Chapter 3: The First Challenge_Dawn of a Sage (Part 1.1) ~ Of Magic and Reality

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<01/16/1972 – 12:00 | Blue Port Town, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>

By agreeing to battle and having the reward system already set, the Siriean dome automatically formed from in between Jane and Jack, spanning outward into a beautiful half-cut sphere. The dome went way behind Jack, and far behind Jane. A Siriean dome is most visible during its formation, after which it becomes highly transparent and difficult to notice. The shield simply sets a physical barrier between the battle area set and the outside world. Any magical attack or physical attack that dares to enter or leave the area will instead be absorbed by that dome shield. It also prevents anyone from naturally entering or leaving the area outside of the dome. The dome only disappears after the battle is over for any reason.

Jane spread her legs out a little more, making it easier to prepare for anything. After the magical dome was set into place, holographic text appeared right in front of Jane, and the same exact text appeared before Jack too. The text read,

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Magical rule-sets allow non-physical text to appear in front of people depending on what is happening. In this case, the holographic text belongs to the official reward/spoil system. This is supposed to show each challenger what the reward is, and then officially initiate the battle sequence between each person.

At this point, Jane and Jack are now allowed to begin fighting, throwing any powerful magical spell at each other at any time, but there was still one more piece of important business to take care of, something everybody initiates right before battling, whether that is official or not. Jack went first, initializing his energy scope. Energy scopes are unique holographic status boxes that form above a person's head at the user's will, reporting back to them and everybody else what their energy capacity levels stand at. In a battle, one using an energy scope has the ability to keep a sharp eye on their own HP and MP status as it declines due to taking damage or using magical powers. Everybody has this ability by tradition, as enabling one's energy scope doesn't even take up enough MP energy to lower it by a single fraction in the report itself.

Jack enabled his energy scope, forcing an orange colored translucent holographic box of information to appear above his head. From the angle, he was able to read his own stats without needing to look up above him, and while the actual size of the entire box was not large, the intensity and distance still allowed Jane to keep track of Jack's information as well just by reading the information.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/FRqqPV2q/S2-Jack-N-000.png]

The box only displays a person's identity, HP capacity, and MP capacity. If anything else is being displayed in the status box, it only indicates additional effects from some sort of magical force, or a physical ailment that would otherwise prevent safe battling between two people. Jack's energy scope was just like any other. After he enabled his, it was time for him to battle.

Jane went right after Jack in enabling her own energy scope. It was simple and painless, literally the easiest form of magic to use right off the bat. Jane's scope appeared in the same way above her head at an angle, allowing her to keep track of her information as well. Once both of them had their energy scopes engaged, it was really time to begin.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/02dvNLgy/S2-Jane-N-000.png]

With each side now physically ready to fight, Jane was not very sure about which one was going first. If she tries an attack, and Jack intercepts with a speedier form of battle skills, Jane will automatically be off to a bad start. But if she just stands here and waits, she won't begin with any momentum at all. Leray fights are often conducted at long range. It's not just as simple as punching, kicking, or attacking the opponent with a weapon. It's got a lot more to do with the magical spells that can be invoked with Leray magic, and how they are used in combination with other attacks. Each attack causes damage if it lands the target, but that damage varies based on the power level of the spells used, damage type, and the power level of the actual user's capacity of their training with such skills.

Jane knew a variety of magical and physical attacks, and that was good, but in this case, it was best not to underestimate the opponent. Jane decided to go first, speed walking to close in on Jack, her target. Jane wasn't intending to get all that much closer, just close enough to make it tough on dodging long range spells. Jack simply waited; it was all he could do for now. Jane wasn't going to make it simple for her opponent to be able to predict her very next move. So to start, Jane threw both of her daggers, one after the other. At the same time, Jane chanted the name of her specific skill, "Knife Toss!" Jane's two bladed daggers spun through the air with great speed and grace, keeping ascent and altitude the entire time. With little time to react, the blades cut right through Jack's body.

Contrary to what outsiders would expect, as both blades slide through Jack's chest, the knives became phased out of physicality, holding this property until emerging on the other side. At the same time, the fresh wounds that opened up revealed glowing yellow fields of sparkling light, instead of drawing actual blood. Nothing actually pierced into his skin, but the force of the blades in the air was still enough to prevent Jack from blocking the attack, which caused some damage to his overall HP level by taking that double hit. As a result, Jane's physical attack from a distance was quite successful, as it did physical type damage to Jack while lowering his HP stats. Slight yellow glowing marks appeared on Jack's chest where the daggers tried to slice him, though the glow disappeared shortly after, a safe indication of where Jane's attack managed to hit.

Leray magic works in mysterious ways. While Jack is physically healthy even after an attack like that, the physical pain that would normally be associated with being slashed by two spinning daggers actually lingers in a Leray battle. Even due to Leray magical based attack spells, anyone who takes damage from any source still gets to feel and experience the physical pain as if it happened to them outside the boundaries of Leray magic, with the intensity of that pain cut in half. What Jack felt just now, other than the slight loss of life energy from a drop in his HP, is also accompanied by the physical sensation that would appear if the body had two daggers slice right through it, at half the intensity. Therefore, taking damage in a battle can still be quite painful, even though there is no real danger of death involved. Jack was also forced back slightly by the kinetic force of the blades and the pain they caused. Jane made sure Jack's HP level went down enough to count.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/sXjFh6qw/S2-Jack-N-001.png]

For a Knife Toss attack, Jane really didn't do all that much damage at all. Down five percent isn't very effective in consideration, but at the same time, Knife Toss is only a physical attack skill which enables the user to throw small blades at their opponent from a distance, causing physical slashing damage at a low power level. As there are many different damage types, physical damage has the absence of Leray magical involvement. This means that the attack in use won't be as strong naturally, while at the same time, using Leray magic depletes one's MP stats. Because of Jane's decision, she hasn't even used a bit of her MP energy just yet.

