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<12/27/1971 ~ 22:00 | Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
The day's hours passed by while Danny and Taylor got things more sorted out. Much of the day was really a cool down for the both of them. After using so much magic in a single moment against live targets in one of the most interesting tests either of them have seen, it was natural they were exhausted for over two solid hours. Jane of course was in such good shape that it didn't even faze her after getting back to Dakota. Taylor ended up talking to Kain again about her future as a Leray wielder. He said some more encouraging things about what being a Leray fighter is all about, and in Jane's case, she has to eventually learn to win 90% of her battles without betting too highly when on a streak.
Danny figured Kain would say such nonsense about Leray magic. He never really figured out why Kain was so gung-ho on having them learn magic in the first place. After all, it made no sense to try and stop two lost teenagers from getting the hell out of this country, but things were different now from his own perspective. Kain has no idea about Taylor's situation with the Banshee Empire, and because she does have such a situation, Danny knew he couldn't just leave as planned. So naturally, he had to play along after Kain found him, pretending to be as excited about magic as Jane was. Danny couldn't lie to himself though. Leray magic is not so bad, and it is actually quite fun to throw all of his own training against a live opponent, more so than he would have expected. Even now, he felt a little buzzed from before, the sensation left him wanting another battle against a more worthy Cran. Still, even if they graduate using Kain's money, what happens after?
Jane took herself home in the afternoon to repair Taylor's burned dress, making sure not to speak about it to another living soul. Taylor would do one of two things if she did. Jane didn't know Taylor well enough yet to suppose which options it would be. The students that all returned from the Hix Ruins were all supposed to check in to see whether they passed or failed, and Jane had to constantly travel to and from Dakota's dark room for some reason.
In the middle of the travels, she stopped to notice that in an overall anonymous result, only 7% of the school's children failed the test. This meant that about 18 students ended up being knocked out cold. It was a good statistic overall, but Jane couldn't help but feel bad for those poor souls who did not train enough like they were supposed to. Then again, despite having Danny and Taylor train under her wing, Taylor nearly failed her battle with the Cran too, but a certain situation may have been partially responsible for that. It wasn't easy to tell if those two were now at the pace level of the class as it were, or if they were getting better than the average student.
Taylor and Danny did not do very much for the rest of the day. If anything, Danny became almost inactive again at the medical facility, phased out in deep thought about what Taylor could only guess to be her own situation. How would they stay out of Kalamo for so long? And wouldn't Danny still need to reunite with his family sometime this year? The options reminded Taylor once again about everything that happened from the Tidal Max, leading up to this moment. The memories alone were a montrum, giving her ultimately everything to think about. This was one of the most unusual and impossible situations either of them could conjure with pure imagination. It could have even been a long dream if Taylor were to wake up at any moment, but this wasn't a dream. Too much has happened for too long for any of this to be fake, and she knew better.
Jane caught up with Taylor around six P.M., returning her normal dress, and instructing her not to wear it ever again unless outside of Sprawn Valley. Otherwise, only wear it just for show. Taylor obviously learned her lesson, and she was lucky Jane was there to help her out of what could have turned into a disaster, given more elapsed time. Jane gave Taylor another one of her personal dress spheres, in return that Taylor gives Jane back the black dress sphere she borrowed since Taylor's victory earlier in the day. The new dress sphere was a gift from Jane, not just a loan. Of course, it seemed a little less flashy and cheaper in design. The entire dress was pale white, almost like a wedding dress. Only the design patterns of blue and jade lines in the various areas proved to anyone passing by that it was a special type of dress sphere. Whatever natural effects it had, Jane didn't tell, but she spoke earlier about most dress spheres having no natural resistances to damage types. Special armors designed for battle do, yet you'd never expect to see a person wearing such things inside of formal structures or under formal settings.
Even Danny got curious, asking Taylor about all of the new wardrobes. She explained to him what dress spheres were. Taylor knew Jane must have told him by now, but suggested that her information came from Jane several days ago just to be on the safe side. Taylor also suggested that he get one for himself, since they are needed in battle. He was lucky to have nothing like that happen to him while fighting his first Cran. Luck could soon run out, and Taylor decided to explain that to Danny without revealing the embarrassing incident that happened to her in the battle against her Cran. At the very least, he took the advice and thought about where to get one from. Jane was handing them out to Taylor, but since she is a girl, it would be too strange if Danny wore girl's fashion for battle. Taylor laughed at the idea, refusing to let Danny in for the inside joke.
