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<01/16/1972 – 15:49 | Arragon Forest, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Though another half hour passed in training, the position of the sun made it seem like the day would drag on forever. The birds never once stopped singing, despite the loud noise level that could be caused by the use of Leray magic. The entire time, Taylor had been training Jane on how to properly use Sphere of Might, a magical attack that can be used at any range. It causes a large red sphere partially phased to spawn on the target, and then it spins rapidly, causing pure magical damage in the time of two seconds. This makes the attack hard to dodge while dealing a good amount of damage on top.
Jane had it down quicker than she expected to learn it. Then, Jane asked Danny about advice with Earth Glave. Jane used this ability against Jack, but only she was one to notice how unrefined her invocation was. Her Earth Glave attack was lacking in speed, power, and invocation time. So while she knew how to use it, Danny helped her learn how to use it correctly. Unfortunately, it needs a bit of MP in battle to make it work successfully, more than Jane wanted to expend, but this was a need-to-know basis for winning her next battle.
There was another thing from her previous battle that Jane did not understand. Her speed in dodging attacks, reaction time, and overall skills fighting at close range has somehow dwindled since training sessions back in school. She had done extraordinary at dodging attacks for a training exercise, something called evasion therapy, but it was different in a real battle. The danger and fear of taking attacks head on becomes ever more real, because every attack hits her almost as quickly as it is invoked from a magical aura or a glyphring. Jane's reaction timing could be better, but that has to be done the hard way. Jane was glad she got in this training. She wanted to test out her Earth Glave attack just one more time, making sure it has improved. Danny and Taylor were subject to watch.
"Earth Glave!" Jane screamed with a piercing cry of determination in her voice. The MP energy she needed was already charged up casting outward. Since Earth Glave does not use a magical glyphring, the energy was released from her hands, cast forward to aim in front of her. The very moment Jane chanted the name of her spell, the ground beneath her began to rumble and bellow. The upward shifts carried onward from in front of Jane. The ground's crust went rising wave by wave as if it became a violent tide wall growing height by distance. The Earth Glave spell continued on for a good thirty feet. The wave of rising ground continued growing higher, until finally reaching Jane's intended destination target. She wasn't very fond of befalling tall trees, but this Earth Glave attack managed to slam right into one, lifting the ground so far and high in a shooting speed. The tree below it became unhinged from the ground, falling away from Jane immediately, and it came crashing down with a loud smash and ruffled branches. At least it was not a large tree, else it would have caused another quake, but the attack thus ended. The earth returned back to its original state, though damages and holes in the ground were left in its place.
Danny judged the power level of that Earth Glave after her hands stopped glowing, and though it seemed that Jane's Earth Glave has improved significantly, it wasn't her best work either. "That was good Jane. You've improved a lot." Telling Jane otherwise would leave them stuck here in the woods forever. As beautiful as this place was, they all had places to be. This demonstration alone was Danny's hint that Jane was not a full master of Earth Glave yet. There are some abilities which one release their energy through their hands, but then there are others which require using the entire body to release energy, as if using an attack aura. Earth Glave is not invoked using an attack aura, but in acting like it does, the power is increased, and MP is slightly conserved better in the ability. Jane must not realize yet that she needs to use her entire body's aura in bringing about that attack to full power.
"You think so?" Jane hollered. "That's good. I hope I can try another better spell." After Danny told Jane to go for it impatiently, Jane took another random aim in the same general area and focused all of her MP energy to her hands. With a few more seconds of glowing palms, Jane casted another unlikely chant. "Thunder-Flare!" Seconds passed... Another dud. Danny and Taylor didn't hear of that spell before; the looks on their faces said as much. Did it matter when Jane's invocation failed yet again? She did not expect to learn a new spell just like that, but at least Danny and Taylor taught her two new spells she could use for later.
"I suppose that one will need further practice," Danny suggested. "I myself will wait until we're in Gross City to add to my spell list though."
Jane suggested to herself, "Maybe I should do the same!" The noises that muffle other sounds is something Jane had to adjust to. She didn't mean to keep yelling, and had to tell herself that the training for today was finally over. Jane walked closer to Taylor and Danny. "Let's gather our things. We should get going now."
