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<01/16/1972 – 17:27 | Gross City, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Through the mild bustle of new noise, Taylor's excited breath escaped her gracefully. "Wow!"
Danny was right with Taylor, looking around in awe. They had seen plenty of cities back home around this particular size, but nothing could compare to the life of a city without cars or factories. Danny nearly forgot that he was in Sprawn Valley, and realized a city built in a Leray world surely had to be different. The structures didn't seem old or chaffed, and the layout of the city was almost quite random. There was no one spot similar to another, but this also made everything more unique too. Building after buildings filled the space quickly, some tall and some as small as restaurants.
Taylor took in all of the sights and noticed the roads. Unlike a normal two lane road built for automobiles, these are all cement crossways designed for people to walk on. There were sidewalks too, but everybody choose their own pathway in walking, remaining somewhat orderly to avoid clutter. Every building had a large unique logo or a marking, displaying obvious signs of corporate involvement. Taylor wondered to what subject the business could involve, but she was immediately taken by the view of a fountain. Spring water oozed from the top of the peak, and the steady circular stream carried itself on downward, spiral by spiral.
Jane knew they would be impressed, though she found herself looking around too. Jane remembered visiting Gross City before, but it wasn't the same since it happened so long ago. This place was almost like new to her, and anything could have changed over time. So many people populated the streets, crowding the atmosphere. Most seemed busy, though there were whole families out as well. The children were free to run around as energetic as they were, while other families seemed to have plans to eat out tonight. A few other sections far on the roads carried large moving equipment being pulled by sections of workers, movers that haul big machinery on wheels, but all for what purpose escaped Jane's entire memory. Jane thought she usually had a sense of anyone's personality just by observing their movements and expressions. Once she tried to say something about her thought process, and her classmates called her crazy for it.
Here lies, another one of humanity's greatest accomplishments. This sensation of purpose washed over everywhere he could see. Danny knew that this kind of city was far different than anything he'd ever seen or thought of before. It might not look too different from the outside, but based on the freedom people have here in Sprawn Valley, and from the collective things people can build all for the ideas of Leray magic, Gross City can be none other than a success story without end.
"I wonder what kinds of places they have here."
Jane brought herself back to reality, since Taylor was in need of some plan for this place. "I'll pull out the map." At the sound of that, Jane noticed that Danny and Taylor were approaching her from her peripheral. Jane fumbled for the map in her pocket. Paper is the only one basic thing that hasn't changed around here. Despite the current push and advancements to technology, nothing else ever came remotely close in this country to helping wielders learn their way around. Jane could imagine some kind of portable map system with an intelligent digital design displayed on a screen, physical or holographic. But to date, wielders are all entrusted to travel with the country's atlas in their memory.
Jane flattened the map in her hands while her friends scrunched closer to her for a better look. This map was different than the last one. Jane had acquired a local map of the city itself, and all of the buildings were listed here with names. "This is our entry point, here." Jane pointed out where they were right now, as to get their bearings straight.
"Look!" Taylor added. She pointed on a different spot of the paper. "There's the inn right there."
Jane glanced at Taylor, the judgmental expression burned into her face. "It's called a hotel. You should try and remember that."
Taylor stamped back, "Well sorry, we're not familiar with your crazy world."
"Look," Danny redirected. "More shops."
Everything was marked on this map. There were several kinds of business stores in the central plaza of the city. Diamond Matrix: the jewelry and fashion shop. Sentiment Essex: the official Leray store based in Gross City. There were also several other marked locations such as movie stores, grocery shops, thrift stores, and several restaurants. All of the corporate buildings were only marked by their logos, though this map wasn't designed to give additional structure to them. The difference between Blue Port and Gross City was immense regarding the size and economic situation here; they even had their own Leray training facility here. Jane knew of it; Knarksas Training Academy. That school is better maintained with a much larger population pool, as it supports classes all the way up to the elite level, falling just short of those specific courses. As a result, it's far more prestigious and expensive too. It was no surprise at all that Gross City is such a major successful area. It's a city well grown between a large forest and a major beach. So one of which is an actual tourist attraction, thus explaining the thousands of people here. Of course, apartments here were also substantial, but most of the people who hit Gross City daily lived in the residential town to the northeast, connected by the short path of Route 19-A.
"I can't believe how many places there are here."