Of course, now it will be Jack's turn to retaliate against Jane with a skill of his own. There isn't a specified rule to say people are supposed to take turns attacking, but it is an invisible tactic people normally follow at the beginning of battles. If she tries to attack over and over again, it can lower her guard to a more devastating counter-skill, or something else surprising. Because Jane didn't want to ruin her attack window, she was now on the defensive.

Jack easily recovered from Jane's attack. Though the sensation of two sharp blades cutting into his chest were not helping, the power level was so low against an already high endurance level. Now that his attack window was wide open, Jack began charging some of his MP energy into a magical spell of his own. As soon as he began, Jack's hands began glowing with a bright blue color, as if surrounded by a magical aura. This was normal for anybody about to unleash a powerful burst of Leray magical energy. As he was charging his spell, Jack had to also imagine himself using it in his mind as a popular technique of focus. While he wasn't paying much attention to his energy scope box above him, his MP energy was gradually depleting as he was charging that energy into a particular attack, soon to jump down instantly upon invocation.

After only consuming 5% of his MP energy, Jack chanted the name of his special power, just before unleashing it onto the field. "Shadow Wave!" Jack threw out his arms as if to throw a heavy object in Jane's direction. Just as he let go, his hands stopped glowing, and taking place in front of him was the new formation of a magical aura that had been transformed into an actual attack skill. Shadow Wave: A magical ability that acts as if a shockwave is sent through the ground at a high speed traveling towards the target. While the Shadow Wave picks up speed, its visibility increases as the height of its translucent and dark aura rises higher in time. It's the equivalent to watching a glowing, sparking shadow move all on its own, and then transform into some kind of thick intense shockwave aura while continuing to slide.

Chanting the name of attack spells and special skills is not a requirement either. There are thousands of different kinds of official magical powers that can be used in the formation of Leray magic. However, learning how to use them is another story. Chanting the name of the spell out loud helps focus the mind in the heat of battle. With so many skills to remember, associating names with each different magical spell gives the mind an easy task to list processes and spell casting by name, rather than solid memory. Those who are very calm in a battle as well as highly skilled do not have to chant the name of their spells. With such speed, power, and strategic involvement put into every single magical skill out of thousands, dodging or blocking attacks is just easier said than done. Early forewarning isn't everything in a Leray match.

Jack didn't need to keep using magic after releasing his Shadow Wave against Jane, since the spell is no longer controlled after initial invocation. Jane now had to worry about dodging the Shadow Wave, if only it had not moved so quickly. With little time to react to the approaching earth bound shadow attack, Jane cuffed her arms in front of her as a feeble attempt to block out some of that damage, but it was no use. All magical attacks are different because of the differing factors involved with damage types. There exists several different elements of damage other than physical damage, which only adds to confusion in a battle. It's not enough to try and dodge everything thrown at you. It takes time to think about what spell or skill is being used against you, then deciding what the correct course of action afterwards, and that only works if your mind can race at a million paces per second when it comes to speedy spells. Shadow Wave sure is not the fastest skill, but it packs a magic style known as non-elemental magical damage.

Magical damage is often elemental, in that it is weak against one element while strong against another, and neutral against the rest. Damage done would then depend on the defensive nature of the target. However, non-elemental magical damage has no weaknesses nor flaws, and on top of that, all attacks dealing non-elemental magical damage are just naturally more powerful than others. Shadow Wave is even more special than how it sounds. Because of the form retained as it moves through the ground, sharp invisible magical edges form and clash at the edges of the shadow, which adds on additional damage known as slashing damage. So not only will the attack be powerful in magical damage levels, it will carry on top of that a combination of physical slashing damage, similar to Jane's Knife Toss she used earlier.

She sure was feeling it now. Even with her arms high up to try and block the attack, Jack's Shadow Wave was still just too powerful. Not to mention that blocking out damage doesn't work against physical damage that registers as slashing or piercing. While it does work well against blunt attacks, Shadow Wave is anything except. Jane's vision in front of her was blinded by the darkness of the powerful magical attack. At first, it just felt like a powerful force pushing her backwards even with her shoes planted in the earth. Just a microsecond later, the Shadow Wave continued crashing into Jane while adding the effects of the damage. The magical damage hurt in an indescribable way, like something was heating her up and bruising her at the same time. The extra slashing damage however stood out more than anything else. Jane could feel it, the sensation of dozens of cuts all over her body, one after the next after the next. In perspective, this was all happening in the time of one long second, but to Jane, thanks to her training and great reflexes, it felt like five seconds passed before the Shadow Wave attack finally disappeared in a beautiful annihilation of some visible energy cloud. Though Jane sure wasn't thanking her reflexes now, not after feeling that much damage in just one attack.

Jane almost collapsed, her legs unwilling to support her while she got over the severity of her numerous pains. Shadow Wave doesn't hit in one spot. It's like a long combination attack that unleashes hell as soon as it touches anything, and after that wave slams into the body, it still remains attached until it goes away on its own. The only way to dodge this is to jump out of its way, left or right. Jane was still able to continue battling, but it hurt pretty badly for all of the cuts and hits she had to endure in the past during training. So as an initiative, Jane checked the status on her energy scope to see how much damage Jack had done compared to Jane's first attack.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/52sMBL2c/S2-Jane-N-001.png]

Jane knew it beforehand. She considerably took more damage that time than Jack did against her Knife Toss. Jane was intentionally holding back before, but she did so as a chance to evaluate the true power of this guy. Obviously he is a force to be reckoned with. Shadow Wave is more powerful magical attack than the damage Jane intended to cause with her two daggers. Still, even for her, Shadow Wave shouldn't have knocked down that much of her HP.