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Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi (凪) {Alt Version}
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Danny sighed in relief, but did so very cautiously as to be undetected by Jane or Taylor. Jane was finally moving again, and if she can at least be eager enough to move to Gross City, nobody will have to sleep in the forest tonight. Danny did a lot of things, but not any activity involving bugs that are mostly invisible. He sensed that Taylor would have the same thoughts in mind. Leave it to any girl confronted by bugs to abandon even the most peaceful place on earth willingly.
Taylor and Danny followed Jane back to the rock she was using to cook that awesome meal. Even though it was only an hour or three past twelve, the sunlight was finally beginning to change its tint. The bright white had become a more solid orange color. It was a sign that it would be setting down soon. Taylor had to remind herself that despite the heat waves, it is still winter in Sprawn Valley. That means the sun will set early today.
After Jane began leading them further into the Arragon Forest, Danny decided to keep on talking to Jane about the city. "So, is Gross City a really big place? I mean, what kind of schools and stores do they have there? And do people just battle in the streets too?"
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Jane gave Danny a short soft laugh. "You'll just have to wait and see for yourself. Since it will be getting dark soon after we arrive, we'll check into a hotel there to spend the night, and possibly tomorrow night."
"Doesn't that cost credits?" Taylor objected.
Jane replied, "Only a few. And if we can all win a battle today or tomorrow, we will still have a large net gain from staying in the city. That is if we bet higher than in Blue Port."
"It's almost like gambling," Danny proclaimed. He hadn't thought about it before, but people both bet money in a battle, which means one of two sides has a risk of losing their winnings.
"Well," Jane interpreted. "As long as your winning streak is much higher than your losing streak, there's nothing to worry about at all."
"We'll just have to keep training once we arrive." Taylor sounded as confident as Jane did earlier. It is the way of the land here in Sprawn Valley. You travel, you train, you battle, and do it all over again. At least that is what Jane's big journey is all about. Jane is supposed to keep getting stronger while traveling, all until she has the skills to finally take on the Leray champion. Taylor took another moment in silence to try and imagine just how strong that guy could be. No doubt every spell from the champion would register as a power level ten ability. Power level ten is said to be the maximum power level any Leray spell can possibly register to.
Jane enjoyed about two minutes of silence while marching forward, when Taylor added to their worries. "Oh no!" Taylor pointed her finger far in front of Jane. Everybody looked at what it was. A very large and wide patch of picker bushes and thorns blocked the path up ahead. It was incredibly dense, and looking from left to right, the line up didn't seem to have any end to it. Taylor did recognize these disgusting thorns from back in Kalamo. Though they were rare there, she and Danny both were pricked by these pests before in the past. One time was enough!
Jane noticed that this patch of sharp pointy bushes in front of her was the very thing she was looking for. "Relax you two. It's just a thorn patch. Nothing to worry about with this here."
Danny could hardly believe how mellow Jane was about this. "You have some plan to take care of it, because I'm not walking through all of that." On the risk of getting cut up really badly, Jane must not be serious about heading through it, and he didn't think of Jane as the type of person to climb trees over the bush either. Even if the veil mitigates the damages caused by those thorns, it's best to avoid getting cut up by bushes, on the count of getting an infection from the open wounds.
"We're not going through that," Jane declared. "This large patch of thorns is another landmark in the Arragon Forest. I've seen it before too."
"A landmark?" Taylor questioned.
Jane pointed to her right, despite seeing nothing extraordinary in that direction. "When you find this patch of picker bushes, you're supposed to head straight northeast. From there, you will eventually reach the official road of Route Eleven. Then heading west from there, we'll all be in the city in no time."
"So what you're saying is..." Taylor didn't know if her assumption was right, but it sounded like Jane was almost nearing Gross City by now.
"We're almost there?" Danny phrased.
Jane answered. "We're getting close. And I still have the maps. Follow me." Jane marched northward after changing direction. All three of them were now walking along side of the large thorn bush. From this angle, it continued heading forward for a long time. This so called road Jane was taking about wasn't even in visual range yet, but it shouldn't be long now.
