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<01/18/1972 – 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—" 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.
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image [https://i.postimg.cc/nc6mH9JJ/S2-Kenshi-N-000.png]image [https://i.postimg.cc/2S20cxWw/S2-Jane-Armor-001.png]
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.
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Chapter Theme Shift: The True Nature of All ~ Star Ocean 3
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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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/nhBDMVFQ/S2-Kenshi-N-001.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/PqJ2B8zk/S2-Jane-Armor-002.png]
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!
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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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/Jh8BXw0Y/S2-Kenshi-N-002.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/xdZtYTtN/S2-Jane-Armor-003.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/vmvxLP6Y/S2-Kenshi-N-003.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/3RJ4Lggg/S2-Kenshi-N-004.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/B61Nv9VY/S2-Jane-Armor-004.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/sxMBzsHx/S2-Kenshi-N-005.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/MH25M3kW/S2-Jane-Armor-005.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/HxZJFV2F/S2-Kenshi-N-006.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/BbRjQkRg/S2-Kenshi-N-007.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/L5tTzkRj/S2-Jane-Armor-006.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/ZKy9DYyD/S2-Kenshi-N-008.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/sf7wdzS1/S2-Jane-Armor-007.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/hPnMKYbs/S2-Jane-Armor-008.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/054MfKrw/S2-Kenshi-N-009.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/GmwB00F3/S2-Kenshi-N-010.png]
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Chapter Theme Music: Mine 24 [A+B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
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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.