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<01/19/1972 – 03:33 | Route 96, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
For over an hour of time, Jane and Teresha walked the road together, chatting with each other about anything to try and ignore the passing of time. The stress the terrain had been placing on Jane was making her muscles all the more frail under the stars. The position of the moonlight began to shift further down the horizon, leaving even more darkness in its wake. The sky was totally pitch black while the bright stars created a skybox for the empty page.
Jane however grew aggravated at Teresha's constant chatter. It was mainly her asking Jane all about herself. Jane refused to talk about certain things, severely limiting her side of the conversation. It was Danny and Taylor which kindled so much concern. She wanted to continue her journey with them, but there was no turning back now. The very thought of those two was beginning to replace her emotion with a sad sense of solitude and longing. Jane didn't mention them to Teresha, as it was none of her business. The same went for the matter about her spell bomb curse, the one affecting her endurance in such negative ways.
Teresha didn't mind at all talking about her own personal life. Jane got to learn a lot about her, mostly stuff she didn't care for. Teresha didn't really live an interesting life, other than the fact that her goal was to become a strong Leray champion. It's the same goal Jane had in a way. Though with her dream, defeating the champion of Leray magic will only be the first step.
"What do ya mean no? I thought we said no secrets," Teresha urged Jane on. While the both of them continued walking on without a break, Jane had been sipping down on a water bottle, trying to ignore Teresha's silly request.
Jane was just asked if she had someone she was gaga over. Apparently Teresha had two boys after her, one she had already chosen. "I'm not being secretive. I really haven't found anyone I want to be with. Not yet anyway." Jane thought again about Danny and Taylor. Their particular scenario was different. There was no denying that Taylor was in love with Danny, and hopefully it went both ways too. But both of them were still in the stage of denial, bless those poor souls!
"Right, cause you're the big though Leray wielder? You probably scare most of them with your rigorous expectations."
Jane suddenly stopped and turned around, taking a short step in front of Teresha. Teresha was forced to stop too, suddenly surprised at Jane's changing course. Her face was too close for comfort, so Teresha stepped back a couple of paces. "You really think so, Teresha?!" Jane didn't raise her voice, but it was more than clear to Teresha that she chose the wrong words to describe Jane. She prepared to slap Teresha one right here. "You're treading in dangerous territory now. Drop it!"
Teresha wiggled her hands in front of Jane, blushing in response and holding her head lower. "No, no! I didn't mean that! Jane, I was kidding!"
Jane noticed how much Teresha reacted to her, and finally took a sharp back-step carrying a deep breath in. That wasn't something to joke about. "It's fine. Keep moving." Jane turned around and continued marching without even checking to see if she was still following her. Teresha must not have been thinking at all to say something like that. Jane closed her eyes more in thought with her pace heavy. She wouldn't admit it to Teresha, but her prediction wouldn't have been far off a while ago. It's not like Jane ever turned down any offers or dates at her facility, but she never got asked out before. To rub more salt into her life, one of the snotty rich girls there made a comment to Jane's face about it days before her graduation.
Jane was always a hard worker in her school, training beyond the expectations and limits of any normal student in a Leray training academy, and it was her ambition that always pushed her that far. Jane's selfish passion made her tougher, stronger, and even harder as a person to deal with. She probably did scare any future dates away from her, all because of her total devotion and seriousness to learning Leray magic. She always tried her hardest, and always burned in her own passion with every single subject, living in a focus so intensely that nothing else existed. Was everyone really too afraid to ask her out before? Jane shook away the thought; she could feel her face burning in response to the subject. At least with Teresha, she was just teasing.
"Wait up!" she hollered. Teresha meant no harm, but even after that outburst, Jane was still the main person she needed to follow. For the next few minutes, they both remained quiet. Teresha didn't know what else to say or talk about. Jane isn't exactly a bright and cheerful kind of person, despite how hard she tries to fight. Her vehement behavior shows so strongly when she's fighting. It sure didn't make it any easier now that they had expended all possible subjects.
Just as the wind's howling echoes got louder to the silence, another noise was added into the system. A loud and quick cough, rough but firm. It defiantly belonged to a man with a deep pitch voice and a scratch in his throat. Jane slowed her pace significantly, searching in front of her for someone. There was already a moving shadow, someone walking this way right now.
"Hey Clay!" Teresha waved and called out, rushing in ahead of Jane. In response, the shadowy figure sped up too, dragging his legs further.
