her inside. The system was completely automated. The user isn''t allowed to use the physical buttons to override the navigation without a physical key, so the system decided to take her up from here to the 100<sup>th</sup> floor of the tower. Jane knew it was time for her first elite battle, but she couldn''t stop feeling so tense. Any moment now, everything will change.

 Chapter 44: Krystasis

    <hr>


    <02/12/1972 ¨C 08:02 | Eldora Tower Fl. 100, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    The doors opened after a long wait of being lifted about 300 meters above the ground level. Jane didn''t feel too disoriented by the major altitude shift, but this section of Eldora Tower was much different already than what she had seen before. The technological advancements in the tower itself were incredible, and she had only seen the elevator system so far. The structural material was easily made out of magic immune metals like most other structures, but she could already sense additional machinery behind the walls of this place. Jane quickly paced herself out of the room before the doors could possibly shut her back inside, and she took her time from there to find where she was.


    Jane checked herself again. Her dress sphere wasn''t wrinkled or messed up... Her hair was alright... Jane checked both pockets on the side of her skirt with her hands to make sure both of her Rigel Runes were inside. That was still her main choice of physical weaponry, and one of her only hopes to get through the battle. "Battle! Battle! Battle!" Jane coaxed herself over and over to think about fighting. It took her mind off of everything else rather quickly, but the aesthetics of the tower were hard to ignore. Jane had to take a few steps up a small set of metal stairs to get any further. The area she was in now was this massive closed off corridor connecting forward into the most amazing section Jane had seen so far.


    The first battle room, the arena pit used for the first level league of elites; this was Jane''s first stop and the next battle. The room itself is basically cylindrically shaped, but cornered on several sides to shift the direction of the walls by certain intervals. From a single shape using the entire room itself, it resembled an octagon that had taken a 3-D form spanning upward. The ceiling of the room was so far out of range that it would take about eleven Siriean domes by vertical height to reach there. The floor that kept the same shape as the room around it was sectioned off and away from the wall, except for the only walkway between the back elevator and the room itself where Jane was currently standing. It seemed as if she could run to the edge of the arena and just fall down somewhere, but Jane already recalled something about the designs of certain arena''s having protective barrier padding for those who may fall like that. Not that it would be possible; a Siriean dome of maximum size still would not take up the entire floor of the room, that''s how big and massive the space is. There is no way in the world a person walking in here with claustrophobia issues would have much of a problem.


    Jane was slowed by the elegance of the room itself and the interesting artistic designs on the floor that painted much of the area. The bright white lights appeared to be coming from the translucent walls themselves, rather behind the padding that protected the entire building from Leray damage. By the time Jane got a little closer, the automated speaker system turned on, freaking Jane out in place as the flying cameras approached her. Jane was too surprised at first by how odd the design here was. The cameras were for the most part floating drones, using some kind of special magnetic technology to keep afloat. If not for the use of unknown technology in the cameras, Jane would have assumed this was pure magic in itself. She could feel the deep vibrations penetrating through her skin, the force of the flying drones waving some sort of audible low pitch noise used in the process of keeping them in the air. The lenses were not very big, but the few drones in the room populated some of the airspace in order to get some great viewing angles for the audience, and the speakers in the room are connected to the same system.


    "And now for our second battle of the day! Facing off against the unstoppable elite Krysta will be someone young, someone fresh, someone with the tenacity to aim all the way for the top! The challenger this time will be Leray wielder Jane Venn!"


    Jane didn''t hear an audience around her, so the speakers must only be one-wave. Stepping out and being introduced by the invisible announcer was also a bit unexpected for Jane. The floating cameras all got closer to zoom into her face in order to give all of the viewers a clear description of what Jane Venn really looks like. Using live video feeds that actually have a ten-minute delay back to the crowd, Jane felt somewhat less tense by that fact alone, but nobody said exactly which parts were cut and uncut playback. Jane remained careful not to mess anything up, walking forward towards the center of the field slowly, doing her best to keep her arms from shaking, but her eyes wandered everywhere uncontrollably. Ignoring these flying cameras wasn''t going to be possible.


    The woman identified earlier as Krysta was standing where Jane was supposed to meet her, her naval-blue hair stood out well enough for Jane to recall immediately. She''s the same woman who destroyed her first challenger today on that flat panel on the first floor. As Jane got closer, she passively listened to the voice of the same announcer.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Final Preparations ~ Jeff Broadbent [Planetside 2 OST]</a>


    <hr>


    "You know the rules folks. If Jane Venn manages to defeat the tower''s first elite, then she shall move on to the next, generating a battle chain which will be monitored all the way until success or failure prevails. Take your guess at who will be victorious now!"


    "I''m pretty sure I''ve got this wrapped in the bag already," Krysta projected. She was speaking aloud for Jane to hear, despite their incredible distance between each other. Krysta stood tall and proud, examining the nervous looking girl in front of her. She couldn''t have even been a real adult yet by the looks of her age. They just let kids in these days? Even so, the dress sphere she chose was rather interesting, white slathered with green lines and designed artwork that somehow reflected the exact same color of her eyes, giving them the glow of a bloom even from this distance. "They''re bringing me kids to battle now? This has to be a joke."


    Jane could hear Krysta speaking to herself, though her last remark wasn''t nearly loud enough for her to make out. As Jane finally managed to walk into the correct position, she stopped just short of the center of the entire stone field and noticed another woman walking towards her from behind Krysta. Jane had no idea who it was, but she wore very fancy dress wear, and walked with elegance towards the right end of the field. Krysta had her own way of introducing herself.


    She spoke loudly and clearly for Jane and the audience to hear through the transmitters in all of the floating cameras. "If you don''t know who I am, then you might as well start crying back home now. I did warn you that I save the first set of challengers for simple target practice."


    Jane clenched her teeth without thinking of any good comeback remarks. Who does Krysta thinks she is anyway? Did people really lose to her that often? It was amazing to see how the perception here changed so quickly. In that elegant black cloak with the matching dress sphere and Krysta''s amazing beauty, nobody would know without that mouth of hers how volatile she can be.


    Krysta continued while being more serious as to explain some of the rules before the battle. "And if by some lame miracle you do defeat me, don''t expect any big credit rewards either. Only the best of the best make it here, and I can already see you are out of place."


    She reserves the first set of challengers as target practice? "What did you just call me?"


    Quickly sensing Jane''s frustration, Krysta continued while ignoring the girl. "The person to your right is my personal referee, Cynthia. Cynthia will determine the victor of the battle. But when I''m through with you, it will be very obvious no matter who sees it."


    Cynthia faced Jane and spoke up to point something out. "I will be monitoring the battle from just outside the dome, and will be protected with a smaller, more powerful shield as protocol of protection to what the referee dictates. Jane Venn! If you manage to defeat League Elite Krysta in a singlehanded Leray battle using the grounds you stand on today, you shall receive a battle chain status, granting you permission to move on to the second League Elite in Eldora Tower. Following any victory you may have from that moment on, you shall receive a fifteen-minute break to recharge yourself for the future battle. The rules have already been explained to you, but I shall remind all participants that no dark magic or other funny business is allowed by either contestant. Timeouts can be called by the referee at any time for any reason to determine whether a mistake was made in a battle. Are these rules made clear?"


    "Yes ma''am they are." Jane spoke loud, but she wanted to start trash talking Krysta, since that is all Krysta did to her ever since stepping foot into this room. "I enjoy your confidence Krysta, but I''m not here to show off on television. You will surrender this match to me with enough battle time. I''m going to defeat you, and the next person, all the way up to Danton himself!"


    "Awh!" Krysta retorted. "How cute! You think you have what it takes to harm me, do ya? I''ve put down men three times my own size in three spells or less. You''re just a hopeful little girl playing around in the big leagues. What makes you think I''m afraid of a pipsqueak like you?"


    Gritting her teeth, Jane responded quickly. "Gurrrrr! Why don''t we battle so that you can find out for yourself?!" Jane never felt so suddenly angry at someone so fast before. Krysta really had no idea what Jane was capable of. Jane knew she couldn''t drop her guard, even if she was being underestimated, but it was about time she got the show on the road. The viewers don''t want to see this garbage, and neither does she.


    "It seems the challengers are going to start things off with a fiery rivalry. The battle between Jane Venn and Krysta shall begin shortly."


    Jane noticed something about the hovering cameras. All of them changed behavior, and were ascending higher up in the air, taking up different aerial angles. In a few more seconds, it soon made sense. A Siriean dome trapping them inside would be drastic for the performance itself. Jane however kept track of everything. She didn''t know of Krysta''s actual fighting style, but to defeat so many people a day to boost her ego so high meant she was no pushover. All she was waiting on now was for the battle to begin.


    Cynthia began the projection of her small shield, despite being out of the effective range for the pending Siriean dome. From there, she began her announcement, proving that her personal aura shield was not sound proof. "This match between Jane Venn and League Elite Krysta is ready to begin. Are both contestants prepared for battle?"


    "As always," Krysta responded with joy and vigor.


    "You bet! Let''s get this show on the road!" Jane kept her hands in her pockets, already prepared to pull out her daggers. The fight would begin as soon as Cynthia says so. Even with the Siriean dome shield down, her word is still final.


    As both of them agreed, the Siriean dome formed from the center of the field spawning outward, covering about most of the open space of the hexagonal shaped floor in the room, and as high as more than half the vertical space in the area. It''s about three or maybe four times the average size of a Siriean dome between two normal people, and it was done by design to give more factors to the total battle itself. The cameras on the outside of the projected dome field were all watching, equipped with special lenses that rendered the shield invisible to the people in order to enhance the quality of the contestants battling on the screen back on the bottom floor. Jane and Krysta both appeared ready, but Cynthia waited for them both to enable their energy scopes.


    The holographic text which normally appears in the middle of the field to announce at the beginning of the battle the reward system - did not show this time. It is assumed only after the battle is over, and it made for a confusing entrance to determine when the fight will actually begin.


    "I''m going to have fun with you Jane. Let''s see how many hits it takes to get you running back to your mommy crying to everyone."


    Jane responded just as impolitely as Krysta was being right now. It surprised her a bit to notice how rude she was allowed to sound on a live network. "And let''s see how many times I need to hit you to wipe that cocky smirk off your face."


    "Both participants ready!" Cynthia declared. "The battle will now commence!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Flight to the Cora ~ Morrow Forge [Soundcritters]</a>


    <hr>


    With that - Jane faced Krysta prepared. She was expecting Krysta to deliver the first attack. If she does, Jane could easily use her power shield and deflect it off. Even with everything being recorded live, nobody found it that strange that Jane could master something so intense. As long as that symbol on her hand does not show up, everything will be okay. The white fingerless gloves that Taylor refined covered her hands well, but they used to be darker colored. Hiding an occurrence here may be impossible, and much more difficult should Jane tire herself out by using too much of her energy in her defense. Still, why wasn''t Krysta making a move already?


    Krysta stood ready with her stance changed to an actual fighting style not known to anybody but herself. As cocky as she was, she was still just as prepared to take everything seriously. She watched as Jane had finally shown her hands. If she had a hidden weapon on her, she wasn''t using it right now. Jane''s tactics seemed less obvious than what Krysta originally thought. Normally, challengers just rush in with a blade or a mace and start swinging like an idiot. Instead, Jane was waiting on her to make the first move. Patience was prevailing, but seeing as a live audience was watching the scene, it would have been rude to make the others wait, and if Jane is as short tempered as she thinks... "Why so stiff Jane? Afraid I''ll destroy any skill you try? I''d be more worried about how fast your reputation will die when I''m through with you."


    "All talk and no show?" Jane teased back. "If you won''t go first, then I will." Jane dignified her next action with her words. Krysta was allowing Jane to go first for a reason similar to her own, but if Jane starts being herself on the first go, she will have already lost one good advantage she already has. The solution was quite simple. Jane put her right arm in front of her, expending only little MP energy to create a fiery red glyphring around her arm just behind the wrist line. The glyphring was vibrant and full of its colorful glow, ready to impulse on Jane''s own command. "Fire Bolt!" Jane launched her magical spell the moment she chanted the name. Following which, the fiery ball of elemental magic shot forward and homed in on where Krysta was standing, but at this large distance between Krysta and Jane, it would have been easy to avoid a direct hit.


    Krysta was much less surprised by the fact that Jane predictably chants the names of her spells. It''s not a requirement to do so, but even Krysta does the same thing from time to time. It can help focus the mind on that same ability by verbal memory association and flashback recognition, but of all the abilities to be thrown at her, Fire bolt was probably the weakest form of magic she had seen all month. Still, it didn''t mean that damage wasn''t imminent. Krysta reacted quickly to the oncoming Fire Bolt. A simple swerve in either direction would not be good enough for a projectile that tracks her movements and homes in on her personal aura. Krysta got more creative in her new stance, jumping slightly to the left, and then bouncing even higher the next time with a total spin to her body. In just less than a second before impact, Krysta managed to begin performing a sideways cartwheel with her hands and feet rotating her around, as the maneuver allowed her to easily avoid any contact with the Fire Bolt attack. After standing on her legs again, the Fire Bolt that rushed by her simply continued on until crashing into the dome shield surrounding them. Krysta didn''t react to the rest, as she knew that the narrator was about to do that for them.


    "It seems that Jane''s first attack is a long-range Fire Bolt, but it was more than underwhelming for our elite warrior."


    "You got that right," Krysta applied aloud. She raised her volume level so that it would reach Jane from afar, taking steps forward very slowly. "A Fire Bolt? Is this some kind of a joke to you? I think it''s time I show you what a true Leray fighter does to battle. Raaagh!" Krysta rushed in towards Jane at top speed, automatically expending some of her magic in the same moment. While invoking two different spells at the same time, Krysta didn''t announce or chant the name for either one of them since it was too easy for her to accomplish at present.


    Jane saw Krysta rushing towards her, and at the same time, a massive thick hammer was materializing quickly just above and in front of where Jane was standing. She had seen this particular ability before. Even though no name for it was chanted on purpose, this spell is Magical Hammer, which forms a giant hammer of magic in the air just above the opponent, slamming the ground where they stand to deal a heavy amount of magical blunt damage. Jane wasn''t slow or under her game; seeing this thing materialize above her and recognizing the spell from before gave her just enough time to react. Jane jumped backwards with a twist in her stomach, raising her legs all the way up until she had entered a full backflip. An ear-piercing smash crushed cracks into the ground where Jane previously stood just as she landed on her feet again from the quickly performed backflip. Jane narrowly avoided the hit and regained her previous level of caution.


    However, the hammer in front of her was so big and massive that it allowed Jane to lose sight of Krysta. In just a moment, the hammer faded from existence, and Krysta was already too close to Jane, flying in midair towards her with her right foot all the way out flashing with a glowing white aura.


    A solid smash sound against Jane''s jaw deadlocked Krysta''s airborne acceleration, as she landed shortly after, only to back away with a few jumps facing Jane. In just the short moment, Krysta performed another classic misdirection tactic against the opponent, distracting Jane with the Magical Hammer and leaving her open for Flash Kick. Jane was on her back, covering her bruised face while trying to ponder what just happened. Krysta had to think about the process too though. She really expected to Flash Kick Jane after she had been hit with the hammer, not after she so easily managed to dodge the thing just a moment before impact. Jane''s speed is higher than average, and that spoke volumes about her tactics, but her physical endurance was also something else. Even though a single Flash Kick doesn''t contain that much power, nobody can handle it very well. According to the stats on her energy scope, Jane was used to some form of severe punishment. Most of her previous opponents suffered loss in health much worse from attacks like Flash Kick.


    Jane covered her entire face momentarily, which from Krysta''s Flash Kick was now in searing pain, but it hurt no more than slamming her face into a wall running at full speed. The pain lasted while subsiding quickly by intensity, and Jane got herself back up before anything worse could happen. Krysta wasn''t all that predictable; otherwise that trick wouldn''t have worked on her. Jane didn''t see a Flash Kick attack coming so soon after evading Magical Hammer. They don''t call her elite warrior for nothing. Krysta is more powerful than she looks, and in elite battles, the situation is hardly the same as exchanging magical skills based on what contestants know. It''s all about strategy and tactics. Jane needed every ounce of her knowledge and intelligence available in real time just to obtain some leverage against this person.


    "Krysta has delivered her first attack, which Jane almost managed to evade in time. But it seems that both challengers have a lot more juice in them. We may see some actual prolonged fighting and exchange of new spells for this round."


    The announcer''s constant chatter was getting annoying fast, but Jane chose to ignore it and think of a better strategy. First of all, where is Krysta''s weapon? Jane let out a gasp after realizing suddenly that Krysta does have a specific specialization. She has no official weapon. That''s her secret! Krysta moves like the wind, uses tricks and deceptions just to score in hits. She probably maneuvers at close range just about as well as long range. Krysta''s specialty is her high agility and quick invocations of multiple types of spells, and she isn''t just going to sit there and wait turns in between exchanging those abilities. Jane knew that she herself was faster at close range. Her physical fighting tactics were not that poor either after so much training with her small blades. Jane took out both of her daggers, allowing Krysta to see which way she preferred to battle.


    "A pair of knives?" Krysta giggled in her sentence. "That''s your plan B? You would dare test a physical assault on myself?"


    "Would you like to see it for yourself, or just stand there and bore us some more?"


    Following Jane''s challenge, Krysta lifted her arms up, and began running at Jane once more. This time, it was just a method of physical attacking she planned to deal to Jane.


    On the other hand, Jane responded to this by holding her blades tightly and running closer to the center of the field too. Jane at least expected this battle to quickly transform into nothing more than a close combat exchange of maneuvers and physical attacks with too much speed to track from the outside, but she only focused on herself and her opponent. Just as she and Krysta were in range of each other to begin harming one another, Jane shifted her shoes to slow herself down a little, as Krysta continued rushing in at top speed.


    Just as Krysta prepared to deliver a hard hit to Jane''s face using her left arm tensed up for more force, the girl who stood right in front of her managed to duck her head down in the nick of time, raising it back up to lift one of her dagger blades into Krysta''s chest during the pass. The sudden gash was painful and defiantly inflicted some harm, but Krysta got over the pain quickly and tried to throw Jane off balance again. With a sweeping kick to Jane''s right knee, Krysta tried to disrupt Jane''s balance just before winding her other leg to kick Jane''s thighs and punch her in the face again.


    Jane took all of Krysta''s sudden and intense hits to her body, who was fighting only using her bare hands and feet. But Jane knew that with this short range to her own opponent, timing was everything, and so were her reactions to taking damage. She shook off all of the instantaneous pains in her mind and delivered an attack right as Krysta was trying to give Jane something to run from. Jane pushed Krysta away with both of her hands, giving her just enough time to form an ice glyphring around her right hand and shoot two Ice Balls towards Krysta. The transition from one to the other was so fast that it would have been unavoidable even if Krysta was expecting that kind of fighting style. Jane didn''t stop there either. Before allowing Krysta to recover her balance from the impact of magical Ice Balls, she leaped closer and began punching Krysta in various areas.


    The face, the stomach, the chest... Krysta was being beaten up over the course of a single second, taking the sudden painful gash to her stomach after Jane brought her down by her hair and kneed her straight in the face. Krysta was taken by the surprise of such speed and skill, but she didn''t just let it continue to happen to her either. After it seemed that Jane''s close combat attacks became less consistent, Krysta stood up taller again despite the new gash on her face, grasping on to Jane''s arms just as Jane tried to slash her with the daggers. With Jane in hold, Krysta slammed Jane''s face against her own two hands and shoved her forwards - away from Krysta. The pain delivered to Krysta was brutal and lasting, but Jane wasn''t much of a heavy mover herself.


    Jane however managed to quickly spin around halfway to face her opponent again instead of being shoved into the stone floor, nearly unfazed by the impact. This kind of fighting then continued on for a full minute of time. To the audience and even the referee, it was nearly impossible to track each of their movements. They both exchanged physical attacks with such quick responses and counterattacks. One would trick the other and get the upper hand only to lose it two attacks later. Jane and Krysta had suddenly turned into a physical fighting machine. Jane likely did a little extra damage whenever she managed to get her dagger slices into Krysta''s skin, even managing to cut up her back twice in the process. Just whenever it seemed that one of the two were going to finish an amazing combination, the other made some kind of quick and unexpected maneuver to interrupt that combo and change the tide again and again. From an outside perspective, telling who was winning what just wasn''t possible. Despite this, it was too interesting to look away from.


    After a long fought minute, Jane managed to shove Krysta further back and off balance, as she then proceeded to rush in with her dagger blades charged with Leray energy. Krysta knew she had no effective way to block or evade such a quick attack by someone just as fast as she was, but there was a way to end this stupid charade and obtain the advantage of distance again. Krysta infused energy into her hands as quickly as possible, hoping Jane''s incredible speed rushing towards her would not be fast enough. Just as Jane''s daggers were about to dig into her chest yet again, Krysta invoked her special skill and even chanted the name of her magic to ensure its quick success. "Push Wave!" The sudden force of invisible energy was quick and severe, shoving Jane backwards an entire foot into the air. Krysta, who isn''t supposed to be affected by her own Push Wave also got shoved back because of how incredibly close Jane was and because of how overpowered she charged her simple Push Wave spell to become. Krysta slid back on her feet, skidding against the stone floor with scrapes and squeals while Jane landed on her side, rolling on purpose to speed up her own recovery. After that, Krysta and Jane were both not taking additional damage anymore, and the technique actually worked to end the long combat chain.


    Jane got herself back up quickly, realizing how effective Krysta''s simple spell managed to put a short end to whatever that fighting style was. Would anybody be able to keep up at this point? Did the cameras have enough power to rerun that in slow motion? One thing was for sure; Jane and Krysta had obtained a bit of distance from how far they both slid or flew from each other by that Push Wave, and in the same process, both of them took some damage due to the exchange of physical attacks. Jane was curious who did more damage to whom, but the results on each energy scope would not reflect an easy answer, since Jane was hit first by an earlier Flash Kick attack, reducing her HP from before. She and Krysta both used some time to take a short breather and discover how well they were doing for themselves. After all of those movements, both of them needed a second to breathe.


    It was clear that both sides were somewhat even. Jane could clearly deal more damage on short moment''s notice, but Krysta was just as effective at dodging certain attacks too. With some of the odds appearing to be even based on skill alone, Krysta had to immediately evaluate Jane all over again. She wasn''t nearly as inexperienced as she seemed at the core. Was her Fire Bolt just a tease attack, something Jane cooked up in order to trick Krysta into revealing her tactics before Jane could? Or was her specialty something other than deception? "You''re fast," Krysta commended. "I guess we''ll have to see which one of us is more powerful."


    Jane didn''t care for judgments right now. She was constantly thinking about which spell or skill she should try next, but nothing in particular came to mind. It was still going to be easier with the advantage of speed and initiative on her side though. Krysta can talk all she wants, but a battle isn''t about talking. Still, Jane delivered a one-liner as she had invoked a special skill in front of her, without chanting the name of that spell. "It''s pointless to fight me. I''m not losing a single battle in this tower!" After the Frost Blade finished summoning itself into Jane''s hands, materialized by the short-lived yellow glyphring, she was thus holding onto a very long and interestingly designed sword made entirely out of ice. The spell was designed to summon a sword into the user''s hands while adding heavy ice elemental magical damaging properties into the blade, making the person''s slashes much colder than average should the blade strike on contact. Jane gripped the hilt tightly and charged towards Krysta like before. Her teeth clenched with her own determination and faith in her combat effectiveness, assuming Krysta was going to stand there and take this.


    Krysta saw the attempt to hit her with Jane''s Frost Blade on approach, but found the movement quite predictable from many different opponents she had faced before. Rushing in like this just isn''t a good strategy, and she quickly assumed that Jane was possibly losing whatever edge she had before. Krysta stood still, waiting until Jane was danger close just before dodging the heavy slash sideways from Jane. Krysta ducked down once, and back-flipped away before Jane could possibly score in another attempt to slam Krysta with her sword.


    As Krysta landed, she stopped Jane''s assault just with the realization that it was stupid to openly rush in. Jane simply tossed the long blade onto the ground with a loud clash to discard the material. The blade faded from existence shortly after, as Krysta now had an open chance to attack her. They had to still be standing only three meters apart from each other, but she risked the long duration of invocation, betting on Jane''s fear of the unknown. The Leray energy building up in Krysta''s hands quickly became visible, but the aura color was very dark and cloudy like, making it hard to see from a distance. The look in Jane''s eyes, it''s as if she could see a large spell coming, but she''s too afraid to do anything. Just as her spell charged energy completely, Krysta invoked the magic while chanting the name of her rare power and unleashing it out into the field through the use of a large glyphring in front of her, the same shadowy color as the buildup of magic on her hands.


    "Pulsar!" Krysta hollered the spell into the air while releasing the magic. The spell itself forced her MP levels to take such a massive dive downward in remaining capacity, while the dozens of small little photons came firing rapidly from the glyphring. Forming spheres shaped like comets though as dark as transparent black shadows of magical auras and concentration fields, several photons that were nearly impossible to see came rushing from the glyphring towards where Jane was standing. Jane at least saw that some unknown attack was coming her way, but her time to react was much too little for her to begin charging up enough energy into her hands to try a Leray power shield like before. In her eyes, she saw the dark photons just in front of her only when it was much too late to do anything about it. Suddenly, Jane was being bolted by several photons of energy at once with a high power level, burning her skin while the force of each hit alone was enough to shove her further back against the stance of her feet planted into the stone floor. The last five photons hit Jane from the side with so much force that all combined hitting her though separately in the timing forced Jane to lose her balance and fall while spinning backwards on her side. She hit the floor despite stopping her fall with her arms and knees, but remained there as the pain of the powerful attack stained her very essence and concentration. Jane immediately felt much weaker than before, realizing that the magical attack had a lot of power to it. Her only advantage by stats had been taken away, even though Krysta was left with much less MP than before.


    Krysta noticed how much damage Jane suddenly took, and how surprised she was to try and evade the impact. Using Pulsar a second time would drain too much of her energy, but from the looks of how long it took Jane to try and get back up with the exhaustion already in her eyes, the spell was obviously a great choice. Jane might be fast and strong, but it was not going to be enough. It wasn''t surprising at all for Pulsar to deal this much damage to anybody. In fact, Krysta was slightly bewildered that Jane didn''t collapse right there on the spot. With a power level of nine, Pulsar is a strong spell that consumes almost half a person''s entire MP supply in order to create a barrage of photons each dealing non-elemental magical damage on a high scale. The photons also lock onto the opponent''s aura, making it impossible to dodge all of them, with the added perk that the spell ordinance is mostly invisible and transparent. The glyphring and photons are both very difficult to see in light or in dark, thus giving an illusion of where each photon is placed during the actual dispersion. It has been some time since Krysta decided to show off such a rare ability that she learned long ago, but Jane was proving to be much more enduring of herself than previously. Yet, even as she struggled to stand back up, her body language emitted so much unspoken confidence that it was easy to feel from here. Given all of that incredible pain from one of her most powerful spells, Jane Venn isn''t going to at least rest? Simply amazing!


    "It appears that Krysta''s amazing spells have given her a momentary advantage against the opponent. But Jane is still hanging in there with enough energy to continue the battle. This scene is turning into quite the spectacle!"


    After getting back to her hands and knees, Jane took her surroundings again, realizing that Krysta was just standing by. "Spirit Arrow!" Wasting no time at all, Jane stood up and fused magic again into her summoning glyphring to give herself the bow of magic with a single arrow infused with spirit elemental magic. Jane aimed and fired her arrow quickly and brilliantly, but even though the distance between them was not that intense, Krysta managed to simply slide out of the way of the sharp projectile in time, immediately putting Jane''s spell to no use. It would have changed the tides quickly if Krysta was inflicted with the arrow, making her disoriented and confused by the effects of spirit damage on a human combatant. But Jane''s attack missed again, and this meant Krysta''s next move was going to be with short notice.


    Krysta wondered whether Jane was still joking around with weaker spells, or if she was simply out of ideas at the moment, but it was amazing even for her to see how long Jane has lasted up until this point. Jane was only her second opponent of the day out of approximately seventy more people. For that reason, Jane''s estimated skill level was supposed to be laughable. Instead of giving Krysta an easy time with target practice on camera, she was turning out to be a nuisance, something that really made her work to inflict enough damage on Jane at all. Somebody somewhere underestimated Jane''s talents, though it wasn''t anything Krysta had not seen before even from some of the best she has ever faced. Now, it was time to put an end to it all. "Rush Wave!" Krysta immediately got her spell to invoke, sending all of the magic on the ground in front of her until it turned into a form of magical damage very similar to that of Shadow Wave. Rush Wave is a modified version of Shadow wave, designed to carry with itself elemental damage on top of possessing a higher power level for its natural magical slashing damage in comparison to Shadow Wave. It immediately explained why the Shadow Wave aura was very bright and glowing with illuminative essence as it rushed in towards Jane''s position while remaining locked into the ground.


    Rush Wave did have a particular difference from that of Shadow Wave; the movement speed on the field was slower. The difference was almost insignificant, but it gave Jane more than enough time to react to the new threat heading her way. There wasn''t enough time to try and speculate whether Krysta''s Rush Wave contained too much power for Jane to adequately block it out with her own magical tactics. Jane had to trust in herself and her own accumulative training so far. She charged the Leray energy into her hands like before, and quickly projected that energy all around herself in the form of a protective aura. The same power shield that protected her before was still applicable in this situation. Jane built the force field around herself just a short moment before the bright version of Rush Wave was to slam and collide into the shielding aura.


    Krysta watched the bright intensity of her Rush Wave spell seep over and around where Jane was standing before, and since the moving spell had dramatically dropped in speed so suddenly, it meant that Jane failed to dodge it at all. But as the Rush Wave ended its run by exploding outward in harmless dust fields, she noticed a sight that took her entire stance and froze her. Jane was completely unharmed, at least that is what this looked like. A blue transparent shield surrounded Jane, much like the same kind of shield that protected Cynthia, the referee. The shield dome around Jane wasn''t even a dome by shape, rather it formed around Jane''s body and used that as its shape and form. The aura was incredibly powerful by defensive capabilities, because based on Jane''s energy scope alone, her HP stats didn''t even budge at all. It looked and acted as a power shield, but even powerful spells such as that can only block out about half the damage from a powerful spell. For the first time in several years of her training, Krysta witnessed something she has never seen before!


    Back in the lower levels of the building in Eldora Tower where the large crowd had already gathered and planted themselves in, Danny and Taylor were among them, watching on the massive display screen just in front of them recording the entire battle between Jane and Krysta. At long last, Jane protected herself using a power shield, her own signature move. From the sudden spurring glares from around the room, it was evident that this happening mid-battle was not really expected. Being as it was Jane''s trademark special defensive ability, it was defiantly proof that she was trying her hardest.


    "That''s showing them Jane!" Taylor didn''t care how much she stood out or how much the strangers around her would connect herself as a fan to Jane. The confusion around everyone was more or less just surprise that a person of Jane''s own skill level would possess such an amazing defense against one of Krysta''s high-level spells. Even the host announcer had a similar impression of what the power shield really was, and nobody else was actually aware that Jane''s ultra-high ME levels made her power shield as potent as it is today with a strong molecular conservation of energy.


    Jane dropped her shield intentionally after the hostile attack ended, suddenly noticing that Krysta just stood there, looking a little stuck.


    "What''s this? It appears that the challenger has deflected a powerful attack using a version of power shield! If that doesn''t yell style and guts, I don''t know what does."


    Yeah, yeah, Jane bothered. Using a power shield would be all fine, but the fact that she now had to use one at all proved how difficult of a fighter Krysta really was. It didn''t matter that Jane knew she could win if the odds against her were stacked so high. The battle really is as intense as it gets here. If Jane keeps relying on her shield too much, somebody will eventually figure out how to overcome such a shield, much like the way Rontellov did in her last gradyent battle. Or worse, her own MP energy will be down in supply from shielding so much. There were still only so many spells that Jane could rely on at this point before losing the only edge she has. Otherwise, her symbol will come out when she doesn''t want it to. Would it really be possible to hide it here?


    "So you''ve gone from dodging attacks to shielding against them huh?" Krysta didn''t sound as surprised, but she didn''t know what to say about it either. Jane''s shield impressively reflected all of the damage done to her aura, which shouldn''t have been possible, but perhaps that doesn''t mean the battle is over. She''ll slip up one way or another.


    Feeling a turn ahead of herself, Jane went with her next spell, which she knew wasn''t anything that extraordinary. It wasn''t a new spell either, but it should buy her more time to think about what to do next. Jane didn''t count on coming here without much of a plan. Fighting Krysta using some of her newly learned abilities wouldn''t be a bad thing, but most of these abilities takes up so much MP energy, something Jane forgot to consider while learning them earlier. Instead, she lifted both of her hands up in the air, already glowing with a hint of a yellow aura of magic around them from buildup. "Volley!" Jane''s invocation immediately began summoning arrow after arrow from the high air just behind where Jane was standing.


    Krysta noticed the barrage of sharp arrows coming her way from above quickly, a weak area attack designed to deal heavy piercing damage over anything else. Still, if Jane can use something like that at all, she is no rookie. Despite having little physical defense against these things, Krysta already had a better idea in mind. She reacted quickly to the arrows coming down at her from an arched angle. Krysta lifted her left hand as if to aim at the entire volley of falling arrows. With her hand glowing a white color, Krysta''s released magic already managed to manipulate the auras around some of the other arrows prone to strike the ground where she stood first. After taking control of such arrows, Krysta intensified the white-hot aura around the selected arrows, and waited for them to stick into the ground just in front of where she stood.


    In the same instance, Krysta leaped quickly onto the bright arrow that she somehow modified. Jumping on top of a small, sharp, fragile arrow would normally not have been possible, but Krysta''s magic created an invisible force field around the one she stepped on, which she then used as lift to jump really high into the air. Krysta''s jump was also naturally impossible, supported by the same auric magic she infused with one of Jane''s arrows. The magic allowed Krysta to easily leap up fifty feet into the air very quickly, using her newfound altitude to automatically dodge all of the other unmodified arrows from Volley while giving herself a new angle of attack to use against Jane.


    Perhaps Jane could see what Krysta was up to that fast, because Krysta noticed that Jane was already ducking down a little in response to watching Krysta fly that high above her opponent''s head. With no delay, Krysta executed her plan from here, making her magical attack more powerful being used from a height like this. In position, Krysta managed to charge up a lot of her energy really fast, too fast in comparison to how most people could perform this neat trick. "Photon Blast!" The magical build up and release of the spell was nearly instant, which is typically impossible for a full area attack spell such as Photon Blast. From mid-air, Krysta bombarded Jane with hundreds of thick and powerful magical photons capable of high damage per hit she took. The blinding light from all of them combined and hitting Jane at the same time made it impossible again to see the immediate effect on her, but when the light had gone, Krysta was stumped again.


    Barely able to keep the shield alive from how powerful the last spell was, Jane degraded her shielding aura she used just before being hit with Photon Blast in order to protect herself. Now that Krysta was about to start free falling to the ground with no way to mentally cope with how strong Jane''s shield was, it gave her enough time for a rather interesting counterattack. Using only a tiny fraction of her magic, Jane invoked a support spell that would do a number on Krysta, just as soon as she lands. "Gyrobreak!" Jane''s invocation already began to tilt and shake the ground, proving how long she came in her training to be so fast at invoking all of her own spells. After learning everything from her teachers, her friends, and herself, using Leray magic so easily and quickly was second nature for Jane.


    Just as the ground began to shift while Gyrobreak took effect, Krysta had a hard time keeping her balance just as she barely managed to land upright on the quaking ground, but Jane''s attention was taken away towards the ceiling of the room, which also began to shift in response to the violent seismic activity inside of the tower. The way things were shifting up there made Jane gulp her spit and hope she did not doom everyone in the tower to an uncertain certain tragedy. There were several horizontal support beams up there, all taking damage from Jane''s Gyrobreak, despite this happening outside of the dome shield. A large cloud of dust particles floated down from below too.


    The problem had worried Krysta as well, since she was focusing on her wonders about the structural integrity of the tower. Making the entire ground shift mid-battle isn''t a bad strategy, but most people don''t normally do that. Inside the confines of a dome shield, even Gyrobreak shouldn''t have the power to affect the area outside of the zone, but this is apparently an exception. Earth Glave is hardly powerful enough to effect the tower like Gyrobreak is, and since Jane just used it 100 floors above ground level, this entire structure could potentially collapse with everyone inside, which would turn into a national disaster. Before she could express her concern, Krysta tripped over a very sudden shift in the ground, falling face first into the stone floor and taking some unexpected damage from the fall, but it did not concern her moreover what had previously been on her mind. It should be fine for now, but perhaps Gyrobreak should be prohibited until the tower is made immune to that spell. Even by theory, it wasn''t powerful enough to break down the tower, but seeing Jane''s spells bypass an entire dome shield by seismic activity was also something out of the ordinary. "Want to battle normally, or take us all out while we''re in this tower?"


    "Sorry!" How could Jane have known that Gyrobreak would have done that? They should have prohibited that specific power if it was going to be a problem!


    Cynthia announced something while invoking some magic of her own from the distance. Magical build up appeared in her hands, but the spell was practically invisible. "I''ve enabled a dampening field on Jane''s Gyrobreak spell to reduce the power. The fight may continue as is."


    Jane didn''t know referees could do that, and it worked fast too. The ground shook and tilted as before, but it was less than half the intensity a few seconds ago. Was her Gyrobreak spell really that powerful? Jane glanced at the top of her right hand, making sure there was no alien light there. Nope. No symbols to ruin any of the fun, so what allowed her spell to be so powerful? She only invoked it maybe twelve times total.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I guess I''ll have a turn. Homing Flare!" Krysta created a very large fiery red glyphring, which quickly formed with new designs and symbols on its ring just before firing six total Fire Bolts separately at Jane. Homing Flare is almost like Fire Blast, which means it shoots out about double the amount of Fire Bolts as Triple Fire does, but Homing Flare is special. The homing properties in each Fire Bolt becomes enhanced with that exact spell, making any attempt to dodge completely impossible. Krysta''s Fire Bolts rushed by just in front of her by how close her glyphring was that she could feel the heat from each flare just as it got away from her, the wind draft putting a rush through her hair.


    Jane saw these coming as well, and once again shifted her arms out in front of her with a cross full of MP energy to invoke another powerful shielding aura. "Power Shield!" Jane chanted it this time hoping she would enable her aura before being hit. Just as the aura built itself around Jane in an instant, the Fire Bolts slammed into the shielding aura only to be absorbed, but their explosive mark and high damage left a lot of small hexagons in the places of where they hit on Jane''s personal shield. After all six had hit Jane, she didn''t feel all that tired from the total attack itself. If she could just continue shielding against these attacks, Jane could last a long time in this fight.


    Krysta gritted her teeth in frustration. How many times can Jane really afford to use her power shield like that? How is it not taxing on her MP energy? Was this her secret strategy all along? There has to be a way to overcome this issue.


    Just after Jane dropped her shield, she invoked more magic in the form of an attack aura around herself, already willing to go with an all-out spell. The ground was still shifting like crazy with the effects of Gyrobreak still in effect though dampened. Krysta had a hard time keeping her balance as it was. With Jane rushing in for another close combat encounter, how could Krysta possibly keep up with her agility with her balance already disrupted by the Gyrobreak spell from earlier? Jane was used to Gyrobreak already, capable of keeping her balance with its effects mapped into her mind. Jane went with the logic, and invoked the same white aura around her body just before sprinting full faced towards her opponent. "Rush Assault!"


    As Jane came rushing down the field in her enhanced aura boosting her speed, physical attack power, and concentration level, Krysta really had nothing she could do but defend herself in a similar way. She couldn''t think of a good spell in time for this. She could try Push Wave again, but even that may not be enough to stop this. Whatever! Krysta sucked up any doubt in her mind and changed her stance to try and fight Jane like before. Only this time, it didn''t go down in her favor.


    Jane was already on top of Krysta, kicking her in the face, punching her in the chest after spinning to the side slightly, and performing many more amazing maneuvers on top of those physical hits. Jane was naturally sped up by her Rush Assault aura. Every physical punch or kick she delivered would deal a lot more damage than normal due to the magical properties of her enhanced attacks. Krysta tried to actually dodge these or block what Jane was doing, but her own agility was affected still by Gyrobreak, and thus Jane had an advantage every single time. Even her daggers were infused with similar magic, allowing Jane to get in several slashes with her small blades as they dealt magical damage on top of slashing damage. She hit Krysta in so many places while dodging in between attacks that Jane didn''t even take a single hit to her body in the process. Jane remained unharmed, and backed away from Krysta just as her aura began to recede from the end line of the spell. In that moment, Jane tracked the changes on Krysta''s energy scope.


    Considering that it did over 20% damage to Krysta in just one attack run, Jane felt that her efforts were well worth the try. Just as she gained some distance again from her opponent, the Gyrobreak spell began to recede completely too. Jane knew she wasn''t doing as well when comparing the stats, but she was just as determined to win as always. No way will this witch beat her and take away her only chance to do the right thing.


    Krysta was breathing much faster than before, already getting in a workout from this battle. She hadn''t had this much trouble from a single challenger in several months, and the last time she did, it was over long before this amount of time, after a man exploited a simple weakness, which she reinforced by now, but Jane wasn''t targeting any weaknesses of hers. She was simply kicking Krysta''s butt harder than any challenger has ever done so before. It was nearly as bad as fighting sir Danton himself.


    Krysta snapped out of a momentary trance. She can''t let this end here. Jane can''t survive this forever either, and without the ability to invoke that power shield, there was no way Jane could defend herself from certain attacks. Already charging up energy into her hand, Krysta waited for the right moment to make it work. She chanted the name of the spell only in her mind for now, and released the energy on Jane before she could realize what was going on.


    Just as Jane heard Krysta holler the name of her spell, "Thunder!" she was immediately zapped with electrical energy coming from above herself. It happened so fast that Jane had no time at all to prepare or release a shield, and her entire body was being electrocuted in that moment for two full seconds of searing pain, the kind that left a burning sensation afterwards. When it was over, Jane felt quite weaker than before, her entire body tingling with a loss of her previous stamina and the painful sensations of something she hated more than any other kind of attack. Still, Thunder takes a minute to invoke, so Krysta had to have tricked her by chanting the name of it during invocation instead of before. An old-fashioned cleaver trick, but it wasn''t going to be enough. To Jane''s own surprise though, her health stats declined dramatically from that last spell alone.


    Jane growled with how difficult this was becoming. There has to be another way to wrap this up more quickly. Screw waiting on the new spells! Might as well use them now instead of never. Jane thought first about something she loved about her training yesterday. She managed to touch up and completely refine some of her older spells by accident, and with a new trick discovered, there was no possible way Krysta was dodging this attack. "Dark Strike!" Jane pulled out both of her daggers and began rushing in towards Krysta, who put her fists up in response to being ready for whatever Jane was about to try. Normally, this is the moment in which Jane simply stands still to teleport behind her opponent and strike her from behind with a dagger infused with extra magic, but there was a different way to do this that was quite a spectacle even for herself.


    Krysta seemed ready for anything, but just as Jane got closer to her by running, she suddenly leaped into the air a bit early to be able to land near where Krysta was standing. Then, just as Jane went traveling forward by the momentum of her jump supported by the speed of her sprint, all of Jane vanished into an invisible mist. After that, nothing happened next for a good second or two.


    Wait a second! Where was Jane? Why didn''t Krysta feel anything? Jane went invisible, right? If so, wouldn''t she just straight up attack Krysta in the middle of the technique?


    From the referee''s point of view, Krysta was suddenly being struck over and over with a warped space of pure light with a red aura, a light that was stretched all the way to both edges of the Siriean dome. The light itself seemed to connect Krysta somewhere in between each point like a narrow beam, somehow causing an insane amount of damage to Krysta each time, for a total of three hits. It was an amazing sight, and too quick to track the evanescent light show, so this didn''t actually make any sense to Cynthia whatsoever.


    From Jane''s point of view, it was like flying at the speed of sound all around the Siriean dome. She knew exactly what was going on despite being unable to explain the scientific details even to herself. Basically, she modified her teleportation with a fraction of her natural ability to distort time using Zero Zone, and a fraction to affect her displacement each time with the natural ability to manipulate data without even touching or interacting with such data respectively, similar to her newfound telekinetic powers that she picked up from part of Claudia''s list. This was just the tip of the knowledge she had used in her single refined version of Dark Strike.


    Using both of her dagger blades while infused with damaging magical auras, Jane managed to leap through space and time itself using additional magic, warping the space in which she is positioned while teleporting herself to different areas within the dome field and accelerating her speed through air tenfold. Jane basically became a speeding bullet herself, using her daggers extended in front of her to become the point of impact. For the first teleportation, Jane ended up at one side of the dome shield, flying at Krysta with tunnel vision as if she were a solid line of light. It happened so fast for everyone else, but to her perspective from using the time distortion magic, it happened slower for Jane so that she could aim, calculate, and understand what was happening in the flash itself. Jane literally flew without gliding - downward towards Krysta''s left side, slashing her with both daggers just as Jane passed over her shoulders and behind her head. Just before Jane was going to impact the other end of the Siriean dome, she teleported again for a second time.


    Jane ended up under the same circumstances, only this time she came from Krysta''s front side. There was no way Krysta would see Jane coming from her entire spatial density being warped as it was. As Jane was again flying towards Krysta, she was still recovering from the force and pain of that hard hit to her back and shoulders in real time as Jane once again approached Krysta in the form of a flying line of light. Jane held her daggers out again in preparation to slam them into Krysta''s chest, her blades glowing with a red aura trailing all the way behind her from the additional magical damage with it. Jane didn''t miss her mark the second time around, and the force alone knocked Krysta so far back that she came very close to tripping on the pushed muscles of her legs. Jane still kept her daggers in hand, about to smash into the Siriean dome again. Before it happened, she teleported herself for the third time.


    Jane continued the same process from another side angle towards Krysta, who was left completely vulnerable to this kind of attack. Jane loved every second of her newest strategy, though it was very difficult to master it last night. After all, her version of Dark Strike was never an official skill before and after its modification. Nobody would be able to copy her anyway, since it would practically be invisible even for the processor of the cameras to capture. They could spot Jane''s movements only as well as the naked eye, seeing Jane flying through the air as a momentary flash of red trailing light in the form of a solid line, fading and reappearing multiple times.


    On Jane''s fourth and final attempt to teleport herself away from danger, she ended up warping her spatial field and density back to the way it was originally, while phasing the flow of time back to normal again. This time, she ended up reappearing about fifteen meters high in the air just above where Krysta was standing. Jane was already in free fall, keeping the speed she had on her before, but her daggers were out and ready in her hands, hot with the red glow of auric energy she fused into them multiple times over the entire duration of her attack sequence. Krysta was much too slow and taken off guard to see it coming, but Jane basically crash-landed straight in front of Krysta, holding her daggers all out and aiming for her shoulders on each side as Jane''s final signature strike. The landing hurt Jane''s feet and legs from the momentum of her landing on the ground at such a speed and height, but at the same time, that same momentum was also channeled into both daggers as they managed to draw all the way into Krysta''s skin. Against what normally happens in a Leray battle, the force of impact and magical damage total was actually enough to break through Krysta''s skin, drawing a small amount of blood while Jane''s daggers stuck there momentarily, soon to fade away into phase and reappear into her hands as soon as she was ready for them to. Just after finishing her amazing attack however, Jane had to get some distance from Krysta in case she could try anything at this breath sharing range, not that Krysta would be in a position to try it.


    "Naaahh!" Krysta''s pain became very real too fast, as she let out a cry of hurt that sent her to her knees. Her hands shifted around her chests and the top of her arms. She didn''t even know where the attack hurt her the most, but her skin was all cut up underneath her own dress sphere. The daggers that disappeared from her shoulders revealed more closely the hint of her own blood seeping through two open wounds, which is supposedly not possible under standard Leray conditions. The only way it could have been possible is if Jane''s Dark Strike used actual dark magic. On the contrary, Dark Strike is still a known auto-modifying attack spell that is just a Leray spell no matter what one does to it. Krysta had absolutely no idea what just happened. Jane disappeared, reappeared several feet above her with much more speed than she had before, and somehow slashed in multiple places with just two hits in others. It made no sense to Krysta since her senses couldn''t keep up with what was happening.


    Cynthia wanted to protest in several different ways, but didn''t know where to begin. First of all, she had never seen a skill like this one before? Never in her life had she witnessed something as sophisticated as that coming from just ordinary or basic spells, from a teenage girl no less. What about that blood? It was defiantly real time damage on one level or another, right? But then why wasn''t Krysta''s energy scope red and reporting as much? The amount of blood on Krysta''s shoulders was somehow visible even from here, but it didn''t exceed the level it did before. Did her shoulder wounds heal up that quickly, that the broken skin was sealed by the veil of protection so fast? It isn''t possible for Leray magic to be able to inflict real time damage in the veil mode, so what the hell was that? Cynthia showed an expression of concern on her face, but she couldn''t say anything. The color of Krysta''s energy scope basically is the sensor involved in detecting hidden dark magic tricks. On top of that, there are other hidden sensors for dark magic in this very room. Is it possible for the sensors to show a false negative?


    "Nice try!" Krysta expressed with an aggressive emotion. "I''m not through with you yet!" Despite the fact that her shoulders hurt badly enough to partially restrict her arm movements, Krysta put her heart and soul into her very next magical attack. By infusing magic into a new forming glyphring, the size of the glyphring Krysta created was quite massive on scale, and the color of the glyphring was a solid grey color, which was unusual to see in most magic. Krysta didn''t chant the name of her ability until she was ready to release that magic, but it took so long to charge it up, Jane might actually shield against it again. Even if she does, it would not be possible to resist such incredible power. The spell in question is a power level ten, or an eleven with as much training as Krysta has had with the spell. Just as she released the magic, Krysta yelled "Mega Bolt!" while shooting a white-hot unknown bolt of magic through the center of the glyphring.


    Jane panicked momentarily, as this was certainly new to her. Mega Bolt could be anything. Based on the charge time alone, it had to be powerful. Being a single bolt had to leave in its hint that it was homing and strong enough to potentially crack her own power shield... But it''s also taking the form of a projectile. Jane smiled in response to having a split second idea, born from the last style change she had about using some of her new skills. She charged the necessary energy into both of her hands, turning their auric color to a similar white instead of the ordinary blue. If this actually works correctly, Krysta will likely not survive this.


    Krysta noticed Jane''s hands glowing again. She will probably try and power shield again, which would be good in her case. It didn''t matter how good Jane''s shield is, nothing can resist a spell with an ultimate power level. She knew all about Mega Bolt too. Krysta''s used spell combines all of the elemental magic into one particular kind of element known as Light Magic. Light Magic is the form of magic used when all elemental magical forms get together in one output element. The beauty of the spell itself in Mega Bolt is that the bolt of Light Magic also ignores all elemental resistances no matter what. Jane could be wearing a robe or dress sphere that completely blocks out all elemental damage, and this would still affect her as if she were completely wearing nothing at all. In other words, the damage is amplified for several reasons. Mega Bolt is incredibly powerful! Not just anybody could use it, let alone know of the spell in the first place.


    Totally going against what many expected Jane to do in this situation, she instead threw her hands out as if to reach and catch this Mega Bolt coming from in front of her, aiming at its radiance. "Return!" Jane didn''t need to really chant the name of a non-existent unofficial spell that she alone created using the elements of telekinetic magic. As she reached out her hands, just less than a second now before being slammed by this Mega Bolt, Jane suddenly created a capture or control aura around the bolt itself, which wasn''t really visible given it was already bright with glowing radiance. Jane could feel her magic working, and immediately swerved her arms and hands to shift to her left side. In response, the flying Mega Bolt itself shifted in course midair, as if following Jane''s own commands. Jane continued her newest spell, using a telekinetic aura around the bolt to actually control the projectile and change its course, but Jane wasn''t trying to avoid taking a hit and be done with it. Continuing to swerve the bolt away from Jane''s path, she swung her arms sideways even more, standing on her heels only to shift her own balance and spin all the way around. As Jane spun, the bolt of multiple elements followed her movements as if to resolute around Jane''s body. The bolt''s position was the same as where Jane had aimed it in her arms, but she didn''t stop shifting her aim for a second, thus allowing the bolt to naturally increase in speed even as it was being shifted. By the time Jane performed a full three sixty spin, she then put a lot of force into her winding arms, and let go of the telekinetic link between herself and the Mega Bolt still flying in the air. With the angle of release met perfectly to realign with a new target, Jane basically took control of the Mega Bolt and turned the direction around with a nice spin, thus doubling the speed of the system at the same time. Before Krysta could even figure out what was going on, her own Mega Bolt was now on a collision course for herself.


    "What?!" No way in the world could Krysta predict something like this. Even Danton never fought using such tactics against her before. Before her own eyes, the Mega Bolt that hit Krysta just below her face exploded in a massive surge of unidentifiable energy that spanned outward in a mystifying kind of light that phased out over a short moment. The force alone pushed Krysta two feet back into the air, as her shoes lost contact with the ground. The blast even forced her to partially spin around slightly in midair, allowing her to land on her front side instead, which was painful in itself. The impact of force alone hurt so badly in multiple ways that Krysta was completely stunned even after she finished landing on the floor.


    Jane jumped up in a joyous victory pose. She knew the battle can still go on from here, but that was her very first successful invocation of Return she has ever come up with. Again, using the idea from a similar ability yet to be presented, Jane took advantage of a specific kind of magic allowing her to control the flow of specific variables of space such as stationary or moving projectiles, no matter what they are made of. She can then control such variables using a telekinetic force of magic, and from there, do whatever she wants to. Though, stopping Mega Bolt in its tracks would not have been as effective, because then, Krysta would not have been able to receive a taste of her own medicine. That hit looked like it hurt by the way. By doubling down on the speed of Mega Bolt and using the attack against the one using the spell, the power level must have been increased before the bolt even hit a target, due to the increased speed and effects of additional magical buildup being used on it. All of that telekinetic energy infuses itself back into whatever Jane controls upon release, so she naturally increased Mega Bolt''s power by about a factor of 1.7, should she estimate. It didn''t matter though. Krysta, who tried to get back up did so very slowly, her pains all very intense right now. Finally, Jane found a way to beat the first elite warrior. This is proof that none of these people are immune to the things she is capable of even without her handy symbol to help her out in a bind.


    "An amazing display by our challenger Jane, who managed to send Krysta''s Mega Bolt right back at her. I''ve never seen such will to win in all my years of coaching. Things may heat up from here more."


    "Coaching..." Jane tusked at the remark from the announcer. All that guy does is tell people what they can already see with their own eyes to make it sound exciting. The people are probably glued to their screens with or without that voice in their ear. Speaking of which... "How about now Krysta? Give up yet?" Jane had to holler, being of a great distance between Krysta from before. She didn''t want to get too close.


    Krysta could barely level her breathing. She could already feel her throat getting raspy from all of the damage she has taken for the entire battle. Jane can''t possibly be better than her. With as much determination as she could, Krysta pushed herself up, but it didn''t happen fast at all. That last landing to the ground injured her left leg to some extent. It looked okay, but felt as if someone had twisted her entire muscle there. In the process of getting up, Jane shouted the name of another spell, possibly concluding that Krysta did not choose to give up.


    "Stalagmite!" Jane released the energy from her hands aiming at the ceiling. Knowing this would not potentially damage the roof structure, Jane went with another unique attack that actually did register as an official Leray ability, though it was still something amazing in itself, and of course required an indoor condition or setting to work. Jane''s spell quickly began forming ice on the ceiling of the entire room, which quickly transformed into hanging stalagmites of frozen water. These were not the kind of stalagmites one might find in a random cave. These were about the size of large automobiles, some of them three times such a size. The size of each frozen object had some variance, though every one of them was huge in perspective. That is the idea anyway. Shortly after her invocation, the stalagmites began falling from the ceiling one by one, creating a very dangerous kind of rain.


    Krysta saw this happening above her, and though all of her limbs hurt, it wasn''t going to be enough to stop her. She knew that now. She had seen this spell used before, not that Jane would know about it. "Alright then." With confidence, Krysta planned out where to go from here. It was already knowledge that despite these large chunks of sharp icicles falling from above the boundaries of the Siriean dome, they would simply phase through with unchanged properties and continue down to the ground within the same field. It''s how certain area attacks are designed, much like Meteor Strike or Asteroid. Krysta knew of this already, so as soon as the very first falling Stalagmite only about seven meters in front of her and several more in height above her phased through the shield of the dome, Krysta fused very little magic into her legs and began sprinting towards the falling chunk of ice.


    The intense pain in her left leg was obviously something she could ignore right now. Krysta seemed as if she were trying to run under the place where the stalagmites were about to hit. Instead, she jumped really high up at the last second and landed on the very top of the still falling stalagmite. Then from there, she wasted no time at all to jump to another one much higher than her current position, leaving the first one to fall and smash into the ground where she no longer stood.


    It took Jane a moment to realize this, but Krysta was performing the same exact kind of maneuver that Jane had once tried in her very last battle. It was surprising to her that Jane came up with the idea first without even thinking about it, as if driven by instinct against Rontellov''s crazy spell of Meteor Strike. Since Jane did it before, that meant Krysta was capable of the same thing, and she has likely tried this at least once before herself. Jane knew what would come next. As soon as Krysta gets high enough, it will be an aerial attack of some sort, leaving Jane defenseless against a simple magical attack that ordinary would not carry much damage, though amplified by the force of it coming down from above with the additional speed of Krysta''s free fall towards the end of this insane maneuver. She has to intervene! Jane began sprinting forward into her own danger, disregarding the fact that she was about to rush into the area under all of the falling stalagmites herself.