Jane answered to Danny's curiosity with her best knowledge available for this zone. Jane knew of the facts just by studying what others knew about it. "Gross City has a lot of major technological business firms set up here. The tallest and widest structures belong to them."
"I wonder what tech they're about?" Taylor envisioned.
Jane knew the answer to this as well, and decided not to mock either one of them for not knowing some of the most basic stuff about Gross City. "It's all Leray related. Mostly, they work on improving supply sphere technology and spell bombs."
"I thought there was a limit to the amount of stuff you could do in a Leray battle." Danny had to be realistic. There are almost a million ways to battle with so many different kinds of skills and spells, mixed in with different strategies, but it's still a matter of numbers in that sense. Eventually, one strategy will be crushed by another.
Jane faced Danny, making her voice more clear towards him. "Not all spell bombs and Leray abilities have been discovered. You can totally come up with your own ability by accident. It's all how you exert that energy in the field. And because there are potentially new spells left undiscovered, the same goes for spell bombs and spell categories. By altering output energy, a spell bomb can be made to do almost anything. That's why most of the research is done here. But the mages that first invented Leray abilities are not the only ones who can continue that research."
"That's a lot to handle, I think." Taylor sounded overwhelmed just by the description of Leray magic's potential. It's no wonder Leray battling is so popular here. Nobody has ever perfected a full understanding of it yet. The possibilities for the art really are endless.
"And abilities that are not learned by accident are often recreated by refining well-known powers. You could take a normal spell and alter it for better potential if you know what you're doing. That's what the Gulop region is most known for. Gross City shares those technological secrets with the rest of the world. The people analyze battles, looking at all of the different styles in order to think of a better one."
Danny felt as though his head was going to spin off his neck should he hear any more. "I get the point. Science. It exists for Leray magic too."
"I want to check out the shop!" Taylor volunteered.
"I want to see what their park is like."
Jane already realized that her friends were getting ahead of themselves, but there wasn't any real rush. The sun was still high in the sky, despite the appeal of a sunset. It must only be around five thirty or so. There would be more than enough time to explore before settling into the hotel. Jane was supposed to pay with her own credits anyway. "Okay," she exhaled. "I'll see you two when you get back then."
Taylor stepped back once to show her concern for Jane's choice. "You're not coming with us?"
Jane nodded calmly. "Don't worry about me. I want to train more before our battle tomorrow. I still have some abilities I could learn, and I can benefit greatly from refining the skills I already know."
Danny gazed at Jane mysteriously. "You're going to just stand in the middle of the streets and fire off spells for training?" He nervously glanced around his personal space in all directions, eyeing those casually walking by with their business. "Is that normal to just do anywhere?"
"Of course it is, silly." Jane could tell she was smiling again. The memories of her journey with Danny and Taylor were resonating in her thoughts, ever since she met them at Dakota. They've all come a long way, and already, none of them were fond of splitting themselves apart. Jane could feel that strongly, but it's only a city. Nothing bad will happen right here anyway. "Taylor?" Jane turned. "Will you let me know if they have anything interesting in Essex? I still want to upgrade to a better outfit, but a leather one won't do this time."
"I promise," Taylor swore. "I'll let you know if anything in there is worth it."
Danny felt better about splitting away from Jane, but only because he imagined her next activity in his mind. How embarrassing it must be to just jump around with a set of knives shouting spells that don't work in the middle of crowded streets full of strangers! It's not natural!
Jane nodded to Taylor, giving them both the signal to go ahead and explore the city. Jane then turned around as her friends walked the other direction. She took to the sidewalk, knowing that having too many people around her while training can cause an incident. Jane decided she will train right over to the side of the area under construction since traffic there is really low for now.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Snow's Theme ~ FXIII OST
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In the time of the remaining hours, several blue spheres from a Magical Blitz spell ended up slamming into the nearby stone of the city wall behind the choice of building. Certain stones are naturally resistant to Leray magical attacks, so the structure did not take any damage, but the sudden appearance of wild spells casting all over the place had heads turning in one direction.
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To little surprise, Jane noticed the gradual attention fell directly onto her. She had been training for several minutes now, right here in this spot beyond the sidewalk, which had mostly become vacant due to her activities. It was a little uncommon for a person to train with magical abilities in the city streets rather than a park or a forest, but Jane didn't care about the crowd walking around her. Her training was going well so far, her mind deepening on each strategy better than she ever did before.