"Teresha!" he replied. The man Teresha called Clayton got closer, and so did Jane. Despite the darkness, Clayton could make out everyone's faces. Teresha was there to greet him, but also had another girl in tow. "How's it been?"
Jane studied his face. Clayton was not exactly the kind of person Jane imagined with the name and type for Teresha, as far as looks go. He had short cut fiery-red colored hair, but in this darkness, Jane had to guess that color by squinting her eyes. He has to be no older than twenty or twenty-one, but Teresha seemed more like an eighteen-year-old woman. It's one of those couples again. Jane remarked at Clayton's composure as he now studied Jane close up. In just another second, Jane thrust her head sideways, clacking her tongue off her teeth instead of greeting him.
She just refused to introduce herself, and after giving him such a judgmental stare. What an interesting girl! Clayton glanced back at Teresha again, realizing that she was staring him in the face for something to say. "Who's the friend?"
Teresha shifted her arms as if to present the new arrival. "Uh, this is Jane. Jane, this is Clayton, your next rival." Teresha had a much stronger voice that seemed higher in pitch when she wasn't in fight mode, but it all made things more annoying for Jane.
"Rival?!" Clayton already didn't understand. It wasn't like Teresha to just up and bring people directly to him for a Leray battle. "N—" he stuttered. "Not that I mind. I haven't had any action all night. I think the other wielders are on to us."
Jane studied their interactions. The way Clayton was moving and talking... He sounded like the kind of person to grow into a total hot head, but there wasn't anything helpful yet to let her prejudge how he might battle.
Teresha clapped her hands once, showing how excited she was to set this whole thing up. "Well Jane is a great Leray wielder! She tossed me in a fight real quick."
"Ah," Clayton slanted. "So you lost?"
"That's not the important part of the battle," Teresha grumbled lowly.
Clayton nodded briefly. "Humph! Well I beg to differ. How many battles have you had so far? I know I've had less, but I've also won more. It's all about statistics now, because we both know this route isn't going to be full of wielders for much longer, not at night anyway. And if it is, it'll be people we've already battled against before."
Jane felt more impatient by the minute. She couldn't tell if the fatigue was finally catching up to her nerves, or if it was the man's tone rubbing her the wrong way. "Can we likely speed this up?"
Clayton folded his arms in front of his chest, shifting his feet to face the new challenger. "Can't wait to have a fight, huh? Jane, was it?" He felt so much more relaxed after witnessing how young she was, putting his hands behind his head to show it. "I know you want to battle, but I don't just say yes to anyone. I try to stay away from easy wins, so the people I challenge... Well, there's no age limit of course. I'm not saying anything about you, but... I don't prefer easy wins."
What an idiot! Jane figured he would be like this, and him trying to deny judging her like that was just wrecking his charisma. "Well maybe that was your first mistake." Forget being nice, this moron doesn't even know what a Leray battle is about.
Teresha cupped her mouth with her hands. Jane's remark was so quick, yet so serious and subtle. Jane never even once shook his hand to officially greet Clayton. Does she get along with everyone like this?
Jane began hating Clayton's attitude even more. Age limit?! Does he think that her slightly younger age has anything to do with all of the work and practice she had put in so far? What's an easy win if you saw it? Forget the semantics; this one's going down!
"Huh. I see how it is." Clayton knew this was big talk, but it mattered to him whether this was just overconfidence or a motive booster. What did Jane think she was going to win in the end anyway? "How about we compare skill levels then? I graduated from Lennith not too long ago, but I did so in the third year's class. So I've got advanced Leray training volume one under my belt."
Jane swiftly replied her lone answer without any other remarks. "Basic."
Clayton twisted his look, staring at Jane more seriously to judge her more accurately. "Only basic? That's just the minimum requirement, and exactly the vibe I've been getting from you so far."
So you admit to judging me! "I wouldn't be so proud of your progress if I were you," Jane retorted. She gave a slight sadistic smile, confident that this guy was nothing but talk. "If it took you three years of training just to be at where you are now, I've got nothing to worry about."
Clayton raised his eye brows in response. He didn't expect Jane to be so intense and tormenting. Which school was she from again? How could someone's arrogance get this bad? "Oh yeah? You think you can just pop out of some school with a year of training and beat the League of Elites? What kind of Leray wielder do you think you are?"
Teresha laughed sarcastically. Anyone could tell she was just getting nervous for the both of them. "Now, now? Can we please save this for the Leray match?"