    Krysta didn''t know that Jane was going to actually move as she herself tried an interesting maneuver rarely performed, but it gave her a great opportunity. Already high enough to finish this in just two quick spells, Krysta quickly fused magic into her right foot, and power kicked the falling stalagmite that she was currently standing on. She did so with such precise and well-calculated aim, so that the large chunk of ice would break apart into millions of pieces and fly directly towards where Jane was running to.


    Jane suddenly noticed the chunk of ice in midair crumble with a loud smash from Krysta''s unannounced power kick, with several sharp pieces of frozen ice shards coming down directly towards Jane. It was so fast and unexpected that Jane crouched down and cringed with her arms alone protecting her. Jane wasn''t even blocking against the attack, she was just bracing herself for the soon to be painful hit of piercing shards, but after another second passed, Jane felt indifferent after hearing many tiny pieces of glass cringle up around her, followed by a very loud clunk of another stalagmite slamming into the floor elsewhere and breaking apart some more. After Jane removed her arms and opened her eyes, she saw all of this watery glass around her.


    Amazing! By complete luck, Krysta''s attempt to kick ice into Jane''s face missed somehow, even though they were coming straight for Jane. What were the odds of so many chunks of ice missing Jane while she was a stationary target? Wait!


    Krysta failed to damage Jane just now, but it was only a distractor anyway. Already falling from the air, she charged up the energy for her second and more powerful attack. Krysta released it as soon as Jane''s curious eyes spotted what she was up to, and by then it was already too late. "Quantum Beam!" Krysta fired a wide area beam of bright cyan energy towards the ground where Jane was standing, sure this would end her battle right here.


    Jane had seen the glyphring and the chant of magic before knowing what it was; Quantum Beam. Krysta not only stole her style of multi-object evasion, but also her very own spell like the one she used before. From experience, Jane knew the power of Quantum Beam being used from the air like that would double or even triplicate the magical damage factor. Shielding would be useless! Before being hit by a terrifying beam of energy, Jane quickly pulled out her dagger while simultaneously fusing some Leray energy into the blade to save her more time. Then she invoked her very quick and easy access spell while aiming the tip of the dagger towards the ground at a 45-degree angle, jumping up just before releasing her energy at the same time. "Mako Speed!" Jane''s magic fired a short-lived brightly colored beam of magic from the tip of her dagger straight at the ground just after her feet left the floor. It seemed similar in form to her Mako Beam attack, but this was different. Instead of experiencing a normal jump by about less than a foot off the ground, the beam Jane fired carried an incredible amount of gravitational defying force that sent her flying much higher into the air. It happened at the same time Krysta''s Quantum Beam fired at the ground. Normally, Jane would have just flown up into the beam anyway, but her 45-degree angular shift allowed her to fly up and sideways, thus narrowly avoiding contact with the beam just a split second too late. The distance Jane flew up was defiantly abnormal to see from anybody''s perspective. Even Jane still had trouble believing that her trick worked so well, but this one was not difficult to practice at all, since it required no other factors in order to work.


    Jane''s modified Mako Beam magic once again allowed her to transform the laws of physics and gravity, using a narrow beam of magic to negate a Push Wave for Jane and lifting her high into the air at any angle she chose to fire the beam from. Somehow, it only worked through the blade of her dagger, but she didn''t question the specifics now.


    Krysta gasped with a sudden surprise, after which gritting her teeth, for all she could do now was watch as Jane soared into the air above her. Krysta fell to the ground at an average speed, negating the damage done to her by adding a Shining Bracer push wave spell to break her fall and land softly. What will Jane do from up there?


    While Jane was gaining altitude, she already began to charge energy into herself once again. She came up with her next spell rather quickly, since she would not have that much time until she goes from flying up to falling down. She didn''t have a lot of magic left to use on self-levitation either, and instead went with the natural laws of physics while invoking her next attack spell. It was exhausting overall that neither one of them had scored a single hit on each other with so many counteractions, but now, Jane was defiantly in the right position and timing to counterattack again. "Prism!" Jane''s multi-colored glyphring appeared in front of her with such little delay, and it was immediately ready for her to use. Jane split up the elemental damage randomly in her mind, already shooting the attacks from her hands with the support of the glyphring while beginning to shift the direction of her acceleration due to gravity.


    Jane begun her aerial prism attack with two separate Thunderbolts, followed by a Fire Bolt, Thunderbolt, two Ice Bolts, another Thunderbolt, three Fire Bolts before the next Lightning Strike, Ice Bolt, Fire Bolt, Thunderbolt, and the final Ice Bolt. As usual, Jane split up the order of each elemental bolt sent out this way, making it more effective and random. She launched each bolt through the glyphring so quickly and elegantly that there was plenty of time afterwards to prepare herself for the fall downwards. Jane had slightly miscalculated her own timing, having at least five more seconds before she would actually get to land on the floor, which would hurt at this height and acceleration without something soft to land on. Jane didn''t expect her Mako Speed spell to negate gravity in a way that was this effective.


    Krysta finally ran out of ideas in which to try and counteract Jane''s multicasting spell. The bolts slammed into the front of her body from above one after the other, too randomly to block it out and too quickly to evade a single one of them. Between the electrical sensations being zapped, the freezing sensations of being hit with Ice Bolts, and the burning sensation of getting bombarded by Fire Bolts, Krysta still managed to endure the entire attack including its pain. What Jane failed to realize was that Krysta''s own dark colored robe has one effect in particular; cutting all elemental magic damage such as the attacks she just took in half. There was no need to even announce it, for the health remaining on her energy scope was proof of that enough. She ended up in half the pain she was supposed to be in from taking a Prism attack, and the damage level was low overall too.


    Despite taking damage, Krysta was still left mostly unfazed by the entire barrage of elemental damage due to her suit''s resistances. With the low amount of stamina remaining within her, Jane was now wide open for an attack. Free falling to the ground in front of her, Jane would have no way in which she could defend herself or attack yet again before hitting the ground. With a quick levied decision, Krysta quickly summoned two small dagger blades into her own hands to have as temporary weapons, while infusing the rest of her own magic into the spell she had prepared. The tricky part was only the aiming. Jane was falling, so she would have to land her ranged attack right where she would land in the correct moment. With the practice she already had, doing this kind of calculation in her head was second nature to Krysta. "Splice!"


    Jane was about to invoke a spell that would lighten her descent to the ground, when she suddenly noticed Krysta sending a Splice wave towards her. Of all the powerful spells, Jane had to face this one with no method of defending herself. A magical line of heavy slashing and piercing damage in the form of a bright flat light rushed its way upward. Jane even saw that Krysta aimed below where Jane was about to fall, effectively allowing the Spice wave to take advantage of the positional situation and drill itself through Jane''s chest during her fall. The attack went through her so quickly before she even knew it, but it left a much longer lasting sensation of pain that was almost comparable to the same moment in which she was hit with similar attacks in the dark zone. Jane''s immediate reaction to cringe and hold her hands in the spot where it hurt the most left her more vulnerable to slamming into the ground on her side, failing to even land properly on her legs. The impact to ground hurt half as badly as the Splice that went through her skin, dealing a lot of damage. Jane let out a painful groan just before the wind was knocked out of her. Now stuck on her stomach, she struggled endlessly to try and stand back up while Krysta approached her as if she was casually walking with nothing to fear.


    Even after Jane had obtained her advantage, one could look at both sides as currently even, but Krysta felt more confident in this moment now than she ever did before. She simply allowed Jane to struggle to recover from all of that damage dealt to her in the last few seconds. Krysta was still hurting badly as well, but she overcame this minutes ago. With her pace walking towards Jane remaining the same, she continued using that time to store up just enough energy to grant herself the power to unleash one final magical attack against Jane. Even from here, the cameras and the referee knew how this was about to play out. "I will say that you''ve given me enough sport for today. I haven''t had this much of a hassle from a single battle in a while, and I may even be tired out for the rest of tonight." She let it all sink in. There was no point in giving Jane the credit where it was due. Jane was fast, powerful, and even a bit tricky from time to time. She almost fought with the same style or technique Krysta was used to, but Jane never remained consistent enough for the claim of that to compare to her own tactics so firmly. Somewhere along the line, Jane failed. With more training, she would be very close to beating Krysta, this she was sure of. "But it''s not good enough. You''ll have to try again next year."


    Next year? Didn''t these battles happen every week? Maybe this is some sort of hidden rule of punishment for those who have failed in these championships. Jane struggled with her beat up body while running through the situation in her mind. Krysta was indeed powerful, but Jane was only a single action or two away from a total victory. Still, Krysta wants her to give up and come back next year? Lennith City is about to be swallowed up by the growth patterns of Alpha Zero. It doesn''t have a year! The entire nation may be doomed by then. Just delaying this for a single week of time wasn''t acceptable for that reason. Jane made it all the way here with more than her training. She had actual combat experience, and friends that she could count on for anything in the world. Getting to Danton is the only reason Jane was fighting in the championship this week anyway. It isn''t about winning the battle, but rather winning the reinforcements she needed to take Brightworth out of the picture and Alpha Zero with it. Jane wanted to express this concern to Krysta right now, but in doing so, it would only confuse her opponent and the listening crowd around her as well.


    Jane knew she didn''t have to say anything. Krysta was going down one way or another. Jane just needed a new strategy, anything she could suddenly use to wrap the battle up here and now. Screw Krysta''s battle, and screw those stupid lectures! Jane allowed her determination to fuel the last of her pending spells, starting with one in particular that took up much of her energy and concentration levels. After managing to stand up, just before it seemed that Krysta was about to try something else, Jane didn''t bother her with the semantics of the situation, choosing to summarize the reason for her imminent demise. "You''re the one who''s lost already. You forgot the reason I came here today, and you forgot that I have plenty more spells on my side."


    "Shit!" Krysta swore. She didn''t expect Jane to be as confident after being so weakened by the last hit to her health, and worse, Krysta just swore in front of the cameras again. Normally it comes with a slight deduction, but muttering it under her breath would easily allow the crew to censor the moment out completely. As Krysta began to charge her energy before Jane could, the holler of a less known spell from in front of her beat her to the race.


    "Zero Zone!" In just the single instant that Jane''s energy was released, the same time distortion field she was used to spanned all around from the center of where she was standing, trapping Krysta and everything else in the entire universe in the same field. That''s right, even the referee and the audience watching would not be able to determine what happens from here, as the distortion affects the entire universe, not just everything inside of the dome. Jane could actually do whatever she wants to right now and never get caught, but with her distortion field up, Jane had limited time to herself before it dissipates and leaves her vulnerable to the normal flow of time once again.


    The color from everything was gone, as things got harder to see from the reduced flow level of light itself. With only grey and black gradients of color available to her, Jane still had no trouble figuring out where to go from here. Using much more of her energy in a strange form of her next spell, Jane cast the one she usually did so just after entering a Zero Zone aura. "Blitz!" After being shrouded with an aura that sped up her invocation timing and reduced the time taken to charge up all other attacks, Jane began her combination against Krysta with a simple Magical Blitz attack, shooting blue spheres of energy at the woman frozen in time. Jane''s magic and projectiles retained their natural colors even in the field she was in. Only objects frozen in time were colorless.


    Jane didn''t stop there. She rushed in towards Krysta as if to Charge Attack her, and whipped out two sub machine guns to unload each clip before getting into range, following the skill of Bullet Blitz. Jane tossed the guns after emptying both clips as soon as she was in range to attack the stationary Krysta. She began with a few simple kicks and punches to her face and her jaw, with daggers slashing at her stomach in a non-magical attack combination which Jane had performed several times before. At the end of her combination sequence, Jane slid backwards and formed an arrow in her hand, using the spell of Crystal Arrow to fire a hard stone object into Krysta''s skin to deal blunt damage on top of everything else she had taken so far. Jane then went with an additional combination attack afterwards, using the remaining magic to charge up a Knight Dance spell, giving Jane''s hands and feet blue auric glows of light to enhance the damage level of each physical hit within her combination.


    Jane sensed her Zero Zone would be over soon, and it was hard to detect whether the damage done to Krysta so far was adequate enough to send her health all the way down to zero. Though they asked her not to drain all of the elite''s HP since it takes more time to revive them, Jane decided to ignore that rule right about now. After a short glance to Jane''s own energy scope which was prone to change since she wasn''t affected by the time distortion, it seemed that she only had about ten percent of her remaining MP left, which was amazing compared to all of her other actions thus far. It explained why Jane felt so tired just now, running her stats down like that, but it wasn''t over yet. Jane knew of a few more things she could try before the Zero Zone aura ends. "Frost Blade!" Jane formed another frozen sword into her hands using most of her only remaining magic, and prepared to swing it at Krysta. Just in the process of slashing her frozen sword through the air, Jane was momentarily slowed down by a fractional force due to the sudden effects of Zero Zone ending. Color had quickly been restored to the world, and with it the normal flow of time. Krysta would be feeling sudden and unexpected pain right about now, and Jane was literally about to add onto that long before anybody could do anything about it. Jane only wanted just one clean hit with this thing, so after slamming the blade into Krysta''s left hip, she let go of her own sword, now realizing that the damage level from Frost Blade alone would be minimal due to Krysta having her resistance to elemental damage already high. Still, after watching the change on her energy scope, it was surprising to see how much of her survived all of these hits. Jane was certain Krysta would have given up here, but backed away a bit just to be on the safe side.


    "Aaagh!" Krysta still had enough health and stamina to go on longer, but technically this was the moment in which she should just give up. She felt random pains everywhere so suddenly, and then remembered Jane yelling out the name of a spell... Zero Zone! Krysta knew of such a spell, despite not having the ability to learn it herself. How was it possible that someone of Jane''s caliber could learn such an amazing ability? And where was Jane anyway? To the left!


    Jane kept her distance, exhausted by running down all of her magical points so quickly. Krysta was in even worse shape than her, but that didn''t make this any easier. As Jane realized that Krysta noticed her, Krysta quickly attempted to get over all of that sudden damage and stand up to face her. She was still trying to battle!


    "You are not getting past me! Star of Darkness!" Krysta used up the very last of her remaining magic against Jane, releasing her charged energy in the form of a dark magical draining spell which began to slowly but surely draw the signature red circle around where she stood.


    Jane didn''t wait on Krysta''s lengthy invocation of another spell to get the best of her, and trying to run out of the circle in time could just be another distractor. Instead, Jane used the last ounce of her own energy and put it into another one of her new spells, one that was very quick, easy, and cheap to invoke while dealing adequate damage for this level. "Laser Rain!" Jane''s invocation was immediate, the spell that required no glyphring and only a slight aura around her hands to spawn a barrage of red colored photonic beams of light to shoot down from above, forming out of nowhere. Krysta was suddenly hit with several dozens of these lasers all in a very short period of time, degrading her health so far downward that it caused her to collapse to her knees, dropping all of her concentration on the spell that she currently had running. The loud sound of clashing lasers left a slight ringing in Jane''s ears, making her wonder how Krysta felt for being hit with all of them directly. The red circle belonging to the Star of Darkness spell surrounding Jane suddenly faded away, incomplete due to Jane''s quick interruptions.


    No longer could Krysta figure out what was happening anymore. It felt to her like she had already lost, but somehow she was still conscious. This wouldn''t last for long. Sleep became her next desire, a nice long rest. Forget about whatever happened today; rest would be nice. Being stuck in the trance that she was due to severe battle damage left everything around her to question.


    Jane ceased her own actions. It would be hard enough as it is to try and attack Krysta right now with her own magic drained completely, but Krysta was just down on her knees, her face staring at the floor as if she was completely out of it. Jane knew what that sensation looked like, and Krysta''s energy scope becoming red like that proved the theory true. Krysta was done now, her battle over. Being put in a critical condition is supposed to mark the end of any particular battle, and she had a feeling that the referee was about to declare the match for her.


    Cynthia noticed quickly how that all turned around. Krysta was simply stuck, very close to passing out. Of course, she could still be saved with the advanced healing orbs they have available. After seeing all of the amazing things Jane has done today, as well as the difference in both energy scopes, the winner of the battle was as clear as day. "I declare the match between Jane Venn and League Elite Krysta to be over!" With that short-spoken declaration announced with her voice projected, the Siriean dome around the entire field immediately faded downward and shut down by collapsing in on itself. Shortly after, there was a moment of silence, all placed specifically upon her. Cynthia was supposed to announce the winner just now, but she wanted to get close to Krysta first. By the time she rushed in to Krysta''s proximity, Cynthia turned around facing Jane''s direction, knowing that the hovering cameras have already caught up to her angle. "I - referee of the first elite battle hereby declare a victory to this match in the name of Jane Venn! She will now be eligible to move on to the next round!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Calm ~ Aleksander Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)</a>


    <hr>


    Just as the crowd around her was whipped into a frenzy of cheering and screaming out to their excitement, Taylor joined them by jumping up and throwing her fist into the air with her leap. "Yes! Jane did it! I knew she would!" Danny would probably have his own comment about it too, though he sure wasn''t the kind to get as excited as Taylor was right now and express it so openly. Some parts of the battle were confusing even for her to watch on that screen, but all of it ended up making sense in the end. Jane didn''t give up for a second, and she managed to show Krysta who''s the boss around here after all.


    Back in the battle room, Cynthia was in the process of healing Krysta using both the advanced healing orb and herself through the use of a powerful spell, which sped up the process at the same time. Like all usual healing orbs, the physical effects of its activation and lighting were all the same. Cynthia uses her magic to activate the device, then places it on top of Krysta as it begins to work. In just a short matter of seconds, Krysta''s HP stats jumped up, continuously regenerating while the color of the holographic text box changed from red to orange, and before the process was finished, the box faded away in just short of another quick second. Krysta was hardly back to herself that quickly, but she was already showing signs of recovery, capable of taking in her surroundings, snapping out of whatever trance she was in previously.


    Cynthia then tossed another one of the orbs in Jane''s direction, hoping she would know to catch the sphere and use it on herself. Even as Jane had to go through the process of healing herself, Cynthia focused more on Krysta, who had overdone herself this time. It was amazing that Jane''s last attack failed to completely knock her out right then and there. Some of the battle wounds and scars from earlier lingered despite the healing, such as the scars on both Krysta''s shoulders from when Jane shoved her daggers inside. It made little sense as to how a physical attack managed to deal real time damage just from the power level alone, but Krysta would likely have something to say about it in just a minute. Cynthia could only conclude that some of Jane''s attacks must have exceeded the power level safety limiter system by sheer luck alone, which isn''t against any rules.


    Just after Jane healed all of her stats using the orb, she felt an immediate rejuvenation to her stamina and energy. It was like coming right out of a runner''s high and feeling great because of how quickly she''s recovered. The healing orbs here worked almost immediately, which seemed too good to be true. Jane took it all in, the victory, the downed Siriean dome, the floating cameras trying to pick up a story... Jane still had some trouble believing now that she alone made all of this possible. Yet just a few moments ago, she had no choice but to believe in herself just to keep going. Jane believed at first that Krysta would have something to say right now, but then the announcer cut in again and disrupted the moment she wanted to last forever.


    "Unbelievable! Pinned against one of Eldora''s finest elites, Jane has emerged victorious in a battle that could not have been predicted at any point in time! And it looks like our fans are excited by the sudden development! What a spectacle put on here today! I''ve never seen an excessive exchange of spells like this before."


    "Neither have I..."


    "Huh?" Cynthia heard Krysta whisper something, either to herself or to her referee.


    Krysta was still breathing pretty quickly, and her weakened state was lingering after the healing orb stopped glistening, but she was finally conscious of what was going on. The Siriean dome was gone, and her loss of track in the battle could only mean one thing. After struggling to stand up, Krysta thought about what she should say to Jane, if only John would shut up with the announcements.


    "Leray fighter Jane Venn will now move up to the second round, where she will battle against our level two elite warrior. Will Jane be able to advance further beyond that round? Stay tuned after our fifteen minute break period to find out." A sonic pop left after the speaker systems indicated that John was taking an interval break, and he was saying things that Jane wasn''t entirely aware of. It gave Krysta plenty of time to stand up more firmly, as she struggled to walk closer to Jane.


    Jane stood still after realizing Krysta wanted to speak to her. All of the cameras in the entire room suddenly hovered over to specific slots on the walls of which Jane was not familiar with before. It seems that the cameras in the entire room were actually shutting themselves down for the period. They must not want to record the rest until the next battle begins.


    "It looks like you won Jane."


    Following her admission to Krysta''s loss, Jane used Krysta''s own words earlier to rub it in her face. "What was that about using me as target practice?" The comment put an embarrassed smile on Cynthia''s face, since she too knew what Jane was referring to; the little argumentative choice of words they had right before beginning the battle. Krysta sure was confident, but she was busted all in the same day.


    "I know," Krysta allowed. "You made me eat my own words. I''ve now seen some of the finest skills and maneuvers compared to a few years ago, perhaps longer than that." Krysta noticed that Jane seemed a little quiet. Perhaps she was in a bit of shock that Krysta wasn''t serious about more than half of her previous insults. It was just a tactic she used to fire people up at the start of battle. At the same time, that anger can make people lose their place and plans before anything even starts. "You''ve amazed me today in more ways I can even count. Your determination to win was by far brought out to you the entire time you fight in a Leray match. I must say I''m impressed that you refused to give up even when things looked bad for you."


    "Giving up is not in my plan."


    Krysta wondered what Jane meant by her plan, but it seemed obvious enough that she was simply talking about the same dream many young people have about Eldora Tower: to defeat the champion and become a Leray master. That is what Jane fights for, at least that''s what it felt like anyway. Still, the rest of the team won''t just let Jane win. "You will go far with such an attitude, dare I predict you may even make it to Sir Danton himself if you don''t give up fighting even for a moment, but you are much more special than I ever would have guessed. Your endurance for example was amazing."


    Jane winced slightly without letting Krysta see it. Was she being serious? One of Jane''s passive effects from being marked was the opposite of what Krysta had just announced. Without that power shield, Jane takes on three times more damage than anybody else, right? Or have things changed once again? Is it possible that all of Jane''s training had finally perked up her maximum HP endurance to the point where the reset endurance from her symbol was no longer a problem? Could it be that all of the training and buffs she was using over the month naturally boosted her endurance to a more survivable level without enhancements? And if there was a way to remove this marking, would any of that change afterwards? At least one part of the theory remains clear. The mark must reset endurance levels rather than lowering them with a negative or fractional factor. Whomever this spell bomb was meant for really could have become powerful in a short period of time.


    "And your mobility. I haven''t seen someone move like you in ages, let alone give me trouble in a close combat situation. You even invoked skills I never thought possible. What was that thing you did earlier, sending my own Mega Bolt back towards me? What is your secret to battling Jane?"


    Cynthia giggled at her level of response. "I think you have a new fan of your own already Jane. Krysta never asks to learn anything from her opponent, unless it''s Danton of course."


    "Oh don''t start with the semantics gramps!" Quickly did Krysta''s average behavior resume its original state. She has always been tempered with her voice, but thanks to this battle, everything felt so weird and different. Right now, it doesn''t matter if Jane realizes that all of her previous insults used against her were just bluffs.


    "Learning is a never-ending experience," Jane reminded. She knew that herself, after all she has been through, there were plenty of skills as well as battle tactics that she just learned about in this very same fight. Nobody should forget that, but Krysta asked a less direct question, and Jane had to come up with something that didn''t involve including information about her friends or her hidden symbol, while at the same time keeping it true to her own experiences. "But so is hard work. I''ve learned all I could in such a short time because training is all I''ve ever done, longer before I ever even got my own license to battle. The secret is as simple as trying your best all the time, upon many other things to consider."


    Krysta seemed a bit frozen for a moment, as if she really did take Jane''s words seriously. "Wow! You almost sounded like Cleo for a second there. He gives lectures sometimes, but they mostly go about as well as the one you just did."


    "I would very much like to meet this Cleo," Jane hinted. When will she get to fight the next guy? She sure didn''t feel completely recovered, but her patience for getting to Danton was already fading a bit thin.


    "I hope you do Jane," Krysta replied. "But always remain cautious. I never take it easy on the weaklings that challenge me. It''s against our policy to lower our abilities and difficulty to match the others. But when I fought against you today, I never would have imagined I would become overwhelmed by your quick ability to adapt to any situation. It''s like you suddenly got better and better the further we went into it, and it wasn''t long until I really gave it everything I got."


    "What are you saying?" Jane heard of these words before, but why was Krysta so soft on her now?


    "I''m saying that I had a lot of fun today!" Krysta confirmed her claim with the excited tone in her voice, which almost seemed to scare Jane. "I''ve not had a battle like that before, even with Danton. Of course, his fighting style is different, but I enjoyed battling you today Jane. Whether you win or lose the championship, I''m going to find you after the chain is over, and when I do, I''ll pay you back for the way you defeated me."


    A few shivers were sent down Jane''s spine given the odd glaring tone in Krysta''s last statement. It was more like a promised grudge, but it goes without saying that Krysta simply loves to battle too. She must not get to have that kind of fun though given the severe difference in experience levels that most people have against this specific fighter and her strategy. Jane initially believed that this was a side of Krysta that never existed before battling her, but she''s really a nice person once she warms up to people. Otherwise, one would think the opposite. Jane remembered Krysta saying something about Danton''s tactics, and grew a curious ear for more. "What kind of tactics does Danton use anyway?"


    "Hmph," Krysta huffed. "I''m not allowed to tell you that right now. The rules here work as follows. You''ve defeated me, so that means that against your next opponent, I am allowed to reveal only a hint to you about Cleo."


    "Cleo?" Jane repeated.


    Krysta continued with an explanation of who Cleo is. "Cleo is your next opponent, the level two elite warrior of Eldora Tower. And before you get it into your mind that Cleo is some hot woman, I should tell you now that he is just a man already in his late forties."


    "So Cleo is a man..." Jane figured Krysta found it significant that the name Cleo isn''t really suitable for someone who is male, but was that really the hint? Why is that important? Was she sharing an inside joke?


    "After you beat Cleo, he has to give you a hint about how to beat the next opponent, and so on..." Krysta''s facial expression turned serious and troublesome quickly in her explanation. "Cleo doesn''t have any real weaknesses that I know of. I personally don''t think his fighting technique is enough to get the best of me or someone of yourself, but I should warn you about one thing." Krysta, who already had fully recovered in her healing remained hush for a second to make sure Jane was paying close attention. "Cleo likes to specialize in his attacks by using anything and everything that inflicts a very heavy amount of physical pain. He believes that the key to victory is to debilitate his enemies only using attacks that are designed to inflict pain so great that it becomes impossible for his targets to battle under those conditions. So he mostly specializes in piercing types of attacks, whether they be magical or physical. This naturally means that Cleo has a very high pain tolerance too in his own practice. If you think you can give him a taste of his own medicine, you might want to conjure up a better strategy. And that''s all. There really isn''t much more to that guy. He won''t care about how much discomfort you are in, so don''t be shy about handing the match to him if pain is something you cannot handle."


    Jane sighed with a stressful notion. Great! As if this wasn''t hard enough. Jane figured Cleo will deliver attacks that may feel similar to the physical pains she suffered back in the dark zone. There were not a ton of attacks that dealt searing pain, but she felt the ones that were there. Cleo must have his own way of making it so real without bringing in the potential to inflict real time damage. That would be illegal after all. Too bad they don''t make some kind of in-battle painkiller orb for situations like these.


    Why would someone specialize in something like that anyway? Was Jane being tested on multiple levels? Maybe Danton thinks that only those who are capable of overcoming any challenge or debilitating factor are to make one worthy just to get to speak to him. Who are these people anyway? Have these elites really been here so long now as to understand each other''s tactics?


    "With that out of the way," Krysta continued. "I think you should get going. After you win each battle, you are entitled to a fifteen-minute break to recover and compose yourself, but it takes a bit of time itself just to get to the next floor in which your second battle begins, and we''ve probably wasted about three of those minutes."


    Jane nearly forgot that she and Krysta were on camera for that whole battle, and that the same circumstances will apply in all of her future battles too. "I guess I''ll go to the next floor huh?"


    Cynthia took the liberty of allowing Jane to know some rather uninteresting information. "He''ll be on floor three hundred, which elevates you to about 850 meters in altitude. If you have a history of altitude sickness or asthma, you should let us know now¡ª"


    "I''m good," Jane ended. That wouldn''t be a problem. Plus the special air conditioning units running on all floors of Eldora Tower have specialized mixers in the air density to make it seem normal to breathe even on the highest floor. But for some reason, nobody else was sharing that aloud.


    Krysta turned towards Jane as she already begun to walk herself to the elevators. "By the way," Krysta caught Jane''s attention for the last time regarding the reward. "Your funds will be transferred to your card after the break is up. For defeating me though, you''ve only gained 2600 credits so far. If you beat Cleo, that number will dramatically climb. I''m sure money isn''t your motive, but it''s a nice bonus to have if you defeat him."


    "Thanks." Jane took her time in getting to the elevator. She had to walk to the side of the room she had not been to before. When she first came out of the elevator, it was from the south side of the room sector. The one she was being directed to now was the corridor on the north side of the arena. Apparently, the elevators alternate in places within the tower, which made security even more impressive to maintain. But aside from that, Jane knew that this elevator would take her to floor 300, 850 meters high. In thought, Jane knew that was incredibly high off the ground. It would be terrible if the tower collapsed, something else that reminded Jane about the use of her Gyrobreak spell in the last fight. She nearly caused structural damage outside of the Siriean dome just from how powerful that spell became. It might be best to try and restrain herself from using that skill a second time.


    Jane got inside of the shaft, the doors shutting behind her automatically as the system prepared to take her up. In just short of time, Jane will have to do the same thing over again, but against a different and probably tougher opponent. Jane wondered if her experience was adequate enough to give it all she had. There were still a few abilities in which Jane hasn''t tried just yet, but her Return spell was probably the most useful of them all. Whatever happens up there, Jane knew of one thing. Giving up is not an option. She has to get to Danton tonight!

 Chapter 45: Stingy Attitude

    <hr>


    <02/12/1972 ¨C 08:45 | Eldora Tower Fl. 300, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    After walking out of the elevator doors which had stopped on floor three hundred, Jane carefully observed the surroundings to notice little difference in the actual structure of the area. Right in front of her was the massive corridor leading all the way into the circular room where her next opponent would be waiting. Much of the design here was very similar to the previous arena. Did they not care about the aesthetics until one reaches an arena room? Jane soon wondered exactly what some of the other floors in the tower were like, the floors nobody ever hears about in between the vertical area sections.


    She shook the irrelevant thought away, but Jane still paced herself slightly, realizing that she was given a fifteen-minute break from her last battle. The healing orb used on her was more amazing than she thought; Jane felt so full of energy even though she won a tough match minutes ago. That must have been the general idea. Make the challengers battle to the top as fast as they can, in case there are other people that wish to try their luck in the same day. Jane knew there were other people waiting and willing to take her place. None of them would be capable of winning, and none of them would be battling for the same reasons either.


    What is the protocol if someone wins though? What happens to the other challengers that didn''t get to go yet? If Jane became champion on that same day, does she have to battle against the next in line too? Or is there some sort of ceremony that cancels the match for the others who haven''t gone yet? The overall process made less sense the more Jane tried to think about it. Judging by the sound rumor that Danton has remained champion for nearly ten years consecutively, the result would be anyone''s best guess. The instructions were not all that clear from the original proposal. Just defeat the champion''s minions and then the champion himself huh? That can''t be too difficult with the training locked inside her head.


    But the reason for winning is what Jane felt pushed her even harder. The thought of Lennith City and everyone she knows there fading away into the dark zone isn''t a world acceptable for anyone. Defeating Danton will change that; it will give everyone including herself hope where none previously existed. With a heavy heart, Jane marched forward through the corridor. It would take much time just walking to reach the edge of that field, and Jane took that time to quickly examine herself again. By some amazing miracle, her hair she did this morning retained the same style and form it had before. Her dress wasn''t dirty enough to go noticed from the naked eye. The overall color contrasted that of her hair while bringing out the color in her eyes.


    As she was expecting to see cameras, Jane casually shifted her head around the place to spot the flying drones, and in doing so, she immediately caught on to the paintings and holy engravings in the walls, ceiling, and floor. All were different from each other, but the drawings resembled the background of some unfamiliar place or setting, toned with colors favoring towards red. Just beyond the center spot on the ground stood Jane''s next opponent, a bald man in his early forties wearing a unique full corset outfit, colored mostly with red, while black and brown was the complementary color in the design. Was it a robe, or a manly dress? Somehow, it seemed a cross between the two, with some sort of fuzzy texture to the material.


    Cleo was not standing there by himself. His referee, who seemed more refined by his young age and his fancy outfit that resembled French style formal clothing also stood near Cleo. He eyed Jane as much as he could, knowing that the elite warrior may be doing the same, but there was no way to know Cleo''s thoughts right now.


    Before Jane slowed her pace to a crawl, Cleo brushed his hand to himself, gesturing Jane to come closer. "Interesting creature! You''ve managed to get the best of Krysta in the first round. That''s why you''re here, no?"


    Jane''s heart was already racing. It was hard enough to figure out what the man meant by each of his words. Only one thing made sense to her, giving Jane the chance to respond, but what made this a little more nerve wrecking was the absence of the voice on the megaphone, the announcer that usually butts in with his annoying chants of the obvious. "I did defeat Krysta, so you''re going down next." She heard the unstable tone in her own voice, causing Jane to sink her head down slightly.


    "Hmm." Cleo suddenly took his own moment of silence, making the space around him more awkward as Jane got close enough to talk to him clearly without having to shout. "Krysta doesn''t have many faults within her. Highly energetic, quick as ever, and unpredictable in style, though at the same time, unrefined. I don''t suppose you will tell me how you managed to overcome her brutal tactics? Was it her ego getting in the way again?"


    Jane glanced all around her, waiting for the punch line. The cameras are recording everything they are actively saying. Won''t this show up on television for Krysta to hear too? Something about his words told Jane that Cleo clearly did not get along very well with Krysta, but was he really much better than her? "I... She..."


    Cleo studied Jane''s facial expressions and the look in her eyes very closely as Jane struggled to piece together a whole sentence. There was something about the moment right now, the girl seemed to be upsetting herself about something, the look of remorse getting stronger.


    After being reminded about how horrible it was to so easily defeat champion members just because of the expedited training she was only able to have because of her symbol, Jane felt the same thing she faced last night. Remembering JDT was the only thing that could cheer Jane up right now. It pulled her out of her trance, and once again reminded her of the reason she was standing here right now. Jane tensed before she spoke with newfound confidence in her plan. "Krysta underestimated my abilities. That became her downfall."


    Cleo was suddenly more intrigued by this than he was before. The girl so quickly swapped entire emotions and found some way to charge herself up for the battle soon to be, but there was still a few minutes remaining before it would be allowed to start. "I see. That is most understandable. Perhaps you wanted more of a challenge?" Seeing Jane refuse to reply to his question only pushed him to get more information. "I must ask for your name. We elites yet to battle challengers are not allowed to know much about the person winning their way to the top, should it give us an unfair advantage."


    "I''m Jane," she announced. Jane knew the hovering cameras were taking in video feeds of their conversation right now, and she might as well make use of it. "Jane Venn!" she projected. "I''ve come to defeat the champion today, and if I''m lucky, become a Leray master."


    "So young and fragile," he commented. "You don''t look like the type capable of winning a match against a simple gradyent, though this must have been the reason for which you were underestimated many times. I can assure you miss that this battle will not be so discriminative."


    "And just so you know..." The man who had yet to identify himself stepped forward, speaking out to Jane. "The cameras in here are actively recording. The delay factor is higher right now because you are early, and Cleo prefers to have the announcer set on mute like most the elites here. He will talk over everything like in your last match, but not one of us in this room will be able to hear it."


    Cleo barely turned his head and eyes to his left direction without actually turning around to look at his referee. "She knows already Dameon." Putting focus back to Jane, Cleo introduced himself and his team. "That over there is my personal referee. Dameon will be the judge of the battle with more weight than I, but I assume you already know this as well."


    Jane had to at least commend Cleo for choosing to mute the announcer from this end. Obviously he minded that useless chatter as much as she did, but Cleo was still hinting at something less ordinary. "Was there something I''m not supposed to know?"


    "Confident aren''t we?" Cleo took a single step back, glanced at Dameon, and nodded his head. Jane obviously would not understand what signal he just reported to his own subordinate, but it was understood quickly enough for Dameon to reach for something in his pocket. In the meantime, Cleo expended a small amount of magic not visible to anyone, until the result posted itself in front of Jane''s face. He enabled his energy scope already, causing Jane to tip toe backwards in fear that he may begin attacking her before a battle is even launched. "If that is the case, there is only one more thing for you to know before we begin."


    Jane was passively listening to Cleo''s words, but her attention shifted to the room around her. After Dameon had pressed a button on some remote switch, some mechanism from below the floors past the edge began to move. The room was similar in that while there was plenty of room to walk on the circular metal field, the very edges had no floor, allowing one to fall down to some degree and possibly get stuck down there if they didn''t know what they were doing. Jane now got to see the purpose of this design. The loud noises and moving mechanism turned out to be that missing circular part of the floor rising from below to this level, bringing with it an entire circular field of barbed wire and sharp edges of a fence, spliced and rewired for extra danger. Dameon began pacing to a different location during the transformation, expecting Jane to let this all sink in.


    While Jane was scaring herself by the sudden shift in the field, Cleo made his final announcement, answering to his last hint. "It''s that I don''t mess around here."


    "Are you serious?!" Jane couldn''t believe that this was actually legal. This was something she was defiantly not warned about before by anyone. The entire edge of the circular field now had a floor alright, but the edge was also rigged with sharp wire that would probably cut through anything, even capable of damaging magical dress spheres. She took out both of her daggers, the only thing that made her feel safe in the meantime right now.


    "That I am," he claimed. "This battle will have the additional factor of a cancel field involved. If you stray too close to the edge, this fence will cut and hurt you. Of course, it won''t possibly be as painful as what I am about to do to you Jane. You really thought I would just accept your idea of fate and let you pass? You must prove yourself to me! You must be able to ignore pain no matter how severe it becomes. That is my rule!"


    "The match between Jane Venn and Leray Elite Cleo will begin shortly. The Siriean dome will be modified to include the entire room structure within it."


    Even Dameon had no problems with this dangerous arrangement, which meant this must be a surprise to everybody who challenges him, right? Wouldn''t it be obvious on television though? Jane clearly would have obtained a better advantage just by watching one episode of someone else''s battle here. Cleo sure wasn''t kidding around. Jane exhaled, trying to remain calm and fearless. All of this was possible because of Danny and Taylor helping her on. That wasn''t for nothing, and neither will this journey be wasteful. After the short supportive thought, Jane felt she was ready to battle anyway. Currently standing too close to Cleo, Jane backed away by several paces while engaging her own energy scope. As soon as she retains her own distance, Jane will be ready.


    Without the voice of the announcer on to tell what is happening, Jane had to completely rely on what was assumed, and what Dameon was going to say about it. Likely, he would be the one to talk in the middle of a battle. Still, with all of these new factors involved, Jane immediately sensed that Cleo''s strategy was to disable her with pain inducing attacks early on to have an advantage. Thank the gods for this cool power shield. "Fine! I''m ready to battle."


    Dameon took Jane''s word to be final, knowing that Cleo was always ready to battle regardless of circumstances. He used his own magic, creating a powerful Siriean dome that spanned through the entire room. The dome shield stopped just short of the walls, even by such distance due to the natural shape. The height of the dome went very close to the ceiling as well, while retaining just enough transparent light properties to allow anyone inside to clearly see all of the artwork anyway. Now that the match was getting underway, it was time to declare the brawl. "The match between Jane Venn and Leray Elite Cleo will now begin!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Force of a Dream ~ Dos Brains [Below the Horizon]</a> (Extended Ver.)


    <hr>


    Jane knew the drill by now. After the awkward stand still that happened at the beginning of the last match, she knew that a man like Cleo would not be susceptible to many kinds of tricks. Which damage types is he actually resistant to? It was going to take a lot of spells just to find out. Jane didn''t mind going first at the immediate beginning of the match. With her daggers already in her hand, Jane charged up the energy into both of her blades, expending them with the chant of her special magic. "Mako Strike!"


    Jane''s quick use of a spell paid off when the magical energy charged at the tips of her dagger blades aimed at Cleo with the spheres of blue energy shot forward in the form of high-speed projectiles. Mako Strike was one of Jane''s second tier spells related to the magic of Mako Beam, capable of reforming the energy into a condensed form to inflict magical blunt damage with an elevated power level without costing her much MP energy. A low cost but powerful spell would be the best way to start things off. As the spheres zoomed through the air in the center of the field nearly too fast to track their movement, Cleo stood right in the way of the attack, but instead of trying to evade the spell, he crossed his arms over his chest casually and waited. The two spheres of Leray energy collided into Cleo''s body, and against what was expected by the power level and force of the attack, Cleo wasn''t even fazed. There was no knockback, no sliding from the force of the hit, and no pain visually registering within Cleo. His defensive stance wasn''t even interrupted by the clean impact. Despite the power of the spell, he took a small amount of Leray damage without showing any other signs of change. The loss of health on the energy scope didn''t seem as accurate when judging how well Cleo took the magical attack.


    "Humph!" Confident that the match would be over soon, Cleo sped things up starting with one of his signature spells used plenty of times before in matches. He didn''t mind that the fight was being shown live back to an excited audience, but he also made his own spells highly attractive to the visual perception and beauty of his style. "Flaming Volley!" His voice didn''t project very far, not that it needed to. His spell actually took a fair amount of time to launch with invocation. First, he had to spawn a bow and arrow into his hands using the usual small yellow glyphring, proving he has not chosen a favorite physical weapon. After the bow ended up in his hands, more magic was immediately fused into the single arrow as he began loading it into the bow. As a result, the arrow immediately burst into flames while retaining its shape and form, becoming a flaming arrow.


    Jane sensed there was more to this than what Cleo was letting on. His style made this look light a bright and beautiful flaming arrow, but he chanted Flaming Volley. Preparing herself for the worst, Jane wasn''t shy this time about gathering the Leray energy into her hands and preparing another power-shielding aura just to be safe. When she was ready, Cleo launched his arrow high into the air instead of taking an aim at Jane. His arrow left at an angle, set to force the arrow coming back down towards the target. As the arrow left the bow, several more arrows suddenly appeared out of phase space high in the air above where Cleo was standing, all following the same general direction and pathway as the one Cleo initially controlled. There had to be at least sixty or more arrows, and every single one of them had tips that were burning with a fiery aura that glimmered light everywhere. Jane simply saw it as several dozens of yellow lights coming down at her from above, which was obviously the manifestation of Flaming Volley.


    Before they impacted the ground around her, Jane chanted her own spell of protection as she had prepared to. "Power Shield!" After extending her arms crossed and open, Jane''s magic released and shrouded herself in a transparent blue aura formed with the same shape as her body. The area attack that would have inflicted fire elemental piercing damage turned into a solid mess as the arrows that did manage to strike against Jane''s shield simply deflected off of the aura, leaving behind a single small hexagon in its place for Jane to see. Each arrow that bounced off left an interesting deflection sound against Jane''s shield, and she simply waited out the remainder of the area attack until every arrow had fallen from the sky. After it was over, Jane uncrossed her arms and shut her hands, immediately cutting power to her aura and causing it to collapse with a familiar zapping sound of additional repulsion.


    Cleo watched as his entire attack was made useless while Jane''s shielding aura trashed the entire field with burnt sticks smoking up in the air. Each burned-out arrow eventually faded with the end of its magical properties that summoned them in the first place, but Cleo now saw the reason why Jane so easily made her way up here; Power Shield. It wasn''t a bad idea to deflect attacks like that, but if this was Jane''s best strategy, then she will be done for without him having to break a sweat.


    "You don''t seem that excited," Jane observed. Cleo just stood there like a statue. He didn''t care what Jane just did even though everyone she has ever met was alien to this particular shielding aura.


    "I''m not impressed," Cleo confide. "Power shield isn''t a bad idea, but it won''t save you from our skills."


    Jane gritted her teeth, hoping that Cleo was just spouting his bluffs to confuse her into making herself more vulnerable than what was necessary. Then again, if Cleo had learned of the skill Dimensional Strike at any time, then he would be right. Rontellov used Dimensional Strike earlier, which bypassed Jane''s entire shielding aura. Zero Zone could negate her shield as well, but Jane figured she was the only one who knew this spell so far. It wasn''t worth the argument of trying to figure out where Cleo was going with this. Jane decided to go ahead with another attack, one that would do more damage. Even if Cleo is resistant to all damage and pain, he can''t be resistant to passing out with no more HP remaining. Jane charged more energy into her hands and released them as soon as the quick spell had been activated. "Laser Rain!" There was almost no way to tell where or how the spell would activate. Jane''s glowing hands stopped glowing just as her attack started, but Laser Rain actually summons the lasers from high above the target, which is why it has this kind of name.


    In just short of time, Cleo was suddenly bombarded with at least a hundred red colored photonic lasers all in the same instance, shooting down from the tall room. The ceiling stopped nearly eighty meters from the floor, so there was a lot of room to spawn spells in this fight. Cleo grunted with a slight step back from the sudden hit. He didn''t even try to dodge or block the attack he already saw coming. Jane''s invocation of Laser Rain wasn''t that fast; it took about one full second after she chanted the magical spell for the lasers to actually hit their mark. Cleo made it seem like it actually hurt, but he kept his adamant stance as if nothing were wrong.


    Cleo quickly retaliated with the immediate formation of a large ice based glyphring spawning in front of him, chanting the magical spell just as it began to invoke under his command with no delay. "Ice Needles!" Cleo used the magic he stored to fire a barrage of unguided projectiles towards Jane in the form of frozen needles only designed to cause the target pain while lowering their body temperature mid-battle.


    There was no possible way such a low power level based spell could do that much damage. Jane suspected some kind of trick. If she attempted to evade those needles or even shield against them, Cleo may try something else on the spot, but having her body pierced by a hundred cold chilling needles didn''t sound like fun either. To compromise, Jane immediately whipped out one of her new spells currently unused since she had entered the championship battles, one that she managed to modify with a lot of practice while keeping the design quite practical. "Farshield!" Jane''s magical usage of the same waveform of her normal power shield combined with the telekinetic properties of Leray magic had given her a new way to invoke an old power with a flawless design.


    The shield that Jane wanted to create did not form around herself this time. Instead, Jane''s open hands were aimed at the center of the field, straight at the oncoming barrage of Ice Needles as she was in the process of using her stored energy to create a Farshield. As a result, an entire wall made completely of translucent energy in the form of an aura formed from the ground up, going as tall as five meters and as wide as seven. The solid auric wall Jane constructed blocked the path of the oncoming Ice Needles in its entire area of effectiveness, causing every single flying projectile to collide into the shield-based wall. The type of shield was the exact same in design, and required about the same amount of Leray energy as before. Jane simply changed its form and location while keeping its overall power level. All of the needles simply got absorbed into the shield wall, leaving behind very large energy hexagons in their place. Jane kept the shield going just as the last few ice needles became absorbed, watching Cleo''s movements to see if that was indeed one of his tricks.


    Cleo wasn''t expecting something as advanced as this, but he stuck with the simple plan, invoking his next power while the Farshield was still up. "Laser Rain!"


    Jane immediately cut power to her Farshield, collapsing the wall of energy down into fading light. Jane knew that the attack she used last time was now coming down on her; there would be no time at all to try and power shield against it the normal way or to use a vertical Farshield. She instinctively dove into the air forward as quickly as she could, leaving behind the sheering sound of lasers all slamming against the solid ground instead of Jane herself. As she rolled forward and determined that her quick evasion to dodge Laser Rain was actually effective, she quickly stood back up before Cleo could get in a third attack.


    That was really his plan all along, get two spells in instead of one? Cleo must have expected the damage from Ice Needles and Laser Rain to accumulate enough damage over time to wither her natural shield aura away. Little did he expect this turn of events though. Now it was Jane''s turn to try something, when another untested ability came to mind. After charging just a small bit of energy into her hands, Jane needed only to focus. "Dark Lite!" As quickly as Jane chanted the ability, a nearly black colored glyphring facing vertical formed under Cleo''s feet spinning rapidly in phase through his body. Just a second afterwards, Cleo was suddenly hit with the mysterious power that only drained his stamina by a small amount. The effects were only noticeable on his energy scope, as his MP levels literally went down by a full ten percent just before the glyphring faded along with Jane''s magic.


    But Instead of firing back at Jane or trying anything else, Cleo cross his arms again with a different kind of stance and expression on his face. At first, there was a three-second silence. Then, "Stop the match!"


    "What?" Jane stood tall again, confused by Cleo''s motives of putting the match on pause. The Siriean dome around both of them suddenly collapsed so fast that it created a short burst wind speed inside of the closed space. Cleo didn''t move, but his referee Dameon held his right hand high in the air for just a short moment. All of the cameras in the room were fixed on him now.


    "The match has been placed on hold by Leray Elite Cleo. You may state your concerns."


    "You don''t have to do that Dameon!" Cleo hollered. By refusing to move from where he stood, Cleo had to raise his volume to reach his referee and Jane, whom have been fighting at long range this whole time. "I think this iteration of film should be cut anyway. Jane Venn, do you realize what you have just done?"


    Dameon held a strange oracle device in his hands, revealing it to Jane and Cleo both. There was an entire screen facing him, with dim LED lights blinking red in the back. Only he knew what the device was and how to read it. "That last attack is showing confirmed signs of magic negation."


    Cleo cleared his throat to translate what it meant for Jane. She didn''t seem like the type to get involved with this kind of treachery, nor did she seem bothered by it just now. It only meant one thing. "Dameon''s detector just went off on you Jane. That spell you just cast contained similar properties of waveforms consistent only with dark magic. There was no Leray energy put into the spell you just used."


    "Wh¡ªwhat?!" Jane lost her breath just from hearing that. The spell she just used...? Dark Lite; the spell that decreases a person''s MP by 10%, though can only be used once per battle. It wasn''t something Jane found in any old books, nor was it one of the spells Claudia cooked up for her. Jane didn''t remember exactly where she found the spell itself or how to cast it, but Cleo was telling her different, that Dark Lite uses the casting of dark magic. That can''t be!


    "Dark magic in the field confirmed!" Dameon chanted. "It will be up to Cleo to determine whether to forgive the fault, however it cannot happen again for the remainder of the entire chain."


    "But I¡ª" Jane didn''t know what to say. She didn''t know how to use dark magic. Was it really as simple as learning the wrong spell? Why didn''t anyone tell her that Dark Lite was a dark magical spell?


    "Very few people I''ve ever met actually know of the spell even if they know of its nomenclature." Cleo seemed to be giving Jane the lesson on what the spell is and how it works. "Nobody officially created a Leray spell that simply reduces magic in other people, and I already know by heart that Dark Lite is in fact a dark magical spell. I''ve already assumed you didn''t know that."


    "How could I possibly have known that?"


    It was easy to confirm that Jane wasn''t trying to use dark magic, even anything suspicious to get an upper hand. If she were keen on using dark magic, she would have simply used an attack that would deal real time damage in the same instance. Such an act would not so easily be forgivable. Cleo argued, "You must be more careful with yours spells and how you invoke them in training. It is not uncommon to accidentally create your own spell by modification and apply dark magic to it subconsciously. The only spells remotely related to dark magic allowed in this tower is Star of Darkness. I shall relieve you of this official mistake once. If I see you invoke another dark magic spell in front of me again, you will be disqualified from this match including other previously won matches. Am I clear?!"


    "Y¡ª yes!" Jane felt so bad about what she had just done. If Cleo wasn''t as understanding that it was an accident just now, her entire battle streak would have been for nothing at all. What other spells were dark magic? Nobody told Jane about this at all! "Sorry about that."


    "It''s quite okay. Dameon?! This iteration that just happened is to be cut from the records. Nobody watching will be able to see anything that just transpired. All film from the last two minutes shall be cut, starting as soon as the battle continues."


    "Yes sir," he replied. He fiddled with the device for only a moment, and fiddled with another one to make sure the televised data gets cut. The dark magic detector needed to be reset too in case Jane Venn does try the trick once more. "The match between Jane Venn and Leray Elite Cleo will now continue with no penalties or changes to the field!"


    Jane had nearly forgotten that the cameras viewing all of this had a ten-minute delay back to the feed in the lobby on the first floor of the tower, as well as any other device receiving it. The only real time filming went back to the recording and editing room somewhere else in the same tower. They must not allow just anyone to accidentally witness what magical ability belongs to the class of forbidden magic.


    When the dome started back up again, Cleo made sure that the girl got at least one more chance to try this again. "We''ll talk some more about it after this fight. For all future references, refrain from using illegal magic."


    "I won''t use dark magic," Jane promised with a new pitch in her tone. She became a little nervous about the fact that her new ability she was about to rely on was suddenly classified as illegal magic. She would just have to forget about that one existing spell and move on. There were still plenty of more abilities Jane had not tested yet, abilities of which she was already certain were official Leray moves, for the most part.


    "I will have the next move," Cleo announced. After charging energy into his hands immediately ready to battle, Cleo had to ignore the fact that the MP energy from himself and Jane has probably regenerated completely just from the talk they had about the earlier matter. He continued the battle as if nothing ever happened, and put faith in Jane that she would find another way to win the battle. "Earth Glave!" The ground began quaking and shifting despite the fact that real time damage did not occur to the cement or any other supporting structure around it. The crushing wave of magically spawned earth rocks and boulders rushed in towards Jane, who quickly reacted to the scene.


    Jane invoked another one of her power shields, but just as she got the aura around her body, the moving wave of earth elemental damage smashed Jane''s shielding aura from below. The hexagons forming there were tiny and highly abundant. Before Jane could register it into her mind that Cleo''s Earth Glave attack exceeded ordinary power levels related to the spell, it was already too late. The next hit on Jane''s shield completely shattered her aura, breaking right through the collapsing shield and slamming her body from all frontal sides. Jane was lifted about three feet into the air with the force of the hit pushing her backwards too. The damage was incredibly painful and sudden, and Jane could do nothing about it. After being slammed back into the ground while the final part of Earth Glave faded before it could harm Jane anymore, she quickly tried to recover and bare through the intense bruising pain that just crushed her.


    Jane had such little time to recover, but after coming back to her senses and standing back up, Cleo didn''t seem to be doing anything. Perhaps he wanted her to have another chance to attack? The entire battle was so far kept at long range. Jane knew she could do well at close range, but Cleo may have already developed a counter shield against something of the sort. Keeping in mind that he was quite immune to pain, Jane decided to try and enforce the elements of magic for increased damage instead. As she chanted the name of her next spell, glyphrings formed in various places in mid-air about the height of Jane''s body, all forming a triangle shape from an aerial view only the cameras could pull off. Jane controlled a fire glyphring in front of her, while her ice and electrical glyphrings took place elsewhere.


    "Tri-Attack!" After expending her magical energy further, Jane managed to launch a Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Lightning Strike attack all at once aiming at Cleo. The strikes were all designed to make sure that Lightning Strike hits Cleo first, being as fast as it was. Cleo however made no such attempts to dodge the attack, despite his knowledge that magical damage is designed to decrease HP more so than to inflict physical pain. As the Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt exploded into his body just after a short burst electrical strike, Cleo barely was nudged an inch from his current stance. He didn''t even have to block attacks to remain adamant just after taking several hits. After it was over, Jane quickly realized another reason why he remained so comfortable standing to take the attacks.


    The damage was so minimal for something with a high power level. Jane ended up wasting her MP on an attack that barely did anything to him. Did his resistance apply to physical attacks and magical attacks, or was it specific to elemental damage? Did his dress sphere have anything to do with this? Why is he so resistant to damage?


    "That was pitiful!" Cleo taunted. "I thought you would have guessed by now that elemental magic is quite useless here, but you''re more predictable than you claimed earlier." After getting his evaluations off his chest, Cleo quickly expended a small amount of MP energy to spawn a bow into his hands, refusing to announce the name of his spell. He and Jane didn''t need to rely on the name though. The purple glowing aura around the arrow he was loading in made it obvious enough that Cleo was about to shoot off a Spirit Arrow at Jane. Cleo quickly aimed and fired as if he were casually practicing.


    Jane knew about Spirit Arrow and its spirit elemental damage effects on humans. If she is hit by that, it will disorient her to no end. As Jane prepared to simply slide out of the way of the oncoming arrow, she had some time to think about what Cleo just mentioned earlier. It has to be true. His suit really is resistant to elemental damage, probably electrical damage by the most amount...


    Jane gasped at her own thought and surprise, which was also enough to snap her back into reality. Jane barely got to side step away from the projectile just before it stuck into her skin. The arrow continued on instead, bouncing off the Siriean dome and fading into oblivion. It wasn''t hard to dodge the attack, but Jane was now focused on something she had not thought of before until just now, a random epiphany related to Leray battles under all potential situations. There was a way to temporarily lower an elemental resistance, one in particular - Cleo would never see it coming. Jane quickly summoned the magic she needed, which left her stats unchanged by the fact that it only expended less than a full percent of her remaining MP levels.


    Her hands were glowing blue immediately, and Jane let her spell loose with the chant of the name in the air. "Water Blast!" An entire wide beam of water came shooting from the aura coming together in her hands as Jane kept them together while aiming at Cleo. Like a massive pipe bursting, Jane''s spell created a large amount of gushing water to shoot and splash all over Cleo where he stood, the stream stretching all the way to the other side and continuous for three entire seconds. When Jane was finished, Cleo and his clothes were dripping wet, soaked to the bone. Of course, it wasn''t an attack designed to deal any damage or any special effects, which soon explained Cleo''s confusion following the event.