"Triple Fire!" Jane's hands were glowing blue from the magical build up, but after attempting to cast her next spell, nothing happened for a long two seconds. Her hands returned to normal afterwards, depleted of their auras, and Jane was made to realize that there were several important spells still left behind. Triple Fire is a powerful fire-based spell that is actually a refinement of Fire Bolt. It is supposed to use an improved glyphring of fire and shoot out three projectiles instead of one, making the attack all the more powerful and difficult to dodge. But as Jane imagined it happening in her mind, the energy signature was all wrong, so the spell failed to work properly.
Jane grumbled under her breath in response. It wasn't a surprise that she still could not use higher level spells just yet either. Flying Guillotine was currently her strongest kind of attack spell, outside of the underdeveloped Tri-Attack. Jane thought of using that skill next to try and understand it better. Tri-Attack is one of the most complicated kinds of skills there is to study, because it can take on so many different magical types, forms, and signatures. Usually, it's an ability that congregates Fire Bolt, Ice Bolt, and Thunderbolt all in the same instance for one spell, but it's a freeform spell, so it can be used in other ways too. Some people have used it with Ice Bolt, Aero Blast, and Thunderbolt, even though the element of fire was replaced with wind damage. Others use the same elements but in different methods to attack, and it has even been reported that three people in a team battle can use Tri-Attack together as a team, greatly conserving MP energy and reducing invocation time greatly per person.
Jane developed her own special method for her newest skill, and in order to make it stronger, she aimed her hands at the wall again, preparing to practice some more. It didn't bother her at all that her training here was disrupting some of the people passing by. It is sort of dangerous. If any stray attack ends up hitting some innocent pedestrian, Jane could get in a lot of trouble. Since the path in front of her to the wall was clear, she gave no hesitation to try out some more powers.
Jane already began charging a lot of her energy again, imagining the scene in her mind like she was going to perform it. Jane already used this in battle before successfully against her last opponent Jack, and it ended up being highly effective too. Jane was just fine on her power. It was her defensive parameters that were too far down to count. Jane knew that Danny and Taylor told her that there was no way her parameters could actually be any different than anybody else, outside of the natural level state. Jane saw the report on her own energy scope as well, but it's still so hard to believe. Jack did so much damage to her in such short of time. As far as Jane was concerned, something had to be off.
Ever since a few weeks ago, Jane could feel her entire dispersion methods disrupted with every invocation. Only recently have her spells come out more normally, but Jane could also detect the slight difference in her mind. The ability to focus on spells, Jane never had such an easy time with it before. No, it's more like she couldn't bring herself back to reality as quickly just after attempting to invoke a spell. The sensation left an amass of thoughts in her mind, while her body felt buzzed and charged despite having release MP energy constantly to the process. Jane had a hard time thinking the description up herself. Getting stronger and stronger, that was the current propagation of each push of energy through her magical circuits.
As soon as her energy was charged, Jane had to shut her eyes and reimagine the entire thing, after being distracted by her own thoughts. It was a miracle that her spell was still going at all because of it. After shouting the ability aloud, "Tri-Attack!" Jane shoved her hands forward, instantly creating all three glyphrings she needed to create. The glyphrings were very distant from her, much closer to the wall. Jane intentionally positioned each glyphring of different elements into forming an aerial shape of a triangle, though much smaller on being clumped closer together. It seemed correct. Even though it was a bit different than the normal kind of Tri-Attacks people employ, Jane knew that her method of positioning has its advantage already. By surrounding an opponent with a triangle of elemental glyphrings ready to fire at the same time, it would be so much harder to dodge. Most rookies would try to position all three glyphrings just behind or just in front of themselves; it's rather pathetic.
Jane at first believed she was going to aim and hit the wall, but after the glyphrings unleashed their designated attacks, the projectiles were instead heading for each other. At the center of Jane's imaginary triangle, the Lightning Strike attack hit the ground first. The Fire Bolt and Ice Bolt slammed into each other in the same spot shortly after the Lightning Strike dissipated, creating a small explosion fusing in the air. Jane didn't mean for that to happen, and the knock back of the blast almost created a powerful gust of wind strong enough to blow away any person getting too close. The blast of wind defiantly affected her. Jane covered her body with her arms, planting her feet firmly on the cement. The strong wind it created was only short lived, but it surprised her.