Another six minutes had to pass before Jane made another announcement. Taylor loved the forest, but it seemed to already be changing with the amount of available daylight left. The singing birds were getting less frequent. The spacing between each tree was growing. Even the forest life here seemed less dense than it was before, but little did she realize that Jane was leading them to the northeast edge of the woods.
"I can see it up ahead you two!" Keeping her voice down was futile. Danny didn't have a good sense of hearing while walking that far behind Jane. In light of the news, they both began a full sprint ahead, rushing in front of Jane to see it for their own eyes.
The edge of the forest was confirmed. Only about 67 meters ahead, the tree population ends, and from a faint glare of the sunlight comes the coloration of the gravel set road. Figures they would not even use stone or concrete, but it might not matter since locals already understand exactly where to go. Jane was proof of that, and she didn't even take the real official path of Route 11. Jane instead took a winding path around that leads to the very end of the route. Whether or not this is a shortcut was something Danny was unable to answer right now, but he didn't care in the moment.
After running ahead alongside of Taylor, they both ended up standing on that rocky set path. Just on the other side, at least another 400 meters ahead was another dense looking forest, but it was irrelevant. In every other direction, there was practically nothing around them, not even people. The road simply heads on straight to the east and west. The elevation of the ground changes a lot in some of the directions too. Gross City was still not anywhere to be found.
Jane caught up to her friends and placed her hands on their shoulders while they looked around curiously. "Gross City should be just up over that hill." Jane began to lead the way again, showing them exactly what she was talking about. This time, Danny and Taylor followed very close behind, eager to finally be out of the woods. Jane thought this to be humorous. Just an hour and a half ago, Taylor would have given anything to stay in that forest back there forever, but now, she was dying to get away. It's exactly like the stories Jane hears about that particular forest. It's beautiful and peaceful, but without any civilization, it's just not worth staying there. Apparently, there are plenty of bugs that like to bite at night. No doubt Taylor would have several complains about spending the night in the forest. The sun goes down, and suddenly bliss turns to enmity.
The sun beamed through the overcast. Somehow a few clouds rolled into the clear forecast of the day. The starlight was still much taller than the hill above them. They had to have at least another three hours of sunlight left, plenty of time to reach the city and get checked in.
Jane finally brought herself and her friends up to the top of the steep hill. From here, it was mostly downslope for a long distance. In their collective view, the massively tall buildings and even the edge of the city walls were clearly visible with a slight blur from solar mirage. Jane raised her arms high, introducing the place with much drama. "Welcome to Gross City!"
Taylor couldn't help squinting her eyes to see it more. Her face lit up with excitement. It was about the size of any good mid-sized industrial area, and though there were many tall buildings, there was not any kind of uplifting smoke to indicate the use of any sort of factory. This place must have a lot to show them both.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," Danny blurted. He had been wanting to see a lot more of what Sprawn Valley has to offer. Being trapped in Fronas and Blue Port Town could easily make one feel landlocked onto a small island, but this scenery changes everything. Fronas is a very small town that can hardly even support its own finances. Blue Port Town is simply a larger version of Fronas that is also slightly richer too. But Gross City, as well as the beach said to be on the other side, has to be the best offered in the Gulop region. Since there are five major regions, this place right here is proof that Danny has barely seen this world at all.
Taylor studied the downward slope. It was much less steep as the hill they had just climbed, but it was another two miles on the grassy terrain before they get anywhere near the city limit. The gravel road that was under their feet seemed to vanish with the ground in front of them. Taylor shot Danny a saucily look, grabbing his attention immediately. "I'll race you there."
Danny accepted Taylor's challenge by running immediately, but she already maintained a head start. "Wait up!"
Jane remained still, smiling from the fulfillment that this journey was already bringing, and she has just begun as well. Danny and Taylor rushed down the hills as fast as they could. Jane knew she would need to keep up with them, but if they're running at that speed, they'll never make it to the city before her. Jane began to jog forward at a pacing speed, confident she could keep up like this. It wouldn't be long now. Gross City has so much more opportunities to offer, and a lot more challengers to seek out as well.