《Dawn of a Sage (Part 1 & 2)》
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All material is copyright ? with exceptions by the author of Dawn of a Sage (Part 1): Of Magic and Reality
Dylan Frendo
October 30, 2018Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
{Content Edited in September 2024}
Official Revision Version: 09
Copyright Exception: The cover image was obtained by royalty-free file, then altered by third-party artist. The rights of commercial use for this cover are granted.
All rights reserved
This is book #4/19 of the official Leray Series.
Chapter 1: Crash Course
Perpetually flowing are the seeping effects of lunar energy, transcendent through dimensional screens, digital in support of our traditional mages. The process of power accumulation can be considered normal or magical. When one hears the word magic without context, frivolous spawns of vivid detail populate the mindscape to fill the void of missing definition. Witches and wizards, magic wands and crazy spells; perhaps even the entire transformation of the laws of physics are subject to the chaos of randomness. If this is what you thought in relation to magic, then you''ve thought wrong.
For in this world, there exists an ancient art of magical power, stored energy from solar reflections of various objects, known to the populous as Leray magic. To be more specific, Leray magic might as well be the same existing concept as all magic, when discriminated as the only possible reality while maintaining its well-deserved respect from the founders. For all newcomers to this world, there shall be much to learn on behalf of the mages who call on the power of Lysander Leray. Since you seem new here, let''s explore this special world capable of tapping Leray magic, and all it has to offer.
Sprawn Valley: This country is invisible to the consciousness of many, untold by those who wish for its oblivion. Naturally formed millions of years ago, this land floating in the southeast Atlantic Ocean between Australia and Mexico went unexplored for eons. The pioneers of natives who braved these sacred lands - discovered the mystical powers of the moonlight. Through decades of scientific endeavors and physical inventions, the inhabitants discovered ways of amplifying this moonlight into a harvestable source of special energy. Centuries later, Leray magic was mastered as a conversion matrix, giving Sprawn Valley its largest reputation in the world.
As invisible as the soul, this field of Leray energy coats the interior and boarders of the land, granting access to magic and conditional immortality for all within this Leray veil. With easy access to breathtaking spells and process-coded abilities, a new era of magic began, once cultivated with bloody sportsmanship, and again with the onset of war.
The late 1400''s was strained with anxiety, fear of the unnatural, the abnormality which enabled people to survive falls from shallow heights and bullet wounds without so much as a medic. For centuries longer, Sprawn Valley resisted great change, until the heart of Leray magic began its construction. The result was an all-out war between those who desired magical integration, and those who rejected its involvement, known to many as the Avion Wars.
This horrible war between mages and machinery resulted in many lives lost, many lives sacrificed, and many lives destroyed. Fault for starting the war could not be assigned to one side or the other, but in 1759, the Liberators attained their wish, installing this veil of protection throughout the entire continent. Shortly after, the veil was modified with digital code processes to simulate game-like effects in personal combat, giving rise to the art of Leray battles for many years to come.
Strategies and tactics formed and evolved ever since, forcing Leray wielders to become ever more versatile in their development. The stats of MP and HP became important to monitor, made possible with the power of personal Energy Scopes. MP became representative of usable ME (Magical Essence), siphoning off of direct physical stamina and stress response of one''s magical circuits. HP became representative of biological stimulus response energy, or life force for short, becoming a numeric barrier of protection from anything lethal to the body. Even pain became shortened by the pain-absorber integrated into the veil, cut in half to encourage wielders to battle in new lengths.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
Invigorated by a positive age of magic, Sprawn Valley and its five major regions became prosperous, growing inch by inch. Each of these five regions floats high on the Hollifax Ocean, separated by water and distance within the same natural barrier. The Gulop region, located in the southwest corner of the country on this map, stagnated in growth the longest, resisting industrialization for the benefit of the people. Only developed with just one major city and a beach, Gulop also contains the one and only entry point for any sailor on the seas. Vanon Port is built in one of the only areas in Sprawn Valley that is not blocked off by the barrier, a massively tall wall from the surrounding mountain chains. Therefore, it remains the only possible way inside or outside of the nation by sea.
Next exists the Junon region, the largest piece of land within Sprawn Valley, popularized by many specific elements. Major cities are built here, including the rich area known exclusively as Eldora City. Junon is located in the northern central section of the map''s border, but the land is so large, it takes up much of the northwest, central, and some of the south central areas. Junon is also the one and only place in Sprawn Valley with a developed airport for those who wish to use air travel to arrive or leave the zone.
Directly in the southern area of Sprawn Valley exists another small region about half the size of the Gulop region. Operating only as an underdeveloped beachhead, the inhabitants of Brunus often live self-sufficient, reserved life styles without relying on Leray magic. People often travel to Brunus in order to take a break from Leray battles, while the land is also easy to access from an outstretch off of Vanon Port. However, being an underdeveloped beachhead with only little vegetation available, the only amenity here involves relaxation and fishing.
Next, Iktal Island. Iktal island is a much smaller piece of land within Sprawn Valley, but large enough to support three large towns with a fair population. Because shipping through the Hollifax Ocean takes some time, many inhabitants there make their living by becoming fisherman and farmers. Iktal is all on its own, packing the most distance through the ocean from any other region in the zone. Iktal Island is still part of the whole area within Sprawn Valley, and carries a large museum for the technology of Leray magic, as well as history regarding the country before Leray magic was first discovered.
Finally, there is the Eupharus region. Eupharus (directly east of the capital city of Eldora, which is from the Junon sector), is the smallest island in the boarders, and contains no known living population. Eupharus has an active volcano built into a jagged mountain at its center, making it too risky to attempt habilitation there. For additional reasons, access to this island is heavily restricted to important members of the government, while rumors corroborate to suggest that secret research is taking place on Eupharus Island.
Other than these five key locations, Sprawn Valley also contains many random islands and deltas that are to this day uncolonized. Much of this has to do with the lack of food in the area, dangerous terrain, isolated seismic activities, or insufficient funding to colonize those particular areas. After all the centuries long past through the development of the nation, Sprawn Valley has only seen prosperous days with little conflict.
With the knowledge we now have on the five regions of Sprawn Valley, we will now focus our journey to a small group of people. This small group stands out with their absolute determination to become great Leray wielders in the country they live in. This means they must learn, battle, and develop their knowledge and every skill. Fresh from Fronas, Jane leads her gang of friends to the very next town in preparation for her very first official Leray match.
Chapter 2: Blue Port Adventures
<01/16/1972 ¨C 11:30 | Blue Port Town, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Soft winds carry the chirps from the trees to the air, breathing life into the young sunny day. Today is Sunday, and for any day in the near winter, Sprawn Valley is getting some rather warm weather down in the Gulop sector. Being that today is January 16, 1972, many would have expected the possibilities of snowfall in one of the regions, but Gulop''s geographic location makes this less likely. Departing from her home town of Fronas, Jane begins her long planned journey. The path connecting Fronas and Blue Port Town must first be crossed in order for her to truly begin. Though the remaining trek is only a thirty minute walk, this is how everybody in Sprawn Valley must travel.
Based in a time period where automobiles have become popular, Sprawn Valley has long since denied building roads for cars to travel on. Therefore, everybody travels on foot, or by boat to cross the seas. A thirty minute walk however is not bad at all. Jane is currently at peace with this, walking from Fronas to Blue Port Town with her two trusty friends by her side. With so much to talk about, the trip is anything but boring.
"I''m still kind of in shock that this is all happening so fast!" Jane was addressing the people behind her with a most excited, yet soft spoken voice. Without turning her head completely, she acknowledged that they were still following her.
Taylor processed what Jane was saying slowly. Taking in all of the beautiful sights around her, she felt at peace again with the current situation. The two towns of Fronas and Blue Port are all built in the middle of low density forests. Because of this, nature is always surrounding everybody, especially right here. The path north from Fronas sort of narrows down a bit, but the path is also clear of any trees that would otherwise get in the way of walkers. The ground itself is different in texture from the spawn of dying grass or planted hay, but the sunlight''s glare against the green lit tops of the branches made Taylor feel at home in ways nothing else could. Although, home for Taylor was back in her country, Kalamo. Kalamo is defiantly not well known for its forests, lush terrain, or even the daily dose of sunlight, all thanks to the urbanization there. Today was really nice out though, set with perfectly clear skies and the smell of fresh air. This gave Taylor plenty of reason to get well distracted from the conversation.
It was all the same anyway. Jane was constantly rubbing in to herself that she was finally an official Leray wielder. After working hard to graduate from the Dakota training facility back in Fronas, both Jane, Danny, and Taylor were now legally allowed to take part in Leray battles around the entire country. The law here requires one to have a Leray wielder''s license in order to battle with other people, which can only be obtained by graduating from one of many Leray training facilities inside the country. The difference is, Jane has been trying so hard to train for a perfect mastery of her skills; she had been waiting for this moment forever. It explains her excitement well, but it was beginning to get repetitive. At least that''s what Taylor thought of it. "You''re at that again? Jane, I know it''s a happy moment, but don''t you think you should cool off? Just a little?"
Danny sighed at Taylor''s remark, walking just behind them both. Danny was Taylor''s best friend, apparent after growing up together in the country of Kalamo, but he and Taylor were both Jane''s newest friends too. After all he went through, he knew Jane pretty well by now. Danny managed to graduate from Dakota too; he, Taylor, and Jane all have their Leray wielders license now. That is the very reason they were traveling to Blue Port Town in the first place. Now that it was time to begin the journey with Jane, it''s like she cannot calm down. Though he was talking to Taylor now, Danny meant for Jane to hear what he had to say too. "Cool off? Yeah, like that''ll ever happen. Jane''s totally psyched about her next battle."
"You best believe I am!" Jane; only sixteen years old held her excitement beside her pride. She knew that her expressive mood was not very mature, but she couldn''t help herself right now. Every time she thinks about battling someone, it gets her really excited. Jane loves the arts of Leray magic, especially the battles, but it''s only today that she has the chance to evolve her dreams into reality. Jane thus continued marching forward. There was nobody on the path except for the three of them, but Jane knew that she would soon be in Blue Port Town again. "I know I said I was going to wait on battling until Monday, but I might just get carried away on purpose."
Typical Jane. Taylor was at least happy that Jane was acting this way, simply because, this is how Jane always is. She might not seem like your typical mature teenager, but Jane''s constant excitement and energy is partially contagious. Taylor wasn''t as excited as Jane was to try her first battle in Blue Port, but the idea sure wasn''t going to be lame compared to past standards.
Taylor and Danny both decided a while back to tag along with Jane on her journey for several reasons. First off, Jane is native to this world, while Danny and Taylor are not. Only arriving here about four weeks ago, Danny and Taylor had to learn everything there was to know about Sprawn Valley and Leray magic the hard way, which is still an ongoing process. But after meeting this energetic Jane, she had accepted both of them as her best friends. After learning about Leray magic as well as the battles involved with it, how could they not get hooked on the very idea? Jane plans to travel all over Sprawn Valley and train by battling everybody to get stronger. This means that by following and helping Jane on her journey, Danny and Taylor would eventually end up in the Junon sector of Sprawn Valley, despite the likely slow pace.
This in turn was their plan. Danny wasn''t exactly looking forward to getting anywhere near that airport, but it cannot be avoided forever. At least this way, he and Taylor can travel with a friend to their doomed destination, and because Jane is unlikely to rush her entire journey all the way over there, it will give him more time to develop a better plan to protect Taylor from the oncoming mess in the future.
But Jane has even bigger dreams than just getting stronger. She is aiming as high as one can possibly go; Jane''s objective is to conquer the idea of Leray battling. Her plan is to get so powerful and good at Leray matches, that Jane will then be able to challenge the champion. Not one of them knew the man''s name, but the champion of Leray wielding is supposedly the strongest man in all of Sprawn Valley, currently residing at the top of Eldora Tower like a king. They say that anyone who can beat the champion will prove themselves worthy of becoming a Leray master, and that is Jane''s ultimate dream, to become a Leray master by any means necessary. It''s a long and hardcore kind of system to follow, but it is supposed to be fun as well.
Of course, Jane also plans to turn her entire life style of Leray battling into a full career. That''s easier said than done. In Leray matches, each challenger must set a reward spoil, a bet to make the winning title more interesting and motivate each player. People often use their credits as reward spoils to increase the amount of money they have, should they emerge victorious. That means that by battling and winning the battle after placing a bet of credits, the victor can become richer than they were before. It''s much like gambling, but in order for one to turn Leray fighting into a career, their bets must be placed carefully. Their wins must also be much more frequent than their losses. Losing a battle over and over will bring one''s credit count to a swift end.
So it sure was not going to be easy. Taylor knew it; Danny knew it, but it was rather questionable to see if Jane was aware of it. Danny noticed more than anybody else at times that when Jane is psyched up about something, she is also highly confident, perhaps overconfident to her dismay. Danny knew that it would not go well for Jane if she can''t focus in a battle, and he has had plenty of examples to sprout this knowledge. The practices and challenges that all of them faced in the Dakota training academy were no easy tasks. "You know, you getting carried away isn''t going to make it easy for you. You have to accept that you may not win the first few battles." Jane would probably take offense to that, but Danny couldn''t tell himself it was false advice.
Jane could feel her entire body tense up quickly in anger. Danny does this all the time, always mocking her abilities or her capacity. He really just wants to show off and pretend he is better than her, even after all those times before when Jane proved her place in front of his. "Look Danny. I''m not going to lose my very first battle. It''s important that I win at least once since it is my first time. But I wouldn''t be surprised if you lost five in a row."
"What was that?!" Again, Danny was being mocked by Jane. All he was doing was cautioning her. He was quickly reminded how annoying Jane could be. She''s such a brat!
Taylor sighed in defeat at those two. Jane and Danny fought a lot over little disagreements about which one was better than the other in relation to magical potential. Though it is true that Danny has never actually proven himself in front of Jane either. Still... Danny is fifteen years old, same as Taylor, and Jane is sixteen, yet the two of them don''t even act their age half the time. Maybe they just have too much energy? Taylor knew it would be best to stop it before it gets any worse. She''ll be damned before hearing this all the way to the next town. "Would you two give it a rest? We''ll be in town soon enough. After that, battle with each other all you want."
Danny winced at the idea. "Me? Battle her?!" Danny never really thought about how that might turn out. What if Jane''s first choice in who to battle ends up being himself? The things Jane was capable of just in training, it was already scary enough as a thought.
Jane smiled in confidence again. Taylor''s idea rocks! But battling with Danny would have the slight aftertaste of being too easy. "What''s the matter? You scared?"
"No I''m not scared!" Danny defended. "You want to battle me in Blue Port, I''ll take you on no problem."
"Hmmm." Jane needed to think about it only for a moment. Making this sort of battle her very first could potentially ruin what it really feels like to have a battle against someone else. Danny wasn''t a total rookie, but Jane still felt under-challenged by him. "Tell you what. In Blue Port, I''ll find someone else to battle with first. After I win, I''ll take you on for my second victory."
Danny suddenly felt much calmer. Jane somehow eased up in some way by pushing the priority of their battle from first to second. Perhaps she isn''t really that interested after all. "Maybe I should battle somebody else first. What do you think, Taylor?"
Jane and Danny were now both looking at her for an answer. Taylor didn''t think she would already be having her very first battle today. It would be too soon. While Jane plans to become a Leray master, all Taylor wants to do is become just moderately stronger over time. Even one battle this soon might be pushing it. After all, she and Jane initially agreed to host their first battles tomorrow. "If there are enough people willing to battle there, then I think Jane, Danny, and I can all battle at the same time against random people, get in all of that experience first. Then you two can go at it all day if you want." In truth, Taylor didn''t care to see a battle between Danny and Jane. It would be too much talk and not enough walk. Actually, there would be enough action for one of them to get knocked out completely, but it would probably happen over the course of two hours. All Taylor wanted to do right now was plan a lunch break in town, and scope out where she would be sleeping for tonight.
"It sounds good to me," Jane accepted. "So let''s get to Blue Port and situate ourselves there." Jane knew Danny was in agreement, though he never said anything back. The walk there was still a ways off, but the town was already slightly visible in the distance over the shallow hills. It was probably just under eight minutes away now. Jane couldn''t wait!
Of course, all three of them had been to Blue Port Town before; it wasn''t like this was new to either of them. Jane came to Blue Port all the time before she was an official Leray wielder. It was mostly to go shopping, take long walks, or check out the events going on there. Danny and Taylor were sort of residing in Fronas with Jane ever since they''ve arrived here by accident. While Fronas is only made to support a small residential population, it was also not a very rich place for the Dakota training facility or the Fronas medical facility. In fact, those were the only two places in Fronas other than just housing. It was rather insignificant to anyone traveling from the outside.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
On the other hand, Blue Port is different. Other than being bigger, richer, and more developed with a slightly higher population than Fronas, Blue Port is also the main attraction in the south-most section of the Gulop region, thanks to its well-maintained shops, and its location near Vanon Port. The last time Danny and Taylor were in Blue Port, it was their first time there. So they were much newer to the place than Jane was. Yet the actual place in question is no mystery to either three of them, and now it is closing in fast.
Danny however felt calmer than before. So much happened since the last time they arrived in Blue Port together, and through all of the insane calamities, Jane is finally getting back to normal. As annoying and dynamic as she can be, Jane''s familiar behavior gave Danny an indescribably sense of nostalgia. This isn''t so bad at all.
Chapter Theme Shift: Feast of Lights ~ FFXIII-3 OST
A set of mild echoes pierced through the area while the path widened into a vast open flat field. Blue Port was built in a spot surrounded by forests just like any other town usually was. Only this time, the place was livelier, and there were so many more structures everywhere. There had to be about 30 residential houses in plain sight, along with Blue Port''s main attractions of the stores. Blue Port is well known for having three popular shops out in the open. One is the general store, a place that sells many different kinds of groceries and other useful items. Then there is the Leray store, specific in selling many items all related to Leray battles. And finally, the jewelry store. They sell expensive clothing too, but it''s all relatively less significant to Jane and Danny at this point. Sentiment Pollox is the name of the official Leray shop set up in Blue Port. That is where everybody goes to refill or update their items to use in Leray battles.
Danny and Taylor had been here before, but it was still an impressive difference from Fronas to the sight of this town right here. The size was six times larger, and the surrounding forests around here became more dense than before. There had to be at least fifty people or more presently walking around, doing their own thing. Nobody was battling however. It mainly looked like everybody was running their errands for the day. Perhaps a few of the people could have been travelers from the nearby city to the west. The younger ones may have been students to the out-of-sight general school assigned to Blue Port. General schools don''t train anyone with Leray magic, but rather provides the general education needed for kids to grow up properly. The south exit from Blue Port was the spot they were all standing at now. Going south from Blue Port takes one back to Fronas, which is landlocked in place where it is; it''s the dead-end of the Gulop region.
From the east exit of town, the path leads to Vanon Port, the official entry and exit point for all sea bearing ships in the oceans outside. From the west exit in town, a similar path sidewinds right into the Arragon Forest, which is the forest to the west and southwest of Blue Port Town. Danny didn''t know much about that though, only that going west from here will take one to Gross City. Blue Port also has a northern exit route, but it''s a dead-end to some place called the Leray Arena. It sounds exciting, but it''s currently underdeveloped by a few years... And that''s about it. Going east or northeast just gets one lost in the woods, leading to the natural blockade of a mountain wall with the Hollifax Ocean on the other side.
To all three of them, this wasn''t any new information. Even so, being back in Blue Port Town felt exciting, especially for Jane. Of course, that''s what everybody else thought about it. Jane unfortunately was forced into reliving the faint memory of the incident that took place here a couple of weeks ago. To summarize, someone came out of the eastern forest, a man who was being chased around for carrying some dangerous item; that is what the man claimed at least. Before ever getting his name, Jane alone was trusted to hold on to the mysterious spell bomb he wanted to keep safe, giving it to her just before rushing back into the forest to throw off the scent of his pursuers. Instead of considering the matter intelligently, Jane decided to conduct a secret, illegal battle between herself and Taylor, just to use the spell bomb on herself.
Jane would have normally stored it inside of her supply sphere to hide it, but the spell bomb''s orb was unable to be beamed inside it. Supply spheres are used to store items in a compressed interdimensional zone. One could potentially fit an entire room inside of a capsule the size of a person''s fist, all thanks to integrating Leray magic and technology together. But in order to use a spell bomb, one must be in a real battle to begin with; that is how Jane was able to use the unknown spell bomb in the first place. It was during their first visit to Blue Port Town, and before any three of them had their wielder''s license yet. Jane and Taylor never intended to actually fight each other, but starting an official battle is required to trigger certain effects on objects and items that belong to people, items and objects such as spell bombs. Unless triggered by the Siriean dome that surrounds two people after the effects of a battle are triggered, spell bombs and other items cannot be used. In contrast, there are such items like healing and restoration orbs that are blocked from being used once triggered by the same shield, meaning they only work outside of battles.
The most memorable thing that happened to Jane was being zapped by a mysterious light in the sky, specifically appearing as though from the moon. After using the spell bomb on herself, the magical powers were strong enough to change day into night, bring forth the full moon phase, and propagate some sort of magical attack energy down onto where Jane stood. Jane never remembered anything past the point where she tried to trigger the dangerous and mysterious spell bomb, but Danny and Taylor, as well as half the entire town of Blue Port saw the whole thing unfold. Jane was injured badly with mysterious side effects that, for a while, prevented her from using Leray magic after waking back up. Danny and Taylor first had to save Jane''s life, drag her all the way back to the medical facility and get her treated for something that didn''t even make any medical sense.
According to that same mysterious stranger, the spell bomb is supposed to be permanent, its effects never relenting. But what were those effects? Did the spell bomb ever work? What was its purpose? Who was that man? Why did he give a dangerous spell bomb orb to Jane like that? Why was he being chased for it? And why was Jane left sick days after being hit with the blast of moonlight? None of those questions have ever been answered. Even in the midst of training, Jane never really noticed anything different about herself regarding magic capacity and dispersion. Whatever it was all about, it seemed to be over with now, but being back here in Blue Port brought those memories back. Jane didn''t actually remember, but Danny and Taylor did. Her friends told Jane all that went down in Blue Port that night, as well as what happened to her. Though it was over now, hopefully nobody here would recognize Jane for what happened then. It was really crazy, something that never happens even in Sprawn Valley.
Jane shook away those odd moments though, realizing once again that she and the team were now in Blue Port. This time, everything would be different. Jane only needed to find a candidate to battle with her, to which her real training can begin. The same went for Danny and Taylor, but there was something that needed to be taken care of first.
"Awesome!" Danny congratulated. He confronted Jane again about the current plan. "Look. I need to go to the Leray store first. I don''t have enough credits to buy anything there right now, but I want to make sure what I do want is still there for me after my first win."
"Okay," Jane replied. That was the reasonable thing to do anyway. Jane already had plenty of credits to buy something, but she would not need to at the moment.
Taylor followed Danny as soon as he began to take off towards the store. "I need to take inventory too, so I''ll be with Danny until I find a match for myself as well."
"And I''ll take my time to find a good opponent," Jane claimed. After seeing her friends off towards the Leray store, Jane was left alone again. There were a lot of people in Blue Port today, but in truth, everybody was looking busy. Finding a person willing to battle wasn''t going to be all that easy. Jane first proceeded deeper into town. By walking towards the central plaza, it would be easier to spot anyone ready for a good match.
Danny and Taylor were obviously going to be a while before catching up to Jane, especially since their business after taking the store''s inventory would be to find a battle for themselves here anyway. Jane needed to find a good candidate, a person who has no problem giving it their all in a Leray match. Jane really did feel as if she could take on anybody and win. She began by searching around in the distance for anyone who was less than usual; someone who didn''t look like they had anything to do.
Challenging one to a battle is pretty straight forward, even though there are rules to doing so. Because it is illegal for anybody to take part in a Leray battle without a Leray wielder license, both participants must have one. If both participants have an active license, than the one being offered the challenge is not supposed to decline for almost any reason. One actually faces a penalty for declining an official and legal Leray battle offer, something called a penalty strike. Every license card is somewhat digitalized, and can communicate partially with Leray magic through the veil, which runs some kind of invisible program for these situations. Thus, a Leray license card can automatically detect what reward spoils are established. It can also detect if the battle is officially qualified using a Siriean dome, and it can detect if someone has declined a fair battle. All licenses are only allowed to have a maximum of three penalty strikes. If one declines a battle three times in a row, their license is revoked temporarily, all depending on the conditions and reasons for declining. Though, accepting a battle three times in a row will remove one penalty strike. Winning or losing a match does not have any penalty at all, other than losing the bet offered in the reward spoils. And to prevent everybody from going broke, all Leray licenses that store credits on them cannot fall below the minimum of 0 credits, while the reward spoil system has a minimum bet limit of 250 credits should that currency be the medium. Any bet under this 250 credit limit will not result in a penalty strike regardless of refusals.
The rules get complicated only as far as remembering them go, but Jane knew all of them. The point is, the system makes it highly unlikely to be declined in a battle offer, no matter the circumstances. This of course can be a bad thing too, since it means that Jane is still susceptible to the same penalties should she ever decline a battle. But seeing as she is currently seeking one right now... Whoever Jane finds, they won''t really have the luxury of saying no. Though it is always still polite to choose the opponent carefully and with care. Someone who isn''t busy today running errands, who is just bored in town because they can''t find a challenge... That is who Jane wants to battle.
People like that do not come and go as often, so it was challenging and time consuming for Jane to locate a person of interest. Most wielders actually choose to locate challengers on official routes more often than areas within towns. Precisely after twelve minutes of soul searching, Jane''s eyes came across something interesting. Jane spotted someone, leaning up against the secondary storage structure. An adult male by the looks of it; a rather hairy feller too, but he was just standing there arms crossed and head down, almost asleep like he was waiting for something. By the looks of his muscle mass, the man probably had a good sense of physical strength too. But... His wardrobe sure didn''t help him blend in to the populous of the town.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Prohpecy ~ Tony Anderson (feat. Aubrey Prunty)
Wearing a brown cowboy hat and denim coveralls, Jane thought that the man looked rather goofy for what he appealed to show off as. Then again, a battle is still a battle. Jane decided to go for it, already shifting her feet to walk in his direction. Jane knew exactly what to ask him, the same dialogue that everybody uses to ask one to a battle. "Are you a licensed Leray wielder?" Standard question to ask. It gives the person being asked the hint of battle, while at the same time ensuring that they are legally allowed to battle in the first place. Jane had no problem at all with walking up to a total stranger and asking them to an awesome duel.
What took no time at all to get to where Jane wanted to go turned into an exciting and thrilling moment for her already. Shortly after getting the stranger''s attention by approaching him, Jane at least knew he wasn''t actually asleep. Jane was also close enough already to talk to him without having to raise her voice too much. "Excuse me sir?" Jane made sure the man was focused on her. It''s like he could already see her determination to win bursting inside of her. "My name is Jane, and if it''s not any trouble, I''d like a battle!" Jane rose her volume level on purpose, unable to control her confidence.
The stranger who looked like a Texas Ranger lifted his head further, and twisted his hat in place to examine the young woman in front of him. "I am Jack." Jack''s voice took Jane a little by surprise. It was much raspier than she was expecting it to be, indicating that Jack was much older than her. "I must ask if your offer stands as a final one. I do in fact have a Leray license, but I''ve mopped the floor with people older than you already. You might regret your decision to face me."
All right! Jane''s expression shifted more towards pure confidence as she held her fist out as a sign of strength. "My offer is final. A battle with a rookie is a waste of my time anyway." Jane was already so psyched! A tough opponent this soon! Then again, some people can only talk the talk... But it was too late now. Jane had already asked Jack to a real Leray battle, right here and right now. He would have to accept, or face the penalty of a strike on his card. Jane felt her heart racing, her nerves tingling in excitement.
While lifting his face to reveal his identity to the girl, Jack kept his hat on since it went as part of his official dress sphere style. "Well... You sure do have some spirit, and courage to dare face me. I accept your challenge!" Jack''s loud chant was intentional, designed to make Jane more excited, while bringing in the attention of a crowd as well. People battle all the time, but even for any other spectators, Leray battles are almost as fun to watch as they are to experience. Heads were already turning in their direction. "We''ll battle near the west exit, and I''ll start the bid at 200 credits."
Jane''s spirits almost dropped right away. Two hundred credits? It was a rather low kind of bet for a good battle, below the official minimum limit even... But it was also Jane''s first real battle anyway. So it''s good enough. "You got yourself a deal." Normally, such a low bet would be illegal to use since it falls below the minimum bet line, but at the same time, the system makes use of that by allowing Jane or Jack to decline the same offer without any penalty strikes. By accepting, the bet is still 200 credits, and the battle is still official given two-sided consent.
"Follow me." Jack began heading near the west exit of town. It''s redundant to just begin fighting in the middle of anywhere. Battling initially creates a Siriean dome, which surrounds the two challengers, and keeps people on the outside and out of the battle deterred area. The dome leaves plenty of room for the fight, but the design is made on purpose to prevent any stray magical attacks from causing any damage to any surrounding structures or people watching. While anybody in Sprawn Valley is still technically safe from being killed by Leray magic, inanimate objects are not protected from destruction most of the time.
Jane already knew this, assumed this to be the reason Jack wanted to relocate just a tiny distance away from here. Even if the people were okay with watching them battle, others would need to pass by. The spot they were in right now wasn''t very good for that. So Jane agreed to follow Jack to a better spot with less objects and obstacles around them.
This is it, the first battle between Jane and Jack. Jane could not possibly be any more excited than right now. If she were, she would likely explode. Her heart rate was rising in sync as well as she prepared to get started. At first, it was slightly shocking for Jane to notice the absence of a Leray referee around here. Though one is not actually required for wild battles like this. Leray referees watch the battle from outside of the Siriean shield, making sure that nobody cheats in order to ensure victory. Jane wasn''t a cheater, and she trusted that Jack was a clean fighter too.
After reaching the place and facing each other at about thirty meters apart, Jack hollered over to Jane the simple dialogue that is supposed to initiate the battle in the first place. "All right Jane. Don''t go easy on me, and I won''t go easy on you. The battle between me and you will now commence!"
"It''s a deal!" Jane returned.
Chapter 3: The First Challenge
<01/16/1972 ¨C 12:00 | Blue Port Town, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
By agreeing to battle and having the reward system already set, the Siriean dome automatically formed from in between Jane and Jack, spanning outward into a beautiful half-cut sphere. The dome went way behind Jack, and far behind Jane. A Siriean dome is most visible during its formation, after which it becomes highly transparent and difficult to notice. The shield simply sets a physical barrier between the battle area set and the outside world. Any magical attack or physical attack that dares to enter or leave the area will instead be absorbed by that dome shield. It also prevents anyone from naturally entering or leaving the area outside of the dome. The dome only disappears after the battle is over for any reason.
Jane spread her legs out a little more, making it easier to prepare for anything. After the magical dome was set into place, holographic text appeared right in front of Jane, and the same exact text appeared before Jack too. The text read,
Magical rule-sets allow non-physical text to appear in front of people depending on what is happening. In this case, the holographic text belongs to the official reward/spoil system. This is supposed to show each challenger what the reward is, and then officially initiate the battle sequence between each person.
At this point, Jane and Jack are now allowed to begin fighting, throwing any powerful magical spell at each other at any time, but there was still one more piece of important business to take care of, something everybody initiates right before battling, whether that is official or not. Jack went first, initializing his energy scope. Energy scopes are unique holographic status boxes that form above a person''s head at the user''s will, reporting back to them and everybody else what their energy capacity levels stand at. In a battle, one using an energy scope has the ability to keep a sharp eye on their own HP and MP status as it declines due to taking damage or using magical powers. Everybody has this ability by tradition, as enabling one''s energy scope doesn''t even take up enough MP energy to lower it by a single fraction in the report itself.
Jack enabled his energy scope, forcing an orange colored translucent holographic box of information to appear above his head. From the angle, he was able to read his own stats without needing to look up above him, and while the actual size of the entire box was not large, the intensity and distance still allowed Jane to keep track of Jack''s information as well just by reading the information.
The box only displays a person''s identity, HP capacity, and MP capacity. If anything else is being displayed in the status box, it only indicates additional effects from some sort of magical force, or a physical ailment that would otherwise prevent safe battling between two people. Jack''s energy scope was just like any other. After he enabled his, it was time for him to battle.
Jane went right after Jack in enabling her own energy scope. It was simple and painless, literally the easiest form of magic to use right off the bat. Jane''s scope appeared in the same way above her head at an angle, allowing her to keep track of her information as well. Once both of them had their energy scopes engaged, it was really time to begin.
With each side now physically ready to fight, Jane was not very sure about which one was going first. If she tries an attack, and Jack intercepts with a speedier form of battle skills, Jane will automatically be off to a bad start. But if she just stands here and waits, she won''t begin with any momentum at all. Leray fights are often conducted at long range. It''s not just as simple as punching, kicking, or attacking the opponent with a weapon. It''s got a lot more to do with the magical spells that can be invoked with Leray magic, and how they are used in combination with other attacks. Each attack causes damage if it lands the target, but that damage varies based on the power level of the spells used, damage type, and the power level of the actual user''s capacity of their training with such skills.
Jane knew a variety of magical and physical attacks, and that was good, but in this case, it was best not to underestimate the opponent. Jane decided to go first, speed walking to close in on Jack, her target. Jane wasn''t intending to get all that much closer, just close enough to make it tough on dodging long range spells. Jack simply waited; it was all he could do for now. Jane wasn''t going to make it simple for her opponent to be able to predict her very next move. So to start, Jane threw both of her daggers, one after the other. At the same time, Jane chanted the name of her specific skill, "Knife Toss!" Jane''s two bladed daggers spun through the air with great speed and grace, keeping ascent and altitude the entire time. With little time to react, the blades cut right through Jack''s body.
Contrary to what outsiders would expect, as both blades slide through Jack''s chest, the knives became phased out of physicality, holding this property until emerging on the other side. At the same time, the fresh wounds that opened up revealed glowing yellow fields of sparkling light, instead of drawing actual blood. Nothing actually pierced into his skin, but the force of the blades in the air was still enough to prevent Jack from blocking the attack, which caused some damage to his overall HP level by taking that double hit. As a result, Jane''s physical attack from a distance was quite successful, as it did physical type damage to Jack while lowering his HP stats. Slight yellow glowing marks appeared on Jack''s chest where the daggers tried to slice him, though the glow disappeared shortly after, a safe indication of where Jane''s attack managed to hit.
Leray magic works in mysterious ways. While Jack is physically healthy even after an attack like that, the physical pain that would normally be associated with being slashed by two spinning daggers actually lingers in a Leray battle. Even due to Leray magical based attack spells, anyone who takes damage from any source still gets to feel and experience the physical pain as if it happened to them outside the boundaries of Leray magic, with the intensity of that pain cut in half. What Jack felt just now, other than the slight loss of life energy from a drop in his HP, is also accompanied by the physical sensation that would appear if the body had two daggers slice right through it, at half the intensity. Therefore, taking damage in a battle can still be quite painful, even though there is no real danger of death involved. Jack was also forced back slightly by the kinetic force of the blades and the pain they caused. Jane made sure Jack''s HP level went down enough to count.
For a Knife Toss attack, Jane really didn''t do all that much damage at all. Down five percent isn''t very effective in consideration, but at the same time, Knife Toss is only a physical attack skill which enables the user to throw small blades at their opponent from a distance, causing physical slashing damage at a low power level. As there are many different damage types, physical damage has the absence of Leray magical involvement. This means that the attack in use won''t be as strong naturally, while at the same time, using Leray magic depletes one''s MP stats. Because of Jane''s decision, she hasn''t even used a bit of her MP energy just yet.
Of course, now it will be Jack''s turn to retaliate against Jane with a skill of his own. There isn''t a specified rule to say people are supposed to take turns attacking, but it is an invisible tactic people normally follow at the beginning of battles. If she tries to attack over and over again, it can lower her guard to a more devastating counter-skill, or something else surprising. Because Jane didn''t want to ruin her attack window, she was now on the defensive.
Jack easily recovered from Jane''s attack. Though the sensation of two sharp blades cutting into his chest were not helping, the power level was so low against an already high endurance level. Now that his attack window was wide open, Jack began charging some of his MP energy into a magical spell of his own. As soon as he began, Jack''s hands began glowing with a bright blue color, as if surrounded by a magical aura. This was normal for anybody about to unleash a powerful burst of Leray magical energy. As he was charging his spell, Jack had to also imagine himself using it in his mind as a popular technique of focus. While he wasn''t paying much attention to his energy scope box above him, his MP energy was gradually depleting as he was charging that energy into a particular attack, soon to jump down instantly upon invocation.
After only consuming 5% of his MP energy, Jack chanted the name of his special power, just before unleashing it onto the field. "Shadow Wave!" Jack threw out his arms as if to throw a heavy object in Jane''s direction. Just as he let go, his hands stopped glowing, and taking place in front of him was the new formation of a magical aura that had been transformed into an actual attack skill. Shadow Wave: A magical ability that acts as if a shockwave is sent through the ground at a high speed traveling towards the target. While the Shadow Wave picks up speed, its visibility increases as the height of its translucent and dark aura rises higher in time. It''s the equivalent to watching a glowing, sparking shadow move all on its own, and then transform into some kind of thick intense shockwave aura while continuing to slide.
Chanting the name of attack spells and special skills is not a requirement either. There are thousands of different kinds of official magical powers that can be used in the formation of Leray magic. However, learning how to use them is another story. Chanting the name of the spell out loud helps focus the mind in the heat of battle. With so many skills to remember, associating names with each different magical spell gives the mind an easy task to list processes and spell casting by name, rather than solid memory. Those who are very calm in a battle as well as highly skilled do not have to chant the name of their spells. With such speed, power, and strategic involvement put into every single magical skill out of thousands, dodging or blocking attacks is just easier said than done. Early forewarning isn''t everything in a Leray match.
Jack didn''t need to keep using magic after releasing his Shadow Wave against Jane, since the spell is no longer controlled after initial invocation. Jane now had to worry about dodging the Shadow Wave, if only it had not moved so quickly. With little time to react to the approaching earth bound shadow attack, Jane cuffed her arms in front of her as a feeble attempt to block out some of that damage, but it was no use. All magical attacks are different because of the differing factors involved with damage types. There exists several different elements of damage other than physical damage, which only adds to confusion in a battle. It''s not enough to try and dodge everything thrown at you. It takes time to think about what spell or skill is being used against you, then deciding what the correct course of action afterwards, and that only works if your mind can race at a million paces per second when it comes to speedy spells. Shadow Wave sure is not the fastest skill, but it packs a magic style known as non-elemental magical damage.
Magical damage is often elemental, in that it is weak against one element while strong against another, and neutral against the rest. Damage done would then depend on the defensive nature of the target. However, non-elemental magical damage has no weaknesses nor flaws, and on top of that, all attacks dealing non-elemental magical damage are just naturally more powerful than others. Shadow Wave is even more special than how it sounds. Because of the form retained as it moves through the ground, sharp invisible magical edges form and clash at the edges of the shadow, which adds on additional damage known as slashing damage. So not only will the attack be powerful in magical damage levels, it will carry on top of that a combination of physical slashing damage, similar to Jane''s Knife Toss she used earlier.
She sure was feeling it now. Even with her arms high up to try and block the attack, Jack''s Shadow Wave was still just too powerful. Not to mention that blocking out damage doesn''t work against physical damage that registers as slashing or piercing. While it does work well against blunt attacks, Shadow Wave is anything except. Jane''s vision in front of her was blinded by the darkness of the powerful magical attack. At first, it just felt like a powerful force pushing her backwards even with her shoes planted in the earth. Just a microsecond later, the Shadow Wave continued crashing into Jane while adding the effects of the damage. The magical damage hurt in an indescribable way, like something was heating her up and bruising her at the same time. The extra slashing damage however stood out more than anything else. Jane could feel it, the sensation of dozens of cuts all over her body, one after the next after the next. In perspective, this was all happening in the time of one long second, but to Jane, thanks to her training and great reflexes, it felt like five seconds passed before the Shadow Wave attack finally disappeared in a beautiful annihilation of some visible energy cloud. Though Jane sure wasn''t thanking her reflexes now, not after feeling that much damage in just one attack.
Jane almost collapsed, her legs unwilling to support her while she got over the severity of her numerous pains. Shadow Wave doesn''t hit in one spot. It''s like a long combination attack that unleashes hell as soon as it touches anything, and after that wave slams into the body, it still remains attached until it goes away on its own. The only way to dodge this is to jump out of its way, left or right. Jane was still able to continue battling, but it hurt pretty badly for all of the cuts and hits she had to endure in the past during training. So as an initiative, Jane checked the status on her energy scope to see how much damage Jack had done compared to Jane''s first attack.
Jane knew it beforehand. She considerably took more damage that time than Jack did against her Knife Toss. Jane was intentionally holding back before, but she did so as a chance to evaluate the true power of this guy. Obviously he is a force to be reckoned with. Shadow Wave is more powerful magical attack than the damage Jane intended to cause with her two daggers. Still, even for her, Shadow Wave shouldn''t have knocked down that much of her HP.
Oh well! Jane fared. Can''t let your guard down in a battle, even for a second. Jane knew that best, and while her friends were out somewhere else browsing the store for their shopping list, Jane was having the time of her life already! Not only was this her first real battle, but the opponent really is formidable after all. Let''s see how he deals with magic... Jane knew it was her turn, and naturally decided to make full use of it. Without trying to back away or get any closer to Jack, she just stood there, charging her MP energy into a magical attack of her own. Jane knew of plenty, but this one in particular was going to require the use of a glyphring.
When using magical powers inside or outside of a battle, all magical spells are classified as four different types of signature forms. In other words, the magic in transferred from the Leray energy dimension into this world in four different ways. The first is ordinary transference of energy. Just as Jack used Shadow Wave earlier, the only noticeable thing that happened before that was his glowing blue hands. That is standard signature for a magical spell about to be used in battle. Most of the time, you charge magical energy into a specific part of your body. That causes it to glow in the appearance of energy being stored there, and then you just release that energy in the magical spell you want to, but not every spell can be used this way. Some spells require glyphrings to work, while others rely on the use of attack auras.
A glyphring is a node of direct connection between the Leray energy dimension and the physical world. Users of specific magical skills must create and form a glyphring, powered by Leray magic. All glyphrings are mostly similar in appearance regarding shape and properties. Shaped like a large perfectly formed disk, a glyphring is holographic in the formation of light. Mostly transparent, the disk that forms slowly spins on an axis, as if it were a floating wheel with someone turning that wheel slowly at a constant rate of speed. But glyphrings are all different too, ranging in different colors, sizes, and symbolic crests. Crests are somehow engraved on the glyphring when spawned, which specify the exact magical attack type and element of damage will be used. The size of the glyphring determines the attack form, and the color often determines the elemental nature of the magic coming from that glyphring.
Attack auras are different too. By increasing the connection with the energy from the Leray dimension and the physical world, a person can thus invoke magical powers that charge using that connection, as well as the user''s entire body. While MP would be consumed normally, attack auras enable special magical abilities to take on different attack forms that would normally be difficult to dodge or avoid. At the same time, creating a magical aura can enable other kinds of spells as well that are not designed to do any damage, but rather render the opponent unable to battle with some sort of legal ailment. Learning attack auras and personal auras however is for the advanced, higher level wielders. While Jane considered herself to be high level, she did not know of any aura attacks or support spells just yet. Summons, the fourth type of magical usage was for elite level wielders, again something Jane knew nothing of.
All of the knowledge flowing through her mind wasn''t making much of a difference right now, not for this spell. Jane only needed to use just 2% of her MP to charge. Jane held out her arm, after which an orange glyphring faded in. Jane''s wrist became the center of the glyphring as it slowly spun in the air, floating in place. Jane''s hand was also glowing orange, but that was from the support the glyphring was giving her right now. Jane still had to chant the names of her abilities to get them right most of the time, and this time was no exception. "Radial Stars!" Just as soon as Jane yelled the name of her spell, a sudden barrage of orange glowing star shaped projectiles were sent flying out from the glyphring and Jane''s right hand. The actual time it took for Jane to begin this attack was just barely a single second, though the actual spell deliverance of Radial Stars itself happens for a bit longer in duration. Jane''s glyphring continued to shoot out magical stars, each about half the size of her palms. One after another, Radial Stars continued firing through the glyphring, creating a barrage of shooting stars all heading towards Jack.
Radial Stars is also a non-elemental magical attack, but because it attacks in the form of glowing stars, its reaction requires the support of that glyphring to be used. However, Radial Stars is popularly known all over Sprawn Valley for being the least powerful magical attack spell anybody could ever invoke. While the damage level is normally minimal, the attack itself is common, because it is usually the very first magical spell everybody learns to use. Radial Stars is therefore the perfect stepping stone to begin from when first learning how to use Leray magic. With such a weak attack, it is rather easy to invoke compared to all the other spells.
Jane knew what she was doing. She had practiced a lot with her magical abilities, and was confident this time that it would do a good amount of damage and pain. Even though Radial Stars is normally a weak attack, the power level of magical attacks can slightly be increased over time with the user if they practice using that ability over and over in succession. That means that with any magical ability that exists, using it multiple times over a long period gradually increases the attack power dealt to opponents in a battle as well. If one were to train using Radial Stars for five years perhaps, it could become that person''s most powerful barrage spell.
Jack was powerless to block or dodge the wide barrage of stars shooting in his direction. They almost carried too much speed for him to even see. They really did look like blurred shooting orange glows in his perspective. All he could do now was stand there and take the attack. Star after star, the small yet sharp magical projectiles began piercing through his outfit and into his skin. Again without drawing any blood, it felt like his body was being pierced with needles while taking some kind of drain affect with him, but not all of those 36 stars were on a course to hit Jack either.
Each and every star from Radial Stars deals a tiny bit of damage, making the number of hits out of the whole barrage set significant. Radial Stars only fires between 36 and 48 projectiles for each use in battle, and though it is a barrage attack, those stars go almost everywhere with little accuracy. Because they do not travel in a narrow straight line in comparison to the one after or before it, the whole barrage is like a wide directional field spanning out. Only about twenty or thirty of those stars would end up hitting the target on average, and because they are sharp pointed edged stars, the damage was minimal because it specialized in piercing damage. Though the attack factor is non-elemental magic, it is also piercing damage at the same time.
People are allowed to wear certain protective suits into battle to help them defend against big attacks. That''s where piercing damage comes in. Any attack dealing this kind of damage negates the effects of heavy armor, at often the sacrifice in exactly how much damage is done to their HP. Almost all piercing attacks have a minimal effect on an enemy''s HP levels, armored or not, but they are rather effective in maximizing the level of pain one is capable of sensing in a battle. Out of all the kinds of pain and intensity levels one may experience in a Leray match, slashing and piercing can be the worst.
But as far as Jack was concerned, this wasn''t all that bad. It was just a puny Radial Stars spell after all. Piercing barrage attacks are usually the same anyway. With damage types or power levels differing, Jane could have used Needle Barrage, or Ice Needles against Jack. Anything would have been more formidable than that lame excuse for a spell. The barrage of Radial Stars ended quickly, and Jack felt unfazed by that damage. At the same time, Jane''s orange glyphring faded, just before she lowered her arm used to aim at him in the first place. Now it was his turn again.
Jack was finally getting into it now. It has been a while before he battled against anybody here in Blue Port Town. There were already people gathering to watch the show from outside of the Siriean dome. Jane sure wasn''t acting like a great fighter yet, but maybe some more damage will slap some sense into her. Jack reached into his pocket, since most items are allowed into battle anyway. He then pulled out a small dagger of his own, holding it out to aim at Jane. "Razor''s Cross!" Jack threw the blade in a spinning motion after yelling aloud. The dagger that was sent flying through the air suddenly turned out to be three lone daggers closely together. The mirage Jack created in the beginning made Jane assume it would just be a single bladed attack, but now there were three spinning blades heading towards her, all with great speed and accuracy.
This time, Jane tried to dodge the attack, but she skipped out halfway when she couldn''t figure out which direction to go. It would have been better to dive into the ground and duck under all of those daggers. They were a bit spread out, so jumping left or right was not going to work, but because of the angle and wind speed applied to the daggers, they were all closing in on Jane, as if to strike just one point at the same time. Jane failed to dodge anything, so she was struck with three small daggers for some major slashing damage.
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Jane should have known! Razor''s Cross is just a ranged physical attack, incredibly similar to Knife Toss. Razor''s Cross throws three daggers instead of two, which makes the damage overall even higher. Jack didn''t even have to use magical abilities in this battle, since he was beginning to get far ahead of Jane as it was. Jane could just barely ignore the pain, but she managed to shake off that last attack. It was time for her to stop holding back.
Jane held her stance strong and tall as she prepared for the next move, but in the distance, Jack''s hand was already glowing. He was going for another attack spell! Jane did her best to remain alert. If she could just get her attack out first, it will be worth it anyway to take another hit. Jane quickly created a glyphring around her arm as she took aim at Jack. The glyphring was a bit larger than last time, deep-red colored too. Jane was going in for one of her powerful fire based spells. There was no time to watch what Jack was up to right now. With much needed speed, Jane unleashed her MP energy stored into her glyphring and spell, after chanting the magical ability first for ensured success. "Fire Bolt!" On cue, a large ball of fire formed from the center of the glyphring, and launched through Jane''s hand as if it were a cannon for the spell. The large fire ball immediately became a flying projectile, now on a collision course with Jack.
But Jack had other plans. Shortly after launching a Fire Bolt attack of his own, he had not realized that Jane accidentally used the same exact spell he did. It was purely coincidental, but now there were two Fire Bolts in the air, both heading for each other. It wasn''t unusual for one attack to stop another attack, even if that turned out to be the intention, but this was Jane''s very first real battle in the field, so it sure surprised her. Before she realized what just happened, the two Fire Bolts had mistakenly collided with each other in between Jane and her opponent. The Fire Bolts annihilated with each other, creating an explosive effect of fiery mist where it happened. Jane''s spell as well as Jack''s were thus rendered useless.
Jack could read Jane''s surprise from here, realizing that she was more shocked about that than he was. Though ne never expected Jane to go with Fire Bolt like that, Jack was better focused on an opportunity to strike as he took it. Now with a raging charge towards Jane, he was going to get in another attack, less likely to be interrupted. "Combat Kick!" Jack was literally sprinting as fast as he possibly could towards Jane, as if to tackle her onto the ground.
Jane sure didn''t expect this either. Since when was her opponent a close combat fighter too? Her surprise was going to be the end of her in this battle, because in just short a time, Jack jumped into the air while throwing his leg out to kick Jane in the face with much force. Finally, as if only dictated by instinct, Jane spun to her left while twisting her body in motion to perform an elegant dodge, and it worked out this time. Jack barely managed to land on two feet, but his flying kick actually missed Jane completely. Unfortunately for her, she forgot to remember the effects of all the specific skills that can be used. Remaining less than two feet away, Jack returned his leg over to where Jane was standing now, finally landing in a kick. After that, he gave her another kick, one at her leg, one on her side, and another on her stomach. He wasn''t letting up with his large combination attack of constant kicking, performed in a style similar to Kung Fu. Combat Kick is also just another normal physical attack skill, but is also a combination type that is devastating at close range.
Jane was suddenly being hammered with the solid force of Jack''s leather boots. The pain of getting kicked over and over like that in such a way where Jane could not get a hold of anything was just terrible, and for his final kick, Jane took it right to the face. With a force powerful enough to knock Jane over completely to her stomach, she was going to need much more time to recover from that last hit.
Jack examined Jane''s energy scope as it was now. So far, he was winning by a land slide, and right now, Jane was sunk to the floor, cringing in the pain his last combo strike did to her. Finally feeling sorry for Jane, Jack let up. Even though his combination attack sequence had naturally ended with his last kick, he had a perfect chance right now to get in several more sequences, but that wouldn''t really be cool to do that to Jane right now. Fighting while the target is already down is something one is always supposed to hold themself back from in a Leray battle. That could work wonders too with earning respect from any passive observer. Jack decided instead to back up quickly, putting more distance between himself and Jane. As soon as he finally went back to where he was standing before, Jane was trying to get back up. It had to be painful taking a kick like that to the face, but what is a battle if one doesn''t give it their all?
Jane was going to feel this one all the way until next morning. Her face was throbbing along with her side and her chest. She was kicked around everywhere, unable to do anything about it. It sucked the most, since the idea was Jane''s initial strategy to begin with. Jane was no push over in a close combat fight, but it''s not as if she was able to prove it right now. At least with the time it was taking for Jack to not attack her as Jane was getting her balance right, trying hard to stand back up, it became clear to her that he was simply waiting for her next move. It is normally proper to take turns in a match, even though it isn''t a real rule.
Jane finally steadied herself and began charging MP energy. If her opponent wants to hold back and wait, then he''ll have to get a taste of one of her more elevated power level spells instead. It didn''t take much time for Jane to finish charging her spell, but she was becoming reluctant to believe she was going to win her first battle. She did intentionally pick out the toughest looking customer anyway. Maybe looks are not deceiving today. Without needing the use of a glyphring, Jane''s hands were glowing orange again, just before unleashing her energy and chanting her attack loudly again. "Rumble Cannon!"
Jane''s spell abruptly caused the entire ground below both of them to quake vigorously. For about two long seconds, nothing was really happening, other than the fact that Jack was having trouble keeping his balance. Jane was having some trouble too, but she was prepared for this. Finally, at the end of the attack sequence, a large bounder the size of Jane''s body shot out from under the earth, about a meter from where Jack was standing. The large rock of gravel and dirt ended up slamming into Jack with a ton of force, knocking him backwards while the rock just rolled on by getting away with such brute force. Rumble Cannon is a tricky attack that causes the ground to shoot out a large boulder at the enemy, but in such a way where it is hard to predict when it will happen. The boulder is hard to dodge, but the total spell carries a naturally higher power level since the damage type involves earth elemental magic that specializes in blunt type damage as well.
Jane obviously chose her skill set well. Jack must have been feeling the same pain factor Jane was a moment ago from that kind of attack, and though Jane had less HP than her opponent currently did, this could be considered a real tide turner in this epic match. Jane was beginning to feel exhausted already, but at least now Jack was going to have to share her pain.
Jack managed to get back up after that last attack. It really did hurt, but the fight wasn''t over yet. Since it was finally getting interesting, Jack decided to draw his primary weapon; a two foot sword made of steel. Weapons like this were legal to use in battle, but only one weapon per user in one match is allowed, or two of the same exact class, such as swords and daggers. Bladed weapons are not lethal here either; the blade goes through people as if phasing through objects like ghosts. Only HP damage is caused, not real time damage, but weapons in a battle can still be devastating when used correctly. Jack was planning on getting the upper hand in close combat again, using a bladed sword.
Jane stood her ground, preparing for anything. Jack was already charging at Jane, sword slashing high in the air. He wasn''t chanting the name of any spell. Then again, Jack didn''t really need to. Sword Slash might as well have been the name he was going for. Just as soon as he caught up with Jane, Jack took a quick and powerful swing sideways. Jane reacted quickly, jumping high into the air in one of her successful backflips she had been practicing earlier. This was no ordinary backflip; Jane managed to jump backwards at least 11 feet from her opponent just before landing on the ground again. With a successful dodge, Jane landed on her hands and knees crouched to advantage. She was already prepared now for a counterattack. Jack only took one single swing. That was all he wanted to go for, but it looked like Jane really could dodge an attack or two. He had never seen somebody jump over a slash attack like that before.
Jane already began with a medium range magical attack; Earth Glave. She had trouble using this spell in the past. Due to its difficult-to-invoke properties and high power level for her skill, Earth Glave took a while to master. It''s actually a better version of her last used spell, Rumble Cannon. Jane only learned how to use Earth Glave just recently, but the fourth time is also good enough. Jane released the energy she had already charged for her attack while crouched onto the ground, but she had to stand up in order to invoke it so. "Earth Glave!" Almost as soon as she invoked her spell, the ground just in front of her shot up by a full inch. Just 0.25 seconds after, the ground further down rose up by a whole foot. The pattern exponentially continued all the way until the ground below Jack shifted. At the last moment, a giant rocky pillar shot from below the ground up, just in front of where Jack was standing. He was stationary the entire time, but the large pillar managed to gash the front of his body, adding enough force to throw him off the ground at the same time.
Jack fell on his back after taking a powerful earth type of attack. Earth Glave is a specialty favorite for many people, yet hard to learn in itself. After being hit from an earth pillar from his stomach to his face, Jack was now getting a taste of his own medicine where it regarded pain. He took his time getting back up too, since it put him in a near state of shock.
Jane smiled at the next opportunity she now had to attack once again. She at least waited until her opponent was finally standing up on his two legs. With just a little energy needed to charge, Jane launched another magical attack. "Shadow Wave!" Because it is the same attack no matter who uses it, Jane made the same hand motions when sending her Shadow Wave off, and the spell itself had the same exact formation. The earth-bound shadow grew in height and power as it quickly traveled towards Jack.
Jack was already feeling a bit winded from that last hit, but with his sword still out and in his hand, there was one easy way to avoid taking this attack. Reacting quickly, Jack shoved his sword into the ground in front of him with tremendous force. At the same time, he crouched down to anchor it in deep. The Shadow Wave that was now imminent to slam into Jack suddenly hit the side of his sword instead. While Shadow Wave usually plows right through any solid objects, this seemed to be an exception. Jack knew he was danger close to a powerful attack in progress. Jane''s Shadow Wave in particular was somehow just as powerful as his own, but it was not getting through his sword, so long as he fought back with the force it put on his blade. After the length of the attack was over, the Shadow Wave exploded into its usual dark cloud, only to fade away another second later.
Jane checked the energy scope above Jack. His HP stats did not decline at all! It''s unbelievable! He used his own sword to block out her Shadow Wave spell, and it worked better than she would have thought. Then, as soon as Jack realized that he blocked out her attack, his sword lifted out of the ground. Now it was his turn to attack. Jane knew she wasn''t even going to get in a single hit this time. The anticipation was already making her anxious.
Jack finally recovered, and he was ready to use another spell on his opponent. He began using up a lot of his MP, since this next attack takes up a bit more than the usual elemental attack factor. Just before chanting the name of his spell, Jack threw his right arm up, taking a sharp aim at Jane. At the same time, a large dark jade colored glyphring formed around his wrist, carrying the symbol of a lightning bolt on it. That''s right; it''s time to see how Jane holds up against an electrical attack. Just before finally releasing his energy, he hollered the name of his spell, echoing in the silent wind. "Lightning Strike!"
Jack''s attack was too fast and unforeseeable. Just like lightning, his Lightning Strike spell was evanescent to impact, while Jane stood helplessly in place while the lightning bolt continued to hurt her over time. Lightning Strike is a special kind of electrical based elemental magical attack. Because of the speed at which it comes out, it cannot be dodged, and at the same time, the attack spell deals damage over time by holding the opponent in place as they are gradually electrocuted and unable to break free from the jolt hold. The only downside to such power is the higher consumption of MP it would cost in order to use it, but for Jack, that sure wasn''t a problem right now.
Jane hated electricity! Even in a Leray damage standard, there is nothing worse than taking an electrical attack. She wasn''t able to dodge it no matter what, and the sensation of being electrocuted in place for a long stream of HP damage was just unique on its own. The body heats up real quickly, while you get millions of tingly sensations that also hurt in every corner and inch of your entire body, and all at the same time, you can''t even move a muscle, because it''s all cramped up during the Lightning Strike. In attack form, the Lightning Strike spell lasts for a total of 1.6 seconds on average. In perspective, that''s a really long time to feel that sort of pain, and that isn''t even the worst part.
As soon as Jane''s body finally ceased constant vibrating, and the Lightning Strike attack was finally over, it left her with the same tingly sensation everywhere. It was like Jane''s entire body was tingling, but she could still feel the hurt of everything. At the same time, being zapped for that long made her lightheaded quickly. This went double for Jane, as her HP level was now dangerously low from that last hit. It was a bit of a shock, seeing as a single Lightning Strike attack should not deal that much damage to anybody, no matter the endurance level. When HP stats get low, one feels exhausted, but not in the sense that they''ve just finished a vigorous exercise. Rather, it feels like the room is spinning them around, and they could just pass out at any moment''s notice.
Jane didn''t feel as if she could go on, and her own energy scope was warning her of that right about now. This totally sucked! Jane''s very first battle, and it is already practically over. It would take her at least four more attacks to bring Jacks HP all the way down, and just one more to make Jane completely pass out. If her HP were to fall down all the way to zero, she would unknowingly and uncontrollably be forced unconscious, thus allowing Jack to claim victory in the battle...
But the more Jane thought about it, he really did fight against her well. That did nothing at all to calm her nerves though. This was outrageous! Jane never thought she was going to lose her first battle, but if there is any formidable way to lose, it''s giving up while she has the chance. "Dammit!" she yelled. "Stop the match! I declare forfeit!"
The response in the environment to Jane''s words was immediate. The Siriean dome over both of them disappeared from the ground up. Jack finally stopped moving, waiting for the next action to happen. The same text that appeared at the start of battle in holographic form appeared again. Only it was reading different now, due to Jane''s choice of forfeiting.
Chapter Theme Shift: Menu Theme ~ Genesis Rising OST
That was it. Jane just lost right here and now. It was a miracle that she wasn''t willing to bet more than 200 credits, because she had just lost them. Even as it was happening, Jane was in much of her own shock. How could she just do that to herself, after all of that work? Now Jack was approaching her, likely to just rub it all in.
Jane really felt as if she were about to faint, and she pulled a familiar object out of her dress pocket. The small green top device was already reacting in Jane''s hands from the infusion of magical energy. The sphere continued glowing brightly until it began to disappear into the light. Jane just used a healing orb on herself, a common tradition people do after winning or losing a battle. Healing orbs heal all of the HP status on a character as soon as they are used, in a really quick reaction. According to the official Leray rules, items such as healing orbs are not allowed to be used during a battle. Strange Leray magical elements block out their usage somehow, preventing magic from entering or exiting from these orbs so long as a Siriean dome surrounds them. Jane checked her energy scope to properly ensure that the healing orb was working, while Jack still had a few more meters to walk before reaching her.
HP was fully restored. Jane''s MP only went up by ten percent, but that was normal considering that med kit orbs are not MP boosters, and don''t intend to recover MP levels when used. Jack wouldn''t be needing one. He just won the match by a landslide. Jane was clenching her fists and teeth at the thought, and he already approached Jane with something to say.
"Jane. That was an excellent battle! I actually had fun today, on the count of underestimating you." Jack extended his arm out hand open as a gesture to shake on the good sportsmanship.
But Jane turned and refused to shake his hand. This isn''t over yet! There is no way that was her best work. "Hold on!" she erupted. "You still are underestimating me. The way that went down just isn''t like me. I demand a rematch! I want to battle again, and prove I''m tough enough to do better!"
Jack took back his hand in surprise. Jane was an entire foot shorter than him, yet she held a violent stance that rejected the very defeat she suffered. Jane had much anger in her voice, so it was easy to see how upset she was by the loss... But to actually offer to battle him again? People are normally more honorable. "I don''t know what you are trying to prove..." Jane stared at him with her green colored eyes. Jane really is being deplorable at the moment, but to go as far to claim she wasn''t doing her best? She should have thought about that during the match and not after...
She''s just standing there, glaring at him with that intense expression, serious as she could be demanding a rematch. Through a long time of his battle career, Jack never witnessed so much determination in one expression. Jane really is demanding a rematch, as she did obviously want to prove something. Perhaps there was a strategy she never got to make use of? Even so, why should he accept such a ludicrous request? It doesn''t look good to indulge such arrogant behavior, but something about the look on her face gave him a tingly feeling of guilt that he outperformed her own work. After some silent thought as the people hovering nearby got bored, Jack answered to the girl. "Okay. Fine! Take a ten minute break, and we''ll have our match here again. But I''m still not going easy on you."
Jane relaxed her muscles while directly facing him. "Good. I''ll be back." She quickly turned around, walking towards the direction of the Leray store. There had to be something off about the way she battled a moment ago. Jane tried to think back to it, but first she needed to completely block out the crowd of surrounding people first. Almost all of town was watching and cheering for that battle in a full spectacle, and that was common - for people to spectate other people''s matches. They are almost as fun to watch as they are to experience. Jane still didn''t see Danny or Taylor walking around. How did they manage to miss that kind of commotion? They couldn''t still be shopping, could they?
Jane steadied her thoughts while making her way to Sentiment Pollox. It wasn''t a long walk to get there, but Jane couldn''t get that last attack exchange off of her mind. The Lightning Strike she got hit with, it was way too powerful for Jack''s level, but all of his physical attacks did standard damage as well. It wasn''t just that certain spell either. Lightning Strike normally would have decreased Jane''s base HP by 12% max, but in the battle, she lost more than 30% instead. Other magical based attacks had the same effect on her too during that round. It was like Jane''s natural defense was much lower than it should be. Of course, nobody in their right mind would buy that kind of excuse for her loss, but Jane could feel that something wasn''t right. Other factors were off too, but Jane didn''t successfully recall them just yet. She should not have lost to Jack for any reason given all of that training she did.
Chapter Theme Shift: Twisted Base ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
After reaching the open entrance to the store, Jane walked right in noticing the sudden breeze slamming into her from the high powered air conditioning unit inside. It was still in the middle of winter, but it was not cold outside. As wonderful and organized as the interior always looked, Jane ignored most of any visual details to aim her focus. In the store, Jane searched around all of the tall shelves, eventually finding her friends in a flash. They were still shopping?!
"Taylor! Danny!" Jane called. Her voice amplified well within these walls. Well lit from the fluorescents, the Leray store was nothing short of rich on design. Coming from the less fortunate town of Fronas, that can be difficult to get used to.
Taylor and her friend noticed Jane calling immediately, and waved at her to come their way. Sure took her long enough to find a good challenger. Taylor waited for Jane to get closer to talk to her using her indoor voice. Chanting all of those spell names had Taylor''s voice well spent for the day. "Hey Jane. You come here to spend your winnings too?"
"Huh?" Jane winced from what Taylor meant in her words. "You are? I mean, you''ve already won your battles?" Taylor and Danny wouldn''t have gone and battled without telling her first, would they? And if they did, they won their battles so quickly? How long did her match against Jack take...? Jane failed to count the time in memory.
It was pretty evident that they had won something somehow. Taylor was holding a nice looking bow in her hand. The string for it was constantly glowing a bright pink color all on its own with a thin aura, ensuring that it was a great weapon to fire arrows from. "Yep. I ran into someone from Dakota in town. They weren''t from our class, but she was rather easy to beat. I bought this awesome bow from my winnings."
Danny held up his sword to Jane in order to show off. His blade looked as if it were a regular sword though, with the obvious difference in blade size. The metal blade was significantly shorter than what most swords have to offer, but he was satisfied with that. The sword''s shorter than average blade length gives the weapon an easily maneuverable lightweight tactic that would give him the edge in battle. Apparently, a blaster weapon wasn''t in his favor anymore. "My short blade is cool too. And now that I have one, I can focus on learning new skills in battle, like fire and ice blade. I looked in my guide book for spells like that, and it says that you must have your own real sword as the single primary weapon to use those skills. Weapon generation is more complicated to work with those spells."
"Must have been on clearance," Jane remarked. She didn''t show much support in her expression about her friends'' victory. Besides, she is going to need to buy something here as well, anything that would grant her the edge in battle.
"What about you?" Taylor tested. Jane sure didn''t appear to have that look on her face, the happy and energetic look of determination that usually paints her entire picture. She was suddenly so intense and serious.
"I guess I wouldn''t know. You have to win a battle to buy things like that."
"Agh! You lost?!" Danny and Taylor both spoke of the same words in sync, their voices filling up the entire store in volume. "No way!" Taylor added. "To who?" This was incredible! Jane never loses! She had the capacity to defeat Taylor and Danny in a battle two against one, likely without even taking damage. Who in the world would be that strong to mop the floor with our Jane? And so close to Fronas in the same instance?
Jane didn''t look like she took kindly to their big shout out, but it was true. "I had to quit half-way from the way things were going. But it''s okay now. I challenged him to a rematch, and I''m buying something to help me win."
It seemed typical that Jane would rematch a person with a new strategy, but the anger in her voice was really harsh in her own expression. Taylor could feel Jane''s face turn red all in the crazy confusion. Who did Jane lose to? And why was she suddenly thinking that a simple item or two would allow her to win when she did not before...? Wait. Jane is rematching the tough opponent now? "Jane? I want to watch you battle. I have to see this for myself."
"That makes two of us," Danny enabled. Danny knew this could happen eventually. Jane''s arrogant behavior finally got the best of her. It would be too much to pass up a chance to meet the guy who taught her a good lesson, but another thing in itself to watch Jane fight the same person in the same hour. "So who is this guy who defeated you?"
"His name''s Jack," she replied. "Although the name doesn''t matter. I just need to get something and rematch. I have plenty of credits to do that."
Danny repeated, "Plenty of credits? You must not have bet very high to have a lot after losing."
How annoying must you be?! "I was doing that as a test, stupid!"
"It''s smart to bet low in the beginning," Taylor concluded. "Because now you see it really paid off in this situation." Taylor didn''t mind helping Jane out. Even if she was a bit arrogant, wouldn''t one need all of that willpower turning battles into a full winning career?
Still, Danny and Taylor both had no trouble at all winning their very first battles. They could have just fought rookies, but she couldn''t be too certain having not witnessed anything. "How did you both win your battles while I went and lost?"
Taylor folded her arms at Jane''s thought process. That explanation was easy knowing Jane. "Come on Jane. Danny and I went for any opponent. But knowing you, you chose the toughest looking wielder there is in town." With a short pause, Taylor added, "Am I right?"
Taylor did have a point. They really did have easy wins in that case, but Jane still could not get over her incredibly weak defense. It just isn''t right, but there might be something that can make it right. Danny and Taylor were buying weapons. That''s fine, but right now, Jane''s issue is a good defense against that guy. So that means buying a good armored suit is the key to this problem. This dress sphere she was currently wearing does nothing but make her look cute, and there are variances of upgrades. Jane stepped into the next isle where many Leray items are being sold. There was still that same leather outfit on display, and below the plaque indicating the name and model of the protective Leray battle suit were the stats and benefits to wearing the outfit as well. Jane read it all carefully.
Leather outfit Mark FS45 | Resist fire +5% | Resist cold -5% | Resist Electrical +5% | Resist piercing +10% | Resist Slashing +7% | Resist Blunting +9%
This leather outfit is a specially designed dress sphere made of finer material infused with heavier Leray magic protection, giving the outfit natural resistances to damage on top of the stackable effects to a person''s endurance levels. Those are the benefits of wearing the leather suit into battle. It comes with many natural resistances to types of damage. Of course, that means that non-elemental magical damage will still be devastating to take, and the physical slashing damage resistance isn''t so great either. In fact, the total overall damage resistances were quite low, but it was worth a shot to try and get the upper hand. This wasn''t the same mercenary Scoutfit Jane saw in the shop before, so someone must have already bought and paid for it. Now it was just this FS45 leather outfit, which protects even less than normal. But Jane had to have it! Her dress sphere doesn''t really offer any real protection anyway.
Dress spheres are uniquely designed Leray outfits that look like normal dress clothes that can be stylish to wear in a battle, but the real purpose is to make these dresses completely impervious to taking damage in the lining and fabric threads. If one wears dress clothes that are not infused with Leray synthesis or protected by the process during creation, then they are vulnerable to taking damage in such a way where a Fire Bolt may ignite them, or where enough slashing attacks could destroy the clothing into tattered fabric pieces. It was one of the many early innovations for Leray battling back in the days.
Initially, Leray battling was soon a problem when the contestants were fighting until their clothes had completely ripped off of them, leaving them bare before officially losing. It is common knowledge these days to wear a dress sphere into battle, so everyone does. But there is another classification of Leray wear; leather suits, mercenary suits, magical cloaks, and more. All are technically considered dress spheres, but they are irregular. Regular dress spheres offer style, but they offer zero damage resistance for any element of damage. Such suits are still technically considered dress spheres in the context that they have just as much impervious protection, including metallic armor, though the difference in the nomenclature emphasizes how much more natural protection is added to the more expensive and less stylistic battle gear. That is why upgrading to a better piece of clothing is important to consider. Right now, that is what Jane is doing.
The price ran quite high at about 1100 CR, but even that was lower than the standard. Must be clearance day or something. Perhaps the store thought it could boost profits knowing that Dakota has just graduated their students. That means they must make some of these items more affordable. It worked for Jane; the trade was worth it. Her battle would take place in just six minutes, so this will have to be her next hope.
After ringing up the suit at the counter, and dropping her credit total to 1950 CR, it was a done deal. Jane had 3250 CR to start with before betting any of her currency on her first battle, but it was significantly more than what most people start out with. Jane did have an initial boost from her mother. Danny and Taylor were not that lucky, since their parents are back in their home country, probably worried sick by now.
Jane took her new suit with her into the changing room inside of the store in the back. She would be changing into her new outfit, adding on natural damage resistances to her person before having that rematch with Jack. Maybe it would be enough now, or maybe her suit won''t make all of the difference at all. As far as most were concerned, when Jane battled somebody, it was always interesting. Danny and Taylor both knew that for a fact. Knowing more magical spells and Leray skills makes battles last longer, and makes that person tougher in general. However, if Jane lost her first round, this Jack cannot be a pushover either. This was certainly going to be a match they were not about to miss.
Chapter 4: I Declare a Rematch
<01/16/1972 ¨C 12:17 | Blue Port Town, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane and her friends had already made it back outside in Blue Port Town. There was already quite a crowd surrounding the general vicinity. Jane loudly and openly declared a rematch in front of everyone with much passion and anger. It must really be a hot show to watch with that kind of determination stinging in her voice. Jane''s new beige colored suit looked pretty good on her, though it was also a tight fit as well. It would surely work out to her advantage in the end; at least that is what Jane was hoping for.
"It''s rematch time Jane!" Jack called. The girl looked to be refined and ready, but the new leather suit made for most of that difference. "You''re new suit won''t be enough to defeat me alone. Let''s see what you''re really made of."
Jane stopped after getting close enough to talk back to her opponent. "Good. You won''t mind betting 500 credits this time?"
"The more the merrier." After going through all the trouble, 500 credits would have been the minimum from Jack''s demands. Jack accepted Jane''s money bet, and waited for everyone to back way. The Siriean dome often forms in a huge radius like area, but there are too many people around. They were however backing up already, even Danny and Taylor knew to do the same by now. The location was a bit different this time. Instead of taking up on the western path out of here, this fight was happening right in the center plaza, where there are basically no structures to get in the way. The green field was flat enough to use, and the battle was already about to commence.
Danny and Taylor stood close together, watching the scene from the same distance as the crowd of pedestrians. Watching Jane battle through a tough situation would defiantly be interesting for now. Danny pulled out his small sized guidebook, opening it up to the spell list page. Hovering over Taylor, he promised, "I''m going to cover every attack they use from this book. It will help us understand what kind of damage is actually going on."
Taylor gave Danny a happily annoyed look. "You and your book of spells..."
"Hey, it will help us learn cool spells too," he argued. The book was full of attack skills and what they should do in battle. Since Jane and Jack will likely be chanting every single spell they use as usual, it will be easy to use that and check it out in the book. This will provide an excellent opportunity to check out what works in fights and what doesn''t work, while providing strategic data as to why. But Taylor wasn''t planning on looking away from the fight, not for one second. If Jack defeated Jane the first time, then she will fight even harder the next.
Taylor focused even more on Jane however. She looks so different in that suit. Taylor had gotten too used to seeing Jane wearing her numerous dress spheres. The benefit of a regular dress sphere is that one gets to look nice even in a battle, but Jane was finally taking off the gloves with this guy. Her leather outfit was defiantly fit for the current situation given the potential damage protection and elasticity of the material to provide for easy movement, but horrible to be seen with in a more casual setting.
Jane waited patiently for the Siriean dome to form around them. Nobody accidentally got caught in the nearly invisible bubble, which meant it was nearly time to fight. The same holographic text from before appeared again, indicating that the battle was now beginning, and reminding everyone about the bet being made.
Jane and Jack enabled their energy scopes even faster than before. It was almost the same routine just before going into battle. The holographic text boxes appeared above their heads, showing off what their current stats were at. That would all change quickly once the battle begins, though it has already really started. The only thing left is to decide who gets the first move, but that is something that is decided by force, not by some trick or coin toss.
Chapter Theme Shift: Fight! No. 2 ~ Noriko Matsueda & Takahito Eguchi (FFX-2 OST)
And the fight begins! Jack already made the first move by getting a little close. Challengers naturally start out as far away from each other as possible, usually too far away to score a real attack at any range. Jane got closer too, but she kept her focus on Jack knowing he was surely going to get in the very first action. The small crowd around them was already cheering loudly, going wild. They were more hyped up than the last time, likely because they knew what to expect this time around. To the spectators, it was just one hell of a show, but for Jane, it was her honor as a destined Leray master on the line. She has to win!
Finally nearing his mark, Jack stopped in place charging a small amount of MP into his weapon holstered on his back. Before Jane could even begin to realize what was about to happen, Jack took advantage of his speedy situation and took the blaster weapon off of his back. Blasters are weapons used in battle to score damage at long range using energy shots, but they don''t do much damage alone for that purpose. However, Jack had already aimed the small weapon at Jane and pulled the trigger, chanting the name of his battle skill all at the same time. "Scatter Beam!"
Several beams of evanescent blue lasers shot from the barrel of Jack''s blaster weapon. They looked like fast moving photons that appeared and disappeared just as quickly. Jane was suddenly hit with about three blaster shots all together, but the rest of them naturally missed. Scatter Beam uses a blaster weapon to fire energy beams in the dispersal formation of a shotgun shell. The gun fires multiple blasts that scatter outwards from each other in a barrage of fire. Each individual blast taxes on less damage as a result, but used at close range, it would have been devastating.
Danny noticed that Jane''s HP hardly took a fall at all, but he recognized the skill Scatter Beam from before. In the Dakota training facility, he himself learned how to invoke Scatter Beam using a training blaster. It was the very weapon he just discarded in order to afford his new short blade saber. He too knew of the small and almost ineffective power of Scatter Beam. It has a low power level, which means the damage is low because the MP cost is low, and the skill itself is really easy to learn compared to other skills. It can only be effective at a close range, enough to get punched or stabbed.
Jane felt the stinging sensation of the Scatter Beams hitting her, but it was short lived. Easy enough to shake off that simple attack, Jane knew it was now her turn. Her next course of action would naturally lower her defense, but there was no choice. Jane began to charge at Jack after pulling the daggers out of her suit''s side pockets. Now was finally the time to show off everything she learned before Dakota.
Taylor watched as Jane got up really close to Jack, and then unleashed a barrage of physical combination attacks. Jane was kicking, jumping, punching, back flipping, and slashing at Jack with her daggers in the most elegant momentum of grace. Jack was unable to dodge or block out Jane''s close combat attack completely, and it was all thanks to Jane''s special training and her high agility movements. Jane however wasn''t even using an official Leray skill. This is simply what happens when one uses plain physical attacks to add on damage. Physical attacks usually have the lowest scale of damage since they don''t use MP energy to help increase the power level, but with Jane, it is not the same. Because of her incredible speedy combination of punches, kicks, evasions, and dagger slashes, Jack was taking on a lot of damage for sure, little bits at a time that would add up to something larger as soon as Jane finally backs away to a safer distance.
Jane jumped away again just before Jack had the chance to try and intercept another of her moves. Jane really threw in a lot of hits that time, and now it was over. Her combination was of course limited in the sense that it tired her out physically. Jane was already beginning to sweat, while her quickened breathing rate forced her to bob up and down more noticeably. Jane then counted Jack''s damage on the energy scope above him. Though it was only ten percent damage in total, that''s actually pretty high for only using physical attacks with no MP attached. Jane was already in the lead now.
Jack felt like he had taken damage everywhere. It was almost as bad as taking a Thunderbolt attack head on, and now he realized that Jane really did have some more hidden talent she never got to show off last time. Jane could end up becoming the victor if she keeps up those close ranged attacks of hers. Is this Jane''s secret, the reason she wanted to win so badly?
Taylor screamed over the crowd, "Go Jane! Keep it up!" Cheering Jane on was a must right now, seeing as this Jack guy could finish her at any moment''s notice. Jack was however not showing off how tough he was yet. Hopefully, Jane isn''t going to give him the chance. As it was right now though, Jane had backed up a bit further, while Jack was standing tall and still. It looked like he was about to take his turn in total to attack Jane with all his might.
Jack unleashed the energy he was charging from his reserves, which immediately threw down much of his MP capacity on his energy scope. Anyone who watches them carefully can predict when a magical attack is incoming, but not everything can be dodged either way. Jack threw in his magical spell towards Jane. After creating a quickly spawned red glyphring at the front of his two open hands which are now aimed straight at Jane, Jack chanted the name of his next magical attack. "Flamethrower!"
In the blink of an eye, Jane was now tangoing with a powerful fire based attack spell known as Flamethrower. Facing a steady narrow stream of fire, Jane quickly reacted by attempting to dodge the attack altogether. She jumped far to her right, nearly diving into the ground. At first, her quick reaction saved her some of the damage as the stream of fire nearly grazed her, but then the rest of the stream came and charged into her entire body as it changed direction in control of Jack''s glyphring. Jane was now in a bit of trouble, feeling the full burning sensation of flames all around her. The attack was short lived since she had dodged at least half of Flamethrower''s effects, but it didn''t work enough to completely avoid it. It would have done much more damage had Jane not attempted a dodge however.
Danny''s jaw dropped, since he had never seen that spell before. He quickly glanced down at his book, flipping the pages to the Flamethrower section. It was quick work since the pages were all divided by elemental type and power level, followed by alphabetical order. "Here it is!" he pointed. Danny was reading out loud the important details about Flamethrower, while Taylor used her eyes for Jane. "Flamethrower. Power level 4.5, and it deals damage over time while executed." Danny looked back towards Jane, who was now out of the flames, but struggling to shake off that painful sensation of a burn.
Taylor finished Danny''s thought in words. "That had to hurt. Even though Jane only suffered half of the dose of damage by dodging the first second of it, Flamethrower sure has a leading name."
Jane felt like every inch of her body was on fire. That intensity faded only bit by bit over time, but she had to shake it off faster, or else Jack would get in another attack. It would take even longer for Jane to run up and get at a closer range again. Now is the best time for long range attacks that don''t suck as bad as Radial Stars. Since it was also her turn to try something, Jane already used up some of her MP. The charging and invocation of the simpler spells tends to happen much faster than more potent spells. Still, Jane was choosing another elegant skill never before revealed.
"Silver Arrow!" A quick rotating yellow glyphring formed and faded really quickly, level to Jane''s head on the right. It wasn''t an attack glyphring though. Small yellow glyphrings are used to temporarily summon weapons into battle that one may not already have. That person can then use that weapon in battle despite not having chosen it as the primary tool. For Jane, the start of her spell consumed about 6% of her MP level, and generated a bow in her hands with arrows ready to be used as well. Jane immediately went from spawning the bow to shooting off her first arrow. She practiced a lot with this skill, making sure her opponent would have as little time as possible to dodge, less time to figure out what she was about to do. Though it takes time to prepare and shoot an arrow this way, her practice gave her unusual speed and focus during the entire process.
Danny looked in his book again. Jane knew lots of skills for sure, but Silver Arrow was new to him. "Silver Arrow. Power level of 2.5, uses a bow and arrow to fire five sharp pointed rounds in a combination attack. Piercing damage."
Because Jane did not use a bow as her official weapon, the MP energy was really spent just on summoning that bow into her hands to use. That is the trade off to using weapons one does not bring into battle in the first place, but they still do damage all the same, disappearing as soon as the attack sequence is over. Jane went really quickly, shooting one arrow after the other by pulling back on the tight thin string. She fired her last one with much better aim, taking note in her mind of the sharp pointed silver tips on all five of the arrows.
Jack had little time at all to try and evade them. Arrows fly in the air quickly too, and Jane wasn''t a terrible aim. He ended up getting hit by three of them including the last one which Jane pulled back on with more force than before. Since arrows are sharp only at their tips, they cause physical piercing damage in particular. For Jack, that''s good news to his HP overall, but terrible news for his pain receptors. Piercing damage always has low damage dealing potential in regards to total HP capacity, but the design is more oriented to dealing pain damage instead. The sensation of having three super sharp arrows stuck in him for a portion of the battle wasn''t going to sit right with Jack at all.
With arrows stuck in his left leg, right arm, and right chest, Jack knew he would now have trouble maneuvering in close ranged attacks. The arrows stung where they dug in. Jane''s bow faded away in her hands by molecular disintegration, since it was not her official weapon. Jack thought of something quick, a way to counter the pain, remove the arrows, increase his defense and offense, and attack Jane all in one move, but it won''t come cheap. With a quick burst of a colorful green aura now surrounding Jack''s body from invoking his next magical skill, Jack''s aura exploded where it was, brushing off the arrows that were stuck inside of him instantly. "Deliverance Offense!"
Taylor winced in surprise from whatever was happening with Jack. Danny went straight to work on identifying the new spells. Danny found it rather quickly, since his guide book was alphabetized neatly. "Deliverance Offense. It''s an attack and a support aura at the same time. Deliverance Offense uses MP over time with an aura as it increases your physical attack power completely, and it raises your defense for a short while too. Combined with a close combat attack, it really turns the tide in battle, but it costs some initial MP and HP from the user as well."
Taylor had no idea that such a magical aura attack even existed, and from the looks of it, neither did Jane. She noticed already that Jack''s energy scope stats already changed as his aura surrounding him had gone complete and turned red.
Jack''s move cost him 10% MP and 10% HP, but now for a shortened period of time, all of his physical attacks will become much more powerful. Of course, throwing any punches, kicks, or the use of physical weapons will also drain his MP slightly each time too. Jack was certain Jane was not coming back from this regardless.
Jane knew she was in trouble now, as Jack was charging at her instead. That was usually Jane''s thing. Since she is quick and agile in a close combat situation, it was unlike Jack at all to try this, but all that said more about his confidence with such as reckless skill. Jack already entered Jane''s personal space, so Jane reacted immediately by dodging the first few hits. Jack was throwing punches at first. Then, with just one upwards kick, he got the best of Jane, knocking her off balance and preventing her from dodging the next combination of punches. Suddenly, Jane was being hit hard with punches and kicks. Jack wasn''t as fast as Jane, but his attacks were much more powerful at the same time, forcing Jane to cringe in pain with every single hit. After taking thirteen devastating blows, Jack finished it with a brute jab that knocked Jane flat on her back. He noticed that his aura had already faded, and his attack power returned to normal. Time to back away from Jane.
Taylor gasped with her hands close to her mouth. "Oh no! Jane!"
Danny felt sympathy for Jane''s position too. According to her energy scope, Jane could keep going. "But all of Jack''s attacks were three times as powerful. Every punch and kick he delivered was infused with magical damage as well. It increases the power of normal physical attacks by up to 600%. I hope Jane plays it safe."
If you''d ever been punched in the face before by someone strong, double the painful sensation, and that is about the force of each hit Jane had to feel in that moment. It kept her on the ground a moment longer than she would have considered acceptable, but Jane knew this wasn''t over yet. The painful bruising she now had everywhere begged to differ, but she bravely fought through it and forced herself to get back up slowly and carefully. She could hear the crowd going wild. Most were probably just cheering for the current winner, and after that crazy performance, it was Jack for sure. Jane''s eyes opened wider, now that she had realized something. It was with Jack''s energy scope.
Whatever he did took a major toll on his MP levels. He has to be getting tired too. Deciding to stay at long range, Jane invoked her Fire Ball spell, but she was chanting something different. "I''m not stopping till it''s over!" Jane spun her arms while shooting her Fire Ball towards Jack. This naturally gave it more force, and it looked cool too since the glyphring was following Jane''s wrists. Usually, a Fire Ball attack shoots from the glyphring as it forms around one''s wrist, but Jane also had two glyphrings, one for each side. Though it counts as two magical attacks, and thus uses twice as much MP to invoke this way, Jane spun her other arm around, successfully shooting out two Fire Balls instead of one. This time, she didn''t chant the name of the spell itself.
Both Fire Balls hit Jack immediately, since they pick up speed traveling in the air. It''s an interesting way to quickly attack at long range. Fire Balls are easily dodged, but not when one sends them the way Jane did to double their speed. The small explosions of fire on Jack were evident, and his HP took some more damage in response.
"What?!" Taylor jumped. "Jane didn''t chant the name of her spell."
That''s what surprised her? Danny felt it more appropriate to praise Jane for launching two fire glyphrings for two Fire Ball spells in the exact same instance. Danny briefly explained to Taylor, "She didn''t have to. It''s not against any rule to use any official Leray ability without chanting its name. The only reason people do it in the first place is to ensure their magical invocation goes without error. But once you''ve done it enough times... Jane obviously doesn''t need to name something that comes to her so quick, so fast. It proves how long she has already come since her training days."You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Taylor wanted to call Danny wrong since that isn''t what she meant. It''s common knowledge, but to see Jane forgetting to chant her own abilities and still execute them without fail was a good thing. It just took her by surprise is all.
Jack had to shake off the pain from the double fire attack. It was strange, seeing how she was fighting back much harder than before. Her defense was practically the same, but Jane was different this round. Still... Best to be sure she won''t back down if things don''t go her way. It''s disgraceful to end a match by forfeiting more than once in a row. Jack prepared his MP energy, charging it into his right fist. He then chanted the name of his special skill, while charging his fist all the way down into the earth beneath him, the magical force cracking the earth. "Doom Shield!"
Jack''s fist came down with a lot of force, and this causes some sort of visible shockwave to travel outward in a circular direction. Jane put her arms up to guard against the unknown magical attack. She had never seen it before, but the shockwave didn''t hurt her at all. The only thing she immediately noticed was a rush of wind pass her by quickly. But then... The shield!
Jane noticed something happening to the Siriean dome shield surrounding them. It was suddenly more visible than before, changing color and intensity. The dome shield became a darker shade of blue pulsating in design, while the texture detail changed as well. The Siriean dome then became slightly more translucent, but overall, it was much more visible than it was at the start of the match. "What''s that?"
"It''s a Doom Shield!" Danny cried. He already took the time to study up on a few of these abilities in advance from his guide book. Without needing to turn pages and read the details, he was already aware of the effects of a Doom Shield. "Doom Shield is a special power that prevents either side from forfeiting the match and quitting early."
"What do you mean?" Taylor requested.
Danny only accepted to give Taylor the short explanation, given a short moment of inaction by Jack and Jane. "You see, normally Jane or even Jack could just call it quits. By doing so, they automatically lose the battle, but they get to keep themselves from passing out at the end. Usually, passing out by running dry on HP is what officially makes you lose the match. But by calling in a Doom Shield, Jack has just made it physically impossible for Jane to quit if things don''t go her way. Now Jane has to battle all the way to the finish for sure. The only way the battle can end now is if either side loses all of their HP."
Jack knew what he was doing. The effects of Doom Shield works both ways. Jack can no longer escape from the battle either, but he had full confidence that he would emerge victorious against Jane. "You made your bed. Let''s see how you keep to your word. No quitting early this time!"
"I don''t plan on it!" Jane immediately charged in another magical attack. It was officially her turn to go anyway. Jack still had a high HP amount, and Jane needed to change that quickly. Her next spell would be simple to use anyway. After chanting its name, "Shadow Wave!" Jane threw the magic out of her body, forming the familiar Shadow Wave attack that she and Jack both used last round. Jane''s Shadow Wave was more powerful though, all because she had more training with it. While the quick unavoidable Shadow Wave was now on approach towards Jack, he was powerless to defend himself. Though from the looks of it, he put his arms up to try and block it instead. Dodging must not be his style.
Jack had trouble blocking this attack. Blocking an attack usually reduces incoming damage, but only against specific spells. Shadow Wave infuses non-elemental magic into physical slashing damage at the same time it is dealt; therefore, blocking has little effect; it''s also a combination attack as soon as it hits the target. Jack had no choice but to accept to incoming damage being done to him over time. The wave that pushed against him forced him to remain still. He couldn''t try and break it free either. The slashes all over his frontal body and especially his hands hurt with a vengeance.
The Shadow Wave burst into a dark mist which shortly faded on its own after finishing the damaging touches against Jane''s opponent. Though it was now Jack''s turn to go, he wasn''t moving very much. That last Shadow Wave attack obviously had him stunned where he stood. That low MP energy of his wasn''t helping out either. When MP energy runs dry, any physical attack or movement becomes sluggish as that person quickly tires out on their reduced stamina. Additionally, using skills which costs MP becomes less possible at the same time.
Jane ultimately had the advantage for sure now. Jack wasn''t going to attack in the next second, and that left Jane''s attack window wide open. Without even hesitating or holding back, Jane charged some more of her MP energy into another magical skill. It wasn''t designed to do much damage anyway, but Jack can''t seem to handle pain anymore, now that his HP has been cut in half... With a quick chant of a magical spell, Jane formed another wrist-bound glyphring to her right arm. "Ice Needles!" Out of the bright blue spinning glyphring, a barrage of dozens of frozen needles flew in the direction of Jane''s opponent. Even though Jack was getting over the last Shadow Wave attack, he still had no interest in dodging attacks thrown at him. Though even if he did, the barrage of icy shards would make it difficult to avoid. Much like Scatter Beam, the massive amount of small frozen icicles were wide spread and inaccurate. More than twenty managed to pierce through Jack''s skin. The added damage with the pain of a high-powered piercing attack left Jack unable to move once again.
"There''s that spell again," Danny called. He saw Jane use the spell Ice Needles before. Actually, Taylor could use that ability as well, but it was still new to them both. Danny didn''t need to explain out loud the effects of Ice Needles, since they were both familiar with the spell. Ice Needles spams a barrage of frozen pointy edged shards of water towards the target. The barrage can spread wide, making it hard for every single piece to hit the target, but the damage adds ice elemental magic to the normal piercing damage which would hurt on its own. Ice Needles is a large step up from a similar attack known as Needle Barrage because it can do much more elemental damage to one''s HP.
Taylor cheered, "Jane got to score a second hit!" It was true that Jane used her timing and Jack''s moment of instability to use a second attack. It was perfectly legal to continuously interrupt an opponent by spamming consecutive spells. If the opponent cannot get in a single hit, that''s officially on them. Now it seems that Jane might actually win this after all, and with a new bet of 500 credits, she will earn a net gain of 300 back on her Leray license card.
Jane tried it once again, even though she wasn''t sure if Jack was as fazed from her last spell as he was from the Shadow Wave. Charging in yet another magical skill, Jane formed the same glyphring around her wrist while taking aim. "Ice Needles!"
"A third attack?!" Danny winced. Is Jane being crazy or stupid?
Jane shot another barrage of Ice Needles straight at her target, but much against her hopes and wishes, Jack was suddenly ready for her.
"Whirlwind!" Jack unleashed some of the energy he was charging for a good defensive technique against such an attack from Jane. Jane simply did not see it coming. Shortly after Jane''s Ice Needles came really close, Jack finally unleashed his magical spell known as Whirlwind. The powerful gusts of air suddenly surrounded him, spanning outward as the completely visible Whirlwind grew in size and speed.
This time, it was Jane who was taken by surprise. Jack used Whirlwind, even though he was much too far away for that attack to reach her own range, but that was never the intention for her opponent. As soon as the high speed winds spawned, every single piece of the Ice Needles became swept up in the windy currents, spinning up and around totally out of control. In that short moment, Jack''s Whirlwind space grew even more after Jane''s Ice Needles spell was completely decimated.
Jack''s Whirlwind eventually faded away. Though it scored no damage on Jane, he managed to get the upper hand on her unrelenting combination of attacks. Now it was his turn for sure, and any attempt Jane could make to add to her chain of attacks would only leave her vulnerable to Jack''s next decision. It was a bit rare to see Whirlwind used in this way. Whirlwind is a weak attack that makes use of wind elemental magical damage by surrounding the user in the wind that deals such damage. It''s almost like an attack and defensive aura, except put into a full magical spell rather than a real aura. One must be at close range to use it correctly. That was proven so until now. Jack used Whirlwind as a defense against those light-weight flying projectiles in order to not take any hits from Ice Needles, and in doing so, he was now ready to act, his attack window wide open.
Jane could only prepare herself to dodge while watching Jack charge up his MP energy. Already, Jack''s hands were glowing brightly from the reaction, and a bright green glyphring formed around his right wrist. The glyphring was larger than most glyphrings are, and the coloring was most unusual. Jack only chanted the name of his spell as loud as he could just before releasing all of that energy. "Exa-Plasmosis!" Jack plunged his right hand through the glyphring, shooting out a powerful purple colored Fire Bolt. Jack pulled back his arm, and threw in his left one through the same glyphring, shooting out a second Fire Bolt that was green in color, and he did this again with his right arm for a third and final purple colored Fire Bolt attack. This spell was different in many ways. The Fire Bolts acted strangely, and the color was purple mixed with green instead of that usual orange fiery glow that goes in with fire based attacks. Whatever it was, Jane was in trouble already.
Danny watched what was happening before going down to look in his book. Fire Bolts have homing characteristics on the target, so Jane wouldn''t be able to dodge it as well. Since there are three of them, it makes dodging that much more difficult. In just a flash of time, Jane couldn''t react correctly, taking all three consecutive hits from the charged up Fire Bolts. The last one packed enough force to send Jane flying backwards through the air for a good fifteen feet.
Jane never felt such a powerful force slam into her like this before. It mixed the sense of a forceful blunt attack with a fiery burning sensation all over her skin. No ordinary Fire Bolt could have been that powerful, but Jane had to deal with the pain plus falling hard on her back before she could get back up and figure out what just happened.
"Awh! What spell was that?" Taylor had no idea what Exa-Plasmosis does. Luckily, she had Danny next to her flipping through pages to figure it out.
"Found it!" Danny kept his finger on the words as he read. "Wow! It''s a power level five skill! It warps Fire Bolt attacks into a plasmatic form, increasing their power and changing the damage type from fire elemental to pure magical damage."
"Ouch!" Taylor replied. "And Jane got hit by all three of them. No wonder she lost the first round. Hang tough Jane!" It''s still earlier than mid-day, and the weather had not changed one bit. Nobody even realized this for now, since Jane''s battle against Jack was getting really popular so fast. Taylor finally discovered the reason for why Jane lost. She really did pick a tough customer. Taylor feared that she and Danny combined against Jack alone would result in failure.
Jane could feel her head spinning rapidly. People tend to get dizzy when HP runs low, so this indicated how poorly she was faring. She managed to stand back up, but the plasma bolt that hit her right leg was making it hard for Jane to maintain her balance. Still, she was able to continue, and she vowed not to lose to this man a second time. Her own leather outfit wasn''t doing all that well to defend her, but perhaps it was because Jack was fighting really well to counter that specific factor.
Jane shook her head, pretending to shake off the other pains all over her body as well. In another attempt to get in a good long ranged attack, Jane began releasing her energy, already forming a large jade color glyphring around her right wrist as she took perfect aim at her target. "Lightning Strike!" Jane''s hand released a powerful steady stream of electrical energy that immediately made contact with Jack.
In the first round, Jane was the one hit with Lightning Strike, but now the tides were different this round. Both Jack and Jane were battling really hard. In the end, that''s what matters. Jane remembered what it felt like to be hit by a lightning blast, and almost took pity on her opponent as he was constantly taking damage over time. Lightning Strike is an electrical attack with two official names. Some people prefer to call it Thunderbolt, but it''s all the same in battle. The person hit with this is locked in place by the surge of electrical damage. Their HP is reduced over that time in intervals, and the pain associated with this kind of attack is uniquely scary. Without the Leray protection zone, an electrical jolt would not even be remembered by the person experiencing it, due to death or incapacitation, but in Leray matches, the victim feels the pain while remaining completely conscious enough to feel it, the pain and force of an electrical current running deep through their veins.
After it was finally over, Jack was left stunned in place from the after effects of that spell. Thunderbolt cannot be dodged no matter what, since it is an ability that strikes as soon as it begins. Only if the user''s aim is bad will it miss. What Jack was feeling right now was a mixture of pain, heat, and the tingling sensation of being stuck with millions of tiny needles, plus a major drain in stamina from that jolt hold.
Danny silently considered a unique possibility of something just after seeing Jane fail to evade some of the abilities shown against her so far. After witnessing her evasion therapy last week, it was quite a surprise to notice the opposite results here in a real battle. But did that have to do with the condition Jane recovered from before?
Jane wanted to score in another attack right now, but that much use on her own MP plus her more critical HP levels left her nearly as drained as Jack was. Both of them were now slowing down as anybody would be able to tell.
Jack had other methods to turn the battle around in his favor. Since it was still sunny out with a clear sky, and he was losing his health fast, the only best way to recover is with a conditional aura of which only he knew. It didn''t take much time to charge in the MP needed to use the spell, but since he was low on his remaining MP, it was really difficult to invoke, draining him even further. "Solar Regen!" Jack''s voice was not as loud as before either, clear indications that he was wearing down quickly. As soon as he launched his Solar Regen spell, his body began to glow with a green aura, brighter than the one he had after using Deliverance Offense.
"Solar Regen?" Taylor repeated.
"I''m on it." Danny began flipping the book more, all the way over to the S category under the Aura section. "Solar Regen. It''s a support aura with a power level of five. Using the environmental factor of bright sunlight, the user can gradually regenerate lost HP over time, up to 25% overall."
"Jack can regenerate his own health?!" Taylor was taught that only healing orbs and gradual rest outside of battle can restore lost HP, but this information wrecked that constraint. If there are healing spells out there, even if difficult to learn, making use of them can totally make that user a winner every time.
"But he can only use it once every hour! It says so right here." Danny pointed the text out to Taylor since she was interested. It means that Jack can only heal himself like that just one time, and there is no chance of this battle dragging out longer than ten more minutes from now.
Jane could barely make much out through the dome shield around her. It''s partially sound proof by design, but she managed to hear Taylor''s voice. That didn''t boost her confidence though. Jack can regenerate his health? Of course! That glow around his body, it''s a support aura, and that change on his energy scope was proving it.
Though it was happening very slowly, Jack''s HP count went up by one percent every ten seconds or so. Jack was still too tired to do much of anything right now, but soon, he would be back up. Jane knew this was bad, and took initiative to fight back faster than he could regenerate his health. She immediately charged her MP energy into another attack, one that was harder to perform and taxing on the MP levels. Jane still had the advantage over Jack as far as MP reserves go, so it won''t be easy for him to make that many moves right now. "Tri-Attack!"
Jane managed to unleash her energy in a most incredible way. After her hands were brightly glowing from the magic being released, Jane ended up spawning a total of three separated glyphrings, all floating closely to Jack in the air. One of the glyphrings was red. Another was bright blue, and the third was a darker blue with the hint of green. All of them were rotating, aimed at Jack with totally different angles. From an aerial view, the three glyphrings would have formed an equilateral triangle in shape with each other, but this was the power of Jane''s special attacks. She unleashed her energy, forcing all kinds of magic to emerge from each glyphring.
From the red glyphring, a Fire Bolt attack shot through. From the bright blue glyphring, an Ice Bolt attack was sent towards Jack. From the darker colored glyphring, another Lightning Strike zapped Jack where he stood. This all happened in such a way where Jack was being electrocuted a moment before the other two elemental bolts of magic struck him where he was frozen. All three attacks hit him for massive amounts of damage. And at the same time, the effects were shown in more than just his energy scope.
Jack was down on his knees in pain, or perhaps from all of that sudden exhaustion. Now his HP and MP were both critical, and that makes a major difference in battle with regards to will and stamina. Jack was really slowing down now, but he wasn''t backing down just yet. He wouldn''t be able to honestly, since he went and used Doom Shield, which prevents escape for as long as the current battle lasts. Even after that massive attack he just took, Jack managed to try and use another ability while balancing on his knees.
Danny was amazed at how insane this battle was becoming so far. Jane''s Tri-Attack was really something. It''s a skill that enables one to use three elemental attacks at the same time, with the outrageous cost in MP. But now Jack was getting back up. His HP just went up by one percent thanks to his Solar Regen effects.
"Rip-Tide Wave!" This time, his voice was loud and mean, and so were his magical capabilities when it comes to attacking too. Despite having a really low MP level, Jack managed to somehow successfully invoke a magical attack against Jane. From the base of his hands, he ended up throwing a small yet powerful horizontal Whirlwind of air in the form of a projectile. Actually, he threw three of them consecutively.
Jane was helpless to identify the attack, and so she could not dodge it effectively. Rip-Tide Wave is a strange attack that mixes a projectile of a wind elemental spell with physical slashing damage inside as well, but the range of the projectile itself makes it tough to identify in the air. Jane was already feeling lightheaded already, and this was the last thing she needed right now. With the first wave of the attack, the impact on Jane''s chest carried in a solid slam!
Jane was already tossed off balance with a gust of air that somehow hit with more force than it should of. In the same moment, Jane could feel that gust slice across her stomach as if it were the edge of a sharp pointed blade. After being knocked down again, Jane was hit by the next two, equally as powerful as the first one. The pain from it all had her stunned too much for thought.
"Oh no!" Taylor was in fear that it was now over. Jack would be the winner of this battle at this rate. Jane was in too deep of a bad situation, and to make things worse, Jane can''t call off the battle and admit defeat without passing out completely. It''s not unhealthy to black out at the end of a fierce battle, but it would take Jane fifteen humiliating minutes to regain consciousness again. That would become a moment that reminded Taylor of something she would rather forget. Of course, calling off the battle to admit defeat still means you lose, but at least you get to make a speedy recovery that way. The Doom Shield is always in effect once used, all until the battle is decided for real.
Jane felt as if her head was under the darkest depths of water. It was really hard to think anymore, let alone move a single muscle. In just another moment, Jane was suddenly aware of where she was and what just happened. She was still in battle, still barely awake. Her aches and pains disagreed with her will to win this match, and her critical HP was making it tough for Jane to see straight.
She knew that Jack''s last spell had to at least drain the last of his MP, so he will have to get closer to attack again. But with his Solar Regen in effect, how can she get in one spell after another in a safe and calm way? By asking the question in her mind, Jane immediately had her own answer. She remembered a really high level special ability that can be the real tide turner in any match. Now would be the best time to use it. Of course, Jane never managed to make it happen before, even in training. Hundredth time''s the charm. Jane forced herself to stand up admits the severe lightheaded sensation taking her. She began slowly charging her MP energy for this one. It was going to take a while just to properly invoke this skill anyway.
Jane also tried to speak to Jack. Even just by taunting him, she might buy herself some more time. "I''m not losing this match. You''re going down!" Her voice was pathetic as she tried to project. Her balance was not well maintained and she stumbled for a moment without cutting the supply of her growing MP energy.
"You don''t look like you could harm a fly," Jack retorted. "Not right now anyway."
"We''ll see about that..." Jane''s hands were glowing as bright as anyone had ever seen them glow before. Her next magical attack was going to be a big one. While chanting the name of her spell, Jane also threw her hands outward in a spiral motion. "Zero Zone!" At first, whatever Jane was doing looked really cool, and her balance somehow was maintained during her invocation of her Zero Zone spell, but as another few seconds went by, nothing happened. Everything went sort of quiet except for the crowd of fans cheering both of them on. Jane''s hands stopped glowing, and her sense of balance had been lost again as she struggled to stand up properly. Her exhaustion suddenly intensified with the massive drop in her MP levels.
"What''s this?" Jack inspected. "Drawing blanks now are we?"
Jane checked her energy scope. Her MP really did get used up, dropping from 45% down to 14%. She had enough energy to use that skill, but once again, she failed to invoke it so. "Why didn''t that work?" she muttered under her breath.
"Zero Zone?" Taylor provoked. "What''s that?"
Danny went to the back of the book, since it begins with the last letter, but after reaching to correct destination, he couldn''t find the entry to Zero Zone at all. Jane once told them about that kind of powerful attack before, but Danny wasn''t sure if he remembered it correctly. Didn''t Jane said it had something to do with warping space and time all together? No, that can''t be it...
Jack twisted his arms in a gesture to stretch. "I guess I''ll have to go then."
Jane backed away in fear. She knew she was now screwed. "No!"
"Bullet Mirage!" Jack pulled out a pair of Uzis from two yellow glyphrings summoning each weapon into the space for him to hold onto. The MP it cost to spawn those weapons into battle only took up 3%, which had regenerated for Jack in the time Jane was leading on with her failed attempt of whatever a Zero Zone attack was supposed to do. It didn''t matter now, since Jack drew his weapons at Jane and pulled the trigger, firing a barrage of bullets in her direction. Metal bullets infiltrated through her skin everywhere, drilling with incredible pain that was not long lasting. As quickly as it takes for a lightning blast to hit someone, Jane was already on the floor, completely unconscious as her energy scope degraded the HP stats to nothingness long before the Bullet Mirage spell could come to a closing sequence.
Even though Jane had now just been officially defeated, Jack''s weapons were still auto-firing bullets into the field, blasting the sound of explosions through the soundproof shield dome. Naturally, the bullets that missed were absorbed by the dome shield surrounding them. Now that Jane was done and passed out completely, this match was finally over.
Jack was sure of it. Jane was totally and completely incapacitated now. It was sort of a shame to put all of her hard work down like that, but she almost had Jack down for the count. "Excellent battle Jane. Thanks for that." His words charged the excitement in the crowd of spectators quickly, as they were momentarily silent to find out that Jane had lost. As soon as that happened, the Siriean dome around them completely faded from the ground up. Doom Shield becomes disabled after either side loses their HP completely, in order for the shield to go away after the match. Now that it was over, the reward spoils were transferred.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mystery Theme ~ Aleksandar Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)
Taylor and Danny were in total disbelief. Jane not only lost, but she was totally out of it now. Anyone who faints in a Leray battle is perfectly healthy in every sense of the way, but this scene of Jane laying on the ground unconscious was much scarier than it was degrading. Danny and Taylor both thought of Jane as their best friend. It would be unthinkable if anything bad really happened to her.
"Jane!" Taylor took off, unable to accept that Jane was really down and out of it. Danny followed Taylor closely behind, but he at least knew that this is the way things were right now. The battle he had before realizing Jane was going at this Jack character was nowhere near as intense as this moment. How incredible! At the same time, Jane is going to be angry after waking up from this one, and to think, she lost all because she relied on a spell she didn''t even know how to invoke.
"Jane, come on!" Taylor seemed to be nervous, concerned for Jane¡¯s physical health as she could not respond to anything else, lying flat in the grass.
"She''s out!" Danny reminded. Taylor didn''t seem to understand that in Sprawn Valley, this is totally normal for people who really lose the battle. Although, nobody ever gets knocked out in training sessions. So this really is a first for all of them. Still, he could tell the difference between this and a more real danger. "Jane will have to wake up when she''s ready to."
"Damn!" Taylor cursed. "She lost!"
"It was a possibility, even for Jane." Danny knew it. Jane acts all tough all the time; in truth she really is. Jane could likely defeat him and Taylor in a Leray match two against one. But against this guy... Danny scanned around for Jack. He knew that Taylor hunching over Jane like that would draw in enough attention to be spotted by anyone, but the crowd of people were already dispersing, already on their way back to run their own errands they were now late to finish. Jack was hard to spot in that crowd of growing civilians, but he was also approaching them.
Jack found Jane''s friends hovering around Jane''s body, who was currently incapacitated. After approaching them, he sent his gratitude through the words left unaccepted before. "That was some battle. I underestimated Jane for certain, so I guess that is the reason she asked for a rematch. That said, we both need more training. I didn''t expect her to get much further in the second round." Jack held out his open hand in front of the young man.
Danny didn''t know this was coming. Leray matches must really be a formal way to prove one''s strength and connection with Leray magic overall. If Jane lost honorably, that means Jack is so impressed that he honors Jane''s abilities too. This handshake was meant for Jane, but since she is the one who cannot respond to anything right now, he was her substitute. Danny huffed for calm air while he stood up tall to shake Jack''s hand. "Thanks."
Jack knew he could not stay long after having two battles against the same person, and he let go of Danny''s firm grip. "Excellent battle. Good luck to all of you. I have to be on my way now, as I quota my battles daily." Jack turned around, preparing to walk off in the direction of Gross City. He lifted his hat up as a gesture, "Good day," and placed it back on his head while walking away.
Taylor managed to have her healing orb ready and available, but as far as these items go, it can''t use it on people while they are unconscious, else it will be totally wasted. Jane must first wake up from her nap, after which, her HP will automatically be restored to 10%. Even in that moment, Taylor will use her own healing orb to restore her. Danny probably cannot detect this yet, but Taylor knew exactly what was about to happen, just as soon as Jane wakes up.
Chapter 5: New Plan
<01/16/1972 ¨C 12:56 | Blue Port Town, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
"What in Sprawn happened?" Jane took it slow getting back up. Her head felt like it had been submerged under the weight of water, while her visual senses were impaired for a few seconds - courtesy of passing out entirely. Jane didn''t remember losing consciousness, but the deep wave of fatigue cued her in. It felt like all the environment around Jane tilted and wobbled, and Jane could feel the hoarseness in her voice, stressed from the extremities of combat chanting mixed with her current weakness. She could tell even without looking that Taylor was supporting her while she sat up, but Taylor was offering something to Jane at the same time.
In that moment, everything returned to Jane, except for all of her energy. She was in the middle of battling against Jack in the rematch, but now she was here, on the ground and in pain. What the hell happened? She couldn''t have lost, could she? It can''t be!
Jane noticed that the object in Taylor''s open palm was a normal class medical orb. From the looks of things, the situation was becoming more certain. Jane looked around everywhere, turning her head as quick as she could. There was Danny ¨C standing right behind Taylor. The crowd of onlookers had all dispersed. People were walking by, barely paying any attention to Jane. It also reminded her that Jane and Taylor were sitting right in the middle of Blue Port''s field of flat grass, and Jack was absolutely nowhere to be found. Still, Jane could not bring herself to believe that she had lost the battle once again.
"Take this," Taylor offered. "It will speed up your recovery." Jane took the orb out of Taylor''s hands. For a moment, Jane seemed fazed. Was she really that confused about what just happened? Or was her pain this severe? Taylor couldn''t tell. She never lost a Leray battle before, and neither had Danny. Although, there was that one time... The incident regarding the theft from Dakota''s training facility was brutal. Danny and Taylor were left with so much Leray damage that Jane had to tell them what happened. Neither one of them passed out, but it was a really close call in the same instance.
Jane clasped onto the healing orb even tighter, now focusing her remaining MP energy to activate the orb. This was a common thing for all Leray wielders to know how to do, but for Danny and Taylor, the amazement of the glowing orb captured their full attention. Jane''s energy activated the healing orb, causing it to glow very brightly with the purest white color. After a few seconds, the orb''s light and the object itself faded completely from existence, and in the same moment, Jane completely recovered. She had gone from feeling sick and tired to starting the day off right. Even though her energy scope was not up right now, Jane already knew that her HP stats were all the way up to 100%. Her MP stats probably need more time to recharge though.
"What happened?" Jane finally stood up on her new strength, having Taylor stand up and brush the dirt off of her too. Jane demanded the answer from both of them. Taylor seemed hesitant to say anything, but Danny filled her in anyway.
"I''m sorry Jane. But Jack won the match. It was a really close call. He just left after congratulating you... Well, us."
Jane didn''t have a follow up question. Her head tilted downwards in shame, herself to her thoughts. So it would seem true after all. Jane really did lose the match once again. Impossible! But reality begs to differ...
"Jane?" Taylor called. "You okay?" It wasn''t surprising to see how quickly Jane had recovered physically. The med kit and healing orbs work really quickly, even though they can only be used outside of a battle. But as for Jane''s empty expression, it was as she feared would happen. Jane is just extremely competitive, though perhaps not for the best after losing a battle to anyone. Even if Jane turns to Taylor right now and tells her everything is fine, it will obviously be a lie.
Jane heard the echoes of the wind in the town. Though it was still sunny and peaceful outside, she was able to completely block out the sound of people around her. Thinking back to the entire battle, certain things about Jack''s attacks against her were not adding up to normal. The first match may have been a fluke, but not the next one. "You know..." Jane brought herself to face Danny and Taylor, wondering how they were about to take this news. "It''s totally not my fault that I lost the battle."
"That''s more like it," Danny replied. It was relieving to see after Jane remained silent for a very long moment that her very determination had returned to her. Even if she is too arrogant for her own good, it''s unsettling to see Jane otherwise for some reason. "Jack''s level was just a bit higher than yours. It couldn''t be helped in the moment." Leray matches are like that. Even if you don''t know a larger variety of skills, you can still come out on top if you''ve been in more battle situations. The more damage you take, the higher your endurance becomes over a gradual period of time. That''s what Ms. Eliza said anyway.
"That''s not what I meant!" Raising her voice in sudden anger, Jane took a deep breath. Her reaction surprised Taylor much more than it had Danny, and all three were silent again. No way! Jane thought. She didn''t lose the battle just because Jack knew different or better spells than her. Jane knew it in her heart. She was faster, stronger, and most importantly capable of taking several hits to keep going. Hard training is important, but that is exactly what Jane has been doing all this time.
Thinking back on her memories, Jane recalled every single moment of physical training she had received. Even though much of it involved her special close combat skill suited for two daggers, she also learned to dramatically increase her own endurance for magical damage as well. Though that fight with Jack, it just wasn''t the same. "Something is wrong," Jane admitted. "My defense against all of those attacks was terrible. I took three times more damage from everything thrown at me than I could have resisted."
Taylor shrugged her shoulders and lifted her hands in a pity gesture. "Now don''t be like that. You''re not the kind to make up excuses for losing one battle."
Danny cleared his throat, "Two."
Taylor wanted to turn around and give him a piece of her mind using the palm of her hand. Danny sure didn''t understand how hard Jane was going to take that loss. Then again, Jane was acting even more illogical than Taylor expected. Now Jane was talking to her again, raising her concern once more.
"It''s not an excuse. It''s a fact!" Jane exclaimed. "Back when I was in training, I could take attack after attack and keep brushing them off. But one Thunderbolt from that guy, and I''m half-way down the end. It isn''t right. My defense is too low for some reason, and this stupid suit didn''t even help one bit."
"Come on Jane." He grabbed her aggravated attention, but Danny knew he was right about the suit all along. "A leather outfit isn''t going to determine the outcome of a battle. You have to win it with skills and spirit. You really expect any suit of armor to protect you from everything?"
Taylor sighed. At least he was good for something. I ought to knock some common sense into Jane, before she really gets hurt.
Jane examined herself, the suit that she was wearing. She had nearly forgotten how it looked on her. Jane was so used to wearing so many kinds of dress spheres, it was such a radical shift from her normal style. Stylish was something lacking here for sure. The outfit was a tight fit for Jane, stretching just enough to express the curves of her figure more than she felt comfortable with in public, but this was hardly the issue. The damn suit didn''t help her at all against attacks. What a rip off! "I''m taking this suit back, and demanding a refund."
"Don''t do that!" Danny protested. Suddenly, Taylor joined Jane''s eerie stare down in question. If Jane weren''t feeling so depressed, they both would have made his nerves shot. "Look, it''s not the suit that is the problem. Besides, you actually looked cool battling in that today... But if you really hate it that badly..." Danny cringed at himself for what he was saying. He meant to argue with Jane once more that the suit had nothing to do with damage intake or her reason for losing the match.
Taylor waited for a usual response from Jane, but instead, her sarcastic silence echoed everywhere. "Uh-huh." Taylor thought he would at least have a good excuse, but at least that means he may finally be growing up already. Trade out one pain for another, Taylor thought.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
Jane instantly reacted by enabling her energy scope, which disappeared after passing out since that person must be conscious at all times to support the systematic read-out. After doing so, Jane used her personal training with energy scopes to expand the holographic box in front of her, suddenly displaying and scrolling textual data that represented a historical reflection of the last battle she had. In everything she read, most of Jack''s attacks used against her drained more health points than what those specific spells should normally drain. Danny and Taylor were a bit surprised, as they had never seen Jane perform such an action before, nor did they understand what she was doing. After cutting the energy scope off with her secondary conclusion, she let herself and the two of them have it. "Yeah, there''s no way," Jane denied. She could have better used the money she spent on this useless gear. If leather outfits really made the difference in battle, it would have at least normalized Jane''s unusual weakness. "Like I mentioned before, something about that fight wasn''t right."
"Let me get this straight," Taylor began. "You expect me to believe, that regardless of suits and protection, you think you have some sort of magical weakness thing going on right now?"
Danny wanted to give it a rest. It only makes sense that Taylor would try and give Jane to admit she lost fair and square. She''s being so weird right now. How can Jane be so full of it to think losing is impossible in a battle?
Jane shook her head in humiliation. "I know it sounds lame or impossible." Taylor nodded her head, already agreeing with the logic in that lone sentence. "But I''m telling you it''s true! I know it is." In her last breath, Jane didn''t sound all that sure anymore. Was she really this far away from accomplishing her dream, that anybody could just walk by and beat her in battle?
"All right then."
"Hm?" Jane and Danny both met Taylor''s eyes curiously. That''s it? Taylor believes her now? Jane quickly calmed down. I''m sure there''s a catch...
Taylor lifted her finger, appearing to know exactly how to set Jane''s suspicions to rest. "If you''re so sure, activate your energy scope again and enable a scan."
Jane repeated, "A scan?"
"Don''t tell me you''ve already forgotten." Taylor just watched Jane use her energy scope, but she also caught few glimpses of earlier readouts. Jane was checking the history of her damage, but not the effects attached to her. "We use run scans in our own energy scopes to detect for any potential changes physically applied to our person that would have some sort of effect in a Leray battle. If someone used a weakening spell against you, then your energy scope should report that as well. It has to."
Jane gasped in light of Taylor''s wisdom. It was true that an energy scope scan was basic stuff, but Jane had totally forgotten that she could do this. Taylor failed to remember the nomenclature, but she''s referring to a mobile deep scan request. Eliza must have went over this in the course as well. Initiating an effects scan is as easy as pulling up the holographic display box too. "You''re right!" Jane agreed. "I''ll pull mine up now." It was no surprise that it faded away right after Jane''s battle came to a close. After thirty seconds of incapacitation, it fades because the user can no longer control their own energy scope on the count of being unconscious. Jane concentrated hard, and pulled up her scope with so much ease.
It was as simple as giving a command to her energy scope. It would report back at any second to let Jane know of any changes made from spells or items. In battle, the use of spell bombs or magical spells that temporarily or permanently change the status condition of resistances to specific elements, or the endurance of MP/HP levels is automatically reported into the energy scope. Jane didn''t recall that happening during her match, but any permanent effect only shows up in there once. Pulling it back up again requires this type of scan.
There are other scans as well, pertaining to the actual person. The energy scope only does so little, but a person''s ME points can only be measured by special machines installed to certain buildings. These Deep Scanners are designed to examine just how many MP points a person can store in capacity, called into the amount of ME. The energy scope only reports that MP back in a percentage of what is left. That is why in a battle, nobody can predict whose level is higher than the others. It is possible that before Jack and Jane even battled, he may have had twice the amount of MP capacity that Jane had...
Jane wasn''t so sure about that last part. Jack ran out of MP points faster than Jane did. Of course, he did so by using more powerful attack spells too. Jane was holding back on her MP, conserving it to the last moment. Is that the reason she lost? It''s smart to conserve it, but doing so lowers one''s damage level over time in a generalization period. Then again, Jack''s HP endurance was so much higher than Jane''s anyway, and he was wearing an ordinary dress sphere too. Though it looked like clothes from the Wild West, no doubt he had no elemental resistances set up.
"Huh?" Jane looked up to her energy scope, which read back: no stat changes. That''s it. No stat changes were ever made to Jane, recently or over a long period of time, so Taylor had thus proven Jane''s paranoia too much.
"You see," she pointed. "You''ve got nothing to worry about. You''re defense is not naturally lower than it should be. Jack was a powerful fighter, and you did ask for a real challenge."
Jane forced her energy scope to fade by calling it down, but she didn''t want to agree with Taylor at all. It was a hard-to-face fact, yet it was true. Jane really lost both times. Danny and Taylor won their first battles. Even if they had easy challenges, the detail didn''t make Jane feel any better. Perhaps this dream of becoming a Leray master just isn''t attainable.
Taylor noticed it again. Jane''s defeated expression amplified as her head sunk. Taylor was finding it harder to convince Jane that she was an okay battler after all, if only she gets in more practice.
It was way too soon in the day and in the week to suggest this, and it went against his better judgment of the situation, but Danny thought of something that may cheer her up. "Perhaps there will be people on a more normal level in the next city. It is soon, but if you want, we could head to Gross City later tonight." It only makes sense to travel to and between places before progressing over a long distance for the purpose of training. Danny was meaning to ask Jane, but she was ignoring him for the moment''s notice.
"You can go on without me," Jane rambled. "Why move to the next city when I can''t even make my mark in this one?"
This isn''t possible! Taylor could feel her muscles tightening over time, just thinking about how silly Jane was being right now. Two losses to just one guy, and she''s ready to call it quits?! "Hyiya!" Taylor smacked Jane on the back of the head with the palm of her hand. Before Jane even had time to lift herself back up and muster up her aggression, Taylor delivered her reasoning. "What''s wrong with you?! The Jane I know doesn''t ever give up or act like this. It''s just a stupid loss! Get over it and get tougher!"
Danny kept his mouth shut, certain that if he tried that on Jane, he''d find an early grave. Taylor must be getting brave to piss her off so boldly.
Jane didn''t expect Taylor to be so direct or cruel to the back of her head. As she kept trying to convince her, the familiar sensation of shame returned to her, but this wasn''t the shame of losing a battle. This was Jane''s fault and hers alone.
Taylor knew her speech was certainly not the longest or most elegant choice of words around, but this childish way Jane was acting is simply intolerable! Her face began burning red in emotion, but there was still plenty to of things to say to Jane. "You said you want to become a Leray master. But nobody can be expected to win every single battle in real life. I thought you of all people would know better than that. You''re the one who keeps preaching all of this stuff and then ignoring it after. You want to know what a real loss is like? Then give up and go home! Maybe then you can complain about the days you lost one insignificant battle, until you take it with you to your grave."
"Taylor?" Danny wanted to interject before she loses it. What is Taylor trying to accomplish? Why get so emotional about it? That''s the most degrading thing ever! Jane couldn''t say anything else. Those words, Jane couldn''t think for herself anymore.
"Or..." There was much emphasis in Taylor''s voice now, and she had suddenly calmed down. "Do you want to travel with us to Gross City? There, you can get in more practice, more training, and more battle experience. Have more and more fights, and in no time flat, you''ll be winning ninety-nine percent of all Leray battles. Which one do you want to do?" Gross City has a different style of magical training that Taylor only knew of, little information available. Still, the place should be more filled with a mixture of normal leveled wielders given its higher population.
Jane couldn''t help but gasp. She finally understood where this was coming from. Taylor was simply telling her not to give up on her dream, with such a strange way with words too. This was a side of Taylor that Jane never saw before. They weren''t from around Sprawn Valley anyway, so there would be plenty of more to learn from them both. Jane thought back to her battle once more. A loss is a loss, and she was taking it as poorly as one could ever try to. Travel back home in defeat and just sit there aging forever? Or go to Gross City, with her two best friends by her side, already determined to help her master her goal? This one''s a no brainer! "T-Taylor? Danny?" Her realization of how stupid she was acting a few seconds ago made her pause again to rethink things. "I''m sorry for that. Of course I''m going to Gross City! And though I planned on going later, I want to travel there before nightfall as Danny suggested."
I suggested going there after nightfall. Jane sure doesn''t pay very close attention to detail. Whatever, guess she''s back to normal.
Finally, the highly contagious smile that Taylor and Danny were hiding was brought frontward. "Yes! I knew you haven''t completely lost it!"
"That''s the Jane we all know," Danny added. Taylor was right after all. Jane came to Blue Port Town with the most confidence anybody could possibly possess. Maybe she got too confident during the battles? Aw! Who cares? It''s not like any real harm was done. "So then, to Gross City we go?" Danny knew he would regret speeding up the travel by going to Gross City several days ahead of schedule, but they were still in the Gulop region after all. It was the only suggestion that would help snap Jane out of her stupid trance.
"That''s right!" Jane snapped. She was quick to respond now, clenching a fist just to uphold her determination. Jane was already getting excited again. How could that have been taken from her? "I''ll figure out a strategy for my next battle, and I''ll win it!"
"Awesome!" Taylor was now as loud as Jane. She sure was happy that that nonsense was finally over. To think Jane was going to take a loss that badly... Taylor suddenly noticed that the three of them, acting the way they are was turning heads passing by. Blushing from being watched and judged, Taylor decided to tone things down just a notch. "Um, So Jane? Do we have everything we need to get to Gross City?"
"Mmmmmm..." Jane held her chin, already imagining the whole scenario. The plan to get to Gross City would involve traveling a lot in the woods. That plan alone needs a little adjusting too... "Hold on. First I need to dispose of this crusty outfit anyway. I can get a better one at the city once we arrive. Plus, we''re not fully prepared just yet to travel through the Arragon Forest."
"The Arragon Forest?" Taylor sunk, certain that her questions are going to turn Jane into a teacher for at least a good ten minutes. History lessons and geography were not her strong point, but Jane incorporates both when explaining them. Taylor regretted the last time she asked Jane about the location of entry port Vanon. Even though its common knowledge that Vanon is the only entry path for sea bound vessels to enter Sprawn Valley, Taylor asked for the location anyway. Instead, Jane gave her every single detail about the very grains of sand that populate the shore there.
"Don''t you remember," Jane addressed to Taylor. "That''s okay. I''ll explain it all over again."
Chapter 6: Arragon Forest
<01/16/1972 ¨C 14:30 | Arragon Forest, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The air filled heavy in pressure as the sun continued to warm up the day. Though because of the winter solstice, the temperature did not exceed seventy Fahrenheit. Taylor and Danny were waiting patiently by the edge of the Arragon Forest, west of Blue Port Town. Technically, there is an open path from the west exit, but it too leads into a small portion of the forest, making it easy to get lost there. They were waiting on Jane, who said she was heading to the Leray store to buy some snack items, as well as something special to eat for lunch on the road.
Danny had a map of detail specific for the forest area too, but Jane understood it better; at least that''s what he thought. Jane plans to travel all the way to Gross City by cutting into the forest on a southwest exit, and then follow a different trail. They would have to travel on foot anyway. Sprawn Valley has no automobiles to drive from place to place. Because of the landscape and the custom traditions that still live thousands of years on, everybody here travels on foot. At the very most, people may use mountain bikes to get around, but nothing more advanced than that. It works well for exercise in the nation, though there are times where walking can be a pain.
"All ready to go - you two."
Taylor and Danny both turned around to meet Jane once again. She had just gone off to buy them all food. Water was already plentiful at the moment. Jane was also wearing something totally different now. She wasn''t kidding about getting a refund on her suit. Taylor remembered asking about the way currency and exchange works here. If she heard right, the Sentiment Leray company often accepts refunds at lower values for what the product was bought for. That means even without the food, Jane lost a little more credits than she might be comfortable with, but it wasn''t her business to pry any further. Taylor instead wondered where all of that food apparently went.
"We''ll pass through the forest here." Jane pointed in the direction she wanted to go. "I have a map and compass for directions. We will have to go in pretty deep, after which there will be a sidewinding path heading to the connecting northern road."
"And then what?" Danny shrugged.
Jane answered, "Then we won''t be far from Gross City at all."
Taylor was wondering... If Jane had just bought all of that food, where did it go? It took a few second for the memory of the supply sphere to dawn back onto her mind. Jane must have stored all of that food inside.
Supply spheres are very special items designed by Leray technological mages. They can store an impossible amount of mass by compressing specific items and holding it inside of capsule space within that sphere. The sphere is its own large capsule, capable of drawing in items without ever needing to open the device. Taylor remembered Jane using it once on something she bought. The capsule somehow creates a powerful blue aura around whatever is about to be stored inside, after aiming and pressing a button on top of the sphere. The item glowing blue then transforms into a stream of light, which then travels directly into the supply sphere. Taylor didn''t understand what was really happening on a technical level, and she believed Jane didn''t care to either. Supply spheres are said to have a maximum mass load, and cannot store items that exceed an initial mass, even if the sphere is normally capable of storing its capacity in parts. So only small items work for this, and only up to a certain point. Taylor has a supply sphere too, as does Danny, but Jane uses hers the most, likely because she is used to it.
Jane waited on her friends to be ready. They were already dressed appropriately for the woods, just as she was. This time, Jane was wearing what appeared to be denim pants with a short sleeve shirt, shinning from the small glittering gems at the front base of her shirt. Jane was obviously dressing according to the temperature changes. It was getting a bit later outside, and therefore getting hotter as well, but the sky was still clear, only just afternoon. It''s time to get this show on the road.
Danny was a little reluctant to just walk straight into the forest from this angle. There was not a stone road laid out in plain sight. Nothing at all indicated that there was a path for Jane to follow. She was just going according to her map. Even though this is Jane we''re talking about, Danny was slowly losing confidence in this plan. Against his objections, Jane led them both into the dense woods, making Taylor and Danny follow just to keep up. On the way in, Danny kept his mind momentarily busy with the details Jane sadly gave to him and Taylor about the general area.
Apparently, this Arragon Forest is specifically one of the largest dense jungle forests in all of Sprawn Valley, vastly covering the southwest section of Gulop, where the edge spans all the way just past Gross City''s west boarder lines. The forest itself is said to be teeming with small wild life, and is protected by a scientific team of researchers who studies medicine. Despite the direction Jane was going, the more official path that cuts into the forest leading to a hidden research institute is part of the official west exit of Gross City. What Danny wondered, is what was really so different about this forest compared to the other less dense ones he''s already been into so far.
Chapter Theme Shift: Morning Dew ~ Adrian Von Ziegler (Wanderer)
Only ten minutes needed to pass for the structure of the Arragon Forest to completely transform before their eyes. The green grass and moss on the ground multiplied in population, as did many random rocks and boulders. All of the trees in sight had become larger in the bulk of their bark, as did their height. Each one carried a large umbrella of leaves over top, placed carefully enough to allow sunlight through - only in speckled beams.
Far into the woods, the sound of thousands of birds and doves echoed through the endless woods. Bugs chimed in occasionally, though nobody knew exactly what kind of bugs made such noise. Despite being heavily protected by the overcasting coat of leaves and shade, the low powered breezes of fresh air drilled through towards the bottom floor. Taylor could feel that perfect burst of wind on her face. At the same time, she could hear the air up top, brushing intensely against all of those leaves to create a unique and lively sound. Taylor couldn''t help but stop and close her eyes. She wanted to feel it some more, begging for another soft brush of forest air. The continuous echoes of the birds began to sooth her as much as the brisk feeling of the winds.
Danny glanced back at Taylor''s feet, noticing how far behind she was starting to get. "Looks like someone can''t keep up."
Jane responded to Danny''s remark by looking back at Taylor. She at first expected Taylor to be breathing heavy, complaining about the wild lands. Instead, Taylor had this incredible look of serenity in her expression; that''s why she was not moving. Jane interruptedly stopped, waiting on Taylor with no complaints. "It looks to me like she''s enjoying this. You must not have a lot of forests back home."
Danny knew that Jane was speaking to him with her quiet volume. Turning around once more, Taylor really did seem at total peace. Never before had she felt this way, he thought. If she did, it was something Taylor never shared with him at all. "No," he regretted to say. "We don''t have a lot of forests at all." Kalamo was much too industrialized to contain any place like this. Since he was being postponed, Danny was also forced to take it all in. This was like a new level of being outdoors.
Though speckled, Taylor felt the beams of sunlight tickling her skin. All of her worries and fears melted away in this noise and vast green. Even with Jane and Danny talking about those things, she was able to totally tune everything out. Never has she felt so happy like this before. Taylor could suddenly capture the idea of staying here forever.
Jane folded her arms, still remaining patient with Taylor until she was ready to keep going. "You don''t really talk about your home that much."
Danny cleared his throat, nervously thinking about what to say. Luckily, Jane wasn''t asking about that mess with his parents and Taylor''s parents. So, this wasn''t as bad as he thought for now. "Even the tiny forests there..." he paused, "They''re nothing like this."
"Must be a small island." Jane raised her hands while shaking her head, doing the best to use her imagination. Kalamo. It''s a different country from which Danny and Taylor both arrived. Jane remembered how they told her about that country, or as much as they felt like explaining anyway. It sure didn''t sound all that grand, not from the emotionless expression in their eyes as they thought back. Who could blame them for making that comparison now? Danny and Taylor apparently had zero knowledge of Leray magic upon arrival to Sprawn Valley. Not to mention their trip to this country was a total accident in the first place. Their parents might be worried sick, but oddly, they don''t appear to be worried about that drama themselves.
Taylor opened her eyes once more. Everything in front of her was bright, but not in a way which was harmful to the eyes. Everything was just shinier, affected with a powerful bloom as the sun''s light bounced through everything. Even the sounds here were incredibly unique, and somehow, this made it so much easier to breathe too. Taylor couldn''t stop herself from smiling in response. She continued to walk forward at her own pace. Both Danny and Jane were waiting up for her.
Jane met her gaze. It was clear that Taylor''s mood completely shifted since arriving here. Never did someone seem so incredibly relaxed. "You seem to be taking a liking to this place."
"I never knew a forest could be this big, and this amazing!" Taylor didn''t mean to, but she spoke with the most relaxing and pungent tone. It was as if she was singing while speaking, giving her voice a powerful hint of happy emotion. "I love this place."
"Thus you get to know the Arragon Forest," Jane proclaimed. "It''s not the only large forest in Sprawn Valley, but you only find one as unique as this."
"And through here, we get to Gross City?" Danny questioned.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"That right," Jane gestured. "Gross City is completely industrialized, but without any air pollution. Don''t forget that having no cars to drive around comes with its advantages."
Danny peaked back at Taylor. Her expression still hasn''t changed yet. It''s like she was under some kind of relaxing spell. Danny had to admit, the forest here was incredible, but he wasn''t feeling as happy about it as Taylor was... It didn''t matter to him anyway. Just as long as she is happy.
Jane continued her explanations. "It will be another good hour before we actually reach the winding road to Route Eleven. I''m sure nobody will complain about that much distance in a place as calm as this." Jane heard no complaints either. Danny wasn''t a fan of walking long distances, but traveling in such a beautiful place does more to negate those little problems. The floor beneath him however wasn''t all that flat and easy to walk on even with tough shoes. A few of the grass blades occasionally brushed his pants to create just enough friction to notice a slight resistance from the thin bushes. This just makes walking a bit more rough in the long run. Jane had to get them both to keep going and follow her. There were a lot of interesting landmarks in this forest that Jane knew of well. She had only ever been to Gross City once when she was a child. However, she has since then returned back to the Arragon Forest many times, without actually reaching the city limits. Jane made those trips on purpose. Why go all the way to Gross City for nothing? Of course today was different. With Jane now a licensed Leray wielder, Gross City should hold a lot for her there.
Taylor and the others walked cautiously for more than half an hour since. Not too much of the scenery changed much, but Taylor still fell in love with the environment here. On the way, Jane led them to several more natural landmarks. They passed by a large patch of piled up boulders, unknowing of their origin or story. Then they had to cross a very narrow stream of fresh water. It was at least large enough to prevent one from just jumping to the other side, but too shallow to swallow one''s knees. Taylor did all she could to avoid getting her feet wet in these shoes. Somehow Jane managed the same result. Then they all came to a large patch in the forest. Though many tall trees surrounded this particular zone, there was a rather large field spanning out without any tall vegetation within.
The massive large rock was to blame. Almost as large as a house, this rock was mostly flat, tilted slightly on an incline of other smaller boulders. Because of where it rested, only the grass and flowers would live nearby it. Posing as another landmark, Jane finally decided to stop here. "I don''t know about you two, but I''m ready for lunch."
"I thought you''d never ask," Danny coaxed. It seemed to him that Jane knew these landmarks well, especially this one. Jane began by hunching down right over the top of the large rock, hinting she had done it dozens of times before. It wasn''t difficult to stand taller than the granite. Jane must be planning to use this as a table out here, not that it bothered him. Most snacks didn''t need such a formal setting anyway. While Kain did pack a bit more MRE food rations in his bag attached to his back, not one thing was a meal that needed to be cooked.
Taylor stopped closer to Jane, wondering what kind of food she was about to bring out. Obviously this counts as break time, but since the sound, smell, and feel of the forest did not changed one bit, Taylor didn''t mind this at all. All of the different songs of the birds bounced above in different directions, scattering and echoing while blending in with the very light wind bristling above. All of it created the perfect music. Taylor figured she could build a house here and live around these woods forever.
Jane pulled out her supply sphere, finally opening up the device. In doing so, an electronic panel formed in a holographic mode. Jane somehow knew how to interact with the keys on the artificial screen before she did something. The ball capsule closed by itself. Then, the same blue beam that also creates an aura around objects shot at the top of the rock. This time, it slowly formed a few items out of phase right there. Jane''s sphere was pulling compressed items out of the device, instead of pulling them back in. Once it was all done, Jane''s supply sphere had spawned a large wooden spoon, a metal cooking pot, a tiny survival stove, and several random ingredients for something all inside of marked bags. It was...
"Huh?" Taylor studied the situation more carefully. This wasn''t a snack menu. All of these were ingredients used in cooking. "Jane? You''re cooking a full meal out here?" Taylor wanted to ask her where she was going to get the fire from, but it would only make her sound less intelligent than what Jane gave her credit for. Still, she did not remember bringing any particular fire starters with her.
"Of course!" Jane sounded very happy about her choice. That is because she knew exactly what meal she was making. "Magellos Soup. I''ll have it cooked and ready in just fifteen minutes."
Danny reported to Jane, "In that case, I''ll go scout around some. I''m not used to a forest this big."
Jane waved a hand to Danny without lifting her head. She knew she would be busy with this for a while. Taylor however refused to leave, instead wanting to help Jane out with the meal. But Taylor was also interested in how this was going to be made, let alone cooked. Besides, Magellos Soup? It sure might sound normal to a local like Jane, but Sprawn Valley contains many different kinds of grain and fruits that don''t normally grow anywhere else. Whatever it is that Jane is making, it will be totally different than anything Taylor has ever tasted. At least that was her best guess of things so far.
Danny couldn''t help but agree with Taylor''s analysis with the area here. Something like this; a place where no such government exists because there are no people in the forests to coexist, this is true serenity. Even if it lasts in just this one forest, Danny was certain that such a place and concept would relax Taylor to no end. But then, what happens when it does end? There has to be a way to slow Jane down, keep her in Gulop for as long as possible.
Taylor! How did it come to this? Danny felt his heart racing as fast as it could. The feeling of being trapped and crushed in such a small place intensified. There is nothing like the feeling of being lost in an unfamiliar place. Even if it is so peaceful, Danny knows he''s not at home. He knows he''s not with family. Nothing is safe! Nothing is right! At the same time, home is the one place they both have to avoid at all costs. Danny could only claim to compare this moment to a time when he was only eight years old, where he got separated from his parents in a local grocery store in Kalamo.
Though it only lasted for fifteen minutes, he remembered how terrifying it was. The situation then was fairly ironic. The location hadn''t changed, nor had the details, nor any of the people involved. What changed was the situation. Danny was lost in that store for fifteen minutes; it was his very first time there since it was a new build. Being all by yourself in unfamiliar surroundings is scary, but that holds to be truer when you are alone. You have no one to trust, no one to count on. What choice do you make? How much danger are you really in?
Danny could feel a similar sensation taking him a moment ago. Jane and Taylor didn''t need to know about it. Even with how beautiful and bright this green land is, it doesn''t change how terrifying this journey is. Sprawn Valley and magic may be harmless, but the situation is what''s wrong here. How messed up must it be that home is more dangerous than uncharted land? Taylor. I know I haven''t thought of anything yet. I haven''t developed any new leads or a solid plan of action. But even if Jane speeds up, I promise you. I promise that you will never come to harm. I won''t let that happen!
As the minutes passed, Jane eventually finished cooking the soup. It was a combination of vegetables and certain berries mixed in with meat chunks boiled in soy and coconut fluids. Taylor was surprised to see Jane start a small fire under her pot simply by using a well-known Leray spell. Since Fire Bolt and Fire Ball pack too much of a kick, Jane used a spell called Kindle Spark. It simply creates embers where one aims it, designed for cooking and not for battles. Jane managed to take full control of the situation after that, cooking and stirring the soup for several minutes until it was finally ready.
Danny returned to the site, easily finding his way back with the delicious smell that now replaced the air around them. It looked like lunch was already being served. Jane had somehow added some small wooden bowls into the mix of cooking wear, and now she was serving Taylor, dipping spoonfuls of her soup into Taylor''s assigned bowl.
"Just in time," Jane hollered to Danny. "I think you''ll like this better than a bag of chips."
Danny hovered to the large metal pot, letting Jane pour some of the white soup into his own bowl as well. After sitting down with Jane and Taylor, Danny suddenly realized something. He had never in his entire life endured a moment remotely similar to this one. With his own best friends, he was now eating alongside them after Jane prepared an excellent meal. Additionally, she did all of this out of the goodness of her heart. Danny almost had to reconsider that goodness of heart thing after trying the soup though. Nothing else in the world has ever tasted this incredible! What is this flavor? Something like this could only come from someone so heavenly and divine! Jane must have known that ahead of time, giving her much reason to go through all of this trouble in the first place. Still, it''s a very nice thing to do for them both. Danny had to properly thank Jane for this service, questioning himself what he might owe her after this. "This is the best meal I''ve ever tasted Jane! Thanks for this. I should have helped you prepare it."
"It''s okay," Jane blushed. His behavior changed so suddenly! Danny has never shown this much emotion before from a simple bite or sip of food. Is her cooking that good?
It was unlike Danny to stratify such an enormous compliment, but Taylor ignored it for the sake of her taste buds. "How did you get soup to taste this good?" Taylor could not identify every component within her meal. She knew there were a lot of individual ingredients to it, but nothing could properly sum up the unity of the warm taste in her mouth. She swallowed another spoonful in bliss, carefully keeping her bowl steady in her lap.
"It''s an old family recipe, but many people use it since it''s no secret." Jane was enjoying the soup she made as well. The steam from the heated liquid filled her smell with the same incredible aura of delight. Jane also knew that this is the best meal to have before a battle. Because of the specific ingredients used, it is a really healthy meal to consume in the long run. Plus in the meantime, it helps people become more agile and responsive during a Leray match.
"Mmmmh! I can''t get over this taste!" Danny began eating a bit faster than he previously was. If the meal were drier and less easy to spill, he would already be stuffing his face in front of Taylor and Jane.
Taylor noticed that Jane almost stopped completely in the middle of her meal, staring off into the distance. It wasn''t hard to tell that her mind was busy about something. "Still thinking back to that battle?"
Jane inhaled quickly, surprised at how easy it was for Taylor to read her mind like that. Though perhaps it wasn''t that hard anymore. Jane couldn''t stop thinking back on it though. That match against Jack wasn''t a normal fight. It''s almost like the battle wasn''t fair. She remembered some of the status changes carefully. When she was hit with just one single Fire Bolt attack, her HP dropped down by about 21%. That''s about 250% of a health decrease more than what it should have been. Fire Bolt isn''t supposed to do that much damage after all.
Then again, Jane returned, attacks such as Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt deal more damage than their predecessor forms such as Fire Ball and Ice Ball. It still bothered Jane deeply. Her defense was much lower than it should have been. Whether that meant Jack is at a very high level, or that something was really wrong with Jane''s endurance level in total, something about this had to be done. "Yeah."
Taylor detected the familiar tone of defeat in Jane once more, but the solution to this was obvious. After all, Danny and Taylor learned from Jane in the first place. "Don''t worry," she uplifted. "All you need to do is train some more. Maybe master that Zero Zone thing of yours."
Jane at first seemed confused. Taylor was right about the additional training idea, but Zero Zone sure is something else. "I think you are right. Zero Zone isn''t something I can accomplish anytime soon though. Just that one skill is a really high level kind of aura."
Taylor stopped eating momentarily, trying to think of a better way to encourage Jane to do better next time. After all, she isn''t the only one who is supposed to take on more challenges in Gross City. Taylor and Danny had their work cut out for them as well. Jane is still likely many levels ahead of them both put together anyway.
It happened so fast. Like a spark just ignited inside of Jane''s mind. Her eyes lit up and her entire body had somehow lifted at stand still. "I''ve got it!" Jane didn''t meant to surprise Danny and Taylor like that, but they soon got used to it by now. "I''ll just train to learn some other abilities, right here in this forest."
Yeah, you''re just nuts! Danny ignored it and continued eating until his soup was gone. Though her random energy is understandable and usual to him, it''s still so random and raw to draw it out so openly.
"That''s the spirit!" Taylor cheered.
Jane knew that was an ongoing thing for all Leray trainers, but she already had some ideas in mind for her next battle. "I''ll train right around here, and it won''t take long at all. I want to learn how to use Sphere of Might. And my Earth Glave could use some sprucing up too."
Danny stood up, though not as excitingly as Jane jumped up. "Sounds good. I''ll help you with Earth Glave." My damn soup is gone! Why wasn''t there more?
"And I''ll help you with Sphere of Might," Taylor added.
Jane was thanking them both without needing to say a word. "Awesome! Let''s go around side the rock." The plan to train together would be perfect as well. Taylor had easily learned Sphere of Might back in the Dakota facility, and Danny stuck with Earth Glave. Since they both know the abilities, Jane would have little difficulty learning these spells.
Taylor followed Jane to the spot where she wanted to train some more, as Danny followed Taylor, who was getting excited quickly. Even though the calm of the forest remained as did the bright overhead sunlight causing the peace, Taylor was just fine with getting psyched up about this too.
Danny admired this moment like no other. When he and Taylor first arrived in Sprawn Valley, their feelings about Leray magic were the exact opposite as they were now. Many people at first underestimate Leray magic in general, thinking on how bad and dangerous it can be, but in reality, it''s just a combination of support or attack spells used in the everyday exciting sport of Leray battles. Since these cannot take place outside of the nation of Sprawn Valley, there really is no danger to using magic in the field. Now, he and Taylor both were capable of getting super stoked about Leray training, as it was not so in the past.
Chapter 7: Heritage of Magic
<01/16/1972 ¨C 15:49 | Arragon Forest, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Though another half hour passed in training, the position of the sun made it seem like the day would drag on forever. The birds never once stopped singing, despite the loud noise level that could be caused by the use of Leray magic. The entire time, Taylor had been training Jane on how to properly use Sphere of Might, a magical attack that can be used at any range. It causes a large red sphere partially phased to spawn on the target, and then it spins rapidly, causing pure magical damage in the time of two seconds. This makes the attack hard to dodge while dealing a good amount of damage on top.
Jane had it down quicker than she expected to learn it. Then, Jane asked Danny about advice with Earth Glave. Jane used this ability against Jack, but only she was one to notice how unrefined her invocation was. Her Earth Glave attack was lacking in speed, power, and invocation time. So while she knew how to use it, Danny helped her learn how to use it correctly. Unfortunately, it needs a bit of MP in battle to make it work successfully, more than Jane wanted to expend, but this was a need-to-know basis for winning her next battle.
There was another thing from her previous battle that Jane did not understand. Her speed in dodging attacks, reaction time, and overall skills fighting at close range has somehow dwindled since training sessions back in school. She had done extraordinary at dodging attacks for a training exercise, something called evasion therapy, but it was different in a real battle. The danger and fear of taking attacks head on becomes ever more real, because every attack hits her almost as quickly as it is invoked from a magical aura or a glyphring. Jane''s reaction timing could be better, but that has to be done the hard way. Jane was glad she got in this training. She wanted to test out her Earth Glave attack just one more time, making sure it has improved. Danny and Taylor were subject to watch.
"Earth Glave!" Jane screamed with a piercing cry of determination in her voice. The MP energy she needed was already charged up casting outward. Since Earth Glave does not use a magical glyphring, the energy was released from her hands, cast forward to aim in front of her. The very moment Jane chanted the name of her spell, the ground beneath her began to rumble and bellow. The upward shifts carried onward from in front of Jane. The ground''s crust went rising wave by wave as if it became a violent tide wall growing height by distance. The Earth Glave spell continued on for a good thirty feet. The wave of rising ground continued growing higher, until finally reaching Jane''s intended destination target. She wasn''t very fond of befalling tall trees, but this Earth Glave attack managed to slam right into one, lifting the ground so far and high in a shooting speed. The tree below it became unhinged from the ground, falling away from Jane immediately, and it came crashing down with a loud smash and ruffled branches. At least it was not a large tree, else it would have caused another quake, but the attack thus ended. The earth returned back to its original state, though damages and holes in the ground were left in its place.
Danny judged the power level of that Earth Glave after her hands stopped glowing, and though it seemed that Jane''s Earth Glave has improved significantly, it wasn''t her best work either. "That was good Jane. You''ve improved a lot." Telling Jane otherwise would leave them stuck here in the woods forever. As beautiful as this place was, they all had places to be. This demonstration alone was Danny''s hint that Jane was not a full master of Earth Glave yet. There are some abilities which one release their energy through their hands, but then there are others which require using the entire body to release energy, as if using an attack aura. Earth Glave is not invoked using an attack aura, but in acting like it does, the power is increased, and MP is slightly conserved better in the ability. Jane must not realize yet that she needs to use her entire body''s aura in bringing about that attack to full power.
"You think so?" Jane hollered. "That''s good. I hope I can try another better spell." After Danny told Jane to go for it impatiently, Jane took another random aim in the same general area and focused all of her MP energy to her hands. With a few more seconds of glowing palms, Jane casted another unlikely chant. "Thunder-Flare!" Seconds passed... Another dud. Danny and Taylor didn''t hear of that spell before; the looks on their faces said as much. Did it matter when Jane''s invocation failed yet again? She did not expect to learn a new spell just like that, but at least Danny and Taylor taught her two new spells she could use for later.
"I suppose that one will need further practice," Danny suggested. "I myself will wait until we''re in Gross City to add to my spell list though."
Jane suggested to herself, "Maybe I should do the same!" The noises that muffle other sounds is something Jane had to adjust to. She didn''t mean to keep yelling, and had to tell herself that the training for today was finally over. Jane walked closer to Taylor and Danny. "Let''s gather our things. We should get going now."
Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi („M) {Alt Version}
Danny sighed in relief, but did so very cautiously as to be undetected by Jane or Taylor. Jane was finally moving again, and if she can at least be eager enough to move to Gross City, nobody will have to sleep in the forest tonight. Danny did a lot of things, but not any activity involving bugs that are mostly invisible. He sensed that Taylor would have the same thoughts in mind. Leave it to any girl confronted by bugs to abandon even the most peaceful place on earth willingly.
Taylor and Danny followed Jane back to the rock she was using to cook that awesome meal. Even though it was only an hour or three past twelve, the sunlight was finally beginning to change its tint. The bright white had become a more solid orange color. It was a sign that it would be setting down soon. Taylor had to remind herself that despite the heat waves, it is still winter in Sprawn Valley. That means the sun will set early today.
After Jane began leading them further into the Arragon Forest, Danny decided to keep on talking to Jane about the city. "So, is Gross City a really big place? I mean, what kind of schools and stores do they have there? And do people just battle in the streets too?"Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Jane gave Danny a short soft laugh. "You''ll just have to wait and see for yourself. Since it will be getting dark soon after we arrive, we''ll check into a hotel there to spend the night, and possibly tomorrow night."
"Doesn''t that cost credits?" Taylor objected.
Jane replied, "Only a few. And if we can all win a battle today or tomorrow, we will still have a large net gain from staying in the city. That is if we bet higher than in Blue Port."
"It''s almost like gambling," Danny proclaimed. He hadn''t thought about it before, but people both bet money in a battle, which means one of two sides has a risk of losing their winnings.
"Well," Jane interpreted. "As long as your winning streak is much higher than your losing streak, there''s nothing to worry about at all."
"We''ll just have to keep training once we arrive." Taylor sounded as confident as Jane did earlier. It is the way of the land here in Sprawn Valley. You travel, you train, you battle, and do it all over again. At least that is what Jane''s big journey is all about. Jane is supposed to keep getting stronger while traveling, all until she has the skills to finally take on the Leray champion. Taylor took another moment in silence to try and imagine just how strong that guy could be. No doubt every spell from the champion would register as a power level ten ability. Power level ten is said to be the maximum power level any Leray spell can possibly register to.
Jane enjoyed about two minutes of silence while marching forward, when Taylor added to their worries. "Oh no!" Taylor pointed her finger far in front of Jane. Everybody looked at what it was. A very large and wide patch of picker bushes and thorns blocked the path up ahead. It was incredibly dense, and looking from left to right, the line up didn''t seem to have any end to it. Taylor did recognize these disgusting thorns from back in Kalamo. Though they were rare there, she and Danny both were pricked by these pests before in the past. One time was enough!
Jane noticed that this patch of sharp pointy bushes in front of her was the very thing she was looking for. "Relax you two. It''s just a thorn patch. Nothing to worry about with this here."
Danny could hardly believe how mellow Jane was about this. "You have some plan to take care of it, because I''m not walking through all of that." On the risk of getting cut up really badly, Jane must not be serious about heading through it, and he didn''t think of Jane as the type of person to climb trees over the bush either. Even if the veil mitigates the damages caused by those thorns, it''s best to avoid getting cut up by bushes, on the count of getting an infection from the open wounds.
"We''re not going through that," Jane declared. "This large patch of thorns is another landmark in the Arragon Forest. I''ve seen it before too."
"A landmark?" Taylor questioned.
Jane pointed to her right, despite seeing nothing extraordinary in that direction. "When you find this patch of picker bushes, you''re supposed to head straight northeast. From there, you will eventually reach the official road of Route Eleven. Then heading west from there, we''ll all be in the city in no time."
"So what you''re saying is..." Taylor didn''t know if her assumption was right, but it sounded like Jane was almost nearing Gross City by now.
"We''re almost there?" Danny phrased.
Jane answered. "We''re getting close. And I still have the maps. Follow me." Jane marched northward after changing direction. All three of them were now walking along side of the large thorn bush. From this angle, it continued heading forward for a long time. This so called road Jane was taking about wasn''t even in visual range yet, but it shouldn''t be long now.
Another six minutes had to pass before Jane made another announcement. Taylor loved the forest, but it seemed to already be changing with the amount of available daylight left. The singing birds were getting less frequent. The spacing between each tree was growing. Even the forest life here seemed less dense than it was before, but little did she realize that Jane was leading them to the northeast edge of the woods.
"I can see it up ahead you two!" Keeping her voice down was futile. Danny didn''t have a good sense of hearing while walking that far behind Jane. In light of the news, they both began a full sprint ahead, rushing in front of Jane to see it for their own eyes.
The edge of the forest was confirmed. Only about 67 meters ahead, the tree population ends, and from a faint glare of the sunlight comes the coloration of the gravel set road. Figures they would not even use stone or concrete, but it might not matter since locals already understand exactly where to go. Jane was proof of that, and she didn''t even take the real official path of Route 11. Jane instead took a winding path around that leads to the very end of the route. Whether or not this is a shortcut was something Danny was unable to answer right now, but he didn''t care in the moment.
After running ahead alongside of Taylor, they both ended up standing on that rocky set path. Just on the other side, at least another 400 meters ahead was another dense looking forest, but it was irrelevant. In every other direction, there was practically nothing around them, not even people. The road simply heads on straight to the east and west. The elevation of the ground changes a lot in some of the directions too. Gross City was still not anywhere to be found.
Jane caught up to her friends and placed her hands on their shoulders while they looked around curiously. "Gross City should be just up over that hill." Jane began to lead the way again, showing them exactly what she was talking about. This time, Danny and Taylor followed very close behind, eager to finally be out of the woods. Jane thought this to be humorous. Just an hour and a half ago, Taylor would have given anything to stay in that forest back there forever, but now, she was dying to get away. It''s exactly like the stories Jane hears about that particular forest. It''s beautiful and peaceful, but without any civilization, it''s just not worth staying there. Apparently, there are plenty of bugs that like to bite at night. No doubt Taylor would have several complains about spending the night in the forest. The sun goes down, and suddenly bliss turns to enmity.
The sun beamed through the overcast. Somehow a few clouds rolled into the clear forecast of the day. The starlight was still much taller than the hill above them. They had to have at least another three hours of sunlight left, plenty of time to reach the city and get checked in.
Jane finally brought herself and her friends up to the top of the steep hill. From here, it was mostly downslope for a long distance. In their collective view, the massively tall buildings and even the edge of the city walls were clearly visible with a slight blur from solar mirage. Jane raised her arms high, introducing the place with much drama. "Welcome to Gross City!"
Taylor couldn''t help squinting her eyes to see it more. Her face lit up with excitement. It was about the size of any good mid-sized industrial area, and though there were many tall buildings, there was not any kind of uplifting smoke to indicate the use of any sort of factory. This place must have a lot to show them both.
"Now that''s what I''m talking about," Danny blurted. He had been wanting to see a lot more of what Sprawn Valley has to offer. Being trapped in Fronas and Blue Port Town could easily make one feel landlocked onto a small island, but this scenery changes everything. Fronas is a very small town that can hardly even support its own finances. Blue Port Town is simply a larger version of Fronas that is also slightly richer too. But Gross City, as well as the beach said to be on the other side, has to be the best offered in the Gulop region. Since there are five major regions, this place right here is proof that Danny has barely seen this world at all.
Taylor studied the downward slope. It was much less steep as the hill they had just climbed, but it was another two miles on the grassy terrain before they get anywhere near the city limit. The gravel road that was under their feet seemed to vanish with the ground in front of them. Taylor shot Danny a saucily look, grabbing his attention immediately. "I''ll race you there."
Danny accepted Taylor''s challenge by running immediately, but she already maintained a head start. "Wait up!"
Jane remained still, smiling from the fulfillment that this journey was already bringing, and she has just begun as well. Danny and Taylor rushed down the hills as fast as they could. Jane knew she would need to keep up with them, but if they''re running at that speed, they''ll never make it to the city before her. Jane began to jog forward at a pacing speed, confident she could keep up like this. It wouldn''t be long now. Gross City has so much more opportunities to offer, and a lot more challengers to seek out as well.
Chapter 8: Citycast
<01/16/1972 ¨C 17:27 | Gross City, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Through the mild bustle of new noise, Taylor''s excited breath escaped her gracefully. "Wow!"
Danny was right with Taylor, looking around in awe. They had seen plenty of cities back home around this particular size, but nothing could compare to the life of a city without cars or factories. Danny nearly forgot that he was in Sprawn Valley, and realized a city built in a Leray world surely had to be different. The structures didn''t seem old or chaffed, and the layout of the city was almost quite random. There was no one spot similar to another, but this also made everything more unique too. Building after buildings filled the space quickly, some tall and some as small as restaurants.
Taylor took in all of the sights and noticed the roads. Unlike a normal two lane road built for automobiles, these are all cement crossways designed for people to walk on. There were sidewalks too, but everybody choose their own pathway in walking, remaining somewhat orderly to avoid clutter. Every building had a large unique logo or a marking, displaying obvious signs of corporate involvement. Taylor wondered to what subject the business could involve, but she was immediately taken by the view of a fountain. Spring water oozed from the top of the peak, and the steady circular stream carried itself on downward, spiral by spiral.
Jane knew they would be impressed, though she found herself looking around too. Jane remembered visiting Gross City before, but it wasn''t the same since it happened so long ago. This place was almost like new to her, and anything could have changed over time. So many people populated the streets, crowding the atmosphere. Most seemed busy, though there were whole families out as well. The children were free to run around as energetic as they were, while other families seemed to have plans to eat out tonight. A few other sections far on the roads carried large moving equipment being pulled by sections of workers, movers that haul big machinery on wheels, but all for what purpose escaped Jane''s entire memory. Jane thought she usually had a sense of anyone''s personality just by observing their movements and expressions. Once she tried to say something about her thought process, and her classmates called her crazy for it.
Here lies, another one of humanity''s greatest accomplishments. This sensation of purpose washed over everywhere he could see. Danny knew that this kind of city was far different than anything he''d ever seen or thought of before. It might not look too different from the outside, but based on the freedom people have here in Sprawn Valley, and from the collective things people can build all for the ideas of Leray magic, Gross City can be none other than a success story without end.
"I wonder what kinds of places they have here."
Jane brought herself back to reality, since Taylor was in need of some plan for this place. "I''ll pull out the map." At the sound of that, Jane noticed that Danny and Taylor were approaching her from her peripheral. Jane fumbled for the map in her pocket. Paper is the only one basic thing that hasn''t changed around here. Despite the current push and advancements to technology, nothing else ever came remotely close in this country to helping wielders learn their way around. Jane could imagine some kind of portable map system with an intelligent digital design displayed on a screen, physical or holographic. But to date, wielders are all entrusted to travel with the country''s atlas in their memory.
Jane flattened the map in her hands while her friends scrunched closer to her for a better look. This map was different than the last one. Jane had acquired a local map of the city itself, and all of the buildings were listed here with names. "This is our entry point, here." Jane pointed out where they were right now, as to get their bearings straight.
"Look!" Taylor added. She pointed on a different spot of the paper. "There''s the inn right there."
Jane glanced at Taylor, the judgmental expression burned into her face. "It''s called a hotel. You should try and remember that."
Taylor stamped back, "Well sorry, we''re not familiar with your crazy world."
"Look," Danny redirected. "More shops."
Everything was marked on this map. There were several kinds of business stores in the central plaza of the city. Diamond Matrix: the jewelry and fashion shop. Sentiment Essex: the official Leray store based in Gross City. There were also several other marked locations such as movie stores, grocery shops, thrift stores, and several restaurants. All of the corporate buildings were only marked by their logos, though this map wasn''t designed to give additional structure to them. The difference between Blue Port and Gross City was immense regarding the size and economic situation here; they even had their own Leray training facility here. Jane knew of it; Knarksas Training Academy. That school is better maintained with a much larger population pool, as it supports classes all the way up to the elite level, falling just short of those specific courses. As a result, it''s far more prestigious and expensive too. It was no surprise at all that Gross City is such a major successful area. It''s a city well grown between a large forest and a major beach. So one of which is an actual tourist attraction, thus explaining the thousands of people here. Of course, apartments here were also substantial, but most of the people who hit Gross City daily lived in the residential town to the northeast, connected by the short path of Route 19-A.
"I can''t believe how many places there are here."
Jane answered to Danny''s curiosity with her best knowledge available for this zone. Jane knew of the facts just by studying what others knew about it. "Gross City has a lot of major technological business firms set up here. The tallest and widest structures belong to them."
"I wonder what tech they''re about?" Taylor envisioned.
Jane knew the answer to this as well, and decided not to mock either one of them for not knowing some of the most basic stuff about Gross City. "It''s all Leray related. Mostly, they work on improving supply sphere technology and spell bombs."
"I thought there was a limit to the amount of stuff you could do in a Leray battle." Danny had to be realistic. There are almost a million ways to battle with so many different kinds of skills and spells, mixed in with different strategies, but it''s still a matter of numbers in that sense. Eventually, one strategy will be crushed by another.
Jane faced Danny, making her voice more clear towards him. "Not all spell bombs and Leray abilities have been discovered. You can totally come up with your own ability by accident. It''s all how you exert that energy in the field. And because there are potentially new spells left undiscovered, the same goes for spell bombs and spell categories. By altering output energy, a spell bomb can be made to do almost anything. That''s why most of the research is done here. But the mages that first invented Leray abilities are not the only ones who can continue that research."
"That''s a lot to handle, I think." Taylor sounded overwhelmed just by the description of Leray magic''s potential. It''s no wonder Leray battling is so popular here. Nobody has ever perfected a full understanding of it yet. The possibilities for the art really are endless.
"And abilities that are not learned by accident are often recreated by refining well-known powers. You could take a normal spell and alter it for better potential if you know what you''re doing. That''s what the Gulop region is most known for. Gross City shares those technological secrets with the rest of the world. The people analyze battles, looking at all of the different styles in order to think of a better one."
Danny felt as though his head was going to spin off his neck should he hear any more. "I get the point. Science. It exists for Leray magic too."
"I want to check out the shop!" Taylor volunteered.
"I want to see what their park is like."
Jane already realized that her friends were getting ahead of themselves, but there wasn''t any real rush. The sun was still high in the sky, despite the appeal of a sunset. It must only be around five thirty or so. There would be more than enough time to explore before settling into the hotel. Jane was supposed to pay with her own credits anyway. "Okay," she exhaled. "I''ll see you two when you get back then."
Taylor stepped back once to show her concern for Jane''s choice. "You''re not coming with us?"
Jane nodded calmly. "Don''t worry about me. I want to train more before our battle tomorrow. I still have some abilities I could learn, and I can benefit greatly from refining the skills I already know."
Danny gazed at Jane mysteriously. "You''re going to just stand in the middle of the streets and fire off spells for training?" He nervously glanced around his personal space in all directions, eyeing those casually walking by with their business. "Is that normal to just do anywhere?"
"Of course it is, silly." Jane could tell she was smiling again. The memories of her journey with Danny and Taylor were resonating in her thoughts, ever since she met them at Dakota. They''ve all come a long way, and already, none of them were fond of splitting themselves apart. Jane could feel that strongly, but it''s only a city. Nothing bad will happen right here anyway. "Taylor?" Jane turned. "Will you let me know if they have anything interesting in Essex? I still want to upgrade to a better outfit, but a leather one won''t do this time."
"I promise," Taylor swore. "I''ll let you know if anything in there is worth it."
Danny felt better about splitting away from Jane, but only because he imagined her next activity in his mind. How embarrassing it must be to just jump around with a set of knives shouting spells that don''t work in the middle of crowded streets full of strangers! It''s not natural!
Jane nodded to Taylor, giving them both the signal to go ahead and explore the city. Jane then turned around as her friends walked the other direction. She took to the sidewalk, knowing that having too many people around her while training can cause an incident. Jane decided she will train right over to the side of the area under construction since traffic there is really low for now.
Chapter Theme Shift: Snow''s Theme ~ FXIII OST
In the time of the remaining hours, several blue spheres from a Magical Blitz spell ended up slamming into the nearby stone of the city wall behind the choice of building. Certain stones are naturally resistant to Leray magical attacks, so the structure did not take any damage, but the sudden appearance of wild spells casting all over the place had heads turning in one direction.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
To little surprise, Jane noticed the gradual attention fell directly onto her. She had been training for several minutes now, right here in this spot beyond the sidewalk, which had mostly become vacant due to her activities. It was a little uncommon for a person to train with magical abilities in the city streets rather than a park or a forest, but Jane didn''t care about the crowd walking around her. Her training was going well so far, her mind deepening on each strategy better than she ever did before.
"Triple Fire!" Jane''s hands were glowing blue from the magical build up, but after attempting to cast her next spell, nothing happened for a long two seconds. Her hands returned to normal afterwards, depleted of their auras, and Jane was made to realize that there were several important spells still left behind. Triple Fire is a powerful fire-based spell that is actually a refinement of Fire Bolt. It is supposed to use an improved glyphring of fire and shoot out three projectiles instead of one, making the attack all the more powerful and difficult to dodge. But as Jane imagined it happening in her mind, the energy signature was all wrong, so the spell failed to work properly.
Jane grumbled under her breath in response. It wasn''t a surprise that she still could not use higher level spells just yet either. Flying Guillotine was currently her strongest kind of attack spell, outside of the underdeveloped Tri-Attack. Jane thought of using that skill next to try and understand it better. Tri-Attack is one of the most complicated kinds of skills there is to study, because it can take on so many different magical types, forms, and signatures. Usually, it''s an ability that congregates Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Thunderbolt all in the same instance for one spell, but it''s a freeform spell, so it can be used in other ways too. Some people have used it with Ice Bolt, Aero Blast, and Thunderbolt, even though the element of fire was replaced with wind damage. Others use the same elements but in different methods to attack, and it has even been reported that three people in a team battle can use Tri-Attack together as a team, greatly conserving MP energy and reducing invocation time greatly per person.
Jane developed her own special method for her newest skill, and in order to make it stronger, she aimed her hands at the wall again, preparing to practice some more. It didn''t bother her at all that her training here was disrupting some of the people passing by. It is sort of dangerous. If any stray attack ends up hitting some innocent pedestrian, Jane could get in a lot of trouble. Since the path in front of her to the wall was clear, she gave no hesitation to try out some more powers.
Jane already began charging a lot of her energy again, imagining the scene in her mind like she was going to perform it. Jane already used this in battle before successfully against her last opponent Jack, and it ended up being highly effective too. Jane was just fine on her power. It was her defensive parameters that were too far down to count. Jane knew that Danny and Taylor told her that there was no way her parameters could actually be any different than anybody else, outside of the natural level state. Jane saw the report on her own energy scope as well, but it''s still so hard to believe. Jack did so much damage to her in such short of time. As far as Jane was concerned, something had to be off.
Ever since a few weeks ago, Jane could feel her entire dispersion methods disrupted with every invocation. Only recently have her spells come out more normally, but Jane could also detect the slight difference in her mind. The ability to focus on spells, Jane never had such an easy time with it before. No, it''s more like she couldn''t bring herself back to reality as quickly just after attempting to invoke a spell. The sensation left an amass of thoughts in her mind, while her body felt buzzed and charged despite having release MP energy constantly to the process. Jane had a hard time thinking the description up herself. Getting stronger and stronger, that was the current propagation of each push of energy through her magical circuits.
As soon as her energy was charged, Jane had to shut her eyes and reimagine the entire thing, after being distracted by her own thoughts. It was a miracle that her spell was still going at all because of it. After shouting the ability aloud, "Tri-Attack!" Jane shoved her hands forward, instantly creating all three glyphrings she needed to create. The glyphrings were very distant from her, much closer to the wall. Jane intentionally positioned each glyphring of different elements into forming an aerial shape of a triangle, though much smaller on being clumped closer together. It seemed correct. Even though it was a bit different than the normal kind of Tri-Attacks people employ, Jane knew that her method of positioning has its advantage already. By surrounding an opponent with a triangle of elemental glyphrings ready to fire at the same time, it would be so much harder to dodge. Most rookies would try to position all three glyphrings just behind or just in front of themselves; it''s rather pathetic.
Jane at first believed she was going to aim and hit the wall, but after the glyphrings unleashed their designated attacks, the projectiles were instead heading for each other. At the center of Jane''s imaginary triangle, the Lightning Strike attack hit the ground first. The Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt slammed into each other in the same spot shortly after the Lightning Strike dissipated, creating a small explosion fusing in the air. Jane didn''t mean for that to happen, and the knock back of the blast almost created a powerful gust of wind strong enough to blow away any person getting too close. The blast of wind defiantly affected her. Jane covered her body with her arms, planting her feet firmly on the cement. The strong wind it created was only short lived, but it surprised her.
Jane only now realized that the blast had also affected other people too, the burst of wind escaping this small corner and messing up their hair or balance. Any one of these civilians could call in a complaint and get Jane into trouble for training where she wasn''t supposed to. Jane turned around, too embarrassed to face the people in front of her anymore, but there were more staring at her from behind. Her exit would be blocked if anyone wanted to hold her here, but Jane just wanted to apologize and leave quickly.
Out of the random murmurs Jane failed to make out in the distance, surrounding her sense of hearing from all sides, the sudden sound of slow clapping emanated from her right. Jane turned her head only to see that an odd looking group of people were walking her way. Some woman with jet black hair and crimson colored eyes was clapping for her, either sarcastically or insultingly. She also walked slowly in front of the people following her from behind, indicating that she was taking charge to the tiny group...
Jane realized the oddity of them, refusing to look away. As the troupe got much closer, she noticed that the two men and single woman behind the clapping one were all weighed down with equipment. One of the guys was holding up an expensive camera, and another was holding a microphone on a stick. It''s a news casting crew!
"That''s some pretty good stuff miss." The woman with crimson eyes approached Jane closely, allowing her crew to take part in the action. It seemed like she was about to interview Jane.
Jane stood her ground despite the worried expression on her face from before. Do they plan on publicizing her own failure? Is she going to be reported like this? Who the hell are these people anyway? "Th-Thanks?" Jane couldn''t help sounding confused, and she couldn''t get the words out quick enough to ask who they were.
"If you''re able to use Tri-Attack like that, then you''re out here training for a battle. Correct?" Her voice maintained a constant firm tone that was easily detectable for the equipment behind her.
"That''s right." Jane kept her cool even as they got closer to her. It seemed like they were getting around to asking her for something. Their very question calmed Jane down somewhat, proving that she was at least not in any trouble for almost stray attacking civilians.
Instead of allowing the same woman to continue her questions, another young woman stepped in front of them from behind. She seemed about 22 years old, brown hair, bronze eyes, excellent dress sphere, and as casual any normal person. She pointed her finger at Jane, making an offer. "In that case, I would like to ask for your name and request a battle with you."
Chapter Theme Shift: A Battle to Return ~ FFXIII OST
"Uh¡ª" Jane didn''t expect this. She knew they were acting strange, but Jane couldn''t really explain to herself why they would want to battle with her. "Me? Battle you?"
The black hair woman holding a separate microphone turned to the brunette. "Hold on now. I think we should introduce ourselves first." After turning around to Jane, the woman explained about her entire team to Jane. "I''m Leray reporter Jessica. And this here is our team, working for SN Live!"
"SN Live?!" Jane repeated with excitement. She knew exactly who they were now. There are a lot of different names for reporting crews all over Sprawn Valley, but SN is the most popular news channel there is, directly rivaling ProCom news in this specific area! SN Live specifically reports the news locally in Gross City, their stories interested in and around the city itself. They seem to want to become the primary outlet for Gulop entirely, though they also tend to focus greatly on recording battle segments that happen between people in the wild. "Gross City news!" Jane could no longer help herself. They wanted an interview with her, and a battle to go along with it. This has to be the most awesome moment ever! She had to do her best to prevent losing her cool in front of the high resolution camera. "I''m Jane. Jane Venn." Jane felt herself about to sweat, but assured herself that she was fine. Her hair was still well done, and the dress sphere she had on right now was perfect for television and for battling. On top of that, the day was still young enough to provide plenty of natural lighting to the area. To think she would be chosen for a battle segment! "And I am a viable Leray wielder."
Jessica gave a hand signal for her team to get in a little closer. "That''s good Jane. I specialize in making certain battles that happen just about anywhere public. People like to watch their Leray movies, but those are fictional moments set to script. Bringing a battle for others to watch live on TV is part of my job, and Selina here believes you worthy enough to film some of your skills. What say you to this challenge for potential fans?" Hopefully that didn''t sound too dramatic. Scaring off Jane now would be a waste of time and data usage.
Jane took a quick glance at Selina, the brunette hair woman who made the offer to battle in the first place. Then she glanced at other things as well. The camera and mic were both actively recording, so everything happening now must already be broadcasting, or at least it was being recorded to be viewed later tonight. Jane never had this kind of exposure before, let alone the ability to show up on television. The thought of her winning a battle for everyone to see got her excited so quickly. "You want to battle with me?" Jane asked.
Selina stepped forward slightly, making it easier for Jane and the mic to hear her better. "You heard right. You''re looking ready to challenge someone here in the city. And it so happens that I have the same thought in mind."
Jessica transferred her question to Jane as soon as Selina was certain that Jane understood what was being asked of her. "We would like your permission to air this battle. Selina versus Jane Venn. Win or lose doesn''t matter. I only ask that you both make it interesting to watch for tonight''s program."
If Jane were not as grown up as she was today, the thought of this honor would have made her faint. She was sure of it, but in order to look professional, Jane kept smiling, bottling up her excitement to use in the battle. She never expected to have someone challenge her before tonight was over, and thank goodness the battle between her and Jack did not become some big news already. "Selina? You have a deal. I''ll battle you right now!" Jane jumped her voice and expression together, her arms held up in fists to portray her confidence. She could feel her beat rising, her blood tingling!
The offer was all it took to give this girl such fire in her eyes! "Excellent!" Selina honored. "We''ll host the match here in the city, and clear out an intersection to use as our space."
Jessica turned to face her own camera, intending to give a word to the audience. "It seems we have a brave Leray wielder ready to challenge another. Stay tuned in, as the real fun will begin shortly."
Jane didn''t know Jessica was going to be that direct, but it didn''t matter too much to her. She saw that the crew was now temporarily shutting down some gear, preparing to head out.
"Follow me to the battling location," Jessica ordered. Selina was following her in response, walking down the streets to the designated location.
Jane could not be certain, but it looks like this Selina person is part of Jessica''s news crew. If that''s true, than Selina''s very mission is to track down strong Leray wielders every day and challenge their skills. That can''t be an easy job, but Jane was more than prepared to handle anything. She felt so anxious, and her body was positively tingling from the suspense. The area was already so crowded and public, but Jane knew it was nothing compared to being on television.
For only five minutes, Jane followed them to the spot they spoke of. It was a section of walkway that intersects three times, but it was sectioned off for now. Jessica must have already declared this particular space to be used in a battle tonight. There were still plenty of people walking around here, but not in the square section designated for battle. Jane glanced up at the sky. The sun was finally fleeting away. Though the city was lit on its own from the light overhead, the color intensity of the sky was darkening quickly with the usual orange glow.
On the way there, Jane thought about how wrong the match could go, in multiple ways. She glanced down at her right arm, covering the top of her wrist while silently trembling in fear. What had she just agreed to do? If she isn''t careful, Jane will very well destroy her entire reputation in one single night. This might not have been the best idea after all, but it''s too late to back down now, after what she just promised to deliver. It should be okay though. A repeat incident like the one against Jack should not be expected to happen twice, right?
Finally arriving at the destination, Jane determined that now was the right time for questions. "So... Jessica? Do I need to battle differently? Is there some special rule I need to follow?"
Jessica answered Jane while setting up the equipment again. The square was sectioned off using cheap barricades to deter people from getting past them, and the recording gear was being set up behind all of that. "Just do what you normally do in a Leray battle." Jessica quickly corrected her discretion with an afterthought. "Without the swearing or cussing. I need my content to be appropriate for a normal audience, and children could be watching as well."
"Right." Jane looked around her. Some of the people who were walking around were stopping nearby to check things out over here. Television isn''t the only way people can enjoy a heated battle. Many like to stand outside of the dome shield and watch the battle close up, putting their normal daily activities on hold. There might not be a dome shield yet, but surely, others could see this section with the barricades and guess that an impending battle would follow.
"So Jane," Selina tested. "Are you ready for this? Want to settle an official bet too?"
"Yes!" Jane replied. "And I do want to have a bet as well. What''s a battle without one?"
"Good answer. I''ll let you settle the score."
Jane thought about her remaining credits. What if Taylor finds something in the store she wants? "Can we bet something other than credits?"
Selina offered, "How about the Emire spell bomb? It''s a simple thing that restores 15% MP in battle. If you win, you can have mine."
"Good," Jane agreed. "And we''ll add the standard 200 credits on top of that."
"I thought you said you want to bet something other than credits."
Jane explained. "I just don''t feel like betting very high on credits today. So this time, it will be a spell bomb. I''ll have to give you MP recovery items if I lose, but no worries."
"Now that''s what I like to hear."
"We''re almost set up!" Jessica hollered.
Jane knew it. This is where it''s going to happen, and Selina is her opponent this time. Selina didn''t seem all that strong compared to the Jack character she met earlier. But still, being a part of Jessica''s crew could mean she is no rookie either. Jane was sure not to underestimate her this time. More importantly, Jane was going to be sure not to lose while on camera.
Chapter 9: SN Live!
<01/16/1972 ¨C 17:15 | Gross City, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The city folk passing by were gathering around. They knew exactly what this setup was all about after witnessing it so many times. Jessica''s crew is prepared to film and broadcast their battle live on the air for entertainment. The battle is going to be between Jessica''s battle assistant and Jane. After everyone took to their places, Jane and Selina lined up on opposite ends of the sectioned square. The barricades around it were only decorative, a sense of a do not cross line. The battle will still commence with a Siriean dome within the section. But that means the battle area will have less room to move around in than standard conditions. Jane and Selina were already standing only thirty-five meters apart. Their backs were almost at the edge already.
After Jessica gave the word and activated her camera, that was Selina''s cue to start the battle officially. Selina looked up, aiming her hand into the sky. "I happily announce that the battle between Jane and Selina will now commence!" Selina needed to project her voice loud enough to reach the microphone behind her, but her hand was also devoted to the creation of the Siriean dome. To initiate the battle, Selina helped create that shield in the small area, setting the radius and height factor. For a good moment, the Siriean dome was hard to see through with the glowing effect in the bubble itself. After it was fully established, the shield tried to fade into the surrounding area again, becoming almost totally transparent. The shield only covered Jane and Selina, not dragging anybody else into the battle, and since this was official, it counts on both parties'' licenses.
Jane quickly noticed that the holographic text to show the reward spoils and bets appeared in the center, only to die out a few seconds later.
Emire Spell Bomb< >Stamina Orb< | Battle Mode>
The text was displayed differently for a reason. Jane did not have an Emire spell bomb to part with should she end up losing. So if she does lose, she would have to give up something different instead. Selina already agreed to those terms, and so the rewards were going to be conditional for each person. But Jane was quickly distracted by a familiar face behind the text. It was Taylor, waving her arm to get Jane''s attention. How did she find her so quickly?
"Hey Jane! When did you start battling?" Taylor didn''t expect Jane to already be caught up in another fight, but she was glad for her. This means that Jane isn''t feeling the defeat from the last fight she took part in anymore.
Jessica noticed the girl screaming at Jane from outside of the dome, and got her crew to focus in on Taylor. Taylor began staring in their direction curiously. "And it looks like Jane has a few fans already."
"Ah!" Taylor freaked out, hiding behind Danny quickly. She had never been on TV before, and just now realized that this place was being filmed for a live audience. "I''m not ready to be on film." Danny was confused, but Taylor was immediately embarrassed for drawing that much attention to herself. She had not fixed her hair or dressed properly for the occasion. She didn''t look bad, but it wasn''t something she wanted to handle until upgrading her appearance further. Of all things, her reaction made Danny chuckle too.
Jane laughed briefly. Taylor must not be used to a camera in her face. It was more humorous since Danny''s stance and expression screamed how much he didn''t mind. She saw that Jessica returned the camera back towards her and Selina. The battle has officially begun, but Selina wasn''t willing to attack Jane just yet. More people gathered around, cheering on the fight just because it would be interesting to watch. Danny was now hollering words towards Jane, but the increased noise level blocked out his voice.
Selina took notice of the pause between each other, and then decided on how to begin. "Jane? You may have the first attack."
While telling Jane how to battle first, Selina initiated her energy scope for the fight. Jane already did the same while she was talking to her.
Chapter Theme Shift: Knock Out! ~ FFXIII-3 OST
"Thanks." Jane smiled with confidence. Not only would she go first, but she had been training for battles like this in the past. Feeling as ready as ever, she began with one of her attacks that never failed her before. Jane began immediately, charging her MP into the next magical skill strongly. Jane pulled out her daggers, now glowing with the magic aura infused within them. Jane then jumped up slightly, throwing her daggers with the full weight of her arms. "Flying Guillotine!"
Jane''s spell and knife toss turned into the powerful Flying Guillotine most people knew by heart. While both two daggers flew in the air with a horizontal spin, they generated a large magical circle between them, fixed with a damaging aura that gracefully drilled through the air until they slammed into Selina. Selina became stuck in that circle as the daggers continued to travel around her, cutting up multiple sections of her body in the process. In the same instance, Jane''s blades ended up turning around completely, forcing the guillotine attack to head in her direction. Just before it hit Jane, the circle disappeared, and Jane was now in the process of collecting her daggers as they spun in the air, fresh out of magic.
Selina wasn''t expecting a powerful hit right off to start. She had no way of dodging the attack given that kind of speed, and the sensation of sharp cutting blades remained all over her body after the blades left her. The energy scope above her responded immediately, reporting the damages.
Selina retained the glint in her eyes. Jane was truly impressive, dealing that much damage with a power level 4 attack, but now she wanted to return the favor. Despite the pain from Jane''s attack, Selina was capable of handling it well, standing tall to prepare herself to return damage. Pulling out daggers much similar to Jane''s, Selina chanted the name "Shadow Knife!" while throwing all three of them towards Jane. Her daggers did not glow while flying vertically and spinning through the air. Still, Jane reacted a little too slowly, and took two hits out of the three knives thrown her way.
The pain was instantaneous, but faded quickly too. Selina only dealt normal slashing damage towards Jane, while Jane''s last attack did that with the combined force of magical damage onto Selina. While both of them were wearing less protective dress spheres for the battle, Jane nearly took the same amount of damage.
Jane could not blame herself for failing to dodge. Shadow Knife still has the power to make the knives thrown transparent as they fly through the air, so she really didn''t see anything just before getting hit twice. Her random movement let her dodge one of them regardless. Now it was Jane''s turn to strike back.
Jane immediately charged up her next spell, forming an orange glyphring in front of her with her arm in the center of the glyphring. The battle was traversing quickly right now, with neither side taking any time to recover from their damages at all. At the moment Jane''s magical spell was ready to cast, she shot the dozens of shooting stars from her hand well before chanting the name aloud. "Radial Stars!" Even though everybody knows it is the weakest kind of spell there is, Jane was sure it would amass a fair amount of damage while keeping her MP levels up as well.
Selina didn''t move. With so many Radial Stars shooting her way, there was not a method to try and dodge the attack entirely. She simply braced herself as the sharp edged magical stars dug into her skin repetitively. The effects were very painful, like being pricked with a bunch of needles, but Selina knew she was okay, taking worse attacks before. As soon as the Radial Stars stopped and Jane''s glyphring faded, Selina gave Jane a very quick moment to realize how insignificant her attack was. Selina was confident to know it wasn''t worth checking her energy scope. Radial Stars barely does damage no matter what the situation is.
"Ha!" Selina was feeling just fine. She knew how much pain she could tolerate in a battle, and getting slowed down by such feeble attack patterns was not her style. The many people surrounding them doubled in population and in volume. Things were already heating up, and now Jane had expended her turn for nothing. Selina wasted no time in creating her next glyphring, a powerful red disk that rotated around her wrist. After taking aim at Jane, she immediately had the chance to fire her spell, chanting the name as well to help her focus. "Triple Fire!"
Jane gasped, quickly switching her stance to try and block the damage. Just like she remembered Eliza''s stance, Jane copied what was in her mind, bending her knees down a little while using her arms and fists to block her front side from the oncoming attack. Jane knew it was better to dodge this entirely, but without an actual wall to run to for a jump kick evasion, blocking was the only thing she could try. The dome shield would not let her just bounce off either. From the center of Selina''s glyphring, she shot out three Fire Bolts consecutively. Each of them had their own damage level and homing properties, following behind each other to make dodging physically impossible by all means. Jane knew this was going to be a devastating attack, so she took the chance to try and block the fiery spheres.
Though blocking attacks is supposed to slightly improve damage resistance for most kinds of hits, the spell cast of Triple Fire shot off three Fire Bolts towards Jane at the same time in just one attack spell. Once those Fire Bolts slammed into Jane''s stiff body, there was no way for her to fully block the effects. As a result, most of that burning and fiery pain was shifted towards her arms and legs, making it a little more tolerable. At the same time, Jane immediately felt drained from HP reduction. Her earlier attempt to use Triple Fire in training was never successful, but here it was, complete with the added effects of massive damage to her HP.
"Ah! What attack was that?!" Taylor clinched.
Danny was still in charge of reading back to himself and Taylor what new kinds of spells and skills might show up unexpectedly during battles. Of course, he was only capable of analyzing these spells when observing a battle, but this was as good a time as any other. After flipping in his small guide book over to the T section, he found the spell known as Triple Fire, and read back the descriptions. "Triple Fire or Tri-Fire. Power level is improved to 5.5 as it shoots out three Fire Bolts in just one invocation, conserving some MP in the same process and making the ability more devastating for damage."
Taylor was immediately impressed with the way Selina executed that spell against Jane. "You see how fast she invoked that spell? Jane has her work cut out for her alright."
"Not this time. You can do it Jane!" Danny was sharing the role Taylor had previously served for Jane the last time they watched her fight. Jane could use some encouragement for this one fight. She might be arrogant to annoyance, but after all of today, after all Jane put herself through with the intense training, she has to win this time. "Fight back!"
Jane could not hear Danny or Taylor in all the noise, but she knew from experience that they had to be cheering her on anyway. Man! Selina knows powerful skills too. Seems she is more experienced. But she isn''t the only one... Jane charged the MP into her hands like before, causing them to glow with a yellow color without the appearance of a glyphring. She immediately released that energy, while imagining that time she was in the forest, training with Danny to improve her ability and output level. "Earth Glave!" Jane''s invocation time was instantaneous. The cement ground shifted upwards in a growing wave as it traveled towards Selina.
Selina had no choice this time but to try and block the attack too. Earth Glave is hard to avoid, unless one can somehow fly in the air. After covering her body with her arms like Jane had done, Selina braced herself for the Earth Glave attack. It slammed into her with an uplifting power. Selina almost completely lost her balance with the initial strike, and then felt the hard hit in her chest from the earth based attack. Blocking it didn''t do all that well to help either, but she was still ready to recover from the attack and keep going. As soon as the ground returned to normal from the after effects of the spell, Selina readied her next attack while ignoring the bruising sensation now in her chest, preventing her from inhaling properly.
Selina''s transformation from blocking to magical execution was so quick nonetheless. Her hands were glowing blue just before she threw her arms outward in Jane''s direction. "Shadow Wave!" Another earth bound wave of dark black color haunted the trail and rushed in towards Jane.
This time, Jane was ready to counter anything thrown her way, and she already charged the energy for this moment as well. In a quick reaction to Selina''s Shadow Wave, Jane launched one of her own in the direction of Selina. "Shadow Wave!" Jane''s Shadow Wave now traveled from the ground, heading straight for Selina''s Shadow Wave. Both were not that easy to see, though they were visible in the failing daylight. Shadow Waves look a lot like spiky black auras that slide on the ground, growing in their size as they travel. Normally, two attacks like these against each other cancel out, but when both of these Shadow Waves crashed into each other, they were trapped from moving any further as they fought against each other by damage and momentum. It was as if one attack wave was pushing against another in opposition, but after just one second of time, Jane''s Shadow Wave forced Selina''s to explode and fade out before itself. As soon as that happened, Jane''s Shadow Wave totally recovered its momentum, undefeated by the other wave of opposition. It was clear that Jane put a lot more power in her Shadow Wave, enough to cancel out Selina''s and then continue to head towards the opponent. Selina was both surprised and frozen in fear by the development. She really thought two Shadow Waves would both be even. Not only was her attack made useless, she now had to deal with a quick and powerful spell like this one.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Selina had no chance of getting out of the way in time. She was so surprised, she could not fully processes what was happening once that wave slammed into her body for damage. The Shadow Wave was pushing up against Selina in the same way it was against another Shadow Wave. This time, damage was constantly being dealt to Selina while she was stuck in place. After that short time, Jane''s Shadow Wave exploded as well, fading from existence in a dark mist.
Jane was too focused to check out Selina''s energy scope, already charging in towards Selina. Jane knew that if her Shadow Wave managed to surpass her opponent''s, she would have an upper hand for another attack, and this was it. One of her best known tactics for causing a lot of damage was her close combat. Jane was already close, drawing her daggers and running her legs in while Selina was still feeling the effects of the Shadow Wave damage.
Selina didn''t know what to do. She tried to move out of the way, but was immediately attacked anyway by Jane''s incredible speedy close combat sequence. Jane didn''t let up for a moment. She was shifting her combination attack from punches to daggers slashes to kicks and dodges. Even though it was quite impossible for Selina to interrupt Jane''s movements while being attacked, Jane made sure that was hard to do as well, performing side steps and backflips in the middle of her combos to avoid taking any hits during her cycle.
Taylor watched as Jane dominated her opponent like she was Swiss cheese. "That''s how to do it. Jane''s winning!" It was clear from any angle that Selina was now in trouble. Of course, Jane had already taken significant damage herself, but she was still in the lead by a long way.
Jane finally finished her combination after tiring out. She jumped away backwards over and over to gain some distance, and now she had the chance to look at Selina''s energy scope too.
Selina managed to get back up and regain her balance, but she was already feeling drained from taking all of those hits. Jane sure was fast. She could feel the cut marks and brutal kicks she endured that whole time, and though she was hurting badly, it wasn''t enough to stop her from going on. Selina thought to herself for a moment. Using normal attack spells one after the next isn''t going to cut it this time. She had a few more tricky ways to get the upper hand, but they are risky in themselves since her HP was already low.
Selina began her next move, her body glowing with the slightest hint of purple while she lifted her arms up and down in the form of a spell cast. "Dualcast!" she yelled. Selina did not wait for Jane to try and pick up on what this spell meant. Most people starting out do not understand what Dualcast is or how it works. As soon as she used that spell, Selina charged up another attack. A red glyphring appeared in front of her, larger in size than twice her own body mass. "Crimson Flare!" Selina unleashed a powerful attack towards Jane, a massive fiery ball of energy the size of a small home shot through the glyphring. The ball was a perfect sphere burning bright and yellow. Though it traveled much slower than a Fire Ball attack, the massive size made up for the shift in speed. Jane was still trying to figure out what Selina was up to, when she failed to get out of the way of that Crimson Flare attack, having stood too close to Selina when she unleashed it. The bright ball of energy zoomed right through Jane as if she were a ghost, but the damage and pain had been dealt to her immediately. Jane felt her entire body heat up really fast, her skin receiving first degree burns. At the same time, there was a hint of sharp pains hitting her everywhere. It was enough to send Jane to the ground after passing by her, Jane balancing on her knees. "Nargh!"
Taylor winced at how much damage that single sphere did to Jane. Selina used some kind of chant before switching into that Crimson Flare attack. Danny was trying to figure out from the book what was going on, but he was also taken by the sight of Jane going through so much trouble. It was too much to keep up with this time.
Selina was not done yet. The purple aura around her body pulsated once more, and she quickly shifted from using her last skill into using another one. "Doom Shield!" Selina targeted the top of the dome, and fired some sort of blue energy bolt towards it. It was the same spell Jack used against Jane to prevent the fight form ending too early. As a response to Selina using Doom Shield, the Siriean dome became less transparent, turning to a darker blue color than its original state was. The shield eventually became more transparent again, but the factor difference still made it difficult to fully see through the dome as it intensified.
"She just used Doom Shield!" Taylor announced. Selina just used three different Leray spells consecutively, too fast to be considered normal.
"Dualcast! It''s a support aura spell that enables you to quickly congregate your next two spells together. Even though attacking without letting up is possible anyway, it just sped Selina''s powers up by reducing invocation time of the next two spells. And then she used Crimson Flare..."
Taylor didn''t understand. Dualcast makes one use more spells than one in the same instance? It simply looked as if Jane''s opponent was just being harsh with the attacks. According to the description in the book, it enables the user to use two spells closely together by reducing the invocation time required. Taylor glanced over at that book. Danny was getting to Crimson Flare, but Dualcast was just on the next page. At last, she understood. Dualcast is designed to let a mage attack twice in the time it takes to normally attack in one turn, and if they use Dualcast, that skill alone does not count as the two extra abilities they get to speed up. How did Selina know how to do that?
"Crimson Flare is very powerful, but it''s easier to dodge. The problem is, Selina modified hers. Crimson Flare shoots out a very large fire sphere of energy, but it''s supposed to shoot out three at the same time, not just one."
Selina modified her Crimson Flare intentionally. This way, it saves her a lot of MP in the process. The only reason it normally fires three at once is because Crimson Flare is unguided and slower. Dodging it can''t be easy when three come out of the glyphring at once, all heading in different angles to confuse the opponent. However, given the reduced arena size of the area, just one single Crimson Flare sphere would be enough to nearly envelop the entire battlefield. It worked out well in the end. Though Jane now managed to get over the pain of Crimson Flare, her damage taken was quite significant, while nobody will be able to forfeit from the match anymore thanks to Doom Shield.
Jane took a heavy breath, preparing herself to fight back against her opponent. Selina does know some powerful take back spells, but that alone isn''t going to be enough. Jane began charging at Selina again. This must have given Selina the impression that another close combat attack was coming, but Jane had something different in mind. As soon as she got close enough, Jane''s entire body began to glow with a white aura. "Uppercut!" Jane flew at Selina, nearly at the speed of light. Once Jane was right up in her face, she delivered a powerful uppercut with her fist. Even though it was just a normal punch, Jane delivered it as best as she could, assisted by additional kinetic Leray magic that managed to launch Selina six feet in the air. Jane used that moment to get away from Selina too. It wasn''t a strong attack, but Selina wasn''t expecting it either.
It worked out best in the end. Jane obtained her distance again, and Selina ended up taking a little extra damage from smacking back into the ground from that uppercut. It''s only a non-magical blunt attack (magic used only to add force instead of damage), but Jane had plenty of other ideas on the way. For now, she braced herself for what was going to happen next.
Selina had no trouble getting up. Though her HP was already low, Jane''s last hit only gave Selina the feeling of a bruised chin. In total, it has only been a few minutes, and the battle was coming to a close fast. Selina knew that she needed to defeat Jane. After fighting so hard and using Dualcast like that, it was one of her best secrets now exposed to her opponent. Jane is fast too, so she can dodge most attacks heading her way. "Hellfire!" Selina initiated a powerful attack spell, one of which she knew was hard to avoid. After unleashing the energy, the ground below her bulged as though something was traveling Jane''s direction underground. Jane didn''t know how to dodge this attack since Hellfire was unknown to her. At the last second, the ground suddenly exploded with fiery beams of light which were actually barrages of Fire Balls. Much of those spheres slammed into Jane from below, heating her legs to a boiling temperature while knocking her down from the pain of the attack as well. Jane was already down, but the attack kept on going, shooting fire out from the ground in multiple locations. Most however were meters away from Jane; this means it was an area attack.
Area attacks are special abilities that enable the user to attack a very large portion of the battlefield. They have no direct aim at an opponent, but the radius is often too large for the enemy to get out of the way. As a result of energy conservation, damage is generally a bit less in area attacks. Otherwise, the user of them ends up consuming a whole lot of MP energy.
Jane wasn''t feeling high spirited anymore. With a lower HP count, she was already feeling lightheaded and drained, but she could still think and fight. Jane so far had not used that much of her MP, and with critical health, that goes a long way to enable her to keep moving around well at the same time. Jane had no problems getting back up from that brutal burning barrage, though her entire body felt like it had first degree burns everywhere. At least now it was her turn again. If only there was an attack easier to try and dodge...
"Aero Blast!" Jane''s hands managed to glow with less intensity than they normally do. This was because Aero Blast is a rather weak kind of spell in general. Because it deals wind elemental damage, who knows how the opponent might react to such the hit? Jane however threw the Aero Blast three times. She simply switched to her other hand to throw another, and then the other hand for the next. Jane threw three total Aero Blasts at Selina.
Selina was forced to take damage from the three Aero Blasts attacks. They are one of the fastest traveling projectiles anybody can use in a battle. Though she didn''t feel all that much pain from the blasts, her face became surrounded by a very high-speed gust of wind. The air spun around her head, dealing small amounts of damage while making it hard for Selina to see anything. Her energy scope still showed a decreases in HP, but it was only minor.
Selina ignored the sensation of dizziness and exhaustion for now. Jane was making it hard to see her on purpose, so Selina immediately reacted with another attack swiftly. "Bullet Mirage!" After pulling a pair of submachine guns from yellow summon glyphrings behind her, Selina aimed randomly and held down the triggers to shoot her guns at Jane.
Jane knew something like this was coming, and she used that Aero Blast to make it happen on her own schedule. Since there were a ton of bullets heading her way, Jane knew normal evasion would not work well, so instead, she ducked down as low as she could get, narrowly evading all of the spinning blades. Bullet Mirage is an attack that actually shoots out spinning bladed pellets instead of real bullets. That way, the damage is slashing instead of piercing, but the projectiles are still the same size. Jane''s attempt to dodge worked out perfectly. Selina must have thought only to aim high and not at the ground, so Jane evaded the entire magazine of shots her opponent fired.
In the same instance, Jane jumped back up to her feet, charging her energy into another new glyphring again. This time, a jade colored glyphring formed around her right wrist as she took aim at Selina. Selina looked as though she was ready to dodge it, but Jane knew it was a worthless attempt. "Lightning Strike!" Jane''s glyphring shot a Thunderbolt from the center, immediately holding Selina in place for a lengthy electrical shock. Selina''s HP declined in intervals each fraction of a second. At the same time, she was forced into the painful sensation of an electrical shock and tensing nerves. As soon as the attack ended, Selina felt much more drained than before, her entire body tingling with both pain and numbness.
Selina got a hold of herself once more and used her next spell. "Dualcast!" Her body once more acquired a purple aura around it, while she continued casting more spells shortly after wards. "Crimson Flare!" Selina shot out another massive sphere of energy and fire towards Jane from her oversized glyphring. The stress of the magic sent her MP down to four percent power. In the same instance, she regenerated just 1% out of a normal interval, but Jane had a large crimson sphere heading her way again.
Reacting quickly, Jane rushed far to her left to try and get out of the way this time. She remembered how it felt to get hit from one of those. Somehow, the non-elemental magical damage amplified the effects of the thermal energy in the sphere. Luckily, Jane dashed out of its way in time. It really doesn''t move all that quickly compared to other attacks. The sphere simply floated on towards the edge of the Siriean dome, but now Selina was using that Dualcasting aura to spam another attack spell.
"Sphere of Might!" This time, Selina''s MP levels had shot down to absolutely zero percent capacity. When she used that spell, Jane could do nothing when a large red spinning sphere of magical damage spawned partially inside of her body. As it formed and spun around, Jane took damage immediately, but the pain factor was surprisingly lower than other attacks. That was because the damage was purely magical based on a lower power level. This still left Jane totally drained from her incredibly low HP levels, but she was still hanging on after being blasted back by the force of the red sphere.
Selina was now at zero percent MP, and this was Jane''s chance to launch all out attacks. Selina weakened herself because of her poor strategy, and the exhaustion was so obvious now. Selina was hunched down; she appeared to have used up all of her physical and magical stamina. Jane went with another combination attack, this time at a long range. "Magical Blitz!" Jane formed two bright blue energy balls in her hands, and threw them both towards Selina. Before waiting to see if she scored a hit, Jane formed the last Magical Blitz energy ball in her right hand, and chucked it at Selina again. It took time for Jane to process this, but the first two energy balls she chucked were dodged by Selina''s quick movements. It seemed that her opponent still had enough energy to move around some, but the last one Jane threw hit Selina in the chest, nearly knocking her down. She seemed even more tired now, the reaction to a lower base HP immediate.
Selina knew she was up in a corner, but in an odd way, so was Jane. Jane looked much more energetic, but that was only her MP talking. One can have low HP and full MP and still move quickly and think normally. It will still force them to go unconscious and lose the battle if the count goes to zero percent though. There was at least one more trick she had. Selina pulled an object from her pocket. Jane was too far away to notice what it was, but Selina knew that certain items are allowed in battle with a limit on the amount per fight. "Hand grenade!" By expending MP, one can summon a hand grenade into battle with no cost to their credits. But in Selina''s case, she bought the item version of a grenade, allowing her to carry it into battle with her along with her main weapon. Using it this way does not cost any MP, but since she bought it in the first place, it does consume credits before it even gets used. Selina pulled the pin, and chucked the heavy metal object under Jane''s feet.
Jane realized too late that Selina just threw a hand grenade her way. Jane didn''t know what to do but try and get out of the way. Nobody truly knows the timer on those things in a Leray match. After beginning to sprint way from the object, the explosion caught up behind her, knocking Jane down and blasting her with metallic shrapnel. At first, the blast didn''t seem like it would have been enough, but from the perspective of the crowd, Jane had been caught in the explosion. Upon the smoke clearing, her body was face down on the cement following the damage, and she was no longer moving around.
Before anybody could process that Jane truly fainted from the grenade attack, the locked dome shield disappeared slowly, allowing access into the battle area. The holographic text appeared again to declare the victor. The crowd was calming down momentarily to learn who had just won.
Chapter Theme Shift: Requiem For A Saint ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
Jane was out for sure. Sometime following the delay, Taylor and Danny rushed in to help her. "Oh no! Jane!" Danny caught up with Taylor, but this was unbelievable. Jane fought so well this time, despite Selina''s tricks, but she lost again! It happened so fast and unbelievably too.
"And there you have it!" Jessica announced into the camera. "Selina is the victor of today''s Leray match. Both sides fought really hard today. What a wonderful display of sportsmanship! I''m Reporter Jessica, and you''re watching SN Live! I hope you all enjoyed watching the true trials of fierce Leray combat! Tune in tomorrow for another exciting Leray match!" Her energetic voice proved she was well trained in talking to television viewers, who likely had a strong passion for these events.
Taylor hunched over beside Jane''s body. Despite there remaining no residual physical damage anywhere on her skin, some of the black powder from the grenade seeped onto her arms and the back of her head. Jane was just lying there face first into the cement. It was a repeat of what happened back in Blue Port Town. Taylor felt Jane would have gladly given up had Selina not used Doom Shield like that again. Taylor got Jane to lay in her lap, wiping off her face from the dirty ground. The only thing left to do right now was go get checked into the hotel. Jane will need a shower after this. What''s worse is how Jane will end up reacting after realizing she lost for a third time. The way things were going, Jane had the entire upper hand, but Selina ended it with some cheap throw of a grenade toss, just like that!
Danny helped Taylor carry Jane for her, but Taylor only let Danny support Taylor''s balance when needed. She wanted Jane to just wake up so that they can use the healing orb on her like before, but it would be crazy to just wait in the streets where people walk. These lowly barricades would be removed soon enough. Taylor knew which way the hotel was, but the sky''s sudden darkness was making it harder to see. The sun decided to set already, forcing the city lights to replace it. The battle only lasted for about eight minutes, but the time of day seemed to advance further than expected. The city lights were coming on one by one, but it did little to light up the traffic of people in the current area.
It seemed that Jessica''s crew might have wanted to interview Jane some more as soon as she wakes up, but Taylor was having none of that. Losing a battle was already hard on Jane. Losing a battle while being shown to the world on television would be even more devastating to her spirit. Right now, Jane needed to rest up before she could use another med kit orb on her.
Chapter 10: Morale Drain
<01/16/1972 ¨C 18:40 | Gross City, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Silence became their only expression for minutes after reaching the hotel room. Taylor and Danny sat on the large sofa together, with Jane on her lap. According to standard conditions, Jane should have waken up more than fifteen minutes ago. Nothing else appeared to be wrong with her, but Taylor watched over Jane, waiting for the right moment to use another healing orb on her again.
Danny had a theory as to why Jane was taking so much longer to wake up. Since the brutal knockout, thirty-four minutes passed up until now. He told Taylor that Jane might possibly have a longer recovery time simply because of how much she has been through today. So naturally, she should be tired even after waking.
It wasn''t a surprise either. Jane wasn''t the only one who had a long day. Danny and Taylor both have been traveling along side of Jane since leaving from Fronas town. In just one long day, they all battled in Blue Port together, crossed the massive Arragon Forest, trained in the Arragon Forest, reached the city of Gross, and then watched Jane conduct another battle after Jane''s friends were out exploring more of the city. Therefore, what was really half a day felt like three. Taylor and Danny were tired too, after making their beds and settling in.
As the evening became darker, the television set in the hotel room and the lamp beside it was the only real source of light. Taylor couldn''t stop herself from staring off towards the black sky through the slit in the blinds. There was still so much to think about. Where was she going, and what was she really doing here in Sprawn Valley? For as long as she remembered, Taylor and Danny both decided to travel alongside Jane, becoming better Leray wielders. But was the intension ever real? Only a few days ago did this idea of a long journey sound and feel so exciting. Now, there was nothing motivating about staying here, nothing but worry and grief.
"Mhmmmm."
Taylor looked back behind her, where Jane was still slumped, weak and resting on the sofa, though she was the one who made that groaning noise. Her head was softly rolling left and right out of sync, at last Jane was waking up now. Taylor was relieved that Jane was at least okay. Danny was probably right about Jane being tired, but something was off; Taylor feared that everything would be exactly as she predicted before. Jane might wake up okay physically, but she has a way of hating herself for losing any Leray fight, even if it is just one. She never acted like this in Dakota. Then again, she was never involved in a real official battle back then. Nobody was, since it would have been illegal.
Taylor went to help Jane steady herself while trying to get up. She held a med kit orb in her hand, until Jane noticed it and attempted to use that orb on herself. Jane appeared to be fazed by the current moment. Taken out by a frag grenade as a weapon - it must have really left a mark somewhere.
"What happened? Where am I?" Jane struggled for clarity. How did she get into this room so fast, and what happened with her battle?
Danny stood up off the couch, regretting to take it upon himself to deliver Jane with the bad news. "Use that healing orb Taylor is holding. You''ll be fine in no time." Jane was now staring at him. Obviously those words were not enough to satisfy her curiosity, but another second later she grew an angry look in her eyes, already determining the truth. "Se¡ª Selina won the battle. You did well, but that last attack was devastating. We used my funds to get us into this room."
Jane could remember most of the entire battle, all the way up until she threw her Magical Blitz attack at the target. But then what happened? Everything was a complete blur; though Jane was still not buying it. "I lost? Again?!"
"Take it easy. Use this orb," Taylor demanded.
Jane gave her a mean look, but her horrible attitude wasn''t coming from Taylor''s demands. The stain of defeat had already overtaken her once more. Jane still swiped the med kit orb from Taylor, and used it on herself. The orb gave its familiar bright glow, all until the moment it disappeared into the energy used to heal her. It happened faster than usual, Jane''s recovery speedy. "First Blue Port, and now in Gross City too."
"Jane?" Danny tried.
Jane ignored him, still processing all that just happened to her. "And not just any normal battle. A live one too! All of my friends, family, and even my future rivals will see this! And it''s... it''s..." Jane''s face became complete with the color of red. She looked like she was about to burst, her energy returning quickly.
"I hope we won''t have to go through this again," Taylor begged. "It was a big loss, but it means nothing to your next battle."
"You just don''t get it!" Jane snapped, standing up to fit her rage. "The same thing happened again. Selina wasn''t a high level wielder. I shouldn''t have lost!"
Danny knew this was about to get ugly, and it would get this way fast if something wasn''t done. The only way to calm Jane down was to distract her from this nonsense. "Hey, Jane? Quiet down. Don''t forget that the battle happened in the streets too. All things considered, you should go ahead and take a shower, after which we should all rest up."
"I''ll help clean your dress sphere," Taylor offered.
It was nearly a useless gesture. Jane could see right through them both. They didn''t want to deal with her right now, and so they were just trying to send her away to wash off. Still, she could feel the ick all over her. The cement on the ground outside was far from clean. "Fine. I''m going now." Jane picked up one of the white towels sitting on the dresser, and headed for the large bathroom. She was visibly tense in every moment, losing more than a mere battle. Jane slammed the door shut behind her after entering the bathroom, leaving them both with their judgmental thoughts.
Danny and Taylor waited in silence until Jane turned on the shower head to add to the noise in the room. "That went well," Danny muttered with a short sigh.
Taylor glanced down in her thoughts. It was still surprising to see Jane''s emotion spilling out like that. "I knew she would be upset."
"Did you?"
Taylor knew Danny was right. She still didn''t expect this to be so bad. Taylor faced the floor in worry. "Not this upset."
"Hmph!" Danny laughed. He thought this was a bit humorous. "I never thought someone could enjoy Leray battles this much."
"Enjoy them?" Taylor retried. "I think Jane is starting to hate this more than anyone."
"No," Danny denied. "Jane does enjoy them so. It''s probably why she hates losing so much. Understand that Jane is not actually an adult. Neither are we," he reminded. "She has a lot to learn about what it means to lose a battle. And you and I have a lot to learn about how to fend for ourselves."
Taylor''s face was wracked with remorse immediately. She looked around, uncertain of how to ask. "You really think we''re doing the right thing? Learning Leray magic, following Jane around?"Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Danny went quiet; he needed to think about this without giving Taylor the impression of uncertainty. The thoughts initially circled around Jane. The very reason they teamed up with her was due to her incredibly unique personality. Jane can be so energetic at times, and overall, it affects how everybody feels in her own environment, just like now. If Jane is happy and ready to move, it helps Danny feel a similar sense of courage. But any time Jane is depressed or down, it has the opposite effect. How can her thoughts and emotions determine the feeling of his? It was like that for everybody else too. Jane attracts so much attention to herself. It''s good so long as she is faring well, but to answer Taylor''s question, Danny wasn''t certain if this was the right thing to do. Following Jane around feels more like the only thing he can do right now.
Danny finally twisted those thoughts back to the more important subject. Taylor was worried again about what is to happen with her family. Danny had family he was temporarily abandoning too.
It''s like this:
Taylor must not reunite with her parents at all costs, even though they will soon be in this country searching for her. Danny has no grudge against his family at all, but since both of them are so well acquainted, his own parents will be assisting Taylor''s. If they find Danny, they find Taylor too, and if Danny were to reunite with his parents, it would eventually force Taylor to meet hers again.
Then there is Junon. There are five key regions in Sprawn Valley, but Junon is the biggest and most significant place in the nation, complete with an airport. That airport allows anyone with a passport into the country. Many fear this country, afraid of the magical properties they do not understand, but one of these days, Jane will inevitably lead them to this airport without realizing the consequences. Once that happens... "Of course we are."
Taylor looked up at Danny quickly, surprised by his certainty.
Danny didn''t need permission to continue his explanation. "The way I see it, we''re just biding our time in this place. The Leray magic can protect us too, if you remember. I still don''t have a super solid plan for what will happen should we reach Junon just yet. But give me more time. I promise, no harm will ever come to you. No Banshee is going to stand between you and your future." Danny felt like he could choke on his own words at any moment. After all, the plan to move towards Tilsit Port had been sped up by Jane''s impatience, much faster than he was comfortable with. They''re about three days ahead of schedule!
Taylor was seeing another one of Danny''s moments. He was acting so mature and so responsible, a rarity if she ever saw one. When it came to her own safety and happiness, it draws this behavior out even more. Danny wasn''t like this before, not to her knowledge. No, he was always so cocky, acting before thinking things through more often. Something has clearly changed since coming to Sprawn Valley... Taylor''s eyes locked with Danny''s. Frozen by her thoughts, she blushed helplessly. "Thank you."
Danny nodded, exhaling his stress away. Taylor seemed happier, or at least more relaxed than before. Banshee enforcers are dangerous, and Taylor''s family has something to do with them. As long as he and Taylor are exiled within this crazy country, there is nothing to do but protect each other. In the meantime, the Banshee enforcers cannot come to take her away if Taylor isn''t in Kalamo anymore.
The sound of an opening door made Danny jumpy. Jane apparently just finished with her shower, appearing in a different dress sphere this time. That made sense. Taylor said she would help clean Jane''s dirty outfit she just used last time, but Jane had the emptiest expression as well. Something more than her defeat was suspicious. Just under her eyes, there was the stain of redness. Did she cry under the falling water?
Jane walked closer to Danny and Taylor, refusing to raise her voice any further. "We head for Tilsit Port tomorrow. You two should love it. It''s a big beach."
There it is again! Jane is speeding up in light of her own failures. Why is she rushing this? Danny pretended to be happy about it, though without saying anything yet.
Taylor was caught by Jane''s tone. Her choice words sounded cheerful on their own, but Jane was completely monotone, like it was just something she wanted to share even though it wasn''t important. So she still hasn''t really recovered. "Jane..." Taylor now had Jane''s attention, but she didn''t know what else to say.
"I''m okay," she responded. Jane noticed much more color in Taylor''s entire face. What were they just talking about earlier?
Danny didn''t buy it. Jane didn''t sound the least bit cheery like before. "No you''re not. Jane, this isn''t like you."
Jane''s expression quickly reflected anger. Taylor wanted to say something to shut Danny up, but it was much too late now. "Oh yeah? You want to know what else isn''t like me?" At least emotion had been restored in her voice. Jane was slowly walking closer to Danny, getting up in his face while he backed away every few paces. "It isn''t like me to lose battles left and right only because my endurance isn''t what it should be." Jane was more certain about it now than ever before. She just checked her energy scope''s damage history in the bathroom, and focused on the moment she was hit by that grenade. That specific skill has only a non-magical power level of six, so it should never do more than 20% HP damage in just one instance. Jane knew of it, but she refused to share the irrelevant details with this wimp!
Taylor was impressed. Jane was really trying hard to keep her volume at a normal level, but she was still bringing up that other stuff. How long can Jane go blaming anything but traditional skill and experience? "Jane, we already checked for that, and¡ª"
"The energy scan didn''t work." Jane cut Taylor off, leaving her silent enough to process her concern. Her sudden stillness allowed Danny to get some more distance. "I know you two can''t buy that. I don''t fully understand what''s going on either." Jane remembered back to the beginning of her last battle. She threw a good Flying Guillotine attack at Selina, cutting down a lot of HP. "I went first in my last battle. I attacked first with a good skill and ability. And because of that, Selina''s HP suffered greatly because of it."
"Okay." Danny looked around with his arms out, gesturing his next question. "You''re point?"
She continued without argument, "Her HP suffered a lot of damage from my hits. That means that her natural endurance level was not nearly as high as it was for Jack. HP endurance and total MP levels are directly linked when training most often. Her level was not higher than mine; her overall training wasn''t beyond my own. Yet I still lost, but, there''s more to this. There''s something wrong with my endurance level."
"What you''re saying makes no sense," Taylor argued.
Jane was not having any of it. "It is possible to have your endurance lower than your attack power, based on the training you receive, and how balanced your growth is. But I know my own strength. I know my own tolerance to damage. I toughened it myself when I was training with Mire. And I swear to you, something has changed since I set out from Fronas."
"And..." Taylor looked at Jane, hoping to reach her entire thought. "If it hasn''t? What if all you need is more training?"
Jane refused to look Taylor in the face. "You can try and say what you want, but I''ll find out what is really going on. Even if I have to search for answers all by myself."
"I''m not showing anything off or declaring that you are weaker than the both of us," Danny began. "But, Taylor and I won our first battle back in Blue Port Town. You have to understand that winning is a possibility for you. You just need to be persistent. You must have no idea how close you were to defeating Selina."
"That''s exactly what I''m saying," Jane replied. "You and Taylor won your first battles. You took hits, and then delivered more. But in the end, your fights were fair. Right now, mine are not."
Taylor paused before making a point. "That might be true, for in the battle against Jack."
Jane continued without letting Taylor finish. "When I was learning to train with my close combat style, my daggers for weapons, I also took so many hits from my trainer. He was always trying to interrupt and anticipate my moves so that I could learn how to dodge attacks better, but he didn''t hold back. As a result, my endurance improved significantly. You both already have seen how hard I train. So there should not be a problem with my endurance. It doesn''t match my MP usage at all."
Jane waited. This time there was no reply at all. Did she finally tired them out with talk, or were they giving up for now? They might not listen, but at least now they weren''t opposing her very thought out loud. "I''m going to bed now. Tomorrow, I''ll take you to Tilsit Port. There we can train more. Maybe I can research whatever condition I have while I''m there. And if I can''t, it is a beach after all. So good night."
Taylor knew something more was eating at Jane, but there wasn''t a means to reach her now, and Jane simply walked away into her room. It''s a three bedroom hotel, and pretty clean for how cheap it was to stay here. One night cost Jane 500 credits per night, so it sort of made sense to why she would want to depart so soon. Even if Danny used his license card, Jane officially had to pay him back. Now that Taylor thought of it some more, Jane will run out of money soon. If that happens, they will all be stuck with normal jobs until that money is regenerated. Still...
"You okay with all this?" Danny asked.
Taylor knew what he meant by that. There was a growing change in Jane''s pace in her journey. It was as if she was intentionally speeding everything up. Maybe she wanted to rush her evaluations? Or maybe she wanted to find a place where the challengers were easy enough for a four-year-old to beat. She also mentioned research, implying there would be something in Tilsit Port enabling her the ability to look into something somehow. Jane isn''t normally like this though. Before arriving here, they were all in agreement to stay in the city for two days, not just this one. Taylor barely got to experience all of the cool stuff the place has to offer. Sentiment Essex had a lot of different Leray items this time. Jane will want to see that in the morning. Taylor replied to Danny''s question after yawning. Still, there isn''t a clear way to slow Jane down yet. "Yeah."
Danny wondered if Taylor caught on to what he meant, but he decided not to ask. Taylor was looking much too tired to handle any more stress on her mind anyway. Jane''s decision to speed things up means they will end up in Junon quicker than he planned to. Even so, Tilsit Port is sort of a big place. "You think Tilsit Port will give Jane some room to improve?"
Even Danny was stuck contemplating all of this, his hazel eyes trailing off aimlessly. "I don''t know," Taylor answered. "Jane has never been like this before the graduation... I know; she never was involved in a real fight before either. There was that one guy, the one who stole the crystal shards?"
"Yeah, I remember. I don''t think that counts as a real battle. I mean, not an official one anyway. Jane lost to that guy, but so did everyone else. Come to think of it, that crook nearly wrecked the entire town. Makes me wonder what he wants with those crystals."
"Better not remind Jane about it. In her state, it will only add to her problems."
Danny thought back to his home. The interior of this hotel room sort of matched a portion of his living room style, and that brought back even more memories. In order to protect Taylor, he had to stay out of sight from his own parents too, even though there were no family issues between them. Of course, they all know that he and Taylor are alive, Uncle Nyar made sure of that, but that''s all he can hope for now.
"I think I''ll get some rest too," Taylor decided. She got up off the couch, turning off the TV before the lamp. "Don''t stay up too long."
Danny still had a lot he wanted to think about, but Taylor was already ending her day. "I won''t." With that, she left to her room. The beds were not large at all due to the price it took for this room. He decided to head to his own bed as well. Even though he didn''t want to stay up very long, Danny knew that with everything on his mind, sleep will become that much harder.
Chapter 11: Fun in the Sun
<01/17/1972 ¨C 09:12 | Gross City, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The era of daylight returned to the area next morning. Taylor woke Danny and Jane up from sleep, getting everybody ready to pack all of their things. The load light as usual. Everybody uses supply spheres these days, but Danny also carried around his backpack full of food rations, failing to trust them to the supply sphere storage. They still have a durable level of supplies inside, one that would last for two more days and nights. Now, it was time to give up the hotel room.
Not much was said in regards to yesterday''s events. Jane and her friends all planned on moving out of Gross City to head for the site of Tilsit Port, but before leaving the actual city limits, Jane decided to stop at the Essex Leray store. This morning, Taylor told Jane about the special mercenary armor that resides on display, and it was still within the price range too.
Jane stopped inside of the store, hoping to buy the new suit of armor for additional protection and damage endurance. Taylor and Danny waited patiently just outside of the store, going on about what the beach here will be like. Jane decided to purchase the special model set up in the shop. The AHB mercenary suit offered a wide variety of damage reduction at the small cost of 1000 credits. The specific status enhancements read on the same tag.
Mercenary suit Mark AHB | Resist fire +10% | Resist cold +7% | Resist Electrical +12% | Resist Wind +25% | Resist piercing +6% | Resist Slashing +15% | Resist Blunting +10% | Power Level +5%
The stats were much more impressive than last time. The mercenary outfit offered more protection with no sacrifices to be made, and it added some extra power into physical attacks somehow. Jane was even impressed by the amazing style the suit offered as well. It was no generic dress sphere, but it still seemed like something an expert warrior would wear out in the field. Though the price put a dent in Jane''s wallet, it was worth the trade in the debate through her thoughts.
Jane changed into the new gear in the changing room, taking a bit longer than her friends hoped it would. After Jane emerged from the store, Danny and Taylor were getting excited again by the new look.
"Hey," Taylor waved. "That suit looks good on you." Jane''s mercenary outfit was decorated with black and red stripe designs, making the armlets and other spots stand out. It even had some well-constructed side pockets designed for hidden blades, such as Jane''s daggers. This was a total upgrade for her in every way.
Jane could tell when Danny or Taylor were lying about things like this, but Taylor was telling the truth about her style and appearance this time. The last leather outfit she wore left something to be desired. While the protection level wasn''t going to offset the total issue holding Jane''s endurance back, this suit will be the best she has. Still, Jane didn''t want to deviate from the plan any longer. She had been eager to get to Tilsit Port. "We''ll take route 19-C to get to Tilsit Port. Once there, we can do a lot of things."
Despite their silent protest to leave the city so soon on such short notice, it was agreed. Danny, Taylor, and Jane made their way to the other exit path from Gross City. Route 19-C was another natural passage way, though the forests left and right from here were not nearly as dense. Jane planned to skip the forests this time, claiming they were not shortcuts to the next destination.
Chapter Theme Shift: Ashos ~ Two Worlds 1 OST
After walking the path for only ten minutes, the field to the right of them expanded, displaying a vast open area while that side of the forest drifted further away. Gross City was far behind them now, while Tilsit Port was still out of visual range.
Taylor noticed something odd about Jane''s behavior, apart from yesterday''s confusions. She of course did not expect Jane to be in her awesome energetic mood, not after that last defeat anyway; her mood wasn''t doing poorly despite last night. It was as if something totally new was on Jane''s mind. It kept her silent for some time now. Taylor had no choice but to ask. "Hey Jane? Is there anything else special in Tilsit Port?"
Danny was interested in hearing Jane''s answer, but he also took in the sights of the road they were on. Somehow, even though the sun was out and there was just nature around them, the path here was different than normal. The floor beneath him held in the similar straw grass as the path between Fronas and Blue Port, though uneven and less refined. People were passing by every so often, heading from Tilsit dock to Gross City, or the other way around. Route 19-C was surprisingly busy compared to other places. The sun overhead was also dispersed widely due to the large overcast of clouds. They didn''t look like stormy clouds, but their presence was enough to occasionally darken the road and create powerful gusts of wind.
Jane answered Taylor''s question, though with hesitation, she only disclosed the same thing she said yesterday. "Tilsit Port is like one giant beach, leading out into the southwestern section of the Hollifax Ocean. It''s also a lively port because ships dock there all the time. You can catch a ferry here to get to the Junon region at any time."
"Really?" Danny interrupted. "So Tilsit Port is the place go to travel to Junon from Gulop..."
"That''s right," Jane continued. "They have all kinds of places there. But because it is also a beach, I promise we''ll just chill out there."
"You mean, have fun?" Taylor didn''t expect this. Jane always wanted to travel in seek of challenging people to battle. It wasn''t as if Jane opposed taking breaks and all, but her behavior today was far out of her usual harmony. Taylor tried to ignore it. Jane won''t just drag her thoughts out if everybody asks about it. "I bet the beach is like any other ordinary beach."
"It practically is," Jane announced. "Other than the random breakouts of Leray battles there that happen near the shore line, Tilsit Port is simply famous for the attraction of letting people swim or play in the sand."
Jane didn''t specify what the cost would be, but Danny already presumed that spending endless time on the beach of Tilsit would be completely free of charge. That''s the only sensible way Sprawn Valley''s cities and towns seem to operate. Places to hang out are free, just don''t mind the endless attempts to sell everyone something else while they''re having fun instead. Wonder if this place really is like that.
Taylor had but one complaint. "I don''t have a swimsuit." Before ever moving to Slatetown, Taylor could recall numerous occasions of which she was allowed to swim in a large public pool for the neighborhood. She used to have so many more clothes for the occasion, that was until her family moved to a place without a pool or nearby beach. They sold half of her older outfits to compensate for the different standard of living too. As for her final swimsuit, it was lost to the Tidal Max.
Danny considered what Jane just said, before listening on how to acquire a swimsuit. People battle on the beach, just anywhere? It''s what Jane made it sound like. Sprawn Valley is like any other normal place without all of that Leray business going on. Without Leray magic, one could never tell the difference. Then again, the government here is so light and loose, as if they don''t even have a presence. Perhaps this isn''t the same.
"Not to worry." Jane slowed her pace to steady her voice better. "The port sells swim suits at a really cheap price. You can even get rentals there." With that said, Danny and Taylor began conversing with each other about the beach, but Jane had other ideas on her mind. Tilsit Port also happens to be the sight of a research institute. Leray research institutes are almost equivalent to an ordinary library, even in structural layout. Despite that, such a place would have all sorts of information regarding Leray magic, and even undisclosed legendary information. They have a network of computers set up there too, all connected to the internet. It''s really a version of the internet only accessible to Sprawn Valley''s database network, but all of the info comes from Eldora City, the place to learn absolutely anything and everything.
"What about you Jane?"
"Huh?" Jane knew Taylor had just asked her a question, but she wasn''t paying attention just now. Jane tried to channel back to whatever she just said, but the words didn''t come.
Taylor knew Jane was distracted by something today, but at least this would help break the ice. "I said me and Danny will be having fun today. But if we can stay tomorrow as well, we''ll take part in more Leray battles to boost the credit count too. Are you going to battle tomorrow, or today?"
Jane''s face focused on the dirt below her. "I haven''t really thought about it yet. Of course, I''m not giving up battling." Jane watched Taylor sigh silently in relief. She must have thought Jane was still in the same exact mood as yesterday. No, things have changed. Jane knew there would be multiple opportunities to fight on the beach, but with everything going on with her endurance weakness, it might not be a good idea. Then again, it was almost surprising for Jane to notice that Taylor and Danny were actually planning on having more battles there. They had only battled once before, back in Blue Port Town. They hardly battle as much as she does, and still they seem so confident.
"That''s the spirit," Danny supported. "I''m not going to give up so easy, so I expect the same from you Jane. And if we both win here, I would like to challenge you next."
Jane realized that in all the time that passed, both Danny and Taylor were still excited about this journey. They were having fun, even after all that happened yesterday. Unfortunately, Jane knew something sinister was happening to her, something not understood; it''s the reason she couldn''t enjoy herself like she wanted to. It shall go unspoken for now. "You''re on," Jane accepted. Danny must know that Jane would have been able to mop the floor with him earlier. Though if they were to battle right now, while Jane''s endurance is suffering, who knows how it might go?
"There''s something I don''t get." Taylor was staring at her map of Sprawn Valley again. "The beach isn''t just a lake right? It leads to the ocean. So then why is that not an entry point into the country?"
"Didn''t anyone tell you?" Jane refreshed. "Even past the beach''s waters, you would eventually run into a tall mountain chain, pure rock walls that surround the entire continent, almost in the shape of a circle. Those cliffs are all sharp as razors. The exception for Gulop is in the main port on the south central side. Anyway, these rocks are what people refer to as the barrier."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Danny managed not to forget the partial details about the barrier. Apparently, the entire continent is closed off by massively tall rocky structures. They''re not mountain-like at all though. It''s about the same formation as that slippery rock wall he tried to scale earlier. In reference, Gulop''s southern section seems to have the least amount of height and resistance to this barrier. If Danny and Taylor had instead swam to a shore from a different side of the nation, or even a different region, that wall would never be passable, nor would there have been a ghost''s chance of finding any kind of eroded opening.
That''s not all. Other than the northern most side of Junon''s Outback area, Gulop''s southern and western sides appear to be the only physical land connected to the circular rock walls. That means that even if he could climb over them, Danny counted himself lucky that he and Taylor both ended up on that specific shore of that specific region of Sprawn Valley. Getting to the other side from any other angle would have sent them straight back into the ocean of another area, stranding them permanently.
"Still..." Jane was reminded of the amazing story they told her before, about how they ended up in Sprawn Valley by mistake. "I can hardly believe how you two got here. You literally swam to shore, and somehow got in from a naturally inaccessible area."
Danny didn''t want to remember that. It was true what Jane was talking about though. He and Taylor had fallen into the ocean, right off their cruise ship en-route from Kalamo to North America. That storm made everything rough, and they were topside when they were not supposed to be. After almost drowning in a violent stormy sea, they somehow managed to swim to the shore line of Sprawn Valley. However, in a nearly failed attempt to get in from the rock wall blocking access into Fronas, Taylor suffered a terrible injury. It''s one that under any other circumstances would have left her dead beyond capacitation or resuscitation, but the Leray magical assimilation into Taylor''s body somehow saved her. At the time, he didn''t understand how it was possible or what was going on. It didn''t change the fact that everything that happened to Taylor from that moment they fell off the ship was his fault. Yet for some reason, Taylor isn''t mad at him one bit. She only gets mad now if he continues bringing it up again.
"Well we''re here now," Taylor exclaimed. "Might as well make the most of it."
Danny didn''t realize that Taylor felt such an attitude about this place. Despite the fact that they were both hiding from family, Sprawn Valley really had a lot more to offer than back home. Then again, she could just be exaggerating, keeping Jane further away from the thought of times better left forgotten. Why though? Why does Taylor not hate him so? The level of stupidity to scale an impassable wall without thoroughly checking the surroundings first, knows no bounds.
"Right." Jane stopped for a moment, pointing in the far distance. "There it is. Tilsit Port just some more minutes away."
Danny could see it too, barely. "I didn''t know it was so close to the city."
Jane offered another one of her history lessons again. It came naturally to her after all she learned back in Dakota. "Tilsit Beach is close to Gross City, and that''s why there is much more traffic on this route." Even as she stood there, people could be seen constantly traveling to or from the beach ahead. Most just brushed by them without saying anything, but they were strangers, so it was normal. The traffic here was proof of Jane''s intelligence about this world. "The port makes a great attraction site because of its resort and the fact that it is a popular port to use. Well, it''s also the only port to use for traveling between here and Junon. Anyway, it''s close to Gross City, where you could get all kinds of different jobs there. This portion of Gulop is the richest there is. And then, there is Junon."
Jane didn''t say anything else. Taylor took that to mean that Junon is five times as impressive as this somehow. It should make sense. Junon is the largest region in Sprawn Valley. The rest are just very small islands, smaller than Gulop itself. It''s sort of a strange layout for an entire nation to have. "I wonder what they have at the beach!" Taylor''s excitement was flowing out of her now. Kalamo never had any official beaches. They existed, but not for the public''s use of entertainment or relaxation. America however was said to have an abundance of beaches, including one by New York.
"You''ll just have to see when we get there," Jane offered. She and the team marched on, soon to reach the next location long before noon.
Chapter Theme Shift: M''digbo/Jungle ~ Serious Sam 2 OST
After arriving at the beach of Tilsit Port, everybody took in the sights. Jane was impressed at how big and crowded the place was today. She had never visited the beach before, except on a family vacation that took place six years ago. Even then, her memory of the place was too foggy to apply to everything around her. It was like visiting Tilsit for the first time.
For a beach, Tilsit Port was very structural. Small support bridges and open buildings served as restroom stops, water fountains, stationary binoculars, and connective paths to the life guard towers, and beyond that was the mass array of sand. The sun hung overhead and lit up everything despite the overcast. Many well-placed structures such as stores and gift shops populated further due east, back from where the lighthouse was built. The lighthouse served as the primary oceanic beacon of light for ships that travel to and from Junon during nightfall or bad storms. To top it off, it is said that that light house also has a small communications center under the structure. Just northwest of that tall structure stood the layout of the port''s pier, wooden bridges expanding far and out into multiple arrays of docking bays for all kinds of sea vessels, most of which would be used for commerce and supply trading. Nothing regarding Leray battles was happening right now, but if one were to occur, it would happen just anywhere in the sand. Tilsit Port has a Leray store set up for that reason, its name called the Bertron Store. Aside from the obvious, the port and docks give this place its name.
Danny was happy to stay still while taking in the sights and the sounds. The gentle crashing waves far in the distance reminded him of his moments back on the Tidal Max, while the scent of ocean water filled his memory as well. The sunscreen scent was new on top of things.
Even though Jane wanted to continue scanning the area, she pulled out a local map that would show where everything was. The map was similar to the local map of Gross City. Jane had obtained these prior to her journey, but she currently had no local maps pertaining to the Junon sector, or the other islands. Even by being here several days early, Jane felt a wave of excitement come over her quickly. "Let''s check out where we can buy some suits."
Taylor was amazed by this place. She drove her attention to the map only momentarily. Jane was likely to lead them to the store anyway. There are so many people here. Families in packs and of all ages populated the sand, the walkways, the docking area, and especially the sea. There seemed to be a certain imaginary line that people in the water did not cross. They probably have visible buoys none can swim past once they go deeper in.
"Here it is," Jane pointed. "Follow me there?"
Taylor and Danny accepted with nods, unable to speak up past their current awe. The smell of the ocean was incredibly unique, and it filled Taylor with happiness, much like the Arragon Forest did yesterday. The sound of the waves however was being partially blocked out by the numerous vocal activities of people everywhere. They made up the volume level of Tilsit Port with their cheerful hollers and the random laughter. As Taylor continued walking, the ground below her became softer with sand, but it was beginning to invade the soles of her feet as well. Her walking pattern soon changed thereafter, and Taylor''s expression proved how much it bothered her. Nothing could be done about it right at the moment.
Jane knew what she was doing. "You have to check-in a spot to store all of your non-essential clothing during rentals. That way, it won''t get sandy, wet, or stolen. It is easier to just buy the suits and store the older clothing in personal supply spheres, but with the way people store things these days, the capacity fills up quickly. It is also free of charge to spend days here on the beach. That''s one of the reasons why it''s so popular. And the Hollifax Ocean doesn''t contain dangerous sea animals, so people are free to swim without fear." The clothing store was just a few more blocks ahead on the right, further away from the shore.
Danny curiously asked Jane about the rules of swimming here. "Hey Jane? I know this is the ocean, but why the life guards? I thought people can''t die in Sprawn Valley."
Jane looked back without stopping or changing her bobbing walk to address Danny''s concern. "Drowning is another exceptional way the human body can die. The veil doesn''t protect you from swallowing too much water since it doesn''t count as a direct form of damage. But it can extend the duration of how long you can survive underwater by five percent, assuming you''re swallowing the ocean." Jane thought more about what she was saying. Danny''s question was a really good one for the timing. She should have mentioned this earlier. "People have died before by getting too carried away swimming. Riptide currents aren''t common here since the barrier''s formation limits them, but swimming way too far out can still drift you away from shore faster than you can endure. Being cut off from the rest of the world, the ocean here is usually free of any dangerous currents close to shore. Even so, swimming or sailing in deep waters isn''t safe."
"I guess it is good I know that now," Taylor responded. "People can drown in Sprawn Valley, huh?" Taylor had no such plans to attempt breathing under the ocean just because she was in a strange magical world. The life guards must still have the same job to protect those in danger of drowning. If people swim out too far and then tire out, it can be over before they know it.
Jane and her friends made it to the clothing store. The doors slid open automatically, shooting jets of cool air from the conditioning unit. Even now, it was a warm day in winter, so the blast of fresh air felt amazing on their skin. The building was three times larger than a normal Leray store. There were plenty of outfits to choose from, just for the sake of spending a day on the beach. The lights here were standard, but it gave the place a more professional look aside from how large the room of the building was.
Jane didn''t know where to begin. She could wear something easy, something small, or go with a one-piece. This could defiantly take a while since she had not prepared this ahead of time.
Danny split up from the other two while searching in the men''s section of the room. Swim trunks and trousers... That''s all there really was for him. Being a guy can makes decisions like these easier. He came to a quick decision, picking an ocean blue pair off the shelf. He would need to try it on first. This place happened to be packing twenty-five individual outfitting rooms, and it wasn''t much of a surprise. The store was populated with so many shoppers, so it made sense. Most in Gulop must live on the beach or very close to it. Danny wanted to ask Jane where the houses were around here, but she wasn''t present right now.
After seven more minutes, Jane finally came to the decision of a dark colored one-piece swimsuit. As she turned around to check on Taylor, she was holding multiple outfits in her hand... Typical. She can''t decide on just one. "I''ll see you after I change," Jane called.
Taylor heard Jane''s voice, and waved to acknowledge her request. It was time for her to try these on as well, but the thought of wearing any of these outfits had her nervous. Back in Kalamo, beaches were not visited by civilians with exception to those with fishing licenses, so this just wasn''t something she was used to. Everybody wore thick or long clothing when going outside most of the time, while the nation itself suffered very short winters. The beach itself wasn''t the difficult part; it was all of this revealing clothing. Showing off arms, legs, and shoulders this much was too rare a thing back home, but here on this beach, it''s so common that every female outside wears them with their own style. Taylor had no choice but to suck it up and see how it looks in the mirrors. Maybe Jane could help her pick something better.
The time eventually passed on until Jane and Taylor met Danny, still in the store without making any purchases yet. The clothes here are very cheap, so Jane only needed to pay for her own. Before any of that was decided, all of their new apparel was presented to each other. Danny was impressed to see them in this sort of fashion. Jane and Taylor both always stuck to long or thick clothing, but since this is a beach, everybody was supposed to lighten their load. It''s not as if this was too unusual for him. He and Taylor were literally swimming in the pool of the cruise ship about a month ago. Danny thus managed not to stare for too long, but he still had a hard time getting used to Taylor in this image. Just a simple stripped bikini, yet still¡ª
"All ready!" Jane announced. She headed for the register at the counter, waiting for the male clerk to ring up everything. Outfits here in this store do not come with price tags. Instead, the staff must remember the price of every single item in stock. Knowing this, Jane was therefore ready to pay the person with her Leray license. It also deterred the issue of paying for the outfit a person was currently wearing, since the employees must remember the suits.
Taylor followed Jane, but she kept glancing to and away from Danny. Again, a beach usually has hot guys who are shirtless, all for the reason of swimming or sun-tanning. She rarely ever got to see Danny shirtless, but despite having seen it a few times in the past under casual circumstances, Danny''s body had somewhat changed since then - from what she was able to remember. Danny has somehow put on a bit more muscle, his fat totally absent. It wasn''t obvious from just a small glance. Danny wasn''t fat, but his chest seems to have nearly developed a slight six pack since the last time she saw him this way. Back in Kalamo, Danny and some of his bigger acquaintances would wrestle each other. Those memories began to flood Taylor''s mind while standing in line, and she almost forgot where she was just now.
"Taylor, it''s your turn!" Jane repeated. She didn''t realize that she was nearly in a trance, but Taylor walked closer to the counter to ring up her things next. Jane turned around at Danny, then fixed her gaze back at Taylor. It was sort of a long shot, but from what Jane could remember, Taylor kind of had a thing for Danny, not long before they began their journey from Fronas. Could that crush still be alive now?
Taylor gave the clerk her Leray license, allowing him to digitally subtract the credits on the card. It was as simple as swiping the card into a register system and then typing numbers on a keypad for the correct amount. After that, the CR count dropped down on its own, despite the card being a physical object. It has digital and holographic technology integrated inside with digital chips for monitoring, as far as Jane knew.
"And you''re purchase is complete," he spoke.
Taylor took her card back, and signaled to Danny that it was now his turn to ring up. Jane wanted to go outside already, and Taylor stuck close to her. Danny was going to follow anyway as soon as he is done, but she couldn''t quite figure out if there was anything they needed to do specifically while hanging out here.
Jane had to get outside before hearing from Taylor. It was one of the strangest questions she had ever hear before. Taylor just asked Jane what she is supposed to do now, as if Taylor had never-ever been to a real beach before. It was rather simple enough. Either build a sand castle, sunbathe over a towel, or jump right into the sea. Those were the usual three choices people go with, and Jane used those to answer Taylor''s odd question.
Though Danny and Taylor took off to have fun after reuniting, Jane slowed down on purpose from the thought of things. She never really understood what kind of place Kalamo was. Kalamo is where Danny and Taylor are from. People in Sprawn Valley don''t often venture outside of the country, and there are nearly infinite excuses for that. Still...
Jane shook her head, snapping out of her more serious thoughts. She is supposed to be doing research, but a little bit of swimming couldn''t hurt.
Chapter 12: All or Nothing
<01/17/1972 ¨C 10:40 | Tilsit Port, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The brightness on the beach of Tilsit Port doubled in the next two hours. Since the sun was now directly overhead just past noon, the white sand was able to reflect much more light. Jane stretched out her arms some more. She just got through swimming with Danny and Taylor for those two hours, splashing them at every chance, and now she was drying off on her towel, placed on the soft sand. Jane could feel the powerful beams of sunlight heating her body up fast just after leaving the water, but it wasn''t enough heat to dry off completely. The random breezes of wind which used to feel calming and blissful gave Jane the chills, contradicting the sun''s rays entirely. Though Jane felt relaxed now, she already missed that feeling she had a moment ago. How long has it been since she was able to splash around in the sea like a small child?
"If I stay in longer, I''ll turn into a prune."
Jane recognized the voice of Taylor, approaching closely just in front of her. Danny was with her too, walking in the sand with their grain covered feet. It seemed like they were still having fun, and wanted to find Jane just to catch up with everything. She simply waited, knowing that they already spotted her. Jane never before remembered feeling so relaxed in her life. All of that swimming really had a way of making her muscles sore and exhausted. It was a surprise too, since Jane trains all the time with her combat style.
Danny had long since gotten much more used to the beach, but was tired from swimming around for nearly two hours. The ocean still has some small fish past the shore line, totally unexpected for a place that has magical creatures such as wild Cran. At least the fish here don''t use Thunderbolt on anybody. Danny and Taylor caught up with Jane, who was drying off the old fashion way. "Yo!" he called.
"What''s up Jane?" Taylor asked. They both stopped after hovering over her friend. Taylor began stepping her feet slowly in place. The sand was really hot on her feet after being warmed up for so long today, and her shoes were back in storage. The only cold touch was the air, though the sun negated those effects.
With one final stretch, Jane stood up tall. "You two have enough fun yet? There''s still a lot to do here. I want to check out the local library. Plus there are a lot of places where we could eat."
"They sell ice cream around here I think," Danny informed. He didn''t care what it was. Danny held his stomach in pure hunger waiting around.
"Sure thing," Jane agreed. "And after we eat, maybe we can all find some lucky challengers." Danny and Taylor had new expressions on their faces. They were looking forward to having a battle here on the beach. Even if they had to wait for tomorrow, Jane was still willing to make an exception for herself despite her previous setbacks.
"I hope by challenger, you mean someone to take part in a Leray match."
Jane and her friends were looking around. Someone else was talking to them right now, a woman whose voice pierced through the volume of the area. Jane finally caught her eye, standing behind Danny and Taylor. Jane''s facial movements gave her friends enough of a hint to turn around to face the woman who just spoke to her.
Danny didn''t know this person, though perhaps Jane could have. Another interesting character, some young looking blond hair female wearing a strange outfit, certainly a dress sphere. Only appearing to be about 19 years old, this woman had something to say to Jane regarding a Leray match.
"The name''s Haley. I''m a new wielder from Bae-Mheden Town. Who did you say your name was?" Haley pointed directly towards Jane. She suspected that all three of them were worthy challengers, but the girl with green eyes asked first.
Jane was a little dumbstruck. She didn''t recall saying anything to Haley, not even about her name, and they have never once crossed eyes. As far as she could tell, Haley was a Leray wielder, seeking a challenge by the sound of it. She must have been eaves dropping on her last statement. Jane pointed to herself, immediately overcoming the awkwardness from not knowing who Haley was. "I''m Jane. These are my friends Danny and Taylor," she introduced.
Haley started, "Okay Jane. It''s like this." She pointed directly to Jane to emphasize her request. "I challenge you to a battle, right here and now."
Chapter Theme Shift: Heartbreak One ~ Ace Combat 5 OST
"Wha? Now?!" Jane still didn''t expect Haley''s impatience to have a match. "Hold on a second. We haven''t eaten just yet. And I still have to change out of this swimsuit before we battle." Swimsuits aren''t usually protected in the same way dress spheres or battle outfits are. At the very least, their protection level auras are much lower than a standard dress sphere. Therefore, they aren''t appropriate to wear into combat. Her proposal was too sudden. "I don''t even know if I want to battle you, see?"
Haley nodded left and right, explaining her exact situation with them. "Look, it''s not an impossible task. I just graduated from Vercia training academy."
"Vercia training academy?" Danny interrupted.
Haley didn''t seem happy about them not knowing about the place. It means she now has to explain even more before battling. "It''s a private training facility near Monoc Port. That''s where I live. I''ve come down to Gulop to challenge as many people as I can. But, I''ve only battled twice before, so I''m still sort of a rookie at these things."
It''s hard enough trying to learn the local geography of a location nobody has ever heard of. Danny knew that the girl''s hometown was odd enough in its name, but she must live near Monoc Port, the first place one would reach if using the seas from Tilsit Port.
Jane slowly smirked in response to this bit of news. She had been reluctant to battle anybody else soon due to her weakened condition. However, if her opponent turns out to be a total rookie, then there is no way she could lose, especially after buying that upgraded mercenary outfit. Jane separated those thoughts from her dialogue. "I get it. You''re new, so you''re just anxious to battle everyone."
"That''s right!" Haley pointed toward Jane again. "I heard you talk about finding challengers. Well here I am. It''s a formal offer. What do you say?"
For that moment, Haley remained patient and quiet. Jane still didn''t like being rushed into decisions, but felt the difference in the situation. Haley just stood there, making her offer all the more serious. A battle, here and now... Jane knew she was going to be hungry during and after the battle, but Haley is also a rookie as well, and with the lack of credits on hand, anybody will do today. "Fine. I still have to change, but you and I will battle right here."
"It''s a deal then," Haley closed.
Danny tilted his head slightly. Jane didn''t sound like she was as confident as before. While that may be a good thing for her mental health, she doesn''t have to force herself to stress about these things. Doesn''t Jane realize that she could simply just decline and say "not right now?" So what if it puts a strike on her card? Battling to win or lose three times in a row removes that same strike. She''s always rushing into things... Then again, Haley is the impatient one this time. Something about her just isn''t right. Her very presence put him at unease, though without any understanding as to why.
"That''s right. I''ll be back in five." Jane gave a last look at Danny and Taylor. They were a bit surprised at what was going on, but they didn''t protest to the early battle either. Jane then turned around, heading for the store in order to use their changing room.
Taylor looked around more, then stared at Haley. She was such a strange person to challenge Jane like this, but it was probably for the best. Jane lost her confidence twice in a row now, and this fight might be all she needs to recover. Even now, Jane sounded very confident in her choice, just before heading back to the store. "So you''re challenging Jane?"
"Weren''t you paying attention?" Haley snapped. "I won my first battle, and lost the last fight. But Jane will be my next victory today."
Danny instinctively warned Jane''s opponent about underestimating someone like Jane. "I wouldn''t be so sure about that." It''s as if Haley and Jane have swapped places, if he were to assume Haley was nervous at first to battle anybody. She''s the one being too confident now, but Jane has just lost three battles in a row. While that may blemish her very faith in herself, it also means she''ll make less mistakes. "Let''s just say that I''m putting my money on Jane today, and I don''t say that just because she and I are good friends."
Haley ignored his comment. She didn''t need to ask whether or not Jane was new or old to battling. Jane''s unwillingness to back down said it all. Jane won''t be that tough. Haley began backing up a bit, establishing the future perimeter in her mind as they decide to battle in the sand. "I didn''t ask who you idolize."
Such a temper with this one! Danny held his tongue further, his head filled with a new motivation. It was only now that Danny wanted Jane to destroy her next opponent using any extremity.
Taylor growled under her breath. Haley is so rude! Just who does she think she is? I hope Jane mops the floor with this one.
"So where exactly is Monoc Port anyway?"
Haley had to overcome the shock to realize that Danny was just making small talk, but she opened her mouth long enough to denounce him. "You don''t know where Monoc Port is? It''s the only other port that accepts ships from Tilsit. Man! If you didn''t know that, Jane should be easy."
Good! Taylor thought quietly. Underestimate her, and you''ll fall flat on your face. "Danny? We''re staying right here to watch Jane''s battle."
"But¡ª" Danny looked at Taylor curiously. He still wanted something to eat first. It might as well be pointless to try and vouch for food, seeing as Taylor wasn''t missing this match for the world. "I thought that was the plan originally."
"With your stomach, it''s hard to tell," Taylor muttered.
Danny squinted at her remark, but dismissed her after. Even if he was getting winded, Danny knew exactly where access to an easy MRE is, right over his back inside of a pouch. Taylor was suddenly brightening up to this match. Danny didn''t find it all that exciting since Haley is a rookie anyway, but if there is any time to get hyped up for a good battle, it''s right now. Of all the people Jane could face, this blonde has no honor.
Jane made her appearance again, this time wearing her awesome new mercenary outfit designed for tough battles. She witnessed that Haley was ready to take her on. Danny and Taylor were a bit further behind her, prepared to watch the entire scene. Jane continued stepping forward until she and Haley were only twenty meters apart, then stopped her feet into the sand. The mercenary outfit naturally came with some new shoes, so Jane didn''t need to worry about burning her feet in the hot baking grains. Haley however wasn''t wearing any shoes or sandals. Didn''t all that heat below her scorch her feet?
"You look ready now Jane," Haley projected. "May we get started?"
Jane felt she was ready as well. This time the fight should go her way, after knowing more abilities than Haley should. Their very conversation was already attracting a few people passing by, turning heads this way. Jane nodded for herself, then stared straight into Haley''s eyes. "I''m ready!" she cried. "We''ll have the bet set at 250 credits."
Haley was a bit surprised at how low the bet was, but it was Jane''s choice after all. "Two hundred fifty? That''s pretty basic. You''re choice though. I''m ready too, so let the battle begin!"
This time, the holographic text to determine the bet appeared and faded before the Siriean dome took shape. Forming from the ground precisely out of nowhere, the magical dome shield began to surround both Jane and Haley, nearly capturing Danny and Taylor by mistake. The dome spread out far and wide, making plenty of room for battling.
In all unlikelihood, Jane never battled like this before. The environment under her feet was different, making it harder to balance. If she were to fall down, her face and even her eyes could get covered in sand. That was sure to become a possible strategy this time. Even so, Haley said she was a rookie at this sort of thing. Jane knew it too, just by the looks of her stance.
Taylor knew that the battle officially began with the start of that shield forming, but while things were heating up, some things needed to stay the same. "I''ll cheer for her," Taylor promised. She then cuffed her hands around her mouth, amplifying her voice towards the shield. "Go Jane! Win this one for all of us!"
Jane could barely hear Taylor''s hollers. Dome shields for battle block out a portion of the sound just outside of it, so Taylor knew she had to yell towards Jane to be heard. But Taylor was right too. Jane knew she needed to win this, even if she was still suffering from debilitating ailment effects. To further establish her readiness, Jane initialized her energy scope above her, just as Haley did.
Chapter Theme Shift: Title: Re.Trauma ~ Tutti Sound
"I''ll go first," Haley announced. "Don''t disappoint me Jane."
Jane readied herself for the first attack. Haley was about to try something, and now was the time to remain wary, but as Jane waited, Haley''s hands began glowing in a way that did not symbolize a direct attack spell. Instead, Haley shouted a familiar Leray ability, shoving her hands into the ground afterwards. "Doom Shield!" After hitting the ground, a bright blue colored aura spanned outward, past their feet until it slammed into the dome shield itself. The same effects as before triggered associated with the ability known as Doom Shield. The Siriean dome became much less phased out, turning a darker color than it normally was. The shield phased to become transparent again, but with a different kind of look.
"Agh! She''s starting out with Doom Shield?"
Danny noted Taylor''s concern. Another Doom Shield means that neither Haley nor Jane can call it quits in the middle of the battle. How many people know Doom Shield anyway? Every opponent Jane faces seems to keep utilizing that specific strategy. "Don''t worry," he reassured. "There might be a Doom Shield, but giving up early is the same thing as losing. Do you really think this will dissuade Jane right now?"
Taylor didn''t expect Danny to be so engaged in the battle this time. He usually has his pocket book out to check out any new spells somebody uses, but right now, his hazel eyes are intensified on the battle itself. He was right too. Jane isn''t going to get upset over something as useless as a Doom Shield.
"Why that skill?" Jane shouted towards her opponent. If Haley was going to go first, why waste those tactics? Whether or not it is useful, why do all of her opponents keep using that spell? Is Doom Shield really this popular?
Haley smiled in her confidence in all of the choices she was currently making. "I hate it when people quit before it''s over. I know that affects me too, so let''s give it our all."
Jane growled, knowing Haley was right. Neither side will be backing down today, no matter how good Jane fights. It''s almost like before.
"Rumbling Bellow!"
Jane winced after hearing Haley sound another Leray spell. It wasn''t officially her turn to go again like that, but with all of this talking, it might not have mattered in the end. Jane tried to prepare herself for a good dodging technique, but as soon as Haley launched her spell, there was nothing past that. Jane couldn''t see anything significant happening, other than a slight bulge in the ground near Haley that remained motionless. All until...
Taylor couldn''t believe it. Even though there was nothing to indicate where the attack was coming from or how soon it was to take effect, the ground below Jane suddenly shot high up, forming a tall pillar and shooting Jane''s body into the air. Jane flew up at least twenty feet unexpectedly. The attack that shot out of the ground like that happened so fast, it could not have been foreseen. It resembled a sneakier, more powerful version of Earth Glave. "Jane!" Taylor yelled.
Danny was fumbling for his pocket book, but he couldn''t take his eyes off of Jane. She was fine after taking the brute impact, but would she land on the ground okay? Jane came crashing down on her back, unable to balance herself in the air after being slammed with an uplifting pillar. Jane took falling damage even though the sand broke her fall. After taking notice of Jane''s HP loss on her energy scope, Danny quickly tried to find that specific spell. It took him a long amount of time, but at last he located the skill''s name and read the description aloud. "Rumbling Bellow. It''s an attack that¡ª"
"Now isn''t the time for that!" Taylor interrupted. She already saw it for herself. There wasn''t a use for an explanation right now. "I''ll ask when I need to."
Jane rubbed the back of her head, carefully getting back up. Haley was stationary far in front of her, but the pain was making it hard for Jane to focus. Hitting the ground like that hurt more than being slammed upward by that hidden underground pillar attack, but at least now it was her turn to try something. After getting ready and charging her MP into her right hand, Jane unleashed her attack after announcing the name. "Flashpoint!"
Jane leaped into the air, after which her entire body became a blur and disappeared. Jane reappeared right where Haley was standing, knocking Haley backwards at least five meters. That attack happened so fast in the perspective of others, Jane was practically invisible prior to landing her punch. Flashpoint is a battle skill that first infuses the fist with additional magical energy. Then the person fly''s towards their target at the speed of light, putting all of that momentum into a single punch assisted by a completely invisible aura. That''s why Jane disappeared momentarily. She leaped towards Haley too quickly to be tracked, and gave her a really powerful punch to the chest. Damage is doubled if she can hit the target in the face, but that''s harder to aim for.
Haley was powerless to avoid the effects of the powerful Flashpoint punch, and the pain in her chest caused by the blunt type damage was lasting. Her HP dropped a good amount as well, and this marked the very beginning of a serious battle. Jane really isn''t that bad for a new wielder.
Haley got back up with a bit of a struggle, and their HP levels were tied with each other. This was sort of what Haley wanted in a battle, and it would work well for her training. "Not a bad punch," Haley commended. "But if you want to get all physical, try out my Runyden Strike!" Haley rushed in towards Jane in a full sprint. Jane was given plenty of time to prepare for whatever kind of attack this was, but Jane had never heard of Runyden Strike before.
Jane made an attempt to block, but Haley was really close to Jane now, after which she pulled out two daggers and began slicing at Jane''s arms and chest. Despite the instant pain of being slashed, Jane quickly got over it and fought back. Haley''s attack was a combination, much like the way Jane fights up close. Haley continued slashing with her daggers, but Jane was now kicking them away each time. Haley still managed to transition into a few punches and kicks that Jane failed to block, but Jane did manage to duck and dodge half of those hits. While Haley was still trying to rack up the damage points, Jane finally got her chance, kicking Haley backwards. Her feet slid in the rough sand while Haley struggled to keep her balance, nearly tripping over her own legs.
Jane and Haley both had sand all over them right now, much more in their hair, though they tried their best to ignore the mess. "I''ll show you a real combination!" Jane retaliated by pulling out her own daggers. Haley didn''t seem to notice them earlier, and her sudden movements took Haley by surprise. Now Jane was the one unleashing a combination of physical attacks, punching, kicking, and slicing all in wonderful transitions that could not be foreseen. Haley tried to block and dodge the attacks much like Jane had, but even in doing so, Jane was faster, not allowing Haley to counterattack in the middle. Jane dodged attacks simply by moving at random with her synchronized style. She wasn''t even expecting Haley to try and fight back like this, but it wasn''t working against Jane either. Haley continued to take hit after hit, and the dagger slices caused most of the HP to dive down. Finally finishing her combo, Jane jumped up, landing her feet on Haley''s waist. Jane used Haley''s body to kick off even higher into the air, performing a perfectly landed backflip which got her out of the immediate strike range of Haley''s weapons. After landing, Jane backed away with grace.
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Haley knew she was in trouble. Jane fights even better than her at close range. Jane was still close enough for one spell in particular. Haley charged up her MP energy, releasing it after quickly chanting the name of another ability. "Shadow Mace!" In the same instance, Haley disappeared into a dark cloud of black mist.
Jane tried to figure out what just happened, but before she knew it, Haley reappeared behind where Jane was standing, using a magically infused mace as a weapon. Haley swung upward, hitting Jane hard enough to launch her into the air once again. Jane felt the immediate bruising and stinging pain on her back, before falling down three feet and slamming into the ground once more. Haley long since backed away, keeping her distance after a devastating strike like that. Whatever skill she used allowed Haley to teleport behind Jane. She wanted to scream at her for trying such a sneaky spell, but Jane knew that a retaliation attack would work even better.
Haley''s mace was glowing with blue electrical sparks, all due to the magical build up infused into the temporary weapon, but it soon faded away back into the invisible glyphring. Shadow Mace is an attack that infuses non-elemental magical damage with heavy blunt damage, chaining a teleporting strike at the same time. Haley now understood that Jane might try something next, so she prepared herself to dodge.
Jane couldn''t believe how fast her HP was falling down, even after a single hit from something like that. Shadow Mace should not cause this much damage. Jane shook it off, thinking of a better attack to try out at a good range. "Bulliton!" she yelled. Jane finished charging her MP levels in the process, though not much was needed for this next trick. Jane charged towards Haley, spawning spears in her hands dropping from the temporary yellow generation glyphrings. Jane threw the spears one at a time. Only two spawned so far, but when Jane threw them towards Haley at top speed, Haley knew enough about it to hold up her arms and block out the damage. So far, it seems to have worked, but Jane wasn''t finished yet. She jumped high into the air, spawning another spear in the same instance. Jane put a lot more force and muscle into spiking down her last spear at Haley. The weapon traveled through the air and slammed into Haley. It flew through a crack between her arms, causing significant damage and piercing right through her attempts to block it out. Jane landed back on her feet, her small yet effective attack complete.
Haley felt the sharp stabbing pain from the last spear on her arms and her chest. The spear itself faded with the end of the spell sequence, but the damage was already done. Haley decided to stick with the ranged attacks instead, since that''s the way Jane wants it. "I''m through playing with you!" Haley''s voice filled with rage, and Jane placed her hands on her hips, taunting Haley to do her absolute worst. Haley pulled out an item form her pocket. She had purchased this weapon from the store earlier. It''s an expensive weapon to just use one time only, but the damage was extensive as well. "Hand Grenade!"
Jane didn''t expect it, but Haley tossed a grenade towards her, active and live to detonate at any moment. According to what Taylor had told her earlier, this was the same attack that defeated her in Gross City. Jane wasn''t going to let that happen again. She reacted quickly, running and diving far to the right. She had to put as much distance from that thing as possible, and sliding under her feet made that more difficult, as did the rough terrain of the sand.
All in a flash, the explosion happened so fast. Jane was facing the other way, and could only hear the device explode behind her, but it was powerful enough for Jane to feel the blast wave effect as well. Following the loud boom, mountains of sand flew into the air, raining down under the entire dome shield. Jane couldn''t bear to look around with all of that sand raining down everywhere. It was leaving her open to an attack for sure.
Taylor couldn''t believe it, but Jane was safe. She ran out of the kill zone of that grenade just in time, but what happened to the field was less than expected. It became hard to see inside of the dome, with a sandy fog distorting and darkening the view. Once enough of the dust cleared seconds later, it seemed that Haley was rubbing her eyes nervously, unable to attack or get a hold of herself. Jane however wasn''t moving around that much either. She had sand in her eyes too it seemed, or maybe she was preventing the same from happening.
Jane dodged the entire hand grenade attack, and in doing so, there remained a long lasting silence. Jane wasn''t attacked, but she could not do very much either, not until this eye sore faded away. For more than twenty seconds, the sand remained in the air, until the last of the floating grains sank beneath both of their faces. Jane quickly realized that Haley still had trouble seeing things. Jane was facing away from the blast of sand, so it wasn''t as harsh for her. Now was the best time for a counterattack.
"Razor''s Cross!" Jane pulled out her daggers, and a third dagger had been summoned in her right palm. Jane hardly consumed a shred of her MP to do this, and initiated her attack by throwing all three daggers towards Haley. They didn''t hit her at the exact same time, but Haley still took all three of the dagger slices thrown into her skin. The force of it knocked her back a little, and she struggled with her eye sight even more trying to get the sand out. Jane figured that either one of them would fail to take environmental factors into account. Using explosives here was the worst idea, and evidently that would go for wind elemental magic too.
Haley must not have been expecting that sand of dust to be thrown everywhere. Forget your surroundings, and that could mean the end. Haley''s eyes burned with the pain that wasn''t letting go, but she forcefully opened them, only to realize that another attack was incoming.
Jane decided to spam her spells and skills over and over, hitting Haley while she was down. It wasn''t her favorite style, but she had been at a disadvantage anyway. "Flying Guillotine!" Since the primary weapon of a person is returned to their person after being thrown, Jane had her daggers back and ready to use them again. She infused the magic into the blades needed to perform the special attack. Jane then threw her daggers at a special angle, allowing for them to spin sideways through the air. Shortly after leaving her hands, the daggers formed a completely flat red circle of light spanning outward, which slammed into Haley; there wasn''t anything she could do about it at the time. The attack inflicted a combination of strikes; the circle of damage continued cutting Haley up and down every partial second it lasted, until it finally faded. The sensation of bruising and scaring resonated all throughout her body, but she still wanted to continue battling. The Flying Guillotine attack then reversed direction only to slash into Haley again while returning to Jane.
"Keep it up Jane!" Taylor cheered. She turned to Danny real quick, making sure he was paying close attention. "You see that? Jane just got to go twice in a row."
The one good thing about the last attack on Haley was that it gave her enough time to finally clear her eyes. They still burned with a grainy after-pain, but Haley soon realized that Jane''s sudden stance indicated yet another attack, and she wasn''t the only one who noticed.
Danny had been paying close attention, more to the battle than the actual book of spells itself. He noticed that Jane was attacking in sequence for a third time, already forming a blue glyphring around her arm. "Jane''s attacking again? Isn''t it dangerous to stop letting up like that?"
"Lightning Strike!" Jane gave the spell all her might and determination, her MP reserves still relatively high.
"Quake!" Haley reacted with the perfect counter-skill, and sent the entire ground into an upheave. She could see that Jane was trying out a long range magical spell from there, but her Quake spell triggered first. In the same instant, Jane was knocked around, unleashing her attack in a panic.
Taylor couldn''t believe what happened next, and Danny''s concern was somehow intact. Haley just used Quake, affecting the rapid movement of the ground even past the barrier of the dome shield. Resulting in that, Jane''s balance was disrupted. Instead of unleashing Lightning Strike on Haley, Jane''s Lightning Strike ended by smashing into the top of the Siriean dome. The reaction caused the shield to darken and pulsate in the exact area that was hit, and Jane''s lightning attack missed!
Haley impressed herself just now with the decision of her reaction. She didn''t know ahead of time that Jane was going with Lightning Strike, an aggressive spell that never misses, but this was an exception. How wonderful to find a counter for that skill! The Quake lasted a little longer than the Lightning Strike. Luckily, it wasn''t enough to push the sand up all the way to her face, only up to her knees. The quake faded shortly after, forcing the sand back to ground level. The Quake attack did little damage to Jane overall, but surprisingly, it had more effect on her health than it should have on most people.
Jane didn''t think her Lightning Strike could be stopped, but she now saw there was a way to stop anything. At least Haley won''t be able to spam Quake for the entire battle. It costs too much MP to invoke consecutively. Jane reacted with another haste-filled attempt to charge another spell. This one will give her more time to think at least. She pointed her arm towards Haley, releasing MP in the same instance. The bright blue glyphring formed as Jane announced the name of her elegant skill. "Ice Needles!" Jane''s hand became the firing arc of a massive barrage of frozen ice shards shaved down into tiny little needles of ice. The attack deals ice-elemental piercing damage in the form of a barrage, and as expected, Haley wasn''t capable of dodging the attack. All she could do was hold her arms up, bend her knees, and block out the damage as best she could, but it left a mark on her HP despite her attempts to block.
Haley felt the sharp sensation of needles all over her body, which quickly transformed into frozen prickly spots. It was like taking Needle Barrage and then freezing up all of the wounds inflicted. Ice Needles is a unique skill, but Haley knew of all people that it has a low damage potential. This reminded her of a powerful spell she had learned to pick up from her trainer at her private institution, a way to totally surprise people after dealing low level attacks. This was it, the moment she has been waiting for. Jane wasn''t stupid enough to just spam more spells over and over. Haley had demonstrated just how bad of an idea that was. But it was good for her too, because she could not afford her next idea to be interrupted.
Jane didn''t want to go into another attack again just to be hit in the process, but something was up. Haley was hunched down, hiding her hands behind her right hip. She was defiantly charging to use some sort of spell... But it was taking a lot longer than usual. Is she going to attack or just stand there? When should Jane dodge?
Haley realized that Jane didn''t understand what was going on. Too bad for her. The MP it takes to charge this spell is a fortune for just one battle, hints the reason it was taking a long time to prepare the invocation, but the damage and power level are worth it. It took a few years before Haley had perfected this spell, so here it goes. "Mega-Flare!" Haley released the last bit of her energy after charging it for six seconds, throwing her hands towards the sky. They had been glowing white with bursts of Leray energy. Instead of using a direct attack, Haley''s movements caused a massive white burst of light to form above the entire field. That is to say that the size of the artificial light was about the diameter of the battle field itself, one of the largest area attacks Haley or Jane had ever seen before. The light was about to unleash a powerful burst of magical energy, one that could not be avoided no matter what.
Jane backed up step by step, afraid of what was going on. This spell, it was incredibly massive by the estimated effective damage radius, but Jane noticed something other than that, the amount of MP that Haley had to drop prior to forming that spell. A bit of that energy was still dropping to make the attack cycle complete.
It cost 39% of Haley''s MP, an attack that will be sure to end everything right here. Mega-Flare? Jane had not heard of that spell before. How did Haley know how to use something this powerful if she is only a rookie? Could she have lied about that prior to the battle? Jane instinctively covered her eyes after what happened next. The flash of light brighter than the sun engulfed everything inside of the entire dome shield. Jane could only see white, even with her eyes closed. Just as instantly, all of that light turned into heat, a forceful wind that flooded Jane''s ears with a powerful high pitch noise while burning her skin and throwing her around in the same process. Jane didn''t know what was happening anymore, but it hurt terribly all over.
Danny''s jaw dropped simultaneously, along with the rest of the crowd of onlookers in total awe. The inside of the dome was replaced with a solid white color, impenetrable to the human eye.
"What battle spell was that?!" Taylor had never been so surprised in her entire life. Haley did all of that in one invocation? Is Jane even okay?
Danny realized that the light needed more time before fading away to reveal all of the damage it must have done to Jane somehow. He glanced into his pocket book again, searching for the familiar name... It was Mega-Flare. That''s what Haley chanted just before this hell happened. Danny found the entry, but couldn''t believe it. It''s a power-level-nine attack, almost one of the strongest spells available to use! It deals damage in the form obscuring white light, otherwise known as a full light screen attack. How did Haley know how to use such a spell?
Much after the burning pain that left Jane with the feeling that she had suffered contact burns in every location, the pain was soon replaced with a new feeling; a sense of exhaustion and dizziness. It was the same sensation that arrives when HP is reduced to a critical level. What was that attack? Jane didn''t know, but she used her recovery time to check her energy scope, surprised at how much health and magic she still had available.
Such a devastating attack! Jane didn''t want to battle anymore. How could she face up to that? Even if Haley wasn''t planning to use it again, it was over now; the tides were already against her again.
Haley saw that Jane was still standing. Well, more like kneeling in pain, but she still managed to stand up after all of that. "I have to hand it to you for surviving my Mega-Flare like that. I normally use that as a last resort and when my target''s HP is below forty percent. But you''ve amazed me so far."
Jane''s breathing turned heavy. She knew that she had taken a lot of damage, but there was something wrong with what Haley was saying. She had thought that Jane''s endurance was a normal reaction, but Jane knew better. She has been training longer and harder than Haley ever has, despite the power in that awesome spell. "You''re wrong," Jane struggled. "My endurance... It''s lower than it should be."
"Don''t sell yourself so short."
Jane clenched her teeth at those words. Haley didn''t even believe her, and she was the one beating her in a battle right now. Why doesn''t anybody get it? Why doesn''t anybody understand that I can survive a Mega-Flare three time over? There''s only one way to prove it to her. Jane got a new idea in mind, and stood up carefully to confirm to everybody watching that she wasn''t going down without a fight. No time for hesitations. It seemed a lot like Haley was waiting for her next attack on purpose, but it didn''t mean she was ready for it. "Knife Toss!" Jane threw both of her daggers at Haley without infusing any magic into them. Jane had a good reason for this, already charging up MP before watching the impact of her daggers.
Haley suffered a double hit from the Knife Toss attack, but even then, it barely scratched at her HP which wasn''t surprising. Knife Toss has a low power level as no magical damage is involved.
"Crimson Flare!" Jane wasn''t done just yet. She had learned from her last battle about the magical effects of Crimson Flare. She let lose her attack through a large glyphring, forming three massive sized spheres. The spheres had the same color of a crimson orange, residing fire and flames inside. It''s a sphere that deals fire elemental damage and non-elemental magic damage at the same time. The three spheres flew towards Haley each at their own angle, forming a triangular kind of shape as the attack got in closer. It''s designed to make dodging tricky since there are three which must be avoided. Only one will hit the target if it works, but dodging one may land them in the path of the next.
The downside to a Crimson Flare attack of course is the unbelievable speed. Each projectile was so slow that despite the size and numbers, Haley simply walked out of the way of the middle sphere, and then stood still as the crevice between the other provided safety as the spheres floated on by.
Haley remained undamaged and unfazed. She then laughed in response. Jane must have thought that such a slow attack would be put to better use after distracting her with a Knife Toss attack. How young she still is! Haley didn''t need to say anything else, so she continued attacking Jane with head on skills. This time, her hands began glowing without the aid of a glyphring. "Needle Barrage!" Haley fired a barrage wide spread of sharp edged needles. It''s an attack that deals only physical pricing damage at a very low power level.
Jane saw the barrage of painful needles heading her way. Needle Barrage does almost zero damage. Haley wasn''t planning to win it by HP just yet. Jane was tiring out from her drop in HP, and her opponent knew this. So adding more pain into the attacks was sure to dissuade Jane from continuing on. But this wasn''t about winning, not anymore. Jane counterattacked, quickly releasing her MP energy into the next attack, and throwing her arms forward to unleash the power form it. "Shadow Wave!"
It was another one of Jane''s famous Shadow Waves. Lots of people can use Shadow Wave, but only Jane can use hers in such a way where the power and potency are maximized. The wave formed bounded to the sand, and grew in height at a rapid pace. Jane instinctively hunched down to get lower in case the needles heading her way were aimed any higher than her own spell. At the time it seemed that the Shadow Wave and Needle Barrage were about to collide into each other, the balance of power immediately shifted. Every single needle got swallowed up or bounced back by the rushing Shadow Wave Jane unleashed, drilling through the ground in an adamant effort to slam into Haley head on. The attack worked beautifully in the end. Knocking back Haley''s Needle Barrage, the Shadow Wave unexpectedly broke through and caught Haley in the grip, dealing both magical and slashing damage over increments of time.
Haley had some balancing issues after being hit with something so powerful, but it wasn''t enough to stop her. Haley continued with the attacks, ignoring her pain and skipping the dialogue this time. "Wind Slash!" Haley jumped and spun at the same time, creating a magical wind which combined with her dagger transformed into a curved line of visible air. This air was in the form of a slash attack, created by wind itself and bound together by Leray magic. Jane couldn''t dodge it in time because of how quickly it moved, but Haley ended up throwing two Wind Slashes at Jane in just one movement. Both of them slashed into Jane for damage. Even though the hits were not major, it made her even weaker than before.
Jane wasn''t about to stop though. Her sensation of feeling drained was only getting stronger by the seconds. "If I don''t put everything I have into this, I''ll never prove it. Tri-Attack!" Jane shouted the name long before forming her power. Tri-Attacks can vary in type and formation. It was enough to keep Haley pinned long enough to take the entire heat of the spell. The fire glyphring, ice glyphring, and electrical glyphring all formed a horizontal triangle above Haley''s head before the attacks were launched. A Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and a Thunderbolt, all striking Haley in a beautiful harmony of synchronization wrecked her defense. First the electrical attack hit her, keeping her in place until the Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt slammed into her as well.
It was amazing how powerful the spell was. Haley knew she could still go on, but just barely. The draining sensation had all but been amplified after taking the damage, but now it is Jane''s turn to take on another attack. Haley knew this was a full and dead serious match, and so she needed but the perfect counterattack for Jane''s Tri-Attack. Haley already charged up her MP, unleashing it to create a powerful and brightly red colored glyphring in front of her. Though Jane was already prepared to dodge, she would not be able to after this. "Tri-Fire!" Haley launched three Fire Bolts consecutively. All of them traveled towards Jane on their own homing path.
Jane couldn''t do anything, despite how close she was to knocking Haley down! Tri-Fire can''t be dodged because there are three Fire Bolts instead of one, all homing and all striking at slightly different rates too. All she could do was block and try to stay alive; perhaps this was it.
Haley watched as all three Fire Bolts slammed into Jane, exploding in an immerse of fire. Jane suddenly collapsed to her hands and knees in the sand. She was breathing heavily, her senses darkened and distorted, but it wasn''t over yet. Jane wasn''t totally out of it.
Jane could tell that Haley was at least suffering the same amount. Her energy scope was at a critical level too. Haley used almost all of her MP on that Tri-Fire spell, already with low health. She tried to hide it, but Haley was breathing as heavily as Jane was, totally wiped from battling so much. Jane stood up, her legs wobbly with exertion. "Magical Blitz." Jane didn''t even have it in her to scream or yell anymore. The fight was almost over. If she won right here and now, it would be a miracle. Even if this fails to work, it will at least show everyone the truth of things.
Haley didn''t want to, but she managed to jump out of the way of the oncoming blue energy balls from the associated Magical Blitz attack. Jane was simply throwing them at Haley, but they weren''t fast enough for her. Haley ended up dodging all three of them shortly after, their speed easy to see and predictable in pattern. Jane had given up right there. "Alright," Haley whispered. "I''ll get my win yet. With Runyden Strike!"
Jane expected Haley to charge at her, getting close once again. Whatever Runyden Strike is, it doesn''t have to be the same each time, because this time Haley threw her daggers at Jane, much like the skill Knife Toss. Jane closed her eyes, not wanting to witness the end. If she were still standing straight, it may have been possible to jump out of the way, but right now, all she felt like doing was sinking down further, letting her body have its way with losing consciousness.
Taylor watched in horror as the last toss of Haley''s daggers pushed back Jane to collapse on her back. Jane suddenly stopped struggling, and her energy scope had reported the worst of her fears.
Chapter Theme Shift: Millenium Watchmaker ~ Valentin Wiest [Fragments of Ledgends ~ Volume II]
Just like that, the Siriean dome collapsed, fading out and allowing everyone back in. Haley struggled just to stand up. The battle wore her out completely, but she had plenty of healing orbs on hand. She pulled one out right now to use it, but kept in the surprise and exciting thrill the experience gave her. That match was a really close call!
Taylor and Danny did their usual thing, rushing towards Jane to try and help her. She was going to be unconscious again for a good fifteen minutes or so. Danny remained prepared to give Jane a healing orb to use, but first, she must wake up. "Dammit Jane!" Danny cursed. "Not again."
"Again?" Haley hovered by Danny and Taylor, already fully recovered thanks to the quick effects of healing orbs. Her MP was still far down, but it would return shortly enough. Defeat haunted the expressions of Jane''s friends, which seemed a bit unusual for a normal Leray match. Did they really care that much about winning? "How many times can someone lose if they''re supposed to be a Leray wielder anyway? Jane was easy enough work."
Taylor felt so angry, sympathetically that Jane lost again, and to someone like Haley of all people. "Four times in a row. You didn''t have to be so rude!" she shouted, getting up in Haley''s personal space.
"Me? Rude?" Haley pointed to herself in confusion. What the hell is her problem? "I won the match fair and square! I wasn''t going to just stand there and let my opponent win."
Taylor didn''t let up on arguing with Haley, letting all of her anger out at once. It just wasn''t fair. Jane really tried her absolute hardest this time. There is no way she should have lost to this snob! "You¡ª you, you did that thing! That, Mega-Flare! People who just graduate don''t learn power-level-nine spells. You shouldn''t lie about being a rookie if you wanted to challenge Jane! Or me!"
Danny sensed where this was going. If he left it up to Taylor and Haley to yell at each other, it would go on for a whole hour, and likely end in a ruthless Leray battle not meant for the eyes. People were not all leaving just yet either, curious about the sudden argument, but he also understood exactly why Taylor was so upset as well. It makes more sense now. He stood up, getting between the two. "Stop it both of you! Haley? Take your credits and leave us."
"But?" Taylor protested.
"And Taylor?" Danny turned around. "Shut up!"
Taylor grumbled, staring at Danny''s expression. He was suddenly acting differently. Protective of Haley perhaps? Why is he letting her have her way? Haley gave them a strange look, and then walked away backwards with a frightened look mixed with confusion on her face.
Danny didn''t need to confirm that Haley was now out of their personal space to know about it. "Focus on Jane. You know how she gets when she loses a battle."
Taylor realized that he was right about this. Jane was more important than getting back at Haley, but still, Haley didn''t have to win. In the end, they were both tied neck and neck. Jane would have won; she should have won the match, but Haley just had to dodge that last Magical Blitz attack. At last, something really did feel wrong about the whole picture. "She should have won. Jane didn''t mess up this time, not a single mistake. And besides, that wasn''t just any battle."
"I know that," Danny replied. Jane had finally finished relaxing here on the beach, having fun. She went and sacrificed that all to get her pride back, just so that she can lose again? Was Jane really this weak? Her attack power was spot on, normal under all circumstances - and perfectly Jane level standards. But then what about her defense, her endurance? She is supposed to have more of that than himself and Taylor combined. There is even a way to test this out, but it required more people, and Jane won''t be interested in that for at least another day now.
Danny still didn''t want to buy it, that Jane''s actual endurance was somehow cut in half at the start of her journey. It didn''t make sense because nothing happened in order to cause that. Even so, Jane was totally convinced. She probably will be more convinced after waking up to hear the bad news all over again... Still, something felt fishy about the entire sequence of this Leray match in comparison to others...
"What do we do now?" Taylor worried. Jane just laid there in the hot sand. Her mercenary outfit was all dusted up with the sand and the wind. She was breathing normally again, but still fast asleep. What will she say when Jane wakes up?
"All we can do," Danny explained. "We encourage her. Take her back home, train some more. If she can learn how to play things defensively, Jane will come out on top I think."
"I don''t know..." Taylor wasn''t so sure if Jane would agree to go back home, and some part of her didn''t want that either. It''s strange. If Jane were to wake up fine, and then get them all to travel to Junon, they would be that much closer to the airport. A nasty family reunion would then occur. But for some reason, Taylor didn''t want to stay inside of Gulop for much longer. Unable to analyze her own feelings, Taylor focused on helping Jane again.
The abundant minutes passed until Jane finally woke again. Her eyes began burning, glazed by the bright hot sunlight overhead. It was still so sunny out, and so warm despite the speeding winds and breezes. After adjusting, she realized that her body was half sunk in sand. Danny and Taylor were hovered over her, and Danny was holding out a med kit orb for healing. That was all she needed to see to understand what had just happened. "Nugh!" Jane still felt all of the pains from that battle, her head was pounding right now. She couldn''t remember what happened after throwing her Magical Blitz attack. Haley dodged it, and then she must have counterattacked somehow. Nobody must be able to remember a few seconds before passing out after waking back up. At least that much was normal.
Danny gripped Jane''s hand, offering to help pull her up on her feet. "I''m sure I don''t need to tell you the outcome this time."
Jane held her head in pain after standing straight again. These moments of passing out were giving her headaches lately. "No. You don''t." Jane took the healing orb Danny was holding onto. While activating the orb, the crystal inside of it lit up brightly, causing Jane''s entire body to glow with a white aura. This only lasted for a few seconds before the light and aura faded. The orb itself disappeared as well, completely healing Jane on the spot. Her energy scope naturally faded after passing out, but Jane didn''t need to pull it up again to realize she was completely healed. Jane could feel much more energized than before, and she stood back up trying to dust off her outfit, but this was hardly an exciting moment.
"Uh, Jane?" Taylor held the most impatient expression. She didn''t know exactly what to ask her, but Jane must have figured it out anyway.
"I''m fine."
Danny tilted his head towards Jane. "Really? You''re fine? After..."
"Yes." Jane looked into their eyes. She couldn''t possibly smile right now if she wanted to. It was no secret of course. She was far from happy or satisfied, but Jane now felt most determined to accomplish a new goal that she had not realized before. "I know what I have to do now."
"What you have to do?" Taylor repeated.
Jane looked at both of them again. "Danny? Give me one of your rations. You two can afford to eat out somewhere. I on the other hand just lost too many credits to get myself anything."
"Oh you don''t have to be like that. I still have enough¡ª"
Jane held her open palm in front of his face, cutting him off. "I''m not discussing it further. I''ll have the ration and head off."
"Where are you going?" he demanded. Danny still reached in his bag to give Jane that bit of food, but he wanted to protest eating better than her just because she lost the battle.
Before speeding off, Jane at least gave them the basic location of where she will be. "I''ll be in the Tilsit research institute. I want to read a few things before joining up again."
Taylor didn''t understand this. Was Jane just shutting down what happened? Or did she really get better at taking a bad loss? "You mean today? Jane, what about¡ª"
Jane held up her hand and snapped her fingers to stop Taylor mid-sentence too. "I''ll be fine. And I''ll be done by today of course. Go have some more fun on the beach. After I learn more about my condition, I''ll know what to do about it." Jane turned around, leaving them both with some more questions she wasn''t interested in answering. Losing that battle has taught Jane one thing; that she was right about her endurance condition. If those two are too dense to see that status conditions do exist, then they don''t need to concern themselves with the research. If Jane can just find some sort of proof or evidence to present them, it will surely knock the confident look right off their faces. Haley was either no rookie, or she beat Jane unfairly. There is no way all of Jane''s training was in vain.
Taylor didn''t have the words to stop Jane. Jane simply continued walking along, refusing to finish cleaning herself up from all of that sand. Jane was heading towards the short yet wide building closer to the lighthouse. At least she wasn''t leaving the entire beach. "Wha..." Jane was far out of range to be heard by Taylor''s voice. But what did Jane mean? "Condition?"
Danny turned towards Taylor. Maybe Taylor didn''t know about it after all. "Remember? Jane is convinced that her endurance is naturally lower than it should be in light of all her training and battling. She thinks that some lingering force has her endurance level down, even though we can''t detect it."
"But," Taylor refused. "Jane can''t still be serious about that."
Danny gave her an even sharper look, making Taylor focus more on him too. "After what I just witnessed, I''m starting to believe her. You ever notice how far her health goes down from smaller attacks like Fire Bolt, or Wind Slash? For you or me, it won''t even go down that far, not that quickly anyway. For example, Wind Slash has a power level of two at most, but Jane''s HP declined by five points per hit, which mathematically doesn''t add up if Haley is a rookie. Heck, even if Jane''s endurance was the same as mine or yours, it would still mean something is off. Don''t forget that Jane used to train all of those months before either one of us set foot on this island, which would have naturally set up a larger initial defense level for her before you and I ever began to train in the first place. That has to count for something."
Taylor didn''t understand it. What was he talking about? Why would Danny put so much thought into Jane''s smaller excuse when she simply hates losing? "Maybe... If you say so."
Chapter 13: Dark Tribulation
<01/17/1972 ¨C 11:32 | Tilsit Port, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Despite what was already on their minds, Danny couldn''t help but force himself to relax a little. A sudden overcast of fast moving clouds rolled in. They were purely white and puffy, nowhere near close to creating precipitation. Each cloud was scattered apart enough to provide momentary casts of shade for the beach that went on and off as the time passed. It actually felt great since the temperature of the day was going up before then.
Only five minutes after Jane left for the research facility, it was actually Taylor''s suggestion that they finally stop somewhere to eat, but instead of following her nose, Danny found Taylor searching her heart for the ice cream stand that was said to be here. It didn''t take very long to locate it either.
Danny found it rather annoying to have to dig into ice cream when his stomach was already so empty; it just isn''t natural to eat a desert as if it were the course of a meal. Before they even made it to the stand, Taylor gave Danny a penetrating stare that said it all. It was a demand to buy her and himself ice cream, not even a question. If he refused to pay for it, Taylor would have surely been upset...
With a slight nod unshared with Taylor, Danny found himself at the very front of the line that had yet to gather behind them. The salesman waiting at the stand greeted his customers as usual, asking if they wanted to buy a cold refreshing cone of sweet delight to compliment the dry heat of the sun. That certainly isn''t how Danny would have put it, but the guy was smart for describing it that way in his very first sentence, brilliant marketing techniques that even went far enough to persuade Danny to indulge himself to get double scoops for his hand and another for Taylor''s.
From the sparkle in her eyes when she took the second cone carefully from his hand, he''d think Taylor was dying all year long to have one of these. They sold plenty of ice cream in Kalamo. Even though they were right between a standard and luxurious commodity, it was never difficult to save up for one.
"He-he! Now that''s more like it!" Taylor forgot to thank Danny for the treat, instead occupying her mouth with the vanilla flavored ball of sugar milk encased in cream. It has been too long since she was allowed to eat something so delicious! All of this was thanks to finally having some currency in this place.
Even though it was just a tasty sweet, Danny found it less usual to see Taylor this way. She was just so happy and blissful, enjoying herself as though everything were completely normal. Right now in this moment, Taylor was being herself before all of this crazy stuff ever happened to both of them. Before arriving to this insane land, before falling off that cruise, and probably before getting mixed up in this Banshee Empire nonsense, part of her behavior was just an act. It was moments like this one now that brought a much needed nostalgia back to them.
Danny let himself relax as a result. Taylor was too busy to talk right now, but it didn''t matter. Danny just remembered where he was, on a nice and peaceful beach full of fun things. Though he felt nervous and homesick a day ago, this scenery and this moment totally blocked it all out. The sudden rush of occasional winds, the smell of the salt and sea, the shifting heat from the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds, and the noise of playful youngsters amongst the shoreline controlled his every emotion and thought. Magic, battles, even Jane was totally wiped away from his chain of thoughts. All that was left were the current surroundings.
Taylor finally regained some self-control after getting used to the tasty desert. It looked as if Danny was quite relaxed too. All they have done so far was swim, but nobody took time to enjoy what else was here.
"Dude! I told you it would be worth it!" "Ah give it a rest."
Danny and Taylor both turned slightly to the nearby group of men walking up to the ice cream counter. They were all aged between seventeen and nineteen years old by the looks of it, and still somewhat dripping from the air after what appeared to be a surfing session. Danny of course had no possible way of identifying the board they were carrying. Surfing was alien to himself and to Taylor, and Jane certainly didn''t mention it. All four of them were quite buff though, obviously maintained in fitness given the constant activities they do here on the beach.
"Yeah, I''ll have a single Malta." The male with brighter hair ordered something specific as though it were casual, and then turned around halfway to continue focus on their previous chatter. "Anyway, that''s all that needed to be done out there today. The waves tomorrow won''t be anything special."
"We know, Desmond. You already rubbed it in our faces. Let''s just go find Bailey and call it a day."
Desmond, the man who ordered the caramel colored ice cream cone swiftly replied to his buddy with a hint of concern. "You''re still crushing on that chick? You realize there are plenty of other fish around, right? Take that beautiful young girl there for example. I bet she''s far more decent."
Desmond was actually pointing directly towards Taylor, and as a result of paying attention to the four of them directly, Taylor''s surprise to the remark forced her to accidentally swallow a big chunk of the ice she still held inside, giving her a slight moment of brain freeze. They were talking about her now, knowing nothing about who she is!
Whoever the esteemed guy was, it sounded like he was having problems with another chick by the name of Bailey, but what mattered now was their sudden attention on Danny and Taylor. Danny shrugged and chose not to care a bit, already realizing they were just bored. Besides, if they walk up to them, it gives Danny an excuse to ask what that board thing is. There''s a short fin on the bottom of the design, so it can''t possibly be for the ground or the sand. Is that thing designed to float in water?
"Ah don''t mind him," the gentleman replied. Incidentally, he walked calmly over to the two younger teens, a gesture simply designated as a greeting. As he approached, the others followed behind with the same intentions in mind. "I''m Greston." The guy gave up his name just before allowing Danny and Taylor to shake his hand. "Can''t say I''ve seen you both around before."
"Ah-well, we''re sort of new." Taylor did her best not to sound bashful. For their age, their bodies were built up well, just as their height was healthy. This actually seemed more similar to a situation back in Kalamo. Danny often had difficulty blending in with this type of crowd, even though he would try his hardest. Still, Taylor could only think in a broken loop right now, her throat tightening.
"I wasn''t sure until now whether people actually live on the beach, but it seems I''ve learned my lesson."
What a weird thing to say! Danny''s doing that thing again. Even if he does sound so calm and relaxed in talking to total strangers, he''s just being awkward.
"Well it''s true that people live in the houses built on the upper shoreline of the beach, but for people new to Tilsit Port, I''m a bit shocked that you knew we were permanent settlers. But that''s a given. We were made to surf."
Danny momentarily ignored the unknown terminology, since he could get back to it later. "You just said you''ve never seen us before, so that obviously means you spend all day in Tilsit Port all the time. I can certainly see why..." Danny let an intentional pause slide by, now turning his gaze to the beach during a moment of shade. "I guess there is more to do around here than what I''ve heard."
"Ah, you''re a city boy then? Must not be from Gross to stay away from here this long."
Finally giving his greeting, Danny decided to pursue the knowledge around the unusual board. "Name''s Danny. And the one to my right is Taylor."
"Huh." Greston carefully observed the girl in front of him a second time. Taylor... She''s a bit young, but no more than Bailey going by looks. Still, Taylor seems quite shy and quiet, totally opposite to Bailey. The difference is striking, and this person can rock a bikini really well! If these two are a couple, then Danny sure is lucky!
"If it''s no bother," Danny started, "I''d like to know more about your water boarding events." Danny chose the words carefully. Even if his terminology was not the best choice of words, his confidence in that would make it all the more normal.
Desmond decided to answer after a short sip into his Malta. "Oh, you mean the surfing competitions? That just got wrapped up man. You''ll have to wait three months before trying to enter the preliminary rounds. Surfing is no ordinary plaything though. You have to ride the waves like a pro if you''re ever going to get anywhere." Desmond barely spun left and right the board in his hands.
Danny understood it now, though he felt it unbelievable that he didn''t know about this sport. It''s not like they have recreational beaches available in Kalamo, so this was excusable. Still, this surfing sport seemed like an entire exercise in itself, and he just spoke about riding the waves; riding on water using that primitive board must be the idea behind surfing itself. It is made for the water, and it probably functions similar to that of a skateboard. If surfing on water is like skating on land, this was something he could easily get drawn into. However, they just said that competition was over with. "I''ll just have to look into it another time then."
Taylor couldn''t pinpoint what she should be feeling, baring too much of a shock. Danny wasn''t saying anything moronic or rash anymore. He was completing whole sentences, and without messing up any of his maturity in the process. It''s the opposite of what she always saw in Kalamo with strangers like these. How is Danny doing that? He just made four potential friends on the spot!
"Aye men, just drop by the lifeguard post whenever you want to set up a surfing profile. They know us well enough, so we won''t steer you wrong. You''ll want the best boards available, not some cheap plywood imported from wherever."
"I''ll be sure to look into that. Thanks man."
"So this is where you''ve been wasting time?!" Danny, Taylor, and the other four surfers all drew their focus to the sound of a high pitch annoying voice obviously from some pushy girl. The teen was no older than Taylor by the looks of it, perhaps a full inch shorter in height.
"I already told you where I would be, Bailey." Greston had to be direct, though he seemed tense at this appearance.
So this is the infamous Bailey? Danny surely wasn''t impressed. If he were to go ahead and rate some of the girls on this very beach, this chick would be nowhere near first place. Jane certainly would blast her out of the water for sure. But what is she looking for now?
"You know what time it is already!" Bailey reminded. "And to think I''d find you here flirting with some other girl."
"I haven''t even spoken to her yet, ya moron!"
Desmond decided to step into the argument momentarily. "You may want to watch what you accuse people of." He was directly speaking to Bailey, proving so by standing in front of Greston. "The four of us were just meeting two new arrivals here, and they were interested to learn about the living habits of Tilsit Port."
"You really think I''d buy that story?" Bailey exchanged a glare at Taylor, who wasn''t hard to look at in perspective. Did Greston really think he could just replace her with a shadow substitute?
"But it is true." Danny didn''t mind interjecting between them as well, giving validity to Desmond''s lesson. "Taylor and I know little about Gulop. They were just explaining to us how the inhabitants of the beach live in nearby houses hiding on the upper shores to the east and west, while the people here actually make their living by finding jobs on the beach, or by traveling to Gross City during week days."
Taylor was again further impressed. Danny was being sharper today than he usually is. Not one of them actually pointed out the connection that the houses were on the east and west sections of the coast line of Tilsit Port, but in thought, it would have to be the only logical position for such living space. In further thought, Danny went out of his way to quickly analyze the situation regarding how people can afford to just live on the beach and have fun every day. They either have job positions such as lifeguard duty, building maintenance, or selling ice cream. Or, they have jobs in Gross City, and travel to and from on work days since the walk isn''t that far. But to make that connection so fast, what is he trying to prove?
"That sounds like a boring conversation," Bailey taunted. "Oh well. Can''t blame you for being so lame. Let''s just get to my lunch-in already."
Taylor felt that something was off about miss perfect behind her, but she never realized until now that this Bailey was a total stuck-up brat! It was amazing that such refined beach lurkers would date idiots like her! Well, Greston was the only one anyway, still...
Greston remained firm in his response. "You have a lunch-in twice a week. I''m only required to cater to birthdays and anniversaries. Though I can get tired of those too, given certain circumstances."
"What circumstances?!"
It was clear as day to Danny and to Taylor that this couple had some things they needed to work out, and it may soon get loud. Danny decided to just branch off without being too rude about it. "Well, I can see you all have some things to discuss. So we''ll just be going now. Come on Taylor."
Taylor didn''t hesitate to turn around and walk alongside of Danny, leaving the growing argument behind them. After all, she nor Danny were part of that, but it still infuriated her to no end.