Oh well! Jane fared. Can't let your guard down in a battle, even for a second. Jane knew that best, and while her friends were out somewhere else browsing the store for their shopping list, Jane was having the time of her life already! Not only was this her first real battle, but the opponent really is formidable after all. Let's see how he deals with magic... Jane knew it was her turn, and naturally decided to make full use of it. Without trying to back away or get any closer to Jack, she just stood there, charging her MP energy into a magical attack of her own. Jane knew of plenty, but this one in particular was going to require the use of a glyphring.

When using magical powers inside or outside of a battle, all magical spells are classified as four different types of signature forms. In other words, the magic in transferred from the Leray energy dimension into this world in four different ways. The first is ordinary transference of energy. Just as Jack used Shadow Wave earlier, the only noticeable thing that happened before that was his glowing blue hands. That is standard signature for a magical spell about to be used in battle. Most of the time, you charge magical energy into a specific part of your body. That causes it to glow in the appearance of energy being stored there, and then you just release that energy in the magical spell you want to, but not every spell can be used this way. Some spells require glyphrings to work, while others rely on the use of attack auras.

A glyphring is a node of direct connection between the Leray energy dimension and the physical world. Users of specific magical skills must create and form a glyphring, powered by Leray magic. All glyphrings are mostly similar in appearance regarding shape and properties. Shaped like a large perfectly formed disk, a glyphring is holographic in the formation of light. Mostly transparent, the disk that forms slowly spins on an axis, as if it were a floating wheel with someone turning that wheel slowly at a constant rate of speed. But glyphrings are all different too, ranging in different colors, sizes, and symbolic crests. Crests are somehow engraved on the glyphring when spawned, which specify the exact magical attack type and element of damage will be used. The size of the glyphring determines the attack form, and the color often determines the elemental nature of the magic coming from that glyphring.

Attack auras are different too. By increasing the connection with the energy from the Leray dimension and the physical world, a person can thus invoke magical powers that charge using that connection, as well as the user's entire body. While MP would be consumed normally, attack auras enable special magical abilities to take on different attack forms that would normally be difficult to dodge or avoid. At the same time, creating a magical aura can enable other kinds of spells as well that are not designed to do any damage, but rather render the opponent unable to battle with some sort of legal ailment. Learning attack auras and personal auras however is for the advanced, higher level wielders. While Jane considered herself to be high level, she did not know of any aura attacks or support spells just yet. Summons, the fourth type of magical usage was for elite level wielders, again something Jane knew nothing of.

All of the knowledge flowing through her mind wasn't making much of a difference right now, not for this spell. Jane only needed to use just 2% of her MP to charge. Jane held out her arm, after which an orange glyphring faded in. Jane's wrist became the center of the glyphring as it slowly spun in the air, floating in place. Jane's hand was also glowing orange, but that was from the support the glyphring was giving her right now. Jane still had to chant the names of her abilities to get them right most of the time, and this time was no exception. "Radial Stars!" Just as soon as Jane yelled the name of her spell, a sudden barrage of orange glowing star shaped projectiles were sent flying out from the glyphring and Jane's right hand. The actual time it took for Jane to begin this attack was just barely a single second, though the actual spell deliverance of Radial Stars itself happens for a bit longer in duration. Jane's glyphring continued to shoot out magical stars, each about half the size of her palms. One after another, Radial Stars continued firing through the glyphring, creating a barrage of shooting stars all heading towards Jack.

Radial Stars is also a non-elemental magical attack, but because it attacks in the form of glowing stars, its reaction requires the support of that glyphring to be used. However, Radial Stars is popularly known all over Sprawn Valley for being the least powerful magical attack spell anybody could ever invoke. While the damage level is normally minimal, the attack itself is common, because it is usually the very first magical spell everybody learns to use. Radial Stars is therefore the perfect stepping stone to begin from when first learning how to use Leray magic. With such a weak attack, it is rather easy to invoke compared to all the other spells.

Jane knew what she was doing. She had practiced a lot with her magical abilities, and was confident this time that it would do a good amount of damage and pain. Even though Radial Stars is normally a weak attack, the power level of magical attacks can slightly be increased over time with the user if they practice using that ability over and over in succession. That means that with any magical ability that exists, using it multiple times over a long period gradually increases the attack power dealt to opponents in a battle as well. If one were to train using Radial Stars for five years perhaps, it could become that person's most powerful barrage spell.

Jack was powerless to block or dodge the wide barrage of stars shooting in his direction. They almost carried too much speed for him to even see. They really did look like blurred shooting orange glows in his perspective. All he could do now was stand there and take the attack. Star after star, the small yet sharp magical projectiles began piercing through his outfit and into his skin. Again without drawing any blood, it felt like his body was being pierced with needles while taking some kind of drain affect with him, but not all of those 36 stars were on a course to hit Jack either.

Each and every star from Radial Stars deals a tiny bit of damage, making the number of hits out of the whole barrage set significant. Radial Stars only fires between 36 and 48 projectiles for each use in battle, and though it is a barrage attack, those stars go almost everywhere with little accuracy. Because they do not travel in a narrow straight line in comparison to the one after or before it, the whole barrage is like a wide directional field spanning out. Only about twenty or thirty of those stars would end up hitting the target on average, and because they are sharp pointed edged stars, the damage was minimal because it specialized in piercing damage. Though the attack factor is non-elemental magic, it is also piercing damage at the same time.

