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<01/18/1972 – 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.
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image [https://i.postimg.cc/2yDd8qvy/S2-Jane-Armor-015.png]image [https://i.postimg.cc/HnczVGvv/S2-Ian-N-000.png]
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Chapter Theme Shift: Rock Crushing Site [B] ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
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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?!"
image [https://i.postimg.cc/wMQXt6cV/S2-Jane-Armor-016.png]
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.
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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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/59XWw6ZT/S2-Ian-N-001.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/ry1CZJXr/S2-Jane-Armor-017.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/PrdbgwTF/S2-Jane-Armor-018.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/G36wzbR2/S2-Ian-N-002.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/9F1PCQfX/S2-Jane-Armor-019.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/4NtCSj41/S2-Ian-N-003.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/Vk8yQ4dP/S2-Ian-N-004.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/P5zgtZwp/S2-Ian-N-005.png]
"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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/XYJfJ6Zf/S2-Jane-Armor-020.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/pdWgyTf0/S2-Ian-N-006.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/tgB86jD9/S2-Ian-N-007.png]
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.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/sX1q9N07/S2-Ian-N-008.png]
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.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Chandelier Night ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
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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.
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To be continued...
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