After packing enough distance to keep up a conversation without having them hear, Danny shared his thoughts with Taylor. "They sure have interesting stuff going on, and I want no part of it."
"What a terrible girlfriend," Taylor paraphrased. "That guy should have dumped her ass ages ago, in the rudest way possible!" Danny nodded with a mumbled "Hm-hmm," and let her continue. "I would never be so snooty like that no matter how much I had going for me."
Danny slowed his pace severely, causing Taylor to slow down and face him directly. With her ocean blue eyes paying attention, Danny let his thoughts out naturally. "I''m glad." With a long blink, he complimented the behavior. "Not only do you have such good manners, you''re dedicated to being a good girlfriend. No doubt you''ll have luck in that someday. And with all of the great dress spheres you keep picking out..." Danny stopped himself. What he was saying made sense, but why was he saying any of it?
Taylor smiled softly, after which she put her hands behind her back and slumped slightly. "Even the bikini? I''m shocked you''d want to have me keep trying on outfits, even ones like these."
Danny could easily hear and detect the teasing energy in Taylor''s voice right now, but what was she trying to say? He had a few moments already today when directly facing her made him feel nervous inside, but it''s only been any time during today at the beach, specifically after they had all changed into swim suits. Danny never said anything about it, so Taylor couldn''t have meant that, right? "You know what I meant." Even Danny didn''t know what he was talking about before, but it would deter Taylor from getting the wrong idea.
"Hey, Jane is missing all the fun." Taylor let her last words slip into the sound of a pout, and noted that she has been gone for a long time.
Danny partially regretted thinking about giving Taylor the information, especially since he had actually been having fun for the past hour, without ever using any magic too. Beaches like this should exist in Kalamo, but that will probably never happen. The thought of Jane however brought back everything regarding magic, since the two are so closely related. If Taylor misses Jane so soon already, who is he to step in the way of that? "She''s still in the research institute. It''s that strange looking building near the light house."
"What''s she doing in there though?"
"Whatever she wants."
What an under-detailed answer. "You know what I mean," Taylor retried.
Danny at least gave into Taylor''s unhealthy attachment for Jane, or rather magic. Man, what is with Jane these days? If Jane went one full day without saying the term Leray magic, or something related to such, she would probably die from detachment. "She''s researching whatever she thinks is wrong with her; at least I think that is what it''s about. But if you want to find her, I''ll just stick around outside a bit longer. No need to rush anything."
Taylor felt uneasy all the sudden. Maybe Danny was having more fun out here than she initially thought. It''s great that he finally had something he could be so attached to, especially since he still wasn''t all too heavy on Leray magic. Come to think of it, he hasn''t seemed this happy in any of her previous memories. All of those years just trying to fit in, but leave it to sand and water to make all the difference. "Fine, I won''t take long."
Chapter Theme Shift: Synchronous Drive ~ FFXIII-2 OST
Minutes passed by as Jane obtained access into the research center. Not just anybody is allowed to walk right in. The staff here checks to make sure that anybody doing research remains quiet in the building and handles the equipment with care. It was annoying, but Jane got past them, having already logged into the computer network.
She sat near the far side opposite of the entrance. The facility only had one floor, but the size of the room was bigger than any major grocery store, resembling a large library. Shelves decorated sixty percent of the place, shelves all full of old books containing loads of information. Their material mostly pertained to the history of Sprawn Valley or history of specific spells, but the research institution also had computers installed and set up with the intranet, archiving everything. For a massive building with all this room built on a beach, hardly anybody was here to visit. The silence here was loud in Jane''s ears. The large space somehow felt tighter and smaller than expected, though perhaps it was just the fact that nobody was around.
They don''t let anyone eat in here, but Jane snuck in some of those snack bars she took from Danny. They''re easy enough to open and eat without making a mess or a sound. Jane had some time to think before the system finished booting up the operating system. All of this, everything she had been going through was being messed up by this unknown curse. She thought she knew what to look for at least. The symptoms would be the best place to begin. Wherever Danny and Taylor are right now, at least they know not to worry for her. They must still be having fun on the beach, or probably stuffing their faces right about now.
Jane covered her face in agony. All of those past battles... Not only did she lose to her opponents, but they were public battles as well. One of them was recorded on SN Live network. Millions of people would be watching that channel, watching Jane''s mistakes up close and personal. Instead of getting closer to her dream, the world was now judging her as a weak and sore loser. She has probably become the laughing stock of the entire Gulop region by now! Such is unavoidable.
Though, only her classmates from her training facility, as well as her other friends were the ones who knew enough about Jane to understand how tough she was in the past. Through all of that training, Jane competed with a lot of her opponents. That is to say that everybody who was near her knew and feared Jane''s unstoppable skill. She was fast, well-coordinated, strong, and practically unbeatable in a battle. But what about now? Everybody will see her constant failures. What will they think then?
Jane couldn''t deny how embarrassing this was for her, but at least nobody was around to judge her in the moment. It''s all thanks to this stupid curse! That''s all it is! Whatever magical rule or principle that is affecting her is some sort of curse, cutting her normal endurance into just a fraction of what it was. It isn''t right! And I''m going to fix this! Jane had the thought in her mind, as determined as ever. Instead of proving how badly she battles over and over, might as well target the source of the problems right here. If anything can tell her what is going on, that would be the unlimited information stored in the servers of the research institute. It''s a network only connected within Sprawn Valley, but that network is constantly updated with information. Anything remotely related to this land''s history or Leray magic is recorded into the archives forever.
Jane took another bite out of her protein bar, typing on the keyboard with her free hand. It''s a simple OS to navigate around, equipped with only one online browser. As soon as the window opened on the digital monitor, it was time to type something into the search box. But what? Jane knew where to begin, but not what questions to ask. Recap! She told herself. It may not be called a curse, so that can''t be a keyword. Endurance is lowered, and permanently too. What sort of magical things can do this?
Jane decided to go with "magical influx" into the search bar. Only this term and magically induced passive abilities would score something for her. There must have been over a hundred search results. As it figured to be, the first few results were totally unrelated to anything typed. The search engine isn''t that intelligent; all it does is gather any website link that contains the key words chosen. Jane scrolled down with the mouse, trying to read down the list and look for anything that might be related to her search.
The screen was lit up with answers alright, but not the right ones. The only thing that came close to the search were the descriptions of elemental abilities, the history of Leray magic''s foundations, and temporary effects from magical auras and spells. Jane still clicked on a few of those links, opening new windows, but after minutes of reading, she hadn''t learned of anything new. Jane sighed, wanting to give it a break already. It wasn''t that long, but this searching and coming up with nothing was frustrating.
The silence near her was suddenly shattered by the whisper of her name. "Pst!" Jane looked up for the source, but it nearly made her jump. She just remembered how loud the slightest sound could be after spending enough time in the silence. To Jane''s surprise, it was Taylor. She was wearing something different too. That must mean that swimming time was over.
Taylor had changed back into another one of her dress spheres, but she came to this place to check up on Jane. Danny didn''t come with this time. Sure enough, Jane was doing just fine. She looked bored though, and still strikingly dusty after her last battle. Jane really didn''t care about the way she looked right now. Her mercenary outfit was cool and all, but after being tossed around in the sand outside, it gave her entire body a dusty and gritty kind of appearance. "How''s your research?" Taylor didn''t know anything about what Jane was looking for, other than the stuff Danny told her. Danny didn''t know either, but he cared to take a wild guess.
Jane responded to Taylor but with a low voice level. There wasn''t a need to feel shy either. Taylor seemed like she was doing fine. Danny however was absent. "It''s going to take me some time. I think we should stay here for tonight. I haven''t even decided on what to do or where to go next."
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"That makes sense." The thought put a smile on Taylor''s face. Telling anybody that they can stay on a popular beach full of fun would make them happy.
"I''ll show you the living quarters later. By the way, where is he?"
"Huh?" Taylor at first didn''t understand. It''s not every day Jane calls Danny "he," but it made sense to ask. "Danny? He''s outside, flirting with the chicks." Taylor''s voice changed so quickly, her tone diving straight into a sense of annoyance and pity. "He''ll be fine," she added. Danny wasn''t really flirting with anybody to her knowledge, but it''s best that Jane thinks so for now.
Jane laughed quietly at Taylor''s remark. Danny checking out the girls? It has to be driving Taylor crazy, even though she would never admit it. It wasn''t surprising; that''s Danny''s personality to a letter. He might care about Taylor with all his heart, but even Jane has learned that he can be so dense at times too, like today apparently. Jane dropped the subject in her mind, knowing it would only antagonize Taylor further. "When I find what I''m looking for, I''ll explain it to you."
Taylor didn''t expect Jane to be so formal. She must be so bored. All Jane seemed interested in right now was figuring out if she really does have a disability in magic. Taylor didn''t mind with the idea of staying here tonight; as long as she isn''t on the move, than nothing that dangerous or stupid can be on her mind. "Come find us when it''s over?"
Jane nodded, eventually coaxing Taylor to walk away out of the building. Once again, Jane was left alone to try and figure this thing out. Her last search ended in failure, and so quickly too. There has to be something affecting her, but what? The question stung in her mind like a dagger. The real question was why it was happening to her. Why? Why at the start of her journey did this curse affect her so?
Jane had to rethink her steps. What other than magical auras and infusions can change magical set parameters? In the quick moment, the answer came automatically, forcing her eyes wide open as her expression lifted. Leray spell bombs! That has to be it! Spell bombs are the most common way to change all kinds of attributes for a person during a battle. Of course that means that it must have happened during a battle somehow. Jane didn''t rely all that much on spell bombs, but what if one was affecting her, in a permanent kind of way? What if...
Jane gasped aloud, "That''s it!" Impossible to believe, but there wasn''t any other explanation. Jane was being affected by a spell bomb, but not any kind someone could pick up from the store. The idea quickly reminded her of the incident that took place in Blue Port Town, before her training had officially been completed.
It happened so fast yet it seemed so long ago now. Jane traveled to Blue Port Town with Danny and Taylor in tow. All they needed to do was run some errands for their teacher, Eliza, but when Jane''s friends took off to explore the town, Jane stumbled across a strange man who was being pursued for a particular item, an unusual spell bomb prototype. That man gave the large orb to Jane, telling her to hide it. He said it was dangerous, even before explaining what the device actually does. He also said that the effects were permanent, but he never spoke of what those effect were. Because of the danger, he was being chased down for it, by some unusual men neither of them knew about.
Jane did a little more than hide the unknown device from everyone. After that man left to lead the pursuers away from the orb, Jane initiated an illegal Leray battle with Taylor, all for the sake of using this unknown spell bomb on herself. The next thing that happened was absolutely unbelievable. Jane never could recall the full moment, the events that happened afterwards. When she tried to use the spell bomb on herself, a gigantic holographic symbol formed in the sky. According to Taylor, the next thing that happened was - a beam of light more powerful than anything ever seen descended from the moon, after the magical spell successfully turned day into night. The moon was exposed earlier than it should have been, and from it a massive white beam of pure light slammed into the earth. The target was Jane and Jane alone.
The effects of the blast knocked her out. Jane became unconscious then, but even right before the blast, everything was a blur in her memory. After that, Danny and Taylor rushed Jane to the medical facility back in Fronas for evaluation and treatment. Still, nobody to this day knows what exactly happened out there. The spell bomb was completely consumed because it was used, but after Jane had taken that deadly hit from the sky, nothing noticeable changed. Jane remembered that she got really sick for a while afterwards. Somehow an illness blocked her from using all Leray magical abilities completely, putting her very health in jeopardy. Then one day, Jane wasn''t sick anymore, and everything eventually became normal again.
Even then, Taylor was convinced that her illness back then was directly associated with whatever the unknown spell bomb did to her. It could have been anything. Jane used a dangerous spell bomb not meant to be used on anyone, and for that, she was blasted from the sky by pure moonlight. After nearly getting killed, nothing seemed to change post recovery.
That''s what she thought. The battle between Jane and Taylor wasn''t really a battle. It was only a medium used to activate the spell bomb in the first place. Jane never thought about it before, but what if her endurance changes happened after that blast of energy? Sure, the curse was noticed after leaving her home town, but during training exercises, there were no actual practice battles. Even Jane''s moment of evasion therapy would not count, since she never took a hit during the exercise anyway. Jane could still use her abilities after recovering, but all they did in that facility then was test their strength, their magic. Nobody thought to test their endurance. There wasn''t a need to then. Because of this, Jane''s endurance problem may have started much earlier than she thought. Whatever that spell bomb was, it did affect her in some undetectable way, and now Jane had to find out.
It was obvious now what to type into the search bar, legendary spell bombs. That was the closest thing she could get to right now. It was an unknown spell bomb altogether, but now that Jane understood the after effects, she could add that to the search box and cross reference the data shown. It was a worthwhile attempt. It took many refines to come up with those effects. An unknown spell bomb that for whatever reason cuts down endurance...
One result found. It was a stretch only having one result left, but Jane clicked into the link anyway, testing her luck. She could not take her eyes off the screen once the page loaded. Jane knew she was getting close after realizing what may be. The page opened up into a new window, displaying a lot of text with only a few pictures, which in the end turned out to be just drawings. As Jane read the info, she summarized it in her mind.
The page thus displayed information about something called The Aggressor Orb, otherwise known as The Amahar spell bomb. The Amahar spell bomb is a legendary type of orb, only developed once as a prototype weapon for Leray battles. The orb was said to grant the user a total overhaul in magical power and strength, but it came with a price; the user''s endurance would somehow be cut into a third of what it once was. Renamed to the aggressor orb, the spell bomb became an item of conversion. Sacrificing one''s defense significantly, all in the name of tripling strength and power.
As Jane continued reading what she believed was the one and only answer, there was some disturbing news. The Amahar spell bomb''s effects were temporary, to be cut off soon after battling. Due to the cost and integration levels, the spell bomb in general would not be worth all the trouble only for a temporary solution to surpassing one''s own power level. Thus, the development of the item was canceled over hundreds of years ago, never to be refined or produced ever again.
Jane still made a comparison. This sounded very close to what she was going through. Her defense was absolute garbage lately, even though it normally shouldn''t be. It was said to triple her power as well. At first, it was hard to believe; hard to believe that Jane was fighting at triple the power she normally fights at. All of that training she had done was the reason she could use so many abilities and knock down her opponent''s HP so quickly. Then again, some things otherwise defied gradual leveling. Ever since Jane recovered from that moon blast in the sky, one ability in particular had gotten a lot stronger. It made little sense to her at the time. In order to power up a Leray ability, one must use that ability in succession, over and over for many years and uses. Using an ability more times increases its potential and strength, but it takes a lot of time, practice, and training to notice this particular effect. However, when Jane uses her Shadow Wave attack now, it is much more powerful. It overcame opponent''s spells, and brushed through just about anything, but Jane didn''t practice the ability for more than six months. It''s hard to accept, but the transition happened overnight somehow. Could it really be?
Something obviously wasn''t fitting. The spell bomb that the masked man gave to Jane wasn''t known. Based on the description on the web page, using it had nothing to do with lights crashing down from above, or changing the time of day from day to night. Yet the effects were somewhat similar to an Amahar spell bomb, only permanent this time. What the hell was that spell bomb she used on herself? What was it doing to her?
Jane calmed down, immediately realizing that there isn''t a need to get worked up by this. It''s a dead end already, but even so, what was happening to her is real after all. She had forgotten about the incident in Blue Port, or tried to anyway. Turns out that moment was key to her sudden losing streak. How to fix...
Curses! Spell bombs are most often temporary. Their effects on a person wear off after a battle, but this one was a permanent spell bomb. Permanent spell bombs carry over the effects of what they have after the battle for as long as that person lives in Sprawn Valley. That means this burden will be on her for the rest of Jane''s life!
There is no way Jane was permitting that kind of thought. There has to be a way to reverse this nightmare. Something she said earlier tugged at her subconscious. How to remove a permanent spell bomb''s effects... It felt to her that Jane knew this answer, like she already explained it to herself once before.
Jane gasped again, remembering in full. She made a random explanation to Danny and Taylor upon arrival at Blue Port Town; the only one way in the world to reverse the effects of a permanent spell bomb or any other aliment. That would be going to the Den of Purity. The Den of Purity is said to be a sacred place with a powerful mage living there who can reverse the effects of lingering spells such as spell bombs. Problem is, the Den of Purity lies all the way in the Outback, the most northern open and wild lands in the north corner of Junon. It''s a long way there, but that''s the answer! If Jane can go to the Den of Purity and reverse this cursed spell trapped to her, her battling style would become normal and great again. It isn''t fair to be tossed aside in Leray battles all because of some stupid curse she didn''t ask for. Despite having no full answer to what was affecting her, there was still the means of removal. "I have to go tell the others about this." Jane stood up out of her seat. Turning off the computer or logging off wasn''t important right now. Finding Danny and Taylor was. She finally acquired the sufficient evidence she needed; and even if she didn''t, even if there was no way to identify what spell bomb affected her that day, the Den of Purity could remove any sort of permanent spell effect from the body, no matter what. It was meant to be. After all, Jane knew her journey would one day take her deep into Junon. So why not start now?
Jane began walking towards the exit of the building, which was also attached to the entrance. Danny and Taylor would be somewhere outside, or perhaps shopping in the nearest Leray store, but she would find them for sure. She had her answer now!
Jane had to adjust to the outdoors again. All of that time researching stuff in the library and archives passed by half an hour or so. The strong winds and breezes were still at large, but it was so bright out compared to being back in that building. The sun overhead was coming much closer to setting already, proving the time spent before now was longer than what she realized, and that meant it was getting late. As soon as her eyes adjusted, Jane began looking around for her two followers.
Something else caught her eye instead. At first, it didn''t seem all that important. Right where the Lighthouse entrance was, there were three guys standing just outside of the door. They were causing come kind of small commotion. At first it seemed like two of them were arguing with the one, but with little time passed, the guard let the two strangers into the entrance, all three of them wearing strange white robes that concealed their identities.
It''s not like this was surprising, but one thing about this bothered Jane in particular. The lighthouse is technically a well-established communications center for Gulop to Eldora and a few other places, as it also supposedly stores sensitive data of sorts. As a result, the interior is incredibly restricted to any and all outsiders who don''t work there. If it weren''t for that fact and the people coming and going constantly from the only entrance to the facility, Jane would have just shrugged her shoulders. Why is this even important right now?
"What the hell?" Jane couldn''t believe her eyes. She glimpsed the last person going in, who had a small glyphring charged around his wrist. Jane could barely see it at all in the brightness, and only for a split second, but that was defiantly a magical charge. This can''t be right! Where''s the official officer she saw before? Why are they letting wielders into a heavily restricted area where no magic is allowed? Jane knew it wasn''t her business, but this all seemed too suspicious for her. She took a breath to calm herself, hoping to just be jumping to conclusions. She just got outside, so what she just saw could have been any phenomena. The guard she saw before without a robe may have just swapped shifts with this weirdo. Yeah, that''s all it is.
Jane looked around again. Nobody seemed to notice that there was a real threat or commotion going on at the entrance of the lighthouse. So perhaps there wasn''t anything wrong in the first place... Still, there would be plenty of time to locate those two. Unable to deter her good conscious however, she at least decided to ask about it. Jane was supposed to find Danny or Taylor, but this would only take a second, and she had the intentions of asking the guard about something to put her conspiracies to rest.
Chapter Theme Shift: {Action 02} ~ Advanced Battlegrounds OST
Jane approached the entrance of the lighthouse structure. She was aware of the probability that she knew less about this superstructure than she thought to initially, but this was one of those things she had to be certain of. If anything, she could ask for the direct location of the Den of Purity to cut time. By the time she walked close enough to the guard in the robe, she drew in the man''s attention immediately.
The guard immediately lifted his arm in front of him as a gesture to block the girl''s path. "No civilians allowed! I''ll have to ask you to step away."
He''s not even going to let Jane speak with him? Jane didn''t find that kind of attitude interesting or surprising, but she still couldn''t get one particular visual out of her head. That man who charged a glyphring around his writ just before walking inside... Could he have just been showing off? Jane suddenly felt sorry for letting her mind go in such an odd direction, her previous paranoia breaking out from her thoughts. Still, Jane remained persistent only in searching for a particular answer to explain it all. "I just wanted to know if I could work here. The other guy said I could turn in an application. Also, directions to the Den of Purity if you can." It was a weak excuse made up on the spot, but the least suspicious one at that. Let''s see how this guy responds to such a mundane request.
The guard remained vigilant in keeping Jane out of the building. "He''s gone home for the day. I''m afraid you''ll have to turn it in tomorrow. And use a map if you want directions. Please stay at least thirty meters from this building at all times."
"Okay," Jane replied. "Sorry for the trouble." Jane turned around and shook her head in shame. She wasn''t even getting the remote chance of an answer, but that specific rule was what she was hoping for. They must have just made a dress code change. Maybe the glyphring she saw was just a fluke of her imagination. After believing nothing was wrong, Jane began to walk away from the facility, back towards the beach.
"Hey! Step away from the entrance!"
Jane had only obtained two seconds free of walking back when she heard someone call out to her, but the voice was different than the last male she spoke to. Jane only needed to glance to her left slightly to see another adult speed walking towards the lighthouse, holding a blaster weapon in his hand. Noticing the weapon, Jane drew her daggers immediately, trying to figure out what was going on.
"I''ll have to ask you to come with me!"
It was in that moment based on the direction the agent was facing when Jane realized that the newcomer wasn''t addressing her, but the guard standing in front of the entrance of the lighthouse. Jane wouldn''t have recognized the man as an agent without that very specific standard issue energy blaster given to all Leray agents in training. She had seen Kain''s once before after he was promoted. But if this is one of the beach''s agents, who was the guy she spoke to a few seconds ago?
"No deal!" The guy in a white robe lifted his hand high in the air, activating an unfamiliar magical aura surrounding his entire wrist. Jane watched the whole thing unfold while the confrontation grew heavier. In almost no time flat, the activation of energy created an unusual teleportation symbol on the ground right under where the agent was walking, and his entire body just disappeared almost as instantly, along with that same symbol. The mage just made the agent disappear in a single spell, teleporting the person away.
Jane was at first surprised, not realizing that a teleportation spell could work on other people that way. Then the truth came to her senses. This guy, the man calling himself the guard of the lighthouse tower wasn''t supposed to know teleportation symbols, let alone use them on other people approaching him. Even then, why defy one of the agents directly? No, this isn''t right! It doesn''t take a genius to realize that the lighthouse is being invaded by unauthorized people. Somehow this was happening without any public knowledge; it''s a sneak attack at its finest.
"Hey you!" The mage in the robe pointed to Jane, who waited for her to point to herself for confirmation. "Get your ass over here and stay quiet. If you don''t comply, you will be harmed!"
Jane felt all of her nerves trembling with the proof spread out before her. This is actually happening! The guy is a criminal, apparent now by his shift in decision and attitude. First he tried to deter her away from the truth, but after realizing that Jane witnessed that teleportation trick with an official port agent, they both knew that Jane learned too much. He won''t let her go now.
"I said get over here! I will kill you if you don''t comply!"
Jane knew that the man''s yelling voice wouldn''t be close to enough to draw unnecessary attention to this location given all the other noise to the west and the absence of other civilians nearby. The situation quickly devolved anyway. By the time the fake guard lifted his hand with a red glyphring surrounding his wrist, Jane knew she was about to be attacked.
The mage launched a Fire Ball attack, disregarding the possible attention the light from the effect could draw. Jane immediately reacted as quickly as she could to the growing threat, activating a blue glyphring around her wrist and shooting an Ice Bolt spell from the center, aimed at the oncoming projectile. In less than a second of time, both particles in the air collided with each other, canceling the effects out without one overpowering the other. Jane didn''t even realize that she countered the man''s spell without thinking; it was just a defensive automatic reaction to save her from potential damage. This was all the proof she needed. She was just now attacked by a malicious mage, something a guard or a Leray Agent would never do!
Realizing that the girl was a magic user herself who had also just resisted his every command, the criminal swerved his entire arm around to stretch, preparing to get physical. "That''s it. You know too much already, and now you''re worm food. Come here girl!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Battle of BRS ~ Ryo (´¿ÒôÀÖ)
The man with a glowing magical aura started approaching Jane on foot, which caused Jane to back step slightly. Normally, she would just draw her daggers and fight back, but the instant memory of her cursed magic effects still haunted her even in this moment. If she went up against a powerful criminal with her endurance being throttled so low, it could lead to things worse than passing out. The very thought of it had Jane trembling in panic. There wasn''t anything else to do but run away. Danny and Taylor aren''t in her sights, and neither are any official Leray agents. The last one could end up anywhere after being teleported away like that.
In one swift motion, Jane shrieked her voice and dashed off to the west to try and escape, realizing that this only made the guy after her try to keep up with her pace, desiring to capture her and keep his activities quiet.
Very shortly after both of them took off in a spring, the mage behind Jane launched another magical attack so quickly, and Jane was forced to turn around and stop momentarily to defend herself. "Whirlwind!" The guy shouted the spell name at the top of his voice, unleashing Leray magic to generate a powerful force of swirling wind elemental magic that would damage and cut Jane up if it swallowed her. The visible tornado quickly zoomed in on Jane''s physical location, but she already charged up some of her energy as well.
"Earth Glave!" Jane''s brown glowing hands allowed her stored energy to release magic of her own, causing the sand in the ground to shoot up with boulders. Because of the sand''s light weight, it wasn''t enough to stop the movement of the Whirlwind, only enough to slow it down with the weight and gravity of adding shooting boulders to the mix. In failing to dissipate the enemy spell, Jane turned around again to get as far away as possible, plotting where she could possibly go or hide from here!
"Come back here!" The mage charged on foot towards Jane, dispersing his own Whirlwind since it wasn''t going to be half as quick as the brat could run. He was speedy on foot too, keeping up in distance to the troubled girl. It would be too troublesome should she escape into the crowd, or find a Leray agent capable of interrupting his task. He was supposed to be guarding the entrance to the facility during the operation, but at least this way, he could become a diversion to buy more time.
Danger! This guy is danger! There wasn''t any more time to think about it. Jane sped her pace up further by going into a full sprint, nearly panicked herself into a heart attack when an Ice Bolt and Electro-Ball projectile whizzed right by the side of her face, missing her by an inch or less. Jane kept running; it was all she knew she could do. To her left were just more structures, but this guy wanted her on a platter. Jane knew she wouldn''t win against someone alone, not with her current luck. To her right, the only accessible area was one of the open docks. Though it seemed prone to trap someone there, there were two small boats stationed behind one of the smaller ledges, the vessels one large and one small. It''s not a great idea, but right now, Jane had no choice being so far from the unaware populous.
Jane shifted in her feet to change her direction, almost slipping her shoes into the sand. She didn''t even keep her eyes behind her, afraid of what that may reveal. As she dashed ever closer to the docks, she made out at least one person there, but he was obviously one of the sailors or maintenance crew working on the boats. He couldn''t help her if she wanted him to. Now that she was going this way, the only remaining path to get out of here were the open waters ahead.
Jane wanted to scream in front of her, instructing the guy to start the boat, but she knew it wouldn''t work. She would have to borrow one of these things momentarily. As for the enemy behind her... Jane risked a glance to her rear, realizing that the hostile mage caught up to her a bit more than before. He would be on top of her before she could even climb inside one of those water vehicles. "Stop it!" Since she was already about to step onto the wooden bridge connecting the sand to the docking station of the vehicles, Jane decided to try one more trick right before crossing over, turning around and slowing her pace to give her focus while more MP energy channeled from her hands. "Fire Wall!"
Jane unleashed another magical spell right as she waved her arm from right to left. The ground two feet in front of her suddenly ignited into a high wall of magical fire that burned heat in all directions that could be felt as soon as the spell cast began. The wall of fire spanned a length left to right by a massive radius of thirty meters, and it worked really well to force her follower to stop dead in his tracks. It would defiantly hurt him and slow him down just to walk through the flames, but the light from the massive fire wall suddenly existing also attracted a ton of attention from the people all around her. Jane could see the less detailed faces now directed towards her from the beach, while the sailor behind her began cursing to figure out what the commotion was about.
"What are you doing? Nobody''s allowed to battle on the docks!"
Satisfied for the moment, Jane turned around again towards the open ocean, and dashed for one of the smaller units since it would be faster to start up. The boat in front of her was built more like a small raft, the material made of ordinary steal surrounded underneath by rubber supports and a small motor attached to the back of the ride to provide electrical energy and speed powered by the battery units. It would have to do for now, since Jane''s Fire Wall spell would fade away in the next two seconds.
"Stop! You can''t climb in there!"
Jane glanced behind her after climbing into the vehicle to see that the guy in charge of the docks was approaching her, obviously unaware of the real danger behind him. Even if he does think Jane is stealing a raft, it didn''t matter now, since the Fire Wall suddenly stopped. The mage was still waiting to get closer.
Jane focused on getting the hell out of here, the further the better. By unhooking the line that connected the back of the vessel to the docking port, she would be able to leave. She then rushed to the front control panel that powers and navigates the entire ship, pressing on the ignition switch to power the entire machine. The roar of the sputtering engine came to life, blowing low bass noise back behind her. Jane still didn''t understand any of the other controls or switches on the panel, since she never had to drive these things before, but the lever in front of her was the obvious thrust mechanism, and she went for that first before it was too late. Luckily for her, the boat''s gear was already set into drive and not neutral. By slamming the lever down in forward position all the way, the speedy vessel spun the motor behind Jane and propelled the metal through the water at an intense speed of acceleration. This put her out of immediate danger, as she was now too far from the docks for anyone to jump in and commandeer her newly claimed vessel.
The moment playing out before her was unbelievable, everything happening so fast. The force of acceleration against Jane made it difficult to stand and keep her balance, but Jane couldn''t think about anything else. All she had to do was to get away. Get away as fast as she possibly can! Now the motorized vehicle was doing its job. The engine became louder, and the boat tilted backwards as the propeller below pushed it forward further out to sea. Jane glanced behind her again.
There he was, the man who violently attacked her in the middle of daylight as if he was perfectly allowed to harm anyone. He stood at the edge of the pier staring her down in defeat, but he wasn''t doing anything about it. He could have taken another clear shot, disable the vehicle and try to sink Jane in it. But he did nothing instead, standing beside the sailor who was already in shock. It allowed the guy to remain inconspicuous even as he was. Is he trying to remain covert at the same time, or pretend like Jane herself was the wrongdoer? Whatever the case was now, she had just stolen a small ship. It''s only sizable to fit maybe four or five people on board, but it still seemed expensive based on the digital equipment the vessel packed.
Chapter Theme Shift: Oath Brand ~ FFXIII-2
As Jane kept soaring far away from the beach at top speed, she realized something. The immediate danger was now over with. For some reason, her attacker wasn''t doing anything now. What was he up to though? It was enough to get her into some kind of trouble. That guy''s reputation is still technically clear, and as far as the port guards are concerned, he could have just claimed to have been chasing a known thief. Jane realized she could return back to shore soon, but then what? What if that man is still pretending to work there? He could now make up any terrible story he wanted to regarding Jane, make it seem like she was a crazy thief that must be stopped. What about Danny and Taylor? Where were they in all of this? Oh, what did it matter? Jane''s broken endurance would keep her at a disadvantage in any situation, even for an emergency moment.
*Beep! Beep!*
Jane was drawn to the control panel behind her after it just made noise. Lights were flashing in places they were not before, and the boat''s motor was also slowing down, letting off on the gas automatically. Something had just gone wrong. Jane tried to take a closer look, but it was no use. So many buttons, lights, controls... She never drove a vehicle like this before, let alone learned what all of this means. Most sea vessels these days are computerized, designed to make maintaining the system easier and detect early on problems.
Jane had no intention of stealing this thing. She wanted to give it back, the sooner the better. The only other way to steer this boat is to use one of the more easily understood controls. The panel seems to allow control over manual steering through the left and right arrows and their power levels. Jane tried touching them, but they weren''t responding. Were they even buttons? "What''s wrong with this thing?" she panicked. The ship navigations were out of control, and the beeping lights were indication of some kind of technical problem.
The controls were not responding to a single thing Jane was doing. The lever that controls the speed and power of the primary motor was not very responsive either, now that she experimented with that mechanism. It didn''t change except for turning off at zero percent power. Jane cranked it up again, but the engine was barely making any noise. It seemed to keep on propelling forward, but at a very slow speed. At that, the vessel was just drifting on the water. Where''s a lifeguard when you need one?
Jane turned around again, noticing how far away the shore of the beach was getting from her position. Her boat traveled so far in just short of time, and now she couldn''t even control the thing. "Hey!" Jane jumped up and waved both of her arms high into the air. "Need help!" There was no way anybody would hear her this far away, but maybe that commotion got people''s attention. Jane suddenly lost her balance with a few rocks and bumps in the water, falling down on her butt. The motor finally came to a full stop, and the boat was somehow steering on its own. Jane didn''t understand, and tried to mess with the controls again. That''s when the whole board lit up, shooting sparks and blowing fuses left and right. Was this thing down for maintenance or something? The brightness of the sparks exploding in front of her forced Jane to shield her face in the scare. It lasted for a long time too, until one final blast to the circuit board lit up the area entirely.
Unbelievable! The board blew all its fuses - right in front of her! If there was any hope of controlling this thing, it was all gone now. Jane sat down, afraid and defeated by this tragedy. Her boat might not be driving itself forward, but she was still moving. The currents out here were finally strong enough to cause the thing to steer all on its own, and rock through the upsetting waves. She knew already that Jane had accidentally piloted the vessel far past the buoys of warning, which means the oceanic waves and currents here will affect the area now. Jane was drifting further away from the beach, and she knew it as well. And why? All in a panic to run, because she was just too weak to fend for herself in a single battle.
Minutes passed silently. The thought of Danny and Taylor went into her mind. Wonder what they are thinking after witnessing a scene like that. Were they even aware of what just happened to her? Someone was taking over the lighthouse, and someone wanted her silenced now. Did she witness something nobody was supposed to? "What happened back there?!" She flustered.
Jane crouched down, holding her knees in fear. She was all on her own right now, on a drifting hunk of junk that doesn''t even have any control of itself. What were they thinking? What was she thinking before, taking off on a boat like this? She should have just ran to the nearest lifeguard and asked for help... But no. That wouldn''t work. Lifeguards are not trained Leray guardians. They can''t fend for themselves either with regards to Leray magic.
Great! Stuck out at sea and hopeless. This was all because Jane was a coward for one moment... No. Jane realized something. She had just learned about the nature of her most recent troubles, the reason she was so physically weak in battle. It was all thanks to this stupid curse. Now it made her weak when it counts the most, and that is why she ran away. If she had not been afflicted with this nonsense, things would have gone better than they did back then. Now she''s lost. Where will the ocean try to take her?
The silence grew, the sea expanding. For as crazy as it seemed, the shore became completely invisible as a light fog roamed inward from the sky. The winds were picking up as well, bringing about much cooler air than before. Even if her boat does return to land, there are only two places it can take her. Back to Tilsit Dock, or if luck is ever on her side, all the way to Monoc Port, east from here. In this fog, east could be anywhere, and if her vessel crashed on one of the uninhabitable islands, it''s game over. If she drifts into the internal barrier, the rocks will destroy the hull if she drifts too fast.
Jane curiously pulled out her map of Sprawn Valley again, studying the layouts of the Junon region. It was actually close to Tilsit Port, only accessible by means of transportation similar to her own, but she would have to drift there. Luckily, the currents in this place favor heading east during night time. It wasn''t that time of day now, but it will be soon...
"Junon." Jane repeated. There, she will be able to get off at Monoc Port, and travel all the way to the Outback wild lands. If she can make it there and reverse her cursed spell bomb, she will become strong and healthy again. In doing so, she could find Danny and Taylor once again, and take care of her problems without any fear. They are not going to like that plan though. Jane knows it. If she could make it to Monoc Port alive, then she could legally take transportation there back to Tilsit Beach, finding Taylor and Danny as well, but if she goes back before resolving the endurance problem, there''s no telling what she might run into. That evil man could have captured them, attacking everyone on the beach. Or maybe he had cleverly ruined her entire reputation, set up a trap just for her should she return there now.
No, that isn''t like either of them. Danny and Taylor are stronger than that, strong enough not to let themselves be used like some tool, or convinced that Jane is some evil thief who made that commotion on the beach. They certainly would never let themselves get captured or injured in whatever that mess was back there. In fact, if she were to stay here in Junon just for a while, Danny and Taylor would follow in her footsteps without hesitation. Even without needing a single hint, they can find her there. ProCom news is sure to report this eventually, and that will allow Jane to decide on what to do.
"It''s decided then," Jane agreed. I''ll go to Junon, since I have no choice. If the news at Monoc Port reports one single casualty without revealing identities, I''ll have to return to Tilsit to make sure they''re okay. But if no injuries are reported, it means Danny and Taylor made it out safe, and I won''t have to worry about them. Still, I need to make it to the Outback swiftly. Without going there, I''ll be at a severe disadvantage. But once I''m done there, I''ll find those two. Something''s happening in Sprawn Valley, and I can''t handle it in this state. They''ll have to get over it when we meet again.
Chapter 14: Amahar Reversal
<01/17/1972 ¨C 19:51 | (Northwest Ocean), Sprawn Valley>
Is she only accepting excuses to run away from home, away from her friends? Jane kept those thoughts far away. She couldn''t afford to think like that; not right now. Several hours passed since the incident happened. Jane was stranded on a small electric boat, void of all working controls and a working motor. The only means it would catch the wind now is with the puny emergency sail from the lower hatch. It didn''t do very much to pick up speed, but the small sail allowed Jane to detect which way the wind was blowing.
Though at this point, she could be drifting anywhere by now. She''ll see land eventually; it will either be the edged cliffs that block entry and exit through the sea, stranding Jane at a void where no one else goes. Or, the winds will conveniently take her all the way to the continent of Junon, exactly where she needed to be.
The sun had long since brushed past the sky, leaving total darkness in its place. Though more clouds rushed in to change the weather, rain did not fall for now. The winds picked up on speed slightly, ever lowering the night''s temperature. Jane had to unpack a second dress sphere just to use as a blanket which would be enough for now. Jane still had her supply sphere, which means she still has all of her belongings. This included food and water, but only for a two day supply, assuming Jane were to ration everything out.
As the long silent moments passed, Jane unloaded the complex thoughts weighing her mind. The first lingering question was: How did this happen? The chaos back on the beach still made little sense in her hindsight. Some random guy pretending to be the staff of the lighthouse suddenly attacked her, without letting up for a moment, and then chased her as she tried to flee. No governing body of authority would ever behave this way. It was obviously because Jane witnessed watching the real agent get teleported away with spacial magic.
Jane couldn''t make sense of the fragment details regarding their identities or their purpose. Jane didn''t recall any specific faction clinging to those red and white robes, nor could she deduce the business of the malicious mage at Tilsit. One mage allowed two more inside, the glint of a fire glyphring she gazed into evident of their hostile intent to breach the lighthouse with force. Her attacker and his helpers have to be part of some criminal organization. Which syndicate were they working for? How many members would they need in order to invade a government facility in broad daylight?
Then there is Danny and Taylor. How will they decide to react once they find Jane? It''s not like she wanted to leave them behind, but losing the ship''s controls like this didn''t give her much of an option. Without a motor to drive, or the digital board to steer, she was in a mess without a way to learn where she was. Jane wanted to take her friends with her though, her thoughts looming around them again and again.
It wasn''t easy to come up with a plan right now. Jane pulled up her map again, realizing how dark it was out here. There wasn''t enough light to go around. The moon was being blocked out by the clouds, darkening the sky to emptiness. Jane could barely see anything in front of her face, so she thought of a plan, some way to create a light artificially. There wasn''t a spell or Leray skill that Jane could think of that would be best used as a lasting source of light, but she didn''t need one anyway. After charging just a small bit of magic into her hands, they began to glow with a bright blue aura. Jane suddenly realized that any official skill designed for her situation wouldn''t matter now. By keeping her hands charged up with a little bit of MP energy, regardless of the attack spell, the charge itself put out some glowing light.
The lighting wasn''t perfect, but it allowed Jane to read her map again. The only real place she could end up is on the edge of Sprawn Valley, or at Monoc Port. Monoc Port serves as the other port that transfers passengers at sea to or from Tilsit dock to Monoc dock, but Monoc Port is also a small town made up of restaurants, shops, and storage facilities. The houses for those people are said to lie northward of the town, but it''s the opposite of Tilsit. Tilsit has a beach. Monoc does not, due to the abnormal landscape there. All that mattered now was for Jane to end up there.
She needed speed, real speed. Even if she couldn''t direct where she was going, heading forward should be enough. Jane glanced around her surroundings. Though it was dark, the clouds above were still somewhat visible, but nothing else was in sight, no land for miles or so it seemed. Despite the fact that it was already dark outside, Jane wasn''t the least bit exhausted or tired. She can''t sleep now. There has to be a way to seek out land.
Jane thought about all of the potential ways there could be to create an artificial engine next, something that could propel the boat forward at a decent velocity. She had no idea which way her vessel was facing, but standing around here won''t help her find out either. She had to think, any ability that can propel something on the water...
"Water!" Jane repeated aloud. The name of that itself stung on the back of her mind. Water type abilities? Jane was out at sea, and the hunk of metal she was standing on was actually quite small. There are not a lot of Leray abilities that deal water elemental damage, or use water for that matter. But there is one; it might just work. It''s a small ability known as Water Blast. Water Blast does no damage in a Leray battle. It''s one of the weakest forms of attacks out there, because the only thing is does is get the opponent soaking wet. In this situation however, it might be useful.
Jane turned to face the back of her ship, standing her feet out carefully. She raised her arm, trying to aim perfectly out from the center of the rear section. Jane aimed out towards the water at the same time, making sure to aim close to her inoperable ship. After charging only about 1% of her MP energy, Jane unleashed the force of her power, creating a bright blue glyphring around her wrist as she fired her spell. "Water Blast!" Jane''s entire hand lit up at the same time, after which a steady stream of water followed. Blasting out of her glyphring and her hand at a really high force, the Water Blast was a lot more of a beam when it took form. The beam was an entire foot wide in diameter, shooting outwards from the back of the boat, and splashing down into the ocean.
Jane kept this up for as long as she could. Water Blast is only meant to last momentarily, but by expending more MP, she could keep it going. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening. Jane stopped using her spell just as the wind began to pick up on the back of her neck. She turned around, checking the small sail. It was hard to tell, but she was defiantly moving. Jane had to consider that her Water Blast was working to propel her ship forward. She turned around and tried to do this once more.
Bit by bit, her ship continued picking up in speed. The Water Blasts in the ocean were providing her ship the force it needed to move. Jane kept it up for as long as she could, but eventually had to slow down. The process was exhausting, draining much of Jane''s MP all the way down to its limits. She had to wait every so often for her MP energy to automatically regenerate. Due to the nature of the time it took in intervals, over three hour passed with nothing new in sights. While she waited, Jane searched for any signs of land.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
After three hours of this repetition, she spotted two locations. Jane activated her supply sphere, pulling out the pair of binoculars she packed with her. The binoculars formed in her hand from a blue essence that was its magically compressed form. Then the supply sphere closed, allowing Jane to use her item. "I never thought I would need these things." Jane packed these only because it was one of her many birthday presents that she obtained when she was just a kid. Keeping something from home to remind her of that situation was something she wanted to take with her. Jane peeked through the optical lenses towards the hunk she saw in the distance, and as the land got closer to her eyes, it only seemed to be a small formation; a delta of shallow land.
Jane looked away from the binoculars in regret. That''s not going to work. It''s not the land she is looking for. Jane tried once more to pan around, and then she discovered a much larger piece of land in another direction. It was so wide, hard to believe that it was part of the boarder or a mere delta. Jane couldn''t be sure if this was Monoc Port, but she has the means of directional travel as soon as her energy recovers. It might be land, or it might be deserted terrain, but for Jane, this is all she can hope for in the meantime.
Chapter Theme Shift: Infiltration ~ FFXIII-3 OST
After Jane continued using Water Blast at the back of her small ship, she managed to get much closer to the larger island up ahead by aiming her beam in different directions, letting on and off of her magic as if it were a throttle. Despite the total darkness outside, it became much more visible with the lights nearby the land, thus the size was clearer to her by now with the distance reduced. This wasn''t any ordinary island or delta. Jane must have made it to a place with living people behind the cliff, equipped with working electricity. As she drew closer, sections of the tiny shore line became more noticeable due to the sudden appearance of yellow electrical lamp posts. The lights were coming from electrical street lights, shining all over the town and the port. It had taken over three hours, but finally there was a change in her hopes.
Jane managed to get a lucky break. This happened to be Monoc Port after all. For what else could the place be? It took forever to get from Tilsit to this place, after using the ocean''s currents and Water Blasts to travel. A fully mechanized motor vehicle built for the sea... Right now it was nothing but a silver plank with mangled circuitry. Jane had to be careful while steering, navigating to the docks of Monoc Port, trying desperately to park her boat there and catch her break on land. It was hard without any digital controls and little field of view available. Her MP energy was far down the level once again. Water Blast isn''t meant to be used like this, but there wasn''t any other way to move or steer the ship.
Jane stood up on her boat too, keeping her balance while getting much closer to the docks. There wasn''t very much traffic around the port right now, but there were plenty of other larger ships docked at the bay. One of the lamp posts was set up directly on the docks to make such details more noticeable. A few people were standing watch on the wooden docking structure, checking cargo and watching for new arrivals. They must work here as watchmen; people assigned to docks to check on ships incoming or outgoing. They act as security and maintenance crew while inspecting cargo. One of the guys up there managed to spot Jane, just as she managed to pull her ride into the towing section.
An empty slot had her name on it, even though she was clearly not authorized to use that station. It didn''t matter now, because this was finally her big break. After slamming the ride into the station with no way to use a breaking system, Jane had to pick herself back up quickly, or else be jettisoned back out to sea from the force feedback. Jane used the rope below her to try and tie it to the dock quickly, giving her right hand and energy rest. When the ship bumped into the edge of the wood a second time, it made things harder for her, but Jane finally got the rope casted and knotted in place. As her ship steadied, the man who saw her earlier approached with help.
"Hey! What are ya doing? You''re not supposed to dock here!"
Jane carefully stepped out of the boat. The man above her expressed his concerns, but he held out a hand to help her up. Jane got everything on her out of the boat, making sure everything was in place, but now she had to deal with the watchmen. "I-I''m sorry. I had no choice."
The girl seemed exhausted physically, her stance slumping down as if she had suffered a major ordeal. How long was this person at sea? And why did she dock without the navigation system? "I thought so without any power," he expressed. Her boat must have run out of juice on the way here. After glancing around, the other workers grew curious, but as much as this situation appeared to be, this ordeal would be easy to wrap up. He just needs to get her into town. "So what happened? Come with me and explain please."
The man began to back away, letting his helpers lead the way further into the town while the others made sure the new boat was secured. Despite noticing how illegal Jane''s docking sequence was, it was very evident that she had done so after some sort of emergency at sea. The path between the docks and the town of Monoc Port was still a good distance away, but Jane followed alongside the crew manager who helped her climb onto the pier. The lights around here did well to light up everyone''s faces. Jane was a stranger to these people, and she knew it was their job to ask her these kinds of things especially given the circumstances. "My name''s Jane. And that piece of scrap back there saved my life, well, what''s left of it."
"Problems with the controls?" The man grunted. It must be usual for people to not know the controls of certain ships. Jane isn''t supposed to be driving that thing alone anyway. Everybody is required to have an official sailor to drive the ship, with the others as passengers. The only exceptions go to those who get their own boating license, which is rumored to be difficult. "Name''s Dennis."
Jane glanced at his face. He was at least thirty-four years old, and judging by that beard, he must work here a lot. Everybody seemed calm, despite having Jane to ask all of these questions. As a result, Jane sighed in relief, feeling much more at home. She knew it was because the immediate danger at Tilsit had passed, and the threat of dying at sea was gone as well, but it also brings to light one detail; the people here must still have no clue what is going on at Tilsit Port. "I guess it must have needed maintenance. The controls are gone now, not that it worked for me anyway."
"You come all the way from Tilsit?" one of the members asked. Dennis wasn''t walking Jane alone, some of his helpers were with him for support, not that it was needed right now.
Jane didn''t really know any of these men, but they seemed trustworthy for now. "Yeah. I didn''t mean to leave there either. Coming here was sort of an accident, but at least I''m safe now."
"I think I get," Dennis concluded. "You got lost at sea, and parked anywhere you could find."
"That''s right," Jane confirmed.
Dennis slowed down mid-way, thinking in question. "If that''s true, how did you end up here without a motor? How many days have you been out there?"
Jane didn''t need to be embarrassed about her style. She was actually proud of coming up with the plan to move her vessel. "I used the power of constant Water Blast spells, propelling myself with magic instead. It was exhausting though."
"Interesting," the crew responded. "Never thought about using Water Blast like that to move around. It would never work on a larger vessel."
Jane got over herself quick to discuss the more pressing issue, or at least plant it into their minds. "I must have access to a phone, and you may want to personally check into the commotion that happened at Tilsit as well. I don''t know much about it myself, but..." Jane let her words die in the air. She had not thought of the possibility until now, one where she could end up getting blamed for stealing that boat in the first place. Then again, someone had to know the real truth by now.
Dennis and his men finally made it off of the dock, and the ground below them became grass and dirt again. A multitude of structures and warehouses were in front of them now, including a ton of people walking by in the night. "This is the town in Monoc Port. They have a medical facility here and a small inn. I suggest you use one of them to call home."
Jane stepped forward, taking in the sight of Monoc Town. It was almost different from Tilsit in every way but one. The town still has its fair share of shops, Leray stores, storage structures, a bunker house, a medical facility, an inn, and a wide gravel road at the far opposite end of the town. The traffic of people during night, though unusual for her seemed normal to the town. She turned around, bowing to the watchmen now behind her. "Thank you. I''ll sort things out from here."
Dennis nodded and waved goodbye. "Alright then. Take care, and return to me if you have any questions." He then turned to face his assistants, signaling to return back to the docks. "Come on. We still have pods E and C to check, plus the manifest build." Dennis then took off with his men. He would have to take the broken vessel out of the water so that the docking bay would become free again.
Jane thought it was a little strange for people to randomly lend her a hand only to leave her be afterwards, but she welcomed it as well after what happened on Tilsit. People in Sprawn Valley are like this all the time though, always nice, always willing to lend a hand. So then who were those crooks at Tilsit? Jane shook her head. Things needed to be taken care of first. Other than her new mission to reverse her permanent spell bomb, she needed to know the reference of where she was, and what to do next.
Chapter 15: Den of Purity
<01/17/1972 ¨C 23:17 | Monoc Port, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
There was much of the town to explore, but Jane stopped at their medical facility first. The class of the facility was only slightly better than the one from her home town, but it didn''t matter right now. The first thing Jane did was get permission to make a phone call to the Tilsit Port official. If Taylor or Danny had any luck, they would have realized that the best thing for them was to stay there and wait. Jane called the phone, asking about her two friends, but the person on the other line told Jane that no such people have been asking about her, at least not at their facility.
Jane had to hang up of course, but there was no way those two would just give up and forget about her. They must be asking locals on the beach, even right now at this hour. Somebody will pick up on the fact that she is missing. Jane quickly turned on the available television set, tuning the channel to ProCom news. Well after the short commercial ended, the station while reporting certain normal events in Eldora City did not report a thing about Tilsit Port. Did the news outlets not care anymore about the stuff going on? Maybe nobody knows yet that people were coming and going from the lighthouse structure. As far as Danny and Taylor may know, Jane simply went missing. As for the port officials, agents would have to already be flooding that structure by now. But who were those men? What were they after?
Jane needed a better plan, so she pulled up her map again, using all of the light to read the rest of the stuff. The local map of Junon is very large. That''s because there is a lot of land and a lot of places to explore for that reason. One of the staff from the docks gave her this local map too; this was all very new to her in theory. It was clear enough to Jane that even given the little information, her friends had to be safe back there. If civilian casualties were reported in that strange incident, the news would be required to report that, else be permanently cut from the air. Though, nobody can kill people using magic anyway... Jane shook her thought again to prioritize. She can''t help anyone in this state. There is still the matter of reversing her spell bomb effects using the Den of Purity.
Jane scanned her map up and down. She began to trace her own location here at Monoc Port. This paper contains no detailed local maps of any place in Junon, rather just a zoomed out view of the entire regional area, giving her a mild disadvantage just being here already. The gravel road that starts in town is the path that leads east out of the town. The route is known as Route 96, a long nine mile road that goes all the way to Lennith City without any detours. It''s a narrow path with nothing around it but thin untamed flatlands. Yet people still walk that road back and forth, or at most they use bikes. Jane didn''t have a bike though, so walking will be a pain. She was getting exhausted too by now.
It''s decided, Jane thought to herself. I''ll sleep here tonight, train tomorrow, and head out on the same day. Jane studied the map some more. Only north from Monoc Port is a connected residential town called Bae-Mheden, connected by the short Route 6-BM. From Lennith City, there are a lot of other detours to head to. Lennith City has a route connecting to Eldora City, which then has a town south of Eldora called Cheyenne. Lennith then has a few small settlements southward including Delbrion Town, and a large mountain near the end of it; the Skar Mountains. Northward from Lennith City is a short path leading directly into the wild lands of the Outback, Jane''s destination. The Den of Purity was marked on the map too, but it''s all the way north from the Outback, and to put into perspective, it''s the longest walk she would need to take.
That means Route 96 is first, then Lennith City, then the Outback, then the Den of Purity. There, the intelligent mage can reverse her permanent spell, the one greatly reducing her overall endurance. But how to get there... Route 96 is said to be teeming with all sorts of Leray wielders, edging for battles against anyone who may cross. It''s been a well-established area where people go to find challenges, using roads more often than cities and towns. Jane can''t afford to go there unprepared. Sure, she could just turn everybody down, but then her license would become suspended, and that would make battling so much harder. It defeats the entire purpose of making it to the Den of Purity to have a suspended license. If she just calls in an emergency situation...
No way! I have to win those battles tomorrow. I need to find a way to win them all, even just to get to the Outback. Jane needed a better plan than the one she had now. She already planned to train a bit harder tomorrow, but the thought of losing brought back her previous battles. Everybody that she battled against used all sorts of skills that she had never seen before. Jane learned a lot from her training facility, but it obviously wasn''t enough. "I''ll need a list of all sorts of new spells, new skills, and new ideas. And I''ll need a better outfit too." Jane would have to visit the Leray store in town tomorrow too, but buying things would be more challenging.
"Pardon?"
Jane was nearly startled by the facility''s nurse at the desk. Jane didn''t realize that she was talking out loud just a moment ago. "Ah¡ªnothing," she blushed. "I''ll take that room you have though." Jane could not afford a better room with a comfortable bed. It''s not as if the medical facility in Fronas was lacking in those either, but it was far from the same thing with their budget. In Monoc Port, only the most basic rooms are free of charge.
"E-8," the nurse called. "Don''t forget which one''s yours." Despite having inns or hotels, people often use the available rooms of stay in medical facilities, knowing they come dirt-cheap, but they''re still designed for injured patients in recovery. People don''t normally sustain such injuries anymore though.
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Jane nodded, and then headed back outside. She wasn''t ready to just go to bed and fall asleep yet. With so much going on, who could? After stepping back outside, Jane noticed something different about the sky. The clouds that mostly covered it were already wiped away, only leaving behind traces of a tiny storm cloud. The air and ground were dry, so it didn''t rain, but the opening in the sky also left the sight of millions of shining stars, including the bright full moon.
Jane became captivated by the view above her the moment its light touched her eyes. It was enough to whip her mind into a frenzy of thoughts. The glowing of the moon above her gave Jane a strange feeling, but one that was oddly familiar. Moon power. Jane thought about the moon some more, with the added memories and lessons she learned about the solar object.
The history of Leray magic begins there, up in outer space. The moonlight is all powerful, sending rays of special light and reflected solar energy to the earth below. One would think that Leray energy could come from any reflected solar light, but it doesn''t work that way. For some reason, the distance, potion, angle of reflection, and structural density of the moon makes that light bounce special. Sprawn Valley of all places came with a special mountain, the same one far south of Lennith City. This mountain used to be an active volcano in ancient times, but has long since died out. The early inhabitants of the land used the Skar Mountains as a space for their work. Moonlight would be able to directly flow into the depths of the mountain from above, only at certain times of night. The people inside of the structure would learn to harness this light, form and compress the light into specialized crystals utilizing mirror powered technology.
Eventually, the crystal that could contain the energy collected from moonlight were used to learn and develop magical powers. Nobody could use the energy source as it was. Thus, the mages converted that energy into Leray magic, giving much more potential to the people living here. It was then when magical powers were clearly demonstrated for the first time, and everyone has the moon to thank for that. Jane could not explain her sudden obsession with staring at the moon, thinking over and over about its light, but she managed to twist her chain of thoughts back to her strategy to fix her bigger problems. Danny and Taylor will find her, but that will take a lot of time. Instead of returning to Tilsit Port, Jane decided it would be best to head for the Den of Purity now. That way, she will be strong enough to fend for herself should something like this ever happen again. Plus, without removing this spell attached to her, the dream of becoming a Leray master will never happen.
Still, those two are a wonderful pair of friends. Jane remembered a lot regarding how they met and continued to hang out together. She nearly bullied them on the first few days, just to test them and see how they react. Danny was more than willing to prove himself to her, despite having no real Leray powers developed yet. Jane then cut them a deal. She would help train them both to use Leray magic like she can, so long as they help her train in return.
Jane knew that over time, they began bonding even more. There was the time she invited them over to her place for dinner, bonding with her family so well, they were always welcome at her place. After Jane had fallen ill with fevers after taking that spell bomb blast at Blue Port Town, they both took care of her. Jane didn''t remember what happened to her all that well. She was high enough to hallucinate, and still, Taylor was willing to check on her while helping out around the house too. Jane never had friends like them before. Though those two weren''t the only pair she tried to train either.
The thought quickly brought Jane back to another couple. Eliza had specifically asked Jane to help show a different pair of students the ways of Leray magic basics. They succeeded to learn, but failed to stay passionate about it. Because of this, Jane got so angry, yelling and screaming at them was their luckiest time of the day, and it was all because they weren''t too interested anymore in Leray magic.
It was still a mystery why Danny and Taylor were so interested though. They are outsiders, so they''re supposed to be afraid of Leray magic and all of its demonizing effects that outsiders speak of. People who live on the outside world either don''t know about Leray magic, or don''t want any part of it, afraid of what they don''t know. Leray magic isn''t dangerous at all. At least Danny and Taylor figured that out in person, but it still did not explain what they were still doing here. Something strange has been up with those two from the start, and Jane couldn''t drag the truth from either of them.
Even so, they still care about her to an extent, enough to keep searching for where she might have disappeared to. They might not even realize that Jane is the one who took off on a boat to Monoc Port. She was really enroute to nowhere, and somehow got lucky enough to stay here, but now things have changed. With Jane''s endurance permanently cut in half by some sort of Amahar spell bomb prototype, there was no way she could stay here and do nothing. "I''ll train," Jane whispered to herself. "I''ll become just strong enough for the roads ahead of me, and use that to get to the Den of Purity. Then I''ll find you two again, no matter how mad you''ll be at me for leaving."
Things would have been better off if Jane simply refused to use that spell bomb on herself. She thought it would have positive effects, and of course, once someone uses a spell bomb, the object disappears forever, merging with their body. So what better way to keep something hidden and protected if it lives on inside the user?
Obviously it was a mistake. How could she be so blind? To think that she had been right all along, about her failing endurance? That spell bomb had no noticeable effects on Jane, other than damaging her and then making her ill a few days later. It even prevented her from using magic for a short while, but her energy scope never reported of any kinds of change that were actually made from the spell bomb. Then again, normal spell bombs don''t just create symbols larger than anything, only to then drop a dangerous beam of moonlight from the sky. Nothing in the world resembled those flashy fireworks, and that means that this spell bomb is not an exact copy of the Amahar spell bomb. It''s either modified, or it''s a prototype.
But that shouldn''t matter either. The mage at the Den of Purity can reverse all effects, no matter where they come from, and they certainly don''t care enough to judge those who have negative spells or effects in the first place. That''ll be the plan. I''ll sleep tonight. Tomorrow, I''ll learn so many new spells, and then head out on 96 to get to Lennith City. I have to reach the Den of Purity no matter what!
Another thought crossed her mind, but it was a reminder from something she refused to do a few minutes ago; call home. That was the instructions left to her by her parents, and it certainly fit the current time line by now, but Jane couldn''t do it. She couldn''t muster up half the courage it would take to get them involved even in knowing about her bad situation. They''ll just worry until they''re sick to death. Sure, they may worry on the side of her not checking in at all, but it''s still not as intense this way. If Jane tried to call her family right now and pretend that everything was normal, trying to lie her way through it all, she would break down in tears, incapable of facing anyone she loves in this situation, this stupidly impossible situation! On the other hand, she can''t lie to anyone if they aren''t here to see or hear from her. Once this curse gets removed, everything can go back to normal. Everything has to go back to normal!
Jane could think of nothing else right now, but her eyes were getting heavy. It must be midnight by now. Jane had been awake for a long time, and the time to check in finally arrived. It won''t be easy to sleep, but Jane finally understood what she needed to do, the steaks of failure awakening her core more than ever before. Against all odds, she still has a solid plan.
Chapter 16: Armored Shell
<01/18/1972 ¨C 13:00 | Monoc Port, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane woke from her rest as easy as ever, but the unfamiliar surroundings of the Monoc Inn reminded her all of what transpired last night. The absence of Danny and Taylor never seemed as quiet as this moment was now, the solitude growing from before. The thought of returning to Tilsit and asking for help occurred, but she quickly reminded herself what else was at stake. Jane had some doubts about whether heading all the way to the Den of Purity all by herself was the right idea, but it was still her number one option. They may hate her now for trying to go in alone, but they''ll likely hate her even more if she doesn''t fix herself.
After eating breakfast alone in silence, Jane had time to plan out her day. She first needed to do some more exploring of this town, and check out the Leray shop here. Trouble is, she has no more credits to spend, not even just a tiny amount. It wouldn''t be possible to buy anything without money. Getting a job and working here would take far too long for her as well. As of having no current solution to that fact, the depression sank in further. The dream of becoming a Leray master seemed to drift further and further away with each passing moment.
Being poor wasn''t enough to keep her out of the store. There was a grocer, a normal clothing shop, and then the Leray store all close by each other in the middle of the town just east of the docks.
Jane first had to check out the situation by the pier. She didn''t get too close, afraid to speak to Dennis or the others she met last night. It was better not to associate with anyone here right now, and all she was curious about is what happened with that broken down metal raft. They must have cleared it away by now, or at the very least pulled it out from the water. Their many voices could be heard from afar; somebody was giving loud orders just to keep everything on track, and despite being outside right now, Jane found the traffic of other people here less dense than before. Monoc Port isn''t a very big place after all, and the houses all reside on a northern plateau from the central area in town, a few other houses to the south. The layout seemed more random in this regard.
Sentiment Romechest; this is the name of the Leray shop in Monoc town. All of them have that trademark prefix before the individual names. A store that starts with the word Sentiment is directly linked to or deals with Leray related wares. At first glance, it was very similar to the store layout in Blue Port Town as Jane remembered, but after opening the automatic doors to the interior, the design further surprised her. The decorations everywhere were so eye awing. Every shelf, corner, wall, and ceiling had beautiful wall paper paintings attached. Vases full of rare flowers rested on the counter tops, as long strings of jewelry hung from their overhead shelter tops. For a Leray store the same size as a small kind, it was impressively designed and decorated. If they had the money for this, than their items here can''t be all that cheap.
Jane ignored the thought of prices as she slowly waltzed inside. Taking in the sights all around the store, Jane quickly found where they keep the weapons and armor cache. They display items that are available are shown as antiques, storing the real materials in the basement of the shop, but Jane knew she needed something strong, something as tough as an armored shell. She was running low on her med kit orbs. Taylor had been using hers on Jane, but then Jane would give one back to Taylor in return. If Route 96 is like they say it is, it will be fight after fight, and for Jane, everyone would have an unfair advantage over her; that is unless she could find some way to negate the issue... Defense! Jane needed defense!
The corsets and suits were right in front of her now, but something further on the left stood out over the others. A golden price plate decorated the top of the display case, but the suit itself was highly unique. Jane had only heard of these before, sold in some of the most expensive shops in Sprawn Valley. The armor was entirely made out of chrome colored metal, shining through the glass as if it were the real thing right here. Jane read the information below, showing all of the special damage resistance stats for this particular piece of equipment.
Warmonger Armament Mark 2 | Resist Fire +50% | Resist Cold +39% | Resist Electrical -40% | Resist Wind +80% | Resist Piercing +67% | Resist Slashing +80% | Resist Blunting +15% | Speed -30% | Damage Eater
The stats were highly impressive. Though wearing all of that metallic bulk would indefinitely slow a person down, it seems to resist nearly everything, except for blunt damage and electrical damage. Jane couldn''t take her eyes off of the armor set. It comes with armlets and leggings too, not just the vest itself. Still, there were two major factors wrong with this set up.
The first was an added effect to the armor known as Damage Eater. In Leray magical language, this means that over time, the damage absorbed by this armor ends up hurting the outfit itself. If one were to wear this armor out in the field and take extensive damage, their metal suit would chip and crack away slowly over time, or quickly if the battle gets intense. Instead of having an unlimited durability as with most dress spheres, any armor with the Damage Eater status will degrade over time to all natural elements of damage. It''s a waste of money should one buy this and lose it to damage in a battle.
Speaking of money, the price tag seemed to be the second problem. It was way out of Jane''s price range. Technically, everything is out of her price range right now, but the golden plate with the price was the indication that they were not putting this item on clearance today. 7700 Credits! Jane wouldn''t have had that much even if her battles were successful earlier. It was a total outrage! Her only best defense to make it past Route 96 was far out of reach, and there was no way they would lower the price any further. 7700 isn''t actually that bad for this piece of armor. If without the Damage Eater status effect, it would cost ten times as much.
Jane was already upset and ready to leave the store, but then she spotted something else in the corner, a new pair of sharpened daggers. They were priced at 1200 credits, and with good reason. These daggers were bigger than the cheap ones Jane was carrying around all this time. Aside from a larger size set, their magical properties were enhanced, and so was the damage level of the device. Specially crafted during direct infusion of Leray magic under a full moon with an electrolytic charge in each blade, the Rigel Runes will leave no man standing. It would be a dream to have these!
Rigel Runes | Slashing Damage Level: 9 | Piercing Damage Level: 5 | Spirit Damage +5% | MP +10% | Magical Damage +30%
The stats were impressive too, but that was nothing compared to their special effects. The Rigel Runes are infused with special crystal stones that allow the blades to glow in colors of magical auras. Red auras deepen the damage, while green auras deepen a user''s speed. In other words, the daggers glow colors while in use, but just in the slightest luminosity level, and only at the very edge of each blade outline.
Jane backed away with a frown. She could never afford these, and they won''t just let her walk away with them for free. The properties of those items would last for a long time, the daggers especially fitting Jane''s style. All she could do here is stand and stare at her next dream. Becoming a Leray master doesn''t even look easy when things are going well. Jane never wanted this to be easy though. This spell cursing her endurance still tugged at her conscious, the nasty dread of never being strong anymore. Jane became haunted by the very idea, shaking it away in determination with her earlier plan. All she needs to do is reverse the spell. The Den of Purity can do just that.
Defeated by the lack of funds, Jane walked out of the store, the cold breeze brushing her skin once more. The storm that threatened this land yesterday had ended dry. The sun was beaming down from above, but it actually did little this time to warm the place back up; it was still technically winter after all. At any moment, it could go from cold to below freezing; that is if the chilly winds kept blowing around like they were now.
Jane wanted more time to think, and she began by pacing back to the boat she came here on. The docks didn''t deny people from walking their grounds. The guards only raise such concerns at night, to deter smugglers and thieves. So long as people don''t disturb the activities of the inspection teams, the docks are open to the public during daytime. The Bunker House on Monoc Port functions as another form of a light house, only one that is not so tall. It didn''t stand out except during the night, and even then it was no extraordinary light house.
The memories of yesterday flooded Jane''s mind as she continued walking down the docks. There wasn''t any reason why she wanted to return to her boat. It wasn''t even hers, and it was still unusable for now, but it was all she had, the scrap metal and whatever was left in her supply sphere. As she made it to the end of the pier, the small pathetic excuse for a family-sized sea raft sat upright on one of the sectioned spots of the wooden deck. They did take it out of the water, but haven''t decided what to do with it yet. They''re probably trying to identify the owner, though with little luck since the thing has no official ID on the device. The navigation system may have held some of those details, but it was beyond fried anyway. Jane carefully stepped into the vessel, sitting down on its metal floor as she continued to think about what her next move would be.
As the time passed on, it didn''t get any easier. Jane simply let herself get distracted by the environment around her. The docks here were not very busy. Even so, two small ships were sailing out to the ocean. One of them had two entire families on board, likely heading back to Tilsit Port. The other boat was bigger, holding only workers of what Jane didn''t know of. They looked like fishermen, heading out to catch more food for the town.
Jane returned her attention to the family sized ship. If she ever needed to get back to Tilsit Port and find her friends, this would be her quickest chance... Her heart began racing, and she paced the same thought in her mind. Jane couldn''t move, or rather she still didn''t want to go back there, not now. Not like this! After breathing quickly from the near onset of a panic attack, Jane managed to calm herself down with a decision.
Stick to the plan. Jane had been telling herself this all day, but she couldn''t shake this feeling of being helpless. It wasn''t just from yesterday. First, she lost that battle against Jack in Blue Port Town. Then another fight against Selina in Gross City, while being filmed on live television. Then some rookie pulls out area attack spells on the beach and defeats Jane there as well. It isn''t fair! Haley could not have been that strong if she was really telling the truth. Not just anybody can use the spell Mega-Flare; it''s one of the second most powerful abilities ever to be studied in all of Leray magic, the first of course being the spell known as Photon Blast.
The thought of spells and skills returned to Jane again. She still needed to improve. There were various abilities that Jane still didn''t already know, and there were even some abilities she had been practicing on to make work. So far, the existing skillset plan wasn''t in her favor anymore. "But that stops today." Jane stood up, trying her best to psych herself up for one of the most intense training sessions she will ever have in all her life. Everything changes today.
In her haste to get up, Jane''s foot got caught on a handle for one of the bottom hatches underneath. She nearly tripped, but caught herself just before it happened. Jane hunched over, squatting down to check out what snagged her shoe. After getting her foot out of the handle of the lower storage hatch, Jane realized it was unlocked, based on the fact that her force alone slid the lid partway open. The entire time since she departed from Tilsit, the storage hatch had not been locked, even though that was standard protocol for these things. She pulled on the handle, upwards to lift the cap of the hatch off completely. There was something inside, but only one item.
It''s a Leray license! No wait. Jane studied the card closer, and realized that it just looks like a Leray license. Fredric Spence. It''s a license that belongs to some guy, but it''s the license needed to be allowed to maintain vehicles for the ocean. The mechanic for this boat must have left it behind by mistake. Of course now it was further out of reach. Jane''s eyes widened at glance for the fund mapping. The card shows the amount of credits available on the card, just like a Leray license does. This guy was packing on 15,600 credits on one card. All of that money - just left out here.
Jane looked around for any one of the workers. She had to help turn this thing in. The boats departing out have already left, and there was nobody in visual sight right now. Jane knew she could find someone further away though. As she stood up to turn in the missing license, Jane froze.
Fifteen thousand credits! The armor was 7700 and the daggers were 1200. With that much money, and the means to cruise right past 96...
Jane shook her head extensively. "What am I thinking? I can''t just steal a guy''s money to help myself." Jane knew that this was wrong, it was stealing of financial buildup, but the thought of the imagined trip to Lennith City without an item of maintenance bugged her mind once more. It would be physically impossible. Jane would lose every battle at every corner. Getting knocked out like that over and over, it wasn''t something she could just face. This mercenary outfit isn''t terrible for her battle apparel, but it won''t be enough to ward off damage.
On second thought, there really is no other way to get into Lennith like this. Even with that awesome armor and weapon in tow, Jane knew that training like before was an absolute must. It has to be done, and that means loads of credits. Jane stared at the card again, pulling out her own Leray license to compare them side by side. Taking any amount of money was just plain wrong, but it would be even worse to suck the card dry of all funds. Jane needed only about half of the credits stored on here. Even then, if all goes well in the future, she could track this guy down and pay him back.
Jane closed her eyes and shook her head. It was most shameful that she was able to justify stealing money just to reverse her cursed spell. It goes against everything she has been taught, but this curse will only make things far worse for her in the future. Jane could only balance and compare each of her own feelings of guilt for one situation over another, her heart racing in the panic that she knew was wrong. Still... The option is here; she could steal and leave, or head back to Tilsit Port and abandon her dream of becoming a Leray master forever. Regardless, a choice had to be made right now while nobody was watching. Jane confirmed it in her mind, then glanced over all of her surroundings to make sure nobody was present to see her.
Jane then held each license card up together side by side. Once the cards synchronized with each other, small holographic buttons appeared at the top corners of each of them. All of them were green plus signs left to right, with red transference signs below them. The way it works is that Jane needs to press the plus sign over and over with her finger, transferring the credits from the unknown card to her own License. She began with the fourth plus sign from the far right, adding a thousand credits each press. Then she moved on to the third plus sign in the middle, pressing it on her card numerous times. After it was done, Jane had transferred 8900 credits onto her license, draining that much from the other card. The unknown license card now had only 6700 credits left. Jane left it at that amount. At least this way she could still turn it in, and the receiver will still have some money left over. Normally, this kind of transfer would be blocked without the consent of both users, but this functionality only works if the cards are both locked to begin with. Leray wielder licenses are locked by default, but this fisherman must keep his unlocked since his job deals in a lot of trading frequently.
Jane sighed heavily. The guilt will be something she would have to face later. The choice has already been made. After she unsynchronized the cards, the tiny holographic buttons faded away. The transfer would become virtually untraceable. Besides the locks on cards, there still isn''t all that much financial security built into license cards should they end up in another person''s hands. That''s why losing an unlocked license would be very bad. Anybody could just walk up and steal someone''s card if they''re unconscious and alone. Others prefer to install tracking devices to their licenses, and some people prefer to obtain multiple licenses, storing funds equally among multiple cards. There wasn''t much out there to prevent physical theft of licenses. That''s why it''s important not to lose one. The owner would be wanting this back for sure, even if it had been drained of half its funds.
Jane found the crew at the other end of the docks to turn in the missing license she had just discovered. She couldn''t bring herself to share with the man that she took money off the card, for any reason at all. The guy was surprised though. Not many people turn in lost licenses with that much money still on them. Jane knew she was only doing this much to keep the suspicion of theft off of her, since her name is linked to this raft already. The worker on staff made his promise to contact the personnel on the beach and track down the man who lost his card.
Jane then left the port to do as she chose to do earlier. It''s time to head back to Sentiment Romechest and get that armor. There is no other way to boost a failing defense, not like a thick coat of metal. After turning that card in, it''s too late to turn back and come clean.
Now with 8900 credits on her card, Jane entered the building, heading straight for the section she was at earlier. She could not merely pick up the armor or the daggers from where they rested, as they weren''t the real products anyway. Jane would need to add in the item number to her list at the register, but there was one more hunk she needed to add to her cart. Healing Orbs. Jane was down to the very last one. Six more of them should do the trick for now. They weren''t that expensive here, only adding up to 95 credits for six. Though they were the generic version too, healing people at slower rates than normally. Jane didn''t care about rates. Her funds were still about 100 credits short.
After adding six healing orbs into her bag, Jane headed for the register. There were two people working there, but the other woman was busy with a customer on the other end. The male worker had to help Jane out.
"Good day," he greeted. The man opened up the bag that Jane set on the counter, counting the orbs and checking the types. He confirmed the total payout rather quickly. "Okay, that will be 95."
Jane wasn''t finished just yet. She had a sheet of paper where she wrote down the item number of her armor and daggers she wanted to get. "I still want to get two more things. Armaments." Jane held the paper up to the guy.
He took the note and read the number ids to himself. In most Leray stores, workers have to remember prices and item ids for everything. It can be a pain sometimes, but it wasn''t anything this man couldn''t handle. "I see. You want the heavy armor and Rigel daggers. I''ll go and get them for you. It will ring up for a total of eight thousand nine hundred ninety-five."
Jane opened her mouth to try and talk that price down just a smidge, but the man already left to obtain the items from storage. Jane knew that it wasn''t easy to try and bargain stores down for prices, but it did happen sometimes. Since Jane only needed to go down on the armor by 100 credits, she knew it wouldn''t be all that hard.
The clerk came back with two large sealed boxes, drawing attention to himself and his customer. Large armor and big weapons are specialty items, so it''s rare to have them in stock, just as it is to have a customer who can afford such equipment. "Here we are."
Jane hunched over the counter slightly, trying not to speak too loudly. "Say, you think I can get a onetime discount?"
The clerk folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head slightly, carrying an expression of disgust. "And why would I do that?"
Already did she realize this wasn''t going to be an easy matter. Jane pointed to the larger box with the armor contained inside of it as she replied. "I only need a hundred down on the armor. I need it to get to Lennith City."
The guy raised his voice slightly, indicating that he was just making small talk with Jane. "Ah. Lennith City huh? You must be planning to cruise right through 96, right?"
"Uh huh!" Jane did her best to smile, showing her teeth and excitement. Maybe if he thinks she is cute enough, this will work.
Who does this student think she is, asking for bargains in a small store? "It''s a big deal for one route, though I guess you already know that. I must remind you that all sales are final, and that we are not responsible for the loss or theft of this property after it leaves this store." If she really wants to talk him into a discount, there will not be any warranties for such items. Being short only 100 credits was no big deal to the report, and with a smile like that... He glanced down at the box again. "And this particular unit has something known as damage eater."
"I know all about that," Jane claimed. Her armor would fall apart the more damage she took in a long period of time. Though at the same time, it would protect her well as long as she is on Route 96.
The man gave Jane one more serious look. Jane couldn''t tell what he was thinking anymore. After a long awkward stare, he perked up and announced, "That will be Eight thousand eight hundred ninety-five ma''am."
Jane accepted the offer, giving her Leray license to him to transfer the credits. Jane suddenly noticed the people looking at her. They weren''t supposed to overhear anything about lowering the price just this once. It''s a bargaining rule not to let anyone overhear that one customer can get a special deal over a product. Perhaps the shoppers were more shocked at the price in general. It was a lot of credits in just one load. They must be thinking of how successful and powerful Jane is as a Leray wielder right now. If only they knew the truth.
"Here you go. Come back any time."
Jane took back her Leray license. She needed to read her remaining amount one more time. She already knew that this put her grand total amount to just five credits, but it was so hard to believe. Just a second ago, it was in the thousands. Now it was a single digit number. Jane picked up her boxes of stuff, and opened her supply sphere to store it inside. The boxes began glowing blue from the reaction, and thus turned into compressed blue mist as it flowed into the supply sphere itself. Jane then closed her sphere, put away her license, and left the store.
That was it; Jane had done it, spent all of that stolen money on things for herself. It was still wrong, but all purchases were final, so there was no turning back now. After all of that, there was no choice but to immediately get stronger and fly through Route 96.
A lot of time passed after Jane bought her new equipment. The armor wasn''t needed right now, so Jane stuck with the AHB mercenary outfit she still had on. It was cleaner than before after using the ocean''s water to get all the sand off, but as her clothes dried, the stains of dust still burdened the outfit, voiding it of all shines and contrast. Jane instead focused on the bright side to her new knowledge of armor. The metal armor Jane purchased can legally be worn over her mercenary outfit. The effects of damage resistances don''t stack the way most would think, but if anything happens to her armor, she still has her indestructible mercenary outfit to fall back on. All wielders wearing metal armor are supposed to have something on before that layer anyway, to avoid chafing. Plus, with armor using Damage Eater, wearing a dress sphere or a leather outfit was also more of a requirement, since the armor would eventually bust apart during enough time. It''s one of the rare exceptions to Leray magical protection, armor that is infused with magic to block out damage, but takes damage as a result for not being indestructible.
Jane did however decide to bring out her new daggers. They were so awesome! Without even using them as weapons, they display a very faint yet visible glow around each of the edges. As she held them passively in her grasp, the color remained green. The aura color shifts to red when the holder goes into full physical attack mode, increasing the slashing damage even more. The auras are always active too, using their own power supply of spiritual energy, whatever that is supposed to mean. The size of the daggers was three times the size of her original pair. They were impressive in every single way possible, so Jane needed to train with these new daggers extensively.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Seven Kin of Purgatory ~ Yasuharu Takanashi
Alternate Chapter Theme: Anea Landing ~ Ace Combat 6 OST
It began after eating lunch at the medical facility. For most of the entire day, Jane spent hour after hour to develop all sorts of new skills. Some of these new abilities have been on her mind from the very beginning of her training; powers and abilities she had seen before and wanted to repeat for herself. However, she recently learned of other Leray powers from a stationary ability list. She picked out the ones she wanted to learn and went for them all day long.
In the long process of self-improvement, Jane learned that the people on Route 96 were no pushovers. They have abilities that also include ranged attacks, most specifically area attacks. Leray abilities can take many different attack forms, but the abilities that rank much higher on the power level usually have the form of an area attack. Area attacks are magical abilities that hit the entire field of battle instead of a single concentrated area. This way, the opponent has no chance of dodging the attack, while the high power level makes these spells devastating. Mega-Flare is a good example of an area attack. It cannot be dodged no matter what, and that makes it powerful. However, area attacks also have the tendency of draining an incredible amount of MP energy in the invocation. They have to be used in moderation, otherwise the user will run out of MP near the start of battle. To further add to the difficulty for the user, invoking higher power level spells also means longer invocation charge up time.
In trying to develop many counter-skills, Jane spent hours upon hours in that same spot, a bit away from town northeast in unused flat land, though still in plain sight from the central area and the exit to Route 96. She had created a long lasting Siriean dome around herself to protect the village from any potential accidents in her own training. Such a dome shield is possible to create for this specific purpose, though difficult to learn how to activate in itself. Jane had to be mindful too, since self-generated Siriean domes do not stop people from coming or leaving the shield. As soon as the sun was beginning to set, Jane reviewed all of her progress from the beginning.
It was nearly nightfall by the time Jane began to review her new powers. After nearly eight hours in the day, she had practiced vigorously all in the name of making it to the Den of Purity unhindered. While the eight hours of constant training wore her down, she managed a constant struggle of determination to continue going anyway. With every new spell she learned, Jane became more inclined to continue learning additional spells that were previously unusable to her list of available spells. Jane was quite surprised that she had so much success in such little time. Eight hours is usually enough to learn about four new spells or skills, but Jane had picked up on ten!
Jane wasn''t too certain if her motivations were as she thought they were. As soon as the moon came out, all of Jane''s thoughts fixated on the elements of the night itself, the power of the moon, and the pure energy flowing through her body throughout her continued training efforts. This mysterious otherworldly forced combined with her deepest determination, fixating her efforts while amplifying her addiction to this energy. The elements of the night light above and Jane''s MP energy started to become one, until unleashing these powers was all Jane could think about.
While standing center in the dome, Jane continued cycling through her new abilities randomly, but in methods meant for gradual refinement. The people passing by outside were stopping momentarily to watch, curious about the nature of her training. With plenty of MP energy restored after a ten minute wait, Jane started with a new ability that she learned by herself.
"Knight Dance!" Jane began with a sharp inhale after her chant, and led her body into another familiar combination of close combat attack patterns, though her style this time was changed. Jane mixed up her speed and coordination with her punches and kicks, reducing the amount of times she randomly dodged imaginary attacks. There was no target in the ring with her; this was just practice. As Jane was punching and kicking into the open air, her fists and shoes lit up with a blue glow of auras evanescently. Jane then pulled out her new pair of daggers from the side pockets of her mercenary outfit, using them to slash into the air. Her daggers were glowing with a blue color as well, deviating from their normal faint aura. This was all happening because Jane was infusing magical energy into her close combat attacks, through every single hit. The energy stored in her hands, feet, and blades is used during impact, transfused by adding non-elemental magical damage to normal physical damage for that property.
Knight Dance is actually the name of an official skill, though its actual form and style deviate for each person, with a power level of five on average. Jane''s close combat technique could now do much more damage with magical infusion boosting all of her power in the same form. Jane only let this magical energy flux at the end of every moment her fits, daggers, or kicks were about to hit the imaginary target she attacked; the glowing auras only appeared and faded shortly during the very moment the imaginary impact would occur. This conserved much more of her energy than it normally would in the official description of the ability, but it also made her combination a bit slower than average, since it required so such concentration. Even so, the combination ended up drawing away about seven percent MP energy after unleashing about ten hits.
Jane decided that her Knight Dance was well refined already. Now it was time to test the next one. Keeping her daggers out, Jane carefully aimed in front of her. Her attack would end up slamming into the edge of the dome shield, but it didn''t matter in the end. This attack required a lot more time to master than she initially realized before. "Drilling Fate!" Jane threw her daggers outward in a cross formation after adding a spinning twisting motion with her arms. The throw caused her daggers to spin in the air while heading forward, but they were also rotating in horizontal circles too. After just another second, the MP energy stored into the blades was released, forcing the daggers to glow with a grey aura while forming a horizontal twister around the diameter of the rotations.
Drilling Fate is the name of this awesome spell. It allows Jane to combine a wind attack spell into a propelled projectile-like attack aura, increasing area of effectiveness by using a horizontal twister as a projectile. The daggers became engulfed in a shroud of visible wind that conned off to point in the travel direction in a horizontal manner, after which they slammed up against the shield ahead of them, canceling the rest of the attack, but Jane knew it was successful. That time it only drained five percent of her total MP amounts, despite the average usage reports. Somehow in her recent training, Jane had unknowingly reduced the magical cost of her usual spells including the new ones she was trying to master. She only took the details into her mind for consideration later, as there was much more work to be done.
Jane''s daggers faded away and then reformed in her side pockets again. Leray magic attaches the main weapons to a character, allowing them to retrieve their weapons by matter transference after skills detach them from the owner. Jane slid out her blades again, preparing for her next ranged attack. The constant training was making her tired, but Jane''s motivation was much greater than her current exhaustion, which allowed her to keep on going.
This time, the ability on her mind reminded Jane once again about the visuals, sensations, and properties of the full moon. In fact, the moon was already beginning to show itself again as the night drew even closer. Jane snapped out of her trance quickly before she was captivated in her thoughts again. This time, she came up with an ability all by herself. After thinking all this time about the moon in its fascinating details, such thoughts gave Jane a great idea for a small yet useful attack spell which used a similar energy formation. The damage potential is quite odd though. Despite dealing non-elemental magical damage, the power level that registers with the energy scope during invocation is quite high. But when the damage itself is measured in real time, the reduction potential is actually much lower. Jane didn''t care to understand the difference, specifically because the spell looks cool and makes an amazing high-pitch beam sound during the cast through her blades. Additionally, Jane has only been able to make this work with the dagger tips as her instrument; nothing else would allow such invocation.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
Jane aimed the end of her daggers in front of her, charging MP energy into the very tips of the blade on the ends. "Mako Beam," she whispered. While thinking about the moonlight again, Jane had to focus on exactly what the ability looked like as it was happening. This allowed the power to fully take form, releasing the energy into the targeted location. The tips of Jane''s daggers began to glow a bright blue, but just for a micro-second. After that, both of the tips shot some sort of beam of light of the same color in the direction Jane was aiming them, all in the same instance. The beam''s diameter was no more than two inches wide, but in the process of using the power, the Mako Beams emanating from the tips of the blades disappeared after just third of a second later. Afterwards, Jane''s suspicions about the consumption was confirmed. It only consumed five percent of her MP. As she planned the process in her own refinement, Jane''s new ability was designed to use less of her own energy, but in return, the damage potential would likely be reduced at the same time. At the very least, this is what Jane was able to measure, since field-testing data was absent in this exercise. Still, evanescent beams such as those are hard to dodge, let alone anticipate. Jane knew it would serve her well in the end.
The attack was over so quickly, it was hard to believe the sequence was less than just a second of time. In battle, many experience a phenomena of time slowing down just a bit. The truth is, reflexes get boosted simply by the will power to win the battle and the slight adrenaline flowing though wielder, and that makes fighting a concentrated effort. Jane put her daggers away for now, she wouldn''t need them for the next spell. After a short breath and a jog of her memory, Jane prepared for a strong release. She knew that this next one was harder to achieve, and though it didn''t take her much time to perfect a spell she already knew how to use half-way, its damage dealing potential really puts stress on a person''s MP levels.
"Crimson Flare!" Jane shouted. The fiery red glyphring formed around her arm as she aimed it outward again. After releasing all of that charged energy, Jane''s glyphring summoned three large crimson spheres of fire and magical elemental magic. The spheres proceeded to float forward, but at a much slower pace than anything exciting. They also had different release angles, as is the original design of the spell itself. The center sphere heads straight. The right one heads northeast and the left one heads northwest in perspective to the user. All this accomplishes the creation of three spheres, forcing the opponent to dodge three large death balls instead of one. Moving out of the way left or right won''t be an easy task if they rush it. The spheres all went on to hit the shield wall, but it took quite some time. Such an attack isn''t that hard to evade with its low speed, though because of its higher MP consumption, the power level (damage potential) ranges much higher should it land.
Jane nodded her head. It was a good spell to learn for practice purposes, but horrible for something to rely on. Jane didn''t let this disappoint her; after all she had learned in just today, there were plenty of more skills to check out. For the next one, Jane had to concentrate and try her best in order to master this spell. Her inspiration for the fiery attack came directly from her previous opponents who beat her with the same spell. Jane threw out her right arm again, forming the glyphring before needing to chant the name of the spell loudly. In between the ability usage, Jane was barely letting up at all, but this strategy seemed to decrease her average invocation time since she was coming up with it on the spot. "Triple Fire!" Jane''s glyphring shot out a single Fire Bolt from the center, which quickly hit the edge of the wall to be absorbed by the energy in the protective shield. Jane needed an extra second to process. That wasn''t right at all! Triple Fire shoots three Fire Bolts from the same glyphring, not just one.
Jane gasped in her reaction after her glyphring faded. She got the spell down just earlier, but she had a trick to making it work she forgot about. It required much more concentration, and was probably something that most wielders don''t do for specific reasons. Needless to say, Jane was barely capable of invoking the spell in her last iteration. This time after forming the glyphring again, Jane chanted the name of the spell while reacting differently. "Tri-Fire!" With the appearance and formation of her fire glyphring, Jane released the first Fire Bolt, but her focus remained on her arm and energy usage. Instead of holding her arm still, she bent back her elbow, curving her arm to the side slightly without tilting or changing the angle of her open palm. This forced the second Fire Bolt through without conflict, but Jane had to bend her elbow the same way one more time, only in the other direction. It sort of looked as if her arm had become a cannon to shoot the Fire Bolts, her wrist swaying left and right from imaginary recoil - slightly backwards to launch the last two bolts of flaming energy. This time, it worked out perfectly. The three Fire Bolts had some distance between each other, though the overall aim wasn''t exact to where the first impact occurred. It was a fresh new spell, so Jane figured it wasn''t going to be perfect for a while.
Jane found herself panting already, but she wasn''t done. Her MP levels were not far down just yet, and the next spell was something she had been working on all day. Whatever force holding her addiction on energy usage ensured Jane kept going despite her physical exhaustions. This time, Jane invoked Magical Blitz. She knew how to use this attack well before, but it was lacking in the speed and power needed to achieve hits and pressure. So this time, after invoking Magical Blitz to form solid blue spheres of plasmatic energy in both of her hands, Jane threw them with much more force than before.
This moment was only the first wave. Jane formed the third energy sphere in her right hand, tossed it up in the air in front of her, and then gave it a nice clean kick with the bottom of her right shoe. At the same time, Jane followed the flow of her body''s curve, spinning herself all the way around. Before she slid on her feet to a full 360o spin, Jane formed the last energy ball into her left hand, throwing it after coming around again. Kicking the third energy sphere and putting the rotating force into the fourth energy ball''s speed doubled their power and potential... There was one problem. At the last second, Jane could tell that the aim of the energy ball that she kicked was way off to the left, and the last one she threw was off to the right just slightly. The aiming problem could not be resolved as quickly, but this new method of using Magical Blitz was a thing Jane quickly became proud of anyway. If the aim were perfected, the overall spell cast would double her damage!
Jane gave herself a two second breather, using that time to think once more about the power of the moonlight. It wasn''t perfectly visible overhead. This was all thanks to the everlasting orange glow of sun rays in the far distance. It wasn''t fully night time yet, but the reliant ability might still work. It was something Jane worked really hard on, but she wasn''t able to tell if it was battle-ready yet. This skill only works at night, and only outdoors as well. Such is the way of an environmental support spell.
"Moonglow!" This is an ability that takes a lot of time to invoke, even after charging and releasing the energy. For Jane, there was no exception to this charging time of five uninterrupted seconds, but it only cost seven percent of MP levels. The spell takes a much longer duration to implement that energy into the atmosphere above the user. This means, the duration happens after the energy is released from the user, not drained over a period of time. This way, the process isn''t interrupted. Weather changing spells only change the weather for a specific radius, though it happens outside of the Siriean dome too. No such spell in the entire world has ever been capable of changing the time of day or warping time forwards or backwards. All of the weather spells can only affect weather and temperature within a full mile radius, while other support spells use such weather to pull specific effects from them.
Jane finally released all of her stored energy, waiting for the spell to take effect. Moonglow is supposed to be a conditional spell that changes the weather to clear if it is not already. Jane knew that everything was fine for now. The weather was already clear to begin with, which wasn''t the point of the spell. The spell can also only be used at night, its effect designed to draw out the light of the moon and amplify its radiance and glow. Even if the moon''s cycle is different, the spell will temporarily change that for the affected field to give the area the status and light of a full moon phase during night time.
It was a rather tranquil fifteen seconds before anything happened after the invocation. Finally, the moon that was already visible above began to gleam in a powerful radiant light, shining a crescent glow all over the place. It had already given off light before, but when Moonglow kicked in, the light provided by the casting beams of the glowing object intensified the field around her, including the area outside. People around were suddenly turning their heads up at the sky, amazed at how incredible the lunar light appeared before them. At least that ability works. In Moonglow alone, the spell doesn''t really do anything for the user or the opponent. There are abilities designed in cooperation to chain more powerful spells, though it would require the successful use of two spells in a row. Moonglow is only the first stage.
Jane surrounded her entire body in a thin blue aura by the buildup of more magical energy. She then imagined the spell working as it should after chanting its name softly. "Moon Shadow." After using her energy, Jane''s body began to glow more brightly in conjunction with the powerful glow of the moon above her, the coloration merging between the infinite spaces. After that, the visibility of her arms vanished before her eyes. Really it was her entire body that vanished. Moon Shadow is a conjunction ability that - when used after Moonglow or during the night time under a natural full moon, renders the entire body fully transparent for an extended duration. If there is any way to get the upper hand in a tough battle, this was Jane''s biggest chance. Of course this meant she would need to depart from Monoc Port tonight.
The effects displayed were incredible! Jane was attracting quite a crowd already just in the process of her training. Her body became totally invisible even to herself, but after touching her hips with her hands, she could still feel her own presence. Jane never got to try this out until just now, failing in her attempts before. It was so weird! It just doesn''t feel natural to have no visual presence of herself. While it made Jane want to shiver from the awkwardness, she soon realized how useful this support spell would be to her, and to think, Moon Shadow can still be used on clear nights with a naturally full moon without using Moonglow!
Jane smiled in her interests, wondering how long this could last. Could she still attack like this too? There was one way to find out. Continuing the training session, Jane tried to perform her next ability while she was still totally invisible. The next attack involved a weapons summoning trick. Jane had to really focus on drawing out the scenario with her mind in order to tell her brain exactly what power to use and how to invoke it. She did it once before, but only after sixty failed attempts. "Bullet Blitz!" Jane needed to use some more of her MP energy. From her perspective, two small yellow glyphrings appeared on each side of her body, putting two sub machine guns into solid pockets of air. Those were Jane''s hands, which she had trouble finding with the use of her eyes trying to catch the small Uzis. But as soon as her grip caught the guns, the small machines suddenly vanished from her view, despite her hands still being attached. The guns turn invisible too! Jane realized that the yellow glyphrings were still visible, and her very presence could still make noise, but this trick even allowed her to hide new weapons and equipment in battles too! Jane had to feel for the weapons and their triggers since she could no longer see it. Being invisible isn''t easy to get used to.
Jane aimed her guns forward and held in the triggers to see how many bullets she could fire from a weapon summon like this. Bullet Blitz is a simple attack spell using two sub machine guns, firing the entire clip in one attack ordinance. Because they are bullets, the damage type is piercing, and therefore low on a scale of damage, but it''s still a good attack to just chain unexpectedly. Because of the mid-ranged accuracy, the area of the attack radius is somewhat widened. Jane''s guns were rather loud while they were shooting like this, and the muzzle flashes of each weapon didn''t hide in her aura of invisibility. It gave Jane''s ears something to ring about after her clips emptied and the guns faded away, while drawing another potential weakness in her own spell. Because those were not her primary weapons, they had to be summoned in order to be used, and they only last temporarily for one attack que. This was the reason the guns disappeared automatically after the magazines emptied. Mildly disappointed, Jane began to realize that there would be certain attacks which would break her invisibility should she use them during Moon Shadow.
Bullets might sound dangerous to some people, but in Sprawn Valley, the damage they do to living creatures is very low from the effects of the Leray protection veil. It''s all similar to a barrage of piercing attacks instead, with no real time damage being scored in response to taking hits from bullets. It doesn''t matter what weapon in used either; it''s all the same here in how the pain and HP loss is distributed. Even if a person were to smuggle a physical machine gun made in a different country, the veil would make the same corrections to the device until it leaves Sprawn Valley again.
Jane became proud and confident from her hard work, but next would come the hardest spell yet, an attack that modifies the normal effects and form of Mega-Flare. Jane was still invisible from before, but she didn''t need to see much of anything to get this one working right. "Median Flare," Jane pronounced with thought. She held off on the charge, trying to prepare her thoughts on the process first. Jane learned that Mega-Flare and Flare can be modified for lower level users. By reducing the overall MP cost, reducing the range of the attack, the effectiveness, and radius, and by changing the form into a directional light screen attack, Median Flare fires the same kind of energy in a focused blast of magic that has less than half the power of a normal Mega-Flare spell. For this reason, its invocation time is much faster, and the ability itself is easier to master in comparison, just as the MP cost is lower.
Jane chanted the name again, "Median Flare!" and focused both of her hands in front of her. Her palms were facing away from each other connected, her right hand in contrast to the formation of her left. Jane released all of that energy, forcing a blast of light brighter than anything forward. Jane still had her eyes open, and watched to see how it went. The light was bright, but the screen aura itself only expanded as wide as 90 degrees, 45 split on each side. The light didn''t even hit the end of the dome around her, meaning the range wasn''t good either, and for all of that, Jane expended sixteen percent of her MP energy. The power of this skill might still be effective though when used at close range. After thinking more on how and when to use Median Flare, Jane suddenly noticed that her entire body returned to its original appearance. No longer transparent, Jane looked above her as well. The moonlight that had been artificially brightened became duller again, but now it was even darker outside. She needed to finish this up fast. There were only a few more new abilities she needed to confirm before it was time to head out. Despite training all day and staying up this late, Jane wasn''t the least bit sleepy. She was however completely exhausted after using magic back to back like this.
"Okay," she spoke aloud. "The armor takes damage too now, so I have to protect it if need be." Jane prepared for this eventuality as well. If her armor becomes destroyed, all she will have left is her red mercenary outfit she was wearing right now. It''s not bad, but it will make her vulnerable on the road. Apparently, there is a rare ability that can temporarily render destructible armor such as this impervious to damage, but it isn''t easy to learn. Jane technically could not get it right before because she wasn''t wearing her metal armor, but as far as the effects go, the aura still works on non-related armored equipment. Mercenary outfits and Leray dress spheres are naturally impervious to damage anyway. If this skill works, the armor that becomes protected is said to have a black and red energy aura around it, one that looks like a trapped shadow.
Jane concentrated once more. It took her nearly forever to remember exactly how to invoke the spell from before, but it wasn''t going to be long now. "Armor Protector!" she hollered. Jane unleashed the magic on herself, creating a dark and cloudy black mist in front of her. At first, Jane thought she messed up, but as the mist shifted in intensity and color, her entire outfit was pulsating with an air like essence of auric infusion and color. It worked! For how long was a mystery. Jane tried once more to disable the ability, which was just as difficult. Armor Protector works differently than most timed spells do. This is because it is not a timed spell. Armor Protector wears off under two conditions. One, the user disables it intentionally. Two, a certain predetermined damage amount has been taken and overpowers the aura. Armor Protector is almost like a type of shield over armor that can break down. After taking a certain amount of damage, the aura then fails, and the ability must be invoked once again to work correctly, but it takes away so much MP energy. It would be best to manage the use of that power when it counts. There is supposedly a different ability with similar properties, though it has the added effect of protecting a suit and the user at the same time; temporary invulnerability. If only Jane knew of a way to harness that power for herself! Armor Protector doesn''t stop damage to her person, even if an attack directly strikes her metal vest in battle. That''s the problem with the spell. Jane focused on turning the ability off for now, but it took three whole tries to shut down the Armor Protector spell. The aura around her clothes disappeared completely.
After that was taken care of, Jane decided to continue with her artificial attacks. Not all spells and abilities are considered to be discovered. Some can be created by reforming the idea of combination spells and skills, and in doing so, Jane came up with a perfect plan. After learning a simple transference spell, Jane had the idea of using that to reappear behind the opponent and then critically slash them with just a single hit of her dagger. Though, Jane felt as though her idea wasn''t all too original given the inspiration from a spell called Shadow Mace, one she took to the back before.
Matter Transference and teleportation are not the same thing in Sprawn Valley. Teleportation spells are vigorously difficult to achieve, let alone using them to get any advantage. They aren''t allowed to be used by civilians anyway, therefore off limits in battles. The main difference is that teleportation is designed for long range relocation. Transference is a means of teleportation at a low cost, but also with a severely limited range. Teleportation could take someone from one side of Sprawn Valley to another, but not outside of the country. There are no abilities in a battle that use teleportation, but since transference is legal for all wielders to use, and has a low range, she might as well use it for battling. If anyone is limited to a battlefield area of a dome shield, transference will allow a heavier conservation of MP energy.
"Dark Strike," Jane recalled. She had decided to make up her own skill and give it a name she could remember. Even if it didn''t matter, making a name for her own spell can still help invoke it correctly by chanting that name early on. Jane had the best plan, but she had to pretend there was a target in front of her to get this visually correct in her mind. Dark Strike. Jane''s method of this attack is to use the power of transference, and teleport right behind her opponent. To the rival, it would appear that Jane turned invisible in an instant, but in reality, she has simply transferred her location without the aid of visual lighting to give it away. Then while she is behind her opponent, Jane will use her dagger and slash upwards. That way, her single hit would achieve the status of an uppercut, launching her opponent into the air while dealing slashing damage. Slashing upward alone would not achieve the force needed to launch someone into the air like that; it would require much more power. So at the same time, Jane will infuse her dagger with magical energy, adding magical damage and kinetic potential to that blade as soon as she strikes it against a target. It was a lot to think about so quickly. Performing the action in one quick sweep was far from easy.
Jane still decided to give it another shot, after failing to use it correctly earlier. She concentrated, expending a lot of energy on the spot. In just a quick moment, Jane''s body disappeared in a beautiful molecular depixilation from top to bottom, then reappeared in the spot she wanted to be in. Then she had to pull out her dagger, infusing it with energy and a red glowing aura before taking her strike. She slashed her right blade upward, leaving her free hand alone, but Jane could tell that the transition was really slow. It took time to infuse enough magical energy into her single blade before she could slash upwards; it needed more practice. Dark Strike could be effective on a slow target, but Jane wasn''t sure she could get lucky breaks in the future.
Jane was getting tired, but she needed to focus on her next attacks some more. An area attack was one of the few she had learned today, but it was not easy. Meteor Strike: an attack spell that most beginners start out with while learning area attacks for the first time, yet equally as powerful as other skills. Jane had to concentrate a lot on this one, charging up a ton of energy. At the same time, a large red glyphring appeared high above the center of the field. It''s an aerial glyphring that summons the barrage making up the area attack. After Jane released the rest of her energy, the glyphring activated completely, and a massive barrage of red flaming meteorites began to rain down from the sky. Though it formed from beyond the shield dome, the meteors were designed to penetrate that shield one time per stone. They can enter the designated battlefield without the magic or damage leaving that field to destroy surrounding objects. Jane watched the entire event as the rest of the spell didn''t need her continued guidance or magical usage. Meteors brushed through the dome as if it were made of paper, and the very instant the holes formed in the shield, they were reformed when the shield regenerated the damaged areas. As it happened, the Meteor Strike attack slammed and pelleted the ground with massive stones, creating an earthquake in the general area. Jane had to fight just to keep her balance, but was surprised that the stones were not harming her in the process. It''s not like they came too close to her presence, but they weren''t that far away either. She expected to be hit by her own concentrated spell, even with the somewhat limited area attack radius of her skill.
Area attacks like Meteor Strike are designed not to hurt the user even if they are caught in the effective radius. However, most other area attacks do affect the user should they be caught in their own area radius, depending on which abilities are invoked and how leveled they are for the user. Mega-Flare would be an example of personal immunity disregarding area radius. Mega-Flare lights up the entire field, shrouding even the user in its bright light of damage, but the user of the skill always comes out unharmed and unaffected by magical design. The opponent on the other hand is not so lucky. The meteors that fall down are specifically inclined not to hit the person invoking that magical spell, but even if the opponent somehow evades the barrage, the quakes in the ground combined with the shockwaves of the booms still have the potential to cause a lot of damage anyway. Jane was completely unharmed by her own area attack.
The meteors eventually stopped coming, but there were a lot of them, allowing the attack itself to slam into the effective radius for a time of seven seconds long. Such power, and it drew 24% of Jane''s MP just to invoke it this way. Despite being low on remaining energy, Jane needed to go on with the spell practices.
Jane didn''t let up just yet. It was time for another area attack skill. This time it cost her 17% of her MP, immediately draining her to a dry bone. "Radial Blast!" she shouted. Jane had performed this in her practice earlier today, but it was also just as hard to invoke as Meteor Strike, even as it requires no such glyphring. This time, instead of floating objects falling down from above, the entire field became populated in small random explosions with about the same fire power as a single hand grenade. The explosions happened in a barrage, unrelenting, still going after the first began. Radial Blast is an attack that populates the entire field randomly with multiple explosions happening one after the next. The explosions however form up in random locations each time with a small blast radius as well. This means that the opponent could technically dodge the attack just by standing still if their luck would have them take no damage. The only way not to get hit is simple luck. If the explosions are random and cannot be tracked, then the target might as well brace themself for powerful hits. Jane knew it wasn''t going to affect her. This is just another attack that excludes her own location of explosions forming everywhere. She counted how many had gone off and in how much time.
Nine point five seconds, forty-five blasts. Some of the explosions came close to Jane, hurting her ears from the sudden noise level of the explosions in front of her. Her ears began to ring momentarily, all until the attack ended. With area attacks like these, she has to expend all of that energy at once just to invoke it. During most area attacks, the user has a single, instant, linear release point through MP cost. The charge time may take a while, but the invocation moment is naturally instantaneous.
Jane was satisfied once more, but the strain this put on her had the wilder panting in place again. Her MP reserves were nearly at zero, and she would have to wait again before using one of her most powerful last resort skills. For now, there was another trick she wanted to learn, but it was impossible to tell if it would actually work in the field. Jane came up with an idea to quickly get the finishing victory assault should she need it, without using a lot of magical energy. Sometimes, a person in battle can land a critical hit with a physical attack, scoring up to four times the damage potential that normally comes from a physical attack, but there are conditions, and the passive ability itself is very rare to occur as it is supposed to be random. If used on an opponent who is already suffering from critical HP levels, and if done correctly with enough force, Jane would have a way to end the battle immediately.
She pulled out her daggers, carefully aiming with her eyes. Then she slowly crossed her daggers just in front of her chin. After that, she slid the blades outwards and threw her daggers forward with another spin. This time, the daggers spinning through the air resembled the same formation used with the Flying Guillotine ability, only there was no magical energy involved. Jane''s daggers had that faint red aura around them as they flew by, making them a bit more visible than before. This wasn''t an official spell though. Jane had simply thrown her daggers in a way that would allow each one to strike the opponent at a high speed with a good spin. If she threw them hard enough and with enough determination, it might actually work. Even without an official skill, it''s a physical attack only with a lot of power behind it. If a critical hit like this doesn''t end a weak opponent, nothing will.
Jane''s daggers eventually hit the dirt, striking the ground and then sliding to hit the dome. In another moment, they were transferred back into Jane''s side pockets like before. Her stance and throw was correct, but that doesn''t mean her critical hit ability works. There would only be one way to tell.
Jane kneeled over, putting her hands on her knees while breathing quickly. She was exhausted, down to a low MP level as well. Jane allowed herself to fall down on her behind, sitting on the ground instead. She would now have to wait more before her MP recharges enough to give her another chance at the new Redemption spell. It was a stretch though. Redemption requires basically one''s full amount of MP energy. Though it can be used with a lower MP amount, doing so can make a person pass out early, even with a full HP capacity, and it''s reckless too for what it can do.
Jane spun her head around, stretching her neck some more. "I''ll try Zero Zone first." Jane knew it was going to take forever, so she used an MP booster to recover her magic faster than expected. The blue topped orb had a bright glow before fading into Jane''s body. Her MP energy fully recharged after two more minutes, and she was ready to go again. Jane found it surprising that much of her fatigue was the result of a low MP level. It wasn''t all linked to her energy, but her restored magical levels allowed her to recover again so quickly. If the dome shield around her were an official Siriean dome, the MP booster would have failed.
Jane squinted as she prepared to try out her next spell. It was Zero Zone again. Jane had been attempting to master this ability from day one after learning how effective it can be. She failed to invoke it in her late stages of training at the Dakota training facility. Then she failed to invoke it again with her battle against Jack. Hopefully now will be better.
Zero Zone is a very rare spell, in that very few people actually know about it or what it does. By using a ton of MP energy, it allows the user to create a distortion field, effectively stopping time for everybody except for the user. In fact, the field is so powerful that it stops time for the entire universe, not just for the people inside of the Siriean dome. By using Zero Zone at a critical moment, Jane could stop time itself and get so many upper hands in less than an instant, but it''s also the hardest ability to learn as well, more difficult than a power level ten attack such as Ultima; the upgraded form of Mega-Flare. Because Jane practiced this spell so much, there was still a chance she might have it down by now.
"Zero Zone!" Jane forced all of her stored energy to flow out from her body in all directions. After all, that is how it must be released to create a distortion field in the first place, But even as her MP level dropped by 35%, nothing else seemed to happen. Jane didn''t notice time stopping, nor did she actually feel the time distortion itself. It''s supposed to be something she can feel, and visually, it darkens everything in one''s eyesight, voiding all life from its colors because light itself has slowed down as well, but nothing happened. Once again, it failed to work.
Jane would have decided to give it another shot, but since it uses so much energy just to even try, it was time to move on for now. Next would be Redemption, a powerful reckless move. Jane had to concentrate every single bit of her remaining energy to use it correctly, and only after letting her MP energy passively regenerate back up to 90%. The catch to a successful invocation of this spell is to expend all of her remaining MP, no matter how much of it she has. Though from 100%, she might be able to save 20% of that energy. The general requirement for Redemption is to have somewhere between 75-90% of MP reserves, using them all at once regardless of her growth in ME over time, but Jane currently had just below 72% left. Redemption is a powerful ability with a strange invocation type. After the energy was ready to use, Jane had to expend that energy all in one single instance of time. The benefit for this spell is that the time to charge and release is nearly instantaneous, but perhaps that is one of the reasons the user is left dizzy and disoriented afterwards. She couldn''t think of any spell by comparison that drains up to 75% MP reserves instantly. Removing so much of this energy from the body in a mere instant must be what makes it so dangerous.
It took but a short moment for her this time around. Jane shouted the name to ensure its success. "Redemption!" Soon afterwards, her entire body was glowing green from the encased aura for a pause of a second. From that point, a large beam of energy formed vertically from where Jane stood reaching up to the sky. This large beam of energy then split, separated and dispersed into five smaller vertical beams. At the same time, these high powered beams were traveling outwards in the formation of a growing spiral clockwise shape. The direction of each energy beam is fixed, but the radius of each of the five is still quite large, and they travel so quickly while maintaining their vertical form. It''s nearly impossible to dodge given the winding spiraling path they form, and it would take luck to survive it. At the same time Jane released her Redemption attack, all of her MP energy dropped directly to zero, forcing her to hunch down on the ground. The drain was powerful! Jane immediately felt sick and lightheaded, while she had to keep herself down to prevent immediate loss of consciousness. This spell just took all of her stamina, and she could soon pass out because of it. This is the sensation of losing 76% of her energy in an instant. At the same time, that loud audible noise flooded her ears. The beams all emitted a very loud and upper-pitched sine wave that got higher in time as they traveled outward. Each of the five beams together formed the moving shape of a spiral if viewed from above, and they began to flood the center of the battlefield as they continued onward.
It all happened so fast in perspective. The beams travel quickly and relentlessly after they split from the center. Jane already knows that if the opponent is hit with just one of the five energy beams, it will be devastating to their health. Two hits would likely end the match in a single blow, and if somehow they got hit three times, it would be over against an opponent with full health. Such is the design of Redemption, throwing all of the user''s MP energy into attack damage for each vertical beam launched from their personal aura in this method. Because it uses so much energy, the damage potential in each beam pillar is incredibly high, almost as much as a power level ten attack spell. Under most circumstances, enemies facing this spell are hit most often by one or two of these beams, which would likely end the match very early in favor of Redemption''s master. Those beams are fixed in the direction they travel - never homing in on any particular location, but because they spin in a spiral, the same spot is not usually struck more than once. Jane''s ability actually worked, but it left her completely and totally drained, more than she felt the last time she ran out of MP.
The downsides of Redemption make low stamina much worse. Any time someone underpowers Redemption, using under 70% MP because that''s all they have, the sensation of that drain is much more powerful, amplified moreover the lower the MP amount is prior to its use, if it invokes at all. A mage could pass out with full health as a result. In a Leray fight, this results in a loss. Even if the spell knocks the opponent out, the monitor system declares the loser as the first contestant to lose consciousness, which could easily be the first user of Redemption given the drastic circumstances. On top of that, the user ends up with zero percent MP energy no matter where or when they use it. That''s why they call it a reckless spell. Obviously, caution with this skill is paramount in a battle. Jane would need to remember that.
Jane nearly collapsed once more, falling to the ground on her hands and knees. That last one really killed her stamina. It became so intense that the Siriean dome that was formed around her suddenly faded all by itself. It wasn''t that surprising though. Jane wasn''t using it for an official battle anyway, so it wasn''t possible to for that dome to support itself indefinitely. It was passively siphoning small increments of her MP energy over time just to function, which wasn''t how official Siriean domes worked.
In the same instance, Jane decided that this was it; training was over from this moment on. She would need to wait an hour or two before her MP regenerates itself again. She was all out of MP boosters for now, but once she is ready, Jane will head out on Route 96 straight for Lennith City. Then from there, she can rest in town. Next morning, she will head to the Outback and travel until the Den of Purity is reached. Luckily, Leray wielders are not as abundant in the Outback because of its eco-friendly infrastructure there. Jane changed position, resting on her back with her face towards the sky. She simply let her heart pound, the sensation of her pulse and blood pumping into every limb and vessel while she relaxed her aching muscles.
Chapter Theme Shift: Main Theme ~ Two Worlds 1 OST
In memory, Jane never recalled trying this hard to do anything in just one day, but this Leray thing was something Jane always took seriously, as she did her dream of mastering Leray magic. Her dream can''t become real with this spell bomb curse... It didn''t really have an official name now that she thought about it more. Since it is at least related to the similarities of the Amahar spell bomb, it might be right to call it the Amahar curse. Endurance is just garbage, only for her, but then that''s what the new armor is for. It better last for a long time after the money it was worth.
Jane allowed her body to recover and heal. Her breathing was still fast, and her heart rate was still elevated. It''s the same feeling she got after running two full miles non-stopped, only to throw herself to the ground for rest. Jane could choose to sleep right here in the short cut grass in the open fields near the town. Getting up at all right now would be a pain. She shut her eyes instead, resting even her visual senses while the calm air became its own lullaby to her mind.
"Excuse me?"
Jane was suddenly forced awake by another person''s presence, but she was glad that it happened. She didn''t realize that her exhaustion was pushing her towards sleep. That would not have gone very well. Jane sat back up looking to her left. Some peculiar woman in her fifties wanted Jane''s attention. "Uh?"
"That was some show you put on."
Jane just remembered that people were watching her train most of that time, and by the end, it did get intense. This woman must have been impressed by the power of all of those magical abilities. Jane''s new arsenal of skills had a much higher average power level than her old ones. It was natural for that kind of growth to exist in all training Leray wielders, but this was sort of an exception, and Jane knew it. The proportion of new spells and skills based on a full number of them just wasn''t normal today. Nobody should have been able to learn all of those new skills in just nine hours based on the number of new powers and their average power levels. Was she really that good in training? "Thanks..." Jane wanted to say a little more, but she was still short of breath.
Having not witnessed someone training so hard and for so long, Jane became a quick curiosity to this woman. "What''cha training for?" the lady asked.
Jane replied, "The road to Lennith City."
A surprised expression took over for the aged woman. "The road east? I dare feel sorry for anybody on that route that chooses to challenge you."
Jane glanced down in thought again. All of her hard work, all of that training, it wasn''t for the people on Route 96. She hadn''t been training today to impress anybody. It''s about getting her life back. Her very future and dream would be at stake with this curse, no matter how many skills she could learn, but this lady has a point as well. Because of this curse, the very thought of being stopped endlessly on a road to the next city, just for battles Jane didn''t want to take part in right now, it infuriated her! Anger quickly took over, anger at the idea that someone would challenge her on the road ahead, slowing her down from reaching the Outback. Jane didn''t want to battle any of them, but if she turns down an offer to battle three times in a row, then her Leray license gets suspended. Then she can''t use Leray magic even outside of battles, not legally anyway. "Yeah... I''d feel sorry for them too."
The lady laughed in sympathy for Jane''s determination, but Jane wasn''t really on the same level as her. She felt bad for any who might challenger her, because if they do, anybody who threatens to slow her down from here on will be flattened. Jane would have to use all of that hard work and training, to destroy any opponent by turning the tides just like she had done today in her training. Her endurance might be low, but her new set of magic assisted abilities should make up for that, even if her armor gets destroyed before she can make it to Lennith. In fact, if she can just make it that far, then getting three strikes or declaring a state of emergency for the path into the Outback would probably seem more worthwhile. But to do so now, it''s too early!
Thanks to the side effects of the Leray protection veil, exhaustion related to the lack of sleep can be delayed for up to half another day. People can end up with strange sleep cycles, and that means that the road to Lennith didn''t care what time of day it was for anybody. Still, staying up that late requires attention and focus. There will surely be challenging people on this road, up until five in the morning, all ready for a battle and unfazed by their different sleep schedule, or unfazed by their lack of sleep in general should that be the case. Jane was almost the same way right now. She needed to get past this road. Normally, she should be tired and ready for bed, her eyes heavy and droopy from the day''s stress, but not this time. Jane was wide awake again, her exhaustion only from jumping around and shooting magic everywhere for hours on end. As soon as her MP recharges completely, that exhaustion will end all the way, and then she can head out.
But Jane was still somewhat nervous. She never expected to be at this stage of her journey, where she has to travel a dangerous road in the middle of the night. Come to think of it, all of her plans in Gulop never stuck. She was supposed to spend at least a day on Tilsit Beach, but those plans fell apart too. She would need to break through Route 96 as if the road were just a fast lane of air, and she also knew a lot of more powerful spells now that would assist in that process. Her opponents would know powerful skills too. Even with all of her enhancements, she won''t win easily. Jane shook the thought though. After coming to realize something, all of this motivation and determination, her very will to fix this curse has been making her stronger. It had been making her try harder. On Route 96, there shouldn''t be an exception.
"You okay?" the woman asked.
Jane almost forgot there was someone near her. "Oh, yeah. I''m still waiting to recover."
"We''ll I won''t hold you up any longer. Thanks for the show. It looked really impressive. I sure hope other wielders show up to town like yourself. It would make things more interesting."
How deprived of Leray wielders is Monoc Port anyway? Jane recalled battling someone from the nearby area only yesterday. "Welcome." Jane gave a closer look at the woman as she began to take leave of her now. The way she was speaking to Jane, she must be someone who never succeeded as a good Leray wielder, while at the same time always dreaming of becoming tougher. Now it''s too late for her. Age had taken its place and locked away that woman''s dream forever.
Jane knew she was still young. If she can just accomplish her dream before turning fifty or sixty years old, all will be worth it. Though she would prefer to finish it up before turning twenty. That would be totally awesome; to have the world recognize her as a Leray master at such a young age. Jane smiled at the thought, ever getting more lost in her sea of mental conception.
She had to distract herself with something while waiting on her energy to regenerate itself. Once it was almost time again, Jane had suddenly realized how cold it was outside. Her mercenary armor did provide her with some protection from the cold winter air, but not enough to stop goose bumps from forming. When did it become so frigid? Doing all of those physical exercises had her body heated so much, Jane never got to notice the shift in lowering temperature tonight, that was until now. It wasn''t like this was the first time it got this cold at night this year, but Jane was hardly outside for those past moments.
She would have to get over it in either case. Any moment now, it will be time to begin crossing Route 96. It''s a road made of more gravel and dirt, a rundown cement sidewalk that is a single road. Because there is nothing but empty grassy fields left and right, they built fences all the way through the path. Still, the space available is very wide, each fence about 50 meters away from its other side. That way, battlers have enough room, and they don''t stray in the wrong direction. But on this cold night, Jane was reminded of exactly how lonely it was for her. She would be doing all of this on her own, no longer under the presence of her two best friends. She hadn''t forgotten about them, not for a moment, but wishing to reunite did no good for now. Jane has to move on even if they can''t catch up to her right now. Only after her curse is removed can she focus on reuniting with her friends. Then, after all of that is taken care of, she can focus on tracking down the man who attacked her at Tilsit Port. Jane knew her very next mission before continuing her journey would be to mess that guy up. If she were to try it then and there, she would have simply been a useless nuisance to the agents on site, and to her friends who are probably more powerful than her right now.
No! Jane shook the temptation away. Reversing this curse has to be the top priority. It ruins everything if she just leaves it on. The only way to go now is east, east through Route 96 and into Lennith City.
Chapter 17-A: Route 96 (Jane VS Kenshi)
<01/18/1972 ¨C 21:02 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane started her long walk on this road in the middle of the night, harboring her skin against the cold draft now overshadowing the current climate in the skies. Despite her mercenary suit being long sleeved, Jane''s arms absorbed the frequent rush of cold wind outdoors. Jane desperately tucked in her arms to her chest, the chilling air having dropped to below fifty degrees. The mercenary outfit provided such little thermal protection in any natural environment. Even the metallic gear over her provided no such protection from the cold; two layers and nothing to show for adequate wear of the winter. Before heading out on the path, Jane already equipped her new battle armor, the Warmonger Armament. The heavy metallic chest plate came with long leggings and armlets for extra physical protection, but then that was it. The extra bit of clothing over her mercenary outfit would only do so much to keep her warm.
Jane had to walk alone. The gravel beneath her feet was surprisingly solid and flatter than she expected it to be. Her shoes had an easy time here, while her coordination was assisted by the light of the half-full moon in the pure night skies. Not a single cloud threatened to rain or storm nearby, giving Jane a nice skybox of stars above her. To her left and her right, Jane could make out both of the fences, designed to keep people on the path and avoid getting lost, but from this view ahead of her, there was nothing new. Route 96 is just a straight linear cement path that goes on for miles and miles. Lennith City is really far away, totally invisible from this point onward.
The cold air which mixed the solitude and silence Jane endured - gave her an eerie feeling on the back of her neck. They say people are supposed to randomly travel this path, either to get across or to challenge other Leray wielders, but there wasn''t anyone around right now. The darkness made everything hard to see, reducing even Jane''s visual range, but the millions of tiny stars up in the sky, along with the moonlight beaming down from above made up enough ambient light for the moment.
Despite the stillness of the zone, Jane felt fully prepared for battle. With her protective armor on, and her new daggers stored in the side pockets of the mercenary outfit, still unblocked by the extra metal suit over the layer, she knew she wasn''t as weak as before. Even though Jane felt like a walking tank, she didn''t want to battle anybody. People walking around hindering her progress would only serve to slow her down, but at the same time, Jane wanted somebody out here with her, some sort of company to make everything seem less scary and vacant. Does everybody who travel really have to battle as many people as possible? Jane once considered using an emergency statement on her license to bypass the entire route of challengers. She could then legally skip every single battle for 36 hours all to fix her curse, but nobody would count her excuse as a good reason to call a Leray emergency. If she did call one for the wrong reason, her license would be suspended for a much longer time than it would by rejecting three battles in a row.
The thought of Danny and Taylor returned to her mind again. What would they think of her right now, heading out on a very long road full of challengers in the middle of the night all by herself? Could she really take on anybody, even with all of her training and enhancements?
The sky above looked beautiful due to the moon''s position and effects, but Jane couldn''t focus on the aesthetics anymore. She had been walking forward for almost ten minutes now, leaving Monoc Port in the dust. The road remained unchanged except for a few minor hills up and down. Sometimes the path would swerve left and right due to a few small sink holes. Some odd stone structures were left abandoned and broken down by erosion, serving as small landmarks. Looking at the map again, Route 96 was a long road to walk on. Bikers often need to upgrade to mountain bikes just to handle the road here when going fast enough. It''s easy on the feet, but rough on wheels. Jane wondered when things about this route were going to change, seeing the evidence that infrastructure maintenance had long since abandoned this area.
Nothing else seemed to stand out to her eyes. Though it was somewhat difficult to see in this darkness, Jane could still make out some of the fine details on the ground if she were close enough. There wasn''t any easy way of veering too far on either side, not for a battle situation anyway. Jane could walk either way for about one minute before hitting one of the solid fences. It''s not like there would be anything out past the fence either, just underdeveloped wild lands with no deep forests. Still, after having multiple settings for a battle, Jane realized that of all places, the ground here would have the roughest surface; getting scrapes would be easy. That said, holding one''s balance would be easier too.
Just like that, Jane''s earlier wish for a change had been granted a moment sooner than she wanted. Further up ahead, she could see a cluster of people. None of them seemed to be together. Some were walking towards Jane''s direction, others in the opposite direction. A few of the people were just standing there talking. Travelers!
None of their faces could be made out from where Jane stood. It was still too dark outside to see anything. In just short of another second, a small yellow ember of fire ignited into what appeared to be a large drum canister. The smoke and flames were trapped inside of the metal cylindrical drum, capturing the heat with a source of fuel at the bottom. Someone must have decided to make a fire out here in the cold. Where did they get that huge canister though? Jane proceeded forward, all until she became noticed by the few people hanging out here. They were all close to her own age on the upper quartile.
In just short of another moment after noticing the young traveler, the small group of people shifted towards Jane''s direction. "Hey there," a woman spoke.
Jane could still barely see who anyone was, but it''s not like she would have recognized them if she could. They didn''t appear to be on edge like most random eager fighters were. These people were much more laid back, relaxing under the stars. Jane waved and continued walking forward, almost to brush by the strangers, giving no indication that she was a Leray wielder.
"You''re just in time for the fun," she continued. The woman seemed to be six inches taller in height than Jane, but she was talking about something in particular. Jane already seemed confused by her random interaction, and stopped walking to figure it out.
"Over here," the man waved. Two dudes were hunched over the fire they just started in the canister, using twigs, leaves, and other materials to keep it going. The light from the flames were enough to show their entire faces. When Jane came over to where they were standing, she became much more visible as well.
"What is this?" Jane began scolding herself for coming over here in the first place. It''s not like she was obligated to do anything here, but if these people are Leray wielders, and she were to run, it would be pointless in the end. They would likely just run after her and chase her down for penalty strikes. However, the sudden interest in her from these people left her just as curious. The older male introduced himself.
"I''m Lith." With a lighter shade of hair, he folded his arms by the fire, trying to make this go as smoothly as possible.
"Kenshi," the other man introduced. "And over there is Liz."
"Just ask her already," Liz ordered for her friends.
Jane was confused about what these people were talking about. The one calling himself Lith continued to explain. "We''re all traveling to Monoc for grub. What about you?"
"Oh," Jane realized. They were just talking to her. That''s all this is. But why stop her like that just to say hi? "I''m Jane." She looked around, confirming the difference in everyone. It was only her and the three strangers for now. There were more people behind her area, but they had all taken off in other directions. These three must be bored, and stopped her just for chatter. Though it would slow her down somewhat, Jane didn''t mind for now.
"What about you? Traveler? Or fighter?"
Jane winced. Lith had already asked the serious question, informally determining a battle between himself and her. This is bad! She misjudged their motives too soon! People are already here asking others to fight, and now she was the next in line target! "Uh,"
Liz cut Jane off before she could even answer. "What are ya, blind? Come on. With that armor? She''s defiantly not just some traveler."
"Wha¡ª" Jane glanced down, forgetting the obvious factor of her metal armor. With this outfit on, it really was obvious that she has been expecting Leray challengers on the path. The defensive armor might as well have been screaming and advertising how prepared she was to fight other wielders. How could she forget?! "Well, I''m not really looking for a battle." It''s too late to remove or hide the armor, and her own testimony may have just now been poisoned by such. Jane couldn''t help but blush in the realization of such an obvious overlooked mistake.
"Ah, come on!" Lith perked up. "I''ve got good money riding on this next one. Kenshi''s been itching for a challenger to swing by at nightfall."
"Slow down Lith," Liz commanded. "She doesn''t have to battle if she doesn''t want to."
Jane was thankful for Liz jumping in to realize that now was a bad time. She sighed noticeably, but didn''t care what she showed off in doing so. The more people she faces here, the longer it will take to get to Lennith City, and Jane knew she couldn''t stay awake forever. Kenshi however wasn''t done just yet.
"That''s fine of course. But I will count this as an official refusal to battle."
Liz agreed, "That does sound fair. Never seen someone yet who doesn''t want to battle while wearing full body armor, but you make the call Jane."
Jane couldn''t believe it. They were all wielders, and she has just been sunk into an official request for a fight. Can''t even enjoy the temporary warmth for more than a minute... Jane sunk her head in to think about it. She has really toughed up a bit from her training, but would it be enough? If she were to lose right here and now, she would never make it to the Den of Purity... The thought angered her again, her hands tensing to show it. Just like before, these people don''t care how important her personal business is. They just want to battle anyone who stops by for their stupid credits. Winning credits is all they want; forget the rest. The anger further built up quickly, forcing Jane to choose what she felt in her gut.
"Fine!" she called. "You want a battle, you''ve got one." Jane''s words were a promise. She could feel tingles down her spine from all of the losses she suffered before, but this time everything should be different. If they won''t let her leave in peace, she''ll have to scare them off by force!
Lith and Kenshi''s faces both lit up with excitement in her answer. "Ha-ha, Alright!" Lith pointed to himself next. "Now I''ve already battled hard last time, so Kenshi? Why don''t you take point? We already agreed that you would anyway."
"Of course," he replied. "Sorry Jane, but I''m not about to lose today. Not to you anyway."
"We''ll see about that," Jane retorted. Her confident answer made Lith and Liz react at the both of them.
"Oh-hohoho," Lith challenged. "Big talk for young blood. Looks like a real test of courage to me."
Liz placed two fingers on her forehead while slightly glancing down. "Just stop," she begged. Lith was acting stupid again. The three of them are supposed to be an elite tag team, but right now they''re just acting like idiots. It would hardly be the first time though.
Kenshi accepted, "That''s fine. We''ll start with the bet of six hundred."
"Six hundred credits," Jane repeated. She wanted to get a feel for Leray battling again, but it wasn''t like any of the other times before. She needed to win, not for fun or for the money. It was about getting to Lennith as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Nobody will stand in her way if she can help it. "Okay, what are we waiting for?"
"You sure seem ready to go for someone who doesn''t like battling," Liz observed.
Jane gave Liz a serious look and replied, "I didn''t say I dislike battling. It''s my dream to become stronger, but I need to get to Lennith City. I''m on a clock, and you''re all in my way. It might only be a personal emergency to you, but you''ve just challenged the wrong girl."
Lith and Liz seemed to love the way Jane was talking right now. She was so fired up already, so confident, but also incredibly serious. Jane is so cute! It would be amazing to see how such a young passionate novice fights a real wielder.
Jane began making quick notes and observations about her current opponent. His name is Kenshi. The guy wasn''t really much older than Jane, perhaps twenty years old. That crazy hairdo made it seem like he took a Lightning Strike attack earlier, and his clothes... Kenshi was wearing some kind of black and blue outfit. As hard as it was to make out the chromatic details at this hour, there was still just enough light for the rest of them to see the game face Jane set for herself. The material on Kenshi was strikingly similar looking to Jane''s red and black mercenary armor. It was hard to see the comparison from Kenshi''s side though, with all of the metal over her clothes.
Jane and Kenshi needed to spread out and relocate in order to begin their Leray match, but fighting like this in the dark wasn''t going to be easy. After they distanced themselves a bit from their barrel fire, Jane was standing about the average fifty-meter distance from her opponent. Both of them were soon ready; Liz and Lith were standing far to Jane''s left too. Apparently Liz had mostly been acting as their referee. Referees watch Leray battles closely and call errors if one occurs. Not everybody likes to play by the rules, but there were also not many official rules to a Leray battle which could physically be broken. All the judge really needs to do is call the victor and the loser when it was time, and even then, the rules do not require the presence of a referee in a Leray battle, though it was something Liz wanted to do.
"Are we ready?" Liz tested. Both Jane and Kenshi turned her direction and nodded. "The battle between Jane and Kenshi will now commence."
Shortly after that note, Jane braced herself for the familiar light to appear. The Siriean dome began to form and take shape at that time. Because of the space available, the dome covered both contestants with plenty of room to battle, despite being a bit more than half the default size of a standard dome shield. The shield made of Leray magic managed to provide temporary light with its blue glow as it formed. After it had completed the shape of the dome, it became much more transparent, but there was something a bit different about the dome shield this time that Jane noticed, other than the size difference. A small brightness of glowing light was affixed to the top of the Siriean dome, giving their field and faces just a little more visibility than what was previously available.
It was only now that Jane remembered this simplistic design about Siriean domes. For the events of battles that take place during the night, detectable by the positioning and gravitational differences of the moon, the Siriean shield itself can brighten up the very top side of the energy field, intentionally lighting up the area slightly more to improve vision for both participants. It wouldn''t be fun if nobody could see anything, but that light was still limited in luminosity. It wouldn''t be as fun if anybody could see every single detail at night either. During this time of the day, Leray abilities such as Shadow Wave that send out dark colored pulses of magical attacks are more difficult to see, thus difficult to dodge, and that means tactical advantages specific to night battles can be brought out.
"Okay!" Kenshi called. After the dome was established, the reward system appeared in the usual holographic text for a few seconds, right in the center of the field floating in the air. He then had to engage his own energy scope. Jane went after he did, almost forgetting that the battle officially starts soon after both opponents engage their energy scopes.
The holographic text that appears on an energy scope is almost always orange in structural coloration. This time, Jane had a new system working to detect her armor''s integrity in the background. Integrity registers in the energy scope as the health or stability of specific armor or clothing that is susceptible to physical damage, depending on what type of clothing is worn. Jane''s armaments have something called damage eater status attached, and that means that by reducing the damage to her HP levels, the armor will take that damage instead in a physical format. There does exist special armaments that don''t eat damage like this, but as a result, they don''t protect as well as this one does. Obviously, the armor will only protect Jane if she takes hits in the designated areas. From here on, Jane can use her energy scope to keep up with her armor''s health as well, instead of distracting herself with visual examinations in the middle of the fight. There was still one more drawback to get used to. It was more noticeable now that Jane was prepared to move; her mobility cut in half from the heavy weight on her arms and legs. Despite feeling this from casual walking, Jane noticed it in a surprising manner moreover as the situation became more demanding of her flexibility and exertion. Certain movements will become much more difficult as a result.
Chapter Theme Shift: The True Nature of All ~ Star Ocean 3
It wasn''t clear who was going to have the first attack, but now that both of them were ready, Jane took the initiative. Confident in her variety of skills, Jane went with a weaker spell on purpose. Using weak attacks to start often helps one understand a person''s weaknesses and overall endurance. Jane held out her arm quickly, charging MP energy that formed a bright blue glyphring around her wrist. The glyphring was much smaller than the normal size, but her invocation of the next spell was rather quick and unexpected. "Ice Ball!" Jane''s hand shot a solid ball of frozen water, flying at a high speed towards her opponent.
Kenshi wasn''t much taller than Jane, but he was wasn''t all that scrawny either. Kenshi was quick on his feet, but he couldn''t move out of the way in time to dodge the Ice Ball. The way it slammed into his shoulder immediately indicated that he did have every intention of moving out of the way. Kenshi was knocked backwards a little, but he kept his balance and returned to his fighting stance again with no further hindrance. Jane checked to see the damage level it caused on his energy scope, but it was a sad sight to behold.
Jane knew it was a weak spell to begin with, but it was weaker than she expected it to be after the attempt of testing damage levels. Kenshi must not be a rookie fighter. Otherwise, he is somehow resistant to ice damage. The blue and black mercenary armor he was wearing must have had some specific damage resistances that Jane wasn''t going to get to know about right away.
Kenshi shifted his feet, now preparing for his counter move. He spun around as his hands and arms began to glow a strange color. He already began to charge up and release a lot of MP energy, and in doing so, his ability was unleashed in Jane''s direction while maintaining the initial distance. "Tornado Strike!" Kenshi created a powerful whirlwind around himself, and then dashed towards Jane on his feet. Tornado Strike is much more of a close range attack, but Kenshi was going to throw in a big punch after getting close enough.
The attack was already affecting Jane the moment Kenshi got in close proximity, all of that high speed wind mixed in with elemental slashing damage. Jane could do nothing but try and block it out. Even though it was not a spell that could easily be dodged, Jane realized that in this heavily armored shell, she would be unable to evade most skills. Jane covered her face with her arms, holding herself there until the attack was over. For a long while, she couldn''t actually feel any sort of pain striking her, just the powerful wind whipping around her hair in a storm. Then she barely felt a small force push against her chest plate.
Kenshi backed away quickly in a painful grunt, shaking his right hand in regret. He didn''t realize that Jane''s metal armor was so strong and resistant. He just punched a solid metal plate, doing little damage because of it. After he obtained more of a distance, the tornado around him faded away, revealing Jane and her current stance. Jane had been blocking to defend this whole time, and with that large hunk of metal attached to her body, it was as if his attack had no effect, according to the energy scope anyway.
Liz was the referee the whole time, but she was impressed to see how things were shaping at the beginning of the battle. Jane had some impressive armor equipped to her right now, turning her defensive capabilities into that of a massive behemoth. No doubt Kenshi wasn''t getting this win so easily. Even Lith might have had trouble against this opponent. Jane was not backing down, but she did glance up at her energy scope, surprised to see how well she took a head on attack... This amount of defense; it totally defies what happened in all of her previous battles. Jane was immediately overjoyed; finally she can take an attack like a normal wielder. Technically, the spell used against her in ordinary circumstances should have done about 6% HP damage to her overall health (without the curse), so the armor worked better than she could have hoped for in the beginning. This will be too easy!This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Jane smiled and aimed at Kenshi again. Things were finally going her way after all. In order to take care of her cursed HP endurance, the armor was working perfectly. Kenshi went with a wind elemental attack which is the most ineffective against this kind of armor, and now the turn belonged to her once again. Jane decided that now was the time to test out her new daggers. She took them out from her hidden pockets, and threw that at Kenshi one after the other. The skill she went for was the same as Knife Toss, but Jane didn''t need to chant that one at all. It was too easy to need to remember how to throw two daggers. Without any magical infusion or skill to the effect of tossing two physical blades, chanting would be unnecessary, but it would also be interesting to see the new damage level without magical infusion since the daggers were upgraded versions of her previous model.
Jane''s aim was surprisingly improved as well after all of that training earlier today. Both of her daggers sliced right through Kenshi, failing to dodge him again. This time, each hit made him wince, obviously causing great pain from a simple physical attack.
There was a lot more to be done, and both of them knew that the battle was far from over. Things were just beginning from the first initial chant. Kenshi knew of another magic skill that might get the best of Jane, one that is harder to block out. After charging the little MP needed, he chanted, "Fatal Charge!" Kenshi''s body lit up brightly with a white aura. He charged towards Jane, and then became a blur of light that sped up, immediately teleporting to Jane''s position. Kenshi then body slammed right into her, forcing Jane far off her feet while sending her flying backwards. In the same instance, Kenshi held his right shoulder in pain, and backed away carefully. Both of their energy scopes just changed, but Jane had taken a bit of extra damage from falling on the ground from the body slam.
Jane got herself back up, but the bulk of her armor made it more challenging. There was a lot of work to put in for every muscle movement, and that alone of carrying so much weight against gravity. Jane checked her own scope first, realizing how little damage she had taken, but it was apparently enough to lower her armor''s integrity by a hair. Jane was happy now, infinitely grateful that her endurance became nearly impossible to overcome. If her endurance was normal, that still would have done more damage, but not that much more. Kenshi was backing away, and he appeared to be in a bit of pain on his shoulder. Did he get hurt too? Jane glanced at her opponent''s remaining health, and in truth he did lose 2% of his HP.
What was the skill he chanted again? Jane had to think back to that moment. He hollered the name Fatal Charge. Hearing that spell name allowed her to make more sense of the moment. Fatal Charge is an interesting skill, combining some magical damage in with a blunt force body slam attack. The damage potential can be high against unarmored opponents, but the ability itself is unique for one reason. If the user fails to exact all of that damage in one point, or if they use it on a heavily armored opponent, some of that damage can be returned to the user as well. They don''t call it fatal for nothing. Kenshi made a mistake by trying that.
Jane knew it was now her turn, and she unleashed her MP energy into something she believed would be much more useful in damage and potential. In her glowing hands, Jane threw the shadow out from her arms, forming a rolling shadow of dark auras on the ground. "Shadow Wave!" It was that spell again, and Jane could always perform it perfectly. The dark shadow bound to the earth became incredibly difficult to see because of how dark it was outside. Kenshi might have had the intention of dodging this attack as well, but it wasn''t the same. In battle, one might see things slower than what they appear to be in the heat of the moment, but a Shadow Wave travels very quickly, ending up on the other side of the field in just one second of time. At least, at the current distance from each other being only twenty meters, it was one second in duration, still quick from this distance.
In this instance, Jane''s Shadow Wave continued growing in size, picking up and throwing chunks of rocks, which to Kenshi was the only indicator of where the wave was. At the last moment, he dove to the left, trying to dodge the attack, but it was too late. The Shadow Wave expanded into a wider radius, catching Kenshi''s body in the act. The wave slammed into him, slashing all over the place at the same time while leaving Kenshi defenseless in a hold. Kenshi finally escaped the grip of the Shadow Wave, but not before he got all cut up in multiple locations. The very chain of attacks gave him a sensation similar to feeling drained. There had to be a lot more in him, but Jane has turned out to be a tough customer so far.
Kenshi didn''t look happy anymore, and he couldn''t help it. Jane is packing on some tough armor, and there has to be a way to get around it. Kenshi could only stay in his own rhythm, sticking to his original plan that worked out so well in the past. He drew his short sword attached to the belt behind him, and prepared to launch his next attack before Jane could. "Octoslash!" Kenshi ran towards Jane by sprinting, sword high in his hand.
This time, Jane was too slow to figure out a way to stop Kenshi''s attacks. All she could to is put her arms up again at the last second and try to block it out. Kenshi came in close, taking his first slash at Jane. The sword cut right through Jane''s armor and her body, but not in the way one would expect. In Leray battles, pointed spears, bullets, or even sharp blades split and remap atoms for people and their armor. The entering blade disappeared and reappeared on the other side, though Leray damage was still registered to the person in a limited manner, leaving behind a few shallow cuts. HP damage is still triggered, though it is severely limited for the fun use of a Leray match.
Kenshi''s blade went through Jane and her armor for each slash, with the exception of a few slashes that bounced right off of the metal. Every time he took a hit towards Jane, her damage was minimized, and some of the weaker hits that bounced off her armor rejected all damage entirely. Kenshi took his final eighth slash into Jane''s chest plate from high above his head, scoring some more minor damage once again. Kenshi''s attack sequence was over now, and he backed up, needing to prepare for Jane''s next move.
Jane wasn''t surprised her health barely declined. Her armor took no damage either. Still, she was able to partially feel each slash that did manage to reduce her HP, each one hurting her to a degree. Kenshi delivered a combination attack of slashing damage with a short sword, which was apparently his primary weapon in battle. The armor she was packing had a resistance to slashing damage; that is the endurance rejection itself. The armor''s integrity is - for the most part immune to such types of damages. Octoslash wasn''t really a good choice as Jane thought. It''s a non-magical ability that enables the user with a sword to support a combination of eight strikes against a single opponent in just one sequence, but for that reason, the attack style is limited. Perhaps its best moments are the fact that when taking a combination attack like that, it can be difficult for the target sustaining damage to interrupt their opponent in that moment. That''s what makes combination attacks so unique.
Jane knew now was the time to unleash all of her powers, the new ones she had learned. She was currently in the mood to use her daggers in another close combat attack, but non-magical damage was limiting. Jane pulled her daggers out, charging at Kenshi the same way he had to her before. "Knight Dance!" Jane charged her hands, her feet, and her daggers with magical damaging auras which slowly drained at her MP as long as it was going, but she focused on the sequence and movements. Jane started with a wide sweep of both her daggers. Kenshi took initiative and jumped out of the way to dodge the attack, but Jane anticipated this. After Kenshi evaded the low sweep, Jane jumped forward, leaning in a magical punch to Kenshi''s chest. When he took that hit, Jane then shifted into her next combination move, a dagger strike followed by a spinning kick. Jane landed the kick into his face as well, making the pain equal to the damage being done. To move this way at all took more time than normal, draining her stamina based on the heavy weight of her bulk.
Jane was hardly finished despite this. Her Knight Dance combination was as lengthy as her normal close combat style with her daggers, though she put less emphasis this time on dodging any chances to interrupt her own moves. Instead of following a few hits with a backflip, Jane sunk down, making another low sweep with her bright glowing daggers. Jane then slashed upwards when turning around, putting more damage on Kenshi. Jane then finished it with a punch, a dagger stab, and a much harder forced kick to his gut, sending Kenshi flying back the same way that he did to Jane when using that Fatal Charge attack earlier. Using magical damage with physical hits has this effect, adding additional kinetic force with damage too, which makes it easy to bring a person off balance.
Jane backed away now, her combination streak over. Kenshi suffered some major damages from that long string of attacks, and his energy scope agreed with this as well.
Kenshi began coughing in response to the intense pain flowing in so many places. The sensation of deep cuts and bruises to his chest intensified. That Knight Dance was defiantly something to watch out for in the future. He picked himself up off the ground, but he had already taken a fair amount of damage. It was too obvious to see who was winning the battle so far, but Kenshi did not give up. He developed the idea after his last attack failed miserably. That armor must be made out of a specific kind of metal, and that means it may be susceptible to blunt damage, more so if it were infused with magical damage as well. Carrying the idea in mind, Kenshi gave Jane no indication of quitting.
Once again, Kenshi charged at Jane, sprinting at top speed and a war cry as he charged up his MP later than usual. Kenshi did not want Jane dodging this skill, so he waited until the last moment before spawning his weapon to use against her. "Hammer of Might!" Kenshi formed a yellow generation glyphring for just a short moment, spawning the Hammer of Might weapon into both of his hands as the device pixelated into physical space. Kenshi then gripped the handles firmly, swinging that giant hammer as hard as he could in a side sweep.
Jane didn''t see a way to avoid this, not with the time she was given. While trying to block it out, the hit knocked Jane high off her feet, shooting her backwards again. Despite the armor there to protect her, a lot of that bruising pain made it right through her own chest plate and into her stomach. This was shortly followed by the sudden forceful smash into the ground after being air lifted by the blunt force, her armor streaking and scraping up against the eroded gravel. Jane carefully got up, but the hit left her winded and short of breath. Jane just learned something at this very moment after checking her energy scope.
Hammer of Might packed in a lot of damage. Jane''s health took a dive this time, and her armor didn''t seem too happy about it either. Jane physically examined herself while standing back up, noticing a few hairline cracks at the center of her metal chest plate. The attack was so strong, it cracked metal! So this must be what they meant by damage eater. Her armor was not very good at taking blunt type attacks, and the more it happened, the less her suit would hold up. Jane shook at the thought. She had to focus!
Jane came up with the next learned ability on the top of her head. Jane went with one of her more recent masteries, releasing a lot of MP energy into a large red glyphring that took form rotating around Jane''s right arm. She aimed perfectly at Kenshi, but he still had plenty of time to realize a fire type attack was incoming. "Triple Fire!" Jane unleashed her Triple Fire attack, but to make it happen correctly, she also had to remember her special arm movements at the same time. Without moving her wrist too much, Jane shifted her right arm slightly to the left and then to the right, shooting out Fire Bolts number two and three. Now all three Fire Bolts were launched against Kenshi, but he must have known already about their homing properties. Instead of trying to dodge, he simply covered with his arms in front to block. Jane''s glyphring went away before the attack even finished, but she was still surprised by the reactions.
Blocking an attack like this only reduces all damage slightly, up to a maximum resistance of 35%, and only if he does it right, but as Kenshi took on all three Fire Bolt attacks, his health barely went into decline at all.
According to the math, each Fire Bolt had only dealt 2% damage, but in reality, even after blocking it, a real Fire Bolt attack deals about 7% HP damage to a person who is experienced, double that amount to a rookie fighter. That must mean that his suit is resistant to both fire and ice damage! Jane growled in frustration. She now had to prepare herself for another incoming attack. This always seems to happen to her. Things go well in the beginning, then completely turn around.
Kenshi focused again, unfazed by that Triple Fire spell, but for Jane to have access to it proves she is no pushover. If only she didn''t have that suit of armor on. Kenshi suddenly developed another idea. If blunt damage works better, he will simply use the element all the time. Kenshi charged more MP into his next kind of spell, making his entire body glow white with an aura. "Flashpoint!"
Jane saw Kenshi disappear after chanting the skill Flashpoint, but before that happened to completion, she quickly reacted by jumping back as far as she could. It was impossible to perform a backflip in this heavy metal, so Jane zoomed backwards on that weight instead, remaining straight in formation. She didn''t actually know which attack was coming up next, but Jane had instinctively reacted to that glow around Kenshi''s body. It usually indicates some form of physical aura attack at close range. Though surprisingly, Jane dodged the attack. Kenshi reappeared at where he zoomed to, and punched the open air with his fist. He realized his mistake shortly after. Defeated and angry, Kenshi stumbled back some more, failing to land any hits.
Flashpoint is an attack that adds magical blunt damage to a physical punch, and though it only allows for one single hit, the user charges at the opponent with the speed of light on their side, making it impossible to dodge. Regardless, Jane still jumped out of the way in time, not even knowing what was coming her way. Even though it was accidental, Jane''s instincts saved her from some heavy damage. It seems to have paid off as well, but this fight was getting ridiculous. Kenshi now figured out Jane''s secret weakness for her armor, and wasn''t shy about exploiting it either. If that''s the case, there is no more holding back.
Jane encouraged herself to do her best, reminding herself of her important mission. She has to get to the Den of Purity with haste. If she lost even one battle on this route, it would slow her down much more than having accept a battle and winning the match. The thought carried in her mind. Kenshi and the others seemed like nice friends, teenagers just looking for fun, but they knew nothing about her secret endurance curse caused by the legendary spell bomb she installed. That was the reason for her armor, and the reason it was so important for Jane to keep that armor intact. They might not understand this, but they don''t need to. In this case, Kenshi was her enemy, plain and simple. That means winning at all costs is essential, throwing everything ever learned into this battle as well as any future fights.
Using this determination, Jane thought of one of her more powerful spells. She unleashed a lot of energy, forming a giant red glyphring in the sky over the course of three long seconds, rotating downwards at a vertical angle. "Meteor Strike!" Jane successfully unleashed a powerful area attack, as large red glowing meteors swarmed from the sky above. Just like before, all of the meteors were breaking right through the dome shield by design, slamming into the ground everywhere in front of her. The sound of massive booms populated the entire battle field, while some of that dust and gravel of ground shot upwards from the force of each impact.
Kenshi began to panic! There was no way to dodge area attacks or even block out their high damage dealing potentials. In his panic, he ended up taking two hits, one of them directly to his chest while staring defeat from above. Kenshi fell down from the force of the meteor strikes, and well after the glyphring and meteors disappeared, his damage and pain lingered quite noticeably. Jane was left undamaged, as she should be when using any sort of area attack.
Jane perked up in expression quickly. It was so amazing that it worked so well. Kenshi ended up taking a ton of damage, and though the attack on Jane''s part left her MP levels drained, it worked out for the best. To think back on all her previous battles, using a spell like that proves to be a big improvement in her skills as a wielder.
Kenshi got back up anyway. He looked hurt and his face was dirty from the rush that last hit caused him, but he also carried an angry determined expression. He wasn''t about to give up just yet. If anything, he became further enraged the more health he lost. "Magical Blitz!" Kenshi formed two blue energy balls in his hand, throwing each one with as much force as possible.
Jane knew how hard it was to dodge these, despite carrying the reduced speed of being thrown. Jane took all three hits when her heavy suit prevented her from dodging. It was one after the next where the energy spheres slammed into her plate, while another grazed her armlet. The hits from each strike barely felt like it hurt at all, but Jane knew that if there was even the slightest bit of pain in this armor, the damage wasn''t minimal.
Jane''s armor took half the damage she had, but the force of that Magical Blitz was hardly anything to fear. Jane suddenly obtained the idea from Kenshi to try out her next attack. She had been practicing the same spell for refinement anyway, and she didn''t remember failing it either. "I''ll show you a Magical Blitz!" Jane challenged. She quickly used more MP energy, forming each of the blue spheres of light into her hands. Jane threw the first two almost the same way Kenshi did. Then she formed the third one in her right hand, tossing it up and kicking it forward with her right shoe. Before waiting to watch if it was a direct hit or not, Jane spun around, forming the fourth energy ball in her hand before making it a full spin. At the end of her spin, Jane combined all of that force into her last throw, heading her last energy ball straight into Kenshi''s chest. The last one almost had the same force needed to knock him down, but it wasn''t enough.
Jane didn''t get to see it, but Kenshi had enough speed to dodge her third energy ball, the one she kicked at him. Kicking it made it fly higher, and that made it easy to duck out of the way, but Magical Blitz doesn''t normally allow one to use four energy spheres instead of three. Doing so consumed even more MP energy, but Kenshi didn''t expect it, especially with that cleaver spin. He ended up taking a hard hit after the two softer ones, but it wasn''t enough to push him out of the fight or disrupt his balance.
Just as Jane was getting even more psyched to win, so was Kenshi. He had been practicing a lot after graduation, and though Lith won many more battles than he had, Kenshi also had a good streak going so far. 600 credits was quite a lot to put on the table like this. He should have gone lower; this wasn''t the time or place for that thought. He had to try everything, even if he wasn''t stronger than before. Kenshi held out his arm, forming a jade color glyphring around his wrist. "Lightning Strike!"
A bright electrical glow of lightning shot from Kenshi''s hand, supported by his glyphring. Jane didn''t expect this, but could do nothing either way. Lightning Strike is not often dodged at all. It flashes and strikes so quickly that it''s always too late, but Jane hated getting hit with electrical attacks. During the moment of electrocution, the body heats up incredibly fast, enough to suffer a burn or two. Then all her nerves tingle and tense as she takes damage. The blast of electricity held Jane in place, zapping her immobile for 1.6 seconds, and when it was all over, her entire body still tingled everywhere. It was like feeling a nervous pain, but at the same time, the after effects left her drained even with high HP levels. The fact that Jane was wearing conductive metal armor probably didn''t help to reduce that damage either, especially considering the elemental weakness this particular suit assigned to her.
It was Jane''s turn again, but those lightning attacks really hurt. Jane needed another second to recover, and then decided to just finish this up right here and now. Despite her immobility, Jane managed to jump straight up in the air just to throw her daggers in the correct way. "Flying Guillotine!" Jane''s daggers flew through the air with grace, forming a red flat circle of magical damage as the daggers crossed to create a new formation. This circle now threatened to harm Kenshi as there is no way to dodge it. Jane''s skill was perfect, all until it actually wasn''t.
Long before that guillotine attack came close, Kenshi quickly threw another ability at Jane when she wasn''t expecting it. "Rock Fall!" Kenshi needed only a moment to activate the spell, since it doesn''t need constant control. As soon as Kenshi performed his spell, he then drew his sword and then quickly shoved it into the ground right in front of him, just before the Flying Guillotine attack threatened to consume him.
What happened next occurred so fast that it was hard to figure out what was going on. Rock Fall is a magical ability that deals earth elemental damage from above instead of below. Kenshi used it to spawn a bunch of large rock chunks high in the air right above where Jane was standing. Because she was focused on attacking, she was left vulnerable when all of those rocks began slamming down on her with all that force. One of them hit her head, and then her back. Jane allowed herself to fall down on her back, covering her face for protection. She still wasn''t even aware of what was happening, but rocks were damaging her the entire time, an effective earth based attack that also has a high blunt damage dealing potential.
The very moment Kenshi put his sword in the ground in front of him, his plan worked immediately. The Flying Guillotine was suddenly stopped by the obstacle now set in front of it. The slashing attack wasn''t capable of prying out that sword from the ground, and after two second of being forced not to move in its tracks, the red circle of damage vanished while both of the daggers fell to the ground with a loud clank sound. Using his sword to block certain attacks only works half of the time, but with his low HP, Kenshi had to try everything now. It seemed that his attack worked very well against Jane. She was on her back, covering her face before the last rock hit the ground next to her in a near miss. Her HP took a fair amount of damage that time, and Jane was still having trouble getting back up.
Jane could feel the pain of bruising everywhere. That Kenshi must have pulled a fast one. Fighting the damages, Jane got herself back up, but it took some time. Kenshi might add in another attack right now. Lucky for Jane, he didn''t seem to know what to come up with next. His HP didn''t change from before, so somehow his last move negated her guillotine attack as well, because her daggers were back in her pockets before she knew it. Now wasn''t the time to worry about mobility or low MP levels. Jane came up with her next attack and executed it without hesitation.
Jane began by running towards Kenshi again, but she wasn''t getting too close this time. While she was doing this, Kenshi did react by shooting off a Fire Bolt her way, but it was of no use to him. Jane had previously infused some MP magic into her feet. In critical moments, one can use MP energy in their limbs to achieve other statuses than damage infusion. In this case, Jane''s body weight became significantly lighter, manipulating gravity for her body weight at the cost of more MP energy. She used this to jump 20 feet into the air. In doing so, she evaded the Fire Bolt and gave herself an opening to attack from high in the air. "Bulliton!" Jane''s yellow generation glyphring formed a large spear in her hands. She threw it down as hard as she could with great aim, and the jabbed edge flew right into Kenshi''s body.
At this point, Jane was now falling down, and she used her hands to lessen the pain of her descent. As she came to the ground, she could see that her spear managed to hit Kenshi hard. Despite being just a painful piercing attack, the spear had dealt a heavy blow to his remaining HP, leaving him staggered on his knees as he begged for that pain to stop.
Taking a hit like that was painful to some extent, but Jane wasn''t finished yet. She needed to end this now, or pay for the mistake of showing mercy in a Leray battle. Since Kenshi now has a critical HP level, it would be the best time to see if her critical attack would work out this time. Jane drew out both daggers, taking aim at Kenshi where he was stuck. This isn''t any kind of official skill. Though it might be similar to Knife Toss, Jane would need to throw her daggers in the formation used with Flying Guillotine. All at the same time, it would not need to expend any magic. This is good, because her MP levels were critical as well, making her breath faster while she panted a lot more in place.
Jane didn''t let it stop her. Kenshi was suffering from that last hit right now. Despite the spear fading away, he was covering the impact site to his chest, immobile from how bad it must have hurt. She finished taking aim and preparation, then threw her daggers with as much force as possible. "It''s time to finish this!" Jane''s daggers flew through the air together, crossing in a horizontal position that didn''t allow them to change course. When the daggers hit Kenshi''s forehead, they struck him in such a way that the crossing formation knocked him down right then and there. Jane watched Kenshi fall down on his back, while the spinning blades bounced off the ground. Her daggers reappeared in her hands again like they were supposed to, glowing red from their natural damage infusion. As Jane read his energy scope, she finally realized that this match was already over.
Chapter Theme Music: Mine 24 [A+B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
After that friendly reminder, the Siriean dome began to disappear, again confirming that the match was over and Jane was declared the winner. Shock took over for Liz and her companion. Kenshi totally passed out blind thanks to the last attack he took head on. Jane did it! She threw her daggers and scored a critical hit that shouldn''t have been usual to conduct anyway. Her modified knife throw should have only dealt at most three to four percent HP damage, yet it did a full 7%. However, Jane didn''t feel excited right now. The expression in her mind was more of confusion.
Jane won, she had won her battle with style and grace this time against some man on Route 96. She knew she just won, the reality sank in quickly, but after graduating from Dakota, Jane hadn''t won a single battle at all. She only challenged three people, but all of them held an unfair advantage over her, until now. It was so hard to believe what was right in front of her eyes, but before long, the sensation of a glorious victory took over. Jane pulled out her Leray license, checking her funds to see that the 600 credits has been automatically transferred over. Jane then used that moment to disable her own energy scope since it wasn''t needed anymore.
A quick concept for thought came to her mind. Jane previously had only five credits. That meant that if Kenshi had asked to bet no credits, Jane would have automatically won at least 250 CR by means of the automated forgiveness system. In this situation, if the opponent bets higher than what their challenger has available, the bet is still legal one-way. If Jane lost, she only would have lost the five credits she had, giving Kenshi just that tiny boost. But since she won, she gets all the six hundred credits, since he had them. Oddly enough, the person placing the leading bet cannot exceed their own credit count. Those are the strange systematic protocols - the way the license cards works in conjunction with the network integrated into the veil.
Kenshi''s buddies got in closer. Liz had to be the one waiting for him to wake up before using a med kit orb on him. Jane felt perplexed to witness what defeat was like through another''s body. This is how it appeared every time she passed out, Danny and Taylor hunching down and protecting her even more. Though it seemed noble, it gave Jane a sick feeling knowing that she had gone through this before, three times in a row.
Kenshi would not come to for a while, and his friends knew of this. Lith then stood up, approaching Jane with a defeated look. He lifted his head up, meeting her green eyes. "That was some battle. You mopped the floor with that kid." Lith sounded like he was really impressed with Jane''s skill, and he wasn''t embarrassed to admit it.
It was only her first victory in a Leray battle, but somehow she won it with spells that shouldn''t belong to a first rate wielder. Kenshi wasn''t all that bad either, but his defense and skills weren''t that tough to handle. Jane wondered if she could have won this match without that bulk of armor around her. "Perish the thought," Jane responded. "I really have to get going."
"Already?" Lith complained. Liz approached him from behind, but Lith was allowed to continue speaking. "We usually allow winners to stay with us for a while. A traveling brigade of challengers is more interesting and effective than lone wolves."
Those words... It felt like a spiritual dagger had stuck Jane right in the heart. Lith wasn''t wrong at all. If Danny and Taylor were here right now, this trip would be so awesome, not this nonsense where she has to endure the freezing cold weather alone. It''s too late for the sentiment now; it''s too late to turn back. "Do you..." Jane paused. She knows they cannot be replaced, but maybe with four people instead of one, she can get to Lennith City faster. "Want to head to Lennith City with me?"
Liz suddenly had a sad expression. Perhaps she felt bad about the reply she was about to give. "We can''t," Liz admitted. "We''re due in Monoc Port, and we have to resupply there before the night ends."
"It''s alright," Lith announced. Jane deserves to go her own way, especially if she is that powerful. "I hope you make it to Lennith City before next morning on your own. You certainly seem tough enough. Good luck on your travels Jane. This was fun while it lasted." Despite not wanting to just leave alone the new potential ally, Lith had to accept this fate and return to the pressing matter at hand.
Jane nodded, prompting Lith to turn around to bear with Kenshi, but their words weighed on her mind again. It felt like they were sad to see her off. Even if they were, Jane knew she couldn''t deviate from course. Jane prepared to head out again, but she could still hear them talking among themselves as she began walking away eastward.
"Man! Kenshi is not going to be happy about this one."
At least they weren''t bad people. They weren''t even annoying either. Jane won all because she knew she had to, and now it was already time to say goodbye to them. Something about this situation just didn''t feel right. Jane knew it at her core, but the only thing she could think to blame it on was the absence of her two best friends.
Chapter 17-B: Route 96 (Jane VS Blair)
<01/18/1972 ¨C 21:49 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The road continued like this for several more minutes. Jane used a healing orb on herself to replenish her stats from the last heated battle, but the air grew frigid and desolate. The howling winds reminded Jane just how alone she was on this road, giving no rest to her thoughts. Jane began to beat herself up over the choice of leaving in the middle of the night rather than the day, but she couldn''t trust her luck any further.
It''s entirely possible that local authorities might be looking for her since the Tilsit incident, so it would be unwise to wait for even a day. Deep inside the Outback far from civilization, Jane knew she and her friends were better off, safer away from her, until this curse can be undone.
Regardless of the threats, her thoughts constantly cycled between the fond memories of Danny and Taylor, and then that of making it to the Den of Purity. She had been walking straight forward for some time now, but Lennith City was nowhere in sight. It would take more than a full hour to reach Lennith City on a bike if she had one. But alas, she has to put one foot in front of the other for a much longer time, and hope the battles here are kept to a minimum.
The starlight above served as a guide line for Jane''s sense of direction. In order to make sure she was still heading east and not getting turned around, all she needed to do was follow a specific constellation, one that stood out from the others. The moonlight overhead was getting just a little bit stronger as well, thanks to the cycle of day forcing night to become denser than it ever was. Because this place has no nearby forests around, Jane felt so exposed to danger out here. It''s not like there was anything to fear though. Sprawn Valley doesn''t have any magical monstrous beasts roaming around, so far as she has ever heard. Only very specific international species of animals can become transformed by Leray magic, and even then, they are not very harmful afterwards.
The silence and darkness around her soon made Jane feel more alert than before, though perhaps it was the brisk air breaking through to her skin that gave her the electric chills. The constant walking seemed to drag on forever, all until the voice of another broke through the silence, making Jane flinch in terror.
"Sorry! Didn''t mean to scare ya."
Jane checked it out for herself. An older woman almost twice her height was standing in front of her, slightly hunched sideways to express her apologies. How did Jane not see or hear her until just now?
The woman backed up a step after realizing that Jane nearly walked straight into her position. Formalities were dispensed with immediately. "Sorry about that. I should''ve watched where I was walking. Name''s Blair," she introduced.
Jane couldn''t see many physical features on Blair''s face. It really was getting this dark outside, more so even with the presence of moonlight, but her hair had to be black from the way it shadowed in view. Something was off about the way Blair was just standing around though. It didn''t seem like she was in the middle of traveling to or from either direction. Jane couldn''t be certain, but this could still be a bad thing. "I don''t suppose you''re here for a battle?" Jane didn''t want to get involved in one, but she already knew that Blair was at least going to ask her about it. Force of habit seems to make other wielders behave this way.
"That''s right," she admitted with excitement. "It''s my last one before I head home tonight. That''s why you asked, isn''t it? Man, am I lucky you came along!"
"I don''t want to fight you," Jane tried once more. "I really need to get to Lennith City, and a battle will slow me down."
"You do realize that you have a really long way to go, right? Monoc Port is almost just a mile west, which means you''re really far away from the city right now."
A defeated expression decorated her face. Jane hated to hear that sort of news. After all this time, she had only traveled about one mile, one out of nine! "Great," she spoke sarcastically. "I''ll have to walk faster then." This will never work!
"Now - now," Blair hesitated. "I must insist that we have a Leray battle. We both have licenses you see? And if you''re that far away from the city, then a battle isn''t going to slow you down that much more."
"Is this another formal request?" Jane allowed anger to take form in her vocal tone. She was already cold, tiring out, and lonely. Instead of any relief, all Jane received was a status update telling her how far she was from Lennith, followed by another battle to slow her down against her will.
"It is. If you need to move that badly, then just take a single strike. You don''t have two already, do you?"
Jane kept the aggression in her voice as she spoke. "It doesn''t matter! I can''t keep denying battles and skipping everyone forever. It''s people like you that piss me off. If only personal matters could count as an emergency." I''ll never reach Lennith at this rate!
"Hey, you don''t have to get snippy with me," Blair retorted. "If you had personal business there, maybe you should have tried wearing normal clothes instead of full battle armor to stand out." Does this girl not realize that weekly vacation statuses can be added to license cards too? You get three weeks spread out for time off every year!
Jane knew it. Another big head who can''t understand when or how to be nice. "You''re right," she agreed. "I just have to knock some sense into you instead." Jane figured this would be her luck, but she might as well take it out on this loser. If people won''t get out of her way, she''ll just have to knock them out in battles by force. "I suppose taking some credits from you will teach you a lesson."
Blair tightened her eye brows while keeping her smile, unable to choose which emotion to express to this idiot. "I see confidence is still on your side. So then I take that to mean you accept the offer?" Blair couldn''t be certain of the girl''s next intentions, but the fun in defeating her would be too big a chance to pass up. If she didn''t want to fight, then don''t get a mage license in the first place!
"Duh!" Jane already prepared her battling stance, ready to fight it out right here and now if Blair doesn''t back down. "You would dare slow me down and wear out more of my energy, even after knowing how important it is for me to get to Lennith City." Jane knew that Blair didn''t actually know all of the details regarding the importance of Jane''s physical haste, but she could have at least taken her word for it by not making the offer official. "I can''t decline all of my battles, because my license is too important for me to lose as well. So if you won''t spare me a single fight, then I''ll have to make you regret it."
Blair smirked, putting her face really close to Jane''s. "Beating you down will be the highlight of my night. Wielders this bratty deserve a shake down every now and then."
Jane backed away from Blair and her awkward spite. "You''re going to regret doing this. If you think you can take me down so easily, how about I wager a thousand credits this time?"
"I can accept that. I''m no easy target ya know." Despite Jane making the offer of a credit count she didn''t fully have, Blair just accepted anyway without checking, one manner in which this rule can be bypassed.
Jane drew her daggers, already prepared to strike. Blair had to back away and get some distance between them. After that happened, the Siriean dome formed with a large radius and a light at the top just like before. The battle was already beginning quickly, much more because Jane was in a hurry, so much that she forgot to announce her name to the opponent. It wouldn''t matter soon since the energy scopes take care of that. Jane was ready to move first, but still, she had to wait for the battle parameters to be set with the reward spoils. Blair engaged her energy scope before the text could even appear. Obviously Jane''s opponent was an impatient person as well.
Jane wondered if everybody on Route 96 is like this. They just challenge everyone even if they aren''t ready, damn the consequences! How childish can one get? Jane stopped moping around, and chose to engage her energy scope as well. In preparation for her battle, Jane wanted to coordinate the very first move.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Eternal Struggle ~ FFXIII-2 OST
However, Jane didn''t get to go first. Blair was more than ready for her first strike against Jane, already exercising a spell. "Flameburg!" Blair pulled out a short blade of a sword from behind, further surprising Jane. Blair then slashed the sword through the air, creating a two-dimensional diagonal line of fire. It was as if some invisible object caught flames, and it was pushing forward towards Jane at a really high speed.
Jane wanted to dodge, but dared to block it instead. Jane had no intelligence on the Flameburg skill or what is was capable of. Expecting purely a fire based attack, Jane''s upper body suddenly exploded in a burst of heat, while her armlets and chest plate began to smoke and burn with her. The solid line of magical fire drilled through Jane like she was made of paper, and continued flying through to the other side of the arena. The line of fire then became absorbed by the dome shield around them, but Jane took a significant amount of damage. She let out a painful yelp despite the armor protecting her from this specific element.
Flameburg was something Jane would likely never see until now. It''s a devastating attack that uses a sword to create a perfect line of fire, while infusing a lot of magic into the spell simultaneously. It turns into a beam of flames, strong enough to pierce solid metal armor while dealing a ton of damage in the process. Alternate forms of Flameburg can be spawned from a glyphring, using a pure beam of the same energy form. Jane unfortunately had to learn this the hard way. While her armor allowed her body to resist fire, the damage was still quite high - all things considered.
Despite the damage, Jane noticed that her armor integrity carried over the damage previously. So that''s how it works! No matter how many battles you win or lose, the armor eventually fails on you, putting all of that good money to waste. If Jane could just win this, her money won''t be wasted. Jane recovered, snapping out of the feeling of taking a lasting fire attack. It was now her turn for sure this time. Jane decided not to let up at all, not after using all of those words towards Blair. "It''s time!" Jane drew her daggers, chanting the name of a cool attack and then throwing her daggers forward. "Drilling Fate!"
Jane threw her small knives, but infused them with Leray magic just before releasing them. This time, as the daggers spun through the air, they changed direction and angle. Soon after, a massive visible tornado formed, horizontally angled towards her target. It was like seeing a small tornado flipped on its side while shooting forward like a bullet. The attack itself added magical damage upon its wind elemental slashing damage, increasing the potential greatly. Blair didn''t know what to expect at all, totally new to seeing such an elegant spell.
Blair took the Drilling Fate of the twister head on, the wind strong enough to push her back and off balance. She fell down, but quickly got back up by rolling backwards some more. Despite her damage, Blair wasn''t about to lay down and lose so easily. Even after taking several small cuts of slashing damage, she was more than agile and energetic enough to keep in the game.
Jane wanted to be ready for the next attack, so she braced herself to try and dodge this time. Blair was quick to retaliate, shoving a lot of her MP energy down into another orange colored glyphring. "Crimson Flare!" The familiar ability shoved three large sized crimson colored spheres of magic outward from the glyphring, though all three of them were traveling at their own angles and spanning outward. Jane knew the trick to dodging the crimson spheres, but under an amazing formation of special training, Blair''s crimson spheres suddenly increased in speed, shooting forward at a most impossible acceleration. Crimson Sphere isn''t supposed to travel fast under any circumstance, but this was the exception, and Jane let that surprise get the best of her. The speedy large sphere of magical fire based damage shoot through Jane like a ghostly figure, but it left behind an incredible mark of damage and fiery pain like before.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Jane fell to her knees with a loud painful gasp as she tried to keep it together. This time, all of her armor became blazing hot compared to before. As Jane checked the energy scope, it was a shock to see that the sphere had damaged all sectors on her armor.
A single Crimson Sphere is always big enough to swallow a tall person whole, and this left Jane''s armlets, leggings, and chest plate all vulnerable to damage at the same time. Because of the fiery infusion of strong magic, the damage didn''t get repelled by her armor enough. It was evident in how badly the sensation burned Jane''s entire body. Blair either knew what she was doing, or she was getting a lucky break tonight.
Jane pulled herself together, rising again to counterattack. If Blair wants to dish out attacks that cannot be evaded, then Jane will simply do the same. After charging the MP energy into her hands once again, causing them to glow radiantly blue, Jane aimed at Blair. She unleashed another magical attack while chanting the name at just the right time. "Sphere of Might!"
A red sphere of magical light with much of the same design as a crimson sphere spawned right in front of Blair, spinning as fast as it possibly could. Blair was already immediately taking damage, despite the smaller size of the sphere. Though the type of damage is purely magical, Blair took a devastating combination of hits again, forcing her downward when it ended much like what happened to Jane a moment ago.
"Ugh!" Blair groaned. "You fight bravely." Jane didn''t seem to be talkative even now. She was waiting for Blair to make another move. "We''ll see how long that lasts. Electro-Ball!" Blair didn''t even have her glyphring for that attack up yet, but it was part of her plan. When she lifted her hand, the glyphring formed instantly as it launched out the ball of flying electricity from the center the very moment her aim was complete. Blair obviously had a lot of practice on that spell; her invocation timing was absolutely instantaneous.
Jane didn''t care about how fast it was. Electro-Ball has no homing properties. As a result, Jane quickly jumped out of its way before it hit her for an enormous amount of damage. Without even confirming that Blair wasn''t happy about her dodged attack, Jane charged up one of her own. "Magical Blitz!" Two energy spheres formed in her hands again. Jane threw them forward at the same time as Blair took both hits to the chest. Jane then did the same thing as last time, kicking the third blitz ball forward, then spinning around full to throw the final energy ball. All four of them landed on Blair this time, and it caused a lot of damage to her health as well. Blair was obviously hurting from the spell; her expression said it all, but her stance wasn''t budging so easily.
Blair stood her ground, charging in more MP energy and unleashing it into the sky. "Storm Build!"
"What?" Jane had never heard of a magical spell like this one. She still wanted to be ready for anything, but as Blair let her magic shoot into the sky, the entire climate above them began to shift. Suddenly, dark clouds began to grow and swarm in all directions. Jane couldn''t look away from the amazing sight she was witnessing. A climate changing ability is very rare to see and difficult to learn. Though she had one of her own, it would become useless right now, as Blair would simply use Storm Build over and over again to counter Jane''s Moonglow spell. The dark clouds grew wider and darker until it seemed that the entire sky above both of them was darkened out. The wind began blowing more intensely, penetrating the dome shield and brushing Jane''s hair in all directions. Small electrical jots of lightning then populated the dark clouds, shooting in random directions. Jane never did see this before, but apparently this is a spell that changes the weather to an electrical storm. What possible reason could Blair have for doing this?
Jane returned her focus to Blair, who was charging another magical spell. Jane decided to try and beat her to it, invoking a quick and easy to use skill. Jane aimed her arm at Blair, generating another blue glyphring around her wrist. "Ice Needles!" Jane''s spell spawned dozens of sharp pointy shards of frozen water, all heading straight for Blair at multiple angles.
Blair was in the middle of charging a large attack, but had to stop it in order to take Jane''s Ice Needles head on. She had just been interrupted in that moment, taking on the painful piercing damage caused by Jane''s Ice Needles attack.
As expected, the damage inflicted was minimal. Blair didn''t allow the pain to take over, despite having sharp needles all inside of her skin now. They melt away quickly, but the pain was lasting, and because she let herself get interrupted, Blair lost some MP energy in the same process. Jane was thinking on her feet well; if only Jane didn''t have time to stop her. "Crystal Arrow!" Blair spawned a bow with arrows into her hand using a yellow glyphring, then began to pull back on the string after loading the first one. Her hands were fast with the device, proving she had much practice with this weapon before. The sharp tipped arrow wasn''t easy to aim in that arc, but Blair had so much practice doing this that it came natural to her. She was so good at it, the time it took for her to load in a single arrow and then take aim was less than a full second in duration.
Blair fired her arrow, and then loaded the next one before even waiting to see it hit. She already knew that the first two rounds wouldn''t do a thing with Jane''s armor protecting her. Crystal Arrow is a strange attack that first fires two normal pointed arrows, causing piercing damage to unarmored targets, but the last and third arrow tip is made out of a crystal in the shape of a heart, the bottom piece being extra sharp. The crystal arrow is capable of dealing the most damage, as it adds in blunt force with much more knockback power as well. Blair loaded and fired her crystal arrow at Jane, shoving the heart straight into her chest plate.
Jane stood still in boredom after realizing that normal arrows would have nothing on metal armor even with piercing properties. Jane was then suddenly forced back by the third arrow that hit her. Her metal chest plate suddenly cracked out from the spot that was hit. The arrow itself was still stuck inside of Jane''s armor, but she left it there. Pulling it out would hurt it even more, and she had to accept that her advanced armor would not last forever. It was a soon lived regret trying to underestimate a simple spell.
Jane wasn''t just going to stand around and do nothing. Blair''s health would eventually reach zero long before Jane''s could. Jane decided to use another spell, one that Blair didn''t seem to be resistant to like Kenshi was earlier. "Triple Fire!" Jane''s glyphring formed in half the time it did in her last battle. She twisted her arm to fire the second and third Fire Bolts, becoming the cannon like force needed to do so. All three Fire Bolts ended up slamming into Blair after zooming through the air, forcing her body downward without falling as she took the damage in full.
Blair''s attention was suddenly taken by the electrical storm building above her. It was from her ability earlier, finally blooming to its full sense of perfection. Even Jane couldn''t look away completely. Each lightning bolt shooting around in the sky was full of light, flashing to brighten the entire field around them. Each bolt had a unique color. The bolts that were not blue were a mixture of orange and bright purple instead, signaling in its elegant beauty that the timing for post-activation was at hand.
"Thunder Strike!" Blair unleashed more of her powerful energy towards a certain spot high in the clouds, and it formed a glyphring one hundred feet vertical from where Jane was standing. Jane simply didn''t know what was about to happen, but it was too late to do anything about it anyway. A massive lightning bolt shot down from the clouds, shooting right through the center of the glyphring and then landing on Jane. It''s an aerial electrical attack with double the force of a normal Lightning Strike, using the storm''s intense energy for a bigger and better jolt than other electrical spells.
Jane couldn''t move, her muscles tense and frozen as the intense electrical voltage traveled through her entire body. Everything heated up burning her skin again, but this time, the damage was much more severe, as was the painful sensation of the electrical shock. It lasted for 2.5 seconds this time, draining much of Jane''s stamina as soon as it ended. Jane suddenly felt dizzy, despite her high HP levels, and the tingling sensations were still hurting her every nerve after the voltage had ended. Jane was totally fazed by the attack, and she couldn''t help it one bit.
Jane couldn''t tell what else was going on during that attack, but she found out afterwards. The Thunder Strike had so much force and electrical energy that it cracked some more of the armor in her chest plate, damaging everything else. Her right armlet actually exploded during the sequence, leaving behind only chunks of metal still attached to her skin. She might as well throw that armlet away now. This single attack destroyed what was going well for her metal suit, and dealt a lethal blow to her HP too.
Jane held her head in frustration, and she realized how quickly she needed to focus. The loud storm was still overhead, and could last for a good while. Thunder Strike uses the electrical storm as a reliant source of Leray energy, which means the power level must be higher in perspective. It will all be over soon if she fails to disrupt Blair''s crazy spells. For this, Jane needed a better plan. Though the damaged armor was beginning to make her feel lighter as well, it was only her very second battle using it. Jane came up with a good enough plan to work for now. "Earth Glave!" Jane aimed at the ground in front of Blair, shoving up the dirt and gravel more and more as the pillars of earth continued forward towards her target. She had practiced this much earlier with Danny, putting the spell into a quick invocation for perfection.
Blair didn''t expect an Earth attack, but the pillars of the ground eventually slammed into her, knocking her body high upwards into the air. The ground shifted until it was back to normal, all before Blair hit the ground again.
Jane wasn''t finished yet. She charged towards Blair long before her body slammed back into the ground for extra impact damage. By the time Blair managed to get control of herself again, Jane was already there, daggers drawn out in preparation for one of her close combat attacks.
This time, Jane didn''t bother with the ability of her Knight Dance. It took longer to perform anyway, and though her attacks would be only physical and non-magical, Jane executed a well thought-out combination of punches, kicks, twists, and dagger slices. Blair didn''t even know what was hitting her anymore because Jane was so fast. Though she would have preferred to backflip in her random dodging techniques, it still wasn''t possible in this armored shell. Jane executed one attack after another, mixing in random dodges that weren''t even necessary anyway. Blair wasn''t able to think about counterattacking right now to break Jane off of her. After Jane had scored about 22 hits of random slashes, kicks, and punches, she jumped back drawing away and gaining some distance.
Blair wasn''t looking well anymore. The massive drain on her HP was making her dizzy and exhausted, not to mention that her MP levels were only good enough for one more potent spell. She didn''t try and give up just yet. Despite her balance issues and all of that pain coming from the close combat attack Jane just executed, Blair had it in her for one more magical energy burst. So after charging it up again, she formed a big jade glyphring around both of her wrists. With all that metal armor on Jane, electrical elemental magic would be her weakness. She was aiming both her hands at Jane closely together, palms open and energy expending. "Thunder Flare!"
Jane heard about the legendary electric attack of Thunder Flare before. It''s a powerful combination attack of electrical shocks, and she wouldn''t have the power to stop it. Before she knew it, Jane suddenly got herself surrounded in a translucent blue sphere, its walls totally covered with electrical energy. Then Jane began to take shock after shock, again and again and again while the sphere lit up with a brightness. These individual shocks were not nearly long lasting, but every single one caused devastating damage and a brutal jolt of pain to Jane''s entire body. Imagine getting zapped for just a split second, then another split second of relief, then back to another jolt all happening in a loop over a long period of time total; that is the extent of this powerful spell.
Thunder Flare works in this manner. The target is surrounded by a large electrical sphere, emitting electrical energy inwards, causing slight damage at a low voltage over time, and in that total amount of time, random jolts of much higher energy and voltage hit the target in an unrelenting combination without end. Every single time an increment of 0.25 seconds time passes in the sphere, a powerful jolt of electricity strikes and fades instantly, but then it keeps happening so long as the spell is going. The spell of Thunder Flare can last for up to a total of four long seconds, making it the longest electrical attack for all Leray abilities. Blair wasn''t holding back at all using a spell like this, but it did waste away at all of her MP energy just to make it happen.
Jane continued taking damage every increment, until the final blast of an electrical jolt hit her one more time with enough power to break the sphere and make it fade away. Jane then collapsed on the ground, too drained and weak to get back up.
Blair was in the same position though. Her MP was entirely wasted, so she couldn''t perform magical attacks anymore. When MP levels drop to zero percent, the wielder tires out much more quickly. Blair felt like she had just ran a full mile without stopping, her heart pounding against her chest while her heavy breathing made her entire body bob. Blair tried her hardest to stand up carefully, showing off that she could still go on, but in doing so, Jane copied her movements.
Jane wasn''t looking much better than Blair was, but that was because Thunder Flare drains the life energy right out of anyone in a battle. Jane had one more tactic left. With all of this MP energy still left unused, there was one more trick she could try, an attack that would stop Blair without fail. One thing was for sure; if Jane couldn''t stop Blair in the very next attack, she would be finished. There was no other choice. Jane quickly charged every single ounce of energy remaining inside of her. 48% wasn''t a lot to go on with this spell, but it could still be enough.
Jane unleashed her energy, making her entire body glow brightly as her stats of MP dropped down to zero in one instant. The outward burst forced Jane to try harder. Sending all of that energy out at once was no easy task, and Jane had to strain herself to make it happen. "Redemption!" She screamed. The same vertical beam of light used before shot down from the sky onto Jane, designed not to damage the user. The beam then split into five smaller vertical beams, endlessly reaching past the clouds and through the dome shield. They then began to move, spanning outward towards Blair''s direction while spinning in the formation together of a spiral design. Because of the way each and every beam moved, Blair was obviously very confused by the entire ability. Just like that, one of the vertical beams of light went through her.
The physics of the spell were strange. Though the light drilled through Blair like she was a ghost, her entire body was shoved back like she was hit onward with a brute attack. Blair let out a painful "Nagh!" just before falling down on her face, an unstoppable instant knockout. Blair previously had above 20% of her HP remaining, but it only took a single beam of light from Redemption to knock it all the way down to zero percent.
Blair thus fell down, passed out before even hitting the ground. In that same instance, Jane fell down too, all from how much that spell drained her. Jane was now out of MP energy too, but she had survived the match with low HP remaining. Jane immediately became dizzy and disoriented, enough to make her vision blur and her stomach churn in distress. Redemption can be dangerous to use like this way, especially when one has lower MP levels to start with prior to. Even if it worked out that time, Jane should never repeat the tactic again unless there is more MP in her pool.
Jane was still okay though. After staying conscious long enough, the dome shield finally faded, showing to Jane that she was once again a victor. She still needed a minute to breathe, the entire battle took everything out of her this time. Blair was sure a tough opponent when it came to offense. Must have been the type to learn expensive skills before even graduating. Then again, there were actually several levels of graduation allowed in a Leray training facility. Jane chose to journey only after basic graduation, but she knew more about magic than the average person did for her age.
Chapter Theme Shift: Lower World ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Satisfied that her license now had 1605 credits on the strip, Jane opened up her supply sphere, phasing a healing orb out of it. In the same instance, the electrical storm above her quickly began to fade, no longer supported by the climate summoning effect. The natural weather for today was still clear and cold, which became heavy again with the climate-altering spell fading. A large piece of metal was chipped off the bottom of Jane''s metal chest plate, allowing for even more cold air to seep through, but right now, she was focused on getting better fast. After what she felt using Redemption, holding off on healing would likely lead to a loss of consciousness. Jane lit up her healing orb, using it on herself to restore her statuses.
The orb took a while to allow Jane to feel better, though it was the cheap ones she bought at that store anyway, thus the process was not instant. The night had not gotten much darker than before, and it was time to head out again. Jane almost felt sorry for having to leave Blair passed out like that. She doesn''t have anyone around to help revive her, despite the fact that it happens automatically anyway. Jane got over it though. She did try to warn Blair after all, but she just wouldn''t listen. Jane proceeded east on the path by aligning her eyes to the same constellation she noticed before. To think Jane has only traveled just one mile so far! Why can''t the road be shorter? With a heavy sigh, Jane kept those legs going. Tonight is going to be a very long night.
Chapter 17-C: Route 96 (Jane VS Ian)
<01/18/1972 ¨C 22:46 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Bit by bit, Jane''s legs grew ever sorer. After walking along for nearly forty more minutes since her last battle, things were more than uneventful. Jane had been tiring out quickly just from the walking distance ahead of her. Only a couple of other travelers passed Jane by, but nobody said a word. Jane suspected that some of the Leray wielders on the road have already conducted battles with others, losing enough times to stop their ambition to challenge everybody for the rest of the night. Jane wasn''t used to routes being set up like this, but it wasn''t uncommon either. Only in the Gulop region were the smaller routes less dense. People traveled to and from places all the time there, but only occasionally did they challenge anybody else who was on one of the main roads.
Jane was in the Junon region now, territory unknown to her. As a child, she never got to explore far beyond her home, and it was because of moments like this. Leray battles are harmless, and death is usually avoided in Sprawn Valley. But if someone gets lost traveling alone, what do they do for food or water? Starvation, dehydration, age, and disease can still kill someone, and that makes big journeys such as the one Jane began that much more challenging. In order to make a living as a Leray wielder, a wielder has to carefully channel in their money. Food and water comes first, then healing orbs, then lastly the items bought in Leray stores. To upkeep that steady chain of funds, wielders have to win a majority of all battles.
Jane thought about her last two matches. Though they did go well, it was still because of her new endurance level, the new stats boosted by her armor. Technically for her, it was still a normal endurance compared to how things used to be due to the effects of this Amahar curse and the armor canceling their effects. This meant that without the curse, Jane really could become successful. She could dream of those days right now, imagine how much better everything will be after reaching the Den of Purity. But first, this long road needed to be crossed.
After lifting her head up to check her surroundings once again, there was a strange place in front of her. The dirt and gravel ended up ahead, but not into a city. Flat chunks of stone and cement filled patches in the ground with clear signs of road damage, and the fences left and right began to close in some more. A few broken stone pillars were built erecting from the cement, but whatever it was designed to resemble just wasn''t there anymore. It''s as if someone decided to build a quarry and then abandon it mid-way. Did some sort of intense battle destroy the land around here? Aren''t the Leray Agents supposed to maintain and monitor the area?
Jane kept her pace while walking into the open broken down structure. After getting ahead of herself again, someone almost bumped into her, jumping out intentionally.
"Ha! You''ve entered my lair, villain. Prepare for a fight - in the night!"
Jane didn''t know how to respond to this. It was just a kid, probably eleven years old by the looks of it. He was wearing some unknown uniform or outfit that looked to be custom made, and he had a blaster weapon holstered to his side. Jane nodded and relaxed. It was just an energetic youngster. "Who are you? Ah, never mind. Sorry about the intrusion, but I need to get going."
The kid put his hand out in front of Jane, stopping her where she stood. "You aren''t going anywhere! I''m Ian; the magic master. And nobody escapes from my lair unless I say so!"
"Cute," Jane replied. Such energy must mean he is well fed for the moment, but where is his mother? The small boy was only intending to play around right now, but something must have happened here by the looks of it. After looking around her again, it seemed like this Ian kid was calling this place his lair. He doesn''t actually think he lives here, does he? And what is up with calling himself a magic master? Ten year olds don''t even get to become Leray wielders at that. Jane wanted to keep going, but Ian seemed like all he really wanted was company. "Awh! Let''s go see if we can find your family. I''m sure they''re worried about you." Jane tried to walk forward, intending for Ian to follow her. It wouldn''t be right to leave him out here alone. Someone from Lennith City should recognize him.
Ian blocked Jane''s exit with his body once again, preventing Jane from moving an inch. "What part of you can''t leave did you not understand? And my family''s fine! Anyway, you belong to me now, so you do what I say. That''s the rules here lady."
Jane couldn''t change her facial expression on count of the surprise. What an annoying little runt. "I belong to no one," Jane replied, folding her arms in front of her. His family couldn''t really be okay with this, right? Wait a minute. If people can''t die from battles in Sprawn Valley, they may actually have let him explore on his own. No, they couldn''t be that mindless. Where would Ian get a supply of food and water anyway? In any case, Ian seemed eager to keep Jane here, but it was a feeble attempt. With his size, and Jane''s skill, it just wasn''t going to happen. "Where''s your home?"
"I live here. And you don''t get to leave until you beat me in a battle. But that''s never going to happen, so do get comfortable."
Jane glared at the kid with the most monotone looking expression. Was he serious about battling Jane? Ian isn''t even supposed to be able to use powerful Leray magic at his age, but even if he held the capabilities, even if somehow he did get a real Leray wielder''s license (given the minimum age of eleven), she wouldn''t want to try fighting against a weakling. It was getting harder for Jane to sound as caring as before with Ian''s obnoxious voice and tone. "A battle?"
"D''you hit your head or something?" Ian flexed. "A Leray battle! Bet you didn''t know I''m a magic wielder too."
"Leray wielder," Jane corrected. How did he know she was a wielder- Oh! Right! The battle armor! Jane keeps forgetting of its very existence. She could pull it off to cross the road, but then putting it back on before a potential battle wouldn''t be possible. It''s not worth the risk in any scenario. Still, something didn''t seem right with Ian''s statement the first time. If he is asking for a battle, could he really have a license already? "Ian, was it? Um, I can''t battle people who don''t have a wielder''s license. It''s against the law."
"Tada!" Ian instinctively anticipated what Jane would try and say, and flashed his license card in front of her face. As expected, Jane nearly flipped out while grabbing the card to study the thing intensely. "I''m the good guy hero here, and for that sign of mistrust, you just lost bargaining points."
Eh? Unbelievable! Jane quickly authenticated the license when it showed which location he graduated from. The kid is apparently from a private institution north of Monoc Port, and he appears to have graduated by the minimum requirement standards last year. How could a kid so young even use magic at all? Why aren''t his parents monitoring his wellbeing, and who is he calling a hero? "I thought you said this was your lair," she muttered.
"Good guys have lairs too ya know!" His higher pitch voice allowed his very tone to hurt Jane''s ears if she was too close, so she handed Ian the license card back to him to lift up again.
"Ian? Your mom and dad must be wondering where you are. Don''t you think it''s time to head home?"
"Hah!" he pointed. "You think I''d take orders from a villain like you?! And besides, I''m allowed to be out here. My parents said so. I only have to return home once a week!"
What great parents! Jane certainly recalled that a Leray wielder could only travel outside of home before dark without parental supervision after the age of legal consent, which in this country is fifteen. His parents are defiantly not following the law, but that''s not the point! "How do you have a license already? I didn''t think they just let kids graduate this early." So his parents do let him roam free, but it''s because he can use magic that they trust such behavior. What a pain!
Ian winced, taking Jane''s comment personally to offense. "I''m not just a kid! I can use great magic abilities, better than you can."
"Yeah, I''m sure." Jane didn''t raise her voice, though her tone had become clearly sarcastic. The boy seems to be doing fine, so there shouldn''t be any reason for concern. If he is fed well, then there is no need to punch into another person''s business. At this rate, it''s better to just move on after all. "I''ll just take your word for it. I have to be heading to Lennith City now. See you later."
"You''re going to Lennith City?" the boy questioned. "Think you can take me on?"
Jane didn''t expect him to be so persistent in challenging her to a battle, but since he does have an active license card, that means that an official refusal would count against her in this case... She didn''t even have the time for this fight alone. It was more than obvious she could win, but it wouldn''t be a fair fight even with Jane''s curse. With that age, there is a certain limit Ian should be able to call magical potential towards, even if he is telling the truth about graduating. The standards must be incredibly low at his school. "I don''t want to fight you. I''m a bit too high level for this. You should find somebody younger than me and challenge them to a battle."
"Afraid to fight me? That what you''re saying?" Ian folded his arms, showing confidence.
"You''re kidding, right?" Jane nodded, Ian was playing the strength card against her. "I''m not afraid of anything. I''m just in a rush is all."
"Yeah, but I already told you to get comfortable. I think you''re just scared I''d beat you."
Jane was positive already that she would win without taking damage and without using her special armor in the process. "You must not be able to read people very well. If I had the time, I''d mop the floor with you kid." Forget being nice, he just won''t let up!
Ian stomped the ground with his shoes. "I already told you, it''s Ian! Ian! And you do have the time, cause I''m not letting you go, not until you defeat me in a battle."
"I already said no!" Jane demanded. "Just battle somebody else!" After shouting her demand out loud, Jane''s pocket pinged with an unfamiliar noise. Ian stopped talking, just as curious as Jane was. Jane reached into her pocket, pulling out her own Leray license. It was the license that made that noise, since it was partially based on digital technology, but now a solid orange X mark was blinking at the bottom of her card, glowing with a radiance of holographic light.
"Hm!" Ian gloated. "Seems like if I bug you enough, you get some strikes."
Jane didn''t realize it until now, but Ian was right, not about just the one strike, but the fact that he can simply ask Jane to battle over and over. Every single time she declines, another strike will appear. There is a system in place where fifteen minutes must pass before another strike can be issued, and then there is the matter of having strike immunities if a wielder conducts 10 official battles in a 24-32 hour period. Obviously, Jane won''t be able to reach such an immunity today, but it doesn''t change the fact that Ian can simply follow Jane around for fifteen minutes, only to officially challenge her again with another strike. Anyone could just do this, since the very invention of Leray magic, and it isn''t beyond Ian to do such a thing, the kid petty.
Still, it shouldn''t be okay for the same wielder to follow someone around and threaten three strikes. How many people know about this glitch? Building in automatic anti-cheat systems into the rules of dome shields and Leray licenses must be difficult. The system cannot yet detect this sort of nonsense. It isn''t supposed to be legal to challenge someone consecutively in just short of time like that, but in theory there isn''t anything to stop it from happening, nothing but the testimony of other watchers. Right now, it was just Jane and Ian. She could end up with full strikes, just from some dumb kid bothering her to battle in the time of an hour. "You wouldn''t." Jane had to assume this was what he meant, challenging Jane over and over until her license is suspended with only two more strikes.
"Oh but I would," Ian announced. "I meant what I said about people trying to invade my lair. I''ll follow wherever you go, unless you turn back from where you came from, or stay here forever." He held his hands on the back of his head, leaning back slightly to display how comfortable this was making him. Ian isn''t just some little kid, he''s a little brat too. "I''ll give you another chance then. You can either battle me, or stay here and help me construct my fort."
Jane didn''t see anything around here resembling a fort. Did he really live out here every day? Where was his family to help take care of him at this hour? And why was he allowed to graduate so early?
Ian noticed that Jane was nearly in a trance processing her surroundings and what he said earlier. "If you deny a battle just to stay here and help me, I won''t let it count as a refusal."
Jane growled without opening her mouth. He really was serious about all of this. Yet another person to slow her down, and of all things, the rodent found and made use of an exploit in the anti-cheat system, allowing anyone who knows about it to force other wielders to accept challenges or have their license revoked on the spot, even though it was supposed to be three refusals. "You brat!" Jane didn''t have time for this, but staying here to build a kid''s fort would take much more time than knocking the kid out. Even if some part of her was against the idea, he is officially a wielder, and that means she can do whatever damage she wants to him in a Leray battle. "Fine! I''ll accept your challenge to a Leray battle. And when I beat you, I''ll make sure you never get to hassle people again."
"You willing to bet on those words?" Ian provoked.
Jane snapped back, "Yes! I want support spell bombs if you have any."
"Deal. But I''m not going to lose to you that easy." Ian accepted Jane''s challenge. After that, he showed her to the exact location of where they will battle.
On her way to an area effective for battle, Jane considered her luck. Ian really was packing items on him, support spell bombs. Spell bombs are usually common when they involve effects to MP and HP endurance levels inside or outside of the battle. Jane didn''t really specify which ones she wanted yet, but the text of the reward system would surely allow her to figure it out ahead of time.
Jane and Ian were lead to a spot in the center of some of the more intact concrete. Broken stone pillars and cut out cylindrical cement chubs speckled the area. It really was a small quarry, used to support the construction of the road here. This abandoned quarry must have been where Ian was making his living, using some of the stones for shelter whenever needed. The flat stone on the ground was square, big enough to go on for forty meters in radius, which was the chosen section of battle land. Why didn''t the crew clean it up?
Jane prepared herself instead of pondering the smaller mysteries, realizing this would be the battlefield. Her metal armor was ready too, despite the previous damages it had taken. Even now, the armor retained all of the little cracks, including the larger hole drilled into the material from the crystal arrow she suffered against Blair. In just short of time, the Siriean dome formed a massive bubble around both of them, followed by the holographic text to display potential spoils.
Chapter Theme Shift: Rock Crushing Site [B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
In the dark of the night, the top of the dome shield lit up the area just slightly, making the ground and the people more visible, though there were no spectators for this fight either. It was a battle Jane needed to win alone. After establishing their energy scopes, Ian prepared the battle by announcing his honor to have the first attack. Jane naturally had no objections since the first attack would be coming from a pipsqueak.
"Looks like it''s time to claim another victory!" Ian hollered.
Jane didn''t raise her voice enough for Ian to hear her witty remark, but she didn''t want to say anything aloud. After waiting for his first attack, Jane found herself judging the kid poorly. "Looks like all you need is a spanking."
Ian charged up energy, releasing a large looking glyphring in front of Jane. "Blast Wave!" Before she knew it, Jane was suddenly caught in the middle of various explosions on the ground. She immediately took several hits from explosive magical damage, punching holes into and cracking her metal armored suit. Every single blast hurt from the penetrating shrapnel of concrete chunks and dirt, while the magical damage reduced HP even further. The final blast also delayed her fall to the hard cement floor as it blew behind her position.
Ian laughed at Jane for taking the attack in the first place. He was certain she underestimated his power. Jane looked to be hurting seriously already, taking a lot of time to roll herself back upright. "How''d you like that?!"
Jane couldn''t ignore her previous thoughts. How did Ian launch such a powerful spell in just one go? Blast Wave has a power level of eight! What is going on here...? Jane finally understood it now. She has underestimated the young boy; still a brat, but a strong one at that. He must have been training since he was two years into magic, given full freedom by his own parents. That''s the one and only thing that could allow him to maintain such a powerful spell. Now isn''t the time to be holding back; even for a small punk, he seems anything but innocent and weak.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Jane got herself back up again, pulling out her daggers while demanding a counterattack for herself. Jane had to come up with a skill quickly off the top of her head, since getting back up took longer in her heavy armor. "Mako Beam!" Jane aimed her daggers at Ian as if they were guns. After releasing charged MP energy at the tips of the blades, they shot two magical beams of blue light into Ian, just the same as they should have in her training. Both of the beams hit Jane''s target, but the damage inflicted was almost minimal.
The beams did so little damage, mostly of a burning sensation that went as fast as it came, and the energy loss was nonexistent. "Now it''s my turn," Ian replied. He quickly charged up magic into his hands, and then charged towards the center of the field. Then he chanted the name of a spell, slamming his glowing fists into the hard cement. "Pillar Build!"
Jane wanted to shield herself, but what happened next only served to confuse her. From the center of the field where Ian put down his hands, a large stone structure shot up from the ground, growing more in height. The pillar was not just some random hunk of cement; it had designs and symbols on the structure, made perfectly in shape to form some type of stone tower. It continued growing to be as high as a hundred feet tall, and as soon as the first pillar finished generating itself, five more pillars of the same design and material shot out of the ground on Ian''s side of the field in parallel locations. This wasn''t an actual attack spell. Instead, Ian had done something to accelerate construction of stone pillars, a skill he called Pillar Build. Whether it was official or not, Jane didn''t have the slightest idea what they could possibly be for other than obstructing view, so she continued attacking according to her original plan.
"Bullet Blitz!" From the small release of magic, Jane formed two yellow glyphrings by her side, each of them putting a sub machine gun in each hand. As soon as Jane had hold of them, she darted forwards towards the kid, slid down on her shoes, and pulled both triggers. Jane performed this entire move so quickly and brilliantly that there was little time at all for Ian to dodge, but when she fired all of her bullets towards the side where Ian was, she realized that he ran at the last moment, hiding behind the stone pillar in the center of the field. All of those bullets chipped and stuck into the cement with the exception of a few that continued on, landing into the edge of the dome shield instead. It was too slow; Ian dodged it!
Ian waited for Jane''s machine guns to fade away since they were not her primary use of weapons to begin with. With that, he jumped out from behind the stone structure he was using as cover, shooting a massive ball of fire from his red glyphring. Ian''s aim was slightly off because of his spin put into aiming at Jane and his rapid invocation of the spell Fire Bolt, but because the projectile retained homing properties, it didn''t matter in the end. The Fire Bolt took Jane by total surprise. She wasn''t quick enough to even react, and the bolt of flames slammed into her chest plate, heating up her body rapidly.
Jane blocked it out as best as she could, but the sensation of a flaming fiery explosion took her from all angles. Even still, the pain wasn''t lasting. Because of where the projectile hit her, the armor absorbed much of that heat, and therefore absorbed most of the damage too.
Jane was able to recover quickly from the attack, and decided to try out another one of her spells, one she had yet to field test. "Moonglow!" Jane''s MP declined by a few levels, her glowing hands pointed towards the sky. The weather around them was already clear for the most part, but soon after Jane used her spell, the brightness all around them had intensified. The soft white color of the moonlight bounced light everywhere now, making the moon itself appear to be larger and more noticeable. The phase temporarily changed from half full to a full moon phase in response. The invocation was speedy compared to all other times, but that had much more to do with the weather already being clear with the moon already out.
Ian glanced up from where he was. The moonlight somehow became brighter, almost hurtful to glare at directly. This too was a support spell, meaning Jane was getting ready to try something specific. For Ian, Pillar Build was a support spell too, and he took advantage of it before Jane could. Ian backed away from the center stone structure, making Jane curious about his next action. "Pillar Smash!" Ian charged at the central pillar with his hands and feet glowing with magical aura. Ian then leaped into the air just before crashing his entire body into the pillar from below. At the last moment he kicked it with his foot, but Jane couldn''t see that from her current angle.
Instead, the stone pillar in the center of the field exploded outwards, shooting large chunks of cement forward into Jane''s current position. Jane wanted to react quickly, but her attempt to get out of the way of flying stone chunks became distracted from multiple booms all around her. The other stone structures broke apart too, with the same effect and directional angles as the center one. Jane didn''t understand, but Pillar Build synchronized the central pillar with all of the other ones as well. When a mage smashes the center pillar, the others smash in the same way, throwing around many more rock chunks.
Jane was suddenly hit by a massive stone piece larger than the size of her own body. She was sent flying with a loud clang against her armor, only letting the slight bit of her voice escaping from a cry of pain. Despite being sent far backwards by a flying stone, others collapsed around her as well after her fall to the floor, and Jane began taking hit after hit with solid blocks of cement weighing more than the entire floor below her did. Some fell on top of her from above, and others flew at her like projectiles. Not every single stone managed to find Jane though; all were unguided. Despite this, Ian was proud of his practice and work to see how well it affected Jane''s stats on her energy scope.
Scoring major damage to Jane, the stones eventually disappeared via pixilation degeneration, after having her entombed in the rubble, but the damage was lasting. Jane was stuck to the ground by the lasting sense of punishment. While trying to get over the feeling of multiple set bruising and possible wounds, Jane was wondering once again how someone of this age could fight so well. Jane finally caught a breath of air, previously being too winded to inhale at all. When she did, the pain got much worse all around. Jane still felt like she could stand up, but she did so with great difficulty. Jane also noticed that her left armlet was severely damaged, as was both her metal leggings. The hostile skill hurt her and the armor as well. Her chest plate however was still holding on.
Jane stood up with poor balance and coordination, shaking her head to get it back. Without wanting Ian to have a chance to retaliate, Jane launched her next attack early, despite being unstable. "Magical Blitz." Jane didn''t yell above her own voice, careful not to damage her throat as she recovers from the last attack. Jane''s Magical Blitz happened fast and perfectly. She formed two energy spheres in her hands, one for each, then she threw them at Ian.
Ian however jumped to his left and then his right, evading both Magical Blitz spheres. Jane wasn''t finished yet, and she did not let his evasions dissuade her current attack pattern. After forming the third energy sphere, Jane tossed it up slightly, allowing herself to give it a nice hard kick in his direction. Before checking to see if Ian dodged it or not, Jane spun around like before, throwing the last energy ball with her combined force straight at Ian. In the moment Jane was then recovering, she saw that the third and fourth energy ball managed to hit the kid, but it wasn''t enough damage to leave him fazed or disoriented.
Ian jumped back, calling in more magical energy and the name of a spell aloud. "Air Strike!" It''s another area attack designed to strike from the air. Ian invoked his power quickly, causing small explosions to populate the field and the space above it, getting closer to Jane after each blast.
Jane backed away, now in fear of the way things were going. She was already losing the battle against some kid! The explosions caught up, smashing shrapnel into Jane and damaging her leggings some more. The blast was enough to throw Jane off balance, but the placement of her stance kept her from falling down or flying up. In a flash, the spell itself was over, and Jane did not give in to the damage this time. The blasts didn''t go off close enough to Jane, most likely because she backed away a good distance before it was invoked, but the blasts still inflicted some minor loss in HP and armor damage due to the hits from shrapnel blasts. She needed a counterattack and soon.
Jane knew exactly what do try next, proving the usefulness of Moonglow. Jane charged some more energy into her entire body, allowing the powerful glow of the moonlight to shine on her from above. "Moon Shadow!" she called. In just another moment, Jane watched as her entire body quickly turned transparent in form. She effectively became completely invisible to the naked eye.
Ian didn''t understand the obvious. How did Jane just disappear? He began looking around him to see if she simply moved, but Jane wasn''t anywhere to be found in any direction. If she teleported, where would she come out from? Ian stepped around in a circle searching for the invisible target.
Jane was ready. She used this moment to get in an effective strike. "Bullet Blitz!" Jane''s yellow glyphrings were visible to her, but not to her opponent. This kind of invisibility hides certain magical spells that are normally visible after enough practice is utilized, half the time at least. Ian must have heard Jane''s attack call, but it was much too late now.
Jane aimed and unloaded her magazines quickly. Ian had no cover or any idea of where the attack was coming from before it triggered, but the muzzle flashes of the sub machine guns gave him warning of the pain he was about to feel. Soon after Jane unleashed her attack, the barrage of bullets began seeping into his skin, pushing his body around and back each time. After it was over, he hunched down in pain, covering the invisible bullet wounds. Due to the conversion of Leray damage, Ian''s skin was left with small glowing indents and bruises instead of open cuts or holes. The piercing damage of bullets have a high strike potential dealing more pain than damage overall.
Ian looked around more, fear overtaking his confident expression. Without the continued muzzle flash from the spell, Jane was still effectively invisible. "Where are you?!"
"I''m invisible." Jane''s reply gave Ian a weak sense of where she was, but Jane was not standing still in one spot either. Despite knowing it won''t last long, she let Ian sink that fact in. It''s about time things turn around for her.
"That''s not fair!" Ian waited for Jane to argue again, but he had no idea from before that she could go invisible! Instead of getting a reply, Jane was just silent. Ian responded by blasting a direction of his choice with electrical energy, invoking his glyphring rather quickly. "Lightning Strike!"
Jane saw the bolt of lightning hit the edge of the dome shield. It came somewhat close to her body, but Ian missed the entire aim of his spell. Lightning Strike: the spell said to never miss cannot be landed if one cannot see their opponent, or if their aiming is terrible for other reasons. Now was the time. Ian was more than vulnerable at this point, and Jane took full advantage of the situation. "Knight Dance!"
Long before Ian could try and detect where Jane was from the sound of her chant, Jane already began landing her attack. After infusing her fists, feet, and daggers with blue magical auras, those parts of her body became visible every moment she was about to strike Ian. Ian was taking hard hits too quickly to decipher what was going on. Jane combined her combination attack well, mixing up punches, kicks, and dagger slices without becoming predictable, and just after her sequence was finished, Jane jumped backwards and quickly shot a Fire Ball out of a small red glyphring she formed on the spot. The magical attack of her Fire Ball happened faster than anyone could calculate, but that was because it was a spell of a weaker power level. Nevertheless, by ending the sequence with a combined Fire Ball attack at Ian''s back, Jane had a lot more room to recover while dodging any potential attack again.
Ian took some time to recover, but even then, Jane was totally gone. She really was invisible, and for a long time it seemed to stay that way. Ian still wanted to attack, trying a more difficult maneuver next. His quick invocation of energy released a large red glyphring in front of him as he aimed in any random direction. "Crimson Flare!" Ian released three large crimson spheres that would threaten to swallow anyone whole.
Jane wasn''t out of danger just yet. Ian''s aim this time was more improved, and the center sphere was heading for a side pass. Jane had to carefully slide her feet and move to her left to squeeze in between the right sphere and the middle one that Ian sent out towards her. Despite the difficulties in the past, Jane barely got through by squeezing in between two of the passing spheres close range, unharmed and ready to counterattack again.
"Magical Blitz!" Jane was going for that spell again, now with her stamina recovered after dodging all of those attacks. The energy spheres that formed into her hands were however completely visible, and they gave away Jane''s general position. After realizing this, Jane threw them both at Ian, scoring damage immediately while finishing her attack combination. She kicked a third energy sphere, then spun around before throwing the fourth one. The entire attack hit Ian this time knocking him back with effective magical damage, but now that he knew where she was hiding, Ian quickly got over that damage to react immediately.
"Shotgun Blast!" Ian pulled up his primary weapon, the energy blaster he carried on him before going into the battle. After taking a random aim at where he remembered Jane''s last attack was coming from, Ian pulled the trigger while infusing magic into his weapon, as well as pulling off a particular type of attack. From the end of his blaster, multiple particles of energy shot from the same barrel at once with the invisible speed of magically assisted bullets.
Ian''s aim wasn''t too bad, because the burst of energy particles hit Jane in the side. Jane tripped downward from the hit, and immediately became totally visible again like before. The support spell wore off due to her lost concentration and the added sensation of damage. The Shotgun Blast hit Jane similar to the attack of Scatter Beam, but the energy this time caused blunt damage, on top of having a slightly elevated power level. Jane''s chest plate grew many more holes, while her right legging side got scrapped up from the ability''s shrapnel.
Jane knew her invisibility had just worn off from the sudden capability of noticing her opaque body, but the fight wasn''t over yet. She simply continued spamming magical abilities at Ian''s direction, creating a jade glyphring around her arm next.
"Found you!" Ian called.
Jane knew it was too late for him to be calling that out, and unleashed the electrical energy from her hand. "Lightning Strike!" The bolt of electricity was a direct hit to Ian''s body, holding him in place while he was forced to take the full duration of the painful lightning attack Jane had pulled off again. Ian''s health went down over time until the attack itself ended.
Ian was now slowing down noticeably, though it wasn''t enough to keep him down just yet. Ian stood up tall again, now using his energy to form blue spheres in his hands. "Magical Blitz!"
Right before Ian threw his attack towards Jane, she reacted quickly with the perfect evasion trick she learned earlier. "Dark Strike!" Jane unleashed her own energy, with the requirement of MP usage not being so high. She completely disappeared once again, but this time Ian''s energy spheres flew on, striking nothing but the dome shield at the end. Jane essentially warped herself to a new location with stunning pixilation visual effect, now standing right behind clueless Ian in silence. She then pulled out her dagger, and after infusing some magical energy into the single blade now glowing red, she thrust her arm upward from below, striking that dagger on Ian with an uppercut motion.
The result: Ian''s body flew high into the air from the single strike Jane just unleashed. She then pulled back, letting Ian smack into the ground. It had to hurt, his face hitting the cement like that. Though Jane argued in her mind that he was the one who asked for this challenge in the first place. It was her job to get through this route. After smacking into the ground, Ian''s health became much lower.
Because his MP levels were down too, Ian was no longer looking as well as he was before. He had bruises and some scaring from previous damages. Worst of all, he was now feeling dizzy, and looking the part as well. On the brink of losing, passing out to let Jane win the battle, Ian struggled to try and stand up, but it took him really long just to even try.
Jane had other plans, and pulled out both of her daggers to try and finish him off. Using the same technique as before, all she needed to do now was land a critical hit. "It''s time to finish this." Jane crossed both of her daggers with a precise aim at her opponent, and then threw them in the formation of a cross. As they drove through the air, each dagger was glowing with a red aura around it from its base design. The arcing of their angles remained unchanged in their course until the very last second, cutting right into Ian''s right shoulder. The aim turned out to be a bit off from where Jane planned it, but even so it was a direct hit, knocking him down once more.
Jane gasped. It didn''t work! The purpose of that throw is to immediately end the battle against an opponent with critical HP levels... Still, a nine percent drop in health from a toss that would normally do less than half the amount... The effects landed a critical hit for sure, causing double the normal damage one should take. Ian, despite being even more weak and slow was still up and crawling. Jane should have known there were limits to that particular skill.
"No! No more! I quit!" Ian just announced to Jane that he was done with this battle. Before it even sank into her mind, the Siriean dome collapsed and disappeared quickly. The battle was suddenly over, and Jane was the winner by forfeit. After she realized what just happened, Jane placed her daggers back in their pockets, since they had spawned back in her hands after landing her last attack. Finally, there was time to relax. Holographic text then appeared in front of the field to officially declare the winner and award Jane with the spoils promised to her, the items showing up automatically in her supply sphere.
Chapter Theme Shift: Chandelier Night ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Ian managed to stand up, but his stance changed completely. "I give up. You win." Ian nearly collapsed to the ground again, causing Jane to draw closer to help.
Jane hunched down beside the boy. At least now he has calmed down. She did not expect him to give up early, but perhaps that had to do with the fact that nobody else had ever done so for her in all previous battles. "You okay?" Jane saw Ian pull something out; a healing orb. He quickly went to work with using it on himself, making conversation while he healed up.
"How did you beat me?" Defeat flooded the boy''s tone, further was he angered by the strength in the woman above him.
Jane sighed sympathetically. "I did say I needed to get to Lennith City. If anyone gets in my way, I''ll have to stop them." Jane took the extra time to notice how much of her metal suit has been destroyed. It''s still functional, but the protection level would now be reduced greatly, and she probably isn''t even halfway there yet. What''s worse, this idiot gave her one strike on her card already.
"Sounds important. What''s it about?"
Jane winced in surprised. Suddenly Ian had gone from stubborn and bratty to nosy. That healing orb must work fast. "It''s personal," she answered. It''s too long to explain anyway, and Ian can''t do anything to help her now.
Ian shrugged. "Whatever. I did say that you can only pass if you beat me."
"At least your man of your word."
Ian tilted his head at Jane, giving her a curious look. "Why wouldn''t I be? It''s not like that''s uncommon."
You''d be surprised. It''s what Jane wanted to say aloud, but Ian would only make her talk some more, and then morning would come before Jane even gets close to the city. Jane simply let this situation lie. She did take extensive damage after all, and that means Ian will be fine on his own. "I did underestimate you though, and I suppose that''s one thing you use as a strategy. But I have special skills of my own.
"Like invisibility," Ian aligned.
Jane knew she couldn''t just stay and talk, her impatience getting a hold again. "Listen, I have to go now. I''ll only be able to return here after I''ve settled what I need to. Take care Ian."
"That''s magic master Ian," he corrected.
Jane sighed again, but with a relieving smirk of the calm. Still a kid. If only he had some manners... Jane waved him goodbye as she walked off, knowing that he would be fine living here with that kind of hidden power under his belt. Whatever elite training facility graduated him must have been high class. It''s rare for anyone under the age of fifteen to graduate from a facility, let alone use magic spells that inflict explosive damage. Then again, Jane thought back to her earlier days. Her parents once told her that many more years ago, it was rare for anyone who was under the age of 20 to graduate, and so on. Guess the grownups are getting weaker...
Jane''s thoughts immediately shifted after she walked far enough to put more distance between herself and that abandoned site. Now she was in the middle of the same looking path, still freezing cold and still dark as ever. The moonlight has long since returned to its normal intensity level and half-waning phase, before when Jane turned it brighter using the power of Moonglow, but something about Ian reminded her about the incident that took place on Tilsit Port.
It wasn''t just Tilsit. People who have acquired the ability to use Leray magic are supposed to use it responsibly. Even outside of a battle, anyone can use Leray magic for conventional things, like starting a fire to cook with, or using electricity to power up a generator, but that doesn''t mean everyone uses it responsibly. The very reason one must carry a Leray license to use magic is because the Leray veil of magical protection still doesn''t stop criminals in Sprawn Valley who wish to do more harm than good.
Though Leray related crime is very rare these days, this place still occasionally get thieves, or just people who bully others no matter what kind of scene they make. Or, they get people that use apparent exploits in the battle intelligence system, giving additional strikes to uneasy fighters just by asking the question more than once in less than twenty minutes. That problem needs to be fixed!
Still, she can''t call herself a saint. Jane was briefly reminded of how she stole money to buy this suit of armor. Even now, it''s just plain wrong. She left the sailor''s license back on the boat where it belonged, but the money transfer wouldn''t be traceable directly to her. To all of the avail, her new armor was beginning to crumble from battle damage already. Jane responded by looking up at the stars with her hand over her heart. "I promise. I''ll find that guy at Tilsit Port and pay him back the credits after I visit the Den of Purity. I promise." Jane was making a promise to herself and a promise to god. It was a bad thing to do by stealing from her victim, but it cannot be undone just yet.
Jane knew it was something she would have to live with, but the entire event reminded her of other things too, like the time when her own training facility''s vault had been broken into. All from just one guy, he managed to steal and make off with precious crimson crystal shards. They''re stored in vaults all around Sprawn Valley to take the eyes and heat off the main vault in Eldora City. That thief guy was a real criminal. He not only got away with what he did by using a full teleportation symbol (something illegal to most civilians), he even managed to stop everyone who tried to thwart him.
Jane never forgot that battle at all. She was a part of the fight, as well as her own teacher and the Leray agents based in Fronas town. Danny and Taylor fought alongside her as well, but none were good enough to stop him. From this point of view, it almost feels like the crime wave is beginning to increase once again. Sometimes these things just fluctuate in and out, though never with as much success as recently. Unmarked prototype spell bombs are illegal as well, something Jane didn''t consider until long after she made a mess of the situation, involving herself in what might be the worst crime since two-hundred years ago. Jane couldn''t shake the thought for long. It feels like something most sinister is happening in the shadows around her, something dangerous, something unseen. With as weak as she is, all she could do for now is continue her own journey.
To be continued...
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Chapter 18: A New Frontier (Jane VS Belzer)
<01/19/1972 ¨C 01:10 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Whispers of wind brushed Jane from the north, dragging time and silence behind her. She had been walking for so long now that her guiding constellation of stars shifted eastward; two hours spent from her last fight. Jane had not engaged a single opponent since her last one. Only two people passed her by, but they did so cautiously, trying to avoid eye contact. It made Jane realize just how inconvenient the battle system could be at times. It could only be wrong ~ forcing others with a license to conduct battle with others just because they know they could, or just because they had the factor of fear on their side.
It was either this general area, or all of Junon full of wielders who have no patience for others. The long walk gave more time for Jane to reflect on these matters, but by now she was only tired and exhausted. Estimating the time spent since her last match, how long has it been? Jane estimated that she had continued marching on without any rest for at least two full hours or more since her last battle, but it wasn''t easy to tell right now without a clock. It has to be two in the morning or something. Why didn''t she just wait like before? The regret only lowered her morale more than she wanted it to.
At least a break might be in order. Jane already ate some of her portable rations after getting hungry twenty minutes ago. They did well to feed her for the moment, but it seemed like the road would never-ever end at this pace. The area on the ground didn''t change all that much, other than the gravel becoming less speckled than before; this section of old road wasn''t as beaten down as the rest.
Resting on the ground just up ahead seemed like a viable option now. She noticed a shadowy figure there, and contemplated whether it was wise to break beside a potential wielder. This person was either waiting to challenge someone like her, or taking a walking break the same way, but the presence of anyone made Jane incredibly nervous. A battle now would be terrible. She was already cold from the wind, and long since fatigued from all the constant walking. Her limbs were occasionally trembling from the length of exposure to the cold air. Even though it couldn''t be any lower than forty-nine Fahrenheit, being out for that long in the same temperature was harsh. Why now does there have to be another challenger?
Just then, the shadowy figure came alive walking towards the center of the road, shifting angles to head in Jane''s direction. It really was a person, interested in Jane of all things. Jane felt a loss of words come over her. All she could do now was complain and slow down, the person already at indoor volume proximity.
"Say you? Just hold on just a sec." His voice was deeper than what Jane was used to. The guy had to be twice her age. Revealing longer lighter hair, he seemed to be wearing a thin jacket made for the appearance of official battle gear. Jane stopped in front of the man, but kept her distance at ten feet away. "I need to ask you a few questions."
"I don''t want a Leray battle," Jane announced.
The man nodded his head left and right. "If you are a Leray wielder, then all battles still apply to you. Trust me, I don''t want to battle either. But I don''t get to go home for another long time, see?"
"What kinds of questions are these?" This guy was acting a bit odd. Was he saying that he was challenging her even though he didn''t want to battle? He must have misspoke! Why stop her like this if not for a battle? Maybe he wanted to team up?
"The simple kind." The man could tell that his own answer did not put Jane at ease, so he quickly took the time to test his survey again. "Am I to assume you''re heading in the direction of Lennith City from elsewhere?"
"Yes?" Jane didn''t mind that she sounded skittish to answer the guy. He was the one acting awkward anyway. What does it matter where she is going?
"So you wish to reach Lennith, and you are a Leray wielder. May you please tell me how many battles in a row you have won so far?"
Jane sounded as confused as ever. "How many battles I''ve won? In a row?" The man was just awaiting the answer. It was an odd question, but still a simple one. This can''t be a prelude to ask for a fight. Maybe he was gathering statistics for something. "That would have to be three in a row."
"I see," he answered. The unidentified male noticeably paused and changed his stance to ponder the statistic. He then side stepped once to make sure he was straight lined in front of the girl. "That will be all then. I''m sorry to inform you, but you will not be allowed to pass beyond this point."
"What?!" Jane winced backwards using her entire body, but she couldn''t feel embarrassed by that reaction. Who the hell is this guy to think he can just block the road by rule of law?
The man could tell that he already upset Jane, but all she needed now was the reason. "My name is Belzer. I''m what''s called a Leray route gradyent."
"What''s a route gradyent?" Jane had no recollection of the term or purpose. She would rather return to the pressing concern as to what the guy''s problem is. There is no reason why she can''t pass!
"Route gradyents hail from nearby towns or cities and act as a sort of sentry outlet for Leray wielders. Think of it as a roadblock filter. I can''t authorize anyone to pass to or from Lennith City unless certain conditions are met. If a wielder comes by here, I ask them how many battles they have won consecutively without failure. If their answer turns out to be less than five, then I have them turn back. By those standards, you are thus too weak to head there."
That has to be the dumbest thing ever! Jane stamped forward just one pace to challenge such a threat. "Well my name is Jane Venn." Jane spoke through her teeth, ever making it obvious she was about to burst with anger. "It will be the last name you hear if you don''t let me through right now. I don''t care what you are or what your job is. Lennith City should be open to the public no matter what!"
"You must understand something Jane. Walking through long routes such as this one or that of Eldora can be very dangerous. Battles are normal for Leray wielders, but for anyone passing by, they must know how to handle the long road and take it easy when they need to. Leray wielders have a sense of common arrogance simply because they have magical powers over everyone else, and that makes them susceptible to conflicts, like getting lost or running around for too long. And it is this kind of stupidity that makes our jobs much harder."
Jane decided not to hear any of his words. "You must understand something. I''ve never heard of a gradyent before. We don''t have those back in Gulop, and I''ve never heard of anything like this in my entire life. I have been walking on this frozen dirt trail for over three hours! I''m not about to just stop and turn around!"
"Yes - yes," Belzer heeded. "You''re upset because you''ve been on the road for too long, eager to reach Lennith City, tired from the fatigue - I know. And this is exactly what I am talking about. People who haven''t toughened up before making long journeys like this can end up getting lost, or getting stuck. Can''t say I understand why most first-year classes neglect teaching students about us gradyents, but rest assured they do exist. Gulop has gradyents too, they just don''t ever do their job, which is why that region only has one single person filling the role. So I do understand that the concept is new to you, but my job as a gradyent stands as such." He lowered his knees just slightly, maintaining his dominance as a human roadblock against Jane. "I must monitor traffic on the road assigned to me, in order to maintain a stability among Leray wielders with regard to average skill levels. For example, the road from Monoc to Lennith is dangerous, in a sense that Lennith City holds a higher average population of skilled Leray fighters; people who don''t lose so often as you. This kind of balance is expected to be maintained."
Jane wasn''t certain if he was lying, but in the event he wasn''t, and she attacked a gradyent the wrong way, this too could end her career early. Still, this Belzer has gone way too far blocking her access to Lennith City! "So what about the people who aren''t wielders? You harass them too?"
"I let them all pass, since they are unable or unwilling to learn how to use magic. For those who require passage while carrying an active license, I offer only three options. You must either pass my conditioned test, suspend your license, or require that you declare an emergency, if the situation warrants it. Technically, you could proceed to Lennith by ignoring my presence, but I would then be authorized and willing to set all three strikes on that card in your pocket. Gradyents have such authority." Jane glared at him with such vile hatred after what he said, but Belzer continued, ensuring he does his part. "I don''t particularly enjoy my job all that much, and it''s because gradyents have been being pressured by the council to perform the workload of three people lately, even though it falls on them to properly assign other gradyents and agents to each road. Let me ask you something..." Expecting Jane to finally interrupt, her silence allowed him to continue. "Where are the Leray agents who monitor the roads? I don''t ever see them."
Jane was confused by his explanation. The rate at which this guy was yapping had her expecting sleep deprivation to be a probable cause of his hostile break down. One would think he''s lost it by how much effort the man was placing into his silly charade.
But Belzer continued, pointing at Jane to make her an example. "It''s people like you, people who haven''t won too many battles in a row that points out the fact that you are simply too weak for what lies ahead, and it isn''t your fault. Leray agents are supposed to monitor the roads to ensure that the area is properly watched and maintained, while my job is to regulate the level of wielders who pass by. A person without as much skill level is unfortunately a cause of the problem, due to their heavy arrogance from their own pipe dreams. Imagine the disappointment those elite Lennith graduates face when they challenge a weakling like you, expecting so much more elegance from their studies. While I know having more agents would solve the issue, I also know that such a notion won''t ever pass in the council anymore. So I''m left with no other choice Jane."
So he wasn''t blocking the road unconditionally. Still, winning five battles in a row is absolutely outrageous for a person of great skill level. How the hell is it not dangerous to stop people who are tired or fatigued from advancing to the next city where it would be safe? Where is the logic in this lunatic? How can it even be tolerable to place penalties on wielders who simply wish to pass through? This just isn''t right under any circumstance. "I''ve heard enough of this." Jane made her move, trying to walk right past Belzer as if he did not exist. That''s when Belzer forcefully pushed Jane backwards using the Leray ability of Push Wave. Jane slid back in her shoes without falling over, the Push Wave weaker than average on purpose, but she was now becoming much angrier in response. "How dare you?!" Jane infused magic into her fist, and took a random swing at the guy.
Belzer reacted quickly, catching Jane''s arm just before her hand struck his face. Belzer then held her arm there with a slight twist to add pain to the back of her shoulder, keeping her from trying it again. "This is what I''ve been talking about; travelers who aren''t ready for the long roads." Jane struggled with force alone to try and get her arm free of his grasp, groaning from the pain in her limb. "If I can stand here and bully you like so, then anybody else can do it as well. Lucky I don''t aim to break the law or do any harm, but others might try something of the sort, and I cannot let this happen to some fragile girl like yourself. Without the agents here to monitor Route 96, I must fulfill my duties stricter than ever before. You don''t deserve to go to Lennith City. As a gradyent, I will stop your advance at any cost. That is the job they''ve given me."
Jane opened her eyes wider, clenching her teeth in his face. Jane then forced back her arm in a winding motion, causing Belzer to let go as he nearly was hit in his face. She eventually remembered something about route gradyents from class, not that she paid it enough attention. Her memory was too vague, though she at least conjured up the concept. Even so, what this idiot was doing didn''t fit her mental image of a gradyent at all. Who is he to stop wielders from going anywhere just because they feel like it? Belzer... He has to go down! Jane felt like she needed to destroy this guy if she was ever going to pass, and her aggressive glaring seemed to give Belzer something more to say.
"You''re eyes... They burn with so much fire, so much passion! Whatever your drive to reach Lennith City is, I can feel it from over here." Belzer inhaled loudly before coming to a decision, leaving himself open for Jane to attack him head on, but Jane didn''t strike him yet. "Very well then Jane. You already know that I will do all in my power to block your path from Lennith City, but since you won''t back down, I''ll let you battle against me in a fair Leray match."
"Tch!" Jane spat. "You want to battle against me, so that you further slow down the time it takes to reach Lennith City? Why don''t I just dish it out right here? I don''t need an official Leray battle to get my way tonight."
Belzer remained perfectly calm in his explanations. "Striking me in such a way would be an illegal act on your part Jane. I can sense that you want to keep that license in your back pocket for later. Besides, this is what gradyent battles are known for. If you can prove yourself worthy, defeat me in battle, I will promise you a multitude of awards, including permanent passageway using Route 96. Winning against a gradyent registers on a status link inside of the digital license verification system, so there would be no way to forget the favor."
Suddenly calm by the possible well-made offer in front of her, Jane pursued the nature of the guy''s intentions. "What kinds of awards? And don''t cheap talk me with some rip off in credits." Jane drew her daggers, uncomfortable just waiting around with conversation. He talks an interesting game, but why wouldn''t Belzer just let her battle him before as a gradyent?
Belzer agreed to the following terms on Jane''s behalf, ignoring the physical threat in front of him as a sign of his own confidence. "Win my fight, and I will bestow upon you, two upper class healing orbs, two thousand credits, and an HP up spell bomb."
Jane suddenly relaxed. The HP up spell bomb actually did sound like a good reward after all. An MP up spell bomb is an orb which can be used inside of a battle, and the usage of the device improves one''s maximum MP capacity by 10% from current levels, up to a certain threshold. The best part to this particular spell bomb is - the effects are permanent. In contrast, with an HP up spell bomb, the effects go to 10% of one''s total endurance, and are also permanent. If Jane got a hold of this spell bomb, it would really help out her defense after losing this armor.
Jane''s enduring silence allowed Belzer to relax, realizing that the items he bargained struck her in the heart. "There''s more." Belzer had thought a lot about his next decision. "It has taken me forever to meet someone such as yourself, a person who has more confidence and determination to have their way, more than anyone I''ve ever seen. At first, you didn''t realize what gradyents do, so you dared to fight me even after I''ve demonstrated my physical parameters. In this stir, I realize that my way of things might actually be flawed. If you defeat me in battle Jane, I will change my rules of current route gradyent operations. From then on, instead of stopping weak people from passing, I will only require that they battle me to pass, only once - to win or lose."
What an empty promise, Jane thought. "Won''t that just piss off whoever gives you your pitiful job?"
"It might, but even so, they can all go to hell!" Belzer didn''t need reason to explain the semantics of a decade of broken promises from the people in charge of the gradyents. All that mattered was the end result, the promise he made to himself long ago, to inspire Leray wielders rather than put them down.
Jane huffed out a pressurized breath. She needed to properly prepare for a battle, but getting all worked up was just making her more exhausted. Belzer seemed so angry about the small subject. Are his bosses really that terrible to him? Why can''t he just make up his own rules about being a jerk? "So you promise to stop getting in people''s way? You''ll still be a sentry for Lennith City, but you''ll openly accept anyone''s challenge to pass. And even if they lose, they still get the privileged passage to the city?"
"That''s correct," Belzer agreed. "I''ll even make sure to skip anyone who has ever defeated me before just like I announced with the card''s update function, in the future from then on. That used to be how I did things for winners only, but times have changed girl. That is why I want someone like you to prove to me that your malice of will channels into your personal skill, to prove that your resolve is as strong as your body. However, I only agree to these terms on the basis that you successfully defeat me in a heated Gradyent match, of the official kind, and I won''t be easy to beat."
Jane only thought about it for a few more seconds. If she loses, she could still just kick this guy''s ass and move on, and if he really tried to defy her, she still has her secret weapon. "Fine. If that''s what it''ll take for you to quit acting like a jerk to everyone on Route 96, I''ll do it. I''ll defeat you in a fight."
"Such brave words you choose against me. It''s time to see if you can walk your talk!" Belzer''s last sentence triggered the appearance of a Siriean dome, spanning outward in a large radius and lighting up the field inside of it slightly. Jane and Belzer both backed away from each other, gaining distance before officially beginning the fight. The reward text appeared floating in the air again holographically. During that moment, Belzer and Jane both enabled their energy scopes, preparing to fight to the end.
"Give it your all Jane. You''re best better be strong." Belzer held his arms over his chest, indicating he was just going to stand there and allow Jane to attack first. "Let''s see if people like you are worthy of rewriting the rules in people''s hearts."
Jane could hear Belzer''s comments from their distance of thirty meters apart, but she focused on the battle. Belzer seems like a tough opponent for sure, and her own armor was no longer strong. It got her this far, and now it was simply degrading. Her chest plate was still functional, but it had lots of cracks and holes in it. Her left armlet was already nearly unusable, and her right legging was almost at the same condition too. Surely her opponent would see this and take immediate notice as well, thus the element of surprise is already lost. If Jane loses her armor right here in this fight, it will all be over in Belzer''s favor.
Chapter Theme Shift: Deathless ~ Damned Anthem
Jane decided on her first initiative strike, dragging her daggers from her side and throwing them without magical infusion. "Knife Toss!" Her aim was spot on, but Jane didn''t wait to see if her attack was successful. Effectiveness wasn''t the intention this time. Shortly after throwing her two daggers at Belzer, Jane infused some of her magical energy, dropping it all onto her metallic armor. "Armor Protector." She didn''t need to yell, especially since this was now a support spell working for the very first time.
Jane noticed that Belzer did indeed take some damage from her first Knife Toss, but the damage was somehow minimized. In the same instance, her entire suit of armor became coated with a dynamic looking aura of red and black light. It was like a colored shadow gave an extra layer to the metal pieces in her armor, and the effects on her own energy scope named the interactions going on with her suit.
"I can see you do have intelligence in the beginning of battle," Belzer promoted. It was already officially his turn to attack, but Belzer had to first admire Jane''s wise choice by using Armor Protector on herself. Her metal suit was embarrassing; the damage it has already taken prior to the match made Jane stand out in a crowd. It obviously has Damage Eater status, but now her armor would remain invulnerable, incapable of taking integrity damage. Armor Protector is also a special aura, because though one can only use it twice per battle, the duration is untimed. Armor Protector is an aura that will protect the user''s armor until a certain amount of damage is blocked out. The aura of protection can be dismissed if enough damage to that aura is caused, but it won''t be easy. On the other hand, because of Jane''s choice, she was going to start out with a fraction of her own MP capacity.
After considering everything in Jane''s choice in mind, Belzer made his very next move, beginning with an unpredictable assault. "Charge Attack!" Belzer began running towards Jane, but not in a simple sprint. While he was charging towards Jane, Belzer occasionally shifted his feet, showing off just how hard it would be to try and stop him. Belzer then created a small red glyphring around his wrist, aiming at Jane without needing to stop. Belzer shot two Fire Balls from a single glyphring, slamming into Jane from an untraceable speed, and soon after Jane took those hits, Belzer was in striking range, ending his combination sequence with a hard punch to her face infused with magical damage.
Jane was forced back by the punch while she adjusted to the craggy pain in her jaw, though the Fire Balls didn''t hurt her balance nearly as bad, She maintained her balance enough to recover her stance quickly, just as Belzer back-stepped for safety. What surprised her was the fact that her HP was barely reduced at all, and her armor integrity didn''t budge an inch. The dark aura surrounding her suit remained strong, blocking out damage to the armor itself, and it also allowed the armor to perform the same way, doing its job to minimize the damages dealt to Jane as a whole.
Jane knew that this was only the beginning. She would need to choose her skills and spells carefully. Using up all of her MP too soon would not do her well, and Belzer sure didn''t look like an easy opponent to beat. He has a good endurance to hold his own, naturally built up from battling experience. "You''re not stopping my progress!" Jane promised from the yell of her tongue to never give up, giving her the courage to try another simple and effective attack. Jane slid down on her feet just after invoking her ability, giving her the chance to potentially evade a projectile while attacking. "Bullet Blitz!" Jane''s machine guns formed in her hands like before, quickly giving her the chance to unload both clips into Belzer''s body, though her movement to slide didn''t really change anything. Belzer didn''t try to counterattack after taking the last hit. After holding down the trigger, Belzer was pelleted with dozens of bullets from the guns, and his body bounced around from the force of the many projectiles. The assault was a success, so now Jane had to back away, already too close to her opponent for comfort.
Though Belzer took standard time to recover from Bullet Blitz, he didn''t seem to care about the pain those bullets should have caused. He wasn''t an armored target either; his wardrobe was only comprised of a mercenary outfit mixed in with some kind of extraordinary fashion sense of hanging fabrics and an old style scarf. Belzer took his time deciding what to do next, surprising Jane with the very next trick. "Dualcasting!" Belzer put both hands in front of him, his entire body now glowing with a shadowy aura of magic. Now Belzer would be able to speed up his invocation time for the next few spells, giving him the perfect opportunity to strike relentlessly against Jane.
Jane knew it was coming, but she couldn''t do very much about it. Belzer began spamming his next choice of spells one after the other, the invocations and glyphrings coming and going too quickly to count. "Ice Needles!" he spat! Through the bright blue glyphring, Belzer fired a barrage of Ice Needles at Jane, as he quickly went into another type of invocation before the projectiles were finished firing off. "Crimson Flare!" Belzer formed another glyphring in front of him, shooting out three massive sized crimson spheres of hot magical damage. Jane could only stand there, taking the Ice Needles attack before the center crimson sphere suddenly consumed her. Despite her armor protecting her, the damage level and pain caused by Crimson Sphere was very high. That''s why Jane reacted with a screech leaping from her throat, kneeling down before trying to get over it quickly.
Somehow, the pain faded quicker than Jane expected it to. It was only two seconds until she got up, assessing the next way to strike back. "That the best you got," Jane taunted. She then charged at Belzer with a sprinting speed. She could go faster without the bulk of her armor, but due to its current condition, it became lighter than it originally was. Belzer prepared to block whatever physical attack Jane had in mind, his sudden defensive stance pleaded so, but Jane wasn''t backing down for a moment. "Knight Dance!" Jane''s fists, legs, and daggers became cloaked in a bright glowing blue aura that she used to inflict magical damage with physical damage into her combination attack at close range. Just like Jane has always performed up close, she carefully balanced her strikes between punches, dagger slices, kicks, and random evasions without giving Belzer a chance to relax or interrupt her sequence. When it was over, Jane backed away quickly to leave him with the new damages.Stolen novel; please report.
Belzer still managed to get back to his feet quickly, admiring Jane''s strengths openly. "I say... You are quick on your feet. Too bad it won''t save you from Air Strike!" Belzer invoked his spell while speaking, giving no time for Jane to react to the area attack from above. Small explosions populated the battlefield near her current location from the sudden appearance of bright metal rain, of which eventually engulfed her in multiple blasts. Jane took a big beating this time, and the final explosion which managed to hit her knocked Jane back and off the ground.
Jane landed on her back, the pain from the explosions she just took growing stronger. She struggled to get up despite the little amount of effort it took. Her armor was still undamaged, glowing with that spell she cast on it earlier. Everything is okay! She can still fight!
"Flashpoint!" Jane infused more magical energy into her entire body this time, glowing a white hot color just before taking off. Jane dashed towards Belzer, and then quickly increased in speed. Her forward leap nearly had the speed of a bullet just before her fist made contact with Belzer''s face. In that moment, the collision forced Jane to stop and land on her feet, while Belzer flew backwards and off balance. Jane never forgot how to use Flashpoint, the speedy attack that makes full use of a magical fist.
Before even deciding to read his stats, Jane used this moment to go right into another attack. Belzer flew backwards, but only slightly away from where Jane was standing. After quickly twirling around her body to dodge any potential and unexpected counterattack, Jane used that time to charge up her very next spell, launching its light towards Belzer while he was trying to get back up. "Median Flare!" Jane''s hands folded outward in a very specific angle, allowing them to shoot a directional flash of light towards Belzer. The light carried a specific beam right in the center, which was the force that hit him again from the Median Flare. In that moment, Jane backed away again while Belzer tried to get over double damage. The blast of light contained a burning heat and a sonic blast of noise that pushed Belzer backwards just after he tried to recover.
Belzer was still on the ground, pushing himself back up with much more difficulty than before. He checked to see that Jane was now hanging defensive again while he took his time getting over the last few attacks. They were both painful and draining to his stamina. Belzer couldn''t remember the last time he fought this hard, regardless of how many people he battled against recently. Jane has so much power in every single strike beyond her first two test skills, and though she wasn''t an expert yet, she was somehow discovering a balance in her style mid-way through the match. Belzer smiled in light of that. Jane was a worthy opponent after all, but that didn''t mean she could win. Giving all of his MP energy into a new kind of skill, Belzer stood still in front of Jane while charging up the massive potential. The process was already making his entire body glow with a bright aura similar to Jane''s Flashpoint skill.
Jane immediately took notice of this, but Belzer wasn''t announcing the name of the spell until it would be too late. "Now what?" she begged to know. Jane tensed in a defensive stance, realizing this could wind up being fatal.
Belzer finally had his energy charged up, and unleashed it all towards the field in front of him. Direct aiming didn''t matter with this specific skill. "Mega-Flare!" In that instance, Belzer''s MP declined significantly, causing the entire field to explode in a magnificent blinding light that covered the entire interior of the Siriean dome. Belzer wasn''t affected by the damages caused by Mega-Flare simply by the spell''s design, but Jane was taking a ton of magical damage during the explosion of light, which also began to scorch her skin. Mega-Flare doesn''t cause fire elemental damage, but the damage potential is so high, the light becomes hotter during its use as well. As soon as the flare ended, Jane was let go of the force that held her there, allowing her to fall down on her hands and knees again. The single attack immediately left her completely drained of her stamina. Jane felt like the life force had been completely sucked out of her, prompting a quick check of her updated energy scope.
The damage wasn''t too bad, but after another physical examination, Jane noticed that her spell casted by Armor Protector was no longer in effect. The damaged suit of armor she was wearing was no longer shrouded by the dark red colored aura she once had earlier, but there were no new damages either. That Mega-Flare was powerful. It cut the Armor Protector spell clean off of Jane and still caused this much damage to her health as well. On the flip side, Belzer still had plenty of MP to work with.
This wasn''t the time to give in. Jane forced herself back up, ignoring the draining sensation that threatened to slow her down. If he wants to attack with higher power, then what''s to stop her from trying that the same? Jane quickly unleashed the energy for an area attack of her own, creating a large red glyphring vertically aiming down from the sky. "Meteor Strike!"
Belzer could only watch as the unavoidable swarm of red glowing space rocks hurled down from above, penetrating through the dome shield by design and smashing deep into the field. The accuracy was all around him too, making a few close calls already early to the start of the attack. Belzer quickly turned to Jane, ready to try and attack her before taking any damage. Belzer was instead too late, as a meteor struck his body directly where he stood.
Jane noticed the incredible damage Belzer just took after the meteor hit him. Belzer was already on his back and immobile after the meteor that hit him faded away with the rest of the spell. Yet even after the impact, he desperately tried to get back up despite how much he slowed down from the pain and reduction in HP.
Belzer took his stance once again, ignoring how messy his brown hair and suit became from the constant high-level attacks. After getting his aim at Jane back, he unleashed another skill, forcing Jane to take defensive action long before announcing what was next. "Dualcast!" He hollered into his spell, creating the same dark green colored aura that allowed him to quickly invoke a multitude of Leray abilities. Belzer finally took out his primary weapon, an energy blaster. It was like the same thing Ian had in Jane''s last battle, but Belzer would know how to aim better in this case. "Shotgun Blast!"
Jane suddenly got blasted with the power of multiple energy blasts coming from the weapon. The damage went straight to her health and armor at the same time, thought the force wasn''t enough to stop her. Jane decided she had enough of this Dualcasting effect, and tried to counterattack anyway. After pushing her arms out to throw something towards the ground, Jane unleashed some more of her energy, just as Belzer hollered "Shotgun Blast!" a second time.
Despite the fact that Belzer successfully shot another round through his blaster weapon, all of the energy blasts that came through the barrel were suddenly stopped just before reaching Jane. A nearly invisible force had consumed them all, and then grew in height as the shadowy wave drove closer to Belzer''s feet. Because it was still dark out, this kind of attack wasn''t easy to spot at first, but Belzer was too surprised by Jane''s counterattack to do anything. Her Shadow Wave interrupted his Dualcasting attack sequence, and slammed into his body shortly after. Belzer was pushed back by the force of the wave for two seconds before it exploded in front of him for additional damage. Jane took note of his decreasing health stats and came up with another plan while preparing to defend herself yet again.
Though neither side was giving an inch, Belzer had another idea up his sleeve, unleashing his charged up spell against Jane while she tried to block it out. "Harmonics!" he chanted. A visible blast of air was sent Jane''s direction, and though it wasn''t wide enough to exit the classification of a projectile wave, Jane was not able to dodge it with its current airborne speed.
Expecting a forceful kind of attack she wasn''t familiar with, Jane''s head suddenly filled up with overwhelming rings. The sound of high-pitch frequencies echoed and amplified in her ear and in her head, forcing her to scream out in pain and cover her ears for protection. Jane''s attempt to block out the sudden resonance of harmful sound wasn''t working, it was channeling inside of her ears despite trying to cover them both sides. The discomfort progressively got worse, as the compelling pain sent Jane to her knees with her eyes shut. She couldn''t think of anything else; the sounds were so loud, they weren''t stopping for a moment! Jane could hear several hundred different pitches and frequencies of noise, but every one of them was very high and powerfully amplified. The sensation quickly gave her a headache, forcing her to forget about fighting.
Belzer''s trick worked for the moment. Harmonics is a powerful Leray ability that basically stops opponents with overwhelming sound that only they can hear, but it only works if the small and narrow flying projectile of its magic disguised as an Aero Blast lands on the opponent. Jane looked like she was in a lot of pain, never letting up to cover her ears and her head. Now was the perfect time to finish the battle up. After taking the long time in energy accumulation, Belzer charged up every last bit of his MP energy into a powerful magical attack. "It''s time to use Photon Blast."
Belzer created a large blue glyphring in front of him, taking up enough size to block the entire field on his side if the glyphring were to be solid. While his attack was still charging, Jane somehow changed positions, finally getting over the painful sensation of the Harmonics spell, but she was still completely winded by that blast of ringing sound. Jane was still covering her head, standing up with little balance. The spell probably left her with a lasting headache too much to bare, but it was too late for her now. The very moment Jane noticed the start of the magical attack coming from Belzer''s massive glyphring, Belzer unleashed all of the energy. The glyphring lit up brightly with blue colors, and then fired a massive barrage of thin blue beams everywhere. Though Jane wasn''t a large target, the blasts were spread out wide to fill the area of the glyphring, making it impossible to try and dodge as well. Jane became caught up in the bright blue light as the many beams from the wave shot through her entire body. There were so many beams compacted together, that Belzer couldn''t even see Jane''s body while she took heavy damage in the payload. The sound of the beams also made it impossible to hear anything else, becoming almost as loud as Belzer''s harmonics were.
Jane''s health and armor integrity quickly declined with each and every hit. The beams did not simply fire just once; it was a barrage attack at the same time. Each beam of Photon Blast penetrated through Jane''s skin and her armor while causing damage to both. The pain threshold was much higher than anything she had ever felt before, forcing her backwards while screaming out in pain again. The loud sounds of the beams muffled her cries, and the blasts just kept going for several long seconds. After they finally stopped, Jane sunk down, defeated by the pain and by the significant loss in her life energy.
Jane thought she was seeing in tunnel vision now. She felt so weak, and at the same time, the pain from that last blast didn''t leave her with any good tastes. The headache was getting her down too, combined with that Harmonics attack and her armor becoming toast. Jane''s armlets both disintegrated, her right legging was gone, and her left legging was broken halfway open. On top of that, her chest plate was a mess of mangled metal. It was a miracle that her metal chest plate was even still attached to her body somehow. The holding straps for it were damaged as well, and now Jane was nearly finished.
Jane suddenly considered giving in. If she gave up, a healing orb would quickly fix this. Passing out would also fix her pain, but it wouldn''t help her much. Jane closed her eyes, considering the thought momentarily. Either Belzer was now out of energy, or he wanted Jane to decide on her next action first. As she thought about it more, Jane remembered from before her will to never-ever stop battling, not until the very end. If she can''t get to Lennith, she can''t get to the Den of Purity, and if she can''t get there, her career would forever be over. "No..." Jane coughed in her struggle to try and stand up again. "I''m... Not done yet." Jane''s voice was weak and hoarse, while her balance was laughably off in her attempt to hold herself upright.
Belzer''s eyes opened wide with the sight of Jane''s determination. She took a lot of time, but she still wanted to fight, despite her critical HP condition. "I''m impressed," Belzer announced. "Nobody has ever survived a Photon Blast before - not from me. And you still wish to fight with such low health and magic available?"
Jane almost tripped three times, shaking her head to try and ignore the pain. She felt so weak and dizzy right now, but she didn''t want this to be over. "I''m..." Jane inhaled after a long loss of breath. "I''m getting to Lennith City." After another brief moment for Belzer to let her emotions sink into his thoughts, Jane''s senses suddenly shifted. The energy in her entire body, her stamina to move and balance had been completely restored. Her stats didn''t change at all, other than the slight regeneration in her MP levels. Jane''s heart began pounding, and her tunnel vision went away, replaced by a normal range of view. She could feel every muscle shaking and trembling uncontrollably. Jane never felt this way before, but whatever this was, it got rid of her pain, her weakness, her lethargy, and restored her balance without actually changing anything on her energy scope. It also forced her to feel on edge, like she was about to fly off the ground. Was this... Jane never considered the possibilities in Leray matches before, but is this an adrenaline rush?
All things considered, Belzer wasn''t simply going to declare her the winner by her determination. Instead of giving in, Belzer formed another blue glyphring of energy around his wrist, the same small one associated with an Ice Ball spell. Jane saw it coming long before it left his hand, and twirled her body in a spiral to dodge it.
Soon after Jane had dodged Belzer''s Ice Ball, his MP level dropped to zero percent again, and she now knew what to do. After timing everything right in her mind, Jane was able to think much more clearly than before. Upon forming the next idea for an attack sequence, Jane executed her magic immediately, giving Belzer an uneasy stance of defense as he awaited what was to come. "Dark Strike!" Jane''s body disappeared before Belzer''s very eyes. For her perception, she reappeared behind Belzer instantaneously, the process happening so quickly. Jane used that moment to draw her dagger, magical energy already infused into the blade. Jane then struck Belzer in an upward slash, putting in enough force to lift his entire body off the ground.
Jane didn''t stop there. She quickly backed away for a good ten meters, and then unleashed another spell just as Belzer smashed into the ground. He was smart enough to break his own fall using his fists and landing upright, but it wouldn''t keep him protected for long. "Ice Ball!" Jane unleashed her own Ice Ball towards Belzer''s defenseless body, her attack quick to invoke and immediate to strike. Belzer took another soft hit from the attack, but Jane was once again in the process of unleashing yet another magical spell.
As she aimed her arm at the ground between herself and her opponent, Jane chanted the name of another spell, causing the entire ground below them to shift. "Earth Glave!" The ground began shooting up and pushing outwards in waves, heading closer to Belzer. Even though he could see it coming though, Belzer''s attempt to jump over the Earth Glave was without success. The ground pillars and uplifting dirt smashed into him, again propelling his body upwards into the air about three feet off the ground before he landed again. After smacking back into the hard floor for the second time, the air had noticeably been knocked out of him.
Jane took both of her daggers and threw them at Belzer in the same way a Flying Guillotine is executed, though Jane didn''t use magic this time. Belzer was still recovering from the Earth Glave, not expecting so many consecutive attacks. Jane intentionally sped herself up and congregated many random spells to keep him from finishing her off, and so far it was working. The daggers sliced into Belzer''s body, causing major damage to his remaining health from her signature critical hit technique.
Belzer was now in the same predicament Jane was in earlier before her adrenaline kicked in so suddenly. Jane however was running out of literal ideas of what to do next. That last hit should have completely ended him in battle, but his HP levels were still allowing him to barely remain conscious. Jane opened her hands, allowing the daggers she threw to transfer back into her palms again. Jane then prepared to throw them again, hoping she would not be interrupted this time.
"Stop!" Belzer held out his arms at Jane, but he didn''t attack from them. Jane suddenly stopped herself from throwing the daggers again, but she didn''t let go of her caution. Belzer sunk to his knees again after a failed attempt to stand tall; it was too difficult to stand up properly right now. "That''s enough. I get it now, you win."
With that short announcement, the Siriean dome quickly shut down and collapsed into nothingness, taking the small bit of light it provided with it. The field darkened as the rewarding holographic text appeared to announce Jane the winner by forfeit again.
Chapter Theme Shift: Silver Canyon [A] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Despite the victory, Belzer was not looking well. His energy scope changed to a bloody color of red with a warning of Vital Drain status; the event that happens when both HP and MP are critical. Jane wasn''t feeling well either. They both battled down to the last second, draining each other''s stamina into the low ranges. Jane didn''t want to relax just yet, her head pounding with pain that provoked her to become more aggressive, but after finally letting the silence around her settle in, Jane accepted her victory. She then pulled out her supply sphere, digging for another healing orb. She had just won two of them, so supplies there were not limited too severely. All newly won items wind up in that person''s supply sphere, exceptions only occurring if the device is too full.
Belzer used a healing orb on himself without saying a word to Jane. They both needed to recover before having a talk about the battle''s result. The moment his stats were restored, the Vital Drain status went away, just as the energy scope color changed back from red to orange. From here, it seemed that Jane was treating herself too, but she simply looked more stunned than he was by the time his health reached full again.
After recovering enough to stand straight and firm again, Belzer walked calmly towards Jane, who decided to stay sitting on the cement floor, but there was an odd hesitation in his chance to speak. "Well, I''ve been defeated before." Jane wasn''t saying anything yet, but it was clear from her head holding that the pain from Harmonics still lingered in. "Sorry about the headache. I''ve never been put in a corner like that in previous matches, not for a while at least."
Jane glared up at Belzer, carrying the same look of confidence in her eyes despite her headache. "You will hold up your end of the bargain."
"But of course," Belzer agreed. "You won, and fought bravely to do so. I guess that means you really can''t judge a person''s strength by their amount of consecutive wins. I was wrong after all."
"Argh!" Jane held her forehead again and cringed on the ground from the lasting damage.
Belzer didn''t expect his Harmonics spell to cause Jane so much pain. The after effects of that specific spell are still understudied, since it is a rare ability after all. He had to offer her something else in return. With his supply sphere still powered up, he pulled out another orb from phase space. "Here," Belzer handed Jane another kind of orb, one with an unusual white colored top. Jane reached down from below to grab hold of the device. "Use this painkiller orb."
Jane accepted the orb from Belzer, using it on herself immediately. "What was that attack? You called it Harmonics?"
"Yes. Though it worked like it was supposed to and is an official Leray ability, many do not know of it. But I didn''t know it could cause pain after a battle. I am sorry for that."
Jane remained silent in her thoughts after using the remedy orb. It worked quickly to reduce the pain in her head, but the battle itself left her with an uneasy feeling. The same sensation she previously had from her adrenaline has already faded away, leaving all of her muscles and legs sore.
After a long moment of silence, Jane stood back up, pushing herself to try and keep going while wiping away the dust that accumulated on her outfit. Belzer must have already noticed how exhausted she was from all of the walking and all of the fighting she pulled from today. He remained standing too, blocking Jane''s path to continue their conversation. "You still want to get there, right?"
Jane exhaled loudly as a sign of stress relief. "That''s what I said, isn''t it?"
Belzer''s expression changed, giving him a look of mellow excitement. "It''s as I thought before. You''re reason to get to Lennith must be so important to you. It acts as a drive, pushing you to the limits, even right now. I''m most impressed Jane. I must know, what is it that you''re trying to do? I might be able to help."
Jane thought about what she had to say. Using the unknown spell bomb was her business alone, and sharing that with strangers could have negative consequences, much like the fact that she had to conduct an illegal battle with Taylor just to use that spell bomb. "You want to know my drive?" Jane hesitated in her response, giving her much thought about which words to use. "It''s to become a Leray master. You might think you''ve already helped me by battling, but in truth, that dream is on hold until I take care of special business from Lennith City. And as far as that matter goes, it''s personal and need to know only." With her statement made, Jane began walking down the path again.
Her legs were very sore, but she ignored any hint of pain or exhaustion. Lucky for her - the painkiller orb cured her headache completely, but now it was time to head further in. She brushed by Belzer, who stood stone still and silent afterwards. Jane didn''t get to walk more than ten feet before she was joined again.
"Wait up!" Belzer pleaded. He sped up his pace, catching up to Jane and walking alongside her. Jane gave him a look of surprise, but it quickly transformed into an expression of frustration.
While continuing to walk, Jane demanded to know what Belzer was doing. "Why are you following me? Don''t you have something else you need to do?" Like your job of being a gradyent? Being a nuisance essentially has the same job description.
"I must get to Lennith City first thing as well. Though I don''t plan to keep up with your pace either."
"I wouldn''t count on keeping up either way," Jane decided. Of all the running and fighting, Jane finally decided to give in. She stopped walking, prompting Belzer to slow down and stop as well. "I think I''m done trying to get to Lennith City."
"Huh?"
Jane''s reply was delayed, but she didn''t lift her head up at all while speaking. "You were right earlier. I''m too tired, too fatigued. I''ve been pushing too hard, and it''s only a matter of time before I collapse." Jane''s voice sounded like she was punched in the gut.
Belzer further expressed concern for her. "Now I''ve had enough of that talk Jane. If you can''t go on now, what''s to stop you from taking a break right here? You''re telling me that you forgot to pack your camping supplies?"
"I didn''t forget," Jane corrected. There was no camping supplies because Jane never planned on stopping in the first place, and since she can''t move anymore, it just proves how useless she really is.
They kept silent for ponder, until Belzer helped Jane back to her feet. "Let''s keep walking at least for now." Jane followed the man''s lead, but kept such a slow pace. Belzer had to think more in why Jane was acting this way before he understood what she was talking about. "You... You didn''t pack it on purpose, did you?"
"Does it matter?" Jane stopped moving again, standing straight and fragile. "It was stupid to think I could make it in one night. Everybody wants to challenge anybody walking by."
That is how the system works... "You really are an odd ball Jane. I sure can''t seem to understand your total plight." He folded his arms, trying to put logic where her words fell.
"I didn''t think it was so popular to be here." Jane finally sunk down again, exhausted and breathing deeply. Her inhales and exhales became much more rapid than before, like she just got through with an intense workout.
Belzer already knew that was going to happen though, and he only stood to bother Jane until he got the answer he wanted. "You wonder why you can''t go on, yet you keep trying to get up and walk despite your exhaustion. Your so-called dream of becoming a Leray master must have something important related in Lennith City. And your urge to get there overnight is only fueled by how badly you want to take care of - whatever you''re supposed to take care of. Am I right so far?"
Jane nodded. "Of course I want to get there. But let''s face it. I chose to walk instead of rent a bike, not that I could afford to if I did. No matter how long I walk, I''m never going to get there."
"Never?" Belzer challenged. Jane could have declared an emergency if her business was so urgent, though personal matters and emergency matters are not the same, therefore, she is doomed to fight anyone who asks. Then again, she could simply accept one or two strikes. Still, Jane really doesn''t understand just how close she is. "Well you did make it this far, and I think your own spirit did all the work. Not too much left to walk now."
"What do you mean?"
Belzer winced in surprise. "You mean, you don''t even know how much road left you need to traverse? No wonder you''re tired of moving. You should have brought a mile counter at least."
"Left in in my other pants." Jane was joking with a serious tone, but for Belzer, it wasn''t easy to tell.
"You''re about sixty percent of the way there, and it''s still roughly two A.M. I can''t say how many more battles you might get dragged into on the way from here, but if you move out now, you can make it to Lennith City before sunrise."
Jane''s jaw dropped as she lifted her head up straight towards the open road. Sixty percent so far? It still meant a very long and tiresome walk there, but Jane could sense it again, just like before. Her very own desire to rush to Lennith was all because it would be easy going from there to the Den of Purity. Of course, she will then need a bike to get there, but the thought of pressing onward never left her mind.
"There''s nothing wrong with taking it easy for a few minutes," Belzer declared. "But I want you to keep that spirit of yours alive."
"What is up with you and my spirit, man?" Jane had to give Belzer a look of question. Not too long ago, he proudly blocked her path all because of what was happening to her, but he was acting so differently now.
"I have battled countless people, defeated many warriors, and in some cases been defeated by sheer power, but you didn''t defeat me because of your special Leray abilities or your style. You won that battle with complete and total devotion to your own cause. I''ve only ever battled against someone like that once, long in the past."
"Did they need to reach the city?"
"Not exactly," Belzer denied. "The man wasn''t in any kind of a hurry like you are, but that''s not the point. As a Leray gradyent, it was my job to challenge people on the road like I do now. Back then though, Leray agents crossed the roads too, looking for anything wrong and fixing it. So I didn''t actually stop people from going on like I do now; I challenged tough looking wielders and required their victory over me to advance as a wielder. In the same history, I challenged him, blocking his path until he defeated me in a battle. He had to taste defeat from me only once to transform himself anew. His drive to get past me to Lennith city was not with haste; rather, his drive to become stronger than me is what prevailed. The man had no choice but to accept my kind of challenge."
Jane stood up, suddenly taken hold by the story. It was much like her own. She still had one strike to clear off right now, but if she denies just one more fight, she''ll have the same trouble of being forced to battle people to pass, just regular wielders. "So, what happened?"
Belzer continued, only telling that story in his summarized version. "He got angry because I defeated him, which bared his access to move past me, but then he agreed to battle me yet again. Even then, I could sense that he wanted to get to Lennith City no matter what. It didn''t matter what time he arrived then, but he wanted to prove to me just how strong he was, and that was enough to push him to try harder. In the middle of our battle, I was winning far ahead, and that''s when the man started coming out with special combination attacks. Alone, they were worthless, but when using specific sets of two spells together, you can surprise people, do great things you never thought capable of. He fought as bravely as he could, and scored a total victory against me."
"Okay..." Jane wondered where Belzer was going with this. He wanted to make some kind of statement, but what was it exactly? Yeah, he may have won for his pride, but all that did was slow him down in the end.
"Because of our battle, he gained a lot of experience. And as of today, well... You can ask him yourself once you make it to the top."
Jane jumped at the sudden realization. "Wait a moment! Are you saying?!"
"Yep," Belzer continued. "That man who defeated me so long ago, he is the current champion of all Leray magic. Residing at the top of Eldora Tower, the champion awaits anyone who can match his power, but also his spirit. I''m sure he never forgot the time we battled either. It was because of that moment he obtained so much knowledge. The fact that I was in his way did slow him down in the short run, but after everything else was taken care of, it only made him stronger in the long haul of his journey."
Jane''s eyes remained wide open while her mind returned to its previous thoughts. The champion was once a normal person, just like her. Jane had been so eager the whole time to rush into Lennith City all for the sake of reversing her curse, but every single battle she has gone through on Route 96, including the ones still ahead of her... Jane realized that her very own desire to fix this curse was making her stronger at a really quick pace. She was learning new spells and fighting harder than ever. In the end, after her curse is fixed and she is reunited with Danny and Taylor, her experience, her power, it will all still be there, seeded from this very moment. Everything that is an obstacle now would wind up helping her later in time, as if built from some sort of experience investment. "I get stronger."
Belzer only heard Jane''s whisper and couldn''t make it out. "Pardon?"
"I get stronger with every battle, even the ones I lose."
"Uh, yes?" Belzer didn''t get it. With someone in Jane''s position, wouldn''t that have been common knowledge? Maybe she still has that headache.
"I thought that the mess I made would prevent me from getting any better in Leray battles. And it is still true that I''ll be lacking until I fix what''s wrong, but I''ll always be getting better, even with this curse."
"The-uh, what now?" What was this about a curse?
"Never mind," Jane shuttered. "Look, I want to thank you. Because of you, I now understand what I have to do, rather how I have to do it."
"What sort of business is this anyway? I am curious."
"That''s for me to know." Jane folded her arms, unwilling to share with him the ordeal she has gone through before.
She guards her secret more than she guards her righteousness. "Very well. I''ll be seeing you around then. I''m heading to Lennith City myself, but I''m in no hurry, so I''ll take my time."
Jane turned around, completely facing him again. "What about you? What are you going to do now?"
Belzer nodded up and down, deciding for himself before announcing it to Jane. "I''ll head back to Lennith City and explain the situation here. Route 96 used to be much more maintained; it held so much promise for all of our wielders. But now it''s fallen into disarray and chaos. You saw me acting against my normal ways earlier, if that wasn''t enough proof. Yet it was your spirit that reminded me of my match against the champion. So I''ll bring back Leray agents to this road, and see if I can''t make a nice rest stop where that abandoned quarry is. That flat land north of there could even be used to build an entire new town if we put our minds to it."
Jane remembered the location he was referring to. The young boy Ian lives there all alone. If maintaining the roads will help him get a better spot to live, then it was a good idea. Not to mention that Belzer would be keeping to his word from now on, challenging people more fairly. "I think, it''s a good idea."
Belzer just saw a new sight he would not forget. The entire time he and Jane bumped into each other here, she never smiled, but right at this very moment, she was doing her best. Jane''s green eyes seemed to glow from the overhead moon and starlight, but that smile made everything in her come alive. Belzer suddenly didn''t know what to say, and he quickly turned his side. "Well, yes... I think you should head to the city now."
Jane didn''t notice anything out of the ordinary with Belzer, though he was somewhat avoiding direct eye contact now. "I''ll get there for sure, and if anyone makes me battle, I''ll just have to accept and win."
"That''s how a Leray master to-be should act. Farewell Jane."
"And you too Belzer." Jane waved before turning around and began heading off. Belzer agreed to head out in the same direction, but only at his own pace. Jane''s body was still really tired, but everything felt different now. She felt happy...? No. Satisfied...? Yes! Everything would work out. Jane could not explain how it happened, but her confidence has returned to her again. Even if someone did try to stop and challenge her, she could win it for sure. Her entire body wasn''t in agreement with her thoughts, still so exhausted from the incredibly long walk. It is a nine-mile road after all. In her excitement to reach Lennith City though, Jane ignored any sense of fatigue and picked up the pace.
Chapter 19-A: Battles of Entropy (Jane VS Teresha)
<01/19/1972 ¨C 02:02 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane felt much more awake and alive than ever before. The unforgettable realization claimed her after the battle against a tough opponent by the name of Belzer. No matter how much she was slowed down by random events, Jane decided that nothing she ever did was a waste of time. The cold breezes of wind still forced her to slow her pace every now and then, shivering under the mercenary outfit that she called a blanket. Her degraded armor was barely a thing of protection anymore. Only a thin layer of metal protected her left leg and an uneven fraction of her chest.
Even with this to worry about, Jane was satisfied again, satisfied because she knew she could make it to Lennith City before the end of the night. Even if someone does pop out to slow her down, Jane would simply accept the challenge and win the fight just like she did against Belzer, and if it was problematic enough, Jane could just bet really high and make the battle more worth it. Though she still pondered the definition of a Leray gradyent. The term was quite new to her, but that guy made it sound like a life time job since the beginning of Leray practices. Way to go Dakota! Another thing that should have been included in basic training. Eliza only managed a short description of such things.
It wasn''t before long when Jane finally came into contact with another suspicious looking person. Another female, twice her size and age standing almost in the middle of the road. Actually she was slouching, long in wait for something or someone to show themself to her. Jane had an unexciting guess as to what that might be, just as the woman noticed her and took immediate action.
"Excuse me?" the lady asked.
"I knew it," Jane muttered quietly. When someone on this road wants to battle, they just stand there like a creep and approach anyone who might be passing by. Can''t they just travel and fight at the same time?
"Do you have a Leray license?"
Jane knew it was coming. The woman is another Leray wielder eager for a battle. Of course! It didn''t take long to get close to the woman. Instead of saying anything, Jane simply held up her license to the stranger, allowing her to take a good long look at the card and put her suspicions to rest.
"Perfect! I hoped so."
Jane put her license away, noticing how badly the person wanted to have a Leray match long before officially asking. "What do you people come out here to do anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
Jane quickly rephrased her question, "I mean, how can everybody on Route 96 just sit out in the middle of nowhere waiting for people to battle?"
"Route tribulations," she answered confidently.
Jane had never looked more confused than now. With every person she met, new words were invented out of thin air. "Uh... Route tribulations?"
She stood up straight, ready to answer the questions of her future opponent. "All of us graduates from Lennith''s training facility were given a task. It''s not something anybody has to do of course, but we all have a solid method of intense Leray training to become the best and challenge the champion this year."
Jane didn''t realize until now that she wasn''t the only person excited about battling the champion. Everybody wants a taste of fighting against the strongest wielder, and that means a ton of competition is soon to follow. Still, what was this person going on about? "I still don''t get it."
"Well I can obviously tell you graduated from a different facility then. Route tribulations are like a training method after graduation. We create a quota of battles to win out of a certain amount for each and every single route. And after we''ve done it enough times for each road in every region, we do it again for towns instead of roads. After that, we try out for the big leagues. It''s a very specific process designed to maximize training potential."
Jane needed moments to process what the stranger was talking about. "I think I understand... Maybe. You said we?"
"Oh! Where are my manners?" The woman held her arm out at Jane, urging her to shake hands. "My name''s Teresha."
Jane shook her hand, and then introduced herself to Teresha. "I''m Jane. Jane Venn." At least this person is not as hostile as she once thought. Teresha seems to have more genuine intentions than most of the other people on this road. Her short explanation of route tribulations must be some sort of organized format of field training. It explains why people are just hang around waiting on people like Jane to swing by. Even though it is creepy, Jane figured this was a valid strategy for training.
"Well, most of everyone''s gone home by now, but Clayton and I like to train here at night. Zack does too, but he already lost and went home for today."
Jane didn''t see anyone else around, and her glancing didn''t help either. "Where is this Clayton?"
"He''s further down the road. I cover wielders coming from Monoc, and he covers wielders coming from Lennith City."
"I get it now. If I want to pass, I''ll have to get challenged by you and this Clayton person on the way there."
"Yep," Teresha cheerfully agreed. "We''re both doing pretty well, but we need to keep on challenging as many people on this route as we can. That''s why it''s teeming with wielders lately. I think another school near Monoc does the same thing."
So that''s what''s up on this road! Jane thought there was something fishy about the amount of challengers here during night time. It''s not unheard of to be challenged on routes of any kind, but back in the Gulop region, it''s much less common, at least during nightfall. For this specific road, nightfall should have lowered the population more than it was now. "Well, I suppose you''re about to ask me to a battle, huh?"
"You read my mind," Teresha answered while pointing at Jane''s face, nearly clipping her eyes. "Please? I really want to show Clayton that it will be I who advances forward."
Jane didn''t know how to respond, but at least Teresha wasn''t a bad person, and though her request was formal, she was being cheerful about the whole thing. "Okay, but know this Teresha. I will be the one to challenge the champion someday, and that means I will have to defeat you and Clayton in one swoop."
"Wow! I didn''t know you would be so confident! How about we aim a good bet then? How does eight hundred credits sound?"
"Not bad," Jane nodded. It''s much lower compared to the last rewards she obtained here. Maybe this will be easier than she thought. "I''ll accept." Jane felt so relaxed having to do this with someone she could get along with, and she quickly became excited on the prelude to a battle. Before, people were just forcing her into it. It wasn''t the same thing with Teresha. She wanted to battle, but all with her heart in the right place. The good news didn''t bother Jane either. Jane was slightly more than sixty percent toward Lennith now if Belzer''s testimony was correct, and after Teresha, there should only be one more person around the same skill level as Teresha. This was good news indeed. "Now let''s get to that battle."
Only a full minute passed. Jane and Teresha positioned themselves at the usual distance at the beginning of the match. After agreeing to usual terms of the match, the Siriean dome shrouded the entire battlefield with its shielding powers, while lighting up the field ever so slightly. The reward spoil system created its holographic text in the same usual way it always had, prompting Jane and Teresha to both show their energy scopes and begin the match head on.
Teresha and Jane''s eyes then locked. At that, Teresha hollered through the distance to her opponent. "I''ll let you have the first attack Jane."
Jane took a deep and calming breath. This was like any other battle, but it''s also the kind that people should have all the time, on friendlier terms. Jane had to quickly accept that the battles before her, including the ones ahead of her would only make her stronger, even before fixing the curse draining her endurance level. With all of that desire to reach the Den of Purity, Jane was still not about to take the fight lightly either. "Right!" she responded.
Chapter Theme Shift: La gis sulva za Celow (Extended) ~ Magia Record OST
Jane immediately made her move, charging MP energy into her hands, feet, and daggers. Though she kept her blades withdrawn for now, Jane charged at her new opponent, starting off with one of her new and effective skills. "Time to use Knight Dance!" Jane got close to Teresha really quickly, prompting Teresha to try and block the oncoming assault.
Jane was simply too quick for defensive blocks however. She pulled her daggers at the last moment, striking Teresha''s body where she could not block over and over. Jane switched up her combination frequently between punches, dagger slices, and kicks to make her movements and attacks unpredictable. Teresha could only stand there taking each hit, the damage amplified by Jane''s magical infusion for all of her physical strikes. When it was over, Jane retreated as quickly as she could, assessing the damages of her work.
Teresha was fine, despite all of the sudden pains from those strikes. She had taken much worse attacks in the past, but Jane was obviously not holding anything back. In the few seconds of this battle, Teresha and Jane were both huffing and puffing with serious expressions staring in opposition. If Jane was going to take this fight seriously, then Teresha would do the same. She unleashed her charged energy from her arms, throwing the magic out in front of her. "Shadow Wave!" Teresha''s Shadow Wave attack took shape and form, growing larger and more powerful as it headed straight for Jane from the ground.
Jane had a hard time seeing Teresha''s Shadow Wave, and she had no choice but to take the full hit from its effects. The Shadow Wave pushed back against Jane, forcing pressure against her as her shoes slide in the concrete just so that she could keep her stance, but at the same time, Jane was taking constant damages, mostly from the slashing attacks embedded into the Shadow Wave aura.
Jane resisted the force as much as she could, her mind stirring into a new state of focus. This entire contest between the two of them felt more serious than it should of, but Jane used this life-threatening sensation to her advantage, motivating herself to give each moment all she had. If Teresha could see her motivated stare now, it would terrify the opponent.
Jane started first by comparing their separate invocations of Shadow Waves. It was true that Jane''s Shadow Wave was somehow more refined. Teresha''s Shadow Wave attack contained less force after its explosion, and the size of the wave itself was not nearly as large as her own. Still, with her armor now failing, Jane''s low endurance was beginning to control the battle against her all over again. The metal armor she was wearing did so little now to protect her from magic damage; it was a miracle that it was still attached firmly to her body.
Jane focused on her next move, using abilities only from the list of new ones she had learned. There wasn''t anything wrong with the abilities she learned from before her training on Monoc port, but using a variety of powers is usually the best way to get the upper hand in a Leray match. Jane knew that better than she thought, and went with another simple yet effective power. "Drilling Fate!" Jane threw her daggers forward again, this time taking on the horizontal twisting formation that allowed her magic and her daggers to fuse together and create a horizontal twister attack. The tornado became a large spinning projectile, slamming into Teresha with kinetic pressure. The damage caused to her was a mixture of wind elemental and slashing damage, one with much more force than any ordinary twister. Confirming the impact, Jane decided she loved her new style and tactics. They worked well to quickly deplete Teresha''s HP.
Teresha was forced backwards in a slide like Jane was earlier, and her dark hair became all frazzled by the powerful gust of wind. Meeting force with force didn''t deter Teresha however; she instead became twice as motivated to wipe Jane out of the game early. She began to charge at Jane in response, forcing her to try and block out whatever attack was coming. Jane suspected an early on close combat attack, as it would be easy for her to evade or even retaliate, but as Teresha got much closer, she chanted the name of a spell which formed a yellow glyphring above her body only for a short second. The glyphring formed a very large hammer, the kind that was larger than any other weapon available. "Hammer of Might!" Teresha must have a lot of hidden muscles, because she was able to lift the massive hammer and swing it forward at Jane effortlessly. Jane couldn''t respond in time, taking the hit right to her chest plate and forcing her backwards off balance.
Jane landed on her side, stunned by the force she took from that powerful hammer smash while the sound of clashing metal deafened her ear drums, but the pain didn''t feel half as bad as it should of. The magical hammer hit her right in the chest plate, so it must have absorbed much more of the damage than she did. Jane didn''t see any critical breaks lingering on her armor, so she stood back up determined as ever.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Jane was prepared to try a counterattack, but Teresha had other ideas. Already being close to Jane, she unleashed some more of her magic, charging in closer to her opponent with her hands and feet glowing blue with magical auras of damage infused into them. "Power Attack!"
Jane couldn''t tell exactly what Teresha was up to, but it was clear enough she was feeling lucky to score a second hit against her. Jane was worried more about her armor. It was probably time to just let it go, but it still did a good job at protecting her. Teresha must be trying to finish it off with that skill. Jane responded instead by using a different spell, knowing it was going to leave her open to Teresha''s oncoming brute force. "Armor Protector!" Jane whiffed her hand over her chest plate, causing it to become surrounded in a dark red aura with black spots moving around inside. It was the aura that she enabled last time to protect her entire suit of armor from damage.
In the nick of time, Jane''s Armor Protector spell took full effect just as Teresha unleashed her combination attack against Jane. It was just a random series of punches and kicks infused with magical energy, just like Jane''s Knight Dance attack. Teresha didn''t have any weapon drawn out with her; she was just using her body to attack, but in Jane''s perception, it was quite effective anyway, knocking her off guard and off balance. Teresha eventually put enough power into her last punch to knock Jane completely on her back again. Teresha then retreated while Jane tried to get back up, no longer the target of unrelenting hits.
Jane immediately noticed that her armor hadn''t taken any damage this time, protected by the powerful red aura that acted as a personal shield for the armor itself. The energy shield would remain there until her opponent could somehow strike enough damage against that aura. Jane was thus feeling fine, and she stood up unwilling to accept any additional damage. Still thinking about the new spells only, Jane went in for a tricky kind of attack. After pulling out one single dagger, Jane unleashed her energy with the chant, charged during the time she spent on the ground. "Dark Strike!"
Teresha didn''t understand it when Jane suddenly disappeared in a dark cloudy mist. Before she knew it, Jane had reappeared behind her, striking her dagger upwards with enough force to launch Teresha high into the air. The first thing she noticed was the damage and the pain from that single hit, and then the smack down as she slammed back into the cement without enough control to prevent it. Jane infused magical energy into that strike as well, causing a good deal of damage against Teresha.
Teresha didn''t expect to take the last dagger strike, but she managed to get back up much quicker than she and Jane expected. Jane apparently didn''t back away very far, standing so close to Teresha right after using her Dark Strike attack, likely for another attack. Teresha reacted quickly in her recovery, pushing some invisible energy out in Jane''s direction with a chant. "Push Wave!"
Jane was suddenly forced backward by an invisible force more powerful than wind. Her feet slid in the concrete as Jane maintained her balance, but the force pushed her nearly eighteen feet backwards without causing damage. It was the effects of Push Wave. It''s actually a skill that pushes the opponent away from the user if they are too close for comfort, though it doesn''t cause any magical damage as a result.
Jane didn''t mind it though. She had ways of attacking from far distances after all, and Teresha would not be able to rely on close range skills forever. After pulling out both her daggers, Jane charged more energy into the very tips of each blade, aiming them at Teresha as if they were guns. "Mako Beam!" Jane shouted. Two beams of bright blue energy shot out of each dagger one at a time, Jane firing them from the tips of the daggers as the firing arc. Each beam was as quick to strike and fade as bolts of lightning naturally occurring in the sky. Jane''s evanescent beams of light scored small damage for each hit against Teresha, making it impossible for her to dodge or block it out. Jane shot a third beam from her left dagger as well, scoring a third hit. She usually just went with two solid beams of light, but it didn''t need to be two every single time. As Jane discovered the damage drop in her opponent''s HP levels, it turned out to be true that Mako Beam''s power level was most unimpressive.
Though each hit from the beams temporarily interrupted Teresha''s stance and balance, it hardly made it difficult for her to make a full recovery and retaliate quickly. This time she didn''t hold back, unleashing a ton of MP energy while aiming both arms at the ground in front of Jane. "Radial Blast!"
"Uh oh!" Jane responded with worry. Radial Blast was something she could use too, and that means she knew exactly what power she would be in for. Multiple explosions already began populating the battlefield, coming out of nowhere in random locations all centered around where Jane was standing. Jane couldn''t do anything but hope not to take any hits, but a short second afterwards, her hope was in vain. One explosion caught her off guard, sending her off her feet and giving her body a spin from all of the force of the blast involved. Just before Jane was about to smack face first into the ground, another small explosion erupted right there, in the place she was destined to fall down on. The next explosion forced her back from there, causing a high amount of damage as she was forced on her back with a searing kind of pain that felt like a massive bruise to her entire body. The aftershock made Jane''s ears ring while everything became harder to hear.
Jane was lucky to still have her armor covered in a protective veil from the spell she cast earlier, but it didn''t look like Teresha was about to give up on the attacks either, not by the way she was shifting around.
Jane immediately stood back up, willing to fight as strongly as before. She went with a more simple kind of counterattack, hoping to get the initiative afterwards. Jane''s small blue glyphring surrounded her right wrist as she unleashed the energy in her opponent''s direction. "Ice Needles!" Jane fired a barrage of frozen needles capable of dealing Ice elemental piercing damage, and the wide area of the barrage wasn''t going to make things easy to dodge.
Even still, Teresha reacted anyway, shifting her legs and running far to her right without facing away from Jane. In a quick sprinting effort to evade the entire barrage, Jane gasped in surprise after Teresha actually managed evasion. Teresha dodged the entire attack of Ice Needles by running to the side, and she was now creating a strange colored glyphring in front of her chest aimed at Jane.
"Photon Wave!" Teresha''s excellent power and much of her energy went into this spell, creating a brightly colored grey glyphring in front of her. This time, the glyphring wasn''t actually connected to her body, though she still used it to unleash the rest of her magical energy. Jane didn''t know what to do of course, as many don''t get to experience this kind of spell and stay awake to remember it. Teresha performed her special ability, shooting a massive barrage of beautiful dark photons out from the glyphring. Each photon shooting out of the spinning disk was almost black in color with a shadowy body, all with long tails forming as they traveled quickly through the air. In the darkness, they became incredibly hard to see the closer they got to Jane, and there had to be at least sixteen of these photons all on their way towards Teresha''s target. All of them have homing capabilities too, so Jane could only stand there and block the attack as best she could. Teresha knew better; the force of this is high in potential, causing only magical damage without elements involved, while evasion is impossible.
Jane felt like she was being pelleted by big burning bricks and stones, the painful sensation quickly draining her own life energy as she stood there getting weaker after each and every hit. The last one made Jane dizzy enough for her to drop down, fragile from the insane amount of damage the attack called at once. At the same time, the spell was more than powerful enough to completely shut down the aura that was previously protecting her armor. With the Armor Protector spell now disabled, Jane''s broken chest plate was nothing more than chipped metal and mangled mesh again.
The massive damage to Jane was irreversible at this point, but it also put an incredible amount of stress on Teresha''s MP reserves as well. Despite the incredible drain it caused her, Jane forced herself back up to fight again. She got a compliment from her enemy mid-battle.
"I''m impressed!" Teresha cheered. "Not many survive my Photon Wave attack."
"It''s not over yet," Jane promised. Before giving Teresha time to let the thought sink in, she quickly invoked another magical ability. Jane had some trouble in the past using her Lightning Strike because of how long it took to invoke the spell in a battle, but much to her own surprise, her invocation was almost immediate. The glyphring formed and fired the bolt of electricity, hitting Teresha and holding her down with high voltage before getting the chance to chant the name. Jane never got this spell to come forth so quickly before, but this usually happens after one use the same ability over and over in succession.
Teresha was being electrocuted in place, feeling the full and incredible sensation of the electrical shock to her muscles and nerves for a good 1.6 seconds of time. Even after Jane''s electrical attack ended, Teresha felt charged up in a way that made her much more nervous, yet inexplicably drained at the same time. The pain to all of her nerves kept her from moving quickly afterwards.
Teresha replied to Jane''s earlier remark. "I for one have to agree. Flash Kick!" Teresha struck immediately, just as she invoked her attack. Her entire body began to glow with a white hot light, and then she zoomed in with a running charge towards Jane. Teresha disappeared in her sprint towards Jane, becoming as fast as light. Just before stopping again, Teresha jumped into the air with her leg far out in front. At the last second when she reappeared, her foot slammed into Jane''s chest plate. Though it got blocked partially from her armor, the magical kick with that speed put more than enough force to cause mayhem as Jane once again flew back off her feet, landing against the cement.
Jane''s stomach had been emptied of air from that last kick. Though Teresha kicked her in the chest, it left Jane winded with pain and damage. Flash Kick is pretty much the same skill as Flashpoint, but it involves a kick at the end instead of a punch. Both skills are still infused with magical energy to increase the damage, making the body charge at the speed of light prior to impact. Teresha was not giving an inch to the battle, but Jane could tell that she was already losing.
After getting back up and getting over the pain, Jane simply came up with her next spell. Teresha would have a hard time dodging or blocking the attack, and her dress sphere made it obvious that she wouldn''t be resistant to the elemental damage. "Tri-Fire!" Jane''s red glyphring formed in front of her, surrounding her wrist as she held aim at Teresha again. Jane shot the first Fire Bolt from her hand with ease. She then had to twist and pull back on her arm slightly with a directional curvature to the left and right to fire the last two Fire Bolts. Her arm became the cannon, but her aim was still spot on. Fire Bolts have homing properties to account for aim loss anyway.
Responding to Jane''s Triple Fire attack, Teresha tried to dodge the very first one, but she slid a bit too soon, and took the Fire Bolt head on. Then she absorbed the next two Fire Bolts just after, forcing her down and grunting in pain from the burning sensation of the magical ability.
Teresha obviously didn''t stand a chance against fire-based attacks. While the damage to her health was high already, it seemed to be a very painful experience for her as well. Impacts after a fire attack does more than inflict damage; it also gives the target the sensation of feeling burned on the impact site as well. Jane unfortunately had to learn that from the receiving end of the experience, but if Teresha has a weakness for fire, it would be best to exploit it in battle.
Teresha got over it quickly, creating a jade colored glyphring in front of her. Jane immediately knew that an unannounced Lightning Strike spell was already on its way. That color in the glyphring usually indicates as much. Obviously it can''t be dodged...
"Lightning Strike!" Teresha fired her own bolt of electricity, getting back at Jane for what she did to her earlier, but as soon as the electrical bolt launched from the glyphring, the end of the beam ended up striking something else. Jane instinctively deflected the lightning bolt using the metal at the end of her daggers. The handles on the daggers were made of a rubbery material on the inside, and it allowed Jane to redirect the impact site of the electrical attack completely. Teresha gasped from the very idea that it was possible, let alone carried out right before her own eyes.
Jane didn''t know if it would work until trying, but she held out the ends of her daggers far in front of her, the Lightning Strike being totally drawn and absorbed by the metal of her weapons. At the same time, Jane remained unaffected so far, but she really had to push back with a lot of force to keep this up. The kinetic push of the Lightning Strike was impressively strong. She was surprised in herself for getting so lucky as to hold her daggers in just the right spot to split up the damage this much. At last, the attack sequence ended with enough time, and Jane ended up deflecting the bolt away from her, striking the ground below instead.
Teresha took two steps backwards, unable to contemplate what just happened. "What was that?! You can deflect electricity with your daggers?"
Jane wasn''t sure about that until now, but the confident ability and experience she just obtained would be remembered for a long time. The Rigel Runes are specifically infused with permanent magical essence energy, meaning they are capable of absorbing damage without physically breaking, and that also means it can potentially attract stray magic to the metal tips. This made Jane smile in determination, realizing the payoff in her perpetual persistence. "I already told you. I''m not losing this battle. I have a duty to make it to Lennith City, and I''m not stopping until it''s over!" Jane never felt so energetic and charged up like this for some time, but it felt amazing. She gave into that sensation, charging up more energy for attacks. If Jane timed it well enough, she could keep it going over and over. "Triple Fire!" Jane shouted the name as her red glyphring formed again like before. Jane shot all three Fire Bolts successfully, one after the other with her arm twisting and turning in motion to make sure all three of them were launched outward.
Before the third Fire Bolt attack hit Teresha, Jane''s red glyphring disappeared to signify the end of her spell cycle, and Jane reacted right then and there to keep herself going. She ran towards Teresha only for a few steps, then slid down on her shoes while spawning two familiar weapons into her hands. "Bullet Blitz!" Jane got hold of her sub machine guns, holding down the triggers to fire the barrage of bullets at Teresha. Jane''s opponent continuously took damage shortly after feeling the effects of the last Fire Bolt attack, and it made her unable to overcome the pressure that was being put on.
Jane didn''t even consider to check the damage level right now. After her magazines emptied, Jane tossed her guns aside and pulled her daggers out while standing straight up. "Mako Beam!" She jumped right into another attack skill, not giving Teresha a chance to fight back. Jane''s daggers shot blue beams from their tips like before, hitting Teresha again and again. This time, Jane used three beams instead of two, but after that, she put her daggers away and jumped back a bit while unleashing additional energy. The response created yet another powerful red colored glyphring in front of her. "Give you another Tri-Fire!" Jane immediately shot the Fire Bolts through her glyphring, invoking the skill slightly quicker than before. After the third Fire Bolt had been shot out, Jane suddenly stopped from her new-found exhaustion, the last spell draining the rest of her MP energy on the spot.
Teresha then sunk down to the ground much like Jane just did, but she didn''t look like she could go on any longer either. Jane struggled to keep her balance as she stood up. Teresha looked up to see what Jane was up to, and then checked her own energy scope.
This was crazy! Jane just wasn''t letting up anymore, spamming one spell after the next. It was no wonder why Teresha felt so dizzy and exhausted. The battle was already over, and she ran out of ideas rather quickly. Quitting wasn''t her style, but Teresha saw no other choice. She couldn''t stand up like Jane could right now, and she had to call it in with her voice. "Enough," she croaked. "I''ve had enough."
Jane canceled her next plan of attack, realizing that Teresha was throwing in the towel. She didn''t hear her whisper from her current distance though, instead using Teresha''s body language. "You give up?"
"You win Jane. That was impressive," she commended. Teresha struggled just to sit up properly. Her health was in a critical state of condition, but after announcing that Jane won the battle, the Siriean dome finally responded. The dome faded away like it normally does, leaving behind some more holographic text in the center of the field.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mine 24 [A+B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Jane and Teresha both turned off their energy scopes with the battle now over. Jane proceeded towards her conquered opponent after setting her daggers into her mercenary suit pockets, helping Teresha up by extending her free hand. Teresha took Jane''s hand for a boost back up before used a healing orb on herself.
Jane had the same idea to heal herself right after the battle, but she also checked her Leray license card curiously in question to see her grand total in credits so far. The bottom of her card''s credit count had been updated. 4405 credits were stored on the electronic card. It was getting to be a rich amount already. Jane had to wait until now to realize that this was her fifth victory in a row. Amazing how much that armor and the new skills changed her odds of battling, but each victory came with close calls too. In almost every single battle, Jane knew that her HP was getting close to zero near the end. Even so, it gave her more to think about.
"I guess I need a lot more practice," Teresha admitted. "You might have what it takes to beat Clayton after all." Teresha was feeling completely recovered already, but because of the way Jane battled at the last second, Teresha couldn''t take her eyes off her for a moment. Jane is so impressive!
Jane was still taking more time to recover herself, but the idea of another battle forced her into more preparation. Looking at Teresha with a proud smile, Jane announced, "Clayton''s next huh? I don''t suppose he''ll just let me go by freely?"
"He is determined." Her voice made it sound more like a question than fact when answering Jane, hinting that Clayton may possibly let Jane by.
Jane returned her answer with much enthusiasm. "Well I''m more determined! Clayton can''t stand in the way of me getting to Lennith City. And besides, all I have to fight next is him. Then I''ll be scot free. Finally!"
Teresha hadn''t thought about it before, but it almost seemed like Jane had to battle many tough opponents on this route coming all the way from Monoc town. If she keeps winning these battles, she''ll receive a bonus exemption from battles for the next thirty-two hours. "You must have battled many people on this road so far today. I hope he is your last opponent. It will be sunrise in a few more hours."
Jane''s happy expression quickly degraded. "I hope I''m close there by now."
Teresha exhaled calmly. "He''ll be pretty close to the city. I''ll have to go back there myself as well. You were my last opponent tonight anyway."
Yeah, if only Jane''s last opponent was defeated long ago. Still, the ensuing cold of wind reminded Jane again of how alone she was on this road... "Want to come along and watch?"
"Of course," Teresha happily agreed, her voice getting high and excited. "I''d love to see the look on his face when he loses to you. I underestimated you Jane, and I think he will too."
"Right..." Am I that weak looking? Jane had enough energy still left in her. Despite all of the battles and training tonight, and despite all of the long hours of walking this path alone without many stops, Jane couldn''t let her body''s fatigue get to her. It just wasn''t possible anymore. She was finally getting close! Closer and closer to Lennith City, and her final battle on Route 96 was imminent. Instead of feeling tired and exhausted, Jane couldn''t be any more excited and prepared. She might explode with exhilaration!
Jane and Teresha set off together this time to the rest of the road. The path before them was still very much the same, and the cold frigid air made Jane shutter frequently, but now she wasn''t alone anymore, at least not for the remainder of the path. She pressed onward, making Teresha keep up while both of them prepared to give Clayton a real battle. It would only be a matter of time now.
Chapter 19-B: Battles of Entropy (Jane VS Clayton)
<01/19/1972 ¨C 03:33 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
For over an hour of time, Jane and Teresha walked the road together, chatting with each other about anything to try and ignore the passing of time. The stress the terrain had been placing on Jane was making her muscles all the more frail under the stars. The position of the moonlight began to shift further down the horizon, leaving even more darkness in its wake. The sky was totally pitch black while the bright stars created a skybox for the empty page.
Jane however grew aggravated at Teresha''s constant chatter. It was mainly her asking Jane all about herself. Jane refused to talk about certain things, severely limiting her side of the conversation. It was Danny and Taylor which kindled so much concern. She wanted to continue her journey with them, but there was no turning back now. The very thought of those two was beginning to replace her emotion with a sad sense of solitude and longing. Jane didn''t mention them to Teresha, as it was none of her business. The same went for the matter about her spell bomb curse, the one affecting her endurance in such negative ways.
Teresha didn''t mind at all talking about her own personal life. Jane got to learn a lot about her, mostly stuff she didn''t care for. Teresha didn''t really live an interesting life, other than the fact that her goal was to become a strong Leray champion. It''s the same goal Jane had in a way. Though with her dream, defeating the champion of Leray magic will only be the first step.
"What do ya mean no? I thought we said no secrets," Teresha urged Jane on. While the both of them continued walking on without a break, Jane had been sipping down on a water bottle, trying to ignore Teresha''s silly request.
Jane was just asked if she had someone she was gaga over. Apparently Teresha had two boys after her, one she had already chosen. "I''m not being secretive. I really haven''t found anyone I want to be with. Not yet anyway." Jane thought again about Danny and Taylor. Their particular scenario was different. There was no denying that Taylor was in love with Danny, and hopefully it went both ways too. But both of them were still in the stage of denial, bless those poor souls!
"Right, cause you''re the big though Leray wielder? You probably scare most of them with your rigorous expectations."
Jane suddenly stopped and turned around, taking a short step in front of Teresha. Teresha was forced to stop too, suddenly surprised at Jane''s changing course. Her face was too close for comfort, so Teresha stepped back a couple of paces. "You really think so, Teresha?!" Jane didn''t raise her voice, but it was more than clear to Teresha that she chose the wrong words to describe Jane. She prepared to slap Teresha one right here. "You''re treading in dangerous territory now. Drop it!"
Teresha wiggled her hands in front of Jane, blushing in response and holding her head lower. "No, no! I didn''t mean that! Jane, I was kidding!"
Jane noticed how much Teresha reacted to her, and finally took a sharp back-step carrying a deep breath in. That wasn''t something to joke about. "It''s fine. Keep moving." Jane turned around and continued marching without even checking to see if she was still following her. Teresha must not have been thinking at all to say something like that. Jane closed her eyes more in thought with her pace heavy. She wouldn''t admit it to Teresha, but her prediction wouldn''t have been far off a while ago. It''s not like Jane ever turned down any offers or dates at her facility, but she never got asked out before. To rub more salt into her life, one of the snotty rich girls there made a comment to Jane''s face about it days before her graduation.