People are allowed to wear certain protective suits into battle to help them defend against big attacks. That's where piercing damage comes in. Any attack dealing this kind of damage negates the effects of heavy armor, at often the sacrifice in exactly how much damage is done to their HP. Almost all piercing attacks have a minimal effect on an enemy's HP levels, armored or not, but they are rather effective in maximizing the level of pain one is capable of sensing in a battle. Out of all the kinds of pain and intensity levels one may experience in a Leray match, slashing and piercing can be the worst.

But as far as Jack was concerned, this wasn't all that bad. It was just a puny Radial Stars spell after all. Piercing barrage attacks are usually the same anyway. With damage types or power levels differing, Jane could have used Needle Barrage, or Ice Needles against Jack. Anything would have been more formidable than that lame excuse for a spell. The barrage of Radial Stars ended quickly, and Jack felt unfazed by that damage. At the same time, Jane's orange glyphring faded, just before she lowered her arm used to aim at him in the first place. Now it was his turn again.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/662F8FZN/S2-Jack-N-002.png]

Jack was finally getting into it now. It has been a while before he battled against anybody here in Blue Port Town. There were already people gathering to watch the show from outside of the Siriean dome. Jane sure wasn't acting like a great fighter yet, but maybe some more damage will slap some sense into her. Jack reached into his pocket, since most items are allowed into battle anyway. He then pulled out a small dagger of his own, holding it out to aim at Jane. "Razor's Cross!" Jack threw the blade in a spinning motion after yelling aloud. The dagger that was sent flying through the air suddenly turned out to be three lone daggers closely together. The mirage Jack created in the beginning made Jane assume it would just be a single bladed attack, but now there were three spinning blades heading towards her, all with great speed and accuracy.

This time, Jane tried to dodge the attack, but she skipped out halfway when she couldn't figure out which direction to go. It would have been better to dive into the ground and duck under all of those daggers. They were a bit spread out, so jumping left or right was not going to work, but because of the angle and wind speed applied to the daggers, they were all closing in on Jane, as if to strike just one point at the same time. Jane failed to dodge anything, so she was struck with three small daggers for some major slashing damage.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/zf3Y0vyy/S2-Jane-N-002.png]

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Jane should have known! Razor's Cross is just a ranged physical attack, incredibly similar to Knife Toss. Razor's Cross throws three daggers instead of two, which makes the damage overall even higher. Jack didn't even have to use magical abilities in this battle, since he was beginning to get far ahead of Jane as it was. Jane could just barely ignore the pain, but she managed to shake off that last attack. It was time for her to stop holding back.

Jane held her stance strong and tall as she prepared for the next move, but in the distance, Jack's hand was already glowing. He was going for another attack spell! Jane did her best to remain alert. If she could just get her attack out first, it will be worth it anyway to take another hit. Jane quickly created a glyphring around her arm as she took aim at Jack. The glyphring was a bit larger than last time, deep-red colored too. Jane was going in for one of her powerful fire based spells. There was no time to watch what Jack was up to right now. With much needed speed, Jane unleashed her MP energy stored into her glyphring and spell, after chanting the magical ability first for ensured success. "Fire Bolt!" On cue, a large ball of fire formed from the center of the glyphring, and launched through Jane's hand as if it were a cannon for the spell. The large fire ball immediately became a flying projectile, now on a collision course with Jack.

But Jack had other plans. Shortly after launching a Fire Bolt attack of his own, he had not realized that Jane accidentally used the same exact spell he did. It was purely coincidental, but now there were two Fire Bolts in the air, both heading for each other. It wasn't unusual for one attack to stop another attack, even if that turned out to be the intention, but this was Jane's very first real battle in the field, so it sure surprised her. Before she realized what just happened, the two Fire Bolts had mistakenly collided with each other in between Jane and her opponent. The Fire Bolts annihilated with each other, creating an explosive effect of fiery mist where it happened. Jane's spell as well as Jack's were thus rendered useless.

Jack could read Jane's surprise from here, realizing that she was more shocked about that than he was. Though ne never expected Jane to go with Fire Bolt like that, Jack was better focused on an opportunity to strike as he took it. Now with a raging charge towards Jane, he was going to get in another attack, less likely to be interrupted. "Combat Kick!" Jack was literally sprinting as fast as he possibly could towards Jane, as if to tackle her onto the ground.

Jane sure didn't expect this either. Since when was her opponent a close combat fighter too? Her surprise was going to be the end of her in this battle, because in just short a time, Jack jumped into the air while throwing his leg out to kick Jane in the face with much force. Finally, as if only dictated by instinct, Jane spun to her left while twisting her body in motion to perform an elegant dodge, and it worked out this time. Jack barely managed to land on two feet, but his flying kick actually missed Jane completely. Unfortunately for her, she forgot to remember the effects of all the specific skills that can be used. Remaining less than two feet away, Jack returned his leg over to where Jane was standing now, finally landing in a kick. After that, he gave her another kick, one at her leg, one on her side, and another on her stomach. He wasn't letting up with his large combination attack of constant kicking, performed in a style similar to Kung Fu. Combat Kick is also just another normal physical attack skill, but is also a combination type that is devastating at close range.