    It was just a little cold to the touch, and having his clothes soaking wet was a bit unpleasant to deal with. But considering no damage was done in the entire process, and that it was Jane''s entire intention, he simply saw the plan going nowhere. Cleo let out an uncontrollable burst of laughter, imagining how embarrassed Jane must be right now for failing to come up with anything useful. His response changed Jane''s stance, who must now have realized her mistake. "Is that the best you can do?" Cleo quickly crouched down slightly to invoke his next skill, conserving his magic to try another one of his preferred spells. "Pin Missile!" Cleo created a dark colored glyphring that immediately began to fire a barrage of concentrated glowing needles towards Jane. The attack is designed to deal heavy piercing damage, with the added pain of stinging everywhere.


    Jane held one arm out in front of her with her fist shut, magic expending through her body. This time, she invoked another power shield that only protected her from the frontal side, similar to the Farshield ability she used earlier. The shield she put up was actually weaker than the last one and smaller by size, but it was still strong enough to stand up to Cleo''s low power attack. The needles that manage to hit Jane''s shield bounced off and faded, leaving behind only large hexagons without giving Jane much trouble.


    After it was over and Jane dropped her shield, she now had the opportunity to take advantage of the new situation she had just created. Cleo might be resilient and tough, but no magic in world would allow him to resist what she had in mind. Jane charged up her energy, giving Cleo a vain hint her specific style and plan being put to use. "I''m glad you thought Water Blast had no official uses. Prepare to feel what real pain is. Thunder Flare!" Jane aimed at Cleo while creating a sky colored glyphring in front of her. The magic was sent to Cleo''s position immediately, trapping him inside of a large translucent blue sphere that became more solid each millisecond that passed. Before Cleo could realize what was happening, the sphere he was trapped inside of activated its magic while throwing in all of the electrical energy it had to offer.


    Cleo was suddenly being electrocuted with Leray elemental magic that also yielded a high voltage due to Jane''s magic. She had learned Thunder Flare earlier as well, knowing for certain that it did not carry any dark magical effects, but the best part about this was that Jane managed to find a way to neglect his elemental resistances. Right now, Thunder Flare was far more potent than it normally would be. Though it was still in effect, Cleo for the first time let out painful groans while his body was stuck in a jolt hold. After being blasted with water soaking his entire body, his ability to conduct electricity would have gone up significantly despite his dress sphere to protect him, and the result was already promising before the Thunder Flare even ended. For about four seconds after the spell started, Cleo was constantly taking damage over the time he had the energy traveling through him in the painful sensation of burning and tingling electricity. It was as if his resistances to damage were not there anymore, and he had to suffer every moment of time until the spell finally ended.


    After the sphere around him faded away, Cleo felt dizzier than he did any previous battle. He shifted his weight to his knees, bending his legs to crouch down and stay conscious. Everything was hurting so suddenly, the last attack leaving him with a massive headache. Even though his limbs were tingling, it was the type of sensation that hurt in a unique way, the sensation of having a million needles stab him over and over in every small place imaginable. At the same time, Cleo found himself drained of energy for a good few seconds. It took him a lot of time to figure out where he just went wrong, and more time to try and stand back up. No matter what he was doing, Jane''s last spell managed to keep him hurting on and on. "That was..." Cleo composed himself while standing without a slouch. His physical recovery didn''t take that long, but Jane seemed to be in waiting mode, wondering what to do next. "That was excellent!"


    "Hm..." Jane knew from before that Cleo was about to give her praise, but that also meant he would try and attack her shortly after his words were complete. She remained ready for it.


    "Using a useless spell like Water Blast and turning it into a personal weakness against me... I don''t believe I''ve ever seen anyone try it before, and I''ve battled against countless elites." Jane wasn''t saying anything back, likely expecting a sneaky attack from himself. Cleo immediately understood her urgency to wrap up the battle immediately, and began charging for a different spell. "Very well Jane. We shall continue this fight with no further interruptions. I will show you what it is like to battle in pain. Shadow Force!"


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Here it comes! Jane hadn''t heard of the ability before, but one of the first things she noticed was a dark and nearly invisible Shadow Wave coming from where Cleo spawned it from. The Shadow Wave was approaching Jane quickly from her front, and she wanted to make sure her timing was correct, already prepared with the energy to invoke power shield on her command.


    Cleo watched as Jane was suddenly shoved forward into the frontal Shadow Wave by the three other waves that slammed her from behind. She obviously didn''t know what the spell was capable of, and as Jane failed to raise her personal shield up in time, she took damage from four consecutive hits of smaller, more refined versions of Shadow Wave. Jane was shoved to the ground quickly, but she did her best to recover just as fast as she was pushed down. Shadow Force spawns four different Shadow Waves all at the same time in different angles of each other to make dodging impossible. Jane didn''t see the three behind her coming to hit her first, and as a result, she took a significant amount of magical slashing damage. That wasn''t even the best part. Cleo didn''t even unleash the full version of his attack by adding in the additional dark glyphring that would have fired four dark pulsars at Jane prior to the Shadow Waves hitting her. It would have dealt much more damage, but there was always the chance she would have simply blocked it with her shield, wasting his MP reserves.


    Jane could tell that Cleo was a worthy adversary even after taking such a deep and painful hit from an electrical attack. That must have been what Krysta meant from the hint she gave her earlier. Jane needed a game changer, and that meant trying a new spell that had yet to be field tested beyond one time. Jane had to charge up a large amount of MP energy to prepare the invocation. "Blaze Storm!" Jane''s spell had a delayed start to cast itself into the field, but the effects would take some time to appear anyway. Blaze Storm is a power level nine spell that affects the entire environment, heating the air of the battlefield to 150<sup>o</sup>F and holding there for a lengthy period of time. While dealing a small amount of fire elemental damage over a period of time constantly, Blaze Storm is more designed to keep the environment too hot to function in. While the user of the spell is normally not supposed to be affected by the same thing, Jane had no such knowledge of excluding herself from the variables. She too would burn up soon, but at least Cleo would have a rough time battling once the room temperature gets high enough.


    The effects of the spell began somewhat slowly. Without the appearance of a glyphring, aura, or a focal point in the environment, it almost seemed as if nothing was going to happen many moments after Jane''s cry, but it wasn''t long before the air between everything had a noticeable visual effect. The space between everything became wavy in her eyes. Jane could see the distortion of rapid heat coming off the ground and from above, creating a morning mirage as if the two of them were standing in a super-heated desert. Up to the ceiling, the air retained a faint orange bloom, like someone had colored the fog there. The heat was turning up fast, already creating a very small amount of mist everywhere that barely reduced the field of view for Jane''s perception. It felt like being stuck out in the hot sun with twice the amount of heat and discomfort. The humidity was very high too. Jane was already beginning to sweat with the bulk of her dress sphere not allowing much of her skin to breathe.


    Though the change in temperature going all the way to 150 degrees took ten long seconds, Cleo didn''t interrupt any part of it. He knew about Blaze Storm, a very powerful spell that the other elite used in order to bring a fiery advantage in battle. Blaze Storm is only useful for making the opponent suffer from heat exhaustion. At the same time, adding fiery magical attacks and elements onto the same target can really show off just how powerful and overwhelming fire damage is for the people who embrace such styles. But seeing Jane place her hands on her knees and breath a bit faster told him the ability was just completely new to her. Oddly, she has perfected the actual spell so well; it was the same power level as the one he experienced before.


    Now that the heat was at full temperature, Cleo should have been kneeling down ready to pass out, his skin burning as if someone intensified the sun with a magnifying glass right under him, but Cleo didn''t seem as exhausted. Jane couldn''t believe her eyes. Despite how bad she was feeling from this, Cleo was still standing tall and normal as if nothing had happened, but he was at least affected by the damage of the spell. His bald head became shiny from his sweat, and the energy scope above him reported damage being done over time. It had already gone down from 70% HP to 63% HP. He obviously didn''t care about pain or battle damage. Now he was resistant to heat as well, which was worse in Jane''s case considering this was hot enough to dry his soaked clothes on the spot.


    "Impressive power," Cleo allowed. "But I''ve gotten used to the heat and the cold. Nothing you do can affect me. Nothing you do can exceed the amount of pain I can handle. You''re fighting an elite warrior with decades of experience Jane! You show no chance of victory against me or my style of battle."


    Jane felt so tired and overcooked already. She chose to ignore the fact that her energy scope may have reported damage to herself as well, and decided to at least stand up for herself against Cleo''s terrible attempt to get her backing down from the fight. "You don''t even know who I am!" Jane had to pause between her next sentences, gasping for air as the drops of sweat rolled down her face from her hair. Her entire body under the dress became sticky from the adhesive fluid. "You don''t know why I''m here, and what I''ve come to do! I''m capable of much more than you''ll ever be! That''s what a Leray master''s job is!"


    "What you''re capable of? Are you going to show me after so much child''s play?!" Cleo desperately demanded that Jane throw in another spell, anything that made her try harder, but she didn''t do very much from panting in place. Cleo waited only one short moment more, then decided to change the way things were going. "You may very well be the real deal, but you are too young and inexperienced for this fight. I''ll end it here, Pin Missile!" Invoking the same spell he tried once before, Cleo''s magical invocation was slightly faster than the last time, and due to Jane''s shared exhaustion, the start of the ability had already caught her by surprise. Cleo let the small glowing needles of power fly from his glyphring in a dense area towards Jane.


    Jane didn''t want to do anything anymore except to cool herself down. When she saw an entire barrage of flying needles approaching her, all she wanted to do was block it somehow. Before she could even decide to raise her power shield up in time, her skin became penetrated by over a dozen small yet very painful magical needles. Each one felt like a knife entering her skin, the stinging pain exaggerated by the additional input of Cleo''s magical energy in the same spell. Since it happened so fast and in multiple areas at once, Jane had no chance of ignoring the accumulation of pain, and sunk to the floor. Jane did her best not to scream or yell, but the needles that stuck into her skin failed to fade away like most magical abilities. Pin missile is designed like this on purpose. The actual damage done isn''t very high, but it can be effective in disabling the targets. Jane''s hands were at least clean, but she had to keep them off the metal floor less she burn the palms of her skin there as well. "Naaagh! Not good!" Her volume was forced down by the cringe of her entire body trying to reject as much pain as possible. Jane couldn''t help that the spell used against her was too powerful, the needles altogether hurt too much!


    Cleo felt satisfied at where this was going, and at the same time disappointed that Jane didn''t provide herself as much more sport for his practice. It was a mystery to him as for how Jane managed to get past Krysta''s quick tactics, but perhaps it was something more practical and specific that allowed Jane to overcome it. As of right now, just like any other person, the pain inflicted from Pin Missile was just too much to handle. Jane could at least move her disabled body if she needed to in order to survive, but invoking a spell at the same time even in the event of an adrenaline rush would not be possible. Now that Jane was disabled, exhausted, and sunken in morale by the intense heat she forced upon herself, Cleo charged up his energy for one last spell, chanting the name aloud before beginning due to the difficulty in nature of invoking the high power level ability in Leray magic. "Hyper Beam!"


    Jane heard the man call out another form of magic, soon to hit her. Though the actual ability did not strike her yet, Jane knew it was soon to come. With the difficulty in simple muscle movement, dodging or evading Cleo''s powerful spell would not be possible. Only a power shield would save her from whichever spell Hyper Beam was supposed to be made out of. All she would need to do is stand up and cast the shield aura around her... "Come on!" Jane''s voice still could only escape through her teeth. She tried her hardest to stand up from kneeling on her knees. Through all of the pain, which intensified more when she moved an inch anywhere inside her, Jane could now see a very large and bright glyphring spawning in front of Cleo, his spell taking longer than most to actually do something. His Hyper Beam must be an ability big and powerful. Jane knew she only had one chance.


    Knowing she would regret this very soon, Jane gave herself one big boost of confidence and bravery. Lifting herself to a full stance in a simple shove from her legs that were also riddled with needles, Jane cross her arms again all the way out and sent the charged magic through to form her power shield like before. Only this time something unusual happened as a result. Just before Cleo''s Hyper Beam attack was unleashed, Jane horrifyingly felt and watched as all of the needles stuck into her skin were immediately pushed outward from the physical force of her personal shielding aura, all falling to the ground with a slight bounce. Jane could see her own blood, though due to the nature of the Leray protection veil, the wounds were already healed just enough for the punctures in her skin to not bleed. Though they were completely red, only oozing a tiny amount of the drying red fluid that was there from the initial skin penetration. The shielding aura starts from inside of her own body, and since it spanned outward around her to cover a slightly larger external radius, Jane''s own power shield expunged anything alien to herself, something she did not think was possible until just now.


    Though the process hurt more than before, it only lasted for a split second before everything in her nervous system calmed down. Jane''s power shield was running at full capacity, and now with the needles out of her skin, the pain that was there and everywhere became only a third of the intensity it was before. With her mobility restored, the shielding aura protecting her from the intense heat of Blaze Storm, and the morale given to Jane by her will to fight to the very end literally lifted her out of immediate danger from Cleo''s first attack designed to disable her for the entire battle. Jane had done it! She enabled the power shield despite the impossible pain she was stuck with. The needles on the ground still were left there, telling Jane the spell was designed to last for a very long time. That cleaver son of a¡ª


    After his spell was fully charged, making the total invocation time three seconds long, the center of the glyphring lit up like a bright star. The sphere of light then quickly fired and transformed in the form of a beam spanning only to the direction in which Jane was stationed at. The flash of light from the Hyper Beam only lasted for five hundred milliseconds, the invocation much longer than the actual spell itself. Cleo only noticed Jane''s power shield after he fired off his powerful spell. The beam of light became completely absorbed into the glowing aura around Jane, leaving behind small little hexagons in the place where Hyper Beam had hit. Despite everything that happened earlier to potentially surprise him, this little development made him wince with his fists shut.


    Jane lowered her hands and disabled her power shield just after the beam of light faded. After the field collapsed around her, Jane felt the sudden blaze of heat upon her again. But overall, the pain she was in before had been reduced to a level so low that she was free to move around again. She could even run around to places like this if she needed to, but if the Blaze Storm ran for a longer time, her stamina would not stick for very long. Jane''s eyes opened a little wider when noticing the dramatic change on Cleo''s energy scope. The drop in HP was explained by the overall damage from Blaze Storm, but his drop in MP could have only come from his Hyper Beam, which failed to hit her. Such a wasted ability, one that had to be powerful! That beam should have eaten her shield alive, but instead, Jane remained strong... Does power shield''s defense get stronger with more uses too?


    Before anything else happened, the orange glow effect from the heat on the ceiling suddenly faded to normal colors again. The temperature rapidly declined much faster than it accumulated, leaving behind a blissful sensation to both competitors as the rush of cooler air shrouded their entire bodies. The process still happened over a lengthy period of time, but even Cleo was a bit distracted by the end of Blaze Storm.


    Jane on the other hand used that time to charge more energy from herself into another powerful attack spell. "Blast Wave!" Jane lifted her arm up high and threw her fist down while releasing the spell in a quick form of invocation. It was costly to her MP energy levels, but Cleo would have little defensive against the element of explosive damage.


    "What?!" Cleo found himself surrounded by random explosions and blasts occurring out of nowhere. He had seen this spell used before as well, normally useless to cause damage to him. Jane was so quickly back on her feet and throwing in such heavy power level abilities, Cleo didn''t predict this, and failed to come up with a plan to negate the Blast Wave attack. Several explosions began to populate the field, concentrated in the general vicinity of where Cleo was standing. While trying to block and defend himself, the explosions that chained in range to blast him with destructive Leray energy still got through to him regardless of his defensive stance. Since he was hit from one in front and behind his location, blocking was simply a useless gesture. Though the force of each blast still wasn''t enough to carry his heavy body off the ground, the damage level was still significant enough to cause him concern after the explosions ended. Still, only two of them managed to hit out of two dozens of blasts, and Cleo didn''t find immediate recovery from the explosions to be that difficult.


    Blaze Storm has ended, and Cleo knew he still had the advantage in fighting experience over Jane, but the battle was already getting more intense by the second. He was breathing heavier from the exhaustion. Though his health was reporting 47% HP, he is legally supposed to cease fighting once it falls below 10%, so he might as well be at 37% looking at the scope. It''s not much left to work with, and slightly more than what Jane started with. Jane no longer cared about waiting turns in between attacks, even though she did not throw another ability at him just yet. With as much energy as he has left remaining, it would be senseless at this point to rely on attacks only good at dealing pain instead of damage. Cleo instantly made up his mind by charging for a heavier attack spell while standing tall again aiming for Jane. "I''ll end this with Meteor Strike!"


    There he goes shouting out the names of his skills again. Jane knew Meteor Strike to take some time before actually coming down to blast the entire field. She was somewhat confident that she had just enough stamina to jump on the rocks again and gain altitude, but after realizing what was coming her way, what better time than now to put one last theory to the test? After fusing her unofficial Return spell with more energy and radial potential mixed with the magic involved with inter-dimensional travel, Jane managed to develop a spell much more refined with a frightening change of action. Jane waited for just the right moment, just as Cleo released his magical energy in order to spawn several numbers of meteors from the ceiling downward. They weren''t capable of damaging the building in their form either way, but the meteors were spawning rapidly in the double digits of frequency.


    Jane waited until the meteors were done spawning, just as the first was about to slam into the ground in front of her. She already began charging a massive amount of Leray energy into her hands, releasing all of it instantaneously while aiming both open palms towards the oncoming swarm. "Inversion!" she screamed in confidence. Jane knew what she was doing with this spell, despite the fact that it would not show up on any official Leray ability list, and it wasn''t dark magic either; she knew of the elements used here. As Jane''s magic invoked immediately, the meteors coming to crash down on the floor quickly decelerated, all until the burning rocks stopped moving completely.


    "No way!" Cleo''s jaw dropped at the sight before him. At first, he thought Jane had just frozen time in a particular place. All of the meteors soon to hit the floor were literally frozen, suspended by movement in midair. Every last rock he formed was no longer changing location despite the burning red fiery aura around each meteorite. But Jane''s hands were still glowing, her magic still pushing on the rocks as if there was more to her unidentified spell.


    Jane had to push more magical energy into this than she thought, which wasn''t impossible considering the levels of energy she still had available to her. With her hands still glowing bright blue, Jane tapped into the rest of her power, forcing the suspended rocks to begin moving again. Only this time, Jane had them traveling in reverse! Continuing to affect the rocks, Jane began to control the flow in which Meteor Strike worked. Now the rocks were falling once again, only now they were flying towards the ceiling instead of the ground, every last one of them. The acceleration wasn''t very fast, but it picked up on its own rapidly. Jane managed to control the movement flow and speed of the entire area attack using the telekinetic power she learned in her training for more Leray spells. At the same time, she had modified the dimensional data structure of each rock, phasing them between this dimension and another shared parallel plane to this one, the same process as phasic transference that allows objects to travel through space uninterrupted. The meteors all heading for the ceiling suddenly phased through, causing no damage or collision to the physical structure or the dome shield surrounding the battlefield.


    At first, it looked as if Jane simply made the meteor swarm fly away beautifully, but before Cleo knew it, another storm of flying meteors suddenly burst through the ground where he was standing, floating through as if the objects were ghosts. The phasic properties left each rock after leaving from beneath the ground. Suddenly surrounded by several burning meteors flying upwards from beneath the ground at close range, Cleo didn''t know what to do or what to think, as he was then smashed by the burning physical force of a meteor to his chin. The blast forced him upwards and off the ground, as several more meteors slammed into the back and sides of his body before he was able to hit the ground again.


    Jane watched as the meteors she teleported mid-phase came out of the ground again in a different location, all heading for the ceiling once more. Only this time the relocated meteors were blasting all over where Cleo was stationed, the confusion and damage of his own ability destroying what was left of his remaining stamina and health. By the time Cleo was free of the meteors, Jane finished off the last part of her magic, making all of the meteors fade away into the pure form of Leray energy back into the energy realm as they were meant to after blasting the ground. When it was finally over, Jane felt quite drained from the magic she spent performing her own skill known as Inversion, but she still had more MP magic in reserve.


    Cleo was hurting in multiple places, the pain registered as blunt damage, a burning painful sensation that mimicked the yet to be bruising on his skin. Cleo wasn''t able to believe what just happened, but was forced to contemplate all of it in the short time he took in standing back up. The drain to his stamina was much greater to the pains in his body, as his health took a dramatic dive from Jane''s elegant and possibly illegal form of attack. Jane literally cast a spell, reversed the flow of his own area attack, and somehow used it against himself! It can''t be possible!


    "Dameon!" he yelled. "What did Jane just do? Is that even legal?!"


    Cleo looked upset. Of course he was, Jane figured. An entire area attack, an ability sure to hit the target mixed in with a lot of MP energy and damage potential was suddenly used only against the same person who invoked it, all due to a powerful and unfamiliar spell. It seemed sensible for him to ask his own referee about it, though it also made him look as if he were at the brink of defeat. Jane knew her skill was legal. Dark magic doesn''t access anything but raw emotion and illegal dimensional data. What Jane just performed was at best a miracle mid-battle. Inversion was something she came up with just after mastering the other unofficial Leray spell known only to Jane as Return.


    Return is different in the sense that it only takes control of a single projectile through telekinesis and sends it back to the person who created it. Return cannot be used to control more than one projectile at a time, as this was proven impossible during her training of the skill. Inversion is more advanced. It only works on area attack spells, requiring Jane to take advantage of and use telekinetic magic, teleportation magic, and multi-dimensional magic all at the same time. Inversion can have different effects on attack spells depending on their entire nature. That means it is also a type of Free Form attack, though in this case it would be considered a Reform attack, since Jane is basically creating her own area attack using someone else''s hard spawned spell. On the downside however, it ended up costing her thirty percent of her entire MP reserves when it was over with. Return only costs about twenty percent.


    Dameon''s device failed to register any recent use of dark magical signatures, and he reported to Cleo the answer he sought. "While I can''t say I am familiar with the spell Jane has cast called Inversion, the magical energy signature did not register as dark magic. Therefore, her spell was very much legal, however amazing and unexpected it may be."


    "Want some more?"


    Hearing his opponent speak so loud from afar and so clear with a confident taunting attitude would normally make Cleo angry enough to continue aimlessly battling, but he knew it was a tactic used to lure him in blind. There had to be a better way to fight her. How could someone so young create spells so powerful and clever? With his low HP remaining, Cleo knew he needed an edge, and fast. He thought for a good four seconds to an answer. "Fine. If that''s how it is..." The pause to charge up the energy for another one of his spells left suspense in the air before he released it. "Healing Aura!" A coat of light surrounded his entire body in the form of a magical aura colored with a bright green shine. After his MP levels dropped much further down, his HP levels on the energy scope dramatically climbed to higher numbers almost instantly. Cleo was already feeling much better and recharged from the previous damage taken before, the aura fading as soon as the quick use of magic had completely healed himself.


    Jane noticed the effects of the support spell immediately by watching for changes on Cleo''s stats. This time he surprised her. All he did was heal, but the amount of health he recovered in a single instant didn''t feel fair at all. Then again, her own symbol was capable of such things. How did he do that? "Is that legal?" Jane repeated to Dameon in the distance.


    With a swift reply, Dameon took Jane''s question to be serious as he answered with the effects of the spell itself. "Healing Aura is a special ability that is legal to use in the field, immediately recovering a large amount of HP for the cost of a heavy amount of Leray energy. The downside to the spell is that it can only be invoked once every few hours."


    "We won''t be dancing around for that long," Cleo confirmed. If Jane had to ask about Healing Aura, that meant she didn''t see it coming. Jane probably didn''t know what the spell was until now, and it wouldn''t be possible for her to copy such an ability without knowledge of its existence. As he prepared to use another ability, Cleo quickly backed out of it seeing Jane''s body glow from her own magical build up. She was about to go first, which put Cleo in an immediate defensive stance and state of mind.


    Jane drew her daggers, infusing magic into the blades and into herself while activating a skill that Cleo would not be capable of stopping. "Dark Strike!" With full confidence that her skill was still pure Leray magic, Jane remembered the differences in her refined version of Dark Strike from before, warping the space of herself while teleporting to a different dimension all at the same time. Jane begun first with a simple sprint towards Cleo to build herself some speed just before teleporting into thin air.


    Jane had done this before in the very last round, but this was Cleo''s first experience with something as sophisticated. Jane disappeared completely, reappearing so fast that it couldn''t register in Cleo''s eyes as anything but an evanescent beam of light over and over again. Cleo was struck with a painful slice of dagger blades to his chest, then again to his side and other side. The attacks were relentless and sudden, too much for him to handle a simple method of blocking the damage. The pain wasn''t bad enough to leave him partially disabled, but with each strike, the damage level was really high. With one last teleportation, Cleo found himself helpless as Jane descended from above, holding her dagger blades out to slice deep into his skin upon impact with her and the ground. Cleo thought fast and tried to duck backwards to evade, and he was only partially successful. Only one of Jane''s daggers managed to slash him, and it only cut the very edge of his chest through his clothing to add to all of the red marks on his body underneath. Jane teleported once more to retain her distance from Cleo, but Cleo was left with the inability to track her movements the entire time. He wasn''t aware of this, but the show she just put on looked amazing from an aerial view for the cameras, which had a higher frame rate of video capture.


    Jane felt like she could collapse at any second after finishing her last skill sequence, and the reason for it was the obvious picture in front of her.


    Without taking any damage from the last time she checked her energy scope, Jane''s MP levels were nearly dry. It was already tiring her out in the battle. Cleo had less stats available, but he must be used to such situations by now. Jane thought of any way she could increase her potential energy without relying on her symbol again.


    Cleo''s heart was racing from the intensity of the battle overall. He did not expected Jane to last this long from the start, but he also noticed how tired she seemed right about now. With only ten percent of her magical energy remaining, Jane''s capabilities would be limited. Even her power shield would not be able to function once that number drops to zero, and she has to know this. Cleo charged up his energy, deciding to keep things simple incase Jane tries something else in the meantime. "Tri-Attack." Cleo''s version of Tri-Attack was about the same as Jane''s version. The only difference was how used to invoking the spell he was with the glyphrings and the magic. His invocation of Tri-Attack was so incredibly fast, that the three elemental glyphrings formed at the speed of light, and fired their payloads shortly after.


    Jane had insufficient time to react to the situation, already being zapped with the Lightning Strike from the bright glyphring. Just after the strike of electrical energy ended, Jane was then hit with an Ice Bolt and a Fire Bolt before she could blink her eyes and shake the first impact off. Just like that, Cleo''s glyphrings faded from view, his Tri-Attack being invoked with the quickest speed Jane has ever seen before. The damage done to her wasn''t as bad, but with her lowering health and energy, she needed an immediate solution.


    Now that Jane thought about it, her health was only half-full, which was still considerably high compared to the proportionate health remaining for Cleo. With the low energy amount, she already had one good idea for a quick recovery to her energy. She only felt like her end was nearing because of the low MP levels. There was one more skill Cleo would likely overlook, another ability that he would not be familiar with even though Claudia gave it to her. "Energy Cycle!" Jane''s purple aura surrounded her body and remained there for a time long to end. Her MP stats began rising passively at a much quicker rate in response, prompting Cleo to figure this out while choosing his next ability. Though Jane could have thrown in another attack, she knew she would need to intentionally get beat up a bit before it would happen.


    "Efreet!" Using all of the remaining power in his arsenal, Cleo created a solid yellow glyphring far out in front of him, forming a giant blazing arm crawling from the center of the airborne ring. The arm of Efreet is a partial summon of an incomplete monster through the use of Leray magic, creating a massive arm made entirely out of molten lava and solidified rocks. The live animated structure looked as though it came from an active volcano merged with a beast one would only expect to see in Alpha Zero.


    Jane was suddenly surprised by the spawn of Efreet, and was powerless to stop its amazing crush on the ground, on top of her. Jane was suddenly pushed to the floor with an impossible force that immediately gave her a bruising headache, and immediate burns all over her body from the added fire elemental damage that comes with the same spell. Jane couldn''t tell if the summon would remain there or go away, but she didn''t want to get up at all after feeling the exhaustion that followed her bruises. The pain alone was bad, but Jane was suddenly feeling weak and lightheaded too. It took her forever to crawl herself back up just to get off her stomach. She felt like she has already lost the match.


    Cleo was amazed at himself when he watched Jane''s HP down by 39% HP in just one hit. His Efreet spell thus retreated back into the fading glyphring, leaving him with all he had left. Jane took the molten fist smash so hard that Cleo could end this right now if he got in just one more attack spell, but the sudden and immediate increase to Jane''s MP allowed him to discover the secret behind another one of Jane''s mysterious spells. Energy Cycle must convert damage into MP. She was weak, but also still capable of invoking powerful spells. In contrast, his MP stats were now worthless. Cleo would only be capable of invoking a smaller power level spell. By the time Jane finally got back to her feet, he went with a simple spell that would have still been enough.


    Jane could see charring marks appear on her dress sphere, and hoped they would come off in the wash, but she felt more concerned by how close the battle was becoming now. Cleo still has so much health, and Jane would need every advantage to win. Cleo already seemed to be using magic, and Jane attempted to interrupt his spell before he could get in his hit. "Spirit Bolt!" A more simplified spell Jane learned in her training last night is something she could use here too. The glyphring that formed immediately in front of her had the interesting blend of color between pink and purple with a bright radiance of light. From the center of her glyphring, Jane fired something known as a Spirit Bolt, a glowing magical projectile with the same color as its glyphring with interesting elemental properties. Spirit elemental damage is useless for reducing HP on humans, but carries a profound effect of confusion and disorientation to the same species.


    Cleo was suddenly slammed with a Spirit Bolt long before he could try and put his unique spell into action. The projectile hit him right in the face and interrupted his entire routine. The blast wasn''t painful at all, but it left him feeling dizzy and disoriented in seconds.


    One thing Jane probably did not realize is that Spirit Bolt can also occasionally recharge one''s own MP energy when hit by its effects, at least for human targets. Cleo still wasn''t sure if this was a good or bad thing as he tried once more to invoke the spell from before. "Ice Cannon!" While aiming his arm at Jane and creating an ice elemental glyphring around his wrist, Jane took a defensive stance just before Cleo launched his spell. Just as he attempted to release his own energy into the glyphring, Cleo''s spell simply refused to invoke itself, the glyphring already fading away. To his own surprise, Cleo didn''t understand why his own ability failed to invoke, but he felt more confused than ever now. The strong sensation of passing out coming to him became twice more powerful than a moment ago.


    Jane didn''t want to lose the battle, but she felt sadly curious about what type of spell Ice Cannon was capable of. It didn''t seem as if Cleo was able to invoke one of his own spells, which more than likely came from the distortion effects of the Spirit Bolt she casted on him before. Jane ignored the need for any specific strategy so far, and started using abilities that went far in damage dealing potential. "Star of Darkness." Her hands were glowing with a red auric color, reminding Jane that the spell itself is a signature dark magical ability. At the same time, it was the only legal dark magic spell allowed in all of Sprawn Valley. Even if Dameon''s device goes off again, it would be for nothing since this is a legitimate ability designed to drain the energy and HP out of the victims.


    Jane''s spell began to draw a red circle with a star inside of it on the ground where Cleo was standing, the radius going to a wide area of which he had no time to run away from. As the spell activated, Cleo was suddenly being sunk down from the draining effect on his stamina. Oddly, he didn''t try to dodge, but it also did not seem like Cleo was trying to take it like a man either. He seemed more confused than ever, obviously vulnerable to the effects of Spirit Bolt. Jane suddenly found this to be a bit too easy, but it would only take one more clean hit from Cleo to completely knock her out. With his health, Jane knew already that this would not be the end for her opponent by a long shot.


    As Cleo''s HP declined by the seconds over time, he seemed helpless to break the cycle. By the time the star began to fade, a red glyphring above him spawned a deep red lightning bolt down on top of him, immediately knocking down his HP even further. His HP dropped to 34% capacity from the spell alone, and then more from the last-second Lightning Strike at the end of the spell. As soon as it was over, Cleo felt himself become ever more weak and helpless. His end was near, his judgments compromised by other elements. It was going to be over soon.


    Jane took a defensive stance after her spell ended. She wasn''t entirely sure of what to do next, but Jane knew of several ideas she wanted to try, including one of her new spells that would be costly to her battle should she fail to properly invoke the ability.


    "Prism!" Cleo snapped out of his momentary trance long enough to form a colorful glyphring around his arm again. Only this time the glyphring would be capable of much more. If Jane fails to shield against it or interrupt Cleo this time, her fight would be over. As he prepared the energy, Cleo started with a Fire Bolt in his head, cycling between the elements firing from the center of the ring.


    "Light Strike!" Jane wasn''t certain how well this would work, but with the energy already charged up, her MP stats declined by an entire handful of 30% just to invoke the amazing spell. This one wasn''t something she made up on her own, though it was legendary in very rare scriptures Claudia managed to find for her. Consisting of a power level of ten, Jane begun her defense aura, which was only the first part of the spell. Her entire body became shrouded with a very bright and colorless aura of light that immediately lifted her off the ground. Jane literally began to levitate upwards slowly, the gravity-defying aura surrounding her intensifying just as the elemental bolts from Cleo''s Prism attack came to deliver their damage. Jane knew of its properties, but was only able to observe the real effect for the first time. It amazed her already that she managed to invoke the spell again with such elegance and perfection, but continued to concentrate on her imagination of the spell happening in real time to prevent her loss of focus.


    As the elemental bolts began striking against Jane''s new aura, the shield reflected all of the damage without struggle whatsoever. The process was similar to one of her power shields, but contained more of a solid defensive potential against all damage types disregarding all circumstances. Jane was now floating six feet off the metal floor like an angle, her arms spread apart and locked in place while the second half of her spell began charging up. Light Strike''s first amazing effects mimics an invulnerable power shield for the entire moment the spell is lasting, absorbing all damage taken for more potential energy to use against the target in the second phase. By the time Cleo realized that Jane wasn''t taking any damage, he simply let go of his focus on Prism, ending his spell early to gawk at another miracle before his eyes. He had obviously never seen such an amazing power before, and was clueless about how to defend himself should there be an attack part of the spell.


    Jane finally unleashed the power within her aura towards Cleo''s position, sending twenty solid photons of light in the form of quick moving projectiles with homing properties on the target. The photons of light were even brighter and more reflective than her auric shield around her. Jane''s photons carried with them more than just magical damage. It''s considered a form of light-elemental magic, which means it combines all of the elements together into one solid form of energy that rejects all potential resistances to the target upon impact, said to be much more powerful than non-elemental magic. Jane sent twenty small yet powerful photons of light shooting towards Cleo during her levitation, her shield running at the same time while giving power to the Light Strike attack spell. All of the photons of light drilled into Cleo''s skin effortlessly, draining his health rapidly while he sank to the ground in defeat. This was something Jane had only dreamed of doing so successfully, and without realizing it yet, she performed something incredible on television, as well as the spell that would give her an immediate victory. As soon as the wave of photons stopped firing from her shield, Jane began to slowly and gently descend back to the ground, her aura calmly fading just as her feet softly planted themselves back onto the metal floor. Jane had a hard time controlling the entire process, and it took a ton of concentration to properly diffuse the shield made out of light magic. By the time Jane was back to herself again, as tired and exhausted as she was, she noticed that Cleo suddenly became incapacitated.


    Jane oddly had a struggle to remember what she just did. The process of her magic a few seconds ago was nearly automatic and vague to her memory, but it obviously worked considering how broken Cleo was by all of the damage to his body. He was clenched down, holding the right side of his hip and alternating the arm to his stomach. Somehow, the spell caused him a lot of pain and suffering, but the thing he suffered from the most was the overwhelming desire to pass unconscious from the combination of low health and MP energy. Jane declared this as a miracle that his energy scope did not turn red from the damages of the entire battle. With some energy left in herself, she took a stance again, preparing herself for anything more he would try and throw at her.


    Cleo hummed a muffled groan of pain, and desperately tried to stand up with failure due to his fatigue. His entire vision was becoming blurred and delayed, and Jane was still standing in the distance, ready to take even more punishment. This is it, he told himself. It''s over! "I can''t take any more! I give up." His last decision came with a cough from his lungs, his body barely capable of keeping up with the incredible exhaustion and physical stress he strained himself with.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Vassari 6 ~ Solar Empire OST</a>


    <hr>


    Dameon lifted his arms up, diffusing the tiny shield around himself, and then collapsing the entire Siriean dome that took up most of the room. With that following, he announced the results. "Cleo is unable to battle. I hereby announce the victory of this match to Jane Venn!" Dameon knew the announcer and audience were picking this up with a ten-minute delay, but it still didn''t change the importance of protocol while making everything official for the show. His next duties would be to immediately help Cleo recover with an advanced healing orb, but his response was delayed from everything that just replayed itself in his mind. That fight was the most amazing thing he had ever seen before. Jane''s level of spells were all unique and powerful, well beyond the average skill level of any elite combatant, and now she would be moving on to the third round after this.


    Jane sat herself down on the floor to try and catch her breath. Her entire body was sticky and soaked with the sweat from her own spell that did so little against her opponent. Even though the Blaze Storm ended long ago, the room was still relatively warm and uncomfortable. Jane could feel her rapid heartbeat banging through her skull as the sensation made her feel lightheaded. Finally getting the chance to relax was something Jane embraced while she fiddled with her knives to make sure they were safely tucked away into her white and green dress sphere redesigned by Taylor.


    Dameon gave the healing orb to Cleo, who was actually conscious and sane enough to take it from him and use it himself. The bruises and stabbing pain from Jane''s last attack left the most amount of damage on him. Cleo could only wait and recover before delivering his evaluation to Jane. It was already obvious to him that he has lost the battle at hand, as unexpected as it was since he first began the fight against her. To think that all of the spikes and blades pointing out at the edge of the circular field were totally useless because nobody got near the edge. What a waste for the purpose of the show.


    Jane had some time to think while Dameon made sure the light of the orb totally replenished Cleo''s stats, already rising higher on his energy scope. Dameon simultaneously had to reach Jane''s position and hand her a healing orb as well, which she was more than capable of using all by herself. Jane considered the way in which the fight went down the entire time while holding a blinding ball in her hands degrading itself to give her its energy. In the same instance, Jane deactivated her energy scope stats, trusting that the orb was going to do its job regardless of double-checking it. Everything about that battle was rough. Jane knew most of her spells were experimental when used against Cleo, who did know of a few countermeasures to use against her, but his best strength was his incredible endurance to hold up against such attacks. Yet Jane''s power level was more than enough to overcome it. She still didn''t rely on her symbol to win the fight for her, coaxing it to stay hidden with only her willpower.


    "Naagh!" Cleo let out an aggravating groan. "I can''t believe I lost this time! I wasn''t surprised that Krysta failed to own someone so fast and talented at any given moment. But then for me to lose..."


    Jane realized Cleo was really talking to himself or to Dameon. He wasn''t looking directly at her. In the meantime, Jane thought more about some of the specific skills and abilities she had not cast just yet, already close to dry on surprising spells. Then again, despite all of this live recording, the other elites are not allowed to view the footage yet, as it would give them an unfair advantage of Jane''s own fighting style. Still, the fight between herself and Cleo was a close call. She was more moved by the thought that she just won the second battle in a row, while Danny and Taylor were downstairs watching the whole thing and cheering her on. It might be confusing though, since that little glitch Jane caused earlier will show up on the broadcast as a cut to nothing.


    Cleo finally stood up after Jane did, staring into her determined green eyes from a distance. "You are certainly something else young lady."


    "The fifteen minute break will begin as soon as Elite Cleo discusses with you the potential for your next opponent."


    Cleo lifted his hand in Dameon''s face as a distraction. "That''s fine. I''ve got it from here." Silencing his referee, Cleo stumbled closer to approach Jane, where he would not have to raise his raspy voice. With the healing orb used up, the battle damage was gone, but the pain from it all was lasting still. Jane stood up just as well; evidence of pain inflicted on her lasting the same way it was for him. "That was some battling Ms. Venn. I must say that as an elite, you''ve managed to surprise me every step of the way."


    Jane quickly bowed in front of Cleo to show her respect. "Thank you. It wasn''t easy, but I had fun trying to figure out what to do next."


    "What was that spell you used to change the properties of my Meteor Strike? Inversion, you said?"


    Jane knew this question was coming. If she keeps on surprising everybody like this, she may have her own secret fan club soon. "It''s a spell I came up with on my own by manipulating several properties of Leray magic all at the same time, and it took forever to master." Technically, it took Jane hours to master, but the usage of the spell relied on other properties that she knew of before going for this, so her lie had some truth to it just now.


    If Jane can manipulate the flow of entire area attacks at will, Danton will have is work cut out for him, unless the others are trained enough to handle this. Cleo glanced all around him, noticing the edge of the field without the Siriean dome. "I must say I''m a bit disappointed that I didn''t get to use the barbed wire this time, but our long-ranged tactics seemed to remain for the entire time of battle."


    "I wasn''t sure if close combat would have left much of a mark on you."


    Cleo praised Jane''s own ability by his memory of the match as his posture became more solid from feeling better. "You''ve demonstrated your powerful magic while enduring several of my attacks, and even a bit of your own. While I sense you do have much to learn from this match, I think it possible that you may have what it takes to make it all the way to the top. By passing my standards, and with Dameon''s official announcement of the victor of the battle, thirteen thousand credits have been transferred directly to your license card on top of the previous bonus reward you obtained from defeating Krysta. As a result, you have accumulated your own battle chain, allowing you to move on to the third elite."


    "Are you about to give me a hint about the next challenge?" Jane questioned.


    Cleo cleared his throat and prepared to phrase the information Jane needed to prepare for. "Just as Krysta specializes in high agility trick attacks, and just as I specialize in the arts of inflicting and enduring a heavy amount of physical pain, your third opponent will also have a very unique yet trivial area of specialization. Next, you will fight our third elite known to us as Mainne. Mainne very clearly specializes in the magical arts and fighting style all based around very low temperature. That is to say that she relies on ice and wind elemental spells and tactics to bring her opponents to their knees by making it too cold to fight."


    "I think I can handle a little cold." Jane sounded so reassuring about it, giving Cleo a weird smile that could have meant more things than what Jane was currently able to imagine.


    "Since you''ve already defeated me, and we cannot have another contestant until you clear or fail the tower, I will be able to watch your next battle with Mainne. I must see how it unfolds, because I can already feel a growing level of uncertainty here."


    "Thanks?" Jane wasn''t certain of he was complimenting her confidence again, or if Cleo was more sadistic as to wish for Mainne to chew Jane up in the next arena.


    Dameon began to chatter again about less important specifics. "The next area will be on the fifth hundred floor of the tower, bringing some more elevation to what is already here. I did receive some interesting word about one of your spells in the first battle causing potential structural damage to the tower, and shall advise you and others not to try it again."


    "I''m sorry. I won''t let it happen again."


    Jane''s face got red from remembering the incident, but Cleo had no idea what the two of them were talking about. He wasn''t allowed to know about Jane''s abilities outside of battle until after their fight, which is why he was left in the dark, but it did give him an interesting reminder about one of several more potential spells Jane may cast out there. "One more thing before you go?"


    Jane perked up, wondering in curiosity what else there could be to the scenario. She was still so nervous about the entire process so far, but it became quickly repetitive and routine. The way the elite battles work here is simple as it is difficult. Beat up the elite, move on to the next. One single defeat on her part would end her streak and invalidate her only chance to get an audience with Danton.


    "Don''t forget what we talked about earlier," he warned. "Dark Lite is just one of many more potential forms of dark magical energy. Dark magic can come in forms of specific spells which call that channel, but there are other ways of converting Leray energy into the opposite force too. If you are not careful, you may even be capable of accidentally converting normal Leray spells into casting the same magic under a different form through the same medium."


    "I meant to ask a little about that," Jane confessed. "I don''t understand how I accidentally caused that to happen in the first place. I thought dark magic was something you have to know in order to use it."


    Cleo exchanged his knowledge on the matter without any fear in his heart. Jane was truly innocent about the incident earlier, and deserves to know about it for the safety of herself and others. "Dark magic is just a reformation of the energy wave patterns in Leray magic designed to reject the same energy signature that supports that magic through the Leray protection veil. Even without the presence of the veil, the similar energy pattern invokes normal and harmless Leray magic. But by changing the energy signature to a different type of waveform, you neglect the ability of your own magic to take into the use of the protection veil, amplifying that power significantly by its effects, while causing real time damage to others in the process. Luckily, you only know of a spell that steals MP from someone else effortlessly. As a result, I suffered no real harm, but you should check your sources about learning recent spells in the future."


    Jane nodded, "I will."


    "Furthermore," Cleo continued, "It becomes less difficult to learn how to change this form of energy into dark magic as your natural talents improve by battling experience. Meaning, you are most defiantly as prone to this as I am. We can both easily convert Leray magic into dark magic on a subconscious level without knowing about it until it is too late. Becoming highly emotional in a rage or fury during magical casting may have a correlation to this, but just so that you don''t forget it later, there is a most useful hint. Dark magical energy leaves visual traces in the same spell you choose to invoke. Auras that form around the buildup of magic have a lot of interesting colors, but almost never will those colors become red in the form of Leray magic. Though there are a few exceptions, such as the Armor of Darkness spell, which is its own form of legal Leray magic. Say for instance that I wanted to shoot a Fire Bolt at you followed by a Thunder Flare. The aura of light building up in my hands for each spell would glow with a red radiance rather than a blue radiance of light assuming I use dark magic, and the difference can be quite subtle to everyone at first, but the spell invoked in itself will also have different visual properties. The Fire Bolt will be a blinding aura of red instead of the normal yellow or orange fiery glow that it contains. The Thunder Flare sphere surrounding a target which is normally all blue in color will be red instead, using red colored electrical bolts that are visually appealing, but also different enough to detect with the naked eye. I warn you about this in the event you ever accidentally begin to invoke such magic without realizing it at first, since you seem like the type to get mixed up in quickly learning magic simply by the feel of things, which can be a dangerous technique."


    Jane had learned much more than she thought she would just now. Not only are there spells dedicated to tapping into illegal magic, but it is apparently just as easy as she now knows to pick any magical spell at random and use it in the form of dark magic, giving a familiar Leray spell different properties. Jane wanted to ask how Cleo knew about this, but something about his expression in the moment warded off her question quickly. It was all very new and interesting to her. It''s worse that it could at any time happen automatically. Now she would have to worry about accidental invocation of dark magic on top of invocation of her symbol mid-battle. Either accident happening for a singular moment would disqualify her immediately.


    "Anyway, I was just trying to warn you about it so that you can take steps in the future to avoid using it again. Your fifteen minutes has already begun, and you should get going to the next arena if you are to make it to the destination on time."


    "Will the announcer be muted there as well?" Jane wondered.


    Dameon was the one to answer, his tone clearly indicating that he personally knew all of the other elites well. "Normally, only Krysta has her volume on that unmuted, but there have been occasional moments and battles in which Mainne and Brock have all left their speaker systems running at full power."


    Jane heard another new name to her mind. Brock? That must have been the fourth elite warrior? Dameon wasn''t completely clear about it; it could have been someone who used to work here as an elite, since they can be replaced at any moment''s notice. Jane quickly shrugged the thought off, deciding to go and see it for herself. Just like before, she needed to walk to the side of the room behind Cleo, opposite of the area in which she entered the first time. Cleo already had Daemon lower the wall of barbed wire, which initially failed to block the path to the elevators in the first place.


    On her way there, Jane could here Cleo and his referee talking with a quiet tone behind her, most likely about herself. She thought about everything she was doing again, and the entire process seemed impossible by her standards. But Jane has defeated two elites in a row so far, bettering her skills in the entire process, and now she was supposed to battle with someone else, someone who apparently likes the cold environment. As the automatic doors shut behind her, Jane prepared herself mentally for the next fight, waiting for the electronic lift to pull her all the way up to the 500th floor of Eldora Tower. There wasn''t going to be that much time before she would be in another heated fight, forced to constantly assess all of her options in the time a few short seconds. The third fight would have to be more difficult than the last two. Otherwise, Mainne would be the first contestant, right?

 Chapter 46: Frozen Wishes

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    <02/12/1972 ¨C 10:25 | Eldora Tower Fl. 500, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    There wasn''t much of a difference in the ride upwards Jane had to take in the small shut room set to lift with the design of the tower. As the system began to slow its acceleration, Jane felt a mild sensation of dizziness pass her, either from the distortion created by the sudden shift in G-force or by the higher elevation above sea level now getting to her. The entire tower has air conditioning and backup life support systems on all floors, so it was rather doubtful that the air would really get too thin for her to breath. To think, Jane was now about to stop at a height only half of the entire superstructure.


    Security measures were tighter than what it appeared to be. Like before, the elevator gave Jane no manual controls, something that could only be done in the event that an emergency or alarm system persists. So as she waited patiently for the automatic sliding doors to open in front of her, exposing the corridor into the next arena, Jane took another deep breath and prepared herself. She could imagine that her hair would be a mess right now. With no mirror, she already did all she could to try and fix it, which may as well be hopeless since she would be in several more fights anyway, but her dress sphere remained surprisingly clean despite the battles she engaged in earlier. The little marks from the ground came off easy, but they did not completely fade to nothingness. Jane was taken a sight of distraction by the glittery dark JDT acronym plastered in bold on the front of her dress. The names were also on the sides, but in font much too hard to read without being close enough to touch her.


    Jane reminded herself about what her circumstances meant right now. She had to remind herself constantly that her fight here isn''t about becoming a Leray master, nor is it about the glory of defeating the champion of Leray magic. This is about saving Lennith City from total doom and destruction, obtaining the allies and reinforcements to do just that. If it didn''t work, Jane would dare try it again all by herself, but she could feel her own confidence overshadowing most other thought. Jane could practically drown in the faith in herself drawn from what she accomplished earlier, but mostly by the fact that Danny and Taylor are counting on her right now. It''s more than enough reason to win the next few fights regardless of the consequences.


    Jane shivered suddenly from a bone freezing chill that surrounded her the moment she was about to step forward into the arena from the end of the corridor. It was bright up ahead from the difference in the luminosity of the magical lighting of the entire structure, the dimensional area size of the arena about the same as the last one. Jane was just now stepping forward into a much different looking and unique place. It seemed similar from the corridor, but not anymore beyond that point. The entire shape of the room structure was cubic instead of spherical like the last two.


    Apart from the amazing aesthetics of the arena, Jane was much more distracted by the fact that the chill around her was not a part of her imagination. The bumps on her arm solidified; if Jane had enough arm hair to show it off, all of them would be standing tall to desperately catch a hint of heat. It was like suddenly walking into the artic zone. The air temperature must have declined to about 30<sup>o</sup>F. Jane could see her own breath of a light exhale escape her in the form of a puffy mist, and covered the tops of her arms with each opposing hand.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Perpetual Blossom ~ Magia Record Season 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    "Wh-why is-s it so cold?" Jane was already shivering, even though she stepped into the room a few seconds ago. It was cold after exiting from the elevator, but not as cold as the air in the arena section. Come to think of it, the same type of mist could be seen at the edges of the cubical arena, all coming from the tops of the walls from what appears to be extra ventilation. Was the A/C responsible for this? Is it malfunctioning? Jane took another glimpse of her surroundings, daring not to move, as it would only increase how much freezing air would touch her skin through her own suit. There was an interesting staircase on the other side of the room leading up to the next elevator, and a strange circular pedestal made entirely out of frozen water with only a few small transparent steps behind it. For the moment, the room seemed to be abandoned, all except for the floating camera drones, but even the devices seemed to be inactive or in some sort of stasis, flying but not moving or aiming at anything new.


    The structure of the room was so different to her. The edges were hardly fenced off by a one-foot bump in the ground lining all the way around the perimeter, also nothing but a line of solid ice. The metal floor itself may become frozen should the surface becomes moist enough. Jane stepped forward slowly and carefully to make certain she would not slip and fall, but every part of her body could feel the absence of heat affecting her from all around, her shivering becoming more severe by the second. Her long sleeves were not nearly thick enough for this type of weather. Even her suit''s pant legs under her skirt didn''t help very much to trap in heat. Ignoring the unique pattern and drawing on the center of the entire floor of the room Jane was standing on, she stopped dead center waiting to see or hear from someone, her patience soon answered. The clapping sound of flat footsteps echoed over three times in the entire room, likely from the crystallization that formed in a few places, turning the place into something familiar to a cave. Jane stood still and waited to see who would be walking around in shoes which sound like that, the steps so slow but perfectly spaced apart.


    "Three hundred and fifty attempts have I waited for a new challenger. One thousand seven hundred and forty attempts has it taken since I was last defeated by anyone." From the voice echoing in the room, piercing in volume yet clear as the crystals surrounding her was the person walking with the same shoe clapping sound Jane heard of before. She now stood on top of the small round pedestal, elevated from the top of the stairs and just outside of the battle zone above the field where Jane was standing. She noticed Jane''s eyes lock on to hers as they both got into range to speak, defusing the earlier silence. "You''re late."


    For a moment or two, Jane was speechless. The woman standing in front of her on the frozen rock was beautiful! Her hair was as dark as Jane''s, well groomed and pulled back with a glimmering bow tie that kept it all in place. Her shoes turned out to be a very unique design of sandals that - from the looks of it appeared to be made out of crystal material, strapped onto her feet with two bars bent over the tops of the shoes. Her nails were professionally done, sparkling in the light around her with a cyan color of radiance that stole Jane''s gaze from other places. The nails would match this woman''s eyes should they have been painted a shade darker. Standing as tall as six feet, Mainne was also flashing what appeared to be one of her main attractions to her attire. An entire dress with the hem going all the way down below her knees and flowing outward slightly, all crystalized into some sort of unmelting ice that reflected all light almost like a mirror. She had no leggings, only partial armlets that did more for her looks than to try and keep her warm. When all put together, Jane was surprised by how amazing Mainne looked.


    Mainne had to be in her upper twenties, still young and highly attractive. The frozen dress sphere she was wearing is also just as amazing. Cleo gave Jane a hint earlier about Mainne specializing in ice magic, but this was taking it much further than what he meant to her earlier. Mainne must have a passion for the cold, because it was now clear that it doesn''t bother her one bit. She is probably the one who set the entire room temperature to freeze, a strategy to try and slow down her opponent and make them more predictable. Mainne has to be used to it by now, seeing as she is wearing a crystal dress with sandals. The dress isn''t see through, but rather as reflective as a mirror, yet nearly colorless like crystals by design. Mainne didn''t look as if she was anywhere near close to bothered by the chilling air around them. Struggling to find out where she was supposed to reply, Jane made an obvious declarative statement. "You''re Mainne." Jane had her voice level high, but still didn''t need to yell from how well the sound carried in the icebox of a room.


    Mainne kept her legs still, but used her arms to gesture her words slightly. "You managed to defeat both Cleo and Krysta in a day''s work. That''s impressive if this be your first try in the Eldora championship." There was a small delay between now and her next observation. "But I''m not Cleo, or Krysta."


    "Why is it so cold?" Jane knew the answer already, but wanted to delay the fight as long as possible and learn more about what was going on. Jane still had her arms covered, her hands were about to freeze already through the white fingerless gloves, and she reconsidered the temperature to be more around the lower twenties than the thirties.


    "Because I like the cold," Mainne replied. Just as simply as she answered an obvious question, Mainne delivered her usual buildup of suspense prior to the battle. "My strategy involves specialization in both wind and ice magic. I like to make my opponents freeze, suffer from the harsh environment that I tend to benefit from. There can only be but one question... Are you exceptional?"


    "I..." Jane found it hard to come up with an exact answer. Mainne was incredibly serious when she spoke, like she was trying to interrogate Jane for answers about whether or not the battle would even be worth it. Before she could think about anything else, a spherical projection of light suddenly formed at a distance to the right of where Jane was standing, catching her attention immediately. Just as soon as the projection of light appeared and faded, a person was left in its place, baring the mark of some sort of teleportation that was unfamiliar to what Jane had ever seen before.


    The man that populated himself to the room paid little attention to Jane and more so to Mainne by turning to face her, projecting his voice to ensure it reached her. "I was not done discussing the issue here Mainne. You need to fix it prior to battle!"


    Mainne glimpsed at the man she already recognized, and then back to Jane. Contrary to her earlier gravity of seriousness, Mainne covered her mouth with a slight giggle, and then let out a burst of laughter. It confused Jane too much for her to ask what was going on, but the older man seemed unfazed by Mainne''s unusual response to the situation. He only interrupted what they were doing, but Jane knew only this much of the details.


    As Mainne composed herself, she put the thoughts together in her head, now embarrassed by having to show her real self to Jane. Pilpy did in fact interrupt that serious conversation, but it was all an act to her. Mainne didn''t have to speak so fluidly, nor did she have to prepare the challenger as much as she did, but it was fun to try. His interruption was a laughing matter to her, since he completely ruined what she had going here. Most would have found this annoying, but she knew Pilpy too well. "Jane, was it? I''d like you to meet my referee - Pilpy."


    Jane stared at Mainne''s referee who had glanced back at her just to show her his face. The man had to be at least fifty years old, already with spots of grey in his brown hair, slightly bald in some places. His warm robe looked comfortable though. It seemed a bit odd that a man of his age could also take the cold so well, but Jane was quickly reminded how the referees construct their own dome shield around a personal level, which may also protect them from temperatures. It wasn''t confirmed whether or not that works, but if¡ª


    "As I was saying," he continued. "You know that the modifications have yet to be field tested. The spark protection level of your suit is¡ª"


    "Is the same it always has been!" Mainne finished the sentence for him, finally sounding her aggressive tone. "It''s been through enough testing. My dress sphere isn''t capable of melting."