Jane was always a hard worker in her school, training beyond the expectations and limits of any normal student in a Leray training academy, and it was her ambition that always pushed her that far. Jane''s selfish passion made her tougher, stronger, and even harder as a person to deal with. She probably did scare any future dates away from her, all because of her total devotion and seriousness to learning Leray magic. She always tried her hardest, and always burned in her own passion with every single subject, living in a focus so intensely that nothing else existed. Was everyone really too afraid to ask her out before? Jane shook away the thought; she could feel her face burning in response to the subject. At least with Teresha, she was just teasing.
"Wait up!" she hollered. Teresha meant no harm, but even after that outburst, Jane was still the main person she needed to follow. For the next few minutes, they both remained quiet. Teresha didn''t know what else to say or talk about. Jane isn''t exactly a bright and cheerful kind of person, despite how hard she tries to fight. Her vehement behavior shows so strongly when she''s fighting. It sure didn''t make it any easier now that they had expended all possible subjects.
Just as the wind''s howling echoes got louder to the silence, another noise was added into the system. A loud and quick cough, rough but firm. It defiantly belonged to a man with a deep pitch voice and a scratch in his throat. Jane slowed her pace significantly, searching in front of her for someone. There was already a moving shadow, someone walking this way right now.
"Hey Clay!" Teresha waved and called out, rushing in ahead of Jane. In response, the shadowy figure sped up too, dragging his legs further.
"Teresha!" he replied. The man Teresha called Clayton got closer, and so did Jane. Despite the darkness, Clayton could make out everyone''s faces. Teresha was there to greet him, but also had another girl in tow. "How''s it been?"
Jane studied his face. Clayton was not exactly the kind of person Jane imagined with the name and type for Teresha, as far as looks go. He had short cut fiery-red colored hair, but in this darkness, Jane had to guess that color by squinting her eyes. He has to be no older than twenty or twenty-one, but Teresha seemed more like an eighteen-year-old woman. It''s one of those couples again. Jane remarked at Clayton''s composure as he now studied Jane close up. In just another second, Jane thrust her head sideways, clacking her tongue off her teeth instead of greeting him.
She just refused to introduce herself, and after giving him such a judgmental stare. What an interesting girl! Clayton glanced back at Teresha again, realizing that she was staring him in the face for something to say. "Who''s the friend?"
Teresha shifted her arms as if to present the new arrival. "Uh, this is Jane. Jane, this is Clayton, your next rival." Teresha had a much stronger voice that seemed higher in pitch when she wasn''t in fight mode, but it all made things more annoying for Jane.
"Rival?!" Clayton already didn''t understand. It wasn''t like Teresha to just up and bring people directly to him for a Leray battle. "N¡ª" he stuttered. "Not that I mind. I haven''t had any action all night. I think the other wielders are on to us."
Jane studied their interactions. The way Clayton was moving and talking... He sounded like the kind of person to grow into a total hot head, but there wasn''t anything helpful yet to let her prejudge how he might battle.
Teresha clapped her hands once, showing how excited she was to set this whole thing up. "Well Jane is a great Leray wielder! She tossed me in a fight real quick."
"Ah," Clayton slanted. "So you lost?"
"That''s not the important part of the battle," Teresha grumbled lowly.
Clayton nodded briefly. "Humph! Well I beg to differ. How many battles have you had so far? I know I''ve had less, but I''ve also won more. It''s all about statistics now, because we both know this route isn''t going to be full of wielders for much longer, not at night anyway. And if it is, it''ll be people we''ve already battled against before."
Jane felt more impatient by the minute. She couldn''t tell if the fatigue was finally catching up to her nerves, or if it was the man''s tone rubbing her the wrong way. "Can we likely speed this up?"
Clayton folded his arms in front of his chest, shifting his feet to face the new challenger. "Can''t wait to have a fight, huh? Jane, was it?" He felt so much more relaxed after witnessing how young she was, putting his hands behind his head to show it. "I know you want to battle, but I don''t just say yes to anyone. I try to stay away from easy wins, so the people I challenge... Well, there''s no age limit of course. I''m not saying anything about you, but... I don''t prefer easy wins."
What an idiot! Jane figured he would be like this, and him trying to deny judging her like that was just wrecking his charisma. "Well maybe that was your first mistake." Forget being nice, this moron doesn''t even know what a Leray battle is about.
Teresha cupped her mouth with her hands. Jane''s remark was so quick, yet so serious and subtle. Jane never even once shook his hand to officially greet Clayton. Does she get along with everyone like this?
Jane began hating Clayton''s attitude even more. Age limit?! Does he think that her slightly younger age has anything to do with all of the work and practice she had put in so far? What''s an easy win if you saw it? Forget the semantics; this one''s going down!
"Huh. I see how it is." Clayton knew this was big talk, but it mattered to him whether this was just overconfidence or a motive booster. What did Jane think she was going to win in the end anyway? "How about we compare skill levels then? I graduated from Lennith not too long ago, but I did so in the third year''s class. So I''ve got advanced Leray training volume one under my belt."
Jane swiftly replied her lone answer without any other remarks. "Basic."
Clayton twisted his look, staring at Jane more seriously to judge her more accurately. "Only basic? That''s just the minimum requirement, and exactly the vibe I''ve been getting from you so far."
So you admit to judging me! "I wouldn''t be so proud of your progress if I were you," Jane retorted. She gave a slight sadistic smile, confident that this guy was nothing but talk. "If it took you three years of training just to be at where you are now, I''ve got nothing to worry about."
Clayton raised his eye brows in response. He didn''t expect Jane to be so intense and tormenting. Which school was she from again? How could someone''s arrogance get this bad? "Oh yeah? You think you can just pop out of some school with a year of training and beat the League of Elites? What kind of Leray wielder do you think you are?"
Teresha laughed sarcastically. Anyone could tell she was just getting nervous for the both of them. "Now, now? Can we please save this for the Leray match?"
"You want to know what kind of Leray wielder I am?" Jane tested. Her voice level was rising fast, her anger finally reaching out in front of him. "I''m the kind that will defeat you in no time flat. You said you wanted a challenge, well it''s waiting right here." Jane never felt her blood boiling so fast in so long. She didn''t actually want to battle this Clayton before Teresha brought her here, it was just something she accidentally got into. After his insults though, Jane would do anything to shove her victory in his face. Guys like him...
"Well, looks like I''ve got you all upset. But we''ll have a battle to settle this. I can use some extra credits, and I don''t mind taking it from kids like you."
Oh, he did not just call me a kid!
Clayton made his bet with Jane right now. "Don''t say I didn''t warn you though, I''m not holding back an inch. A thousand credits or else."
Jane could feel her teeth grinding together. "Fine by me," she accepted. You are going down. Jane stamped her legs and turned around, walking away from Clayton to establish their natural distance prior to the battle. Teresha seemed confused at first, but then she realized that the match was already going on.
Teresha rushed out of the imaginary perimeter that would become real enough shortly. "Uh, I''ll just watch from over here."
Clayton was finally standing in his place, facing Jane as Jane was facing him. Now that they were more than forty meters apart and patiently standing in the run-down cement, the will to battle for Jane and Clayton became the factor that quickly established the formation of the Siriean dome. Again, a small and invisible sourced light was at the very top of the dome, though it was not very powerful anyway. Shortly after the shield came alive, Jane and Clayton enabled their energy scopes. Their haste was greater than the speed of the reward spoil text that appears in the center of the field for a few seconds, indicating the reward in the steaks of the match.
Chapter Theme Shift: Arousal Strategy ~ Magia Record OST
Clayton pulled something out from his supply sphere in the nick of time, a large metal saber that appeared to be a custom-made long sword. So that was his weapon of choice. Clayton has yet to see Jane''s primary weapon of choice. It didn''t seem like she had any, on the off chance that she wasn''t actually hiding her own weapons in her clothing. "Talk about armatures," he murmured.
Jane didn''t care what he wanted to say right now. It was already time to battle, and they were now legally allowed to start. Jane decided to go first, charging up her energy more slowly than usual so that she could taunt the man some more. "This won''t be difficult. A bark with no bite." Jane made sure to project her voice, allowing Clayton to hear her. Regardless of her words, her energy was now ready to use for her first attack.
Jane immediately transitioned from a quick remark to a battle skill, chanting the ability known as Shadow Wave while keeping the noise in her mind. Jane didn''t need to give him the initiative for the fight since she needed to prove her point by force. Jane threw the shadow from her aura onto the ground as it quickly soared ahead towards Clayton. At first he didn''t seem worried, not that there was much time to realize that a Shadow Wave was active just before the impact. In its last moments, much to Jane''s earlier style, her Shadow Wave grew three times the normal size of an ordinary Shadow Wave spell, quickly consuming Clayton in its darkened aura of magical slashing damage. Jane couldn''t tell if he was surprised by that. After the aura disappeared into a magical burst, Clayton stood out of it unfazed, but from his transitioning stance, the damage has been done.
Clayton smiled in response, attempting to give Jane a run for her money. "You call that an attack?"
Jane didn''t let his words affect her. Her own Shadow Wave did 12% HP damage after all. That''s close to record high in a real scale of power levels for that specific ability. Just who is this guy bluffing?
"I''ll show you my Blast Wave!" Clayton shouted his attack name in his manly yell. Clayton unleashed a lot of magical energy into the battlefield, creating a series of blasts and explosions all over the ground.
Jane knew what this spell was about, but she could do nothing about it. The random explosions quickly caught up to her in no time, blasting her off her feet and pushing her into the ground. Thanks to the locations of each blast that affected her, Jane was thrust downward instead of up into the air like a normal magical explosion would have done, but the damage was just as devastating. Jane knew about Blast Wave and how it differs from Radial Blast. Blast Wave is higher in power levels by a hair, but it''s the same thing as Radial Blast in a more concentrated, accurate location. The user can narrow down the field of explosions more tightly and compact.
"Har-ah!" Jane willed herself back up quickly. The pain from the explosive blast still hurt from before, but it wasn''t something Jane cared about at this time. Clayton may have used a powerful spell alright, but that would dent his MP levels too, and things were just getting started. "Magical Blitz!" Jane formed two bright blue energy spheres in her hands, throwing one after the other in an accurate way to aim, but she wasn''t done yet. Clayton knew that kind of attack spell too, so he managed to dodge the first energy sphere that passed him by. The second one hit him, but alone caused little damage or pushback. Jane formed another one, tossing it in front of her to kick it forward. Because of her unusual style in changing the projection format of her continued Magical Blitz spheres, Clayton didn''t see that one coming in time, the energy ball sped up by the additional force pushed into its launch. Jane then spun around, throwing the last energy sphere his way just as he had taken the hit from the third one. Clayton was then hit by the fourth energy sphere too, making for a three out of four hit combination that caused damage on a magical level.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Clayton didn''t think Jane could become so speedy and refined in her lower level spells, but this still wasn''t close to a tide turner at all. Clayton knew plenty more tricks. "They don''t teach you this one in basic," he announced. As Clayton chanted the name of his next ability, his glowing hands began to affect the terrain below him. "Homing Syndrome!"
Jane never heard of this spell before, but it could not be good for her by the looks of it. Just below her feet, large chunks of rocks and even a few boulders began to float out of the ground, a magical aura glowing and coating their bodies. The way they were floating and slowing down as they rose in the air just above Jane''s height gave her additional goose bumps of fear. Jane checked her surroundings after hearing noises in other directions as well. The floating rocks and boulders were not just rising in front of her, but in all directions surrounding her. She quickly became surrounded with floating rocks, all colored by an aura to give the stones new properties. Clayton was controlling these rocks using the magical power of telekinesis evident as his hands are still glowing in the distance.
Something else was interesting. Jane expected these stones to impact on her much sooner, but they were still not homing in on her yet. It must take a lot of focus to make this work the way Clayton was trying to do. Either that, or it may be a durational attack. If that''s the case, it can be interrupted. Jane didn''t think on it much longer. She went with her gut and decided to put her efforts into another spell rather than prepare for the painful impact of stones. Jane charged up energy again, infusing magical energy into her hands and feet. "I''ll stop you with Knight Dance!" Jane charged towards Clayton, who didn''t seem to change his stance or do anything else as Jane got closer.
Jane was afraid that it was some kind of trick to lure her in, but once she got close enough, there was no way he was tricking her. Jane managed to score a few punches and kicks. She then pulled out her glowing auric daggers to add to the pain, slashing at his skin while she transitioned other hits with that combination. At first, Clayton tried to keep his balance and his power flowing, but after another hard hit to the stomach, Jane knocked him back hard enough to totally interrupt his work. Clayton''s hands stopped glowing, and all of the stones that had been created fell down to the floor far behind where Jane used to be. They weren''t even following Jane as she charged at Clayton. Must not be a reliable spell if she can stop him from using it, but Jane didn''t care about his battling style. She just kept up the physical attacks from her Knight Dance until she became exhausted enough to back away at the end of her normal sequence. Jane placed her daggers back in their place, stepping backwards to catch her breath.
Clayton gave Jane an angry glare. The spell he tried so hard to invoke was interrupted, but he knew deep down that the concentration aura never reached the critical level it needed to. It''s a very difficult spell to call forward, more so to control. It was stupid to rely on a spell he had yet to master, but Jane would never possess the ability, and thus she isn''t worthy! Without even trying to talk her down, he went straight into his power spell again, charging MP energy into his hands while releasing them down to the earth. "Homing Syndrome!" Clayton knew Jane might try and stop him again. The spell has a long invocation duration after all, but instead of waiting, he expended his energy much more rapidly this time. This allowed him to take initiative in his own powerful attack as the stones around Jane all began to float up again.
Jane tried to make her move, rushing in again to try and interrupt, but before she got far, the stones in front of her suddenly shot in her direction like they were launched from an invisible cannon. Jane was suddenly pushed way back by the brute force of the stones, bruising her skin on contact each time. The boulders slammed against her skin and the metal wrapped around her. They hurt just as much as they did damage to her. The stones were large in size, hulking all the way through her metal chest plate. Stones began slamming her from behind as well, and then from all directions. They surrounded Jane, smashing her skin with powerful rocks telekinetically controlled by Clayton''s special ability. Every single impact knocked her far off balance, recycling quickly enough to prevent her from falling down off her legs. Jane was quickly taken by the intense pain inflicted, and in the same time the attack was still going on, one of the stones coming from the front side crushed the side strap of the metal section on Jane''s chest plate. The chest plate suddenly shattered into millions of tiny shards and fragments, despite being made out of special steel.
Jane was forced back from the last hit, landing on her back motionless. The incredible damage factor paralyzed Jane in her place since the sensation resembled tons of heavy weight stones knocking the wind out of her. The familiar feeling of a warm plate against her chest was also no longer there.
It took a long time for Jane to try and get back up. Luckily, Clayton was so confident now about winning that he wasn''t leading into another attack again. Jane tried hard to overcome this kind of pain, but it took time she could not afford. That attack really left marks and visible bruises all over her skin. The veil of protection doesn''t do everything to prevent physical harm, only emphasis on protecting people from death, thus Jane had sustained a few injuries that would slow her down for the rest of the entire match. Jane''s body felt so different now too. Her armor has been completely decimated, broken into shards right off her body. Now all she had left was her red and black mercenary outfit, though it''s naturally invulnerable to Leray damage in the first place. Her protection was gone, and she would now take more damage than ever before - with that endurance curse attached to her.
However, Jane suddenly realized something. The odd sensation she was now getting used to, it was her flexibility. That metal hunk of a suit severely decreased her overall speed for everything, to move, to dodge, to run, and to attack, but now all of that weight was gone, leaving her feeling light as a feather. After sensing that Clayton was about to use another spell from there as she stood alone in place, Jane used her new idea to come up with better plans than before. It didn''t matter to her right now which ability he was casting from his glyphring, Jane made her move immediately, knowing she would automatically dodge Clayton''s directional attack. "Dark Strike!"
She didn''t get to hear or see what spell Clayton just unleashed. She was suddenly gone and back again, like entering a dark pitch void for just a split second. Jane''s new surroundings told her that Clayton was still in front of her, but not the other way around. As he searched for Jane''s location, she pulled out her dagger, infused it with magic, and took a hard slice upwards. Jane''s uppercut slash threw Clayton''s entire body high into the air, giving her plenty of time to back away before he could retaliate. The damage he took was already significant, but his health declined a little more after slamming into the ground again, using his hands to protect his face.
Clayton slammed his fist into the ground while he was still on his belly. In his sudden shift into rage, he completed the invocation of another spell, forming a yellow glyphring into his hand while he still knelt down. "Shotgun Blast!" Clayton immediately gripped his shotgun and aimed it at Jane while pulling the trigger. This time, Jane wasn''t quick enough to dodge a barrage of energy shots, but the spheres were slightly explosive too, causing immediate damage for Jane while her stamina dropped in place. She already felt worn out from the battle just as she tried to get over the Shotgun Blast spell she just took.
Jane didn''t go very far just before taking a Shotgun Blast to the chest. The blow to her body wasn''t enough to break her balance, but it hurt her enough to cause stunning and cringing for full second, where Clayton was now standing back up. Jane had no choice but to shake it off and fight with more power. She quickly released her energy into one of her less used techniques. "Median Flare!" Jane aimed her arms and hands out in a strange way, each palm facing the opposite direction with both hands connected. The ability resulted in a powerful beam blast of light that was just in range to hit Clayton and knock him backwards off his feet. He nearly tripped from sliding in the ground, but it didn''t befall him yet.
"Crystal Arrow!" Clayton knew he was speeding up in response to Jane''s attacks. It should work well in his favor. It''s not like Jane was that good at dodging anyway. He pulled out a bow and arrow using a little magic, and then shot his crystal arrow towards Jane. Clayton didn''t need to use the first two normal arrows that usually forms with the entire ability. It was the crystal arrow that did most of the damage anyway.
After he fired his shot towards Jane, she failed to dodge in time as the arrow slammed into her. The force of it felt like a rock, bouncing off of her skin instead of sticking into her or piercing her body. Crystal Arrow is designed for armored targets anyway, which is why it did blunt damage in its place. Though Jane''s damage intake wasn''t nearly as high this time, the feeling of another stone hitting her skin gave her left shoulder a crushed sense.
Jane didn''t realize that her energy scope would continue reporting that her armor was destroyed already. It''s not like she didn''t know it, but it wasn''t important enough right now. Jane had to fight back with everything she could. "I''m not losing this battle to a moron. Bullet Blitz!" Jane slid down on her knees this time despite allowing them to scrape, shooting her sub machine guns the second they spawned and dropped into her hands like so. Clayton certainly didn''t expect it. Jane''s style of sliding first and shooting later gave her attack more invocation speed, and since the projectiles travel at the same speed as bullets, he couldn''t do anything but take the damage from the barrage. His health didn''t drop down very far by the end of Jane''s magazines, but he was holding his skin in multiple places, no doubt hurting badly form the sense of piercing damage.
It was going to drain a lot of his MP, but by the looks of things, Jane wasn''t nearly half bad after all. After what Clayton said to her, it wasn''t worth giving in to defeat. He nodded to himself and unleashed a ton of his own energy. "Firesurge!" Clayton''s voice bellowed loudly, chanting the spell as loud as he could to ensure its success. Clayton drew his sword, already glowing white with energy, and stuck it into the earth with all his might. As a result, it created a crimson colored Shadow Wave on the spot heading straight for Jane.
Jane saw the formation of an interesting looking kind of Shadow Wave only for one second. The Shadow Wave accelerated at an alarming rate, slamming against Jane with unseen power. Jane was forced backward off her feet and into the air, nearly slamming into the edge of the dome shield before landing on the hard ground again. That was defiantly not a Shadow Wave attack!
Clayton exhaled to calm himself down after his attack took much out of him. It worked so well against Jane. Firesurge! A devastating magical attack that combines a normal Shadow Wave with fire elemental and earth elemental damage at the same time while tripling the travel speed. Jane sure took a bad hit from that one alright. Firesurge is not even a raw enhancement from Shadow Wave. It''s a combination of fire elemental magic infused with Crush Wave. Crush Wave is the second tier spell up from Shadow Wave, with twice the power, carrying the earth with its own wave as it travels. The receiving end gets pelleted with chunks of dirt and rock on top of the damage a normal Shadow Wave does. Firesurge is the third tier upgraded spell, which does all of this with the additional element of fire damage added into the aura.
Jane never before felt so many different types of pain all at the same time. It''s like she got slashed by that red Shadow Wave, hit with more invisible stones that she couldn''t see, and her body burnt to a crisp all in the same instance. The impact carried so much energy, so much more force than any one of Jane''s attacks ever could.
It was a real effort to stand back up and shake it off. Jane was already feeling drained, disoriented, and even a little bit dizzy. Her health was getting low too and she knew it, but what else could Jane try that she has not already? Clayton really did have a good bite for his bark, but he wasn''t better than her, not by a long shot. "Tri-Fire!" Jane formed a red glyphring in front of her, but at the same time, she could literally feel all of her life energy draining as she launched this attack, putting much more stress on her MP levels. Jane shot three Fire Bolts like she normally does. Though balancing and concentrating with this much pain going on was defiantly a challenge.
Clayton reacted quickly and dodged the very first Fire Bolt. It looked pretty cool from Jane''s perspective, since it is so difficult to evade them, but to no surprise, Clayton still got pounded by the next two Fire Bolts. They never strike at the same time with Triple Fire, and that''s what gives it that impossible dodging challenge. Clayton took the damage quickly, but he stayed standing despite his obvious exhaustion.
Clayton knew what he had to do, and drew his sword out from his hilt again. "I know how to win now. Octoslash!" Clayton charged forward towards Jane with an incredible speed. Jane could barely keep track of the guy, her low HP giving her a hard time standing upright. Before she knew it, Clayton was there in front of her, slashing his sword with a lot of power through each hit. He spun with some of his slashes, twirled and dodged all in a long combination sequence of eight total hits. None of his sword slashes were infused with magical damage, it wasn''t possible when using Octoslash. After he was finished, Jane held in her stomach and lurched forward. Her hair was now dropping down in her face, greased from her own sweat.
The pain from those slashes was giving Jane tunnel vision already. She felt like she was going to vomit from all of the slashing and blunt damage already taken, but it can''t be over! Jane wasn''t going to let that happen, and instead of retaliating directly, she called in her personal supply sphere.
Clayton didn''t understand. Did Jane have some sort of orb that could work in battle? Why dig through her things now?
Jane found what she was looking for, knowing the only way to win this was to give her MP energy a nice boost. She pulled out a different kind of orb with a dark blue top tip. It''s the MP up spell bomb she had acquired earlier from one of her battles. It permanently boosts the maximum MP capacity by 10%. This works for Jane''s advantage since all spell bombs can only be used during a battle. Jane knew that now was the right time. She crushed the glass in her hand, courtesy of the design of certain spell bombs. As soon as Jane cracked the glass, the orb activated in her hand, seeping a blue mist of power into her body. At the same time, her body began to glow a faint blue aura for just a second, and that was that. The glowing stopped, immediately affecting her status and energy scope.
The coloration in the text for the new status condition turned green, only to indicate to Jane and Clayton that this was a permanent effect that would be embedded into Jane forever. Jane only used it to get the immediate upper hand on her MP level for her final defense, but she needed more time. The supply sphere phased away again; Jane didn''t need to call it in for the rest of the battle. In order to keep Clayton at bay, she switched into another attack before he could respond to what Jane did in front of him. "Flying Guillotine!" Jane threw her daggers at Clayton, giving them that crossed spin and creating the flat red circle of damage at the edge of the dagger''s perimeters. Clayton didn''t see it coming fast enough, causing the circular red spin of danger to slash right through his body. It happened twice, since the daggers act as a boomerang in this skill and come right back on the same air they traveled through. Jane openly used a small amount of MP just to get that done, but her next skill would still be viable.
Clayton wasn''t feeling well either, but after surviving Jane''s guillotine attack, he saw and opening and took it. Jane might try and dodge attacks by now with her HP critical, but she wouldn''t think to jump. "Earth Glave!" Clayton shot his magic at the ground, immediately creating a powerful Earth Glave attack. The ground shot up in increments as the shifts continued traveling forward towards Jane. At the end of the sequence, Jane put her legs back and her arms in front to block out the damage. If she gets knocked out here, there won''t be another chance.
Jane felt an immediate rocky force slam into her body from below, but much of that force was still directed from in front of her. The hit knocked her backwards and off balance. Jane suddenly felt totally drained of all her energy, her tunnel vision getting worse just as she felt the thwack from contact to the ground again. She struggled to stand back up, but soon stopped bothering to try. It wasn''t necessary anymore.
Clayton felt totally exhausted now, wanting this to end. How dare she survives another hit! Still, her HP is so low now, Jane won''t even want to remain conscious anymore, let alone try to struggle. "Give up Jane. You know you''ve already lost. I can take another hit and you can''t."
Jane could feel her energy fading fast, so she put every last drop of her MP into her next spell. "Well see about that," she groaned. After sitting there quietly, Jane charged up every last bit of her MP energy while Clayton waited on her answer, and when she was finally ready, Jane unleashed all of it at once. "Redemption!" Somehow, despite having 40% less energy than the minimum requirements needed for the attack, Jane''s Redemption attack still took effect. It''s because it has a conditional requirement. It really requires all MP on a capacity of scale, not by a required amount of magical points. At least that was her deductive reasoning for why it still came active. Jane put everything into her power, forming a bright magical beam of energy from the sky onto Jane. As Jane threw her arms outward in her spot, the energy beam split up into five smaller vertical rays of magical light, and began spinning around the battlefield in the formation of a fast unpredictable spiral.
It happened so fast! Clayton didn''t have any counter-shield against such an unknown and unpredictable attack. He was suddenly hit by the invisible powerful force of powerful energy in one of the vertical beams of light, knocking him backwards with a powerful kinetic force despite the impact being with magical light. Just after that, a second wave of light slammed into his body.
Jane had trouble seeing anything at this point, but she was able to faintly make out Clayton''s figure being pushed back the second time. He then collapsed to the ground on his face, unable to break his fall gently. After the vertical beams faded and time passed, he wasn''t moving anymore. Just one of those rays of light was enough to knock him out completely, but he was hit by both. Jane now struggled with the challenge of staying alive and conscious. With 2% health and no MP, she could potentially pass out at any moment, but Clayton was the first one down. She has already won the battle.
Chapter Theme Shift: Lower World ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Jane waited for the entire Siriean dome to shut down, all before allowing herself to fall down to her hands and knees. She could barely take this, such a powerful feeling of worthlessness and exhaustion. Moving an inch was suddenly difficult, but Jane managed to call her supply sphere out from phase, pulling out the healing orb she needed to get. There was no hesitation for her, Jane used it immediately upon realizing that her own Redemption spell was strong enough to throw her into the status of Vital Drain. It''s a rule of that isn''t difficult to remember. Vital Drain happens when both the MP and HP stats are incredibly low at the same time during consciousness, and if left untreated by rest or other methods of healing, the person affected will temporarily lose their connective force with the Leray veil of protection. Thus, such a person would suddenly be subject to real time damage, even death could occur. But these healing orbs work fast in such regards, so in just a few second afterwards, Jane began to feel much more relieved and alive.
Jane thought she noticed something odd about her energy scope. It seemed for a moment like it was pulsing red with color instead of its usual orange glow, but right now it was fine. It no longer reported the status of her metal armor. That''s because it no longer exists, but even now, Jane felt totally drained. Some of that pain lingered from earlier, while some of the physical bruises and scrapes remained visible on her arms; the long sleeves rolled up for the purpose of battle. She disabled her energy scope for now, realizing that it was time to take care of this mess.
Teresha was now kneeling beside Clayton, who had completely passed out from the battle. He must have really wanted to win, given that he didn''t give up at all. Teresha wasn''t upset though, she was only there to help him wake up when it was time. Clayton''s friend gave Jane a look of surprise and awe. "That was an amazing battle!" Teresha wasn''t smiling though. She couldn''t, not with Clayton being taken out like that. "What was that thing you used? Redemption? What were those lights, and that sound afterwards?"
Jane sat down on the ground again, too tired to stand up anymore. The lights are from the spell Redemption, and the sounds the beams make as they span outward, those are just special effects that make Leray spells so cool. "Well he did give it his all. Sorry I beat him, but I couldn''t stand for what he was saying."
Teresha flickered her brows in thought. "At least he won''t underestimate someone ever again. You really did it, didn''t you? You defeated the both of us, two wins in a row."
"Guess you have a lot of work to do still." Jane knew her words were giving Teresha a lot to think about, but it wouldn''t be right to act much tougher. She nearly lost that fight after all. "I know I''m not exempt from that. Everybody has to keep on training no matter what. Training never stops." Jane finished speaking, her breath hungry for air.
"I guess you''re right," Teresha admitted. She was simply sitting beside him, waiting for the chance to use a med kit orb on Clayton. "He didn''t have to battle towards this state though. He''ll thank me later for the advice."
It was in that moment where Jane realized something. Clayton and Teresha were indeed a pair. Jane already figured that much, even if those two couldn''t admit it, but they also looked out for each other. If it weren''t true, Teresha wouldn''t be holding off here right now, waiting on Clayton to revive. It''s almost the same exact thing with Danny and Taylor. The thought of them, it was more than enough to get lost in another long chain of thought. Wonder what those two are doing right now?
"You okay yourself?" Teresha checked. Jane seemed to be fazed, or rather hazy. It''s almost like she hit her head on something too hard. Maybe she was just too tired right now.
"Huh?" Teresha''s question was just enough to snap Jane out of it. She had to keep going. "Sorry Teresha, but I need to get to Lennith City, before sunrise." She stood back up, settling her balance carefully. Jane''s legs were incredibly sore, but she ignored their cry for rest. The previous pains from her battle finally receded. Jane felt only half as good as new, her eyes drooping down from all the time she had spent awake tonight.
Teresha nodded and replied, "That''s okay. I''ll have to stay here until he wakes up of course, but when he does, maybe we''ll see you there later."
Jane nodded at Teresha, realizing how cool she wished the others were. Kenshi, Blair, Haley, and all of the other opponents were never like this to her. At the very least, both Teresha and Clayton deserve her respects. "Until then," Jane waved. "Bye!" Keep on walking! Jane had to put one foot in front of the other. She didn''t want to leave those two there. They reminded her so much of the friends she already left behind. As she put more distance between Teresha and Clayton, that silence in the air dug into her ears even more, getting louder and louder.
Chapter 19-C: Battles of Entropy (Jane VS Patrissa)
<01/19/1972 ¨C 04:25 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane didn''t trust her thoughts anymore to carry on. Though the battle against Belzer restored her own faith in Leray fights, the building exhaustion caught up with her again. Every muscle was aching in sore pain from being pulled, and the thoughts of Danny and Taylor stained her mind with a sharp heartache she couldn''t get away from. Even if she couldn''t help it, Jane knew the truth. She chose to leave them behind until reaching the Den of Purity, and there was not an easy way to turn back. Given the circumstances, it wasn''t safe to just lay down on the side of the road and sleep, not on Route 96, and especially not for Jane.
The thought of her last battle reminded Jane how flexible and lighter she became without that metal suit of armor, but now it was gone, and it also highlighted how much thermal protection that thing provided. The cold air got to her more easily than the hours past, the skies above still perfectly clear. That metal suit could have done her more. Thousands of credits worth of armor, all down the drain. She was lucky that her previous battles have been making her much richer.
Jane tried her best to keep on going, when finally the shadowy figures of structures became visible in the distance. The gates left and right began to shift down the path, intersecting a bend and folding outward again. The gravel Jane was used to seeing on the floor was replaced with short grass and moss, flattening the landscape before her, each step easier to take. The structures in the distance did not resemble any tall buildings, nothing at all like that in Gross City, but this could be it; this could be the path that enters Lennith City!
From this range, it still had to be at least 0.8 miles away, but that was good enough for Jane. The gates exiting Route 96 were in visual sight, though they were still at least fourteen minutes away on foot. Her spirits lifted as she sped up her pace, turning a walk into a speed walk. In Jane''s haste, she nearly slammed into something in front of her. After she dodged whatever got in her way, she turned around, noticing that the figure was an actual person standing up.
"What''s your hurry?" the voice asked.
Jane didn''t expect to meet another person this soon. Teresha said Jane was really close to the city by now. Maybe this stranger just came from there. If the place were better lit, the near-collision wouldn''t have happened just now. "Uh, nothing." Jane could barely make out the person''s face, but it was obvious that she was an adult female. Her dark hair went all the way down to the front ends of her shoulders, and her stance gave the woman almost twice the height of Jane''s. "Just going to Lennith City."
"Are you a Leray wielder by chance?" she woman tested.
"Uh¡ª" Jane cut herself off. She couldn''t have a battle again, not now! She was so physically exhausted from all of the previous fighting and walking. "I can''t be bothered to battle right now. I''m due there soon." Jane knew it had to be nearly five A.M. by now, perhaps later. The one who interrupted her might have actually started her day just recently.
The woman pointed at Jane close range. "Come on. It''s not that hard. I''ll throw 3900 credits onto the board, and we''ll see who wins."
Jane knew it was a lot of credits to part with, nearly all of the money she had made in the short time here. Without her armor, and with her current exhaustion, Jane couldn''t say yes. She was so close to the city now as well. Now isn''t the time! "Sorry, but I can''t battle you. I have to get in Lennith quickly."
"Some kind of emergency?"
Jane knew she had to answer with something, but a short beep interrupted her chain of thought. It was her license again. The woman in front of her was making a formal offer, and Jane''s decision to decline the battle just now gave her another strike. On the other hand, there were still a total of one strikes out of three, lighting up as an orange X on her license card. That''s right, Jane remembered. If she accepts three battles in a row (win or lose), a strike is automatically removed if any remain. Too bad that Jane just created another one, but the city is right over there! It won''t matter anymore since it is too late to agree to this fight. She might as well make the most of this little penalty.
"I guess it''s not that big a deal if your card''s giving you strikes. Since emergency mode disables those penalties, your business in Lennith must be personal. Still, I''ll only request the match a few more times." Jane gasped noticeably upon her threat. "Nobody says no to me, at least that''s what they learn." The mysterious woman placed her arms behind her back. She was completely and totally comfortable bullying Jane like this.
But Jane kept her nerves calm. This idiot cannot seriously threaten to overstrike her card with sincerity. Must she forget the rule about a fifteen-minute wait? "It wouldn''t work for you anyway. So I''ll be going now."
"Who said I was going to ask? You really think I don''t have my own ways of getting what I want from snobs like you?"
Jane winced slightly, and then placed her license into her supply sphere for now. It isn''t usual to store the card into the supply sphere, even though it can still function inside the confines of that oracle device. In replacement, she pulled out an HP up spell bomb she would use for later. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that this witch just discovered some kind of exploit worse than the one Jane recently learned about before. By the way things were looking, this person seemed to want Jane in her current crosshairs for this sort of charade. Her tone and inflections defiantly suggest that there are other ways of forcing strikes onto cards. It''s still possible that using this excuse as an emergency may not work without some kind of physical evidence to her own claim. Why didn''t they fix this system already? "What? Who do you think you are? You can''t just force people to battle you like that!"
"Yet I''m doing it right now. You can either agree to a fair Leray match, or get your license revoked." The unidentified woman seemed quite cheerful in announcing the teen''s punishment for refusal. "It''s really up to you."
Jane couldn''t believe this! She was worse than Ian, or Belzer, or anybody she had ever met so far on Route 96. This can''t be legal! "How dare you!" Jane warned. "Yes, my business in the next town may be personal, but that doesn''t mean you can just walk out on here and bully everyone to forced battles. Besides, your price stinks to hell. I can''t afford to lose that many credits!"
"But you''ll never know until you try. And I can battle anyone I want, anytime I want. You still don''t know who I am, but after tonight, you''ll remember my name." Her voice was firm and incisive, as if it were a skillful attack against Jane''s morale in itself.
Jane squinted her eyes in anger, the remainder of her rage building up her stamina once again. "I can easily go into the city and have you arrested. I''m certain any Leray agent will love to hear that you force people into ridiculous battles, official or not. I bet you don''t even have that amount of money to part with on your license."
"Hm-hm," she laughed. "The girl does have a brain. Why would I want to part with money I don''t have on me? We can either battle the easy way or the hard way. I don''t mind taking everything you own by force honey, but if you defeat me in a normal Leray battle, I think I''ll consider letting you go, minus the bet offer of course."
Jane realized that this person must be bluffing, at least about the reward system. She would have received no such strikes on her card if the bet wasn''t fair to begin with. This woman does carry that credit count on her somewhere, but she would have Jane think otherwise. Something else about this reeks too, but all that matters right now is getting away from this person.
"I''ll just keep offering, you''ll keep declining... Even by saying nothing for sixty seconds, it counts against you girl. That is my special power. And with that, you won''t be allowed to use Le-way magic anymore!" She twisted the last bit of her words, making her tone deeper and contorted to sound like she was speaking to a baby.
Jane knew one fact was still true, that there are difficult ways of cheating the reward system, which remained the very reason Jane accepted all of those previous battles to avoid the penalties. Four weeks is a very long time to have a suspension on her license. "You¡ª" Jane cut herself off, unable to think of anything else to say. What could she do but agree to battle? "You won''t get away with this."
"Oh, and who are you going to tell?" She began raising her voice with confidence towards Jane. "You think the Leray police actually care about what happens to this road? None of them even patrol here anymore, and I''ve got quick money to make."
Jane was showing her teeth, thinking of a way out of this, but the horrible things that her opponent was saying made her want to battle until she drops. The way she was talking about making her money; this psycho does this for a living. Think about all of those other people who have had their things stolen from them in this manner, or how many careers were put on hold because of their refusal to give into such ludicrous demands... That''s it! If Jane does accept and win this battle, this moron will pass out completely, giving Jane the chance to report her to Leray agents. If she declines, won''t she be forced to fight regardless? Jane''s being threatened for all her items anyway! "I bet I''m hardly the first person you''ve done this to."
"Hardly," she answered so casually, shameless about the commitment to her own crimes in the dark.
"Fine," Jane agreed. "I will battle you after all. It will be my last fight before I reach Lennith City, but I''ll win this for everyone you''ve screwed over."
"Hmhahaha!" Though the middle aged woman was wearing a dark colored dress sphere that seemed more like a cloak, her voice projected well in front of her. "What? You think by beating me you can give back what I took? I don''t travel with all my things on me dear. But all of those other people do, the poor fools. There are so many easy targets on Route 96 today, and you will be one heck of a treat!"
By this point, Jane figured the woman was crazy with some sort of mental disorder, but the right thing must be done. "I''ll win this battle, all because I have no choice. You''re going down!"
"I certainly don''t think so," the woman twirled. "I am Black Queen Patrissa; I am the queen of these parts. I''ve battled countless times, and have not lost a single fight in years."
Probably because you cheated! Jane drew her daggers out with stealth as a response, waiting for Patrissa to make her first move.
It didn''t matter to Patrissa if she was shouting at Jane in the night. Nobody was around right now, despite how close Lennith City was to the edge of the road. "You will be no exception!"
"My name is Jane," she responded. "You''ll be remembering that name for the rest of your life, right after I run your HP into the ground!"
Their voices bellowed into the darkness around them, and with Jane''s sudden determination to beat Patrissa, the Siriean dome formed around them once again. This time Jane and Patrissa were already pretty close together from their argument. Both of them engaged their energy scopes while slowly backing away, but Patrissa kept her devious smile of confidence the entire time.
3900 CR< >500 CR< | Battle Mode>
Patrissa whipped her hair behind her, preparing for the battle she forced Jane to take on. "Thanks for making it all formal Jane. I get to enjoy your big mouth a little longer."
Why even bother with an official battle anyway? Jane knew it had one advantage in particular for her. If the battle is official, the shield dome around them blocks out the usage of healing items, so Patrissa cannot cheat in that regard. Is she just trying to have fun with Jane before doing something crazy? Jane wasn''t sure, so she kept her emotions tucked inside, pointing at her opponent to make sure she understands. "Don''t get too comfortable Patrissa! After I beat you, I''ll be free to do as I must, and then I''ll make sure that your business on Route 96 stops forever."
"Bring it on," Patrissa taunted. She acted as if she were going to let Jane have the first attack, but shortly afterwards, Patrissa pulled out a long bladed sword, rushing in towards Jane without even invoking a magical ability.
Chapter Theme Music: La gis sulva za Celow (Extended) ~ Magia Record OST
The battle already started, and Jane had to react quickly to what was going on. The sword was Patrissa''s primary weapon she carried into battle, hiding it rather well in the beginning. Still a short distance away from Jane, she pulled out that spell bomb she acquired earlier, smashing the glass around the cover with her bare hand since it was the part of design. As the orb began to glow and create a temporary aura around Jane, she quickly shifted her feet in the cement, then ducked down while jumping backwards at the same time Patrissa swung her sword.
In a quick instance, Jane managed to completely evade her opponent''s sword slash while using a new spell bomb on herself to boost the odds of her success. The HP up spell bomb went to work in battle, adding to her base level of endurance in a permanent manner. Jane''s body became shrouded in a white aura while the effects were taking place, giving Patrissa a bit of a surprise just after realizing that Jane evaded the first attack.
Patrissa slowed her pace to comprehend what was going on with Jane''s energy scope. It was reporting a permanent boost to her endurance from Jane''s own spell bomb, though it wasn''t easy to believe that Jane would use one of those things right here in the battle.
While Jane allowed Patrissa to glare at the changes she already knew took effect, Jane drew her daggers out from her side pockets of the red mercenary outfit, refusing to give up. Jane had to admire the awesome dark dress sphere Patrissa was wearing, but it didn''t put her at east that someone like her was the one wielding it. People like Patrissa didn''t deserve expensive battle gear or amazing dresses with gothic fashion. So Jane made her first move now, unleashing energy into her daggers and pointing them at Patrissa like long range weapons. "Mako Beam!" Jane unleashed her Mako Beam attack, using the ends of her daggers to fire two beams of bright blue light into Patrissa''s chest where she stood, and then added in a third beam as well. Jane only stopped after three beams, but it still surprised her how little they affected Patrissa''s health.
Patrissa could feel the energy from those beams, but they didn''t even faze her. If anything, the sensation was equivalent to a few momentary bee stings that faded quickly. "That''s the best you can do, huh?" Patrissa gave up on taunting Jane and unleashed energy into her own spell. "Shock Wave!" The reactions created a large jade colored glyphring in front of Patrissa as she used her arm as its center to fire her projectile. The attack turned out to be some kind of refined version of Electro-Ball, only the projectile itself was three times the size and twice the speed as it zoomed through the air.
It was so fast that Jane couldn''t even get a blink of reaction time. The projectile of electrical energy was there and then it was all over her, striking and then zapping her in place for 1.5 seconds worth of time. To Jane, that was a whole lot of time to be electrocuted. The pain level involved was really high as well, leaving her with a powerful tingling sensation all over that hurt at the same time.
Jane couldn''t tell at first, but that spell bomb really was doing a lot for her at this point. With increased endurance, her health would not drop down as quickly as it had before. Still, even just 10% would not be nearly enough to totally negate the effects of her curse. Ignoring the pain from the impact, Jane knew it was time to retaliate quickly. "Shadow Wave!" She threw the energy towards the ground in front of her again, creating a large and powerful Shadow Wave attack that drilled through the ground while heading for Patrissa.
Patrissa was now in a predicament. She wanted to dodge the spell, but the Shadow Wave continued to get wider and faster with the size of its growth in height as well. In just another second, dodging wasn''t an option anymore. Patrissa stood there, blocking the damage as the Shadow Wave continued to hit her with slashing attacks with magical potential. Her HP dropped significantly this time, pushing her backwards as the wave exploded with its ending sequence.
Patrissa held her guard up to retain her balance after taking that hit. Jane really was giving a lot more now. Patrissa was still confident that Jane would not be able to defeat her, but in all likelihood, she might try and escape her fate near the end of her demise. Giving another moment to think on her next course of action, Jane grew more curious. Finally, Patrissa looked up and unleashed her energy towards the sky. "Doom Shield!" Her energy shot upwards in a blue cinch of waves, slamming into the top of the dome shield. The reaction affected the entire shield, unphasing its visibility and darkening its normal color of blue. The shadowy dark auras filled the inner works of the dome shield as it slowly became only half as invisible as it did before.
Jane jumped back in surprise. "Doom Shield? Why Doom Shield?" Wasn''t this a fight to the finish anyway?
"Can never be too careful Jane," Patrissa hollered. "When I defeat you, I want it to be a total win!"
She still think''s I''ll lose this fight? "We''ll see about that," Jane retorted. Charging more energy into her hands, Jane unleashed another powerful ability towards the entire field. "Radial Blast!" As she took notice of the new battlefield, Jane realized that the new dome shield lit up the field a little better than before, given that the top light was more visible in synch with the Siriean dome, but it wouldn''t matter soon. Jane unleashed one of her more powerful area attacks on the field where Patrissa was standing. Numerous sudden explosions erupted everywhere on that side of the area, all in randomized locations each time.
Patrissa couldn''t do anything about this area attack. She had no choice but to brace herself for any one of those small yet potent explosions. Before waiting long, an explosion erupted under Patrissa''s feet, forcing her entire body to fly backwards as her legs lost grip with the floor. The landing wasn''t that much smooth either, since the additional shockwaves of the other blasts could get to her from here. Patrissa finally landed, but the landing was just as rough. Her dress got all dirty and messed up, grass blades scraped against her tongue while her face scraped against the earth. Though the floor was mostly cement, patches of the ground were smashed open from someone''s previous battle here, creating rugged earth chunks in random areas within the Siriean dome.
Jane had a lot of time now to prepare herself for another attack, but she didn''t want to throw in another hit too soon. Thinking on all of her spells of which she knew, there wasn''t all that many she could use for a good defense. Armor Protector would have zero effect now, since it was designed for armor types that have damage eater attributes on them.
In the middle of Jane''s thoughts, Patrissa pushed up her body, lifting herself out of the ground. She held out a deep expression of aggravation while she stood back up to face Jane again. Who knew she had the power to use area attacks? Jane didn''t look that old to begin with, but she can''t be a rookie if she possesses that much power. Patrissa nodded left and right, shaking off the pains in her neck. "Very well then. No need to hold back! Octoslash!" Patrissa bellowed the name of her skill while she drew her sword and charged at Jane again. In the beginning of the match, she only wanted to see how Jane responded to a simple physical hit, but one slash would hardly have enough power to do any real damage. That mercenary outfit she was wearing can''t provide a great deal of slashing protection either; Patrissa was sure of this.
Jane knew that dodging would take too long even with her speed. Octoslash is a combination attack of eight sword slashes in one sequence, consuming zero MP in the process. Instead, Jane helplessly defended herself by changing her stance. By placing her arms out with her fists facing up to guard herself while her legs spread out forward and back to balance her current stance, Jane knew that she might be able to nullify some of that incoming damage by blocking. It would hardly work though, since blocking doesn''t do all that well against slashing type attacks.
Patrissa let loose on her combination once she was in range to hit Jane. Jane was blocking the attack, but Patrissa gave in anyway, throwing her muscle and power into her long blade while cutting through Jane''s body in the process. Jane just stood there the entire time after every single hit, intentionally taking in that damage that accumulated quickly with each strike. The blade went through her body as if she were hitting a ghost, though the force back on the blade was noticeable, the effects of the protection veil preventing Jane''s internal intestines from being destroyed. Patrissa finally hit Jane with the eighth hit, jumping backwards to remain out of range of Jane''s potential counterattack zone. Jane took damage alright, but she didn''t seem all that affected by it, even after returning to her original stance.
Jane was impressed to see the fruition of her energy scope stats. Her HP didn''t drop as bad as she thought it would. Did her blocking really reduce all that damage, or was this the real power of an endurance boosting spell bomb? "Humph!" There wasn''t any time for that. Patrissa has to be stopped right now. Jane put much more energy into another oncoming spell, immediately forming a gigantic red glyphring high above the both of them. "Meteor Strike!" Jane used another powerful area attack against her opponent. Patrissa was defiantly in a position to dodge anything if it weren''t for the high area of effectiveness right now, but Jane had plenty more MP energy to spare.
Patrissa couldn''t think much about her options. What could she do? Area attacks are designed this way on purpose. They deal a ton of damage, cost a ton of MP, and they are impossible to dodge. A massive swarm of red meteors shot down from the cloudless sky, jumping right through the Siriean shield and smashing into the earth in numerous places with shockwaves and sonic booms from each blast. Patrissa shielded her face with her arms. A moment after was all it took for a meteor to smash right into the top of her head, forcing her to smack down into the ground again.
Well after the Meteor Strike sequence ended and the giant red glyphring disappeared from above, Jane took note of Patrissa''s stats by this point on. She was still hanging in there well enough to continue, and that was upsetting, but she had already taken a lot of damage. Patrissa was struggling to stand upright after the last impact, holding the back of her head which had to be bruised right now. It was proof that Jane was winning the match so far.
Patrissa couldn''t appear to look any angrier than she already was now, but she was already running dry on options. Her fighting style wasn''t getting through today. Jane fights so differently than everyone else. Patrissa needed more time to think about her next course of action, and used a weaker spell to buy that time. "Fire Bolt!" Patrissa aimed her arm at Jane while the red glyphring of fire rotated in place with her hand as the center. Patrissa''s hand then shot out a single bolt of fire flying quickly through the air towards Jane.
Jane knew these were hard to dodge stand alone, but she needed to try. The Fire Bolt was closing towards her so fast. Jane responded anyway, using her feet to kick off the ground once, then again at bounce. Jane used all of her momentum to perform a perfect backflip, putting a small bit of distance between herself and Patrissa. As Jane landed on her feet again, she was suddenly slammed by the brute fiery force of the Fire Bolt. It was enough to make her slide back about a foot in her shoes. Whatever she tried to do, the evasion failed to work. Jane ended up taking the fiery burst anyway, and the same sensation of her skin burning came back, though it didn''t hurt nearly as bad as other fire attacks did in her perspective.
Patrissa made her very next move. Using Fire Bolt like that bought her the time to get closer. She expected Jane to try and evade it successfully, but this obviously worked better to her favor. Patrissa charged in just as Jane took the hit from her previous attack. She drew her sword and began infusing her blade with magical energy. Jane''s backflip did seem cool, but it didn''t stop that Fire Bolt attack. Now it was her turn to really count up the damage against the brat.
Jane could see Patrissa homing in on her now. She already got over the impact from the last Fire Bolt though. Jane could try and do something, but she needed time before thinking how to counter this. Patrissa was nearly in stabbing range already. Before she knew it, Jane was out of time, and she simply let her gut decide on the next random spell. Jane had to imagine it happening in her mind first because of how quickly she would need to invoke this next counterattack. "Whirlwind!" Jane''s body immediately became shrouded in a powerful, wide, and tall twister of wind that was visible to the naked eye because of its Leray magical properties. Just as Patrissa was going in to strike Jane down, the Whirlwind she unleashed pushed back with a lot of force. Patrissa was caught up against the strength of the vortex, and it shoved her backwards despite her effort, overwhelmed by the kinetic force of the wind. The attack itself was causing some minor damage at the same time, the sensation of tiny little cuts on her arms and legs from wind elemental damage. Patrissa finally used that wind to back away further, canceling her previous action. She had no choice but to momentarily retreat. Jane reacted well to deflect Patrissa''s current plan. Now it was time to try something different.
Jane finally stopped using her Whirlwind spell now that it was over. Patrissa was further away now than before, proving its effectiveness. Jane didn''t really come up with the idea; she just panicked and chose to use something at random. How did it work out so well?
Jane tensed up again; now wasn''t the time to relax. Patrissa was already up to something, using the Whirlwind as cover to hide her actions until it was too late to realize them. Patrissa''s wrist had a bright blue glowing glyphring around it, her arm already aimed at Jane. "Ice Needles!" Jane wasn''t expecting this already, and it was working in Patrissa''s benefit again to buy herself some more time. Patrissa fired her barrage of Ice Needles at Jane, holding her arm steady to keep the aim spot on. The barrage of needles would not all hit Jane because of how wide the spell ordinance was spread out, but that was the design, forcing Jane to take the attack with the inability to evade it.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Jane still reacted to the skill though, pulling out her daggers and slashing into the air just as the Ice Needles caught up. Jane was actually trying to cut down the sharp projectiles in midair, just like she had in her evasion therapy training back in Dakota during a demonstration with Eliza. Patrissa thought it was unusual, but it didn''t work out in Jane''s favor. Jane actually did manage to cut a few needles in half just before they dug into her skin, but that hardly reduced the amount piercing her body. In the same instance, Jane was also randomly jumping back, trying to avoid taking any hits to the face. It was too long before Jane realized that she wasn''t as fast as she wanted to be, likely from all of her earlier fatigue.
Patrissa wasn''t done yet. This was the perfect opportunity to keep up the pressure. After unleashing more MP energy into a different kind of glyphring, Patrissa chanted the name of another spell. "Sphere of Might!" Patrissa''s actions created and spawned a big red sphere of magic, spinning in place midair without actually changing position. It was at the top of Jane''s average height, but the sphere that was supposed to spawn partially inside of her body didn''t end up where it should have been. At the very last moment Patrissa created the Sphere of Might, Jane took another leap backwards, likely in response to those Ice Needles. Whether Jane knew about that sphere or not, she jumped far back enough to evade the entire attack. The sphere just floated there, damaging absolutely nothing until it disappeared in its place.
Jane finally survived the barrage of Ice Needles with minimum damage. Though many of those shards penetrated into her skin, Jane cut a few of them down. At the last attempt to jump, Jane noticed a red Sphere of Might right in front of her, spinning to cause damage even though her body was nowhere near it. Totally taken by surprise, Jane just realized that by jumping back like she was doing, she had accidentally dodged Patrissa''s Sphere of Might. She must have used it while Jane was too busy with Ice Needles. It was clever, and Jane got lucky enough to come out unaffected by her dirty tricks. Her luck can''t persist for much longer though.
Patrissa couldn''t believe that didn''t work. She simply stood there dumbfounded that Jane dodged her own attack by mistake. Despite the mistake, Jane could use that to her own advantage. She quickly created a jade color glyphring around her wrist, releasing energy into an electrical attack. "Lightning Strike!" Jane carefully aimed her hand at Patrissa, zapping her just as the magical ability took effect. The bolt of electricity traveled through the long distance and hit Patrissa where she stood in just a millisecond of time. Jane saw this as getting back at her for that Shock Wave spell Jane got hit by earlier. Patrissa could feel the painful electricity go everywhere, finally wearing off a moment too late. The lightning attack ended up draining a bit of her energy, Jane''s aim was perfect with that spell. Now Patrissa had to come up with another ingenious plan, her last one ripped apart before her very eyes.
Patrissa wasn''t certain what else she could do. Her own specialty was ice and fire type attacks. She would always use them to slow down any competitors, but Jane wasn''t slowing down at all. If anything, she was speeding up more than ever before. Patrissa decided to go with another random ability. Standing here and thinking too long will only give her opponent more time to try another attack without letting up. "Flying Guillotine!" Patrissa had to use a little extra magic this time, forming two small yellow glyphrings into her hands that began forming two simple daggers. She then threw those daggers in a crisscross formation, causing a flat red circle of magical slashing damage to form as the perimeter of the blades as they spun in the air.
Jane wasn''t expecting a dagger attack like this. Patrissa could simply spawn them using magic and then throw them, and it was already too late to react. Jane managed to jump out of the way from the spinning circle, but since it had the properties of a boomerang, the circle simply struck her from behind a second after, slashing her over and over many times in just a tiny increment of time. Jane helplessly stood there in shock, unable to interrupt the damage being done to her. Finally, the guillotine attack guided by the simple daggers left Jane''s body, flying back to Patrissa''s hands. Jane felt gashes everywhere, but one in particular skinned her lower abdomen. Jane felt sort of nauseous from that pain, and it nearly forced her down to her hands and knees.
Somehow that one attack did a ton of damage to her health, possibly an effect supported by her own curse. Patrissa didn''t know about this curse, but she would remember how effective the strike was just now. Jane knew that the sides were currently even. Though her health was slightly higher than Patrissa''s, Jane has exhausted much of her MP already, while Patrissa stored so much more. Patrissa must be a person who can bully others because of her unyielding strength in battle. It''s clear she has had tons of practice, but Jane wasn''t going to lose. She made a promise to Patrissa and herself that this battle would end with Jane as the victor. It''s wrong to force other people to battle else threaten to take their belongings, and Jane needed to prove that here and now!
Jane thought of a good way to get an upper hand, something she didn''t try yet. The night was still deep, so the timing was still good enough to go with it. Jane unleashed some of her MP energy into the sky, creating magical streams heading up and through the dome shield. "Moonglow!" Because of the current position of the half-lit moon, Jane knew she needed a bit more time before this spell would take effect. The spell takes longer to invoke if the weather is only partially clear, or if the moon phase isn''t automatically set to full, or if the position of the moon is further towards the horizon.
Patrissa waited and waited to see what exactly was happening. No noticeable effects have shown themselves lately, and she had to ignore it for now. Jane just left herself open to an attack by not performing an attack spell of her own. Patrissa drew her saber, holding her hand over its metal blade. "Frost Blade!" Patrissa''s sword immediately reacted to the magical energy being fused into the weapon. Her entire sword suddenly became surrounded in a solid river of frozen water that formed from the hilt. The water forming around the steel froze as it traveled, allowing it to reach the top. The ice formed even higher than the normal edge of the blade itself, adding an extra three inches of ice at the tip. The ice then solidified and sharpened, curving at the top edge of Patrissa''s new blade. With magical light assisting the spell, the visual effects were all the more noticeable. The spell known as Frost Blade was just getting started. Patrissa''s sword was now infused with ice elemental properties. Any time she uses that sword to strike anything now, it adds ice elemental damage with the normal physical slashing damage at the same time. Patrissa thus charged at Jane with her enhanced blade, preparing to cut multiple gashes into her target.
Jane knew about this ability from her studies. Frozen Sword is actually the same ability as this one, if in a lower spell tier. It infuses ice elemental damage into the user''s sword, but Patrissa used Frost Blade, the upgraded version of Frozen Sword. Infusing weapons like that usually takes a lot of time. With Frozen Sword, it takes so much time that it would count as its own single turn if one were to judge it by average invocation time. But with Frost Blade (also sometimes called Ice Blade), the invocation is much quicker and stronger, allowing the user of the ability to actually attack with their new weapon in the total time it would take to use any normal Leray ability. Patrissa was acting really quickly with her strategy, getting the jump on Jane.
Patrissa was running so fast, Jane was having a hard time believing it, but she knew now was the time to react. Her earlier spell had not taken effect just yet. Jane pulled out her daggers, using them to deflect the very first hit from Patrissa''s sword. Successfully blocking the physical sword slash using the crossed force of her blades, the clash of metal sounded with an ear piercing cling that echoed in the wind. Jane knew Patrissa was not going with just one hit, so she immediately kicked the ground in front of her, using that force as her chance to jump back.
Patrissa swung her sword from the side again, and Jane immediately ducked down, bending herself backwards as the frozen blade nearly swiped into her face. Jane''s duck was enough to dodge the slash as well, but Patrissa wasn''t stopping. She drew her blade out again, now stabbing the entire tip towards Jane''s position. Jane quickly twirled herself to the left, dodging the piercing stab by spinning around.
Patrissa was getting frustrated quickly, but kept her cool. Jane was so quick at moving around like this. Patrissa gave it another try, slashing her sword from the side again, and then again from the right to the left in a diagonal pull. This time, Jane''s body felt both of the slashes of ice penetrate deep into her skin. Jane couldn''t dodge everything, and she ended up taking damage with each slice as her momentum had been cut by Patrissa''s blade. Patrissa then tried the shoving trick again, thrusting her blade forward into Jane''s shoulder as if it were a spear. Successfully, Patrissa managed to score another painful jab into Jane''s arm. She then pulled back on her blade, drawing herself closer to Jane for another big strike.
Jane felt the brutal sharp pain from all three hits. The last one especially hurt more. Wielders can use swords to cause piercing damage as well when they use them different, but Jane had to get over it fast. She was already in trouble from this. Just as Patrissa was pulling back to get another edge at Jane, Jane lifted her leg and kicked Patrissa''s right knee cap. Jane''s simple kick had a lot of intentional force though, causing Patrissa to slide backwards again. It didn''t put that much distance between either of them, but it stopped Patrissa''s current combination of her actions, and gave Jane just enough time to retaliate from this position.
Jane could finally see it without having to look up. The powerful glowing light from the full moon was summoned by her ability earlier. The moon phase wasn''t actually full, but the purpose of her spell virtualizes the process temporarily. It was ready now, and Jane simply needed a bit more time. Just after kicking Patrissa back away like that, Jane summoned her energy into another red glyphring. Patrissa gasped in the quick surprise that Jane provided. It was a rather powerful attack, usually not used at this close a range. Because of practice, Jane also had the ability to invoke this spell in the flash of a flicker. "Tri-Fire!" Jane''s Fire Bolts began shooting out before she could even finish her chant. Patrissa was blasted by a Fire Bolt right to the face. The pushback put three more feet between them. Jane didn''t stop of course, she needed to unleash the other two Fire Bolts as well. Patrissa couldn''t do anything about dodging them. The first hit to her face had fazed her just enough to allow the next two bolts of fire to take total advantage of her interrupted state. The second bolt slammed into her chest, while the third one ended up cutting through her frozen sword.
Jane found it interesting how it worked out in the way of damage. Even after Patrissa took those hits, the explosions of fire from Jane''s sudden attack immediately forced all of the ice on her sword to melt away and disappear. Jane didn''t know that was going to happen, but as her glyphring receded, it was time to go on to the next ability.
In just another instance, Jane and her own energy scope disappeared out of view, no trace of it remained but the shadowy aura that shrouded Jane''s body only for a moment. "Moon Shadow!" Jane used the shift in weather conditions and the powerful bright glow from the moonlight to shroud herself in its magic. Jane quickly became invisible in every spot imaginable. As she disappeared, Patrissa nervously looked around, trying to find Jane.
"What happened?" Patrissa demanded. There wasn''t an answer, but because the dome shield was still up and running, and because it didn''t seem like Jane used a spell of teleportation, Patrissa got the idea that her opponent became totally invisible to the eye. The energy scope was invisible too by design, still technically active. It was her best guess, and Jane wasn''t going to make a sound if it were true. The powerful sudden glowing light and position of the moon from directly overhead was a likely culprit, but it was too late now to disable the two-tier support spell. Still, Patrissa wasn''t about to let Jane get in an initiative by going invisible. Patrissa reacted first, charging MP energy into her right hand, creating another blue glyphring around her wrist. "Ice Needles!" This time, Patrissa aimed anywhere, starting with the path in front of her with a thirty degree deviation to the right. She twisted her aim while repositioning her shoes to wrap around a good measure while unleashing the barrage of the spell, ensuring more of the area is affected than usual. The shards of frozen needles flew onward, then suddenly stopped halfway to the dome.
The two needles that stopped were only the ones digging into Jane''s skin. Patrissa somehow got lucky enough to use an attack wide enough to get Jane. The needles were just stopping in midair, creating the slight sense of Jane''s current location. "Found you!" Patrissa yelled. She quickly shifted to another magical attack, taking aim at the general location of the ice shards stuck in the air. Jane was still perfectly invisible, but the Ice Needles hanging halfway out of her skin gave away her position even now. "Ice Ball!"
"Dark Strike!" Jane saw a ball of ice in the form of a projectile, but she invoked her spell first, turning everything completely dark only for a split second. Once Jane could see again, the needles stuck in her body quickly faded away with the rest of the Ice Needles. Since the spell was over, the needles would disappear, including the ones Jane was hit by, and this reduced her visibility to Patrissa once again. By invoking Dark Strike, Jane dodged the Ice Ball by transferring to a new position, now standing right behind Patrissa. Patrissa seemed very confused when the Ice Ball collided into the dome shield surrounding them. At the same time, the floating needles suddenly vanished too, giving Jane the perfect chance to retaliate. She took out her right dagger as a continuation of this next attack, infused magical energy into the short blade, and then struck upwards into Patrissa''s body while she still faced the opposite direction.
Jane''s slash affected Patrissa completely, launching her five feet into the air before she hit the ground again. Patrissa took immediate damage from the unexpected slash, and she struggled to get back up while looking around.
"Crimson Flare!" As Jane unleashed another attack, Patrissa couldn''t make out exactly where the loud chant came from, but she didn''t need to. Jane''s crimson colored glyphring that formed in front of her invisible body was not invisible in itself. It provided light for Patrissa to find, and then summoned three massive sized crimson spheres all floating in Patrissa''s direction. The left and right spheres were going their own separate ways though, splitting from the center one. The center sphere was already on top of Patrissa the same instance she had seen the glowing glyphring due to the starting distance being so close. Patrissa wanted to react to the situation, but she was too slow. The powerful sphere of magic swallowed her body whole, now beaming a burning hot blast of energy and damage into her skin as it slowly continued floating down the ground.
Patrissa was stuck in the sphere, and it hurt her worse than any other attack she has taken so far this entire battle. Patrissa couldn''t stand it! Her skin was scorching in place by lone magical damage with a high power level. The sphere eventually passed her, burning her skin and dealing a ton of damage that she was able to feel the entire time she was standing there. After it passed, Patrissa put her hands on her knees, trying to recover and catch her breath. Jane was still invisible.
Patrissa was taking in quicker breaths now. The battle had worn her out like none other she ever got involved in. Was Jane really this powerful?
"Knight Dance!" There it was again. Jane''s voice was easy to find, but harder to pinpoint. Patrissa tried to figure it out, when sudden blue pulses of magical light ended up slamming into her, hit after hit. Jane used Knight Dance, performing a close combat attack by infusing her punches, kicks, and dagger slices with magical energy to increase the damage. By doing this, those parts of her body became visible to Patrissa just the moment before impact, but it didn''t matter. Patrissa was unable to break free of Jane''s incredibly fast combination attack. She took punches to the face, kicks in the stomach, and dagger slides from the side every fraction of a second as Jane relentlessly pounded on her body. The damage was racking up quickly, Patrissa was already beginning to feel so much weaker than before. At last, Jane''s Knight Dance was over with, leaving Patrissa to deal with all the pain.
After another second, Jane''s body became completely visible again. It didn''t seem as if Jane had noticed it either. Patrissa saw that Jane was forcing more magic into another spell, and since Patrissa was able to spot Jane long before she used that ability, she spun around as a feeble attempt to dodge the next attack.
"Median Flare!" Jane blasted a beam of light forward, but somehow Patrissa leaped out of the way and evaded the attack altogether. In that same instance, Jane could physically see her arms and hands again during her magical release of energy. She was now visible, and Patrissa must have used that to get out of the way of a devastating close range attack.
Patrissa knew that she successfully evaded the attack. Jane and her energy scope became totally visible again, so now it was time to strike back. Even at this close of a range, Patrissa wanted to keep on using her tactics like before. She created a glyphring around her wrist again, invoking her magical skill before Jane had a chance to even move. "Ice Bolt!" This time it was an Ice Bolt instead of Ice Ball. Dealing even more cold damage, Jane was helpless to stop the attack that plunged into her chest. Patrissa backed away in the same moment, but Jane was still feeling additional effects from the attack.
Before it was Fire Bolts, damage that causes the feeling her skin is on fire, but Jane had yet to experience a full powered Ice Bolt attack. She took minimum damage in it all, but the after effects of the blast decreased the heat in her entire body. Jane could suddenly feel the chilling winds that were outside and more. Her body temperature dropped significantly, compelling enough to stop Jane where she stood to hold her arms and shiver.
It was at this point when both Jane and Patrissa noticed how incredibly low her MP stats became with the relentless attacks. Jane was really in a tight spot now, freezing where she stood from the effects of Ice Bolt while wasting away with her low MP energy. Patrissa was getting ready to try another attack while Jane was slowed down, but Jane still reacted first. "I can''t let you win!" she promised. "It''s time to finish this Patrissa!" Jane pulled her daggers while Patrissa was backing away for distance. It wouldn''t be easy for Jane''s opponent to predict her next move with such little MP remaining, but Jane had to go for it. Patrissa still had a much lower health status than her, perhaps low enough for a critical strike to take effect. The thing about getting a successful critical hit without using magic is that the opponent''s HP must be low to begin with.
Jane threw her daggers again, retaining the same toss kind and formation as Flying Guillotine. The daggers had no magical energy infused into them, not this time. Instead, their thin red auras of damage were the most visible thing in the darkness. Patrissa ended up taking the hit to her chest, forcing her back and almost off balance, but Patrissa was still standing, quick to remain holding in her balance with her feet on the ground with a fast recovery. She returned her stance to face Jane again.
Jane''s daggers returned to her side pockets, but now she was in trouble. Jane wouldn''t be able to attack just yet, her critical hit attempt failed. Patrissa was wearing out too though, her noticeably heavy breathing was bobbing her entire body as she stood in place withstanding attacks anyway.
Patrissa then created another glyphring with her right arm, aiming at Jane while she helplessly stood in place with nothing to do. "Lightning Strike!" Patrissa bellowed the name of the attack this time, praying it would be enough to force Jane to pass out. Jane wouldn''t be able to give up either, not with Doom Shield still in effect. Patrissa unleashed her lightning bolt, and discovered that the ease of seeing more detail in the darkness was coming from above. Jane''s Moonglow spell was still in effect, though she wasn''t turning invisible anymore. It worked against Jane in the end, making it easier to see in this darkness while they battled together. Patrissa had to give it everything she had this time. Never before could she remembered a battle so intense, not since her earlier days in childhood.
Jane was once again defenseless, trying though failing to block a spell due to the properties of an electrical attack. Jane''s entire body heated up again, nulling out the earlier effects that made her nearly too cold to want to move an inch, but the pain involved with the attack and the drain that followed shortly afterwards wasn''t worth it. Jane ended up taking a lot of damage while her MP charged slowly.
Patrissa hadn''t counted on Jane''s quick recovery in speed. Though Jane appeared to be suffering the draining effects of that last lightning hit, combined with her critical MP conditions. Jane pulled out her daggers again, waiting just until Jane''s MP recovered to exactly five percent before throwing them. Jane infused all of her magical energy into her daggers again, tossing them in a crisscross formation. "Flying Guillotine!" Jane usually used more energy for each Flying Guillotine spell, but she put faith in the idea that her total magical potential grew by a wide margin just from tonight''s battles. If she was right, the successful invocation would mean the new MP usage for her specifically would be reduced slightly. Shortly after her determined attempt to activate the magic aura, the red rings of damage came alive after all. Patrissa was hit twice with the swirling red circle that represented Jane''s spinning daggers, sharply cutting into her opponent''s skin as she let out gasps of pain.
Patrissa''s endurance was rather impressive in the eyes of Jane. Though her high MP levels were helping to keep Patrissa going with such a critical HP condition, Patrissa was only breathing quicker than normal with a heightened heart rate that made her bob while standing still. She wanted to sit down after this, rest on her hands and knees, but it would make it too easy for her to be defeated. How did Jane survive all of these hits? It couldn''t be! Patrissa wasn''t going to let it happen, not by the likes of some snotty teenager. She quickly jumped to the side, unleashing a powerful red glyphring in Jane''s direction. Though it seemed like Jane was ready to evade attacks, Patrissa saw that her opponent was breathing heavily as well, tired from all of the fighting despite a higher HP level. "Triple Fire!" Patrissa shot a total of three Fire Bolts from her glyphring, all launched consecutively as opposed to the timing of all three matching completely. It depleted a lot more of her own MP energy, but unlike Jane, Patrissa had plenty more to spare. Jane took all three Fire Bolt attacks, one of them slamming into her face and knocking her down to a complete crawl. This time, Jane''s HP was lower from the attack, and it seemed that she suffered a lot worse than Patrissa had earlier.
Jane''s combination of critical HP and MP conditions affected her in worse ways than Patrissa''s low HP was doing to her. Jane was stuck on her hands and knees, begging her body to get back up into the fight. Jane didn''t want to battle anymore. The damage to herself became much more significant this time. Jane was tired from the physical exhaustion prior to even battling, but now, she wanted to pass out, giving into her dizziness and nausea. The pains all over her body were ultimately compelling in keeping her down on the ground. Jane couldn''t help it; she has become a slow and helpless target for even more attack spells, despite her will to get up and fight again. She didn''t even have the MP energy for a single magic skill.
Keeping her distance in comfort, Patrissa realized that Jane was slowing down again. This time it was from all of the damage together, not from the chilling cold tactics that were of her own style. Patrissa decided to give it some more gas, unleashing magical energy into the ground for another long range attack. "Earth Glave!" The ground beneath them shifted violently, shooting up more and more as it neared Jane.
Jane was too tired and hurt to move an inch, despite noticing the powerful Earth Glave heading her way. In its last moments, Jane closer her eyes and looked away. She wished that she could somehow be saved from taking the hit of the Earth Glave attack, but it was a wish denied. Jane was punched from the ground up, launching her into the air until she slammed into the earth again on her stomach. The falling damage knocked the wind completely out of her, giving Jane blurred vision in response to her critical MP and HP conditions.
Patrissa could feel herself getting tired too. The more energy she used, the more it took effect, and that was coming from her critical MP conditions. For now, Jane didn''t seem mobile at all. She was finally giving in to all of that pain, the last Earth Glave keeping her down on the ground despite her constant struggle to stand back up. Jane didn''t even exceed the definition of sitting up. "You put up a good fight Jane, but it''s like I said before. Only the strong get to lead. I know I put up a Doom Shield, but I''ll let you give up now and pay me the credits if you want. I don''t have to keep the Doom Shield up ya know. I''m not that cruel."
Jane heard what Patrissa was saying. It isn''t true that Doom Shield can be disabled if both participants actually agree to one giving up in a match, so she must be bluffing. Though her gesture was a nice one, Jane hadn''t forgotten what Patrissa forced her into earlier. It''s people like her that cause problems for all Leray wielders. Battles shouldn''t be forced upon others. It was even stupid how they haven''t updated the license cards to prevent these exploits. Patrissa thinks that she can just defeat anybody who looks weak and steal all of their money. It''s not like she had money to part with. The reward spoils system said it loudly. Patrissa only had 500 credits available on her card. It wasn''t a fair fight. Asking a person three times in a row within a few seconds to rack up their strikes, that''s just plain wrong, not to mention impossible. Patrissa might be strong alright, smart as well to have found a bug allowing her to instantly remake the same offer to others, but she isn''t noble.
Jane had more to consider as well. She never forgot about her many goals. She had to reverse the endurance curse she attached to herself by mistake. Jane knew she didn''t just train and travel this long road all night for nothing. Lennith City was her rest stop, the place she needed to be. Only then can she become the Leray master she wants to become. Only then... Jane carefully pushed herself back up, going from prone to crouching. "I won''t - let you." Jane''s voice was being squeezed by the tightness in her chest, all coming from previous battle damages. It was causing her to pause in her own sentence, but Jane was still of one mind. "I won''t ever - give up. No way!"
Patrissa hissed at Jane''s pathetic attempt to recover herself. She only had two percent of MP charged up by the time Jane finally made it to the position of standing, and Jane was hardly able to keep her stance balanced well enough to count. "That''s a shame. I guess I''ll have to take it all from you by force."
"Aero Blast," Jane mumbled. She charged up the only two percent of the MP energy left in her. She could still use magic on a very low scale, and Patrissa has just 3% HP left. Something has to make her go down!
Patrissa saw what Jane was trying to do. At first it made her nervous. With just 3% HP remaining, Patrissa knew that even a weak attack could end her fighting right here, but after Jane threw the wind elemental magical attack her way, Patrissa just decided to take it. She was incredibly tired and weak herself from the damages and stats, but Aero Blast is a no-brainer weak spell, almost as weak as Radial Stars and Knife Toss. Jane''s ball of wind flew at Patrissa, slamming her in the face, but she didn''t even flinch from the forceful impact she took. All it really did was blow her hair in its wind.
Patrissa laughed briefly again as Jane realized the error of her ways. Though minor damage was done, only one percent of Patrissa''s HP had dropped down, putting Jane''s MP back to zero again. Because of the time she waited though, Jane''s MP rose back to one percent from the passive regeneration every Leray wielder has. "Now it''s my turn." Patrissa began charging towards Jane while unleashing more of her MP energy. Jane was in no condition at all to move, not even enough to take a step back from anything.
"Fatal Charge!" Patrissa''s body became shrouded in a white hot aura of magical light as her running speed quickly sped up to match the speed of light. Patrissa became invisible with her incredible speed as her body flew towards Jane. It only happened for a split second, and then the collision occurred. Patrissa''s body slammed against Jane''s, sending the girl flying back again before she bounced. Patrissa quickly recovered from using that skill. Only now did she realize that Fatal Charge was rather risky to try for only having 2% HP left. Since Jane was not an armored target, Patrissa''s HP didn''t budge an inch, while Jane''s dropped down even lower.
Because she got hit again in the stomach, Jane couldn''t differentiate the difference between her nausea and that of a painful cramp brought on by the bruising. Jane''s vision blurred much more than before, coughing on the floor as she once again tried to get back up. All of the pain from battle only grew stronger, and the will to keep fighting began fleeting away.
Patrissa could see how pathetic Jane was right now. Five entire seconds passed, and Jane still couldn''t put enough weight to her knees to sit up at all. "Now - now, be a good loser and let me end your suffering. Tornado Strike!" Patrissa charged at Jane again before she could get near any kind of stance. Her body didn''t glow in color this time, but the magical ability formed a Whirlwind around her body as she ran. Patrissa finally made it to Jane, already causing her damage from the wind around Patrissa''s body. Jane got caught up in its Whirlwind, and then Patrissa finished it with a tough punch in the face. Jane flew back once more, taking on additional damage form that hit.
Patrissa''s Whirlwind came to an end after she hit Jane, but it was surprising to see that Jane still survived after the attack skill, as if something was holding her HP above a threshold.
It''s normally at this point of minimal MP and HP where the wielder simply passes out from being too weak to go on, but Jane was still struggling, still trying to stand up and get in just one more hit. That was all it would take for Jane to finish off Patrissa, but it wasn''t going to work. Jane was in no condition to keep on fighting, and Patrissa had carefully conserved some remaining MP to keep herself conscious in the fight. Jane''s energy scope even began to glow red in color, indicating that the fight was officially over.
Patrissa sighed in relief, and held out her hand towards the top of the Siriean dome. "It''s a shame we have to do this the hard way Jane. Try as you may, I wouldn''t want to kill you. That''s just not my style. So I''m ending the match first." Patrissa''s hand began to glow, and shortly after, it caused the entire dome around them to collapse like before.
Jane could barely make out what going on anymore. Patrissa was still standing over her, Jane could only pull herself to sit on her legs while her head hung heavy towards the ground. The world was wobbling heavily around her; Jane never felt so weak in her entire life. The sensation of passing out grew stronger and stronger each second, the pains getting worse without even taking additional damage. Jane could tell her own energy scope was now burning red in color and warning, but what happened next was even more impossible.
Doom Shield doesn''t allow either side to quit the math early, even if both participants want to stop fighting. Yet as Patrissa held out her arm towards the sky, she managed to shut the whole thing down with Doom Shield in effect. The battle immediately ended, the reward spoils delivering its message in holographic text.
"Too bad you don''t get to keep that reward."
"What are you - talking about?" Jane''s throat hurt so bad that she could cough at any moment. Patrissa was now speaking in riddles. Why did she stop the fight and allow her to win? Why not just stamp it out here?
Patrissa snapped her fingers in the air. Jane didn''t notice anything at first, aside from her swirling head pain and the total overpowering urge to pass out completely. "What''s...?" Jane didn''t want to speak. It only made her weaker and weaker, but another second afterwards, the result of Patrissa''s finger snap came into fruition. There were more people than one now. Two other dark figures were now walking this way, coming from each side of where Patrissa was standing. They must have been hiding in the shadows. What did they want? Who are they?
Jane could tell that they were following some sort of command that Patrissa was giving them, but whatever it was about couldn''t be the act of anything good. The battle was over; Patrissa had given up. Jane wanted to make out their faces, but her vision was blurring so much that everything seemed to echo and stand out as more than one thing.
Patrissa pointed to Jane. "Take her supply sphere and her other things. If she gives you any trouble, you know what to do."
This is insane! Jane wanted to scream out for help, but nobody else seemed to be around right now. Jane could feel herself getting ever weaker. The two persons approached her closer and closer, taking very cautious steps. No! Get away! Jane didn''t know what else to do now, but giving up was no longer an option. Patrissa tricked her! She never planned on losing no matter what, and this is what she must do to those who pass out in a battle. Patrissa overpowers her prey at the last moment by outnumbering her opponents, and then steals all of their stuff while their unconscious! It certainly explains a lot about why Patrissa acts the way she does. She''s an organized thief and a trickster!
No! Jane couldn''t let this happen. It can''t end here! If she got her things taken, it would forever be the end of her entire career. Without a license to continue fighting, Jane would have to renew hers, which takes forever. Not to mention that her own actions from earlier would be unrepairable. Jane had stolen a lot of money herself just for her own needs, but she promised to herself and her victim to pay the money back. She can''t ever do that if Patrissa gets her way. Lennith City would be a thing of the past as well. Her chance to remove this curse would be lost forever. No! No way! "No!" Jane gathered up all of her courage and remaining energy. She knew of one last way to stop all three of them at once, but she would have to give it everything to make it happen.
Patrissa suddenly saw a change in Jane. Though her stats were unchanged, MP charged only to 4%, Jane was getting back up to her knees. She was still kneeling, though Jane was now charging energy, obviously plotting something by the looks of her body glowing in a magical aura. Patrissa could tell with her intuition that it wouldn''t end well, and she had not personally healed herself using a med kit orb just yet. Jane''s determination to fight back until the end was far from invisible. "Stop her!" she commanded.
Jane knew it was already too late, too late for them. She finally charged as much MP energy as she possibly could. Patrissa''s helpers had full health and stats, but they were incredibly close to her by now, making her next action most effective. Patrissa only needed to get hit once, but her helpers would get hit with everything in one move. Jane sent all of that energy outward. She gave it her all, screaming all of her will into her one and only chance to survive! "Redemption!"
It was by far the loudest scream Jane could ever give, even with her voice damaged like this. She unleashed her power while sitting down, and imagined only the powerful ability and invocation alone. Jane literally thought of nothing else. In the very same instance, the bright and powerful beam of light shot down from the sky, illuminating Jane''s entire body with a wide radius. Patrissa''s helpers tried to touch Jane, but the light bathing her pushed them back with an incredible kinetic force of burning pain. They both jumped back, and then Jane''s Redemption attack took full form.
The single beam of light dispersed into five smaller forms, spanning outward and swirling around to form a spiral formation as it traveled everywhere. The vertical rays of light reached Patrissa''s gang first, slamming them over and over multiple times. The beams of energy hit them the most amount of times based on how close they were to Jane. Right before Patrissa''s very eyes, her team members collapsed onto the ground with the very last hit that knocked them backwards and down. Their energy scopes appeared for a short moment to report that both of them had totally been knocked out. Patrissa had never seen this before, Jane''s secret weapon, and before she could completely grasp the concept that Jane was fighting to keep everything she had with a powerful and unexpected ability that was now working against Patrissa, it was too late. Patrissa could now see that one of those rays was now on a collision course to her from the left side. Though it was just light, it acted as a physical barrier of damage at the same time. Patrissa couldn''t react in time, she couldn''t even believe what just happened. Jane''s spawned rays of lights kept spiraling around everywhere, and the light on approach to Patrissa slammed into her body with an incredible push back force.
"Naagh!" Patrissa was only able to get out a short cry of pain as soon as that light slammed into her as well. Patrissa''s eyes rolled into the back of her head, her body no longer able to support the Leray damages she took earlier. She then fell down to the ground facing forward with nothing soft to land on. The rays of light finally disappeared, leaving behind catastrophe.
Patrissa went down in front of Jane''s eyes. Her vision was heavily distorted by her own stats, but with all three of them down in just one attack, Jane could finally take a relief that she had won. She won the real battle and not just the fake one.
Chapter Theme Shift: Kamihama Polyphonic ~ Magia Record OST
Jane was too tired to be impressed by her ability though. She wanted to get up in her victory, take out her supply sphere and secure her own belongings, but all of those painful sensations from before were lasting. It only took a quick moment for a new sensation to take over. Jane knew how reckless it was to use Redemption, more so with less MP energy. This time she only poured five percent into the spell, which shouldn''t have been physically possible given the circumstances. That''s what makes Redemption so special. It only requires a small amount of MP energy points to still be used, but underpowering it costs enormous non-magical stamina, and Jane no longer had any.
The wave of dizziness slammed into her, while the sensation that her entire head was under pressurized water overpowered everything else. Nothing on her own energy scope seemed to change in response to this, glowing red while reporting Vital Drain status, but the physical sensation draining her every millisecond was nothing like what Jane had experienced before. The exhaustion was suddenly all she could think about. It felt like a mixture of being badly injured and becoming sedated with medicine. It was just too much.
Jane''s vision blurred more, getting darker and darker all without any control. Passing out no longer sounded like a bad idea after all. It would put Jane out of her own misery. In just a few seconds, it wasn''t something she could fight. Jane simply allowed herself to take the rest she wanted so badly. After letting her body slant forward into the ground, she kept there, lying on her stomach, slowly closing her eyes. Jane felt weaker and weaker, like a rush that swiftly faded away continuously. Finally, everything she felt degraded away to nothing...
Chapter 20: Alpha Zero
<01/19/1972 ¨C 11:46 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Nothing but a deep silence and a blinding darkness filled her mind. She could sense nothing but the physical stress of a well-denied sleep. Then the sound of a low pitch boom suddenly charged her thoughts. What was going on? Jane didn''t know anymore. She reached for the strength and will to try and open her eyes, just enough to move a finger, but she just couldn''t. What''s that feeling when she barely wakes up to an alarm, but then drifts back to sleep? That''s similar to what this is, but about ten times as intense. Thinking about anything wasn''t worth the effort.
"Give that... Paragon... Section eight... to give a statement."
Jane could hear the faint voices of someone, but the voice kept elevating in and out. Was her hearing this messed up now, that she couldn''t even become conscious enough to take in any of her surroundings? Jane began to feel the pains more strongly, all of her bruises and wounds from her previous ordeal, and she still felt incredibly drained from before. The memory of fighting Patrissa sunk back into her slow paced thoughts. What happened with Patrissa anyway? Did I win? Why can''t I open my eyes?
"Biometrics aren''t telling us anything now. We''ll just have to abort..."
Wha? Who''s there? Jane wondered if her words were able to escape her mouth. Jane wanted to wake up and figure out what happened, but her entire body ached with pain, accompanied by exhaustion that was paralyzing. She didn''t want to move even now, but as the seconds passed, Jane eventually became more conscious with her mind. She could now hear the voices of people around her more clearly, the slump around her fading away.
"Given the physical state of the patient, nothing is conclusive at this point. I know she has nothing right now, but we just can''t hold her here in this block."
Jane struggled, finally able to move her body, but her eyes didn''t want to open. She struggled to lift her eyelids, but the light beyond her was blinding. "No. That''s..." Jane could barely speak, her voice still hoarse and scratchy from before.
"Hey, she''s waking up!"
"Check her stats again. Make sure she doesn''t crash. And no sedatives this time!"
"Agh. No!" Jane struggled where she was laying down, but suddenly she noticed that her arms and legs floated off the floor if she moved them in the right spot. Where was she? Who was by her side now? Jane couldn''t take it anymore. She pushed off with her arms, forcing herself to sit up straight while opening her eyes completely.
Jane immediately shut her eye lids again, still blinded by the intense light all around her. She didn''t get a good look of where she was, but shortly after sitting up, her head began pounding and Jane felt dizzy. The force from someone''s arm carefully pushed her back down, and Jane didn''t fight it this time. Trying to sit up was a colossal mistake.
"Take it easy," his voice eased. "Don''t try to get up."
Jane''s head was still spinning, the force of her dizziness getting stronger, but she held on, trying to learn as much as possible. Something soft was underneath her, at least letting her know that she wasn''t passed out on the cement anymore. When she was ready, Jane opened her eyes again very slowly this time. She groaned from the pain that lingered everywhere. Why didn''t her damage heal from the last fight?
Jane took in the new surroundings. The fluorescent lights above her were incredibly bright, but Jane squinted to search around anyway. It was somewhere indoors, sheltered from outside. The room was so advanced, or so it seemed to be filled with new technology. Jane turned her head to examine herself, realizing that she was not laying on the floor after all. It was some sort of mobile bed on wheels and stretchers. That explains why her arms could float off the way they did. There were two people around her. A man in a white coat and neck tie stood in front of Jane, hovering with curiosity and a clipboard. A woman in a white uniform fixing a bag of water stood over her. Jane traced the wire that was attached to the water all the way down to a punctured vain in her arm. Jane was in a medical bed, being treated no less. "Where am I? What happened?"
The woman looked down at Jane and reassured her. "Try and relax. You were injured and taken to the hospital. As far as what happened, that''s something you are going to have to tell us yourself."
Jane tried once more to sit up, but a sudden shooting pain in her stomach forced her back down. Her immediate discomfort and muffled groan brought Jane''s doctor closer.
"You seemed to have suffered significant levels of real time damage. Can you tell us what happened," she asked.
Jane still didn''t understand. The last thing she could remember is traveling alone on Route 96, but she never made it to Lennith City. How in the world did she end up here? "I don''t understand," Jane complained. "Where am I? Who are you people?"
Well, this might take longer than desired. "I''m Doctor Seth," the man announced. Putting away his clipboard and pen, Seth introduced himself with little interest for explaining much about it. "I''m the doctor assigned to your treatment."
"And I''m Doctor Ashly."
Jane turned her head to face the female doctor, Ashly. She must have been used to calling herself by the first name, else Ashly would have been an awkward last name. Jane however appeared to be hiding a lot more of her pains. She could barely move her own neck let alone any other part of her body.
"I''ve also been assigned to this delicate matter. You''re in the Lennith medical center right now, in RD bay zero six. We didn''t find your license, so we know nothing about you other than your current physical state."
"Yeah, and you''re in no condition at all to move."
Jane couldn''t believe what she had just heard. Being injured sort of made sense to her, but did she say the Lennith medical center? It couldn''t be. "Lennith medical center? You mean?" Jane''s voice got excited quickly, and Seth answered her to try and calm her down some more.
"Yes. You''re currently in Lennith City, which is where we operate."
"I can''t believe it!" Jane cheered. She made it! She actually made it to Lennith City after so long! "After so long, I made it! I''m finally here!"
"Uh, so your travel plans were en-route to here?"
Jane could tell that Ashly was confused. She did her best to explain while trying to control her own excitement. "To Lennith City. That''s right! I came from Monoc Port, but I never thought it would take this long to get here."
"But..." Seth interrupted, appearing to be confused even further. How long was this girl even on Route 96 anyway? "You didn''t actually make it to Lennith City on your own. They found you near the gate, but you were still about half a mile into the road."
"They?" Jane didn''t understand. What happened to her was still bothering her mind from before. The battle with Patrissa, it was all so hazy. How did Jane end up not making it? And whom is they Seth refers to?
"A couple," Seth replied, "by the name of Clayton and Teresha. They say they found you and a few others passed out in the middle of the road, and the Leray agent took care of the rest after it was called in."
"Leray agent?" Jane glanced at the floor. This was all making less sense with every sentence. Not knowing anything more was all the more frightening.
"Humph!" Ashly roughly exhaled. "She still wants to speak with you, but that isn''t possible right now. You''re not even able to stand." Plenty of people have come into here before, beat up harshly if given the right circumstances, but this much of a close call is rare.
Jane forcefully tried once more to sit up. Yet again, those pains were stopping her. Her damages were super compelling. Jane didn''t want to lay in bed, but her body spoke otherwise. "I don''t understand. Where are Teresha and Clayton now?"
"They left," Ashly admitted, "shortly after the agent carried you back to this place. The others that were with you were taken into custody."
Jane repeated in question. "Custody?"
Seth stepped forward once, getting Jane''s attention. "Look. We don''t know much more than you, but given the situation, you''re coming close to a liability for that agent."
"Seth?!" Ashly barked. What is he, crazy? Why say something like that? There isn''t proof of this person''s identity yet.
Seth completely ignored her, continuing with his explanations. "We can''t even keep you here forever without any funding. And yes, the immediate danger to your health has already passed, but we don''t know anything about you. You''re a complete Jane Doe in this facility, and your identity was not found anywhere. That means even family will have to be provided by your testimony lone."
"My license!" Jane prayed it couldn''t be true. Could she have lost her license? Did those thieves take it? ... Wait a second. Jane didn''t recall any thieves before, but now all the sudden they were there in her head... She remembered now! Patrissa was in charge of them, forcing her to battle and then trying to steal her things after quitting the match. What happened next was still a blur, but Jane quickly remembered something else.
"All we found was a supply sphere." Seth pointed to a sphere on the floor aside the bed. It belonged to Jane, or so he thought.
Jane hurled to the side, reaching downward for the sphere she knew was her own. Jane then opened up the device, using the holographic navigation grid to search for her Leray license. "Found it! I stored my license in here before I went into battle." Though Jane''s decision to keep it inside of there wasn''t intentional, it actually would have prevented anyone from stealing her items. Supply spheres are specifically attached to the owner, meaning nobody else can open it, unless they were to die. Jane selected the license with the grid, forcing a blue beam of light to decompress the license back from phase, forming into Jane''s left hand.
"So that''s why we didn''t find it!" Ashly realized. Jane turned the card around, allowing Ashly to take just a quick look. "Huh? Who would have thought that Jane is still your first name?"
"It is?" Seth joined in.
"Jane Venn." Jane had no problems introducing herself, but in light of remembering about the crooks, she wanted to keep on explaining more. "And I remember what happened out there, all until I messed up."
"Please tell us," Seth advised. Ashly looked at him with a mean expression, forcing him to change his command. "But also, take all the time you need."
Chapter Theme Shift: Reflected Moon ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
"Patrissa," Jane repeated. "I battled against Patrissa, but not because I wanted to. She forced me to fight her, and so I did. But even though I won in the end, she had back up. She was going to steal my things, all of it! They all tricked me!"
"Hm..." Ashly didn''t seem satisfied, and she turned around to try and think it through. Seth understood how Ashly was feeling, but it didn''t help to not have enough info. "So you''re another victim of Patrissa."
"Um..." Jane realized that her own doctors seemed to know that woman better than she did. "Do you know anything about her? Why is she so hostile, and why does she have a gang to steal things on Route 96?"
Seth turned around, answering to Jane without hesitation. "Patrissa and her gang are swine. The police have been after her for a long time now."
"She does this a lot," Ashly added. "Walks all over Route 96. People suspect she is alone at first, and she gets them to battle her. Then once her victim gets knocked out, she and her gang steal everything from them. That way, nobody can prove who it was her who stole their things. Gradyents look for her all the time without ever finding anything. She''s very keen on detecting whether or not a wielder is one of ordinary status or of official business."
"Her helpers are there as backup, in case something backfires." Seth seemed suddenly into the whole story. He knew a lot about Patrissa as it were. Quite a few people land here in this bay because of it, but never as beaten up as badly as Jane was, and Jane ended up fighting her too. "But Leray agents don''t often travel the roads these days. Patrissa never hits the same spot every time either..." Seth glared at Jane with a curious look.
Jane understood the simple facts Seth was stating, but it still seemed too farfetched that she could successfully pull off thievery in a digital system meant to prevent it. "How does she do it? I don''t understand how she can bypass the protection system and give us strikes or declare unfair bets."
Dr. Seth explained what he knew from the wild rumors coming from some of the agents during their lunch-ins. "Patrissa can pull off this heist because of those she has around her. You see, even though she is a registered Leray wielder, we cannot revoke her license without knowing exactly what her real last name is, or without getting the license in question. She makes formal offers to wielders like you, hiding multiple licenses behind her back. It''s a slight of hand trick. When she offers a battle, she uses the licenses of the others hiding in the dark first, before switching to her own. It turns out, if the license owners are within a close distance, visible or not, the holder can make battles and bet offers on their behalf. This at least explains how she gets around the time limit on issuing strikes on others who refuse her unfair offers. They think it''s a similar trick in invoking an unfair monetary reward system too."
So this is all because Patrissa had her friends hiding nearby that she could pull off those exploits? That''s crazy! Jane wished she knew about it sooner.
"But something unusual involving you happened out there. The Leray agent who found you passed out also found Patrissa and her criminals in a similar state. Am I to assume that something backfired in Patrissa''s actions when you encountered her?"
Jane thought about it long and hard. What happened to her near the end of the battle was so hard to remember and think about, so vague and dark. There were some available details not making any sense.
Ashly nodded left and right. "It would seem that Patrissa''s gang were arrested, but after they came to, all they suffered was normal Leray damage; the kind you would expect after a fair Leray match."
"But what does that have to do with me?" Jane did remember those creeps coming out, just after Patrissa disabled the dome shield and snapped her fingers, but she didn''t remember knocking anyone else out. In fact, that''s where everything goes dark again.
Ashly pointed again at Jane. "The damages that you suffer appear to be inflicted by Leray magical damage. Yet for some reason, you''re body does not recover at its normal rate, nor are you responding to any kind of healing orbs or healing spells. I had to use all sorts of medicines just to keep you stable long enough for the veil to take over the healing process again."
Seth translated where Ashly left off. "It bares the mark of what''s known as real time damage, damage that exceeds the cap on Leray magic and cannot be healed as effectively. It''s really dangerous, especially if you suddenly lose connection to the veil."
"Did Patrissa use dark magic against you? If she did, than we have more to say to the officer."
Jane nodded left and right. That didn''t make any sense. Jane didn''t remember something so serious, nor did she take real time damage. Still, she did understand the terminology. It''s exactly as Seth put it. Real time damage occurs when physical damage to a person''s body happens outside of the Leray veil of protection, something that can only be inflicted by users of dark magic. In this case, despite not taking damage from dark magic, Jane is still injured because she isn''t healing properly. Once one sustains Leray damage in battles, the physical cuts, scrapes, bruising, and burns all remain for a while, but it''s still only at a certain threshold linked to her available HP reserves, and healing orbs can remove these temporary visible wounds.
But in this case, Jane never healed at all. "No - no. Patrissa didn''t use dark magic against me. But..." Jane struggled more to remember exactly what happened. She knew it couldn''t have been dark magic. There are ways to tell if dark magic is used against people, usually by specific spells of incredible power levels. "When Patrissa disabled the dome, she was pretending to give up. The match was a draw I think. I almost beat her, but she almost beat me too. And then, that''s when her other thieves showed up." Jane could remember their movements, the dark figures carefully creeping closer and closer to her. "They surrounded me, threatened to take my stuff by force. Patrissa and two others... I..."
Ashly peeked at Seth, who then turned towards her. "I think the agent will want to hear this statement. Jane? You can leave that part to me. You''re the victim, and I''ll make sure you don''t fall in disagreement with the law."
"There''s more!" Jane pleaded. The more she thought about it now, the more some details were finally coming back. Everything was still so vague. She was aching all over after the battle, her health and MP were both so low. Jane remembered watching her stats change on the energy scope, just as Patrissa''s goons were coming closer to her. Her energy scan was red in color for some reason, but Jane was waiting on something. That''s right! Jane remembered now. She was waiting on her MP level to reach at least 5% again, and then she cast some spell. It was... "I know what happened now."
Ashly and Seth both responded at the same time with the same question. "What transpired?"
Jane remembered everything up until the moment before she fainted. "They got closer to me, but I didn''t want them to take my things. I was in a tight spot though. Critical health, critical MP... There was nothing I could have done except for one thing. I think I used a spell against them, one that worked well enough to instantly knock out everyone."
"And this spell was?" Ashly coaxed the answer from Jane''s thoughts.
"It was Redemption. Redemption knocked Patrissa''s gang down. And then I think I went down shortly after that."
Ashly sighed with a deep stressful breath. "Well - now it makes sense. Redemption. That''s what caused this." Of all the stupid things blocking healing...
"Well I don''t get it," Seth implied. "What does the Redemption spell do, Ashly?" She is the leading expert on magical spells, as well as the new medicine in development from the Arragon Research Institute. Ashly brings that knowledge to the table, despite how inexperienced she is in actual medical procedures.
Ashly nodded again. "I''ll explain that to you later Seth. Jane? Think you can tell me exactly how low your stats were when you used the spell? Did your energy scope change color?"
"It was red?" Jane didn''t find that significant, but maybe it means something after all. "Why?"
"How to explain?" Ashly already knew what happened, but Jane still didn''t understand herself. She had to know how reckless the spell is, but still... "There are many different colors associated with the status condition of people in Sprawn Valley. By that I mean, colors that shift in their energy scopes should they show them."
"I already know that much," Jane answered. In all honesty though, Jane forgot many of those specific meanings associated with each color. She knew that red was something worse than normal orange, but forgot the meaning behind that negative report.
Ashly wasn''t finished yet, and continued to explain. "Orange is the standard color for an energy scope. I think everybody knows that. Then there is green. A bright green color will replace the orange should one be able to use magic without being covered by the Leray veil of protection. And then there is red. An energy scope will shift red in color to warn the user that any further damage taken will result in real time damage simply because the veil can no longer protect you."
"Why would something like that happen?"
Ashly answered the question simply by continuing. She didn''t have any intent to stop speaking of it until all was explained. "If you are being attacked with dark magical energy, its effects will negate that of the Leray veil of protection, immediately causing lethal harm to whomever is hit, but there is another way to cause real time damage. It occurs rarely in Leray battles when the person affected suddenly obtains critical stats with their HP, and then no stats to their energy. In a Leray battle, if you run completely dry on MP energy, and I mean it goes all the way down to zero magical points, the next thing that happens is - you get tired. But should this happen while in conjunction with the timing in battle, your HP stats fall below five percent or less, then it triggers a status effect alert known as Vital Drain."
Jane remained patiently quiet. It felt like she had heard this before in some way, but the details Ashly was giving were impressive. Vital Drain status is what that was called? Jane knew of its existence, but forgot that this too can temporarily disable the effects of the protection veil. It was because of Ashly''s knowledge that Jane suddenly thought it was suspicious that she was a doctor. Shouldn''t she be like a scientist or a teacher?
"Your body always requires at least one point of magical energy in order to integrate the protection of the veil inside of you. So naturally, once you run out of MP completely, a certain amount of endurance and life force stamina begins to take over that job instead. But run out of MP and run low on HP at the exact same time, and there won''t be anything that can help the veil protect you anymore. The same can happen if both stats are near zero, since the little MP is being used to keep the body healthy enough to be supported by the veil, but the margin is still difficult to get into. The energy scope turns red in color as a response, warning the user to stop battling for their own safety."
"But what about the previous damage in the same battle?"This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Seth answered to the mystery this time, proving he did not learn of the same medical skills for nothing. "That damage still resides in the Leray form and type, but any damage taken after entering Vital Drain status will register as real time damage. Additionally, as your energy scope may turn red near the end of a battle, even if you somehow recover from it again, the Leray type damages you took previously might not heal properly or as efficiently as it should. So long as you sustain any amount of real time damage, and come out of Vital Drain afterwards, the veil''s protection will dramatically lose its connection with you for as long as that real time damage lasts, which happens on a proportionate level. It explains why healing orbs are not having any effect on you. Though we do know the damage you suffered isn''t too severe. You''re talking consciously and clearly to us right now, so you are indeed recovering at some kind of pace above standard cases."
"Perhaps the real problem is what Jane did after that," Ashly took over. She looked at Jane again, showing her how serious her own mistake was. "You used Redemption with a red energy scope? Are you crazy or just stupid, because I can''t decide which is true." Neither Jane nor Seth tried to talk back about it, perhaps out of shock in her harsh words. "If you use Redemption with a low MP status, the effects can knock you out right then and there. Even though that can happen, it''s usually no big deal; you''d faint and lose the battle afterward. But if you suddenly pass out after taking real time damage, or pass out with a red energy scope due to your life force energy being too low, it can kill you outright! In fact, I''m surprised you''re even still alive after admitting to using that spell under such circumstances. You should have known what Vital Drain status means if you''re really a wielder."
"That''s enough," Seth bothered. Ashly was getting ahead of herself now, even if she is right.
But Ashly didn''t allow Dr. Seth to shut her down so easily. "No, I think I make a perfectly valid argument here. Wielders these days are becoming too reckless. Nobody should ever continue battling with a red energy scope, let alone thinking of using more magic."
"Are you forgetting about the unique situation that her battle involved?" Seth knew he didn''t really need to remind Ashly that Jane was given little to no choice in how she went about defeating Patrissa. She can go stamp about it later.
Jane didn''t know that she was putting herself in such danger, but she considered it deeply while the two argued. If her energy scope turns red, yet she chooses not to give up and let everything calm down, passing out from the draining sensation of having low HP can physically kill her. That''s what they meant when they said Vital Drain was dangerous. If the veil isn''t protecting her in the same moment her HP drops down to zero percent, she isn''t waking back up! That''s the one thing everybody knows in Sprawn Valley, everybody who gets involved with Leray magic anyway. How in hell did Jane let herself forget about it? The Redemption spell must have put too much stress on her magical circuits, but because she still had 2% of her health remaining; that''s what saved her when she lost consciousness.
"That said, there''s no need to fuss at you any further. I wouldn''t want to have to explain to your family that Jane Venn is no more. So just be careful next time, and in the future, if someone threatens to put three strikes on your card, or take your things for refusing a battle, suck it up and talk to the nearest agent about it. It isn''t legal for others to do that, but even so, you worry too much about your score. Thanks to Patrissa, the council is well aware of this small glitch in the battle grid response software, so they''ll fix it soon." Ashly was referring specifically to both the fifteen minute rule of challenging the same wielder again by following them around, but also to a less known secretive method that people like Patrissa were using to ignore that protocol completely. Wielders shouldn''t ever have to worry about the same person giving them an additional strike in the same day, but criminals will find a way to cheat the system.
Jane knew that it wasn''t legal, but she still didn''t want to take the chance for it. Jane realized quickly that Ashly must have gotten the hint by looking at the solid orange strike at the bottom of her license. Officially speaking, Jane won the last battle with Patrissa too, but it wasn''t a real battle anyway. Still, it came to her mind now that Jane could have just avoided all of that nonsense from the other wielders by informing an agent in Lennith City just like Ashly said. Still, Patrissa was another story. She wouldn''t have been satisfied with three strikes!
Ashly decided on what to do next, explaining it aloud for Jane''s sake. "I won''t have to explain that mess with the Redemption spell, or how you used it to overcome three completely healthy criminals at the same time, but I must go and report the current status to the officer. She won''t want to speak to you after I explain the details, so you just take it easy Jane." Ashly walked out of the room calmly, but it still felt to Jane and Seth like the intensity remained here.
With Seth now the only doctor in the room, it got quieter quickly, but Jane still wanted to talk more, more about where she was. Hear it as many times as she may, it was still so impossible to believe. The entire time Jane was walking and battling on Route 96, all she wanted badly was to get to Lennith City. To think someone dragged her all the way here... It couldn''t have been her friends though. They would not have caught up this fast. "So... Lennith City huh? What''s it like? What time is it? And how big is this medical facility?"
Seth hesitated to even think about it, but what could he do now? It''s not like Jane needed any further treatments. The veil will finish healing her previous battle damage soon enough. Guess it would be the right thing to do, explaining where she is now. "It''s currently five minutes to noon. Um, the weather''s nice..."
"Noon?!" Jane couldn''t believe it. She was out for... Jane needed to count. It was almost four in the morning when she battled Patrissa, so that means - "I was out for eight hours?!"
"Well... Yes." Seth knew he needed to now correct how this exactly happened for her perspective. "You remained unresponsive to waking up, until now of course, but Patrissa''s gang woke up just as the agent was bringing them in. Seems they didn''t suffer any damages like you have."
"Can I go outside?" she blissfully asked.
"What?" Seth winced. "You want to be discharged? Now?"
"Well I''m fine aren''t I?" Jane was quickly getting over her previous pains after getting used to them, and sat straight up with little effort to prove it so.
Seth tilted his head and approached Jane. Then he waved his hand over Jane''s body, suddenly forcing her own energy scope to appear above her face. Jane had to remember now that medics and agents have the ability to do this with little difficulty.
Seth examined the results much to his surprise. "Hm. Looks like you are improving, and at a nice natural pace if I would say so. The color was still red earlier, but now you''re back to normal for the most part. Your Leray damage however will have to heal more naturally. You won''t be able to battle for another day I would say."
Jane realized how much better she was. She actually expected worse for herself based on how it felt before, but Seth didn''t seem like he was bound to keep her here anymore. With an excuse not to battle for twenty-four hours, she would be fine out of the safety of the facility. "You have to discharge me now, right? I''m fine, and my scope is orange again."
"I don''t know," Seth cautioned. "I still want the approval from Dr. Ashly as well."
Jane rolled her eyes and followed it up with a challenging smile. "Come on. You''re a grown man, aren''t you? Why do you need another doctor''s approval to release someone who isn''t even sick?"
"Well... You''re kidding, right?" Seth didn''t expect this. It might be the first time any patient has spoken back to him like they were the boss. Still, he couldn''t really come up with any kind of excuse for Jane. "Jane Venn, was it? I hope you know that until you are really healed, you''re still bound to the hospital until you make a full recovery."
"Wait a sec," Jane shifted. "Hospital? I thought this was a medical facility."
Seth raised his eye brows in response, realizing why Jane was clueless on the matter. "That''s right. You''re not from around here, are you? Lennith''s medical facility is one of the largest ones in the nation, and because of that, we''ve been asked to merge with Mython corps. What that means is that we are both a Leray medical facility and a hospital, all tucked into one building."
"Ooooooh. I get it now." It was unusual for that to happen, but Jane must be in the non-Leray medical wing. Leray medical facilities are not exactly built for physically injured people. They don''t treat real time damage, or if they do - not effectively. Hospitals are facilities in Sprawn Valley that only specifically treat humans with aliments not related to Leray magic. That means people like Jane who suffer from a significant and almost irrecoverable amount of damage, or those who end up getting really sick are the ones who end up in bays like these instead. Lennith''s medical center is two in one. Anyone can go here for treatment related to Leray magic or treatment that is beyond that. Hospitals requires real doctors with real medical knowledge under their belt, while the other facilities only need knowledge related to Leray magic and their spells.
"But still..." Jane pondered. "Why did you say something earlier? It was something you said, about you not being able to keep me here?"
Seth replied, "Oh, that was a conflict with your identity. People don''t normally store their license or ID inside of a supply sphere. And, well, medical attention beyond life threatening conditions isn''t free here."
Jane''s expression dropped. "I thought something was up. Fine. How much do I owe for today? I want to be discharged so that I can get to see the awesome city I''ve landed in."
How can someone who suffered such an ordeal prioritize seeing a small area new to them? Jane is easy to excite. "You''ve - never been to Lennith City before, have you?"
"Genius," Jane taunted. "I''m on a journey. I''m not even from the Junon region. It''s my first few days here."
"A journey? You don''t say." Seth didn''t seem to disregard Jane''s words, but he now got himself entranced into quiet thinking, leaving Jane to judge.
"Um, hello? The discharge?"
"Oh, right." Seth knew it still isn''t standard procedure to just let Jane be off on her own, but so much color has returned to her skin in little time. The dark bruises on her face were fading away already. She was standing tall without a balance issue to be seen, without a hint of fear for the world on her expression. For the technique of healing without any treatment, Jane was making a fast recovery. But more than anything, the excitement and readiness on her face, Jane''s very expression gave Seth the hint that she would explode if she could not get out to explore. She couldn''t have been lying about being on a journey; the true mark of an explorer. Ashly''s going to hate him for this later, but... "Fine. Since you''re not from around here, I''ll have to bill you directly, and since you didn''t receive treatment outside of standard ivy fluid medicines, it should be somewhere around two thousand credits or less, but the billing service is automated. I''ll need to scan your license first."
Jane nodded in agreement, shifting back to her bed to find the card she dropped there while removing the ivy stuck in her arm. Seth quickly twitched forward, ready to stop her since she was moving so quickly. Jane was just fine though. Seth must have thought she would strain herself. In truth, Jane''s legs were incredibly sore from walking 9 miles on foot for hours, but they didn''t hurt that bad anymore, not according to the previous damages from her battle. Jane stood up straight, giving her license to Seth as he stood there in shock that Jane was just as fine as she said she was.
Seth took her card and walked over to a strange device in the back of the room. It was a license scanner, one digitally operated and mounted to the wall. The very room seemed pretty advanced for the technology and structural integrity it had, lit well with electrical fluorescents. Seth ran the card over the faint red light, getting the machine to detect the card number. He then went to his right where the computer was on a desk. He began typing away, leaving Jane in wait.
Jane folded her arms while waiting around, but her impatience was killing her. "Any hints for me while I''m here? I''ve never been to this city before, and even now - I haven''t seen it yet with my own eyes."
"First I should warn you that conducting a battle before you fully recover is ill advised. Dr. Ashly is correct; you must have severely stressed your magical circuits using Redemption the way you did, so not using any magic will help you heal properly. Anyway, should you suddenly fall ill to any strange effects connected to the events on Route 96, you are to return here on your own power before getting any worse."
"Yeah-yeah-yeah," Jane interrupted. "You spell it out more times than I care to hear."
Seth nearly laughed at her enthusiasm. Jane didn''t appear to be an adult, but the way she acted, she was either ignoring all advice right now or maintaining her own independence. Many patients don''t act this way here, not at this age anyway. Seth guessed that Jane''s maturity was probably something Patrissa didn''t account for, if only Jane wasn''t as arrogant. "You asked about the city? Well, Lennith City is the heart of the Junon region. I''m sure you''ve heard all the stories at least. In truth, this isn''t a place full of tall structures and several roads. We don''t even have tall buildings like Gross or Eldora does. Of course that''s done on purpose to make this place so unique, and we make up a large economic area nonetheless. But in your exploration here, you''ll find plenty - I''m sure. The city is big when it comes to its size. You''ve got the living section northeast and south; Narbrook Town and Delbrion Town. Then the market place, the Southside, and governmental sections. All of these are a bit separated from each other though, but there is plenty to explore. We''re also the center of the postal mail service, for some reason." Seth concentrated on typing the information into the system while giving Jane the history lesson she asked for.
"Hm, I still want to see it for myself."
Seth was done. He entered the information about Jane''s official treatments and protocols into the system, allowing the automated process to do the rest. "Okay, I''m done here." Seth held out Jane''s card in the air without looking away from the monitor. "The system will bill your card in a few hours after it gets processed. Don''t be surprised when your card suddenly drops a few hundred credits. It can be quite sudden."
"Will I even have enough?" Jane concerned.
Seth stood up from the chair after Jane took her card back into possession. "Of course. The system will automatically let us know ahead of time if your funds are insufficient. So just don''t spend too much before the change takes effect. Now I''ll get your discharge papers."
Jane was happy to see Seth being so helpful. For some reason, Ashly was way more concerned, or so that''s what Seth made it sound like, but there was a good enough reason for it. Jane nearly died using Redemption on everyone in her state then. She was only 2% away from death, the kind nobody recovers from. That had to make Ashly worry, but at least she was gone for now. Seth wasn''t closed out to reason, but the quicker she can get out of here before Ashly returns, the better. Those two might even have an argument long after Jane leaves the facility, but it was going to be up to her now to explore Lennith and decide what to do next.
The Den of Purity never felt so closer to Jane now. Of course, the Outback is a much wider area, so she would need to get a better method of transportation and a lot more food before trying. But the Outback doesn''t get a lot of Leray wielders either, so at least that''s a big improvement already.
When Seth gave Jane the walking papers, she left the room without anybody to stop her. Jane made her way out and around the facility, following the instructions to get to the main entrance. The place was far bigger than she could ever imagine. The building was gigantic in horizontal size, but Jane had to learn about it just by walking around, and the front entrance area didn''t cease its impressions either. Everything was digitalized here, and the place was well built to look nice. The structure walls and ceilings were made out of a certain metal material which Jane had finally picked up on.
It''s the same metal used to negate the effects of Leray magic. Powerful destructive spells such as Meteor Strike can easily topple buildings and structures, except for the kind built out of this metal material, which absorbs all magic no matter the intensity. All of that brings to volume how richer the place is compared to other facilities. Jane couldn''t say that about the city, not yet anyway. She hadn''t walked through the automatic double doors yet to see the outside. Was Mython Corps the ones providing the expensive equipment? Or is all of Lennith City built with so much infrastructure?
Chapter Theme Shift: Lively Step ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
Though Jane had already been told about the current time of day, it was hard to believe after stepping outside of the facility, but the sunlight overhead the clear sky didn''t lie to anyone. Jane already had to adjust to the temperature change. It became slightly warmer than yesterday, but the wind breezes were still enough to give her some chills.
She thought back again to the fight she had against Patrissa. Jane didn''t remember passing out, and that wasn''t surprising to her at all, but after all the time she was out for, it hardly felt real. Jane didn''t remember anything at all in her sleep. It''s as if she didn''t dream at all, so the time change was challenging to get her mind around.
The sights of Lennith City soon took her from the thought. It was almost like what Doctor Seth described earlier. There had to be hundreds of people walking in the distance ahead. There were almost countless buildings in clusters, but not a single one of them exceeded the height of eighty feet. Upon exiting from the unique medical facility, Jane found herself standing before the central plaza. The area had its own walkways build over the flat grass, showing pedestrians between each row of structures far in front of her view. To compare it best, this was a close layout and design of a flea market that has thrown thousands of credits into the woodworks and refinery. Jane thought more of it to look like an outlet mall.
As she walked closer to the buildings forming the plaza, Jane could already tell that a lot of money was filtered into this place. Though called a city, Lennith appeared to look more like a prosperous and rich town with more to offer than any other small town could. The buildings looked impressive from here, and that was just a judgment coming from the physical infrastructure of each place. Whether it was made from mixtures of metal, wood, or synthetically reinforced concrete, every store, restaurant, and service center was professionally crafted and decorated. Jane knew that everybody around her was well used to this, but she came from Fronas and Blue Port.
As Jane continued into the walkway of the connecting streets, she immediately noticed how many more people were walking around today, all hovering or traveling between the streets with nothing but buildings and stops left and right, deeper into the zone. The only sign of nature in sight were occasional decorative plants to attract more customers. The rest of the ground was all flat cut grass or concrete for about half a mile in every direction! Everybody was wearing nice clothes, all except for her. Jane didn''t realized it yet, but all she had to wear was her old dress sphere or the red and black mercenary suit currently equipped to her body. After all of those fights on Route 96, this was the first time she was able to notice how unattractively filthy her suit became. Her suit had black marks and dirt stains all over the place.
Jane had to ignore it for now for the sake of her own embarrassment, but she wanted to find out where the nearest Leray shop was from here. She could simply enter any one of these stores and buy beautiful dress spheres, but she still needed to stick to her battling style and gear in case anything else happens; that means replacing this ugly mercenary suit on the double.
As Jane went further in, she noticed small spaces between structures, leading to more walkways with more buildings on the other side in each direction. Some of the places were not stores though, but instead company property and offices that house the employees while they work. There was so much to see, Jane couldn''t stop hearing the voices of everyone around her for a moment. Most of the people were fathers and their children, or the whole family entree passing by while the little ones begged for candy and sweets. They have everything she could think of to buy around here. Jane held on tightly to her license, eager to go on a total shopping spree for music, movies, food, dresses, jewelry, souvenirs, and other equipment.
But she had to remain realistic too. Jane didn''t actually have that many credits anymore. All things considered, a few thousand might have been something in the Gulop region, but not here. Jane could tell that almost everything in this region was first class. Spending just a minute in a place like this could end up drawing at least 1000 credits from her wallet or license, and she knew there were other expenses to worry about. Since she was now low on food and water, this would be the first priority. Jane still needed to stock up on more healing orbs, then replace the mercenary outfit, and then pay for her unintended visit to the medical facility here. Not to mention that she was thousands of more credits short of paying back the worker she stole money from in Monoc Port. The feeling of not being able to afford anything; Jane felt that this made her weak.
Before long, Jane located other places around the blocks as well. There was a large dome in the northeastern distance outside of the plaza, a massive manufacturing facility for Lennith City, and that didn''t include all of the other random governmental facilities built in places outside of the central plaza section. Jane however found out where the Leray store was hiding, quite inconspicuous for a popular business. It didn''t stand out all that well from where Jane was standing then, given all of the competition.
Sentiment Kaoline is what the building was called this time. Jane found it amusing how every different Leray store had its own name after the trademark company brand Sentiment. Leray stores are all generally the same anyway as far as what kinds of items they sell, but the quality could vary significantly too.
After Jane went inside, it didn''t take her long to buy the cheapest things she needed to first. After stocking up on healing orbs, she did happen to discover plenty of awesome Leray outfits, but none of them were even affordable, most of which were not worth the price tags. Instead, Jane used the changing room there to swap into her other dress sphere. It has already been worn once after she began the journey, and Jane soon realized that she needed a shower. Even the hotels here could be too much just to stay in. She would need to locate the building for it first though.
The exploration afterwards took forever. Jane spent two hours all on her own looking around, only entering stores that peaked her interest. In the end, she managed to acquire food rations and water at low prices, placing them back in her supply sphere with everything else, but the entire trip knocked off 745 credits from her savings. In the middle of her shopping, the license card finally responded to the earlier transaction from the medical facility, subtracting off 830 credits from Jane''s license without even asking. 4330 was the remaining amount on her license. Considering that it''s nearly the amount Jane started with, the total net gain was hardly impressive, but it was interesting to see how little she was charged from the facility, given Seth''s earlier exaggerated estimate.
After leaving the plaza area, Jane discovered a small park. There wasn''t much equipment set up for anyone to play around there of course, it''s the park designed just for appeal and walking around. Benches, cut grass, another beautiful fountain of water, and custom grown trees. That''s what this park was made of. Some people were already there, sitting on some of the benches. Others were reading magazines, walking, having a picnic, only enjoying the nice day without having to leave town at all.
Jane got closer, feeling drawn to the park by how quiet it was here. There was only a small handful of people here, and they weren''t associated with each other. All in all, it provided a beautiful sense of serenity even for Jane as she walked in closer to one of the benches.
After sitting down, Jane could finally collect her thoughts. The trip to the Den of Purity would still be on, but it was a very long way away from here. The map says that the Outback is directly north from the north gate of Lennith City, but the city is so big that even that gate is too distant to spot from here. Simply impressive!
Jane would need transportation there this time, like a bicycle or something that didn''t force her to walk on foot again. Bikes are not cheap either, but even so, getting lost in the Outback could be another problem. It''s still best to leave today, since Jane will have a twenty-four hour exemption from battling given her injuries, but even walking there without battling is a horrible way to get to the Den of Purity. There aren''t exactly manmade roads or fences set up over there. All she has to guide her now is a paper map out of scale with the area. Information was her friend now, but where to get that...
Jane knew it would be a bit unusual to just start asking random people around her for specific directions to the Den of Purity, but it was important to her. Jane simply decided to ask anyone, and chose from the closest person nearby. A man in his thirties sat on another bench nearby. Jane could easily remember him from here on - with how he dressed. At first it looked as if he were reading something in a paper, but Jane was proven wrong after he pulled out a pen and began writing something down on another sheet of paper.
Jane disregarded whatever the mathematical looking work was about, and cleared her throat to start asking for some guidance. "Excuse me? Do you think I could¡ª?"
"Not now!" he rudely replied. "I''m busy sorting this information. You want to chat, go find someone else." He kept his head and attention in the paper he was using, not even glancing his eyes upward for a moment.
Jane didn''t say anything else back. It was surprising to her the way he was acting. I guess everyone in Lennith will be like this. Everybody was busy with some kind of work, or out shopping. Even those relaxing don''t want to be bothered. It felt kind of embarrassing to even try and speak up about it, but Jane didn''t get to mention a thing about the northern path.
"Miss, is there some reason why you should be interrupting my husband?"
Jane felt a tingle go down her spine. The woman behind her didn''t sound happy at all, and she was defiantly talking to Jane of everyone. Where did she even come from? Jane had to turn around, realizing that the woman was hovering in front of her curiously. "Uh¡ª" Jane knew what this was about, but she was still startled by her. Having not spot her earlier sent chills down her spine. "I was asking for directions. Sorry."
The woman glared at Jane silently, trying to pick up on what she really wanted, but Jane wasn''t leaving either. She just stood there, actually looking sorry with her face blushing, and her husband wasn''t even paying attention anyway. "Directions huh? Maps can be picked up from any gate or facility here. Out of town folk don''t come to the park for that anyway."
"Well..." Jane needed to rephrase what she meant quickly. It was true that perhaps she came to the wrong place to ask around, but where else could she start? "It''s not actually about Lennith City. I need to know the best way through the Outback."
"The what now?"
Jane stuttered in surprise. "Ya¡ª you don''t know what the Outback is?"
"Nope. Never heard of it. Please try somewhere else and kindly get out of our hair."
Jane backed away quickly, halfway in surprise. The woman wasn''t very nice to her about this, and neither was her husband. All she wanted were directions! Jane decided to just leave them alone and try to ask someone else, but as she walked in a random direction to the edge of the square in the park, she couldn''t stop thinking about what the woman just told her. Who in the world has never heard of the Outback before? It''s the largest wild land on the continental map! Mayhap they were tourists.
Those two are probably as hostile as they are mean to everyone. Jane figured she wouldn''t have great luck just asking random adults around the area in Lennith City, but nobody even wanted to make eye contact with strangers. Jane perished the thought, realizing that it may have just been those two acting odd. Instead of continuing her walk around, Jane simply stopped again at the end of the field to think it through. She was now at the edge of the park, staring into Lennith''s southern gate in the distance. There was some other guy who appeared to be in his twenties sitting on the ground next to her, but they both ignored each other. How do I get the means to go there? Why can''t the den be closer?
"Out to enjoy the view?"
Jane heard that the man sitting nearby her had spoken a common question. His dark shaded red hair and face immediately gave away the fact that he was about a few years younger than what it seemed like form behind. The guy didn''t have much emotion in his voice, nor did he look directly at Jane. Is there something about this place where people can''t look others in the eye while they speak? "What''s it to you?"
The guy snuffed for a reply, then kept staring ahead as if his previous comment was no longer interesting. "Never mind then."
Jane couldn''t read him so easily. His voice and tone were inconsistent with his body language, but she seemed to already upset him somehow. That''s not good; the attitude of some people here are already rubbing off on Jane. She didn''t mean to be in a bad mood herself, especially not to someone who didn''t actually tell her to get lost. "I''m sorry."
Jane''s response finally got the guy to turn his head towards her. So people can look others in the eyes... Jane didn''t expect the stranger to be this attractive. He seemed no older than three years ahead of her based on his current expression, but the kid didn''t give a smile or a glimmer of happiness even after her response. Those deep silver colored eyes, Jane could tell that the man was hardly in the best of moods either. Was he sad? Perhaps mourning? What happened to give him this much trouble?
"For what?" he shrugged.
Jane got the feeling he wouldn''t want to speak on his troubles, but the distractions in her mind slowed her reply. "I don''t know. I can''t seem to get directions from anybody. I know I''ve only asked two people so far, but..." Finding the best way there is only one out of many more steps. Jane knew she would have her work cut out for her today, and it might be a better idea all together to just sleep in a hotel tonight. Trying to rush it all the way to the Den of Purity just isn''t a good idea anymore, and she already passed the hard part last night.
"Maybe I could help," he offered. It was more than obvious that this girl was new here, based on how different she acted contrast to other inhabitants here. "I do know this place pretty well myself. I''m Harris." He extended his open hand at Jane, introducing his name after his offer.
It took Jane an extra second to realize that Harris was the guy''s name. It sure didn''t fit his persona or his looks. Jane shook his hand in response, sharing her name with him. "Jane."
"Beautiful name," he added.
Jane tried not to let him flatter her, but he was acting the opposite of everyone else around here so far. She couldn''t help but get curious. "If I could get half a greeting from anyone else around here, I''d throw credits in the air now. You wouldn''t believe how rude everyone is here." Jane turned slightly with her arms folded together to further elaborate her concerns.
"What? That?!" Harris didn''t seem one bit surprised, but his tone made it sound like he tolerated the same people Jane was complaining about. "That''s just rush hour. Everyone who has a job here doesn''t like when strangers interrupt them on their break, but somehow they blend in with those who aren''t working either."
"I mean," Jane continued, "I haven''t even seen or heard of any other Leray wielders in the town. Are they like hiding out or something?" She took her seat next to Harris, calming the atmosphere.
So she''s a Leray wielder? No wonder she isn''t getting any help. "Haven''t you been to Lennith Stone yet? Ah, you don''t look like you''re from here anyway, so you wouldn''t know it, but that''s where all the wielders go to battle, if not to battle near their own homes. But that doesn''t happen until school gets out. Courteous for all wielders to hold off on battling during school hours."
That''s right, Jane remembered. They have an elite Leray training facility here somewhere. "Well you''re right to say I''m new to Lennith, but I really need to get to the Den of Purity. Problem is, I can''t just walk the Outback for days and nights unprepared, and I don''t want to get lost there either with undetailed maps."
"The Outback?" Harris had to think about the name for a brief moment, forcing Jane''s expression into another bit of confusion. "Oh! You mean the dark zone."
Chapter Theme Shift: Train Graveyard ~ Final Fantasy 7 (Remaster Edition) OST
"The what zone? I was talking about the Outback?"
"Alpha Zero?" he translated. Jane never looked at him more clueless than right now. "What? You never heard about what happened?"
"No¡ª uh..." Jane couldn''t even guess what was going on. Did something happen in the Outback to change the name? "I asked about the Outback. I don''t know what this dark zone stuff is."
"Have you been hiding under a rock or something? Everybody knows about the dark zone!"
This isn''t right! The Outback is what people should never forget. It''s been drilled into every school''s geography class since the beginning of early colonization here. Why is Harris referring to that place as something else? "What happened?" Jane''s question immediately perked up Harris''s face with surprise.
"Damn. Well now I''ve heard it all." He kept his expression light as to not offend Jane. "Some weird thing happened deep in the area, and the landscape has changed. The Alpha Zero is the name given to that big mess in the area. What you now call the Outback is something totally different than it was before."
So it did change?! "You''re kidding!" Jane sat up on her hands, preparing to stand up. He couldn''t mean that it changed physically, right? "The Outback''s changed? How?"
"Ooooh, what a long story," Harris deflected. "I''ve give you the short version. Nobody travels north of Lennith City anymore, not since that incident warped the properties of the landscape. The place is a death trap now. It''s been all over ProCom news, and the General Army has already stepped in to restrict that area off. It''s some sort of ominous death lair now. Nobody in, nobody out; it''s been that way for a couple months or so."
Jane quickly became upset about what she was hearing. Her heart began pounding to further deny this insane twist of reality. "You''re telling me that there''s a problem with getting to the Den of Purity?"
"Um, yeah! You can''t enter the Alpha Zero. If you do, you won''t be coming back out - if you know what I mean."
"But what happened in there? Why did the Outback change?"
Harris backed up a bit. Jane was beginning to sound very desperate about something, and it was making him nervous. "Look, I don''t know all that much okay. Apparently some sort of dark magical energy screwed up what used to be known as the Outback. It''s become a class-four danger site already, and it''s off limits to the public. I think the General Army came by here recently to try another scouting run, but I haven''t seen them around lately."
Jane stood up covered the sides of her head with her hands. "This can''t be happening! This can''t be happening! I need to get in there. I''ve never heard about this before."
There was something specific concerning Jane, but Harris knew not what it could be. Given how suddenly distressed she seemed, he stood up as well, without understanding why. "Well it was all over the news for the past two months, at least on the local channel it was. You''ll just have to wait until the General Army fixes it. I don''t actually know what it''s like in there."
"You didn''t go to see for yourself?" Jane probed. Harris could be mistaken? Yeah, that has to be it!
Harris''s eyes opened wide at the words. "Are you nuts?! Of course I didn''t go in there! It''s a dark zone! Leray magic can''t protect you in dark zones. Those who have already tried to scope the place out have never come back. That''s why it''s so dangerous. You go in there, you disappear. That''s how it works now."
"Thanks for your help, but I have to go." Jane immediately picked up her feet and began walking north, quick to skip as much time as possible. I have to see this for myself.
"Wait a minute! Jane!"
Jane didn''t look back. Harris sure was nice enough to tell her what he could, but it didn''t add up at all. Was this why the name Outback was mysterious to everyone now? Is that only what people used to call it? Jane needed to make it to the north gate. If what Harris was saying is true, they probably won''t let her through. With the sun still hanging high in the sky, Jane departed northward towards the gate to the Outback. They can''t stop her here, they can''t!
Chapter 21: Barricade
<01/19/1972 ¨C 13:51 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"I''ve already told you for the last time. No entry without the proper clearance!" The soldier standing in front of an array of fences and barricades was raising his voice at the civilian. His unique suit of metal armor and the tactical helmet covering his entire face made him and his partner stand out, but that was the point of guarding this gate. They work for the General Army, carrying unusual rifles and headwear while they simply stand by and check everybody''s clearance before they can enter. Even with proper clearance, only the military can enter on assignment with squads. That''s about as much information Jane was able to obtain anyway. "Civilians and Leray wielders don''t classify as authorized personnel. So turn around, and go home!"
Jane groaned at the explanation. She couldn''t do anything about it at all. Her only way into the Alpha Zero was being blocked by these two guards. Great, now they have her calling it the Alpha Zero too, and without any understanding as to what that means. Jane backed away slowly, deciding not to do anything irrational. Everybody knows that disobeying the GA is a terrible mistake, one that will send her to prison for sure. Their clearance ranks higher than that of any Leray agent or gradyent.
Jane turned around again, pondering what to do now in her defeat. Well this is just fucking great! I came all the way here for nothing. In truth, Jane had no idea that this massive outbreak of dark magic somehow consumed the entire wild lands of the Outback. Now it''s commonly called the Alpha Zero by most military members, and the locals just call it the dark zone. If people aren''t allowed in, Jane can''t make it to the Den of Purity at all. The edges of the Outback are all landlocked by tall and rough terrain, similar to the Sprawn Valley barrier. So going there by sea isn''t an option.
She began to wonder if teleportation symbols might work from this range, but she had no idea how to harness that kind of power, or how to use such a sophisticated style of magic to generate an alternative method of travel. Teleportation symbols are illegal to ordinary wielders anyway, so it would stand out if she tried to learn it. Jane continued walking in a random direction, slowly and without purpose. If she can''t get to the Den of Purity, then she really has come here for nothing, and her quest to become a Leray master is all in vain, all because of that stupid Amahar spell bomb!
Just thinking about that day began boiling her blood. Jane could feel her entire body heat up in response, but she tried to cool herself down quickly. Getting angry over her past would do her no good anyway. If only Danny and Taylor were here right now. They should already be on their way, locked-on to whatever sort of trail she left behind after leaving Tilsit Port. Then again, they do have a long and obnoxious Route 96 to cross. If Belzer hasn''t made his changes yet, it will be even more challenging to cross leaving from Lennith City, so that''s out of the question.
Jane decided to forget about the route and stay here. It''s Danny''s turn to finally come up with the plan and find her. I might as well stay here in Lennith City. I''ve got nowhere else to go.
Jane held on to her thought while approaching what was the northwest side of Lennith City. There were large governmental buildings and structures here that Jane did not recognize before. This really is a big place, and that''s why they must call it a city despite the total lack of tall structures. As she got a little closer, Jane could make out the purpose of each structure, plus a large village behind them. The post office was in front of her, with a large warehouse and some other large facility further to her right. Far back in the distance appeared to be the living section of the populous here, large and tall houses built everywhere higher on the hills. If she had a local map, this would have been easier to discover.
Jane didn''t want to talk to any more GA soldiers. It''s their fault she can''t cross. It didn''t matter to her that the Alpha Zero was more dangerous than anything else. With all of her abilities and learning how to fight with magic, how bad can it really be?
It took a lot longer for Jane to notice that the other facility was the one and only Lennith training facility. She needed to get closer to find that out, but the building itself was really impressive. It was two stories high, professionally built like every other building in the city, and it seemed like there was a dedicated training area just outside of the school just for the students to practice more.
They say that Lennith''s school is one of the most popular there are just because it is in the central trading city of Junon, thus more noticed, but the government pays for these facilities. Obviously the Dakota training academy back home doesn''t deserve this much praise for some reason. The government must care less about backwater towns or landlocked civilizations, because this building right here made Jane''s training facility seem like a storage closet.
Jane gave up on her previous thoughts. She was too impressed by the structural elegance of the local academy to think any more about the heavy stuff, and she has always been interested in things that deal with Leray magic. Jane tried to imagine what her life would have been like living here instead of back home. Graduating at Lennith''s facility, it sounded like a dream worth waiting for, and this place probably has more advanced levels of training and graduation requirements.
Jane remembered graduating from Dakota with only a basic level, but her school could only afford just the first three levels of Leray training. There exists many more, requiring the students to stay in longer over many years to accomplish those levels of skill sets. Some Leray wielders don''t even begin their journey until they have graduated with more advanced classes.
She could remember every single one. There was basic training, the minimum requirements to own a Leray magic license. Without a license, one is not allowed to use Leray magic for any purpose whatsoever, unless that case becomes a sort of emergency. The second level is called Elevated training, though it''s actually not a prerequisite to entering advanced training, which is the third level. Then after that comes five separate levels of training - in the form of volumes. Volumes take one year each to complete on average, and they exceed the advanced training level to show Leray wielders how to fight beyond what is expected of them. Then the last tier, which is said to only exist in the legendary training academy in Eldora City, is known as Elite Leray training. Elite training is specifically designed to prepare worthy Leray wielders for their fights against the Elite Five and their champion. If only Jane had that much time and money...
Chapter Theme Shift: Darkest Skies ~ Synthetic Anatomica
All things considered, learning everything in the real world with firsthand experience felt like a lot more fun for her. She got curious enough to think on what exact type of training advanced level students obtain, and that''s when Jane suddenly froze up. She looked around casually, but her mind became preoccupied with another idea. Advanced training... I wonder, if I enroll here and become much stronger, I shouldn''t have a problem getting to Purity.
She let it sink in as other passed her by randomly. Jane had forgotten how incredibly busy and crowded this place was, but it was much less dense in this area compared to others. Jane knew she needed to at least see this for herself. Even if she does decide to enroll here and take up a lot more time, Danny and Taylor won''t mind it at all. They can catch up with their skills while Jane sharpens her own. Once she can improve her ability to survive there, it should be easy to make it through the Alpha Zero. Even if those soldiers don''t let her pass the gate, there would be other means of forcing her way in.
Technically, Jane could just force her way through right now, she knew it would have been easy, but after seeing how desperately that soldier tried to keep her out, and after having more time to let it simmer into her mind, it soon became clear that Alpha Zero must be dangerous even for elite soldiers, something she is obviously not. With the curse on her endurance, anything there could kill her, though it wasn''t certain yet as to what specific things are dangerous about dark zones. Her body was decided at least. Jane was moving her legs forward, walking with only minor hesitation to the front of the impressive building. It was called the Lennith Training Academy. No fancy names branched off from this facility, so they must take a lot of pride being built in this city. Jane took a very deep and nervous breath when she came to the front entrance. The doors here were push and pull only, no automations this time. All of the glass was tinted somehow to make it difficult to see the other side. Jane pushed against the doors, slowly opening them into the front entrance of the school.
To Jane''s surprise, it wasn''t much like she expected. Most schools have a front desk and a section to handle registration, and then it leads straight into the main hallway, but this was a bit different. The room here was totally square, but very large for what it should have been. Chairs were everywhere against the walls for those who needed to wait, and the front counter was installed further down to her right.
For a room like this though, everything was highly secure. The one and only door leading further into the facility was locked up with a digital padlock interface, and some sort of body scanner or metal detector was set up just before the clear section too. Everything in between the counter and that door was a solid opaque wall, and the only way to the other side even for the employee - was to use the same door. What the hell are these people expecting to happen? The way things looked around here, Jane thought this school might have been attacked before in some many days past.
"Excuse me? Can I help you?"
Jane was distracted by the adult lady at the other side of the counter. Jane didn''t notice anybody else in this entire room except for one sleeping person on the chair. He must have been waiting to pick up his kid or something, but usually students just let themselves out. Jane had never seen a facility like this one before, and this room was only the front desk area. Ironically, this just made Jane more nervous than before, but the lady at the counter called her up to discover her business.
Jane approached the front of the counter, realizing that it would not be easy to climb over to the other side, the way it was designed. Special tinted glass separated the open space between the ceiling and the top of the counter, leaving only a small open slot where the employee was able to stand. "Um¡ª" Jane paused to think about what she was going to say. Her mind was still taken by the impressive interior of the place. A building like this was better than Blue Port Town and Fronas combined. She could even live here. "I''d like to try out some of the programs here. Can I see what the facility is like?"
"What do ya want? A tour guide?" she snapped. "Only staff and students are allowed in the school. You can learn more from our pamphlets if you want. So did you come here to register? Sightseeing isn''t something we do here."
That''s just harsh! "Uh, yeah. Register. Let''s do that." Jane couldn''t help from sounding weird, but she was deciding between two things at once. If she actually registers herself to a specific class, she''ll be bound to this school for a long time. Then again, she''ll have to deal with fees as well, and that means getting a side job at the same time. Then again, if she can''t pay for the fees, they''ll just kick her out. Perhaps Jane could get a tour that way! The lady also carried a tone in her voice. She was another one of those people, too impatient to make small talk or give others a warm greeting. How much can a person hate their job and still attend every single day?
"Okay. I''ll need your identification please. Also I''ll need to know which levels you are willing to sign up for." Suddenly she was being straight forward.
Jane handed over her Leray license to the woman, noticing that she had a license scanner and a desktop computer beside her. "I''ve already graduated with basic, so..."
The lady placed the card in the scanner, and then focused her attention on the computer screen. "You want to go with elevated or advanced?"
Just as Jane knew before. Elevated and Advanced are specially known for being gateway levels of Leray training, and that is because elevated training is optional, while less advanced than advanced. "I''ll go with advanced," she answered. "But I still don''t know anything about monthly costs and which studies I want to focus on. I''m new here."
"I understand," she comforted. After clicking on a few more items Jane couldn''t see from her angle, the lady turned to Jane for a swift reply. "I can see here that you''ve recently graduated from basic. Standard fees for level three training run at three hundred fifty credits per day of enrollment. So that would tally to around seventy-seven hundred credits sharp every month. You can either concede to payment methods by weekly amounts, monthly charges, or annual charges."
"Oh." Jane''s excited expression died right in front of her. Doing the math by month, Jane did not realize before now that it was so expensive here. She could only afford this school for maybe half a month, and only keep it going with a stable job. She couldn''t just fight people for money every day. What if she loses? Or what if... No, it''s not worth it! "Um... Is there any cheaper option?"
The lady nodded side to side. "I''m sorry. That''s our specialty this year, and unless you''ve got a good payment method, enrollment to this facility isn''t cheap. You want to wait until later? Next graduation generally happens around this February, so it''s better timing at that point anyway."
Jane could feel her face burning red. She usually gets like this when people turn her down this way. "That''s okay. I''ll come back later." Jane waited for the lady to give her back the license card, and walked out of the building through the front entrance in defeat. Again, another plan that isn''t even a full option shot down just like that. Jane couldn''t possibly hope to accumulate those kinds of credits in such a short amount of time. The kids here must have rich and able parents to support their dreams. Jane could only get a onetime three thousand credit boost just to start her journey, and for Dakota''s training academy, it was ten credits a day only. What a rip-off!
Jane gave herself a long sigh of breath. All she could possibly do now was give up and wait for her friends to come and find her. It could even be a long wait, and after they arrive, there won''t be anything to do. Maybe she could still find some people in this city to battle against. If they''re anything as rude as the typical city person, it might just make such fights satisfying enough to destroy opponents that way, but what was the point anymore?
Jane remembered the last fight she took part in against Patrissa. True it is that Patrissa was defiantly skilled, even crafty in battle, but Jane still lost in her eyes. The very moment her battle armor was destroyed at last, it was as if her survival skills deteriorated entirely. This was defiantly a curse to her endurance. No matter how she battles now, she''ll never be able to survive a few simple Leray attacks despite all of her new Leray skills. Heading straight for an unknown land of darkness and death might be a bad idea after all, but Jane was at least hoping that people in this school might have a few suggestions for that. Apparently it''s just another waste of effort.
"Kill Wave!"
Jane just heard someone shout the name of a Leray ability, or at least that''s what it sounded like. The voice was faded though, like he was a great distance away. She looked around for who might have said that. Watching a Leray battle might just cheer her up a little, but Jane didn''t see anybody shooting off powerful spells nearby. Then just now, she heard another voice, a chant of a name she couldn''t even make out, but the direction was behind her.
Jane turned around, realizing that the noise was coming from outside of the school, somewhere on the other side. Curious to figure it out, Jane began pacing around to the side of the building, searching for any hint of people or stray Leray magic. It would be a bit harder to see the magic itself in broad daylight, but then again - people are more visible that way too.
Jane could hear more people talking as she continued down the path. Eventually she ended up in that place she saw earlier, the outdoor training field set up just for the students here. Harris referred to this spot as the Lennith Stone, but Jane never put that together so far, and then an entire class of teenagers and a couple of adults came into view. Jane was immediately amazed. She had never seen this before, an entire class of people training themselves with Leray magic outdoors as one large team. There was a total amount of unity involved. Jane and the other students from the facility in her home town didn''t train like this at all, hardly did anyone work together, but still, there was never a designated training ground for them there either.
There were a lot of people in the field today. They appeared to be all wearing formal dress clothes, advanced versions of dress spheres. Yet without the use of a single Siriean dome, they practiced all sorts of random abilities, aiming at the ground or the sky. It wasn''t a battle happening here outside, it was a training exercise for one of the classes.
Chapter Theme Shift: Fly By Contact ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
Jane just stood there, curiously watching everyone do their own thing. It reminded her a lot about home and the better days before her. The people here were all about her own age, except for their teacher, who was wearing a very nice piece of dress sphere and standing watch over her students. Whoever the teacher was though managed to suddenly notice Jane''s presence. Jane tensed nervously! Does this count as trespassing for these people? Why does this have to happen now?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The teacher was facing Jane from the distance, waving her arm and pulling it back in. She was signaling Jane, telling her to come over there. Jane knew she had already been spotted, but she wasn''t in the mood for apologies right now. Despite this, Jane decided to at least indulge her curiosity and head towards the teacher. The second she began closing in, all of the other students became distracted, turning to see Jane for their first time. Everybody here was curious too it seemed.
"Are you lost?" the teacher asked.
Jane reached normal speaking range, but replied swiftly at the allegation. "No I''m not lost! I was just... Admiring a class I can''t get into." Jane''s voice lowered at the end of her sentence. She was noticeably getting depressed now too. Looking back at the random instructor, Jane noticed that the blond hair woman was in her mid-thirties. She didn''t seem upset or angry though. It was kind of a weird track for this city.
"Name''s Claudia. What happened? You have a problem with enrollment?" she asked.
Jane was immediately impressed by Claudia''s calm tone. She didn''t seem aggravating or upset at all. For some reason, people in Junon act much grumpier than those coming from Gulop. That''s the pattern Jane drew up anyway. Maybe they need to build a beach here too for everyone to¡ª
"Hello?"
"Ah¡ª" Jane forgot her manners, getting lost in her thoughts before introducing herself to the teacher. "Sorry. My name''s Jane. And yes, I wanted to see if I could try and get stronger here, but I can''t possibly afford the plan."
"That''s too bad," she sympathized. "What level are you anyway? New here?"
Jane nodded, "Yep. I only have basic so far, but I want to sign up for Advanced."
"Really now?" Claudia did seem slightly surprised by Jane''s answer. "My class right here are of advanced training students. It''s too bad you couldn''t join us."
"Are you really the only teacher who does advanced?" Jane had to be sure. Lennith was so different from Fronas, even by the academy standards.
"Of course not," she denied with a soft laugh. Claudia addressed Jane''s answer with her alluring light-empty blue eyes. "You could have been placed in several other classes, but it all depends on what nature you want as well. You can choose to become a Leray wielder or a Leray agent. You can also choose other interests to dwell in, like learning about Leray history as a side session, or picking something else like Archeology or Crystalosis..."
"Yeah, I know." Jane didn''t need it rubbed into her face. Lennith academy is defiantly much more advanced if it offers side sessions, and on top of that, Lennith academy even specializes by career too. Side sessions are like extra add-ons to Leray training, add-ons that act as a normal class would. Side sessions train people in studies that can be used in a career that is related to the studies or handling of Leray magic, without the actual weight and worry of Leray battles. "Wait, which one are you?"
Claudia took her time to answer, staring at Jane and checking her out first. "History and Crystalosis, but I only teach Crystalosis to level five students. Where are you from?"
"Well..." Jane suddenly realized that there was a lot about her to explain. She wasn''t even supposed to be in this region yet, all things considered. There was also a lot she wanted to know about this mysterious Alpha Zero, the Den of Purity, and her Leray curse, but maybe she should wait before telling others that. "I''m from Fronas town. It''s in the Gulop region."
"Ah, Fronas town." Coming from such a small village, the thought filled her with solace trying to imagine settling down there.
"You know it?"
Claudia sounded like the name was familiar to her, and she responded to Jane''s small talk while her students continued working. "I know of it. Never been there though. I only got to visit one place in that region, and that was a long time ago."
"I see." Jane didn''t see this going anywhere. Claudia must simply be bored, and pulled Jane over here for the primary purpose of chatter. It wasn''t likely that she knew anything about the Alpha Zero, but what Jane needed even more was information about how to bypass that zone. If it is illegal just for her to enter, progress might be impossible.
Jane must be new to Junon itself. It can be easy to tell. She seems so relaxed too. "There''s something I don''t get."
Jane raised her eye brows. "What is it?"
Claudia folded her arms over her chest, just to show how confused she was about something. "You said you graduated with basic, right? And then you came from Fronas? Did you graduate in this region?"
"No. Not really." As Jane answered Claudia, she suddenly realized that the sunlight had turned into shade in just a few seconds. She quickly glanced up, noticing a large sheet of white puffy clouds. The sky was totally vacant earlier, but at least it didn''t look like a threatening storm was brewing right now. "I trained in Dakota."
"Then wouldn''t you have to have crossed Route 96?"
Jane didn''t understand what was so strange about this. Claudia couldn''t really actually know that Jane was chased off the beach from some crazy Leray attacker, or that her boat got lost at sea only to be luckily drifted to Monoc Port. "What are you getting at?"
"Not sure," Claudia exhaled. "I just didn''t think that people with basic training could easily cross Route 96. Usually people only with level three or higher walk around that place." Level three training refers to Advanced Level One, since it is the third grade position from having no training. "You must have lost a lot of credits, huh?"
In truth, Jane won all of her battles there, well most of them anyway, but maybe that was suspicious for a person like her. Could it really be though? Her curse should have made it more challenging to battle, not easier. All Jane did was buy a solid metal suit of armor and learned more abilities overnight to cross the route. All in all, that armor didn''t allow her to fight well; more did it simply give her balance against the curse and against what training she could stand to gain right now. It seemed like Claudia was a bit surprised at Jane crossing the road at her level, but then again, it''s not like that would be illegal either. What did she really have to hide anyway? "Not really." Jane didn''t want to sound excited about her wins. They meant nothing in the end if she couldn''t get to her own destination. "I guess I took a few hits there, but nothing I couldn''t handle."
So then, it was graduate, train for a long time, then cross Route 96. A wielder of her age still shows some promise. "Well it''s good that things are going your way then. Hearing about other people''s success stories is something I like to do. What good of a teacher could anyone be if they couldn''t measure anything?"
Jane understood Claudia''s point, but she was stretching it a bit by describing Jane''s story as a success. Jane instead held her tongue, unwilling to provide any different description.
"So? How long have you been a wielder Jane?"
"I don''t know. A few weeks?"
"A few weeks?" What is Jane saying? Claudia felt as though Jane was mistaken. "And you said you handled most of your recent battles well?"
"Uh, yeah. It wasn''t as tough as I feared, but it also wasn''t easy to make it through that road." What is this? Is Claudia just delusional, or pathetically bored? Why does this even matter?
"Now you''re just making things up, aren''t you?"
Jane couldn''t believe this! Was it really that hard to believe that she had won several battles in a row? With her suit of armor, her curse was temporarily negated, so that means she fought like any other normal person would have. Having the armor with damage eater would have given a normal person the advantage, but in Jane''s case, her stats would have evened out. Therefore, she technically won most of her battles by skill or luck alone, even if she nearly lost a few times. "How is that hard to believe?"
She''s more impressive than she thought. "Wait a minute," Claudia judged. "You said your name was Jane?" She waited for Jane to nod, but the girl seemed a bit confused. "It can''t be! You''re not the one who encountered Patrissa''s gang last night, were you?"
Jane winced, but she couldn''t answer. Claudia sounded rather excited suddenly, as if Jane might have pulled off a miracle. If she answers yes, it might make her more popular than she wanted to be. Either way, how did that information leave the hospital? Aren''t there codes of protocol, like patient confidentiality?! Doctors couldn''t have violated that kind of rule, so it must have been that stupid agent! When did Claudia get a chance to chat with them? This isn''t fair! "That''s not important right now¡ª"
"Not important?! That bitch has been stealing from people for years!" Claudia was not embarrassed at all to be swearing in her language. It didn''t seem likely from the looks of her, but this has to be the Jane they were talking about after all. The girl that agent spoke of, this could be the same Jane. Who knew she would be so young too? "Even I couldn''t subdue those losers when I bumped into them one time, yet you alone knocked her entire squad out."
"How did you even find out about that? Isn''t my medical information supposed to be confidential?" Jane already confirmed to herself that there was the potential loophole, but in saying it out loud, it might make Claudia shut up before causing a scene.
Claudia slightly shut her eyes and shifted to her side. "What happened last night wasn''t exactly water under a bridge you know. A lot of people are talking about it, how some unknown Leray traveler managed to wipe out Patrissa and her helpers in battle, while also knocking themself out. I never thought that person was you though."
"Word certainly travels fast around here." Jane sounded cynical. She didn''t deserve the credit. All she did was protect herself from having her future taken away from her. Patrissa was being horrible alright, but she simply made her threat against Jane. "That could have happened with anybody."
Claudia felt slightly guilty for making Jane stand out, though there weren''t any people around sniffing for that information either. Does she really hate positive attention this much? "Doubtful."
Jane could now see what was going on with the instructor. She was smiling, trying to hide it a bit from her, but Claudia was smiling. Did she really get this excited about someone taking down three people at once? Or was Patrissa really that evil? Jane accidentally imagined Patrissa''s face imitating that of a witch with snakes for hair, and had to hold back a random laugh with the air in her cheeks.
Claudia explained to Jane the reason for her praise. "It''s how Patrissa operates anyway. She battles people officially to seem like a normal wielder. Then knocks them out to steal their stuff. She bypasses the strike restriction by cycling the licenses of her helpers as they hide, and if she''s on the brink of losing, Patrissa will forfeit, then gang up on her target, only to steal their stuff as usual. I nearly subdued her once, but she and her gang ran off using teleport crystals before I could learn more. I have to ask, how did you wind up taking her out like that? Did you see through her disguise?"
"This is ridiculous," Jane sounded. "All anybody had to do was use Redemption. I took all of them out with that one spell."
"Redemption..." At first it seemed like Claudia was new to the name of the special ability, and then she replied, "I understand it''s a powerful spell, reckless too. Yet entirely effective even against multiple targets. I can''t believe nobody ever thought to try that out when hunting that gang... And you managed to learn a powerful ability like that in basic training? Now I''m really impressed." What is going on with Dakota these days? They must be forging new training sessions to spit out students this powerful.
"No," Jane corrected. It''s not impressive! "I didn''t learn that in basic. I knew Route 96 was going to be crawling with other challengers, so I trained myself to use more abilities. I figured it was time for an upgrade anyway."
At first, Jane''s lack of self-praise seemed annoying to her, but Claudia soon felt that the usual knack of arrogance was totally absent in this girl, where it existed with most other Leray wielders starting out. "I can at least say it''s interesting," Claudia admitted. "Most first year graduates I know of don''t learn a collection of powerful spells at such a young age. Or did you graduate years ago?"
"I started my journey less than a week ago, and it''s not unusual for me. I train harder than anyone else does to master my skills." For a brief moment, Claudia was silent, processing the knowledge. "I have to be! I''m supposed to become a Leray master after all."
A Leray master? Jane learned all of the spells she learned in the time it took to learn basic training, plus only a week after graduation? Such talent is beyond advanced or gifted wielders, and wiping out Patrissa proves she is the real deal! "I get it now." Jane gave her a strange look, so Claudia explained what she understood about her. "People with big dreams like that try a lot harder. You must be very determined."
"That''s why I think training is so important. There''s never a moment where I could learn too much."
"I am in agreement," Claudia repeated. So Jane must have also been a top student there, a teacher''s best friend at that. Of all the personal tutoring Claudia has done for others in the past, this is an honor! From the corner of her eyes, Claudia could see that her students were slowing down. They were already getting tired after all of today''s work, but this was still too interesting. It''s not every day she gets to talk to someone who defeats a powerful criminal in one night. The wannabe hardcore Leray agent sure wasn''t of any helpful information. "How long did it take you to master Redemption?"
What is this, a fan club? Jane was getting angry by how much time this was wasting, but she was quickly reminded about the fact that she is still stuck after all. What more could she do anyway? Can''t waste time if she can''t use it in the first place. "I learned it in one night. Last night actually."
"Oh, horse manure! Don''t shave the estimate down so far!"
"What do you mean horse manure?" Jane retorted. "I learned what I learned when I needed it. I had to! I was in a hurry to get here after all, so I chose a list of random abilities and spells and learned them as best as I could. It took me all night." What is it with these people doubting her own hard work? Is her age really that impressive for those skills? Jane recalled not too long ago a bratty girl on the beach using Mega-Flare, and a ten year old boy living in a slump on Route 96 who was capable of invoking various spells even she didn''t know about! "I did spend eight hours training without much of a break, so it''s not impossible to believe."
"Maybe," she stuttered. "But you said other spells were on the list?"
"Yeah," Jane elaborated. "Drilling Fate, Meteor Strike, Triple Fire, Moon Shadow... I had to learn a lot of new skills, because the ones I learned in Dakota just weren''t good enough."
"And you said you mastered all of those abilities in just eight hours, without any previous training whatsoever?" What is with this girl? Something else must be going on here.
"What the fu¡ª? What has gotten into you?! Is learning a few abilities really that hard to believe? I don''t look that weak, do I?" Jane raised her voice at her. It was getting old fast. "It''s not surprising that I learn slightly faster than other people... Well," Jane quickly reset her tone, realizing that not every single one of her powers was learned that quickly. "Spells like Triple Fire was one I was working on for weeks before then, and there are still some spells that I didn''t get to invoke yet. But still, it''s normal for a person to learn so many skills if you train hard."
"No-ho it isn''t," Claudia argued. "I could understand if maybe they were beginner spells after graduation, but you''re listing a lot of abilities that only advanced level or higher get to learn. Jane, it isn''t normal for a person to master that many high level abilities in just one day, and then walk a nine-mile road winning battles with those abilities in the same night."
"Whatever." Jane was done with this stupid talk. It''s going nowhere for no reason. All Claudia was going to do is try and get Jane to be impressed with herself? She didn''t even do anything. "All I''ve done was in vain anyway. I can''t even go anywhere now because my skills aren''t high enough. So I don''t think this massive amount of praise for me is well-founded." Jane crossed her arms and turned her back on Claudia. It''s not like she had anything else to say at this point.
"I''ve never met anyone like you." Jane was still ignoring Claudia. She thought it was strange for someone to frown upon such rare and amazing accomplishments, but there was more to this than Jane might realize. "You can somehow master Leray magical abilities in one-tenth the time it takes an ordinary person to. Not only that, but you seem to be determined to become a Leray master as well."
"Yes, very impressive. Whatever," her sarcastic tone endured.
Jane, just what is your motivation, your drive? What is it that pushes you so far so fast? If everything she said is true, then elite facilities like the ones in Eldora would hire enrollment agents just to coax her in on discount! "It''s possible you''ve got some kind of natural talent for quick learning, and a ton of potential to do great things with that gift. All you need is the right instructor to bring that out of you."
Jane finally turned around. She didn''t raise her voice, trying not to make a scene in front of her whole class, though all of that bickering already has - to a small degree. "Yeah, well this school thinks it''s too good for my kind of money. I''m not paying six years into debt just so that I can learn a few abilities with no guarantee that it will help me."
Money is always a barrier to learning these days, but Jane has so much potential in her. She can probably run circles around Claudia''s current students right now, and all Jane wants to do is learn more... "So come with me instead."
A short pause endured. "What?" What was Claudia asking her to do now?
"Look kid. You''ve got a lot of talent, even if you disagree, and I like teaching people who are both good with Leray magic and love to learn it at the same time. People like that are rare, which is why I don''t normally make such exceptions for others. Even when you told me you dealt with Patrissa, I wasn''t sure. I don''t think you would lie about something like that, especially since the skill you referenced would really have been the only skill I could imagine wiping out several people at once; it all fits."
"What are you saying?" Jane relaxed her muscles. It seemed like Claudia was offering her some kind of deal. Is there a secret ten percent off coupon?
"I want you to become one of my students. Officially, you won''t be able to register with the school itself, and that means you can''t receive the title and honors of level three graduation under your name. Normally, I do private tutoring similar to this for certain students already enrolled, but I don''t have all that much time on my hands to also add more after school hours... I can defiantly train you to use level three magic, and without it costing you a single credit, but it''s all going to happen under the table too, see?"
Jane opened her mouth to respond, but the offer was so unexpected that she couldn''t say anything. Teachers can do that? Train others under their wing without getting paid or fired? What kind of person does Claudia think she is anyhow? Jane could literally just waltz off and tell on her for this, putting an immediate end to her career. Does Claudia really have that much faith in teaching Jane something? In any case, she is defiantly obsessed with Jane''s natural talent for Leray magic, even without seeing any physical demonstrations.
It isn''t all that right to smuggle free students into classrooms, but Lennith training academy used to charge less than half the price it does now. Money must not become the end of the line for someone like Jane, someone who has the potential to do so much good in the world. It''s defiantly a big risk just to think about bringing Jane into a facility where she isn''t registered, but even so, there are ways of legitimizing some of the process. That only costs time itself. "You don''t have to answer right now. But I''m also not supposed to be allowed to do this, so I''ll have to have you sworn to secrecy."
"Okay hold on a minute." Jane needed to straighten a few things out first. She glanced around, keeping her voice low so that nobody but Claudia could hear the next thing. "You want to break school violation, not get paid anything extra, and still illegally train me under your instruction and observation? I don''t understand what you get out of taking a big risk like this."
"Was I not clear in my earlier explanation?" Claudia kept her voice down too. She knew that someone in her own class has defiantly heard too much, but her students already respected her in very deep ways. "It''s not every day I get to find someone with such excellent learning talent as yourself. It''s highly possible that you can reach graduation standards much earlier than my current students can, and they''ve already been here for seventy percent of the course. You seem to want a lot of training on top of your experience, and I happen to want to train someone like you how to properly harness your own gifts and abilities."
"But¡ª"
Claudia didn''t even let Jane interrupt yet. "We can talk about semantics later. Since our session is nearly over today, you''ll have to decide tomorrow morning at eight A.M. If you are interested in joining up with my class, I''ll personally train you with no cost to your own credits. Rat me out, and I''ll have you ejected from the city in shame. I''m not as vulnerable in this as you might think. However, you are just as free to refuse my offer too."
Jane couldn''t believe that Claudia was making this kind of exception for her. Jane didn''t know that learning skills so quickly was even a natural talent. To her, it wasn''t worth anything... In just another moment, Jane''s eyes lit up with a sudden brain blast. If Claudia really does have something special she can teach Jane, perhaps something that can naturally negate the effects of her curse, or at least the means of getting to the Den of Purity unscathed... Jane would be an idiot to pass up an opportunity like this! Her interests renewed, Jane faced Claudia directly, plotting out how it should go down. "How would I get past the front desk though?"
Claudia nodded in disagreement. "You won''t be using the front desk for the total time you''re in my group. See that door behind me?" Jane glanced behind her to check and see the visible door for herself, blending in somewhat to the color of the exterior structure. "Our class uses this exit to come out here and train. You''ll have to use it to enter the school from here on. Make sure to look for room number 1607 if you''re going to the classroom. We''ll be in there for the most part tomorrow."
"But what if someone asks for registration anyway, like in the hallway?"
"Look," Claudia reassured. "I''ll take care of the little things and make it seem to anyone else that you''re registered in my class. The only way anyone will get suspicious about it is if you forget to use this door instead of the front desk. And of course, don''t let anyone see you enter from it in the mornings."
"Room 1607?" Jane watched the teacher nod with a hopeful expression. She was beginning to wonder what the heck was happening. The chance to actually enter the advanced school for an advanced class was nearly impossible for her, yet this teacher she doesn''t even know is vouching for her this far? Where are Danny and Taylor at times like these? One of them would know whether it was a good idea or a bad idea. Jane didn''t have to decide yet, not until tomorrow.
"Go ahead and return to your duties tonight. I''ll be waiting for your answer." Claudia stood up tall, turning towards the field. She cuffed her open hands over her mouth, amplifying her voice slightly. "That''s good enough everyone. Let''s head back and get everything packed up." After a routine call like that, her students reacted quickly, all lining up towards the door and heading on in without her. Claudia was going with them, but she shot glances back at Jane.
Even though she was speechless for several moments, Jane didn''t know what to do now. The teacher and her class all went inside the building, the door shutting behind them. Could Jane really do this? Training to become at a more advanced level... Even if that did work to make her more immune to the Alpha Zero which is said to have become deadly and dangerous, would that really be enough? One could still graduate with the highest rank possible and still be considered a Leray wielder. She wouldn''t be allowed past the North gate no matter what. In other words, that soldier isn''t going to change his mind no matter what.
Jane turned around, walking back to the plaza where she saw a nice inn earlier. She kept to her thoughts right now, not that there was anybody to talk to anyway. If I can learn a teleportation symbol there, maybe I can get past the guard, perhaps even teleport straight into the Den of Purity without all the danger. But even that was a stretch. Claudia might be willing to break rules just for Jane right now all in order to train her, but she wouldn''t break national laws just for Jane''s personal needs, right? What about Jane''s friends? How long will it be of a wait until they reach Lennith City?
Jane refused the very thought of heading back to search for them. If it weren''t for this stupid curse, she wouldn''t mind traveling on Route 96 three times a day just for fun, but this was getting serious now. Turning down an offer for free school isn''t normally her own thing. Maybe Claudia could tell her more about the Alpha Zero though, maybe.
For now, Jane needed to stick to the important things for today, like booking that hotel room at a low price, and of course finding something to eat for lunch and dinner. Plus she needed a shower, Jane and her outfit both.
Chapter 22: The Truth About Dark Magic
<01/20/1972 ¨C 08:00 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane slipped awake into the next morning in the bed of her hotel room. Just a single night here cost 120 credits, which didn''t include any additional services. After eating breakfast through her remaining MREs, Jane got herself dressed in an alternate dress sphere she saved for the occasion. It took several minutes to fix her hair, but at least she managed to wash up well last night despite her enduring exhaustion. Jane thought about cutting her hair shorter, making it look nicer, but today wasn''t going to be that day.
To follow up exactly as Claudia said yesterday, Jane carefully and casually made her way towards the Lennith Training Facility in the northwest section of Lennith City. There were different divided up sectors of the place for everything, and Lennith''s facility had its own specified sector that officially belonged to the government. Jane had to make her way to the back of the building this time, without being spotted by any sort of school guard or curious Leray agent. People don''t normally patrol the perimeter of the school anyway, but the fact that Jane was entering illegally gave her something to feel nervous about. Being overly cautious couldn''t hurt this time.
The training section on the outside of the facility was large and spacious, the floor brightened cement instead of grass. There was a large stone square with arches and half-circles drawn on the shaven ground below her. The lines were drawn using white paint, and Jane quickly got the idea that this boxed section was some sort of arena area they use to train against other people outdoors here. It was an exciting thought for sure; first year students don''t actually get the chance to have a Leray battle against any other people, but above the level of basic, wielders get to fight others all the time. It should be legal after receiving first year''s basic training to use stray magic, if it is to spar with other students for the purpose of intense training exercises.
Jane tried not to get distracted. She came up to that metal door Claudia showed her before. This was defiantly the same place. The door wasn''t automatic, though neither was the front of the building, and it didn''t appear as if any sort of security system was installed into its unit. There is just a handle as a nob, carrying an engraving that resembled a basic lock.
Jane took a deep breath and pushed down on the lever. The door then slid backwards after another soft pull. Claudia did say she would leave the door unlocked, but Jane wasn''t so sure if she cloud be trusted just yet. Without having anyone around her, Jane felt tenser by how easy this was so far.
After walking inside and shutting the door behind her, Jane was suddenly subject to see the inner workings of the building. Somehow, this looked like any other ordinary school. Jane was still in the hallway section, lit with fluorescent white lights and formed in the usual long rectangle with doors on each side. Jane needed to stop and look around more. One of the rooms has a specific number on it; 2202. It must be a system of rooms in hallways that is numbered by numerical sections, dropping down in value the closer to the front of the building one gets. Despite how normal and unattractive the side split hallway was, the building itself was deceptively huge. They also kept everything a lot cleaner here. The floor glossed without any moisture, not a single dust bunny to be sighted.
As Jane continued walking towards the end of this hallway and onto the main hall, she kept reading each room number to herself and doing her best to remain quiet. Practically nobody was around right now, but the lights in most of the rooms were on. Claudia didn''t give her that much instruction on what to do after entering the school, but if she could find her specific classroom, all should go well. If anyone finds her right now though, it could be a big problem. Jane could occasionally pick up on a few voices muffled behind the walls. Those voices still projected, indicating they belonged to teachers lecturing their classes; there were so many though. So many different subjects can belong to the studies of Leray magic instead of just the primary use of magic itself, and this facility seems to have it all.
The room number she needed to get to, Jane remembered what that was from her conversation earlier. If this all works out, Jane''s new room number will be 1607, and Claudia will become her new teacher. Of course that''s to assume this isn''t some kind of cruel joke. Jane couldn''t shake the feeling that this was some kind of setup; that Claudia had been lying to her earlier. It was the excuse that made no sense though. What would be the point in a prank? Claudia would be willing to risk her own career, add a student to the roster for free, and personally train that student, all because of what? Because I can use Redemption? Because I passed Route 96 like everybody else would have? Or because I got caught in an incident with Patrissa? None of those all mixed together or apart should be enough reason to personally train someone. Jane would never do the same if she were in that position. It''s no big deal to do what she did earlier, and it all ended in failure anyway.
She didn''t want to think anymore. In everything she tried not to screw up, Jane only made things worse. Now she was separated from her two only friends, she stole from a man''s license and can''t pay it back, and the Den of Purity is now blocked by some invisible or crazy field, or something... What the hell was that Harris guy talking about anyway? Even the General Army soldier failed to give her a full explanation of what was really happening in the Outback. If Jane was going to have any chance at this now, she needed to both be stronger and find some way to sneak into the Outback. Or, it might be better to just give up and wait here for Danny and Taylor to show themselves.
Room 1607. Jane''s chain of thought was interrupted by finally arriving at the classroom number. She could hear more lecturing voices inside, so there was defiantly an ongoing class there. But what if this isn''t Claudia''s classroom? What if she was lying this whole time? If someone suddenly finds out that Jane is here against school policy, it might land her in a fine of debt, and for such a highly secure front entrance, it was wildly suspicious that a simple side door with no electronic functions was seeded right into one of the side hallways of the facility. She had to go through with it now; Jane already came this far.
Jane twisted the golden nob on the door, opening herself to the classroom. As she did, everybody suddenly stopped talking and diverted their eyes her way. The students, every one of them turned around in their seats to find out who was walking in, but their curiosity was a response to that of their teacher doing the same. Jane didn''t recognize anybody, except for their designated instructor in charge. It was Claudia, wearing such an elegant and beautiful dress sphere too.
Jane''s attention was scattered towards the background of the classroom. It seemed so different than the one at her old school. The setup had arrays of desks on a nice carpet floor, but the incline of the ground ascended upwards slightly towards the back of the room, carrying three times the normal volumetric area of any classroom to her memory. At the end of the room was a gigantic gray board and a projector above it, displaying notes from files uplinked from a computer. There was some kind of small podium at the top of the incline, almost built as if the teacher was standing on a stage. Jane had never seen one before, but the setup was a lot like that of a college classroom.
Claudia casually reported on her behalf, defusing the situation quickly. "Why Jane? You appear to be several minutes tardy."
Jane didn''t realize that she was late today. She wasn''t even supposed to be here at all! Everyone except for Claudia seemed to be holding confused expressions on their faces. This was to be expected too; Jane was a total stranger to everyone here, as they were to her as well. The thought of her latency returned to her. Jane realized that the class today began at eight A.M., but Jane was here at eight fifteen. Did Claudia not realize this was her first time in the building? Or was she just asking that to act casual? "Uh, sorry miss Claudia."
Claudia nodded at Jane while standing at the front of the room. For the size of the place and how far apart the desks were to the podium, Claudia''s voice somehow projected well, more than it should have. Either the design here was great for speeches, or she was just wielding a hidden microphone.
"Please. Call me Claudi."
"Claudi?" Jane thought it was a bit strange for a teacher use nicknames, but she ignored it and took her seat. There was an empty desk and chair close to the front of the room. Several other students surrounded her, all judging Jane by everything. Her clothes, her hair, her looks, age, etcetera, but the fact that Jane was here illegally was what made her more nervous than anything. This is what Claudia meant? To just show up to class as if Jane were an ordinary student at Lennith Academy? What about the paperwork? What about license verification standards and graduation protocols? Jane wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs, to demand answers from her teacher right now! Why did Claudia want to personally teach Jane for free? What does Claudia get out of this?!
Claudia stood straight at the upper level of the floor, only about a two foot difference in height above everyone else. The projector was active, displaying slides on the grey board behind her, but Claudia needed to make sure everyone was on the same page. "Everyone, we have a new student joining us today. I don''t believe we will have to worry about recovering anything or going over old information. So I trust you''ll all make her feel welcome in Lennith''s tier three level."
"Oh yeah? What''s your name?" One of the younger girls turned her seat, asking Jane directly. She was sitting just left of her, so it was easy to hear her voice and see her face.
Jane checked out the person asking first. She was about the same age as Jane, but with shorter, darker hair. Jane had pitch black hair, so it was impossible to see it darker in someone else, but Jane had no choice but to accept that small detail of reality. And that dress sphere... Everybody''s dress sphere was different, but all of them were very fashionable, including that of Jane''s. There was a clear difference in quality, allowing Jane to potentially name the price tag on every dress or item of clothing. Jane''s outfit probably seemed to be of the lowest value despite her looking good in the casual outfit, though it made her realize the downsides of not having designated school uniforms. "I''m Jane Venn." There wasn''t any point in hiding that from others. Nobody in this entire town knew who she was. Claudia may have been the only exception, but she isn''t a normal person either.
The girl slightly bobbed her head forward in agreement. "I''m Alyssa." She chose to keep wearing the small glasses on her face, Alyssa using them to see properly and clearly. Alyssa then held out her hand in front of the new student.
Jane was a little confused. Alyssa wanted a handshake? Why was she being so friendly towards her? Jane shook her hand quick, trying not to seem surprised. At the same time, she realized that at Dakota academy, everybody knew her well, and they knew how hard she trained every day, but here, she was just another ordinary girl in a level three class. It made a little more sense now, but being the mysterious transfer student washed her thoughts between the sense of belonging and the desire not to.
While it seemed like Alyssa wanted to ask Jane more questions, the continuation of the class brought on by Claudia''s lecture postponed her plans. "Our lesson today does review a little bit about dark magic, but we''re going to be adding equation conversions this time."
This was getting interesting fast. Did Claudia take that to mean she was teaching dark magic? No, she couldn''t be that insane. Jane still had to ask, and raised her hand to try and remain formal. "Uh, dark magic?"
Jane''s question sounded more like she had never heard of the term before, and everybody around her began sighing in stress. Claudia picked up on this quickly, and tried to decide how to explain this without wasting too much time. "Dark magic is a different type of magic than Leray magic. It differs in the sense that it is an illegal¡ª"
Jane interrupted Claudi mid-sentence, "I know what it is. I don''t understand what context we''re talking about though."
Did nobody pass Jane any notes on the class? "It''s more like defense against dark magic," Alyssa filled in.
Jane turned her head in surprise. "Is that even possible?"
Claudia cleared her throat. She knew she would have to re-explain things after all. "What do you know of dark magic, Jane?"
"Just what everyone tells me."
Claudia exhaled. It wasn''t the answer she was looking for. Come to think of it, Jane didn''t really answer at all. "We all know about the history of Leray magic, including where it comes from originally, and what makes up the Leray veil of protection."
"Right?" Jane leaned.
Claudia continued, "But dark magic is different. It derives its energy from the same source Leray magic does, but operates on a negative waveform coefficient. That means, dark magic has the ability to inflict harm on other people while bypassing the effects of the veil at the same time. In other words, it is common knowledge that those who are knocked out against powers only using dark magic are actually killed instead of kayoed. It is forbidden magic because it completely ignores that which protects people from death in these lands, the only magic capable of causing real time damage."
Jane already knew most of this, but she didn''t want to interrupt. It''s true what they say. Dark magic is that which can kill any living person on contact, and there are multiple ways to get killed from it. Jane used to think it was magic that can be used outside of the continent, but that''s not how it works. Sprawn Valley is the only one place in the world that is protected by the Leray veil of protection, but that protection comes with additional perks; the ability to invoke Leray magic. However, the people here can somehow adapt that magic and convert it into what is known as dark magic. Dark magic cannot exist without Leray magic, thus without the presence of the protection veil. That''s why it''s almost ironic that it can completely ignore the properties of the veil and kill people with its magical damaging capabilities. However, neither Leray magic, dark magic, nor pure magic can be used outside of the Leray veil of protection, more specifically, outside of Sprawn Valley.
"There are a lot more ways than one in which dark magic can kill you. Even if you''re hit with just one stray attack from dark magic and sustain little real time damage, passing out from successive Leray attacks after the fact can still end your life. It all depends on how it happens. That''s why loonies with that knowledge are dangerous, just as much as dark magic infusion is."
Jane raised her hand again. "I got to ask, what is dark magic infusion? I''ve heard of it before, but..."
None of the students currently had objections to Jane''s barrage of common questions, but Claudia knew the reason for that was the review it was giving everyone. Students are tested on this after all, and these are the specific side lessons this group learns. "Dark magic infusion is a different process, perhaps more deadly and dangerous than normal magic powers. Infusion is the process of imbuing dark magical energy into a specific area, an area that affects the land that is imbued by its powers. When land becomes imbued by dark magic, it creates a negation zone, which is a zone that contains, spits out, and harbors dark energy in the ground and air around that area. The best common example of this would be that Alpha Zero in our backyard."
Alpha Zero? Jane heard of that before; it''s what they now call the Outback. How did Claudia know about that though? Jane didn''t actually mention that term to her yesterday. "Alpha Zero? You mean the Outback?"
Alyssa and others glanced at Jane with annoyed expressions. Jane did just join the class, but on what qualifications was she accepted here so late? Did Claudia have something to do with her being here?
"You mean you haven''t heard?" Claudia dispensed. "That''s all the Outback is now. It''s just a large portion of land that has been imbued with dark magical energy. That''s why it''s too dangerous to get near it right now, and why all of the wildlife there has perished."
"Perished?!" Jane didn''t mean to outburst so intensely, but that couldn''t be real. The Outback is supposed to be a vast array of wild lands, only thin forests with limitless grass lands and a few ponds inside. The wildlife there is incredibly abundant. Wait, is that what people meant by dark zone? Somebody imbued dark magic into the entire area of the Outback? Who the hell would do something like that? Jane couldn''t process her last outburst, too surprised by the sudden realization. She knew she was just scratching the same itch earlier, but Claudia really did know more than the rest of the idiots walking around town!
"It means they''re gone," Alyssa translated. "The Outback, I mean Alpha Zero is nothing more than a dead desolate field of dirt and shriveled brown twigs." Didn''t anyone tell Jane these things? She can''t have come from Lennith City or anything surrounding it to be this clueless.
"And the Alpha Zero," Claudia informed, "is just what our military has decided to call it. The unofficial name today is just the dark zone."
"The dark zone? It''s the same as Alpha Zero?" Jane repeated. How does everyone here know this if they aren''t allowed to get anywhere near the place?
"Alpha Zero is called such because the dark zone there swallowed up most of the land north of this city. It''s nothing more now than the largest section of uncolonized land in Sprawn Valley that is just a large field embedded with dark magical energy. Because that energy has been there for over two months, the wildlife in the zone has not survived. Instead, the land has been replaced with death, bloodthirsty monsters that spawn frequently, and even monsters that shouldn''t exist. Weather locking properties there bring about dark waterless clouds of smoke in the sky that blocks the light from above. The sky there turns blood red, providing little light even in the day time. Nobody can go there because of the danger. The sudden appearance of monster attacks threatens anyone there. The monsters may not use dark magic to fight others, but so long as you are in a technically declared dark zone, simple Leray magic can still cause real time damage."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Jane stuttered. "This doesn''t make any sense! I''ve heard about what happened, but what the hell are you talking about? Where did all of this come from, how is that possible, and how do you even know about it?" Jane suddenly felt embarrassed by her question once everybody was now staring at her. It was like she was the alien in this conversation. How could she of all people not have heard about this? That''s the atmospheric vibe right now.
"Calm down," Claudia eased. "There is no shame in being misinformed. Should I explain everything again?"
Jane took a calming exhale and replied politely. "I just don''t understand what''s going on. All I remember is that the Outback is a wild land safe for travel, but I don''t understand all of that death and monster spawning nonsense."
"Okay Jane. It''s like this." Claudia stepped down from the elevated floor, allowing her voice to fill the room more easily. "Dark magic and dark infusion are not exactly the same thing in Sprawn Valley. The dark zone designated as Alpha Zero is special for a reason. Other than the unusual size in the zone itself, it is common knowledge here that any such dark zone is dangerous to everybody''s health. That danger comes from the fact that the zone itself, powered by the infusion of dark magic energy - negates all effects from the veil of Leray protection, and replaces that zone with an invisible aura known as dark energy. You could see this as a magical veil using dark magic as the format. Are you with me so far?"
Jane nodded, and Claudia took that to know when to keep talking. "Inside of that dark zone, people who use Leray magic still use Leray magic. This energy format is not converted into dark magic under any circumstances, but their properties in general are still affected. In a normal area in Sprawn Valley, a Leray attack will cause Leray damage, which is just a way of saying that such damages are limited by the veil itself. But dark magic is not restrained, which explains why it can negate those effects no matter where on the continent you are. Dark magic doesn''t just cause real time damage. It is also twice or three times more powerful than the force and power levels of Leray magic, which is the reason criminals and vigilantes prefer to use such violent warfare, but inside of a dark zone, everything changes."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Claudia gave herself a second to breath. "The Leray veil of protection still spans through the entire continent of Sprawn Valley, and for that purpose, magic still coexists inside of places that are even affected by the dark zone. However, the veil does not protect people from harm or death inside of those dark zones, which explains why dark magic and Leray magic can still be triggered within these zones. Though at the same time, Leray magic itself is reduced on a power scale while used in a dark zone. A Leray ability that is normally as effective as it should be is only half as effective inside of dark zones."
"I think I get it so far, but what about that one in the Outback?"
"Criminals sometimes use dark zones to try and change their odds of success, whether that is to escape, capture, or steal something important. But dark zones are usually no more than two or three hundred meters wide in radius, and never last for more than a day... Alpha Zero is special. This is the first time in history that a dark zone has ever become this massive by size and volume. That''s why this one affects the weather, and why dangerous monsters are spawning in and out of phase there. That''s also why people who jump in there don''t come out alive. The army put a stop to travel the moment they caught wind of it. If you are inside of a dark zone, and something knocks you out that isn''t just from Leray damage, you won''t wake back up to see another day. The monsters in that area probably use methods other than magic to kill people. Luckily, they cannot travel outside of their own dark zone, and neither can the desolation of wildlife. That alone may actually suggest the possibility that the creatures which used to exist in the Outback were transformed into such malicious beasts. But even so, we think that Alpha Zero might be growing bit by bit. All of this information has been traded to this school by the military scouting reports. It''s not exactly a secret around here."
"Hold on," Jane demanded. Everything sort of makes sense so far, except for two things. "If it''s so dangerous and special, than who is the one doing all of that? Wouldn''t the suspect be on the most wanted list, and isn''t it the job of the General Army to take care of national problems this big? Why aren''t they doing anything about it?"
"You don''t think they''ve already tried?" Jane remained silent after the rhetorical question, noticeably tensing in fear. Claudia already knew of the many death reports that happened there. "It''s still a level four instead of a level five danger zone, but that''s only because the zone isn''t growing at a rapid pace. The soldiers that have all been sent in there have not returned, except for one, I believe, and all he did was scout the area with a patrol he also lost."
Jane had this all figured out with vague structure at best. "So, the General Army can''t do anything about a problem this big?" This has to be the start of a practical prank. If an area so dangerous exists, and the General Army can''t fix it, wouldn''t that mean the end of the world? Nobody else seems panicked by this?
Alyssa thought about it all again silently. She learned about this a while ago, but never really gave the situation much thought, not from the potential perspective of the soldiers themselves. The person in charge of that operation must be freaked out about the whole situation. Still, Jane is such a novice. She doesn''t sound intelligent at all.
Claudia answered with an added perspective. "Imagine the trouble it must be. Scouts don''t return. Patrols and elite warriors don''t even come back alive, and that is because Alpha Zero is just another word for - one really massive dark zone. You die inside of there, and you don''t come back from that. You''re health probably doesn''t even need to drop down to zero percent in order to lose consciousness. No matter what, the damage you take in there is considered real time. If something cuts open your skin, you bleed and the wound remains unsealed. Rumor has it that being barraged with bullets is said not to kill you right away in Alpha Zero, but it would still hurt three times as bad compared to Leray spells performing similar tasks, while leaving open flesh wounds. Siriean domes don''t activate there, and the magic orbs have apparently restricted effectiveness in the field."
Jane never could have imagined such a difficult place, and she thought Route 96 was bad... It all makes sense now. It''s why people no longer call the Outback by its normal name anymore. It''s why those GA soldiers are blocking the north exit all the time, and even why the General Army has no current solutions to the problem. Nobody is strong enough or brave enough to challenge a guy or a monster who can use deadly magic. It would take another dark magical user to oppose such a powerful mage or beast. Still, how could someone be allowed to do this? "Am I to guess that the person responsible is inside of there? How is he even alive?"
"As you may or may not know, only one official structure exists inside of the Alph¡ª I mean the Outback."
Jane''s heart sunk, forcing a soft whisper out of her just before Claudia was going to finish that sentence. "Noooo."
"A place known as the Den of Purity. Officially, it was once the one and only place in the world to go in order to reverse permanent spells attached to people who no longer want them, but now it''s out of reach, no longer an option for wielders. Instead, it''s where that bastard is hiding."
"Who?"
"Professor Brightworth."
Alyssa chimed in to explain it to Jane. "That''s the man, I mean mage who is supposed to be the one who does spell inversions, but he''s now the one responsible for the creation of Alpha Zero. At least, he''s the primary suspect."
"In other words," Claudia elaborated, "Brightworth is the national criminal involved in the incident. He is on the most wanted list, and nothing can yet be done since he is hiding inside of his own protected lair of danger. We believe he is the reason that the dark zone still exists after so much time. The General Army has been trying to arrest him, but with no luck at all. Kind of hard to reverse the dark zone when vile spawns from hell are trying to kill you every few minutes. I don''t think the entire battalion sent in at once stands a chance. As bad of news as that might sound, it is the reality of our situation."
Just as Jane felt the situation couldn''t get any worse, it managed to unfold spikes all around her aura of hope. Can nothing be done to save her of this hell? Still, it''s mildly surprising that Claudia, no - an entire class of students around her own age know about this, given they have not ventured the area themselves. "But how do you know all of this?"
Claudia asked Jane the simple sided question. "Have you been keeping up with the news on a regular basis for the past two months?"
Jane lowered her head in shame towards the floor. "No." Jane became depressed quickly, giving her more latency to explain herself. "I''ve been training instead, training to get better with Leray magic." Jane did recall the news bulletin regarding the Tilsit incident, but she actually missed a large portion of that show, thus most of the information, but Claudia said two months ago, so that program time also was irrelevant.
"I see," Claudia responded casually. Jane is supposed to have a lot of potential, but maybe she really does focus far too much on training. Hope it isn''t true. Nothing good will come of taking that kind of road. "Too much time training and not enough learning. I think we can break that habit of yours. We''re a class of balance. You don''t pass or graduate from here by learning as many abilities as possible. You must also prove your knowledge on the inner workings of Leray magic." Jane had no response or objection to that statement, but Claudia loved to speak it. It was one of her favorite lectures. People who have no understanding of Leray magic are not ready enough to use it, even if they are powerful. That''s how certain people view the learning experience.
Though Jane appeared to be soaking in everything Claudia was saying, she was really lost in a looping thought. The one person she needed to go to is not only unreachable because of a deadly magical field, but he is also the one responsible for that field. Just great! Even if Jane could make it to the Den of Purity and survive all of those monsters, would a dangerous reclusive criminal really help her out? Was her entire dream of becoming a Leray master ever even a possibility?
Alyssa became distracted by another detail... Jane''s sudden lack of attention. Is she so depressed by this news? Why bother sulking into it anyway? She must have some kind of business or plan to go there someday. Of course, those plans would have to be canceled. The world won''t end over this though. Eventually, those army soldiers will plan a way inside and fix everything.
"I know it might look like the General Army is just sitting back twiddling their thumbs, but I say no way," Claudia announced. "They haven''t tried anything daring recently, but that probably means they''re developing some kind of plan. I hope none of you worry about the dark zone in our backyard, because it won''t be there forever."
"I''m guessing it''s forbidden to enter the dark zone under any circumstances?" Jane knew the answer already, but she still had to try. This Brightworth mage might be a criminal, but perhaps he would still be willing to help her in particular. Even if he didn''t, Jane could just force the guy to fix her problem, perhaps even pretend to bribe him with secrecy for his actions.
Claudia put a finger on her lips in thought. "Other than the General Army''s executive and those under orders from the Elite Five, then yes. No civilians, agents, investigators, or regular Leray wielders have business there anymore." She couldn''t quite put her finger on it, but her words have changed Jane''s expression in just seconds. After the talk about dark magic and the Alpha Zero, it''s as if Jane lost all of her life, her expression and confidence all sunk away. Or maybe there was some kind of bad memory haunting her about something else, but it wouldn''t seem right to ask now. "I think we''ve heard enough about dark magic for a day. How about everyone be ready in five to head to the dark room?"
Jane''s head perked up immediately. This wasn''t just a history class after all. Dark rooms imply training exercises and learning activities. Every school has them, but she couldn''t begin to guess how different one from this facility will look like. All wielders call them dark rooms for having the unbreakable reputation of remaining invulnerable to Leray magic damage by structural design.
"Jane? It will be normal training and continuation free-style lessons. Room E43."
"I think I''ll just follow you guys," she spoke. There was no denying the defeated sound in her tone, but what would anyone else expect? They just crushed her one and only chance at reversing this curse affecting her with just a few minutes of knowledge. Sure, they might have advanced training, free lessons, and a special dark room, but Jane would never be able to just get by with this. Her endurance would always be cut into a third of what it should normally be. What more is there a reason for staying here?
Chapter Theme Shift: Calm Mind Reflected in the Pupil ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
Dark rooms are rooms specifically designed to house an entire class of people and allow them to train using magical powers freely, though most dark rooms are all the same. They all have a massive size for just one room, impressive magnetic locks on their doors, and walls made out of special metal material designed to completely absorb any type of magical power. The one thing Jane always loved about dark rooms is the unique lighting system they have here. Thousands of small blue lights without an actual form or point of origin filled the ceiling. The lights are non-physical, emanating from special magical energy that never seems to need recharging. Without blinding anyone in the face with them, the entire room was well lit with a soft radiant glow of cool colors that imitated a fog, one without the ability to reduce depth of field to the eyes.
Room E43 was the plate on the outside of the room. Though it means nothing special, just a name tag for designating which classes get which rooms. This room was anything but some big empty cube. Multiple wall attachments and sections on the ground were made with columns and barricades set with interesting patterns. The design was to give everybody to aim at something, while enhancing their movement skills at the same time. Other sections held more open space, as they were designed to exchange magical fire between multiple parties, though a few sections existed to the sides of these areas for the main purpose of storage. As Jane entered with the rest of the class, she was too busy looking around to realize that people have already chosen their own stations.
Stations are other sections in the same room, providing different types or styles of training, such as multi-player close combat, long range aiming with other people as moving targets, or just the standard free-style dome sections that allow students to develop new abilities without harming others. Claudia appeared to have her own section. Actually, Jane soon realized that it wasn''t a training section Claudia was heading to. It seemed more like a private office without any walls, with a desk on the outside, dressers behind it and a small bookshelf full of books. The section was all wedged against the back wall near the corner.
Claudia took her time walking towards her desk. Everyone around her was already beginning to train some more. Thunder Strikes and Tri-Attacks were apparently the favorite of today, but she also caught Jane walking more slowly behind her. Jane seemed to be taking it all in still. She never actually did say what her school was like. If Jane comes from Fronas, that means she graduated basic from Dakota, but in a makeshift town like Fronas, it should be safe to assume that Dakota has much less governmental funding.
When she arrived at her work place, Claudia turned around facing Jane. It''s not like Jane knew of what to do right now, but she was glad that Jane was about to ask her. She needed to talk about this right now anyway. "Jane?"
Jane saw Claudia in front of her, standing while leaning back on her desk. Claudia told her to come closer using her hand motions. Jane simply went along with this for now. "Lennith''s facility is so much nicer. I can see why the entry cost is impossible."
Claudia attempted to set the plan up with Jane, but it wasn''t going to be as simple as she thought. "So Jane, this is what our class is made of. In this facility, I can personally train you all sorts of new abilities and special powers. I can even show you a few techniques if you''re ready for it all, but I still need to know something other than your choice to stay or not. I need to know where you would like to begin."
Jane placed her hand on her hip, then slowly turned around in her thoughts. "To be honest, I have no clue anymore. I like the place though, and I like the class too. I wouldn''t mind staying here with you and training all the way until I can''t learn anymore."
Way to dodge the question. "Sounds good," Claudia answered. "I can make that happen. I will be a lot of work though."
"But..." Jane knew this wasn''t going to work. It doesn''t matter how much training she receives. Without the ability to remove this curse permanently attached to her endurance, nothing will allow her to excel, and with that, no hope of becoming a Leray master remains. "It doesn''t matter how you train me, or what way you approach this." Jane turned around, head turning in decline. "I can''t ever be a great Leray wielder."
"Now you''re just kidding yourself." Claudia''s tone didn''t even sound surprised, like Jane''s hint had not registered for a moment. "You''re forgetting the reason I let you in here like this. You''re a different learner - a quick learner at that. If you can make it through Route 96 in just a day, and do it with nothing but a few days after basic training, and take down Patrissa''s forces even by accident, then you have what it takes to pass my class with flying colors. You just need the motivation."
Jane pointed at her teacher in denial, pulling back her arm with rage. "You just don''t get it, do you? I''m not this great Leray wielder you think I am supposed to be. Whatever dream I had of becoming a Leray master, it''s all gone now."
"And why is that?" Claudia folded her arms, awaiting the explanation. Jane doubts herself way too much, such is her current downfall.
"You¡ª" Jane looked away, too embarrassed to even say it. "You wouldn''t understand."
"People who walk on long roads like 96 don''t just go on through without taking rest stops, not unless they have a very good reason to do so. And dreams of becoming something great are not things people just go and throw away without reason either. So I think it impossible to see how I of all people would not understand. I know more about the life of a wielder than you think I do..." Claudia took a deep breath, allowing herself to reset while Jane sulked in process, but the moment reminded Claudia too much about her own past, of all the experiences she had. "Jane? You can talk to me, if not as a teacher, then as a friend."
She sighed before doing anything. It was her fault in the first place. Jane knew using an unknown spell bomb like that could have negative consequences. She knew that by using an unregistered battle designed to activate a spell bomb was in itself breaking the law. She broke protocol, and even now is she still paying for that one mistake. On every single battle she has ever tried after that incident, before reaching Route 96, Jane lost fights against rookies and low level fighters in the most humiliating way. And at long last, her suspicion that it was not normal for her endurance to betray her was proven true. Danny and Taylor really have no clue either; Jane made sure of that. Why does everything she touch lately turn to trash?
"I promise that your situation isn''t as bad as you think."
Nobody in this entire city has a clue either. Nothing Jane could do would work. Plan A through Z has failed. Jane has nothing anymore. Nothing at all! Her heart began pounding while the feedback forced her skin to shiver in place, but Jane couldn''t shake away the thought any longer. Fine! Claudi wants the truth, she can have it. All it will do is make her look more stupid than she is right now. "You want to know what happened to me? I messed up!"
Claudia didn''t expect Jane to be so hostile about it, but Jane kept her volume level down a notch, not wanting to become the center of attention. She stood in closer to Claudia and elaborated on what she meant.
"I used an unknown spell bomb on myself shortly after graduation. I had no idea what it did or what it was, but I had some indication ahead of time that it was dangerous. And instead of keeping it out of harm''s way, I used it on myself thinking it would bring me more fortune. I''m the idiot here! It''s the reason I have no future."
Claudia squinted, "A spell bomb?" Just when she thought she heard it all, this girl tells her that a spell bomb wrecked her future?
"Correct. Now I lose almost every single battle I have against anybody, no matter what. I''m not sure what it was designed for, or what type of spell it has done to me, but it''s permanent. The reason it''s a bad thing is because it cuts my natural endurance into a tiny fraction."
"Th¡ªthat''s impossible!" Claudia denied. "Come on. You''re telling me that the reason you''re upset is because you used a spell bomb on yourself that cuts your health down and makes it harder to win? Spell bombs don''t work like that, not without offering some kind of sacrifice in return."
"And what would you know about spell bombs anyway?"
She cleared her throat, Claudia standing an inch taller than she was before. "You''re forgetting that I''m an expert in teaching Leray magic, and I''ve been on this seat for almost twenty-five years. I don''t just sit around counting the hours when school is out. I can identify just about any spell bomb in the entire world." At that, the girl in front of her froze in expression.
Jane, unable to control her sudden excitement turned to her teacher, her eyes wide open. "You mean, you know what it is that affected me?"
Now she was being put on the spot, but it surprised Claudia at all that just knowing exactly what happened to her got Jane this excited at all. "Well I would first need to see some more data on your claim. The one thing I dislike most about spell bombs is that they disappear from the physical world after using them, the same way healing orbs do. Therefore..." Claudia at first got lost in her thoughts, but then came up with another idea. "Jane? Have you already tried to figure out the effects with a scan? You''re energy scope can¡ª"
"Tried it!" Jane knew where this was going. Taylor already ran a scan with Jane''s energy scope. Yet despite the rules of all spell bombs, this one eluded the scope completely.
"And?"
What else could she say? "Well, I know for a fact that the spell did affect me in at least one way, but the energy scope cannot find any difference. I basically have an unknown spell bomb with unknown effects, that is somehow powerful enough to not register on the change log of an energy scope."
"Well, that''s not good."
Jane saw Claudia''s expression change. Her teacher now held a finger to her lips sideways, trying to think in silence about what it meant. Jane figured she knew at least something. "What do you know?"
Claudia stared at Jane curiously. "All legally registered spell bombs are magically coded and designed to show what effects change in the energy matrix of all people it affects, permanent or not. If your own energy scope failed to report that change, then it means one of three things."
"Three things?"
Claudia elaborated her idea. "The first possibility is that the orb actually had no effect on you at all, but seeing as you are convinced it did, it''s less likely to be that."
"And the other two?"
"Spell bombs are not all distributed by one company alone, but because of their differences, all spell bombs have designed security measures in place. You wouldn''t believe how rich one can get if they suddenly got the idea of mass producing spell bombs by copying others."
Jane interrupted, "Is that even possible?"
"It is," Claudia replied. "Though copying a spell bomb or an orb is very difficult. A digital functioning security system is set up to prevent that from happening, but there have been a few times where those systems were bypassed by criminals. It''s illegal to copy an orb or a spell bomb, because that means you are making new ones and damaging the market for the product, despite the cost of resources for production of those copies."
"I get it."
"Jane, who was it that gave you this mysterious spell bomb? Why would someone give you an illegal product?"
Claudia did have a good question. Jane still never found out anything about what happened with that guy on that day. He just showed up, gave Jane a dangerous present, told her to protect it, and then ran off. There were two strangers chasing after him, but it was supposed to be for the orb? Agh! This doesn''t make any sense. "I don''t know. I didn''t get his name, and he rushed in and out in a hurry. I think he said it was dangerous in the wrong hands? Something like that."
"And at that moment, you decided it would be a great idea to use it on yourself, knowing nothing about the orb or its powers?" Claudia''s question sounded more rhetorical than Jane was expecting.
Was she insulting her choice? Jane knew it was the wrong thing to do, but she couldn''t ever take it back right now. "Look, I already told you it was a mistake."
"Right..." Claudia seemed a little on edge now. This whole time, Jane must have been pondering this little mystery in her head. If her endurance level really is cut, what then allowed her to drill through Route 96 so successfully? There isn''t a lot to go on here. "This spell bomb, maybe it wasn''t illegal after all. There always remains the remote possibility that it was legally made, though illegally obtained. Companies make new spell bombs all the time, but they keep their prototypes locked up in heavily secure vaults so that the engineers can edit them later. If this thing was stolen, and you used it on yourself, I''d hate to find out how much damage in costs that would have done."
Jane didn''t even want to ask if that was some kind of threat. Claudia still brought up a curious point, but a prototype? Perhaps that is the reason nobody knows what the hell it was about. It did shoot a massive beam of moonlight energy down from the sky after activation. Jane however left that part out. Claudia doesn''t need to know much more than what she does now. "But if it''s a prototype, is it still impossible to reverse?"
"Well that''s¡ª" Claudia froze, connecting several dots that were isolated as enigmas to her mind before now. The reason Jane was interested in learning more about Alpha Zero, and the reason she looked so depressed after hearing those explanations, it''s all connected to this one topic! "Hold on a second. That''s what this is about isn''t it? You want to get to the Den of Purity to reverse whatever that thing did to you."
"That was the plan," Jane admitted. "But now this Alpha Zero thing is right in my way, and you''re all saying that Brightworth is a criminal, or that he''s the one responsible, I don''t know anymore." Jane''s voice was getting shakier, indicating that she was seconds away from crying. "I can''t get through it. Even if I could sneak past those guards, with this spell affecting me in the way that it is, I''d never make it!"
"How is it affecting you though? Did the activation have some sort of logo or symbol? What did it do?"
Claudia was beginning to sound more desperate, like she cared more about the spell than Jane''s problem at the moment, but Jane didn''t mind that. Maybe if she could find out what it did, certain spell bombs can negate the effects. "I don''t know much more." All Jane truly learned about the spell was what she learned in her failed battles, and what she learned on the research terminal at Tilsit''s library. "It just cuts my endurance way down. My defense is horrible when it shouldn''t be. I thought at first my magical attack power might have doubled, but it doesn''t seem consistent with the Amahar spell bomb."
"You think it''s the Amahar spell bomb?"
"I don''t know. It was the only lead I had, but some things still don''t seem consistent," Jane explained.
"There''s something I fail to understand," Claudia announced. "If your endurance is bad, and you keep on losing fights, is that how you got through Route 96? I mean, it doesn''t seem possible that you could have¡ª"
"I used armor." Jane cut her teacher off there, already aware of the question. "I knew I needed an extra edge for Route 96. I wasn''t even that focused on the battles. I just wanted to get to Lennith City so that I''d be closer to the Outback. So I taught myself some more powers and abilities, and I bought some really powerful metal armor plating to make up for my lost defense. But the people there just kept forcing me to battle. I soon had no more choices, and by the time I had to battle Patrissa, that metal suit was destroyed, with its passive ability being damage eater."
Claudia glared at Jane, speechless as she processed everything her new student was talking about.
"You okay?" Jane checked.
Claudia knew Jane was exceptional, but perhaps she did make some sort of miscalculation. Learning new abilities so quickly was cool, but if Jane made it through Route 96 with such armor, then she really wasn''t as powerful as she thought, right? Jane''s story on the other hand is more interesting at the moment. "Yeah, let''s just move on to the spell thing."
Jane stopped her right there. "There isn''t anything else to talk about. I don''t know anything else about that stupid ball of bad luck. I came here, I tried, figured out that my hopes and dreams are impossible, so now I quit."
"Jane, you chose to be in my class."
"So?"
"So¡ª" Claudia pushed off her desk again, explaining what she wanted to in the best way she knew how. "I know my offer in here was a bit... Unusual. But people in my class sign up to get stronger, and that''s exactly the intention you had coming here."
"But I already told you it''s useless." Jane would continue to argue on and on the same point forever. There isn''t a damn thing Claudia could say right now to change that.
Claudia wasn''t finished though. From the total situation, it sounds like what Jane did to herself is terrible, and what worse, Jane cannot reverse this mysterious spell bomb at the Den of Purity anymore, with such bad timing and all. However, the Den of Purity is not the only place or method in the world of negating effects from harmful passive effects. "But maybe it''s not. If what you have really isn''t the aggressor spell bomb, then we still don''t know all of the effects it actually has on you yet. If we can figure out those effects, then all we would have to do is train you how to compensate for¡ª"
"How are you going to figure it out?!" Jane''s voice level was now attracting the rest of the class, making it obvious that the tensions were high. "Claudi, it''s immune to a scan. Nothing we do will help me figure out what that thing did to me."
"That''s where you''re wrong." She knew exactly what to do, and finally Jane was calming down enough to listen. Maybe she never thought there was another way to look at this, but at last, she stole Jane''s full attention. "I''m as interested in figuring out what spell bomb has ailed you. If something specific happened in a way that was illegal, something that messed you up, I''m obligated as a magic wielder to report that, and as an expert on many local spell bombs, I''ve developed a method of testing passive effects in a way that is more... traditional."
"What?" Jane didn''t know what to say. Was Claudia being serious? Is there really another way to find out?
"Follow me." Claudia began walking, heading for one small arena pit set up in the same large room. She had Jane follow her, preparing herself to perform the test she knew would show some better results than any old stupid computer.
Chapter 23: A New Evaluation
<01/20/1972 ¨C 11:00 | Lennith Training Academy, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"I''m telling you! They''re both about to battle."
When did this happen? Alyssa struggled to make her way to the front of the kids before of her, watching Jane following Claudia to an arena pit, but this came a while after hearing them argue about something over at the lone desk. Something felt strange about the way Jane and Claudia were talking to each other moments ago. Do they know one another? What was that outburst earlier? Why would she battle the new student in the first place?
Claudia could hear the whispers of her students climbing in volume as they all surrounded the area. She and Jane were standing only twenty meters apart from each other, but the standoff had that familiar formation of an impending Leray match. In the sectioned area with lines drawn on the metal floor, it was obvious that excitement would soon spark. Claudia glanced around before proceeding. Apparently it became rumored already that she was about to battle against her new student. Everybody was eagerly watching, naturally more excited to see what the unfamiliar could do in this instance. "This isn''t a battle children!" Claudia cleared her throat, firmly establishing that this set up wasn''t what it seemed. She would have preferred not to make it anybody''s business, but that was far out of her end at the moment. "It''s a simple training exercise."
Jane had others surrounding her from the side too, only to remain far back for their own safety. Apparently, Claudia wasn''t going to create a dome shield for this little test of hers. It wasn''t necessary to do so anyway. Jane felt she understood what was going on partially. Claudia told her that the best way to perform a test on her is to have an exchange of attacks and see how her health and stamina reacts to taking the damages on the energy scope. Though as far as the class was concerned, they were still interested enough to hover around at a safe distance. Though without any walls or shields in place, any stray magic would surely hit someone. "Ready when you are." Jane had no idea exactly what this was supposed to tell her mentor, but she seemed so certain this was going to work. Claudia seemed so certain right now, it gave Jane the vain hope that this test may reveal something new to her.
Claudia changed her stance, proving that she really does have a specific fighting style. Some relax their body, while others have specific stances used to prepare themselves either for attacking or dodging in very specific ways. "Good Jane. You may now engage your energy scope. I''ll do the same my end."
Jane nodded and sent a micron percent of her MP energy to engage her scope. The orange holographic text appeared above her head, immediately reminding her of the things Dr. Ashly told her earlier. Energy scopes are not always orange; they''re color coded to detect various stats that are important to know during battles, with red being the color to watch out for.
They say that people can control the name that shows up as their identity on an energy scope, provided they are in control of its invocation. Because of this, the name that appears for one''s energy scope can be faked, hidden, or changed. In this case, it appeared that Claudia really did love her nickname that was only a syllable less than her legal name. As common as it seemed, most people hide their last name from that roster in the energy scope. Jane never understood why this was necessary.
Now it was Jane versus Claudi, or so it may have seemed. "I''ll go first," Claudi shouted. She was used to raising her voice in a combat situation, since it helped her focus. All she needed to do was carefully monitor the stats of Jane''s variables as she takes damage. Electro-Ball is a good idea for a first spell. It consumes little MP, has a very low power level, and still is not easy to dodge. On the plus side, electric attacks cannot be blocked either. If Jane is hit by one, it will register the full damage amount as such.
Claudia has her own unique fighting style, which applies to every single ability she knows. When firing low powered unguided projectiles, her training states that the best offensive technique to launch such an attack is to use it in a barrage. Three Electro-Balls should do the trick, assuming Jane may try to dodge at least one of them. Jane shouldn''t dodge anything, but her instincts foretold otherwise even in this situation. The damage from one Electro-Ball against someone of Jane''s skill level should take off about six or seven percent of her health. So that means Jane''s HP should head down towards 88% if she is hit by two, and 82% if she gets hit by all three. It''s the standard damage level proportion for what will be happening soon. Jane also doesn''t have any other outfit on right now. Common dress spheres like hers don''t offer any specific damage protection either, so the calculations should be precise. "Electro-Ball!" Claudia twirled into a full spin, charging the energy into her hands while creating the ball of electricity during her spin. The idea made her sequence less predictable, despite the fact that she shouted the name of her own spell. Claudia had two jade colored glyphrings, one for each wrist. By the time she was facing Jane again, she threw her arms outward, shooting out two electric balls of magical energy towards Jane.
Jane saw the projectiles incoming already, but she wasn''t expecting more than one to fly towards her. By total instinct of seeing a familiar projectile flying at her face, she immediately jumped out of the way, but in doing so, the other Electro-Ball that previously wasn''t on a path to hit her suddenly was. Against her better judgment, Jane took the impact before she could even brace herself. The ball of electricity slammed into her body, immediately forcing her to freeze up in an electric shock that lasted for a full second. Just after it ended, a third Electro-Ball hit Jane again, zapping her in place for another second.
If there was anything Jane hated more than getting herself wiped by an opponent in a Leray match, it was taking on damage from an electric type attack. The sensation after the shock left her entire body tingling in a painful sensation that all her nerves were shot, but this time she didn''t feel as drained by it. Her MP was unchanged, and her health stats were pretty high. Despite this, Jane was surprised at herself once again. Electro-Ball is a weak spell for advanced trainers, and yet Jane''s health took a serious dive.
Claudia immediately noticed the change on Jane''s energy scope. It went down to 82% instead of 88%, and she watched moments earlier as Jane hopped her body out of the way. It was predictable, yet surprising to say the least that her HP stats really did not follow the standard rules. Claudia knew of her specific power levels for each spell. Though she had much practice with a simple Electro-Ball attack, she also knew how to control its average power level cap, and used that to calculate the average expected damage per projectile, but if Jane''s endurance was cut in half, the HP would have dropped even more than what was just now reported. She couldn''t call this conclusive just yet. What Jane was talking about wasn''t really confirmed, but now it was time to see how Jane''s attacks go. "You''re turn Jane."
"Right." Jane didn''t know she was going to be attacking as well, but her teacher did say something about a two way system. It didn''t make sense to her, but that was the response she got for asking if she was supposed to return fire. So without further ado, Jane quickly go over her previous pain to prepare for her counterattack. Jane went with her own style as well, pulling out her daggers from the pockets in her dress. Jane began charging her MP energy into each blade.
Jane already knew this, but her next choice of attack wasn''t much stronger than Claudia''s spell at all. It still did the job while conserving a lot of her own MP levels. "Mako Beam!" Releasing that energy with her daggers aimed at Claudia''s body, Jane fired the two narrow blue beams of energy, striking as quickly as lightning and hitting Claudia because of it. Jane fired a third Mako Beam just to make the damage seem a little higher, but then she stopped and put her daggers back where she found them. Claudia took all of the beams head on, but she hardly seemed fazed by their effects. They make one feel drained of their energy more than they do any real damage.
Claudia didn''t feel all that hurt from the attack, but at the same time, Jane''s MP levels barely faltered from it either. Mako Beam? She had never in all her life heard of such a skill. How interesting to see that Jane could do something like that! Unfortunately, because of her poor choice in a good magical attack, the test was still inconclusive. If Jane was ever going to really push herself for the results she needed, Claudia was going to have to turn up the heat, quite literally. "I need to see more Jane. We need to increase the pressure! Fiery Plume!" Claudia''s hand lifted up from below her knee, a body movement that was required to activate the spell, along with releasing a ton of her own energy.
The result manifested itself before Jane''s eyes. The metal ground below them shifted violently, like that of an earthquake, and then blasts of shooting rocks, air, and hot lava via fiery streams began blasting up from the ground in narrow beams. Interestingly, the magic of the fire and shooting rock formed from phase as it was incapable of harming the metallic floor below, though the power level was just as effective regardless. More of them followed all over the place, shooting up fire plumes in various randomized locations in the form of an area attack. It wasn''t long at all before Jane was hit by just one of them, a fiery hot plume of lava mist blasting from below all over her body. Because of the strange room design, the floor itself remained unchanged, creating only the illusion that the floor had been breached.
Jane flew backwards from the force of the attack itself, but the sensation of having her skin set to fire became so real. She uncontrollably screamed in the pain it provided her, a crazy and powerful area attack that left a massive burn everywhere. Claudia had singlehandedly scorched the battlefield and dealt a massive amount of fire-based damage to her character. Yes, it did hurt, but she needed Jane to react with more violent attacks too, which gave her reason of choice more validity.
Jane''s entire body was still smoking from the after effect of the dormant attack. The ground ceased its quaking, but the lingering pain swelled tears into Jane''s eyes, embarrassing her since it would show. Fiery Plume was something new to Jane''s mind. It has to be a strong and wicked spell to deal this much damage. That fiery air was hotter than anything she ever felt before. The only force in the world that prevented her skin from actually catching fire and burning down to bone was the veil of magical protection in Sprawn Valley.
Claudia was still processing the results. Jane did take a massive amount of damage from an incredibly strong attack, but it was still a lot of damage even then. Fiery Plume has a power level of eight, therefore, the test still didn''t help all that much to match her suspicions. Claudia went too harsh on Jane that time. Still, the only possible way that Jane could have received this much damage intake was to assume she was a rookie at all of this. It was too soon to make the assumption.
Jane pulled her daggers out again, charging energy in them with a different wave form this time. She knew how to use more powerful spells than her first feeble strike, and now was the time to let loose everything she had. Jane slightly jumped up in the air, giving her arms a jump boost when they threw her daggers forward in a spinning cross formation. "Flying Guillotine!"
The daggers spinning in the air formed another red circle of light, nearly flat and horizontally aligned as it jammed through the space coursing for Claudia. She wanted to dodge, but Flying Guillotine strikes two times instead of one like a boomerang. As Claudia got caught up in the strategy to dodge the attack, she simply left herself vulnerable to the cutting strike. The Flying Guillotine slammed into Claudia, drilling its way through her body as if she were a ghost, though damage was being done in a high amount for sure.
Claudia took significant damage over and over for each micro-second that her body was strapped inside of the damage aura, the daggers slicing and cutting in as many places as possible midair. Eventually, Jane''s daggers flew in the direction of which they came, defusing the red circle of damage and allowing her to catch her small blades.
Shortly after catching her daggers, Jane released even more energy, throwing another magical skill to the ground with her arms. "Shadow Wave!" Jane cast a Shadow Wave on the metal floor, now making its way towards the teacher again.
Claudia had no time to read the amount of damage Jane''s last attack inflicted, because another one was heading her way now. Though in an amazing shock of development, the Shadow Wave heading her way suddenly grew wider and taller, spanning out to trap its target and increase damage potential. Actually, that''s what all Shadow Waves are designed to do, bound to the earth and growing by distance until the attack time is finally upon the darkened slashing winds, but this manifestation was different. The proportions were much more epic than anything Claudia had ever seen before. Jane''s Shadow Wave was about three times the maximum size of any other Shadow Wave. Once it slammed into her body, Claudia held her arms over her head, hoping it would not harm her too badly.
Jane knew about her enhanced Shadow Wave spell a long time ago, the fact that it miraculously became much stronger overnight. It wasn''t a surprise for her, but even right now, Jane was expecting a little less even from her own magical potential. The Shadow Wave increased in speed sliding on the ground until it finally collided into her target. Claudia was suddenly forced frozen in place, the damage combination and aura striking her multiple times per partial-second and preventing Claudia from getting out of the attack. At the end of any Shadow Wave, the aura explodes into a cloudy mist, only throwing out little invisible force. This time, the aura exploded into a dark shadowy mist that faded almost as quickly as it appeared. The blast from it didn''t really cause any extra damage, but it was enough force to throw Claudia backwards and off her balance. When it was finally over, both of them checked to see how effective the hit was.
It did 21% damage. It couldn''t be! A Shadow Wave doesn''t become that powerful in such short of a time. Even elites who use Shadow Wave can''t normally master that much power into a simple attack spell! Claudia was impressed, but furthermore satisfied that something finally revealed itself. Jane really is using more powerful attacks, without actually doing so. In particular, her amplified power level obviously shows up more with magical aura abilities. Shadow Wave derives energy from a buildup of magic generated by a person''s aura. Perhaps Jane can naturally amplify her aura in some way. In any case, this means that her defense and offense are quite opposites of each other. If the exchange proves this to be true once again, then the prediction that Jane''s mysterious spell bomb is actually the Amahar or Aggressor Spell bomb would be confirmed.
It''s not like one more variable will hurt the results. Jane did follow up Flying Guillotine with Shadow Wave too, so that may have been the cause of so much damage. Claudia released some more of the energy she was charging, giving Jane another harmful spell. "Rotation!" Claudia quickly released all of her energy to form a powerful tornado of visible spinning winds in front of her. Her invocation was nearly instant this time, and the vortex of wind was almost the entire height of the ceiling. As Claudia pushed forward with her hands, the twister responded and slid towards Jane at an incredible speed.
Jane had no idea how to avoid this. It resembled a Whirlwind attack, though with every element exaggerated. The visible vortex of wind had a higher traveling speed, sliding at Jane while throwing every bit of air into the wind with it. The overall size was nearly doubled that of Whirlwind, and it was heading towards Jane, trapping her near the center of the twister. Jane tried to block out any potential damage, but she really just wanted to avoid taking any hits to her face. Suddenly, she was taking on random invisible slashes in the vortex, while the wind blew everything around, making it hard to see. The rotation of wind lasted only for four seconds more, but it continuously dealt slashing damage to Jane by combination of hits in its duration. They felt like lesser versions of dagger strikes against her skin, but once it was over, Jane felt a bit more drained than she was before.
Claudia''s jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the damage. Her earlier attacks left a question mark in her mind regarding Jane''s natural endurance, but this time, it was for certain as Jane said before. Rotation is a complete and total upgrade form of a mobile Whirlwind attack known as Twister. Damage is doubled, range is improved, as well as speed and invocation time. Even so, it''s not powerful enough to deal more than about 16% of damage on an unarmored target. Instead, Jane took in about twice that amount. So she really is defenseless!
There wasn''t much time though to acknowledge this and tell Jane that the test was over. No, Jane was already moving in for a counterattack of her own. Claudia would just have to sit there and take it head on, or dodge if possible.
Jane released her energy, forming a rotating red glyphring around her wrist. "Tri-Fire!" Jane''s invocation of the glyphring took a lot longer than it took to actually shoot three Fire Bolts from that same glyphring. Her timing became improved already, but it was noticeable to others how new she was to the spell cast. Jane fired one Fire Bolt after the other, creating shooting projectiles of explosive fire balls towards her target. Jane would always have to twist her arm each time after the first Fire Bolt in order to launch the next two, but it was something she was used to by now.
Just before Claudia was hit by the first Fire Bolt, she noticed the subtle changes in Jane''s MP status as she shot them out more and more. Triple Fire drains MP levels gradually, depleting a certain amount just as one of the three Fire Bolts is launched. As an advantage, this means that if she get interrupted, she doesn''t end up wasting the total MP cost of the spell itself.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Claudia took the first hit near her face, using her arms to shield that part of her body. Then the second one slammed into her torso, making the third one hit her upper chest. She could already feel the blasting burns of the intense fire-based spell, and almost felt bad about using Fiery Plume against Jane earlier. It might not have been necessary to choose a powerful attack based on how painful it was at the same time.
Claudia tried to recover quickly, taking a peek again at Jane''s energy scope.
Just as she thought. The actual MP consumption from Jane''s side was somehow reduced overall. It doesn''t matter how well anyone has mastered Triple Fire. The MP cost will never drop below 16% collectively, and that''s selling it at best. Jane only used 12% of her MP to invoke the spell. Which begs the question "why?" Claudia didn''t want this to continue anymore. Now that there was a third unexpected result found, it was time to give it a rest. She waved her arm up high, signaling to Jane. "That''s enough Jane. Test over."
Jane was preparing to use another ability, but now it was over. Claudia was done with... Come to think of it, what did this even do? What could a half-felt battle possibly tell anyone about the effects of a spell bomb?
Chapter Theme Shift: Peril ~ Halo 2 OST
Claudia still felt uneasy about trying to provoke Jane to use better spells with such a harsh skill. The Fiery Plume attack Jane took earlier left visible burn scars on her skin, normally not possible with protection from the veil. Though it could still be instantly healed with items on the count of maintaining Leray type damage. "Come here. I''ll give you a med kit orb for that." Jane followed her instructions already, still a bit winded by the Fiery Plume she took on earlier. That and her HP status were much too low for the test to be inconclusive.
Jane took the healing orb from Claudia''s hands. "Thanks." Then she activated the unit, making it glow brightly until it disintegrated into her own body, immediately healing the HP and MP levels on her energy scope. Claudia already disabled her scope, and Jane did the same shortly after. "So what did this tell you?"
Claudia had to ignore the prying eyes and ears of the other students. They were supposed to be training, but all of them had to be curious as to what she was doing with the new student. Luckily for her, explanations were not required, and by the end of that battle, some returned to their stations out of boredom. Claudia was still in thought about what all of it meant for sure, but as Jane was demanding answers of what was currently known, Claudia had to pause between some of her sentences. "As we battled, I took note of every variance and change that occurred on both of our energy scopes. I already contain a lot of knowledge based on how much damage and MP cost a normal spell being used by a normal person should hold at average as well as the maximum deviations."
Jane already felt lost, but one thing was for sure. Claudia wasn''t lying to her before about teaching school for two decades, considering she knows this much already.
"It took some time for any results to actually show themself in a conclusive way, but I can safely say that your defensive endurance is much less than what it should be set to."
"Told ya so!" Jane let that blurt without much thought, confusing her teacher on the spot. This evident moment was really meant for Danny and Taylor for doubting her earlier. It does seem crazy to say at first, but Jane knew her own body and talents. Something really wasn''t right after all, and now the local expert was saying as much. Still, it was surprising that such a simple test was able to tell Claudia this much. So the Amahar spell bomb really did affect her! "Sorry." Jane had to apologize for interrupting with that outburst, allowing her teacher to continue.
Claudia continued after Jane''s apology. "And when I was taking some of your attacks, I noticed that my own health dropped a lot further down than it should have. One might say that you also possess heightened magical strength and power levels, particularly on the side of attack auras."
"Half the defense and double the power," Jane rehearsed. "It''s exactly like the aggressor spell bomb, but online it said that those things are not permanent effects in battle."
Claudia put her hand out in front of Jane to get her to stop talking. "Something''s not right though. I''m no longer convinced that you''re the victim of a prototype Amahar spell bomb, and I think it is also safe to say that your power levels are actually not elevated at all."
"But..." Jane didn''t understand. What did that even mean? Didn''t Claudia just claim the opposite a second ago? "You just said..."
She nodded left and right, calling up another change she noticed when fighting against Jane. "I said it seems like it is higher, but there are actually two ways to increase an attack''s power level, one of which does not involve doubled strength or spell boosting statuses... Jane. When you used the spell Tri-Fire against me, did you note the drop in your MP levels?"
"Um, no. I don''t check my scope until¡ª"
"Well I did." Claudia hated interrupting people like that, but she already knew what Jane was going to say. Jane isn''t the person to check her energy scope until after taking additional damage, never right after using a costly ability. "How much MP do you believe it would cost to use Triple Fire, even for an expert who has mastered the ability?"
Jane stuttered, "I don''t know, maybe sixteen percent?"
"Have you mastered Triple Fire?"
Jane pointed to herself, surprised Claudia would even ask her. Where was this going? "Uh, not really. I only learned it two days ago."
"Exactly!" Claudia pointed out. "I saw the drop of MP on your scope the minute you used that ability, and then checked it again after I finished taking the damage. For someone who has just learned a brand new ability, it should have drained about 21% of your MP levels. But for you, it only cost twelve percent."
"Wh - what?" No way! Twelve percent? That''s underpowered! Jane only noticed now - that for quite a long time after leaving Monoc Port, she had not been paying any direct attention to the amount of MP she put into each of her spells, only stopping the charge when she could feel them ready, but if she was technically undercharging spells, they shouldn''t have triggered at all. Was it true? Did Jane only use half the amount of energy per spell?
"And despite how little it is costing you, the result is somehow leading you to overpower your normal spells without you realizing it, thus increasing the damage by a certain threshold."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Hold on a sec." Jane needed to hear this as clear as she could, because it wasn''t believable as it was now. "Are you saying that, my doubled magical strength is actually the result of me overpowering all of my skills subconsciously, yet somehow using a lot less MP than what is actually needed to get the job done? It doesn''t make any sense. That would be a double negative."
"Not exactly," Claudia denied. It was only now that she realized that in the middle of their conversation, all of her nosey students became too confused or bored to keep up, and they all went back to practicing on their own again. The more open space gave her the closure she was previously lacking. "No, it''s not just overpowering. You''re conserving MP energy somehow. You''re actually meeting the necessary MP cost requirements to trigger the effects of your spells, yet somehow you''ve managed to compress your reserves. It''s a strange form of MP conservation. I''ve never seen something like it before, but it explains why your spells are more powerful, even if you are appearing to give them less MP. The proportions are all different, and it only makes it seem like you are saving MP energy."
"I still don''t understand." Jane forgot to consider that Claudia would have a hard time dumbing down her statement even if she could figure this out.
"Think about it like this then. Let''s say that you have exactly twelve thousand magical points stored in your body right now, the maximum you can carry at this time. In battle, that number is condensed into a percent of the maximum fraction by the reports. If you use Fire Bolt, it has a general MP cost of a specific magical point threshold, not a percent of total capacity. It''s just that we''re so used to seeing fractions in battle that we choose to represent the values as such." Claudia knew where she was going with this, but she still had an unanswered question of her own. "It doesn''t matter who you are. That Fire Bolt spell will always cost the same amount of actual points, but for someone more trained and therefore carrying more magical points, their percent of usage will decrease in an actual battle, the actual value of energy still the exact same. What I''m saying is, the only possible way you can be conserving MP energy in the process of reducing overall costs is if you have a very high magical essence level. In other words, you''ve somehow increased your maximum MP capacity beyond limits even I have seen."
Jane recalled it quickly; Claudia was talking about the difference between the ratio of MP percentage and Magical Essence points (ME). "So, you''re saying I''ve got the most amount of magical points around here? But I thought that requires years of practice and experience!" Jane felt so frustrated. What is Claudia understanding that she isn''t?
"It does. However, on the off chance that your mysterious spell bomb is far from the resemblance of the Amahar spell bomb, it could have instead cut your endurance down while boosting your overall MP capacity levels. I can''t dare say what the actual growth rate factor is yet, but there''s more."
"More?!"
"At first, I thought your ME number was really high, and it might still be, but that isn''t all. You''ve learned Triple Fire as well as many other abilities in just a day''s worth of time. I hate to bring this up again, but this rate of experience is not normal either."
First the endurance is lowered, then the ME is raised, and now Claudia thinks that my quick learning ability is also part of the spell bomb too? Jane would do anything to protest the idea, but now that she really thought about it, Jane''s hard training never paid off so quickly before her graduation compared to the night at Monoc. "What does it all mean?" How is Claudia piecing this together so quickly?
"It means whatever spell bomb you used on yourself is something incredible, probably worth millions of credits in its early development. You''ve suddenly gained the power to learn all new abilities at a much faster rate, pick up on energy signals quicker than most people can, and on top of that, you''ve maximized your total magical potential while earning a passive skill that allows you to conserve or compress the very cost of your magical abilities all at the same time. Though it did cost you defense, that''s a really big enhancement you''ve obtained. I''ve studied thousands of different spell bomb designs, and I know already that there isn''t a spell bomb like that in the world."
"But how do we know that''s even real? How can we really tell if you''re right?" Jane didn''t want to have doubts, but what Claudia was saying now totally trumped Jane''s earlier ideas. Whatever the spell bomb is - has suddenly become more of a mystery now than it ever did before. Jane knew that the effects of the spell bomb were crazy in how they affected her, but Claudia just gave that notion a total upgrade.
"I have just the thing." Claudia turned to the unit installed on one of the walls near her desk. "That scanner over there. It''s designed to determine all changes that have taken effect on someone''s energy scope."
Where did that thing come from? Jane never noticed the strange scanning unit attachment until Claudia pointed it out to her, though the coloration did allow it to blend in better. That''s not important. Was Claudia having a moment? "We''ve already established that my energy scope fails to report all of these little changes."
"True that is," Claudia agreed. "Whether you are plugged into an advanced scanner, or you just run the digitally programmed scanner installed to your energy scope, you would indefinitely get the same results. However, there is one type of change that would not be able to hide from a deep scanner unit. Jane, the average points of magic a person of your level should have is around eight thousand at best. I have about forty thousand on hand because of my own experience and age with practice. I bet people such as the champion of Leray magic might break the scale itself, but I still want to find out for myself Jane. If I am right, then your magical points should far exceed that of what you should have at present. Care to have a look?"
This was all so sudden, but if Claudia could really deduce all of this from a few exchange of spells, then she has to be the expert. Come to think of it, nobody ever thought to check the capacity of her personal ME levels using any equipment like that, since it was never a suspected symptom of this curse. A prototype spell bomb coming from an unknown corporation - possibly illegally built, doing all of this crazy voodoo? Is this what that guy meant by dangerous? He should have used the term experimental; if only it wasn''t permanent. Jane took her time to answer, but eventually nodded and followed the teacher down to the deep scanner. What else could she say? Even if this breaks the seal on her inner most secret regarding the spell bomb to the entire class, she has to find out the full truth for herself now.
The machine was an interesting set up. It''s some sort of dome looking headwear with a computer terminal on top of the dome, hooked up to an adjustable wall slider. There was a chair under the unit, meaning Jane was supposed to sit down there and put that contraption on her head. The dome thing appeared to look a lot more like a geeky transparent helmet up close, and the computer terminal on top was physically attached to the unit. On the inside of the dome, there were two circular nodes on each ear side, pointing towards each other as the method of the brainwave scanner. At least it didn''t have any needles or wires that looked painful. Jane nervously sat down in the seat, while Claudia stood above her, hooking up the device and getting it prepared.
"Hey Claudi?" Jane got her attention, though Claudia was still busy hooking up the device for her. "I... I didn''t know what was going to happen when I told you about it - about the spell bomb, but thank you. I didn''t expect you to be such an expert."
"Well I did say that I was interested before, didn''t I? At first, I thought you had a lot of potential, in the sense that your immediate ability to learn new skills was just a natural talent unique only to you. But now that I know it''s a symptom of something else, I just want you to understand what your real talent is, the natural one I mean, and just focus on that from here on."
Jane tilted her head down a notch. What is it people say about her anyway? If it was something Danny or Taylor told her, she would trust that in a heartbeat, but they never actually spoke of what made Jane special, or for themselves. It was much more of a guessing game instead. Danny is the overconfident one, but it also leaves him with a true sense of where to place his responsibilities. Taylor is... Well... Taylor''s not so easy to understand, but she isn''t a bad person, and she''s willing to go the extra mile to learn anything. It reminds Jane of... Actually, it reminds Jane of herself when she used to train a long time ago.
There''s nothing more that I love than Leray magic. It was her motto growing up as a child, and she used that to get all serious about learning the actual abilities and skills people use in school. The dream of becoming a Leray master her drive, reason to train harder than physically possible in the hopes that the dream turns reality. Yet this crazy spell bomb curse still has one thing out to get her; cutting her endurance in half. Would it even be possible to adjust to thais? How can one create a defense using offense, or whatever the hell was happening to her now?
"Here we go," Claudia announced. She finished fine-tuning the scan set parameters, giving the device instructions to begin doing its job. The glass helmet slowly began to descend closer to Jane''s head, sliding down from the wall with such a slow and delicate speed. The dome has a proximity sensor inside of it; that way it would not simply continue to descend forever and harm the user. Once it was down far enough, the helmet completely covered Jane''s head, but it was transparent too, so she got to see straight through the glass. Jane could see Claudia on the outside, keeping her eyes on the monitor above her. The scan began taking place, using the sensors on each side to pull up the readings.
Jane suddenly seemed nervous and squeamish, but it was to be expected. "Just stay still for this part." Claudia waited as the scan initiated. It began to make a low pitch pulsing noise that carried on a low volume pattern of vibrations for a full minute. Once the scan was almost completed, Jane''s energy scope was suddenly forced into real time space, floating in front of her.
Jane already told Claudia about using two normal MP up and HP up Spell bombs while she traveled Route 96 in the night, but even so, they barely contributed to her real capabilities on the field. After reading the number of magical points, represented on a scale of Magical Essence, Jane and Claudia both lost their marbles.
"Forty-seven thousand three hundred eighty?!" Claudia couldn''t control herself or her volume, on the count of how unexpected this was.
"Unbelievable," Jane added. She knew exactly what that number meant and what the unit stood for. It means that Jane is capable of storing an average amount of magical points that nearly equals or surpasses that of a Leray elite who has been training intensely for several years if not decades.
Claudia repeated without much other tone, "Forty-seven thousand three hundred eighty."
It was clear that Claudia was at a loss for any other words, but Jane found it just as surprising. She too knew about the scale and the numbers that slowly incline with physical and magical training given experience. Needless to say, this incline was a bit too fast for comfort. "Is that even safe?" Jane wondered. If shouldn''t be normal for a person her age with basic training to house that much capacity, and Jane knew for certain that this was abnormal beyond measure.
"It''s not dangerous." Her tone was disrupted by the ongoing surprise. "This number, it''s almost as high as my own. How is it possible for a single spell bomb to do that? It couldn''t contain that much energy."
"Energy..." Energy is what did this? "Is it possible for spell bombs to charge energy into a person from an outside source?"
"A summoned source maybe, but not one single spell bomb actually exists with this much potential," Claudia reported. "I can''t say your prototype did so either. It isn''t possible."
Jane regretfully kept the information to herself. She never did tell Claudia about the gigantic and blinding beam of light that shot down from the sky, crashing into her body shortly after an unidentified symbol summoned itself from the spell bomb. Even if she did tell her, Claudia said there wasn''t a thing like it at all, and that means this spell bomb really is a prototype, an unknown. If that beam of energy turned out to have been some sort of ME charging sequence that forced its way into Jane''s aura, then it explained perfectly why her ME stats were elevated so much. The beam of energy shot down from the moon itself, after it had been summoned by weather changing spells infused into the same spell bomb, turning day into night, possibly via time distortions, or purely perceptual warping magic. If Claudia knew about that at all, Jane would be in a lot of trouble. In her case, the use of any spell bomb at all given the circumstances at that time were illegal for her, and she broke that law anyway.
"Maybe it is," Jane coerced. "Anyway to reverse this spell bomb?"
"Reverse it?!" Claudia nearly choked on Jane''s idea of a joke. "You realize how much potential this now gives you? With this much MP conservation going on, there might even be a way to artificially counter your endurance problem." Claudia gave Jane the hope of news she had been waiting for, while turning off the scan and lifting up the helmet.
"There is?!" Jane wanted to jump up in surprise, but she first had to wait for this helmet to raise far enough upwards to get out of her seat. Claudia however didn''t seem all that sure of herself, more like she was pondering whether the possibility existed.
"You would have to use your conservation method at three times the power you were using it from before, and the sine waves for the aura would have to be completely re-done. The aura type would have to change into..."
"What are you talking about?"
Claudia turned to Jane, who was now standing and eagerly awaiting her solution to counteract the low defenses she permanently has stuck to her. "I can''t put this into words yet. The spell has to be modified first. Take a break for now Jane. I''ll be at my desk trying to figure out the conversion sequence."
"Oh. Okay." It sounded a lot more counter-suspenseful than Jane was hoping for. Claudia must have been working a lot of mathematical equations in her head. Jane momentarily got the impression that Claudia could invent new spell bombs if she chose to, but if Claudia really could fix this without even having to reverse Jane''s spell bomb, she could skip all worry about the dangers of Alpha Zero before getting to the Den of Purity. Claudia turned away to go to her work, already pulling out strange documents from her metallic desk. So that''s what she uses that thing for. Claudia isn''t just a teacher after all, but also a researcher too! It''s no longer a question why she is an expert on local spell bombs.
"Excuse me?"
"Huh?" Jane heard someone''s voice behind her, and turned around to look. It was one of the classmates, and not just any random face. Jane recognized Alyssa from before, during their lesson in the classroom. Jane was surprised in the two pigtails Alyssa threw together, as she didn''t expect it. She also didn''t know much about Alyssa at all. Alyssa seemed sluggish to move, somewhat limping her left side like she was injured or something.
"I hate to be that person, but what the hell is going on here?" Alyssa sounded firm, getting right to the point and asking Jane the direct question.
It was too bad though that Jane had no idea what was on Alyssa''s mind. "What do you mean?"
Alyssa knew her voice was firm and concise, but she did her best to limit her physical body language, less it be difficult to convey anything. "Don''t play dumb here," she folded her arms aside in gesture. "Our teacher has never acted this way before. I don''t understand what it is you''re doing here. And why was she scanning you? Who are you? What exactly are you doing here in our class?"
"Oh. That''s what you meant." Jane blushed, being put right on the spot. Though for now it seemed that Alyssa was the only one in class who immediately took interest into her dwellings. Perhaps she noticed the deep scan Claudia was performing on her. After all, the scanning equipment was in open plain sight for those at training stations. "That''s..." Where could she even begin? "It''s a really long story."
Alyssa shifted her legs, standing as tall as before. "Well we have a couple more hours of training before class ends today, so I''m all ears."
Reverse identifying a mysterious spell bomb was the real short version of the truth, but Alyssa probably wouldn''t buy that one bit. Why does it matter anyway? What is her deal with all of this? "Look. I can''t tell you everything right now. I don''t even fully understand what''s going on myself. What I can say is this. Claudi and I are working on a project."
"A secret project?" Alyssa projected. Claudia never said anything about bringing in a new student that she knew personally. Everything is so different today.
Jane nodded. "No, it''s not secret, but I don''t want to explain to everybody who looks at me, asking ''what''s up with you and Claudi? What are you working on?'' over and over again."
"I''m the only one who asked," Alyssa clarified. This is without a doubt - Jane dodging her questions. She''s hiding something or lying about something else.
Alyssa''s single interest wouldn''t last for long though. Plenty of people are probably of the same curiosity, and are too shy to ask. "For now you mean. Seriously Alyssa. Once I learn more, I''ll tell you all about it, okay?"
"No, not okay," she argued. "If you aren''t going to tell me what you''re even doing here, then I''ll just ask your assistant in crime."
Crap! If she interrupts Claudia at her work now, it could lead to a mistake or calculation error! "Alyssa stop!" Jane blocked the way to Claudia''s desk. "We''re not doing anything illegal or dangerous, and Claudia''s helping me on something right now. You can''t just walk up to her and bug her with questions. I can''t even do that right now. She''ll just ignore me until she''s figured out... Whatever it is she''s trying to figure out."
"Then I''ll just stay close, watch, and listen." For someone willing to hide something, Jane will have her hands tied now, as will Claudia. She can''t just be from the local area, enrolling for fun, but Alyssa was relieved that Jane stopped her physical path. It would take so much effort to move over to that desk in risk of learning nothing.
"So you''re going to spy on us, even though I said I would tell you everything later? Real mature Alyssa." Jane dissuaded Alyssa as much as possible, but it didn''t change her mind.
"Just get out of my way. If you''re so innocent, then whatever I learn by spying won''t really be all that bad, will it?"
Jane crossed her arms again, getting herself ready to talk to Claudia again. Alyssa was going to be a pain after all. "I guess not. Have fun wasting your time." Jane turned around now. Whether Alyssa was going to stay glued to her trail or not, she needed to find out what Claudia was trying to discover. With so many more hours to go before class even ends, this day could drag on longer than Jane wanted it to.
Chapter 24: Mark of Deception
<01/20/1972 ¨C 12:40 | Lennith Training Academy, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"Yes. Here it is." Claudia took a sheet out from a big stack of notes and other paper work. The short document appeared to be notes from another''s work, but it has strange markings and indicators Jane couldn''t understand. She hovered near Claudia, waiting impatiently for her to explain herself. "The shield."
"The shield?" Jane voiced her question in a sarcastic tone, waiting for Claudia to be less mellow dramatic.
"It''s what I thought of when I realized how you were able to conserve your MP at any given time."
Jane took a wild guess at what her teacher was babbling about. Whatever Claudia was doing searching for documents was still a total mystery to her, after all she had gone silent. "A Leray power?"
"Right. But, um..." Claudia seemed confused, trying to express the words in a way that Jane would be able to understand. "It doesn''t have an official name."
"Then how can it be a spell?" Jane threw her hands in the air. Was Claudia going to show her this new trick or not? Is it even a spell capable of being harnessed?
Claudia knew she had to be patient. Jane''s unusual aliment did have an upside after all, and just because Jane doesn''t know about it doesn''t mean she is incapable of learning. She has quick learning capabilities too as a second upside, but now there is another new detail, Alyssa Valor. She was standing far behind Jane, waiting and passively listening to learn something. Even so, this should be harmless. Alyssa needs to better set her priorities. "It''s an old and outdated ability that people used to try and master a long time ago. Without any real name, folks just called it a Leray shield."
Alyssa then limped up closer, again revealing to a small degree her physical ailment restricting her mobility on foot, though Jane never noticed. Alyssa was attracted by the wealth of new information, standing in close proximity of Claudia and Jane. Both of them could tell she was eavesdropping, but it didn''t stop Claudia from explaining anything in the same volume.
"A Leray shield is the process of exerting your MP magic into a special personalized defense aura, canceling out all types of damage."
"All types?" The description alone was enough to arouse Jane''s excitement. With the power to block all damage and all types of damage... "But, wouldn''t something that significant get popular real fast?" If a shield could be used by anybody to block out all damage, everybody would use it to advance their career.
"Well..." It was time she quit beating around a bush. Jane wasn''t going to get the picture based on hints. Alyssa butting in would just be collateral for now. "The famous Leray shield lost credibility fast with its power problems. It''s one of the few Leray abilities that costs a lot of MP based on reference capacity, not by a specific number of magical points."
Jane knew strangely what that was about. It means that anyone using the Leray shield would have MP consumption problems even after decades of increasing their MP capacity or training really hard with that ability. If it uses 10% MP for example, then that rules stays the same forever in anybody who uses it regardless of ME capacity, which isn''t normally true for most other spells. "That is a problem. How much does it use per invocation?"
"That''s just it," Claudia cleared. "It uses around thirty percent of a person''s MP level every time, and though it was effective in blocking all types of damage, it only did so in a means of damage reduction, of about fifty percent."
"So it''s like a partial shield?" Claudia nodded at Jane''s interpretation. Using 30% of your MP just to partially block damage isn''t very exciting after all.
"It only cut damage in half each time, sometimes less than half. So it never got popular, and people just stopped using it all together. Attempts to refine failed."
Jane pondered how Claudia was able to get all of that information from just a sheet of paper, but the notes on that sheet only indicated specific motions and calculation formulas. That means she really remembered this story from something else. "You sure know a lot about random Leray powers."
Claudia almost winced in nervous surprise from Jane''s insinuation, but quickly played it off. "What I do know is that because of its free form aura creation, this Leray shield could be modified in so many different ways." She glared into Jane''s green eyes, hoping she would be ready for this. "And with your strange effects permanently attached to you, I think we can modify this ability specifically for your needs."
Modify how? "Are you sure?"
Claudia answered swiftly, "People tried modifying this ability many times ago, but with no great success. Based on what I''ve seen firsthand on that scanner, I think you''re one of the first exceptions to power problems we''ve had in centuries. Back then, there were no crazy experimental spell bombs for people to get a hold of, none that work like this. What did that crystal even do to you?"
Jane hovered her head down again. Honestly, she wasn''t sure. All of the effects Claudia said were present are still just circumstantial only; she had no real evidence on what that spell bomb was designed to do. Seeing her own ME capacity so high though was strong evidence of its total intent. The spell bomb created a massive symbol in the sky right before creating a high powered energy beam from the moon which then shot into her, and if the end result made her magical endurance level shoot higher passively over time, that must mean that the spell bomb infused some sort of unknown energy into her. No wonder it made her sick the day after! She still couldn''t bring herself to tell Claudia this secret. Danny and Taylor kept it from the agents for a reason, shielded the truth about Jane''s experimental spell bomb even though her total health was on the line.
"I can guess from that sad face that you have no clue?"
Jane snapped out of her thoughts, realizing now that she totally forgot to give Claudia some sort of answer. "Um, guess not. Claudi, I don''t get something. You want to teach me a bad ability. Why?"
"Because if I am correct, and your body can adapt to the power consumption by conserving your MP energy as it is being used, then not only will this allow you to make full use of the Leray shield for extended periods of time, but it might even increase the level of protection such a shield will provide."
"But I don''t have the first idea how to make something like that happen."
She pointed to herself upon announcing, "I''ll teach you."
"What?"
"I have the notes right here, and I can show you the steps. But to make something like this work, we need to battle again. It won''t work if you don''t get in any sort of training with the new ability."
"But that could take forever to..." Jane stopped herself before finishing the sentence. It only took her an hour or two to learn new abilities, at least the ones she wanted to learn while in Monoc Port. At first she believed it only happened that way because she was so determined to do so, but if rapid magical learning really is a side effect of the spell bomb, this might still work the way Claudia was talking about. If it does work, Jane can have cheap energy access to a shield that cancels out most damages on a dime. Bad endurance or not, such an ability would totally negate the lethal effects of other attacks used against her.
"See, now you''re learning." Claudia could tell Jane had picked up on the other details from before. "I''ll get the battle area reset again, and show you the skills.
"It''ll take a miracle to understand what you both are talking about." Alyssa decided that was the only thing she was going to spout back at them. Whatever Claudia and Jane were up to was defiantly something unusual. It has to be if the teacher is going to ignore teaching this to the class. She never goes this far out of her way to help a new student, but none of that nonsense sounded anything related to their studies. What were they talking about though? Spell bombs and scanners? Shielding abilities and power consumption? When this is over, Jane better tell me everything.
Chapter Theme Shift: Anea Landing ~ Ace Combat 6 OST
The entire class put down everything they were doing, once again crowding around Jane and Claudia in the battle square like before. It was inevitable. Claudia didn''t want to attract any attention to this sort of thing. After all, prototype spell bombs normally have to do with something illegal, and Jane was an unlucky victim of the sort. They don''t need exposure to her private information. Still, nobody was going to learn too much by accident with a shield ability, so she had to let it slide this time. Though this time, everybody was more excited than before, courtesy of Alyssa''s nosey attachment to the situation. Jane and Claudia were standing about twenty meters away from each other again.
Jane prepared for her teacher to begin. Claudia had explained many things to her just before starting this second training match. It was mostly about the movements and invocation of the unnamed shielding ability. Jane had never even seen one in action before, so performing it like this wasn''t going to be easy. Jane was also informed ahead of time not to return any attacks. Claudia will simply throw random magical or physical abilities at her, in hopes that she will be able to deflect the damage. Both of them engaged their energy scopes too, just to assess the success factor of that shield - should it actually work.
The first move for Claudia was off, as she began twirling her body around after shouting the name of her impending ability. "Magical Blitz!" Claudia''s version of Magical Blitz was much different than what Jane was physically used to. She somehow managed to throw three magical energy balls in the blink of an eye, not delaying her movement any further than it needed to. The way her body motions added to the momentum of each thrown projectile and the insignificant time it took her to toss and throw each one of them bared the mark of an expert in action.
Jane nearly froze from the little reaction time she had. She was supposed to use the shielding ability at this very moment, creating a protective barrier of magic around her whole body before the projectiles slam into her. Claudia already explained much about the actual magic involved in the unnamed ability, Jane remembered every word. When it''s time to block an attack, charge up just a small amount of MP energy. Try it on each side of your hands. Then use that as the outlet of the energy projection wave. Once you''ve charged up that much energy, release a protective aura of magic specifically shaped to yourself. You want to throw the aura over yourself as if it were a big blanket of energy. That released energy - is your shield.
Claudia even presented that movement to Jane, but it wasn''t something she actually did in real time. Jane had less than a second to do anything right now, and instead took a hit directly to her face. The energy ball slammed into her, knocking Jane to her back. Though it did a lot of damage to her, the other two energy spheres flew over Jane because of her fall, allowing her to accidentally dodge the others.
She suspected that Jane wouldn''t get it right the very first time, even for a quick learner. Though it was surprising to see how much damage to her target just one blitz ball inflicted. Jane''s endurance level really was suffering after all, and there was more than enough proof to show that the spell bomb Jane used on herself had some unique and adverse effects. Still, Jane was going to need more encouragement, and much weaker attack spells. If Claudia ends up knocking the girl out before this is over, then it won''t ever work. "Try it again Jane. Remember what I told you." I''m going to delay my attack time until she gets it.
Jane pushed herself back up, barely hurt from that last hit. Despite draining a lot of her HP, magical damage such as that from the last spell isn''t effective in delivering pain like piercing attacks were. One can only hope that this magical shield is easier to use than she thought. "I''m ready!"
Claudia responded with a slight hand motion, hands which began glowing brightly from the obvious magical build up. "Zero Hit!" Claudia held back the actual attack this time, forcing her spell to charge up with the same amount of MP at a slower pace than usual. This should allow Jane to accumulate enough time and energy to get it right.
Just before Claudia released her unusual attack towards Jane, Jane threw her hands over her head, as if to toss a blanket over herself. Though she did charge and release MP energy at the same time, it didn''t change anything. The bright blue beam of energy from Claudia''s attack hit Jane faster than what could even be calculated, and faded in just half a second. The energy beam didn''t have a lot of force, nor did it do a ton of damage to Jane''s health, but it did sting, reminding her of the similar ability of her Mako Beam.
Two things were wrong with this picture already. Claudia examined exactly the way Jane reacted prior to taking the hit. Not only did a shielding aura fail to appear even for a second, but Jane''s own MP energy dropped down much lower than it needed to. Based on Jane''s total ME conservation scale, she wasn''t going to need that much power. "Less energy Jane. You only need a tiny fraction of your MP energy to run this shield." By now everybody around them was confused, taking wild guesses about what Claudia was trying to teach the new student. It was obvious that they were not battling with each other, especially apparent since Jane was not returning fire. Even Alyssa was watching them both with those glaring dark eyes.
Less energy? Didn''t the energy shield require like 30% of her MP? Maybe that''s what Claudia meant by conservation. The general cost of all abilities for Jane is going to be lower, if that''s what it meant. Jane took a deep open breath, trying again to create the shielding aura before Claudia even tried to attack her. It didn''t need to be in a moment in danger for the shield to work, but even now, Jane wasn''t having much luck. After reducing her MP consumption to about three percent capacity, Jane tried to throw the aura over her body again, hoping to activate something. After failing again, Claudia hit Jane with another Zero Hit attack.
Zero Hit is one of Claudia''s weak training spells designed to coax others into trying better next time during intense sessions, but this was getting ridiculous. How long did Jane have to try this until it worked?
"Zero Hit!" she shouted.
It was a barrage over and over of Zero Hit attacks from Claudia, firing weak powered beams of magical damage at Jane. The attack itself was totally unavoidable, thus expressing the importance of blocking. Traditional stand still and use your arms to block tactics were already ineffective, and much more in Jane''s case with her endurance so low. Jane tried over and over just before taking additional hits with Claudia''s beamed attacks. No matter how hard she tried, nothing happened at all, not even for a split second.
This constant barrage of failures carried on into a long duration of time. Thirty-three whole minutes passed in a flash, and it was clear to Jane that even Claudia was getting pretty tired. Jane''s attempted use of power shields cost only small MP amounts, as did Claudia''s Zero Hit spells, so no energy recharging was needed outside of passive regeneration, but Jane wanted to keep it up. It did seem true that the energy shield didn''t need that much MP energy for her to try and use, but that assumption could only be proven true once Jane gets it right. Maybe it was something she couldn''t understand. What even is a defensive aura anyway?
After asking herself the question, Jane allowed her thoughts to carry on while Claudia caught up with herself. A defensive aura is a field of personalized MP energy, released into a specific wave form to follow a specific task. In this case, the aura is supposed to act as a total shield, protecting me from every sort of danger that could possibly exist. Jane figured that learning no support aura spells was part of the problem, since this technically counts as one. It''s nothing more than an aura of power placed carefully into an electrically catalyzed photon shell with displacement protection. Wait. How could I possibly know that?
Jane remembered back to the notes Claudia presented to her earlier. Suddenly it became clear that her memory worked well when she wanted it to, but it didn''t really help make it any easier. A power shield... A power shield is all this ability really is, and because it doesn''t have an official name, because it doesn''t retain the same form each time, Jane can technically call this fielded ability anything she wants to. Perhaps by doing that, maybe if she can coax her mind into the name of the ability while thinking more about how it works, it might help invocation pull through. It''s the reason people chant their ability''s names in battle in the first place. They''re used to doing that in training, so that it stays with them the whole time. The name triggers the memory and imagination of how the invocation and magical formation occurs. With something like a power shield, Jane would have to effectively create a force field around her entire body, using the Leray magic provided for her in the form of MP energy, which is the same thing in either case. It didn''t matter how much MP this would cost, only how much it takes to protect her from damage, that which is transformed into a support aura.
"Ready," Jane announced. With a new tactic in mind, Jane had a better idea for how to go about this training. Zero Hit is non-lethal, not even scary. Claudia was failing to show her real talents this time. But if it was scary, lethal, or dangerous, Jane wouldn''t have a choice but to get it right. So I''ll pretend that this next Zero Hit is deadly. I''ve gotta try!
Claudia had given up chanting the name of her spell over and over again. Jane already knew ahead of time that Zero Hit was coming again, and her voice was getting weaker from all of the time passed.
Just as Claudia began to release her energy, Jane threw her hands up a different way this time, right and left arm facing opposite of each other away from her body. At the same time Jane was charging her energy, she chanted the name of the unnamed spell just to try and boost her odds of success. "Power Shield!" Jane''s arm and hand motions were different this time, totally deviant from the physical placement Claudia had shown her earlier. Just as Claudia was releasing that energy in the form of another magical beam, Jane released the small amount of energy that she managed to charge in record time.
In doing so, Jane''s entire body became surrounded with the quick formation of a magical blue aura that had the same color of the energy beam coming her way, but resembled something totally different. The shield of transparent light displacement that appeared disappeared just as quickly, blinking on and off just once. Whatever just happened, it caused Jane to take damage from the Zero Hit just like before, but it almost seemed like her body became protected with an aura of magical energy, even if it was just for a split second.
Jane realized that it didn''t work this time, and lowered her arms down to her sides. She took another deep breath in mental preparation, already charging some additional energy into her hands. It wasn''t nearly enough to make them glow any sort of color or brightness, but she was ready for the next attack again, even if it wasn''t going to work.
Power Shield? Claudia heard Jane spout the saying just before the very last attempt she tried against her. Was that some sort of artificial name to help her boost the chance? It might be enough to work, but to Claudia''s eyes, it almost seemed like Jane had it a moment ago. "Try it again Jane. Here comes Zero Hit!" Claudia released her energy again, firing another energy beam towards Jane.
Jane opened her eyes again, shouting "Power Shield!" while lifting her arms to become exactly parallel to her own shoulders. Upon releasing her energy, Jane imagined that her hands were opposite ends of a closed circuit of Leray energy, generating a spherical field of protection around her, and just as the thought took form, the aura actually activated this time. Out of nowhere, a transparent aura with a slight blue coloration of energy suddenly surrounded Jane''s body, carrying the same exact shape of her form. Instead of forming a spherical aura of protection, the aura was the same shape and slightly larger the size of her own body as it generated.
Jane couldn''t believe what was in front of her own eyes. It was hard to see from her angle since it was so close to her, but there was defiantly a transparent blue aura everywhere around her, staying for much longer than a split second. The aura''s color was that of a bright variation of turquoise, generating a specific field all around her body. Jane could only see what was in front of her eyes, but the aura had her completely trapped inside so long as she didn''t move her arms. That''s when the beam form Zero Hit slammed into Jane from Claudia''s attack. Instead of hitting her body and giving her damage, the beam of energy stopped short of the outer layer of Jane''s personal aura, and as Jane kept the shield alive for a few more seconds, she saw where the beam had failed to penetrate the shield. Exactly in the place where the beam previously impacted, there were some small sized hexagons that formed at the base of the impact site where the displacement occurred, which simply faded away after a while. If that wasn''t weird, the sound of everybody''s murmuring voices suddenly became muffled, as if people were speaking underwater. The shield is soundproof too?!
Jane lowered her arms to see what would happen. Incidentally, the slight displacement of her arms ended up destroying her personal aura. The aura found a way to map movement to Jane''s body, moving in the same way she does. But lowering her arms broke that imaginary circuit she thought of earlier, making the entire aura fade away into nothingness. The aura collapsed by reforming the texture of large hexagonal sections that all disappeared in a uniform direction from both vertical ends. It wasn''t what Jane was expecting to happen afterwards, but the moment it was realized that her power shield actually activated for the first time, everybody became too stunned to speak anymore.
Claudia was almost at a loss for words too. She carefully examined Jane''s energy scope for changes. Though her MP fell by 3% from that shield attempt, her HP did not changed from before. Did her aura work so well that it blocked the damage out with 100% efficiency? "It-it worked? Try it again."
"Yeah." Jane waited for Claudia to throw another attack her way, determined to give validity to this particular study, but it was severely delayed. With a lot now on her mind, Claudia needed a moment to process it.
"Shadow Wave!" she shouted, giving Jane initiative to try her shield again before the attack hits her.
Jane saw the Shadow Wave take form on the metal floor, now sliding in her direction while picking up speed and size. This was the perfect moment to use her shield ability, if it would work a second time. Luckily, Jane did not forget how she did it before. It was mainly about directing the energy to perform a specific function, but now that Jane knew what to expect, she imagined the entire scene from before happening again in her mind, bending to her desire for energy activation. She charged the small amount of MP energy it took to make it happen, and released her energy only after lifting both her arms and hands to a parallel angle of each shoulder. Jane then crossed her arms over each other to try and make the shield more effective, and then released her energy into her personal aura around her to try and make it happen again. She also needed to chant the artificial name of the new skill to make it all seem more real to her. "Power Shield!" Jane''s sudden reaction was nearly instantaneous this time, as was the sudden formation of an energy field. Just as she chanted the name and released the MP energy she prepared, the same blue translucent aura surrounded her entire body again, retaining the same shape as Jane even as she moved around slightly. Jane lowered her arms just a few centimeters to see if it would disrupt her field, but it didn''t happen that way this time given her new stance.
Now with a fully functioning shield around her body, Jane simply waited for the approaching Shadow Wave attack heading towards her at top speed. There was more than enough time to notice how crazy this new power shield was. All of the sounds from the outside became muffled and harder to hear. She wasn''t even sure if this was the correct form of a power shield presented for her, but it remained active long after Jane initiated the shield. As the fact remained that she needed to keep her arms up to keep the shield alive, it became rather annoying quickly.
Once the Shadow Wave came really close to Jane''s face, she ducked her head and shut her eyes. Even under a shield, an oncoming attack that big was scary at the range it was at now, but Jane kept her arms above her waist, forcing the shield to stay active. As Jane realized that nothing was hurting her a second later, she opened her eyes again, only to realize that the Shadow Wave was literally colliding into the aura in front of her. It was like the Shadow Wave found its obstacle, pushing against the force field while throwing out random slashes for magical damage against the aura. At first it seemed like the shield was totally invincible. Jane''s position and even the shield was not budging an inch, and therefore neither was the Shadow Wave itself. Shadow Wave is an attack spell that exerts a pushing kind of force near the end of its own wave, yet Jane''s feet and legs remained motionless. She couldn''t feel anything at all; no pain, no damage, no force pushing her back; she was totally safe!Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
But those small sized hexagons were there again, forming all over the interior of Jane''s aura. The location of these holographic hexagons was only specific to the areas from the outside reference of which sections the shield was taking the hits of damage. Because the Shadow Wave was such a big attack, the entire front end of the shield replaced a smooth ghostly texture with rough holographic looking hexagons, and that wasn''t all. As the hexagons appeared, Jane suddenly began to feel weak and drained of her life energy. The Shadow Wave finally finished its line and exploded into a black cloud of dust. This small explosion created larger hexagons on the outside of the shield again, but after that, Jane just lost it. Without even trying to disperse her own shield, she felt so weak, nearly falling down to her knees as the aura faded into nothingness. It was as if her health suddenly fell close to zero, at least that''s what Jane went by with her lightheadedness and her total weakness, the sensation closely similar.
Claudia gasped in surprise. That time the shield really worked again, better than before. Jane''s MP level only dropped by 2% on that turn, and her HP remained unchanged. Though something seems to have drained her energy or stamina in a different way. Claudia had to conclude that running this shield while it takes damage can be exhausting, but it actually worked, much better than she thought it would. Instead of pillaging Jane with more attacks, Claudia decided to call it a day. "It''s enough for now. Excellent Jane! You''ve just learned how to use a power shield."
Chapter Theme Shift: Recovered Knowledge ~ Jeff Broadbent [Planetside 2 OST]
Jane was breathing quicker than she wanted to, but not too much for concern. She stood back up, surprised to see that her energy scope reported no HP changes from that last hit at all. Her shield blocks all damage! But, it failed that last time, just after the Shadow Wave was through. Why didn''t it stay up? Instead of asking herself, Jane headed towards her teacher again with a new array of questions.
Jane wasn''t the only one with questions. Knowing that the session was now over, all of her students were in amazement, surrounding her close up and asking Claudia if they can have a turn.
"How can she do that?" "Can you teach me Power Shield?" "I didn''t know there was an ability like that!"
Claudia nodded her head. The pain it will be to tell her entire class that Jane is the only one of them that can perform this ability. It would make anyone as young as Jane jealous.
"Claudi!" Jane hollered, cupping her mouth to sound louder than the rest. "My shield failed that last time!"
For some reason, the class became almost quiet with curiosity to hear what she had to say about the failing shield. Claudia already knew what it was about though. She was thus allowed to walk closer to Jane, noticing that she had already disabled her energy scope. The students all around her were so curious, yet so disconnected from the real happening with Jane, that Claudia had to temporarily ignore it for now. Nobody fell dead silent however, all too excited to pay direct attention. "I''m highly impressed that you learned how to use that shield of yours at all. And to think you almost mastered it in just less than an hour. You are a quick learner."
Jane wanted to thank Claudi for all the praise, but she didn''t find the words yet. The thoughts from using that shield were still on her mind, as well as other details.
"About your power shield - I think that there are some limitations even for you. The shield''s output is dependent on your concentrative ability to keep it up, and that means that the longer you run the shield, the more prone it will be to fail. That''s why you need to engage your shield just a second before something attacks you, but I also think there is still a damage limit to your shield on top of everything else."
"Is there?"
"It does well to block out 100% of all damage like that, but it therefore must have a damage limitation too. If your incoming damage is too high for your shield output to handle, it will likely fail before the attack is even done trying to break it."
Jane exhaled in exhaustion. That must be why Claudia''s Shadow Wave nearly flattened her. "That''s not very reliable then. I can''t keep it up for that long, and if I try to block a really powerful attack, it won''t work all together."
"Luckily for you, I don''t think that the timing and damage factor are interdependent of each other. That means that having your shield up for a longer time doesn''t make it weaker against strong attacks as that time passes, but it will put more stress on your focus. I''m guessing that took a lot of concentration out of you."
"Yeah. I didn''t know such a gift existed." Jane still couldn''t help but sound amazed at her new power. Where was this in her training facility?
"Can I learn how to do that?"
Claudia gave her attention to Jacob, one of her more eager to learn students. "I''m sorry class, but this ability is something that only Jane is able to perform right now. She has some unique modular power conservations going on that just doesn''t exist in normal people."
Jane''s expression became monotone. Way to kill the mood Claudi. Now everyone will hate me for what I can do. Oh well, it''s not that important.
"Is that right?" Alyssa turned the spotlight on herself, but now that Claudi was making the official announcement, it might not even matter anymore that Jane has some sort of secret. "I wonder how Jane got this unique modular power conservation. Care to explain?"
Alyssa sure sounds eager to learn about that, but Jane is the one housing that secret in the first place. "I think that''s up to Jane. Do you want to explain how this works?"
Thanks a lot! Claudia must have run out of patience for keeping her spell bomb secret a complete mystery, but it wasn''t just Alyssa trying to smash ice. Everyone else was hovering nearby now, quieting down and also awaiting explanations. Guess the shielding trick looked really cool. Jane didn''t actually know how she looked on the outside of her own personal force field, but with such a powerful defensive ability, there won''t even be a need to explain it anymore. "It doesn''t matter. Now that I know how to use this shield, I can return my stats back down to normal."
Alyssa muttered, "Huh?" with a confused expression of disgust.
"What does that mean?"
Jane faced her teacher again, now ready to explain the real reason she came to this school in the first place. As bad as this secret is, hiding it won''t matter, now that she has what she needs. "Claudi? I have to thank you personally. For you''ve just given me the one thing I need to protect myself while I''m in this state. I won''t be cursed for long. Now that I can protect myself, I have the means of travel to perform the removal process of this curse."
"Uh," Claudia took a step back without moving the rest of her body in surprise. "Curse?"
Chapter Theme Shift: Our Worlds Divide ~ [Gothic Storm]
No point in keeping it a secret now. Jane could feel her heart pounding against her chest so rapidly in fear and attenuation, but she couldn''t hide the truth forever. This is after all - her own doing, and now it was up to her to remove it. The reason she has such high ME levels, the reason her endurance is so low, the reason her MP can be conserved, and the reason her other powers are all out of whack... It''s all because of this one thing. "I''m talking about removing this stupid tattoo!" Jane lifted her right arm up for Claudia and the students standing behind her to see. Jane glared at the top of her right hand intensely, putting as much focus as she could right into that spot. In hopes of revealing the truth even to herself, Jane activated the glyph, creating a small yet bright glowing symbol with pink and blue colorations that hovered above and inside of her right hand as if it were a holographic projection. Jane held her hand up, revealing to the entire class of people around her this one forbidden curse.
Claudia didn''t believe this! A symbological marking took form on Jane''s hand, with an unidentified pattern she had never seen before. This however isn''t a Leray glyphring; it''s an actual symbol, a magic symbol! How did she get that? When did this happen? "Wha¡ª" she didn''t mean to sound so baffled, but Jane had kept this a secret from them. Of all things, she chose to reveal it here and now? No! It can''t be! "A marking? You''re marked with symbols?" Claudia''s fears intensified while her attention shifted to the surprised students surrounding them both. "Everyone back up right now! Back! Back!" Claudia''s immediate instruction of panic forced all of her students to immediately back away for distance, while she held her arm out at Jane for self-defense, glowing in her hand to prepare a magical attack. She held it in for a few seconds, uncertain of what was going to happen here.
Jane lowered her hand down to eye level with herself, mapping the entire symbological pattern instilled on her hand while ignoring Claudia''s expected panic attack. "Truth be told, it comes and goes. I rarely get to see it there, but it becomes more likely to show up whenever I use a lot of power. This symbol..." Jane tilted her hand towards Claudia again, displaying the markings by turning her hand around to show her. "Is the same exact symbol that was displayed on the unidentified spell bomb. It was a symbol that formed in the sky, appearing a thousand times this current size. It was there when I woke up from the activation, and it''s still with me now."
"But, that''s..." Claudia was confused, and from her peripheral sight, so were many other students seeking the truth about Jane. "The unknown spell bomb did this to you? All of it?!"
Jane exhaled calmly, allowing her thoughts to drift back into her faint memories. Danny and Taylor; they still seemed too far away right now, like a distant memory, but after Jane woke up from using the unknown spell bomb, this symbol, the same one that shot into the sky had materialized into this small spot of her hand. Jane remembered this clearly, the evening of which she was allowed to walk out of the Fronas medical facility, and the same night Danny scolded her for it. The symbol faded from their view, just before Taylor or the nurse spotted that marking on her hand while she was strapped into the bed.
Nobody other than Jane knew about this symbol. She had kept it hidden for so long, being careful enough not to let anybody get a good look at her hand. Without the mercenary outfit she had to help cover her hands, this dress sphere left them wide open. Jane recalled several additional moments in which the symbol appeared and faded again, even though it probably wasn''t normal for symbols to go invisible like that. It helped her hide the shame she felt for so long...
Jane is marked. Almost nothing could change this from the moment that it happened, and now revealing this hidden truth to all of them, Jane knew what she was doing. Even if all of them are afraid of marked ones, it won''t matter now that she has the means to remove it. Claudia won''t just be able to tell the police about it either, since she had broken her own rules to let Jane into the school. Claudia shouldn''t have been so trusting of strangers over mere excitement, but she was, and Jane used that moment to exploit her own benefit.
All of that crap about her endurance being lower than it should have, the pouting Jane performed in front of her friends back in Gulop; only half of it was real. Jane knew from the beginning that this symbol hiding in her hand was the real culprit of her failing endurance level and her horrific battling style. Going to the Den of Purity to remove this thing was the goal from day one, as it had nothing to do with fixing her endurance. Truth be told, a low endurance is bad for a battling career, but a symbol like this is worse than anything. As Jane recalled the truth of her earlier thoughts, this glowing mark never capped Jane''s endurance level either. All it did was reset this stat back to ordinary conditions for the moment being, so it seemed.
There is a major difference between the glyphrings and the symbols that can appear only within Sprawn Valley. Glyphrings for example are always temporary; perfect rings or disks with different artistic designs on them. Each and every glyphring is unique, displayed differently based on what kind of magic is involved with its dispersion. The miniature graphics within the circles coated into each glyphring disk are also of the same fashion, as are symbols that may appear from spell bombs. But so called marking symbols are different. Instead of taking the form of glyphrings, symbols appear for multiple unusual purposes such as the symbols that materialize holographically in the air after certain spell bombs are activated. Additionally, some people have the power to bestow or install symbol markings on the skin of humans, giving them access to specific powers usually outside of their normal capacity. However, with the long lost city of Helix in ruins, destroyed by a short-lived civil war over two hundred years ago in the Junon region, all of the research and talent regarding symbological installing was wiped away. Even now, the research of symbols in such a manner is considered restricted by the General Army.
People who are crazy enough to wind up imbuing their own skin with secret symbols become what is known as marked ones. Being marked with a symbol is not something most people can hide from, because ordinarily, symbols don''t fade invisible like the one Jane was running around with. As far as it goes, being marked with a symbol for any purpose or reason is the top of the most illegal crimes in the entire continent. Symbological research therefore is a forbidden research that was tracked and shut down long ago, but obviously, it was not totally shut down. That spell bomb Jane used had to have been some sort of illegal prototype, but the symbol on her hand is the bigger problem, wielding effects still unknown to her and others.
The battles Jane had with others especially with Danny and Taylor around were dangerous in every sense. Without full control of her symbol or its rate of appearance, Jane could have easily and accidentally revealed herself to the world, and then everything would have ended. That fight that was recorded on SN Live for example would have been the end of her career for sure, since it is illegal to have a symbol. It was invisible for the battle, but Jane knew it was a close call for that thing to show up. Even that moment on Tilsit Beach could have wrecked everything for her, but in holding all of that drive to run away as far as she could, Jane made it all the way to Lennith City. Her symbol could have been revealed in any one of those battles on Route 96. In fact, Jane was certain that the symbol did technically activate for one of them, but she kept it hidden with the assistance of her thick mercenary garb, right before ending Patrissa''s plan to annihilate her for good.
Danny and Taylor are probably the biggest victims though. Jane still felt so terrible all this time lying to them both, but it was for their own good. They would notice what is wrong with the situation fast, and then never proceed to talk to her again out of fear, just like how everyone else reacts to these situations. Right now, everyone in this classroom is in a full set panic because people who have symbol markings usually have the power to topple the government singlehandedly, thus they have more than enough power to cause great harm to others. Symbol mapping was originally allowed for the design of top grade soldiers during the Avion Wars several centuries ago, but called into question by the dangers after the war ended abruptly. Jane knew she couldn''t call back home either. She never had done so once since leaving Blue Port Town, and this right here is the reason. If the world knew about her symbol, her parents may be prosecuted as well.
Jane never understood why her dangerous spell bomb imbued a symbol on her hand, but this symbol is the very thing responsible for giving her all of these strange effects; the lowered endurance ratings and the increased ME capacity for magical potential. All of it, the spell''s permanent effects are inside of one tiny marking that is usually phased out of visibility. Jane used Claudia''s expert data mapping to draw further conclusions based on this symbol. Now, Jane revealed this glowing mark here, in front of the class, which by the way Jane didn''t legally belong to either.
Claudia was right about one thing. Even experimental spell bombs should not carry so much potential, to boost one''s maximum magical capacity so high in such little time, but symbols are powerful when used this way, making it all possible. The so-called marked ones these days are just a myth, a legend, but Jane has one, right now in plain sight. All of the kids including Alyssa were cowering behind Claudia, with her brave stance out in front to protect them all. This is a standard reaction ordinary people have to marked ones. As for Leray agents, they don''t tolerate the existence of any who are marked, going as far to authorize lethal force on a national scale.
But perhaps the most wonderful and interesting solution to all of this is the Den of Purity. It is stated that the mage responsible for the facility can remove all effects created by permanent spell bombs, which is not limited to any effects lingering from symbol markings on people. That means that even with this development, the Den of Purity is still a good idea. Jane knew now what she had to do. With the additional power of this new shielding capacity to counter the negative effects of low endurance, the so called Alpha Zero won''t be a problem anymore.
It was in this moment where Claudia realized several sudden mistakes she had just made, that and the sudden change in Jane Venn, who was now acting a lot more mature than her own age, perhaps because she had to be this tough being a fugitive in disguise. Anything could happen now. This one single girl can destroy this entire facility in the blink of an eye just because she is marked. This is bad!
"You''re a marked one?" To Alyssa, it seemed like she was the only one far off the same page as everyone else. But her rage soon began building upon discovering the similar ways in which Claudia was recently exploited. "What''s going on here? Why are you here harassing us in our school? What gave you the idea that you would be allowed near us?!"
"Calm down Alyssa," Claudia commanded. "I swear I didn''t know about this." Please Jane! If you have any heart at all, leave us alone! Don''t harm them!
"There''s no need for alarm," Jane eased. She knew it was probably futile to try and calm everyone down right now. After all, she has just revealed herself as a weapon of war. "I never came here with intentions to harm anyone, nor do I harbor any such intentions right now." The students around Jane all backed away further, still untrusting yet highly knowledgeable of illegal symbols. Alyssa was the only one who didn''t move an inch. "And I can''t go back home to my friends with something like this on me." Jane knew that she was right. Leray agents would have her locked away forever with this development in their investigation from Blue Port Town.
Of all the laws that exist in Sprawn Valley, being marked with a symbol is treated with the most severity. The installment of symbols without master authorization from all five elites and eight master mages is defiantly against the biggest law in the book. In other words, imbuing symbols is more illegal than containing one. Even if this is just a scary accident, they''ll be hunting her now as long as they really know what happened. For now, the agents investigating in Blue Port don''t know all the details yet, but they will soon enough. "I''m supposed to try and become a Leray master, but battling hundreds of people and entering the League to challenge the champion might not go so well if I''m considered a cheater. Even if I do have a power shield now, I don''t want this thing on me."
Claudia seemed so nervous now, and she had some good grounds to be with these developments. Her entire class was falling silent, unable to know if they should do something specific, but after the last thing Jane just said, Claudia could feel her entire heart breaking apart. Instead of unleashing her charged magic, Claudia defused the light in her wrist, sinking down while Alyssa took immediate concern by the disconnection. "That''s what this is all about... I get it now... You lied to us about that symbol to protect yourself, but you still needed to find out what happened for sure." Jane isn''t a hardened criminal; she''s still just a victim! How horrible! She''s not even a full adult, and her entire life has been ruined by this thing! Jane had the right idea calling it a curse; a curse would have been better.
Jane nodded once for yes. "If I make it to the Den of Purity, I can get the guy to remove the effects from anything I''ve encountered so far. Then, I get to say goodbye to all of this."
The teacher seemed to be pondering so much at once that it took her many moments to process Jane''s new plan. Her nerves appeared to calm down over this moment as well, upon realizing that Jane likely has no ill will against her. Though with a twist, Claudia immediately changed her mood. "Oh no you don''t!"
Jane winced back in surprise. "What?!"
Claudia quickly collected herself and reset her stance back to a solid one, explaining once more with farce, "There''s only one way to currently reach the Den of Purity, and that''s by traveling on foot through the Alpha Zero. It''s too dangerous for anybody right now, so I can''t let you just take off and do something like that."
"But, you said¡ª"
"I never agreed to any promises or deals remotely related to getting you into the Dark Zone," she clarified. "If that''s why you agreed to join the class, then I''ll have to disappoint you." How dare she try this! Jane just wanted to learn an extra ability to run off and get herself killed? For what? Just to remove that symbol on her hand? Bad is it may be, this isn''t worth dying over! I''m sorry Jane! I''m so sorry that this happened to you! But damn it all to hell if I''m going to let you kill yourself over it! Jane doesn''t want that symbol on her hand. Most of everyone else would use that kind of power to get away with anything! But Jane doesn''t share that insight. She doesn''t want those dangerous power, and that''s why she''s been hiding her secret for so long, to remove such dangerous powers.
Jane balled up her fists, unable to accept no for an answer. Claudia was just afraid to death of her a second ago, and now everything''s changed? What is it with her anyway? Isn''t she going to report Jane to the FMCI for harboring a symbol in the first place? She can''t be serious about wanting to prevent her from doing dangerous stunts. "You don''t understand. This symbol is about to be my end, but I have a powerful shield now. I won''t be in trouble even if I do go in alone."
"A power shield? That''s your brilliant plan?!" Claudia noticeably tensed up again, but for different reasons. She expressed all of them while slowly marching each foot in front of the other, persuading Jane to pace backwards. "I won''t let you do this. You have any idea how stupid of a risk that would be?" Without even thinking about changing her mind, Claudia cross her arms, glaring Jane in the face with her angry brown eyes. "And you''re forgetting that your new shield is a Leray ability. All Leray magic''s power and potential is cut in half when inside of a dark zone. So it won''t even protect you then."
"Forget about protection. There is no life for a marked one! I have to do this Claudia!"
How can Jane just stand there and go along with this?! "We can talk about what to do with your symbol. I don''t give a crap what any of the laws say. This situation defiantly counts as an exceptional case, but no way am I letting you into Alpha Zero. That''s final!" Claudia was attempting to come to a compromise, but with Jane''s short fuse, it may as well have been a threat.
Jane refused to listen to Claudia, but with her hopes shrinking down again, her eyes began to water while her voice deteriorated. "I''m a walking target with this thing on! Nobody will let me use Leray magic if I''m marked!"
Jane and Claudia were just arguing back and forth now, making the entire class synchronize in turning their heads to the moving mouths, but Alyssa had her eyes stuck on Jane''s glowing hand. She had only heard partially about what being marked meant, but Jane lied to her about everything. The symbol on her hand was just small enough not to pass Jane''s knuckles, and it has some strange oval with overlapping lines and an open circle in the front of it. How did she get that thing? Just when Alyssa compiled more questions filling up, Jane''s symbol on her hand completely faded away, turning invisible like Jane said it had been doing.
"Yeah! It sucks!" Claudia was raising her voice to a new level. The walls in this room might not be sound proof for long if this keeps up. "But guess what. Professor Brightworth is a terrible excuse for a person, and his lair is the dark zone now. You can''t just stroll right in and ask him for help. You won''t even make it a mile inland before something jumps out and kills you!"
"I''ve come too far here to quit now!" Jane shot back. She turned to the side, ignoring Claudia''s body language. "I''m going in and that is my final word. You can try to stop me all you want Claudi. I know for a fact that there is a back route that surpasses the northern gate exit of town, and when I find it, you''ll just have to have faith in me. I was going to ask you for its location, but I''ll just find it on my own."
"In that case, I''ll just guard it myself! You don''t understand the dangers beyond Alpha Zero."
Jane took that threat as a challenge, knowing it would not be enough to stop her. "And you do somehow? Good luck with your guard duty Claudia. I know an ability called Moonglow and Moon Shadow. I''ll turn completely invisible under the cover of darkness, and nobody will be the wiser. See if you can stop an invisible person Claudi. I''m game."
Jane couldn''t be serious, but even with more than one person at that back route, any Leray wielder could go invisible, use disorientation spells, or even long distance transference spells to break past a security sweep. However, getting more people involved just blows up her own secret too. "Ggghnnnnnah! Jane!" It was hopeless. Claudia wanted to stop Jane right here and now if she could, but the things she was saying, the way Jane was talking back to her like this, such determination just to get one task done meant only one thing. Jane was right. Claudia could do a lot right now, setting an example for the others and making sure Jane''s talk is worthless, but even then, the second Jane retains her freedom again, she could just sneak right into Alpha Zero. That Moon Shadow trick didn''t sound like a bluff either. In all likelihood that Jane was defiantly going through with this no matter what, Claudia sighed, reliving her stress and giving her no other option. She was beside herself in shock that she was suddenly on Jane''s side, at least as far as helping her out went. "Fine. Fine! You want to walk into an veil of death, go right ahead."
Jane turned around, amazed at how quickly her teacher changed her mind. "Seriously?"
"No," she hissed. "Say what you may Jane, but you''re just not experienced enough to enter the Alpha Zero and survive a minute in that place. There''s a reason the GA isn''t stepping in to get Brightworth right now, and you''re an idiot to ignore that detail. But instead of fighting you..." Claudia hesitated. It sounded more ridiculous than anything she had told Jane all day. "Instead of fighting you, I''d like to make a deal."
"A deal?" Jane repeated.
"A deal. I''ll personally train you as hard as I can for the next few weeks. It won''t be anything like what we''ve been doing. I think we''ve already established your maximum capacity for learning, but I have a class here too. I''ll be preoccupied with everyone. Jane, I won''t give you special treatment over the rest of my students, not with training time, but since you''re a so-called quick learner, it still should not take you long anyway." As much as she hated herself for trying to even allow this, Claudia hated the idea even more of this cursed woman to be found dead in the dark zone, if there were even a possibility.
"I don''t have a few weeks." What is Claudia trying to prove? Doesn''t she understand the risks of being alive with this symbol?
"Then you just let me know when you''re ready. And believe me when I tell you that you are still not ready, not at your current skill level."
"Ready for what?"
Claudia cleared her throat before announcing the bargain. "I''ll give you the final test that is the prerequisite to graduating from my class under level three advanced Leray training. The final test does not involve written exams, but instead a full battle against a certain Leray champion himself."
"A battle with the Leray champion?!" She couldn''t be serious! The champion doesn''t come here for battles!
Jason nodded his head in disillusion. "She must mean Cadastro." That guy is one of the elite warriors.
"Cadastro," Claudia announced. "He used to be a member of the Elite Five, but dropped out to advance his other careers and goals. Now he offers special training battles for Eldora''s high league school and this facility too. We have an agreement with him. Any level three or four class that is ready to graduate from their specified levels from this facility must defeat Cadastro in a battle. We usually have specific schedules for each prepared student, and a small ceremony set up to legitimize it. If you can handle publicity in a battle, then when I''ve taught you more of the skills belonging to my course, I will set up a performance battle with you and Cadastro."
"So," Jane needed to recap. Claudia was really throwing her hand out for her this time. "If I learn enough from you and then declare I''m ready, you''ll have me battle against Cadastro. And if I beat him,"
"Which won''t happen," Claudia hinted.
"Then you''ll let me into Alpha Zero via the hidden back route." Jane totally ignored her teacher''s comment interrupting her own. It sounded like a good plan so far, and it seemed like a well-placed concern. Claudia just doesn''t want Jane to walk in there and get her head chewed off by a horrible monster. That must be her reason for keeping Jane out, but if she can prove herself to her, then it means she should be able to survive even the worst that the dark zone has to offer. Jane hated having to force extra time in the way like this, but even she felt highly threatened by the existence of the creatures in Alpha Zero, more so thanks to Claudia''s incredible concern and total disregard for the marking. Still, in that extra training time, her symbol could become news here, especially now that the whole class of 1607 knows of this dilemma.
"That is the deal," Claudia agreed. She then glanced around everywhere, searching to see that every single person of her class was present for today. All of her students that previously held their expression of absolute fear in their eyes now had nothing left but total confusion and curiosity. To their perspective, being marked is illegal no matter what, but in Jane''s unique case, it was accidental, something that has never happened before. Now that they all know about this crazy stuff, it was time to set some more ground rules. "As far as that goes, I expect everybody here to keep a word of secret silenced. Nobody is to speak about symbols or markings or unusual spell bombs outside of this room. Nobody is to talk about Jane Venn''s early graduation, or the upcoming battle between the subject and Elite Cadastro. Am I clear?"
"Yes Ma''am!"
Jane was surprised to see how incredibly loyal so many teens were to their own teacher, more so to her situation. Are they all really this sympathetic to her own cause? No, they must just be less afraid of the threat Jane posed than before. Still, not a single one of the students here appeared as if they were going to yap to the nearest Leray agent, a few of them even looked stoked by the sudden opportunity of keeping such a secret. It was so unusual, but it does make sense. They respect Claudia above all else. Losing her due to legal disagreements would be very bad for everyone. Maybe that is the reason...
"I want to train you for at least a week or two Jane, but you get to make the call this time. Let me know a day before, since that is how long it will take to set up that battle we talked about." Claudia checked the watch on her wrist. "And we only have half an hour left. Everybody should get ready to pack it in for today. Jane, I expect the same out of you as well. You might be one of my students now, but as I said before, no special treatment."
Jane''s muscles became firm, and she responded to Claudia with respect, almost like she couldn''t control herself. "Yes ma''am." It felt strange to speak to Claudia like this after that entire brawl, but Jane could sense it now. The reason Claudia was hostile about her own decision was the very concern for Jane''s own safety. In just mere seconds of explaining herself, Claudia cares more about Jane''s situation and condition being repaired than she does about facing the legal consequences. Perhaps Claudia would hate to send Jane somewhere in which there is no chance she could survive. Still is this the one and only way to reverse all that has happened.
Claudia turned away, going about her business to make everything seem less strange. The situation was already far past that. Everybody in the same room knew that Jane was a total weirdo, and worse a liar. Jane wondered if this was really going to work out like she thought it was.
"Uhhymm!" Alyssa cleared her throat in a sarcastic manner, getting Jane to turn around towards her. All of the other students were dispersing like their teacher was, but a few of them stayed behind, now reforming right behind Alyssa. It became clear to Jane quickly that Alyssa had a bit of unannounced friends. Was Jane finally going to talk to her now, or admit that she was a stupid liar? Who would walk into a public facility, running crazy and unusual tests and experiments with a mark on the outside of their skin? Nobody is crazy enough to try that. Then again, Alyssa had never heard or seen anything like disappearing symbols before. Jane was a mystery in herself.
Jane studied the faces behind Alyssa before apologizing. Alyssa was just waiting for an explanation, probably to interrupt and make her look worse than she already was. "I''m sorry Alyssa. I didn''t know what else to say."
"The truth wouldn''t have killed you."
Harboring a symbol on her body is nearly dangerous enough to get killed though. The police search for folks like that, treating them like criminals because of their likely illegal action, while any real criminals or organized thugs will see people with symbols as walking weapons and try to use them for their cause. Jane learned a lot from this in history class back at Dakota under the table, but she never imagined she would end up with one herself. "I¡ª I didn''t know what to expect."
"You aren''t even officially registered in our class. That makes you - not one of us." Alyssa had another friend who was also a girl, with two guys standing in the same place too. Jane didn''t know their names, except for the one Claudia referred to as Jacob.
What she just said was most concerning to Jane. All it took to ruin what was left of her life is a phone call to the police regarding that symbol on her hand. Now that Alyssa knows as much as Claudia does, she might not be so sympathetic. "The real truth, is that I didn''t think you would be able to believe in such a crazy story. I needed to learn things with Claudia, not just for information either. What I was learning, she was learning. I thought she could help me."
Her voice grew loud and tense with a hint of an upsetting sadness. "All you did was try to use her," Alyssa accused. "Though you failed, you still tried. And what you do to one of us, you do to all of us. Remember that the next time you want to stab us all in the back."
"Alyssa, I didn''t¡ª" Jane stopped short of a few more words. Alyssa and her team were already leaving, walking away with their things pack in their hands. It was only now that Jane also got to see something more regarding Alyssa''s physical condition. One of her friends held onto her arm, the other supporting her waste as Alyssa struggled to walk forward properly. Something was obviously wrong with her health, perhaps a simple injury that occurred only recently. But out the door they went, while others barely continued training with magical abilities. It defiantly didn''t go too well. What a messed up first day back at school this was turning out to be.
Jane felt much worse when thinking back about Danny and Taylor. They were going to be so pissed off once they find out that Jane has been branded by that spell bomb. For as long as she could remember the events, Jane always hid that from them. Taylor and Danny, as well as all of her previous opponents had no idea whatsoever that there was a partially invisible symbol on the top of her hand. She had to lie to her only two friends in the world. Jane carried the notion that the low endurance bothered her the most, and though it did get to her a few times, the entire behavior was so childish. That was the facade she had to wear on herself in front of those two. Jane was now separated from her only two friends, and it didn''t seem like she was about to make new friends any time soon.
Even if the entire class here was willing to swear themselves to secrecy, Jane would never be okay with herself until this tattoo fades away forever. This can''t happen without making it past Alpha Zero and through the Den of Purity to meet this so called criminal. Even if Brightworth is responsible for the Alpha Zero, surely he would at least go as far to perform his own duties, perhaps due to impressions Jane would make by getting through the dark zone with minimal damage, but first she would need to impress Claudia. That won''t be easy, because this entire time, Jane has been pretending not to understand what was happening inside of her, all of it was a sheer lie!
I knew. I knew the entire time that my poor battle performances were directly responsible from the spell bomb. I knew it because the symbol that formed in the sky that night became engraved into my skin. I knew because of the evidence that followed all of it. I knew why my endurance was so low the entire time, and I couldn''t even tell my best friends about a piece of it. Jane knew for certain that it was a terrible mistake. She trusted Danny and Taylor more than anything in the world, and then still kept them both in the dark. If there is any light at the end of this tunnel, it will require a miracle just to see it.
To be continued...
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Chapter 25: The Better of Us
<01/20/1972 ¨C 15:30 | Lennith Training Academy, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
That same night after Jane left the building, Claudia left things to herself again. Hiding out in the dark room alone, she now had the clear space and silence to help her thoughts along, but there was so much to process all at once. Jane Venn; this is the name of a troubled wielder who appeared on Claudia''s school grounds yesterday. She seemed somewhat exhausted at the time, but Jane managed to cross Route 96, winning most if not all of her battles. She must have been keeping this symbol business a secret for so long, but Claudia wasn''t sure anymore. Today only proved how terribly she misread everyone.
Marked on her hand is a symbol which somehow fades from view all by itself, a design that has never before been observed. What the hell is happening in Sprawn Valley these days? Do people really hate Leray magic this much, that they would seek to take advantage of the freedoms and situations given to them? For Jane, Claudia couldn''t be certain. It was most stressful, as enough had all gotten out of hand. Jane really is screwed no matter what she does. The Den of Purity is supposed to be off limits, and Brightworth is still public enemy number one.
Come to think of it however, there still isn''t any concrete evidence that Professor Brightworth is the one responsible for the creation and continuation of Alpha Zero. Of course, who else could be responsible if not him? It''s not as though there are other mages stationed in the Outback, and it''s not as if Brightworth would let anything like this happen if he really cared. The man was hired by the mage council after all, and trained by some of the best. He isn''t dead, so he must be on the wrong side of this catastrophe. And Jane wants to trust him...
Even if a man like that would be willing to help Jane after paying some fees, is it even remotely possible to remove symbol markings? Claudia could only remember ever reading about such things, where marked ones caught by the agents were thrown into Verlith Prison without so much as a trial, but what happens after? Do they remove those magic tattoos, or does the prison simply negate magic from being used? There sure isn''t a clear answer for any of this, and it''s impossible to imagine Jane ever getting prepared to survive dark magic attacks, let alone an entire dark zone. The Outback stretches on for about twelve miles going into the direction of the Den of Purity. Not even an army could make it there right now, but will Jane ever really refuse such an action? Even if she doesn''t want to die, what life could she live here with that marking on her hand? Even if it is invisible when she wants it to be, nobody can hide a symbol forever.
"I thought I''d find you in here."
Claudia snapped out of her chain of thoughts momentarily, concentrating her gaze just behind her. Alyssa was here again. She was probably worried about the entire situation as it were; Alyssa has always been concerned about the happenings of Lennith.
Alyssa began walking over towards Claudia to join the depressing throttle of mystery, but her movements were slow. Alyssa noticeably exerted great strength just to barely shift her legs, and her arms intermittently tensed tighter and stiffer. Her chest felt like it was being crushed by several pounds of weight, her breath short and squeezed. This was the best she could manage right now, though Alyssa still made her way to Claudia shortly enough.
Alyssa Valor; a seventeen year old girl who has faced too much of a trauma to reconcile, for most people anyway. Claudia knew everything about this poor girl, but Alyssa was still slowly healing these wounds over the years of time. So much has held her back since she was a small child, but now, it''s still amazing to see how much improvement she made. Today, Alyssa seems worse than yesterday and the day before. Given the craziness of today, it''s only understandable that she would completely duck out on her routine magical training. She shouldn''t postpone her treatments.
Claudia Stone; forty years old with deep beige eyes. She has been teaching Leray magic for twenty-five years, an impressive resume to hold down in all her accomplishments. She''s always been at this school, and Alyssa would always admire how incredibly involved she gets in certain student''s personal studies or growth. As long as one is passionate about learning Leray magic, there is absolutely nothing standing in Claudia''s way of helping that person, outside of school, sometimes even in their own homes. It''s a chain of free tutoring that not everybody gets to have, and Claudia devotes all of her time and energy just to make sure everyone is excelling and staying interested. That is why everyone here respects her so greatly, and Alyssa knew that Claudia was no exception for such kindness.
"And here I thought you would be studying back at home by now." Claudia knew it was no use trying to coax her away. Alyssa has always been so personally interested in Claudia''s business, as if to return an old favor fulfilled long ago.
"And leave you here to worry about this problem by yourself? Shameful Claudia, always forgetting that we''ve got your back."
She coughed, "A nice gesture as usual, but this time things are dangerous." Alyssa turned her head at Claudia, quick to give that expression that screamed - nothing else mattered. "I''m serious Alyssa. I don''t know how I''m supposed to handle this anymore." This can only be a colossal nightmare! Jane being marked is the most intense news she''s ever heard since the formation of Alpha Zero, and Claudia acted stupidly by trying to give Jane access to her class without registration and payment procedures. If Jane gets caught, Claudia will go down with her.
"I can think of one simple solution." With Claudia''s full attention, Alyssa tested her own idea. "Turn her in."
Claudia''s face twisted in disgust, her stomach forming a knot inside. Alyssa still wasn''t going to give up that easily.
"So what if you didn''t properly register her into the class? The agents will overlook that in light of the subject being marked."
"The subject?" Claudia held some suspicion earlier that Alyssa didn''t like Jane at all, but it was surprising to see how much hatred was still in her eyes just from the thought of her. "Her name is Jane, and your solution isn''t as simple as it sounds. Even if the agency does overlook that detail, the school''s principle and council representative will never let it go. It''s inevitable that I''ll be pushed out if light comes to this. Despite everything, I want to help her!"
"Why?" Alyssa''s whine was almost close to a cry, but she didn''t change her argument. "She lied to all of us! You let her in and trusted her, but in the end, she lied to everyone here! Jane doesn''t deserve our help."
As usual, Claudia thought... Alyssa always has this one interesting trait about her. There is nothing else in the world that she hates more than liars. Interestingly, there is nothing more she loves than the arts of Leray magic, but her arrogance is going to cause problems if she can''t control herself. "Listen. This isn''t about who deserves what. We have a different kind of problem right now, and while this is Jane''s responsibility, she can''t fix this marking issue all by herself."
"I don''t understand you," Alyssa complained. "How can you sit by and help someone so horrible? Jane is such a terrible person!"
What''s crazier to Claudia''s thought is that Alyssa hates Jane more because she is a liar, than she does for being marked in the first place. It sure did scare the hell out of her though. What was Jane thinking, exposing her crest like that? Claudia sighed, shifting the subject onto Alyssa instead. "It doesn''t matter if someone is truly flawed. If there is a way to help them become better, then I have to try. Try to imagine the pain and fear Jane must be feeling deep down inside. What would you do if you were marked against your will, unexpectedly so?"
Alyssa went silent, unable to conjure a straight answer, but this analogy felt so unfair! Jane probably did something irresponsible to get herself marked in the first place.
"It is a fear I cannot imagine myself. But once upon a time, I remember that you were in a similar situation."
"Me?" Alyssa pointed to herself with confusion. When ever did she have to deal with symbol markings?
"The circumstances are different," Claudia admitted, "but the pain and fear that you and your family felt some time ago must have been more real than anything else imaginable. I won''t ever pretend to understand, but you still worked hard. You made sure that you and your mother made a large recovery. The fact that you are both alive and well today is proof of that."
Chapter Theme Shift: Gossamer Wings ~ Derek Fiechter [Spooky Halloween]If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
"You''re bringing this up again?" Alyssa knew what Claudia was talking about, but she couldn''t see the relevance to Jane Venn. She is nothing like her at all. Alyssa never lied about anything either to get where she is today.
"I don''t exactly know what it is that drives everyone else. It''s not the same thing per person. In the beginning, all I ever wanted to do was teach magic, but the day I met you, that all changed fast. You and I both learned the true capabilities of Leray magic, and all it has to offer. I know you never stop thinking about those moments, and I know you still try your hardest every day, because that is the only thing you can do."
Alyssa remembered all of it, the moment six years ago when she and her mother were near the brink of death, their lives in the darkest moments of despair. Growing up in Narbrook Town, Alyssa has always been an only child, birthed by her mother, Dianna Valor. But when she turned ten years old, a horrible illness began to consume her mother.
Dither Syndrome; a new and rare medical illness that mysteriously attacks the nervous system slowly over time with an effect of full-body paralysis. The illness isn''t contagious, rather is it a genetic problem with a very rare occurrence, happening to a tiny proportion of the world population, inside or outside of Sprawn Valley. It''s hard to diagnose in the medical profession, but it also has no known treatment or cure. It''s a worse kind of cancer, something that slows the body''s physical capabilities down over a long period of time and progression. You don''t die from it right away. It takes about sixteen to twenty-one months for the symptoms to progress to a point of no return. Eventually, the disease wears down the spinal region''s nerve cells. You very slowly become paralyzed over all that time, until the vital organs follow suit, becoming paralyzed themselves and causing death in the final moments.
Even that wasn''t the worst of the situation. Alyssa developed the same illness when she had just turned eleven, prompting her father to return home from America. He went there to take part in a study for a cure, but in one of the many tragic accidents that occur with the technology still in development for air travel, the passenger jet he boarded that day went down, killing himself and countless others in one of the world''s worst plane crashes at sea ever recorded.
By that point, Alyssa was developing symptoms at a slightly faster rate than her mother. For obvious reasons, the family already broken apart by a terminal illness became incapable of self-sufficiency. A Leray agent eventually found them initially to report the bad news of the plane crash, but found something far worse inside of that house, the one Alyssa still lives in today. The sickness progressed within her quickly. She could remember in every fiber of her being just how difficult and scary this all was. It still haunts her to this day. After all those years, she and her mother cheated death. It wasn''t just a stroke of luck.
As the day of death mystically closed in on Dianna, forcing her bed-ridden for weeks without end, it was Claudia Stone who stepped into that home, simply expressing her concerns and condolences for the hopeless situation, but Claudia couldn''t just stop there.
Alyssa was dying, only months away from going into the same critical state as her mother. Her movements were difficult to produce, and she was barely capable of walking around on her own, let alone speaking for long periods of time. Still, Claudia wanted to show Alyssa what she did as a teacher, entertaining what was to be the rest of her days using Leray magic spells. Incidentally, Alyssa tried to learn and copy these easy and aesthetic spells. Claudia could remember just how high strong she was to continue trying to master the spells, never giving up despite her physical condition barring her from exerting enough magic.
The days passed from then on, Claudia making occasional visits there to check up on the family, simultaneously tearing up her own heart watching the inevitable destruction of such a young and innocent soul, being crushed by an uncontrollable, unfair disease... That was until the miracle presented itself.
All in an effort to cheer Claudia and Dianna up, Alyssa began to display and demonstrate the exertion of magical spells, mostly the same ones Claudia demonstrated earlier. It was impressive to see such a young kid use magic so easily, more impressive given her physical handicap, but when Claudia pushed Alyssa even further, she realized how much fun Alyssa was having practicing magic, and how hard she was willing to train in order to make it happen. Alyssa didn''t stop at those spells either. She soon tried taking on the more difficult spells, difficult in the sense that they would require a lot of speedy physical movement, which she was not supposed to have anymore. She would strain herself every night trying these spells and magic casts. It was somewhat inspiring to see that such spirit would momentarily overcome her great challenge.
