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<01/19/1972 – 11:46 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>

Nothing but a deep silence and a blinding darkness filled her mind. She could sense nothing but the physical stress of a well-denied sleep. Then the sound of a low pitch boom suddenly charged her thoughts. What was going on? Jane didn't know anymore. She reached for the strength and will to try and open her eyes, just enough to move a finger, but she just couldn't. What's that feeling when she barely wakes up to an alarm, but then drifts back to sleep? That's similar to what this is, but about ten times as intense. Thinking about anything wasn't worth the effort.

"Give that... Paragon... Section eight... to give a statement."

Jane could hear the faint voices of someone, but the voice kept elevating in and out. Was her hearing this messed up now, that she couldn't even become conscious enough to take in any of her surroundings? Jane began to feel the pains more strongly, all of her bruises and wounds from her previous ordeal, and she still felt incredibly drained from before. The memory of fighting Patrissa sunk back into her slow paced thoughts. What happened with Patrissa anyway? Did I win? Why can't I open my eyes?

"Biometrics aren't telling us anything now. We'll just have to abort..."

Wha? Who's there? Jane wondered if her words were able to escape her mouth. Jane wanted to wake up and figure out what happened, but her entire body ached with pain, accompanied by exhaustion that was paralyzing. She didn't want to move even now, but as the seconds passed, Jane eventually became more conscious with her mind. She could now hear the voices of people around her more clearly, the slump around her fading away.

"Given the physical state of the patient, nothing is conclusive at this point. I know she has nothing right now, but we just can't hold her here in this block."

Jane struggled, finally able to move her body, but her eyes didn't want to open. She struggled to lift her eyelids, but the light beyond her was blinding. "No. That's..." Jane could barely speak, her voice still hoarse and scratchy from before.

"Hey, she's waking up!"

"Check her stats again. Make sure she doesn't crash. And no sedatives this time!"

"Agh. No!" Jane struggled where she was laying down, but suddenly she noticed that her arms and legs floated off the floor if she moved them in the right spot. Where was she? Who was by her side now? Jane couldn't take it anymore. She pushed off with her arms, forcing herself to sit up straight while opening her eyes completely.

Jane immediately shut her eye lids again, still blinded by the intense light all around her. She didn't get a good look of where she was, but shortly after sitting up, her head began pounding and Jane felt dizzy. The force from someone's arm carefully pushed her back down, and Jane didn't fight it this time. Trying to sit up was a colossal mistake.

"Take it easy," his voice eased. "Don't try to get up."

Jane's head was still spinning, the force of her dizziness getting stronger, but she held on, trying to learn as much as possible. Something soft was underneath her, at least letting her know that she wasn't passed out on the cement anymore. When she was ready, Jane opened her eyes again very slowly this time. She groaned from the pain that lingered everywhere. Why didn't her damage heal from the last fight?

Jane took in the new surroundings. The fluorescent lights above her were incredibly bright, but Jane squinted to search around anyway. It was somewhere indoors, sheltered from outside. The room was so advanced, or so it seemed to be filled with new technology. Jane turned her head to examine herself, realizing that she was not laying on the floor after all. It was some sort of mobile bed on wheels and stretchers. That explains why her arms could float off the way they did. There were two people around her. A man in a white coat and neck tie stood in front of Jane, hovering with curiosity and a clipboard. A woman in a white uniform fixing a bag of water stood over her. Jane traced the wire that was attached to the water all the way down to a punctured vain in her arm. Jane was in a medical bed, being treated no less. "Where am I? What happened?"

The woman looked down at Jane and reassured her. "Try and relax. You were injured and taken to the hospital. As far as what happened, that's something you are going to have to tell us yourself."

Jane tried once more to sit up, but a sudden shooting pain in her stomach forced her back down. Her immediate discomfort and muffled groan brought Jane's doctor closer.

"You seemed to have suffered significant levels of real time damage. Can you tell us what happened," she asked.

Jane still didn't understand. The last thing she could remember is traveling alone on Route 96, but she never made it to Lennith City. How in the world did she end up here? "I don't understand," Jane complained. "Where am I? Who are you people?"

Well, this might take longer than desired. "I'm Doctor Seth," the man announced. Putting away his clipboard and pen, Seth introduced himself with little interest for explaining much about it. "I'm the doctor assigned to your treatment."

"And I'm Doctor Ashly."

Jane turned her head to face the female doctor, Ashly. She must have been used to calling herself by the first name, else Ashly would have been an awkward last name. Jane however appeared to be hiding a lot more of her pains. She could barely move her own neck let alone any other part of her body.

"I've also been assigned to this delicate matter. You're in the Lennith medical center right now, in RD bay zero six. We didn't find your license, so we know nothing about you other than your current physical state."

"Yeah, and you're in no condition at all to move."

Jane couldn't believe what she had just heard. Being injured sort of made sense to her, but did she say the Lennith medical center? It couldn't be. "Lennith medical center? You mean?" Jane's voice got excited quickly, and Seth answered her to try and calm her down some more.

"Yes. You're currently in Lennith City, which is where we operate."

"I can't believe it!" Jane cheered. She made it! She actually made it to Lennith City after so long! "After so long, I made it! I'm finally here!"

"Uh, so your travel plans were en-route to here?"

Jane could tell that Ashly was confused. She did her best to explain while trying to control her own excitement. "To Lennith City. That's right! I came from Monoc Port, but I never thought it would take this long to get here."

"But..." Seth interrupted, appearing to be confused even further. How long was this girl even on Route 96 anyway? "You didn't actually make it to Lennith City on your own. They found you near the gate, but you were still about half a mile into the road."

"They?" Jane didn't understand. What happened to her was still bothering her mind from before. The battle with Patrissa, it was all so hazy. How did Jane end up not making it? And whom is they Seth refers to?

"A couple," Seth replied, "by the name of Clayton and Teresha. They say they found you and a few others passed out in the middle of the road, and the Leray agent took care of the rest after it was called in."

"Leray agent?" Jane glanced at the floor. This was all making less sense with every sentence. Not knowing anything more was all the more frightening.