"You want to know what kind of Leray wielder I am?" Jane tested. Her voice level was rising fast, her anger finally reaching out in front of him. "I'm the kind that will defeat you in no time flat. You said you wanted a challenge, well it's waiting right here." Jane never felt her blood boiling so fast in so long. She didn't actually want to battle this Clayton before Teresha brought her here, it was just something she accidentally got into. After his insults though, Jane would do anything to shove her victory in his face. Guys like him...
"Well, looks like I've got you all upset. But we'll have a battle to settle this. I can use some extra credits, and I don't mind taking it from kids like you."
Oh, he did not just call me a kid!
Clayton made his bet with Jane right now. "Don't say I didn't warn you though, I'm not holding back an inch. A thousand credits or else."
Jane could feel her teeth grinding together. "Fine by me," she accepted. You are going down. Jane stamped her legs and turned around, walking away from Clayton to establish their natural distance prior to the battle. Teresha seemed confused at first, but then she realized that the match was already going on.
Teresha rushed out of the imaginary perimeter that would become real enough shortly. "Uh, I'll just watch from over here."
Clayton was finally standing in his place, facing Jane as Jane was facing him. Now that they were more than forty meters apart and patiently standing in the run-down cement, the will to battle for Jane and Clayton became the factor that quickly established the formation of the Siriean dome. Again, a small and invisible sourced light was at the very top of the dome, though it was not very powerful anyway. Shortly after the shield came alive, Jane and Clayton enabled their energy scopes. Their haste was greater than the speed of the reward spoil text that appears in the center of the field for a few seconds, indicating the reward in the steaks of the match.
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image [https://i.postimg.cc/xTdJGy0Y/S2-Jane-Armor-036.png]image [https://i.postimg.cc/V6z2rNXG/S2-Clayton-N-000.png]
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Chapter Theme Shift: Arousal Strategy ~ Magia Record OST
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Clayton pulled something out from his supply sphere in the nick of time, a large metal saber that appeared to be a custom-made long sword. So that was his weapon of choice. Clayton has yet to see Jane's primary weapon of choice. It didn't seem like she had any, on the off chance that she wasn't actually hiding her own weapons in her clothing. "Talk about armatures," he murmured.
Jane didn't care what he wanted to say right now. It was already time to battle, and they were now legally allowed to start. Jane decided to go first, charging up her energy more slowly than usual so that she could taunt the man some more. "This won't be difficult. A bark with no bite." Jane made sure to project her voice, allowing Clayton to hear her. Regardless of her words, her energy was now ready to use for her first attack.
Jane immediately transitioned from a quick remark to a battle skill, chanting the ability known as Shadow Wave while keeping the noise in her mind. Jane didn't need to give him the initiative for the fight since she needed to prove her point by force. Jane threw the shadow from her aura onto the ground as it quickly soared ahead towards Clayton. At first he didn't seem worried, not that there was much time to realize that a Shadow Wave was active just before the impact. In its last moments, much to Jane's earlier style, her Shadow Wave grew three times the normal size of an ordinary Shadow Wave spell, quickly consuming Clayton in its darkened aura of magical slashing damage. Jane couldn't tell if he was surprised by that. After the aura disappeared into a magical burst, Clayton stood out of it unfazed, but from his transitioning stance, the damage has been done.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/zBp6n1jJ/S2-Clayton-N-001.png]
Clayton smiled in response, attempting to give Jane a run for her money. "You call that an attack?"
Jane didn't let his words affect her. Her own Shadow Wave did 12% HP damage after all. That's close to record high in a real scale of power levels for that specific ability. Just who is this guy bluffing?
"I'll show you my Blast Wave!" Clayton shouted his attack name in his manly yell. Clayton unleashed a lot of magical energy into the battlefield, creating a series of blasts and explosions all over the ground.
