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<01/19/1972 – 13:51 | Lennith City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
"I've already told you for the last time. No entry without the proper clearance!" The soldier standing in front of an array of fences and barricades was raising his voice at the civilian. His unique suit of metal armor and the tactical helmet covering his entire face made him and his partner stand out, but that was the point of guarding this gate. They work for the General Army, carrying unusual rifles and headwear while they simply stand by and check everybody's clearance before they can enter. Even with proper clearance, only the military can enter on assignment with squads. That's about as much information Jane was able to obtain anyway. "Civilians and Leray wielders don't classify as authorized personnel. So turn around, and go home!"
Jane groaned at the explanation. She couldn't do anything about it at all. Her only way into the Alpha Zero was being blocked by these two guards. Great, now they have her calling it the Alpha Zero too, and without any understanding as to what that means. Jane backed away slowly, deciding not to do anything irrational. Everybody knows that disobeying the GA is a terrible mistake, one that will send her to prison for sure. Their clearance ranks higher than that of any Leray agent or gradyent.
Jane turned around again, pondering what to do now in her defeat. Well this is just fucking great! I came all the way here for nothing. In truth, Jane had no idea that this massive outbreak of dark magic somehow consumed the entire wild lands of the Outback. Now it's commonly called the Alpha Zero by most military members, and the locals just call it the dark zone. If people aren't allowed in, Jane can't make it to the Den of Purity at all. The edges of the Outback are all landlocked by tall and rough terrain, similar to the Sprawn Valley barrier. So going there by sea isn't an option.
She began to wonder if teleportation symbols might work from this range, but she had no idea how to harness that kind of power, or how to use such a sophisticated style of magic to generate an alternative method of travel. Teleportation symbols are illegal to ordinary wielders anyway, so it would stand out if she tried to learn it. Jane continued walking in a random direction, slowly and without purpose. If she can't get to the Den of Purity, then she really has come here for nothing, and her quest to become a Leray master is all in vain, all because of that stupid Amahar spell bomb!
Just thinking about that day began boiling her blood. Jane could feel her entire body heat up in response, but she tried to cool herself down quickly. Getting angry over her past would do her no good anyway. If only Danny and Taylor were here right now. They should already be on their way, locked-on to whatever sort of trail she left behind after leaving Tilsit Port. Then again, they do have a long and obnoxious Route 96 to cross. If Belzer hasn't made his changes yet, it will be even more challenging to cross leaving from Lennith City, so that's out of the question.
Jane decided to forget about the route and stay here. It's Danny's turn to finally come up with the plan and find her. I might as well stay here in Lennith City. I've got nowhere else to go.
Jane held on to her thought while approaching what was the northwest side of Lennith City. There were large governmental buildings and structures here that Jane did not recognize before. This really is a big place, and that's why they must call it a city despite the total lack of tall structures. As she got a little closer, Jane could make out the purpose of each structure, plus a large village behind them. The post office was in front of her, with a large warehouse and some other large facility further to her right. Far back in the distance appeared to be the living section of the populous here, large and tall houses built everywhere higher on the hills. If she had a local map, this would have been easier to discover.
Jane didn't want to talk to any more GA soldiers. It's their fault she can't cross. It didn't matter to her that the Alpha Zero was more dangerous than anything else. With all of her abilities and learning how to fight with magic, how bad can it really be?
It took a lot longer for Jane to notice that the other facility was the one and only Lennith training facility. She needed to get closer to find that out, but the building itself was really impressive. It was two stories high, professionally built like every other building in the city, and it seemed like there was a dedicated training area just outside of the school just for the students to practice more.
They say that Lennith's school is one of the most popular there are just because it is in the central trading city of Junon, thus more noticed, but the government pays for these facilities. Obviously the Dakota training academy back home doesn't deserve this much praise for some reason. The government must care less about backwater towns or landlocked civilizations, because this building right here made Jane's training facility seem like a storage closet.
Jane gave up on her previous thoughts. She was too impressed by the structural elegance of the local academy to think any more about the heavy stuff, and she has always been interested in things that deal with Leray magic. Jane tried to imagine what her life would have been like living here instead of back home. Graduating at Lennith's facility, it sounded like a dream worth waiting for, and this place probably has more advanced levels of training and graduation requirements.
Jane remembered graduating from Dakota with only a basic level, but her school could only afford just the first three levels of Leray training. There exists many more, requiring the students to stay in longer over many years to accomplish those levels of skill sets. Some Leray wielders don't even begin their journey until they have graduated with more advanced classes.