But what happened over the next passing weeks shocked Claudia, the agent taking care of the family, and the medical doctor called in to witness the amazing phenomena that nobody understood at the time. Given the time lapse, Alyssa''s condition should have gotten much worse, but it didn''t. Her condition only continued to improve, right in synchronization with the massive amount of physical training she was practicing for magic against previous medical advice. Her mother, desperate to match such jealous energy also sat up out of bed to perform various spells which Alyssa taught to her.
The stats were all impossible, never made known to any part of the world, but the results were tested and proven shortly after. The doctors all confirmed what was going on, and published best-selling articles about it. The Dither Syndrome that was plaguing this small and desperate family seemed to have some sort of cure after all. The actual effects of what was going on with the disease are still somewhat unknown to this very day, but as Alyssa practiced with Leray magic and spell casts, her paralysis slightly receded, little at a time. Even Dianna, who was in a much worse state of progression eventually got back on her feet, eventually capable of taking care of herself and Alyssa again. The more they practiced with Leray magic, the better their health became over the years. If they were to slack off, the disease would once again continue to progress; so it was only treatment to reverse the condition, rather than to cure it.
The officers theorized that a certain amount of magical training would eventually cure them both on a permanent state, but that theory had never before been tested. For some reason, magical infusion from the veil was slowly pushing back the condition of this particular paralysis. Everyone who has Dither Syndrome was called into a study, straight into Sprawn Valley for a promised cure given hard work and determination, though this was all done in secret supervision.
Needless to say, Alyssa has long since been pushing herself, her body, and her magical capabilities to the limits every single day. The results now are striking! After a day of practice, her body becomes easier for her to control. Rapid movement becomes more possible more often than not. Lately, her mother hasn''t faced too many difficulties doing the same, though their recovery rates are not exactly equal. Alyssa easily works harder than anyone around, including everyone else in this school. She has no choice; the sudden lack of magical practice will push her closer to death.
Claudia took a particular interest in this girl, ever since the promise of this treatment made itself aware to her ears. She has personally trained Alyssa everything possible regarding some of the best and toughest magical spells known. Even now, Alyssa is only capable of so much, but her effort and determination to live is beyond inspiring, and this only makes Alyssa and Claudia both love Leray magic that much more. There are so many mysteries about Leray magic that people still don''t know to this day, and Alyssa''s family is one of the first pioneers to ride the advantages of magic this way. She really is an impressive student given everything that has happened. Lately, Alyssa hasn''t pushed herself all too far today or yesterday, which explains the sudden limp and delayed body movements. Even after all these years, the disease still haunts her. Alyssa can never slow down or stop magical training. If she does, the progress she has made is slowly reversed.
It was one of the many great challenges Claudia had to share though. Alyssa was a case that took up so much time and narrowed focus; she was Claudia''s only special student for the first year or two. Such a thing only forced Claudia to try and imagine herself in Alyssa''s shoes. She had such a horrible early life, and still does she struggle every day to keep going. Alyssa never gives up though; that is what makes her so impressive. Alyssa probably thinks too highly of Claudia though, all since she helped her train directly after all of this time.
Trying to live and grow up with such a difficult physical disability has to be one of the scariest things anyone could deal with. It still affects the beating inside Claudia''s chest to this day. Now Jane has shown up, delivering a news story far more frightening than she would have ever expected. Jane has had it easier though, given how short of time she has had those personal issues. Alyssa has been fighting for her life, for the duration of her entire life. Jane simply did something irresponsible not too long ago, and plans to fix it in less than a month of time. Being listed as a fugitive to be isn''t much better of a situation, nor is it easy to face, but this is still short term comparatively speaking. Maybe Alyssa and Jane don''t have anything in common after all, but even if that were true, it''s easy to understand why Alyssa of all people can''t get along with Jane. Claudia is the one who should be sorry about all of this.
"Alyssa? I''m sorry that I let someone like Jane drag us into this mess."
"You don''t have to be! None of this was your fault! Blame that moron for what happened earlier." Alyssa wouldn''t have this at all. Claudia can mope around later. Right now, Jane is a threat who must be dealt with!
"I was wrong to think that you could possibly sympathize with her." Claudia held her breath momentarily, making her decision despite Alyssa''s feelings towards the situation. "However, I must stick with the current plan I have, developing the details as I go. Jane is to be trained vigorously over the next few weeks. As this is going on, I want you to continue your training as well. I don''t want you to get weaker. Understand?"
"But¡ª But Jane¡ª"
Claudia cut Alyssa off before any more of a complaint could be made. "That''s an order Alyssa! You don''t have to remind me how complicated this is. I know what we''re all getting ourselves into, but Jane is still a person, is she not? Who would either of us be if we simply turned her into the police instead of helping her? I won''t do that to my students. She needs our help, and I''m going to give her exactly that."
"By letting her run into the dark zone to die?"
Those words chafed in the back of Claudia''s throat, but Claudia still held the same decision in mind. "Jane made it clear enough that nobody can actually stop her from entering the dark zone if she wants to risk her own life. Whether you were to turn her in or not wouldn''t even change that decision in her mind. She is determined to have that tattoo removed from her hand. I think she even intends to torture Brightworth and make him do it, as opposed to asking for a bargain. I know I can''t change her mind. So instead, I''m going to deter her from going in."
"Deter her how?"
Claudia answered with simplistic confidence. "Leray Elite Cadastro is no pushover, and no fair match at all for Jane. Even after she thinks she is ready, even after everything I teach to her, I doubt she can win in a legal battle against a Leray elite. She won''t be able to use her symbol to gain an edge either, because we''ll make the event public."
"I''m kind of liking the sound of it so far..."
"But the chance remains that Jane might win. I have to remain objective to her claims as well. If Jane actually wins the fight against Cadastro, despite her level of training, and despite having not rely on a symbol, it means she may actually have what it takes to survive a few blows from one monster or two being thrown into the dark zone. Of course, only Jane and us two are to know about this. The class we have also knows what is going on, but Jane will have to be snuck into the back route."
"But, what happens if she dies in there?"
"Jane won''t die. If she can defeat Cadastro with ease, then she''ll be fine in the dark zone, and I''ll feel comfortable having taught her how to use a power shield capable of blocking out the worst of damages. Trust me, I''m not happy about it, but if Jane thinks she is going into Alpha Zero with or without my help, the only thing I can do is try to eliminate any chance that she will be killed out there."
Alyssa was silent for the moment, her thoughts all floating around the idea. Claudia must have been trying to gauge how she felt about Jane, but she made the mistake in the first place, so she doesn''t deserve such help. Claudia however won''t turn down even this favor. It''s truly admirable, but it just isn''t worth it. Jane isn''t worth any of this. Still, what more could Alyssa do to argue out against this?
"Right now," Claudia reassured, "we just go with what we can right now, and see what will come of the following days. Meanwhile, you are to say nothing to the agents about this, and that includes your family. Are we clear?"
With a delayed moment to ponder the request, Alyssa swallowed her pride and accepted the terms openly. "Crystal."
Chapter 26: An Elite Battle
<01/27/1972 ¨C 15:30 | Lennith City Arena, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
That same night, Jane returned to the inn she was previously staying at. After a good night sleep, the next morning went about as poorly as the first. All of her memories from last night flooded her mind so quickly before Jane could make herself breakfast, not that there was much to eat in supply. Playing the scenes back in her head hardly made anything seem believable. The secret she tried so hard to bare for so long, Jane just let it out to her entire class in a flash as if nothing were wrong. Jane held her face for several moments pondering why she would let herself do something like that. Must have been mental exhaustion catching up then, but the damage was already done. In any single moment, the General Army can come for her and try to arrest Jane Venn for being marked. Or, her secret could remain safe, which would be a miracle given how many people know now. The sickening feeling in her stomach twisted further at the thought. How could she do that and still not have told Danny or Taylor? What are those two to her anyway?
Shaking her head out of the pointless thought, Jane was also reminded about the new ability she picked up which would allow her to better protect herself against Alpha Zero, but she still had to follow Claudia''s word of honor and train further than that - starting today. This means she will have to face all of them again.
Jane''s visit back in class had everybody''s head spinning, all eyes focusing on her. It would have felt like old times, but the students were more than likely afraid of her, which wasn''t the same as it was in Dakota. The situation was totally different, but perhaps the only reason nobody in authority has come to take her away isn''t because Claudia told everyone to keep things secret. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Jane wanted nothing more than to remove this symbol, proving she was less of a threat while begging the question of how her goal could be achieved. Apparently Jane had become the talk of the class overnight and the center of attention, but there was good reason.
In just a single day before today, Jane earned some trust from her teacher Claudia, and with that trust, she learned much more about what specific effects from the unknown spell bomb were still affecting her. Instead of the illusion of just powering up her magical Leray spells, it turns out that Jane was somehow conserving MP energy, reducing the base cost for all of her magic. On top of that, her ME levels were constantly accelerating, boosted to levels that would have anybody''s jaw drop including her own. Claudia then developed an idea about the quick learning effect and the conservation of energy for Jane, thus allowing her to learn a specially modified version of what Jane likes to call the power shield. Using the power of Leray magic, Jane was successfully able to create a powerful aura around her body, capable of generating a force field in the aura that protects her from all incoming damage. Later today, Jane was able to replicate those results.
It wasn''t all that eventful though. Everybody learned the truth about her yesterday, and that made everything about her awkward. After the truth was released, there were not very many surprises following that event. Still, everybody except for Claudia kept their distance from Jane, afraid of what that crest could do to them. Jane kept coming back to the Lennith training academy day after day, keeping her word with Claudia to learn as many new abilities and tactics as possible. There were many complications, and learning the new abilities took hours instead of minutes. Keeping her enrollment at Lennith Academy a secret was its own challenge too. With everyone on edge from the publicity stunt Jane pulled earlier, making friends here was just out of the question. Nobody could trust her right now. It was just a saddening feeling that Jane had to quickly get over to continue training, that every person here except for Claudia hates her for this symbol.
Jane momentarily recalled that one of the reasons she revealed her most dangerous secret in the first place had to do with the fact that her symbol was activating on its own power. Though Jane made it appear as if she maintained control of this marking, it really comes and goes on its own, mostly triggered by excessive use of magical energy. Learning how to use this unusual power shield must have been enough. Jane could feel the activation imminent, a sensation that only she became familiar with as a warning sign, giving her just seconds to find some way of hiding it. Without the mercenary outfit there to protect her symbol from view, the class would have found out in either case. Jane simply capitalized on the idea, the least she could do then was delay activation while allowing her to tell the truth. Even so, she protested being delayed to move to Alpha Zero every single time she met up with Claudia. Still, Jane kept to her word for the next few days that moved on. Even between Claudia and herself, their every interaction was as awkward as the next, mostly because Claudia became much more silent than she used to about personal matters.
Alyssa was the one that gave Jane the dirtiest looks as of late. She was still mad at her for what happened on day one. It made more sense then, but after six days passed, it was getting ridiculous. Six days! That is how long it took Jane to finally tell herself and Claudia that she was ready for the big fight. Claudia was more than reluctant to call her ready, but after insisting over and over, Jane finally got her way. Claudia made the call later that afternoon, setting up the official event for tomorrow. Then, Jane would have an official battle against a former elite Leray fighter known as Cadastro, but Jane was far from nervous.
If anything, it were the unexpected problems that bothered her. There were things she was still learning about, and things that forced her to adapt to new situations. For example, a few days ago, a Leray agent was monitoring the status of the school, and almost caught what was going on in room E43. Jane was training with Claudia then. As the moment went, it looked like any other normal training session, only with more advanced powers. The problem however was Jane''s cursed symbol appearing whenever she exerts enough Leray energy. It''s not something that can be controlled, least she have some experience in the time delay factor after the trigger begins. Luckily, the new mercenary outfit the teacher gave her before that happened - hid the symbol well. It was on the house too. All classmates who are registered (including Jane), were all issued with special training outfits which they can carry even after graduation, but these training outfits have an incredible design for a fashion of battling.
A full materialized suit, made of black and blue stripes and lines was designed to offer a wide variety of multi-purpose damage protection. It was only about 5% resistant to all damage types, but even then, Jane loved how it both looked and felt on the fabric. Because it covered both hands with some sort of half glove extensions, the symbol that kept appearing on top of Jane''s right hand was well hidden even during training or fighting. Luckily that symbol does not light up or glow due to random magical infusion or exertion, but it still has a radiant glow of its own which can vary each time the symbol is activated. It''s like this mark is just there as a constant reminder that Jane used a dangerous spell bomb on herself. Every time that symbol activates on its own, it gives Jane a physical life threatening feeling, that similar to a rough adrenaline rush.
This wasn''t the only challenge Jane faced these passing days. While Claudia taught her how to use new abilities, Jane would also take part in random sessions of evasion therapy. Evasion therapy is a segment of training that involves the best ways to dodge random attacks, and when to block certain attacks. All Claudia did was tell Jane that her strategy for movement in battle was currently terrible. The only thing that worked for Jane was her mobility during close combat attacks with her dagger slashing style. Having Jane dodge attacks didn''t go too well, and Claudia told her multiple times that Jane was not supposed to dodge attacks anymore. With her new ability to block all incoming damage at the maximum level, Jane has to get accustomed to activating her power shield any time a powerful spell is coming her way. This wasn''t great either, because some attack spells were much weaker than others. Claudia explained further, because she knew that her power shield still has power fluctuations going on. This means using power shield against a weak attack is plain wasteful for her energy, while timing was critical too. Often times Jane would shield herself too late or too soon. The shield still fails if she keeps it up for too long, or if the skill damaging the shield is too powerful. But as luck would have it, the more Jane practiced with this shield, the stronger it was able to withstand certain power levels - to a limit of course.
The atmosphere of the class became less predictable in the passing days as well. Claudia could sense this much, and the reason was obvious. Jane isn''t ready for Alpha Zero, and her best chance now would be for Jane to fail in her pending battle with Cadastro. Her idea of buying some time to draw an alternative solution was all in vain after coming up with no new ideas. Having a symbol or being marked whether intentional or not is illegal, and thus all battles won with that symbol are to be declared null and void if discovered by a council member. Jane was really telling the truth when she said that her entire future was in jeopardy; it just happens to be that endurance levels have nothing to do with that reason.
Then, there is Brightworth. Brightworth will not likely help her provided she survives the walk over there. It would just be easier to report this to the council as a special case and have them legalize Jane''s symbol, but in all thought, that will never happen given everyone''s natural fear of symbol wielders. It surely provided Claudia with one idea for ponder and ridicule. Why is there only one mage in the entire world allowed to reverse spell effects? Who is the backup for that person? Supposedly, since something like this has never happened before, such thought has not yet been executed by the mage council. Go figure!
After those several challenging days, the time eventually came for the final test. Jane learned several incredible useful abilities from Claudia''s personal style. It took Jane much less time to learn those skills than what most people were able to learn them in, not because of how many abilities there were to learn that Jane picked up on, but rather because of how powerful each one was, but it wasn''t much faster than what Jane hoped for. Jane got to teach herself some abilities on the side too, refusing to use only class time to train herself. Using new abilities in the style of her close combat tactics and her primary choice of weapons, there was nearly nothing Jane couldn''t learn on her own. Her skills and her own battle style were both refined evenly. As proven by the nature of her symbol, the passive effects really did allow Jane to have an easier time than normal in learning new spells, still as exhausting though.
Despite everything, something just wasn''t right with the way things were. Six days passed in Lennith City, and nothing else changed. The same guards were stationed at the northern gate, blocking access to all civilians. Jane didn''t mind this too much, but it''s not like any additional GA scouts have shown up either. No special unit or group of soldiers came here to further assess the situation regarding Alpha Zero. It''s like the General Army just abandoned their own mission, leaving the danger to haunt everyone here. What are they thinking?
And where the hell are Danny and Taylor? Seven days have passed since her arrival here in the city, and there is still no sign or word from them. Jane expected some delay for those two to show up here thanks to the poor conditions of Route 96. That Belzer guy is supposed to get that route looking good again, keeping bad guys off the road at the same time, but it''s been seven days. Jane got here in one night! Was she really that hard to track down? Common sense should have told the bystanders at Tilsit beach that the missing boat could have only arrived in Monoc Port. The only other place in the world Jane could have ended up from the ocean Northside was on a deserted delta stranded at sea, or at Monoc Port. From there, the only place to travel was a mile south, or all the way into Lennith City. They should have found her by now in spite of the difficulty she provided before them.
Those two can fend for themselves just fine, but what was keeping them? Jane wished she could just go and check up on them, but she had no time to retrace Route 96. She was saving her energy for entering the dangerous dark zone to get rid of this horrible symbol on her hand. It wasn''t just the symbol though. The fact that her endurance was cut in half no matter what other circumstances were involved bothered Jane completely. It was the only reason she lost the first four battles in a row in the way that she did, and the reason she was still so weak right now. Of course getting this thing reversed will mean the total loss in a lot of ME points, thus removing her ability to create a specially modified power shield, and the ability to conserve MP and use powerful spells. It will be like starting all over, a full regression. But Jane wanted this, a fresh start; a new beginning. There is no reason why one stupid accident should define her whole life. If that means going in without the help from Danny and Taylor, so be it.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Outbreak of War ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
As things were now, Jane and Claudia sat together at the current rally. Today was that day where Jane is supposed to fight Cadastro, but there was so many official sessions involved with this. Before it happened, Claudia had to carefully make sure that Jane''s name and registration status were affirmed into the system. Then, she had to set up this rally in the first place. A large stage with a microphone was stationed just outside the front of the school, and a path was drawn to the back side of the field, the circular field where Jane found Claudia''s class training that time before, also known as the Lennith Stone. The field was going to be the battle ground for this.
Hundreds of people have shown up. Apparently, this is how graduation works here. They make it so public too. Not only did other random students, parents, and random civvies show up, but the prioritized business people and VIPs were here too. At least they looked like VIPs. Dressed only in formal clothing, men and woman belonging to certain positions of the school''s governmental program were here to officiallize the rally as well. All of the seating was set to formation stacks of stairs which surrounded the future battle area, perfect for watching the event whole, and then there was the school''s own headmaster, Millar.
Millar, or rather Mr. Millar is a sixty year old man who basically runs the foundation of the school, determining the staff rules, graduation announcements, and public awareness. The other people are basically his assistants for other things, like running the business, assembling the staff, advising an entire council, and so on. Today, all of this was set up just for Jane. It would seem odd to do this for just one student, but graduations here happen less often that one would think, officially because a failed battle with an elite warrior would bring down the overall reputation of the school. Teachers choose the readiness time of their students wisely, and mostly bring out more than one potential graduate at a time.
The metal stacked seats were available for everyone, but the VIP seats which sat in front of the stage facing the other direction were all comprised for the staff and Jane herself. It couldn''t be any more nerve wrecking than this, but at least Jane had some more time before the event officially began. For now, everyone was still showing up, while Jane and Claudia were seated right next to each other.
"I still can''t talk you out of this, can I?"
Jane knew Claudia still had doubts about whether this was remotely a good call, but she was still as willing to go through with this as she was before. "It''s too late to opt out now."
People surrounded the area randomly, coming from all sides to take part in the event. The residents here apparently just come to watch the battles, and from what Claudia told Jane before, Cadastro is far from the only person who gets to battle the students. People known as gradyents are also qualified to test the students'' readiness. Gradyent... It reminded Jane directly about Belzer. He sure wasn''t very nice, but what if he were to show up to this event?
"I knew you were a hard case," Claudia retuned. "You do realize that I can get you a lawyer. We can make your situation legalized. You don''t have to remain a potential fugitive forever you know."
This is not the first time Jane has heard this before. Claudia has been trying to change Jane''s mind ever since they made this deal. Her teacher was only setting up this event because she knew that the only way to stop Jane from entering Alpha Zero is to change her mind. But that is easier said than done Claudia. "If something else happens to prevent me from going in, I''ll think about it."
"And what if you die? What then Jane?"
"Shhhh! Keep it down!" Jane had lowered her voice to a near whisper. Nobody else can know the truth about this pending battle. The state believes this is an official graduation attempt for student designation Jane Venn, but it''s nothing more than a formality, a test of strength and endurance to see if Jane is totally ready for something as dangerous as the dark zone. "I won''t die, and I won''t fail either. You''re the one who said that if I can beat this Cadastro guy, then I get to pass."
"I know that Cadastro was the strongest choice out of all candidates when I chose him for this..." Claudia turned her head a few times, making sure no eavesdroppers were nearby. "But even Cadastro is no match for Alpha Zero. If elites had the power to stop Brightworth, they would have all teamed up and done it by now. It''s their job!"
"Claudia! I''ll handle this!" Even in this state, Jane kept her voice to a whisper, hoping she wasn''t going to botch this thing.
"Morning Jane."
Jane saw Alyssa standing a bit out in front of her, walking closer, though her tone wasn''t excited or happy either. Alyssa didn''t care about wishing her a good morning, she was just pretending to be decent. The proof will reveal itself in three... two...
"Gotta say, quite a crowd you''ve attracted for this. Nobody graduates in just six days. But of course everyone else thinks you''ve been here for months."
"Alyssa," Claudia warned. "What did we talk about earlier?"
"I know Claudi. I just want to make sure that Jane understands how dangerous this might be. What if people somehow got a close look at her hand?"
Another threat. Jane wasn''t surprised. Alyssa has been acting this way for a while now, threatening to expose her secret to others. Jane didn''t let it affect her, but she didn''t want to argue with Alyssa either. "I will be fine Alyssa, and I won''t overdo anything. Now can you please leave?"
Alyssa''s expression became frightening at times, especially when Jane would talk back at her, but a few words from a new voice behind her calmed the girl down fast.
"Come on Alyssa. We should be wishing them good luck. Not bad luck."
It was Connor, the other guy who hangs out with Alyssa''s group. Lately they have not been getting along so well. Alyssa, Connor, Jason, and Naea. Those were the four who always hang out together, a group formed during the class formation this semester, and their bonds strengthened since everyone was always ready to help and assist Alyssa with her personal condition, but it would seem from apparent hints that the other three have suddenly taken Jane''s side already. Since Alyssa still can''t seem to forgive Jane''s secrets so easily, they''ve been fighting a little too.
As if to kick her out of the group all together, their very presence made Alyssa wary, already stepping away from all of them. "Well this is the worst idea in all of history. We shouldn''t be letting anybody who isn''t qualified past the northern gate. Jane shouldn''t be an exception just because she got marked by some odd spell bomb."
"Now ya just sound jealous," Jason accused.
"Ha! Yeah right." Alyssa turned around, walking away with a few more words to show superiority. "When she dies, this whole symbol business isn''t going to blow over. You know what I''m talking about!" Her words grew in volume with each step she took away from them.
Naea, the sixteen year old girl reassured Jane right as Alyssa left. "Don''t worry about her Jane. I''ve seen what you can do in training, and there is no way Cadastro will have an easy time. Alyssa cares about you too, even though she won''t show it."
Alyssa? Caring about Jane? When was that ever apparent?
"In other words, you''ll do great," Connor announced. "I''ve got three hundred credits that says she''ll win within five minutes."
Claudia gave Conner an evil passing glare. Students are not allowed to gamble or make random bets for battles that don''t personally involve themselves, yet he sure did get brave enough to let that one slip all the sudden. Claudia let it slide for now, since the group was leaving already. It isn''t important today anyway.
Connor, Jason, and Naea all waved to Jane while walking towards the other seating area. Jane continued receiving compliments too as time went by. At first, the class just kept their distance, but after getting used to the crazy truth about her dangerous symbol and seeing her training and style in action, she got popular with the people in the class again. Connor, Naea, and a few others now look up to her as some kind of idol or example. Even Claudia noticed it too, that all of her students have suddenly entered some sort of training frenzy recently, and not without reason. They know that copying what Jane can do is impossible right now, but training hard is the only way to grow, even in Jane''s current condition. It was like everybody has finally accepted her by now...
No, it runs deeper than this. All of her students have never practiced so hard in their lives before. Jane''s power isn''t what inspires them, but rather her motive to make her dreams seem more valid again. Jane is fighting to remove the symbol that will otherwise downfall her, and her classmates know this because they are intelligent. Supporting Jane is also supporting her very ideals at the same time; everyone wants Jane to remove her symbol and be herself again, despite knowing so little about her. Jane? How did you make this happen?
"What is with Alyssa?!" There was still the matter of Jane''s mental blindness to cope with. Would Alyssa ever accept her for who she is? Jane wondered if hiding her secret was really the one and only thing that ticked her off.
Claudia was a bit impressed to see how dense Jane could be at times. "Alyssa is only concerned for your safety Jane, just as much as I am."
"Yeah right," Jane corrected. "If Alyssa cared about me at all, she would just back off. I bet the only reason I haven''t been ratted out yet is only because she knows that you could take the fall for this too."
"I could take the fall just for letting you into the Dark Zone, possibly just because I was unable to stop you."
Good point Claudia. Jane wanted to say something else, but as the battle was getting closer to starting, Jane wasn''t sure she could stop trembling. It''s the most unusual set up she has ever experienced before. Everything here is so formal compared to back home.
"But Alyssa looks up to you. You''ve become an example for everyone to follow."
"No she doesn''t. And what have I possibly done that other people think is good?"
Claudia turned in her seat towards Jane some more. It appeared she didn''t understand anything so far. "Jane, there was a very good reason I wanted to take you in, to personally train you with no real cost of credits. At first, I wasn''t sure what that something was. It turned out that you aren''t naturally powerful without that fancy design hidden in your skin, and it''s not your quickened ability to learn either that sets you apart from everyone else. I only recognized it after extensive training with you. Whatever you might be trying to do, you''ve got a lot of drive and determination to get things done. As a plus, you don''t ever give up; you won''t let anything stand in your way."
"Another pep talk..."
"Seriously. I don''t think that giving up even crossed your mind once. That''s why I can''t seem to change your mind." Claudia paused for a moment to think of a better way to word it, making Jane turn towards her in her seat as well. "It''s your best strength. It allows you to train well beyond the usual hours people are comfortable with training with, and everyone can see it. It''s why others in my class can relate to you; because that mark on your hand isn''t the only thing making you strong. I wanted to personally train you because you have even more guts than I do sometimes. However, being brave isn''t enough; it can still get you killed."
"I''m going to the Den of Purity, and that''s final," Jane needed to put her foot down here, or Claudia would never shut up with the whole dying thing. "Assuming Mr. Muscles doesn''t make a pancake out of me." The reference was only to Cadastro, which Jane had only seen a picture of so far. The guy certainly seemed tough by the six pack showing through his clothes.
"My point is that Alyssa has another reason to be upset. It has nothing to do with you lying to everyone for protection, but she will use that to hide the real reason. I''ve seen changes in her."
"In Alyssa?" Jane tilted her head. She means to say that Alyssa wasn''t always a crazed cynical bitch?
"Ever since I let Alyssa join my class over a year ago, she has always tried very hard to make the most of her capabilities. She physically trains with magic just as much as you do, all the time. Alyssa has always been the smartest one of her class too. She can see through people like thin paper, which is why she was the first one to be suspicious of your background. She even told me that she felt your lie, right to my face, but whether or not she sensed it isn''t the point. The point is that she wants to embrace and protect everyone around her who loves magic. I know that you must love Leray magic too, considering the motive behind your actions. For a short while, Alyssa has become slightly less motivated to do anything, but now she''s back to her old self again. I don''t really know what has made her try to be so different, but ever since you''ve shown up, it''s like she''s tried so much harder to be better and stronger." Claudia kept the medical details to herself for Alyssa''s sake, but the rest was true. Over the time Jane began training here to improve her personal skills, Alyssa has practiced harder than ever before. That''s why, just a moment ago, Alyssa showed no signs of physical weakness, not even a slight limp. Jane''s powerful effect to motivate others to try harder even works on Alyssa.
"So she''s jealous of me? Big deal."
"Alyssa is the smart one, which makes sense to see why she is the only one who doesn''t like your decision to run into the dark zone. She really believes that you won''t make it back from there. I promise you, she doesn''t hate you. It''s far from that."
"And did she tell you this?" Jane pressured.
"I''m her teacher," she emphasized. "I know my students well enough to understand how they feel about certain situations. I think if you can win this battle with flying colors, she might even come around to your way of thinking."
So really, the answer to my question was no. Claudia can kid herself all she wants, but Alyssa has no chance of liking Jane in any sort of way. She wouldn''t sacrifice her own friends just to keep that going either. "How about I just give it my all and we stop talking about this?"
"Hmph." Claudia huffed. "Cadastro won''t know what hit him. Jane, you better do more than giving it your all. I''ve taught you a lot of new abilities that I want you to show off when you''re out there, and don''t be shy about using your shield either. It''s a legitimate strategy with or without your symbol. So just do me one favor, and beat this guy."
"Wait. You don''t want me to go in the dark zone, but you still want me to win?"
"All I want from you Jane, is not to fail." Claudia knew she said a few inspirational things earlier, but now was the moment where Jane was going to need the best morale boost. Up in the distance, an entire unit of people were firmly marching in a beautiful formation that others haven''t noticed from this distance yet. It was defiantly Jane''s challenge coming here. "I taught you more than enough to win this fight Jane. So if you lose, then I''ll just have to kill you instead."
She couldn''t really mean that! Right...? Jane couldn''t be too sure. She still didn''t know everything about Claudia yet. She might actually be the type that will beat her own students if they embarrass the teacher name. With that, over hundreds of other people get to watch as well. No pressure.
Chapter Theme Shift: Floaterra Fight ~ Serious Sam 2 OST
"It''s time," Claudia told. "Jane, you start marching towards the field, school side. Go!" She nearly forced Jane out of the seat. The student was too new to all of this. Jane wasn''t even told the formation protocols at all, nor was she aware of where to go and what to do.
By the time Jane began marching towards the field, she noticed a lot more people in her surroundings. The class was designated to a certain section in the seating arrangement to her right, and further down that road were a bunch of people in uniforms marching together. Jane didn''t know who Cadastro was though, and it was too tough to spot him out from here.
Suddenly, the sound of drum sets and trumpets were growing louder too, emanating from a mobile band following the uniformed people. The people on the left from Jane were all crowding near the stage, while Millar was up at the microphone. Some other woman took Jane''s previous seat next to Claudia, and the event was officially starting. This was downright crazy! All they did at Dakota was pat Jane on the back and clap for a few seconds. That was literally it!
Nothing about this ceremony was anything Jane was used to. She just has to keep marching, keeping a normal speed until reaching the end of the field on her side. Once there though, it was unclear what else she was supposed to do, but as she was already dressed in her blue and black battle suit, there was nothing else Jane really needed to prepare for. Luckily, the outfit was stylish for this occasion and not ugly. One single cough could turn out to embarrass her. During the marching, the guy at the stage began to speak, introducing himself and the school.
"The graduation ceremony of Lennith central will now commence. Today we will be celebrating the graduational victory of one student who has shown what it takes to surpass the current level of Leray training. However, in order for the graduational test to be completed, the member must challenge and defeat the high-level ranking elite Leray fighter. Give it up for Cadastro!"
People were already cheering, screaming, and whistling, all just for the guy''s name. The entire world might as well have been rooting him on to win the fight as well. Lennith''s school is harsh! If you lose a nearly impossible battle in the first place, then your graduation is revoked until another attempt is made. In Dakota, all Jane had to do was learn a couple of ordinary low-level Leray spells.
"Are you certain this one is ready?" Gresham, one of the council members sat next to Claudia, whom apparently were both well acquainted. Gresham kept her voice down a notch, trying not to interrupt the man on the stage right behind her.
"She just has a little bit of stage fright. Believe me," Claudia pleaded. "I wouldn''t have called in the best piece of the cavalry if I didn''t think Jane could handle it."
"I had no idea your students were so important."
Claudia twitched. It was hard to tell whenever Gresham was being sarcastic about anything, or whether she was serious. Since she has the power to hire and fire any part of the staff she wants to, Claudia couldn''t help but feel so nervous already. It was far off the radar as it was, but there was no forgetting the fact that everything about Jane''s current training was far from legal. Her paperwork however was verified by yours truly, the required action to make sure nobody grew suspicious of Jane or Claudia. "You really thought I would go this far out of my way to make sure everything was perfect for nothing? I''m only going to say it once Ms. Gresham. We do this a lot for many of our kids, but today''s battle won''t be the same as all the others. The one thing about Jane Venn you need to remember is this. When she battles against someone for real, the fight won''t be boring."
"Good!" Gresham put on her reading glasses to get a better field of view around her. She was nearly seventy years old, and it didn''t bother her at all that she couldn''t care less about most of the students here - or their silly graduation battles. She did happen to find fights interesting enough if they got really intense. It wasn''t like Claudia to call in the best of all challenges for just one student.
Claudia sensed a lot of negativity in the old woman next to her. The battle being interesting was probably the biggest thing she cared about today, that and the quality of her morning coffee. Sitting on the seat of the council gives people lots of power, but it apparently spoils them as well. It''s not like Claudia could just say what she was thinking right now. Claudia searched for Jane, who was marching along nicely near the end of the field. Make us proud Jane.
The announcer had more to say, but he was scripted only to speak again as soon as Cadastro heads up to the opposite end of the field behind the school. Because of the building arrangement, the field was totally visible with ease from the position of the stage. "The rules for this Leray battle will be as closely simulated as any other battle between two people. Only the student''s challenger will be allowed to call a battle time out, or to forfeit their match title. There will be a referee to judge the quality and effectiveness of specific spells, but he shall only speak upon request. Furthermore, the match will not have any additional reward spoils or real time bets involved. May the student now speak their name and current rank?"
They were talking about her! Jane saw two small pads below her, apparently two speaker systems installed into the ground. This was so weird! She was supposed to say something... Her name and rank! With so much surprise, Jane had already delayed the microphone for more than three seconds. Sweat was already rolling down the back of her neck. "Jane Venn! Current level Basic. Class Advanced!" Her voice projected everywhere, but this time it was the hidden value of electronic equipment that did the trick. It was still surprising even for her. The fact that she had to speak like that in front of so many people had her hands were shaking again, and her face was blushing red. Her heart was pounding inside her chest rapidly. Why did this have to be so big?
Claudia sighed in relief. At least she didn''t mess that up. Jane was told ahead of time what she would be asked and how to respond. It didn''t take a genius to notice how shy Jane could be though. In front of a class, she was fine. In front of hundreds of watchers and strangers, not so great.
"Student challenger Jane Venn will be facing off against Onix Cadastro!" Upon a few more spoken words from Millar, the crowd of people were all cheering again. By this time, everyone scheduled to arrive was already here. The seats in all rows were filled up with people ready to watch the battle take place, but not all of the formalities and introductions were out of the way yet.
By the time Cadastro finally took his place on the other end of the field, Jane identified him from her distance. They were both standing half an entire football field away from each other, because that was the size of the field. Once Millar was finished speaking, Cadastro took his place, speaking into the mics below him the same way Jane previously did.
Jane wasn''t expecting this. Cadastro seemed about 33 years old, but was impressively handsome aside from the photo. His suit looked as if it were the same material of Jane''s suit, but was colored and designed differently. He was basically lit up with the red, blue, and white colors of the design, with white being the primary color. The colors might not normally seem to match a formal setting, but Cadastro mastered this outfit!This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"It is in my honor that I humbly accept the challenge and face off to test the abilities of the students before me today. I, Onix Cadastro will test the strengths and styles of my current opponent, Jane Venn, and vow not to hold anything back in this wondrous fight." With just those few spoken words, he got the crowd going again.
Jane tried to learn everything about her opponent, but Cadastro was like some sort of super expert for what he was doing. Even his voice was perfect for a guy that age. It would be impossible to underestimate him, and this only made her more nervous.
Johnathan, the referee for the match checked to see if both challengers were ready. "The match between Jane Venn and Onix Cadastro will begin as soon as both sides are ready."
Cadastro firmly responded to the request. "Onix Cadastro; Ready."
Jane needed an extra second to realize that it was routine to announce her name and being ready. She never even had to battle before with a real referee like this. Everything was so fancy. "Uh¡ª Jane Venn! Ready to battle!" Upon realizing that the mic caught her initial stutter, Jane wanted to weep in silence.
Claudia had to strain herself to not bite her nails while sitting next to Gresham. Jane was so off her game today. To the crowd of strangers though, it might just seem like a normal shy student, but Claudia knew better. Jane was scared out of her wits. She''s representing the whole school today, which means if she fails or messes up, the school looks bad. Still, it shouldn''t matter to think about this in a Leray match. Luckily Jane is the one battling out there, and not anyone else.
"Level three again huh?" Cadastro''s voice didn''t project into the audience this time, but he was loud enough for Jane to hear his demeaning sentence.
Despite all of the publicity, Jane felt perfectly ready to battle anything in her way. She couldn''t tell if her speakers were off as well, but she decided to risk psyching the guy up. The sensation familiar to her of battle quickly built a wall between her nervousness and the situation. "I''m giving it my all too Cadastro! You better not be too easy!" Jane highly doubted he would be an easy target, but at least by shouting that his way, he would take her more seriously. Her voice failed to project through the speakers as well. It must not work unless scripted dialog is set to take place.
"Then let the battle begin!" The referee screamed into his mic, spreading to the amplifiers placed everywhere. The crowd''s cheering got much louder, and at last the formal holographic text starting all Leray battles formed in the center of the field, floating in translucent text that was only large enough to be read by Jane and Cadastro.
This time, it was the referee himself who ended up creating the Siriean dome, the same familiar transparent shield that managed to surround the entire circular field, cupping just behind where Jane stood and behind where Cadastro stood. With the establishment of the Siriean dome now in place, the battle was nearly ready to begin, but like any other battles, Jane and Cadastro still needed to establish their energy scopes too. That way at least the watchers can detect what is going on through all of the flashing magical lights and the large area attacks. Cadastro''s energy scope presented itself first, holographically displaying orange text in a box above his head.
Jane''s reaction was again delayed, but once she realized the moment of battle, she tried to pull herself together completely. The only way she was going to be able to focus at all was to totally shut out her other surroundings. He may seem tough, but Claudia really did train her quite well. Now it was time to get things moving for real. Upon engaging her own energy scope, Jane immediately readied her stance, bending her legs slightly and preparing for anything.
Chapter Theme Shift: Amazing Artist ~ Magia Record OST
"You can have the first move," Jane announced confidently.
"Very well," Cadastro replied. The elite warrior swiftly began to charge and release his MP energy, giving in to Jane''s preparations. It was obvious enough that his attack was in the form of some sort of aura, with his body shrouding himself in a red colored outline. It almost seemed similar to that of Jane''s power shield aura, but this was different for Cadastro. "Cardiononic-Lithofirey Smashes from Hell!"
Jane juked her leg back, unable to predict what was going to happen next. What was that gibberish he spat out just now? Is that even an official spell chant? Whatever he was up to, Cadastro was already doing something. Jane had to decide on her gut instinct this time and prepare to defend herself. Luckily, Claudia got Jane to better make use and preparation of Jane''s own power shield. After more successful invocations in training, she got faster at invoking the ability. More than that, her reflexes and timing to create her special shield have been improved too. Nobody in this entire crowd except for Claudia and her class knew what Jane was really capable of right now, but that was about to change immediately.
"Power Shield!" Jane immediately charged and released the MP energy into each of her hands in a single instant. Because of how little MP it cost her, it was more than simple to create the aura on a dime. Jane threw her arms outward in a cross, lining them up parallel to her opposing shoulders. With the energy being released, Jane''s entire body was immediately engulfed in a blue colored personal aura of her own. The full effects of her power shield surrounded her entire body while taking on the same shape as Jane herself, transparent enough to see through the aura. The aura formed quickly, spreading to every inch of her body, and her timing was spot on. Jane managed to invoke her shield just as Cadastro''s mysterious power burst from his attack aura. What was a body shaped aura suddenly converted into a wide area horizontal beam of energy, shooting into Jane''s shield at a lightning fast rate of speed.
It was hard to see what was going on based on how quickly both the players reacted. Even for Jane, she wasn''t sure what sort of attack was affecting her, but the massive red beam of energy was slamming into her, the front of her aura anyway. The entire frontal side of her personal shield became impossible to see through, because the red beam of attack energy was constantly forcing its way against the aura with bright light intensity.
The size of each hexagon was also something Jane learned about in training. They''re indicators! The hexagons form at any damage impact site from the interior of the shield, showing the user where the damage is coming from and its intensity. The smaller the hexagons appear, the more damage is being registered as reflected. It can be bad in this case. If the hexagons are smaller, than the damage is much higher, therefore draining the energy out of Jane''s power shield faster. The red beam of energy only lasted for a little over a second of time, but just before Jane believed it would end, she suddenly lost her focus, her arms forcing themselves down in exhaustion, and before she knew it, some fiery hot red sensation took over, burning her skin all over. Jane knew at this point that her power shield just failed from taking in too much damage, but that was Cadastro''s very first attack. He sure wasn''t holding anything back at all.
Down only eight percent? "Huh!" Cadastro announced. "You''re tougher than you look." The bright beam of red energy that had long since ended also caused Cadastro''s aura to fade as well, ending his attack sequence. In truth, the beam of energy was so opaque and wide that he never actually got to see exactly what it was Jane did to partially protect herself. Her earlier chant of her special ability was drowned out by the sound of his magic and some of the cheering crowd. The adoring fans ensured Cadastro could hear them, despite the sound proof effects of the Siriean dome.
Now it was Jane''s turn. She could hear cheering in the background of her environment, but decided to tune it out. Even if her power shield was incredibly unusual, now wasn''t the time for cold feet. After assessing how far away Cadastro still was and which effective weapons were at her disposal, Jane came to a quick decision, one that Cadastro would not be able to block. "Dark Strike!"
Expending only a small amount of her MP, Jane released that energy, allowing her to warp elsewhere. Cadastro already lost sight of Jane, but it still took a full second for Jane to rematerialize standing right behind him. With her single dagger already drawn from the pockets in her new mercenary suit, Jane used her dagger and slashed upwards into Cadastro''s backside, just after infusing the blade with magical energy coated with a red aura of damage. Cadastro took off from the ground, despite how much he weighted compared to Jane, but he only left about one foot of height before smacking back down into the grassy field. Just before deciding on anything else, Jane backed away quickly, as not to enter close combat range just yet.
The referee decided to cut in with a visual announcement of what was happening on the field. "We''re only two moves into the battle here, and things are already heating up. With Jane surviving the first hit with little damage, she then uses a matter transference attack to get the best of Cadastro!"
Cadastro got back up quickly, surprised by how quick Jane was to respond to danger, but he wasn''t about to let her have the floor this easily. "It''s time to take you down!" After noticing that Jane was not that far away this time, he began by pulling out his blaster weapon, shooting two plasma bolts towards the target.
Just this once, Jane couldn''t react in time. Cadastro was so quick to get back up and counterattack, while the plasma bolts he fired traveled nearly at the speed of bullets without any special magical invocation. Jane''s chest was barraged with both of the plasma bolts, packing a ton of force and disrupting her balance. At the same time, she took a fair amount of damage even for a low level attack.
Cadastro was backing away before he shot both of those plasma bolts too, and just as Jane was attempting to recover, he sought another opportunity to attack once again. Using skill after spell without giving the opponent a chance to recover is not an illegal strategy, and Cadastro could only hope that this school teaches that to their students. After releasing a bit more energy into his fist, Cadastro created a red glyphring of fire circling his wrist. It was the only sense of forewarning Jane had to defend herself. "Triple Fire!" Cadastro released three separate Fire Bolts from the same glyphring, all of them accelerating while bundled up together. Each Fire Bolt came out of that glyphring at an amazing speed.
Jane had a bit more warning this time, and used that to attempt another aura like before. The time it took to charge and release the necessary MP was faster than Cadastro''s invocation of Triple Fire, and as Jane threw her arms and hands outward again, she created another power shield aura around her body. This time, she chanted the name loudly in her head instead of verbally shouting the unofficial name of the magical ability. The moment Jane''s shield surrounded her entire body, it was just before the first Fire Bolt slammed into the shield. Jane had another close call. The first Fire Bolt exploded into a fiery mess in the air just in front of Jane''s aura, aimed at her chest. The resulting explosion caused a lot of medium sized hexagons to appear inside of the aura, just where the impact sight was. Those hexagons disappeared shortly after it registered the blast, but then the second Fire Bolt hit the shield again, this time aimed at Jane''s face. Jane closed her eyes instinctively. Nothing could touch her inside of here, but the fiery light coming that close to her face was still unsettling. The other thing Jane noticed was how firm and still her body was. It was as if the force field could also negate outside forces exerted upon it as well. No matter how powerful, nothing could hit Jane in the right way to mess up her balance or knock her down. Just as long as her arms were straight and her palms were open, Jane was protected with this special aura.
This time, amidst the fiery blasts and the end of the attack sequence, Cadastro could see something surrounding Jane. Above her head, the energy scope reported that Jane''s HP remained completely unchanged, which meant she was shielding herself somehow. Without another thought, Cadastro quickly went into another attack, pulling out his blaster weapon again. "Shotgun Blast!" The blaster fired multiple beams of blue energy, all of them immediately striking into Jane''s aura without damaging her at all.
Jane kept her shield going. The beams of energy from the Shotgun Blast created clusters of hexagons at each impact site. This power shield thing is amazing! How could she not have known this ahead of time before Claudia showed it to her? Every hexagonal area shows where the damage would have hit Jane should the shield not have been activated. Even now is it repelling damage from another attack, but because of how long she had it up this time, Jane could feel herself losing the connection with the aura. It only had to be about maybe four seconds to far? It sure doesn''t last long for each use, but she was only placing about 2% or 3% MP into the ability each time, so that wasn''t all surprising.
In training, Jane was somehow unable to surpass 6% of her MP energy into the shielding aura. Doing so would prevent it to take form. This is because a power shield cannot be overcharged with Leray magic. Luckily for her, Jane was unharmed. She decided now, after that Shotgun Blast to lower her arms and close her hands, immediately cutting all running energy to the power shield. The aura collapsed on itself, fading by a strange type of hexagonal disintegration. Given Cadastro''s expression, he had to be more surprised than ever.
"How are you nullifying that damage?!" Cadastro changed his stance, now uncertain what was coming next.
Jane pulled out both of her daggers this time, officially her turn to start attacking. She needed to come up with something on the spot, a combination perhaps. Cadastro was already a sitting duck, and Jane now has initiative. "I think you have other things to worry about. Mako Beam!" Releasing the energy from each dagger, Jane turned the tip of each blade into an arc for firing narrow blue beams of energy. She fired only three of them like before, but upon striking Cadastro, it didn''t seem to have very much effect for pushing him back. Jane kept her daggers in hand, immediately going into another attack sequence just after the Mako Beam skill ended. She had to release energy again in a quick sort of manner, while twirling her body around at least once to get the magical ability going. "Rotation!" Jane''s response ended up creating a powerful tornado of wind and slashing damage, growing rather quickly while drilling through the ground towards Cadastro.
There wasn''t really anything he could have done against this kind of spell. The large twister threatened to consume him no matter where he tried to run to, and blocking was out of the question too. Cadastro simply braced himself as the Rotation attack of wind elemental slashing damage swallowed him up and struck his body multiple times in a long combination. Rotation is the top tier evolution level from the Whirlwind spell, thus does it have more power, speed, range, and effect of force.
In this moment, Jane took her time in reading Cadastro''s energy scope while changing her position to prepare for his future counterattack.
It was still far too early to call the match. Cadastro pulled himself back up with the tornado fading away. Now that Jane was just standing there, not attacking any further, it gave Cadastro some time to decide on another sort of spell. But with that shielding ability Jane keeps on using, will anything cut through? Cadastro punched the grassy floor below him, and returned to his feet in frustration. "Onslaught!" He pulled out a sword from a yellow generation glyphring, and prepared to charge in her direction.
Jane put her daggers away and braced herself. Cadastro was charging at her on foot with a long blade. It could just be a close combat slashing attack, but she needed to time her power shield correctly again, less it fail from running too long. Cadastro was now ten feet away, still sprinting to land solid strikes on Jane with his sword. At this moment, Jane threw out her hands again, shooting energy outward and imagining that energy as an aura surrounding her body. As a result, another successful invocation of the power shield was reborn, shrouding Jane in a powerful protective aura just before Cadastro got in range.
Cadastro then swung his sword, bringing all of his running momentum in with the blade. Just before the blade was about to slice through Jane''s left arm, something stopped it right in the air, like an invisible force reflecting the kinetic energy backwards. Cadastro''s sword flew back at him, stopping just before causing damage to himself. Seeing as that failed, Cadastro tried again, taking slashes at Jane. He knew there was some kind of energy shield here made more visible given one second of time, but could it really reflect the mighty strength of a physical attack too? Hit after hit after hit, the blade Cadastro held tightly onto kept striking against that aura, creating the sound of some strange, high-pitched photonic burst. It happened each time the sword came into contact with Jane''s shield, generating some kind of repulsion sound with each and every collision. The hexagons were not small, but Cadastro just kept up the attacks over and over. Finally, he put all of his might into one big swing, slashing sideways at Jane''s thighs. Even then however, the sword bounced right back, pushing against Cadastro''s force and knocking him backwards off his feet. Clumsy enough to fight an unbeatable force, Cadastro fell down on his back and let go of the blade.
Jane had to lower the shield at that point. It was getting too hard to hold up any longer, but now Cadastro was down, tiring himself out. Now was her chance to counterattack once again. Since he wants to fight up close, might as well keep the strategy going. "Knight Dance!" Jane pulled out her daggers swiftly, transitioning from the deactivation of a shield aura directly into a charging attack of physical and magical energy. Cadastro already returned to his feet, but the sword finally disappeared, giving Jane the primary advantage right now. As she charged at Cadastro, who was already too close to react to the situation, Jane unleashed her combinations of magically infused physical attacks against the man.
Punch after kick after strike, Jane delivered a devastating combination of hits all over Cadastro''s body, each hit carrying extra energy for extra damage. Jane performed a few side steps in between to prevent being interrupted in the middle of her combination attack. Then, she ran towards the guy, kicked up off his chest, and then booted Cadastro right in the face. Both of them were flying upwards now, but Cadastro was heading backwards from the force of getting knocked back by Jane''s powerful kick, while Jane landed on her feet from the backflip.
Jane wasn''t finished yet. While keeping her daggers in each hand, she charged a Magical Blitz energy ball while Cadastro was still getting up. He was currently facing away from Jane, and it allowed her to target him from behind. Jane didn''t chant the name of any specific spells; she only charged a single energy sphere, throwing it at Cadastro. The energy bolt landed on his back, knocking him down again. Despite the HP he had left, Jane could tell her opponent was getting ready to give up already.
"Flying Guillotine!" While the target was down again, Jane launched another attack, infusing magical energy into her daggers and then throwing them crisscross formation. The same red spinning circle of light and energy formed in between the spinning daggers, creating a damage aura which drilled its way through Cadastro, slashing him multiple times in a single instance. Cadastro attempted to get up again, but the circle wrapped around to return to Jane, striking him again just before the aura disappeared and Jane got her daggers back. It wasn''t her favorite thing to do - hitting people while they were down, but Cadastro tried it against her once before, and if Jane showed even a moment of mercy, winning like that may not be enough to convince Claudia that she is ready for Alpha Zero.
"I must say," Gresham squinted. "You''re student seems quite capable. Did you teach her that shield trick?"
Claudia knew Gresham was speaking to her. Jane''s shield aura is unique, and therefore technically has nothing to do with Claudia. This was the one thing that made it okay to lie to the council again. If Claudia can teach invulnerable shields so to speak, that will just dig a big inescapable hole for her. Everyone would expect to learn the same trick from her, not realizing that Jane''s shield in particular draws power by taking full advantage of her symbol even in its inactive state. "No, Jane picked that up from somewhere else I think. But that Rotation spell, that defiantly came from me."
Everyone watching the battle knew. They knew that Jane''s unusual power shield was somehow protecting her more than it should, but they seemed to be enjoying the match too. It''s not every day an elite soldier gets knocked around by a young girl. "She certainly is something else. Cadastro can barely get a grip," Gresham followed.
With the crowd of people still roaring, the referee tried to remain silent, waiting for the battle to reach its end. Cadastro still found enough courage and strength left in him to get up, but from all of the battle damage Jane already induced against him, Cadastro could feel several cuts and a few bruises in random places all over his body, hidden by his battle suit. Jane backed away even more now that he has shown persistence. She was right to think defensively. Cadastro had never in his life found a young student throw out such weaker attacks in a quick efficient way. She was fast. Jane is a fast moving wielder who also has some sort of secret shielding aura on her side. So speed and standard shielding is her special tactics, but shields can''t hold up against damage too high and severe.
Cadastro began charging up a lot of his energy, creating a bright green aura around his body. "We''ll see if you can hold up against Ethereal Blast." Ethereal Blast is a very rare known special magical ability, known for being one of the most powerful aura attacks ever recorded in history, but he was used to using the ability. While charging more of that energy, the others could see a major decrease in Cadastro''s MP levels, draining bit by bit while the aura was trying to fully charge itself. Ethereal Blast is also known for taking a long time to charge and invoke, which is why it remains so powerful.
Jane had two choices right now. She could attempt to interrupt Cadastro''s charging sequence against some spell she didn''t even know about, or try to shield against the attack, but with as long as it was taking Cadastro to even release his energy, it might be too powerful even for a shield to withstand. Cadastro made a sudden move, shifting his arms outward to open up his aura. Jane immediately decided to try and use her power shield anyway upon running out of time. Shortly after she threw the aura around her body like before, Jane became cloaked in the same blue power shield, hoping to stay protected against the unknown attack. Ethereal Blast... It was a new term to her altogether.
"Nagh!" Cadastro made a grunt of exerting full power upon releasing the massive amount of stored energy, turning his green aura into a green blast of energy. The energy formed a beam that had the diameter of twice Cadastro''s own size, as it blasted from his body onto Jane''s at an enormous speed. The loud sound of strange pitches followed from the aura beam that swallowed Jane''s entire body and shield. It was impossible to see from this position if Jane''s shield was holding up to the attack, but he would soon find out. Surprisingly, Cadastro lost a ton of his MP energy after using that spell on Jane, but with a power level of ten, it was to be expected.
Jane couldn''t see anything other than a blinding green and white light block her entire field of view. The aura she was encased in changed in texture from all directions, forming tiny hexagons in every location possible, meaning the Ethereal Blast was dealing damage to Jane all around her at the same time. In just less than half a second, Jane felt herself strain too much, and the shield around her dissolved on its own without her consent. Despite doing her best to keep her power shield up, the Ethereal Blast broke right through in no time, dealing far too much damage for Jane''s energy to block it out. There wasn''t much time in between that shield failure and the blast of energy beaming through her body before Jane could even think to react. Instead, the green auric blast forced her back and threw a lot of weight against her chest. At the same time, it felt like a burning sensation on her skin mixed in with a massive drain to her stamina. Once it was finally over, Jane wanted to drop to the ground and not get back up, but she steadied herself as best as she could.
Jane was still in the fight, but that last hit dealt a lot of damage despite her attempt to shield the attack. Even then, she shielded the blast partially, and it still did a lot of damage. At least with Cadastro''s drop in MP energy, he wouldn''t be doing that a second time.
Cadastro''s jaw dropped in an aggressive expression. "How did she survive that? Nobody walks from one of my Ethereal Blasts!"
"It looks like Jane Venn is able to withstand some powerful attacks from Cadastro himself. This fight may go on for longer than it appears."
Jane didn''t mind the referee''s random cut in announcements to the watchers. Right now she needed to counterattack before Cadastro tries something. That shielding trick really isn''t always reliable after all. Guess that''s what people mean by never sticking only to defense. Cadastro seemed to be a bit delayed. With his best attack not being enough, his hesitations grew wider, but Jane was already with a new plan of action. Cadastro still has a lot of stamina and life energy left; now would be the best time to change that. "Star of Darkness!" Jane''s holler was followed by aiming her left hand at the ground where Cadastro was standing. Following the chant and magical energy depletion from her body, a massive red star formed where the guy was standing, then a red circle drew itself around that star.
Cadastro suddenly found himself standing in the center of the magical star holographically painted on the ground under him, and by the time he realized what the spell was all about, it was too late. Jane had to keep aiming her hand towards the same spot, slowly depleting her MP just to keep it going. The circular area then had a red fogged sort of light float up, and Cadastro suddenly sunk to his knees, struggling to stay confident.
Claudia was already impressed with Jane''s major improvements on fighting, but Star of Darkness was also one of the newer abilities she taught to Jane. Star of Darkness is a unique skill in every sense of the word. It creates a circle with a star signet in the center of that circle below the opponent''s feet. A second later, the signet activates, draining a lot of HP gradually over time so long as the target is within the boundaries of the circle, and so long as the user is not interrupted through the full effects of the invocation. With the diameter on the ground spreading to a distance of six or twelve meters, escaping that in time is difficult to do. But HP isn''t the only thing being drained from Cadastro right now. His very essence of stamina and physical energy is dropping as well, making him weaker and more exhausted than before. It''s one of the special effects from Star of Darkness, with a surprising twist at the end.
To top it all off, the damage type is actually a derivative of dark magic. Dark magic deals real time damage and kills usually on contact, making it illegal to use no matter what. Star of Darkness however is the one and only exception to the rule. While retaining its dark magical type of energy, it doesn''t actually deal real time damage so easily, and has never once caused any health related side effects afterwards, even if it was used to knock people out in a fight. On top of that, no adverse effects occur physically or psychologically within those who have been tested to use it over the years. It might as well just be an over-charged Leray spell that has a powerful effect. Therefore, Star of Darkness is also the only dark magical ability in Sprawn Valley that has long since been legal and effective to use. Most would claim it doesn''t belong in the classification at all.
After every second of time went by, Cadastro''s HP level was dropping points, and so was his physical energy. Jane continued keeping an eye on Cadastro and his declining HP reference: 49%... 48%... 47%... By the time the magical spell was about to be used up, Jane finished the signature move with a jolt of red colored lightning from above, striking Cadastro where he stood to deal additional lightning damage. The bolt of lightning lasted only for a second long, but its unusual red coloration made it look really cool, and thus charging the audience with more audible energy. By the time the lightning bolt finished running its damage through Cadastro''s body, Jane could finally let go, leaving the star and the circle under the man''s feet to fade away by itself. Jane knew that did a lot to Cadastro''s health, but it also drained a bit of her MP energy as well, so she checked both energy scopes.
Jane was technically winning so far, but Cadastro wasn''t about to give up so soon. He felt so drained and weak compared to before. That''s what Star of Darkness is designed to do. The fact that a third year student could learn all of these impressive spells so quickly was amazing. But now wasn''t the time to be impressed.
Cadastro lifted himself up and aimed his arm towards Jane. In no time flat, he managed to generate a jade color glyphring around his wrist, prompting Jane to immediately exert energy, throw her arms out, and create another power shield around her. Cadastro still chanted the name of his spell quickly and let loose on the attack. "Lightning Strike!" A normal blue-colored lightning bolt fired horizontally from his glyphring, zapping Jane''s power shield as it reflected all of the damage.
Jane''s entire shield became surrounded in hexagons again from the inside, but the hexagonal sizes were much bigger, indicating less damage. It was a lot to push off, Jane could already feel herself losing control of her shield, but in just another second, the lightning blast ended with her shield still up. Unfortunately for her, Cadastro didn''t seem too happy about that, and charged at her with another sword spawn. Because of how close he already was, Jane decided to stick with her current shield. It takes more time to shut it down and activate a new one.
Cadastro didn''t stick with any fancy chants or names this time. He simply went in like before and started slashing relentlessly into Jane''s aura with his long blade. For the first few slashes, the sword simply bounced off like before, but after how long Jane had her shield up in total, it was getting to hard to keep it up. She could feel now what it is like once it begins to fail. Jane simply let her arms down, knowing it would have happened without her anyway, but as soon as her shield dropped, she was slashed with the guy''s blade. There wasn''t any way to continue blocking or dodging the physical attacks. Cadastro soon realized that he now had an opening, and took many more hits towards Jane.
Slashing over and over from different angles, Jane eventually pulled out her daggers and tried to deflect the hits, but her attempt didn''t go too well. Cadastro continued his combination, slashing the blade through Jane''s body while she simply took damage and got pushed back each time. Once the time on his sword was up however, the blade vanished in his hand. Since it isn''t his primary weapon, he can''t just keep on using it forever.
Jane understood what happened quicker than Cadastro did. Sticking with weapons that someone isn''t meant to have in the first place, that''s a soon made mistake. Now with his lost momentum and their close range to each other, Jane quickly counterattacked, coming up with the next choice of magic on the spot. "Blast Wave!" Her invocation timing was almost instant, and her energy level dropped more significantly than before. Blast Wave is an area attack that improves from Radial Blast, designed to be more precise and higher on a damage level than the other forms of the spell. Just before the first explosion erupted, Jane jumped far backwards more than once. Blast Wave is one of the few area attacks that can damage the same user as well, but Jane used it against Cadastro at just a meter away from the guy. Luckily, she got out of the way just in time.
Cadastro was subject to multiple blasts erupting from the ground, explosions which sent him flying back and dealing a lot of instant damage. The blast hurt more than his ears too. Adding to his previous damages and bruises, this just made everything much worse. He was lucky enough to somehow land back on his feet without falling over, but his HP took another large decline. After the several explosions subsided, no additional damage had been done.
Despite his health being much lower, Cadastro felt like he could still fight until the bitter end. Since Jane was so fond of area attacks, it was time he tried one out. "Ion Smash!" His hands were glowing for the first few seconds, indicating a lot of magical release for another unknown ability. As a precaution, Jane threw up another power shield to try and protect herself.
She didn''t know what spell Ion Smash was, but today she wasn''t going to forget about it any longer. A massive bright shining meteor from the sky was approaching fast, much quicker than the speed of the meteors involved in Meteor Strike. Designed to be a wide area attack that deals heavy fire elemental and non-elemental magical damage, the Ion which was supposedly the size of half the battlefield came smashing down right in front of Jane. Even with her aura up, it was incredibly scary once it hit the ground at that speed. The force from the blast threw chunks from the ground and fire towards Jane just afterwards, while the earthquake managed to leak through the dome shield towards the audience. Her shield aura was forming hexes everywhere on the front side, and worst of all, hexes of very small sizes. Jane already had trouble keeping the shield running just after the hexes disappeared, it felt like she was about to lose it for good. Then she did, but there wasn''t anything left in front of her but a big large cloud of smoke and flying dirt. The ground below her was damaged more than she was, creating an unstable crater where the falling object impacted. Luckily, Jane''s shield failed just after rejecting all of the damage she would have taken, but after all of the shields she put up before combined with her lowering MP level, she was already getting completely exhausted!
As soon as the smoke cleared, Jane was ready to use the next attack. Cadastro would not have expected her to be able to make that fast of a recovery, and probably thought that her shield would not hold out long enough. It almost didn''t! After she was clear for another run, Jane began dashing towards Cadastro for a close range attack, knowing from her rushing heart rate that this would be the last dash of the day. "Rush Assault!"
Cadastro didn''t even have the capacity to analyze how Jane was still in the fight after that hard hit into the earth, and now she was charging at him with a glowing yellow aura around her body. Rush Assault is sort of a free-form close combat combination attack, but gives the user the advantage of speed ahead of time while they dash in for the first hit. The user of Rush Assault is always able to run at incredible speeds they normally are not capable of, and then the barrage of punches and kicks they deliver are also infused with extra magical damage as well. The combination itself isn''t fixed, so MP consumption can vary a lot.
Jane was already in range, landing punches to Cadastro''s face and kicks against his legs, interrupting his overall balance. Then she shifted and started again from the side.
Claudia couldn''t take her eyes off the battlefield for even a moment. She saw Jane''s expert fighting style in training, but this must be her best so far. Even if Jane somehow ended up losing due to her naturally low endurance level, it would be amazing already with how well she has done today. The way she moves in battle, and how fast her reflexes have become as well! Jane was at this point unstoppable. Beating an elite fighter in a battle was one thing, but this is Cadastro she''s beating!
During her next punch, Jane accidentally held her arm too close to herself, and she missed the chance to score another hit. Cadastro now had a dangerous opening against Jane, and like any good warrior, he extorted that temporary weakness to the fullest. It happened so fast, his reaction time and invocation ability saved himself from taking on the rest of Jane''s crazy combination. "Earth Glave!" The ground underneath Jane began to quake violently already, and as a precaution, Jane jumped backwards to try and evade whatever Cadastro was trying, but her attempt to evade it was the wrong approach.
Expecting a close combat come back from Cadastro, he used Earth Glave instead, shaking the ground below Jane as she landed, which suddenly shot up and forced the ground and upwards into her face for a lot of earth elemental damage. There was no way to get out of it; Cadastro played his next card brilliantly, and Jane paid a price for that.
Jane was lucky that Cadastro was getting as tired as she was at this point. He didn''t respond to the situation with another counterattack, and simply let Jane rise back to her feet. The last blast hurt her limbs in almost every way possible, not to mention that she was physically exhausted from moving around so much. Seeing as it was her chance to try something else, Jane gave it her best shot. "Crystal Arrow!" Jane summoned a bow and arrow from a yellow generation glyphring, then quickly loaded the arrow into the device. Crystal Arrow is an ability Jane had experienced once before back on Route 96, which is why she had to ask Claudia to teach it to her. Seeing as people usually send two normal arrows and then a crystal arrow which is a waste of time, Jane only spawned the arrow with a crystallized tip at the end of it. A single crystal arrow was all she wanted. The problem was that while dealing low piercing damage and moderate blunt damage, it was a wonder if this would even do any real damage to an unarmored target. Jane went with it for now, pulling back and the string and then letting go after taking her aim.
Cadastro for once didn''t seem to mind an arrow heading straight for him, and that was because his concern for its damage was much less than Jane''s was. After the crystal arrow stuck into the man''s skin and faded shortly after, it didn''t even make him budge an inch. The sting defiantly hurt, but the damage level was low, thus allowing Cadastro to skip the recovery of a non-devastating attack.
"Shit," Jane muttered to herself. Now she was going to need a shield aura for sure. Her energy was already running low, and with the cost it requires to run the aura, it might not work at this pace.
Cadastro stretched his head around, showing off his endurance while he charged a lot of his remaining energy into another big kind of attack spell. Jane was already preparing herself for another defensive strategy. While he charged his MP into a powerful spell however, he didn''t hint at giving away his answer until it was time to release that energy. "Hellfire!" Cadastro''s large fire glyphring formed on the ground in front of him this time, forcing a dozen of Fire Balls upward as if to shoot from the ground itself. The amount of Fire Balls increased immensely, turning into about thirty separate projectiles. After gaining much altitude, Cadastro turned his arm, controlling the projectiles to send them all crashing towards Jane.
Claudia had to think back. Hellfire is a rare yet ancient ability that allows the user to add homing properties to normal Fire Balls, which are less effective than Fire Bolts, but with so many different Fire Balls all being controlled and striking the target at different times, it might as well become an area attack that isn''t possible to dodge, all while conserving some MP energy. Cadastro knew all sorts of tricks.
Jane threw another shield aura around herself again, blocking out every single Fire Ball to explode against the aura. The hexagons formed everywhere from the front side, more and more as the impacts continued happening. Cadastro already grew frustrated. That''s all Jane does, isn''t it? She just blocks out all of that damage with some sort of magical shielding aura. This shouldn''t even be possible - for a shield aura to become that effective at a cheap MP cost. As soon as all thirty Fire Balls were done crashing into Jane''s aura, she and the shield were still up and running.
Jane cut the shield off just after the last Fire Ball stuck. The aura already nearly failed on her again from damage intake, but now it was her turn to strike back again. Jane pulled out both of her daggers once more, and initiated her next attack without delay. "Splicing Vengeance!" Jane''s entire body began to glow with a crimson color, and then she dashed towards Cadastro again, but in that very moment, her body disappeared again.
At first, Cadastro expected another teleportation attack. He turned sideways to check his surroundings, not seeing Jane anywhere. Just like that, Jane reappeared, standing right in front of Cadastro''s face. Before he knew it, Jane slashed in a cross formation, both daggers digging through Cadastro''s stomach. After the double hit, Jane jumped back and tried to gain some more distance. Splicing Vengeance has a lot more going on than it seems, and that''s why she loves the ability so much. Only costing her 4% of her MP level, Jane ended up speeding her run to about the same speed as light. After charging at Cadastro, she disappeared only for a split showing up at close range. Then she stopped right in front of him and slashed her daggers into him at the same time. By infusing her daggers with some magical energy ahead of time, and then putting all of that speed into her double hit, the damage dealt was quite high for a low costing attack. Cadastro''s health had to agree with the tactic too.
Cadastro looked as if he was going to drop from all of the damage taken, but he still continued standing up, his MP stats slowly regenerating. There was still fight left in him, and it made Jane wary. He stood there for a few more seconds, waiting for the timing to be right while Jane braced herself for the unknown.
Okay. Okay. Jane was breathing heavily from her lower MP stats. They weren''t anything as bad as her opponent was, but she was already so tired. The shielding aura sure has some heavy draw backs. The lower her MP stats are prior to invocation, the harder it is to run the shielding ability, which also makes the shield weaker as well. It''s worse than that. If the shield fails on her for any reason, it drains her stamina three times as much as it would to cut out the shield early. So it really isn''t the most reliable trick in the book. This time, no shield. No shield...
After what seemed like an awkward pause, Cadastro made his move, throwing his arm high up in the air while releasing the rest of his MP energy. "Drain!" A strange blue auric circle formed underneath Jane''s legs, making her stamp in surprise. Then all the sudden, a green light forced its way out of Jane''s body, and zoomed towards Cadastro. The green sphere of light then became absorbed by him, immediately changing the stats for Jane and Cadastro.
It took Jane a moment to figure it out. He shouted the word Drain. Drain is an actual ability that consumes MP for the user, allowing them to mysteriously steal HP from their opponents by draining their life energy. Pain and damage is something not felt by the victim. Instead, it makes them feel weaker if the target''s health is already low, and then regenerates the user''s HP immediately with the amount of HP stolen. That means Cadastro was still good for another moment or so. He really wasn''t giving up, despite Jane''s obvious advantage, but he won''t be so tough with her next attack.
Jane decided to keep her daggers in her hand for this next part to be certain. She had to basically use up all of her MP energy for this one, which immediately made her feel so much weaker and fatigued. "I''m finishing this now! Redemption!" The vertical green beam of light casted from above surrounded Jane, and then split into five narrower beams of light energy. The beams then spanned outward in a spiral formation, tricking Cadastro to try and dodge them while blocking the vertical beams of light.
Cadastro was suddenly hit by one of the beams, knocking him straight to the ground in searing pain despite his current dexterity. Jane sunk down too, but not all the way to the ground. What surprised her was that even though one beam came into contact with Cadastro, he was still technically in the fight. With all of Jane''s energy totally drained, and Cadastro in a tight spot, anything could still happen. Despite the low MP energy Jane had prior to using the skill, it was still much higher compared to when she had to fight Patrissa. Having more ME points did actually give her more freedom room in that skill, but it was already having effects on her total stamina afterwards.
Cadastro literally balanced only on his hands and knees, but he still wasn''t calling it out just yet. He wanted to get back up and fight. This was the most fun challenge he has ever faced in a whole year. It can''t be over yet!
Jane could tell that Cadastro wasn''t giving up, but by the looks of it, his massive drain of life energy was disagreeing with him. His heart and breathing rate had to be high at this point. Jane knew she was already fatigued to her own limits. Using Redemption with just over 20% MP is not a smart idea, but her health was yet to be in critical ranges, so it was technically considered safe to try. Guess now is the time to set the record straight. Jane had her daggers in hand for a reason. She would not be able to use magic this time, but she didn''t need to. "I''ll show you how strong I''ve become," she softly spoke. Jane tossed her daggers in crisscross again, the blades flying swiftly through the air without magic. Cadastro was now done for. He could only stand there and await his total defeat.
Right as Jane''s daggers dug into Cadastro''s body while he was done, the following damage forced him to fall flat on his stomach and face, his health reaching the end of its capacity from the successful critical hit.
Claudia couldn''t believe it. Jane managed to do it again, to use the rarest of abilities known as Redemption, and she was still standing in the end. Not only that, but with Cadastro now defeated, Jane''s health range didn''t even drop into the critical levels either. Soon after the man fell to the floor unconscious, the referee made the announcement official.
Chapter Theme Shift: Take Off From Home ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
"And that''s it folks! That concludes the end of the graduation match made between Jane Venn and Cadastro! What a stunning finish to an exemplary battle. It''s a total knock out, leaving Jane the victor of the incredible Leray battle!" He sounded as excited as the rest of the audience, now blaring in roars and cheers of victory, but they were really excited about the battle in general.
The Siriean dome around them shut down, fading into nothingness. Jane could barely control her breathing. Her heart felt like it was about to break through her chest, but she actually won! She won the battle after fighting for so long and hard. "Yes!"
"I can''t believe it!" Gresham blurted. "She beat Cadastro!"
Claudia turned to Gresham with the sense of victory in her mind. "I told you she would surprise us. That''s how Jane battles."
"I need to offer her a scholarship for this."
Claudia wasn''t expecting that much gratitude from Gresham. She usually doesn''t care at all about anyone''s future but her own. Did she really see Jane containing that much potential? It''s not like she was being serious, was she?
Jane kneeled down again, too tired to stand up straight. Cadastro''s team made their way to the unconscious man, using a special healing orb on him. Maybe it works faster? Whatever the case, they had the right idea. Jane quickly fumbled for a healing orb of her own. After charging the crystal inside of the sphere and activating the magical device on herself, Jane''s stats quickly returned to optimal conditions, filling her body back up with energy immediately.
"That''s the way it works at Lennith''s training facility." It was Millar speaking into the microphone now. "By defeating the tough challenger in a grueling exciting Leray battle, we hereby formally announce that Jane Venn has completed level three training from Lennith academy. We now ask the student to please step up to the stage to receive their license update status, and the graduation certificate in hand."
Given they could at least wait for Jane to catch her breath! At least the healing orbs worked quicker today than usual. Shortly after Jane responded to the command, a lot more formal things happened to celebrate her own graduation. Millar gave Jane the upgraded Leray license after stepping onto the stage, which now showed in textual letters on the front of the card, Jane Venn | Age: 16 | Graduated facility: Dakota + Lennith | Last Ev. Score: 10 | Current Status: Advanced Leray wielder | Credits: 5100 Cr.
This moment was more beautiful than Jane could ever imagine. Claudia said the graduation wouldn''t be legitimate, but it actually was. It had to be in order to defuse any suspicions about her real story. Everybody then congratulated her. One of the council members even offered her a free scholarship into Lennith''s fourth level of training, but it only has a one year expiration date. Jane certainly could not afford to go into school right now. Even if she could learn all sorts of new things, the Den of Purity was still the biggest priority, with reuniting with Danny and Taylor being the next priority. Perhaps afterwards though, she can accept it. Gresham really treated Jane like gold for the way she fought today.
Cadastro was shortly revived, and he prepared to leave the place. He didn''t do so however without parting Jane with some really impressive commemorations. The whole event seemed to drag on for three long hours, drawing out the sunset of the evening, but it won''t be long now until Claudia secretly sends her off. There is only one back route into Alpha Zero, and Jane has finally earned that privilege.
Chapter 27: The Lonely Road
<01/27/1972 ¨C 19:29 | Lennith City (Outskirts), Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Long after everyone from the graduation event left, the sun set down behind the hills, coloring the sky to a brilliance of orange and pink glazes. Lennith City seemed to have several inconspicuous streetlights built almost everywhere in various locations, only getting noticed the moment they were powered on to lighten up the place. Jane and her class met up again on the side of the school near the training field by the time things calmed down.
It was a wonderful fulfillment to have her title upgraded to advanced Leray wielder status. Jane was just happy that Claudia was going to uphold her end of the deal. Since she managed to train hard and learn many new abilities under Claudia''s supervision, Jane knew her survivability rate would be high anywhere. Because she has defeated Cadastro, one of the top elite warriors of the gradyent system, this would enable Claudia to sneak Jane past the north gate. She didn''t ask Claudia how she knew about a back route, since it likely didn''t matter in the long run, but much to Jane''s surprise, Claudia and the other classmates arrived together, all to congratulate her on her most recent victory.
"That was some awesome stuff you did Jane." The raspy cheerful voice belonged to Naea. Naea had a hard time controlling her excitement earlier today, as did most people who got to watch the battle. But even now, Jane was just preparing for the real fight. She seemed physically pumped, prepared to take on anything in her new blue and black uniform. With Jane preparing for a battle much tougher than the last, Naea knew that now was the time to give her the gifts prepared; Jane wouldn''t refuse. Most of the others had the same intention in mind.
Jane turned to see Naea speaking out from the rest of the crowd of teenagers. It was half the whole class gathered with Claudia standing behind them, but this didn''t look much like the sending off. It looked more like a secret meeting. Wasn''t the plan for Claudia to do this all by herself? Why do all of the other classmates need to be here? It isn''t natural looking at all! At least this was only less than half the class by proportion, so only a few people were interested to meet Jane after day-break. Since she was already here too, might as well go along with it. "Nah. I had a good teacher. The credit should go to her."
Jane eyed Claudia where she stood, and the gratitude was making her grin uncontrollably. "If you insist, Jane."
"We got you all presents before you go!"
You shouldn''t have... Jane forced a smile in response, hoping she wasn''t going to remain this popular for too long. Nobody needed to go out of their way to buy her stuff; it just isn''t necessary for the plan. Jane began to realize that it may have been better when these same kids feared her some days ago. Then again, the situation back at Dakota was probably the best in comparison. The students there knew the lines with Jane not to cross, but they simultaneously respected her, allowing herself and them to keep a healthy distance, but this collection of gratitude is just too much.
Another girl with a younger and more excited voice held out a wrapped present in her arms. Jane didn''t quite expect this either! It''s like Christmas has come early for her, and everyone was just acting odd because of it. Jane still wasn''t good with other names, so she took her time to verbally respond to the gesture while holding the present with her forearms. This one - might be called Irean? Kiran? The look on her face didn''t care though. Everybody else copied that move, pulling out gift wrapped presents from behind their backs or legs. It was like the whole group was playing birthday shower with Jane, and the sudden surprise was a bit overwhelming.
Claudia could see that the surprise actually worked. Jane was at a complete loss for words, even though she was passively accepting the gifts while locking eyes with everybody. "The gift thing was our idea, as to see one of our own off after an amazing graduation ceremony." Never in her own career has she been capable of training someone so young how to move and fight so effectively in the field at such a fast pace. That symbol on her hand must be part of the same culprit though. It''s a shame Jane has to remove it, but that''s the way it is. If the GA finds out about that mark on her hand, the entire battalion will hunt her down, either to capture or destroy.
"But, but..." Jane had to sit down for a minute, or rather stop accepting packaged items to process all of this. "How did you make the graduation real? I thought the formalities were the only real thing about it."
Claudia nodded her head left and right. "I had to make changes to include almost everything about you in the paper work. It would have been even more suspicious had I simply made you fight Cadastro without officially graduating. So unfortunately, the plan getting you this far needed to be tweaked. Please Jane. Everyone here wanted you to have something before you go off into the dark zone."
"I can''t believe she''s still going through with that."
Jane noted Connor''s concerns for the other people who didn''t want to speak it. She could hardly believe it either, but it''s the only hope she has left, and Claudia is letting her though, which must mean there is actual hope for her yet. Jane didn''t have the heart to argue with everyone here, not like this. They were being so nice, but Alpha Zero is the place she needed to go. "I don''t want to be marked like this forever, but I promise I''m coming back alive. I''m not going to let some thing kill me in there."
"You better not," Claudia threatened. It''s not like she could punish Jane if she did die in there, but such excellent talent could not be seeping into that girl''s body just because of a symbol. There''s more to it than that. Jane better come back and live!
"Well, you going to open these things or what?"
Jane sighed in happiness, accepting the offer by pulling and peeling the easy wrapping off of the cover of all sorts of objects. After opening just ten of them, Jane ended up with all sorts of items; healing orbs, a few new dress spheres, food, and water for the trip. A few more personal items were bestowed too, like some of the class photos that represented this year. Jane was standing in some of the photos, so they served as perfect reminders of her time well spent here. Each and every gift was individually unique depending on who it was coming from.
But then Jane noticed Alyssa, standing just aside the others. She wasn''t staring at Jane directly, her eyes diverting and her body stiff. A short silence endured while Jane thought more about it. Jane just remembered that she didn''t see Alyssa today during and after the battle. She couldn''t even face Jane after proving herself, so why even show up now? She must have been hiding herself in this group until this moment, but that''s not the point. What is she doing here? What possible degrading thing could she have to say left? She of all people can''t be here to give Jane a present!
Alyssa had trouble looking at Jane straight in the eyes, and her face was a bit red from all of the thought put into this. Needless to say, Jane wasn''t the only one confused right now. It was only now that Alyssa chose to show herself to Jane like this, as she sluggishly staggered in front of the students, creating more reason for a lasting silence among them. After a few awkward pauses, she finally faced Jane with their parallel eyes, and she held out the gift in her arms. Instead of a wrapped box or a closed gift, Alyssa was simply holding a jeweled necklace in her hands, offering it to Jane. "You battled Cadastro well, so here." Her voice was rather forceful just then, but her expression held an opposite pose.
This was unbelievable! Just hours ago, Alyssa hated her guts. Some of those reasons were well founded too. Who the hell got her to change her mind? To show up like this, she has to be a little bit embarrassed trying to make up in front of her peers. Jane was frozen by the action immediately, too surprised to even react. This is a jewel of apology isn''t it? Why after all this time would she threaten Jane without saying anything else, all just to make up for it here? The battle couldn''t have been that inspiring, could it?
Jane''s reaction was at least expected in theory. Alyssa simply held it closer to Jane''s face as a hint, while explaining the reason behind her choice. "This necklace is a rare family token. A jade color gem with the power to light up in response to detecting magical release for the wearer... I want you to have it."
Everyone behind her gasped at once, and Jane winced with the same amount of surprise. Alyssa was just standing there, expecting Jane to accept such a valuable gift. From the audible breathing her friends were now making, they must not have come up with that plan as a group either. Jane can just accept this family heirloom? What about how much it''s worth to Alyssa?
Jane is one hell of a pain in her side. She''s a natural liar and an idiot on most days... Still, Alyssa remembered every moment of her training, Jane''s training over the past six days. Aside from herself, nobody has ever pushed themselves so far. Sure, Jane might learn faster than others, but she also puts excessive effort into everything she does. It is crystal clear that she wants nothing more than to remove that symbol from her hand. Jane fights because she wants to be a Leray master. She said so out loud the other day. And all of this, risking her own life, smuggling around a dangerous symbol, everything she does is to be capable of enjoying Leray magic in the end. She''ll fight anything to get her way. That kind of bravery, it''s... "I''m sorry about before," she continued. "I just... I don''t know what came over me. We''re students though, not enemies."
"But," Jane had to protest. There wasn''t any reason for this! "My symbol is¡ª"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Alyssa had to cut Jane off, and she was prepared to argue about this all night until she just shuts up and takes the necklace. "I don''t care about some stupid magical mark!" Jane winced at the very way she worded her response. "How stupid could I possibly be to just sit there like everyone else and judge a person by some mark on their body? If you really were a danger to us all, we would have already been killed, or worse. I know this because our teacher would have at least tried to fight you despite the disadvantages."
Jane never considered that. Claudia would really put herself in the line of fire from a potentially dangerous person for the safety of her own class? It''s so honorable!
"You have a disgusting habit of lying to people, and I don''t excuse the motivation behind that. But you''re a person too," Alyssa chained. "Just like the rest of us. You''ve proven this already just by what you''re about to do by the time you leave us." Claudia barked Alyssa''s name, but it was only out of sympathetic surprise. "Ever since you received this symbol, you''ve been fighting, but it was never just for fun, was it? You''ve been fighting just to remove that thing on your hand, a feeling that your life would end without that kind of drive. Before this marking incident, you must have still fought hard for the sake of enjoying Leray magic to the fullest. But ever since your one mistake, that very life and possibility has been swiped away from you, and I should have realized that sooner." Alyssa thought about it once more to confirm what she already knew. If it were herself in Jane''s position, would she have the guts to enter Alpha Zero just to remove the magical mark? It''s so dangerous; Jane has to have been scared all this time.
Jane picked up her necklace carefully after the girl continued to dangle the material in front of her face, but Alyssa was insisting on making Jane carry it with her. The gem stone was pretty, but Jane couldn''t focus on that right now, and instead placed it into her side pocket. "Alyssa," Jane suddenly felt incredibly guilty. It was the same sensation as before coming back to haunt her again. What Alyssa was saying is true to a high regard. Jane has been fighting so hard to obtain access to the one and only method of removal for this crest in her hand. Perhaps people who know this also feel that Jane isn''t inspiring at all, but rather easy to sympathize with. Jane should have realized it sooner. Jane put her hands on Alyssa''s shoulders, trying to bear the strength to take the burden. She couldn''t even keep her eyes open while speaking to anyone. "It''s my fault. I''m not considered to be a perfect innocent civilian with this crest in my hand. So I lied to you. I lied to all of you because I didn''t know what would happen if you found out."
"Well you do now," Jason hollered. Appearing to be unfazed by Alyssa''s unexpected apology, Jason had some things to say for his classmates too. "You''re just passing through, trying to fix what you broke. That''s not a crime, or a danger to anyone. You deserve to be treated as an equal. We would never turn you over to the GA for something like that."
Jane let go of Alyssa, smiling in her newfound moment. "Thanks guys!" It was so amazing! The indescribable sensation of having this many friends at once. Nobody was like this after her Dakota graduation. Well... Nobody except for Danny and Taylor. The first thing I will do after getting back is finding those two. They better not have gotten into any crazy trouble by the time I find them.
Alyssa was still pacing slightly in place, her arms behind her with a sincere look on her face. Though truth be told, it sort of made her look like a dork. "The truth is, I like how you take what''s in your heart when using all of those skills. You''re one of the only ones here brave enough to walk into a death trap. But now that I''ve seen what real courage can do for people, I¡ª" It became obvious quickly that Alyssa was having trouble getting the next sentence out of her. "I want to come along and help you."
"What?"
"What?!" Claudia added into the harmony of reactions following the class''s many outbursts of surprise. Alyssa wasn''t serious, right?
Even Jane incorporated her surprise aloud. "What? You¡ª You can''t go!"
"But I¡ª"
"She''s right Alyssa!" Claudia wasn''t even going to think about letting Alyssa keep that idea. "Jane passed the test, which is the only reason she is going in. A person with less than her current skill level will get squashed in there, and I won''t have any dead students in my name."
Alyssa was already shut down, defeated by their logical decisions. And they were right to do so, since one sixteen year old teen was enough. Then Jane chimed in. "Alyssa, they''re right. What I''m doing is incredibly dangerous, and it''s not your problem to deal with what I''ve done. But I have to do this!"
"Then you have to promise all of us that you''ll come back here in one piece. Turn around early even if things get too tough on the way."
"Alyssa," Jane shifted. "Whether my mission ends up as a failure or a success, I will be coming back here alive. I promise."
Alyssa hesitantly nodded, and then reached into Jane''s pocket to pull out the necklace again. Her sudden closure however temporarily made Jane uncomfortable, up until the intention was understood. Alyssa held up the necklace in front of her. "It''s a cool gem stone. I''ve been told by my parents to never give this necklace to anybody - ever. Unless that somebody is either a really important friend or family. I hope you can accept this from me."
This must have been what Claudia meant earlier, talking about Alyssa being all nice and sentimental on the inside. It''s like she is a whole new person now, which is sort of scary given the earlier comparison. But the necklace is Alyssa''s gift. Refusing to accept this now would only dishonor her. How much does this thing cost anyway? "I can''t believe you would give something to me this important. I''ll take care of it from now on."
"Jane?" Claudia interrupted. "These gifts, the ones that are not just healing items or food, I want these to be your way of remembering us. While you are in the dark zone, no matter how hard you fight in there, don''t forget that you have friends in this city, and a family back home, as well as a future in Sprawn Valley with or without that symbol. Just keep that in mind. Don''t do anything stupid!"
Jane nodded in dismay. Claudia is still being all overprotective with this situation. Sure it will be dangerous, but how bad can it really be with a power shield and a special symbol?
"Just so you know," Alyssa pointed to her own necklace Jane was holding in her hands. "I might want that back after you return here. And if you die in there, I won''t be able to get it back."
Yep. There it is. That''s the Alyssa Jane knew earlier. Smart and cunning with a side of passive aggressiveness. Welcome back! "Alyssa, when I come back, I think I might want to train with you, after we have a battle of course. I''ll talk about the details later."
The thought froze her mind momentarily. Alyssa never once considered the idea until now. Intense training with Jane... The way she pushes herself, it would be more than ideal given the situation. Alyssa has to push herself all the time by force, or else slowly be killed, but Jane doesn''t need to know that now. There''s too much to worry about anyway. Keeping her passive aggressive tone, Alyssa replied the notion. "I thought you might want to learn more from an expert."
Jane smirked at the gesture realizing how much of a joke that lone statement was. That is defiantly the way Alyssa is supposed to be. She was never a harsh twisted person at any time, just afraid. But now the day to fix everything has finally arrived. Once Jane returns, she can train like old times with Danny and Taylor, and now with Alyssa on her team too.
"I''ll be training until you get back by the way. Wouldn''t want to go soft before our big battle," Alyssa challenged.
"That''s right. Keep getting stronger and stronger," Jane encouraged. "Maybe one day you can beat me fair and square in a battle, but you''ll have to defeat a couple of my other friends first."
"Other friends?" Alyssa questioned. Who exactly was it Jane was speaking of? There wasn''t anybody else here from Lennith City that Jane knew, right?
"I''ll tell you about them later. Claudi? It''s getting dark, and I should go before I end up without enough light in there to make it."
Claudia replied, "Oh, I wouldn''t worry about the dark skies while you''re in there."
"Wh¡ª why not?"
Poor girl still just doesn''t get how chaotic dark magical infusion can make a zone in particular. "Follow me Jane. It''s time I showed you that back route, northwest of the actual gate. Everybody be quiet though. I don''t want to attract any attention."
"Right." Jane began following Claudia with the rest of the class in tow behind them. They were not coming along with Jane into the dark zone, but rather coming to see her off from Lennith City. It still seems like a big deal to everyone. Jane wasn''t sure though. Never seeing the dark zone for herself, it could be like anything she ever dreamed of, assuming that dream were really a hellish nightmare.
Luckily, nobody made a sound, and the patrols for the night shift in Lennith City were incredibly light. Everyone would expect by the way things were going that no such Leray agents were actually assigned to the city, but Jane knew otherwise. Leray agents can simply patrol by hiding in the shadows and watching for any unusual activity. Since the place normally behaves without incident, perhaps they really are letting their guard down today. It''s not that hard to notice a collection of young people traveling in synch like this, but Claudia made sure to be careful with every step, eventually getting behind a few dormant structures that appeared to be inactive or abandoned public attractions. Nobody dared to breathe near the front entrance though despite the enduring silence, and Jane dared not to break that routine until it could be confirmed safe.
"Here we are." Claudia had Jane scoot closer while pointing to a specific localized location on a paper map. It was right on the border edge of this part of Lennith City, leading upward into the forbidden path. Claudia already led Jane to the secret back road, which of course didn''t have any specific landmarks to specify itself. The so-called gate that connected with the well-known main path out of Lennith City was absent here. The reason is because their travel simply bypassed the structure... It was quite odd how no long fence or other material blocked the path from this location further north. Just anyone could walk north from here, but maybe there are more patrols further up. "The moment you head northeast from here, you''ll be on the official path again, but there aren''t any fences or natural marks to tell you where the real dirt path road is. Patrols are minimal tonight, but keep an eye out just to be safe, and stay away from the main gate until you''ve gone further in. Once there, you''ll be in the technical Outback zone which has yet to be affected by Alpha Zero. Then you''ll still have to walk nearly two miles north just to reach the deeper part of the dark zone."
"How will I know where to go from there?" Jane questioned. "Or how will I know when I am in the legally defined dark zone?"
Claudia handed Jane another piece of paper, displaying a zoomed-in detailed local area map of the Outback, and there was some more to tell. "You''ll realize that you are officially in the dark zone once the sky in your area turns to the color of blood red, as will the clouds if there are any. But I don''t believe it is impossible to see inside, from the rumors I''ve heard. Supposedly it is day light inside Alpha Zero forever, if you can count a half-lit fogged up red sphere a sun."
"Yeesh!" Jane reacted.
"As soon as that happens, all of your Leray powers will be directly affected, making your magic potential and your defenses much weaker. Dark magic is exempt from that rule, but people aren''t supposed to use dark magic anyway. Monsters that attack will use non-dark magic spells to fight, but in a dark zone, that still causes real time damage instantly. So avoid all possibilities of danger. When you are inside, the official dirt path might be impossible to see, and will blend in well with the land, so just follow your map and compass. Keep heading north and then northwest, following any landmarks if possible."
"Got it. I''ll be back in no time." This was it, the moment she had been waiting for. The path in front of her will lead her directly into the Outback it once was, bypassing the northern gate completely, and Claudia was keeping to her word. As soon as Jane can reach the Den of Purity, she can remove her hidden symbol and reverse the effects of the unknown spell bomb once and for all.
She waited for Jane to turn around, now slowly walking backwards while the rest of the class began waving at her, hollering their goodbyes. "See you soon Jane!" Alyssa just knew that if any one person can survive the dark zone, it''s Jane.
Claudia suddenly turned around and shushed everybody there. Punching whoever spoke out just now would have equally been as effective. "Yell quietly," she hissed. Nobody else is supposed to know that we''re out here, not a single one. All it takes is for someone like Gresham or a Leray agent to walk over here at the wrong time and catch Jane in the act. It would wreck everything. Claudia waved at Jane again, who waved back and took her time to leave.
She didn''t want to go. Jane didn''t believe upon arriving in Lennith that she could make so many allies in just a few days, or that she could learn so many new secrets to Leray magic in the process. And to think, she did so by showing these people the full truth about herself, but reversing this spell and the symbol was something she had no choice for. It''s time to leave them for now. Keeping her voice to a near whisper, Jane mouthed her farewells. "I''m leaving now." As soon as she gains further distance, Claudia would be swift to lead her students back to their homes, hopefully with a good cover story for why they''ve been out so late tonight, but Jane had enough faith in them to cease her worries. It was already time to move. Jane began walking forward now, leaving the class behind. From here on in, it''s crunch time!
Chapter 28: Netherworld
<01/27/1972 ¨C 21:50 | The Outback {Alpha Zero}, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Just like Claudia said, two hours had gone by before Jane could notice any sort of change in the atmosphere or the environment around her. After peeking at the map again, it was almost useless to try and pinpoint her current location. Her legs were getting somewhat tired, but she ignored the time she has been walking for. After all, this was nothing like Route 96. At least no guards or patrols were around to stop her. Though the path to the Den of Purity was a rather long one, this would be much longer than Route 96. Naturally, there will not be any Leray wielders over here. Hopefully the monster myths were only myths as well, but all in all, something was keeping the General Army from invading this place and taking care of Professor Brightworth.
Jane began to wonder what types of monsters could form anyway. How would they exist in the first place? Were they really transformed from the creatures the Outback used to have just from the dark magical veil? Jane still didn''t even understand how that process would work. Apparently, somebody has infused dark magic energy into a land mass this wide, and it''s ruining everything north of Lennith City.
The land scape wasn''t much to look at though. It seemed for a moment that a few tiny forest patches sprouted up closer to Lennith City, but now there was just nothing. No structures surrounded her in any direction. No large bushes or shrubs populated the flat ground with inclines near her. It was really nothing but dirt, dust, and rocks. Jane would occasionally spot a shriveled up brown tree with no leaves though, like something had dried it out completely. Could dark magic be so bad that is destroys even vegetation? No, that can''t be it. Jane didn''t notice anything odd about the sky yet. It was defiantly dark out though, Jane would only be able to spot rocks or other artifacts at an indoor vocal range. Soon, stars would become visible gain, if not for the random patches of clouds to mess up the aerial view.
There was nothing to do but keep walking forward. Jane was still wearing her blue and black training suit she inherited from her school. It didn''t provide a lot of natural protection and resistances, but it did look awesome for battles. The looks weren''t all either. Jane knew how well this suit was designed, because the comfort level was quite high, while the flexibility in the material allowed for quick and agile movements. It makes sense to go with the best possible gear for battle in this situation. The narrow path here was not suitable for another dress sphere anyway. All of this dirt would just get all over the material and stain the clothes.
With nothing else to do, and nobody else to speak to, Jane''s mind was running in circles over her memories. It was like watching a movie in fast forward, a movie describing her entire life ever since Danny and Taylor arrived. It wasn''t herself Jane cared about right now. Danny and Taylor are still out there somewhere, searching for her while worried sick. Of course that concern would never have formed if things had been different on day one at the academy...
I had just stepped out of the class room, with Eliza as my current teacher. Just another routine combat training in the open empty hallway. I can''t believe that was normal for me then. Eliza and the others didn''t mind at all, so long as I wasn''t invoking magic outside of the dark room. All I did was practice my movement and coordination anyway, all until I get back home again. And that''s when Danny and Taylor both follow me out, curious to figure out who I am. I was curious too. They''re both new students, but they either didn''t give a crap about Leray magic, or they didn''t understand it. At the time, option two was far less likely.
Man, the look on their faces when I talked down to them, calling Danny a whip. Taylor wasn''t so easy to upset, but Danny always needed to defend his pride. Back then, neither one of them could even invoke magic yet. Despite that, Danny wanted to fight me in a Leray battle, all because I ticked him off.
"Nahahaha," Jane let out a laugh from the moment looping in her head. It was so funny then. You don''t challenge people to a Leray battle if you don''t know how to invoke magic, or if you don''t understand the rules.
All I was doing though was testing them. Danny and Taylor; the new students. Were they really interested in learning about Leray magic? Or was it another facade to discover which persons were better? I didn''t get my answer right away, though I feared the worst. Before it was Danny and Taylor, I had to be in charge of training another couple. Those were the real fakers, a teenage dupe squad that was more interested in school popularity than learning magic, in a school for magic of all places. Can''t remember which words I used against them after that, but it was enough to get me suspended for a day. And after that happened, nobody came up to talk to me anymore.
Then there was the time just after I bullied them. Danny and Taylor agreed to meet me in the dark room, and I totally confused them both. But they really did get inspired, all because I was a little bit mean to them. Making people mad enough to try harder to learn just so that they can fulfill their secret desire to beat the crap out of you, it works like a charm. Unless they don''t care...
I taught them both how to enable their energy scopes for the first time. Well, Taylor did anyway. Danny was always somehow a slower learner than Taylor, but it didn''t stop him from getting better. From then even to now, Danny always thinks he can get better than me, and he''s always teasing on that he is. I hope he does get a lot stronger though. I need to have a match against them both. That will be so fun!
Jane struggled to remember what happened the next day. She wanted to fulfill some other promises that she made them, closer towards today, but everything fell so far out of whack! It''s not like she could just walk back home, find her friends, and return to normal. With this stupid crest on her hand, nobody will allow Jane to take part in Leray battles legally ever again. She''ll be considered a dangerous criminal, and this Brightworth guy is the only one in the world who can change her back.
But not everything was so bad and messed up. I can''t believe how easy it was to get those two to train with me later that day. Anyone who knew me after that other incident would have never agreed to that. When Danny and Taylor agreed to be my friends and train with me from then on, I could see the worried and confused look on faces around us. People were so surprised, but they didn''t dare say anything to them or me about it. I guess it did fit the time though. I was the crazy lunatic too deep into Leray studies, and the new couple was here to join me. That''s probably what they thought.
But that''s not what mattered then. They really wanted to learn how to invoke magic, and I didn''t hesitate to help them. I made Taylor and Danny both learn Radial Stars first, the most useless weakest attack spell ever known to mankind. Actually Water Blast is the weakest spell, but it could still be effective in certain situations involving fire, more effective than Radial Stars anyway. I even let them in my home that night, introducing them to my family, except for Iona, who is never around anymore.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
All I cared about later that night was the moment I caught on to the fact that Danny was in love with Taylor. Oh it''s so juicy! Those two are made for each other and don''t even realize it. Though in hindsight they do sort of act like brother and sister. Even I thought they might be related when I first saw them. Same age, same height, different everything else though. And that unforgetful look of embarrassment on Taylor''s face every time I brought it up. She knows what I''m talking about...
As the days passed, everything just got better and better. Danny and Taylor were learning more, and so was I. They were even more excited to see me too. I can''t lie though, they were my favorite people of the day as well. I wish I could figure out what that fight was about though. We were training in the forest on a weekend, and everyone was getting a lot better. Next thing I know, Danny and Taylor''s little talk makes them come back with Taylor in tears. Both of them were depressed. Taylor couldn''t even look me in the eyes! They still never told me what it was about! Or maybe they did and I forgot again.
Then there was that horrible time when I had to take them to Blue Port Town for their first time. How terrible it was then! That''s when I made the mistake of using that unknown spell bomb. I still don''t remember who the guy was who gave it to me. I barely saw his face through the magical robe. There were people chasing him, just as he left the orb in my hands and darted back into the woods. I didn''t listen to the part where he said it was very dangerous. Instead of waiting to find out, I made Taylor battle me illegally just to use the orb on myself. What a stupid and terrible mistake that turned out to be. It''s the reason I''m walking around in this hell hole right now.
I never really understood the part though with the bright blue energy beam shooting from the sky - no, the moon - and slamming into me. I don''t remember that part; it''s just what Danny and Taylor told me after I woke up. I can''t believe what I did to them though. The disappointed look of betrayal and depression on their faces after I came to... They knew I wasn''t telling them everything I remembered, even if they never figured it out. I had to hide this symbol under my sleeve, hoping they would never learn of it. But that was the very first time I had ever disappointed my best friends for real. Even after I recovered, they still forgave me, wanted to tag along for the ride as I made way to Junon as fast as I could to dispose of this crazy symbol. Still, I had no idea then how much it would affect my endurance level. All I knew about this tattoo then was that it existed. The effects would be unknown and invisible to energy scans.
But hell. It''s hard to get rid of something when you don''t even know what it is. I tried my hardest to find out what the symbol meant, and what the spell bomb actually was about, but nothing in the library matched. Then I had to leave Danny and Taylor at Tilsit Port. That... That was not my mistake. It was that asshole who shot magical attacks at me for no reason at all. He chased me all the way onto that malfunctioning boat, forcing me to leave my two best friends behind. And here I thought the crime rate had been diminished.
Then there is Claudia''s class I have to worry about now. None of them better think about following me in here. I still can''t believe Alyssa changed so much like that. It sort of reminds me of myself in a way. She''s so intense, but she just wants to do the right thing; all of them do. Whatever the case is, I''ve got to reverse this spell bomb. I''ve endangered everyone with this stupid crest on my hand. I won''t let all of that danger be for nothing!
I can do this now. I''ve had extensive training, and I can pull up a pretty awesome shielding aura with such little magical energy. I shouldn''t have anything to worry about right here. But as soon as I''m out of here, I''m off to look for my two best friends. I''ll break down mountains if I have to in order to find them, all so that I can say how sorry I am for the lies and the mess I dragged them into. I won''t let them come to any harm though. They''ve protected me more times than I can try to count. It''s time I returned the favor.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Cloud at a Distance ~ Phobium
Just as she continued to distract herself with the thoughts rolling around in her head, Jane noticed that the ground beneath her, including everything else began to shift in color and tint. Her own arms and hands were lighting up more than usual, but not in a glow. The light source was coming from above her. Jane inched her head up at the sky, noticing how fast the transformation had taken place. The sky was already a deep blood red, as was the small unconnected clouds rolling by. The deep coloration actually made the entire atmosphere change to this demonic hue, casting that light down below.
What the hell is this? It was like staring into the depths of hell. She had nothing to compare the visual sensation to at all, but there was nothing like it in anything she could have imagined. The rocks, the dirt, the air in front of Jane have all been transformed by the creepy red radiance from above, intensified by the fact that the full moon was the same color, all in the brightness. Jane had to look away because of the eerie feeling it gave her so soon. That red glow in the sky gave off this scary sensation of energy, an evil feeling that couldn''t be described by anything without involving the emotion of a deep fear, if not terribly beautiful in its own way.
Out of nowhere, the slow moving yet strong brushes of winds became the temperature of some sort of inferno. In mere seconds, the sensation of winter had transformed into the interior of an active volcano. It felt so warm and hot everywhere, whether the wind was blowing or not. As the ground lit up a lot more, Jane could suddenly see only a mile ahead, with some mist or red fog stopping her visual distance there. Jane then realized that by the nature of this strange design, the red sphere above in the sky wasn''t the moon, but rather the sun! Though it was much more possible to look up at it this way, the visual sight of this had her heart sinking in seconds. Is this what Claudia meant about the legally defined dark zone of Alpha Zero?
The path was still revealed; Jane was standing on it, but everything was so different now. The warmth, the red glow, and the additional low pitch booming sound that never ceased for a split second gave Jane the strongest hint of danger she had ever felt so far. This was it! This is the technical dark zone, otherwise known as the Alpha Zero. The sight, the warmth, and the low pitch noise, this resembles something close to a deep bass boom of heavy radiation! Jane knew that couldn''t be true. If radiation poisoning is the cause of death in this place, then it would even go as far to kill Brightworth as well. If he is the cause of this, the death of that dark magical user would also lead the diffusion of dark magic just as quickly. So he must still be alive! Whatever all of this is, it''s just the side effect of dark magical infusion on a massive level. This is why dark magic is so illegal.
Nothing about this place screams safety, or "come on in!" The flat ground below Jane expanded outward into arrays of random inclines upwards and downwards, like a valley''s path that has natural shallow hills, but all of the vegetation, the grass, the birds, and the other animals were absent. In every direction, what was supposed to be grass or a scenery of nature was just some sort of dirt and dust mixture of dark grains. Rocks and boulders populated some of the empty spots, and Jane even managed to see what used to be a few lone trees. It''s like combining a tree that loses its leaves come winter with a tree that had been scorched to the ground and lifted back up without any life. The tree was neither dead nor living, just a black spiral bark with a few branches sharp at their tips. All of that mixed with the physical effects of this redness and this intense heat only made things worse. This is what Claudia meant. From this very moment onward, the Leray veil of protection that spans over all of Sprawn Valley is no longer protecting Jane Venn. It doesn''t reach into Alpha Zero, because infusing land with dark energy prevents the protection zone from affecting that specific area.
The difference is easy to make out after all. When a person infuses dark magical energy into the ground to create a small zone of dark magic, that zone is actually an anti-life agent. It kills every living thing that is not human over a period of time, like poison designed for plants and small animals. This right here is the result of that damage. The sky turning red though, that''s a new one on her. Jane had never heard of anything like this before in her life time. Maybe the sky wasn''t actually red. Maybe it was the whacked out magic altering her very perception of the sky. Whatever it was invited anything other than comfort.
Jane glanced back behind her, unable to locate where the city of Lennith was anymore. Her visual distance field was impaired by the additional appearance of a red fog in the area, though it only went so far as a mile or two, meaning the fog wasn''t thick. Jane had already come this far, and now that map should be able to help her. An imaginary line was drawn on the map to show where the boundary is between the Leray zone and the Dark zone. Jane has to be standing right on that line right now. Any more steps could be deadly, leading her into a fiery pit of lava, or into the lair of some unknown, never seen before, bloodthirsty monster. Or maybe this heat will just melt the skin from her bones. Jane wiped away the sweat from her forehead, noting how hot it became so suddenly. It wasn''t like anything alarming, but the heat was enough to make breathing a bit more challenging, and sweating a constant. With a few more deep breaths and a heavy heart, Jane marched forward, carefully looking in all directions for a sign of anything.
Chapter 29-A: Army of Darkness
<01/27/1972 ¨C 22:10 | The Outback {Alpha Zero}, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
After walking inland for fifteen more minutes, the landscape changed so much, though Jane was making some good progress for how dangerous the place was said to be. Jane was now noticing deep holes and inclines downward far off the path, random flat patches of dirt that didn''t agree with her one bit, and now there were rocky cliffs about a hundred feet tall each passing her by on the legs taking her. She could even see an arch made of rock much further ahead in the distance, but she couldn''t let her guard down for even a second.
Everything about this place reeks. No wonder they call it the dark zone. The beautiful Outback that was once a magical forest the size of a grand wild land continent has been transformed into a dead zone of mesh and decayed life. The slight winds were so quiet, that the unknown low pitch sounds were still loud enough to overshadow them. It sort of sounded like the roar of thunder very far away, stuck in stasis and unable to change its pitch or volume.
Despite the red light making things brighter than before compared to a black sky, the entire landscape was still poorly lit. It''s about as bright as installing a red tinted light bulb into a room. The color change looks cool, but one can''t help form noticing how much dimmer that light is all around. Or perhaps the sun is out right now, and the thin fog was responsible for the effects here. Jane couldn''t be certain, for she knew so little about dark magic. The light provided was brighter than the normal ambient light previously available, but darker than the normal day - should the sun have been unobstructed, much darker in comparison than daytime with heavy rainfall. The dry heat was almost unforgivable. Jane was able to finally get used to some of that heat by now, but her feet was getting soaked in the sweat, trapped in by her socks and shoes. What was worse is how badly it messed up her hair.
Even the smell of this place was eerie. It was nearly indescribable and unpleasant at the same time, the smell produced after mixing the hot summer breeze with burnt rocky minerals and long put out fires from plant mesh. No matter which way she turned her nose, she couldn''t diffuse that smell. After returning, she''ll need a long shower to wipe this stench off.
But boredom was quickly replaced by a life threatening feeling of suspense all around her. The noise, the smell, the sight, the heat, everything here amplified together how creepy her environment was. Jane knew she was trapped in here for now. The hostile environment spans everywhere, Jane could feel it all around, and all that did was give her nervous twitches and a rapid heartbeat. Right now, anything can jump out and kill her, provided that heat isn''t the cause of death here.
So far, so much was the same. Jane was on edge the entire time with the uneventful travel, and tried to distract herself by pulling back on her suit''s right glove again. The full Lennith battle suit allowed her to pull back on the glove, exposing her hand completely. To her perspective right now, this was just her normal hand. Jane already knew that the symbol was there in hiding, but with all of the practice Jane had over the days, she was finally able to just call it out whenever she wanted to. With a few seconds of concentration, Jane suddenly made the hidden symbol appear again on the top of her right hand. The bright crest of artwork faded in and began to glow with a holographic projection aura. The art and design was the same as before too. Dark pink in color, yet stained in there like a well-made holographic tattoo. The design was so unique, resembling an oval with a ring going around it. It sort of looked like a planet with a ring, but on the interior of the oval was a circular spiral that formed on the inside, completing the design to a few more circles within circles, thus finally the very center of the symbol, which turned out to be a colored in sphere. A lot of circles and ovals, but the spiral on the outer most interior made it the most unique.
To think, this was the exact same symbol Jane saw appear in the sky after using the dangerous spell bomb on herself, just a moment before the beam of light blasted her from the sky. The symbol that appeared from the spell bomb and the one on her hand right now; they''re exactly identical, difference being the sizes. This symbol is the reason she is on this crazy path, doing dangerous things. This symbol is the downfall of her entire life if it cannot be reversed.
Jane let the symbol become transparent again, fading into its completely invisible form. It was much easier to control lately than what Jane remembered earlier. She put her glove back on, disregarding the mark on her hand. Still terrified of the walk, Jane took in all of her surroundings again to make sure she was alone. Though she wouldn''t want any action or creature stalking her, Jane sure did wish for human company right about now. The sensation of nervousness just kept growing on her the longer things remained the same. Jane used a tiny bit of her magic, trying to invoke the energy scope above her head again. Claudia said something about it looking different in the dark zone. That has to mean something.
The energy scope was holographic, all the same visual design as before. The only noticeable difference was its color. The color and glow is green now, the text, the box, the design, all of it was green instead of orange. Someone told her what that meant earlier, but Jane struggled to remember what it was about.
Without sudden warning, a bright orange light flashed in front of Jane, just a few meters in front of where she was going to walk. Suddenly a large red colored symbol or glyphring formed on the ground, and a reflection of the same thing high above that location. Each glyphring was spinning, and the light was getting brighter right in between the rotating disks... It''s a summon!
Chapter Theme Shift: Sore wa Matsuri no Escort ~ Tatsuya Kato
Something is summoning some sort of creature to this exact spot! Just on cue, the summon glyphring began to finish. Right before Jane''s own eyes, pink electrical bolts zapped the ground in between the vertical glyphrings, creating the summon in real space. From nothing, the creature materialized into physical space with a visual pixilation effect. Its final result...
She backed up several paces in response. "What the hell is that thing?!" Jane couldn''t believe it! The summon glyphrings vanished leaving the creature behind. What was she looking at? It had four legs and hands, with claws sharper than anything, each a meter long in length. The monstrous beast had some sort of curved blade on the top of its head, and the face of some ugly chimera. It looked like a dangerous hound mixed with a gigantic monstrous ghoul. The creature was also ten times the size of Jane, now turning around to glare at her with unnatural red demonic eyes of death.
Jane instinctively took a few steps back, nice and slowly. This raved animal was staring her down, like she was some sort of snack. Where did that summon aura come from? Why was the summon glyphring red instead of yellow? Who called it out?! Jane didn''t see anybody nearby, even when glancing behind her. Whatever this behemoth is, Jane was far from comfortable around it. Could this be what they were talking about? Monsters that are deadly and dangerous, that also spawn randomly due to the nature of Alpha Zero? To think that the dark zone itself allows these creatures to spawn all without control of a conscious person to be there for it? It''s a wild summon. But of all things, this is one of the monsters isn''t it? This is a blood thirsty monster that eats humans and kills anything else!
The summoning glyphrings have disappeared, leaving behind the dangerous spawn of a monster, and the behemoth was now turning its sights on Jane. Despite how ugly and strange the monster was, it did resemble something just enough for Jane to figure out where its head was. That became easier as the behemoth lifted its tail higher above its body, revealing the small spikes attached to the end of the tail. The monster roared instantly in Jane''s face, preparing to pounce.
Jane looked around everywhere for support, but there wasn''t anyone around to help her at all. Despite the angered beast glaring into Jane''s soul, there wasn''t any sort of system or Siriean dome to form between them. A Leray battle between some crazy animal and a human is not an official battle. Therefore it was a little harder to actually calculate whether this was going to turn into a fight packed with a Siriean dome.
Jane figured there wasn''t any time for sightseeing. The mysterious behemoth, still riding its four muscular legs began charging towards Jane. It ran just like a giant dog, jumping closer and closer to her body without any hint of a course change. Reacting so instinctively, Jane yelped and threw her arms up in response. Without even thinking about anything else, Jane managed to incidentally create the same shielding aura around her entire body by the way she had her arms up, her energy slowly draining to create the force field. While suddenly surrounded by this force field, Jane opened her eyes only to see the monster swipe its giant claw at Jane. Only instead of the claws digging into her skin in the most dangerous and devastating form of a deadly physical attack, the monster''s hand reflected off the transparent shield like a spring, triggering the sound of a shield reflection while creating multiple hexagons at the interior, right at the impact point for Jane to see. It would have landed on her face had the shield not protected her.
Jane couldn''t believe this was actually happening, and right now of all times! This disgusting yet incredible monster spawn really was everything people would fear. Its potential for dealing high amounts of HP damage were likely too high since it comes from Alpha Zero. There wasn''t a mistake in her mind after seeing its mindless actions. The sky was still red behind the view of her aura, and everything was as dark and bleak as before. This is the dark zone for sure, and this crazy monster in front of her must be one of the spawns everybody is so afraid of.
This isn''t going to be easy. Jane already realized that a battle was inevitable. Outrunning him won''t be feasible, and because the monster is a piece of the unnatural, it won''t be capable of speaking or chanting its moves or attack spells before using them. Everything it does will be random, defying the normal rules of a Leray match altogether. Where is the thing''s health and MP status? Even monsters are supposed to have energy scopes assigned to them, no matter what!
Jane risked it. She lowered her arms, dropping the shield on her will. Then she waved her hand towards the creature, attempting to force open its energy scope. Amazingly, in just a cinch, her trick actually worked. Another green energy scope hovered over the monster where it was stationed. The behemoth didn''t seem to mind, and Jane had to artificially give the thing some sort of name, coming directly from her own thoughts.
Just as she thought. The monster can be defeated after all. The appearance of an energy scopes means that even a creature like this is not immortal. There''s no choice then! It''s battle or die trying. "You''re in the way to the Den of Purity. Step aside or fight!"
All the monster did was bellow a rumbling roar potent enough to make the ground quake. It then set its sights on Jane again, stomping its front leg into the ground and swiping back again and again. It was a definite sign that the behemoth was about to charge at her once more.
"Not if I can help it." Jane pulled out her two daggers from the side pockets in her suit. Then, after aiming her blades at the monster, she charged a small amount of MP energy into the daggers, firing two blue narrow beams of light into its flesh. "Mako Beam!" Jane only meant to strike the beast twice. Certain it would deal low amounts of damage, at least it would tell her how the creature responds to Leray type damage. Maybe it can be scared away.
Both Mako Beams dug into the monster, but the beast didn''t even wince or blink its lidless eyes. In retaliation, it charged towards Jane. The monster seemed to have the courteously to keep its distance a bit before attacking again, but Jane was still in trouble once more. "Power Shield!" Jane reacted quickly, lifting her two arms up and creating another blue force field around herself. Then the beast drove its bladed head into Jane''s aura, drilling upward in a failed attempt to try and launch Jane''s fragile body into the air. Hexagons formed at the damaged impact sights, and Jane could feel the sudden drain and stress the damaged shield placed on her, but because no HP reduction was registered, the behemoth began to back away foot by foot, pacing itself.
At the same time, Jane could read the subtle change in the energy scope from the monster. It really was capable of taking damage, despite the fact that her last attack did very little to harm the creature.
At last, Jane dropped her shield again, realizing she has but another short moment of safety and a chance to strike back. In the dark zone, anything and everything is said to deal real time damage instead of Leray damage, including damage dealt by Leray magic. Maybe that explained the color shift in the energy scopes, because here in Alpha Zero, the veil of Leray protection cannot protect anyone or anything. Energy scopes thus turn green to report that the veil of protection is not affecting that living creature. But Jane wasn''t a fool. Taking any damage from this creature should be avoided at all costs, and that means no holding back. If magical damage is going to be cut in half, then it''s time to use physical damage instead.
"Splicing Vengeance!" With her daggers still in her hands, Jane charged a small amount of MP into her daggers and her body, allowing herself to completely pull off her battle skill. Jane ran towards the beast, and then accelerated in an unpredictable manner. Jane ran at the speed of light for just a micro-second, enough time to place herself right in front of the monster. Jane then used that momentum, slicing both of her daggers into the creature''s gross muscular skin. Just as Jane slashed her blades into the beast, she noticed a significant HP drop on her foe''s HP level. The disgusting sound of broken flesh on the monster from Jane''s blades mixed with the visual slime of animal blood spilling from the impact sight was equally distracting, but this was the worst thing for Jane, since it lowered her guard for a second.
Despite taking on more slashing damage, the behemoth creature was still unwilling to back down from the fight, not even stepping back form the last hit. With its eyes now locked onto Jane, the creature roared again, jumping into the air with a total spin. It wasn''t jumping into Jane, rather spinning around in a full circle with Jane as close as she was to the beast. Before Jane could react to the most unexpected motions and movements of the monster, its giant forceful tail smacked around into Jane''s upper chest, pushing her back flying through the air. In the specific moment, it felt like getting hit by a mace, the spikes on the tail adding to the piercing damage as well as the intense pain. From the force of that hit, Jane was sent at least twenty meters backwards to plummet and skid into the burning dirt below her. Visible marks of broken skin revealed itself to Jane from the hit of the spiked tail, as did the scrapes forming from hitting the ground again.
Though it was nothing more than a mere physical attack initiated by the angry, hungry monster, Jane really wasn''t expecting something so large to contain so much speed and mobility. The physical force of that impact hurt worse than most of the magical attacks she felt before. Jane was forced to remember another harsh virtue of the dark zone. Without the Leray veil of protection, the pain scale reduction of all attacks is zero percent instead of fifty percent. Piercing attacks with the veil active have a reduction scale of only thirty percent by design, but here, that scale is non-existent; no pain absorber system works in the dark zone. Nevertheless, she got back up, ignoring that bit of pain that delivered her from the fight. Now Jane and the monster were facing each other again at about twenty meters away. It was now or never for retaliation. One thing remained certain in Jane''s eyes. The longer this fight goes on, the worse it will be for her health.
"Charge Attack!" After putting away her daggers, Jane began running towards the monster, initiating her randomized sequence of incredible combinations. It was an attack sequence form what Claudia taught to her earlier, an attack combo that is never the same for anyone who uses it, and totally controllable by the user. Jane ended up summoning two sub machine guns in both hands through quick spawning yellow glyphrings. Then she pulled the triggers on both of them, firing the bullets into the waiting behemoth, but even now, the monster didn''t mind that he was being shot at, and that must have meant the damage was too low.
Jane ditched the guns and pulled out her daggers again. This was now getting really dangerous, as she intended to slash at the monster right in its face. As she drew closer, the beast prepared to swipe its claw at Jane, but Jane was luckily quicker than that. She slashed her daggers in an upward position, slicing the chin of the behemoth. Unfinished with her combination, Jane jumped up and kicked the beast in the face again. Before it could figure out how to proceed in a counterattack, Jane jumped backwards as far as she could, using a small bit of magic to boost the height and force of her leap. While in midair, Jane threw her two daggers again into the beast, making sure to land on her feet after it was over.
The daggers hit the monster from flying, but even with all of the added damage from her amazing combination attack, the behemoth was still unfazed from the damages and pain it was taking on, the beast a savage!Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
How interesting! Physical attacks really do cause more damage than Leray magic spells, but it was a disgusting sight for her eyes. The dagger slashes she had been dealing onto the monster sliced open some more of its flesh, causing it to ooze black blood from the seams of its wounds, and now some of that gross ooze was dripping from the ends of her small blades. This really is a fight for real time damage. Everything going on here proves that this demon is just a creature with no sentience, a creature of pure evil and instinct.
Keeping up was getting more difficult too. Jane had no way of knowing exactly when or how the beast was going to attack her, but it was already up to something. The monster stood on its hind legs for a moment, then crashed its front legs back into the earth causing a quake and two new glyphrings to appear on the ground. It''s using magic! Those large red glyphrings forming on the floor were not from Jane at all. It is about to use some sort of magic, or dark magic for that matter!
Screw this! Jane thought aloud. Whatever it was up to, it can''t be good. After putting her daggers back into her pocket again, Jane threw her arms above her waist again, concentrating and focusing her energy outward and around her. This created another power shield, forming from the slow release of energy coming from her open hands. Jane managed to create another shield aura around herself like before, and not a moment too soon.
The magical power invoked by the silent creature was something similar to a fire type attack. Though the glyphrings were formed on the ground, one Fire Ball shoot out from each of the two glyphrings, changing their course from the sky towards Jane''s body. The beast must not understand the concept of Jane''s own ability to shield out damage, but despite that, Jane saw the first magical based attack the creature was able to use. It shot two Fire Balls with homing capabilities, landing and disintegrating right into the protective aura. Jane suddenly felt weaker already, while the hexagons formed at each impact sight. This time the hexagons were smaller, meaning the damage level was much higher than she predicted. Fire Ball is one of the weakest fire based Leray attacks. So how was it possible for a monster to make its Fire Balls eight times stronger?
There wasn''t time to argue. Despite the fact that the beast did not care for taking turns with Jane, it was naturally happening by chance. Jane dropped her shield, readying another prepared counterattack against the behemoth, but Jane wanted to try another one of her newly learned skills and abilities. Another conditional ability, though it should work well in this case. "Return Fire!" Jane wasn''t exactly sure what form this spell will take. Return Fire is a conditional Leray ability, generating a random attack spell based on the last three skills used by the enemy opponent. The damage and attack is purely dependent on the magic type that was used against her just now and two attacks before now - from the enemy, so it will likely turn into some altered form of a fire based skill, maybe. Jane never had a chance to use it in the field, but now was the time.
Shortly after her invocation, Jane''s unleashed magic created a crimson colored glyphring right in front of her. After the glyphring took form, rotating in place with its center aimed at the behemoth, the magical free form attack launched three Fire Bolts out of the glyphring, now heading for the monster. Triple Fire? I could have just done that! Though each Fire Bolt launched simultaneously unlike the form of a normal Triple Fire spell, each projectile hit the target, being that the monster possessed no courtesy of dodging hostile spells.
Despite the attack taking the form of an existing easy to use spell, all three Fire Bolts landed on the behemoth, who didn''t even attempt to dodge the attack. The bolts seemed to travel faster than the ordinary skill from Triple Fire, so at least there was some improvement. Jane read the changed energy scope of the monster, realizing that her strategy for coming here was working.
Once again, the monster roared to the top of its deep lungs. Jane covered her ears because of how much louder the behemoth became. Perhaps its constant roaring was its anger? Or maybe this fighting stuff was actually working to take down the enemy. The behemoth wasn''t just sitting around though. After seizing another opportunity, the behemoth began charging at Jane again, giving her some warning to defend herself like before.
Whatever the charge attack was going to be like, Jane didn''t want to stick around and feel it. So she threw her arms up again, shielding herself just like all other times. The aura surrounded her just in time. The beast stopped running just in front of Jane, swiping its claws at her again. Despite its lack of learning skills, the monster seemed to be getting more determined, swiping against the solid shield multiple times before finally backing away, but Jane didn''t have many problems keeping her shield up this time. With a still high MP level and the monster''s low level attacks, everything was still going according to plan.
This time, Jane lowered her shield just before the monster began backing away like it did before in a defeated attack run. The very moment her shield came down was the same moment Jane released more energy through her hands. "Rotation!" In an instance of magical invocation, Jane''s ability forced a large whirlwind of slashing air magic to spawn around her like a large twister. That twister than slid forward on its own, on a collision path towards the creature by design of the magical skill. The force of the wind was far from powerful enough to trip up the behemoth, but it still kept the creature immobilized as the magical whirlwind continued to deal wind elemental slashing damage into its skin, hitting the beast in various locations against its will.
The Rotation spell did not last long, but Jane found the time afterwards to gain some more distance from the creature anyway. Yet despite all of her winning attacks, this beast was nothing but relentless. In a quick searing motion, the monster used its front legs to lift off the ground, balancing on its hind legs for a short moment. In the same instance, its entire body began to glow with a bright yellow color, just before smashing its claws back into the ground again. Only this time, it had been invoking another kind of magical attack.
The ground began shaking violently, throwing up chunks of dirt and rocks. Jane struggled to stand up straight while the earth below her shifted too much for her to handle. It was an earthquake, or rather the magical ability known as Quake. The behemoth must have used that from far away, tricking Jane into forgetting about the shield. Without the ability to escape the shaking, or without the chance to balance herself out, Jane was defenseless against the earth based damage being caused by the quake. Just then, a chunk of flying rocks suddenly pelleted her right in the face, and another one scrapped up against her leg. For simple rocks, they were razor sharp enough to cut her skin right through the invulnerable fabric of the suit. Just like that, Jane''s health declined, and she now suffered slightly open cuts and moderate facial bruising. Each impact was more painful than she was used to, with the pain absorber removed.
Jane managed to overcome the attack and its pain rather quickly, but her energy scope was reporting something odd already. Of course now was not the time to be concerned about reading things. She decided to remain calm and focused. What''s another attack that will work without fail against such a powerful monster?
"Ultima!" Jane dared not to use this skill during her last fight against the challenger, for its power level is on such a high scale. It would consume a ton of her current MP reserves, but she needed to end this fight as soon as possible. Jane began charging the necessary amount of energy, hoping that the behemoth would not interrupt her. The invocation of the spell was not instant, and Ultima is one of the most powerful skills of all time. It''s the strongest refinement form of Mega-Flare. It was weird for Claudia to help Jane learn Ultima instead of Mega-Flare though, but it didn''t matter right now. This thing needs to die. "Naaaaahhhhh!" After releasing all of that charged energy, the entire area became cloaked in a blinding flash of white light with bursting sounds, lasting for three lengthy seconds. The temperature began burning much higher than it was before, but all of that light-screen damage was being dealt to the monster, not to Jane. Like Mega-Flare, Ultima blasts the entire field with blinding light, dealing pure magical damage with a heat element involved too, containing a power level of 9.2. Ultima hits the whole field with light, so it cannot be blocked or dodged no matter what, and that makes it a deadly magical Leray spell.
As the light faded, Jane noticed that the monster was just standing on all four of its legs, breathing heavily and staring at Jane as if to charge again. How did that thing survive?! The behemoth didn''t even seem hurt by that crazy attack, but its energy scope told another story, and so did the disgusting black blood oozing through its claws. All of that damage was still effective, but the behemoth somehow retained its resilience the entire time.
The monster began charging at Jane on all four legs again, like her Ultima never even happened. "Damn," she cried. Jane put her arms outward again, forming another power shield with a quick invocation. The aura surrounded her like before with no problems. Her MP level didn''t drop too close to zero despite the use of her last powerful spell, but at the same time, the monster stopped charging towards Jane halfway there, as if it somehow knew about the shield. Was it really capable of learning anything else?
Just then, the monster lifted off its right arm, and its body began glowing with a deep red auric color in midair. It was another magical attack. Just as its body slammed into the earth again, that magical energy was released, causing another earthquake. Jane was still protected in her shield despite the sudden quake. Her balance was protected by the shield just as much, but this wasn''t any ordinary earthquake. Soon after the ground began shaking, large vertical plumes of fire shoot out of the ground in random areas and patches, as if hundreds baby volcanos were erupting from underground all over the battlefield. It was Fiery Plume!
Jane had seen Claudia use this attack against her. Hell, she got to feel the effects of fire plume first hand. Despite being in the Leray zone in her past experience, the pain threshold and fire based damage was not pretty. Just on cue, a plume of fire shoot up from the ground, right under Jane''s own power shield. The fire was spreading around the shield, unable to penetrate its aura, but the plume of fire was continuous after eruption for a long moment, and the hexagons on the bottom were of the tinniest form Jane has ever seen yet. In no time flat, she could feel her shield failing, all of that energy output draining to zero. Jane knew she could not keep it up forever, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Just then, the shield aura around her collapsed, sending Jane on her knees from the sudden drain of her energy it caused. Just as the shield collapsed, the plume of shooting earth and fire beneath Jane now had more room to throw itself everywhere. Jane''s entire body was suddenly enflamed with the fire from Fiery Plume, burning her flesh while simultaneously splashing her body with rocks in the same form. Despite her shield failing before the attack was over, the plume of fire brushed into Jane for a full second of time, sending her all the way to the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs while she tried to pat out the non-transferable fire on her body. The attack just ended, but the damage was already done to her. With third degree burns stinging at her nerves, Jane''s body wasn''t actually on fire anymore, but it still stung as if she were. This hurt three times as bad as it did when Claudia invoked the same spell against her, and the burn marks were not leaving any time soon.
Jane didn''t care that her energy scope was warning her about imminent death. She didn''t care that her position would give the monster more time to attack her. She just wanted the lingering pain to stop! The Fiery Plume attack did not even hit her for as long as it could have, and yet it was far worse than she ever imagined it could be. Even so, Jane eventually managed to quit screaming out in the agony. She was hurting all over with small scrapes and bruises, but worst of all the multiple spots of which that fire burned her skin right through her black and blue mercenary suit. That pain only faded slightly, and Jane was still in trouble for letting her guard down. This damage counts as real time damage too, which means healing orbs won''t do that much to restore the carnage already caused to her skin.
Luckily for her, the crazy dog wasn''t charging at her yet. Instead it was roaring loudly, stomping everywhere vigorously and randomly. It must be hurting too. This was about the first time Jane actually noticed that her earlier attacks were finally affecting the foe in some sort of way. Can''t let up now!
Jane pushed herself back on her feet, doing her absolute best to ignore all of her damages. If this is how the dark zone treats incoming magical damage, better be sure to avoid it at all costs from now on. "Hah," Jane blurted while getting her will back in place. She was now in the position to fight back, and did so without moving her legs an inch. Jane held her right hand up high, charged with MP energy which caused it to glow a pure blue color. "Photon Burst!"
Jane''s magical release caused an instantaneous reaction in the sky, causing it to rain barrages of photon bolts downward, striking on the top of the behemoth from such a high starting point. Each impact carried a slight after explosion of pure magical damage, and the monster was suddenly being slammed with these powerful photons.
Photon Blast is one of the rare and powerful abilities that Claudia managed to teach her. Photon Blast is another high power level ability, creating a blue glyphring and firing a massive barrage of energy photons in the form of bolts. Each photon packs high damage, dealing non-elemental magical damage with the ability to pierce through metal armor and deal blunt damage at the same time. Each photon travels close to the speed of light, so the area attack cannot be dodged randomly, but Photon Blast fires from the wielder''s glyphring to the target.
Jane managed to learn the ability, and then modify one of her own versions of the spell into this. By using an aura spawn instead of a glyphring for what she calls Photon Burst, the photons now spawn from above, striking down on the target in a magical rain. This way, the extra momentum due to gravity gives the photons extra damage, and the enemy might not see it coming from straight above them. This monster sure didn''t see it coming. Jane''s Photon Burst ability worked like a charm, dealing heavy damage to the monster, and turning its energy scope the dangerous color of red.
Jane was even more impressed with how much faster she had been able to invoke her Photon Burst ability. On either form, it usually takes about seven second for any average person to invoke the spell, but Jane''s photon Burst came into effect only two seconds after chanting the name. As impressive as it was, the monster was now on low health and nearly beaten.
Though with the way it was running straight for her right now, it can''t be out of stamina just yet. "Power shield!" Jane threw up another protective aura just as the monster got in clawing range again. Only this time, the behemoth went straight for using its jaw to attack her. With the shield up and running, the behemoth tried to take a bite out of Jane, instead landing its razor sharp claws into the protective aura, bouncing the vibrational force back into the monster''s mouth. Since the force of attacks gets reflected back, that had to have hurt his teeth!
The hit to Jane''s shield caused more hexagons to appear, though they weren''t that small, so the damage was light. Either way, Jane was already getting weaker from using that shield over and over again. Her MP levels were dropping quickly after her last Photon Burst attack had been launched. While keeping an eye on her stats, Jane thought of another easier skill to invoke while the monster stepped back and heeled over in pain from its jaw.
"See how you like Lightning Strike!" Jane consumed most of all her MP just to create the jade color glyphring around her wrist, and then unleashed that energy into a powerful blue colored lightning bolt that lasted for over a second, zapping the behemoth in place as it savagely roared and bellowed in pain. As soon as the lightning attack ended, Jane''s spirits dropped realizing that the fight was still on.
Roaring and screaming! That''s all the behemoth was capable of doing now. Perhaps it was in excruciating pain too, but Jane didn''t feel much sympathy for it right now. Even though she didn''t bring it down, the monster was in total denial, refusing to even look at Jane or retaliate against her. It just stomped in place, turning and stomping, roaring as loud as it could go, enough volume to shake the ground like before. Even though she was using Leray magic for damage, even if that power was cut in half by the dark zone, the damage type itself still registers as Leray based real time damage, thus causing serious harm and injury to anyone hit by such effects.
"Gotta end this now." Jane pulled out her daggers, taking careful aim in order to pull off her critical hit Knife Toss strategy. As soon as she threw her daggers, they flew through the air horizontally, keeping their formation and trajectory until each bade dug their way into the monster''s skin. With that one final hit, the behemoth bellowed even louder, making an earthquake with its massive voice. Jane covered her ears in response, hoping that hit did enough damage to end the fight.
The reaction to its downed HP was clearly delayed, but the monster refused to give up and die. As a result, Jane just watched as the same two red glyphrings that summoned the creature took form again, one right under the behemoth''s feet, and another right above its body. Both of the summoning glyphrings reacted, dragging the monster back to god knows where else. This certainly was a strange way to defeat an opponent, but it somehow worked out. In just a few more moments, the glyphrings rematerialized the behemoth into a stream of light, being sucked into the glyphrings until both of them disappeared with the monster. The moment that happened, everything was all quiet again.
Chapter Theme Shift: Intricate Match ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
Jane couldn''t believe this moment. She had done it! That dangerous monster was beaten, killed by her own two hands. A spawn of evil, one that has never been seen or killed before, Jane managed to overcome it with her new skills and the defense of her power shield. But even with just a few stray hits to her own body, those damages were still hurting her. Now was the perfect time to use a healing orb.
Jane pulled a healing orb out of her supply sphere, minding the silence that surrounded her. It was a bit of a surprise to see this orb still functioning in a place like this. As Jane held the orb in her hand and activated the device, the orb brightened with a bright white color, just like it was supposed to. During that time, Jane quickly reflected on her own strategy.
Not much went wrong other than letting her guard down even slightly for a few moments, but it was much harder than an ordinary battle, given that she cannot predict the movements or actions taken by these creatures. They can''t speak, let alone chant the names of any type of skill, and though the thought came just now that Jane could simply use healing orbs in the middle of her battles, it would leave her open for a dangerous interval of time. Since there is no Siriean dome, the battle doesn''t count as official. In fact, the Siriean dome''s formation is normally what locks healing orbs from being used during battles, which is why people can''t just use them against live targets. Since these battles are not officiallized by the Leray system, her license card is totally unaffected, and so are some of the basic rules of battling. Once the healing process was over, Jane noticed something different about what was supposed to happen.
Whatever error the scope was throwing off wasn''t going away. Additionally, the orb failed to completely heal her HP status and MP status to 100%. After waiting another second, Jane''s MP level climbed by one percent, showing a clear sign of passive regeneration, but the HP mark didn''t even budge. Jane shook her head in disbelief, and used another med kit orb to try again. After the second flash of the med kit orb was used up, Jane''s stats on her scope barely changed at all.
The important fact was that her HP level was not climbing back up to a full 100%. Nothing is supposed to prevent a healing orb from doing its job. Even now, most of Jane''s battle pains and wounds were gone, but a couple of scrapes and bruises remained, especially the one just over her right eye. A rock chunk hit her there earlier, and it wasn''t healing. Plus a few burn marks remained there on her left arm too. The intensity of the burns healed somewhat, but the marks and pains from there lingered at a low intensity. Wait a second...
Is this what they meant by irrecoverable real time damage? If I take too much damage in the dark zone, medical orbs won''t be able to heal all of the damages... Because it''s partially real time damage! Jane finally figured out its meaning. The longer she says here, the lower her own maximum HP level will get with each and every battle. If she takes enough real time damage, and then her HP reaches zero even for a second, its instant death to her. Man! No pressure or anything! So I can only heal up to 93% now? That''s my current HP cap due to existing real time damage? Guess I better not fight anyone else. I''d rather just run away. Battles here are not even official battles, so it won''t count on my license either.
The blinking text on Jane''s energy scope was already bothering her too. That unknown recovery error thing must be talking about taking real time damage. The scopes were never officially designed to tell people that they''ve taken real time damage, because Leray magic cannot detect or measure that damage type properly anyway. The response error would be in that she cannot naturally heal at a normal rate, nor can she make a full recovery from the damage until these wounds heal by other means. Since she already knew about it, Jane decided to will it away from the report line.
There! That''s better. Now... Where''s the way again? Jane had to pull out her paper map once again, making sure no other blood thirsty monsters were walking around. Nothing else about the dark zone''s environment seemed to change, and it was going to be like this for the rest of the way it seemed. Based on the map, Jane was only able to determine which way to go, not how far she was to her destination. She had an analog compass too, following the needle to the direction of north, allowing her to find a sense of direction.
There was a high and oddly shaped cliff further ahead in the distance, and just past that, a wide stone arch that served as an excellent landmark. Though it seemed she would eventually end up walking by or under that structure, it would only get closer for her. Jane cautiously proceeded in that direction, remaining wary about any possible intruders.
Chapter 29-B: Jane VS Turrent Defense Grid
<01/27/1972 ¨C 22:46 | The Outback {Alpha Zero}, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
It was still so hard to believe that everything in the sky was colored a deep and dark velvet red. That light from no specific source casted down into the earth below, showing Jane the ground''s details with a tint. Some sort of same colored fog blocked out her field of view slightly, only allowing Jane to see no more than almost two miles ahead of her, but the path she stepped on was still clear as it had been. The only thing to distinguish the difference was the color in the dirt.
To her left and to her right, the earth remained scorched, grazed down to burnt patches of bush shrubs and dead grass, but this dirt path below her feet seemed a different shade, like it had been dirt before and was still dirt now. Perhaps that is because the path itself wasn''t entirely natural. It used to be paved gravel chunks placed by Leray agents in the past to help wanderers not get lost out here. The point is that the shade of the path was brighter than the rest of the floor, and Jane used that to stay on course. Outside of her current destination, nothing in the distance stood out or moved, except for the slight gusts of dusty hot air.
The place felt like a hot summer day, probably about one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. The sweat on the back of her neck was already beginning to drip down under her suit due to gravity, and the stench of burnt trees hung heavy no matter how far she walked in. Jane still marched on. The Den of Purity is at the northwest most section of this terrible place. Professor Brightworth is the only man in the world with the power and knowledge about removing permanent spells, and removing symbols. Whether or not he is willing to help won''t have any bearing on how Jane will get her way.
The idea about her last battle bothered Jane''s conscious more than she wanted it to. The fact is; damage taken here is partially turned into real time damage. Real time damage cannot easily be recovered, which makes that damage very dangerous for the person taking it. Without the Leray veil of protection able to reach this section of Sprawn Valley, anybody who passes out in Alpha Zero due to taking real time dame will be killed. Nobody can wake up from that, it''s just immediate and instant death. Maybe this wasn''t such a good idea after all.
It makes sense as to why the General Army is staying back and keeping their distance, more so why they are restricting access inside. Somehow Claudia knows a lot about their operations. Then again, they don''t have a lot of secrets anyway. But if scouting and attack units died here even in groups, it can say a lot about the power of the creatures here. That last monster was scarier than anything she had ever encountered before. If she used the same sort of magical attacks on a Cran, it would have been a one hit knockout in her favor. But no... Even the creatures here that die fade into light or burst out from auras in such mysterious ways. What could be the possible purpose or reason for transforming the Outback into this hell zone?
Finally, Jane was coming up to the stone arch. It was much bigger this close than it seemed from far away, towering hundreds of meters high. The path leads right under the arch too, forcing Jane to take that route ahead, but the moment she prepared to walk closer to the stone, something interesting happened.
Just out of nowhere, something bumped into Jane, knocking her down on her back after making a strange pulsing sound. It was like walking into an invisible wall. Jane perked her head up after rubbing it from the sudden force. Just where she planned to walk through, a massive array of red half-phased hexagons blocked that path right in front of her, taking the form of an energy dome if viewed in all directions. Jane''s jaw hinged as her teeth stood open, suddenly realizing that some sort of energy shield was in her way, but the size was the gawking factor impressing her now. Each hexagon that made up the shield was about the size of her entire body, but the size of the entire dome circled a field so large, it had its own sky, visible now due to her recent physical contact with the shield. The hexes formed their own dome, which resembled a Siriean dome about fifty times bigger in every dimension. From where Jane bumped into to the other side of the barely visible edge of the same dome, there had to be at least four to five hundred meters of distance in diameter to the opposite end. The shield even covered the whole cliff side on her left after turning around, reaching really high into the sky. What''s worse, is that Jane managed to learn quickly that she was on the inside of this energy dome, not on the outside!
Chapter Theme Shift: Aetersyl [Custom Edit] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
This can''t be right. Siriean domes can''t be created in the dark zone, and they don''t come this big and in this color either. Who made this? Why isn''t anyone here?
Some sort of noise, the sound of sudden steam depressurizing only for a second answered her question. Jane noticed some sort of movement on the top of the cliff above her. She could see most of the top from where she stood, but something seemed to be rising up from the ground, after which another alarm sounded. It was like a digital alert tone, only dinging once while the metal continued rising above the ground, just at the top of the cliff. Jane had to check her surroundings again to make sure she wasn''t being tricked or surrounded. Someone has just encased her in a specialized shield dome, and now, something was rising from the top of the cliff in her field of view.
The metal sounds became a bit louder, and finally the separated figures took more of a form as they continued rising upwards. There was more than one structure rising from some special small elevation system built in the rocks, all utilizing mechanical equipment. This couldn''t be the work of some automatic summon. As each structure elevated upwards further, she could begin to make out the formation of each design. Even at this distance, Jane didn''t fail to recognize the resemblance to some sort of turret. It looked more like a sophisticated defense sentry gun, chained up in golden metal shrouded in reinforced titanium and steel. Something under each turret was making it rise from the ground and form the metals that surrounded it, metals that were their own separate attachments of armaments and separate weapon systems. Jane could now tell that there were three of them, all in the same design with two barrels at their tips. They were machine gun turrets or sentry guns of some sort. But then it begs the question: What are manmade machines doing in the Dark Zone? Even before the transformation of the Outback, this was all just miles of nature and forest. Sentry guns don''t belong here under any circumstances. What was controlling them? They can''t just be pulling above the ground for no reason.
"Uh oh," Jane whispered. What if this is all automated somehow, not the appearance of the guns, but the defensive nature of a manmade defense grid? What if someone built a defense system with this dome shield in the Alpha Zero? It could be the work of Brightworth himself. Jane still didn''t have any answers, but the turrets then finished rising up on their small elevation systems, well hidden inside of the rock of that cliff. Jane checked her surroundings again, realizing that the massive red shield was in constant power around her. It is a defense system! The dome surrounding her must be designed to trap her in. How else would she have entered if it was there before without her noticing? It''s a trap! Something must be able to detect her very presence here, but who the hell would design a killing machine for live humans?
Just as the turrets were finished climbing, they continued their activation sequence, initiating lights on the top of their hull, while bringing up some more metallic armor of protection around their shape and design. There wasn''t another person in sight, it was just Jane and the three sentry guns. Jane reacted quickly, using her hand and some magic to try and pull up their stats. Normally, inanimate objects don''t have any energy scopes, but under the random circumstances, Jane''s trick actually made it happen. Three separate text boxes appeared above each sentry gun, showing Jane their HP levels respectively. Their MP however didn''t seem to be capable of displaying, probably because they don''t run on magical energy. Inanimate objects shouldn''t have energy scopes, but perhaps if they were running some sort of artificial intelligence program, the HP could be represented based on total structural integrity. Jane didn''t expect to make the holographic displays appear like that successfully, but it happened all the same. Things got even stranger when another smaller holographic text box appeared each above all three of the turrets. In the unusual and randomly displayed text, the material read, Acquiring new target! Scanning individual humanoid!
Whatever Jane had done with their energy scopes was allowing her to read what their process was. It''s the action display center! Jane recalled how action display centers can sometimes appear just above the energy scopes belonging to otherworldly creatures, giving that challenging human a hint of an oncoming attack. So they work on turrets too? The action display center can read the processor actions of all three defense guns! She was currently being scanned so it seemed. This might just be a mistake, a misunderstanding, but Jane couldn''t be sure. She enabled her own energy scope after reading the turrets actions once more, and prepared herself for anything. Was the defense system built to be used against her, or for other types of intruders? And how can metal objects without any magic - battle against a Leray wielder? This doesn''t make any sense!
It was already strange enough that Jane might have to fight a machine, but now there are three of them working together at the same time? Jane had no experience with teamed battles, and was fairly certain that this would not officially count as one even with the appearance of a dome shield, but her nerves were causing her to shiver despite all of the heat in the air. Just as the text above the action display disappeared, another box of the same type and design appeared with more text inside of the display, updating the ADC.
Jane actually retained a faint memory about this stuff before. It was similar to that moment when she had to fight against creatures known as Cran. They were not harmful, but as they were beings not human or very sentient, the Cran were able to attack and use magic at the same time during Leray battles. Jane had to defeat one for training purposes, but this action box of display had the similar concept attached to it. A dark grey box appears above the creature, just like an energy scope, only it has much less transparency despite also being holographic. Some people prefer to shorten the terminology to ADC, which stands for the Action Display Center, where text appears in the holographic box depending on what the creature is planning to do. Cran are able to shoot Fire Balls with Leray magic and glyphrings, but as a result of being unable to talk, they were forced in battle to display their pending action through that text in the action display center. Meaning, a Cran about to use Fire Ball would show Fire Ball in that text within the ADC, just before launching the actual magic.
The deal with the turrets seemed to be the same, but Jane wasn''t sure just yet. Is someone here trying to communicate with her? Just then, another text appeared in all three action display boxes for each turret. Despite the distance and height advantage, Jane could easily read that text from here, but all of the boxes had the same text for each turret, as if they were somehow synchronized together internally. It read, Bullet Barrage! Bullet Barrage? That sounds like an attack! The turrets suddenly shifted in their place. Without changing position, the sentry guns were highly capable of moving their barrels and aiming crosshairs on some internal tread, allowing all three of the turrets to take aim at her. The turret designated as Turret C was on Jane''s left on top of the cliff, while Turret A was on the right. Despite sharing the same cliff, each of the sentry guns were not tightly compacted together, but still close enough for something like an area attack to affect all of them at once. For now, the turrets were aiming at Jane just after displaying the name of some function or command into the action display center.
Jane still wasn''t fully certain if this was a real attack, but she wasn''t taking any chances. If she gets shot will bullets in the dark zone, no med kit orb or healing device in world will help her. As a reaction to the taunting metal guns, Jane invoked her power shield, lifting her arms while sending MP energy through her open hands. The result created another shielding aura around her body. Her personal shield seemed like it had a similar design pattern for the red shield surrounding a much wider area, but her aura was only big enough and formed in such a way where it expands only a foot away from her skin, taking the same exact shape as her. Just as Jane covered herself in the shield for insurance, the turrets began firing. The barrels were spinning at alarming rates, flashing multiple times while shooting out at a hundred bullets per second.
Jane gasped in surprise at how close she was to getting mowed down by bullets. Even now, all three turrets were still firing their barrels, and bullets were literally bouncing and ricocheting off of Jane''s power shield. Small hexagons formed and disappeared in multiple places for a long time, showing Jane that the turrets were indeed firing at her on purpose, despite their somewhat lame accuracy. While her aura was mostly sound proof, Jane could hear the constant ringing and bashing sound of the reflective pulses for each bullet that bounced off her shield.
Jane knew her aura was strong enough for mere bullets, but all of the turrets had been firing for over seven seconds now. It was almost the longest time she had her aura up so far, and now it was beginning to fail. Despite sending her MP energy out from her open hands, and her capacity for Leray energy draining quickly, Jane was losing her concentration on the field quickly now. It wouldn''t be long before¡ª
Finally, the bullets stopped hitting the shield, and the muzzle flashes from the sentry guns disappeared. It was either time for the mechanized machines to reload or change strategy altogether. Jane lowered her arms, discharging the shield that was prone to failure a moment later. Every time Jane invokes her power shield, it''s always at its strongest in the early invocation stages, but the concentration gets more difficult with a lot of damage or elapsed time on that same aura. This was something Jane already got used to from her training with Claudia, but she still has to figure out a way to attack three targets at once. The difference is the fact that all targets are automatic learning robotic turrets on defense mode set to kill her.
Now that her shield was down and the bullets have stopped firing, it allowed Jane to realize that the turrets now must wait to come up with another sort of action, which would eventually display itself in the holographic text box above their respective energy scopes. Of course, now it was her turn to attack. The automated defense system likely does not care for taking turns, but the loading time to decide another attack must not have been immediate, because Jane managed to come up with an idea first. Respond with a weak attack to see how they respond to damage, that was always the best first strategy Jane learned by herself. Using powerful spells to start will backfire if the enemy or opponent has hidden resistances.
With her thoughts and fighting strategy returning to mind, Jane was able to temporarily ignore the frightening fact that there were sentry turrets trying to kill her, and instead pretended as if she were up against three distant opponents wearing metal suits of armor. It should still be likely that pure magical damage should pierce right through the armor. She pulled out her daggers, infusing some energy into each of them, thus preparing them to fire. "Mako Beam!" Jane shouted the skill aloud, ensuring that her invocation was successful. Then she aimed her dagger blades towards the turrets sitting at the top of the large steep incline. There wasn''t any human way to climb the vertical rock, but there was more walk room at the very top, which would explain how someone was able to install systems up there. Jane fired her Mako Beam through each dagger tip, striking once on the right turret, then again on the far left turret. Jane infused more magic into her right dagger blade, firing a third Mako Beam to strike the central turret as well. Managing to successfully hit all three of them without missing with the distance of ninety meters, their stats on the energy scopes did happen to decline, which proves they can be destroyed and damaged. The HP registers here as armor integrity and structural endurance.
Jane knew Mako Beam would not do a lot of harm, but at least this way her MP energy was saved, and she learned how vulnerable the turrets were. Just after gloating her short lived victory, more white text appeared in the holographic action display center. This time it read, Fire Strike!
Once again, the aiming sections of each turret allowed their hulls to rotate in a three dimensional free form, as now all of them were aiming at Jane. At the same time, small red glyphrings began to form right in front of each turret''s barrel. Jane couldn''t believe it! Even without the use of MP energy, the turrets can invoke magical powers somehow. The glyphrings became more solid, now rotating in midair while the devices prepared to shoot something else at her. This time, Jane was ready for it, and prepared her power shield just in case. After her energy had been charged into her hands, Jane lifted her arms and opened them, dispersing her energy into an aura surrounding her entire body. Just like every other time before, Jane created another magical shielding aura, protecting her from all types of damage.
That''s when the turrets fired their magic. Through all three individual glyphrings that were designed exactly the same, magical bolts of fire plunged through the dimension, flying through the center of the glyphring into physical space. Jane was already protected, but through the transparency of her shielding aura, she got to see the Fire Bolts hurling through the air. All three of the turrets used the same exact magical invocation, allowing three individual Fire Bolts to track Jane and smash into her. As she waited patiently, the fiery spheres all collided into her shield instead, reflecting the damage off of her physical body with ease while the bolts themselves melted into the hexagons. After the small explosions of fire outside faded, so did the sudden appearance of hexagons at each impact site. Jane realized quickly how repetitive her shielding aura was becoming. There didn''t seem to be anything new about it that she needed to learn. After all three fire balls failed to penetrate the aura, Jane still didn''t feel as drained as she did last time. For a Triple Fire attack, the turrets sure did not throw a ton of fire power into their magic. For Jane, that was about to change.
After lowering her shield again, Jane pulled out her daggers, taking aim again while coming up with a way in her mind to attack all three turrets at the same time. Just as she began infusing magical energy into her weapons, Jane knew what to do. "Flying Guillotine!" Jane threw her daggers in a crisscross formation, aiming only for the turret on the left at first, but just after the spinning blades left her hands, Jane copied more energy into her hands, and concentrated on her own flying blades. At the same time the red circle of damage formed between them, Jane suddenly exerted an extra amount of magic, allowing her to control the very direction and course of her own attack through a telekinetic nature. This time, Jane''s idea was raw, unaffected by any of Claudia''s teachings. As Jane took control of her Flying Guillotine mid-flight, she began to steer the spinning red wheel bound between each blade, drilling the flat attack right through the turret on the far left side. The daggers and the magical damage drilled through the armor like a ghostly figure as she expected it to, which was exactly the moment when Jane steered her Flying Guillotine for the turret at the center.
The flying dagger attack managed to drill its way through the central turret as well, as Jane took control again to drill through the turret on the far right. The turrets were not close enough together for Flying Guillotine to affect more than one piece of hardware in one swoop. Jane knew this ahead of time, and took control of her own spell to force all of the turrets to take damage anyway, but in the process of controlling her daggers mid-attack, her MP was draining much more quickly than she wanted it to. "Come on..." she encouraged. Jane finally attacked the turret on the right, now waiting for her daggers to spin their way back into her hands on their own. She didn''t need any more control at this point, but while waiting for the blades to return, Jane took peeks at each energy scope of her enemies. Despite hitting all three of them with a well-coordinated and powerful attack, the damage level was something Jane had not hoped for.
Jane caught her daggers as they returned to her without running the red circular arch of damage in between the blades. Jane then placed the daggers back into her pockets, taking into mind why the damage dealt to the machines was minimal. Perhaps because they are armored targets, slashing type damage has no effect on them, but she couldn''t be sure just yet. Just as Jane was feeling recovered enough for another attack, the enemy ADC lit up again, and the three turrets were once again synchronizing to perform the same trick. This time the text read, Voltage! in the display. Common sense was well enough in her to guess the damage type of the turret attack to be something electrical. Jane shuttered at the very thought. Electrical damage is already bad enough in the Leray zone. I''d rather not fare to feel its effects in the dark zone. "Power shield," she chanted. Jane lifted her arms again, creating a shielding aura before her arms even got parallel with her shoulders this time. She was able to bend her elbows now while opening her hands to create the aura around her. Just as long as her hands were emitting her MP energy outward, and as long as Jane was thinking about the shield in the aura it was supposed to be, protecting herself became easier of a task each and every time using this spell.
This time, a glyphring formed for each turret with a darker shade color of red, already rotating and aiming at the only humanoid in sight. Just as the glyphrings were fully formed and charged, the turrets all fired their cannons at the same time. Instead of firing bullets or projectiles, red lightning shot from the end of the barrel tips from the turrets, directing their current straight into Jane''s shield, but the lightning bolts that followed were not evanescent, they just continued to zap towards Jane on a connective current. Just where Jane stood, three different red bolts of constant electricity threatened to consume her through the shield aura that she established. It was like a Lightning Strike attack set to last for triple the duration, and the color of the electricity was red instead of the deep blue it usually is. On the inside of her power shield, Jane noticed millions of tiny little hexagons, forming almost everywhere in the front while the electrical discharge areas changed quite frequently. The bolts just stayed on her, draining her concentration with such a high damage dealing potential and a lengthy discharge attack.
The voltage had only been zapping at her shield for just three solid seconds. It was then that Jane''s power shield suddenly failed despite her efforts to keep it up and running. The very moment the shield disintegrated allowed all three streams of voltage to zap into Jane''s skin. With no protection left and no possible way to avoid the damage, Jane was suddenly forced into electrocution by all three turrets at the same time. The physical heat in her entire body rose in an instant, and the inability to move or think while the electricity twitched with all of her nerves made it much worse. The voltage lasted for an additional two second after her shield failed, burning her skin and forcing her heart rate into tachycardia ranges. As soon as it finally let go, Jane let her body drop to the floor. She suddenly felt incredibly drained of her energy, and at the same time, she was tingling in a painful sensation all over. Her nerves were shot; her breathing became deep and heavy. The combination of damage and painful electricity also hurt the inside of her head, creating a full blown migraine as she struggled to recover from her hands and knees.
This is an electrical attack without veil protection? To hell with that ever again! All of the previous pains failed to leave her body after recovering. Jane had to also consider based on her energy scope report that she only repelled half of the voltage attack used against her. Yet it still drilled a hole straight through her defenses. This could be the other thing Claudia was talking about, how her shield would work the same, but only become half as effective inside of the dark zone because it relies on Leray magic. Inside of a dark zone, Leray type magic has half the normal effectiveness it has otherwise.
But now she has another chance. Jane already confirmed her suspicions about the processing speed of all three turrets. Because they were synchronized together to increase their damage and power, their processing time for attacking over and over wasn''t what it could have been. So now it was her turn to try something. Slashing damage does nothing, but maybe magical damage will. Jane couldn''t think of any good area attack using magic, not one she wanted to pull out so soon. So instead, she chose to go with something simpler, targeting Turret A, which was the one sitting on her far right on top of the cliff.
After charging more MP energy straight into her hands, Jane placed her open hand through the center of the jade color glyphring that she immediately created, the invocation reaction instant. "Lightning Strike!" Carefully aiming for the turret on the right side, Jane managed to fire her own electrical bolt of energy at the turret. The bolt of electricity was blue in color compared to that last voltage attack, but she focused more on the damage and concentration in her magic. The bolt of electricity began shocking the turret in place, hopefully messing with the wiring and digital circuitry inside of the mechanical device. As expected, her lightning bolt only lasted for about 2.6 seconds, but once it was over, the health report on the right turret''s energy scope declined a lot more than it had with any other of Jane''s previous attacks. As soon as her glyphring faded at the end of its sequence, Jane checked that scope more closely.
Despite her efforts to single out her enemies, the action display center above each turret was already active again, now with an attack name Jane had not yet recognized. Elemental, it read. All of the turrets were steering again as well, proving they were going to attack with some unusual form of magic. Jane prepared herself and her MP energy for another power shield, but waited patiently for the right moment. This shield has to last as long as it possibly can!
Just as the text in the ADC faded again, the central turret began to spin both of its two barrels, already aimed at Jane. As a quick reaction, Jane activated her power shield again with her hands already in position to make it happen. The blue transparent aura around her body formed around her quicker than ever before. Her own shielding power was improving bit by bit with each use. As a result, Jane was in deep thought about how crazy she was for forgetting one of the important Leray tips. Abilities cast over and over gradually improve over time, with regards to faster invocation times, better offensive and defensive capabilities, and even better special effects depending on what the spell is. Her shielding powers are getting faster with each use; Jane can already tell the difference.
Just as Jane shielded herself, the central turret fired its full payload, barraging her aura with bullets for as long as possible. It was the same attack as bullet barrage used against her in their first wave, but only the central turret was firing at her with bullets. The turret on the far left, Turret C had already created a red glyphring around its barrels, after which shooting out a bright bolt of fire hurling through the air. Through her peripheral vision through the shield, Turret A on the right was also using another glyphring. Shortly before the Fire Bolt from the left was about to slam into the shielding aura, a bright red bolt of electricity stung the shield from the right side. Jane was now being simultaneously attacked with Bullet Barrage, Fire Bolt, and Voltage from all three turrets, splitting their duties to provide a variety of different damage types and solutions. The fact that they are trying to adapt to the difficult situation in front of them says a lot about their database knowledge on Leray fighting, but there still wasn''t a clue in the world to who built these things.
Inside of the blue power shield aura, Jane could see hexagons forming from all sides. The Fire Bolt hitting the shield from the left made a loud pulsing reflection noise from inside of the shield, but still caused the least amount of damage based on how large the hexes there were. Smaller hexagons from the right riddled her aura while the constant chain of non-stopped bullets from the center randomly impacted everywhere in front of Jane. Though the damage being done was not that high, her aura has already taken a lot of damage in the total time she had it up. The focus and concentration she held with her shield was quickly dwindling, she could feel it failing already.
Lucky for her, the central turret had finished firing its guns, now in need of reloading its massive chain of bullets, while the turret on the right ran out of electricity to shoot towards Jane. Every one of her enemies needed more time to attack again, and she could now use that moment to drop her shield intentionally and come up with a better plan of her own. But thanks to the constant attacks a second ago, the upkeep on her energy had her feeling drained rapidly, and the migraine lingering from before was not helping. Jane already designed another good idea, an attack that she might be able to modify. She readied her hands and concentrated on how to invoke this next spell thoroughly.
"Magical Blitz!" Despite this spell making her temporarily defenseless, Jane gave it her best shot, throwing a lot of MP energy into her magical blitz balls this time. Instead of forming the energy balls into her hands, she created her own glyphring for them to fly through, turning them into slow moving projectiles. For each of the three energy balls she formed, one of them headed for a different turret. After they formed, Jane then spent some more MP energy, locking on to all of her projectiles and creating another glyphring around the energy spheres as they began soaring through the air towards the top of the cliff. The glyphrings all followed their own blitz spheres, and Jane''s magic eventually sped up each projectile, turning it from the speed of a slow Fire Ball to a sudden speeding bullet. The Magical Blitz balls gained instant speed, slamming into each turret with enough force to drill right through the armor of each device. All three turrets suddenly took a heavy hit from her specially transformed attack, but the turret on the right suddenly blew off a large chunk of armor on its side. Turret A was already more damaged to begin with, so that reaction made some sense, but Jane didn''t expect any of these machines to be this vulnerable to high magical damage. Anything armor piercing or destructive to metal seems to work better on these things. Now she has the advantage of knowledge.
Even the turret''s energy scope turned red, which must mean something had been internally damaged. Of course, there is only one function that needs to work in order to shoot and kill Jane. Better to be careful than dead, thus underestimating any one of these machines could be her last mistake. Jane prepared herself for another power shield, just as more text appeared into the ADC for all three sentry guns again. Upgrade!
This time it was a command that Jane believed not to be some kind of direct attack. Instead of the turrets steering their gyro balls to aim at the ground where she stood, the turrets were straightening out again, and that''s when she suddenly noticed something new coming up from the ground. Much like how the turrets acquired all of their armor and bulk as they ascended from below the base of the cliff, some new equipment was now attaching itself to each side of all sentry weapons. From here, Jane couldn''t see what the equipment was, but it almost looked sort of like a bulky belt, clutching on to the left and right hull of each gun. The sound of metal clanking echoed all the way down to her, but Jane soon realized that she was not even being attacked just yet. Now would be a great time to hit the guns while they are too distracted to act.
"Meteor Strike!" Jane charged up a lot of energy into her right hand, enough to make it glow blue as she prepared to drop her magical payload. Jane lifted her hand high up, and then dropped it down low as to direct the invocation and directional force of the falling meteorites. The spell cast was almost instant, as meteor fragments were suddenly dropping out of the sky like she directed. Jane also made the area attack specific to the top of the cliff, leaving the falling fragments further away from her own self. As the meteors struck the ground in various places on top of the cliff, each turret was suddenly being caught in the randomized blasts and hits from above, unable to protect themselves or dodge the falling rocks of doom. Jane could already see the health declining from all three of their energy scopes, and a few more explosions in the distance caused by more armor being blown off of each turret. Chunks of metal went flying everywhere from all of the armor damage she was scoring, but the guns were not out of commission just yet. Their ability to continue fighting became apparent as soon as the meteors stopped falling towards the ground and spawning. In their wave of destruction, all of the sentry turrets were still stable standing, ready to attack in synchronization again.
At least Jane could safely assume that progress was being made with the lowering health. Unfortunately, all three guns were still ready to attack Jane, all of them displaying similar messages into their individual ADC boxes. Rocket Mess! Whatever it was didn''t sound so fun to mess around with. Jane was still aware of the fact that all of her enemies got an upgrade of some sort. It had to be something important, perhaps even a weapons attachment to increase the damage somehow. Whatever was coming her way, Jane prepared by charging a small proportion of MP energy into her hands, holding them out in preparation to throw the aura shield around her body again like she did hundreds of times by now.
Just then, the sound of multiple blasts and small explosions echoed over the hills, and Jane activated her power shield despite not understanding which type of attack was heading her way. After shielding herself was when she noticed rockets and missiles firing from the side components of the turrets. It wasn''t just one turret either. All three sentry weapons were shooting rockets from their upgraded attachment slots, again and again until there were dozens of missiles flying up into the air. It''s an explosive missile barrage! That was their upgrade; the ability to fire a dozen missiles each!
Jane held her breath. Her shield was holding up fine for now, but all of the missiles added up to be 36 total airborne warheads. They propelled themselves into the air, then quickly changed course to fall down towards the ground, all where Jane was currently standing. As the first wave of a dozen missiles prepared to smash into here shield, Jane closed her eyes and braced herself. She wouldn''t be able to see anything but bright flashes on the outside, providing her shield doesn''t fail from all of the damage heading her way. In a moment''s notice, the blasts began booming on and around her feet. Jane didn''t want to open her eyes, but even through the soundproof shield, the blasts for each explosion were like massive booms of bass in her ears. There were too many explosions to be counted, and Jane was already quickly losing her focus and concentration.
Explosive hits would not do her well in this battle; explosive type damage is the highest in power level rating for physical damage, and because of this gigantic red dome shield around the area, she wouldn''t be capable of running away or giving up. It''s like a Doom Shield was forced to be cast around her. Jane fell right into a dangerous trap, and this was the price. The explosions just kept coming. Jane could imagine herself right now, being blown up with 36 separate rockets all hitting her consecutively. With each second passing, Jane felt weaker as some sort of exhaustion began to weigh her down and make the shield harder to keep up. Finally, the rockets were done exploding outside. Jane could tell by the sudden absence in sound around her. After opening her eyes, it was thus confirmed. Though she meant to drop the shield afterwards, it simply failed on her instead, collapsing around her body. The reaction of shield failure always weakened Jane and her stamina, but this time, she was suddenly sweating drops down her face, and her heart was racing again while she struggled to control her breathing. Even though Jane didn''t take any damage, it sort of felt like she did with all of the life being drained from her. The green energy scope above her suddenly turned red with warning, perhaps to show Jane how much this battle was taking out of her.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Jane pulled herself together, but her breathing remained rapid the entire time. Now she needed to attack again, or face another one of those rocket blasts. Jane knew she would not be able to shield herself from such a powerful attack twice, but simply attacking at random wasn''t enough either. She needed a better strategy. There has to be something that can turn the tables in desperate times. Come on girl! Think! You''re life literally depends on... "That''s it!" Jane alerted. With the ability to turn invisible, and hope that those turrets don''t have thermal vision, they won''t be able to see me moving around. But I need moonlight!
Jane put her hands together, charging some MP energy into them, and then lifting up her arms, releasing that energy upwards into the sky. "Moonglow!" Jane''s ability should affect the weather here itself, no matter how gloomy it currently was. Maybe it would even remove the redness from the sky and clouds above her, giving the land some more natural lighting, but her ability to call out the moonlight took way more time than she wanted it to. Suddenly, the ADC above the left turret acquired some more text again. They were going to strike her before the moonlight gets anywhere near here.
Something else was off. There is usually some initial wind changes and temperature variations involved with the ability, initially before it begins to work. Jane felt none of that. It''s as if Moonglow didn''t even affect anything at all. That means... No! Dark Zone climates can''t be changed?
As Jane pondered her own error, the text above the right turret began to fade, triggering a new bit of text above the central turret in its action display center. Synchronization error. Now the central turret read something different. Laser Swipe! Instead of reporting an error, Laser Swipe was the name of some sort of attack, and the turret was able to shift its gear and direction much quicker than Jane was led on to believe. At the same time, she was still a bit distracted by the fact that her Moonglow spell failed to work, unable to react in time to throw up a power shield for the next unusual sort of attack wave. Oddly enough, only the center turret was initiating the attack this time, while turret A and C were just sitting back doing nothing. Suddenly, a narrow red laser beam fired and held its intensity from the turret, though aimed far to the left from where Jane was standing. In the next moment, the turret shifted its aim all the way to the right in just less than a second of time, taking its high intensity heat laser with it. The laser was aimed in such a way where it literally swept through Jane''s thighs to follow the turret''s aim.
Suddenly, a stabbing, piercing, burning centralized pain took over just where the laser struck Jane, even though it hit her for just a small moment. Without the ability to control it, Jane started screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs as the pain got to its worst. Jane suddenly fell on her legs, holding her lower stomach and tensing her muscles to try and stop the intense sensation. Nothing was relieving the hellish impossible pain. Her insides were inflamed, the sudden scar of a straight line had burned outward on Jane''s skin, and the migraine in her head intensified. Nothing could properly sum up or describe what the immense damage infliction did to her, and Jane was lucky that her body was not severed in two, but there wasn''t anything else she was able to think about at the moment. She was still stuck to the ground, shouting out and yelling at the top of her voice with inappropriate language.
It didn''t matter to Jane what her stats were telling her. All she could think about was how badly this was hurting her. Several more moments passed since that laser swiped through her body, and still the pain was only barely letting up. As Jane''s headache got even stronger, she was able to care less about her lower pains. Despite having a laser go through her entire body, cutting her open in the front and in the back, her wound was immediately sealed by all of the heat involved, leaving behind a bloody scar through her waist. Even dark zones provide partial protection from real time damage. Jane wanted to get back up - get back into the fight, but it wasn''t working. Nothing could coax her to stand straight up now. The pain was so intense that even though she managed to stop screaming, Jane''s legs were just frozen, unable to move. Of all times, her hindrance gave the three sentry guns more than enough time to come up with another synchronized attack.
Fire Strike! It read in the action display center above all three of them, proving that turret A was not all that damaged after all, only malfunctioning rarely. Three glyphrings were already forming. Jane recognized this skill from before. This is a strange version of Triple Fire, but each turret only shoots one Fire Bolt at a time. Still, with three coming at her all at once, she would hardly survive this. Too late to shield too, as the glyphrings were now solidified into their full functioning forms. Through all three glyphrings, a single bolt of fire projected itself outward, trailing into the air using magic and locking on to Jane as their intended target. Jane knew that shielding would not be the best tactic anymore, as it would simply fail with all of these scrapes and wounds distracting her focus. So instead, just as all three bolts were about to slam into her at the same time, Jane managed to unlock her knees and push off them. It allowed her to jump far off to her right side, leaping out of the way of the Fire Bolts in midair.
Much to her surprise, the Fire Bolt attack totally missed her during her fall back towards the earth. They were prone to strike her at the same time and all in the same exact location, so it wasn''t that difficult to dodge them after all. But when Jane hit the ground again, even from her small jump, the pain in her thighs flooded back again, forcing her to cringe and tense the muscles in her legs. There was no way she can move around the battle field anymore, even for a dodge. Shielding will just have to do for now.
"Guess it''s my turn," she announced. After struggling to remain straight while crouching, Jane expended some more MP, only small proportions this time. Her reaction created a small yellow generation glyphring hovering above her, dropping a bow and arrow into her hands. The bow''s design and the arrow''s solid sharpened tip was the same trick as Crystal Arrow. Jane didn''t chant any spell just yet. She had another modification to make this time. As she took aim at the right turret again, Jane began charging a little more energy into her crystalized tip arrow, finally chanting the magical words just before releasing the projectile away. "Crystal Arrow!"
Jane let the arrow go aiming slightly above the turret since it was high up on a cliff. The opposing air friction and gravity effect over that distance and elevation would cause that arrow to sink down slightly in its flight since it isn''t effected by Leray magic during that flight. Because of her knowledge of the fact, Jane''s arrow still managed to strike the machine from her distance and angle. The arrow stuck deep into the metallic hull platting of the turret, while it simply began to steer itself in an uncaring manor. Sure, the arrow did no damage at all, but the attack was not finished yet. Jane''s idea was not exactly original. One of her opponents she fought with on Route 96 attempted to do to Jane what she is about to repeat to her enemy. The crystal arrow, after sticking to the turret for just one second randomly exploded with the fire power of a grenade. The blast blew the metal armor right off the turret, sending their chunks flying in many different directions. Somehow that turret managed to survive the blast, even enough to steer its motor around and continue its gyro-motions, but much of its armor has now been lost, and attacks that normally deal little damage to these turrets should be even more effective against Turret A from here on. It wouldn''t solve anything too soon though. Just after checking the energy scopes, Jane noticed that a new type of attack was going on in the action display center.
Damn machine still has so much in it. The next attack read as follows: Railgun! Jane had not seen this skill yet, and would much prefer not to feel any more harm if it could be helped. So she immediately prepared her power shield, carefully watching the aim of each machine to determine exactly when the latest possible time acceptable would be. Her entire body was already aching everywhere, but her waist and her head were hurting the worst. There was no way she was about to let another devastating attack kill her like that.
It was true that Turret A had taken significant damages compared to the other two turrets. All of them were steering their motors to aim at Jane with whatever synchronized attack they were planning, but the turret on the far right was steering at a much slower rate. It was so slow, that Turret B and C began firing their cannons before Turret A was even ready. Two narrow blue beams of light, as quick to appear as to disappear flew just past Jane''s face, barely missing her ear. It was then that she threw up her power shield, denying her enemy the access to hit her with any more lethal attacks. With her shield up, Jane was able to better study the so called Railgun lasers. They were a bit more like photons pulses, shooting a straight narrow beam no more than one foot wide by radial dispersion in a singular direction. The beams that were prone to strike Jane afterwards had their energy absorbed by the shielding aura instead, creating somewhat small hexagons at each area they hit her aura, but Jane could see several more beams fly past her aura, in that they would have missed her with or without her shield. Come to think of it over another two seconds of consecutive rail gun firing, it didn''t seem like the turrets had that much accuracy with their current attack. After squinting her eyes through the translucent shield in the distance of the cliff, Jane could finally see why. With every single shot the turrets took to fire their Railgun, the force of their beam leaving the barrel had enough recoil to push their entire movable armor upwards and back a bit. It was a challenge just for those mechanical machines to correctly aim at Jane anymore. Was this from the damage she did to them earlier, or was it simply the recoil of this specific attack sequence?
Much of the same scene continued to last on and on. Jane has been keeping her shield up for a full nine seconds now, which was her new set record. She could already feel her focus draining out again, but at last the Railgun firing was over with. The turrets needed to cool down the barrel tips after firing such high temperature energy beams, and Jane got the chance to lower her shield before it failed on her. So far her energy was holding on well, with her MP level still at 55% capacity.
As soon as Jane was capable of thinking more on what decisions to make, a thought occurred. Even though a single turret can be dangerous with that laser swipe thing they have going, three of them will eventually wear her down if they decide to try their missile barrage again. She couldn''t have that, not again, but if one turret goes out, then this entire battle will be that much easier. Turret A is already heavily damaged, so it would make a lot of sense to focus all attacks on that turret for now. Jane already had a good spell in mind too, one that was made up of pure magical damage she picked up from Claudia. She had never got to use it well in a battle, but now would be the exception.
Jane concentrated into charging up her MP into her newest attack. It''s an aura type of attack, so she concentrated everywhere inside and outside of her body until a faint blue glow was surrounding her. Now it was almost time to release that energy into a full force beam. "Taste Quantum Beam!" Jane already began to release some more of her energy, causing her new aura to glow brilliantly in the shape of herself. Just before releasing her magic into a powerful beam, Jane clapped her hands with her arms stretching far out in front of her, directing her flow of magic. At the invocation of her magic, Jane''s entire aura transformed into a very wide beam of energy, already reaching out and slamming into the target of her choice. The diameter of her specific Quantum Beam was about as large as 2.5 feet, which did sort of make it hard for Jane to see what it looked like for the turret to eat up that magical damage, but as soon as the three-second attack ended, the turret on the right was still standing. Somehow, despite losing a lot more of its own armor on the top and central hull panels, its attachments for rockets on each side were still fully functional and firmly attached. Of all things, their rocket attachments are built more durable than the turrets themselves, but at least her attack was worth something.
Now Jane got ready, since the next attack will be foreseeable any second now in the action display center. Rocket Mess! ... Rocket Mess! Rocket Mess! All three of them were showing the same exact thing. It was Jane''s worst fear already coming back to life. Turret A was still functioning! This wasn''t part of her plan!
Crackling sounds followed by the distant noise of turning motors gave Jane plenty of warning to prepare another power shield, but she just knew her defense would not be as powerful with her current level of dexterity and MP reserves... Here they come. The thunderous booms of missile launching high into the air, leaving echoes and smoke trails of their current flight. Every single rocket began speeding upwards from each turret, soon to change course and slam right into Jane. There was going to be a total of thirty-six of them, just like before. Jane knew it was almost pointless to try and shield herself, but it was better to try and fail than to just give up her life. "Power Shield!" Jane exerted her energy through her hands again, bending her elbows this time to keep her arms closer to her body. Then she stood there in wait, waiting for the incredible barrage of explosions that would eat away at her shield''s power piece by piece.
Just as her power shield activated, the missile volley slammed their warheads into the ground beneath Jane, creating explosion after explosion until it was impossible for Jane to see anything else outside of her translucent shield. The blasts kept on coming relentlessly, and the small hexagons formed in every possible location in Jane''s shield aura. The damage was intense, and the area of effect was much too large to handle. Jane wasn''t counting how many rocket explosions were left, but it wouldn''t matter anyway. She felt her concentration on the aura quickly failing, her heart racing in response to how difficult it became to keep her shield aura up and running. It was just a micro-second later when the shield suddenly collapsed, disintegrating downwards in front of her. Jane lost her shield, and just before she could consciously realize what was happening, a few more explosions desecrated the field where she stood. The blasts sent Jane off of her feet, flying away from the force of the blast. Several pieces of shrapnel cut and dug into Jane''s skin, while her chest suddenly tightened with pressure. Jane then landed on her stomach after unwillingly back flipping over and out of control, scraping her skin through the mercenary training outfit.
As it was the last of the rockets to plunge into the ground, Jane barely managed to look up at the cliff without tilting the rest of her body. The turret''s attack run was over, but Jane had now been riddled with more cuts and scrapes than before. It was amazing to see much of her health survive the hit so well.
It wasn''t over yet. Jane felt like laying down in the dirt and giving up already. She was fatigued in every possible way she could imagine, and the migraine though settling down was only making her concentration more difficult than she wanted it to, but now could be her chance, her only chance to throw Turret A out of commission once and for all. Dying here means dying forever. Jane wouldn''t be able to live with that. Pushing herself back up with her arms, she steadily balanced her knees without shifting her legs too much. The pain from the laser swipe was still there and dominant over everything else. Despite her slow healing, Jane was still unable to jump, run, or walk without her hips burning with the inflammatory shoot of torn muscle.
There in front of her, the three turrets reset their gyroscopic positions and prepared to determine another mode of attacking. Without any MP to require, the machines could literally keep this up all day long. It''s a now-or-never strategy then. Jane needs to kill that weakened turret without delay, and what better way than with a smart area attack?
"Photon Burst!" Jane infused a lot of MP energy into her right hand again, creating the same motions as before. She lifted her hand high into the air, only to smite it downward with a lot of spirit. The reaction mixed with the released energy created the same awesome result when Jane used the spell previously. In no time flat, the sky was suddenly raining down dozens of photons ever second, the aerial version of photon blast which Jane refined all on her own before coming here. The photons were concentrating on the top of the cliff, raining down pieces of pure energy bolts like steel rain. Despite having the damage conditions of magical energy, each bolt that hit a turret from above was strong enough to smash through its solid armor due to containing a high power level, breaking off chunks and plates of armor for all three turrets. As for Turret A which was already severely damaged, it only took three photon bolts to smash off its rocket attachments while simultaneously blowing up the internal components. By the time the magic rain had ended, all of the turrets were smoking from overheated components and damages, while the sentry gun on the far right was sparking at the base. Somehow it was still standing, but something told Jane that Turret A will no longer be a problem anymore. She checked all of their energy scopes, including her own to count how many points of MP she had remaining.
Now everybody''s energy scope was flashing with red colors instead of green. Irrecoverable damage is usually the meaning of the color shifts, and Jane knew just as well that she was still not out of the woods yet. Just as Jane''s attack wave finished scoring a lot of damage, she realized that the ADC systems for her enemies were already lighting up. But Turret A was having another malfunction. Target Malfunction. It was clearly evident, as it was unable to properly steer its barrel directions to properly aim at her. Its own motor was damaged in the sense that it wasn''t going to be able to steer or aim anymore. It was comforting enough, but the other two turrets were able to adapt to the situation. Laser Strife! Both Turret C and B displayed the text in their action displays.
Jane had not seen or heard of the skill before, but it was very closely similar sounding to Laser Swipe. It was bad enough getting hit by one of those things, but with her MP energy running low, Jane would not be able to shield herself again in any case. Dodging was going to be her only way out of this mess for now. Just as the text faded again, the central and left turret began steering their aim in strange directions, with turret C far off to the left of Jane, and turret B far off to the right. Oh no! It is another laser swipe, but from two turrets this time! That would immediately be enough to slay her right here and now. The red beams were already visible, and as the turrets steered quickly, so did the lasers begin swiping towards her. Thinking quickly, Jane tried to jump over the laser coming from her left. It was just a low enough sweep for her jump to actually mean something. But just as she landed, the laser coming from the other side swiped just below her breasts, creating the same exact sense of pain it did last time.
Just like that, the laser swept right through Jane''s chest, sending her straight to the ground crying out in screams of unbearable pain. It felt like a flaming sword had cut right through Jane''s chest, stabbing her with the sense of a burn and a bruise all at the same time. She was suddenly stuck on her hands and knees again, out of breath to scream some more. All of her other senses began to darken with nothing else she could focus on. All of her thoughts turned to this one damaged location again, the heat in her upper body stinging much worse than it had in her waist. Jane can''t fight in this state.
That''s it! It''s over. The heat, headache, and the previous fatigue would normally have combined into a fainting spell strong enough to knock Jane out by now, but after a few more seconds, something else happened instead. Without any of the pain fading away, Jane suddenly stopped caring about it, clenching her fists and tightening her muscles. It was as if something gave her an extra chance to get back up and continue fighting, her energy and strength returning to her. It was more of an aggressive tense feeling that forced her to feel this way. Adrenaline maybe?
She couldn''t quite explain it. The damage done to Jane basically made her ability to walk impossible, but she was still capable of standing up. Instead of yelling and screaming out in the pain that was still in her chest at the same intensity, Jane''s eyes widened, she was suddenly forced into thinking strategically. The next attack - something that would take out turret A for good while dealing damage to other turrets and conserving MP energy... "Magical Blitz!" Jane formed two energy balls in her right hand, and a third one in her left. Carefully aiming for all three of them, she threw each energy ball with as much force as she had without shifting her legs muscles. The three energy balls were as accurate as they would have been as homing bolt attacks. Jane managed to make all of the magic projectiles smash through each turret, breaking off a little more of their armor. As the turret on the far right side of the cliff took a hit, the metal exploded into a blast so wide and bright that it left nothing behind after flying chunks of hot metal burst in all directions. Turret A was completely destroyed; nothing else remained beyond the dissipating mist.
Despite using magic, Jane''s MP levels were rising passively and slowly as they should. Her choice to not use a power shield last round was allowing her energy to recover quickly, but this time, she was going to need a power shield. Voltage! That was the message for the last remaining two turrets. Even with one of them out, Turret C and B were able to synchronize their actions with each other, preparing for a double electrical attack with a lot of power and energy. Jane however stayed focus, unable to think about anything else, unable to have any doubts. Her mind went fully automatic while she ignored the incredible pain in her body.
Just as both turrets took aim at Jane and fired their red lightning bolts of energy, Jane had her power shield up again. Only this time, she held her hands high in the air above her, coaxing the electricity to zap those specific spots despite her shielding aura in full effect. Jane didn''t realize this or why it happened, but as the red electricity ran its course failing to penetrate through her personal aura, she felt stronger and stronger. At top of her energy scope, the MP level was rising at a very rapid pace, likely charging from the energy absorption field created by her own shield. The lightning attack lasted for seven seconds long, but it wasn''t enough time or damage to break her aura. Jane disabled her shield on her own terms this time, waiting for the right moment. After the turret''s failed attack was over, she noticed how high her MP energy climbed so suddenly.
What was happening to her? It''s like the pain is suddenly obsolete now. Jane couldn''t give a care in the world about any sort of discomfort. The heat around her, the pain in every section of her body, the drain in her stamina from fighting a long time, it all meant nothing to her now. It''s like she wasn''t even herself, but she could still think about it somehow. Jane felt a buzzing sensation at the top of her right hand, despite not seeing the holographic symbol there. Still, her right hand had a slight aura of magic and light built around there, passively remaining. Is her symbol activating, the view of it obstructed by this glove? She couldn''t be certain, but another idea clicked in her mind, and fighting for her life was all Jane could think about. It seems to be more effective to deal with less turrets, destroying them one at a time instead of all together, but there are not a lot of armor piercing magical tricks that also conserve MP energy in the process. There is another ability for which Jane had never even used yet. Claudia specifically taught it to her earlier, but Jane never deemed it so important until right now.
She pulled out her daggers, and began infusing them with magical energy in her hands. "Armor Breaker." She didn''t have to yell the chant of the ability, it served no special purpose, but as she began to infuse the daggers, they began glowing red with a specific kind of aura. Jane then threw the daggers, taking precise aim at the central turret and throwing her small blades. The blades spun in the air, but they traveled in a vertical spinning motion this time, leaving behind a faint red trail of light from their auras. Her thrown daggers acted as a projectile of a straight arrow, suddenly crunching into the centralized turret''s metal armor, and slicing through it without any hindrance. The daggers then fell to the ground with chunks of the metal, and then disappeared only to reappear back into Jane''s two hands.
It was amazing that she pulled it off so well. Armor Breaker is a special free-form ability that infuses magic into any weapon of choice. Then user either uses that weapon to melee or throw it like a projectile at the target. The modification of magical damage adds an armor piercing effect into the weapon''s damage for that single use, allowing the object to pierce through solid metal and even break that metal into smaller pieces if the metal is unprotected by the Leray veil. In her case, Jane''s dagger throw ended up rendering the central turret completely vulnerable. Its health dropped a lot, and its metal hull was now in total jeopardy.
Sonic Blast! Both turrets were still functioning, still planning attacks against Jane, but she reacted quickly, holding her hands outward in position to project another power shield. Sonic Blast is another unfamiliar turret skill, but Jane was ready for it. Just as both turrets shot some white blinding light from their barrels indicating usage of magical energy, Jane exerted energy of her own too, creating a powerful force field around herself. Then, the white lights became just slightly dimmer, revealing themselves in the form of pure white colored spheres. Then those spheres exploded, creating an interesting high pitch sound that Jane could hear through her own aura. It was kind of annoying, but it was then that Jane realized that her power shield is about eighty percent sound proof, meaning that attack was actually designed to overload her ears with that noise on full volume blast, but the shield was protecting her even from a sound-based attack. It reminded her of the human version of the same skill, known as Harmonics, though this was different. Jane could deal with this no problem. The blast of sound barely lasted for a few seconds, and without feeling any damage, Jane did not waste any energy at all on her shield.
It was then however when she noticed how statistically her disadvantage was regarding her current level of HP reserves. She needed to heal, and she needed time to try and heal. Using a healing orb will take too long, and Jane was running out of MP reserves to try and make use of more power shields. Better to attack while drawing more time. The turrets both operate their aim and steering on some sort of gyro-mechanism, meaning something short of an earthquake would totally mess those machines up for a good long while. She already knows a spell that does this with much conservation of MP energy, thanks to Claudia. "Gyrobreak!" Jane''s hands were glowing only slightly orange for a moment, and then upon releasing her energy, the ground beneath her suddenly shifted on the left, and then the right. Gyrobreak isn''t exactly like an earthquake. It shifts the ground and gravity in ways that make it feel and seem like the very orientation of the earth is shifting sideways on fulcrum. It''s a mixture of a ground based orientation disruption field with a mild quake, and it totally changes the gyro-based field at which it activates for a rather long time. Thus its own name - Gyrobreak.
Jane was having some trouble standing straight too, since the disruption can affect her as well, but nothing would be more disabled for now than those two stupid machines on the top of the cliff. In Jane''s eyes, it looked like the entire world had been turned into a room, tilting side to side as if it were just a fake section tilting around for fun. Now she would have the time try standby healing. Claudia tried to teach her the skill to Jane''s wishes, but for some reason, Claudia didn''t want her to rely on this ability. There had to be a catch. Only few abilities allow one to heal their HP stats in the middle of a battle, but all of them have some sort of catch or conversion attached to the status.
Just as Jane was readying her never attempted before ability, a sudden barrage of blue beams fired right by her, and then more of them just shot in the direction of everywhere. It was the turret''s ability of Railgun! They were trying to hit Jane in this crazy distortion field. Luckily, their aim was currently terrible. Jane was literally just standing still, but blue beams were shooting into the sky, and far away from her current position. There was no way those things were going to be able to aim and hit her with the ground shifting so much like this. Ignoring the stupidity of their programming, Jane tried to initiate her standby healing ability, which already began when a faint blue circle surrounded her legs on the ground. Just as the circle appeared, Jane could already feel a little bit better as the circle began to slowly regenerate her health below her, but then it faded rather quickly. Over the course of seven long seconds, her health had only gone up by 5%, and as she tried to make it appear again, nothing else happened...
That''s it?! Standby Healing is supposed to allow the user to regenerate lost health, so long as they stand still and do not attack, but the way it stopped working like that... It must be a one-time ability, meaning it can only be invoked once every hour or so. Somehow, despite this being an unofficial battle, and despite certain Leray rules not taking effect because the location here is the dark zone, other odd things were in effect. One was the fact that Jane cannot leave the confines of the red shield dome around the battlefield. It most likely has something to do with the trap she triggered, but then what about that lame ability? Recovering five percent of health at the cost of MP was surely not anything to gloat about. Nothing about this is right or balanced either. It hardly seemed fair that her targets were outnumbering her and were not even sentient. This defense trap had to be for somebody specific, not meant for her, but now there is no choice but to destroy everything in order to survive.
The health meter barely changed one bit, but Jane''s MP levels were lasting a lot longer than she let it before. Still, all of her pain from before just seemed so distant. Jane could feel all of it, but it just didn''t bother her right now. Her stamina seemed to be much higher than it should be given her current stats, and thus compared to the fact that all of this damage is real time damage on top of it all. It''s totally not right! As Jane examined herself, the result of her mysterious improvement was shining on the top of her right hand. Her black and blue mercenary outfit was hiding her hand through the glove, but the holographic symbol on the top of her hand was finally visible now. That has to be the culprit.
When did her symbol suddenly show up? The brightness intensity of this crest can vary at times, but Jane rarely recalled moments in which her symbol managed to project itself through her own clothing and gloves in previous heated moments. Sometimes, her symbol can show itself through fabric material and project with a more radiant light before everyone, the result of having partial control of her special power. Right now, it was strong enough for her to slightly make out through the glove of her own suit. The symbol marked on Jane''s hand, pulsing holographically with its own deviant beat. It must be the thing keeping her going right now, the very reason she was able to stand back up after taking that second laser swipe attack, and the reason she didn''t feel like passing out just yet. Through the activation of her symbol, Jane always gets a special buzz of extra energy, but apparently there are even more side effects given the current situation. The pain in her thighs and her chest previously there by the laser swipes was somewhat feeling less intense, as if she was somehow healing. To think that one single spell bomb contains this much power...
Bullet Barrage! Both turrets were not ready to give up yet, and Jane had to suddenly realize that the ground was not turning and shifting anymore. Her Gyrobreak effect wore off while she got lost in her thoughts only for a moment, and now the turrets were aiming for her, planning to barrage her with bullets. Jane invoked another power shield around her, but diffused her worries quickly. The turrets were already firing, bullets bouncing off of her shield and creating repulsion noises on the inside over and over. There were only two working turrets now. A simple barrage of bullets would not be enough to stop her. Thanks to the messed up gyroscopic setting on the turrets and the previous damage inflicted to them, Jane could literally see how their aim was totally messed up now. Only about half of those bullets managed to bounce off her shield. The rest zipped past her, missing even the aura itself.
The barrage of bullets only lasted for eight seconds, dealing little damage, but because of the time she needed to have it up, Jane almost lost her shield again, draining her stamina and forcing her to try harder to keep on fighting. It was a quick matter of recovery and retaliation for Jane. She readied her energy, taking aim at the central turret which had already been heavily damaged. "Median Flare!" Jane cuffed her hands together, opening them up with her palms reflecting each other aiming at the central turret. Upon releasing her MP energy, her Median Flare blasted light in a directional wave, spreading out the more distance it covered. The blast went just far enough to reach her target, widening enough to deal some magical damage to the other machine as well, but as an instant reaction to the damage inflicted by Jane''s attack, Turret B made a loud boom and exploded into a fiery burst of airborne metal fragments.
Finally! It''s just one damaged turret against Jane now; a fair fight indeed. The odds were suddenly turning in her favor. Even as the lone turret on the left continued preparing to attack, Jane was more than capable of defending herself now. Fire Bolt! With only one Fire Bolt, there was no way a shielding aura could possibly fail to uphold its strength. Jane created another shielding aura around herself, just as the glyphring appeared and fired a projectile of magical fire through its center. Homing in on Jane, the bolt of fire exploded against her shield, creating large sized hexagons on the inside where it hit her. The large sizes indicated that the damage in general was really low, laughable even by Jane''s standards. She quickly shut down her shield, wasting no time at all. Then she prepared for another effective counterattack.
"Charge Attack!" she yelled. Jane knew that her movement was hindered, so she just stood still instead. Now that she could focus on one target, there was a better variety of physical skills she could use. She spawned two machine guns into her hands using yellow glyphrings, then pulled the triggers, firing a barrage of bullets into the sentry gun. Then, as she ran dry on ammunition, Jane tossed the guns, switching to her daggers instead. Jane then threw her daggers, but without infusing magic into them this time. It was indeed a weaker form of attack, but Jane didn''t want to waste too much MP energy on a lone gun.
This turned out to be a very poor choice. Metal bullets and steel dagger blades basically have no effect on the turret. Its armor was still in the way, blocking out many types of damages. For the first time so far, Jane was letting her guard down too soon. The fight could still end in her death if she gets too careless.
Rocket Mess! "Great!" she choked. Now the gun was going with one of its most powerful attacks yet. At least now it would only be able to fire a maximum amount of twelve missiles instead of 36 of them. Jane responded to the logic and created another shielding aura. Just as she did, the symbol on the top of her hand faded away again, or at least the light coming from it did. Jane couldn''t tell if the symbol had just dimmed out while active under the cover of her dark glove, or if the crest faded away completely. Just as it happened, she began to feel much weaker already, as if some sort of super awesome energy rush had just worn off on the spot, but she struggled to keep her shield up, as the rockets were already shooting form the turret''s extra attachments, firing into the sky and changing course towards the ground again. As the missiles all slammed into her shield, Jane''s focus and energy was being drained so rapidly, and the hexagons formed everywhere again. Luckily for her, after the explosions ended earlier than she expected them to, her shield was still functioning, and Jane disabled it on herself to conserve what energy she had left.
It no longer mattered to her how she ends this fight, just as long as she wins it soon. With her weakness now returning to her, likely from the drop in her symbol given a random interval of time, she would be too drained to move if this doesn''t end fast enough. "Return Fire!" There had to be some easy way to destroy this crazy machine. Jane''s conditional magical ability formed a small glyphring, shooting out two Magical Blitz type energy balls at the turret. Jane exerted even more energy in that moment, forming another temporary glyphring to surround each projectile and speed them up by a factor of one hundred. It was the same skill she performed earlier with three Magical Blitz balls, shooting them instead of throwing them. Then taking those projectiles midair and speeding them up before colliding into the target. Her plan seemed to work pretty well considering all of the armor the damage blew off, but it still was not enough.
Now it was the stupid sentry gun''s turn to strike, and it didn''t seem to have any motorized dysfunction either. So Jane was going to have to try another power shield again. Laser Swipe! Of all things, it had the be the most devastating ability in the world, an attack that deals high damage and searing pain, not to mention all of the real time wounding damage left behind in its wake. Jane reacted quickly, creating a shielded aura around herself. Both times she was hit from the laser swipes, she never successfully managed to get her shield up in time, but maybe her aura was just strong enough to block out the damage.
The left turret changed its aim, steering its hot destructive laser to swipe past Jane''s body, effectively prone to pierce her skin and go through the other side. Despite having her shield up, the turret attacked her anyway, the laser swiping into the aura very quickly and effectively. Jane didn''t even have time to figure out how effective her shield was. The very moment that laser passed her by, striking the aura only for a split second, the field collapsed on her, and the sudden sensation of passing out intensified for Jane. She dropped to the ground unharmed in any physical way, but it suddenly felt like she had just ran ten miles on without stopping, while her sweat was soaking her own outfit. She became tried so quickly and suddenly, meaning the damage was enough to cancel out her shield completely. Jane was lucky to not have been harmed that time. But now that she was getting so lightheaded...
Jane was just sitting there, panting from how long and hard she was keeping this up. Keeping herself alive in this place was downright impossible. Nobody said anything about secret anti-personnel defense systems and booby traps. Just as she hunched her neck over to check on the turret, another piece of white text formed in the ADC above it. Bullet Barrage! Was she this tired, that she just lost her opportunity to attack the enemy again? Or was the machine getting faster and more desperate to win? Jane nodded her head in doubt, standing back up and extending out her arms. She once again emitted her MP energy, creating the familiar force field, but her concentration was already cut short with how quickly she was breathing and how much she was sweating. It didn''t matter how long and hard she fought, this place is like a furnace of heat, forever burning the ground with humidity.
Bullets suddenly erupted from the sentry''s barrels, striking into her shield aura with some more accuracy than it had before. Jane wanted to keep the shield going, but as the bullets continued bouncing off the aura and draining its power, Jane felt weaker and weaker. She was trying to run a power shield with only 13% MP remaining, which alone was already difficult. Her shield couldn''t hold out anymore, and it finally collapsed again in front of her. The chain of bullets did not care to stop shooting at her. Jane was without warning being shot again and again with dozens of rounds. Yet somehow, she was taking the damage the same way it would happen in a Leray fight. If the protection zone here is really disabled, the given logic shows that Jane would have been dead already. Something must still be protecting her from certain death in some way.
Finally, the bullets stopped firing, but Jane was about ready to give up now. The sensation felt like having metal pellets drill into her skin while creating real bruises hundreds of times over, all in randomized locations as Jane was shot up by several bullets. The pain from all of it was bad enough, but the drop in all her stats was making the situation grave. Jane had never been so exhausted before in her life. This was much worse than fighting Patrissa earlier. Her MP was now low, her HP was low, and in the combination of that, the wounding damage, the heat, the fatigue... Jane wanted nothing more than to just collapse and accept her fate, but the turret was in bad shape too. Its armor has been blown clean off, shifting and sparking embers off the turning chain, clashing metal grinding noises from the cliff. I can still win this for crying out loud. Against her body''s will, Jane stood back up.
Jane has one more chance at this. If she fails, she''ll never become a Leray master, never see Danny and Taylor again, and she''ll never have kept her promise to Claudia and Alyssa and the others. "No. I''m not going out that way. Armor Breaker!" Jane immediately had the energy infused into both of her blades, draining the rest of her MP energy as she threw them in a vertical style. It was a repeated move, but well worth the shot. The daggers flew through the air with intense speed as they dug their way into the last remaining turret, immediately forcing the machine to explode like a bomb on the top of the cliff. It was as quick as that. The energy scope of the last turret as well as any other remaining holographic display faded immediately. Jane had done it in one more action, destroying all three turrets and saving her own life.
All the sudden, some alarm sounded just for a second, and all around where Jane was standing, the massive red shield of energy began to fade away on its own. Does this mean... Does this mean Jane is free to move on? The defense system - it was entirely comprised of three turrets! Now that those machines were destroyed, the shield surrounding her and trapping her into this section of the dark zone was now deemed inoperable. "I did it! Nagh!" Jane held her shoulder after trying to lift it in a victory pose. Right. First thing''s first.
Chapter Theme Shift: Kamihama Polyphonic ~ Magia Record OST
After pulling two healing orbs from her supply sphere, Jane concentrated on the orbs, forcing them to try and heal herself again. It was crazy that the orbs were working to restore any lost HP already. Most of the wounds Jane was stuck with didn''t heal with the healing orbs at all, and it did very little to try and mask the pain from those wounds. It was real time damage alright. The orbs only did what little they were able to, healing Jane''s stats to their maximum potential, which now has been severely lowered after such a difficult fight.
After the orbs did their best, Jane was surprised that she recovered even half of her health at all, but she did it, survived probably the most difficult fight of them all. She also diffused the stupid alarm on her energy scope, reporting of an unknown recovery error. It was a no brainer that her energy scope can detect whenever Jane is outside of an accepted Leray zone or not, and she no longer needed that warning.
Jane defiantly needed a moment to try and recover her physical stamina back again. The healing orbs sure didn''t help her unwind, even though the restored health allowed some of her wounds to stop hurting slightly. That battle really took a lot out of her, and the Den of Purity still was not very close by. Jane wasn''t giving up yet. There was defiantly a way to reach the Den of Purity. It sucks that she planned on getting rid of the same symbol that was protecting her from dying this whole time. When it''s over with, she''ll need a different plan to make it back to Lennith City. Even so, it wasn''t right to just keep it on her and continue Leray training. Besides, I came here for a reason. I''m not about to turn around and make it all for nothing. But I''ll sit for a minute before marching again.
Chapter 30-A: The Evils Within
<01/27/1972 ¨C 23:30 | The Outback {Alpha Zero}, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The smoke and flames left behind by the destroyed sentry turrets momentarily masked the other scent of burnt carbon mesh in the air as Jane walked by the cliff, proceeding far past the stone arch. She let only ten minutes pass before moving on from where she last stood, but her body ached everywhere from the previous damages, wounds turning into scars, burning her skin through the mercenary outfit. The healing orb was able to slightly ease most of those pains Jane felt linger in the battle, but she also figured that the time spent passively standing by might have had the same effect otherwise. Every moment she walked, her right leg''s shift sent shocks of flaming sensations through the side of her hip, and every time she got to move her arms, her shoulders both felt blundered of their strength.
The shoes attached to the mercenary armor were destroyed already in the last battle, leaving Jane''s feet completely bare in the burnt sand beneath her. The suit itself was damaged, compromised with several small cuts, gashes, and burn marks mostly around the leggings and gloves. Despite such material being resistant to physical and Leray damage, it seems that even dress spheres are no match for real time damage. In just two battles only, it seemed as if Jane walked into and out of a warzone still live with flying ash and gunpowder. Every step Jane took to the bottom of her soles felt like the scorched earth had an extra layer of musty volcanic dirt. She was lucky that the socks on her feet themselves resisted the intense heat on the floor, but the air alone was enough to make anybody sweat. She had to stop several more times on the way to the Den of Purity just to drink something fresh from her supply sphere and rest her tired bones.
The dark and silent winds still managed to brush around without changing much of the weather above her. The sky was covered entirely with puffy grey clouds, but they seemed more like a darker shade of red, since all light from the sun and the sky from above was blood red too. Jane was still in amazement from that lone detail. How could simple infusion of dark magic to land alter the skies above? It seemed too much of a dramatic change from one different element alteration.
Jane couldn''t decide whether this was the work of Brightworth himself, or if the incident is more of an accident somehow. Brightworth is supposed to be the one and only person in Sprawn Valley who can turn back spells. Well, other than his heir, if he has any children, but nobody ever spoke about it. Jane never really learned enough about it from her school, and it''s not as if Danny and Taylor were a wealth of information either. That guy could have done something by mistake, trapping himself somewhere in his own place without the ability to turn back the damage... But then, according the laws of physics of dark magic, it only takes less than hours after infusion stops where the land returns to normal; at least, the dark magic source fades. So perhaps he is responsible for this carnage.
Arguing and complaining in her mind for minutes, the area around her suddenly wasn''t so silent. Jane calibrated her perception of the smoky area. A lot more had changed actually in the next twenty minutes of her slow walk. There were not any large cliffs around anymore, though a few big boulders populated the dry and lifeless land. Despite the area being completely flat, inclines, hills, and even some sinkholes surrounded the only walkway path Jane used. Somehow, Jane was still able to see within seven hundred feet of her. The thick fog veiled the rest of the place. Out of nowhere, the echoed sound of a monstrous wail broke the only sense of concentration Jane had.
She focused on the unidentified noise anew, for whatever made that screech could not have been human. It sounded like some sort of large animal in severe distress distances away, but she has been ambushed before. Mindless cretins and spawns of demonic monsters can be created in the dark zone where Jane now stood. First, she encountered an unknown behemoth-like animal, some sort of mutated giant tiger that held only the sense for hunger, the smell of blood stained into its mind. Then there was a mindless defense system, comprised mainly of non-sentient mechanical guns shooting at any large intruder, but the turrets had to have special sensors for that, because the red shield that trapped Jane into the last fight was fixed into a certain position, only to be disabled after the turrets were non-responsive. I don''t care what anyone tells me. Mechanical machines do not spawn from evil magic. Somebody placed them there. It has to be somebody who wants people such as Jane to stay away from the Den of Purity. Maybe Brightworth is doing this to hide something going on there. How much further is it anyway?
Jane risked another peek behind her. The stone arch which stood miles high into the air was completely swallowed up by the fog, as well as the distance she put between herself and that area. Jane knew she had to be closer, but how much closer could she go before finding out what made that noise? Would there be another behemoth? Perhaps a mutated giant bird? Maybe a swarm of giant spiders was on its way here. Jane had never heard of these imagined creatures before, though her imagination ran wild with what could appear in this place. Sprawn Valley''s Leray magic has only ever mutated a few species of animals and creatures to adapt to the magical effects, and even as that happened, only one of which species evolved with new appearances and different instincts; the Cran.
Jane could wish all day long that Cran was all she would have to fight, for Cran don''t use dark magic. They are not strong, not dangerous, and they are only territorial to specific locations with a dwindling population anyway. But what of this place? Jane could encounter anything in here, come back alive to speak of it, and nobody would believe her.
"Wheieieieieie!"
Jane''s breath escaped her, what left trapped into her lungs. Whatever made that sound was much closer than before, and it matched what she heard moments earlier. The fog in front of her intensified with a much darker color, reducing the visual field from 700 meters to 200 meters, but only in that direction. Jane stood stone still, both hands hovering above her pockets to reach for her daggers should she need them. But there wasn''t any unusual thing Jane could see. No movement anywhere around her registered in her eyes, and she hunched down a little lower to prepare herself. The high pitch in the creature''s voice hurt her ears the moment it wailed.
Another sound followed, much smaller, quieter, and nearly unnoticeable without Jane''s current alertness. It was a footstep? Something was moving, somewhere right in front of her, and then she heard the noise again. Another footstep, then another. Whatever creature is stomping out there must have some large and flat feet to make such a distinct noise upon walking. Something is just past the fog in front of Jane somewhere, walking towards her without a clue in the world. Jane pulled the daggers from her suit, preparing her MP energy for a counterattack. She waited however before enabling her energy scope, as it would only raise her visibility to the enemy. It could be a person walking around out there, but Jane didn''t think anyone else would have come in this far with her. Even if they did, they would not have an easy time surviving, let alone breathing this toxic burning air.
Finally, the legs of what creature had been bothering the calm stepped forward from the fog, outlining itself in Jane''s eyes. The structure, shape, and texture of the legs were hardly the same of human flesh, and the creature''s entire body was deformed with an enlarged torso. This was defiantly some different otherworldly creature. The monstrous beast was two legged, walking around, barely balancing its heavy upper body, which was stained with a black color. And its arms...
Jane needed to stare a little longer. She could not believe how the unusual monster formed before her. The beast has no head or face, that or it was hidden in a place tucked away behind its charred chest. The arms were certainly the best confirmation she had so far that this beast was anything but normal. Its left arm was thinner, consisting of little cartilage, but the end of its hand had claws longer than the behemoth she fought against before. The right arm was merely the opposite composition. Thick, well-built with loads of cartilage in the beast''s right arm, the monster''s entire upper body was slightly glowing with the embers burning inside of itself. Especially at the end tip of the monster''s right arm did such embers glow the brightest, forever burning a radiant orange-yellow color of suspended fire inside. Jane found the beast to be so unusual and so mutated that there was a need to give this thing a name, just for now. Was it a cross between a massive ghoul and a headless bear? Or was this simply something that had its own origin from the depths of hell? The monster''s skin seemed as hard as a rock from this distance, though somehow stained with burns and ashes so deep that the discoloration was permanent. It''s inner and outer skin seemed all but charred up from something burning further down the road.
Charred... That''s it. I''ll call you a Char Monster. Where did this thing come from anyway? Jane did not notice a summon glyphring for this creature to come crawling out of. Perhaps creatures just spawn in random locations, totally inadvertent from where live targets are. If this thing had been walking around for so long undisturbed, her very presence here would become the start of a massive scene. Jane suspended her thoughts quickly, for the beast suddenly changed its slow walking speed and its bodily movements. By now, it did not surprise Jane that the monster was able to see her and realize that she is a living breathing creature that doesn''t belong here. Just like the behemoth she fought earlier, the beast was only able to focus on eliminating her completely. Would this thing even eat dead human flesh, or did it just strive to burn up everything in its path? Whatever the case was, Jane decided to act fast in response to being discovered again.
Despite being unstable in its own body shape and mass, the Char monster somehow managed to steer its torso using its legs, stepping in place to match up with Jane''s movements. Jane stopped quickly, realizing that the monster was able to see her somehow, even without a head or a face. Maybe it was hidden in its body somewhere, or made nearly invisible by all of that burnt skin, but as Jane wanted to try and outsmart the monster, her enemy made a move of his own.
Without much of a sure warning of what might happen next, the monster lifted its thick arm, opening the fiery lit hole at the end of it. The arm then aimed a bit higher into the air, shooting something massive out of the hole as if it were designed to be some kind of cannon. Jane only got to see this for a second, but the body of the monster sort of lit up just as it shot some sort of bright projectile into the air. The light coming from within the beast was emanating from some sort of fiery biological furnace, as if the beast lives on fire itself.
Chapter Theme Shift: Enter the Royal Palace ~ Dracovallis
The projectile that the monster shot was about the size of a large rock, but the sphere shaped object looked like a massive condensed fire ball of lava mesh, drooling drops of molten granite to the ground. It shot into the air, flying towards Jane...
No, it wasn''t flying; it was falling. This wasn''t some kind of Leray magic trick. It was real magma, shooting in the form of condensed burning rocks like a catapult driven projectile, and it was sure to land on top of Jane if she did not move in another instant. She had no time to think, Jane only reacted with what instinct she had available for self-defense. Luckily for her, the action of throwing up her hands and sending MP energy outward was her instinct''s choice, as it projected another force field aura around her body. Just a moment before the lava ball smashed into her body, the blue translucent aura pushed it back, reflecting the force of the projectile enough to send it bouncing away and towards the ground in front of Jane. Her shield aura suddenly became composed of little hexagons all in the frontal area where the rock was bound to hit her. Just like that, she was able to realize what just happened in the last few seconds. The ball of lava suddenly exploded and then faded with its light shortly after, failing to penetrate Jane''s shielding aura.
The Char monster wasn''t joking around about trying to kill Jane. It simply attacked her whenever it felt ready, and would go to more dangerous measures to do so. Jane already knew a lot about a battle such as this one. Even if the monster has unknown skills and abilities, it was easy to remember how dangerous it was to take damage in Alpha Zero. Running out of HP will result in death! And taking damage at all will hurt five times more than it would anywhere else in Sprawn Valley. Jane''s shielding aura is all she has to rely on for her defense, though it was the plan for the dark zone all along.
Jane lowered her shield intentionally, hoping that the monster would not attack her relentlessly second by second. She would need time to fight back as usual. The first thing Jane did was reactivate her energy scope. Then she created an artificial energy scope above the monster himself. The name tag displayed as unknown, until Jane forced it to become whatever she wanted it to. There would be no way of knowing just how tough and resistant he may be to magical damage, such must be learned the hard way.
Afterwards, Jane forced the secondary creation of an artificial action display center specific to the monster, hoping it would work on creatures even in this place. The brightness of both energy scopes holographic text made it slightly easier to see things in the darkness created by the fog thickening from the smoke swirling out from the center of the monster''s core, but only slightly. Jane knew that it was her time to strike back. There would be no room for mercy against such a terrible beast like this one. It would be as ruthless as the behemoth, and perhaps more dangerous than before.
Jane hunched down a little, putting away her daggers to prepare another Leray magical ability. After squinting her eyes and aiming her arms towards the ground underneath the monster, Jane chanted the name of her power while visualizing it in her mind. "Blast Wave!" As her MP consumption created a large spinning blue glyphring in front of her, the barrage of random explosions on the ground followed. The explosions happened with no origin of projectiles, using pure magic to create powerful blasts under the monster''s feet. Jane was only standing 25 meters away from the enemy upon invocation, but the distance was enough not to get harmed by her own power. Blast after blast left her ears tied, each shockwave carrying the boom at a high volume through the land. Shortly after the small explosions died down, Jane checked the changes on the energy scope of the Char monster to see how well she had damaged the thing.
For a powerful attack, the damage was pitiful according to Jane''s analysis, but taking in the circumstances of the spawned demon, and the fact that Leray damage is cut in half here, it really wasn''t that bad after all. Even so, the monster was resilient where it stood, totally unfazed by all of those small explosions. It had to have felt something with the last attack, but its deceptively scrawny legs held it up without a hint of wobbling down. The Char monster must have a lot of hidden muscular dexterity under its volcanic skin.
While watching the artificial ADC to see if the monster''s next move might be shown there, Jane failed to realize that the beast did not even need to use magic to attack, nor would it have much of a mind for chanting its skills aloud. If the creature moves around and just does what feels natural, relying on instinct alone, then the ADC will be completely empty the entire time no matter what! This is the disadvantage to using the ADC system on invalid creatures. The fight against this thing was far unlike a battle against another human, a battle with no warnings between attacks. Jane would simply have to take best guesses of when the right time is to dodge or put up a power shield.
The Char monster used its thinner arm this time, slashing it through the air with a faint glow. At first it seemed like it was just bluffing an ability, but Jane was suddenly bombarded with barely visible Wind Slashes. A dozen small grey lines of wind slashed through her, magical air damage in the form of slashing attacks that flew through the air like bullets. They sliced through Jane''s mercenary suit, cutting up her arm, her stomach, her left leg, and scraping a few other places. The impacts were so sudden, and she had no time at all to deflect or dodge. Jane could feel the physical sensation of cuts in multiple places, fresh slices into her skin. Her arm and leg drew but a little bit of blood, failing to become a severe wound of immediate attention, and the pain level was nothing compared to what she experienced in the last battle. Jane knew it still put more strain on her HP levels. The attack sort of seemed similar to a magical spell known as Wind Sheer, said to use a barrage of Wind Slashes in just one invocation. The monster didn''t need to warn Jane at all before using anything, and this proved it could invoke magic in the dark zone as well.
It was a shame to see that Jane''s maximum stats were so far reduced from the previous battles. Half of all incoming damage was registered as real time damage inside of Alpha Zero, and that''s what makes the place so dangerous. This is why Claudia and the others are so against letting non-military personnel into the area, though even military recon units don''t make it back. Jane had to laugh at her amazing luck, how she was able to survive this place only using her power shield ability for a trick. What''s more interesting is that the known power shield ability is not even an official useful skill, rather a personal modified version of the skill. It only works for Jane this effectively because of this crest on her right hand. Jane glanced at her hand, realizing that it was already slightly glowing through the suit''s material, visible if not hidden by her own clothing. It''s activating again! At least, it''s about to if it hasn''t transgressed into full power yet. The buzzing sensation and tingling nerves on the top of her hand proved activation was at least imminent, but she could tell that her symbol was holding itself back this time.
Crest or not, Jane would have to conserve MP this time around, which means getting risky and closer. She pulled out her daggers, already certain of a physical maneuver she was saving for a moment such as this one. "Charge attack!" she chanted. Jane''s action formed a small pistol in her hand through a quickly invoked yellow glyphring. She pointed at the Char monster while running straight at the beast, firing a single bullet from the chamber. It must not have done much to upset the monster, but Jane had other plans than to just aimlessly shoot. She quickly changed direction, sliding in the ash filled ground to make a ninety degree right turn. Now running away from the beast, Jane used both of her daggers as long range weapons, charging and releasing MP energy into each of them. The dagger''s tips each fired narrow blue beams of magic, the same skill as her well-trained Mako Beam attack. Still, the beast didn''t seem to be bothered by her magical attacks. Jane turned around again, heading for the monster while unloading the rest of her small magazine in the pistol.
It was in her hopes that her random running and action changing might confuse the monster too long to try and interrupt her Charge Attack chain. Jane threw her daggers into the frontal skin of the monster, causing enough piercing pain to make the thing step back a couple of times. Jane then got in close, using her bare fist to try and punch the monster as hard as she could.
This turned out to be another big mistake! The punch to its rough skin hurt her hand more than it hurt the Char monster, and being so close to something with this brute and solid black body made Jane''s heart race more out of fear than it did fatigue. Jane instead pulled her daggers out from the beast, and then kicked off of its torso to try a backflip. Jane wanted to put a little bit of distance back again by flipping upside down, using the beast''s own body as her jumping stool. She had trained so well to jump and flip, that doing such came second nature for Jane, but it still wasn''t easy. Just before Jane landed, she forced two more yellow glyphrings to create two sub machine guns in her hands, making it hard to hold them both with her two daggers. Jane landed on her feet again then quickly aimed at the monster to fire the entire clip of each handheld gun into its rough skin.
Bullets either bounced off or pierced the dark armor of the Char monster until her magazines were emptied. Jane tossed her weapons to the side except for her daggers, then backed away to carefully assess how much damage she did.
Still not so much! Physical attacks don''t work all that well either. The monster screeched a very powerful high pitched wail into the air, forcing Jane to grab her ears. The monster didn''t sound too happy about the way Jane was fighting for her life. Instead of trying to run towards her like before, the beast suddenly created a red glyphring on the floor beneath itself. "It''s using magic!" Jane already knew something destructive was coming her way, without knowing which magical attack the monster was going to use. She put her daggers away for now, and charged enough MP energy into her hands to ready another power shield.
Just as the glyphring formed and activated, eight large spheres of fire shot out from the ground in front of Jane. The Fire Bolts all seemed to be traveling high into the air, straight up in a line, coming from below the ground. Jane used this moment to project another shield around herself, shrouding her body in another magical aura. From there, she watched curiously as all eight fire spheres quickly changed direction after achieving a higher altitude. They were traveling straight up, now winding downwards towards her current location. All eight Fire Bolts knew to aim for Jane, despite the strange way they appeared from below the ground. At last, Jane was able to at least identify the ability. Disillusion: with a power level of 5.6, the magic shoots eight Fire Bolts from the ground and then changes course to slam into the opponent. It''s designed to be tricky to avoid or dodge based on how it forms and changes speed so rapidly with a slightly reduced power level, but Jane wasn''t interested in dodging anything.
The fire balls all exploded into Jane''s shield, falling short of damaging her body. Each little explosion left a mist of embers in its place, and hexagons formed in several places from the inside of Jane''s power shield. She could already feel her concentration on this aura dropping, but after the Fire Bolt barrage was over, the shield was still holding strongly. She realized that it was hardly powerful enough to bypass her personal aura, and the Disillusion spell was over. Jane disabled her shield, doing as much as possible to conserve her energy. Her energy scope was unchanged, and the attack was again thwarted by her unique power to block all damage.
There was something else Jane noticed now about the creature. There was much lag between the time of each of its attacks. No way was a monster like this giving turns to Jane. It either had to be massive and slow moving, or unable to adequately walk on those two legs. Just after her shield dropped, Jane realized that now was the best time for a great counterattack, one that would have no problem against a slower moving target. She already began releasing her energy, creating a glyphring around her wrist as she chanted the magic aloud and concentrated on the effects it formed. "Star of Darkness!"
The magical energy was still draining from Jane''s MP reserves, the magic casting outward in a new wave form to gather its energies. From below where the beast was standing, Jane''s magic began to conjure a solid red neon circle of fiery light, a circle which bordered the monster where it stood for five meters all directions. After the circle formed, the shape of a red colored star took shape inside of the circle, forcing all of the connective lines to light up brightly in the thickened fog. Jane was still exerting her energy through her glyphring, standing perfectly still and focused in place.
The one disadvantage to Star of Darkness is that the user must constantly exert the energy needed to use it over time with concentration placed into the attack spell, and that means the entire process could technically be interrupted before the end of the spell. Star of Darkness is a power level seven attack spell, one that utilizes dark magic in any particular zone. It''s the one and only legal spell that can deal in the potential of real time damage, yet isn''t as dangerous for humans as it is for monsters. Dark magic against monsters is rumored to be more effective, but since most dark magic is illegal, it seems redundant to send anyone into Alpha Zero to test such claims. After all, illegal criminals would be the ones supporting a hell zone like this one.
Jane would have to keep it up, the glyphring on her wrist would constantly be communicating with the circle in the ground in order to drain the opponent''s HP over time. This is what the spell does, slowly degenerates the MP of the user to a degree, while draining the HP of the target as well as their stamina. Even a creature such as this Char monster would not be immune to its incredible power to drain life energy.
The Char monster took but two steps forward before the symbol below it activated. Once it did, the monster stopped in its tracks, noticeably taking damage on its energy scope. Star of Darkness doesn''t really harm in a painful form. It''s a massive HP energy drain. So the creature had to be confused to a degree, even if human flesh was the only thing on its mind. It certainly stopped moving and steering its torso like it was before. Jane could see the effectiveness of her spell taking hold, but in a few more seconds to go, it would be time to end the spell. It doesn''t last forever, nor would it with a limited supply of MP power. Jane used the ability before, yielding a high success rate with a nice surprise twist at the end.
With the timing now at hand, Jane directed more MP energy through her glyphring, focusing her eyes higher up from the grounded star-shaped symbol. Sitting just above where the Char monster stood, a faint holographic red glyphring appeared aiming downward. Communicating with the last portion of her spell, Jane let the beast have it. Triggering the last part of the spell she learned how to use, Jane''s actions forced a Lightning Strike to smack down from above, red electricity zapping the monster in a jolt hold while the damage level exceeded what the original spell had done before. Just after the Lightning Strike ended, the Star of Darkness spell under the monster quickly faded, as did Jane''s glyphring she held around her arm. She briefly confirmed the damage on the energy scope of the monster, and kept watchful eyes on anything that might come next.
Apparently dark magic really does the trick on these creatures after all, but it left Jane a bit drained of her MP capacity too. Despite taking that heavy bolt of red lightning, it was still surprising to see how incredibly resistant to falling down the creature was. The monster was defiantly capable of flinching, as it had done so in the very last bolt of electrical energy. Though it still continued to stare at Jane, thinking about what evil magic it will try next.
This time, Jane was ready for whatever was coming her way, watching the monster''s actions carefully. It didn''t take long for the Char beast to bend back its torso, only to wail and lean forward again. As he did, the color of the fog behind him changed to a faded crimson-orange. Little black squares and floating groups of ash burrowed through the wind, passing right by the monster and heading for Jane. It didn''t look like an attack as much as it did a gust of hot dirty wind, but Jane didn''t take that gamble. She lifted her arms up again, bending her elbows and crossing each arm over one another. It was a different yet easier posture to carry while emitting more MP energy from each hand into a directional aura. Jane chanted the procedure in her mind, "Power Shield!" and allowed the energy to surround her in an auric bubble of protection.
In short of time, the small floating pieces of burnt ash soared and swept past Jane, carrying a gust of wind that was not natural a few moments ago. As a result, Jane''s shielding aura summoned hundreds of small hexagons all in the frontal area, spanning to the sides until the entire bubble was covered in them. That many hexagons, enough to completely cover the auric shape itself proved just how powerful the damage would have been if Jane fell into the trap, but nothing visible was hitting her aura either. There were no projectiles or magical spells of spectral energy slamming her shield. Something else must have been carrying the damage though, right with the wind. It was very powerful too, draining her own energy for every half-second she defended herself.
Perhaps it was applied heat from a spell summoning volcanic mist, or perhaps the magic itself used against her was totally invisible. Jane didn''t care right now. She could only keep her eyes open and her mind concentrated on the power of her aura. She could feel it failing already, and desperately fought to keep it up. After only six more seconds passed, the damage on the air-based attack was subsiding, weakening with time and allowing Jane to drop the shield at the last moment that it ended.
As the shield collapsed around Jane, she checked to see how the monster was responding. Its MP had been lowered, and the beast looked to be tired or fatigued. It could have been bluffing the exhausted posture, but Jane decided to strike back again. After drawing her daggers, she quickly infused some Leray energy into each blade, causing them to glow with a deep red aura before throwing them sideways in a cross. "Armor Breaker!" Jane threw her knives before chanting the name, not that it mattered anymore. Her daggers drove through the air with grace, chopping right through the monster''s skin. The force of the entry was enough to push the Char monster back as it struggled on its legs to lean forward again. The daggers drove right through the tough and hardened armor of the monster just like the attack was designed to do, and shortly after, her blades returned to Jane''s hands via matter transference.
A thought sparked in her mind again. It was something such as matter transference that once again proved to her that some sort of magical power other than dark magic lingers in this land. If not for the Leray protection veil, such a thing could not happen, as would be with the creation of any Siriean dome, but now wasn''t the time for theories. After checking the damage to the monster, Jane noticed that the beast was changing its speed and direction, hurtling and limping towards her direction.
Against what she thought, Jane watched as the monster stopped in its tracks, using what little momentum it had to lift its giant arm high above is own body, revealing some of its deceptive joints. The monster then slammed its fist into the ground with as much force as possible, shaking the ground beneath both of them. The blast from the hit created a shockwave that grew with a direction heading for Jane''s location. She didn''t expect a fist in the ground to create a shockwave through the earth, one that traveled and uplifted the rocky dirt and ash form the ground like a spring. This was much more like an artificial version of Earth Glave. The wave blew up the ground as it levied its way towards her, shooting rocks at Jane. The wave was too quick and unexpected for Jane to react, though she tried to move her arms in a position to make another power shield.
Instead of dodging or blocking the attack, the blast of earth shot up right below Jane, pushing her off her feet and sending her back a few feet into the air. Aside from the bruising hit of large hot rocks that slammed into Jane''s front side, she had no choice but to land on her back, scraping her skin into the earth with what little protection her mercenary outfit provided. To make matters worse, Jane was immediately being crushed by several hundred chunks of rocks, blocking her only method of standing back up from the crisis.
Jane lifted her arms through the crevasse of the chunks of small boulders, until she lifted them off her chest and her legs piece by piece. While pushing the stones off her body, the monster in front of her wailed and bent its body, possibly indicating the prelude to another attack. Jane knew she was vulnerable, so she tried to perform even faster. The pain from that last hit was surprisingly low as far as its destructive capability held, but she was still trapped on the ground like this, pinned for another powerful attack against her. Jane would not be able to shield herself sitting down.
Before much else happened, the monster turned its body again, throwing its arm around itself. The reaction immediately released another barrage of visible Wind Slashes like before, blades made out of fast flying air magic all hurling towards Jane. The sharp projectiles were not bound to lock on to her position, but there were plenty of Wind Slashes on their way, the same spell as Wind Shear. Jane threw her arms in front of her face as a body shield. She had no way to send out another protective aura like this, and braced herself for the additional damage put on by the imminent magic cuts. She could feel them slicing into her skin. One sliced the tip of her right arm, and the other put a slight cut into her stomach, but that was only two out of ten shears. Jane knew how many were in the average invocation, and it was a bit light of what was supposed to hit her. After lifting her arms form her face, she realized that the accuracy of that last skill wasn''t as great as it seemed. All of these boulder chunks partially protected her body. Being this low in the ground helped as well.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"Nagh!" She groaned. The cuts did not run very deep, though they still stung her nerves where they hit. Finally clear of oncoming attacks for another good moment, Jane pushed the last clump of earth off of her, forcing herself back on her feet in front of the enemy. The Char monster was still standing even after all the hits it was taking, a cursed creature of hell indeed. It was a spawn of Alpha Zero, designed for the task of killing her. Jane needed a tide turner, sooner than later.
After deciding with what little choices she had, Jane''s hands began to glow a dark yellowish color, just before invoking her next spell. "Gyrobreak!" After releasing the small energy needed for the spell to take effect into the ground, the earth shook at an incredible Richter force below them both. It created the illusionary effect of seeing and feeling as if the entire world were shifting on tilt left and right, forwards and back. Jane was mostly used to the whiplash induced by the Gyrobreak spell after the practice, and she hoped that the Char monster would have terrible times aiming from here on.
It was hard to tell however who was having an easier time holding their balance and ground, for the monster was nearly immune to falling over or losing its own hold on its legs. Jane did her best to keep up the balance too, but then a few rocks began falling on top of her. After glancing straight up, she noticed a massive swarm of falling rocks and boulders heading down here from the sky, no magical glyphring or glow in sight. Jane immediately recognized the magical spell nonetheless. The Char monster must still be capable of using magic as it was. Despite not being able to aim well, one wouldn''t need to when using the ability known as Rockfall. Rockfall summons a swarm of falling rocks upon the target, rarely needing the assisted control of aiming, and it often does not require a glyphring to activate. Jane knew she had but a second, and reacted with what time she had by crossing her arms over each other, shooting magic through her pores and chanting the spell name in her mind again.
With the immediate creation of her power shield, Jane was now protected by the falling rocks that bounced right off the top of her aura. It was strange too, for at the same time she was protecting herself, Jane could still feel the distortion effect from her Gyrobreak, making it harder to concentrate at all. A moment just before the shield was formed, two rocks had hit her shoulders, putting each joint in irreversible pain. Jane could hear the numerous noises of shield deflection pulses, which were supposed to be rocks bouncing off her shield. Instead, she could only feel how much loss in power her shield was taking with damage being added to it. But at last, the rocks stopped falling on their own, eventually allowing Jane to drop her power shield again. At the same time, her Gyrobreak spell subsided too, making her only tide turner go into effect for nothing.
It wasn''t in her mind to give up. Jane came up with as many different types of skills and spells as she could. There has to be more ways than one to break through that toughened charred armor the monster uses as a body for itself. With the spell already in mind, Jane opened her hands facing upwards, forming a yellow glyphring to hover over her. "Crystal Arrow!" The yellow glyphring pulled into phase the Bow of Fate, falling into Jane''s hands along with one single arrow. The arrow was tipped with a sharpened crystal of unusual material. As Jane loaded her arrow into the bow and began to pull back against the string, she started applying extra magic into the crystal of the arrow from her memory of before.
Crystal Arrow usually fires three arrows, one of which are made of crystal and deals more damage, but all arrows only deal non-magical piercing damage, which of its kind is the weakest in potential. With the way Jane tried to modify her spell before, her crystal arrow now explodes on impact, effective against highly armored targets such as a sentry turret. Hopefully it would work this time too.
Jane released her arrow, firing after aiming at the beast''s chest with a lot of force. The arrow flew through the air, striking the monster and piercing its flesh already. With less than a millisecond afterwards, the entire crystal tip of the arrow exploded with about as much force as she would expect from a hand grenade. The explosion rang loud in her ears, for Jane was not very far away from her target either. The bow in her hands faded away into nothingness as the end of her spell elapsed, but after the explosion, Jane noticed a large rip under the right arm of the horrible creature. It was more than just armor piercing. The Crystal Arrow attack did a lot more damage than she could have hoped for. The monster wailed in response to its sudden wound and pain. Jane had but that much time to read its new stats and prepare to defend herself again.
"Crap," she swore. Her explosive damage didn''t even register as much on its energy scope as it should. What is this thing really immune to?
The monster didn''t stop to give Jane another chance to throw in another attack. Instead, it wailed a low-tone scream through its pours, throwing its large arm around itself in the sequence of another magical attack. For whichever reason, the Char monster favored one of its special abilities known as Wind Sheer, shooting magical thin slashes of air magic towards Jane like it had done so before. It happened so fast that Jane barely had enough time to throw her arms across each other and emit another shield around her body.
Despite having enough MP energy to continue shielding on, Jane didn''t feel like she had the energy to keep this battle going. Then the Wind Slashes all struck the shield with incredibly accuracy; all ten of the slashes bouncing and disintegrating into the protective aura, turning into small hexagons of damage indicators for Jane''s own eyes. The attack was done and over with quickly, but the damage inflicted into the shield threw her own concentration off again. Jane''s power shield suddenly collapsed in front of her, her physical stamina drained further than it would have been if she just cut it off afterwards.
This time, it was so intense that Jane held her hands to her knees, panting and coughing to keep her breath up with a potent drain and her quickened heart rate. Her stats were not really that bad, but they were no better than the stats of the enemy either. In her quick exhaustion to take another second to try and breathe, Jane sensed more movement and imminent action within the beast. The monster wasn''t as tired out as she was now, preparing to assault her with its own magical attacks. The creature was nothing at all like the behemoth she fought the first time. The first monster was all physical and quick on its feet, attacking Jane with its sharp teeth and claws, rarely keeping its distance, but this Char monster fights so differently. It uses mostly magical energy to fight back, all to utilize symbols and dark magical invocations while keeping its distance entirely, and Jane was failing to keep up.
Moon Shadow wasn''t going to work this time, for the dark zone has some sort of anti-weather alteration magic in effect here. Gyrobreak didn''t affect the monster''s aim or balance either. Jane didn''t believe Harmonics would pierce the monster''s ears, especially since it turned out not to have any. No other support spells could help her out right now. Redemption is too harmful for her own health. Even using Dark Strike was risky because of how close it would put her to that thing. The time to think about it was over with. Whatever kind of glyphring and magic it was about to unleash now was already happening, the glyphring formed in front of the monster''s body, aiming straight at Jane. Even now, she didn''t feel so good with moving around a lot.
There wasn''t a choice anymore. Jane has to do something, and it has to be now. Just one good ability came to mind, but it was an ability she had not learned yet, one magical power so strong that Jane had never successfully invoked the skill before. She even doubted her luck to try it again right now. It''s one of those fight or flight moments; Jane could either make it work somehow, or run away in fear cowering for her life. There is no protective dome shield right now. Jane really could just make a run for it, get out while she still can by following Alyssa''s advice of returning alive - though in failure, but then the thought of everything came back to her on her own. How valuable was her own life, in her own eyes?
Jane always wanted nothing more than to become a Leray master, but things have changed now, things that were not so different before. She had friends, people back home who care about her, and she cared about them too, more than enough to do everything in her own power to protect herself. If this next ability wasn''t going to work, then running away back to the normal land would be her only remaining option. The fact that this monster threatened her with so much to lose already angered her, fueled the rage inside of herself. It was at least enough to try, try her absolute hardest without even thinking how it might be done. With one large inhalation of hot ashy air, Jane conjured up as much magical energy as she could, charging that energy into this one moment before the enemy''s magic could trigger.
In just a moment''s burst, Jane chanted the name of the powerful spell, shouting its process to the top of her lungs while releasing all of her stored energy. "Zero Zone!" This was the usual point at which nothing at all would happen, but what Jane''s eyes witnessed was a new miracle. Upon releasing a ton of her remaining MP energy which had made Jane feel so much more drained, everything around her changed in color and process. A blue aura of transparent light flew from the origin of her body, spanning outward in a spherical wave of direction of travel, consuming everything in sight. As every single particle came under the influence of this aura of blue light, the color of everything thus changed again.
In her eyes, Jane watched the entire world darken, colors all degrading into nothing but black, white, and grey. It became harder to see, and impossible to feel anymore. The wind didn''t make a sound. Come to think of it, there was no more wind. No more heat surrounded Jane. The total absence of heat replaced all; it felt colder than she would have imagined, sending chills of non-existent breezes down her spine. The glyphring in front of the monster froze, stopped spinning and glowing even though it remained visible in a solidified form. The monster itself was frozen too, not moving a micro-meter, not even to breathe. Jane finally came to the realization that this was the end result of the incredible spell that she had never got to see before. It''s only possible for a user to know what this spell is like, because only that spell master is unaffected by the time distortion field.
That''s right! Zero Zone is one of the rarest and most powerful aura spells known to man, capable of stopping all time for a few moments referenced by that same user. It would not last forever, but stopping time for even a single moment would give people an immense kind of power they''ve never known to exist before. Zero Zone is that power, creating a field of distortion so potent that it stops all time around the world, in the galaxy, even in the universe so it is said. All things become black and white since color cannot travel long enough for the eye to see. It''s a miracle that Jane was able to see anything at all, though in theory stopping time would stop all light, making the conscious either frozen with the world, or blind in every other way. So technically, the distortion field must really just slow down time to as low as it can possibly go without reaching absolute zero, allowing light to at least exist.
Jane was immune to the rule. She could move her limbs, breathe the air around her, and feel the absence of heat as a different kind of cold. Jane could see everything around her, frozen as stone while her consciousness ran its course. She could still think about stuff, move about the field she was stuck in. As far as Leray battles go, she could start attacking this monster right now, beating it up while it remained isolated in this defenseless state, unable to do anything about it, even unable to feel or notice the damage it would be taking until the distortion field wears off...
Jane realized it too. The distortion field wears off soon. She had to attack the creature right now, or forever miss her last chance to change the tide in the battle completely, but she was also taken by surprise. This was the coolest spell she has ever invoked so far, the very moment she was living through was its own montrum. Zero Zone was not just an ability Jane practiced at Lennith''s training facility. She practiced this spell before even meeting Danny and Taylor, never to produce a single result. It was no wonder why, with a spell that has a support-power level of ten, and a high ME usage. Jane literally spent most of all her remaining MP just using the spell, beginning with thirty percent of her total capacity. Look at everything now. With one powerful burst of energy and courage, all of the world is frozen!
Time would bend to her every will. Jane alone would be able to use her Leray magical powers even in a zone such as this. Only her magical energy and other stats would register for right now. Everything else was completely vulnerable. Jane took her opportunity at hand, rushing in towards the monster at full sprinting speed. Jane used some of her magic to create two yellow glyphrings above each of her extended hands, grabbing hold of the sub machine guns following her until they dropped in her hand. It was her signature charge attack, randomized by her ability to mix up physical and magical skills in a quick motion of maneuvers, much more effective than Dualcasting.
Jane begun by firing each machine gun into the monster, bullets shooting straight into the beast''s toughened skin. Jane couldn''t believe this at all. Her bullets were not stuck frozen in time; they completely flew through the air, passing the monster or entering its flesh! Jane wasn''t a great shot this time however, for the gun''s recoil made it harder to aim. The massive shooting sound of the small explosions of the chambers also surprised her. There was no sound from anything at all, but there was sound associated with her magical spells and her own guns. In other words, time didn''t stop for her or the spells she used in the field. "Cool!" Jane could even hear her own voice as she spoke to test herself.
Following the depletion of each mag, Jane threw down her arms and swapped the guns with her daggers instead. She swept her feet in the ground, indicating a slight attempt to dodge nothing specific. Jane used more magic, shooting blue Mako Beams from each dagger''s tip. Jane didn''t need to dodge anything right now, but it''s not as if her attacks would be enough to stop the magical invocation. The moment time starts back up again, Jane will be right in the way of whatever incoming attack the Char monster had planned for her. With this continued opportunity, Jane decided to try and change that.
She continued her charge attack, rushing in towards the monster with each dagger pointing outward at the creature. Jane then openly slashed her blades at the monster, trying to conserve what little MP energy she had left. Only her energy scope was still working right now. The Char monster''s energy scope was frozen, unresponsive to the damage it was actively taking. To be fair, Jane''s damage would only kick in the moment Zero Zone''s spell ends. With three strong slashes into the beast''s chest, Jane backed away to the side, getting a different angle behind the monster. At the same time, she threw her two daggers at the creature, infusing them with the same magical aura used with Armor Breaker''s spell. The daggers went right through the creature, and immediately brushed a small explosion right in front of the enemy. The time distortion was already ending.
Right in front of her eyes, the entire world was brightening, returning to full color. The recently absent sound of a low pitch hollow wind found its way to her ears. The coldness around her began to fade, being replaced with instant heat from the Alpha Zero''s natural climate, while everything began to move again. The speed up in time was not instantaneous. The movement of the monster was incredibly slow, but was speeding up by time acceleration. It felt to Jane like three seconds before everything was moving at full speed again, but not before Jane noticed another explosion just in front of the creature. At the same time, its glyphring collapsed completely, the spell of the monster failing to invoke correctly. Jane was standing a bit behind the creature right now, so it had no idea what just happened. As an extension to Jane''s guesses, the damage hitting him all at once must have somehow interfered with his glyphring, making it explode and collapse in on itself. If that was true, she had no complaints. All it did was cause more damage to the hungry beast, its energy scope reporting a drastic decrease in health and stamina.
It was too obvious right now for Jane that she had a lot of time at present, time to either come up with another counterattack, or to regain her strength and wits. She was still having a hard time concentrating, for her MP energy was getting lower than she wanted it to be, but what suddenly became a distraction for her also acted as the remedy for her current energy crisis. It was the symbol on her hand again, that same oval planet looking thing on the top of her hand, glowing with a bright blue glow even through the broken fabric material. Her right glove had a large open cut in it, likely dug in by the Rockfall spell she suffered earlier. The symbol''s light and projection still pierced entirely through the pieces of fabric that would have blocked the light partially. Jane felt like a little bit of a buzz had zapped her, as if very low voltage of electrical energy was recharging her strength, her will to keep on fighting without end. Or maybe the crest was giving her some kind of adrenaline injection. Who the hell knew?
Contrary to what Jane wanted to think though, the MP stats on her energy scope drastically regenerated in just a few seconds, slowing back down just as the light from her hand began to fade. That''s all the crest did in that moment. It appeared just to recharge her MP supply, even though this was a side effect that Jane never encountered before from this crest!
"What? How did I do that?" In just a moment, Jane felt recharged, but only to a condition slightly better than a few minutes ago. Thanks to the distraction, it wouldn''t last long. The Char monster didn''t stop to try and figure out what the girl was up to. In a whirling toss of its arm, the monster threw a piece of its own skinny arm off. A chunk of unknown flesh flew towards Jane, landing on the ground just in front of her. Before she could figure out what the intent of the dead projectile was for, the hunk of what was thought to be monster flesh shot thin spikes in every direction imaginable.
Jane was stuck with several sharp needles before comprehending the sound that the flying spikes had echoed in the air. Each and every splinter pierced into her skin, halfway sticking out and shinning slightly with the reflected gaze of the red star above her. Though the sharp piercing feeling of those needles were enough to stop her movement, Jane was still quick to remain resilient to that pain and damage.
Jane even went as far to ignore the spikes in her arms and legs, only taking out the ones sticking in her sides, but she couldn''t help but cringe from the intense hurt the attack put her in. She then aimed both hands towards the Char monster, already channeling energy and a will of vengeance into a new glyphring. "Return Fire!" The clear translucent glyphring faded into reality and horizontally aimed towards the creature, Jane''s arms channeling MP energy into the ring, well after she yelled the name of the spell. Return Fire is a conditional free-form attack spell that responds against the enemy - using analysis of previous damages taken by the user, creating an automatic damage type advantage if possible, as well as tripling the power level if possible. Even Jane had absolutely no idea what kind of spell was going to come out of this glyphring, nor did she have much control of the amount of MP energy it would suck up to try, but in just a second of time, her MP levels only dropped by two percent.
As a result, two spheres of water formed into thin air, as if teleported here from another dimension. The balls of water were already flying towards the beast, one from the front and another form above. Jane immediately cured at herself for going with such a random and reckless spell, but soon after the weak attack slammed the body of her foe, she learned something new.
The attack that came through the glyphring resembled an easy spell known as Water Blast, which doesn''t even deal damage in Leray fights, but it can get the opponent soaking wet with water for whatever that is worth. Jane never stopped to consider that the hot-based interior of the monster itself might be weak against water elemental attacks. Humans are immune to water because they are not made of fire, naturally, but this is a creature that shouldn''t exist in the real world, thus it has unique resistances and advantages. The spheres of water slammed the monster with nearly enough force to knock it down on its back, and the impact left a massive forming cloud of steam that hissed above its pitiful body. The Char monster immediately began wailing and screeching in agony, which was almost potent enough to put Jane through the same agony in her ears. The steam cloud quickly swallowed up view of the monster, except for its feet. Jane got to keep an eye on the whereabouts of the Char monster, and check its scope for damage at the same time.
The enemy could barely stand up anymore, and Jane could clearly see it. Even through the thick cloud of smoke emanating from all of the cool water splashing on the interior of the creature''s boiling blood of molten material, Jane noticed the wind around the monster shift. The cloud of smoke quickly blew itself away, until turning into a massive visible whirlwind of grey wind slashes quickly expanding and drilling past the ground. The beast unleashed Whirlwind upon Jane to get rid of the steam and attack her at the same time.
Jane had a defense for such things again, preparing her crossed arms to create another shielding aura. There was not a problem emitting such an aura, automatically protecting Jane from the pillaging strikes of air magic thrown from the monster. Hexagons formed everywhere on the inside of the shield, but the attack itself didn''t last very long either. Whirlwind isn''t a powerful magical attack, no matter who gets to use it, and Jane already figured out what spells to use in order to finish this thing off. It wouldn''t be long now.
After dropping her shield, Jane charged more MP energy into her hands, simultaneously yelling aloud the next name of her attack spell. Her transition from protecting herself form damage and then shifting into a long-ranged magical spell was much quicker than before. Jane finally had the focus she needed to keep going in this never ending battle. The monster would have to die sometime, and with its critical HP stats reflected in the energy scope itself, this spell should be the one to do it. "Photon Burst!" Jane lifted her right arm high, shoving it down while channeling her magical energy from her glowing blue hand until the rain of photons ripped downward from the sky, bombarding the monster with powerful magical photonic rays.
The small blue particles of falling spheres smashed into the ground in various places, all around and on top of the Char monster. Jane was checking to see the damages before the spell had even ended, but the monster itself only continued to wail in frustration, standing up to the attack like it was next to nothing.
Jane hunched down, preparing to take on another imminent attack while contemplating the error in her mind. "I don''t get it!" Photon Burst is an incredibly powerful spell which Jane learned to perfect easily. How is it possible for this creature to survive so many hits, even after Jane was successfully able to invoke the Zero Zone spell?
It wasn''t long until Jane''s analysis of the pattern was confirmed. The Char monster raised its right fat arm in the air again, its tip glowing hot with a lava like interior aura to it. It was about to use the same ability to shoot a fiery ball of lava in Jane''s direction, but she was still ready for it this time. Concentrating on her own aura, Jane prepared to enable her power shield just before the fiery projectile was fired her way. The monster shot the lava sphere from its arm as if it were a projected cannon, the sphere of oozing lava free falling in the air due to gravity. The monster was clearly able to aim perfectly at Jane''s body despite all of the suffering it has been through. Jane cross her arms again, ejecting more energy to create another strong transparent aura, and blessing Claudia for showing her of this hidden defensive tactic.
The ball of lava smashed into the shield, creating a ton of small little hexagons everywhere in the place of where the ball hit. The lava ball quickly exploded and melted, evaporated from its own loss in magical potential, and Jane''s power shield took a hard hit in damage, but she didn''t dare let the aura fail before the attack sequence was over.
This isn''t working! Jane was going to need a more powerful spell, something that would ultimately knock this beast down in one last hit. It was time to test another one of her new abilities. Jane began charging all that was left of her MP energy supply just after dropping the shield around herself. She had invoked the ability only once before with supervision from Claudia, but it''s a powerful ability that sucks the user dry of most MP energy. "Ultima!" Jane began charging such energy, as the invocation time for this skill was longer than most other spells. Seconds passed, and Jane felt so much more drained than ever before.
Ultima is a power level 9.2 ability, making it much stronger than the spell known as Mega-Flare. Though surprisingly, it is the same type of attack as the skill. Ultima simply amplifies the radius, intensity, and damage of the light screen attack skill known as Mega-Flare, blinding the entire battle field with a flare of light so bright that it carries a massive damaging heat element with it as well. It was time for Jane to unleash all of her stored magic, blasting the entire area around her with a bright hot magical light. Even she wasn''t able to see anything once the flare blasted her eyes and that of the opponent''s. The light became so incredibly hot, that despite the normal protection from being damaged by one''s own spell, Jane''s skin felt like it was on fire for the few seconds the light screen attack was working. Dealing pure magical damage with the high element of heat, the monster Jane was using this against would not be able to withstand such a high power level ability. At least that is what Jane thought.
The moment that light faded only served to crush her spirits even further. For now her MP supply was only at 5% remaining, and the HP status of the Char monster had actually gone up instead of down.
The Char monster didn''t even seem hurt or disrupted by the attack, but it somehow absorbed that light, using it to restore a small amount of life force energy and stamina. With so much MP from Jane thrown down the drain, things were not looking so good anymore. The Char monster was defiantly using its new found energy to support a counterattack, creating an unusual red glyphring in front of its body. From that, a larger symbol - the size of five meters wide was created below Jane''s feet. Jane noticed it quickly, but the symbol itself was somewhat out of phase. After a few more seconds, nothing in particular happened, but the monster was standing in that same spot, using its own magic to make something happen. It almost looked like Star of Darkness, but this was different somehow, a different kind of spell that obviously takes a really long time to invoke.
Jane figured she could use that time to her advantage. She pulled out her daggers, knowing she would be unable to use magical skills with it, an instead threw them at the monster without any magical infusion. Jane doubted that a simple Knife Toss attack would interrupt the monster''s magical invocation, but it was at least worth a shot. Her MP energy would passively recharge in the meantime, but not enough to allow her to shield against what was coming her way. Jane''s daggers flew through the air with grace, slicing into the monster''s left arm, only to blow the muscular hinge right off. The monster literally lost its left arm and took more damage than Jane wished for, but it still had its right arm, capable of much more. The Char monster screeched loudly again, but it did not try to stop invoking its unusual ability against Jane. Before Jane began to brace herself, she wanted to know the stats of the monster''s health, which sadly was not a big improvement for her.
At last, the giant red symbol surrounding Jane came out of full phase, spinning slowly. Jane was then suddenly electrocuted with a bolt of lightning colored red, much like her Lightning Strike when used with the Star of Darkness spell. The volt of electricity jolted Jane in place, heating up her body and shattering all of her nerves inside. But it only lasted for a short second, and while it did further drain her stamina, Jane didn''t feel as if she couldn''t go on anymore. After checking her own energy scope, she realized that in some way, the damage dealt to her was minimized.
Such a long fought spell to use a high voltage attack, yet Jane barely felt any real damage from that attack. It did hurt and drain her, but not in a dangerous manner compared to what she had been through before. Who cares? There isn''t time to figure that out right now! After quickly recovering into counterattack position, Jane used more magic, infusing it with her entire body this time. "Quantum Beam!" The invocation was so quick and easy. Jane fired a massive beam of bright blue energy the size of her own body, plummeting into the monster''s chest and forcing it to slide back in the ash. The beam didn''t last long either, but at least it ripped a hole in the beast''s right side of the torso. It was a miracle that that thing could still move around.
The monster took a step forward, not even thinking about what to use to try and attack Jane back. Jane prepared herself to use another power shield, hoping it could hold up with such little energy left, but she knew that she was currently ahead of the monster by stats. Yet, anything could change at any moment. The Char monster used its bigger remaining arm to smash into the ground. It was the same messed up version of Earth Glave as before. Jane had a taste of it in the past, and was determined not to let it happen again. With her arms already crossed into shielding position, she used more of her MP energy to project a new protective aura around herself, blocking out the incoming ground burst and flying hunks of rocks being swept into the same attack.
After the hexagons from the attack went away, Jane dropped the shield to assess how messed up the entire ground in front of her became. Some of the rocks were still falling down from being thrown up, but luckily she wasn''t being hit upside the head with any of the debris. Jane immediately held out her arms to invoke another magical ability, giving absolutely no time to try and recover her magical potential. Her MP was running low for sure, but it wasn''t low enough to stop this ability. "Lightning Strike!" Shouting the name as usual gave Jane the quickened invocation time she needed in creating the jade colored glyphring around her wrist. From her open hand, she fired a horizontal bolt of blue electricity using what little Leray magic she was able to supply. The monster was immediately affected, tripping backwards on itself just as the jolt hold had ended, but despite how much the bolt affected the monster, the damage was still so minimal.
Jane didn''t stop there. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing was heavy, but she knew she had to persist. Now was the time to keep hitting the beast while it was down, which is what Jane did with another magical attack, putting her MP reserves down to 3%. "Earth Glave!" Perfecting the skill the monster tried to hit her with earlier, Jane forced the ground to violently shift in front of the Char monster, only to slam the beast upward at the end, adding on to a lot more damage inflicted from the last hit.
Jane couldn''t invoke another ability right now, she was just too weak and lightheaded, and what worse, the monster was already invoking another kind of spell. This time, the beast didn''t really move all that much, making its intent much more elusive. When Jane noticed a bunch of black flying particles of ash heading her way quickly into the hot wind, she immediately tried to shield herself. After using what energy she had left to generate another shielding aura, the shield collapsed on itself in just one second before much damage was able to set in.
The monster invoked the ability of Volcanic Mist, something Jane didn''t have the misfortune to feel before, but now she would, as the air around her turned into a blazing inferno while her MP ran at zero percent capacity. Jane was sweating more in milliseconds, while the flying embers in the air began to bounce off her skin. Jane cringed from the immediate burning sensation sparking everywhere on her through the battle suit, and she struggled to breathe any available non-toxic air.
This time it was the Char monster who decided to fight unfairly, firing another ball of lava through its powerful right arm at Jane. There was virtually nothing she could do about it, as the ball of fire splashed right in front of her, burning and bubbling her skin even more from the hot liquid splashes. It finally reached a point where Jane was screaming in agony again, unable to stand up anymore because of how insane the damage was to herself. On the stats of her energy scope, Jane helplessly watched as her own HP declined rapidly, and her consciousness struggled harder to keep itself in Jane''s control. For another long moment, Jane wasn''t able to stand back up. The volcanic mist attack was fading away already, but the pain of the heated burns lingered, making it harder for Jane to move any part of her body. She knew her skin would be solid red or even black after examining herself with the end of this match, if she can ever get through this place and into the Den of Purity.
Jane couldn''t move on her legs, and she began rubbing her arms to try and use friction to change the current temperature of her skin, not that it did very much. Even right now, her health was slowly declining from the remaining lava that was bubbling and boiling her flesh. Screaming didn''t help at all, and by the time she got the molten fire off of her, she felt ever so weak and faint.
The monster was once again trying on another attack, creating a smaller red glyphring in front of itself. Jane needed to power shield again, but knew it would be stupid with the little energy she had. She was still tied up at the moment, trying to recover herself from the last painful blast of fire. The attack turned out to be a barrage of Fire Balls, which in a way was weaker than Fire Bolts, yet still with so many of them at once would be devastating should they all hit Jane. Jane sucked it all up and blocked out the pain as best as she could, realizing she would die otherwise. With a quick and immediate thought to adapt her own power shield, Jane held her hands both out in front of her, projecting what little energy she had left into a different kind of aura. Instead of creating a power shield to surround her entire body form the incoming projectiles of fire, Jane instead created a solid wall of magic only in front of her. By adapting the shield''s photons to a concentrated area and reconfiguration, Jane managed to create an economy grade energy shield that only worked in front of her instead of all around while simultaneously reducing the overall size, conserving a tiny bit of MP energy while blocking the projectiles heading her way.
Jane didn''t even know she could do this until now, her new format for a power shield valid in this case, but as she held up the shield, the rest of her entire body continued to burn and sting with heavy intensity from all of that previous fire damage. It was hard to concentrate at all given the circumstances. There were four, four flying Fire Balls that dissolved into Jane''s small power shield which she disabled on her own after the attack was over. Now she had but little MP energy left, as did the monster itself. This is where it all ends.
Standing up and trembling from the severe damages and third degree burns that set in, Jane prepared herself. "Hrah!" Jane puffed while throwing her daggers at the monster again. She did so only as a distraction, using the last percent of her MP energy to create a small yellow glyphring, putting a blaster weapon in her hand. Jane aimed the gun at the monster, and fired the weapon the way it was designed to be used in a Leray match. "Scatter Beam!" The small beams of energy shot from the small blaster as if used by a shot gun, the beams all dispersing and going everywhere. Jane''s MP fell down to zero again upon using the blaster, this causing the gun to fade away immediately after using it. Several of them hit the monster, going right through its weakened skin until the figure standing in front of Jane collapsed and exploded into smaller segments of body parts. Jane found the death of the Char monster rather gory, but the thing bled more ash and lava than it did blood anyway. At last, the fight was finally over.
Chapter Theme Shift: Kamihama Polyphonic ~ Magia Record OST
Jane couldn''t stop panting just yet. With all of her energy spent, she felt like falling down and passing out. A long nap was overdue, and who knew how much time had passed since this stupid quest began? Jane could not effectively tell time in a dark evil place such as this one. The light available is about the same all the time, though right now it was so much darker and foggier than before from all of that burning volcanic mist and ash. Though the monster was slain, it didn''t go out the same way it did with the behemoth creature. Everything was suddenly quiet again. Somehow all of that battling did not attract anymore creatures of the land, but Jane needed more health again, struggling to pull out another med kit orb from her supply sphere.
Like always, Jane had to struggle with the device just to get it to work, and after it did, Jane was most unimpressed with how much the crappy tool helped her recover. She had once again sustained a heavy amount of real time damage. It was evident even now, for after recovering only partway, the various third degree burns on her skin begged to be bathed in something that would magically cure her skin or take away from the stinging sensations. At this rate, she could be dead within one more fight. "Next time, I''ll just run," Jane promised herself. There is no need to stop herself from running away in fear.
Not a single stat point was budging up further, and yet Jane still felt so much alert and energized, just from the rejuvenation in her MP reserves. All of these cuts and burns stuck under her own suit were devastating. She would have a lot of explaining to do after getting back. Even the outfit had taken quite a high amount of damage, and it was specifically designed to withstand all magical damage for all eternity. Dress spheres have special magical energy enchanted into the material which lasts forever to block out damage, but apparently that effect only carries through when protected by the veil.
Jane would have to stand up straight and keep moving on. There still wasn''t a great way to know where she was, even with the official map in her hands. The map was local, containing no real directions other than natural land marks, but these land marks were also part of the Outback that existed before now. No mapping data has so far been collected of the Alpha Zero, the same place trapped in a vortex of forbidden magic. Anyone who has ever tried was killed in the process, so the stories say.
Jane had a hard time believing in half the stories she heard. Almost all of them were from her teacher, Claudia, but Claudia allegedly heard them from the guards, the sentries that block the northern road into the dark zone. What did they know? Have they seen how horrible and hot this place is? Have they traveled in far enough to see the entire sky above them shift to a red haze? Did they hear the crying wails of monstrous beasts capable of invoking magical spells and razing everything into fiery ash? Did they know that Leray magic can still somehow be invoked in this place, even to function other unusual rules such as the supply spheres and the energy scopes? And did anyone else know about the manmade machinery in this zone; the sentry turrets and automated defense system somehow set up in the middle of nowhere, bent on screening which creatures are allowed through? After seeing all of it for herself, Jane found her thoughts following the same trance, her legs shuffling forward on the blazing dirt while nothing of movement crowded her forward visual field.
Even with new evidence cropping up, Jane found it even more difficult to believe than ever before. How could a place as hostile as this exist right in Lennith''s back yard? The military of Sprawn Valley should have been all over this, either reversing the effects of the magic, or destroying the zone entirely, assuming that is even possible. The horrifying fact that all of this is real, and not some creative nightmare born of her subconscious gave Jane the chills, despite all of the sweat dripping from the back of her hair. This is what made the entire situation unbelievable. Hearing it from people in school was the easy part. Walking into this place alone, only to firsthand witness that everything is worse than what others could possibly imagine, to have her own dreams and memory of this place crushed in the end; that is the difficult part. Jane paced herself on her burnt legs carefully as minutes passed, jogging her mind to stay awake.
Nothing about this was normal. Professor Brightworth; the name of the man Jane had been searching for ever since she obtained this hidden crest on her hand... He is supposed to be the one and only mage in the entire world capable of reversing spells such as this one with his knowledge and advanced research, but is he also the one also responsible for this damage, this chaos?! What kind of terrible research did he do on the side? "Mmhm!" Jane cringed at the thought, nodding her head. There was no way, no possible way that her only cure to all of her problems was to make a deal with the devil. There is no way that Brightworth is the criminal mastermind behind the transformation of the Outback. It just doesn''t purpose anything!
There wouldn''t be a means to answers going backwards now, nor by making blind assumptions. Jane knew it in her gut; the only way to learn the truth about what happened here was to advance forward ever cautiously. Next time, running from random encounters will be the better option.
Chapter 30-B: Jane VS Super Turret
<01/28/1972 ¨C 00:22 | The Outback {Alpha Zero}, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The sound of a crash drove Jane''s body off the ground, her nerves jumping all at once while her ears stung in pain. Jane quickly panned her head around, searching for the nearby intruder. The noise was distinctly familiar to the sound of a solid metal object, crashing into a hard surface. It was evidence that something somewhere nearby moved. Jane remained stone still, putting her previous thoughts on hold for now.
Something was out there. A monster? Another one of those vile creatures? Maybe even a person? Jane never thought to consider until now that if professor Brightworth really is innocent, then somebody else had to be responsible for this mess, and that person would likely be immune to their own destructive dark magic, walking around here, scouting for intruders such as herself that could pose a potential threat to their newest creation. Jane''s heart rate began pounding again, her fear rising just from the anticipation. She immediately pulled out her daggers from the pockets in her outfit, ready to strike anything nearby.
The fog around her has been clearing up from her earlier walk, but it was not completely clear. Jane was able to see maybe 770 meters ahead in all directions, maybe a little more. It certainly was not an improvement from where she first started. Maybe the fog gets worse the further she goes in. Of all things, the dark zone could have some sort of centralized source, and if that is the case, then this border area is just child''s play for the demons that really exist further northwest. Jane however had no sense of which direction the noise came from, which put her more on edge. There was no indication that anything was moving. Jane was now checking all directions, ears wide open and her thoughts alert of anything else. It was this moment where Jane wanted to run, run all the way back to Lennith City just to survive, but then she would have failed to remove the crest at all, still uncertain whether it was the correct choice to make.
Unfortunately for Jane, the choice had already been made for her after waiting too long. This time, the noise and shockwaves of the rumbling earth could be felt from here, Jane positive that the movement was so much closer than she thought it was. The dirt, dust, and ash flew up in puffs in the position she was supposed to be heading, until a large opening formed in the floor before her very eyes. The sounds shifted once again, changing from ground quakes to some sort of unknown movement of material. And out rising form that hole...
It''s a pillar! A solid pillar made entirely of steel with some sort of metallic bubble on the top of it, rising with the pillar and gaining altitude. The bubble of steel was moving at the same time, unraveling itself like a gift unwrapping on its own. The metal bubble shell collapsed itself back into the rising pillar by design, allowing Jane to make out the structure even from this distance, the transformation happening like an automatic shape shifting robot. Another sentry turret! This time it is one already loaded with side rocket launchers, a rail gun, and two barrels able to fire machine gun bullets. It was a similar design just like the ones Jane encountered before, a massive metal weapon trained to blow away all nearby intruders without even using human guided assistance. It''s just another dangerous enemy.
Jane didn''t need another moment to study the device, or to see how high that pillar was taking the turret. She already knew of the dangers of just one sentry gun from a previous battle that almost ended in failure. With all the real time damage Jane has already taken, it wasn''t even worth a second thought to risk her life for another stupid battle such as this one. Turning around to sprint in the other direction, Jane didn''t dare look back behind her shoulder. Instead she ran as fast as she could, hoping to outrun the turret''s parameter timer. In the last battle she had against these things, Jane wasn''t even allowed to run or escape, even though the battle was not official. The machines here are specifically designed to trap intruders, then destroy them. Last time, she didn''t see the shield dome coming, but right now there wasn''t one, not yet anyway. Just keep sprinting! Jane couldn''t even contemplate the thought of getting forced into a battle right now. It was just easier to run this way, maybe find another way around the path later on. Her legs were beyond tired and burdened, but this beat the likely alternative.
Just then, Jane heard another noise, a metallic clank. It sounded as if the pillar had stopped moving upward, holding the turret''s altitude in lock while the unknown security system somehow continued to scan its surrounding area. Perhaps it was motion sensors that set the thing off, but Jane continued running, further than her heart could hold out for. That''s when a sudden surge of bright red light shot up into the sky, easy enough for her to spot before looking upwards. That light then exploded and expanded into massive energy hexagons that quickly began the formation of another red energy dome. It''s the same as before! But it hasn''t finished forming yet. The rate of descent for that dome was so quick though, and the radius being so wide didn''t help Jane either. An ordinary Siriean dome has the radius of 100 meters at best, but this one must be closer to 500 meters from the center area. At this rate, Jane wasn''t going to make it in time, despite being so close to the exit range!
"Noooooo!" The shield finally touched down with the ground, just as she was able to leap out and touch the field. Running in disbelief, Jane slammed first thing into the energy field, the hexagons repelling and forcing her back with enough kick to send her flying away. Jane landed on her back in a most uncomfortable position, forcing her to accept what she deemed impossible a moment ago. So close to the edge of the field, and now she was apparently trapped inside of the kill zone.
Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track SBD ~ {Unknown}
Jane wasn''t knocked out, but the pain from running into something solid and sturdy held in her face more than anywhere else. She desperately tried opening her eyes and squinting her environment back into focus. The translucent wall she hit turned out to be the edge of another massive dome shield. It had the same red color as the last one that trapped her, the same translucent design, same hexagonal patterns, and the same desire to force her to battle without escaping. The dome in front of her was mainly vertical because of the angle shift. Jane turned around while standing back up to notice that the shield really did take the form of a dome, trapping any and every possible escape, running all the way to a high place in the sky. As for the turret''s defense system, it was already coming online to force Jane into a fight she would rather not be a part of.
It couldn''t be! Jane refused to believe that there was no possible way to escape from this battle. She knew she would be too weak and banged up to fight against another sentry turret, even so much as another monstrous creature, but everywhere she looked was blocked off by the massive red dome of dark magic, a force somehow strong enough to negate all Leray magical rules that prevent this kind of entrapment. Just like before, Jane was witnessing another one of the mysteries of the dark zone. The rules of Leray magic from the veil prevent people from being forced into a battle by a Siriean dome. At the same time, it prevents instantaneous death from forces such as molten lava to the skin. Jane was automatically being protected from immediate deaths, but not from other things such as this Siriean dome. Maybe it was not an official battle after all, not even an energy field made entirely of magic. Perhaps it was some sort of electrically generated energy shield blocking her escape. If that''s true, then the turret would be irrelevant! But then where would the generator be?
Jane''s nerves shot another zap of adrenaline into her blood, the sound of the turret''s shifts and movements indicated immediate actions against her. Whether she wanted this or not, it was happening without her consent. It was either destroy the turret or be destroyed. She wouldn''t need a second hint to realize this, and immediately responded by instinct with the official rules of engagement. Jane activated her energy scope above her in order to keep track of her own stats, and then activated the artificial energy scope above the turret. The enemy machine was elevated about 400 feet in the air by the top of the pillar, its turning shaft capable of very flexible aiming and stationary steering. The elevation must have been there to protect itself from aerial attacks? Or perhaps just to protect itself from physical attacks close range. Not that it would make a difference with all of that armor plating attached to the firing arcs of the sentry gun.
It was a miracle that Jane would even be able to monitor the stats on the machinery at all, using physical integrity as a reference to health instead of doing things the normal way. Even the same action display center was capable of holographically projecting just under the machine''s energy scope that Jane created, allowing her to monitor what the next incoming attack pattern or digital process would be. The turret was alone this time instead of having its own back up. Just one instead of three, but then why? Strategically it wouldn''t make much sense to put all of this effort into one large gun. Something about this particular sentry gun might be different, and Jane carefully watched the ADC to figure out what attack and defending opportunities she might have at the moment.
Targeting... That was the message currently reading in the action display center from which Jane could make out from the ground. Targeting... It wasn''t really an indication of an assault. Maybe the sentry gun was still taking time to identify Jane as an enemy. The guns were not precisely aimed at her, so Jane took that opportunity to decide on an immediate first strike. There wasn''t a question in her mind about whether or not to play things safe and scout for better opportunities; it was fight right now or die later.
"Magical Blitz!" Jane immediately expended some of her MP energy supply of Leray magic, forming energy spheres in her hands in less than a second of time. Jane then threw the Magical Blitz balls high into the air, expending a slight amount of additional magic just to control the energy spheres. The spheres of magic were not at all large in size, but Jane threw three of them, one after the other. The first sphere struck the metal pillar just under the turret, reflecting off the object as if it were made from a magic mirror. The energy sphere didn''t come close to wrecking the pillar used to support the turret, making the option of destroying the pillar completely useless, but Jane had been aiming for the turret in the first place, waiting for the last two to strike the target head on. Just before each energy sphere smashed through the metal armor making up the sentry gun, a large spherical energy field suddenly surrounded the entire turret, absorbing the blitz balls into the field instead of allowing the turret to take damage. The spherical field didn''t last very long, and it had a similar aura of light with hexagons at the damage sight that Jane recognized from one of her own abilities. After reading the unchanged energy scope above the enemy turret, her heart sank at the realization that this gun was in fact different from the others.
The Magical Blitz spell Jane intended to use was completely worthless, blocked by the similar spell of a power shield used by the turret''s defense class system itself. Somebody had built a shield generator into this gun, and reinforced the processor''s reactions to identify any incoming projectiles before it was too late to shield itself. A defeating recognition of equal powers, Jane backed away two steps in disbelief. Her only methods of attacking the enemy were made effectively useless, ironically by use of the same ability she could use to do the same the other way around. Was this ability used against her something new, something that was initially her own idea? Or is this some sort of amazing bad luck Jane had the misfortune to wander into?
Bullet Barrage! Jane recognized both the text and the action association that belonged with that text showing up in the action display box. She reacted quickly though, crossing both of her arms over each other and ejecting some MP energy around herself to create another protective aura. It would be about the same ability that was just used against her. Hundreds of bullets suddenly riddled and reflected off of Jane''s power shield aura, an energy shield only surrounding her body with a bright blue translucent design allowing her to see what was happening on the outside. Though the sound of the turret''s shooting was muffled by the sound proof design in her own aura, Jane had to keep the shield alive and together until the bullets were done firing.
It took about five more seconds, hexagons forming in all of the impacted locations, but the drain and stress it put on Jane was hardly enough to stop her compared to the attacks her shield had taken in the past. With only one turret and the need to reload eventually, Jane''s shield was flawless against a bullet barrage attack. Now, assuming that processor wasn''t too fast to switch into another attack immediately after, Jane took it upon herself to drop the shield and try another counterattack against the machine.
Jane charged and released the MP energy she had available, her invocation of the next magical spell immediate. "Median-Flare!" Jane clapped her arms together aimed at the turret, firing a magical arc of radiant light that managed to reach the height of that turret from here in just half a second of time. Oddly enough, the turret''s energy scope did report a change, even though Jane''s attack was not nearly enough to blow off any hinges, screws, or armor plates from the device.
The turret is capable of shielding itself from specific attacks, so what was so different about this one? Jane only had seconds or less to think about it. Something specific about her own magical attacks were registering somewhere in that sensor located inside of the turret to determine when to shield against attacks. Was it the type of magic used? The type of damage inflicted? Is it the form of magic used against the machine? Magical Blitz uses projectiles, while Median-Flare is just a slight area-based light screen attack.
Rocketry! Thinking time was over already. Jane took no time at all to cross her arms and shield herself from another incoming attack by the mechanical enemy. The aura surrounded her immediately, thus following the sounds of explosions muffled through the aura and flashes of light from up top. The attack was like it sounded, rockets or missiles were being fired from the side attachments already made to the sentry turret. The machine fired about twelve rockets in total, six form each side all flying upwards. Only a moment after did their ordinance of direction change to target where Jane was standing, now flying straight down from above. Jane closed her eyes before the missile impacts. She knew that her shield would protect her from most of the damage, but watching the blinding flashes of each blast right in front or behind her form the multiple explosions was too nerve wrecking to watch. She could feel the ground shaking below her even through the aura, and she didn''t open her eyes until it stopped.
Jane was already feeling weak from all of the damage her aura had taken just after the rockets cleared away, and she was impressed in herself for the shield lasting that long with so much damage inflicted at once. It was over at last. Jane could uncross her arms and put her mind to the test of another spell. With her MP stats already dwindling, it was a matter of using it all up recklessly or conserving it as much as possible for the use of additional shielding, and Jane had but a second to decide.
"Photon Burst!" Jane''s MP energy drained significantly while her ability was charging. This skill was not able to be invoked immediately after being chanted, but Jane did have the time still available to make it happen, not even stopping to regret how much energy she was throwing away with her most offensive attacks ready. Her MP was already low to the start of the battle, much lower now that she went with this next skill. "Haw!" She held her arm out in front of her, a blue rotating glyphring around her wrist. Jane released all of her charged magic at once aiming at the sky, then threw down her arm to control the direction and force of the entire photon burst spell afterwards. With or without a glyphring, this specific modified version can still work in various ways, with the concentration aura being the independent variable. It wasn''t much of a moment later when the rain of magical photons began pouring down from the sky in a scattered shower, slamming into the turret and piercing through its tough metal armor. A couple of sounds told Jane that the turret just suddenly took much more damage than the last attack she landed, a couple of micro-explosions nearly blew pieces of the sentry gun clean off before the magical rain stopped.
She stopped to smile at her own victorious spell. The gun failed to shield against that attack as well; perhaps the shielding only applies to specific projectile based attacks. Another piece of text grouped into the action display center: Blast!
With an explosion and a flash of light from the turret''s third firing arc, Jane had absolutely no time to react to the blast. Firing a 150 mm cannon shell into the ground below where Jane was standing, her body was suddenly blasted backward, high into the air long before she could possibly understand what just happened. Some of the uplifted dirt and ash seeped into her eyes, burning them while the right side of her right leg began to burn with a cold sensation simultaneously. Jane then landed back on the ground, her sides taking the hard hit of falling damage. Jane still didn''t know what was going on, but figured it had to be some kind of powerful explosion that happened right on top of her. This wasn''t the Leray kind of explosion that one could get over so easily. The pains here were very much real, with irreversible damage being inflicted somewhere on her body.
Jane managed to sit up without using her right leg, only to discover that she was bleeding from below her knee, quite intensely. Another hole was in the side of her hip, also drawing blood. Somehow the blood loss was not as immediate as it should have been following a huge explosion, but Jane was obviously hurt beyond the capacity for rational thought. The actual pain itself was less than what it appeared to look like, and Jane did not take that to be a good sign. While the bleeding rate was worrisome, Jane knew she still had a lot of time, assuming that rate would go up soon. Finally getting over the shock that she had nearly been killed in just one move, Jane chanced a glimpse at her energy scope, and then another at the turret''s action display center.
Nothing was set inside of the ADC yet. Jane surprisingly had some time to get back up and counterattack, but she had to balance most of her weight on her left leg, not daring to try her cut up right side. The outfit was beginning to tear apart in various locations of which she was previously hit, just more evidence that dark magic forces all damage to be inflicted as real time damage. Jane needed a better plan than this, better than the idea of outlasting the physical machine on stamina alone. "Armor Breaker!" Even without much of a plan, Jane did not want to miss her next window to attack the turret back again, throwing her daggers infused with magical energy in a form designed to destroy tough armor off of anything.
Just as the flying daggers got close to hit the machine, another bubble energy shield appeared to surround the sentry gun, deflecting the daggers away from it in an effortless defense while hexagons formed at the impact sight instantly. Jane''s hopes were once again crushed, her attack made completely useless by a hidden shield generator. Laser Strife!
More holographic text appeared in the ADC, but the machine''s turning shaft reacted incredibly too fast for Jane to read the material from where she was standing. A sharp red laser shot out of a tiny barrel aimed at Jane''s far left side, then swept across the field with the turret''s aim change from the turning gears to swipe the laser through Jane''s body. She recognized the attack, the pains associated with it, the damage, and even the speed. The actions happened so quickly, Jane could not react to get her arms into position for another desperately needed power shield. The strife was so quick that Jane''s eyes could not even follow the color of the laser before it drilled another burning hole through her body. Keeping the new wound closed by the same sealing heat, Jane''s stomach had immediately been burned with powerful bruising sensations that were combined with burns and cut flesh.
Another short lived scream echoed into the air, Jane sent herself on her knees again, forcing more pain through her right knee that had been cut open again. The pain form that laser is as always totally unbearable, disrupting her focus entirely. She did her best to try and get over the damages being done to her, but it wasn''t easy in the slightest. Since it hit her stomach, the laser went as far to affect some of her internal body processes too, making her nauseated until Jane threw up a small amount of her stomach acid just seconds after letting out a painful holler. If that happens again, it will be blood instead of vomit. Her energy scope stats already troubled her completely, as she has been losing the fight from the beginning of the battle.
There wasn''t time or opportunity to complain either. Jane was dying from her wounds and damages; she knew as much. It still wasn''t worth giving it all up. There has to be some way in which she could hopefully win this fight, some method to turn the tables in battle. She has always been capable of doing that before. After charging up a little more MP energy, Jane fired her next spell without standing back up. She will just remain on the ground, the magical ability being adaptive as such. "Quantum Beam!" Using the shape of her body and the position as the aura, Jane launched a bright and powerful magic beam of energy into the turret, hoping it would not have the time to shield itself form the hit. The beam was almost so dense and wide that it would be impossible to tell what is happening to the target until the attack wave is over. After it ended, the energy scope above the machine reported that damage was taken. Still, it was another reminder to Jane that her Quantum beam still needed more work.
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The scope above the turret changed its color again to red, meaning something if anything belonging to the turret''s base functions was about to be disrupted or destroyed. Jane almost forgot to realize that this thing is just a machine, meaning it can malfunction with enough damage in the correct areas. Well-placed attacks might be the key to victory here.
Counter Corner! There is a skill name Jane has not heard of before. She forced herself back to stance mode, putting harmful weight resistance on her right leg while she desperately tried to carry over her MP energy into another power shield. It didn''t matter if her stomach felt like it was being twisted inside out, or that her leg was about to come off from the last explosion. She''ll die if she can''t win, because running away is not an option right now! Crossing her arms and dispensing that energy made the process happen in time. The turret seemed stationary for the moment, but the attack was already in effect.
Two large red colored glyphrings formed on the left and right side of the turret, hovering high in the sky with their centers aimed at Jane herself. It wasn''t long after when a well energized lightning bolt fired from each arc, making two red electrical lines attempting to zap Jane and bypass her shield. It was another Voltage spell, only disguised as something a little different. The damage potential had to be high, because the hexagons forming at each impact spot were getting smaller. Jane could feel the stress the energy output and reflection placed on her. Every second that passed brought her shield closer to failure, until it finally collapsed the next moment. There was no grace period for what was happening next; the Lightning Strikes traveled too quickly for anything to possibly react and get out of their way. Jane was suddenly being electrocuted again by dark magic electrical attacks, her nerves jumping and her skin burning from the sensations. The remaining voltage only affected Jane for two more seconds, but after it ended, she didn''t have it in her to stay standing any longer. Combining how quickly her shield had failed to stay up on her just from damage, with the additional hit of an electrical attack and their effects on the human body, Jane''s entire life force was drained out of her. By now there was more MP magic left in her than there was HP. There was also a small pool of blood staining the ground, running down her right ankle. Jane felt on the boarder of passing out completely, barely able to refuse the temptation to do it for herself.
She sat on her knees, refusing to stand up for the remainder of the battle. In the back of her mind, Jane really questioned her ability to come near a victory in this match. Jane shook the thought away once more. She couldn''t focus on doubts for now, because failure in this scenario would lead to her immediate death, the end of everything. So she instead decided to fight in this stance, since not all magical spells require a person to stand straight up for invocation. Jane had one idea in particular. "Photon Blast!" Her MP reserves drained quickly, making her lightheaded and dizzier than she expected, but Jane kept her consciousness long enough to create the powerful effects of the attack spell in her body, starting out as an aura attack.
The faint blue glow of MP energy being stored and released reminded Jane how cool Leray magic can be, but it wasn''t something she could get excited about right now. The split second thoughts and reminders of her entire life before coming to the dark zone were flashing frame by frame in her head while trying to invoke the spell. It wasn''t wise to get sidetracked during invocation, but Jane wasn''t distracted by those thoughts. They were merely automatic, her life flashing multiple times before her eyes, hoping and praying she can make it through this. Jane finally released her energy after aiming her arms at the machine gun turret, blasting a barrage of photon beams so loud, her ears were already ringing. Jane couldn''t even visually make out the turret anymore, for the bright clumps of photon attacks were making it hard to see the impact areas.
Photon Blast is one of the most powerful and popular Leray area attack spells, with an average power level of eight, and a tendency to be impossible to master. Jane not only mastered the spell, but created a derivative spell from this one, known as Photon Burst. It was only this time though that she wanted to go with an original plan of attack this time, beat up that metal as much as physically possible. Once the attack wave was over, and the light began to fade away, Jane had two new problems to account for. As expected, the use of that magic severely drained much of her remaining MP reserves. Sitting where the turret was stationed, another sphere of energy had completely enveloped the metal structure on the top of the pillar. The sphere made up a translucent aura of shielding, much to the same design as Jane''s power shield utilizing MP magic. After a massive Photon Blast, the enemy shield managed to completely hold up; not a single unit on the energy scope above the turret had been altered.
Rocketry! "Damn you!" Jane cursed under her breath. Fighting a machine with its own power shield is defiantly not an easy matter. No wonder Cadastro lost to only two weeks of training. This power shield really does a lot more than it seems. Blasts jumped Jane''s nerves as the rockets began firing from each side of the primary turret attachment modules. Jane could already see a dozen missiles firing high into the air, almost high enough to slam into the very top edge of the red Siriean dome. Jane pushed herself back onto her legs. She was certain that a power shield would be harder to control sitting down, and she was defiantly going to need one with this attack.
On her damaged legs, Jane crossed her arms just as the missiles began to descend downwards towards her. She gave up more MP energy to create the shield, but kept in mind that the shield gets weaker every time she has less MP energy to work with. It should hold even this time, but Jane closed her eyes in fear just to be sure, letting the dying sound of muffled explosions indicate when it would be over. Jane could completely feel her connection and concentration with the aura slipping fast. The same attack didn''t drain this much of her the first time, but Jane was much weaker already, she could feel the power shield aura failing below her own control. Just as she opened her eyes to see another blast of ash and dirt flying up from the damage done to the ground beneath her, Jane''s aura collapsed on itself, giving Jane another powerful sensation of fatigue. Jane''s legs trembled like jelly, until they totally gave out on her. Jane fell to the ground face first, and she had to use her hands to break her fall. Luckily, the explosion which knocked out her shield aura was the last missile used.
Though she was barely undamaged by the last attack, Jane was breathing quickly, struggling just to stand straight up with a stabbing pain in her lower leg and her knees and a similar amount in her stomach. With her very life on the line, she didn''t struggle for long. The desire to stay alive is one of the best kinds of wills anybody can have, pushing them to fight harder. Jane was too familiar with that sense after spending time here, and she used it to push herself back up to her wobbly legs. In truth, everything hurt everywhere, but not nearly as much as her right knee and forehead, which was pounding with pressure right now. With another fighting breath, Jane used more MP energy, the last nine percent she had left invoking another spell, "Flying Guillotine!"
Jane threw her daggers, already infused with magical energy required to create a spinning red arc in the air following the daggers as they flew together in synchronization. Jane aimed her daggers straight for the turret on top of the pillar, but before the red arc of damage even got close to the device, another spherical power shield surrounded the turret, protecting the system long before any danger neared it again. Jane couldn''t believe it, watching in horror while her flying daggers helplessly bounced right back from impacting the impenetrable shield created by the turret, falling to the ground with no other option left. The shield then deactivated itself, just as the metal daggers clanged on the soft ground below it.
Jane had no more MP energy remaining to attack or defend herself, and her low HP levels were making her too withered to fight any longer. Jane would escape right now if it were possible, but another shield system was forcing her not to escape, one that could never be penetrated. Long after feeling tired and woozy, Jane''s mind jumped wide awake. It wasn''t any specific change that she wanted to invoke. Jane was grinding her teeth, staring down her enemy without so much as a blink, trying to contemplate how a monstrosity could even exist anywhere.
This feeling was worse than anger. This was a full set rage, distinguishing no difference between the red in Jane''s eyes and the red light from the sky. It was a little more than a few failed attacks on her part. The turret was just hell bent on destroying any intruder in range, not even allowing that intruder to escape, but Jane knew the difference. She is not the intruder of anything. She only came here to fix something specific to one of her problems, something specific enough to help her reach this far into the forbidden zone.
Trying to stop her was this machine''s first mistake. Jane soon went beyond the normal capacity for getting angry, all of her muscles were tightly tensed with fuel and adrenaline. Suddenly, standing up was not even a bother, and the pains were something Jane ignored entirely. What only took about one second to process it all, the light from Jane''s right hand flashed below her face, activating the secret crest bound to her energy signature. In the immediate moment the crest began to light up, so did the stats on Jane''s energy scope change dramatically. She only glanced at the changed stats, confirming that she now had another opportunity to take this thing out once and for all.
There was little time to think about anything. Jane''s cut below her knee sealed itself somehow, blame going to her hand crest, but it was barely enough to heal her. Being able to freely move and run around on her legs again meant a lot to her strategy however. Jane considered all possible options before the turret had another chance to try and attack her. The symbol on her hand was still lighting up, supplying her with previously lost stamina and focus, and within an instant, Jane immediately had her answer. Using a large amount of energy impulse outright, Jane made her next move.
"Zero Zone!" A massive pulse of blue light burst outwards from where she stood, eventually turning everything to the color of black and white before her. Despite its difficulty to invoke in the first place, Jane immediately forced the entire world''s time to cease ticking for an unknown period of reference time to her. She managed to invoke this ability only once before now, though she wasn''t this angry or desperate before either. Zero Zone''s effects were already fluent everywhere, all sound stopping except for sounds Jane was making with her footsteps and her breathing. With no time to lose, Jane charged up towards the pillar, throwing her daggers at the armored machine.
Jane knew that a few simple physical attacks were useless, so she immediately followed up that toss with a Magical Blitz sequence. "Magical Blitz!" Jane created colorless spheres of Leray energy in her hand, and tossed them high in the air towards the turrets. Last time she used Zero Zone, her own magic retained substance and color, but this time, the energy spheres were colorless too. The energy spheres impacted the turret without fail. Though she needed to do more damage, Jane had already realized a new strategy in effect with her Zero Zone ability. The turret would not be able to process incoming projectiles with time frozen against it. That machine won''t even be able to comprehend what happened from what damaged it so harshly as soon as this time distortion field ends. Moreover, the entire dome around her was mostly faded, almost totally transparent while Jane noticed flickers in the hexagons every now and then. The turret wouldn''t be able to shield itself even if it could process, likely because the distortion field negatively affects shielding auras too somehow. Once the distortion ends, all of that will change, but Jane made plans before it could happen, running to the right side of the turret for a better attack angle.
Once there, Jane swallowed more of her MP reserves, invoking another powerful ability. "Photon Burst!" With a small glyphring hugging her wrist, Jane used arm motions like before, bringing the photon blast down from above instead of the other way around this time. The photons blasted their way into the turret structure with ease, blowing off pieces of armor plating from the side Jane was aiming for. Of course, the moment those armor chunks tried to come off, they became frozen in the air again, while Jane noticed the slight disaggregation of each section. The impact was so powerful, it knocked off one side of the rocket launcher attachments. Jane backed up a little, far from being finished.
"Return Fire!" With disregard for her own remaining energy reserves, Jane continuously used anything and everything to deal as much damage to the machine before it was even possible for the device to retaliate or defend itself. As soon as Zero Zone ends, the tides will no longer be in her favor. Jane''s Return Fire spell activated, creating five colorless glyphrings in the sky, all surrounding the turret from separate angles. Then colorless bolts of lightning shot out from each glyphring, one at a time in a cycle. It was a sophisticated Voltage attack, but it was strange seeing everything happening in black and white. Jane counted the amount of times the turret was hit by momentary voltages of electricity, powerful enough to penetrate the steel armor on the machine with each and every hit. Larger plates of armor and protection modules were being blasted off left and right, giving Jane something to finally smile about. The metal pieces frozen in time would eventually fly everywhere in all directions, revealing the damage in total.
The glyphrings then faded quickly, the distortion field still running. Jane took yet another opportunity to try something more daring, yet necessary for victory. "Dark Strike!" she chanted. After teleporting from the ground to another location, Jane materialized on the rear edge of the top of the pillar, almost falling off with what little room was available between herself and the massive machine. Jane purposely teleported just inches behind the large turret structure, built almost as large as a small home. Jane was on the rear section, viewing exactly what was behind the turret structure itself, keeping her balance - as the edge was only two inches behind her. The rear panel of the machine was supposed to be protected by a layer of armor, but the last attack must have blown that part off as well, now exposing all sorts of interesting material. Jane was specific to locate a small round thick disk connected to something resembling transistors and micro-generators. It was the unit responsible for shielding the turret from incoming damage, the very reason Jane would have been killed if not for the symbol on her hand, which she now noticed had faded away.
She didn''t use Dark Strike as an actual attack this time, only as a means of close range teleportation, and she was exactly where she needed to be, face to face with the turret''s generator system. All she had to do here was take that component out, and get back down somehow. Thinking of the best way to save on MP energy with the entire process, Jane created a summon glyphring in her arms, casting Crystal Arrow only in her mind. Jane wound up the crystal arrow into the bow, suddenly realizing that everything had regained color again. The Zero Zone distortion field was wearing off already, and it was now or never. Jane pulled back the bow and took an aim at the small component before the machine retained the ability to realize that Jane''s position had been moved. She let go, blasting the crystal arrow straight into the shielding unit. The arrow was also explosive and timed, meaning Jane had to get the hell back down quickly.
The turret structure was already beginning to move, and Jane had to jump it from the pillar''s edge. Already in free-fall, the jump was about one hundred feet high. Jane threw some magic in front of her towards the ground, hoping to create some sort of gravitational distortion field to lighten her fall similar to Push Wave, but it didn''t work as well as she wanted it to. Hitting the ground with a powerful knock to her chest, Jane was back in the mode before using the Zero Zone skill, beat up and hurt. The symbol marking going away like that allowed all of the pain from before to flood back, while taking additional falling damage added to the stress. She quickly tried to reorient herself, checking both energy scopes for damage changes. Against the turret structure, things were looking up.
Grenade Launch! The ADC was still commanding the turret to attack without any issues. Jane knew it was an easy possibility. The fight isn''t over yet, but at least now her own attacks would no longer be deflected away. However, with the small amount of energy she had left, the same debilitations may apply to her now. The bright symbol on her right hand wasn''t there anymore. Why did it go away now, just when Jane could use it again to win for sure? She had time though. Being on a different side of the gun meant the machine had to turn itself all the way around and relocate Jane as it prepared to fire its cannon. It was time Jane could use to either prepare another shield by passive regeneration, or to brace herself should the turn rate be too quick.
By the time the barrel aimed close enough towards Jane''s side of the field, she had her answer. A blast shot from a hidden barrel in the front of the turret system was obviously left undamaged so far. Jane wasn''t taking any chances with unknown attacks, crossing her arms to shield herself in the aura she still had available. The small projectile fell to the ground rather close to where Jane was standing, then detonated. The fire power was something Jane did not expect to see; the small grenade didn''t have a very large blast radius or power level. In fact, it was laughable to compare that to an ordinary hand grenade. Her shield still created large hexagons near the front side from the shockwave of the blast, but that was it. Jane had to cut the power to her shield to not waste more of her energy, sad to understand that she could have evaded the attack simply by backing up a few more paces.
"Oh well," she shrugged. "Lightning Strike!" Using a jade glyphring around her arm, Jane invoked a simpler and effective spell, aiming directly for the turret structure. While zapping the metal with electrical energy, Jane noticed that she was taking on damage as well, of a different nature. The low MP gap created even by a simple magic attack like that one was enough to give her more disorientation than she had before. Jane felt dizzy, enough to make the room spin around her. By the time the magic spell ended, Jane only did little damage to the turret based on its energy scope. Worse than that, she spent so much energy that another power shield would not even be feasible to attempt this time around.
Fire Blast! This was an unusual name for the turret''s actions according to Jane. All she could do is stand there, hoping it would not hurt too badly. The machine fired an ordinance of two Fire Balls, too fast to even track. The first one slammed into Jane''s neck, providing the force needed to knock her down on her back. The kick backwards did more than the fiery force of the magic did to her, but then the second Fire Ball struck. Hitting Jane while knocked onto the ground, she was left vulnerable to the next attack. The sphere of magical damage exploded into fire based flames spreading all over Jane. Normally, fiery attacks don''t cause people to ignite in Leray battles, but here in the dark zone, that rule is often overlooked. Jane didn''t dare allow this to burn her skin any more than it needed to. She patted at her arms and legs, rolling on the hot floor to try and put herself out before the stinging and burning feeling went away. It wasn''t a big fire considering, hardly as much as a flame at all, but the burning pain to her flesh was very much real, forcing her to act fast. By mere chance, Jane''s quick movements to stop the fiery mess from the second Fire Ball accidently allowed her to dodge the third Fire Ball meant to slam into her. Instead, the sphere exploded on the ground away from Jane, minimizing the damage in total that was done to her.
Just as soon as Jane took care of herself, she stood up again to retaliate before the machine was given another chance. Either its design is very complex, or the energy scope above the device was misreporting the real threat. Jane however knew that shielding was not even possible for the turret anymore, which meant no more holding back on offensive capabilities. With just enough energy recovered, Jane invoked her next spell, certain it would have been enough. "Meteor Strike!" The invocation was nearly instant, forcing meteors to fall from a large red summoning glyphring that spawned high over the turret structure. Meteor Strike also costs an average of 22% MP energy in relation to her skill level, but Jane has refined it so many times, and with her natural MP conservation process, that cost was cut in half. It still emptied her entire energy supply using the area attack spell. Meteor fragments began pounding everywhere. Some hit the ground below, others hit the pillar itself, while the remaining few struck the turret''s armor where it sat. Jane could hardly believe the amount of damage done to the turret, specifically because of how functional it remained afterward.
The shockwaves from the meteor crashes alone were enough to simulate the sound of explosions. Yet the machine was still working and ready to deliver its counterattack. Jane wasn''t as ready anymore. With her MP mostly spent and her disorientation much higher, she let her legs slouch outward in exhaustion, barely managing to breathe her way back into consciousness. With little delay, the next skill in the turret''s ADC read back to Jane, Rocketry! Jane sucked in more air, as much as she could breathe. She had hardly any MP remaining right now just from passive regeneration, but needed to use it once again for a power shield.
After crossing her arms to generate another aura of energy, the turret fired six rockets from the left side attachment that was left undamaged so far. The missiles still had their tracking systems engaged, flying into the air and changing course back down to the ground where Jane was standing. Again, she closed her eyes, unable to personally watch each and every blast since just one of them could kill her right here. Jane put up the aura despite having only 2% MP to work with, the minimum requirement just to trigger the shield. The stress on the shield increased dramatically in very short of time, nearly collapsing in milliseconds upon the missile impacts. Jane let it go on her own, lucky enough to time it just after the missiles were destroyed into the ground, but Jane could barely stand up at all, severely drained by all of her fatigue and low energy ratings. Another tide changer might be of some use, and there was only one that needed little amount of energy to activate; as much as controlling an energy scope.
Jane kept her focus on the battle, as hard as that was. "Gyrobreak!" she hissed with the wear in her voice. Jane activated her spell with ease, forcing the entire ground to shake violently. Jane fell to the ground from the loss in her balance, but did so with little to mind. This wasn''t even a strategy to fight back anymore. Jane''s Gyrobreak was only a quick means to try and catch her breath, to recover even just slightly.
With the area tilting and turning in place, even the turret''s actions became sporadic and confused. The barrels were spinning and firing bullets everywhere, but the turning shaft to aim at Jane failed to get anywhere precise. Instead, the gyroscope in the system failed to help the machine aim even in the slightest. Jane was still capable of getting hit by a few stray bullets, but took her chances instead, just lying there, breathing as fast as her heart was pounding. She never felt so dizzy before in her life, fighting with every ounce of strength just to stay awake.
For another good fifteen seconds of time, the Gyrobreak prevented anything bad from happening to Jane, but once it wore off, she had only recovered about 3% of her MP reserves, prompting her to stand back up for one final move. The turret was thinking as well, no longer firing bullets aimlessly. Redemption would outright kill her, so Jane needed something a bit softer. She took out just one single dagger from her pocket this time, infusing the last of her MP energy into that blade with the spell of Armor Breaker. Infusing two blades with that much energy would be impossible right now, so she''ll just have to throw one blade at a time. After waving her hand over the blade, making it glow with a raging red aura of magical build up, Jane threw the daggers at the turret, aiming at the left side of its rocket attachment. At the same time the blade left her hand, the ADC came up with one more attack. Rocketry!
The blade hit the armor first, using its enhanced magical damage abilities to cut and pierce right through the metal material like it was paper. The dagger cut a giant slice between the middle side of the left rocket attachment, disrupting the attack of its next trick, but not completely. Just after the left rocket attachment had been sliced in half down the horizontal line, the barrels on the top attached to the trigger mechanism still allowed for three missiles to be shot out of the remaining launchers. The turret itself took much more damage, but now Jane had to face another dangerous attack with no ability to shield herself.
Jane hopped backwards a few times, desperate out of her mind to get away from the blast radius before it was too late. Even just three missiles could do much harm without any sort of shielding function. The missiles were too fast, blasting the ground in front of where Jane was standing. The shrapnel combined with the shockwave pushed Jane back off her own feet, ringing her ears and shoving her violently into the ground. The pain was much like what she had felt before, but this still felt different. Jane didn''t want to move anymore, her entire visual field was clouding with dark tunnels. It was similar to the experience Jane had after nearly losing the battle with Patrissa the other night, just fifty times worse! It''s the process of slipping into unconsciousness due to high damages and low energy - the very thing that would kill Jane right now because of her physical location. She could barely make out the energy scope hovering right above her in phase.
Never before did everything hurt so much. Her headache became too immense for Jane to want to stay awake any longer. Jane knew that the turret was still running out there, probably malfunctioning too much now to take further action, but it wouldn''t stay that way forever. She was going to die a terrible death now, unless there was some way, any way to flatten that machine from here. Instead of thinking for attacks, Jane focused more on thoughts of her past, her friends and family.
Every single event that led her to this point wasn''t very consistent either. Jane is the one person who made the decision to run all the way into danger, but before that ever happened, there were so many better days, days that she could smile looking back to. Days where she expressed her love and passion for Leray magic, days where her family struggled in debt just to enlist Jane into school at her age, and days where Jane had fun times trying to train with the new arrivals of Danny and Taylor. Teaching them the skill of Radial Stars was quite difficult, though it would be humorous for those two to think back on it now.
Jane exhaled roughly, nearly forgetting to breathe, but the thought of one thing led to another, an ability of exchange Claudia was speaking of, though she was never clear on what any of it meant. Some of the most advanced students have the ability to change the location of glyphrings to appear in other places, even with the most simple of attacks. The most simple of attacks could work. Radial Stars, Jane projected. I could project an attack anywhere else, if I just try... Radial Stars...
Jane held her tongue, her throat scrapped too poorly to say anything at a room voice level. Destroying that turret was paramount, and Jane had but moments before it strikes back. With as much health as she had now, it was a miracle she was still somehow conscious, but that would end with a single hit of anything from anywhere. Jane tried to imagine the interior of the turret structure, right down to the circuitry and internal component boards she got a glimpse of earlier. Somewhere in that turret is the CPU chip powering the entire operation, and Jane just needed to hit the inside of the turret from here.
"Radial Stars," she croaked. Jane wished to fire a small barrage of Radial Stars from the inside of the structure, in hopes than even the weakest Leray attack in the book would be enough to harm the central works of the manmade machine. Jane felt as if her skill was being invoked, but it was hard to tell at this point. Suddenly there was a sound of an explosion echoing through the air, but Jane couldn''t even turn her head far enough to check on what it was about. She was exhausted, too drained to keep her eyes open forever. Everything went cold while it felt like the world was spinning around her. She could feel less of everything. It wasn''t long afterwards when everything went completely dark.
Chapter 31: Symbols
<12/02/1970 ¨C 13:40 | Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The day had been slipping by peacefully, with the yellow glow of light beaming through the top windows near the staircase of the house. Smith scratched his chin while lounging on the couch in front of the television. Everything around him was quiet, even Tiffany. His wife was likely still in the bathroom, or in the bedroom possibly waiting for their daughter to return home from the inspection.