Jane knew what this spell was about, but she could do nothing about it. The random explosions quickly caught up to her in no time, blasting her off her feet and pushing her into the ground. Thanks to the locations of each blast that affected her, Jane was thrust downward instead of up into the air like a normal magical explosion would have done, but the damage was just as devastating. Jane knew about Blast Wave and how it differs from Radial Blast. Blast Wave is higher in power levels by a hair, but it's the same thing as Radial Blast in a more concentrated, accurate location. The user can narrow down the field of explosions more tightly and compact.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/jdkWMw5f/S2-Jane-Armor-037.png]
"Har-ah!" Jane willed herself back up quickly. The pain from the explosive blast still hurt from before, but it wasn't something Jane cared about at this time. Clayton may have used a powerful spell alright, but that would dent his MP levels too, and things were just getting started. "Magical Blitz!" Jane formed two bright blue energy spheres in her hands, throwing one after the other in an accurate way to aim, but she wasn't done yet. Clayton knew that kind of attack spell too, so he managed to dodge the first energy sphere that passed him by. The second one hit him, but alone caused little damage or pushback. Jane formed another one, tossing it in front of her to kick it forward. Because of her unusual style in changing the projection format of her continued Magical Blitz spheres, Clayton didn't see that one coming in time, the energy ball sped up by the additional force pushed into its launch. Jane then spun around, throwing the last energy sphere his way just as he had taken the hit from the third one. Clayton was then hit by the fourth energy sphere too, making for a three out of four hit combination that caused damage on a magical level.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/Vv6TgHGX/S2-Clayton-N-002.png]
Clayton didn't think Jane could become so speedy and refined in her lower level spells, but this still wasn't close to a tide turner at all. Clayton knew plenty more tricks. "They don't teach you this one in basic," he announced. As Clayton chanted the name of his next ability, his glowing hands began to affect the terrain below him. "Homing Syndrome!"
Jane never heard of this spell before, but it could not be good for her by the looks of it. Just below her feet, large chunks of rocks and even a few boulders began to float out of the ground, a magical aura glowing and coating their bodies. The way they were floating and slowing down as they rose in the air just above Jane's height gave her additional goose bumps of fear. Jane checked her surroundings after hearing noises in other directions as well. The floating rocks and boulders were not just rising in front of her, but in all directions surrounding her. She quickly became surrounded with floating rocks, all colored by an aura to give the stones new properties. Clayton was controlling these rocks using the magical power of telekinesis evident as his hands are still glowing in the distance.
Something else was interesting. Jane expected these stones to impact on her much sooner, but they were still not homing in on her yet. It must take a lot of focus to make this work the way Clayton was trying to do. Either that, or it may be a durational attack. If that's the case, it can be interrupted. Jane didn't think on it much longer. She went with her gut and decided to put her efforts into another spell rather than prepare for the painful impact of stones. Jane charged up energy again, infusing magical energy into her hands and feet. "I'll stop you with Knight Dance!" Jane charged towards Clayton, who didn't seem to change his stance or do anything else as Jane got closer.
Jane was afraid that it was some kind of trick to lure her in, but once she got close enough, there was no way he was tricking her. Jane managed to score a few punches and kicks. She then pulled out her glowing auric daggers to add to the pain, slashing at his skin while she transitioned other hits with that combination. At first, Clayton tried to keep his balance and his power flowing, but after another hard hit to the stomach, Jane knocked him back hard enough to totally interrupt his work. Clayton's hands stopped glowing, and all of the stones that had been created fell down to the floor far behind where Jane used to be. They weren't even following Jane as she charged at Clayton. Must not be a reliable spell if she can stop him from using it, but Jane didn't care about his battling style. She just kept up the physical attacks from her Knight Dance until she became exhausted enough to back away at the end of her normal sequence. Jane placed her daggers back in their place, stepping backwards to catch her breath.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/qq5F5XSS/S2-Clayton-N-003.png]
Clayton gave Jane an angry glare. The spell he tried so hard to invoke was interrupted, but he knew deep down that the concentration aura never reached the critical level it needed to. It's a very difficult spell to call forward, more so to control. It was stupid to rely on a spell he had yet to master, but Jane would never possess the ability, and thus she isn't worthy! Without even trying to talk her down, he went straight into his power spell again, charging MP energy into his hands while releasing them down to the earth. "Homing Syndrome!" Clayton knew Jane might try and stop him again. The spell has a long invocation duration after all, but instead of waiting, he expended his energy much more rapidly this time. This allowed him to take initiative in his own powerful attack as the stones around Jane all began to float up again.
Jane tried to make her move, rushing in again to try and interrupt, but before she got far, the stones in front of her suddenly shot in her direction like they were launched from an invisible cannon. Jane was suddenly pushed way back by the brute force of the stones, bruising her skin on contact each time. The boulders slammed against her skin and the metal wrapped around her. They hurt just as much as they did damage to her. The stones were large in size, hulking all the way through her metal chest plate. Stones began slamming her from behind as well, and then from all directions. They surrounded Jane, smashing her skin with powerful rocks telekinetically controlled by Clayton's special ability. Every single impact knocked her far off balance, recycling quickly enough to prevent her from falling down off her legs. Jane was quickly taken by the intense pain inflicted, and in the same time the attack was still going on, one of the stones coming from the front side crushed the side strap of the metal section on Jane's chest plate. The chest plate suddenly shattered into millions of tiny shards and fragments, despite being made out of special steel.