She could remember every single one. There was basic training, the minimum requirements to own a Leray magic license. Without a license, one is not allowed to use Leray magic for any purpose whatsoever, unless that case becomes a sort of emergency. The second level is called Elevated training, though it's actually not a prerequisite to entering advanced training, which is the third level. Then after that comes five separate levels of training - in the form of volumes. Volumes take one year each to complete on average, and they exceed the advanced training level to show Leray wielders how to fight beyond what is expected of them. Then the last tier, which is said to only exist in the legendary training academy in Eldora City, is known as Elite Leray training. Elite training is specifically designed to prepare worthy Leray wielders for their fights against the Elite Five and their champion. If only Jane had that much time and money...
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Chapter Theme Shift: Darkest Skies ~ Synthetic Anatomica
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All things considered, learning everything in the real world with firsthand experience felt like a lot more fun for her. She got curious enough to think on what exact type of training advanced level students obtain, and that's when Jane suddenly froze up. She looked around casually, but her mind became preoccupied with another idea. Advanced training... I wonder, if I enroll here and become much stronger, I shouldn't have a problem getting to Purity.
She let it sink in as other passed her by randomly. Jane had forgotten how incredibly busy and crowded this place was, but it was much less dense in this area compared to others. Jane knew she needed to at least see this for herself. Even if she does decide to enroll here and take up a lot more time, Danny and Taylor won't mind it at all. They can catch up with their skills while Jane sharpens her own. Once she can improve her ability to survive there, it should be easy to make it through the Alpha Zero. Even if those soldiers don't let her pass the gate, there would be other means of forcing her way in.
Technically, Jane could just force her way through right now, she knew it would have been easy, but after seeing how desperately that soldier tried to keep her out, and after having more time to let it simmer into her mind, it soon became clear that Alpha Zero must be dangerous even for elite soldiers, something she is obviously not. With the curse on her endurance, anything there could kill her, though it wasn't certain yet as to what specific things are dangerous about dark zones. Her body was decided at least. Jane was moving her legs forward, walking with only minor hesitation to the front of the impressive building. It was called the Lennith Training Academy. No fancy names branched off from this facility, so they must take a lot of pride being built in this city. Jane took a very deep and nervous breath when she came to the front entrance. The doors here were push and pull only, no automations this time. All of the glass was tinted somehow to make it difficult to see the other side. Jane pushed against the doors, slowly opening them into the front entrance of the school.
To Jane's surprise, it wasn't much like she expected. Most schools have a front desk and a section to handle registration, and then it leads straight into the main hallway, but this was a bit different. The room here was totally square, but very large for what it should have been. Chairs were everywhere against the walls for those who needed to wait, and the front counter was installed further down to her right.
For a room like this though, everything was highly secure. The one and only door leading further into the facility was locked up with a digital padlock interface, and some sort of body scanner or metal detector was set up just before the clear section too. Everything in between the counter and that door was a solid opaque wall, and the only way to the other side even for the employee - was to use the same door. What the hell are these people expecting to happen? The way things looked around here, Jane thought this school might have been attacked before in some many days past.
"Excuse me? Can I help you?"
Jane was distracted by the adult lady at the other side of the counter. Jane didn't notice anybody else in this entire room except for one sleeping person on the chair. He must have been waiting to pick up his kid or something, but usually students just let themselves out. Jane had never seen a facility like this one before, and this room was only the front desk area. Ironically, this just made Jane more nervous than before, but the lady at the counter called her up to discover her business.
Jane approached the front of the counter, realizing that it would not be easy to climb over to the other side, the way it was designed. Special tinted glass separated the open space between the ceiling and the top of the counter, leaving only a small open slot where the employee was able to stand. "Um—" Jane paused to think about what she was going to say. Her mind was still taken by the impressive interior of the place. A building like this was better than Blue Port Town and Fronas combined. She could even live here. "I'd like to try out some of the programs here. Can I see what the facility is like?"
"What do ya want? A tour guide?" she snapped. "Only staff and students are allowed in the school. You can learn more from our pamphlets if you want. So did you come here to register? Sightseeing isn't something we do here."