There wasn''t much left to do today. Smith had already fixed the glitch in the primary generator located in the basement, minimizing the loss in electrical power to the house, and today was his day off from work. Normally, he would walk around his home town Fronas, being asked by nearly everyone to fix any broken machines or to build newer, better ones from old scrap. A freelancing mechanic is what some people called him, despite that not being his official job description. While the seconds slowly ticked by, Smith considered the second job offer he had the other day to help stock an entire store in the next town north. The pay is better, Smith reminded himself. But who knows where it may lead in the end?
"Honey? I''m about to make lunch."
Smith heard his wife over the sound of a distant flushing toilet, replacing his thoughts with the new directives. What Tiffany meant was to ask him to help set up the table and clean around that area, but she has her own unique way of communicating that much. One sentence means two things instead of one. While that took some time getting used to, this never bothered him after adjusting. If it is already that time again, then they should be home any minute now.
*Slam!* She broke the silence with the quick shut of the front door, shaking the foundations of the structure and possibly the ear drums of her parents. She could already see that dad was halfway into the kitchen, now focusing his attention on her, and Jane could only guess that her mother was already trying to make something to eat tonight. None of that mattered right now; the papers in her hand were all she cared about! Jane refused to hold in her excitement another moment longer. "I got it! I got it!"
"Jane?" the mother questioned. Just as always, Jane is so easily excited by anything. Right now, it looks like she might have grown half an inch!
Jane side stepped over to the dining room table, pulling out a chair for no apparent reason, refusing to sit down in it for now. "I got approved for eligibility! I can go to Dakota this January!" Jane excitingly shook the papers in her hand, then gently set them on the top of the wooden carved table.
Smith walked up to the dining room, already showing his daughter moral support. "Haha! I told you that day would come. So you can train at Dakota right?" He sat down in the chair opposite side of Jane''s, proving to her that this was important for him to consider as well.
"That''s right," Jane agreed. She firmly pointed to herself with pride. "Soon you''ll be looking at an early trainee in the arts of Leray magic. I''ll be able to use all kinds of awesome spells, and nobody will be able to beat me." Her gloating was noticeable in the tone of her voice and in her attitude.
"I hope you''re ready for it," Tiffany interjected. "Not many fifteen year old girls can just walk into a Leray training facility and drill through the work like Mowdown." She referenced a unique magical ability for the civilian population. Civilians don''t normally have the right to use Leray magic in any form, except for a few exceptional powers like the skill known as Mowdown, which uses light Leray magical damage in the form of physical floor based cuts to mow the lawn in a quick and effective way. Then there was the obvious magical invocation of electrical energy used to create power for a generator. Such simple or silly skills existed in all kinds of forms, but Dakota''s training academy was going to be teaching the type of magic that people don''t normally get access to; the power to cause actual harm and damage on other individuals. Despite Leray battles becoming a popular sport centuries ago, learning that kind of magic bears a big responsibility that most people tend to forget sometimes.
Jane silently resented being called fifteen. This month is the end of January, and in the middle of March, she will turn sixteen years old. Might as well round upwards.
"I''m sure she''ll be fine honey," Smith dismissed. It was a big deal for their daughter to sign up for a Leray training facility by any regard, let alone try to make an entire career out of Leray magic. It defiantly differed from their family''s normal historical accomplishments, though not in a way that he viewed to be shameful. Jane has always been like this. Ever since Jane was just a small child, she became obsessed and fallen in love with the very idea of Leray magical powers like the ones seen in those action packed movies. It was amazing to see her still so energetic about the whole thing so many years later. Though mildly dangerous as it may be, it was easy to tell that Jane was overly passionate about this. As far as anyone knew, Leray magic may cause harm, but is still non-lethal. However, there was the matter of the money involvement too.
The inspection is what people go through when entering a training facility for screening. Inspectors there ask entries a series of questions, mostly of mental preparation to see which of those are best suited for learning the arts of Leray magic. Then there is a physical test on top of that, one that evaluates the current skill level of those trying to enter. Jane doesn''t even know how to use Radial Stars yet, but most people can''t even learn that before becoming adults. If they''re lucky, the facilities offer discounts on the entry fees and classes that must be paid for, rarely do they offer potential students a completely free scholarship opportunity. Everyone who comes out of the inspection as approvable gets an invite with the price notice on the same paper. Jane was holding that paper right now. "How much did they give you off?"
Confused, Jane slowly sat in the chair, contemplating the meaning of her dad''s question.
Smith sighed with stress, standing up to take the paper Jane set down and read it in his face. "Discount sweetie. They''re supposed to give you some sort of payment plan if you''ve been approved. You were supposed to talk them into that..."
"Smith!" Tiffany barked. His voice had been quickly exceeding that aggressive tone of his. "Don''t!"
Dad seemed to conform immediately, but he wasn''t near done with the subject. Instead, he turned the paper to Tiffany''s eyes to argue with her, since Jane didn''t know any better. "See how this only states three percent off for three entire years? There''s no way we can afford this on our current income. They cheated the discount just like I thought they would!"
Tiffany exhaled softly, relieved that Smith actually has no intention of forcing Jane into this, which is what it sounded like a second ago. He''s just mad about the failed discount, but they can''t really do that to the Venn family, can they? "What about passive..."
Jane''s expression changed quickly to a horrified look of confusion, as her parents were quietly whispering amongst themselves. She didn''t know that going to Leray School could be so expensive. If they really couldn''t afford for her to go, then that means she would never-ever become a Leray master. She shook her head. Jane couldn''t fathom the thought that her dreams could so easily be shot down over a financial issue.
Chapter Theme Shift: Edge of Darkness ~ Two Worlds 2 OST
The sound of the front door opening again interrupted Mr. and Ms. Venn. By the time she walked through the door, the atmosphere around the family once again changed. Smith already seemed to have tensed up in just one second of time, deviating from the earlier conversation to address his other daughter, only two years older than Jane. "Where have you been Iya? You''re two hours late again."
Iona is Jane''s older sister, who went by the short name of Iya with her family. Her hair was dyed a very dark blond that could almost be considered a shade of black when damp, a style change she took up to bring out the amber glow in her eyes, and right now, she was rocking a dark T-shirt with tight skinny jeans. Iona was not like Jane in the slightest. Her attitude spoke the loudest of volumes for her character. There was a good reason why dad was already getting upset with her, not even a second before steeping back into her home. "So! It''s not like I missed anything. This place is boring anyway as always, and I can stay out for however long I want."
"Iya," her dad started.
"I''ll be in my room," she declared. Iya ignored the tensions, hopping straight up the stairs while pulling out her compact communicator. The device was a developmental mobile communication device, allowing two people each with one to send textual data only at the space of a few hundred meters, or more if there weren''t so many trees around here to diffract the signals. The machine was in competition with another device known as cell phones, but Iona was hooked on either one.
Smith sighed again, knowing he was already defeated a while ago. Ever since Iya got her new expensive toy, she''s been doing nothing lately, other than never being home and hanging out with her so-called friends. He knew better! Iona had to be hanging out with more vile teenagers, perhaps only boys her age. She has that attitude on her, only one more advanced than the typical kind. Iya just isn''t controllable anymore, which is why he left Tiffany to handle that more often than himself. Not long ago, Iya has lost almost all of her previous manners and respect for the family. In contrast, Jane was easy, never talking back, never disobeying orders, nor disrespecting anybody. She didn''t even have a boyfriend yet as far as Smith could tell. School may change that, but... Oh right! The finance plan!If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"Anyway," Smith continued. "There''s no easy way to make this happen. I think the best thing we can do right now is wait it out until we''ve saved a bit more."
"What are you talking about?" Jane probed.
Her mother gave Jane the same disappointed look, one that reflected Jane''s fear. "Honey..." Tiffany paused, afraid of saying this in the wrong way, but it wasn''t easy to tell her excited daughter that school still isn''t even a possibility yet. Jane had been looking forward to this for a long time, and last week when she was invited to be evaluated, Jane got her hopes so high so fast. "We still can''t afford to pay off the school''s debt should we enroll you there. We have to save more until then. I''m sorry."
"But you guys promised! You said this year if I get approved, I can go in!"
"We said maybe you could go in," Smith corrected.
That didn''t help calm her down at all. "You both lied to me!" Jane shouted. "Thanks to you, I''ll never become a Leray fighter!" She stood back up, forcing the chair to slide behind her violently. Jane felt so frustrated, her entire head began pounding instantly. All of that hard work was for nothing!
"Okay look honey," dad eased. Jane appeared as if she might explode into a frenzy of rage, but his voice prolonged her last resorting patience. "We''re thinking of different ways to save for next year. Now you don''t know much about Leray magic yet, making the physical exam that much harder for you, but there might be a way to change that."
Tiffany turned to face her husband. "What are you talking about?"
Smith turned back to her, mirroring her concern while confusing Jane in silence. "You don''t think I''ve done my research on Dakota? It''s the cheapest school we have around here, believe it or not, but I seemed to have stumbled upon some interesting news. There is an old Leray teacher from Junon coming here to Fronas for about six months or so. People say that he can train just about anyone in physical combat and self-defense classes for six credits a month per person. It''s not about Leray magic, but if Jane were to take such a class this year, it might help her do better on the next inspection, thus giving us a massive discount. As far as I can see, it''s the best hope we have of affording her class next year."
Her mother glanced at Jane, who seemed to be confused, still a little upset looking. She then focused on Smith again, hoping to break down that explanation further. "So you want to train her for self-defense? I don''t know if that makes much sense, and if we''re paying six a month, how can be put away savings for next year? With your job being slow these days..."
"Forget that job," Smith denied with hand signals. "I think I can do better. I got an offer to help stock the store in Blue Port. It doesn''t start out with much now, but if I perform well, I''ll be moved up a few positions that are currently vacant. I''ll then be moving things from Blue Port and Gross, making my salary much better than it is today."
"Why didn''t you tell me sooner? I mean, isn''t that a good idea?" she pondered.
Dad shook his head, reluctant to agree. "I would be working almost all day, six days a week even after promotions I''m told. It means I won''t be around as often."
Tiffany didn''t know what to say, shocked by the same predicament, but it didn''t take long to think about the considerations. With more money into this family, Jane would get to go to school next year with additional training in physical close combat defense, while the northern towns would prosper a little more. On the downside, he''ll almost never be around. Why didn''t he discuss this with her sooner? Smith always does this! It''s not like Tiffany needed him that much for maintaining the house, or just being here for the family, for Jane anyway. But still...
"I know its sudden news," Smith deterred. "That''s why I sat on it for a day or two. We make decisions like that together, you hear?"
So he did plan on telling her? Oh, what a fine mess this is! Tiffany nodded after brief moment in response to her husband, then turned to Jane to see what she wanted. After all, most of this struggle is for her anyway. This very decision, it determines the fate of Jane Venn''s future. She''s loved Leray magic for so long now, and somehow that support has not died with her. It isn''t fair to deny her that future, even weighing the hardships it will cause. Jane better want this with every fiber of her being. "Sweetie? I think we can get you in next year, with a pre-class entry this year. Would you like that?"
Jane seemed calmer, but in truth she was having trouble understanding the situation entirely. It sounded a lot like they were making stronger plans to bring Jane into school by next January, but she couldn''t be sure. And whatever this self-defense class thing is, it sounded like fun. "You promise?"
Smith chuckled, sweeping up to Jane with his hand open in front of her. He closed his hand, except for his pinky finger. "I pinky swear."
Tiffany waited for Jane to pinky shake on it, but the trouble already sank in. Jane wasn''t as oblivious as an average fifteen year old girl. She must know what they were talking about to some extent, enough to realize that everyone will be seeing much less of Jane''s father. She always was bright in her finest moments. And I''m sure Iya will be thrilled. She''ll have to be watched even more closely than ever. Jane made the finger shake in front of them, sealing that promise again.
Smith looked into Jane''s green eyes, still so full of excitement and potential. "The man''s name is Master Boncho. He''ll have assistance with the setup from Mr. Mire. We want you to train with him on weekends. It''s not officially school, but it still counts towards your evaluation, and it will impress them much further if you can learn their skills. Understand?"
"Okay?" Jane replied.
"He won''t be teaching you Leray magic just yet. First, you have to get your body into fit shape. You''ll be learning other cool things you can do without even learning magic, but it''s only for this year. Next year, I swear, it will help you get in Dakota and excel above the others." And if it doesn''t, Smith will just have a word with the headmaster there, his style.
"But," Jane argued. "If you have to be fit to get in Dakota, why aren''t the others doing that?"
"A few of them are actually," he explained. "Look at it this way. You do this training this year right? And that training will carry over to your Leray classes next year. The other kids won''t have this previous training you''re about to have; that advantage that you will then carry. Only a few are going to be training with Mire and Boncho alongside you, so it''s still a pristine experience. The difference will happen then, you''ll automatically become better than the other students, instead of passively learning alongside them. Think of it like learning acceleration. You''re getting more training than the other kids will get, but only you will know about it, see?"
Jane nodded yes, but she didn''t seem so sure she understood what that meant.
"You''re still hung up on that?" The voice belonged to Iona, who had been walking down the stairs long enough to hear that end of the conversation. Her tone was already messy. She made it sound as if it was an embarrassing thing for Jane to still be interested in Leray magic at all.
"Nope," dad exhaled. "I think we got everything put together. Jane will be entering school next year, but doing some pre-training this year."
Iona huffed out a breath, silently trying to scold Jane''s decision as she shifted towards the fridge for snacks, but Smith caught on, enough to intervene.
Iya would be like this, but so what if she doesn''t care for Leray magic? The point is that Jane cares about it deeply. The least Iya could do is show some support for her younger sister. "And what''s so wrong with that?" he stuck.
Iya finally lifted her head up for a moment, putting her hands on her hips. "Leray magic is just for kids. You know, for those who haven''t grown up yet?" It''s nothing but a waste of time. Ever since Jane got hooked onto the idea, suddenly, it''s all the entire family talks about. Does the world really fuel itself on magic that much?
"Oh is it," Smith raised his voice. His wife wanted him to calm down already, but he ignored that visual signal. "Because I hear people can make careers out of fighting through magic. And as far as I can tell, Jane has already accomplished more than you have, in less the time."
Jane looked away from them, too disturbed to even look at Iya right now. She and Iya used to play together as kids, until one day she just wanted to grow up and hang out with all the cool people. Jane didn''t hate her sister for that. She hated her sister for mocking Leray magic even once. It''s just wrong to call such special abilities like that a waste of time, but Jane saved her breath for today. Her dad was taking care of it right now, if it would even work this time.
As intimidating as that might have sounded, Iya knew that Smith was just trying to anger her. It won''t work tonight. "Whatever. I''m not in the mood to hang out with the lame squad today. I''m going¡ª"
"Going where?" Smith caught on to that blunt statement before Iya could try to finish it, mostly because it was hardly the first time she was doing this.
She gave a piercing stare at her father, trying to show that nothing in the world could stop her. "Out." She paused for a moment, already able to predict more stupid questions about where she would be, and so on. Iya then shut the fridge aggressively without taking anything from it, her feet heading for the door beyond the connecting dining room.
Smith just nodded sarcastically. "And did you clean your room like we asked you to? All of your assigned research is up to date?"
"Clean it when I get back," she replied.
"Yeah, well when you do, which will be earlier than ten tonight, we need to have a talk about your future young ma''am. Since you don''t like magic so much, that doesn''t mean you can just traught around with no aim in the world."
"Young ma''am? I''m sixteen years old dad, not some fucking kid!"
"Whoa!" "Okay!" Both her parents were already at their breaking point with her, but Iya wasn''t about to stay and see where it went either. Cursing in front of them was hardly a new thing either; that started about six months ago.
She pulled out her communicator again, and opened the front door to leave. "I''ll be back when you all have something good going on for once." With that, Iona slammed the door behind her.
Smith could already feel his blood pressure rising through the roof, exhaling violently and putting his arms down to try and chill out. He gave Tiffany a brief look of defeat, but she didn''t have anything to say about it either. "Where did I go wrong with her?" Is Iona actually ashamed that this is a family of Leray magic? If that were true, it wouldn''t make any sense.
Jane just pretended to look at the ground. Iya was always like this now and then, talking back, using foul language, and often ducking her daily chores, which goes double when they try to punish her or ground her. Because that''s worked so well in the past... Jane wondered what she meant by those words though. When something good is going on? Did Iona mean something simple, like a party with her friends? Or was it a symbol of something else? Jane could not figure out what exactly Iya had against Leray magic, or more specifically this entire family. She could not recall ever doing anything mean to Iya, or anything that would upset her. Sometimes Jane would be asked by her sister to break some rules, or do something she isn''t supposed to. Jane would always refuse though, putting Iya in the worst of moods. What is she up to outside today anyway? What does she go out to do? That would be anyone''s wild guess.
Tiffany just ignored the situation for now, returning her attention to Jane. "You know I love you right?" She waited for Jane to nod, too exhausted now to verbally reply. "We''re gonna get you into Dakota, one way or another. You don''t have to worry about the if. Just worry about the when, which will be next year. Use that time to get good at practice, okay?"
"Okay," Jane answered. It was moments like these, moments where everyone would be in some sort of stressful mode that reminded Jane of the earlier days. She graduated from general school about a year ago, the school that teaches children from ages four to thirteen about normal academics. It''s a combination of elementary and high school placed together. After that - kids are done, ready to be sent out into the world to find work. The idea is preparation for Leray academies, but not everybody goes that route. Jane was particularly determinate to reflect more on the days where there wasn''t so much stress, but that wasn''t so easy. Her grandfather died when she was only three, sending this family closer to poverty since then, with nothing left in the will by coincidence of accidents.
Fronas is just like that though. It''s a new town, but one that is so small, there is hardly any opportunity for income here. Everyone living in Fronas is just getting by or making ends meets, most of which contain families with jobs in Blue Port Town or kids that officially live in Gross City. With the construction of the Dakota academy complete ten years ago, it was supposed to be a means of attracting more people and allowing the town to grow bigger financially. The impact was minimal, barely effective in doing any of that, but Jane had other things to worry about. She needs to get into the Dakota academy in order to learn Leray magic and fulfill her dream, but she always wondered what such a facility would be like. Would it match the same thing as her other school? Would the people there be friendly or at least interesting?
It was another unknown. Jane had great grades and conduct in general school, which is supposedly what made her lose the friends she had. Now days, the girls were jealous of her success or her looks, and treated her poorly long after forming relationships. Does that happen to everyone? Jane thought. Why do people like Iya make so many friends, while people like me who try so hard make so few?
Chapter 32: The Price of Failure
<01/28/1972 ¨C 01:05 | The Outback {Alpha Zero}, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
After what felt like an eternity of nothing - Jane winced her eyes shut tighter, cringing from the pain while waking up elsewhere. This was more than morning sleepiness. Jane''s head was pounding with a migraine. Her arms and legs felt sore and burnt, while her stomach, chest, and hips imitated the slashing tear of muscle inside her. With a powerful inhale of hot dusty air burning at her lungs, Jane forced herself to become more conscious than before. Nothing happened quickly for her.
Where am I? What''s happening? Her mind raced on without any clear answers. The pounding tension of intense pressure matched with her heartbeat as the vascular pain burned behind her eyes. The burning slash across her hips and her stomach were equally distracting on their own. Though her eyes opened to reveal in more light, it was hard to see anything at all. Jane could automatically tell that she was not indoors from the brushing wind on her skin, feeling the humid rushing volcanic air on sections of her legs, feet, arms, and hands. Jane was suited up in a black and blue outfit that had been torn in various places, ruined by some sort of surreal damage. Then Jane recognized the landscape with her face lifting halfway off the ground, the red colored floor full of dust, ashes, scorched earth, and grains of what once was the land of the Outback. The lighting was dark before, but it was nearly impossible to see now. The fog has thinned out, but the red light in the sky was fading into darkness behind translucent clouds. For once Jane forgot about what happened to her moments ago, she finally woke up and remembered.
Her memory didn''t entirely add up, bothering her. Jane didn''t recall winning her battle against the last opponent, the massive sentry turret that trapped her in here, but the red Siriean dome that blocked her escape was no longer active. While Jane carefully pushed herself to sit upright using the back of her arms, she realized that the turret was gone too, and there was evidence that it used to exist. Large metal fragment pieces cluttered the area, even a piece of the top of the pillar that had blown off with the device. The pillar didn''t hide back into the ground, and instead of any company, Jane was entirely alone here.
The feeling of passing out again was still strong. It was amazing she was still alive, considering she lost consciousness for a moment before. Shouldn''t she be dead? How did that turret go down? Jane struggled with her physical senses, the migraine being the only thing she could feel the most.
She tried to run her own energy scope, which must have disabled itself somehow. If she was asleep, that means she did passed out. She should be dead, and Jane very much feared that such the result has already come to pass. This could just be the afterlife, but if that were true, then this must be total hell. If she were in hell, her very pains and distortions of her senses should have been cured. No, she somehow survived this carnage. They say that passing out from damage in the dark zone means immediate termination of one''s life, but that begs the question: "Why am I still alive?" Jane''s voice was scratchy and hoarse from her previous encounter, causing her to cough twice while her chest burned inside. She couldn''t remember what she did to overcome the victory, only faint moments of battling the turret, and faint moments of her symbol activating on her hand again.
The energy scope appeared in front of Jane, projecting holographically. After reading the stats, Jane realized she was only going to be alive for moments longer, unless she could do something about her health immediately. Everything still hurt, so much that it became hard to concentrate. Jane closed her eyes, using her left hand to hold her head from the massive pain of tension and physical pressure flooding in. It was terrible in itself, but Jane knew she couldn''t let a headache be the thing that ends her life. It was amazing that she survived this far in.
Struggling to remember how it is done, Jane tried to pull her supply sphere into phase, consuming less time than it did to pull up the energy scope. The supply sphere fell into her hand, which Jane used to open up and search for any kind of healing orb. To her surprise, there were only two left, and they were standard issue versions too. Jane tried to concentrate again, too drained to be herself anymore. After taking the first healing orb out of the sphere, forcing it to decompress into her lap, Jane closed the supply sphere, realizing that two healing orbs will not be better than one in this case.
After clasping onto the orb and activating the device in her hands, Jane began to feel a little better. At the very least, she felt like there was just a little more energy to go around, but other than that, nothing else changed. The pains wrecking her entire body remained there, except for the migraine which had taken a break from hurting her. All of her cuts and wounds were slightly sealed, but they were deep and permanent. After the orb''s light faded, the stats of her health barely changed at all.
With so much real time damage already done, it nearly made no difference at all. Jane shouldn''t be alive if she has suffered this much to her physical health. Her organs were probably shutting down by the hour. While deciding to keep her energy scope active above her, Jane tried to stand up, finding that more difficult than she thought. Somewhere in the last fight, somehow - Jane must have sprained her ankle as well, making it hard to stand up on the right leg. First of all, she needed to know which way she was going. After all that just happened, there was no point in even thinking about making it to the Den of Purity. If so much as an ordinary pet dog bites her, she could be killed immediately. Despite the poor lighting, the carved path in the ground was still somewhat visible, although disfigured behind her from all of the missiles that crashed into the ground before. Craters populated the land mass everywhere.
Still... Which way is North and which way is South? Jane couldn''t tell. Even with the damaged paper map she hid in her pocket, the map doesn''t use a live compass, nor does it have the magical ability to do so. While she had a compass given to her before, it wasn''t on her person or in the supply sphere. Jane must have dropped it somewhere. So now that was gone too, likely destroyed from one of her previous battles. She traveled a long way up the path, and now required the way out. There was little doubt in her mind about turning around. The mission didn''t even register in her mind anymore. Thinking about fighting was in itself a suicidal thought. The way out... The way out... The way back.
Jane couldn''t use her map to figure it out, the paper just wasn''t helpful anymore. The red sky above her had turned a much darker shade of red, giving off only a third of the light it used to, but there had to be something nearby, some sort of landmark she could use to get back. The large stone arch she passed under a while ago would have been enough, but the fog still dominated the air with a certain amount of distance. That arch was too far away to know in what direction right now. Then there was the floor.
Jane realized something about the craters in the ground. They had to be from all of the missile barrages she took during the last battle. As many times as she could, Jane did her best to shield herself from the missiles every single time, meaning those missiles all had to strike somewhere in front of her. It didn''t seem likely in her imagination that a falling missile would try and hit somewhere behind where she was standing, otherwise it would deteriorate the chance of knocking her back, or missing the intended target completely. Using that data, if Jane had been standing facing those impact areas from the beginning of the battle, then that means...
Jane turned around, pointing in that direction of which she thought was her original path. The craters all fell to certain angles too, though being hard to describe or make out. It looked like south was the other direction, the one she pointed to right now. It was another miracle that she was still able to stand straight right now, because walking forward was almost impossible for her. After picking the direction and going with it, Jane had to start limping her right leg a little more just to keep up a decent speed, which was barely nothing. There was much uncertainty about her decision, because she could not be sure if this was really going south, but the path was still laid out in front of her, barely met by a different shade and makeup of the usual dirt and ash everywhere else. It was taking forever just to keep limping. Jane could not come near the speed of jogging or sprinting. If anything were to jump out and try to fight her again, it would all be over for sure. Instead of thinking about that, Jane decided to retrace her thoughts, keep her mind busy. She has a long way to limp back to right now.
While she started her long way back, Jane had a lot of down time to think and consider everything now on her mind. Without that migraine lingering, it was easier to process it all, but she was only thinking about this now for two reasons. One: her mission is already a massive failure. She lost! And now she''s heading back in a full embarrassing retreat. Two: of all the things said and done, what will those two think of her now?
Chapter Theme Shift: Rain no Water ~ RA
Jane had Danny and Taylor on her mind a lot lately. After all, she wanted nothing more right now than to just see them and talk to them again like before. Those were surely better days. Come to think of it, nothing they have ever done was for any intention to harm her or leave her behind. No, instead Jane did that to the both of them. The guilt weighing down with all the other pain was making her aware of it right now.
Jane recalled the first moment she laid eyes on them. Danny was the first more noticeable one though. Taylor at least had the decency to mind her own business, but Danny needed to just keep staring at her like she was some sort of animal in the zoo. Jane wasn''t sure if she was really that pretty in the first place. There may have been more than one reason why Danny was staring her down in class that day. Why would he not focus on the new studies set out for him? Jane never said or did anything to either of those two, for they were late anyway, and had no time to make formal introductions.
But even as she tried to get away from class as usual, Jane was at least certain that neither one of them would follow her out like that. Why would they? What purpose could come of it? Did Danny really get upset about the thought of Jane being better in academic regards? It didn''t make much sense even now, but that''s beside the point. When she made those defining threats to both of them in the hallway, Danny and Taylor didn''t shy away or back down, but it''s interesting too. He should have caved in. After all, Danny didn''t know a single thing about magic, and her money then said that Taylor knew the same amount. So if he thought a single dagger stab could kill him, why did he continue his threats in return? Danny wanted to fight Jane even knowing that he learned no magic and that she had plenty of it to go around. That''s passion if she ever saw any.
After finally getting to go to school and train for so long, Jane never expected to meet anyone like that at all. Just after she fixed her issues with them both, Jane remembered how excited they were to come over to her place to meet her family. Under ordinary circumstances, Jane would never extend that invitation so early, but she had to test them. After the last wreck of potential friends she tried to train, they spat on everyone, and showed no respect for her family.
Danny and Taylor surprised her though. When they came into that house to introduce themselves, both of them were so well behaved and mannered! It defied every single calculation she initially made about the both of them. Nothing they said set anyone off... Well, for the most part anyway. Of course, Danny still had a thing or two to learn about filtering his choice of words. That out of context thing he said about her in particular, Smith naturally took it the wrong way, but at least Taylor quickly turned that around for him. It was in that moment where Jane also became interested in them further. More emphasis of that went with the bothering question. Are Danny and Taylor brother and sister, or a potential couple yet unaware?
The look on Taylor''s face when trying to pry said enough. Her embarrassment was Jane''s personal amusement back then, but now Jane just wanted to see them both get it on with already. That boy must be so dense even right now. Jane knew almost nothing about their origin or birth place. Kalamo? That was the name of their home country, right? The important detail is that any place outside of Sprawn Valley doesn''t get involved with magic because it''s not possible to do so.
Even with everything they were beginning to learn, Danny and Taylor stuck with Jane as well. They tried so hard to learn magic, and she got along with them both because of it. Even without their parents around, they were just walking free agents living at the Fronas medical facility. Yet they are ever so nice and polite. Jane recalled, not by the moment of experience, but by explained rumor that her friends did a lot to help around the house when she fell ill with the flu. None of her previous friends would ever do that for her.
No! Those other students were not her friends! Such disgusting excuses for human beings, all they cared about were what other people thought were cool. It''s almost similar to how Iya acts these days, but Danny and Taylor are exceptional in every single way possible. They really care about her as a friend, and each other as... Jane wasn''t sure right now whether they are the type of friends who grew up together, or something else, but in either case, the end result is beautiful. Jane even recalled several moments during her personal training where Danny and Taylor both would try to pry her from her physical studies. Jane knew she would push herself to the limit, but she only did so because learning all of these new higher up spells was both fun and important. If she fell below the average skill level, Danny will eventually get his way and defeat her in a battle someday. That won''t be happening Danny. You must be thinking that right now even as you try to find me. Wipe that stupid grin off your face and know who the real fighter is.
Jane lowered her head in shame as she continued to limp on. Was she really a better fighter now? With this symbol in the way, even though it makes her stronger, nobody else has one. It''s almost like a total cheat system to help her remain stronger than anyone else. Then again, it isn''t perfect with or without her power shield. If it were, she would be limping north instead of south. It just wouldn''t be fair to fight anyone like this.
Danny and Taylor did more than look out for her. Jane knew that Danny and Taylor would stand up for what was right, defending her physically if necessary to do so. It was much like the time they tried to guard her during that incident where Dakota''s crystal shards were stolen. Even in their defeat, they tried so hard just to protect Jane while she did more. After what happened with the spell bomb in Blue Port, they continued to defend her while she couldn''t even speak for herself. Danny and Taylor lied to the investigating agents just for her sake, even knowing that such lies could have been dangerous to her health. Still, they made the right call, probably.
But then what about her? What did Jane ever do for them but lie straight to their faces about everything? So what if she was scared for her life, or afraid they might turn her in? Jane could have at least given them some version of the truth. What worse, they both bought her lie, the lie that she didn''t truly remember or know what was going on with her after the spell bomb affected her. Jane remembered just fine, that moment she first woke up in her medical bed with nobody else around.
In the medical center of Fronas, Jane''s nurse must have gone somewhere for the moment, because she was completely alone, and while Jane''s memory was fuzzy, she had enough to go off of. She tried the unknown spell bomb. That''s all she knew for certain, other than waking up somewhere else, feeling weak as ever. At the top of her right hand, this same haunting symbol dominated her every fear. As bright as it was, Jane knew it would be impossible to hide from anyone, and right in that moment, she was done for. Jane had been marked, and she knew then what that meant, the reason it was there.
The marking must not have shown up right away given later discovered circumstances. Jane still took the chance that even her nurse was unaware, but that symbol on her hand didn''t help her feel better or worse physically. All it did was give her the middle finger of fate; she would forever be screwed. But then, without any control or self-invocation, the symbol crest disappeared on its own, fading into her skin with all of its life into a now invisible tattoo, and not a moment too soon, as Francine came back shortly after.
Francine was surprised to see Jane awake, which was natural, Jane thought, but she didn''t say anything about symbols or ask any other leading questions. Just what did Jane remember? That was all the nurse cared about in the moment. Jane''s symbol was capable of fading invisible all by itself, something that she had never heard of before with symbol markings.
Normally, symbols are imbued onto people to make them living weapons of war, since that was the intention long ago during the war of mages that lasted for so long a time. When someone is marked, that symbol stays on their skin forever, at least to popular belief. Yet undeniably, the symbol cannot be hidden by anything other than strong thick clothing. That is to say, symbols don''t fade away invisible into someone''s skin like that. Jane is the only one who got this lucky break, but even right now, she didn''t feel so lucky.
After lying to Francine, Jane had to contemplate whether Danny or Taylor knew about the symbol. If they didn''t already, telling them would be the worst idea ever. There was no way they would actually turn her over to the feds, not after all they''ve been through, but then that is just another problem in itself. Being marked is highly illegal, sometimes punishable without any trial. If someone knows about a marked criminal, and harbors that secret, the crime in that itself is equal in severity. If Jane were to tell Danny and Taylor about her crest, they would then lie to protect that same secret without being capable of doing anything to fix the situation. If they get caught lying about that, assuming Jane''s secret became discovered, they too would be placed in prison for the rest of their long lives.
That''s totally unacceptable! Danny and Taylor have lives inside and outside of Sprawn Valley. She doesn''t need to endanger them with her own problems. It''s her own damn fault she is in this mess anyway. The General Army can''t have either one of them, and neither can the agents! Jane knew this was her motive for keeping this much to herself, but as every single day went by, that pain in her heart intensified further. After all they''ve done for her, she continued to spit on their own faith and respect for her. How terrible of a person did she have to be?
Still, keeping the secret was easier than she thought. Despite Jane being unable to modulate the control of her symbol, the first most noticeable thing was that exerting a lot of MP energy usually called it out in the first place. Refusing to use magic at all seemed to keep it in check, but wearing thick fingerless gloves also had a good advantage in extra protection for those heavy moments. Of course, not using any magic may have also been what set Jane into a sick state. She really did fall ill, suffering flu like symptoms and severe headaches. She knew the reason only now. Even though the secret behind her illness remained unknown to everyone including her at that given time, Jane knew now that it was the rising ME levels from her spell bomb blast putting her under so much. This went unnoticed by the medics and agents because nobody in or around Fronas had any access to specialized equipment capable of deep scanning a person''s energy signature. Even if they did, nobody including Jane had any idea that ME levels were the correlation to it all, but looking back on it now made more sense. If a person''s ME points rises rapidly and for unnatural reasons, they would be lucky to survive the side effects and illnesses caused by such. Their direct aura becomes overloaded with unnatural energy that it shouldn''t contain. ME points go up from training naturally, and it happens very slowly over time. This marking creates the only exception.
There were other problems too. Moments occurred where Jane''s specific energy signature would suddenly fail on her, and half the time with the activation appearance of her own symbol. Luckily it never went through the glove then, but as Danny and Taylor began asking questions by relating her illness to the spell bomb she used, it at least became clear to Jane that she would continue to have some sort of side effects even after recovering. This symbol does something after all; it''s not just there for decoration. An illegal human weapon of destruction? What powers would this crest hold?
For a long time, Jane had to wait in order to find out, trying desperately to keep her symbol hidden. The act in doing so gave her a heavy amount of melancholy, one that Taylor and Danny both noticed for sure. Her career was ruined, and her very existence would be threatened later in time. It would ruin anyone''s week. Jane knew that at some point in time, some natural looking effect related to Leray magic or battle exertion would affect her, in some way that would likely give way to her inner most feelings. But, that''s not exactly how things went for her.
Jane at least got the chance to travel to Blue Port and think on her first battle. How would it go if her symbol suddenly activates and goes out of control? Fighting at all would be a danger, because it would reveal her very secret, but other things were on her mind in that moment too. Danny and Taylor said something about having to leave the country soon, as soon as they get to Junon''s airport. Even if they didn''t want to leave, Jane knew it will happen soon. What more of a depressing thought on top of it all?
Things still changed during her first battle against Jack. He seemed like an ordinary challenger with a lot of bulk under his belt, but some of the first few side effects of her symbol came into view before her very eyes. Of course, Jane didn''t know what was happening at first. Her suddenly low endurance level and low reaction time could have been caused by all sorts of things, and since her symbol had not made an appearance too recently, the thought relating to such an idea was absent. But when Jane lost her first battle, it surprised her in a way she never believed possible. How weak she was then!The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
She didn''t know what she was doing by asking for a rematch with Jack. That was nothing but her pure emotion spilling through, the frustration of all her problems mixed with the impossible factor of losing her first match, but once she made it to the changing room, the terrifying reminder came before her. It happened right there behind the curtain and the door, only to show her directly.
Jane''s symbol had activated again, only a few minutes late enough not to be noticed by the crowd of people just outside. It was particularly a big problem, because that was the first time the symbol projected itself through her fingerless glove, as if the fabric material wasn''t in the way of the light itself. That haunting symbol, the planetoid with a ring and more perfect circles inside of the slight oval... It''s the same symbol that appeared in the sky when the spell bomb activated, the same dark pink color too. Why did it show up at all, and what was Jane going to do with that thing on her hand?
The appearance of that symbol given the time frame allowed her to connect the dots rather quickly. Her low endurance, her less than normal reaction speed compared to before, and the later discovered possibility of overpowered spells, it all has something to do with this magical mark. Jane discovered the side effects of the symbol right then and there, and while the mark maintained the decency to remove itself from view shortly after, the fact that it can project through clothing and dress spheres was worse in factor. If Jane fights anyone for any reason, any person watching would see, and it will all be over. At first, there was no possible hope of fixing this, but the connection between a spell bomb and a symbol has to mean something.
The Den of Purity was just a thought at the time, a lingering side chain of an idea, but the what-if factor gave Jane more of a brilliant idea. What if the mage of the Den of Purity were capable of removing spell bomb effects and symbols? It was a long shot, much further away in destination, but perhaps worth a trip. At the time, Jane had a battle to get back to, and she agreed to go on, despite the danger to test herself.
Jane remembered losing again, the major humility that made her weak from this terrible symbol. Who the hell makes a symbol that weakens the user? Wouldn''t that impair the very intention of creating the perfect weapon of war? Even so, anyone discovering it in her body would detain her on sight, and prison would become her mercy. But with actual proof that these little battle side effects were indeed connected to the sort, Jane knew that the Den of Purity was the last remaining hope left.
Danny and Taylor became somewhat suspicious again, but Jane substituted the word spell bomb for symbol, which ironically worked well, being that the symbol came from the spell bomb in the first place. In their eyes, the side effects just work from some sort of permanent magic that has no visibility. In the beginning, they thought Jane was being a poor sport in her losses. It was better they think that than to involve themselves in this horrible mess she got herself into.
With the Den of Purity being the next destination, it would also be so far away, also in the Junon region of Sprawn Valley. It''s probably the last place her friends wanted to go to, but Jane would need to change the plan here and speed up the journey to make it there specifically. Instead of waiting around, Tilsit Beach needed to be reached immediately, and that meant getting to Gross City in the same night.
Though they were reluctant to speed that up, Jane''s very sadness encouraged the thought, working for her favor in a way. That battle in Gross City was far worse and more defeating than she could imagine it being beforehand. It was dangerous in itself, since the whole battle was being recorded live. If her symbol activated there by accident, the entire world would target her all at once.
Instead, her symbol stayed safely hidden, but she lost all the same, still due to the lower endurance factor. Even with the symbol hidden, it has passive effects from hell. Losing the battle and waking up in the hotel room wasn''t what bothered her. Jane knew that her entire ability to battle was thrown off, but all it did was remind her how in deep she was with this horrifying situation. Fighting at all could invoke the appearance of her crest, and that was bad enough. Her entire life was being destroyed so quickly, losing all of her credits to be used just to make it to the Den of Purity.
No matter what they argued about that night, Jane only recalled the intense meltdown she had in the shower. She broke down into tears, crying under the cover of the running water over what everyone will think of her when they find out. Her parents will be so ashamed, possibly prosecuted as well. Danny and Taylor will be in trouble too, and if they don''t get involved, they''ll just hate her forever on the count that she would lie to them with the most ultimate sin. This crest on her body is nothing but a grueling curse! Everything will be destroyed because of it. Everyone around her, everything she could ever hope to build! Everything! Everything is all in vain!
The eye of this symbol must be the eye of pure evil, for all of this to occur without any hope of restoring the situation. Jane could feel that same hopelessness back then seeping into the current moment. She failed, and now she''ll be considered an illegal person forever. When Danny and Taylor find out all she''s done, they''ll be enemies! Shaken out of her trance of thought, Jane noticed that her eyes were watering up right now in response to the horrible memory. What''s worse, she''s become this terrible weak person of all the circumstances.
She stole some man''s money and license information just to cross Route 96, all in hopes that her license card would not be suspended. She couldn''t call an official emergency; trying to get rid of symbols wouldn''t officially count as anything good, and would have the same end result of being discovered. Having no right to use magic at all would mean Jane would never receive the capacity to fix everything after the symbol was removed. Try as she may, there is no way she can justify theft for herself, it just isn''t possible.
What about that moment on Tilsit Beach? Never in her life has Jane been such a coward. It just isn''t her! So why the hell did she run away from danger like that? Why was she so scared of being blasted by harmless Leray magic? Jane Venn of all people ran away from Tilsit beach! Anyone who hears that back home would be laughing it up for weeks. So what if Jane ended up at Monoc Port? None of that went down as planned! What did it matter that Tilsit Port was attacked by that maniac? Jane''s very life would end by the time she got back to Lennith City, and she''s less of herself now than she used to be. She could long feel the difference. There is nothing here but total shame!
Jane didn''t even realize it until now, but the desire to remove this tattoo using the Den of Purity back then was so much stronger than her own morals. Getting to Lennith City as fast as she could was the next most important thing. It was more important than turning that boat around to help find or protect her friends. It was more important to remain a sane person. It was more important than to keep her honor as a Leray wielder. Jane drilled through Route 96, but she scorned anyone who got in her way for a battle. Even if she was strong enough then to punch her skill through the challengers, even the gradyent there, it just wasn''t a real match at all for any circumstance. Jane didn''t enjoy a second of it, despite how stronger it made her in return. What did all of that rushing do for her? She carelessly tried to enter a well-known area without common knowledge that the place had been transformed into a zone of hell and death! She even went as far to reveal her symbol to Claudia and her classmates, all for the purpose of getting a defensive technique to survive here. Who the hell does that? Why am I even still alive?
Jane stopped moving in her tracks, pondering what the point of this was anymore. Why even travel back to Lennith City? What would be waiting for her there? If there really is any light at the end of this scary tunnel, does she really deserve it? Throughout all of this terrible business, Jane has done nothing but lie, cheat, steal, and deceive everyone around her, and worse, she''s deceived her two best friends in the process. What have Danny and Taylor ever done for her?
Well, Jane thought, both of them have always stuck by her side the entire time they''ve met. They''ve upheld promises, tended to her care when sick, lied to agents just for her own safety, and offered so much help and support just so that Jane could find her dream again. Those are the friends she got stuck with. What has Jane done in return for that favor? "I''m such a terrible horrible person," she admitted aloud. Jane knew it without a shadow of a doubt. Even if they were out there still looking for her right now, Jane doesn''t deserve either one of them. If she goes back now, it will just be rewarding her for her real crimes.
She remained still, Jane motionless in the darkness and silence of the hot air, waiting for a monster to spawn out of nowhere, waiting for a creature to finish off her health and die as she deserves to. At least this is the one way she can make up for it all, make up for making the world such a worse place in all her travels. "What is my life anyway? I don''t care if I live or die anymore."
Such words never felt so comforting to her before now. This place, it shall become her grave, her well-deserved grave. What would Danny and Taylor say about it then? Sure, her death would burden them, but at least she would get her punishment, her righteous judgment brought down upon her¡ª
An electrifying thought shook her mind just then. Danny, Taylor, and Alyssa will obviously mourn her death if she gives up here and now... But Jane would be tormented forever without end if she somehow did make it back to Lennith City. Having her friends back knowing she doesn''t deserve them, this feeling of endless sorrow because of her floating dark side, that is in itself a form of her own suffering. If she dies here now, that possibility will end for her...
So which is actually worse? What option serves as a more fitting punishment right now for all the terrible things Jane has done? Dying is bad enough, but once it''s over, she won''t feel any more pain. Jane deserves worse, nodding her head to deny her last wave of logic. Suffering forever because she''s ashamed of the person she''s become, that would be a more fitting punishment for her sins, one better fit because it lasts longer, and because it causes less harm to the others in the same instance. If Jane were to go and head back now, it will probably destroy her. But even so, she deserves it! She deserves this more than to endure the sweet mercy of an easy death in this hell hole. Screw the dark zone! I''ll let my own sorrow and the judgment of my own friends become my own grave instead.
Jane pushed herself to move again. This feeling; it isn''t the desire to keep surviving. This is different. Jane knew she has no future, but by heading back to Lennith City in her defeat, she''ll end up suffering from one much worse, one she''s suddenly realized after walking alone for so long. Her punishment must come from all the people she''s wronged thus far, not from some magic nobody fully understands. She''ll limp as long and as far as it takes, despite all of the pains in her body. The worst damage isn''t in her body anyway.
Chapter Theme Shift: Harbinger of Death ~ Adrian Von Ziegler
Nearly an hour passed in the time she took sliding all the way back towards Lennith City''s boarder. Jane was feeling nothing but fatigue from how much sweating the heat forced on her. The migraine she retained was slowly getting worse than ever before, yet she kept those physical sensations at bay with constant pondering of other thoughts she had about her entire life. What did those pains matter to her anyway? The thoughts she had right now however circled back to that dream she had after being knocked out by the last sentry turret. Jane didn''t remember passing out in the fight, nor did she remember how it was won in her favor, but she did happen to remember the dream she had while she was asleep. Only it was not just a dream, but an entire memory she lived through roughly two years ago.
Those were entirely different times. Jane found it difficult to believe how much changed in such little duration. Only less than two years ago was she begging to get into Dakota''s training facility, and on that same year she began close combat training with master Boncho. That was really the only distinct thing that allowed Jane to freely move with such agile maneuvers during her Leray battles, and the reason a pair set of daggers was her preferred choice. It''s the one thing that allows her to side step, backflip, and jump kick off of other things during physical based attacks with so much ease and grace in battles. It''s so easy for her now that it has become automatic, a routine technique every time fighting with those daggers of hers. They don''t teach this in Dakota, nor do they teach this in Lennith''s training school.
Jane refused to believe she was the only one with such excellent fine tuning in her speed and maneuverability, but the dream of that day reminded her of other things. She did not think a lot about her sister in such a long time. It''s not like Iya changed much anyway, but Jane could imagine right now just walking up to her, challenging her to a battle, or at the very least, asking her how she has been. It''s hard to even conceive how important Iona is to Jane, despite the way her older sister treated her all of these years. Jane could despise her, hate her choices, and even mock her abilities every day of the week, but she could not stop loving her, no matter what was going on in her family. After everything she has said and done, Iona is probably a better person than Jane right now.
After dad got that job in Blue Port Town, the new income really did come flowing in, and he received a few more days off than what he expected on some of the weeks. It paid off well considering her new Leray license. Jane had nearly forgotten too, that her evaluation test at Lennith''s facility upgraded her license card to Advanced Leray Wielder status. A fitting name for what she was physically capable of, but that''s the very thing that bothered her even now. It wasn''t Jane that was pulling off all of these cool new abilities with much more power, nor was it her that could so easily perfect a modified power shield that works in ways it should not. It''s this stupid symbol stuck in her hand, declaring her as a marked one, throwing her ME numbers in places it should not belong, and changing who she is.
She had goals back then - Jane reminded herself of that, dreams that far outstretched those of the average. Jane has always dreamed of becoming a Leray master, placing her entire life''s choices on making that come true, but becoming a Leray master is not easy work, nor is the matter simple. Defeating the champion of Leray magic is but a stepping stone to becoming a master. One must still train beyond that benchmark to become so strong, there isn''t a single ability the wielder cannot invoke. It''s a dream that inspired her long before joining with Dakota. Now the dream that will die with her mind. Despite having this terrible symbol, what has Jane done but run away from her friends, lie to their faces, cheat battles, and steal from others? No, nobody will ever forgive her again. That is why she cannot die here in this hell. Her place is back there, where she belongs under such harsh chastising.
The sight of a large set of boulders in front Jane briefly distracted her. Was this patch of rock familiar? A fast exhale of fear flew from her lungs. Jane heard a sweep sound echo from the distance, followed by a few short bangs of something falling close by. She quickly dragged herself and her sprained leg to the boulders, hoping to duck down below them and hide. Hiding is her only way to survive right now, and that meant backing down from any creature or movement in this area.
After she made it there, the sounds didn''t stop, but they formed sort of a pattern. It almost sounded like footsteps, only very large and massive bangs instead of steps, and happening at a quarter speed of what a person would normally walk at. The volume was slightly rising each time, warning Jane that something was approaching nearby. She held her breath, and remained perfectly still waiting for the next monstrous creature to show itself.
More than an entire minute passed by though. Was the sound getting louder? Jane couldn''t keep focusing too much on the same thing, it was driving her crazy! She retraced her thoughts from before, again confirming what she already has. Danny and Taylor should be in Lennith City before long, and when they do arrive, Jane will let them do whatever they want to her. If they want to turn her into the authorities, that works out just fine. They can even kill her if they would like, but that probably won''t happen. After all, Jane is the only one who has messed up so badly. They better be pissed off at her though. None of those whining or worried gestures will be acceptable, none at all.
*Crunch!* Jane tensed up, realizing that the noise had to be right on the other side of this boulder. She wanted to take a peak, but was frozen in fear. If the unknown creature noticed her, it will be all over. Additional crunch sounds stomped into the ground, proving to Jane that there was physical movement nearby. It would be impossible to identify what sort of creature was making that noise, but it had to be pretty big. Every step it took, Jane could feel the entire ground shake in response. Thus, they must be footsteps, steps of something massive and heavy, though not tall enough to be seen from the cover of the boulders.
Jane could feel her heart racing. If the creature has a good enough sense of smell, she will be done for. After another thirty seconds or so, the noises began decreasing in volume, as if it were walking away now. With much hesitation, Jane tiptoed in the dusty dirt field, peeking only the top of her head above the edge of the boulder. As soon as she could see on the other side, her eyes concluded another unbelievable phenomena. The movement was defiantly from another creature, another monstrous summon from Alpha Zero. This time, it''s just a bunch of large rocks and boulders of different texture glued together in the form or shape of an actual person. The entire formation was more like twenty times the size of a human, nothing more than a collection of large moving rocks for the arms and legs, a different shaped stone head that Jane was viewing form behind, making her wonder what sort of facial features the stone golem could possibly have. A magical based stone golem!
No way it was a pushover in battle, and despite having no place for ordinary sensual input, Jane remained hidden and silent for as long as possible, ducking back down to wait it out until the general area was clear to keep traveling on. The rumbling from the stomps of rocks in the ground remained constant, though decreasing slowly in volume with the distance growing again. Because of how long it was taking, Jane once again began reminiscing more on her memories.
There wasn''t much else she could visit where she had not already, but Jane turned her thoughts over to Claudia and her class. They helped her at first without knowing who she was or that she was a living illegal weapon. Still, some fault must remain on Claudia for letting some random stranger into her class without any official registration. That in itself is an illegal action, and Jane is still surprised that this teacher would do something like that just out of curiosity for herself. It doesn''t change the fact that Jane in turn agreed to go through with it. She took advantage of everyone there by utilizing their free training for her own personal gain. Just by her presence there, she threatened the validity of Claudia''s career in more ways than one. As far as Alyssa was concerned, she would have been better off pretending to be that rude hardcore person Jane used to be herself at that age. Why did she suddenly believe in a person like Jane, a person who is nothing but a vile excuse for a human being? Even if all of this was triggered by the context of this symbol, these were all choices Jane consciously made for herself. Nothing in the world could ever change that.
Jane no longer heard the noises of large steps of the stone golem, and poked her body out form the boulder to check her surroundings again. Her senses confirmed again that she was alone, and that the fiery smell of burning foliage still filled the air around her. Because of the suit''s damages, Jane''s feet were no longer protected by the fabric material, launching hot dirt and a few pebbles of rock up the crevice of her toes. It wasn''t hard to step in the wrong place. Jane continued trying to make it back to the stone arch as the land mark, continuing her random chain of thought wherever it was leading her to conclude.
There was not much else to ponder though. All of the battles Jane had fought since Route 96 went much smoother than the previous ones. The crest was responsible for those too, allowing Jane to conserve massive amounts of MP as Claudia put it. It also enabled her to learn magic abilities in just eighteen percent of the average time it takes to master and invoke them. Jane was defiantly stronger with this curse than without it, but after everything it has done to her in return, and everything that''s come from having this symbol... There is no greater curse in the world than to be marked.
After silence endured in her head for ten more minutes, Jane could see the massive stone arch, her spirits lifting in joy that she was indeed heading south towards safety. While passing back under the arch, Jane started thinking about what to do next. She has seen so much of the unseen realm here; information that the General Army would consider invaluable in assisting the efforts to wipe out the Alpha Zero from the lands. She would be charged with so many different violations of the law, it would take a separate miracle just to not be sentenced to prison. Since she was punishing herself anyway, the least she could do in all of that is help the army out with some of this information. Good or bad intentions involved, nothing about Alpha Zero should be allowed to exist.
What the agents will do to her once they end up finding out about her symbol, it will be devastating. They might send her to prison with all of the hardcore criminals. They might even cut off her hand as a potential means of removing the crest. Or they might even study her like a lab rat. Who knows what they might do? Out of all things, Jane doesn''t know what they actually do to marked ones. Those who get caught don''t even get the chance to publicly testify how terrible it is; they simply disappear as the rumors say.
At least Jane will be able to see the faces of her friends one last time. Maybe offering some help in taking out this dark zone will help lessen the severity of her sentence in time. If she''s locked in a prison with her thoughts, it wouldn''t be so bad. Seeing the faces of her friends after what she''s done to them would be more fitting for¡ª "Whoah!" Smacking into the ground, Jane barely broke her fall with her arms in front of her, scraping her skin against the deceptively rough surface of the dry scorched earth. She had tripped over a mere tiny rock, knocking her to the ground hard enough to drop her supply sphere. Believing to have hidden it into phased space, Jane found her supply sphere rolling out form the top of her outfit, spinning away from her by a few feet.
Jane struggled with her painful orientation to get back up, and picked up her supply sphere before doing so. She opened the sphere making sure it belonged to her, and that all of her things were there. Jane saw something inside of her sphere that she forgot about earlier, something she should have taken out a while ago. It''s the jeweled necklace that Alyssa gave to her before departing. An absolute reminder that Jane did in fact make a few new friends on her cursed journey too. "Alyssa," Jane hovered. She took the necklace out of its condensed form from the sphere, now holding on to it at eye level. "How did I forget about this?" she sulked. "How could I forget about you even for a moment?"
Jane shut the capsule on the sphere, and held the necklace around her neck until it wrapped around, fitting her perfectly. This is just another example, another reason why she is such a terrible person. She could forget about Alyssa''s kind gesture. What kind of monster is Jane anyway? The stone had the unique color between dark green and bright cyan, and it reflected even the dimmest of light so beautifully. Alone, it''s a very nice fashion statement, but this was more than a pretty gem stone, it''s a reminder of how well the people back in Lennith cared for her. Of course, when things go down, that will soon change, as it should!
It hurt Jane to think of how selfish she has been thus far, but the terrible question reached her thoughts with a similar pattern she had before this. What about Alyssa''s goals? What is it that she has always wanted to do? Despite already knowing it to be part of her personality, how did Jane continue seeing herself and her problems more important than the people she cared about? "Aahhhhggg!" Dropping down to her knees in pure agony, Jane held her forehead tightly in response to the staggering pain shooting straight to her brain. It didn''t let up either. It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Owh! It hurts! Oh my god - It hurts!
It was nearly all Jane could think about anymore, the pain growing severe fast. Inhaling didn''t work, trying to stand up made it hurt even worse. Technically everywhere hurt at the same time, but the headache was doing the most harm right now, making the other pains seem harmless in comparison. Why did it intensify all the sudden? Jane struggled to stand back up and keep moving. She was still stuck in the dark zone right now, still in imminent danger. Headache or not, she still at least needed to keep that one promise of getting back safely.
Jane didn''t want to seem overdramatic, but she couldn''t help from squinting her eyes, groaning in response from how badly the migraine was damaging her health and morale. She refused to stop, reminding herself of the new goals she had set for herself so suddenly. Got to get back. I have to find them, confess to them everything I''ve done.
Only ten more minutes passed in the painful limp back home, Jane barely capable anymore of marching on. After every step she took, she was getting weaker, the migraine getting much worse. As a paranoid favor to herself, Jane reactivated her energy scope again, wondering if something outside of her own control was hurting her. She was already feeling dizzy and faint, which wasn''t so much the case before.
When did this happen?! Jane had no clue what was draining away her MP energy thus far, but it was hard to focus on it at all, difficult just to think beyond how badly her head was pounding away. Her breathing became rapid, just as an attempt to come near hyperventilating herself for the sake of decreasing her ability to feel such pain, but it wasn''t working. After another moment, the stat level on her energy scope changed once again.
Her magical capacity was draining right in front of her eyes, slowly but surely. This is why she felt so tired and warped so suddenly. With critical HP levels, insufficient MP can lead to yet another blackout. Jane could die right here and now just from exhaustion, but she didn''t give up. The massive migraine was however a major challenge to get through. Jane''s steps forward were decreasing in length. Every second passing, her head pain got even worse somehow.
Jane held her head again with both hands, covering her face. She stopped walking, and slowly sunk to the ground, totally immobilized by the intense pain. Jane wanted to just scream out from the agony as loud as she possibly could, but something else was stopping her. She felt tired, really tired. It was like an instantaneous burden of exhaustion took over everything, her dizziness getting so intense that it began to achieve the result Jane had tried to achieve earlier from hyperventilating. The pain was still so intense, but everything was feeling lighter now, finally.
Jane shut her eyes willingly. She didn''t care anymore that this meant giving up. She at least tried to make it back in time before anything happened. All of that wasted effort avoiding those stone golems! A simple headache was killing her, and now she was phasing out of consciousness as a result. The pain was receding because of this, which is what let Jane give into that sensation of nothingness, and the desire to feel it forever. She tried to give herself a more worthy punishment by living, but obviously the forces of nature would argue otherwise. A headache is going to kill her of all things here...
So be it then. Resting on the hot disgusting dirt filled ground was like giving her legs a rest after standing up for ten straight hours, only for her entire body instead of just her legs. Jane finally embraced that feeling of nothingness. It was so much better than this hell. There had to be anything better, and this was it, the long nap of eternity. Though it didn''t fit everything as well, death is still something Jane accepted now. It''s a way she can pay in part for everything she''s done to everyone.
To be continued...
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Chapter 33: When Two Makes Three
<01/28/1972 ¨C 12:02 | Medical Center, Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The sound of an oceanic wave crashed by near her. Jane managed to make out the distant static noise, but the details of her conclusion were off. She couldn''t see anything with her eyes shut, and the sound of the ocean wasn''t totally matching perfectly. It''s so cold! Jane wanted to shiver in response, but every fiber in her body was still aching. She was so tired, it was impossible to believe she got any real rest at all.
Less than a few seconds; this is all it took for Jane to remember everything, to realize that she wasn''t supposed to be sleeping! The dark zone is where she was, still in danger, yet the warming heat was replaced with blasts of chills. Did she fall sleep? Jane needed to open her eyes to confirm her environment, shaking the powerful sensation of physical exhaustion. The light from above hurt so much, it was nearly impossible to make anything out at first, but that''s when the sound Jane heard earlier became recognizable. It was constant, a centripetal wave in perpetual motion instead of an oceanic wave. It had to be a nearby fan, or some kind of vent?
Wherever Jane was, neither the ocean nor a medical facility would make any sense. She never got out of the dark zone in the first place. Who would come there to pick her up if anything happened to her? "Mmmnnn!" Jane moaned. The migraine Jane felt earlier disappeared entirely, but the other battle pains, bruises, cuts, scrapes, and burns were still persistent on chipping away her comfort. Even when lying down and doing nothing, everywhere hurt in so many different ways. Jane''s eyes finally adjusted through the blur, revealing with focus on the nearby space, confirming to her that she was indeed inside of a building, one made of metallic structure with machinery all around her. It wasn''t unfamiliar either.
"Wha?" Jane exhaled. With much right to be confused, Jane deduced that she was in a medical facility, and not just any facility either. This is the same room she used after passing out on Route 96, after fighting Patrissa. It had the same design, same equipment, and the same beeping heart monitor to her side.
"Well - you''re awake."
Jane turned her head, putting a painful stress on her neck. She must have developed a neck-strain while she was out on top of everything else. Hidden in plain sight to her right, Jane noticed doctor Ashly standing before her, and she appeared to be staring at Jane with a peculiar suspenseful glint. Jane was pinned in her medical bed, several blankets covering her, and an ivy in her left arm. Jane struggled at first to get up, but her entire body was barely responsive just to her nervous system, forcing her to quit early.
"Before you even ask me about anything," Ashly forewarned, "I would like you to answer just one question... Are you actually stupid, or do we need to transfer you to our mental institution bay?"
What a one-sided question; Ashly was cynical if anything. "What kind of..." Jane stopped herself, still pondering what could have happened. This was almost like before. She woke up here in bad shape, but last time, someone carried her back. What was the case for it this time? By the moment Jane''s mind wandered to seek more questions from her medic, she soon realized where Ashly was going with her rhetorical insult. Ashly didn''t even want Jane to have any time to answer, continuing to lecture her like her mother would be doing right now if present.
"Of all the places to go, of all the things you can do to live in the moment..." Ashly sounded so furious, Jane would have thought by now that she wasn''t able to continue the statement. "You knew not to enter Alpha Zero! The General Army would not just let some civilian slip by into a restricted zone, which meant you had to have snuck in."
"God, I know!" Jane hated to sound like she had an attitude, but the gap in time bothered her so much. She didn''t remember making it back successfully, so how did she end up here?! "How did I get here?"
"Look at yourself!" Ashly pointed with both arms. Waiting for Jane to examine her own body under the covers, Ashly continued to ignore the questions until after she got everything out. Jane was mostly wrapped up in medical bandages, but serious burns were visible underneath. "What possible excuse could you make to do that to yourself?! To run into a danger class five area, running around with lethal magic and dangerous creatures?!"
Wasn''t Alpha Zero danger class four last week...? Not the point. Jane knew Ashly was upset deep down. It was strange to see a doctor care so much about a patient whom of which barely knew each other, but nobody was supposed to go into Alpha Zero, not one soul. Jane noticed after peeking under the thick sheets that her clothes had been changed. She was willing to live with the assumption that Ashly did this after arriving here in the medical center. That black and blue outfit was done for anyway, but the hint of anything other than that scenario was unacceptable right now. "Aah¡ª" Jane opened her mouth to answer, but showing Ashly the crest would not be a wise decision. Nobody else knew it existed, and it would be a great idea to keep it that way. Still, there wasn''t denying the truth that she was seeking out the man''s services. "I wanted to reverse a spell, from Brightworth... It wasn''t worth it¡ª" Jane''s throat burned and itched just enough to force her into a ray of coughing over and over - lasting for a good five seconds.
Ashly raised her brows, glancing down for a moment and then nodding. "Yeah. I''ll say. Were you not aware that Brightworth is public enemy number one?! And all of that, all of this," she pointed at Jane again, "for a simple spell reversal?!"
She turned her eyes, unwilling to look at Ashly anymore. Jane understood the illogical move she made while she was still in Alpha Zero, that and much more. Why did she have to hear it all over again?
"I guess it''s stupidity then."
She snapped her face in Ashly''s direction again. Jane hadn''t been this pissed off before by one of her own medics, and Ashly was being completely hostile. "Hey!" she snapped, Jane''s voice somehow managing to keep together after what had happened to her. "I know it was stupid, and I know I almost died back there, but I have no idea what the hell is going on. I don''t know how I got here or who dragged me back. The least you can do for me is tell me what happened after I passed out! Otherwise you can just leave." Jane''s heart was elevating, registered on the monitor behind her, but it wasn''t anger driving her for the moment.
Dr. Ashly was bound by her obligations to tell her patients what happened to them if at all possible. Jane must have known to be in trouble based on where she was found. "As you can clearly tell, you''ve been brought back here." Her voice calmed quickly, explaining the reports in sequence how everything supposedly happened. "Carried and dragged, a couple of kids as careless as yourself went straight in and found your body, nearly dead in the middle of the fields. They went into the dark zone only about two miles of the way. And after they returned, we''ve sealed off that back route they supposedly used to get in."
"Who? Who are they?" Jane couldn''t help but sound desperate for answers. Last time, it was a Leray agent, but Ashly was describing people in the plural sense. To give that kind of description, as carless as herself? It couldn''t be! Have they really caught up to what was going on, risking their very lives after all that happened?
"I can''t disclose that information right now."
"Why not?" she tested.
Ashly answered, "Because you are still in such horrible shape, that you need to rest longer. At the very least, you shouldn''t get your stress raised anymore today, but they still want to visit you, so if you feel better in about an hour, I''ll think about it."
"Visit me?"
Ashly nodded. "The commissioner wants to see you too. Not that that''s surprising. A girl found alive from Alpha Zero brought back in rough shape, yet to be identified." Ashly had elaborated the last sentence to make it sound like a news bulletin. "You''re the talk of the city right now, and I won''t be letting you out of this facility at all until you have completely healed, physically and mentally."
Jane wanted to ask more, but her head was spinning with too many thoughts at once. She has been trying to prepare herself for the very possibility that her friends might finally find her here, but not like this. Then again, it may not even be them. The thought of coming back alive from that evil place, it became her next long montrum; addicting Jane to her own thoughts of every battle she had there.
She knew Jane wanted to ask. There wasn''t any harm in estimating. "You''re stats don''t even respond an inch with advanced healing orbs, so we have to use multiple treatments of Starlov Boosters for as long as it takes. One is average on a medical budget, but more than two will cost you."
Starlov Boosters...? Jane vaguely remembered from what she learned in Fronas about such items. They are special drugs designed specifically for healing real time damage that is specifically inflicted by unusual magic. Even non-magic users who suffer some kind of accidents don''t get them, which meant they had to be expensive. They don''t work as instantly as medical orbs either. It can take days, sometimes weeks to heal form real time damage completely, and that''s with the boosters! Jane could agree with one thing; it would be impossible just to move out of this bed, all thanks to the damage she already suffered. It''s no wonder why they haven''t strapped her down to this unit. Jane knew she wasn''t physically capable of leaving here on her own power, but to be as awake and as alert as this, her MP stats had to be higher now after her first injection.
"Second injection comes in two hours," Ashly reported. "I''ll be back to check on you every ten minutes. We can talk about the boring billing and time details later."
Jane watched the doctor walk out of here in a firm manner. Jane let the silence slip in as she took a long moment to inhale and contemplate everything that happened. This would surely take some time, as she needed to come up with a few new plans on what to do next. The very first thing for sure is finding Danny and Taylor again, no matter how long that takes. But then what?
Jane tried to steer her thoughts back to Alpha Zero again. While she was inside of that hell, there wasn''t really any time to think about how incredibly dangerous or scary it was. But now, looking back on it, everything just seemed like a nightmare, like a horror film playing in loop she could not shut down. The entire memory felt like it could swallow Jane up in one instant, trapping her inside of this room and killing her off once and for all. Over and over again did Jane play back what happened in there, stopping herself against her own control before she had all of the details straight.
Then the rest finally caught up to her mind. It was at the moment Ashly left when Jane felt totally alone again, but that is what triggered the memory of her last chain of thought. She was about to die in there for other reasons. Jane became suicidal, and all because she''d been making poor decisions from the moment she had been marked. Coming back here to find Danny and Taylor and tell them the truth was her motivation then to make it back here, all in the hopes that she would suffer the worst of all criticism, hopefully from the people she cared most about. Jane did this to herself; nobody else could have. How could she ever make up for all of the terrible things she''s done?
Chapter Theme Shift: Reflected Moon ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
Jane could hardly believe how little the high quality medicine was helping her. After dismissing the energy scope in front of her, Jane continued counting the minutes away. They have a wall clock right in front of her bed, reading to be 1:40 P.M. Ashly came back to check every now and then, and told her that Jane may be allowed to walk around with a longer leash after an hour if possible, but she forgot to track how much time passed since then. It felt like three hours for her, the silence sheering at her nerves.
It also gave her more time to think about what to try next. Luckily for her, Jane had a much better plan that would all work out if executed correctly. There''s just more to this than trying to punish herself. Jane knew that her friends deserve the truth, and they deserve to do whatever they want to her. After all said and done, there is one more thing Jane would like to do in the meantime.
"Morning." The sound of the creek from the door opening so quickly made Jane quiver. Dr. Seth disregarded his intrusion with a nod, carrying a blue case file to the counter near him. After the door shut by itself, he waited for Jane''s predetermined question.
"Has it been an hour?" she asked. Jane didn''t need to worry that Seth was here instead of Ashly, since they often both work together on the same patients.
Seth turned around to face Jane, while his expression carried a load of something else. "That it has. May I ask the reason for your desire to walk around town in such a depleted state?"
Jane turned her head left and right. "No, no," she disagreed. "I don''t want to walk around town. I only want to go to the entrance. I need to see my visitors, and I''ll be fine to move on my own." Jane had several back pains and stomach sheering dominating the other sensations that would prefer to disagree with her confidence, but she kept quiet for now.
"Well then," Seth analyzed. "That is something I can do. Lennith''s commissioner has placed sentries and gradyents all over each exit to prevent any idea of you leaving town anytime. Dr. Ashly has required that you remain in Lennith City until you are officially discharged by her care."
A medical doctor arranged all of that? Such dedication. "But¡ª"
"Furthermore," Seth interrupted, "You will not be taking part in any Leray related activity or extraneous physical exercise, and you will be required to return to this room no later than every six hours should you leave the facility. Meaning, you can have breaks to dwell outside of this facility, but you will require treatment and monitoring every six hours at a time, including that for resting. We will have the room prepared for you at all times should you decide to rest in early."
"Seth?" Jane called. What is he saying? Ashly would wring this guy''s neck if she could hear him speak right now. Jane wasn''t even in terms with exiting from the medical center, but Seth is just going to let her try it, and for six hours at a time? What is the guy''s game?
"Visiting privileges will be allowed for now, but during treatments or resting will those rights be restricted, unless stated otherwise by the attending medical officer or legal guardian. I want you back from this current walk - in less than two hours. The commissioner has Leray agents everywhere to make sure you don''t do anything else stupid. Should you fail to return to this room in exactly two hours, your rights to travel outside will be prohibited, and we will be required then to use physical restraints during your time of recovery."
A long silence prevailed, indicating that his prepared legal speech was over with, though Seth was still not saying anything else. Jane knew from start that this was all really coming from Dr. Ashly. At first it seemed like Seth was extending an invitation, but he would never use the word physical restraints in the same sentence like that. It''s just not in his character. No, this was Ashly calming down and giving her a conditional long leash just as Jane wanted, but that''s not what''s important right now. "I know. I''m not going to pull anything stupid."
Seth sighed at himself, wondering if anything was the right call anymore. Bobbing his head towards Jane, it signaled for her to gently get out of the bed, unhook the ivy of water from her arm, and take her bearings. Jane was still wearing the medical uniform, which was but a thin zip-up dress with the design of an apron. With the reminder, he had to ask, "Do you have a dress sphere that you can change into?"
She wasn''t entirely sure, but Jane vaguely suspected that one of her classmates from Lennith might have given her a dress sphere as one of the parting gifts. It would be in her supply sphere, currently sitting on the shelf behind her.
Seth allowed the rest of his judgment to give her the permission to leave, for she seemed healthy enough. "I''ll let you take it from here. Also, you''ll want to dress tightly, to hide the scars."
Jane wasn''t certain why he cared enough to elaborate that last detail, but what Ashly said earlier had her a bit nervous just to leave this room, for good reason. Jane didn''t consider until now how horrifyingly damaged and banged up her body was. Most of her skin was charred and burned up with cuts, scrapes, deep wounds sealed by more burns, and nothing else but a total mess. Any stranger who sees her might actually call child services or the agents in confusion, and there was no telling without a mirror nearby how bad it was for her face. "Am I going to be bothered by everyone who sees my face?"
"No," he guessed. "I wouldn''t say you''re that popular. Not everybody knows that the girl they brought back here is you, and the people who do know might not recognize you if they don''t see extensive skin damage. The agents stationed around here are the exemption however."
"I almost look as bad as a corpse."
"As one may expect for a first time survivor of Alpha Zero. Just heed caution. We''ll keep in touch." Holding the door, Dr. Seth confirmed that it was his time to leave, allowing Jane to change into a different outfit while approaching her ability to temporarily be discharged. That paperwork happens at the back desk.
Jane took her chances, popping the dress sphere out of her supply sphere. She had been through the procedure of leaving here before. Her visitors are either going to be waiting right at the front desk, or just outside. Jane was preferring and hoping for the outer entrance, wishing to breathe all of that fresh air so close by. After the red hell she stepped into, Jane nearly forgot how to appreciate a normal morning of sunshine.
The dress sphere she obtained was a simple kind; a long dress with a partway cut overskirt that gave the overall structure balance in a new wave of fashion that has gained popularity among most of the girls. It looks so elegant on those prepared to battle, and with this one colored with a dark yellow hue, Jane was happy to be wearing something new.
By the time she got dressed and ready to walk outside past the main exit of the building, Jane could already feel a tension building up around her. Nobody she recognized was in sight, so they had to be standing outside, but Jane hoped so far that this circumstance would allow her to skip the long process of tracking down her friends. After all, it would be more difficult now as she isn''t allowed to leave Lennith City.
The gust of cool fresh air pushed her back as she pulled the double doors open. Though it was much too bright to stare straight up despite how early in the morning it was, Jane could still tell by the glow of light that there was a total absence of clouds and bad weather. With her new dress sphere being a bright yellow dress with orange patterns and designs down the sides, Jane was lighting up more than she expected to.
Chapter Theme Shift: Vale of Li''Shen ~ Arvenas
"My. Our big hero returns!" a woman called.
The voice drew Jane''s attention quickly, initially thinking it to be a crowd of curious people wondering about what she had done, but the front entrance of the building was almost vacant of all other people but a few. Some civilians who didn''t know her were just passing by minding their own business. The girl pointing towards Jane was recognized as Taylor Feer. Excitement and thrill rushed Jane''s thoughts, as Danny was facing away from the building a few meters behind Taylor. It was nearly unbelievable how much luck Jane was receiving lately, her friends already here for her. Forgetting all about that heavy stuff, Jane was immediately overcome by a welcoming sense of joy and happiness forcing a smile to form.
Taylor casually approached Jane Venn, making sure of her identity by every detail. Jane seemed to be happy just to see her with that smirk on her face. Taylor thus drew her arm, swiping her hand through the air to punch Jane''s right cheek hard enough to turn a few heads their way, much more sending Jane backwards off her feet.
Jane cringed from that hard hit and covered her face, now burning with the vengeance Taylor suddenly let out. She then felt the shock of her entire rear body scrape against the rough short cut grass below her. Jane had to carefully find her way back onto her feet, but she took her time to get her mind straight, while Danny was just standing there expecting this to happen. Jane didn''t get upset though, realizing that this was to be expected after what she had done since Tilsit, no, since before their very separation. It would only be but another second before Taylor starts shouting at her for minutes without end. Jane met her eyes, daring to listen to every detail and word possible. Taylor has all the right in the world to scream at her and hate her. Jane knew she needed this!
"I can''t believe you!" Taylor freaked. "Running to Lennith without us, acting like such a baby over what I can hardly call an emergency. You have any idea how much trouble you''ve caused us?"
Jane lowered her gaze slightly, returning it a moment later. You have no idea Taylor. I''ve caused more trouble for you than I can ever be okay with. Keep it coming!
Waiting for any sort of reply, Jane remained silent about it, showing Taylor that she had to have some shame left in her as she remained on the floor in defeat. "And to just find your body lying there in that hell hole, you could have died!"
Jane interrupted with the surface of a new detail, standing back tall to figure it out. "Wait, you?" she said pointing. "You pulled me out of the dark zone?"
"We both did," Danny hollered. He wasn''t even interested in turning around to face her. He stared in one direction only, listening to Taylor, making sure every single word or insult was let out.
"All because you can''t accept a few natural losses in battles. Why are we even traveling together, after you just left us there in that mess?!"
Jane was nearly speechless. She knew how to handle this before, but hearing it from Taylor directly was overwhelming. She really has a way of making this hurt more than expected. Then again, it should be hurting this much. Jane knew what she did from the moment she left Tilsit, and from the moment she decided to lie to them. Improvising for words, Jane began with a long exhale. "I''m sorry."
"Oh - is that all?" Taylor snide with her voice filling the entire world.
Jane never realized until now how pissed off and volatile Taylor could become. It''s so impressive! "The blame is all mine. I was acting like a kid, a complete and total idiot. I put myself before you two, and risked my own life senselessly over a stupid spell."
"Are my ears working?" Danny turned around, finally able to face Jane. It was very rare to catch her in an apologetic mood, let alone admitting to causing so much trouble. Jane Venn of all people having any self-humility is about as rare as seeing the moon turn blue.
Jane met his gaze, hoping to see his very emotion through his hazel eyes. In truth, Danny''s expression seemed quite monotone, which was scarier because it masked his every possible thought process, but Taylor was still furious. It would have been moronic to believe her anger would fade as quickly as that.
"You should have tried to get back¡ª"
"I know!" Jane repeated, approaching tears from everything she could regret. "I planned to find you after I was done, but my plan was both stupid and irresponsible. I never thought all these extra things were going to happen."
"It doesn''t matter!" Taylor yelled. "You were supposed to take us to Junon with you, and you failed to uphold anything you said. What if something happened to us? How would you feel then?"
"Taylor, I don''t know what else to say." Jane couldn''t imagine anything bad happening to either of them, which is why she erased the very possibility from her mind before.
Danny watched them both, as their argument was attracting a few people left and right. They still wandered by without stopping, but the whole deal made him curious to know what was currently going on with Jane. Her face was also badly bruised and scared up from the damages of the dark zone, but it made him mildly nervous, since others would think Taylor drew that much physical damage from hitting her.
Taylor reflected, "Would you? I didn''t think cowards were that bright, but thanks for proving my point."
"Nothing I do can possibly make this right," Jane confessed. "I know I didn''t want to die in that place, but to come back here to this¡ª" Jane immediately referenced the very argument before her. "I deserve all of it. I made every mistake possible! I''ve destroyed my career, I lied to you both..." Unable to handle the process anymore, Jane sank to her knees in tears, but nobody else followed her down for her sympathy.
Taylor let this endure for as long as she saw appropriate. "You can cry all you like, you disgusting excuse for a human being."
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"Taylor?"
She turned directly to Danny, forcing him to stay on reminder for everything Jane has done. "Don''t you start forgiving her now."
"It''s not about that." Danny''s words finally got Taylor to calm down just for a moment. There was something odd in the last thing Jane spoke of. "Did you hear what Jane just said? She said she''s lied to us both." Now facing the girl in tears directly, Danny reiterated his question. "I want to know what context this lie belongs to, because I don''t recall having you made that mistake."
So Jane went even further to fib? Danny would be like this, since he is lately over-analytical, but that doesn''t matter. It isn''t worth the time to hear about it. Taylor turned around, resetting her mood towards the teenage boy. "I don''t care what it regards. You think what she did is ever going to be excusable? You think I''ll ever be okay with what she left for us back there?"
"She doesn''t know Taylor!" His words silenced her immediately, but she kept staring.
Jane on the other hand was moving her eyes around more rapidly after lifting her hands as their cover, confused by the sudden misunderstanding. She had to wipe the moisture away to clearly see their faces. "Know what? What am I missing now?"
Chapter Theme Shift: Calm ~ Aleksander Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)
Danny turned to Jane, now ready to explain the situation better. Regarding what Jane was about to reveal earlier, that will just have to wait. "How would you describe exactly what went on at Tilsit Beach that day? Taylor and I will at least let you speak on this."
"Oh, that..." Arching her eyes downward to remember, Jane leaned back on the concrete of the building behind her all balled up on the ground, preparing for the long version of her explanation. "Well you both know what happened before. I was in the study section of the library, researching on my condition with little luck. Then I walked outside. I was supposed to find you, but instead I was distracted."
"The lighthouse?" he elaborated.
Jane nodded curiously. "Yes, how did you know?" Danny didn''t answer back, so Jane had to just continue. "I saw something happening. It sort of looked like a commotion, but much more like some fight between two guards. I don''t know who those people were, but since I witnessed part of what happened, the tower guard threw fireballs at me. After what happened in the battle before that, I couldn''t bring myself to fight anyone, no matter what the reason was. So I just ran. I ran to the docks, hopped on the first clunker I saw, and messed up the navigation controls while heading out to sea."
"You expect me to believe you got lost at sea because of bad navigation controls?" Taylor was already losing it again, but Danny allowed Jane to continue after a quick comparison of details.
"Jane, do you know what that man was up to, or who he was?"
"No," she replied. "I had no time to figure the details. I don''t even know why I ran away. There could have been a number of Leray agents there to help me, but I wasn''t in a mood to deal with any agents then."
"Why?"
Danny held his hand towards Taylor, telling Jane to ignore the question for now. "Keep explaining what happened next."
"Well, after getting far out at sea, that''s when I decided to become stupid enough to head over to Monoc Port, site of Junon. I needed to reverse this spell, and there was only one way and place to do that."
"The Den of Purity," Danny figured. Jane had told him about that place not too long ago, after Jane was fussing about her disabling spell.
It''s like Danny was anticipating her very answers. Wait a second! Taylor backed up a pace, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! How did you get there with messed up navigation controls?"
Danny wanted the answer too, and allowed Jane to fill in the rest of the unknowns. Jane didn''t understand why they were questioning her like this when she could just tell them. She can''t show them though, not out here with bystanders. "The engine was messed up too, in pretty bad shape. I had to use a lot of magical energy to get here, making use of the spell Water Blast as a primitive propulsion system. The currents did the rest. It took all night." They both nodded, accepting the explanation, but now it was Jane''s turn to learn about their adventures. "Now it''s my turn. I don''t have any idea what happened to you both there. What transpired after I was gone?"
"Well your attacker," Danny prepared to spit out, "drew a large scene, which brought by the nearest Leray agent there, but he was only a lifeguard agent, carrying little training whatsoever. There was a lot more than just one enemy."
"Who?" Jane repeated.
Finally simmering down, Taylor chimed in to help Jane understand the mess she left behind. "The Scarlet Cult. They infiltrated the lighthouse. I wouldn''t have guessed that they have a digital information center below ground of that facility."
"Wh¡ªwhat?!"
Danny credited, "You heard right. The man chasing you like a lunatic was only defending his operation. They invaded the lighthouse system covertly, and stole a ton of sensitive data. We both only learned about what was going on from the Leray agents working there, but even I don''t understand the rest of it, neither do I understand their motives."
"The Scarlet Cult?" Jane read back. "As in, the same group of thugs who jacked the crystal shards from Dakota?"
"One and the same." Taylor crossed her arms, unwilling to put up with the patience required to speak with Jane even now. "That''s why I asked you what you would have done if we would have died. Scarlet soldiers were attacking civilians, just to defend what wasn''t even their own. We didn''t even know you were gone, until a few witnesses describing you told us that you stole a boat?"
"I think I stole more than a boat," Jane confessed. "Truth is," she started, "I don''t think I will be able to make up for any of my mistakes. I''ve messed up far more than you''ve realized."
Danny saw Jane''s eyes watering up. She was fighting back tears right now, but it couldn''t have been easy running around on her own. He wanted to tell Jane how happy was he was right now, glad to see her alive and safe. That was the only reason they were both so angry at her anyway. Taylor wouldn''t even admit that to him, should Jane be far away elsewhere. Still, something wasn''t fitting into this alibi. "Jane? Seriously, did you really cause all of this mayhem because of a spell bomb, because you wanted to have better odds in Leray battles?"
This was it, Jane told herself. The time for secrets with these two is just over with now, as Danny is somehow catching on automatically. Holding her breath, Jane revealed her act of deception. "No." Taylor shivered in surprise, though Danny must have suspected as much. "There is actually more to this spell bomb thing than I''ve let on."
"You''re kidding!" Taylor couldn''t believe that there were even more lies behind it all, but Jane didn''t seem like she was pretending to confess anything. Is this what Danny tried to warn her about earlier, about Jane lying to them?
Nodding, Jane elaborated on the events that forever changed her life. "I''ve done so much to myself, and to both of you. I won''t let either of you forgive me. But first you must know..." Jane glanced around her immediate area, making sure that nobody was eaves dropping. If Danny and Taylor want to blow her secret out of the water afterwards, that''s just fine with her. "You both remember what happened to me the moment I activated that spell bomb, right?"
"Nobody forgot that except for you," Danny corrected.
"Remember the symbol that appeared in the sky?" she reminded. "I think one of you tried to show me its composition by drawing it after I got sick and all. I pretended not to fully understand what was going on. I pretended not to remember several extra details, and for a while, it didn''t really make much sense to me either, but there is a reason I was so urgent to rush to the Den of Purity. It''s not about my career at all anymore." Jane looked around, making sure that no other persons were hovering or close enough to make this out. The way Danny and Taylor were hovering in front of her made this part a little easier. Jane held out her right arm flat in front of both of them.
Jane wasn''t normally capable of projecting her symbol at will, but after all of the physical experience brought back out of the dark zone, Jane was certain that she could invoke its very light in front of the next two witnesses. After waiting for only a second of time, the crest of light activated on the top of her hand with a pulsating sound, projecting the 3-D symbol that matched the same exact design and color of that seen in the sky the day the mark was given to her, and before they could even process what was going on, Jane began to feel the symbol grow even stronger, shining brightly enough to glimmer light from a great distance. It was certainly a very high risk considering Jane was sort of on watch from the nearby sentries, but nobody around her would be able to clearly make out what was happening now. She instinctively inhaled, immediately feeling three times better and stronger than before. Just by showing off this crest, Jane was powering up, probably accelerating the process of the Starlov Boosters currently attempting to heal all of her real time damage. She also felt much better because she cut off her last remaining chance to lie to her friends ever again. Finally, the truth comes out!
Danny and Taylor were both at a loss for words, staring deeply into the magical crest holographically tattooed on Jane''s hand. "No way!" Taylor diffused. "Is that?"
Danny want to grab her hand, try and see if the symbol was something he too could feel, but Jane pulled her arm back before then, covering up its light with her other free hand. She was suddenly trying to turn it back off while explaining as much as she could about the crest, and she seemed incredibly nervous trying as much. "They are the same symbols. Though nothing in the database matches what I was searching for."
"What is that thing?" Danny demanded. The spell bomb did this? How did she hide it when she was sick?
The light under her hand was gone now. Jane lifted her hand up again, revealing to her friends how easy it was to hide the symbol from plain sight. "It''s a magical symbol, a mark imbued onto the skin with a purpose of permanently enhancing one''s powers to a specific degree, depending on which symbol is used."
"Symbols...? I¡ª I don''t understand." Taylor even reflected mental confusion on her expression. Why hide it at all, and what was the difference between an ordinary symbol and a glyphring?
"Uh," What is this? Danny and Taylor have never heard of symbols or marks before? Even if they are new to Sprawn Valley, surely they have at least heard of the most formidable crime one could commit by having one! A pause endured... They don''t. They really don''t know! How stupid has she been this whole time? They''ll never hate her for this if they don''t have the context! Jane glanced around her again, making certain that no one else saw what she had tried to do. "I''m sorry, I forgot that you might not have known what that was at first glance. Symbol markings are not like glyphrings, though they can look alike. Remember how that thief in Fronas escaped with our crystal shards?"
"He teleported?" Danny believed all along that he used that method to escape. Back then though, he was only fascinated by the existence of such power.
"Right," Jane clarified. "In Leray battles, certain skills can make us teleport, but that''s not what we call it when it is used by a Leray ability. It''s called matter transference instead." Whence both Taylor and Danny were silent again, it was Jane''s cue to elaborate even further. "Matter transference is similar to teleportation in that it has similar effects, but there is no such Leray ability alone that allows for real teleportation at a distance. The difference is that teleportation often requires the assistance of an actual symbol, at least when used so quickly. Transference does not. Since transference cannot actually take you very far in distance, and because it is the only traceable form of the skill, actual teleportation is not legal for ordinary people here. Those who teleport without a symbol can only do so if authorized, but others can use symbols when teleporting to speed up the process. More or less, the faster version is illegal because it makes use of a symbol. Only agents that use special spells that create temporary and artificial symbols can teleport legally."
"What does that have to do with the symbol you have?"
Jane noticed how soothing Taylor''s voice became. She was so calm now, or at lease she sounded as much. Still, Jane felt as if she deserved more ridicule for the many mistakes she has made so far. "Don''t you get it? Not only are symbols usually permanent unless removed at the Den of Purity, but symbols in question are absolutely one hundred percent illegal and dangerous. The thing I just showed to you, should anybody else see it, let alone hear a rumor that I am marked, I''ll be hunted down by the General Army. At the very least, thrown in prison."
Danny held two fingers to his forehead, getting the headache of a lifetime. "Let me get this going straight. You have a magic symbol in you, a mark that is considered illegal..." After what he just said, Danny suddenly froze, though not so noticeably. The reference he just called to mind clicked in with Jane''s entire behavior! A spell bomb blasts her from the sky, which gives her that mark on her hand, but if the mark is supposedly so illegal, then that means Jane is considered a super dangerous person, one that would never find relief if discovered by anyone else. She hid this all from everyone to protect herself, running to the one and only place to... Jane didn''t do this to remove a low endurance rating! She did this to make sure she could seal a secret that would forever have her locked away into prison for the rest of her days! Danny didn''t have any idea why they are illegal, but that reference isn''t important enough to put other pieces together. Realizing this, his breath escaped from him while Jane continued to elaborate.
"Illegal on one of the highest levels," Jane corrected. "It would make my attempted use of the spell bomb seem like skipping school for a day with minimal punishment."
Taylor nodded and continued, "And this symbol is part of your permanent spell?"
"No, the symbol is the permanent spell." Jane remembered back to the moment it was inflicted upon her. "The spell bomb was a prototype, something not in any official manifest. That''s why I didn''t find any good results on what it was. And the man who gave it to me, I still don''t know enough about him, but he said it was dangerous. I wish I paid more attention to the warning. Spell bombs are not known to actually imbue magical symbols on people, making this one an illegal tool."
"It''s dangerous?" Taylor requested.
"Yes," she repeated. "You both saw what condition I was in just from trying to activate the damn thing, and how sick I got afterwards. I later found out that the illness was nothing more than a very painful overload of MP energy, as my capacity in the form of ME was elevated too high. In fact, the numbers are still probably climbing as we speak."
"I knew it had to be related!" Taylor needed that, to admit that she was right all along. Even without knowing much about Leray magic and the general rules, something had been off about Jane physically since the day of that incident, but Taylor only thought something was odd about the illness in relation to the spell bomb. She had been clueless on everything else.
"I only discovered my own symbol the first time I woke up from that mess, back in the Fronas medical center. All I knew was that I was marked with a symbol, something that would get me in a lot more trouble than what Eliza would have cared for. Taylor almost caught me with the crest on, so I had to hide it, and that''s the first time I lied to you two."
No way! Does she think that we would just throw her under the bus for something like that? Whether it was made aware in the beginning or not, never in a million years would we rat you out to the agents. Jane! You should have trusted your friends. "I''m so sorry Jane. You didn''t have to hide that from us," Danny declared. "We would have helped you immediately."
Jane spoke in a demoralizing tone. "I wish I was that certain earlier, but it doesn''t change anything. I kept it from you so that you wouldn''t go searching for something so dangerous." She heard Danny spout the word nonsense, but she continued to drop his flawed logic. "If the GA ever discovers that you two ever tried to help me hide this crest in the first place, you would be subject to equal punishment."
Danny swept his arm back in anger. "But this is a different situation. They can''t just¡ª"
"They can and they will!" Jane was firm and certain of that much. "The General Army doesn''t care about circumstances. They will put anyone down who is marked, and more who have helped such a person."
Danny was frozen again for a few moments to further process it all, but his next thought process kicked in quickly. The fact of the matter is, having her very secret revealed somehow turns Jane into a national fugitive; that''s the way Jane just put it. But then why? What reason could there be for this? "What sick twisted world is this place?" Attracting her curiosity, Danny continued only in his thoughts. I knew something was up when Nyar told us to stay away from Leray magic. But this is totally not what he was expecting at all. Symbol wielders are dangerous and criminalized. That much can make sense because of the power it may draw for villains, but what happens in this situation? The innocent one gets penalized all the same? Has the whole world lost their ever-loving mind?!
Screw the rules of Leray magic, the dangers of dark magic, and this symbol nonsense! Danny knew he couldn''t put up with it for much more, as this was crossing a line! How could the people in charge treat others this way with all other laws so loose? How could they have such a dangerous evil lair of deadly monsters in their own back yard, and to tarnish people and the reputation of those who are marked? Look at her! Look at Jane and everything she has done! Her very own fear of being prosecuted has made her lie to the only people she should have trusted most. Then it made her forget the value of her own life, while she tried to risk it all in hopes that some dangerous vile excuse of a person could help her reverse it! It''s twisted her very mind. Jane isn''t a bad person. She''s a victim of this bullshit that Sprawn Valley has been covering up for so long. The news never reported of this so-called Alpha Zero. If they did, it would be the talk in all regions, not just this small place in the Junon region. They would cover this up for what? To protect the reputation of Leray magic? Nyar might have been right all along, but where does it stop?
Taylor backed away a step, folding her arms and tilting her view. "So that''s how it happened. You''ve been lying to us this entire time! All about a magic tattoo." She wasn''t trying to sound angry. Jane already appeared to be guilty, almost enough to look like she had killed a man.
"I know!" Jane hated herself for doubting them, but that in turn just reminded her about something. "There is no excuse for it at all, but you both lied to me too ya know?"
Danny replied, "We did?"
Jane had some of it figured out. At the very least, she knew what was missing from their explanations. "I mean, come on. I know it can''t possibly be as bad as this, but while we''re all telling each other everything... You didn''t just want to travel with me to Junon for fun, right? That moment you had in the woods Sunday morning, your reluctances to tell me where you are from? I believe how you got here, and why you might be interested in Leray magic, but what about going back home? I thought you two said something about a trip to New York."
"I wasn''t lying when I said we needed to leave," Taylor levied.
Danny shook his head, revealing the truth. "We never said that at all Taylor. Jane was right to assume that you don''t want to leave here. Junon airport was the original plan and destination, but we''re working out a few kinks right now."
Jane noticed how defeated Taylor suddenly looked, after shooting Danny an angry glance for ratting out the secret. "So, wait. You don''t want to leave, or you can''t?"
"I still don''t want to talk about it right now," Taylor worded. "Let''s just say that my parents are really bad people, and leave it at that."
Jane let it sink in for a moment, and then bobbed her head. "Fine. I can accept that it''s too personal to share." Still, what kind of parents does Taylor have?
"Are you sure?" Danny had to be realistic. After all she has been through, Jane didn''t deserve any of this.
Chapter Theme Shift: Shine Like Stars ~ Peter Vantine
"But I deserve all of this and more," she admitted. "Just go back to yelling at me, please." Jane sunk her face into her arms covering her knees, curling up more into a ball.
"You deserve none of it," Danny corrected. But Jane wasn''t giving up into motivation so easily.
"You''re wrong. I lied to both of you. You should hate me, more so now that I was able to somehow survive that place." Jane lifted her face for a moment, wishing to project her voice loudly. "I''m the one who made the mistakes! I''m the one who burned my morals down to nothing!"
"The symbol on your hand did that to you."
"No it didn''t." Jane knew that much. The crest didn''t change her state of mind or mentality. She is the same person she always was and worse. "The symbol doesn''t affect a person''s mind. Magic doesn''t work like that."
Danny knew she wasn''t thinking clearly from other things. "But the fear of being persecuted will affect your judgment." Jane seemed so shocked suddenly, staring at Danny now, though her eyes never seemed this dark before. "You hated the very thought of that so much, and you considered how Taylor and I might be in trouble if we knew about it and tried to help you, and probably included your parents in the same thought too. You hate the idea of us being in trouble so much that you decided to cut us out of the equation. And in doing so, you came to drastic conclusions and measures to try and toughen yourself up for some sort of answer."
Jane couldn''t speak right now. How was Danny saying all of these accurate things about her? Is he some sort of mind reader? No! That isn''t right! You can''t just say what is true and make it seem forgivable Danny! You can''t do that!
"Jane!" Danny sounded so condescending right now. She didn''t want to answer. If anything, Jane has been wallowing in self-pity for so long, she wants to be punished by their hatred... But that''s too bad. There is none here Jane. You can''t have your way this time. "What happened to you is not fair. Even so, you and I are going to fix it somehow. Taylor will help, and I don''t give a damn how illegal it is to this place. If the entire world army has a problem with you being marked by accident, then they''ll be answering to all of us!"
Taylor didn''t understand what was going on at first, but the way Danny jumped to the exact correct conclusion like that was so impressive, stunning at that. Now he was including all three of them to help her remove her symbol; the very thing that has messed her up so badly. Jane did all of the things she did out of fear from that glyph on her hand? And Taylor had no idea the entire time...
How can this be happening right now? Even if they won''t hate her for this, how can they possible endanger their own lives, even after realizing the total risk involved with them? Why are they doing this? "H¡ª how? How can you say that? You know you''ll be locked up alongside me! Why would you be willing to risk that much?"
"If that''s what it takes, I''ll risk everything!" Danny rose his voice further just to enforce that he was serious, but it began attracting a few turning heads again. Still, that didn''t matter to him now. "I don''t know why I would do that Jane, but we are still friends at the end of every day. I think that has everything to do our choices somehow."
Friends? Jane couldn''t have expected or predicted this reaction in a million different scenarios. They''re still her friends after all this, after every time she has wronged them? Why is Taylor not as loud right now?
"Fine," Taylor reluctantly agreed. "We are still friends Jane, but we''re still not completely even just yet. When I ask you of any specific favor I want, you have no choice but to fulfill it to me. And it can be anything I want."
Smart. Taylor is her friend too, but in this case, it''s conditional to that one fact. At least she is still technically in debt to them. Jane can''t just be let off the hook like that no matter what. If Taylor asked her to stand in the central plaza at day light and perform a most embarrassing performance degrading her entire reputation before the whole city, Jane would gladly take that as punishment too. Please don''t make it something easy!
Jane couldn''t describe exactly the right words for this current feeling, but everything from before had vanished in her sea of thoughts. What is this new sensation in its place? Jane felt somehow satisfied with the way this was right now, a moment she would want to last forever. She shouldn''t be forgiven at all, but this is just different. Danny and Taylor aren''t reacting in a negative way towards her either. Why though? Why is she suddenly okay with this? Jane could tell she was just barely smiling, but she couldn''t figure out why, let alone control this wave of emotion coming down on top of her for it. It''s a satisfying feeling that isn''t totally empty or full, but it''s desirable in a way that feels like home.
"Still," Danny pondered. "If you wouldn''t mind giving us a little more information about Alpha Zero? It''s true that we went in there to find you, but I''ll need your explanation to help describe what we saw in there."
"Actually, I''m surprised neither one of you got into any trouble rescuing me, much more from the commissioner." Jane backtracked everything that happened to her in there, trying to put it into words. "But since you don''t know about it, I''ll explain. A dark zone is a piece of land infused with dark magical energy. In such a field, Leray magic is weakened, and the veil stops protecting us completely from physical harm, tough it does not disable Leray magic in question. Even regular ordinary damages without magical assistance become inflicted as real time damage, while dark magic itself is easier to be used in a dark zone. Alpha Zero is a dark zone, just a thousand times larger than all other dark zones previously studied by mages. In fact, I only learned about it after coming to Lennith, and it''s an absolutely terrible place."
"I thought the intense heat and red sky was weird..." Taylor wanted to try and compare, but Jane must have seen worse than she had.
Jane guessed the situation as much. "You must have been even luckier not to run into any monsters. It''s a zone so intense in dark magical fields that unworldly creatures can spawn out of nowhere, monsters with the ability to use dark magic, all with the instinct to kill anything that moves. The Den of Purity was well outside of my reach, and after taking enough damage, I tried to turn around for my own life. I had so much time to think about things in there - all of the mistakes I''ve made, all of the things I''ve taken for granted..."
"Huh," Danny hinted. "So it takes a near-death experience to snap you out of stupidity. I''ll have to remember that for next time."
It was a bad attempt at a joke, but Jane had to be clear for one thing in particular. "There won''t be a next time," Jane clarified. "I really am sorry for all of this... By the way, how did you find me? I knew you would eventually, but how did you get by Route 96? I would have thought that all of the battling there would have slowed you down a lot."
"Battling?" Danny questioned.
Taylor remembered how easy it was to just walk on by. "All we did was activate our emergency mode on the license cards. Nobody questioned our reasons for declining battles afterwards. The commissioner agreed that searching for a friend likely in danger was good enough to validate the situation. Is that not what you did?"
"You were chasing someone likely in danger. I was officially removing a spell bomb''s curse. Even if I fluffed that up enough to not sound so ridiculous, that doesn''t count as an emergency, so it was denied."
Danny interrupted only momentarily to assert Jane''s reason for that. "Right. And because of your symbol being illegal, you couldn''t just use that explanation either. After all, you had not made it to the Den of Purity yet."
"I had to plow my way through many battles just to reach Lennith City, and then train a whole bunch before heading into the dark zone."
"That couldn''t have gone well." Danny knew that Jane was always telling the truth about her spell''s disabling effects on her endurance level. Any attack she took was amplified three times before actually receiving it, making Jane an easy target on a long road, but if anyone studies that in action, it isn''t easy to detect.
"I only lost one battle. Technically, I won by default, but that bitch tried to jump me afterwards. And you guys thought I responded badly to failure."
"You still do," Taylor insulted.
"But how?" Danny felt baffled. "If you kept losing so many battles in a row, how did you suddenly start winning those battles after the Tilsit incident?"
"With my first four battles with you guys," she retraced, "my crest was not actually activating at all, yet the spell''s effects were still holding me back. It is true that my defense is crap, even now, but the crest comes with some unique advantages that were not so easy to access before. I couldn''t actually invoke that symbol like I just showed you until one of the harder battles I got into on the road here."
Danny shifted his feat, trying to block some of the sunlight from his eyes. "You mean to tell me that your symbol can power you up? Well that''s neat. Now I want one."
"It''s not as glorious as it might seem," she protested. "My successful battles have not been won that fairly. With an illegal crest, how would my enhanced battle against another be fair? Of course, with lowered defenses, it somehow feels as if it is sometimes. But I learned much later and by accident that as one of the permanent effects of this symbol, all of my Leray powers don''t drain so much of my energy anymore. Anytime I use an attack spell, MP energy is conserved somehow. Additionally, I can learn new spells in only a tenth of the time it normally takes others to learn them, which is another side effect."
"Unbelievable," Danny fantasized.
Jane continued, "Before heading out on 96, I trained myself to use a large variety of new abilities to get an upper hand, and also bought a metal suit of armor for additional protection. That poor suit did not make it all the way through, but I battled much better on the road after I learned those new spells. Once I learned how to activate the crest at will, I noticed additional effects that only work when invoked. The crest can actually heal some of my damages, and charge up my magical energy back to the way it was before I run out. I''m becoming unstoppable in a battle now."
"I''m not convinced, not with the condition I found you in," Taylor exclaimed.
"So Jane thinks she is a badass now?"
Taylor reassured Danny about their promised battle someday. "Don''t worry. You can''t honestly fight Jane with her symbol thingy that lets her cheat. Once it''s removed, then we''ll see who''s really better. But don''t forget that I want a match with her too."
"Why am I so popular for getting battle offers?" It''s not just everyone she passed by, but even her own friends are crazy about fighting her in a solid Leray match. "Either way," Jane went on, "the mission to remove this tattoo has failed. I didn''t reach the Den of Purity, obviously, and nobody other than Brightworth is capable of removing that spell."
"Brightworth?"
Jane forgot that both of them have no clue who the man is. "The guy who works at the Den, and supposedly primary suspect number one when it comes to the responsibility for the creation of Alpha Zero. Even if I did make it, a criminal wouldn''t help someone like me unless I force them. Now I have to stay at this place until I heal."
Brightworth. Danny didn''t learn of the criminal''s name, only his general existence as the guy who runs the Den of Purity and now Alpha Zero. "Right..." Danny remembered. "How long is that for?"
"Don''t worry about it," she persisted. "The east exit is the one you want for the airport. I have to be in medical for healing. I don''t know how long, but I predict days. I''m only allowed to free roam for six hours at a time, not allowed to leave the city at all. Right now, I''m only on a two hour timer."
"Uh, we''re not leaving," Taylor shifted. "We''ll deal with the airport thing when we deal with it, but for now, we want to stay here."
"It will be dangerous," Jane forewarned.
"Why...?" After pausing on giving anything away, Danny realized that Jane isn''t done just sitting around. She''s plotting something. It''s good that she hasn''t given up hope on herself, but removing a symbol by other means won''t be easy. "What are you going to do?"
"Right," Taylor realized. "You can''t even fulfill your career with an illegal glyph-thing, can you?"
"I can''t, but I do have plans." Jane had the thoughts collected on how to reverse the spawn of Alpha Zero, and after the report she heard of before seeing her friends today, it carried even more urgency... The zone is slowly growing bigger. It could swallow this city alive if left unchecked. "This dark zone, this Alpha Zero needs to be destroyed, or turned off somehow."
"You''re not going back in there." Danny was making a firm order, not a suggestion.
"I don''t have to," Jane explained. "The General Army has a job to do, and they''ve been slacking off. I have a plan to get the General Army to get the job done, a plan to help them infiltrate Alpha Zero, arrest Brightworth, and reverse the dark magical effects of the land all at the same time. It''s really a matter of motivation that the soldiers lack right now. There''s another way to restore it."
Lack of motivation? Nobody wants to go in and get killed, but it might as well be worth hearing out another one of Jane''s terrible plans. "But why is that so important?" Danny figured that if one removes the Alpha Zero, the threat is eliminated, but the guys in charge need to fix this, not her or anyone else.
"Because," Jane steadied. Her eyes have long since dried up, but her tone became quite serious upon her realization. "The Alpha Zero is growing in size slowly over time. I wasn''t aware of this until a few moments ago, but that means the entire nation here is under a threat."
Taylor predictably reacted the way she should have. "What?!"
"I see." Danny had an easy time lately figuring things out for himself, making quick deductions by investigating specific facts and reactions. He had to ever since that Tilsit incident, but Jane has the only answer for now. "That place is dangerous even in a safe zone, because eventually, there won''t be any safe zones. That''s really uncomforting, but the army should know this by now."
"Even if they do," Jane picked up, "they''re too afraid to act on it. I know that the zone is growing based on what I heard earlier. First of all, when I woke up in medical, I found out that I was located about one mile inside of the official dark zone, two miles from Lennith City. But based on that location difference, I know based on my previous walk that I had to walk further than three miles in order to reach the official zone itself. That means that when you both found me, you had noticed the changes in the dark zone about a few minutes before I did on my first trip. Secondly, I noticed that the medical officer was declaring Alpha Zero as a danger level five hostile zone, but before I left, it was technically classified as a danger level four. That means that the General Army is suddenly aware that the zone is growing, or else there wouldn''t be any other reason to call it so dangerous like that by elevating the priority of the situation. Thirdly, since you didn''t run into any monsters in there, it means that you found me in a place where I would have been only a few minutes away from leaving the official boundary of the zone if the position and size of the field had entirely remained unchanged, but because you did see the sky turn red for further a time before locating me, the distance between normal space and Alpha Zero has been displaced by a factor higher than one from my first visit. The distance actually grew, despite how slow and slight it was."
"That actually makes sense."
Taylor held a confused expression towards Danny for his totally casual response. Jane just described so much at once that her head was spinning, but he kept up with all of it on the spot? Was he just bluffing that he understood how Jane knew the dark zone was growing? No, he''s been acting like this since the Tilsit incident. Danny is suddenly more analytical than what is considered normal, but the scary part is that it''s making him smarter. He didn''t used to be like this, not as far as she was aware of...
"And because of that, I''ve changed my objective for now, to removing the threat of Alpha Zero completely. If we''re successful, I may even have a chance to go back to the way I was before."
"But how do you intend to change the mind of the entire army for your very will?"
Another male called her name from behind. Jane turned around, realizing that Dr. Seth was holding the front facility door open for her, but he was impressed that she behaved well enough to stay so close to the safety of the facility. "It''s time to start the next treatment again." Seth addressed the two new friends of Jane''s, realizing they are also her visitors from before. Must have caught up out here. "She needs her rest to continue recovery. You are free to visit any time Jane is awake."
"Be right there," Jane announced. It was the rule she needed to follow anyway. Six hours is every treatment, but the very second one was actually two hours away from her first treatment. Has that much time passed already? No, they must want her to rest is all. The master plan did not really need much explaining anyway. Jane couldn''t enforce any of it yet, not until she is able to fight again. With that, Danny and Taylor will have to wait patiently and make themselves comfortable. "I''ll see you two later then. If you really want to help me, we all need more credits to fund the medicine. I can''t be in battles till I''m healed up."
"We''ll talk after the next treatment then," Taylor agreed. Jane turned around, walking back into the facility while Danny and Taylor were left outside.
Silence stuck between them for over a minute while the ambient noise and light from the people and places around them filled that void for now. There was so much to think about. Everything they planned to get Jane for earlier was all in vain. How could either of them realize what sort of situation Jane was in? Even if she was stupid enough to try and get herself killed over that symbol, there must be a method of making it legal here. "Well that was..." Danny failed to find the right word for the situation. It wasn''t perfect at all, not even close. Yet despite being more complicated than before, this somehow felt better, or at least less annoying.
Taylor had the same sense for the situation. Getting involved in this complete mess was still an improvement from chasing a trail left by Jane, worried if she was even alive or dead, but she still wondered what it was Jane was going to do, more so about how she was going to do it. Jane must want to remove her symbol by removing the dark zone indirectly this time, which is something she could stand behind. Still, Taylor has never felt so simultaneously angry and relieved all at the same time. Now she would have to make do until Jane is done with a treatment. Jane wanted her and Danny to generate more credits? Finding a good method wasn''t easy before all of this started happening, and Lennith City is still so new to her. They have a great market for supplies and groceries, but an impossible to remember foundation of how things work here.
Illegal symbols fused with skin, much like a tattoo of magic. Impossible odds of surviving great ordeals. An unsolved mystery behind the origin of Jane''s symbol, and a field of magic so purely evil that it endangers life all around, threatening to destroy everything in the radius of the entire continent? Taylor never could have guessed only days ago that her journey with Jane would have taken such a drastic twist. Taylor didn''t even know much about Leray magic, something that was more apparent after the things she has heard today. Much uncertainty lies with the practices in this crazy country. Taylor even began to compare how differently her life would be if she was back home instead, being forced to become a Banshee slave. It might have been much less dangerous and scary as this.
Chapter 34: Chaos Rain
<01/17/1972 ¨C 11:50 | Tilsit Port, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
A long fought breath, one deep and lasting as loud as the clash of one ocean wave. Danny could sense that both were one and the same given enough focus and concentration. If you shut out everything else but the sound, and keep your mouth closed with a long deep breath, the noise is quite similar. It''s as if the world itself has developed lungs the size of continents, and the ocean is its air. The thought of the Tidal Max was recalled immediately, since he could remember how it felt then.
The time of day here was not the same though. As similar as he wished it, Danny knew that the beach and the cruise were entirely different. How long has he been standing here quiet and motionless? Calming as it was, he allowed another long awkward silence endure between himself and Taylor... Then again, after studying how much she was trying to relax in the same way he just was, perhaps she didn''t think this awkward at all... But this is getting boring regardless.
Despite how much free time he had here at Tilsit Port, and despite how new the place was to him, boredom still caught up and worked out the kinks in his earlier disturbance. Going somewhere new for the very first time is in itself exciting, just as much as it is frightening. Fun as it can be, this day is already getting ridiculous!
How long is Jane going to rot her day away in that library? Maybe he should have come along after all. Computer terminals here must be totally different than the ones he had back home; they must be a great opportunity of research. Still, he couldn''t help but feel rushed all the same. Jane made it to Tilsit in much less the time they planned out together before parting from Fronas. This would be a good thing regarding the availability of credits, thus how long they could span out their MRE supplies, but it doesn''t change how Jane has been acting strange. In some ways, she is still herself, more so when it comes down to battling, but outside of that, she''s just off lately. How could losing a few fights be that poisonous to someone''s mental state of mind?
Great! Now he''s worrying for nothing too. Last time, Taylor was the one doing this. Why should it even matter? Jane will eventually find nothing and cool down, and that''s because there is nothing to find on that terminal.
"Can''t decide what to do?" Taylor was bored too, but Danny seemed like he didn''t know what to do at a beach, despite all the fun they''ve had earlier. There really wasn''t much else they could do that was different from before. He recently announced that he would go track Jane down and tell her to get back into the sun, but instead, he ended up here. Taylor just followed him over to figure it out, and instead joined him in the relaxing serenity at this spot. There weren''t many people around, not this close to the shoreline near the lighthouse. Thus, the sound of the calming ocean and flying breezes seemed more dominant for the moment. "Didn''t you say you were going to get Jane?"
"I did, but..." Why even bother at this point? Jane either refuses to have fun and relax, or she will only pretend to do so, and after her last defeat, Jane won''t likely be focused on anything but that stupid curse. Whether it''s real or not, there is no way to prove or disprove the very idea. Jane did some energy scan earlier, and it showed up negative, so there you go. Sadly, with a hard head like hers, that won''t mean anything.
"Want me to go instead? I''ll make her come out if she doesn''t want to." She can pout later. There''s still so much Jane could be doing here, perhaps show everyone around to other places she might know about.
"Well, if you insist, go on ahead then. It won''t take but two minutes, and I''m not going anywhere." Danny glanced Taylor in her blue eyes for assurance. "Promise."
Taylor nodded with a smile and was off with little delay. As she went to fetch Jane, she glanced back at Danny to make sure he would stay put, which he did. Though if he was in a deep thought, what could it even be about?
Danny waited for Taylor''s return, which seemed to last a bit longer than he wanted it to. In what felt like several minutes, Taylor finally returned to give Danny the short version of the news. Since Jane wasn''t with her right now, it meant that even Taylor couldn''t drag Jane from that place. Taylor thus delivered the response. Despite Jane looking somewhat down, she''ll be back out soon.
Danny accepted the answer, but paraphrased one part in his mind. Coming from Jane, soon could last up to ten long minutes. "Let''s meet her by the other shore. I''m up for a walk."
Taylor strutted by his side in agreement with her arms behind her. The sun had just gone behind several harmless clouds, easing off the heat and making the chilling wind feel that much better on her skin. "So what do you make of Gross City?"
Interesting, Danny thought. Here we are at the beach, and she chooses to talk about the city we''ve already passed? "Well it was different, but we didn''t get to enjoy it all that much. As expected, Jane went and got herself into another battle, which was fine for a moment, but her passing out like that forced us to call it in. Then Jane wanted to speed up things again."
Taylor figured one simple idea would lead back to Jane Venn. It always does. Everything they do these days is somehow directly linked to her. Nobody ever does anything on their own for some reason. Still, regarding the last thing he just said, there was some reason for concern. "Yeah, about that..."
Danny noticed her discomfort immediately, and stepped in front of Taylor facing her to prevent her thoughts from going there. "Nothing to it." Danny grabbed both of her arms downward for comfort. "I told you, nothing bad is going to happen. Jane is speeding things up, but I''ll just think faster instead." After letting go of her arms, Danny noticed how entranced Taylor was. Did she believe in him that much without a solid plan? He was assuring her though. No way is she becoming a Banshee slave!
"Listen, we can just¡ª"
"Out of the way!"
Nearly being pushed aside, Danny was bumped by some tall tan guy in white shorts and a green colored long sleeve, but stood out from the magic staff he was carrying. Spotting the guy instantly, Danny''s attention was diverted from Taylor, hers too towards the ill-mannered moron. "Watch where you''re going! Ahw!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Oath Brand ~ FFXIII-2 OST
Noticing the commotion further behind Taylor, Danny''s eyes lit up with alertness, forcing Taylor to read his expression and turn around to figure it out for herself as well. The guy who just passed them was running towards the lighthouse, but further off to the shore, a large and tall wall of fire separated the beach line from the pier. That fire was defiantly started by magic just based on how unordinary its physical properties seemed, and it soon died away too. Further on the pier, someone was suddenly taking off high speed on a motorized boat. And on the other side, another figure was shooting bolts of fire towards¡ª
"Get down!" Danny ducked Taylor''s head and himself crouching, just as a bolt of fire slammed into the guy who passed them. He didn''t get very far, so that bolt of fire was very close to their own proximity. As Danny got to see, the mage in front of him actually deflected the magic Fire Bolt using the end of his crystal staff as if were an absorbent shield. There wasn''t much protection from that staff, but his aim with hitting that Fire Bolt away was impressive, and it saved himself and Taylor from any immediate harm. What the hell is going on here?!
"We have more on the way! Surrender now, heathen!" The mage was calling out towards his opponent, but it didn''t sound like a battle cry, much more did it simulate actual distress in his voice. This isn''t good! An intruder is blocking the lighthouse, and there is no external communications from inside right now.
Danny couldn''t be certain what was happening, but it didn''t look good. A Leray match here? No! The stance and situation are all wrong. No dome shield was in place, and these two were facing off without any intention to play nicely. "Taylor! Stay behind me!" Danny rushed up in front of Taylor, while cautiously bending his knees to prepare himself should he suddenly come under attack from magic too. The only logical thing to do right now is to help this guy. "Sir! I''m helping you!"
What is this kid thinking? "No you''re not! Get away from here before you get hurt!" The unidentified mage wasn''t having a civilian help him out, not even a Leray wielder. This criminal in front of him is dangerous, and it hasn''t been confirmed yet if he can use dark magic as his source of energy.
"This isn''t up for a debate," Danny argued. His stance prepared himself too, while the mage to his left didn''t do anything in particular to stop his intentions. How could he? Both of them would have to focus on this intruder.
"You fools won''t stop us!" The obvious criminal calling himself out only made a stand between himself and that lighthouse structure behind him. "Shadow Wave!"
Just as the enemy launched a Shadow Wave spell into the ground, Danny ended up reacting with a counterattack that was quick and well thought out, while his helper beside him just stood there waiting. "Hammer of Might!" While spawning the large magical hammer into his hands, Danny counted his strength and angle of projection, just as he threw his hammer from a sideways angle. The man beside him reacted with some surprise, but everyone just stopped then to see if his trick would work, whatever it turned out to be. Danny''s hammer had no possible way of traveling all the way to the other side of the field and hitting the attacker, but it didn''t have to.
By the time the hammer hit the ground while spinning, the Shadow Wave aura plowed right into its path, creating a sudden obstacle in its wave. A metal hammer is normally not strong against a Shadow Wave aura, but this hammer is large from its generation while made of special metal material, and Danny threw it in the opposing direction, giving the device more force. Because of the properties of a normal Shadow Wave, it advances until the very moment it contacts another physical object or person. In this case, the hammer called out from phase just struck the Shadow Wave, and that just forced the spell to expand its wave and begin attacking with magical slashes at the hammer.
Whether the hammer takes damage or not, it didn''t matter at that point. Once the Shadow Wave spell is done attacking, it explodes into a mist and disappears. This happened at quite a distance away from everyone, dispersing the immediate danger to himself and his mage partner.
Chapter Theme Shift: Beautiful War Heroes ~ FFXIII-2 OST
The mage glared down at Danny, who had sharp focus on the criminal and his movements. He''s not just some random boy after all. Naturally, anyone would have to exert extra MP energy to throw something that heavy so far like that, but he aimed for the magical wave knowing what would happen to it on contact. Leray wielder and a heavy analyst! And the kid isn''t following instructions from his authority... It will have to do for now, since it cannot be helped. "Fine! I''ll back you up kid! We take him together, you hear?"
Right as Danny was about to nod, a sharp piercing arrow zoomed by his right ear from behind, visually flying at a fast speed across the field until it struck the enemy on the other side, who panicked and yelled out in pain as a response. The enemy failing to dodge that arrow was justified; it''s still sunny out, and arrows in this world are very fine and thin like thread needles. But never mind that! Who fired the shot?
"Don''t forget," Taylor added. "I''m fighting too!" She stood beside Danny now after stepping up, keeping her bow out and ready with another tip loaded and held back for potential energy. The bow is the same one she bought earlier, and she had been practicing a few additional spells related to this weapon too. Three against one won''t be so bad, and Danny isn''t fighting all by himself.
"Surrender now or face three against one!" Another threat from the mage, but it of course wasn''t going to work.
"Hahaha! Try blocking Hell Fire!" Just as the enemy invoked his spell of Hell Fire, several dozens of Fire Bolts shot out around him, all heading for the general vicinity of their location.
Taylor reacted immediately by running up several paces, against the mage''s noticeable denial in his body language. "I got these. You both attack!"
"Will do," Danny agreed. He already had a good enough idea in mind for hitting this enemy at such a long distance. Just because there are special spells that have properties of traveling through the ground, it doesn''t mean they have to start at the position of the user. However, making this work in his way would require more MP energy. So be it! "Earth Glave!"
Before the effects of Earth Glave could begin to show up noticeably, Taylor released her stored magic, generating a vortex of visible wind around her, one that was wider than the usual size. "Whirlwind!" The generated wind became overbearingly louder than any other force around her, but the mage was standing just far away enough not to get caught up in its powerful vortex. For a simple Whirlwind attack, it was quite a powerful show, but Taylor wasn''t anywhere near the range to hit the enemy!
His jaw dropped when realizing the intention behind Whirlwind. The mage suddenly spotted several dying bolts of fire being whipped around in the sand storm Taylor created around her. Since the Fire Bolts are homing, they chose her body since she was the closest target to reach, but in attracting them all here, Taylor''s Whirlwind was destroying the flight path of each Fire Bolt using the power of her magical gusts, while simultaneously diminishing the power of each bolt. Nothing as far as projectile attacks with a low power level can touch Taylor, and it simultaneously protects everyone at the same time. Such genius work for a young kid!Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Just as the Whirlwind spell faded away, the absence of Fire Bolts filled the air, while the ground began shooting up right before the enemy intruder, shoving rocks and boulders into his body hard enough to send him flying back. This was Danny''s specialty. With all eyes diverted to that Whirlwind gust, his Earth Glave would trigger in a location much closer towards the enemy unit, given that it normally has an effective range of 30 meters, but this guy was at least 110 meters away instead. By forcing the magical aura to spawn in another location further away, the spell''s range can be improved, but it was a big gamble, since Danny didn''t know if that would work. In doing so, it cost about three times the normal MP amount since he had to control the aura the entire time to make it happen. Still, his spell scored a direct hit!
Who are these people? They fight so impressively for their age, and they know how to take full advantage of spells in ways I wouldn''t think of on the spot. These should be Tilsit''s agents!
The man got himself back up, but his stance seemed to change quite a bit since being blasted with the last earth-based spell. "You think I care about fighting you filth? My objective has already been completed." While talking over his own voice, it filled the empty space enough to be heard by the others.
Taylor nervously glanced at the mage for answers, since Danny couldn''t possibly have them. "What''s he talking about?"
The stranger tensed his muscles and cringed at the immediate realization. "He''s after the data in the tower!"
With that, the criminal suddenly created a strange glyphring on the ground below him, one attached vertically to his feet as it began to light up. Afar ten more seconds, the man totally disappeared into a bright pixilation effect along with the light show on the ground.
The mage snapped in anger. "He just teleported away!"
"What?" Danny faced forward again turning his eyes, making sure the bad guy wasn''t just hiding. "To where? He can just do that?" The only other person who supposedly tried this was that one criminal who stole crystal shards. They weren''t the same people, were they?
The older male suddenly pulled out a radio communicator, and used the device to identify himself and the situation. "Kelly to all agents. You''re needed at the lighthouse eight minutes ago! Move it on the double!" He put the radio way, but lowered his staff and eased his muscles.
Chapter Theme Shift: Parallel World ~ FFXIII-2 OST
Danny felt strangely at ease, but it was because his new partner suddenly was. Kelly, he wasn''t going to head towards the lighthouse? What was that he said about data in the tower? "Hey, Kelly? What''s happening here? What was all of that, and why aren''t we checking the lighthouse? He was guarding that spot, right?"
"Calm down," he ordered. "They''re already gone. So feel free to relax. In fact, if you don''t want to spend all your day being questioned by agents, may want to stay away from here as well."
Taylor put away her bow upon realizing that something odd has happened, likely something that the agents here failed to get right, but where was Jane in all of this? She''s usually the expert getting things done, especially non-official things like last time... Wait, she failed to stop the crystal thief too. Still, she should be here to know about this. "Come on," Taylor tugged at Danny''s shirt. "Let''s go find Jane."
Danny turned around, finally agreeing with Taylor with certainty that it was better than staying here. Right now, his curiosity was burning his every senses, but if Taylor doesn''t want to be a part of that investigation, then that wish should come first! "Right. Good idea." Danny took off alongside of Taylor towards the research institute she visited earlier, hoping Jane would still be there in plain sight.
But as they both searched the entire facility splitting up for over five minutes, Danny and Taylor checked just outside again. "Find her?"
Taylor replied with a defeating answer. "No. I don''t know where she went."
Danny crossed his arms and anchored his legs. "Well this is just a fine mess we''re in. Now Jane is somewhere else." Even if he can''t find her right now, this matter wasn''t going to will itself away. That mage is still over there now, accompanied by two new agents he had never seen before.
Taylor noticed how threatened Danny suddenly seemed in his expression as he uncrossed his arms and side stepped closer to her. She turned around quickly to that side again, realizing that one of the agents in a white robe was heading straight for them. Are they going to be questioned? No, how would they know who they are?
"You two," the agent projected. "Over here please."
Danny didn''t even get a chance to protest, as the agent was turning around again while expecting himself and Taylor to follow. That sure didn''t take long. Did that mage give these guys a description of who they were? Danny sighed and held his tongue, deciding to walk forward and signaling Taylor to do the same. By the time he and Taylor were standing beside Kelly and the two unidentified agents, they were in for a long talk as it would seem.
"These are the two suspects helping you?"
The question came from the male agent, directed towards Kelly, but Danny answered before him. "Yes. We were both helping Kelly fight against that mad man, but we''re not suspects."
"I''m asking mage Kelly a question young man. You will hold your tongue!"
Why are they being like this? Do agents in Tilsit just harass everyone who tries to help? This isn''t Kelly''s fault! He didn''t do anything wrong!
Kelly swallowed and gave him the full report. "They are the ones who assisted me in battle. Though it was very short-lived, these two youngsters insisted on joining that mess despite my warnings for them not to get involved."
"And then you just let them walk away without any question?" The female agent was bombarding Mr. Kelly with a harsh rhetorical sounding question, though he still answered back.
"They said they would be back with a friend of theirs. Naturally, I trusted they would return as they are here now."
"Well, ya shouldn''t have!"
What is wrong with this man? Danny could see both these agents lighting up with anger, but the reason behind it wasn''t clear at all. The adult male continued his insulting abrade for answers.
"In a confusing situation, you don''t know who the enemy really is. These kids could have just been part of the show to buy the real enemy more time, and by letting them walk off, they''re free of investigation. You''ve broken several protocols in just under a few minutes. You''re lucky you still have a job."
Danny twitched in the sudden realization he just felt. Now it does make sense as to why these agents are upset with Kelly. What that agent just surmised was intelligently accurate. Though he and Taylor are innocent, there would not have been any way for Kelly to know that. Whether he was powerless to stop himself and Taylor from entering the battle or not, by letting them leave his presence, it would make Kelly seem suspicious. Danny and Taylor are both unknowns right now, and if Danny were a criminal stalling for time to help that mage who teleported out, Kelly would have made a critical error in judgment. But that doesn''t mean this is his fault either!
Kelly retorted, "And where were you two during all of that commotion, where I had to deal with that crazy wielder all by myself? Were you even made aware that one of your other agents got blasted away by an unknown teleportation symbol belonging to the primary suspect? Of all things, your security is what has failed here."
Danny knew this would last forever if he didn''t blunder this charade down to the bone himself. He cleared his throat for attention, and changed the subject slightly. "I think we should at least introduce ourselves. I''m Danny Mason." Holding out his hand as a sign of good faith, the agent shook it reluctantly, while Taylor followed in his footsteps.
"I''m Taylor Feer. Sorry about this."
Shortly after shaking both of their hands, the silent agent then glared at Kelly again for more input. "You let kids take over the battle for you?"
Kelly shook both his hands with a denying nod, defending his claim as best as he could. "I didn''t want them to, but they were actually quite skilled in helping out. They deflected most of the enemy''s powerful attacks and counterattacked all without taking any damage themselves. They are quite the skilled wielders, as far as my eyes tell me."
The agent glanced back at Danny and Taylor again for a quick study, but the more he thought about it, the more mysterious they seemed to be. "I am agent Sarbone. And my partner," he pointed to the other female agent about the same age and height as himself, "is agent Reed." The girl Taylor - was looking a bit surprised or nervous as expected, but the boy had such focused eyes right now. "I''ll get right to the point. You will both be required to come down to the station to give us a testimony of what you saw and did, as it may help further our current investigation."
"That won''t do," Danny denied. "Because I have questions for you as well. Neither one of us understand what is going on right now. I at least expect an explanation."
"I don''t have to explain anything to you," Sarbone phrased.
Danny commented back in solidarity. "And I don''t have to report the truth about what happened here at your station, nor will I, if I''m missing information. But I''m asking you directly instead, because it''s the most efficient way to figure out what happened and where our friend has gone."
"Danny," Taylor interjected. "Jane might be somewhere on the beach still."
"We''ll still search for her," he promised.
Agent Sarbone interrupted between them, intrigued by Danny''s sudden behavior. "Why is it you want to make things difficult? Do you really think that you will achieve some sort of result with me that you wouldn''t with some other agent?"
"Want to find out?" Danny tested. "I bet with your information and my own put together, it wouldn''t take you very long at all."
"You really have a wish to be locked up, don''t you kid?"
Sarbone ignored Reed''s comments for now with a silent sigh. So that''s how it is. This Danny character seems to have some sort of mystery solving complex, and a natural disposition towards unknown agents. Though his bravery is also something quite impressive given what just happened, and if he were serious about that transfer idea to the station, the investigation efficiency time would be cut into a fourth of what it could be now. Even though it goes against certain protocols... "Very well then."
Reed winced at what that might have meant. "Sarbone? What are you going on about?"
He replied swiftly. "I''ll share what I know with Danny and Taylor for now, but if I find their information in return inadequate, I''m calling your parents, and you will be in trouble for resisting to help us in the investigation."
"Sarbone?"
"Enough Reed. I''ll handle this from here."
Checkmate! Danny didn''t bother mentioning that his parents were too far away to contact, nor would he be capable of getting sent home without a home to go to in this country. Still, he did have every intention of figuring this out, so now that there are no strings attached, "Deal."
Even now is he so unchanged by the threat. These kids are stronger than they look. Sarbone quickly detailed the summary as he now understood the full situation. "First of all, what do you both understand about our lighthouse facility?"
"Is there something to it?" Taylor questioned. Her response seemed to upset Sarbone rather quickly though.
"You don''t even have any clue why you were fighting. How pathetic!"
"We did what felt right," Danny defended. "Kelly looked like he could use the extra hand, and the criminal struck first from his distance."
"Well since you don''t know this already, I''ll tell you because it is not classified knowledge anyway. The lighthouse we have here at Tilsit is not just a lighthouse." That much they should have already guessed. "It serves as Gulop''s primary source of information and data storage. At the same time, it remains the only primary selection of a communications center. All of these extra facilities are underneath the structure, and as I would hope you''ve already understood by that bit of summary, you should assume the facility to be highly secure, the data collected hidden from the public."
A data storage facility underground? A communications center in the same system? Danny had never heard such an amazing thing in the Gulop region. Did Jane know about this? Not likely. If she did, wouldn''t she have made him and Taylor aware of it by now?
"That facility, as restricted as it was, suddenly came under siege while numerous unauthorized suspects entered through the main gate, got full access to use the underground elevator, and held all of the workers there hostage."
Danny felt like he was losing control of his thought process fast. The criminals were sieging the entire underground section? The short memory entered Danny''s mind from what Kelly yelled over earlier, about having data stolen. That must be it! "They were after the hidden data?"
"My, you certainly catch on quick."
Though Danny was being rewarded some praise from Ms. Reed, Taylor felt somewhat left out. Danny is doing that thing of his again. In his own way, he''s trying to figure this out as if he were some sort of detective, and now that he has the temporary trust of both agents on his side, it''s working!
"What about the people still trapped inside," he concerned.
Sarbone lifted the warning early. "By the time I got here, radio communications were restored by the workers. Apparently, all known criminals inside of the facility vanished using teleportation symbols. The structure is still in full lockdown until the situation is resolved."
"Teleportation? And that guy did the same thing too. It''s just like before..."
"What was that?"
Danny forgot to mind his words, realizing that he just referenced another situation. Now, both of these agents would be demanding to know a little more about his past. It''s too late to deflect on that now, but he did have a deal to uphold in either case. "Some thief in Fronas apparently made off with crystal shards about a week ago. I''m sure you would already know about that, but I was unfortunately dragged into visual range of the incident. The person who got away did so by teleporting out."
Danny was part of that incident? What has fate been doing these days? "Teleported? My word. I must ask if you have any information on¡ª"
"I do not," Danny replied. It was true. Danny knew not the identity of that criminal, nor did the face of the last brute he saw ring a bell. Sarbone seemed defeated immediately, which would make sense if to assume solving that case would give him promotions. "All I know is that he used a teleportation symbol too, unexpectedly. Also, I think he belonged to some organization called Scarlet something."
Noticeably, agent Sarbone and agent Reed froze up. Danny didn''t know what he said to set them off like that, but he had to wait for the sudden connection.
"So that was their doing as well?"
"Wait a minute..." Finally picking up the pace, Taylor figured that their testimony and Danny''s analysis could only mean one thing. "Are the ones who attacked the tower the same group?"
Sarbone admitted, despite this being confidential information. "The Scarlet Syndicate. Those are indeed the parties that sieged our facility a few minutes ago. Their very intention was to steal an unknown source and amount of classified information from the underground facility, as they have done so successfully."
"I can''t believe it!" Danny stamped. "The Scarlet Cult is behind this too? Who the hell are those people?"
"Our workers have reported seeing special emblems and colors on the clothing and armor of those inside of the facility, while our suspect outside was wearing a close imitation to that of our normal tower guardian to blend in. That''s why we didn''t know who was behind this at first."
A red crimson colored emblem, and a fiery outfit of passion. Taylor recalled very well that this was similar material or artwork that the crystal shard thief was wearing.
Danny changed his stance immediately, though without proper prompt to do so. "Wait a minute! Who was that person running towards the pier?"
"What are you talking about?" Sarbone requested. This might be the break in the case he needed. "Speak up boy!"
Danny faced Taylor though when addressing the conflict, since it pertained to himself and her more than it did to the agents. "That guy was attacking one of the civilians while they tried to run away on the pier, and that wall of fire must have been started to help them get away. Then they took off on that motor boat. That''s when we were attacked next."
"He swapped targets?" Taylor suggested.
"When was this? We need to look into this last suspect as well as the whereabouts of the vessel that was taken." Reed didn''t expect this turn of events.
Danny now faced Sarbone directly, hoping to maximize his concern. "Agent Sarbone? I need you to help us figure out who exactly it was that took that boat away. We might know her."
"Her?" Taylor repeated. She sucked in air with shock. "You mean Jane? It couldn''t be her!"
Danny nodded to agree with his own claim instead. "But we were facing away from the lighthouse when this all started. Jane was supposed to come back out for us. Given the physical location of the facility and its angle, the first thing Jane would have seen was the lighthouse, and if there was more of that commotion that we missed, maybe Jane was the one who was attacked. She could be the one on that boat going anywhere."
Taylor lowered her expression and relaxed. "That doesn''t sound like her though."
Sarbone inhaled while processing the bumbling of their words. "Well I can promise you that we will both be looking into that. Agent Reed? I''ll need a vessel out to sea. It may be possible that the civilian took one of the damaged vessels, and thus would be trapped out there. As for you two, we''ll need to question you some more officially, but I''ll let you both find a place here to change." It felt odd enough questioning civilians like this, but both Danny and Taylor knew a great deal about something else they missed, something Kelly missed as well.
Still, it''s quite impressive the way he thinks. Danny considered the location of the building, the angle of the exit, the field of view opportunity, and the most likely reaction from their supposed friend in under a few seconds. His battling style is probably just as interesting. Such an analytical mind must explain his odd behavior, while giving the lad such a position towards solving out problems in his head. Why, Danny might even have the natural skill it could take to become a Leray agent of his own someday.
Sarbone shook the thought away, realizing that he was just distracting himself now. "I''ll show you where we should meet up in several hours from now, the spot where we work on these details. Reed, I trust you to head inside of the lighthouse and resolve the situation there?"
"Of course sir. I''ll be back soon." Reed began walking off already, heading towards the lighthouse structure to put everything back together there.
Danny was left with his own silent thoughts in the meantime. He felt a little strange after all he got to talk about, and with Taylor''s concern noted, it would be that much harder to pinpoint Jane''s location. She could still be on the beach somewhere, totally oblivious to what just went down. If she was, then that would be a very long conversation to have later. Still, what the hell were the Scarlet criminals doing back here? What sort of data were they after anyway?
Taylor could sense that Danny was now disturbed by all of this, as he should have been several minutes ago. "I just wish I knew what was going on," she flushed. Taylor could only think backwards now. That Whirlwind trick she pulled off seemed too automatic for her even now, but in thought, it was such a great defensive strategy she had been practicing. How well it worked out for her case! But then what about Danny? What is he thinking right now?
This is what Kain meant about random dangers, wasn''t it? Do criminals in Sprawn Valley just run around doing these things all the time? It wouldn''t be that big a deal, unless they can actually use dark magic to fight. That means with enough energy, they can actually kill people. It had not occurred to him until now that he was in serious danger if that last guy had the capacity, but it looked all like normal Leray magic to his eyes. There would have to be a way to discern the difference... I''m hungry again.
"Hey Danny?" Taylor called. When Danny found her attention again, she made her offering. "I think we should search the beach for Jane, and maybe get something to eat on the side?" Her stomach was lower than empty. After all, she only had a scoop of ice cream to eat earlier.
Food sounds good, but searching for Jane on the beach would be paramount for answers. "You read my mind. Let''s go search for her."
Sarbone noticed that both of them were about to take off in search for their friend, which he didn''t mind given the circumstance of missing data. "You two watch yourselves out there. And don''t forget our meeting!"
Danny didn''t bother wasting time turning around. Instead, he lifted his right arm upward and open to wave from behind, then continued walking alongside Taylor to start the hunt. If Jane was that suspect taking the boat for her own safety though, it would be bad. They have to find her!
Chapter 35: The Past and the Present
<01/28/1972 ¨C 18:45 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The day grew older after Jane''s second and third treatment of Starlov Boosters. Falling asleep after the second injection, Jane managed to give herself a full six-hour rest before being waken for the third injection. Officially allowed to take a six-hour break from being in the medical facility, Jane only wanted a moment alone in her patient room to regain her energy and collect her thoughts. Despite the medical staff leaving her to her wish, Jane was in fact not alone.
With the sound of the spinning nob on the white door, another person entered the room where Jane was stationed. With the same height and age as Jane, it was quickly evident that the teenager was not part of the medical team, nor did Jane recognize her at first through her peripheral. But after she turned her head in search for Jane while shutting the door behind her, the unforgetful face and jet-black hair immediately identified her.
"Alyssa?"
She perched her head around some more, taking in the small environment of this room. Jane was sitting up on the medical bed, though she has no ivies attached, and the medical equipment was currently switched off. "Surprised to see me?" Alyssa didn''t seem all that excited or focused on Jane, as if something else had been currently distracting her.
"I thought I was going to visit you, but I won''t need to now." Everything snapped into focus for Jane. She had been viewing things with slight blurs or dark spots from the side effects with the previous injection. Though now her vision was crystal clear.
Finally facing Jane directly, Alyssa partially squinted her eyes and responded, "Tell me why I should care?"
Jane''s breath escaped her, shocked at how quickly the atmosphere deteriorated. Alyssa was angry at her? Jane knew that she had lied to her class as well, but she also revealed her secret to them days ago. Was it because she took advantage of Claudia''s training and still failed? No. Jane realized how close she came to death by heading into the dark zone, but didn''t Alyssa already know about that too? Left with one question too many to ask, Jane didn''t utter a sound, prompting Alyssa to do so instead.
"Was anything you ever said true?" Alyssa glared into Jane''s confused eyes, raging at the woman in front of her who has done so wrong. Her arms were tense while her expression was more focused on Jane so suddenly.
"What is this about?" Jane demanded. Nobody else was around right now, so the people outside would not hear the argument. Dr. Ashly and Seth have already given Jane the continued instructions for the rest of today.
"Paying for classes under the table, false registrations, lies to the school council, the class, me?!" Alyssa''s voice was on the verge of collapse with the shrieking function of her aggressive tone. Jane suddenly seemed more ashamed than confused for the moment.
Her eyes fell to the floor with a brief exhale, finally aware by those small hints the reason Alyssa was so upset. Jane had clearly forgotten by now. It was too vague to even remember clearly what she said to Alyssa and the others about herself and to Claudia, but Jane figured she had to tell many lies to get any real training and experience from the teacher to begin with. Even so, after showing her secret crest to her own class, it was hard to pinpoint exactly which lies Alyssa was so upset about.
"I knew something was up with you since you arrived in our school, but you had to be lying to Claudia as well, because even she would not help out a total stranger out of the blue. You manipulated her for your own benefit."
Alyssa sounded so sure of herself, and Jane struggled to figure out a proper way to apologize for all of this. Still, Alyssa already knew long ago that Jane lied her way to Claudia for admissions, so this fight didn''t seem justified. "Alyssa, I¡ª" Failing to chime in, Alyssa cut Jane off before she could begin to explain.
"You''re a stranger, Jane! I don''t even know if that is your real name." Alyssa shifted in her stance, holding her face in the humility. "And to think of all the things I said about you, all of the faith I had that you were a good person! You couldn''t even keep the one promise we gave you, to turn around when things got tough!"
So that''s what this is about. Jane came close enough to dying, all after promising that she wouldn''t. "Alyssa, I didn''t know what else to do," Jane argued back. At least she was quiet just for now. "I came to Lennith, knowing nothing, not even about the evil in our backyard. I didn''t know who to trust. The dark zone was tougher than I thought it would be."
Alyssa sighed and glanced away from Jane, a clear gesture that she wasn''t listening anymore. "You must have said all kinds of things to our teacher just to get her to help you fight in the dark zone. She isn''t off the hook for this either."
Jane elaborated on what she meant by her earlier claim. "I needed help, and I messed up! I''m sorry! I truly am a terrible person by all of this; I don''t need you remind me." Jane stopped herself there. Alyssa was already making it clear that she didn''t want anything to do with Jane anymore.
Alyssa didn''t let it get to her, but at least Jane was self-aware. She could barely face Jane where she stood, crossing her arms and stamping her feet on the metal ground. "All I truly know is that you are no expert at anything. People who graduate only a week after basic don''t get to just strafe into our school and pretend to belong. I know that being marked must be a tough thing to deal with, but you''re also a liar and an idiot. I won''t associate myself with either of those things." Still unwilling to look Jane in the eye, Alyssa turned to the door and prepared to leave without another word. She dared it could not be so, but failed to accept the remote possibility that Jane is who she says she is.
"Wha¡ª Alyssa!" Jane called. Standing on the floor from her bed wasn''t nearly a quick enough reaction to stop Alyssa from leaving, which is what she did next, not even bothering to slam the door. The argument was so short sided, Jane didn''t even get to explain who she really was and where she was really from. But with the thought so fresh on her mind, the memories of her words were much clearer to her now than they were before.
It wasn''t the lie about where she was from, her identity, or even the symbol. Jane remembered only revealing the spell bomb secrets to Claudia, but Alyssa was hovering nearby as well, learning about this by mistake. Alyssa must have found out about the smaller details Jane left out, like the fact that she used a crazy spell bomb on herself that has yet to be identified, or the fact that Jane did so in a way that was also considered an illegal activity at the time. It''s probably the smaller things, such as every little thing that happened up to the point where the new teacher gave Jane the upgrade for her power unknowingly. Jane remembered coming to the same conclusion when she was close to passing out in the Alpha Zero, and now Alyssa must fully realize it herself. Claudia must have spoken to Alyssa about something, and some unattained information might have been given to her that way, but Jane had always thought that Alyssa knew as much as Claudia did. Or did her teacher find out some more news as well? Man! Why couldn''t she be any clearer?!
"Who was that?" another female voice called.
Jane didn''t expect Taylor to show up so soon, but Jane was still so deep in her thoughts that she didn''t understand the greeting. "Huh?"
Taylor clarified after walking into the medical room, realizing that Jane was already on her feet again. She must be ready for a longer walk. "There was a girl with black hair, who came out of your room in tears."
Jane was at first distracted by the fact that Taylor found the time and money to change into a new dress sphere, one that well suited her eyes and hair. It took a second to register what Taylor had been referencing. "Uh..." Alyssa was crying? Alyssa?! Jane never expected this. She isn''t exactly easy to read, but it was more than clear that Alyssa must really hate people who lie, even just the tiniest of all lies, but she is always walking around with a tough head, so Jane thought. Seeing her march out of the room with that heavy lecture was expected all the way around, but to add tears only meant she was more upset than anything. It wasn''t the same when Taylor decked Jane in the face earlier. Alyssa has a goal too right? It''s something they never shared with each other, but something about this must have messed her up more than Jane imagined. Still to her question, Jane needed to focus on Taylor right now. They had more catching up to do, and it didn''t seem like Danny was around. "Never mind that now. I still need a moment before I can leave."
"Fine," Taylor allowed. "But I still want to hear about this big master plan thing you have for... What did you want to do again? Remove the symbol, right?" Taylor leaned against the cold wall, making herself comfortable in expecting this to drag on for a while.
Chapter Theme Shift: Kamihama Polyphonic ~ Magia Record OST
Jane nodded to partially confirm Taylor''s theory. "That would be one of many objectives I need to complete, but first I need to hear more about what happened at Tilsit Port."
"Oh, right. That big mess. You really didn''t know what went down when you left on that boat?"
Jane nodded left and right calmly, sitting back on the medical bed to rest her legs. "All I knew was that the asshole who attacked me did so because I partially witnessed one of the Leray agents being teleported away. And when I tried to make my escape, I was lucky I got distance from the shore when I did. Then that''s when the boat broke down and¡ª"
"I''m talking about after all of that. Why didn''t you come back or make a call from Monoc Port?"
Jane had to give Taylor a few seconds. She had not considered using one of the phones the morning after she arrived to Monoc. The phone wouldn''t reach though when she first arrived there, which had something to do with invalid hours or something. The point is that she forgot that this was a way she could check it out, while the news failed to report anything about the incident. "I didn''t know what it was about, not until Danny summarized it up for me. I''m still fuzzy on those details too though. I couldn''t find it out on the news, the phone at Monoc didn''t work the way I wished it would, and I knew that I needed to make haste to the Den of Purity before it was too late."
Taylor seemed somewhat smug in her expression, but it didn''t look to be as a response from anything Jane was saying. "You know, Danny was the one who figured it out. We both came to the conclusion together that you stole a broken water vehicle to make your escape. But when you weren''t at Monoc Port, he realized that your most likely destination would be to remove your imaginary curse using the Den of Purity in the Outback. If it weren''t for that, you actually would have died in there, because we didn''t know about Alpha Zero until arriving in Lennith City as well."
"And again, I''m so sorry for leaving you two behind like that, to think that I could go and do this all by myself. Still... In truth, even if you were there with me the entire time, I wouldn''t have let either of you follow me into such a dangerous place."
"I still debate why you let yourself try it," Taylor pointed out. "What made you think that you were going to make it there? That thing on your hand can''t possible have that much power, not going by the state I found you in."
"I honestly let myself believe that I could make it there. I learned more about my symbol, and more about how to use some of those passive effects. But none of it matters now." Jane let her moping expression intensify in front of Taylor.
"Hey," Taylor called. "You don''t have to be like that. I don''t care if you''ve been riddled with eight symbols. You''re alive! That''s what matters! If the General Army can''t accept this thing that''s happened is an accident, then they can go to hell!"
Jane ptyalized through the crevices in her teeth in disagreement. "Good luck with that argument. They don''t care either way, and my career doesn''t stand a chance anymore. But I''ve still one important thing to do. Even if I can''t reverse this mark on me, I can do something about that dark zone problem."
"You said something about that earlier, but I don''t know what you''ve meant by that."
Jane had to try and explain it again, seeing as Taylor was as honest as she has ever been. "I''m talking about removing the entire zone itself from existence, and it remains more important to me than it did before. Seeing as the zone limits are actually growing in size, we can''t just ignore it. If we do, it could destroy our homes, our families... It''s possible that everyone in Sprawn Valley will be in danger."
That sure sounded quite devastating, and grand to hear someone say it aloud. Jane is talking about this as if it referred to the very destruction of the entire continent; an end-of-the-world scenario. But it can''t be that bad, can it? "I still don''t get all of that," she confessed. "How do you destroy a non-physical zone of evil magic? I don''t understand how that evil magic can exist in the form of a zone, or..." The stress of not learning enough about Leray magic finally reached the level where she couldn''t even pretend to know what it was about.
But Jane knew very well that this was dark magic they were dealing with, not the same thing as Leray magic. "The dark zone is like a field," Jane lectured. "A field in which the Leray veil of protection gets blocked out, amplifying the effectiveness of dark magic and reducing the effectiveness of Leray magic. But it''s still magic, and so is the field. This enables all magic to be used; it only dampens Leray magic, while canceling out the veil''s protection. For that reason, dark magic is most dangerous because it can be used to kill." Jane wished she could credit Claudia to some extent, since 80% of that explanation was learned from her.
"But how?" Taylor barely recalled hearing this before from Eliza. There was something to that concept, that there is an evil force called dark magic, which is a derivative of Leray magic. Such a force can be used to kill while negating the effects of the natural veil here, but how does that work?This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"You know how every time a person passes unconscious when their HP status reaches zero?" she referenced.
Taylor nodded carefully, "Yeah."
"If you''re hit with enough dark magic, and your health reaches zero, you simply don''t wake up the next time. It''s possible to use dark magic outside of a dark magic zone, but obviously less preferred. If you infuse a specific area with a dark magic field, and then use dark magic in that same field, your power would be amplified tenfold. And without the field, dark magic is much more powerful than Leray magic with regards to damage potential on its own. The field, this particular one called the Alpha Zero is unique because of its large size, and the fact that it is much stronger than any other official dark zone in all of our history. Alpha Zero is recent too. What used to be a massive wild land called the Outback has been destroyed and replaced by this zone of dark magic."
Taylor let silence prevail for several moments, processing it all in one gulp. She then sat on Jane''s bed beside her for comfort, continuing to figure this all out. "What was it like in there?"
Jane let a stressful sigh escape her. How could she even begin to explain the horrible things she had to face there? All of the pain she felt, the fear instilled into her heart... "It''s, not even describable," she began. "You only saw the weather and color change slightly. It gets even worse the deeper in you go." Struggling for the right words, Jane''s voice was beginning to break up. Just thinking about what she faced had her fighting her body''s response to tremble in the fear it instated on her. "Beasts! Beasts the size of entire houses only wanted to eat me, and they very well could had I given them the chance. Monsters were spawning out of nowhere without the aid of any other creature there. I had to fight anything near me because I couldn''t run fast enough. Even the monsters could invoke dark magic, that and withstand brutal punishment. It was the scariest thing I think I ever faced." Jane could feel a buildup of fluid in her eyes, but she fought back the tears.
"I..." Taylor could hardly believe that such terrible things could even exist in the real world, let alone the magical country she thought to be so peaceful all the time. But Jane was shaking right now, trying to hide it as it was barely noticeable. No matter how stupid Jane was being, Taylor had no idea what she went through during their absence. "I had no idea."
Jane wasn''t done continuing her story, letting on about what happened next. "There were also turrets."
"Turrets?" Taylor repeated.
"Sentry guns, physical metal machinery built specifically by human hands, whom which none were around at the time. I suspect Brightworth had to build them himself, or who else knows? There could be many more people involved for destroying the Outback, but the turrets were even harder to fight. Automated defense systems shooting anything and everything at that was scanned as a potential intruder. They even activated powerful dome shields that prevented my very escape even though none of the battles there could invoke normal Siriean shields. I had to fight no matter how beat up I was, no matter how terrified or how much pain I faced."
"I got it," Taylor interrupted.
"Several piercing hits I took, burns, scrapes, sharp cuts that should have been fatal. I had to fight and win - or die otherwise."
Taylor didn''t want to hear the rest anymore. Everything Jane was saying, Taylor still managed to visually imagine what it could have been like for her, even though she tried not to imagine anything. "That''s enough Jane."
Jane didn''t slow down or pause for a moment. What she continued to describe flew to her tongue automatically, feeling obligating to share every horrifying detail. "Each time taking real time damage instead of normal damage, struggling just to stand up straight or overcome moments that completely incapacitated me for battle, just from how tired I was or how badly something hurt. The heat of the air rose the further in I went, scorching my skin even through a dress sphere, which is supposed to be impervious to all damage of all types."
"I said that is enough," Taylor begged.
Jane had to go along with Taylor''s wishes for now. It was hard to stop describing it, all of which were reasons to actually do something about it, but the worse bit of it all was that Jane remembered feeling so alone out there. The red fog and howling wind created a silence louder than anything she could remember, and from there, all of her negative emotions flooded the gate of her mind. "You wanted to know," Jane summarized. "And I only got maybe like forty percent inland to the original destination..." Jane was silent, contemplating how she might ever accomplish her task if she isn''t prepared to face those fears again. "It''s a completely messed up situation, but the dark zone bares an evil presence of which I''ve never experienced before then... I won''t allow anyone else to experience it either."
"I don''t see how they can," Taylor retorted. "Doesn''t the General Army have that zone on lockdown? Nobody will enter it, so..."
Jane stared at Taylor ominously, baring but the faintest crooked smiles from the thought of their plan. "Alpha Zero is growing, expanding in size." Taylor''s expression looked defeated just upon realizing this. "Eventually it will try and swallow this city up and destroy more than just wild lands, yet the General Army isn''t doing anything about it. They''ve stopped sending in the scouts or the cavalry."
"But," her head obtained the speed of a worried bird. "Don''t they care that people will die?"
"They don''t know what else to do." Jane sympathized with those in the army who were sent into that hell for nothing in return. "With scouts dying before being able to report anything in, how could an entire army be sacrificed for something that is too dangerous to even mess with? Despite this threat, they aren''t going to try and do anything physical about the issue."
"Shouldn''t we be leaving here then?"
Jane noticed much misplaced worry in Taylor, and did her best to ease the tension. "Relax. It''s not growing that fast. It might be on this city in a month or two? Maybe a little longer. If this city were in immediate danger, we would all be evacuating. The army''s soldiers are not monsters."
"Still... A whole city sentenced to doom..." Despite being around mythical magic only thought of in her dreams as a child, and then invoking that magic with her own bare hands, Taylor still found things that were as impossible to believe. But what other choice did she have now?
"Not if I can help it," Jane insisted.
"You?" Taylor aimed at Jane with her head, mystified by the cryptic thought.
Jane backed up to the wall, folding in her arms and her right knee inwards slightly since she had been sitting uncomfortably for too long. "The creatures inside of Alpha Zero can spawn randomly, and therefore endlessly, plus their hardware is quite lethal. But both of which are still not immune to damage by Leray attacks, not even physical damage for that matter. If the dark zone''s army is not invincible, and the bigwigs understand this, they might not think twice before finally sending in the big guns to take care of the situation. Now I don''t know if it is possible to actually destroy the Alpha Zero. I don''t even get how it works with the projection field, but at least it can be shut down; there must be a way. If Brightworth is the source, it means we don''t even have to fight all of the creatures. Instead, drill straight down the line to the Den of Purity, with the backing of elite soldiers and an army. It can''t be that hard with many more numbers, because I didn''t die."
"You also didn''t get a holographic magical symbol turning you into a super soldier every time something pisses you off, not according to what the army knows."
Taylor had a good point. Jane figured by that description that she borrowed some lines from Danny, being that he could be jealous of her cool crest, but it was beside the point. "Even so, I can''t risk the idea of confessing everything to a few soldiers in hopes they will do the right thing. I''m public enemy number two - or whatever if they discover that I''m marked before I can make this right. And then we''re really screwed."
But Jane already said otherwise that she had some master plan. "So I ask again, what is the plan?" Taylor was obviously frustrated, after learning so much without knowing what Jane was really up to.
"I need to be in charge of the General Army for at least a day."
Taylor and Jane exchanged looks, with Taylor''s expense holding back a laugh in her expression. Was Jane joking, or pretending to be crazy? Taylor imagined her just walking up to their commander and asking if Jane could be in charge, a thought that made Taylor chuckle into her hands. It was too funny to not react to, and the chain reaction caused Taylor to laugh even harder. Jane naturally took it the wrong way.
"Don''t mock what you don''t know." Jane was actually embarrassed that Taylor didn''t believe she stood a chance, but there was more to this that neither Taylor nor Danny would realize, being total outsiders. "Do you even know who is in charge?"
"Hmhm, someone who would be laughing at the idea too?"
Cute. I think I''m going to wait on showing these two my new abilities. Wait till they shit their pants and film their faces. "I think his name is Stanton or something like that, but he is otherwise known as the Leray champion, absolute best of the best in regards to Leray magical combat." Jane paused, allowing Taylor''s silly mood to fade with the eye opener. "Being a champion, one of his responsibilities is accepting high ranking challengers who make it to his front door. It''s a very long process with gruesome Leray fights in between, but whoever defeats the champion is blessed with their title, often demoting the rank and status of the original."
"Okay..."
Jane prepared the punch line, "The champion''s second duty is to protect all of Sprawn Valley, being chief in command for the General Army of this country. That also makes Alpha Zero his responsibility, though he has been ignoring the threat while allowing official battles to continue within Eldora Tower." Either Taylor was slow, or she didn''t know what to say at this point. "In other words, my plan is to enter the Eldora championship, and defeat the leader in order to become leader myself. That way, I will literally be in charge of the army, thus allowing all of us to rush into the dark zone together and fix everything at once."
Instead of pretending it could have been a joke, Taylor seemed disappointed quickly, lowering her head to brace Jane for the big letdown. "I''m not even going to imagine you were serious about that. I know you''re gotten better, and that crest of yours might be a handy tool after all, but come on! The champion? League of Elites? Even if you win, they''re not just going to let you be in charge with..."
"Continue," Jane ordered. "I want to hear from you what is so ridiculous about the plan, but do be specific. Is it because I''m marked? I don''t have to say anything to anyone about that. In fact, I''ve been told for some reason by Claudi that it can be legalized in certain circumstances. I don''t believe her yet, but..."
"Who''s Claudi?"
Jane ignored the question completely due to its irrelevance. "Or is it because you don''t have any faith in me? It might be a championship, and I do understand that it is no walk in the park, but even champions don''t fight with dark magic. It''s illegal to use and I never would if I could. I figure something has to be easier if you''re not directly facing that hell. Think of it; with all of the soldiers united together, it will be impossible for monsters to take us all out at once."
"What about their schedule?"
Jane cleared up the next question with ease. "They have these events every two to four weeks, depending on the demand for it. All I have to do is sign up and win five fights in a row."
"Why is this suddenly so important to you?" Jane didn''t answer back immediately, something Taylor sort of expected, but it was a good question. Jane just decides to run off and get killed for a stupid crest that only this mastermind criminal can erase. Now Jane wants to apprehend and arrest this criminal to destroy the dark zone? Sure, it might expand and kill everyone, but Jane could easily survive this by fleeing the country, everyone could do this! Taylor felt bad about pinning Jane to be some sort of evil person for having ulterior motives about restoring the Outback when she thought about it before, but was it so ridiculously different from what she has already done before?
"Because..." Jane answered with reluctancey. "After staying in there for a few hours, I won''t rest until I see it destroyed or removed. I might even have to go back in there with a unit in the process. I don''t ever want to go back again, but I have to do something. I didn''t know the dark zone was growing until after waking up in this room, but I won''t condone it any longer. I can''t go on living knowing that something like that place exists in my own country! Maybe I can never practice magic again once I''m found out, but I won''t let other people suffer for it."
Taylor nodded quietly, satisfied with the answer. Still, she never took Jane to be such a nationalist. As dangerous as it could be, that still classifies as a master plan, no matter how bad or weak it is. Just so long as Jane doesn''t go back into the Alpha Zero, it''s not the worse idea. Additionally Jane''s crest cannot stay hidden forever.
"And while I''m at it," Jane expanded, "Maybe I''ll complain about the champion''s rules about only having just one guy in one place being the only capable person to remove permanent spells. I mean that''s just messed up. I don''t think I''ll be able to remove my symbol. I don''t know what will happen with me after this business with Alpha Zero is over, but I don''t want to stay champion after defeating the existing one. It wouldn''t be right for a marked one to take ownership of something forever, nor would the battle be that fair anyway."
"Jane?"
"Yes?" Jane waited for something else, but Taylor didn''t say anything so soon, leaving her to believe that there was another heavy question on her mind. It almost took forever to hear another word.
"I''m coming with."
"Out of the question," Jane denied. She knew being alone sucked, but this official business itself would have some serious risks involved. Protecting Danny and Taylor is paramount, and it goes double now since they realize what is at stake. Wait, she must be referencing going to the dark zone on the second run. Totally out of the question!
"But¡ª"
"Not even going to think about it. Carrying you two all the way to Eldora may be beneficial, since you need to be there for the airport. It''s in a small area just southeast of Eldora. But no way in hell am I going to take you and Danny with me back into the dark zone. Not even sure if I will be going myself, but if I do, I won''t risk your lives for this!"
"Danny and I can fend for ourselves though. We have gotten a little better with magic and¡ª"
"A little?" Jane repeated with enthusiasm, "A little? You have any idea what that means in there? My skills probably rank on level four of official training by guesses, but I''d say that you and Danny put together barely come near level two. You''re still just basic Leray wielders, so I won''t sentence you to certain deaths, all while you should be on a plane back home right now."
"I''m in no rush to get home," Taylor reminded. "And I happen to like it here in Sprawn Valley. You get to use magic, something you can''t do in any other part of the world, but more importantly, I found you alive in there, barely breathing. Ever since you graduated from Dakota, you''ve always been trying to go about things on your own."
"You''re really using a speech to¡ª"
"I''ll speak as long as I need for you to shut up and listen!" Taylor hissed. "Look where this has gotten you. First you think it to be a good idea to activate a legendary symbol without even letting either of us know about it ahead of time. Then, you somehow convince yourself that hiding that dangerous thing in your hand from us was an even safer choice. And after what happened at Tilsit put you so far away from us, you''ve been in fear of discovery ever since that moment. Then there are the potential lies you told just to make contacts here in Lennith, and then the fact that we all found you almost a moment too late!"
Jane still wasn''t condoning this, but she couldn''t fight her back with logic. There wasn''t any grounds on which Taylor was wrong. Jane did do all of that. Taylor even guessed correctly about her lying to Lennith about things to get in deeper to train more. Everything she did solo ended up crumbling under her fingers. Still, at least once it is time to storm Alpha Zero, they can''t be a part of that.
"I don''t want this to sound like some excuse I am using because I''m worried for your safety. I''ve long since crossed that road." Taylor tried to remember her real motivation again. Ever since their arrival in Sprawn Valley, things were interesting, but not fun, not until they found Jane for that matter. Such a wonderful person, if not so hard headed and childish about reaching her own goals. Now Jane is all adult like and taking on responsibilities that are not even officially her own. But it''s my turn to do this for her. "Are we not friends Jane? Whatever your problems are also belong to me and vice versa?"
Damn! Jane cursed. Taylor''s playing the friends card, although she had no idea what vice versa means. Must be a foreign saying. "It''s-too-dangerous."
"We''ll both train on your way to Eldora Tower. Trust me," Taylor breathed. "I wouldn''t dare head into danger if I thought it was too much for me to handle. Danny will train as much as I do too."
Jane heard that line before from herself! But she focused more on the way she was speaking for Danny so suddenly, who isn''t even here right now. "And what you do he does, huh?" Jane believed that Taylor had a funny way of seeing his choices for him. What logic! Then again, they do love each other and all, or is Danny still in the dark about that? "You really have this bossy wife thing down on Danny don''t you?"
"We''re not married!"
"Oh, but doesn''t he know about your decisions?" Jane teased.
"He will after I tell him." It wasn''t the best comeback, but Taylor would get Danny to come with as well. Or else...
"Maybe while you''re at it you can also remind him why he would risk his life over something you want to do? If he doesn''t know that he loves you, then why would he follow us into death valley?"
Taylor sarcastically rebuttaled, "Hm, I don''t know. Maybe because you''re supposed to be his friend too. Or did I have that wrong all along? Maybe you really do want to be a loner? How about we just leave and never find you again? Or maybe I''ll stay under a disguise? I think I''ll just do my own thing for a while, pretending to be someone you don''t recognize, and then rush into the dark zone to help destroy it, wondering why my best friend isn''t around to save me when something goes wrong in there!"
Now who''s being childish? Jane held her comment back though, realizing where Taylor was going with this. It didn''t matter what Jane didn''t agree to, because Taylor is crazy enough to fall full on her promise. Taylor will go into the dark zone if it means taking that risk away from Jane, and she''ll try this with or without Jane''s help, possibly even without Danny''s help. Friends or not, Jane couldn''t fathom the thought of either Danny or Taylor getting killed by something only because she wasn''t around to help them. Hell, she couldn''t fathom the thought of them being killed regardless of the reason or circumstance. A sister came well prepared to defend her dignity and honor, and she did so perfectly too. Willowing the defeat of all attempts to convince Taylor and Danny to stay back from this one, Jane prayed that their safety be guaranteed even against all odds. Jane stood pushed off from the wall, getting closer to Taylor for clarity. "Fine! You can come with. But I''m buying you two protection."
"Eew!" Taylor slapped Jane on the arm. "What''s wrong with you? We''re not going to do that!"
"I meant physical armored protection from dark magic," she paraphrased.
"Oh..." Taylor felt quite stupid coming to the wrong thought process, blushing from the conclusion she just came to right in front of Jane Venn. "Well you didn''t have to say something like that with no context! What''s wrong with you?!" Oh, that was just awkward! Why does Jane have to be so literal all the time?
Jane giggled while trying to muffle her laugh with her hand, but she didn''t let it last for more than a second. The time was already slipping by faster than she wanted it to. It was time to get up and reunite again. Jane started walking out the door, preparing to fill Danny in on the rest of the plan. Taylor followed closely behind, confirming all of her belongings were in hand. "What''s wrong with me?" Jane repeated sarcastically. "There''s nothing wrong with me. You''re the one with a dirty mind." Jane was suddenly pushed into the wall on her left, immediately concluding that it was Taylor''s doing.
Taylor was thus shoved into the other wall by Jane''s right arm, though both kept walking straight as if everything was cool.
Everything was cool, Jane was certain of it. Though shoving each other around was quite a different way to see it, Jane figured that this was their new system for getting along. They were playful shoves, hardly surpassing a nudge any direction. Jane could keep it up all day too, but Taylor didn''t want people looking at them like that, shoving each other for fun while walking out of the building. At least they both understood one another. That had to be it right? Jane could see Taylor smirking in her peripheral, like everything was better now. She didn''t know what was going to happen next, but she could not begin to describe how good it feels to finally have them back. Jane in response displayed a smile of solace too, wearing it all the way to the double door exit.
Chapter 36: Changing the Rules
<01/28/1972 ¨C 19:00 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
He saw them both emerge from the entrance of the medical facility, spotting them out despite the unusual traffic of people walking past the gate in order to reach Lennith''s plaza. Taylor was walking by Jane''s side, and both of them had a lightened mood in body language as they searched to find him. "Yo!" he called. Danny waved his hand in the air too in order to let them see where he was standing.
Searching past the busy traffic of other civilians and wanderers, she managed to spot Danny from his body movements. Taylor wanted to lead Jane to Danny, but Jane managed to get to him on her own power. She had underestimated Jane''s resilience to all of that battle damage she suffered through. Even with the way Jane described it in such excruciating detail to her, Taylor would have thought that Jane would need at least minimal assistance walking around. Then again, Jane wasn''t doing much more than a speed walk either.
While Danny and Jane conversed with each other regarding the details that he missed out with Taylor, he also made himself more comfortable by leaning against one of the picket fences. There was a lot more about Lennith to take in than he realized. The city was oddly connected to other structures only by means of the paved walkways and fresh cut grass. The fence behind him seemed new, but it wasn''t being used for any real purpose, suggesting that this place used to be farmland.
The day was already late, the sun losing its intensity with its altitude in the sky while the small-disconnected clouds became easier to look up at. Hundreds of new faces passed him by every five minutes, either heading to their homes westward of the school, or eastward towards the interesting spots of the town. Despite the lack of certain similarities, the scenery around Danny reminded him of home. The air was as fresh as it gets, and yet he felt the hint of aged buildings and dusty masses in each nostril. Kalamo of course was much poorer than this, and somehow bigger at the same time. It''s like a massive city, only for Kalamo, instead of buildings, they just have run down shelters, ruins left behind from families who could not survive there in the poverty driven by the terrible attempt of politics.
"You did get all of that, right Danny?" Jane had to call for his attention after it seemed that he got a little distracted or carried away somewhere. It was a lot to explain too. Jane made sure to give him all of the details, regarding her symbol, the dark zone, dark magic, the spell bomb, everything.
"So," he clarified again. "The symbol is incredibly dangerous to have, but at the same time, it''s beneficial to the plan?" Danny recalled what Jane told him, about what she wanted to do right now. Defeat the Leray champion of the world, and take control of the army in order to invade the Alpha Zero and restore the Outback. It was moments like these where he felt Sprawn Valley to be the fake world, and Kalamo to be the real one. Lots of things were no longer making sense. From the very beginning, the business with Leray magic always seemed so much like a dream. Better said, it felt more like he was trapped inside of an advanced video game. Capable of invoking magical spells, capable of running out of life that he can also somehow monitor with the same magic? Danny could even accept this to be the imagination of some young free spirited person, and that he had somehow been trapped inside, obtaining the free will of consciousness.
"Damn right it''s beneficial!" Jane argued. "I lost the first four battles because of the symbol''s passive effects, but I then discovered some of its other talents. I can use all kinds of new abilities now, abilities that Leray elites actually invoke, and I''ve come up with some of the most amazing defensive tactics, even some of my own spells modified from something else." Jane could hear the amazement in her own voice. She had been looking forward to this idea at the same time dreading it. After defeating the champion, she would likely have to enter Alpha Zero one more time to help restore it with her own units. But for now, she could enjoy learning all of the new cool abilities and skills that can be used to fight against the League of Elites. The thought of invoking such powerful spells, launching some powerful combinations in front of some of the best, Jane felt like she could jump and defy gravity - falling towards the sky instead of the ground.
But if none of this was real... Danny preferred to keep his troubling thoughts to himself for now, though not before coming to a humbling conclusion. How could I know about it? How could I spend all of those years in Kalamo with my family, with Taylor? All of those years just being myself, and then planning a trip to America... Both countries, all countries are normal. All countries are very much like the real world. Only this one right here, this Sprawn Valley is so different. Which is real and which is fake?
No! That can''t be! Danny''s head shivered to the side, baring his renounced logic. That would mean Taylor is a fake too! Even Jane, and everyone else I''ve ever loved. Love cannot be fake. It cannot be imitated by some program or a figment of the imagination, not even by some person''s tangled lucid dream. It''s not possible! Everything has to be real! This is no dream of anybody''s!
"Of course that doesn''t mean I can do anything right now."
"Huh?" Danny looked up at Jane, who seemed to be saying something conflicting. Did he miss something? Taylor seemed to look confused too, for Jane had just explain the plan only to say she can''t do it now?
Taylor asked Jane directly, "What do you mean?"
As Jane glanced back at Taylor, she inhaled the air around her again. Much like before, it felt as though the fresh air had been heated up and mixed with sharp solids grinded into a toxic mass of gaseous charcoal. The air pipes in her lungs were still full of the terrible tar Jane had been breathing in Alpha Zero before, burning her entire chest and scratching her throat and lungs with each puff of air. All of her battle scars were still there too, hiding under her white dress. Jane prepared to activate something while declaring her reasons for inactivity. "I have to stay here in Lennith for a few days. I still need to heal, in the way that an ordinary person would need to." After invoking but the slightest bit of Leray magic into the air around her, Jane projected her own holographic energy scope, forming the familiar box with letters and data inside identifying Jane and her physical status.
Naturally, Danny and Taylor crept closer to investigate the numbers. They have both already seen the energy scope like this before, in order to confirm somehow that Jane was still alive in the dark zone, but this was only an assumption Jane made to be true, not something that she confirmed as of yet. Danny did however remember from his classes in Dakota what the energy scope colors and values meant, with regards between the two different colors of red and orange.
Orange is the color of the energy scope of someone who is in a normal or good condition. Even with very low life stats, it usually remains orange. Red color occurs when the person''s energy scope has detected the imminent possibility of taking in real time damage, or to report that such damage has already been done. That person''s real status gets weaker, and thus should refrain from battling even in practice. The veil of protection becomes ineffective for that particular person, which is why the scope turns red. This is what Jane meant by healing. She didn''t look like she wanted to fight anybody even for training.
"The numbers are going up so slowly," Jane announced. "I want to be able to just walk to Eldora right now, but I don''t see how leaving Lennith would be remotely good for my health. Plus, as soon as I do feel better enough, I need more training beforehand." Noticing that her friends absorbed the physical data from the holographic scope, Jane disintegrated her own energy scope the same way it appeared.
"Is the road to Eldora another one of those routes?" Taylor questioned.
Jane nodded in her direction, confirming it to be true. "Route Seven-eight-seven. It''s a large bridge connecting the nearby land of Eldora and Lennith. Technically, they were to be considered separate regions, but the owners of Junon also wanted that part of land to be under ownership as well. So the town''s people built a massive bridge here, one that eventually hovers directly above the ocean."
"A bridge that goes over the sea?" Danny seemed impressed so far.
Jane nudged away any surprises that bridge might have on her friends, considering even she had not seen it before. Her information only came from what she was told by some of the staff in medical, as well as some of the sentries blocking that exit. "I don''t think it works like that. I mean," Jane stumbled for the right description. "The bridge itself, once you''re in the center of the path, you can still clearly see the land of each continent."
"Oooh!" Taylor made the noise to express her understanding, feeling the need to elaborate it further. "So it''s not really as long as Route 96?"
"I don''t know. I didn''t ask." Danny and Taylor were silent after Jane, a moment that made her feel awkward about all of this. There wasn''t that much she could do right now, other than heal up. That would take days according to Seth''s estimations. Even so, Jane already thought about a number of situations in Lennith she could take care of in the meantime. There was still a matter of seeking more help from Claudia, if it were possible. Jane did lie to her teacher about some of her true intentions, but not most of them. Besides, if there was a way in which her symbol could be legalized, it was worth finding out.
Jane thought of the rest on the spot, telling them to her friends. "While I''m here, the two of you might be able to generate more credits somehow. If I''m taking you with me into the dark zone, we''ll need a lot of money to buy the protection needed for such a zone. Special magic resistant suits, new weapons, tons of healing items, including a few Starlov Boosters on the go. Food, water..." Jane continued going on and on what sort of expenses there was going to be, and she knew that even with all of her victories on Route 96, she had nowhere near the money to support herself, let alone three people.
"We''ll take care of it," Taylor answered.
Danny looked at her for being on top of it with no reluctance. They must have had the discussion without him already, but it still set Danny into the thought of ways for obtaining more credits. He could technically battle people in Lennith; it would work. Then again, Danny had minor practice on the road while searching for Jane. He used his emergency code on the license card, of which was already confirmed and deactivated by Lennith''s commissioner after the investigation that took place with Jane. Jane didn''t specify exactly what methods should be used to raise money, so it could be anything, right?
"Mind if I have a word?"
Danny, Taylor, and Jane both turned around to see the woman walking their way, the same person with her nerdy glasses and super dark hair; Alyssa. She continued walking towards them with a smug expression of leverage, her arms folded over her chest. Jane apparently had two other people with her. Alyssa had to assume they were friends of hers, considering they have never been seen in this city before, but she had to be sure.
Chapter Theme Shift: Edge of Darkness ~ Two Worlds 2 OST
"Alyssa." Jane coaxed herself for more courage, enough to tell her to buzz off until she was done explaining the full plan to Danny and Taylor. But the words failed to escape her in time, further delayed by the fact that Alyssa was wearing those reading glasses of hers again, for reason she didn''t discover. Alyssa wasn''t always wearing them, so her eyesight can''t be too bad.
Taylor squinted her eyes in Alyssa''s direction. She could not be a hundred percent certain, but this looked like the same exact person who raged out of Jane''s medical room hours ago, crying into her hands over something upsetting, but Taylor also didn''t get a best look at her face, so she didn''t try to make the comparison aloud.
Alyssa stopped walking short in front of the newcomers, Jane giving her a confused look, trying to figure out what she was up to, but all Alyssa wanted right now was the full truth. That meant some of her secrets had to be shared. In the process of walking over here, Alyssa was naturally revealing a small amount of her physical weakness and exhaustion. It was clear and obvious that she was limping slightly on her left side. "I didn''t think Jane still had friends around these parts," she started.
Danny tilted his head slightly, studying the new face he had never seen before. This Alyssa looks to be about the same age as Jane, if not for the glasses a year older? But who is she? Why does she seem so weak and frail? "And why is that?"
While Danny waited for the reply, Alyssa took her time in examining the other two. Danny, who had brown hair and hazel eyes, was likely the same age as Jane too. At a distant glance, he seemed like one of the trouble making types. But with that outfit on him, obviously a cheap dress sphere made for men utilizing khakis and a denim jacket over a dark t-shirt, Alyssa was certain that Danny was either terrible at magic or new to Sprawn Valley. As for Taylor, the other woman with long blond hair and blue eyes, she seems impossible to read right now. She didn''t seem to be wearing a dress sphere too cheap for this place. The outfit was much more of a suit than a dress, yet one that had lots of style, dark colored with a few blue and dark green hexagonal designs placed randomly. The color scheme matched her blond hair and blue eyes better than one would have thought. Alyssa soon realized that all four of them standing here didn''t exactly look casual, being that they were all teenagers meeting up in one place.
But trailing her thoughts back to the answer she wanted to give, Alyssa faced Jane for a moment before responding to her reason for breaking away any trust they might have for Jane. "Because normal friends don''t lie to each other on a grand scale. Normal people don''t go around lying to an entire city, infiltrating the position of a training facility just to learn how to cross into forbidden territory."
"We''re both aware that Jane lied to us. And the scale isn''t small." Taylor turned around to look Jane in the eyes, confirming to her that she had not forgotten about how much trouble she is still in for messing things up that badly, but it appears that Alyssa is yet another victim. Was she another friend of Jane''s? Perhaps one from this city? And what was she talking about - infiltrating the ranks of a school? Right! Taylor concluded. Jane never finished explaining everything, and would probably prefer to hide a few other details. Still, Alyssa had a tone on her, one that was equally as deceptive as it was annoying. Taylor had to further establish the ground rules regarding Jane before this gets any worse. "But we''ve known Jane a little longer than you have, and we''re still friends."
Jane could barely believe her eyes and ears. Taylor was standing up for her, defending Jane''s character after everything she did to all of them. Alyssa isn''t even at fault. She''s just sort of hot headed, much like herself in some ways.
Alyssa didn''t back out of her own argument. "I guess she is lucky then to have such naive followers. See I knew a lot about Jane, even her plans to run into the dark zone, and I didn''t object much, after seeing what she was capable of, and seeing what her symbol allowed her to do. But Jane spoke of nothing regarding the two of you, nor was she truthful about her own past."
Taylor''s tongue froze from the sequence of the words. Jane lied to her and Danny about her symbol, but not to Alyssa, and at the same time, kept her and Danny out of her own story? After finally understanding something, Taylor had to try and put everything back into perspective, but this wasn''t something she could even imagine Jane doing, in the literal sense of her thoughts. Jane must have had to tell a lie or two in order to gain entry into Lennith''s training academy, maybe because it costs too much money. For that reason, she had to let on about some truths while keeping others hidden, right? Jane better hope that her version of the truth lives up to Taylor''s expectations, or else she''ll have another wound on her face.
"Man!" Alyssa emphasized. "It would be a shame for the commissioner of this town to learn that Jane signed up for classes under false pretenses, and didn''t have to pay a penny for any of it."
"You might want to shut up right now!" Taylor warned. "We''ll handle the situation from here."
Alyssa nodded her head left and right for a different reason. "I would defiantly consider it, but Jane has one more person here who would prefer her secret to remain a secret, a person who I happen to value more than this idiot. So nobody will find out from me, but that doesn''t mean you''re off the hook Jane!"
What other person? Jane couldn''t accurately read Alyssa''s mind anymore, but Taylor turned about to pull her arm to the side. Taylor then dragged Jane a bit away from both Alyssa and Danny, hovering her face close to her ear in preparation to whisper something.
"You and I need to have a talk," she hissed. After pulling Jane far enough not to be heard at room level, it seemed like Alyssa was preoccupied already with whatever Danny wanted to talk about, but Jane was here with her right now, and she had to know what else was going on here.
"Taylor, it''s a long stor¡ª"
Cutting her off, Taylor let go of Jane''s arm, trying not to blow her volume too high while keeping her anger tucked in too. "How many people know about this?" Taylor demanded an answer immediately, but blocked Jane from responding with additional questions. "I can see we''re not the only one''s you''ve pissed off lately, but I need to know who else is involved. I don''t think we should trust Alyssa with this secret."
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Taylor has a point. Jane didn''t know how else to explain that Alyssa was hurt because she looked up to Jane during her training here. After all Jane displayed, Alyssa was totally messed up by the deception, broken by circumstance and time following. Alyssa would never rat on her though; she doesn''t seem like that type of person. "She wouldn''t tell anyone..." Jane wasn''t able to clearly look Taylor in the eyes while making such a promise. Even she could not be so sure.
Taylor whispered back, "I really hope not. Because Commissioner Adon is already all over your case, investigating the whole incident. If one peep about this thing in your hand gets out..."
Jane felt honored that Taylor cared so much about her safety so suddenly. She was still certainly upset about the deception, but much more willing to keep helping her than Alyssa was right now. This is why Jane never could stop thinking about them. She never had friends like Danny and Taylor before; they are both one of a kind. "I''ll handle it. I trust you to keep her quiet while I recover from this damage."
Taylor let out the sigh of another stressful situation. "I''ll do it, but now that''s two you owe me."
"Thank you," Jane applied. "I know that fixing the dark zone problem won''t right anything I''ve done wrong. I don''t even expect you to forgive me..."
Taylor didn''t need to hear this now. Though it was rather satisfying to hear Jane getting all sentimental on herself, it was too late not to forgive her. She obviously feels bad about screwing this up, but all Jane did was lie to people. It was the Scarlet Cult that attacked the Tilsit database. It was Professor Brightworth that created Alpha Zero. It''s Sprawn Valley itself that generates Leray magic. Nothing in the world is wrong because of what Jane did, yet now she is actually taking responsibility for it all, being a hero by wanting to fight back the Alpha Zero directly. Who could want to stand in the way of someone trying to stop the impending doom of Lennith City? Even Alyssa shouldn''t have that in her. But with that mouth on hers...
"Talking about me, are we?" Alyssa approached in between Taylor and Jane again, hoping to crush any idea of shutting her down.
"Alyssa," Jane interjected. "I''ve already said I was sorry. What more do you want?"
"That''s enough Alyssa!"
Another new voice projected above all of them. The four teenagers turned together to their left, with an adult female walking towards them through the short cut grass. Her crimson dyed hair and dark eyes only marked her beauty with her age along with the elegant dress sphere, but her expression seemed destructive, almost hateful, affixed only on Alyssa. "What did I say about it, hm? Jane is to be left alone to heal, not bothered about the past."
"Claudia," Jane and Alyssa both mumbled in sync. Alyssa slumped her neck down quick, yielding to her teacher of Lennith academy. "I was just..." Claudia didn''t even have to say anything back. Just from raising her eyebrows did Alyssa understand that there would be no more toleration for her interrogation methods on Jane or her friends.
It wasn''t entirely fear of authority that set her down. Alyssa and Claudia have a mutual relationship with the situation around them. If word got out about Jane''s symbol and scandals of getting into the school system here, Claudia would go down for it too. She would suffer fates much worse than getting fired from her job, and Claudia doesn''t deserve to have her life ruined because somebody didn''t want to ask for help the right way. If anything happened to her teacher, who would help the students learn Leray magic level 3? Almost nobody else on campus is remotely capable of performing the same abilities Claudia is able to. She''s actually a tough woman when it comes down to a real battle, and even more of a badass for never advertising her own skill levels and hidden talents.
"Wait a minute," Taylor interrupted. This woman was very familiar, and she had to step forward a pace to make sure she wasn''t mistaken. "You''re the one who helped us!"
"What?" Alyssa winced.
Danny squinted his eyes too, conferring with Taylor that this was the same woman. The one called Claudia is the person here now.
"Well that helps with introductions," Claudia summarized. "Yes. These two came to me regarding their lost friend, and asked about the location and direction of the Den of Purity. Since it was in fact Jane''s destination and goal, I knew I could trust them, after understanding that they are not investigation officers."
"So that''s how you found me?" Jane looked at Taylor, who was still fixed on her teacher. It did seem odd that Taylor and Danny both managed to know which exit Jane took from Lennith, and how far in to go in order to locate her. They must not have forgotten about the possible solution Jane once had in mind about removing her Leray curse, the Den of Purity and its exclusive location in the Outback. They must have asked a lot of people about her, only to get the truth from Claudia. Was their encounter random as well?
"Indeed I was under the impression that Jane would most certainly survive in that place, though I had my doubts about your friends." Claudia was clearly talking only to Jane and Alyssa, since they had not caught up completely on what happened with Danny and Taylor. "I was shocked to see that you''re other friends made it out without a mark on them, yet you suffered one of the worst injuries without actually giving in to death. I am the one who allowed Jane to use the back route into the dark zone, the very same one I told you two about. And had she died in there, the blame would have been on me as well."
"No! It wouldn''t!" Jane denied all of it. Claudia can''t really put that on herself. "I was the one too stubborn to listen to anyone. I made the choice to go in there alone."
"Right," Alyssa added. "It is Jane''s fault in the first place. Don''t sacrifice your career over this."
"Career?" Jane knew about some of the possible problems that may show up if her cover about the illegal registry into the school system were to be discovered, but she forgot entirely to ask her own teacher about the integrity of that secret. "Everything''s okay about that, right?"
"I was worried at first," she admitted. "Adon''s investigations are focused on you Jane, but there was of course a trace to your recent enrollment here. I''ve managed the legal paperwork as best as I can. They''ve already overlooked a number of discrepancies, for now."
"So what you''re saying is..."
Alyssa clarified what Claudia meant to Jane, after understanding it herself. "It means that the gap in time between the day you graduated from Dakota and the day they were enrolled here is much too short, and that alone would draw a lot of attention."
"I don''t want anyone but myself to get into trouble for all of this." Jane prepared herself to hear just about anything, but before first explaining her part of the plan to Claudia, there was one more matter worth pursuing. "Claudi?" Jane asked. "Is there really a way to legalize my symbol?"
"Hm," she puzzled. Claudia knew of one answer, but with the complications of today, it might be even more difficult. "First thing is first. You must wait until this current investigation becomes a cold case. We need the General Army to truly believe that you were just exploring, acting like an idiot for running into the zone, and trying to get back after a monster attack. Anything more would be too implausible."
"I don''t know about that," Jane worried. The General Army is going to find out that Jane has a symbol anyway, so why would she have to lie again in order to tell the truth later?
Claudia continued unfazed. "Because the Den of Purity is off limits to the civilian population, it might still be possible to present your case in civil court. You''ll have to play this off like getting your symbol was an accident, something you did not do to yourself on your own power."
"But it really was an accident."
She nodded, "The Eldorian Judge will not see it that way if he learns that you intentionally used a spell bomb of unknown origin, even after explaining the unusual effect it carried afterwards. You would also need to officially request other methods to remove the symbol in the first place. There is no other way, but if a court believes that you believe in other symbol removing methods, they will at least align their sympathy towards you on some level."
Jane look at the ground, scrunching her face from the painful denial of Claudia''s logic. Her refusal to even try was obvious enough already.
Claudia questioned the look on Jane. "What''s the problem?"
"Somebody still has to take care of the Alpha Zero situation immediately. I know too that it''s growing. No matter how slowly that may be expanding, Lennith is not safe anymore."
So Jane already knows about that? Claudia found out from commissioner Adon following the initial spark of the investigation. The General Army apparently has a way of monitoring the zone''s field radius and the border position as it changes, and it is getting closer to Lennith City. "What makes you think such a responsibility could ever become your own?"
Jane knew Claudia would have a tough time understanding this, but she still went along with the full explanation. Alyssa would hear it too, for whatever it was worth. "I''ve been keeping tabs on their plans. I can''t possibly know everything, but we all need to storm the dark zone and arrest Brightworth before it is too late. I''m afraid that without the help form my own symbol on the army''s side, it''s only barely feasible."
"Absolutely absurd!" Claudia cried. "You would throw away your only last secret left to risk your own life for a second time, doing something that the General Army can handle on their own?!"
"That''s a load of shit and you know it as well!" Jane rose her voice with Claudia again. Lies! Pure lies coming from her! "The General Army doesn''t stand a chance, especially if they think they can just split up their platoon into units and take the Outback by some random force of operation."
"I wasn''t aware you were in the General Army," Claudia argued.
After just a second of silence, Jane glared into Claudia''s eyes, hoping for her to feel both the rage and fear stuck inside of her head, those awful memories! "You''ve never been inside of the dark zone. As a matter of fact, the General Army has not been in either. They''ve sent scouts, but few have returned, not even to give us much data on what that hell is really like in there. You have no partial idea how terrifying it was for me, the evils I had to face in there. I didn''t even make it halfway to the Den of Purity, and you''ve all seen the scares I suffered for that anyway. And yet..."
Jane held her right hand up in front of her while calming down passively. "And yet, it was this insane symbol that saved me. It invoked itself on me multiple times while I was in trouble, saving my life in ways that shouldn''t even be physically possible with everything I know about Leray magic. This symbol is a miracle and a curse wrapped into one." She put her hand down again, making sure she got every word out of her system. Jane would explain the entire reason for her new motivation, no matter who wanted to stop her. "There is no reason why I shouldn''t be able to use it for good, out there in the field, fighting alongside those who want to save Lennith City as badly as I do."
Alyssa closely interrupted Jane, denying that she could actually care about any of that stuff. "You don''t even make any sense Jane! Save Lennith City? Nobody can just storm the Outback. Nobody is going to accept your insane ideas with that mark on your hand. And nobody is going to believe that you are doing any of that for the good of the country."
"That''s where you''re wrong!" Jane reflected. Her very reaction caused Alyssa to wince in surprise, her eyes fixated onto Jane and her body language. "I already know that there is little hope for me. Once they find out I''m marked, I''ll be treated like a criminal or a fugitive, and even if I weren''t, I''d still have no future of ever removing this symbol. My dream to become a Leray master might as well be over." Jane temporarily ignored the imminent rebuttal that Taylor was about to shoot in the hopes of keeping Jane''s dream alive, there can only be realism now. "But what about everyone else who loves Leray magic? What about everyone else who relies on that system so deeply? If I do nothing with this crest, the whole world will suffer for it. Leray magic can''t survive in a zone that only grows as large as this, and I won''t let anyone else''s dreams be destroyed over that! I won''t stop until I''ve restored the Outback, at the very least stop the spread of the dark magic."
Alyssa fell silent in thought, captivated by what Jane was saying, and how much inflection she included in her tone. Jane really means all of what she preaches. She loves Leray magic so much, that she would throw her own life away if it means making sure others can continue to live in a world where Leray magic exists. She would fight with all her life in a hellish zone she has already failed to cross once, all to make sure the dark magic doesn''t spread. Alyssa could only think back to reflect on herself now, imagining and remembering all of those tough moments that she has been training since so many years ago. She has to constantly invoke and use heavy Leray magic all the time, less she fall ill to her medical illness and lose sensation in all of her limbs. Alyssa knew she has always been fighting in that way, to survive and live. It is for that reason that her love for Leray magic is like no other. But here is Jane right now, ready to risk everything in such a selfless way. Does she really love Leray magic that much, perhaps more than Alyssa does? No, it can''t be true!
Claudia didn''t say anything for a brief moment, considering how incredibly committed Jane already was to her own new assignment. Just before leaving for the dark zone, Jane was dead set on ignoring the dangers, and putting her life in risk all for the sake of her personal career. Yet now she is suddenly selfless, all because she saw the evil inside of Alpha Zero? Claudia couldn''t believe that a motivator this powerful could exist in the dark zone, but before questioning the change in heart, Jane still hadn''t considered the difference between her dreams and reality. "Even then, the army won''t let someone like you fight with them just because you have a symbol. You have any idea how much panic you''ll cause be letting anyone know? People who are marked are normally sent straight to prison without so much as a trial, all because everyone is too afraid of the dangers of such great power."
It was a hard truth to hear, but Claudia must have known better than Jane. She knew more than anyone else did by the many references in ancient Leray history, about the Avion Wars. A couple of centuries ago during the mass integration of Leray magic, there once came a terrible war that cost more lives that it did money or infrastructure. It was a war against mages that quickly transformed into war against symbols. Before long the start of the war, people had been using symbols to power up in ways that defied the normal laws of Leray magic, making the use of dark magic a natural phenomenon. What became living weapons of war also became something uncontrollable. Criminals ran rampant using their symbols to kill innocent people, commit major crimes, and overpower the police in the process. Those who wanted to fight in the war often lost their lives because most symbols actually have lethal drawbacks. It took the miracle of removing symbols from those arrested and locking up those secrets to restore order and end that war. After so many lives were lost, the battles all ended with no side victorious; there was nothing left but mourning and regret. Even to this day, the people in Sprawn Valley still feel that uneasy fear deep down. The sight or word of a marked one would be a bulletin on national television, deploying such news all over the world. Things here would never be the same again.
Alyssa continued to let Jane and Claudia argue, now in an entanglement of thought, comparing herself to Jane Venn. She is the weirdest person Alyssa has ever met. Jane has lied, made terrible mistakes, and probably has a highly arrogant nature just for battling. After everything she has been going through, Alyssa couldn''t help but try to imagine the scenario, happening to her instead of Jane. Would Alyssa make the same mistakes? Would it ever even be possible given her physical condition? Is fighting to become stronger the same as fighting to do the right thing?
"They will, once I''m no longer below the chain of command."
"What do you mean?"
Taylor wanted to try and explain this one, since Jane had already said so much. The plan actually made some sense. Jane could not go in alone, nor could she just politely ask the army to help her on this mission. It''s something that could only be forced by changing the rules of everything. Even she had doubts that Jane could come near pulling it off. It was a certainty that Claudia and Alyssa would laugh this up the same way she did. "Jane plans to take control of the General Army, thereby eliminating the need to ask them for permission to storm the dark zone. But in order to take control, there is only one legal way of doing that, a way that lies in the city of Eldora."
Claudia huffed after realizing where this was going. "Defeat the League of Elites, become the new champion of Leray magic?"
"That''s right," Jane hosted. "The elites won''t know about my symbol until I reveal myself in the dark zone, but by then I will already be in charge, already proving myself to be someone who is putting such a harmful tool to great use. I don''t even want to be in charge of the army, not forever anyway. It won''t be the kind of victory I want, using something that is basically cheating."
Alyssa corrected Jane, "It is cheating!"
"This is the worst idea I''ve heard so far." Claudia wasn''t even laughing at Jane''s big plan. It was simply illogical in every sense of the meaning, a plan that completely defied the reasons why there are laws. "Why do you think that the army is so set on not invading the dark zone without your help?"
"Have you seen these men?" Jane chanced. "The guards at the exits, the patrols and advanced units, all of them are too scared to think of going near the dark zone, and I think our current champion is sitting around trying to think of a better solution. As terrifying and as dangerous as Alpha Zero may be though, we''ll have incredible strength in numbers. It''s well worth the risk if the army can just grow some courage, and have the other four elites pitch in as well. But the only way they''ll listen to me is if I prove to them I can fight, and then announce a great attack strategy for the dark zone. I''ll know exactly where to go, what to watch out for."
"This is beyond insane!" Claudia didn''t want to shut Jane down, but the plan was just impossible in too many ways. She is getting ahead of herself, more than Claudia could have expected.
"Really?" Jane tested. "You''ve scanned my body yourself. You''ve seen the results of the ME levels climbing and climbing form this stupid crest. You know just as well as I do how much more capabilities I now have with this marking. I''ve defeated some of the monsters in the dark zone. I can bust my way past all of the guards in city if I chose to leave, even in this state I''m in. I''ve invoked abilities even I thought were impossible. The League of Elites will be a walk in the park for me. I won''t fail!"
"The fact that you can even say that means you''re not ready."
Jane argued back with Claudia, without raising her voice too high. Their group has already attracted a ton of attention, and the moment a guard walks over here, the discussion will have to end. "You''re the one who isn''t ready. You''re not ready to accept that there are more ways than one to achieve the impossible. I know you don''t have any faith in me right now..."
"That''s not even what I said¡ª"
Jane spoke over Claudia''s comment without a response for it. "But with your help, I won''t even have to worry about it. I won''t be traveling alone anymore. I''ve got my friends here; Danny and Taylor."
"My help?"
"Yes," Jane nodded. "I want you to take some time training me some more, after tomorrow during my six hour breaks. I want to learn about more powerful skills and abilities, the one''s you''ve been holding back teaching. Even show Danny and Taylor a few things too while I''m not around. I''ll need new abilities for the road."
"So you want me to help you once again to train for a task that is even more absurd than the first thing you wanted to do? And all after I learned that trying this out the first time was truthfully my own mistake, my error in judgment?"
"Claudia?" Jane tempered. "I am doing this. With your help, I''ll have a lot more luck on my side. Once I''ve put this dark zone matter to rest, then I''ll deal with my real problems, and take full responsibility over my actions, including telling the truth about how I deceived my way into Lennith academy. In the process, I won''t let you burn for trying to help me."
Claudia and Alyssa were silent, which was expected as of right now. Alyssa wasn''t the one making a choice though, and she had lost whatever momentum of interrogating Jane she once had. Jane managed to dispense with her apologies to come up with something so wild, it was unbelievable in itself, yet her own version of the truth. How could a person like Jane suddenly care so much about wanting to set things right with Alpha Zero?
"I think before I agree to anything..." Claudia inhaled another breath, thinking long on her possible decision to help Jane. It''s not as if anything too bad would happen in either of the situations, but she would rather not indulge such insolence in any of her students. No matter what the people may say, Jane is still Claudia''s student, but what will Jane do is she refuses to help? "Jane? I think you and I should take five."
"Okay?" Jane didn''t understand the motive. Was Claudia about to say something she didn''t want the others to hear? Still agreeing to secrecy she would dispose of anyway, Jane followed Claudia to the side, walking away from the others slowly and casually. "What''s this going to be about?"
Alyssa watched the two of them distance themselves from her and Jane''s friends, but she didn''t object or ask for a reason. Her thoughts were pouring everywhere with regards to Jane''s insanity. Was it really possible to defeat the League of Elites using that crest in her hand?
"You seem awfully quiet?" Danny addressed. "This is all too strange to get so worked up about."
Alyssa studied Taylor and Danny again, judging the way they were acting towards Jane earlier. It all made sense now. There had to be a reason why they would be so forgiving of Jane after all that happened with them. "I bet it was something, traveling around with Jane during all of that confusion."
"You''re one to talk," Taylor replied. "What''s your story with her anyway? Petty classmate?"
Alyssa thought for a long time in silence, building more attention on herself before confessing to Taylor what Jane really did. "I can see now why such random people like yourselves would be so attached to a person like Jane. I thought she had changed completely when I found out the secrets she was hiding... But no. I did that, changed the perception I had of her."
"The hell are you babbling about?"
Taylor nudged Danny in the side with her elbow for asking Alyssa something in such a rude manner. She didn''t take Alyssa for a confession type to begin with, but it was related to Jane in some way.
"If I could guess by asking the two of you, I think I already have Jane''s basic behavior in a short summary. Energetic girl; runs around training constantly to become better with her Leray magical powers. At the same time, inspires the drive in others to do the same, all for the sake of her own personal dream. Jane might be excited to fight the League of Elites, but disappointed at the same time to have to use that crest to do it."
"How could you possibly know that?" Taylor phrased.
"Jane dreams of becoming a Leray master, right? It''s her love for Leray magic in general that makes her who she is, always aspiring to be the best of the best in a legitimate strategy, positive attitudes and all?"
Danny answered for her, knowing that on many levels, Jane was both different and the same. She wants different things now, but she is still the same person on the inside. He could accept no other possible scenario. "That does sound like Jane, at least before the incident that marked her."
"That''s what I thought. I knew that had to be the reason that you both would stay by her side no matter what stupid or crazy things she may have done, and it''s because her dream is an inspiration to others, an example of how to act when you have the same goals in mind."
Danny pieced together something, but it was still a guess in his mind. "Is that how she affected you? Jane inspired you because you have the same goals?"
Just now, Alyssa nearly tripped over herself at the thought of being compared to Jane like that, but as she opened her mouth to counter the conclusion, it was harder to set aside than realized. Alyssa knew her goals were not exactly the same... But ever since she joined the Lennith Academy, Alyssa has wanted more than the desire to train hard and survive. If she is forced to use magic all the time in order to live, might as well make a career out of it too. But the only thing high enough to hold such a burden is the aim to become a Leray master. Jane wants that too, but not for the same reasons. "My goals," Alyssa struggled, "I want to become strong with Leray magic. I want to be better than anyone else. I want to be better at using magic than Jane is. Leray master or not, it''s all the same to me."
Was Alyssa talking about herself now, or was she projecting for Jane? Taylor didn''t quite expect this from Alyssa, but it suddenly makes more sense now why she would be so mad about it before. If Jane was either an inspiration to Alyssa, or something that helped her figure out what she wanted, that would make Jane the role model. But what kind of role model turns out to be someone else? It''s no wonder why someone would be so angry over the simple congregation of lies Jane had to conjure to everyone else.
"But when Jane arrived in our school, as skeptical as I was that her intentions were pure, I still managed to alter my own goal. Becoming a Leray master was the second most important thing to me. Now there is only one."
"Which is?" Taylor coaxed.
Alyssa answered gracefully after much silence, admitting her own personal lifelong dream, which has slowly come to fruition upon meeting Jane. "I''ll become a better person than Jane is, physically and morally. I want Jane to be the one who learns something from me one day, and not the other way around." Alyssa knew all along why she let herself get to worked up about it. How would you feel if your very own role model turned out to be a deceptive liar? Alyssa was amazed that she fell into that kind of trap given initial disposition towards Jane as a new student. But the thought of Jane learning and becoming a better person, by looking up to Alyssa instead of self-delusion was highly motivating, as it would be to kick her butt in a Leray battle. Right now, the two of Jane''s friends were both staring at Alyssa intensely, taken afloat by her deep and enchanting words.
Chapter 37: Mark of a Master
<01/28/1972 ¨C 20:10 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The populous of Lennith City began to dwindle with the day, though there was plenty of light remaining in the hours that passed. While Claudia and Jane split up from Danny, Taylor, and Alyssa, they had been catching up on things that were only a concern between the student and the teacher, but Jane was not able to expect how this was going to go down, for Claudia had every right to refuse assistance.
"So what do you think then, Claudia?" Jane kept track of her surroundings, taking in the fresh air at the same time. Allowing the cool breeze and rush of purified wind to graze her lungs burned at first, but at least now it became a medicinal source of relief from the terrifying dark zone she came back from.
"I told you to call me Claudi!" She briefly wisped her dark dyed crimson hair to the side, getting some of the lines out of her face upon being blown by the wind. As she kept her firm gaze on Jane, Claudia needed to know more before agreeing to her student''s terms. "I still don''t approve of your plan. I think it is absolute ludicrous, but on the contrary, so is the alternative." Claudia could sense the doubt of either choice in her own tone. Confessing to the soldiers or the commissioner in this town would only lead to her imprisonment. Even if the council case could be made and they go easy on her, who would take care of the dark zone? All logic aside, Jane is right. That champion sitting in Eldora Tower should have done something by now... If Lennith falls under the dark veil, Alyssa and her family will be ruined too. If Leray magic were to become less effective, or fail entirely, the both of them would slowly die a painful death from paralysis. "So before I can even begin to fathom helping you again, I need to know a few more things first. I need to know that you are not lying to me about anything."
Jane stepped her right foot closer for balance, and stood firm to respond to Claudia truthfully. "There isn''t anything so far that I haven''t told you at this point. I come from Fronas town, and I graduated from Dakota with basic training. I wanted to see Brightworth about removing this symbol, yet another mistake I made with¡ª"
"I meant with new information," she interrupted. "I''ve already put together the obvious differences between the truth and lies you''ve told us. I want to make sure that you aren''t holding anything else back. And I want you to update me personally on any changes or developments that occur, having to do with your symbol or the dark zone."
"I can promise this," Jane studied. "I don''t have any reason to keep you in the dark." Jane turned around, facing her group of friends that she reunited with today. "As far as we both know, Alyssa, Danny, and Taylor are in on the whole truth as well. The only people oblivious to all of this is anyone other than the five of us."
Claudia submitted her own proposal, enhancing any particular detail that Jane might not have expressed clearly. "So then... I have nothing more to worry about if your plan backfires and you all wind up in prison?"
"That won''t happen," Jane promised. "I swear I''m going to fix this. After I''ve taken care of the dark zone, I''ll find some way to come clean about the whole symbol thing, explaining everything truthfully. On the side, I''ll make sure that you aren''t pinned for any crimes or blame on what I''ve done. I wouldn''t want to destroy my teacher''s career."
"It''s something you shouldn''t worry about, but thanks." Claudia didn''t sense any problems with Jane in the slightest. She was looking her in the eyes while talking, proving she had to be telling the truth, less she be a great actor in disguise. Jane also looked terribly tired and exhausted, though it was a look constantly on her since her return from Alpha Zero. She still must be suffering from a ton of real time damage. Because of that, training will have to wait a little longer. Come to think of it, training Jane will be impossible if she ends up having side effects. "How are the meds working out?"
Jane sighed with the stressful frustration of impatience. "Starlov Boosters work so slowly! We''ll have to schedule my training for the day after tomorrow, during the next six hour break I am allowed."
"They won''t let you battle?"
Jane nodded, "No, but if I train with Leray magic after getting just a little better, it won''t hurt me to carefully expend some MP. It also shouldn''t take too long to learn new abilities. Just as long as I''m not receiving damage, it will be fine, but I''ll have to watch myself too."
"Ah, that''s right," Claudia reminded. "Your crest passively makes you learn abilities quicker, which is something I still don''t understand."
"We can figure out who the man was with that spell bomb after we get through the rough stuff, but I must warn you that I still have no good leads."
Claudia scratched her hair twice, already in thought about which order of Leray magical spells can be taught at a higher level. "I''ve already got a general idea about a list of potential new abilities that you might find to your liking. But if you''re going to make it in the League of Elites championship, you''ll need an extended list, one you may not even learn within the time of a month."
"I think I''ll be fine on the road." Jane glanced again at her friends. "But Danny and Taylor may not be, and I can''t afford to lose money on the side of this thing. So they will need some training as well. Just give them more basic stuff, anything that will help their odds on the road. Is 787 as bad as I think?"
"Well..." Claudia couldn''t answer that easily. "Route 96 and 787 are two totally different environments. Ninety-six is a place more natural and sort of abandoned by the order of maintenance. It''s shorter too, and the people who go there can sometimes be shady. On 787, there is never really a problem. Battles there are intense, but the Siriean domes prevent damage to the main structure, or people from being blown off into the ocean. The route itself however is longer, eleven miles long to be exact."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"Oh!" Jane had not considered how dangerous it could be to battle on the top of a bridge hanging over the ocean, but if the domes actually prevent problems, it would make it a popular target for Leray wielders indeed. Given the distance factor involved as well, it might be worth investing in bikes, or in camping equipment. "Any abilities in particular?" Jane was already thinking about all of the cool new magic tricks and spells she would be able to acquire at her disposal.
But Claudia had to turn down the spoiler. "I know you too well Jane. You can''t handle the suspense of knowing what you might be learning, so we''ll leave that a surprise for now." What about Jane''s other abilities? Were they not cutting it all the sudden? "How fares your shielding ability by the way? Did it work well in the dark zone?"
Jane gave the straight up answer that came from many. Somehow, knowledge on the behavior of Leray magic was accurately known with contrast to dark magic, though not everything was as clear. "My shield thing works great. I would have died against the first monster without it, but even so, Leray magic is weak in Alpha Zero, and it takes so much more energy to do stuff there."
"As I would have expected," Claudia replied.
"But there were things I didn''t understand. If the Leray veil of protection enables some of the passive rules, then how was I allowed to survive things like bullet impacts? How was I able to utilize my supply sphere, yet be denied the ability to make an artificial Siriean dome?"
"The rules are kind of the same in a dark zone. Just because the dark zone lacks a veil does not mean that magic itself does not exist. In a dark magical zone, you are still more protected from death than outside Sprawn Valley''s continental field. Furthermore, the dark zone can prevent or enable rules such as supply sphere functionality, reward systems, Siriean domes; all of that is predetermined by the specific creator of that specific dark zone in the first place. That sphere you are holding would be permanently destroyed, along with all items inside should it be carried out of Sprawn Valley or a valid magical veil, dark magic or otherwise. Additionally, a single bullet would be fatal outside of Sprawn Valley, dark zone or not. See the difference yet?"
"I guess..." Jane didn''t think the answer would be so simple. There were just things she still didn''t know, easy knowledge too. "I had no idea that the dark zone can poorly imitate a Leray zone."
"Yes, only in Sprawn Valley. Outside of this little world, nobody has to worry about Leray magic or dark magic. And yet those people fear it so."
"With all that''s been happening lately, I''m not surprised anymore."
Claudia let her chain of thoughts circle back to the day Jane got her symbol from the unusual spell bomb. Though she was never there for the event in person, Jane told her about the details that night. At the same time, those details would have to be important in the upcoming investigation, though dangerous for her involvement in the case. The very fact that such a spell bomb even existed in the form of a prototype was absolutely troubling and disturbing.
Jane was right about another detail too. The unknown spell bomb, the attack at Tilsit by the Scarlet Cult, the expansion of Alpha Zero, people being marked with illegal symbols, and a few former members of the Eldorian Council turning to crime! From one pair of eyes, it didn''t seem so bad, but from a world''s view of perspective, one would be forced to agree that Sprawn Valley is just not the best place to be in right now, no matter how much they love Leray magic. Word of a secondary investigation with the Tilsit attack had Claudia fretting to no end, but those words shall go unspoken for now.
"Eldora must be a great city. You said it was academically rich?"
Claudia almost didn''t hear Jane''s question with herself distracted by the world, but it was something she would have been expected to know automatically. "Of course. Eldora is the richest city because of its highest level of education. I wouldn''t worry much about the other places though. The council is at least trying to bring more money into the less fortunate places by building popular structures. I even hear rumors of an arena being built near Blue Port Town."
Jane had nearly forgotten about that. The arena was still under construction, so much that there was not a visible building in that direction last time she was at home to check it out. Before either of them could make any more small talk about it, a voice calling her reminded Jane how important it was to stay focused on the main idea.
"What are you guys talking about?" Danny approached them with Taylor and Alyssa behind them, reuniting with Jane.
Jane turned to face them, realizing that there was nothing in particular that Claudia wanted to keep from them. It was kind of a mystery as to why she was pulled to the side in the first place. "Just going over the plan for Route 787. It''s the east exit of Lennith City, but all three of us need training before we can cross it, and I need two more nights of healing before my training can begin."
"I see," Taylor imagined. "So we just have to wait and train for a really long time?"
Claudia transferred her earlier thoughts and memories on Jane''s previous sparing sessions with Taylor, believing Jane to have left out that detail. "I don''t think so. With Jane''s symbol, it will take her only a matter of days to learn powerful new skills."
Why did Jane say the three of us? "What about me?" Alyssa made herself noticed by everyone just by the intensity of the question alone. It didn''t appear based on multiple expressions that she was expected to want to come along with Jane to Eldora.
"You want to come with us?" Jane sounded just as confused, believing Alyssa to have hated her just a moment ago. Was she suddenly forgiven?
"Alyssa, I need you here."
"But Claudi?!"
"Mmn-mmn!" Claudia nodded in denial at Alyssa''s request to go with Jane. "Jane is still not one of my students officially, especially since she has graduated. Jane? When I train with you, understand that it will not be for any official classes. The training will be personal should anyone ask." Claudia firmly set her voice in a declarative tone, taking full control of the situation on her end. "And Alyssa? You still have yet to graduate from my class, therefore leaving Lennith to follow Jane will look too suspicious. Besides, you''re still going to be questioned by the commissioner himself in light of the investigation. I need you here to make sure that heat does not tear down our academy. Following Jane will be a clear act of suspicion on your part."
"But what about Danny and Taylor?"
"Them?" Claudia pointed. "They''re not even legal citizens of Sprawn Valley. It''s not like you have to be in order to live here, but those two have no obligation to this area whatsoever, nor do they have any legal binding connection with Jane. They will arouse no suspicion."
There''s a thought Jane forgot to consider. She wouldn''t mind having Alyssa on the team as well, but Claudia was right about the investigation, being as she was still remaining on top of it all. Danny and Taylor won''t even show up in a registered database of Sprawn Valley citizens or personnel, and bringing anyone along would eventually put them at risk. Alyssa probably doesn''t even understand just how dangerous it is to be associated with Jane these days. With this symbol under her hand, would all of her friends be labeled as enemies? Would Danny and Taylor face punishment in Sprawn Valley for helping her?
"That''s bullshit!" Alyssa argued.
"I''ll be sure to bring back an ornament or two from Eldora," Jane allowed. "Now speaking of the training, Danny and Taylor will have their hands full outside of learning, mostly with raising some money. After I get just well enough to train, I''ll stop by the back of the school. I don''t want to stay here too long, so I''ll be leaving within two weeks if I''m not already healed up by then."
Claudia expanded on the plan of action for training her former student. "Training will be at my house actually. We can''t risk your symbol showing up by accident in front of a crowd. I''ll be sure to leave you a note of the address, and prepare a long list of specific abilities that will be important to know, but there are only a handful of which I can train you with. Some of them I''ve never been able to invoke before, and you''ll have to teach yourself those abilities on your spare time."
"Can I train too?" Alyssa still longed to be part of whatever Jane was part of.
Though regarding this trivial matter, Claudia accepted Alyssa''s terms with little hesitation. Alyssa needs to train all of the time, but Claudia could also come up with excellent ideas for Alyssa''s difficulty. "I''ll allow it. I want word of this to stay only between us, no matter who asks what questions. Am I clear?"
Jane and her friends all responded to Claudia at the same time with the same enthusiasm. "Crystal."
Chapter 38: Specialization
<02/10/1972 ¨C 14:00 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"Haya!" Jane threw her arms in a flying upward arc, aiming her daggers at edge to slice open the empty air in front of her. Struggling to keep her balance and coordination correct at the time, she finished her move with a slight kick off the ground, twirling her body a full rotation. Upon landing the spin, Jane had let loose a magical attack through the ends of her daggers, causing them to glow blue for less than a millisecond before magical spheres shot from each dagger tip. The spheres were incredibly quick projectiles, the quickest spell Jane has ever used before any other ability.
She had been training here all day long, shoes first in the thin grass of Claudia''s backyard while Danny and Taylor used their breaks to watch her. Jane nearly mastered her new skill, which technically isn''t even a real ability according to the spell book. Claudia wanted Jane to improve on her charge attack, making her learn to combine more abilities into a simple blitz of quick-use abilities with the effects of the Dualcasting skill built in. Technically, Dualcasting isn''t needed to quickly spam abilities one after the other; it only speeds up the invocation time of magical spells. Therefore, if you combine physical or non-magical attacks in combinations with magical skills, the effects are much more efficient than using Dualcasting, which is why Claudia considered that a severely outdated ability. Jane was expending much of her stamina, barely recovering long enough to keep it together, but she worked so hard today that it was unbelievable to the untrained eye. This was the final moments of training. Jane was simply showing off and refining all of the skills she learned and picked up from Claudia.
It has been twelve days since Jane set the action in motion to train harder, which means she had been training in particular for ten days. The first was rough, as her capped MP capacity due to real time damage was holding her back. In all of that time, Jane''s health and MP stats on the energy scope were still not full to 100% just yet, but they were close; health was up to a maximum of 90% while her magical capacity was up to a maximum of 88%. It was showing lower right now because of Jane''s intense training, and Claudia wasn''t allowed to attack her for the same reasons.
Jane has constantly been in and out of the medical facility, draining her credits while getting additional treatments of the Starlov Boosters designed to completely heal real time damage. On the side, Danny and Taylor were able to raise a little money by battling others. It wasn''t much, for most of their time was also consumed by Claudia''s intense training. Jane did not actually know yet what her friends have learned as far as battling skills were concerned, but she figured it wasn''t useless. Claudia is an excellent instructor, possibly compatible with an elite student. At the same time, it wouldn''t be possible for Danny and Taylor to know all about what Jane had been learning. Since Jane was only allowed to be outside the facility for six hours at most, she was always on a timer each day.
One moment in particular she was waiting for has already transpired this morning, the discharge papers. Jane finally received a clean bill of health by doctor Ashly, allowing Jane the freedom to travel anywhere in the world except for Alpha Zero. The investigation never really caught hold of any illegal activities conducted in Lennith academy, which Jane found rather lucky, and the guards by each gate out of town were gone as well, other than the north one.
Tonight is the night. Technically, it is only two in the afternoon with the sun hung high, but for Jane it was already a long day of practice. She was indeed ready to leave Lennith today, hopefully to make it to Eldora before the next light fades.
Chapter Theme Shift: Rolling Stone Gathers Dirt ~ Radioactive Sandwitch
Jane stood still, other than her entire body bobbing to her intense breaths of exhaustion and fatigue. She slowly put her daggers away, holding them back into the pockets of her new battle suit. It was a Lennith training edition, the same suit she carried and damaged in the dark zone. Claudia was happy to give her one more for the road since her last one was trashed.
"That''s a rap for now Jane." Claudia could tell that Jane was wiped after that. It seemed a little unusual to watch her stamina deplete so quickly, but maybe Jane did in fact use a lot of MP during the training session. It was time to let her recover for now. "Everyone take five!" she called out.
Jane didn''t protest. Holding her knees for a few moments, Jane decided to sit down in the grass, giving herself the break she needed, and it quickly reminded Jane how lucky she was to be allowed one. Back in the dark zone, it was keep marching or die. The symbol in her hand was doing a lot for her, but eventually she had to accept that her hard work was still being put into her training. Learning abilities quickly isn''t the same as learning them easily. Jane has acquired so many new skills over the past week, and her friends only knew just a couple of them from watching her train firsthand. Learning them was incredibly difficult for Jane, requiring total unparalleled focus. While Jane collected her breath, she studied the new spells in her mind one by one.
Mako Strike: After Jane analyzed the reasons for her Mako Beam attack dealing minimal damage, she found a way with Claudia''s knowledge to discover a new method utilizing the same energy. The power level had increased to six, while the MP consumption remained unchanged. Though Danny and Taylor would argue that it is only a knockoff attack of Magical Blitz. Even so, Jane''s Mako Strike deals the same amount of damage for such a small magical price.
Voltage: Nobody around Jane has knowledge yet of this particular ability. After realizing that she could easily invoke the powerful spell without additional training, it became clear that second opinions were not needed. Even with a power level unknown to Jane, it was obvious that the ability which is supposed to imitate a lightning bolt attack was much more powerful in this form. The only difference? Red electricity!
Ozcom''s Razor: A new skill Jane had learned from Claudia, a spell that creates a gigantic blade in the shape of a sword high in the air. It''s a powerful phased blade with very high damage dealing potential in the form of non-elemental magical slashing damage. Jane already mastered the skill today, but couldn''t wait to try it out on some of the enemies on Route 787. Like many other new skills, Jane had not shown them off yet to Danny or Taylor, in hopes to surprise them during those future battles.
Volley: A rather simple ability with a low power level of four, considering the slightly higher MP usage. Dealing only piercing damage in an unstylistic last resort formation, the skill is mostly for use during moments of severe inaccuracy.
Spirit Arrow: Jane has never known before what effects spirit elemental magical damage can do to people. Even to this day, she didn''t really have a clear idea from experiencing the result, but according to Claudia, spirit elemental magic was only meant to be lethal to creatures capable of magic which are not human, creatures such as summons or dark magical entities. On use of ordinary people however, the damage will be minimal with the tradeoff of potentially disorienting the opponent. That''s all Jane could understand from that mess too. How does it disorient anyone? It could be anybody''s guess. After learning the skill itself, it was relatively simple, much like Taylor''s Bow Charge skill. All she does is create the bow and arrow with the type of magic infused in that arrow-tip. In this case, the magical element is spiritual damage, something known as ethereal auric energy.
Splice: Another powerful skill that took much time for Jane to learn. Leaning on a power level of eight and a very high MP energy consumption, Splice creates a new level of physics, allowing the slice of a bladed weapon to travel through the air while picking up tons of Leray energy. With its drilling effects, it can produce a pain high enough to remind Jane of the horrible hits she took from those turrets in the dark zone that used an action called Laser Swipe. After Jane invoked the spell and accidentally hit Claudia, it was obvious that Laser Swipe and Splice are about one and the same for the pain levels, but Splice was also designed for single-handed weapons. Because Jane uses two daggers, she can use the same energy amount for two flying drilling magical slashes instead of just one, doubling the damage.
Prism: One of the most powerful and successful abilities derived from sixty refinements of your usual elemental bolt attack. Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Thunderbolt are all weak on their own. Prism combines them all while keeping them separate, unleashing a hell barrage of multi-elemental attacks against the target with an overall power level of nine. Although the MP consumption is averaged at 40%, the visual effects of the glyphring used are unique and beautiful.
Blaze Storm: A power-level-nine ability that basically steals the attack type of most light screen based spells such as Mega-Flare or Ultima, and uses pure thermal energy instead of a light screen. Blaze Storm razes the entire field and air with an ultra-high temperature, burning heat around at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Unfortunately for Jane, she nearly suffered another accident by trying to make it work under a dome shield. One of the problems with Blaze Storm is that it can affect the user of the spell too, if not trained enough to block out the effects on that user.
Blitz: The very namesake of the skill Jane had performed last, side stepping with a Mako Strike to end the sequence. Blitz is difficult to perform or induce, since in involves a built-in Dualcasting mechanism while combining Charge Attack with other particular skills. Blitz is not technically an attack skill, and thus it does not have a designated skill used each time. It''s a free-form attack sequence, one that forces the user into making multiple decisions and judgments in the blink of an eye with the assistance of a support aura. It''s essentially Charge Attack combined with Dualcasting, thus a more intense version of Charge Attack. It also makes use of an aura that is highly unique in that it splits initial energy from the start of the aura from that of normal capacity, and gives that capacity split back to the aura, limiting the user on how much magic they can use at a time. The details are similar, but confusing to the less knowledgeable.
Deep Strike: After watching an amazing performance from Claudia that nearly took all of the energy she had in one go, Jane was begging to learn the ability with only one success. It can be a confusing spell, one that involves the use of a special glyphring with a very unique attack pattern. Combining powerful explosions together with multiple Shadow Waves all in the same sequence, it''s a costly skill that is also quite lethal to the opponent.
Energy Cycle: A non-official skill that Claudia had thought of regarding Jane''s important energy levels created a great idea for a new aura ability. What was more amazing was that the skill was made from scratch, something formed out of thin air instead of being refined from any other ability. Because of Claudia''s ingenuity, it would go down in the history books for an amazing new skill that can be used by others as well. Jane wasn''t the only one capable of learning in this case. By utilizing a special aura, invoking Energy Cycle can temporarily regenerate the user''s MP levels more quickly, which normally occurs very slowly. At the same time, the user''s aura automatically converts some of the damage taken on them into instant MP energy, making the regeneration process all the more important. On the downside, you can''t attack in that mode, less you break the aura and end the sequence early. When you do end the sequence, there is a small delay between that moment, and the time you are allowed to recalibrate your magical circuits. So it can''t just be used on and off for the advantage.
Lunar Rain: Nobody taught Jane the skill, perhaps acquired by one of the scariest and craziest dreams of them all. Jane could feel it happening even now. The amazing effect, pull, and beaming light of the full moon tonight. The spell creates a burst of energy rays so powerful that it literally rains down segments of light, segments of lunar energy. Jane could feel the lights splashing down on her skin, on her face. The feeling is indescribable, absolutely incredible! At the same time, none of it was physical. Jane managed to think out in her head how it would be possible to invoke a skill that would simulate such an environment. But even if she could, what would it do for her?
With her thoughts on the full moon again, Jane was clearly distracted like many weeks before. She could not remember at what point her obsession with the moon began, though it wasn''t bothersome enough to resist its enticement into her usual trance.
"Well? What do ya think?" Taylor stood hovering above Jane, but her question was directed to Jane''s teacher. Even she seemed a little wiped from the hard work she did over the days.
"A lot of improvement as I expected," Claudia confirmed.
Danny folded his arms next to Taylor, and made the same conclusion from what Jane told him long before. "So her crest really does speed up her learning process?"
"And it conserves her MP energy in the process of practicing Leray skills, which is one of the reasons she can learn so quickly."You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"I''m ready!" she announced. Jane saw all three heads turn towards her from her peripheral vision, and elaborated on her excitement while jumping up to her feet in a stance. "I''m ready to challenge the League of Elites."
"I wouldn''t be so sure about that Jane¡ª"
Cutting Claudia off, Jane was quick to affirm her excuses with the evident recovery of herself. "I''m already fully healed with a clean bill of health, and I''ll have Danny and Taylor to help guide me should anything bad happen. I trust you''ve been training them well?"
She could already tell that talking Jane out of leaving today would be a difficult task. "Of course I have, but you still have yet to learn the entire potential of the next list of spells I''ve picked out. I can''t technically teach most of them, but I do understand how they work."
Jane held out her hand, offering to accept the piece of paper Claudia has been concealing from her. "I''ll learn that list on the road then. I won''t technically need that extra set of spells until the final fights."
"What you need is to relax," her teacher argued. Claudia still handed Jane the folded paper of skills and their general descriptions written down inside, but she didn''t let Jane forget about the important rules of battling. "Not all battles are won by a strategic selection of spells or skill levels. You also have to stay sharp and focus, but also stay relaxed while enjoying the fight."
"Claudia''s right," Taylor agreed while placing a hand on Jane''s worried shoulder. "No need to stress out about it. You love battling for the fun of it, remember?"
Jane did not forgot those days, and she wanted to accept that somewhere deep down, those emotions were still hiding inside of her. She could only feel excited right now about testing out her new skills in a real battle, but it would be a waste of time to hold a test run in Lennith. Better she take that to the road as well. "I didn''t forget," Jane replied. "But we are on a time table before it will be too dangerous near Lennith City. I don''t want to wait that long, so I''ll take it slow so long as I can depart today. I''ll be getting ready to head out on the road. We leave in an hour."
Jane had so much technical Leray things on her mind right now that she felt best being alone. She had lots to think about still left unresolved. Was bringing Danny and Taylor along really a good idea? What happens after defeating the champion? Will he listen to the reason she has been protecting for so long?
As Danny and Taylor watched Jane eagerly leave to prepare herself for the open road, they realized that they needed to do the same for themselves. "We''ll catch up soon," Danny waved.
"Sure! See ya!" That girl still lacks patience. When will Jane learn that she doesn''t need to always be so damn serious? Claudia looked around the back yard of her house, realizing that all of the training left a few scars behind in the dirt of the property. She would have to tend to her lawn and make it beautiful all over again. Jane would find herself lucky that she for one enjoys gardening every once in a while.
"This is it?" Taylor shouldn''t have asked the obvious question. Though she was currently expecting a bridge of some sort. Route 787 begins just a few paces further, but it appeared to look no more than another gravel road. At least this one had premium fences on each side to prevent people from getting lost on their way. Jane brought Taylor and Danny to the route shortly after packing their supply spheres with enough food and water to last for weeks.
"Route 787," Jane identified. The road wasn''t going to look like a bridge until they get ready to cross part of the ocean. Jane knew of the layout to this part of the land, but only by studying a primitive map. She had never been to Junon before after all, but she still felt as though Danny and Taylor would find the trip to be five times as exciting as she was expecting it to be. Jane however did not have her mood down in the dumps, for she has much to consider before preparing herself for leave today.
Being back on the road reminded Jane about two particular opponents she faced on Route 96, people who were nowhere near in the wrong to challenge others. The correct way to ask for a battle isn''t to force it upon those just to strike out their license cards, but instead to face each other one on one and to have unwavering fun. Teresha and Clayton; two acquaintances of each other on route 96 who work together while rivaling each other''s skill levels. Jane had to face them both, after being convinced by Teresha that she needed to show off her amazing skills. Even with the thought on her head, having the symbol wasn''t bothering her as much as before. Perhaps it was because she knew she was using the symbol for good, and because it was going to be a great requirement to survive Alpha Zero a second time. At the very least, she was inspiring other people to do better and try harder to become Leray masters. It wouldn''t be fun becoming one without strong competition. Then there is Belzer, who was the Gradyent on Route 96. Though he was quite rude in the beginning of a conversation, Jane didn''t forget that battle either, one of the most heated and intense battles of all time. That much was expected, considering only Elite fighters can become Gradyents for specific routes. Jane had her head in the clouds about this for far too long, forgetting how fun and important it is to keep developing new skills and training despite being marked. Belzer and the dark zone were perfect reminders of that on opposite sides of the coin. Now Jane could use this chance to show Danny and Taylor just how awesome Leray magic can be once its potential is maximized.
"I can hardly believe we''re doing this." Danny didn''t mean to express any concern, but the tone in his voice threw out the conception as such. Taylor and Jane both began looking at him as a reply, forcing him to clarify what he meant. "Before Tilsit, I would have thought that Jane would be leading us to more places and more classes on her journey to become a Leray master. But I don''t think I saw this one coming."
Taylor held Danny''s relaxed arm, attempting to try and comfort his potential worry. "It''s better this way."
Danny paid more attention to Taylor, and the fact that she was holding his arm. Why not put a hand on his shoulder? Or why not hold his hand instead? Wait a second! Taylor doesn''t think that I''m afraid, right?
She continued from what Danny tried to express earlier. "I don''t think Jane has any more surprise secrets. And at least now we know exactly what she is doing."
That''s not what I meant! Danny wanted to correct Taylor''s misconception desperately, but now didn''t feel like the proper time. They were going to be closing in on Junon''s airport any day now. With Jane, everything will be a smooth ride, but what happens once we reach Eldora?
"I trust you''ve accumulated a lot more credits than I hoped?"
Taylor let go of Danny''s arm, realizing that it was more awkward than comforting. Now she was faced with the reminder of how crazy Jane can get with her expectations. How much money was she expecting for them to raise? Danny and Taylor both had to pay money just to get to Lennith City with regards to food and water, and that also included the days spent in Lennith''s hotel for a place to live in the meantime. Taylor however remembered the exact amount she still had on her card, which has not changed since yesterday''s battle. Clearing her throat first, she replied, "Forty-five hundred."
Danny watched as Jane turned to face him, using that alone as her satisfied acknowledgement to figure out the rest. "Uh, thirty-three hundred I think." Danny remembered losing the last battle against someone slightly younger than himself. He hadn''t told Taylor or Jane about it. It would only bring out pointless ridicule, but at least he was improving nonetheless.
Jane tallied up the numbers in her head. "All together that means we have..." 5100 plus 4500 is like... and carry over with the 3300... Jane shared her answer''s total aloud, "Twelve thousand nine hundred."
"Wait, what is all of that for?" Danny requested.
Jane didn''t answer him directly, since he was already told once the reason for accumulating more money. "It''s still short a whole lot," Jane exhaled. Danny and Taylor were going to need incredible armor protection for the dark zone should they be needed there. Jane was relatively safe with her elastic mercenary suit. It''s the same black and blue design requisitioned for the Lennith training academy, though the suit offers incredible mobility and freedom to move about, making it her absolute favorite material in battle situations. For Jane, agility was a great bonus, since her best defense is actually a shield that utilizes her own magical capacity. With the thought of actual battling on her mind again, Jane quickly became eager to embark on the road already. "We can use the battles on the road to increase the amount we have. Don''t go losing too many battles now."
"Hey, relax Jane." Taylor sounded so calm and excited at the same time that Jane quickly became confused with her emotions. But Taylor was quick to try and calm Jane down as well. "You''re taking this trip too seriously."
"Trip?" Jane repeated? Does Taylor understand how important this trip is? We''re not on a freaking festive vacation here!
"I''m new to Sprawn Valley, remember? I want to see this bridge up close. I bet it looks awesome from all sides! And I''ll get to be standing over the Hollifax Ocean! Plus, there will be plenty of battles on the way there. This will be the best field trip I''ve ever had!"
Jane opened her mouth, but didn''t know how to respond to Taylor''s excitement. How could she be seeing this as a field trip? Leray fights can be dangerous... Then again, that''s only a rule that applies to the dark zone and dark magic users, something Route 787 is not about in any form.
"With us, this''ll be a blast."
Taylor''s confidence forced Jane to smile. She began imagining how the trip will go all over again. Only this time, Taylor and Danny would be there for support and company. Without having to suffer the fate of being alone anymore, Jane failed to see exactly how this plan could be a bad thing. For the first time since leaving Gulop, Jane felt happy again. There was more than one feeling than what Jane could explain to herself, but this continued to feel like a good idea moreover. Having Danny and Taylor back has to be one of the best things that has happened to her in weeks!
"Glad to see that you waited!" Claudia called out from a distance, walking towards Jane''s group while holding on to a set of handle bars.
It took but a second to make out what was going on with Claudia as she and Alyssa were both walking up towards them. Claudia was pushing a bicycle with her using the handles, and Alyssa was doing the same with two separate bicycles too. The surprise already sank in deep. Where did they get the bikes from?
Alyssa waited before getting closer in order to avoid raising her voice. "Look what we decided to get you."
Taylor winced, "You did not!" She immediately took hold of one of the bikes Alyssa was holding, feeling just how real and legitimate this thing was. She had forgotten up until now that bikes are an incredible source of transportation here in Sprawn Valley, since there are no cars and very few horses. Bikes however are not a cheap commodity.
"Alyssa?" Jane couldn''t believe this. Free bikes! "But why? This had to have cost a fortune!"
Claudia wanted to give Jane the short version of what she considered to be great news. "Our staff at Lennith academy got paid a high bonus this year, so we were able to give these to you. It''s for the road in front of you. Don''t forget that it is like eleven or twelve miles long, which is slightly longer than Route 96 is."
"But these will get you to Eldora before night fall," Alyssa added.
"Th¡ª thank you!" Jane was nearly at a loss for words, but after considering what Claudia just said, she found her focus on some other concern. "Claudi? What do you mean you got paid a bonus? That doesn''t sound all good."
Claudia blinked for a long time, confirming for Jane that something was up after all. "I guess nothing escapes your sharp nose. It seems you were right about the evacuation all along. It won''t happen overnight, but within a two month period, the General Army wants to temporarily shut down Lennith City''s facilities and evacuate the population."
"What?" "Seriously?" Danny and Taylor cross spoke at the same time. After hearing the madness of Jane''s incredible accusations about how a group she was never part of reacting according to her predictions, it was as if everything Jane planned for was justified in every way. Taylor and Danny were ready to back Jane up anyway, but it was amazing to see how easily the army would just decide to do nothing about a large threat.
Jane turned towards her friends again after passively accepting the bikes into their possession. "They would sacrifice this prosperous and expensive city just to buy themselves extra time to do what could technically be done today. I refused to believe it at first, but the commander doesn''t know what he is doing. That is the real purpose of fighting the champion. All I really hope to do is to talk sense into the man, or take over myself if I cannot reason with him."
"Well I believe in you Jane." Alyssa found it partially amusing that she could hate Jane one day, only to learn from her the next "I can''t believe that all of our hopes of making our home survive this is set through one person."
Jane nodded and corrected her newest friend. "It''s three people Alyssa. I couldn''t do this alone if I wanted to. Which brings me to ask what the hell is going on with the facilities."
Claudia expanded on the origin of her earlier announcement. "They are indeed shutting down the Lennith academy as well. Only places like the hotel and a few shops will be open until the end. We''ve got exactly two months before Alpha Zero is on this place like a wildfire, according to the estimations of the growth rate."
"Wrong again," Jane dreadfully denied. "I think the growth rate is accelerating with the power in Alpha Zero, which would give us about one month if we''re lucky enough."
"How can you possibly know that?" Claudia folded her arms, waiting to judge Jane''s excuse for a rather illogical assumption.
"If you hear reports of monsters in the dark zone becoming more powerful, which I doubt you will due to the lack of recent scouting, then my thesis on the acceleration is correct. I think the Alpha Zero is growing in magical potential, which means the growth rate will too, eventually. It''s exponential now, not linear."
Alyssa and the others looked at Jane with much confusion. It was a mystery to how Jane could suddenly understand so much about the dark zone just from walking into the place, but Claudia seemed to understand what she meant immediately.
"I understand. If you''re not back in two weeks, I''ll have to figure out some way of evacuating the town early. Just don''t do anything that mentions Lennith Academy. What I don''t need right now is another investigation."
"Regarding what?" Jane demanded.
"I''m not entirely certain." Claudia wasn''t able to pinpoint exactly what was going on, but Commissioner Adon hasn''t left the city yet. Instead, he''s brought in a lot more Leray detectives and agents. "They''ve got our academy in their scopes though. Some think that our facility might have something to do with the dark zone, and there are rumors flying around that our crystal shards kept inside of the vault have become a possible target by a group of unknown criminals."
"You can see why she wants me to stay here."
Jane noticed just now how smug Alyssa sounded. Alyssa must feel really important right now if she was willing to stay behind and help Claudia out, but perhaps that reason was well founded. Alyssa has a thing for learning about other people before going to talk to them. Jane personally found that annoying, but at least the investigation against her was over with. "Just don''t let them find out anything that could get you two into trouble."
"Oh we won''t," Claudia promised. "It''s only three after noon right now, but you best be on your way should you expect to make it to Eldora before nightfall."
Jane examined the bikes again, noticing how well-built they are. Bulky in size and in weight, these are official mountain bikes designed for off road travel too! Hopefully Danny and Taylor knew how to ride them. Jane barely remembered how to do this herself as a kid, before her own device was destroyed in a small magical fire, but it can''t be too hard. Was this already the time to leave?
Alyssa needed to warn them real quick about the lack of storage compatibility. "The bikes are too big of objects to fit inside of supply spheres, so take good care of them."
So that''s what they meant by storage limits. Danny couldn''t possibly understand how the device works even to this day, but accepted the information nonetheless. "Will do," Danny passed.
Jane turned around briefly, holding onto the handles of her bicycle in preparation to ride out of here. "We''ll be back. And when you see me again, I''ll bring a ton of support troops with me, as well as a plan of action."
Claudia waved at Jane, unable to say anything back from how surprising those words sounded. It was almost hilariously ridiculous sounding from a girl as young as Jane. Then again, she wasn''t joking about this at all. Jane is acting like a responsible adult suited above her own age. That is a gift Claudia will take from the end of her career. Even with her hopes on Jane, she couldn''t see much of a way from escaping the fate of the schools shutting down in the area.
"Bye!" Alyssa hollered.
"See you later!" Taylor hopped onto the seat of the bike, placing her feet on the petals while trying to get her body comfortable with the position and size of the device. She too had trouble just balancing on the mobile structure, more so than Jane did. Danny simply decided to drag the bike until going in further. They were already doing what Jane planned to earlier, riding down Route 787, said to be full of powerful and smart Leray fighters.
Alyssa saw them off, but realized that Claudia was still standing there, waiting for something. She came to realize that Claudia was just trying to think about what to do next. "What do we do now?" At the very least, she tried to guess whether Claudia''s thoughts were on the same level as her own.
Claudia exhaled a sigh of stress, holding it all in to think about reorganizing her home to become ready for the worst. Alyssa wanted to know specifically what to do right now, but the answer is already obvious and simple. "Damage control."
Chapter 39-A: Trial of Fears (Jane VS Mayza)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 16:00 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Nothing sang louder to Jane than the fresh air forced into her lungs by the resistance in wind and traction. While pedaling her legs forwards in a centripetal motion to drive the bicycle over the smooth pavement of Route 787, her friends were pedaling their own vehicles just behind her. The rough gravel terrain was soon transformed into perfectly flat pavement as upkeep to the road was made on a monthly basis, as the fences on each side spanned outward in design to give potential battles plenty of room. The sun hung at its highest point overhead. Though despite the relentless beating of its blinding radiation against the surface, the air here was kept relatively cool. The winter solstice was strengthening with the time of each passing day, while the calm noiseless bliss of the open road greeted everyone.
Jane was rather surprised to see so many people on the road at the same time. It seemed like an entire city''s population was just scattered on the route randomly, having a field day and a picnic under the clear sky. But almost nobody was battling each other, nor were there any attempts so far to stop her and her friends. These people were not looking to conduct magical matches; instead, the commoners sought to enjoy leisurely time amongst each other. It was too impossible to tell by looks alone - which people were form Lennith City and which were from Eldora City.
Taylor calmly coasted by, letting her feet rest while the bike''s wheels and current momentum carried her forward just next to Danny. They had to slow down slightly to ensure nobody got ran over, even if the walkers and campers stayed to the edges for convenience of less traffic, but Taylor could feel all of the bliss around her. This place was absolutely nothing like Route 96, and neither were the people here. The fences on each side were several hundred feet away from each other, giving the travelers plenty of room to sit down and relax. The families even brought their children with them, completing the set with campfires and grills. Taylor had to immediately assume that over half the crowd here did not consist of Leray wielders.
Danny took in the sights around him, and through the randomly clustered crowd of civilians and the fences boxing in the road, there was not a single hint of Eldora City, nor any large bodies of water. The road must really be longer than it looks or sounds, and for whatever reason, the ocean must not be visible by either of the exit areas here. Then again, maybe this wasn''t the edge of the continent yet. Danny had to hold his breath and decide just how smooth he needed to ride his bike behind Jane. If someone suddenly stops her, he will have to break really hard to slow down in time.
Jane thought back to the civilization level back home where she lives. Particularly on the road between Gross City and Tilsit Port, this road here was nearly the same with the mass of people just looking to walk from one place to another. She figured these had to mostly be people from Lennith City. Only a couple of families had bicycles, and it did not sound sensible to walk children over eleven miles in just one day to visit another town. Nobody tried to get in the middle of the road after seeing Jane''s convoy approaching down the straight line. It felt good to finally be off the hook of battling anyone and everyone. Route 96 was full of eager people looking for fights, and at the same time so lightly populated with people in general. According to a promise made by the last Gradyent she fought there, the route''s infrastructure should have changed already by now. There wasn''t any reason to ignore the peacefulness of Route 787, even if Jane only pedaled less than a mile forward so far.
There would be plenty of space to battle should one occur. The fences were so far apart, it could take twice the size of a Siriean dome and still fit within the structure''s loose squeeze. Much of the floor was just flat pavement made of cement, with occasional grass blades poking through the side of the fences. Beyond those gates only consisted of empty land, full of grass and clay while void of trees and tall natural formations, becoming a closer imitation of what once was the Outback. They had only set out on their journey towards Eldora City about twenty minutes ago.
Taylor saw up ahead that the random chain of people crowding the road was coming to a less populated end, beyond the imaginary pattern only consisting of nearly empty road going on forever, but she had to quickly apply the brakes with a little pressure after Jane did the same in front of her. Four adults started walking form the side and into the center of the road, oblivious to the convoy of bikes heading straight for them. After Jane slowed down enough not to hit them, the group of four civilians remained stuck in the middle of the road, looking more composed than confused.
Jane had to stop her bike completely, and she examined those in front of her more carefully. They didn''t have anyone else clinging to their side, nor did the adults seem to mind getting right in their way, but they were also wearing what appeared to look like normal clothes, further supporting the possibility that they are as ordinary as ever. Three guys and a chick reformed where they stood, folding their arms and holding the line of a natural barricade to block their path. Their intention became clearer by the second; they wanted to stop this little biking gang before it got moving any further. Jane barely accelerated forward to get in closer to the group while preparing to dismount from her bicycle.
Could they be Leray fighters itching for a challenge? They had to be blocking the road for some reason. Jane knew that she still stood out slightly from an ordinary person while wearing her battle suit. It''s stylish, therefore it wasn''t as easy to tell from a distance, but the black and blue uniform provided a nice agile attire and material basis for such a Leray battle to occur. Second by second, the reason they were stopped seemed to be more inconsistent with an aura of confusion. It appeared that they knew what they were doing according to what Jane could judge. Danny and Taylor had to stop and dismount behind her too, but she held onto the handles of her vehicle to make sure it would not be taken by any potential thieves.
It seemed highly unusual and rude to literally block a person''s path just to ask them to a battle. Obtaining rejection strikes on a Leray license was of course less preferable for anyone who is a Leray wielder, but forcing people to battle them or else striking their card with an automatic fail point seems pretty intrusive. Taylor couldn''t be a hundred percent certain; only Jane would know the rules better than anyone else, even if she does make a living defying those rules.
By now, Jane''s group was already just in front of the strangers, prompting whatever was to come next. "Hey! Can''t say I''ve seen your faces before. Those new bikes?" The man standing slightly in front of the others was the first to speak, giving Jane the sense that he was in charge of the four of them.
Though he only asked a simple question for now, Jane automatically came down to the inevitable conclusion that their luck of finding no challengers has finally reached its end. "So what if they are?" Jane gently set her bike down, letting it sit on its side instead of the kickstand while her friends gathered closer behind her.
The blond hair woman who looks six years older than Jane was next to try and elaborate what her buddy meant. She was obviously with these people. "We only battle with those who have the credits to spare. Judging by the new wheels, you''re obviously not poor."
"And we aren''t even gonna introduce ourselves," the blond guy spoke. He seemed to sound sarcastic in his last remark, more serious after holding his arms behind his head with his face towards the side and a pace that seemed relaxing. "I mean, it''s not like we all came out here to do things the right way, eh?"
"Oh, shut up Cauthon. We know what we''re doing. And I mustn''t be wrong about the sound of credits that will be flowing in soon."
If it weren''t for that Leray rule, Jane was certain that those words would have been more troubling for less than an acceptable reason, but there was a more obvious truth than the possibility of having their bikes stolen. Jane didn''t want to argue with anyone already, though this woman wasn''t wrong about their current situation either, for the most part. "We''re not loaded if that''s what you''re asking," Jane defended. Holding in the reminder that this setup felt much the same already to that on Route 96, the worst that can happen from turning down the fight is a single strike on her license card. Then again, fighting against virtually anyone would be excellent practice for the big fight, and a better way to test Jane''s new skills personally with other people. Not only that, the tense excitement and butterflies in her stomach already reached Jane''s blood, despite hating to slow down the pace of their travels. She could feel just how eager she was getting to be in a real battle again, against a person outside of the dark zone who can only use Leray magic. And with Danny and Taylor here, losing the match wouldn''t be too bad, right?
This isn''t like before. Jane already knew by now how important it is to accept every challenge and win that fight with everything she has at her disposal. Otherwise, her efforts to challenge the champion will ultimately fail without the necessary experience. "You want a battle," Jane judged. "I can see it in your eyes."
"Oh-ho!" the men rattled.
"I hear the sound of confidence, and the rattling of change in your pockets." The woman decided to continue keeping Jane tied here to offer her a challenge, though there was some uncertainty on her real ability for now. "My name is Mayza. We only play for high stakes, not some cheap trash out of the old market."
Mayza did not offer her hand to shake with Jane''s, but Jane still formally introduced herself to the snooty woman. Most battles begin with a handshake and a will of good faith, much like in her first battle with Jack, but these people don''t understand what Leray magic is all about, or why it is a fun sport. It''s not all about the money, and they can''t judge skill level by a person''s riches. That''s it. Now I have to win! "I''m Jane, and that will be the last time you think to refer to us as trash. You want to fight with me, you''ll have to meet a high price."
"Oh heck! It''s on now!" The men behind Mayza didn''t sound too mature, though the one in front of Mayza had not opened his mouth since his first failed introduction. From the tension already building around them, Mayza confirmed Jane''s challenging words.
Jane had to interject upon realizing something drastic. "But we will only do this via multi-battle. If you can handle it?" With her provocation, Jane understood how important that one term was. She had never been in a real team battle before, and while assuming she could handle it, Danny and Taylor would never get it right the first try. Everything would fall apart. In a team battle, two or more Leray wielders are in a team fighting together in real time against the other team for one singular reward, split by those people outside of the system, but it involves a heavy burden of collectively working together with synchronized spells. Multi-battles are a little bit different. Multiple fights happen in a singular mode right near the same position or location given that the ordinance of people are correct. In this way, it''s like a team battle, but each individual has their own dome, their own reward system, and their own strategies. Teamwork is not really something that can be done in this case, but this way, more than one person of the team can prove themself at the same time. For that reason, Danny and Taylor would be fine.
"Oh you can count on that." Mayza turned her eyes while keeping her head immobile, raising her voice to speak to her group. "You guys take the sidekicks. I''ve got the leader."
"I''ll have fun with the novice boy behind Jane."
Danny knew that the older man was talking about him. This wasn''t just a fight between Mayza and Jane. They wanted a fight with all three of them! Danny, Taylor, and Jane would all be battling different people at the exact same time, for different singular rewards too. Though it felt less rewarding to him that these strangers would just randomly challenge a group without even getting the details correct. Jane - the leader? When will anyone learn?
"I''m cool with this if you are Jane," Taylor announced.
Jane could already see her friends setting up their tense stances for battle, though they were all going to have to acquire distance from each other to form three separate Siriean domes at the same time, since they cannot overlap each other. Jane however didn''t see too much reason to refuse this challenge. This group of feisty wielders wanted to battle against her entire party, not just herself. On second thought, it seemed sensible that way, compared to the time where she was completely on her own. But still, this would be the moment Jane could use to test just how ready Danny and Taylor are for the battle ahead of them inside of the dark zone. Failure won''t be an option for anyone, and neither will backing down from any challenge. "Alright then Mayza. It''s just you and me in a Siriean dome. How does four thousand sound?"
"Kind of low," Mayza admitted. "Though we are having three fights at once, and if my team wins three in a row, I''ll have triple that amount! It''s a deal Jane." Though her eyes are a dark color, Mayza''s are fueled with a fiery passion of excitement.
She was apparently going to battle Jane wearing that formal looking white dress, so it had to be an expensive dress sphere by Jane''s judgments. Mayza had a great hiding spot behind her dress for her choice of weaponry, a silver dagger hand carved with Eldar wood for the handle. Jane already noticed the dagger behind her opponent, thus giving her a slight tactical advantage of knowledge. Jane was a bit surprised to know that her first opponent may fight the same way she does at close range, but it wasn''t a reason to become doubtful of winning yet.
The man who was not participating in the fight pointed his arms to the side further down the road. This would be three on three, though Mayza''s group had four people in total, so he was the odd man out this round. "Everyone take places with enough distance to prevent overlap. Go get em Mayza!"
"I won''t let you win," Jane promised.
"Awwwh! I can''t wait to see your face when I do win." Mayza was filled with confidence too, likely from many earlier victories unspoiled. She got on one side of the empty road while Jane got to the other, and from the view behind Jane, the fifteen-year-old boy and girl were taking their places as well.
Jane wouldn''t be able to focus on anybody other than Mayza at this point. Danny and Taylor will just have to do their best. At least she could apply her newest of skills against this little brat for an easy victory.
Now is the time. After clearing away from the other civilians and making enough room to turn the center of the road into a battlefield, Jane put away her necklace in the supply sphere for safe keeping, and made sure that her black and blue battle outfit was tight enough to block any potential light that may emanate from the top of her right hand during this battle. Having expose her symbol in front of a single person who does not know Jane would become the end of this great plan to take control of the General Army. Mayza is but a stepping-stone Jane could use right here and now to test her own abilities and benchmark herself; training!
"I''ll use you as target practice!" Jane insulted. She used that exact moment to expend just enough Leray energy to create the Siriean dome around herself and Mayza. Only because of the available space, this dome was at the maximum size it was allowed to be, still well within the boundaries of the road itself. Jane then activated her energy scope, waiting for Mayza to do the same.
"Bring it on! I''ll even let you have the first spell."
Chapter Theme Shift: Song of the Ancients (Atonement) ~ Keiichi Okabe [Nier Automata OST]
With both their energy scopes up, Jane knew that now was the time to begin the Leray match officially. The reward system''s holographic text appeared between the challengers for only a moment, reminding Jane that a ton of her credits were already at stake here, but more would be at stake in the fight further ahead. She would have to treat this the same as her final fight. While holding strong and ready to battle, Jane took immediate notice of her physical energy, the kind she could feel and sense inside her. During the past few days of recovery, she had been exhausting much faster from the damages healing and the Starlov Boosters she needed to keep taking.
But now her energy has been restored, her health only scratched by lasting mild real time damage. Jane could feel the adrenaline rushing to her blood again, the same familiar excitement she would always get in the middle of a heated battle that is both official and legal. Having fun quickly slipped her mind today, since Mayza was giving Jane the first free attack. She was going to take it for certain while keeping much of her Leray energy in high reserve.
Jane begun by pulling out both of her daggers, the Rigel Runes she had been carrying since Monoc Port. These sharpened blades carried a slight magical essence of aura around them, adding an amount of extra damage or magical potential in their auras, allowing some spells to be overcharged should they combine with the blades themselves. Mayza sure wasn''t shy about showing off her rare weapon, but Jane had a spell just perfect for her own. "Flying Guillotine!" Having not to yell it to the top of her voice, Jane still chanted the name of her spell with enough enthusiasm and spirit to coax herself to infuse as much energy as she could into her early spell. Jane held her daggers to the left side of her body, twirling her arms back to the front, giving them a unique curve just before letting them go from her swinging grasp.
The moment those daggers left Jane''s hands was the same moment the second attack aura activated inside of the spell wave. Jane''s spent Leray energy merged into the blades, forcing a circular arc of red light to spin with the outer radius sides following the tips of each dagger. They spun sideways in the air with speed and grace, the red circular aura of magical slashing damage in tow. To the highly trained warrior, Mayza would have had just enough time with the blade''s flight time to get out of the way of the attack, but her reaction time wasn''t quick enough, and she moved her arms in front of her to try and block instead. It was a trick that did not necessarily work out for the best. The flying arc literally sliced its way through Mayza''s upper body as if she were an intangible ghost, but the damage and the pain caused by the cutting circle registered on the energy scope above Mayza, and on the expression she made with her body reacting to the sensation of knives slicing her skin in a hundred places at once.
Mayza was just slightly winded by the first hit to Jane''s attack. It hurt her skin harshly with the stinging feeling of several deep cuts, but only for a quick moment. While Flying Guillotine can hit the opponent twice in one turn, Mayza had to have known this by the time she took the first scratch. She turned her entire body around, now facing the Flying Guillotine of daggers spinning around. The aura began to wind around quickly, now heading for Jane''s direction instead. The spell acts much like a boomerang, returning back to the user and disabling the arc just before the blades return to Jane''s hand, but on the way back, it''s designed to hit the opponent in the back again for another round of magical slashing damage. Mayza instead ducked down below the arc and rolled herself on the ground to her right just before the second impact, narrowly avoiding the second hit from Flying Guillotine. Without having to turn around, Mayza was certain that Jane would now be tied up trying to catch her daggers and put them away. It wouldn''t leave her open for an attack very long, but it would prevent Jane from getting to throw in two attacks consecutively. Effectively speaking, this was now Mayza''s chance to strike.
Jane caught her daggers as expected, quickly putting them back in her hidden side pockets to await the next attack. Mayza was already in the process of counterattacking, charging and spending her MP energy to create an aura building up in between her hands. At the same time Mayza chanted the name of the spell, she slid the invisible aura on the cement floor below her, forcing it Jane''s direction. "Crush Wave!"
Jane didn''t see any visible aura until it began to pick up some speed, sliding on the ground and taking both the shape, form, and appearance as a large Shadow Wave. The dark earth bound attack aura was heading for Jane in a straight line, but unlike a Shadow Wave, it was picking up a few rocks and stones out of nowhere, carrying themselves within the Shadow Wave. Jane didn''t have enough time to try and figure out the difference between Shadow Wave and Crush Wave. She had to go on the defensive quickly, and this did not seem like the sort of attack one could just jump away from.
Acting on instinct, Jane recalled exactly how to invoke her personal shielding aura, charging MP energy into her entire body while channeling that energy into her hands at the same time. Because of how little MP the process cost, Jane only needed but a fraction of seconds to perform the action, and then one more fraction to raise her own shield. After crossing her arms back to prepare her aura, Jane swung her arms outward until they faced away from her, opening her hands to expend the energy she had been storing in the form of her personal aura. In her head, she invoked its name as "Power Shield!" without the need to chant it loudly, as the process demanded much more focus. While imagining the scenario in which Jane''s shielding aura had been successfully invoked many times in the past, she knew what to expect and how to create the aura without any glitches. As soon as she invoked her personal spell, the blue translucent aura of magical light surrounded and shaped around her entire body, protecting her from all types of damage and partial sound waves.
By the time Jane''s shield was up, the Crush Wave attack managed to make it to Jane after it was too late to cause any damage to her body, and Jane had some extra time to recall what that difference was, to understand that Crush Wave is just a step up from Shadow Wave. Crush Wave packs a little extra force than a Shadow Wave, while carrying either chunks of dirt or stone with it in order to pillage the opponent with those rocks or stones. Therefore, the spell causes physical blunt damage in addition to the magical slashing damage using the same exact attack form, while the environment determines which type of stone is used. The physical floor below their feet had remained undamaged so far, meaning the stones spawned from nothing using the magic of the spell.
The difficult to spot Crush Wave slammed into Jane''s aura, creating hundreds of medium-sized hexagons on the inside of Jane''s shield while sparking some strange noise on the outside of the shield that Jane could hear only faintly. The sound happened for nearly every single hex that appeared everywhere, striking into the air with the familiar sound of a damage-rejection. Damage-rejections are referred to as noise-based impacts that occur when metal or stone strikes against specific types of heavy grade shields, the noise stemming from damage rejection emitting form the shield to indicate that much power was used to repel the kinetic force. Jane''s shield held up perfectly, and the Crush Wave eventually collapsed after causing a specific amount of damage that was all canceled and absorbed by the aura. Jane didn''t even feel drained from using her shield to defend herself, since she had plenty of MP reserves remaining. On top of that, her shield could have protected her for a lot more damage, or for a longer amount of time. Feeling no need to overexert herself, Jane lowered her arms while dropping the concentration on her aura, therefore collapsing her own power shield. Upon showing her opponent her secret defensive ability, Mayza seemed both speechless and motionless, staring straight into the holographic text hovering above Jane''s head.
The only status that declined was her MP reserves from using a magical spell to start, and a little extra from invoking her shielding powers, but she had taken no damage whatsoever, the winding surprise that met Mayza''s silence. "You wanted a battle, and you''ve got one!" Jane didn''t intend to taunt Mayza without preparing for additional action. Pulling out her daggers again, Jane immediately began charging MP energy into her blades, chanting a different spell as the tips of her blades quickly began to glow a bright cyan glow with the magical build up. "Mako Strike!" After shooting the magical auras built up at the tips of Jane''s dagger blades, two blue energy spheres flew from the metal with the force of a cannon, striking Mayza with a speed three times faster than any standard elemental bolt attack.
Mayza was immediately hit and forced backwards, but she used the back of her feet to avoid losing her balance completely. The pain wasn''t light, though it subsided almost immediately, forcing Mayza to check her energy scope for any more harm to her physical body.
That was Mako Strike! Jane recalled her old ability of using Mako Beam, the same energy process of firing non-elemental energy beams from the tips of her daggers while conserving a lot of MP. Though the damage level was still much too low for her own liking. Mako Strike is the improved version altered by Jane''s original ideas during training in Lennith City. Instead of firing highly concentrated beams, the Mako Strike spell shoots the same amount of energy in form of fast flying energy spheres, carrying over their kinetic force with the altered state of the damage type consisting of magical blunt damage. Therefore, the energy usage is the same, though the damage level is much higher. The evidence was striking Jane in the face with the numbers on her opponent''s energy scope. A new ability successfully cast and perfected. With that, Jane put away her daggers again, hoping not to rely on them too much at once.
Mayza looked like she recovered from the last hit, and was already charging up MP energy to invoke another kind of attack. Her bare hands began glowing blue in color with the immediate magical charge and buildup in that portion of her body, and with little time to invoke the ability, Mayza chanted her spell aloud while forming the dark jade colored glyphring in front of her, rotating in midair as her arms were forced right through the center of the glyphring. "Electro-Blast!" Mayza unleashed her Leray energy for the spell, immediately creating and launching a massive projectile of light in Jane''s direction.
Jane didn''t recall at present what the spell was or what destructive capabilities it held. She began to charge energy into her hands to form another power shield, but to her own surprise, it was already too late. The electric-sparking projectile of Leray energy shot at Jane faster than the speed of any known elemental projectile thus far, slamming into Jane''s chest long before she was ready to cast her own power shield of protection, and the force the sphere carried wasn''t at all what Jane expected either. Jane''s entire body and nervous system suddenly locked up without her expected warning, her skin feeling the massive burning and paralyzing shock of an electrical attack. The electricity held her in place, zapping her for a long duration of two and a half seconds. Instead of the sphere shooting through herself, the energy ball stopped where Jane stood upon impact, holding her in place while unleashing its destructive capabilities and taking the shape and form of a Thunder Flare attack.
After it was over, Jane felt like falling on her knees to rest and recover from the pain, for the electricity drained much of her stamina. Her recovery was still much quicker than Jane had previously expected. Her body was still tingling, still warm from the painful shock of a Thunder Flare attack, but to her own surprise, the damage that registered on her energy scope, and her quick recovery from the attack types which she hated most was impressively to her advantage.
Electro-Blast... Jane finally recalled the spell in her mind, barely remembering its incredibly advanced effects. A very high step up from Thunder Flare, Electro-Blast creates the same sphere used in a Thunder Flare attack, a sphere that surrounds and engulfs the opponent while shocking them in place for several long seconds of time. Only the Electro-Blast spell shoots the sphere in the form of a speedy projectile rather than spawning it on top of the opponent, which would have given Jane a little more time to evade the attack. But judging from what Jane felt firsthand, it couldn''t have been much of a higher power level on electrical damage, and because of the speedy recovery, Jane found yet another new opportunity to attack.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
She was always best at fighting close range. Jane learned every unique close combat tactic from master Boncho and Mr. Mire. To this day, she had been refining new techniques with the use of Leray magic and free-form attack spells. Mayza might be good with a dagger, but Jane figured her chances had to be even better. She made the decision with no hesitations, running towards her opponent in a full on sprint while drawing her Rigel Runes again. "Knight Dance!" She shouted to herself. Jane recalled exactly how her Knight Dance combo works, mixing in dagger strikes with a few physical strikes such as kicks and punches combined with magical infusion to increase the damage.
Mayza slightly crouched her stance to prepare for Jane''s reckless move, but Jane was already in two places at once before Mayza had the chance to calculate anything. Starting with a winding juke to the right, Jane sliced into Mayza''s skin using her dagger blade, following it up with a punch to the face and a low sweeping kick to mess up her opponent''s balance. Jane then spun around the other direction to punch and slash at Mayza again, making her combination of attacks unpredictable. Jane''s hands and feet were glowing with blue auras of light, infused with magic to increase the damage level of her basic physical attacks. There would still be a limit to the damage in total, but Jane was confident that she was on the rise to victory at any given moment.
Every hit Mayza took pushed her back, interrupted her focus, or painfully subdued her fighting stance with the combination Jane ended off on. The combo did not last very long, and Jane was already beginning to back off for safety, but Mayza wasn''t hurt that badly, and she saw the opportunity to try and counterattack Jane using a similar style.
"Splitting Attack!" she hollered while pulling out her sharp blade. Mayza''s entire body was glowing with a faint green aura, making her nearly invisible while she rushed in towards Jane at the speed of sound. Jane couldn''t possibly hold on to her concentration with what Mayza tried to do next, slashing at Jane from one direction, only to pierce the dagger into her side from the other direction. Mayza was running left and right over and over again, but the magical aura was allowing her to move and run at a speed impossible for Jane to track. Mayza was practically invisible at the moment, slashing Jane one time after the next in a long lasting combination of physical attacks. Jane was not so immune to basic physical attacks either, not when they were being applied like this. After the last hit had ended Mayza''s aura, she took several steps back as quickly as she could, examining how much damage the hits did to Jane in total.
Jane felt the sting of the dagger cuts for a long time, bugging her to no end. She did not expect such a strange and powerful attack to work with speed alone. As Jane began to recover, Mayza put away her dagger, holding her hands up high in the attempt to try another spell. Feeling immediately threatened, Jane chanted the name and invoked the spell of another potential game changer Claudia taught to her alone. Lifting her arms up as to hold something invisible, Jane''s energy depleted only slightly upon spawning a new weapon into her hands using the yellow generation glyphring. "Spirit Arrow!" she nervously screamed. The invocation was quick with Jane''s pinpoint focus, and the bow materialized in her hands, the arrow already stretching back with her right grip. The tip of the arrow had its own aura, a glowing pink presence of magic that has a unique effect on people. Jane let loose the arrow aimed at Mayza, who took the hit unexpectedly with its drilling speed. Mayza stopped what she was doing, unable to keep her last spell going with the painful feeling of a sharpened arrow in her chest. As painful as the piercing damage was, something else was going on the moment she was hit.
Jane relaxed a little, realizing that her spell of disorientation was successful to work on Mayza. Spirit Arrow is a spell that casts spirit elemental damage upon the target. Spirit damage works well to harm any being using or consistent of summon magic, but when used on people, the damage is light, with a twist of heavy mental disorientation that can last for about twenty seconds or more. Judging from the confused expression on Mayza, it was already working.
Mayza felt the entire room spinning, her balance totally messed up. It felt like the earth was just tilting all over the place, and keeping track of the girl became much more difficult. Still, Mayza found it pointless to stand there and do nothing, for instead she began to charge up another magical attack, praying that the spheres would still make an impact on Jane Venn. "Magical Blitz!" Something was wrong with the spell cast. The magical build up took twice as long to invoke the energy sphere into her left hand, and the sphere in her right hand failed to materialize at all. Mayza couldn''t concentrate anymore, and she was lucky to create even a single Magical Blitz sphere. Taking random aim, she threw it towards Jane, unable to properly calculate the distance or the angle. The hazy sensation filled her entire mind until there wasn''t much left but this sensation.
Jane watched in amazement while Mayza made a fool of herself, throwing only one Magical Blitz sphere far off into the distance. The aim was way off, and the angle Mayza threw it at was absolutely pitiful. The sphere hit the ground, prone to disintegrate into nothingness instead of bouncing off the concrete. Jane was standing several meters away from Mayza, laughing it up in her mind how incredibly effective a Spirit Arrow can be. Now that Mayza can''t seem to properly attack or defend herself, Jane used the moment to counterattack.
Charging up a large amount of energy into her hands, Jane prepared to use a powerful magic spell that was already taking a very long time to invoke, but she already knew of its capabilities, the properties of the spell. Normally, this would be a terrible idea, but with Mayza freezing up like this, the damage and MP she would save would be worth the shot. "Crimson Flare!" Jane chanted. After unleashing the energy into a short lived fiery glyphring, the massive sphere of fiery magic materialized from the glyphring, now heading for Mayza. The sphere had to be as large as a small house, massive in size. Though its speed was relatively slow, which was the cut off reason for why people don''t normally rely on the spell. By default, the spell can also emit three spheres at the same time. Though Jane only went with one, certain that Mayza would be swallowed by the massive ball of magical damage.
As easy as it seemed, Mayza was indeed helpless to understand what was even going on at the moment, shouting and lashing out from the immediate pain the Crimson Sphere caused to her physical body. Crimson Sphere throws a lot of damage and burning pain with the elemental type used in the spell, and Jane had used it so perfectly that Mayza took a ton of damage from the sphere alone, messing up her balance while trying to cool down her own body heat.
Judging from the HP left on Mayza and Jane, the battle didn''t seem like it could end soon, and when the Crimson Flare disappeared after the spell''s effect wearing off, Mayza suddenly snapped out of her confusion from the Spirit Arrow Jane shot into her chest. Now back in the action, Mayza had to examine every possibility that this Jane character actually did have a chance of winning after all. It made sense as to why she had such fiery confidence about battling with her entire team. Behind Jane, Mayza spotted that the other two people Jane was traveling with were battling really hard as well, giving off spells and evasions that she had never seen in over three months of time. Her own teammates could lose the other two battles, but Mayza wasn''t going to give it up that easily.
"Rotation!" Mayza twirled around while casting magic from her own hands, throwing the wave in front of her just as it manifested into a tall and wide twister that was deep enough to block the view behind it. Just like that, Mayza easily invoked a powerful wind elemental spell now heading straight for Jane, sure to do more harm.
Jane held her arms in front of her. Normally she would have had the instincts to shield herself, but she wasn''t expecting such a speedy counterattack so quickly, and the travel arc of this twister definitely surprised her. Rotation is not a powerful spell, though it takes a ton of time and effort just to learn the spell. Rotation is yet another upgrade from Whirlwind, adding on heavy slashing damage and wind elemental damage upon impact. The twister was darker and bigger as well, carrying a lot more force than Jane would have anticipated in her mind. The drag of air was already beginning to suck her in, her skin was already feeling the stings of slashing damage before the dark twister began to touch her in the process. Jane had no choice right now but to just stand there and take the damage. It was too late to use a power shield against this thing. With her hair blowing everywhere in the wind, Jane suffered a barrage of painful slashes that she could only block out the old fashioned way, while she started to think of a good counterattack once the Rotation spell subsides.
Mayza was already on the verge of charging another spell, but it would take some time before it could be invoked. With the twister faded from all sight, she could see Jane already charging a spell too. Which one would be the first to launch wasn''t of accurate estimation. Jane already threw her arm down in a strange winding motion, after yelling something that she failed to hear properly. In just a second before Mayza was ready to invoke her next attack, something slammed into the back of her head, shoving her down completely into the pavement while more large objects pillaged the floor everywhere.
Jane had invoked Meteor Strike, slamming the entire battlefield with falling magic stones the size of people, with enough force to explode on impact to the cement. The meteors falling from the sky naturally permeated the Siriean dome as part of the spell''s design, and still carried the same amount of force and impact upon striking the ground. Each location that was hit is always randomized, but Mayza managed to suffer three solid direct hits from falling meteorites, causing enough damage to keep her pinned to the ground and unable to do anything but cringe from the massive painful blunt damage. As soon as the spell ended, Jane could tell that the choice was wise from the massive amount of damage it caused to her opponent. Area attacks have high power levels indeed.
Mayza tried to get back up, but she was slow to do so, heavily disoriented from the hit to the back of her head and then some. Jane knew something as powerful as Meteor Strike, and Mayza failed to account for her hidden power spells, something she should have picked up on sooner. Her body ached everywhere from the massive area attack, and upon seeing her own pathetic energy scope report, she was quick to respond to Jane''s last attack with anything, anything at all. Holding both of her arms with one hand facing up and open, Mayza created a fiery glyphring around her wrist after taking aim at Jane, chanting the skill at the same time it was launched. "Fire Bolt!" The volume in her voice had suffered a bit of damage too from the massive loss in Mayza''s life force stamina. She was beginning to feel tired and drained already from the huge bite taken out of her health.
Upon launching her Fire Bolt however, Mayza watched in disbelief as Jane performed her strange trick again, throwing her arms out to face opposite directions. Her hands emitted energy in the form of a blue translucent aura surrounding her entire body. The Fire Bolt that was soon to slam her disintegrated into the aura instead, leaving behind only large hexagons at the impact sight of the aura shortly before Jane dropped the shield once again. She was totally mobile and unharmed afterwards. How is she doing that? Jane can just deflect any attack with that insane aura? She had never seen or heard of such a thing before. With that much power, it didn''t add up for Mayza. "The hell is that?!"
Jane could hear the confusion in Mayza in response to analyzing her own power shield ability, which was always a secret from others. Jane wondered if her friends would be able to watch her fight, noticing one of Jane''s other secret weapons being a powerful defensive shield that saved her life more times than she was able to count back in the dark zone. During her training with Claudia several days ago, Jane never had to use the ability in front of her friends either, but Jane didn''t have the time or the need to explain it for Mayza. She needed to win the battle, to keep on training and getting stronger. Jane invoked her next ability quickly, while dragging out a single dagger from her hidden pockets in the suit. "Dark Strike!"
Jane vanished into thin air, only to reappear behind Mayza. Jane was so quick and quiet to transfer herself to another location, that Mayza had no idea to try and check her six for the lingering threat. Jane used the opportunity, slicing her dagger upwards to uppercut Mayza in the back where she stood. The force of the hit was strong enough by default of the spell that it did in fact lift Mayza''s body all the way off the ground, up two feet into the air. Jane backed away after the single strike, not taking any chances after this. Mayza hit the hard ground after taking the slash she didn''t even see coming, but to Jane''s intense surprise, the damage was lighter than she hoped it would be.
Mayza stood up, cringing from the pain in her lower back, the scrape from cement to the back of her neck, and the sting of a dagger slice in her rear end. She didn''t take too long to recover herself though. After realizing that Jane was simply waiting to anticipate the next attack, Mayza finally reminded herself of the many opportunities in her mind, special spells that can act as official tide turners during Leray battles. It wasn''t likely Jane could duck her way out of this one. Standing back up in preparation to fight once again, Mayza unleashed a lot of energy from her glowing hands while yelling the name of her spell to get it right the first time. "Litmus!"
Jane was expecting to be attacked immediately, for she had not heard of this particular spell before, but instead of taking in a direct hit or seeing the emergence of any magical based projectile, the wind began to blow at a very high speed coming from her right side. Jane looked around, trying to figure out what was going on, but everything just continued to get even stranger, as the wind blowing through from nowhere suddenly turned everything in Jane''s visual sight to a dark blue hue and shade. It almost seemed indigenous to Zero Zone as far as the visual effects went. Shortly after everything was turning blue, Mayza''s body literally disappeared along with her energy scope, vanishing without a trace into nothingness. At the same time, the daggers Jane was holding onto vanished as well, gone from her own two hands. Suddenly Jane was the only person trapped inside of the Siriean dome all by herself. She glanced around everywhere, wondering if it was similar to her version of a dark strike attack, but Mayza had not reappeared anywhere just yet. Everything felt much slower. Danny and Taylor were still visible, but their very movements seemed to be untraceable to her as they both phased in and out of her visual perception, carrying a watery sensation of delay. Jane''s heart was pounding faster and faster, as the scare of her invisible opponent with the unusual spell set in. Surprisingly, she was not even being attacked yet, but it could change at any moment.
Mayza cherished the sight for a long time before acting on the new opportunity at hand. Jane never looked so confused until right now, edging her head around in all directions, seeking for any signs of life at all. Mayza didn''t change her position at all, literally standing over twenty meters from the oblivious Jane. Litmus is a unique and powerful spell that forces the opponent to suffer powerful hallucinations for quite some time, working about as well as a disorientation attack. Jane might have known Spirit Arrow, but Mayza knew Litmus. While Jane wasn''t capable of seeing or hearing anything from Mayza or her own attack spells, she used that time to conjure up powerful skills to use against Jane.
The next spell could take time to charge, but it was time Mayza had plenty of for now. Jane dropped her daggers onto the floor by mistake, uncertain of anything anymore. "Photon Blast." Mayza didn''t shout the name of her spell, in the event Jane could suddenly hear her voice and detect which direction she was hailing from. Mayza''s spell was invoking perfectly, and while taking its time to activate, the glyphring that formed and the magical buildup was finally discharging into one of the most powerful attack spells in known history, one that Mayza taught to herself after many years of experience. After unleashing the attack, thousands of beams of photons shot forward towards Jane in drunken linear paths, others that spiraled out of control. Because of how many individual photons there were, it was unavoidable for Jane either way, as she continuously took enough hits to block Mayza''s view forward until the photons subsided. Each loud blast from the end of the glyphring hurt Mayza''s ears, but she channeled it out for now, seeing as this would be well worth the wait. Upon the end of the Photon Blast, Jane was on the ground, rolling on her side to struggle and get back up. The spell had to be incredibly painful, but Mayza was instead considering the next ideal ability.
The damage level dealt to Jane was incredibly severe, but Mayza was already in the process of casting another attack spell, one that would deal a fair amount of damage without taking up too much of her remaining energy. "Tri-Fire!" Mayza risked her voice level rising while chanting her spell into action. The red glyphring formed around her wrist again, and she released her energy, shooting three Fire Bolts consecutively from the center of the ring. Mayza also had to twist and shift her arm each time a new bolt was fired in order to make it work, but the effect triggered just as well.
Jane could not even conceive of where the Photon Blast originated from, but just as everything was still faded blue and invisible, she saw the first sign of something after several long moments. A Fire Bolt of bright light heading straight for her face. Jane had literally no time to react, as the bolt appeared only a few feet from where she was standing. The Fire Bolt slammed into her face, burning her skin and knocking her back off her feet once again. The second Fire Bolt only managed to graze the side of her arm, while the third one missed Jane due to the sudden maneuver of falling down to the ground.
Jane immediately felt much weaker from taking two massive and painful hits of fire attacks. The burning sensation on her skin, in her arm, and in her face was intense, but still not half as bad compared to the burns she suffered while in Alpha Zero. This was at least tolerable. After the last hit she took, Jane''s vision was beginning to restore itself. The blue shade belonging to virtually everything began to shift back into normal colors, brightening the entire area with the shine of sunlight above. Mayza suddenly phased back into reality, along with the other two fights happening around them. Now that Jane could see properly again, she stood a fighting chance.
Mayza was proud of her master plan, but she wasn''t oblivious to the fact that Jane could suddenly notice her again. Litmus must have already worn off, and Jane may try to retaliate if she isn''t hurting too badly from all of that damage taken so far. After standing still for only a second, her suspicions were confirmed. Jane drew her daggers, after realizing they reappeared in her pockets from a partial Leray magical rule for equipment in matches.
"It''s time for Blitz!" Jane coaxed to herself. She charged at Mayza with her daggers out, thinking about the heavy combination of skills she could try in her own decisions. A faint green aura surrounded Jane''s body as she moved, capable of bestowing the Dualcasting effect upon Jane while speeding up all of her invocation speed for all related spells. At the same time, her MP levels were going to be highly drained by the time it was over. Though Jane had only begun to attack chain.
In the middle of charging towards Mayza, Jane held her daggers outwards as if they were pistols, and fired two energy spheres from the tips of the blades, thus invoking the Mako Strike spell only Jane was capable of learning. One of the energy spheres just barely grazed Mayza''s face, while the other slammed into her right shoulder, but Jane wasn''t finished yet at all. In conjunction with her Blitz combo, she shot off a Fire Bolt from her arm, invoked from an evanescent glyphring with lightning fast speed. Though to an incredible surprise, Mayza literally jumped out of the way of the speeding ball of fire, narrowly avoiding the hit as if she could see it coming a mile away.
Mayza focused as best as she could, realizing that Jane was trying a heavy combination of predictable attacks. She did her best to try and evade everything until she tires out. Mayza then saw Jane shift her direction immediately, tossing her daggers at her while forming two yellow glyphrings in her hands to spawn machine guns for a Bullet Blitz attack.
In a quick winding action, Mayza jumped backward again in a way that allowed her to land on her open hands, only to jump from her upper limbs again to perform another half-roll backflip to her feet. It appeared to Jane as if Mayza was brilliantly perfecting a sophisticated acrobatic evasion maneuver, and it seemed to work for the most part, considering that the daggers and the entire two clips from each machine gun unloaded failed to hit anything.
Mayza felt as if she was figuratively on fire, and after landing solid on her feet again, she prepared herself to dodge anything yet again, but Jane kept her on her toes. Now danger close, Jane used Flash-Kick against Mayza, infusing a lot of magical energy into a powerful flying kick that forced her to hold her stomach in pain from having the wind knocked out of her. Jane immediately transformed her combo into a Rush Assault combination attack, kicking and punching Mayza in as many places as possible while preventing her from doing anything else. Jane then used her daggers that had once again respawned into her pockets to slash Mayza''s skin twice, following up the end of her combination with a Flying Guillotine that drilled through Mayza at close range, cutting up her skin in enough places with enough damage to make her squeal.
Jane didn''t have time to read the energy scope on Mayza, so she took several paces back before doing so, catching her daggers again as the Flying Guillotine maneuver was returning the blades into her hands. Mayza looked to be in an incredible amount of pain doubling over, but Jane prepared herself regardless of the appearance of the damage left on her.
Mayza was indeed capable of quickly going from nothing to something in less than a second flat. After chanting "Hitman!" loudly, she already generated two sub machine guns just like Jane had a moment ago. Seeing that Mayza was about to invoke something similar to Bullet Blitz, Jane threw her arms apart with her daggers in hand, and cast her personal shielding aura just before it was too late to do so. Luckily, Jane has long since perfected a way to eject energy through solid objects in her hands while creating the same aura on the same level, even though it was more difficult to do so. A long barrage of bullets bounced and reflected off of Jane''s power shield, though it was surprising to see that shouting Hitman had the same effect in mind as Bullet Blitz. After standing perfectly still and concentrating for her aura for several more seconds, Jane realized that Hitman was better than Bullet Blitz as far as length and chain is concerned. There had to be an impossible amount of hidden clips to those guns, because the barrage lasted for a rather long time, putting more stress on Jane''s shield until it was finally over.
Jane dropped the shield undamaged, though she could detect much stress in her opponent, no longer was she surprised by the power shield to just stand there in awe. Jane however saw to it that Mayza had no time to attack again so soon, and she put together her hands facing all the way out and forward for her next spell. "Quantum Beam!"
Another blue aura formed around Jane''s body, but not the same type of aura used in her power shield. While consisting the same shape, Jane''s aura transformed into what is known as the Quantum Beam, a spell powerful enough to turn an entire aura into a magical attack beam. Being as it was the same shape, the beam itself was incredibly massive in size and radius, as it slammed into Mayza''s body with too much light for Jane to further see what was going on at the same time. Going off the energy scope, Mayza took the direct hit, struggling to keep her balance the moment the light finally faded from view.
Jane had been warned about this before. Quantum Beam takes up quite a good amount of her own energy, yet the damage level is problematically low compared to other attacks. Claudia gave no good advice on how to improve it, and Jane had just given Mayza another chance to come back at this. Quantum Beam is supposed to be powerful, but is deceptively weaker than it should be. Jane figured it wasn''t just on her either.
"Ninja Stars!" Mayza threw tiny little projectiles towards Jane, forcing her opponent to pay further attention to what was going on. Jane had experience with evading Ninja Stars before, and it was laughably low on the scale of damage should either one of them manage to hit her. Though Ninja stars is designed to deal more physical pain than physical damage. Jane however was ahead of the game on this one, flipping herself sideways to avoid the first ninja star, while invoking another power shield to deflect the other two. The two ninja stars literally bounced off the shield leaving behind the same anti-aura screech noise as before, though the hexagons were massive in size at the impact sight. Jane figured as much; the shield wasn''t even that necessary.
After dropping her own shield, Jane immediately switched into a familiar attack again with her daggers facing her opponent. "Mako Strike!" Jane fired two more energy spheres at her opponent, while Mayza was quick on her reactions to dodge at least one of them. The energy sphere that impacted her however didn''t even have Mayza fazed at all, despite the slight damage she took in the process.
Though disregarding the initial appearance of her incredible resilience, Mayza suddenly collapsed to the ground on her hands and feet, her low stats already catching up to her. Jane saw that Mayza was now helplessly weak where she was, but she wanted to take a moment to herself as well. Jane was rapidly inhaling and exhaling air from how exhausted she was from the entire battle. While keeping her daggers readily available, Jane slowly crept up to Mayza with a murderous glint in her eyes, wondering if surrender was even an option here. Mayza has nowhere else to go, and is now going to be finished. It was now that Jane was reminded by the fact that this is just an ordinary Leray battle, not something from Alpha Zero. Because Doom Shield had not been cast either, both Jane and Mayza were free to choose between losing by forfeit, or passing out to a loss of consciousness. Because Jane was not the one expecting to quit, she was confident enough to speak with Mayza about her options.
"Had enough?" Jane projected. She stood closer to Mayza, who was on the floor, obviously beaten and tired from the intense battle. "I warned you that I''m not trash, and neither are my friends."
Mayza''s voice was indeed hoarse from her exhaustion, but she tensed up her legs, using her arm muscles to support herself sitting up halfway. "I''ll quit when I say quit!" Mayza immediately jumped up to her feet, pulling out her dagger and infusing it with magic in a motion that was incredibly quick. "Armor Breaker!"
Before she could react to the trick Mayza used on her, Jane felt a sharp shooting dagger fly through her chest and out the other end. She put her hand there to try and alleviate the pain, but it was now that Jane realized she had been played. Mayza wasn''t as tired as she appeared, and Jane got too close.
Jane watched in horror as Mayza aimed her arm at her to charge for another attack, but as soon as the glyphring formed in mid-air, it disappeared shortly after, leaving behind nothing at all. Mayza looked just as confused and humiliated at the sight. As Jane tried to figure out what happened, it was evident from Mayza''s energy scope that all of her MP reserves had been exhausted since trying to use Armor Breaker the last time. Trick shot failed!
"Hmph!" Jane exhaled with a smug expression. "Seems you''ve forgot the first thing about Leray battling. Never let your MP get too low without realizing it. Blast Wave!" Jane threw up her glowing arm, as it quickly stopped emitting light with the rapid release of her energy. Jane had to back away several feet from Mayza in order to prevent getting caught in her own area attack. While the small explosions began to populate the battlefield everywhere in front of Jane, Mayza glared at her with a most defeated expression.
"No!" she shouted in disbelief.
Jane reassured her confidence just before the randomized explosions began to get even closer to Mayza. "I''ve got reason to win!" Jane wanted to say more, but the blasts suddenly moved their way to where Mayza had been standing, blowing up on the ground and destroying what was left of her life force energy. Blast Wave is an improved version of Radial Blast, making the positions of each explosion less random while maximizing the explosive-based damage to the target.
As soon as the blasts stopped and the sounds grew silent, Jane noticed Mayza on the floor again, this time unable to pretend to play dead after a hard hit like that. Visible cuts and slight wounds populated her arms and shoulders when she went out, but Jane knew that would still be considered Leray damage. The energy scope then reported the true victor of the battle, and Jane relaxed herself as best as she could.
It has been so long since Jane got to see the holographic text appear to let her know that battle mode and real time mode cycles at the start and end of a battle, and that the reward system happens automatically just like that. The Siriean dome faded quickly around her, leaving only two remaining domes where Danny and Taylor were continuing their own battles. Jane didn''t mind the wait, for she was still exhausted from the battle she had to endure.
The result was in fact desirable to Jane. She got to test out many of her new spells on a live target, and get in more experience as to which methods are best to go for in a fight with those new abilities. Jane pulled out a healing orb from her supply sphere, after stocking up on them since Lennith City. Shortly after holding the glowing orb in her hand to use the device, Jane''s stats on her energy scope were restored.
Chapter Theme Shift: Silver Canyon [A] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Jane had nearly forgotten that her maximum values were cut a little short from the existing real time damage that she had yet to recover from, though this remaining damage was light according to her references. Jane put away her supply sphere and disabled her own energy scope hovering above her. Mayza was just out of it now, with nothing but a few civilians straggling around to watch the chaos. Both Siriean domes currently active actually worked well to block off the entire middle section of the road, which explained the increase in background population. Danny and Taylor both seemed to be wrapping up their own battles by now though, practically within the same amount of times to each other. What appeared most favorable to Jane is that her friends were coming out of this victoriously.
Danny finished his fight with a rather powerful Earth Glave, launching one of the other men into the air only to deplete all of their health before hitting the ground again. Taylor''s last move was a shockingly unique spell Jane had never seen or heard of before. Taylor threw something that resembled Ninja Stars, but the spinning blades were entirely frozen in their own coat of ice. As the projectiles slammed into Taylor''s foe, he immediately fell down to the ground, after which the dome shield faded. Danny''s opponent was knocked out, but Taylor''s foe was still awake, so he must have thrown in the towel with his low HP levels.
Just like that, Jane could not believe how easily they won their own battles. She previously underestimated their abilities, only to be proven wrong in front of her face. Where did they learn things like that though? Danny''s Earth Glave wasn''t new, but it was much more refined and powerful than she remembered seeing it, and Taylor was doing her own new things.
"Wh¡ª what?! This can''t be happening!" The watcher who did not participate in the battle belonging to Mayza''s group was holding his hair in frustration. After witnessing three losses in a row all at the same time, he just got served some rather disturbing news about the capabilities of his own crew. Danny and Taylor on the other hand reunited with Jane after recovering from their wounds using their own healing orbs. They did so while meeting up with Jane, easily mobile from not taking as much damage.
"Looks like we won," Danny concluded to Jane''s face.
Jane smiled at how brilliantly powerful he and Taylor were on their own. "Yes - I saw. That made for excellent target practice."
"What was that earlier I heard about us not being strong enough?" Taylor went on babbling to Jane, basically coaxing her to apologize for the comment she made on their weakness that was not apparent in this battle.
"No need to rub that in," Jane reminded. "But I am sorry for doubting you two." Jane glanced behind them, noticing that only two of the four were still conscious, one trying to restore himself with a healing orb. Jane realized that with three victories in a row, the credit count had to be quickly adding up. "I think we''ve just made a great financial move here, procuring all of those credits." About six thousand of them belong to some sailor in Tilsit. Jane didn''t forget about that small detail. She managed to coax herself into stealing during that blind quest for purity.
Jane hovered her eyes down to her hand, where the crest remained hidden. Jane had grown so used to this thing now that she could literally feel its activation should it suddenly appear. Jane dared not to invoke it in a public place, but from the thought, she realized that her own symbol did not activate on its own during this battle. Jane won the fight on skill alone, which felt really good. The elastic in her suit with over-layered fingerless gloves covered her hands very well, so there would be no worry if something happened mid-battle, but Jane knew the difference between herself and a normal person. As soon as Alpha Zero is taken care of, there should still be a way to remove this marking.
"You guys are cheaters!"
Jane and her friends turned to the moron who was calling them out, the same passive observer who travels with Mayza''s group. He didn''t seem so sure of himself, and left the situation alone after a brief glare in order to help Mayza and the person Danny defeated. "No," Jane answered. "Not this time we''re not."
Taylor never forgot about that, reminded again by Jane''s odd context. Jane had several mixed feelings that just having her special powers gave her an unfair edge in battle. The same symbol previously hindered her, yet now it made her too powerful. Jane didn''t seem as concerned about it this particular time. Maybe the crest failed to activate in this iteration, or maybe Jane was just getting used to it.
Even so, this was her first time ever witnessing Jane winning an actual battle all by herself. She had heard of the other times Jane fought wielders on Route 96 and monsters in the dark zone, but this was something Taylor was actually here for, despite being too distracted to see it fully. It was amazing to see how much changed in such little time, though not all of it had to do with Jane. "Shall we?" Taylor aimed her hand to the bikes they had left on the side in order to keep them out of harm''s way.
Jane nodded and casually changed her pace to walk towards the bikes. Danny on the other hand had a few questions he wanted to spew out on the way there. "Did you see the way I handled that guy? That was awesome! Is this road going to be all like this from here on? I wish I would have known about Leray magic sooner."
"Ease up now," Jane warned. "Don''t forget what we''re here to do." Jane lifted her bicycle from the concrete as it sat on its side. There wasn''t any guilt in trying to tell the other team how poorly they did. Failing to give a proper handshake in the beginning usually means it won''t happen in the end either. After balancing the vehicle on both wheels, Jane quickly hopped on, using her left foot as a kickstand before rolling back out. She wanted to at least make sure the others could keep up, and there would be plenty of time to talk anything out before someone else interrupts them. The density of the crowd was almost nothing further down the road. At least that''s what her eyes could tell for now.
Taylor had so much on her mind that was absent from there before. This is what Jane did on Route 96, over and over before nearing Lennith City. It didn''t make much sense to why Jane didn''t just use her emergency strike at that time. Then again, Taylor was tracking down a friend in danger. Jane was chasing after a ludicrous cure to some kind of rare and illegal magic disease by seeking help from public enemy number one. But what is life supposed to be like here? Do people just battle until they drop? Or is there more to life in Sprawn Valley than this?
After thinking about what Danny tried to explain before, Taylor could only piece together that Sprawn Valley is an underdeveloped country even today, using businesses and normal jobs to bring in the wealth needed for the physical development. There are cities, farms, oceans, beaches, forests, and jobs. And then there is this; this incredible system of Leray magic that people use for virtually everything. As entertainment, they battle, fight between each other using magic and skills. Taylor still couldn''t use that to answer the question stuck in her. Hundreds of random people battle with magic every day here. Adults, children, creeps, possibly criminals, and soldiers, and they normally do this for reasons that fit into this society, but given that to be the case, which category does Jane belong to?
Chapter 39-B: Trial of Fears (Jane VS Cass)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 18:01 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
After cycling the same road for over thirty minutes without any confrontation, Taylor and her friends took in all of the changes in the landscape and the distance traveled so far. Not a single one of them bumped into any anxious Leray fighter, though few enough other cyclists passed by in the opposite direction. Other than this, the cement road was vacant of human life with the rare exceptions of a few traveling civilians on foot. The sun hung a little lower in the sky without its daylight intensifying. Instead, the blinding white rays slowly changed hue to a darker yellow color. She didn''t let the light get directly into her eyes, and it allowed her to discover everything about this legendary bridge they have been waiting to see.
Despite the earlier appearance, the three of them eventually entered the noticeable section of road, which had been transformed by the type of concrete used, and the different design in each fence on both sides. The fences were now solid walls with integrated transparent special glass that would allow anyone passing by to see through the material, and before long, the most amazing thing happened.
The road remained afloat about six hundred feet above the sea level, though the water''s mass visually appeared to be much closer from up top. Jane let the cool wind massage her body while coasting her bike with her feet at rest. The smell of fresh air mixed with the familiar scent of the shoreline in Tilsit Port brought Jane to a new level of relaxation. The sight of the blue wavy water to either the left or right of her was incredibly massive in any direction, and an amazing sight to behold. The sunlight shimmered on the water from her left, making it more beautiful and impossible to see at the same time. Jane heard about this bridge and how wonderful the sight is, but she never could have imagined this in her head without this sort of perceptual assistance. The sights were captivating enough for her to lose focus on what could be in front of her.
Taylor glanced back behind her, noticing the long linear road fading into the distance while the available space was cut off into the straight line they were on. The sight of Lennith City was now nothing more than a dark hill chain faded into the distance by a very thin fog, and ahead of her, the same type of view from farther ahead had hills much higher blended with the landscape. This is the bridge! She and her friends were literally crossing between two continents within the same country.
His legs were getting tired, but Danny continued cycling, taking in the new information at the same time as a form of distraction and motivation. His bike remained closely behind Jane''s, pedaling only to speed up from the loss in acceleration due to coasting. The bridge itself was nothing more than the same road held up by thick support beams drilling all the way down to the bottom of the Hollifax Ocean. How did they get the beams to go all the way that deep, fixing the entire road into a sturdy area just above the water? There had to be a maximum weight limit for this structure, right? Then again, it''s not as if Sprawn Valley has any automobiles. Bicycles are not heavy either, so there couldn''t be much risk of a collapse.
Taylor glared into the sky above her, noticing several different color shades of the deep blue, getting darker from straight up, and the wind speed was perfect. Not too much force and noise to annoy her, and yet just enough of a brush to cool her body down from the excessive workout. There wasn''t a single puff of cloud in the sky.
The air smells so fresh here! Jane still couldn''t quit periodically thinking back to her experience in Alpha Zero. She unfortunately remembered every single detail about that place. The way it sounded with perpetual low pitch bass leaks, the intense heat all around, and the smell - the scent of burning biomaterial and carbonizing ashes. Then there is this smell - the scent of the Hollifax Ocean up close, drawing all of its fine salt water vapor into the air around her. The ocean''s waves crashed on top of each other, giving an extra ambience of the soothing large body of water in action. It was so relaxing; Jane could swear to herself that she was on vacation from everything.
Danny cleared his throat, preparing to break the silence with a conversation, hoping to keep things from getting awkward. "So..." he paused to think. Danny had to pedal faster in order to catch up to Jane''s level, making it easier for her to hear his voice riding up to her side. "That was an impressive battle."
Jane nodded with a flushed look on her face. "Being as something already established, it was."
Jane must not have understood that Danny was going somewhere with this, but he continued trying to figure her out regardless of how cringy his starter lines were. "But what is it all for in the end? What are you planning to do?"
While coasting at the same speed, Jane caught Danny staring straight at her with his sudden demand for a swift answer. He didn''t seem nervous or upset, just curious. But what did he mean? "Did you already forget the reason we''re out here?"
"Wha¡ª no!" Danny corrected. Jane still didn''t get it, but Danny quickly put much blame for that on himself for not being clearer. There wasn''t a sure way to ask the right question the first time. "I mean what about your future, after we take care of Alpha Zero? What is it you plan to do?"
Taylor made her location parallel to the others upon hearing the question. "That''s something I''ve been meaning to ask myself. We''re just curious you know." Taylor caught up with the same distance aside from Danny and Taylor and kept the pace. She too wanted the answer to her latest questions. "You said you can make an entire career out of Leray magic, but is that really true?"
Jane nodded her head without messing up her rhythm pedaling her bike. Still having to raise her voice slightly to project beyond the ambience of ticking gears, Jane gave them both the summary of her plans. "There is more to life than Leray battles. I always try to find a good hobby on the side of things, but I haven''t found one yet." Taking a brief pause to consider what else there is to do here, Jane quickly realized how much she still doesn''t know about what lies beyond her small little world. "I plan to become a Leray master."
"You''ve said that before," Danny quoted.
Jane agreed with him. "Of course! It means I need to learn all of the abilities, use them like a pro, defeat strong wielders fairly, and become top of the line intelligent with Leray magic. But I also want to do all of that the right way, through hard work and a ton of training, not through some stupid marking I inherited from this spell bomb."
"Honorable," Taylor labeled. "I should have known form before that you had that much character. I mean, you''ve loved Leray magic since you were born, right?"
"I still do." Jane didn''t want to confirm her goal while leaving out other important details. "But it doesn''t feel like enough."
"Hm?"
Responding to Danny''s mumble of a request to elaborate, Jane tried to confess how she felt about the world while figuring it out for herself. She spoke carefully with moderate nervousness in her breath. "You both come from some other country that doesn''t have Leray magic, and before landing here, you were on your way to another country that also doesn''t have Leray magic. Why is that?"
Danny and Taylor exchanged confused looks for each other. "You must have forgot about the part where we had no prior knowledge to Leray magic before coming here."
"But that''s not what I mean." Jane slowed down her bike with the breaks, but ever so gently as to make sure she could be heard with clarity. "You were heading to a place you call New York. What''s so special about it?"
"Danny''s uncle lives there," Taylor reminded.
Danny finished the thought as quickly as Taylor wanted to drop the subject. "And that''s about it. I don''t think there is anything special about it, other than the place being different from Kalamo."
"Come on," Jane teased. "There had to be some excitement within the two of you on your way there. Didn''t you say you''ve never been to York before? How could you know what it''s like there?" Danny and Taylor didn''t utter a sound. Jane took it to mean after several seconds that her point wasn''t going anywhere that could be understood. "I want to see that world."
Skid sounds ushered from behind, and Jane had to respond by slowing her bike down with ease. She glanced back to find Danny and Taylor at a literal stand still, using their feet to hold the bike up while waiting for Jane to turn around. What was the big fuss about?
Taylor waited for Jane to come back here before trying to explain how difficult things are outside of Sprawn Valley. "Why? There is nothing special outside of this place."
"And why not?" Jane demanded. She hopped off her bike and set it down on the floor gently. Jane was going to get a straight answer out of them yet. "Because it''s not full of magic? Is that all?"
"It''s a rather big deal," Danny argued. "No Leray magic, no protection from death, and that''s just icing on the cake." Danny held his expression tense and concise addressing Jane, as she paid as much attention to his plight. "You''ve got so much freedom here as a citizen of Sprawn Valley. Literally, you could go anywhere you want, do anything you feel like doing - I don''t even understand what brings real money into this place, but you''ve got it great here."
"I''ve never got to explore very much. I have gotten better at this since I''ve become a Leray wielder, but Sprawn Valley is limited in space."
Taylor rebuttaled, "We get that." At first glance, Sprawn Valley seemed so massive on the maps and while traveling, but come to think of it, Junon, the biggest region of the country is only so large in the sense that most of the space is unused. As big as the nation is, it''s like Danny described before; Sprawn Valley is still underdeveloped.
"But think of all the other countries there are out there. I''ve only seen a world atlas on paper, and I know nothing of the other places. It can''t be that bad outside of here. Maybe there is less freedom where you live, but I bet it has amazing places to explore, amazing things to do."
Danny and Taylor exchanged looks again, wondering what they were letting Jane get into.
"You chose to explore America when you got on that cruise you told me about. So what''s wrong with having me explore too?"
"It just feels like a downgrade." Danny kept his volume minimal, hoping to keep Jane calm. "Kalamo is not a great place, but I''ve heard that conditions in America are better by miles. Of course, in comparison, I think this place tops all of it. You would be getting yourself into a mess by leaving your home to see that world, I think."
Jane hovered her eyes to the floor, truly considering his words with weight, but as soon as her eyes lifted again, those solid and focused green eyes, Danny immediately knew that Jane''s mind was just now made up.
"I don''t care." Taylor seemed as surprised as Danny was with Jane''s choice of words. "I''ll wait for the right time of course, but after this Alpha Zero mess calms down, I''m making arrangements to travel. I need to see what other options exist off this, this island."
Jane had never used that term before. Danny called Sprawn Valley an island when he and Taylor first arrived in Fronas from outside the continent. He truly thought this place was as small as his own knowledge for the world. Still, Sprawn Valley was still yet to be fully explored by himself or Jane. Somehow, she was listening to things he had been saying before without his conscious knowledge. At the very least, it was comforting to know that she was capable of taking good advice, even if it started with misconceptions. "Okay, I guess." Danny didn''t sound sure of himself in the slightest. Taylor gave him a mean look as if he let a timed bomb activate. "Just don''t visit Kalamo. You''ll regret it."