    "When you change the structure and layout of a dress sphere," Pilpy led on.


    "So does the magical protection level on the dress sphere''s factory design. I already know about this P. I made sure to be careful about how the integration went. I know how to synthesize!"


    "And what would you know about spark protective integration?" he challenged. "You turned a completely ordinary dress into an entire corset of ice, and modified it from there three tiers over."


    "It''s my choice to make P!"


    Jane was totally confused. They were arguing for sure, but with terms she has never heard of before. It had something to do with the dress sphere? All Jane was sure of is that Mainne fit the frozen suit of ice pretty well. Whatever Pilpy''s concern is about wasn''t something Jane was about to understand anytime soon. With a soft notion of clearing her throat, Jane managed to redirect their attention to the more important matter at hand, but it initially came with another silence that served as a big decision being made by the two of them.


    "Fine," he allowed. "But if anything does happen, you must see the battle to the very end." He reached his left hand to his right arm, showing off some device he was wearing that at first seemed like a small metallic armlet band wrapped around his skin. The device was digital, and had several buttons and functions known only to himself. Following a toggle he enabled, all of the flying inactive drones above the field suddenly switched on as they began changing position.


    It was already comforting enough to know that Jane hasn''t been filmed this entire time, nor was that little continuation of a fight over there. Plus, the signal would still have a ten-minute delay to the audience, but Jane knew there would be some level in which it was pointless to care how she looked on screen. Right now, she could only cover her arms from how chilly she was, the air still as cold as ever. "So we''re about to battle now?"


    Mainne let out a slight laugh at Jane''s remark. "Here''s the thing I''ve learned about Leray battling in all of its finest forms. I want to make sure this is something you know before we begin Jane."


    "I''m listening."


    Mainne kept a smile on her face while delivering her lecture. "Leray battling always has a winner and a loser. However, fighting with magic isn''t about winning and losing. Leray fighting was invented for the one and only purpose of having fun, as it has always been about. I''m quite confident myself that I can defeat you, and I will still put up my absolute best fight in the field regardless of all my estimations of your capabilities, but no matter what happens today, I want the both of us to have the best Leray battle I''ve ever had in years! Can you do the same for yourself?"


    Jane''s mouth opened slightly and hung on her every word. It was surprising to see another side of Mainne this soon, but more so to see that someone else in the world actually cared for the true importance of Leray magic. Mainne was right, and Jane knew it in times where everything was good. Even a while after receiving her symbol of doom to her hand, Jane knew that Leray battles were supposed to be about having fun, not about victory. The thought of that during each fight is what made it fun every time, the same thing that made Jane fall in love with Leray magic in the first place. To this day, this rule still holds itself strong to the concept.


    Jane considered the possibility that she would lose. Lennith would get swallowed up for sure. She would have failed in all of her missions, but at least she would now have the chance to take part in the most interesting battles of all time. Krysta and Cleo were both excellent opponents, but also a bit serious around the edges. Mainne however was willing to express her own similar love for Leray magic without any embarrassment about her beliefs. That could make things a lot easier. Jane could feel it happening now because of the sensation this reminded her about. The same tingly feeling in her arms and hands, the slight shivers deep in her gut, and the inexplicable sensation of excitement building inside of her as if it were its own form of physical energy. This is the sensation Jane had missed since a long time ago, a battle that actually means something to both the persons taking part. It''s the way things are meant to be. Jane was thrilled to finally meet someone else with a similar sense of excitement and passion for Leray magic, the thought hitting her head was more than enough to make her smile in response too. From this moment onward to the battle, Jane knew she could be happy here for the time being. This was Mainne''s gift to her perhaps.


    "Thank you," Jane replied with heavy emotion in her tone. "I think the same way as you. My desire to win is probably more than your own, but the desire to have a battle with you myself, it''s an honor I will always feel, something that qualifies better than a serious battle."


    "Well then," Pilpy crossed his arms over his chest, a facial expression of slight surprised crossed him. "I''m glad that Mainne''s next contestant shares such vision and amazing dreams about what is important in this tower. When the two of you are ready to start showing off, I will declare the battle."


    Mainne focused her gaze on Jane. "I only have one rule regarding the battle." She jumped down from the height of the edge severing the connection between the height of the platform and the cold metal ground. Mainne''s landing was smooth, her knees bent with her left hand hitting the ground on purpose to ease the force of her landing. Mainne continued walking closer to the center of the field in order to more clearly define the actual battle zone before it would be established by a powerful dome shield. "I ask that you give me everything you have to win. I won''t be easy to defeat, nor will I hold anything back for any reason at all."


    "That is always a rule in battle," Jane commented. "Anything less wouldn''t really be a Leray match, would it?"


    "Indeed." Mainne kept her expression, already feeling her heart rate bump up from how exciting this was going to be. She had fought many people recently, but most were not from outside of the tower or outside of general practice. Not only would the fight become interesting, but Jane has a strong glint in her green eyes, a look that was most familiar to Mainne. It''s the burning desire to win, something so powerful that it has already allowed Jane to get used to those goose bumps on her arms before she''s even realized it. Jane''s stance had already changed, and Mainne sought that the physical distance between them was still good enough to officially start the match. With a glance back at her referee followed by a single nod, Mainne got the match underway, leading off with another statement from her thought process. "I can''t wait to see which one of us is better."


    "I won''t accept defeat today," Jane announced. Noticeably, all of the drones in the room hovered closer just before obtaining a further and higher distance. The drones were now anticipating the imminent creation of a dome shield around the room. Jane prepared herself for battle, already enabling her energy scope above her just as Mainne was about to.


    Meanwhile, Pilpy was messing with another control mechanism on his armlet, pressing another switch just before getting to his official duties. The control mechanism performed all kinds of tasks for him, most of which were related to the capture software in the flying drones all around them. When he had a free moment, he turned to face the battlefield after walking back a distance to avoid being placed in the same dome field itself. His voice became brittle in his age, but hardly enough for anyone around him to notice. "Both participants are ready! The match between Jane Venn and Leray Elite Mainne will now begin!" Using only a small amount of magic, Pilpy generated the Siriean dome around the entire battlefield, its size deep and massive, just as he was outside of the field. Pilpy then generated a secondary dome barely the size of himself for his own protection protocol, and watched as the battle was about to take its turn.


    Jane and Mainne were both ready, but neither one of them moved for the first minute. Jane took that time to note several strange things about this fight. It turns out that even a Siriean dome does not block out outside temperatures. It was still incredibly cold in here, which Mainne didn''t seem to mind at all. Jane had goose bumps all over, and did her best to remain ready and prepared to make a move on short notice.


    Wearing her crystal outfit made entirely out of ice, Mainne gave the flying drones some time to recalibrate themselves to the aerial view of the battlefield, with their special zooming lenses that would block out the captured existence of the Siriean dome to the audience feed. The announcer was also muted in this room, making for a quiet moment to let the hissing wind from the air conditioning units outside of the field more noticeable. Her heart was already racing, Mainne could feel the suspense of battle already building, and Jane looked very prepared to perform action at any moment. With nothing else stopping them, Mainne took the initiative. "Don''t disappoint the fans Jane. More importantly, don''t disappoint me. I''m not going to let you walk all over me the way you did with the other two elites."


    A confident statement left behind the hint of her strong bluff. Jane knew already that the elites she had yet to battle knew of no such methods or strategies Jane used in order to overcome her last opponents. Mainne was actually at a slight disadvantage this time, and of course, this battle would also be recorded. No symbols are allowed, she warned to herself. As Mainne clearly stated that the battle would be getting underway, Jane had her eyes momentarily distracted by the sparkles of light reflecting off of Mainne''s beautiful dress sphere and outfit. It was amazing that she could pull something like that off, making her own modified dress sphere that glimmered in light only to make Mainne appear more elegant and attractive. But Jane''s eyes had soon betrayed her, because the time lost in observing the brightness of her suit allowed Mainne to find the time for a first strike, already rushing in at a careful speed - soon to deliver her first Leray magical attack.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Artemis ~ Mark Petrie [Genesis]</a>


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    Mainne and Jane were already no more than seven meters apart as she crouched herself slightly one footstep in front of the other to make sure she would be in range to launch her first Leray attack spell. Whether Jane was ready to battle or not, it wasn''t going to matter sooner or later. "Icy Wind!" Mainne''s dark blue eyes remained focused both on the standing target and on the spell being cast from the thought process and imagination in her mind. Mainne delivered a buildup and release of magic through the aura''s building in her hands in an instant moment as if to throw a physical object she was already holding. She created a powerful force of rushing wind from those auras, directing it into a wide spread rushing wave of wind blowing quickly into Jane''s direction. Mainne made sure to use every last point of Leray energy at the end of her spell to leave nothing out, back stepping shortly after to maintain her current distance and strategize further.


    Jane felt the sudden gust of wind shoving her at forty miles per hour. The sense of a forceful gust of air was immediately overshadowed by a more intense kind of pain, the freezing of her entire body and the nerves on the outside of her skin. The air forced her way was worse than freezing, it was immediately debilitating because of how fast the Leray magic went to lower her core body temperature. This had to be close to levels of hypothermia! Didn''t this count as practically dangerous magic? If Jane were to get sick from this battle right here, nothing in the world would save her!


    Perhaps that wasn''t the point. Jane found herself shivering again, trembling much more than she was before and covering her arms despite the suit she was wearing protecting her slightly from the temperature around her. The point of Icy Wind regardless of the environmental standard is to slow down a target by making them cold and chilly, though the room was already cold enough. Mainne fights in this environment for a living, but Jane was left soon to freeze to death before the fight could even truly begin. That must have been Mainne''s first plan; slow Jane down and take the immediate advantage. She wasn''t kidding about not holding anything back; it''s a brutal spell to start off with!


    Mainne noticed no change on Jane''s energy scope so far, which was to be expected. Icy Wind is a great and useful spell, though it doesn''t deal any actual damage by design. She uses this spell on herself sometimes to cool down when on excursions outside of the tower, a feeling of freezing air all around her and inside of her is what made Mainne feel whole and complete. Jane was no doubt affected by this spell immediately, but after what had only been three solid seconds, she pulled through.


    After charging up some of the magic into her own aura inside of her, Jane figured that one of the best ways to heat up her own body is to commence in physical exercise - no matter how painful. The heart beats faster, the blood distributes better, and even during an ice age can the human be susceptible to sweating. "Rush Assault!" After creating a yellow aura around her body of magic that enhances both Jane''s properties of natural magical damage and speed, she shoved her arms outward as if to remove all of the cold air around her. Jane traversed her movements into an all-out sprint. She wasn''t that far away from Mainne at the moment, but Mainne was also quick to react, already sliding backwards without even using any visible magic. If magic was involved just now, Jane failed to catch her using any of it.


    "My turn!" she announced. Mainne was fast both physically and in her concentration of invoking magic in any particular spell. She had plenty of practice with official and non-official uses for Leray magic. Inside of a field with this much cold air with the ground already beginning to ice, she found an immediate use for Jane''s weak tactical Rush Assault. Gathering the energy into her hands enough to make them glow blue with a bright aura of light, Mainne cast that invisible energy out in front of her. Out of nowhere, the air in between Jane and Mainne froze itself solid from the ground up, the process forming a solid wall of ice in a matter of milliseconds. Mainne repeated the process, again creating a second wall of ice about two meters behind the first one and three times as thick.


    Jane had little time to react to the sudden appearance of a strong obstacle, and decided to use her magic from her own spell to bust right through. With all of her energy gathered into her fists and legs, Jane had no trouble smashing the block of ice standing ten feet tall in front of her into several tiny chunks of ice. In just one magical punch, Jane degraded the wall into solid chunks of frozen water, continuing to run towards Mainne. But even Jane suspected that doing so would in fact slow down her attack run slightly. She had to be careful not to smash her face into the wall instead, which would bring her to an immediate stop. Jane however was a bit surprised to see yet another solid wall of ice after breaking down the first one, only one second away by now on her feet. Jane could run around them, but Mainne was obviously trying to trap her in and around these walls, using them to slow down or impede her entire Rush Assault, which wouldn''t be difficult given that the walls spread out were thirty feet wide too.


    As Jane prepared to knock down the second wall of ice, Mainne continued using her magic to construct a third wall behind the second one, now only in dangerous range to where she was currently standing. Mainne immediately jumped back and slid on the freezing metal floor below her as she did before. After putting up more of a distance, she constructed a fourth wall out in front, making a very nice collection of barriers Jane would have to break through in order to get anywhere near her. At the same time Mainne waited for the right moment to turn this around for herself, she prepared herself for concentration, already forgetting her words before.


    Jane punched the next wall with her left hand, but had to nearly stop running in order to get the angle of her punch good enough to carry the force through. Some of the rocks of broken ice tried to flush into her face, which made it harder to see anything momentarily, but Jane continued her pace, assuming Mainne was just trying to trick her. Even if she was, Jane''s Rush Assault was already getting used up by destroying the defensive structures erected so quickly in front of her. What was worse is how the falling chunks of ice quickly began to make the metal floor below her more slippery and frozen. Jane dashed off again with the same aura around her, hoping this wouldn''t continue beyond one more crystal wall. Jane used the entire force of her right arm and shoved with the additional destructive capabilities of the magical damaging aura coating her skin to amplify the force and the damage dealt to the structure of ice. Jane was once again slowed down just for a second, and met with another wall.


    She could see the very top of the ice wall constructing itself upward just before it finished, which meant Mainne was right behind this one right here. Jane gave it no further thought, rushing in one more time to break through and attack Mainne immediately after. Jane took off in another fast spring, preparing to jump up into the air. Jane would use the flying force of her shoe to break through the fresh crystal wall in front of her with no difficulty. But as soon as Jane lifted herself off the ground in order to try it, the glass wall shattered by itself, the shards of frozen water all plummeting in the opposite direction Jane was heading. Before Jane could figure out what happened, before she could feel herself get annoyed by the flying rocks of ice now bouncing off her skin, and before she came anywhere near landing back on the ground, Mainne was there under her.


    Mainne was running after breaking through the last wall of ice herself, something Jane would not have expected a moment ago. In her right hand, Mainne held a long and large solid blade that glimmered with similar properties to that of her entire dress sphere. The blade she was carrying was also made entirely out of ice, but the properties of this blade were permanent, designed to be a literal weapon made of ice chosen specifically for battles like this one, unlike how the Frost Blade spell coats a sword for a time period. She swung upwards into the air, assuring the sharp edges of the saber to cut right through Jane''s skin and suit just as she was soaring in midair. The sudden unexpected attack and pain from the critical slash of Mainne''s saber was enough to break Jane''s ascent and the fall to the ground. She fell on her stomach and face, holding the skin under her chest since it was the section of which Mainne managed to score heavy damage on. Mainne found herself standing behind Jane now, their places swapped.


    Jane cringed on the floor as the pain of a deep cut in her body quickly transformed into a powerful sensation of a quick and sudden freeze. It was like someone shoved a pound of icy water inside of her own body, burning with a cold right where the bloodless wound was exposed beneath her dress sphere. Jane felt electricity inside of her. Her entire body was shivering so hard on the inside and against her own control that it was impossible to try and get over it. Yet because the pain was replaced by a staggering sense of cold air, she at least found her focus again, enough to try and recover. Jane did her best to try and stand back up, but she couldn''t accept how cold it was right now. She could see her own breath, even feel her own blood near her wound crystalizing in this environment. Mainne wasn''t even in plain sight, which meant she had to be standing behind her.


    Mainne let the memories of her long past resonate in her head, brought about by the intense battle before her. Mainne was already winning against Jane, but this isn''t as easy as it looks. Fighting with a strong style of ice-elemental properties took so much time and training, and so much heavy hinging from her heart. Jane has no idea what Mainne has been through, and because of that, Jane cannot win this fight! "Ice Bolts!" Mainne''s holler of her special skill echoed multiple times in the room around them. A bright blue glyphring appeared around her arm well above her wrist as she prepared to use more of her magical power against Jane. What''s worse for Jane and better for Mainne is that she managed to keep all of her skills and spells related to ice elemental factors the entire time. It was amazing so far that Jane has not figured out some kind of counter or defense against this property. Mainne wanted to comprehend how it was possible that Jane surpassed the skills of both Krysta and Cleo, but instead focused on releasing her stored energy, firing a bright and blue bolt of frozen water set to explode on impact into a mist of both water and air that becomes ice instantaneously as its low temperature allows it to do this. Mainne was firing more than one Ice Bolt though, also natural for her specific spell that is slightly different from an original Ice Bolt ability.


    Jane knew she needed to at least turn around to see what was coming, but Mainne''s chant of anything indicated more immediate action. So Jane charged Leray energy into her hands again while trying to shift direction. Before she was completely certain of what was happening, Jane noticed at least three glowing balls of magic coming her way, and reacted by shoving her arms and hands outward in the act to protect herself with a power shield. Using the energy she had just stored, Jane effortlessly constructed a powerful aura around her body extending about six inches from herself despite being trapped to the ground, its bright translucent bright blue light making this forcefield visible to the naked eye. It didn''t matter what Jane understood before trying it, but as she was now protected from the unseen magic in front of her, it gave Jane time to figure out in the back of her mind what Mainne just attempted.


    Obviously Mainne meant to hit Jane while she was already down, which had nothing against the rule of battle or anything against honoring invisible standards to fights. Jane analyzed the spell as the bolts of energy were absorbed into her shield, some extended form of Ice Bolt. Ice Bolt is in itself a weak spell used alone, but she fired five of them in total in short of a single moment, all of them homing in onto Jane and falling short of her at the shield she constructed for herself. The hexagons appearing afterwards were large in size, so the obvious objective here wasn''t scoring damage as much as it was designed to literally turn Jane into a sculpture of crystal. Jane was trying to battle her own way, and Mainne was trying to make it impossible. By the time it was over and Jane dropped her shield, she noticed on Mainne''s energy scope that her MP reserves only dropped by ten percent since her use of Icy Wind, which meant that shooting five Ice Bolts rapidly like that costs her so little. Mainne was indeed in good practice.


    There was a short moment of no action. Mainne was stone still as she tried to comprehend what Jane just pulled off. Obviously, she wasn''t expecting such amazing use of a power shield, her spell made useless in damage or affect while Jane now had the time in such a shield to recover herself a little more, which is exactly what she used to her advantage. Jane took the next initiative - it was her turn to attack. It didn''t matter what spell she thought up of. Anything was better than nothing at the moment. Jane ironically chose a spell that may very well be ineffective against her opponent, though easy and fast to invoke in the first place. "Ice Needles!" Already strong on her feet again, Jane created the glyphring around her wrist as her magic did the rest and formed a barrage of flying frozen needles flying in the direction of Mainne on a linear path for each projectile. While Jane was performing her spell, she could feel her entire body trembling, but did her best to ignore it. Hypothermia or not, Jane knew she could last for at least some time despite how cold she was.


    Just as soon as Mainne was faced with the barrage of over a hundred ice needles going everywhere in her direction, she lifted her blade back up again, swinging through the air in front of her like a maniac. Mainne knew only she could tell what has happening at first, as her slashing seemed quite random at the time. But given more thought to the circumstances, it didn''t take long for her opponent to realize that she was slicing down all of the frozen needles before they could stick into her skin. Mainne quickly began slashing them all down piece by piece, disabling the entire spell''s effective radius with the end blade of her frozen sword. Just as predicted, Jane was once again rushing in towards her as if she believed the distraction would hold up to her expectations.


    After having cast an additional spell for forming an Ice Blade into her own two hands, Jane rushed in towards Mainne, who also had a ready sword to defend herself. Jane wasn''t the best at long blades in close combat, but her maneuverability in her physical exercises was top notch. Just as Jane whooshed her sword downward on top of Mainne, her metal was blocked by the collision against the frozen blade of her opponent. A very loud cling scattered through the air echoing a hundred times, the brute force of each blade held up to each other as Mainne blocked the hit from Jane, but the force almost made her shoes slide on the slippery floor. Even with all of her own training, Jane has the physical strength equal to her own!


    Mainne quickly reacted to this by sliding her sword upwards, knowing it would shove Jane''s hand up at the same time. In order to leave her open for another slashing based attack, Mainne shifted the direction from her hilt once again, taking the offensive by swinging sideways at Jane. But Jane was just as fast to expect this, already spinning to her right while directing her own sword to the point of impact to block Mainne''s hit this time. Jane was faster than what Mainne was expecting, and she soon overcame the quick motion of clinging swords to eventually swing sideways and score a direct hit on Mainne''s stomach.


    As the blade should have sliced right through her skin, it instead acted as some sort of blunt force that pushed her far back while allowing her feet to come off the ground. Just like that, Jane scored a hit while pushing Mainne away, using just one sideways slash of her frozen sword that would soon disappear as part of the spell to create it in battle.


    Before Jane had a chance to determine how successful she was, Mainne landed on her feet regardless of the pushback, keeping her momentum and balance well enough to aim her left hand at Jane with MP energy already charged up, releasing the magic as soon as she was stable, and long before Jane could possibly react to the scene. "Radial Stars!" Mainne created an orange glyphring native to Radial Stars, shooting small yet powerful magical star shaped projectiles towards Jane. The projectiles were both small and unguided in its own cluster, but Mainne was close enough to Jane that only a couple of pieces of the spell missed Jane by an inch or two. As Jane was pierced by the non-elemental magical attack from the lowest power level Leray spell there ever was, significant damage was scored in relation to it.


    Jane only felt pain for a moment before it had gone away. At first, she was surprised that Mainne would suddenly use one of the weakest attack spells of all time. It should have done only 1% damage to her own health or less. However, Jane could sense that this was intentional. Mainne must have never ceased practicing her own Radial Star spell, which ultimately made her version of it the most powerful one in all of Sprawn Valley. So misleading, yet effective! Jane clenched her teeth and continued her next idea of a counterattack, one Mainne would not be expecting. Jane had yet to try it out in the tower until this very moment. She charged her MP energy again into her hands and feet, similar to the free-form version of magical build up in Power Attack. This however was going to be more unique.


    "Telepower!" As Jane''s hands and feet began to glow with a blue radiance, she had to concentrate completely on her own use of magical invocation, because this trick wasn''t an easy one to pull off. Jane began shoving her hands and shoes into the air while aiming at Mainne, as if to hit her from the distance even though Jane wasn''t in close range to physically attack her opponent. Jane further focused on the transference of magical energy as it was being released, moving the damage from her hands and feet through the dimensional space in order to make the impact point reappear to Jane''s own will of location. Basically, she began punching and kicking Mainne from a distance with a power similar to telekinesis, all of her hits additionally infused with magical energy to ramp up her damage scale.


    Mainne was defiantly taking hits as well, several of them right to the face as the force of each painful bruise knocked her back and sideways, Mainne struggling to keep her feet planted into the slippery floor below her. She had no way to block any of this out either, because Jane wasn''t attacking Mainne at close range. Jane realized a while back that it was this ability right here that gave her other similar ideas that she used in her refined version of Dark Strike, her unofficial Return and Inversion spell, and some of her other new abilities yet to be tested. Telepower is an amazing official Leray skill, but it can be refined in so many different ways that it has become the basis of her own new ideas and style of tactics. Right now, Jane was using that to beat Mainne down without the need to get too close, a strategy that took her opponent by surprise. Mainne suffered several clean hits to the face, chest, and stomach as Jane forcefully shoved her arms and legs in a similar motion to hit from a distance. The entire spell cast was amazing even for Jane, since it was the first time she tried to use it in the tower thus far. By the time it was over, Jane calmed herself down and checked the damage level to Mainne. At the same time, her quick movements were doing something to help keep up her body temperature, Jane''s heart pounding was like the script to a musical beat; she would soon find herself sweating.


    Jane gasped at the unsatisfying results. Telepower has a power level for damage at nine! Even though Jane delivered a physical attack, there was magical damage involved too. Was Mainne''s dress sphere making her resistant to physical damage or magical damage? Was it simply something Mainne was used to? Did Jane screw it up? Telepower should have inducted much more damage. Jane was left in question to figure out why her spell didn''t work as well as it should have, but there was only a short moment before Mainne would take the initiative again and attack.


    Mainne quickly brushed her hand over her own blade as if to do something to it without touching the saber. Mainne had indeed just infused additional ice elemental magical energy into her blade, making it thicker and stronger than it was before despite already having unmelting ice around the weapon. As soon as she did, Mainne darted forwards towards Jane, who wasn''t very far away at the moment. She would soon have the chance to strike Jane once again with her own enhanced blade, and Jane''s hands were empty of any long swords, so she couldn''t block it out again like last time.


    Jane noticed that Mainne was about to be on top of her in seconds, and immediately took action by infusing a low amount of MP energy into her hands, then rushing them through the air in a cross, holding them out and projecting that energy all around herself. In just short of a moment, Jane cast another power shield around her just before Mainne was in range to slash at her with that powerful blade of ice. As Mainne took her chances anyway, her blade simply bounced off of Jane''s aura as if it were a solid metal brick. The force of Mainne''s hit left several small hexagons behind at the impact sight, as well as a sheering sound of a shield taking damage, the sound Jane referred to as anti-aura reflection, but the shockwave of the force that went back into the blade lifted Mainne''s sword high into the air over her head, leading her backwards because it was just too much for her to cut through. In the same moment Jane knew she was safe, she immediately lowered her own shield, charging energy into her right hand again as quickly as she could to prevent being interrupted.


    "Tri-Fire!" Jane created a fiery glyphring around her wrist, taking no time in between to try and imagine her spell happening in her mind. There wasn''t a need with how many successful invocations she performed of Triple Fire so far. As Jane aimed at Mainne and unleashed her magic, she knew that Mainne was still going to have no time to try and block or evade the projectiles, who had still been stumbling to keep her balance after nearly losing her ice blade from the knockback of the shield. Three Fire Bolts all separate from each other slammed into Mainne at a high speed, immediate to hit because of how close in range Jane was to her. The second hit carried more force, knocking Mainne into the air again while flying back with a slight spin as the third one impacted on her dress sphere and left a fiery mist of heat damage on the side. Jane checked out how effective her ability was this time before even considering the possible effect this skill had on the environment around her.


    Because of the intense heat of three Fire Bolt impacting near one particular area, Jane soon noticed that the frozen water accumulating on the metal floor began to melt rapidly, but only in a particular area. What became more noticeable was the change in Mainne''s situation. As she tried to stand back up, Jane was locked onto the damages done to her actual dress sphere. The fiery element of magic was enough to somehow burn a large chunk off the bottom section of the crystallized dress, while placing small solid holes in a few other places. From the side, Jane could see more of Mainne''s upper leg, and from the front - though difficult to make out due to Mainne''s natural skin tone and choice of clothing, Jane could also see through the hole which exposed a small visible piece and dark color of her brassiere. Despite remaining ready to defend herself, Jane was a bit shocked at whatever was happening.


    Mainne noticed what was wrong with her dress sphere as Jane was noticing it too. The missing piece on the side allowed more airflow closer to her upper leg, and she was still lucky enough that much of her frozen dress remained undamaged beyond that point. A near fist sized hole in the front of her left chest of the frozen material revealed a small piece of her brassiere, which from a distance might be invisible, but the damage was done, filling Mainne''s head with impossible considerations. Jane might be wondering right now how it was possible to damage the dress sphere. Then again, Mainne already knew deep down that this was an unfortunate possibility.


    Instead of showing any sign of fear or backing down, Mainne aimed at Jane with a glowing glyphring, capable of using this spell really quickly. "Ice Needles!" Mainne began firing a barrage of needles while keeping a closer eye on Jane. It wasn''t a powerful spell at all, but there was more to it than what Jane currently realized.


    "Power shield!" Jane crossed her hands again, bringing up her shielding aura before processing which magical spell Mainne was trying to cast. When Jane realized it was only Ice Needles, she wanted to curse at herself for wasting her energy on a spell with a weak power level. Instead, she kept her shield up and going anyway, waiting out the barrage of frozen needles being absorbed into her aura creating hexagons, or just zipping by her without getting to close to hurt the shield. For a long moment, Jane was fine, and the needles were all going away. But Mainne''s hands were still glowing with a bright blue glow around them, charging yet another spell...


    Jane waited a long time with her shield still up, but Mainne still had not released the energy in her power. What was she waiting for? Five more seconds passed... Was Mainne charging up her most powerful spell of all time? With the sudden sensation of lightheadedness taking over, Jane dropped her shield intentionally before it was to fail on its own, running out of power from how long she had it going. Just as planned, while Jane was weakened and trying to recover her stamina from the prolonged use of a shield, Mainne took immediate action seeing the aura fade away.


    "Ice Glave!" Mainne released all of her magic at once, creating a spell similar to Earth Glave with its own enhancements. As the ground began shifting upward in front of her in the form of a wave, large frozen pillars drilled through - shooting out of the ground all to shove the icy boulders of sharp and jagged edges of rock right into Jane''s face. It all happened so quickly with no possible way in which Jane could have avoided the collision to her body. Without ability to track what was happening through the painful sensation of cuts and bruises on her forehead and jaw, Jane also felt herself leaving the ground while the room did a full vertical flip. The landing wasn''t soft on her back, but it hurt a lot less than when Mainne''s Ice Glave hit initially, something Jane has never heard of or seen before.


    Mainne grinned at the result before her. Ice Glave doesn''t take long to charge at all, but her delay in the spell was intentional, and Mainne could feel the superiority in her strategy. "I knew you would try to shield against Ice Needles!" she announced. "But even your power shield must have a time limit on you as well. You''ve already become more predictable." She didn''t need to explain what Ice Glave was capable of, since Jane would not be repeating that spell backwards. With a power level of 8.3, the modified version of Earth Glave adds ice elemental damage with the earth elemental magic to create a more deadly spell, but as far as anyone is concerned, only Mainne and Danton know of the ability''s existence.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Jane felt numb in a lot of areas, which helped with some of the pain. Her hands were freezing, and her arms and legs were so cold that she felt a new wave of discomfort come over her. Still confused as to what just happened; Jane could only assume that her opponent surprised her with some kind of speedy magical attack, one with a lot of knockback and force. Even her right shoulder was burning from the pain done to her by the hit, but her face was too cold to feel anything either. Oh well! Jane coaxed herself into shaking this off and getting back up. That alone wasn''t difficult to perform because of how much less she could feel, but whatever spell Mainne just used left the floor underneath Jane''s feet frozen over again. The ice growing there wasn''t thick enough to make Jane slip or slide, but it was more amazing to see the ground come undone and then be completely fixed before her eyes.


    Jane shook her head and focused on Mainne with her fists up and ready. They were quite a distance away by now, but Jane had plenty of new skills and abilities she could use to turn this around. Mainne wasn''t exactly as good at dodging as she was with physical endurance. This one would have to hurt. "Laser Rain!" Jane immediately invoked her spell, lifting her arm up and down in a similar motion she does when using Photon Burst. Just out of nowhere, red beams of light spawned from the upper level of the room and zoomed downward into the ground where Mainne was standing. Without making much effort to dodge, Mainne was suddenly swallowed by a haze of red light that disappeared just as quickly as it came. It didn''t seem to hurt by the look of Mainne''s expression, but the damage done from the burning red lasers actually targeted something other than Mainne, despite herself taking the damage too.


    From the very top of her entire dress sphere, Mainne noticed several dozens of small holes drilled in by Jane''s last attack. Laser Rain literally drilled tiny sized holes into her frozen dress sphere, causing more damage from the top frame of her shoulder lines and more holes in a few places from the front. Despite her dress being made entirely out of ice, Mainne''s entire suit of flashy armor was being destroyed piece by piece!


    Was it only a specific type of damage? Why is this happening now? Pilpy! Mainne glanced over at her referee, first in anger, then in understanding. He was the one trying to warn her about this before. It has to be something that Mainne herself had done to her own dress sphere. Though the suit passed initial simulation tests, this was the first field test since the latest modification. Initially, Mainne''s dress sphere was an ordinary dress sphere of very high expense. But she modified it several times to make it colder by design, until it was a dress made entirely out of ice, while remaining invulnerable to Leray damage, but something obviously isn''t right.


    Item synthesis is another confusing Leray term, and mostly applies to specific items used for battle, either weapons or specific dress spheres. All physical weapons designed for battle, including all official dress spheres are coated with a protected layer of Leray magic to prevent physical damage from occurring all of the time. This means that two swords colliding with each other cannot destroy one another regardless of strength put behind either blade. Additionally, the most powerful of all Leray attacks cannot damage dress spheres, but magical synthesis can change this rule. Synthesis is the process in which special magical properties are added onto a protected item to gain an additional effect. You can infuse an existing weapon with a property of damage addition. The frozen blade that Mainne wields now is her main weapon of choice into battle, but it was made like this by design. Other mages can synthesis their weapons to have the same effect. In in the case of her dress sphere, Mainne can alter the physical properties and the natural elemental protection level for battle through the process of synthesis.


    However, there are risks involved. Synthesis is hard to control, and adding on just one effect to an item can accidentally disrupt or permanently destroy the natural coat of protection the item was designed with. Adding one special effect is tough, but the difficulty of making it work successfully without losing natural damage protection becomes exponentially harder if synthesis to the same item is applied more than once. Mainne has modified this dress sphere three times in total to get this effect, which must have finally removed its protection layer from the Leray veil. This must have been why Pilpy was so concerned earlier. He knew this was a possibility. Simulation tests just aren''t enough - it seems.


    Jane didn''t look as if she knew what to do from here. Either that or she was slowly forming a new strategy. Mainne didn''t have the time for this, and decided to throw another powerful spell at her opponent. So far, the battle wasn''t as interesting as it should have been even with Jane''s power shield in play. She was too predictable now; that was the problem. Jane may as well have a high endurance rating too, but it wouldn''t save her from one of Mainne''s most secret abilities. "Prone Strike!" With a power level of nine and a most unusual formation of magical attack damage, Mainne remained confident that this would work. After releasing the energy from her hands into the slippery floor, the remaining light of a visible and moving magical shadow formulated where she was.


    Jane could see from here what was going on, but her eyes lost sight more than once already on the Shadow Wave attack. This wasn''t a Shadow Wave though, it had different properties that were noticeable well before getting anywhere near her. The Shadow Wave Mainne sent virtually had no height above the ground, and its very dark auric color made it hard to see even in this bright room, much more difficult to track. Before letting the rest of Mainne''s spell trick her out, Jane prepared more Leray energy to project another power shield around her, throwing her hands around her at the right time again.


    Jane managed to protect herself again from an attack she had yet to see in action. As soon as it seemed like the darker version of the Shadow Wave was about to slam into the bottom of Jane''s feet, the entire aura of magic in front of her lifted up into the air high over her head, ending the sequence with a big explosion of magic that clouded a darkness of dust and mist everywhere. Jane couldn''t see anything past the new smoke screen, but several tiny hexagons formed everywhere during and after the big explosion in front of her. The blast of magical damage was sudden while the dark mist took more time to fade away. Jane could already feel weaker from her shield soon to fail from the incredible damage level alone. Prone Strike must be designed to deal a ton of damage in HP reduction, making Jane lucky to have blocked it out.


    Jane dropped the shield, leaving her entire body unharmed by the intense explosion of magic, which failed to do anything for Mainne. She must not have expected Jane to protect herself from something that powerful, because Jane failed to see any particular action after the dust cleared from her side of the field. Mainne wasn''t trying to trick anybody this time, it was simply her showing off true power. Now it was Jane''s turn to attack, the time taken in her own shield was enough to give her one of many potential ideas. Jane considered them to be more experimental in nature. For instance, Mainne is still human after all. No matter how used to the cold she is, there has to be a point in which Mainne can no longer withstand that temperature. The frozen dress sphere likely has her some protection from the extreme levels of temperature changes, but now that the dress sphere has taken some damage and left small holes going to her skin, the idea of water damage became the next vulnerability to exploit.


    Jane aimed both of her hands at Mainne and quickly fired a steady beam of water from her glowing palms. "Water Blast!" While it expended about zero MP, the spell splashed over a gallon of water all over Mainne''s body in a steady stream coming from a water based glyphring around Jane''s right wrist. While it wasn''t designed to cause any damage, the effect Jane had in mind took a noticeable effect rather quickly.


    Mainne''s jaw dropped from the sudden unexpected blast of water from Jane. Her hair was dripping down wet with pure water, soaking herself all the way down to her shoes. Because of the holes that were placed into her own dress sphere, much of that moisture seeped all the way down into her cloth-based undergarments as well. Mainne was soaking wet through everything she was wearing, and just a second afterwards did this suddenly make her more sensitive to the freezing air around her. It now felt thirty degrees cooler than before, all because of the adhesive properties of the water stuck on her skin. Wet socks, wet clothes, wet hair and skin, Mainne was attracting a cold temperature to her body. Jane''s Water Blast was an impressive idea, designed to try and make Mainne freeze under her own environment, and it was already making her shiver and chatter her teeth together against her wishes. The unbelievable idea worked against Mainne, who only wanted to be dry right now.


    Despite how rude Jane realized it would be to soak an opponent in this freezing environment, and potentially giving birth to the medical condition of hypothermia, she understood at least just how cold this would get Mainne''s body temperature to. If she really is an elite fighter, she should be able to handle her own medicine. Even though she didn''t expect to be able to throw in an additional spell right away, Jane glinted in the direction where Mainne was now strafing. She pulled out both of her daggers from the hidden sections in her dress sphere, Jane held on tightly to the hilt of each small blade in wait for the right moment.


    Mainne was going backwards though, as if to attain further distance from Jane. She didn''t back away more than ten feet before infusing her magic into another unknown spell. Her glowing arms ceased their light quickly as the magical spell took effect shortly afterwards without any appearance of a glyphring. "Sentinel!" Upon the release of her Leray magic, the area in front of Mainne was suddenly populated with six glowing spheres of translucent light all in different colors. The spheres all grew brighter and transformed into solid objects instantly. Now with only a slight glow, there were circular objects that appeared to be technological drones, all six of them different in their light as they revolved in a vertical circle in front of Mainne.


    Jane wouldn''t be able to understand what this spell is about. Mainne didn''t bother having to explain herself, as the spell was rather simple. Sentinel is a high-powered spell that summons the Leray properties of elemental sentinels, the devices now floating and spinning in front of Mainne. The sentinels are here in the form of a summon spell, each one of them consisting of their own range of health and magical based parameters. On top of being able to attack targets, the sentinels are all designed to work together in order to reduce the overall damage done to Mainne while shooting down all incoming projectiles. The damage reduction comes in the form of a protective magical aura that is stronger based on the number of sentinels on the field, with the maximum number of six at one time. Additionally, all sentinels are present until they are destroyed, consisting each of their own elemental weaknesses and strengths.


    The red floating sentinel is the Flame Sentinel, meaning it consists and is made up of fire elemental magical properties. This means that while normal attacks can cause damage to this sentinel, fire elemental damage done directly to this sentinel will be absorbed and raise the health, while water or ice damage will obliterate the sentinel since that is its weakness. The cyan blue sentinel known as the Frost Sentinel has ice elemental properties, which means it can jump in front of the Flame Sentinel to protect its other respective ally. Then the jade color sentinel acts as the Bolt Sentinel of electric elemental properties. The dark blue device is the Marine Sentinel, consisting of water-based properties. The yellow glowing sphere is the Air Sentinel, consisting of wind elemental properties. Finally, the pink glowing device is the Ethereal Sentinel, consisting of spirit elemental properties. On top of all this information related to the summon spell, all six sentinels follow the person they are protecting. As interesting as all of those facts are, Jane will have to find some way to take into account all of the multiple changes to the sudden battle style Mainne just created for herself. With all of these floating spheres of elemental magical summons protecting her and attacking Jane, the tide of battle would be sure to turn at a moment''s notice. While Jane was stuck trying to figure it all out, the sentinels were all forced to briefly display their own multi-colored energy scopes around Mainne''s position, which had more of a transparency than usual.


    Jane had never seen anything like this before, but decided to ignore Mainne''s current plan. It could be some kind of distraction, but there were six mechanical spheres all floating around Mainne in orbit, likely to protect her from damage somehow. For what Jane already had in mind, it wouldn''t work against a high-end area attack. "Stalagmite!" On cue of her energy usage, the spell Jane chanted created massive pillars and stalagmites of ice the size of small glaciers to form on the ceiling of the building, already in free fall to the ground in Mainne''s general vicinity. The area of effect was wide, but Jane and Mainne were both already a long way away from each other, so this was a sure thing she wouldn''t be able to avoid at the moment.


    Mainne snickered in response to the falling stalagmites, confident that Jane''s plan was as braindead as her battle style. While taking off in a rushing sprint in Jane''s direction, Mainne infused some of that energy into her feet to lift herself off the ground. Instead of targeting Jane directly, Mainne was leaping high into the air, planning to land just on top of the closest falling ice pillar. The sentinels she summoned followed her closely as if attached by invisible strings. As Mainne landed, she gave the order in her own head to have her sentinels begin attacking the rest of the field. While standing on a falling rock of ice, Mainne expended some of her magical energy to shoot off a solid sphere of magic aimed directly at one of the ice pillars to her right, the impact smashing it into several smaller pieces and quickening its descent to the solid ground below. At the same time, Mainne jumped off of the pillar to rise to one even higher in the air, all while getting closer to Jane by a horizontal position.


    Jane could only growl and watch as Mainne took complete control of the situation, jumping on all of the stalagmites just like Krysta did with her own Stalagmite spell, but Mainne wasn''t trying to gain altitude. She was trying to destroy all of the ice pillars falling down before they could even hit the ground, which didn''t make as much sense to her since they would fail to fall on top of her regardless of each decision. The sentinels all nearby Mainne took off in their own direction, incredibly maneuverable in the air as they freely targeted falling chunks of ice to destroy them as Mainne commanded. There were a lot of falling stalagmites large in size though. So much time passed while Jane watched the show, her own skill being shot down before her eyes.


    The Flame Sentinel shot a Fire Bolt from the fire glyphring it formed in front of it, invoking the spell immediately without delay. The Fire Bolt, being made out of fire elemental magic slammed into the large stalagmite in which it targeted, crushing the structure to pieces while burning the smaller fragments down into condensed water. The Frost Sentinel aimed at another pillar, but somehow failed to do anything useful. Using its own ice glyphring, the sentinel fired a steady beam of ice, the spell similar to Ice Beam in nature, but instead of damaging any of its targets, the ice spell simply made the stalagmite of falling ice somewhat bigger in size. There wasn''t a point to it at all, which means the sentinels must not be sentient enough to detect for vulnerabilities and resistances when auto-attacking.


    The Bolt Sentinel made use of itself by sending electrical charges of small Lightning Strikes to destroy the falling stalagmites. The damage of each bolt wasn''t enough to cause any harm to the larger frozen rocks, but it disintegrated the smaller ones caught in the field of the electric shocks. The Marine Sentinel fired water magic at random stalagmites, which had no purpose or use. The Ethereal Sentinel was just as useless, as spirit elemental magic has no effect on solid objects. The Air Sentinel however managed to help Mainne directly by creating a powerful gust of wind under where she was, a gust powerful enough to periodically lift Mainne and the stalagmite she was standing on at the time - higher into the air and negating gravity itself. Mainne jumped off of the current stalagmite in hopes to reach one that was falling just above and in front of Jane''s current position, though the leap was far in distance with a lesser difference in the height nearby.


    Jane could feel how bad this was, and sought the need to take immediate action to stop Mainne at all costs. There wasn''t much she could do, but the sudden jump Mainne just took left her vulnerable in the air, giving Jane the opportunity to try something. With the daggers already in her hand, Jane came to a quicker conclusion about which distant attack spell she should use right now, and aimed at where Mainne was going to be in the next second. Jane also noticed a large chunk of ice about to slam into the ground on top of her, but first focused on her spell. "Splice!" Jane cut her daggers through the air while expending magic, aimed high above her. Just after creating solid lines of magic that would drill through just about anything, Jane jumped backwards as hard as she could, naturally forming a backflip. Her landing was sloppy, but she managed to keep on her hands and feet after narrowly avoiding the hit from the stalagmite in front of her.


    Mainne didn''t see it coming before she could do anything about it, and her sentinels were too far away to assist the immediate situation. A crossed line of light traveling to her from below quickly made its way through her, drilling through her entire body from the chest and underneath her arms. The sensation felt like being whipped in several areas with a laser grid burning beneath her skin, the pain immediately disrupting her entire concentration as she let out a painful scream that echoed in the room.


    Just after avoiding the rock, Jane watched one of her own stalagmites smash into the ground right in front of her, followed by the sound of Mainne''s painful scream above. The Splice managed to work if that was the next sound that came through. As Jane tried to relocate Mainne in the air, she did so just a moment before her body slammed face down into the ground. Jane clenched her teeth and winced in sympathy for how badly that had to hurt. Before it was even possible for Mainne to move a muscle to prove she was still alive, two more of the last falling stalagmites crashed into the ground where Mainne crash-landed. Mainne was suddenly hit in the back of her head and below by both crashing pillars dispersing in to smaller pieces of ice from the force of impact. At the same time, two of the sentinels exploded into pieces of bolts and circuitry, while another one was hit and damaged by a smaller piece of rock that would have been harmless to a human being.


    Jane was suddenly dead still. Despite everything she knew about the properties of Leray magic and even the capabilities of stamina and life energy, it seemed almost impossible that anyone could have survived that crash to the ground. Jane only meant to stop Mainne in her tracks, and accidentally ended up causing more mayhem than she ever imagined doing. Was Mainne okay? The energy scope still reported her as active, but for three solid seconds, she was stuck motionless.


    Jane remained still as much as she could. She had every opportunity right now to keep on attacking, but seeing Mainne take so many hits in critical places all in one swoop had her afraid of what she just did for a moment. The wait also granted both Jane and Mainne some additional MP from the passive regeneration. All of that complexity Mainne was going for was all over-done. Such a simple skill disrupted all of it! Just when it seemed that P was about to stop the match and check on Mainne''s vitals, Mainne finally moved.


    Mainne struggled to do anything, and pushed as hard as she could to stand up. Despite all of the areas in which she was hit, the stinging sensation from Splice affected her the most, causing Mainne to hold her left arm over the line of where the damage was caused in the first place. Her entire dress sphere had not taken any additional damage though being of a solid object, but Mainne felt like she would lose this battle at any moment. She was freezing, trebling inside from the cold and how soaking wet her body was from the earlier blast of water. She felt so weak too, but wondered why Jane wasn''t doing anything in particular. Perhaps she thought it unfair to keep pounding on her, but Mainne had never felt so close to defeat before in her life, all from one unexpected skill set. How did Jane account for all of those variables? How did she see this coming a moment before her own defeat? Was Mainne losing her edge after all this time?


    It didn''t matter. Mainne clenched all of her muscles tightly while concentrating. The fight wasn''t over yet; she could still move, the pain slightly disappearing with each second passing. Mainne charged up what was left of her energy into the area above her while staying on the ground through that moment, chanting the name and hoping to give Jane a taste of her own medicine. "Stalagmite!" Despite being much closer to Jane this time, Mainne could still rely on her four remaining sentinels to protect her from her own spell, being as the two destroyed devices were the most useless ones anyway. At the same time the spell was invoked, the same formation of large frozen pillars and chunks of ice began to fall from the ceiling, showing to Jane that the fight wasn''t over yet. Jane could potentially avoid every hit, but it would leave her open and vulnerable, and there had to be a limit to the amount of times she could power shield herself for protection.


    Without chanting the name of the familiar spell, Jane gathered the energy into her hands again, and projected an aura of protection around her like before. As soon as her power shield was up, Jane waited out all of the collisions happening on top of and around her. The aura protected her without difficulty, leaving behind several phasic hexagons in the aura to indicate where the damage was being done. The falling stalagmites forced Jane to keep herself protected for several long seconds while Mainne was stuck at a slight distance determining what to do next.


    If I can''t find a way to disrupt that power shield, I''m going to lose this fight before I even get a real chance. Jane Venn, how did you come up with such an elaborate defense without having to consume much MP? Mainne knew already that the shield had its own limitations by damage and time for it to run, but what about before that? Jane didn''t actually shield everything. That has to mean that Jane uses more than just concentration to perform it. Her arms are spread out crossing each other, palms open, as if they are the conduit for such powerful magic. It would be hard to interrupt the process before it begins, but timing has to factor into a new strategy.


    After Jane dropped her shield while the air space was finally clear, she aimed her arms back at Mainne again with additional Leray magic already built up there, a jade color glyphring already forming in front. "Thunder Flare!" Though the spell usually takes a while to cast after chanting the name, Jane managed to form the sphere of electricity faster than usual, spawning and growing with Mainne already inside of the sphere. Though the damage of the sphere wasn''t currently active, the position in which Mainne was in and how surprised she was by its speed of appearance, it was already too late to be avoided.


    Mainne was trapped by the field around her, already being constantly electrocuted in place as the energy began to disperse. The pain of Thunder Flare was very intense, as was the burning sensation brought on by the electrical magical energy. All of her sentinels remained just outside of the sphere, thus remaining undamaged. Except, the Flame Sentinel suddenly happened to float too close to the electrical sphere entrapping Mainne. It too was beginning to take electrical damage to itself, sparking in response. Mainne couldn''t care about any observations at the moment, as the level of damage was intense and painful, too much for her to move as all her muscles were forced to cramp tightly in response. The sphere then faded away completely, leaving Mainne dizzy and drained of her usual energy. Her limbs felt tingly in every location, and she tried to struggle to return her attention back to reality.


    Jane kept herself on guard, since it seemed that Mainne wasn''t as damaged as she should have been. Was Mainne already dried off by now? Or did the passive protection of her sentinels have something to do with this? She looked like she might collapse at any moment, but it might just be a facade. Jane noticed some static electrical zaps and occasional sparks jumping out from the Flame Sentinel, which took a fair amount of damage from other previous attacks. Jane wondered if destroying those other sentinels should be of a priority, since there was no telling what they could do to her.


    Finally back in her zone, Mainne glanced at Jane and came up with a better idea, which happened to be the original plan that she veered away from since the beginning of the battle. Without much of a warning, Mainne placed her sword away into a contractible hilt, and began sprinting towards Jane, who wasn''t more than twelve meters from the present distance. Before getting close range to Jane, who already had her hands glowing blue in indication of another power shield, Mainne launched a quick attack by shooting an Ice Ball spell from her left hand, immediately hitting Jane from a short distance mid-sprint. The unexpected damage from Ice Ball wasn''t enough to stop Jane, but the fact that she was hit from that attack did confuse her long enough for Mainne to step in and grab hold of Jane''s arms, just as she was about to use them.


    After twisting both of Jane''s arms painfully and folding them around to make her attempt to shield useless, Mainne shifted her feet and began punching and kicking Jane in place. All of this happened as fast as the blink of an eye, but felt slower for Mainne, as it might have been for Jane too. Jane''s movements indicated that she was trying to get a hold of herself and interrupt Mainne''s cycle, but Mainne kept her close combat fighting style less predictable by blasting water magic in Jane''s face, followed by a few more kicks to her gut and the Ice Beam spell to the center of her chest. Little by little, Jane was taking on more damage with no ability to stop Mainne''s relentless assault. Because Mainne was using ice elemental magic, Jane''s body temperature would get even lower than it was before.


    Mainne hit Jane in the face again with her elbow, then used another blast of water, drenching Jane as much as possible just before stepping back to conduct another frozen spell. Chanting Ice Beam once more, Mainne shot a steady beam of ice while aiming to spray all over Jane''s cold body, already making her immobile. Jane covered her arms and ducked her knee down slightly from how cold the sensation was. If this kept up, Jane would simply freeze to death, or freeze to a near death, since Leray magic wouldn''t allow death to occur in this nature, but Mainne hadn''t stopped performing her action just yet. She got close to Jane again, and performed a special backflip, which enabled her to kick Jane with the tip of her shoe at the same time, carrying enough force to knock her down and back as she ascended away from her target. By the time Mainne landed, she continued her combination by adding in one last gust of Icy Wind, blowing a fast gust of sheer cold air in Jane''s direction.


    Though Jane knew her energy scope wouldn''t report it, she felt everything hazing out, as if the world around her were stopping. Everything was too cold, but as much as it hurt, she began to feel everything with less intensity. She was on the ground, her face hurting from all of the kicking Mainne inflicted to her, and impossibly cold gusts of wind shearing the skin off her limbs. Jane stopped shivering, as if her body had simply given up on that mechanism to try and warm her. It felt as if she jumped into a lake frozen over with ice and was stuck inside with nobody to save her.


    But despite that - she could still move her arms and legs. Jane held her hand above her face, examining whether or not the symbol would directly appear on her skin. She could simply force it to happen, but with Mainne and P as a witness added with all of the flying drone cameras, her entire plan would fail. JDT! What would Taylor and Danny do if they were here right now, if they were allowed to fight with her as a team? Jane ran through the scenarios in her mind quickly, as she could feel the circulation in her limbs dying, her blood thickening. Danny would simply stand guard like a bowling pin. But Taylor would do her usual thing, offering some kind of support spell, or at least find some way to warm Jane up as she was fighting...


    "That''s it!" Jane''s voice was a soft whisper despite the fact that she was trying to shout. The breath that escaped her mouth was visible for several seconds, as if the air itself may ice over and drop into a crystal. Jane held her hand up higher, trying to concentrate on sending her energy out into this limb, aiming at the ceiling above herself. Jane knew what needed to be done. It wasn''t going to take a symbol or willpower alone to win this fight. She needed the leverage she should have come up with a very long time ago. Jane whispered the name of her spell to ensure its success, not caring whether Mainne was aware of her ability being cast.


    Mainne could tell Jane didn''t want to move. She didn''t want to sit or stand up at all. Soon enough, Jane will give up and announce defeat without losing all of her health. Instead, Jane raised her hand higher into the air, likely to invoke some sort of support spell. It wouldn''t be an attack spell, since she was aiming it at the air above her. Mainne kept on her guard backing away from Jane slowly to be certain. For several seconds, it didn''t seem like Jane was doing anything in particular. Mainne didn''t hear any words escape her mouth, but Jane''s right hand was glowing with an orange aura as if to release a lot of magic. As it stopped glowing, it was only a matter of time. Mainne waited out the seconds, wondering when she could expect anything to change.


    For a long paused moment, Jane didn''t feel very different. Eventually, every nerve in her body finally obtained the relief they craved for. Jane thought she had somehow drifted from a frozen ice land into a warm lodge. There was suddenly heat all around her, like a fire close enough to warm her hand and toes, and much more beyond that. In mere seconds, Jane felt better than ever, capable of getting back up and standing to her sense. Her limbs were tingling from the radical quick shift in temperature, but the pain was absent now. When she realized how quickly her spell worked, there were suddenly a lot of changes happening in the battlefield. The iced floor became a warm metallic puddle of water. All of the snow and ice at the edges of the field also began melting away. And aside from all of that, an orange haze began to form at the ceiling. Jane felt so comfortable and warm again, finally out of that brisk freezing air that surrounded her.


    Mainne clenched her fists and teeth, unable to respond to the situation quickly. It was a surprise she should have been expecting one moment or another. Up until now, Jane had not fought much with the element of fire, but now this! Jane managed to raise the temperature of the entire room to an unprecedented heat, still in the process of rising, already past 70<sup>o</sup>F. The spell she cast could be none other than Blaze Storm.


    Jane managed to breathe in deeper and deeper, as if she were waking up from a dead sleep in the middle of the fight. Her body and dress were still soaking wet. Mainne blasted her with water twice already, and though the heat made this less of a problem, Jane knew she had to be cautious about the fact that her vulnerability to electrical attacks has come out again. Mainne on the other hand seemed somewhat dry... Wait, something else was happening, something Jane did not expected to see. It had both herself and Mainne in a shocking pause.


    Mainne felt water dripping down on her shoes, as if something above her was dripping a leak, but after checking beneath her, she let out a horrified shriek as her entire crystalized dress sphere began to liquefy. It only happened at the edges for now, but the environmental temperature was still rising rapidly. Blaze Storm is designed to make the environment go all the way up to 150<sup>o</sup>F without fail, and that means that anything frozen Mainne had on her would melt away too! Her shoes were still fine, but they were not technically made out of ice, nor were they synthesized once. Her dress sphere on the other hand, the one she had been working on for weeks was being destroyed without a thing she could do! Damn you Jane! Did she plan this? It''s a clever trick to say the least. Jane has been suffering of a cold temperature for this entire battle, and held back on using the element of heat to her advantage. Only now would she go as far to melt the entire room that was freezing over, making this her advantage to step back up and get into the fight again. Mainne had to deal with Blaze Storm several times, but she always held some way of pulling through them regardless. Her ice dress made it through those previous hell storms just fine, but only because it was robust to damage. Mainne wasn''t exactly weak against heat, but wearing all models of her iced dress sphere made it that way. However, this particular model that Mainne wore was modified outside of the special boundaries of Leray infusion, which means exactly as P said before. Field-testing it now would be a risk to the suit itself.


    Jane didn''t perform any additional action. The sentinels all floating around Mainne began to sink, their health all declining rapidly. Even the Flame Sentinel wasn''t able to withstand a temperature so high, as all four of them imploded from the damage they suffered.


    As Jane noticed all of their energy scopes fading away leaving Mainne by herself, she could feel the discomfort returning to her in a different form. It felt like she was being baked inside of an oven. The air got harder to breathe, the sweat accumulating began running down her face from her scalp. At this rate, her clothes would end up dry in no time, except for the sweat she was leaking already.