That's just harsh! "Uh, yeah. Register. Let's do that." Jane couldn't help from sounding weird, but she was deciding between two things at once. If she actually registers herself to a specific class, she'll be bound to this school for a long time. Then again, she'll have to deal with fees as well, and that means getting a side job at the same time. Then again, if she can't pay for the fees, they'll just kick her out. Perhaps Jane could get a tour that way! The lady also carried a tone in her voice. She was another one of those people, too impatient to make small talk or give others a warm greeting. How much can a person hate their job and still attend every single day?
"Okay. I'll need your identification please. Also I'll need to know which levels you are willing to sign up for." Suddenly she was being straight forward.
Jane handed over her Leray license to the woman, noticing that she had a license scanner and a desktop computer beside her. "I've already graduated with basic, so..."
The lady placed the card in the scanner, and then focused her attention on the computer screen. "You want to go with elevated or advanced?"
Just as Jane knew before. Elevated and Advanced are specially known for being gateway levels of Leray training, and that is because elevated training is optional, while less advanced than advanced. "I'll go with advanced," she answered. "But I still don't know anything about monthly costs and which studies I want to focus on. I'm new here."
"I understand," she comforted. After clicking on a few more items Jane couldn't see from her angle, the lady turned to Jane for a swift reply. "I can see here that you've recently graduated from basic. Standard fees for level three training run at three hundred fifty credits per day of enrollment. So that would tally to around seventy-seven hundred credits sharp every month. You can either concede to payment methods by weekly amounts, monthly charges, or annual charges."
"Oh." Jane's excited expression died right in front of her. Doing the math by month, Jane did not realize before now that it was so expensive here. She could only afford this school for maybe half a month, and only keep it going with a stable job. She couldn't just fight people for money every day. What if she loses? Or what if... No, it's not worth it! "Um... Is there any cheaper option?"
The lady nodded side to side. "I'm sorry. That's our specialty this year, and unless you've got a good payment method, enrollment to this facility isn't cheap. You want to wait until later? Next graduation generally happens around this February, so it's better timing at that point anyway."
Jane could feel her face burning red. She usually gets like this when people turn her down this way. "That's okay. I'll come back later." Jane waited for the lady to give her back the license card, and walked out of the building through the front entrance in defeat. Again, another plan that isn't even a full option shot down just like that. Jane couldn't possibly hope to accumulate those kinds of credits in such a short amount of time. The kids here must have rich and able parents to support their dreams. Jane could only get a onetime three thousand credit boost just to start her journey, and for Dakota's training academy, it was ten credits a day only. What a rip-off!
Jane gave herself a long sigh of breath. All she could possibly do now was give up and wait for her friends to come and find her. It could even be a long wait, and after they arrive, there won't be anything to do. Maybe she could still find some people in this city to battle against. If they're anything as rude as the typical city person, it might just make such fights satisfying enough to destroy opponents that way, but what was the point anymore?
Jane remembered the last fight she took part in against Patrissa. True it is that Patrissa was defiantly skilled, even crafty in battle, but Jane still lost in her eyes. The very moment her battle armor was destroyed at last, it was as if her survival skills deteriorated entirely. This was defiantly a curse to her endurance. No matter how she battles now, she'll never be able to survive a few simple Leray attacks despite all of her new Leray skills. Heading straight for an unknown land of darkness and death might be a bad idea after all, but Jane was at least hoping that people in this school might have a few suggestions for that. Apparently it's just another waste of effort.
"Kill Wave!"
Jane just heard someone shout the name of a Leray ability, or at least that's what it sounded like. The voice was faded though, like he was a great distance away. She looked around for who might have said that. Watching a Leray battle might just cheer her up a little, but Jane didn't see anybody shooting off powerful spells nearby. Then just now, she heard another voice, a chant of a name she couldn't even make out, but the direction was behind her.
Jane turned around, realizing that the noise was coming from outside of the school, somewhere on the other side. Curious to figure it out, Jane began pacing around to the side of the building, searching for any hint of people or stray Leray magic. It would be a bit harder to see the magic itself in broad daylight, but then again - people are more visible that way too.
Jane could hear more people talking as she continued down the path. Eventually she ended up in that place she saw earlier, the outdoor training field set up just for the students here. Harris referred to this spot as the Lennith Stone, but Jane never put that together so far, and then an entire class of teenagers and a couple of adults came into view. Jane was immediately amazed. She had never seen this before, an entire class of people training themselves with Leray magic outdoors as one large team. There was a total amount of unity involved. Jane and the other students from the facility in her home town didn't train like this at all, hardly did anyone work together, but still, there was never a designated training ground for them there either.