Jane was suddenly being hammered with the solid force of Jack's leather boots. The pain of getting kicked over and over like that in such a way where Jane could not get a hold of anything was just terrible, and for his final kick, Jane took it right to the face. With a force powerful enough to knock Jane over completely to her stomach, she was going to need much more time to recover from that last hit.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/wvm8YrcH/S2-Jane-N-003.png]

Jack examined Jane's energy scope as it was now. So far, he was winning by a land slide, and right now, Jane was sunk to the floor, cringing in the pain his last combo strike did to her. Finally feeling sorry for Jane, Jack let up. Even though his combination attack sequence had naturally ended with his last kick, he had a perfect chance right now to get in several more sequences, but that wouldn't really be cool to do that to Jane right now. Fighting while the target is already down is something one is always supposed to hold themself back from in a Leray battle. That could work wonders too with earning respect from any passive observer. Jack decided instead to back up quickly, putting more distance between himself and Jane. As soon as he finally went back to where he was standing before, Jane was trying to get back up. It had to be painful taking a kick like that to the face, but what is a battle if one doesn't give it their all?

Jane was going to feel this one all the way until next morning. Her face was throbbing along with her side and her chest. She was kicked around everywhere, unable to do anything about it. It sucked the most, since the idea was Jane's initial strategy to begin with. Jane was no push over in a close combat fight, but it's not as if she was able to prove it right now. At least with the time it was taking for Jack to not attack her as Jane was getting her balance right, trying hard to stand back up, it became clear to her that he was simply waiting for her next move. It is normally proper to take turns in a match, even though it isn't a real rule.

Jane finally steadied herself and began charging MP energy. If her opponent wants to hold back and wait, then he'll have to get a taste of one of her more elevated power level spells instead. It didn't take much time for Jane to finish charging her spell, but she was becoming reluctant to believe she was going to win her first battle. She did intentionally pick out the toughest looking customer anyway. Maybe looks are not deceiving today. Without needing the use of a glyphring, Jane's hands were glowing orange again, just before unleashing her energy and chanting her attack loudly again. "Rumble Cannon!"

Jane's spell abruptly caused the entire ground below both of them to quake vigorously. For about two long seconds, nothing was really happening, other than the fact that Jack was having trouble keeping his balance. Jane was having some trouble too, but she was prepared for this. Finally, at the end of the attack sequence, a large bounder the size of Jane's body shot out from under the earth, about a meter from where Jack was standing. The large rock of gravel and dirt ended up slamming into Jack with a ton of force, knocking him backwards while the rock just rolled on by getting away with such brute force. Rumble Cannon is a tricky attack that causes the ground to shoot out a large boulder at the enemy, but in such a way where it is hard to predict when it will happen. The boulder is hard to dodge, but the total spell carries a naturally higher power level since the damage type involves earth elemental magic that specializes in blunt type damage as well.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/wxCZLF5R/S2-Jack-N-003.png]

Jane obviously chose her skill set well. Jack must have been feeling the same pain factor Jane was a moment ago from that kind of attack, and though Jane had less HP than her opponent currently did, this could be considered a real tide turner in this epic match. Jane was beginning to feel exhausted already, but at least now Jack was going to have to share her pain.

Jack managed to get back up after that last attack. It really did hurt, but the fight wasn't over yet. Since it was finally getting interesting, Jack decided to draw his primary weapon; a two foot sword made of steel. Weapons like this were legal to use in battle, but only one weapon per user in one match is allowed, or two of the same exact class, such as swords and daggers. Bladed weapons are not lethal here either; the blade goes through people as if phasing through objects like ghosts. Only HP damage is caused, not real time damage, but weapons in a battle can still be devastating when used correctly. Jack was planning on getting the upper hand in close combat again, using a bladed sword.

Jane stood her ground, preparing for anything. Jack was already charging at Jane, sword slashing high in the air. He wasn't chanting the name of any spell. Then again, Jack didn't really need to. Sword Slash might as well have been the name he was going for. Just as soon as he caught up with Jane, Jack took a quick and powerful swing sideways. Jane reacted quickly, jumping high into the air in one of her successful backflips she had been practicing earlier. This was no ordinary backflip; Jane managed to jump backwards at least 11 feet from her opponent just before landing on the ground again. With a successful dodge, Jane landed on her hands and knees crouched to advantage. She was already prepared now for a counterattack. Jack only took one single swing. That was all he wanted to go for, but it looked like Jane really could dodge an attack or two. He had never seen somebody jump over a slash attack like that before.

Jane already began with a medium range magical attack; Earth Glave. She had trouble using this spell in the past. Due to its difficult-to-invoke properties and high power level for her skill, Earth Glave took a while to master. It's actually a better version of her last used spell, Rumble Cannon. Jane only learned how to use Earth Glave just recently, but the fourth time is also good enough. Jane released the energy she had already charged for her attack while crouched onto the ground, but she had to stand up in order to invoke it so. "Earth Glave!" Almost as soon as she invoked her spell, the ground just in front of her shot up by a full inch. Just 0.25 seconds after, the ground further down rose up by a whole foot. The pattern exponentially continued all the way until the ground below Jack shifted. At the last moment, a giant rocky pillar shot from below the ground up, just in front of where Jack was standing. He was stationary the entire time, but the large pillar managed to gash the front of his body, adding enough force to throw him off the ground at the same time.

Jack fell on his back after taking a powerful earth type of attack. Earth Glave is a specialty favorite for many people, yet hard to learn in itself. After being hit from an earth pillar from his stomach to his face, Jack was now getting a taste of his own medicine where it regarded pain. He took his time getting back up too, since it put him in a near state of shock.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/m27qwMVX/S2-Jack-N-004.png]

Jane smiled at the next opportunity she now had to attack once again. She at least waited until her opponent was finally standing up on his two legs. With just a little energy needed to charge, Jane launched another magical attack. "Shadow Wave!" Because it is the same attack no matter who uses it, Jane made the same hand motions when sending her Shadow Wave off, and the spell itself had the same exact formation. The earth-bound shadow grew in height and power as it quickly traveled towards Jack.