Jane was forced back from the last hit, landing on her back motionless. The incredible damage factor paralyzed Jane in her place since the sensation resembled tons of heavy weight stones knocking the wind out of her. The familiar feeling of a warm plate against her chest was also no longer there.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/3x4kV84c/S2-Jane-Armor-038.png]
It took a long time for Jane to try and get back up. Luckily, Clayton was so confident now about winning that he wasn't leading into another attack again. Jane tried hard to overcome this kind of pain, but it took time she could not afford. That attack really left marks and visible bruises all over her skin. The veil of protection doesn't do everything to prevent physical harm, only emphasis on protecting people from death, thus Jane had sustained a few injuries that would slow her down for the rest of the entire match. Jane's body felt so different now too. Her armor has been completely decimated, broken into shards right off her body. Now all she had left was her red and black mercenary outfit, though it's naturally invulnerable to Leray damage in the first place. Her protection was gone, and she would now take more damage than ever before - with that endurance curse attached to her.
However, Jane suddenly realized something. The odd sensation she was now getting used to, it was her flexibility. That metal hunk of a suit severely decreased her overall speed for everything, to move, to dodge, to run, and to attack, but now all of that weight was gone, leaving her feeling light as a feather. After sensing that Clayton was about to use another spell from there as she stood alone in place, Jane used her new idea to come up with better plans than before. It didn't matter to her right now which ability he was casting from his glyphring, Jane made her move immediately, knowing she would automatically dodge Clayton's directional attack. "Dark Strike!"
She didn't get to hear or see what spell Clayton just unleashed. She was suddenly gone and back again, like entering a dark pitch void for just a split second. Jane's new surroundings told her that Clayton was still in front of her, but not the other way around. As he searched for Jane's location, she pulled out her dagger, infused it with magic, and took a hard slice upwards. Jane's uppercut slash threw Clayton's entire body high into the air, giving her plenty of time to back away before he could retaliate. The damage he took was already significant, but his health declined a little more after slamming into the ground again, using his hands to protect his face.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/DfjR0n06/S2-Clayton-N-004.png]
Clayton slammed his fist into the ground while he was still on his belly. In his sudden shift into rage, he completed the invocation of another spell, forming a yellow glyphring into his hand while he still knelt down. "Shotgun Blast!" Clayton immediately gripped his shotgun and aimed it at Jane while pulling the trigger. This time, Jane wasn't quick enough to dodge a barrage of energy shots, but the spheres were slightly explosive too, causing immediate damage for Jane while her stamina dropped in place. She already felt worn out from the battle just as she tried to get over the Shotgun Blast spell she just took.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/9Q6Dj6yF/S2-Jane-Armor-039.png]
Jane didn't go very far just before taking a Shotgun Blast to the chest. The blow to her body wasn't enough to break her balance, but it hurt her enough to cause stunning and cringing for full second, where Clayton was now standing back up. Jane had no choice but to shake it off and fight with more power. She quickly released her energy into one of her less used techniques. "Median Flare!" Jane aimed her arms and hands out in a strange way, each palm facing the opposite direction with both hands connected. The ability resulted in a powerful beam blast of light that was just in range to hit Clayton and knock him backwards off his feet. He nearly tripped from sliding in the ground, but it didn't befall him yet.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/02zFJFJs/S2-Clayton-N-005.png]
"Crystal Arrow!" Clayton knew he was speeding up in response to Jane's attacks. It should work well in his favor. It's not like Jane was that good at dodging anyway. He pulled out a bow and arrow using a little magic, and then shot his crystal arrow towards Jane. Clayton didn't need to use the first two normal arrows that usually forms with the entire ability. It was the crystal arrow that did most of the damage anyway.