There were a lot of people in the field today. They appeared to be all wearing formal dress clothes, advanced versions of dress spheres. Yet without the use of a single Siriean dome, they practiced all sorts of random abilities, aiming at the ground or the sky. It wasn't a battle happening here outside, it was a training exercise for one of the classes.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Fly By Contact ~ Star Ocean 3 OST
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Jane just stood there, curiously watching everyone do their own thing. It reminded her a lot about home and the better days before her. The people here were all about her own age, except for their teacher, who was wearing a very nice piece of dress sphere and standing watch over her students. Whoever the teacher was though managed to suddenly notice Jane's presence. Jane tensed nervously! Does this count as trespassing for these people? Why does this have to happen now?
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The teacher was facing Jane from the distance, waving her arm and pulling it back in. She was signaling Jane, telling her to come over there. Jane knew she had already been spotted, but she wasn't in the mood for apologies right now. Despite this, Jane decided to at least indulge her curiosity and head towards the teacher. The second she began closing in, all of the other students became distracted, turning to see Jane for their first time. Everybody here was curious too it seemed.
"Are you lost?" the teacher asked.
Jane reached normal speaking range, but replied swiftly at the allegation. "No I'm not lost! I was just... Admiring a class I can't get into." Jane's voice lowered at the end of her sentence. She was noticeably getting depressed now too. Looking back at the random instructor, Jane noticed that the blond hair woman was in her mid-thirties. She didn't seem upset or angry though. It was kind of a weird track for this city.
"Name's Claudia. What happened? You have a problem with enrollment?" she asked.
Jane was immediately impressed by Claudia's calm tone. She didn't seem aggravating or upset at all. For some reason, people in Junon act much grumpier than those coming from Gulop. That's the pattern Jane drew up anyway. Maybe they need to build a beach here too for everyone to—
"Hello?"
"Ah—" Jane forgot her manners, getting lost in her thoughts before introducing herself to the teacher. "Sorry. My name's Jane. And yes, I wanted to see if I could try and get stronger here, but I can't possibly afford the plan."
"That's too bad," she sympathized. "What level are you anyway? New here?"
Jane nodded, "Yep. I only have basic so far, but I want to sign up for Advanced."
"Really now?" Claudia did seem slightly surprised by Jane's answer. "My class right here are of advanced training students. It's too bad you couldn't join us."
"Are you really the only teacher who does advanced?" Jane had to be sure. Lennith was so different from Fronas, even by the academy standards.
"Of course not," she denied with a soft laugh. Claudia addressed Jane's answer with her alluring light-empty blue eyes. "You could have been placed in several other classes, but it all depends on what nature you want as well. You can choose to become a Leray wielder or a Leray agent. You can also choose other interests to dwell in, like learning about Leray history as a side session, or picking something else like Archeology or Crystalosis..."
"Yeah, I know." Jane didn't need it rubbed into her face. Lennith academy is defiantly much more advanced if it offers side sessions, and on top of that, Lennith academy even specializes by career too. Side sessions are like extra add-ons to Leray training, add-ons that act as a normal class would. Side sessions train people in studies that can be used in a career that is related to the studies or handling of Leray magic, without the actual weight and worry of Leray battles. "Wait, which one are you?"
Claudia took her time to answer, staring at Jane and checking her out first. "History and Crystalosis, but I only teach Crystalosis to level five students. Where are you from?"
"Well..." Jane suddenly realized that there was a lot about her to explain. She wasn't even supposed to be in this region yet, all things considered. There was also a lot she wanted to know about this mysterious Alpha Zero, the Den of Purity, and her Leray curse, but maybe she should wait before telling others that. "I'm from Fronas town. It's in the Gulop region."
"Ah, Fronas town." Coming from such a small village, the thought filled her with solace trying to imagine settling down there.
"You know it?"
Claudia sounded like the name was familiar to her, and she responded to Jane's small talk while her students continued working. "I know of it. Never been there though. I only got to visit one place in that region, and that was a long time ago."
"I see." Jane didn't see this going anywhere. Claudia must simply be bored, and pulled Jane over here for the primary purpose of chatter. It wasn't likely that she knew anything about the Alpha Zero, but what Jane needed even more was information about how to bypass that zone. If it is illegal just for her to enter, progress might be impossible.
Jane must be new to Junon itself. It can be easy to tell. She seems so relaxed too. "There's something I don't get."