Jack was already feeling a bit winded from that last hit, but with his sword still out and in his hand, there was one easy way to avoid taking this attack. Reacting quickly, Jack shoved his sword into the ground in front of him with tremendous force. At the same time, he crouched down to anchor it in deep. The Shadow Wave that was now imminent to slam into Jack suddenly hit the side of his sword instead. While Shadow Wave usually plows right through any solid objects, this seemed to be an exception. Jack knew he was danger close to a powerful attack in progress. Jane's Shadow Wave in particular was somehow just as powerful as his own, but it was not getting through his sword, so long as he fought back with the force it put on his blade. After the length of the attack was over, the Shadow Wave exploded into its usual dark cloud, only to fade away another second later.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/x1YZFC40/S2-Jack-N-005.png]

Jane checked the energy scope above Jack. His HP stats did not decline at all! It's unbelievable! He used his own sword to block out her Shadow Wave spell, and it worked better than she would have thought. Then, as soon as Jack realized that he blocked out her attack, his sword lifted out of the ground. Now it was his turn to attack. Jane knew she wasn't even going to get in a single hit this time. The anticipation was already making her anxious.

Jack finally recovered, and he was ready to use another spell on his opponent. He began using up a lot of his MP, since this next attack takes up a bit more than the usual elemental attack factor. Just before chanting the name of his spell, Jack threw his right arm up, taking a sharp aim at Jane. At the same time, a large dark jade colored glyphring formed around his wrist, carrying the symbol of a lightning bolt on it. That's right; it's time to see how Jane holds up against an electrical attack. Just before finally releasing his energy, he hollered the name of his spell, echoing in the silent wind. "Lightning Strike!"

Jack's attack was too fast and unforeseeable. Just like lightning, his Lightning Strike spell was evanescent to impact, while Jane stood helplessly in place while the lightning bolt continued to hurt her over time. Lightning Strike is a special kind of electrical based elemental magical attack. Because of the speed at which it comes out, it cannot be dodged, and at the same time, the attack spell deals damage over time by holding the opponent in place as they are gradually electrocuted and unable to break free from the jolt hold. The only downside to such power is the higher consumption of MP it would cost in order to use it, but for Jack, that sure wasn't a problem right now.

Jane hated electricity! Even in a Leray damage standard, there is nothing worse than taking an electrical attack. She wasn't able to dodge it no matter what, and the sensation of being electrocuted in place for a long stream of HP damage was just unique on its own. The body heats up real quickly, while you get millions of tingly sensations that also hurt in every corner and inch of your entire body, and all at the same time, you can't even move a muscle, because it's all cramped up during the Lightning Strike. In attack form, the Lightning Strike spell lasts for a total of 1.6 seconds on average. In perspective, that's a really long time to feel that sort of pain, and that isn't even the worst part.

As soon as Jane's body finally ceased constant vibrating, and the Lightning Strike attack was finally over, it left her with the same tingly sensation everywhere. It was like Jane's entire body was tingling, but she could still feel the hurt of everything. At the same time, being zapped for that long made her lightheaded quickly. This went double for Jane, as her HP level was now dangerously low from that last hit. It was a bit of a shock, seeing as a single Lightning Strike attack should not deal that much damage to anybody, no matter the endurance level. When HP stats get low, one feels exhausted, but not in the sense that they've just finished a vigorous exercise. Rather, it feels like the room is spinning them around, and they could just pass out at any moment's notice.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/9fS5S29J/S2-Jane-N-004.png]

Jane didn't feel as if she could go on, and her own energy scope was warning her of that right about now. This totally sucked! Jane's very first battle, and it is already practically over. It would take her at least four more attacks to bring Jacks HP all the way down, and just one more to make Jane completely pass out. If her HP were to fall down all the way to zero, she would unknowingly and uncontrollably be forced unconscious, thus allowing Jack to claim victory in the battle...

But the more Jane thought about it, he really did fight against her well. That did nothing at all to calm her nerves though. This was outrageous! Jane never thought she was going to lose her first battle, but if there is any formidable way to lose, it's giving up while she has the chance. "Dammit!" she yelled. "Stop the match! I declare forfeit!"

The response in the environment to Jane's words was immediate. The Siriean dome over both of them disappeared from the ground up. Jack finally stopped moving, waiting for the next action to happen. The same text that appeared at the start of battle in holographic form appeared again. Only it was reading different now, due to Jane's choice of forfeiting.

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Chapter Theme Shift: Menu Theme ~ Genesis Rising OST

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That was it. Jane just lost right here and now. It was a miracle that she wasn't willing to bet more than 200 credits, because she had just lost them. Even as it was happening, Jane was in much of her own shock. How could she just do that to herself, after all of that work? Now Jack was approaching her, likely to just rub it all in.

Jane really felt as if she were about to faint, and she pulled a familiar object out of her dress pocket. The small green top device was already reacting in Jane's hands from the infusion of magical energy. The sphere continued glowing brightly until it began to disappear into the light. Jane just used a healing orb on herself, a common tradition people do after winning or losing a battle. Healing orbs heal all of the HP status on a character as soon as they are used, in a really quick reaction. According to the official Leray rules, items such as healing orbs are not allowed to be used during a battle. Strange Leray magical elements block out their usage somehow, preventing magic from entering or exiting from these orbs so long as a Siriean dome surrounds them. Jane checked her energy scope to properly ensure that the healing orb was working, while Jack still had a few more meters to walk before reaching her.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/WzcRN7XZ/S2-Jane-N-005.png]

HP was fully restored. Jane's MP only went up by ten percent, but that was normal considering that med kit orbs are not MP boosters, and don't intend to recover MP levels when used. Jack wouldn't be needing one. He just won the match by a landslide. Jane was clenching her fists and teeth at the thought, and he already approached Jane with something to say.