After he fired his shot towards Jane, she failed to dodge in time as the arrow slammed into her. The force of it felt like a rock, bouncing off of her skin instead of sticking into her or piercing her body. Crystal Arrow is designed for armored targets anyway, which is why it did blunt damage in its place. Though Jane's damage intake wasn't nearly as high this time, the feeling of another stone hitting her skin gave her left shoulder a crushed sense.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/Dz18fxcQ/S2-Jane-Armor-040.png]
Jane didn't realize that her energy scope would continue reporting that her armor was destroyed already. It's not like she didn't know it, but it wasn't important enough right now. Jane had to fight back with everything she could. "I'm not losing this battle to a moron. Bullet Blitz!" Jane slid down on her knees this time despite allowing them to scrape, shooting her sub machine guns the second they spawned and dropped into her hands like so. Clayton certainly didn't expect it. Jane's style of sliding first and shooting later gave her attack more invocation speed, and since the projectiles travel at the same speed as bullets, he couldn't do anything but take the damage from the barrage. His health didn't drop down very far by the end of Jane's magazines, but he was holding his skin in multiple places, no doubt hurting badly form the sense of piercing damage.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/rF7bGjSt/S2-Clayton-N-006.png]
It was going to drain a lot of his MP, but by the looks of things, Jane wasn't nearly half bad after all. After what Clayton said to her, it wasn't worth giving in to defeat. He nodded to himself and unleashed a ton of his own energy. "Firesurge!" Clayton's voice bellowed loudly, chanting the spell as loud as he could to ensure its success. Clayton drew his sword, already glowing white with energy, and stuck it into the earth with all his might. As a result, it created a crimson colored Shadow Wave on the spot heading straight for Jane.
Jane saw the formation of an interesting looking kind of Shadow Wave only for one second. The Shadow Wave accelerated at an alarming rate, slamming against Jane with unseen power. Jane was forced backward off her feet and into the air, nearly slamming into the edge of the dome shield before landing on the hard ground again. That was defiantly not a Shadow Wave attack!
Clayton exhaled to calm himself down after his attack took much out of him. It worked so well against Jane. Firesurge! A devastating magical attack that combines a normal Shadow Wave with fire elemental and earth elemental damage at the same time while tripling the travel speed. Jane sure took a bad hit from that one alright. Firesurge is not even a raw enhancement from Shadow Wave. It's a combination of fire elemental magic infused with Crush Wave. Crush Wave is the second tier spell up from Shadow Wave, with twice the power, carrying the earth with its own wave as it travels. The receiving end gets pelleted with chunks of dirt and rock on top of the damage a normal Shadow Wave does. Firesurge is the third tier upgraded spell, which does all of this with the additional element of fire damage added into the aura.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/nzZMXqdy/S2-Jane-Armor-041.png]
Jane never before felt so many different types of pain all at the same time. It's like she got slashed by that red Shadow Wave, hit with more invisible stones that she couldn't see, and her body burnt to a crisp all in the same instance. The impact carried so much energy, so much more force than any one of Jane's attacks ever could.
It was a real effort to stand back up and shake it off. Jane was already feeling drained, disoriented, and even a little bit dizzy. Her health was getting low too and she knew it, but what else could Jane try that she has not already? Clayton really did have a good bite for his bark, but he wasn't better than her, not by a long shot. "Tri-Fire!" Jane formed a red glyphring in front of her, but at the same time, she could literally feel all of her life energy draining as she launched this attack, putting much more stress on her MP levels. Jane shot three Fire Bolts like she normally does. Though balancing and concentrating with this much pain going on was defiantly a challenge.
Clayton reacted quickly and dodged the very first Fire Bolt. It looked pretty cool from Jane's perspective, since it is so difficult to evade them, but to no surprise, Clayton still got pounded by the next two Fire Bolts. They never strike at the same time with Triple Fire, and that's what gives it that impossible dodging challenge. Clayton took the damage quickly, but he stayed standing despite his obvious exhaustion.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/GmYfXDQg/S2-Clayton-N-007.png]
Clayton knew what he had to do, and drew his sword out from his hilt again. "I know how to win now. Octoslash!" Clayton charged forward towards Jane with an incredible speed. Jane could barely keep track of the guy, her low HP giving her a hard time standing upright. Before she knew it, Clayton was there in front of her, slashing his sword with a lot of power through each hit. He spun with some of his slashes, twirled and dodged all in a long combination sequence of eight total hits. None of his sword slashes were infused with magical damage, it wasn't possible when using Octoslash. After he was finished, Jane held in her stomach and lurched forward. Her hair was now dropping down in her face, greased from her own sweat.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/4d5yVnqm/S2-Jane-Armor-042.png]
The pain from those slashes was giving Jane tunnel vision already. She felt like she was going to vomit from all of the slashing and blunt damage already taken, but it can't be over! Jane wasn't going to let that happen, and instead of retaliating directly, she called in her personal supply sphere.