"Humph!" Ashly roughly exhaled. "She still wants to speak with you, but that isn't possible right now. You're not even able to stand." Plenty of people have come into here before, beat up harshly if given the right circumstances, but this much of a close call is rare.

Jane forcefully tried once more to sit up. Yet again, those pains were stopping her. Her damages were super compelling. Jane didn't want to lay in bed, but her body spoke otherwise. "I don't understand. Where are Teresha and Clayton now?"

"They left," Ashly admitted, "shortly after the agent carried you back to this place. The others that were with you were taken into custody."

Jane repeated in question. "Custody?"

Seth stepped forward once, getting Jane's attention. "Look. We don't know much more than you, but given the situation, you're coming close to a liability for that agent."

"Seth?!" Ashly barked. What is he, crazy? Why say something like that? There isn't proof of this person's identity yet.

Seth completely ignored her, continuing with his explanations. "We can't even keep you here forever without any funding. And yes, the immediate danger to your health has already passed, but we don't know anything about you. You're a complete Jane Doe in this facility, and your identity was not found anywhere. That means even family will have to be provided by your testimony lone."

"My license!" Jane prayed it couldn't be true. Could she have lost her license? Did those thieves take it? ... Wait a second. Jane didn't recall any thieves before, but now all the sudden they were there in her head... She remembered now! Patrissa was in charge of them, forcing her to battle and then trying to steal her things after quitting the match. What happened next was still a blur, but Jane quickly remembered something else.

"All we found was a supply sphere." Seth pointed to a sphere on the floor aside the bed. It belonged to Jane, or so he thought.

Jane hurled to the side, reaching downward for the sphere she knew was her own. Jane then opened up the device, using the holographic navigation grid to search for her Leray license. "Found it! I stored my license in here before I went into battle." Though Jane's decision to keep it inside of there wasn't intentional, it actually would have prevented anyone from stealing her items. Supply spheres are specifically attached to the owner, meaning nobody else can open it, unless they were to die. Jane selected the license with the grid, forcing a blue beam of light to decompress the license back from phase, forming into Jane's left hand.

"So that's why we didn't find it!" Ashly realized. Jane turned the card around, allowing Ashly to take just a quick look. "Huh? Who would have thought that Jane is still your first name?"

"It is?" Seth joined in.

"Jane Venn." Jane had no problems introducing herself, but in light of remembering about the crooks, she wanted to keep on explaining more. "And I remember what happened out there, all until I messed up."

"Please tell us," Seth advised. Ashly looked at him with a mean expression, forcing him to change his command. "But also, take all the time you need."

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Chapter Theme Shift: Reflected Moon ~ Star Ocean 3 OST

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"Patrissa," Jane repeated. "I battled against Patrissa, but not because I wanted to. She forced me to fight her, and so I did. But even though I won in the end, she had back up. She was going to steal my things, all of it! They all tricked me!"

"Hm..." Ashly didn't seem satisfied, and she turned around to try and think it through. Seth understood how Ashly was feeling, but it didn't help to not have enough info. "So you're another victim of Patrissa."

"Um..." Jane realized that her own doctors seemed to know that woman better than she did. "Do you know anything about her? Why is she so hostile, and why does she have a gang to steal things on Route 96?"

Seth turned around, answering to Jane without hesitation. "Patrissa and her gang are swine. The police have been after her for a long time now."

"She does this a lot," Ashly added. "Walks all over Route 96. People suspect she is alone at first, and she gets them to battle her. Then once her victim gets knocked out, she and her gang steal everything from them. That way, nobody can prove who it was her who stole their things. Gradyents look for her all the time without ever finding anything. She's very keen on detecting whether or not a wielder is one of ordinary status or of official business."

"Her helpers are there as backup, in case something backfires." Seth seemed suddenly into the whole story. He knew a lot about Patrissa as it were. Quite a few people land here in this bay because of it, but never as beaten up as badly as Jane was, and Jane ended up fighting her too. "But Leray agents don't often travel the roads these days. Patrissa never hits the same spot every time either..." Seth glared at Jane with a curious look.

Jane understood the simple facts Seth was stating, but it still seemed too farfetched that she could successfully pull off thievery in a digital system meant to prevent it. "How does she do it? I don't understand how she can bypass the protection system and give us strikes or declare unfair bets."

Dr. Seth explained what he knew from the wild rumors coming from some of the agents during their lunch-ins. "Patrissa can pull off this heist because of those she has around her. You see, even though she is a registered Leray wielder, we cannot revoke her license without knowing exactly what her real last name is, or without getting the license in question. She makes formal offers to wielders like you, hiding multiple licenses behind her back. It's a slight of hand trick. When she offers a battle, she uses the licenses of the others hiding in the dark first, before switching to her own. It turns out, if the license owners are within a close distance, visible or not, the holder can make battles and bet offers on their behalf. This at least explains how she gets around the time limit on issuing strikes on others who refuse her unfair offers. They think it's a similar trick in invoking an unfair monetary reward system too."

So this is all because Patrissa had her friends hiding nearby that she could pull off those exploits? That's crazy! Jane wished she knew about it sooner.

"But something unusual involving you happened out there. The Leray agent who found you passed out also found Patrissa and her criminals in a similar state. Am I to assume that something backfired in Patrissa's actions when you encountered her?"

Jane thought about it long and hard. What happened to her near the end of the battle was so hard to remember and think about, so vague and dark. There were some available details not making any sense.

Ashly nodded left and right. "It would seem that Patrissa's gang were arrested, but after they came to, all they suffered was normal Leray damage; the kind you would expect after a fair Leray match."

"But what does that have to do with me?" Jane did remember those creeps coming out, just after Patrissa disabled the dome shield and snapped her fingers, but she didn't remember knocking anyone else out. In fact, that's where everything goes dark again.

Ashly pointed again at Jane. "The damages that you suffer appear to be inflicted by Leray magical damage. Yet for some reason, you're body does not recover at its normal rate, nor are you responding to any kind of healing orbs or healing spells. I had to use all sorts of medicines just to keep you stable long enough for the veil to take over the healing process again."