"I can''t believe you''re okay with¡ª"
Knowing what Taylor was getting upset about, Danny interrupted her to explain what he knew was going through Jane''s mind. Jane has been here her entire life, surrounded by this amazing ability to invoke Leray magic. Why would anyone ever want to go somewhere by which you can''t use that magic? Jane is just used to it. The same can be said for anybody. It doesn''t matter how good something gets. Change is what keeps things interesting and alive, not staying in once place and doing the same thing your entire life. "Let her make up her own mind. Jane can at least look after herself. She''s proven that for us. Personally, I don''t see why a person trapped on an island would want to stay there forever, no matter what perks you get for it."
"Mn¡ª" Taylor opened her mouth, but nothing useful came out. What is he saying exactly? Jane just wants to explore the world, and Taylor is... No, she''s trying to stop Jane from moving on past one single goal. Other than being a reckless and dangerous move, there was nothing wrong at heart with what Jane wanted to do. She still objected to the idea in general, but there wasn''t a way to argue with Danny''s logic at the moment... How does he keep doing that? Ever since Taylor got to know Danny, he has never been so capable of calm and collective reasoning with anyone - ever! Immature, impatient, egotistic, and impulsive; those were the qualities she expected, but they have disappeared entirely. Taylor struggled to remember at what point this happened. This would hardly be a first example. It didn''t seem to make much since to her, but the fact was splashing her right in the face. Danny has changed!
"Thanks for understanding," Jane honored. After glancing to her left, Jane realized that they were literally going nowhere, off track by stopping in the middle of the road. "Now can we get going? We want to make it to Eldora by dark, right?"
Taylor nodded with Danny, getting their bikes and mounting on them again to continue cycling down the road. Taylor had much more to think about in the process. For some sudden reason, she couldn''t stop thinking about Danny in general. Every moment spent together, every memory that involved him was being pushed to the surface of her random thought chain.
After speeding back up, Jane tended to remain silent this time while cycling. Only a few minutes managed to pass by, but a lot was on her mind with their last conversation. Jane wanted nothing more than to travel outside of Sprawn Valley with her two best friends by her side, but in Eldora, they''ll be on their way to the airport, getting a ticket back home where they belong. It''s a part of Jane''s future they can''t be connected to. After Alpha Zero is dealt with, perhaps even before that, they''ll be saying their goodbyes.
The wind began picking up again, and Danny kept his sights completely forward while letting his thoughts race in every direction. Taylor kept up to his side, holding her bike straight and steady to peek another glance toward Danny. His short brown hair blew in the wind gracefully, and the angled light from the sun lit up his face with a powerful natural glow of which Taylor rarely noticed before. With what began with just a peek, Taylor continued staring straight at him, unable to look away for a moment, the bloom of beauty enticing!
He''s handsome, Taylor was certain of that from the start. She had to have several reasons for not dating him before, but she couldn''t recall many at the moment. Her thoughts continued racing about all the other times they spent time together. Not one of those moments were dates, nor were they romantic, but they are still memories of gold for Taylor. He''s growing up into a man. Taylor had guessed this to be the case with the reasons for his difference lately. He''s been more responsible, thoughtful for others, and much stronger than before. Danny was always physically strong, but only when he needed to be. On average, he used to let other people push him around, people he would somehow call friends. Taylor began to consider the scenario of herself trying to talk to Danny, getting him to ask her if they could do something together once they reach Eldora, something non-magical related. Maybe even... Perhaps if she were to try and go out with Danny, even just to try it... Before she knew it, her heart began pounding with violence in her chest, her limbs covertly shaking underneath her skin. She could think of a million ways to imagine the scenario, but to try that in real life would be different.
Danny turned his head from the sun, giving his tired eyes a brief rest. He then discovered that Taylor was mysteriously staring at him; even now she didn''t seem to notice him noticing her noticing him. Thoughts from the past sprang up with the same funny feeling he had earlier with Taylor. There were plenty of women Danny tried to hit on in the past, and Taylor was never one of them. He didn''t see much logical reason why. She''s fairly hot, very smart, and Taylor has to this day never done anything to screw him over like some bitch. But just thinking about the idea of being together with her gave him goose bumps, making him sweat over his sudden chill. They''ve been great friends for so long now, the thought really didn''t come to mind. But why now? Why is it daunting on him that they could be a couple? Also, what would be wrong with the idea?
Saying anything suddenly felt awkward, but Danny risked it, starting with a simple reminder of better days they once shared. "Hey Taylor?"
"Wha¡ª yes?!" Taylor forgot to pay attention to Danny''s current actions. He was looking at her now, and she forgot to periodically look away. He knew she was staring at him for that long. Shit!
Danny played it cool, traveling back to the day they first became friends. "Remember that day in the park, back in Burneu?"
Taylor was suddenly rushed to think about everything at once. There were a lot of days at the park, and there were not many days where she was there alone... "Oh yeah!" Recalling the specific important day Danny was referring to, Taylor played the feedback in her head. Burneu is the county section in Kalamo where she lived, the same area Danny moved to when he was younger. But within that county, they lived in a town called Slateport.
Without waiting for her to remember all the details alone, Danny explained what happened that night, as to have something to simply talk about. He suddenly felt a little more nervous, but Danny simply went with his confusing instincts. "What was his name, that asshole?"
"Brandy," Taylor rehearsed. Brandy was an older bully who picked on Taylor after realizing she normally had some money to carry around. Unlike the other bullies, Brandy messed up Taylor''s entire reputation then, using manipulation while forcing her to convince her real friends that Brandy was a friend of her own. Then one day, Danny showed up to the park.
Danny noticed the problem multiple times before it really got out of hand. Taylor was just standing there, letting this Brandy jock talk trash to her face. Before - Danny never did anything about it, feeling as if it was none of his business, and the guy was twice Danny''s current size in mass and weight. He decided to do nothing, until witnessing the brutality behind the scenes. Though it never happened in public view, Brandy would hit Taylor, beat her with his bare fist, punching her in the face, though only should she ever try to stick up for herself, and that was the day Danny watched it happen firsthand.
"You beat the crap out of that guy," Taylor reminded.
Danny couldn''t forget a detail. After watching Taylor get hit twice in a row, Danny''s restrictions snapped, forcing him to engage Brandy in combat. It was nothing more than a fistfight, and Brandy was naturally stronger than Danny at first, but he fought to keep her safe, Taylor was but a stranger to him who he had seen on occasions after moving to Burneu. After wrestling and fighting the man though, Danny managed to shake off the first few punches to the gut and hit him back with much more force. He forgot exactly what way and in what order he punched him in, but Danny literally beat Brandy to the ground until he had a bloody face, after which Brandy left everyone alone to hide in the shadows.
Taylor was surprised that night, that someone who barely knew her at all would just stick their nose in front of a guy twice their own size, and surprised yet again to see Danny win the fight. They didn''t say anything to each other after the incident. Danny stayed at the park, revisiting what just happened in his mind while sitting on the bench. Danny wasn''t beaten up too badly for any need of medical attention, his injuries minor compared to Brandy''s. Taylor sat next to him, curious about Danny without either of them touching hands or speaking to one another.
He sat with Taylor, letting her recover from that traumatic experience while they sat on the bench in silence watching the sunset below the hills all the way. The only thing Danny said to Taylor just before leaving the park was, "See you tomorrow." As casual as it was, Danny and Taylor were good friends from that moment on. They didn''t ask each other out, nor did anything romantic happen on the night of the incident, but Taylor would always hang out with Danny and his choice of friends, eventually something that took a step to visiting each other''s houses just to hang out. Taylor never forgot that day.
"I did what I had to." Danny remained confident in his obligation to help. It felt amazing right now that Taylor was somehow on the same page though. She almost seemed too excited about being reminded of that moment. "Nobody has the right to slam others like that."
Taylor didn''t know what to say, but Danny was counting on her to stay cool about this. Keeping her bike steady, Taylor peered back at Danny, changing the subject while keeping it interesting. "Remember the first night on the Tidal Max?"
"Uuuuhhhhg!" Danny sunk his head down and chuckled at the same time. He was being a total idiot embarrassing himself, but at least it was with good impression that he may have had a chance with her. "Stacey was horrible! Should have seen that coming sooner."
Taylor laughed on cue, defining his mistake in detail. "You should be careful what you wish for. Flirting with other women can reveal its own den of monsters."
"What the hell are they talking about?" Jane kept her voice to a whisper, knowing she wasn''t part of their conversation, but it just cropped up so randomly. Danny beating up someone for Taylor? Then flirting with other women in failure? Taylor was picking out some juicy topics tonight!
"Aaagh!" Danny cringed at the thought. "I was such a dork! What happened?!" He referenced the moment on the Tidal Max where he tried to ask out several beautiful women, over half were blond. But like most men, Danny froze up or said something wrong trying to directly speak to one of them. He got a close chance with improved confidence with some other girl he can''t remember the name to, but she still turned him down, and Taylor was just there to make fun of it, in her own usual way.
Then there was Stacey, who Danny managed to somehow officially go out with. That only lasted for about five minutes, since Stacey was oddly in complete control the entire time, turning Danny into her slave and treating him like the bottom of her shoe. In just five minutes flat, Danny somehow wound up in a situation as if he were married to a control freak, and he Danny signaled Taylor for help, help in that he could get himself out of the hole he dug himself into. Stacey was just a total loser, and wasn''t worth the time and effort.
At first, Taylor laughed at him, watching Danny''s train wreck of a wrongful relationship explode in his face, but after feeling too sorry for him, she eventually set up an elaborate plan to pretend to be Danny''s sister. Taylor was a great actress that day, turning herself into a total hassle for Stacey and Danny, giving the hussy a taste of her own medicine until Stacey decided that she had enough of him and his false sister. For Danny, it worked out in his favor since he wanted to end that relationship as soon as it started. It still never dawned on her why Danny didn''t just have it in him to tell Stacey it was over and be done with it.
That was the old Danny, making a fool of himself by mistake, which happened on a daily basis. Those were fun days though, as the situation each time was interesting and fun to watch unfold. Taylor was always there to make sure she didn''t miss any of the action, since most of it was somehow humorous or interesting, and at the end of the day, she was still his friend. He could have been comfortable telling Taylor his deepest secrets without so much as an itch. Everything seems so different now.
"I didn''t bring you two along with me so that you can just flirt with each other all day." Jane interrupted their gaiety with a risky tease of their own mixed feelings. But it was still true. Stirring memorable conversations like that can count as flirting, and Danny was practically in on it too. Why can''t Taylor just see what it is?
"We''re not flirting!" Taylor felt destroyed by the mere accusation. Her entire face went red in the instant the thought had been implanted. What would Danny think of her now, if he suspected that Taylor was trying to win him over?
Danny casually replied, "Ah, that''s just Jane being Jane." Danny couldn''t feel too confident though. He knew he was trying his best to stay calm and collective, to not say anything stupid or cringy. It was hard to gauge what this fluttery feeling was inside, but Danny attempted to do something about it.
Agh! This pushing and pulling is so annoying! Jane slowed her bike to get closer to being level with the others. "Face it! You two are madly in love! Oh! The suspense!"
Jane''s tone was obviously there to advertise that she was kind of joking. Danny accepted that Jane wasn''t being serious about it, but after staring at Taylor for another brief moment and tracing all of her body with his eyes, Danny only felt the pulse of his heart reach all through his arms and up to his throat. Danny could also see a hint of lingering guilt. That''s what it looked like anyway, like Taylor couldn''t bear to face him after hearing that. Jane was just pedaling forward again, trying to set this thing up, but Danny didn''t need Jane''s help or approval to set anything up, nor did she need to be a spaz about it. "Just you wait until Jane gets goo-goo over some hot guy. I''m gonna be there to make it as awkward as possible."
Taylor exhaled silently in relief. Her heart was still pounding, but she couldn''t stay on top of things today. It was like Danny had concrete determination and calm sense that was as sturdy as a metal wall, practically unbreakable focus. After Jane''s last word of a remark, Danny turned to stare at Taylor again.
"Who said I''d take you with me?" Jane remarked.
Taylor met Danny''s gaze in front of the beautiful view of the shimmering ocean behind him. Danny wasn''t looking away, nor was he changing his expression to Taylor''s stare either. A glow of emotion was shared between both their expressions, confusing as it felt deep down. He''s... He''s smiling! No way is he being serious. Taylor knew this was some kind of joke to embarrass her. Why is Danny looking at her like that? Stop it!
"In any case, how about it Taylor?"
Taylor gasped silently. He asked her something, but in such a way that wasn''t clear at all. "How about what?" Taylor wanted to slap herself for sounding like a nervous wreck. She was never like this before in front of anyone, let alone the friend she practically grew up by. Taylor faced forward again, refusing to meet Danny''s gaze less her only last wall be destroyed.
Danny could see the paralyzing look on her face. She was afraid, nervous to consider the thought, and this is the very first time he just realized it. Danny couldn''t judge her for this though, since he didn''t have the thought to begin with, not until they had reached Lennith City together in search for Jane. He was nervous inside too, though collected just enough to pull through. It was hard to think about anything else back then, worrying about the safety of Jane''s own life. But Danny had been noticing Taylor more and more since crash landing on this country. He never told a living soul about it, but after realizing from this very moment that Taylor might possibly feel the same way for him, Danny was incredibly relieved and relaxed, like a sudden weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. It wasn''t a total remedy to his nerves, but the idea in his head became far more comforting than before. All he wanted to do now was please the girl he has been traveling with for so long. There isn''t any shame in trying this out. "How about us - together?" Danny broke it down to the rawest form of asking a person out. There wasn''t a need to pretend to be cool with Taylor, since she would simply see through any type of facade knowing who he is already, but he also had no intention of treating this situation like any other. This is Taylor we''re talking about, not some dumb blond on a boat.
"Us?" Taylor repeated with her voice cracking. "Together..." Her face was glowing with a solid blush. Danny just asked her out, right here and now! This isn''t right. This is happening too soon! Taylor never expected this to actually happen this way. Despite coasting on a stable concrete road, Taylor felt lightheaded, like the entire world was falling away from underneath her. Her lungs ceased functioning entirely. Her body tingled everywhere, and the sensation of being scared to death was now mixed with some sort of incredible aura, some invisible feeling yet to be discovered by Taylor rushing through her blood in a single instant. Her throat locked in place, and Taylor was literally speechless, unable to reply at all.
Danny sensed the hesitation, unable to conclude if Taylor was just nervous or upset by the offer. "No need to decide right now, just something to think about."
Jane resisted and held back a loud burst of laughter as much as she could, turning it into a chuckling smile with her hand over her mouth. Now that - is not the calm and collective Danny speaking, not anymore. After having denied this for so long, Taylor is finally unable to dodge those questions now. Jane wanted to milk this for everything it was worth, since they would not all be together for much longer, but it felt right to let them at it for a few more moments.
"Shur-sure! I guess, I mean - of course!"
Danny laughed at Taylor''s inability to form a single sentence, but it felt great at the same time. She really was okay with this, enough to actually accept his offer. Hopefully she wasn''t feeling rushed into it, but she was defiantly surprised or feeling awkward about this in some way. Still, Danny felt that he could even wait for Taylor to answer honestly.
Taylor was stunned, even at her own self for automatically replying at all. What did she just do? Taylor agreed to have Danny as her boyfriend! Her heart was still racing in her chest; her face was still blushing, but this feeling had her energy going everywhere, her mind racing a million thoughts per minute. Taylor couldn''t believe this was happening, and at the same time, she was bewildered with excitement that it was happening too. Why does he have to do this now?
Danny dared another stare her way, now noticing a new aura in Taylor''s face. She seemed excited, or happy, one of the two despite her alertness. Taylor wasn''t even paying much attention anymore. Too distracted by her own thoughts, Taylor couldn''t appear to be any more beautiful than she is right now. Priceless! Not only did she say yes, but this was the face of Taylor he wanted to remember forever, the face he wanted to wake up to every single day from here on.
I can''t believe it! I can''t believe it! I can''t believe it! I''m actually going out with Danny! I can''t believe it! Factoring in Danny''s past experiences only served to confuse her thoughts, which was something Taylor wasn''t able to help herself with. She only had a mild crush on him since arriving in Tilsit Port, but this was something totally different. Everything felt unfamiliar and amazing at the same time. What are these feelings?
Jane chuckled aloud again in front of her. She didn''t have to turn around in order to see Taylor about to burst from the inside. She has been wanting that to happen forever, only in this case Danny was the one in control, coming out of hiding so suddenly. Jane figured she should have made a bet with someone that they would be going out sometime soon. Danny and Taylor were practically made for each other. While Jane was happy for the two of them, now was also the time to put a lid on it. "Well my work here is done."
"What work?" Danny denied. "You didn''t do anything."
"Didn''t I though?"
"No, not really." Taylor was quick to knock Jane''s insanity out of the air too. It was easy enough to compose herself to do that much.
How dare they! Jane flustered. After all I''ve done for them... "Now I have to save Lennith City, and keep you two from making out during important stuff."
"Now you''re just plain exaggerating." Danny wasn''t sure that was the best choice of words. He could tell that Taylor was a bit nervous and frozen by his earlier proposal. Though her shyness wasn''t exactly expected to last for this long. Is dating him really that scary of a thought? Jane was only going to make it worse, so best they drop it for now.
Taylor was forced into thinking about the romantic scenario in her head, making out with Danny under a tree or something. His lips pressed against hers...
"Heads up!" Jane called. The sudden warning snapped Taylor out of her trance, getting all of them to slow down a little at the sight of a person up ahead. Technically, there was another adult in the distance, walking away towards Eldora, unrelated to the first person who appeared to be pacing around in the middle of the road. Jane figured it had to be another challenger who was getting impatient, but it was best to stay silent and steady to avoid the confrontation.
Jane hit the brakes on her bicycle, skidding the tires on the cement to a crawl. Danny and Taylor repeated Jane''s actions without questioning why, though Jane was still there to explain it. "It''s alright. I could use a breather." Jane dismounted from her bike, keeping the stranger in distance ahead in her peripheral. It didn''t look like someone who was eager enough to interrupt others to battle, but Jane had a rather comforting idea. After turning to her friends, she announced, "Get a drink or a snack if you need it."
Jane didn''t plan to have an entire picnic out here did she? Danny nodded his head and pulled out his personal supply sphere. After the device opened, a holographic selection display appeared, after which Danny used his simple magic to decide on what to rematerialize. After selecting the object, the device shut, pulling an unopened water bottle into his hand from phase. The entire object was glowing with a bright blue aura until the process was completed, and Danny took a few sips afterwards.
Taylor soon realized that the railing she has been leaning on was the only thing separating the road from the nothingness past it. Jumping over the railing would result in falling down hundreds of feet into the ocean. At least the railings have impressive metal bars to prevent someone from jumping the edge, holding to about nine feet tall with a transparent frame robust to damage. She could see the water below through the transparent frame, basically covering the entire structure that had replaced the weak fences earlier. Still peering head up the road, she didn''t find anything in the distance resembling a city. While Taylor initially worried that it was getting late, the sunlight beating down on her was still intense, replacing the cold air from before with a grueling heat directly to her arms and face.
Jane didn''t have the intentions of eating, filled up from having a snack before departing to this path. While having this break though, it might give that nearby stranger a second thought about rudely interrupting their time to force a battle upon them. Jane wasn''t tired, but she knew she was on a clock to get to Eldora quickly. Judging by that dress sphere and the low quality shoes, the stance of the girl, and her constant nerve to pace left and right told Jane that it was just an amateur. There wasn''t any good time or training that could be made battling a rookie fighter who doesn''t know what they are doing.
Chapter Theme Shift: Vortex ~ Carbon Based Lifeforms (World of Sleepers)
"What''s with that person?" Danny pointed to the figure Jane had been paying attention to earlier, letting onto Jane that he possibly understood what was not so random about a five minute break. It was still true that his legs were getting exhausted already. They have all been pedaling for over an hour since leaving Lennith City.
Jane carefully focused on the young woman again. Something didn''t seem to line up with Jane''s theory. This person wasn''t looking around for people, nor was she walking on foot towards Lennith City. The girl only risked brief peeks at Jane''s group, but was quick to deter her eyes. It''s as if she didn''t want to be spotted right now. In a minute flat, her pacing was beginning to drive Jane mad. After realizing that being asked to battle is something that may not happen after all, Jane decided to risk learning what the big fuss is about.
Jane stepped away from the rail, leaving her friends in question as she approached the stranger to learn more about what was really going on. Jane however kept a sharp nerve and eye all around her, making sure this wasn''t some childish elaborate trap to lure people in. The woman stopped pacing suddenly, facing away from Jane to pretend like she wasn''t even there. After several moments of nothing, Jane glanced back to see Danny and Taylor standing just as confused as she was about this. Finally, Jane went for it, jumping into someone else''s business at her own risk. "Hey! Is there a problem back here?"
Her muscles jumped from Jane''s loud greeting, but the woman turned around to face Jane. An expression of mild surprise haunted Jane''s eyes. The woman was only about four years older in age, and not very tall to make her stand out with that fact either. "No problem at all," she reassured.
Jane studied the details of the girl. Brown hair, brown eyes, incredibly pale skin, and the tendency to be so shy. Nothing about this person''s actions were making any sense. Where did she come from? Is she traveling or battling? Or did she do something wrong? "You a Leray wielder? That''s not a normal dress to be wearing around here."
Already had Jane determined this because the girl was wearing a dress sphere instead of an ordinary dress; she must be a Leray wielder. The woman developed a glint of fear in her eyes, but her expression masked frustration over it. Instead of answering Jane''s question, the woman instead took a few steps back towards the other side rail. What was she so afraid of?
"So what if I am? I don''t have to fight anyone I don''t want to!" The woman raised her voice at Jane.
Clearly she was upset about something that happened earlier. Jane carefully tried to piece together what could have happened while keeping her calm. "You''re right," Jane agreed. "Nobody has to fight if they don''t want to. My friends and I are on a little break, so I appreciate the discretion."
"Y¡ª you weren''t going to ask for a battle?"
Jane nodded her head to a no. "I''m on a timer, and I''m usually the one that gets forced into battles I''d rather not be a part of. We''re all going to Eldora. Lennith''s only about two hours and a half or so on foot that way." The woman seemed so fragile and innocent. Her legs were frozen in place, like she couldn''t cope with some recent traumatic experience. Where is her bike? Why is she here alone? Jane played her cards carefully as to not scare her off.
The woman sighed in relief, her tensions lesser of what they were. "Oh, well... That''s good. Did you see any other battlers that way?"
Jane desperately tried to understand in her thoughts. She wants to get to Lennith, hates battling, is afraid to death of Leray wielders, and yet is one herself. Does she think that seeing a Leray wielder means she is obligated to battle against them? Who could have forced that kind of logic down her throat? "A few." Jane quickly changed the subject to test her own theories. "Was someone else here recently, like very recently, bothering you?"
"Why do you want to know about that? Who are you anyway?" She saw Jane''s other two friends walking up, now curious to what Jane had gotten them into. She worried immediately that they might just be the girl''s henchmen.
Jane held her hand over her chest in gesture. "My name is Jane Venn." Realizing that Danny and Taylor crept up behind her, Jane felt it was right to quickly introduce them as well. "This is Taylor Feer and Danny Mason." Taylor held out her hand for a shake, willing the woman into trusting all three of them.
After thinking shortly on whether these people were nice enough to even talk to, the woman dispensed with her shyness and introduced herself as well, shaking Taylor''s hand in trust. "I''m Cass Anderson."
"Cass," Jane repeated. "That''s a nice name."
Her voice was so warm and comforting. Cass studied the features of these people. Not a single one of them had an aggressive or angry expression. They seemed content and happy with things so far, and Jane said she doesn''t want to battle. "Thanks."
"So what''s going on?" Danny nudged Jane.
While Cass was questioning the intellect of the three teens in front of her, Jane made the immediate deduction aloud, hoping it would not offend Cass should she have it wrong. "I believe the last challenger Cass faced wasn''t a fair fight, nor was it really a choice for her to accept in the matter."
"Wha..." Cass couldn''t piece together how it was even possible that Jane''s group could know anything about Cass or what she was feeling right now.
"Are you sure?" Danny worried. By the surprised look on Cass right now, Jane must have guessed such a conclusion. But why?
Jane focused on Cass again, phishing for the right information. "How many strikes do you have on your license?"
Cass hesitated to say anything else, and she was failing to deny what happened to herself, unable to hide anything. "Two," she instinctively replied. There were two strikes on her card, both of them from the same crook.
"I don''t understand," Taylor projected. Her misunderstanding made Jane look at her with some disappointment in her eyes.
"Well I do," Jane claimed. "The last guy you fought offered to battle you the first time, and you said no. After putting a strike on your card, he forced you to stay nearby for exactly fifteen minutes, just before revising his offer. He did this to cheat the system in order to force another strike on your card."
"Wait, people are allowed to do that?" It was a detail Danny never thought about before. By making multiple offers to the same person in just minutes afterwards, you can either force them to fight you out of fear of being suspended, or simply get them suspended should they refuse three times in a row. But Danny has always been under the impression that the system had some sort of thing in place to prevent the exploit. How can something that terrible be allowed?
"They are not," Jane corrected. "But a few recent exploits in the system have been discovered by undesirable people as of late." Cass is in a similar position that Jane was in when she faced Patrissa, but since Cass is still fine, that must mean she gave into the demands used against her.
"He only asked me twice," Cass confessed. "I had a strike before meeting him, one I took after losing a battle on this route. I''m from Eldora, but I only graduated with basic."
Jane knew she smelled the skills of a rookie, but suddenly felt bad for characterizing Cass like that. "Let''s stay focused on this man. Does he have a name?"
"He forced you to battle him?" Taylor was shushed by Jane immediately after having that epiphany. She too didn''t understand that just anyone could so easily go around the system. Of course, if she fights someone without offering anything, or battles someone who has three strikes on their card, it''s considered illegal, but she thought there was at least one safeguard in place to prevent that. Then again, they''re talking about specific rules that somehow enable anywhere and everywhere within the Leray veil of protection. How can a rule of magic turn into a noun and apply itself to something so physical?
"Gustos," Cass spelled. "He was alone, but too tough for me to beat. I''m just not fit for battling."
Jane sighed with the stress of it all. Cass also has low self-esteem. Fixing this might take a while. "He probably hailed from Eldora and is heading back there right? We''ll teach him a lesson."
Danny punched the other open palm with enthusiasm. "Now you''re talking! After that last match, I think I can take on any dirt bag in this place."
"Don''t bother." Cass turned to the side and sank her head down. She wasn''t anywhere close to crying her eyes out, but the truth stung her in the throat. She''s a terrible Leray fighter, and a failure at magic. "It''s not like getting revenge will fix what''s wrong with me."
"Nothing''s wrong with you!" Taylor and Jane both replied with the same words at the same time, ignoring their coincidence by letting Jane help her. Jane held Cass''s arms together, turning her to face up. "Learning how to fight takes time. You think I was any good at battling when I first started out?"
Danny chuckled at the idea. It seemed so long ago now, but it was only just a few weeks past. Jane might continue to leave out that minor detail. She should have been referencing Taylor and himself, since they haven''t been secretly marked.
Instead of keeping the same tone of despair, Cass stared straight into Jane''s green eyes when she sounded annoyed in her response. "I suck at magic, Jane. I can''t fix that with training if I can''t defeat a single person."
"Well..." Jane knew Cass was missing a large picture, and she didn''t want to stray from her inspiring topic, but it''s not like Jane could just look at Cass and announce that she had been marked by some kind of illegal experiment that fired a beam of pure energy from the moon to the ground on Earth. So she started with the basics instead. "To be fair, this road is mostly populated with level three graduates, people who have advanced training with almost three years of physical hands-on experience. Basics will have some difficulty here."
Cass nudged Jane''s grip off of her. "Get off me! You think that matters now? I should have just stuck with the sure thing, working at a business with a solid career. I couldn''t hurt a novice if I wanted to."
Jane didn''t drop her confident smirk. "Wanna bet?" She could tell without looking that Danny and Taylor were on to what was about to go down, something that would excite Jane to no end every single time. "I don''t believe that basic training from one of the richest cities would train a person of your intelligence to fail each time. Maybe there is something wrong with your technique. Or maybe you''ve overlooked a few details that are important to pay attention to while battling. What say we take a practice round; no spoils, no battling till we drop, and no bull?"This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Cass was quietly hinting glances at everyone. Jane seemed like the person who makes the decisions for the other two, since they had a surprised and excited look on them.
"Uh, shouldn''t I battle for a practice round?" Danny protested.
Jane wanted to smack him one, but instead found another creative way to humiliate his strength. "We need to put Cass against someone who can actually take a lot of punishment." Jane turned around to face Danny for the rebuttal. "You don''t qualify. You might be strong, but I think even a pipsqueak could beat you up if you lost your balance."
Taylor joined with a sarcastic laugh, while Danny was too appalled to retort anything quick enough. "Ha-ha!"
Cass couldn''t explain what was coming over her. She hated Leray magic for failing her so many times, and battling even to practice was the last thing she wanted to do, but Jane, Danny, and Taylor were all people she was immediately comfortable with. She still knew nothing about a single one of them, but Jane and the others seemed trustworthy. Jane was simply offering a practice battle with no strings attached. Even if she didn''t agree, it felt like Jane would be totally disappointed. All three of them locked eyes back on Cass eager for their answer. "Fine," she complained with a stretch. "But only for a few minutes, and no Siriean dome either."
"Deal," Jane agreed immediately. It made sense to why Cass refused the use of a Siriean dome for a practice round. If Jane was a lying manipulative criminal, she could just cast the Doom Shield spell and force the fight to go to a full finish, but without a Siriean dome, Doom Shield has zero effect on the environment whatsoever.
"Alright," Taylor clapped. She and Danny backed away, allowing for the two of them to get some room for each other. "Show us what you can do Cass!"
Jane felt a little strange at first, routing for her own opponent instead of herself, but Cass just needs some evaluation on some of her own skills. Jane wouldn''t be able to give any advice without first seeing how far Cass has come in her training. "Let''s treat this like a slow version of a normal battle. We each take turns deciding which skills to use, and you get to go first. If I don''t like what I see, I''ll tell you about it."
"Sounds fair!" Cass had to holler after backing away just enough to be at a safe beginning distance for battling. Because there was a lack of a Siriean dome, any magical attack spells could go anywhere. A few stray attacks may hit Taylor and Danny by mistake, though they didn''t look too worried. After Cass took her place and stance at one side of the rail, she cast all of her surroundings into her memory. She didn''t want to back up or jump into one of the side rails by mistake should she need to dodge any attacks. Danny and Taylor were on the sidelines, keeping their distance while watching this practice battle closely.
Jane could already feel her heart rate rising from the suspense she imagined in her mind. Her limbs were incredibly nervous and ready for anything. Jane simply waited to try and take on what Cass was about to try. "I''ll wait for your first move," she announced. Jane decided already that she would physically take the first hit instead of shielding it off. That way, she would be able to judge the damage level of the spell used.
Chapter Theme Shift: Ropeburn ~ Solar Fields
Before a swift reply, Cass engaged her energy scope as well. "Okay." Cass drew two daggers from her pockets. They were not her main weapon of choice. Though because the battle was unofficial, each contestant would be able to pull out any weapon they physically have on them without fail. Healing orbs will work too, unconditionally. After taking a careful aim at Jane, Cass lifted her daggers, chanting a spell while expending a small amount of MP energy. "Tri-Attack!" After chanting the spell, Cass tossed the daggers through the air, flying head on towards Jane with a spin. At the same time the daggers left her hands, Cass formed two separate red glyphrings around each of her wrists. She was able to quickly invoke a fiery spell before Jane even took the dagger strikes to her chest.
Jane felt the sharp and painful slit of the blades graze her skin, but it wasn''t as bad as several hits she had taken before. The daggers were not infused with any kind of magical energy, so both the pain and damage levels were light. This wasn''t the end of her opponent''s unique Tri-Attack. A Fire Ball projectile launched from each glyphring aimed at Jane, firing just before she was hit by the blades. Jane wasn''t interrupted too much by the pain to lose focus on the rest of the skill set. Cass literally used a combo of double Fire Ball to try and hit Jane with weak fire elemental damage. Fire Bolt would have been a better choice, since Fire Ball is a spell that does not home in on the target the entire time. Following the close call of being slammed with balls of fire, Jane leaped out of the way leaning right. The skid on her shoes against the hard cement came at little cost when Jane narrowly avoided one of the Fire Balls from the left. The other managed to slam into her leg, but it was allowed to only because of Cass''s poor aiming on the spell itself.
Cass wasn''t finished with her spell yet. After charging in at Jane while she was getting up off the ground, Cass yelled, "Gauntlet Punch!" which formed a transparent gauntlet glove on her right hand. After getting close enough to Jane, Cass let her have it with all her might, hitting Jane straight in the chest.
Jane had every intention of dodging the attacks which were only easy to evade. Out of everything that managed to graze her HP levels down bit by bit, the Gauntlet Punch packed the highest power level among them all. The force from the impact nearly knocked Jane down while blowing the air out of her lungs in a painful bruising sensation. After Jane began recovering from the blunt hit to her chest, Cass also backed away cautiously to await Jane''s response and evaluation. She read the stats on her energy scope, doing the math to determine how much health the attack scratched off.
Jane had never before witnessed a Tri-Attack like this one. Tri-Attack is normally a free form spell that most popularly attacks an opponent with three different magic skills at the same time. However in this case, Cass invoked it in the form of a Tri-Cast free form time-based spell. In other words, the skills were not used all at the same time, nor was she very particular about how they were invoked to hit Jane with multiple types of damage. There was the very weak slashing damage from the daggers, fire elemental damage from the Fire Balls, and the blunt damage from that gauntlet, and that was just the base of Cass''s strategy. Evaluating her overall strengths and weaknesses could take forever.
Jane summarized as best as she could for Cass what were the pros and cons of the spell, speaking loudly enough for Cass to hear from the short distance of twenty-five meters. "Tri-Attack isn''t a bad spell," she commented. "But make sure all three attacks hit the target much faster. Your style isn''t bad, but your Knife Toss and Fire Ball attacks were naturally too weak. Try Fire Bolt next time, and infuse some magic into your blades before throwing them. It charges up the power level of those attacks."
"I don''t understand," Cass complained.
Jane nodded to revise her statement. "A common way to make Tri-Attack effective is to combine all of the elemental attacks to hit someone at the exact same time in one instance, using three spaced out glyphrings to surround the foe, instead of hitting them from only one firing arc. As you could see, I was able to dodge some of that ordinance you sent me."
"Okay..." Cass took the advice seriously, though she feared that Jane might have meant something other than what she was understanding from it. "Let''s see how you attack from a distance. Give me your best shot!"
Jane''s eyes opened a little wider. If I really give her my best shot, Cass will be out of the fight in one hit. Jane would have to go light on Cass since she is just a rookie, and she already had the perfect spell in thought. All Jane has to do here was remember her training from much earlier days. People don''t normally deal with close hand physical combat the way Jane was capable of, but she had several interesting spells with low power levels.
Once decided, Jane aimed at Cass who stood still and awaited her own chance to try and dodge the attack. Jane formed a bright cyan blue glyphring around her right wrist after charging a tiny amount of MP energy into her hand. "Ice Needles!" An army of frozen shards and icicles formed from the base of the glyphring, all firing like bullets towards Cass. Ice Needles doesn''t travel through the air with the same quickened speed of a bullet, though it is still quick and effective in confusing the opponent. The needles all spread out and dispersed a little from the center of their arc, making it impossible to dodge them directionally.
Cass fell right into that description. All she could do was just stand there and take the barrage of freezing needles sticking into her arms, legs, chest, anywhere she was vulnerable. Though the damage done to her immediate health was incredibly light, the pain of dozens of stings is what affected her more, but even Cass made a quick recovery from this. As soon as the glyphring on Jane''s arm faded from view, so did the Ice Needles stuck inside of her skin melt away, leaving Cass''s body five degrees colder than it was before.
Jane explained herself before Cass even had a moment to process the attack. "That was a weaker example of magical attacks that cannot be dodged. I managed to deal ice elemental piercing damage to you in a way that would have been too difficult for most to get away from. Make sure you know of such spells and how to take them in the future."
Taylor commented with a whisper to Danny in her current evaluation. "Jane is even brutal on those training in front of her."
Danny responded in an opposite state of argument. "Yeah, but so are those more skilled than Cass challenging her to duel. She has her work cut out for her already."
"I already know about that spell!" Cass seemed a little upset. Jane was basically insulting her own intelligence. Ice Needles was only the second spell her school taught her. Cass still wanted to take the advice, but it wasn''t fair that Jane knew everything so easily. The damage was done so lightly, that Cass now felt as if nothing was made to test her endurance at all. Jane was going easy on her, and it had to be on purpose. "How weak do you think I am Jane?"
"I didn''t say that¡ª"
"I''ll show you what I''m capable of." Cass didn''t feel like letting Jane make more excuses. Though instead of giving it up, Cass thought of a better spell, one of a higher level in order to prove how strong she was. At least then she would have proved her point to Jane, that no amount of powerful skills can overcome others in a fight with her style. "Crimson Blade!"
Jane carefully watched as Cass''s emotions kicked into an aggravated state. She wasn''t trying to upset the wielder, but it was understandable given all of Cass''s potential losses adding up to this point. It would make anyone frustrated, and the results showed in her battling strategy too. Cass managed to invoke a spell that takes months of practice for most to successfully master. Blazing Sword is the spell that infuses the long bladed weapon with a fiery aura, adding fire elemental damage on top of slashing damage dealt, requiring magical energy, and the constraint that the long blade is the primary weapon of choice should a Siriean dome be present. On the other hand, Crimson Blade is a total tier higher on damage, invocation time, and movement time. Crimson Blade infuses the sword with fire damage, while allowing the user to quickly use that blade due to the instant infusion time. Cass''s main weapon of choice just so happens to be a long sword, one that Jane believed she would never be capable of lifting correctly.
Surprised yet again, Cass got her sword out in no time, creating a fiery mist that only surrounded the blade and its edges with amazing visual effects that actually made the sword look as though it was bursting with red colored flames. Cass took her sword and charged at Jane again. Though she and Jane were distant for now, Cass was running at a quick pace to try and slash Jane with all her might. First mistake! Jane didn''t even have to ponder what was already wrong with the picture. You don''t use a close combat attack from a far distance unless you have some quick way of getting to the opponent, or distracting them beforehand. Jane would now be miles ready to counter Cass''s move, interrupt her own abilities. The spell however was quite impressive to know for a first year student.
"Rush Assault!" Jane immediately invoked one of her higher-level skills, infusing magical energy into her entire body, and allowing her legs to run at four times the normal sprinting speed. Jane was all over Cass in a second of time, flashing a few kicks and punches to the gut, knocking Cass totally off balance to destroy any chance she once had of attacking Jane successfully. Jane knew that while the damage level on Rush Assault would be a little high for a person like Cass, the general idea would be used by virtually any other challenger. Judging from that earlier outburst of a reaction Cass had a minute ago, it was clear to Jane already that Cass wanted more than the brutal truth; she wanted Jane not to hold anything back anymore.
Cass found herself on her back, her sides and several other places bruised by painful hits Jane somehow managed to strike her with. How did Jane intercept that so easily? There was a lot of time she had to spend to get back up. Jane wasn''t continuing her attack, for there was still fair time and opportunity to allow Cass to learn and recover. She kept her sword in hand, still blazing with the fiery aura from the last spell. Apparently, the infusion lasts for quite some time, something Jane forgot to think about.
"Never start your run with a close range attack if you are not already at a close range. Your opponent with have way too much time to intercept and interrupt your run with something else. It makes your attack useless, and their opportunity to hit much more improved."
"And what about the spell?" Cass was still struggling to get back up, but she regained her balance the moment Jane began to evaluate the rest of Cass''s abilities.
Jane replied, "Crimson Blade. I like it. Nothing is wrong with the spell Cass. It''s how you use it that counts."
Taking it immediately to mind, Cass lifted her blazing sword again, charging at Jane once more. "Charge Attack!"
There were two major differences about Cass''s approach this time, and Jane had little time to detect them. First of all, Cass literally just went into another close range spell. Only this time, Jane didn''t back away very far after using Rush Assault, which already made the two of them in close proximity. Cass literally took Jane''s advice and used it a sentence after it was said. Now, instead of invoking Crimson Blade like before, Cass went with Charge attack, which is a basic version of a close-ranged free style combination skill. Her blade was still infused with a fiery aura though, which actually gave the ability in question a high advantage. Jane was already satisfied with the improvements, but decided to lower the damage to herself to keep this going longer.
After quickly charging her MP energy, Jane crossed her arms outward, projecting the magic around her entire body to create a perfect blue phasic aura that grew in power as it took the form of an auric shield. Jane''s personal power shield, capable of deflecting all damage, while using hexagonal energy displacement to show Jane how much damage is done in each deflection. Jane however timed her shielding aura carefully, making sure Cass would try to get one hit just before invoking it. Cass literally charged her blade into Jane''s shield from up top the moment the field was fully generated. Instead of slashing through the person, Cass wasn''t aware of what happened until after the blade bounced off the aura with an incredible reflective force, forming several small hexagons around the aura in the spot Cass struck her sword into. The screeching unique sound of the anti-aura deflection confused Cass, along with the knockback force the sword put itself through. Cass literally lost her balance again upon striking that unexpected shield, falling towards the ground as the blade already lost its fiery luster. Jane was impressed, after seeing that multiple hexagons appeared in such a small size. Smaller sized hexagons indicates higher damage deflection, meaning Cass put a ton of force into that charge attack. Without her shield just now, she would have landed a devastating hit worth the effort.
Taylor and Danny''s teeth showed through their opening bites upon witnessing Jane''s hidden power. They never got the chance yet to witness one of the several reasons of which Jane''s symbol made her nearly invulnerable. It wasn''t just about the skills, it was about that incredible protective aura. They watched as Jane enforced an energy shield around her entire body, with the faint translucent glow of blue light. The blade Cass tried to use was entirely useless, and Jane remained undamaged completely. After moving her arms, the shield dropped and collapsed on its own, leaving Jane to appear as normally as before.
"Whoa!" Danny cried!
"What the heck was that?!" Taylor couldn''t believe her own eyes. What is it that Jane just did? How did she invoke that kind of shield with so much energy? Jane''s MP reserves barely budged! Taylor wanted to interrupt the match just to ask, but she held herself back, trying to remain as polite and patient as possible. Several thoughts stirred in her head. Is that shield something Jane can invoke constantly? And if it is, is that same shield responsible for her increased survivability?
"What the¡ª" Cass choked. "That''s impossible!"
"Relax," Jane eased. "I promise I''m the only one who could do that, and I only shielded myself to keep the match going a little longer. No battling to the death, remember?"
"Why did you block it? I had a good combo going!"
Jane could hear the frustration in Cass, and she reassured Cass that nothing she did that time was off. "I for one agree. You managed to use close combat tactics at close range, and then apply a Charge Attack combo with a sword that was already infused with a fiery aura of magic. I had to shield myself because I thought the damage would actually become immense, and I was right to do so. I have no complaints to give for your Charge Attack idea. It''s perfect!"
Cass was hardly able to believe that Jane was already beginning to praise her for the success. But then why the shield? How did Jane even do that? How is it possible to completely block out an attack using magic? Nobody was teaching these things at Eldora''s elite academy.
"I hate to say it," Jane pondered, "but it''s almost like you think a little better when you get angry. Never thought you had it in you Cass."
"I don''t think making me angry makes me a better fighter."
Jane partially agreed. "Well it''s not everything, but it sure it a start. Having the right motivation to win any kind of battle is what helps us the most. You just need to find that motivation of yours." Jane charged up a little more energy, putting it all towards her right hand again to create another ice colored glyphring. "Ice Needles!" This time, using Ice Needles at point blank range would increase the amount of stinging pain and number of hits. Jane wasn''t trying to teach Cass anything with that ability alone. By using it at all while Cass wasn''t ready, it would have to begin making her blood boil. Jane needed to test her theory. How much better does Cass fight when she is actually angry or frustrated? Normally that isn''t the key to victory in a Leray match for anyone, but Cass just seems too gentle and shy to be a Leray fighter. If she had some more emotion and courage in her last fight, this may have been avoided in the first place.
After hitting Cass with several dozen shards of Ice Needles, her health declined again on the energy scope, and Cass screeched out in pain due to the close-ranged improvement on Jane''s end.
"That was uncalled for!" Cass immediately got herself back up, retaliating against Jane as quickly as she could with a different kind of spell. "Charger!" Cass infused MP energy into her hands, after which she leaped forward and took hold of Jane''s arms. For a brief moment it seemed like Cass just wanted to hold onto Jane, but after Cass''s hands released their energy, Jane was suddenly feeling the high voltage of the contact-based electrical attack, holding her in place for at least two long and painful seconds. Jane knew it was an electric attack, but she had never heard or seen that ability used before. Somehow, Cass was unharmed, meaning she was the outlet medium of the spell. Despite the pain and damage level of the attack, Jane was in fact most unimpressed by the style it employed.
Cass took a moment to back away, but Jane stood there with her arms crossed, getting over the pain of electrifying shocks quickly. "Now what kind of attack is that? Electrical attacks shouldn''t have to be so close-ranged to be used. Cass? I could have interrupted that attack at any moment I wanted to."
"Just shut up Jane!" Cass was already steaming in place, but she hardly changed her fighting stance at all.
Jane took it as evidence that Cass wanted to continue, and that would mean showing off a little more power in her own abilities. Jane knew what to do now, show Cass just how powerful a long ranged attack can remain while conserving much of her own MP energy. "Try something like this! Mako Strike!" Jane lifted both of her daggers immediately, releasing energy from the tips of each blade after aiming them at Cass. The reaction forced blue energy spheres of high power levels to shoot from the tips of the blades and fly towards Cass with a very high speed. She wasn''t even able to react or avoid it in time, the quick invocation of Jane''s Mako Strike was almost too impressive. Cass''s HP took a dramatic fall too because of how refined Jane''s skill became with recent practice.
Cass took each hit with the force pushing her back, struggling to keep balance on each leg, despite both two energy spheres slamming her chest or upper shoulder. While being forced to try and recover from the bruising blunt damage infused with the magic, Cass had to hear even more of Jane''s constant bragging.
"Simple spell, yet effective at any distance."
Cass didn''t reply with words. Instead, she directly repeated the plan of action in her mind. Cass pulled out her long sword from the hilt on her back, and held her hand close to the blade while releasing more magical energy. "Crimson Blade," she chanted confidently. The fiery glow of red flames and Leray energy had the long metal blade glowing again. "Yaaaaahhh!" Cass instinctively rushed in towards Jane like last time, assuming there would have to be some kind of way to bypass any of her tricks. By rushing in with her crimson sword blazing with fire, Cass would be able to strike Jane''s body with a ton of damage in her attack.
Jane nodded her head and put her arms apart again. After releasing magic in a way that was too natural for Jane to even think about, her power shield was up and running again, just before the powerful blade from Cass came crashing down from above, a repeated incident like before. Cass was pushed backwards once the entire force put into her sword was reflected back by the shield back into the blade. As soon as Jane successfully shielded herself from the attack, she immediately dropped her shield and counteracted the mistake with a penalty. "Earth Glave!" Jane lifted her open hand upwards to simulate the motion and direction of the Earth Glave attack, controlling the ground''s movement with her next spell. As the ground shot up right where Cass was originally standing, the force from that one hit alone launched her off the ground about four feet high, and she landed quite a distance backwards and further away from Jane. The ability was very successful to interrupt Cass''s actions and deal a ton of damage to her in the process. Was she going to have to learn how to fight the hard way?
"Damn," Danny cursed. The entire scene he kept such close eyes on only played out in Jane''s favor. Did she know to hold back just a little? Cass wasn''t getting any second chances for the moment. He also contemplated all of Jane''s skills and abilities. Several of which he remembered seeing before, but they dealt so much damage and knockback force that it was hardly believable. She moves so quickly and elegantly. Nothing about Jane was lacking in confidence, and Cass was just getting the floor mopped with her own body.
Jane relaxed her stance, realizing that Cass was trying to pick herself up off the ground. It was clear that she was in a lot of pain from the last attack, since Earth Glave delivers a powerful blunt force of earth elemental damage with severe kinetic force involved. Hitting the ground on this pavement likely knocked the wind out of Cass. Jane began to wonder how she knew of all these little techniques to battle. She did learn them in school, the rest self-taught, but only when they were put into actual practice did they stick with her automatically for battle situations. Such things must be practiced first hand until they become repetitive. Cass needs to learn this the hard way, or she will never learn at all. Jane walked forward towards Cass casually, but also slowly. She didn''t charge in or rush ahead.
Cass could see Jane approaching her from her peripheral sight, and as slow as Jane was being, it was really scary. Jane was just casually approaching her while she was down, unwilling to hold back her own power. Cass knew that she would be worm food soon if nothing was done. She quickly thought of the ideas, only getting the right one in her head the moment Jane was but two meters away from her. Cass remained on her knees, not bothering to stand up for the next easy ability. Her invocation was lightning fast, and only required a single percentile of her MP energy. "Shining Bracer!"
Cass''s spell was invoked immediately, shooting an omnidirectional aura outward from her body in all directions. Jane was hit by the nearly invisible force from only a meter away, pushing her back far and fast enough to screw up her momentum. Cass immediately took advantage of the situation and stood up while Jane was down, and upon regaining her movement and stance, she invoked her next attack spell before Jane could recover.
But Jane was much faster than Cass previously thought. She figured that using Shining Bracer, (a non-damaging omnidirectional Push Wave) was a good tactic to deflect her odd approach. Instead of landing flat on the ground, Jane braced for her fall, pushing herself back off the ground with her hands and legs the moment of the impact. Instead of falling or taking damage, Jane swiftly flipped back to her original stance, using more energy to counteract the Push Wave before Cass could get a chance for retaliation. "Crystal Arrow!"
Jane heard a slight echo in her voice as Jane invoked her skill, creating a yellow glyphring in her hands to form the bow and arrow. There was little time to think or react; Jane simply drew back her arrow and fired at Cass as quickly as she could. Only after releasing her arrow did Jane realize that the echo was another voice belonging to Cass.
Danny and Taylor watched as Jane and Cass attacked each other with the same exact ability by pure coincidence. Amazingly, both of the released arrows shot from their bows impacted on each other instead of their intended targets. Jane''s arrow tip flew into Cass''s arrow tip, causing both of the arrows to explode and shatter halfway through the air. Both Cass and Jane were mildly surprised by what just happened, and both of them thought of a rebuttal attack as quickly as possible.
Cass was the first one to the door, immediately releasing a ton of energy into one of her more effective area attacks. "Kill Wave!" Cass could see on Jane''s face the surprise and confusion. She must not have ever dealt with an attack like this one before, not that she could dodge it anyway. Cass released her spell, invoking several non-elemental energy spheres to form in six random places, all of which effectively surrounded Jane from different arcs and angles. The attack itself was quick and relentless, giving Jane nothing but confusion while the energy spheres quickly homed in on Jane''s location, all six of them slamming into her at the same time from multiple sides. There was never a good method to evade the spheres no matter what. Jane could have used that cheating power shield trick of hers, but it didn''t appear as if she was expecting anything like Kill Wave.
Jane was launched off her feet again, and though her landing wasn''t very rough; the heated pain and disorientation from the high amount of explosive damage left her wondering where Cass had that strength before. After carefully standing back up in the most cautious form she could try, Jane read the energy scope status on both of them, realizing that Kill Wave takes up a lot of MP energy just for a normal person to invoke. It would make sense to why Cass''s skills won''t be as effective in a real fight if she runs herself out of energy too soon, but Jane had no advice to give her with regards to energy tracking. She personally has the advantage that nobody else does.
"Now the real fight begins," Jane muttered. Cass did have secret abilities that she had been holding back. The reason wasn''t obvious though, other than the original idea that their high cost in energy was responsible for turning the tables against herself. Jane reacted with a quick charge attack, rushing in towards Cass while pulling her daggers. She didn''t start out close or far away from Cass, failing taking her own advice with close-ranged attacks, but Jane was confident about her methods of dealing quick damage in the process of her close combat style. After getting close to Cass, Jane infused magical energy into her short blades, slashing them into her opponent''s skin after Cass failed to interrupt in any manner. It seemed to Jane already that Cass had some poor evasion training, therefore she also had a rather sorry excuse for a magic teacher. Jane tried not to think about things too much while attacking. Her daggers strikes took off large amounts of health from Cass, coaxing Jane to end this sequence early with a crystal arrow. Instead of standing still to invoke the spell, Jane chanted its name before performing a complete backflip to get some extra distance between herself and Cass. It wasn''t as if Cass was good to interrupt Jane''s actions. She was too fast for Cass to try it. Jane launched her Crystal Arrow the moment her feet landed on the pavement, successfully piercing Cass''s stomach and adding to the damage in the entire combination.
"They''re really getting into it," Taylor observed. What started out as a practice battle was already turning into a real and more official battle. Still, nobody activated the Siriean dome. If Jane or Cass were to accidentally use a full area attack, it would wreck everything in range.
Jane no longer cared about giving Cass advice. She was too involved in the fight to think about everything else. Ironically, Cass was reacting the same way, getting back up even from a painful combo such as that one and continuing to fight without hesitation.
"Tri-Attack!" Cass released more of her MP energy, this time forming three of the common elemental glyphrings in places surrounding Jane from all sides. The skill launched a Fire Ball from the fire glyphring, an Ice Ball from the ice glyphring, and a Thunderbolt from the electrical glyphring, successfully striking Jane in the right places at the right time to prevent her from shielding herself in time or evading a single one of the attacks.
Jane could only stand there and take elemental damage while the Thunderbolt zapped her in place for the Ice Ball and Fire Ball to slam into her body afterwards, rushing a strong sensation of hot and cold successively. Jane didn''t expect Cass to so quickly adapt her personal Tri-Attack to the average standards of how it is used. She already missed Cass''s first Tri-Attack, except for the Knife Toss and the Gauntlet Punch. Watching Cass shoot two Fire Balls from both arms with two glyphrings at the same time wasn''t effective in damage, though it still looked really cool.
Reacting as quickly as she could recover, Jane went into her next long range attack, hoping to scrape off a lot more health from Cass''s stamina level. "Tri-Fire!" Jane''s glyphring formed instantly, as did the bolts of fire cannon their way from the rotating disk of magic wrapped around Jane''s wrist. This time, Cass could see the Fire Bolts heading her way early, and she immediately reacted to the situation. Cass got down to the ground rolling sideways to avoid the first impact. The Fire Bolt burned the pavement where Cass originally was, only for the second one to head her way. Cass rolled to the other side again to avoid the second Fire Bolt, allowing the projectile to fly off towards the sky. The third Fire Bolt however came at Cass too quickly for a reaction, burning her skin as it directly smashed her face in with its powerful force.
Jane was impressed with how quickly Cass dodged more than half the entire spell. While it was a long-range skill, it appeared that Cass did indeed have a good level of training and evasion skills after all. So that means style and application were the issues. The damage done to Cass was very light in response to dodging most of the Fire Bolts. Though the fiery sensation hitting her in the face looked like it had Cass a bit tied up at the moment.
"There''s gotta be something I''m not weak against!" Cass begged. She got herself back up, holding her face from the painful burst of fire that threatened to burn her from before.
Jane finally snapped herself out of the intense trance, realizing that she was supposed to be giving more advice to Cass, and evaluating her current skills. "You''re doing a good job right now. Keep it coming."
"Okay then," Cass mumbled quietly. While charging up a ton of her remaining energy, Cass thought long and hard about the next skill she wanted to invoke. "I''ve gotta beat her. I''ve gotta show Jane that no matter how hard I try, I''m never going to win long fights in the end. Still, I''ll pull out my best. I''ll pull out my strongest spells."
"What are ya waiting for?" Jane teased. It almost sounded like Cass was mumbling something, but they were both far apart from each other right now. Jane couldn''t be certain if she was just hearing things. Right now, Cass, Jane, Danny, and Taylor are the only ones in visual sight.
Cass continued talking to herself, trying her hardest to invoke her best spell yet, but it wasn''t easy, and she had only ever managed to make it happen once in front of her instructor. "Come out from the darkness and lend your strength to me. Come forth from the light and bind my will with yours! Massife!" Cass hollered the name of the spell at the top of her lungs while her right hand held high above her own body, trying desperately to make this work in her favor without screwing up the invocation. She began releasing her magic, forming a yellow glyphring in the sky that was so incredibly large and powerful that it momentarily blocked out the sunlight despite being transparent. The glyphring in question was about the diameter of an average Siriean dome, though it hovered aiming vertically towards the ground just above the entire bridge. At the same moment Cass finished the invocation part of her spell, she and Jane noticed on her energy scope that all of her high amounts of MP energy immediately dropped to zero percent.
Jane became frozen by surprise. She had no idea what was going on, nor did she understand why or how a spell like this could even exist. The glyphring in the sky was massive, and its yellow color was an early indication that something from that glyphring is about to form out of nowhere, materializing into this physical realm. And so it happened, after several bright large particles came together to form an ominous shape, the spell materialized a creature unbelievable to everybody''s eyes.
Jane refused to believe it. She had never seen anything like this before. Though Jane faintly remembered something about this from her textbooks back at Dakota, and a few legendary spells as seen in collector''s movies. This isn''t an attack spell. It''s a summon!
Cass cheered for her own success, "Yes!" She watched brilliantly and awestruck as the incredibly large scaly drake emerged from the yellow glyphring. The summon glyphring faded quickly, but the large drake did not. Weighing up to several thousand tons in weight, the large flying creature blocked out the sunlight directly as it began to soar overhead everyone. It''s a very rare spell, something that Cass should never be able to use at her own skill level, but everyone has a secret edge they can use in battle, something they need to learn to give them their own unique style. This one belonged to Cass herself.
Jane felt if there was ever a time to piss herself during a battle, it was now. What did Cass yell? Massife? Massife isn''t a spell that anyone else is supposed to know, not unless the person is one of the elite members of Eldora Tower. Jane knew much less about the spell than Cass did obviously. It''s a summon that creates a large drake with its own unique Leray abilities and its own health levels. A person fighting a summon in the middle of battle must watch out for the powers of the incredible creature and the user as well. Right now, Cass is in full control of this dragon. *ROOOOAAAARRR!*
The screeching sound of the beast''s battle cry got into everyone''s ears while creating an earthquake from the vibrational sound alone, but Cass was smiling with her renewed hope. "Now! Creature of the flame, target Jane Venn with your ultimate powers!"
Jane took several nervous steps backwards. She could not pretend to feel anything or act out to help boost Cass''s confidence right now, because her fear became fully real. That dragon is incredibly large and scary, and it powers could range from anywhere on attack power. The beast could literally burp something out that would instantly slay any target on the field, and Cass had already announced who the target was today. Jane also had problems contemplating why Cass never tried to invoke this spell any sooner. How could a person with basic training possess this much power, let alone lose to some dupe named Gustos? None of this makes any sense!
Even more surprising, Cass allowed the monster to support its own energy scope, which is only fair considering it would be impossible to beat. The holographic box displayed above the beast''s head, appearing larger to fit the scale and size difference while following and tracking the creature elegantly through the air. The energy scope of the creature has a yellow color instead of standard orange, apparent for all Leray based summons.
Danny and Taylor were both as afraid for Jane as she was for herself, amazed with their eyes glued to the quick flying dragon with incredible scaly textures for a fortified body. They kept a close eye on the creature and Jane, now hoping Jane would survive this instead of Cass, but they also worried for themselves. Right now, there is no Siriean dome between the challengers, and this gives that Flare Drake plenty of air space to fly around. Even if Cass doesn''t target anything but Jane, friendly fire here could be devastating.
Cass was controlling the dragon in real time, which is technically something that doesn''t need to be done once the skill has been mastered further. Cass''s brown eyes were being transformed in color to bright glowing yellow from the magical connection, another phenomenon related to Leray magic. So it means this ability is in fact new to Cass, but nobody was able to do anything from there. Jane was too shocked to move, and Cass immediately went forward with her next plan of action. She appeared to be dancing, pulling in and whooshing her hands in different directions in odd movements that were familiar only to the Flare Drake. Upon ordering a simple action, the dragon roared again, only to change its course towards the ground and swoop in towards Jane.
Jane didn''t know what was about to happen for certain, but the large dragon was now swooping down directly towards her without a glint of weakness in its mobility and dexterity. Jane became ten times more nervous than before, too fearful of immediate power shield failure to go with the solution of blocking out the unknown attack. Instead, Jane ran and rolled into the ground at the last moment, hoping those gigantic razor sharp claws would not immediately incapacitate her.
Taylor couldn''t believe what was going on. In the moment Jane attempted to dodge the attack, all she could see next was the gigantic creature fly right over the bottom off the bridge, scraping its claws through the pavement and chomping down its legendary fangs in a failed attempt to literally eat Jane whole. Jane wasn''t anywhere near the mouth, but Taylor could still believe that those claws nearly grazed her in the process. The monster was so incredibly strong that without even a slight decrease in its momentum, the claws that scrapped the surface of the bridge drew large cracks into the pavement, immediately weakening the structure''s upper layers. Jane was nowhere to be seen until the large creature unfolded its wings to push itself higher again, revealing Jane.
Jane was unharmed, but she could feel the near miss of the rush of wind scathing right by her back as the dragon''s swoop missed her my an inch. Jane was sort of safe for now, but it wouldn''t be long until that creature shows off some other unique tactic. That dragon can no doubt use Leray magic that has the same power as its jaws. Cass should have just pulled this bad boy out in her last battle. She would have won hands down!
Cass continued her odd hand movements, getting the dragon to gain altitude while turning around towards Jane again. The dragon was quick to react, heating up the moisture in its mouth to thousands of degrees, until it finally spat two large Fire Bolts towards the ground. Again directed only for Jane, she was in immediate danger. The dragon continued circling the field, waiting for the impossible Fire Bolts the size of half the entire battlefield to explode into the pavement. Jane however finally got her nerve back and reacted with her best defense.
"Power Shield!" After shooting the energy from her hands as quickly as possible, Jane formed the powerful auric bubble around herself again, but despite being inside of a magical capsule, the impact of each Fire Bolt shook the entire bridge. Jane nearly stumbled in the turbulence in the ground that threatened to shake this place apart. Danny and Taylor were probably backing behind her just from the residual heat of that blast, which nearly tore down her own power shield too. Didn''t Cass understand that she was going to cause damage to the bridge?
The moment each flare slammed into Jane''s shield, she immediately felt too weak to keep it up. The ground beneath Jane turned into a bowl of damaged cracks and fractures spreading everywhere. The shield around Jane failed to hold its integrity together, despite that massive attack being done and over with. Jane was immediately weak, after deflecting an impossible attack; the most powerful Fire Bolts anyone had ever seen before.
Jane was trying to recover after shield failure, which occurred not a moment too soon. She tried spotting the dragon in the sky again. It was coming back for another attack run. It was risky and likely prone to not working at all, but Jane prepared herself and her concentration.
Cass continued her hand motions, repeating the first one from earlier. "Hah!" The dragon began to swoop down again, flying directly for Jane while she could only stand there and hope to survive it.
Jane was ready, and after charging up enough energy, she released the power of her refined spell through her own aura. "Quantum Beam!" Jane launched the beam towards the sky by clapping both hands forward and together, aiming for the dragon just as it began to descend towards her. The beam''s radius in comparison was only about the size of the creature''s entire face. Though despite that, the impact happened fast, pushing enough magical force on the dragon to immediately stop its descent and create a reaction from it all.
Cass was stuck, unable to process what was happening or how. Jane''s Quantum Beam continuously pounded on the dragon, pushing it back and making the creature squeal in pain. The stats on its own energy scope declined at a rate so fast it had Cass''s head spinning, until the beam attack had finally disintegrated.
Just as the health stats hit zero for the Flare Drake, the creature began to dematerialize back into the particles of light it was before, dispersing into millions of invisible microscopic chunks of dust. In just one hit, the beast was defeated, the summon reversed in front of everyone''s eyes. As for Cass, her yellow glowing eyes were forced to return to their dull brown state.
"Noooo!" Cass didn''t want to believe that was the end of it. Summons can be used in any Leray match, but there is a catch to the ability. It can only be invoked once per battle, more specific to elapsed time than actual battle numbers. To be more precise, the immense strain it puts on a physical body makes it impossible to invoke the summon again for several hours of time. That Flare Drake cannot be recalled again for a long duration. Once someone defeats the summon, it''s gone for the rest of the battle. The only way to win a battle without defeating the summoned creature is to incapacitate the person controlling that summon, which also defeats whatever creature is used in the spell afterwards.
Jane honestly did not expect one of her weaker abilities to so easily destroy the summon that comes from Massife. Quantum Beam is supposed to be powerful, but Jane never really got its power level to live up to the name until now. Either that, or the summon''s defense was the weakness all along. Then again, Quantum Beam is technically an aura based magical attack, and there is some rumor that aura spells are more effective against Leray summons than other magic attacks are, alongside of the proven effectiveness of spirit elemental magic versus Leray summons. Jane was still in utter shock that she alone had to face and destroy a powerful summon for the first time in her entire life, but Cass was not celebrating the loss of her most powerful secret weapon. Instead of commemorating the person who had the power to do so, Cass decided to particularly win her own battle, forgetting completely about the match being used for practice purposes only.
Despite much of her energy being totally spent, Cass still somehow found a way through her own rage to charge up another strong spell, one that she had to take some time to invoke. Jane eventually saw it coming, but there would not be an escape from it. "I''ll teach you to mess with Massife. Mega-Flare!" After unleashing the very last of her remaining energy, Cass managed to create the conditions for her Mega-Flare spell despite the invocation being slightly underpowered. The aerial glyphring forming the light screen attack began to unleash its might, suddenly flashing everything within range.
Mega-Flare is a powerful and commonly known ability. Jane had seen at least one beginner before Cass being capable of invoking this particular spell, so it wasn''t nearly as surprising as the Massife summon. The spell is basically one big explosion of light waves carrying loads of heat. Despite the burning crispy sensation it gives people, the damage type is non-elemental magic. Cass must have recharged her MP in the time she was commanding her summon, enough for this costly spell.
The moment the light faded away, Cass noticed several more mistakes on her part. Jane was perfectly shielded in her bubble again. Only just after the attack was over, the shield collapsed around Jane, making her suddenly weak and fragile. It took Cass several moments to realize that even for Jane, that powerful shield drains much of her energy too, but the other mistake happened in the background. Danny and Taylor were frantically complaining, after trying to rub off the damage done to them as well. Without the Siriean dome in place to protect the spectators, Danny and Taylor felt the full power of the attack too, and they didn''t seem too happy about it. Luckily for them, their bikes were somehow left undamaged to say the least. Cass cooled herself down a little for the apology. "Sorry! I won''t try that again!" Jane glanced behind her to confirm what had happened, but shortly returned to the battle. What else could Jane really comment on anymore? Why did she still want to continue fighting out until the end, after clearly stating otherwise? Cass still didn''t care too much about it. Beating Jane is the most important thing right now.
Jane recovered from her short loss in stamina. That Mega-Flare was a little more powerful than what Jane was used to, and her shield didn''t hold up to it very well. After a quick examination, it seemed that Cass was totally dry on MP energy, so she has to be really tired and exhausted by now. She fakes a good expression otherwise. If Cass''s movements are limited by fatigue of the battle... Jane already had the next idea for a great attack, one perfectly fit for something that cannot backfire on anyone outside the boundary area, nor will it cause physical damage to the bridge.
"Star of Darkness!" The immediate moment Jane''s energy charged into her hands again, they began to glow in their aura of magical build up. Only this time, Jane''s hands were letting off a vibrant red glow instead of the usual blue that emits with the buildup of random Leray energy. After casting her spell towards the ground where Cass was standing, the circular star formation began to form again. Jane focused carefully on the creation and control of her own spell, making sure the invocation was successful all the way through.
After the symbol formed under Cass''s feet, it was already too late to attempt an evasion. The circle and the star shaped symbol on the pavement suddenly shot out its own bright holographic glow of light, trapping Cass inside of an invisible aura while draining all of her health. Star of Darkness drains one''s physical stamina as well, something Cass was already lacking. Cass wanted to try and retaliate, but she quickly realized a mistake. Her MP levels were at most charged to only 1%, and there wasn''t an ability out there using only one percent, not one that is useful in this situation.
Jane watched as Cass''s health drained quickly in the red circle under her feet; 38%... 37%... 36%... The numbers declined quickly in the health section of Cass''s energy scope, while Danny and Taylor watched with much suspense in their hearts. Jane was sure and confident that she had already won. By now, Cass will eventually give up the match. It''s kind of hard to help someone and give them advice when they''re trying to knock her out, but this last hit should do the trick. Jane finished the long durational move with one last signature Lightning Strike from an aerial glyphring, slamming the rest of Cass''s HP down much further. While the circle and the star was fading, Jane could see the incredible drain and stress suddenly placed on Cass, who could no longer fake being tired and worn down.
Cass never felt so drained before. Even in the last match she lost against, no spell worked this way like Star of Darkness. Nevertheless, Cass still felt like continuing, and her health was still far from single digit numbers. Her MP levels were slowly but surely climbing for one more useful technique, something her teacher had shown her in the tight months of training, something effective only after being dealt a heavy blow. "Return Fire!" Having to use all of her MP once again, Cass made sure it was an ability that would work. Though she wasn''t even aware of what was going to happen next.
Return Fire is a unique ability, free-form magic styled randomly based on the last few previous attacks taken, as well as power levels based on the same thing in return. Cass had used Return Fire before against elemental spells, only to return a more powerful blast of elemental spells with the same signature of damage in them. What would the response be used just after being hit with a Star of Darkness spell? The trick is to use it when getting close to defeat, in order to maximize its effectiveness. Cass managed to invoke the spell, immediately forcing some sort of shadowy dark aura to fire in the form of projectiles from nearly invisible glyphrings forming in front of her. The projectiles themselves were very hard to see as well, and traveled in spiral paths towards Jane. Cass didn''t know what to expect from it, and neither did Jane.
Because of how quickly the unknown projectiles shot forward, and because of how hard they were to see, Jane didn''t know how to evade, or whether using another shield would be a good idea. In her own confusion, Jane missed the window of opportunity to prevent taking damage, and was slammed by the invisible force. Though in the form of projectiles, the magical attack lifted Jane off her own feet, making her land on her back again while dealing a severe blow to her health.
It was clear to Jane now that Cass still wanted some more, but she didn''t want to incapacitate Cass either, because then it could be a long wait just to revive her. Jane got herself back up, realizing the spell that slammed her dealt a lot more damage than it did to cause any pain, meaning it was pure magical damage with no other properties. After standing again, Jane saw the confident glimmer still in her opponent''s eye. Would Cass really quit if Jane asked her to? One more Lightning Strike would do well to be sure. If Cass doesn''t back down from less health than fifteen percent, then she''s crazy. Then again, Jane would never do the same either after everything she had to face in Alpha Zero.
Jane charged more energy into her hands, causing them to glow with a red radiant color again. While attempting to cast another lightning spell, Jane thought back about the spell used against her in the dark zone. Its technical name is Voltage, something that had a lot of power, and stung at the end. For whatever reason, Voltage and Lightning Strike are practically the same exact spell, other than the spells formation and color. With Voltage, the bolt of electricity is a deep red color instead of the usual blue, but Jane thought nothing of it for now, instead casting her next attack. "Voltage!" she cried. Jane''s magic created not one, but two red glyphrings floating high above where Cass was standing, each aiming at her vertically with separate angles. It was just a burst moment afterwards for the red lightning bolts to come flying down from each glyphring. They only zapped Cass for a second of time, only for the spell to end there. Jane believed the spell wasn''t cast correctly, but for some odd reason, Cass was already down on her knees, breathing heavily just to struggle through consciousness. The glyphrings faded already, but something was wrong. Jane began with the changed energy scope.
Cass felt a dizziness come over her, but the stinging pain localized everywhere in her body was even stronger than that. An electrical attack never hurt like this before, but Cass couldn''t scream. She couldn''t yell or complain. She could barely lift her head and look straight with all of the weight, she never felt so drained in her entire life. Only this battle had this effect on her.
"Shit!" Jane called. "Stop the match!" A second passed for Jane to realize that asking to stop wasn''t a necessary gesture, since there was no Siriean dome to ward away in the first place, but that didn''t matter. While jogging towards Cass to help her, Jane immediately thought about the mistake she made in her blind distraction. It wasn''t something she fully understood even right now, but the results said something about the differences. Lightning Strike and Voltage can''t be the same! Her spell did a lot more damage than intended, and for some reason it set Cass into critical condition. Her energy scope was reacting in a solid red color to warn everyone that she was in danger of falling asleep and not waking back up. Jane suffered something very similar to this, during that battle with Patrissa. Vital Drain and Critical Condition status are both very similar, but the difference for having a critical condition means one is in danger whether or not they take any additional damage, and immediate healing is advised. Though much other detail was mired in mystery to Jane''s knowledge of the difference between those two conditions. Cass isn''t being forced to fight at all, and she still appears to be hanging on to whatever she has left keeping her awake. She sure didn''t look like she could fight anymore.
Danny and Taylor rushed in to help resolve the issue too, though neither one of them could understand entirely why Cass was in serious trouble. Jane fiddled with her supply sphere to pull out more healing orbs, trying to make them work on Cass. "Sorry about that Cass!" Jane apologized. "That wasn''t the right spell I meant to use."
While finally coaxing the healing orb to activate in Cass''s hands with its potent glow, Danny tried to understand what mistake Jane was talking about. "What spell? What''s going on?"
Jane didn''t look back or answer to anyone else. She only wanted to make sure that Cass could recover from the last strike without any problems. As soon as the light from the orb began to fade, the numbers on the energy scope quickly zoned into higher levels. The color of the energy scope in question had also returned to its original color of orange a few seconds later.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mine 24 [A+B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Cass managed to shake off the drag immediately after she was healed, feeling rejuvenated in just seconds of having a healing orb''s magic melt into her body. The sting of that last attack still lingered partially, but not enough to bother her too much. Cass tried to stand up, and she had Jane''s support trying to lift her. Cass couldn''t understand exactly what just happened, but she didn''t remember winning her match at all.
Seeing that Cass was finally making her recovery and already on her feet, Jane decided it was okay to calm down now, and apologized again for her stupid mistake. "I thought that maybe Voltage was a spell similar to Lightning Strike, but I should have tested that on something else first."
"Where did you even learn the spell?" Taylor requested.
Jane didn''t hesitate in her answer. She didn''t even realize that she picked it up at all, but after observing the matrix of the magic in full use against herself, it became clear as to what kind of magic the turret structure invoked before. "Alpha Zero. Voltage is some different version of a Lightning Strike spell. I''m guessing it''s much stronger than I thought."
"You''ve been to the Alpha Zero?"
Jane, Taylor, and Danny all turned to Cass with somewhat guilty expressions, realizing that Jane forgot to filter some code words. Jane had every intention of hiding her secrets even from Cass as long as this mission seems possible. If Cass discovers what is really going on and blabs it to more people, everything will crumble. Jane won''t even be able to try to stop the spread of the evil above Lennith City. Jane didn''t know where to begin though. She didn''t want to lie to Cass, but how would she be able to now?
Realizing that the question brought up something awkward between them, Cass immediately came to the conclusion for the reason Jane was so different. "No wonder I lost. You''re one of those special recon forces they send to Alpha Zero, right?" Still met with no answer, Cass continued making judgments while smashing what was left of her own confidence. "I''m just not cut out for fighting it seems."
"What?!" Danny and Taylor both blurted of surprise at once, while Jane took swift initiative in proving Cass wrong. Though what was said about Jane being a special scout; that one can just slide for now.
"Mhm-hm! None of that Cass!" Jane hugged both of Cass''s arms again, wondering if this was making her more or less comfortable. "I think all three of us can agree that you do already have several strong points that even I was not prepared for."
Danny shifted his position slightly to demand attention from Cass. "You''ve gotta show me how to summon a dragon like that. I''ll need some power if I want to defeat Jane soon."
Jane chuckled under her breath at the thought. He''s always dreaming big. Massife is an incredible skill to invoke, but Jane thought once again back to how quickly a single attack defeated the enemy. "That must have been your second or third time using Massife."
Cass immediately took the look of surprise. Jane and her friends were simply trying to give her more advice like before, and she dared to hear her out. "How could you possibly know that?"
Jane let go of Cass''s arms to explain in detail from her best understanding. "Well the Flare Drake had power. I mean, look at the mess we made behind me." Jane was referring to the large circular cracks in the cement that would have to be repaired soon. Luckily, nobody would have to know who did that damage. "But the creature''s defense wasn''t nearly as tough as it looked. I''ve heard about some of the property effects of summons used in battles. From what I hear, invoking a summon over consecutively increases either its attack power or defense over time, depending on what creature calls from the summon."
"You mean," Cass briefly paused to put the details together. "By using Massife more often, your Quantum Beam¡ª"
"Would have been useless," Jane finished. "I would have been Swiss cheese. You''ve got several hidden spells that are very powerful, spells I didn''t think a beginner would have. And the order you use them to change the tide in battle is an effective strategy too."
"Then what am I doing wrong?" Cass begged with a whiny tone.
"You know how to invoke your spells just fine." Jane comprehended the possible reason for every other mistake Cass had ever made, and the truth was obvious. "But you don''t know how to fight. Physical combat training is just as important as magical training. Most people tend to pick it up in the same process - and their fine, but people like you and I need that extra kick to give us a level ground."
"Us?"
Jane had no issues comparing herself and Cass; she knew she was correct in her theories. "I had a great teacher for magic, but before that, I learned how to fight physically first. Close combat maneuvers, evasion therapy, coordination mapping, and the basic rules of what not to do in combat, as well as when to do things to not mess up the timing."
Cass continued her arguments straightforward. "But I don''t have that kind of skill."
"All you have to do is learn it," Jane encouraged. "After that, just keep putting some of your more powerful skills to use, and you''ll be fine on the field. See if you can''t get funding for Lennith''s academy. There will be a two month waiting period soon, but they have great classes and great instructors."
Taylor kept silent while trying to imagine exactly how Jane managed to squeeze her way into the facility there in the first place. Jane couldn''t have gotten enough money to get in, and the same problem might hit Cass upside the head. "I thought your spells were cool, both of you actually."
Jane had forgotten already that there was a long time gap in her new skill development while Danny and Taylor were out. So they didn''t know anything about a power shield, or the reason she was capable of invoking such a shield. But it could not be denied that Cass had some potential in her as well. They must teach a tough curriculum in Eldora City.
Cass couldn''t believe how low she thought of herself before now. There was only one thing she was missing all along, and it was doable to train herself to acquire that skill. But there was still the matter of money and funds. "I can''t get into Lennith without the credits. I had six thousand taken from me by that man who forced me to fight."
"Six thousand!" Taylor''s jaw dropped, and she sensed Danny soon to faint.
Jane thought of a really quick plan regarding the best way to resolve this situation. They owe Cass that much since that money was taken unfairly. You can''t just force someone or blackmail them into battling to take all of their possessions. It''s dead wrong! "We''ll find Gustos and get your money back. Actually, I have a better idea. I''ll give you six grand right now, and get the six grand back from the man who took from you."
Cass waved her hands left and right. "Oh no-no-no-no! You don''t have to do¡ª"
Jane didn''t let Cass finish the sentence. She wouldn''t accept letting a thief like that go, and it was Cass''s money after all. "Too late for me to change my mind. That guy is loaded anyway. I''ll challenge him to a battle, make it seem normal with high steaks, and then I''ll simply regenerate my own six thousand from the money I''m giving back to you now. This way, you don''t have to wait on heading to Lennith City."
Cass stared into Jane''s confident eyes, and then saw that Danny and Taylor were back to one mind again with the same subject. They really were with Jane, but Cass could not have imagined that there were so many good people in the world to counter the bad. Suddenly it felt rude to imagine saying no. "Okay, but if you can''t find him, I must insist on returning the credits."
"Nonsense." Jane stepped closer to Cass, who gave Jane her license card. Jane held her license card to Cass''s, invoking the transfer of funds directly. The cards use technological RFID chips inside of them, along with more invisible magical signature rules Jane didn''t understand directly. Her card currently had 7800 credits on hand, but Jane literally drained her own card six thousand credits down to help Cass out. She would need that going to a new place. Jane''s card was drained down to 1800 credits after the transfer. But before it started, Jane could see that Cass''s card was currently drained to just a hundred credits above zero. Gustos robbed this poor girl blind. "We''ll find him." Jane made a promise to herself as she did to Cass. People like that don''t deserve a license in the first place. The very thought of that man had Jane quickly burning red in the face with anger.
"There you go." Jane handed the card back to Cass, who now has a lot of credits to work with. Jane had much less by now, but it wouldn''t matter in the end. "You go on to Lennith. I can take care of the stubborn idiots on this bridge."
"I can''t thank you enough Jane. I''ll have to run on now - or I''ll be late. Be sure to destroy Gustos for me." Cass wasn''t too eager to leave them. She very much wanted to be around Jane''s friends longer, but they have business in Eldora City, while she had her own in Lennith. Still, it felt odd that some random girl would be a scout for Alpha Zero, let alone a scout who managed to survive. Nothing about this was put in the news.
"Bye Cass!" Taylor waved. "Don''t forget about us now." Waiting for Cass to wave back heading in the other direction, Taylor thought a lot about how strange this day was getting for her.
Cass waved back and proceeded on foot towards the opposite direction her rival would be traveling. She would have a lot more to think about now, but Jane accepted the most likely possibility that she would see herself as something more. Cass could even achieve Jane''s pipe dream someday, if luck be on her side, but with this crest inside of her, Jane''s dreams are shattered on her own. "Let''s get going," Jane edged. She began walking back towards the bikes, which were luckily undamaged by the unprotected battle that just occurred here. "We have to stay on track to make sure people like Cass aren''t swallowed by the dark zone."
"It''s not even expanding that fast," Taylor reminded. How many months did they say were left for Lennith City? Claudia said something about evacuating the place within eight weeks, right? How fast does Jane have to be to get this done?
"But it will one day. I''m making sure I don''t waste a single moment." Never know what could happen. It only takes one day for everything to fall to ruin, much less than that for other situations. Looking blankly at the top of her right hand, Jane knew that better than anybody. "We''ll head for Eldora, and find this Gustos on the way there." While mounting on her bike, Jane''s followers were doing the same, preparing to ride out further. As the daytime got even older, the sun positioned overhead was still shining brightly while drifting further away in the sky. It felt like an eternity of time had passed, but it couldn''t have been a full hour.
Before any three of them actually began to ride off, Danny addressed something verbally to Jane. "I know that you''re planning to get that money back from Gustos, if we can find him. Though I''m still a little surprised that you so easily trusted the situation enough to give Cass that much of her credits, especially when you know how important that money is to us as well."
Jane refused to believe that Danny was actually complaining that this was a bad idea, to give six thousand to Cass for assistance. Though he was right to state it was a risk, Jane knew why he said those words. "Nobody deserves to have their credits taken, and I do trust Cass enough for this."
"I know that," Danny repeated. Jane was still missing the point. "I just think it''s honorable that you did that without even hesitating. Yet before this Eldora business we now have, you told us that you were behaving in the opposite manner."
Jane''s throat tightened while she maintained her expression facing away from Danny and towards the path to Eldora. Danny wasn''t wrong. Jane did a good thing, and she was going to carry out the second half of it by destroying Gustos. But when her mind was dead set on reversing this spell bomb curse of the prototype symbol, Jane knew that she would have never done that, sacrifice the potential of removing her symbol to help someone out. Did her need to remove this crest on her hand really overpower her entire character as Danny suggested? Is that what he meant earlier in Lennith City during their private conversation?
Jane used to hate herself for being so weak before, losing battle after battle, but Cass was just like her at one point in time. All she needed was more training. For Cass, her dreams are much more possible of becoming true than it is for Jane. Strong now as Jane is, a victory against the champion with this crest under Jane''s skin just doesn''t count in her books, but it will be enough for one day of leadership. Gustos will have to be wiped out, something Jane will have to search for. After all, that entire ordeal just drained six thousand credits from her card. So now, Gustos owes her money instead of Cass, a big mistake he has made.
Jane''s thoughts inevitably returned again to her own future after comparing herself to Cass. After Alpha Zero is destroyed, what will be left of her own career? Jane couldn''t say anything about it, unable to think clearly. Instead, she mounted on her bike and signaled for her friends to continue their lost momentum. "Let''s keep going before it gets dark. We have a city to reach and a criminal to punish."
Chapter 39-C: Battle Streak (Part 1 ~ Jane VS Liam)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 18:37 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Only seven minutes had to pass before Danny and Taylor became used to the environment around them again, speaking above the silence to learn much more. With the sunny day still affecting the area, everyone on the bikes noticed a major decrease in air temperature in the wind sliding past their faces. Taylor and Danny were both wearing short sleeve shirts for the moment, complete with one of many dress spheres attached before heading out. On the other hand, Jane wore an entire elastic black and blue suit covering almost every feature of her skin except for her face, seeming less fit for a formal area while more so for a battle situation.
Curious about several factors of Jane''s previous practice battle, Taylor sped up to synchronize her speed and distance to that of Jane''s vehicle. "So how did you pull off that shield trick again?"
Jane never told either one of them yet about her literal abilities coming from her own symbol. It enables many odd features for Jane, giving her the ability to learn new skills quicker than others, and conserving a ton of MP energy in the process of invoking spells. That was the key to the shield all along. "It''s originally supposed to be a power shield that takes up a lot of MP energy in order to partially block out damage, as opposed to relying on evasion techniques, but because of my enhancements, all of my skills naturally take up less reference capacities on MP energy than other people do. So I only need to expend about two percent of my energy to project a power shield. Because I can put so much into it with little effort, it blocks all damage completely."
"That sure is one handy trick." Danny had to agree with some of the things Jane was talking about earlier. It didn''t make much sense that she could get so good in such a small amount of time, but in truth, the symbol was doing it to her all along. Jane now learns abilities much quicker than others because of the crest in her hand, and now for the same reason, she gets unlimited shielding auras. Hard to believe - seeing how weak she was several days ago. The symbol also lowers her defense completely, but the shield goes to counteract that effect. Who taught it to her in the first place?
"It only works if I have a fair amount of energy in the first place. The moment my aura takes too much damage, or is projected for too long a period of time, I can''t hold it up anymore. That power shield became my only defense against the creatures and machinery in the dark zone. I would have died for certain without it."
So the shield does have its own weaknesses. Taylor figured that could be the case, but seeing Jane in action begged to differ on her new skill level. She might be stronger than herself and Danny put together by now. If that power continues to grow... "But if you''re the only one who can make that shield, how is the army supposed to handle the dark zone?"
Jane knew Taylor would still pry on the small critical details of this plan. She has been in disbelief that it could even be done at all, but all it takes from here is courage. "It''s like I said before. We also have safety in numbers. It''s not like I had to make official battles happen in Alpha Zero. It''s much more open than the fight I just had with Cass. No dome shield to protect others, but at the same time, no rules that demand even numbers."
"So," Danny recapped. "This symbol, it allows you to lower the cost of your abilities, making them stronger. Normally as we know from before, it cuts your natural endurance defense in half, but with this shield thing you have going on, it makes up the difference on your defense."
Jane replied to deliver a counter-argument. "Something else is strange too. I thought that my endurance was always cut in half after being marked. There wasn''t a way to measure any difference until more recently. My endurance is getting better over time, just slightly, without that shield trick I can use. And that leads me to believe that the symbol actually reset the endurance back to the lowest levels, forcing me to grow stronger again with that. I could be wrong, but I''m betting that I''ll be able to survive more in the future without that shielding trick."
So it resets the endurance level of the user back to zero? Danny never knew that such a possibility existed. Still, Jane isn''t too sure of herself. If she can improve her endurance naturally over time even after becoming marked, she could be capable of so much more, given the time to grow with weaponized signet burned into her hand. Even now, given a poor endurance rating, Jane''s shielding powers takes care of the problem. "Looks like Jane found a way to counteract the negative side effects of the crest."
Jane sighed heavily. "I just wish I hadn''t been marked in the first place. I wish I would have gotten the normal usual experience with Leray magic, fighting the way battles are meant to be fought. This crest in my hand is just cheating on several levels."
Taylor interjected, "I see what you mean." Jane''s argument now seemed silly considering how devastated she was before about losing her first few battles, but Taylor was soon reminded that her emotions of such were just an act. The real panic and depression came from her symbol, and that of hiding the crest from herself and from Danny, more so from everybody. It''s funny now how the very same symbol has given Jane more power than what she originally had, just from experimenting with the process. "But as long as you do have it, you can use it do to great things, like what we''re doing with Alpha Zero right now."
With a mild chuckle, Jane made another prediction. "I doubt they''re going to put that much trust in a single mage with such a delicate skill. Removing symbols isn''t a bad thing, but what happens when the sole person who can becomes an enemy?"
"Are you still going to ask this mage at the Den of Purity to remove your symbol?" Danny had asked the question forgetting the name of the professor, despite Jane telling him earlier.
"Name''s professor Brightworth," Jane clarified. "And I don''t think I can trust him to even do that. It''s a detail I have to figure out after we fix the Outback first."
"There''s one thing I don''t understand."
Calling for Taylor''s elaboration, Jane asked, "What''s that?" She and the others had to slow their bikes down a little more to hear each other with clarity through the chilling wind as it picked up some speed.
"Why would some random stranger give you a spell bomb and take off?"
Jane still never forgot about it. The memory rang without a vague fog of corruption, her thoughts of that day as clear as crystal, until came the moment just before getting marked by her own contraption. Nobody knew the name of the man or what he was up to. Jane remembered that he did happen to say something to her, just after emerging from the woods in the creepiest formation a person can approach. The spell bomb is incredibly dangerous, more so in dangerous hands. I''m entrusting this device to you. Don''t use it! Just keep it safe and protected. Don''t tell anyone you have it! It was the only information Jane got out of the guy. Just clear instructions, although they weren''t very clear to her at the time.
She broke every single one of those rules in just a few minutes plus one of the important laws of a Leray wielder. After the man rushed back into the void woods he came from, Jane remembered seeing a few other people wearing some kind of hooded outfits rushing after the guy who tried to help Jane. He was being chased for some reason, by whom still debatable. The dangerous part about the spell bomb must have been the part about getting marked, and Jane could even see why it was dangerous in the wrong hands too. With her incredible powers she doesn''t even want to have, another may want to do harm with such power, commit crimes and get away with it, invulnerable to damage once the assimilation digs in deep. Was the spell bomb a special - off the market prototype from a rich corporation? Or was it an illegal fabrication of veritable expensive materials and years of intelligent research? Jane didn''t have any new answers. All she realized in the meantime of her thoughts is that she really is considered dangerous, if she chooses to be anyway. "I''m as clueless about it as you are."
Seeing as Jane was face forward in deep thought for over five seconds, Taylor could accept the answer, but she heard a lot of disappointment in Jane''s tone, realizing that the heavy uncertainty still bothered her. She immediately tried to change the subject. "So Cass was a good fighter after all, once she gets physical training."
"Yeah..." Jane still sounded like her mind was totally somewhere else, though she did try to stay on Taylor''s new topic. "I''ve never had to coax someone on advice before. I did help you two out in the beginning, but that was different. We didn''t battle each other to figure those things out."
"We couldn''t battle you mean," Danny corrected. Such a strange law, to forbid battling until one has a license!
Realizing he had a point, Jane reminded herself and Taylor how the rules worked on them back then. "Yeah. Even while I was training you two, I wasn''t ready for a full match myself. There was that time training with the Cran, but it was a total walk in the park for me."
Taylor already hated Jane''s idea of bringing that memory back up. She won the fight against the Cran as well. Luckily, Jane was there to keep watch, because she nearly got caught into a situation of wearing undesirable damaged clothing that could have been destroyed entirely, nearly witnessed by a few other students including Danny. It''s what happens when you have a Leray match against anything without wearing the appropriate armor or dress spheres. Jane helped her out with her spare backups in that supply sphere, and though she was spared explaining herself to others, Taylor always had the brief thought on her mind every now and then. People had to invent damage resistant clothing in order for it to exist now, right? That must have meant that several people back in the day must have had several rough moments, losing their clothes to battle damage in the middle of fights. Or maybe that isn''t how it happened? Taylor still kept herself from asking Jane about it all this time, and it''s not like Jane would be too sure of the answer either.
"I bet it was." Danny still had plenty of nerve making sure Jane doesn''t overestimate herself. "You didn''t teach us everything we know."
"But Taylor caught on to the magic a little more quickly than you did," Jane pointed out. As it was true, Taylor mastered her energy scope first, Radial Stars, and several other higher tier spells before Danny did. Danny eventually caught up to her level evenly, but it was impossible to tell which one was ahead of each other right now. Though Taylor also learned to specialize her magic, which isn''t something too many people do. "Speaking of which, are you still focusing your magic on ice elemental spells, Taylor?"
"Of course," Taylor replied with enthusiasm. "I can''t tell you how many times I''ve gotten advantages in speed just because I use enough ice spells to literally slow down my own opponents."
Danny added, "Kind of hard to attack or defend yourself when you''re shivering too much to move." It''s another ingenious design put into Leray magic. Ice elemental magic deals magic type damage that causes the opponent affected to freeze, provided that opponent does not have any suits or dress spheres equipped that resist that specific element.
"What spells do you have now?" Jane probed.
While listing all of the abilities in her mind related to ice elemental magic, Taylor carefully spat out the names of the abilities one after the other. "Ice Bolt, Ice Needles, Icy Wind, Frost Blade, Ice Blast, Ice Beam, Icy Cannon... I''m still working on Icy Cannon, and two new spells I made up called Cold Spin and Ice Shots."
"Cold Spin?" Jane repeated. Jane didn''t need elaboration for Ice Shots, having seen Taylor use it once in action. She threw Ninja Stars while simultaneously infusing the physical objects spawned with ice elemental magic auras, which increased the power level with little MP cost. Cold Spin is a new term to Jane entirely.
Danny defined the skill for Taylor to Jane, knowing of the intention as Taylor described the idea to him before. "It''s basically one of Taylor''s Whirlwind attacks combined with Icy Wind, turning the entire combination into a freezing tornado attack."
"Clever." Jane knew there were more ice abilities in existence, but Taylor must still be learning them all. Of all things, Cold Spin is not actually an official ability, but one Taylor was designing on her own. It''s also interesting that Claudia put Blizzard on that list of new spells Jane should learn before the big fight, an ability that brings down the temperature of the entire battlefield to freezing levels for a long duration. Perhaps Taylor would be interested in that spell. Of course, it isn''t perfect, since another spell called Blaze Storm can literally counteract Blizzard with the exact opposite effects. They are the opposite spells of each other, thus both sides can use them successively to cancel and reverse their effects.
"I don''t think I specialize as much." Danny was still learning new abilities, though even with Taylor''s strategy, it can be considered a weakness should she ever combat someone who specializes in fire. Leray battles have so many elements to strategies that isn''t easy to think about in a single instant. But without any specialization, Jane can''t predict squat. "Still, I do think I can take Jane on."
"Easy does it now," Jane taunted. "Maybe you two should battle each other first to determine who I challenge next. We can turn it into an entire competition if we have to. Taylor? Don''t hold back on him just because he''s your boyfriend."
"O¡ª oh, I won''t." Taylor still felt skittish just from the way Jane said those words. She had considered using that name for Danny before, but hearing it said out loud made her heart skip a beat every time. Already reminded about being asked out by Danny not even an hour ago, Taylor became silent in her thoughts.
Danny felt it odd for Jane to be using such terminology already, though much like her at the same time. Jane will probably milk this as much as she can, knowing that it embarrasses Taylor. Though he still couldn''t figure out why Taylor was so shy about this with himself. Taylor never has problems talking to other men. Usually she''s just insulting them or talking down to them in some way, but never did Taylor do that towards him. Maybe the relationship scares Taylor, but it''s hard to tell. As the silence grew more awkward, he tried to answer for Jane, hoping it would move the subject along. "Nothing wrong with a fair fight. I would be interested to see which one of us wins, but it might be a damn tie."
Sadly, the silence lingered after Jane and Taylor took what he said into consideration. Danny didn''t insult Taylor or Jane this time. It was just words said to fill a growing void. Danny didn''t want this to be awkward between himself and Taylor, and prayed he did not made some kind of mistake pressuring her into saying yes. As if a prayer was answered by god, life gave them all a new distraction up ahead.
A curved blue line of colored fire blocked the path down the road with a man standing on the other side of it. It was clearly a unique roadblock made out of magic, intimidating all three of them to slow down to a stop before hitting the unusual fiery aura on the cement. Jane was first to stop all the way, but Danny and Taylor got a little further ahead, nearly sliding their wheels into the fiery line of magic. The block was obviously intentional, and the tall black haired man was forcing them to stop and speak with him.
Jane already knew what this was about, even though she had never seen a confrontation like this before. At the very least, this random 33-year-old adult was stopping people heading his way just to ask them for a battle. It was unclear yet how bad his morals were on exploiting the system much like Gustos exploited Cass earlier, but she didn''t pretend to have a problem with this. Jane set down her bike again, edging Danny and Taylor to do the same thing. Theoretically, Jane could simply have Danny or Taylor fight this man, but doing so it may take more time. She cannot just ride past while her friends battle an unknown. After walking close enough to the fiery aura, the strange man used his hands through magic to extinguish the flames, letting Jane walk much closer. He wore a dark colored cape with green designs on the front of the coat. An odd dress sphere for a man, but it suited him in the belief that he is some kind of rich classical fighter who may have been a butler before now. Jane had her friends right behind her for assurance.
He got down to the point immediately, sensing much intelligence within the older teen among the group. "Greetings and well met. Care if I challenge thee to a match?" The man carried an interesting blade aiming it at Jane as a gesture to point at her. The long sword was really skinny and shaved down, like something from the older days. "T''was long ago since I fared a worthy adversary."
Is this guy for real? "Drop the talk Shakespeare! I only accept formal challenges that also have a good enough spoil at the end of it for me. And I don''t fight anyone without introductions." Jane crossed her arms, waiting for the man to get real and hurry up his claim. It was bad enough she had to be stopped for another Leray battle. If his skills were anywhere as corny has his accent, this won''t be hard.
"I am Liam, of the great providence in Eldora, sector E-H. I must know thy name, courageous dame."
While keeping his eyes on the strange man, Danny leaned his head closer to Taylor for an inconspicuous whisper. "Is there something wrong with this guy?"
Taylor held her hand to her mouth, trying her hardest not to laugh out loud. The language the guy was speaking seemed to be skewed to some strange vocabulary, though it sounded hilarious in her head, and Danny sure felt the same way about it was well. Wonder what Jane makes of this?
What a moron. Jane wished he had taken the hint earlier. Nobody speaks like that in Sprawn Valley, not even the rich and prideful. Jane couldn''t imagine anything worse than this. Out of all the ways one can get so deep into Leray magic, this guy must be pretending to be some sort of prince in a kingdom, holding his blade as if he were a knight working for a refined segment of the monarch. This is what happens when you don''t parent your children enough. "I''m Jane. If it''s a fight you want, I''ll be the person battling."
Liam immediately held his blade back in a relaxed manner to reply. "The day is young, and thy sword ails for worthiness. Shall we decide on the rewards? How does five hundred credits sound? Good on the ears, aye?"
Jane held her face with the reaction to this cringy person, not even bothering to hide her reaction from the challenger in front. And five hundred credits? Seriously?! "You''re going to have to land better game than that."
"I suppose I shall settle in to give thy victor away an MP up spell bomb for good measure? How about a defense spell booster for your friend on top of that?"
Jane considered the thought. Five hundred was basically nothing, but adding an MP boosting spell bomb and a defense spell booster to Jane''s friends would dramatically improve their chances of survival should they somehow end up in the dark zone with her. Even though Jane still held her strong belief that they will both be missing home sooner than they realize it, the three-item offer was getting much better for steaks now. "It''s still a little cheap, but I''m now agreed."
"Very well then. Places people!" Liam shouted for Jane''s friends to take their distance from the designated battle zone. The bridge would be a bit different, since the sections of space between the rails was much less than it was on either end of Route 787. There will still be plenty of room for the dome shield to allow a full battle nonetheless, and this girl seems like a basic wielder with too much bark for her bite.
Jane steered her neck everywhere, searching to see who Liam was speaking to. But nobody else was around; nothing else seemed to change. He must be talking about the preparation to battle, being too much of a dweeb to actually just say it the right way. "Let''s start then." With Jane''s final word in, Danny and Taylor both realized what they had to do, back as far away as possible. Liam had to take his place distant as well, making sure there would be plenty of room for the battle. At least this time there would be a Siriean dome in place to protect the bridge from damage.
The battle was already soon to begin. The Siriean dome took form the moment Jane and Liam were ready, as did the holographic text for the reward system. Jane engaged her energy scope at the same time Liam did, while assessing how well her physical body healed from the real time damage taken a while ago. Her maximum stats were still capped below one hundred percent, but not very far from that value.
Chapter Theme Shift: Strength of Steel ~ Q-Factory
"Let''s make this brief, shall we?" Liam didn''t mind talking a big game or showing off his flashy rich cloak in front of his opponent. The girl appeared to stand as ready as he was, and Liam immediately took it upon himself to go first with a long-range attack spell. After quickly charging energy into his hand and chanting the name at the top of his lungs, a red glyphring formed rotating around his right wrist, using the left hand to hold his long blade carefully. "Fire Blast!" Liam''s open hand fired several fire-based projectiles towards Jane without delay. He wasn''t a rookie at using magic it seemed.
Jane saw this coming from far away regardless. Using a ranged attack against her in the form of slow moving projectiles was hardly enough to get the best of her. Jane knew that Fire Bolt spells are often fast, but thanks to all of the real time training and experiences she has had over the weeks, even her reaction timing and heightened reflexes made something as fast as Fire Bolt seem so slow. There were five of them jettisoned from the glyphring one after the next, the familiar spell of Fire Blast already registered into her mind. Jane knew the spell by coincidence. It''s the next upgrade from Triple Fire, increasing the number of used projectiles without changing the speed, damage, or other properties. It''s simply the same as using five Fire Bolt attacks in one quick moment, difficult to master yet devastating to the amount of damage it may cause. Jane was ready for it, her energy already charged up into her hands. As she threw her arms outward in a cross, she stopped her arms just in front of her with her hands open to project the magic. Instead of holding her arms all the way out to the sides, Jane wanted to try and reduce the maximum projection field to increase the power of her shielding aura.
This surprisingly worked out very well for her. Jane''s aura activated very quickly, protecting her entire body in a magical coat that took the same shape and form as her current body position. While keeping her eyes open, Jane was able to track all five of the Fire Bolts melting away into the shield, disintegrating into heat while the hexagons formed at each impact site only to fade away within the milliseconds of time. After watching the last one fail to penetrate her aura, Jane didn''t even feel scathed or exhausted by using the shield to block out the damage. The hexagons were normal sized for her, and the lack of exhaustion meant the damage overall was much too light to break through her power shield in the first place. By the time Jane stopped projecting the energy from her hands while lowering her concentration on the power shield, the aura around her collapsed as intended, leaving Liam''s eyes wide of surprise and mystery.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Great Lysander''s edge! What an interesting defense," he exhaled calmly. Liam didn''t know yet how to overcome something as strong as that aura, nor had he been expecting the likes of some girl to hold so much defensive capabilities. Even her timing and reaction speed was legendary. While admiring his opponent''s readiness and willingness to fight, Liam was eventually met by her counterattack.
"Ozcom''s Razor!" Jane unleashed some more of her MP energy, forming a difficult to see auric glyphring with blue and green colors hovering high overhead her target. Formed from the magical glyphring spawning matter into reality, a massive and thick blade of metal materialized above Liam''s position. Before he could react, Jane''s spell brought the blade and its hilt crashing down towards the ground at an incredible speed worthy of guessing high damage. The smash of the blade was enough to pierce through Liam''s entire physical body in the normal non-lethal way that Leray magic somehow makes certain. The hit on the cement ground carried enough force to quake the entire area even outside of the Siriean dome; Jane could feel its vibration of impact while Liam was left with incredibly painful damages in the spell.
"Aahhhgh!" Liam''s manly cry of pain rang in the echoes of the wind, the blade''s force alone pushing him all the way into the cold ground as he struggled through the sensation of pulled muscles and sliced cuts from behind. The attack was already over, but it left a large amount of damage and physical pain in its wake. Liam realized that he could have seen it coming sooner and dodged the attack. Ozcom''s Razor is sort of a simple spell to use, dealing a high amount of non-elemental magical slashing damage and piercing damage at the same time, so it can be quite high on a power level. Then again, for those who are prepared, it can be easily evaded too. Liam soon realized that the person he was dealing with was very determined to win, likely holding back a large arsenal of powerful spells in her back.
After pulling himself together and getting back up to his feet, Liam thought of another spell much similar to the after effects of Ozcom''s Razor, a spell that would directly counter Jane''s last spell. It would be one too quick for her to avoid or block. Before being too hasty about his movements, Liam carefully took aim with his right hand at Jane before chanting the spell. "Your effort behind the spells rings passion, so shall my skills sharpness deepen. Mize!"
Before an attack glyphring could even be noticed around Liam''s right wrist, a bright white beam of light immediately shot through Liam''s open hand, burning a fiery hole into Jane''s left shoulder. The beam was about as evanescent as the time it took for Liam to say the name of his spell after his poetic remark, fading immediately. Despite how quick and relentless it was, Jane couldn''t stop herself from hunching down lower, holding her left shoulder in the incredible pain that the attack left behind. It felt almost as potent as the turret''s laser swipe from back in Alpha Zero, only more concentrated in this form. Jane had never heard or seen of this spell before, but she knew it was going to be a problem already. Her energy scope warned her of its damaging properties, while her burning flesh of seared nerves warned about the high chance for interruption. The piercing properties of this spell were so high to give her this much muscular pain in the centralized area.
"Touch¨¦," Jane recalled. Both of them had a great deal of offensive capabilities, but judging from how the man was just standing in place told a lot about him to Jane. Liam must still be in the early stages of magic wielding, still a rookie without the courage to get up close and personal. Still, Jane could barely move her left arm due to the last attack. It''s as if the pain was locking up her muscle in that region, forcing her to make much less use of that arm long after the spell ended. Jane needed a game changer and fast, one that allowed her to recover her stamina. There was only one, and not a very good defense at that in general. Jane however figured she had little choice, and went with the spell to buy herself a little more time to think of a new strategy. "Gyrobreak!" Jane used her right hand as the channel of energy this time, aiming for the ground and infusing her magical spell into the environment everywhere. Though the spell would only manage to affect the persons inside of the dome shield, it was proven effective before.
Liam was immediately thrown for a ride on his feet once the ground began shaking and twisting. The spell in question had already taken full effect, giving Liam the illusion that the entire world around him was tilting in multiple directions, taking the view of the sky and the sun with it. "Forsooth I should have made preparation for a spell prior to this catastrophe!" Liam''s voice was uneven as the world around him became twisted and turbulent. Gyrobreak is a rather effective way to get the jump on someone, and Liam assumed Jane was about to pounce. But Liam managed to keep his balance just enough to invoke a spell of his own, hopefully one that would not be disrupted by the Gyrobreak. "I trust this one will overcome this violence of nature before me. Kill Zone!" After immediately expending a ton of his own energy into the field around him, the aerial glyphring spawned above the battlefield, forming bright shimmering lights in the sky behind it.
Jane noticed interesting red circles populating the ground throughout the entire field, circles that were even close to Liam himself. The positions seemed to be random, yet not a single one threatened to hold Jane inside of one. Eventually there were thirty-two red circles, each about 2.5 meters in diameter forming on the cement. The circles themselves seemed holographic too, something she couldn''t physically touch due to a visual magic formation of some type. When Jane again noticed the lights in the sky getting bigger, she soon realized that they were meteorites falling down from above. Not understanding the difference in the Meteor Strike spell, all Jane could do was wait while struggling to stand up straight. The Gyrobreak had both herself and Liam on the edge of their feet, unable to move less they risk falling flat on their bellies. The meteors began crashing down into the cement, immediately causing minor physical damage to the ground while exploding upon impact with very dangerous forces. Jane figured that the attack seemed random, but the red circles meant something in the end. Each meteor only landed in those red circles, never flailing off the target except for the occasional glitch in the projected direction brought on by the ongoing Gyrobreak''s quakes. Jane wasn''t surrounded by a circle to begin with, which meant she was luckily safe without having to do anything, but the loud bashing and smashing of the rocks on the cement kept her from thinking clearly about what to do next.
Eventually the meteors stopped coming down, making Liam''s Kill Zone area attack effectively useless. It''s supposed to be a much more improved version of Meteor Strike, with the cost of giving away the position of each hit to the opponent ahead of time. Because of this cost, damage is improved immensely upon impact. Unfortunately for Liam, he used a lot of MP energy for nothing in the end.
Jane wasn''t about to stand there and do nothing, but she didn''t have a realistic plan other than trying to go with another physical attack. Her left shoulder still hurt like hell, but it became less stiff in the time it took for the Gyrobreak to end. She would have to ignore the pain and go with it, requiring that arm for other purposes in battle. "Splicing Vengeance!" Jane puled both daggers for each hand out of the hidden pockets in her battle suit, holding them up high to prepare herself for the sprint. While infusing magical energy into each blade and her own two legs, Jane lunged at Liam with a normally impossible speed. With magic supporting her leg movements and speeding up her body movement to match that of an elemental projectile attack, Jane quickly got close range to Liam''s position, stopping at the last moment. While putting her force from the sprint into her blades, Jane unleashed the slash, slicing each arm around her front for a double strike against Liam''s chest. Because of the magical infusion in the daggers themselves, Jane knew ahead of time the damage would not be too light.
Liam felt the stinging burn of dagger slashes protrude just above his stomach, enough to stop him momentarily. He saw Jane jump away and walk backwards to retain her distance from him, while Liam was left with only a high sense of impression on his opponent''s random style. Jane doesn''t have many weaknesses. She doesn''t stick to one type of attack or damage style, and her defense is nearly impenetrable. It was now that Liam realized that he needed a game changer of his own. Immediately driven by the idea of making his target hallucinate and trip out for a good period of time, Liam charged up energy for his next spell, making his hand glow with a very dark blue color before he could chant the name of his attack. "I cast thee down to you! Dark Node!"
Jane sensed something coming her way quickly, and reacted with instinct to put another power shield around her body. In the very moment Jane''s shield aura formed around her, she could already see hexagons suddenly spawning from the front without even noticing anything else in particular happening around her.
"Hindered am I by bad luck!" Liam didn''t expect that shield trick to happen so fast. Jane must have been protected even from non-damaging spells like this one. Dark Node is hard to learn, harder to land on opponents due to its incredible reputation of low accuracy. Wielders have to be a perfect aim with the spell for it to work, firing a totally invisible beam of energy that disorients the target for several moments. While Jane didn''t see the actual light from the spell hit her shield, she was still protected anyway. Liam wasn''t fully certain that a power shield could do that until now, and after witnessing the shield drop around her again, Liam realized he was in for an upcoming attack.
Jane lowered her shield again, failing to understand what sort of invisible attack Liam tried to use against her. Keeping to her long-range tactics, Jane infused more energy into herself, creating another glow of magical fluctuation in her hands. With their red radiant glow, Jane''s actions released the magic and its light into her next spell. "Star of Darkness!" While immediately creating a red circle on the ground to trap Liam inside of the draining spell attack, Liam glanced around himself in all directions.
Remaining wary of his environment, Liam reacted impulsively to rush his legs in any direction for as far as they could possibly take him. Hoping to avoid getting stuck inside of the circle of a spell he had been familiar with before, Liam tried to evade the attack entirely. Any user of Star of Darkness cannot change the physical location of their Star of Darkness circle after it begins to draw into the ground. In other words, should Liam escape in time, the entire spell would be useless to Jane and a waste of energy.
"Nagh!" Jane flustered. Liam managed to run away in time. By the time the red star formed on the ground inside of its own circle, Liam already exited from the confines of the circle, long before the draining could actually take effect. The spell continued going on, for it was difficult and time consuming just to put an end to her spell as it was. While draining the life force out of nothing, Jane was basically wasting her energy now, trying to shut off the spell early. Simply moving her arms or hands wasn''t enough to defuse the total casting of the spell. At the same time, Liam had a great window of opportunity to counterattack.
"Now brigand! You leave yourself vulnerable and open. Succumb to my power! Shotgun Blast!" Liam immediately went with a quick and efficient spell, hoping to hit Jane before she even have a free hand. After using another yellow glyphring to spawn a gun into Liam''s right hand, he took aim at Jane and fired three times in a row, not standard for the weaker version of a spell.
After being slammed by several hot photons that acted like the slug round of speeding shotgun bullets, Jane managed to get her hands in front of her and project another shield aura. Only this time the aura did not surround and protect her entire body. By mistake, Jane only formed a small phase wall in front of her, blocking out only the third wave of Shotgun Blast photon shells. The projectiles bounced off the aura, soon to destroy the aura without doing any more damage to Jane.
This time, Jane was almost as surprised as Liam with the way she used her shield. It was then that she remembered that in rare circumstances could Jane sometimes invoke a power shield that isn''t actually complete in its usual form, though just as effective in damage cancellation. It costs less MP energy, and invokes faster, but protects for a less amount of time and damage while only blocking attacks in a directional wall formation too. There wasn''t much Jane did particularly different to make it happen. All she wanted to do was protect herself by instinct, making that little display a complete accident and mystery.
Of course, now it was her turn to attack again. Jane thought of all the amazing spells out there she could choose from. Not all of the high damaging powerful magic skills needed to be area attacks. One in particular had an amazing effect to one single glyphring, and made for very fun practice on her part. Preparing herself by stepping forward a little more and aiming carefully using only her eyes, Jane unleashed a massive amount of MP energy in a single instant, creating a colorful glyphring in front of her body, not bound to her physical presence at all. "Time to attack with Prism!" Getting it right more than once before, Jane had confidence that Liam would struggle with this spell too. As the multi-colored holographic disk slowly rotated in front of Jane horizontally aiming its center towards the intended target, Jane begun the long Prism combination barrage with a Fire Bolt. Jane''s arm movements enabled her to literally throw the Fire Bolt with a swinging toss to the other side, right through the center of the special glyphring. Jane threw another Fire Bolt at Liam from the left arm, and continued this wave of arm movements for the rest of the combination while mixing up the elemental attacks.
Liam was unable to dodge the wave of elemental bolts slamming into him, and the sight of several more to come had Liam too terrified and shocked to react defensively. Jane''s third throw was an Ice Bolt, after which she shot a short lived Thunderbolt from her hand, striking Liam''s body with electricity long before the Ice Bolt exploded in the same place. Jane then followed up the rest of the long combination with Thunderbolt, Fire Bolt, two Thunderbolts, Ice Bolt, Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, Thunderbolt, Fire Bolt, and Thunderbolt in that particular order. Jane''s execution of each attack in the way she used them looked absolutely amazing from the passive observers on the outside. Danny and Taylor were stunned by the spell Jane just invoked, and how incredibly effective it was for the use of one single glyphring. Putting that spell alone together with some of Jane''s other previously used attacks, they both came to one immediate conclusion. Jane is a badass in battle.
It had been a long time for Liam since any single attack used against him caused more than 30% health loss in one match. Liam however was hurting too badly to admire Jane''s potential. The Fire Bolts all had his skin burning, while the Ice Bolts chilled his body too much for comfort, and the Thunderbolt all had his skin tingling in a sensation that was painful instead of numbing. Sensing that he had already bitten off more than he could chew, Liam desperately tried to recover from the devastating attack that plundered him. He had a few more ideas left to try, but Jane would need to be tied up in order to land a single hit with anything. Finally lifting his sword for some real use, Liam prepared to slash the open air with the invocation of more magical energy. The fight isn''t over yet.
"So you''ve chosen to fight the hard way. Rotation!" he bellowed. Liam used his blade in order to create the swirling wind that soon turned into a full sized Whirlwind attack. Though forming in front of him in a mobile form, Liam made certain that Jane saw the Rotation twister heading her way before charging up additional MP energy.
Jane witnessed this spell before in the battle against Mayza not too long ago. This is Whirlwind upgraded in form twice, in that the spell Twister is the second tier of the spell. With Liam out of sight, the high speed swirling winds, which had more visibility that what would normally be seen outside of a Leray zone, formed into a large twister threatening to swallow Jane up whole. As quickly as she could, Jane invoked another power shield around her entire body, realizing that the slashing attacks kept in the Rotation field could hit her body from any direction or location. With the field around herself in the nick of time, Jane had to wait out the lengthy tornado attack of wind elemental slashing damage until it finally disappeared. Because of how long it took to fade away, Jane had no choice but to put down her shielding aura due to time, dropping her projection and her arms with it.
With Jane now visible again and vulnerable, Liam knew what happened, as well as what would happen next. He didn''t let up the attacks, expecting the exact moment to play out in his head the way he had predicted. "Tri-Attack!" Liam immediately forced a sub machine gun to form in his right hand, already prepared to fire the weapon. Liam emptied his entire clip aimed at Jane, and all she could do is take it by surprise. Because of the Rotation attack blocking the view of Liam''s next action, Jane wasn''t going to expect another spell just after Rotation ended. Liam was counting on it, and Jane played right into that hand. Realizing he now held an upper hand, Liam continued his random combination while Jane was taking slight damage from the bullets and rounds that shot from the gun. Liam dropped the gun immediately in order to swap to his next combination.
Like a few others, Liam was one to use Tri-Attack in the form of a Tri-Cast spell combination, making the spells invoked less predictable and confusing for the opponent. "Magical Blitz!" Without slowing down for a moment, Liam launched two energy balls from his hand towards Jane, just as the bullet barrage towards her ended, and before the projectiles were even prone to slam her in the face, Liam charged up more energy in an additional chant for the final attack spell. "Flamethrower!"
Jane could hear the type of attacks being used against her, and though the barrage of painful bullets got the best of her, the recovery from the painful bruising afterwards was just as instant. Jane bounced back just as two quick flying blue energy balls from a Magical Blitz spell were on their way to hit her. Shielding would take too long and use up too much energy. Liam was adapting to use her own shield already. Reacting on speed and natural skill, Jane managed to turn this around yet again. Pulling both daggers in less than a split-second, Jane slashed upwards at the air, aiming for the projected path of each energy sphere. She had to time this a bit early, since the projectiles move at a speed nearly untraceable to most. Though she was sworn to hit nothing with her blade, Jane''s dagger ended up cutting the Magical Blitz projectile in half, effectively canceling the attack altogether. Jane had to slash the other projectile with her other free dagger just a micro-moment after, since the Magical Blitz attack was used in consecutive movements.
Jane wasn''t reacting by plan anymore, simply playing this by ear and instinct. She became much better at quick decisions and reactions, but after disarming the Magical Blitz attack, Jane had to quickly come up with a way to counter the upcoming Flamethrower spell. Just as the beam of fire made its way through Liam''s glyphring, Jane did the same with a counterattack. "Ice Beam!" Ice beam is a rare ice attack with moderate damage dealing potential, but is designed to function in a beam, much the same way of Flamethrower. Instead, Jane aimed for the ground in front of her, spraying a concentrated gush of air from her hands to quickly form a freezing wall in front of her.
In the instant Liam noticed Jane''s random intervention with the Magical Blitz and the Flamethrower attack, there were not even words he could use to fully comprehend how it was even possible. Jane used the freezing winds of a fully concentrated ice beam to cool down the oncoming Flamethrower towards her. It barely worked at all, but Liam''s beam of fire suddenly extinguished in midair just before it came to pour on Jane''s body. Just like that, his entire Tri-Attack was made effectively useless. Though it did seem as if Jane''s MP energy was well spent already, and her health did go down just a tiny bit from the bullet barrage at the beginning of his Tri-Attack. The strategy was not flawed, but Jane was too quick for it anyway. How is she doing that?!
Still, without the time to plan a good skill run, Jane simply went with anything that felt right or complemented by excessive magical potential. Using the daggers already in her hands, she tired an attack that would actually reach Liam. Jane was already amazed! His magical power wasn''t bad for a beginner, but he still lacked firsthand experience, and that spoke volumes about the rest of this entire battle for her. "Armor Breaker!" Jane infused magic into her daggers in an instant, spinning after a jump to throw the blades with as much force as she could. The spinning blades managed to reach Liam in no time, too quick for him to even duck down his head. Surprisingly, the slice barely touched his health, and the pain level was too low to make him flinch for more than half a second.
The attack stung for but a second, the blades now fading behind him to return to Jane. It really didn''t hurt at all, and Liam suddenly began to wonder if the fault belonged to Jane alone. "That''s all you''ve got mage? Powering down are we?"
Jane understood the mistake shortly after the insult, realizing that Armor Breaker is a spell that only works correctly against armored targets. Liam and Jane are both wearing suits and cloaks that don''t have any slashing or blunt damage protection attached to them. Armor Breaker deals a low amount of damage if used against unarmored targets. Jane should have known! But the usage only drained a tiny fraction of her remaining MP reserves with plenty more to spare. "I wouldn''t underestimate me if I were you. Had enough yet?"
Declining the polite offer to give up and back down, Liam returned his confident vigor back to Jane while charging up a ton of his remaining energy into his personal aura. It wasn''t invisible to anybody else, for his MP was draining quickly on the energy scope hovering above him. "Nay! I think it is you who has underestimated me. You''re mistake shall bare punishment! It is time to share your wealth! Mega-Flare!" Invoking one of the most common powerful spells known around Sprawn Valley, Liam fired his light screen attack into the field, producing a blinding light that hid everything in sight from outside of the dome shield. As soon as the light screen began to run its course of intense heat and damage upon Jane, Liam felt himself weaken immensely, using up most of his remaining energy reserves to throw in such a powerful attack.
Jane''s eyes hurt, though her body hurt much more with the intense burning sensations everywhere on her skin. Unable to shield herself in time due to the quick invocation of Liam''s Mega-Flare attack, Jane was hit by the full force of the area attack, remembering once again how powerful something so simple and common can be. As soon as the light faded, Jane''s damage was tallied into the results of her energy scope. She tried to recover her strength and wits as she read back to herself the results.
Still faring better statistically against Liam, Jane didn''t let her own determined confidence falter, and after realizing how okay she still was to battle, it wasn''t long at all when Liam realized the error of his mistake. He had poured all of his magical energy into one single attack, hoping to do a full blow on Jane''s health. Despite her natural defense being lowered by her hidden mark, even a full blast of Mega-Flare wasn''t going to drop her health from 65% to zero in one hit, especially with all of the new training under her belt. Jane had been preparing for moments like these, making sure to account for every detail about herself and her enemy before making a calculated decision. Much of her choices have been random up until now. With Jane withholding much remaining health and energy, Liam was at a severe disadvantage now, and likely unwilling to give up the match.
Jane smirked in her smug new plan to defeat Liam with an honorable test of strength. "Brilliant!" she cast. "You spent all your energy hoping to get me on one try? And you made sure I wasn''t going to have a good time dodging."
Liam gulped before his response. He knew of his own disadvantage by now, but was proud that Jane recognized his true power. The error alone was on him now. "It''s good to know my skills are recognized before I pay for my own mistakes."
"Now it''s my turn," Jane announced. If Liam wants to try one hit knockout spells, then she might as well indulge the behavior. "Good luck dodging this. Redemption!" While immediately throwing every tick of energy she had out from her own aura, Jane cast a beautiful beam of vertical shining light from above, a beam that moved in towards Liam. The beam then split up into five smaller vertical beams of itself, making an incredible winding up sound while spiraling all over the field in Liam''s direction. The pitch in the noise continued to climb, the energy enough to cause anyone''s ears to miss no single moment. Jane nearly forgot that her friends have never seen a Redemption attack used before. Jane didn''t like the spell too much, since it was a risky move for using up all of a person''s MP to make it happen, but the end result is strikingly powerful. Jane always loved the odd pitch in the noise of the spell increase quickly while the spirals of light drilled through the battlefield. Liam was doomed to a terrible fate. The beams of light have no homing properties locked-on him, but due to their spiraling motions and fixed movements, tracking their destination paths is an impossible task. Before Liam could deem himself safe, the beam of light from his left side and another from behind him happened to intersect together in the exact spot he was standing. The beams of light carried an odd sense of physical force, pushing him in a single direction while dealing so much damage at once that he began to weaken to nothing in less than a conscious moment. Liam was suddenly out of it just like that, falling to the ground due to his immediate incapacitation to the battle. The beams of light faded shortly after, but according to the invisible Leray system tracking the results of the battle, it was decided rather quickly that Liam was the loser of the battle.
After hearing Liam''s insult, Jane planned to use Redemption. It has the same sense of risk that his Mega-Flare had in that particular use. Jane expended all of her remaining energy, hoping to wipe Liam out in one single spell. It was a direct opposition of magical strength by type and spell power level, as well as the skill it took just to learn the skill. Jane came out victorious, realizing that with or without this crest on her hand, she was literally more powerful than Liam by her own default standards. As she had been monitoring her own crest the entire time battling on Route 787, Jane hadn''t noticed the light from her hand glowing one single time, nor did she feel the familiar sensation. She didn''t need to call for her crest, nor did it think to call itself in for the fear of Jane''s own life. Without having to power up even once using that mark, Jane was victorious in two normal battles in a row.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Night Air of Umma ~ Aquascape
In the same instant the Siriean dome disappeared automatically, Jane came to the conclusion on her own. "I won!" She sounded more shocked than excited. Her arms and hands were shaking nervously from the physical stress and suspense of the battle. This battle wasn''t as difficult as the first one on this bridge, though it was much more demanding of her attention, much more stressful for her mind. "I actually won!"
"That was amazing Jane!" Taylor praised. They both ignored Liam as he was unconscious on the ground behind Jane, since that was a normal result for after a battle. "But I''m not surprised you won with that cool spell." Watching Jane fight like that was in itself an incredible moment. Taylor witnessed a few battles on her way to Lennith City, and only momentarily. Just like it used to be before Jane was marked, she still finds such creative ways of fighting in unpredictable actions. The scene itself nearly had her frozen by awe.
Jane turned around quickly, realizing that Danny and Taylor were still here. They must not have any real idea yet. "I didn''t even have to use my symbol. I''m naturally better than Liam, and that girl from before; Mayza."
"That''s... Good?" Danny paused in confusion, unable to read Jane''s current emotion. Jane was quick to spell it out for him.
"Are you kidding? I''m already on the right track now. If I can fight like that without relying on this stupid tattoo," Jane raised the top of her right hand to gesture what she meant by the mark, "then beating the champion is in the realm of possibility."
Taylor comforted Jane''s confidence while it was lasting, and she didn''t believe her to be wrong either. "Nobody''s doubting you Jane." Taylor tried to read Danny''s thought about it now, realizing he was already distracted by something else.
"Man," Danny emphasized. "That Liam guy got destroyed!" Liam just laid there unconscious, his energy scope soon to disperse on its own. Jane was already fiddling with her supply sphere to pull out another healing orb.
The new items she just won were transferred automatically into her personal supply sphere by design. Jane realized that she could take the new MP and Defense Booster and give it to her friends, which is what she did while addressing Danny''s evaluation of her own skill level. "I wonder if you still think you alone can beat me."
Jane did have a point. Danny hadn''t realized Jane was this powerful with Leray magic already, and to think that before they left Tilsit Port, Jane''s magical capabilities seemed to remain limited. She was right about her defense being lowered all along, and not one of them listened to her until it was too late. One thing was for sure; Jane was going to be the victor against Danny should they have a battle right now. "I''m afraid I''ll need more training first," he applied. "But one of these days Jane, symbol or no symbol, I''ll beat you in a match at least once."
Jane giggled at the thought. Danny is still so hell bent on officially defeating her in a Leray match. It''s even driving him to want to train further, a friendly rivalry that was meant to exist in Sprawn Valley amongst many Leray wielders. Trying to limit her giggling response, Jane replied, "I won''t make it easy just because we''re friends." Jane allowed her comment to sink in while creating an unfamiliar blue beam from the energy sphere to the spell bomb boosters she obtained, then giving them to Danny and Taylor evenly.
Danny acknowledged, "I wouldn''t bet on it." He accepted the orb in hand with Taylor from Jane, after which he turned towards the bikes they had all parked at the side of the rail, noticing virtually nobody else around except for one or two people in the far distance. Danny held out the defense orb Jane gave to him, and tried to use it. Unfortunately for him, nothing was happening with the device.
Jane noticed Danny''s failed attempt to activate the orb, but did not judge him for failing to understand. "It probably needs to be activated in a battle. Not all the booster orbs are like that, but it seems this one is. It''s a type of spell bomb."
"Mine''s like that too," Taylor announced behind them. Jane gave her the MP boosting spell bomb, as it too requires activation during a legitimate battle. It''s one of the more interesting ways in which criminals cannot profit off of most stolen property. If a known spell bomb or orb is activated in battle, it registers on a digital trace to hunters who track down the stolen goods. This is why if somebody reports their loot stolen, and another uses that item, hunters can be on the scene in no time. Then again, not all security systems like this are perfect, and there is still the apparent matter of forcing battles upon others to consider.
"What a shame." Danny put the orb into his pocket, not even caring for the use of his supply sphere. Jane uses that device too often, a mess since she cannot always bring out the supply sphere during a legal battle most of the time. Though it seemed to him that Jane was getting all of the action lately.
"You''ll get your chance to battle again soon." Jane sounded so reassuring, faithful that everything is going to work out. "Even if we don''t get into another multi-battle, there is always people in Eldora looking to spar with others."
"Yeah, I guess you''re right."
"Then that settles it," Jane called. After briefly looking all around her to estimate the time of day, it still seemed to be early, but the sun was much further down on the horizon. It wouldn''t be more than two hours before sundown. They had to at least be getting closer to Eldora. "Let''s get going. It will be sunset soon."
Following her lead, Danny and Taylor mounted back onto their bikes, leaving Liam to his pitiful fate. Taylor prepared to embark on the path again, trusting Jane''s sense of direction and time, but it was already getting much colder in the air. She already began to regret forgetting to buy a jacket while in Lennith City, but it has been a warm winter thus far. The wind was already picking up before she thought about pedaling forward, brushing all of that breeze in her face. It still felt amazing, the smell of ocean water bringing the area to life, but it was also giving her goose bumps. Taylor didn''t want to complain right now, for it was still going to be a long ride.
Chapter 39-D: Battle Streak (Part 2 ~ Jane VS Gustos)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 19:12 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Remembering the exact day of today being February the 10th on a Thursday, Taylor repeated the date over and over in her head, still having no effective way of keeping track of time. She learned of the day after arriving in Lennith, and had to calculate the rest from there to now. Despite the time gap between the Tidal Max and right now, it felt like so much has happened. They continued cycling down the same road for another fifteen minutes or so with little to talk about. Taylor shut her eyes halfway, trying to rest herself on the vehicle as it coasted on the even cement behind her friends. Today was already tiring, and the bone chilling air wasn''t helping her feel any more comfortable.
Danny could feel the same changes in the wind, though it didn''t bother him at all. The air was cold, though it was equally welcoming and easy to breath. While cycling steadily to the side of her, Danny risked another stare at his new girlfriend. The way Taylor''s face was glowing from the yellow tinted sunlight was breath taking. Danny had never given this enough thought to begin with. Asking her out suddenly felt like an impulsive and random thing to do, something that needed more thought ahead of time, but he didn''t have the nerve to try and go back on the decision, nor was it easy to determine why he wanted this in the first place. Taylor isn''t bad looking at all, but they have been best friends for a long time.
Danny allowed himself to get lost in his own thoughts with his eyes fixed in place. It''s not like anything terrible happened between them before. It was much the opposite at all times. Danny could easily coax himself into flirting with pretty women of which he knew nothing of, but Taylor just isn''t one of those people. Is that right? No. Perhaps it has something do with how long they''ve known each other. The relationship alone would be more delicate and sensitive. If Danny does even just one thing out of balance to Taylor, or says the wrong words after tonight, she could really get hurt and upset. Saying something mean or nasty to someone you don''t even know is easy, but trying to be good and perfect to a person you''ve known all your life can be difficult in itself. Danny figured that it could be the reason why his heart rate was still pumped the entire time from the thought of her now.
"Stop cycling!" Danny slammed on the breaks to his bike after his demand, getting the others in front of him to follow along in his immediate decision. The breaks were powerful enough to create the sheering noise of skid marks all over the pavement, the wheels drawing black shavings of rubber like chalk to the floor. Taylor appeared to be slow even in this reaction. Before Jane could turn around and figure out what the fuss was about, Danny got off of his bike and went towards Taylor to inspect her.
"What''s this all about?" Jane complained with her hands up in the air.
After everyone stopped including Taylor, Danny dismounted and held Taylor''s arm, feeling just how cold her body temperature had gotten. She had on but a T-shirt and a tight thin dress, and was therefore not properly clothed for a cold day with bicycles. He noticed the change in her a moment ago, and stopped everyone to make sure his senses were not off. Taylor wasn''t out of it, but it was very obvious that she didn''t really want to move anymore. Her body was shivering in the response, struggling to keep itself warm any way it was able to. Danny knew what was going on, and though he didn''t try to make such a big deal out of a small issue, his first state of mind was making sure Taylor was safe and warm. "Taylor, your freezing! Didn''t you bring a coat or something?"
"I''m f-f-f-fine!"
Denying that she sounded close to fine, Danny reached for his supply sphere, forcing him to invoke a tiny fraction of magic just to pull it out from phase space. The sphere hovered in midair until fully formed, after which Danny caught the device in both hands. He opened the sphere, displaying tiny holographic icons forming the outline shape of whatever object was compressed inside of the magical sphere. Danny chose the large jacket he had not been wearing for the trip, since the cold wasn''t nearly enough to bother him. After selecting the coat, the material formed in real space just as the sphere did a moment ago, creating a blue aura around the object until it fully materialized in front of him. Danny caught the jacket in his free hand, allowing the supply sphere to shut and phase out on its own while he opened the fabric up to make it easier to equip. No wonder she is so cold; Taylor is naturally on the skinny side, and there is no chance of her warming up any other way in this open weather.
Taylor didn''t get off her bike, but she could see what Danny was up to. Instead of arguing that she was okay for a second time, Taylor put both arms behind her to help Danny get the coat around her. Just as the jacket of fur encased her entire torso with a few more gentle tugs, Taylor felt an amazing rush of warmth now steaming inside of the coat, remembering that all objects trapped inside of supply spheres keep their current thermal energy from the moment before they were placed inside. This means that Danny beamed the object inside just after taking it off in Lennith city, encasing his warmth inside for days afterwards. Taylor quickly used the frontal zipper to close the front of the jacket, and brushed her arms together. It was unbelievable how warm the jacket was in this cold area, but she was still left wanting more every second she stood still.
"I won''t need it today, so you can borrow this until we get to Eldora. I''ll buy you a better one once there."
"Thank you." Taylor felt so much more comfortable now, and her mind was finally able to focus. The freezing air now failed to affect her except for her legs and face. Danny was still sort of hovering to the side of her, wondering how well she was feeling. That alone brought a warm blush in her cheeks. Danny was never this aware of her before, proving to herself again how much he has changed in the little time just being here. But was that really the case all along? Did this dream world of a magical land contribute to Danny''s change into this whole other person, or was he like this towards her all the time? Maybe she was just imagining things.
The thought didn''t matter right now, for Taylor was entranced in the warming feeling brought on by the jacket and by the thought that it belongs to Danny. The intense smell of the feathers stained to the fabric belongs to him, as does the heat inside. She kept her eyes shut, hoping this moment could last much longer. Taylor began brushing her face against the side of her long sleeves, feeling for the texture.
If Danny didn''t know any better, he would have thought that Taylor lost it by now. "Are you sure you''re okay?" Taylor doesn''t always do so well in cold weather, and it might be making her delirious.
His question alone caught Taylor off guard, bringing her back to reality. Oh no! Had she really been acting that intense about having Danny''s jacket right in front of him? "Uh, yeah! I''m fine!" Barely managing to fake a smile, Taylor tried to dissolve any hints to Danny how crazy she felt about him lately.
Danny shook his head casually. Women. They always have some weird obsession about their boyfriend''s jackets. He never took Taylor to be one of those types, but it wasn''t much to complain about in comparison to some other negative traits some people have. He never had such great luck hitting on others. Half of them had something big of baggage making the idea not worth getting involved, but Taylor is just a free spirit, someone who wants to live out a good life and avoid the one back home. He still found her history hard to believe, that a royal organization from a kingdom that isn''t even supposed to be in charge of their third-world home wants to recruit Taylor to be one of their assistants. To Taylor, the replacement word slave rung louder in both ears, and he had no choice but to believe how fearful she was about it. It has to be true given her reactions!
"You''ve gotta be kidding me." Jane knew that trying to speed this up wasn''t going to be easy, and she rested her face into her hand nodding in the stress. It was the light crowd of people around her that Jane wasn''t happy to see. The ones heading back towards Lennith were already past them, walking alone out of range to even think of forcing any one of them to battle. But the people standing behind Jane, thus on the way to Eldora City seemed as suspicious as their usual bunch. None of the civilians there looked like battlers, except for Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Muscles prancing up the road. Both of them were moving very slowly, scanning the nearby area for potential weaklings. Why do strong looking people always pick fights with people that don''t look as tough?
With the thought already gone, Jane was getting nervous and impatient. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to battle at all, but because of how late the day was getting, it already seemed impossible on its own that they were going to locate Eldora before the sun goes down completely. If there was anything she had learned so far, it''s that stopping makes her an easy target for hungry challengers. "I don''t mean to break up your cute moment, but we need to get moving."
Feeling warm and refreshed so quickly, Taylor soon regained all of her senses, for before she simply got lost in her thoughts while the cold kept them infinite. As Taylor glanced towards Jane to take note of her growing concern, she noticed a big guy walking directly for her from behind. It wasn''t clear what it was about, but Taylor jumped off her bike and tried to rush towards Jane in fear that he meant harm!
"You folks lost now?"
Jane stiffened, realizing that there may be a reason why Danny and Taylor looked so nervous suddenly. The impossible deep voice hung in breath just down Jane''s neck, and she carefully swept herself around to confront the man who tried to sneak up behind her. "What''s it to you?" Jane sounded aggressive on purpose, hinting that she wanted no such trouble. Though much to her surprise, it wasn''t just any ordinary man. It was Mr. Muscles, one of the people she classified by nickname while judging the way he looked and dressed. Sherlock didn''t seem to be around anymore, but this big guy was. Standing about three times the size of any average male, and holding muscles that shouted in everyone''s face how powerful his fitness was, the large man introduced himself with his low voice while Jane dismounted from the bike.
"Ptheh!" he spat. "Nothing but wimpy little children on this bridge. I''m looking for a challenge!" Shouting in his last sentence to hope somebody else nearby could hear him, the man was met with a rather awkward silence for several long seconds. "Is nobody here strong enough to face me?!"
Is everyone on Route 787 a weirdo? Talk about walking clich¨¦s. Jane had to consider the facts. First, she fought against a group of people in a multi-battle, then trained someone how to fight, but then there was that Liam guy, who didn''t seem like he was even from planet Earth. And now this guy... "Well you won''t find one here," Jane stated calmly. "Now if you don''t mind, we''re on our way to Eldora." If Jane pretends to be a novice, this guy should leave them alone. His demanding attitude said this much.
"It''s too bad you weren''t any stronger. I grow tired of easy wins."
Jane didn''t want to deal with this man right now, but after being called an easy win by some dude who isn''t as intimidating as he appears to be, there was nearly no way to stop her from arguing with the facts she was supposed to be hiding in the first place. "You should watch your judgment carefully. The next time you consider someone to be an easy win, it may be your last words."
The man turned towards Jane just as she turned towards him. In his eyes, it was a challenge with words at the least. "Big talk for some small girl."
"I''ll have you know I''m sixteen, and I''m not some kind of weakling." Jane knew without checking her back that Danny and Taylor were both standing behind her, giving Jane signals to immediately stop talking before getting involved in another Leray fight, but Jane couldn''t help it. There are just too many people in the world who think they can bully others into battles, or make them feel weaker than they really are. She''ll have the last word any moment now, and this idiot will learn his place! "If you think that a six pack is good enough to match others in a Leray battle, you''re sadly mistaken."
"You want to prove it to my face," he challenged. "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves now. I''ll need proof upfront that you''re even in my own league, because I only bet very high steaks."
"I don''t need to defeat you just to prove my point." Jane hoped that her argument alone would deter the decision for an entire battle, since the man was already bringing one up. "But I don''t have sufficient time to challenge you."
"What a pitiful excuse to turn down a challenge. I knew you were weak hearted, but this is expected. Nobody stands up to Gustos."
Jane, Danny, and Taylor all jumped nervously at the name. "Gustos?!" Jane repeated it aloud in a surprised tone.
"I know right," he added. "Sounds worthy of high praise. Building these muscles and abs took hard work after all."
Before saying another word, Jane pulled the daggers from her suit''s hidden pockets, changing her stance immediately and aiming her blades towards the man. "You''re Gustos? You''re the man who attacked Cass back there?"
"Attacked Cass?" Gustos held his chin for a brief moment to try and recall what the name belonged too. "Oh right! You mean that sad excuse for a Leray challenger. Yeah, I didn''t go easy on her, but that''s doing her a favor. A person who can''t fight well enough shouldn''t deserve a license so early."
Danny and Taylor both crept up to Jane''s sides, prepared to defend each other against Cass''s attacker. Taylor was about as furious as Jane was right now, letting out her anger with the reminder of truth. "It''s people like you that give legitimacy a tainted description. I get that Cass lost her battle, but you didn''t have to force one upon her!"
"Force?"
"Don''t play dumb with us!" Jane raised one dagger closer to the man''s face, not even fearful that he was nearly twice her size in height and bulk. "You''re the one who challenged her over and over until she had no choice but to accept, and despite that, you took a large amount of funds from her card as well."
"Oh give me a break!" Gustos didn''t sound apologetic in the least. "She had a choice. That girl could have declined three times every fifteen minutes and taken the suspension she deserved in order to get tougher. Besides, I won those credits fair and square. I doubt you''ll be able to turn me in to a single Leray agent with a valid complaint."
Jane knew that with the legal bullshit leaking out everywhere - Gustos really was immune to the law as it may be, but it didn''t change the fact that he cheated someone who barely even knew how to battle, and he was about to do it again. "You call out tough challengers looking for something good to fight, and yet you turn around and take from the weak because it''s easy. The way I see it," Jane replied, "you''re the real weakling here."
"You would dare raise those grasshopper blades to my face and bad talk me?!"
Jane was happy that Gustos was getting this angry, because it gave her the perfect excuse for a battle. It would normally be a waste of time, but this right here is the best chance to teach this guy a lesson, perhaps even get some of that money back. After all, Cass had her funds returned. Jane and her friends were now the ones running on empty because of it. "The strong stand up for the weak in order to help them progress the very same. They don''t leach off of others in order to keep them in their place. You want a challenge?" she threatened. "I''ll give you a challenge!"
Upon raising her voice with all of that hate and anger, Jane''s right hand began to glow with a powerful blue color. Luckily, her suit blocked out much more of that light than anyone realized, and so it helped to completely hide the shape and form of the burning crest on the top of her hand. Just by getting angry, Jane''s symbol had activated once again outside of her control, giving her an edge before the battle could even begin to take place. "I''ll even give you your high steaks. Nine thousand credits!"
"To beat up some mosquito, it''s a deal!" Gustos had agreed, and so the Siriean dome was soon to form around them.
"Get behind me you two!" Jane was talking to Danny and Taylor, making sure they did not get caught up in the battle itself. Gustos was standing right before her, and luckily eager to battle. Jane knew she wasn''t going to need her glowing symbol to win, but at least it had restored her stats behind the scenes, healing her even more before getting started. After her friends were out of range, the Siriean dome formed around them with a good radius. Though they questioned why Jane would even consider battling alone and legitimately like this; perhaps she was to prove a point. Jane Venn and Gustos took several steps backwards to begin the fight at long range, after which the holographic reward system showed its text for a brief moment in the center of the field. Following that was the formation of the energy scope over Jane and Gustos.
Chapter Theme Shift: Overpowered ~ Phantom Power
2300 Credits< >9000 Credits< | Battle Mode>
Hyped up by her anger, Jane decided she was going to go first, charging some of her energy to prepare for a long-range spell. Gustos may very well be physically strong, but there was no way his magic could hold up against her own. "Triple Fire!" Jane''s glyphring formed just as she began to shoot three Fire Bolts consecutively through her glyphring. The projectiles all flew with amazing speed in the air, prone to slam into Gustos'' large body. Instead of dodging or counterattacking, Gustos simply stood there, using both of his mighty arms to guard the front of his body. The fire spheres all slammed into that spot too by coincidence, exploding for damage, but by the looks of it, Gustos wasn''t even fazed by the entire attack. He blocked it out very well with a skill of stance and proper form.
"This will be fun," Gustos taunted. After spinning his arms around in place as a gesture of stretching, Gustos prepared an attack of his own, making sure Jane would not see it coming in time. The target was standing still, just waiting to dodge. Gustos used that to evaluate the effectiveness of his next potential move, and while charging energy into his right fist, he slammed his hand into the concrete of the cement with enough force to slightly crack the road. "Shadow Wave!" he chanted with his ground assault. His method of hitting the ground with his hand was a unique way of distributing the Leray energy into a common spell known as Shadow Wave.
Jane had seen several Shadow Waves before. It''s a simple magical attack bound to the floor that deals a fair amount of damage to unarmored targets, and though its dark essence makes it difficult to see with the naked eye, Jane knew its speed and size already. Jane knew she had her own type of protection, and wasted no time at all in exploiting her hidden powers. "Power Shield!" she yelled. Jane rarely needed to ever chant the name of her personal shielding aura, but doing so helped her focus in a pinch. After having charged up the necessary energy in both her hands and crossing her arms out to project the aura, Jane''s body once again became coated with a transparent bright-blue aura of protection. The Shadow Wave that slammed into the aura shortly after only left several hundred large hexagons at the base of Jane''s aura, generating more of those energy reflection and anti-aura noises from attack damage done to the shield.
Jane was holding up nicely, dropping her aura the moment the hostile spell was already over. Gustos could not believe it. Her health stats did not change at all. He knew what blocking was all about, but this particular method was not familiar to him in the slightest. Jane was just as prepared to immediately send a counterattack his way too, forcing Gustos to try and block again for whatever new spell might be coming his way.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Armor Breaker!" Jane''s daggers were already glowing with a powerful red outline of damaging auras, her spell already charged up before finishing the name of the ability. Jane tossed her daggers with a lot of force to increase their travel speed. As expected, Gustos naturally reacted to try and block the attack again rather than just avoid it. The interesting thing about Armor Breaker is that the skill works effectively against armored targets and those attempting to physically block attacks. Just as Gustos put his arms in front of him to block the unknown attack again, the slicing daggers spliced through his skin, dropping off a lot of health points in the immediate moment. At the same time, Gustos made a cringy reaction from the inflicted pain that drilled right through his muscular chest, realizing that blocking failed to work this time.
Even though it took a second to get over that piercing stabbing hit of high damage, Gustos had sufficient time to evaluate his current strategy. The target knows a few powerful skills after all, despite how weak she appears to be, and fighting from long range wasn''t the best style as he assumed it to be. Still, he needed to come up with something now to prevent a second attack coming from Jane. Though it took out much of his MP energy on the spot, Gustos prepared an unusual powerful spell, only chanting the name just as the power resonated in his red aura. "Flamewheel!" Being one of the only strong magical powers he knew, Gustos put all of his heart into this, launching the attack just as it began to take form.
Jane was prepared to shield, but she could not believe what happened next. Through the gateway of a single red glyphring, three dozens of separated projectiles of Fire Balls all shot high into the air, spinning on a spiral like path to prevent collisions with each other. Gustos was controlling the direction of the spell wave itself, now turning the entire vortex of Fire Balls on its side, aiming straight for Jane. Reacting quickly, Jane powered up her shielding aura just in time. The fiery vortex became a horizontal vortex, spiraling a total of thirty-six untraceable Fire Balls in random directions aimed in Jane''s vicinity. Jane could tell already that the projectiles were not native of Fire Bolts, which explained why the beautiful pathways of each Fire Ball remained random and drunken. They had no direct lock to her or her own shield, but instead spun around in the air with patterns of movements just difficult to predict. Even while standing still in a rushing wave of Fire Balls shooting past her face, several managed to slam into Jane''s aura; the fire spheres began disintegrating into the energy field while draining more out of her each time. Though because of the low damage potential for each projectile, Jane was relatively safe from taking too much damage to keep the shield going. After a long few seconds of time passed, Jane kept her shield strong, blocking out about twelve total Fire Balls total just before dropping her shield again.
After spending all of that time and energy trying to super attack the target, Gustos was furious to see Jane undamaged with that impressive shield yet again. "You can''t do that!" Gustos pointed his fist at Jane as he spoke, calling bull in the middle of the fight.
"You want to call it quits then? I''ll have those credits returned to Cass no matter what!"
Seeing that Jane was still not backing down about that little incident, Gustos still had to weigh the cost of losing nine thousand credits to some annoying wielder just by throwing in a towel. There was no other way to stop the battle or the stakes. "That girl made herself vulnerable to begin with. You''ll get this money over my dead body!"
"As you wish!" Jane taunted. She wasn''t about to sit there and talk all day either. After quickly charging up for one of her yet to be tested magical spells, Jane cast the magic into her hand while chanting the name, a spell that required a particular motion. "Volley!" Jane''s magic all went into an interesting generation spell that wasn''t visible in the beginning. In order to use it at all, Jane had to lift her arm high in the air just as the blue spinning glyphring around her wrist formed there. After that, Jane had to slam her arm downwards while releasing all of that magic, without hitting the ground or her body. With that motion and invocation, the Volley spell already took effect, forming a barrage of sharp piercing arrows into the sky, all on an intercept course towards the target.
Gustos wasn''t quick enough to see it, thus failing do anything about the pressing situation. With the sight of over 70 arrows raining down on top of him, he was frozen in place by the fear of not being able to perform any other kind of action. As soon as the arrows began to pierce his skin, the attack took over for the rest of the time. "Naaagh!" He groaned. Volley is a spell that is low on power level damage due to its specific damage type and properties belonging to piercing damage. This means it''s designed to penetrate tough armor and inflict much more physical pain than health loss. Because of the formation and the amount of arrows used at once, it can be difficult to predict how to dodge the attack, and the piercing damage makes it impossible to try and block normally. Gustos was the perfect target for such an attack, and Jane perfected one of her new untested abilities brilliantly.
"What''s wrong with you?!" he argued. "You can''t just charge up here and take all my money! You don''t even have nine thousand credits to part with!"
Jane still didn''t even think about giving this guy a chance after what he did. Of all things, he actually agreed to bet nine thousand credits without any hint of resistance, and it is also perfectly legal to have an uneven bet so long as both sides agree to that notion, even if agreed on a subconscious level. This is Gustos'' mentality. He doesn''t care about taking more of what he would be willing to part with, which is why the very ideal of fairness doesn''t register into his mind, so it doesn''t factor into the reward system either. Therefore, Jane didn''t have to try and trick this guy into betting so high. Gustos did that himself, and now he was going to get what he deserves for cheating the system. How does it feel? "Says the one forcing weaker opponents to battle, guilt tripping them into handing over everything they have for an unbalanced fight. How does it feel to have it happen to you Gustos?"
"Why you little... Photon Blast!" Gustos had been storing energy in secret while bickering to Jane about her well-formed strategy to balance offense and defense, but Gustos believed that her power shield would not be effective enough to hold up to his most powerful attack. As soon as the energy was released, Gustos sent about a hundred large translucent photon projectiles all flying towards Jane.
Jane already saw it coming again, after having heard the raging sound of a familiar ability in the wind. She still had plenty of energy left in her to shield several more times for this entire battle, saving much of her own resources. Oddly enough, the symbol lighting on her hand through the suit had faded away a short moment ago before she took notice of it. It didn''t matter anyway for now. After putting up her aura again, the photons began raining into the shield, bumping off and failing to cause damage to anything else, but the hexagons were much smaller per hit this time, making it difficult already for Jane to keep her concentration on the shield running. The photons slammed her shield - hit after hit after hit for only three seconds, making it a rough moment of focus and stance. Jane nearly lost the shield just as the attacks had stopped, and tried to drop her aura as quickly as possible before it failed on her. Having the shield collapse around her by automatic failure puts a lot of exhaustion on her body afterwards. Even now, her breathing was rapid and heavy, her heart was racing! The fight isn''t nearly over just yet, but already is she getting exhausted just from protecting herself from the last attack spell.
"What the hell! There''s no way a person can bring up a shield with that much defense! You played me! You''re a cheater!"
Jane was already enjoying this match. She was able to keep her cool against the man who cheated Cass out of six grand. Moreover, he was already losing his temper quickly. Not only was this fun to watch, but it helped to keep him from thinking strategy in terms of the match. Jane was way ahead of the game, and she began to charge up a powerful spell, one contrasting to Gustos'' last used skill. "As I recall, you said I was a weakling." Her tone became reflective of personal enjoyment, evidence that she was enjoying making a fool out of him thus far. "Though now I bet you know just how your victims feel. Photon Burst!" As her energy was already charged up, Jane invoked the spell quickly, lifting her arm up and slamming it back down in a swinging motion to properly trigger the spell. Having similar characteristics to Photon Blast and the ordinance of Volley, Jane''s spell began to fall down from the sky, giving Gustos no chance at all to counteract the attack.
As he could only stand there in fear and brace himself, Gustos was pounded several times over by the falling photons of energy each damaging his health in high amounts. Jane stood there and watched the show, but she was mindful about her significant drop in MP energy thanks to using the spell in the first place. Just as the attack stopped, Gustos took much more time in standing back up to recover his balance. He too was getting tired quickly. Gustos now had health and energy problems to deal with at the same time, making him much more fatigued than Jane currently was.
Gustos didn''t bother trying to argue with Jane or talk her into going easier on him. He had indeed underestimated the young girl, and it was worse that Jane was looking out for this Cass character. Cass must have ratted on him after the way he engaged in battle. Normally, nothing bad happens with that regardless, though it seemed that this random Leray wielder wanted to get too involved. If he could just win the battle, he could deal with the other two standing behind Jane on the outside of the dome shield. "Lightning Strike!" Gustos wasted no time at all in activating another quick and easy long-range spell. Because of how fast and accurate the lightning bolts are with electrical attacks, Jane was way too slow on her reactions to shield herself. Gustos landed a solid strike on Jane, zapping her with electrical damage in place for two whole seconds of time.
Jane felt every nerve in her body panic and lock up at once, her every limb shivering just after the attack ended, and at the same time, she felt more drained than she was previously. Though she hated electrical attacks for that reason, Jane didn''t decide to lose her cool from the health loss. It was best to just keep on going with the fight.
"Dark Strike!" Just after invoking her next ability, Jane teleported out of sight again from the slight usage in her MP energy, reappearing covertly behind Gustos. After infusing more magical energy into her right blade on the dagger, Jane sliced upwards with as much force as she could to deal the damage in her attack. While backing away shortly after, Jane noticed that even all of that weight failed to actually lift Gustos off of his feat. Though he did take damage, his body was too heavy to move off the ground from a magically assisted uppercut, giving a slight advantage to Gustos. Jane would be attacked shortly after probably, but at least her attack in question dealt damage to his health without any risk of interruptions.
"You''re not stronger than me Jane!" Gustos refused to back down even with much lower stats, and he continued using ranged abilities, keeping Jane at a distance even though he had a great chance to do physical harm in the battle. His thoughts right now were a in a form of healing. "Drainga!" Invoking his spell, Gustos cast energy towards Jane, hoping she would not have the time to dodge the attack.
Jane didn''t have the time to process what the ability does or how it works, so she jumped and rolled to the left hoping to avoid the unknown spell. It wasn''t hard to forget with an easy name though. Drain is a spell that literally steals health from the enemy, healing the user in the process of causing damage. Drainga is more powerful with a better effective range, but costs more MP energy to use at the same time. The aura which is created around the target to steal their health is literally quick and invisible, making it nearly impossible to dodge in the first place, but Jane did as much without noticing the difficulty of evading such a spell. Being unaffected by the powerful Drainga, Jane pulled herself back up for a counterattack, refusing to think back on how lucky she was for not giving Gustos a chance to heal.
"Hmph!" Jane smiled in her own random success. She was doing well, and only needed to keep this up a little longer. At the same time, there was another powerful ability that needed to be tested out on someone random. If done right, it could put Mr. Gustos in a very bad position. On the plus side, Jane would master a new spell for sure, even though she had used it once before training back in Lennith City. With quick invocation and high-energy expenditure, Jane chanted "Blaze Storm!" while creating the conditions to literally change the weather of the entire battlefield. It didn''t happen too quickly, but the air temperature only inside of the Siriean dome began to rise rapidly into the triple digits. Creating a thermal vortex powerful enough to distort all vision from the rising radiation, both Jane and Gustos were suddenly suffering from very intense heat all around. The spell would affect Gustos more than it would Jane, but because of how new Jane is to use the skill, she isn''t immune to the full area attack either. At least she was ready for it.
Blaze Storm is a powerful heat wave spell, rising the temperature of the air in the entire battlefield to a crisping 150oF, rising even further to the user''s will. The spell itself lasts for a little over one full minute on average, while the heat is assisted by a low pitch booming sound similar to that of radiation spurs, much like what Jane witnessed in the dark zone. In that time, fire elemental damage is slowly dealt to the target over duration. Because of its properties, it makes everyone sweat to physical exhaustion. Gustos may be out of the match as soon as this ends. On the other hand, Jane was heating up rapidly as well, wondering if this was such a good idea in hindsight. Needless to say, it had Gustos by surprise, as his health began draining quickly with the intense fiery heat of air around them.
Gustos was already panting from the inferno Jane caused on both of them. He immediately became less confident in any particular movement. He only wanted to lay down and rest, or find a nice cold shelter. Gustos could see the health loss happening in real-time with nothing to do about it. He had much less MP energy as well, since he used most of it trying to steal health away from Jane, but the Blaze Storm did not distort the color of the field completely. Rising the air to a temperature high enough to make the Siriean dome begin to glow orange, Gustos realized that the sun was still up, however distant in the horizon to the west. There was still another way to try and heal lost HP.
Jane''s skin felt like it was on fire too. After the Blaze Storm spell ended only thirty seconds after due to having the cast be so new to Jane, the air temperature declined much more rapidly, cooling off both of them in a sensation that felt most wonderful. The Siriean dome around both contestants returned to its original color again, revealing the world outside its translucent boundaries. Jane had expected that to be the end of it, but Gustos still had some fight left in him, despite how tired he looked. Jane on the other hand suffered some damage too from her own attack, as she knew it from checking both energy scopes on the battlefield.
"Solar Regen!" Just after Gustos released the rest of his MP energy, his body became coated with a nice green aura of energy, immediately absorbing in the sunlight from above to regenerate his lost health. It''s an ability that can only be used once per battle, and is effective at health regeneration using solar energy. However, the spell is even more effective during mid-day once the sun is right overhead. Because of the sun''s current position and the time of day, Gustos knew that his regeneration spell would only be at half power for the time being.
Watching Gustos regenerate his health from a different spell, Jane sprang into action to try and stop it. The plan of action didn''t matter too much, as long as she could do more damage faster than he could heal. "Fire Bolt!" After seeing Jane shoot a predictable Fire Bolt from a red glyphring, Gustos changed his stance to block the projectile with his arms again, while the green aura kept its radiance around his body the entire time. As the Fire Bolt blew up on his arm, Gustos suffered some health loss, but it was only minor thanks to his quick reaction to try and block it out.
Jane had a new worried look on her face. Gustos was currently resilient to taking damage right now, as he was determined to heal as much as he could before finally finishing Jane off. In another attempt to interrupt his healing cycle, Jane tried another skill as quickly as she could. "Flying Guillotine!" She threw her daggers infused with energy, being that this was one of her quickest invocations for that ability yet. The daggers flew in perfect formation, creating that familiar spinning circle of damage.
Gustos took another precaution to this sudden attack as well, pulling out the sword he had on his hilt behind him. Since he had not used the sword yet, Jane did not even notice that Gustos had the weapon until just now. Instead of performing a counterattack, Gustos took his sword and shoved it into the ground in front of him, landing the metal so hard that it cracked an entire two inches deep in the stone road. The Flying Guillotine circle then slammed into the blade instead of Gustos, dealing damage to an inanimate object too powerful to cut through. Without too much effort, Gustos managed to completely turn Jane''s attack useless on itself. Since it failed to get through, the Flying Guillotine quit working halfway, as the blades spun aimlessly on the ground in front of her opponent.
Jane was sunk. Gustos completely healed after his aura ejected from his body in a bright radiant light spiraling away from him into the sky. Gustos knew that he was beginning to take advantage in the battle, and he planned out his next random attack from afar, keeping his sword in hand in the event he may need it again. "Magical Blitz!" Gustos formed the spheres of energy one at a time in his left hand, but put his entire body''s force into launching the projectiles at Jane, all three of them. However, it was a slow movement overall just to throw energy balls that could so easily be seen.
Jane went on the defensive for now, waiting on her daggers to return to her again. She ducked down to dodge the first energy ball, and leaped to the left to avoid the next. Gustos simply had terrible aim on the last one, making Jane lucky for not having to do anything else. After evading a bad attack, Jane simply thought of another powerful spell that would get Gustos no matter what, one that was not the same as Redemption.
"Radial Blast!" Though it expended much of her energy status, Jane''s spell came to life quickly, blasting the entire battlefield with randomized explosions excluding her own particular zone. It wasn''t one of her most powerful skills, but Gustos might have had a plan to diffuse other powerful area attacks that use projectiles instead of explosions, and Jane was already getting a little desperate to win by now. After several explosions marked the spot where Gustos was standing, they simply knocked him onto the ground with their powerful force. Though Jane did not expect such a heavy decrease on the health stats to appear in such heavy weight. It''s still not a very high power level for an attack compared to others. Nevertheless, Gustos was down in a fight he was not about to get up from.
Jane tried to calm herself down. She felt so nervous and was breathing so heavily from the workout. Though much to her surprise, the symbol down on her hand was glowing through her battle suit once again, something that would explain how a less powerful ability was somehow overcharged with energy. Jane did not mean for that to happen a second time, and didn''t realize that it was there until now. That''s twice in less than an hour that her symbol activated again without her consent, being as dangerous as it was, but at least the battle was over, with Gustos proving to be a formidable opponent to say the most.
Chapter Theme Shift: Bleak Worlds ~ Christian Telford & Matthew St. Laurent & Galileo Seven & Koichi Sanchez-Imahashi & Nigel William Graham
The Siriean dome faded quickly, revealing a slightly darker sky, and a clear view of the world around her. Jane''s friends got close quickly to make sure she was okay, but not before her crest died down once again. Just like that, her uncontrollable symbol was there and then it was gone. If she can''t find a better way to hide her own symbol come the elite battles, Jane could wind up in a lot of trouble.
"You good Jane?" She looked like she was about to faint or pass out, prompting a possible concern that the symbol on her hand is giving her problems of their own. Danny could see the residual glow on Jane''s right hand, but not make out the symbol itself, meaning it wasn''t fully visible through the material in her suit, this time anyway. Danny offered her one of the healing orbs he had in his pocket, never letting Jane treat herself. She was the supply manager for the team after all, and what luck too with scoring so many credits! She didn''t have to fight Gustos all by herself, but in doing so, the win was both legitimate and fair, an honorable thing to do fighting for Cass the way she did. "That was one awesome battle!"
Jane sensed the excitement in Danny from watching the match, but it was his and Taylor''s voices alone that helped her senses blend back into reality. It''s one of the downsides of getting into an intense Leray battle. There are two modes for most individuals. During the match, the only focus is the target and yourself. The world around suddenly doesn''t exist anymore. It''s difficult to adjust between the two, and terrible for battles that are not contained by a Siriean dome.
Accepting Danny''s healing orbs, Jane took her time to cool off, still exhausted and sweating from it all. Using Blaze Storm in the middle must have contributed too much of that exhaustion. Jane felt like she could have had a heat stroke if that lasted any longer, but at least they say that the user of Blaze Storm and Blizzard are much less affected by their own spells the more times the same spells are invoked. Not only did Jane defeat Cass''s enemy, she also managed to put some effective use and field-testing to the last of her other known abilities. "I know it wasn''t a traditional way to teach someone a lesson, but thanks all the same."
"I think it fits perfectly," Taylor vouched. "He won''t bother anyone else ever again. Nor will he underestimate us."
Jane agreed with Taylor''s remark silently, for she had some trouble still getting used to the new look. Taylor was wearing Danny''s dark jacket tightly, and it actually fits Taylor well. She looks so cute!
Danny stated with a defying gesture, "I still think I could have taken him," to which Jane and Taylor both replied, "You always think that!" Danny simply waited for Jane to heal herself. There was certainly no doubting Jane''s amazing abilities. With or without her symbol, she had picked up on some sick magical skills in his absence.
"Did your mark activate again?"
Jane had honestly answer to Taylor. There wasn''t a point in lying to someone who already knows the truth. It felt great that there were a few people in the world who are okay with hanging out with a marked person, seeing as they used to be the bringers of destruction. "You mean after it faded from the start of that battle, yes. It did activate again, though I didn''t get that much effect from it, other than pure power put into a single attack."
"You need to learn to control it." Taylor sounded concerned, and she had several rights to be. "What if the elite fighters detect the presence of a symbol? Will they let you use your suit to conceal it?"
"I know about those concerns." She couldn''t help but sound a little frustrated. Jane believed earlier that she did have some control of her own symbol. The truth is, she can invoke it any time that she want, but it can also invoke itself without warning during intense fighting. So there really is no control to regards of hiding her own mark. With this suit on, the activation is only made to seem to others like Jane is charging up for a magical attack in her right hand, and then again only from a distance, but there have been two instances before now in which the symbol projected holographically through her own suit. Taylor might be right. All it takes to get discovered is to have the symbol activate when someone is at close range. Even with the suit, the elites would be able to clearly see that the glowing is coming from the top of her hand, not from her palm. If that happens, it''s cats out of the bag, and goodbye operation: shutdown Alpha Zero. "It''ll be fine," Jane sounded reassuring to Taylor anyway. It wasn''t really for her friends to figure it out. Luck was what she needed on her side for that battle.
"Let''s hope it will be." Danny glanced around, finding a few people in the distance. The daytime was still fleeting, with no other good way to tell exactly what time it was. The ability to see in the darkening skies was dwindling away quickly, but at least there was a nice change of pace. After standing to face the way they needed to be going, Danny was barely able to make out the fogged outline of something in the distance. It may be the resemblance to a large city they have been searching for. Either way, there wasn''t any more point sticking around here, only to be stopped by some other lunatic. "Should we ride out now?"
"Hold on just a sec." Jane stopped the two of them in order to pull out her Leray license card. "I want to check how much credits we have now." Holding up her license to the opposite side of the sun to read her status, the system had already rewarded Jane and tallied up the total amount for her. Jane Venn | Age: 16 | Graduated facility: Dakota + Lennith | Last Ev. Score: 10 | Current Status: Advanced Leray wielder | Credits: 12600 Cr.
Jane had already attained her very first five-digit number, all without spending a ton of it on specific items in order to boost her odds in battle. Then again, 8900 of those credits still belongs to Fredric Spence, the man who was supposed to be a sea mechanic for the boat that dragged her all the way to Monoc Port while somehow adrift. It was a detail she could not forget, something that had to be paid back sooner or later, no matter the means. Tallying up the totals last seen from Danny and Taylor after their victories with Mayza''s henchmen, this would mean that the current total - including debt is 17,570 credits. Still failing to tell them about her little problem owing some guy she has never met, Jane used the tally without debt for the report in total. "We have 26,670 credits altogether. If we keep this up, we''ll be able to stock up on amazing things for our trip to Alpha Zero."
"Maybe I''ll even buy a souvenir." Danny was already proud enough to hear such high numbers, even after rescuing Cass from her own nightmare. Gustos was now out of the picture, and the only thing left to worry about was getting to Eldora.
Jane put her license away again, preparing herself to head out. With Gustos knocked out on the floor behind her, Jane didn''t even want to turn around. "Let''s keep going then."
Hearing that now was the time to move, Taylor followed behind Danny and Jane, hugging Danny''s jacket to her skin tightly. The air had actually gotten cooler around them, though Jane must not have noticed very much after her intense fight. Taylor on the other hand had to stand there and watch in the cold, which wasn''t too bad. Watching two people battle with magic is never a bore. Normally with bigger spells, you get some amazing special effects that can clearly be seen despite the Siriean dome. But when someone else and Jane battles, there is never a dull moment, even without those special effects. It''s almost like watching sets of fireworks battle against each other for dominance, one side physically exchanging more light over the other. With how dark it was starting to get, it was going to be interesting to see how that works at nighttime.
Jane and the others mounted on their bikes. She first took notice of how comfortable everyone was right now. Even Taylor was smug, secretly enjoying basking herself inside of Danny''s warm jacket. It made her wonder how he was managing to stay so warm without such heavy clothes. The air did feel a little cooler than it was before her battle, but at the same time, the strong winds and breezes have died down for now. With the strong and radiant yellow glow of the sun set at such an angle turning the sky a partial pink, Jane and her comrades rode off.
Chapter 39-E: Battle Streak (Part 3 ~ Jane VS Kira)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 20:40 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
With the same environment around them, the trio only peddled for less than ten minutes after setting off from the last battle. The sun was almost touching the horizon by now, and yet the orange glow of its radiance managed to keep the area on the bridge from getting dark. While keeping her pace at an average level, Taylor held the lead in front of Jane and Danny while taking it all in. Because of the decreased wind speed, the air had not gotten any colder or warmer than before, but even with her jacket to trap in her own body heat, Taylor''s face and hands were brisk without the additional thermal protection.
Very little time passed since they continued to drive away from their last encounter, hoping they would not be stopped by another. Taylor already figured that simply accepting a single strike on one of their cards would actually make very good time. Though because of Jane''s covert motives, they could not legally claim emergency to skip too many of these battles. Most of all, Jane wanted to fight regardless. She didn''t want to continue getting stopped over and over again, though every single battle fought on this bridge and the last made for excellent experience and practice for the bigger fights ahead.
"I''m just saying..." Danny had been continuing the conversation from just a brief moment ago, contemplating the only way to solve one of Sprawn Valley''s major issues. He was mostly speaking to Jane, since Taylor had not said much of anything for the past five minutes. "If they can change the rules here and there, people won''t have to worry about getting forced to make that choice. Fight or get suspended? What kind of options are those?"
"Still," Jane argued. "There isn''t anything we can do about it. That authority belongs to the champion of Leray magic alone. Perhaps the mage council could look into the issue as well if it counts as something below national matters, but I don''t know if they will, and we can''t talk to the champion until I get to fight him in the Eldora championship." Jane began to coast, keeping her position just behind Taylor in order to stay level with Danny''s bicycle. Her thoughts held in the same area. The champion, regardless of who he is - simply doesn''t get downtime to speak with civilians, regardless of most claims made. No, they''re too busy hosting their championship battles instead. Never mind the damage such ignorance could do everywhere else. "Of course it isn''t right. People like to exploit gaps like that all the time. There won''t be guardians for every victim you know."
"Maybe that''s what he meant..."
"Sorry?" Jane heard Danny mumble very lowly, unable to make out what he was talking about.
"It''s nothing," he promised. Danny remembered the conversation very well, the one he had over the telephone with uncle Nyar. He wasn''t very clear about what he in particular knew of Leray magic, but Nyar believed much like the rest of the world that it was incredibly dangerous to get involved with magic. At first, Danny thought magic was really accompanied with serious drawbacks, taking to his uncle''s warning strictly, but after some time, Danny felt that all were mistaken. Then the concept of dark magic and system exploits became apparent. With thugs like the Scarlet Cult running around doing bad things, and with crazy stuff like Alpha Zero cropping up, who really knows anymore? Sprawn Valley is supposed to be a safe and fair place to conduct legitimate and exciting Leray matches, the kind people can watch and spectate for fun while the contestants get more experience to jump up the chain. Instead, the nation has people like Jane getting marked, thieves like Gustos exploiting innocent targets, and the chain of command sitting on their asses doing nothing about the impending threat to Lennith City. Jane even spoke of something before, something about a war that happened here several centuries ago for freedom, a war of magic. Learning how to use magic and exchange abilities with others in battle should be safe, it was designed to be fool proof. This is sadly not the case. What will he say after returning home? What will Nyar think of him after all of the involvement he has gotten himself and Taylor into despite the warnings?
"Watch out!" Taylor slammed the breaks to her bike, not producing enough ground friction to stop in time. She twisted the handles and steering to make the bike skid sideways, eventually falling off because of the vehicle''s failure to maintain balance. Just as Taylor fell to the floor, Danny and Jane had to apply a forceful stop as well, looking up and around to see what had scared Taylor.
After inflicting only a minor scrape to her knees and arms, Taylor brushed herself off, standing back up quickly before her friends got closer to check her out. "Who was that?" Taylor saw someone, a dark figure for only a split second just as she was about to run over the unknown civilian. Despite the collision course and her failure to stop in time, Taylor''s bike continued on without hitting anything.
"Taylor!" Jane didn''t need to ask if she was okay - it was obvious enough. She only cared about why they had to make a sudden stop.
"Did you see him?"
Jane noticed Taylor looking around for someone, and joined in to determine if they were being followed or not. Nobody was in sight right now, so she had to be seeing ghosts. "You can''t just stop us in the middle of the road like that!"
Taylor turned towards Jane with a violent expression. "We almost hit someone, and I''m sure that we should have. So where are they?"
"There''s nobody here Taylor!" Danny didn''t want to argue with her, but he nearly fell flat on his face too. That wasn''t fun for anyone.
"My, my. Such fuss over a little trip."
Jane heard a different voice, one that somehow echoed in her ears while remaining untraceable. She turned her head around everywhere, noticing that Danny and Taylor were doing the same. They too could hear the ominous female voice, though whoever was hiding remained currently invisible. "So there is someone here," Jane deduced. "Show yourself!"
Danny felt threatened by the action. Who would be hiding and scaring Taylor like that? Why remain as invisible as possible? What would be the point if not for some sort of ambush? Surely a random challenger couldn''t be that reckless, and if they were, he would be the one to fight instead of Jane!
Shortly upon the command, a bright light with an unusual symbol appeared on the floor in front of all three of them, shooting light from the cement until the form of a human came to be in the center of the symbol glyphring. Jane recognized such an entrance, and she has only seen it in real life two times before now. It was teleportation, different from matter transference. That alone spoke volumes about this mysterious person''s magical abilities and skill levels, but the question still lingered regarding her identity and what she was doing here. To further add to confusion, matter transference would have worked just as well with a distance short enough to project one''s voice, so why even bother showing off teleportation?
Dressed in a pitch-black cloak designed for special mages and magical users, the tall woman emerged from the now fading light of the teleportation symbol, standing between all three of Jane''s troupe. "I can''t believe I really found you here in the flesh. It''s been some time, Jane Venn!"
Gasping in surprise, Jane failed to make out any facial features of the woman besides her dark average length hair bristling outward from the hooded robe. The darkness and position of her standing away from the sunlight hid her identity well, but how did she know Jane''s name? "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
As Taylor and Danny crept slowly around the woman to try and get closer to Jane, the woman introduced herself first by dropping the top part of her hood, revealing her face. She was no more than 24 years old, though her stature retained its malevolence while she focused only on Jane. "I''m Kira, not that you would be able to remember. Though I''m surprised you don''t at least remember my voice at all Jane. After all, I am looking forward to a rematch."
Jane nodded her head in confusion. "But I never fought anybody before by that name, and I don''t remember you at all. You must have me confused with someone else."
"I don''t think so." Kira drew both of her daggers from within her black cloak, keeping a background trace of Jane''s friends behind her. "You fought against Patrissa wonderfully, but after that, you gave the rest of us no chance at all."
"You were with Patrissa?!" Jane still couldn''t be sure what sort of cruel idea this was, but she pulled both of her daggers from her battle suit as well, remaining cautions just after hearing that name. Danny and Taylor probably would not remember much about this, but Patrissa was a criminal, working with other criminals to steal things from others while threatening their own lives. "I thought she was arrested with her gang."
"Indeed she was," Kira confirmed. "I was one of the stealth units hiding behind you when you unleashed that Redemption attack on everyone, but I didn''t go down with the rest. I barely managed to escape that carnage you caused."
Jane stepped forward, the entire reminder of the battle lunging her into a rage. "You''re the one who tried to steal from me, and many others before I showed up! Furthermore, I did not agree to battle willingly." Kira remained still, evaluating Jane''s every word. "Lucky for you, we''re still in a rush to Eldora. If you leave us alone now, I won''t need to recall seeing your face or hearing your name."
In a laughing manner, Kira let herself drown in the suspense she had been waiting for. Such a bluff could only draw how weak she is... But these two unknowns won''t do for her part of the plan. "It''s much too late for that! Though since your friends were not part of that mess you made, I suppose I can let them go on to Eldora City unharmed. But know this Jane." With a more serious expression on her face, Kira pointed at Jane with the tip of her right dagger blade. "I''m going to kill you for what you did to our friends, and for what you did to my boss. I''m here for my revenge!"
"Some friends you had. What? You want a battle to the death?" Jane couldn''t believe her ears, but from her peripheral, Danny and Taylor were both nodding left and right at the idea of running off in the middle of this. Kira is indeed dangerous if she was involved with Patrissa, so they can''t be ready. "I will not fight you to the death. Danny and Taylor? Stay out of this one. Kira is all mine alone."
"Are you serious?!" Danny complained. That''s enough of this solo crap!
Taylor pitched in to deter Jane from fighting against Kira. "You don''t have to fight alone Jane!"
"I knew you were at least reasonable to leave your friends'' lives out of this. We''ll even make it an official battle. It won''t matter, because I won''t stop attacking you until your heart stops!" Kira couldn''t keep herself from laughing maniacally, revealing her insatiable desire to torture others.
Jane can''t conform to the idea of killing Kira just by winning. At the least, beating her in a battle would knock her unconscious for several moments to come. Then again, if Jane loses, Kira will kill her. That is the promise this insane wielder has made to her, twice now! It''s a stupid reason to seek out revenge, but these people mean business all the time, never exaggerating. "Now those aren''t very nice rewards."
"If your friends try to intervene after I''m finished with you, I''ll chop them up next."
Jane nodded and kept her cool. "Now look Kira. I don''t know who you think you are coming out here for revenge like this, but I''m not just going to let you get in the way of my mission. With all said, you have already made one grave mistake. Danny and Taylor are not to be threatened or harmed. If I die, there is no guarantee that someone of the likes of you will leave them alone. I swore an oath to protect my friends from harm, and I don''t care what I have to do to protect them. So if you''re so sure you want me to lock you behind a prison cell after defeating you, go ahead and do your worst!"
Kira''s eyes squinted in agreement. As she backed up only slightly to activate a legitimate Siriean dome, Danny and Taylor were thus locked out to watch. Kira controlled the formation of the dome, making sure to trap the other end of the field right in between Jane and her friends.
Jane nervously glanced behind her, noticing that Danny and Taylor were pounding on the Siriean dome from outside. Kira trapped them out of there! Jane wasn''t all that serious about fighting alone to the death, but now Kira was forcing this on her as well... Fine then. It will keep those two out of harm''s way. So be it, shadow of Patrissa! It wasn''t clear who would try and attack first, but Jane needed to engage her own energy scope first, with Kira copying the idea.
Chapter Theme Shift: Boss Battle ~ Jeff Williams {Custom Extension}
Nothing about this battle felt normal. After all, Jane was battling against some psychopathic killer who wants only her life. The new enemy was also focused on singling out her victim in the namesake of her own revenge, but Jane just needed to use what she had learned from all of the other battles and place it into this one. Kira may be a formidable opponent, but she isn''t invincible.
"Let''s do this then," Kira announced.
Jane knew that her opponent was prepared for anything. Nevertheless, there wasn''t much action happening right now. As a result, Jane decided it was best to go first, testing Kira''s skills to adjust her own strategy. "Magical Blitz!" Jane''s hands both lit up with blue radiance as the energy spheres formed in her hands. She threw both of them consecutively, forming more in each hand while twirling her body around to become a little less predictable. Jane threw the last two at Kira, paying little attention to how many hits she got until after the invocation of the spell was over with.
Kira didn''t have to move very much to avoid taking hits of the stray projectiles heading her way. She slid to the left and slunk to the right. The third one nearly hit her face, so she leaned her head away to narrowly evade the third one. The fourth one was foreseeable as well, but at the same time very close to the third projectile. While barely managing to dodge the last blitz ball in the same method, Kira''s neck got slightly grazed by the passing projectile as it flew onwards without a direct hit. Feeling just a minor sting on the side of her neck form the last blitz ball, Kira knew that she was okay with the way things were going right now.
Taylor and Danny were just as shocked as Jane was. Kira effortlessly dodged most of them without even moving. "Damn! She is good. Try harder Jane!"
Jane immediately noticed an incredible change happening around her. The color of the Siriean dome remained constant, but the light entering from outside had dimmed down so much. It was only happening on the inside of the dome, but the available sunlight entering the Siriean dome was thus cut in half for an unknown reason. The confused looks on her friends'' faces spelled out that the illusion was not isolated to herself. Kira on the other hand didn''t seem the least bit surprised, as if she planned this. This must be the work of hidden effects attached to her weapons or armor making it hard to see inside of the battlefield. Jane could still keep track of everything, but the entire environment outside appeared to be tinted with such a darker aura.
"Now it''s my turn," she announced. Preparing for the chant of her magical ability, Kira leaped her arm in the air, glowing in essence as she shoved it back down for the invocation. "Aerial Plume!" The spell happened quickly, as photons began raining down from above Jane''s position. Though as the small beams of light hit the ground, explosions with large radii were left in their impact. Jane had no time at all to evade or defend herself as one of the blasts managed to get under her feet, followed by another random explosion of damage that shoved her far off the ground and soaring away from Kira''s position.
"Agh!" Taken by full surprise of the sheer power of Kira''s single area attack, Jane had to quickly overcome the pain of an explosion affecting every place on her body while standing back up and regaining her momentum.
Jane shook her head too, pretending that it helped her recover even faster. Now that it was her turn to attack, Jane lifted her daggers up, ready to get close and personal. "Splicing Vengeance!" Jane rushed in towards Kira while she just stood there in wait. Jane''s daggers were capable of dealing a high amount of damage, and Kira was not even attempting to evade the incoming attack. Just as Jane was in range to strike Kira, she began to swing her daggers forward for the slash.
Kira however put her boot out in front of her, kicking her leg forward in just the right place and time to slam Jane directly in the stomach. Knocking her opponent''s attack back and canceling the Splicing Vengeance skill, Kira followed up her kick with another one, magically infusing the same boot with additional magical damage. "Counter Kick!" Kira leaped in the air with a very high-speed spin, just before landing the boot at Jane once again.
Just after feeling the thwack to the gut that knocked the wind out of Jane while stopping her attack completely, Kira managed to Counter Kick Jane in the same place with double the knockback. Jane was sent off her feet once again, falling down on the ground and away from Kira. The damage wasn''t high, but the pain of blunt damage to her gut was more than enough to stun Jane where she lay.
Danny couldn''t believe his eyes. Kira was way too fast for Jane to track, her timing was always spot on. "Jane''s getting the floor mopped with her! Don''t take that Jane!" He too noticed how difficult it was to see inside of the dome shield, but perhaps it has something to do with Kira''s special effects. Her own power in comparison to Jane is so far impressive, and that reaction time rivals the same of Jane Venn, something he never would have expected.
Just as Jane finally got back to her feet, Kira began invoking another spell, not giving Jane any time to try and maneuver or counter, but because of the delay on Kira''s invocation, Jane did manage to have just enough time to respond for a different strategy.
"Ozcom''s Razor!" A giant blade summoned just above where Jane was standing, though it was in that moment that Jane chose to project her energy through her hands, crossing her arms around her in order to project a power shield around her body. Just as the blade began shooting downwards on top of Jane, she was protected by her personal shielding aura. Kira watched in disbelief as the massive blade stopped at the top of the power shield, failing to cut through and do any damage. Several hexagons formed on the outside of the top most part of the aura, fading just as the summoned blade did.
Jane didn''t feel too drained after invoking her power shield, and after successfully blocking out an attack, she finally had some time to recover her wits again. Kira sure is fast though. It would require the use of attacks difficult to evade in order to score a single hit on this wielder. Jane had at least one idea right now. Using the dagger in her right hand, Jane infused magic into the blade and into herself for the next spell. "Dark Strike!" After teleporting just behind Kira, there was no delay whatsoever in Jane''s speedy transition to send her blade flying upward through Kira''s cloak. She was certain that the blade was deep enough to penetrate the armor and inflict real damage to Kira, but there wasn''t even enough time to evaluate that yet. Jane knew she needed to jump back and away from Kira the moment after she was hit, as to not get involved in a speedy close combat counterattack. After the strike was successful, Jane noticed how ineffective the slash was entirely, failing to launch Kira into the air and dealing only minor damage. However, the slice itself did manage to cause her some pain, stunning her in place for a second while she tried to figure out where Jane had gone.
After comparing their energy scopes, Taylor came to a rather early conclusion. "This is bad! You think Kira was serious about killing Jane?"
Danny didn''t give her an answer, much too focused on what was happening inside of the dome shield. Jane can''t lose to a sap like Kira, not now!
After realizing where Jane was, Kira quickly turned around while releasing more energy from her hands. A red glyphring formed around both of her arms at the same time, using both of her open hands to launch the attack. "Laser Barrage!" A series of quick red beams of light fired from her hands, traveling much too quickly to see for more than half a second. Laser Barrage is basically the same attack type as needle barrage, only using energy lasers instead to increase the damage significantly.
However, Jane already put herself under another power shield before Kira''s spell could get the best of her, blocking out all of the damage. The lasers all melted away into the aura, leaving behind several hexagons at their impact sight. Jane had never seen an attack used like this before, but she was glad to get to observe it in here without taking the spell''s damage. With her power shield there to protect her, Kira was finally going to start having problems breaking through. Jane knew she had a clear chance to attack any moment her shield drops.
After losing the shield on purpose, Jane aimed her hand at Kira with a red aura surrounding her skin. She began slowly walking away backwards from Kira, gaining distance while forcing her spell to harm her. "Star of Darkness!"
Just as the red circle related to the familiar spell trapped Kira under her feet, Kira knew just how to react to the situation, doing so long before the spell got to do any damage. "Resistor Surge!" The object formed in her hand instantly, materializing from a short-lived small yellow glyphring, and Kira slammed it into the ground with its bottom needle holding itself up. With the electronic powered device now activated, Jane''s entire spell was going to be only half as powerful.
Jane didn''t expect a Resistor Surge to take effect. Just as Kira''s HP began to slowly drain, Jane was now standing almost helpless. All she could do was wait it out and hope to not be attacked.
Kira knew her health was being drained, but she could barely notice it with her Resistor Surge activated. The device is specifically designed for this spell, cutting Star of Darkness in half on damage and draining levels. The red Star of Darkness spun under her feet, though it didn''t even bother her. Instead, Kira charged up another spell, forming a red glyphring around her right wrist now aimed at Jane. "Fire Bolt!" Hoping to totally interrupt Jane''s Star of Darkness spell even further, Kira launched a Fire Bolt in Jane''s direction. Her opponent would now have no choice but to evade and drop the attack, or take the hit and try to keep going in spite of the damage. In several ways she could not see, Jane was quite predicable.
Soon after noticing a Fire Bolt heading her way, Jane used her only available hand and aimed her open palm in front of her. The right arm was the one controlling Star of Darkness, and Jane had to keep it going for the effect to complete. Using her left hand to protect herself, Jane reacted without even thinking clearly, projecting her energy in the similar wave form pattern from her left hand to generate a shield wall in front of her. Just as it happened, the aura that used to surround her body was now in the form of a linear wall, blocking the Fire Bolt''s path perfectly. Jane didn''t even expect to come up with the idea so quickly and randomly, but the Fire Bolt melted into the shield wall without breaking through, making for the strategy an effective plan to block.
Jane wasn''t the only one at a loss for words. Danny and Taylor could not take their eyes of the fight, but it was more than impressive to see someone actually invoke two different spells in the exact same moment one is already being used. It''s not even supposed to be a rarity, rather an impossibility. Yet Jane protected herself perfectly, keeping the Star of Darkness active the entire time. Just as the spell was ending, Kira was zapped with the usual hit of a red lightning bolt strike from above. The Star of Darkness faded from the ground slowly from the end of the spell, as did the glyphring surrounding Jane''s right arm. She was now free, and Kira suffered a fair amount of damage despite the Resistor Surge.
Kira didn''t come out of the damage disoriented. She was still as sharp as when she began the battle, and kept Jane in her sights at all time. Though with both of them at standstills, she risked getting cocky. "I say it''s about time we wrapped this up!"
To that Jane replied, "As you wish!" Just after the strange remark, Jane began to release a ton of her charged energy, making the invocation less than immediate. She could tell that Kira was up to something as well, but it wasn''t going to work with this particular skill. "Zero Zone!" Taking a huge toll on Jane''s MP reserves, she released the time-stopping aura all around her, making the world void of all colors but black and white. Jane heard a type of echo in her voice, ignoring it for now and waiting for Zero Zone to finish taking effect, but what happened next was shocking for everyone.
A few seconds earlier, Kira had shouted the name of a spell that echoed in the air from the other side. "Zero Zone!" she shouted. As the world around her changed completely to match the spell''s time phasing effects, she and Jane were the only two people unaffected by the ability. Kira was moving and looking around just fine, as if the Zero Zone had no possible effect on her the way it was supposed to. Jane was incredibly confused, but not for long. As ironic as this was, figuring out what just happened played little role in total. Jane just invoked Zero Zone. The echo she must have heard was not an echo; it''s the only thing that can explain this. A world void of time, yet perfectly functioning for Jane and Kira both.
"Oh, you''ve gotta be kidding me!" Kira shouted in anger. She used Zero zone as well, at the exact same moment Jane had invoked the skill. It was surprising for Kira to even realize that Jane possessed such power and skillful abilities, but with time stopped for nobody inside of the dome shield, they both went at it, ignoring the strange coincidence. It was hard enough seeing the entire world around them, including their own skin color turn to black and white. With the darkness already in the sky, seeing in this mode was very difficult.
Neither Jane nor Kira used that to an advantage. Jane and Kira both took their daggers out and charged at each other for a close combat strike while stuck inside of Zero Zone''s aura. Jane already got in range, noticing how pumped and determined Kira was to defeat her right here and now. It wasn''t going to be easy, but she still had her training from before. "Knight Dance!"
"Series Blitz!" Chanting all sorts of close combat tactics, Jane and Kira began slashing, punching, and kicking at each other in a series of movements impossible to track contrast to each other. Jane mixed in several kicks and dagger slices with random attempts to dodge, but while she managed to inflict several hits on Kira, it had no effect on stopping her relentless assault on Jane using similar close-ranged tactics as well. Kira used her daggers with a combination of side steps and energy spheres native to Magical Blitz. Kira was effective in shooting her energy spheres into Jane at point blank range, especially after side stepping to do so. Jane took impacts harder from the magical attack, but managed to dodge most of Kira''s physical attacks. Kira only dodged some of Jane''s dagger slices, much more of her magically infused kicks and punches.
It was simply a mess of two people going at it with random skill alone, coordination and training were the only factors right now. Jane slashed at Kira one more time towards the face, and at the same time, Kira fired another energy ball at Jane. The energy sphere carried a lot of force, knocking back Jane despite her accidental slice through the magical build up, and Kira was affected by the knockback as well. In the exact same moment, the Zero Zone effect ended for both of them, the world returning to full color and becoming brighter in response.
To what it looked like for Danny and Taylor, Jane and Kira had simply vanished for a split second, only to reappear in two different areas while being pushed away by nothing. It didn''t make any sense at all, but that was because time had unknowingly been stopped and blocked out from their own perception. None of them could have guessed what happened, and yet the battle carried on as if there were no remaining issues.
As it seems that both of them took damage, the fight could still go on for long until being judged. Jane was making some progress by now with her ability to shield against some of Kira''s amazing assaults. Speaking of which...
"Time distortion or not, I will kill you Jane! Tri-Attack!" Using the similar method of creating three different and distant glyphrings to surround Jane, Kira was going to stand tall and hit Jane with a Thunderbolt, Fire Bolt, and an Ice Bolt nearly at the same time to accumulate the damage.
But Jane was expecting something as usual as a ranged attack using magic. "Power shield!" After coating herself with another energy shield again, Jane was protected by her blue translucent aura of protection. The Lightning Strike hit the shield first, using a quick bolt of electrical energy leaving behind hexes in its impact sight. Then the Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt hit the shield at the same time, failing to break through. It was in that moment where Jane congratulated herself once again, dropping her shield to counterattack again.
"You and that shield," Kira complained through the hissing in her teeth, while her murderous eyes locked into focus for the young but quick girl.
Jane didn''t hesitate to stop and chat for a moment, already with her attack energy charged up. "Photon Burst!" With her invocation time even faster than the last, Jane lifted and slammed down her arm to create a powerful rainfall of energy photons directed towards Kira.
Kira looked up and noticed the fall of the photons quickly, the initial faint glow from the light above sufficient to distract her from Jane''s current position. She didn''t expect it either, seeing as it was an attack modified from Photon Blast to change the angle of attack. Jane was thinking with much intelligence right now, though her life was on the line. Kira tried to get out of the way despite this being a large area attack. She jumped back, then leaped back again until she went into an acrobatic backflip. The photons began slamming the ground in front of her, as Kira narrowly evaded a good radius of the waved attack. But just as she landed on her feet again, several more photons from above slammed into her with different vector angles, dealing massive magical damage for several long moments.
Kira only managed to partially dodge the attack, and she couldn''t do anything about the problem right now. She would have to accept significant health loss and move on, struggling just to stand back up and shake off the last hit from the spell. Jane was barely doing any better, but her MP reserves were still at 50% capacity, so there would be plenty to watch out for. Still, even with her heavy damage and the pain the last attack inflicted, Kira saw several opportunities to attack Jane and keep her off balance. "Shadow Wave!" Kira threw the dark magical essence to the ground, shoving a difficult to see Shadow Wave towards Jane.
Then Shadow Wave picked up in speed and width as it traveled, making it impossible for Jane to try and jump out of its way, but with just a little magic, Jane thought of a more effective way to jump and dodge. Infusing magical energy into her feet, Jane granted herself temporary ability to lower her own gravitational weight and leap high into the air. Though it took a moment, Jane got off the ground at the very last second the Shadow Wave had nearly eaten her alive, and as she was flying higher into the air, Jane used the same moment to counterattack from here. Continuously floating in the air at the cost of MP energy, Jane released a very powerful and energy consuming spell that created a multi-colored glyphring in front of her, angled to aim downwards at Kira from her current height. "Prism!"
Jane began to invoke a powerful spell from the air, while floating in place from the additional magical energy. She now had to cast Prism, which meant giving the spell her entire focus and attention since the chosen sequence of elemental attacks are not at all randomized, not by some automatic process. Jane had to launch them herself using her hands and the glyphring''s connection. Because of her quick maneuver and attack style, Kira was too surprised to do anything about this for the moment being.
She first threw two Fire Bolts at Kira, which hit her directly in the face. Kira hid her face down in her cloak with the rest of her body in a feeble attempt to try and naturally block the blasts. Jane continued relentlessly, launching two Ice Bolts down from above as well. Jane then finished off the sequence in her special order; two Thunderbolts, a Fire Bolt, a Thunderbolt, an Ice Bolt, a Thunderbolt, another Fire Bolt with another Thunderbolt, followed by ice, fire and then thunder again.
Kira groaned from how much pain the continued attack sequence was causing her, and the damage level was somewhat high as well, but Jane wasn''t stupid. Kira''s health should have dropped twice as far down than it did, and blocking couldn''t have been the only factor involved. That black cloak she is wearing must be the culprit; cloaks tend to have special defensive effects that mostly cut elemental magical damage in half, which still makes the use of Prism an inefficient spell overall. Jane dropped her glyphring and then herself to the ground. Kira was already recovering from all of those hits, but Jane was ready for whatever comes next, waiting for something she could block with another shield.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
Kira''s eyebrows tightened as she looked up at Jane. Jane''s magical capacity was still somewhat elevated, close to her own. "Let''s change that," she mumbled silently. "Power Drain!" Kira launched a quick and powerful bright sphere as a projectile towards Jane. Its speed was so fast that Jane''s attempt to protect herself form it failed entirely, but much to her surprise, no physical damage was done to her health.
Unlike most spells, Power Drain is a sphere designed to drain the target of a high amount of MP energy from their physical body, disorienting them in the process while making it impossible for the victim to use magic and spells from here on, disregarding passive regeneration. It took much of Kira''s own magic just to use the spell, which is almost a double whammy in perspective. It costs MP to use, thus almost has the same effect on the person using the spell, but only half the magic is lost to the user compared to how much would be lost to the target if the sphere makes its mark.
Indeed, as described in Kira''s memory, Jane was totally exhausted from the battle already, lightheaded and disoriented as a side effect of having all of her magic drained in one single instance. Jane now had no counter measures to use against Kira. She could only use physical attacks, and at the same time, her power shield would be inoperable with such low energy levels. Without even realizing it yet, Kira has a big advantage right now.
Jane concentrated on herself, trying to push just a tiny ounce of energy into one more spell that virtually requires nothing to activate in the first place. "Energy, Cycle!" In just a delayed huff of breath within her chanted spell, Jane''s entire body became coated with a very thin and transparent purple colored aura, which did nothing else in the meantime. It took a moment for Kira to understand what was happening to Jane, not that she fully understood the effects anyway, being that only Jane and Claudia were aware of the artificial spell. Jane''s MP reserves began to passively regenerate much quicker than it normally happens, though relatively slow since she was starting with zero percent of her energy. Even for Kira''s perspective, Jane''s trick currently isn''t much of a threat.
"Charge Attack!" Deciding to reserve some of her own energy, Kira needed to attack Jane without expending magic, and that meant getting up close with utmost confidence. When in range, Kira let lose her random combination of dagger slices and kicks. Jane on the other hand did the same thing without changing her position, letting Kira come to her. Both of them were at it again, attacking with random physical hits in real-time without much of a strategy. Jane however suffered a few more painful hits and dagger strikes than she had inflicted upon Kira''s body. With one final kick, Kira got to push Jane away and kick off of her chest to get some distance for herself, ending her combination sequence. The stats for both of them changed very little, though Jane''s rapid MP recovery was now going noticed.
Jane decided to counterattack. Despite her next skill using up a small amount of magical energy, Jane kept its use to a minimum to keep her Energy Cycle aura going. Using up enough magic during the process would disrupt the sequence of Energy Cycle, as would invoking any type of other aura spells. "Crystal Arrow!" Keeping the arrow''s explosive properties inside, Jane''s yellow glyphring put the bow and arrow into her hands, allowing her to quickly wind up the arrow and shoot at Kira. Kira didn''t seem as fast as she was before, failing to dodge a simple projectile that she could have done before. Perhaps it was Kira''s exhaustion and fatigue finally catching up with her. Nevertheless, the arrow stuck into Kira, followed by a small explosion of the crystal knocking Kira to the floor with the bang of shrapnel shards.
Though cringing from the explosive and bruising pain she had not been expecting, Kira was quick to get back to her feet, and with enough magic to try and make use of another powerful attack, she took aim at Jane, who was standing too still for her own comfort. "Crimson Flare!" Kira quickly launched the Crimson Flare projectile, a massive hot and burning sphere that''s speed would have been incredibly easy to walk out of its path. However, when Jane saw it coming, she knew that she had to take the heat this time, for the sake of her Energy Cycle to work properly. Bracing herself for a rather painful sensation of burning magical damage, Jane let her skin heat up fast just as the sphere began to swallow her up whole, inflicting a lot of damage and pain just before the sphere passed her by. She had to shut her eyes to prevent crying out from the heavy magic damage being done from inside of the massive sized sphere.
Kira didn''t know what to get all surprised about; the fact that Jane''s MP reserves jumped up upon taking damage, or that Jane intentionally just stood there to make it happen. Her body still had that thin purple glow around it, and just as it ended, Jane was still happy to counterattack.
Without disrupting her Energy Cycle spell, Jane kept her magical usage to a bare minimum, utilizing an old and weak attack spell that is however distant. Pulling out her daggers, Jane charged little MP energy into the blades, forming bright lights at the tips of her Rigel Runes. Aiming at Kira, Jane fired the beams of blue light with very high accuracy. "Mako Beam!" Jane only used two beams of light to conserve energy, and Kira was barely affected by the beam attack. The idea was to antagonize Kira, not to hurt her just yet.
"Flying Guillotine!" Kira took a lot more time than she should have after chanting the name of her spell to invoke the ability, since she first needed to pull out her daggers, infuse the magic, and throw them at Jane for the spell to take full effect. Again, Jane stood there without any intention of dodging or blocking the attack. Magical slashing damage was going to cut off even more HP, but at the same time, her Energy Cycle Spell would in turn convert that into usable energy.
As the red circle of death drilled through Jane once from in front and another time from behind, she clenched her teeth from the sharp cutting pain that entered her lower body, stinging everywhere. Just as her stats changed again, Jane was satisfied enough with the result to intentionally drop her Energy Cycle aura, removing the purple coat of light around her body upon conscious request.
With her stats rebalanced, Jane went into immediate attack mode, running at Kira to get closer for her mid-ranged tactics. Kira would not be able to expect it, because she would have thought from the looks of it that Jane wanted another close combat rumble. Kira pulled out her daggers again as a result, and Jane let her have it from six meters away. "Median Flare!" Blasting a bright and powerful burst of light with only forty five degrees of spread, Kira was immediately hit by the powerful force that carried its energy and heat into her body, taking the damage as it nearly knocked her all the way down again.
Kira could feel herself failing to keep things together, and as a result of Jane now being on top of the battle, she had to resort to another strategy. Though it was totally unorthodox, Kira managed to pull out some sort of orb from her cloak. She held it up, as the top colored tip of it was shaded with a blue color. "Magic restoration. Fulfill me with more power!" The orb lit up brightly in response, showing off how incredibly quick the MP boosting orb took effect.
Jane could not believe it! This wasn''t the typical spell bomb or booster orb that one could use in battle. It was specifically the type of restoration orb that can only be used outside of a Siriean dome. But Kira was holding one now, somehow managing to use it, despite the fact that the natural Leray rules are supposed to block it out! "That orb isn''t for this battle," Jane shouted. Kira shouldn''t be allowed to use that thing! How did she bypass the security protocols? "You can''t use it right now, you cheating bitch!"
Kira laughed at Jane''s sense of fair sportsmanship. "I''m trying to kill you silly, not win some kind of bet. Let''s even the odds!" As the orb''s brightness reached its full potential and faded shortly after, a temporary blue aura surrounded Kira''s entire body, restoring a lot of her MP energy on the spot. The energy scope changed. It was surprising to Jane that Kira did not use a healing orb instead, and thought that perhaps Kira was actually enjoying some of those scars. Though at the same time, most people are critical at 19% health. Kira still appears like she could tackle the entire world. Where does she get all of that speed and stamina from?
"What?" Taylor sputtered. "That isn''t fair! Stop this fight right now!" Kira didn''t back down to Taylor''s demands, nor did she even recognize her voice from here. Taylor immediately sent an Ice Bolt flying through her glyphring to the Siriean dome''s outer layer, hoping to break it down by attacking its shield directly, but the dome simply absorbed the Ice Bolt without a single hint of failing, creating a large hexagonal shape of aura at the impact sight. Jane was trapped in there against a cheater hoping to kill her in battle. Is there was no way to bring this down?
Danny noticed Taylor''s immediate attempt to free Jane, trusting the judgment that there was no surviving this battle. Even being marked, Jane was fighting fairly, and that wasn''t good. Kira isn''t going to play the rest of this out by the rules. She''s a criminal! "Let''s attack it together!" he provided. Surely their combined power should overwhelm the dome from outside. Danny had a new theory about the difference in this particular Siriean dome.
Jane noticed a few flashes of evanescent light behind her without turning around, muffled sounds that followed. Kira was facing the other way, and thus could make the same estimation easily.
"Bet your friends are getting a little nervous right about now."
Jane responded to Kira''s tease with the only thing she had left. "Weren''t we in the middle of something?" Planning for Kira to try and attack Jane again, the only hope is that she doesn''t have another hidden orb in her back pocket. Otherwise, Danny and Taylor busting this dome down would be the only choice. Then again, how exactly is Kira going to accomplish her task? Kira had not used a single dark magical attack yet. Leray attacks normally aren''t lethal in battle, so how exactly would she kill Jane? Jane could only make an educated guess that Kira would finish off her friends, then throw them into the ocean below while unconscious to drown. Leray veil or not, drowning at sea is an easy way to die even in Sprawn Valley. None can swim while unconscious.
"Right then. I get to do this now." Kira showed off her restored magical points by releasing a lot of her energy into another attack spell. This one took a long time to charge however, forming a large glyphring in front of her that began shooting an army''s worth of photons. "Photon Blast!" She chanted the name during her invocation, giving Jane less time to predict what was coming next.
But Jane didn''t need to predict the next attack, she just needed a powerful defense. Utilizing the abilities of her shielding aura, Jane sent the aura all around her body, not expecting any specific danger until it was on top of her. Several hundred photons that shot in the form of beams plowed the area where Jane was standing, designed to pierce through anything and everything. The photons slamming into her shield stopped short of the defensive reflection, creating small hexagons in its place again and again with the additional blasting sound of anti-aura deflection. Because of the high intensity of the attack though, Jane was losing her concentration quickly with the power of her shield dropping. Several more hexagons appeared, but the shield managed to barely hold up against the rest of the powerful full area attack directed at Jane.
Just as the attack was over and Jane dropped her shield, Kira wore the expression of a deeply disappointed unexpected surprise of doubt. It wasn''t possible for her shield to hold up against one of Kira''s most powerful magical attacks. Then again, Jane was full of random abilities just waiting to get the surprise on her. Kira knew as much, and she tried to prepare for any specific eventuality.
"Return Fire!" Jane called into the air. Using a glyphring set to float in place, Jane''s magical usage became a little more taxed as she began to charge at Kira already with a strategy in mind. While Kira was closely watching Jane, three photon waves of energy blasted her from behind and sent her forwards. It was amazing that Kira did not trip and fall forward as a result. Just as Kira recovered her balance, Jane shoved down her hand, forming two large sharp spears from above to land on top of Kira. Only one of the spears sliced right by the skin of Kira''s left arm, grazing her for a cut instead of the intended design of being shoved deep into her chest for high piercing damage. Jane however had the rest of the randomized spell in her power kick, with the energy already prepared to be released. Jane was danger close already, and leaped into the air to deliver her kick with her flying body to deliver the force of that impact. Kira however was still coordinated enough to jump out of the way. Jane simply missed her power kick, landing into the solid cement just behind Kira while her own momentum scraped her against the floor.
Kira turned around to see that Jane had tripped onto the ground from her own mistake, and used that opportunity to throw something at her while she was down. "Magical Blitz!" Only getting the time to throw one energy ball at Jane''s back, Kira tossed the sphere towards Jane. Before the impact, Jane chanted the name of another spell that immediately carried the force needed to shove Kira off her feet backwards utilizing some invisible push wave.
"Shining Bracer!" Jane managed to exert magic at just the right time before getting hit with a blitz ball in the back. Jane was stuck on the ground, with her own spell pushing her down further, but at least Kira tripped on the same spell just after Jane took another impact. Jane only absorbed a single energy sphere not thrown with a ton of force, so the damage had to be light. Jane barely felt anything hurting in her back, and used her newfound opportunity to try and stand up.
The problem with her plan was that Jane had to stand up and turn around in the same run. Kira simply had to get on her feet as quickly as possible, as she was already facing the same direction. Being more prepared to combat Jane from here, Kira invoked another simple spell during the time she took to skid back up on both legs. "Ozcom''s Razor!" Using another familiar spell to get the best of her, Kira summoned another massive sharp blade hovering above Jane''s position.
"Nagh!" Jane exhaled roughly as she tried to shift her arm movements to shield herself again, but during her process of invocation, nothing happened at all, the shield aura failing to initiate completely. Shortly after, the blade slammed down on her, cutting through her body deep enough to inflict massive sharp pain everywhere, including a fair amount of slashing damage. As the blade disappeared quickly, Jane was now stuck with a situation; the feeling of having a goliath blade stuck inside of her while being too drained of MP energy to create a shield. Her entire concentration became disoriented and faded.
Despite feeling disoriented, Jane attempted to attack Kira anyway, while she tried to use all of this time to back away and retain her distance, a pitiful mistake according to Jane''s standards. "You should have brought a healing orb instead. Blitz!" Jane literally sent her MP reserves down the drain, keeping only 2% in reserves from the moment her skill was invoked. The rest had been partially stored inside of her radiating green body, ready to be released onto the field. Jane started by drawing her daggers and sprinting towards Kira, the Blitz aura supplying just enough stamina for Jane to get over her faint feeling and blurred vision synchronized with her heart pulse.
Kira watched as Jane predictably ran towards her with another close combat assault move. While watching her opponent''s moves carefully, something suddenly slammed her into the air carrying an immense force. Kira didn''t even know what happened or what to think, but the impact alone cut up her side in several places at once, and she only had this brief moment in free-fall to realize that Jane just played her once again.
Jane watched as her secret side-winding Shadow Wave attack slammed into Kira from the side, something she was totally not expecting. Jane didn''t even think it was that easy to generate a Shadow Wave from far away without giving away the ordinance location, but there it was. The wave bashed Kira beautifully, shoving her into the air, and now at close range to Kira, Jane shoved her daggers into Kira''s leg as she lay vulnerable from the unexpected hit. The daggers cut in deep, forcing Kira to scream from the incredible pain that Jane managed to inflict from a simple physical attack. By hitting her leg, it would disrupt Kira''s ability to move about elegantly.
Jane did not jinx her current luck, and with Blitz having the effect of Multi-cast in her body, there was a lot more room in her single spell to do much more. Jane jumped back for some distance, and formed a small red glyphring around each wrist, shooting two Fire Balls in total into Kira''s body. The invocation timing of Jane''s Fire Ball attack was impossible to keep up with. The energy from Blitz creates a high-energy aura, which then becomes a temporary source of magic the user can draw from until depleted. The bonus effect; invocation timing is sped up so quickly.
Jane tossed her daggers at Kira just as she tried to stand up, dealing normal slashing damage again, though it didn''t seem to do as much as her first strike. With Kira trying to recover, Jane finished up her combination sequence by entering another mode entirely. "Rush Assault!" Another aura covered Jane''s body, an aura of power that allowed Jane to move at twice her normal speed. She was already in range to hit Kira, and began with a quickly invoked combination of punches and kicks. Jane didn''t even stop to try and dodge, while her every hit was infused with magical energy to increase the damage level at the same time. For once, Kira had absolutely no time to try and break free, dodge, or retaliate. Jane''s strikes were relentless and fast, too fast for Kira to shake off the punch to the face or a kick to the gut. As the Rush Assault aura began to fade away, Jane took her daggers out again, and shoved them deep into Kira''s chest, putting as much aggressive force into the blades as she could. By now, Jane''s energy for her Blitz combo was spent, and she had to take the daggers out and get away, but Kira was most certainly stunned by the entire attack. The look on her face was very close to fading unconscious, that expression of intense pain, her teeth grinding as failure to properly express it. Just as Jane got some more distance from Kira, Kira slowly slunk to the ground supporting herself with one of her knees. Her energy scope was soon to go into the red at this rate.
Realizing that Kira was finally at critical health conditions, and that one single attack would finally put her and this pathetic dome shield down, Jane gave her the chance to surrender peacefully. After all, Jane was not serious about killing Kira just because Kira wants to kill her. It just isn''t right. "You''ve proven your point already," Jane exhaled. Even though her stats were much higher, Jane was breathing heavily too just from the sheer exhaustion of running around and using up all of her energy. "I get that Patrissa was your idol, but what you and Patrissa were doing to those innocent people, ganging up on them to steal what they properly owned was wrong. Nobody even knows your involvement with that. You can give up here and walk away now, and start a new life."
Kira tried to get her full point across, barely capable of standing. She was slouching on one leg, holding her chest with her left arm as it burned with a searing stabbing pain. "And where would¡ª I... Be... Without showing you not to mess with what already is in the world? You¡ª can''t, escape my fate! I will kill you Jane!"
"I''m disappointed to hear that."
Kira knew that neither one of them was backing down until the end. With Jane''s powerful shield, it would take everything she had to penetrate those defenses, and so that is what was left to give. "Prism!" Even though her stance was destroyed by several stab wounds in her legs and her chest, Kira managed to keep her right arm straight enough to form the multi-colored glyphring in front of her in her current stance, screaming at the top of her lungs just to attain the focus needed to expend the rest of her energy correctly. Much of her MP was immediately spent, but she had much more to give after using her MP restoration orb mid-battle.
Jane saw a Prism glyphring form in front of Kira, and though she doubted that it would be as powerful, Jane simply did not take the chance that Kira may succeed in using it to its fullest extent. Despite her low MP levels, Jane managed to form another power shield with a little less power than what was normally used. Kira''s Prism combo activated, beginning the sequence with two Fire Bolts, an Ice Bolt, and a Thunderbolt. All four of those attacks though striking the shield at different times all managed to deal a lot of damage to Jane''s personal aura due to her failing MP levels, and because of this, her concentration on the shield was already tearing apart at the seams. Having to try harder and harder just to keep it going, Jane gave it everything she got while Kira delivered the rest of her force.
Kira knew there had to be a limit, and tested that limit with every ounce of magical power from the single attack. Safely at a distance, Kira continued the combination with another Ice Bolt, followed by a Thunderbolt, and three Fire Bolts. That alone somehow managed to completely take down Jane''s shield. Just as the shield failed, Jane nearly collapsed into the ground with it, afterwards taking the sudden rapid fire from the rest of Kira''s Prism spell. Finally! The attacks were wearing Jane out too.
As Kira concentrated on which elemental figures to use up left, Jane had to endure its total hell. She was hit with no defense left on her, first by a stray Fire Bolt, then two different Thunderbolts consecutively, followed by two Ice Bolts, another Fire Bolt, and two more Thunderbolts. At the end of Kira''s sequence, Jane was hurting pretty badly, but she felt like she was about to pass out even more. Her energy was so far down, that the process alone was its own distinct kind of pain. Stuck to the ground and barely able to stand, Jane took notice of her energy scope. Kira''s wasn''t doing so well either due to her used up energy on Prism, now turning red in color to indicate critical condition status.
Despite her heavy loss in energy, Jane was still somewhat capable of movement, much more than Kira seemed to look right now in her slumping injured stance. At the very least, Jane needed just one more attack to end this. Putting the rest of her energy to a rather simple yet effective spell, a red glyphring formed around her arm. "Fire Bolt!" Jane''s voice wasn''t as powerful as before, but it got the job done, sending a homing projectile of fire towards Kira.
Acting fast, Kira fired an Electro-Ball projectile from her right hand, aiming for Jane''s Fire Bolt. The two forces collided in mid-air shortly after, creating a small explosion and a lot of smoke that neutralized Jane''s feckless attempt to attack from afar. "I''m taking you down with me!" Though she sounded angry, Kira was also incredibly weak, pushing herself just to speak as well as trying to use the rest of her magic. "Stonefall!" The spell required practically no magical energy from her reserves, and a large amount of large stone rock chunks began falling from the sky. The falling pieces were limited in effective strike radius to a very small space where Jane was confined to. After having a few rocks slam her upside the head, Jane ducked and rushed away from that radius while covering her head, taking minor damage in the process while partially dodging the whole attack. It was not difficult to evade the entire attack of Stonefall, as it was a weak spell after all.
But Kira wasn''t finished with one mere attack. Using her magical reserves and her relentless combination to her advantage, Jane simply could not do anything to retaliate with no remaining magic in her reserves, and it would seem that Energy Cycle was of no use to Jane now either. Healing spells such as Solar Regen were not going to work with the sun already past the horizon, not that she learned how to invoke that one in particular. Darkness now consumed the entire skies above, granting Kira the perfect moment to wrap this battle up with Jane on a silver platter. As soon as this dome shield drops, she can easily use healing orbs long before Jane''s pitiful friends try to intervene. She knew the entire time that it would have been quicker and easier to just launch Jane into the ocean without a fight, but what kind of fun would that be? "Earth Glave!" Just as Jane dodged the Stonefall attack, Kira''s Earth Glave took effect, launching artificial rocks and dirt up from the ground even though there was nothing but cement to begin with.
With no way to dodge the attack or shield against it, Jane put her arms in front of her and braced herself. The shooting blunt pain of being slammed by an uplifting earth attack and then launched into the air crowded her nerves. Jane couldn''t see the ground before she landed back on the hard cement, but the process alone hurt her with an intense pain down her spine. She felt much weaker now in every way that mattered. The sky was right above her face due to the position she was in, and from the looks of it, the battle was already over.
Taylor infused magical energy into her hands, and used that to pound her fists on the outer edge of the dome shield, getting Danny to attack it using air magic, but the shield was winning, reflecting their every attack regardless of power. Now that they could see Jane just lying there on the ground with Kira gloating over the way things were going, Taylor began to panic quickly. "No Jane! Get back up and beat her now!"
Due to the soundproof effects of the dome shield, Jane didn''t hear a thing. No longer wanting to fight, Jane simply began to embrace the feeling of losing all of her senses. Then a sudden surge of electricity zapped her back awake. At first, Jane believed it to be a Lightning Strike attack sent to end her, but instead of feeling any worse, Jane felt inexplicably rejuvenated. It wasn''t anywhere near a full recovery, and every part of her body hurt just as badly as it did before, but Jane felt pumped, as if something had just re-energized her. The unusual nearby noise and light bothered Jane, as it was a glowing light right next to her face.
"What the?!" Kira was about to finish Jane off, when an odd light covered Jane''s entire right hand, now growing and forming into something unfamiliar detailed her eyes.
Jane pulled her right hand to her face, noticing the exact same symbol that was engraved to her hand any of the other times she invoked it before. The impressive thing is that the entire symbol was displaying itself in its usual holographic form right through the solid elastic fabric of her battle outfit and through the fingerless gloves. A circle with four tightly stretched ovals branching out in equidistant equal angles with an opening in the center, shining with an incredible radiance. This time instead of the planet looking mark with one oval, there were four of them, rotating on an invisible axis as if the holographic display were some sort of graphical screen. Jane could not believe it! Her symbol was activating on its own, revealing itself to a new witness and returning all of her energy to her in just seconds.
By the time Jane realized that she was getting one last chance to fight, she inhaled a powerful breath of air, and tried to jump back up from her back to her feet.
Kira''s jaw dropped, as she was at a loss for words, but despite not understanding what was happening, Jane was making one thing clear right now. Getting back up meant there was more room for Kira to lose, and she would not have that. "Shadow Wave!" releasing the very last amount of her MP energy into a simple yet effective spell, Kira sent her Shadow Wave towards Jane from the ground in front of her.
Jane managed to stand back up and face Kira. The symbol on the top of her right hand was still illuminating brightly, its light almost too blinding to look at. The symbol design, color, everything was totally projecting through her suit too. Jane understood that at the very best of this situation, it didn''t matter if Kira knew that Jane was marked or not. It mattered more to her that she can live, in order to complete her mission, defeat the champion, and restore the Outback to the way it was. One person''s petty lust for vengeance isn''t going to be enough reason to stop her, and since she is a criminal, who would believe Kira''s story...? Shadow Wave? Jane noticed a moving wave on the ground heading straight for her. One hit would knock her out despite her restored energy, even though it wasn''t easy to feel that right now. Still, the same rules apply to Kira. "I''ll show you a Shadow Wave! Hah!" Jane expended a total of fifteen percent of her MP reserves, which is overkill on a low power level spell like Shadow Wave. Normally, overcharging a spell causes it to backfire or fail, but with the additional help from her radiating symbol, Jane managed to take all of that powerful Leray energy and create her own Shadow Wave on the ground in front of her, its effects amplifying her magic in total.
Jane''s Shadow Waves were always slightly larger compared to the average after obtaining her symbol through the spell bomb, but this particular Shadow Wave topped every single one Jane has ever created so far, spanning outward and tall, about five times the normal size of a Shadow Wave and twenty feet long in full diameter. Shadow Waves are dark auras and are hard to see, but Jane''s Shadow Wave was too big to miss, much too scary for Kira to possibly react her way out of this.
Just as the two opposing Shadow Waves collided into each other, the larger one predictably swallowed the smaller Shadow Wave without even losing any momentum. With Kira now standing as a deer in dangerous headlights, nothing she could do right now would have been a viable choice to evade the impending doom to her well-fought out battle. She tried to brace herself and block the scariest Shadow Wave she had ever seen in her life, but the very moment the first slashing impact cut into her upper thigh, that was it for her health.
Jane watched as the large Shadow Wave simply kept itself in place as it began to cut up Kira in multiple places even after the battle ended much quicker than that. After the slashes were over, the Shadow Wave exploded into its usual burst of energy. Though thanks to its wild size, that burst had Kira knocked back at least two meters even after she was down. The most awesome and most powerful Shadow Wave Jane has ever performed, all came out of this intense invocation of her own forbidden symbol... No wonder people are afraid of it.
Chapter Theme Shift: Silver Canyon [A] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
Just as the Siriean dome around her collapsed under the rules of one participant winning the battle, Jane''s symbol projecting from the top of her hand disappeared too. The moment that happened, Jane felt incredibly weak again from the lowering stats. The sensation caused her to collapse to the ground, with just enough stamina left to break the fall with her arms, roll to her back, and remain awake. Luckily, Danny and Taylor were already on their way with healing orbs and all sorts of other things. It''s a shame they didn''t have enough power to literally destroy the Siriean dome. It''s said that only the most powerful attacks in stray magic can do just that, but nobody has ever done such a deed before, so it must just be a false rumor. Siriean domes are specifically designed to be invulnerable to damage, and judging from how things went down, Kira must have used a special type of Siriean dome that wasn''t a usual one, given that items were permitted in battle, while supply spheres were not. At least Kira was finally down, but even by Jane''s standards, that match was much too close for comfort. Then again, Kira did cheat in the middle of battle by adding to her magic with an illegal item.
Taylor shoved one of her own healing orbs into the hands of Jane, handling her delicately. "Jane! I hope you''re okay after that. You didn''t have to agree to that fight."
Jane accepted the orb from Taylor, capable of conscious thought and some coordination, but her own stats were still so low, her body endangered by excessive damage. Jane slumped down and sat over her legs, resting her muscles while activating the orb in her hands. "Thanks Tay. I just need a minute to rest."
Jane, being an idiot to fairly battle a supposed killer is actually much like Jane in every way, but after this mess, this loner-shit stops now! "Next time that happens, we''re helping you whether you like it or not. Anyway, as for this idiot, who was she?" Danny probed. "Didn''t she say something about Patish or Patrissa - or something like that?"
Pausing to light up the healing orb and absorb its effects, Jane thought back to that dark night she had on Route 96. All she wanted to do then was rush into Lennith City, mostly to achieve a state of rest that had been denied her for so long. Patrissa was a fierce opponent, and despite her lack of manners, she made an interesting offer for the reward at the end. Just as soon as Jane defeated Patrissa, her entire gang popped out of the darkness to jump her. Jane was quite surprised that her friends had not picked up on some of the details. After all, Patrissa wasn''t some ordinary stranger; her arrest made big news in Lennith.
"A remnant of Patrissa''s pathetic forces," Jane summarized. "Kira managed to escape. According to what I picked up from bits and pieces other people judged, I defeated her entire force using Redemption. Without the dome to protect anyone else, it was a full area attack that caught everybody off guard. Though when I used Redemption, I put my own life in danger without realizing it, and ended up at Lennith medical the next time I woke. It happened on my way from Route 96."
"So that''s why she wanted revenge." Taylor didn''t praise herself for putting that mystery together. Jane basically dumbed it down for her, and so did Kira''s fiery mood to destroy Jane in the fight. "Still, you could have pretended to give up just now, and let us help you." If one simply forfeits a match, the dome shield drops automatically, meaning Taylor and Danny could have saved Jane from all of that. Their entire help was actually at the mercy of Jane just as much as it was from Kira.
"You don''t understand," Jane recalled. Finally with enough strength to stand up, Jane finished recovering from the fading light in the orb, her stats on the energy scope returned to normal and above their last highest level. Despite the intense battle, Jane was managing to heal the rest of her real time damage from Alpha Zero. "The Siriean dome Kira created was not the same as a Leray Siriean dome. Its properties were different."
Danny squinted his eyes in silence. So you felt that way too? Something defiantly wasn''t right about that dome shield. It was darker than it was supposed to be. In a way, it resembled a Doom Shield ability, but even if Kira had cast the spell in secrecy, it still would not have explained how she was granted the ability to illegally call use for out-of-battle items. But then, what the hell was that thing if not a Siriean dome?
Jane continued her best explanation. "And the fact that she was even allowed to use a recovery item mid-battle proved that something was allowing her to negate some of the rules. If the fight were a normal one, that orb would have refused to light up in her hands no matter how much effort was put into it."
"I''ve never heard of anything like that before," Taylor drawled. "How could a random person create a Siriean dome that doesn''t follow the standard rules for the Leray veil?"
Jane was still as confused about the matter as Taylor was. After regaining her energy and switching off her energy scope, she tried to set the idea into the air. "I don''t know much more about that than you do. Kira didn''t want to fight fair. She had top notch equipment, and a magic resistant cloak."
"It did look like a tough fight," Taylor called. "She nearly gave you a run for your money. For some woman to give you that much trouble..."
Jane kept in on her thoughts, but she focused on Kira as Taylor now was. For now, Kira was unconscious, laying on the floor without as much as a vital sign, but Jane knew better. Even with Kira''s energy scope showing critical condition before the knock out, Jane didn''t use any dark magic against her. She couldn''t even if she wanted to, for Jane knew of no such abilities herself. Even Star of Darkness wouldn''t count, since it doesn''t bare the same effects despite having a similar energy signature. Kira would be just fine as soon as she wakes up, and with that being the case, Jane will be hunted again and again by this witch.
Without saying a word, Jane walked up to Kira''s body, examining the sleeper. Even though Kira is an enemy, she looked so peaceful in this state. Her dark messy hair brushed up slightly from the low wind speeds on the bridge, her chest huffing oxygen with such little movement. Jane crouched down above the woman, reaching into her dark cloak for the one thing she would need. Jane felt awkward searching someone while they are forced to sleep like this, touching around their clothes to find the hidden pockets. After a few seconds, Jane felt the familiar texture of flimsy material, tugging the item to obtain it from Kira. After holding it up to her face, it was confirmed. This is Kira''s official Leray wielding license. Kira''s face was stamped on there with her identity, as well as her other current stats. Though comparing those stats to her actual skill level led Jane to believe that the card was never really updated, it only exists as an excuse to practice magic in the first place should she ever be questioned by an agent. And let''s face it; Kira can''t be twenty years old, more like twenty-three or twenty-four. Kira Sandreas | Age: 20 | Graduated facility: Private Sector | Last Ev. Score: 6 | Current Status: Advanced Leray wielder | Credits: 2100 Cr.
This information was still good enough to use against her. Jane tucked the license into her own pocket, hoping to use this. Kira cannot come after Jane if she is on the wanted list. All Jane had to do now was report Kira Sandreas to the agents in Eldora, who will then establish an APB on her. Kira will not be able to show her face in any town, which is where Jane will be soon enough. Danny and Taylor didn''t know what she was up to, but it did not matter at this point. Jane turned around to her team members, with a new concern on her previous thoughts. "That time it wasn''t myself who saved me."
"Huh?"
Jane didn''t expect their confusion. "Didn''t you see what happened? As soon as I thought I was done for, my symbol activated again. Only this time it was much brighter, showing the entire crest and its design right through the material in my suit."
"I didn''t see that!" Taylor fretted. "Then again..." After remembering much of what the battlefield looked like, it made sense now why she may have missed it. "It wasn''t easy to see anything from our perspective. That dome was blocking out a lot of natural light. Everything we saw was like peeking through deformed tinted glass."
Jane recalled the same perception from the battle. "Right. It did block out light, on both ends mind you, but Kira defiantly saw it. Hopefully she didn''t understand what happened." Jane tried to clarify her own mentality, since she could not fully understand the mark either. "This wasn''t a normal activation. It was different, much more powerful than before."
Danny stepped gently to his left and back again, pacing slightly to try and think about the meaning of Jane''s mark. "Maybe there is more than one mode for it; like separate tiers on your marking that activate at different levels depending on the condition. You said before that you can control when it appears, but not every time. Maybe there is only a certain level of its power that you can decide whether to invoke or not."
"I just don''t understand it at all." Jane had done so much research on symbols, but nothing was anything like her own. "The design isn''t in any known database, and the activation can happen automatically, making it even more dangerous. Yet if the activation happens automatically, the crest is also that much more powerful and visible. Though the effects are somewhat the same, the triggers are not exactly consistent. I mean, how does this thing even exist on me? In what way is this thing on my hand burned into my profile? Status effect? Genetic mutation maybe?"
"Well that isn''t your only problem."
Jane was just getting to that. Taylor had an excellent opinion. "Right. Whatever tier activated last time can reveal the entire symbol and its shape through my own suit, some sort of holographic penetration, possibly crossing entire dimensions just to reveal itself and trigger the effects. So how the hell do I hide that in the Eldora championship battles?"
Danny lowered his head and his expression. After a few moments of thought, he could not reply to the question. She certainly has a big dilemma. That thing shows up and hides all on its own. Jane sure is going to have much difficulty on that stance. How can a person legally fight in the Eldora championship if they are not allowed to battle in the first place? Jane will have no choice but to learn to control all of her tiers on her unusual symbol. Danny still wished he could have seen it just for the design. Jane revealed the crest to them once in Lennith City, but the visual memory was growing vague rapidly. If no amount of clothing can hide that symbol, then this may all be for nothing in the end. Was there really anything they could do for her?
Taylor noticed how much later the day grew. The sun was entirely invisible now, only the slight orange glow teasing behind the horizon in the west. The sky shaded itself to a dark blue color, as deep as the eye could see. With the clear weather on the side, Taylor could see all the way up to outer space from here, the few stars already twinkling in the night sky. There wasn''t any sign of the moon or its light, edging her on that the cycle must already be at a new moon phase, but the sky getting darker was not the only pressing concern. "We should try to get going soon; it''s getting late."
Danny nodded in disagreement, pointing to Kira with a cautious reminder. "Aren''t we forgetting this little problem?"
Taylor already knew what the concern was about, and how to resolve their fears. Kira will eventually wake up soon. Even without the ability to use healing orbs on herself, passive regeneration will give her enough energy to move about and track them back down, possibly before ever reaching Eldora City. Kira said it herself; she wants nothing more than to kill Jane Venn, but as long as Taylor and Danny are around, it won''t happen. "I''ll handle it," she volunteered.
Taylor got to where Kira was sleeping, and examined the side rail just in front of her. It would be difficult to jump over this rail into the ocean, though surprisingly it was still possible. The rails were just sturdy metal bars with little thickness, giving civilians easy access to take in the entire view. At the same time, it gave Taylor a great idea. After picking out which horizontal bar to use for her experiment, Taylor picked up Kira by the arm, dragging her body over the rough pavement. The skidding sound of Kira''s clothes being slid over a hard rough surface gave Taylor little concern, as there was no sympathy for Kira. After getting the unconscious woman as close to the edge as physically possible, Taylor positioned Kira so that she would be sitting straight up with her back leaned against the bars. Her sleeping face slumped down with her head, but it wasn''t enough yet to create a balance problem. Taylor then took Kira''s right arm and held her right wrist up against the bar she focused on. Holding Kira''s wrist in place from the base of her elbow, Taylor concentrated on her unique spell. "Light Lock!" Taylor didn''t yell loudly, just enough to get the spell right. She had to imagine the entire scene in her mind just to be successful at her new spell.
In front of everyone, Taylor''s slight release of magical energy created a round tight disk of light that appeared to be much less smaller and bare than a glyphring. The disk of light energy locked itself between Kira''s right wrist and the railing Taylor held it on, while Taylor was able to freely back away. Now noticing the intentions and the art behind such a skill, Jane was deeply amazed that anybody could just do that. Using only magical energy, Taylor literally handcuffed Kira''s hand to the side railing of the bridge. The process seemed like it might be uncomfortable to the subject, but Kira would not be going anywhere for a while. Then again, where would the key hole be? "How did you..."
Jane wasn''t able to ask her question completely, since she didn''t understand where to begin. Taylor briefly explained where and how she acquired such knowledge. "Light Lock is a spell specifically for Leray agents, designed to arrest people with warrants. They''re like hand cuffs, only the spell uses an energy disk made of magical light that is impenetrable to all damage. Only another spell can diffuse the barrier. They didn''t teach me that though."
"Who taught you?"
Taylor found it ironic for once that Jane would be amazed by a spell that only Taylor knew. Danny knew the same spell, though he did not think to use them in this situation just now. "It happened shortly after the attack at Tilsit port. After the thieves managed to swipe some data from the storage under the lighthouse facility, we became acquainted with some of the Leray agents who caught up to the scene. I forget his name, but he was grateful that we at least offered to assist in whatever was going on, so he offered to teach me that skill for my own protection."
Agent Sarbone. Danny never forgot favors from people who have helped him and his friends. After helping clear up some details of the investigation linking to the Scarlet Cult, Agent Sarbone offered to teach Danny and Taylor both the Light Lock spell, certain that they would only use it for the right reasons. There must be a few things that could come of harm by abusing the spell itself, but he chose never to consider the thought in his mind.
After settling the reminder to himself, Danny continued where Taylor left off in the subject. "Agent Sarbone taught us the skill. It''s basically used by agents to cuff their suspects and prevent their escape by any means. You can''t crack the light disks. And when used on a person, even if it is only covering just one wrist, the Light Lock effect will passively prevent the subject from using any form of magical power, including dark magic. They weren''t kind enough to give us the reverse spell, since that is apparently a trade secret, but the Light Lock spell only lasts for up to two hours. Kira will be stuck there when she wakes up, but after two hours from now, she will be set free. I don''t think we''ll be able to make it to Eldora and report her to the agents before she is able to escape."
Jane was vaguely reminded about the incident in which a petty thief in Fronas was captured with her own help, about a week before the crystal shard heist in the same town. The scene was somewhat familiar because she saw either Kain or Bella use Light Lock on the thief before hauling him away to prison, but she never remembered the name of the spell, nor did she fully witness its effects for more than a second of time. This right here is the same thing. And Taylor got enough respect at Tilsit to learn the ability restricted to agents? It''s quite an impressive idea, and to think that for a moment ago, it appeared as if Taylor had the idea of tossing Kira over the bridge instead. Still, this Light Lock spell apparently has the drawback of lasting for only two hours of time. Jane pondered the thought. "So it only lasts for two hours huh? Well it''s okay. Let her rot for that time." Jane held much of an attitude in her tone just to portray such hatred at her villain. It wasn''t worth getting worked up over anymore, so Jane turned to face the direction they should be heading in. "We''ll make way to Eldora, report her to the police anyway, and then get on with the rest of the mission."
"What about your symbol?"
Taylor had much reason for concern, but the problem alone belonged to Jane. "I''ll figure that out on the way there. Let''s hope we don''t meet any more challengers. It''s getting too late."
"I say," Danny interjected, "that we turn down challengers from here on out. I was able to see something in the distance when it was brighter. I think we are getting close to the city, but at the same time, we can''t afford to take lengthy battles with a killer on the same route as us."
Jane sighed with much emotion to the idea. "Fine. If anyone challenges us, or even threatens us with anything, we turn them down and take the strikes for now." Despite the timer, Jane was still excited about battling, the adrenaline never truly leaving her system. Danny must already know that though, otherwise he would not have suggested a cool-down in the first place.
"Let''s get going then." Danny led the way back to the bikes they set down before. While mounting back on the vehicles, Danny prepared himself to ride forwards, taking into account the changes is the air from the sunset. Already, the air had gotten much cooler despite a lack of speedy wind lately. Even his hair was beginning to rise on his arms and legs, though at least Taylor would be warm.
Chapter 39-F: Battle Streak (Part 4 ~ JDT VS Stanley Marx)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 21:20 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The team found standard comfort in the silence that followed the continuation of their ride. Route 787 is a very long linear path basically consistent of a massive bridge connecting two continents together in the same country; 11.4 miles of thoroughfare uplifted hundreds of feet above the Hollifax Ocean. Jane and her traveling companions basically have to cross this much of a distance only with the power of bicycles.
Met with the area from the retirement of the sun and its warmth came the most mystifying sea breeze of air and darkness. While the skies had yet to solidify their color of darkness, the structure itself would still be yet visible by the naked eyes, though with much elusive strain for detail. The sound of the slow waves far below melting with the low hiss of the chilling air stole more of the sound than it produced. The temperature dropped only slightly in the time between the sunset, but such a drop was also most noticeable as dry as the air became.
Jane was tired. Though several stops were made on the way for the purpose of being shoved into a Leray battle, one may not consider this a break with that much of a workout in performance. Even after fully healing from her near-death experience in Alpha Zero, the long trip ahead was still nearly too much. Rough play from every single match only serves to exhaust the body further, despite recovering from damage completely through the day; the wonders of getting tired, which still exist in the Leray zone, though delayed slightly in comparison to the effects outside. Twenty minutes of silence slipped by them ever since departing from their last little stop. The lack of conversation seemed awkward for all of them, though there was little to talk about which had not already been discussed. The long moment of silence mixed with the beautiful scenery and the briskly air was somehow comforting enough to bring drowsiness and a blissful edge of sleep towards Danny and Taylor both, but Jane was still wide-awake despite her physical exhaustion. After having done so much in one night, even her mind needed to take a break every once in a while, and perhaps the same could be said for Danny and Taylor. What is that feeling where everything else goes close to hibernation? The body performs on autopilot, the mind literally void of other thoughts - sleeping blissfully as an alternative attempt to lower stress and fatigue. Danny had this sensation, and he sensed that the others pedaling only a few feet in front of him were experiencing the same serenity.
Taylor however remained highly observant of her surroundings periodically, noticing for instance how much darker the sky became in only twenty minutes of time. Taylor could only estimate that ten or fifteen minutes have passed at the most. Even the glow of the sunset provided so much light all around her, but now that light was gone. The sky above her has been replaced by a thick black coat of the void beyond this planet''s atmosphere, and decorated with lively white stars that kept the world interesting. Even the ground in front of her was difficult to see at all. The moon was in a phase that left itself totally invisible, yet she could still faintly see the wide waves in the ocean to either side beneath her, as well as the concrete blurred by the motion as it passed under her. Something nearby was providing some source of light, though hardly usable.
Jane tried to coast her bike as often as she could. The bridge had a surprising level of flatness to the earth, with no incline upwards or downwards the entire time they have been on the structure. While the guardrails prevented any risk of falling off this thing, Jane thought about all the other ways it could be scaled, even by mistake. It didn''t make much sense to her why one would go through all of this trouble to cross a bridge and fight Leray wielders when people could simply teleport. Normally, criminals are the ones who use teleportation symbols to get away from the law when needed, but the process does not actually require dark magic, nor is that magic a form of spell capable of causing harm to others. Sometimes people use illegal symbols to invoke teleportation, but since that is not necessary for the process, getting marked for it is incredibly redundant. Jane didn''t believe teleportation should be illegal to use, though practically nobody fights to attain the useful power.
Is it the stars? Taylor could stare up for hours if not for the constant requirement to pay attention to the road in front of her, less she slam into the back of Jane and knock all three of them down to the floor. Though her concept had a looping sense of montrum with her idea. Did those stars so far away provide even this much light to the Earth? For something so distant and insignificant to have such a large impact on the planet... Taylor couldn''t stop thinking about it until Jane finally distracted her a moment later.
"I think we''re getting close," she called over the slow wind. The temperature barely got any lower, while the natural wind remained dormant too. Though from the speed of coasting at about twelve miles per hour, the colliding air could be mistaken for its dormant speed as well.
Taylor luckily did not notice much of any real temperature changes. She had been warm and cozy from the beginning of wearing Danny''s coat. Though even she found it embarrassing to believe that just a little cold rush of air could so easily freeze herself to death. Perhaps it was an over-exaggeration, or merely exhaustion masked with something else. Danny seemed just fine without one after all, and Jane''s costume didn''t look as if it were made of a warming material. At the sight of noticing the amazing outline of several tall structures closer than Taylor should have noticed, her mouth gasped as her eyes gazed upon the excitement that this trip was finally coming to its conclusion. "Is that...? That''s Eldora City, right?"
"That''s right!" The city was still only mildly visible due to the distance and some invisible fog that was only thin in the area around the exit, but Jane could clearly see the mixture of lights condensed into one from the building beacons and the street lamps. The collection basically stirred a glow into the lower atmosphere just above the buildings, with one separate bright white light far off to the right. Even from here, it looked like the very earth of the next continent was close enough to touch. Though it was only perspective. Realistically, Jane knew already that they had at least between two and three miles to keep going before these wheels literally land on dirt instead of stone. "We''ll be at the edge of Eldora City in about an hour from now, and off this bridge."
Danny''s spirits were lifted the moment he''d seen the signs of civilization ahead. The city structure wasn''t all that close, but since it consists of such large and tall buildings, the illusion of feeling close to the end of Route 787 felt all the more real. "Since we got all this money, we can put it to a good hotel and rest up in style."
Jane needed not to remind herself and her friends how to conserve the credits they have all just earned for the purpose of squeezing all the power and defense they can for Leray related purposes. Danny on the other hand was getting ahead of himself. "Don''t forget that your credits are best spent on equipment on our mission. If you really are coming with me back to the dark zone, assuming I do have to go back to that hellhole, you won''t be doing any good by slacking off in your armor and weapons. That includes training."
Disturbed by the nagging of Jane''s firm voice, Danny bargained for himself on behalf of their underwhelming victories on this bridge so far. "Lighten up a little Jane. After all we''ve done, we can still afford to rest one night. It''s celebrate time! We''ll take a five star guest room." He could imagine the place right now. A perfect view of the city, or a warm pool on the rear balcony. One massive television screen with several more channels than what could be received in Fronas Town, and beds that transforms sleeping into a pleasant fantasy for tired muscles. Room service that serves butter bread with shrimp bites. Danny only knew of the existence of such things from a show on TV, which took a video tour into one of the finest suites of stay, while one of which resided in Eldora City. Though Sprawn Valley''s native food may be more or less exotic than that...
"We''ll have a four star hotel," Jane corrected. Even though Jane knew living on high standards was out of the question, she was immediately tempted by Danny''s offer, and excited that he had been able to lift his own spirits with them. "I''ll admit that after this, we deserve a rest on something soft, and a decent roof. But don''t forget about one thing you two."
"What''s that?"
Jane expected that Danny and Taylor would both ask the same question at the same time, but they really were clueless for doing so. "Eldora is one of the richest places in the country. Everything cost more there because the standard of living is so high and prime. Buying the cheapest new outfit here will blow a hole in our wallets, so we have to be careful not to spend too much in the meantime."
"Will fighting these Eldora champions reward you with credits?" Taylor questioned. There had to be something gained from aiming for the top of the entire Leray nation. If anyone would know for certain, it would be the Venn family.
"I believe so," Jane answered confidently. "Just by battling those under the Champion level, I will be able to make an immediate fortune. I should probably file some deposits into the NCD."
"What''s that? Some kind of bank in Sprawn Valley?" Danny sensed that the existence of a magical bank would be ridiculous, though he has seen so many ridiculous things already.
Jane confided, "I don''t even know what a bank is." These outsiders and their vocabulary these days... "The NCD stands for the National Credit Depository. People who have more than carrying-around money go to buildings marked as those stations. We make large deposits there instead of carrying the entire load on our card. That way, if something were to happen, say someone steals my license or I lose it somewhere, the amount I put down is insured to me. It only costs a small fee to make deposits, and the insurance policy pays off the accidents that happen to people. Otherwise, they treat it as a place to store lots of credits in a safe way.
"So it is like a digital bank," Danny compared. Banks are supposed to hold the money of clients and insure them should anything happen. There used to be a single bank in Kalamo, one that functioned poorly until it was put out of its misery by the new unofficial kingdom.
"If that is how banks function." Jane felt mildly surprised that the comparison was so accurate to the terminology. "Digitally stored on some system I don''t even know about, I''m told they''re unbreakable. We need to insure some of our funds there after getting more, but for now, let''s focus on the task at hand." Jane knew what she had to do, as simple as riding forward in a straight line without stopping for just a little longer.
But something new decided to get in her way yet again. Jane noticed the flash of an orange light further down ahead, not nearly close enough to crash into from here. The light flickered brightly just three times, and from the electrical based energy it used, Jane realized already that this was a physical lamp, not something being used from Leray magic.
What was it doing there? Why is there a light in the middle of the road blinking three times per phase? After another triple blink, Jane made out the outline of a person standing by the small structure, literally a tiny vertical pole with the orange light on top, designed like a hazard lamp. Reluctant to stop for any stranger, Jane slightly applied pressure to the breaks below, careful not to slip her shoes in the wrong direction with the poor visibility. Knowing the others would slow down and stop with her, Jane steered to the right of the bridge to keep some distance away from the light, but decided to stop at the same time to examine what was happening here. Installing lamps would not be worth stopping for, but one small lamp in the middle of nowhere deserved at least a short glance. After getting closer, the figure who was interacting with the lamp changed its setting, turning on the orange bulb with a constant glow.
Now providing the entire area with much additional light from some random lamp, Jane could see the person more clearly, as he could see her group as well. Noticing the three people stopping to glare on bikes, the man at the light turned and cautiously approached Jane. Jane dismounted from her vehicle to protect her defense in the event this person turned out to be some other crazy idiot wanting a Leray challenge. Danny would already be giving Jane hateful stares right now just for this, but Jane also had to know what was up. In the event this is a challenger, she would actually be prepared to decline the offer as planned. This situation didn''t look usual for a hangout spot.
"Anything I can help you with?" The man''s voice gave up his estimated age to the three youngsters, his tone had to mean he was in his forties. With his shaggy dark hair, large hat, and leather dress coat, he appeared to them as someone other than a random civilian.
Jane noticed a lot about this area, more than just the person greeting them. The lamp gave away a small toolbox just behind the guy, so he must have been some sort of mechanic. Perhaps this was some attempt to install lights on the bridge for the night. At first, Jane wondered why it had not been done before. Then again, natural electricity does not just run all the way out here. Installing streetlights onto an eleven-mile bridge over the ocean would be next to impossible, but he was here doing something. The electricity for this lone light probably had a tiny external power supply somewhere. Answering his question carefully, Jane dismissed his curiosity without revealing her identity. "I don''t think so. I guess I just got curious with the light. We''ll be on our way if this is a distraction."
"There''s no need to mind me." The guy rotated in place slightly, allowing the light to shine off his face to reveal himself to the group. Jane''s friends joined behind her in curiosity. "These roads can be dangerous by night. You three should be heading on to the nearest city soon."
Jane was immediately relieved. The guy could not have been a Leray wielder. Not only was he unwilling to ask for a battle, but he has already given them helpful advice and fair warning about the zone. "We''ll be on our way soon." After turning around to her friends, Jane noticed how overwhelmed her legs became, burning with cramps and fatigue. "We should take a five minute break though, maybe get something to drink."
After noticing the reason Jane stopped in the first place, Danny lowered his concerns silently. Danny already pulled the supply sphere from phase space, opening the device all in an effort to pull a water bottle from the sphere. He has not had anything to drink in a long time, and hunger was only going to slow him down further. Jane found a decent place to make a rest stop near the available street lamp. While taking his time to refresh himself, Jane and Taylor relaxed too. Danny soon realized just how elegant Jane''s idea was to take a break by some natural light. Nobody could sneak up on them here. Now if only there was a way to utilize a bathroom¡ª
After settling by the lamppost, Jane got comfortable while Danny and Taylor took some time to rest their arms and legs. The stranger pulled out a paper and clipboard, writing down something in ink while standing. Jane let her curiosity out for the time being, expecting nothing less than some sort of job or duty. "So what''s going on out here this time of night? Trying to install new lamps?"
After an odd glance from the stranger, the man nodded his head and reached into his coat pocket. "No. I''m no electrician." After pulling out a wallet, he opened up the sleeve to reveal a shiny badge that Jane had only seen once in her entire lifetime. "Name''s Stanley Marx. I''m with the Leray agency on investigation. Official business; if you understand."
Jane agreed with excitement, finding even more comfort that the law actually patrols these parts at random, and with a Leray agent this close by, now might be a good chance to report Kira''s illegal activities. "That''s cool that they got this place by night now. Name''s Jane. Come to set people straight?"
"Heh," he huffed. Stanly stepped slightly to face Jane while putting his badge away and folding his arms together. "Something like that. I can''t give you details on official missions of our assignments, but if you would like to let me know of anything suspicious happening around here, I hope you can trust me to take care of such things in the meantime."
"I can think of several." The reactions to what Danny had announced were delayed. Realizing that he spoke so soon and randomly, he found the need to elaborate on the continued subject with the others staring at him for the confirmation. "I mean, you got everyone taking advantage of the whole battle thing, forcing others to challenge them less they receive strikes or whatever."
Stanley''s eyebrows rose slightly, focusing on the boy now. "Ah, yes. The broken battle system that allows others to cheat the honest man."
"Is there a fix for that in place?"
Now answering to Taylor''s questions, Stanley tried to describe all he was aware of. "I am only a Leray agent. I don''t write the laws; I only enforce them. I can say I''m quite surprised that a fix has not been set into motion yet, since it has been some time."
"I hear ya," Jane replied. "Now a days, the men at the top are probably too worried about Alpha Zero to care, and it''s not like they''re doing anything to solve it."
Stanley let a soft silence pass them by, thinking about all three of these kids. They were obviously teenagers, though still highly intelligent for their age. Already have they realized the wrongs in this world and the system that was slipping away to dust, and yet it didn''t seem like Jane or her companions had any interest in interrupting his own duties. Perhaps they could prove to be useful. "Well there isn''t much happening around here than what you''ve described. Business as usual."
"Actually..." Jane got Stanley''s attention before she forgot about Danny''s little problem. "There is someone on this bridge who I would flag as a criminal, someone caught up in something big. She tried to kill me." Her last sentence carried emphasis for Stanley, as it was necessary to report the woman in question.
His body perked up slightly, fumbling for the clipboard he almost set down. "Does this criminal have a name and location?"
Jane nodded in agreement. "Kira Sandreas. She''s in a black cloak handcuffed to the rail further down towards Lennith, where we came from. She won''t be going anywhere for a while, so it will be a breeze taking her in."
"Indeed it will," Stanley agreed. "You''ve already done us a valuable service by reporting this Kira to us. We''ll make sure she doesn''t harm anyone else ever again."
"That''s a relief. Jane kicked her ass back there, but it was a close call with someone of that speed."
Following Danny''s hints about Jane''s strength, Stanley continued improvising little details for his assignment. "Did she now? A Leray wielder is something I have already assumed you were, though I believed you all to be rookies." With a blank reaction, he elaborated his idea. "But to chain a person trying to kill you to a rail and report them within the same hour is quite impressive. Perhaps I can convince you lot to join our agency sometime soon. You all seem to have the power and the understanding necessary to work with us."
Jane''s eyes lit up at the thought, and she could tell that her friends were caught by surprise too. "Join the Leray agency? I¡ª I... I''ve never been offered that before."
"Hm hm," he laughed in a grumbling tone. "I''m sure not, but I ask of you three not to join the Leray agency directly. You seem to already have much disposition to the current authority, and yet you''re very powerful at surviving in most circumstances. Am I right?"
"Wait a minute," Taylor challenged. "If you''re not asking us to join the Leray agency..."
Stanley decided it was worth the shot to let the idea rip. "Allow me to elaborate on what the duties entail. I''m not supposed to let you in on our mission, but I believe you have the knowledge to come to an informed decision on your own. I''m not exactly with the Leray agency. Nevertheless, our group can perform more effective methods of cleaning up this place in the name of justice. Undercover work is often the best kind."
"Hold on just a sec," Jane stopped. She raised her voice in the tension she felt building in her. If Stanley isn''t a real Leray agent, then who else could he be? Was that flashy badge just a pretty fake? "Who are you?"
"I am part of the people who understands what is good for this nation. We pick up where the law has left off, fixing problems in the world by any means necessary."
"So you lied to us?" Danny paraphrased. If he isn''t with the Leray agency, then why hide what organization he is supposed to be from? Surely there can''t be a top secret justice group flying around with badges undercover!
"Now - now," Stanley eased. "I haven''t lied about anything at all, except for the fact that I''m just a different part of the law. This Kira you told us about will defiantly be dealt with, and with that moron out of the way, we can continue our business unscathed."
Dealt with? "You mean - to kill her?"
Answering to Jane''s upset tone, Stanley continued to sound and remain perfectly calm, assuming they were only surprised at worst. "Well, what else? You already told me that she tried to kill you. Would you rather have a crazy maniac take about five years in prison only to escape and try again? Only the weak allow failures like that to live, and I have no room for weaklings on our crew."
Who is this creature? A man who could so calmly speak and even encourage senseless killing of others, with such a vile taste of morality! Changing her stance in preparation to fight the unknown person, Jane clenched her fists and placed her legs in the right spots to attack. "I asked you a question. Who the hell are you, and who the hell do you work for?" No doubt this guy isn''t with the official agency, and he now sounds more dangerous than she initially thought.
It figures they would behave this way, though hopefully these children are just afraid for now. "The vision we so proudly speak of comes from the heart of our own agency. We are the Scarlets of the future, bringing order that the world truly deserves." Stanley snapped his finger in the air while continuing to identify himself. "And you would be making a big mistake to threaten me like that again young lady." Stanley knew what was going on, but Jane and her friends had to adapt to the pressing situation. Stanley was not alone right now. He had two other partners with him, hiding in the shadows with their invisible auras, but there was no need to hide anymore with what has been revealed.
Danny noticed how horrible this has turned out to be already. Stanley signaled his other two henchmen to phase out from the darkness, bringing bright auras around their bodies temporarily while they positioned themselves closer to Stanley for physical support, and Danny heard of that name before. Stanley spoke of something about the Scarlets. It was their code for the Scarlet Cult, even though these crooks do not really believe themselves to be a cult. Official name is the Scarlet Syndicate. Damn! Of all things, Jane could have kept quiet and nobody would have interacted this way at all, but then why reveal their intentions to them here? Why dress up as real agents of the zone? The Scarlet Syndicate isn''t exactly the same as they were before, not after witnessing this very scene. Judging from all of the crap these people put them through in the past and how wanted they were to real federal agents, this situation has gone from scary to terrible nightmare. "It''s a trap Jane!"
"I will refine my final offering to you three. I can understand that you are too surprised to understand why we are here, and upset by the fact that we had to lie to you at first to keep our cover, but now that you know who I am, I cannot simply let you go free. There are great positions waiting to be filled by people of your own understanding. You said yourself that the real law enforcers aren''t doing anything about these problems you''ve seen, but there are even bigger concerns than you realize, things far more troubling to Sprawn Valley than such trivial matters you spoke of before. You can help us fix what has been broken, and I will personally teach you the ways of the Scarlet marksman. And of course, you will be compensated well for your efforts Jane." After a brief pause, Stanley made the rest of his offer clear. "But know this. We are still an organization that operates under the radar of the Leray agency. I''m not concerned right now with getting caught, because I know just like you do, how they can''t even do their job right. Now that you and your crew know about us and our operations, refusal is simply not an option without consequence. What will it be?"
Jane grinded her teeth from the barbaric thought that she would ever team up with these bad guys. The Scarlet Cult were the ones responsible for the theft of several items from vaults inside of several different training facilities. It took Jane little time after entering Monoc to learn that the Scarlet Cult didn''t only target Dakota''s vault, but the vaults from half of all other facilities in the entire continent, and they were also the ones who infiltrated and stole sensitive data from the servers under the Tilsit lighthouse facility. These guys don''t care about justice, and they only hurt anyone who gets in the way. "So your proposal is to join you or die?!" Jane''s aggressive response to all of the bad memories related to these assholes forced her voice into a rage, while her muscles all tensed up in preparation for an impending battle. "I''d rather watch you go down in blood! The Scarlet Cult are enemies of the state. You can''t hope to get away with everything you''ve done in this world!"
Danny and Taylor, despite never seeing Jane this upset with so much valor both nodded with each other for their agreement, backing to the left to prepare themselves. They didn''t want to battle after all of the hard work they have done, but this was the Scarlet Cult, the criminal of all criminals - here to outnumber Jane. After that aggressive speech, the enemies here were sure going to try and kill all witnesses.
"I''m sorry that we could not come to some sort of arrangement Jane. Well then, shall we test your true power against real justice?" On cue, Stanley''s guards ran away from him, towards the direction of Danny and Taylor, who had gained much distance from Jane in a failed attempt to try and surround the man in charge. Jane and Stanley were now facing each other, ready to try anything, while Danny and Taylor were confronted by the other two henchmen. Being split up like this wasn''t exactly a good thing, especially with an entire team of people fighting to kill. Before Jane could even react, Stanley released an odd magic that immediately formed a Siriean dome around them. The dome was smaller than average, trapping only Jane and Stanley inside of the thing.
Simultaneously, the other two Scarlet members enabled a second Siriean dome to trap themselves inside with Danny and Taylor. Two Siriean domes were adjacent to each other, almost touching if not for their smaller size. Something about the dome in question was different as well, matching the same profile as the dome Kira used against Jane. Without even registering as an official Leray battle in the rule set system, the dome only allowed light in from that orange lamp off to the right, while reducing its penetration level by 50%. Just like Kira''s dome, this one had the properties of blocking out light and preventing anyone from escaping. This wasn''t a formal battle or a normal Doom Shield spell. It''s another type of Siriean dome, one that traps people inside until the creators of such a dome become completely incapacitated. It has the same effects as Doom Shield, but is not invoked on terms of an agreement to combat, rather a shield forced upon people to make sure a battle happens with or without consent, going all the way to the end.
Jane knew already how this was about to go down, as an unofficial battle between herself and one of the Scarlet leaders. At the same time, her friends were fighting the man''s henchmen by themselves too. Jane knew this detail wasn''t good. Jane''s friends had her back until the henchmen scoured away their personal space to separate the three of them, but at least those two would be fighting together as a team. After handling things from Alpha Zero, Jane knew that being alone one on one would be just fine with her. Jane would not be able to escape from the dome, and since her friends failed to destroy Kira''s shield, that idea was already out of the realm of possibilities. This would not be a normal fight, rather one that goes all the way to the death. It would however be even worse than the fight with Kira. Kira simply wanted a revenge kill, but these guys are organized and powerful as they already are with the known rumor to use dark magic against their opponents. Jane knew already that she needed to be on her guard. She could only hope that her friends knew the same. Jane wasn''t certain who was about to try something first, so she engaged her energy scope in front of the man, coaxing him to enable his own scope. From the corner of her eye, Jane could see the same stuff happening to her left with Danny and Taylor.
Chapter Theme Shift: Sundays are For Warriors ~ Sonic Librarian
Taylor kept herself alert, remembering to engage her own energy scope. Danny was going to be fighting right next to her, which was a comforting thought, but they had never actually battled together as a team before.
Danny realized that since his enemies were not identified, nor were they willing to enable their own energy scopes, he would have to do the favor for them. After using some more familiar Leray magic, Danny forced energy scopes to appear above the henchmen, adding a fitting name to their custom identity.
With the area around them so well lit by the dome''s own natural light, Jane knew she wouldn''t have too difficult of a time seeing what was actually going on around her. Stanley was standing only a short distance away, ready to take any hit from distances that were not short range. Jane would need to get even closer to physically assault the Scarlet leader, but even now, she sensed that her enemy would be charging up for a magical attack right at this very moment. She needed to buy herself time from the very beginning of this fight.
"Gyrobreak!" After releasing only a small amount of MP energy, Jane correctly sent the magical shockwaves deep into the ground, causing the entire world to shake and tilt around them. It was interesting to see this distortion field work so effectively even on top of a not so sturdy bridge to handle the passive effects. As Jane''s Gyrobreak spell took effect, even Stanley was having somewhat of a problem keeping his balance straight. Neither one of them could be sure whether they were close enough to the others for the spell to effect Danny and Taylor''s battle as well, as the tilting of their entire balance and view made that impossible to determine at the moment.
Despite Jane having the first turn, Stanley realized that it was only a terrible attempt to buy herself some time while removing his own accuracy from the field. Stanley was much more confident about killing these intruders, since he knew several levels of advanced Leray magic that would go far to deal heavy amounts of damage to just about anybody. While the earth was shaking too much to line up a clear aim of sight on Jane, Stanley charged up his energy anyway, chanting and invoking the spell he was soon to release in front of him. "Firesurge!" Just after taking out his long sword, which had been his primary weapon for the match, Stanley plummeted the end of his glowing blade into the concrete with as much force as he could, releasing the energy of his magical spell into the wave he created.
Firesurge is an ultra-refined spell with a power level of eight, mastered from the simple skill known as Shadow Wave. Firesurge combines the elements of Crush Wave and Shadow Wave together with a fiery elemental aura, giving the entire Shadow Wave properties to deal both earth elemental blunt damage along with fire elemental magical slashing damage inside of the attack shell all at the same time. It''s harder to learn, and much more devastating in damage dealing potential.
Jane couldn''t be too sure though about spells she had not really heard about before, and only guessed on how potent the attack aura could be coming from a known powerful Scarlet fighter. Instead of thinking to react, Jane had her hands up and out already, projecting her Leray magic all around her in a bubble to create a power shield around her body in the form of an aura. Doing this with the entire world tilting all over the place wasn''t easy, but Jane knew she needed to at least try and shield off the oncoming attack. While in the safety of her shielding aura, Jane saw the Firesurge version of Shadow Wave, which basically appeared to be an orange glowing Shadow Wave twice its original size and three times faster in traveling speed. The wave slammed into Jane''s shield despite the inaccuracy from Stanley with Gyrobreak running, and Jane''s aura formed several hexagons everywhere to indicate the high amount of damage near the lower frontal regions of the aura. The wave blasted with a powerful force, exploding into a fiery mist as it failed to do any real damage. Even at the end of the strike, Jane felt disoriented by now as her concentration on the shield needed to be higher in order to keep it going at such low power. In just one single simple attack, Stanley managed to invoke a high damage-dealing spell despite being caught up in Gyrobreak, giving Jane every reason to panic.
After dropping the shield, Jane knew she just needed to attack Stanley, it mattered not what exact strategy she could try and use for the moment. Pulling her daggers into her hands, Jane infused magical energy into the blades until they had a red glow to them. "Armor Breaker!" Jane yelled the name of her attack spell the moment she threw the blades as hard as she could, simultaneously ending the Gyrobreak spell just in time to properly aim. While the glowing red daggers spun in the air with speedy momentum, Stanley must not have expected the Gyrobreak to end so soon, ironically throwing him off balance from lack of preparations and adjustment. Stanley did not trip on himself, but the problem kept him in place, just as the piercing small blades cut right through his chest with a stinging burning pain spreading all over.
Stanley noticed immediately how much damage Jane''s simple attack did with little effort, and he had not expected such an elegant block with the use of a rare version of power shield. Such a defensive spell was even outside of his own boundaries and characteristics, though the fight has only begun.
Jane felt much better already about scoring damage against the guy in just one hit. Scarlets are obviously not invincible, and it would be surprising even now to see one get distracted enough to pull out healing items. If they could do it, so could anyone. Off to the side, Jane noticed the battle from the other two had already begun, with Danny and Taylor beginning their assault against the grunts.
"Let''s get them!" Danny immediately prepared to attack the bad guys in front of him, disregarding any particular strategy for this battle. With Taylor behind him to provide cover of some sort, he was confident enough to immediately rush in with an attack, chanting the name while already on his sprinting feet. "Hammer of Might!" Danny''s invocation didn''t take too long. The yellow glyphring formed above his hands to drop the massive hammer into his grasp. The hammer itself looked more like a brightly decorated hammer used for blacksmiths to flatten blades of metal. Despite the weight, Danny managed not to let it slow him down as he charged towards the enemy on the right, the one marked as the Scarlet Marksman.
Taylor tried to cover Danny from this distance right here, targeting the other guy to interrupt his chances of stopping Danny''s assault. "Bow Charge!" The invocation of Taylor''s weapon spawning spell was slightly slower than Danny''s spell had been, since it was a while since using her spells in the first place. Bow Charge was hardly a powerful long-range attack, but one that used very little amounts of MP energy. A bow and arrow formed out of another yellow glyphring into her hands, the arrow glowing from being covered in a magical aura. Bow Charge is simply a single hit with an arrow from this weapon, which is possibly one of the most useless things Taylor could do, but any user of this spell has the option of adding magical damage to their arrow to increase the effectiveness slightly. With a maximum power level of two, it might not be enough.
Taylor was already in position though, and it had to be done. Taking aim at the Scarlet soldier on the left marked as Scarlet Hitman, Taylor pulled back on the string with the arrow ready to fire, and released the arrow to let it fly into the man standing on the left. The glowing sharp object quickly flew all the way ten meters down the field, piercing the spot right between the man''s left arm and shoulder just as Danny was in close range of the other guy. While watching to make sure he would be okay, Taylor took some notice of the stat changes on the other energy scope.
"Hayah!" Danny put all of his muscle into swinging his hammer at the enemy like a maniac, using the powerful blunt force of his physical combinations to do as much harm as he could to the guy. The Scarlet Marksman simply stood there and blocked each impact using his defensive stance while putting his hands and legs in the way of each strike. It was the usual normal way in Leray matches to block attacks, but Danny did not expect it to be so effective. After the attack was over, Danny''s hammer disappeared back into the yellow glyphring that formed to swallow the end result of the spell, and the man who Danny assaulted wasn''t fazed even in the slightest.
Just after realizing that Danny was much too forward about his plan of attack, the two Scarlet soldiers briefly exchanged a glance, and then focused their eyes on one of each the overzealous teens. The Marksman targeted Danny with an impending magical attack while the other targeted Taylor from afar. Both of them were about to use the same spell, while their opponents backed away in fear without a good sense of how to block it.
"Dualcast!" Both soldiers managed to surround themself with a temporary magical aura that would allow them to attack immediately after that, using up to two different spells at the same time with their invocations sped up so much from the Dualcasting effect. "Lightning Strike!" Both soldiers were using their powers simultaneously in the same level. Holding out both their arms, each wrist became the center of a spinning jade color glyphring belonging to electrical invocation spells. Danny was hit by the strike first, two separate lightning bolts slamming into him from such a short range all from the same guy, zapping him in place while the pain and intensity of an electrical shock took over his other senses.
Taylor was hit by the same thunder, only coming from the other soldier hitting her from long range. Lightning Strike was impossible to dodge, but Taylor was hit by two Thunderbolts as well, giving her the shock of her life while the damage against her accumulated. Well after Taylor was done with the shock and recovering from the strain and drain to her body, she glanced quickly at her energy scope to check how badly their plan played out in the end.
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Danny quickly tried to get away from the enemies, retreating back to the direction where Taylor was positioned, but his entire body tingled from the sensation he suffered earlier. All of his physical movements felt slower than they should. Neither enemy was about to back down here.
"Meteor Strike!" Stanley summoned a lot more of his energy, increasing the damage rating on his next attack spell assuming Jane would not be able to dodge an area attack.
Jane noticed that as the battle with Danny and Taylor had already started from the light show happening back there, she had her own problems to deal with right now. Her own target seemed to be a lot more focused and coordinated than she previously thought. With several swarms of hot red meteorites falling down from the sky penetrating through the dome shield like phantom objects, Jane had to cross her arms again and project another shielding aura just to protect herself from all of the hits.
As the meteors began slamming into the concrete ground, the entire area began to quake violently. The burning glow around each falling rock lit up the area with much more light than Jane expected, though the dark skies above them were likely the cause of that happening. At least three meteors hit Jane''s power shield directly, immediately weakening the rest of her aura and making it hard to keep it going. Another meteor struck the ground just aside from where Jane was standing, causing additional shockwave damage to the shield, but after it was over, Jane quickly dropper her aura, not allowing it to fail on her own watch.
Now that it was her turn again, Jane didn''t let Stanley even get to think about how powerful her defensive skills were. Stanley doesn''t deserve a fair fight with what he has been doing lately, and Jane was going to throw everything at him. "Knight Dance!" Just after creating another brighter blue aura around her entire body, Jane rushed in towards the Scarlet soldier to begin attacking at a closer range. Jane kept her daggers tucked in, only needing to use punches and kicks against the guy. Jane''s Knight Dance was effective in infusing her fists and feet with magical attack energy to heavily increase the damage with each hit, but she also kept up with her quick and sudden movements to evade and dodge by sliding, despite the fact that her entire combination kept the man too busy to interrupt her. After slamming the guy''s chest several times in the face and the gut, Jane finished her last winding kick with the bottom of her shoe, gouging the guy right between the legs and pushing him further away. Just as the combo sequence was over, Jane''s aura faded again while she took her time to retain her distance from Stanley while assessing his stats.
"Agh!" Danny hugged his right arm after side lining himself with Taylor. His nerves were freaking out already, his arm tingling more than it had been before, a sensation worse than a limb falling to sleep momentarily. "These guys mean business."
Taylor gave Danny a mild glance of anger. "This time we do it together!" She waited for Danny to agree to the terms. At the very least, it was a better strategy than touch and go. Seeing that he nodded his head slightly, Taylor focused on the Scarlet soldiers again. Both of them were eager to attack, but the direction of this could go either way. There wasn''t any time to talk about the plan of attack or the strategy. Danny will simply have to get lucky guesses on which spells to use form a distance. With her arsenal of long-range cold spells, Taylor knew she at least had a good shot at this fight. "Now!" she hollered in Danny''s ear. "Rotation!" Taylor quickly worked to invoke her wind elemental magic to create a powerful tornado to start in front of her.
Danny followed Taylor''s lead and timing, proceeding to try and disrupt his opponents to prevent any chance they might have of stopping Taylor''s Rotation attack. "Earth Glave!" Shortly after lifting his arm in an odd movement, Danny''s Earth Glave attack went first, shoving magically formed dirt and earth rock up from the solid concrete. The wave followed by this shoved both of the Scarlet soldiers slightly into the air, forcing them to land on the ground for some additional damage. Since it was the first spell to strike both targets, Taylor''s traveling twister was about to be right on top of them at the same time. The Rotation attack sucked in both Scarlet soldiers as they were stuck off their feet, dealing wind elemental slashing damage to both of them shortly after being slammed with earth elemental blunt magic. The combination seemed both odd and random, but it worked effectively this time to maximize the HP reduction to each soldier, as both spells ended up landing on both enemies with how bunched up they were together.
After a brief evaluation of what just happened, Taylor allowed herself to rest before both of her enemies got themselves back together. "That was a nice touch you did there."
Danny was amazed by how well that worked out. He never had a chance to battle alongside with Taylor in the same fight before, so this was already unusual for the both of them. Though something about his teamwork actually working with Taylor felt amazing to him in its own way. "Thanks. That Rotation spell was a good mark too."
Taylor shifted her stance just as she noticed the soldiers getting back to their feet, already preparing to use magic again for a retaliation attack. "Don''t let your guard down Danny. I need your help to get us both out of here."
Stanley and Jane stared at each other blankly. Both were prepared for what might come next. Stanley tried to go first, lifting his sword up while imbuing magical energy into the blade and causing the metal to glow with a smoky red aura. "Dark Slash!" He swung his sword in a spiral set of movements, launching dark red crescent shaped phased projectiles in the air. The odd looking projectiles spun rapidly while traveling, but they lifted high into the air before coming to crash down towards Jane.
While trying to figure out what kind of skill or magic was part of the unusual sequence, Jane anticipated the magical slashes in the air incorrectly. They looked like glowing guillotine attacks that had been shrunken down to a size smaller than one''s hand, but their movement patterns shifted mid-travel, now all heading for Jane. It was too quick to react to, much too speedy to try another power shield. All of the unusual projectiles sliced into Jane''s skin in several places, there had to be at least a dozen of them. The cuts burned with pain while the total amount of hits in general drained a bit of Jane''s stamina in unusual ways. After it was all over, Jane noticed that a section of her lower leg actually drew some blood draining down the side of her limb, totally an unusual response to taking Leray damage.
Jane didn''t believe her eyes. Despite the overall damage dealt to her being light in total, the attacks forced her energy scope into a critical state. After what she had studied, Jane was certain of it now. Whatever Stanley just used, it had to be the work of direct dark magic. It''s the only way those things could have drawn real blood and cut open a suit to do that. Jane was far too healed already for her energy scope to complain about taking normal Leray damage. It was all the proof she needed. So Dark Slash is a dark magical attack Stanley can use with his sword.
Already did Jane realize that she was still thinking too much. She already considered a high probability that these criminals may try something like this, and all she needed to do right now is win the battle. After taking out a single dagger for her right hand, Jane infused all the energy she would need to try her next attack. Though her skill was charging without the need for a glyphring, this one in particular took a moment just to wind the energy up. Jane slashed her glowing dagger through the air while aiming at Stanley, crossing the slicing motion twice in a cross. "Splice!" The resulting magic created a single bright white thin line in the air that traveled quickly towards the target. Jane slashed twice to make two lines at opposite angles, though both of them were on a linear crash course towards the man.
This time it seemed as if Stanley was too occupied right now to deal with evasion therapy. After all, Splice moves in the air at an amazing speed, and is naturally hard to avoid when drilling on a diagonal angle. Even after dealing real time damage to Jane, she was still capable of such high-powered skills. As the cutting wave drilled through Stanley''s entire skin, his teeth clenched and his body fell slightly, and the second wave that sliced him afterwards burned his entire chest along with other areas. Splice has a popular tendency to cause the most amount of physical pain and damage at the same time, but Jane really didn''t hold back at all on this one. Even Stanley had a lot of trouble trying to recover himself after taking such a hard slash, the pain was nearly overwhelming to all of his thoughts.
Refusing to let some stingy woman take the victory, Stanley knew he had to change some of the rules immediately, or suffer a humiliating defeat. "You think I''m giving up that easily? Armor of Darkness!" Stanley quickly invoked a support spell, surrounding his entire body with a flashy red transparent aura known as Armor of Darkness. Armor of Darkness is a support spell that temporarily renders one invulnerable to damage without the need to constantly focus on keeping the shield up; like an automated power shield that allows one to attack while defending. The downside to the unlimited timed darkness shield is that the aura is not unlimited on the amount of damage it can take, and since it can only be invoked twice per battle, Stanley''s choice is only a temporary game changer. Still, the way Jane reacted and froze just after Stanley''s spell took effect said enough. Jane wasn''t so sure any more about how effective her strategy will be against a different kind of energy shield. Some girl and two companions crossing a bridge, they may be tough Leray wielders, but nobody can best the Scarlet Syndicate.
Even his own energy scope reported a deep change in his status. Technically, Armor of Darkness is closely related to a spell designed to utilize one''s heavy armor''s aura in order to make one invulnerable, though even without wearing any metal gear, Stanley managed to make the spell work with just a leather jacket anyway. Since it must have been designed to be worn even in battle, it made some sense as to why it worked here and now too. Had his clothes not been a technical dress sphere or suit infused with magical protection, the skill would have likely failed to invoke.
Over where Danny and Taylor were battling, much had happened since Jane was fighting with the Scarlet leader. Only a few spells of light were exchanged, but Danny ended up taking a heavy hit from one measly Magical Blitz attack. Taylor wasn''t in a position to protect him even now. Being separated by a short distance of a few meters left of him, Taylor had to try and target the person targeting Danny with another impending attack.
"Drain!" Danny caught the Scarlet soldier to the left off guard with a quickly invoked spell. The drain spell cast an odd dark glowing glyphring under the Hitman''s feet. Before he could even notice what was going on, Danny''s spell literally sucked life energy from where the man had been standing, drifting a barely visible mist of magic now seeping into Danny''s skin. A bright green aura surrounded him for just a quick second in time, and his health was replenished by five percent, as the enemy targeted lost 10% of his vitals.
Taylor invoked another attack spell just as the Hitman was being drained, not realizing that Danny had unintentionally swapped targets with her. But her move was well coordinated, because the Marksman was already trying to charge up some unknown glyphring attack against him. Taylor released her own magic, throwing the spawning sharp objects as they formed in her hand. "Ice Shots!" Using the similar modified spell from before, Taylor threw several ninja stars at the Marksman, only the stars that spun in the air were also frozen in a coat of ice. The ninja stars hit fast, and though the damage dealt was very light, Taylor knew that her spell was somewhat more effective than normal Ninja Stars after adding ice elemental damage on top of them. Even now though, both soldiers didn''t seem tired yet.
Now realizing they have a good window to fight back, both Scarlet soldiers decided to attack the two kids from where they stood together, using different spells for different targets. The Hitman aimed at Taylor while the other guy had his sights on Danny. He charged up a large pale colored glyphring formed in front of him, and though the invocation was lengthy, his energy charged directly into the rotating disk. "Sereing Blast!" upon releasing the attack, the glyphring happened to be the medium of the attack spell, sending all of that energy into a white beam of energy that had the same radial size as the rapid rotating glyphring. The beam was shot immediately with an unlimited range on approach to hit Taylor. Though because it was a light beam, there wasn''t even time to register in Taylor''s mind what was about to happen. Taylor took the damage immediately, as the blast penetrated her body with an evanescent hit of light and magic.
While keeping sight of everything happening, the Scarlet Marksman unleashed his powers on Danny, a spell that did not rely on the use of a glyphring. "Creshendo!" he hollered. In response to using an unusual magical attack, seven phantom phased pillars of dim light beams hovered in place, all spawning from the ground drilling up tall into the air above Danny while surrounding him from different angles. Before Danny could figure out what was happening, all of the phantom beams slammed into him at once with a powerful force that was enough to crush the concrete underneath him. Danny fell on his back from how powerful the attack was, and the damage done to him in the end was terrible considering the other hits he took before. Creshendo was a spell he didn''t even know about until just now. The user creates all of these phantom light pillars together that surrounds the target from all sides to crash onto a single fixed point. That means dodging it is actually easy, if only he knew about it previously.
Jane could only hope that her team wasn''t having as many problems as she was right now. There had to be a few spells powerful enough to break through Stanley''s tough shield, though most of the strongest spells would end up exerting the most of her own energy. "Crimson Flare!" With little choice but to keep on battling as best as she could, Jane created another large sphere of fiery magic homing in on Stanley''s location.
Though the man literally didn''t mind it at all. Instead, he held his sword out, and casually walked into the magical bubble of damage. Upon coming out of the sphere, Stanley''s aura still remained with his health unchanged, the red coat of light around him bubbling with incredible visual effects for sight. He then used his sword to infuse some more magical energy into the blade, causing it to glow with an orange-yellow color just before slamming it into the ground. "Crush Wave!" The sound of his voice was slightly interrupted by the clinging of the metal sword on the ground echoing all around, while the spell activated the second tier of Shadow Wave. Jane saw the Crush Wave heading for her, a modified version of Shadow Wave carrying chunks of rock out of nowhere. Jane was amazed already that the bridge had not been destroyed at this rate. Then again, the bridge was designed to withstand powerful Leray attacks in the first place.
Jane put her arms out again to shield against the ground wave attack, just in time for the wave to slam into the aura and deal damage to Jane''s power shield. The wave lasted for a while, causing several hits in once place just before exploding with more chunks of rock heading every which way. Jane lowered her shield just afterwards, after barely managing to keep up with a powerful hit like that one, but Stanley had another attack coming her way, already anticipating Jane''s shielding technique.
"Crush Wave!" It was the same spell sent in unison, another shockwave carrying debris on the ground towards Jane. Jane knew it was impossible to avoid it a second time. Invoking power shields takes a little time in between to have that kind of concentration rebuilt. Knowing that there was no possible way to block or dodge the attack, Jane went with her gut to try and power up any random magical skill that may be helpful while Stanley watched to see what came next.
Just as she used up about forty percent of her entire savings of MP energy, Jane chanted the ability''s name while sending the auric wave all around her. "Zero Zone!" The entire world became black and white quickly, as the Crush Wave slowed down to a complete and total stop. Somehow the Siriean domes were still functioning, but the intensity of the shields were incredibly low and mostly transparent now. It almost seemed to flicker from here, noticeably refreshing all of the made up hexagons all around constantly at a slower rate, but with time stopped entirely, that had to be nothing more than a visual illusion. Jane took advantage of her new opportunity, using the time stopping magic to get back at Stanley. Jane first went with a full rushing charge towards the man, but before getting too close, she noticed something else in particular.
The Armor of Darkness that had been protecting him was completely gone, even though it was functioning a few seconds ago. Jane gasped aloud upon the several details coming to mind, and a similar situation that happened to her while in the dark zone. The red aura that showed its working effect could not run to protect Stanley with this new refresh rate, simply because that requires elapsing time to run. Jane had slowed time to a near halt, which included the effects of the darkness shield. Wonderful! Jane can kick this guy''s butt now without having to worry about the technical details, but she worked quickly on the timer she was limited to. With her daggers in her hands, Jane got in close and slashed the guy''s body with several dagger strikes.
"Blast Wave!" Jane took a step back to create several explosions on the field, including the area where she and Stanley were positioned. While Jane likely had the chance to make her spell here work in this immediate space, she chose to freeze her own spell in time outside of the current aura first. That way, when Zero Zone ends, the Blast wave will trigger only then, dealing enough damage to knock his Armor of Darkness right off. So the spell didn''t trigger yet, though Jane''s MP levels were running low in response to using the spell in question.
"Knight Dance!" Deciding to keep it close range for now, Jane transitioned into another combination of magically infused punches and kicks, not even bothering to try and dodge or jump around too much. After getting in enough hits, Jane backed away to a safer location just before finishing her combination. Time had not started back up yet, but she had a sense that it would begin again very soon. Just as she reached a safe zone, Jane turned towards Stanley again and used her last spell for now. "Spirit Arrow!" Firing a phased arrow through a colorless glyphring, Jane''s oddly transformed spell still worked as intended, as the arrow was launched from the barely visible bow, traveling through timeless air and piercing the man''s skin. Not only would that do spirit elemental damage, the result should slow the guy down soon.
Just then, the Zero Zone effects began to fade quickly, while Jane''s low MP began to catch up to her in the form of exhaustion and fatigue. Several dozens of random explosions blasted the entire field just as the color of the world returned in part, and the red aura around Stanley''s body phased back on again since it was able to. The explosions would soon take care of that little detail. The earlier invoked Crush Wave simply continued on a linear path to the edge of the Siriean dome, not prone to harm any person inside due to Jane''s change in physical position.
Stanley had no idea what just happened, but he was hurting everywhere, he felt incredibly dizzy, and now there were several explosions right on top of him. The first blast knocked him back several feet, while collapsing his red protection aura on the spot, and after being hit by another blast from behind, he nearly became immobilized by the incredible pain and damage taken.
Both of the other soldiers were having a rough time with the new challengers too. Danny and Taylor were proving to be a painful dose of teamwork. Though it made little sense as to how they so quickly figured out Leray fighting, it was of little concern with the two soldiers'' new idea. While both aiming their arm up above Danny and Taylor''s position, they each chanted their spell, concentrating more than they did in the past. "Heat Seekers!" Just after forming two large orange glyphrings, the magical release formed about six large missiles launching into the air from each glyphring. Since both of the brothers did this at the same time, together they formed twelve large missiles now locking on to their enemy''s heat signatures. It''s a rare attack spell that is difficult to achieve, though very effective in dealing damage.
Danny and Taylor both saw their impending doom, as the missiles actually fueled themselves with a ton of speed, heading straight for them. Danny thought quickly about what he might try, assuming that the name of that spell is as accurate as its literal form. "Triple Fire!" Danny launched three Fire Bolts all at once, clustering them together intentionally, but his aim was nowhere near the missiles or the enemies. Instead, he controlled the direction of each Fire Bolt to travel in a spiral line from where he stood to a far off path to the right. He then steered the bolts just before they hit the dome wall that trapped him and Taylor in this place.
Just as he learned from before, one can slowly degenerate their own magic in use to telekinetically control existing projectiles. It''s much easier to do with your own spells though, and you can also change the physical location of specific medium-ranged attack spells too with more expended energy. As planned by Danny, the missiles suddenly changed course, confused by the new heat signatures formed by the three Fire Bolts winding around the entire battle area. At the last moment, Danny changed course again, aiming the Fire Bolts directly at the Scarlet soldiers. Just as the bolts impacted on them, the explosive result caused the turning missiles to head back in the direction of which they came. The Scarlet brothers were supposed to be controlling their missiles too, but being blasted with Fire Bolts totally disrupted their concentration. Now with a loss of control, they could do nothing about the twelve massive missiles about to slam into their own location. After using their own spell against them, Danny watched as the explosion that followed swallowed up much of the entire field, giving off a bright new source of light.
Taylor was immediately impressed that Danny had such an amazing idea and thought process in such little time, but she wasn''t about to simply let it slide either. Anyone would have thought that both Scarlet soldiers were dead at this point, even as the blinding light still had not faded, nor did the smoke. But Taylor had a feeling that both were still alive, and that means they can simply whip out healing orbs all day long. "Electric Arrow!" Responding to the feeling in her gut that this battle was not over, Taylor took her careful time in invoking a difficult spell while the smoke, dust, and light cleared away.
The bow formed in her hand like in any other skill, though the color of the wooden material was a nice stylish shade of blue. The arrow was glowing the same color with electrical magic energy inside. Taylor simply held the arrow back and waited for the first chance she got to aim and shoot. That chance came rather quickly, since the Scarlet Hitman quickly tried to crawl out of the smoke, dragging himself through the ground in plain sight. Taylor let go of her arrow, letting the man have it.
The immediate moment the arrow stuck into the man, a high voltage of electrical energy was discharged into his body for additional Leray damage, giving him a painful zap while draining him of more energy. As the piercing shock was over, the man struggled to move at all, wondering what happened to his accomplice.
Danny had the same idea, using the time they had to remain relentless. He pulled out a sword using a tiny amount of magical energy, planning on mixing that alone with another spell. The Hitman had already been in too much pain to move, so Danny wanted to target the other guy, waiting for the smoke to thin out more. "Rush Assault!" While his body began to glow with a white auric color, Danny ran at a nearly impossible speed right into the dusty area, holding his sword closely. After finding the other Scarlet soldier struggling to stand up and keep his current balance, Danny let his combination rip, mostly slashing into the guy''s flesh with his blade. The rush assault spell made him faster and speedier than before, even giving Danny the idea of using his elbow and feet for hitting as well. Though the combo was very long, Danny got in as many hits as he could before backing away to leave him with the high damage the enemy already felt.
Jane wasn''t the only one distracted by the blinding light show from afar. Explosions capped the entire field inside of the other dome belonging to Danny and Taylor too. Jane didn''t expect them both to be dominating the other soldiers thus far, but even from this distance, that wasn''t easy to tell.
Marx checked out what was happening too, while taking that time to try and recover his lost strength. The light cleared, but the smoke in the other dome fogged everything up. Jane''s friends seemed to be the only ones not rendered invisible, which practically spoke volumes about who was winning the other fight. He was losing, Marx and his team. The fight wasn''t over yet, but he was confused as to how it dragged on for this long. "Who are you people?! Why won''t you just lay down and die?!"
Jane noticed Stanley pull out a set of sub machine guns, aiming them at her to fire each mechanism. His rage was simply a prelude to another attack, but having his projectiles being bullets, Jane wasn''t able to do anything about it before being hit from several rounds in each shell. Stanley was using the skill Bullet Blitz, though he did not have the patience anymore to chant the name of those spells. After suffering some severe piercing pain from the bullets hitting her skin, Jane noticed little change on her energy scope.
The pain of bullets to the skin was bad enough, but Jane had dealt with it before. The bruising pain in several hundred spots on her skin wasn''t half as bad as it felt in Alpha Zero, and this guy isn''t much to handle whether he can use dark magic or not. "I''m not afraid of the Scarlet Cult!" Jane announced proudly. "We''ll make you pay for your crimes!" While slowly pulling her daggers in secret, Jane enabled her next spell, trying to put some extra power into it. "Mako Beam!" Jane used the tips of her dagger to fire blue narrow beams into Stanley. Though this was a very weak attack, Jane''s hits were still accurate while her MP cost for the skill was essentially zero. It would give her more time to think about the next idea. While spinning in between two hits, Jane managed to score four beams on Stanley using her daggers from a distance, though the damage level was as non-lethal as Jane expected it to be.
Danny realized that it was time to try his best skill that was new in front of these freaks. Though it would be his very first real attempt, and therefore would take much time to invoke correctly. "Taylor! Cover me!" Danny charged his energy slowly, creating a glyphring that wasn''t quite complete in front of where he stood. The glyphring was out of phase, and thus wasn''t fully formed yet.
Taylor had to attack the guys now or else Danny''s big magical invocation would be interrupted. Anything good enough would have to do. "Magical Hammer!" Taylor summoned a massive hammer in the air above where the two men were standing. Both of the Scarlet soldiers glanced up real fast to notice the giant hammer about to smash into them, and unfortunately they had just enough time to dive forward and avoid the final slam into the ground. The hit was even good enough to shake the entire bridge some more. Danny was still fiddling with that unknown spell of his.
"Come on!" He tested. Danny''s glyphring was turning red as intended, but the spell just wasn''t budging. He tried to imagine the entire scene happening in his head, which wasn''t as easy to do with this much pressure, and with his MP energy dropping like this... "Hellfire!" Screaming the name at the top of his lungs did less help than imagining the scene unfold in his mind. Though Danny managed to do two at once, finally lifting the spell out from phase and into this world. The glyphring solidified its true form, while a massive spiral barrage of Fire Balls shot from the glyphring like fireworks.
Nobody else could have expected what was to happen next, but Danny''s Hellfire spell was a powerful one, shooting a total of twenty Fire Balls from the glyphring, giving them homing properties, and taking on the shape together of a massive spiral of Fire Balls to confuse the enemy on where they will hit. With homing properties on every one of the projectiles, all of them were going to hit one of the two targets separately. Danny watched the fireworks from here, while the men were being bombarded with Fire Balls. Their health declined very quickly in the process, but even after it as all over, the fight would eventually continue on. Their resilience lasted even after suffering several fiery blasts.
"I''ve got these guys," the Hitman ordered. "You just get those healing orbs out now!"
"Oh no you don''t!"
The Hitman didn''t give Taylor a good enough chance to stop either one of them, spawning his next attack that already used the time to charge up completely. "Star of Darkness!" Because of where they were standing, Danny and Taylor were both being surrounded by the red circle associated with the spell. The invocation was quick too, trapping both Danny and Taylor inside of the Star of Darkness. The red light illuminated under the circle, immediately draining their health while the other guy was working on those healing orbs.
Meanwhile, Marx confronted Jane again with another attack, using his sword and more dark magic to keep Jane off balance. It wasn''t possible to lose a battle when faced only with ordinary Leray magic, especially with dark magic on his side. Marx was about to prove it here and now. "Cutting Edge of Zero!" Stanley swung his red glowing sword in the air again while far away from Jane. Only this time, his blade created line slices in the air which looked exactly the same as the Splice spell. Only these lines were dark red with an aura of purple around them, all traveling in the line towards Jane.
Jane saw the unusual attack coming, and from the aura it looked as if it were more dark magic being used against her. Jane thought fast to cross her arms again and invoke another shielding aura. As the bright line of light tried to cut through Jane''s shield, several tiny hexagons formed in a line showing where the shield was hit, and Jane felt immediately powerless from how high the damage to her shield was. Having to immediately drop her aura, it was clear that Marx can do this all day if he could figure a way to bypass Jane''s own shielding abilities. The time in between the shield damage to Jane dropping it left only less than half a second of time before she would have been affected by that last dark spell.
Just after Taylor was the one who took the final strike of the red lightning bolt from the Star of Darkness spell, Danny was still affected by the health drain on the same occurrence. Both of them have lost a lot of health too, and without enough time to do anything about the issue, it gave the other soldier the time he needed to activate their healing orbs. Taylor was slumped down a little, already appearing too weak to battle. Meanwhile, the soldiers were healing up nicely.
The healing orbs must have been light versions of something, because at the end of the sequence, the bad guys only regained proportions of their lost health, not all of it. Still, Jane must know that they can''t win like this! Turning away for a moment to call over to Jane, Danny pounded on the edge of the dome shield that forced him inside, since he was already at its edge with Taylor. "Jane! Jane! You have to shut this down now!"
Despite the dome shields naturally being partially sound proof, Jane could hear Danny''s complaint all the way from here. She risked a glance in their direction. It was obvious that these people were already using unconventional methods to win, but without a way to shut down the fight, how could Jane actually help them in the immediate moment? "I''m not afraid of you Marx!" Jane pointed at her opponent and taunted his very style right in front of him. "My friends might be in trouble, but I can fight you all day long! You''re going to have to throw your very best at me if you want to stand a chance!"
Stanley sensed deception in the air already, and Jane''s odd choice of words began to decipher into what he took to be their hidden meaning. "Nice try Jane. You really expect me to waste all of my energy just attacking you one after the other? You want my energy to be lower than yours so that I don''t stand a chance. Fine. I''ll play your little game. Your shield is powerful to block even dark magical attacks, but I know a spell that will end you on one single shot! You won''t be able to shield yourself from this Jane! Dodging is impossible! This is where you get to join your friends in their death! Redemption!"
Jane smirked in the fact that she got what she hopped for. After remembering how the shields react in Zero Zone mode, when time is stopped, she realized that there was a reason that all of these shields and domes have a refresh rate, the reason why they don''t function well during time-based distortions. The shield is self-regenerating, constantly forming energy layer upon layer, as the old layers die out too quickly. Dome shields are impenetrable for that reason, but even the highest refresh rate cannot hold up to the incredible potential energy of a Redemption spell. Jane didn''t expect Stanley to go that far. It''s a mystery to how he even knows of such a powerful attack like that one, but it will do.
With the Redemption spell activated, Jane could see the green vertical beams of energy spiraling together and coming towards her directly. There technically is at least one way to dodge this attack, though rare would it be to actually get the idea in the heat of battle. Waiting for the right moment, Jane invoked her next skill while keeping her hands shut and clean. "Dark Strike!"
Jane''s body vanished just like that, the spiraling Redemption beams continuing on as though uninterrupted. Jane reappeared quite a distance behind where Marx was standing. She held her hands out and released more of her magic immediately afterwards, but not towards her opponent. While aiming for the Siriean dome, Jane used much of her magic to try and slow down the refresh rate of the entire shield around them, utilizing similar time distortion effects in the simple form of her concentration. All she has to do is affect the entire dome shield around her, and exert magic in a way that stops the excitement of energy regeneration towards the entire shielding aura itself. Partial and directional time distortion magic wasn''t easy at all, but Jane knew she had only one chance right now. Her second phase of the plan was already working. While Marx tried to figure out how in the name Jane managed to dodge Redemption, Jane was already weakening the entire dome shield. The changes were already somewhat noticeable, and the effect began to form unusual electrical sparks around the entire dome, while the hexagons making up the shield pulsated everywhere due to the refresh rate being low enough to see with the untrained eyes.
The beams from the Redemption kept on going and going, not stopping for a moment. They''re designed to be absorbed by the Siriean dome in the end, but while Jane was dampening the shield, the first beam that managed to hit the dome completely blew a hole in the energy field, collapsing the dome around them in milliseconds. Jane however wasn''t finished yet. She now had to switch targets, now slowing down the refresh rate of the other Siriean dome where Taylor and Danny were positioned. The first Redemption beam that destroyed the first dome faded away, its powers canceled with the process, but the other three that marched onward slammed into the second Siriean dome just as Jane managed to weaken this one as well. The process cost her a lot of MP energy, but she still had plenty of it remaining in her own reserves. As all three beams hit the dome shield, Jane watched as the second Siriean dome collapsed further down. Though it took three beams to completely wipe it out, her entire plan managed to work. Jane, Danny, and Taylor were all suddenly set free. Jane didn''t need to exert all of Stanley''s energy. She just needed the perfect super-spell.
Now that Danny and Taylor were free, Jane rushed in towards them, calling them the other way. "You two by me right now!"
"Noooo! What''s going on here?!"
Jane didn''t care that Marx was busy figuring out how three students managed to take down three fully trained Scarlet soldiers. All she needed right now was the closure of her friends, literally speaking. Just as Jane, Danny, and Taylor reunited together by sprinting to the same place as quickly as possible, Jane refined her earlier statement. "You two under me now!" Jane''s friends didn''t hesitate to think about what she was doing, they simply followed her orders to the mark while Jane concentrated on two entire spells at the same time.
While Marx and his men were finally figuring out that Jane had collapsed both shield domes and were fixated on one single point tightly compacted together, they predictably tried to rush into them for close-ranged attacks. Jane used that moment to lift her arm straight up towards the sky, releasing most of her remaining energy. "Ultima!" The light that spawned in her hands became too bright to look in its general vicinity, and the rest of the spell began to unfold itself without further assistance from Jane, the glyphring forming around that single light to help it explode into a full light screen area attack. Jane knew however that this method would harm Danny and Taylor in the process, which is why she suddenly let go of that light to invoke her second spell. "Power Shield!" Jane had to literal give this one all she had with the small amount of energy remaining in her capacity. Jane also had to lift the entire aura and expand the range slightly to make the bubble bigger, protecting herself, Danny, and Taylor as they huddled up together on the ground. Jane''s shield successfully invoked just as the light screen from Ultima exploded all around them. Through the view of the shield aura, nothing but blinding white light could be seen through any angle. Every one of them had to shut their eyes for the long three seconds the entire attack screen lasted.
Jane dropped her shield in weakness the moment the light faded away. The entire bridge was smoking from the heat, though nothing had actually caught fire. Marx was down on his knees thirty meters in front of Jane, while the other soldiers behind them were completely incapacitated. In the result that followed, Danny and Taylor were unresponsive, too speechless by what Jane had done in a single minute to care that they managed victory in this manner.
It was clear to Jane that Marx was hurting badly just to stay awake in that tough battle. With his goons down and the Siriean domes completely destroyed, there was nothing he could do right now to successfully kill Jane''s group like he promised he could. Jane had already done it, whether Marx was ready to accept defeat or not. "Want some more," she challenged through her scratchy throat. Jane was so weak and sore just from the loss in all her MP that it was having more of an effect on her than it should.
Stanley could barely managed to stand up at all. His energy was practically gone right now, and his helpers had failed in their mission too. No! It isn''t possible! "This... This isn''t fair!"
Despite her own weaknesses, Jane had it in her to stand back up, slightly approaching Stanley. "What you lot do isn''t fair. As soon as you pass out, I''ll make sure you''re arrested by the Leray agents in Eldora. You''ll be spending the rest of your days behind a cell!"
"Hmhmhm! Nahahaha!" Despite how cringy he sounded, Stanley laughed through his bruises and exhaustion. "Leray agents? Hah! Those bastards couldn''t catch a cold! But I''ll be back one day. I''ll get you for this Jane! You and your friends!" Stanley had much reason to speak as if he were leaving. His quick invocation of one last spell formed a very odd red glyphring below his feet.
"No..." Jane recognized this pattern before. This wasn''t a glyphring spell. It''s teleportation! In battles, the illusive act of teleportation is nothing more than matter transference, but this type of teleportation can take one anywhere within Sprawn Valley in a single instance. "Hey!" Jane rushed in towards Stanley, who was getting away before she could do anything about it. In just a quick flash and fade of light, Stanley Marx was gone, vanished into thin air as the teleportation symbol left on the ground completely disappeared with him more slowly. Jane turned around, noticing that Marx had also placed a teleportation symbol around both of his soldiers too. Even though the spell had a delay with Marx not being here, the invocation still worked. The unconscious Scarlet team vanished into the fleeting beam of light too, leaving behind no single trace of anything.
Chapter Theme Shift: Chrome Valkyria ~ Advanced Battlegrounds OST
It took several long moments for Jane to get it into her head that the Scarlet enemies were gone, teleported away like the cowards they are. Nobody left a single trace or object behind. It was as if the Scarlet Cult never existed around here in the first place. It bothered Jane to no end that they managed to pose as Leray agents with their fake shiny badges, a con that even fooled herself. What were they doing here in the first place? Why were they messing with this orange lamp on the side of the rail?
"Jane!" Danny called. After pulling Taylor to her feet, Danny had pulled several items from his pocket. Picking out the healing orbs, he handed one to Taylor, and rushed another into Jane''s hands. "I''m glad we made it through that fight, but we''ve all been injured."
Jane concentrated on Danny''s words and expression. The danger from all three of those men was very real. "How badly? Did any of you take real time damage?"
After distracting the two using the bright light of the healing orb, Taylor allowed the device to completely replenish her strength, immediately registering on her stats.
As expected, Taylor''s health did not fully heal, though Jane had already deduced that the cause was more about a lack of physical rest than any real time damage. After all, the energy scopes are handy for reporting real time damage, something her own was still doing above her head. Because of the orange color on Taylor and Danny''s energy scopes, Jane already had a good guess to say that her friends would come out of this just fine.
"I think we''re okay for now," Danny confirmed. "You on the other hand should use one yourself. I''m surprised your health is still so high, but you must have gotten hit by something."
Jane examined the back of her right leg where a cut had previously been made from the attack she was hit by earlier. Danny followed the attention from her gaze to her gash. Though it drew some blood earlier, the cut was not nearly as deep as Jane believed it was, the seal on her skin already made by natural real time healing. She felt fine physically, other than the total exhaustion from having such a low MP energy amount. Danny used his healing orb in front of Jane, while Jane used one on herself. In the meantime, she thought more about what the hell happened here.
Despite the high stats of her body, Jane chose to ignore the real time damage on her for now. It only appeared to be a scratch, one she could shake off without an issue. "I''m fine. I guess I got lucky not to take as many hits..." Jane trailed off in her thoughts. It was so much quieter now, total darkness surrounded all of them. Their only light source right now was the orange lamp to the side of them. Now that Jane thought about it, perhaps the lamp here was nothing more than a lamp. The Scarlets must have been using this area as a rest spot for whatever mission they were trying to achieve.
"I don''t understand. I thought you beat them with whatever you tried," Taylor concluded. "So where is everyone?" While waiting for a response, Taylor disabled her energy scope for now, since it was not relevant.
Jane disabled her energy scope too after Danny''s, and answered to Taylor''s curiosity to the best of her memories. "They used teleportation symbols. They invoke magic that allows travel to anywhere in the world in a single instance. Normal teleportation takes longer to charge, but teleportation symbols remove that charge-up time, and without a Leray agent around, it cannot be traced. They could be anywhere!"