    As for Mainne, the frozen dress sphere simply crumbled apart off her own chest, splashing down in its own puddle as Mainne could only mourn the loss of her own experiment in horror. Now she was left with the only unmodified clothing left, a thick layer of a dark colored bikini. Both pieces of clothing are still technically fit for battle since they are also infused with the protection of Leray magic, that and they were not made of any destructive material. On top of that, they''re not any more revealing than a standard beach bikini found at any local store. It seemed now as if Mainne was set and ready to head to the beach at Tilsit Port, but the surprise on Mainne''s blushing face was unavoidable. This would normally be okay within a battle with two woman. Even P had seen his own share of some exposure. While wearing a bikini in battle isn''t all too much to get worked up about, the reaction from others was less bearable to think upon. Mainne knew it would be that way; the audience of an entire nation is watching this through the cameras! Everyone must be laughing at her mistake right now!


    Pilpy caught that worried look in Mainne''s eye, already aware of what she was getting embarrassed about. Then again, she might be even more devastated by the loss in months of work on her dress. With only a second of delay, he picked up his arm, the one with the device wrapped around it. He pressed a single button, something that toggled a switch to place all cameras in standby mode only. In standby mode, all cameras remain active, but only send a feed to the video editing team without keeping an open channel. Not that Mainne wanted to or was trying to, but showing someone even equipped with a non-revealing bikini on this channel could result in a massive variety of problems and potential lawsuits. Young kids watch this channel after all. On top of that, Mainne would now have to decide whether it was up to her in order to battle to the end. If she forfeits now, even to declare that the match is no longer fair, P would have no choice but to let Jane win by default. After all, it isn''t Jane''s fault that Mainne was messing around with an untested experiment mid-battle.


    With another confident nod in Pilpy''s direction, Mainne got a hold of herself. It actually felt a little freer than before to lose all of that heavy weight and fight without any kind of armor. All of that ice was heavier than she realized. Though this also carried its own risks. Mainne would now be completely susceptible to all types of damage. Even if she continues to fight Jane, it would feel odd to battle wearing just the minimum amount of clothes. Jane would never dare try anything to make it worse than this, but the battle still isn''t over yet.


    Jane didn''t know what to do. Was Mainne seriously going to fight like this? What was she nodding at P about? And how was she able to keep from freaking out given the new situation? Jane considered Mainne very lucky to be wearing this much under that frozen modification of armor, rather intelligent to be.


    Noticing Jane''s caution, Mainne reassured her from afar. "We''re not finished yet Jane. I won''t give up that easily, and having a suit that melts in the heat is my fault. Blaze Storm wasn''t a bad choice."


    "Okay." Jane''s response still sounded awkward, but there wasn''t any way to make it seem normal. Jane held her daggers carefully, making sure to have room to use magic from her palms should the need arise. It was hard to still maintain any balance, as Blaze Storm is still currently running.


    "Alright then." Mainne rushed forward for only a few paces, giving some additional speed to her forming spell. A glyphring appeared around her arm instantly, and she released the magic out of her hand as soon as she was able to aim it at Jane. "Shock Wave!" She sent Shock wave, the most refined form of Electro Ball, which still used such little amounts of MP energy.


    Jane saw the flying ball of electrical light coming dead at her face while there was no time to try and shield herself. Instead, Jane held out her hands and took a step to her right to see where she was aiming. "Return!" she shouted as her hands began to glow again. Jane immediately used her telekinetic power of the unofficial Return spell she mastered earlier to take control of Mainne''s Shock Wave projectile. When she did, Jane allowed the sphere to keep its speed while changing the course, making it miss Jane by inches while turning around full circle to redirect the flight path back to Mainne.


    Clearly this was something new! Mainne had never seen someone take full control of her own Shock Wave before and send it back. Mainne was so amazed at this new development that she didn''t managed to dodge what should have been an easy evasion for herself. The sphere collided in her chest, zapping her with her own electrical energy as she was forced to take in all of it.


    At about the same time Jane noticed Mainne take a hit from her own spell, the orange haze from above faded quickly, with a noticeable temperature change on its way. Oddly, it ended up returning the air temperature back down to about 76<sup>o</sup>F, even though the thermostat was set to a much lower condition. Either the spell had overstressed the entire A/C system, or Blaze Storm found this space to be the optimal temperature setting under normal conditions.


    Jane didn''t waste a single moment between then and now. Mainne would be momentarily weak from the drain of an electrical attack such as that, mixed in with the confusion that it was now getting colder. She held her blades tightly, infusing both of them with a slight magical glow. "Splicing Vengeance!" Jane rushed in to where Mainne was standing. It took little time to reach her, as Jane leaped into the air and plunged the glowing blades into Mainne''s chest again. Jane was aiming for the shoulders, but ended up hitting Mainne right below her neck. Of course due to the protection of Leray magic, this felt like nothing more than a stabbing pain for Mainne in that area, followed by a slight decrease of health potential on the energy scope. Jane backed out immediately, trying to return her distance before Mainne could try and get back to her senses.


    The low damage potential did not surprise Jane, as Splicing Vengeance has a low power level to begin with, and she never found a way to refine such a physical attack spell. As she put some distance back between herself and her opponent, Mainne was already about to take some action. Whatever set her MP levels up must have come from taking a hit from her own attack spell. Jane never fully tested the conditions of using the Return control spell on other individuals. Seeing strange effects on them afterwards was to be somewhat expected.


    "Ice Needles!" Mainne quickly got over the pain of Jane''s last attack, since it didn''t last very long or cause a large amount of damage. After expending about 10% of her own MP energy, Mainne created a large ice glyphring in front of her and fired a barrage of Ice Needles.


    On cue, Jane invoked another power shield, the aura of blue light surrounding her entire body as the frozen needles disintegrated into the shield. Jane didn''t think anything about this was odd until several more moments passed. Mainne was still standing on the other side, needles firing rapidly through the glyphring. The spell of Ice Needles doesn''t last half this long, and yet Mainne was still making it go. As the seconds ticked by, Jane began to feel weaker and weaker. The battle damage from the prolonged Ice Needles flying through the field was hardly a cause for concern, but Jane could feel her shield slipping because of how long she had it up to begin with.


    Mainne showed her confident smile while continuing her spell, cautiously walking forward in a continued invocation to reveal terrifying dominance. By using more of her Leray energy, she managed to manipulate and modify the original ability of Ice Needles in order to make it last for a longer duration. If damage wouldn''t break through Jane''s shield, then maybe forcing her to keep it going for a long time would. So far, her theory proved to be successful.


    As Jane''s shield failed and collapsed around her into nothingness, the ice needles landed into her skin a dozen times over, with Mainne shutting down her glyphring at the same time, obviously proof that this was just a diversion for her. The needles stung with pain, but it wasn''t enough to stop Jane from regaining her stamina and preparing to defend herself. Mainne was sure to try something else right now.


    It seems that Jane took some damage from the attack as well. Mainne used this opportunity to attack again with a better spell, under the assumption that Jane couldn''t possibly invoke shields one after the other so quickly between the iterations. "Ice Bolts!" After creating another ice elemental glyphring, Mainne conducted a spell she tried to use once before. If it works, Jane''s body heat will go down again, despite how slowly the air conditioning units were lowering the thermal build up. She fired five Ice Bolts from her glyphring all separately with a rapid fire, prompting Jane to do something else.


    Seeing five frozen projectiles of magical ice heading her way, Jane kept to some more of her original ideas and held her hands out to take control of them again. "Return!" she hissed. The drain on her own energy was high, because unlike before, Jane had to suddenly and quickly take control of five moving projectiles all at the same time, as opposed to just controlling one. Such a thing should have been impossible, but using additional energy while multi-tracking five items at once, Jane barely had the concentration necessary to make this work. Instead of increasing their speed or changing their direction, Jane simply forced all of the Ice Bolts to stop just four meters away from hitting her. It would have taken too long and too much of her focus to try and spin around with the course correction like last time, and Jane decided to cease the movement of the energy spheres. With full control after stopping them and freezing their position in mid-air with telekinetic magic, she swiftly pushed with a similar force, sending all five of them back again.


    "No!" Mainne didn''t expect Jane to try another Return attack, let alone control more than one projectile at a time, but because of her method, it gave Mainne just enough time to pull up her hilt and reactivate her frozen sword. The blade shot out of its hiding place, immune to melting from the proper infusion of Leray magic. Mainne at least knew that her own spell was once again sent back to her this time, and she attempted to cut them all down, but as she raised her saber up as an attempt to block the path of the first Ice Bolt, this left the rest of herself vulnerable to the other Ice Bolts that were clustered closer together in the same process. The Ice Bolts all slammed into Mainne, who was unable to block the attacks with her sword. The sheering cold sensation of a brute ice attack sent shivers through her entire body. The ice spheres hit her chest, shoulders, and legs. Without her dress sphere there to protect her and absorb cold, Mainne had indeed felt the full power of ice attacks like never before. Goosebumps formed immediately all over her skin, unable to provide any layer of cover since the only thing she had on was swimwear. The force of each hit however was not nearly enough to disrupt her balance. The damage caused to her wasn''t too bad, and Mainne managed to stay fairly conscious because of how freezing she was, making her alert.


    Mainne refused to give up this match. Jane could still be defeated against the odds. She was running out of MP energy too, most defiantly the ability to continue shielding herself. Sticking with common ice attacks, Mainne held out her hand again, repeating more deadly skills. "Ice Glave!" As the ground shifted in front of her and continued forward, massive shards of ice similar in formation to that of the stalagmite were shooting out of the ground. It wasn''t on top of Jane just yet, but it would be there any second now.


    "Farshield!" Jane held out her hand aiming right at ground in front of the advancing Ice Glave, creating an auric barrier from the ground up spreading wide and stopping the movement dead in its tracks. But the pillars from Ice Glave continued forming, slamming and smashing rocks into the field, creating tiny hexagons everywhere during the process with the solid sounds of anti-aura reflections. Jane could feel this shield failing immediately, and came up with a different way to shift her strategy. As she began to charge energy into her legs while dropping the power to her Farshield, Mainne was confused into believing that the shield was no longer working, her reactions too slow to keep up.


    The field collapsed quickly, allowing the Ice Glave spell to continue its ground based movement. At the same time, Jane leaped high into the air and far above the proximity of the Ice Glave and its pillars. While in midair, after having avoided such a deadly attack in a simple manner of anti-gravity magic, Jane accumulated about the rest of her entire Leray energy, forming a multi-colored glyphring in front of her as the rest of her magic kept her floating for a few more seconds. "Prism!" Jane didn''t think or wait anything out, leaving Mainne to be stuck with no way to keep up with what was going on. As soon as Jane launched her combination of elemental magical attacks, it was already too late to stop her. Jane started her chain swapping between fire and Ice Bolts before sending out two consecutive Thunderbolts. She threw the magic down at Mainne alternating each hand, as if to casually pitch balls to someone without much effort for aim. Jane continued the combo with an Ice Bolt, followed by a Thunderbolt, two additional Fire Bolts, thunder, ice, thunder, thunder, and finally one more Fire Bolt before the glyphring''s magic was used up. As Jane descended to the ground, the blasts of magical light that surrounded Mainne faded away, leaving behind obvious signs of damage.


    Mainne was on her knees, her arms just as weak. After unexpectedly being blasted with several elemental bolts, freezing, burning, and electrocuting her skin on contact, she felt so weak from a number of elements, but the low stats on her energy scope was one of her more final warnings. She could get up and try something else, but Jane just wasn''t letting up at all.


    After Jane landed, she didn''t take much time to decide on another long-range attack. It would use up the last bit of her remaining magic, but she needed to get Mainne''s health as low as possible to make this victory official. "Lightning Strike!" Making her spell more official with a jade colored glyphring around her wrist with just 3% of her last MP energy, Jane aimed dead on Mainne''s slumping body, sending out an electric bolt of power that quickly began to degrade Mainne''s health while zapping her for damage. The shock really looked as if it hurt judging by the painful expression on Mainne''s face. By the time it was over, Jane was also breathing rapidly after having no MP left, but her health was still halfway up, giving her plenty of reason to stand still and rest while her opponent makes up her mind.


    Mainne finally managed to look up, studying Jane''s still determined stance and her energy scope. It was obvious by comparison right now that Jane has won this battle. Someway, somehow, Mainne lost to what appeared to be this really energetic young girl. And worse, here she was half-exposed and humiliated in the arena. That bit was her own fault, but it was finally time she formally gave up. After trying to stand and balance herself through the dizziness, Mainne found her voice and declared an official announcement. "I can''t believe I''ve been defeated. I forfeit the match!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: The Reunion ~ X3 Reunion OST</a>


    <hr>


    As soon as it was spoken aloud, the entire Siriean dome became brighter and emitted a shocking sound. It was as if the field was collapsing due to damage instead of a formal discontinuation of service. P disabled his own force field as well, standing to attention of the scene. He would soon announce Jane as the victor any second now. "The match is over. Jane Venn is declared as the victor of the third battle, and the chain has moved to level four on her behalf." With that done, P pulled out a supply sphere he was holding onto. This time, he had several things to give to Mainne. First, he gave Jane and Mainne the same modified healing orb as before, capable of instantaneous regeneration of each subject. With the energy scopes filling up nicely after usage, Jane and Mainne weren''t slow with putting away those magical scopes, making the field of view clearer to everyone.


    Well before Jane recovered, Pilpy was handing a rounded cloak to Mainne, allowing her to slip into the material as she buttoned up each section in the front. Mainne could easily open her personal supply sphere and change into anything else of her choice, but it would take up some time nobody had at the moment. Jane was left wondering about that particular problem ever since the incident. Why would Mainne''s dress sphere be vulnerable to damage by Leray magic? And how did she not freak out when continuing to battle? Jane imagined a thought in her head that gave her tremors in her nerves, the thought of battling in her underwear with a thousand or more people watching.


    "Thanks P," Mainne spoke softly. She could feel with and without the cloak that the entire room was still at a temperature above sixty degrees, caused by the A/C struggling to bring it back down to the optimal settings she had the device locked to. In front of her stood Jane, who looked a little winded from the fight, but not nearly as much as Mainne felt. Jane won her victory, despite all of Mainne''s efforts and struggles to change the way the battle went. It was all over from the moment Jane hit her with Splice as Mainne was jumping from airborne glacier to glacier. It wasn''t exactly how she expected to go out losing, but Mainne knew she gave the fight everything she had. The same could be said for Jane too, who nearly became frozen solid from the previous strategy. Where does she get that energy and spirit from? Even now, Jane has a confident stance about her, like she was already prepared to battle against the next elite without a fifteen minute break... Danton.


    "I can''t begin to tell you how stupid that was." Pilpy''s aggressive tone drove away Mainne''s attention from Jane. "I tried to tell you earlier that you can''t go messing around with Leray based properties on tactical dress spheres without field testing it extensively. Your synthesis failed because you got too carried away."


    Mainne crossed her arms with her head tilting away from her referee. "You''re still going on about that? I already figured out my mistake in battle."


    "What happened anyway?"


    Noticing Jane''s question in the matter, Mainne kept an eye on her while explaining the full situation. "My dress sphere melted into oblivion, and I have no one but myself to blame for that. Even though I made it out of ice for design, I didn''t carefully ensure that it was still protected by Leray magic. I modified it myself, which risks sacrificing that natural aura of protection. Since it was under a third tier of modification, it was more prone to losing protection."


    "Really?" Jane thought back to her own situation. The dress sphere she was wearing now had been completely modified. It was the black and blue suit from Lennith Academy, but Taylor did a lot of interesting things to change the overall appearance of the special suit. It really didn''t have an official name anymore, but Taylor recolored the entire elastic battle suit to white, adding on green stripes and designs to various places, making sure the dye matched the hue and vibrancy of her own eyes. Plus, instead of keeping the suit as a suit, Taylor somehow managed to add on a top skirt as an extra layer, making the entire dress sphere much more attractive. The inner layers of the material were changed too for a different more comfortable fabric. The modifications were not obvious either; this was professionally remade, something she would only expect to witness from one of the Eldora clothing stores, or from an actual fashion designer. From the outside, one would simply see a girl wearing a powerful dress with leggings and an overskirt, though colored in a method that blends the material all together in elegance. Combine that with special white shoes and white leather fingerless gloves, and she has an amazing outfit designed to look formal and use for battling, equipped with natural resistances that are actually quite low in total sustenance. In all of that time and process, Jane hadn''t noticed a single stitch out of place ever since she began fighting in this tower, which must mean that the Leray coat of protection still applies. How did Taylor know in which ways to modify the JDT dress sphere without sacrificing its natural form of damage protection? And how has she not set her sights on being a fashion designer in this country?


    "It''ll be fine though," Mainne reassured. "The audience won''t know what happened."


    "Huh?"


    Addressing Jane''s confusion, Pilpy held up his armlet in front of Jane without pressing anything on it. "I made sure to shut down active transmission to the live feed, and made note of changes that needed to be made to the editors. We aren''t going to show Mainne wearing that little of anything on television, so we continued showing you battle instead, editing the fight as best we can while blacking out the rest. There is no doubt that people watching will know that something was up momentarily, but the end result of the capture software will be the same."


    No wonder Mainne was so calm! Jane had forgotten to consider this. The drone cameras all have a live ten-minute delay to resolve little issues like this. Mainne knew the entire time that nothing too embarrassing for her would have been shown to any particular audience. That must be why she chose to continue the battle anyway. Jane was amazed at herself for how well she did in the end, her skills getting better each time.


    "Anyway," Mainne focused. "I was totally amazed by how well you battled today, and now I understand how you managed to beat the other two. Most importantly, this was a lot of fun!"


    In this very moment, Mainne appeared to Jane as a younger, happier person, like she had traveled back in time and brought out the brightest side of herself. But Jane suspected Mainne was always this way. It seemed like she really does care about the principles of Leray battles, the things that truly matter about having fun in a fight. Jane and Mainne both fought their absolute hardest a moment ago, and at the same time, Jane felt the same sense, the same buzz she always felt after winning a battle. It''s exactly why she was so anxious to battle the next opponent right away. Mainne isn''t the only one who loves to fight using Leray magic.


    Failing to control her expression at loss to a smile, Mainne stepped a pace closer to Jane, wanting to imprint that face into her memory. "Jane, I''d like to have another battle with you!"


    "What?!" P turned and glared at Mainne, judging her intentions. "Mainne, you can''t seriously¡ª"


    "I didn''t mean right now!" Mainne turned with her arms held down to gesture her sudden frustration. After calming Pilpy''s misinterpretation down, she focused on Jane again, eager for her answer. "Some time after your championship battle ends, whether it be next week or next month, I''d like to test myself against you over and over. Hell, I might even try to get you a position here as an elite trainer. I can tell that you have plenty of potential. What do you say?" She extended her arm to Jane as well, palm open -awaiting to be shaken for the trust of a deal.


    Jane was frozen for a second. Having been asked for a rematch in the future certainly wasn''t expected. Jane didn''t think she could have made an impression on anybody else, having been so focused on what to say to Danton come the time, but Mainne was asking for all the right reasons, accompanied to everything Jane knew about it from the beginning. She could sense just how incredible and wonderful Leray battles are. Even after forgetting about that the moment Jane left her friends, and after they reminded her what it really means to have a real Leray match, Jane exhaled excitingly to see someone else who shared the same understanding. The look in her adult blue eyes, Mainne was more than just happy or jumpy! Jane could see herself reflected from this person again. Mainne wants to have a rematch. As coming from an elite, it most likely isn''t something that happens regularly, and as a Leray wielder, this was an offer Jane knew she shouldn''t refuse. After allowing herself to comprehend the emotions they both shared, Jane clasped her hand into Mainne''s, hefting her arm up and down firmly. "I''d be honored to conduct a battle once again with someone who enjoys this as much as I do."


    Mainne wanted to let everything go right then and there, but since Jane was still the primary contestant, she couldn''t get too carried away. "Excellent. Now we only have about twelve minutes before the next break ends. We should talk about your next opponent."


    "Okay." Jane put her arms by her side, waiting patiently while her heart pounded in her chest from the ongoing anticipation of action. "I''m all ears."


    P had something to say first, but it wasn''t much of a deviation for what it pertained to. "For winning this match, you have been rewarded with 25,000 credits, automatically loaded onto your license card by digital transfer. You will also retain the previous credit rewards from your previous victories. And now that you have accumulated a chain of four in the Eldora championship, Mainne will give you the details of your next opponent; the fourth elite."


    "Brock currently has level four status," Mainne began. Before Jane could ask for a more formal identity, she sped up her words in hopes she wouldn''t have to explain this twice. "He and I are about the same in skill level, so sometimes we end up swapping between elite levels. But as you witnessed from the moment you entered this particular arena, the environment has been manipulated for the purpose of my own specialization."


    "It was cold," Jane remembered.


    "Yes. It was cold. The A/C was set to twenty-seven, and I like to fight in cold environments, using the elements of ice and wind to my advantage of slowing opponents down. Brock however has the opposite strategy." Jane tilted her head to the news, but ever so slightly as to go unnoticed. "Instead of battling with ice, Brock sets his A/C heating settings much higher, as he specializes as a heat warrior."


    Jane sighed stressfully, after just having overcome an immense cold. Now she has to suffer a heat stroke to move on? "Fire and Ice huh?"


    "Yeah." Mainne sounded a bit defeated in tone as she continued. "Brock and I have both fought each other a lot. I managed to beat him a couple times, but mostly he takes the win. Since fire is strong against ice, I typically have the constant disadvantage against him. Maybe I should learn a thing from you regarding the next time we go at it." After a short silence, Mainne realized she was getting off track. "As I was saying, Brock will likely prefer to use fire elemental magic that also tends to be very high on a scale of potential power. He won''t hesitate to harm you at all, and he insists on making each attack painful like Cleo does if given the chance. Fairness and mercy are not concepts he uses, so don''t be expecting that. If you have some sort of defense against fire, I suggest you put it to use in the next field."


    After swallowing all of the information useful to Jane, she nodded and prepared to make herself mobile again. "I got it then. I should get going." Jane followed to the direction where P pointed her to, the next elevator that would take her up to the 750<sup>th</sup> floor of Eldora Tower. With as much preparation as she could bare, Jane put one foot in front of the next knowing what had to be done.


    She loved people like Mainne, people who show so much high hopes for the example of Leray magic in Sprawn Valley. That love for Leray magic is important, and it is something else that will die with the city of Lennith and all of their dreams if Jane cannot save it from destruction. There is still only one sure way to do that. Three down and two to go? Jane felt deep down that she was capable, but now she was proud and more confident than ever in herself.


    No, not just herself. JDT is making all of this possible right now. Jane knew she would have never made it this far without her friends here to support her. She could have been left in the dark zone to be eaten alive by another feral behemoth. Or even after being saved, Danny and Taylor could have simply abandoned her at Lennith and parted ways to leave this only on her own shoulders. But they didn''t leave her behind. Danny and Taylor both helped Jane get this far. They are still helping her right now; the very thought of them kept Jane going further than she believed possible. That is something worth protecting just as much as Lennith City, and she claimed it to be her one and only true strength, her trump card in any situation, not this retched symbol. Danton? You and I have a few things to talk about. I don''t care how tough Brock is. Even if he does wipe the floor with me, you are not getting away from me.

 Chapter 47: Fire Fight

    <hr>


    <02/12/1972 ¨C 11:20 | Eldora Tower Fl. 750, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    After being lifted to the next arena from the primary lift Jane was forced to ride in, the automatic doors opened up in front of her. Jane''s heart was already racing, as if the fight could begin in the next few seconds. A sudden flash of heat overwhelmed the entire small room Jane was encased in, coming from the area up ahead. After walking to the large corridor before the circular arena room, Jane immediately noticed that the room had gone from really cold to really warm in a matter of seconds. It was too warm to be a normal thing. It felt like the heat of summer on a clear and bright day intensified on her skin, she already began to sweat beneath her clothes. It must be close to one hundred on a thermostat by now, and Jane would have to get over it.


    In the center of the open field, the fourth Elite was already standing there waiting on Jane, with another lady of age further to the left side of the field. The entire room was about as large as the last one with all the open space. Only at the edges of the field was there a dramatic loss in floor. Beneath this different floor was the high-powered heat padding Jane did not yet known about, the system responsible for cooking the entire room and the air inside of it. Jane couldn''t help but gasp for quicker breaths, immediately uncomfortable and wishing for the cold to return again.


    "So this is the young new challenger with skill?" Brock, who appeared to be in his upper thirties holding more than a six-pack visible through his sleeveless dress sphere of a shirt and denim material, questioned the challenger in front of him. His voice was deep and almost raspy. Nothing about his stance or posture indicated that he was uncomfortable in the slightest, proving to Jane by Mainne''s description that this person was indeed her next elite warrior.


    Knowing the drill by heart already, Jane continued marching forward despite the ninety-degree heat suffocating her in this room. Only when she reached a verbal speaking distance did Jane announce herself and declare her intentions to battle. "I am Jane Venn, Leray wielder representing my home town of Fronas. Elite level four Brock? I''d like to battle you next. You''re all that remains standing in my path towards champion Danton." All of the cameras were flying everywhere, obviously resistant to the extreme heat. Jane knew that it would be early to record anything, but then the editing team would just delay playback even further as a result to maintain consistency within their program.


    "You seem to have a tough spirit about you," Brock observed. "Make no mistake Jane Venn. I don''t underestimate anyone I dare battle, which is what I assume to be the mistakes of the other three comrades. As you should already know by now, I fight direct and with a level of heat to the field." If she is this small up close, then her most likely tactics will be something sneaky or annoying.


    The older lady wearing a bright robe began to explain the rules without first announcing her identity. "This room is affected with a heat system that cannot be shut down or overcome by Leray magic in the field. As such, you will be subject to no in-battle breaks, no attempts to sip on fluids, and no declarations of misconduct. The Leray battle between level four Elite warrior Brock and Jane Venn will begin shortly when both participants are ready."


    Jane knew she was getting no breaks, but luckily she already had a chance to sip on water during the last elevator ride. That lift was somewhat slower than the other three, indicating a level of safety at this altitude. It''s already bad by this heat, but it won''t be enough to overwhelm her.


    "Jennison is the referee here," Brock introduced. "What she decrees is final. I''m not going to judge right and wrong in this battle, nor am I about to make this job easier for you."


    Jane ticked a sound nearly mimicking a laugh. "You better not. I didn''t come all this way to mess around."


    Just another fiery temper ready to burn out like the rest of them. Who cares how long it has been since a decent challenge? Danton is attracting the wrong kind of crowd right now, and at times like these... Let''s just get this over with. "With such confidence and no more rules to state," Brock assumed, "I doubt there is reason for additional chatter. Jennison? Begin match preparations."


    Jane tensed all of her muscles, preparing herself for a quick start of battle. It seemed a little early to begin now, but every nerve in her body was begging for a match to begin right at this moment. The battle fought with Mainne left Jane wanting more and more. Brock certainly seemed tough. There wasn''t much about him to go on for a strategy. He is obviously powerful both in physical strength and in magical essence, and with that, his fiery spells will be on limitless scales. Jane grinned after a moment, realizing that despite the difficulty here, winning was most defiantly possible.


    The heat was already tough on her though. Jane could feel her brain begging for the cold, her body sweating quickly to try and keep up with the need for homeostasis. The room temperature would stay like this for a while. Jane assumed Brock''s strategy would be to try and tire out Jane quickly with this intense heat, making her highly uncomfortable and soon to be unfit for battle without even the need to deal any damage, but it wasn''t that bad. Jane was still standing, still firm and ready to strike just as Brock was preparing to. She had to wait until the battle officially begins, with both energy scopes on the field lighting up before Jennison''s battle announcements.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: The Eternal Struggle ~ FFXIII-2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    As the drone cameras began to fly higher to achieve altitude, Jennison declared the start of battle while raising her voice in the echoing room. "The match between Jane Venn and level four elite warrior Brock will now commence!" With that, she enabled a very large Siriean dome that covered the entire field minus the outer most section that didn''t have a level floor. At the same time, a smaller version of a Siriean dome shielded was cast to protect Jennison from further harm as she awaited the resulting start of battle.


    Jane wasn''t used to how quickly this fight was beginning, but she kept herself wary, long enough to notice Brock taking absolutely no chances at all. He was the one enabling his very first attack, charging up visible auric energy into his hands. The move promoted Jane to immediately make a decision to either stand there or protect herself using her own Leray energy.


    "Fiery Plume!" His release in Leray energy already had the entire ground of the battlefield quaking violently, but Brock managed to keep the target center to his eyes at the same time, noticing some sort of blue auric field surrounding the girl''s body. Just as the method of his magical attack was released to full potential, several large fire balls partially in phase jumped up through the ground near the target, most of them slamming into Jane.


    The heat in the specific area rose quickly, but Jane didn''t feel a thing. The large fire balls that slammed into her shield from under the solid floor only left small hexagonal sections on her personal aura, deflecting all of the damage around her while protecting her from the additional heat of the spell. Some of the shooting fire balls missed and continued to fly upward until they disintegrated into the Siriean dome shield surrounding both of them. The blowing steam of heat followed in the same area where each fire ball was launched earlier, adding on for extra damage. The streams of fire lifting through the temporary cracks in the ground threatened to eat Jane''s shield aura whole, but against Jane''s power shield, the damage was still no match. However, just as the spell was over, Jane felt her concentration on the power shield slipping, forcing herself to drop it fast, and she remained lucky that she outlasted the power of Brock''s first strike.


    Brock clenched his hands into fists, failing to account for hidden tricks such as this abnormal shield Jane used to protect herself. Her health status did not dropped an inch, and her MP levels barely declined either. Fiery Plume has a power level of eight and a large MP cost to use, and Jane made such a spell effectively useless with little effort, but now her secret was already out in the open. The announcer would be reporting this to the audience, not that Brock would care. He too kept such systems in mute mode to not disrupt the battle. Now that Jane was safe and okay, she was using magic to invoke one of her own spells.


    After charging enough Leray energy into her hand, Jane chanted, "Tri-Attack!" and unleashed her power to summon three distant glyphrings all forming a specific shape of a triangle. Just then, the elemental glyphrings all fired at Brock, hitting him with Lightning Strike, Fire Bolt, and Ice Bolt within seconds of each other. Instead of dodging the projectiles, Brock stood there helplessly as he could only stay strong and absorb the damage with his skin. Despite the obvious wincing from the electrical attack, all three hits from the spell did minimal damage compared to Jane''s own expectations.


    Brock didn''t understand Jane''s reason for using such a useless and predictable attack, nor did he use such data to form any kind of hypothesis about her battle tactics. Since he retained much training with elemental spells and a natural resistance to fire damage, Jane just wasted her breath. Brock charged up more of his energy into a powerful attack, one designed to use that compressed MP energy at the maximum output. "Eruption!" he yelled. With his right hand glowing with a nearly white aura, he summoned and shot from the white aura - spheres of fire and lava all massive in size, five consecutively launched spheres of fire elemental magic that behaved in midair like falling projectiles. Brock shot his spell angled up slightly, making sure they would get some distance and speed before landing on top of Jane.


    Jane invoked another power shield around herself again, hoping to block out all five spheres of fire that were all going to strike her at separate moments and intervals, only a second away from the first hit now. The explosive power and light from the first impact to the shield created quite a spectacle, blocking Jane''s ability to see much of anything beyond that brilliance. The hexagons all formed in multiples areas and spread further apart, indicating just how powerful the heat factor is to Brock''s unleashed spell.


    Jane never saw or heard of Eruption before, but she never could have imagined that it would become this powerful from any particular person. It more closely resembled one of the lava blasts that she remembered taking from the Char Monster back in Alpha Zero, only this time there were five of these spheres at once. The second sphere of burning lava smashed into the top of her shield, shortly afterwards creating a stress on Jane''s focus further than she ever felt before. The difficulty was of course keeping the power to her auric shield going, but she never had a chance past one more second. In less time than what Jane was able to fully control, the power shield around her immediately collapsed in the same way Siriean domes do at the end of battle. Afterwards, Jane was left defenseless as she spotted three more large fiery spheres heading her way, guided by gravity only.


    Brock let a smirk cross his cheekbone, watching the hopeless person far in front of him choke on her indecisiveness to do anything about the lava spheres in front of her. They all landed on top of her skin, collapsing into an aura of fire so hot that the radiant heat alone could cause second-degree burns with the Leray veil. The liquid material in each sphere was much hotter than ordinary fire, much more painful with a fiery effect that would have been considered illegal if it were not discovered that Eruption is still a form of Leray magic and not dark magic. Despite this little detail, Jane collapsed to the floor on her knees, rubbing her arms, elbows, and stomach in the aftermath that followed from just one hit. With two more fire spheres on its way, Brock could only watch in disappointment as Jane let out a scream that echoed through the room, piercing through the walls themselves until the light from the final two spheres clouded the visual field revealing Jane''s physical position.


    Jane previously felt incredible burns before in the dark zone from monstrous attacks, but nothing in the entire world compared to this. The pain was immense and quick to fade into a duller sensation of stinging. It was so powerful of an aggressive burn that Jane was dazed long after the light from each hit had faded and gone away. After she was left in her half-conscious state, Jane wanted to move and get back up, but every burn mark hurt so badly that it broke her entire chain of thought every second. Her body trembled in a natural response of shock while every nerve felt like it was still encased in flames.


    Brock noticed that despite how much it must have hurt his opponent, Jane''s energy scope was still not in a red zone. In fact, that spell is most often lethal to anyone who comes into contact with it. Despite the overall magic overwhelming Jane''s personal shield, the shield itself protected her from two out of five lava spheres exceeding a power level of nine each. It was impressive in its own right, but Jane relied on her defensive shield far too often. With her body crippled by the pain of several burns, Brock wasn''t just going to wait for her to feel any better. "You should have prepared for a strategy involving intense heat!" he hollered. "Now I''ll deliver one more blow after the next, with Volley!"


    After putting much more emphasis on the name of his spell, Brock''s hands lit up with an aura as his released magic quickly began to spawn a massive number of sharp arrows from a high point in the air above him. Each arrow was covered in a hint of fire, indicating they were fire arrows on top of dealing heavy piercing damage. With this ability, his MP levels barely dropped an inch.


    Quickly recalling the reason she was here, including the faith and trust given to her by Jane''s friends, the thought was more than enough to will herself through the burning sensations all over her body. Jane stood up with her fists and teeth clenched tightly. She noticed that a barrage of arrows spread wide was sure to impact her soon from above, and the power shield trick wasn''t going to be enough to fend this guy off. Jane knew of several ideas and techniques to defend herself while attacking; there were numerous new skills and abilities she learned from her previous battles, and all she needed now was to use the right ones. It was hard enough just standing up in this much burning pain, but Jane finally managed to block most of it out from her mind.


    By the time Jane came up with an idea, she had more afterwards, as well as immediate initiative to spring into action. Barely set into strategizing and thinking, she became entranced with her natural ability to fight back and analyze every single aspect of any airborne target in the air. It would have been easy to use Inversion right then and there, but Brock was strong enough to handle his own spell. Instead, Jane collected the MP energy all around her, shrouding her into a dark cloudy aura that activated on her command, just a moment before the first falling arrow struck her from above. "Dark Strike!"


    Jane managed to pull her daggers out from hiding and infuse them with Leray energy right before disappearing into a teleportation state. As her essence transcended beyond the physical dimension, Jane became capable of turning herself into a solid beam of visible light from the same spectrum. To her, she was flying straight and forward at the speed of light, using her daggers to strike Brock''s chest, arms, and back with every chance she got. Jane teleported away before reaching the edge of the dome field, reappearing a distance away at a different angle to score more hits, each time expending more of her own MP energy. After the fourth teleportation, Jane ended up flying downward from above with her daggers out and ready to strike with the additional force of gravity, the blades seeping directly into Brock''s shoulders before he was able to react to any of it.


    In the same instance, Brock let out a manly yelp of pain, as Jane''s retraction of her blades managed to draw just a little blood in the same motion. After landing and getting her blades back, Jane hopped backwards, getting some distance from her opponent before anything else could happen. Brock cringed from the massive damage done to him, while Jennison was left in astonishment to calculate what just transpired in the last three seconds.


    The people down in the audience would surely have seen such an amazing maneuver as well, and Brock was left defenseless against such speed and cunning aptitude. Jane managed to invoke a most unusual teleportation attack that exceeded usual power levels, and did so at just the right moment designed to completely neglect the entire existence of Brock''s Volley attack he invoked earlier. All of the arrows that were now stuck to the grown quickly began to fade away from the loss of magic, while Brock was left in searing pain from the damage done to him. Jane''s own movements were impossible to trace with the naked eye, and with the aerial view from the drone cameras, the audience would be getting an amazing show. The entire exchange was incredible! No wonder Jane has surpassed the other three elites! Jennison focused her field of view on Jane, wanting to know what else to expect from her.


    It didn''t take that long for Brock to recover his stance however. By the time Jane retained some of her distance, he immediately put himself to work on another surprising spell, lifting his glowing hand high into the air to use all of it. "Blaze Storm!"


    "Blaze Storm?!" Jane winced at the single idea. Why would Brock use Blaze Storm in a room that was already making the both of them sweat?


    Brock stamped forward to explain it to her while continuing to release his magic, allowing Jane to happily waste her time she could have been using to stop him. "Blaze Storm will bring this entire room to a staggering one hundred and fifty degrees in temperature! I''m gonna make you boil before you can hope to defeat me in battle!"


    With the temperature already rising after Brock put his arm back down, Jane noticed the orange glow at the top of the room, much like the same spell she mastered earlier. Brock was using it to make the already intense conditions more intense, a similar strategy that Mainne tried on her before, but it wouldn''t work. Jane bit her lip and decided to go with it anyway. The room wasn''t at one fifty yet, and she still had some time before that kind of heat would immobilize everyone. "Charge Attack!" Taking off from her feet, Jane sprinted towards Brock, hoping to find some way to catch him off guard, but only a few seconds had to pass before Jane quickly began to slow down to a crawl.


    Brock already expected this pathetic attempt from Jane to simply tough it out. Jane was slowing down fast, her steps becoming irregular and her face dripping in sweat just about as much as his own was doing. Brock just stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for the heat to overtake Jane. What she didn''t realize was that Brock had extensive training in this type of heat. He was well used to the conditions of this Blaze Storm by now, despite the fact that it would affect his performance too. Leaving Jane confused because it was only affecting her the most, Brock simply waited for Jane to kneel down onto her legs again in a most predictable manner before pulling out his long bladed sword.


    The sword''s length was as average as any long blade, but the design was more than just unique. Unidentified to people other than himself, Brock wielded in front of him a saber forged with the finest and strongest metals in Sprawn Valley, shining with its reflective glimmer as the saber sent off a glow of red radiant light. The blade seemed like it was on fire, flames the color of blood red like something that would only be seen in an animated cartoon. The aurora effect on the blade wasn''t just for show, and neither was it something commonly found in the study of Leray magic.


    Jane couldn''t help herself from the collapse to the ground. Her body was losing droplets of sweat by the second, her skin beginning to boil like she was stuck inside of some massive oven being baked alive. The heat and radiation around her felt too intense to ignore, and Blaze Storm managed to heat up the room to its maximum potential faster than Jane would have ever imagined. Now Brock was holding a sword like none she has ever seen before.


    Brock and his acquaintances knew of the magical process inflicted upon his blade, and so did the referee who witnessed countless battles of this variety. Though he rarely uses this sword, the blade is infused with a rare energy unregulated by Leray magic. The process is known by the few as pure affinity. Pure affinity allows pure unregulated magic to become morphed and infused upon specific objects for specific functions, which can only be done by the natural equipment and mages on Eupharus Island with a rare synthesis. In this case, Brock had his blade infused with the magical essence of fire elemental energy, which permanently bonds to his sword and acts as fire elemental damage for anything or person that dares touch or skims the metal. In this case, he can use magic without using magic, and at the same time, such durability is never expended. To draw detail of that situation, the permanent magical effect on the object creates an aurora effect of light always unique from the usual light and aura emitted from an ability derivative of Leray magic. Despite Brock rarely displaying such devotion on national television, Jane had never seen anything like it before. She didn''t know what to think of it, not that the heat burning her skin left much room for distractions.


    Lifting his blade above his shoulder in preparation, Brock took aim at Jane, and prepared to move while his target was down and disabled. "I warned you that your weakness would fail you in the end. Crimson Blade!" Brock took off in a sprint with his sword pointed far in front as if it were a spear, controlling the bobbing from his rapid movement. His MP energy didn''t drain at all, not that he used an official Leray spell. Crimson Blade is a legitimate name for infusing fire elemental magic into a sword, but Brock only chanted the name to give Jane something to remember, his blade already burning with red flames immune to being extinguished. Just as he came in range to swing at the downed girl, Brock lifted his blade higher and swept from the side over, cutting through Jane''s top shoulders. Still following the properties of Leray magical protection, Jane wasn''t severed in half despite the blade cutting all the way through her skin the way it did.


    Jane left Brock with a loud shrieking scream of intense pain. On top of feeling a sharp blade pierce multiple places on her body, the fire elemental damage left quite a burn in the same wound that was created. In fact, Brock''s slash went so deep that it created a sealed wound in the mark of which Jane was hit. Though the cut all together was concealed by her dress entirely, Jane knew it was there. The pain was very familiar to the laser swipe she took in the dark zone, or the similar Leray pain effect from Splice. Her health dropped dramatically just form one hit, though Brock backed off after this sword strike, which he had intended to do so from the start of his attack run. Jane was left in searing pain, still panting from how hot the room became.


    Realizing that Jane''s stats were still a bit elevated for the high damage he inflicted, Brock, after having retained his distance from Jane again by a few paces, threw in another attack since she would still remain immobile anyway. Finally using the magic from his own bodily source, Brock chanted and invoked another spell with much speed while holding tightly onto his crimson sword with his right hand. "Shadow Wave!" After sending an advancing wave of darkness and damage energy towards Jane, Brock was sure that the battle turned in his favor.


    Jane wanted to shield herself, or dodge, or do something to help herself in this situation. But... Water! Need... Cold... Before she knew it, the force of the Shadow Wave slammed into Jane at full force, sending her backwards and knocking her down in the same blow, dealing additional damage on the side after its explosion. Jane was now on her back, her eyes at the orange glowing ceiling air that roasted her and everything else in the room. She soon realized while powerless to stop this just how vulnerable she was right now, in the exact same situation she was in before when Mainne made it so cold that Jane''s entire mind was freezing up with her body on the ground, her willingness to fight quickly fading.


    Brock''s eyes shut slightly, his brows angling downward from the surprise. Five percent damage? Only five percent damage from a mastered Shadow Wave attack? How did this girl get her endurance so high? If this were any other challenger, their natural endurance would have been about a third of what this person is at right now. Has Jane Venn really been in countless battles only after leaving home for four weeks? Or is that personal story just a facade?


    "Water Blast!"


    After hearing a strong female chant take his thought process by surprise, Brock was completely left unable to see anything with an entire beam of cold water splashing into his face. The sudden hit of water was short lived, and he wiped away his face quickly to figure out what just happened.


    Standing proud and tall again, Jane kept one hand aimed at Brock and the other at her own face. She had gotten out of a similar tough situation in the last fight against Mainne. Blaze Storm is perfect for ending a blizzard of low temperatures, but in this case, only cool water can remedy her own heat exhaustion, and it costs no MP because of the laughably low power level. Brock nor Jane would take HP damage from getting rained on. Her face and hair were already dripping wet from her own spell. Jane used it on herself was well as Brock. The idea though was to stop Brock from reacting or figuring out Jane''s plan in time by blinding his eyes, which apparently worked out in her favor. Jane shot another blast of water from her left hand into her face and angled her palm downwards. Her entire dress was getting soaked, but the fresh stream of water seeping down her skin felt amazing, the coldness going through the dress sphere to her skin. Jane felt rejuvenated and ready to move around again despite the blistering of her skin. At the same time, the orange glow from above was slowly beginning to lose its luster.


    "What the?!" Brock had to figure out after Jane had washed herself down with a second spray of water elemental magic what the woman was up to. It didn''t matter that he immediately felt twenty degrees cooler from the splash of water since he was used to the heat, but Jane used it to cool herself off too. "Brilliant," he mumbled alone. "I guess the battle will continue then!"


    Jane took out both of her daggers from the interior pockets of her dress sphere, holding them out without saying a word. Her attitude spoke its own volumes, calling out to Brock that her fight was far from over. The room temperature suddenly began to drop quickly, with the magical effect from Blaze Storm finally worn out and the glow at the top of the room faded completely.


    Brock clenched his muscles tighter in preparation. "Fine. If that''s how you want it..." Predictably charging up for another one of his signature spells, Brock collected a lot of his MP energy, which created a mostly transparent bright yellow glyphring in front of him aimed towards Jane. "Solar Beam!" After thrusting his arms and glowing hands into the glyphring, Brock unleashed his powerful magic; a wide beam of light charged with an ultimate power level dealing only fire elemental and pure magical damage in one large blast!


    "Mako Speed!" Jane made short work of her quick evasion spell, firing a bright blue narrow beam of energy from the tip of her right blade to the ground. Mako Speed fired a gravity manipulation spell at the same time, which is how she managed to suddenly leap nine meters into the air angled to her left. Jane''s jump from Mako Speed immediately allowed her to evade Brock''s powerful Solar Beam before it had the chance to reach her, the beam instead hitting the dome shield and losing its power.


    Though it may have surprised Brock, Jane didn''t give it up there. While falling to the ground with little risk of taking damage from a short drop in distance, Jane quickly charged up a lot of her energy into a best-timed free form spell. Upon stamping her feet back into the hard floor, Jane unleashed the energy in a form that automatically created a grey glyphring high in the air above her. "Return Fire!" The glyphring decided to shoot two lava spheres at Brock, spheres similar to the spell of Eruption used before against Jane. While Brock was too dumbstruck to expect it coming, Jane made sure to get in one more attack spell against him while she had the upper hand. "Flaming Volley!" Sending down a barrage of arrows on fire like Brock tried to before, Jane brought down total destruction on top of Brock, who was powerless to stop the penetrating arrows into his skin and the total burning sensation from the crashing lava spheres. The damage wasn''t as high with Brock being resistant to fire, but the pain was very much real to him, more than he would have ever expected from any random attack by Jane. Return Fire is free form, but also halfway automatic when it comes to power level determinations. The stronger the spells are from the last three used by the other challenger, the stronger the spell Return Fire becomes mid-invocation, which makes it a unique Leray skill.


    After sliding back on his shoes for two entire inches without leaving the ground, hit by the force of Jane''s free form Leray return attack, Brock charged up more of his energy quickly, giving additional focus to the battle where he had not done so before. Jane was just a single stationary grounded target in front of him, and all Brock needed to do was attack with a method powerful enough to bypass any layer of protection. "Blast Wave!" Using his charged aura of Leray energy into another explosive area attack, Brock''s spell worked quickly to generate random explosions that localized specifically a few meters in front of Jane, moving upwards each second.


    With her patience worn thin, Jane aimed both of her arms and hands at the oncoming chain of blasts sent from Brock''s magical attack, and released her own energy on a high scale of expenditure. "Inversion!" Though it took Jane a second longer than she wanted it to, her concentration eventually took full telekinetic control of the entire spell soon to destroy her. The entire time frame of the explosions in reference came to a quick halt, as if the chain of explosive barrage suddenly froze in time, including the light form the last particular blast. As Jane continued to release the rest of her energy and control the flow of Brock''s last area attack, she directed the magical energy in the opposite direction just as the speed scale of each explosion sped up again. It all happened too quickly for her opponent to react, granted further by his own surprise to what Jane just pulled off in front of him.


    She had done it before with Meteor Strike. Inversion is supposed to work on any hostile area attack spell, reversing the attack pattern back to the sender in order to use the same spell for one''s own benefit. That is what Jane came up with anyway. Inversion would never be listed as any Leray skill or spell under any particular book of magical definitions, yet she perfected her ability brilliantly. With the explosions continuing back into the direction of Brock''s position, he seemed powerless and too slow to protect himself or evade the sudden barrage of blasts and explosions. Since the area attack still retained the properties of being wide spread, Brock only suffered three explosive blasts of magical energy out of the twenty more that followed Jane''s reversal spell.


    The cloudy haze of smoke deteriorated his field of view for as long as he was stuck on his back. Brock could feel the pain from the heat of the blast as well as several pinpricks from the shrapnel. After struggling to stand back up and retake his own position, Brock quickly assumed his focus on taking down Jane again. His response of charging for another powerful attack without offering any of his usual one-liners or motivational lectures left him more engaged in the fight than he had felt since the start of the battle, and letting up wasn''t part of his plan anymore. "Mega-Flare!" Sending half of his MP down to the limits, Brock created a massive flash of light in front of Jane that was soon to cause a massive amount of magical damage in a pure form, unavoidable and irreversible.Stolen story; please report.


    Just as Jane saw Brock''s Mega-Flare burst into a bright solid light expanding almost faster than the eye could see, she spent more of her Leray energy, projecting it around her. Another aura of magic formed around her body at a low radius, soon to be invisible by the all-demanding light screen flashing out in all directions to hold for two long seconds. To Jane it felt like the longest two seconds of her life. Brock has obviously trained with that spell extensively, as her energy concentration dropped rapidly. Jane couldn''t see the hexagons forming everywhere, but she could feel every one of them, there were so many. Just as the light faded from view and leaving Jane half-blind, she allowed her shield to collapse by stopping the constant flow of her MP energy to the power shield. Even after successfully blocking out a powerful attack in front of Brock, the drain of her stress caught up with her shortly after. The stress and dehydration to her body intensified from her power shield nearly failing and her stats falling further down. Jane allowed herself to collapse on her knees partway to intentionally take a moment to compose herself, her breathing rate elevated beyond what she was used to.


    Brock noticed it as well. After being mortified at how easily Jane blocked out Brock''s Mega-Flare attack, it soon became clear that using a power shield drains Jane''s physical stamina upon a small amount of her MP levels. That was the true weakness of such a strong spell, finally out in the open for everyone in the audience to see it unfold. Yet somehow, Jane and Brock were still tied by the stats of their health and energy remaining. Even so, Jane was finally tiring out.


    Brock knew that the heat in the room was a serious factor. The area in here still felt as though it were elevated to one hundred degrees with high humidity, as with the design plans of Brock''s intended strategy. The so-called challenge in front of him couldn''t handle the heat anymore. "If I can wear you down that easily, you don''t belong in the Eldora championship. You can''t win a battle with a bag of tricks Jane!" Brock pulled out his glowing crimson sword from the back holster, preparing himself to deliver a long series of combinations and devastating blows to end this charade.


    Jane never did feel any slight hint that her body would adjust to the heat and pressure of this battle, and perhaps she had been worn out from the previous fights before her. Her vision blurred and focused again slightly with every other heart beat slamming inside of her chest. Her entire balance for standing straight up was constantly faltering, Brock was right about her weakness. Jane only ever won many of her battles with unusual skills that others failed to predict or adapt to. Even her own hidden crest would help her out in times of need... "No..." Jane''s voice in denial gave the auditorial sensation that she was about to vomit, though her stomach felt fine. It was the buzz bothering her, her entire body began to tingle as if everything was going numb.


    Flashbacks about Alpha Zero flooded her memory. Jane had to suffer intense heat just like this, barely with the time to drink, catch her breath, and all while worrying about her very survivability in the dark zone. The place itself was terrifying. Once her entire right arm tingles just enough during a moment of severe stress, Jane''s crest would come alive and activate on the top of her hand to save her. But no! Not here! Not now! Jane could feel her head hurting just from putting her focus into denying the automatic activation of her symbol. I don''t need it to win... I don''t need it to win!


    Brock was probably charging at her right now in her broken state of recovery. Jane shut her eyes and fought back the tears. Just a moment later, newer, more recent memories flooded her thoughts to replace the others, Danny and Taylor. Of all the time she spent with them, she never had as much fun with Leray magic until then, and most of the time it was never about magical powers in the first place. Even Alyssa, who only wanted to be Jane''s true friend with open honesty strived to become like her, but none of that will matter in the end if this battle ends like this. All of this will be for nothing if the dark zone swallows up Lennith City! All of the homes and structures will disappear into a deadly haze. The lives of all those innocent people will be affected, and the friendship she formed to get here would have been in vain. No! I can''t let that happen!


    Brock suddenly twitched from the response before him. It appeared as if Jane would remain disabled forever, but she was clenching her fists, struggling as hard as her body would take her to stand straight up despite how fragile and slow she became. To see such a weak challenger struggling to win that badly, Brock was left motionless from the elegant display.


    Though everything was hurting now with the tingling sensation fading fast, Jane managed to put enough stress on her throat to speak up and project, while the rest went to her arms and legs to support herself. "We won''t let you stop me." With a slight delay, Brock and perhaps the entire audience was momentarily confused until her continuation. Jane was trembling in exhaustion and pain just to even get her words out. "JDT didn''t just form because we wanted it to. We didn''t come all this way just so I could give up to you!"


    Brock had no idea what Jane Venn was ranting on about, but her constant use of a plural tone of herself expressed some concern for others not currently visible to his eye. He at least gave in to the curiosity of what was going on. "You must be fighting for someone other than yourself then. And for reasons I may not understand, you can''t have those people express themself here... Or maybe you''re referring to some sort of group or team that you''ve chosen to represent. Ha!" he barked. "It''s all sentimental, but willpower doesn''t win battles with elite warriors Jane. You should have known that before you set foot into this tower. We''ve trained for decades to get where we are today, and I''m not about to let your fire burn brighter than mine."


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Vortal Combat ~ Valve</a>


    <hr>


    "You want to bet?!" Finally finding herself and losing herself in all of her desperation, Jane managed to concentrate and pull herself together. The tremoring of her muscles and limbs ceased immediately, her eyes beginning to glow with a red aura from magical infusion. "I''m meeting Danton today! The likes of you won''t stop me!" Jane''s voice pierced in volume through the entire room and beyond, her projection exceeding the amplitude of passive yelling as it echoed about. Disregarding the sudden thought process of any particular plan, Jane immediately charged and began to release energy into magical attacks, picking and choosing at random as her invocation process was quick to immediate. "Thunder Flare!" The glyphring that formed in front of her solidified before she could even get her arms up to aim at her opponent. By the time the energy was charged, Jane''s hands and even her eyes were glowing with a red aura, as opposed to the usual blue. What was more unusual was the difference in coloration of the spell itself.


    Upon forming a large sphere of electrical energy encasing Brock inside, the sphere itself quickly gave off a blood red glow of light instead of the usual blue color associated with common Leray magic. Jane made short work of the spell''s total damage section, having the sphere electrocute Brock where he stood. Contrary to him consisting of a certain resistance to all elemental magic, it was visibly evident that Jane''s red Thunder Flare attack was more painful to Brock that his Eruption attack was to Jane the last time it was used against her. The amount of damage done to Brock was determined to be high before his HP stats began to decline. After the shockwave part of the spell had ended, Brock was left drained halfway on the ground, his very skin smoking from the heat damage involved with electrical damage.


    Jennison winced at the new development. That was defiantly no ordinary Thunder Flare attack. The power was increased by 200%, and the red coloration more or less resembled the possible presence of dark magical energy. Jennison fumbled for the device in her back pocket, the digital tool still actively scanning for any signs of dark magic signatures in the trace of magical presence. Currently, nothing odd was reported to be illegal just yet, but if that wasn''t dark magic, what the hell did Jane just do?


    Forget tricks! I''ll show him my real power, everything I have! "Magical Blitz!" Giving the man no time to recover, Jane charged up more of her energy into an easy yet potent spell that would involve the use of flying magical unguided projectiles. Magical spheres of solid light in the form of energy appeared in Jane''s hands, though oddly giving off a solid red color despite the forced default color of Magical Blitz being of a darker cyan shade in magical auras. Jane didn''t question anything though, instead throwing her spheres at Brock while continuing her epic speech mid-way. "You can insult me!" Jane paused to throw another sphere, making sure all of them were hitting her target one after the next. "You can doubt my reason for existing here!" She threw the fourth and last red energy sphere at Brock, watching his HP decline further in just short of time. "But you will never stand in the way of securing the future of my friends! Earth Glave!"


    Jane only took a quick mental note of Brock''s energy scope stats before lifting her right arm up to unleash the additional power of a third spell, putting all she had into a powerful Earth Glave uplift that sent a powerful seismic shockwave in Brock''s direction. As he struggled just to momentarily recover, the speed of Jane''s transitions and invocations left him with insufficient time to evade or protect himself from her wrath. Brock was slammed with the force of a powerful Earth Glave that literally launched him three feet off the ground with a powerful slam of blunt damage. With another hard landing to the ground, Brock''s stats began falling further into peril while Jane prepared her next sequence of attacks.


    Jennison couldn''t believe how powerful Jane''s motivation became so suddenly. She was invoking spells with the ease of her own breath, and keeping Brock unable to try a single thing thus far. Her magical powers for whatever reason gave off red light energy instead of the normal blue color, but the device in front of her face reported nothing about the presence of dark magic or otherworldly energy being used in battle. Jane may be mimicking some sort of power-up aura invisible to the eye, and maybe that is the reason... Jennison quickly had to take her eyes off the device to watch as Jane performed another amazing combination of attacks and spells.