Jane only now realized that the blast had also affected other people too, the burst of wind escaping this small corner and messing up their hair or balance. Any one of these civilians could call in a complaint and get Jane into trouble for training where she wasn't supposed to. Jane turned around, too embarrassed to face the people in front of her anymore, but there were more staring at her from behind. Her exit would be blocked if anyone wanted to hold her here, but Jane just wanted to apologize and leave quickly.
Out of the random murmurs Jane failed to make out in the distance, surrounding her sense of hearing from all sides, the sudden sound of slow clapping emanated from her right. Jane turned her head only to see that an odd looking group of people were walking her way. Some woman with jet black hair and crimson colored eyes was clapping for her, either sarcastically or insultingly. She also walked slowly in front of the people following her from behind, indicating that she was taking charge to the tiny group...
Jane realized the oddity of them, refusing to look away. As the troupe got much closer, she noticed that the two men and single woman behind the clapping one were all weighed down with equipment. One of the guys was holding up an expensive camera, and another was holding a microphone on a stick. It's a news casting crew!
"That's some pretty good stuff miss." The woman with crimson eyes approached Jane closely, allowing her crew to take part in the action. It seemed like she was about to interview Jane.
Jane stood her ground despite the worried expression on her face from before. Do they plan on publicizing her own failure? Is she going to be reported like this? Who the hell are these people anyway? "Th-Thanks?" Jane couldn't help sounding confused, and she couldn't get the words out quick enough to ask who they were.
"If you're able to use Tri-Attack like that, then you're out here training for a battle. Correct?" Her voice maintained a constant firm tone that was easily detectable for the equipment behind her.
"That's right." Jane kept her cool even as they got closer to her. It seemed like they were getting around to asking her for something. Their very question calmed Jane down somewhat, proving that she was at least not in any trouble for almost stray attacking civilians.
Instead of allowing the same woman to continue her questions, another young woman stepped in front of them from behind. She seemed about 22 years old, brown hair, bronze eyes, excellent dress sphere, and as casual any normal person. She pointed her finger at Jane, making an offer. "In that case, I would like to ask for your name and request a battle with you."
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Chapter Theme Shift: A Battle to Return ~ FFXIII OST
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"Uh—" Jane didn't expect this. She knew they were acting strange, but Jane couldn't really explain to herself why they would want to battle with her. "Me? Battle you?"
The black hair woman holding a separate microphone turned to the brunette. "Hold on now. I think we should introduce ourselves first." After turning around to Jane, the woman explained about her entire team to Jane. "I'm Leray reporter Jessica. And this here is our team, working for SN Live!"
"SN Live?!" Jane repeated with excitement. She knew exactly who they were now. There are a lot of different names for reporting crews all over Sprawn Valley, but SN is the most popular news channel there is, directly rivaling ProCom news in this specific area! SN Live specifically reports the news locally in Gross City, their stories interested in and around the city itself. They seem to want to become the primary outlet for Gulop entirely, though they also tend to focus greatly on recording battle segments that happen between people in the wild. "Gross City news!" Jane could no longer help herself. They wanted an interview with her, and a battle to go along with it. This has to be the most awesome moment ever! She had to do her best to prevent losing her cool in front of the high resolution camera. "I'm Jane. Jane Venn." Jane felt herself about to sweat, but assured herself that she was fine. Her hair was still well done, and the dress sphere she had on right now was perfect for television and for battling. On top of that, the day was still young enough to provide plenty of natural lighting to the area. To think she would be chosen for a battle segment! "And I am a viable Leray wielder."
Jessica gave a hand signal for her team to get in a little closer. "That's good Jane. I specialize in making certain battles that happen just about anywhere public. People like to watch their Leray movies, but those are fictional moments set to script. Bringing a battle for others to watch live on TV is part of my job, and Selina here believes you worthy enough to film some of your skills. What say you to this challenge for potential fans?" Hopefully that didn't sound too dramatic. Scaring off Jane now would be a waste of time and data usage.
Jane took a quick glance at Selina, the brunette hair woman who made the offer to battle in the first place. Then she glanced at other things as well. The camera and mic were both actively recording, so everything happening now must already be broadcasting, or at least it was being recorded to be viewed later tonight. Jane never had this kind of exposure before, let alone the ability to show up on television. The thought of her winning a battle for everyone to see got her excited so quickly. "You want to battle with me?" Jane asked.
Selina stepped forward slightly, making it easier for Jane and the mic to hear her better. "You heard right. You're looking ready to challenge someone here in the city. And it so happens that I have the same thought in mind."