Clayton didn't understand. Did Jane have some sort of orb that could work in battle? Why dig through her things now?
Jane found what she was looking for, knowing the only way to win this was to give her MP energy a nice boost. She pulled out a different kind of orb with a dark blue top tip. It's the MP up spell bomb she had acquired earlier from one of her battles. It permanently boosts the maximum MP capacity by 10%. This works for Jane's advantage since all spell bombs can only be used during a battle. Jane knew that now was the right time. She crushed the glass in her hand, courtesy of the design of certain spell bombs. As soon as Jane cracked the glass, the orb activated in her hand, seeping a blue mist of power into her body. At the same time, her body began to glow a faint blue aura for just a second, and that was that. The glowing stopped, immediately affecting her status and energy scope.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/NFjM4Bvb/S2-Jane-Armor-043.png]
The coloration in the text for the new status condition turned green, only to indicate to Jane and Clayton that this was a permanent effect that would be embedded into Jane forever. Jane only used it to get the immediate upper hand on her MP level for her final defense, but she needed more time. The supply sphere phased away again; Jane didn't need to call it in for the rest of the battle. In order to keep Clayton at bay, she switched into another attack before he could respond to what Jane did in front of him. "Flying Guillotine!" Jane threw her daggers at Clayton, giving them that crossed spin and creating the flat red circle of damage at the edge of the dagger's perimeters. Clayton didn't see it coming fast enough, causing the circular red spin of danger to slash right through his body. It happened twice, since the daggers act as a boomerang in this skill and come right back on the same air they traveled through. Jane openly used a small amount of MP just to get that done, but her next skill would still be viable.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/cJSb2Jkx/S2-Clayton-N-008.png]
Clayton wasn't feeling well either, but after surviving Jane's guillotine attack, he saw and opening and took it. Jane might try and dodge attacks by now with her HP critical, but she wouldn't think to jump. "Earth Glave!" Clayton shot his magic at the ground, immediately creating a powerful Earth Glave attack. The ground shot up in increments as the shifts continued traveling forward towards Jane. At the end of the sequence, Jane put her legs back and her arms in front to block out the damage. If she gets knocked out here, there won't be another chance.
Jane felt an immediate rocky force slam into her body from below, but much of that force was still directed from in front of her. The hit knocked her backwards and off balance. Jane suddenly felt totally drained of all her energy, her tunnel vision getting worse just as she felt the thwack from contact to the ground again. She struggled to stand back up, but soon stopped bothering to try. It wasn't necessary anymore.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/Y0DSDZp7/S2-Jane-Armor-044.png]
Clayton felt totally exhausted now, wanting this to end. How dare she survives another hit! Still, her HP is so low now, Jane won't even want to remain conscious anymore, let alone try to struggle. "Give up Jane. You know you've already lost. I can take another hit and you can't."
Jane could feel her energy fading fast, so she put every last drop of her MP into her next spell. "Well see about that," she groaned. After sitting there quietly, Jane charged up every last bit of her MP energy while Clayton waited on her answer, and when she was finally ready, Jane unleashed all of it at once. "Redemption!" Somehow, despite having 40% less energy than the minimum requirements needed for the attack, Jane's Redemption attack still took effect. It's because it has a conditional requirement. It really requires all MP on a capacity of scale, not by a required amount of magical points. At least that was her deductive reasoning for why it still came active. Jane put everything into her power, forming a bright magical beam of energy from the sky onto Jane. As Jane threw her arms outward in her spot, the energy beam split up into five smaller vertical rays of magical light, and began spinning around the battlefield in the formation of a fast unpredictable spiral.
It happened so fast! Clayton didn't have any counter-shield against such an unknown and unpredictable attack. He was suddenly hit by the invisible powerful force of powerful energy in one of the vertical beams of light, knocking him backwards with a powerful kinetic force despite the impact being with magical light. Just after that, a second wave of light slammed into his body.