"Teleportation is illegal, right?" Danny pondered. That''s what he heard from the agents back at Tilsit. His curiosity about the entire process gave him some knowledge, but nobody bothered to give himself or Taylor permission to try and learn it. "Assuming what you''re talking about is totally different from what we''ve seen in Leray battles."
Jane refreshed Danny''s memories of the subject quickly. "Correct. Matter transference is what happens in battles, not allowing the user to actually escape the dome around them, but with the other process, you can teleport in and out of anywhere that isn''t being blocked. Regular teleportation is legal only for the agents, but relying on symbols to instantly warp around is illegal, since it often uses a forbidden type of magic. Places like the Verlith Prison are immune to teleportation for security reasons, same with the inside of Siriean does, but our enemies were allowed to escape, just after we went through all of that too."
Taylor, finally feeling recovered crept closer to Jane and Danny for comfort and reassured them about their win. "Don''t feel bad. He did say he was going to kill us all, but we all fought together. They may have escaped, but we''ve prevented them from doing their job, both on this bridge and by keeping us alive."
Danny agreed, "She does bring up an excellent point. As long as we''re stuck outside of civilization, there is not much we can do about it right now."
Jane turned to face the city lights in the distance, their destination still too far away for those lights to help them see the road. "We''re reporting everything that happened here the first chance we get. Stanley Marx, Scarlet soldiers, even Kira. I can''t just be okay with letting killers run around as they choose."
"We might have a problem with that." Danny waited for the two to look his way in order to properly point out the issue. Danny then pointed to what he had seen. Though difficult to make out since the objects were further tucked in the shade of night, all of the bicycles they dismounted from before were sitting against the rail where they left them. Only the metal was still smoking, and the tires were completely flattened.
"What happened to our bikes?!"
Jane came up with the answer for Taylor quickly, thinking back to any possibility in which the bikes may have taken a few stray hits from magical attacks. "It was Ultima," she announced. "After destroying those domes around us, Ultima had the potential damage range to affect everyone and everything in a four to five hundred meter radius. That''s why the Siriean domes exist in the first place." Jane got much closer to the bikes with her friends, realizing just how toasted their rides were. "Ultima isn''t a spell powerful enough for its heat to warp this metal." Nor did it. The metal was burning hot, but just as straight as it was designed. "But the heat alone would have been enough to pop holes in these tires. Our vehicles are completely useless now until we take them in for repairs."
Danny sighed of stress. "So we''re walking the rest of the way from here? That could take several more hours." Without bikes being capable of getting stored into supply spheres, this trip would drag on into next morning.
"I wouldn''t worry about it." Jane held onto her bike, still capable of rolling the thing with the force of a simple push. The vehicle was too bumpy to try and ride, but at least Jane didn''t have to scrape it across the heavy cement. "It''s not long from here, and we should be close to the exit of Route 787. Either drag these things with you or don''t. They''re too big to fit into the supply spheres, so this is the only way."
Danny argued with the details of their purpose. "Shouldn''t we invest in a better way to travel? I find it hard to believe that with all of these magic powers, nobody has figured out a solution just by improvising."
"If you can think of something better, please let me know about it." Refusing to keep it up, Jane was suddenly in a rush to get going. They would have to walk with these bikes under their hands just to reach Eldora City before it''s time to fall asleep.
"One more thing before we go?"
"What now?" Jane''s tone was aggravated by assumption that Danny had nothing useful to say.
Danny wasn''t about to say anything. He pulled out another orb from his pocket, the green top device he kept from one of the earlier wins. This is the Endurance Booster orb Jane gave to him after the match with Liam. "I know this normally doesn''t work outside of battle, but people around here are finding ways to cheat. Until that gets resolved, I see no reason why I should have to wait before using this thing."
Jane didn''t know what to say. Normally she would be against the thought. After all, invoking an entire battle just for the sake of using unknown items is the reason she got into this huge mess to begin with. Then again, a Defense Booster wasn''t an unknown item, and a battle would not normally be needed to cheat the system of the orb''s early activation. Jane saw Danny struggle just to activate the device, unsuccessful in powering the thing up with his magic.
After staring blankly at her right hand, Jane gave herself an idea, one that she didn''t feel comfortable with in the first place, though Danny''s reasons were well founded. After all, if he is coming into Alpha Zero, he would need all of the help and support he could have, no matter how they were obtained. "Let me try." Jane walked up to Danny, placing her hand on the top of the orb without taking it from his hand. After a few seconds of concentration, Jane''s magic managed to trigger the initial light in the device, after which she quickly let go as to not be the person to absorb its effects.
"Wha¡ª How can you do that?"
Good question, but one of easy suspicion. Jane knew it had something to do with her mark. It does even more than most people realize, providing her with enough energy to overcome the greatest obstacles without even feeling the difference. Danny''s orb lit up in his hands, after which his energy scope appeared momentarily to report the permanent change in his stats.
Jane then followed where Taylor was standing. She waited on Taylor''s confused expression until Taylor realized she was being asked to pull out the orb she won from Liam''s match. An MP up spell bomb, also only usable in battles, unless one has Jane''s crazy unusual skills. "I have a feeling that this mark I have wasn''t intended for me, that the spell bomb I used on myself was designed to specifically break the natural rules that Leray enforcers try to keep functioning every day. Such power could be used for other things I wouldn''t have in mind."
"You mean, a spell bomb that was meant to do bad things?" Taylor held out her orb, waiting for Jane to activate it for her.
Jane continued speaking while placing her right hand on the orb. Her hidden symbol even in its passive mode has the power to overcharge Leray energy into physical objects already infused with magic, bypassing the security mode on the devices in question. That must be how. "Yes. Imagine the chaos that would follow if someone else got a hold of this crest. They could break the very foundation of the protection that each and every citizen has. Some criminal could have obtained my powers instead, and then used it to destroy this entire world." After lighting up the orb, Jane let go again, allowing Taylor to absorb its effects while bringing up the energy scope for only a few seconds before fading away on its own.
Jane accepted what she just did for them. "You''ll both need that extra boost should you accompany me into the Dark Zone. I still suggest you simply pack your bags and go back home, but I won''t force you to do as you don''t want to."
"We want to help you see this through," Danny cleared. "Going home can wait right now. Sprawn Valley isn''t our native country, and it certainly is a very strange place, but the people in this country are still real people. This Alpha Zero threatens the lives of innocents, and all three of us have the power and will to stop it. I''m not going anywhere until it''s been resolved."
"Then I''ll protect you two for as long as I''m here." Jane got back to her bike, and began pushing it forward again. "Come on. We don''t want to arrive in Eldora too late from now."
Danny got his bike and pushed it the same way Jane and Taylor were doing. It was going to be another long walk before making it off this bridge. "It''s too bad they couldn''t make a spell to fix objects. Just aim at these things and repair it all." After receiving no reply, Danny simply assumed such a spell was out of the question. Having to stroll away from their only good source of orange light, Danny kept his senses sharp. He would simply refuse to battle anyone who might jump out and challenge them. Strikes are more than acceptable now. After that ordeal and Jane''s real time damage to prove what happened to them, they really could declare an actual emergency to prevent strikes.
Chapter 40: Gateway (Jane VS Rontellov)
<02/10/1972 ¨C 22:59 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Despite having no tires to use for the bicycles, Jane and her friends managed to push them on roll down the cement road of the deep bridge for over an hour. Though the sky has already darkened, the shade of darkness seemed to be an impossible coat of black that overwhelmed the eyes with the sense of nothingness. Judging by that and the slightly lower air temperature, Jane decided to guess the time to be ten forty P.M. The road on the other hand became a bit more visible than before, all thanks to their own efforts.
Taylor could see it again, the city lights hanging in the distance and spanning into the sky. Eldora is much closer to them now than it was before. The tall vertical towers of structures and outlines were much more visible and abundant now. The color of the sky just above the tall vertical buildings had a dark orange mist and hue in contrast to the rest of the sky, indication of intense street lamps in the city. Taylor couldn''t know this without being here before, though she felt as if Eldora City really will be three times the size of Gross City. Jane already said this was the case, but it was unbelievable to imagine the scenario coming to life before her eyes.
The road was more visible because of the extra light in the distance from the ground. It was very faint for a reflection to the pavement, practically useless for making out any detail below them. Though the area wasn''t too hard to see with or without this visual support. Jane could even see the end of the road connecting Route 787 and Route J-H. J-H road is the tiny little path that must be walked to reach Eldora City from the end exit of Route 787, even though no Leray wielders hang out there. The rails on the top of the bridge support beams and wires touched down at the ground there, the concrete fading into an earth-composed floor with a few natural trees in the vicinity. They''ve practically made it!
"Is that what I think it is?"
Judging by the tone, Jane figured that Taylor has already noticed what she could see. "The end of the path less than five minutes away? Of course it is."
Danny sped up his walking to level next to Jane and in front of Taylor, trying to convince his ears. It''s true! The bridge comes to an end here. Danny had not noticed that to his right and his left, the ocean water wasn''t visible from a direct angle, and that the cliffs of the large and steep continental shelf were blocking the path of the waves. There was nothing to see ahead other than a small section of nature, a grown out walkway path plowed through the earth after the cement, and then the big city further up the road partially concealed by more patches of trees.
Jane felt so relieved now, arriving here after fighting those intense battles with several unworthy mages. Some of which started in her name, but others fights happened against her will. After making out more details about the shapes generally in front of her, she could not remain relaxed. Though it wasn''t easy to see, a figure in the shape of a person outlined on the very end of the path populated the space as well. The figure was nearly invisible being outside of the small lamp light on road J-H, but the figure moved too, confirming Jane''s suspicion that they were not alone.
"I told you I would be happy to see it." Danny exchanged a few words with Taylor, only focusing on her. While keeping his rolling bike balanced, he reflected on the thoughts he had earlier about Taylor. Where will this end up going in the end? Will there ever be an end to this relationship?
"That''s one thing I''ve loved about Sprawn Valley," Taylor projected. "There are so many cool places to travel, and we have all of this freedom to do as we please. That might leave an open hole for bad guys to do harm, but they have police agents here just for that."
"You two better stay sharp." Danny and Taylor were both immediately attentive from Jane''s alert. All three of them could clearly see someone not far away from here. A person in the dark was defiantly moving around, making himself slightly more visible with a flashlight. Jane was carefully lifting her feet forward, making less noise while trying to figure out who was out here.
The shadow of the man seemed to be preoccupied by something, crouching at one side of the last bridge panel, for which Jane had no knowledge on what might actually be there. Jane figured that she has not been seen just yet, and tuned in to the distant echoes of his voice.
"The wire... pathway needs to be... within ten seconds..." Jane could barely make out what the guy was saying. She didn''t see anyone else who he could be speaking too yet, nor did his business here make any sense. Obviously, it couldn''t be a civilian or a Leray wielder; those people don''t go messing around with physical structures. After meeting those Scarlet soldiers, Jane had much of an excuse to be concerned for her own safety. "Generate to E-C, mark three!"
After a buzz and a pop, Jane was totally blind. Bright white light from out of nowhere splashed down on her, carrying the intensity to render her vision useless. Accepting the possibility that she and her team have been spotted by someone dangerous, Jane cursed under her breath while trying to shield her eyes and her body only with the use of her arms. The light was everywhere, only leaving whiteness in her field of view. Jane cringed from the burning pain it left her iris.
"Too much! Too much! Step it down before it blows!"
Danny figured that he wasn''t the only one blinded by the lights all around him. They were still standing on the bridge, so the origin of the blinding electrical currents made no sense as to how they came to exist. After a grueling twenty seconds of pain and anticipation, the lights around him got much dimmer, and his eyes quickly began to adjust. Struggling to make out any new details, Danny saw that there were tiny little light bulbs on wires, all wrapped around the left and right upper rails and beams of the entire bridge from the dirt path all the way back by 0.3 miles. It''s as if someone wanted to brighten the entire area with flashy ornaments. Individually, those lights put off about nothing in distance. But wrapped around this way, he could see everything close by here, even the very sides of the cliffs off the bridge, and the people in front of him.
After lighting up the entire vicinity with electrical bulbs, the man who was spotted signaled for his assistant and both of them began a jog over towards the strangers. Jane''s team was quite powerless at the moment. Even though they could now see what was happening, all of that blinding light left them stunned, while Jane still had both arms covering her damaged eyes. Whoever was over there messing with the system was on approach to Jane''s entire team, practically already in speaking distance by how quickly they were on their feet.
"Hey!" Though his baggy cloak-like coat made him appear puffier above his skin, the man rushed towards the group of kids standing in the middle of the road, all of which still seemed startled. Only when he got close enough to speak in a normal volume did he check to see how they were doing. "You folks alright?"
"Yes," Danny concluded. "The hell is with all these lights?"
Sensing his agitation, the man apologized for the inconvenience he caused them, while his female assistant rushed to his side to smoothen things over. "Didn''t mean to startle you. I wasn''t expecting company around here so soon."
Jane was finally back to normal. With the surprise in her iris gone, she could see clearly with no residing pain, but the section here did not return back to total darkness. Much detail was clearly visible with all of the lights coiled up above them all set to a dimmer setting. Jane clenched her hands in preparation. This guy could be anybody, and it was already time for answers. "Who are you supposed to be?" Jane pointed to the guy with her hands, though she knew using a dagger to threaten him would make her feel even safer.
"What a time for introductions." He lifted his arms up high and turned on his feet slightly, looking up at all of the lights around him. "I suppose first I shall give you, the new light of the century. Welcome to the entrance of J-H road!" He sounded very enthusiastic about showing it off, much pride emanated from his very eyes.
Jane only found it ridiculous, and considered several technical factors into this mysterious forty-two year old man. He was obviously athletic and well in shape. Despite that puffy coat making him appear bigger, Jane could tell the difference in body-mass, and by the fact that he literally ran up to them from that distance with little time without even breathing fast from the rush. The assistant next to him was a girl in her late twenties, well dressed with somewhat short hair. With all of these lights around them, Jane could make out every physical feature about these people, which was shocking considering this hour of the night.
Taylor, failing to sense any danger stepped forward in front of Jane, nearly tripping over her to become interested in their business. After everyone already set down their bikes, it was easy enough to put herself between anyone. "You mean those lights, these are yours?"
He turned towards Taylor, and eyed Danny to figure out who these people might be. None of them seemed familiar with any new installments of the council, and they were facing this direction to begin with. Nevertheless, the man gave Taylor his answer before introducing himself. "Actually, they belong to the city''s power company. However, my place in the council managed to enforce this rather useful idea to the knuckleheads. As you can clearly see, Route 787 is much brighter and safer at night when you can see this well."
Jane dropped her guard for a moment, searching and panning all around her. The lights were all connected to Eldora''s power grid, which means this was something on the lines of official business. That panel in the back by the bridge support beam must be the control set up for installing the electrical circuits.
"Not that this is the final product," he corrected. "We''ve only got this section for now, but over the next month or two, the crew will be installing these lights every interval on this bridge to make sure nobody slams into walls at night. Our technician is still back there, making sure they don''t blow anything." He pointed behind him, even though the mechanic would barely be visible behind that bar. "He''s the one doing the installation. I on the other hand have other applications."
"Such as?" Danny requested.
While pointing his five fingers at himself, he gave away his identity as a good sign of trust. "My name is Rontellov Iseihenghower. Though you can simply call me Rontellov. I''m with the registered Leray infrastructure association, and have a seat on the council there. I don''t do any of the installing though, because I also happen to be an official Leray Gradyent."
"A gradyent?" Jane repeated. "A real gradyent?" Jane knew of the terminology from before, but never expected or even planned on meeting the gradyent for Route 787. Uncertain of whether this could be a bad thing, Jane remained silent with her thoughts.
"Yes - of course." Rontellov brought out his wallet from the coat pocket in front of him, opening it to show off his license and registration. He let them read it for themselves, as they were skeptical to believe and trust his own credentials. D. Rontellov | Age: 39 | Graduated facility: Eldora + Guelder Cont. | Last Ev. Score: Exp. | Current Status: Elite Leray Gradyent | Credits: --- Cr.
Despite never seeing one of these special licenses in real life up close and personal, Jane sensed that this guy was for real, including his story. There were several technical things on his recorded license that proved his truthfulness to her friends, one of which is the classified credit report. Real Leray elites, agents, gradyents, and council officials do not keep their credits on their physical card, but rather in a holding account under classified lockdown. People aren''t allowed to know their wages, and thus, Rontellov checks out for now.
"The woman behind me is Haily Hue, my trusted referee for Leray battles."
"Hi!" Haily waved at them, to which she was paid little attention afterwards.
"You have your own personal referee?"
Rontellov nodded to Danny''s surprise. "I believe that every Leray wielder should have one these days, including the rooks. With Leray referees, there is less chance of possible cheating in the rule system. A referee can see what is going on in battle, and while registered to specific party members, that same person can call a legal time out, in which participants battling illegally are immediately discredited."
Danny judged his words quickly by how high class this seemed. After now realizing how useful an official referee could be, it makes sense now as to why the nation has them. Referees at first seem redundant, but if they can watch the entire situation and declare any action illegal to protect the licenses and reputation of others, then perhaps that is what they need to cure the situation all along. "That''s cool. Say, can you remind me what gradyents do again?"
Jane smacked herself in the face, too embarrassed by that question to look back up. It should have been expected though. Jane figured that after her run-in with Belzer, he would have taken a few days off. If Danny and Taylor never found a gradyent before, this question would come automatically. Then again, she couldn''t judge, for Jane forgot that gradyents existed before meeting Belzer. As a result, Rontellov began laughing, while Jane was left to resolve the situation. She turned to Danny, making sure he understood forever. "Gradyents are people at the end of major paths on both sides to important routes. They basically patrol the entry or exit points, and battle against newcomers to the next town to determine how ready they are to enter. It''s all very religious and annoying at first, but the point is to filter out weak wielders from areas containing generally tougher challengers, keeping the levels balanced."
"I see you have an excellent understanding of these things, miss..."
While he waited on Jane to introduce herself, she quickly turned to face him while holding her modesty as best as she could. Gradyents from Eldora are supposed to be proper and rich. Therefore, behaviors need to be their best in front of these people to get anywhere. Jane bowed for a moment before introducing herself, but her shaky voice gave away how embarrassed she still was. "I''m Jane Venn, and these are my friends traveling the same path with me for now - Danny and Taylor."
Rontellov silently glanced at all of them again, judging their age, their attention spans, and everything he could. No way are they indigenous to the city ahead of them. Still, they seemed like an interesting bunch. "I can understand that you''ve been on the road for some time now. And with those popped tires slowing you down further..." He paused to let them remind themselves that they were holding onto useless metal vehicles. "I suppose you will all be tired too. On the other hand, you also know as well as I do that gradyents have a protocol which must be followed. If I am to grant you access into Eldora City, I must be defeated by at least one of you in a Leray match before proceeding. Normally it would require all three of you." Rontellov pointed and cycled between them, uncertain of which one was the best fighter. Jane looked slightly older, but it was no guarantee she was better.
"Hold on now," Taylor interrupted. "You seriously want us to battle and win just to get access into Eldora?"
Jane only turned her neck to Taylor, still agreeing with Rontellov''s logic. "That''s what gradyents do. They test the abilities of Leray wielders before allowing them to pass. Civilians and workers are exempt of course, but actual Leray wielders who build their career off of this stuff need to be tested periodically. Rontellov won''t let us into the city unless one of us defeats him in battle. This coming from an elite level warrior means this will not be an easy fight either. He''s the best of the best."
"You give me a bit too much credit Jane." Rontellov reminded, "Do not forget that Champion Danton is the best of the best. Though I do enjoy this part of the job. I can feel immense power and skill among someone here right now, and I crave using that in Leray battles. In any case, unless you''ve declared an official emergency and need some sort of medical attention, I cannot let you pass without testing your skills."
"If he''s supposed to be really good," Danny began, "shouldn''t we just let Jane mop the floor with him? I don''t want to do all that work for nothing you know."
Jane was about to interrupt, but Rontellov beat her to the punch. "None of you stand to lose anything by battling a gradyent. Even time itself is not wasted, as the challenge itself will provide excellent experience for all of you. Though I am surprised to see that your friends throw up such high standards to you, Jane."
Jane couldn''t get anything out of her mouth for a few seconds, surprised by the same notion that she would be thrown out like that. Danny and Taylor simply wanted her to do all of the hard work. However, against a man of his skills, Jane really would be the only person capable of defeating Rontellov. Still, risking the exposure of her hidden symbol was yet another downside to the plan. "We''re kind of in a hurry to get to Eldora," she pleaded. "You can''t simply expect us to turn around and sleep on the floor simply because we''re too tired to battle." Jane took another step closer, firming her tone and stance. "Gradyent or no gradyent, I won''t let anyone in a position of power threaten the health of my team or myself."
"I understand." Rontellov cleared his throat, explaining how that process would work. "I only try to challenge the people who are not native to Eldora City. People who have permanent residence here are also exempt from gradyent battles specifically with myself, entry or exit. However, because it is such a big city, I don''t just let people by to con me into skipping a mandatory battle. So here is what I''ll do." After making sure all three of them were paying close attention, Rontellov rehearsed the specific protocols of the nation. "Those who need to defeat me and manage to do so successfully are given a two year pass card. With that card, you have legal access to every facility in Eldora City so long as you are still a wielder. Should you skip the battle even for emergency purposes, entering the city and taking residence at one of the inns is the most you can do, aside from ordering food. Should you fail to rise to my challenge, without receiving the pass card, you will basically be in residence of Eldora without the ability or legality to take part in battles, or shop in Leray specific stores. Simply put, you would not be seen as a welcome person of Eldora, but instead a traveling stranger with temporary access to essential facilities."
"Well we need to take part in battles there," Jane clarified. "Can''t we fight you in the morning or something?"
"You defiantly can," Rontellov assured. "Though some of my rules then will have changed. During the day, I get a lot more business, which puts you three on a waiting list. Besides that, I normally challenge all members of traveling teams who are not related via bloodline. If you are say - only friends, I will have to battle all three of you. Though tonight is the exception. I''ve exhausted much of myself too, so I can accept only one challenger to let all three of you pass. After one more battle, I shall retire for the night and hand over my shift to the next guy in line, who will be full of energy - mind you."
Jane didn''t know what to say. Rontellov certainly has a powerful way of motivating people to fight. Everything he just said is specifically designed to make Jane agree to the terms and defeat him right now. Her choices are fight him now with some discomfort and make it easy, or fight him later with rest though with a much tougher and longer duration to defeat the guy. Neither one of them were attractive options, but Jane hated not having the access pass even more. If winning the battle is also the requirement, it meant that Danny and Taylor would both have to win in the morning, something they don''t have the skill level for against someone with such high aptitude.
Sensing that they were all in a troublesome conundrum, Rontellov decided to further revise his offering in choices, favoring the immediate battle of course. "Tell you what. Because it will be the end of my shift soon, I will also see what I can do for those two-wheelers you''ve been pushing around. I know a guy who owns a bike shop. We''re well acquainted too, so I can get this fixed with no extra charge, pull them into the building tonight."
Jane didn''t detect whether Rontellov meant he would do this favor if she battled him now, or if the favor was already set in stone regardless of what she decided to do. Thinking about it was beginning to make her head hurt, but little time passed at all until she came to the obviously better conclusion. "Listen Rontellov. I think I will choose to defeat you now in battle. I simply can''t have restrictions going into Eldora like that. But you fixing our bikes? We could do that ourselves. You''re going to have to do better than that if you really want to see me in action."
Rontellov smiled deviously at his underestimation of the young woman in front of him. Despite being smaller and younger than himself, there was a lot of determination and fire in those green eyes, tons of possibilities to see something new for a change, and she was already smart enough to make the bargaining more interesting, wielding more than just magic and valor. Gradyents do not usually bet specific amounts of credits, elsewise it deters challengers, but there isn''t a rule that prohibits this function. "I can match a price, though that doesn''t mean I will agree to bet on it."
Jane took another step forward until she was almost in the guy''s face, emphasizing her seriousness to the cause. "I''m not interested in money. I need a favor, as well as some information." Realizing she had Rontellov''s full attention based on his sudden serious expression change, she elaborated on her next phase of the plan. "You''re on the council, so I know you''ve heard several rumors regarding the passing of specific Leray laws and contracts between several corporations around here."
"Curious girl," Rontellov pointed out. He took a step backwards, making the short distance between Jane and him less awkward. "I never thought one of your age would be interested to hear about politics, let alone request so much bargaining power. You certainly don''t act like your typical wielder. I can tell that something big has toughened you up." He saw Jane open her mouth to defend her secret, but Rontellov put a hand in front of him to stop her. "I don''t want to hear it. Not knowing what exactly made you this strong makes this more interesting for me. Let''s discuss these terms right here."
Jane first began to think more about how the battle may turn out. With all of these lights around here, seeing in the dark was not going to be much of a problem. But Rontellov isn''t called the elite Gradyent for nothing, and even with a seat on the council, Rontellov has little influence on some things that only concerns her. He might be interested, but he said himself that his specialty was specific to infrastructure and buildings. Jane had to start from how she felt about it. "Are you aware about the several possible ways to breach the rules of a Leray battle? People are literally walking around, forcing others to fight, otherwise forfeit their rights to battle with three immediate strikes. They''re exploiting that stupid fifteen minute rule and forcing uneven battles onto the same target."
"Yeah, that''s bull crap!"
Rontellov could already tell where this was going, and how angry the thought made both Danny and Jane. Taylor on the other hand seemed to be more exhausted than the other two, as she simply tried to ignore it. "I''m well aware of such things, as I have heard a lot of talk recently. Would you like to know what the council plans to do on this?"
"Yes," Jane firmly answered. That was easier than she thought. The council knows about it? What are they to do then?
Rontellov cleared his throat before explaining the situation he knew all about. "Mind you, I have little influence in this field, though it should not be necessary. Members of the council are well aware of this deep flaw in the Leray rules designed for battle. Magic is sent through the Leray veil of protection in the form of forth-dimensional digital code, running in real time with the magic as it appears in real space. This data is specific to what allows certain things to exist, things like energy scopes, reward spoils that show up in holographic text that actually transfers funds from license to license automatically - after an official battle has ended, and rules that normally prevent illegal things from happening inside of legitimate battles."
"Well it isn''t working out anymore."
Hearing Danny''s warning basically told Rontellov that the entire team here encountered more than their fair share of crooks, possibly on this very bridge. "That is why the rules are being updated. It is a process that may take more than a full week to implement. Under the new circumstances, cheating people into battle for their strikes will be made impossible. On top of that, we will make more public service announcements to suggest travel with registered referees in the meantime."
"So they are doing something about it?" Jane tested.
"Indeed. The very thing you are talking about is happening more often every day, which begs for urgency to solve the problem. If you were attacked on this bridge illegally, I must urge you to give me some details on the suspects, as I can inform local Leray agents to patrol this bridge for the rest of tonight and tomorrow."
"That brings me to my second favor," Jane proceeded. "As it turns out, we did meet some people who had problems with others forcing them to battle for credits in high amounts. I''m about to give you important names."
"One second." Rontellov paused to formally pull out a small note pad and a pen, ready to write down the names. He looked just like a Leray agent now, but it wasn''t unexpected. Gradyents sometimes have authority to investigate on matters like these. "Go ahead."
Jane could see that he was taking this seriously, which is exactly what they needed right now. "First subject, male, upper thirties and very buff. Name is Gustos. We already kind of took care of him after crossing paths, but I think he might come and try to score again in the future. Classic crook, forcing people to battle him for insane numbers or else give them three strikes as opposed just to one. What''s worse is that he targets the weak."
"Okay..." Rontellov literally wrote everything down on the paper, making sure to clearly give detailed instructions from what Jane was saying. Danny and Taylor sort of watched passively.
"Next subject is female, dark hair and a magic resistant cloak, upper twenties I think. Anyway, her name is Kira Sandreas. Kira used to be with some gang on Route 96 ran by Patrissa. After Patrissa and her gang were arrested, Kira somehow evaded the capture, and attacked me on the way over here. She engaged me in an illegal battle, used items illegally, and made several verbal threats to kill me."
"That is more serious. I''ll have to rank these priority bells too. We''ll need more than one agent to handle this much traffic efficiently."
"I don''t even understand how people are using items illegally," Danny concerned. "I thought the system prevents that from happening."
Without writing anything else, Rontellov addressed one of the more likely possibilities while answering Danny''s confusion. "In such an instance, was there ever anything different or off about the Siriean dome used in such a battle?" A moment passed, Rontellov using their surprised expressions and their silence as a judgment of answer. "I thought as much. Siriean domes can exist in a few different forms. Es''han Siriean is the mage who invented the process. The veil integrates these kinds of digital rules automatically, but a more skilled mage can use their power to create their own distinct personal dome shield, separate from the normal one. That process itself is illegal, even if it works in many of the same ways. As a result, the veil''s rules for anti-item usage can be bypassed, usually on a one-sided level. The council is aware of this problem as well."
So that''s why? Siriean domes are not the only kind of domes that can be created for battle. How much more to magic is there that nobody knows about?
Jane moved on to make sure Rontellov would learn about all of the horrible things happening around them. "We tied Kira down about halfway to Eldora after she passed out from battle, but by now, she should be long gone. That thing wasn''t going to hold her forever. As long as she is alive, she has motive to kill. And as for the last encounter¡ª"
"I wasn''t aware there were this many criminals running around here." Rontellov sounded concerned, and briefly reflected on the meaning of it all. "Come to think of it, we have seen less traffic flow on average in this route lately. I thought it simply had to do with how dark it gets here at night. What you''re talking about is nearly a federal case already." Anymore, and the FMCI will have to step in.
"I''m sure it will be with the last suspect I give you." Jane prepared to give the last details, and Rontellov put his pen down, eager to take her report seriously. "Stanley Marx. Don''t know who he is, who he works for directly, or if that is even his real name. Slightly older male, probably has several unique alibies. One of those alibies is impersonating Leray agents with fake badges and fake licenses, but he is actually working with the Scarlet organization undercover. We both bumped heads and barely managed to survive that encounter. He traveled with two other men, used dark magic to harm us, and then used teleportation symbols in order to escape after we gained some ground on him."
"That¡ª Unbelievable!" Rontellov spat. "The Scarlet Syndicate working right here under our nose?! Hannon!" Rontellov waited for the technician to rush over to his side. It wasn''t much of a distance, but Hannon was quick to assist him in any way he could. Rontellov handed him the entire note pad and pen, instructing him one what to do next while the three teens stood and watched curiously. "I want you to personally hand these notes to the federal investigation office. Tell them I sent you personally, and that I want a full-scale investigation into the Scarlet Syndicate, including all activities on Route 787 and Lennith City. I''ll be there to fill them in later this morning, and forward it to the FMCI later."
"Yes sir. Installation is complete by the way." Hannon took the notes the rushed in the other direction towards the city.
After briefly studying their faces one more time, Rontellov was certain he had never seen a single one of them before. "I''m guessing that this was the favor you wanted to ask for?"
It wasn''t that surprising for Jane to confirm her slight suspicion that the Scarlet Syndicate ranks as a higher problem than other petty criminals, but it begs the question for how far the conspiracy goes. Jane replied, "That''s correct. I didn''t want to wait before reporting these guys to the agents. They''re very dangerous, not that I actually know what they are up to. All I know about the Scarlet Cult is that they''re more organized and dangerous than I once thought."
"I thought they were the Scarlet Syndicate," Taylor interrupted. "Which one is it then?"
Rontellov answered calmly since it was easy to deduce. "The organization is technically a syndicate, but what they stand for makes them appear to support a large occult belief. Whatever their goal is, they usually spout some stuff about nonsense, thinking they are the true justice warriors. So normal folk actually call them a cult, but it''s all the same thing in their case."
"Well this place took a dark turn fast." Haily commented on the issue as well, too naive to notice how much Sprawn Valley has changed over a few years.
"I''m very glad to see that all three of you are safe after an encounter with Scarlet soldiers." Even Rontellov knew how dangerous they are. "And we''re thankful for the information you''ve provided us Jane. You''ve done the right thing by bringing this to my attention."
"Good," Jane set. "Now that that''s settled, how about we get to the terms of battle?"
"Yes. I know you are still as eager and willing for a great match as I am. A quick reminder about the rules first. Not all challengers realize that in Leray battles, nobody fights to the death. Mixing adrenaline with the will to win can be a powerful distractor from that fact. Should either one of us call forfeit in the match, the referee here will call and end to the battle, and immediately declare the winner. The referee''s judgment for the victor weighs more than the normal digital system that detects such things."
"Really?" Taylor stumbled.
"That''s right," Haily answered. "My job is basically to make sure the battle is legal and legitimate. At the same time, I watch for any funny business during the match, in case somebody ever finds a potential loophole for an easy win."
"And she likes to shout out what is happening for some odd reason."
Easily embarrassed by Rontellov''s assessment, Haily defended her process. "That''s not odd! People watching like to know what''s going on."
"That''s what a pair of eyes are for. Though I still condone your practices. One day you may be drafted into the elite status at level five."
"What''s that mean?" Danny questioned.
Rontellov answered the simple questions again. "It means Haily will be a referee for the battles that officially take place in Eldora Tower with the League of Elites. Being a referee in that situation normally requires battle cry callouts and annotations as to what is going on for the viewers who watch such fights. Being a level five elite referee is something of very high honor and praise, and it pays very well."
"That''s why I also like to bring moral support!" Haily swayed slightly, clearly excited by her own job and the suspense from an upcoming Leray match.
Rontellov smiled at how much he enjoys Haily''s company, then eyed Jane to determine how the fight may go down. However, this is one of the first times to his memory that he is unable to judge what fighting tactics Jane might try and use against him. Anything could happen. "Jane Venn!" His volume made Jane jump slightly. "As elite Leray gradyent of Eldora City, I challenge you in the name of Eldora''s honor and title! Your reward for defeating me shall earn you and your companions a two-year access pass card, while my reward for defeating you shall be positive battle experience. Do you accept these terms to match against me, here on the bridge of seven-eight-seven?"
Does he have to make it weird? Jane changed her stance to better prepare herself for the upcoming fight, waving one hand behind her to tell her team to back away. "I accept your challenge Rontellov. Now let''s get started!"
The Siriean dome formed around Jane and Rontellov quickly, taking on the familiar blue transparent design that Jane remembered to be correct, compared to the dome shield used by the Scarlet Cult and Kira. Danny and Taylor were well outside of the field''s range, though since they were still battling on the bridge, Jane had to take her environment into account as well. Haily was outside of the dome shield too, while standing close to the edge with trained watchful eyes. Rontellov engaged his energy scope shortly before Jane did, revealing the stats of his body with regards to the match. Jane''s stats were not at maximum capacity due to the healing real time damage from before, though it was close enough.
Chapter Theme Shift: La gis sulva za Celow (Extended) ~ Magia Record OST
Despite how ready Jane''s stance tested her opponent''s defensive reaction, Rontellov was the first person to chant the name of a particular spell. "I''ll begin with Earth Quake!" While lifting his right hand slightly and fusing the Leray energy into his fist to release it into the environment around them, his MP percentile dropped considerably on the energy scope to indicate that it took some magic to use the spell. Upon releasing the attack, several large chunks of rocks and boulders came shooting from nowhere, spawned by the invisible magic aura used in the earth-based spell. Quake is a medium level earth attack that is as bad as it sounds, violently tremoring the entire floor in the particular location of the target until they become disoriented by the loss in their balance, followed by earth elemental damage caused by the rocks and boulders, among other factors.
Upon clearing the brief-lasting dust-screen created by the scraping rock and friction all over the pavement of the bridge floor, Jane was standing perfectly still, arms crossed over each other though aiming outwards. A blue auric shield surrounded her entire body taking about the same shape as herself. For the entire time she was being attacked, Jane was relatively safe inside of her little bubble, finally lowering her arms at the end of Rontellov''s sequence to prepare herself for her next turn. She began to think out the plan and strategy in her head, while Rontellov and his assistant were awestruck by the performance.
Haily''s mouth dropped, and though she wanted to report what was going on as part of her job, she couldn''t entirely understand how Jane Venn managed to block out a complete attack with that much power. As a result, her voice stuttered on the visual description while Danny and Taylor kept to themselves about it. "Uh¡ª I think Quake was made completely useless that round. Jane manages to block it, with what I can only deduce is some sort of modified energy shield. Well played."
Danny and Taylor exchanged quiet confident looks at each other, after which they returned their attention to the battle. Both of them realized just how much work Rontellov has set out for him. Jane is certainly no pushover. After all they have seen with Jane so far, it would surprise either one of them should she lose a fair match against someone. On the other hand, Taylor projected...Stolen novel; please report.
Rontellov bowed to Jane shortly before waiting on her to deliver her next mysterious spell. "That was an excellent block Jane. You''ve already got me at a clear disadvantage for now."
"That''s not all you have to worry about," Jane delivered. While Jane gradually continued the silent charge-up sequence of her MP energy throughout her body, her mind raced through the importance and significance of a swift victory. Rontellov isn''t going to be an easy opponent to defeat, and Jane will have to give this challenge everything she has in order to win. Failure is not an option, as it would push back against the available time she has remaining to defeat the champion and storm the Alpha Zero. The only current barrier which stands in her way now is this proud gradyent. As Jane let this mix of emotions flood her mind, she brought in all she felt into the infusion of her energy and her spells, preparing to launch of her feet, while everyone else could feel the anticipation of something bigger on the horizon.
Upon releasing her MP energy in bursts of amounts, Jane activated her next combination of chained sequences while rushing towards Rontellov. "Time for Blitz!" Jane rushed her entire arm from right to left, releasing the magic spell in the form of four separate Shadow Waves activated at the same time at different angles of movement. Before waiting for the hits, Jane rushed in towards Rontellov, drawing the daggers into her hands while her body emanated a green aura.
At first, her rush seemed to be predicable to Rontellov, making him smug enough to drop his guard. Despite understanding how a Blitz combination works, Rontellov wasn''t able to see or hear the impending doom sneaking up behind him. Suddenly slammed with the force and slashing magical damage from four Shadow Waves all at once from behind, Rontellov took some immediate Leray damage, as the force itself plunged him forward into Jane''s outstretched dagger blades.
Planning for this to happen, Jane got in a multi-magical attack in with a physical jab, though her stored energy for the Blitz spell wasn''t expended just yet. She quickly chanted one more skill to enter another magical aura, immediately boosting her speed, her reflexes, and her brilliant light from the bright magical coat. "Rush Assault!" Jane was immediately capable now of delivering several physical hits to Rontellov''s body without letting up for a single instance for Rontellov to exploit a weakness. Using magically infused punches and kicks to increase the damage level as the natural effects of Rush Assault call for, Jane made certain to leap around and cut her daggers in for slices too, all until the Rush Assault spell ended with Jane''s white aura.
Haily waited for Jane to back away from Rontellov before confirming the effectiveness of Jane''s Blitz attack, but Jane was moving so quickly, her actions were nearly impossible to track. Judging however by the change in stats of Rontellov''s energy scope and no health changes on Jane''s, Haily spoke up again to report it aloud. "It seems Jane has delivered a devastating counterattack, using speed to her advantage. Our gradyent doesn''t stand a chance to block or dodge with those movements!"
Rontellov could hear his referee speaking through the Siriean dome, as it provided minimal sound resistance to the outside world. Haily''s report was accurate too, though defeating for him to hear. He didn''t expect such a brilliantly planned out attack such as multiple Shadow Waves slamming him from behind during a Charge Attack sequence. To think that someone so young could learn about so many effective battle dynamics, it was truly inspiring. Just as well though, even Rontellov could determine an immense desperation fueling Jane''s energy; it didn''t seem as natural as an aspiration to be the best, but instead a struggle to fight for something important. Jane''s stern and emotionless expression he witnessed were his only evidence. It''s almost scary.
Thinking back on Haily''s words however, it reminded Rontellov that Jane can use an unfamiliar power shield of Leray energy to block attacks super effectively, and with such speed, he may have trouble doing the same indeed. Though he knew faintly how a power shield can work, Rontellov knew it wasn''t his style. If that truly is Jane''s only method of defense, then it needs to be broken right now, and there is only one way to bypass an entire power shield''s aura. "All right Jane." Rontellov pulled out his primary weapon of choice after hiding it for so long, a small saber, something shorter in length than a short sword, but much longer than a steak knife. With his saber in hand, it was obvious that his hand motions and the glowing aura around the blade meant he was infusing magical energy into the blade itself. Though at the same time, Rontellov''s MP energy dropped much further down than what the other team expected.
While preparing his strike, Rontellov brought up his perfect enchantment for the spell. "It''s my turn to show you something new and powerful. Dimensional Strike!" Rontellov put all of his body movements into the hits, slashing his short sword at the empty air. Though Jane was standing pretty far for the sword to blow air at her, Rontellov knew what would happen next. After cutting through the air and releasing the magic, Rontellov created perfect energy waves in the form of sharp lines about the length of two entire meters. The two-dimensional bright lines flew through the air, as Rontellov crossed them over at opposite angles to make it look appealing to the eyes.
Jane recognized this type of attack. She used something just like it before, known as Splice. Splice combines heavy non-elemental magical damage in with severe piercing damage to inflict a very high amount of debilitating pain, possibly creating flesh wounds if not used with Leray magical protection. It''s a powerful spell, and though the waves travel fast through the air, Jane still had just enough time and reflexes to enable her energy shield to block the attack again. Forgetting to understand why Rontellov would go with a non-original type of spell, Jane projected her aura around her just a moment before both of the lines were bound to bounce off the power shield.
However, instead of staying safe in her little bubble, Jane was quite surprised to see and feel the Splice energy waves drill straight through her own fully functioning power shield, drilling through the aura and her skin with a burning pain, followed by the same damage amount from the second hit of the other angled moving line. Drilled by both, Jane cringed in agonizing pain, dropping the shield from her loss in focus while hovering closer to the ground with her entire stomach and chest covered to indicate where the pain fluctuated most strongly. Upon taking the deep and painful impact that immediately put Jane in a similar state to the moment she was hit by the Laser Swipe attack in the dark zone, her health decreased by a significant amount as well.
Taylor was shocked to see Jane fall under perfect shielded protection right before her eyes, and even Danny gasped beside her in the same response. "What happened? Jane shielded, but it didn''t work."
Finally understanding what was happening in the fight, Haily allowed the time for Jane to recover herself while explaining to the only two other watchers what was really going on. "Wow! Looks like Rontellov expected Jane to use her shield again, totally corrupting her only method of defense while dealing some major damage in the process. Dimensional Strike has a power level maxing at ten, and is a special ability that uses magic under multiple layers of dimensions. Since Jane''s power shield can only work in this physical realm, Dimensional Strike totally trumps the entire energy field put in place to protect her."
Jane didn''t believe her ears, but had no choice in understanding what was actually going on. Despite the painful burning on the inside of her skin, she rose up carefully, collecting herself and her thoughts. As Haily explained it, Dimensional Strike is specifically designed to bypass certain types of energy fields and shields, including Siriean domes. Because the magical attack travels through multiple layers of dimensions to deal damage, blocking becomes useless, and though the form of such a spell naturally decreases its attack power, Haily just said it was a power level ten attack. Therefore, the damage will still be high regardless of the spell''s effects. For the first time in her entire experience as a trained Leray fighter, someone has finally discovered an effective way to counter Jane''s only best defense, the power shield. With her hidden symbol still in a passive effect, Jane''s defensive endurance will still be cut into half of its original state. Taking any attack from a powerful mage such as Rontellov can be devastating here.
Noticing how long it was taking for Jane to do anything, Rontellov built on her frustration, forcing her to act upon it. "It appears I can surprise you too Jane. You have much to learn."
Responding immediately to the struggle, Jane released a ton of her energy from both her hands straight into the battlefield. "Try blocking Deep Strike!" The released energy was enough to immediately create several dozens of small explosions everywhere. Though they seemed random at first, they were specifically surrounding where Rontellov was standing, each blast inching closer and closer to his stationary position.
Responding to the familiar threat he faced before, Rontellov put up his arms to his face, standing differently to block the attack by natural means. Staying strong and enduring the attack would lower the damage taken in the end. By the time the final few blasts were on top of him however, the blast and damage levels were incredibly high. With the final trademark explosion at the very end known as the deep strike of Deep Strike, Rontellov was shoved to the side, totally taken for a ride in midair while the massive blast bruised his entire frontal body.
"Ooh!" Haily emphasized to the others how much of a hard blast that was. That final explosion totally annihilated Rontellov''s attempt to stand and defend himself. It was a bad choice to make for the gradyent too. Deep Strike is especially unique, because the explosion chains increase in damage over the time of the attack, making the last explosion the one carrying the strongest payload of magical damage. It''s designed to increase in attack power by an exponential climb. However, Haily had seen Rontellov block this attack before with great success, unlike this time. It must mean that Jane''s practice with the spell has increased the damage level tremendously, something Rontellov didn''t want to see until it was too late. "Jane Venn gets another solid hit, now in the lead of the battle. Only two entire skills were exchanged on each side so far, yet the match is almost halfway over."
"Oh we''re just getting started," Jane corrected.
Rontellov stood back up, preparing himself to get as serious as he possibly can. For once, he had to agree with Jane''s fighting spirit. She didn''t want to defeat him this easily or quickly, an honorable trait for an excellent fighter. "That''s something we can agree upon." Rontellov paused, inhaling as much air as he could, since his current charging spell took a lot out of him in the process. "Power Shift!" The invocation time was not immediate because of how the spell is used and how much energy it takes to make it happen, but Rontellov knew this was one of his ultra-powerful spells. Upon engaging the Power Shift aura, his entire body began to glow with colors, shifting between those colors every 0.1 seconds, thus making it an interesting light show for the moment. His body aura color changed in the order from green to blue to purple to white. Just after it happened, Rontellov managed to quickly launch four separate energy spheres from his hands without the use of a single glyphring.
Jane reacted fast enough to shield herself again, assuming the attack would not be powerful enough to bypass her personal aura. However, the energy spheres that Rontellov threw at her were small and fast, about five times the travel speed of elemental bolt attacks. It was amazing that she projected her shield in time for the attack. Upon each sphere slamming her shield and dissolving into several tiny little hexagons, Jane noticed just before the impact that all four of the sphere were different colors, but they were colors that matched the odd color shift in Rontellov''s personal aura shortly before throwing the attack. She was curious about the nature of Power Shift and what it was supposed to do, but her shield prevented her from finding out.
Rontellov didn''t expect Jane''s shield to hold up to such a powerful attack. After all four of the spheres hit, Jane''s power shield was still up, and the cost to her MP reserves was minimal. He knew all about the spell. Though impossible to master, Power Shift is an auric-based magical ability that builds different auras, and reforms their energies into separate projectile spheres. The green sphere is full of electrical blunt based magical damage upon impact. The blue sphere deals ice elemental magical damage on a high scale. The purple sphere deals heavy spirit damage with a high effect of drain on a person''s stamina. Then the white sphere deals pure magical damage on a very high scale of power level. Each sphere inflicts devastating HP damage, but a foe hit with all four at once will lose more than half of their entire maximum HP level. It''s very difficult to invoke, very expensive on the MP, and very effective on damage level. Yet Jane managed to block the entire attack without a problem.
That''s what Rontellov believed anyway. Just after the last white energy sphere landed against Jane''s power shield, she felt incredibly exhausted, losing her focus on the spot. She dropped the shield as quickly as she could, realizing it was about to fail on her from the damage taken alone. Jane managed to block the entire aura attack, but it was a very close call, which worried her in the moment.
Noticing the potential of Jane''s unique shield, Haily commented on it further. "It seems that even Rontellov''s powerful spells are no match for Jane Venn''s aura shield. He''ll have to stick with Dimensional Strike if he wants to win this."
Rontellov shook his head left and right gently. There''s no way he will continuously spam Dimensional Strike. Even though it would ensure himself a victory, it''s just not something advanced fighters do to their opponents. Battle spells are supposed to be exchanged based on variety, skill, and strategy, regardless of the overall effectiveness. That is how one learns. Refusing the very idea of Haily''s useless suggestion, he recovered himself, waiting on Jane to deliver her next attack. "You have a very unique and effective style Jane. Please continue where we left off."
Jane was a bit confused by the fact that Rontellov was basically asking to be attacked again and again, but she was also reminded that this battle is an honorary Leray match. To give such praise to Jane while both of them were on even ground made her feel great just being in the battle alone. Suddenly, the thought of losing the fight haunted Jane much less than it did before, but that didn''t mean she wanted to go down without trying her absolute hardest. If Rontellov wants to know everything she can do, then he will learn everything, down to the last ability she has trained with since day one. "Flying Guillotine!" Drawing her daggers for the attack, Jane threw them at Rontellov and created the familiar spinning circle of magical slashing damage in between the spinning blades, the motion taking the directional effect as a Frisbee-like boomerang.
Rontellov tried to block the attack again like before, and this time, the damage done to him was totally minimal, despite the attack drilling straight through his skin as it was designed to do. Standing as inert as a statue, Rontellov''s health barely faltered as the circular arc of Jane''s Flying Guillotine attack circled all the way back to her hands, giving her back the daggers just as the attack cycle ended. Jane was immediately aware that her choice wasn''t one of the best, but she had no good ideas at the current moment. Using Redemption again would be incredibly risky.
After stepping forward to Jane, only to get a few feet closer, Rontellov released his next combination of Leray magical spells, showing Jane just how intelligent his style has become over many years of intense fights such as this. "Dualcast!" Quickly creating a dark green aura to shape his body, Rontellov''s spell quickly sped up his invocations behind the scenes, allowing him to quickly chain two additional spells right after. His chants were rapid, as were the invocations of the next two spells. "Calling of Light!" With another fast hand gesture, Rontellov coated himself with a secondary cyan aura that had no immediate noticeable effect. It wasn''t an attack going Jane''s direction either, but Jane stood very prepared to take anything. Still unfinished in his chain, Rontellov began the next cycle. "Explosion!" Charging up a large dark grey glyphring, Rontellov began the summoning of another ultra-powerful spell with the same attack power as it sounded. His invocation of a long charging spell however was sped up by the existing Dualcasting effect he chanted earlier, soon to fade after releasing the magic one last time.
Jane didn''t know exactly what to expect with the Calling of Light spell, but after hearing another chant with the name explosion in the ability itself, it was rather obvious that now was the only time to defend against it. "Power Shield!" Jane didn''t always need to chant the name of her defensive shield, but she was expecting heavy resistance this time around. After Rontellov''s spell activated, a blinding light in the center of the field lit up, receded, and then exploded all in a near instance, blasting the entire battlefield with a fiery burst of pure force and shrapnel from the ground. Jane''s shield collected hexagons at every angle, immediately draining much of her power and concentration yet again. By the time the light faded, Jane lost control of her shield rather than getting the chance to drop it normally, forcing her down, gasping for her breath. Having the power shield fail to project drains much more out of Jane than it does to simply block a lot of damage, and thus left her slightly vulnerable despite taking no damage from that massive explosion.
"And Jane shields it again, an unstoppable method to defend against a massive explosive attack." Haily had minor difficulty keeping track of everything. The battlefield was lit up well, though the only real source of light is still the bright bulbs shinning from the top of the bridge structure, only spanning out further down the road for less than 0.2 miles. In the pure night sky, their battling in this instance was hard to see because of the additional light show happening inside of the dome sphere. However, judging by all of these powerful solid blasts Rontellov was putting out, Haily''s assumption was proven right with one quick glance at his energy scope. Jane had been conserving some of her MP energy, while Rontellov used the very last of it in the explosion spell.
With this unusual cyan aura surrounding Rontellov''s body, he and Jane both noticed an immediate change happening on Rontellov''s energy scope regarding his MP reserves. The value was rapidly increasing over time. It was a clear indication that Rontellov''s MP levels were in rapid regeneration mode. Instead of using an item, which is supposedly illegal in Leray battles, Rontellov cleverly went with the spell known as Calling of Light. Calling of Light is a Leray spell that uses a support aura to quickly regenerate a very high amount of lost MP energy. More than that, it can only be used once per hour during clear skies while no sunlight is present, making Rontellov''s weather conditions convenient to his favor. After having used up all of his MP values, this spell was about to be very helpful to his cause.
Contrary to the change in rules, Jane didn''t just stand back and watch it happen. She kept her daggers in hand, and charged some more energy into the blades while thinking of what to try for her next spell, but for the moment, she was still out of good ideas. "Mako Strike!" Firing small spheres of pure Leray energy instead of beams in her previous unrefined version of the Mako spell, Rontellov was still quick to react to the incoming magic against him.
He did not however expect an attack such as this. It was formed much like a Magical Blitz attack spell, though the spheres were three times faster to travel, and half the size despite their radiant cyan glow. Jane launched only two spheres at her opponent, who immediately took evasive action in the form of a backflip. Rontellov was secretly more athletic than he appeared to be, attempting an entire backflip to jump over the Mako Strike spheres. However, instead of jumping over the spheres, he landed just where the projectile''s path was going to hit anyway, making his jump appear to happen much too soon. The first impact to the gut upon landing from Jane''s attack was only half as powerful as the following strike, carrying enough force to knock him back while Rontellov struggled not to trip backwards. For a simple attack, the Mako Strike of which he had never heard about before carried a lot of blunt force, six times as much as Magical Blitz spheres did. Though the damage was not heavy, Rontellov knew in his mind that it was still a good call.
"Jane is delivering attacks in rebuttal, but none as powerful as Rontellov''s expertly designed spells. What will come next in this even grounded match up for Eldora''s honor?"
"Whirlwind!" Rontellov''s invocation was immediate, though his opponent was momentarily surprised that he went with an ability naturally having such a low power level. Whirlwind alone is a basic beginner''s spell.
Because Jane underestimated the style of her attacker, she was surprised by the fact that Rontellov''s Whirlwind spawned on top of where Jane was standing, giving her no time to react, no time to shield herself, and no time to brace herself for the powerful gusts of winds that blew her hair far back from her scalp. Jane could feel herself being dragged off the ground, barely hanging on due to the gravity of her physical weight, but the several dozens of cuts and slashes from the additional wind elemental damage did her no good either. Despite the Whirlwind being low power proportionally, Jane forgot that because an expert was using the spell, its general power level will still be much higher.
By the time the Whirlwind attack ended, Jane could do nothing about the damage she had already taken, other than to quickly try and retaliate, but after such a rush of air slamming down on her, Jane felt slightly dizzy from the change in oxygen concentration. Her reaction wasn''t as quick as it could have been, and Haily got another chance to comment on the battle before executing her next attack.
"Eldora''s gradyent fights back with a well-placed wind attack, giving Jane the slip for now."
Danny knew just how annoying the referee thing was by now, but he said nothing of it, considering that this is Haily''s job. It seemed for now that Jane was performing better already, but he kept in mind that Rontellov''s MP levels were rapidly climbing from that aura which was still lasting from before. This guy is taking all of Jane''s advantages away from her, and using it for himself, and if Jane''s crest activates on its own as a result, all of them are going to be finished. This entire quest to Eldora will have been for nothing.
"Median Flare!" Jane blasted magical light at Rontellov, despite having a range at him with a low angle of effectiveness and a moderate power level for damage.
Rontellov could do nothing, but he really didn''t need to. Despite taking on the damage and slight pain of the hit, he came out of it just fine afterwards, judging that Jane was losing her fast momentum and ideas quickly. With that judgment, now was the time to act upon it.
"Dimensional Strike!" he cast. After pulling his short blade and releasing the magic into the saber, Jane predictably shielded herself, too quick in her reaction to fully remember the effect of the attack spell by its name. Rontellov slashed through the air twice at opposing angles like before, creating two crossed line waves of inter-dimensional magical formations. Upon realizing the mistake that shielding was totally pointless, Jane braced herself for the inevitable pain of Dimensional Strike, which has the same general effect as Splice. As the waves drilled straight through Jane''s personal shield and thus her entire body, the pain following the drilling slashes were more than enough to make her lose all concentration on the shield, Jane dropping it to deal with the new situation.
Jane''s breathing became rapid again, having been exhausted long before beginning this fight. She could feel her adrenaline pumping all the way to the maximum allowed levels. The pain still held her down, immobile at the clenched reaction of the burning piercing sensation of the left over damage from Rontellov''s repeated spell.
Though he gave Jane much time after that to recover, it wasn''t enough time for her to fight back immediately, which is what he played on next. After aiming his hand up to the sky, he began invoking a large spell, getting his concentration for the magic just right. "Meteor Strike!" Just as Rontellov spawned the massive red vertical glyphring in the sky just at the top base of the dome shield, the formation of red glowing meteorites began descending and spawning from the sky far above the dome shield.
Jane was frozen for the moment, unable to think of a way out of this situation. The Meteor Strike was clearly meant for her, and using power shields just won''t cut her slack against this expert fighter, but as she was caught staring at the mass barrage of falling space rocks, Jane managed to analyze an entire pattern out of all of them. In an obvious design to make the attack longer, Meteor Strike doesn''t drop all of their rocks at the same time, and therefore spawns all of the rocks at different drop points and heights. She couldn''t tell if the adrenaline finally took her over completely, or if her coordination skills had improved automatically, but Jane began reacting to the situation before her, well without thinking about an actual plan.
It was impulsive of her, totally unnatural in responding to a falling swarm of meteorites, but Jane followed her gut anyway, trusting in her instincts to try and wiggle her way out of a deadly area attack. She began by infusing a lot of magical energy into her legs, giving her a very high boost in her abilities to negate gravitational acceleration and jump really high. Using that sort of magic, Jane performed a jump that would naturally be impossible even by movie standards. Her jump soared her thirty entire meters into the air, as she angled her projection just towards one of the first falling meteors. Jane successfully landed her feet on the top of the free falling rock with some assistance of her digging dagger, and struggled briefly to keep her balance. Realizing she had but one more second before the meteor hits the ground taking her with it, Jane searched for another meteor to jump to, one higher than the falling hot projectile she was standing on. Using the same magic as before, Jane jumped off the top of the falling meteor, and flew up to another falling meteor that was initially higher than the first one due to the timing and the pattern of the spell.
Rontellov, Danny, Taylor, Haily, and even Jane were not fully aware of what she was trying to accomplish, or what she was up to specifically. But Jane knew by now that her instincts were leading her on - to vertically evade the entire attack while climbing a very high altitude until reaching the end of Rontellov''s area attack chain. Not only was this highly unusual for everyone here, Jane continued her pattern of jumps and leaps again and again before reaching the meteor with the highest point. By the end of all these jumps from one meteor to the next from all angles in random clusters, Jane nearly bumped into the very top edge of the Siriean dome. Knowing she could not jump much higher, this final jump would ultimately make her immune to the meteors already crashing into the pavement below her.
Jane leaped off the last meteor, now 95 meters above the ground, right above where Rontellov was standing. Just before beginning to free fall, Jane''s entire frontal body was facing the ground below her, she felt like she had been flying despite the impossible scenarios. Though it took another moment to figure out what to do next, Jane finally got the idea on her own, not relying on random response to decide for her. Just as she began to free fall again, Jane charged and released a spell, forcing her glyphring and attack angle to aim directly for Rontellov. "Quantum Beam!" The glyphring formed bigger than Jane remembered happening before, after which the device merged its magic with Jane''s personal aura. Once the process completed, her aura expanded in the form of a wide magical beam which slammed into Rontellov''s position. What Jane did not realize at first was due to her free falling speed, angle, and gravitational support of the Quantum Beam spell she just invoked, the speed and power of her attack was naturally doubled in ways it was not designed to be doubled. After the beam slammed the ground where Rontellov stood, putting entire cracks in the pavement while knocking the man off his feet, Jane now had to worry about landing from this high of a fall.
Seeing the ground approaching her this quickly had Jane freaked out beyond the capacity for rational thought, so she invoked a magical spell at random, trying to imagine anything about opposing a force in a directional wave. Without thinking or chanting any kind of spell name, Jane instinctively simulated the effects of Shining Bracer, a spell which is an omnidirectional Push Wave. Used just before smacking into the ground, Jane did managed to soften her descent and landing, but the change in falling speed was not great, and she ended up thwacking into the concrete anyway, crushing her chest, arms, legs, and even her face.
"Agh!" Haily couldn''t come up with the appropriate words to try and summarize what just happened, starting from Rontellov''s Meteor Strike. Even Jane''s friends to the side were slanting down, trying to observe every angle, but they looked just as confused. There wasn''t any possible way Jane could have done what she just did. It''s a type of evasion never before performed in all the battles of history. That had to have been staged!
Taylor and Danny both noticed how glued to the battle they were right now, and didn''t try to disrupt their incredible focus on the amazing scene that developed before their eyes. Neither one of them was certain of what exactly just happened. Though their eyes had seen some incredible evasions, jumps, and flips coming from Jane high up in the air, they believed it had to have been some sort of mind trick. Both Jane and Rontellov were down though, Rontellov hit from the Quantum Beam, and Jane damaged from a high fall to the floor.
Rontellov''s cyan aura also disappeared, a minor detail he noticed long after recovering from that massive hit from the sky. Or was it really from Jane herself? That couldn''t have been possible. For whatever odd reason, Jane was hurt getting up as well, though not nearly as far in danger as he was right now. How could someone several years younger than him be doing so well in a gradyent battle? Rontellov didn''t think he was actually holding back, not after taking the first hit from Jane. Her magical attacks carry so much power despite her time of experience; it''s just so unusual. And yet...
Jane pulled herself back up steadily, trying to ignore all of her physical pains and fatigue. Rontellov was standing first, so he would likely get the first attack. Still, Jane wasn''t certain if she could pull off another power shield yet. Everything hurt so much that focusing on it was impossible for the moment.
And yet... Rontellov analyzed the way Jane looked at him, her stance, her expression, her motive, her bravery. That must explain everything. Jane''s power is simply drawn by how driven she is to win. It isn''t just this one battle she is trying to dominate. Jane is trying to accomplish much more than winning one gradyent battle. The way she fights, her style, her reactions, her reflexes, and that inspiring determination to get back up and keep drilling... That is the will to survive! It''s the desire to win all battles. Jane has a mindset to fighting for her own life right now, even knowing that this isn''t a battle to the death. What a fascinating person!
Jane saw the entire area tilting around. Her vision was slightly blurring due to her fatigue. She could pass out at any moment despite her high stats. Without having a good night''s rest in nearly a full day, her stamina was well drawn out.
"Quantum Beam!" Rontellov screeched! Hoping to achieve the same results as Jane, Rontellov tried Quantum Beam on Jane to counter, lighting up his body with a bright blue glowing aura that quickly transformed itself into a wide area beam. Rontellov released his attack towards Jane, wondering how she would react next.
Jane tried to get a hold of herself and invoke her power shield again. She managed to get the minimum amount of Leray energy charged into her power shield, though she unsuccessfully completed that charge, making her shield naturally weaker against damage levels. Though Quantum Beam isn''t normally a super powerful attack, Jane''s shield failed the moment she was hit by Rontellov''s beam, taking the full magical damage of the ray until the beam faded.
Despite her exhaustions, Jane made it her mission to see this battle through to the end, no matter how tired and hurt she was from the fight. The thought of being drained also gave her the next idea for her magical attack, one Rontellov may not see coming early. "Star of Darkness!" Jane''s hands were already glowing with a red magical color, while the red circle with a red star inside of it formed as its symbol on the ground where Rontellov was standing.
This was a spell he had seen many times before. He knew how to get out of this. Simply run from the effective radius and he''s home free, but Rontellov didn''t feel like running out of the circle. It wasn''t worth going through all of the motions to evade an easy attack when he could just stand there and fight back regardless of such. Intentionally remaining still to take the damage head on, Rontellov allowed Jane''s Star of Darkness to begin draining his stamina and life energy as his health.
Jane couldn''t understand why Rontellov simply let the draining spell affect him to such lengths, but she didn''t stop her process. Rontellov''s health was quickly draining away from him, and by the looks if it, so was his physical energy. Jane figured he was waiting for a good moment to counterattack, but she kept him at bay, ending the sequence with a low powered red Lightning Strike from above, fading the Star of Darkness and the aura around her hands.
No matter how exhausted he was feeling from the drain of Jane''s last attack, Rontellov was now just as determined to give it his all. Even his referee was silent, capable of sensing just how intense this has become. Rontellov drew his short sword and prepared for a close combat session with Jane. Jane''s Rush Assault earlier was excellent, but it wasn''t going to be enough alone...
"Prism!" Jane noticed Rontellov''s blade long before he began accelerating towards her. Rontellov must have been slowing down now from his low stats and the disorientation brought on by Star of Darkness. Jane could see from a facial expression that her opponent did not expect such a swift transition into another long-range attack utilizing magic. Jane''s rainbow colored glyphring was already prepared, and she began firing elemental combo one after the other. Rontellov tried to lift his blade up to block, but that only managed to work for the first two hits of the entire Prism chain.
Jane''s combination was chosen in such an order that kept Rontellov off guard while dealing damage successively until the end. Following two Fire Bolts, Jaen launched a Lightning Strike, followed by an Ice Bolt, then a Fire Bolt, two Thunderbolts, two Ice Bolts, a Fire Bolt, two more Thunderbolts, another Fire Bolt, a Thunderbolt, and an Ice Bolt to finish the combination. Rontellov''s health declined quickly after each impact, despite the bolts holding a very weak chance to knock him back by force. After the attack sequence was over, Rontellov was on his knees, suffering from stats so low that he was barely responsive even to himself.
Jane waited for a good five seconds until launching one more attack. Since Rontellov did not call quits, it wasn''t bad to keep hitting him while he was down. Jane knew by now that she was obviously the better fighter, and didn''t even need to invoke her hidden crest one single time. "Lightning Strike!" Though Jane meant to create a jade colored glyphring to form a simple Lightning Strike attack, the glyphring failed to form at all. Instead, Jane''s hands began sparking up with small arcs of electrical energy. Her panic followed shortly after, upon realizing the familiar scene this was when she fell ill in Fronas long ago. Shortly after, Jane''s lightheadedness caught up with her, causing her balance issues immediately after. Was that the reason for her failure in invoking another magical skill? Jane noticed that her MP stats were only at 9% capacity, which wasn''t good. Lightning Strike takes an average person about 7% of their MP to invoke, so something else was the cause.
"It backfired!" Haily hollered. "Come on Rontellov! Get up and keep trying! You can win this!"
"Whose side is she really on anyway?" Taylor muttered.
Following the sound of his referee, Rontellov came to his senses momentarily, understanding the major difference in their statuses. Knowing he had only one real chance to destroy Jane here and now, Rontellov inhaled a deep breath after standing and facing Jane with a determined look. "Multi-Cast!"
Jane was confused by his efforts. With only 5% health, what more could this gradyent really do to her?
"Spirit Arrow!" After glowing again with a powerful Multi-casting aura speeding up all of his invocations, Rontellov began charging one ability after another to end Jane right here in one single sequence. He began with the summoning and shooting of a single Spirit Arrow to try and keep Jane off balance.
Jane couldn''t react in time before being pierced by a Spirit Arrow that only knocked down 2% of her health. Though the design was supposed to make her disoriented and confused, she was already in that state from her earlier exhaustion. Jane took a wild guess to assume more attacks were coming her way, and did her best to create a powerful shield aura around herself. Despite being disoriented, despite having low energy, and despite being afflicted with a Spirit Arrow, Jane still managed to project a fully functional shield around her body, while Rontellov continued attacking from range.
"Bullet Blitz!" Rontellov spawned two machine guns in his hands, unloading both rapid-fire clips into the shield aura, but the bullets simply bounced off the aura, leaving Jane totally unharmed. Rontellov switched spells quickly, with his quick invocation time aura still in effect. Multi-Cast acts like Dualcast in many situations, though it lasts longer and speeds up spells even faster. "Rocketry!" After instantly forming an odd yellow colored glyphring in front of him, Rontellov''s spell fired a barrage of six warheads, set to explode with shrapnel on impact.
Jane braced herself and held her shield up strong while the missiles all began impacting on her shield, dissolving the explosions into hexagons again.
"Triple Fire!" Before even waiting to see if Jane''s shield has cracked yet, Rontellov fired three more Fire Bolts at Jane before all missiles managed to explode, further stressing Jane''s entire shield aura.
The trick had been working against her too. The second to last Fire Bolt deteriorated Jane''s power shield entirely, allowing the last one to slam into her arm and give her the sensation that her skin was burning in that spot, while simultaneously being heavily drained and worn down from all of the shielding to the damage. Her low MP reserves were not helping her either, but she still had enough to try one more thing. After accepting the damage from Rontellov''s last brutal combination, Jane immediately got him back with another simple spell, hoping it will end him one way or the other. "Lightning Strike!" This time, the glyphring formed around her wrist, as did the blue bolt of electrical energy coursing through Rontellov''s veins. After a quick zap to his body, Rontellov slumped to the ground, as weak as ever. His was still technically conscious, though his energy scope was finally spooling a warning system.
Rontellov''s life was in critical condition, his energy scope''s holographic color changing to red to indicate how close to severe injury he has come to so far. It took him a lot of time to realize how bad his condition became, and it took a lengthy moment of Jane performing no additional action to discover her reason.
Assuming Rontellov was who he said he was, and assuming he was in his right mind, Jane was certain that a real Leray gradyent would never risk his own life just to give it everything when the winner of the match is blindingly obvious by now. Even Haily was getting worried.
"That''s enough Rontellov! You need to call it off now!"
He didn''t want this to end, but the results were too striking. Jane still has so much more health right now, and there is nothing he can do. "Very well," he croaked. Rontellov was so weak that his voice barely managed to get anything out clearly. "I surrender the victory of the match to you - Jane Venn. I have lost this battle."
Jane could never get over the amazing method that the Leray rule system could somehow analyze a person''s motives enough to recognize when somebody is giving up a normal battle. The moment Rontellov announced Jane as the victor was also the same moment that the Siriean dome collapsed. The holographic text and reward system formed in the center of the battlefield, while Rontellov was left in a lot of pain, trying to recover.
Chapter Theme Shift: Magic ~ Green Sun
The collapse of the dome gave Haily a chance to rush in with healing orbs to help Rontellov recover. At the same time, Danny and Taylor rushed towards Jane, who was too exhausted to break out of a temporary phase of her mind drifting on itself.
"Mr. Iseihenghower! Rontellov!" Haily was overexcited, too worried about the health of her warrior to give him any space. After placing the healing orb into the guy''s hands, Haily shook him around over and over to ensure he remains conscious. The orb lit up and activated, but the response was quite delayed, which is what nearly tipped Haily over the edge. Passing out while Vital Drain status is present can dangerous for a person''s health.
"You''re gonna be okay Jane." Accepting the healing orb from Taylor, Jane did her best to focus on its activation. She was tired and exhausted for reasons other than having lower stats. At the same time though, she was much more coherent than Rontellov, who battled his very best until the end.
Jane''s recovery was naturally four times as quick as it was for Rontellov, but in the end, Jane was still much more drained and exhausted than the gradyent turned out to be. Her fatigue was long term. She and her entire team needed a good place to rest, right up in the Eldora inn. Though coming from an expensive city, it will likely only have hotels instead. Once the stats on each energy scope were arranged back to their normal state, Jane and Rontellov both calmed down enough to speak to each other again, just after ridding themselves of the annoying holographic text boxes.
Danny calmed his nerves, but his thoughts returned to the very scene moments ago. Just by watching that intense fight did he learn so much. Jane''s shield has weak points, gradyents are really strong warriors, and Jane can do impossible things if motivated enough. How did Jane manage a victory?
Looking both exhausted and impressed, Rontellov looked Jane in the eyes and declared his honor to her. "Jane Venn? That was the finest battle I think I''ve ever had in over five years."
Still huffing air, Jane assumed his intentions mid-battle from her referenced memory of the entire event. "You don''t give your challengers everything you''ve got until you need to, isn''t that right?"
Rontellov''s quick and smug exhale gave Jane the immediate answer. "Guilty as charged. I do hold back sometimes depending on the skill level of the challenger, but I noticed that both our styles were stress tested after the battle became more demanding. I did my absolute best this time just after the first hit, and you still bested me with so much health and stamina remaining afterwards."
"That thing you did with the asteroids was so awesome!" Haily held Jane''s arm, hoping to somehow get her autograph. "What was that anyway?"
"I..." Jane didn''t recall planning that to happen. She just played most of that fight by ear this time. "I just did what I had to at the time. Learning how to use your opponent''s attack against them is one of the best strategies available, but I was really just going along with what was given to me."
Rontellov nodded, "Impressive I see. Well you should keep it up Jane. I''ve personally never met someone as young as you performing at this capacity. Perhaps you even have what it takes to challenge Danton after all."
"Thank you," Jane appreciated.
Rontellov regressed, "No, thank you. It''s because of you that I''ve felt the incredible exciting sensation born from a well-coordinated legitimate Leray match. Though your skills are more refined than my own, I want to face more battles in which I lose for real, as opposed to faking my true difficulty with the amateurs around."
"It''s not too late to aim for the top you know." Jane didn''t realize why she was saying her inspiring words. But what Rontellov was talking about is something she could relate to, even as a small child. "I''m trying to become a Leray master. Traveling everywhere and hard training can get you those heated battles you seek. Of course that would mean stepping down as Eldora''s gradyent."
"You continue to intrigue me Jane." Rontellov''s face shifted direction, and he really was giving the matter much thought. "I''ll have to think on that proposition. It''s not a terrible idea. I may be getting old, but I''ve once seen an eighty year old man come close to wiping the floor with Mainne."
"Who''s Mainne?" Taylor asked.
Rontellov addressed all of them in his apologetic answer. "My apologies. Mainne is one of the members of the current League of Elites. You will meet her should you actually try to challenge the champion this year." Rontellov was silent for a moment, giving Jane a reason to doubt his mental state.
"You okay?" Jane checked.
"Yes," he answered. "I''m just still in shock by your stunning performance with my Meteor Strike. I''ve never seen something like that before, not even in those fake action movies for kids. Just wait till I tell my boys. None of them will believe a word I say. Which reminds me..." Rontellov reached for his supply sphere, pulling out three small slip cards that were mostly blank except for a particular logo on the front of it. "These are your Eldora pass cards. With these, you can access any magic-related service native to Eldora City, and obtain some discounts on some of those services. Meanwhile, I have to change shifts with the Leray guard on this bridge, make sure nobody messes with the electrical system."
"Right," Jane confirmed. "We should really get going ourselves, rest up for tomorrow."
"Perhaps it would not do harm to travel together?" Rontellov requested. "What you told me about Scarlet agents hanging around still has me quite bothered. I will need to inform Danton the next chance I get, though Leray agents should already be on the case."
"I wonder what''s going on with that cult." Danny crossed his arms somewhat to give it more thought, now walking along with Rontellov towards the edge of the route to Eldora City. He and Taylor had to keep rolling their busted bikes to the city with them, which brought up an interesting topic from Rontellov''s experiences.
"You know, I haven''t received the upgrade just yet, and the patent isn''t valid until tomorrow, but there is a new upgrade to all supply spheres coming so soon, one that is specifically designed to increase storage amount and multi-dimensional compression ratios. In other words, with such upgrades, those bikes can literally fit in your back pocket."
"That''s a relief," Jane daunted.
Thinking about a change to supply spheres brought up another memory for Taylor to question during their walk. "That reminds me. How exactly will the Leray rules change again? You said something about getting into the details later."
"I did huh?" Agreeing to explain as much as he knew, Rontellov gave Jane and Taylor the details they wanted to know while shoveling their legs forward in sync. "Well it isn''t too complicated, and there will be national announcements regarding the changes too. In order to reduce any chances of being cheated for forced battles, the system will now make a new ruling. Battle offers that are both legitimate and belonging to the same particular person can be made only once per hour. That way, if that person refuses to battle, a strike will be placed on their card, but if the same person makes a second offer within that hour to the same target, acceptance or refusal won''t even be allowed to trigger any sort of digital ruling between those two licenses. On top of that, the same kind of person will be allowed to implement a different tier of emergency mode, specific to blocking further strikes from hagglers should they bother people too much. It simply prevents the problem altogether. This means that people hassling others will have no choice but to get their hands dirty, fighting illegally or illegitimately. When that happens, the lack of a dome shield actually makes this obvious to nearby agents, and they can step in to take action immediately."
"That''s really good," Danny emphasized. "And the solution to fix that is simple while effective."
Rontellov continued. "Furthermore, I said it was good to travel with a referee for a reason. As it has always been, a referee can automatically deny a battle offer in progress if that offer is unfair, or stop existing battles if people are cheating in the dome somehow. But now referees who are registered will actually have the ability to remove existing strikes on cards should they happen for any reason. However, that very first strike is normally going to be too robust to remove, because first strikes are normally legal and legitimate to take in the first place. The council has basically taken some drastic measures lately to fix the issues without hindering the entire system used by Leray wielders during battles."
"Sounds like the job market for referee just got bigger."
"Indeed." Rontellov continued pacing normally, escorting the three youngsters into Eldora City. Now off the bridge itself, the path to the city was only thing standing in their way.
There wasn''t much else to talk about regarding the rule changes and Jane''s performance, but Haily insisted on exchanging some of the details of her past in order to get to know Danny and Taylor better. "I wonder if I''ll be promoted to the League of Elites like Rontellov said."
"Why wouldn''t you?" he asked. "All you need is more experience and a few more recommendations from my reports."
"Yeah, but I''m talking about getting promoted before these three challenge the champion."
"Actually," Danny intercepted. "Only Jane is planning on challenging them this year. Taylor and I still lack the training for it."
Rontellov glanced behind himself to Jane, who was only half-awake by now. "Well I don''t have any doubts that Jane will succeed in going far. You keep fighting like that, and you should at least make it to Danton."
"Has Danton really been the champion for a long time?" Jane questioned.
Rontellov answered, "I only knew him since he was twenty-six years old, but his challenging history is much longer than that. Danton worked his way up since turning twenty-three with our help, and put Lawrence out of his position. I haven''t seen the former champion these days, but Danton has been in there since nine years ago, now heading on ten. So he is most certainly a tough costumer."
"I want to know more about where these three came from." Haily sounded just as eager to know, but she failed to see that it was a very long story in the first place.
At this point, Taylor was slightly more awake than Jane was, and explained as much as she could on her behalf while remaining cautious. "We''re from the Gulop region. It took us some time to make it all the way from there to Lennith and then to Eldora."
"Well I don''t doubt your expertise," Rontellov replied. "And I''m very proud to hear that there are still a few people in the world that are aiming to become a Leray master. Those with that exact dream always tend to be the strongest in battle, and never by pure strength alone."
Danny could already sense the urgency for secrets. Taylor knew that only Jane was native to Sprawn Valley out of the three of them. Plus, Taylor didn''t say which exact town or facility they were hailing from in the beginning. It made sense too. If either Haily Hue or Rontellov discover that Jane has a hidden symbol under her hand, bad things would happen to her. With Eliza capable of giving some sort of testimony about the insane blast of moonlight from the sky above Blue Port Town and Jane''s injury on the same day, people like Rontellov will grow more suspicious. But one question still remained unanswered about Jane''s symbol.
Actually that isn''t true, Danny figured. There are a lot more mysteries about the symbol. Danny in particular didn''t know exactly how Leray magic works, or if the symbol itself uses the exact same signature of magic in the first place. Nobody has ever gotten to the bottom of who gave her the dangerous spell bomb to begin with, or why such a device existed, and since the symbol is a prototype, there are more possible details that even Jane doesn''t know about. Perhaps the biggest clue of all was the design of the symbol. After reading into some of the research while back at Tilsit Port after Jane disappeared, Danny remembered seeing that all crests, marks, and symbols are as visible as constant tattoos, and that hiding them is simply not a possible feat, but Jane''s symbol on her hand only appears when it wants to. Her battle suit conceals this crest when activated for the most part, but the actual tattoo somehow turns completely invisible when not in use... There was nothing on disappearing or reappearing symbols in any known database. Danny knew he didn''t search for this specific thing at the time, since it was only now that he knew what Jane''s crest was all about. If only he had access to a computer...
Taking note of Danny''s wide yawn, Rontellov calmed his assistant down and promised to take the rest from here. "I trust you can find the hotel with this detailed map of the area?" Rontellov handed the map to Jane while they were still walking. Jane managed to put the paper into her pocket while pushing the bike, but Rontellov took the bike from her to help. He also got Haily to take the other two bikes as well. "We''ll take care of these two-wheelers for you, and they should be ready in the morning. Greene Hotel is just a corner block from the first road intersection," he pointed.
Rontellov already led the team into the first part of the city where the grass and dirt turns into more pavement easier to walk on. From here, everything was well lit by the street and building lights of Eldora. Standing before them were several hundred buildings all spread down in various areas that did in fact look like an advanced version of Gross City. Even with the black sky over them, it was going to be easy to get lost in a place like this.
"I would say I''ll see you around," Rontellov offered, "but I have a long shift next morning. I shall be getting my rest too. No need to worry about anything."
Jane nodded and waited for Rontellov to walk the other way from them, into a different path of the city where other hotels and facilities were. "Okay team. Let''s go clock ourselves in."
To be continued...
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Chapter 41: Eldora
<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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Magic ~ Green Sun
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.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
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
<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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Play With Me, My Fellow! ~ Two Worlds 2 OST
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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Conscious Droplets ~ Kaminanda
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."
Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track 04
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?
Chapter Theme Shift: Tavern 7 ~ Two Worlds 2 OST
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.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Kishiouno Hokori ~ Kenji Kawai
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 68oF.
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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Leonidas Extended ~ Halo 2 OST
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."
Chapter Theme Shift: When I First Met You ~ V.A (DeVso)
"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
<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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Theme of the Academy ~ FFXIII-2 OST
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.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
Chapter Theme Shift: Gracemeria Patrol ~ Ace Combat 6 OST
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 100th 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 100th 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
<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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Final Preparations ~ Jeff Broadbent [Planetside 2 OST]
"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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Flight to the Cora ~ Morrow Forge [Soundcritters]
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.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Calm ~ Aleksander Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)
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
<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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Force of a Dream ~ Dos Brains [Below the Horizon] (Extended Ver.)
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!"
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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 150oF 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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Vassari 6 ~ Solar Empire OST
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
<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 30oF. 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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Perpetual Blossom ~ Magia Record Season 2 OST
"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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Artemis ~ Mark Petrie [Genesis]
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 narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
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 70oF. 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 150oF 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 76oF, 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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: The Reunion ~ X3 Reunion OST
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 750th 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
<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.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Eternal Struggle ~ FFXIII-2 OST
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.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
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."
Chapter Theme Shift: Vortal Combat ~ Valve
"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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track ScT ~ (X3 Reunion?)
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
<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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Aftermath ~ Revolt Production Music
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.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"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.
Chapter Theme Shift: Heart of Chaos ~ FFXIII-2 OST
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
Chapter Theme Shift: Gods of Protection (27468) ~ Martin Hasseldam
"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 70oF to 40oF 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.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
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.
Chapter Theme Shift: For All Eternity ~ Epic Score
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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Voices From The Past ~ Two Worlds 2 OST
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!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Oath Brand ~ FFXIII-2
"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."
To be continued...
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Chapter 49: Just One Mission
<02/12/1972 ¨C 12:51 | Eldora Tower Fl. 950, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"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 disbelief and excitement building inside of them, Danny and Taylor jumped up at the same time, roaring with the sudden wave of the crowd all around them, everyone watching and cheering as the announcement was made final. With a high five to each other, Danny and Taylor let out all of their excitement with everyone else. The fight took so long, but the overall exchange of abilities and evasions looked more amazing than what they could have ever imagined in a scene.
Through all of the loud screams from the people around him, Danny still tried to keep the large flat panel in his view, waiting for what was to happen next. Jane didn''t really explain much of her plan past this point, but since all went well, she should be in full control of the General Army now. "She''s so powerful!"
"I knew Jane could do it!" Taylor was a little more cheerful than Danny, bobbing around with closed fists. She recalled every moment that she and Jane spent training together, amazed at how quickly it took overall to get Jane to such incredible strengths. Even after all that battling, the dress sphere Taylor helped designed looked amazing on her pride.
Danny stood comfortably beside Taylor, noticing within a few more seconds that a sudden attenuation change had occurred in the people around them. The overall volume was suddenly reduced, when several cheers and joyous yells transformed into mutters of confusion. Not everyone was behaving this way at once, but it allowed him to overhear the still transmitting broadcast on the screen, drawing his and Taylor''s immediate attention.
"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!"
Taylor''s jaw dropped slightly with her hand just below. Danton was publicly refusing to hand over his powers to Jane, despite the fact that Jane defeated him in battle. From where the camera angles were capturing, the two seemed like they were ready to fight again. "Wha¡ª" Taylor struggled at first to understand what was going on. "What''s happening? Why isn''t Danton giving Jane her new title?"
"He can''t withhold that from her!" Danny raged. "That''s illegal and unfair!"
"Can they really do that?" "I thought the newcomer won." Danny could hear them all. Soft-spoken mutters of several people nearby in the same area, watching the same thing with total confusion. This wasn''t right! No kidding everyone would be confused. All Danny could do is watch the horror of the argument unfold on screen, the cameras still recording while the announcer remained silent, likely in shock himself.
Taylor inched closer to Danny with her eyes focused to the same panel, wondering what Jane was supposed to do next. "I guess Danton must not have approved of Jane''s big plan. Still..."
"I was supposed to battle Danton today!" One of the younger men wearing a combat dress sphere drew minor attention to himself from the side of the crowd, storming through the people and over to the screen with a security officer in pursuit. "You can''t cancel my battle just because some little girl took his place!"
"Sir!" The female officer alerted. "I''ll have to ask you to return to your assigned station. Failure to comply with those actions will result in your removal from this building, and you''ll be banned from battling in Eldora Tower!"
Danny thought a random fight was about to break out, the people already uneasy. But then something Jane did on screen captured much more attention.
"I''ll show everyone my true power. Everyone watching!" With the whole world watching on the television station and from the people in the tower, Jane lifted up the top of her right glove, creating a blinding force of light that covered much of everything any person could have seen. Two of the people in the crowd realized what the light was really for.
"No! Stop!" With his voice cracking, Danny shouted at the screen, at Jane as if she would be able to hear his plea. Only a few people glanced back at him, though he didn''t mind them any returned attention. Danny couldn''t do anything while Jane completely exposed herself on a live broadcast, exposing the fact that she has a secret symbol and that she is a marked one. In doing so, they would be able to invalidate all of her battles, and even take legal action against her. Why would she try this?
The entire room died down to a few seconds of silence. The air was so stiff that the breathing of anyone could be made out from any angle. On the screen still recording, the light on Jane''s hand holographically formed an unusual type of symbol, a sphere-shaped light grid with rings connected to that circle. The symbol shinned so brightly, and it had everyone watching in a complete trance. Even Danny and Taylor were unable to look away, too shocked and surprised that Jane would intentionally show that to the entire world knowing what was at stake.
Jane''s symbol became more solidified and somewhat less transparent to prove that its real power was also still mysterious, but it broke everybody watching down into a deep fear, slowly brewing into evident panic from the body language and back step movements involved. Danny could hear everyone asking about it, as if they were sure - deep at core what Jane was wearing on her hand.
"What is that?" "Is that what I think it is?" "A symbol? Here in Eldora Tower?" "It can''t be!" "Does that mean she cheated?" "Is that a real symbol?" "It has to be a prank!" "Is that why she didn''t win?"
Taylor could hear all of the voices around her, asking many expected questions, and then from the transmission, Danton''s last remark was followed by a complete disruption of the live feed to a blank screen. "Cut the live feed! Do it right now!" With that, Jane and Danton, the entire field was nowhere to be seen. The screen and audio were completely cut off, which is something that wouldn''t have even happened if this were to occur during one of the ten minute delayed feeds. Taylor caught on to what was happening now, even if everyone else didn''t. She saw a few armed guards forming behind Danton that the cameras didn''t want to angle, and Jane was using her symbol to prepare for battle, not because she wanted to.
"I need everyone to evacuate the facility right now!" the officer shouted. "It''s not safe here! Everyone evacuate through the front entrance in an orderly fashion!"
Just as murmurs evolved into screams of panic, the crowd of people going everywhere and tripping over themselves, Taylor shot a powerful glance into Danny''s eyes, who stared back at her the same way. His expression looked as though he was alarmed and disturbed, and they were reading each other''s next thought as though they had formed a telepathic bond for a few seconds. "We have to help her!"
"Let''s go!" Danny grabbed Taylor''s hand, preparing himself to pounce forward in a full sprint towards the security elevator system. For one odd reason he didn''t understand until now, Danny recalled the physical location and access type of something called the primary turbo lift on the first floor of the tower that was used as a secret emergency access elevator system only to be used by authorized personnel. He knew this because Jane told him about it earlier, without actually explaining why, but it all made more sense now. Jane knew about several security protocols of this tower, and it was for any potential emergency situation like this one. The hidden elevator isn''t public knowledge at all, nor is it hard to spot in this chaos, and Jane supposedly got this from the internet, not that such a link would have given her that information. She most likely was told by someone else she didn''t want him to know about, but such information couldn''t be regarded at the moment.
Ignoring the detail until later, Danny made his way towards the direction he needed to be with Taylor in tow, who ran as fast and as balanced as he did. Sadly, this brought down immediate attention to them from the officer attempting to escort civilians out of the building.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Without thinking or replying to the officer changing her course, Taylor held out her free hand and concentrated her Leray energy to form a blue glyphring around her wrist, releasing a powerful bolt of ice while aimed at the grid officer.
Danny noticed the officer to his left being blown back by a bolt of ice, knowing full well from the chilling cold near his neck that Taylor was the one who fired that bolt of energy. The officer was powerless against the force of the energy bolt, covering the female''s skin from the bone chilling after-effect ice attacks have on flesh. Just like that, he and Taylor whizzed by the woman without any additional resistance. The elevator was already in view, and left open due to the sudden state of emergency. The building didn''t call a lock down yet, since the civilians needed to get out. Still, the way Taylor just blasted that officer with ice out of the blue to keep going without any hint of question... It was kind of hot! "No one gets in our way!" Danny gave the caution to anyone else nearby trying to stop them, but nobody else was around with such qualifications.
Through the ear piercing sound of high caliber gunfire, Jane held out her left hand, supercharged with Leray energy due to the symbol still flashing on the right while she continued releasing some of her MP capacity effortlessly to create a massive solid wall of energy. A Farshield overpowered by Jane''s crest managed to reflect every bullet fired by Danton''s soldiers. Since Danton wasn''t currently doing anything himself, Jane knew this was just a bluff. Danton wanted her to stop using magic and surrender quietly. By the time the guns needed reloading, Jane dropped her shield for the time being, giving Danton and herself more time to say something.
"Buying yourself more time won''t save you," Danton exclaimed. "Because of the stunt you''ve just pulled, national agents from all over the country are enroute to this position right now for backup. While you may outlast myself all day long, I doubt you can fight the whole army and more."
Jane was breathing quickly from before. Despite not feeling too tired or out of breath, her heart rate was still high, the buzzing in her body from the symbol felt like an amazing adrenaline rush. "JDT will never surrender to people like you, to people who would gladly give up to forces that destroyed the Outback."
"Ah, JDT!" Danton returned to the lost subject, wondering if Jane would end up revealing any tactical information on her hidden gang. "I was wondering what you''d be able to tell me about your support group of criminals. Do they have symbols as well?" Jane didn''t answer after several seconds, proving she wanted to protect their identities. "Don''t worry. We''ll find your friends and arrest them too for helping a dangerous fugitive. Eldora is a big city, but they won''t hide from us."
"Let me save you the trouble! Push Wave!" Danton heard a voice he didn''t familiarize with from behind, and took too long in processing what it could have been to defend himself from the sudden force shoving him forward. Danton and all of his soldiers were shoved downward and off their feet, only a few of them managing to keep their balance by a hair. Danton recovered quickly and turned around, noticing two young teenagers, one male and one female. The female swept forward in front of the other and unleashed one of her own Leray attack spells.
"Rotation!" Launching a refined version of tornado strike towards all targets, Taylor immediately shuffled her feet with Danny by her side. She used the Rotation attack that lifted almost all the targets off the ground as a distraction to make her way towards Jane Venn, who stood proudly with the symbol still pulsing on her hand.
Danton''s face was blasted with wind, though he felt no damage to be taken by such an attack. It was pitiful to see his own elite soldiers taken by surprise by a group of punks, who now reformed with Jane in a teamed effort.
"Taylor!" Jane called in excitement. "And Danny!" She was so happy to see them arrive to her aid, using the emergency security elevator that Danny knew about in the back of his mind. So he does pay attention after all! Eldora Tower did end up having one weak spot in their security. Normally, security clearance protocols would have blocked their access up here, and in a state of emergency, a lock-down would have made it even more impossible. But in a state of emergency where no lock down yet exists, the rules are bypassed entirely. The only reason such a protocol would engage with such a weakness is for the insignificant attempt to evacuate the civilians from the building, buying her comrades time to get up here using the suddenly open access primary lift. Checkmate Danton! Danny and Taylor seem determined and focused, rushing by Jane''s side and facing the crowd of soldiers in front of her as the Rotation attack died down quickly.
"We got here as quick as we could," Taylor announced. Jane didn''t seem fazed from any additional battling that may have gone on after the transmission to the feed ended.
"You aren''t harmed, are you?"
Answering Danny''s concerning question, Jane reached out her hands, grabbing both of her friends in overwhelming solidarity. "I''m so glad you made it! These guys are giving me trouble, as I''m sure you can imagine."
Danton gathered his strength and balance again, quicker than his assistants were able to. "So this is JDT? I''m disappointed that the gang turned out to be a bunch of stupid kids."
Jane calmly waited and explained with her chance to speak. "JDT stands for Jane, Danny, and Taylor. Together, we''re all a team, friends to each other, and side by side until the end."
"I''m not sure what to be amazed by anymore. Perhaps I can start with why you two would be so stupid enough to follow Jane''s insane idea of rushing the entire army to death, destroying the infrastructure of the nation. Or perhaps I''m taken by how quick you are to rush to the aid of a criminal!"
"You bastard!" Danny snared. "Jane is no criminal! She''s only trying to do the right thing by restoring the Outback and stopping the spread of Alpha Zero!"
Danton''s eyes lit up. "I see now. Taylor and Danny are the two unidentified persons who managed to pull Jane Venn out of the dark zone. Such survivability must mean we have three symbols before us, no?"
"No," Jane summoned. "They''re clean. My friends are really good people. I don''t want to fight you Danton."
"Then surrender peacefully," he requested.
Danny answered for Jane, knowing exactly what the intension was here. "That isn''t going to happen tough guy. If you want a piece of Jane, you''ll have to wait until our business with the Outback is done."
"You won''t make it halfway." Danton knew that his threat was pointless to make the three give up their powers.
"You really just don''t get it, do you?" Taylor let her frustration out with all honesty, explaining the full story of her friend, since Danton wasn''t trusting Jane with any of it. "Can''t you see how broken your order has become? Jane Venn never asked to be marked with that thing on her hand, and all because of some terrible accident, she''s been hiding from the law in fear of her own life, from you!"
"To this day, I still don''t want this symbol," Jane included.
Taylor could tell that Danton''s immediate silence and failure to try to say anything again so soon meant that he was at the very least confused, which was better improvement for the situation than before. "When we found out Jane was marked and wanted to be healed, we never stood in her way like you do right now. All we''ve done is try to help her. But Jane was even more lost than we were. She went into the dark zone all by herself just because she didn''t want to be marked anymore."
Danny took over for Taylor, summarizing the point of the mission altogether. "She just wanted professional help from Brightworth. He is supposed to be the person in charge of removing permanent spells or status effects that are related to Leray magic, including symbols. But since he''s gone rouge, and since he can''t be reached alone even by the person who beat you in a fair match, she''s come here to ask you and your army for help. Two different goals, but they all go together."
"You seem to think the world works just like that," Danton tormented. "A few happy smiles, and everything turns to sugar and rainbows? How pathetic."
"You''re the one that''s pathetic!" Jane projected. "I didn''t beat you because of a symbol. I did it because that''s how badly I wanted to win. And who cares how the world works? At least I get to say it isn''t right! So we''re changing the rules, with or without you Danton!"
"I will not allow you to march my forces to their death!"
"And what happens when those forces are suddenly willing to fight for a cause worthy?"
Danton winced at Jane''s question. What was she hinting at? What is she talking about anymore?
"You really think I''d force people to enter that place?" Jane reiterated the plan again in her mind for her own clarity in speech. "I''ll talk to everyone; brief all units on the entire situation. All during and before the operation begins, anyone who wants to opt out of that potential danger is free to do so. Even if nobody at all ends up joining to help us, I have no choice but to go back in there, and take out Alpha Zero. Still, I think some of your soldiers will at least listen, because if nothing is done, everyone here will die anyway, else be forced to evacuate the very home they grew up in. And if I''m lucky..." she held up her hand, revealing the symbol closer to Danton in the process. "Maybe I can get that slime bag to remove this thing from my body as well."
"The war of symbols ended a long time ago Danton!" Danny knew what he was talking about, remembering the reference Jane used before, and furthering his research from there while inside of Eldora City. "People who are marked aren''t all criminals, especially not Jane! If you can call people like myself and Taylor dirt bags, then you might as well attach the same moniker to all of your civilians here who just want to make a fair living for themselves."
Danton lifted his staff higher, causing the material to glow with magical aura. In response, he noticed Danny and Taylor pulling out their weapons and forming a strong formation of protection in front of Jane. Danny was holding a magical hammer, with Taylor holding a short bladed sword. Danton''s units all managed to recover by now, aiming the guns at all three targets and asking him for clearance to engage. "Your story lacks a lot of proof and clarity. How can I be so certain that you aren''t lying about everything you''ve been saying?"
Jane stepped forward in front of her friends, ignoring their newfound layer of protection. While standing there, she intentionally held up her hand, cutting off her concentration aura and fading the symbol away to nothingness. "I know you can''t trust us at all. You don''t seem like the kind to take extensive risks." Jane looked the man in the eyes, knowing deep down that the real Danton is somewhere inside. "I trust you." Danton tensed slightly, though remained as still as he could. "I trust in the Leray system, the way this country is set up, the way Leray battles are designed..." Jane had to struggle with her words to figure out where she was going with it all. "It''s true that I don''t want this symbol on me, but you''ve designed a system in which only one man out of everybody here has the power to remove spells and symbols that are made permanent, and for that reason, he''s become a bad liability to the nation itself. I can''t get this thing removed, because the only man who can do it is now a wanted criminal."
"Even if your symbol infusion was just a sad mistake," Danton challenged, "you are still a marked one, and having symbols is one of the most illegal crimes."
Jane pleaded with the man. "Then arrest me! But not before or during the operation. I need to know that something is being done about the dark zone, something other than pure surveillance. I don''t care about this symbol, and I don''t care if I''m marked. I''ve heard about the reports of scouts getting killed in that place, and I don''t want any more people to die."
"Doesn''t that counter everything you''ve just said?"
Jane denied the thought with her continued plan. "The dark zone is spreading towards Lennith City. Eventually, it will get stronger and consume Sprawn Valley. If this happens, we''ll all die. That''s why avoiding the conflict isn''t going to work. Buying time for us also buys time for the dark zone too." Jane''s voice was becoming less enriched. Danton could tell that tears were being fought back. "I just want to save my friends, and their families and homes. Does that really make me such a criminal? I''ve only been trying to do the right thing from day one. Battling in the championship really was nothing more than an attempt to have an audience with you, but I still need your assistance."
"That''s enough!" Danton shouted. With that, he didn''t say much else, nor was he addressing anybody anymore. If anything, Danton seemed to be pondering another decision, while his troops still awaited their orders. Was Jane really telling the truth? And who are these other people accompanying her to such a vivid goal? The mission to arrest Brightworth could become more feasible with that girl''s powerful symbol being put to such a use, but only Jane has control of that symbol, which makes her dangerous. For someone marked, Jane sure doesn''t seem as dangerous as he once thought. Something wasn''t right about her from the start. But now it''s as if she has changed all over again... Something is going on here, something I don''t understand. This isn''t the worst of situations. Those idiots are smarter than this... "Jane," he quoted.
"Y-yes?!" Danton breaking the silence was the only reason Jane felt initially startled by the break in no transmission.
While lowering his staff and defusing his magical aura, Danton continued to question Jane''s motives through less direct methods. "You are marked, and that means that all of your winnings in the Eldora championship are hereby revoked as illegal wins. This means that should I disagree with your so-called scheme to storm the dark zone using my troops, such ruling is one hundred percent legal, and you would not win such a claim in a court of law. In other words, even for just one single day, you are not the champion of Leray magic, nor has that title ever been bestowed upon you. Politically speaking, you are powerless even now. Do you understand this?"
With delay in her response, Jane answered, "Yes." It took a moment to try and conjure anymore of what could be said. "I don''t have to be the person in charge of the operation. I just want to share what I know about that place, and offer as much advice as I can, but I need to know that at least something direct is being done about the situation."
"Hm..." Danton took his time thinking about the next question. "And let''s say I were to interrogate you regarding the reasoning behind your marking. That is to say, I would be asking you for everything you know about this symbol that has the unusual property to project and hide itself at will. Would you be willing to give me those particular details?"
Jane drew back to that moment in time, the moment her whole life changed forever. "The details aren''t all clear to me. Ever since I was marked by that device, I''ve been searching for answers. I''ve been trying to track down the guy that did it to me, as well as any connections to the man or anything else. I can only tell you what I know and what I speculate to be true. But of course, I would give you that information. If it helps me find some way to remove this thing, or even find the guy who did it to me, all I want are answers in the matter."
Strange... Unusual... What kind of person gets marked and suddenly wants to get unmarked? This woman isn''t like anyone he''d ever met before. Jane defiantly doesn''t act her own age, rather much older. That much power under her finger, and she''s so quick to give it up and find the culprit of the true crime? Such resistance against what could be pure power, this is so much new to everything he''s seen before. Wait a second... The man who did it? The device that marked her? How could another person imbue a symbol on someone without using direct magic?
"I''m willing to work with you," Jane confessed. "The people involved wouldn''t be required to go. It''s defiantly dangerous - as you''ve specified. But I know a way through, a method that would reduce casualties to absolute zero."
For a very long moment, nobody said a word. Danton''s troops continued to aim their weapons at the three targets, but Danton seemed like he was in a trance, disturbed by Jane''s words. His expression facing the ground between himself and Jane''s group indicated long and deep thought, but such silence was broken by his loyal men.
"Sir Danton!" The soldier''s voice was muffled and filtered slightly by the electronic helmet he was wearing. "You can''t consider the words of marked people to be true. She could be lying to all of us! Just give us the clearance to engage!"
Danton lifted his face up towards the soldiers to his right. "That''s enough H-1!" Danton''s designation was to the classified call sign for the particular soldier being addressed. "All troops stand down to alert status yellow!" None of the troops moved an inch, prompting Danton to turn and face all of them with a step closer. None of them wanted to stand down to Jane. It wasn''t that surprising. Danton was beginning to take a marked one''s words to truth and consideration. "I said stand down! All of you! I make the call on who the real enemy is, and I still need you as my personal guards. None of you are dismissed!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Heartbreak One ~ Ace Combat 5 OST
With that, his troops all lowered their weapons, but they didn''t holster any of them. None of them even bothered to turn the safety mechanism on either, distrusting Jane, Danny, or Taylor, but Danton seemed satisfied with the result for the moment. He couldn''t fully trust them either, but if Jane really did have tactical data she was willing to share on Alpha Zero and her own symbol, it was worth listening for details. If anyone questions him about it, he could simply call it an interrogation. Jane didn''t look like she was going to attack with both her weapons holstered under her dress sphere. Danny and Taylor were holding their weapons up still, but their muscles were more relaxed as Danton provided more focus on the individuals from this distance. After feeling a little safer, Danton made the call.
"Jane Venn? You will follow us to room 950-F."
"Nine fifty-F?" Jane repeated the room name with a tone of confusion. She previously studied the schematics of the entire tower, but never heard of that sector before. There were certain sections of Eldora Tower still made in secret, sections that were not in the classified blueprints she scanned earlier. Jane was now realizing how close she came to failing her mission and putting her friends'' lives in grave danger.
"It''s a private section connected to this facility on the same floor as this arena," he explained. "And we use it for interrogations. We can talk in there and hope it doesn''t have to come to such brutal measures, but I am not giving you much of a choice here. You will be escorted inside where you can disclose certain details to me as you agreed. Your friends will have to wait outside. I''ll inform Mainne of the situation and have her personally guard Danny and Taylor. They may be questioned as well."
"So what does that mean?" Jane questioned.
Danton knew what she meant by her desire for a more concrete sentence, but refused to give her a direct answer. "You can either cooperate with giving us information, or I can detain you right now. I''m sure that puts a dent in the reason you''ve come here in the first place."
"I want to make sure Danny and Taylor are kept safe. I know they are helping me, but they really aren''t marked. You can''t do anything that brings harm to them¡ª"
Danton cut Jane off after quickly realizing where she was already going with her sentence. "They''ll be kept safe. You and I simply need to discuss some things privately. I''ll be splitting my security team into two, so don''t even think about trying to overpower anyone here," Danton warned. He stepped to glance at the two newcomers. "That goes for all of you! Even for my own team, everyone outside of 950-F are under the command of Mainne until such power is relinquished back onto myself. Is that clear?"
"Sir! Yes Sir!"
After Jane gave a nod of agreement towards her friends, she followed closer towards Danton, agreeing to his terms and conditions. It didn''t take long after that for everything in the room to change. Danton led Jane and three out of five units towards a hidden door in the far corner of the arena. Only after Danton proceeded inside with the door automatically closing behind him, Mainne entered from the normal entrance Jane used earlier, speed walking closer to the two unidentified persons. Whatever happened to Jane inside of that room wasn''t going to be made clear to Danny or Taylor. Then again, the reverse was also true from Jane''s current perspective.
As Jane walked into the so-called interrogation room, she was surprised by how simple the design was. With only one chair and table at the end, and a cubical design with a small area of the interior lit by magical lighting much less intense than inside of the arena, Jane was taking in a lot just for the first few seconds she stepped inside. Danton brushed past her, taking his position near the table. He remained standing up on the same side, now facing Jane and waiting for her answers with the door shut behind her.
After reaching the two and realizing that Danton and Jane were already gone, Mainne shouted her voice through the room, directed at the personal security team. "Where is he?!" Without any answer for only one second, Mainne figured things out pretty quickly. "That big moron! What the hell is Danton thinking?! Letting a marked one into the building... I want a full investigation into how the scanners were all bypassed!"
To that, the soldiers replied, "The investigations are already taking place. Danton is taking more direct measures right now, trying to learn more from the suspect herself."
Mainne crossed her arms. "It''s a shame I don''t get to knock that bitch in the face myself. After all the fighting we did, all of that lying that went on. All of Jane''s power were fake!"
"Um, Mainne?"
With all her muscles tense and her face enraged, Mainne turned around to the soft-spoken girl behind her. "What do you want?!" Taylor didn''t seem to enjoy Mainne''s response very much, but Mainne didn''t care how either one of them were feeling. Still, at the reminder that two others were involved, Mainne took matters back into her own hands. "Both of you are going to tell me everything, about all three of you - starting right now!" Mainne''s level of screaming had both Danny and Taylor flinching at every word, as she stood there above them demanding for answers.
Danton''s slow breathing was deep and loud. His troops all remained silent but aware, making sure their leader was safe. Danton seemed much more relaxed than before, but he still gave Jane several looks of distrust. As he barely holstered his Mega-Staff, Danton began his light interrogation. "I would say tell me everything, but I don''t even know where to begin. I can only think of one important detail. Who are you?"
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Jane sighed, realizing that this was about to become a really long conversation. Since she could painfully remember everything that happened to her since her love for Leray magic, Jane was able to begin immediately. She slouched slightly into the only chair, trying to relax, and folded her arms to give them a rest. "My name is Jane Venn. I didn''t use an alias for identification, which now that I think about it - surprises me a little."
"Names are cheap when they aren''t attached to any known reputation," Danton added. "Where are you from?"
"I was born in Sprawn Valley, and raised in the town of Fronas for as long as I could remember." With no further questions, Jane continued with her own personal story. "Since I was little, I''ve always loved Leray magic and Leray battles. Even now, my deepest dream is to become a Leray master."
"Hmph! You''ve got one long road ahead of you if that is the truth, and your symbol won''t allow that possibility to exist anymore."
"Will you shut up?" Jane interrupted. Why rub it in Danton? "I''m not finished!" Jane waited a second to confirm she was allowed to continue. "Eventually I graduated from the Dakota facility and became a basic level Leray wielder just like everyone else. I can say I was a bit more advanced, but that''s only because I trained much harder in my spare time. Anyway, this mess all started when I first ventured into Blue Port Town. It wasn''t my first time there, but I was kind of escorting some friends who had never been before. The goal was to simply run some errands, and this was all before I graduated."
"So you''re saying this all started in Blue Port Town? Now we''re getting somewhere. Do continue."
Seeing as Danton wasn''t being a jerk about his interrogation, Jane took another deep breath, ready to confess her greatest mistake to the person in charge of the law. "When I was alone for a few minutes, I noticed an odd situation. From the forest to my right, as I was standing on the edge of the town, some guy approached me."
"Some guy?"
Jane emphasized. "He was wearing a hood, so his face was hard to make out, but he defiantly seemed suspicious. At first - I thought he was just crazy. But after realizing what happened, he was actually scared, and he was running from somebody. I don''t understand those details myself, but he ended up giving me a free spell bomb. He gave me the whole ''this thing is dangerous in the wrong hands'' story, and I simply thought this guy just wasn''t getting enough sleep or something."
"Did you ever report this?"
"How could I?" Jane iterated. "After what happened next, I couldn''t bring myself to take the risk. He gave me an unknown spell bomb, like I said. He vaguely told me that is was a powerful spell bomb capable of granting the user permanent effects of something. He was kind of cryptic about the whole thing, and defiantly rushing himself to explain it to me, but he didn''t want me to use the spell bomb. Instead, he wanted me to keep it safe, keep it hidden from everyone. Everyone in his context included my friends and family."
"This all sounds very strange," Danton analyzed. "What happened next?"
"He just took off. After begging me not to hand it over to anyone or show off its existence, he ran back into the woods. When he did, that''s when I noticed two other hooded strangers chasing after him. They didn''t notice me at all, only focused on the first stranger. I don''t know what it was all about. But after they left, I made the stupid mistake of trying out the spell bomb." Jane could see the look on Danton''s face. His expression begged her to continue, not that Jane meant to make her story interesting. "After disregarding his warning and trying the spell bomb out on myself, well... It''s hard to explain exactly how it happened, but the device enabled some powerful magic that imbued my hand with this symbol."
"That is most unusual. Spell bombs are not designed for imbuing symbols on other people. Not to mention that it makes the possibility of the spell bomb being of an illegal prototype most probable. And this random dude just handed it over to you?"
"Now that I think about it," Jane prefaced. "He may have been trying to hide it from the people chasing him in the forest, but the method used to shove a symbol inside of me was more unusual. According to my friends who witnessed the event directly, some beam of light came out of the sky."
Danton backed up a step, nearly coughing in surprise. "You mean the unexplained incident in Blue Port Town! The skies there changed from day to night and stuck for twelve hours! The beam of light from a full moon shooting down to the ground and striking an unknown female victim! I was even told in the report that the same girl was damaged and rushed to an emergency facility! That was all you?!"
"Yes." Jane''s confession even had the soldiers in the room looking at each other in confusion. "Other witnesses never noticed the spell bomb, but according to what Danny and Taylor saw, the event itself actually created a massive symbol in the sky, which so happens to be the same color and design as the one on my hand now. The blast of light knocked me out and unconscious. Danny and Taylor rushed me back home to the medical facility in Fronas, while investigation teams wanted to interview me for answers."
"So how did they react when they learned about your symbol?" Danton followed. "And how do these friends of yours fit into all of this?"
"Danny and Taylor are people I didn''t meet until the mid-term section of my classes. And when I did, they seemed to have a strong liking to Leray magic as I did. That''s why we got along." Jane paused momentarily. It wouldn''t be right to tell Danton that Danny and Taylor are outsiders. That is a more personal detail that should only be disclosed by them alone, and she continued to explain without that extra detail. "We got along just fine, but they were the people seeing Blue Port Town for the first time. They were not there at all during the moment I received the unknown spell bomb, but did assist me in activating the spell bomb''s core. They were of course innocent in that, since I didn''t tell them how I obtained the device in the first place."
"You realize how dangerous and stupid that was?"
"Only after the mistake was made," she agreed. "Anyway, Danny and Taylor were the only two people who knew at the time that the spell bomb was the cause of that blast of lunar light, and they saw that light beam shoot through my entire body. As that happened, according to what I got out of them, I fell unconscious, and afterwards became completely ill. Then I learned several weeks later that my reason for being ill had to do with magical potential overload. My ME levels were off the charts, not to anyone''s knowledge until I made it all the way to Lennith City."
"Don''t skip details for now."
Jane went back to the earlier version of her explanation. "When I woke up in the facility, I noticed after the nurse stepped out of the room that my hand was glowing with a bright design. After just seconds, I knew what it was and what it meant. I remember, I''ve never been so scared before in my life. I refused to tell anyone about it, even my own friends."
Jane appeared to expressing her fear right now from her memory. Danton wondered if she was still just acting and lying her way out of something, but she had already been caught with a symbol, thus making her story more likely. The only thing she could do by lying right now is bide her time for something else. "So you played a dangerous game of lies to hide the fact that you were marked." Danton was putting all of this together in his head, believing the story based on the fact that Jane connected herself to the unknown event in Blue Port Town that night.
"Of course, I had no idea how this happened or why. And for some reason, the symbol went away on its own, completely fading away from view just as the nurse was coming back. I pretended to be asleep, because I knew they would question me about stuff I wasn''t ready to answer. But when I got to talk to Danny and Taylor, I was able to put a couple of things together without letting on to what I knew."
"An unknown spell bomb gives you a symbol you didn''t ask for. And at the same time, it nearly kills you in the process... I''m assuming this person is still missing, as is your knowledge to the origin of the symbol itself?"
"Yes." Jane paced in rotation, stimulating her thought about the mysterious strangers she saw on her way to Eldora Tower. "I''ve been searching since then, all the way to this tower. But after I supposedly got better from feeling ill, it wasn''t long until I was able to graduate and travel outside of the world. As far as everyone knew, the event was in the past. My symbol never bothered me for a long time, and everything seemed like a bad dream. But during my first few battles between other people, I learned of one of the permanent effects of the symbol. Effect one: reduced physical endurance. All damage I took was done so with much more power than what should have been. I lost four battles in a row that should have been won over completely by my average skill level."
"And that didn''t raise a little suspicion for your friends or for yourself?"
"It defiantly rose suspicion for everyone. My friends knew something was odd about that effect, and I assumed in silence that it was related to the symbol. I noticed it first of course, since it was related to me, and it took time for Danny and Taylor to suspect that something was different. After my first battle in Blue Port Town, my symbol activated itself on its own again when I was alone, and then another time in the personal hotel room in Gross City. Luckily I wasn''t around anyone once it happened, and I bought several battle gloves in order to hide it."
"Symbols don''t normally have a way of hiding themselves while remaining fully or partially active."
Jane elaborated, "Only some effects were active when the symbol wasn''t showing. At first I wasn''t able to control it either, which was scary as hell." Remembering back to everything that affected her from the symbol, Jane defined every other side effect she was exposed to. "Effect number two: Most magical attacks were about double the normal power level from their original design. Despite this however, I never won any matches that way. Effect number three: My rate and ability to learn new spells was ten times faster and more refined in comparison to ordinary people. It also turns out that some of my Leray energy can be compressed and conserved in the process. All of those effects are passive. If my symbol activates mid-battle, it can grant me a huge boost in my MP and HP energy, stamina, more potential power, and so on. There are active effects to the symbol too it seems."
"And then, you felt had to do something about it." Danton held his head with two fingers. "I can''t believe this is happening right now."
"I knew I had to remove it, since it would forever ruin my ability to battle effectively and destroy my entire life. So I made it my mission to find professor Brightworth at the Den of Purity. I went on my own without Danny and Taylor to do so. It wasn''t until I reached Lennith City when I learned of the horrible experiments Brightworth was doing to the Outback, which he of course turned into a dangerous dark zone, spawning creatures that damage people with dark magic, but it didn''t deter me from going on. I wanted to make it to Brightworth to remove this symbol more than anything else. Before going on, I of course learned some new skills that only my symbol was helping me learn."
"I''m guessing that was the reason you ran into the dark zone by yourself."
"It was stupid and too dangerous. I failed in the end, but Danny and Taylor didn''t ever give up on me. They came into Lennith not that far behind, and they pulled me out of the dark zone before I was to be eaten by a behemoth. It was then where Danny and Taylor, as well as a few other nameless people I met in the city learned that I had a secret symbol on my hand."
"So your friends became your next enemy, huh?"
Jane nodded strongly. "No way!" Her words began to amaze Danton quickly. "They were upset alright, but only because I lied to them in the first place. Danny and Taylor never went against me over some stupid symbol. They were immediate to try and help in any way they could, but I had to stop them from going back into Alpha Zero alone. After what I saw in there, I decided to switch priorities. That place is very dangerous, totally evil in ways I couldn''t imagine alone. I don''t ever want to see it or go back there again. After learning that the zone was slowly spreading in size, my priorities were reset. So my mission now is to destroy Alpha Zero. I thought of several ways of doing it at that time. First of all, I have intel of the place because of my visit there. Secondly, I figured that if I am marked, why not use that kind of power to help you accomplish the same task? But I needed your attention to begin with."
"You can''t be serious. That''s why you went through all of the trouble to battle me?"
"Could you think of any other way? Citizens aren''t allowed to directly talk to champions on any matter. We''re all required to give a message to one person or another. Given my case, we both know how that would have ended."
It''s as if she''s mocking him now. Danton however felt a mild agreement to the flaw. It is true that civilians at random cannot contact him by direct methods, and since he spends all day and night in Eldora Tower all the time, people don''t really get to see him in person.
Chapter Theme Shift: {Phantoms (FFX)} ~ Final Fantasy X (Remaster)
"It seems stupid, but I do have your attention now. So I know I''ve done most of what I can. I of course never intended to permanently take ownership of the championship title. I know just as much as you do how invalidated my victories were. This stupid thing on my hand is really all that allowed me to win the battle. While I think it is cool that I can control my symbol and battle so effectively with it, every win I''ve ever had was never really my own. That''s why I hate this tattoo so much. I know you can''t help me with that, but you can help us with the current situation above Lennith City."
For ten long seconds, Danton was completely silent and frozen. How long did Jane have this symbol? It couldn''t be more than a month, yet it''s turned her into an unstoppable battling machine. He recalled the skill level of Jane during their match. If Jane graduated with basic a month ago, and with advanced level 3 training days earlier, there would be absolutely no possible way of her winning. But the symbol inside of her does things invisible to the senses of other people. Jane''s friends, whoever they are have remained cooperative to her so far just out of loyalty. If everything she has been saying so far is true, then the investigation into the Blue Port incident still warrants for additional details. Who is the man Jane accepted the device from? How was the device made in secret, and with such amazing power? How many more dangerous devices are there out there? Such a threat could bring Sprawn Valley''s entire population to their knees. Another war could break out over this! Even to Jane, the properties of her symbol are yet to be known or discovered. All of this really is happening right now...
"I wish I knew more about the symbol myself. It has some odd properties I don''t even understand," Jane detailed. "For instance, you asked me how I managed to get by the symbol scanner on the bottom floor. But the truth is, I really didn''t think I would get past it. I didn''t know there was a symbol scanner there before arriving, and for a moment I thought I was a goner."
"That must mean that your symbol is unlike any other symbol that exists in the entire world. It may be clearer now as to why your own investigation to discover the symbol by relations has proven impossible up to this point. Research will never find data on matters that don''t yet exist to public knowledge."
"I know..." Jane looked rather sad right now, tilting her head to the ground in response.
"But I do have one proposal..." Danton had Jane''s attention this time, finally making an educated decision about what to do. "You want to get rid of your symbol, yet your only option is removed, but Brightworth may not be the only person capable of such magic." Seeing Jane gasp in surprise, Danton quickly shut it down. "Don''t get your hopes up! We still need to learn everything about that symbol before we can do anything about it. That means running tests and experiments on you. That would of course require your own cooperation and¡ª"
"Please!" Jane held her hands together similar to a prayer. "I''ll do anything to remove this thing from my body. Just tell me you''ll cover the dark zone situation."
Danton''s eyes opened wider. Jane really hates that thing on her hand, despite the incredible powers it was constantly feeding her. Such restraint is something he has never witnessed in another human before. If she was acting it out, it was highly convincing. "We''ll get to that later. First, we need to address the current situation in Alpha Zero. I will ask once more that you give me as many details as you can about that place so that we may formulate a new strategy to take it on."
Jane''s expression flattened. She had nearly forgotten to give the details about the dark zone to Danton, but his intentions were still in question with the place. Though it wouldn''t matter if she revealed some of the weaknesses of the dark zone to anybody. It''s not as if Brightworth was here right now watching it all. Jane wondered in the sidelines of her imagination what possessed Brightworth to go rouge while she explained the situation to the champion in excruciating detail. "I won''t have to share the physical details already known about that place. For whatever reason there is to it, the Alpha Zero restricts and limits the capacity of normal Leray magic. On top of that, real time damage is allowed to be inflicted with normal damage by the infusion field. And the heat there is unusually higher than it should be."
"Those are all details we already have, data obtained without having to risk lives in scouting."
Jane continued, "But the field itself has properties that somehow create random spawns of deadly creatures. Such creatures have no known origin, but are completely bloodthirsty. They want nothing more than human flesh in their stomachs. That''s probably what keeps killing most of those who enter the zone. The monsters there are very powerful too, both in offensive and defensive capabilities."
"Also assumed data," Danton backtracked. "If the dark zone neglects the entire field of Leray veil protection without disabling all forms of magic entirely, then monsters can spawn and of course deal permanent damage to any individual there faced with danger."
"Needless to say, all battles are unofficial." The memory of that horrible place began to resonate in Jane''s mind so that she could reference everything she learned. It brought a horrible sensation of fear back into her heart. "Energy scopes of course don''t just show up out of nowhere. You have to force them to appear attached to the creatures. You''d be very lucky to make an action display center work on the creatures as well."
"And how is there safety in numbers?"
"Most of the time I was there, I noticed that while spawns were a bit frequent, the density for any localized area was not. As I faced many monsters, most of my battles with them were just one on one. Obviously, this means that teamwork can work for us in that zone. That won''t be the case every single time, but..."
Danton wondered if that was the best trick Jane could come up with. It wasn''t a lot to go on, but she battled her way to the top of this tower for this reason, so there has to be more. Danton couldn''t believe Jane Venn to be this stupid!
"Monsters aren''t the only thing in there. It seems Brightworth managed to somehow set up some sort of automated defense grid connected to the main road in Alpha Zero. Physical machine gun turrets or rail turrets are buried and hidden in various places, and activate if you walk across a spot on the ground."
"Magically powered presence sensors," Danton muttered. He realized the design quickly for such things, but the presence of the machine turrets was much more surprising. "Turrets? Live turrets?"
"Yes," Jane confirmed. "They run on automated programs, and simply defend their perimeter, but they do so by trapping people inside of a simulated arena, and go berserk on the target through combat-based programs. The programs allow for the action display center design to be used with ease, but such machines run powerful ballistic payloads, and they can even create a field of artificial magic. I''ve seen one turret use magical glyphrings to fire elemental rounds."
"And there was nobody there to man them? You''re sure about this?"
Jane nodded to Danton''s question. "As sure as I managed to destroy them. That took a while, and without the protection from the veil, I suffered my more serious wounds from those machines. They''re much more deadly, and can track multiple targets simultaneously. I have little suggestions for overpowering those machines so far."
"This news is so sudden," he urged. "How the hell did Brightworth build machine turrets running off his own magic in such harsh environments? And how can they trap people in?"
"The field uses a powerful form of dark magic to generate an artificial dome shield that traps everything inside of the field as the death machines activate. The only way I''ve been able to override the shield and get through was by destroying all of the turrets in the same field, which seem to control the dome shield itself. The shield runs off of dark magic, so Leray attacks won''t bust through them. Not even the most powerful of spells..."
Danton was silent again, assessing the situation with the new data Jane was able to provide. "How far did you make it, if you could tell?"
"Maybe forty percent of the way there?" Jane was guessing. She didn''t remember her last calculation while in the dark zone, but recalled not making it halfway to the Den of Purity.
"And that means that all turrets up to about half the way to the Den of Purity have been destroyed, permanently so. Unless he has already rebuilt them."
Jane interjected, "That won''t matter much. The monster spawns don''t care about distance or anything like that. As long as you''re in the dark zone''s limits even in already conquered areas, anything can come out and kill you."
"Yet you''re the only survivor who ventured in as far as you did, and your friends. How did you even provide?"
Jane denied one particular detail Danton assumed. "Danny and Taylor didn''t find me as far as I went, because I ended up turning back towards the city after taking so much damage. I thought I was going to die in there from my wounds alone. Healing orbs naturally had no effect for me. So by the time I collapsed from exhaustion, they must have ventured in about fifteen percent on the road to find my position. I don''t know if they faced any monsters at that time, but their health told me they were lucky not to."
"And you used your symbol for survival?"
"Not just that," Jane elaborated. "My symbol came in handy for several battles, and I learned to control it better while I was in there, but my power shielding trick did a lot more to save me most of all. I learned that trick in Lennith City just before trying my luck in Alpha Zero. It turns out that due to my passive ability to conserve and compress Leray magic while using a power shield, I can reduce the MP cost of the shield while maximizing its level of protection for myself to block out even dark magical attacks. That''s why the power shield I have is so powerful, but it still has its own limits."
"Well this is unfortunate. None of my men or myself have that particular talent that you have. Running simulated technology is impossible with our research so far behind. If you''re powering the shield from your symbol in either state of activity, then you have one particular advantage that none of us have." Danton''s concerns were well placed. Jane didn''t look as if she had a solution to that problem.
"But you all have an amazing level of endurance, equal or higher than my own. Even against dark magic, that counts for something. While I can''t protect myself and others at the exact same time, having a team really is the only way to make it to the Den of Purity."
"I''m afraid that is still too big a risk for us to take."
"Well somebody has to!" Jane tensed up at how much time she was wasting trying to convince someone so stubborn to fight for what is right. "If you don''t want to risk your life or your men, I won''t force you, but I''m going in to shut that place down. Brightworth is doing something to keep the dark zone active and growing. That means that taking him out of the picture is the only way to stop Alpha Zero''s growth. And I guess that means if I die, I die."
"For someone who dreams of being a Leray master, you''re so quick to throw away your life for something another can do."
"I thought you were turning down such an offer," Jane reminded. "If the dark zone isn''t stopped, nobody in the world will ever be capable of practicing Leray magic ever again. That means that everyone''s dream, not just my own will be forever destroyed as well. I''m fighting for everyone, even for myself out there - with or without the help I need. It''s supposed to be your own duty, since you''re our protector of Sprawn Valley as champion of Leray magic. I thought that was the entire reason of your own existence as champion. It turns out I was wrong."
Jane waited for any verbal response, and was met with nothing once more. She pondered around the room, trying to decide on how to approach the problem next. Since Danton and his entire team are too chicken to help out, that means it really is up to her alone. The troops all lined up behind the champion sure didn''t look tough either, not after all Jane had to offer for them. "I''m going in alone, with or without your consent."
"You will not be raiding the dark zone by yourself," Danton commanded. Surely Jane would protest any second now.
"You may have people who want to fight me and lock me up for being marked, but I''m not going to let you stop me from restoring the Outback. If you try, I will fight you again without any mercy."
"You''re not going in alone, because I''m going to mobilize a team." From behind his position, Danton noted all of the sudden gasps and replies of denial coming from his soldiers, all filtered due to the helmets they were wearing. The surprise is well founded though. Honestly, Danton knew this wasn''t the best of ideas. There is a perfectly rational reason why storming the dark zone has been put off time and time again. Alpha Zero isn''t the only danger everyone has to worry about, but Jane and these few soldiers don''t actually realize that. Still, taking no action seems to be causing more problems than it prevents. If this is some sort of trap, there is no way to stop it from happening regardless of his next decision. And now here come all of the rebuttals.
"What?!" "Sir Danton?" "That''s crazy!" "You''re insane!" "We can''t face that!"
Danton turned around immediately with certainty in his actions, something he didn''t have all day until this very moment. "I will be comprised of this team." His words were meant for his own units, and it had all of them standing firm and still, eating every word. "All soldiers and units of all squadrons will be invited to form this combat team, but the mission alone is voluntary. I will not force any units of the General Army to take part in such a dangerous mission that can get us all killed. At the same time, I have no choice but to stand up and fight for all of the people in Sprawn Valley who won''t have a place to live should we do nothing."
"Just send the girl! She survived it once! She can do it again!"
With the muffled shouting of his soldiers, Danton replied swiftly to error their logic. "That has already been attempted before, and such actions have failed. Jane went in alone already to try the same thing, and was pulled out - damn near dead. Therefore, it is in my interest to offer assistance to this team called JDT." Danton knew this wasn''t the best idea, but after failing to learn the motive of Alpha Zero''s creation, there is now no other choice. That place has to be destroyed, his own plans out of time.
Jane''s eyes were unable to blink shut, glistening with wonder as to how Danton was now turned around to her way of thinking. At what point did he suddenly have this change of heart? Why now was he willing to help her take on the dark zone? Everything she said so far never worked on him... Unless he really does care about the other people of Sprawn Valley. Though his earlier refusal said otherwise...
After turning around to face Jane, Danton made his intentions very clear. "We can focus on the details of your illegal symbol later. But for now, we need to do the right thing."
"Danton..." Jane couldn''t say anything else, too surprised by her sudden victory.
"I don''t know how, but you contain within yourself a type of duty and determination I myself have been lacking. It''s the citizens of Sprawn Valley that make the nation what it is, the people we fight for. Without such people, there would be no support for a government, and no people to govern." Danton held back a laugh, realizing how cringy those words were. As poetic as it may have sounded, Jane is right. "If lives really are being destroyed over an enemy lair, then it is our duty to take care of it. Not as an army, but as representatives of Sprawn Valley, and representatives of Leray magic."
Jane couldn''t believe it. This time, she was speechless. Danton really was on her side after all. There wasn''t much of a hint for what came next though, and her silence rippled in the room long enough to make the moment awkward. The soldiers sure were not saying anything either, taken by such amazing words of truth.
"I''m sure I can get someone to follow us in, and you said yourself that you have a team," Danton gathered. "With your symbol to offer some strength in this crisis, and a team that can work together to fight off monsters, I''m going to authorize this emergency operation, and involve you in the operation as military support."
As the electronically sealed door of 950-F slid open, the evanescent hissing sound made Danny and Taylor jump. Mainne focused her eyes to the door, waiting for Danton to walk out expressionless as always when hiding something. As she inhaled and prepared her breath to give him a piece of her mind, Mainne was stuck frozen with the appearance of Danton walking out with his security team with Jane in tow. Jane wasn''t wearing any kind of restraints or anti-magical protection on her, just roaming freely. While Danny and Taylor were immediately thrilled to see their partner in crime, Mainne had to reassess the situation.
"You''ve got a lot of explaining to do Danton! Why are you letting Jane go?!" Mainne''s volume filled the entire room, though Danton didn''t even flinch.
Expecting a reaction like this from his partner in training, Danton nudged his head backwards to signal Mainne to follow him near. Jane was already walking back to her friends, giving him and Mainne a quick moment of privacy.
As Mainne approached Danton to speak to him more quietly under the sound of whispers, Jane''s friends reunited with her again with a warm welcome. Taylor hugged her tightly before Jane was allowed to begin. "Easy Taylor." Jane thought Taylor would squeeze the voice out of her if she had not relaxed shortly after. "I managed to cut us a deal."
"Is it the one we came for?"
Jane glared Danny in the eyes, noticing his serious anticipation. She had to take in a deep breath and exhale to ease her own nerves. "It wasn''t easy, but Danton said that I can help him in the operation. He''ll be in charge of it of course, but he will also devise a team of volunteers of the military to help us fight."
"That''s excellent!" Taylor cheered. Choosing to ignore the obvious transmission behind Jane where Mainne and Danton were arguing in silence, Taylor had to ask Jane about one other thing. "What about your symbol?"
"I don''t know." There wasn''t any way of removing the symbol without enlisting Brightworth''s help, and he won''t help her willingly. Danton said something about tests and experiments, but he could have been talking about anything. "I don''t think anyone can help me with that. They may even still prosecute me after this is all over."
"They can''t!" Danny knew there would be no way Jane could let them do that to her. There has to be some other way.
Jane nodded however, choosing to alter the direction of the subject matter. "Anyway, you''ve both helped me out as much as you possibly can. I''m always going to be thankful for that."
"We''d never leave you hanging Jane."
Taylor was nice to mean that, but Jane knew they both had other plans. "The Junon airport is just southeast of Eldora City by the exit gate, Exit A-E. You two should head over there and meet your party. Go home back to where you belong."
The words had Taylor and Danny both wincing their entire bodies in amazement, but Danny was quicker to rebel. "What are you talking about Jane? I''m not going back home just yet. We''ve all got a fight with Alpha Zero, remember?"
Taylor predictably added, "Yeah! We''re not letting you fight alone!"
"I''ll have a new squad, so I won''t be alone." Jane knew they weren''t as convinced yet, but that wasn''t the point. "You all have family waiting for you back home. You aren''t from Sprawn Valley, and they are probably worried about you both. I did as I said I was going to do, lead you all the way to Junon''s airport so that you can get out of the country."
"Well, we''re not leaving." Danny''s tone couldn''t be more serious than he was now, and he linked his arm with Taylor to show Jane that she too was on his side of the argument.
Though Taylor enjoyed the comfort of her boyfriend holding her arm with his, she didn''t let it distract her from what Danny was saying to Jane. "We already had this argument before. I know the dark zone is dangerous, but¡ª"
"It''s a death trap!" Jane snapped, her voice spilling so noticeably that Danton, Mainne, and all of the soldiers silenced themselves to glance over to the commotion Jane was causing. The look on their faces were defeating, but Jane wasn''t having any part of it. "I''m trying to protect your lives. There is no reason why you should risk them in the same operation. We have enough people now!"
A type of rejection Taylor had never felt before; the words hurt as much as a Needle Barrage attack in Leray magic. But before she could let herself drown in that pain, Danny took over completely. "How dare you cast us aside like that?! Screw our families! And to hell with leaving! Taylor and I said we were going to help you all the way through, and you can''t do a damn thing to stop us!"
Jane drew both of her daggers, gripping them tightly. "Would you like to see me try?" She prepared herself for battle as usual, but this felt very wrong. Jane had to protect them, but attacking her best friends wasn''t something she felt capable of doing in the first place. As long as Danton doesn''t intervene right now, this may still work.
Letting go of Taylor''s arm, Danny stepped right in front of her, holding his arms all the way out as if to accept the strike from Jane''s daggers. She didn''t move yet, but Danny was calling her bluff valiantly. Jane would never attack her friends, not even for an intention to protect them. Come on Jane! Where''s your sense of honor you had earlier? That moment we had back in Fronas Town and the forests near them? Surely you couldn''t forget about that, about what it all meant. "You can take your best shot."
Jane twitched her arms and wrists several times, her entire body in debate whether using force to protect her friends was a good idea or a bad idea. Jane wanted to do something, but the way Danny stood there in front of her... She couldn''t move! Why can''t I move?!
"You must have already forgotten about the promise we made, even the one from yesterday night." Danny noticed Jane''s facial expression change suddenly, but she tried to pretend not to notice. "JDT," he announced. "I thought the name was cheesy, but I didn''t complain. I didn''t argue with the truth to a simple pair of letters. We''re a team to the end no matter what."
Jane saw her arms shaking, though she didn''t think Danny could notice from this nonexistent distance. After having confess everything about the Alpha Zero to Danton, all of Jane''s full memories of the horrors there had resurfaced. She could automatically imagine one of her friends getting impaled by a demonic claw from a monster, causing instantaneous death for them in a single notice. They can''t be a part of that. I won''t let them! "If something happens, I can''t protect you!" Jane''s voice was beginning to shake as well, her face about to break down in tears. The thought of losing them...
"We all protect each other where others can''t. If something happens, I''ll have to look after myself. The same can be said for Taylor, and for you. Have you forgotten how much better we''ve both come in a battling format?"
Jane didn''t say anything back. She didn''t want to start crying now, but she knew Danny''s logic wasn''t all that perfect. I have a symbol and the power to shield myself from damage at any time. Danton''s team will all be elite warriors used to such harsh conditions. Danny and Taylor may barely have what it takes to graduate with a level three status, and that''s it.
"I don''t care if you have some magic symbol that makes you strong, because it doesn''t mean everything." How could Jane not notice this now, after realizing it before less than 24 hours ago? "We fight for what we want to, and for who we want to protect. That makes us strong."
"None of you are listening to me!" Jane shattered. Her argument however was immediately shutdown by Danton''s next interruption.
"I think you have that backwards Jane Venn." Jane and her friends turned around to pay Danton more attention, who was now approaching Jane to speak to her directly. "If you were the one listening to Danny and Taylor, you would have realized by now what really makes a Leray wielder strong."
"But¡ª"
Danton cut Jane off again before she could try and get anything else wrong. "You may have defeated me with your symbol, yes, but you were also motivated to win because you have something to fight for. You''re desire to beat me was better placed than my desire to beat you, which was simply to learn the truth about your hidden talents, along with protecting my status here. I promise you Jane; if your desire to win the championship had been less complex than the baggage you have today, Mainne or myself would have flattened you in mere seconds, symbol or no symbol. Or did you forget how close our match was?" Danton certainly didn''t need the reminder. If only he had taken this advice long ago, that having a team working together was the core of true strength, things would have been different back then.
Jane refused to take such stupid words from Danton, but the thought immediately reminded Jane of what happened to her in the dark zone. She was only fighting in the end to survive, trying to make it to the Den of Purity over some stupid symbol. Her mind was mired in haze at that time, and she lost, lucky it didn''t cost her own life. But fighting for the citizens of Sprawn Valley... The weight of that against removing her own symbol was much different. Is that what Danny meant just now?
Danny implied the rest on top of Danton''s words. "If you thought the symbol in your hand is where your real strength lies, then you should be the one avoiding Alpha Zero." He didn''t want to Jane to have no part of the operation either, but Danny knew he needed Jane to understand that. "So just trust us. We both know what we are doing. We''re not helping you just to stick around in magic land."
"I must say," Danton interjected. "For two teenagers younger than yourself, you''ve made an interesting choice of friends." Danton was addressing Jane, who now seemed more confused than ever. "But I happen to agree with the young lad." His logic is sound, and he seems to have a good understanding of the cursed situation on Jane''s part. Danton couldn''t shake a sudden feeling, a sense that Danny''s current personality reminds him of himself when Danton was still in his twenties.
After finally biding in her silence, and remembering what Jane was so upset about last night as well, Taylor let out her own purpose to join. "Jane..." Her name call gave her the attention of everyone including Jane Venn. "If you really want us to go home, then we''ll look into it, but only after we''ve done our part to help stop Brightworth. Please let me be your ally."
Jane couldn''t handle any of this. Her arms began to sink and relax, though Jane never felt so disgusted in herself for what she tried to do just now. Taylor thinks Jane wants them to go back home. That couldn''t be farther from the truth! The thought of never seeing them again... Even if they are alive and well but so far away, it was almost as bad as having them killed, almost! After losing the strength in her arms, Jane nearly let go of the grip to her small blades. "I never said I didn''t want your help. I just..." She couldn''t make any point to this. Having Taylor and Danny risk their live wasn''t even her choice to make anymore, but shooing them away, Jane couldn''t muster the courage to her mind anymore.
Taylor''s eyes watered, following Jane sinking down to her knees in tears. Jane didn''t have to finish what she wanted to say. Taylor could feel it, a warming sense of love and protection that hit her like radiation. Jane couldn''t bear the thought of losing either one of them. Even with her mind made up, Jane was still suffering from the fear of it.
"Not again," Danny whispered to himself. Taylor''s forceful brush against his side nearly made him trip.
Taylor sprinted to Jane who wasn''t but a few meters away, and charged her into an embrace. With both of them now sobbing loudly, she wasn''t about to let go.
Danton felt the situation become much more awkward. Even Mainne seemed a little uneasy about it as well. They obviously were missing something to this, but one thing sure was evident. Jane and Taylor really cared that much about each other. If the other two teens aren''t marked, that makes them more vulnerable to damage. Yet they refuse to step away from fighting in the dark zone. "Heh." With a slight smirk, Danton came up with a quick solution to an easy equation. "If you felt that Danny and Taylor were unprotected, you should have just said so." Only Danny was able to pay closer attention to Danton right now, since Jane and Taylor were not done having their moment. "I''ll provide some of the best of our teams to protect Danny and Taylor, and I''ll even make sure they both stay together to ensure their safety. Jane? My personal team will be protecting you. Though we will have to split up into separate units, we won''t fan out too far."
Mainne stepped to Danton''s side, noticing how attached the kids were to each other. It sure wasn''t something she was used to seeing, and even Danton''s reassurance wasn''t breaking up that awkward hug. "Seeing people care for each other that much, and only having the relationship as friends... I''d say these pair of your so called soldiers seems a little too protective."
Danton softly spoke to Mainne under a voice Jane nor Taylor could hear. "I trust you didn''t interrogate them too harshly. I only wanted information after all. You didn''t have to get so upset about it... Yes, I know I was risking my life in the process, but I had to do something for them." While Danton was making his amends, Mainne was zoning out, staring into the embrace Taylor and Jane were engaged in.
"Makes me jealous!"
That makes Mainne jealous? Danton didn''t understand why Mainne was so caught up in Jane''s little reunion, but she seemed too focused on it. With her quietly yet aggressively executed reply to what she couldn''t look away from, Danton was just now learning for the first time that Mainne''s personal life of the past must run deeper than she let on earlier. To think they had been training with each other for over nine years now? Mainne didn''t look angry though. It''s a different kind of jealousy, the kind that makes one more comfortable with the situation. That kind of reminder is right here in front of Mainne. Were it not so different back then...
Mainne shut her eyes to have her flash back privately, and in the middle of it all, she thought back to her heavy questioning for Danny and Taylor about themselves and Jane. They obviously didn''t explain everything she asked for. If they did, she wouldn''t have underestimated the current situation as it is now. But seeing all of this could only mean that a lot happened to all of them in just a month of time. How unlucky can one get in a crisis?
As Taylor and Jane finally calmed down, they continued speaking to each other in broken whispers that Danton couldn''t make out from his distance. He didn''t care what they were saying now though, too focused on a new possible mystery. Jane never once explained in detail about the origin of Danny or Taylor, likely to protect their identity, but she said something about having them go back home, from the airport no less. Danny and Taylor are not from Sprawn Valley; they''re outsiders. After realizing that, several things didn''t make very much sense. Like for instance, why did they come to Sprawn Valley? How they came here was an even bigger question. If Jane trained with them in Fronas Town, that means they would have had to cross the docks in Gulop in the first place, which means they would have had to bypass Blue Port Town to get to Fronas. But Jane said something about showing her friends to Blue Port Town for the very first time, which doesn''t add up. Danton supposed they could have cut through the forest if they were that new to the area, though still, why come all this way just to learn Leray magic? Danny and Taylor didn''t seem as in tune with magic in the first place... Then again, there must be a lot more missing information.
"I know that look," Mainne summoned. Getting Danton out of his trance wasn''t hard to do, but Mainne clearly understood why he was in such a trance. Deep at the core, Danton was quite an excellent detective, though he never majored in the study before. There was a lot to be concerned about though. Jane was cursed with a symbol in a method never used before in all of Leray history, a prototype device with such power from unknown origins. That was more than troubling. "Makes sense that we would need to look into whoever gave Jane that device."
"One thing at a time Mainne," Danton replied. "First we have more pressing matters to attend to. First, we have to take care of business in Alpha Zero. We have to assemble all willing teams to the edge at Lennith City. I also want to ask about the involvement with our other elites too. Cleo, Krysta, Brock, and the others."
"I''m sure they''ll agree."
Danton just barely turned his eyes to Mainne without turning his head, aware of where the next conflict will likely occur. "Mainne? I know you won''t like the idea, but I need you to speak to your mother on behalf of our second situation."
"You can''t possibly mean that."
"Suck it up and just do it." Understanding that Mainne''s mom is a total hassle, it would do them good to use her position on the council to control the word of the media. "The entire world now suspects that we just crowned a marked one as the new champion of Sprawn Valley. Hunters will be coming for Jane in less than a day, which means we have to plan our preparations carefully. Somebody has to control the situation here while we are all gone in the dark zone."
Mainne let out a heavy sigh, proving how much distress her mom could cause in a single conversation. "Fine. I''ll do it. But I hope you know that the whole Jane is marked situation won''t go over well with the people - no matter what you tell them."
"We''ll let the fates decide that. As for now, we have to prepare for battle. After Brightworth is brought in, we can continue the investigation into the illegal prototypes. I had no idea they would come this far out of hand."
"Whatever you say."
Danton turned to his soldiers and addressed the messenger. "Team? We''re about to conduct an emergency meeting for the council in this very room. Get everyone ready, and I mean everyone."
"Yes sir!"
Danny could tell that Danton was about to start the operation somehow. It was time for those two to make up. "Jane? Taylor? You both good now?"
With her face red and much of her makeup ruined, Jane at least had her mind made up after Taylor let her feel what she had. "Yes," she sniffled. "I won''t lose you. I''ll shoot down and destroy any monster that dares threaten any of our lives."
"Good," Danton announced. "I trust you can freshen up for our briefing soon? It will be quite a tense meeting for everyone else, but you three only need to relax and attend the show. I will speak on our behalves."
Jane nodded, agreeing to Danton''s terms. Finally, coming all this way wasn''t for nothing after all. Danton stood there in wait while Taylor helped Jane up. Taylor pulled out her supply sphere, containing somewhere inside dry towels and plenty of cosmetic products. Jane didn''t need to look so drained for any meeting with anybody.
Danny knew he couldn''t help his friends with makeup. Standing here to wait for a briefing wasn''t going to be hard either, but he wondered what exactly would happen in the briefing. At what point in time does everyone actually storm the dark zone? Danny realized one more thing. If they have to start from the northern section of Lennith City, well that means they are going to revisit Lennith City! Jane has a couple of new friends there, though it may seem awkward from Danton''s perspective. Danny knew already that Jane had a lot more memories there than he did, but it still held one of the best moments he ever felt before. Reuniting with Jane after so long, after getting swept up in a conflict. Another thought occurred to him. Danton may have asked Jane a lot of personal questions. Mainne asked him and Taylor similar questions, but they never got around to talking about the Scarlet Cult running crime everywhere... Nah! That shouldn''t matter. Leray gradyent Rontellov should have already reported that by now.
Chapter 50: The Gifted Allies
<02/12/1972 ¨C 13:51 | Eldora Tower Fl. 649, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Long after the emergency meeting was called and moved to a different floor of the tower, Jane felt the full fatigue and exhaustion from her previous battles today. Though all of them were victories, she had battled against five of the most powerful Leray elites in the entire world. The movements and magical usage alone still had Jane''s heart rate up from how exhausted she was, while all of her limbs and muscles flooded with endorphins just to the response of being relaxed. Though Jane felt she could still continue moving around and continue battling, the healing orbs still can''t do much about the factor of daily stamina usage. If one battles so many times in one day regardless of using energy orbs or healing orbs, it can really get to them.
Danny and the others had to move to one of the other floors in the tower as Danton called the emergency meeting of the mage council, as the council leader demanded a floor other than Danton''s chambers. Since everyone was automatically dressed for the occasion to begin with, it didn''t take more than movement and seating arrangements to prepare. Apparently, there are a lot of hidden floors within Eldora Tower that are not just significant to battle arenas. This particular room set up like a massive congress arrangement is but one of many examples, as other storage areas fill in the gaps when necessary.
Taylor sat as close to Jane Venn as possible, but even with instructions not to speak a single word, it was hard to sit still in her own thoughts. Soon, Taylor will be battling inside of the dark zone alongside Jane. Based on the data Jane provided much earlier, she would have to fight at her very best in order to require as little attention for protection as physically possible. After all, if Jane dies protecting her, their intentions will all be in vain. The same could be said in reverse too. Taylor knew she didn''t want to die, and shivered at her imagination of horrible beasts taking the forefront. The monsters could only be imagined right now, as Taylor had yet to see one up close and personal. The same could be said for Danny.
A lot of council members were here before her, the entire room cylindrical with seats forming a perfect circle, though the size of the room itself was relatively small compared to the others. Jane met a few familiar faces since all of the Eldora elites were here as well, but for the most part, much of the council members failed to even address Jane or get her attention. Danny and Taylor had to be kept in the background since they were not members of the core or experienced enough wielders. Danton naturally had to sit nearby Jane, since he was representing her case in the council today.
Though he was already standing up ready for the next question, General Tazo of the General Army decided to direct his question towards Jane, filling the background with silence while they waited on her answer. "And what of the intentions of miss Jane Venn? What do you have to gain by going to the restricted zone?" Tazo directed his question and expression straight to Jane''s eyes, making sure she was paying enough attention to the severity of her own crimes. It was already well known at least to the army and a few council members that Jane was marked. Danton was the only one who successfully vouched for her not to be arrested just yet.
Perking up to speak clearly, Jane simply repeated and explained her desire to assist the General Army with their primary objective long hindered since the last month. "My intentions? My first priority is to help apprehend professor Brightworth in order to shut down the dark zone and restore the Outback if it is possible. And afterwards, I may be able to focus on the matter of reversing the other problem I''m involved with. I will comply with whatever orderly tasks that need to be done in the meantime."
Good answer. Danton at first worried whether or not General Tazo would see Jane as some stupid young girl based on her looks and what she would say next, but she appeared to know exactly what to say and how to say it just as they practiced. The thought alone reminded Danton in distraction of how close he came to destroying the young girl after misjudging her several times in a row.
After Tazo took his seat, Ms. Gleen of the mage council stood up, waiting for her audience to prepare to hear her speech, but given what was already said, she changed the words along her mind. "Sir Danton? If I may be so bold as to ask, why has this girl been given such incredible permission and authority, such favorable treatment, when in fact her marking warrants a fate worse than ordinary imprisonment?"
Already standing from before, Danton shifted in place as he now had to adjust to one of the tougher questions that was expected from him earlier. Glenn is still in her fifties, but has a solid position in one of the law firms of Eldora''s agents. Naturally, legality would be her first concern. "Whether or not the innocence of Jane Venn is weight enough to decide her fate in a court of law, the General Army has immediate concerns and priority regarding military matters with designation Alpha Zero. It is my understanding that Ms. Venn has both incredible power and well-suited intention of helping in such a delicate operation. I will use her signet as a means of drilling straight through the territory dangerous to our troops, while her fate will be decided straight after the operation."
"Absolute heresy!" Gleen cried. "I''ve never heard of anything more absurd!" Her chanting got the crowd around her mumbling louder amongst each other, and Glenn took off from there. "You have authority over a marked one since when? And what grounds would be given should your executive clause suddenly expand or extend to protect the living weapon that could cause us such great harm?"
Danton tightened his face, and he noticed immediately the reaction Jane was giving in her expression. It must have been much worse for her. These people don''t even see her as human anymore. Everyone is afraid to death of marked people because of the potential power of war they alone hold over magic in any uncontrolled environment. But in reality, she is just a young girl afraid of a lot of things, brave as she is to fight for what she believes in. Danton held his tongue but for a second, partially paralyzed by the memory of the fact that his very way of thinking was about the same just an hour ago! "On the grounds of our oversight!" he projected aggressively. "That''s what." Danton would have authority of this regardless. Alpha Zero is now a level five danger zone, and that means the General Army has administrative decisions over the matter, regardless of the council objectives, but Gleen wants Danton to use such a clause. Good try, but it won''t be enough. "You really think that everyone in Eldora Tower doesn''t feel the same way as others? Being marked is a scary thing, but that can be said for the people around the subject, and the subject themselves given the circumstances. I''m well aware that you have quite a high authority to take a delicate case into your own capable hands, but that doesn''t mean you are prepared to accept this as we have been."
"I beg your pardon?" Gleen choked.
Danton continued with his newly discovered trump card. "There are heavy matters of this very case related to other unsolved mysteries and crimes going on all around the nation right now. What this girl has been through happens to be a part of several ongoing investigations undertaken by more than one group of agencies and even a few gradyents. Therefore, our staff is prepared to temporarily shut down our business in order to take head of the investigations should they tie together any further. But if you lock the marked one up in some prison, I can assure you that such investigations would come to a grinding halt. Your very action unprepared and unbalanced upon haste would only disrupt the natural foundation of which the entire council is founded upon. Furthermore, options to remove the potent symbol are currently under our capable scopes. Those are the grounds I stand upon to attempt flexed authority over this case, as I call for the announcement of action to be taken within the General Army. The subject did violate several protocols to bypass several security sectors of this tower, but mark my words. The entire mess that has been made will be my responsibility. I have high courage in the matter, but also realize that I may fall a long way should these decisions backfire, and that is all I have to say about this."
Gleen, frozen by the elegant speech eventually sat down with a face of defeat and a stare off into space that failed to comprehend any quick rebuttal. Her very attempt to destroy Danton for defending something so dangerous was taken from and used against her. If she were to battle for council custody of Jane Venn now, any side problems that occur can severely penalize several members within the council, ultimately removing her from the position here. The other members won''t dare take the risk anymore. Danton gets to keep his thing going now for as long as he can actually handle the pressure of the national investigations. It was a well-played statement and battle of words, but Danton came out on top.
"Very well," he replied. Tazo advised the council about the importance of his final decision while giving Danton the full authority he needed over the situation. "I move to place subject Jane Venn under temporary watch of the General Army until the Brightworth matter has been resolved. Sir Danton will remain in charge of a majority of the current operation as well as the tactical decisions placed upon her. However, due to the nature of what unfolded today, Jane Venn will not be receiving the title or status of championship, nor a promotion in the Leray license. Danton? I shall let you take it from here. This meeting is adjourned."
Voices peeked up from all around the room in discussion. Danton had done it, obtained what he needed to make this work in accordance with the law. Not only that, the entire General Army has no choice but to listen to him right now, and Jane will be in place under him. The meeting went exactly as it needed to, if not better than he expected. Now it was time to bring Jane aside and inform her of the next task.
After getting out of her seat, Jane met again with Sir Danton, who signaled her friends to gather around while he discusses the next phase of the plan. "You did well for yourself Jane." After letting Jane thank Danton for his modesty, he continued. "Are you ready to head to the dark zone and fight deadly creatures that will likely kill us all?"
Not very encouraging, but Danton was just as afraid as everyone is here. Jane replied with the slight effect of her own encouragement. "Believe it so, I am ready, but it won''t be so bad. Trust me! We won''t fail!" She was still wearing the same battle dress sphere as before, given no time to change. Jane didn''t feel an urgency to change either. The dress sphere looked good on her and felt very comfortable to wear. Seeing as she may end up in another battle in the dark zone today, it was necessary not to change out of anything just yet.
Once again could he see those bright and determined eyes, those very dangerous and sentencing eyes that was about as threatening as the symbol hiding in her hand. With those ready, Danton knew he didn''t have to worry as much, since Jane takes this so seriously. Danton pulled out his official Leray license card, not really showing its exact contents to Jane''s line of sight. "I won''t give you any updated promotional status since you cheated to defeat me in battle. Though as I am still impressed that it happened regardless. I will grant you the nine hundred thousand credit reward to your card electronically. This will give you the chance today to go with your friends to our most expensive Leray shop and stock up on as much armaments as you possibly can."
"Wow!" Danny expressed. Finally, things were turning up, just as he made it to Jane and Danton in time to hear the good news. "Nine hundred thousand! We could buy the whole store with that!"
"I doubt that," Danton returned. "Vascal Wares has a contracted deed that is worth much more than that amount, though it is the best place to shop for the best equipment around. I''m also editing the current personal status on all three of your cards to EDS. The Emergency Drive Status affects your ability to engage in legal Leray battles until that status is lifted, and thus provides automatic immunities against strikes. None of you must waste any time in battling or training to prepare for this operation, though you may still freely use magic without invoking a Siriean dome."
"I didn''t know such a thing existed," Taylor alerted. "When does it wear off?"
"When I tell it to." Danton needed not to explain it much further, as the design was quite simple with the cards. "I want all three of you shopping for supplies that will help you in the dark zone. Be mindful that using elemental protection will be totally useless in Alpha Zero."
"Okay," Jane agreed.
Unfinished, Danton forewarned her about her other status. "And be sure to keep your head down! Wear a cloak or something. You''re a public enemy now, and anybody on the street will recognize you as a marked one. We already have enough to deal with damage control after that stunt you pulled in front of a live feed."
Jane''s face blushed, remembering the mistake well. Why did she even try it? Was it to signal for Danny and Taylor to rush their ass up here? Or did Jane feel it was the only last resort option to drop Danton''s guard? What would have happened differently if Jane shot down the cameras before revealing her mark?
"No use looking back on it with any regrets, cause it''s in the past now. But keep out of sight."
"We won''t let her get into trouble," Taylor promised. Her assurance soon began to piss off Jane, though she didn''t say anything just yet. It was her own fault anyway for showing her symbol to the whole world, though Taylor would make sure that nobody harasses her about anything.
"Good. I shall see you three in Lennith City then. Our troops will commence in teleportation in just a few hours. However, even for you lot, using teleportation magic is strictly prohibited, so you must go by bike and make it snappy."
Jane glanced down slightly in shame. "I don''t actually know how to use teleportation just yet."
"It''s best that you don''t," Danton summarized. "Only officials in the council, league, gradyents, and special agents are allowed to use them, but well organized criminals use such powers as well, usually through symbols since they don''t know the ordinary process. So just be careful. I shouldn''t have to expect any delays, so I wish to see you all before sundown."
Jane, Taylor, and Danny all glared at Danton and nearly shouted the phrase "Yes sir!" Though it wasn''t necessary for non-militants to show that particular form of respect, Danton allowed it for now. If only assembling and formulating the teams together were as easy to work with as Jane''s team was...
Chapter Theme Shift: Telnik ~ Radioactive Sandwitch (Spices)
After the short briefing and run down from Danton''s personnel, Jane''s entire team had to be carefully escorted out of the building through a back entrance. The media were all jammed up near the front of the tower with guards to block physical entry. The story about the last competitor winning the championship while being marked had obviously caused quite a stir in and around everyone from the entire city, but as Danton already suggested, Jane was safe so long as she kept her face hidden.
Wearing an over-cloak with its own built-in coat over her original dress sphere, Jane looked like the type of person not to bother, accompanied by Danny and Taylor, who wore no such disguises. Since they were never affiliated on national television, their names would be clear. Though against Jane''s better argument, anybody in the city could end up accidentally identifying her aloud should they remember who Jane is and who her friends are. So instead, the three of them pretended to be their own separate person going their own separate ways.
As for the first stop? Vascal Wares! Known in Eldora City as the place to exercise in high-grade Leray shopping, this well designed facility would finally allow the three companions to fit past the automatic sliding doors and into the store. By this point, Jane and her friends naturally split up further to search the place, but Vascal Wares was entirely underestimated by all of them. The interior decorating, items floating all around, and the overall design of the store was breath taking.
Danny''s eyes struggled to capture the potential right in front of him. This was more like a city of items on sell, and yet the customer population was so low to provide this utopia. Jane already agreed to pay for Danny and Taylor''s items after meeting up at the counter, and that means that almost everything here was in his price range. After lugging around worn out equipment since the start of his own journey, Danny finally had a way of upgrading not just his gear, but his entire battling style. With all of the options in front of him all on different shelves, this would take a while.
She had to find and carry around a basket to hold what she would bring to the register. Taylor was already aware of the strange storage system people use in Sprawn Valley. The supply spheres only compress and store various items into that happens to belong to the owner, or items that may not be registered into the Leray system. For items registered and owned by anyone other than the user, their supply sphere will refuse to store those items into the sphere, thus creating an automatic anti-theft system. Taylor would have to have all of her wares bought and paid for before her supply sphere would ever accept them.
After hovering around for only five minutes, Taylor made short work of the support orbs and spell bombs from that section''s shelf. She stocked up completely on top quality grade healing orbs, stamina orbs, MP Boosters, and defensive spell bombs that offer temporary elemental resistances in Leray fights. The basket was already full of spherical devices, Taylor basically running the place completely dry of healing and stamina orbs.
Once she got to the weapons section, Taylor had various ideas implanted into her head from the awesome advertisement in front of her. There were entire walls devoted to specific types of weapons all with different price ranges, but one thing that stood out in front of her was a long pair of daggers similar in shape and style to the kind Jane uses. These daggers however appeared to be made out of some type of solidified crystal that was ever translucent and shiny when casting light. The daggers reminded Taylor about Jane so much, and she wondered if this would make a valuable gift either for herself or for her friend...
Jane already has a good pair of daggers, and may not buy new ones. With the thought, Taylor was sure that her considerations were far incomplete, but the blades in front of her gave her so many ideas that she could personally utilize in Leray battling. Taylor always wanted to try out fighting with Jane''s style in the first place. With such short blades, wouldn''t it be harder to damage others?Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Taylor picked up the glass-curved knives in front of her, holding them up in surprise. They''re a lot heavier than they look! The weight of each one would slow her down until she could be trained on how to use them. Taylor held up each blade together in front of her face, imagining herself as the wielder while winning battles the same way Jane amazingly won her championship. Perhaps the best part is that their slight blue crystal reflections basically matched her other blue and white dress sphere. 22,500 credits was the asking price from the shelf, and the description for each blade wasn''t bad either.
Glass Fangs | Slashing Damage Level: 10 | Piercing Damage Level: 7.5 | Physical Mobility +15% | Physical Damage +10%
Taylor''s reading allowed her to catch onto something she nearly missed from behind her hands. On the same shelf rested a medium sized pair of black fingerless gauntlets that apparently come in the same pack for the blades she was holding now. She''s supposed to buy these daggers with those gauntlets. The gauntlets appeared to serve as some kind of Leray-based protection to the hands, though were fingerless to allow the user plenty of opportunity to use their hands as well. Though the color of each glove was pitch black, they had unique gems of a small size sewed on each knuckle, giving the package deal a new meaning entirely.
Dark Rangers | Resist fire +15% | Resist cold +15% | Resist Electrical +8% | Resist Wind +4% | Resist Slashing +10%
Taylor tried on the gloves, making sure the fit was just right. Not only were the gauntlets nice and tight on her wrists, but the bottom section covered further down the underside of her forearm more than an ordinary glove would have. These were perfect for Leray protection, and the daggers added into that really made for a good deal. After Taylor put both of those items into her basket, she continued glancing all around the weapons section for something else more personal to her own style.
No need for long blades; too heavy and hard to handle... No maces, no hammers, or other blunt objects... No guns or blasters; their accuracy could always be exploited one way or another... When Taylor entered the section with all of the bows and crossbow weapons, she again became glued to the idea that she needs to own all of them. Ever since her training in Dakota academy took off, she learned to fire from a real bow and arrow for the first time, and each time she used one, it was always so satisfying. Though the weapon has a similar problem with being easier to dodge at a long range, bows in Sprawn Valley normally hold back in damage intentionally and are therefore less destructive than the heavier weapons. There is something much different about using her own strength to pull back on a tough string to launch a projectile correctly, different from that to a blaster. Anybody could use a gun in this world, but nobody can just pick up a bow and immediately become a master.
With her interest already peaked, Taylor''s eyes eventually met the Marine Eagle. Made with the most amazing art and craftsmanship Taylor had ever seen, the large sized bow with the arrow tip attached to the side prevented her from blinking. The crystal tip of the arrow closely resembled the same crystal used in the spell called Crystal Arrow. This crystal gem had a nice cyan blue glow on the inside, giving credit to the name of the weapon with its ocean colored essence. The wood of the bow was made out of a material that Taylor never felt or identified before, but with its dark grey painted color on the wood, the colors contrasted themselves and complemented her nicely. Priced at 55,000 credits this time, Taylor still went ahead and picked up the bow off the shelf, and carried it into her hand for study.
The arrow was actually made out of metal, except for the crystal core granting the weapon its natural magical potential. Taylor knew she could learn to do some heavy hitting with this thing in no time at all. Despite the high price, this was worth it!
Marine Eagle | Blunt Damage Level: 4.5 | Piercing Damage Level: 9 | Physical Mobility -10% | Magical Damage +5.5% | Arrowhead Speed +100%
Despite her decision already being made, Taylor noted the prices of most of her items, then decided to head to the register before she ended up bankrupting Jane in an instant. It took her a while to find that register with the store size so large and massive, but when she did, Danny was already there... and he had undergone a total wardrobe change.
Denim jeans of the darkest shade of blue wouldn''t normally be advertised as part of an actual dress sphere, though they did exist, and this piece was a very expensive style since the interior was much easier to feel around in. Danny simply bought the most expensive looking jeans in the entire store. Since he was already wearing new clothes, that means he already found his weapon and made use of the changing rooms. With that speed set aside, Danny also bought and changed into a t-shirt that traded colors of a dark blue and pure black in a diagonal direction, complementing the art of a white circular flame drawing on the front. But what completed the outfit was the addition of his new black leather jacket.
The jacket refracted some of the fluorescent lights in the store with its natural coat of polish, though it was for obvious reasons an expensive style. Taylor tried not to say anything, less the words that escape her now turn into something inaudible. The suit Danny was wearing now was excellent, by far the hottest thing he found since they both swam to this rock.
"Hey Taylor," Danny greeted. After noticing that she indeed did a lot of shopping for weapons, he naturally had to grab his basket and show off his latest addition to the team. Taylor hovered in for a closer look while Danny pulled out a metal magical hammer that was naturally the size of the entire basket itself. The Dynamon Hammer as it was called housed several small metallic crystals on the blunt edge of the device. Obviously the thing was capable of a lot more despite the appearance making it seem like an oversized steel hammer. The artwork on it was highly impressive as well, and Danny made sure he showed it off to Taylor completely with a few test swings.
Dynamon Hammer | Blunt Damage Level: 9.6 | Magical Amplification Level: 6.7 | Physical Mobility -30%
Taylor immediately felt less nervous. With Danny focusing on his new devices in the most predictable way, the situation itself was much less awkward. It made sense that he''d get excited about a magic hammer. Danny was still hanging on to the concept of Leray magic as much as Taylor was, even if that did not reflect the same connection Jane has to Leray magic.
After putting away the hammer, Danny pulled out a long bladed sword that seemed quite normal looking with the exception of an extra curved blade tip at the very end meeting the edge by a perpendicular angle. It''s a T-2 type sword, a blade with an extra (much smaller) curved blade mounted at the end. Made only for slashing, the end deals blunt damage instead of piercing damage based on the design if used for a jab. With a tiny crystal core attached to that same end piece, the blade could probably do more than it appeared to.
HT-T2 Mark 55 | Blunt Damage Level: 3.5 | Slashing Damage Level: 8.1 | Magical Amplification Level: 7 | Physical Mobility -5% | HP Endurance +5%
Though Danny didn''t yet advertise their prices, Taylor guessed they too would be quite high. Eventually Danny put away the sword, afraid he may accidentally destroy something nearby in the store. At the same time, Jane come rounding a corner with a basket full of orbs. Like Taylor, she stocked up on a lot of spherical supplies, but decided to store them on top. After meeting up with Danny and Taylor, Jane figured everyone was ready, but was patient enough to figure out what everyone got. After having her friends show off every new thing they were about to buy with Jane''s money, Jane decided not to be sneaky herself. There wouldn''t be much shame in them blowing a lot of credits when she too was about to try the same stunt.
"It''s compact now, so I can''t show you just yet," Jane explained. She began referring to a new choice of dress sphere protection she pulled from the shelf. Its design combined what appeared to be a normal looking dress outfit with metallic plating in specific areas, such as the lower wrists, kneecaps, and shoulder arcs, which balanced the looks with heavy protection. The metal suit almost resembled a different version of the electronic protection gear worn by the security detail for Danton, something often called power armor. Being an entire suit in one piece, Jane couldn''t just whip it out and hold it down without both free hands, but the stat readout was easily visible. "It''s a dress sphere designed for heavy protection. I''ll be wearing it for battles after this dark zone issue is taken care of." Jane immediately began to lower her voice, realizing there were plenty of other people and customers nearby browsing for their goods.
Sphere Gauge E-4F Armor | Resist Physical +25% | Resist Magical +8% | Resist fire +23% | Resist cold +2% | Resist Electrical +6% | Resist Earth +34% | Resist Wind +%11 | Invocation Time -10% | Magical Damage +4%
Jane also stocked up on tons of healing orbs, MP orbs, and attack type spell bombs of various types. Trying to save herself some left over money, Jane decided that this was all she was getting. There was some time left over to compliment Danny''s new attire, as Jane played in her mind how well it may be affecting Taylor''s heart, but she didn''t seem nervous or deterred, despite Jane catching Taylor staring at Danny at least in short bursts of moments. Since they were on a timer, Jane decided to give her team hustle to checkout.
After she took her card to the register to ring up everyone''s stuff, it was just a nervous wait to see whether or not the clerk there would recognize a single one of them. Luckily however, throughout the entire five minutes it took to sort everything out, the clerk didn''t act suspicious at all, and Jane''s face remained well hidden from the back angle. Jane played it safe and stood behind her friends, having already transferred a load amount of credits onto their cards to ring things up on her own behalf. Sorting out the potential supply sphere glitch from that would have to come after leaving the store.
After spending a total of 158,530 Cr in one go, Jane''s card was left with 849,180 credits in reserve, which was saying a lot for what Jane wanted to have. Taylor ended up asking Jane how to properly read the punctuation of the credit system, which quickly became a thing Jane knew was easy to get confused about since they were both outsiders. While both paid attention during their walk out of the front exit, Jane summarized. Apparently, the use of commas in numbers exceeding three digits is common in the language system outside of Sprawn Valley, but a similar system is set up to count the specific currency for credits in this nation. It''s almost exact, and rather simple to remember in Sprawn Valley. When counting credits, only five digit numbers or higher in credit amounts get comma marks in writing or in text. Thus, something of an example of 4510 credits would get no interior punctuation, but one more digit above that, the first comma goes to separate the first two digits from the next three. With six digits, the separator comma splits to show some hundred thousand credits, then one million, then ten million, and so on. To see the price tags here using commas after the first two digits is the very reason why the tiny little difference in detail bothered Taylor; Jane knew as much. Since this is probably the one and only first store they''ve been to selling such high price range items, the confusion is understandable.
And yet, the only exception to this punctuation occurs only on the report generated on anybody''s Leray license card, or the license of another person''s identity. The electronic system doesn''t use commas as it confuses the script. Therefore, if Jane were to read out her credit count on her card right now, it would show up as:
Jane Venn | Age: 16 | Graduated facility: Dakota + Lennith | Last Ev. Score: 10 | Current Status: Advanced Leray wielder | EDS Mode Active | Credits: 849180 Cr.
Notice how the credit count doesn''t have punctuation? Jane pointed out to Taylor that this is the only exception known so far. The EDS mode protocol was activated by Danton, so that will be a new thing to show up too when showing the license to anyone. With everything now stocked up and their confusion on something so meaningless taken care of, the time to head out would be now. Jane knew that she was supposed to regroup at the bridge exit from Route 787 and head back there. Making it back to Lennith city before dark isn''t going to be easy.
Chapter Theme Shift: Walking on Strings ~ Radioactive Sandwitch
After rallying back towards J-H road with a brief separation, Danny and Taylor soon noticed that Jane already made it there, standing near the connective floor changing from light grass to hard stone. They had decided to split up for ten minutes for a small break to meet back here again, thus it was expected. But Jane was also speaking to someone unknown, both persons wearing a hooded robe to conceal themselves.
Jane double-checked that the value and data was correct before handing over the Leray storage card to the stranger. "You remember the target?" Jane refreshed softly. "You need to deliver the 8900 credits on this card to Fredric Spence in Tilsit port. He won''t understand what it is for, but I''m paying his debt either way."
"You don''t need to remind me. I don''t mess up in my line of work."
The lady about the same height as Jane had a lower voice and a passive aggressive attitude, but her service was perfect for the task. Jane already prepared a temporary credit-holding card to deliver a certain amount of funds to a specific person in Tilsit Port, one with theft-prevention security built in. With her needs in Alpha Zero, using a traveling merchant would be the best method of getting this done. The lady charged Jane an extra 2500 credits just for her service of delivery, but it was all necessary in the end. Jane never forgot that small debt she owed to Fredric Spence, the sailor she stole from during that uncontrolled ride to Monoc Port. Jane took about half of the money off the card just to afford specific battle gear to make it past Route 96. Had she not done that, Jane was sure she would have over three strikes or too many losses, but the decision to take that money was Jane''s. Now it was time to pay back that man, not that he''d be expecting it anytime soon.
After seeing the mysterious person take off towards Route 787 without Jane, Danny made it close enough to use his indoor voice and figure out what was going on. "Who was that?"
Jane''s body flinched at suddenly detecting another''s presence behind her, but when Jane turned around, it was only Danny, with Taylor standing by him. "Just an errand girl. Are we all set to go?"
Taylor nodded, but wondered why Jane was so quick to change the subject and avoid giving a real answer. She didn''t look that guilty of anything though. Taylor left the thought alone and prepared all of her equipment, making sure she had everything she wanted in and out of her personal supply sphere. Since she and Danny were to use their license cards to buy Jane''s items to avoid her detection there at the register, Jane''s items technically belonged to Danny for a few moments. That means by the laws of nature of ordinary supply spheres, Jane couldn''t beam up her own items, since the system has no other way of detecting that they belonged to her, but Jane knew of a hack that was already pulled off just before splitting form the ten-minute break.
By using the release button on the supply sphere orb while aiming at an object in physical space, while the settings are switched to release mode with no other target in mind, the user''s blue beam of repulsion energy held on that specific object for a total time of ten long seconds actually generates a systematic action that releases the object from ownership. With the reverse process, without official ownership given to an existing physical object, holding down the capture beam on that object stores the item in phase after ten seconds while assigning new ownership properties to that individual. The exception to this rule only includes cheap healing orbs and MP boosters. The reason has much to do with the complications that would otherwise be caused during any emergency situation warranting the need for those orbs. As a result, the supply spheres disregard ownership settings of those very specific objects after purchases, though nothing more. With the Marine Eagle attached to her back, Taylor felt as ready as ever.
Danny checked his equipment as well, sticking with the new blade he bought recently; the HT-T2 Mark 55, nicknamed as the Seeker T-Sword. Danny worried in the back of his head whether it was acceptable to buy something that has been remodeled fifty-five times. All he knew about the blade is its ability to amplify certain magic while wielding the blade, one of its only specialties, but Danny felt prepared in other areas too, after touching up a bit of his magical training from last night, where he secretly trained with magic as Jane did. He never encountered a real monster from the dark zone before, and the way Jane looked when he and Taylor found her proved they were tough.
Taylor stepped a little ahead of Danny, holding her supply sphere in hand. She didn''t show the slightest bit of worry or fear. "It''s amazing that I can fit all of these healing orbs into the supply sphere."
Jane glanced around, engaging just to have anything to talk about. "You''re still on about that? I guess it would seem amazing to someone who doesn''t come from Sprawn Valley." Danny was basically forced into that long tutorial of supply sphere ownership, meaning it was something he needed to learn for Jane to have her items back. Taylor simply got to watch, amazed by the simplicity of the design.
"What do the upgrades allow us to do though?" Taylor referred back to a moment easily forgotten, where Danton upgraded all of their personal supply spheres in a flash before departing from Eldora Tower. His explanation of the new upgrade made little sense however.
"You need to learn to pay attention," Jane lectured. "With the new upgrades, we can store more items, but also items of larger mass as well. It may be possible to fit an entire closet in one of those things, even if that closet itself counted as one item."
Taylor''s eyes sparkled wondering about all of the latest wardrobes she could buy with some more of Jane''s money, and the convenience of carrying all of that around in a lightweight compact sphere sounded too cool to be true. Danny would probably just want to store a buffet or something.
Danny snickered quietly at Taylor''s amazement. How long had it been since he''s seen her so happy and focused? Actually, now that he thought about it, Taylor always seemed to be engaged about everything. The thought about her returning home to her parents was the only thing that shied her away from being this happy. As for himself, Danny felt more than ever before. Thinking back on everything before that accident on the Tidal Max, the reverse was true at that time. So easy going and relaxed... It was hard to imagine how or why he felt focused and serious about Leray magic and battling. No... It wasn''t about that, right?
Danny wasn''t sure what it was that made him more capable than before. Perhaps it was the collection of everything around him, everything that happened so far. From Taylor falling off a cliff and nearly dying from his stupid mistakes, to learning dangerous magic, to befriending one of the most unusual girls on the entire planet, so much has happened. Anything could have done this, or perhaps it was the sum of everything he''s ever felt so far. The thought of Nyar came to mind though, without much thought for why. If Danny knew about all of this magic and the people here sooner, things could have been so different. But now, he is stuck here trying to protect and procure a future for Taylor to replace one already so bleak. At the same time, Jane and all of the citizens here need his attention on this Alpha Zero matter. Upon taking some charge of the situation, this just felt like the first right thing he has done in all the time he could remember, something that would always pay off to his conscious.
There was another bit of detail that felt bizarre too; a fragment of memory Danny barely recalled during the incident on the Tidal Max, a washing of intense familiarity from an invisible voice he heard, just as that unusual green light of magic appeared in the sky. While brief, for just a moment, Danny could recall being in some strange metal room he never experienced before, but no matter how much he thought back to it, it made no further sense. Seeing no further answer on his hallucination, he dismissed it without a second thought.
Danny came to another realization. Jane will be protecting the two of them in the dark zone, but can Jane really protect two people at once? The thought of losing Taylor to some brainless monster wasn''t something he could accept. Danny automatically realized he would have his hands full as well just to go an extra mile and protect Taylor from all immediate harm in Alpha Zero. Lately it seems that Leray magic can be really dangerous and lethal. When first learning about magic, everyone made no fuss about the possible dangers, even though it had much to do with using an illegal format of magic. But then criminals started showing up to cause harm, and illegal spell bombs and symbols ruined the picture too. Even against uncle Nyar''s warnings, Danny continued to learn Leray magic, only to further his protection. Nyar he was right all along about digging himself a larger hole by getting more involved. Despite what others claim, Leray magic isn''t getting any safer to mess around with. Maybe that is why it is so hard to enjoy magic.
"I think Danton and his team have already left using teleportation. We''ll want to be back in Lennith before dark," Jane reiterated.
Complaining with a heavy sigh, Danny stretched his upper body. "Why can''t we learn how to teleport?"
"I don''t know how to do it," Jane confessed. "And even if I did, there''s a whole other process in hiding the destination signature from nearby agents. Teleporting isn''t legal for the three of us."
"Hey! You three!"
Jane reset the position of her arms. She wasn''t exactly ready to fight just yet. Even with her daggers hidden in her battle suit dress sphere used in the championship, the hood hiding much of her face also made it difficult to access the weapons. Jane however kept her hands off herself just in case it was a false alarm. Whoever was yelling at them didn''t sound very friendly just now...
Jane evaluated the situation again. It took another moment to make out the figure approaching them. It''s Rontellov! He was already walking towards them, pushing all three of their bicycles tied together for support. Jane had completely forgotten about their broken bikes on the way over here.
"Rontellov!" Danny answered. Seeing Rontellov wave one more time to his call, Danny knew that none of them were in any danger. It wasn''t certain however if Rontellov knew about Jane''s symbol just yet. If he did, then he wouldn''t be acting so friendly right now, Danny thought.
"Danny! Taylor! Jane! I got all of your bikes fixed two hours ago."
"Did you watch the championships?" Danny asked.
Rontellov answered while rubbing the back of his neck, letting go of the bikes to hand them over to the youngsters. "I saw most of it. But as soon as Jane''s final battle started, I had to attend to other matters. Guess I have to be better about taking time off in advance. Anyway, did you win?" Rontellov waited for Jane''s answer, but then pointed out how odd it was for her to be wearing a hood in this weather. Winter was still here, but it was rather warm today with a light wind. "What''s with the hood? Catch a cold?"
Jane was hesitant to answer, unsure of where to even begin. Rontellov was still friendly, but that''s only because he didn''t know about the symbol... Still, as far as winning goes, Jane can''t really call herself a winner from the way she went about that battle. "I lost." Her admission made Danny and Taylor look back at her, trying to read the situation better. "But I''ll beat him eventually."
"You seem to be handling it well..." A mild smirk crossed Rontellov''s face. "I warned you that Danton was another level of toughness. Anyway, I got these things fixed, and now you can use it to travel again."
"Thanks Rontell." Assuming he wouldn''t mind the shorter nickname, Jane walked up and took her bike, allowing her friends to separate the connective rope to mount onto their own. Jane however decided to lose the hood too, since it was already warming her up too fast. Nobody currently in Route 787 would recognize her anyway. Nobody else but herself and Rontellov was around the J-H road.
"Don''t mention it. Something''s going on though. I don''t know exactly what, but I''m told that Route 787 is not to be monitored today."
Confused by his explanation, Taylor asked for an elaboration. "What does that mean?"
"It means that gradyents and agents are not supposed to patrol there today. They''re pulling as many people as they can for something. I''ve never seen behavior like this from the council at all. Just be careful if you three are about to head back to Lennith City."
Jane, Danny, and Taylor all exchanged looks for a moment, wondering about the current situation in Lennith City. That army could already be assembled at this point and in waiting, and they had to leave now. Luckily, Rontellov was a bit eager to leave as well, only with the intentions to learn the whole truth.
"I''ll have to get back to it though. I don''t want to get left out of whatever''s happening in the council. See to it that you all remain safe."
"I''ll keep that promise," Jane agreed. It felt wrong just to talk to Rontellov right now, after lying to him about the symbol and everything else. He would be pissed off too once he finds out what that truth is, but there isn''t any time right now to explain it to him anyway. "Let''s get going team."
Taylor and Danny began pedaling with haste, edging Jane to catch up and ride faster. The time was already 3:25 P.M. In just a few more hours, the sun will set. Even on bikes, getting back to Lennith City will be a while. Then again, Taylor just remembered once more about her license card being put into Emergency Drive Status. Any Leray wielder asking them to battle would simply have to be turned down. This might make things a lot faster than the last time. With any luck, the trip back should be uneventful too.
Chapter 51: E-7 Mark 64
<02/12/1972 ¨C 16:15 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
The sunny breeze of the shiny ocean returned to Jane and her friends as they flew through the mild wind heading on the bridge of Route 787. With all of them mounted on their bicycles, it was a smooth ride of pedaling and coasting down the half-empty road towards Lennith City, and though there were several passing travelers, nobody stopped the three cycling on the road.
Though the afternoon was becoming late, there was plenty to enjoy from the sound of the water below them. Taylor took every sensation to heart and mind in order to let herself relax, smelling some of the salt from Hollifax Ocean. She had been pedaling with Danny and Jane for almost an hour now, and there was still plenty of road to continue on. Jane estimated earlier that it would take them about four hours to reach the next city if they remain uninterrupted. While there wasn''t much else to do, Taylor felt the comfort of serenity while it lasted. Danny on the other hand remained in a talkative mood.
"So, what do you want to do after?" he questioned. For a second of silence, Danny deducted that Taylor wasn''t paying too close attention, but she did realize by now how out of tune she was.
"Huh?"
Danny elaborated, "After we take care of the dark zone, what do you want to do next? I haven''t given it much thought myself."
"Oh." Taylor glanced at the ground in thought. Having no idea how to answer him, Taylor decided to share her level of uncertainty. "I''m not actually sure." So much has happened in little time, and that question was more destructive than she would have hoped. Ever since leaving from road J-H, Taylor played that scene back to herself over again. Jane releasing the light and power of her symbol on national television... It didn''t make sense as to why it was necessary. Though Jane already took her cloak off upon departing to the road, none of the travelers passing by recognized any of them. It''s for the best, but it begs the question of how many people in Sprawn Valley actually know about this.
Meanwhile, Danny was thinking too far ahead. There really isn''t anything to be done after Alpha Zero is taken care of. Taylor can''t go back home. Nyar would likely just send her back himself. Plus, for all of this time to pass, she did not hear anything about this elaborate plan of Danny''s to help her out of the horrible situation back home. Stuck in a poisonous chain of thought, Jane noticed their utter silence fading in afterwards.
"If Leray magic wasn''t your thing, you should have spoken up sooner."
Taylor and Danny both glanced forward at Jane, who slowed her pace slightly to make sure her voice carried behind her. Though it wasn''t her business what they were talking about, she was too bored to leave them alone.
Danny''s face turned serious. Jane was referring back to what happened in the hotel room in Eldora during their first night visit. Not only did Jane and Taylor argue about which one of them was more reckless, she also put up a point that must still bother Jane today. Danny once said that the life of Leray magic isn''t for him or Taylor, despite the fact that using that magic is really cool. After what happened since, he couldn''t be as certain as before. Going back to the life before ever arriving in Sprawn Valley... It would be an interesting opportunity, since he had indeed remained stuck here. After relying on magic powers for so long, leading a life without them became that much more challenging to imagine. Danny made a promise to Nyar to meet him at the Junon airport, but here he is riding away in the opposite direction.
He was helping Jane, just as Taylor was, but his question was just as effective on Taylor as it was for himself. What did he wish to do after this was all over? Taylor still probably has some strong negative feelings about returning to her own parents...
"Tough thing telling the truth," Jane added. Neither of her friends were saying much right now, and their deep trance of thought could be felt from here. "I sure messed that one up several times myself."
"Jane," Danny started. "I don''t think that Leray magic is lame. I just don''t know what kind of career I can make out of it, or if I even want to. Taylor and I both have homes to return to." His words slowed Jane''s pace even more. He could tell that Jane wanted to stop her bike completely, sensing the hesitation to follow her.
Taylor added in the urgency to stay with Jane longer just after Danny''s explanation. "I''m going to help you first Jane. We can worry about going home later."
"That''s fine with me, as long as you don''t get hurt."
Danny tried to finish what he was about to say, after Taylor had cut him off early. "But even if we do go back home, I don''t know what to do then. Taylor? I was hoping you might have an idea."
You''re supposed to be the one with the idea you moron! She didn''t yell at him, but Taylor at least wanted to whack Danny upside the head for forgetting about his promise he made back in the Gulop region of Sprawn Valley. He promised to have some sort of solution by now, and he is asking her now instead. Holding her emotions back, Taylor replied with, "Oh, I''m not sure either."
Even disregarding the royal problems back in Kalamo, Taylor felt sad thinking about leaving Sprawn Valley. After all of the memories she made here with both Jane and with Danny, it wasn''t something she ever wanted to let go of. Despite Fronas being so strange, it was one of the liveliest moments of her entire life. How could she want to go back and away from this beautiful place? After all said and done, it''s not the magic that makes Sprawn Valley so great, not even the amount of personal freedom either. It''s the adventure that counts. "I don''t want it to end..."
"What was that? Can''t hear ya."
Taylor winced slightly, spooked by the realization that her last thought was spoken aloud, though soft as a whisper. She stared at Danny while he continued watching the road in front of him. She wanted to tell him, to tell Danny that she could just stay here forever and go on infinite adventures with him, best with Jane by their side. What was there back home anyway? A cruel communist kingdom, and parents who gave right into the idea of selling out their own daughter. Danny''s life wasn''t as bad, but it sure didn''t shine back there either like it was beginning to now. But I can''t tell you that. You deserve your right to go home, even if I don''t want to go.
"Whoa!" After barely keeping the wheels to the ground due to the sudden loss of control, Jane gripped her handles tighter while applying the brakes. The immediate distraction made Danny and Taylor apply their breaks too just after coasting ahead of her.
After coming to a complete stop, Danny disregarded whatever Taylor said before, and made sure Jane was okay, only a few feet out in front of her. "You good? Be careful on that thing."
"Uh... Well it''s not my fault the wheel decided to curve on its own!" Jane let Danny know not to torment her skills on a bike. Jane knew how to ride one perfectly. Something on the road must have caused an unsteady glide in the ground, but now that Jane was stopped and unharmed, she dismounted from her bike, deciding to take a quick breather.
"Guess it was a rock on the road," Danny muttered quietly.
"Hey, there''s someone coming!" Taylor alerted the others while pointing in the direction they were supposed to be heading. Jane reacted by grabbing her bike and pushing it closer to Taylor, trying to make out the figure up ahead. Though the person walking their way seemed random, his path and movement did indicate he wanted something to do with the three of them.
Jane let her frustration out more slowly towards the new development. "Agh! Some idiot probably wants to have a match with us." Her very exhale was aggressive enough for her friends to sense.
Danny pointed out the flaw in the stranger''s plan. "But we have EDS status on our cards, so we''re exempt." It doesn''t matter who tries to engage them. EDS status is like an upgraded format of emergency mode for a Leray wielder. Nobody has legal grounds to challenge them, thus the ride back to Lennith will be smooth sailing.
Jane glanced at the stranger harder, though he was impossible to make out from this distance of over fifty meters, that and his overcoat concealing much of his face. Jane knew that from Danny''s logic, they were safe, but there was something about this encounter she couldn''t trust. "Let''s put our bikes up anyway. If something happens, we won''t have a ride should they get damaged." Jane pulled out her supply sphere, holding the unit up to her bike and using her index finger to trigger the capture protocol. A dark blue laser of light shot from the sphere and hit the large object, encasing the bicycle inside of a blue aura for a few seconds. Afterwards, the entire bike became compacted, liquefying into a blue mist as it got sucked into the supply sphere. This was a usual sight to see in Sprawn Valley utilizing the supply sphere''s dimensional compression technology, being that nobody was able to store such large objects before the upgrade everyone received. After seeing Jane perform it successfully for the first time, Danny and Taylor were awestruck for a good moment before trying out the device for themselves.
"Yo!" the stranger yelled. His deep voice quickly identified that he was an older male, but not much other detail was available yet. He waved his arm a couple of times, indicating his need for attention.
Danny glanced back at Jane for a second after storing his bike in his supply sphere. "Hey Jane? You know that guy?" She could have made all kinds of friends while Jane was separated from them before.
"I don''t believe so." Jane watched as the stranger continued to walk up closer, stopping him at ten meters for safety reasons. "That''s far enough!" The stranger stopped, and Jane approached him alone to give the guy the bad news for the day. "We aren''t in the mood to battle people right now, and I''ve got special permission to deny battles without strikes." After getting closer to the person, the stranger lifted his hood, revealing his face... But even after he did, it''s not as if Jane or her friends felt any familiar details come to mind.
The middle-aged man had short dark brown hair, and a beard still just growing in of the same color with his silver eyes. Other than his hair looking like it was all over the place, nothing about him gave Jane any reason to react. "Jane," the guy inhaled. "You''re tough to find for such a young wielder. Or perhaps I''m just getting too old for this."
Jane took two nervous steps back from where she was, her friends close behind her. "Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?"
"I know that you''re Jane... Don''t you recognize me?" After Jane''s face remained blank in denial, the man tried once more to identify himself. After all, he only met Jane for a brief moment, never to see her again until right now. "From the forest on the edge of Blue Port Town? You were standing somewhere by yourself, looking bored as ever. And then I gave you something, a spherical device. Do you still have it?!"
His increasing volume made Jane wince back a bit further, but his careful choice of words had her memory jogging in no time. This was the guy, the mysterious person who gave Jane the unknown spell bomb that started all of this mess in the first place! She never saw his face with great detail because he was wearing that hood at the time they met, and then he ran back into the forest to get pursued by more unknown persons. "You''re that guy!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Anticipation ~ Freelancer OST
He noticed the other two travelers behind Jane looking at each other in confusion. At least Jane didn''t blab about the incident. "That guy?" he renounced. "I prefer Gieger, since that happens to be my name. Um, doctor Gieger at your service." He began walking forward while holding out his hand to formally introduce himself.
Instead, Jane hopped back, pulling out her daggers from her dress sphere, and holding the blades out in front of her, the quickest form of a physical threat. Gieger stopped walking and retracted his hand quickly from the surprise, about ready to curse his luck. Jane''s vocal expression changed quickly, her anticipation evident in her throat. "You''re the one who messed us up! You''re the one who gave me that unknown spell bomb. Tell me what that thing was right now!"
Gieger backed up with his hands in front of him showing surrender. "Whoa now! Re¡ªrelax! I can tell you everything, but first I need to see that the device is safe."
"You start talking first," Jane demanded. After searching for so long, finally! This Gieger has finally shown himself, and now he''ll have to give her answers, less she report him to the federal investigators. "I want details, names, and your involvement in that sphere this instant." Jane could sense Danny and Taylor preparing for battle as a precaution. They weren''t talking because they were about to learn as much as Jane was right now.
Gieger should have expected the subject being so upset by the way things went, but it also seemed a little less ordinary too. Did something happen to her afterwards? Maybe the people searching for that thing tried to ambush her! It couldn''t be! "That sphere you keep referring to is one of a kind. The E7 Mark 64 Prototype. Hint''s the name, it''s the only kind in the world, and a lot of bad people want it."
"People like you?" Jane suggested.
Gieger snickered momentarily. "If I had it in my possession and wanted nothing more than to do bad things, why would I just give it to you? Though I am only letting you borrow the device. I was being chased in the forest back then, but those people were after their precious experiment. They couldn''t care less if I escaped or not, but I finally gave them the slip."
Jane''s jaw revealed her tightened teeth for a second. The moment in her mind played through again like a flashback. Gieger gave Jane the spell bomb to hide it from the people she noticed chasing him, but the same people must not have noticed Gieger giving the device to Jane in order to keep it safe. Still... Other than the words experimental and prototype, Jane had nothing else to go on. "What is the E7 Mark 64?"
"It''s an experimental spell bomb that has no current ID. It''s not in any database or manifest, since naturally it would be considered an illegal experiment. But it''s also incredibly powerful and unpredictable when used on a person, something unseen and horrible. To make a long story short, I changed my mind about how the device was to be used, and my employers didn''t handle it well. That''s why I had to entrust it to you for safekeeping while I led them off. In the wrong hands, it could befall this place."
"Who is they in this context," Danny projected. This man is a total unknown; Jane has the right idea to play this safely.
Gieger took more notice of the two standing behind Jane. They seemed so composed and ready. Gieger expected them to be confused and unbalanced by his appearance to Jane, but the boy''s question wasn''t as important to answer just yet.
"Well if being in the wrong hands is what you were trying to prevent, I''d say mission accomplished." Jane put away her daggers, feeling more comfortable around the supposed scientist. Somehow, he didn''t feel like a threat in any manner, not after his careless introduction.
"You mean you''ve kept it away from others? I''m glad to hear about that. Where is the E7 then?" Gieger saw the expressions change in the girl and boy behind Jane, though Jane remained tough and serious.
Holding out her forearm in front of Gieger, Jane barely gave the guy enough to formulate her answer. "Let''s just say that wherever this E-7 goes, I go. You weren''t wrong about it being a strong spell bomb. Though you could have been more clear before you handed the thing to me."
"You used it?!" Gieger instantly tensed in a mix of worry and anger, his eyes darting everywhere to reevaluate the situation.
Jane could tell that Gieger was about to lose his sanity, but it wasn''t anybody''s fault other than his own. She felt no need to defend herself.
"I can''t believe this!" Gieger''s voice began cracking due to his vocal stress. "You used the one and only E7 Mark 64!" Holding his hands on top of his head, the man approached the verge of a panic!
"On the bright side, I did keep it out of the wrong hands."
"You stupid brat! You don''t understand what you''ve done!"
"Screw you!" Jane fired back. "Do you have any idea how close you came to screwing up my whole life, my entire career? I still have little faith that I''ll be able to remove this thing. And all you''ve done is give something unknown to me without explaining what it does."
He defended his actions with his teeth shut, trying not to have a heart attack. "I was trying to explain it, but I was being chased and cut on time!"
"Well I didn''t know what was going on. Now it''s too late to fix it either, unless you have some way of removing symbols from people."
"I don''t believe this!" Gieger began to sound like a fussing loser, pacing left and right with his hands on his head. "After everything I went through to make sure nobody would be branded with the E7 symbol, this happens!"
"Yeah, up yours too!" Jane knew they were losing valuable time, but this was the same guy who messed everything up, and instead of giving them answers, he was freaking out over something nobody could change. Even if Jane knew what the device did, and failed to have branded herself as marked those many days ago, she would never have given it back to this idiot. What gives him the right to wield a highly illegal spell bomb? "If it''s that important to you, then take the symbol back. I don''t want it." Jane knew part of her offer was more of a joke, but perhaps Gieger would know of another person who could remove the tattoo.
"You can''t remove that kind of symbol you idiot!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Movie 06 ~ Advanced Battlegrounds OST
Jane''s heart sunk in a matter of seconds. What does he mean can''t remove that symbol? Was this an over the top special symbol that nobody in the world would be able to recognize? When Gieger said prototype and experimental, did he really mean the only one in the world? "But¡ª"
"I gave you one simple task, and now you''re a threat to the entire population. You branded yourself Jane! They''ll be looking for you now!"
"Who''s looking?" Taylor begged.
Gieger couldn''t let up on his anger for what Jane just did. "I should have known to entrust something so important to some stupid, selfish, stuck-up punk!" Before he knew it, Gieger was pushed with a force so strong, he was sent flying backwards a few feet, leaving behind the painful sensation of an intense burn to his stomach.
Jane looked behind her, identifying the origin of that flash of bright light which slammed into Gieger at top speed. To her surprise, Danny was holding out his right hand, still supported with a fiery glyphring.
Danny kept his hand out in case he felt the need to use it again, and proceeded slowly towards Gieger as he struggled to recover himself. "Why don''t you say that one more time?" he challenged. "I''d like to see how long you can last being the one hunted. All we have to do is report what you''ve done to the authorities, give them a name and a face, and you''ll be the one with a bull''s-eye on your back."
"You are all in a world of trouble!" Gieger''s voice didn''t project very well since he was struggling on the ground, still winded from that Fire Bolt blast he took from Danny''s attack spell.
"No," he denied. "Jane did make the mistake of using something unknown on herself, but ever since she did, she''s been paying for it. Who are you to just walk up to us like this, blaming this mess on the thing that you created?! How can you possibly judge the situation when you''re the one who started it all?"
Gieger yelled, barely able to sit upright. "I had no choice boy! You think I wanted to make something that volatile? It couldn''t be helped. They forced me to develop its tech! I volunteered to make something, not realizing what I was getting into until it was too late. When I wanted to stop, they forced me to complete the prototype anyway."
"Who forced you to?" Danny waited with the spawn of his fiery glyphring still glowing vibrantly... Two seconds... Five seconds... Gieger wasn''t talking, instead letting the wind carry over the silence. "Well?!"
Gieger weighed in thought whether it was worth the time to give them the truth about the secret organization really running the show around the nation. But before he could get a single word in, the ocean below the bridge splashed up higher than it ever had before. Some random explosion in the water forced the splash of water so far up that gallons of it jumped on top of and over the bridge near their very position.
"Ah, what is it now?!" Jane drew her daggers again in defense, and she noticed Danny and Taylor rush towards both of her sides with their weapons out for preparation. As the massive uplifted burst of water crashed back down into the sea, the culprit of the vertical wave was revealed before their very eyes. Though as unbelievable as it was, Jane and her friends were staring at a deployable platform hovering just above the bridge level connected to something below through a vertical machine. Jane and Danny both rushed ahead to peek over the balcony of the bridge and down into the water, where a large body of dark metal maintained afloat halfway above the oceanic surface.
Gieger couldn''t believe his terrible luck, and cursed at himself for not being able to hide any better than now. He pushed himself off the ground, but remained frozen in panic as the submarine below them raised their platform with several masked soldiers standing on top, all of them wearing tough concealing armor with large machine guns.
Danny had never seen a submarine in person before, and couldn''t believe they actually run in Sprawn Valley. It was a dangerous thing to use since the Leray veil of protection can''t save people from drowning at sea, but it didn''t explain what a large submarine was doing around here, or why it rose a vertical platform all the way up to their level carrying almost a dozen men dressed in bright red metal armor plating. Everyone on the platform looked armed to the teeth. Jane took some steps back, reassessing the potential threat level while Danny did the same for caution.
The platform was still dripping a ton of water from the edge, though it was large enough to carry a few more people standing near its center. Only when the machine stopped moving and elevating did the soldiers standing on top react. They were wearing some sort of underwater-based protective gear, and all reached to the side of their helmets to lift the visors and reveal part of their faces. It was then that Taylor and the others learned that not all of the people on the platform were just any ordinary soldiers. Men and women were holding heavy weapons, and the female wearing the most unique armor was most likely a commanding officer of the General Army based on her position contrasted with the others; even her metallic suit seemed to have a different design; the helmet automatically transforming to contract and reveal the face was most advance. Taylor had a new desire of question on her mind; why is the General Army unit here?
With her visor lifted, the woman spoke up just loud enough to reach all of them. "So we search high and low all over the valley, and we happen to find you standing out in the open. Well done job hiding in plain sight amongst these kids."
Taylor didn''t understand what was happening, but the commander appeared to be addressing her statement only to Gieger. If they''re friends of his, it would explain their random appearance. Jane certainly didn''t seem like she had any clue right now.
"You can leave the kids out of it Hellen. I''m through running from you!"
"Such a bold statement from a weak wielder. As our top scientist, you should be proud to be part of the grand experiments."
Gieger spat towards the ground. "Hardly. I assume you''ve come for the device again?" While he stalled for more time, Gieger noticed that the machine was part of the same submarine they use to navigate the land all the time. Seems they still have yet to be caught!
"The man actually has half a brain. Are you going to hand it over then? We grow tired of this senseless game of cat and mouse."
"What do you think''s going on?" Danny was asking Jane, but soon understood that she wasn''t the correct person to get his information from. All they could do was observe the situation from here. Gieger was affiliated with these people somehow, but it looked like some sort of falling out long overplayed.
"I don''t have it anymore," he claimed. "If you freaks would have left me alone, I wouldn''t have lost the thing."
"Hahaha!" Hellen laughed viciously. "You really think I''d believe that you of all people would lose track of something so valuable? Even if you did manage to hide the device, we can still take you in for interrogation. All units? Apprehend the subject!" With Hellen''s immediate order, the soldiers on the platform activated a secret system within their armored suits; jet packs that have never been seen before by the populous. The jetpack systems were highly stable and efficient as well, running on some unknown source of flammable fuel.
Despite how intimidating they were, Jane needed some more answers about what was going on with Gieger. The flying soldiers were heading for Gieger, and not for her own team, thus lowering the threat level against her. As the units began to carefully descend with their flying suits, Jane projected her voice to reach Hellen''s soldiers. "What''s this all about?"
Hellen turned her attention to the younger ones, who all stood a defensive formation line all confused. "This matter doesn''t concern you!" she hollered. "You''ll all stay back if you know what''s good for you." Hellen lifted her arm and gestured down to give a command with body language. The levitating soldiers nearby all responded to the command, lifting their hands and blasting Fire Bolts out of glyphrings that formed immediately on their demand.
Though it happened to take them by surprise quickly, Jane had enough time to react to the three Fire Bolts all heading their direction. She lifted her left hand up and expended magic without having to say a word. It took some concentration to invoke her spell so quickly, though it came naturally to her and worked just as well. Jane''s spell turned out to be a Farshield, forming a solid translucent wall of Leray energy in the air between her team and the soldiers in front. The shield wall absorbed all three Fire Bolts without the slightest loss in defensive power. Jane lowered the shield afterwards to figure out who the soldiers were. They can''t be from the General Army, not after that type of behavior. "What kind of welcome is that? The General Army doesn''t attack random civilians and wielders!"
"You thought they were with the General Army?" Gieger knew of the truth, but it was a shame that Jane and her friends were so clueless. Being brave in this situation was not a good thing for any one of them. "Try the infamous Scarlet Syndicate. You were supposed to run away with their attention on me!"
Hellen muttered to some soldiers left on the platform for her personal protection, "That girl''s not much of a pushover to use a shield wall out of nowhere so fast." With a louder voice directed towards the teens down below, Hellen delivered her vicious identity. "It really is sad when you don''t know the real thing when you see it, but I suppose people mistaking us for the General Army isn''t such a bad idea."
"The Scarlet Cult!" Jane identified. "What are you doing here?" They really look like a unit of the General Army with all of that flashy armor. How much power does this organization have?
"What does it look like I''m doing?" Hellen pointed to the older man further away from the kids. "That man belongs to us! We''re simply taking back what''s ours."
Jane glared at Gieger with hostility. "Is this true Gieger?"
"It used to be," he admitted. "But I''m not going anywhere with these freak shows anymore. You''ll never find the device!"
Jane gasped as their choice of words finally clicked in her head. The Scarlet Cult used Dr. Gieger as the lead scientist in developing the E7 Mark 64 for its intended purpose. Gieger however didn''t like the idea after learning how vile the Scarlet people were, and rushed to break the device free. That''s who was chasing him in that forest so long ago, the same people chasing him now. If they think the device is hidden somewhere, nobody here other than Gieger knows that Jane incidentally used that machine on herself. Gieger created the device because the Scarlets made him do it! It''s possible that he was deceived during the development. What do the Scarlets want with this spell bomb?
"We''ll see how long that stroke of confidence lasts." Hellen made another hand signal to her troops to capture Gieger, but just as she did, Jane and her friends all rushed towards the man, standing a new defensive formation around the doctor and blocking their path. The soldiers hesitated over the new development, prompting her to refine her last command. "Made up your minds have we?"
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"Jane!" Taylor called. "What''s going on here?"
Jane turned her head slightly, keeping one eye on the flying soldiers still away above them. "We have to protect Gieger. The Scarlet Cult wants to capture and interrogate him."
Danny argued the reverse. "But I thought Gieger was our enemy."
"The Scarlet Cult are the real enemy. Gieger might be part of this, but I''m not letting him leave here." Jane glared back at the Scarlet commander. "You hear me?! You aren''t getting past us!"
Gieger scratched his head. "After everything I said, you''re going to protect me?"
"I find it brave of you to stand up against us," Hellen commended. "But three kids and an overgrown ego isn''t going to stop us from dealing with our important business. Consider yourselves collateral damage! All units attack all targets on the bridge!" The two sergeants standing next to Hellen took off as well, though remained distant while the other six soldiers descended towards the ground to battle the twerps with force. The soldiers remained airborne using their jetpacks, keeping to their tactical advantage. Hellen remained on the platform to watch and judge the conflict for herself. As soon as the first soldier fired his magical blaster weapon, the battle between them all accelerated so quickly.
As Gieger leaped forward out of the way of an oncoming Fire Bolt in the nick of time, he kept track of all the flying soldiers nearby, but Jane took over all commands from then on. "Attack the soldiers!" she hollered. "Bring them all down now!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Nagato vs Asakura ~ Haruhi Suzumiya OST
Following her immediate command, Danny pulled out one of his other preferred weapons using magic to create an artificial version. His blaster held in a lot of power for magical damage potential, and he used his magical blaster handgun to give him long distance compatibility.
Taylor reached for the Marine Eagle mounted on her back with a strap, setting the powerful bow into preparations with a blue crystal arrow already held back in the string. She took aim at one of the Scarlet soldiers, holding him in the direct line of sight as she prepared to fire.
"Scatter Beam!" Danny yelled while pulling the trigger. The blaster in his hand fired over nine individual bolts of plasmatic Leray attack energy, scattering in multiple directions with the design of a Shotgun Blast. Though the skill itself was slightly inaccurate, three of his energy bolts landed on the soldier he targeted. Incidentally, the bolt also dealt heavy damage to the armored suit itself, particularly in the back of the jetpack area. The soldier took minor damage, but fell to ground with a thwack while failing to stay airborne. With a successful hit and the other five soldiers flying around ready to attack, Danny quickly switched targets. It quickly became clear that their jetpack devices are not protected by a coat of magic from the veil.
Taylor changed her aim from the soldier flying around in front of her to where the soldier was going to be. After recalculating the potential speed of her arrow before ever using it, Taylor already accounted for the latency in her actions and where the arrow was going to aim through the arc. "Bow Charge!" Taylor released her arrow from the string pulling it back. The launch however was unexpectedly powerful, shearing a large amount of forceful wind back into her face and blowing out her hair. The arrow that sped off was just as fast as Danny''s Blast Shot weapon, a speeding bullet drilling through everything. The arrow didn''t even show any sign of a vertical drop or arc from the initial aim. While Taylor''s aim would have been off just by a hair, the flying Scarlet soldier ended up in the path of the arrow from moving unpredictably. The arrow punched a massive force against the guy, launching him backwards and eventually into the ground. Despite the arrow only hitting the guy from the front, his impact to the ground had made him land directly on his jetpack unit, damaging the device and keeping him vulnerable to the floor.
"Show no mercy!" Hellen ordered. The two elite soldiers standing on the platform with her were designed to hold their position while attacking from a distance, which is what they tried next. Their rifles were designed to be long-range, but their magical capabilities were also impressive in a format.
Both soldiers crouched down using military style training, and took aim with their hands to form a small glyphring on their wrists, each of them apparently doubling on the same spell. "Water Blast!" While the spell alone wasn''t very powerful, the elites brought a new purpose to the Water Blast attack, firing a very wide beam of water down towards Gieger and his new allies. Though Gieger was the target, the blast of water only affected Jane and Taylor because of their odd movements.
Jane shook it off quickly, ignoring the effects of getting soaking wet from the nearby Water Blasts. She glanced at Danny who caught her eye, and she tried to read his mind. The only way to get anywhere in this unofficial battle is to bring everyone down to the ground. "Danny!" she barked. Danny nodded at her to confirm what idea she had in mind, but Jane would have to rely on faith alone to know whether Danny really knew what to do about the present situation. On cue, Jane used her next spell, spawning two sub machine guns in both hands for her to use. "Bullet Blitz!"
"Bullet Blitz!" Danny did manage to formulate the exact same strategy in his head, using an easy to learn spell he mastered a while back already. Danny used both machine guns in sync with Jane and unleashed as many rounds in the air as possible, targeting only the soldiers in the air to disrupt their flight path or their current attempt to shoot back at them with magic. Though the bullets alone did insignificant damage or cause an interruption via the pain, it distracted all of the units just long enough for phase two to become viable. After his guns ran empty, Danny yelled in the same manner Jane had to himself. "Taylor!"
"I''m on it!" she replied. Taylor rushed out several steps forward, launching a second arrow straight up into the air with a low speed by intention. Taylor then switched to her left open hand and charged Leray energy into a separate magical glyphring, chanting her magic at the same time and aiming at the arrow. "Lightning Strike!" While firing a solid electrical beam of energy into her crystal arrow flying up vertically, the crystal section of the arrow reflected that energy out in multiple directions, redistributing the lightning bolt in various directions with the form of a beautiful circular arc of blue light. Taylor thought of that designed attack by herself in the heat of the moment, and it turned out to work well. All flying soldiers were immediately subject to the electrical attack, which caused them all damage while shutting down their operating jetpacks due to the electrical overload. Finally, all soldiers were brought down to the ground.
Hellen noticed the unique battle style of Gieger''s friends, how quickly they worked as a team to bring all of her soldiers to the ground, forcing them away from the air. It was in fact a genius plan to start the battle on fair terms. Hellen wanted to know more about these people, having the amazing potential for such elegant tactical decision-making, but now wasn''t the time to give in to a single one of them.
It was at this moment that the other soldiers decided to band together while stuck to the ground. "If you won''t surrender, we''ll have to kill all of you. Shadow Knife!" The soldier threw two small daggers, infused with energy auras designed to make each blade transparent and difficult to see with the eyes.
Danny immediately suffered a stinging slashing pain down the side of his right arm and left leg, the daggers digging into his skin swiftly. Though the pain was quite intense, he ignored it quickly enough to counterattack. As he was ready to, another Scarlet soldier stepped in and used magic before him. "Thunder Bolt!"
"Thunder Bolt!" Danny and his team were suddenly faced with electrical strikes coming from four of the other Scarlet soldiers, immediately outnumbering their team while causing damage and high pain to the whole group. Even Jane suffered an electrical blast too quick for her to avoid or block out. By the time it was over, Gieger ended up becoming the guy with the better idea.
"Enough of this! Quake!" Though he gave no good warning to the people protecting him, Gieger invoked his own magical energy, creating a spell powerful enough to shake up the entire ground area around them. However, while his spell successfully created earth elemental magical damage to all the units on the bridge, this spell ended up causing the same problems for Jane and her team, upsetting everybody''s balance. There wasn''t telling how effective his spell was either. For whatever reason, nobody had any of their energy scopes running right now.
Jane became the only one other than Gieger who kept her balance during the earthquake on the bridge. Everybody else was only affected by the disorientation more than the actual damage done. Gieger had the right idea using area attacks, but his power level wasn''t very high at all. She glanced to her left and right, Danny on one side and Taylor on the other already beginning to recover. "Let''s attack together now!" Jane made sure it was confirmed within each of them. Danny and Taylor recovered quickly, though they stared at Jane to try and read her next thought. Jane could have meant attack individually at the same time, or take part in a singular teamed attack. Only when she chanted the name with latency in her magical charge did her idea become recognized swiftly. "Tri-Attack!"
Danny figured out what Jane meant with that word, and Jane already had the glyphring of ice around her wrist. He put effort into charging a fire glyphring around his wrist, while Taylor took the same approach with an electrical glyphring on her side. By the time the attack was unleashed, all three elemental bolts of energy were shot at different targets, landing successfully on each soldier. The other three unaffected soldiers reacted to counterattack quickly. The Tri-Attack had executed so beautifully, though the factor of being outnumbered quickly dwindled its overall effectiveness.
"Sereing Blast!" One of the Scarlets used a less common spell, creating a white colored glyphring that grew in brightness intensity and spun rapidly just before firing a large beam of magical energy towards Jane and Gieger. Jane tried to jump out of the way, but wasn''t fast enough to dodge the beam shot of Sereing Blast. It''s a spell that overloads a natural glyphring and fires non-elemental energy at the target with a lot of firepower.
This was just from the first soldier who was ready to attack. The other unit behind him used a different spell simultaneously, targeting Danny in the process. "Drainga!" Using an invisible aura mostly impossible to dodge, Danny ended up losing about 10% of his HP, stolen right out of him by a drain in magical based stamina, and in the same process, the soldier using that spell replenished the same amount of his own HP by design of the spell. Stealing health from the enemy, he felt completely healed and ready to try something again.
Danny lifted the sword from his back in response to taking a higher amount of damage. He wanted to attack immediately, and charged energy from his hand into the blade while holding it up high. "Crimson Blade!" As his steel sword suddenly burst into a fiery aura of magical flames, Danny prepared to attack with close range tactics, his sword now powered up with extra energy from the crystal at the end of the blade tip. However, the next Scarlet soldier beat him to the punch before he could travel just two meters.
"Air Strike!" Firing an oncoming barrage of magical based explosive rounds on the ground using an aerial based area attack, Danny, Taylor, and Gieger were all blasted with these explosions, pushed back, shoved down, or blown away by the power of each small explosion causing heavy damage to all of them. Jane on the other hand had a power shield aura around her body, which she turned off as soon as Air Strike ended, but she soon regretted how selfish her level of protection became. Her entire team just took heavy damage while she remained safe.
"Stop playing around and take Gieger!" Hellen had to shout out the command she had initially given her team. They were on the winning side, but the battle itself was taking much too long for comfort.
Jane watched everybody else stand up, quick to recover. Even Danny''s blade still has its fiery aura of energy infused into the metal, but now all six soldiers were rushing in on foot for close combat tactics. They have to counterattack right now! "Everyone fight back!" She pleaded. Jane kept herself in the same order, pulling out her daggers and infusing the tips with magical energy. "Mako Strike!" She took aim at the nearest soldiers first, protecting Danny and Taylor who were out in front of her trying to recover for their own counterattacks. Jane''s Mako Strike spheres launched from the tips of her daggers, drilling fast through the air and blasting two different soldiers with their respective energy. Each blast had more physical force than it did magical damage potential, though it was the idea behind the spell in question. After tripping up two of the soldiers, Jane launched two more spheres at the next closest units of the Scarlet Cult, sending one more sphere at Hellen who was standing on the platform.
After getting up to fight back, Taylor put away her bow to try one of her homemade spells against the enemy team, throwing frozen ninja stars in various directions. "Ice Shots!" By spawning and throwing ninja stars while infusing each one with ice elemental magical energy, Taylor managed to significantly boost the damage level and factor of each ice shot projectile. Not only did it deal fair piercing damage, each hit to the soldiers would have to feel chilling cold to the touch, lowering their average body temperature and hopefully slowing them all down. Taylor repeated her spell multiple times for each soldier nearby, while Danny took over from there.
After stepping up and having more time bought for him by Taylor''s brilliant blitz attack of Ice Shots, Danny decided to make use of his Crimson Blade while it was still in effect. Danny also had a homemade spell nobody but Taylor knew about, and while it was still in the experimental stages, now was the best timing possible to master the effect. "Summon Hell!" Danny infused more energy into the end point of his flaming blade, swooshing it from right to left as hard as he could. In the same process of releasing that magical energy did he manage to create three flaming photons, all fired from the base end of the Seeker T-Sword. Summon Hell was his own idea, reforming the concept of Crimson Blade to attack from afar utilizing an evolved form of the same exact spell. When Crimson Blade is active, Danny made use of that energy in the sword by amplifying the current power inside of the blade, and turning that energy into fiery bolts of photons carrying fire elemental and non-elemental magical energy at the same time. Not only did all three bolts leave behind amazing crimson colored trails in midair behind them, but Danny was also capable of using his other free hand to take full control of the flight path of each photon that he launched. Though this time, his initial aim was already good enough to wreck the soldier he was aiming for. The impact against the targeted soldier was so powerful that it knocked him back eight feet while forcing him into a double backflip before falling on his back.
Amazed by the real power of his own spell, Danny tried it once more on another soldier trying to target Taylor. "Summon Hell!" Swooshing the blade from left to right, Danny created the same effect as before, firing three powerful crimson photons at the soldier. This time he took control of their flight path just as a measure of practice, connecting his concentration to the auras around the photons using a telekinetic process. He intentionally changed the direction slightly, and reverted the course back to the initial travel path to prove he could control his own spell. After landing his attack on the next enemy soldier, Danny''s Crimson Blade effect had worn out, but his level of damage was still effective.
Still the adrenaline everywhere in battle, other Scarlet soldiers were capable of fighting back without much of a draw. "Exa-Plasmosis!" The soldier took aim at Gieger instead, since the other three kids appeared to be more than capable of self-defense. After firing a vibrant green photon bolt at the scientist, the soldier was shocked at the effects it had on him.
"Dampen Field!" As Gieger shrouded himself with a dark blue support aura, he waited for the plasma bolt to slam into his body, bracing himself for the force. As the magic hit him on target however, Gieger showed very little reaction from the painful effects of the spell. It wasn''t to the Scarlet''s knowledge that Gieger had managed to train himself in the arts of magical defense while he was away, using an ability like Dampen Field to his advantage. Dampen Field creates a support aura that reduces the damage received by all magical based attacks for two minutes, or until enough damage negates the field. As for the soldier who just tried to bring him down and secure his mission objective, his defeating expression became Gieger''s next pleasure of sight.
Though she spoke through her teeth at a low volume level, Hellen demanded a better response from the two elites standing next to her. "If you don''t fix this situation right now, our master will deal with you both directly."
The elites responded rather quickly out of the fear that their boss would not tolerate a single slip up in the mission, especially over three brave kids that have already stepped far out of line. "Laser Storm!" While chanting the name in sync with the other unit next to him, the elites used the same spell together, powering up their long-range magical area attack by force and frequency. In a matter of seconds, lasers blasted down from the sky in all directions. One of the scarlet soldiers was unfortunately caught in the radial area due to the lack of a Siriean dome, but the battle was never official in the first place.
Jane and the others panicked while the enemy Laser Storm bombarded all of them at rapid speeds and searing burning sensations of painful blasts of piercing magical damage from the falling lasers. Gieger ended up becoming the most protected person with his Dampen Field, though the field itself failed on him in just a few more hits. Just as the laser storm was beginning to let off, it was Taylor who pushed herself back up. She charged a lot of magic and concentrated, ready to attack by the time laser storm ended. All five unaffected Scarlet soldiers were now rushing into to fight back, but Taylor had one more homemade spell designed just for this situation. "Cold Spin!"
Jane had never seen this particular spell before, and it proved how much better Taylor became with her secret training for Leray battles. Taylor unleashed her energy, creating what appeared to be an ordinary Rotation attack spell, which is an oversized tornado attack dealing heavy wind damage while lifting everything including affected persons off the ground. But Taylor implemented an extra design attached to her Rotation attack, adding in a heavy amount of ice elemental magical aura into the same field, thus making the wind shears from the twister attack below zero degrees in temperature. Because of the massive size of the tornado that shot forward and took up the entire radius of the bridge, all six soldiers were swept in, damaged by the wind elemental damage combined with the sheer cold of that air and the ice elemental magic affecting them in the same way. It was a double damage deal that only she thought of when training in magic. Not only would two different elements work together to make a new chain of magical damage, but the cold itself would totally slow all of them down from becoming so frozen.
The Cold Spin tornado was impossible to see through as well, so it took much time as the soldiers were swept in to reveal just how much the spell affected them. Only when the spell faded naturally did their status become revealed to everyone. Every last soldier was lying on the ground, barely able to move, and painfully frozen by the wind shear that lasted for over twelve seconds of time. Jane was frozen in surprise by how much tougher Taylor became just out of her wits alone. Then again, it was herself that had inspired Taylor and Danny to become better in the first place. Now it was evidently showing.
Unbelievable! In just one spell, that brat had all of the grounded units totally disabled and down for the fight. "You idiots!" Hellen screamed from the platform. "All of you will be dealt with for this!" Finally meeting Jane''s glaring green eyes, Hellen grinded her teeth at her stature and composure that directly opposed her very plan. "You!" she growled. "You won''t save Gieger from the Scarlet team. You''re all a bunch of worthless kids with dumb luck!"
"Want to test that theory?" Jane challenged while spinning her daggers in her hands. She felt happy inside that Gieger was still left unharmed. The Scarlets really wanted to take Gieger in and interrogate him about the experimental spell bomb. Jane would have to be careful not to let her symbol show during the battle, but at this rate, it would be over in just one more move.
"Gladly!" Hellen accepted Jane''s test willingly, infusing magic into her entire body and directing its flow from her hand to the sky above them. "From the rage of the phantoms, I choose you! Phantom Storm!" Minor delay followed her wild chant, after which the magic Hellen released created a bright and solid yellow glyphring in the air that could have covered the entire area beneath it. Dark clouds began to form in a mist while swirling around the yellow glyphring.
Jane recognized the design pattern immediately, and braced herself. "She summoning!" Her warning soon alerted Danny and Taylor, all of them bracing themselves while the unusual summon began to take form. Summons weren''t all that abundant in the long list of Leray spells, though Jane had never seen this particular one before either. As the glyphring activated with its energy, the entire sky above them completely transformed. The weather changed from clear to cloudy in a matter of ten seconds, the clouds covering every single spot of the atmosphere by sight, turning to a dark black while thunder and lightning began to accumulate in the same mist. At the same time, the new summon finally transcended from the yellow glyphring, showing itself to all of its enemies below while in command under the Scarlet commander.
Flying out from the summon ring came a dragon about three fourths the size of Entiene, but this creature had much more different properties about itself, such as the fact that its entire body was translucent and see through. It''s not just any dragon, but this was the face of the infamous Phantom Dragon, also known as the summon of the dark phantom world from legends. Hellen was certain that such a beast with a higher defense would be more than capable of finishing the task that her pathetic team could not perfect. Now that the energy scope on the creature was up and running, the tide of battle was about to reverse completely.
"Let''s attack it before it attacks us," Danny suggested. He took aim quickly while the Phantom Dragon made its first patrol round in the sky, forced to continue flying quickly. "Stone Fall!" After releasing his energy, Danny created a barrage of falling stones that would soon rain down in the flight path of the creature. As the creature made no attempt to maneuver around the stones that would soon slam on its head or its neck, Danny was more surprised to see that the stones completely phased through the dragon as though it were not there. At the same time, the dragon became more transparent and difficult to see. The falling stones continued downwards towards the ocean and out of sight.
Noticing the same effect, Jane made her immediate deduction about the special ability of this particular summon. "It''s a ghost type creature! You can''t damage it with physical attacks!" Jane noticed how much the weather around them totally changed and transformed. The storm above them was raging with lightning and thunder, as the darkness of each cloud made the level of available light less than half the amount of previous light provided by the sun. It would be even more difficult to see the Phantom Dragon now than it was before, another special factor to be considered.
Taylor took aim at the creature with confidence. "If it''s immune to physical attacks, just use magic. Lightning Strike!" Taylor fired a bolt of electricity with a direct impact on the dragon, but in doing so, the stats changed in the direction she wasn''t intending them for.
The electrical arcs encasing the creature only served to support its respective energy, while leaving the teens in defeat. The Scarlet commander began laughing in her place. "Phantom Dragons absorb electrical energy for attack power and health. Seems you three are completely out of line." Hellen glanced at her summon, giving it the order it needed to attack. "Now use Shadow Swipe!"
With a slight roar, the dragon in flight responded to Hellen''s command, changing course and direction to aim downward towards Jane and her team. As the dragon began its descent, so did its flying speed immediately accelerate at an impossible rate. "Get out of the way!" Jane jumped to her left, seeing the phased claws of the creature nearly slash her right off the bridge. Danny and Taylor were quick to react as well, while Gieger wasn''t even close enough for that level of danger. In a near miss, the swipe came so close to all of them that the wind pushed by the creature affected everybody on the bridge, bringing Danny down on his back. Incidentally, the dragon completely phased through the bridge flying below it, proving that even solid objects in the form of obstacles were of no use against the Phantom Dragon either. This creature could take advantage of anything right now.
Danny struggled to get back up and keep track of that creature simultaneously. "We have to bring that thing down now!"
Jane nodded, "I''m on it," as she kept better track of the nearly invisible massive creature flying back up in the sky. "Quantum Beam!" Jane fired her Quantum Beam, but despite landing her magic on the target and causing some damage, the creature didn''t even flinch or change direction. The beam itself faded with the end of the attack cycle, leaving behind a pitiful measure of Jane''s attack power weighted in comparison against the true strength of the Scarlet Cult.
"It''s time," Hellen commanded with her voice. "Use Sonic Thunder!" She watched as the Phantom Dragon responded to her command quickly, tripling its flight speed away from the battle area while drawing in an aura that began to attract and absorb some of the lightning bolts in the cloudy skies. As the aura became stronger, the dragon turned around to target the foes on the bridge, picking up in speed and electrical charge. Now flying at Mach speed, the creature became nearly untraceable just as it zoomed by over the bridge, blasting the area with a deafening sound of a sonic blast, combined with a windblast that transcended the strength of any tornado attack spell. Mixed in with all of that was an electric field with static-like properties, already zapping and electrocuting the entire team down below. Hellen saw some of her own soldiers on the bridge who were still down being zapped too, but they weren''t useful anyway.
Just after being blasted with a sonic wind to the ground, Jane felt the sensation of an electric shock hold for several long seconds bringing excruciating pain and burns to her skin. She wouldn''t need to check her energy scope to realize how much damage was just done by that powerful attack. Somehow, the dragon was gone again, already passed and camouflaged into the windy skies again in preparation to attack.
Gieger stood up after taking all of that damage, while Hellen confidently gauged her projected victory over all of them. "You all should have surrendered when you had the chance."
"Stop this now Commander Hellen!" Gieger was shouting above his normal tone, directing a cease-fire. "I know that I''m your target. Leave the kids out of our business!"
"You''re about as pathetic as you look," Hellen retorted. "Everybody who opposes the Scarlet team must be dealt with. These kids are weak, but if I left them alive long enough, they''d grow up to become stronger opponents against us. And while I enjoy having powerful adversaries to face, I''m afraid my orders stand clear! These kids will be dealt with, and you will be taken into our custody." Hellen found her summon again, and gave it the next order. "Try a Dark Pulsar!"
Gieger tensed at the thought that these people would go as far as to try and eliminate people not even fully grown. Jane could certainly fend for herself, but not against such a powerful attack spell that utilizes dark magic directly. "Jane! That''s a dark magic attack!"
Jane cursed under her breath upon hearing Gieger''s sudden warning, and changed her offensive stance immediately. "Everyone next to me now!" Jane''s voice carried, though the dragon didn''t change its mind about what to use. By the time Jane located the transparent creature flying more slowly facing her, Danny, Taylor, and even Gieger found their way close to her. In that moment, Jane concentrated with difficulty.
The Phantom Dragon charged up its energy into its mouth, ready to release the Dark Pulsar spell. It''s a buildup of dark energy in the highest form of magical damage potential, all bundled up to explode with a huge radius to make it an area attack as well, fired from this aerial position. As the dragon spat the pulsar sphere towards the ground, Jane was soon to be flattened.
With a heart-filled scream, Jane released all of her energy in a way that required her total focus and unwavering bravery. She sent out the energy affiliated with her ordinary power shield, projecting the field to become much larger in order to protect all four of them in the same field. It required much more of her MP energy to project it as strongly as she had, but once the shield was finally up, the pulsar collided into the energy field instead. The collision caused a bright flash signaling the explosion, as Jane struggled to hold the shield together while tiny hexagons populated the entire radial area. By the time the blast began to die down, Jane let go of her concentration on the shield, collapsing to the ground because of the energy it took out of her by that higher level of protection. Danny and Taylor were immediately concerned by how drained Jane suddenly became, but they also lost their focus on the battle to let their guards down at the same time. Jane hunched over in pain and disorientation, too winded by how much energy this took from her in the end. Gieger was simply stunned by how powerful Jane''s level of protection was before her symbol could even come online and reveal itself. His own invention has this much power, even against dark magic.
By the time the smoke and dust from the blast cleared away, Hellen flipped out finding all four of her targets in normal condition. They appeared to be shaken by the last attack, yet totally undamaged considering it should have knocked all of them out in one shot. "What''s going on?! How are you still moving?!"
Gieger gave Hellen a long stare-down before replying. "It seems you''ve underestimated the children you''ve just tried to kill. Perhaps it is you who should surrender."
Not so fast, Hellen composed. "I still have one more trump card left... Slay them with Doom Bolt!"
Taylor freaked, "How many attack spells does that thing know?" After helping Jane get back up, they noticed the Phantom Dragon take its position yet again, creating a very similar looking attack. Doom Bolt likely had the same properties if not a faster speed boosted from sacrificing its overall power. Still, taking a direct hit from one of those could be just as deadly to all of them. "Back me up Danny!" Taylor took her position in front of Jane, keeping her eye on the dragon up high as it became visible from its bright magical build up. Jane felt so weak from her last stunt that she couldn''t move. Any attempt to try and push herself up only left her laying lower. Taylor aimed straight at the bolt of dark energy as it was forming in front of the monster. "Molecular Boost!" Though Taylor didn''t know if there was an initial origin to the ability she picked up a while ago, her glyphring from the spell split up into multiple copies of itself, spanning halfway up into the sky in a straight line parallel to each other.
Danny recognized Taylor''s spell, though never understood its design until just now. She created the idea in the moment of a flash. Danny used his own magic, infusing magical energy into his sword just after pulling it back into his hand again. "Crimson Blade!" Just when his blade became encased in a fiery aura, the Phantom Dragon launched its Doom Bolt downward. "Summon Hell!" Danny got right behind Taylor without getting too close to harm her with the blade, and slashed sideways to launch three fiery photons of energy from the tip of the sword. As the photons flew through two of the many glyphrings Taylor had created, the small flying lights completely transformed into a solid crimson colored beam that filled the entire vertical radius of the glyphring spawn at the same angle, the beam amplifying from the power boost and colliding straight into the oncoming Doom Bolt directly.
Jane was immediately impressed by that performance, something she never even thought of before. The beam crashed into the bolt of dark energy, forcing it to explode long before it was able to reach the ground. The blast radius was massive enough to blast wind in all directions, but then by forcing it to detonate so early, everyone was left unharmed. The Phantom Dragon continued another patrol around, while Hellen was left to simmer in the confusion.
"What kind of crap was that? Phantom Storm is supposed to be unbeatable. All of you should be unable to move! What''s wrong with this summon?"
Gieger finally saw a way out of this horrible battle. Jane was in fact strong enough to defeat everyone here with her team helping her out, but this summon needed to be erased immediately, and he knew of one particular method from a while back that should suffice. "I think this has dragged out long enough. Link Breaker!" Instead of using magic or forming a glyphring, Gieger attracted everyone''s attention with another one of his unknown devices, a spell bomb. Though with the realization that he understood this design very well, Gieger activated the unit, tossing it up into the air as the device exploded with the magic it was designed to use. As the light from the sphere''s activation grew, the Phantom Dragon flying around wailed in response. Another yellow glyphring identical to the summon''s creation formed in the sky, while the dragon was transformed into an untraceable mist that got sucked into the glyphring without any other way out. The process happened so quickly, and Hellen was much too shocked to react in any way to prevent the spell bomb''s effects.
Link Breaker. It''s one of the spells Gieger recognized, carrying one of such spell bombs on him for situations like this one. The spell used by the bomb''s activation forces all nearby summons in the area to unsummon, returning to their original dimension without the ability to be recalled for over an hour of time. By using it to create the summon disruption field, the Phantom Dragon was now forced to disappear back to where it came from. Though it would have been useful sooner, Gieger only thought of the unit a moment ago, waiting for the correct time to use it. With the impressive light show over, the mood became quiet, but still hostile.
"How dare you!"
Taylor could hear Hellen''s anger from here, not just from the tone in her voice, but from the stress in her body language. Now that the dragon was defeated, this would be the best time for a counterattack. She glanced at Danny, who was still ready to do anything with his crimson blade in hand. "You want to do the honors from here?"
Danny grinned at the idea. There was no other target left to attack except for the people on the platform lifted up from the submarine. While he was preparing to launch his own spell, the sky above them began to change again, the weather trying to go from dark and stormy to clear and sunny again. "Summon Hell!" he yelled while slashing his sword in the air. Danny formed three additional fiery photons of energy that he controlled in order to hit the Scarlet commander directly. Without any other way to dodge the attack, it was soon to be a direct bull''s eye!
The sudden absorption of Danny''s photons melting into oblivion suddenly revealed an invisible power shield, surrounding only the upper platform level completely from all sides. It appeared that the platform was running some sort of generator of magic that protected the platform from magical damage. Danny was immediately upset. "Oh, come on!"
Hellen chuckled slightly as she was still well protected. "I have to hand it to you for defeating my summon Gieger, but I''m afraid play time is over." She snapped her fingers, after which there was silence in the air momentarily.
After a flash of light had gone off behind him, Gieger was suddenly embraced with the crushing grip of people dressed in metal gear, while another red soldier snapped on special glowing cuffs to his hands, blocking the use of Gieger''s general magic. By the time the others realized what was happening, three Scarlet soldiers were apprehending and surrounded Dr. Gieger right before their very eyes.
"Gieger!" Taylor snapped. She lifted her hand and fired an Ice Bolt immediately, but the other soldier did the same with a Fire Bolt, which naturally drilled through the Ice Bolt, crashing into the girl''s face as a result. Taylor was knocked down in response, while her team had to deal with the situation.
Jane knew something needed to be done fast, but where did the new soldiers even come from? The others were starting to stand up and recover from Taylor''s Cold Spin attack, but all six were accounted for. The other two elites were on the platform. That could only mean three soldiers were hiding in plain sight the entire time, now trying to take Gieger. Before Jane could do anything however, red symbols circled underneath the Scarlet soldiers, as a light red aura surrounded all of them. Jane could feel the effect already, rushing in to stop all of them. "Noooooo!" In another flash of light, all four of them materialized into thin air, the symbols fading shortly after from the ground. They teleported, right in front of her, and Gieger was forced to teleport out as well.
Taylor couldn''t believe her eyes. The Scarlet Cult just snatched Gieger and teleported out. After all of that fighting!
"You''ve all done well to defend yourselves," Hellen commended. "But I''ve got things to attend to now..." After noticing the other six soldiers down and recovering, she shouted at all of them for their insolence. "Get up you worthless goons! You''ll all be warping to the brig if I don''t see some action right now!" The wind began to pick up slightly as the weather finally became clear with the sun high in the sky again.
Jane turned around, wondering what could be done to stop them. There was no doubt about it. The submarine was still below them, and that was the current base of their operations. It''s where Gieger is! But just now, all six of the other soldiers were using their own teleportation, likely to the same location. At the same time, the platform Hellen was standing on began to descend gently. "Oh no you don''t!" Jane fired a Magical Blitz attack towards Hellen, but again was thwarted by the artificial power shield surrounding the system. Instead of helping protect Gieger, the Scarlet Cult was about to get away with their abduction safely. Jane and her team rushed towards the edge of the bridge, only to watch as the platform descending speed increased down into the black metal submarine floating just above the water.
Jane clenched her fists, unable to imagine what to do next. She tried once more to shoot a Magical Blitz attack towards the submarine''s base, but the force of the magic simply bounced off of the object, totally unscathed by her constant magical damage. Danny and Taylor tried some of their own attack spells, but none of them reached down that far before the machine began its dive back underwater. "Dammit! They got Gieger!"
Danny couldn''t believe what he just witnessed. With a short gasp of the realization, he rushed towards the opposite side of the bridge, holding himself over just enough to see the water below. The waves on top did show the relative position of the machine underwater, but only for a few more seconds before it was too late. Without anything left to do, the underwater machine descended below the visible salt ocean beneath the bridge, trailing further out of sight. The air all around them became vacant of the noise that once was.
Chapter Theme Shift: Briefing 04 ~ Advanced Battlegrounds OST
Jane''s heart was still pounding, all from the loss of MP energy used to shield her team from the last attack. Her limbs felt weak and numb, but so much just happened so fast. There was still nothing left to do about the situation, other than to report it to any Leray agent. The submarine was long gone by now, making its getaway swiftly. That was the true power of the Scarlet Cult, containing various loyal soldiers who all use Leray magic and dark magic for the purpose of evil. And they just took Gieger away!
Defeated by the development, Danny pounded his fist on the metal rail he was leaning on, cursing in his head at the failure. "Damn them! Gieger was our only lead to learning the truth about your symbol." Turning around, Danny noticed the sad expression on Jane, following up with an apology. "I''m sorry Jane."
She perked up immediately, her eyes as serious as always. "Why should you be?" Jane questioned. "You and Taylor fought better than I ever expected you to. You used amazing powers I''ve never thought could exist."
"But they still got away!" The anger in his voice changed his entire tone.
Taylor knew that Danny could easily feel down by letting Jane down. "Danny," she exhaled.
Jane nodded in denial. "It doesn''t matter. We still learned something from that encounter." Jane glanced up at the bright blue sky, squinting to block out the sunlight. "Gieger is the name of the man who gave me this symbol. The spell bomb used is called the E-7 Mark 64, and the symbol does all sorts of unknown and unusual things to the human who uses it. We can also assume there is only one in the entire world, now used on myself and forever bound to my body. Gieger must have helped the Scarlet people create the device, and escaped with the machine after realizing what horrible use it had for this world. Yet despite what he learned from us, Gieger chose to keep the news about the machine a secret from the enemy, fighting on our side because he still opposes their actions."
"I already know this," Danny grumbled.
Jane didn''t change her gaze, letting herself feel the calm wind blowing her hair back in the breeze. "I''m just stating all of the facts. The Scarlet Cult made the symbol I wear on my hand, and nobody but Gieger understands why that is. As horrible as it is that Gieger got kidnapped by the enemy, we still know things we didn''t know previously. I think we''ll have an opportunity to find Gieger and rescue him in the near future." Jane turned back around, facing Danny and Taylor who were so focused on her logic. "But we have to move on to Lennith City and report what has happened. We can''t ignore what''s happening with the dark zone."
"Hold on!" Taylor fussed. "Why would Gieger be on our side? He''s the one who made you transform into having that symbol stuck to you. I thought you hated that thing!"
"I do hate it," Jane admitted. "And I''m angry at that man for allowing such a powerful and dangerous machine to fall into the hands of some stupid girl who got too curious for her own good." Jane understood Taylor''s frustration. It matched Jane''s every time she had to battle ever since she had the symbol in the first place... "But it isn''t Gieger''s fault."
"I beg to differ."
Answering Taylor''s uncertainty, Jane commented on the situation of her past. "Gieger gave me the device because he was being chased and followed by those same Scarlet scum, and he must have been running out of land to be chased through. Giving it to me, it would throw off the Scarlets, what they were really after all along. Gieger trusted me to keep the device safely hidden because he couldn''t stand for the Scarlet Cult to have it. Could you imagine?" Jane didn''t even want to consider the scenario, but Taylor needed to know about it. "Think of how much worse off we would all be if the Scarlet leaders got their hands on this device and then used it on themselves." With a momentary pause to allow all of them to process the thought, Jane elaborated on the bad news. "They would certainly use such a symbol for terrible things. They''re already dangerous people without something like this. We don''t need invincible enemies."
"But that doesn''t justify what Gieger did," Danny argued.
"Maybe it doesn''t." Jane glanced at her hand in despair. "It brought a lot of pain to me because I didn''t want to have the symbol, and so far it doesn''t seem possible that I can remove it, but at least I can fight to use this thing for the right reasons. Gieger never meant for me to use the spell bomb on myself. If he did, he wouldn''t be so surprised to learn of that a moment ago. That mistake is still mine alone."
Taylor or Danny couldn''t respond with anything that would fault what Jane was saying, but it didn''t make sense as to why Jane was so calm even now. How is she so composed after what just happened?
"In any case," she continued, "Gieger will be interrogated for as long as he is captured. If I''m right about his intentions, even people like that won''t break him. Gieger may rather die than to let the Scarlet team have the truth, which is why we need to let Danton know what has happened. While we take care of things in Alpha Zero, he can send someone to hunt that team down and rescue Gieger. After that, we can take him into our own custody and get information our way."
She thinks it''s all that simple... Taylor couldn''t make any of this feel right in her head. They should be chasing after that underwater vehicle right now, but there wasn''t really a way to do that. Leray magic doesn''t allow people to infinitely float on the water''s surface, nor does the veil protect one from drowning. There wasn''t any way to follow that thing. Since Danton''s team would be the only one that can use teleportation, they could in theory be more efficient in hunting down those guys, but where could they go? How would a hunter find people hiding so far below the ocean?
Danny had other moments on his mind. The submarine that was used to capture Gieger and house their operation was incredibly unique and sophisticated. The metal material simply made even Jane''s magical attacks bounce right off the upper layer of the vehicle. The only metal in the world that could do that is Leray resistant metal, the same steal used to build the training rooms inside of the vault and dark rooms of Leray training facilities. Additionally, that artificial power shield generator blocked magic so easily without the slightest hint of a strain on the platform. That type of technology is high grade. So where on Earth are these criminals getting their material and team members from in the first place? How many Scarlet soldiers are in the entire syndicate? How powerful is the entire team, and what are their intentions?
With a strong exhale, Jane decided to stop wasting time. The loss of Gieger was already depressing herself and her friends, but wallowing around aimlessly wouldn''t help the situation at all. "Come on," she commanded. "We need to get to Lennith City. We can let our bikes back out and use that to go faster."
Danny and Taylor complied, but without so much as a single reply. Both were in a trance trying to figure out what to do about the Scarlet Cult. Jane wanted to proceed with the original mission, but was there any difference between each threat? Gieger is a person of interest now, and so are the Scarlets. They have to be able to find them somehow... Jane. Danny focused on her entire body language, determining what sort of plan she has to fix this mess. Jane has to have something already in mind, though underdeveloped and flawed with a few details. She always comes up with the bright ideas. She''ll have to come up with another way to help find Gieger.
Chapter 52: Welcome to JDT
<02/12/1972 ¨C 17:39 | Route 787, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Following the procedure that ended in success for the enemy, Jane had a lot to think about with the presence of the dark zone already on her mind. As she coasted forward with the two rubber wheels easily tracked to the cement of the oversea bridge, there wasn''t anything to be heard over the sound of the constant ticking of the gears and metal under her seat and the gentle ocean waves further below.
Danny and Taylor were completely silent following behind, but that was to be expected. Jane never would have thought to find the man responsible for the experimental spell bomb in her life, let alone finding that target under siege by the Scarlet Cult. Seems like they have their hand in everyone''s cookie jar lately. First, the heist at Dakota Academy, then the attack in Tilsit Port''s secret lighthouse base, then clustered attacks against random citizens. They could be after something specific, but even if their goal really did involve the experimental spell bomb, why target other unrelated figures in the world? What sort of goal are they trying to achieve? And why further their public appearance after making it perfectly clear that they are criminals? Jane began to wonder if it were ever possible that the Scarlet Cult has always been around since before her own birth, hiding out in the shadows and waiting for the right moment to strike.
With the sun drifting closer towards the horizon and the tint of its brightness ever lowering, Jane let the scenery of the sky in front of her serve as the backdrop of her montrum. Someone like Danton would be perfectly capable of personally investigating that situation, but with their focus on Alpha Zero, there is nothing that can be done other than to report the incident to him. Danny and Taylor probably feel pretty useless too right now, fighting so bravely with amazing grace, only to lose to that unfair crook who called herself Hellen, but Jane didn''t know for certain whether that was the reason for their current silence. Even she didn''t want to talk about it again.
No choice! Jane shook her head slightly as though to throw away the thoughts clouding her mind, and reallocated her will to the primary objective. Making it to Lennith City right now was crucial to meet up with Danton''s forces and begin to set up the operation that was promised to her. It was already a miracle in itself that such a stubborn man was actually listening to Jane''s words a while ago. Hopefully he hasn''t changed his mind about the deal either.
The thought of returning to the dark zone haunted her at the same time however. Danny and Taylor probably didn''t get a good taste of the pure evil daunting in that area, but even with additional experience, Jane knew the task with backup would not be easy. Once they make it into the dark zone, the skies all the way to the clouds turn red, and so does the sun. Though the visual shift in the dark zone is only an illusion, other factors are not. The heat for example becomes more intense the further in one goes, as if the source of the evil energy was putting out a heavy amount of thermal energy fields throughout the Outback.
Then there is the matter of the dark magic veil covering the entire area, which also grows slightly day by day. Once inside of the dark zone, Leray veil magic cannot protect one from serious injury or harm, otherwise known in this world as real time damage. If you get cut or scrapped, that damage stays with you. A healing orb may have some effect in healing lost HP and even some minor skin abrasions, but the process is mostly useless. Getting tired and beaten up is something you''d have to ignore completely in Alpha Zero, otherwise get killed entirely. To top it all off, the dark zone veil itself cuts the potential power of Leray magic in half, even to Jane''s power from her symbol. That symbol can go a long way in keeping her alive, but Danny and Taylor don''t have one; neither does Danton''s squad. No wonder he is so reluctant to take part in such a bold - by the book operation. But what choice do they have anymore?
Jane knew this couldn''t be resolved in a matter of minutes. It could take days or even months to fix everything here. After Brightworth is brought to justice, she would then need to collaborate with Danton or his investigative team to figure out what the Scarlet Cult is planning, while rescuing doctor Gieger before he is sentenced to death. Jane sighed heavily, regretting her initial estimation of how her journey from home would go. Life for a teenage girl in Sprawn Valley is supposed to be about battling, training, growing, and winning more battles with better Leray tactics. Jane never would have imagined back then that her journey would involve unusual symbol magic, a land razed with dark magic fields, and criminal organizations boldly degrading the integrity of the nation. Yet somehow, she had to be dragged into it all, and so did her friends too. None of this was supposed to happen...
"Where do you think they found all of that resistant metal to build something that big in the first place?"
Taylor wondered about Danny''s comment, but found herself blundered by a heavier question. "I''m wondering where the Scarlet base is located. You think they really could have built an underwater facility? It would make a lot of since seeing as anyone can''t be protected from drowning or by over-pressurization from the ocean."
"I don''t know," Danny admitted. Taylor seemed to be thinking deeper into the mystery than he had been in just under ten minutes. Maybe it was so that the Scarlet Cult has a secret base underwater. It would theoretically be a brilliant place to build such a facility, though costly to the resources there. "But it''s likely the place where they would have taken Gieger to."
Loud skid sounds on the pavement in front of them shifted their alertness immediately, as Jane forced on the break petals to her bike and skid at a forty-five degree angle. Coming to a complete stop and forcing her friends to do the same, she was in for some expected questioning from Danny.
"Why''d we stop?" He asked. "I don''t see anyone in front of us." The road ahead was completely clear. It was almost unsettling as to how vacant the entire bridge was compared to the night before, but Jane turned around towards them without dismounting.
With heavy eyes, Jane glared at both of them with her voice as firm as her mind. "Can you two stop talking about Gieger for one moment?" Though it surprised both of them, Jane went ahead to elaborate her intentions. "We''ll be fighting in the dark zone soon. Therefore, I need you two to make sure you''re more than prepared to go to such a dangerous zone. You need to keep in mind the parameters of the powerful creatures there, healing effects, Leray factors, dark magic, targeting parameters... I won''t have you going in unprepared and your minds cluttered."
Taylor tried not to wince at how badly Jane wanted to change the subject, but even so, she had a point. Taylor never did get to fight against one of those creatures. Jane wouldn''t have the time to train her or Danny on the matter until they reach Lennith City. Thus, her hostile attitude wasn''t entirely out of place. "Of course."
Jane continued to make it clear furthermore. "I''ll have you both study the numbers in Lennith until your heads explode. Naturally, you''ll be on my team for protection as well. You''ve done great so far proving how much stronger you''ve become, but monsters don''t hold anything back like humans do, so you won''t have as much time to come up with plans while surviving. Is that understood?"
"Though you''ve killed the mood," Taylor expressed, "I understand."
Jane noticed that Danny wasn''t even facing her direction completely, his eyes staring out towards the path to Lennith as he spaced out. Jane gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, preparing to punch him back into reality. "Danny! Are you paying attention?!"
Without turning his head, Danny squinted his eyes while answering, "Of course. I''m just interested in whoever''s walking towards us. Twelve o clock."
Jane and Taylor repositioned themselves to face the same direction, slightly pedaling forward slowly to possibly identify the person from the distance, but it didn''t work. Jane knew that it could have been anybody, but only less than half a minute passed since she had seen nothingness ahead. The only reason Danny would have become distracted by it is because of the way the civilian was walking, so sure and firm, cutting right down the center of the road instead of sticking to the side. People who have that much confidence are usually Leray fighters just waiting for an awesome battle, challenging anyone they see next. That means that they will undoubtingly interrupt their argument to introduce themself. Still, they had to be walking fast in order to just crop up like that, the visual clarity isn''t that bad right now.
Jane sighed and reached into the pocket of her battle suit for her Leray license card. "Alright everyone. Cards out. We don''t battle any person for any reason at all. We have the legal right to turn down any match for any reason. Emergency Drive Status provides immunity to battle strikes."
"We know," Taylor reminded. Why did Jane think she was the only one paying attention today? Who cares? That''s not important. Why are there people on Route 787 seeking battles when the space is so empty? Maybe the traveler just wants to get to Eldora?
Jane took in the details of the person walking her way in front quickly as she got closer. A woman close to the same age as herself, perhaps a bit older because she was naturally taller than Jane. Dark blond hair, normal looking clothes, even a normal walking stance. Nothing about this person was unordinary. However, once Jane jumped off of her bike to walk forward and approach the woman, she stopped halfway to the civilian.
Danny and Taylor noticed the change in Jane''s attitude, and after getting closer with her, it soon became clear as to why.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Awakening ~ Christopher Haigh [Gothic Storm]
The woman in front of them walking forward suddenly began leaping into the air, waving her arm high above and calling out. "Hey Jane! Is that you there? Jane!"
Jane was paralyzed by the shock, proving to Taylor that Jane and this woman knew each other somehow. Was this supposed to be a bad thing? Taking no chances, Taylor prepared her Marine Eagle Bow from the back, using both hands to ready a rapid aim attack. Taylor studied the woman a bit longer, but couldn''t possibly feel any sort of familiarity with the civilian''s face.
Jane let out a soft whisper to herself, barely picked up by her teammates despite how surprised she was to see her. "Iona."
Danny glanced at Taylor, who did the same to him in confusion. Neither he nor Taylor knew who this Iona person was. Yet Jane knew to some large extent. If that''s what Jane meant by the person''s name being Iona, then Iona is the woman still rushing towards them, looking all excited compared to before.
"Jane!" she called again after reaching their general position. "Finally! I caught up to you."
"What are you doing here?"
Iona froze with a step backwards, her excitement immediately destroyed. "Right, I guess you still want nothing to do with me."
"I believe you had the saying backwards just now."
Danny decided to let them at it, having no clue what is going on here. "You two can catch up then. Taylor and I can use a minute."
"But¡ª" Taylor protested without anything to say in order to justify being nosey. She lowered her bow, sensing less of a threat especially because Danny didn''t act like there was any.
"It''s alright you two," Jane assured. "Danny? Taylor?" Jane aimed her arms sideways towards Iona to formally introduce them with body language. "This is my older sister, Iona."
Iona added, "But you can just call be Iya for short."
"Older sister...?" Danny let it play into his head, sensing the familiar sensation that was absent a moment ago. With a loud gasp, he recalled both the name and affiliation from the moment spent so long ago. "Iona! Jane''s sister!"
"Yes," Jane agreed with a confused tone. "We just said that."
Danny replayed it back into his head, hating himself for losing a single detail in his memory. Back in Fronas, when Jane invited them to her home, they did actually hear about Iona and learn that she was Jane''s sister, older by only two years. Iona was the one in the family that had the rebellious side and was never home when she should have been. That Iona! "The same Iona that sneaks out of the house and is always troublesome."
"Hey!" Iona gave Jane a dirty look, assuming she has already told her new friends all sorts of crazy things about her that are probably not even true.
"Wait a minute," Taylor stopped. "Iya? I thought you had no such interest in Leray magic at all. Is it still safe to assume that?"
Iona nodded left and right blissfully. "Jane and I have a lot of catching up to talk about, but I won''t mind if you listen in, as long as it is okay with Jane."
"Iona." Jane wondered what this visit was all supposed to be about. It could have been that her entire family was worried sick about her since Jane still never called back home, but it seemed a little out of character even for Iya to have any sort of worry for her personally. "We don''t have the time. We need to make it to Lennith City soon, preferably before sundown."
"I''m sure it can wait," Iya suggested. "It''s been weeks after all. You really shouldn''t ignore your own sister like that."
"Aren''t you one to talk...?" Jane retorted, but her confusion was well founded. This isn''t typical behavior for Iona at all. Why is she so calm and collected? None of her strange or cool friends are here with her.
With a slight giggle, Iona responded with an unexpected apology. "Well, I suppose I was a bit stupid at the time."
Jane''s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Iona was calling herself stupid? Is she even the real Iona? No. It can''t be! Jane''s sister didn''t give a damn about other people''s feelings, and always thought highly of herself over others. "On second thought," Jane struggled, "please continue."
"Don''t be rude," Iya stomped. She first tried to take in Jane''s natural composure. She wore a dress sphere out in public as usual. Danny and Taylor were likely wearing similar type clothes, but at least they had some taste in fashion while doing it. Still, Jane appeared to be all grown up, at least by her current physical behavior. Jane didn''t seem to be the same naive kid she used to be in the slightest. Taking it all in made Iya pause longer than she wanted to, but she got down into the point shortly after. "Ahem. I''ve been through a bit on my outings. I''m sure you''ve wondered sometimes where I would be."
"Not really," Jane corrected. "I figured you could be anywhere. Every time you left and never came back home for dinner, it became routine for you. Iya just does her own thing."
"Well at least I came back home every now and then, unlike you - taking off to god knows where!" Jane just takes off on her stupid magical journey, and never calls home. At first, it was impressive, but after this much time, she is obviously carless herself.
Sensing nothing but an argument blowing up, Taylor intervened. "Stop it! Iya, just explain what happened. Jane? Shut up!"
"Eh?" Jane was a bit surprised, though allowed Iona to continue. "Fine." What is her problem? Taylor isn''t doing anything by getting all nosey like that.
Iya cleared her throat and got to the point. "Let me just explain what happened to me recently. As you might imagine, I simply went out to hang with my friends. But, they weren''t the people I thought they were. All I was doing was fitting in with them because they were cool, even if they were assholes sometimes. Somehow I found it fun to be around them."
"How many guys are we talking about here?"
Though Danny''s question had no specific context visible to the topic, Iya laid any worries to rest quickly. "Only one at a time. I sort of dated several, and none of those relationships lasted very long. That was until I met Darius." Iya watched Jane shove her arms into a fold, waiting to see any relevance to anything while being forced to hear her life''s story. "I started going out every night to see him, and naturally our parents would have refused if they knew of it in the first place. I was never really about Leray magic at that time either."
Catching her breath after finding Jane for so long of a search, Iya slowed her pace further and further. It was a much longer story than it would have seemed at first, but this moment should last longer. Jane is finally here in front of her, after disappearing for so long!
Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi („M) {Alt Version}
<01/16/1972 ¨C 17:44 | Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Iya could finally smell the perfume over the stale musk trapped inside of the house. It was either always this way, or Jane would open a window to let in fresh air, but with the colder season making it harder to heat the house with the fireplace, Tiffany refused to have open windows for a whole month now. As she slowly walked down the stairs, hoping to hide her new scent from her father nearby in the kitchen, Jane was the first person she met since the past hour.
"I think I got one of my new spells down." Jane skipped blissfully towards the dining room, bouncy and happy as any person could ever be. It was almost unlike her today, since she had been a bit on the shy and quiet side for over twenty days in a row.
Iya first believed that Jane was finally outgrowing that stupid kids-play hobby of hers, but instead she has burrowed even deeper, even attending school in the Dakota Academy this semester. Iona wanted to make a judgment aloud right there, announcing how much time Jane has been wasting since. Though they were sisters, Jane and Iona were not alike in the slightest. Both of them knew it from each other. But if Iya did try to say something, it would just start another long interrogation from Mr. Smith about where she will be this evening, what time she''d come home, and so on.
Iona turned 18 two months ago, and still she was being treated with such little freedom. Nothing here has ever really changed. Dad managed to get offered a new job position in Blue Port Town, but even if he did take the job, the most it could possibly do is slightly improve their current standard of living. What did they care when it came to Iya? None of them understands her anymore.
Iya shook her head. None of that matters tonight. After being asked out by one of the hottest guys around, there was no way she would be late tonight. He only wanted to chill and hang out behind Mr. Franchest''s house, who wasn''t in town today. Some of Darius''s friends have probably already vandalized the place. She could be missing out on the fun already! Iya rushed down the steps of the stairs, but remained calm and at a usual pace as to not attract too much attention.
"And where will you be going tonight Iya?"
Iya cursed in her mind. Dad already caught what she was up to before she could even reach the front door. Iya looked back, determined to leave and making sure to treat her outing as no big deal at all. "The usual with some friends."
"And who may these friends be this time?"
Iya defended her story quickly. "They''re just friends, dad. Sheesh! Can I go one night where you aren''t so nosey in my business?" Her quick defense prompted a response, but Smith was caught off guard without anything logical he could say. Iya took it from there the next second afterwards to get the hell out of this dump. "I''ll be back at twelve!" She hollered on her way out of the door, slamming it back in before either one of them had anything else to day.
After finally escaping that potential mess, Iya sighed with relief. Finally, she was free to do whatever she liked. As she walked to the meeting place only seven minutes away near the forest on foot, Iya felt more relaxed upon realizing she couldn''t be more than five minutes early by the time she got there. She had to get a bit closer to the eastern section of the Hix Forest before finally seeing anybody at this time of night.
Though the sun already sank behind the horizon, it was still just bright enough to make out faces even away from the lamps back in town, the coloration in the sky still far from black. There he was standing nearby waiting on her, Darius Kinsburg. Only three inches taller than her, the twenty-three year old man had a stunning figure with a dark black hair cut and color. His golden eyes were easily captivating, something Iya found easy to lose her gaze into, but she stayed strong and pretended not to care as much. It worked out for the best so far.
"Sup Iya?" he greeted. He gently grabbed her hand, lightly tugging in a direction. "You''re just in time. Me and the gang found some fun in the woods, not very far in. You should come."
"Okay." Though Darius didn''t really need to ask, Iya wanted to do anything other than stand around talking. With Darius, he made it so easy. The other night, it was throwing eggs at some dork. Last night, it was making dis tracks about the stupid agents living in town. That night was unforgettable and hilarious. Darius always has some way of having fun.
Just two more minutes into the woods, Darius led Iya to a group of other men, where torchlights were planted everywhere to improve the lighting conditions in the area. Nothing much seemed out of the ordinary, a nice hangout spot, possibly for camping, though no tents or bags were lying around. Instead, Iya got close enough to see some of Darius''s friends holding some skinny man to the trunk of a tree. It looked as if they were bullying him out of his lunch money. Iya was certain there was a good reason to bully the man. With Darius, there always was one.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mine 24 [A+B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
"I''m only gonna ask you once. Where is your stash!?" Their masculine voices stretched over the woods loud and clear. Iya could hear all of them, including the whimpering breaths leaving from the victim''s mouth. The situation seemed to change fast. With all of these torch lamps around, they sure went a long way to make the situation seem more hostile to any stranger that could pass by here. The brutality in front of her was bothersome on some level, but even Iya felt safe enough to assume it was all just designed to scare the living hell out of the old man. She had met a few of these brutes in the past as well, and never were they this evil in real life. It''s all just an act they use for these purposes.
"Has he spat anything useful yet?" Darius projected his tone in front, making his teammates turn around to face him and answer, but their response was delayed with their sighting of Iona traveling with Darius. They immediately exchanged concerned looks difficult to read.
"Not anything we don''t already know," William replied. "Hey, is it okay for her to be here?" William put much emphasis on making Iona seem like the outsider in the situation. Before she could answer back, Darius defended her right to be here in the first place.
"It''s fine," Darius assured. "Iya''s cool. Keep at it boys." With that confirmation, it took no delay at all for the others to return to their interrogation, but it quickly turned into having the victim punched in the stomach with a crushing force. Knocking the air out of him, the man slowly sunk to the floor, while the others held him up to prevent him from fully sinking.
Iya could feel her heart rate rising. Something about it just didn''t feel right. Why are they hurting this man so much? What could some weakling possibly have done to them to warrant such violence in return?
"You don''t have to be nervous." Darius passively spoke to Iya without turning to face her. He could sense her fear already, that and the nervous expression making her face go pale. Iona was capable of handling this sort of gore, especially after all they''ve done together.
"That man..." Iona gasped. "What did he do?"
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Darius didn''t even have to think before responding, knowing full well what the story here was. "He''s a corporate lackey for Nox Mining. As you know, that company rivals that of Python Wares and a few other groups. Zane''s father is CEO of Python. And that man over there..." Darius paused to let it sink into himself and into Iona while his friends continued to punch his guts in. "He''s a snitch, ultimately speaking. Got Zane''s father in a world of legal troubles."
"That doesn''t seem all that big a deal."
Darius shook his head, somewhat disappointed that Iya wouldn''t understand the legal business of this world. It''s a subject that she never fully understood even with explanations. "Well I figured you''d have a hard time understanding how the world of corporate politics works around here. Being a snitch is one thing, but he resorted to that option without trying any others. Why go after someone who is defenseless without first giving them a fair chance? I figure we show him what it was like, since he is so deserving of this punishment and all."
Iona remained silent, watching as the barely lit gang in front demanded information over and over, hitting the suit in the face and more from the side. At this point, his face was bleeding, his body sinking and slacking. It was clear that he had enough, but Iya doubted that Darius''s men would give up that soon. If she said anything now, it wouldn''t be a cool thing to do in front of them, so she held her tongue instead. This already isn''t what she expected regarding having fun. The last three times they were out, it was so much different. But this right here just feels icky.
"I''m glad you''re able to take it this well. After all, this job isn''t easy for us to do either," Darius admitted. "But somebody has to clean up messes."
Iona reassured herself that everything was okay, and went ahead to share her thoughts to her boyfriend. "Of course I''m okay with it. If you went out killing people like this, then I''d have a problem. But no matter how many times you hurt or beat that guy up, the Leray veil of protection won''t let him die. His HP can drop all the way to zero, and the worst that happens is that he passes out."
Darius didn''t say anything back just yet, letting Iya''s words get deeper into his mind. "Yes, I suppose so..." Iona had determined that to be the case from the beginning, but what of the snitch? Perhaps this was why he was so robust after taking such a beating. If even he understood that they wouldn''t kill him, why even be afraid of taking hits in the first place? Even though the veil doesn''t block pain that well, the idiot still won''t talk. That''s right! If he knows he won''t just die, this won''t go anywhere. "Zane! William! Enough!" Darius walked closer to the area, where his gang glared at him with questions. They were probably thinking it was time to give up by now, but the sensation buzzing in his mind had the other idea. "You all take five. It''s my turn."
Though they seemed a little surprised, Zane, William, and the other person all backed away to make room for Darius. It was a bit unlike him to do these things himself, despite him trying it out once in the past. What could he possibly do that they hadn''t done to this man already?
Darius approached the guy, who was finally allowed to sink down into the dirt, catching his breath and coughing from the excessive strangulation. "Well then," Darius began, "I think if you really value your life at all, you''ll start talking." Darius invoked Leray magic quickly, creating two holographic circular disks around the guy''s wrists that lifted his body up with the disks. They acted like remote controlled hand cuffs, forcing him to stand while attached to the trunk of the tree. Darius waved his hand a second time, forcibly revealing the energy scope for the person he was trying to interrogate. Nobody had done it to him before, but Darius would need to keep an eye on the HP stats to make this work properly.
Millar Fied. Iona whispered it back to herself. That is the name of the person these people wanted to interrogate, and his health was still above the halfway point. What did it matter for Darius to figure out the stat anyway? What would be so different about doing the interrogation himself? Even if he were to resort to using Leray magic as attacks, it would barely make anything more painful for Fied.
"Alright Mr. Fied. You''ve had long enough to stand here and hold your tongue. This is your last chance to tell me what I want to know. If you don''t, I can promise you won''t be seeing your family ever again."
What was Darius talking about? He wouldn''t go as far as to take innocent hostages! No! He''s just bluffing. Yeah! That''s it. Iya managed to keep her cool even now, but it seemed so intense to watch someone who was clearly guilty to get pulverized by all sorts of attacks.
Darius heard no reply. The man didn''t even look at him for five long seconds. "Fine," he began. "You leave me no option." Darius began charging Leray magic into his right hand, causing it to glow with a red blazing aura of color before chanting and releasing his attack. "Blazing Fury!" Though the name was just the same as a Triple Fire attack spell, Darius launched a full blasted magical spell that shot three separate Fire Bolts directly into the man''s stomach from just two meters away. The impact was immediate, and after his painful screaming coming from the burning sensation of fire from the magical attack, Millar''s HP stats dropped dramatically.
Unsatisfied, Darius switched hands with the left glowing a different color. "I said talk you slime!" Invoking a lightning based spell, Darius created a red arc of electricity emanating from his left hand, zapping the person in place while the disks around his wrists forced him off the ground to feel every part of the attack. The electrical spell seemed to have a greater effect of damage and severe pain, as Millar let out a screech loud enough to pierce to the next neighborhood.
Iya couldn''t believe it! What would Darius be able to get by resorting to such a violent method of punishment? And why use such strong Leray spells to get those results in the first place? Something didn''t feel right at all. She wanted Darius to just stop and return to his own self, but she couldn''t move or say anything. Iya just stood there terrified while her heart pounded in her chest faster and faster.
Zane lashed out at this point, getting a bit too close to Darius in opposition. "Hey man! We just roughed him up a bit. Anymore could be going too far!"
Darius barely turned his neck to catch Zane in his peripheral vision. "You want to let him go instead?"
"Of course not," William replied. "But if we drain his HP too fast, we won''t learn anything."
Darius turned to face all of them completely to make his directive clearer. "I''m through trying to learn things from this idiot. Since he isn''t talking, I''ll just kill him instead."
"You can''t seriously mean..." Zane needed an extra moment to contemplate those words for clarity. "You''re using dark magic? What the hell Darius? We vowed not to dip into that stuff! Not even for this!"
Iya let out a loud gasp helplessly. It couldn''t be true! Darius wouldn''t use dark magic to kill anyone, even if they were bad people. It can''t be so!
"I thought I told you to leave the rest to me!" Darius began raising his voice at his own team. "Dark magic is just another form of interrogation. You might think it is illegal to use, but that law is just for weak idiots to follow. You''re about to learn what true power is all about."
"Oh no we''re not!" William stepped forward, drawing a scimitar from his back hilt. His primary weapon to use in Leray battles is the same one he just drew out, as he raised the end of the blade in front of Darius''s face. "That''s going one step too far. We don''t condone people who use dark magic to kill others."
With only a mild pause, Darius created a red spherical aura that blasted outward from his body, shoving everyone in front of him far back into the air knocking them down. He yelled at the same time, as it took much of his concentration to immediately invoke something as powerful as that. Darius didn''t have any problem attacking his own gang anymore. "You''d dare hold that blade against me?"
"Darius! Stop!" Iya pleaded from her distance for Darius to cut it out. What he was doing was not only illegal and dangerous, but it had Iya scared out of her mind the moment it started.
Chapter Theme Shift: Perception ~ C21fx (Classical Crossover)
Not listening to anything else, Darius charged additional energy into both of his hands, aiming at his own team. "Dark Beam!" Firing a strong energy sphere projectile at his friends, Darius''s magic blasted the area around them, following the impact with both an explosion and several high-energy beam attacks all with a dark pulsating color. The true nature of dark magic was revealed right here.
Iya saw it with her own eyes, how similar the method was to ordinary magic; it was much more dangerous and volatile to be used. With her teeth grinding and head sweating, Iya dashed forward without making much of a sound. She went after Millar to try and protect him. The cuffs around his wrists disappeared entirely. Darius''s use of strong magic elsewhere must have broken the concentration aura needed to keep the holographic restraints powered on. With that, Iya held on tightly to Millar while trying to drag him away. He had burn scars all over his stomach, with his energy scope changing its color from orange to red in order to register that real time damage was being dealt to him from the last attack. While Iya was trying to rescue Millar, his shoes dragging on the ground slid and made more than enough noise to attract Darius''s attention from behind.
Darius left his injured prey behind, turning to face the other problem now in front of him. As he simply walked up to Iya and Millar, Iya stopped moving completely, too afraid of doing anything else. "Now, now," he inched. "There''s no need to be afraid of me. I''ve no intention of bringing any harm to you, Iya."
"Stay away from me, murderer!" Iya couldn''t believe what was happening here. Darius was a cold-blooded killer and a criminal. He would even attack his own teammates who knew not about his hidden powers. His words are nothing! Iya cringed in place, unable to do anything about the situation. She knew of no such Leray skills and talents, nor was she any good at fighting.
"You know, you''re an interesting one. Why do you resist magic so much Iya?" Darius stood still in front of them both, Millar too tired to fight back or squirm. Iya had that look of fear in her eyes. "All this time I thought you realized how corrupt our world was with Leray magic; I thought it was the very reason you refused to get involved in the kids'' games. You should know, true power can bring much more to us all. Besides, murder isn''t such a bad thing, so long as you only kill the people who deserve it. As for this slime..." Darius reached down and picked Millar''s body off the ground by his shirt with just one hand. Staring into the face of the snitch while he struggled his arms around the hand grabbing him, Darius prepared his magic, holding Millar up higher while aiming his free glowing hand to the guy''s face. A quick and easy spell would make short work of frying the guy''s brain. "He too will learn the penalty of crossing me. You''ll bare my best skill, Gamma-Spur!" Darius fired a red burst of dark energy, passing entirely through Millar''s face, while the force of the blast shot the guy out of his grip and allowed him to fly into the ground again for more damage. With that last blast of energy, Darius watched in satisfaction while the HP stats on his target dropped all the way to zero percent. The MP dropped down too, proving that the veil has no way of protecting against the real powers of magic.
Iya''s jaw dropped with her eyes bouncing in place with disbelief. Millar Fied wasn''t unconscious. He was killed just now, just like that. It''s one of the rules of the Leray energy scopes. When the scope turns color to a dull grey with no HP stats remaining, that indicates a biological failure, otherwise known in this world as death. Darius just killed Millar. Darius just killed Millar!
"Hah," he laughed. "What a weakling. Killed in one shot."
"I can''t believe you!" Iya''s voice was shaky and unstable. Tears began to flood in her eyes. "How could you do that?!"
"You''ll get over it," Darius promised. "This is the first time you''ve seen someone die before, but it won''t stop you from having the strength to stand by me in the end."
"You murderer!"
Darius glanced back, hearing the cry come from Zane instead of Iya this time. "That''s right. I almost forgot about you three." Darius charged the same spell into his fists again, throwing the spheres while controlling them, giving the other men no chance at all to surrender. "Gamma-Spur!" Though he had to fire three separate spheres per person, Darius had no problems controlling and aiming each one. Each and every bolt of dark energy that hit his targets managed to drill holes through their physical bodies, as if hit by shrapnel without the protection of the veil.
Though nobody''s energy scope was running for them, Darius was absolutely certain that his attacks killed all three of them just now, hitting each target in the heart. Zane, William, and Rowan all fell to the ground, unable to keep themselves going since the radioactive shrapnel of his magic caused immediate damage to their hearts and other organs. Now they were dead too. Darius smiled in his victory. "Naturally, I have no room for people who have no loyalty to me."
Iya couldn''t do anything to protect anyone, not even herself. Darius never acted like this last week. Why? Why resort to this inhumane brutality? "Why?" she repeated aloud. "Why are you killing people with dark magic? What about your own future?"
"I thought you wouldn''t ask," Darius explained. "I''ve decided to join the Scarlet Syndicate."
Scarlet Syndicate? Iya gasped with the realization of what that meant. The Scarlet Syndicate, also known as the Scarlet Cult is that criminal organization using dark magic to further their own campaign. Darius is a Scarlet member!
"At first, I too believed they were just some cult," he continued. "But they understand the many things wrong with this world, and don''t resort to baby magic to get the job done. The Scarlets and I have some big plans."
"How could that possibly be worth killing for?!"
Despite how frantic Iya had become in her crying phase, Darius knew she would join his side eventually. "You''ve no idea what kind of power they offered me. As long as I agree to take part in their little experiments, as long as I remain their test subject, then I get to have an unlimited amount of power such as the sort I''ve demonstrated today."
"Test subject?"
"I know you won''t understand any of this right now. But you will get everything in time, and I want you there by my side. I think you and I can do great things together."
Iya shut her eyes and held her head in the pain ensuing herself. She couldn''t get any of it out of her mind now. Millar''s dead body with that grey energy scope and Darius''s dark magical attacks lopped back in her mind. Magic and death, they are all the same right now! "I can''t!"
"Yes you can. If it helps, I''ll take you to our hideout so that you can get used to the way things ought to be from here on out." Darius sank down to take her hand.
Iya noticed what Darius was doing, and punched him straight in the jaw, knocking him back slightly, though his resilience prevented him from losing much balance or falling down. "I''ll never be a part of that! You''ve killed innocent people! You''ve teamed up with the enemy! You and I are not anything!"
Darius sighed with a heavy stressful exhale on his chest. "You''re just like everyone else in the world. Too warped by the media and popular belief to understand what it really means to bring justice to the world. If that is your final answer..." Darius lit his hands up with a dark red color again, slowly stepping towards Iona as she slowly stepped back in response. "If even you are willing to defy me, then I''ll have no choice but to kill you too." It saddens Darius to have to dispose of his own girlfriend, but she is nothing more now than collateral damage.
Iya''s heart sank. Nowhere to run or hide, no way to fight back. Darius is going to kill her as well. Her family was too far away to hear her scream for help. This was it then. Iya could feel her life about to be over at any second. Her eyes shut automatically, dissuaded to see the world anymore. Knowing there was nothing to do, Iya braced herself for what would happen next. But when Darius didn''t fire his magic, she glanced up to figure out what had just delayed her death.
Instead of attacking, Darius diffused the aura in his hands, glaring at Iona instead. "On second thought, killing you right now wouldn''t be all that wise. I have orders to kill today, and I''ve already carried out the full mission to its rightful quota. Millar and the others are no more. When the investigators come here, they''ll simply believe it was a fight to the death ending in a total defeat for everyone. But you have no actual business here Iya." She looked as scared as before, but Darius knew this was the right call. "If I kill you now, then your family will simply link that death back to me and the Scarlets. It''s a bit too soon to unveil the curtain. So I think I''ll let you live for now Iona."
"Y¡ªyou''re letting me go?" Iya could see and feel her entire body shaking and trembling in its fear. She was still alive; she was being spared!
"Yes," Darius agreed. "Even if you rushed back in and reported what really transpired here, there would be no trace of me, and no evidence that the Scarlets were involved. The agents will simply think you are the murderer, having no other leads to link this to." His words gave Iya more of a scare than the thought of dying just now, her gasp again confirmed it. "They would suspect that you were the killer, reporting the action here in order to throw off suspicion towards you. Leray agents are stupid like that you know. You can either try to blame me and make yourself the suspect, or turn a blind eye to it all. That choice is yours. But if I do find out that something you do causes suspicion towards me, if I even begin to think that you''ve been growing a brain against me after tonight, I will reappear when you least suspect it and make sure you die a slow and painful death, you and your family."
No longer trembling, Iya remained frozen. Darius set her up like this on purpose, just in case she refused to be a part of this in the first place. He planned this all out! And now he would get away with it. Elsewise, she would die right here and now. She didn''t say anything, nor could she think of any way of replying to such a hostile agreement.
"I''ve said quite enough already. Glad I got to hang around you one last time. It''s been fun Iya, but now my future is before me. I have a destiny to fulfill. See you around." Darius covered his face with the hood he was wearing, which quickly turned his entire body completely invisible. His jacket was a Leray cloak the entire time, masking any visual trace of him. Even smarter, he would use that cloak to obtain a large distance first instead of just teleporting out here and now. Leray agents supposedly can track teleportation symbols, but if used far from the scene of a crime, nobody would normally connect the two together with the carnage all around.
Just like that, Darius was gone. Iya was now alone, surrounded by the dead carcasses of people she once knew. The energy scope above Millar was already gone, with no possible way of supporting itself any longer. She was totally alone, the woods were dead silent without even a whisper of a wind. She sank to the grass on her knees, taking it all in even though it wasn''t possible to do so.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mystery Theme ~ Aleksandar Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)
After several long moments passed away in the silent night, Iona had no other option but to creep her way back into Fronas village and return home. Her arms were cold without anything other than the T-shirt. Luckily for her it had not been stained with anyone''s blood, but that didn''t help her feel any better either. Covering her goose bump armored arms, Iona made her trail back home very slow and uncertain, stopping to stand still along the way. The image of everyone dying replayed in her mind, though she screamed at her imagination to just shut down and stop. The way Darius lifted Millar in the air before his death, using that dark magic spell that blasted the man''s brain with a lethal dose of radiation...
The thought circled back and around, making Iya nauseous. Her stomach turned inside out until she was finally ready to vomit, but even when she prepared herself to, nothing came back up. As the pain grew and receded, Iona eventually made it to the front door where she could hear voices of her parents arguing again. Checking her watch, it was twenty minutes past her own curfew. She had not been outside for that long, but she was stuck in the woods, frozen in fear for hours while she lost track of the time before heading back here. That was probably what dad was angry about. They''ll be up all night yelling at her just for being held up.
Freezing in action again, Iona remembered Darius''s words of warning. If her parents discover what just happened, they''ll likely investigate too far for their own good, putting them into danger. If Iya said anything about it, Darius would know of that and kill her as well. Her hand pulled away from the door handle, shaking in uncertainty. Iya can''t go in right now. She couldn''t explain herself. She could feel so close to bursting into tears. That would only make hiding this so much harder...
Her eyes were already watering. Iya couldn''t think of what to do or who to tell. Her family were not even great magical fighters if they wanted to be, not since they retired from the art... Jane. Iya repeated the name in her mind. Her younger sister had been training very hard lately with Leray magic, and might even have some way of making this right. It felt odd going to her for help after they lost touch several years ago, but it was better to sneak in and tell Jane than to tell her parents.
Iya felt a little more confident with that plan, and she crept to the back of their house in order to get access to the view of the windows. She had climbed the wood before, silently ascending to the window of her own bedroom to sneak out and sneak back in whenever her parents kept her grounded. This time, Iona targeted Jane''s window. She didn''t lock the window that often either, and since Jane usually goes for fresh air every day she is home, it was likely to be open as well. Iya climbed the house, taking only one minute. She got to the top section and managed to open Jane''s window with relative ease.
The window slid open vertically, and Iya was able to climb in effortlessly. With the room dark and the bed empty, Jane was likely downstairs or in the bathroom. While waiting on Jane to come back to her room, Iya glanced around. Jane''s room looked as clean as it usually did, but some of her usual belongings were missing. She usually has at least three different Leray class weapons just lying around like ornaments. Iya crept from the room, carefully opening the door to get a clearer listening for their argument. Smith and Tiffany were of course talking about the proper way to punish Iona. How predictable!
But Iya couldn''t hear Jane downstairs in all of this. How was Jane allowed to be outside of the house this late? Or maybe she was just eating a midnight snack at the table silently.
"You won''t trust Iya going out to meet friends, but you''ll trust Jane to travel the entire country with her friends?" Tiffany placed the argument against her husband.
"I''ve been paying attention to the people Jane calls friends," Smith retorted. "Danny and Taylor are wonderful people. I don''t think that I trust either of them to keep Jane safe on her new journey. But I do trust that she''ll call back home every night to make sure we don''t get upset. That''s not something Iya would ever do. She needs to be watched!"
No! Iya felt dizzy after hearing that. She heard a few nights ago - something about Jane leaving home on some stupid Leray journey. But did that already happen? Was the reason for Jane''s sudden absence because she left the town to go other places and train with other people? Jane wasn''t here. That''s the reality isn''t it?! Jane isn''t here! Finally letting the emotion defeat her, Iya sunk her head into Jane''s pillow to let herself cry. Her sister wasn''t here to help her out either, and now Jane was off somewhere out of reach.
"You expect me to believe you suddenly cared about me enough to track me down here?" Jane had rudely interrupted Iona mid-speech.
It took Iya a few seconds to realize where she was, after spending so much of her thought back in her distant memory. Iona simply finished up by summary, letting Jane know of her first mistake. "You never called back home, you idiot!" Just now, Jane looked surprised, caught for her own critical mistake. "You have any idea how much they worried about you?"
Jane couldn''t get rid of her guilty expression, and didn''t even look Iya in the eye. She had her own reasons for not calling home, not wanting to worry her own parents. If they found her with this symbol still on her hand...
"I slept there that night, and our parents found me in your bed. We were both confused. I thought they found out what happened with me, but they assumed I was worried about you instead. And I found out then that they were upset when you didn''t call home that night when you were supposed to, or the next morning." Iya remembered the morning so fluidly. "And naturally, they assumed I was upset because you were declared missing."
"How come you weren''t calling home?" Taylor pressured Jane.
Without turning around, Jane let them have her excuse. "I didn''t want to worry them, not after I found out I had this symbol."
"Symbol?" Iya asked about it so obliviously. She really didn''t know anything about Jane''s life after she took off.
"But that can wait!" Jane lifted her voice, focusing on Iona right now. "You said that Darius was secretly a member of the Scarlet Cult. And by the way you described it, he may have joined recently that night he killed everyone. He used dark magic, and is now holding you hostage to the fear of his words."
"Y¡ªyes." Iya didn''t want to admit it, but it was all true.
"How could you be so stupid as to date a Scarlet member?"
Danny tensed after the way she just put it. "Hey!"
"Jane!" Taylor simultaneously shouted with Danny. That was so rude considering how much Iya was spilling her guts out right now.
Jane ignored both of them, now noticing the tears returning to Iona''s eyes. Seeing her like this didn''t happen often, not since such a long time ago when they were younger, when Iona still cared just enough to tolerate Leray magic. But now she was so vulnerable, shaking in her own fear from the pain another person had caused her. "To keep us all in the dark... You didn''t have to do that you know." Unable to help it, Jane was tracking water in her eyes as well, her voice beginning to deteriorate. Instead of yelling at her anymore, Jane embraced her older sister in a tight hug. Though it confused Danny and Taylor that they didn''t entirely understand the structure, Jane was just being herself right now. Iona was finally back, the person she is supposed to be. "If you ever scare me like that again," Jane warned, "I''ll be the one to kill you."
Jane was obviously joking, and Iya squeezed back, allowing herself to feel her entire embrace. She had been alone for a long time searching for Jane, and here she was, the same as ever. No, Jane wasn''t this assertive before. She has finally begun to grow up too. Maybe she is even strong enough to fight Darius.
After they both let go with some relieving sighs, Jane went ahead to assess the situation after wiping her eyes dry with Iya. "So Darius is a Scarlet member too? Recently converted? Their numbers just keep growing."
"You know much about the Scarlet Cult?" Iya questioned. Jane was thinking about it in some way, but her mind couldn''t easily be read.
Admitting to the news of it all, Jane had to give them credibility for being so large. "They''ve been growing in numbers, getting stronger, and terrorizing the places everywhere they go. Lately they''ve been up to something sinister. Of course, I still don''t know what it is. You could say that I''ve had a bad run in with them myself."
Iya winced, shocked by the chain of bad luck. "You were attacked by the Scarlet Cult too? That''s crazy!"
"Not exactly." Jane prepared herself, extending her arm in front of Iona to show her exactly what has been happening. After giving it much concentration, Jane activated and revealed the bright holographic glyph on the top of her right hand. The symbol pulsated with intense energy, making Iona''s jaw drop from the unexpected news. Jane made sure to deactivate the symbol quickly in case anybody might come around, yet there were still no other walkers nearby. As the symbol dimmed out, so did the actual crest disappear into her skin, becoming entirely invisible.
Chapter Theme Shift: Aphelion ~ Jesper Kyd [Ultimatum]
"You..." Iona had to catch her breath. "You''re marked!" What did they do to her? Jane has been out of the radar for so long, traveling such great distances and... That''s why Jane didn''t call home! Being marked is not a good status condition to be in. But she couldn''t have asked for that!
"My parents would have to know I''m safe though," Jane assumed. "If they were watching the championship battle station on television, then they''d know that I''m still alive. They''ll also know about this problem I have too."
"You were in the championship? And they let you in with that?"
Jane scratched the back of her neck gently, unable to give a complete answer. She had obviously broken one of the biggest rules, but she was also fighting Danton for a different reason.
"I had no idea my sister was such a rebel."
Danny almost laughed. The way Iya worded that immediately eased much of their tensions. Jane however seemed a little surprised.
"You''re not mad about this?" she tested.
Iya teased Jane about it, who was already becoming predictable. "Why would I be mad? We''re family, remember? I already believe having that thing was just another bad accident. But I can''t wait to hear what sort of cool things you''ve done with it."
"Well we do have a lot of catching up to do..."
Taylor supposed it was right, but they were still on a timetable. The solution wasn''t difficult however. "Well then we can talk about it on the way back to Lennith."
"So you''re on your way home?" Iya guessed.
Jane eventually told her that this wasn''t exactly the case, and begun with the very initial start of how everything started with Danny and Taylor. Iona had to learn a lot so quick, and for the first part, much of it wasn''t even about Jane in the first place. Jane explained carefully who Gieger was and what happened that night when the sky lit up in Blue Port Town. After Jane graduated, she did leave home for her journey, but without calling home. Jane never called home because she was too afraid of how her parents would take the news. Iona never called home because she wasn''t going to until her own mission to find Jane was complete.
Iona also had to share her full side of the story. At first, Jane didn''t leave her much of a trail to go on. But once she made it to the beach in Tilsit, Iya apparently just missed some sort of scene at the lighthouse. Though Jane''s description wasn''t anywhere to be found, traveling all the way to Lennith City while investigating the locals did manage to provide a lot of information about Jane. Naturally, Iya didn''t recognize Danny or Taylor in either perspective, since between them, their faces were mysterious in every way. Particularly, the meeting with a person called Claudia in Lennith''s training academy got the same teacher to admit to seeing Jane. Iona learned from her that Jane had been injured while training in the dark zone, though Danny and Taylor pulled her out before permanent damage set in. After learning that Jane made plans to compete in the championship in Eldora City, that was going to be Iona''s next destination. Getting barely any sleep and low quality food for several weeks, Iona simply continued the trail until she and Jane met up on the bridge. It was one of the most desperate things Iya ever had to do.
According to Jane, that wasn''t all as eventful as her own journey. Jane had to share much of the details with her sister to clarify a lot of things. The key point of the iteration was the fact that Jane''s only hope of removing this symbol resided with professor Brightworth, enemy of the nation. Jane just managed to join Danton''s army in a joint operation to storm the dark zone and capture Brightworth, all for the sake of protecting the city of Lennith. Iya was confused by several key elements, even by the reunion with Gieger, who ended up getting captured. But Danny filled her in by simply rewording anything Iya didn''t understand. Now the only question on her mind was the reason Jane was doing all of this.
"Listen Iya," Jane encouraged. "Somebody has to stand up to Alpha Zero. While the General Army is capable of fighting, I am even more capable of it right now because of the symbol stuck on my hand. I''m using this thing for the right reasons this time, and I''m going to be engaged in a very dangerous fight." Jane stopped, standing in front of Iona. "And I don''t want you to be put in the line of danger."
"What?"
Taylor stepped between them, making sure Iya and Jane both understood the situation at best. "That place is no joke. Danny and I can fight with powerful magic too, so we''ll be protecting Jane during the event. But you Iya, I''m not sure if you can even fight with Leray magic."
"I''ve been training!" she defended.
"Wow!" Jane had to sound amazed at this development. Iona training to use Leray magical spells? It was unheard of until now. "I''m surprised that you''d take a liking to magic."
"What else was I supposed to do?" she defended herself. "After what happened to me that night, and after realizing that I can''t always have you there to protect me, I''d have to learn a thing or two myself. So I''ve been passively training while searching for you as well."
"Okay," Jane spoke skeptically. "What''s your best attack and defense skill?"
"I''m just now beginning to master a teleportation attack called Dark Strike," she pronounced. "And a protective spell known as Dampen Field."
Jane sighed, but her expression contained a lot of disappointment. "I''m sorry." Jane had no choice but to protect Iona by denying her the access she needed. "But that won''t do in a fight against dark magic."
"I can look out for myself." Iona''s voice had become taller than Jane''s, but Jane wasn''t about to have a part of it either.
Jane refused to let Iya have her way this time. "I said no!"
"But then... Why won''t you just let me help you?!"
"Because you will die!"
Iya wanted to argue back, but hearing Jane say that with such certainty was enough to prevent her from remaining valid.
"I know you want to help us," Danny concluded. "But we have two battles to win. The first one is more difficult than the next. When we prepare to track down and eliminate the members of the Scarlet Cult, then we''ll let you help us."
Jane had something to add as well. "I want to see you train a lot harder before I let you help us with the Scarlet problem too. Dark magic kills anyone who isn''t ready, so you need to battle as if your life depends on winning."
Iona couldn''t believe it still. Not just in Jane''s personal skills, but even in her own confidence and bravery did she become so much stronger than herself. Danny and Taylor were even strong enough to venture into such a dangerous place despite being trained by Jane... Or perhaps that alone was the reason they were ready. A match between Jane would defiantly speak volumes about Iya''s current skill level, but she was certain Jane would simply mop the floor with her in the same day. Instead of arguing, Iya remained frozen, unable to stop Jane from marching to what could potentially be her own grave.
Even Taylor was onboard with the plan. "You haven''t seen Jane in action," she emphasized. "So you may be thinking it''s too dangerous. But we''ve seen firsthand what she is capable of, and we''ve trained alongside her to become stronger ourselves." She nodded in agreement with Jane''s issue. "Jane''s right. You''re not trained enough to go to such a dangerous place. In this state, you''d just be in the way."
For another long pause, Iona was left to agree or decline their warning. She hated feeling so useless, even after so much training. But if Jane and her own friends were on the same page, were they really correct? "I..." She firmed her muscles and gave Danny and Taylor her serious glare. "You two better make sure she comes back without a scratch, or else you''ll answer to me."
"I would never let anything bad happen to Jane," Danny phrased.
"Neither would I."
Jane thought everyone here was sweating the semantics a bit much, but even if Danny and Taylor were truly this committed to protecting her, they need to remember to save themselves as well. "Listen you two. Don''t let that directive turn your brains to goop. I''ll be fighting beside you as well to make sure we don''t falter."
"You have a whole triangle of protection going on," Iona pointed out. "I guess I shouldn''t worry then."
"Once we regroup in Lennith and set out," Jane planned, "we''ll be back in a cinch. We''ll shut down that horrific place for good, and that way everyone can go to the Outback without fear of such soulless creatures."
How am I supposed to explain this to mother and father? Iya knew they would be expecting a callback from her any moment soon. Then again, Jane said something about them already knowing about Jane''s situation, should they have watched a channel on TV. All she would have to do in Lennith is call home, catch up, and wait for Jane to come back. Still, what Jane is deciding to do must be seriously dangerous!
"We need to get back to it before sundown," Jane expressed. She turned towards Lennith City and continued the walk there. "Let''s keep moving forward everyone."
With that, Danny stayed close to the side of Iona as they continued walking straight. Despite being more than halfway towards the city, none of them could petal their bikes with Iona here. She doesn''t have one, which is a slight reduction in speed in itself. It wasn''t certain just yet, but with Iona being Jane''s sister reunited, she may even try to join their band after this dark zone stuff gets out of the way. "It may be a bit early," he spoke up. He held out his hand, properly introducing himself to Iona. "But in any case, welcome to JDT."
Chapter 53: Operation ~ Restore Outback
<02/12/1972 ¨C 20:30 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
With the sunlight shimmer barely poking at the west horizon, the area around them remained well lit, though the breeze of the passing winter was still nowhere to be sensed. With all of the commotion accumulating by the northern gate, Lennith City seemed to have much less residents than before. It was then when Jane remembered that she nearly forgot about the city''s evacuation. Claudia was supposed to inform the council of probable danger and have the town evacuated within a month, even though the army was likely to run the same drill. While it wasn''t expected for Jane to have gone to Eldora, defeat the champion, and return in less than a week, the population of random citizens here seemed to be heavily reduced.
After exiting from Route 787, Jane and her team got to see firsthand how Lennith City was getting along. All of the soldiers of the General Army were gathered at the northern gate, too far for any one of them to make out Jane''s personnel. Their heavy abundance of people gathering made it obvious from any angle, though it only took Jane a few more steps into the grassy floor to be called out by someone else who knew of her name.
"It''s them! Jane!"
Tracking the female''s voice with her ears, Jane spotted both Claudia and Alyssa, who immediately recognized and approached them. Despite having one extra person, Jane was already informed that Iona previously met with Claudia, though Alyssa''s knowledge may or may not be in sync with that, not that it mattered now. This little reunion was one Jane expected to happen, and she relaxed at the thought that she returned to a place she could potentially call her home. Staying in a hotel room in one place for several days while meeting so many locals can do that to a person in Sprawn Valley.
After finally catching them close proximity, Claudia caught her breath, letting Jane see how impressed she was with the development here. "I know you said you''d be back with the army, but I never thought you''d bring back so many soldiers with you." Her voice seemed slightly unhinged, having not have expected this turn of events so smoothly.
Even right now, Jane is just gracefully strolling back in; she actually did it! Though how - was out of her line of imagining. "I had a feeling Jane could pull it off," Alyssa declared. "How''s that necklace I gave you? You didn''t lose it right?"
Having been given no other chance to say anything, Jane quickly fumbled for her supply sphere, reassuring Alyssa as fast as she could. "No no! I kept it in here for a while is all. You never know with all of these thieves around."
Taylor could feel how nervous Jane suddenly became, though it wasn''t to her current knowledge that Alyssa gave Jane one of her necklaces as a token. It must really be something important.
Alyssa giggled, "I''m just messing around. I know you wouldn''t lose it. I''d keep it in that thing inside the sphere if I were you, since you''re going back to that horrible place."
"Right." As Jane agreed, she attempted to catch up with any news about the place. "How fares Lennith while I was out?" Anything could have happened, but both Claudia and Alyssa were looking well, especially today, as they were wearing dress spheres that could almost be considered something only for comfort.
Claudia was clear in her confession. "We started the evacuation days ago, and assured everyone that they should take their time to collect all of their belongings, but not too much time. Those still here are simply sitting tight in their homes while they pack everything in, but I''m afraid this big of an army has some of the stragglers feeling safer than they should."
"It won''t be a problem," Jane promised. "Trust me. We still have some time before we can be worried about sudden expansion." Claudia seemed to be mildly surprised by Jane''s confidence, but she had no choice but to remain valiant. The horrible reminders of that dark place still had her nerves shaking under the facade.
Alyssa on the other hand was easily distracted, pointing out behind Jane. "Who''s the blond? I don''t think we''ve met."
Iona tensed and stepped forward. She hadn''t realized there were other people hiding in Lennith who knew Jane so directly. Claudia left this detail out, but it may have been on purpose to protect one of Jane''s personal situations. Iona didn''t know much about her at all, but it wouldn''t be proper to hide behind her friends at this time. "I''m Jane''s older sister, Iona."
"But we just call her Iya," Taylor corrected. It''s a nice short nickname, but Iya demanded to be called by that nickname more so than her official name. Reasons? Anyone''s guess.
Alyssa shook her hand with Iona without much expression, still getting over the surprise of having further surprises. "I didn''t know Jane had a sister. Sorry, I''m Alyssa Valor."
Iya didn''t seem all that surprised to meet a friend of Jane''s, but this person seemed about a year younger than Jane herself, with shorter, darker hair too. She shook Alyssa''s hand effortlessly, and while she had a lot of questions, Jane and Claudia had more important matters to discuss first.
"So you actually managed to beat the highest ranking member of the elite five!" Just now, Claudia sounded like a woman excited about getting a person''s autograph. "I never realized your symbol had so much power."
"Uh," Iona backed up a step. "You both know about that?"
Claudia addressed Iona quickly. "Sweetie, Jane literally defeated Sir Danton on national television. And also for reasons I don''t yet understand, revealed her symbol in the same broadcast after she already won the match."
Jane briefly cleared her throat to explain herself, realizing that she left that little detail out from Iya. Though she did recall hinting at it earlier. Her parents would soon realize the truth too if they were watching. "Plan B. In the event that my unusually powerful victory wasn''t enough to persuade Danton to either assist us today or step down to let me have the controls temporarily, plan B would have been to intentionally reveal my secret to Danton. This would legally invalidate my win at Eldora Tower. Danton felt pressured when I won that battle because he knew that while something just wasn''t right about me, the law demanded he step down. I had to remove that pressure because it wasn''t working. Even I know that battle doesn''t count as a real win."
"You shouldn''t sell yourself short," Danny stepped in front of Jane, promising to her face. "Symbol or not, you battled Danton so well that I couldn''t once predict your next move or action. You dismantled everything that man had to throw at you."
"Can''t say I''m surprised." Claudia folded her arms in front of her, sensing her instincts to be true about Jane. "When we scanned her aura in Lennith Academy using our equipment, you should have seen her ME levels. The amount of Magical Essence points Jane had at the time was unbelievable. But with the symbol still on her, I bet those numbers got much higher since then, so long as Jane continued to train and battle."
"Jane''s essence points are really that high?" Danny didn''t doubt the claim, but it made him think about the overall design of the spell bomb. It took him an extra moment, since the concept of ME levels was new to him overall. "So the E-7 Mark 64 works fast by forcing the natural ME levels on a person to be overcharged." ME stands for Magical Essence, while MP stands for Magical Potential; the amount of percent remaining from a person''s charged up ME levels during ability usage. The higher the ME, the longer MP lasts, making it appear in battle as if others are using less energy to invoke the same spell compared to those with lower ME points. ME increases slowly but gradually upon training, just as HP endurance does. With something overcharging a person''s ME levels on such short notice, it''s no wonder how someone like Jane was able to learn spells so quickly, conserve MP energy, and invoke such powerful spells so effortlessly. The process of that must be so unnatural for this type of situation. "I''m beginning to bet that right there was the reason the spell bomb made Jane sick when the device put that symbol on her."
Jane was a bit impressed that Danny came to that deduction, but she went further to explain it herself. "My body had to get used to an unusually high amount of extra energy potential in such a short time. It was no wonder why I wasn''t able to invoke most spells during the incubation period. All of my spells were becoming overcharged with my aura, which forces them to not only fail, but to backfire as well."
"E-7 what?" Claudia attempted to repeat.
"It''s the code name that the Scarlets used when they made the spell bomb used to plant the symbol on my hand," Jane testified. "The classified experiment the Scarlets have been doing with experimental spell bombs created the E-7 Mark 64, which is the one and only prototype device used to create the symbol bonded to me."
"And the Scarlet Cult made it?" Claudia felt a bit dizzy. Jane did not report this to her before in the past. The highest criminal organization was responsible for this? And the spell bomb really is a one of a kind prototype? "Jane, how in the world did you figure this all out?"
"What the hell are you all talking about?" Iya demanded.
Alyssa held Iona''s shoulder, lightly pulling her to the side on a walk. "We really need to bring you up to speed. Luckily, I know most of what Claudia knows about Jane''s situation, and I want to know more about Jane''s bigger sister. I hope you can fight really well..."
After Alyssa carried Iona off to continue their own chat with Iya showing some reluctance, Jane got back to it with Claudia. "It''s a long story, and I''ll fill you in on that particular detail after I inform Danton of the same news. I''ll be asking you for a favor, so don''t go far."
"You''re raiding the dark zone tonight?!"
"We all are," Taylor confirmed. Carrying out her bow to show off her special strength, Taylor made her natural attempt to persuade Claudia that everything was in capable hands. "Us and the General Army. We''re all going in, and we''re all coming back out alive."
So these two are Jane''s friends, the same people who bravely bombarded her with questions regarding Jane. They supposedly went off into the dark zone and snatched Jane out without suffering from a single scratch. Right now, Taylor appears seriously powerful, wielding a weapon totally alien to herself. Danny''s stance seemed percussive to, though he wasn''t wielding his weapon openly. With only a short pause, Claudia replied, "I''ll hold you to that. Go and get caught up with the army then. I''m sure they don''t like waiting for more than a full hour."
"Teleporting morons!" Danny muttered aloud. "Just make the most important team walk all the way here; ignore the fact that we could have teleported too."
Jane nodded a refusal. "Mmm! It''s okay. If we did try to teleport here, I wouldn''t have found Iya on the bridge behind us. She would have lost my trail in Eldora, and that''s not something I would have wanted to happen."