But tonight was much different from all of the others, specifically for one reason. Danny and Taylor both were far from tired or exhausted. The opposite was true a few hours ago, but thanks to their first real fight, their recovery had the adrenaline rush to their system, still dormantly active in a way. Both of them had more natural energy than what they originally started the day with, far more than their prelude to the training exercise. Taylor couldn't sleep, and Danny was not shy about admitting the same situation he was in. To make matters worse, it was already ten P.M.
After deciding to go on an evening walk, Danny and Taylor both left the medical facility with their things still in the rooms. The sky was pitch black, filled with millions of visible distant stars to populate the night. The town of Fronas was vacant, with the exception of a few adults near the borders walking around. Most of the entire place was asleep, giving the field a new eerie feeling, but it didn't bother Taylor one bit, and she knew Danny of all people wouldn't be afraid of the dark. The brisk air was undecided whether it would be warm or cold later on, providing a perfect breeze as if there were an overcast despite the emptiness in the skies.
After walking slowly alongside Taylor towards the well in the center of the town, Danny felt more relaxed as expected. "So Taylor?" Danny probed. It was another two long seconds before he continued, drawing her attention in further. "You are okay today, right?"
"Of course." Taylor knew where the question was coming from. Despite the fact that she was feeling better and showing it off to anyone near her, Taylor still had not gotten over what she told him the other day. But as long as she is here in Fronas, learning all of these awesome battle skills with magical powers, there was nothing else that could possibly distract her. Despite how she pretended to be excited about Leray magic before, her excitement for the same subject now was genuine, but it would be hard to convince Danny of that now.
"I've been thinking..." Danny didn't really feel the need to elaborate on his thoughts, making Taylor more curious.
She was staring at him while they were both walking down into the field. "About what?" Taylor couldn't make out enough of the details on Danny's face. Despite how close it was to a full moon shinning down on the town below, mixed in with a few of the outdoor lamps from the medical facility, much of everything was still dull in color.
Danny was waiting for the request of information, but he wasn't even sure himself what it should regard. All of the events from the Tidal Max replayed in his head over and over again, but instead of focusing on Taylor falling off the cliff for the five hundredth time, Danny kept thinking about his battle, and the glyphrings that form with the use of magical abilities. His answer was delayed long enough to try and put his thoughts into words. "About all of this Leray magic... I'm not saying that I don't believe in it. I've been using it since a week ago. I know that it's real. But..."
Taylor knew what this was about too. She had the exact same thing on her mind ten minutes ago. "I know what you mean," she replied while ducking her head down a bit more. "It's nothing like I would have imagined, even if somebody did tell me about it in the past." The whole world had been turned upside down. Everything is fake, and everything before this is the reality. But in this country, Taylor wished the fake world were the reality. That's what it feels like.
"Nope," Danny added. "It's definitely not like you would imagine in a fairy tale, where people live in a magical happily ever after world. This is different!"
Even while his thoughts were somewhat synchronized with her own, Taylor didn't have a way to follow it up. Still, he was certainly correct. "Leray magic... More like the most interesting magic I've ever seen. Is it even fair to call it magic? It's more of a type of energy."
"Who cares if they call it magic or not? If people like it so much to use that moniker..." Danny thought back to his battle again, and then compared it to the short few seconds of video he got from Kain's VCR tape. After one more connection, "You know what it reminds me of?" Danny asked. After Taylor looked at him again, asking him to tell only with her body language, Danny concluded what it all compared to. "It's like one big video game."
Taylor's eyebrows rose an entire inch. "What? You and your dumb gaming consoles." Taylor smiled and nodded. At least he wasn't being a downer today. She was afraid that the subject might be something uncomfortable, but with an analogy like that, he was obviously just kidding around.
"I'm serious!" Danny promised. His tone became excited so suddenly, as if he adored his analogy to the fullest. "When you think about it from an outside perspective, it looks like Leray magic is all part of one big video game."
Taylor teased those words, tilting her body forward slightly with her arms behind her to amplify her expression. "And I suppose we're made out of ones and zeros?"
"No, I don't mean like that." Danny was getting frustrated that Taylor was a good mood. It means she won't take him for any literal meanings or explanations. Taylor was like this all the time actually. She's mostly serious when down about something, but totally incapable of seeing things as they are when happy. Then again, he realized how odd his own words sounded too, struggling to have her contemplate them the same way. "I'm not saying that we're in a video game. I'm just making a comparison."
"You don't say..."
"When I was fighting that Cran today..."