    "Blitz!" Fusing a ton of her MP energy into an aura surrounding her body to speed Jane up magically and mentally, she charged at Brock with as much speed as she had, holding out her arms with the invocation of an unannounced spell. The yellow glyphring formed and faded immediately, bringing out from phase two sub machine guns now wielded by Jane. She aimed down the sights while continuing to charge and unloaded the clips of the entire weapons. Bullet Blitz is the official name of the skill, but Jane refused to give it any specific chant, her magic sped up by the aura infused by Blitz. Jane didn''t wait to see Brock''s stat decrease from the Bullet Blitz after the chambers were emptied. She infused some additional energy to create a secondary aura of light around her body. "Rush Assault!"


    Jane managed to cut the time of her sprinting methods to reach Brock in half with the Rush Assault affecting her movement speed upon giving her magical energy for her fists and feet. Jane hunched down upon reaching Brock, lifting him all the way up forcefully just before beginning to beat the crap out of him with her combination of relentless physical attacks. Every punch and kick was enhanced with additional magical damage from the Rush Assault aura, which soon faded. Just as it did though, Jane summoned another weapon into her hand long before Brock had the physical ability just to turn his head in Jane''s direction. Forming a shotgun weapon in hand, Jane aimed at her target and fired a slug shot of small magical particles carrying more force than any one of her single hits, the same spell known as Shotgun Blast. Jane refused to stop there, leading in with another physical strike that didn''t require the use of any more magical energy, and instead relied more on the use of her sharp daggers she had pulled into both of her hands.


    Jennison was at a loss for contemplation. Jane was all over Brock one attack after the next in some of the most amazing movements and combat maneuvers ever seen. Even when Brock battled Krysta did she never experience anything like this before in her entire life. The health stat on Brock''s energy scope was getting close to a dangerous level, though Jane''s MP energy was closing down to the same interval. The battle itself is what Jennison paid attention to, not the scopes. The drone cameras from above all tried to float downwards just past the dome shield for a better close up, but the dome blocked their entry forcefully.


    Jane''s aura faded away entirely, giving her the warning and opportunity to back away and retain her distance. She was still so angry at her opponent for getting on her nerves, but such anger was hardly able to support her stamina any longer. Jane''s heart rate was still way up there, as was her accumulating exhaustion from using much of her MP energy capacity. After getting some distance from Brock, she finally lost her momentum and passion, only able to focus on the pressing concern of her physical preservation. Brock would attack her eventually.


    Never had Brock let any physical pain bother him, let alone hinder his movement or capacity, but this opponent was something else entirely. Jane really was fighting with more than simple spirit and willpower. She was fighting as if her whole life was on the line here and now, so brilliantly and vigorously! Such power only resembled that of Sir Danton''s magical strength. After Brock recovered enough to compose himself to stand once again, after stretching his neck and cracking his bones did he realize that Jane was letting up. She must be tiring herself out now, and from the looks if it, this may be permanent... No... Jane was still planning to give this battle every ounce of power she has. Anything less from himself to her now would be an insult to every witness here including his reputation. "Charge Attack!" Quickly regaining his adamant style, Brock held his crimson sword high in front of him, now charging with all his might towards the stationary target.


    Jane quickly snapped back into focus upon seeing Brock charge at her position with all his might, his glowing fiery blade high in hand. She charged her energy and projected another power shield just before Brock got into range to physically attack her, and upon releasing her shield aura, she let Brock unleash a series of physical strikes with the sword. Each hit slammed against the shielding aura and emitted a loud sheering sound of damage rejection and anti-aura noise as the hexagons formed in each impact zone. Jane could see every section where Brock''s sword hit the shield, and despite the failure to cause damage, he continuously swung the sharp blade around like a maniac.


    For several long seconds, Brock plundered at Jane''s shield, hoping to wear down her maximum energy put into the aura. Instead, he wore himself out in the process, failing to faze Jane or her power shield. After glancing at the stats and realizing that Jane was completely undamaged, Brock back-stepped several times and gained his distance again. He knew already that such a broad strategy would need to be further refined, surprised he didn''t have it done already at his own skill level and experience in battle.


    Jane could feel her shield failing fast. Brock was managing to get away as usual, but with glowing orange hands in the form of magical buildup of unknown attack energy. It was easily visible from here, and he must have been preparing to use it just after her shield is shut down. Jane had no choice to cut her shield off in the next second to prevent it from collapsing and draining her physical stamina. In that short burst of time involving her shield fading from the cut feed of Leray magic, Brock was already unleashing his energy, oddly aiming his arms at an angle high into the air as if to invoke another Blaze Storm spell.


    "Ifrit!" The oversized yellow colored glyphring forming high above him became the conduit of his remaining MP stats as Brock brought forth one of his powerful summons onto the field to even up the score. Spawning from the central base of the glyphring, a large red translucent figure with the face of a dragon and the body of a large eel slithered through the air while defying all gravity and seeking its next prey. Ifrit is the summon of a fire breathing air-based dragon, though with the wingless and clawless body of that resembling a snake. Its face was the most intimidating feature of its entire body, consisting of sharp white fangs and ears made out of red flames. The creature in question was formed of a strong energy aura matrix, which explained its translucent appearance to Jane immediately. After Brock finished his summon to create a powerful dragon type predator onto the open battlefield, he could tell that Jane was now frozen by the details.


    Jane wasn''t expecting a summon so soon in the battles leading up to Danton. After studying the dragon-eel for just a few moments, Ifrit changed its slivering unpredictable course from upwards into the air towards Jane''s direct location as it increased in speed and roared with thunderous amplitude. As she could see Ifrit''s teeth now bursting into flames around the mouth while shooting downwards towards the ground, she could tell this was some form of attack. Those fangs of fire coming to bite into her is the most likely scenario, and Jane only has one sure defense.


    "Farshield!" Holding her arms in front of her to aim directly at the aura dragon, Jane sent her energy of creating a power shield outward instead of making it her own personal aura. By forming a large shield wall in between herself and the descending Ifrit, Jane managed to time it just well enough for the monster to face slam itself into the shield aura, coming short of breaking through the powerful barrier of magic that collapsed shortly after impact from Jane''s request. The dragon was forced into a course correction to get away from the Farshield until it could recalculate a new attack route, and just by the body-slam alone, some damage was taken to the beast.


    Jane tried to trace its movements, but failed to come up with any particular type of plan to attack Ifrit. If she shoots magic at the monster, it can leave her open for Brock to hit her at the same time, not that he was currently doing much.


    Gritting his teeth at the well-played response, Brock waited for the right moment after Ifrit would eventually score another hit to Jane without the interruption of her Farshield skill. Where did this young girl learn to use such powerful spells like this anyway? And how is she so powerful at her age?


    With another roar, Jane anticipated another oncoming attack, predictably followed by Ifrit''s shift in direction and speed towards the ground again. This time, nothing in the mouth of the summon was different than before, nothing was bright or glowing. Just as Jane braced herself for the dragon to slam into her as predicted, the slithering monster drifted upwards, leaving its sharp glowing tail now in a direct line towards Jane. It''s a tail attack!


    "Huawh!" Jane jumped to her side with as much force as she could, barely evading Ifrit''s fiery tail attack with little time to react afterwards. The monster still missed Jane as the intended target, leaving Jane to realize how easy it was to evade the monster, but this couldn''t go on forever. Brock was sure to figure out a strategy to counter her own sooner or later. When Jane noticed the monster turning around completely while trying to ascend again, her eyes widened with the epiphany. Knowing what to do, Jane wasted no time with her next magical spell, invoking the ability with haste and chanting it after the blue glyphring had formed rotating around her wrist. "Ice Beam!"


    Jane''s solid beam of energy struck the large summon in the blink of an eye, and held there as Ifrit wailed in terror. Unbelievable to her own idea, Jane witnessed while attacking - the monster coming to a complete halt in midair, forming a thin coat of reflective material around the skin. Ifrit was literally freezing into a solid figure, weakened by the elemental multiplier for ice damage being so high. Instead of damaging the monster, Jane froze the beast outright, stopping all of its movement as soon as her Ice Beam spell wore off and the glyphring faded.


    Jane smirked with her teeth showing confidence. Better than she planned any of this, Ifrit was in a direct line between Jane and her opponent Brock, who was already stunned at the sight likely never witnessed before in Leray battles. Jane infused more energy into her right foot and sprinted towards the large mass of ice in front of her. "Flash Kick!" As she jumped high into the air, Jane swept her glowing bright foot aside to drill damage through the solid mass in front of her. By flash kicking the summon in its naturally frozen state, Jane ended up dealing a high amount of blunt damage to the monster on top of regular magical damage. Because Ifrit was a solid block of ice upon other things, her actions immediately transformed the frozen statue into a mess of sharp clusters of broken ice. The ice shattered from the statue that once was, the shards now flying by the redirected force in Brock''s direction.


    It was much too late to do anything else. Brock saw Jane shatter his summon in just one single hit, a kick with a relatively low power level. Before he could physically react, large ice shards in the form of a wide barrage were shooting past him and into his skin, causing ice elemental piercing damage despite not forming from any particular magical ability. The force of the hits due to the size of some shards was more than enough to knock him down momentarily, upon which he was dealt a high amount of slashing pain from the impairment of his own summon.


    Jennison''s jaw dropped, her eyes fixed on everything and addicted to the anticipation of Jane''s next display of Leray mastery. She knew that the audience downstairs had to be feeling the same way. This wasn''t a typical battle in Eldora Tower for any strong challenger, not even something Danton would usually cook up. Until now, it wasn''t known that a summon could suffer instantaneous incapacitation from a status condition born by elemental weakness, and to further scale up the atypical display of strength, Jane made sure Brock became damaged by the pieces and shards of his own creation. Had this been a contest of creativity, Jane could have won first prize in the entire nation.


    After the energy scope of Brock''s failed summon faded quickly after its defeat, he assumed his position again, standing up to face Jane as though the pain from the last attack was not excruciating. Again and again. More! More! Brock gave his next spell everything he had with energy infusion and invocation time. Jane might be strong, but she can''t survive everything with or without that shield. Growing impatient and more desperate to score damage on his enemy, Brock threw his arms out again aiming for the girl, creating a rainbow colored glyphring in front him. "Prism!"


    Jane saw the glyphring in front of Brock and responded fast. Prism would have managed to score heavy damage to her, and she knew of it so. Using another power shield wasn''t automatic in her mind anymore, since her own energy levels were getting low. Instead, she performed a familiar arm motion and mental invocation of an immediate spell consisting of no time delay. "Gyrobreak!" Getting in her spell before the release of a single bolt left the prism guided glyphring, Jane made the entire room tremor and tilt in various axis angles while quaking violently. The act messed up her own balance as well, but proved immediately effective upon noticing that Brock''s first Fire Bolt was flying much higher and off course than it was originally intended for.


    Several more ice, fire, and Thunderbolts left Brock''s glyphring while he focused to try and better his aim in this earthquake. Jane was now finding creative ways to mess up his every style used against her. The heavy heat and intensity of the room was like a thing of the past, not bothering her in the slightest. Though it would take him long to process after his spell ends, Jane''s energy scope did deplete her health stats slightly.


    After taking a direct hit from a Lightning Strike and an Ice Bolt from the Prism sequence, Jane only suffered minor damage, though was impressed that something so random still managed to affect her. The Ice Bolt however improved her focus and concentration further than it would have otherwise. With the room temperature set to one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, being blasted with a wave of freezing gusts of magic felt relaxing, and helped to reduce her own fatigue.


    With Gyrobreak still constantly active however, there was no reason for either one of them to try and use any additional spell at this time, less it mess up their aim, though Brock didn''t care about aim anymore. If Jane was going to wait out her own environmental spell, then so be it. "Volcanic Rockets!" After creating a yellow glyphring form on top of his back, the spell summoned an entire backpack around his chest angled in the back, and attached to the material were several unguided warheads capable of launching with a high speed and general accuracy, being of an area attack he specifically designed. The explosive material shoots out molten lava mesh to burn all foes after the initial explosion damage softens up any defensive barrier or armor, increasing the pain level in the same process while conserving a ton of MP reserves by making the spell powerful by design of physical material instead of average power level.


    Brock launched all six of his warheads, disregarding how the currently active quakes may affect the orientation or aim of the devices. The missiles used some familiar source of spawned fuel material to fly, which had the design of artillery projectiles. Seeing the bright flashing missiles approach her position, Jane acted fast and created another power shield. It was hard to maintain one with all of the quakes happening around her. Jane noticed that five of the six missiles lost their original destination path quickly, interfered with by the shift in constant factors in the nearby magnetic field. Before witnessing the explosion from the other missiles off course though, Jane had to brace herself and her shield for one more that didn''t seem deterred by her Gyrobreak spell, slamming just in the frontal section of her power shield.


    Following a bright flash previously underestimated by the warhead''s small size, hexagons formed everywhere on Jane''s power shield. When the flash was over, a bright glowing yellow material emitting a lot of smoke somehow splattered in all directions, much of it landing in larger puddle splatters on the exterior of Jane''s shielding aura. Somehow, the material stuck to the shield and refused to degrade as fast as Jane wanted it to. Whether it was lava or some sort of corrosive acid, the hexagons on the inside of the sections with such liquid splatters deteriorated the strength of Jane''s shield rapidly, her concentration to keep it going faltering. Instead of waiting it out, Jane dropped her power shield intentionally, jumping back to avoid anything spilling or falling on her in the same process.


    Here! Right now! Brock will defiantly try and use this very opportunity to hit Jane after realizing the shield isn''t adequate enough to protect her. With Gyrobreak already died down entirely, she would expect nothing less than immediate retaliation. Instead, Jane pulled her daggers, infusing them with enough magical energy before she had the time to pull them completely out of her pockets and chanting her next spell just before releasing it to her opponent. "Splice!" Cutting through the air to create a traveling two-dimensional wave of magical slashes powerful enough to pierce through any defensive stance, Jane made sure to keep Brock too busy to try and double-attack her.


    Seeing the approaching wave of Splice daunting on him, Brock took evasive action and performed a backflip in an attempt to jump over the crisscrossed magical X Jane had formed with her slashes. In the same process, he managed to ascend quite far into the air with his single jump, almost reaching above the height line of the advancing cutting wave of pure energy relentlessly spawned by Jane Venn. But instead of clearing the opening left by height, Brock was just two inches short of getting completely out of its path. The very edge of one of the glowing solid lines of piercing energy cut right into Brock''s left shoulder while upside-down before he managed to begin falling back to the ground, drilling through his skin and disabling that section of his limbs through damage and pain alone. With the immediate twist of damage he expected to dodge, Brock''s sudden reaction and painful holler had him falling to the ground face first from his loss of focus.


    Despite how successful Jane was unexpectedly, she continued with her short-chained plan. Splice wasn''t expected to hit Brock even by her own standards. It was only her method of creating the perfect distraction for a much more intense spell, one she had just enough MP energy for. Nevertheless, Jane already finished charging the energy needed for her area attack, and unleashed its full power onto the battlefield while Brock was left helpless holding his shoulder, still on the ground. "Deep Strike!"


    With her glowing blue eyes reacting to the excess MP energy Jane just used most of, she released the auric build up to the spell that created several explosions all around the field. The explosions were random and away from the target zone by design, but quickly intensified by strength and accuracy. By the time there were only a few blasts left, Brock still had insufficient plan or stamina to try and avoid the hits. The blasts all singled to a fixed point, which happened to be where he was stuck in the ground, three entire explosions all affecting him moreover each blast.


    Jane wanted to cover her ears and eyes from the large smoke cloud the blast created at the end of the sequence, but her spell left a high amount of damage behind, leaving Brock on the floor as he still struggled to get back up. His clothes appeared to be burnt or charred from the black mesh in the air from the intense explosive attack magic, while Jane was left to assess the situation.


    His arms and legs were shaky on movement; Brock could feel his life energy nearly depleted. If he took just any more damage from now, he would surely collapse and pass out in a traditional form of defeat. His HP was at ten percent, which was bad considering he started with ten percent extra than usual. At ten percent health or less remaining, the elite is supposed to be required to surrender the match to the victor regardless of circumstances.


    No! Brock refused in his mind and heart. He wasn''t down just yet. Jane can''t be that good or powerful, not as long as he still had the energy left to fight. Brock pushed himself up, struggling for balance as the last hit caused physical damage to his left knee. With low HP and minimal MP, there was little he could to do continue fighting Jane, but the match wasn''t over yet. "I''m not giving up!"


    "Sir Brock!" Jennison barked. This was well out of character for Brock, let alone any particular elite warrior of Eldora Tower. If he faints here, Jane will have no choice but to use a time extension between her last battle and the next. It will take time to revive Brock, as he must be awake in order to officially see Jane off to the next challenge. Why is he refusing to give up now, after officially losing? What is he thinking?


    Brock glanced at Jennison momentarily and snared, "We made it this far. Might as well go all out." Brock charged up his last remaining amount of MP, which wasn''t much, but he wouldn''t need much for his last spell. "Firewall!" After swooshing his arm out in front of him while releasing his magic, Brock created a solid line of fire that was only half a meter high, but over thirty meters in width. As the wall of fire quickly advanced forward in a motion similar to that of a Shadow Wave spell, he waited out the moment for Jane to take damage from the unavoidable heat.


    "All out huh?" Jane smirked with confidence and comfort that her own opponent was making sure to give it everything he had. Whatever his spell was, it followed a highly predictable pattern. It seems like an advancing wall of fire, probably of low power level designed only to burn foes with fire damage and intense pain as it passes over. This means it will be easy to block out. Jane threw her arms around her and created another momentary power shield just as the Firewall got closer to her body. As predictable thoughts followed, the wall of fire passed over the shield, phasing through and around the aura of repulsion energy while the rest of the line carried on to the edge of the dome shield behind Jane''s position. While the damage to her shield was extensive enough to form a lot of medium sized hexagons near the floor base of the area, Jane wasn''t fazed in the slightest by the attempt to block Brock''s attack.


    With Jane cutting power to her shield, a look of defeat crossed Brock''s face. Jane took her turn by keeping her daggers in hand while infusing all of the energy she had left in them. It wasn''t much, but enough Leray power to make the blades glow red in color. Jane wanted to try her signature throw again, the one that has no official name, yet became easy to use in order to score a critical hit of damage. "The only one who gets to walk upstairs is me. The match belongs to my objective!" Jane threw her daggers, creating nothing more than a spinning arc of light from the visual effects of the glowing blades, but even as they were quick and unguided with a low amount of energy infusion, Brock didn''t duck down or dodge the attack. One blade cut through his chest while the other went through his face. In the same singular instance, the health status on his energy scope jumped down to zero percent, leaving Brock to fall on his back unconscious.


    Jennison didn''t believe it. In one single strike of low MP energy, Jane did over ten percent HP damage to Brock, knocking him out just like that. Jane was already the winner officially before this attack, but she still took it a step further and displayed unrelenting strength. Additionally, Jane''s own health never dropped below half its original level. She had to call the match and project her voice to make sure even the drone cameras could hear what was going on.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track ScT ~ (X3 Reunion?)</a>


    <hr>


    Jennison shifted her arm with her hand open, immediately diffusing and collapsing the dome around the two challengers and that of herself. The view in her perspective became much clearer and easier to see. "Brock is unable to battle. I hereby announce the victory of this match to Jane Venn by total knockout!" After her announcement, Jennison sped walked to Brock with a healing orb in hand. Jane kept her distance, gradually relaxing herself from the fatigue now affecting the victor.


    Jane sat down comfortably and tried to catch her breath. The daggers reappeared in her hands from the Leray form of magic that prevented one from losing their weapons mid-battle, but now she had to wait for Jennison to revive Brock before giving her the next hint on the champion himself. Jane knew there wasn''t going to be an easy break in between here and now, but there is a thirty-minute intermission between now and the final battle. Jane knew this from one of the explanation of the battle rules. All breaks are only fifteen minutes long except for the final break. The time is extended to allow proper rest and preparation.


    After activating the orb on top of Brock, the lit up device took its time in trying to revive him back to consciousness. "He''ll be back up in a minute."


    "Sorry for that." Jane rubbed the back of her neck in patience, standing back up to try and regain her lost buzz from the battle. Her constant breathing was all noticeable, but her physical fatigue wasn''t as intense.


    "Don''t be," Jennison replied. "It''s his fault for trying too hard. You only stood there and continued to fight as expected. Still, I''ve never seen a battle that intense before."


    "N¡ª sure you have." Jane blushed, remaining faithful that she wasn''t really stronger than Danton by much. Their difference in power would only have to be slight, right? Jane didn''t even use her symbol in all of the battles so far, but this fight was a close call. It almost triggered in a tingling sensation she was familiar with, so close to early activation. Surely that means Danton will be even more dangerous in a fight.


    "Brock has never fought that hard before under televised supervision, and to be honest, I haven''t seen him lose a fight before to somebody outside of our own ranks during the championship and official matches. There was one close call, but that was only three months ago." After handing Jane a healing orb for herself, she paused before doing anything else, her exhaustion written on her entire body.


    Jane never felt so worn out before, outside of fighting inside of Alpha Zero. The air around her felt cooler despite the heater still running the room at around ninety degrees. As she began using the orb to feel somewhat better, she noticed Brock waking up after the glow above him disappeared from his orb. With both energy scope stats in the orange, Jennison relaxed her muscles and explained the next set of rules to apply for Jane.


    "For winning the match, you''ve been rewarded with an additional set of 56,000 credits on top of your previous earnings. And now, you''ve advanced to the final status level in this tower."


    "Danton," Jane concluded.


    "You''ll be ascended to floor 949, from which you will have to ascend up a set of stairs. At the top connects a bridge of light energy that allows you to walk to the champion battle arena on floor 950, where Sir Danton will be waiting. As discussed in the rules, your break will be thirty minutes long for extended recovery and preparation."


    "So what are my tips for battling him?"


    Jennison hesitated to answer. Jane seemed too eager to get it on already, but her wish was fueled with too much haste. "Tips? There are no tips for Danton. He is the most powerful Leray wielder for a reason. Don''t fight fairly, but still fight legally. Don''t be afraid of his skills and spells, but be cautious of everything he does. Have as many backup plans as possible."


    "What?" That''s the best hint these people can give her? Danton can''t be so perfect as to have no physical weakness!


    "Danton doesn''t specialize or strategize in any particular fashion. He''s more like yourself in a sense, battling while adapting to every possible factor he can. His stats will start out with only one hundred percent health like you. The elite five all battle officially with ten percent extra health, but Danton does not. Additionally, he does not have any official referee, as it is not needed. Instead, Danton has his own personal team of bodyguards and security regiment. So the only way for you to win is to have him forfeit the match when his health is below ten percent, or to knock him out like you did to Brock just now."


    "I know," Brock channeled. He slowly got himself up and waited for his referee to explain the important part of the battle.


    "On top of all that," Jennison continued, "be on your best behavior and watch what you say. The champion floor does not have a ten-minute capture delay to the audience. The feed is kept totally live for security reasons."


    "Oh," Jane replied trying to sound surprised. It''s just like in the plans. The feed there is fully live; the floor is floor 950. There are three elevators there instead of two. The one connecting this floor to floor 949, and two lifts on 950. One lift ascends to the top of the tower at floor 1,050 to the system of the source of all Leray energy. The other elevator is kept a secret to the public, but is used for security to make it to any floor from any floor, known as the turbo lift. Jennison wasn''t going to say any of that, but Jane already knew what she needed to know about the security detail from her previous studies.


    "I wouldn''t be so nervous if I were you."


    "Brock?" Jane noticed how collective her opponent suddenly was, after trying so hard to defeat her.


    "I really enjoyed that match. Never was I expecting you to become worthy of challenging Sir Danton. Even if you don''t win tonight, you''ll already be this year''s celebrity."


    Jane panned her face upward towards the flying drones. They were the cameras transmitting everything to the world about her every action and word. Brock was right. Jane would be a celebrity, just not in the way people would be expecting, unless of course Danton hears the reason she''s come to this tower.


    "Danton is tough, but you''ve got what it takes, since you don''t always rely on a single strategy to win."


    Jane winced slightly at the realization. Brock had been wrong for a long time about his words just now, but Jane remembered this match well. She was losing, her power shield effective only against particular spells and blasts of magic. Even Rontellov managed to bypass her power shield that one time. On top of that, Jane''s speed and skills alone were also not enough to ensure victory anymore. These people don''t fight by exploiting stat differences and elemental weaknesses. They adapt to every situation just as Jane has been doing. But this battle right here, it was a test of strength and courage. Jane knew it in her heart, she could feel all of her power and effort going into each and every skill used, something she felt incomplete with in the past. Brock was only right about not relying on strategy. Jane and Brock fought this battle with power alone, because it was the only way to win; not power in magical level and skill, but by determination itself. Surely, Danton wouldn''t leave himself vulnerable to that. Only this time, Jane knew she would have the backing of Danny and Taylor. Winning or losing isn''t part of the system, not anymore. Danton? The time has come.


    "I wanted nothing more than to beat you Jane," Brock confessed. "I can''t believe I let myself become so irrational. You got stronger with every ability we exchanged, and my desire to win got stronger as you did yourself. But whatever is driving you, it''s currently more powerful than my own will."


    "You really mean that?" Jennison tested.


    Brock turned to face Jennison, who was curious in the face. "I do. It''s more than inspiring. I need to figure out something worth fighting for, something more important than what I already have. I need to remind myself what is truly important. Once I do..." Brock stared Jane in the face again, "Jane and I will meet again, and I won''t lose."


    Jane smiled at the thought, remembering just what Leray battling is all about. "Yeah. We''ll meet again, but the next time we battle, you better have gotten better yourself, cause there''s no way I''m letting you dent my winning streak."


    "That''s the spirit I want to see! Now go to Danton and kick his ass! Give him my regards while you''re there as well. If he underestimates you even for a moment, then victory will surely be your own." She gets too fired up for her own good sometimes, but with Jane in such a state of mind, everything will fall into place soon enough.


    "Jane is to be champion and in charge of things?" Jennison wallowed. "And still so young! What is this world trying to tell us?"


    Jane bowed to the two and disabled her energy scope for now. She tried to ignore Jennison''s comment, but failed to do so entirely. They had a point for concern. These people are probably freaking out somewhere inside, because Jane wouldn''t know very much about commanding an army or being in charge of an entire nation. Contrary to everyone''s knowledge, she doesn''t have to be, not for more than a single day. Jane turned to the ascending lift like the others before, and prepared herself for the final fight. The adrenaline was already flowing to her again, her heart racing while her limbs were secretly trembling. It''s finally now where Jane will be able to complete her original mission for coming here in the first place, all the way on floor 950.

 Chapter 48-A: Meet Danton

    <hr>


    <02/12/1972 ¨C 12:15 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>


    Just shortly after a few more encouraging words between Jane and Brock, she was already on her way up inside of the next elevator of Eldora Tower. Much anticipation filled her imagination and thoughts. Jane could feel herself trembling, her alertness at peak condition. She was more than nervous. How could she not be with how everyone hyped Sir Danton to such a high standard?


    The best of the best in Leray matches; that was Danton''s reputation. Jane only learned of the name from Rontellov, and more from the people in Eldora City, but with the unfair advantage of this symbol, Jane was obviously better...


    "No!" she cringed. Jane quickly veered her eyes away from the top of her hand, denying the thought entirely. Though such a plan would most defiantly work, it just isn''t fair to beat the champion using that symbol. Jane''s JDT dress sphere covered her hands up with connective fingerless gloves, just enough to protect the symbol''s appearance from the outside, or so on most occasions anyway. But as Jane thought about it further, it was much too late for that. Jane already cheated just to get to Lennith City to begin with, and cheated more in the championship battles. She never once invoked the symbol here, but even then, it contains passive effects. The symbol was responsible for passive MP conservation, higher ME levels, quicker skill mastery, and higher damage output. Her high HP endurance didn''t used to exist, now a process built back up from fair time fighting in constant battles; Jane knew this much at least. Still, she has been using her symbol in every single battle, even if the use went as high as power shielding or as little as MP recovery time.


    She shook her head once more. That''s not what Jane came here for in the first place. She could remember last night in their hotel room clearly, the argument that happened over this petty desire. It''s a true desire Jane took at heart that she even shared with others, but it wasn''t the most important thing anymore. Only the General Army has the capacity to invade the dark zone and reach the Den of Purity, all in attempt to arrest professor Brightworth who has apparently gone rouge. It''s amazing that Danton hasn''t done anything about the situation, the guy in charge of this entire land sitting back and having fun while the people of Lennith are soon made to suffer.


    Jane could feel her body tense in anger just by bringing it to mind. Her fists clenched tightly as her wish became more firm in hand. Symbol or no symbol, Danton needs to take charge and do what is right, or step down to someone who is willing to. It''s possible that such a battle to the death need not happen if the man is as reasonable as people say he is.


    A loud hissing sound from the opening elevator doors prompted Jane''s attention, now revealing a large outstretch opening with a flight of stairs. The walls and stairs were connected as a floor, meaning there was no potential risk of falling down anywhere in particular; no missing floor. The metal steps ahead of Jane only seemed overwhelming due to the massive amount of space in width there was for the room, but the top of the stairs was easily visible from here. Jane stepped out of the elevator, pacing herself slowly and taking her time.


    Jane had much time to take before she was supposed to conduct a battle. Breaks are required, thus there would be plenty of time between then and now for talking. Either way, Jane wasn''t in the battle room yet, and completely alone from people or cameras. Jane proceeded up the steps slowly, drowning out the thunderous echoing of her footsteps in the air with her mass of thoughts in mind. What to say to Danton? What to ask? There could be any number of infinite iterations, as to how the man is really like, but just thinking about what Alpha Zero will do if left unattended had Jane''s idea of it in clarity. It made imaginative appeal, but was left as a strong sensation, the same one driving her to the top of these stairs since the issue became a problem for everyone.


    Everybody she has ever met and everything that has ever happened to her played back in her head. Jane planned on leaving Fronas town for a journey of Leray battles since she was just a child, but in the process of graduating from Dakota''s training facility, Danny and Taylor showed up to spice her life up. As if that wasn''t enough, some guy gave Jane a doomsday weapon out of nowhere. She questioned why she used the device on herself, how stupid she was back then. Ever since then, Jane met and lost battles to several people in the process of discovering herself, her powers, even her true motivations. Claudia helped her out with something that should have cost her job and potential citizenship. Alyssa aspired to be just like her from how focused and determined Jane was to fight for the right thing. Everybody who has ever met Jane was nice to her, despite several people who normally would not be in the surroundings. There was good mixed with bad moments, and now Alpha Zero threatened to erase all of it. Lennith City may just be one physical location, void of life when evacuated. To everyone living there, it''s their only salvation, the place where their memories began, their home!


    And who''s to say that the expansion will stop there? You can evacuate a city, but not a whole country that''s encased inside of a natural barrier. It would be total chaos! "Haaaah!" Jane sighed loudly, letting it all out in one escaped breath to try and comprehend it all. Instead, it only stressed her out. Finally at the edge of the last stair, she noticed a large gap in the ground between here and the next large circular room. The gap however was covered by an amazing bridge of light, some sort of pure energy that created some physical platform of translucent brightness in white color connecting here to that next room. Falling off would be difficult, but Jane could imagine someone shutting off the electronic bridge as she is standing on it.


    As Jane squinted ahead of her, she could see two massive large structures with water running down them in the distance. Only part of the room was visible from here however, as the corridor of the bridge became narrow until the opening of the room itself was made to closer proximity. Jane stepped forward with caution, pausing with only one foot on the light bridge. The bridge didn''t even react to her footstep, though the barrier itself held her weight as though it were a solid metal ground. After taking one more step, Jane''s pace increased significantly upon realizing how safe the light bridge was. Hopefully there would not be any power outages for the next few minutes, though this thing probably runs off of magical energy too somehow.


    After making it to the arena room, Jane could hardly believe her eyes. The room was designed five times the size that the previous arena rooms were. The ceiling would be impossible to reach, and the ground given to fight was at least 200 meters in diameter. The shape of the entire room was cylindrical instead of cubical, but the artwork was just as impressive. With painting tattooed to the floor, walls, and ceiling consisting mostly of blue and white mesh colors, there was a very attractive ambience to the space, especially when combined to the two pillars in the back. The pillars were miniature waterfalls, stone shrines with water running down into a small basin at low intensity from each structure, and the lighting of the room was well provided in all sections.


    Jane noticed then the person standing perfectly in between each structure, far out in front of them though also in the dead center section of the arena. There were more people distant and hidden in the far back, outside of the circle itself, which would be designated as part of security. There were at least ten distinct drone cameras up in the air hovering and flying. Jane formatted her stance once more with the realization that she would be on live feed, thus she would also need to watch her words until the timing of them is adequate. Though there was no announcements she could hear. Even Danton keeps the announcer muted in the speakers, which wasn''t that surprising.


    Jane had to walk a long way before reaching the center of the field and getting to have her first view of what Danton really looks like. Jane made sure she was ready for everything, talking and fighting it all out in her mind before reaching the center of the field, though her eyes constantly blazed left and right over the appealing aesthetics. The running water in the back was beautiful, and Danton''s position of stance made him stand out in the same frame.


    "At last!" he spoke. Danton''s bellowing volume rushed through the air, replacing the silence and adding ambience to the sound of rushing water behind him. Danton studied the woman in front of him, realizing how young and naive she is. "You''re the kid that''s been causing excitement in these vertical halls."


    Jane stopped just short of twenty meters from the man, realizing how easy her voice would carry through the space. Jane took in all of her surroundings, getting to know the battlefield and the champion well. The champion of Leray magic turned out to be a well-refined man in his upper thirties. Perhaps Sir Danton was older, though he made himself seem younger through the use of invisible make up. His medium cut brown hair was stiff as a stone, Jane could make out the shiny silver in his eyes from here too. Average body size, perhaps more muscular under his royal robes.


    Danton''s clothes consisted of a most unique fur coat that swiftly turned into a battle suit leaving from the sleeves down into the fiber layers of the material. The cloak mostly resembled something similar in appearance to royal attire of the highest status, though his black fingerless gloves contrasted that stigma to a high degree. It''s a mixture of nice clothing and battle gear all condensed down into one solid suit, though Danton likely had additional layers underneath in the event the air became too hot, so Jane assumed...


    The two small fountains behind Danton were one of the main attractions in the room, and part of the battle arena seeing as they were built just in range of the circular floor. Past a certain limit, the floor on the very edge dropped down too far to see from where Jane was standing, and the only other floor aside from the light bridge she had just crossed was more connective metal ground past the water fountains towards the next service elevator. Jane could still see security guards all dressed up in protective metallic body armor that shielded even their faces, protecting their identity in the process.


    All of the drone cameras began floating around closely to Sir Danton and Jane Venn. At the same time, Jane took more notice by the distraction of the artwork once again. The symbology and paintings used as tattoos on the solid metal of the floors, walls, and ceiling were breathtaking, the blue and white colors blended together perfectly. Danton built this room for his art and his battlefield, as well as his place of relaxing, which for Jane''s standards was rather impressive.


    Noticing some delay within herself to reply to Danton''s informal greeting, Jane tried once more to focus. At first she was about to start spewing out the same words as before with the previous battles, but Jane knew she didn''t need to fight this time, and chose her method of speech carefully. "Sorry if I disturbed your nap time, but I have some serious business in Eldora Tower, particularly with you."


    Danton relaxed and eased his muscles. It was surprising to see someone walk up before him on live television while being so candid and loose. Jane didn''t seem the least bit nervous or formal where she should have been... Danton noticed that Jane''s dress sphere was highly unusual too. Type 40 Protection Sphere, though modified and integrated with an additional overskirt, shoes that always stay on the wearer''s feet, and white fingerless glove attachments, but the impressive part of the dress sphere was the artwork done to it. The green and white designs and patterns made for an attractive piece of attire even in a battle suit, giving the garments more formality in these situations. The green color used also perfectly matched the color of her eyes, contrasted with Jane''s dark black hair. There were acronyms in a few places on the suit, particularly the largest one on Jane''s chest, JDT.


    Danton granted the attitude, given there were several minutes to talk right now before the battle should begin. "Yes, you''ve come here to defeat me and become the Leray champion. I don''t need to hear that story again."


    "That''s not why I''m here!" Jane let her voice raise aggressively despite being video recorded. It didn''t matter what she said now, because she was finally meeting the target face to face. Danton cannot run or hide anymore. "You and I need to have a chat about that place, the one I know you won''t have me say on television."


    Danton tightened his chest immediately, realizing that this wasn''t as he thought before. Who is this person? Is she referring to a secret military protocol? Danton turned around only a quarter way, lifting his fist straight up into the air as a hand signal. "Escher! Mute all cameras for five!" Danton waited for a few seconds, and continued to focus on Jane after hearing a small short beep from one of the drones flying above him. Jane looked ready and refined, but it didn''t explain what she was doing here. "Do not tell me that you''ve battled and defeated all of the elite warriors of this tower just to chat with me about restricted information related to the operations of the General Army."


    "I don''t have to tell you that," Jane responded. She stepped forward with just two paces. "You know why I''m here, champion of Leray magic. Your prestigious title also gives you the job of leading the General Army in several operations. I''ve come here to discover why you''ve stopped protecting Lennith City, and if I''m lucky, offer assistance with the apprehension of professor Brightworth."


    Is this woman, part of...? "So you are pulling my chain!" Danton took three steps forward quickly, hoping it would intimidate the girl. "I don''t know who you think you are, but I don''t make such appointments with any civilian regarding those matters. I don''t care how powerful you are." Danton discarded all candidness in his voice, certain Jane wasn''t a secret FMCI agent, as they would have ordinary access to this tower floor by credentials alone.


    "Funny you should say that," Jane began. "Look around you Danton. The world is watching us both right now. I''m just one battle away from the title of champion myself. And with that comes my new status as leader in the General Army. That threatens your position of power legally and certainly, so I''d at least pay attention to what I have to say before you begin making your threats."


    Danton opened his mouth to retort, but fell short of anything useful to say just after considering her words. Jane has just one point. If she wanted to, she could simply beat him in battle and take full control of the General Army legally. But it might as well be a coup! The General Army will never stand up for this petty behavior. Why have this be a person''s motive? No random civilian could see all of this and be so strong at the same time. Is Jane really acting alone here?


    Jane relaxed though kept her voice loud and clear, making certain to highlight everything she needed to say. "Now that I really have your attention, I should remind you about the restricted zone above Lennith City, code name Alpha Zero. You should know all about it, and perhaps about its energy patterns indicating a soon predicted spread over physical land and power."


    "You really think we wouldn''t be on top of that already? What is your interest in Alpha Zero?"


    Jane felt Danton''s tone become demanding, but didn''t let it bother her just yet. "I''ve noticed that your troops have suddenly decided to pull out and stop the invasion operation. You''ve scheduled an evacuation of Lennith City officials, and decided to give up on the dark zone. Much of this is public knowledge, but I''m specifically here about your shitty decision to pull out."


    Does she really believe that she is in control? Can Jane really be this stupid?


    "Sir Danton? Do we need to send elite security units to your position? Please respond!"


    Danton glanced down at his small communicator around his wrist disguised as a bracelet, and spoke into the machine. "Not just yet. I''ll handle things from here." Danton pressed the button to sleep the device, and addressed Jane''s supposed concern. "You''re upset because we''ve temporarily pulled out? That''s what you''re bothering us about? Seriously, I never would have thought¡ª"


    "Do you not care about the lives in Lennith that will be destroyed?!" Jane interrupted Danton willfully until he provided the answer he needed to.


    Protecting his defensive desire and stance, Danton replied swiftly. "Of course we do! Don''t you understand that we''ve already tried to invade Alpha Zero?" Danton paused for a moment, considering how far this information leak has gone. "There''s no point in denying the information that you already should know. You should also know how many people we''ve lost just in attempts to scout the zone for tactical intel. We''re holding back until we come up with a better strategy... Jane Venn, born in Fronas and graduated from the Dakota training facility, why have you come before me with such sensitive knowledge and a will to take over the military? What do you have to do with the dark zone?"


    "You''re being an idiot, Danton!" Jane spat. "You really believe it is acceptable to just pull out because of what you don''t know?"


    "Watch your tongue lady!"


    Jane ignored Danton''s threat and replied rapidly. "The zone is spreading, and will continue to do so even after it has desecrated Lennith City; it will not stop there. The growth will only continue until it is much too late to do anything about it."


    "What part about losing soldiers did you not just comprehend?"


    "Are the lives of the citizens of Sprawn Valley not equally as important to you sir?" Jane challenged. "I know that you''ve lost people, and I''m telling you that cowering in fear is only going to make things worse. There isn''t a need to hold back..." Jane tilted her head down in shame, remembering all of the traumatizing experiences she suffered from going in alone. "I''ve been to Alpha Zero before. I''ve gotten deep inside, and seen the structure of the place with my own two eyes."


    At this point, Danton couldn''t help himself from letting out an audible gasp. His eyes squinted with his brows creasing the same direction, a face full of certainty. "You''re the one they were reporting. You''re the dark zone survivor!"


    "Then you should know my reason for this visit."


    Danton put the pieces together quickly. Jane Venn is the same girl who supposedly ran into the dark zone. According to military and medical reports, she came back damaged, dejected, and scared, but somehow survived the incident. And now she stands at this chamber today, strong enough to legally fight her way to the top of this tower. "You''re the real idiot, you realize that? You should have been killed with how far those civvies found you. You managed to get more people involved, and they somehow survived long enough to drag you back. Yet now you have the audacity to waltz into these sacred chambers and make demands to my army regarding my operation?"


    Jane argued, "But I''ve seen what''s inside. I battled with some of the monsters and creatures that spawned in the region, and dealt with some of the technical booby traps that were set up to stop our advance to the Den of Purity. Brightworth is the one that set up the dark zone, as far as the reports say, but as twisted and dangerous as that place is, I did notice one particular weakness of the zone''s power, something the army could use with a simple plan."


    "And now you''re suddenly an expert in military tactics?" Danton didn''t hear Jane say anything else, perhaps beside herself with his continued questions. "The weakness then?"


    "It''s simple," Jane iterated. "The dark zone spawns monsters and creatures that are from the dark magic frequently, but the density of which is relatively low. For a small group of individuals, it really is a suicide mission, but for an entire army''s worth of people grouped together, they''d fight the same amount of density and creatures while advancing. You actually have safety in numbers, not as much for skills when facing Alpha Zero. If you can find Brightworth in there, I suspect you can shut down the source spreading dark energy."


    For several long seconds, Danton was quiet, considering Jane''s tactic and how easily she gave it up for nothing at all. How does she know all of this? What is Jane Venn involved with? "So your plan is to risk the lives of the entire army itself, the one thing that keeps the peace of this country - on an adolescent plot that sounds more reckless than anything I''ve heard all year?" If Jane is an enemy, she would want this; to throw all of Sprawn Valley''s military power into one small place only to have them wiped out. This must be some lame attempt to set up a trap!


    "All of us make up the peace and protection of Sprawn Valley," Jane coaxed. "Naturally, I would be assisting the team in there as well, and would encourage you to do the same for the added level of skills and protection for Leray battling."


    "Well I would be lying if I didn''t make it clear to myself right now, that this has never happened in Sprawn Valley history before. You''re bravery seems to be in the right place, but you are young and naive to think you could just order my troops and even myself into death valley while I sit back and watch the number of deaths of my units tally up."


    "Are you kidding me?"


    "I''m amazed you decided to battle your way up here just to ask such a ridiculous thing of us, and less so by the fact that you''ve violated a military order to leave the city of Lennith while under watch from your condition, breaking another protocol by advancing into the dark zone by yourself in the first place for reasons still not made clear. As far as I should be concerned, you''re a criminal. Though I cannot really prove it just yet, not even by that confession you just made. So here is your chance right now to walk yourself back down those steps and announce your resignation from this championship."


    "You¡ª"


    "That is my final offer!" Danton made himself firm, putting Jane down right where she deserved to be. She is absolutely crazy to think she could just order the army to go on a suicide mission based on some hallucinated trip into the dark zone. She probably suffered some brain damage after being pulled out. Nothing about this girl seems okay, less so her flawed plan to march into a dangerous uncharted territory. Those markings on the dress sphere could represent some sort of gang for all he truly knew.


    "I don''t care about controlling your army or being in charge. I only came to Eldora to assist in this one mission to take care of Alpha Zero permanently, and you''re turning me down." Jane saw Danton nod at her, unwilling to utter any more words. "You''re a coward, you know that? But no matter. I''m no longer asking for permission regarding this plan anymore." Jane reached for both of her daggers and pulled them out in front of her opponent.


    "Are you prepared to attack me right here and demonize yourself in front of the world? You think my soldiers would follow your lead then?"


    "You really are an idiot Danton," Jane repeated. "There''s a reason I chose to fight your warriors before seeing you. I still haven''t resigned from the championship, and that means I have the absolute right to fight against you in a one on one Leray match. If I win the battle, status of the championship and their power is transferred over to me as the victor. In that moment, I can then do whatever I want with your solders. Though I will still uphold my promise anyway by taking out the dark zone and then resigning my power back over to you, or another fit to rule the General Army once operations are complete. If you won''t go along with my plan, I''ll defeat you in a battle and force myself up the ranks to allow myself full authority over the entire operation. That is the law!"


    "I see you''ve come prepared to lose then," Danton taunted. "There is a reason we''ve been holding outside of the dark zone for a while, and that is because it is a deadly mission meant only for the elites."


    "While you''re here battling with me, we could both be out on that field proving those words true. But instead, you''re here twiddling your thumbs rather than saving this land. That is why I''ve come to defeat you in battle, why I''ve come to win!"


    "Hm-hahaha!" Danton laughed momentarily, placing his character out of prediction. "You think it will be so easy? They don''t call me the champion for nothing Jane!" Danton began charging Leray energy into an aura surrounding his entire body, then pressing another button on his device to unmute all cameras flying in the room, which also triggered their script to gain altitude as the start of battle was soon to begin. "I''m game to give in to this silly battle of yours Jane, but as defender of champion status of this tower, I will not let you win!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Aftermath ~ Revolt Production Music</a>


    <hr>


    Jane took several steps back, the radiant light around Danton growing brighter as if he were about to unleash a primitive attack before the battle could even begin. At the same time, Jane saw the start of a Siriean dome spread from the center of the air all the way out to the edge of the walls. The shield itself was about as massive in size as the room as, giving them both plenty of room to fight. In the same instance the dome shield appeared, Jane engaged her energy scope knowing the official battle has finally begun. Losing to Danton is no longer an option since it would be the only way to take charge of the army, just as Jane discussed with her friends before. How was she to know that winning would be the requirement? Danton was anything but reasonable, but even he would have to honor everything inside of him for this kind of role.


    Danton took notice of Jane''s ready fighting stance, her blades and her suit. The blades she was holding were Rigel Runes, very predictable and weak blades to carry into a battle of this caliber. The JDT acronym still had no immediate resemblance to anything Danton was familiar with, and he had time to talk before fully charging his MP energy into the spell he needed. "So Jane? Before we begin, you mind telling me what JDT stands for?"


    Jane smiled while waiting on Danton to use his energy scope and charge up his energy early to the fight beginning. Danton''s name in the energy scope had stars surrounding the text, possible indication of his high status? "That''s something you''ll have to figure out later. Now are we going to battle or not?"


    "Very well," he replied. "The battle between the champion and Jane Venn will now begin. Just know that I never hold anything back, nor do I underestimate the abilities of anyone. To defeat me, you''ll have to overcome a power that nobody in this world has ever matched since my title of champion at Eldora Tower." Danton''s pitch in his voice was deepening rapidly while echoing as though he had some malfunctioning microphone by him, but it was just the magical interference from the massive amount of energy building up, now being released into its form. "Let us ride! Entiene!"


    Jane took several more steps backwards as the light surrounding Danton became that much brighter and stronger. At the same time, a new energy scope was forming to indicate that of a magical summon being used, Jane watched in horror as the bright light around Danton transformed into a massive radiance that spanned everywhere. After opening her eyes again, the largest creature ever to be seen was standing before her, the summon Danton referred to as Entiene. As the spiritual light materialized into the formation of the summoned creature, Jane was at a loss for breath, frozen by the stunning appearance of a dragon, the scaled beast sitting on all of its legs while taking up about a third of the entire room from all dimensions. Entiene stood massive and tall, as well as retaining its translucent properties since the elemental makeup of the creature is all spiritual energy. It''s a ghostly dragon with the ability to do anything Jane could imagine and more, and standing on top of the creature''s hind head was Danton himself, riding the top of the spirit dragon while preparing for a battle Jane did not expect.


    Summons are legal in Leray matches too, but this is a summon nobody had ever seen before. Jane remembered hearing something about Danton containing a summon by rumor she overheard, but nothing about it sounded this scary to any degree. As the red eyes of the dragon activated, the beast wailed its cry so loud that it distorted the visual field of the air affected in Jane''s vision, and nearly made her ears deaf. The power of this creature was unknown to Jane, but Danton seemed pretty confident standing up there, magic staff in hand. He would be hard to hit with the summon protecting him. The creature stood about 150 meters tall when not stretching its neck, while the rest of the body got completely in Jane''s path. She had to back up further just to make sure she wouldn''t immediately get stepped on, failing to pull her concentration to the battle together.


    Noticing Jane''s fear and indecisiveness, Danton smirked with overwhelming confidence. It was true that he rarely uses this summon in legitimate battles, but that was only to save the best for the best of challengers. He hollered down at Jane knowing his voice would carry after the wail of his pet died down. "Meet Entiene! It''s a summon bound only to my essence. You can only obtain rare summons like this by passing the trials at the Eupharus Island summit! Once you do, that creature is bound to you alone until your time of death. I don''t think you have what it takes to pass those trials Jane. Therefore, you''ll have a true test of strength!"


    Danton''s words followed by another massive roar from Entiene had Jane backing away and huddling against desired plan. The thing was way too big and massive to fight, far beyond anything Jane has ever seen in any of the most action packed farfetched movies. It was legendary! And now everybody in the whole world watching would know of it. This dragon rarely summoned was meant for her? Jane didn''t know what to do anymore. No way would a creature of that size and power be capable of taking damage. Even if Danton is somewhat uncovered and vulnerable, his endurance was likely as legendary as this beast is. Entiene; that is the name of this summon. Jane has to fight two enemies here instead of one, without the ability or knowledge of summoning spells.


    Danton noticed Jane''s fear still resonating inside of her. She was frozen still right now, as predictable as she was. After shutting his eyes momentarily and connecting his thought waves to the creature below him, Danton began casting ideas for spells in his thoughts, talking to Entiene for the first preparation of long-range attacks. The connection caused his eye color to change with a glow of yellow hue, the phenomena that happens between most people and their best summons. A holographic box appeared to the side of Entiene''s head, the action display center used to identify the actions or skills of very specific creatures. Danton knew it wasn''t a real requirement, but this way at least Jane would get to know what attack is coming her way. In the action display box, the holographic text formed to spell out the name of a magical skill soon to be used and only known by Entiene. Stinger! That is what the ADC read back without any particular noise, and it would be just large enough for Jane to read should she be paying it any attention.


    Jane noticed a similar action display box, the same kind she had seen before back in the dark zone aligned with specific creatures and more so with the sentry turrets she had to fight before. Stinger! Entiene was about to use an ability called Stinger, hopefully requiring its entire body to move. The speed of this dragon had to be limited. Jane realized by now that she had her first chance to attack and lost it from standing as still as a stone. She shook her head, trying to snap out of it, but it was too late to counterattack or defend herself as the creature made its move. The sharp ears of Entiene began glowing and sparking up with static electricity, quickly building a charge of visible energy that Jane noticed much too late. By the time the energy was charged, Jane was suddenly zapped by two long-range electrical strikes of lightning, one from each electrically charged ear. Zapping Jane in place was the form of the attack from Entiene, expending very small amounts of its own MP energy while leaving Jane with a painful mark of burning electrical damage. When it was over, Jane quickly tried to collect herself, realizing that she was only hit with a low power level attack after checking both energy scopes.


    Entiene only used one percent of its total MP energy to deal four percent damage to Jane''s overall HP. Statistically speaking, the odds were entirely against her. Jane recovered from the shock quickly though, since the overall damage to her health was light, but she quickly realized how important it was to begin fighting back instead of planning a long strategy in her head.


    Danton locked eyes onto Jane''s body, taking all mental notes of her future movements. Jane certainly didn''t seem like much of a fighter, but she has to have some sort of style in order to make it to this chamber in the first place. Yielding caution, Danton waited patiently for Jane to take her own turn.


    "Now it''s my turn," Jane remarked. With Leray energy building into her hands, Jane''s eyes turned from green to glowing blue as a result of the magic reacting in her system. As it was time to release her magical attack, Jane aimed both her arms at the spirit dragon and chanted the name of her spell gracefully. "Quantum Beam!" Shooting a wide beam of blue energy from her hands, the magical essence of the attack collided into the stomach of the summon and spread outward. By the time Jane''s spell ended, no noticeable change occurred within the beast. Its MP recovered back to 100% by passive regeneration, and the HP stats remained undamaged completely! The dragon didn''t react in the slightest, and neither did Danton.


    "Hahahaha!" Danton knew Jane was under-leveled, but this showcase of her skills was laughably weak. "You thought that would cause harm to my Entiene? You don''t need to hold back just because my summon is unknown to you." Danton only gave Jane the slight consideration to stop fooling around, and gave his next command to Entiene without uttering a single word. Telepathically linked, Danton and Entiene made a new term appear into the action display center, and gave Jane fair warning for what was to come.


    Dragon Breath! Jane read the new word carefully, more worried by the oncoming attack than what it actually would do to her if she failed to block it out. The dragon finally started to move, only using its neck to steer its head while opening its large mouth, but it was enough to make the hairs on Jane''s skin stand straight up. After receiving enough charged energy into her hands, Jane threw the aura around her with the chant to make sure her shield was strong enough to withstand the attack. "Power shield!" The aura of protection visibly surrounded Jane and remained active for as long as she concentrated on the aura. Meanwhile, Entiene lowered its head while breathing fire that was somehow colored between dark blue and violet. The magical flamethrower coming from Entiene blasted far beyond the reaches of Jane and her shield, but the flames themselves failed to immediately penetrate the protective aura Jane created for herself.


    Jane waited out the brushing of hot blue fire, noticing all of the small hexagons forming everywhere on the front of her shield to indicate heavy damage rejection. The concentration Jane once had was already beginning to slip, which spoke a lot for the potential power of Entiene''s magical attacks, as well as how hot that blue flame must be burning.


    Danton finally got to see one of Jane''s more official strategies for self-defense in its finest form. As the blue fire blocking the view itself faded away while Entiene brought its neck and head back up to the original height, Danton saw the protective aura surrounding Jane, plus the fact that her health stats didn''t decline at all. Her MP stats declined ever so slightly, which meant Jane could continue shielding from powerful attacks if her timing and concentration remained precise. Danton had to consider the idea of Jane''s power shield carefully. Normally, the power shield spell becomes less popular with the known formula of magic, which only blocks out damage by 50%, while expending over 10% MP reserves for the highly trained. However, Jane was condensing and conserving all of her Leray energy, and at the same time creating a defensive rejection aura powerful enough to block out damage by 100% should it not fail to hold up. Though the new formula seemed intriguing, Danton knew deep down that it would not have been enough even for the lower level elites to get overwhelmed.


    "Crimson Flare!" Jane immediately summoned a massive sphere of non-elemental and fire elemental energy now traveling at a low speed towards the dragon. Evasiveness wouldn''t matter since Entiene was the size of a third of the entire battle arena, but Danton didn''t even do anything to counteract the oncoming sphere. With a power level of 5.6, Crimson Flare had to at least put a dent in Entiene''s base HP level. The sphere ended up collapsing its energy upon impact with the spirit entity, entirely absorbed by the summon without taking any further damage. Just like that, the essence of Entiene swallowed that sphere whole and negated all damage done to it. Jane once again failed to damage the dragon.


    Danton was certain Jane would lose at any moment now, though still went ahead with normal attacks against her. This was a battle after all. "Quake!" he howled. The word Quake appeared in the action display center, something Danton ordered directly instead of telepathically. Upon doing so, Entiene lifted its front left leg up as high as twenty meters, left to smash it down into the ground at a high velocity. The ground rumbled violently while the force of the seismic activity knocked Jane off her feet in milliseconds, causing immediate falling damage to her health. However, since the damage alone only involved quaking the floor and knocking Jane over, the damage to her health was light in return.


    Jane was back on her feet in seconds, still full of energy and taken little damage compared to the maximum amount she could endure by the rules of Leray magic. Since magical damage wasn''t enough to harm the beast, Jane went with a slightly different strategy. "Charge Attack!" Though the monster itself was terrifying to glance at, Jane had no choice but to sprint towards the summon. She initiated her combination sequence by forming two sub machine guns in her hands, the same combo as Bullet Blitz. After emptying both chambers with a rapid-fire dash towards the target, Jane shot two Magical Blitz spheres at Entiene as well, still falling short of any potential damage. Jane continued her sprint, curious to see if physical non-magical damage would suffice.


    Instead, Entiene''s tail whirled around to its left side, the very edge of its large stinger striking Jane with the speed of a bullet and the force of a large boulder yielding that speed. The force of the sharp tail slammed Jane backwards into the air with more blunt force that any piercing damage due to the angle of its approach. The damage was quite severe to Jane as she flew back farther in distance than she started with before charging at the beast.


    Raging Tail! That was the skill Jane failed to see in the ADC while Danton sat back and watched in ultimate pity. Jane landed roughly with a roll, struggling through the intense level of new pain just to stand on her legs again. The hit went straight to her chest, causing cramps everywhere as far as Danton could see, but Jane still refused to stay down. Despite her HP remaining quite high, she was obviously hurt beyond what normally complies for Leray damage. "Why don''t you just give up already? You''re so far outmatched that I''ve grown bored and disappointed for the rest of the entire day."