Jane raised her eye brows. "What is it?"
Claudia folded her arms over her chest, just to show how confused she was about something. "You said you graduated with basic, right? And then you came from Fronas? Did you graduate in this region?"
"No. Not really." As Jane answered Claudia, she suddenly realized that the sunlight had turned into shade in just a few seconds. She quickly glanced up, noticing a large sheet of white puffy clouds. The sky was totally vacant earlier, but at least it didn't look like a threatening storm was brewing right now. "I trained in Dakota."
"Then wouldn't you have to have crossed Route 96?"
Jane didn't understand what was so strange about this. Claudia couldn't really actually know that Jane was chased off the beach from some crazy Leray attacker, or that her boat got lost at sea only to be luckily drifted to Monoc Port. "What are you getting at?"
"Not sure," Claudia exhaled. "I just didn't think that people with basic training could easily cross Route 96. Usually people only with level three or higher walk around that place." Level three training refers to Advanced Level One, since it is the third grade position from having no training. "You must have lost a lot of credits, huh?"
In truth, Jane won all of her battles there, well most of them anyway, but maybe that was suspicious for a person like her. Could it really be though? Her curse should have made it more challenging to battle, not easier. All Jane did was buy a solid metal suit of armor and learned more abilities overnight to cross the route. All in all, that armor didn't allow her to fight well; more did it simply give her balance against the curse and against what training she could stand to gain right now. It seemed like Claudia was a bit surprised at Jane crossing the road at her level, but then again, it's not like that would be illegal either. What did she really have to hide anyway? "Not really." Jane didn't want to sound excited about her wins. They meant nothing in the end if she couldn't get to her own destination. "I guess I took a few hits there, but nothing I couldn't handle."
So then, it was graduate, train for a long time, then cross Route 96. A wielder of her age still shows some promise. "Well it's good that things are going your way then. Hearing about other people's success stories is something I like to do. What good of a teacher could anyone be if they couldn't measure anything?"
Jane understood Claudia's point, but she was stretching it a bit by describing Jane's story as a success. Jane instead held her tongue, unwilling to provide any different description.
"So? How long have you been a wielder Jane?"
"I don't know. A few weeks?"
"A few weeks?" What is Jane saying? Claudia felt as though Jane was mistaken. "And you said you handled most of your recent battles well?"
"Uh, yeah. It wasn't as tough as I feared, but it also wasn't easy to make it through that road." What is this? Is Claudia just delusional, or pathetically bored? Why does this even matter?
"Now you're just making things up, aren't you?"
Jane couldn't believe this! Was it really that hard to believe that she had won several battles in a row? With her suit of armor, her curse was temporarily negated, so that means she fought like any other normal person would have. Having the armor with damage eater would have given a normal person the advantage, but in Jane's case, her stats would have evened out. Therefore, she technically won most of her battles by skill or luck alone, even if she nearly lost a few times. "How is that hard to believe?"
She's more impressive than she thought. "Wait a minute," Claudia judged. "You said your name was Jane?" She waited for Jane to nod, but the girl seemed a bit confused. "It can't be! You're not the one who encountered Patrissa's gang last night, were you?"
Jane winced, but she couldn't answer. Claudia sounded rather excited suddenly, as if Jane might have pulled off a miracle. If she answers yes, it might make her more popular than she wanted to be. Either way, how did that information leave the hospital? Aren't there codes of protocol, like patient confidentiality?! Doctors couldn't have violated that kind of rule, so it must have been that stupid agent! When did Claudia get a chance to chat with them? This isn't fair! "That's not important right now—"
"Not important?! That bitch has been stealing from people for years!" Claudia was not embarrassed at all to be swearing in her language. It didn't seem likely from the looks of her, but this has to be the Jane they were talking about after all. The girl that agent spoke of, this could be the same Jane. Who knew she would be so young too? "Even I couldn't subdue those losers when I bumped into them one time, yet you alone knocked her entire squad out."
"How did you even find out about that? Isn't my medical information supposed to be confidential?" Jane already confirmed to herself that there was the potential loophole, but in saying it out loud, it might make Claudia shut up before causing a scene.
Claudia slightly shut her eyes and shifted to her side. "What happened last night wasn't exactly water under a bridge you know. A lot of people are talking about it, how some unknown Leray traveler managed to wipe out Patrissa and her helpers in battle, while also knocking themself out. I never thought that person was you though."