Seth translated where Ashly left off. "It bares the mark of what's known as real time damage, damage that exceeds the cap on Leray magic and cannot be healed as effectively. It's really dangerous, especially if you suddenly lose connection to the veil."

"Did Patrissa use dark magic against you? If she did, than we have more to say to the officer."

Jane nodded left and right. That didn't make any sense. Jane didn't remember something so serious, nor did she take real time damage. Still, she did understand the terminology. It's exactly as Seth put it. Real time damage occurs when physical damage to a person's body happens outside of the Leray veil of protection, something that can only be inflicted by users of dark magic. In this case, despite not taking damage from dark magic, Jane is still injured because she isn't healing properly. Once one sustains Leray damage in battles, the physical cuts, scrapes, bruising, and burns all remain for a while, but it's still only at a certain threshold linked to her available HP reserves, and healing orbs can remove these temporary visible wounds.

But in this case, Jane never healed at all. "No - no. Patrissa didn't use dark magic against me. But..." Jane struggled more to remember exactly what happened. She knew it couldn't have been dark magic. There are ways to tell if dark magic is used against people, usually by specific spells of incredible power levels. "When Patrissa disabled the dome, she was pretending to give up. The match was a draw I think. I almost beat her, but she almost beat me too. And then, that's when her other thieves showed up." Jane could remember their movements, the dark figures carefully creeping closer and closer to her. "They surrounded me, threatened to take my stuff by force. Patrissa and two others... I..."

Ashly peeked at Seth, who then turned towards her. "I think the agent will want to hear this statement. Jane? You can leave that part to me. You're the victim, and I'll make sure you don't fall in disagreement with the law."

"There's more!" Jane pleaded. The more she thought about it now, the more some details were finally coming back. Everything was still so vague. She was aching all over after the battle, her health and MP were both so low. Jane remembered watching her stats change on the energy scope, just as Patrissa's goons were coming closer to her. Her energy scan was red in color for some reason, but Jane was waiting on something. That's right! Jane remembered now. She was waiting on her MP level to reach at least 5% again, and then she cast some spell. It was... "I know what happened now."

Ashly and Seth both responded at the same time with the same question. "What transpired?"

Jane remembered everything up until the moment before she fainted. "They got closer to me, but I didn't want them to take my things. I was in a tight spot though. Critical health, critical MP... There was nothing I could have done except for one thing. I think I used a spell against them, one that worked well enough to instantly knock out everyone."

"And this spell was?" Ashly coaxed the answer from Jane's thoughts.

"It was Redemption. Redemption knocked Patrissa's gang down. And then I think I went down shortly after that."

Ashly sighed with a deep stressful breath. "Well - now it makes sense. Redemption. That's what caused this." Of all the stupid things blocking healing...

"Well I don't get it," Seth implied. "What does the Redemption spell do, Ashly?" She is the leading expert on magical spells, as well as the new medicine in development from the Arragon Research Institute. Ashly brings that knowledge to the table, despite how inexperienced she is in actual medical procedures.

Ashly nodded again. "I'll explain that to you later Seth. Jane? Think you can tell me exactly how low your stats were when you used the spell? Did your energy scope change color?"

"It was red?" Jane didn't find that significant, but maybe it means something after all. "Why?"

"How to explain?" Ashly already knew what happened, but Jane still didn't understand herself. She had to know how reckless the spell is, but still... "There are many different colors associated with the status condition of people in Sprawn Valley. By that I mean, colors that shift in their energy scopes should they show them."

"I already know that much," Jane answered. In all honesty though, Jane forgot many of those specific meanings associated with each color. She knew that red was something worse than normal orange, but forgot the meaning behind that negative report.

Ashly wasn't finished yet, and continued to explain. "Orange is the standard color for an energy scope. I think everybody knows that. Then there is green. A bright green color will replace the orange should one be able to use magic without being covered by the Leray veil of protection. And then there is red. An energy scope will shift red in color to warn the user that any further damage taken will result in real time damage simply because the veil can no longer protect you."

"Why would something like that happen?"

Ashly answered the question simply by continuing. She didn't have any intent to stop speaking of it until all was explained. "If you are being attacked with dark magical energy, its effects will negate that of the Leray veil of protection, immediately causing lethal harm to whomever is hit, but there is another way to cause real time damage. It occurs rarely in Leray battles when the person affected suddenly obtains critical stats with their HP, and then no stats to their energy. In a Leray battle, if you run completely dry on MP energy, and I mean it goes all the way down to zero magical points, the next thing that happens is - you get tired. But should this happen while in conjunction with the timing in battle, your HP stats fall below five percent or less, then it triggers a status effect alert known as Vital Drain."

Jane remained patiently quiet. It felt like she had heard this before in some way, but the details Ashly was giving were impressive. Vital Drain status is what that was called? Jane knew of its existence, but forgot that this too can temporarily disable the effects of the protection veil. It was because of Ashly's knowledge that Jane suddenly thought it was suspicious that she was a doctor. Shouldn't she be like a scientist or a teacher?

"Your body always requires at least one point of magical energy in order to integrate the protection of the veil inside of you. So naturally, once you run out of MP completely, a certain amount of endurance and life force stamina begins to take over that job instead. But run out of MP and run low on HP at the exact same time, and there won't be anything that can help the veil protect you anymore. The same can happen if both stats are near zero, since the little MP is being used to keep the body healthy enough to be supported by the veil, but the margin is still difficult to get into. The energy scope turns red in color as a response, warning the user to stop battling for their own safety."

"But what about the previous damage in the same battle?"

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Seth answered to the mystery this time, proving he did not learn of the same medical skills for nothing. "That damage still resides in the Leray form and type, but any damage taken after entering Vital Drain status will register as real time damage. Additionally, as your energy scope may turn red near the end of a battle, even if you somehow recover from it again, the Leray type damages you took previously might not heal properly or as efficiently as it should. So long as you sustain any amount of real time damage, and come out of Vital Drain afterwards, the veil's protection will dramatically lose its connection with you for as long as that real time damage lasts, which happens on a proportionate level. It explains why healing orbs are not having any effect on you. Though we do know the damage you suffered isn't too severe. You're talking consciously and clearly to us right now, so you are indeed recovering at some kind of pace above standard cases."