Danny rebuttaled, "You''re awfully optimistic about things." It was hard to argue with the logic though, the way it all turned out. They would have missed the Scarlet Cult too, and the truth about Gieger. But Iya isn''t even that strong with magic, so wouldn''t that be useless anyway? Jane probably still wanted to know about her sister though. "Oh well. As long as things go smoothly from here."
Taylor punched the back of Danny''s upper torso, causing him to stumble slightly. "They will. Keep your head on inside of that hell, and we''ll both be okay."
"Alright! Alright!" Even Taylor was calm and confident about the mission. Danny had to push out any and all doubt. With Jane and Taylor to follow with backup of the entire army, nobody here has to die.
"I''m glad to see you''ll be going in as a team this time instead of running in alone," Claudia lectured. All three of them were in a state of peace, despite how prepared they were to go to battle. It''s an incredible thing, but even Jane Venn appears to be looking better. Last time, her solid rush into that death trap seemed so meaningless and stupid, but this time, she is doing it to save Lennith City.
Jane signaled Danny and Taylor to follow her lead. "Come on! We need to meet up with Danton and figure out what the plan is." With that, Jane led both of them towards the army, leaving Claudia to stand in wait for her next chance to talk to Jane again afterwards.
Chapter Theme Shift: Infiltration ~ FFXIII-3 OST
Once Jane''s team got close to the barricade of soldiers all crowded around, speaking to each other in a large informal conference, the talking grew silent quickly, drawing out the immediate attention of Sir Danton. Standing beside him were the other four elites that Jane managed to defeat in the battles of the Eldora Tower. From there, Danton greeted all of them formally.
"Glad to see you''ve made it to the force." Upon noticing Jane and her friends again, the three of them stood out by how prepared they appeared to be. Jane with her ceramic Sphere Gauge E-4F Armor and hidden dagger blades tucked away as usual, Danny with a strong blade, the HT-T2 Mark 55 Seeker T-Sword, and Taylor with the Marine Eagle bow equipped to her back over a strap holster. All three of them have prepared themselves for the fight of their lives, considering that is what''s at stake this time. Jane seemed to uphold every intention she had so far. Despite being marked, she wasn''t hostile in any other way at all, just a determinate young woman capable of accumulating followers and giving anybody a bad fight. Every second that went by, Danton has had more chances to assess Jane''s own character, and in doing so, she''s been less of a problem to deal with than other people of closer circumstances. No; Jane Venn is not a hostile creature at all, and she isn''t even tempted to keep the power of her own symbol. Most unusual...Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"We all made it here," Jane replied. She was soon distracted by the other members of Danton''s force, the other elite soldiers she battled before all walking out and taking a formation behind Danton. Two behind him on the left, and two on the right. Cleo, Krysta, Mainne, and Brock.
Danton wanted to explain the reason behind this without delay. "It appears that my team wishes to accompany us on this operation."
"Operation Restore Outback!" Jaen blurted. She couldn''t help getting excited about fighting with Danton''s entire team, as well as restoring the Outback to its former glory.
Cleo huffed at her remark. "Oh is that what we''re calling it now?" How can a person be so excited to rush into danger? Jane just seems like a silly girl who has the misfortune of betting involved with terrible things. This can''t be the same power that defeated himself and Sir Danton. "Hey boss? Are you sure it be wise to take these kids into a restricted zone? I''m not sure they''ll be okay."
Jane defended herself on the spot. "Didn''t I kick your butt this same morning?"
"You cheated," Cleo corrected.
Danton refused to let an argument begin between anyone at the moment, and shouted, "Enough!" He only continued after the silence endured, causing a lot of other soldiers to look his way and gather around to figure out what the fuss was all about. "We have a mission to uphold here, and we are beginning the operation on the same night. If all goes well, we should reach the Den of Purity before O-one hundred hours. There will be no breaks, no stops, and no mercy shown against the enemy. I''ve already briefed my soldiers on the method of entry and procedure. But as for you three," Danton made sure that Jane and her friends were paying close attention. "It''s time to discuss the operation''s strategy."
Danny and Taylor got closer to make sure they could hear everything properly, and Danton cleared his throat once, ensuring he would not need to repeat himself on the matter. "Okay. Here is how this will work. I am dividing the General Army and our forces into seven separate brigades. Each one of the seven brigades will have a certain amount of well-armed soldiers and at least one elite specialist well-trained in the arts of Leray magic." Danton held onto his idea firmly in belief, taking Jane''s earlier claims of the dark zone''s weakness to full throttle. "I need to have at least one local Leray agent take part in the operation to monitor our progress, and G-section will have that covered. Sergeant Gains will be accompanied by fifty of our loyal men."
Danton took a short breath, realizing there was a lot more to say. "Team Krysta will have Krysta here as the assault team leader with soldiers assigned to her. The same can be said for team Cleo, team Brock, and team Mainne. And then there will be myself with a few well-trained men I happen to know personally. That right there is six. The seventh squad will be yourself and your friends, accompanied by twenty-five heavy hitter soldiers. You will be team JDT."
Jane was impressed at first, especially since he realized what JDT really meant to her after such little time, but the thought of splitting the entire army up seemed to be counterintuitive to the purpose of bringing so many soldiers in the first place. As Jane opened her mouth, Danton continued talking over her.
"Our seven divided teams will have a distance limit!" Danton spoke louder to ensure everyone was reminded of this detail all around him. "We will begin the invasion as one large group to perform recon and battle at the same time. Once we split up, remain no further than one square kilometer apart from each team in different directions. This will ensure we do not become surrounded by monsters, while giving us a quick option to regroup should something go wrong. Team JDT will be the unit taking lead out in front down the main path to the Den of Purity. My team will remain in the center of all other brigades. Team Cleo and Mainne will take west flank, while team Brock and Krysta have the east flank. Once we reach the target destination, we will apprehend our target Brightworth alive. That is all."
Mainne had of course chosen a new suit of dresswear to take on the journey here, consisting of an elegant battle suit that looked half as elegant as the one Jane was wearing during the tournament. For this, she stood out somewhat to Jane and her team members, as they only had the imprinted memory of her wearing an ice dress. Mainne stepped forward and then turned around to project her voice towards the soldiers of the General Army. "Lethal force will be advised against the creatures in Alpha Zero. Do not take any type of damage while in that zone! Healing items won''t have any effect people!"
Krysta addressed Jane and her team out of the surprise to herself. "I never expected to be having to work together like this Jane Venn, but after this, you and I will need a rematch, without that symbol trick of yours. Of course, feel free to use it all you want in the dark zone."
Even Krysta and the others realize the very benefit of having this symbol on her. In this state, Jane very well can be considered a living weapon. But she''s also human just like everyone else, capable of making her own decisions, mistakes, and improvements. Right now, fighting to save everyone and their homes was the only option she was content with. Jane inhaled the brisk air to calm herself momentarily. "If I can remove this thing once it''s all over, I''ll take you up on that."
"Alright!" Brock exclaimed with excitement, right in Krysta''s direction. "I like it when Krysta picks on a particular target. Makes things more interesting."
"Why did I have to be paired with you?"
Brock ignored Krysta''s obvious attempt to hide her own excitement for fighting dangerous monsters. Whenever she''s acting or saying something mean, she usually means the opposite. "Look. I''m not happy at all to hear about Jane''s situation. To be honest, I haven''t liked where things were going for a long time. But right now, we have a job to do, and our man is finally out on the field like he should be. So let''s all do our best and give them hell!"
His words surprised Jane the most. His last statement was full of thrill and satisfaction; Brock was happy about this development. Jane fought Brock in the tower, but he always seemed to have this tough-guy vibe the entire round. Since Brock was knocked out in that match, Jane never really got a chance to learn this much about him. Right now, Brock is relaxed, almost free-spirited. If it weren''t for that, he and Cleo would have seemed far too similar. Mainne tried to facade her own personality at the beginning of her own battle with Jane, but it fell apart in seconds. Is this really what the tower elites are like?
"We depart in six minutes people. I want to see hustle!" Danton commanded the entire army, but he has not spoken to troops like this in such a long time, only since he trained about military tactics with the requirements of becoming Leray champion of Sprawn Valley.
"Sir Danton?"
Danton turned around, noticing that Jane still needed his attention for something other than the operation. Jane would have asked a question sooner if that weren''t the case.
"I have an update about my situation with the unknown spell bomb."
Danton froze for a moment. When did Jane have time to perform a successful research attempt on her unique symbol? "Spit it out."
Jane recalled the entire situation front to back. "On our way back to Lennith City, we ran into a retired engineer going by the name of Gieger. We quickly discovered that Gieger personally developed the spell bomb I used on the night of the Blue Port incident, as well as being the same person who gave it to me in the first place."
"Why wasn''t this made aware to me sooner?" Right, Jane must have prioritized Alpha Zero to come first, even while both matters are equally important. "You must care more about the mission right now, huh?"
Giving into Danton''s curiosity, Jane delivered the full story as a summary. "The spell bomb is in fact experimental, and according to Gieger - was never intended to be used on me or himself. The name of the unit is E-7 Mark 64. But shortly after meeting Gieger on Route 787, we were attacked by the Scarlet Cult who used a large submarine under the bridge as their base of mobile operations."
"Are you serious?! This is some alarming news!" Danton swallowed. How is it that this young girl and her companions always seem to attract the most bizarre trouble?
"The Scarlets were actually after Gieger, wanting to capture him and interrogate him for information of the spell bomb''s current whereabouts. It seems that Gieger made the spell bomb under orders of the Scarlet Cult, but then turned rouge against them after realizing the power of his own creation. They were successful to capture him and leave us in the dust, and now we don''t know where to find him."
"I''ll get right on it then," Danton tried. "I''ll see to it that a report is filed to the emergency response team at Vanon Port. They''ll scour the entire Hollifax Ocean until they pick up the submarine. This is not good Jane."
None of this is good news, but Jane can now at least put some ease to her mind. "At least they can search for Gieger on the side while we take care of this. And the enemy doesn''t yet realize that their precious spell bomb has been used yet. Gieger wouldn''t give that information up, and the Scarlets we faced didn''t recognize me or our situation."
Danton nodded and had to make sure Jane understood the gravity of the situation. "Jane, you''re forgetting about that one stupid stunt you pulled in my chambers this afternoon. It won''t take long for a member of the Scarlet Syndicate to realize that a young female carries the symbol of the device they are after, and then trace her face back to you using the last run-in they had with you and Gieger. Soon, you will be their very next target, and they won''t be happy to see that their one and only device has been expended already." He cleared his throat, sensing much regret for Jane. "They may even kill Gieger upon this rationalization."
Jane locked her breath, noticing how right Danton was. She did expose herself on live television, and it was recorded by many unknown parties as well. The national media may be speculating this to be true too. All that has to happen now is for the Scarlet Cult to watch television or hear the correct rumor, and then that''s it! If Gieger is killed, then it would be Jane''s fault entirely. Then again, she wouldn''t have had to do that if Danton simply stepped down... No! There isn''t any point for making second guesses... "Then let''s just get this over with, and prey there is a way to remove this symbol."
Danton sighed with stress. "You three really do have a knack for attracting trouble on such a galactic scale, but a promise is a promise. We will begin the operation shortly through the north gate of Lennith, and after it is all over, I will look into emergency symbol removal methods."
"Thank you," Jane phrased politely.
Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track AD
"You aren''t about to leave already are you?"
Danny and Taylor turned around to see Jane''s sister wondering when Jane was going to be out of it. Jane noticed Iona too, but delayed herself an answer to continue thinking about the new opportunity. "Iona?"
"Yes?" Seeing Jane in that tough armor was unbelievable. Just about a month ago, Jane would have struggled just to get one Fire Ball out of her hand, though her symbol forced her to grow up so quickly. It came close to angering Iya.
Jane felt her heart pounding, but swallowed her fears and spoke to Iya as she was meant to be spoken to. "I''m sorry I wasn''t there for you that night." Jane could tell Iya was about to stop her and say that the apology was unnecessary, but Jane continued talking to prevent it. "So much has happened, and I know you want to help me out. I want to help you as well, and I''ve thought of a way you can do that."
"Huh?" Iya reacted predictably, but both of Jane''s friends had the same expression too.
"I want you to do some heavy digging for me, both online research and physical research."
"Jane!" Iya sprouted. Her expression seemed to be confused and conflicted with her inner thoughts, but Iya soon took a decision to heart. "Just tell me what I need to do."
"Don''t forget me too," Alyssa exposed her hidden self. "If Iya''s on the same skill level as me, no reason to keep me out of the same research."
Jane agreed to their excitement. Iona and Alyssa may make a wonderful team in forethought. "Okay then. I need both of you to find out who professor Gieger is and who he was. After you get as much information as possible, I need you both to track the movements of the Scarlet Cult, who I suspect may have a base of operations on one of the unsettled islands in the northern region of Hollifax Ocean. But be thorough and check the Gulop region too."
"That sounds doable," Alyssa assumed.
Jane stepped forward and grabbed Iya and Alyssa''s arms with her hands. "The both of you must not engage any one of them should you find anything out. If you learn where they live, you report to me after I''ve returned. Don''t do anything stupid."
"You realize I''ve been training too right?" Alyssa didn''t want to be a bother to Jane''s protective intentions, but it made her feel useless in the grand scheme of things.
Instead, Jane tightened her grip on both of them. "I said promise me you won''t do anything crazy, not without me around."
Iya''s heart sank. Jane wasn''t being mean or demanding. The look on her face and the glimmer in her eyes... That''s the face of fear, the same expression Iya was once familiar with before. Jane really cares about her friends this much, and all she asked in return is for their safety. "I promise!"
Being forced to copy Iona in response to causing no further conflict, Alyssa added in her answer. "Me too."
"I''m going to call home too after you depart," Iya decided. She had to let Jane know directly. "I won''t tell them about the you-know-what, but I promised that I would report your safety."
Jane let a smile cross her face. She really missed her home back in Fronas. Mom and dad should be doing better, much more after Iya delivers her report. "Okay. You can tell them that I may be coming back home in person soon as well."
"Jane!" Mainne called Jane over to her personally, not because the unit was leaving, but because there was something else to discuss. Jane let go of her friends and family, making sure their promises were sincere as she walked off, wishing to spend more time with all of them. Danny and Taylor stayed where they were, allowing themselves and Iya to catch up.
"So," Iya triggered. "I see you''ve both taken a strong liking to my sis. Danny? I really hope you aren''t falling for her. Jane can be a pain to handle in a relationship from what I''ve heard." Danny''s face already turned a little red, but he seemed more confused and restrained than expected.
"I''m not with Jane like that!" he defended quickly.
Taylor hugged Danny''s left arm closely to show what he meant. "Danny and I are the ones together, silly."
"Oh!" Iya held her mouth momentarily after realizing her poor mistake. "I''m sorry about that. You both just seem so close to Jane, and I didn''t see the bond between you two yet."
"It''s fine, I guess."
"So what drew you two so close to her?" Iya questioned. Danny and Taylor being together should have been clearer, but what about the both of them has given Jane reason not to leave them behind? "From what I defiantly know about Jane, once she began to love magic so much that she trained endlessly for it, she actually went and threw away all of her previous friends. Anybody who didn''t understand her love for Leray magic, she just abandoned them and left them behind. But she''s kept you two around."
"Well..." Danny knew what to say, but it was harder to put into words than it was in thought. "To be honest, I don''t really believe Jane had friends back then before we showed up. Jane seems capable of determining who her real friends are just like that."
Taylor tried to fill in the missing blanks. "What Danny means is that... Jane just wants her friends to care about her. Jane wants people who know how to treat us all right. Of course she loves Leray magic though. She''s always been that way." Taylor seemed happy to explain the way Jane was, happy that Jane is still the same person inside after everything that has ever happened. "I can''t really explain why, but I know that I''ll give a lot up to make sure Jane is happy and successful. And I know that Danny feels the same way about her too. Even Jane shares that between us both."
"Passion is a fragile thing I suppose," Alyssa guessed. "After all, I didn''t think I was capable of so much until Jane showed up at my academy, pretending to be a novice and all. It really pissed me off for a while."
"But it''s more than that." Danny knew it was true. "Jane is capable of letting her passion mess up her entire thought process, we''ve both seen it happen more than once before. Despite that, her heart is always in the right place. Taylor and I want to make sure it stays that way."
"But what about your lives? Don''t you have places to be too?" Iya simply waited for a response, but Danny and Taylor were both intensely silent after being asked that. Both of them seemed like they either couldn''t answer the question, or didn''t want to. "I''m sorry! I didn''t mean to intrude in..."
"It''s fine," Danny assured. "You just let us worry about that for now." Even Taylor seemed okay about it for the moment, but Iya did have a point. He had been putting off the Junon airport where Uncle Nyar would be waiting by now, likely since a long time ago, and he never called home since that night in Fronas to give anybody updates. Taylor has a big problem, being selected for royal work. If she is recruited back into the Banshee Kingdom, she''ll lose her entire freedom, as well as the only company she could call family forever. Even Danny thought it was horrible, but maybe Nyar can do something about it... If only¡ª
"Hey guys! Come on! We''re leaving now." It was Jane, calling Danny and Taylor back already and ruining what moment they were having with her sister.
Iya sent them both on their way. "You two make it back in one piece, ya hear?" She saw Danny and Taylor wave at her as they approached the large crowd of soldiers behind them.
"They''ll be fine," Alyssa believed. "Besides, Jane just gave us both a mission of our own." Jane is finally trusting her to do something for a change. Alyssa could remember all of the moments when Jane tried to enlist in the school, but she did so illegally, with the assistance of Claudia. All Jane did was twist her motives to hide the truth that she was marked. Even during that time, she could fight so well and adapt so quickly. A person who can move like air and then go as far to defeat the champion... Sure, the symbol has to give her unfair advantages, but personal skill goes into battling as well. And right now, Jane is willing to face dangers she''ll never personally understand. It''s so brave, so wonderful!
"That''s right. And since it helps me directly in the same situation," Iya realized, "it''s best we get started immediately." With the Scarlet Cult out of the picture, Darius won''t be in the equation anymore, but this only happens if they both do their jobs right.
Alyssa wondered what Iya meant by her situation, but she could simply ask about that at any point in time. They still have all night to get started.
Jane regrouped with Danny and Taylor, who seemed to be looking refreshed from their talk with Iona. "So what do you think of my sister?"
"I like her," Taylor began. "And I hope she trains really hard and learns fast. A match between the two of you is one I want to spectate for sure."
Jane laughed momentarily, for the first time in weeks. Iona learning to become a powerful magic wielder was defiantly a time for the ages. Her parents would never expect that either, but Jane knew she wouldn''t personally mind having that happen someday. She can finally reconnect with Iona after all of this lost time. "Maybe it will happen someday. Anyway, it''s time to get moving. Are all of you prepared?"
Danny took stance with Taylor, pulling out their main weapons and taking a defensive stance that was already well practiced. "Yes," they both said simultaneously.
Jane smirked while glancing behind her. "We''ll show Danton just how good JDT really is, so let''s not let anyone down."
On we march! Danny shouted it in his head, realizing that all of the other teams were already doing as much, passing by the northern gate of Lennith City towards the path to the Outback. Soon, they will be in Alpha Zero again. Unfortunately, the steaks are much higher.
Chapter 54-A: Freya & Atlas
<02/12/1972 ¨C 21:15 | Alpha Zero, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
By the time the faint familiar scent of burnt carbon mesh dusted the air with a dark mass, Jane whipped both of her daggers out as a sign of vigilance. This was the entry to the dark zone, the same exact place she had traveled to before. While traveling with the entire lead units behind her, the General Army troops marched and spread out further behind them. Their bobbing metallic armor and metal shields made resonant noise in rear tow, though Jane''s tough magical armor had much of the same properties. In just a matter of 50 seconds, the skies above everyone began to fade into a darker red color while the natural light of the setting sun vanished before sinking beneath the horizon. In its place was a deep red veil that managed to warp the very color of the sky and any residual clouds nearby, and the luminosity in the area was cut by about 70 percent. At the same time, the temperature that held at about 60 degrees rose up to about 80 on such short notice. Jane could feel her entire body beginning to sweat, though she knew this was only the beginning. Something about the dark zone changes the entire environment, which worsens when a person ventures deeper towards the source of the evil magic veil. This also meant that the zone was now vulnerable to random monster spawns and other nearby lurking dangers. In this very moment, the Leray veil of protection cannot reach a single one of them.
It was rough to try and remember any specific landmarks in a zone that naturally has so little to offer but floor void of trees and big boulders. The path leading into the Outback has this property, but then the dark zone also has similar properties due to the damage of its environment. In those moments, it was hard to tell if this specific spot was the same location Jane made it to before, when she last entered the dark zone. It was spreading, but there isn''t any way to prove it based on her eyes and the memory that has fooled her long since. The only type of landmarks that can survive here are large rocks and boulders, as well as deep sinks and hills between the mass; the ground is hardly flat all the way through. It much more resembles a valley in distress and wither. Jane stopped in her steps, bringing the entire army unit behind her to a halt before they could demand an explanation. Danny and Taylor clung close to each other and right behind Jane, glancing around for any signs of danger Jane might have sensed. But it was Mainne who stepped out of formation marching straight for Jane Venn.
"Why are we stopping?" she questioned. Her breath felt as warm as the air around her, a very unnatural and creepy feeling that made her twitch inconspicuously. Wearing a different type of battle-gauge sphere suit similar to the one Jane used in the championship match, Mainne felt much more mobile compared to before, but she regretted not wearing a suit of unmelting ice with this level of heat expanding and rising before her every nerve.
Before answering, Jane lifted her right hand, gripping tightly to her dagger while releasing a tiny amount of her Leray energy into the air above her. In just less than one second, a neon box faded into view projecting holographically to her will. Above her head, Jane activated her Leray energy scope, displaying the results in front of everybody. As a result of the unnatural phenomena, Mainne''s own question had been answered remotely.
The coloration of the energy scope was a bright green instead of default orange. For everybody who already knew the difference, it meant a lot of things. The entire General Army would of course understand the difference in coloration, as that detail is drilled into basic training for all soldiers and Leray experts. An energy scope colored in green means that the target is not currently protected by the Leray veil of protection, and is therefore vulnerable to real time damage. It shouldn''t normally be possible to see a green energy scope however. Without the Leray veil enabling Leray magic, the process of displaying a magical energy scope projection would be impossible too. Since Alpha Zero has its own dark magical veil in effect, all magic is still possible, including energy scopes. Jane must be announcing the radical shift in the energy veils she was already able to sense.
Jane briefly turned around to explain the situation, noticing just how different everything looked with only red light available. "We have now entered the effective range of Alpha Zero. From now on, monsters can come out of random summon glyphrings on the ground. Dark magic will have a higher power level, while Leray magic will have a weaker power level and effect. Everybody needs to remain on guard at all times." She projected to the crowd of soldiers, assuming they didn''t know a single detail about the dark zone. But just by announcing their arrival in Alpha Zero, Jane designed herself to appear more self-aware than anyone on the team so far. As a response to her announcement to remain ready, Jane''s entire team, including the leaders on the other combined teams began to enable their energy scopes. The boxes appearing everywhere provided a slight amount of extra light being that there were suddenly so many bright green neon colored boxes appearing in unison.
Danny huffed from how warm it became. It wasn''t like the weather gradually warmed itself up. Instead, the change was much more sudden, like walking into an entire chamber set to oven-baking temperatures. Though it was only around eighty degrees now, according to Jane''s data from before, it would soon become much warmer than this. Danny reached for his supply sphere, and prepared to take out one of his many units of water bottles. Taylor and the others would probably be wanting some too.
"Right. The operation starts now!" Mainne addressed everybody standing behind her, specifically the other soldier units who likely had no experience in this hazardous zone. "Jane''s team and my team will take point out in front. Everyone else needs to stay back and form a larger party for rear protection. Don''t be afraid to use magic if your guns suddenly seem ineffective." Despite sounding anti-optimistic, the soldiers listening to Mainne stomped their feet in formation, preparing to march at the pace they''ve been ordered to. From that, Jane''s team took point in front, walking cautiously instead of running quickly.
Mainne could feel her heart rate beating much harder than it did in her battle against Jane in Eldora Tower. This felt much more intense; her own life and others were on the line right now, but so far nothing bad has happened yet. The monster spawns weren''t a problem for now. Instead, the dark zone was taunting them to walk in deeper, as if inviting them all to their ultimate doom, and Jane wasn''t taking the speedy approach at all. That drew an even more severe conclusion about the power of the creatures in this zone. If Jane felt more comfortable walking so slowly just to remain armored and ready than to dash forward and reach the objective more quickly, then it really would be a fight to the death, even for one with such a strong symbol like Jane''s. She drew this to also be the most likely reason Danton has not yet intervened in the current travel plans. He wanted to span out all units east and west, but all she asked of right now is to spread out slightly, forwards and backwards.
For several long moments, nothing interesting happened. Danny and Taylor followed Jane closely behind, noticing that both Mainne and Krysta eventually eased their way closer to them as well. Perhaps they wanted to know firsthand how to properly handle a creature of Alpha Zero. Danny knew that he himself did not actually fight a creature either, and neither has Taylor. When they rescued Jane from this place, she wasn''t all that far into the dark zone, and they were lucky enough not to encounter any of those monsters. Maybe they appear once people venture deeper into the zone, like they have some sort of effective summon range.
Jane traced the barely visible dirt path still sunken into the wasteland. The path she followed on last time was still there like before, and she began to take note of some of the landmarks she remembered from the past after finally getting in further. She remembered more landmarks she didn''t spot just yet, but it allowed her to estimate how far in they were. By this rate however, it was just barely at the 10% mark after moving for twenty-five or more minutes. As depressing as it may sound however, nobody encountered a single beast just yet. It''s true that monsters spawn everywhere in here, but even the locations can be a bit randomized, so luck was currently on their side for now.
Jane continued breathing, but as the air around them warmed up, the air itself became thick with particles of charred mist. She hadn''t found any method of fixing the problem of the bad air quality or the heat in the past. Even in one of the battles she remembered from before, an attempt to change the weather using powerful magic also failed to work. Whatever the source of this magic is couldn''t actually be just one person. It would drain the life of that person within less than a day before it could become that strong. But then what was professor Brightworth doing all this time? What the hell is the end goal to this pointless destruction? This couldn''t be the work of another wild experiment, could it? Brightworth! Whatever this is, it stops tonight!
Breaking the sound of the loud endured silence, a high pitch ping signaled the beginning of an unusual encounter. When all units came to a halt with the yelled order from Mainne, Jane took witness to the growing glyphring on their right flank. The glyphring was hanging in mid-air horizontally, appearing to be the size of a summoning glyphring with a dark grey coloration. It was hard enough to see in this haze, though the summon provided a fair amount of natural light. Jane called the situation as it was, preparing herself and the others for battle. "It''s a natural summon! Everyone get ready."
"All units prepare for battle!" As Mainne shouted the command aloud for everyone to hear, Danny and Taylor rushed in to take point next to Jane, forming a protective formation with Danny on the right of her and Taylor on the left. It wasn''t exactly the same formation in the battle plan, but easy enough to adjust. Mainne too rushed towards Jane, eager to figure out a proper battling technique, while Krysta followed the same lead. Wherever Danton and the others were, they had to be in the back of the pack protecting the rear end of the hundreds of soldiers all bunched together.
Chapter Theme Shift: The Eternal Struggle ~ FFXIII-2 OST
The roaring wail of the unknown creature of evil sent vibrations of shockwaves through the earth itself, nearly breaking everybody''s eardrums momentarily. The dark colorless glyphring that the creature was summoning from opened up to allow the monster the ability to travel here in the real world. So far, the only thing that emerged was the creature''s head and its oversized arm. The beast had some large teeth, but even sharper claws to its single hand. Jane waited for the creature to fully emerge, but instead, the glyphring remained open while the beast failed to pass through entirely, and it gave up trying to allow its full body to form. This didn''t mean it gave up on its prey.
Though Jane had never seen a spawn like this one before, she knew much more time was needed to study the creature''s behavior. She held her arms outward at both angles to keep her friends behind her for protection. The monster could be of any level of danger as far as she knew. Did it get stuck crawling out of that dimension? Or did it simply not require its full body to make short work of the military brigade?
"We need to attack it!" Mainne decided. She leveled aim at the creature, forming a small ice glyphring around her wrist, using Leray magic that best suited her entire style of battle. Before Jane could protest, Mainne launched an Ice Bolt attack aimed at the monster. As the bolt made contact with the black muscular body of the monster''s chest only halfway in phase, the magic exploded violently to create a blast of frozen dust blasting the target and possibly causing some damage, but without an energy scope, the damage was yet to be known.
Right in front of their eyes, the monster and its entire glyphring suddenly disappeared, and then faded back into reality just a second later. Only the position had changed significantly to the left flank. Teleportation! Jane knew it mimicked instantaneous transference much more than regular teleportation, but it described one of the monster''s many traits and battle skills. However, the beast, even after teleporting away and back wasn''t currently attacking them just yet. Most of the monsters she could remember were faster and stronger, battling against her just for the meal they would obtain out of this fight. This one is slower than the others. Though its defense is something else, the attack power on this species may be a bit lower than standard. It''s the perfect candidate!
"It can teleport!" Danny knew everybody could see what just happened in front, but he was surprised to see something like this for the first time. The only creatures of magic he ever laid any eyes on before were the Cran everybody fought in the Hix Ruins, and the summons people could learn. But even summons outside of Alpha Zero didn''t behave like this. Without any master, the monsters here were bloodthirsty and wild. Though he could feel nervous surges going all around his body, the urge to protect himself, Jane, and Taylor resonated further.
Jane telegraphed her next strategy to the team around her. "This one is slower than the others. I''ll be able to show you how to battle against these monsters."
"I''ll draw out its energy scope," Mainne decided. She used a small amount of magic on the creature, forcing an energy scope to appear over the monster''s strange body. The unknown species basically kept up with the still floating glyphring it was attached too, never revealing any more of its figure than it already had. With the new neon box above the creature''s head, Mainne would be able to keep track of its stats, and calculate the damage level her first strike did to it before.
Like any human, the coloration of the energy scopes also followed the same status pattern as any other, but the name of the monster failed to appear for some reason, miring the information about the beast into a state of the unknown. As for the damage, it seemed that Mainne''s magic was hardly a match for the creature, but Jane just announced that things were going to be okay.
Jane made sure the beast wasn''t about to attack them any time soon, using her right hand to point and aim in case it would. At any moment, Jane would create a Farshield. "The monsters here are not identified by the official Leray database, so they won''t show up on their own. For now, I''ll create a code name for this specimen." Using little magic at all, Jane simply altered the identification data of the holographic text box that Mainne summoned above the target, while creating an additional smaller text box known as the action display center.
"Code name is now Quantos. The ADC will let us know if an attack is imminent from the creature. But it won''t work every time, so remain vigilant."
How did Jane know so much about this already? Krysta already learned that Jane was the survivor of venturing deep into the dark zone and being ejected with some injury, but no other scout team has managed to get this information. Those who survived barely caught glimpses of these ravage beasts. As the creature floated through the air slightly, the energy scope struggled to keep up with the position. Everybody''s energy scope in the army was currently engaged at the same time, which made them harder to read when bunched up so closely. But with the first part of Jane''s tutorial explained, it was evident that her time to talk was now over.
Hammer Swipe! That was the text showing up just now in the action display center, while the monster accelerated its speed in midair towards Jane''s formation as it could fly effortlessly. "Here it comes!" Jane alerted. With her team bracing themselves for the attack, which could literally be anything, Jane prepared herself to dodge the attack rather than use a power shield against it. Unable to read the monster''s mind, who knew what sort of magic it was about to use on them? When the creature came danger close to Jane and her friends standing too close behind her, Jane backed away a couple of steps before noticing the swinging motion of its arm with its claws brought out. It''s a physical attack!
Jane leaped backwards from her current position, expecting to land on Danny and Taylor. She instead managed to land on her feet without hitting anything, soon realizing that they too could see the Hammer Swipe attack coming. Everybody reacted as fast as Jane did this time, and got to see firsthand how Quantos executes one of its attacks. Using its massive arm, the beast swiped over the air in an attempt to slam its body part into the people on Jane''s team, but as it missed his target, a slightly audible whooshing sound was the only thing Quantos managed to get out of his attack turn. Monsters like these don''t normally take so long to act, especially in between other attacks, but as Jane pointed out before, this creature was much slower than the ones she used to encounter, probably a fresh species with no battle experience in the first place, and likely hindered by its inability or unwillingness to break itself fully out of its own summoning glyphring.
With the attack failing to impact any particular person, it gave the army behind them enough reason to return fire immediately. Equipped with heavy rifles for long-range weaponry, they opened fire with as many precision rounds as possible. At the same time, Jane felt that now was the best time to counterattack. Creatures of the dark zone resist specific elemental damage against Leray magic as well as resisting Leray magic in general, but it was usually the case with fire based spells. Trusting her gut, Jane decided to aim her hand building up with magic towards the floating monster, and commence attack with the chant of her invocation. "Thunder Flare!" Jane quickly managed to create a large blue sphere of light encasing the large beast, and the sphere soon lit up brighter as electrical discharges inside of the magical aura unleashed a high voltage of hell against Quantos. The sphere engaged its attack design, electrocuting the monster where it was, the power of the attack amplified by Jane''s powerful will to destroy the spawn of evil. By the time the electrical spell was over, Danny and Taylor took point and begun their attack from a distance as well, while Jane made sure to assess the damage to Quantos.
It seemed that Jane''s magic was a heavy hit to the monster. As the bullets continuously penetrated the skin of the monster from the General Army, they weren''t helping one bit to deplete much of its HP, though it did eventually make the difference by one or two percent over a longer duration of time. Krysta decided to trust her gut with Jane''s relentless spell cast pattern, and tried to perform the same trick with high tier magic. After aiming her hand at the monster still hit with the pain of Jane''s powerful electrical attack, she released her own magic, certain it would do its damage. "Triple Fire!" The red glyphring around her wrist activated, launching three separate Fire Bolts each with their consecutive power level of a fiery explosion on impact with the target. The Fire Bolts each managed to lock on to Quantos in order to not miss the mark, but it wasn''t as if the large beast made an attempt to dodge it in the first place. After the fiery dust from each of the three explosions faded, Krysta learned that her strategy though the same as Jane''s had much less of an effect on the health status of Quantos.
Just as Jane suspected. Creatures of the dark zone are for the most part highly resistant to fire elemental magic, which may be why the zone itself is so warm. The creatures here do specialize in heat-based spells and attacks after all. With fire magic this ineffective to damage, she needed to openly report this - making sure everybody understood it. After tracking down that the initial trajectory of all three Fire Bolts came from Krysta, Jane made the status update available for everybody. "Quantos is resistant to fire attacks. We should assume all creatures in Alpha Zero are the same."
"We''ll back you up!" Danny hollered. As he glanced to his side to see that Taylor was ready to fight in sync with his skills, Danny pulled out his Dynamon Hammer, leading Taylor to pull out her Marine Eagle magical bow. As Taylor prepared a strong magical arrow to fire off from the distance, Danny used his free hand to charge an electrical glyphring in front of him. Attacking with this hammer meant he had to get close, which wasn''t the best idea right now. But with such a large weapon radius, he could use the end point of the device itself to block any incoming attack at the same time.
With his magic prepared, Danny chanted his magic at the same time Taylor released her arrow from the bow. "Shock Wave!" Firing an improved sphere of magical electricity, Danny''s power was put into one singular projectile traveling at a high rate of speed. As designed by Taylor''s arrow, her weapon''s fire speed was so much higher than any attack he could think of, and just as Taylor''s arrow was about to strike the target of the monster, the beast immediately zoned out and faded from view. Danny''s Shock Wave attack and Taylor''s Bow Charge flew off into the distance, striking nothing in the end. By the time he could realize what just happened, Quantos reappeared once again on the right flank, using teleportation as a means to evade a deadlier spell that Danny and Taylor would have been able to execute.
Mainne noticed how well prepared the defenses were on the creature, but it wasn''t going to stop her from defeating this spawn of the dark zone. She was in a better line of sight towards the monster after its second teleportation. With her knowledge that fire magic doesn''t do much, it would be easy for her to make use of other spells since ice and wind attacks were of her best specialty. Jane wasn''t giving many orders anymore, only making appropriate suggestions based on her previous knowledge. Since this is a teamed battle, it means anybody can help out in the fight. "Now it''s my turn," she prepared. Mainne charged more MP energy than usual into her personal aura, and then released it onto the battlefield while chanting the name of the spell to ensure she didn''t screw it up. Normally she never would need to chant anything with how tough she was, but these monsters were something else entirely. "Rotation!"
Enabling the well-known magical attack at the highest refinement for wind elemental spells, Mainne combined a tornado attack with higher level Leray magic, making it impossible for the creature to see through the spinning dust of damaging wind as it quickly approached the beast. Some of the dust blew towards Jane''s team as well, but they weren''t in any danger of friendly fire. By the time the Rotation spell engulfed Quantos, magical slashing damage was dealt to it immediately, wearing down the HP gauge over time. But the battle spell itself shrouded the visibility of the energy scope too, thus everyone had to simply wait for the Rotation attack to end before analyzing the situation once again.
Just as the energy scope would have reported, the monster wasn''t even stunned by the attack like it was with Jane''s first electrical ability. Wind attacks were often ineffective as well, but that would have applied to any target in particular, and this monster has more tough and scaled skin making it that much more resistant to slashing damage. Only magic could pierce this thing so far, and quick magic at that.
Just shortly after finding out that Mainne''s Rotation spell was ineffective, the ADC lit up with another warning. Fiery Plume! It''s the name of yet another type of spell, but this time, it belonged to an official Leray spell known even to Jane. One of the evil monsters fought from before knew of the same spell, further supporting her theory that the creatures here are well associated with fiery magic and resistance. This attack was going to be a full area attack too, making it impossible to dodge. Anyone hit from this will inflict second-degree burns while struggling to stay standing from the imminent earthquake infused into the same spell. Jane could see it coming before anybody else, but had no special ideas about how to protect everyone else around her either. As the MP levels on Quantos suddenly dropped, everybody was only one second away from a very powerful attack better avoided.
There wasn''t any way or time to save everybody from this powerful fire based attack. Jane knew already that the only way to protect everybody better was to make short work of this dangerous creature. Even if it is slower than the others, it knows Fiery Plume, and that''s really bad news when traveling without Leray protection on her side. Reacting quickly, Jane fired magic through her right dagger aimed at the ground. "Mako Speed!" The gravity warping magic from the beam she fired into the ground sent Jane soaring into the air, just as the earthquake began to disrupt the area below her. Jane used her moment ascending up from the ground to come up with a powerful attack as quickly as she could, already surging the magical energy into her right hand again.
The heat blew up fast even for Jane, as the fiery air and molten rock shot up from the ground in multiple locations. Jane was sure enough that several people were currently feeling as though they were getting burned to death. Without the Leray veil of protection, the natural pain and damage absorber is removed as well. With her body safe from harm at the moment, Jane proceeded to use her magic against the airborne creature after she ascended off the ground as well. After forming a dark grey glyphring around her wrist, Jane unleashed the refined powerful form of magic towards the monster without any hesitation, while the color of her glowing eyes shifted to a crimson red. "Dark Beam!"
Though Jane was opposed to using dark magic in her life, now was the most appropriate time of any to give it a shot with the full intentions of slaying a mindless monster. Dark Beam, containing only a dark magical essence was a powerful magical skill rejecting the properties of normal Leray magic. Jane only learned of the spell from rumor, assuming the rest. Inside or outside of Alpha Zero, dark magic is super effective, but against creatures that use dark magic, the highest weak points they contain are virtually spiritual magic and dark magic itself. After the red glow from Jane''s hand faded with the glyphring, she then noticed the red pulsing projectile of dark magical energy flying towards Quantos at a high rate of speed. Long before she began to descend back to the ground, the spell impact made short work of the health on the creature. Due to the properties of the spell itself, the impact of the projectile of magic also created a beam of dark energy slamming the creature from behind, as designed into the spell to perform a double hit for double damage should the projectile not miss its mark. Despite having her whole team beat up a little bit from the Fiery Plume that was now already fading away, Jane focused more on the energy scope of her enemy, hoping it was at least near critical condition.
Krysta couldn''t help but gasp in surprise. It was suddenly evident that Jane taught herself dark magic. After narrowly avoiding one of the fire plumes from below, she got to witness firsthand how elegantly Jane transitioned from a dodge straight into a dark magic attack from above. Quantos was far from critical condition, but often do energy scopes turn red anyway when reporting recent real time damage occurrences. It seems that creatures of dark magic are also weak against dark magic too, and Jane presented as much all in one instance. Of course, this monster still has a lot of health left. Looking around, everybody hit by its last attack was still reporting a green energy scope, but it would only take one more attack like that to start more permanent damage to the allied units. Danton should be nearby watching this, right? When will he step in to help? Or did he really think Jane was enough for now?
Hammer Swipe! The same attack it used at first. Everybody saw this coming as the creature approached with physical distance, still ready to battle. Jane was in front as always, but some soldiers managed to step out in front of her and fire their weapons, though it didn''t help the situation at all. Once the monster was in range to begin its physical attack, everybody had to brace themselves. Seeing no room to dodge or escape, Jane charged her energy into both of her arms and shrouded a blue power-shielding aura around herself by habit. Just as the shield encased her body, the monster swept its hand through the air with a high speed, blowing a powerful gust of wind from the ground up, as it also managed to hit a few of the soldiers, sending them flying high in the air to the right as they screamed helplessly.
At the same time, Jane''s shield completely blocked out the attack despite being in the dark zone, but it used up a small amount of her MP any time she kept it invoked. Small hexagons formed at the impact sight of Quantos''s attack wave, but Jane focused more on the soldiers impacted by the swipe, as well as her friends behind her, who were also affected, though just with a small scratch. The men that were hit full force landed on the ground, their energy scopes turning a dark red color to indicate real time damage warnings. Jane had to let go of her power shield as soon as Quantos finished its attack pattern. In hind sight, Jane''s defensive strategy only worked to show off to everybody that she has the unfair advantage against the enemy, further making her guilty of wearing such an unfair symbol that did this to her before even enabling the marking.
After coming out of it okay, Danny and Taylor rushed up in front of Jane, and took aim at the creature just as it began to float away from the area at a slow speed, keeping its eyes on the prey. As Taylor suggested the next best strategy, she prepared her Leray magic in both hands, putting away her bow behind her back. The pain from the Hammer Swipe that came from the last attack Quantos used still stung on the front of her arms and legs despite her clothing designed to protect her skin as such. Taylor let go of any signs of fear and waited for the perfect moment to fight back while Jane recovered from using her power shield. "Let''s all attack it together!"
Jane noticed during her recovery how quickly the elites around them responded to the demand. Krysta, Mainne, Danny, Taylor, and a few of the other soldiers all took a new formation within two seconds, all of which prepared their magic and guns for a single synchronized attack that she likely wouldn''t be a part of herself.
Krysta unleashed her magic, thrusting her glowing right arm high into the air and then back down again, following the same exact hand motion she once observed from Jane Venn''s style. "Photon Burst!" Invoking the spell that was just a step up above the level of Photon Blast, Photon Burst forms dozens of powerful photonic projectiles of non-elemental Leray magic into the air to crash down on the target from above with the radial effectiveness of an area attack. Because of the angle and speed difference, it used the same amount of magic as Photon Blast while dealing more damage than usual. As Krysta invoked this spell towards the sky to begin a strong area attack, her partner chanted and invoked the same exact spell just half a second after her.
Performing the same hand motions and magical invocation, Mainne chanted the name "Photon Burst" alongside of Krysta, doubling up on a powerful spell designed to give the enemy hell. She watched after using up much of her MP energy as the photons slammed into the body of the creature floating in the air. The damage done for each individual hit was just enough to bring the enemy off its own balance, as the creature began to roar in its own pain and defeat. The health status declined rapidly as the rain of photons continued.
This was just part of the team attack. Just as Mainne and Krysta invoked their own spells, Danny used some familiar magic himself to thrust the earth and rock towards the creature with a high force of velocity. "Earth Glave!" As he released his magic with the impact point close enough to the target, the ground beneath the enemy shot upwards with erecting pillars of rock, turning the earth into a dangerous zone. Though Quantos was floating in the air, Danny''s earth spell shot up the stone pillars high enough to reach the monster, thrusting the rock and dirt chunks straight into the beast''s chest while it was being pillaged with a double Photon Burst attack.
Taylor had something in mind too, but she had to jump out in front of Jane after the Earth Glade left the area. If she ran out too soon, Danny''s attack could have affected her instead of Quantos. As the Photon Burst was a bit lasting, Taylor had some time afterward to release all of her stored magic towards the direction of the monster above. Standing only thirty meters away from target Quantos, Taylor chanted the name of one of her own official spells, releasing a cold and powerful form of magical energy into the area in front of her. "Cold Spin!"
Mainne and Krysta got to see one of Taylor''s special skills firsthand, as Taylor combined a powerful Rotation attack with cold magic, enabling the area inside of the visible twister to reach sub-zero temperatures while dealing a multitude of damage types to the creature. It didn''t take but two more seconds for the Cold Spin tornado to reach the location of Quantos. The area of effect had a very high vertical range too. Quantos became engulfed in the cold tornado before having the chance to teleport away, likely from getting stunned by the other three attacks that happened just a few seconds ago. As it happened, Taylor immediately grew confident that Quantos would be done for.
Dealing a mass array of wind elemental damage, magical slashing damage, and ice elemental damage over a moderate period of time, it was certain doom for the creature after taking heavy hits just before that impact. By the time the tornado faded away, everybody got to see the spectacle that came after.
As Quantos''s HP was immediately reduced all the way to zero just as the twister disappeared and brought the creature into view again, its entire body quickly began to transition into a state of magical disintegration. The summoned glyphring being part of its current body began to fade away as well, and it was just one moment later until the monster burst into millions of tiny little fragments of radiant glassy sand. With that transition marking the death of the monster spawned by dark magic, the energy scope and action display center box immediately faded from view automatically. With that creature gone, the atmosphere here changed just as quickly. Everything went from intense to calm in just a few seconds, allowing the entire team to catch their breath in their own victory.
It was a long silence for over seven seconds, with the only sound remaining to be everybody breathing rapidly as their adrenaline kicked in. It was a fight to the death with every monster here, and every unit knew as much. Some may even be afraid to move after seeing a creature so dangerous as that. Now that Quantos was gone, the teams had their chance to relax. The MP spent from everyone had to regenerate the hard way, so a mild wait was overdue.
Mainne recovered herself and walked swiftly to Jane with a relaxed expression in her body. "What the hell was that thing anyway? You still have some explaining to do young lady!"
Jane wondered what Mainne failed to expect in here. After all of the fighting they did so far, what else did Jane possibly leave out? Mainne could have been referring to her own personal use of dark magic. Other than the accidental learning of Dark Lite Jane used against Cleo in the championship, Jane knew of no dark magic. But after everything that happened in convincing Danton to take part in this battalion, Jane felt the need to learn additional dark magic just for this specific operation, at least one, and trained with it on the way here in secret. Jane went with that likely deduction and responded thoroughly to Mainne''s fears. "I went ahead and tried using dark magic against the creature in my last attack. It was a quick decision because I thought everyone was in immediate danger."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
"But I thought the plan was to avoid using dark magic at all costs," she expressed further.
Jane nodded her head in denial. "I never said anything about which magic types not to use, except for fire elemental magic. For now, it seems that the monsters in here are always weak against non-elemental magic, spiritual damage, or dark magic. And I know it''s illegal." Jane clenched her hands into fists, her thoughts turned violent quickly when thinking about the evil enemies in the dark zone. "But we need to save each other in this zone. If we hold back, we all die."
Her voice could pierce the heavens. Jane didn''t yell or shout, but her ability to project her voice through a long distance with a mild expression was astounding. Mainne on the other hand had but one more lesson to show. "If you keep relying on dark magic, it will consume your mind. You really didn''t know?" How could nobody have explained this to Jane in times like this? "Dark magic can be very addicting to use. You were lucky that the invocation you used didn''t screw you up!"
Jane didn''t know about this fact regarding dark magic. Perhaps this is another reason the involvement of which is so dangerous... Still, "Even if that is true, we have no choice but to give it all we''ve got."
"She''s right!" Danton remarked. After waltzing his way to the front of the line with his team and the other elites behind him, Danton joined in to determine the next phase of the plan, but not before making sure the rules were crystal clear. "Our enemy is using dark magic against us. There isn''t a rule that says we can''t use it back at them. If we were fighting actual people, then the use of dark magic would be strictly prohibited at all costs, but these are nothing more than bloodthirsty creatures without any soul. They don''t deserve a fair fight."
"And what happens if our team becomes converts?!"
Mainne was referring to the situation long in the past yet again, but only Danton would remember anything about it. Still, the case was so unique that repeated data has yet to show the difference between mind alteration and a vile lust for power. "There is still no evidence to prove that using dark magic can cause this addiction you speak of, even for people besides Jane. However, I''m still going to encourage restraint on using that magic format for now. Jane? And everyone else? Only rely on that skill when nothing else works and you''re backed into a corner."
"Danton." Mainne put herself at attention, realizing that her boss was still in charge of the operation, one step above Jane. "We''ll make sure to remember that."
"And you Jane," Danton called. "Don''t be shy about activating your symbol to save others either."
Jane blushed slightly, still realizing that she barely had any control of her own special powers. "Um... sure. I''ll have to make good use of it though. Once it activates, I only get a small window before it goes away again, and a longer window before I can reactivate it."
"Such low confidence ill suits you Jane." Danton pulled out his Mega-Staff, the weapon he used in the championship aired live this morning. "The light I saw on your hand was too blurry to make out during our battle, after which you activated it again in a clear mode. If you were able to use that in order to defeat me and recover your power just as fast, then you of all people should be invincible on the battlefield tonight." His words brought another awkward pause, telling Danton that he was still capable of teaching even people who were stronger than himself. Jane certainly wasn''t shy about letting anything sink into her mind. "But let us not forget the objective today. We will use whatever magic necessary to defeat the creatures that spawn here. The only data left to be collected is the average spawn rate and the density per square mile."
Jane wanted to say more to him, but a sudden flash of red light that dimmed with a remaining luster distracted everybody. It showed up to the left flank again, despite half the team facing the other way for the moment. Danton therefore saw the formation first, a gigantic red glyphring hovering vertically in the air about twenty feet high, now blasting audible wind through the spinning disk first. It''s another monster spawn!
"Not again! All teams form up!" Krysta prepared for battle again, after taking some witness to the yet to be revealed creature of darkness being summoned by a giant red glyphring aimed at the ground. The glyphring itself completely differed from the last one that was seen. When the magical particles of dust formed a shape and structure for the monster being summoned, it was very clear that the type of creature was just as different too.
Jane let her breath escape her quickly. The monster that had just summoned was composed of a black body like the others, but with two large unsymmetrical legs and arms with feet and claws attached to it. It almost seemed like a severely oversized humanoid, almost. The exact shape brought back a particular memory for Jane. The first time she was in the dark zone, she remembered battling against a large behemoth-like hound that was the size of a house, and the other creature she fought was very much the same as this one right here, the volatile Char monster. Jane called it a Char monster in her head because its skin seemed to be charred up by burnt carbon mesh, while its attack capabilities were exceptionally powerful in the fire department. For this creature, its potential was ranked much higher than a monster such as Quantos, four times as dangerous and twice as fast too.
"Negative!" Danton hollered. He replied to Krysta giving an order to stay together. It went against the second phase of the plan, despite them still being stuck in first gear. "We''re proceeding to the second phase right now," he offered. "It seems the fighting here has simply drawn more creatures to us. Things are about to get interesting."
"In that case," Jane offered with her daggers drawn. "JDT will stay and fight this one. It must be destroyed!"
"We''ll begin splitting up now," Danton decided. "I want all teams to split up and form a circular perimeter. We''ll keep enemies away from the main team while protecting the center at the same time. Double time it people!" Danton demanded he saw immediate action. All of the soldiers stayed with their teams, but made sure they were splitting up the groups as well. Cleo went with a bunch of soldiers in one direction. Brock took some soldiers the other direction. Krysta and Mainne had to do the same, while Danton remained a bit longer just to oversee the next step.
A short-lived tremor in the ground marked the beginning of their next battle. Danton peaked behind him to see Jane holding up a Farshield wall against a Crush Wave attack. Like a Shadow Wave, it stuck to the ground, but the impact with Jane''s external power shield wasn''t enough to overcome her focus, instead sending all of that spent energy into the ground or the shield itself. Danny and Taylor reformed next to Jane in order to fight. It was now time to get started. Everybody had their remote communicators hiding in their ears, though they were only to be used in the event of a catastrophic emergency. The battle was only beginning now.
Jane let the Farshield go after the Crush Wave spell ended, and her friends were ready to back her up. After noticing a significant decrease in the amount of people behind her team, it was clear Danton was leaving this battle to them for now, as the advancement north will continue shortly. She had to warn Danny and Taylor before starting the fight that this will not be an easy one. "I don''t want to see a single mistake! This one won''t be easy to defend against." Jane waved her hand forward, forcing a new energy scope to show up alongside the newly spawned creature. She automatically assigned a name at random, while activating the action display center as well.
Chapter Theme Shift: Rising Phoenix ~ Jeff Broadbent
"Freya," Danny repeated softly. He prepared his hammer weapon from the back, enabling Taylor to do the same for her bow. Jane seemed just as prepared to fight as well. If anything, it was faster than the last creature, as the dark monster was already taking a few steps forward, infusing its massive arm cannon with a faint glow of potentially fatal magic. Its other arm was much skinner, and only seemed to be good for close-range attacks.
Just as Jane sensed, Freya was about to use another spell, but the action display center wasn''t reporting anything. Thus, Jane had no choice but to invoke a power shield around everyone. "Get close to me!" Jane commanded her friends with a fast and fiery voice. They did as she said, just like last time against a battle on Route 787. Jane has the power to protect all three of them, but with a higher cost to her own MP reserves. She waited for the right moment, which came shortly after. The monster Jane claimed as Freya decided to thrust its larger arm into the ground as if to use Crush Wave again, but the pattern wasn''t exactly the same. Jane didn''t care about the small details just yet, only focusing on an array of protection. With the sufficient energy already charged up, Jane let it all out, forming a protective power shield around herself, Danny, and Taylor all huddled up.
The force to the ground created a Shadow Wave spell cast. Jane wasn''t expecting the monster to go for something too weak and easy to evade, but the Shadow Wave wasn''t nearly as tall, and in this darkness was practically invisible for more than half of its travel time. Just as the Shadow Wave came close to impact in just a second of time later, all of the magical essence shot upwards, and detonated into a bright and powerful barrage of explosions. Jane felt the shockwaves through the shield itself, and struggled to keep it together due to the damage level being so high against the protective aura. With hexagons making it even more difficult to see the outside world, she knew from that sense alone that Freya used something eight times more powerful than a simple Shadow Wave. The explosions were short lived, and brighter than ever being that they were designed to deal non-elemental magical damage in that form. Only the spell such as Prone Strike could have gone through all of that.
Prone Strike acts as a Shadow Wave in the beginning, then turns into a high damage explosive barrage in the area short of impact, designed this way to confuse foes into making the wrong attempt to evade or block the spell. Freya being a complete mindless monster didn''t understand the full capabilities of Leray magic, or that of Jane''s potential, so it wouldn''t necessarily be able to learn and adapt from her team coming out of this without a single scratch. When Jane dropped the shield after the explosions faded, she already felt weak and defenseless, even with her still high MP level. Danny and Taylor were totally fine, which was the purpose of having them encased in a power shield. Neither one of them were capable of defending against such a strong spell, and to take real time damage with that hostile ability would have led to some dire consequences.
Danny quickly noticed that the monster was currently on the defensive after releasing much of its own energy, but Jane looked as though she had a lot sucked out of her, struggling to adjust her eyes. From there, he took over the next command. "Leave him to us for now!" Though Jane would have been quick to oppose, he didn''t ask for permission, and hoped that Taylor would follow in his lead. As Danny pulled out his hammer and began charging energy into the blunt weapon, he chanted the name of an attack neither Jane nor Taylor recognized. "Midnight Strike!" He had to wait another second while invoking the full power of his magic, draining much of his MP energy immediately just before rushing in towards the beast on his feet. His heavy Dynamon Hammer made it a bit more intense to move around quickly, but he had so much magical aura inside of the device that it began glowing with a white radiance. Just as he got closer to the monster, all three of the jade color glyphrings he summoned in various places all took form, aiming at the Char monster.
Taylor backed Danny up by preparing her bow. She winded up her arrow into the device, though would need more time after that to infuse her own magic into the weapon. Danny was in the way as well, right in the line of her own firing arc. She waited for Danny to unleash his close range attack before trying to use her own. "Electric Arrow!" Since it would take her some time as well just to activate a new magical aura around the casing of her arrow, Taylor simply held back and charged the electrical energy needed for the spell.
The monster seemed like it could take a whack at him any second, but after being this close, he rushed in continuously without any hesitation. With one powerful swing, Danny put all of his muscle into forcing his hammer to side swipe the body of Freya, indenting a hit so powerful due to the back up of his magic, the blunt strike alone pushed the creature back, sliding in the dust as it lost most of its balance. Shortly after his hammer came into contact with the beast, all three of his glyphrings then unleashed Lightning Strikes against the same target. The health gauge depleted very quickly from his attack. Just after his glyphrings had enough, an arrow drilling through the air like a bullet penetrated Freya''s chest, electrocuting the monster a step further from Taylor''s well-timed attack. Danny knew then to begin taking his distance, reforming closer to Jane before attempting to read the energy scope of everyone.
For the monster, serious damage was already done. For Jane''s entire team, the only depleted stat was MP capacity for the most part. Jane, Danny, and Taylor had a little extra time left since Freya had to recover from the last hit her team delivered to it. As for Jane, she recovered her energy and focus as well, determined now that her two best friends were right here fighting alongside of her. Despite the danger, they were doing really well so far. Jane waited for the next move, giving the monster a chance to retaliate just to stay on a defensive strategy plan, while Danny and Taylor both seemed a bit eager to go at it.
After Freya was up again and staring its prey down, it began to unleash another attack. Jane waited to see the name of the attack displayed on the action display center, but nothing came of the holographic text, further proving that it only works half the time on biological enemies. Designed to read the enemy''s mind mid-invocation, it only works better for Leray creatures such as Cran or Leray summons. It was never intended to be used for dark magical monstrosities. When Freya was ready, Jane was left indecisive. Throwing its body into a flail, Freya released some more of its magic, creating a moderately sized Rotation attack.
"Disperse!" Taylor and Danny ran in opposite directions of each other, left and right to avoid the path of the spinning tornado of wind elemental damage. After clearing their distance, Jane remained motionless. It was expected that she simply stand still and power shield again like last time, but that''s not what she did. Jane simply stood there and let the Rotation spell engulf in in a series of strong damages.
Taylor didn''t panic or scream, but instead acted quickly by turning around and aiming both of her hands at the tornado itself. Since she was outside of the Rotation attack, she could use her own magic to manipulate the properties. After quick attempts to slow down the centripetal speed of the Rotation spell, the entire visible formation of the tornado faded from view gradually. After it was gone, Jane was left with a few visible red cuts and scratches in the few places her armor didn''t cover, such as the back of her shoulder or the side of her elbow. The Rotation attack got her, and for whatever reason, Jane didn''t make any attempt to avoid it. It was the most unusual thing she saw so far.
Was she frozen with fear? Jane had faced death a dozen times by now, but it must still scare her. She seemed to be back into it right now, focused on the movements of the enemy, but it made no sense for her to stand there and take an attack. She slipped! Having seen this beast reappear also enabled her to imagine what it might do to her best friends, a fear so powerful, that she''s just frozen.
Jane can''t believe she failed to come up with anything in time. Danny and Taylor simply fled in two different directions, since Rotation doesn''t home in on targets. How could she be so stupid? Jane slapped herself in the face, forcing her nerves to remain active and disciplining herself to do better, and she knew she could start now. All monsters of the dark zone, summons, and other creatures alike need some time to recharge in order to unleash more magical attacks. That means the best time to hit Freya is right now. Not holding back, Jane decided to make up for her mistake with an easy area attack, hoping her team would still follow in her footsteps. "Aerial Plume!"
"Ice Shots!" Used in sync with Jane''s chant, Taylor attacked at the same time to help her out. She created four small blades, each falling into her free hands after putting away her bow. As soon as the explosive rain bombarded the ground near Freya from above, Taylor threw her chunks of frozen metal towards the monster. From this distance, she had to put every ounce of strength in each throw to make it effective at all. Jane''s spell was far more powerful, though it also expended more of her energy at the same time too.
As blasts of explosive magical damage bombarded the area around Freya, only less than half of each blast managed to detonate close enough to the Char monster to affect its health and stature. The creature roared in pain from the damage it took in both attacks, yet its health was still insanely high after all it was through, proving how well Jane knew the toughness of each enemy here. Freya is a monster with a higher level than others.
The explosions from Jane''s spell faded, and now it was Freya''s turn to attack. Though with three targets now spread out, this would have been the perfect time to flank the enemy from the side it wasn''t targeting. Danny was wide open for the opportunity, but decided to carefully maneuver back towards Jane instead of attacking. He ran out of ideas for the moment, choking almost the same way Jane did earlier. Coming up with strong spell ideas mid-battle is much harder than it looked, especially with higher steaks on the line.
This time, the creature turned its body to target Taylor specifically. Freya used its big arm again to try and make an attack work. Only this time, the ADC lit up with the name of the predicted magical attack that was imminent. Crush Wave! As predicted, using its massive hammer like arm, Freya slammed its fist into the ground with intense pressure. Out from the impact came a brighter colored Shadow Wave that continued to advance in the ground towards Taylor''s position.
With no way to help her from this distance, Jane didn''t know what to do in order to help Taylor protect herself. Instead, Danny took initiative, coming up with an unexpected idea that Jane couldn''t read the entire time until after the mess was over with. "Taylor! Catch!" Danny threw his hammer far away from himself towards Taylor. He prayed she could catch the heavy device and not let it hit her in the face. It was a sudden call too, but if Taylor was just as synchronized in thoughts as he was, she could use that hammer to defuse part of the monster''s advancing Crush Wave, a move he had seen before when battling someone else.
With the loud noise of the ground being torn apart in front of her, there wasn''t much more room to hear anything else. Taylor saw Danny''s hammer flying towards her with a soft spin angle. It would be difficult to catch the handle instead of the massive metal brick, but Taylor only had less than two seconds before she would be completely defenseless against the monster''s Crush Wave attack. With pinpoint accuracy in her eyes and her coordination, Taylor gripped the handle piece of the hammer mid-flight, taking control of its trajectory and weight distribution immediately. With no time to spare, Taylor used what traveling force the Dynamon Hammer had in it to her advantage to save time and the muscular energy she would have to spend in order to redirect its current flight path. Holding tightly to the handle of Danny''s weapon, Taylor forced the hammer up high level to her face, then aimed the metal blunt section directly towards the ground. Then she stopped all of its horizontal movement, and brought herself with the hammer crashing down.
Taylor''s movement was quick thinking and intentional. When she slammed Danny''s hammer into the ground in front of her, the impact occurred just milliseconds away from the imminent impact of Crush Wave. Instead of being blasted away with powerful earth based magic, Taylor used the hammer in front of her to partially block most of Freya''s attack. The damage reduction actually worked as well. The wave pushed strongly against the hammer that had been planted into the ground, but the Crush Wave''s speed and power was greatly reduced because the first point of contact was not Taylor to begin with. Though the hammer couldn''t repel the entire attack for as long, Taylor only suffered a mild scrape and a bruise from flying chunks of the earth put into the Crush Wave. The Crush Wave ended early by the time she was in any real danger, and she was then able to lift the hammer off the ground, covered in burnt dirt. She felt as though a small rock was thrown at her left leg, and that was all. Even her energy scope change agreed with the decision, and it was something Danny had planned all along.
Jane winced at how amazing that was, and how awesome it was for Danny to think of it first as well. After failing to plan an attack against Freya when his chance was open, he still managed to plan a defensive strategy for Taylor using his own weapon to block. Jane then realized that she could have used Farshield to protect Taylor, but it would have drained energy from her aura as well. This fight is harder than she assumed it would be. The last Char monster she battled wasn''t half as good.
"But now it''s our turn," Jane declared. "Back me up Danny!" Jane prepared to give the enemy hell while it had time to wait out another spell to charge up. She decided to combine a close combat tactic with a long-range spell, the best strategy she knew. "Telepower!" With her feet and fists glowing blue in color, Jane began punching and kicking the air, though her force with magic was transferred all the way over towards Freya, and the beast began to feel the damage Jane was inflicting on it.
Meanwhile, Danny had to go with a long-range attack, since he had not received his primary weapon back yet. Luckily, he learned of many more from his previous victories. "Creshendo!" To Danny''s will, seven large rocky pillars half-phased formed all around the creature, sieging Freya in lock. While Jane was delivering her Telepower combination, Danny activated his spell, bringing all of the pillars out of phase and causing all seven of them to collide at the same fixed point where Freya was located. Luckily, since Freya was large and slow on its feet, his attack didn''t come near missing, and the spell itself caused a high variety of damage, chipping down its HP below the halfway mark.
While witnessing the monster take additional damage from Jane and Danny, Taylor noticed that this was a better opportunity to give Danny his hammer back. She called his name and tossed it back, but the distance it traveled was just a meter short of where Danny would have been, proving how heavy the weapon was in either one of their hands. Danny had to jump that direction to catch it in time, and he caught the weapon by the metal side instead of the handle by mistake. Though he didn''t injure himself trying, Danny fumbled the hammer in his hand while waiting on Jane to come up with a new defensive strategy, now that it would be Freya''s turn to attack again. That creature still has so much energy and health, despite being red zoned.
Taylor felt herself charge up with an idea in mind to make use of an amazing spell, but she needed a lot of time. "Jane?" Taylor called to her right, demanding Jane''s attention and focus. "Keep him off me for a moment!"
"Yeah! I got it." Staring Freya down, Jane made certain to note any action of the monster. Though it seemed to still be targeting Taylor, Freya seemed to be changing the way it was moving. It crept up closer to Jane for a few steps, and then activated a magical spell, one that registered with the ADC.
"Storm Echo!" Taylor''s voice roared and echoed around the valley, shouting her spell name with fire as her MP slowly and gradually began to drain. It should become obvious to Jane any second now that Taylor''s current ability has a long charging and invocation period.
Jane never heard of the Storm Echo spell either, but Taylor must know what she is doing. For the moment, she and Danny had another problem to deal with. Wind Shear! Jane cringed at the thought. Wind Shear is a very powerful wind elemental slashing attack that is done from afar with multiple projectile like auras that travel very quickly. The last time she endured Wind Shear, Jane was alone, thus the area attack was able to be concentrated to herself. Wind Shear however has the potential to become an area attack by redirecting a portion of the attack simultaneously. Taylor needed more time, and Danny didn''t know what to do either.
Jane knew what she had to do, but dreaded the after result consequences she would have to face as well. Luckily Danny was standing very close to her, which helped a ton even though he had no idea what was about to happen. Just then, Freya unleashed its next attack, throwing visible curved lines of grey into the air flying up and down, over a dozen of them too. Half of them were heading for Jane, and the other half towards Taylor. Just as she suspected, Freya was targeting all of them. With energy already charged and her willingness heavy on her mind, Jane chanted her protective spell with a new twist, her right hand aimed in front with the left hand aimed just in front of Taylor''s position. "Farshield!"
Invoking the spell on chant, Jane managed to form two separate power shield walls at the same time, one in front of her and another in front of Taylor, which is part of her skill method she had never done before. Holding up two shield walls at once already had Jane sweating from her forehead down, as it demanded unparalleled concentration from her mind. The several impacts of Wind Shear were all absorbed into both of the shield walls Jane created, managing to protect Taylor and herself. Jane knew she could have taken the damage, but it would have broken her concentration too much to protect even just Taylor, thus leaving her with this only option. By the time the Wind Shear attack was over with, Jane dropped both shields, and let herself collapse to the ground on her hands and knees. Danny went down to make sure she was okay, but Jane felt too warm. Her heart rate had gone way up from using that much magic all at once. Her hands and legs were shaking and her head was spinning. Jane could only wait on herself to feel better, and for Taylor to do her thing.
Danny was amazed to see that Jane''s MP dropped from the high seventies to the base line of fifty-one percent. She used all of that energy so quickly, all just to protect Taylor and herself in the process. Storm Echo was actually unknown to him as well. Why did Taylor need so much time to use a spell she wasn''t even familiar with in the first place? It''s too dangerous to try that here!
Though Taylor''s hands were already glowing with a blue aura of Leray magic, it had been this way for a long time. When Taylor finally let the stable amount of energy reach the correct level, she released her spell with an audible exhale, quickly spawning jade color glyphrings in the air surrounding Freya on the spot. One glyphring formed after the other in various places, and Taylor''s eyes were glowing blue as well due to the intense energy level of her own spell. Each glyphring was colored with an electrical affinity, and by the time there were twenty separate rings of magic all keeping their aim on Freya, the glyphrings activated one at a time. One Lightning Strike attack was accompanied by another, ending the cycle by starting another one. The used glyphrings faded afterwards, but Jane and Danny got to see the amazing show Taylor put on with lightning arcs endlessly zapping the monster over and over again as its HP drained with each and every hit.
Danny caught a glimpse of Taylor''s used energy, and was stunned to see that the spell she made up in this format required about 50% of her entire energy reserve. It took long to invoke though, but the end result was catastrophic to the monster she was targeting. Freya could only stand there, helplessly getting electrocuted every few seconds. By the time the final Lightning Strike hit the target, everybody assessed the damages to Freya, realizing that there was still a long way to go. Taylor should have tested for electrical resistances before trying that spell out for the first time.
If Jane had time to do the math, every single hit of a Lightning Strike coming from Taylor that time only did one percent damage to Freya''s HP. It wasn''t a good investment overall, but there wasn''t time to complain about it. If all of them just stand around, Freya will try more things to throw at them. Jane didn''t feel as if she could perfect two solid shield walls at the same time again, but she was more than restored enough to throw additional powerful magic at the beast. Hoping the two would back her up, Jane went all in with her next spell, hand held in front.
"Prism!" Using much of her own magic from memory and experience, Jane created a multi-colored glyphring in front of her standing firm. By the time she had enough Leray power to use all of the spell, Jane began her ranged multi-elemental attack. She began with two Fire Bolts, three Ice Bolts, six Thunderbolts, and switched from there randomly to make four more Ice Bolts. Though the pattern randomly selects from five Fire Bolts, four Ice Bolts, and six Thunderbolts, Jane held back on fire for obvious reasons, despite Prism having a more fixed design. By the time it was over, she was sad to see how little effect it had on Freya despite its HP getting low.
After taking multiple elemental damages from randomized bolt projectiles coming from Jane''s illuminated Prism glyphring, Freya seemed unfazed by the attack in general, and proceeded to walk forward towards all three of them. The action display center didn''t function again, and Jane had to trust her instincts to give her the right moment to properly defend herself.
Danny on the other hand hadn''t delivered anything special lately, and tried to interrupt whatever the monster had on its current mind with his own attack. With his hammer back into his hands, he quickly surged magical auras into the device, and smashed it down into the ground after advancing in front of Jane. "Crush Wave!" Using the same type of spell with the force of his hammer to trigger, Danny created a Crush Wave attack with the same power contained by Freya, this time used against the creature. The Crush Waved moved quick enough to intercept the monster and deal a good amount of earth elemental magical damage.
Even before his Crush Wave slammed the target, Jane was throwing some of her own attacks towards the beast''s direction was well, combining two attacks one after the other, despite failing to first invoke Dualcasting. "Volley!" Jane let the sky rain sharp piercing arrows from above, which barely drained an ounce of her own magic. The arrows hit Freya just as Danny''s Crush Wave hit its mark. When Freya seemed to keep its balance, Jane quickly delivered another attack she had kept charged just in case. "Quantum Beam!" Using both of her hands this time, Jane fired a high energy Quantum Beam that filled a large area with a flashy blue beam of magical light, slamming into the monster and pushing it back slightly, but even after that light faded, the creature still maintained the nerve to go on.
While tilting its torso upwards, the beast opened its oddly shaped circular mouth towards the sky, and let out a searing wail that pierced everyone in range with its ultra-sonic scream of terror. The high-pitch noise shook the earth, forcing Jane and the others to cover their ears. The noise level was so loud and painful that it sent everyone to the ground in pure agony. Jane wasn''t expecting an attack like this, and power shield would have actually helped to block some of the noise out as well. Her only thought right now was making the noise stop, not that she had any idea of how to do that.
Freya kept its screaming wail up for five seconds. It was the longest five seconds Taylor had ever experienced in her life. The noise cut through her hands, drilling all the way inside of her head and inflicting her with a bad headache. When the screaming noise of agony was finally at its end, Taylor caught something showing up in the action display center, and could only brace herself by the time it was unleashed. Mega-Quake!
Shortly after getting over the heavy noise that disoriented her entire team, Jane fell off balance again when a sudden earthquake was trigged, but it felt more massive than any regular quake. Chunks of rocks flew everywhere, hitting Jane in multiple locations. From the flashing corner of her eyes, she could see Danny on her right who had just as much trouble, being tossed around by the ground itself. Freya must have used that wail as a prelude to overdriving a massive quake attack. By the time it was over, she only had enough time to check the energy scope of one teammate, and that of her own.
It was nearly too much. Though the overall damage wasn''t as intense, Jane felt as though she had the wind knocked out of her from the force of the ground, long after the quake itself was over. Danny must feel the same way too, despite her own warnings of the enemy''s power. Taylor...
Crush Wave! That was the next action Freya was soon to take. Though some time passed after it used Mega-Quake, its last attack bumped everyone into the ground other than itself. It took a long time before anybody was able to stand back up and feel for the real world again, plenty of time for Freya to unleash another hostile spell, and this time it had Taylor locked on for another Crush Wave attack. After slamming its oversized fist into the floor again, another Crush Wave spell was activated on approach for the disoriented girl.
Jane was able to see just as she was beginning to recover that a Crush Wave spell was on its way to Taylor, who didn''t look at all like she could take it head on. Jane wanted to scream out her name, hoping to at least alert her that there was pending danger, but the previous damage caused some bruising to her chest as far as she could feel. It became hard enough to breathe, but impossible to get in enough of a breath to shout anything out at the moment. All Jane could do right now is watch the catastrophe.
Before she knew it, Taylor saw a Crush Wave just moments away from her. She still felt incredibly disoriented from Freya''s last move; there wasn''t even time to jump out of the way or block it with anything she had. As a result, Taylor got to feel the full damaging effect of a Shadow Wave infused with earth elemental damage. It felt more like her skin was getting drilled into, as the spell did magical slashing damage and created cuts and abrasions in any vulnerable spot on her. Taylor was forced back on the ground, suffering a more intense attack that dealt a bad variety of physical blows. Though it didn''t last long for a spell, it got the best of her before she could do anything about it.
Jane clenched her teeth down and fought through the still lasting pain from the Mega-Quake attack used against her. Forcing herself up, she stood though dizzy and held out her hand between the monster and Taylor''s position, preparing to use a Farshield should it attack her again. Jane didn''t do anything just yet however; she waited for Danny to recover as well.
But when Danny saw the state Taylor was in, and the report back from her energy scope that some real time damage was done to her, he recovered nine times as quickly as he planned to. "Taylor!"
A lot of things hurt right now, and it was hard to overcome the damages dealt to her body. At this point, the fatigue finally set in, and Taylor just wanted to relax her entire muscles, letting the others take care of it, but after hearing Danny''s clear panicked scream, she forced herself to focus. It didn''t take as much as she thought it would to push herself back up, and keeping Freya in her sights at the same time wasn''t as difficult either. The monster was only fifteen meters from her current position, still walking her way as if it were preparing to swallow Taylor for a snack in one gulp. To her side, she could see Danny and Jane preparing to attack. With the monster''s HP not so high, a teamed attack was the best option.
Though her chest hurt more than any other section, Taylor got over it for now to project her own voice to the others. "Team Tri-Attack!" If they heard, Taylor would only need to put in one third of the effort needed to take down Freya. Though the monster was only ten meters away and closing in on its legs, Taylor opened her hand, standing firm while preparing to blast the enemy into dust. With her version of a Tri-Attack, Taylor led off with a cold glyphring, a spell easy to her. "Ice Bolts!" Taylor fired five separate bolts of ice elemental projectiles into the monster. Though they weren''t nearly as powerful as those coming from Mainne''s ice attacks, they worked well enough to slow the enemy down.
"Flamewheel!" Using a more powerful spell that drained most of his energy on the spot, Danny managed to form a horizontal vortex of Fire Balls in front of him, creating three dozens of small fire spheres of energy. Despite the enemy being resistant to fire, having over thirty-six hits should do more than nothing.
Taylor got an idea in her head for later usage in the process. Danny was using Flamewheel, which creates an amazing horizontal vortex of Fire Balls designed for a unique area attack. She has never before seen one make use of an ice version of the same spell. Taylor could create her own Icewheel in the near future with more practice, or maybe even a voltage wheel, or a spiritual wheel too. She snapped herself out of a distracting thought to see if their attacks damaged Freya.
Jane was throwing her all into the Tri-Attack as well, but this time she went with another Quantum Beam, concentrating harder than she did last time. Her green eyes turned into a cyan blue glowing color during her invocation of Quantum Beam, which didn''t happen last time. During this invocation, Jane''s Quantum Beam held a much higher power level than usual as it literally drilled through the body of her target. Combined with Danny''s Flamewheel attack, Jane watched as the remaining HP above Freya finally disappeared.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mako Reactor 1 ~ Final Fantasy VII Remake OST
Much like the last creature, Freya''s entire body began lighting up as though a violent reaction were occurring inside of its burnt flesh body. In just a few seconds later, the beast let out a short-lived wail of pain while its entire structure crumbled into thick dark particles of magical dust, all floating downwards from the air after disintegration. Jane had to wait several long moments before she could believe it, before she could allow herself to relax. Danny and Taylor both felt the same way. By the time the creature''s stats and energy scope faded away leaving behind no trace, they all felt so relieved.
Taylor finally felt safe enough to drop her guard. She felt so tired after just that one match, and the scratches that were left behind lingered as well, which wasn''t something she was used to during her entire stay in Sprawn Valley. Naturally, Danny and Jane both rushed towards her to check and see if she was really okay. The dizziness passed, and the sensation of getting the wind knocked out of her was gone too, but the stinging sensation from each small cut or abrasion didn''t go away. Taylor felt they were too concerned, as the red energy scope was but a warning. With Freya gone, there wasn''t a reason to worry anymore.
"You''re still okay right?"
Jane butted Danny to the side. "Give her some space you!" She redirected her attention to Taylor, who of course was breathing as fast as she was, but seemed physically fine. "All you need right now is a healing orb."
"But I thought they don''t work here."
Jane denied the claim with a nod. "They still work, just not nearly as well." She pulled one out, a spare she prepared in advance to use mid-battle just in case of an emergency. "Using these is still better than not using them at all."
Taylor took the orb, activating it with her aura and using the device to heal herself. Jane was opening up her supply sphere to do the same thing, while giving one to Danny so he could use it. The orbs took longer to activate, and much longer to regenerate the lost health to everybody here. It was like Jane said before. Leray magic is essential to run everything that is also related to Leray magic, including the smaller devices.
Aside from the others, Taylor saw what Jane meant by taking irrecoverable damage in a fight. Despite her health being high, the healing orb only did little to help her, and the warning message on her own energy scope remained there. The healing orb must be incapable of fixing the real time damage that was dealt to her, which explained why her health refused to push past 94%. But her MP stats were still climbing, as they would all the way to 100% as far as she knew. Even now, the orbs were still lighting up, but at this point only MP points were recovered over time. When the lights on all three went out, she left it to Jane to explain it to both of them.
"You only suffered a minor scratch here and there," Jane expressed. "So long as you don''t take any more hits like that, you''ll be just fine."
"So that''s how it works!" Danny concluded. "In the Leray zone, no matter what, the only way you can take real time damage is if an enemy uses dark magic. But being a Leray zone, dark magic creatures like that don''t spawn, so it has to be done by people sick enough to use it against others. Real time damage is just like taking damage in the world outside of Sprawn Valley. Like if I were to get cut by a kitchen knife or bang my head hard enough against the wall for blood to spill out. That''s damage that magic can''t fix!"
"Exactly," Jane summarized. "If you suffer that type of damage, only your own body can heal those wounds, which takes a long time. If you take too much real time damage, and your HP drops to zero, it''s lights out forever. But in the dark zone, dark magical damage is doubled in power, and the pain absorber set in from the protective veil is removed as well. A knife can go through your heart in the veil and you''ll be just fine. The protection zone automatically and instantaneously heals that type of damage on the spot. But in here, the slightest critical hit can kill you."
Taylor admitted they were right to be afraid, but she didn''t let anyone forget the reason for being here in the first place. "I know it''s dangerous, but imagine the dark zone spreading all the way around. It would be a disaster for everyone involved. And I want to stay and fight with Jane."
"That''s all fine, but I''m setting a new ground rule," Danny announced. "Jane? You can team up with Danton if this happens to you. But if Taylor''s HP drops to thirty percent or below in the form of real time damage, she and I both are going back to Lennith."
Jane angled her step to face him more closely, realizing the intelligence with that backup plan. "I''m fair with that rule." Danny has a good point. Protecting these two is hard enough when they can fight, but if they are lying on the ground and unable to move, protecting their bodies will be next to impossible. He''s right to protect himself and his lover in the process of making sure everyone else is okay.
Danny continued the breakdown of his new ground rule. "Taylor, I expect you to enforce this upon me as well should the need arise."
"Then we better keep our health far above thirty percent."
Jane elaborated one more key point. "If you two think you''ve felt real pain so far, think again. I suffered much worse the last time I was here. When your stats get low inside of the dark zone, or due to real time damage, fatigue will be the least of your problems. You could bleed out, faint, or be rendered incapacitated long before your health drops to zero. Thirty percent doesn''t sound like a bad figure coming from Danny. But even at that point during our stay in the dark zone, it will be hard to walk, even harder to fight. Keep that in mind from now on."
"I''ll be okay," Taylor promised. The things Jane was saying sounded so harsh, but all of it was the truth. She remembered finding Jane''s body around this spot not too long ago. She was sure Jane had died by how poor the condition her skin was in, burns and cuts marks everywhere, bruises in multiple locations. What creature was it in the dark zone that got the best of her? Being only ten percent on track towards the Den of Purity wasn''t inspiring either. After all that, were they expected to fight nine more creatures? Couldn''t Jane and Taylor just run towards the goal with no Siriean dome in place to stop them?
"Come on." Jane started to head out again. There weren''t any troops behind her like Danton said there would be. Jane didn''t notice them prior to battle either, so they must have either gotten separated, or simply refused to be part of her team. In either case, Jane didn''t want to run backwards in order to find them. If they have any sense in them left, they''ll either survive, or return to Lennith for their own safety. Danton and the other teams should already be advancing forward, so maybe the area will be in a lower density of monsters by then. "We must keep moving."
Chapter 54-B: Freya & Atlas
<22:52>
Team JDT just recently made another report over the communicator. Though Danton had instructed emergency use of the device only, it soon became a helpful tool abused in order to represent the entire situation so far. After managing to defeat two resilient creatures of the dark zone with only minor injuries to his other teammates, the report was in his hopes good news.
"We''ve just made it past the larger stone arch." Jane held in the ear com with her finger, allowing herself to hear more clearly should there be any replies. "I passed it on my last run as a big land mark. I believe this puts us at the thirty two percent map marker." Despite her own confidence growing, Jane''s demands were constantly pushed back by subtle reminders. Her hair frizzled in the intense heat of the land.
Just as he expected from Jane''s intel, Danny could feel the intense heat growing as they went in deeper. What started as eighty degrees was now closer to one hundred-five, with the highest humidity he had ever encountered inside of Sprawn Valley. He could feel the uncomfortable sweat misting all around his body within his dress sphere. Jane only planned to take a short minute break just to update everybody''s status.
"This is Danton," he replied. "We will continue with the current strategy with the same pace. Jane? It seems that most of your troops decided to bail out, with only a few getting separated from the main force. But a few of them have rejoined with my team, ready to assist you whenever we regroup later on."
"I got it." Jane knew something simple was more of the explanation to what happened with half of her entire team. They couldn''t hack it after all. She didn''t really see the soldiers do much fighting with magic. Perhaps they were only trained with those guns. Effective on people, but worthless against Alpha Zero spawns.
"This is Krysta! We''ve encountered the enemy in the northwest location. They''re everywhere!"
Danton hadn''t heard much of the other team members, but Krysta of all people sounded very distressed by her unknown situation. Did she really run into that many enemies? The density of the monsters has been decreasing after the fighting began in the nearby sectors, but now they were up again? And in that one spot too... "Fall back if you need to. Our team will regroup with yours to assist. JDT will advance forward through a frontal flank, and it will allow us to surround the enemy."
"Got it! Team Krysta out."
Jane heard more interference than usual from Krysta''s communicator. Perhaps she was further away than she was supposed to be. But northwest was about the direction her team needed to travel from this current position. The road here winds in that direction anyway, and Danton had new orders to march forward.
"Jane! Heads up!"
Alert to Taylor''s warning, Jane noticed after squinting her eyes in that same direction that there was movement in the distance. With such little light available, it was hard to tell, but dark shadowy lines moved right on the horizon, slowly crawling its way towards them. It didn''t take more than six seconds of guessing to realize that all of those small dark hazy spots were enemy creatures.
Jane had never seen anything like it before. The creatures now close enough to add detail to her observation were much smaller than a human, barely the size of a dog. But there were over fifty of them... No sixty... The numbers of the smaller monsters grew as they crawled on their claws over the hills. It was like seeing a massive army charge at them in formation. The monsters, the behavior, everything about this was suddenly abnormal, and they were coming for her.
"What the hell are those things?" Danny fussed with the situation growing grim, but prepared to defend his team with his weapon swapped out for the sword this time. He left his left hand open to fire Leray magic as well, but there would be no designated target with so many enemies in sight. Were all of them together going after his team only?
Chapter Theme Shift: Magus Night ~ Xi-on
This is what Krysta meant. Jane was sure about this, these unknown creatures that are taking the danger level to a new height using numbers to their advantage. Jane specifically specified safety in numbers earlier, but how did the creatures here adapt to that whole situation? She pulled out both of her daggers, the fast running monsters now in range to use magic against them. "Everybody stay put and fight!" With her order final, Jane activated the energy scope on just one of the dozens of creatures attempting to surround them. She added a name automatically to assign its group type to specific data for later analysis.
"This is Danton to team JDT. Don''t engage the enemy. They''re weak enough to break through. All other teams reduce average distance apart by 250 meters immediately!"
Jane was preparing to battle, but Danton was now asking her to run forward. Was it even a good idea? "Mikespurn." That wasn''t a bad idea for naming such a small yet dangerous creature. Danny and Taylor prepared themselves next to her just as Jane decided on whether to comply with Danton or stand still in a defensive formation.
"Nah!" Without announcing the official name of her spell, Jane invoked a Shadow Wave using the magic from her right hand, tossing the energy towards the ground and watching as the advancing wave of energy ran over the approaching creatures. In that slick moment, the wave had a surprisingly strong effect on the Mikespurn it hit, dropping the available energy scope to a red zone with less than half the health. Others caught in the blast were blasted backwards off the floor, though they landed elegantly after taking the damage. Just as she thought, they are weak in defense, but make up for it in numbers. "Use area attacks!"
Taylor could see the Mikespurn getting closer, though followed Jane''s advice with an immediate idea in her head. She held up her bow, infusing an arrow with magic and aiming it towards the red sky. "Volley!" Just as Taylor fired, there was going to be a momentary delay before the spell would trigger its amazing effect of arrow duplication.
During that moment, Danny went ahead with his own idea for an area attack. "Meteor Strike!" With his invocation taking place, Danny saw Taylor''s Volley spell activate well before his own. As the arrows began to blast down from above, he and Taylor were both amazed to see that the speed and magical infusion level of each arrow copied those effects of the weapon attached to Taylor''s bow. The arrows drilled into the ground, over sixty of them in total amount. The arrows that managed to penetrate some of the creatures caused severe HP damage to the healthier monsters. The Mikespurn Jane already hit with her Shadow Wave attack were instantly slain by the secondary hit from Volley, and disintegrated rather quickly, but there were still a lot more coming.
Just as Danny''s infusion level was complete, his Meteor Strike spell activated, raining down red glowing meteorites from above as they smashed into the floor with enough shockwave to quake the earth. Mikespurn died in several instances and locations being a more powerful spell, immediately clearing the nearby forward area. But after the dust cleared out of the air, he and the others could see the continuous wave advancing from the west and the north. There were just too many of them!
Jane clenched her teeth realizing what this meant. Krysta sure wasn''t exaggerating one fraction of her statement. Danton''s plan seemed better now more than ever. Running towards the objective while attacking only the creatures in the way would be the best strategy to conserve their energy, less they become surrounded by the Mikespurn. "You two! Follow me! We march forward without stopping!" The sound of the screeching monsters all around began to drown out Jane''s voice, forcing her to yell her commands louder. As she began dashing for the objective point with her daggers ready to attack the Mikespurn, her focus came into place just as well.
Danny and Taylor rushed in right behind Jane to follow, and with their weapons drawn, Danny only handled the monsters closer to him with his sword, Taylor using her bow to shoot at any creatures in their harm''s way.
Jane held both of her hands out all charged with Leray energy and glowing jade glyphrings on each wrist. She began firing Lightning Strike attacks through the glyphrings one at a time, aiming at the monsters straight in front of her. The electric shock had a good effect on each monster, but didn''t do enough to kill them in one straight shot, and with her continuous electrical discharges, Jane''s MP levels dropped over time quickly.
"Just focus on the closest monsters!" Taylor reinforced the idea to Jane and Danny, but tripped over her leg when a shooting burning sensation of pain flooded the area.
Hearing Taylor''s screech, Jane and Danny turned themselves around to see that one of the Mikespurn from behind was quick enough to latch onto Taylor''s leg. The monster had its teeth dug into her flesh, taking a large bite into her frail skin to get a good taste for Taylor''s blood.
Danny immediately reacted by creating a white colored glyphring that didn''t need much time to fire a high concentrated beam of Leray energy directly into the creature, separating its jaw from the rest of its charged black body. His quick invocation of Sereing Blast saved Taylor for now, but with their speed reduced momentarily, the other Mikespurn were already surrounding them.
Taylor had to ignore the pain and rip the teeth out of her bleeding leg immediately. She knew it wasn''t safe to bathy herself on the ground in a moment like this, but as she got herself back up and limped over to Danny''s protection, she soon realized how many more Mikespurn were about to be on top of them. Resisting the urge to cry out from the continued pain, the doubts of coming here set in swiftly.
"Crimson Blade!" He rushed the invocation to his sword, infusing fire elemental magic into the sword. Knowing the monsters here like fire elemental magic, his intention was soon going to be the activation of another spell in requisite.
Jane took in a deep inhaled breath, concentrating on storing up a lot of her MP energy into the metal of her daggers. There was only one spell to try at a time like this, Jane knew of the ability but had yet to experiment with the device until now. With over fifty Mikespurn closing from the north, Jane targeted one single enemy in the center of the cluster of the small creatures. "Shotwhirl!" Throwing both of her daggers in a crisscross formation triggered the same visual effect associated with the Flying Guillotine spell. As the blades reached the target and centered in on her focal point together, a massive blast of colorless radial energy blew away from the center point from all directions, pushing Mikespurn off their feet. In the same instance, well over forty small black photonic energy bolts came flying from the center impact point with the same explosion, blasting the many creatures all around the area and disintegrating them on contact with the high power level of each hit from Jane''s new ability.
Officially known as Shotwhirl, the spell of Flying Guillotine has only one special refinement; which is to create a powerful energy surge at the center with non-elemental magic in the form of a multi-separation explosion. Jane''s daggers continued to spin in the air while changing their direction to float back to her with the same design as Flying Guillotine, though the blades each lost their auric color after their energy is expended. By the time it was over, the northern section was entirely clear except for only a couple of injured Mikespurn, screeching with their high pitch voices as they were only hungry for the blood they could smell on the humans. "Let''s go!"
Danny and Taylor realized how powerful Jane''s new spell casting was, and how appropriate it helped the situation in whole. Taylor got her running speed back after blocking out some of the pain, which luckily wasn''t toxic or venomous to her overall health. Jane rushed forward, slashing her daggers at two of the creatures that literally jumped into the air at her face trying to swipe their claws at her. Unable to compare the Mikespurn to much else, Danny thought of one particular analogy to describe their physical appearance and behavior. An oversized six-legged spider with incredible crawling speed and spikes all around the top of its body. That bug was the closest thing matching in relative shape to these larger monsters.
"Summon Hell!" Noticing a few more Mikespurn approaching Taylor from the east flank, Danny fired three crimson bolts of powerful energy with his sword skill, the magic blasting the targets with enough force to bump back all three creatures and slay the targets in front immediately. He kept his pace with Jane, making sure to keep Taylor safely in tow. Luckily, her leg didn''t look that bad, not as bad as it could have been. Who knew those things could bite and swipe with their claws?
In just ten more seconds, Jane noticed as they reached the top of one of the hills several hundred more Mikespurn approaching from the front, all clustered around to form a large area. This sight forced her to stop dead in her tracks, leaving them with the only option to temporarily defend themselves. "Everyone next to me!" Jane commanded. Danny and Taylor tried to be quick about scrunching close to Jane, expecting her to use some sort of power shield trick like before. Last time she used Ultima with them in her own shield against the Scarlet Cult. Would that spell work here as well with Jane''s MP nearly at half capacity?
Just when the Mikespurn were about to pounce from all directions, Jane activated her charged Leray spell, another she had yet to use for herself past the experience of fresh training. "Electro-Sheet!" Aiming her glowing hand at the floor below her, Jane created a blue line forming a circle around her team as if to form a border. Shortly after, the ground lit up brightly, creating an electric field on the ground in the form of a radial sheet of electricity spanning out by three whole meters in distance from the base of the line barrier. All of the Mikespurn on the ground were suddenly electrocuted with high attack energy as they entered the range of the spell. There must have been thirty-five of them affected by the same Electro-Sheet spell, just as more were entering the field needlessly.
Jane knew she couldn''t keep it up forever. Electro-Sheet lasts for at most four seconds of time, averaging out to be three seconds on most uses. There were tons of Mikespurn still running up to surround and ambush them. She could already feel the electricity power fading fast. "Keep hitting them!" Jane didn''t have any time to think of ideas to help her team use any particular spell. She needed to keep fighting right now, or risk losing everything in the next few seconds. As low damage as one Mikespurn could be, having hundreds jumping on top of a person to eat them alive would be a terrible way to die. She began charging more of her MP energy, but it would take some more time.
Danny got the sense that Jane couldn''t keep it up forever. All she could do is attack what is there right in front of her. Taylor had her shoulder against his facing southeast, while Danny was facing the southwest area. They were surrounded for sure, and could only win by attacking together at this point. Just as Mikespurn closed on his position, Danny quickly infused a spell he knew would help out in the meantime. "Earth Glave!" Immediately creating shockwaves of advancing Earth that burrowed upward, the advancing wave of rock and dirt chunks threw dozens of affected Mikespurn into the air or swallowed them dry. Most of them however didn''t even take enough damage for immediate disintegration, despite being interrupted in their attempts to pounce on Danny. His Earth Glave continued downhill, helping to clear much of his flank in short of time. He didn''t even have the time to pay attention to how well Taylor was doing.
"Cold Spin!" Taylor threw her signature Rotation attack at the dozens of Mikespurn in front of her, allowing the small weightless creatures to fly up into the strong vortex of wind. As they did, the sheering cold air from ice elemental magic inside of the same twister quickly caused the monsters to disintegrate within three or four seconds after getting caught in the Cold Spin tornado attack, and just as well, the radius of her advancing Rotation spell was just enough to swallow all of the Mike spurn in her immediate area and twenty meters down. Even after the spell began to fade, Taylor saw more in the distance approaching. The wave seemed to be endless, but at least now she had more time to think about using more area attacks designated to herself.
"Median Flare!" Jane effortlessly blasted a light screen attack in her particular direction as to not affect her own teammates, but it only cleared a portion of the Mikespurn in the immediate radius, and she quickly transferred to her next attack. "Dark Strike!" Creating a red teleporting aura around her body, Jane transitioned into her signature dark strike attack, speeding up in a dimensional shift with both of her daggers out and ready to strike with their red glowing aura of non-elemental magic. Jane was immediately transported forward on the path to Mikespurn soon to hit Danny from the side. She cut her blades through the monster, causing disintegration on immediate contact. In relation to Danny and Taylor, Jane was moving about as fast as the speed of light, not even realizing what just saved their rears. Jane transitioned again and again to areas where Danny and Taylor weren''t as well protected, including the area she momentarily abandoned to perform the same type of strike to more creature than one per hit, her blades and body drilled through the burnt bodies of the bug shaped monsters. On her final strike, Jane fell to the ground from above intentionally, her daggers striking into the dirt with one more magical invocation infused into the blade. On contact with the ground, Jane''s daggers created a powerful Shadow Wave attack advancing north and killing dozens of approaching Mikespurn on the spot. The wave eventually died down while Jane was left to recover herself. She invoked an Energy Cycle spell after running low on MP, but continued to assess the situation.
They did well so far to defend themselves. The waves of approaching Mikespurn seemed to finally become limited with view over the hilltops. Jane still didn''t feel as relaxed, but knew she could rely on her team to keep themselves going as well. Danny and Taylor have already become excellent fighters despite her initial estimations of them both.
"What''s happening?" Danny threw his concern in the air, ceasing his attack on the Mikespurn as they suddenly brushed passed him and Taylor. They could have easily attacked them just now, but they crawled around or under his legs instead, all of them were heading for the center of a random position in the field to the east side.
Jane noticed the shift in their behavior as well. All of the remaining Mikespurn rushed towards a particular zone in the middle of the field a bit of the way from them. At first it seemed like they were retreating, but after reaching their new position, they simply stopped to begin climbing on top of each other. Because of how quickly they moved, it didn''t take long for the new cluster of Mikespurn to suddenly form a type of dome shape using multiple live bodies of themselves.
At the same time it started, Jane heard a report in her communicator coming from Krysta, after filtering out the interference. "Something''s up with the tiny monsters! They''re all running away in one direction. I think they''re retreating."
Jane was surprised to hear that all Mikespurn in the entire dark zone changed their behavior at the same time, but she gasped after noticing already that the other Mikespurn from afar have already reached a particular distance from her own team. After forming a circular barrier around the area that had its own radius span of fifty meters, the distant creatures ceased movement and locked their position into the ground, forming a barrier. It was then did they realize that Jane and her team were surrounded by the circular formation. The Mikespurn inside continued to collapse around on top of the dome. By the time all were present to the dome shaped cluster of spiders, the field around them began to glow with a white radiant color that lit up the entire field. Jane''s heart sank fast, unable to determine what was happening anymore. The dark zone has completely changed since her last arrival to Alpha Zero. Whatever this was, it''s vile!
"What''s happening Jane?!" Danny demanded.
"Get behind me!" Jane didn''t know what to do right now. The Mikespurn clustered together were forming or summoning something, and the Mikespurn surrounding them in a circle served as a barrier to trap them all in. By the time the light in front reached a blinding level, it died down again. In its absence and that of hundreds of Mikespurn suddenly vanished, the new appearance of an unidentified monster took form in front of them. Standing at a colossal height of 40 meters tall, and a heavily clumped body of crystal-like armor, Jane recognized a similar pattern to before. It was one of the stone golems she refused to fight from last time, but this was a much larger and more advanced version. Did the monsters here have the ability to evolve into more powerful beings? And if so, what was the purpose of this many Mikespurn?
The new beast was a giant stone and crystal golem, hands, arms, legs and feet, even a head and face to complete its structure, but it was clearly far from human. Jane knew it was unknown to her, but something about this spawn felt much too dangerous to battle.
Feeling the same level of defeat, Taylor turned around and shot a single arrow behind them, towards the edge of the remaining Mikespurn barrier. Though she intended to aim for the creatures, the arrow''s trajectory went above them instead. As the arrow was about to fly over the creatures, it was suddenly stopped by an unusual force field now visible due to the energy distortion.
Jane didn''t believe her eyes noticing Taylor''s arrow failing to escape the area, but her vision was focused on the new giant. One of the crystal pillars on its head lit up brightly in direct sync with the sudden appearance of the force field. It''s the monster creating the field, preventing their escape and challenging them all to a battle. Jane didn''t want to fight it at all, but the monster seemed to glare at her with its evil eyes, insisting it give her entire life force to its essence. "We have to battle that thing." Jane didn''t say it loudly, not proud enough of the idea to will it into her team.
"You can''t be serious!" Danny sure had the energy to complain, but he didn''t desist from Jane''s command. After rushing to her side for some needed assistance, Taylor did the same, staying back to prepare for a most unusual battle with such an oversized creature.
Before either side exchanged any magic, the monster''s crystals lit up slightly on their own, and it created an energy scope just for itself, complete with an action display center. The neon green holographic box indicated both the stats and name of the massive stone creature, surprising its own prey.
Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track HPN
Jane took the news surprisingly. What sort of monster in the dark zone would possess the capacity or even the knowledge and willingness to display its own stats? Complete with a name she had not assigned to it, the creature was preparing itself for prolonged combat. Was Atlas code name for one of the experiments, or something of a more sentient beast capable of a sense of challenge? Jane couldn''t understand the intention here. Nobody else was around in sight, despite the new monster giving off more than usual lights with its crystals, but Jane knew that something about Atlas seemed far from normal. It has to be some sort of creature capable of being subdued or controlled. It wasn''t a Leray summon though, since those creatures have yellow colored energy scopes. If this wasn''t the direct control of a person, then what the hell is going on here?
With its strong stance of rocky defense, Atlas provoked its prey a step further, roaring with its low pitch breath at such an intense volume that it shook the entire ground around everyone. Jane and Taylor covered their ears, but Danny stepped out in front and prepared for his first attack. "You want a challenge? I''ll show you why you''ve just messed with the wrong team. Pillage!" Despite Jane''s earlier warning of caution, Danny refused to give the giant any chance of lowering their morale with its size or potential power. A Pillage attack would probably not be nearly enough to kill the creature in one hit, but Danny sure gave it his all to cripple the monster in front of them.
After Danny created the specialized Shadow Wave carrying grey stones and chunks of rock that practically spawned from the same Leray magical spell, it was only a matter of time before direct impact with the monster calling itself Atlas. Just as the wave of stones and magic crashed into the legs of the towering monster, the health on Atlas went down a notch, but the stance hadn''t changed even slightly. Atlas endured the attack during and after the event ended, and it became clear how well defended that tough armor really was.
Danny tensed his arms, blushing by how ineffective his entire effort was. The attack was a bad ratio in total, expending over 7% of his MP reserves and doing such little damage. Even Jane gave him the same expected look.
"We''ll all have to do better than that," Jane stated. "If we all work as a team, we may have a chance."
Crush Wave! Jane reacted immediately upon seeing an attack name in the enemy ADC, creating a power shield around her. Atlas was massive, but it transitioned into attacks so quickly that it wasn''t even believable. By the time Atlas slammed its stone fist into the ground, Atlas created its own artificial Crush Wave spell, advancing a grounded wave of devastating magic towards all three targets at once. Danny and Taylor gained some distance from Jane, but the wave was three times wider than the average Shadow Wave or Crush Wave spell, and both were caught in the amazing speed and power of the attack. Immediately after, Danny and Taylor both felt the impact of sharp cuts seeping into their legs and feet, while small chunks of stone pillaged the same areas on their body. After the wave passed them with only Jane unharmed, they evaluated their own situation carefully, breathing heavily in fear that Atlas may be too tough to battle.
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Even if the damage to them both was light, Atlas would be dealing real time damage as well, which makes even the slightest intake that much more deadly and devastating. Danny soon relied on Jane alone to find a quick solution, or to try something that could at least even their odds of winning.
"Back me up Taylor." With her magic already charging, Jane took a few steps closer to the monster that was capable of causing earthquakes simply by stomping on the ground, and she began to unleash her own harmful magic to the beast, testing all of its resistances and weaknesses for variance testing. "Median-Flare!"
Taylor froze up for a second. Jane''s command was so sudden, and she had not the slightest idea of what to try that could actually assist Jane in fighting the massive sentient monster. She quickly thought of any spells she did not yet test, but there were so few of them she believed she was ready to perfect here and now...
As Jane blasted a directional light screen attack straight into the enemy while expending less MP than normal, she then quickly transitioned into a second attack, pulling out her daggers and charging auric energy into each blade, forcing them to glow red in color. Jane chanted the name of her next invocation just before throwing her blades at the target, despite the rocky monster being resistant to slashing damage. "Armor Breaker!" Brilliantly executed, Jane''s daggers drilled through the air and through the entire body of Atlas while dealing more damage with her daggers than what was expected. Armor Breaker is a spell specifically designed for tackling tough armored enemies resistant to magical attacks, and as the blades drilled right through the solid rocky chest of Atlas, there was a slight roar of pain afterwards. Jane had plenty of time then to check out how well she did as her daggers spun around and shifted direction to return to her hands like boomerangs.
It has such a high endurance against any attack, but Taylor was now certain that they could win this with Jane helping them out. With a better idea in mind after a few more seconds, she pulled out her own set of daggers, the pair of Glass Blades she picked up in the Leray store in Eldora City for these preparations. With Jane here to inspire her next idea, Taylor let her magic lose with all of her might. "Shadow Copy!" In just a short second, well after much of her MP was drained down, Taylor''s body suddenly appeared in various locations surrounding the beast. There were multiple human copies of Taylor, though each copy was half-phased in order to be self-identified. Once it was done, she infused her daggers with magical auras, and threw them at Atlas. Each of her copies were synchronized with her own movements perfectly, so over six copies of Taylor including her original self, managed to throw magically infused blades at Atlas from all sides, the copies fading just after the many impacts to the beast.
Jane never witnessed a spell like that until now. How many surprises did these two have up their sleeve? Then again, Taylor''s efforts should have copied her Armor Breaking technique better, seeing as the damage in the last attack was incredibly light. But when did Taylor pick up a pair of daggers? Her style was cold magic and using a bow, wasn''t it?
Magical Thrust! Jane prepared herself after a new command line entered the action display center of the monster. It was as if Atlas was too proud to even hide which attack it was going to try next, housing confidence in its own abilities to battle the JDT group. The creature''s magical red eyes suddenly lit up brighter with more contrast and radiance in them. In less than another second with Jane unable to anticipate the next action, Atlas managed to fire multiple bolts of elemental projectiles towards her team. The three most common elements of magic shot from the eyes of Atlas, including a white colored energy photon of unknown energy.
Naturally, the Thunderbolt hit first, though Atlas split up each bolt for each person on the field. Even though she saw it coming at this point, Jane didn''t have enough time to evade or block the oncoming Fire Bolt attack with a power shield. She held up her small blade to attempt to block the Fire Bolt with her own weapon, but her aim wasn''t good enough. Jane ended up taking the fiery pain of damage right to her chest, though she wasn''t the only one targeted the same way.
Danny was hit with the bolt of electricity before Jane or Taylor had their share of pain, since electricity travels at the speed of light even in the format of Leray magic. Feeling the uncomfortable jolt hold of an electrical shock, Danny had to endure the painful burning sensation that left all of his nerves tingling afterwards, and it drained him momentarily just after the Thunderbolt ended.
Taylor was hit with the Ice Bolt attack, but since she was used to taking cold elemental damage, it hardly affected her even in a sense of pain. It was already really hot in the dark zone, and the Ice Bolt only served to cool her down for a moment. So naturally, Taylor had the best natural defense thus far. But even after all three of them were hit, the attack wasn''t over yet.
The unknown non-elemental bolt of magic was still left, traveling to the center of the field just near where Jane was standing. The energy sphere impacted with the dirt instead of the predicted target, but when the impact was made, a massive light screen explosion occurred, capturing Jane, Taylor, and Danny in a huge magical blast of unusual damage. Left with a slight burning sensation for everyone, the light screen attack was rather unexpected due to its format, and Jane had to make sure her team including herself were okay. That was some powerful magic, hurting even her after the explosive flash of light faded away.
"We need to try harder," Taylor stressed. Though she sustained a few cuts and wounds that counted as real time damage, Taylor was still good enough to fight, her MP levels in the high zone. "Is everyone ready?" She confirmed with Danny''s and Jane''s nods to form a more synchronized attack. When they were ready, Taylor used another spell she had been working on. "Ice Glave!" With her magical aura glowing around her arm, Taylor prepared to unleash the powerful format of Ice Glave on Atlas, while Danny went with his own spell.
"Drain!" He went with the technique to deal damage and recover any lost health while he could, but even when his magical invocation activated on the monster, the auric drain failed to give him any health at all. The energy scope status on Atlas did not even budge. "Drain doesn''t work on him!"
Danny had one thing to panic about, but Taylor''s situation became just as bad when after chanting her powerful spell, nothing was able to come of it. The magical glow around her arm and in her eyes faded quickly, showing her that she failed to successfully invoke the great spell known as Ice Glave.
Jane winced at how poorly their plan was executed. Taylor tried a new spell that backfired on her. Now her MP would be lower with nothing to show for it. Danny''s as well with his drain simply activating without affecting the monster because of its ultra-high endurance and power level. This is bad! They all needed more time. Jane glared at the monster, realizing it could try something any second now, and she went with a spell to give herself an easier chance. "Gyrobreak!" With only two percent of her MP expenditure, Jane managed to make the earthquake violently while the orientation for everyone shifted all around. It was hard even for Jane to keep her balance. She had used Gyrobreak so many times now that it was becoming more powerful than ever before, and in the confusion, Jane gave her advice while it would count. She had to shout loudly over all of the noise from the distortion field the Gyrobreak created with the shifting of the entire plane below their feet. "Stick to spells you know for now. Don''t experiment with this one!"
"Tell that to her!" Danny bounced. It was hard enough keeping his own balance. With his inability to attack while affected with Gyrobreak, he watched Jane spring into action instead.
The action display center was still empty for now, implicating that Atlas might be confused by this as well. Jane quickly charged as much MP as she could, surging it all the way down to create an effective combination spell all by herself. "Blitz!" Her entire body lit up with a radiant green colored aura, and she sprinted towards the colossal stone golem during the ongoing Gyrobreak event. By the time she reached the enemy, Gyrobreak began to wear off, but Jane made it there in time. She unleashed a Knight Dance attack, despite only being tall enough to reach the lower legs of Atlas. Using magically assisted punches and kicks in a close combat style, Jane quickly transitioned from that lower tier spell into a photonic wave attack with her energy from Blitz already there to assist her. She first had to teleport away from the monster, since her next spell would format as an area attack.
"Photon Burst!" Jane waved her arm up and down with passion, creating a rain of photonic energy bolts that exploded with powerful attack power on impact. Since Atlas was much larger in size, most of the photons hit the monster before ever reaching the ground area around it, but that wasn''t the end of her sequence either. Just as Photon Burst was ending, Jane entered her final stage of the Blitz combination, infusing dark energy into her right hand and unleashing it while aiming right at the face of Atlas. "Dark Beam!" Firing a red energy bolt from a dark colorless glyphring around her wrist, Jane''s dark magic attack slammed into the face of Atlas, creating a secondary beam of dark energy hitting its head from behind on contact. The damage done to Atlas overall from Blitz was quite impressive coming from Jane, but in the same process, she ended up expending a lot more MP energy than she wanted to.
Just as Jane said, Danny saw just how effective dark magical energy was against such creatures. Atlas actually had a few chips of its own rock broken off its face, though its eyes still remained energized and glowing with its murderous red luster. As for Jane however, her little stunt threw down her MP into critical levels. She would likely need the time to recover, and he now saw an open opportunity to strike. Pulling out his Dynamon Hammer, Danny charged his energy into the blunt weapon, and changed the design of an existing attack. "Midnight Strike!" As he threw his hammer like a dagger, the force of his toss was assisted by magic since the device was much too heavy to pull off without it; Danny''s hammer went flying towards Atlas with magical damage infusion. At the same time, three different glyphrings formed in the air surrounding the summon, preparing their electrical discharge. Just as his hammer hit the target dealing massive blunt type damage, the glyphrings simultaneously activated, electrocuting the monster in place, but the hit from the hammer did the most damage obviously to his witness.
Jane couldn''t believe that after all of that, the monster wasn''t even in critical condition yet. Atlas probably had more than enough energy to stay strong and fight to the bitter end, but her own MP reserves were going to make the rest of this battle difficult. Jane wanted to use Energy Cycle now, but wasn''t sure about the timing of it. Atlas should be ready to attack any second now.
Boulder Rain! "Here it comes!" Taylor warned. Atlas was already active again, giving no care in the world for the damage it already took from all of them, and now there were massive pillars of broken rock coming down from the sky. In the form of dark damage, this could outright kill all of them.
Jane smirked after realizing that Atlas has just made an obvious mistake battling against her in this way. Boulder Rain would strike the entire area in just a few seconds, but that was more than enough time for her to use what magic she still had left to turn the entire attack around. Jane aimed both of her arms and hands open towards the oncoming barrage of raining rock, and with her charged MP ready, she took full control of the situation. "Inversion!" Though it took one extra second to invoke, Jane made it work in time, slowing the rocks falling down to a complete stop. With the rocks now floating in place, Jane simply needed to continue the spell after taking full control of Atlas''s area attack. She then pushed the rocks further up into the sky, eventually causing them to disappear into multiple artificial glyphrings, and in just a few more seconds, those same glyphrings reappeared on the ground under Atlas''s body. Now the Boulder Rain was traveling in reverse, passing through the physical dimension until ready to strike the new target. Atlas suddenly became pillaged by its own attack spell, a severe blunt attack that chipped away its HP and body armor quickly. The chunks of rock flying upwards carried a lot of momentum, thus creating a real problem for Atlas as its rocky body became severely damaged in its limbs. The force of the entire attack was close to knocking the creature off its own balance, and the roaring pain from Atlas said enough as well.
"Energy Cycle!" Jane wasted no time in restoring her lost MP reserves. After using Inversion, she would need more energy, else she begin to feel tired and dizzy from the lack of the magical stamina she became used to. It was going to be up to Danny and Taylor for now. Jane knew that if she deliberately took on attacks, it would boost her MP faster, but seeing as that was much too dangerous, this would have to be the preferred method for now, slower MP regeneration. Her entire body was glowing with a purple colored aura while she waited on the next action of her team.
But Danny and Taylor didn''t have the time to follow up. Atlas was already active again despite taking its damage. This time it moved its arms, aiming them both at Jane with magical build up. Jane became the next target of the attack, Atlas likely trying to pick off one at a time now. Rocket Punch!
Jane gulped, knowing she could not power shield during an Energy Cycle unless she disrupts her own spell, and Energy Cycle was hard enough to invoke every so often as it was. If she did cut it off, her shield would likely fail anyway due to her low energy levels. Rocket Punch could turn out to be anything she had yet to see. Jane didn''t notice a way out of this yet.
During this moment of defeat, Atlas gave Jane its retaliation, using its boulder attached fists as actual rockets that shot off in a high-speed projectile mode with the assistance and guidance of powerful Leray magic. With no defense or time to get out of the way, the speedy flying chunks of rocks from Atlas punched straight into Jane''s gut, the second one right to her face, forcing blood to emanate from her mouth and nose on the spot before she could even flop onto the ground helplessly.
Taylor twitched watching the unbelievable hit Jane just took. Not only did it have to hurt, but the heavy blunt damage likely left Jane with unrepairable bruising and possibly internal bleeding. "Jane!" Taylor charged her MP energy while running towards Jane for assistance. Danny did the same, but had no idea how to defend against such an attack. He saw the flying boulders shift course after their impact, and land on the arms of Atlas to give back a piece of its own body. Jane was lying on the ground, struggling to get up in her weak state. The purple aura around her body was glowing brightly however. The shock to Jane supercharged her MP reserves despite how much damage she took. Danny didn''t believe for a second however that Jane did that intentionally; she wouldn''t be that stupid.
While Taylor prepared her next spell, she saw Jane try to get up with Danny''s help, and noticed how bruised up her face was from that single hit. Her nose was bleeding badly along with her right ear, with her right eye already bruising around. At the same time, Jane''s energy scope registered the damage as real time type predictably. Aiming to protect her own teammate, Taylor unleashed her power, hoping to bring Atlas down, or at least stun the monster. "Fire Blast!" With a fiery glyphring charged around her wrist, Taylor fired five Fire Bolts all closely together, creating a better shockwave upon their impact with the target, and making sure to hit Atlas in the head where its crystal structure was. But with the impact, Taylor remembered a minute too late how ineffective fire magic is against all dark zone spawns.
Crush! Danny and Taylor saw the next attack coming. He quickly switched his weapon from the hammer to his new sword with better ideas in mind, but Jane was frantic about the next attack. Atlas was dashing towards them in an instant, easily in range now for a physical hit against them.
"Scatter!" Jane''s command was given to her team. Danny and Taylor both saw the left arm of Atlas rising up, preparing to slam its fist into the ground on top of all of them. Danny and Taylor instinctively rushed to get out of the effective area of the attack, making it in time before the arm began to slam downwards. But Jane didn''t run with them!
"Hragh!" Jane put both of her arms above her head, activating the energy aura around her body just as Atlas''s fist came crashing down on top of her. Instead of hitting Jane however, she protected herself with another signature power shield. She had to shut down her Energy Cycle aura to make it happen, but figured her last unfortunate accident gave her more than enough MP to deal with the monster for now. The force from Atlas was quite intense despite her shield blocking it out on contact. The small hexagons all formed where the rocky fist was, and Jane was losing her focus on the aura fast. But she didn''t give it up for a moment, forcing herself to try even harder to keep the shield up. Finally, Atlas lifted its arm above Jane, giving up its singular attack sequence, and giving Jane the chance to shut down her shield and relax.
With her shield gone, Taylor could make out the remaining previous damage to Jane from this distance. Her lip had been busted open with a bit of blood. Even her new metal armor had some broken chips missing, damaged by the impact she just took.
Danny held up his sword, infusing more magical energy into the blade than he was used to using. "This thing''s done enough damage. Crimson Blade!"
Danny''s inspiration to protect everyone had inspired Taylor to come up with something as well. Something as simple as Cold Spin wasn''t going to cut it. Ice Glave would have been awesome if she could just invoke the spell, but she still had not trained with it enough for activation.
Before Taylor or Danny tried anything else, Jane decided to even the match in her own way. Charging up over half of the MP energy she had just recovered, Jane aimed her hand up to the sky, releasing the energy slowly and with pure focus. "Massife!"
Taylor gasped after remembering that call. Massife was a summon spell, the same one that Cass used when training against Jane on Route 787. Jane learned so many amazing spells, but this was her very first attempt to summon a Leray based creature. The large yellow glyphring in the sky where Jane was aiming took form, and lit up brightly to indicate a successful activation so far. In just a few more seconds, the glyphring stabilized, allowing Jane to relax as the creature known as Massife flew out of the glyphring straight into the sky.
While Danny and Taylor prepared to defend Jane Venn from any imminent attack by Atlas, Jane would now control her own new summon. With the Flare Drake awakened and under Jane''s full control, the yellow glyphring faded, giving Massife the full power and sentience it needed to take on Atlas. The large dragon flew blissfully in the sky, and changed its course to avoid collision with the invisible force field created by the surrounding Mikespurn that Jane managed to keep track of. Now the Flare Drake was turned towards Atlas in flight, ready to attack with its energy scope engaged.
Atlas suddenly shifted its eyes on the creature flying in the sky, perhaps taking on the new challenger because of its awesome power and size set to intimidate the creature. Before giving Atlas the chance to go first, Jane gave her first command to her very first successful summon. "Now summon of the sun, ally to our cause, attack Atlas with a body slam!" The Flare Drake took off immediately, its speed an incredible sight to behold. Atlas quickly made an attempt to grab onto the creature with its hands from the first pass, but the dragon used its feet to deflect and redirect its momentum into an awesome forceful slam that literally caused Atlas to slide back on its own stone feet, the damage dealt to the creature somewhat light yet powerful.
The Flare Drake was fast in the air, already away from Atlas''s effective attack range and ready to turn itself around for another attack. With Jane''s eyes turning yellow by magical glow in response to synchronizing with the creature, she gave her summon another command she was sure would to better damage. "Give him a fiery hell with your Flame Beam!"
The dragon reacted again, turning around and using the magical infusion in its own breath to create a solid beam of powerful fire elemental magic, slamming into Atlas on the spot, but as powerful as it was, Jane forgot to take its resistance to fire into account, realizing that Atlas didn''t even take one percent of damage from the attack. Her eyes returned to their original green color, failing to sync so that she could deal with thinking about how to go about attacking Atlas again. Trying to control a creature and have excess thoughts was almost impossible, certainly so for Jane. Now it was too late.
Crystal Flare! Jane tensed knowing an unidentified attack was coming their way, but the target of this attack was going to be Jane''s summoned creature this time. Atlas attacked by shooting a grey colored energy sphere in the sky, on intercept course with the Flare Drake. Before Jane could react to move her summon out of its path, the energy sphere exploded well before impact to anything, and from that blast came dozens of crystal arrows flying in all directions, sharp as a razor.
While avoiding some of the arrows flying down towards the ground, Jane was powerless to stop their impact into the dragon''s skin, the multiple impacts dealt a lot of painful piercing damage to her own summon, making her creature roar and wail in defeat. The health stats dropped so quickly for her summon, which meant Jane needed much more training with that particular spell. The HP and MP endurance of summons rises gradually in the same way it does for humans for each individual creature under a summon spell, thus this Flare Drake would be weak with Jane calling one out for her very first time.
The Flare Drake faded away in phase, back to the dimension it came from. Jane was now left alone with her team again, who all stared in disbelief that her own summon was defeated so quickly. After all that, Jane''s MP reserves were at the end of the tank again. She needed an idea and fast, and went with another attempt to regain lost energy. "Energy Cycle!" Creating another purple aura, she now needed to rely on Danny and Taylor to help her out.
Danny couldn''t believe this. How long and hard could a single monster fight for? He glanced at his blade, covered with magical fire from his last invocation still. His crimson blade was already prepared to deal heavy damage, and he only needed Jane''s cue.
Her eyes squinted when a good idea came to mind. It was certainly a dangerous and destructive plan, but it was their only option now. Jane knew she took a lot of damage already, more than her own team to her surprise. But if she can''t win this battle, all three of them will die. Danton likely cannot break through this invisible force field right now. She needs more MP, more energy.
"Summon Hell!" Danny yelled his spell out as if his life depended on it, swooshing his sword in the air and creating three powerful spurts of crimson colored photons traveling at a high speed towards the large creature. The monster was staring at Jane again with its evil red eyes of murderous intent, but Danny''s attack hit first, carrying just enough force to interrupt Atlas''s concentration. The impact was quite explosive, but still didn''t do enough damage to end the spawn''s life at all.
Taylor shifted her arm around after charging another spell that would likely become her last due to her lowering energy levels, but she knew protecting Jane was just as important as defeating the monster right here and now. "Creshendo!" As she created seven phased pillars all around Atlas, her activation of the attack spell brought all of the pillars smashing into the rocky body of the enemy, forcing it to lose more concentration and take on additional damage, but it still had a fair amount of HP remaining.
Fire Blast! Using the crystals mounted on its head for magical amplification, Atlas created a fiery glyphring to use while targeting Jane, now ready to release the familiar Leray magic against her. Atlas fired five Fire Bolts in the form of a darker red color, meaning dark magic had been infused to each and every type of Fire Bolt during the sequence. Jane knew she couldn''t block the attack, so she jumped backwards instead to try and dodge it at the last second, but forgetting that all Fire Bolt attacks home into the target was her next mistake. The entire attack drilled the flaming molten magic of fire damage straight into her stomach, burning her flesh on the spot and creating an agonizing pain that made Jane want to scream. Even though it was a short and simple spell, Atlas carried it with so much more power than she was used to. Taking Fire Bolt attacks in the form of dark magic means no pain is absorbed in the slightest, and real burns occur at the impact point. The fire burned the side of her arm, a part of her face, and seeped into her chest right through the metal armor around her body leaving behind smoke from the metal.
Knowing how bad it was that Jane took more damage again that wouldn''t be easy to recover from, she still went forward with her plan, now more plausible with her MP far above the halfway mark due to her damage intake level mixed with her ongoing Energy Cycle. Jane decided to shut that aura down again, preparing all of her remaining magic in just one more spell. It took her a long moment to begin the invocation, and she knew she had to warn Danny and Taylor to get out of the way. "Everybody watch out! Redemption!" Draining every ounce of her remaining MP reserves, Jane let loose her most powerful and most dangerous spell she knew, Redemption.
Creating a wide vertical beam of light that soon split into five vertical beams of light infused with incredible power levels of non-elemental magical damage, Jane''s spell of the vertical beams traveled outward in a spiral formation. In just short of time, three of the beams going outward hit Atlas one after the other, immediately draining its HP from fifteen to one percent, then from one to zero percent on the next two impacts, but the advancing beams of light also threatened to hit Danny and Taylor as well.
Complete with Jane''s warning, Danny and Taylor jumped out of the way where they predicted the Redemption waves were going to hit. Though it was a close call, they both narrowly avoided the strong light as it continued all the way down a radial path, spiraling over and over. Just as Atlas was slain, the Redemption attack continued to move forward until impacting the invisible force field, bringing it down in a single strike as well. With Atlas now slain, the shield it generated would have no external support. As the shield collapsed, so did all of the remaining Mikespurn begin to disintegrate along with Atlas simultaneously. With Jane''s spell now over, she watched with her team how the amazing Atlas had been defeated in one single hit, its entire body returning back to the ash and crushed minerals it came from.
Being such a large creature, the disintegration took a rather long time, but Danny and Taylor didn''t wait to run back and help Jane. With her MP reserves down to zero and her health further down than the both of them combined, it was expected that Jane probably couldn''t stand up anymore. At the very least, she chose to collapse on the ground as a form of resting and relaxing herself. As Jane fell, she used her hands and knees to catch herself, obviously far away from passing out. Danny knew she was still okay and alive, but Jane had done more than enough for the both of them, and would be needing a healing kit immediately.
Chapter Theme Shift: Starboard Victor(M) ~ Natanel Arnson
Jane heard Danny and Taylor nervously calling her name. She held up her hand to dissipate their worries. "I''m fine." She knew she didn''t even sound fine. Her voice was messed up, combined with the pain in her stomach, which was stronger than the damage done to her entire face. "Healing orb."
Danny and Taylor both pulled out advanced healing orbs for her, needing only those two words to understand how much she needed them. Despite the waste Jane knew it was, Danny and Taylor both used them on Jane, knowing only one orb would likely have any effect on her. As the orbs quickly lit up and affected Jane''s wounded areas, it was a rather lengthy wait while watching the stats on Jane''s energy scope go up slowly. Only two of the small visible cuts stained with blood began to glow and fade away shortly after, but the rest of the bruising and burns to her skin remained there from before. Taylor knew she and Danny would be needing healing orbs too, but wondered if they were even necessary. Danny and Taylor took a hard hit with the Magical Thrust attack used against them, but that was the only time they took damage.
Just after the orbs did what they could for Jane, she recovered much of her energy, but was still in obvious pain as she tried to sit up straight. Her HP wouldn''t go any higher than 77%, and even her MP reserves seemed to be capped as well. "I''m still impressed by the two of you. You managed to take less damage than I did."
Danny scratched the back of his head, knowing the obvious reason for such a thing. "Well that thing seemed to be mostly interested in you instead of us, so..." Danny watched Taylor use her own healing orb for herself, reminding him to do the same. After Jane gave them and herself a moment to recover, it became clear that Danny and Taylor were more than just okay. The dark magical damage they received earlier from Atlas didn''t cap their health further. As a result, they were able to slightly heal over the fact in which they were able to keep their health high, past the first initial cap level.
The MP stats were of course rising even after the orbs lost their luster from the usage, but Jane took heavy comfort in the fact that her friends were both doing really well so far with maintaining their overall health. They all may just make it. Jane wondered if she would be the one going back home again while Danny and Taylor take over for her. The thought nearly made her laugh, how ironic that situation would become!
"Are you going to be okay to walk?"
Jane knew Taylor and Danny had reason for concerns, but she was beginning to feel better compared to a few moments ago. The healing orb did manage to help her find her stamina once more. Though she was still in a fair amount of pain, all she had to do was block it out and continue advancing. "Of course I''ll be okay." Jane stood up effortlessly, proving to herself that she could still fight. "We need to increase our pace however. If we fight every monster we encounter, nobody will make it." The thought of Danton''s overall strategy seemed more effective in theory, but only if exercised with haste. Jane turned around towards the north road, constructing the plan of advance in her mind. "You two get ready for a long jog."
Danny and Taylor saw Jane preparing her communicator device in her ear. It could have taken damage during that battle, but the time she would take with that gave them a moment to reconnect. "So are we counting Atlas as a team kill?" Danny worded.
Taylor exhaled a short laugh, remembering their agreement since entering the dark zone. Danny was referring to the kill count between the three of them, not that Jane was interested in that detail. "I think we can give that one to her. As for the Mikespurn count, I''m at sixty-seven."
"What?!"
"Hah!" Taylor rubbed it in his face, knowing from that reaction that her kill count was already much higher. "What''s yours then?"
Danny shifted his position slightly, muttering in a lower softer tone when comparing the count. "Fifty-two." He stamped in front of her, his fist in the air with readiness. "But I''ll get more soon enough. You''ll be the one losing once we reach the objective."
"Will you two shush?" Jane struggled to get her communicator device to work. Their constant chatter made it hard to concentrate on what was wrong. After pressing the button multiple times, the device powered on again, likely just a power failure from all of that fighting she had to do. As soon as it was on, Jane gave her status report through Danton''s constant requests. "This is team JDT to command. We had a minor setback, but we''re okay now. I need to suggest we increase our pace and engage in less enemies from now on."
"This is Danton. Agreed. If we battle every enemy, there will be more setbacks. We''ve already had to give evacuation authority to team Gains. Our soldiers are having to adapt to magical battles only, since their guns are mostly ineffective against all creatures except for the Mikespurn. How is your team?"
Jane replied honestly without giving too much of a worry. "We''re a little scratched up, but we''ll be okay."
"Alright... I''m changing one detail, effective immediately for all teams on the battlefield. Regroup closer to the main road. Stay only five hundred meters apart instead of one thousand to reduce interference and travel time between teams for emergency assistance protocols. Team Mainne?"
"Yes Sir Danton? This is Mainne."
"You will regroup directly with Jane''s team, and have your ineffective soldiers rally with Sergeant Gains. Your mission is being reassigned to assist Jane''s team directly to reinforce the main assault team."
"Roger that Danton. I''m on my way now Jane!"
Jane heard all of the communications, and so did Danny and Taylor with their functioning coms. She turned around, explaining the total change in pace for both of them. "As soon as we regroup with Mainne, it will be a long sprint towards the goal with minimal engagements only. Danny? If you did bring those grenades, you''ll be able to make good use of them soon."
"You bet I did bring those things. Why have grenades if I can''t use them?" Answering Jane''s rhetorical question, Danny opened his supply sphere to prepare his new weapons, while Taylor remained silent in thought about how she should fight while sprinting.
The bow is effective, but extremely heavy to carry. The Glass Blade daggers would be more effective to Taylor, especially if she could learn some of Jane''s spells with regards to the smaller blades.
Danny''s supply sphere reminded Jane about her own supply sphere, remembering all of the personal items locked inside of the thing. She had Alyssa''s pendant, some personal items reminding her of her home, and Iya''s promise that she would come back successful and alive. Mainne was going to be a minute, but now Jane had to get all of these things off of her mind, or suffer the consequence of being unable to focus. When Mainne does arrive, it will simply be a sprint to the finish for all of the teams, staying close while increasing the movement speed in order to reach the Den of Purity in record time. Though the purpose of moving faster was also to avoid more damage from the evil monsters in the zone. With 68% more road to travel through, it was definitely going to be a long night.
Chapter 55: Shadow of Gaia
<02/12/1972 ¨C 23:12 | Alpha Zero, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Throughout the forty long minutes that passed, the team destroyed only the monsters that stood directly on their paths, while running away in retreat from the more powerful spawns appearing on the left or right flank. Jane had never been so exhausted during a never-ending battle like this, and the lack of breaks slowly wore out her entire team too.
Some new creatures have spawned as well just to make the mission less possible to fulfill, the Neckron. Also given a name at random by Mainne, the Neckron were very similar to the Mikespurn, but with much more power and health in them. The creatures were at least half the size of a human, though equipped with six legs and a small head with four eyes to see targets. Jane and Mainne had to work together over the next hour destroying the multiple spawns of Neckron in the area, only suffering minor injuries along the way. Danny and Taylor provided excellent cover from the other sides.
In the long-fought duration of non-stop sixty-minute combat rushing, Jane quit recognizing some of the landmarks a while ago, thus proving they were getting closer to the Den of Purity. Victory only seemed but a mile away, if only these squealing creatures would get out of the way!
"Five more! Right Flank!" Taylor shot her warning right in front of her line of sight. Five large Neckron were quickly approaching, with Danny standing behind her facing the left side yet ready to jump in and assist. Taylor only got a quick glance at the approaching Neckron with their charred black bodies just before being hit with a blast of wind. The creatures in front of them used Aero Blast again; one of their favorite spells. The gust of heavy warm wind blew Taylor back enough to distort her vision by blowing some of the burnt dust into her eyes.
"Rush Assault!" Danny, who avoided the sand in his eyes managed to use his sword and his readiness to jump ahead and bring himself the assistance of Leray energy in the form of a close combat combo attack. He slung his sword around in all directions after intentionally surrounding himself by the five Neckron, and slashed vigorously into their skin. He simultaneously switched from his sword strikes to kicks with his glowing feet and occasional Magical Blitz launches. In a short lived burst of quick speed and strength assisted by the Leray magic in his practiced spells, Danny made short work of the Neckron, piercing all of them until they burst into a bright light of shooting dust, the spawns defeated and fading away in their death.
While all of that commotion was going on, Jane had to fend off the foes in front of the pack, as a dozen or more Neckron were crawling their way quickly. The number of Neckron tripled in the last second, now trying to surround her entire team. But Jane was more than prepared for all of them, and started her first attack sequence by stopping in her tracks. There wasn''t going to be any more room to rush ahead of the creatures. They had to stand and fight just like the last time they ran into a bunch of Mikespurn. "Shotwhirl!" With her daggers glowing blue with her familiar Leray energy, Jane threw the blades in a crossed direction, using the spell she perfected before to create a Flying Guillotine attack that was soon to transform upon its first impact. After slicing up and defeating the first Neckron, the circular arc exploded into a burst of over forty dark photon spheres of non-elemental energy, flowing out in all directions as it decimated all of the Neckron nearby. In total, it drained only a small portion of Jane''s energy, as she caught her blades back from their return, quickly swapping targets to defend vulnerable positions.
"Ice Glave!" Mainne, the third elite of the Eldora Championship who had perfected the spell known as Ice Glave pitched in as well, hitting the left flank full of approaching Neckron with a powerful ice elemental spells. Spurts of frozen pillars shot up from the ground, spanning ten meters tall as the wave itself advanced in her forward direction. Heaps of Neckron in front were swallowed by the pillars and disintegrated on contact. Even after defeating so many enemies, Mainne noticed that the numbers of Neckron advancing from all sides had doubled in the last few seconds.
She immediately switched tactics, battling just like she had before in the battle of Eldora Tower. With much of her magic glowing around her body to create an imminent aura, Mainne chanted another spell, following one on top of the other. "Sentinel!" Six glyphrings formed, immediately creating one of Mainne''s special summons known as the Sentinel force. Small glowing spheres formed from each left behind glyphrings, all with their own color and unique energy scope. Each Sentinel was infused with a special elemental type of Leray magic and the intelligence to follow Mainne around and protect all of her surroundings with mixed magic. Shortly after creating those summons, Mainne also infused her blade with ice magic much like Danny was capable of using fire magic on his sword. "Frost Blade!" After covering her entire sword with frozen water that was stronger than normal frozen water by design, Mainne checked her surroundings again while her sentinels commenced rapid fire in all directions.
Dark Surge! Jane prepared her daggers. She could read one of the ADC boxes of the Neckron targeting her from her front. As the Neckron fired off its magic, it used a glyphring to shoot three separate bolts of dark magical energy that reflected very little light and was thus hard to see. Since Jane knew using her shield wasn''t going to work against dark magic of this caliber, she let her body follow her mind, drawing for herself the exact attack pattern she wanted to perform while aiming for the intended trajectory of each dark burst of flying energy. Jane used her daggers to slash the air right in front of the first dark energy bolt, diffusing its magic with pure slashing type damage. She switched her body and slashed again, doing the same to the second dark energy bolt. As for the third dark energy bolt, Jane only needed to dodge the attack by leaping out of the way, allowing the energy sphere to slam into the ground behind her instead. After she completely evaded that attack, it was now her turn to counter the skill.
"Blast Wave!" Using the same hand motion Jane was used to trying with her Photon Burst attack, her expended magic created a sudden field of random explosions all over the area to her front, engulfing more than just the one Neckron that was directly attacking her. The explosions lasted for several seconds, as Jane rushed behind her position to offer additional assistance.
Mainne was using her Frost Blade to violently and rapidly take out as many nearby Neckron as possible, assisted in her defense by the sentinels following her from above. The Neckron had trouble reaching that high up, and Mainne had an easy time with the enemy, but the constant attack she kept up was just as exhausting as it would seem.
Fire Strike! The same Neckron exhibiting a spell name on its action display center leaped forward towards Danny, with one of its razor sharp legs out in front glowing with a fiery yellow aura. Danny instinctively used his sword to hold in front and block the attack as the fire slashing damage collided with his saber, exhibiting the same elemental properties after he infused his blade with the Crimson Blade spell. Just after blocking the attack that nearly would have swiped him at his throat, Danny pushed force into his sword to get the Neckron creature away from him, and immediately transitioned from that maneuver straight into a Summon Hell skill without the need to chant the spell. Slashing his blade in the empty air in front of him allowed the tip of the blade to shoot three crimson photon bolts straight into the target at the speed of light, triggering its immediate disintegration.
"Laser Rain!" Taylor perfected another Laser Rain spell on one of the Neckron in front of her, but only succeeded in damaging one out of the three that were around her specific space. It wasn''t a second longer after a barrage of lasers from above slammed into her target, but it was also long enough for the Neckron to attack her again.
Red Thunder! Taylor didn''t get to react in time after reading one of the action display centers, as the Neckron executed powerful dark magic to electrocute Taylor where she stood. She felt the pain of a Leray electrical attack before, but this was much different. The burn left after the red lightning bolt was potent, and the tingling sensation didn''t help at all in passing that pain away.
Taylor''s health and energy scope took a dive after that dark magic attack inflicted some irreversible damage. It was just one more second until two Neckron would jump out and bite her, but Jane managed to see grasp sight of this. While Danny was protecting one area, Taylor was struggling in another. Even Mainne was still slashing her blade into more Neckron, and more were coming from the area she fought at last time. There''s just too many of them, but Jane knew there would be more than enough time to buy if she tested all of her abilities. After infusing a ton of her energy into her personal aura, Jane let loose much of what she had remaining. "Zero Zone!"
Shortly after using her spell, Jane witnessed how quickly time itself came to a complete and total stop. Everything in her visual field lost color until it was black and white, though it was hard enough to see in the area as it was. Jane noticed how far in trouble everyone was, herself included with Neckron frozen in midair as they were intending to pounce on all of her teammates. Jane immediately took action while she could, using her daggers to cut open all of the Neckron in record time. She infused magical energy into her feet and legs as well to give herself a speed boost while running, and she became a moving burst of light that destroyed all Neckron in the area. Jane shortly remembered that she could have allowed Danny, Taylor, and Mainne to work with her inside of her own Zero Zone aura, but only if she could touch them first, which wasn''t a possibility yet.
Well after tiring herself out and destroying over thirty Neckron from all directions, the color to the field began to return, and Jane''s Zero Zone spell came to an end. Danny, Taylor, and Mainne were immediately confused after realizing they were suddenly out of danger, but Jane had to point out several more Neckron still advancing from all sides. At least this time it was the last wave. Jane didn''t have any more Leray energy left to fight them.
Mainne analyzed the situation quickly, and only acted upon the fact that more Neckron spawns were approaching from multiple directions. All of her sentinels above her were still functioning, currently idle since the approaching Neckron were still just out of range. With the sentinels all around her, an idea quickly came to mind. Mainne shoved her sword straight into the ground, preparing her energy while directing the flow to the Ethereal Sentinel. "It''s time my protectors! Use Refraction!" As soon as she chanted the unknown spell, the sentinels all suddenly slammed into the purple Ethereal Sentinel, allowing it to glow with a bright light of radiant energy. Just after, the last sentinel that wasn''t destroyed rotated around rapidly, shooting off hundreds of Spirit Bolts by the second.
Jane and her friends ducked instinctively, watching as the purple bolts of spiritual magic flew everywhere, piercing Neckron from all directions with pinpoint accuracy. Jane had never seen that spell used before, likely because she never pressured Mainne enough into using her hidden weapon, but it was incredibly effective for this purpose. In a durational single spell, the sentinel fired more than enough Spirit Bolts to completely wipe out all of the Neckron from all directions, clearing the area just before self-destructing on impact. After it was over, everything immediately calmed down. There were no more Neckron, and Mainne''s sentinels were gone too.
Chapter Theme Shift: While the City Sleeps ~ Immidiate Music
Finally, he had a chance to breath. Danny willingly put away his sword after checking all sides for any sign of monsters, but the area in all directions was clear. He could still hear the gunshots however. The distant echoes illuminated the fact that other teams were being targeted by enemies as well, but Danton had not ordered any sort of reunion. They were likely trying to get away from any intense fighting like his own team has been.
Jane and Mainne both seemed to be the most exhausted, after expending all of that energy and running around like lunatics just to protect everyone. Taylor had to trust and believe that she could return the favor at any moment''s notice. But for now, they had to march on.
Jane collected one of the two MP booster orbs that Mainne was holding out, healing both of their MP stats. Only Taylor took some minor damage from before, though the orb wouldn''t help her in this situation. To top it off, Jane knew they still have a long way to go, but not certain of how much further. She knew asking the question was something she would regret. With a heavy heart of determination, Jane began walking forward, slowly transitioning into a jog to pace herself.
Mainne kept up with Jane, Danny, and Taylor while running on the main road. She had to use a little bit of her magic to fire at approaching Neckron from the right and left paths, but there was such a low density of the monsters after the last intense battle they had to share. Mainne had never been this far into the dark zone before, and knew already why Jane called it such a dangerous place. Her only mission was to shut this zone down before it consumes the entire continent. Still, did this have to be the one and only plan? What would the casualty count come out to in the end, if even Jane and Mainne were having trouble against these things? Would Danton sustain injuries?
A loud buzzing sound that made up an artificial alarm system echoed loudly twice in succession, forcing Jane to skid in the dirt on her feet to immediately stop her running. The alarm sound continued to trigger and echo for several more iterations. At first, she seemed as confused as the others were, and then worried a few seconds after.
Jane stamped her feet into the ground, shouting at her team, "Everyone fall back! Get away from the field!" Though they turned around to run away without question, Jane and the others saw that she was much too late. From the center of the open area high in the air, a radiant red light formed above them, which quickly blasted a radial field of solid red energy around it, quickly forming a very large specialized energy dome similar in design to the Siriean dome. Only this dome shield was solid red in color and much more wide spread. The entire energy field itself appeared to show off shapes of hexagonal patterns large in size, but Jane recognized this field from before.
Mainne panicked in confusion as the field of energy surrounded all of them from every direction. The dome was eleven times the usual size of a normal Siriean dome, which meant it could defiantly be seen by the other teams in a short study. The shield of energy looked to be indestructible, but Mainne had to face Jane for the answers.
Jane answered the expected questions automatically, seeing as this was their first time in a dark magic dome like this one. "It''s an energy dome! That means there are turrets nearby!"
"Sentry turrets?" Danny guessed.
A series of loud metal clinging noises followed by obvious movement on one of the shorter rocks in the form of a natural formation of a cliff revealed a turret rising from the ground. Jane should have known not to trust any high elevation areas of tall rock formations! The turret appeared to be heavily armored and completely weaponized from spinning rail guns and rocket attachments on both sides visible from their distance of one hundred meters away, while the dome shield itself was about 550 meters in diameter, much higher in height.
"Sentry turret," Jane confirmed. So far there was only one of them, but one is still a lethal number! As the turret began to activate, she quickly gave all of them the simplest explanation. "This dome is designed to trap us in here until that turret''s core is destroyed. The shield won''t fade until we defeat that thing, or until it kills us."
Jane''s thesis immediately prompted both Danny and Taylor to pull out their weapons into their arms, Taylor sticking with the bow while Danny went with the Crimson Blade. Jane went to immediately summon the energy scope over the turret, but while she was focused on that, two large red glyphrings summoning more creatures suddenly formed within the same dome, making the obvious battle that much more challenging. Jane waited for the two additional creatures of monsters spawns to come forward, and upon formulating into monsters, Jane saw both creatures she recognized. The monster on four legs to the right side under the turret was a Behemoth, a monster Jane had yet to reencounter since her first visit, and another Char Monster with oversized arms and skinny legs, the same version of the creature she named Freya. Jane immediately sent more energy scope data to all of the other monsters, allowing her team to identify the threat.
Chapter Theme Shift: Unidentified Track FR
Jane was thankful there was only one sentry turret, but immediately heart sunken by having to fight two more dangerous creatures on top of the sentry turret. How did those creatures spawn inside of the shield dome? And why now did they have to face against her team while trapped in here? If the turret goes down, the shield dome around them will collapse, but the other monsters will only make it that much harder. Though the turret needed a bit more time to activate and pick the targets, Jane figured that the guns wouldn''t attack dark magic spawns of hell. This wasn''t a fight Jane was expecting anytime soon. Even Danny and Taylor were behind her panicking. They have reason to, since they cannot just run away like they have been from the previous Neckron spawns.
"Jane?" Taylor whispered. "What''s the plan here?"
Lifting her daggers with a red aura of energy already showing on the blades, Jane replied, "I''ll take the turret. You three concentrate on the monsters. Stay alive!" Jane rushed forward towards the monster she designated as Freya. Though she identified herself as the first strike leader of JDT, Jane didn''t care what her team did at this point, as long as it was helpful. There wasn''t any time to think long on new ideas. Take everything I''ve learned, and use it! Jane knew that this battle would mean adapt or die. She learned so much from everybody, it would be impossible to make a fatal mistake here.
Eliza taught her how to properly focus her own energy. Claudia taught her how to be creative by making new effects from multiple spells upon much more. Alyssa gave her courage to fight for the right reasons. Jane taught herself to reject all emotion during battle. Taylor taught her to trust her own teammates to battle for all of them. And Danny helped keep everything together in focus. Every single battle Jane had ever fought before was going into this one. Every challenger helped forge her every new skill over time, giving her room to master her own style, while the championship decreased the time it took to react with such maneuvers.
Her green eyes couldn''t appear to be more determined than any other moment. Jane was fighting to survive, and furthermore to allow everyone else to live. No such monster was about to take that away from her no matter how vile. Jane lifted her daggers mid-sprint, approaching the Freya monster with the appearance to strike its chest in just another second. With her blades glowing red, Jane activated her auric spell, and entered another mode entirely. "Dark Strike!"
Freya swung its arm forward as though to stop Jane in her tracks, but Jane disappeared completely just a split second before it would have hit her. Danny and Taylor couldn''t keep constant track of where Jane was. She virtually transformed into a solid beam of light that lasted for a few milliseconds each time every fraction of a full second. It was her renewed dark strike spell, where Jane would enter another dimension at the speed of light using that speed with her magically infused dagger blades to bring a tremendous amount of forceful impact to any target at any distance without needing to fear any interception; they have seen Jane try it before only a couple of times.
Jane kept her concentration on the sentry turret instead of the monster the entire time, flying in the air while slamming her blades through the metal armor of the turret, assisted in force with all of her magic placed into the same spell. With her fourth and final strike from higher above, Jane''s daggers drilled into the armor plating with enough damage to cause the metal rim holding it up to bend until snapping off, taking with it a large chunk of protection with the turret. Jane finished her spell by teleporting back down behind Danny and Taylor.
Almost a moment too late, the Behemoth was already running on all fours, the gigantic wolf approaching Danny and Taylor with its drooling fangs aimed out. Danny wasted no time in activating his idea of a defensive barrier. "Earth Glave!" The spell had no wait to activate, proving he used Earth Glave so many times that the invocation was at its most instantaneous point, as would be the power level of his particular Earth Glave spell. The ground shot upward right under the monster''s belly, shoving it back into the air with a high amount of blunt based damage added on. Danny tracked the energy scopes of the monster and the turret that both took damage.
Bullet Barrage! The action display center of the turret lit up with holographic text, forcing Jane to react to the situation by preparing a power shield. But as the bullets fired in Danny''s direction only, Jane had to transform her spell into a Farshield, and projected her energy in front of Danny for his own sake. The turret can only target one person at a time, unless it tries to use those rockets for an area attack.
Danny was suddenly standing behind a blue translucent shield wall, with hexagons forming everywhere in front of him. Through the shield he noticed the turrets barrels flashing constantly, meaning Jane was shielding him specifically from the attack. He sighed nervously, thankful that Jane had this encounter in the past. She''s so quick against these foes, but he nearly just got bombarded by bullets.
Lava Plume! The Char monster activated its own spell while Jane was in the middle of protecting Danny. Taylor could see it first, targeting Freya with her ice elemental glyphring. "Ice Shots!" As Taylor fired a short burst barrage of five frozen blades at the target from the center of her glyphring, she was suddenly bewildered to learn that Freya didn''t mind the pain level of the attack one bit. While damage was done to Freya, its Lava Plume skill had activated, causing the ground to quake and lava spurts to burst from the ground up.
While the sentry gun was still firing its bullet barrage over the long period of time it was designed to, Jane was suddenly splashed by molten lava straight on her left arm, causing her to jump and scream bloody murder at the same time. Naturally, this dropped the shield she used to protect Danny, and the bullets still coming from the turret penetrated his chest despite the ten rounds being the last few the turret had available to shoot. At the same time, Taylor was also splashed with lava, through the hot fiery liquid pounced on her from behind, burning holes into her skin and her dress sphere at the same time. She too went to the ground screaming, unable to track Danny''s situation. Taylor noticed Danny being hit with a few bullets right before she took a hit from lava.
Mainne was lucky. Only a tiny droplet of the painful fire hit her on the right arm and burned only for two seconds. The pain from that alone caused her to jump back in response, but it also let her know aside from their screaming alerts that Jane and Taylor were both on the ground suffering from powerful burns Freya decided to send off, and their health was draining dramatically.
Mainne could make out the burnt flesh of their skin from here, realizing they were hit with a lot more than just a single drop of lava based in dark magic form. She quickly invoked one of her longer lasting spells, designed to help all of them out. "Blizzard!" Much of her MP was drained down to activate the spell. Though the dark zone didn''t allow weather changes to work, all Mainne was doing was lowering the temperature of the general area, hopefully helping to sooth everybody''s burns and possibly slow down the enemies.
Taylor lifted herself up, totally ignoring the pain, and immediately used some of her energy to create a low MP costing powerful spell. "Icy Wind!" Taylor aimed her glowing arm at herself instead of the enemies, immediately using cold wind to cool down any hits of lava that affected her. Even with the amazing sensation of freezing air helping her damage, she could still feel the intense burning and stinging in all of the areas she was hit, mostly on her back legs, and at the right side of her hips. While this would help ease the pain slightly, her rapid cooling idea would cause blistering in the long run. Still, it was worth it to have this over being too disabled to fight.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
By the time Taylor directed her Icy Wind gust at Jane, she was well aware of the chilling sensation, and quickly used that moment of less pain to bring herself back on her legs before something worse could happen. In that moment, the Behemoth decided to run in towards Jane, likely to try a simplistic attack as it was used to using. Jane simply waited for the right moment to invoke her power shield, shrouding herself in its aura and completely deflecting the claw that the Behemoth used to swipe at her. In that instance, the monster had to back off, giving them all another few seconds to think of a better plan.
The short moment Jane used to shield herself totally blocked out the Icy Wind Taylor was trying to use on her, which brought the pain back. It still wasn''t as intense as the first moment of being hit with Lava Plume, though the pain was severe enough to get the best of Jane''s concentration. Her shield collapsed quickly without her ability to support the field.
Rocketry! Jane clenched her teeth, realizing that the timing of the turret''s rocket attack was horrifying to say the least. She would have no choice but to immediately shoot all of the rockets down before a single one hits her. "Cover me!" she commanded. Just as rockets fired with blasts out the base of the turret, Jane was left to count all of them before using the magic she currently built up into her personal aura. At the same time, a bone chilling rush of air hit Jane from all sides, though it felt so good compared to the intense heat of the dark zone.
Mainne realized that her Blizzard spell finally kicked in, reducing the power of fire spells and increasing the effectiveness of ice spells so far. But what about all of those rockets flying towards them?
"Telepower!" Jane counted ten rockets this time, which were a lot coming from only one turret. After her aura and spell activated, Jane began punching and kicking the air, aiming with her mind at the immediate trajectory paths of each and every missile, switching targets thereafter. With every single punch or kick she drew, one of the ten missiles would detonate early in the air long before reaching them, and Jane managed to get the last two missiles with the same spell active just two seconds away from hitting her directly.
Danny had never seen such an amazing sight of defense before. Telepower can be used to shoot down rockets too! Those missiles probably detonate with just little force or impact at the tips of each warhead, and Jane transferred all of those kicks and punches to their active locations using her magic. Danny was also lucky not to be hit by the lava attack, though the bullets that were now faded away due to being spawned by magical essence still left heavy damage in his chest, which was still bleeding a small amount.
Danny took up his sword, and while blocking out all of his pain to focus, he infused the metal with a fiery aura of Leray magic, after which he continued to charge more energy into the sword than what he was used to. "Summon Hell!" Danny slashed his sword in the air twice this time, aiming first for the behemoth, and again for the other monster. Jane would have no chance to do anything else until she could regain her energy back. Meanwhile, the crimson photons from Danny''s blade slammed into the oversized hound and into Freya, knocking them both backwards though neither one lost balance completely.
"Attack them together! Rotation!" Mainne initiated her version of Rotation, but couldn''t change its properties due to her lower levels of remaining MP after first invoking the spell. She aimed for Freya and the Behemoth, whom immediately became caught up in the vortex of slashing wind damage, and Jane targeted the turret with the monsters both out of the way.
"Return Fire!" Using only little MP with a high power level from the last type of attacks used against her, Jane ended up creating two glyphrings instead of one. The smaller glyphring just above her aimed at the sentry turret, shooting a barrage of six missiles designed from her own magic to fly towards the turret and impact on the metal frames protecting the device. The larger glyphring formed in the sky, imitating a generation glyphring aimed at the ground just below where the Rotation attack was still active. Jane''s generation glyphring only turned into a wide area Meteor Strike spell, blasting the entire field with a haze of falling magical rocks that impacted the monsters multiple times.
The Rotation and Meteor Strike both ended before the missiles slammed into the turret. The turret however tried to defend itself by using another bullet barrage attack with auto aim turned on. However, Jane''s missiles were too fast to target, and only one of the six were shot down. The five explosions happening on top of the turret would have caused massive damage to the metal armor framework of the turret, and Jane was certain they had turned to the winning side before checking out the energy scope changes.
Fire Blast! He underestimated the power of that one sentry gun. Danny was sure Jane had that thing destroyed in one shot, but now it was using magic somehow, creating a red glyphring at the tip of its primary rail cannon and aiming it at where Jane would be. As the Fire Bolt spell shot from the end of the rail cannon, Jane was soon to be hit in the face, when suddenly protected by a sword of solid ice.
Mainne jumped in front of Jane and cut her Frost Blade straight into the incoming Fire Bolt, diffusing the attack without any repercussions. The turret fired again shortly after, this time aimed at Danny.
Danny raised his Crimson Blade still infused with a fiery magical aura. As he proceeded to meet the blade with the Fire Bolt about to hit him in the face, his blade absorbed the energy instead of diffusing the Fire Bolt, making him well protected as well. With Blizzard still active, the cool air set in even stronger, giving Jane and Taylor their willpower back.
Thunder Flare! Mainne read the ADC coming from the hazy field in front that finally began to clear up. The Behemoth and the Char monster were both still standing tall and ready to battle, but the Behemoth created a glyphring on the tip of the horn attached to its head, and activated the dark magic to create a red colored sphere of electrical energy surrounding herself and Jane. When the Thunder Flare spell activated, Mainne was helplessly zapped in place, the burning sensation finally getting to her and draining her health fast. As she watched Jane''s HP drop with hers, there was a noticeable difference highlighting Jane''s natural resistance to electrical elemental magical damage, despite being hit with dark magic at the same time.
Jane snickered by how well she could handle electrical attacks at this point. She had been hit with so many that her natural resistance specific to electricity was bumped higher, especially with her armored dress sphere helping her with the same tactic. "That tickles," she challenged to the Behemoth. "I''ll show you a real shocker! Voltage!"
"Voltage?"
Jane activated her spell with the charged MP energy in both of her hands while ignoring Mainne''s curiosity. Jane''s invocation of her customized Voltage spell created two red glyphrings floating in the sky hovering above the Behemoth creature. Jane recalled momentarily that this was the dark magic version of Lightning Strike that she developed in the dark zone her first run, as she accidentally used it against Cass confusing a Leray spell for the real deal. The creatures here were weak against dark magic too, and Jane was prepared to show no mercy. The glyphrings released their energy, shooting a constant hold of red lightning into the monster, and zapping away its HP faster than anything Mainne had ever seen. By the time it was over, the Behemoth''s body was smoking, the wolf roaring, and its health in the red zone.
Volcanic Mist! Jane''s expression faded fast with the memory of that attack name. It''s like Fiery Plume only in air format, and there was only her shield that could block the attack. "Everyone block it!" Jane couldn''t prepare any idea to protect her friends for them this time, only the shield going around herself. As the Char monster unleashed its haze of hot air mixed in with flying activated ashes, her shield began to form hexagons all over the area in no time, and without any warning, a Fire Bolt exploded on her shield as well.
Jane was okay with her shield up, but the turret was trying sneak attacks on the side, luckily targeting Jane''s shield over anybody else. Mainne couldn''t detect the location of the attack due to the invisibility of Freya''s spell, but since Danny was the first one in front to take the attack, the pain was evident with his reaction to the mist.
Danny ran backwards, rubbing his skin to use friction and draw away the external heat, while he cursed multiple times to himself. His dress sphere didn''t protect his skin half as well as the other ones did. Danny''s arms, legs, face, and the back of his neck received scaring and burns from the mist with his health in decline, burning so quickly due to the intense temperature. Taylor was hit by the blast too, but she deflected much of the heat with another Icy Wind spell to keep it off her, and Jane was simply shielding. Mainne already relocated her position far out of range from the mist before she could even sense danger from it. It was then that Mainne noticed how well Taylor mimicked her own battle style using ice and wind elemental attacks in battle. She''s a natural, just like Jane suggested they were.
Now wasn''t the time to be impressed. As the Volcanic Mist subsided, so was Mainne''s Blizzard effect fading as well. She needed to help them attack a target that was being left alone for too long, such as the turret far in the distance. Mainne took aim, remembering all of her training from back then, and aimed carefully towards the metal framework of the turret on the cliff top. "Power Shift!" Mainne''s aura activated around her body, and changed color from green to blue, then from blue to purple in just a tenth of a second. Afterwards, Mainne fired from a glyphring in front of her four separate spheres of magic flying fast in the distance straight towards the turret.
Unable to deflect in time, the sentry turret was slammed with all four bolts of multi-elemental energy. The green energy bolt that hit first electrified the metallic material in the turret, overloading some of the processes in the machine. The blue energy sphere simply passed by and drilled through an armor plate that it took with the same energy bolt, continuing to fly after breaking armor off until slamming into the red energy dome around them. The purple energy sphere that only deals spiritual damage did nothing at all against the turret, but the last white colored sphere blasted the entire area with white-hot light in a radial area, forcing a magical explosion to degrade the material of the turret at the same time. All of that put into one spell was very taxing on Mainne''s remaining energy, though it did a number on the machine itself, bringing down its HP further into the red zone.
After Taylor and Danny recovered from potential damage from the Volcanic Mist, the Behemoth charged in to tackle the both of them, and Mainne had no time to try anything else. "Ice Glave!" Taylor attempted to use up a fair amount of her magic to create an Ice Glave, despite knowing it failed last time. But as she released her energy, the ground shot up with a pillar of ice once, creating a large horizontal barrier between herself and the Behemoth. The Behemoth changed behavior quickly, realizing it wouldn''t be able to smash through, but Taylor''s attempt of Ice Glave was still incomplete, since the wave of ice should have continued to advance forward and failed.
This however gave Jane the perfect chance to fire back at the monster while it was too distracted by Taylor to do anything. "Shotwhirl!" Jane threw her daggers forward again to create an explosive Flying Guillotine attack, impacting the Behemoth and cutting up the beast just before exploding over forty dark energy photons in all directions, which affected the Freya creature as well as the ice barrier Taylor erected from the ground. Jane was lucky that friendly fire didn''t occur in the same situation, since it was a close call this time.
Wind Shear! Jane recognized that spell from the Freya she fought before. While it was a relatively weaker spell, it could cause big problems in the dark zone. Freya launched its attack, throwing dozens of Wind Shears in all directions intending to hit everybody by splitting up its attack by fours. "Return!" Jane countered the skill by using both of her hands to try and telepathically take control of all the moving sharp projectiles before they hit their targets. Though it took a full two seconds of expending lots more MP energy, Jane successfully took full control, after which she redirected the projectiles to fly back at Freya and deal that type of damage to it.
The wind magic that dug deep into Freya''s skin barely bothered the creature, since it was somewhat resistant to slashing damage as well as blunt damage. Even with Jane''s Return spell used to save her own team, her efforts nearly went to waste just based on the damage level alone.
"Ice Glave!" Mainne approached closer to Jane and Taylor, proceeding with her Ice Glave attack and showing Taylor how it gets done. The sheets and pillar of ice advanced forward in bursts from the ground up, shooting directly into the Behemoth and Freya as well. The burst of ice launched both of the creatures into the air, giving them plenty of time to check the damage level.
Railgun! Jane read the next attack name in the ADC description while studying the sentry turret at the same time. She quickly pulled Taylor''s arm, and leaped back as far as she could without even saying anything. While flying back, only Jane saw the narrow blue energy beam strike the ground where she and Taylor were standing. The ground lit up in smoke, the blue laser drilling through the earth before switching off. Jane didn''t need the flashback to remember how powerful a Railgun attack was. That turret is still causing problems.
"Protect us Jane," Taylor demanded. "I''m going all in."
"Taylor wait!" Jane noticed an aura already building around Taylor''s entire body. It''s too late to talk her out of wasting all of her MP. Jane did all she could to prepare a power shield for herself, but only Danny was wise enough to rush to her side to allow protection from Taylor''s own spell. Mainne wasn''t quick enough, and would have to think of a better way of shielding herself without Jane, having no time remaining.
By the time Jane activated the shielding aura around herself and Danny, Mainne realized Taylor was using a full area attack of some sort, and took her own liberty to use ice magic to create a total spherical ball of frozen material to trap herself inside of. It wouldn''t block out the damage completely, though it would protect her somewhat from danger. It was several long seconds before Taylor did anything though. Her MP levels were tanking down to the single digit levels.
"Ultima!" Releasing all of the magic with her chant as loud as an explosion echoing onward, Taylor lit up the entire field with her magic, creating a light screen attack that covered everything inside of the entire dome. Magical damage was dealt in a heavy amount in every area, while Taylor herself was protected from her own spell. She had very little success with Ultima in the past, but was confident she could do it using up every last ounce of her MP energy. By the time the loud and bright blast of energy died down, everything in the field was smoking.
Mainne''s cocoon broke apart just as the Ultima spell was at its end, allowing Mainne''s body to take some damage too, though not as much as she would have without that cocoon of ice. She quickly checked everybody''s energy scope to see if they were okay after that full light screen blast.
Noticing how close to death the Behemoth was, Jane took immediate action with her daggers and her magical infusion, jumping out a bit to use the spell. "Splice!" Jane crossed her blades, and created a crisscross shaped band of magical lines drilling down and into the Behemoth''s skin. Before the splice spell even finished drilling out the other side, the Behemoth exploded into disintegrated dust flying all over the place, leaving the team with only two enemies.
"Mize!" Mainne took no time to attack while they all had the chance to do so. She aimed her glyphring not yet visible to the eyes towards Freya, and fired her solid beam of orange energy. The beam was very thin, but fast and powerful as it drilled right through the skin of the remaining monster while dealing more pain to the beast than it did damage.
Red dust was seeping slowly out of the impact site on Freya''s arm, indicating heavy damage in that area, but the monster quickly turned its cannon arm back on, aiming at the glowing tip towards Mainne. The monster shot a massive ball of lava in the air, though it shot like an ordinary gravity based projectile with a curved arc. Before the impact to Mainne with no idea of how to deflect it, the sphere suddenly changed course and speed.
Jane activated her Return spell again despite her lower MP level, taking control of the lava sphere she recognized before. Jane then threw the sphere further back so that it simply passed Mainne overhead to hit the ground far behind her, another bad enemy idea avoided.
Danny closed in on where Jane and Taylor were from the right, no longer fearing from the threat of the behemoth, but as he got himself into position, Danny read the new text of the ADC far on the cliff. Laser Swipe! Though he had not seen the spell of that used before, he could tell that Jane and Taylor were both targets since they were not the ones paying direct attention. Jane had her back turned completely, but he had to choose which person to assist. "Watch out!" Danny instinctively grabbed Taylor by her shoulders and threw her behind him and out of the way. Though he was expecting to be able to deflect the unknown turret attack, Danny was suddenly changed when a solid red laser swept from left to right, drilling through his skin in less than a split second. Somehow Jane avoided the beam indirectly.
Danny wanted to scream, but lost the breath he needed to do so. He examined his chest, noticing the solid line that was cut in from the laser. The red cut wasn''t bleeding. The burning heat from the laser instantly sealed up the wound at the same time it was inflicted, but the bruised burning area immediately debilitated Danny, causing him to sink to the ground with a total loss in breath. Taylor was in front of his face in seconds, trying to yell at him for being stupid. The sensation on the wound was louder than anything he could hear or concentrate on.
Taylor noticed the damage he sustained, and realized that whatever he took for her was too much for him to even keep himself together. "Jane!"
Jane turned around immediately after the threat of the lava sphere was over, and noticed Danny on the ground holding his stomach in a panic. The sound of a high pitch Laser Swipe stained in her memory allowed her to quickly deduce what happened. With Danny in this much pain, that turret has to go down right now. Jane turned her head around once more. "Mainne! Help me with the turret. I need air!"
Mainne had to think hard about Jane''s little analogy before understanding what to do; her memory of the battle she fought against Jane in Eldora Tower quickly clicked with the current moment, using the top of the energy dome as a ceiling. Mainne charged the last of her remaining MP energy into one of her finest spells, and threw the magic as high as she could aim towards the top of the dome. "Stalagmite!"
Frozen stalagmites formed from above, immediately falling down with the force of gravity. Jane infused some energy into her legs, allowing herself to super jump as high as she could at the right moment. Jane made sure she would land on the top of one of the falling stalagmites, and continued to jump to the next few after that, repeating the process while preserving her own MP energy. By the time she was as high as she could go, Jane leaped off the last stalagmite and turned to face the earth, immediately surprised by how high she got this time. She was nearly 200 meters in the air, near the top of the dome itself when beginning to feel the air on her face from free falling.
Jane could make out the action below her. Mainne was using her blade to deflect a Laser Rain spell that Freya was using, while Taylor had just launched a Shadow Wave attack at Freya. But Jane''s target was the turret on the cliff far below her. With her speed of fall increasing, Jane prepared the last of her energy into her personal aura, causing her body to glow as it came closer to the top of the turret. When the timing was right... "Quantum Beam!" Jane knew Mainne witnessed this when Jane used it against her. Using Quantum Beam while free falling with the speed of the beam placed into the spell doubles the attack power, and what better object to use than stalagmites for climbing up? Jane fired her auric beam into one concentrated area where the turret was sitting, watching as the blue light engulfed the entire weapon below her. Just as the light faded away completely, a large explosion followed right where the turret was sitting, blasting all of its metal chunks everywhere. In its place, the sentry gun was now totally absent, leaving only one more problem to deal with. But first, Jane needed to land safely using the Shining Bracer spell, which only needed the last 2% of her remaining MP reserves.
Mainne made it to Danny and Taylor just in time, trying to keep her eyes forward at the enemy. After that flash of light from the cliffs, Mainne was sure enough she didn''t need to worry about the sentry turret any longer, but the Char monster had it in for Danny and Taylor right now. The beast used its other arm to try and shoot off multiple Fire Bolts. Mainne used her sword to cut them all down at the right time, but with her MP energy spent, it was really difficult to focus and breathe normally. The heat in the area was rising back to its extraordinary high levels again. "Get up Danny! We''ve only got one more monster!"
Danny could hear their voices, but the pain from the Laser Swipe was just too severe even after moments passed. It hurt him now as much as it did from the initial hit. Taylor thus went searching in her supply sphere for a healing orb, ignoring the large danger behind her.
Several long moments passed between Mainne blocking attacks from Freya while Danny and Taylor were both down. Taylor was still searching through her sphere for orbs, panicking instead of keeping her focus on the enemy. Freya just then decided to raise its larger cannon arm, preparing to shoot off another lava bolt.
Much to Mainne''s surprise however, a small little rock bounced off the head of the creature, immediately distracting Freya. The monster lowered its arm and the light within, turning towards the original area in which it was thrown. Mainne checked it out too, watching as Jane snuck up from the side, glowing purple with a radiant aura that she didn''t remember from any earlier spells.
"You should be more careful where you aim that thing!" Jane was senselessly yelling at the monster, taunting the creature into aiming its cannon arm at her instead of the other three people to the side. Freya of course gave into her taunt, aiming high and launching the sphere of lava her direction. With Jane''s MP already recovered from the Energy Cycle used long enough, she barely had enough left to try one last spell. After deactivating her Energy Cycle aura, Jane threw on a new one after chanting, "Light Strike!" As Jane''s body became encased in a bright white aura of energy, her body slowly levitated off the ground. When the lava sphere impacted against the aura, the entire sphere was simply absorbed into the shield. By the time the spell was fully charged, Jane unleashed the attack potential stored inside, shooting off twenty randomly directed light photons that all homed in on the single target below her. Freya was suddenly bombarded with all photons of magic inducted with special light energy that drilled into its skin. In just a matter of seconds, it was finally over.
Soon after Freya disintegrated into a field of red dust particles, Jane''s bright aura faded, dropping her to the ground rather forcefully since she had no remaining energy to help her down in the aftermath. Mainne helped herself over to Jane to make sure she was okay, but felt impressed by how strong that single spell was. Just like that, the area was clear. Mainne was skeptical while the red energy dome failed to go away after the turret had done so, but the field was now much more transparent than before, flashing on and off as the unknown generator was failing with the lack of the protective sentry turret to signal the field active. Eventually, the force field around them slowly began to collapse.
Chapter Theme Shift: Aiden''s Theme ~ Lorne Balfe (Beyond Two Souls OST)
Jane was okay, but gladly accepted the healing orbs Mainne gave to her. Jane however tried to walk all the way over to Danny before using one on herself. Mainne didn''t hesitate to heal herself for a single second.
After Taylor forcefully used the healing orb on Danny long before fixing herself, the long pause of his silence was finally defeated. Danny could tell his vision wasn''t blurry, nor was he actually dizzy to begin with. It was clear to him that he was far from fainting, though the Laser Swipe that dug into him was totally something he failed to prepare for. "Did we win?" His voice was low and faint, as if someone had kicked him in the stomach a second ago. The burning sensation across his stomach and chest was cut in half by that healing orb, but the scar still remained there, since it was an indication of real time damage.
"Hit by a Laser Swipe," Jane concluded. "But I was hit by two last time I was here. You have to get over that kind of pain to fight monsters like that."
Taylor recalled the way she found Jane''s body the first time. There were burn marks all over, but two particular burns in a straight line. They had much similarity in her memory to the same mark Danny now has. That means Jane had to fight a turret all by herself on her first visit. How the hell did she live?
Danny tried to stand up, and swallowed Jane''s words carefully. She was hit by two of those things in her first visit. That''s what she just said. How could she fight after a blast like that?
"My symbol doesn''t help me block out that pain either," Jane confessed. "You just have to try and get over it. Remember why we''re here."
"Enough!" Though he was clearly aggravated by her words, Danny didn''t get in her face or tense up afterwards. "I''m not going back until we''re done here. My health is still above thirty after all." In short, he made it clear he could still fight, and Jane didn''t question him on it further.
Jane checked out everybody''s stats after the orbs were done doing all they could. The MP levels were rising only passively, allowing everybody to stay tired and worn out, but with the amount of distance they''ve probably traveled, it wasn''t that bad. Somehow, Mainne took the least amount of damage so far, likely by playing it safe all the way. Jane also noticed that after the red energy dome faded away completely, the noise of static returned to the communication device in her ear. The shield must have been a direct source of interference between the other units. Maybe they went on ahead without them after all of the time it took to fight those monsters.
"Is everyone okay?" Mainne wanted to confirm for certain one more time before rejoining the battle with the main force. It is now time that Danton executes phase three of the plan and converge all of their forces forward for one final sprint. According to the previous data Mainne had to look at on the primitive maps, they should be about 80% of the way there by now.
"I''m good." Danny held the burned area, his breath sounded as if his lungs were getting crushed, and he dragged his sword and prepared to walk again.
Taylor naturally helped him without getting too touchy, since Danny''s pride seemed to take a hit too. Mainne had an interesting moment observing the two. Danny and Taylor are certainly interesting people, people who chose to be Jane''s friends. Was it as random as it seemed? Still, both of them were using powerful spells of their own, which begs the question of how they could have learned such powerful skills being such a young age. Did Jane really show them those tricks?
"Mainne! Jane! Status!"
Jane answered the com before Mainne could. "This is Jane. We just finished a rough battle we couldn''t run away from. Minor to moderate injuries taken. We''re still okay over here."
"Why couldn''t you answer to report engagement?"
Danton sounded pissed! Mainne knew the man better than Jane ever could, and held that fact with pride while taking over the conversation. "Mainne here. I think the energy dome blocked our ability to receive or transmit communications."
"The creatures can create energy domes that trap you in?"
"The sentry weapons are responsible for that," Jane responded. "Don''t forget our briefing, anybody. If a red dome surrounds you, you can''t destroy that shield unless you destroy the sentry turret guarding it, and the dome will always reveal itself first."
"I think it''s time to regroup Danton."
"Of course Mainne. We''ll commence phase three by proceeding to point B-207. All teams will rally and regroup at this position, then we''ll almost be at the objective point. Please be ready to move out in 90 seconds."
"Sure thing. Mainne out." After Mainne turned her comm device to idle, she opened her mouth once more to mutter. "What Neckron crawled up your ass?"
"Huh?" Jane heard Mainne''s breath, but didn''t understand what she was talking about.
Mainne simply nodded to tell Jane to ignore it as she proceeded to walk forward. "With Danny''s mobility reduced, we should restrict our running speed by twenty percent."
"I said I''m fine," Danny argued. Taylor was bit in the leg and still has a small wound, but she can suddenly move like the wind again. Just like her, Danny was certain he could heal from this, given more time.
"Don''t be an idiot." Jane barely got to convince Danny that he was still suffering when the communicators went off again.
Chapter Theme Shift: Drumma Boy (Orchestral Ver.) ~ ?
"This is team Cleo requesting all forces to our position. Mark B-108! It''s killing everything! Reporting seven casualties!"
"This is Danton! Fall back immediately! We''re sending in other teams to assist. Jane!"
"I heard it sir." Jane couldn''t believe how wide spread the enemy was, but to have Cleo report seven casualties meant something bigger and stronger than Mikespurn or Neckron. Jane certainly didn''t feel like fighting again after the last battle, but as long as she would have some help after arriving... "JDT will march there to assist."
"As will all other teams. I''m changing the rally point. All teams are to converge on B-107 immediately. Join the battle as part of regrouping."
"We''re on our way." Mainne cut the communicator again, ready to move out though surprised that there is already another new threat. But as for the position of it... "B-107 is just six hundred meters to our west. It''s very close!"
"Let''s get there and save Cleo''s team. I told you I can run."
"We''ll jog." Jane had the final word on that. Danny did look okay as of now, but far from where he started before entering Alpha Zero. Mainne was the first to shift direction and move out, leaving Jane, Danny, and Taylor to follow behind. Jane could feel the intense heat of the dark zone rising a few degrees further, as if someone was using Blaze Storm in the area. But they were also getting closer to the Den of purity, located at mark A-102 on the grid map. They were really above the 80% line towards the Den of Purity. After defeating this last creature, they can sprint for the finish! But first, Jane knew she and the others would have to find and protect Cleo if he hasn''t already dejected himself from battle.
Chapter 56: Gaia
<02/12/1972 ¨C 23:30 | Alpha Zero, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"Shadow Force!" The explosive magic sent from the glowing end of Danton''s Mega-Staff sent four dark pulsars in a straight direction towards the target, simultaneously creating three large Shadow Waves in multiple locations to close in on the target at top speed. Danton remained focused on protecting his team, giving Cleo just enough time to take his men and retreat. After Danton''s team suffered two more casualties from his personal security section, he was adamant on taking this beast on alone.
With Mainne and the others trailing a bit behind, Jane noticed the source of the disturbance in B-107. Though she had nothing to call or compare this to, the monstrous beast standing large and tall before her was by far the largest monster ever spawned by the dark zone. But another creature almost equal in size was spitting a purple stream of fire at the larger creature. Jane made both creatures out to be massive dragons. The smaller creature was the same one Danton was capable of summoning, Entiene. Entiene stood on its four legs confronting the other translucent dragon in front of it, also on its four legs. The dark-zone-spawned creature had a few different defining features about it. One such fact was the missing wing structure of the beast. The next was its phasic aura and ability to be seen through while radiating a small amount of glowing light. And the third was the large energy scope above the creature that already assigned a moniker to the specimen.
Jane slowed her pace quickly. The phasic dragon wasn''t on their side, and its massive body and powerful glow indicated something extraordinary about the danger of the monster. She could spot out Danton in the distance, battling the beast using his most powerful summon Entiene. Jane had no time to react to one of Gaia''s incoming attacks, though it was directed towards Danton''s summon more than anyone else. As it happened, the action display center on the enemy creature lit up with holographic text.
Phantom Blast! As the larger wingless dragon opened its mouth with its ghostly fangs, a bright burst of dark colored photons fired from its breath, slamming with light speed into Entiene. There were five total hits to Entiene, but Danton didn''t even have the chance to count all of them. It was over in a flash, Entiene''s health dropping from a high level to an immediate zero percent, which he had never seen happen so quickly before.
Following the defeat of his summon, Entiene''s spiritual body became completely transparent, exploding into a blast of tiny light particles going everywhere. Danton growled under his breath, unable to learn the secret about the power level of this creature. Its behavior was totally unusual, as Gaia gave itself its own name and energy scope, providing a small level of sentience to the creature. Its power was so far unmatched even by his standards, and from the corner he could see Jane Venn rushing in with her daggers to help aid in the fight, much against his intent.
Jane slid in the burning dirt below her, her daggers in front and ready to enter the battle and defeat this massive creature. It stood in the way of the entire assault team to advance, and the enemy seemed to be in waiting for its chance to recharge while Danny and Taylor came in to assist Jane, Mainne lagging behind somehow. "Get all the injured away from here. We''ll handle this thing."
"No Jane!" Danton decided to retract his last command to form his teams in this location, even if they still haven''t all arrived just yet. "This thing is way too powerful to fight. We need to defect and shut this creature down from the source!" Danton had no choice but to yell, with the roaring of the massive phantom dragon before them making it harder to hear along with the increasing hot wind bellowing in everyone''s ears.
Taylor glanced back to Danton, who seemed to be chickening out of the battle, and to her right side was Mainne, still struggling to get in range of the area, perhaps mortified by the size and power of the creature before her. But Taylor watched Jane fight Danton''s summon all by herself. Gaia seemed a bit bigger, but without its wings, it couldn''t even fly. With its translucent factor, it must have a spirit elemental body structure, just like the Phantom Dragon they had to battle against the Scarlet Cult on the 787 bridge. Taylor knew that with Jane and Danny helping out, they could certainly do this. All Danton has to do is help too.
The phantom dragon designated as Gaia stretched and turned its neck with its head, opening its mouth to show off its powerful see-through jaws and fangs to its enemies, and following it up with a long roar so loud and powerful that the noise level created an active earth quake below it.
Taylor met Danny''s eyes as he held his sword ready to combat the oversized creature. Taylor already had her glowing bow equipped and ready to fire. "Give me a boost?" she requested.
Danny began to charge energy into his hands in agreement and sync with what Taylor had in mind by her words. "Let''s go for it." Holding out his arms to release his magic, Danny chanted the support spell proudly. "Molecular Boost!"
The spell casting created a special glyphring floating in the air at an angle to aim at the creature''s neck. Taylor took her bow and aimed her Crystal Arrow at the glyphring. After she fired the arrow enchanted with crystalline and explosive Leray magical properties, the arrow itself obtained a massive amount of light while picking up speed upon passing through Danny''s support glyphring. The impact of the arrow created a sonic blast upon the impact, as well as an explosive hit that seemed small compared to the size of the actual creature. The impact to the bastard''s neck managed to penetrate and damage the creature despite having a near astral body, while the health stats decreased slightly on its energy scope in response.
Jane couldn''t believe how little damage that ended up doing to the creature. She could visibly see the dragon shake its head an extra time in response to the pain of a piercing crystal arrow strike its body, yet it had plenty of energy to continue fighting back with vigor. She could sense it beyond the report of the energy scope, and soon realized that Danton''s warning wasn''t to be taken lightly.
With its face returning to glare at Jane''s entire team, the eyes of the creature lit up with more intensity. Its evil red glare intensified the motive of Gaia just as it began to retaliate to the last attack with a more interesting decision. Doom Shield!
Jane knew what the spell was, but was too surprised to see it happen in order to take action in time. In just another second, the magic from Gaia sent invisible waves that quickly erected another dark colored dome shield around itself and the rest of the battlefield. However, due to the odd positioning of the dome shield itself, Danton was pushed back by the edge, kept outside of the interior of the dome, while Mainne wasn''t even close enough to get swept up inside of the shield.
Jane quickly found herself in a new situation. Her team was now trapped in a dome shield invulnerable to destruction, bound by the life span of the spawn before her, and Mainne was trapped outside. After a quick glance from behind, she noticed Danton was just kept out by a single foot of distance.
Danton pounded on the magical shield with his fists, screaming in denial at the new development. "Jane! Get the hell out of there!"
Mainne could see Danton''s distress after his eyes met hers, but she had another idea to help get Jane out of this problem. "Fall back to regroup! We must help them as a team!"
Danton''s magic from his Mega-Staff simply reflected off the perimeter of the dark yet solid shield, and he addressed Mainne''s unknown plan of action. "How do you propose we do that?"
"So it''s kill or be killed?" Jane could tell by the simple glare of the monster standing a towering ninety meters tall that it had this intention in mind all along. Gaia was going to test Jane''s small team by a fight to the death, the same challenge Atlas proposed earlier. "You leave me no choice. Bullet Blitz!" Jane carried two sub machine guns spawned by two small yellow glyphrings forming in front of her due to the effects of her magic, and fired the weapons regardless of the recoil response. Jane unloaded as many bullets as she could into the creature. But as the bullets drilled into the phasic scaly skin, the damage was not even registering to the energy scope. Jane quickly tossed the machine guns to the floor before they would soon disappear, and decided to go with more powerful magic.
Mize! Jane saw an attack spell coming on the ADC of the creature. Though she was familiar with the name, Jane didn''t even give the monster a chance to cause severe damage to her. Using her charged up Leray energy, Jane cast her signature power shield aura around her entire body with the flick of both her arms and hands. Just as Jane got her shield up, a glyphring formed in front of Gaia''s dragon face, firing a bright narrow beam of energy that slammed into the shielding aura, creating small hexagons all over the impact sight, but the duration of the beam was about less than half a second, leaving Jane with little energy expenditure in protecting herself.
Jane suddenly had more time now to fight back at the large dragon than the enemy did, though she noticed a bit of delay in her team. They would need to hurry up and stop being afraid of this thing. The light from the phasic dragon seemed to be a bit more intense than before due to the blockage from external light by the dark doom shield around them, but Jane didn''t hesitate in her chances for a single second. "I''ll show you a beam spell. Quantum Beam!" Knowing the spell itself has some weak properties, Jane also learned by now more ways than one for refining the spell. She created a small glowing glyphring in front of herself while simultaneously charging up the blue glowing aura around her body. As soon as the glyphring as fully formed with spiky edges at the bases, Jane merged her aura with the glyphring, and unleashed her beam attack, which turned her entire aura into a large beam of non-elemental Leray magic. Aimed well at the creature, the beam struck the target, draining a small amount of its HP. Jane was again surprised to see how high Gaia''s endurance rating was with the amount of energy she had to spend on that spell alone.
"Sereing Blast!" Using an overloading glyphring of Leray magic, Danny aimed his next spell at the dragon to add on to Jane''s attack and battle as a team, though it drained a little more out of him due to how quickly he forced himself to invoke the spell. The blast of white light slammed into the lower body of Gaia, chipping off another small chunk of HP to the enemy summon. After that, Taylor simply didn''t follow it up with anything.
Darkness Eater! Jane began charging energy to shield herself, but her charging was finished a moment too late. She realized soon enough that a red circle was forming under her body as the astral body of the dragon lit up with a changing color of deep red. The circle surrounding Jane was turning into a Star of Darkness spell, despite the radius being that much smaller.
But Taylor noticed that she as well as Danny were being targeted as well with separate Stars of Darkness circles. Due to her inactivity last time, she had more room to react, jumping out of the forming circle immediately before it was too late. Upon landing on her arms and chest to the disgusting ash filled dirt, Taylor suddenly remained unharmed while Jane and Danny were trapped inside of magical spheres that quickly sucked their HP away, simultaneously draining their entire essence. But contrary to an ordinary design of Star of Darkness spell, there was no surge of electricity at the end. Still, Danny and Jane fell to their knees in just mere seconds with the fading of the Darkness Eater spell just from how much it drained both of them alone. What worse, Gaia''s health benefited from the surge, proving how much of a power level the summon has.
Jane lifted herself up quickly, refusing to give into the massive draining sensation taking her over. With her surge of Leray energy growing in charge and the perfect recovery plan in mind, Jane tried her rebuttal. "Your energy is mine!" Performing the spell known as Drain against the creature in front of her, Jane executed the spell effortlessly and immediately drained more of Gaia''s energy force from its HP levels, charging herself back up to the way she was before getting hit by the last attack.
Gaia changed its stance slightly, and began shifting direction of its neck to indicate an imminent counterattack. Jane prepared herself for defense while reading into the action display center, hoping to cause total damage to the evil summon they''ve been forced to fight. Firewall! Firewall is the name of the next spell, and Jane chose that moment to invoke her shield again. The dragon lowered its head with its mouth open, breathing a large stream of fire while aiming in a singular line as if to breath all over the entire field, but the fiery stream created a tall wall of fire instead, spreading all the way from one end of the dome to the other end.
As the firewall advanced downwards towards Jane''s team, Jane simply had to wait for the passing of the damage over her protective aura to be safe again, but she questioned the readiness of her other two teammates, who would suffer third degree burns from this spell if they don''t act now!
"Earth Glave!" Danny wasn''t standing close enough to Taylor for this spell to help her as it was about to assist him. After taking aim at the advancing wave of fire coming straight at him, Danny forced the ground to shoot upwards and advance forward from his direction, which immediately dosed the section of fire that was to affect his entire area. In one single attack spell, Danny used the power of the earth to deflect the flames away from him as the wave continued in other areas.
"Cold Spin!" Since Danny wasn''t close enough to use that spell to help Taylor out, she had no choice but to use her magic as well to deflect the incoming wave of fire, certain that her magic would undoubtingly protect her from the incoming wave of flames. The large tornado of freezing air plowed forward through the field, and dimmed the flames down to pure smoke as soon as the Cold Spin rotation attack sucked in all of its available oxygen. The waves of fire were broken apart, long passing over Jane''s shield. After a quick analysis while Jane lowered her power shield again, Taylor was happy to see nobody on her team affected by the last attack.
Hyper Blast! "What?!" Jane didn''t see this coming, a consecutive enemy spell right after the last one, and she wasn''t prepared for it. After just coming out of a power shield, her MP energy wouldn''t charge quickly or strongly enough for a second power shield. Jane figured she could prepare to use a Return attack to deflect it, but she wasn''t sure what type of magic spell this was going to be. She knew a beam could never be deflected in time...
Gaia opened its mouth again, creating a glowing white sphere of powerful magic that shot forward above all three of the targets, exploding suddenly in the air to blast hot white light all over the entire battlefield. It''s a light screen attack about as powerful as Ultima, and not a single one of the humans had any chance of evasion or resistance.
Jane felt her body heat up violently, as if she had been trapped in a field of rising steam that begged to boil her very skin. The sensation was both painful and draining at the same time. As the bright light screen faded, Jane slumped down slightly, trying to prevent herself from giving up, but her skin was smoking, and from the looks of her teammates, they sustained just as much intense damage as well. Jane didn''t want to stop battling in hopes that she could stay alive long enough to defeat this creature, but the damage done to her just now was overpowering, as it slowed down her reaction time and drained her life force.
Taylor noticed how quickly and deeply she was breathing from the exhaustion the battle already had on her, but Danny and Jane were both in a similar predicate, unable to fight back in the moment, giving into their desire for recovery. Gaia wasn''t even scratched badly, but all three of them were having trouble. Screw the doom shield! There has to be a way out of here. Taylor charged a spell that she knew would only allow her to buy time to figure out a new strategy, learning quickly from one of Jane''s earlier spells. "Drain!" Invoking the magic quickly, Taylor drained some of the enemy''s HP, refreshing her own and allowing her to feel more alert and steady.
Blaze Storm! "No." Jane''s voice was weak and frail. She struggled so hard to stand firm and concentrate. What would Blaze Storm do to everyone in a place that is already over one hundred twenty degrees in average temperature? How could this massive thing have so much endurance and power stored up? With the color of the sky burning a deeper red slowly over time, the temperature in the area began to rise quickly. Jane was already sweating, but now her sweat would be sweating with her.
Just as unexpectedly, Jane caught the glimpse of an unidentified orange glyphring flying high above her head, which didn''t seemed synchronized to the monster. Shortly after it happened, a fiery beam of magical light blasted with a sonic boom straight into the creature''s right eye, causing Gaia to roar and wail in agony while the glyphring faded just as quickly.
Jane didn''t take credit for the attack, but neither were Danny or Taylor. It couldn''t have been someone from the outside, since the doom shield would simply block their magical entry. While Blaze Storm continued to make the field less comfortable for Jane''s team, she tuned into a weak signal from her ear comm.
"I don''t think the bastard liked that very much!" "Give em hell Jane! Don''t let that thing get the best of you! Show us what you can do, just like in Eldora Tower."
Jane recognized both of the voices, Cleo and Brock talking to her over the communication devices. This dome shield was not the same type as the red dome, thus radio signals were not totally being blocked out. But how in the world did Brock and Cleo get their attack to enter the impenetrable dome?
Jane gasped at the most simplistic answer she never thought of until now. They simply teleported their magic into the field. Using teleportation and multidimensional warping techniques, they were able to manipulate that Flameburg spell to teleport mid-attack into the dome using more than one glyphring! Jane had no idea the shield had this many flaws. That means she could teleport her entire team out of here too... But if they did escape, Gaia would simply attack the other teams in the same way. This creature doesn''t seem to be as linked to the dark aura in Alpha Zero as the others. Shutting the vile field down wouldn''t solve the problem therefore.
With determination returned to her eyes, Jane drew out her daggers, ignoring the one hundred fifty degree heat in the area to convey a plan of action to her friends, who seemed more distraught by the heat than she was. "Both of you get up! If we die here, it''s over!" Danny and Taylor tried to force themselves through the rapid dehydration and do as Jane wanted, but it wasn''t working in their favor, the heat overwhelming all of them. "This thing is all that stands in the way of our life. Gaia has to die! Let''s show it what JDT is made of!" Jane expended little of her magic upon Danny and Taylor at the same time, giving them auras around their bodies that charged some of their energy for them while decreasing their body temperature momentarily. The trick seemed to work, but Jane was going to proceed with her attack first.
"All together now! Mako Speed!" Jane shot a short-lived blue beam from the edge of her right dagger while aiming at the ground, launching her body high into the air, only the first part of her attack.
"Crimson Blade!" Danny infused a fiery aura of magic around his sword, preparing to go through with a good spell he stuck with since obtaining the sword, a spell he designed all by himself.
"Meteor Strike." Taylor didn''t holler or yell the name of her spell, since it was one of her first few times invoking the powerful area attack. As her magical aura activated, much time passed during the rest of the charging and invocation since she wasn''t all that familiar with the area attack in the first place. Naturally, Jane and Danny''s attack hit Gaia first.
"Summon Hell!" Danny swung his sword twice this time, sending six small powerful crimson colored photons towards the stationary dragon. Just as the crimson photons were hitting the beast, so were Jane''s elemental attack spells.
"Prism!" Much like she tried in the championship battles, Jane used her Prism spell while elevated high in the air from her Mako Speed trick. From the end of her colorful glyphring, Jane launched four Fire Bolts, four Ice Bolts, three Thunderbolts, and four Spirit Bolts in a rapid-fire sequence with the combination of her spell, drilling into the phantom skin of the dragon and causing a fair amount of health loss in the creature. Her attacks hit in sync with Danny''s Summon Hell photons, which assisted the total attack power.
Taylor activated her Meteor Strike spell two seconds after Danny and Jane were done with their spells, causing glowing red meteorites to rain down from above, smashing into the dragon all over its back, head, and other areas due to the total area of effectiveness. Gaia reacted with another roar of pain, including a stomp in the ground with its foreleg. By the time Taylor finished using her spell, she felt more exhausted than ever before.
Despite the health loss and pain Gaia must have suffered, the monstrous dragon prepared yet another attack spell without breaking a sweat. Mimic! Jane prepared herself while charging MP energy for the unknown. As the magic from Gaia activated, an additional wave of red meteorites began raining down from above, only now were they targeting her entire team, the dragon simply mimicking Taylor''s Meteor Strike spell. Jane had a means to dodge the attack, but she had to rely on her faith that Danny and Taylor were keen enough to have their own method as well.
"Dark Strike!" Jane invoked her spell long before the meteors came slamming into the earth where she stood. Her aura combined with her body, transforming her into a solid beam of light as she traveled at uncapped speed through dimensional barriers with her daggers out, slashing at Gaia with every pass in and out she made over and over. On the fourth strike, Jane dug both of her blades into Gaia''s massive scaly nose, but instead, the metal and her body slipped through the astral body of the monster, failing to affect the creature at all due to her last strike containing no magical properties. The first few strikes did however contain magical slashing damage, and therefore caused some damage to Gaia. After the Meteor Strike ended, Jane used a small amount of her magic to kick off and land on the ground with a Push Wave to lighten her descent back to the ground following her failure to damage the monster in her last hit. While Jane got her distance from Gaia, she counted the health on everyone, noticing that Danny and Taylor were sunk to the ground, hit from the enemy Meteor Strike.
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"Gyrobreak!" Jane didn''t even bother waiting for her chance to read the next actions from the enemy. She needed to gain the upper hand here and now. By disrupting the magnetic pattern in the area inside of the doom shield, Jane made the earth quake violently, which seemed to confuse her foe thus far.
Danny immediately took advantage of the situation despite how weak and tired he felt, but with Blaze Storm fading away already, the rush of cooler air on his body helped him to ignore his previous damages. "Ozcom''s Razor!" Creating a massive oversized magical sword above the monster''s neck Danny thought he could decapitate the creature, his aim perfect despite his feet barely able to plant in the ground from Gyrobreak, but as Danny unleashed his spell that sliced into the monster, Gaia barely took any damage or pain effect from the spell at all.
How is this thing so powerful? Jane couldn''t figure out a method to actually win the battle. Gaia was just too powerful for them right now. Redemption! The action display center lit up with a most distasteful spell cast Jane surely recognized. Knowing the full extent of the power of Redemption, Jane knew how deadly this one move would be to all of them. "Dodge that!"
The dragon released not one wave, but three waves of Redemption, though most of them were aimed at Jane Venn. The spiral effect from the vertical beams of light seemed confusing, but Taylor and Danny both took evasive action. Taylor danced around like a crazy person, sliding in the dirt and jumping out of the way of oncoming beams of light, evading each one too close to her beautifully. She watched too as Danny had similar intentions in mind, but a winding beam from the left managed to slide right into his body, dragging him straight to the ground from the intense level of damage it had already cause him. Though that last beam left Danny and Taylor in the clear, Jane wouldn''t be able to help either one of them right now with her need to dodge them as well.
With every intention to evade them, Jane was hit by two Redemption beams consecutively, the first leaving her too stunned to dodge the next in less than a second of time, while her HP and life force energy dropped immediately and dramatically. All of her previous wounds from before hurt more than ever, but she still felt much weaker than she did any pain from the Redemption attack, since it has a lower pain level of magical damage.
Gyrobreak already ended before the Redemption attack began, giving Taylor the balance she needed, but Danny was in trouble, his previous injuries getting worse due to the lower endurance rating from the last attack. "Crimson Flare!" Taylor shot her magical attack forward at Gaia only to buy herself some more time while she approached Danny with her supply sphere open. Using the healing orbs isn''t against any rules in this setting, and Danny needed it most.
"Kill Wave!" Though she was already weakened by the last attack, Jane helped Taylor out in her attempt to bring Danny back up to speed. She would need both of them right now to defeat this nasty creature before it kills all three of them. Her spell created six blue energy spheres from multiple directions surrounding Gaia, impacting the dragon from multiple locations and dealing damage with the Crimson Flare Taylor used before.
After giving Danny the glowing healing orb, his stats did improve, but only slightly compared to what they should have been. Though the effect wasn''t dramatic for his stats, they were dramatic to his physical recovery and stamina boost. Danny was back on his feet with his sword gripped tightly, as he thanked Taylor for looking out for him this time.
"I''m not letting it end like this." Jane conjured up more magic than what she was used to, preparing to unleash her secret weapon. She wasn''t sure how effective this strategy would be, but at least it would give her a moment to breath and recover. "Massife!" Jane focused her energy, creating a large yellow glyphring in the sky, and from the summoning glyphring came the flying dragon attached to the summon. Despite the size of Jane''s summoned dragon only being about one fifth the size of Gaia, her Massife dragon could fly, giving it a wild advantage as well as being capable of keeping the enemy off of her teammates while dealing damage at the same time.
With a roar as loud as Gaia''s battle cry, the Flare Drake took flight as the yellow glyphring faded behind the Leray-based creature, loyal only to Jane Venn. Jane practiced this spell a hundred times in secret, inspired by Cass to at least have one summon ready and available to pull out. Though Flare Drake is somewhat of a weaker form of summons, it was still capable of dealing heavy damage, even to Gaia.
"Yes!" Taylor cheered. The Flare Drake. Finally, Jane is using her head! "This is good. We may have a winning chance now."
Danny took his time in recovery, formulating ideas and strategies, but the flying smaller dragon above was a bit distracting. Jane was totally in command of the creature too in real time, giving him a renewed sense of how far Jane has come as a Leray master.
Jane''s green eyes changed in color to a bright autumn yellow while glowing with the intensified synchronization of control level magic. Jane could almost feel the Flare Drake as if she were the beast, and immediately gave it the attack order to shrink Gaia down to size. "Use Fire Beam! Then Thunder Beam!"
The dragon reacted immediately, flying around for a quick attack run. Without needing any glyphrings, the creature only had to open its mouth like Gaia to store and blast energy from the base of its throat. The creature fired a high intensity beam of fire elemental energy straight into Gaia''s phasic body, still managing to deal damage to the enemy. The drake followed its spell up with another beam of energy, this time containing electrical elemental magic that affected Gaia''s entire body while dealing a slightly higher level of damage overall. By the time its attack run had ended, Jane''s summon changed course in the air, while Gaia targeted the creature with an attack of its own.
Prism Shot! Gaia created a multi-colored glyphring in front of its face, using that glyphring to fire multiple spiritual bolts towards Jane''s summon. Since even Leray-based summons are weak against spirit elemental damage, it proved that Gaia was making a more educated choice of spells.
"Dodge it and give it the shock of his life!" Jane''s command got through to her Flare Drake immediately. The creature took evasive aerial maneuvers, despite the ten total Spirit Bolts of magic containing homing properties on the target. The dragon maneuvered in the air while changing course for one final attack run. The dragon charged up its electrical energy in its mouth, zapping Gaia with as much power as Jane commanded it to, running her summon low on MP energy.
With Gaia''s entire astral body sparking up with electrical bolts here and there as a full indication that electrical attacks were effective too, Jane felt victory coming soon. Her summon was doing a great job drawing away the attention of Gaia. But why weren''t Danny and Taylor doing anything about it?
Gaia opened its mouth so suddenly, breathing a blue magical burst of fire aimed right at the Flare Drake. Jane was in sync with her summon, so it was up to her to see that blast coming and dodge the attack for her companion. But she failed, the drake being engulfed in the fiery energy of pure magic from Gaia. The summon Jane brought out burst into hundreds of photons of bright light, defeated in one single hit. Her eyes ceased glowing and returned to their ordinary green, while Jane lay in shock of how fast that was to bare.
Danny couldn''t believe how quickly things turned upside down for Jane, but he didn''t stand there in awe long enough to let Gaia target him or Jane again. "Firesurge!" Invoking a fiery Shadow Wave infused with earth and fire elemental magic, Danny''s advancing wave took some time to go that far towards Gaia''s feet, as he soon realized the damage level may not even be significant. But Jane seemed to have her own tricks up her sleeve.
Refusing to take the time to mourn the loss of her summon so soon, Jane drew her daggers and gave Gaia no mercy in her next attack pattern. "Dark Strike!" Following the completion of her energy charge, Jane felt and watched her MP levels drop down to twelve percent, giving her a lower rating and one final attempt to do this right. Jane entered the same dimensional warp as she did previously, sending herself at light speed towards the evil dragon with her daggers glowing red with pulsating Leray energy. With one strike, she teleported and performed the same action using some of her already charged up MP energy, all the way to her final strike, which she soon canceled due to her lower MP levels this time.
Nature''s Wrath! Gaia wasn''t backing down for a moment, summoning three different tornado attacks infused with a fiery aura of supreme heat magic. Each tornado targeted someone, with Jane the first to be hit soon unless she could take evasive action. After glancing at her low energy and health stats, she knew there were not many options left. Danny and Taylor took evasive action against the tornados of fire, but Jane activated her Energy Cycle aura and stood perfectly still.
After infusing herself with a purple aura of magic, Jane deliberately took on the fiery tornado attack from Gaia, burning her skin with a high level of pain and intensity. Her health declined by a moderate amount, but her energy levels charged in response to the damage.
"Splice!" Jane slashed her daggers charged with energy through the air, creating an X-shaped wave of magical lines of piercing energy that drilled through Gaia causing it to roar out in the pain it was designed to cause, but the activation in her spell alone shut down her own Energy Cycle, giving Jane just what she had left to work with while the Splice attack took its toll.
Danny finally charged up enough energy to unleash his spell, but controlled his magic to focus the radial effect of the area attack. "Mega-Flare!" Danny''s burst of a light screen attack only turned into a blinding radial light that affected the large phantom dragon instead of the entire battlefield, causing massive damage to the enemy while draining much of his MP energy.
Taylor was on his side and ready to assist in dropping Gaia''s HP down as far as she could. While Danny was using Mega-Flare, she went with a spell of her own, already invoking the magic because she had been charging her energy prior to Danny''s spell. "Photon Burst!" As Taylor landed her arm motion downward, the sky lit up with raining photons of Leray energy, bombarding Gaia all over from the great area attack Taylor scored. The damage wasn''t as light to the dragon this time, but the beast still seemed to have plenty of energy left to fight.
Jane held her daggers firm, processing what attack she could use next. With little energy left, Redemption was out of the question. Anything with a high-energy rating would be difficult for Jane to maintain, and Energy Cycle would use up her HP should she refuse a passive charge.
Without much warning to Jane, Gaia fired an electrical projectile out of a glyphring that flashed and faded like lightning, stunning and zapping her on the spot without lighting up its action display center. Jane was electrocuted in place for half a second, but the blast brought down her health stats to a critical area. Inflicted with real time damage, Jane sunk down to her knees in defeat, too weak to get a hold of herself. It took too much to focus in this heat with this much damage.
Danny could see the damage rating on Jane, refusing to believe that she of all people would be left the most vulnerable. He called Taylor to help her by distracting Gaia with simplistic magic, but it took some time to get a reaction from anyone.
Jane''s heart rate and breathing increased dramatically, her pain surging throughout all of her veins like nothing she had ever felt before. Jane was slightly screaming in and out with the way it flooded her body, and it wasn''t much longer until a bright light surged from the top of her right hand. Shinning right through the battle suit and her fingerless gloves, the Mark 64 symbol blasted its way into a holographic view. Though it felt painful, Jane could sense everything soon to stand out, her energy quickly regenerating by the sudden activation of her symbol. But again, she wasn''t in control of its activation; it happened automatically, likely triggered by her critical condition from all of the damages. In just four seconds, Jane felt stronger than ever, and blocked the pain out as she carefully stood back up with her symbol in constant radiance.
"Jane''s symbol!" Taylor called it out for Danny, knowing he could clearly see the brightness and design from here. It was the same symbol as always, a circular disk much like a glyphring, but with a smaller oval shape inside of the circle and lines that wrapped around to make the pattern appear as a planetoid with rings. Past the bright intensity of the light, it even had the same pink coloration to it as before, but there were a few extra markings right at the edge of the outer layer. It wasn''t the same exact design after all, unless this was a detail she missed last time. Being twenty meters away from Jane, Taylor could make it out with fine detail.
Atomic Barrage! Jane''s vision was suddenly restored from the slim blurry sensation she had been experiencing a minute ago along with the rapid dehydration from the hot air around her, but her body felt like it was enshrined in cold water. She became fully aware that her symbol just activated, and did it ever feel so amazing! Gaia was activating a spell right now, but with the energy stats restored on her energy scope, Jane patiently waited for the right moment to counter the enemy''s skill.
As Gaia''s spell activated, the sky suddenly lit up with massive comets the size of houses all coming down from above, ready to phase right through the doom shield Gaia created around the battlefield. Jane could see the detail of each comet carefully, with their blue burning tails and glittering dust floating around all seven of the falling rocks. They even changed the color of the sky from her angle from the dark red to a dark blue, the radiance of each comet as powerful as the magic used to create them.
Jane lifted both of her arms aimed as high as she could aim them, targeting an imaginary field she dedicated to all seven of the comets, and charged her energy into each hand. "Inversion!" Though it took two extra seconds, Jane managed to take full control of the entire speed and direction of all falling comets coming down, stopping them to zero speed right as they began to phase through the doom shield.
Danny was again amazed by the incredible power inside of Jane''s symbol, while this particular spell belonged to Jane alone. Despite the size and weight of all those comets, she redirected its entire flow of magic, each rock suddenly moving sideways in the direction of the phantom dragon. Danny charged some of his own energy to hit Gaia with more than just that, but waited to watch the show before releasing it.
Jane continued to expend her MP as she sent the comets crashing downwards and sideways to Gaia''s direction, causing all seven comets to impact all over the back of the beast, causing major damage to the phantom creature on the spot. By the time it was over, she felt winded and bewildered from that single spell, as it seemed to drain much of her MP controlling such a high powered skill.
"Laser Rain!" Danny''s invocation of Laser Rain was nearly instantaneous on having his energy prepared ahead of time, and he fired lasers from the sky landing on top of the enemy creature, but the damage to him was still insignificant! Even Jane''s trick brought Gaia only minor injury.
"That thing has to be wearing down!" Taylor drew out her bow, preparing to give Gaia a regular dose of attacks to continue wearing the creature out. But another skill appeared on the enemy ADC which Taylor had to prepare for. Earth Plume! Before she could figure it out, Gaia lifted one of its forelegs and stomped it into the ground with incredible force, shaking the entire ground where Danny and Taylor were standing. Somehow, the force of the impact had little effect in the area where Jane was standing. Instead of creating a mild earthquake, the invisible wave of magic shot the earth up like an advanced version of Earth Glave, smacking Taylor in the jaw, and Danny in the gut as they were helplessly airlifted only to crash again to the ground.
Jane watched in horror as her friends were hit with such a rough attack so violently. Their health stats began to tank while they both lie helplessly on the ground, barely able to get up and move. "No!" Jane cried out in desperation that the hit wasn''t as bad as it looked. Taylor was making an attempt to get up and recover herself, but there was blood all over her face.
The thought of losing both of them, to this ignorant creature; Jane felt her nerves tighten in her rage. They weren''t dead yet, but this Gaia thing was surely crossing a line now. There had to be more Jane could do to stop this thing, and she immediately gave it her all. "Voltage!" Aiming her dark magic at the monster, Jane activated two red glyphrings flying high above Gaia''s position. Their activation began to electrocute the phasic monster with red lightning infused with dark magic, the kind Jane was opposed to using, and it seemed to be a bit more effective than ordinary Leray magic in this scenario. It was still far from enough.
A glowing arrow disguised as a speeding bullet of light shot from the ground into the monster, with Taylor''s bow standing in her arms as evidence. She got herself up and used a Spirit Arrow on the creature, chipping away its health a step further. It seemed Taylor was still not backing down either, and with Danny now standing up as well, Jane knew she had one more chance.
With her symbol still glowing active, Jane quickly teleported a short distance to Danny and Taylor using Leray magic, and conversed with both of them. "Both of you grab my hands." Jane commanded each of them to take one of her hands. They both seemed confused, but complied swiftly with Gaia preparing to make another attempt of an attack. As soon as Jane could feel the grip of her friends and her energy ready to use, she unleashed all of her saved power into the field. "Zero Zone!"
In just one more second, everything turned a bit darker, black in white in color. The landscape became bleaker, but also cooler and silent of sound. Jane could only hear the noise made by herself and her friends. When everything became certain, her suspicion was confirmed. Zero Zone had special properties that can benefit those touched by the user at the same time. Both Danny and Taylor were left unfrozen in time. By being in physical contact with someone during the very invocation of Zero Zone, those touched are immune to its time distortion just as the user of the spell is.
Keen to the immediate situation, Taylor was amazed in seconds. "Wow! This is what freezing time is like!" Gaia was frozen solid, but everything including herself was black and white with no color, as well as having less light than previously available. Even the energy scopes were frozen in time. Taylor knew that in this state, she and Danny could deal a lot of damage to this summon of hell.
"Focus!" Jane reminded. "I''ll attack it. Just be ready to give me a boost." Jane sensed Taylor would not let her down. Danny would likely attack with what magic he had left normally to add to the damage she planned to tax onto the monster. After turning to face the creature and rushing towards her enemy on foot, Jane unleashed all of her powers while the symbol and time freeze were both active. "Shadow Force!" Jane unleashed three separate Shadow Waves from different angles all at the same time proceeding towards Gaia, and another dark glyphring in front of her as well. Jane fired four dark colored photons of energy at the monster. Despite their impact to the target, Jane would have to wait before noticing any damage. Jane knew it wasn''t enough, and invoked a better spell on herself, creating a dark green aura thinly encased around her skin. "Blitz!"
The coloration of magic itself remained even in this zero zone, since the user was free to use all the time and magic during the event. Taylor used her spell on Jane this time, giving her own ally an interesting boost as part of an experimental process she believed would work. "Molecular Boost!" Taylor''s invocation lit up Jane''s aura brightly, as it seemed to actually affect support auras as well as other spells mid-invocation. But would this really work to boost the power level of her own stored energy?
"Star of Darkness!" Danny decided to give it all he had too, despite how weak he felt. At least with this time freeze, everything felt colder, and his recent wounds hurt slightly less, but he was already bleeding a small amount from multiple locations, the real time damage piling up against him. His spell created a red Star of Darkness all around the creature, serving to drain its energy while Jane went to town with her Blitz spell.
"Ragh!" Pulling out two machine guns much like her first attempt at a Bullet Blitz spell that failed before, Jane''s bullets aided by Taylor''s Molecular Boost in the support aura created a yellow magical coat around each and every round Jane fired from the barrel. After emptying both clips, Jane transitioned to the next attack, while Taylor continued her constant invocation of Molecular Boost.
"Prone Strike!" Jane unleashed a normal looking Shadow Wave advancing forward, but remembered the special properties in the spell. As soon as the earth bound wave was close to the belly of Gaia, the wave jumped up and exploded into a dark pulsation of high-level energy, dealing major damage while Jane transitioned into the next spell, draining the energy stored in the Blitz aura. "Prism!" The glyphring she created was glowing brighter than usual thanks to Taylor''s assistance, and Gaia''s health was going to go down further with Danny''s assistance on his Star of Darkness approach. Jane launched four bolts of all elements, fire, ice, electrical, and spiritual bolts of Leray energy, amplified in power by the Molecular Boost, and invocated so quickly due to Jane''s Blitz aura, which sped up every one of her invocations of spells since.
Once the final bolt smashed into the skin of the phantom dragon, the coloration of the world around them returned to normal, as well as the heat and movement of the area. Zero Zone was coming to a quick end, but Jane still had enough time for one more attack, even if Taylor was done with her support spell. "Dark Beam!" Jane fired a beam of dark energy, depleting most of her remaining MP while drilling the red narrow light of dark magic into the scales of the monster, piercing through the guts of the wild animal despite being hallow.
Jane was amazed with her friends to find the phantom dragon still alive. But a more distracting scene occurred with the flickering of the dome shield around them. The shield was failing, collapsing and allowing them all to escape. It was a generous offer, considering how Jane''s MP reserves were sent to. But the reason for it was something different from what Jane hoped for.
Telebarrage! Gaia launched four massive photons the size of large comets from the base of its head, but the trajectory was a long way away from Jane or her friends. Instead, it was going high in the air and far out of the battlefield. By the time the trajectory proved to have them land on the ground somewhere soon, Jane panicked with the realization, handling her communication device. "Everyone scatter! Aerial barrage incoming!"
Despite having little time, Jane had to warn everyone fighting in the area to be mindful of those photons in the sky. The target was units other than Jane''s own team. What is Gaia doing?!
"Scatter! Everyone watch out for those barrages!"
The radio transmission worked when the shield was up, but only half as effectively. Gaia needed the doom shield to go away before it could try something like that. Jane wanted to retaliate immediately, but it seemed that she wasn''t the only one with critical MP. Danny and Taylor were to her side, barely capable of standing straight due to their reduced overall stamina. With low MP combining with their low HP, they were understandably tired. In this heat, they should have passed out assuming they were ordinary Leray wielders.
Fiery Breath! Jane prepared what energy she had left for multiple Farshields, protecting her friends, but she didn''t have the time to pull that energy together. Gaia waved its head around, aiming its mouth towards Danny and Taylor instead of Jane, whom all have spread apart after Jane''s Blitz attack ended.
A dark yellow and orange colored fiery stream of death flew towards Danny and Taylor, but it was Taylor who stepped out in front to defend the both of them. She put both hands in front of herself, and blasted the forward area with a wave of freezing wind. "Icy Wind!" The collision of cold air with the stream of fire created a mist around Taylor shortly after the impact, but the impact was quite the same nevertheless. Since fire magic is stronger than ice magic, Taylor ended up sustaining a heavy burn anyway, but her action still reduced the total effect of the attack against Danny.
Taylor''s loud scream reacting to the fiery blast of burning energy felt like a piercing sting to Jane''s heart. Even if they were alive, they were both suffering because of their decision to stay and defend her. "Hang on you two!" Jane growled with the quick display of yet another imminent attack by Gaia, though now the creature was directly targeting Jane. Luckily, she already stored just enough energy for one more good power shield. Jane prepared to make full use of it.
Orbit Blast! The sky lit up brightly with a raining barrage of photons, colored with an interesting array of light, but this time there were at least a hundred or more of these photons coming down. Despite being an area attack, the predicted impact seemed to target only Jane, and she had already thrown up her power shield around her in preparation for the barrage. The photons soon blasted the earth around her, as well as the shield she used to protect herself. Jane however had immense trouble sustaining the concentration of her shield after more and more hits to the aura. Hexagons formed everywhere in small size, each hit as powerful as the next. It was practically raining photonic energy spheres at a rapid pace. After several more hits, Jane finally lost it.
The shield around her collapsed instantly, and Jane was blasted again with several more photons of energy without any level of protection, without any MP to get herself out of the situation. The blasts hurt about as badly as a Laser Swipe could, but instead of going down screaming, Jane''s dizziness caught up to her, and the sensation of going to sleep was beginning to take over.
"Jane!" Taylor heard herself and Danny both call her name out in distress. She wasn''t able to see her energy scope until the rain of photons finally stopped, after watching enough of them blast right through her own power shield. Jane was lying on the floor, but still conscious and attempting to at least sit up. She was on her hands and knees, holding her head in agony for some reason. Jane must have hit her head on the way down as well, but now she was in critical condition. One more hit would kill Jane! But without the dome around them, they could escape.
"We have to get ourselves out of here!" Danny had the same idea in mind as Taylor did, and tried to rush for Jane, but his exhaustion played hell with how quick he was able to move. Jogging wasn''t even language to his mind as limping was. He had finally stopped bleeding actively, but the damage was still dangerous to him entirely. Before he could travel very far, Gaia glared at him and his girlfriend once again, preparing for another attack, while he had no way to defend against it.
Jane''s head felt like it was being crushed with incredible pressure, and the pain from that overshadowed the damages from the other areas, and it only got worse with time. The headache she had kept her to the ground momentarily, but Jane knew her friends were still in mortal danger. I have to get up! Her body disagreed with her motive; the agony in her brain was enough to freeze her nerves completely against her will.
Phantom Blast! Gaia began to glow with a powerful aura, releasing most of its remaining MP energy contained within itself. From the charge, the aura exploded into a dozen of dark pulsars, energy spheres more powerful than the last, yet tiny in size flooded into the air in their direction. Danny desperately tried to think of a plan to defend himself, knowing Taylor would be dry on energy. The pulsars were closing fast as well, giving him just two more seconds to think.
By the time his mind froze up from pressure, Danny saw narrow blue beams of light rapid fire on and off in the area to his front, impacting on the incoming pulsars and destroying them mid-flight. Though he felt his life flash before his eyes, Danny had to discover the source of something that was so quick and precise to shoot down all twelve of those pulsars with just a narrow beam, which would have required the user to take full aim.
To his surprise, Jane Venn was standing, facing the two of them with her hands and eyes glowing with a deep cyan color. Her left leg was cut open, and her body in the front was badly bruised with probable signs of internal bleeding. Yet it was Jane right now shooting down all twelve of the pulsars in progress, using just straight narrow beams of energy from the tips of her open palms. Jane hadn''t said a word to either of them, nor did she chant any spell beforehand.
Jane could still feel her incredible headache, but chose to embrace the pain instead of letting it stop her. If she''s going to die, Gaia is going down with her. But nobody will be taking Danny or Taylor; Jane would make sure of that! After saving both of her friends, Jane turned to face the monster now fixated on her. Its slight breath was letting out blue magical flames of energy as a sign of strength. Jane''s entire body was glowing with a magical aura, though much of it wasn''t familiar to her control.
With her MP levels falling down to zero, Jane charged what she had left in her entire body to the aura around her, preparing to unleash all of her energy at the monster. But as an act of assistance, Jane intentionally activated her symbol at the same time, using it only to boost the power of her current spell instead of healing her. "You''ve made a big mistake attacking my friends. Gaia!" Jane screamed the name of her new arch nemesis to the top of her lungs. She could feel the power building stronger, and felt the similarity in this power with the same moment when she defeated Danton in his chambers. The headache was the same. The surge of compressed energy was the same. The powerful glow of blue in her eyes taking over was the same. The feeling of near death was the same. This hidden power of unknown magic or invocation... "I''ll use it to kill you!" Finally unleashing her stored energy, Jane deactivated the symbol on her hand while blasting the entire forward area with the light from her charged aura. It became an entire light screen attack that was only a directional wave of the same color, advancing quickly as it soon swallowed the phantom dragon in front of her, passing through and advancing forward ever still. Jane felt incredibly relieved everywhere upon releasing her energy, and watched as her victorious mission came true. Gaia''s HP: it was finally gone.
Just as Jane was done using her powers, the massive creature in front of her exploded violently into a bursting world of tiny glowing particles flowing everywhere. And with that finally taken care of¡ª
Taylor was amazed to see the destruction of that insane monster from Jane''s single spell. But about the same time the monster had been defeated, Jane collapsed to the ground face first into the dirt, not even trying to break her fall. Taylor didn''t hesitate to run over to Jane with Danny at her side to discover what just happened. According to Jane''s energy scope, she was still alive and simply out of MP energy, but she was defiantly unconscious. "Jane! Jane!"
Chapter Theme Shift: SF Track 04 ~ Malfador Machinations - Space Empires OST
Danny held in his communicator quickly. "This is Danny of the forward assault team. Need healers down here immediately! All healers to B-107!" Danny followed Taylor to get to Jane, whose energy scope was still reporting vital signs, but it was dangerous for Jane to pass out here. With such low HP levels, she was in critical danger. Danny knew himself that he wasn''t that great either. His muscles ached and his legs were wobbly, but he kept himself going to see this through.
Taylor''s healing orb wasn''t working on Jane. She knelt down with one and lit up the device to try and make it work, but Jane''s condition didn''t changed at all. Jane may have to be conscious to use it. She couldn''t be dead! Her health never hit zero percent. But now isn''t the time or place to take a long nap. Where the hell is Mainne and Danton?!
Chapter 57: Sciences of a Professor
<02/12/1972 ¨C 23:57 | Alpha Zero, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"You idiot. You always try too hard." Everything was black and empty, a bottomless pit in all directions as far as she could feel. Jane heard the familiar voice echo out, as calm as she could remember, and it felt soothing to her ears past the ringing silence. "There''s nothing you can do with magic that can''t also be done without it."
"Iya?" Jane could hear her own voice as she called out. She could barely hear herself, her voice croaked and damaged as well as quiet. After feeling nothingness for a long moment, her entire body suddenly ached all over. Stinging burns held to her face and her hand, while the pressure of bruising and internal bleeding held in her stomach and hips. When she opened her eyes, the entire world above her was a blurry red of darkness she couldn''t make out.
"Told you she would be fine." In the mellowest tone, Krysta held up an electronic device in front of her, allowing Jane''s friends and the rest of the team to take a breather.
"You better not die. You promised us!" Taylor was almost crying, leaving the evidence in her voice, but she quickly got over herself once Jane finally managed to heal. Danton arrived shortly after Danny''s transmission, and used special magic on Jane to wake her up and increase the power of his healing orb. With that, the stats on her energy scope improved, but not very far over. Danny had trouble healing as well, with evident scaring in his chest and his legs.
By now, everyone remaining gathered in one place. With the temperature this uncomfortable, everybody was sweating through their clothes and creating a new stench that overpowered the smell of burning salt and rock. Cleo had taken a few scratches himself despite having plenty of support and backup along the way. Sergeant Gains was by himself this time, after having to lead his personal assistants away from the field to retreat. It seemed that due to the layer of dark magic in the area, teleportation in and out of Alpha Zero was blocked, but from the perspective of the General Army, this was already an established fact. After having gathered all of the teams together, Danton''s phase three was now about to go into the final effect. With this many people and elites capable of battle, even the second appearance of another spirit dragon such as Gaia would be dissuaded from attacking here again. But from the looks of it, Jane, Danny, and Taylor would not survive another fight, let alone one single attack spell.
Taylor and Danny both pulled Jane up, only to sit instead of stand. It was obvious that Jane was still recovering her basic senses, just getting back to the world. She would undoubtingly be very dizzy and disoriented. Meanwhile, Krysta used her device in hand to update Danton on the status of the mission. "Sir Danton? Enemy activity is steadily growing in the area behind us, but as for the forward position, it''s all clear. Only one or two small sized creatures have been detected far off the main path, and none whatsoever near the Den of Purity." It was the true design of the digital device; a life-sensor with a limited range, showing tiny red dots where potential enemies might be.
Danton huffed as a remark. "It figures that would be the case. Brightworth must have designed the dark zone in such a way to prevent us from reaching the Den of Purity. He then projects an anti-summoning field within a kilometer radius from the center of his residence to prevent himself from being eaten by a monster."
"He can do that?"
Danton answered what he knew to be obvious for Krysta. "Of course he can. I believe that it lies outside even his ability to control such feral creatures. The Den of Purity is a safe zone for him, seeing as he would take precautions to protect himself from his own experiments. We need to keep moving. If we can reach that safe zone and apprehend Brightworth, this will all be over. We may even be allowed to warp out once we shut down the source of the dark magic."
Mainne studied Jane''s slow recovery and the reaction of her friends making her take things easy. Jane was holding her head tightly from signs of an obvious migraine, and the real time damage really set into her. "Danton? I wonder what it was that allowed Jane to defeat that monster. I also want to know why in that exact moment of Gaia''s disintegration, all of the creatures north on the main path were destroyed too, simultaneously if I go by the sensor report."
"Jane sure is something else," Danton agreed. There was no way in the world someone as weak as she was now made the final blow to such a powerful feral. That must mean that Danny and Taylor were responsible. Destroying that summon must have disintegrated control it may have had for spawns of evil of its own, Gaia controlling monsters to the north. But he himself believed Gaia to be indestructible, having the power to slay Entiene in just a few hits. Even so, team JDT destroyed that creature without even having the luxury to retreat or regroup. Jane previously defeated his summon in the championship battle, but with methods other than brute force, and upon defeating him, she was in a critical state as well. The same power she had unleashed to win her title as victor - was it the same power used to destroy Gaia? Or did Jane simply deliver no final blow at all? "It''s not important right now," Danton concluded. "Go ahead and see to Jane''s wounds. Carry her if you must. We''re pressing onward immediately." Stay here any longer, and everyone dies.
"Yes sir!"
Chapter Theme Shift: Metacells ~ Soundcritters
Though the team''s mobility was slowed by having to help Jane walk with Mainne''s assistance, Danton ordered for a cautious advance, expecting a high level of unknown danger. Despite running into no such monster since the Gaia spawn, everybody was still wary. After close to half an hour passed in the darkness with no target building in sight, the only thing to do was advance forward with caution and talk things through.
"I don''t care about any of that right now. Before we throw Brightworth in jail, maybe he can tell us how to remove this symbol."
"It''s possible such things cannot be done." Danton''s expression seemed cold, but he continued to give Jane the rundown of the full truth. "The whole purpose of the Den of Purity was to house generations of special mages that are specifically trained to remove permanent spell bomb effects. Some people want to make their battles more difficult by removing effects such as permanent boosts to their HP using rare items that are hard to generate for the corporations. And others have used ancient spell bombs such as the Amahar spell sphere, which cuts defense into a third by tripling magical attack power with a status effect called burst mode. The mages know of secret arts to reverse such effects. But allegedly, they can also successfully remove symbols should they be under the line of specific symbols." Danton knew he was astounding them with his knowledge of this, but the point was fairly simple. "However, your situation is highly unique in that you''ve utilized an experimental spell bomb to create an experimental symbol of unknown origin. It''s quite troubling actually, since it is not supposed to be possible to create new symbols with digital technology. Whatever it may be, even your symbol was invented somewhere long in the past, in forgotten history. Even if it was known to us and to Brightworth, there is not a high probability that he would possess the capacity and knowledge to remove it from your body."
"Wouldn''t the Scarlets who invented this know something then?"
Answering Jane''s question with certainty, Danton grew tense quickly. "Even if they did know, they are never to be trusted. Members of the Scarlet Syndicate are nothing more than power hungry villains who would resort to forbidden magic to get what they want. Killing people is in their nature, and trying to acquire ultimate power appears to be their goal for the moment. The creation of E-7 Mark 64 is evidence of that, but hope isn''t totally lost. Once this is all over, I may have the means of analyzing your symbol on a super molecular level. That may give us answers about what to do next."
"I can''t believe that all of this happened to her," Danny included. His voice rode up and down with his movements of supporting the other side of Jane to help her limp forward. "This dark zone, and an evil cult, all of this. I never had the impression once that Sprawn Valley was full of this much danger."
"It didn''t used to be, at least after the Avion Wars came to an end. But there are those now who seek to win their own war on the monopolization of magic. I suppose you are correct Danny. If you came to Sprawn Valley having such high respect for Leray magic, only to find out the dark history of our past sins, then I apologize for having to represent such a nation that dresses up the issues to its own citizens."
Even the very person in charge is aware of this mirage. Those who come to Sprawn Valley are supposed to learn Leray magic and enjoy the fun of harmless battling, intense or not. But everything is changing, all because there are dangerous enemies here that are using hidden exploits in the veil to kill others with or without magic. Again, the reminder of Nyar''s warnings clicked in his head, though followed up additionally by the question of how Nyar obtained this knowledge on his own. "It''s okay though." Danny knew enough already. Despite everything he has been told not to do, Jane always had the right idea in mind following her heart to the bitter end, and to this day she is still doing that, inspiring himself and Taylor to do the same. "Magic is dangerous. We all see that now, but Jane isn''t just fighting the dark zone and even you to remove her symbol. The reason goes far beyond that. Jane believes in Leray magic more than anybody I''ve ever met."
Jane let out a weak gasp since Danny was speaking on her behalf, and let him continue to see where he was going with his little speech.
"When we first met, Jane bullied the both of us just to test our reaction to general Leray magic. She chose us as her friends because we were both capable for finding a place for an interesting art in our hearts. Jane loves Leray magic so much that she chose it to be her entire life, and went the step further to inspire us to take up the same practice as well. But Leray magic represents a lot more than battles and practices. It represents hope and faith for those who don''t have any."
Danton had never heard such familiar words spoken before. This boy certainly is an interesting person. Where did he come from though? And how is he so keen on the way Leray magic works? What is your story, Danny Mason?
"When did you get all sentimental?" Taylor was already excited that Danny was so clearly able to represent Jane in this way. It was the truth she felt all along too.
"Magic scared me too when exposed to it for the first time," Danny admitted. The thought of it was actually horrifying, fear of the unknown caused by a hint of danger born from doubt. It''s the same reason half the entire world doesn''t want involvement with such things. "But when I watched the way Jane used it just to have fun and help other people, I knew then and there that magic has a lot more potential than anything else. Even if it can be evilized like this, people who stand up and fight for the right thing with or without magic are the only forces keeping everyone in check. That is why Jane had to fight you Danton."
"I thought that was the case once we arrived here," Danton announced. Jane really is as innocent as they come, but with the passion in her heart beaming out of her eyes, he''d think otherwise at first glance. This is the first time this has ever happened. "I must apologize for believing she had a hidden motive against us, but I had to be cautious."
"That type of spark, the love for Leray magic and its constant traditions, that''s where Jane gets her strength from. It has nothing to do with the symbol. I won''t buy that for a moment."
"Danny." Other than his name, Jane was speechless to say anything else. Her limping and swaying was something she got used to, focusing on their conversation. Though she heard of this before, her own friends were also telling her that the symbol was meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Could all of this still of happened without this symbol? It didn''t seem likely at all. But what if he was right?
"Since that seems to be the case..." Danton always spoke with such elegance and transitional flow in his words, as he was taught to speak proper English narratives. Even now, his professional expression of gratitude overcast his previous mistakes. "I shall pardon Jane for crime number eighty-seven, that being the infusion of the mark. Jane Venn, you still have not proven to me just yet that you have what it takes to be champion of Leray magic, since you did in fact have to resort to the use of your symbol to defeat me. But I shall let you try again in the future if you find a way to suppress that mark on your hand. And in the meantime, I will still try and find answers of special symbol removal."
"You mean?" Jane''s face perked up though Danton wasn''t completely turned around, still walking forward.
"You will be pardoned from your past crimes. The world will know however that you are marked since you displayed such on national television. That could complicate things. But being the champion of Leray magic gives myself full authority over such matters. As soon as we take Brightworth away, you will not need to worry about having a mark, since you have proven your loyalty to us and your love for positive Leray magic."
"That''s so awesome Jane!" Taylor cheered. "Now you''re not in trouble for this!"
"How could I punish someone who hasn''t even experienced life to its fullest yet, and for a situation that our own enemy unknowingly placed upon you? I must admit though, that if the Scarlets watch my program and learn about this symbol attached to your body, it will make Sprawn Valley a battle grounds for you in particular."
"I''m well aware of that," Jane admitted. "But we did what we had to do Danton. I think I''ll let the professionals handle the rest from here."
"Target sighted! Twelve o clock!" It was Brock who shouted out the report. While the other units and teams gave more focus to the area in front, they realized that Brock wasn''t reporting a sighting of an enemy, but a large metal building structure. From this distance, it was clearly visible, with extra light somehow provided magically to the nearby area. The heat around them was fading away fast, evidence that the dark zone wasn''t as effective right here as it was everywhere else.
Danton could see it too, a house quite large in horizontal spread with black metal roofs. From the shape and design of the structure, Danton knew from his previous research that this right here is the Den of Purity. "Target sighted. All teams move in and prepare to breach the entrances. Be prepared for anything."
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Following Danton''s orders and the expert movement tactics of the primary assault team, Jane and her friends followed Danton and Mainne together, making sure the other elites were here as well. Jane restricted herself from getting too involved, but her limping was less of a requirement after some time had passed, and she didn''t need her friends holding her up from weakness anymore. Though the building was quite a distance from here, the soldiers were moving up while crouching every now and then, aiming their weapons in various directions to check the area out for enemies.
As the position remained clear for some time, it was very quiet upon sneaking up to the Den of purity. The structure itself was nothing more than a very impressive home with one front entrance and a back entrance. The team gathered to the back entrance, leaving another unit at the front to watch for any escape attempts should their position already be compromised. Right in front of the entire assault team, Danton gave an order to Brock, who began setting up a military grade breaching charge on the door. Cleo was next to him, holding onto a smoke grenade in preparation to sweep the entire building in under ten seconds. It became quickly clear to Jane that she and her friends remain on standby and let the professionals commit to the task of apprehending the suspect.
Chapter Theme Shift: SF Track 20 ~ Malfador Machinations - Space Empires OST
Brock gave hand signals, prompting the units behind him to stand back and to the sides for cover. Then he counted down the seconds on his fingers after activating the timer on the detonation unit. When his fingers ran out, the charge blew the fuse, blasting an explosive force into the house, and deafening everybody''s ears. The door flew inward off the hinges and crumbled into pieces, providing a slightly elevated broken platform they could stand on. Brock entered first and rushed the interior of the building with his team closely behind him. "Move! Move! Check all corners!"
Jane''s team was the last allowed to enter, and upon doing so, they were also the next to lay eyes on the interior of the building after the smoke cleared away from the breach. Cleo didn''t use the smoke grenade for some reason, even though he very well could have.
The interior of the house seemed quite ordinary for the furniture and ornaments that were set up, though most of them were bookcases full of written material, and a grandfather clock in the living room to top it off. However, there was a small amount of computer equipment further ahead in the next room that made the set up appear suspicious. Just then, a new male figure stepped out calmly with his hands behind his back, as he turned to face his intruders.
"Hands where we can see them!" Brock commanded the target to show his hands, aiming a gun he had not before. His team of soldiers had the suspect surrounded in seconds while the suspect complied with the order, raising his hands above his head.
This man was professor Brightworth. Jane had no doubt in her mind, but the man was strange from the beginning. He wore some sort of decorated robe, more like a coat of high class, but as he was being detained, there wasn''t a hint of fear or panic in his eyes whatsoever. Brightworth simply complied willingly with the soldiers cuffing his hands and holding the back of his head. Danton stepped in front of him to portray his authority for being here.
The cuffs were Light Lock disks, designed to prevent the flow of all magic from Brightworth so long as he has them on. When Danton concluded that his target had finally been captured, there was then plenty of time to discuss his options, not that the criminal had many. "Mr. Brightworth," Danton started. "You are under arrest and have been charged with treason against the sacred scriptures of the mages under articles three and four. You can add several counts of involuntary manslaughter for this pathetic illegal experiment too."
"If only you knew what I''ve actually been working on Sir Danton. I''m quite surprised to see you''re still the leader of Eldora Tower. What took you so long to grow a pair and invade my home despite my well-developed security system?"
"I already realize you have a natural right to remain silent, but for you, I may bend the rules a little." With his Mega-Staff, Danton held it up as though to smack him with it. But instead, he simply made a peace offering. "You and I have a lot to discuss before your military trial with the council. I suggest you cooperate with us now, to make it easier for you."
"What makes you think I''d tell you anything so willingly?" Brightworth was in his upper forties, though his voice was very deep and raspy. He seemed so smug even in those cuffs. "I only find a small handful of people to be worthy as part of my work here. The Outback is no more, and you have no jurisdiction to be here invading my home without any forensic proof that I''ve done anything."
"You already admitted to your crimes you idiot." Danton glanced at Krysta and Cleo to the side, and nodded his head. "Lock him up! We''ll be interrogating the prisoner for details under executive orders. I want the rest of the team to follow me. We''re sweeping the area to gather evidence."
Just like that, Brightworth was taken away to some sort of chamber in his own house, prepared for interrogation, while Jane''s team had to follow Danton''s assistants around to find evidence of everything Brightworth has done here. After just five short-lived minutes, one of the soldiers quickly unveiled a fake painting, revealing ink marked blue prints on the wall for something difficult to understand at a glance.
"We found something Mainne." Cleo attracted Mainne''s team into the same room, where Jane''s team was as well. Danny and Taylor seemed bored and continued searching around in curiosity, but the drawings on the wall attracted a lot of attention. With Jane helping to read the unknown details, she quickly made deductions about the markings.
There were drawings of turrets with numbers and symbols beside them. "Those are all of the sentry turrets in the area with their effective ranges, and the ones off the main paths are the ones left undestroyed."
Krysta thought it through, Jane''s immediate analysis of the turret structures she battled before. "If those machines are in fact powered by the dark magic veil, simply shutting down the power source will disable the machines. Our units can then dismantle them safely, but that priority is not first. I want these markings copied down and sent to Danton immediately."
"Yes Ma''am!" Several of the soldiers followed her orders, pulling out notepads from their functioning supply spheres. Other units continued to search the area, and made another discovery with the electronic equipment set up with the monitors.
Though as predictable as it seemed, the systems here appeared to monitor the spawns of dark magic creatures in the zone, as well as their systematic location through the use of underground radar beacons. Even right now on the monitors, red dots were everywhere in the southeastern section, and more to the west. Further south outside of the bubble was colored blue, proving just as well that Brightworth had full knowledge of the extent of his dark magic veil and its rate of spread.
One of the soldiers gave his opinions, his voice deepened and disguised through the filter in his helmet. "There''s enough evidence here to lock this guy up for eternity. I''ll be amazed if he doesn''t face the death penalty for this."
Mainne shifted her focus to the center of the room, though she hadn''t found anything else useful. She wasn''t searching for evidence. "We already know what he did. I want to know why he did this. That''s exactly what Danton''s team is interrogating him for right now."
"Uhm, Mainne?"
"Yes? Speak up girl." Mainne allowed Taylor to express what was concerning her mind, though she didn''t appear to be in panic.
Taylor answered with another question. "Is it right to interrogate Brightworth like this? I mean, aren''t we doing that anyway at the council?"
Mainne nodded her head in disagreement. "There is no guarantee that the correct questions will be asked at the council''s trial. I don''t like operating outside of the law either, but at times like these where we don''t know what''s going on, it may very well be necessary. If Brightworth was in league with the Scarlet Cult by any chance, this changes everything. The amount of danger we would all be in would elevate."
"Mainne," Jane called. "What exactly do you know about the Scarlet Cult?"
"Only that they''ve been around for a long time in hiding, and that they''ve only been showing their face very recently. That makes a statement to me, a statement that the enemy is ready to try something drastic to increase their magical power over everyone else." With Jane now silent and satisfied with the answer, Mainne turned to face her directly, curious as to what she was getting onto. "Danton and I; our entire team has been through a lot over the last decade Jane. We don''t just battle people in Eldora Tower all year long. It''s our job to keep the entire nation safe and running with minimal physical interference. Up until now, we''ve been able to accomplish that goal. But as for your particular concern, you''re mission is now complete."
"But¡ª" Jane argued impatiently. One thing already felt out of place here. According to public records, the Scarlet Cult was actually a new organization less than about two years old. So that means public documentation was forged and faked to hide that fact. Still, what Mainne just said about her mission being over didn''t feel so sincere. "What about the source of the dark magic? Isn''t Brightworth that source?"
Brock answered to Jane for Mainne, knowing full well the possibilities and discoveries made through technology. "Don''t be so quick to assume that magic only affects people anymore. Brightworth is a scientist after all, and with his ability to conduct experiments unknown to the world with the dark zone used as a silencing tool to our ears, I wouldn''t be surprised if he''s been using an object or a power crystal to expand the veil of the dark magic zone over the Outback. Since this has been going on for months and Brightworth doesn''t even look tired or fazed, I would bet on that being the case."
That is actually a smarter deduction that Jane should have caught up to earlier. If the dark zone has been active and expanding for months, all Brightworth had to do is use some sort of power source object to project the dark magic veil, leaving his own personal energy supply untouched.
"This is a big house, but it also makes for a bigger cover for something like that." Cleo expanded on Brock''s ideas with another theory. "If Brightworth managed to make a synthetic copy of our magic core and implemented dark magic into the used device, it would have been easy for him to keep Alpha Zero alive and growing. With a fully functional pure crystal, it would be as effortless as powering up a standard generator with normal Leray electrical magic. I''d say he has that device hidden underground."
"We''ll spread out and search for potential trap doors and hatches." Krysta was already on it, leaving Mainne and Jane''s team to think about it all, mostly the kids.
Jane truly had less of an idea as to what was going on here than she did before. Mainne was correct about the million-dollar question being the motive. Brightworth couldn''t have been trying to take over Sprawn Valley with the dark zone. Why make himself public like that for months even if he was nearly unreachable?
Chapter Theme Shift: Fang''s Theme: A False Leader ~ FFXIII-3 OST
Several minutes passed before anything interesting happened. The other teams continued to deep search the entire house for evidence of underground hatches or secret passages other than Brightworth''s own interrogation chamber. While Jane waited patiently in the room she needed to, Danton made his appearance again. Checking in on the group, Danton noticed that Jane was patching herself and her friends up from all of the real time damage they took, using primitive medical supplies, and some of Mainne''s supervision. Danton cleared his throat aloud, asking for their attention. "My interrogation went well."
"He just told you everything?"
"Hardly." Danton looked so refined, wielding his Mega-Staff in his right hand to portray his potential strength. "Brightworth is a piece of scum; that much is for certain. I had to trick him into revealing some secrets, not that he even realized it until now. His experiments here were in fact nothing more than a shield used to hide the full search he was conducting."
"A search?"
To answer Mainne''s question, Danton wanted to have everybody present, but realized they were busy with whatever else they were seeking. "Almost a full field study. Brightworth doesn''t have any reason to overthrow Sprawn Valley with his methods of dark magical projection. We both know that already. But his smug attitude tells me he has no physical ability to reveal the truth to us. That being said, he must have been searching for something that even he has yet to find within the boundaries of the Outback. I managed to find a small broken component piece in the house that belongs to an Artimus Scanner."
"No way!"
"How did you figure that out so quickly?" Danny was just as amazed by Danton''s natural skill of his deductions. Without even hurting Brightworth''s ego, he let the enemy accidentally reveal the intent, and found a piece of evidence to prove it. "But also, what''s an Artimus Scanner?"
Danton allowed Mainne to naturally answer the simpler questions he cared not to answer. "Quantech produces a lot of interesting gadgets that are assisted directly by Leray magic. An Artimus Scanner isn''t difficult to get your hands on, as it is used to conduct an archaeological survey under the ground with seismic disturbances already present."
Continuing where Mainne was going with it, Danton finalized his summary. "Brightworth had no disturbances to work with, so he created his own after making sure his intentions in the dark zone hid what he was up to. Our best scouts couldn''t get anywhere near the Den of Purity before being injured or killed. Others who survived long enough to tell us anything reported mostly a massive rise in thermal energy like what we suffered in the presence of the dark zone veil. But ten percent of those reports also included a minor level of seismic shockwaves in the ground that would barely be detected by a Richter scale. There were also occasional reports of mild noise vibrations throughout the air, low-pitch booms that almost mimicked the sound of nearby intense radiation. With those waves in place, Brightworth could use the scanners he set up everywhere to monitor the monster activity and the survey he conducted to search for his target. Whatever he seeks must therefore be something underground."
"Why would a man formerly on the mage council put so much effort into this?" Cleo was the one asking, after joining in the conversation from the adjacent living room.
Danton sighed nervously. "I wonder if Gleeon tried to shine any light on this matter."
"You really think they''re behind this?" Mainne questioned Danton''s claim with moderate caution, as if it were a dangerous allegation for himself to make in the first place.
"No," he replied. "For once, I can''t be sure of anything anymore..." There was a silence following Danton''s defeated tone, but he didn''t let it pursue. "All I do know is what I''ve done for us. I''ve trained all of you!" Danton proudly represented his team of elites in his sentence, only including the elite four and himself. "We are prepared for situations like these, and I nearly failed to spring into action if it were not for Jane Venn pushing me out of the shelter I built."
"Uh?" Jane felt that Danton''s words were a supreme compliment to her, but wasn''t expecting it at all given what she knew about him. She found herself speechless before Danton moved on.
"It''s true. My uncertainty and unwillingness to believe this matter was anything other than an elaborate trap set against us, is what furnished indecisiveness to take action. What connection our enemies have to Alpha Zero and this other matter are unknown, but as disturbing and as confusing as the situation is, we will find out what the Scarlet leaders are up to, and then prosecute them under the grand council." Danton had not felt so fired up like this since many years ago. It wasn''t the same passion put into magical battles, but the type found when wanting only to do the right thing. He was certain that the Scarlets were going to wreck the world if something isn''t done about it sooner or later. At least that''s what this feels like. "Experimental symbols, conversion tactics, and kidnappings are not going to make us think twice about acting on the criminal acts of progressing the agenda to menace around with dark magic wielding fools! I won''t have it in this country!"
Jane had never seen it before until now. This was the one thing Sir Danton was so passionate about. He didn''t care about the title of championship either, but rather the power it gave him to stand up against the criminals in the world, and the executive power of the army to help him do that. His silver colored eyes right now, Jane knew they didn''t change in vibrancy, but they seemed so bright and alive, just like his voice a second ago. It''s the same passion she could relate to from time and time again. Amazing!
Taylor was exhausted from today''s events, and so was Danny, but she and Danny both took notice to Danton''s sudden inspiration to capture all of the Scarlet criminals. He defiantly had it out for them, but Taylor couldn''t help but wonder if this inspiration came from his victory here, or something related to Brightworth. Was Brightworth in league with the Scarlet Cult after all? Or was there a different link to this type of threat?
"Danton," Brock interrupted. "We just found a hidden hatch door under the stove. It leads into a small chamber housing the exact source we''ve been searching for."
"Very well. Take us to it," he ordered. Danton followed Brock and his team quickly to the secret hatch. Danton wondered whether or not Brightworth was actually stupid enough to hide the power source under a predictable hatch in his own house, but here it was. Brock''s men moved the stove all the way out, unplugging it from the unit and sliding it over to the side of the floor, and they already had the hatch door open leading into a narrow corridor down many steps. The corridor itself was pitch black without any source of light, and could very well be some type of trap.
"So this is where he was hiding it. I''ll go first." Danton offered himself to go in first in case there was a trap, defying even Mainne''s silent expression of concern. Danton raised up his staff slightly, using a tiny amount of magic to the end of his crystal to illuminate the corridor. His staff lit the area well, and Danton made sure not to let others follow him too closely.
By the time Jane and the others made it down with him, they entered a large unrestricted cubed room with its own light source. The sight before all of them was as breathtaking as it was unbelievable. A skinny tall gem with a pitch-black color illuminating a lot of yellow light to the entire room sat inside of an anti-gravimetrical chamber, though uncovered with anything to protect that crystal. Some of the light coming from the gem shot out in lines, almost taking the shape of unusual lightning arcs that was limited to how far it could go. The containment chamber itself was nothing more than a sophisticated machine mounted to the floor and ceiling of the room to properly align the crystal in the correct orientation to function.
Even Danton was beside himself. Brightworth made this look something close to one of the pillars in the magic core section on top of Eldora Tower. He must have been able to trace designs when he was receiving the training early in his years, before he was even a member of the mage council. But to build something like this and make it use the reverse energy is the largest crime he has ever seen so far; this is too disgusting for digestion. This proves it, how dangerous this man really is. "Stand back! Everybody behind me!"
Danton shouted the command, giving everyone the motivation to scramble back to the corridor, uncertain of what he was about to do. Danton lifted his staff up, charging Leray energy into the device. With everyone now out of immediate danger, he took aim at the machine holding the crystal afloat, and fired bolts of pure energy to the top side of the machine. The impact immediately drilled massive holes into the supports holding it all together, causing the entire structure to break apart, now collapsing in on itself. At the same time, the crystal dimmed out, fell to the ground, and shattered into a million pieces. In just a few more seconds afterwards, Danton could feel the sudden shift in the balance of his own energy reserves. That would be the veil of dark magic shutting down, the entire destruction and loss of code Alpha Zero energy.
"You destroyed it," Jane annotated. Danton just wrecked the one and only source of dark magic in the entire Outback area. According to something Claudia told her before, this wouldn''t be enough to bring the land back to the state of paradise it once was. But she could feel noticeable changes all around her, such as the temperature getting lower dramatically.
"One rule of destroying any magical crystal," Danton lectured, "is to never directly attack the gem itself while it carries or stores any type of magic. That can cause a seriously powerful chain reaction known as intrusive rejection, and kill everyone nearby that crystal. You must first drain the power flow to the crystal before it is allowed to shatter."
Mainne growled quietly under her breath, knowing full well that Danton put all of them at risk by bringing them down here with that lecture brought to light. But it explained to her why he attacked the structure instead of the crystal itself, again reminding her of the incident that taught her and Danton this at Eldora Tower during one of the many break-ins, attempts made to steal the all-powerful crystal cores at the top of Eldora Tower. Now there was nothing in this cubed room but broken parts and glass that could never be used again. From this moment on, there is no more dark zone, and Brightworth will be finished.
"Come on," Danton redirected. "Let''s go see if we are able to learn more about what Brightworth was searching for." Danton carelessly carried himself back up the steps, leaving the others to follow behind him. This time, he wasn''t so sure about his results for the next answer. After all, the mission objective here was already complete in shutting down Alpha Zero. Upon exiting from the chambers, Danton could see through the only window in the kitchen area. It was as dark outside as it was before, if not darker than it usually was. But the color of the sky... The appearance of the environment outside...
It''s changing.
Chapter 58: World within Worlds
<02/13/1972 ¨C 00:31 | Den of Purity, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Jane was in for as much of a surprise as Danton was. The red glow in the sky once fueled by the dark magical veil was different now. The sky was pitch black with the exception of nearly invisible clouds blowing overhead, and the temperature both inside and out according to the thermometers were leveling out between seventy-four and sixty-nine degrees. While the monitors in the main room were now running only on the last of their emergency backup power from Brightworth''s standard backup generator, the monitors revealed not one single dot of enemy activity. The monsters all around the area were completely gone! Just by destroying the crystal source, the dark zone totally lost all power, all enemy creatures failing to maintain a source here.
Danton took it in quickly, shifting focus back to another matter with his gestures. "We''re not done here. Brightworth knew we were coming to get him from the moment we set foot in Alpha Zero, yet he made no attempt to escape us. I must continue to interrogate the suspect until I find out what he was searching for. I want the other teams to continue searching the house for anything suspicious."
"I''ll check the area outside of the house to see if it is safe." Mainne volunteered herself in a predictable manner. Who wouldn''t want to see what it was like outside without the dark veil of evil energy blowing all around? Jane''s assigned team naturally agreed to join her in going outside despite how much Mainne stressed that it may not yet be safe.
With little argument, the teams split up. Jane, Danny, and Taylor all followed Mainne out of the back entrance that they breached earlier, the door broken into small wooden fragment pieces that could never be restored again. Much to her own predictions, the breeze of air was much cooler, though the quality was still dense and heavy. The smell of burnt wood and ash accumulated in the night wind, making it hard to breathe. Jane wondered if all of that burning was from dark magic alone. How have they not been scorched themselves?
Despite the small changes already made here, even Mainne knew from all of the scars, cuts, and burns on their skin that team JDT suffered extensive real time damage that would take forever to heal. Using their energy scopes as a test would not be adequate to determine whether or not the veil''s span has affected the Outback or not. So instead, she stepped further from the house and waited while charging a small amount of her own Leray energy.
Danny noticed despite how dark it was with no ambient light how the sky returned to normal again. The grey and black clouds overhead were just an overcast covering much of the pitch-black sky, hiding all of their radiant stars. The moonlight seems to be hiding with nowhere to be found, indication of a new moon. Didn''t Leray magic have something to do with the light of the moon? Remembering a vague lesson back from his first Leray class wasn''t going to happen right now. The environment in the sky seemed like any other normal environment right now, reminding him of the world back home where everything is normal.
Though it took Mainne much time to get her energy scope up and running, it told her a lot of objective data she was curious about. First of all, using magic right now is still possible, even though it shouldn''t be possible. The color of her energy scope was still green. This means that the natural Leray veil of protection is still unable to reach the Outback with the dark veil gone. It''s not surprising; though a dark magic veil pushes away affection from the Leray veil, it still enables people in its area to use Leray or dark magic, with the only difference being no protection from death, no pain absorption, and the potential power of Leray type magic being reduced significantly. Point is, in a dark magic zone, one can still use any type of magic in a similar format. Even if that dark magic veil were to disappear, it normally takes a bit of time for the Leray veil of protection and magic to retake the area that it was rejected from. The bigger the dark zone, the longer of time it will take.
With that said, her neon green colored holographic energy scope indicates that the Leray veil in the area remains out of range because it will take a long time before the Outback area receives this veil ever again. In other words, without a dark magic veil covering them, Mainne and the others should now be incapable of using any particular magic whatsoever. Without either type of veil in place, a person cannot use any magic, hints the purpose of the existing veil coming from Eldora Tower. That means that everybody here is still vulnerable to death, and essentially without magic. Yet the energy scope here in front of her face is of magical essence.
Mainne wasn''t all too surprised by this detail however, since she suddenly remembered all about the accessory of the Mega-Staff. Danton never used to have such a powerful device that can store and channel energy all around him. The Mega-Staff only belongs to the person titled as champion for a minimum time of three months. With that staff, the wielder can actually store Leray magic directly from the core crystals portably, and create a temporary magical field that allows magical projection. Right now, Mainne''s magic, and anyone else nearby who chooses to use magic is actually siphoning energy from Danton''s Mega-Staff automatically. Of course, that field of magic doesn''t provide protection from death like the Leray veil does; it only provides a small Leray veil of magical potential, allowing others to use magic like this. Mainne shut off her energy scope quick, ensuring she doesn''t drain the energy in that staff. If they all were to teleport out of here as planned, Danton will need all of that remaining energy left.
Jane saw that Mainne was a bit focused on whatever ailed her mind. After she shut off the energy scope above her, Mainne crossed her arms and paced slowly in deep thought. Jane had much thinking of her own to do. She wasn''t surprised to see that the damage and destruction to the environment here was nearly irreversible. It wouldn''t just fix itself overnight, even if the Leray veil had pushed its way over here. Jane recalled the lessons Claudia gave to her about the dark zone, how shutting it down would not fix the environment already damaged in the Outback. It could take months, even years for this place to return to the zone it used to be. As for the Den of Purity, it will likely be destroyed or decommissioned due to the level of danger here. If Danton''s suspicion about Brightworth looking for a secret underground object is true, the General Army will likely declare the Outback off limits until they confirm their theory.
But as much as she missed her home right now, Jane felt much more relaxed. There wouldn''t be a single monster in sight; nothing dangerous could harm her or her friends. She actually managed to complete the mission she set out for herself, and be pardoned by Danton for the symbol stuck to her hand. Despite how hard she fought for this moment, it was only now that her knees began shaking. How unbelievable it is to have won a total victory here with her friends!
"I bet this place used to look just like home, huh?"
Taylor''s thoughts were overwhelmed by Danny''s reminder of her town area in Kalamo. Even though her mind was dwelling upon the subject to begin with, she could remember everything so clearly. Danny was of course commenting only on how their town appeared to look, not how it was. If you only went by sight, it was beautiful even in Kalamo. "Yeah. I remember the parks they used to have there, how there was always a perfect blend of houses and trees." Anything that looked like a forest was less than half a square mile dense in diameter. If anyone ever tried to pass one, they would end up on some other road with minor vehicle traffic and automobiles.
He would skateboard on the sidewalk all of the time, and constantly maintained a reputation to seem flawless to his peers. Of course, anyone a grade higher than him threatened to beat Danny up for his lunch money even knowing he had none. Those were the days...
Then the sun would set behind the heavy horizon, marking the moment she had to return home due to curfew, but Taylor could never let that scenery escape her eyes. The way the sky would shine with a multitude of colors due to the sunlight''s orientation, and how the clouds would dance beside that light as a backdrop to everything else... The Outback could be that place without the roads and houses everywhere. After all, it was supposedly uninhabited all this time except for the man controlling the fate of this building beside her.
Jane pondered the meaning of their words. They didn''t do much to really describe what they were thinking about, but it sounded like they were referencing home. With the perfect blend of trees and houses phrasing, it sounded like they had just described Blue Port Town, but Jane knew better. She struggled to remember some of the rare conversations they had about their home, since they live outside of Sprawn Valley after all. "Kalamo?" Jane wasn''t sure if that was correct. If it was, did she pronounce it right? What sort of place is Kalamo anyway?
"Yep. That''s where we''re from," Danny proudly answered. Jane certainly was going to cause an issue soon with her curiosity. After all, Taylor never really shared her problems about being a Banshee to Jane, and for good reason. If Taylor were to actually return to Kalamo now, it would mark the end of her very life as she knew it. There was no telling what uncle Nyar would do if they had instead arrived in New York from that cruise.
"Can''t say I miss it though." Taylor wasn''t kidding herself either. She missed the scenery, her school, her friends, all of the good times she had there. But since her parents were selling her out, her idea of home was virtually destroyed. "I don''t think I would mind checking out New York though. After all, that was the initial destination of our vacation."
Except, the way Taylor mapped it into her mind, Danny was certain that it would be more of a staycation. Taylor would have saved her time until running away from Nyar before getting sent back. At least that is what he felt would happen if it weren''t for their amazing detour.
"Initial destination? New York?" Mainne knew that the three of them forgot she was here listening to them, but was overcome with curiosity about the two of them. She had the idea that Danny and Taylor were accustomed to Sprawn Valley with how well they could battle beside Jane.
"Yeah, they''re not actually from around here." Failing to take a hint from her friends, Jane simply handed over the short summary of the tragedy following the incident of the Tidal Max. That incident was in fact something that Danny and Taylor shared with her long ago, something she couldn''t forget about due to the rarity of the situation. "They got sidetracked here, and that''s when I taught them everything I knew about Leray magic."
Liar! It was much more than that. Danny knew Jane would cut out the other details, but with Mainne about to drool over their story, it was probably for the best. At least she can keep one secret.
Mainne''s sudden concern seemed motherly like towards the teens. "What about your family? You''re in contact right? Are they coming to get you?"
"Don''t worry about it." Danny finally stepped up to end this charade before it could turn into anything else. The last thing he wanted right now was to drag uncle Nyar or his parents into this, particularly for Taylor''s sake. Besides, he could actually take care of it once they get out of this hellhole. Lennith City has plenty of phones he could use internationally. "They''re well informed. We''ve got that situation under control."
So they are returning home soon. Jane never got many details from them about that particular situation. Danny and Taylor both seemed to keep that information more private than what color underwear they wore each day. At least that was the vibe. But she quickly turned her thoughts to the fantasies she created for herself. Despite how the outside world never has the ability to use magic, it must still be incredible. Humans that don''t rely on magic may be capable of building such amazing things! New York was apparently the destination of their supposed vacation?
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Jane couldn''t resist feeding her curiosity, unknowingly taking away attention from whatever Danny was getting nervous about. "Hey you two? Tell me more about New York and the United States! What''s it like there? How many people are there? Do they know about Leray magic? What do they eat? How do they live? I bet they have amazing sports there!"
Jane managed to speed up her speech to further include everything she wanted to know in less time to ask it, making Danny overwhelmed to the point where he wanted to passively ignore her. It figures Jane would suddenly ask about a topic impossible to explain in a single night. With a sigh of mild stress, Danny huffed a breath as he prepared to give Jane only the information she needed.
Meanwhile, after emerging from the chambers where Brightworth was kept below ground, Danton gave his final report regarding the situation to the rest of the team. Mainne and the others were standing outside, but it wasn''t that important to have them in the same room. "If I may have everyone''s attention..." He continued only after the aimless chatter of rumor died down. "Our mission objective here is complete. Brightworth was in fact searching for an underground temple, chamber, or artifact of unknown origin or detail. But he won''t admit to the fact or any other related activity. Despite further interrogation, the man is no longer talking. So we will bring him before the grand council of mages where he will face trial. As for the upcoming procedure to search the entire Outback for this underpass, I am hereby canceling that hunt until further notice."
Just now, his directive to cancel the search for the unknown underground structure raised alarming gasps and murmurs of surprise across the room, which was the same time Mainne and the others walked in. After all, Danton has not yet even assigned which teams will search for the hidden structure, nor had the search begun its conduction. So he really canceled the event ahead of time no less. Danton found good reason. "The Outback will still remain restricted to civilians until restoration processes are complete, which could take up to several months. In the meantime, I will later be assigning scouts in and out of this zone to keep an eye on the land. As for the council, no details about the interrogation of professor Brightworth are to ever leave this room. Is that made clear?"
From the men and women wearing helmets all yelling "Yes sir!" with a passion of loyalty and duty, Danton seemed suddenly relaxed. "You should also note that Jane Venn, our symbol wielder is no longer under any branch or jurisdiction of the military, and will be ejected from the army upon our arrival back in Lennith City, where we have officials waiting on Brightworth and so forth. However, her crimes of symbol wielding are to be officially pardoned under my own executive order. I want no incidents of malicious behavior from any of you."
Smart! Mainne sensed the tensions in the air rise and then fall so quickly. Since Jane Venn wasn''t helping them anymore, it meant people could then focus on the fact that she carries a highly illegal and dangerous symbol of power firmly attached to her skin. Members of the army don''t naturally take kindly to people like that. But if Jane is pardoned this way, she can never be brought to face trial for having the symbol alone, at least not that particular symbol. It means nobody is allowed to touch her!
"We will all be teleporting together with one massive spell that will include prisoner transfer protocol using the remaining magic in my staff. Since other use of magic siphons energy from this device, I urge all of you to restrain the use of all magical energy until we make the jump in fifteen minutes. With that, I will allow you all to remain at ease."
He spoke so simply, so easy to follow what he wanted out of this. Danton was simply doing the right thing right now, and his soldiers knew of it too. Jane could feel the positive energy of the room rising as everybody began to relax. Having this evil doom over everybody''s head lifted had her heart fluttering, the sensation of freedom surrounding her again.
Danton made his way over to Mainne and Jane''s team, where he addressed Jane directly, sparking their curiosity. Though everyone in the room was actually at ease talking amongst themselves, the noise level was suddenly cut in half to determine what other business Sir Danton had with Jane. "With all of this moving behind us, I must admit how impressed I was today with your performance on the battlefield."
"Oh." Jane tilted her head slightly, flushed by how one of the most impressive figures so easily gave his gratitude for her. And to think that just this morning, he had the opposite untrusting attitude. "Well I did have the symbol save me again."
"Hmmm." After loudly giving it more thought, Jane''s battle skills were quite impressive in any case, and the symbol - whether it be active or partially active had nothing to do with her personal style. "I think that with or without that symbol on your hand, you are quite capable of more than you think Jane. It does sting that you had to be sucked into a mess that wasn''t your own, but I see now that you''ve grown as a person from having to endure those experiences. As natural as it is, everybody does."
Danton waited for Jane to say something in return, but she was silent. Her confused expression stated to him that she had no clue what he was even talking about anymore, and Danton decided to get right to the point. "If you can use your power and training side by side like you''ve done against the championship match and the incredible monsters you''ve faced today, then I see little to stop you from accomplishing your dream."
What you don''t realize is that this symbol prevents just that! Jane knew Danton was impressed by it, but all she wanted since learning Leray magic was to become a powerful Leray fighter, but this symbol is simply cheating against everybody she battles. It gives her unfair advantages nobody could ever hope to achieve. No single person in the world could actually knock her out with how strong it has made her become, unless they cheat too. Jane wanted to rebuttal this, but found the words hard to place in front of her.
"I would be interested in training you personally, in the Eldora Elite academy of Leray warship." With that, jaws around him dropped with more gasps. The school Danton just mentioned was top of the line. It was highly expensive and defiantly worthy of high appraisal. In fact, you normally have to graduate at least six out of seven grade classes before one is allowed to become a Leray elite that can be part of the Eldora Tower guardianship. It is literally a place of high honor, where only the best of the best go. "There, I can see you achieving great things with my supervision to help you float to the top."
Mainne was in shock too. Danton wasn''t being rational at all allowing Jane to do this. Was he that impressed by her skill to let her have a position in Eldora Tower? If so, whom would she end up replacing? Or was he actually interested in Jane''s raw power, the energy she could draw from her symbol? That couldn''t be the case. Danton would never seek to benefit from using any type of magic other than Leray magic. After all this time, it isn''t possible!
"I..." At first, Jane was frozen in thought too. This offering was a dream come true for her, and Danton didn''t even care about the symbol thing. She could learn all sorts of new powers there. What an incredible honor... The attention of those two caught her eye, Danny and Taylor. The both of them were thrown into this crazy world without warning, and they somehow learned to love the people in it so willingly. Soon it would be their time to return back to where they came from, out there. And yet...
There was more, a lot more than what Danton could possibly have to offer. Even though she would never get this chance again... Jane cleared her throat before answering so formally. "I''m sorry Danton. I must decline." With that powerful response, Jane even had her friends in shock. They didn''t know what the Eldora Elite academy of Leray warship is, but it was easy enough to imagine how high of an honor it is to be let in just like that.
"Decline?" Danton flustered. "Well this is unexpected, a first in my experience... I must ask why. Pardon me if I am intruding too much into personal business."
Jane nodded her head with a smile on her face. "No, it''s not that. It''s just..." After freezing Danny and Taylor''s faces in her mind again, she was finally certain. "I''ve been hearing a lot about the outside world, and I''ve determined that I have to go and see it for myself."
"But, that world doesn''t have magic!" Mainne stressed. It''s dangerous to be anywhere outside of the veil of protection. It would actually be much the same right here in this zone if Danton''s staff weren''t charged up with magic. A world outside of Sprawn Valley is an ordinary world where humans live facing certain death by any particular accident or criminal intent. Immortality doesn''t exist out there, and neither does magic. Why the hell would Jane of all people want to go see that?
"I thought you had a future to fulfill here." Even Danny jumped on that bandwagon, but he was quickly faced with Jane''s reasoning.
"I never said I was leaving forever. I want to simply take a vacation, to the New York of the United States nation."
Taylor almost laughed, wanting to face palm from how silly she just spoke of the location, but it was very obvious by now that Jane wanted to explore the world outside of Sprawn Valley while traveling with herself and Danny at the same time. Jane simply didn''t want to part ways. Taylor''s expression faded after little thought. She''ll likely never return to such a cruel world.
Jane continued taking no such care of the atmosphere she created around her. "So I won''t get to use a little bit of magic. So what? There was once a time when Sprawn Valley didn''t have any magic either, right? I want to take my time exploring other places, and find excitement there too."
"A journey of your own in a far off land?" Danton hadn''t considered that thinking or behavior before, but Jane had a good idea. Traveling outside of Sprawn Valley for a field trip wasn''t something a normal person here would want to do. Yet it was also something Danton knew he couldn''t really offer since it is something anybody with a little amount of money can do on their own power. Plus, in all things, being stuck outside of the country would naturally buy Jane time against the Scarlet enemies soon to be searching and hunting for her, for their symbol experiment. "But what about your training here?"
Jane replied, "Training doesn''t always have to involve magic. I''m sure I can get all sorts of interesting experience out there. And when I do get enough of it, here and out there, I''ll come back to Eldora Tower to challenge you personally. I don''t want another official match though Danton. I just want to battle against you for fun."
Danton didn''t know what to say next, and allowed three solid seconds of silence surpass his lips. I can''t read this girl. She''s excitable, well determined, mysterious, and caring all at the same time. But even that doesn''t describe what kind of person she is. Jane loves Leray magic so much that she wants to battle a champion just for fun, not even to bare title or honor, and is willing to decline a once in a lifetime offering in faith to begin her own journey with so little of thought. And she''s only sixteen years old? How does a person this young have so much sustenance and enrichment?
After realizing he was silent for a moment too long, Danton simply gave into Jane''s kind passion. "I''ll be waiting for the day you are ready to challenge me again. When you are prepared to fight a very hard battle against a personal match, I''ll be ready. But you should know that I won''t lose to you again Jane Venn." Danton''s promise immediately and noticeably gave Jane an excited expression. Just like that, Jane was in kid mode again.
"I''m sorry to interrupt," Krysta telegraphed over the room. "But we shouldn''t waste any more time here. Danton''s staff is providing magic, right? Well I think we should remind ourselves that the restraints on Brightworth''s hands are of a magical spell, and are using the source as we speak."
Danton''s eyes opened wide in the realization. He had totally forgotten that Light Lock disks constantly use magic from the person who inflicts them if not for the normal veil. Since it comes from Danton, his staff is providing that power! Danton took a deep breath to calm himself down. It should be fine. Those restraints don''t really use a lot of magic, and there should be plenty of it left to make one teleportation. Without the dark veil, teleportation won''t be blocked either as it was before. But if Brightworth is smart enough to figure this all out, he would have escaped just now. All he has to do is bang on his restraints and force the power flow to the disks to increase due to the anti-projection field they create to prevent damage to the devices themselves. Danton immediately ordered Cleo to bring the prisoner back up here. "We''ll begin multi-teleportation shortly." Thank you Krysta. This is why I always want you on this team. The day will eventually come where our lives will depend on your individual skills. The same goes for the rest of you; Cleo, Brock, and Mainne.
Cleo brought Brightworth up from the chamber, still tucked safely in his restraints. He nodded to Danton, confirming to him that Cleo already double-checked the prisoner to make sure no dirty tricks were afoot before they perform this risky prisoner transfer protocol. With everybody ready, Danton took his position, asking everybody to huddle together very closely.
Brightworth no longer seemed as smug as before, perhaps being that he was a bit nervous that he wasn''t getting away with this after all. Was he expecting something to happen in the meantime to prevent their exit out of here? No. Mainne was sure that wasn''t it. There was no way for him to get out of this right now. After everyone took their positions, Danton began his infusion of magic from the Mega-Staff. The staff held the rest of the stored magic, and thus had enough juice for one teleportation of this many people, size, and distance transference, perhaps just barely, so it has to go correctly.
As the staff lit up with a bright magical light of green Leray essence and energy, Danton rehearsed the sacred phrases elites are to use when teleporting a big or important mass, typically called for good luck. The growing magical release created a drowning noise too that became constant. "Too-ha-rue-sha-roru-tee-faa! Sacred nexus of Lunessence, take us to Lennith''s north gate!" The bright and large sized teleportation symbol opened up on the floor beneath everybody''s feet, which sort of represented a massive glyphring that was stuck in a two-dimensional mode to the ground of the floor. As the light became brighter, everybody began glowing as well, beginning the transfer process.
It was actually quick and painless, but for Jane and her friends who were doing this for their first time ever, it was terrifying. The white light blinded their view until it was the only thing they could see, and a loud ringing in their ears maximized itself until it was the only thing they could hear. Then they were suddenly floating off the ground without gravity''s force for a short moment, only for all of reality to return to them again. With their senses dulled and then reborn, the environment all around them totally changed. Everybody in that room was now standing outside, right at the gate of Lennith City where much natural light was provided for them.
Danton checked to see that everybody was here. Brightworth was the same as ever, and the restraints were functioning again. Despite his staff being out of energy, Lennith City was in range and covered by the Leray veil of magical protection and aura. That means that their magic would return to them in mere seconds, as his staff would recharge with just basic Leray energy. Danton would again need to recharge his staff using core crystals again, but there wasn''t any emergency urgency to do so right away. On the other side, where the other metallic armed soldiers awaited their arrival, they were met with the surprise when Danton''s entire herd appeared before them in phases of light that reformed into the persons they have been all this time. That was teleportation, not to be confused with transference, which is similar to short-range teleportation used in Leray battles.
"We have a prisoner for you," Danton announced to the second in command army general, already waiting for him to return successfully with the target. Danton made sure to use every precaution, keeping alert and wary while handing over Brightworth with those magical cuffs.
But it appeared that with such fine ability to see in the nighttime with the lights of the town going everywhere, the team also met others who were waiting on them to return. Jane and her friends could see Claudia speed walking towards them, with Alyssa in tow as well. There were three more figures as well. Jane didn''t recognize the other three adults, and their faces were barely visible in the light provided, due to the angle of the provided light.
But Danny recognized those faces, his heart thumping and his body slowly sinking down as a result. Taylor too reacted with much fear, apparent by her slow back-step into Danny, not wanting to accept what was in front of her eyes. Walking in a pair of three together, the strangers immediately recognized and called the two of them from afar. Danny recognized the man on the left with his dark hair and reading glasses. Taylor recognized the man on the right and the lady in the middle, who were both somewhat aged, yet walking quickly because of their worried minds. These are Taylor''s parents! And on the left, the other guy was Danny''s current guardian, uncle Nyar!
Chapter 59: Taking Charge
<02/13/1972 ¨C 01:01 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Laura Feer: mother of Taylor Feer and resident of Slatetown in Kalamo. Lonagan Feer: father of Taylor and married to Laura who has much of the same in common with each other. Both of them were standing before their daughter right now in the darkness of the northern gate. The General Army having nothing to do with the entire commotion focused only on arresting Brightworth, making it impossible to tell that Taylor had anything to do with this, but both of her parents were here in physical form, the one thing she had long tried to avoid ever since her arrival in this country. With much expected reaction after finding her in the flesh, both of them gave concerning expressions of fear and anger.
Montemeitrev Nyar. His father emigrated from Russia after the cold war and settled down with a polish immigrant in New York, who died shortly after giving birth to Nyar. Nobody ever called him by his difficult first name. It was always Mr. Nyar for everybody, and Uncle Nyar to Danny since he is his uncle after all. Other than the appearance of these three people, it seemed that Danny''s actual parents failed to show up in person. That however could have much to do with Jenson''s condition. Danny''s mother has stage two cancer and is comfortably resting at home with the care of Jenson''s husband, Arias. So it made since that Nyar would have to come on their behalf. But dragging Taylor''s parents into this didn''t seem like Nyar''s style.
Danny immediately felt a wave of guilt rush over him. He failed to contact Nyar ever since he left Fronas town on his journey with Taylor and Jane. The time limit to reach the airport in Junon was estimated to be about two weeks, three with delays. However, more than an entire month had passed. Nyar must have realized something was up when they failed to show up at the airport in time. It still didn''t explain what Taylor''s parents were doing here with him, but Nyar currently seemed entirely focused on Danny more than Taylor.
"I knew you couldn''t have been too far away. We can talk about what happened later Danny. But for now, it''s best that we take you home now."
"Hold on!" Danny protested. This can''t be happening! This can''t be happening! This is happening! Uncertain of how to string together a chain of thoughts, Danny''s questions came spilling out of him rapid fire. "This is too sudden. How did you get the money to make it here? Do we even have a way back home?"
"Not exactly in the way you would think," Nyar replied. "It''s both cheaper and faster that we fly back to New York, and then from there use another ferry to get you back to Kalamo. But both of your parents have been worried sick since I''ve informed them of the situation. I couldn''t stall that conversation forever you know. I''m just glad I found you before anything bad happened. I feared the worse for days."
Danny could tell that Uncle Nyar did sound genuinely concerned about his wellbeing, reminding him how afraid of Leray magic outsiders were, that is those who knew about it in secret. But even if Nyar was just about ready to leave, Danny couldn''t ignore the situation next to him.
Nyar at first failed to understand Danny''s hesitation to get going, but followed his eyes trailing over toward the commotion Taylor got herself into.
Chapter Theme Shift: Closed Off Village ~ Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core (Old Ver.)
"I''m not going back to Kalamo with either of you. I refuse to be a Banshee slave!" Taylor''s voice was close to breaking up, as she couldn''t deal with the stress of this right now.
Jane stepped aside from the soldier units to figure out what was happening. The way she was ignoring Alyssa and Claudia had the both of them watching this train wreck happen with her. Jane was totally confused though. She thought that Taylor would have at least been satisfied with seeing her parents, but her reaction was the opposite. All of this talk about being a Banshee slave was news to her ears, and Jane didn''t interrupt, having no way to provide any details for herself or the others.
"This is nonsense young woman!" Laura yelled to project her firm tone. "I won''t hear this talk about slavery anymore. It is both an honor and a high-level position to serve in the Banshee Empire. People will do as you say under your branch, and this provides this entire family with incredible funding and opportunities we can use to move to a better country."
Are they seriously this stupid? Taylor knew they weren''t the brightest pair in the sea, but Laura and Lonagan have been totally brainwashed by the propaganda spread in the nation. Kalamo is supposed to be a parliamentary nation, but a group of crusaders came there to stage a successful coup d''¨¦tat. After doing so, they established an autocratic kingdom ruling illegally with an iron fist. Kalamo citizens are not allowed to leave the nation to move elsewhere, nor can they renounce their citizenship; even bribed favors are shot away. On top of that, those drafted into the Banshee workforce have no say in joining or opting out. Parental refusal is but a delay. Taylor used to have a few young friends lost to memory, people who she knew were sent to the Banshee castle, only to never be seen or heard of again. Rumors spread about the female arrivals showing up made to work as physical slaves and personal servants, the men in the higher ups doing whatever they want to, violating young women. But such rumors were made public since two years ago, naturally debunked by the propaganda movement from the government to silence such outspoken individuals, supposedly silencing them with bullets. Her own family didn''t seem to care about that fact. Rather they trust in the wrong people. This was the total destruction of her entire future, supported by these clowns!
"This is my choice!" Taylor argued. "I get to decide how I want to live my life!" With tears flowing from her eyes, she still defended her rights, caring not about how old she was or who these people were to her. After everything that happened, after all she has done to get away from it all, the emissaries of her worst enemy were standing before her. "I''m not joining the Banshee Empire and that''s final!"
"You don''t get to make that choice! The king of Kalamo does."
"You horrible monsters! All you see in me is a bag of money!" As Taylor lashed out at them, the situation escalated quickly, as Lonagan and Laura both rushed forward on their feet after their wince of surprise.
"This isn''t up for discussion. You''re coming with us weather you like it or not." Just as Lonagan got close enough to Taylor to grab her arm and forcefully drag her to the airport, a sudden invisible force of wind blew back in front of Lonagan, knocking him off balance on his back as the invisible Push Wave failed to affect Taylor in the same way.
Confused by what just happened, Danny made himself more aware to everyone with his right hand aimed between Taylor and her parents, his limb glowing with a dark blue aura as indication of Leray magical power. He approached Taylor to place himself in between her and the people trying to kidnap her, shocking all three of them. "Your dream of sucking up to those criminals is over," he threatened. Danny held his hand out like before, defending Taylor by standing right in front of her, threatening them with magic with a rotating glyphring building. "She''s your own daughter for crying out loud, and you want to erase everything she is to help yourselves to useless currency. I won''t let you do that!"
"Agh!" Laura yelped. "That was magic!"
Lonagan argued while getting back up on his feet. "What do you think you''re doing?! Who the hell are you to stand in the way of a personal family matter?" Lonagan has heard of Danny Mason before from Taylor''s testimonials, but this must be the heathen''s true nature.
Danny defended his right to help Taylor, reminding himself about all of the experiences he had to endure here. "I''m the one who''s protected Taylor from the dangers here. And now I''m helping her live the rest of her life the way she wants to. I won''t just let you come and take her away from that."
After moments of Nyar becoming as speechless as he was, he knew this wasn''t right. When did Danny learn to use Leray magic for himself? Has he really been inside of Sprawn Valley long enough to master magical spells and even conduct Leray battles? Why didn''t he heed the warning to stay away from that stuff? Danny, what the hell have you done?! "This isn''t right Danny! It''s between them and her. Stay out of this!"
Taylor felt totally moved by the way Danny was standing in front of her, protecting her from the one thing she feared the most. Taylor also remembered from a short conversation a while back while still in Fronas town. After she first let Danny know about all of this, he actually swore to figure something out to make sure she never ends up a Banshee slave. Was this what he meant? To just wait for the right moment and wing it? Danny; he really cares about me this much!
Lonagan''s smirk of victory returned again, which for his age and face made him look like a creep. "He''s right you know. I don''t care if you''ve learned magic or not. You have no legal right to stop us. You''re not her guardian or her family. Now step aside!"
Without much of a warning, a bright blue bolt of ice elemental magic simulating an Ice bolt attack flew, brushing right past Danny''s face from behind and slamming into Lonagan''s chest. The pain level was intense since Lonagan was never actually hit by any magical attack before, and it was enough to send him to the ground on his knees in a slight cringe of panic. Danny and Nyar were surprised to see after turning towards the source location - to find that Taylor had activated an ice elemental glyphring around her wrist. She was the one who just attacked her own father, and stepped in front of Danny to continue her confrontation.
Still with tears in her eyes, she was now as sure as she could ever be about what to do with this situation. "If you won''t let him interfere, then I will." Ignoring the shock to her parents that she too learned Leray magic, Taylor set her foot down, physically and figuratively. "If you try to force me to go back home again, I''ll use magic and destroy you both myself!"
"Taylor." A soft defeated exhale escaped from Laura''s mouth. It was impossible for her to imagine. Not only was Taylor using magic, but she was threatening her own family with it too. "You use such an evil art of magic, all just to defy us?"
"Evil?" Taylor repeated in denial. "You two need to look in a mirror to know what evil really is. Leray magic is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me in my whole life, and the both of you kept its secrets from me. Nyar and Danny''s parents kept it from him as well, but now I''ll use all the magic I can to make sure none of you can lay a hand on me."
Lonagan got back up from the Ice Bolt hit he took; obviously proving he had some level of endurance. "You bitch! Do you realize that this could cause the Banshee to invade these lands and cause an international war?"
"I don''t think that will be happening." Danny sounded so smug suddenly, elaborating as to why. It''s so simple, he wanted to bash his own head in for not considering it before. "You see, it may be true that citizens of Kalamo have no say in their choice when joining the Banshee Empire if selected. But their royal articles under amendment seven section five indicates that - should any citizen of Kalamo move outside of the nation prior to officially becoming a Banshee member, and then obtain citizenship status somewhere other than Kalamo, they will revoke their attempts on that entire family''s selection. The king has no interest in starting a war they can''t win. And as far as I can see it, Taylor is a citizen of Sprawn Valley."
No she''s not! Jane knew that Danny was bluffing just now. It was the only thing she could be certain of so far. But if it were to be true, if Taylor were to register as an official citizen of Sprawn Valley, then his words and explanations mean that Taylor''s ability to join the Banshee Empire would suddenly be null and void.
Even Taylor was surprised. When did Danny have the time to research all of that? Did he plan to say all of this stuff as a backup plan in case this ever happened? And if he didn''t, when did he learn to lie so effectively?
Danny knew it was no lie. All though Taylor wasn''t really a resident here yet, it turns out she could be tomorrow. Sprawn Valley has a few loose rules on their immigration policy. Becoming a citizen of Sprawn Valley is as easy as shake-n-bake. If she did, it really would cancel her ability to join the Banshee Empire. How is that for tragic irony?
"Who do you think you are to interfere with such matters? All we have to do is take her back home and register her as a Kalamo citizen again."
Crap! Danny forgot about that small detail. It was true that re-registering for Kalamo citizenship was possible, and it would void the cancelation of the voided offer to make it possible to turn somebody back into a Banshee official. Still, that didn''t mean much with Taylor fighting for her own rights as well.
Taylor charged up more Leray energy into her hands, though held it in just to show her powers off as a warning. "I won''t let a single one of you lay a hand on me. If you try, I''ll destroy you both. And if you want to know who Danny is so badly, I''ll tell you." Taylor wasn''t shy about it anymore. After watching Danny''s intentions to protect and help her all this time, she was proud to be a part of his life now. After all he has done and all he has changed by this long journey, he still continued to grow beyond her expectations. He''s responsible now, smart and bright as ever, while there is no going back for anybody. "Danny is my real family. He has interest in protecting me and helping me actually achieve my real dreams anywhere in the world. He has every right to be here and help me with this. In fact, I love him more than I ever can for the two of you. As far as I''m concerned, I have no parents!"
"Where are your manners young lady?" Laura, as annoying as she could be didn''t care for her words. It was just a silly teenage phase, and this boyfriend of hers is obviously a bad influence. Though Lonagan backed up a bit from Taylor''s physical threat, prompting her to be the one to step forward and interfere herself.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
With a blast and a sonic boom that shook the ground of the entire city, Taylor unleashed a powerful Earth Glave right in front of her, stopping the advancing earth wave of shooting pillars just short of damaging Laura. It however did work in scaring her into nearly having a heart attack. They were a bit old after all. Taylor used this as a further demonstration to what she said earlier. She is taking charge of her own life this time. "I''m not going to Kalamo. That''s final!"
"This is nonsense!" Laura screamed in terror. "How could you try and harm your only family? Your decision here will destroy the both of us! The king won''t take kindly to this news!"
"Even if you are a citizen of Sprawn Valley, we are still your legal guardians, and can take you home from here."
"I''m afraid that''s no longer true."
The voice of an older woman spoke in place of Taylor, denying Lonagan''s claim. It was Claudia, who took notice of the situation and provided some legality details. "Taylor and Danny both graduated from Dakota''s training facility, which makes them official Leray wielders. While that isn''t technically enough for citizenship, it still offers temporary residency options should a claim be made, providing them citizenship for forty-eight hours until fully processed. But on top of being a citizen of Sprawn Valley, children here are considered independent of their families at the age of fifteen point seven. If you''ve paid attention to any of this, you would have realized that Taylor''s sixteenth birthday is only 103 days away from now. That legally qualifies her for independent citizenship status. It''s a fancy loophole nobody wants to talk about, but as one familiar with the law, I must insist on making this public, to prevent the two of you from being taken into custody under the charge of kidnapping."
"Are you serious?" Laura wisped. "What kind of a place is this, raising hooligans to run around doing what they want?"
This was the most unbelievable thing he has seen yet. All of these random strangers hanging around in this city, they''re all too involved in everyone''s lives, and it seems everybody is taking Taylor''s side right now. What worse, they can use deadly magic. "Fine," Lonagan caved. "Have it your way Taylor. You know what this will do to us, and since you seem so interested in taking charge of your own life, you''ll see that your actions have consequences for all of us. Laura? We''re going back home without her. Leave Taylor alone to her fate. When she hits a life of poverty, maybe then she''ll realize she''s made too many mistakes."
"You may be interested in going home without our daughter, but I won''t have any part of it."
Claudia threatened Laura''s determination to have Taylor. It was clear enough that Taylor wanted nothing to do with them, and that spoke volume about how bad these people could be. Having Danny feel the same way is just overkill for proof, and she owes him one after their last encounter. "And what do you plan to do about this miss? If you lay a hand on her, I''ll get the police here involved, and you could wind up spending years in a prison full of magic wielding psychos!"
Taylor didn''t say anything, since there wasn''t any more to iterate. She had no idea however that Claudia was so familiar with such strange rules of Sprawn Valley, even going as far to make Danny''s bluff a full reality, and as far to remember her own birthday for support. With a few more silent seconds passed, Laura finally gave up.
Staring her prodigy in the eyes while tears began to stain her own, Laura announced with a low growl in her throat, "You are no longer our daughter... Come on Lonagan. We''re leaving."
Lonagan followed behind while Laura turned around, seriously heading for the east gate. After they were far enough, Taylor began bursting into tears. It was too much too fast. Her own parents were worse now than they were before, and cared nothing at all about her to any degree or angle. "Don''t ever come back!" she yelled. With the waterworks forced on full throttle, Taylor sobbed into her hands while Jane, Alyssa, and Danny held onto her for comfort.
Chapter Theme Shift: Mystery ~ FFXIII OST
By the time the strangers left the area, Taylor was quieter, but still a total mess. She completely soaked the top of her dress sphere with her tears, and that of her friends when they let her cry on their shoulders. Uncle Nyar appeared to have a monotone attitude about the whole thing, and stayed behind for Danny. Danny had to speak to Nyar about all of this, but wanted someone with him to do it. With the others busy right now, Danny walked towards Nyar by himself to speak upon the situation.
After seeing that the nearby army units have all left out of the city, Nyar noticed a change in the atmosphere while new people from the east and west gates were coming into the town, likely citizens of Lennith City who were evacuated. Nyar knew of no such details, and only focused on the actual situation with Taylor and Danny''s ability to wield magic. They taught themselves skills he warned them not to use, but it was too late now to prevent it.
"Do I have to get you on our side of this as well?"
Uncle Nyar answered Danny''s question with a neutral attitude. "I''m not taking anybody''s side. I''m not supposed to be here, therefore I couldn''t offer any sort of solution or outspoken opinion on the matter that just took place. But I must say I wasn''t expecting you to have such powerful friends here looking out for you and Taylor like that." Nyar sighed with a disastrous sign of stress. "This will no doubt be hard on her to denounce her own parents like that. Even in my own opinion, I can''t agree with their decision to try and take Taylor away to become some sort of Banshee slave."
"How long have you been hiding that from me?" Danny didn''t even face Nyar as he spoke, unwilling to see his appeal on the matter.
"I learned about this during that very outburst before us. I tried to remain objective since there wasn''t anything I could have done, so forgive me if I seemed unusually sympathetic to those cretins. In truth, I cannot believe a family could ever condone sending their own child to a castle where she doesn''t belong. I''ve heard of those rumors too, but never believed it until I saw the fear in her eyes tonight." Nyar noticed Danny''s hazel eyes now glaring at him, but more with surprise than with expected anger. "Besides, the Banshee kingdom isn''t even a legal authoritarian system. They don''t belong to the political power of Kalamo. Anyway, that''s what I think about this."
"At least now I can''t hate you for saying that."
"However," Nyar switched his tone to sound more firm in his next statement, glaring down Danny with a firm expression "I cannot believe that you trained yourself to use such a disgusting art of magical power. On top of that, you let your girlfriend over there learn how to use it as well, after the warning I gave you. Have you any idea the trouble this has caused?"
Danny immediately defended the truth about what he learned here. "Leray magic is not an evil force as you said before, and you shouldn''t have tried to hide it from me in the first place. I''ve seen all of the amazing things magic can do for people here, and I find it quite incredible."
"Ah," Nyar exhaled. "And what about its opposite energy pattern? Dark Magic? You think that is safe as well?"
Danny shivered with how quickly Nyar concluded towards the fact. When did he learn that much about dark magic specifically? Most people outside of Sprawn Valley who do know about magic are afraid of magic in general, but most of the same people know of no such differences in energy patterns like those that Nyar just portrayed. From the surprise, Danny took a longer time to answer. "Well... Of course dark magic is bad news here. But¡ª"
"Then I rest my case. Even if you have no interest in such a dark art, other criminals here do. All they have to do is attack you at any time with that type of magic, and it''s a done deal - you''re dead just like that. Not to mention that being immortal here just isn''t natural for the human body, nor is that immortality a sure thing. If you can die with or without magic in a zone with so-called immortal magic, then that world is fake, the method of energy but a medium for such lies! I bet the both of you aren''t even in top physical shape because of how much you relied on firing beams of light from your hands, as opposed to normal styles of combat such as martial arts."
Danny couldn''t say much else. Nyar did have a point. He wanted to argue that Leray magic was safe, but with the presence of dark magic in place, it actually isn''t that safe here. Even ordinary Leray magic can kill someone if it drains all of their MP reserves at the same time their health is at a critical level. Their ability to be shielded by the Leray veil relies on a tiny percentage of MP energy being above 0.5% with health above 5%. Take that away on an energy scope and then knock a person out, it can have devastating effects to them, such as induced coma or death. Danny however could argue due to his evasive maneuvers that he was in good shape, Taylor and Jane too. "But still, there are those who use magic to fight such criminals. They fight for the right thing and stand up against what is wrong."
Nyar rebuttaled, "Successfully? Every single time?"
Danny let his lips open, but failed to argue. It wasn''t every single instance that death was avoided under those circumstances successfully. People have died before of natural circumstances such as drowning or by disease. And as far as other dark magic related incidents are concerned with, the Scarlet Cult has tried multiple times to kill himself and other teammates. While he survived, a person such as the teammates of Darius, Iya''s previous boyfriends were never saved. There wasn''t anyone around to save those people. The law can fail if evil destroys people in the darkness of what can be seen. It wasn''t the point Danny was making, but feeling for and finding no way to actually stamper his uncle''s argument, Danny bit his lip down and said nothing more for a long moment.
Nyar sighed aloud, reassuring the young boy. "Don''t worry about it. You in particular should have no problem with your family back home, but the situation has changed a bit. I was relying on Taylor''s family to mix their money with my own to get you a cruise back to Kalamo Danny, but now all I can do is get us a flight back to my place in New York. From there, you will have to stay with me for a while until I can get you enough funds for that cruise."
"But what about Taylor?" Danny concerned. "Look, I go wherever she goes."
"Not in this case," Nyar argued. "This time, I suggest she goes where you go, because you coming with me is non-negotiable. I however don''t have a problem if the girl tags along." How could he deny Danny the capacity to spend any more time with Taylor? The both of these two are intelligent individuals, but looking at him now, so much as changed. He would stand up to god himself if something were bothering him; that''s the stature he has right now. To see him go to such great lengths to stay with his longtime friend, such can only bare the mark of the beginning of adult responsibility. He''ll have to adapt at home too, and leaving this place must be done for Danny''s own sake. "After all, there may be a way to arrange Taylor to live with your family instead of her own once you are both back in Kalamo."
"I''ll come with you." Taylor''s voice was faint from her earlier breakdown, but it drew Danny''s attention immediately. She knew Danny wasn''t getting the same option to say no. Even if he was, Danny didn''t really hate his family like Taylor hated her own.
Before Danny could say anything though, Jane butted in too with Alyssa staying a bit distant as shy as she was about all of this. "What was all of that stuff about Banshee kingdoms and slavery? I didn''t know you were avoiding your home that badly." She was of course addressing Taylor, but Jane knew that Danny and Taylor both committed to a joint effort to keep that truth from her. It made less sense to Jane, since she would have protected both of them from that bad tragedy with all her effort.
"I''m sorry Jane." Danny was the one apologizing, knowing full well where Jane was going with this. "We told you a lot about us, but Taylor wanted this to stay a private matter."
Sighing in distress, Jane quickly shook her head to the apology. "It''s okay. I had no idea, but... I guess you''re allowed to have personal secrets too."
"You were focused on Alpha Zero, and so were we. There wasn''t a need to drag anybody''s emotions down with this crap."
Danny also had a good point for rationalizing keeping that truth from her. Jane knew she would have more trouble focusing on fighting with all of that in mind. She still couldn''t get Geiger out of her thoughts. Danton said he would handle it, but it was all still so unnerving. But then why are they still leaving with Nyar instead? Why do either of them have to leave if they don''t want to?
"In any case Jane," Danny continued, "It looks like Taylor and I will be staying at Nyar''s home for a while in New York. I know it''s not a permanent settlement for us, but I still can''t believe we have to part ways."
"Wha¡ª" No! It can''t be! Why would he say something like that? Can''t Nyar help her out too? "No way! I wanted to come too."
"Not a chance!" Nyar defended. "You may be good friends of these two, but I can''t afford to feed three people while raising cash for Danny to return back home in Kalamo."
"But I wanted to see the world outside of this place! I want to explore New York with my friends. And money won''t be a problem. I made a load of credits here!" Jane reached for and held up her Leray license card, sure that the currency would at least be transferrable there.
Nyar held his chin in response to Jane''s announcement of her funds, but it was also a bit strange as to why she would want to ever leave Sprawn Valley. Nyar of course had no clue who this chick was, but the connection between her, Danny, and Taylor was beyond visible.
"But Jane?" After momentarily lifting her head up and having nobody around embracing her anymore, Taylor had to deal with this problem. Nyar never said anything about being so certain that he would ship Danny and herself back to Kalamo when he does get enough money. Whether he did or not, it wouldn''t be right to keep Jane from doing what she wanted. Is this the reason she turned down Danton''s offer earlier? "What about your dream of becoming a Leray master? If you come with us, you won''t be able to use magic, let alone train to get better at it."
With Nyar silenced by sudden curiosity, Jane pleaded to the man for her new wish. "But I want to spend more time with you two, and see the place you call New York. I''ve never been to the outside world before. If you really are leaving here forever, it will be the last chance I have to¡ª" Jane didn''t know how to finish the sentence, but believed she made herself clear enough.
Danny gave a sad pure glance at Nyar, who would have to be the deciding parent on this action. Jane wasn''t officially family, but she felt like it to him. With everything they''ve done together, it was impossible to imagine leaving Jane behind as well. Never did he believe this moment would feel so terrible. Danny swallowed with the urge to break down himself, and elaborated the situation to Nyar. "Jane is our best friend we made in Sprawn Valley. If it weren''t for her, Taylor and I would have been sunk long before making it to Junon. But it''s not about what we owe each other. I can''t just part with her here."
It isn''t all that surprising that a person who lives off terrible magic here would want to get out for a while, but perhaps this Jane person can learn a thing or two about responsibility herself... Nyar didn''t answer Danny, but instead directed Jane about something. "Jane, was it? Your so-called credits have no current value in the American economy until they have been converted directly into cash. There isn''t really a way of doing that which is safe or easy. But if you, and Taylor, and my nephew here are all willing to take on part time jobs in the city while I help you convert your currency over to American money, then I can let you come with. You will then be able to board the same cruise, since the Tidal Max is now accepting trips to Vanon Port following the incident of your two clumsy friends. But if I run out of momentum of raising money, I''ll have to cut you off my plan to feed and house you, even if that means leaving you in New York. Are you accepting of these conditions?"
Danny squinted his eyes in anger. It''s a bit rash to just kick Jane out of the house and leave her on her own in a totally alien country. Knowing Jane, there was no telling if she could put up with a part time job. But even if she does say yes and fails to convert her credits, if you kick her out, I''ll make sure to show you my ass as well. Since Taylor will follow me with that, you''ll be all alone. If that means leaving my own parents for a longer time, so be it Nyar. Danny knew he couldn''t say it out loud, or else that backup plan would be compromised, but Jane wouldn''t know of it either. This way she''ll at least try her best, which is what she needs to do anyway.
"I am," Jane agreed with a smile. "I''ll be able to provide a lot of help with all the credits I made. This will be so awesome!"
Taylor still had her head down, but lifted her eyes to see Jane in her own excitement. She couldn''t help but feel the same sensation she did a month ago. All of the moments they spent with Jane before her accident, those were some of her best memories. Without getting any magic or Banshee stuff involved, it really will be like old times. She couldn''t ever oppose to having Jane with them. At the thought of all the things they could do together as a trio, Taylor let herself smile too, as she felt so much better and free.
"Go ahead then and use the phone here to let your parents know," Nyar directed. "Knowing how this place works, they''ll likely have no problem with letting a teenager travel worldwide barely supervised by a total stranger."
Danny wondered why Nyar worded it that way. Jane simply ignored that type of expression and promised to be right back as she dashed for the medical center that had phone lines. It was clear to him already that even Nyar was no fan of Leray magic. He probably doesn''t see him or Taylor the same way anymore after demonstrating that he got into that stuff. But it was more than just magic. It was the attitude of the people in Sprawn Valley Nyar hated too. Why do people hate Sprawn Valley so much? And why do you despise it, Nyar?
Nyar addressed Danny as well. "You should use the phone lines here too. I heard they''re free of charge for the most part. Your parents should be awake at this hour because of the time difference. Please let them know that I have found you and will take you into temporary custody until I can return you."
"Alright. I''ll be back soon." Danny followed Nyar''s orders for now. The man wasn''t irrational most of the time, only when it came to the thought of Leray magic did he lose his mind. Right now, he wasn''t as upset as Danny thought Nyar would be, but perhaps that was just a temporary gesture to lure him in before letting him have it. Danny still didn''t believe Nyar would do anything that bad over a little magic. As he rushed toward the medical center with Jane barely in his sights, Danny prepared to call his family and let them know of the news. After that, it will be a one-way trip to New York City.
Nyar was left alone with Taylor, but it felt awkward since he didn''t know what to ask her. In many ways, Nyar didn''t know Taylor all that well either. He knew of her though, from everything Danny and his parents told him about it. Their trip to his place from the first cruise was supposed to be his first chance to be properly introduced. He didn''t have any certainty that Taylor and Danny were actually together now as a couple. It was thought to many that they were simply childhood friends, emphasis away from childhood, since they met when they were a little over ten years old. Right now, Taylor looks like she had just cried her entire soul out, with her brown hair dangling over her face.
But it''s not really a shocker after what just happened. Taylor had to deny custody of her own mother and father, and took it a step further to attack them with deadly magic. If that''s not rebellious, then nothing is. Still, Nyar only learned today about the whole Banshee slave agreement. Taylor''s parents never technically said they believed in the rumors that Banshee import persons were made into slaves, but something in their reactions to his questions for them earlier said they couldn''t confirm nor deny the claim either. Yet they would willingly take that risk with their one and only daughter, just for a bribe from an illegitimate king! That''s just low, no matter how you look at it. But there isn''t anything he could do about it either. According to what Claudia just said, Taylor was only a temporary resident due to her physical location. If Taylor returns to Kalamo with Danny''s family, that changes back again. Taylor will eventually become a Kalamo citizen and forced into the Banshee Empire once the time comes. For that, Nyar had no answers to give, no questions to ask of this girl.