"Word certainly travels fast around here." Jane sounded cynical. She didn't deserve the credit. All she did was protect herself from having her future taken away from her. Patrissa was being horrible alright, but she simply made her threat against Jane. "That could have happened with anybody."
Claudia felt slightly guilty for making Jane stand out, though there weren't any people around sniffing for that information either. Does she really hate positive attention this much? "Doubtful."
Jane could now see what was going on with the instructor. She was smiling, trying to hide it a bit from her, but Claudia was smiling. Did she really get this excited about someone taking down three people at once? Or was Patrissa really that evil? Jane accidentally imagined Patrissa's face imitating that of a witch with snakes for hair, and had to hold back a random laugh with the air in her cheeks.
Claudia explained to Jane the reason for her praise. "It's how Patrissa operates anyway. She battles people officially to seem like a normal wielder. Then knocks them out to steal their stuff. She bypasses the strike restriction by cycling the licenses of her helpers as they hide, and if she's on the brink of losing, Patrissa will forfeit, then gang up on her target, only to steal their stuff as usual. I nearly subdued her once, but she and her gang ran off using teleport crystals before I could learn more. I have to ask, how did you wind up taking her out like that? Did you see through her disguise?"
"This is ridiculous," Jane sounded. "All anybody had to do was use Redemption. I took all of them out with that one spell."
"Redemption..." At first it seemed like Claudia was new to the name of the special ability, and then she replied, "I understand it's a powerful spell, reckless too. Yet entirely effective even against multiple targets. I can't believe nobody ever thought to try that out when hunting that gang... And you managed to learn a powerful ability like that in basic training? Now I'm really impressed." What is going on with Dakota these days? They must be forging new training sessions to spit out students this powerful.
"No," Jane corrected. It's not impressive! "I didn't learn that in basic. I knew Route 96 was going to be crawling with other challengers, so I trained myself to use more abilities. I figured it was time for an upgrade anyway."
At first, Jane's lack of self-praise seemed annoying to her, but Claudia soon felt that the usual knack of arrogance was totally absent in this girl, where it existed with most other Leray wielders starting out. "I can at least say it's interesting," Claudia admitted. "Most first year graduates I know of don't learn a collection of powerful spells at such a young age. Or did you graduate years ago?"
"I started my journey less than a week ago, and it's not unusual for me. I train harder than anyone else does to master my skills." For a brief moment, Claudia was silent, processing the knowledge. "I have to be! I'm supposed to become a Leray master after all."
A Leray master? Jane learned all of the spells she learned in the time it took to learn basic training, plus only a week after graduation? Such talent is beyond advanced or gifted wielders, and wiping out Patrissa proves she is the real deal! "I get it now." Jane gave her a strange look, so Claudia explained what she understood about her. "People with big dreams like that try a lot harder. You must be very determined."
"That's why I think training is so important. There's never a moment where I could learn too much."
"I am in agreement," Claudia repeated. So Jane must have also been a top student there, a teacher's best friend at that. Of all the personal tutoring Claudia has done for others in the past, this is an honor! From the corner of her eyes, Claudia could see that her students were slowing down. They were already getting tired after all of today's work, but this was still too interesting. It's not every day she gets to talk to someone who defeats a powerful criminal in one night. The wannabe hardcore Leray agent sure wasn't of any helpful information. "How long did it take you to master Redemption?"
What is this, a fan club? Jane was getting angry by how much time this was wasting, but she was quickly reminded about the fact that she is still stuck after all. What more could she do anyway? Can't waste time if she can't use it in the first place. "I learned it in one night. Last night actually."
"Oh, horse manure! Don't shave the estimate down so far!"
"What do you mean horse manure?" Jane retorted. "I learned what I learned when I needed it. I had to! I was in a hurry to get here after all, so I chose a list of random abilities and spells and learned them as best as I could. It took me all night." What is it with these people doubting her own hard work? Is her age really that impressive for those skills? Jane recalled not too long ago a bratty girl on the beach using Mega-Flare, and a ten year old boy living in a slump on Route 96 who was capable of invoking various spells even she didn't know about! "I did spend eight hours training without much of a break, so it's not impossible to believe."
"Maybe," she stuttered. "But you said other spells were on the list?"
"Yeah," Jane elaborated. "Drilling Fate, Meteor Strike, Triple Fire, Moon Shadow... I had to learn a lot of new skills, because the ones I learned in Dakota just weren't good enough."