"Perhaps the real problem is what Jane did after that," Ashly took over. She looked at Jane again, showing her how serious her own mistake was. "You used Redemption with a red energy scope? Are you crazy or just stupid, because I can't decide which is true." Neither Jane nor Seth tried to talk back about it, perhaps out of shock in her harsh words. "If you use Redemption with a low MP status, the effects can knock you out right then and there. Even though that can happen, it's usually no big deal; you'd faint and lose the battle afterward. But if you suddenly pass out after taking real time damage, or pass out with a red energy scope due to your life force energy being too low, it can kill you outright! In fact, I'm surprised you're even still alive after admitting to using that spell under such circumstances. You should have known what Vital Drain status means if you're really a wielder."

"That's enough," Seth bothered. Ashly was getting ahead of herself now, even if she is right.

But Ashly didn't allow Dr. Seth to shut her down so easily. "No, I think I make a perfectly valid argument here. Wielders these days are becoming too reckless. Nobody should ever continue battling with a red energy scope, let alone thinking of using more magic."

"Are you forgetting about the unique situation that her battle involved?" Seth knew he didn't really need to remind Ashly that Jane was given little to no choice in how she went about defeating Patrissa. She can go stamp about it later.

Jane didn't know that she was putting herself in such danger, but she considered it deeply while the two argued. If her energy scope turns red, yet she chooses not to give up and let everything calm down, passing out from the draining sensation of having low HP can physically kill her. That's what they meant when they said Vital Drain was dangerous. If the veil isn't protecting her in the same moment her HP drops down to zero percent, she isn't waking back up! That's the one thing everybody knows in Sprawn Valley, everybody who gets involved with Leray magic anyway. How in hell did Jane let herself forget about it? The Redemption spell must have put too much stress on her magical circuits, but because she still had 2% of her health remaining; that's what saved her when she lost consciousness.

"That said, there's no need to fuss at you any further. I wouldn't want to have to explain to your family that Jane Venn is no more. So just be careful next time, and in the future, if someone threatens to put three strikes on your card, or take your things for refusing a battle, suck it up and talk to the nearest agent about it. It isn't legal for others to do that, but even so, you worry too much about your score. Thanks to Patrissa, the council is well aware of this small glitch in the battle grid response software, so they'll fix it soon." Ashly was referring specifically to both the fifteen minute rule of challenging the same wielder again by following them around, but also to a less known secretive method that people like Patrissa were using to ignore that protocol completely. Wielders shouldn't ever have to worry about the same person giving them an additional strike in the same day, but criminals will find a way to cheat the system.

Jane knew that it wasn't legal, but she still didn't want to take the chance for it. Jane realized quickly that Ashly must have gotten the hint by looking at the solid orange strike at the bottom of her license. Officially speaking, Jane won the last battle with Patrissa too, but it wasn't a real battle anyway. Still, it came to her mind now that Jane could have just avoided all of that nonsense from the other wielders by informing an agent in Lennith City just like Ashly said. Still, Patrissa was another story. She wouldn't have been satisfied with three strikes!

Ashly decided on what to do next, explaining it aloud for Jane's sake. "I won't have to explain that mess with the Redemption spell, or how you used it to overcome three completely healthy criminals at the same time, but I must go and report the current status to the officer. She won't want to speak to you after I explain the details, so you just take it easy Jane." Ashly walked out of the room calmly, but it still felt to Jane and Seth like the intensity remained here.

With Seth now the only doctor in the room, it got quieter quickly, but Jane still wanted to talk more, more about where she was. Hear it as many times as she may, it was still so impossible to believe. The entire time Jane was walking and battling on Route 96, all she wanted badly was to get to Lennith City. To think someone dragged her all the way here... It couldn't have been her friends though. They would not have caught up this fast. "So... Lennith City huh? What's it like? What time is it? And how big is this medical facility?"

Seth hesitated to even think about it, but what could he do now? It's not like Jane needed any further treatments. The veil will finish healing her previous battle damage soon enough. Guess it would be the right thing to do, explaining where she is now. "It's currently five minutes to noon. Um, the weather's nice..."

"Noon?!" Jane couldn't believe it. She was out for... Jane needed to count. It was almost four in the morning when she battled Patrissa, so that means - "I was out for eight hours?!"

"Well... Yes." Seth knew he needed to now correct how this exactly happened for her perspective. "You remained unresponsive to waking up, until now of course, but Patrissa's gang woke up just as the agent was bringing them in. Seems they didn't suffer any damages like you have."

"Can I go outside?" she blissfully asked.

"What?" Seth winced. "You want to be discharged? Now?"

"Well I'm fine aren't I?" Jane was quickly getting over her previous pains after getting used to them, and sat straight up with little effort to prove it so.

Seth tilted his head and approached Jane. Then he waved his hand over Jane's body, suddenly forcing her own energy scope to appear above her face. Jane had to remember now that medics and agents have the ability to do this with little difficulty.

image [https://i.postimg.cc/KYtDXrkw/S2-Jane-N-040.png]

Seth examined the results much to his surprise. "Hm. Looks like you are improving, and at a nice natural pace if I would say so. The color was still red earlier, but now you're back to normal for the most part. Your Leray damage however will have to heal more naturally. You won't be able to battle for another day I would say."

Jane realized how much better she was. She actually expected worse for herself based on how it felt before, but Seth didn't seem like he was bound to keep her here anymore. With an excuse not to battle for twenty-four hours, she would be fine out of the safety of the facility. "You have to discharge me now, right? I'm fine, and my scope is orange again."

"I don't know," Seth cautioned. "I still want the approval from Dr. Ashly as well."

Jane rolled her eyes and followed it up with a challenging smile. "Come on. You're a grown man, aren't you? Why do you need another doctor's approval to release someone who isn't even sick?"