Taylor studied Danny just then. It was amazing how his eyes were all fired up like that, pupils dilated and all. He was incredibly focused and concentrated about what he was talking about, which did not happen often. Come to think of it, Danny has not been this excited about Leray magic at any point in time. But now, he's totally different. Does he like video games that much?
Danny continued after a tiny pause to sum up his feelings. "It wasn't easy, but that battle was the most fun I think I've had in all my fifteen years of living."
"Really?"
Danny nodded, though Taylor sounded shocked at his response. Danny didn't mind finally admitting it. Whatever this dark magic is, doesn't seem to really exist. Since there was still no such evidence that magic was really dangerous or evil, there was only everything great about it left over. And with all of the millions of parameters that go into factorization of Leray magic training and fighting, putting it all together into a real physical activity has to be the most genius thing anybody has ever thought of! "Being in a battle and training is something else, but they're both directly connected. Trust me; this is the most unusual thing that has ever happened to either of us in the entire world." Danny was certain that even Taylor agree with that statement. "But this place... Sprawn Valley, it's not so bad after all. The reason people use Leray magic, it's because it's fun, even more in battles."
The Danny from a few days ago would have chastised this behavior. Taylor wondered whether Danny was ever really on board with the idea of learning magic, but with the way he was acting now... This confirmed that he was leveling against the idea days ago, that was until having the first battle. "Sounds like someone is getting fond of this place," Taylor guessed. She couldn't resist a warm feeling come over her. It was nice that he was finally having fun here.
"Sounds like someone is right..."
Danny and Taylor turned their heads left and right. Another woman's voice was talking to them, different than Taylor's, and somewhat deeper; just enough to notice a difference, but nobody was around them left or right...
Jane watched as the two knuckleheads finally turned around completely to find her, the culprit of their interruptions.
"Oh, it's Jane. Hey Jane!" Taylor greeted. She was still as excited as ever to see her new best friend, the only one who made her Leray magical skills bloom as much as they have now.
Jane was happy to see them here as well, but a bit surprised that they have become as restless as she was lately. "You two are up late for a walk. And you best keep your voice a little lower as to not wake the neighborhood."
Taylor lowered her head in shame and whispered, "Sorry."
Danny folded his arms, trying to analyze Jane's sudden appearance. "I could say the same for you Jane. What are you up to at this hour?"
"Me?" She had to point to herself and wait for Danny to nod before being sure. She would have thought by now that Danny would understand just how much of a hard worker she was. "Danny, I don't always stop training just to get a long night's sleep. I'm too alert for rest today anyway."
"Interesting. So are we..." Danny paused to surmise how unusual it was. Did today's activity really make him so focused and awake after going for fifteen hours? "Actually, I can't be certain, but I don't think I've had this much trouble going to sleep before. I could see Taylor having trouble as something usual, but me not so much."
"Wait..." Jane looked at both their faces. They were actually surprised to see her awake, but more importantly, they were wide and awake as much as she was. Given Danny's new testimony of this being unusual for them meant, "You're saying you don't normally stay up this late?"
"Nope," Taylor replied casually.
"Oh, that's right," Jane confirmed. "You're both from outside the valley, and are new here."
Danny asked, "Does that have to do with us being awake longer than usual?"
"It might." Jane's answer didn't come as a full shock to either of them, but she continued what she meant anyway. "People who just arrive in Sprawn Valley need time for the Leray magic to fully assimilate with their organs and other bodily functions. At first, the veil can only protect people on basic levels. But eventually, their symptoms change as well. Your sudden inability to sleep has to do with you getting stronger from that fight you had today."
Taylor tilted her head as a response. "What? You mean... Leray magic in our body is keeping us awake too?"
"Don't fret. It's only going to make you stay awake every night by a few hours more. It won't make you any more tired than before. But don't forget," Jane reminded, "because of that battle you both had today, your stats have dramatically increased. Your maximum capacity for damage resistance, HP points, and MP points have been improved because of that battle. When you train, that happens too, but today, we all received damage just as much as we dealt damage. If these stats go up, you'll notice a surge in mental energy, much like what you two have right now."
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"That's good to know," Danny accommodated. It was still happening. The longer he stayed in Fronas, the stranger the concept became to him. So now, if he gets stronger, sleep will be evaded. It wasn't clear as to why that would make any sense, but it figures Jane would know all about it. She seems to know everything somehow. "And I assume you can't sleep either for the same reasons?"
Jane nodded left and right. "I just like to train a lot at night. It's kind of rude if you're loud though, so I keep my skill chants in my mind, and practice spells silently."