Jessica transferred her question to Jane as soon as Selina was certain that Jane understood what was being asked of her. "We would like your permission to air this battle. Selina versus Jane Venn. Win or lose doesn't matter. I only ask that you both make it interesting to watch for tonight's program."
If Jane were not as grown up as she was today, the thought of this honor would have made her faint. She was sure of it, but in order to look professional, Jane kept smiling, bottling up her excitement to use in the battle. She never expected to have someone challenge her before tonight was over, and thank goodness the battle between her and Jack did not become some big news already. "Selina? You have a deal. I'll battle you right now!" Jane jumped her voice and expression together, her arms held up in fists to portray her confidence. She could feel her beat rising, her blood tingling!
The offer was all it took to give this girl such fire in her eyes! "Excellent!" Selina honored. "We'll host the match here in the city, and clear out an intersection to use as our space."
Jessica turned to face her own camera, intending to give a word to the audience. "It seems we have a brave Leray wielder ready to challenge another. Stay tuned in, as the real fun will begin shortly."
Jane didn't know Jessica was going to be that direct, but it didn't matter too much to her. She saw that the crew was now temporarily shutting down some gear, preparing to head out.
"Follow me to the battling location," Jessica ordered. Selina was following her in response, walking down the streets to the designated location.
Jane could not be certain, but it looks like this Selina person is part of Jessica's news crew. If that's true, than Selina's very mission is to track down strong Leray wielders every day and challenge their skills. That can't be an easy job, but Jane was more than prepared to handle anything. She felt so anxious, and her body was positively tingling from the suspense. The area was already so crowded and public, but Jane knew it was nothing compared to being on television.
For only five minutes, Jane followed them to the spot they spoke of. It was a section of walkway that intersects three times, but it was sectioned off for now. Jessica must have already declared this particular space to be used in a battle tonight. There were still plenty of people walking around here, but not in the square section designated for battle. Jane glanced up at the sky. The sun was finally fleeting away. Though the city was lit on its own from the light overhead, the color intensity of the sky was darkening quickly with the usual orange glow.
On the way there, Jane thought about how wrong the match could go, in multiple ways. She glanced down at her right arm, covering the top of her wrist while silently trembling in fear. What had she just agreed to do? If she isn't careful, Jane will very well destroy her entire reputation in one single night. This might not have been the best idea after all, but it's too late to back down now, after what she just promised to deliver. It should be okay though. A repeat incident like the one against Jack should not be expected to happen twice, right?
Finally arriving at the destination, Jane determined that now was the right time for questions. "So... Jessica? Do I need to battle differently? Is there some special rule I need to follow?"
Jessica answered Jane while setting up the equipment again. The square was sectioned off using cheap barricades to deter people from getting past them, and the recording gear was being set up behind all of that. "Just do what you normally do in a Leray battle." Jessica quickly corrected her discretion with an afterthought. "Without the swearing or cussing. I need my content to be appropriate for a normal audience, and children could be watching as well."
"Right." Jane looked around her. Some of the people who were walking around were stopping nearby to check things out over here. Television isn't the only way people can enjoy a heated battle. Many like to stand outside of the dome shield and watch the battle close up, putting their normal daily activities on hold. There might not be a dome shield yet, but surely, others could see this section with the barricades and guess that an impending battle would follow.
"So Jane," Selina tested. "Are you ready for this? Want to settle an official bet too?"
"Yes!" Jane replied. "And I do want to have a bet as well. What's a battle without one?"
"Good answer. I'll let you settle the score."
Jane thought about her remaining credits. What if Taylor finds something in the store she wants? "Can we bet something other than credits?"
Selina offered, "How about the Emire spell bomb? It's a simple thing that restores 15% MP in battle. If you win, you can have mine."
"Good," Jane agreed. "And we'll add the standard 200 credits on top of that."
"I thought you said you want to bet something other than credits."
Jane explained. "I just don't feel like betting very high on credits today. So this time, it will be a spell bomb. I'll have to give you MP recovery items if I lose, but no worries."
"Now that's what I like to hear."
"We're almost set up!" Jessica hollered.
Jane knew it. This is where it's going to happen, and Selina is her opponent this time. Selina didn't seem all that strong compared to the Jack character she met earlier. But still, being a part of Jessica's crew could mean she is no rookie either. Jane was sure not to underestimate her this time. More importantly, Jane was going to be sure not to lose while on camera.