Jane had trouble seeing anything at this point, but she was able to faintly make out Clayton's figure being pushed back the second time. He then collapsed to the ground on his face, unable to break his fall gently. After the vertical beams faded and time passed, he wasn't moving anymore. Just one of those rays of light was enough to knock him out completely, but he was hit by both. Jane now struggled with the challenge of staying alive and conscious. With 2% health and no MP, she could potentially pass out at any moment, but Clayton was the first one down. She has already won the battle.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/hG15BqN9/S2-Clayton-N-009.png]image [https://i.postimg.cc/QNfVM9cz/S2-Jane-Armor-045.png]
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Chapter Theme Shift: Lower World ~ Resonance of Fate / End of Eternity OST
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Jane waited for the entire Siriean dome to shut down, all before allowing herself to fall down to her hands and knees. She could barely take this, such a powerful feeling of worthlessness and exhaustion. Moving an inch was suddenly difficult, but Jane managed to call her supply sphere out from phase, pulling out the healing orb she needed to get. There was no hesitation for her, Jane used it immediately upon realizing that her own Redemption spell was strong enough to throw her into the status of Vital Drain. It's a rule of that isn't difficult to remember. Vital Drain happens when both the MP and HP stats are incredibly low at the same time during consciousness, and if left untreated by rest or other methods of healing, the person affected will temporarily lose their connective force with the Leray veil of protection. Thus, such a person would suddenly be subject to real time damage, even death could occur. But these healing orbs work fast in such regards, so in just a few second afterwards, Jane began to feel much more relieved and alive.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/CLvvJNk4/S2-Jane-N-027.png]
Jane thought she noticed something odd about her energy scope. It seemed for a moment like it was pulsing red with color instead of its usual orange glow, but right now it was fine. It no longer reported the status of her metal armor. That's because it no longer exists, but even now, Jane felt totally drained. Some of that pain lingered from earlier, while some of the physical bruises and scrapes remained visible on her arms; the long sleeves rolled up for the purpose of battle. She disabled her energy scope for now, realizing that it was time to take care of this mess.
Teresha was now kneeling beside Clayton, who had completely passed out from the battle. He must have really wanted to win, given that he didn't give up at all. Teresha wasn't upset though, she was only there to help him wake up when it was time. Clayton's friend gave Jane a look of surprise and awe. "That was an amazing battle!" Teresha wasn't smiling though. She couldn't, not with Clayton being taken out like that. "What was that thing you used? Redemption? What were those lights, and that sound afterwards?"
Jane sat down on the ground again, too tired to stand up anymore. The lights are from the spell Redemption, and the sounds the beams make as they span outward, those are just special effects that make Leray spells so cool. "Well he did give it his all. Sorry I beat him, but I couldn't stand for what he was saying."
Teresha flickered her brows in thought. "At least he won't underestimate someone ever again. You really did it, didn't you? You defeated the both of us, two wins in a row."
"Guess you have a lot of work to do still." Jane knew her words were giving Teresha a lot to think about, but it wouldn't be right to act much tougher. She nearly lost that fight after all. "I know I'm not exempt from that. Everybody has to keep on training no matter what. Training never stops." Jane finished speaking, her breath hungry for air.
"I guess you're right," Teresha admitted. She was simply sitting beside him, waiting for the chance to use a med kit orb on Clayton. "He didn't have to battle towards this state though. He'll thank me later for the advice."
It was in that moment where Jane realized something. Clayton and Teresha were indeed a pair. Jane already figured that much, even if those two couldn't admit it, but they also looked out for each other. If it weren't true, Teresha wouldn't be holding off here right now, waiting on Clayton to revive. It's almost the same exact thing with Danny and Taylor. The thought of them, it was more than enough to get lost in another long chain of thought. Wonder what those two are doing right now?
"You okay yourself?" Teresha checked. Jane seemed to be fazed, or rather hazy. It's almost like she hit her head on something too hard. Maybe she was just too tired right now.
"Huh?" Teresha's question was just enough to snap Jane out of it. She had to keep going. "Sorry Teresha, but I need to get to Lennith City, before sunrise." She stood back up, settling her balance carefully. Jane's legs were incredibly sore, but she ignored their cry for rest. The previous pains from her battle finally receded. Jane felt only half as good as new, her eyes drooping down from all the time she had spent awake tonight.
Teresha nodded and replied, "That's okay. I'll have to stay here until he wakes up of course, but when he does, maybe we'll see you there later."
Jane nodded at Teresha, realizing how cool she wished the others were. Kenshi, Blair, Haley, and all of the other opponents were never like this to her. At the very least, both Teresha and Clayton deserve her respects. "Until then," Jane waved. "Bye!" Keep on walking! Jane had to put one foot in front of the other. She didn't want to leave those two there. They reminded her so much of the friends she already left behind. As she put more distance between Teresha and Clayton, that silence in the air dug into her ears even more, getting louder and louder.