    With her heart heavy and the reminder of her purpose here fresh in her head form before, Jane gave herself all the physical juice she needed to keep standing up to any challenge in front of her. Danton has to go down in this one single battle no matter what. She pulled her daggers out in preparation for a continued fight. "You''re mistaken," she groaned with pain in her lungs. "I''ll never give up! I''m fighting for a cause worthy of battle, and that''s why I''m going to win! Mako Strike!" Releasing Leray energy form the tips of her blades in the form of powerful spheres, Jane''s Mako Strike released two of them, all flying quickly towards Entiene. Danton nor Entiene tried anything to stop the oncoming attack, expecting the same result as last time. Though despite how pitiful the reaction was, Jane noticed the magical spheres she fired knocked down one percent of Entiene''s base HP. The dragon didn''t react or even huff in response, and Danton didn''t really say anything about it either, but it proved to Jane once and for all that Entiene isn''t an invincible creature despite its ghostly essence of the aura.


    Danton tensed his right arm fusing with MP energy, while the dragon began to react. Energy Raid! appeared in the ADC, Danton remarking just before Entiene was about to attack. "How noble of you, but your willpower won''t save you!"


    Jane could feel the attack coming despite it not being visible or invoked yet. She responded by charging her energy into both hands again, preparing her power shield for the right moment. As Entiene opened its mouth, over a dozen small partially visible photons of pure energy shot towards Jane in the form of a barrage attack. It''s like a Photon Burst attack, only Entiene was using its magical energy to increase the power level of the same spell. Jane had her shield up quickly, protecting her by absorbing each of the magical photons that left behind very tiny hexagons in the same field. Jane nearly lost concentration already, the power of the damage overwhelming her focus. Each photon that barely missed the shield and hit the floor had an explosive reaction that showed to Jane just how strong the projectiles would have been against her, but the attack was also very fast and speedy, thus it was already over. Jane lowered her shield before it could fail in her concentration, leaving her undamaged and ready to strike back.


    Jane charged an attack without chanting the name, instead giving Danton the truth he sought for this battle, knowing he would not listen. "I''m not losing to you or to Entiene! I''ve come too far to quit now! The lives of Lennith City will be spared! So will JDT." Without screaming the last acronym of her team, Jane left Danton questioning the meaning of the word again, but he heard everything else. Jane simultaneously created the three spaced out glyphrings of all basic elemental magic in the form of a Tri-Attack spell. "I won''t let our efforts go to waste!" After using her magic to fire from all three glyphring to use a Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Thunderbolt against Entiene, Jane ended up dealing elemental magical damage to the spiritual creature, knocking down more health than what Jane initially expected. Entiene even reacted to the damage this time by swaying its neck slightly and roaring for a full second. It was in this same instance that Jane realized the weakness of Entiene, its weakness against elemental magic.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "She''s beginning to learn the elemental resistances," Danton muttered quietly. "I''ll take my turn Entiene. You rest and recover your MP while I deal with this pest! Downstrike!"


    Jane could hear Danton yelling just loud enough to barely be picked up, despite how well everything echoed in this room. The constant breathing of Entiene was loud and overcrowding of all other sounds, but Jane did hear a pattern of attack coming her way. Despite not knowing what was to come next, Jane invoked another power shield around herself anyway, making sure she was well protected. Nothing came into the action display center of the holographic text box, which meant this was a spell Danton alone was about to invoke. Two against one defiantly seemed unfair, but Danton wasn''t called the champion for nothing. Jane heard that line one time too many to give up on the fight.


    Danton released the electrical energy, sending lightning bolt after lightning bolt several times over on top of Jane, who had just protected herself with another power shield. Danton kept the spell going however, testing the durability of the powerful negation field. In total, Danton ended up rapid-firing lightning bolts from a random space in the air for ten strikes total. Though it barely drained his own MP energy, he soon realized that he wasted such energy after Jane''s shield help up to the attack wonderfully.


    Jane dropped her shield and immediately began invoking a more powerful spell, placing as much charging speed as she could to prove it would work. "Photon Blast!" Jane aimed both of her hands towards Danton, whom was slightly blocked off by the translucent view of Entiene''s head. Jane''s radiant aura unleashed the attack energy in the form of multiple visible photons all traveling at a very high speed. With a total power level of eight by average, it was certain to cause some damage. Jane''s Photon Blast spell fired all of the photons forward and up, slamming into and going through the head of Entiene itself. Much of the same photons that drilled through the spiritual essence of the summon slammed into Danton as well. While Danton took multiple hits however, his body remained firmly attached to his creature. The spell in question dealt damage to both Danton''s body and to Entiene, giving Jane a new sense of style with regards to Entiene''s elemental weaknesses.


    Danton glanced up at his energy scope, confirming to himself the physical sensation of magical damage dealt to him and to his pet. For all of the abilities used before, Jane was sure showing off her more powerful skills now. Though it still didn''t surprise him. That shield can''t protect the girl from everything...


    Zoom Wave! After seeing another term appear in the ADC, Jane glanced all around her, alerted by the initiation sounds of newly formed Shadow Waves. There was a Shadow Wave in front of her approaching, as well as one from the far left and right. Jane glanced to her side and noticed more approaching from behind. There were eight different Shadow Waves total forming on the ground, spawned by Entiene''s powerful magic without the creature even lifting a finger. Jane could finally feel her sense of readiness and preparation. After finally getting over the size of the dragon, it was quickly evident that Jane only needed to score enough damage to the creature to diffuse its essence back into the energy dimension. This fight could be done by any similar style as before. The battle against Krysta taught Jane how to invert special spells. The battle against Cleo and Brock taught Jane how to endure damage. The battle against Mainne taught Jane how to evade the most amazing, normally unavoidable attacks such as this one.


    With eight Shadow Waves all advancing to converge on one single point, they may not hit all at the same time, though the combined power level of each of them would be ultimately deadly even with a power shield. Jane knew as well as everyone else how easy it was to evade a Shadow Wave, especially one of this size. Bound only to the ground, Shadow Wave auras do not fly. With that in mind, Jane released MP energy from her feet to give her a high lift into the air, at least by 25 meters up. In doing so, Jane automatically avoided all of the Shadow Wave attacks that were now about to converge and explode on each other. While she was ascending upwards, there would be plenty of time for a counterattack as well. Choosing to go with a different type of element, Jane chanted "Spirit Bolt!" and formed the pink glyphring from midair. After firing two brightly colored Spirit Bolts from each hand, Jane allowed the dragon to take care of its future wounds while she carefully landed on her feet, lowering the force of her descent with additional magical usage.


    Danton almost lost balance with the way Entiene reacted from the sudden impact of Jane''s Spirit Bolts, the creature wiggling its head around the in agony that Danton could sense. What he just witnessed by Jane''s evasion and attack was something he only saw in a few specially trained warriors, and the use of Spirit Bolt apparently had the highest elemental factor of damage for Entiene than anything else did. Damn you Jane! That wasn''t something you were supposed to figure out so soon! How do you go from a barely functioning rookie to near elite battling style?


    Jane landed peacefully and awaited Entiene''s next reaction. Danton thought out what attacks to try next, since Jane was beginning to gain momentum. It could have been a fluke, but there wasn''t a good enough analysis to prove it just yet. Jane may seem somewhat impressive right now, but it still isn''t nearly enough to match Entiene''s power. After charging a tiny amount of MP into his dark blue glyphring, Danton took aim at Jane and fired. "Aqua Blast!"


    Failing to notice it in time, Jane was hit by a beam of oceanic water from Danton''s glyphring, the beam that formed so fast and powerfully that it had her being pushed back by the beam of water alone. Despite the spell causing no official damage, Jane''s entire body and outfit were dripping wet with the aftermath of an odd ability. It was very clear to Jane that there is one benefit to wetting down opponents, using that factor to increase electrical damage. Despite the ick factor of battling with the weight of all this water, Jane knew it was a feckless attempt to catch her off guard. "You''ll have to try harder than that!" she teased.


    Jane noticed that her MP energy was falling fast, likely the residual effect of using Photon Blast. The fight would not be quick enough for Jane to save all of her MP. There was one spell however capable of regenerating that energy. Thank you, Claudia. "Energy Cycle!" Jane created a thin purple layer of auric light around her body, shrouding her with an effect that many people did not know of very well. Danton didn''t seem to immediately react, but instead took notice of Jane''s colored support aura.


    "Whatever," Danton ignored. "Let''s see how you deal with status effects then." After lifting his arm briefly, Danton''s order got through to Entiene, creating the next skill name appear in the ADC. Spirit Breath! Danton waited patiently. Spirit Breath looks like Dragon Breath and works by a similar design, but is specifically made to cause a status effect of severe disorientation to human opponents by causing spirit damage to them. Jane only needs to breathe this air, and then her battling days are over.


    Jane watched as the dragon began to open its big mouth again, likely to form some sort of breath or fume visible to her from the properties of Leray magic, but Jane already knew what to do. Power shielding wasn''t going to work with Energy Cycle running, but this also didn''t seem like the right time to start intentionally taking damage either from an unknown spell. Since this was an attack utilizing an airborne chemical mesh, Jane knew exactly how to reject the enemy spell. "I learned this from Taylor! Whirlwind!" Jane created a powerful tornado of visible wind far in front of her, growing in size due to the extra MP energy Jane assigned her magic to. Though the Whirlwind spell was far too small and distant to cause any potential harm to Danton or Entiene, her intention was indeed different. Just as the visible spirit breath of purple toxic air began to spread in Jane''s direction, her Whirlwind spell of spinning winds sucked up the toxic visible essence of breath that Entiene created, sucking in all of the magic released and redirecting all of that energy to the upper-center of the tornado. In just three seconds flat, Jane''s Whirlwind spell grew in size after taking in all of Entiene''s breath, after which it simply collapsed and diffused into nothingness, taking the last attack down with it. Jane knew what she was doing the whole time too, using her own Whirlwind for cover from an air-based attack regardless of damage type. While this was all going on, Danton''s view of Jane''s current view became obstructed by the same twister of opaque spinning air.


    "I''ll show you the sting of my friends, the will of us all. Frost Blade!" While the Whirlwind had yet to subside, Jane crafted a sword infused with ice elemental magic, making the blade longer and thicker with additional damage potential. She then waited to see Entiene''s body again before charging towards the monster on her feet, only to get close enough to throw the sword with as much force as possible. The spinning ice blade traveled through the air, sticking right into the spiritual skin of Entiene despite the properties of the dragon. Since the blade was infused with ice elemental damage, the type matched up to one of its elemental weaknesses and dealt damage to the creature, something Jane planned on doing. Since Taylor was a specialist in wind and ice elemental magic, it was the perfect combination to speak her words in the form of magical attacks in the battlefield.


    Feeling the pain displayed by Entiene, Danton stood his ground on top of Entiene''s head and gave it a more intense command. "Come on Entiene! Show her your true power! Show her your absolute anger!" After a few questionable moments, the action display center reacted with a new spell Jane had yet to see. Quantum Bolt!


    Jane braced herself with energy charging into her hands. Entiene''s horns on the top of its head lit up with magical build up, soon releasing a powerful form of magical energy in the form of a concentrated narrow sphere of blue light. Jane could see the light condensing in form just before the impact was about to strike her. She responded swiftly, "Return!" Jane aimed her glowing hands of spewing energy towards the light, using her telekinetic reach to catch all of the energy in one go.


    The sphere of energy launched, yet stopped in midair just two feet from Jane''s face as she struggled to hold the energy in one concentrated area of anti-gravimetrical properties. Just as she concentrated hard enough, her spell had worked entirely. Though the beam transformed into a solid spherical bolt of the same energy frozen in place by Jane''s telekinetic hold, she stopped the attack dead in its tracks. Now that she kept full control over Entiene''s Quantum Bolt, it was time to send it back! "Hrah!" Jane threw the sphere in the direction of which it came from, allowing the Quantum Bolt to remain as a spherical projectile of small size and powerful energy potential.


    Unable to comprehend what just happened and what was still ongoing, Danton watched as Jane unbelievably caught a Quantum Bolt with some silly spell, only to send it back with the same power to the belly of his summoned dragon. The impact was major to Entiene, making the creature wag around its neck and tail violently with an ear-piercing wail of pain. Danton had trouble staying on top of Entiene''s head, failing to balance himself on the angered beast as its tail slamming the ground created small quakes in the entire room.


    Entiene stomped one of its legs in a frontal position, intentionally creating a wide spread version of a single Shadow Wave consisting of very high-energy potential. Jane realized that the summon must have done that in retaliation to her last spell, unable to control itself while Danton was trying not to dangle on the neck of his own pet. Jane was facing the biggest Shadow Wave spell she had ever seen. However, what to do about it was quite simple since it was what she always did with enemy Shadow Waves from now on. Lifting herself into the air again with a small amount of MP energy, Jane managed to gain a lot of altitude while the Shadow Wave below her continued on towards the edge of the field on the other side. While ascending higher off the ground, Jane made sure to throw in one more spell while she still had the chance. "Tri-Fire!" Creating a powerful red glyphring in front of her, Jane waved her arms left and right cycling between them in order to use and launch all three Fire Bolts towards the spiritual essence in front of her. The Fire Bolts all struck Entiene''s astral body while Jane''s glyphring faded as she began to descent back to the floor, but the damage registered towards Entiene was quite high in comparison to many of her previous used abilities at the start of battle, again confirming the elemental weakness attached to the champion''s summon. While considering all of that, Jane monitored her own MP energy as the purple aura around her was still active. The regeneration was slow since she had not taken any active damage since invoking the spell, though it did help her to keep MP reserves higher.


    "Get it together you gas bag!" Danton managed to stabilize himself on the top of Entiene''s head after finally calming his summon down. The spiritual body of his summon did in fact take on a lot of elemental damage since Jane discovered its weakness, but it became more difficult to attack her altogether. Jane was suddenly quick moving like Krysta, capable of immediate response in the right way, and in all that time, none of the lights in this room have turned red, which would have been the automatic indicator that illegal dark magic was being used. "Shut up and use Stinger!"


    With a very short bark from the dragon, Stinger! displayed on the ADC bar to the right of Entiene''s head. Jane sensed it coming after confirming that the sharp pointed ears on Entiene''s head were indeed sparking up with electrical energy. Instead of using a shield however, Jane timed the attack compared to last time, and performed a backflip jump just before the supposed impact was to occur. Successfully timing her motion, Jane jumped out of the way of a lightning bolt attack just before its energy could surge into her body, now flipping once in the air until landing back on her hands and legs with a slight slide on the ground. Jane felt none of the pain from the scrapes on her skin, and the fact that she just dodged a Lightning Strike attack impressed even herself.


    Danton growled with his teeth shut at the reaction Jane just gave him. It wasn''t physically possible to evade a Lightning Strike that quickly. Something has to be going on that he can''t see.


    Jane''s breathing increased quickly, the adrenaline finally kicking in with the intensity of the battle before her. Despite how serious she was about defeating Danton, the familiar excitement had filled her lungs. The battle itself was amazing to Jane, the fun she was having was unmatched compared to anything else she tried in all of her life so far. The thrill of getting hit with magic for damage had her trembling on the edge of her nerves! Now it was time to hit both of them where it hurts. "Star of Darkness!" Jane concentrated all of her energy towards Entiene, forming a red circle of the largest size anyone had ever seen before. Jane had to make it big enough for Entiene to be affected, which meant assigning more MP energy into the spell. Since this form of dark magic was both legal and safe to use, Jane figured she might as well use it to drain the HP out of Danton and his summon at the same time. Since the effects of the spell are infinite in vertical range, Danton will not be immune.


    Danton realized after it was too late that Jane''s spell will affect him as well. When inside of the boundaries of the circle, regardless of height, everyone inside will be affected by the life energy drain attack. There was nothing he could do while attached to Entiene, and the spell would harm both of them. Jane wasn''t fighting like a rookie anymore; she was fighting like a genius. Danton held his ground for as long as he could, unable to stop the physical sensation of energy drain while the Star of Darkness affected his HP along with Entiene''s HP. The numbers for both of them declined. The decline was very slow due to their ultra-high endurance compared to Jane''s power level of the spell, but it was still a cause for concern. Yet Danton soon learned about the opening Jane presented him. While using Star of Darkness, Jane cannot evade or block out attacks.


    Jane kept up the energy usage, nearly prepared to deliver the final blow of magic with the red Lightning Strike at the end of the sequence. That is when she noticed another item appearing in the action display center. Dragon Breath! Jane tensed when realizing how vulnerable she just made herself in this single instance. She noticed Entiene managing to open its mouth to continue breathing on her with a fiery magical aura. Jane released the rest of the magic, striking Danton with the red bolt of lightning instead of the dragon, but even after she could let go of her own spell, it was already too late. Jane''s only defense was to place her arms in front of her face and brace herself.


    After the blue mist and flames engulfed Jane in its heat, she couldn''t help but let out several painful moans. It felt like someone was placing a lighter flame on her skin in virtually every spot imaginable, more so on her arms and legs than anywhere else. The heat became intense fast, and Jane wanted to scream from the burning sensation that took her by surprise, and this was just for one out of four seconds for the time the dragon''s breath lasted.


    Danton took notice of everyone''s energy stats after finally scoring some high damage against Jane, an eye for an eye was the meaning of his last used strategy. Jane still had a substantial amount of HP remaining however, while her purple aura regenerating her MP passively remained intact as well. After being visible again, Jane looked as if she needed to address her burns quickly.


    Instead of addressing anything on her skin however, Jane simply pulled out her right dagger, shooting a blue beam of anti-gravimetrical energy in the spell of her Mako Speed reformation skill. After launching herself into the air and putting her dagger back inside of her dress sphere pocket, Jane screamed "Prism!" and created a colorful glyphring in front of her. While using minuscule amounts of her energy to remain floating in the air, Jane remained stationary while unleashing her powerful spell. Aside from what Danton may have thought and what Jane was used to, she decided to modify this particular spell to deal maximum damage to Entiene. Since Prism fires a total of fifteen elemental bolts all assigned by the user, all Jane had to do was concentrate on one specific element of magic. Instead of mixing fire, ice, and electrical energy, Jane began shooting one Spirit Bolt after the next, planning to make all fifteen bolts of spirit elemental damage to atone for Entiene''s highest weakness. She did not forget how effective her first Spirit Bolt was the last time she used it against Entiene, though some math did need to be involved, but after a full force of fifteen Spirit Bolts slammed into Entiene with a barrage, the result was a spectacle for her.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Heart of Chaos ~ FFXIII-2 OST</a>


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    Danton could feel the dragon below him reacting violently, trembling with pain as Jane''s relentless combination of multiple Spirit Bolts rained hell on Entiene''s health and natural resistances. The HP stats of his summon dropped dramatically with each hit, until Prism was over and Entiene was left at half its own capacity. Though the dragon remained calm after the assault was over, Danton struggled to stay dominant of the creature and clear-headed while watching Jane descend back to the floor unharmed. "Jane Venn! Where did you learn this style of fighting?"


    "Didn''t I tell you already? I''m going to defeat you and prove that the dark zone has nothing against the skills of the elite army. Or did you think I was joking around?"


    Danton could sense Jane''s tone becoming more aggressive, but he still disagreed with the stupid plan altogether. Jane very well may have what it takes to hold her own in the dark zone, but that doesn''t mean a blind rush assault will get the job done, nor does it mean she can match the strength or power of Entiene. "Joke or not, I won''t let someone with your vision for self-destruction control our rightful army. You''ve only done minor damage to my summon! And you won''t be doing anymore!"


    Jane felt all of her nerves rushing and her limbs tingling with all of the energy she brought with her, all of the fire, the passion, and her determination to make JDT win! "How many times do I need to say it?" she snapped. "JDT will - not - lose!"


    Danton immediately picked up on how enraged Jane was becoming, though it seemed more inconsistent and cute than what Jane intended to feel. Jane was fighting to destroy the dark zone, but foolish was she to misunderstand the way things work in this world. "Get angry! You think that makes a difference in this tower?!" Danton was yelling too, but remained clear-headed and continued attacking Jane with the assistance of his summon.


    Flame Beam! Jane saw the spell forming high from the ceiling above her, several dozens of powerful Fire Bolts spawned from Entiene''s magical invocation of the spell placed in the ADC. The Fire Bolts were numerous, yielding about thirty units total, all rushing down at a critical speed towards the ground, towards Jane! Jane figured out the pattern of this spell quickly after noticing how many of the Fire Bolts falling began to spin and spiral around each other. It''s designed to resemble a concentrated beam of fire any second now, though Jane reacted first by putting up another power shield. Just after creating another aura of protection, Jane watched above her as the thirty separate Fire Bolts all turned into a narrow yellow whirlwind that slammed down on the shield with high power and intensity. Hexagons formed everywhere while Jane was left to keep her focus on the shield up and defensive. The barrage of Fire Bolts lasted for several long seconds. Jane had minor trouble keeping her shield going, but dropped its power upon realizing that Entiene''s spell finished in sequence faster than expected.


    Concentrating on where Danton was standing and how damaged Entiene was at this point, it didn''t take very long to formulate an easy area attack that would hit both of them without fail. Putting all of her determination and rage into the familiar spell, Jane chanted the ability''s name with as much heart as she could while invoking the high cost spell. "Meteor Strike!" After lifting and waving down her arm, Jane summoned a meteor swarm high in the air, all falling downwards towards the head of Entiene where Danton was also stationed.


    Since it happened quickly and came from above, Danton was much too late to react. The spell spawned the rocks danger close to him and his dragon just to start. Once the red flaming meteorites began to pillage through Entiene''s astral body, Danton had no choice but to try and brace himself for some of the impacts as well, since the rocks were well aimed and targeted towards him in the same instance. He attempted to use a Farshield spell to try and negate some of the rocks, but they ended up busting the shield wall instantly as if Danton''s effort was entirely futile. With that, two large red magical rocks slammed into his body, drilling through his skin and entering Entiene''s head for additional damage.


    Score! Jane could feel the fire in her body, the overreaction of her entire nervous system fueled by her adrenaline and excitement for the battle. At the same time, it was clear that the fight was far from over. Danton has so much health and energy remaining, while Entiene remained almost as healthy. Jane read any change in the ADC carefully, picking up on something as soon as she spotted Danton standing back up and recovering from the blast to his chest. Ultra-Beam!


    With a power level of ten, Ultra-Beam yields the highest caliber of pure magical damage. Danton trained with his friend long enough to know it was more of a last resort ability to bust through any tough armor or defenses, but now was the best time to use it. As he stood patiently for Entiene to make its move, Danton made certain to watch the target with careful and trained eyes. Entiene charged its energy using the horns on its head, forming a very wide range beam of pure blue colored Leray energy that closely resembled the same spell as Quantum Beam. Only this one carried much more energy, evident to drain most of Entiene''s MP capacity. Just as the beast fired its concentrated form of energy, Jane reacted in the same moment.


    "Farshield!" Using her hands aimed towards the source of the beam, Jane released enough energy to form a shielded wall of pure magic, positioned high in the air much closer to the source of the attack than to herself. As the blue beam of blinding light fired, the energy concentration smashed through Jane''s Farshield as if it were a fragile window, putting up no resistance at all. Jane could feel that her shield had just failed, giving her less than one second of time to brace herself for the impact of unbeatable energy.


    "Raaahg!" Soaring high into the air from a last moment leap assisted by magic for maximum height and gravitational resistance, Jane narrowly flew up and out of the path of the oncoming beam of powerful energy just in time to evade the damage of the spell. Though she paid the impact site little attention, the sound and shockwave from the blast told Jane enough about the amazing power of Entiene''s Ultra-Beam. The blast left the solid floor cracked in several places with a circular indentation, the ground permanently damaged by Leray magic alone. Jane just jumped over such a high-powered beam, and now it was time to counterattack before landing back onto the ground. "Return Fire!" she yelled. The conditional magical spell quickly allowed Jane to create a grey glyphring in front of her, expending a ton of her magical potential to generate a magical malevolence just as powerful as the one she evaded. Using Return Fire, Jane ended up recreating the conditions for her own Ultra-Beam, firing the concentrated magical energy straight into Entiene''s chest. As Jane was falling down, the glyphring she left in the air remained as long as the beam continued to fire its energy into Danton''s summon, reducing the HP of the beast more than enough to make it bellow with its painful cry. The sound of Entiene was enough to distort the visual space around it momentarily, and Jane gave herself time to recover from expending that much MP energy in one go.


    "Photon Blast!" Deciding to rely on his own energy expenditure and magical potential, Danton stood on top of the head of his summon while aiming his spell down below towards Jane, who still had not taken any damage in an acceptable amount of time. Danton quickly invoked his spell due to his practices, and the barrage of visible photonic projectiles swarmed in the air following and tracing the path towards Jane.


    With haste and ease of invoking the spell due to her own practices, Jane cast another power shield around herself. The shield formed just as the first photon slammed into the force field, allowing Jane temporary invulnerability so long as she could keep it up, but each photon had a lot of power and energy for the shield to absorb, leaving behind very tiny hexagons that Jane soon worried about. After about twenty-five more of them hit her shield, Jane had no choice but to cut the power and jump back, allowing the last three photons to miss her feet and bounce into the ground instead. Barely avoiding the powerful spell dealt by the champion, Jane returned her visual attention upwards, and began charging more energy for the next spell.


    "Blaze Storm!" After surging her charged energy towards the ceiling, it wasn''t long before the temperature of the massive space around them began to climb rapidly. Blaze Storm is typically designed to deal HP damage to weaker targets, but Jane knew that both of them would simply be fighting in a lot of heat. After learning how to handle herself against Brock, she was confident in her decision, but was Danton used to it as well?


    Danton watched as air near the top of his ceiling turned orange in coloration like a thick haze, while the temperature became highly uncomfortable. His robe provided thermal protection against the cold, but worked against him in the heat. In all of this time, this girl is evading everything, and causing mayhem with every action. Who let this demonic creature into the building? Who taught this girl how to fight so unrefined? Still, the rising temperature was a pitiful attempt to change the table against him, Danton knew as much from his previous battles and training. Instead of retaliating using Entiene, he charged and released the energy from his own two hands, keeping Jane on her toes. "Splice!" Using a saber from the hidden hilt in the back of his coat, Danton only flashed his legendary blade for a moment to create the spell known to everyone as Splice. It would surely destroy Jane''s concentration if it manages to hit her.


    Noticing a visible Splice spell falling down from above, Jane quickly pulled out her right dagger from her suit, and released energy from the tip of her blade like before, aiming at the ground. "Mako Speed!" Lifting high into the air to once again avoid a directional spell, Jane only jumped over the splice without using any other skills in midair, waiting to land back on the ground first. Since she was ready and prepared to use her next ability, Danton still didn''t have enough time to throw in another attack before Jane. As she touched the ground again, Jane released her charged energy once more. "Thunder Flare!" With her eyes now glowing red as well as her hands and the spell of the Thunder Flare sphere itself, Jane knew that the power of her spell was improved beyond her original capacity. It was unexplainable to her, a sensation that left her entire body tingling all over, but her Thunder Flare created a large red sphere that still remained about half the size of Entiene''s head, though formed just around the monster''s neck while releasing the electrical energy into the summon to deal heavy damage. The shock-hold lasted for five long seconds, leaving Entiene roaring out more than it did last time. The monster however didn''t seem to retaliate, Jane''s fading spell successful to drain much of its own energy.


    "Just go down already! Laser Storm!" Using more of his limitless MP energy, Danton summoned a red glyphring high above Jane, forming the spell known as Laser Storm. Laser Storm is an upgraded spell from Laser Rain, a Leray ability that shoots a barrage of energy lasers at the target to deal piercing magical damage in a non-physical form at a higher power level for additional damage. Laser Storm creates five barrages of the same spell instead of one, like a temporary storm of lasers rushing down on the target from above.


    "Light Strike!" Using nearly all of her MP energy, Jane tried her most powerful spell known as Light Strike, which was legendary in the scriptures she learned from Claudia. After forming a solid white colored magical aura of protection around her body, Jane slowly began to levitate upwards off the ground while the lasers from above were absorbed with no resistance by the shield. Jane''s aura seemed entirely invulnerable to the lasers striking it from above, as Jane continued to ascend off the ground at a low speed, taking her aura with her. Jane had her eyes shut to fully concentrate on her spell, since it was still new to her and difficult to use or to invoke. After Danton''s Laser Storm ended and Jane had lifted off the ground further, she finally opened her eyes and shot all of her remaining energy towards Entiene. With the design of the second part of her spell, Jane sent twenty bright photons of light energy towards the summon, yielding a power level of ten for each homing projectile. The spell itself was amazing to watch, and elegant in its radiance of blinding white light, and since it deals light elemental damage instead of non-elemental magical damage, Entiene would be most vulnerable to such a spell as well.


    Danton held on tight to Entiene''s head as it struggled to keep itself sane through all of the damage it has taken, but the powerful spell Jane just invoked had Danton second-guessing his own ability to hold up this summon to Jane''s amazing powers. Despite the fact that her MP levels were dropping closer towards a single digit number, he felt Jane to remain unpredictable even in this situation. She was fighting back with spells even he''s never seen before in person. All Danton could do is count Entiene''s chipping HP as Jane blissfully and elegantly descended back to the ground with grace, her radiating light fading in the process.


    As Jane''s spell came to an end, she felt an immediate power drain to her entire body. Her MP reserves were close to the same level as Danton''s pet, and the low reserves caused her much more fatigue than she was comfortable with. With her breathing rate picking up fast enough to disrupt much of her focus and hold her standing slightly hunched over in an attempt to recover, Jane could feel the tingling sensation intensify. It''s the same sensation she felt familiar with once her secret symbol is about to activate. With much hope, Jane tried to resist the urge to let that tattoo come online in front of the whole world. With cameras reporting live, her secret would be exposed before the battle comes to its own close, and in these chambers, there is no ten-minute delay to cut it out.


    Danton saw Jane standing less tall than she was before, finally slowing down from her struggling MP reserves. "Ice Bolts!" aiming his arm towards the grounded target below him, Danton created an ice glyphring to cause damage to his challenger while she felt tired. Exploiting every opportunity he had, Danton was still certain of victory soon. As he shot five entire bolts of ice elemental magic in the form of homing projectiles, the magic descended at such a high speed towards the ground in a spiral travel formation.


    With her eyes wide open, Jane caught the stare of the Ice Bolts heading right for her face at unimaginable speed, immediately knocking her backwards and off the balance of her legs. The first Ice Bolt knocked her back, as the second one pushed her off of her feet, while the next three dealt further damage to her body while chilling her skin down to a colder temperature.


    Danton must have failed to realize that with Blaze Storm currently active, the cold sensations helped Jane more than it did to harm her, but Jane was already having her own problems keeping up with the battle. It didn''t take her long to push herself back up. Jane could feel the edge of her moment right here and now, her body desperate for a rest, soon to collapse or suffer a heart attack if this keeps up. Continuing to attack the summon before targeting Danton, Jane focused more of her MP energy into another familiar long-range spell. "Telepower!" Despite its properties, Jane once again ended up turning the coloration of her own Telepower spell to red instead of its normal blue. Her hands and feet were surrounded by a red colored aura, and she immediately initiated her attack by punching and kicking the air in front of her, simultaneously transferring the magical damage and force of each attack towards the dragon to cause magical damage to the beast. Despite its resistance to non-elemental magic, Jane''s powerful spell consisted of more potential than what she was used to working with, much more than the proportion of energy she placed into the spell. Only considering the possibility that Jane was accidentally using dark magic subconsciously, her theory was shot down quickly by the fact that the room has automatic dark magic detectors in the area, and nothing was sending out alarms just yet. As Jane continuously punched and kicked in front of her with a good combination of physical attacks, her telekinetic force brought the properties of each hit straight to Entiene for additional damage. By the time her attack cycle was over, Jane ignored her body''s need to relax and charged on foot towards the monstrous creature.


    "It''s time for Blitz!" Jane chanted. With her magic still resonating inside of her, Jane put all of her efforts into a long combination spell that started with another Bullet Blitz attack with two sub machine guns. Jane then continued her rushing advance with another Magical Blitz spell, only this time her spheres were red in color instead of the normal blue.


    Danton watched as Jane put all of her energy into one final Blitz sequence, though the coloration of her recent spells had him second-guessing the automatic dark magic detection system. If Jane was using dark magic right now, then the system should be alerting. Then again, Entiene''s energy scope would turn red too as a secondary primitive warning. At the same time, Jane''s spells were more powerful in this form, and having an unusual red coloration to the auras usually indicates that the magic signature has changed. So if it isn''t dark magic, how is she amplifying her powers like that? Why would she change the coloration of magical build up to something that looks like it could be dark magic?


    Jane threw three Magical Blitz spheres, disregarding the color and stopping her physical advance on the target without thinking to check for damage on Entiene. Jane immediately brought most of her remaining magic down into one more area attack spell, chanting the name while pulling down her arm in a similar motion of Meteor Strike. "Photon Burst!" As the photons from Photon Blast intensified by energy density spawned from above instead of from a glyphring, Jane''s next spell dealt the most amount of immediate damage to Entiene''s spiritual essence while Jane switched from one spell to the next. "Flying Guillotine!" Throwing both of her daggers infused with a red aura of magical energy, Jane''s next spell created a red circular arc of magical slashing damage that drilled through the monster twice, making Entiene panic from the pressure placed on him.


    Danton checked to make sure Jane''s energy scope was finally empty of her remaining MP energy, and finally did he have the comfort he was waiting for, but Jane wasn''t finished moving yet. She still continued to charge danger close to the right side of Entiene, dashing as though her stamina was untouched. "What?!" Danton reacted to the situation and the sudden action being taken by Entiene without his command or permission. Iron Tail! Entiene''s entire tail began to solidify from an astral state to a physical essence, becoming more solid and metal. The skill was much like any ordinary tail attack, and despite being out of range before, Jane was just now placing herself in range of the attack. Danton could feel that Entiene was making a hasty mistake, one that was too reckless to track. All he could do was watch Jane while trying to pinpoint her next move to try and stop this madness.


    Noticing the incoming sling of Entiene''s physical tail, Jane leaped into the air to jump over the body part of Entiene, but without the magical assistance guiding her lift into the air, Jane barely had just enough height to clear the sweeping blunt force of the metal limb. Instead, Jane accidentally caught her hand in a grasp to a small face-up fin attached to Entiene''s tail, and was taken for a ride in the opposite direction. Despite Jane taking no damage and avoiding a direct collision, the tail she was momentarily stuck to - forced her back at such a high speed she wasn''t ready for. Once the tail lifted into the air only to swing back, the force involved was more than enough to turn Jane''s flailing body into a speeding projectile towards the back wall, her hands naturally slipping off.


    Jane noticed the approach of her unexpected flight. In less than a second, she would slam against the solid wall with immense force, only to fall down hopelessly to the edge of the field. Thinking fast, Jane pulled out her left dagger, shooting a beam of energy from her Mako Speed spell towards the solid object. Aiming at the wall, Jane''s beam managed to provide a strong Push Wave force, but it still wasn''t enough to slow her down to a stop. With a sudden painful impact that sent her nerves into a shock of tingling sensations everywhere, Jane was suddenly left disabled as she began to fall towards the ground at the speed gravity would allow her to. With no magic to save her twice, Jane covered her face with her arms and took the heavy fall damage from the impact it left her, all from a 70-meter drop.


    Danton relaxed for a moment, realizing that Jane was the one being just as reckless as his summon was, and now she was paying for her own mistake. Obvious to his eyes, Jane just took a lot of damage at a high pain intensity from the force of that fall. The impact of her body to the hard ground created enough of a shockwave to puff up a visible cloud of dust from the surrounding area. The room itself is kept too clean for dust to form frequently, but the battle changed the state of the room since the start of it all. If Jane had not been protected by the Leray veil, her body would have certainly be reduced to a less solid state; Danton was sure of it. After trying to win so hard only to fail at this level, Jane wouldn''t be able to battle for much longer, let alone defeat him and his force of Entiene. Still, Jane was struggling in the far distance to stand back up, hunched over and holding her shoulders and stomach in what appeared to be very intense physical pain from the fall. Did Jane really expect herself to keep fighting on after this?


    With her vision blurring for every loud heartbeat in her head, Jane knew that her efforts were not good enough to keep battling, but the loss of her entire stamina had her fighting with every ounce of strength to hold herself up. Jane felt so angry and full of rage just to beat Danton, but now it was all gone. The battle was hopeless without any method of channeling. The tingling sensation came on her again, concentrating at the top of her right hand. Jane fought back at the automatic process that was about to deny her control, but she also struggled just to breathe in the air around her. Jane was dizzy and lightheaded; the sensation of passing out early overcame her quickly. The fatigue of the last four battles and the current battle damage was already too much. Jane descended down on her knees gently, while she struggled just to stay conscious, but outside of her control, the top of her right hand was beginning to light up with a very powerful surge of brightness and magical energy.


    With a slight bark from Entiene, Danton made his grasp of his head more firm while he collected his thoughts. "Not yet Entiene. I think she is already done." After another second, Danton noticed a bright light coming from the top of Jane''s right hand, somehow invoking magic without more than one percent of her MP energy reserves. It was curiously not an attack spell, but Jane was defiantly affected by the same light.


    "No," Jane croaked at the sight. The light was bright in Jane''s eyes, but she stared at the top of her hand anyway, checking the light for any particular resemblance to what could be called a symbol or signet. Despite the brightness and intensity of the light, Jane couldn''t make out anything resembling a symbol. It''s just a bright mass at the top of her hand, glowing with radiance, but not enough to project through the white fingerless glove. With that realization, her eyes lit up from the idea. Jane''s symbol was capable of showing itself holographically through her own suit and dress sphere, but that didn''t happen every time. The intensity of the symbol could vary sometimes, giving her the same effects without showing itself through clothing material. In this case, her glove managed to block out just enough of the holographic light that would have immediately given up her secret. Even now, this was probably highly suspicious for Danton and his security detail, but it wasn''t evidence. Nobody knows anything about this unknown symbol or its effects.


    Fine! If a symbol invocation is needed to get the upper hand in battle, so be it! This isn''t a battle to become the champion or a battle for glory. Jane knew what she had to do, with or without the guidance of her moral principles. As she allowed the hidden symbol (only visible now by its brightness of light) to infuse its unknown source energy into her body, Jane could feel an immediate change inside and around her. It felt similar to someone using a healing orb on her after a long fought battle, but more intense with how quickly it perked up her energy stats. The energy scope visually shifted and changed radically, switching on and off with the visual effect of some sort of glitch, while its entire color shifted just as well for only a few seconds. In just a few more seconds, Jane was capable of standing straight up again, the previous physical pain nothing but an ignorable nuisance. Jane felt energized again, more importantly capable of finishing this fight. She could tell from the distance by guessing that Danton had to be dumbfounded at this point, though it wasn''t about to stop either one of them from continuing the fight to the end.


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    A puzzled expression crossed his face. Danton had never seen this sort of behavior in either person or magical aura and essence in his entire career of battling people. Was Jane Venn even who she claimed to be? No ordinary teenage woman could have possibly learned a spell to recover stats in such short of time, let alone stand back up from so much physical damage. Even her energy scope was acting out of alignment, despite how quickly it returned to seem normal, and the glowing aura on top of Jane''s hand did not die down at all. Jane''s rapid MP regeneration eventually came to a much slower level, so this had to be some unknown or hidden spell, one Jane did not announce verbally to keep it secret. Nothing about this seemed normal anymore, but Jane was still walking towards Entiene with a vile expression of vengeance.


    Dragon Rage! Once again, Danton felt his summon taking action without his ability to control the aggressions coming from Entiene. He was upset about being made to take all of that damage by one small girl. Danton didn''t fight it however, as it snapped him back into focus that the battle was still going on. He had to hold on tight to his summon once again, since Entiene was now using all four of its legs to charge towards Jane in an attempt to stomp on her with all his might.


    Jane noticed the running dragon approaching her quickly, and used this moment to make her next move. With a lot of her energy returned, she knew what to do against Danton''s oversized weapon. It defied a lot of rules and boundaries that most were used to, but this was a spell Jane learned on her own, fair and square without any influence from the symbol under her glove. "Zero Zone!"


    Immediately creating an out-bursting field of energy that drained away all color and most of the light around her, Jane created another aura that stopped time in the entire universe. Despite the spell being known to a few high-class warriors, Danton failed to make use of it, giving Jane the perfect opportunity to get out of the way of a charge attack normally unavoidable by size. After one long inhalation of a deep breath, Jane gave the next set of her skills as much focus as she could possibly attain, partially assisted in speed and energy regeneration by the still active symbol on her hand. "Dark Strike!" After pulling out both of her daggers, Jane teleported into the multi-dimensional space that allowed her to travel at such a high speed during matter transference of her whole body. After becoming the speed of a beam of light, Jane reappeared high into the air, matching the exact altitude of where Danton currently stood frozen in time. As Jane approached him like a speeding bullet, she used her dagger blades to slash at his skin the moment she was passing by at an untraceable speed.


    Jane reappeared at the same altitude for the next two hits of dimensional teleportation based strikes of her daggers, keeping Danton as the current target for the process. For the last moment of her Dark Strike sequence, Jane appeared falling down straight on top of Danton, drilling the force of her daggers to scrape through the coat of his body and straight into his chest. Jane then teleported back down to the ground, immediately switching her magic from one form to the next. "Stalagmite!" With her right hand, Jane summoned stalagmites falling from the ceiling, unaffected by the time warp Jane created since it was connected to her energy signature. Just a second after invoking that spell, Jane used her left hand for another spell. "Laser Rain!" Targeting Danton''s position for Laser Rain, and Entiene for her falling stalagmites, Jane was dealing a high amount of damage to Danton and his summon, both incapable of taking such damage or feeling it until the Zero Zone field wears off. "Spirit Bolt!" Using a pink glyphring of a large size to target Entiene with its weakness, Jane launched three entire Spirit Bolts towards the dragon, dealing heavy damage despite being stuck in the time distortion field.


    "Stalagmite!" Jane created another wave of stalagmites just as the field began to change and shift again. Color returned to the entire world around her, and despite the first wave of stalagmites drilling through the essence of Entiene, the second wave had a long time to fall before affecting the spirit dragon again.


    Sensing an immediate issue, Jane used more MP magic to teleport high into the air, landing on top of one of the falling pillars for a better position. Despite just coming out of a time warp, Danton was very quick to assess and react to the situation in front of him. A swarm of falling stalagmites was coming down from above, only out in front from a short distance. He disregarded the swelling pain in his chest, believing Jane to have performed a time warp on him. Less importantly, the Blaze Storm from before has miraculously subsided, not that it had a harmful effect from before. As Danton took aim at all of the frozen pillars above him, he invoked his spell and fired a barrage of photon spheres to destroy them all. "Disruption Wave!" Much similar to Photon Blast, Danton created a barrage in the air that drilled through the large chunks of damaging ice and crushed them into tiny fragmented pieces, which also immediately exposed Jane''s current position as she was falling from the same general area. "I''ve got you now," he hissed. Giving the next command to Entiene to aim towards Jane and shoot, Danton watched as Jane''s helpless position became compromised with the next oncoming spell.


    Flare Blitz! Jane noticed another command in the action display line to the holographic text box near Danton, and prepared herself. It wouldn''t be possible to Power Shield or Farshield while falling from such a high place, but if this attack was anything like what Jane was expecting coming from Entiene, there was still one way to fight back!


    Entiene opened its mouth, releasing all of its remaining MP energy and blasting a blinding ball of fire the size of its entire jaw towards Jane. Jane knew this would be impossible to shield against. The power and size of this single sphere of fiery elemental magic was going to be hard to control. Entiene''s aim was accurate as well, made easy by the glowing symbol giving off additional light around her. Jane collected the Leray energy she needed for this, and aimed both hands directly at the yellow sun-like energy sphere. "Return!" It took a little extra time for Jane to capture the kinetic essence of Entiene''s Flare Blitz spell, but after successfully using her ability, Jane noticed a thin blue aura around the same sphere, indicating her telekinetic control over the massive projectile. Despite falling down towards the ground, Jane remained aerodynamic enough to swirl her entire body around with her arms stretched all the way out, enabling her to redirect the course of the Flare Blitz sphere to follow her movements and rush past her instead of crashing into her. Completing the full spin, Jane released the kinetic directional control of the sphere just as she redirected the aim down towards Danton and Entiene''s head. The sphere of powerful magic was now sent back at double the force towards the summon, and right on top of Danton''s position, while Jane left the rest of her remaining time to prepare a Push Wave spell to soften up her landing.


    Danton watched in disbelief while Jane took full control of the Flare Blitz spell and returned it back to his summon, aimed right for his current position. There wasn''t any more time to think of a way to protect Entiene. Feeling that his battle alongside his partner was now over, Danton used magic and leaped high into the air, narrowly avoiding the incredible blast and shockwave from Entiene''s powerful spell. The dragon wailed with intense discomfort while the stats of its remaining essence of energy faded away complete to zero.


    With Entiene''s health depleted, the entire body of its spiritual essence became more transparent, until a blast of light filled the entire field for several seconds, leaving behind nothing to replace the previous existence of the summon. Danton knew that Entiene was still safe and okay, just unable to battle with its energy all used up. Spawning Entiene can only be done once every two hours regardless of any potential Leray rules, (and a full eight hours to bring Entiene back with full health), so now it just left himself and Jane on the battlefield as they both fell towards the ground.


    Jane smiled on her way down after noticing that Entiene was finally out of the fight and faded away from view. She enabled her Push Wave and sent air flying everywhere, making her landing as soft as it would have been falling from twelve inches high. As Jane recovered herself, she soon saw Danton descending much more slowly than she just did, using some sort of temporary aura to change the properties of gravity on his body. Danton was touching down to the ground only twenty meters away, standing calmly without an immediate intention to attack. Jane felt her breathing and pulse as high as it always was at the most climatic part of battles, but she had never pulled anything like this off before. The sensation of near victory was amazing and exciting to her, she couldn''t help but feel more confident about her own capabilities. Danton on the other hand wasn''t looking too pleased. "Sorry about your pet," Jane teased. "But I prefer one on one battles only."


    "What is that light illuminating from your hand?" he curiously demanded.


    Jane responded with the cautious intention of making the battle end before giving up such a secret. "Part of my training is what that is. It''s everything I''ve learned about self-control, and the reason I fight as hard as I do. In just a few more minutes, I''ll be leading the army to a victorious operation using all the power I contain to assist in the battlefield, and I won''t allow for any soldiers to die in the process."


    Danton''s face became craggy and disturbed immediately by the insolence. He pulled out his primary weapon during his response. "You have the power that can hold your own in a fight against Entiene, but I am no animal. You face a man worthy of protecting Sprawn Valley through careful consideration. You fight as though the torch belongs to you, but today will be a dawn only known to the rightful defenders of Eldora Tower; the dawn of us all, and I as their sage. I am Brash Danton!" Announcing his first and last name, Danton revealed his Mega-Staff, the legendary staff said to grant the most powerful mages their power, power that may even go beyond Leray restrictive capabilities, power that only works for their chosen wielder. With a red crystal top to the magical rod, Danton held it up high over his cloak, preparing to finish Jane off in the most humiliating defeat she''s probably ever faced before. "You will not surpass such authority!"

 Chapter 48-B: Fight Danton

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    Chapter Theme Shift: Gods of Protection (27468) ~ Martin Hasseldam</a>


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    "It''s time to finish this fight for real!" Through with the empty chant of his words, Jane pulled her daggers and charged towards Danton on foot. Being as close as she already was to Danton, Jane used her Leray energy from the tips of her blades shooting both Mako Beam spells and Mako Strike projectile spheres of magic towards Danton, but Danton dodged each of these ranged attacks easily, sliding and sidestepping without having to tense up in the slightest, barely moving from original position. Jane finally got into close range and prepared to slash Danton with her blades, just as she planned to with all of her charge attacks near their end sequence.


    But Danton was much faster than Jane when it came to reaction time. Since he was no longer riding Entiene, Danton has changed his entire battling strategy to fit the floor evenly, balancing evasion protocols with counterattacks that Jane had yet to see or learn about. It wasn''t surprising at all for Danton to watch Jane miserably miss the edge of his skin with a simple slide backwards, which was both quick and well timed. After having Jane nearly stumbling on herself, Danton expended proportionally no magic at all while blasting it from his left open hand. Using the magical spell of Push Wave, Danton sent a powerful force, which aimed at Jane, shoved her far backwards and off of her feet.


    With Jane now on the ground, Danton began placing some of his MP energy into his Mega-Staff, which also has the power to conserve used MP energy at the same time it is being used. Towards the fallen Jane, he yelled out, "You are a fool to come here!" With the staff now powered and glowing with a thin red transparent aura of magical build up, Danton concentrated on his magic, encasing Jane''s body in the same red aura around her. Then without moving any body parts, Danton had full mental control over the aura''s telekinetic capabilities, which he used to lift Jane off the ground, ascending her body up to three meters high and holding there for one full second. "How dare you make such demands from me!" Using the same magical power, Danton effortlessly commanded the magical aura around Jane to slam into the ground at a very high speed, making it impossible to track the actual acceleration used. Danton made Jane slam into the hard metal floor with the inability to cover her own face or chest, the aura preventing much of her ordinary body movements. Danton then lifted Jane up again in the same way, keeping the aura active to continue humiliating Jane. "You are no soldier! You wouldn''t know the first thing about making sacrifices!"


    Jane felt excruciating pain in her entire face, bottom arms, chest, and in her knees. A red aura around her completely locked her out of physical movement while the aura forced Jane to ascend high off the ground and smash back into the pavement over and over again. After hitting the floor for the second time, Jane found the whole thing unbelievable by concept, and panicked without the knowledge to escape this. While being driven back into the ground for a third time, Jane shut her eyes and braced herself as the solid metal floor scraped her skin in all of the affected areas. Pressurized pain built up everywhere from each hit, since the force of each fall was much greater than gravity would normally allow.


    While Danton continued to lift Jane up and smash her into the ground, he continued his unfinished ranting, wondering if his truth was actually demoralizing her. "You really want to help out?! Go back to where you came from. Nraaagh!" Danton forced Jane down against the ground again with the telekinetic aura, using as much force as possible before lifting her up one more time. "And let the soldiers handle military business!" After slamming Jane into the ground one more time, Danton disconnected his focus with the magical aura, allowing the staff magic to reset and recover while he assessed the damage it caused to Jane.


    Jane''s face was slightly bruised on the left cheek, and bloodied up down the right side of her jaw. Small cuts and abrasions collected elsewhere, as the rest of the damage was hidden beneath Jane''s white and green dress sphere, but the bright circular glow from the top of her right hand was still pulsating. Jane learned how to quickly ignore the pain and continue to get back up. Despite Danton''s move dealing low damage overall, being smashed into the ground five consecutive times dealt Jane a lot of pain and some real time damage as well. Though aside from that, her MP status, which was recently drained by a rapid amount was still climbing high with a short period of time, the phenomena mysterious to Danton though well known to Jane from experience in the situation.


    As Jane slumped back to stance without the slightest hint of physical exhaustion or depression, Danton was left to wait and assess her next move. She smiled again, coming one breath close to laughing at her opponent''s remarks. Jane responded to Danton''s pitiful attempt to make her give up while creeping to her left to gain some distance between herself and Danton. "You think I''m naive huh? You really think I don''t know the meaning of sacrifice? Why else then would I be putting myself on the battlefield with you?!" Jane used her hands aiming outward while casting her next spell. Though she did so without any verbal chant, Jane''s Tri-Attack came alive quickly as the three different glyphrings of elemental energy formed a triangle around Danton, firing their payload close to a synchronized time.


    "Hmph!" Danton lifted his staff again, clasping the tip with both hands and spinning the rod around in place. As his spin became more rapid with his hand motions, Danton simply held on tightly while the Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt both collided into the circular arc created by the rod''s same motion. Using a type of deflection-based force uncommon to most, Danton''s rod managed to completely absorb the magic without allowing himself or his weapon to take on any form of damage. The Lightning Strike from the third glyphring was absorbed just as well, with Danton feeling no virtual effects of pain or damage from Jane''s last attack. While the glyphrings around him faded, he noticed Jane''s smile deteriorating to a more serious look. "Even if you and I can survive the dark zone, you plan to use the rest of my soldiers left without elite level training on a field of the most devious and dangerous monsters yet to be studied. With or without your knowledge of the dark zone, you will be of no assistance to us, and neither will the intention of speeding up an operation which is already in grave jeopardy."


    "Safety in numbers Danton!" Jane remarked. "The creatures there don''t spawn in heavy density, which means regardless of training and endurance, we won''t be outnumbered." Jane noticed Danton''s nod of pity, and discontinued her useless attempt to talk him into it. The only way to make this work is to defeat him in battle. "Whether I win or lose Danton, I''ll be going in to make sure the mission is complete. Your personal cooperation is but voluntary."


    "So you plan to go alone if you lose this battle? Even though it proves you''re too weak?!" Of all the idiots in the world, Danton had never seen a woman so stubborn to go and get herself killed over something that isn''t even her cause.


    Jane corrected Danton on the spot. "I won''t be alone. I''ve got powerful protective magic, and JDT on my side."


    "You still keep going on about that," Danton pointed out. "Tell me then Jane. What does JDT stand for? Why do you have it tattooed on your chest in big bold letters? Hm? Come on; tell the whole world why you''re up here wasting your time!"


    Forgetting that the entire conversation and fight was still being watched live, Jane grew a little tenser. The flying drones were getting a little closer downwards, possibly because they heard Danton''s verbal request. With much time passed in silence and anticipation, Jane realized that Danton was serious. Now that she dug herself into a speech, she had to at least get back to business without raising any suspicion. "My dream is to become a strong Leray wielder, but with all dreams, there are obstacles in the way of reaching our goals. Defeating you in battle is but one of my many obstacles. Protecting the people of Lennith City is another objective of mine." With one moment to think about where to go next, and another to make sure that her words fit with what Danton was trying to drag out of her, Jane lifted both of her empty fists up in preparation to continue the fight. "So what will it be Danton? Are you going to keep standing there and talking? Or are we going to battle like never before?"


    A taunt! There was no other explanation for the method Jane used to shift from being placed into the spotlight to coercing Danton back into the worthless battle. Having no choice but to look bad on his part, Danton held up his staff again, but infused magical energy only into his left hand instead of the staff. "Have it your way. Lightning Strike!" With a jade glyphring forming around his left wrist, Danton ended up creating a lightning arc which traveled all the way to where Jane was standing, zapping her in place for a full two seconds.


    Jane felt a tingling sensation all over, but none of it was actually painful. At the same time, she failed to notice any particular energy drain or adverse effects from Danton''s Lightning Strike. The energy scope above her reported no damage, and Jane sensed no additional pain on top of what she already had from before. Was that a different version of Lightning Strike?


    "Now how did an attack like that leave you unharmed?"


    Jane glanced over to the glowing essence of her symbol on her right hand, but concluded that it couldn''t be the cause of temporary invulnerability. Jane defiantly took the Lightning Strike, but it wasn''t powerful enough to harm her. "I don''t know. Maybe I''m just used to those by now."


    "You''re used to being electrocuted with powerful magic?" Danton''s question was rhetorical, challenging Jane''s logic.


    "Were you not paying attention to how much experience I''ve had? Or did you simply think you could knock me down with one little ol'' lightning bolt?"


    "It''s your funeral." Danton concentrated after his remark with powerful magic, going straight into his Mega-Staff to amplify the damage and conserve energy at the same time. "Photon Wave!" Though the spell requires the creation of a glyphring, Danton''s technique involved using the staff to create its own artificial glyphring of the same elemental type, forming above the base of the crystal. Danton then waved his wand forward blasting the magic outward. Sending six oversized, barely visible photons of powerful non-elemental magic in Jane''s direction, Danton continued his concentration to direct the flow of magic to ensure they lock onto Jane''s physical presence.


    "Farshield!" Using Leray magic of her own with only a tiny amount already charged into her hands, Jane held out a shield wall two meters in front of her, immediately blocking the path of the oncoming photon projectiles. The small spheres were fast in the air, but Danton wasn''t fast enough to do anything about the shield wall Jane just created. All of that powerful magic ended up being absorbed by the shield, which ended up failing just as the last photon filled it with hexagons. Despite the shield collapse, Jane stopped the entire attack without failure. She charged up more energy, creating a red glow around her hands and in her eyes while Danton was left surprised that his attack was blocked out by a Farshield spell. "Voltage!" she cried. Jane aimed her hands just above where Danton was standing, forming a blood red color glyphring aimed vertically down towards her target. In under two seconds, two red Lightning Strikes each zapped Danton where he stood for two seconds. Demonstrated in the difference of power level from where Jane learned this ability, the tactic proved to be much more effective in damage than a normal Lightning Strike spell would have been. As the Voltage glyphring faded, Jane counted the damage on Danton''s energy scope, and was thankful that her version of a spell originally derived off of dark magic had still not triggered any other alarms.