"Jane. That was an excellent battle! I actually had fun today, on the count of underestimating you." Jack extended his arm out hand open as a gesture to shake on the good sportsmanship.

But Jane turned and refused to shake his hand. This isn't over yet! There is no way that was her best work. "Hold on!" she erupted. "You still are underestimating me. The way that went down just isn't like me. I demand a rematch! I want to battle again, and prove I'm tough enough to do better!"

Jack took back his hand in surprise. Jane was an entire foot shorter than him, yet she held a violent stance that rejected the very defeat she suffered. Jane had much anger in her voice, so it was easy to see how upset she was by the loss... But to actually offer to battle him again? People are normally more honorable. "I don't know what you are trying to prove..." Jane stared at him with her green colored eyes. Jane really is being deplorable at the moment, but to go as far to claim she wasn't doing her best? She should have thought about that during the match and not after...

She's just standing there, glaring at him with that intense expression, serious as she could be demanding a rematch. Through a long time of his battle career, Jack never witnessed so much determination in one expression. Jane really is demanding a rematch, as she did obviously want to prove something. Perhaps there was a strategy she never got to make use of? Even so, why should he accept such a ludicrous request? It doesn't look good to indulge such arrogant behavior, but something about the look on her face gave him a tingly feeling of guilt that he outperformed her own work. After some silent thought as the people hovering nearby got bored, Jack answered to the girl. "Okay. Fine! Take a ten minute break, and we'll have our match here again. But I'm still not going easy on you."

Jane relaxed her muscles while directly facing him. "Good. I'll be back." She quickly turned around, walking towards the direction of the Leray store. There had to be something off about the way she battled a moment ago. Jane tried to think back to it, but first she needed to completely block out the crowd of surrounding people first. Almost all of town was watching and cheering for that battle in a full spectacle, and that was common - for people to spectate other people's matches. They are almost as fun to watch as they are to experience. Jane still didn't see Danny or Taylor walking around. How did they manage to miss that kind of commotion? They couldn't still be shopping, could they?

Jane steadied her thoughts while making her way to Sentiment Pollox. It wasn't a long walk to get there, but Jane couldn't get that last attack exchange off of her mind. The Lightning Strike she got hit with, it was way too powerful for Jack's level, but all of his physical attacks did standard damage as well. It wasn't just that certain spell either. Lightning Strike normally would have decreased Jane's base HP by 12% max, but in the battle, she lost more than 30% instead. Other magical based attacks had the same effect on her too during that round. It was like Jane's natural defense was much lower than it should be. Of course, nobody in their right mind would buy that kind of excuse for her loss, but Jane could feel that something wasn't right. Other factors were off too, but Jane didn't successfully recall them just yet. She should not have lost to Jack for any reason given all of that training she did.

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Chapter Theme Shift: Twisted Base ~ Star Ocean 3 OST

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After reaching the open entrance to the store, Jane walked right in noticing the sudden breeze slamming into her from the high powered air conditioning unit inside. It was still in the middle of winter, but it was not cold outside. As wonderful and organized as the interior always looked, Jane ignored most of any visual details to aim her focus. In the store, Jane searched around all of the tall shelves, eventually finding her friends in a flash. They were still shopping?!

"Taylor! Danny!" Jane called. Her voice amplified well within these walls. Well lit from the fluorescents, the Leray store was nothing short of rich on design. Coming from the less fortunate town of Fronas, that can be difficult to get used to.

Taylor and her friend noticed Jane calling immediately, and waved at her to come their way. Sure took her long enough to find a good challenger. Taylor waited for Jane to get closer to talk to her using her indoor voice. Chanting all of those spell names had Taylor's voice well spent for the day. "Hey Jane. You come here to spend your winnings too?"

"Huh?" Jane winced from what Taylor meant in her words. "You are? I mean, you've already won your battles?" Taylor and Danny wouldn't have gone and battled without telling her first, would they? And if they did, they won their battles so quickly? How long did her match against Jack take...? Jane failed to count the time in memory.

It was pretty evident that they had won something somehow. Taylor was holding a nice looking bow in her hand. The string for it was constantly glowing a bright pink color all on its own with a thin aura, ensuring that it was a great weapon to fire arrows from. "Yep. I ran into someone from Dakota in town. They weren't from our class, but she was rather easy to beat. I bought this awesome bow from my winnings."

Danny held up his sword to Jane in order to show off. His blade looked as if it were a regular sword though, with the obvious difference in blade size. The metal blade was significantly shorter than what most swords have to offer, but he was satisfied with that. The sword's shorter than average blade length gives the weapon an easily maneuverable lightweight tactic that would give him the edge in battle. Apparently, a blaster weapon wasn't in his favor anymore. "My short blade is cool too. And now that I have one, I can focus on learning new skills in battle, like fire and ice blade. I looked in my guide book for spells like that, and it says that you must have your own real sword as the single primary weapon to use those skills. Weapon generation is more complicated to work with those spells."

"Must have been on clearance," Jane remarked. She didn't show much support in her expression about her friends' victory. Besides, she is going to need to buy something here as well, anything that would grant her the edge in battle.

"What about you?" Taylor tested. Jane sure didn't appear to have that look on her face, the happy and energetic look of determination that usually paints her entire picture. She was suddenly so intense and serious.

"I guess I wouldn't know. You have to win a battle to buy things like that."