"Well... You're kidding, right?" Seth didn't expect this. It might be the first time any patient has spoken back to him like they were the boss. Still, he couldn't really come up with any kind of excuse for Jane. "Jane Venn, was it? I hope you know that until you are really healed, you're still bound to the hospital until you make a full recovery."

"Wait a sec," Jane shifted. "Hospital? I thought this was a medical facility."

Seth raised his eye brows in response, realizing why Jane was clueless on the matter. "That's right. You're not from around here, are you? Lennith's medical facility is one of the largest ones in the nation, and because of that, we've been asked to merge with Mython corps. What that means is that we are both a Leray medical facility and a hospital, all tucked into one building."

"Ooooooh. I get it now." It was unusual for that to happen, but Jane must be in the non-Leray medical wing. Leray medical facilities are not exactly built for physically injured people. They don't treat real time damage, or if they do - not effectively. Hospitals are facilities in Sprawn Valley that only specifically treat humans with aliments not related to Leray magic. That means people like Jane who suffer from a significant and almost irrecoverable amount of damage, or those who end up getting really sick are the ones who end up in bays like these instead. Lennith's medical center is two in one. Anyone can go here for treatment related to Leray magic or treatment that is beyond that. Hospitals requires real doctors with real medical knowledge under their belt, while the other facilities only need knowledge related to Leray magic and their spells.

"But still..." Jane pondered. "Why did you say something earlier? It was something you said, about you not being able to keep me here?"

Seth replied, "Oh, that was a conflict with your identity. People don't normally store their license or ID inside of a supply sphere. And, well, medical attention beyond life threatening conditions isn't free here."

Jane's expression dropped. "I thought something was up. Fine. How much do I owe for today? I want to be discharged so that I can get to see the awesome city I've landed in."

How can someone who suffered such an ordeal prioritize seeing a small area new to them? Jane is easy to excite. "You've - never been to Lennith City before, have you?"

"Genius," Jane taunted. "I'm on a journey. I'm not even from the Junon region. It's my first few days here."

"A journey? You don't say." Seth didn't seem to disregard Jane's words, but he now got himself entranced into quiet thinking, leaving Jane to judge.

"Um, hello? The discharge?"

"Oh, right." Seth knew it still isn't standard procedure to just let Jane be off on her own, but so much color has returned to her skin in little time. The dark bruises on her face were fading away already. She was standing tall without a balance issue to be seen, without a hint of fear for the world on her expression. For the technique of healing without any treatment, Jane was making a fast recovery. But more than anything, the excitement and readiness on her face, Jane's very expression gave Seth the hint that she would explode if she could not get out to explore. She couldn't have been lying about being on a journey; the true mark of an explorer. Ashly's going to hate him for this later, but... "Fine. Since you're not from around here, I'll have to bill you directly, and since you didn't receive treatment outside of standard ivy fluid medicines, it should be somewhere around two thousand credits or less, but the billing service is automated. I'll need to scan your license first."

Jane nodded in agreement, shifting back to her bed to find the card she dropped there while removing the ivy stuck in her arm. Seth quickly twitched forward, ready to stop her since she was moving so quickly. Jane was just fine though. Seth must have thought she would strain herself. In truth, Jane's legs were incredibly sore from walking 9 miles on foot for hours, but they didn't hurt that bad anymore, not according to the previous damages from her battle. Jane stood up straight, giving her license to Seth as he stood there in shock that Jane was just as fine as she said she was.

Seth took her card and walked over to a strange device in the back of the room. It was a license scanner, one digitally operated and mounted to the wall. The very room seemed pretty advanced for the technology and structural integrity it had, lit well with electrical fluorescents. Seth ran the card over the faint red light, getting the machine to detect the card number. He then went to his right where the computer was on a desk. He began typing away, leaving Jane in wait.

Jane folded her arms while waiting around, but her impatience was killing her. "Any hints for me while I'm here? I've never been to this city before, and even now - I haven't seen it yet with my own eyes."

"First I should warn you that conducting a battle before you fully recover is ill advised. Dr. Ashly is correct; you must have severely stressed your magical circuits using Redemption the way you did, so not using any magic will help you heal properly. Anyway, should you suddenly fall ill to any strange effects connected to the events on Route 96, you are to return here on your own power before getting any worse."

"Yeah-yeah-yeah," Jane interrupted. "You spell it out more times than I care to hear."

Seth nearly laughed at her enthusiasm. Jane didn't appear to be an adult, but the way she acted, she was either ignoring all advice right now or maintaining her own independence. Many patients don't act this way here, not at this age anyway. Seth guessed that Jane's maturity was probably something Patrissa didn't account for, if only Jane wasn't as arrogant. "You asked about the city? Well, Lennith City is the heart of the Junon region. I'm sure you've heard all the stories at least. In truth, this isn't a place full of tall structures and several roads. We don't even have tall buildings like Gross or Eldora does. Of course that's done on purpose to make this place so unique, and we make up a large economic area nonetheless. But in your exploration here, you'll find plenty - I'm sure. The city is big when it comes to its size. You've got the living section northeast and south; Narbrook Town and Delbrion Town. Then the market place, the Southside, and governmental sections. All of these are a bit separated from each other though, but there is plenty to explore. We're also the center of the postal mail service, for some reason." Seth concentrated on typing the information into the system while giving Jane the history lesson she asked for.

"Hm, I still want to see it for myself."

Seth was done. He entered the information about Jane's official treatments and protocols into the system, allowing the automated process to do the rest. "Okay, I'm done here." Seth held out Jane's card in the air without looking away from the monitor. "The system will bill your card in a few hours after it gets processed. Don't be surprised when your card suddenly drops a few hundred credits. It can be quite sudden."

"Will I even have enough?" Jane concerned.

Seth stood up from the chair after Jane took her card back into possession. "Of course. The system will automatically let us know ahead of time if your funds are insufficient. So just don't spend too much before the change takes effect. Now I'll get your discharge papers."