"And you said you mastered all of those abilities in just eight hours, without any previous training whatsoever?" What is with this girl? Something else must be going on here.
"What the fu—? What has gotten into you?! Is learning a few abilities really that hard to believe? I don't look that weak, do I?" Jane raised her voice at her. It was getting old fast. "It's not surprising that I learn slightly faster than other people... Well," Jane quickly reset her tone, realizing that not every single one of her powers was learned that quickly. "Spells like Triple Fire was one I was working on for weeks before then, and there are still some spells that I didn't get to invoke yet. But still, it's normal for a person to learn so many skills if you train hard."
"No-ho it isn't," Claudia argued. "I could understand if maybe they were beginner spells after graduation, but you're listing a lot of abilities that only advanced level or higher get to learn. Jane, it isn't normal for a person to master that many high level abilities in just one day, and then walk a nine-mile road winning battles with those abilities in the same night."
"Whatever." Jane was done with this stupid talk. It's going nowhere for no reason. All Claudia was going to do is try and get Jane to be impressed with herself? She didn't even do anything. "All I've done was in vain anyway. I can't even go anywhere now because my skills aren't high enough. So I don't think this massive amount of praise for me is well-founded." Jane crossed her arms and turned her back on Claudia. It's not like she had anything else to say at this point.
"I've never met anyone like you." Jane was still ignoring Claudia. She thought it was strange for someone to frown upon such rare and amazing accomplishments, but there was more to this than Jane might realize. "You can somehow master Leray magical abilities in one-tenth the time it takes an ordinary person to. Not only that, but you seem to be determined to become a Leray master as well."
"Yes, very impressive. Whatever," her sarcastic tone endured.
Jane, just what is your motivation, your drive? What is it that pushes you so far so fast? If everything she said is true, then elite facilities like the ones in Eldora would hire enrollment agents just to coax her in on discount! "It's possible you've got some kind of natural talent for quick learning, and a ton of potential to do great things with that gift. All you need is the right instructor to bring that out of you."
Jane finally turned around. She didn't raise her voice, trying not to make a scene in front of her whole class, though all of that bickering already has - to a small degree. "Yeah, well this school thinks it's too good for my kind of money. I'm not paying six years into debt just so that I can learn a few abilities with no guarantee that it will help me."
Money is always a barrier to learning these days, but Jane has so much potential in her. She can probably run circles around Claudia's current students right now, and all Jane wants to do is learn more... "So come with me instead."
A short pause endured. "What?" What was Claudia asking her to do now?
"Look kid. You've got a lot of talent, even if you disagree, and I like teaching people who are both good with Leray magic and love to learn it at the same time. People like that are rare, which is why I don't normally make such exceptions for others. Even when you told me you dealt with Patrissa, I wasn't sure. I don't think you would lie about something like that, especially since the skill you referenced would really have been the only skill I could imagine wiping out several people at once; it all fits."
"What are you saying?" Jane relaxed her muscles. It seemed like Claudia was offering her some kind of deal. Is there a secret ten percent off coupon?
"I want you to become one of my students. Officially, you won't be able to register with the school itself, and that means you can't receive the title and honors of level three graduation under your name. Normally, I do private tutoring similar to this for certain students already enrolled, but I don't have all that much time on my hands to also add more after school hours... I can defiantly train you to use level three magic, and without it costing you a single credit, but it's all going to happen under the table too, see?"
Jane opened her mouth to respond, but the offer was so unexpected that she couldn't say anything. Teachers can do that? Train others under their wing without getting paid or fired? What kind of person does Claudia think she is anyhow? Jane could literally just waltz off and tell on her for this, putting an immediate end to her career. Does Claudia really have that much faith in teaching Jane something? In any case, she is defiantly obsessed with Jane's natural talent for Leray magic, even without seeing any physical demonstrations.
It isn't all that right to smuggle free students into classrooms, but Lennith training academy used to charge less than half the price it does now. Money must not become the end of the line for someone like Jane, someone who has the potential to do so much good in the world. It's defiantly a big risk just to think about bringing Jane into a facility where she isn't registered, but even so, there are ways of legitimizing some of the process. That only costs time itself. "You don't have to answer right now. But I'm also not supposed to be allowed to do this, so I'll have to have you sworn to secrecy."