"Agh! You lost?!" Danny and Taylor both spoke of the same words in sync, their voices filling up the entire store in volume. "No way!" Taylor added. "To who?" This was incredible! Jane never loses! She had the capacity to defeat Taylor and Danny in a battle two against one, likely without even taking damage. Who in the world would be that strong to mop the floor with our Jane? And so close to Fronas in the same instance?

Jane didn't look like she took kindly to their big shout out, but it was true. "I had to quit half-way from the way things were going. But it's okay now. I challenged him to a rematch, and I'm buying something to help me win."

It seemed typical that Jane would rematch a person with a new strategy, but the anger in her voice was really harsh in her own expression. Taylor could feel Jane's face turn red all in the crazy confusion. Who did Jane lose to? And why was she suddenly thinking that a simple item or two would allow her to win when she did not before...? Wait. Jane is rematching the tough opponent now? "Jane? I want to watch you battle. I have to see this for myself."

"That makes two of us," Danny enabled. Danny knew this could happen eventually. Jane's arrogant behavior finally got the best of her. It would be too much to pass up a chance to meet the guy who taught her a good lesson, but another thing in itself to watch Jane fight the same person in the same hour. "So who is this guy who defeated you?"

"His name's Jack," she replied. "Although the name doesn't matter. I just need to get something and rematch. I have plenty of credits to do that."

Danny repeated, "Plenty of credits? You must not have bet very high to have a lot after losing."

How annoying must you be?! "I was doing that as a test, stupid!"

"It's smart to bet low in the beginning," Taylor concluded. "Because now you see it really paid off in this situation." Taylor didn't mind helping Jane out. Even if she was a bit arrogant, wouldn't one need all of that willpower turning battles into a full winning career?

Still, Danny and Taylor both had no trouble at all winning their very first battles. They could have just fought rookies, but she couldn't be too certain having not witnessed anything. "How did you both win your battles while I went and lost?"

Taylor folded her arms at Jane's thought process. That explanation was easy knowing Jane. "Come on Jane. Danny and I went for any opponent. But knowing you, you chose the toughest looking wielder there is in town." With a short pause, Taylor added, "Am I right?"

Taylor did have a point. They really did have easy wins in that case, but Jane still could not get over her incredibly weak defense. It just isn't right, but there might be something that can make it right. Danny and Taylor were buying weapons. That's fine, but right now, Jane's issue is a good defense against that guy. So that means buying a good armored suit is the key to this problem. This dress sphere she was currently wearing does nothing but make her look cute, and there are variances of upgrades. Jane stepped into the next isle where many Leray items are being sold. There was still that same leather outfit on display, and below the plaque indicating the name and model of the protective Leray battle suit were the stats and benefits to wearing the outfit as well. Jane read it all carefully.

This leather outfit is a specially designed dress sphere made of finer material infused with heavier Leray magic protection, giving the outfit natural resistances to damage on top of the stackable effects to a person's endurance levels. Those are the benefits of wearing the leather suit into battle. It comes with many natural resistances to types of damage. Of course, that means that non-elemental magical damage will still be devastating to take, and the physical slashing damage resistance isn't so great either. In fact, the total overall damage resistances were quite low, but it was worth a shot to try and get the upper hand. This wasn't the same mercenary Scoutfit Jane saw in the shop before, so someone must have already bought and paid for it. Now it was just this FS45 leather outfit, which protects even less than normal. But Jane had to have it! Her dress sphere doesn't really offer any real protection anyway.

Dress spheres are uniquely designed Leray outfits that look like normal dress clothes that can be stylish to wear in a battle, but the real purpose is to make these dresses completely impervious to taking damage in the lining and fabric threads. If one wears dress clothes that are not infused with Leray synthesis or protected by the process during creation, then they are vulnerable to taking damage in such a way where a Fire Bolt may ignite them, or where enough slashing attacks could destroy the clothing into tattered fabric pieces. It was one of the many early innovations for Leray battling back in the days.

Initially, Leray battling was soon a problem when the contestants were fighting until their clothes had completely ripped off of them, leaving them bare before officially losing. It is common knowledge these days to wear a dress sphere into battle, so everyone does. But there is another classification of Leray wear; leather suits, mercenary suits, magical cloaks, and more. All are technically considered dress spheres, but they are irregular. Regular dress spheres offer style, but they offer zero damage resistance for any element of damage. Such suits are still technically considered dress spheres in the context that they have just as much impervious protection, including metallic armor, though the difference in the nomenclature emphasizes how much more natural protection is added to the more expensive and less stylistic battle gear. That is why upgrading to a better piece of clothing is important to consider. Right now, that is what Jane is doing.

The price ran quite high at about 1100 CR, but even that was lower than the standard. Must be clearance day or something. Perhaps the store thought it could boost profits knowing that Dakota has just graduated their students. That means they must make some of these items more affordable. It worked for Jane; the trade was worth it. Her battle would take place in just six minutes, so this will have to be her next hope.

After ringing up the suit at the counter, and dropping her credit total to 1950 CR, it was a done deal. Jane had 3250 CR to start with before betting any of her currency on her first battle, but it was significantly more than what most people start out with. Jane did have an initial boost from her mother. Danny and Taylor were not that lucky, since their parents are back in their home country, probably worried sick by now.

Jane took her new suit with her into the changing room inside of the store in the back. She would be changing into her new outfit, adding on natural damage resistances to her person before having that rematch with Jack. Maybe it would be enough now, or maybe her suit won't make all of the difference at all. As far as most were concerned, when Jane battled somebody, it was always interesting. Danny and Taylor both knew that for a fact. Knowing more magical spells and Leray skills makes battles last longer, and makes that person tougher in general. However, if Jane lost her first round, this Jack cannot be a pushover either. This was certainly going to be a match they were not about to miss.

Chapter 3: The First Challenge

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