Jane was happy to see Seth being so helpful. For some reason, Ashly was way more concerned, or so that's what Seth made it sound like, but there was a good enough reason for it. Jane nearly died using Redemption on everyone in her state then. She was only 2% away from death, the kind nobody recovers from. That had to make Ashly worry, but at least she was gone for now. Seth wasn't closed out to reason, but the quicker she can get out of here before Ashly returns, the better. Those two might even have an argument long after Jane leaves the facility, but it was going to be up to her now to explore Lennith and decide what to do next.

The Den of Purity never felt so closer to Jane now. Of course, the Outback is a much wider area, so she would need to get a better method of transportation and a lot more food before trying. But the Outback doesn't get a lot of Leray wielders either, so at least that's a big improvement already.

When Seth gave Jane the walking papers, she left the room without anybody to stop her. Jane made her way out and around the facility, following the instructions to get to the main entrance. The place was far bigger than she could ever imagine. The building was gigantic in horizontal size, but Jane had to learn about it just by walking around, and the front entrance area didn't cease its impressions either. Everything was digitalized here, and the place was well built to look nice. The structure walls and ceilings were made out of a certain metal material which Jane had finally picked up on.

It's the same metal used to negate the effects of Leray magic. Powerful destructive spells such as Meteor Strike can easily topple buildings and structures, except for the kind built out of this metal material, which absorbs all magic no matter the intensity. All of that brings to volume how richer the place is compared to other facilities. Jane couldn't say that about the city, not yet anyway. She hadn't walked through the automatic double doors yet to see the outside. Was Mython Corps the ones providing the expensive equipment? Or is all of Lennith City built with so much infrastructure?

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Chapter Theme Shift: Lively Step ~ Star Ocean 3 OST

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Though Jane had already been told about the current time of day, it was hard to believe after stepping outside of the facility, but the sunlight overhead the clear sky didn't lie to anyone. Jane already had to adjust to the temperature change. It became slightly warmer than yesterday, but the wind breezes were still enough to give her some chills.

She thought back again to the fight she had against Patrissa. Jane didn't remember passing out, and that wasn't surprising to her at all, but after all the time she was out for, it hardly felt real. Jane didn't remember anything at all in her sleep. It's as if she didn't dream at all, so the time change was challenging to get her mind around.

The sights of Lennith City soon took her from the thought. It was almost like what Doctor Seth described earlier. There had to be hundreds of people walking in the distance ahead. There were almost countless buildings in clusters, but not a single one of them exceeded the height of eighty feet. Upon exiting from the unique medical facility, Jane found herself standing before the central plaza. The area had its own walkways build over the flat grass, showing pedestrians between each row of structures far in front of her view. To compare it best, this was a close layout and design of a flea market that has thrown thousands of credits into the woodworks and refinery. Jane thought more of it to look like an outlet mall.

As she walked closer to the buildings forming the plaza, Jane could already tell that a lot of money was filtered into this place. Though called a city, Lennith appeared to look more like a prosperous and rich town with more to offer than any other small town could. The buildings looked impressive from here, and that was just a judgment coming from the physical infrastructure of each place. Whether it was made from mixtures of metal, wood, or synthetically reinforced concrete, every store, restaurant, and service center was professionally crafted and decorated. Jane knew that everybody around her was well used to this, but she came from Fronas and Blue Port.

As Jane continued into the walkway of the connecting streets, she immediately noticed how many more people were walking around today, all hovering or traveling between the streets with nothing but buildings and stops left and right, deeper into the zone. The only sign of nature in sight were occasional decorative plants to attract more customers. The rest of the ground was all flat cut grass or concrete for about half a mile in every direction! Everybody was wearing nice clothes, all except for her. Jane didn't realized it yet, but all she had to wear was her old dress sphere or the red and black mercenary suit currently equipped to her body. After all of those fights on Route 96, this was the first time she was able to notice how unattractively filthy her suit became. Her suit had black marks and dirt stains all over the place.

Jane had to ignore it for now for the sake of her own embarrassment, but she wanted to find out where the nearest Leray shop was from here. She could simply enter any one of these stores and buy beautiful dress spheres, but she still needed to stick to her battling style and gear in case anything else happens; that means replacing this ugly mercenary suit on the double.

As Jane went further in, she noticed small spaces between structures, leading to more walkways with more buildings on the other side in each direction. Some of the places were not stores though, but instead company property and offices that house the employees while they work. There was so much to see, Jane couldn't stop hearing the voices of everyone around her for a moment. Most of the people were fathers and their children, or the whole family entree passing by while the little ones begged for candy and sweets. They have everything she could think of to buy around here. Jane held on tightly to her license, eager to go on a total shopping spree for music, movies, food, dresses, jewelry, souvenirs, and other equipment.

But she had to remain realistic too. Jane didn't actually have that many credits anymore. All things considered, a few thousand might have been something in the Gulop region, but not here. Jane could tell that almost everything in this region was first class. Spending just a minute in a place like this could end up drawing at least 1000 credits from her wallet or license, and she knew there were other expenses to worry about. Since she was now low on food and water, this would be the first priority. Jane still needed to stock up on more healing orbs, then replace the mercenary outfit, and then pay for her unintended visit to the medical facility here. Not to mention that she was thousands of more credits short of paying back the worker she stole money from in Monoc Port. The feeling of not being able to afford anything; Jane felt that this made her weak.

Before long, Jane located other places around the blocks as well. There was a large dome in the northeastern distance outside of the plaza, a massive manufacturing facility for Lennith City, and that didn't include all of the other random governmental facilities built in places outside of the central plaza section. Jane however found out where the Leray store was hiding, quite inconspicuous for a popular business. It didn't stand out all that well from where Jane was standing then, given all of the competition.

Sentiment Kaoline is what the building was called this time. Jane found it amusing how every different Leray store had its own name after the trademark company brand Sentiment. Leray stores are all generally the same anyway as far as what kinds of items they sell, but the quality could vary significantly too.