    With his heart rate faster than it was since the entire battle began, Danton gripped his staff tighter with a further will to win against this mad woman. It was soon clear as to how Jane quickly overcame the training from the other four elites. Her high amount of endurance mixed with her speed and ability to constantly shield against attacks automatically makes her a powerful Leray wielder, but her training can''t be complete if her age is as far as she looks. "Fire Beams!" Danton''s magical infusion had the crystal in his staff glowing brilliantly. He quickly used the spell and expended the energy of fire, forming five spread out Fire Bolts five times their original size as he swept the wand from left to right. He then swept again from right to left, forming five additional Fire Bolts flying forward on the field. As the attack left him and flew at top speed towards Jane, Danton was sure her shield wouldn''t be able to hold up to the attack despite her current distance. Fire Beams summons five to ten Fire Bolts all with five times more size and power than one single Fire Bolt has, all while retaining their original speed as well. Just three of them would bust through a magical shield from Jane, and Danton made ten of them in formation for an unavoidable pandemic.


    "Return!" As Jane held out both of her hands, she used the magic of her free form spell to telekinetically take full control of Danton''s magical spell, holding every single Fire Bolt from Fire Beams in place. Jane then sent them all back in the other direction dropping her control over the fiery spheres just as she had designated their new target, for which the Fire Bolts all had homing capabilities attached. In one simple burst of energy, Jane managed to turn all ten Fire Bolts around while keeping them in formation and making the new intended homing target Danton himself.


    "A spell called Return..." Danton only had less than two seconds before being bombarded by his own spell, but it took him much less time to analyze the potential power Jane just tapped into. The Fire Bolts all formed an impossible blue aura around them just before being deflected back towards him. Since no other properties were observed, he can only conclude the use of telekinetic auras through Leray magic. Jane was very strong if she can just take control of that much energy all at once and then go further to control each separate bolt of unnatural energy. But Danton knew of his own strength, his memories a constant reminder from the trials taken at the summit of Eupharus''s volcano. "Return!" Danton tried the same spell himself, after guessing the similar properties Jane used to invoke such powerful magic. While chanting the name of the spell needlessly, Danton expended magical energy from his staff while focusing on a concentration aura that allowed him to imagine telekinetically taking control of Fire Beams. After opening his eyes and spotting all of the projectiles he needed to grab, Danton used the magic and concentrated as much as he could to control the spheres.


    "What?!" Jane couldn''t believe Danton''s trick before her eyes. All of the Fire Bolts Danton created from Fire Beams became surrounded by a coat of blue colored Leray energy, jumping the trajectories backwards towards Jane again just before the blue auras faded around them. Jane believed only she could have used Return, since it was an unofficial spell made of her own design and intent, but now Danton just used the same spell, sending back the Fire Bolts again - all ten of them still flying fast in formation. They were actually flying twice as fast as before. Using return often doubles the power of the same spell by velocity, and Danton didn''t put the brakes on the spell by sending them towards Jane again. He instead shoved them back with all of his might, now carrying three times the normal power level they are supposed to possess. Panicking from the unexpected tactic, Jane held out her hands again and chanted, "Return!" Barely making the force in time before the impact would have affected her, Jane took control of the first Fire Bolts most near her body, and sent them back towards Danton by using a telekinetic push the same way Danton did a moment ago, but just as Jane sent the first five back towards Danton, she still had to concentrate on the other five, which did not form a blue aura of control just yet. In the blink of an eye, those five Fire Bolts all hit Jane''s chest and feet, after which the impact created a fiery explosion that consumed a tenth of the entire visual field from above.


    Danton reached out to control the five Fire Bolts sent back, willing to play Jane''s version of Ping-Pong, when his opponent''s position exploded into a fiery cloud of smoke and dust. The brightness of the blast rendered the unignited Fire Bolts coming his way invisible to the eye, and allowed Danton to remain vulnerable with his spell affecting nothing around him. Not expecting Jane to take a few hits from half of the spell, Danton became engulfed in a separate blast of five Fire Bolts multiplied in power level. The second explosion carried the same effect in blasting him back while dealing heavy fire elemental damage. Danton also became the center of a large cloud of smoke left over, the status of his opponent somewhat unknown.


    Since both of them took hits from the same spell, Jane and Danton were both suspect to damage. The aerial drones flying around were capturing a battle of the century and transmitting everything live. The audience was left guessing downstairs while both heroes were submerged in powerful blasts of energy that brought enough heat to carbonate the air with a black haze. The haze eventually cleared from both warriors, though much of its thickness rose to the top of the room and clouding the view. As the smoke cleared on the ground below however, Jane and Danton were still conscious though heavily damaged and beaten up by the blasts of fire.


    As Jane and Danton were left to assess the health power and endurance rating of each other, Jane watched as the last bit of light from her right hand faded completely. Her symbol well hidden under her apparel finally deactivated from the constant energy expenditure of battle, and the sensation left Jane feeling somewhat weaker than before. It wasn''t a sensation enough to bring her down or out of the fight. If anything, Jane felt more stressed than ever before after seeing Danton begin to fight like she had been this entire time. Just like she learned to in all battles, Danton was beginning to grow and adapt to the present situation as well. That means the only way left to win is to give him all the power and skill Jane possessed in her. While taking out both of her daggers, Jane stood back up to with Danton listening from afar. "You''re not winning this battle Danton! Charge Attack!" Immediately pouncing from the bottom of her feet, Jane launched herself into a fast sprint while using no magic to assist her or her blades. A physical combination of close range combat was one thing Danton shouldn''t have over her.


    Seeing Jane charge at him with two small blades made her a more tempting target. Danton stood back up himself, holding his staff tightly with just his right hand. He too began to rush forward in a sprint, facing the girl head on. "Charge Attack accepted!" Though his strategy failed to make Jane think twice about her motive, Danton managed to deal the first hit. He swept to her side just as Jane rushed into range, and hit her with the blunt side of his Mega-Staff. Danton then fired a low power Fire Bolt from the tip of the same staff.


    Jane however lifted her upper torso high and back just enough to evade the path of the Fire Bolt. Jane then tossed her left dagger into Danton''s chest, knocking off one health point to Danton. Jane then got in closer, exchanging punches and kicks while Danton evaded some and returned the same type of attack.


    The combinations eventually turned into a constant battle, Jane and Danton both evading a few physical hits and counterattacking with more afterwards. Jane and Danton both periodically exchanged damage from some of their punching and kicking. Jane dealt most of her damage with the slashing of her daggers against Danton, while Danton dealt even more physical damage to Jane just based on how faster he was in this type of combat. The entire exchange of physical attacks and swings lasted for ten long seconds at a near stalemate, but Jane wasn''t as fast as Danton was to dodge some of the moves and tactics Danton threw at her. In the end, Danton lifted his right leg in a swinging motion, hitting the back of Jane''s left knee and slowing her down completely. In the same motion, Danton lifted his right fist up and threw his entire muscular force into an uppercut action. Hitting Jane straight under her breasts, the force that Danton''s punch drew lifted Jane two feet off the ground and back six feet in the air. An irrecoverable hit from Danton was all it took to end the close combat strategy, proving who was better in that field. Danton was polite enough to slowly back away from Jane for distance. He knew he could have continued to end her right there, but he had not yet thought of a best-fit idea of powerful magic to use should she survive a close range attack.


    Danton was soon regretting his decision to give Jane much more time to retaliate. She was just sitting on the ground in front of him, doubled over in severe pain. Something about that one spot must have dealt heavy blunt damage to some sort of pressure point, because Jane was nearly out of her own breath, visible from where Danton was stationed. Figuring he could use an ability right now against her, Danton thought of another idea to ensure his victory over his opponent, something that wouldn''t involve damage to either challenger.


    Jane had little explanation for why being punched without any magical assistance could hurt her this badly. She had trouble getting air into her lungs, though struggled to face Danton''s position and slowly get back up. She had to fight through all of her pain just to move a muscle, and try harder to allow herself to breathe. The spot under her chest would be bruised for a long time by the way it felt. Danton on the other hand was taking advantage of the opportunity while Jane was down to invoke another spell. Though this time, the magic encased Danton with a visible green colored aura of magic. Danton had himself surrounded by this aura, while his MP energy dropped fast to ensure the success. Jane struggled to get up while Danton invoked his next power.


    "Healing Aura!" Just as Danton''s power came online completely, the green aura surrounding his body intensified its power and radiant light, immediately making him feel and respond better to the environment around him. In just one second flat, the health on his energy scope jumped up, while the aura itself faded away to signal the end of the invocation cycle.


    It''s a rare healing ability that has a one-hour refresh rate. Danton would only be able to invoke this spell again should the battle somehow drag out for an extra hour. Since it takes much training and MP energy to heal one''s self with a support aura, he knew it was quite a stretch to waste it on this battle. Still, not many challengers were capable of making it this far. Not to mention that Jane defeated Entiene while holding her own.


    Jane couldn''t believe it! Danton just recovered 12% of lost HP in one instance. She had seen similar spells that require longer regeneration times with specific weather effects, but the power level for that would be low in response. Though it isn''t displayed, Danton must have a very high endurance. Therefore, to return 12% of HP energy just like that had to mean that the spell designated as Healing Aura must have a very high power level...


    Upon standing up completely and barely overcoming her painful sensation, Jane remembered something form before with regards to special weather effects. Some spells rely on weather conditions to work, while others can invoke those weather conditions to match. Still full of plenty of ideas, Jane lifted her arms up again, preparing to charge Leray energy for the continued battle.


    Danton noticed how undeterred Jane was, her eyes steady and focused entirely upon himself. "I''m amazed by your level of valor Jane. But surely you''ve realized by now that a battle with me is suicide for the under-leveled."


    "Moonglow!" After creating a small blue glyphring, Jane''s expended magic didn''t have much of a visual show while the light and aura faded from the glyphring. Jane knew about the fact that the environmental spell takes some time to activate. "Will you just shut up and fight me, champion?"


    "I''m through holding back," he claimed. Danton charged a small amount of energy into the crystal of his staff and yelled, "Multi-Cast!" Using the magic to create a small glyphring around the base of the staff again, Danton used it to fire sixteen total spheres of electrical energy. Similar in power and form to Electro-Ball, Multi-Cast sends out multiple projectiles of the same spell with increased magical power while adding homing properties to each ball of electricity, at least for Danton anyway.


    Seeing Danton accept the challenge, Jane powered herself another shielding aura around her body, standing strong to await the imminent impact of the electric magical barrage. While Jane was watching the electric spheres of energy disintegrate into the aura of her shield to leave behind medium sized hexagons, she noticed the visual changes near the roof above her. The room became much darker despite no physical changes in the lighting built into the walls. At the top of the arena, a black essence formed there, negating all light, soon to be populated by a vast array of artificial dots resembling stars, and the power of the moonlight beaming from the other side of the planet. Since the official time of day was nowhere near the evening, Jane''s weather changing effect only manipulated that of the room itself, while the artificial moonlight from the crescent shaped sphere would only provide a third of its usual power with the spells relying on Moonglow.


    When Jane lifted from her power shield unharmed and safe, she knew that it was the right time to use the ability and get one particular upper hand against Danton. With the top of the room resembling a deep night sky and the ceiling itself removed from view, Jane aimed her hand high above her head while absorbing that moonlight energy she simulated. "Moonlight Shadow!" In just two seconds, Jane''s entire physical body disappeared from view over time, rendering herself completely invisible to the eye and undetectable should Jane not make a sound.


    Danton saw Jane disappear completely, but was more than prepared for the eventuality. He had witnessed this spell before, as well as other derivatives that yielded more powerful effects in the system. Since Jane relied on the weather for the spell, Danton could simply change the weather to negate that effect, but Jane''s invisibility would linger on for the same amount of time regardless, as would the Moonglow effect fade away the moment she becomes visible again. So the tactics available for him to use were widely available. Danton felt confident, but continued to take precautions in his current battle strategy. If Jane is invisible, he would have a hard time aiming at the target correctly, making his area attack spells more useful. Jane likely didn''t prepare for his readiness to the situation, and Danton decided to gamble with that assumption. "Blizzard!" Only using a fraction of his MP energy supply, Danton quickly began a climate spell that rapidly began to lower the base temperature of the room. It went from 70<sup>o</sup>F to 40<sup>o</sup>F in under three total seconds. Jane would certainly be feeling this, and if his training knew as much as he felt it did, the effect would defiantly slow Jane down whether she is visible or not.


    Jane covered her arms tightly from the rapid loss of heat in the area. Jane still found it very weird to touch any part of her body when she could barely see her own self in the same process. The user of invisibility spells can still see themselves with 10% opacity after enough training, but Jane still had to both adjust to the new situation and adapt to fight in the cold. "Spirit Arrow!" Charging for a spell that would further help Jane turn the tide of battle in her favor, she spawned a bow and arrow both glowing with a pink essence of energy. As Jane quickly took aim and fired the sharp projectile into Danton without delay, she noticed as the pink arrow became completely opaque as it left her hands, alerting Danton to the danger of visible light that was about to stick inside of him.


    Danton cringed at the tiny pinching pain in his upper arm, the impact area of Jane''s Spirit Arrow. He then laughed while touching the arrow and pulling it out of him, which was easy because of the phasic design of the arrow only made entirely out of Leray energy. Incidentally, Danton''s HP stats didn''t decline whatsoever, and he threw the arrow on the ground where it dissolved into nothingness. "You really think that was going to work? I''ve been training since I was a kid. I have decades of experience against spells that attempt to disorientate their targets, and none of that works on me." Danton traced the last known location of the origin of Jane''s Spirit Arrow once it was fired. After she gave away her immediate position, Danton had every opportunity now to strike back with any area attack of his choice. He began charging energy while pinpointing the most probable location. "I don''t need my eyes to find you Jane! Photon Burst!" After lifting up and whooshing down his Mega-Staff, Danton created a barrage wave of photons all flying downwards from the dark sky, his idea taken from Jane to increase the power level without sacrifice to MP energy reserves.


    Jane noticed the aerial photons, realizing that Danton must have learned quickly from Jane''s upgraded version of Photon Blast to cause more explosive damage in a better-concentrated area without using more energy in the process. Since Jane was invisible and had moved from her last position by a few meters, she was initially certain that Danton would miss with his next attack, but the area spell coming her way has a wider spread of effectiveness and range, forcing her to take evasive action. Jane turned around behind her and dashed away from the conflict, since a simple jump would not cover nearly enough distance to get out of the oncoming area attack. Just as the Photon Bursts slammed into the metal floor behind her, Jane could hear some of the impacts and shockwaves right behind her. She turned around immediately to face the Photon Burst, learning just how close she was to remaining inside of the unspecified field of danger in front of her. Danton was now further away, but Jane''s body was still completely invisible from before. At the top of the room, the cold fog became stronger, while the simulation effect of the night sky indoors was being covered by the spell.


    Danton didn''t see any abnormalities involving his Photon Burst spell slamming the ground bit by bit. Nothing indicated that Jane took any hits, but it wasn''t easy to tell either. Both Jane and her personal energy scope were completely invisible, the effect of the artificial moonlight from above still in bloom despite his Blizzard spell. By the time his Photon Burst had ended completely, Danton refused to believe that he managed to hit Jane at all, since it seemed too easy at this point. Besides, those who use that spell become visible the moment magical attack damages them in the slightest, less they run out of time.


    "Mako Beam!" Using the tips of her daggers for firing arcs, Jane took aim at Danton from afar and fired concentrated blue beams of weak Leray magic towards him. Even from this distance, Jane was very accurate in her aim, and the beams would travel to infinite distances to ignore the factor of range. Jane cycled between her daggers, shooting at most four entire Mako Beams of energy to slowly deplete Danton''s health. But as expected by her logic, the spell is also very weak and hardly helpful to the cause.


    Danton didn''t feel very much pain from the beams of energy digging into his skin. Jane was playing dumb using an ability with such a low power level. On top of that, Jane literally just made her last known location completely visible by using beams connecting the impact point with the blades attached to her body. Danton took immediate action and fired his magic towards her, hoping to score several hits of powerful magic on the invisible opponent. "Prism!" Expending a large amount of his remaining MP, Danton began to feel exhausted from the prolonged battle as he charged his next spell. Using the staff to amplify the damage, Danton''s multi-colored glyphring formed at the tip of the red crystal, firing several randomized bolts of elemental energy at will. Since there wasn''t a visible target to home in on, Danton had to additionally control the directional arc of each energy sphere going forward. He made more use of fire and Ice Bolts than Lightning Strikes, since it would end up becoming a narrow beam with a lower damage potential.


    Jane ducked her head to evade the oncoming Ice Bolt that was too close and accurate for comfort. Even though she was still invisible, Danton had a relative location of her whereabouts thanks to her last spell of Mako Beam. Jane brushed off her mistake and dodged as many magical spheres as she possibly could. Danton was rapid firing his fire and Ice Bolts in her direction, making it hard for her to slide out of the way in time. Each sphere became a close call for her. After the third Lightning Strike, Jane lost her momentum just long enough for a Fire Bolt to brush the tip of her arm. The fire from the sphere spread outward to deal half of the damage, while the light itself alerted Danton that he scored a partial hit in that location. Since there was another incoming Fire Bolt already under his control, it only took another fraction of a second for Jane to take the next Fire Bolt straight to the face.


    The explosion of fire pushed Jane back without tripping her, causing minor damage to her health on the invisible energy scope. Jane simply tried to recover herself, soon to realize that Danton''s Prism spell came to a quick end just as he managed to locate her. With Jane burned to a minor degree and the cold from Blizzard''s spell making her freeze, she shook off any sensation she was feeling and put all of her concentration into an immediate spell. With her daggers still in hand, Jane infused additional energy into the blades, running up towards Danton to make the target less evasive. "Splice!" Jane drilled her blades and magic through the air in the shape of a crossed X. The two dimensional lines of drilling magic flew towards Danton faster than he was able to react, but not fast enough for him to realize what pain he was in for before the spell hit him.


    Danton couldn''t stop the drilling of powerful magic cutting through his own skin, well-placed right at the center of his body to maximize all of the pain spots and damage afflicted areas. Danton''s health dropped dramatically, and so did he skid to his knees. Unable to fake his way past the intense cutting pain of Splice, Danton had to wait for a chance to catch Jane off guard. But just as he glanced forward again, the outline of a physical body began to form light into the opaque object again. Jane was now completely visible along with her energy scope. The dark night spell hanging over the ceiling came to an end. The Blizzard spell was subsiding as well, heat building back up into the room from before. It was as if the entire battle parameters reset for him.


    "Time''s up!" he announced. Charging little energy into his Mega-Staff, Danton picked up on his feet and charged towards Jane again. With everything reset, Jane wouldn''t have the ability to make herself invisible, and should she power shield once more, Danton already prepared and memorized the attack spell of Dimensional Strike. Dimensional Strike is a refined version of Splice that will cut through any particular shield output; Jane would be powerless against it. Jane was standing her ground by the looks of it. Holding both daggers in hand like before, Jane prepared herself for close combat, forgetting last time that Danton had beaten her with additional skill and speed.


    As Danton rushed in a few feet from Jane, he lifted his staff in the air and brought it back down on top of her, using the stiff rod as a blunt object of brute force. Jane reacted in time to lift her blades up together with her wrists crossed, blocking the rod with the force of her arm strength alone. The clash of metal made a loud and distinct clanging sound that echoed throughout the room, and gave Jane little time to think of a way out of the situation, but Danton made sure she was too late. Prepared for the eventuality, Danton lifted his left leg and kicked Jane backwards and away from him. In the same swinging motion, Danton aimed the tip of his Mega-Staff forward and shot a prepared Fire Bolt from the tip of the crystal. As Jane was hit in the face with another blast of fire, Danton continued his advance towards her. He lifted his rod again, crashing the metal staff down on Jane''s shoulder with as much physical strength as he could conjure. The hit to Jane''s bone bounced some of the kinetic energy back into the rod and assisted in Danton''s continuation of the combination attack.


    Jane felt an intense bruising pain in her right shoulder, followed by another hit to her back, which she made vulnerable by cringing away from the first hit. Danton continuously beat on Jane with the Mega-Staff, mixing some of his movements with fire and Ice Bolts coming out of the same rod. He delivered physical and magical damage in a combination that had Jane beat by the pain in each strike, the pain just as bad as the damage dealt to her. Danton didn''t let up for a moment, shifting between evasive sweeps to additional physical attacks. After several more blunt hits to Jane''s defenseless body, Danton jumped back and threw several tiny knives towards Jane, all of which stuck into the left side of her chest while drawing a small amount of blood at the points of impalement. Danton used that moment to end his unique combination and retreat backwards to give himself some time to recover more Leray energy. Since it was already low, he had his own problem keeping up his stamina and adrenaline filled movements.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Jane felt her heart rate rising fast as she struggled with the intense sensation of the small knives digging into her skin with an ultimate stinging sensation. It wasn''t that uncommon for Leray damage to draw blood and cause real time damage without jeopardizing the health of the victim, as the Leray veil of protection only blocks out a heavy portion of non-lethal real time damage, and a lower portion of the pain inflicted from that damage. Danton was somewhat retreating to a safer distance in front of her, while his movements preserved a fair amount of his own MP energy. With everything going on, Jane would need powerful spells fast. The symbol likely wouldn''t come back to assist her again so soon, nor did she want to risk the exposure before the end of the battle.


    Overcoming her damage quickly, Jane poured a ton of Leray energy into her next spell while speeding up the invocation and keeping the spell''s effects deep in her imagination to boost the success rate of an underused Leray ability. "Ultima!" Refined from Mega-Flare though popular and well known by the higher-level elite warriors, Ultima is one of the highest power level versions of a light screen attack with an area effect of the entire field on a full dimensional level, dealing non-elemental magical damage with the added factor of heat in the same screen. Danton wouldn''t have any way at all of dodging this attack, though interrupting the initial process is the only way to stop it. With Jane''s focus intensifying quickly, she released all of her charged energy into the powerful spell, blasting the entire field with a blinding white light that also heat up the area quickly. Unlike how it affected her before, Jane was immune to the damage of her own area attack with the amount of concentration she placed for the screen to specifically damage the champion. Danton became just as invisible as the world around her. Jane had to wait and see if her Ultima spell did any real damage. By the time the light faded in just one more second, Danton was positioned where he was before, though hanging on his knees with one hand barely propping him up. His cloak and dress sphere were smoking from evident heat and magical damage from the full area attack performed by Jane, and she got to see just how powerful her spells were becoming at large.


    He got himself back up in a mere moment, shaking off the burning sensation of his flesh. Danton aimed his rod at Jane again in one straight direction, waving the wand to expel more invisible magic. "Creshendo!" Forming seven spread out pillars with only half the normal opacity to surround Jane from only two meters away, Danton quickly prepared to force all of the energy stones protruding over ten feet tall to collide together on one fixed point and crush Jane where she stood by dealing magical blunt damage. His control over the pillars didn''t take long, and he allowed all seven of them to come together on top of Jane in no delay. The crashing force from all of them nearly created another cloud of dust, while the rumble from the collision was as loud as a large explosion carrying force through the ground of the battlefield. Unfortunately for Danton, he was soon able to spot another power shield protecting Jane from all seven of those pillars, the shield standing strong and blue like before.


    Jane dropped her shield and prepared for an immediate counterattack. "Deep Strike!" Throwing magic into the field as quickly as she was capable, Jane created the next area attack spell, which spawned explosions all over the metal floor. By usual design, each explosion came closer to the target, growing less random and more powerful at the same time they were trying to converge.


    Danton immediately used his staff and formed a stone pillar in front of him, which was nearly reduced to rubble from the change in force of the ground. He summoned an Earth Glave spell with a stone wall at the top of the base to try and slow down Jane''s Deep Strike. Knowing it wouldn''t be enough, Danton also threw himself into a high jump backwards at the same time, getting clear of the final powerful explosions just before the wall crumbled and flew outwards from the incredible force put into the spell. With the final explosion happening too far away to affect him, Danton remained undamaged by Jane''s attack, which she should have made more randomized to prevent his evasion.


    Danton landed again with ease, pumping more conserved magic into his staff and into his left hand as he prepared to hit Jane from a distance. "Blitz!" While forming a machine gun in his left hand from a small yellow glyphring, Danton also used his staff to shoot Magical Blitz spheres as well. Jane would be forced to evade those while dealing with the barrage of speeding bullets. Danton aimed and held down the trigger one-handed, controlling the other magic simultaneously.


    "Not this time!" Jane invoked another shielding aura around her, still relatively easy from the amount of energy she still had stored. Bullets were bouncing off the front end of her aura, while Magical Blitz spheres pillaged the shield from above. Hexagons formed everywhere to pinpoint damage indications, but such hexes were also larger in size. Jane could keep up the shield longer at this rate.


    Noticing another shield, Danton took his chances, using a tiny amount of magic with his staff to teleport himself behind Jane''s physical position. After his teleportation was complete, he aimed the staff as close to Jane''s power shield as he could, infusing the staff with additional Leray energy. "Multi-dimensional power ¨C come forth!" Using the end of his crystal to fire a Lightning Strike with a modified energy signature for multi-dimensional purposes, Danton''s magic drilled through Jane''s shield as if it were nonexistent. The event happened so fast that Jane failed to respond to the situation even in thought, and the electrocution to her body forced her to lose focus on the shield and keeping herself together while taking more damage. Danton then lifted his weapon higher while keeping the aim on Jane, blasting her with a barrage of magic from the spell Scatter Beam! The several hits pushed her down, while Danton charged up more energy for another spell.


    "Thunder Flare!" With almost the last of his MP energy, Danton used his staff to formulate a bigger and stronger sphere of electrical auric energy surrounding Jane inside of the same bubble. Before she could recover from the last damage dealt to her, Danton had her in lock, electrocuting her where she stood. His modified version of Thunder Flare lasted for six long seconds, while the power level was amped up from the original design. Such was evident in Jane''s pain induced screaming distorted by the serious level of concentrated vibrations in the electrical field itself.


    Jane''s body heated to the level of receiving first-degree burns, while a powerful sensation of needles poking everywhere into her skin had Jane wanting to scream louder. The amount of time she was electrocuted was much longer than she was used to, as was the intense level of damage and pain put together. By the time the blue bubble disappeared and Jane was dropped, she felt drained like never before, being brought to her knees while feeling faint. Her skin was seeping small amounts of smoke while the pain was still lasting with the drain to her stamina.


    After seeing Danton warp away for a further distance, Jane gave herself as much effort as she could to stand back up and continue fighting. The motion alone had Danton yelling at the top of his lungs.


    "You''re not coming out of this battle intact Jane! I don''t care how brave and enduring you are! I will not lose to some cheaply trained bitch!" Danton rushed forward again, charging despite having teleported a long distance away. "Rrraaaaaaagh!" Increasing in momentum and speed, Danton quenched the last of his remaining Leray energy into himself instead of the staff, giving charge to an unseen spell.


    Jane saw Danton raging towards her like a brute on fire, and she reacted with additional attacks. "Armor Breaker!" Infusing her daggers with a red glow of energy, Jane threw her spinning blades forward. Though it took time for the spinning daggers to reach Danton, he spun his staff a few times like before without changing his pace or movement, the spinning formation of his metal rod deflected both daggers as if they were rubber toys. Jane''s blades flew to the ground behind Danton as he continued to rush forward, closer to half the distance he was before.


    Jane quickly decided on a better attack spell, putting more effort and energy into the current blue aura building around her body. "Quantum Beam!" Combining all of the energy from her aura, Jane fired an intense wide range beam of blue Leray energy that coursed through the air and smashed into Sir Danton. Without even trying to deflect the beam in the same way, Danton was now taking damage over the time the beam affected his body. However, Danton continued running forward as if no damage was being taken to him at all. Jane watched the stats on his energy scope deplete with the firing of her Quantum Beam, though Danton was just getting closer and closer, absorbing some of the power thrown at him with a now evident white aura building up around his moving body. Like a rhinoceros set to rage, there was no stopping this guy!


    "Smite!" he hollered into the air. With only a dozen meters away from Jane, Danton was increasing in speed while using the last of his magic to create a powerful aura of force negation around him. Smite is a spell that maximized power levels, a best refined version of Flash Charge that makes the user so fast and powerful that their entire body becomes a bolt of non-elemental magic of blunt force. With Danton now maximizing his skill and just a few more seconds away from destroying Jane where she stood, he had to face another challenge.


    Seeing Danton continue had Jane grasping at further attempts to try and stop him. After infusing all of the remaining energy she had available to her, Jane tried a last attempt trick to stop Danton in his tracks before it was too late. "Redemption!" Forming around her five vertical beams of light, Jane''s formation of the spell emitted a high-toned noise increasing in pitch. The beams of light began to spiral outward by design while homing forward in front of her.


    Danton noticed the beams of Redemption, analyzing the rate of speed and shift in directions. Though Redemption beams are the most powerful form of compressed Leray energy, Danton realized that his current trajectory didn''t have a collision course with the beams, since they were more randomized in movement and formation. He could only hope at the same time that his calculations were not off just a second before his impact with Smite. If he was right, Jane''s mistake was soon to be her last.


    Jane watched in horror as all five of her beams zipped past Danton without the correct collision course to his straight line. After using all of the remaining MP energy she had, Jane froze in place as there was but one second left for Danton''s massive aura field charged in her direction like a speeding bullet. Before she could continue keeping track of what happened, a force of brute strength followed by intense pain had Jane''s vision black, and her senses all confused.


    Danton finally came to impact with Jane''s body, using no direct measure of force as it was already existent from the aura surrounding him. Danton continued running, after watching the exterior white aura around him push Jane high into the air as she flew backwards veered to an angle. Danton''s speed did not reduce in the slightest, and he resembled the situation as if running someone over with a gravity-defying vehicle. Just as Danton ran out of energy completely, he soon came to a stop, catching his breath while watching Jane plummet into the ground defenseless and dejected. Her crash into the floor was perhaps just as painful by the sound of the blasting force it gave off and the dust that scattered everywhere in the process. Seeing the change in competition in front of him, Danton ceased his motions and relaxed for a moment, knowing that Jane wouldn''t have very much more she could do at present.


    Jane already forgot what just happened. She was face dug into the solid metal floor of the champion''s arena, lifting her head up carefully. She hurt everywhere, her stamina reduced to nothingness as Jane struggled just to remain conscious. The sensation of passing out came on quickly, as did a headache more intense than she ever felt before. As Jane slowly and carefully glanced around herself with her belly flat on the floor, she remembered the battle she was in with Danton. Since he was standing with so much health left, she could only assume from this evident headache that he was now winning the fight. So much hurts! Jane found it tiring just to even think about moving a single muscle of her lower body.


    Danton slowly paced towards the spot where Jane had collapsed. She was still somewhat conscious and alive, her HP stats above zero percent. Jane could technically choose to continue battling even now, though in her state it would do her no good. With his energy drained as well, Danton kept the staff firmly in his right hand for insurance, as he kept some distance between himself and Jane while addressing her only remaining option. "You''re done here Jane." Danton winced slightly without showing much expression. Jane''s entire body was beaten up badly. It was a miracle that her energy scope did not yet turn red to indicate a critical state of conditioning. "You no longer have the strength to face me!"


    Come on! Activate! Activate Symbolosis! Jane tried desperately to call for the assistance of her hidden symbol like before, feeling that it was her only remaining option, but nothing came of her constant attempts. Her body wracked with pain, her head full of intense pressure and damage, Jane really was about to be finished off right here and now.


    "It seems like I was correct about your initial aptitudes. You are indeed strong and skillful, but still inexperienced as you are. Whatever JDT stands for, you''re fighting admirably without the proper amount of battling experience."


    No! Jane tried even harder, giving up on her symbol and pushing her body upwards to get off the ground. Her muscles were weak already, but with several long seconds, Jane managed to at least make it to her knees. She then tried once more to stand up from that position, which took her forever with current levels of disorientation. She nearly stumbled downwards with little balance available. Jane''s MP was regenerating very slowly, giving her one last chance to end Danton in one shot, but the amount of energy she had could never be used to invoke a powerful skill right now. Danton wasn''t about to give her that chance either.


    Seeing Jane struggle to stand up pitied Danton to no end. He took two steps closer, slamming the bottom end of his staff to the metal ground to alert Jane of his presence. "Why the hell do you insist on being knocked out? You could forfeit the match and go out with some dignity!"


    JDT. Danton truly didn''t understand a single meaning of the word, nor would he with the unabbreviated meltdown of the acronym, but Jane knew it all along. From the moment Danny and Taylor arrived in Sprawn Valley, nothing in this country has ever been the same. Things were changing without their influence, but Jane knew she had grown more than ever thanks to their support. The love all based around each other was even stronger than any support could have ever given. Jane saw them as friends in the beginning, but Danny and Taylor constantly risked their own lives in here for her. Jane''s safety, her mission, her success and vision... Danny and Taylor fought even in the dark zone to pull her out alive and continue helping her out. Nobody else in the world would have done that for her.


    Even right now, in front of the whole world, Danny and Taylor are counting on her alone to win this fight and complete phase two of the mission by securing top position of the leader of the General Army. Phase three will be preparations, briefings, and training if required, but Danton is so stubborn that he will not allow it unless truly defeated in a fight. He doesn''t see any of the things Jane felt since her friends came to the country, that powerful uplifting feeling she gets when faced with impossible difficulty, a sensation that forces her to keep trying until victory. The victory isn''t for the title or the glory. It''s for those same people that put her here in the first place. Jane was fighting for her friends, for the people she met in Lennith City, and for the lives that will be lost should she fail. It was reason enough to come up here and battle Danton in the first place.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: For All Eternity ~ Epic Score</a>


    <hr>


    My hands and legs are shaking. Jane noticed the tremoring in her own body, barely capable of standing, fragile from the minimal MP and HP remaining inside of her. Even her own symbol was giving up on assisting her fight, and Danton, the man standing tall and collective in front of her seemed strong at the moment. She caught on to his high rate of breathing, brought on from his low state of MP energy, but his higher HP gave him every edge in battle through any period. He is currently ten times stronger than herself...


    But none of that matters. A battle for winning and a battle for love are not the same things, nor are they won the same way. Jane concentrated, focusing her eyes and dedication to the foe in front of her. Her headache grew stronger with the pain gradually rising as Jane stood firmly enough to speak without scraping her throat. "I''m fighting for people that I love, people I don''t ever want to see hurt or miserable. I know you still can''t see that right now Danton, but I don''t need you to. If there is anything I''ve learned in my training, it''s that my will to win is strong enough. I don''t care if I lose this fight!" she shouted. Putting the surprised expression back on Danton''s face again, Jane continued giving herself all the reason to keep going, the energy around her building up in compression while her pain grew more and more intense. "I''m still taking you out of the picture if it means I can accomplish my goal of protecting the people I care about. I''d gladly give up my own life for the sort of thing!" Her teeth clenched in response to the painful strain she pushed on herself. "That is why..."


    Danton backed up one step after noticing that Jane had secretly been charging energy around her. A bluish transparent dome of anomalous air was building around Jane, the aura around her skin intensifying as it warped the visual reality nearby like some kind of radiation. She inhaled intensely to continue her crazy speech.


    "I will never give up!" Without understanding why, Jane felt a powerful uplifting presence take control of her senses. All of the pain in her body went completely numb with the exception of her severe headache. The slight sensation around her body felt familiar to that of charging energy. Jane unknowingly began to compress the small amount of energy she had built up, feeling everything with her head and her heart. Though she didn''t know or understand what was happening, the powerful emotion of her bravery and determination took over to a point of no return. Becoming less conscious of her own actions, Jane continued this charge of energy, building a power never seen or felt before, alien to her knowledge. With the slight glow fading from view, only Jane''s eyes took in the visual effects of the compressed magical built up, her green corneas turning to a dark blue glowing color that intensified with her concentration aura.


    Jane''s entire aura didn''t appear to resemble anything Danton could recognize, as the glow was mixed in with a glowing type of thin fog that surrounded Jane as well. Danton backed away inconspicuously, shouting at the aura he could already feel in front of him. "Whatever you''re about to try, you don''t have the energy it takes to knock down forty percent of my entire health capacity. Can you hear me? You''re only straining yourself!"


    Ignoring all of Danton''s words, Jane continued building power, sensing something she had never felt before inside of her head. The physical sensation both unknown and indescribable to her, Jane continued to focus on this sensation while ignoring the massive pain from her headache continuing to build. She felt as though her body could begin levitating, her weight as light as a feather. The only conscious thoughts in her mind were of the same words she just used to will herself back into the fight. Hidden to her own knowledge but not to Danton''s, Jane''s energy scope began to shift in the levels of available energy as well.


    "Damn maniac!" Danton muttered. Using what left MP energy he regenerated in the short period of time, Danton used his staff again, forming six large energy spheres of blue light, capable of heavy magical damage. He then sent them to Jane in order to stop her magical charge, shooting each projectile in the form of a non-elemental bolt attack.


    Jane couldn''t see very well in front of her, the visual field fogged up with distortions, but in an indescribably way, Jane could feel the power and energy of six amplified magical spheres heading her way in the form of speeding projectiles. Danton was attacking her again. Inexplicably and unconsciously to her own mindscape, Jane could feel the position, energy signature, and surrounding displacement all around her, not that of just the six magical spheres on approach. As a result to the imminent danger to her health, Jane ended up creating a Farshield in front of her without any extraneous effort or body movement, the projection field automatic and easy. Even the Farshield created was about ten times the usual size of Jane''s signature Farshields, and the wall of energy completely absorbed all of Danton''s attacks without any signs of struggle. The Farshield defused the attack in less than two seconds, making Danton''s strong magic seem laughably weak. The shield disappeared and collapsed as soon as Jane no longer sensed any more of Danton''s magic, and she continued to concentrate on the newfound energy inside of her.


    Danton took another step back, surprised by the sudden appearance of a Farshield that ended his attack without even disrupting Jane''s efforts. What spell was she casting? Why was it taking so long to build up its energy? And why wasn''t Jane moving anymore? Defeated by the logic that he just spent the last of his remaining energy all over again, Danton had no choice but to stand firm and take the unknown attack. He should have plenty of stamina to survive any spell.


    With a solid ear-piercing scream escaping her breath for three full seconds, Jane could barely ignore the intense pain in her head anymore, and she simultaneously used that moment to release all of the energy around her. Still unconscious to what she was doing with the compressed magic she built up, Jane felt all of the magical essence inside and around her suddenly shoved outward and expanding. The energy she launched was totally invisible to sight, and inaudible to the ears. Jane however could feel where it was and how far it was spreading. The spherical wave of energy spread in all four dimensions, going all around, up and down, everywhere while expanding in size.


    Danton watched Jane fall to her knees, failing to understand what was going on. She hadn''t taken any additional damage, though her MP energy was drained all the way down to zero percent in the process. There was nothing around to indicate any sign of magical essence or imminent damage. Only after one second, Danton felt a pain inside of his head so compelling and powerful that his focus on everything else was immediately erased. Holding his head in response, Danton sank down to his side on the floor, grinding yells of intense agony as the damage level intensified so quickly. While Danton was feeling the massive headache Jane had been feeling, his health status began to decline rapidly and dramatically, though yet unknown to his current knowledge.


    Jane continued to trace the output level of the directional energy she telepathically sent outward. It eventually reached the very edge of the Siriean dome, colliding with the shield and attempting to expand despite the sudden obstruction. Because the energy expanding had not yet taken the full shape of the inner field of the Siriean dome, a little more time passed before Jane could detect a sudden surge of resonant energy. The energy of her last used power and the energy of the Siriean dome were in direct opposition, canceling each other out in annihilation. By the time it was over, Jane sank down further, capable of feeling all of her other pains again, her headache subsiding only in part, while her strength declined rapidly.


    Danton was only capable of letting out painful groans, indication that something unknown to him was wrong. He had never felt something this strong before within a Leray match. The pain eventually began to subside, giving him consciousness of his surroundings again, but just as Danton took notice of the environment around him, everything had changed. The entire Siriean dome around them was collapsing, visually apparent by the degrading hexagonal fields climbing downward. Jane was still alive though barely capable of moving. She didn''t call off the fight, and neither did he, so why did the dome fail?


    With an expressive surprising wince, Danton read back his energy scope three times carefully. Jane''s unknown spell chipped off 35% of all his health, leaving him with just five percent left. The physical fatigue involved seemed delayed when he came to realize this. Danton was still capable of rational thought, but everything hurt, much more inside of his head than anywhere else. As he struggled to stand back up, so did the fragile girl in front of him.


    Though it was nearly impossible to continue, Jane gathered the strength and will she needed to stand back up, pulling out both daggers from her dress sphere. With both blades steady in hand, Jane''s trembling limbs stood before Danton, who also looked as if he just went through hell. It was in this moment where Jane realized that he somehow took a severe amount of damage, though the reason was entirely unknown to Jane. It took her a little longer to notice the complete and total collapse of the Siriean dome. Several flying drone cameras were falling out of the air from the same damage, while two remained unharmed, the spares kept on the outside of the dome shield for this round.


    "Take me out then!" Danton threatened. "Even if I drop here right now, I''m not crowning you queen of the General Army! You don''t deserve its title!"


    "Resistance only works if you can truly stop me." Jane lifted her blades up, slow to move and react from the low stats of her energy scope. Jane knew she could pass out any second, she felt so dizzy and uncontrolled. But she had enough strength to aim and throw two small blades at a standstill target. Magical energy wouldn''t be needed. These blades have seen a lot, and know just where to hit in order to do enough. "I am going to fight. For JDT!" Jane threw her daggers forward with all her might, swinging both of her arms from left to right to give the blades the horizontal spin she desired. As the blades left her hands, Jane lost balance again and shuffled to the floor, though remained there for a moment to recover.


    Danton saw the metal blades heading his way in midair. Though he wanted to dodge, moving a finger required a lot of effort. Since there was no auric glow around them, Jane obviously did not infuse magic into the blades either. Danton was certain that with only 5% health, he could survive the impact... But then what?


    The slicing of Jane''s blades through Danton''s skin made a loud scraping and cutting sound that made him cringe at the thought of the damage. The pain that shot in his chest and arms afterwards also drained much more of his physical stamina, bringing him to a sinking motion to float on one hand.


    Now he was also at risk of health problems should additional damage follow. Critical condition on either party normally means the fight is forced to end. But Jane and Danton both have about the same stats. After all this time of fighting too...


    Danton summoned his most powerful assistant to battle. Entiene; the spiritual essence dragon bonded only to one person at a time who also passes the sacred trials at Eupharus. Jane had so much trouble just damaging the creature, but eventually adapted to the situation and discovered weak points. Even then, she adapted to Danton''s perpetual evolving battle style, and came up with her own to match. How was she so powerful to destroy an entire Siriean dome? How could she possibly become too much for the champion at such a young age? JDT... What does it stand for?


    Jane kept breathing, over and over inhaling and exhaling. She felt like collapsing and giving up so badly right now, but could still give it all she had if Danton was ready to. He didn''t look very good right now, but it wasn''t enough to call a match just yet. Either Danton has to give up, or Jane must deplete his health all the way to zero, despite the risk to both of their lives in the process.


    With his vision blurring and the lightheadedness intensifying with his headache, Danton pounded on the metal floor with his fists over and over. "Dammit! This doesn''t mean anything Jane! But..." Danton''s voice changed as it was slightly muffled through his shut teeth. "I can''t keep fighting like this... I hereby forfeit the match! You hear me?!" After another attempt to ignore the strong urge to vomit everywhere, Danton lifted his head up to the flying cameras now descending down for confirmation. "I hereby forfeit the match, and demand immediate medical support to this location!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Voices From The Past ~ Two Worlds 2 OST</a>


    <hr>


    As soon as Danton spoke those words, the white lights built into the walls of the cylindrical room changed in color to green. It''s the color they turn to when victory to either side is declared and the match officially ends. Normally the dome would collapse too by controller request, but it already happened from that unknown energy surge Jane felt momentarily. With the announcement finally made official, Jane relaxed all of her nerves and sank down to help rest herself in the process. The muted announcement was forced to unmute in this situation by protocol, with the official declarations pending to be shouted to the audience below.


    "That ends the match of the championship! The challenger has defeated the current champion of Brash Danton! What a stunning performance to behold! And the crowd downstairs is going wild with the unexpected turnout and excitement! Leray wielder Jane Venn has defeated the last challenge and has advanced in rank to Leray champion status! The victor will also receive nine hundred thousand electronic credits to assist as seed money for the new operations. With a close call between powerful warriors, former champion Brash Danton has declared a withdraw with only two percent health remaining!"


    He sounds so excited. Jane knew that Danny and Taylor were down below, part of that cheering crowd, likely eager to bust their way to the top of the tower for a group hug if they had the clearance level to do so. With that came the delayed realization of what Jane had just done. She won! She won the battle against the champion of Leray magic, defeated the elite five in the most spectacular combination of battle skills, magical spells, and determination Jane has ever brought out in herself. The concept of becoming the champion alone had Jane feeling overwhelmed with high honor.


    "Mute that Harold!" Danton barked. Just as the medical team came in to deliver very rare healing orbs of magic to both Jane and Danton, he stood up and accepted treatment, but remained wary of the girl in the distance. After the camera speakers were muted once again, Danton issued another command to the team assisting Jane. "Don''t let her heal!"


    Jane accepted the special healing orb just as Danton was lashing out against her attempt to get better. It was most surprising to her completely. Did Danton really think he was still in charge? After she just won the fight of all fights? It really was difficult!


    "What have you, lost your mind?!" the team member retorted. As staff of the medical unit assigned to assisting Jane heal her endangered stats, the man in uniform stood slightly in front of Jane while assessing the mental health of the former champion. "We''re going to make sure the winner is in good health, and that includes you. We don''t deny medical treatment to those who need it."


    "She isn''t authorized!" Danton cried.


    "What do you mean she isn''t authorized?" the man repeated. "Let''s let you heal before you start getting all cynical. The girl won man! That''s just how it is!"


    "I don''t care," Danton phrased. "I am not handing over my title as champion to some senile witch who wants to run the military into the ground!"


    "Danton!" Another team of the medical staff challenged his very words just by calling his name in aggression. This also prompted Jane to hurry her use of the healing orb and offer her more realistic offer.


    The bright light from the red and yellow colored orb had Jane''s health regenerating quickly in no time, while her MP levels charged back up as well. Danton was doing the same, but was less distracted in the process.


    After the orbs worked fast, Jane and Danton both put away their energy scopes by habit, but Jane stepped away from her medical team and approached Danton a little more closely. He still gave her his eyes of denial, but Jane remained perfectly calm. "How about a different proposal?"


    "Huh?" Danton wasn''t sure what she was saying. Jane''s shift in her accepting attitude had the people all around her confused and bewildered. The remaining drone cameras hovered high in the air recording, and the teams waited for Jane to continue.


    While Danton awaited Jane''s new terms, she simply repeated the same line she used before they battled. "I am in agreement with one very particular thing Danton. I don''t know much about leading Sprawn Valley, much less the political aspect of it all. Personally, I don''t think I am ready to stay champion of Sprawn Valley."


    "So you''re giving up the power you just obtained, after coming all this way and defeating me in battle?" Danton rationalized. "What does it matter anyway? I meant what I said. I''m not handing you control of the General Army."


    "If that''s what she wants," the female member interrupted, "then you don''t have a choice in the matter." Who does Danton think he is anyway? This has been the tradition of Eldora Tower since the beginning of its construction.


    Jane elaborated on what she meant. "I want Sir Danton to remain as the leader of the General Army, but I make that agreement on the basis that he accept my terms about reforming the strategy and plan of the current operation of the GA with regards to Alpha Zero."


    "What?"


    Danton had never felt so angry in his life. For Jane to say all of that, daring not to even watch her tongue while revealing sensitive information over live transmission! Only the speaker output to this room was muted, not the recording input from the last two drones. "I will once again deny your stupid request."


    "Know that since I fairly defeated you in battle, I''m not giving you any other option," Jane reiterated.


    "And I''m not giving you power to make that choice."


    Jane''s face hardened, giving Danton two extra seconds to change his mind... "Everyone?" Jane shouted aloud. "Leave this vicinity at once! I think Danton and I have a few more things to discuss... It may get a bit loud and explosive in here."


    "Forget that!" the other man ordered. "Danton? You don''t have the¡ª"


    "No, you don''t have the right!" Danton shouted his tone at a volume surpassing the staff by a factor of five. "How dare you begin taking orders from an irrational punk! But Jane is right about one thing. You all better leave the room right now!"


    "Danton!"


    "I will personally see fit to attack anybody who dares get in my way. This includes the one designated as Jane Venn. All of this can only be the work of a setup."


    "It''s okay everyone," Jane announced aloud. "Please evacuate the scene."


    "Fine," he replied. "But I''m calling the emergency council immediately. Danton can''t withhold the championship title from you. It''s illegal!"


    "Jane is what''s illegal here. I know something doesn''t fit! No girl your age has that kind of power naturally!"


    Jane shuttered at those words, realizing how true they were deep at core. She noticed that only half of the medical staff began rushing towards the emergency access elevator, while the rest of them only gained a bit of distance, just enough to continue hearing the exchange of words. Most of the security detail was missing too, taking Jane''s advice and not siding with Danton on this issue. Before Jane could say anything, Danton summoned his Mega-Staff weapon again, preparing its charge, likely as a show of strength.


    "I can do this all day!" Danton dithered through his teeth. "And I won''t allow those idiots to heal you a second time."


    "I can''t comprehend why you are so against fixing Alpha Zero''s problem."


    Danton lowered his physical intensity, trying to remain calm since Jane wasn''t battling just yet. "There is no solution to the problem. I don''t trust you to be physically capable of taking on the Dark Zone with or without my soldiers. And say you could somehow pull it off. How high would the casualty count become in result?"


    "That''s not a lot of faith for someone who managed to overcome you and your other elites in only half a day with a limited time of training." Jane comprehended another fact from before. "You know, you and your elites combined with the main force stand about as much a chance as I do when by myself, maybe more. Haven''t you at least tried to risk your own lives if not your soldiers? Or did you simply forget to ask Mainne and the others about it?"


    Danton stamped his staff on the ground. "Don''t you dare talk about my elite team as if you know what we''ve been through! Our involvement as a team to infiltrate isn''t up for discussion - because it is too dangerous even then. If you want to rush in and get yourself killed like you tried to last time, then so be it. You''re not part of this team Jane! Not before, and not after!"


    "I know it''s dangerous," Jane agreed. "But I also know what''s inside of that zone, more than you and the General Army realize with combined knowledge. I know our team can get your team by without any casualties."


    "That is a risk I cannot allow you to take for the others."


    "Dammit Danton! I''m not asking you for permission to make the operation work! I was only wondering if you wanted to be part of it!"


    "Ha!" Danton exhaled. "You expect me to hand you the keys to the army just like that? I wasn''t onboard with that idea before we battled, and I still am not onboard with it right now." With his strength and stamina mostly recovered, Danton managed to physically stand taller and use more of his hand gestures to defend his honor as champion. "You may have a lot of power Jane, but you''re just some kid! The army isn''t for kids. It''s for powerful and mature adults! For soldiers!"


    Jane was shocked that Danton could turn himself into a villain even with the last two flying drones picking up everything live. Even if she walked away from this, Danton would be destroyed politically, but that still isn''t going to help. "You want a soldier?!" Jane chased. "I''ll give you a soldier. Let''s say we go at it again? Forget rules and protocols! I''ll either knock your health down to zero or kill you right here with dark magic! Your opposition is treason Danton! I won''t let you destroy all of those lives."


    "I think it amusing that you actually blame me for such a cruel fate threatening Lennith City," he responded. Danton lifted his staff up, and then placed his left finger on his ear. "This is Brash Danton to security detail. I want units G through L to floor 950 on the double. Now!"


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Oath Brand ~ FFXIII-2</a>


    <hr>


    "Can''t even fight your battle alone?" Jane challenged.


    "You''re the one who said to forget about official rules and protocols. I''ll bring up the entire elite security detail and fight five against one if that''s what it takes to stop this intrusion. And just so you know, the units I''ve called up here are not like those cowards you shunned away; they remain loyal to me always."


    Jane fought back his opposition. "Listen you! I don''t need evened odds to put you down. I won the fight like I was supposed to, and I''m not even asking for permanent status as a new champion. The least you could do is step aside. If you really don''t want to use the army to invade Alpha Zero, then at least let all elites with fair training take part in a teamed effort."


    "What part of hell no did you not understand? This is your last warning!" While Danton stood his ground in front of Jane, he could hear the sudden stomping and rushing boots of his soldiers running behind him. The security unit from his communication.


    Jane was impressed by the design of the area. Danton''s security team was already here, rushing to his side, and they had really big machine guns, assault rifles that appeared to be made of highly advanced technology. Has it even been thirty seconds? The soldiers all aligned themselves in formation just behind Danton in a wide line, taking stance and aiming their fully loaded weapons in Jane''s direction. Those guns still could only cause Leray damage, though it may be high in scale.


    "Just the men I was waiting for. Guards? I will attempt to detain aggressive actions by the subject. Do not fire unless I give the order."


    Jane heard several "Yes sir!" responses, given there were six entire soldiers all wearing impressive body armor with retractable electronically assisted helmets. They looked scary, though Jane wondered what their lone power is compared to creatures of the evil spawns. "You don''t scare me Danton." Jane lifted her left dagger from her dress sphere and held it forward, bringing Danton and his troops to a heightened state of defense. "I''m through playing games with you. You want to see the source of my power?!"


    Danton waited for a moment, somewhat confused by a potential confession that something unusual was afoot. "Are you going to show me?!" Despite being close enough to use indoor voices, Danton felt as threatened as he could be.


    Jane glanced up at the drone cameras, all of which were hovering pretty close to all of the drama, with most of them staring at Jane directly. Danton knows something was suspicious, and was willing to go this far on that hunch. Oh well. He brought this much on himself. After her final consideration, she swallowed her spit and fought her own fear. None of this is working. Now is the right time - plan B. "I''ll show everyone my true power. Everyone watching!" Jane lifted her right arm up high, sending as much of a pulse of energy as she could to intentionally activate the crest again. Despite wearing fingerless gloves on her hands to hide it before, Jane knew of the symbol''s potential to holographically project far above the layers of her own clothing. It became easier to show off when Jane wanted to do so, and though she wasn''t able to self-invoke it mid-battle, she has been feeling much better from that healing orb.


    Jane''s breathing rate got faster from her rapid heartbeat, but also more intense as she had to really focus to activate the symbol inside of her. Finally sensing the tingling sensation coursing through her entire body, the light from the top of her hand faded in quickly, blinding the men in front of her while the light began to take shape and form. The design pattern of the light became visible from the outside of Jane''s clothing, holographically and magically projected as the symbol Jane always knew since she obtained it. A slight oval with another small perfect circle in the center. On the sides were acute curved lines connecting to each edge, giving the overall design a ring shape, which made the entire symbol seem like some kind of planet with outer rings, all dark pink in color. After the symbol became totally visible through the blinding light, the brightness of the overall crest faded in part, but Jane kept the symbol activated for her own purpose.


    This was it. This is proof that Jane had been set up for something specific, and she chose something else to fight for instead. While the men garbled in front, stumped by the illegal sight before them, the cameras also zoomed in completely, all of them swarming towards Jane''s hand without getting too close. Danton immediately realized much of the situation, and lifted up his com interface. "Cut the live feed! Do it right now!" With his staff aimed high, Danton shot several bolts of ice and electricity towards the cameras, making Jane bounce away to avoid the damage. Every drone nearby plunged to the ground and exploded into scrap metal gears and blades as their carcasses. Danton intentionally destroyed several floating drones in front of him to prevent the media access to get ahold of this information, knowing full well that the drones are not actually immune to magical damage. The light coming from Jane''s hand is a symbol, an illegal mark! A symbol wielder in the sacred tower! This was beyond explosively devastating to hear for himself. Why the hell did Jane Venn just show the entire world she is marked?!


    "We have to move! Get security over here now!" "Danton''s going to fight a marked one?" The fearful cries coming from the lingering medical staff burned in Jane''s ears, while they turned tail and ran towards the exit door for their own safety. They won''t even stick around to see how safe symbols really are.


    While holding her hand up eye level, Jane gave her best-fit explanation in the most summarized version she could provide. "This symbol wasn''t imbued onto myself willingly. I got this tattoo by mistake. But it is my tattoo all the same. Brightworth is rouge, so I can''t remove it as a symbol. This mark gives me an incredible edge in battle, unfairly so." She lowered her arm slightly to show how serious she was to him. "And despite all of that, I''m choosing to use this symbol for the purpose of good. I can use this to defeat the powers of the dark zone!"


    "You think I care about that?!" Danton stressed. "I can''t believe this! How could you even say such things yourself? You''re a marked one! That means you''re carrying around an illegal symbol on your arm. And to make matters worse, you just broadcasted that to our entire audience!" Why didn''t they let feed delay occur for his battle? Why make it live for security purposes? It doesn''t fit well as a good idea now!


    "It''s your own damn fault for not letting me have my way."


    Danton collected himself more, giving physical clarity to his soldiers. "You''re a marked one Jane. That means two things. Your victories here are hereby invalidated and illegal. On top of that, you are required by law to comply with our next demand. I have no choice but to take you into legal custody!"


    Jane inched closer, causing Danton''s troops to step back in fear, all raising their weapons higher. "Fuck that! I''m showing you this to announce that a lot is happening in Sprawn Valley, things you continue to ignore, still the reason I''m here right now!"


    "Nothing you say can be trusted. I can''t believe what is happening here." Danton sounded defeated in his tone, though his expression and body language shifted fast with the raising of his staff. "I''m going to apprehend you. You''ll be arrested and tried in a court of law as an adult with compliances to your present situation. And if you so much as show any hint of refusal, though it may be difficult for me and my team, I will kill you Jane!" Danton glared at her dead in the eyes as he spoke, feeling sick with the truth to his words. "If you so much as resist at all, I cannot allow you to live."


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    To be continued...


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