"Okay hold on a minute." Jane needed to straighten a few things out first. She glanced around, keeping her voice low so that nobody but Claudia could hear the next thing. "You want to break school violation, not get paid anything extra, and still illegally train me under your instruction and observation? I don't understand what you get out of taking a big risk like this."
"Was I not clear in my earlier explanation?" Claudia kept her voice down too. She knew that someone in her own class has defiantly heard too much, but her students already respected her in very deep ways. "It's not every day I get to find someone with such excellent learning talent as yourself. It's highly possible that you can reach graduation standards much earlier than my current students can, and they've already been here for seventy percent of the course. You seem to want a lot of training on top of your experience, and I happen to want to train someone like you how to properly harness your own gifts and abilities."
"But—"
Claudia didn't even let Jane interrupt yet. "We can talk about semantics later. Since our session is nearly over today, you'll have to decide tomorrow morning at eight A.M. If you are interested in joining up with my class, I'll personally train you with no cost to your own credits. Rat me out, and I'll have you ejected from the city in shame. I'm not as vulnerable in this as you might think. However, you are just as free to refuse my offer too."
Jane couldn't believe that Claudia was making this kind of exception for her. Jane didn't know that learning skills so quickly was even a natural talent. To her, it wasn't worth anything... In just another moment, Jane's eyes lit up with a sudden brain blast. If Claudia really does have something special she can teach Jane, perhaps something that can naturally negate the effects of her curse, or at least the means of getting to the Den of Purity unscathed... Jane would be an idiot to pass up an opportunity like this! Her interests renewed, Jane faced Claudia directly, plotting out how it should go down. "How would I get past the front desk though?"
Claudia nodded in disagreement. "You won't be using the front desk for the total time you're in my group. See that door behind me?" Jane glanced behind her to check and see the visible door for herself, blending in somewhat to the color of the exterior structure. "Our class uses this exit to come out here and train. You'll have to use it to enter the school from here on. Make sure to look for room number 1607 if you're going to the classroom. We'll be in there for the most part tomorrow."
"But what if someone asks for registration anyway, like in the hallway?"
"Look," Claudia reassured. "I'll take care of the little things and make it seem to anyone else that you're registered in my class. The only way anyone will get suspicious about it is if you forget to use this door instead of the front desk. And of course, don't let anyone see you enter from it in the mornings."
"Room 1607?" Jane watched the teacher nod with a hopeful expression. She was beginning to wonder what the heck was happening. The chance to actually enter the advanced school for an advanced class was nearly impossible for her, yet this teacher she doesn't even know is vouching for her this far? Where are Danny and Taylor at times like these? One of them would know whether it was a good idea or a bad idea. Jane didn't have to decide yet, not until tomorrow.
"Go ahead and return to your duties tonight. I'll be waiting for your answer." Claudia stood up tall, turning towards the field. She cuffed her open hands over her mouth, amplifying her voice slightly. "That's good enough everyone. Let's head back and get everything packed up." After a routine call like that, her students reacted quickly, all lining up towards the door and heading on in without her. Claudia was going with them, but she shot glances back at Jane.
Even though she was speechless for several moments, Jane didn't know what to do now. The teacher and her class all went inside the building, the door shutting behind them. Could Jane really do this? Training to become at a more advanced level... Even if that did work to make her more immune to the Alpha Zero which is said to have become deadly and dangerous, would that really be enough? One could still graduate with the highest rank possible and still be considered a Leray wielder. She wouldn't be allowed past the North gate no matter what. In other words, that soldier isn't going to change his mind no matter what.
Jane turned around, walking back to the plaza where she saw a nice inn earlier. She kept to her thoughts right now, not that there was anybody to talk to anyway. If I can learn a teleportation symbol there, maybe I can get past the guard, perhaps even teleport straight into the Den of Purity without all the danger. But even that was a stretch. Claudia might be willing to break rules just for Jane right now all in order to train her, but she wouldn't break national laws just for Jane's personal needs, right? What about Jane's friends? How long will it be of a wait until they reach Lennith City?
Jane refused the very thought of heading back to search for them. If it weren't for this stupid curse, she wouldn't mind traveling on Route 96 three times a day just for fun, but this was getting serious now. Turning down an offer for free school isn't normally her own thing. Maybe Claudia could tell her more about the Alpha Zero though, maybe.
For now, Jane needed to stick to the important things for today, like booking that hotel room at a low price, and of course finding something to eat for lunch and dinner. Plus she needed a shower, Jane and her outfit both.