After Jane went inside, it didn't take her long to buy the cheapest things she needed to first. After stocking up on healing orbs, she did happen to discover plenty of awesome Leray outfits, but none of them were even affordable, most of which were not worth the price tags. Instead, Jane used the changing room there to swap into her other dress sphere. It has already been worn once after she began the journey, and Jane soon realized that she needed a shower. Even the hotels here could be too much just to stay in. She would need to locate the building for it first though.

The exploration afterwards took forever. Jane spent two hours all on her own looking around, only entering stores that peaked her interest. In the end, she managed to acquire food rations and water at low prices, placing them back in her supply sphere with everything else, but the entire trip knocked off 745 credits from her savings. In the middle of her shopping, the license card finally responded to the earlier transaction from the medical facility, subtracting off 830 credits from Jane's license without even asking. 4330 was the remaining amount on her license. Considering that it's nearly the amount Jane started with, the total net gain was hardly impressive, but it was interesting to see how little she was charged from the facility, given Seth's earlier exaggerated estimate.

After leaving the plaza area, Jane discovered a small park. There wasn't much equipment set up for anyone to play around there of course, it's the park designed just for appeal and walking around. Benches, cut grass, another beautiful fountain of water, and custom grown trees. That's what this park was made of. Some people were already there, sitting on some of the benches. Others were reading magazines, walking, having a picnic, only enjoying the nice day without having to leave town at all.

Jane got closer, feeling drawn to the park by how quiet it was here. There was only a small handful of people here, and they weren't associated with each other. All in all, it provided a beautiful sense of serenity even for Jane as she walked in closer to one of the benches.

After sitting down, Jane could finally collect her thoughts. The trip to the Den of Purity would still be on, but it was a very long way away from here. The map says that the Outback is directly north from the north gate of Lennith City, but the city is so big that even that gate is too distant to spot from here. Simply impressive!

Jane would need transportation there this time, like a bicycle or something that didn't force her to walk on foot again. Bikes are not cheap either, but even so, getting lost in the Outback could be another problem. It's still best to leave today, since Jane will have a twenty-four hour exemption from battling given her injuries, but even walking there without battling is a horrible way to get to the Den of Purity. There aren't exactly manmade roads or fences set up over there. All she has to guide her now is a paper map out of scale with the area. Information was her friend now, but where to get that...

Jane knew it would be a bit unusual to just start asking random people around her for specific directions to the Den of Purity, but it was important to her. Jane simply decided to ask anyone, and chose from the closest person nearby. A man in his thirties sat on another bench nearby. Jane could easily remember him from here on - with how he dressed. At first it looked as if he were reading something in a paper, but Jane was proven wrong after he pulled out a pen and began writing something down on another sheet of paper.

Jane disregarded whatever the mathematical looking work was about, and cleared her throat to start asking for some guidance. "Excuse me? Do you think I could—?"

"Not now!" he rudely replied. "I'm busy sorting this information. You want to chat, go find someone else." He kept his head and attention in the paper he was using, not even glancing his eyes upward for a moment.

Jane didn't say anything else back. It was surprising to her the way he was acting. I guess everyone in Lennith will be like this. Everybody was busy with some kind of work, or out shopping. Even those relaxing don't want to be bothered. It felt kind of embarrassing to even try and speak up about it, but Jane didn't get to mention a thing about the northern path.

"Miss, is there some reason why you should be interrupting my husband?"

Jane felt a tingle go down her spine. The woman behind her didn't sound happy at all, and she was defiantly talking to Jane of everyone. Where did she even come from? Jane had to turn around, realizing that the woman was hovering in front of her curiously. "Uh—" Jane knew what this was about, but she was still startled by her. Having not spot her earlier sent chills down her spine. "I was asking for directions. Sorry."

The woman glared at Jane silently, trying to pick up on what she really wanted, but Jane wasn't leaving either. She just stood there, actually looking sorry with her face blushing, and her husband wasn't even paying attention anyway. "Directions huh? Maps can be picked up from any gate or facility here. Out of town folk don't come to the park for that anyway."

"Well..." Jane needed to rephrase what she meant quickly. It was true that perhaps she came to the wrong place to ask around, but where else could she start? "It's not actually about Lennith City. I need to know the best way through the Outback."

"The what now?"

Jane stuttered in surprise. "Ya— you don't know what the Outback is?"

"Nope. Never heard of it. Please try somewhere else and kindly get out of our hair."

Jane backed away quickly, halfway in surprise. The woman wasn't very nice to her about this, and neither was her husband. All she wanted were directions! Jane decided to just leave them alone and try to ask someone else, but as she walked in a random direction to the edge of the square in the park, she couldn't stop thinking about what the woman just told her. Who in the world has never heard of the Outback before? It's the largest wild land on the continental map! Mayhap they were tourists.

Those two are probably as hostile as they are mean to everyone. Jane figured she wouldn't have great luck just asking random adults around the area in Lennith City, but nobody even wanted to make eye contact with strangers. Jane perished the thought, realizing that it may have just been those two acting odd. Instead of continuing her walk around, Jane simply stopped again at the end of the field to think it through. She was now at the edge of the park, staring into Lennith's southern gate in the distance. There was some other guy who appeared to be in his twenties sitting on the ground next to her, but they both ignored each other. How do I get the means to go there? Why can't the den be closer?

"Out to enjoy the view?"

Jane heard that the man sitting nearby her had spoken a common question. His dark shaded red hair and face immediately gave away the fact that he was about a few years younger than what it seemed like form behind. The guy didn't have much emotion in his voice, nor did he look directly at Jane. Is there something about this place where people can't look others in the eye while they speak? "What's it to you?"

The guy snuffed for a reply, then kept staring ahead as if his previous comment was no longer interesting. "Never mind then."

Jane couldn't read him so easily. His voice and tone were inconsistent with his body language, but she seemed to already upset him somehow. That's not good; the attitude of some people here are already rubbing off on Jane. She didn't mean to be in a bad mood herself, especially not to someone who didn't actually tell her to get lost. "I'm sorry."

Jane's response finally got the guy to turn his head towards her. So people can look others in the eyes... Jane didn't expect the stranger to be this attractive. He seemed no older than three years ahead of her based on his current expression, but the kid didn't give a smile or a glimmer of happiness even after her response. Those deep silver colored eyes, Jane could tell that the man was hardly in the best of moods either. Was he sad? Perhaps mourning? What happened to give him this much trouble?

"For what?" he shrugged.

Jane got the feeling he wouldn't want to speak on his troubles, but the distractions in her mind slowed her reply. "I don't know. I can't seem to get directions from anybody. I know I've only asked two people so far, but..." Finding the best way there is only one out of many more steps. Jane knew she would have her work cut out for her today, and it might be a better idea all together to just sleep in a hotel tonight. Trying to rush it all the way to the Den of Purity just isn't a good idea anymore, and she already passed the hard part last night.

"Maybe I could help," he offered. It was more than obvious that this girl was new here, based on how different she acted contrast to other inhabitants here. "I do know this place pretty well myself. I'm Harris." He extended his open hand at Jane, introducing his name after his offer.

It took Jane an extra second to realize that Harris was the guy's name. It sure didn't fit his persona or his looks. Jane shook his hand in response, sharing her name with him. "Jane."

"Beautiful name," he added.

Jane tried not to let him flatter her, but he was acting the opposite of everyone else around here so far. She couldn't help but get curious. "If I could get half a greeting from anyone else around here, I'd throw credits in the air now. You wouldn't believe how rude everyone is here." Jane turned slightly with her arms folded together to further elaborate her concerns.

"What? That?!" Harris didn't seem one bit surprised, but his tone made it sound like he tolerated the same people Jane was complaining about. "That's just rush hour. Everyone who has a job here doesn't like when strangers interrupt them on their break, but somehow they blend in with those who aren't working either."

"I mean," Jane continued, "I haven't even seen or heard of any other Leray wielders in the town. Are they like hiding out or something?" She took her seat next to Harris, calming the atmosphere.

So she's a Leray wielder? No wonder she isn't getting any help. "Haven't you been to Lennith Stone yet? Ah, you don't look like you're from here anyway, so you wouldn't know it, but that's where all the wielders go to battle, if not to battle near their own homes. But that doesn't happen until school gets out. Courteous for all wielders to hold off on battling during school hours."

That's right, Jane remembered. They have an elite Leray training facility here somewhere. "Well you're right to say I'm new to Lennith, but I really need to get to the Den of Purity. Problem is, I can't just walk the Outback for days and nights unprepared, and I don't want to get lost there either with undetailed maps."

"The Outback?" Harris had to think about the name for a brief moment, forcing Jane's expression into another bit of confusion. "Oh! You mean the dark zone."

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Chapter Theme Shift: Train Graveyard ~ Final Fantasy 7 (Remaster Edition) OST

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"The what zone? I was talking about the Outback?"

"Alpha Zero?" he translated. Jane never looked at him more clueless than right now. "What? You never heard about what happened?"

"No— uh..." Jane couldn't even guess what was going on. Did something happen in the Outback to change the name? "I asked about the Outback. I don't know what this dark zone stuff is."

"Have you been hiding under a rock or something? Everybody knows about the dark zone!"

This isn't right! The Outback is what people should never forget. It's been drilled into every school's geography class since the beginning of early colonization here. Why is Harris referring to that place as something else? "What happened?" Jane's question immediately perked up Harris's face with surprise.

"Damn. Well now I've heard it all." He kept his expression light as to not offend Jane. "Some weird thing happened deep in the area, and the landscape has changed. The Alpha Zero is the name given to that big mess in the area. What you now call the Outback is something totally different than it was before."

So it did change?! "You're kidding!" Jane sat up on her hands, preparing to stand up. He couldn't mean that it changed physically, right? "The Outback's changed? How?"

"Ooooh, what a long story," Harris deflected. "I've give you the short version. Nobody travels north of Lennith City anymore, not since that incident warped the properties of the landscape. The place is a death trap now. It's been all over ProCom news, and the General Army has already stepped in to restrict that area off. It's some sort of ominous death lair now. Nobody in, nobody out; it's been that way for a couple months or so."

Jane quickly became upset about what she was hearing. Her heart began pounding to further deny this insane twist of reality. "You're telling me that there's a problem with getting to the Den of Purity?"

"Um, yeah! You can't enter the Alpha Zero. If you do, you won't be coming back out - if you know what I mean."

"But what happened in there? Why did the Outback change?"

Harris backed up a bit. Jane was beginning to sound very desperate about something, and it was making him nervous. "Look, I don't know all that much okay. Apparently some sort of dark magical energy screwed up what used to be known as the Outback. It's become a class-four danger site already, and it's off limits to the public. I think the General Army came by here recently to try another scouting run, but I haven't seen them around lately."

Jane stood up covered the sides of her head with her hands. "This can't be happening! This can't be happening! I need to get in there. I've never heard about this before."

There was something specific concerning Jane, but Harris knew not what it could be. Given how suddenly distressed she seemed, he stood up as well, without understanding why. "Well it was all over the news for the past two months, at least on the local channel it was. You'll just have to wait until the General Army fixes it. I don't actually know what it's like in there."

"You didn't go to see for yourself?" Jane probed. Harris could be mistaken? Yeah, that has to be it!

Harris's eyes opened wide at the words. "Are you nuts?! Of course I didn't go in there! It's a dark zone! Leray magic can't protect you in dark zones. Those who have already tried to scope the place out have never come back. That's why it's so dangerous. You go in there, you disappear. That's how it works now."

"Thanks for your help, but I have to go." Jane immediately picked up her feet and began walking north, quick to skip as much time as possible. I have to see this for myself.

"Wait a minute! Jane!"

Jane didn't look back. Harris sure was nice enough to tell her what he could, but it didn't add up at all. Was this why the name Outback was mysterious to everyone now? Is that only what people used to call it? Jane needed to make it to the north gate. If what Harris was saying is true, they probably won't let her through. With the sun still hanging high in the sky, Jane departed northward towards the gate to the Outback. They can't stop her here, they can't!