This was also Jane-like behavior, straining one's self over the limit by staying up to train, even after a hard day of school. "You sure are brutal to train that much," Danny answered. She probably has twice the muscle that Taylor does.
"But it pays off in full." Jane wondered if they thought of her as being so much stronger the way she shows it off. Jane knew that she could have tackled three Cran if she wanted too, but after that, it would have been her limit. Still, it didn't stop the convenience of them meeting up outside at this hour. "You wish to join me?"
Danny and Taylor looked at each other, then back to Jane. Taylor made the decision for the both of them, assuming it was what Danny wanted as well. "I think we'll just watch for now. I've done a lot this morning."
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Danny thought Taylor would drag him into another training situation like before, but after training with Jane enough times, anyone will realize that she pushes others as far as she pushes herself. That's just too much work, even if he is still sleepless and alert. Jane can train by herself just this once.
"Very well," Jane replied. Jane turned around, walking just a little further towards the center of the open field in Fronas, right side of the well tap. Danny and Taylor kept her in plain sight, standing there together to watch and learn how a professional gets into deep training.
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Chapter Theme Shift & Combo:
> Breaking Arrows {1} ~ Ace Combat 4 OST
> Breaking Arrows {2} ~ Ace Combat 4 OST
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Jane didn't even have to psych herself up. She was ready to try and master some of those new spells she needed to learn lately. Problem is, she never got them right before, and it was going to be difficult to master skills alien to her. Zero learned; ten more to go. That was the amount of skills currently on her wish list, spells she needed to master soon. Jane knew that Danny and Taylor were going to watch her the entire time, but regardless, Jane ignored their presence in order to concentrate on herself a lot more. After storing the MP energy she needed and feeling for the right moment, Jane began practice on a spell she had never been able to invoke yet.
Though it was really dark outside, the glow of the waxing moon provided enough detail for everyone to see just fine, excluding the lustrous color of the forest during normal daylight hours. Jane's friends kept quiet so that she could try and focus on invoking her own skills. Jane knew she would need much more concentration this time. After beginning to store the energy into her hands, Jane began to feel the surge of her MP energy float through her body. Jane's hand were now glowing with a bright blue color. At the same time, her eyes lit up with a glowing essence of bright cyan in the same instance, though Danny and Taylor wouldn't know it this time with Jane facing away from them. In response to the magical build up, Jane attempted to use the new spell. "Magical Blitz!" Jane ended up throwing both of her hands in front of her, as if to throw something she was holding onto, releasing her grip at the last second. But whatever was supposed to happen simply didn't. Once again, Jane ended up landing a dud. Her eyes and hands lost their glow quickly after.
Taylor saw the failure, but had never heard of the attack spell before. "What's Magical Blitz?" she asked.
Jane figured Taylor would want to know, too impatient to just see it in action first. "It's a power-level-four attack spell, just like Shadow Wave, but Magical Blitz is a multi-combo projectile attack that deals heavy magical damage. It's non-elemental as well."
"So in other words," Danny paraphrased, "Its kick-ass?" If he followed these spells correctly thus far, power level four is good for only a few weeks of training, probably normal for Jane. Then again, she failed to invoke this one.
"Yep." Jane approved of the choice of words. It felt a little strange that for outsiders, both Danny and Taylor spoke perfect English, but then they must have thought the same thing about herself as well. "I know I can get this spell down," Jane promised. There was a lot of stress in her voice. She really wanted to master Magical Blitz by tonight. It couldn't have been easy.
Taylor watched Jane as she prepared to try the spell once again. There must not be a glyphring for this type of attack, and that is probably what made it so hard. Aero Blast didn't have a glyphring either, but it was only a power-level-one attack spell. There could be millions upon billions of rules and elements one would need to remember in order to become a Leray master. Jane really has a difficult job on her hands.
Jane avoided any more interruptions, and concentrated again. She had already been trying this a few minutes before she caught Danny and Taylor walking out on the field, which wore her out from before. Even without the energy scope, Jane knew her MP energy was quickly dropping after each attempt, because she felt a little more exhausted than fared previously. Regardless, another attempt was determined in her mind. Jane had never seen a Magical Blitz used before except for in film. So even while knowing what to imagine, Jane was having a hard time trying to know exactly how to use it.
After charging up her energy again, Jane waited until it was the right time, allowing her hands to glow blue again. She had her eyes open too of course, but something changed from the last attempts she was doing before. After much more endured patience, a bright glowing ball of hot energy formed in the palm of her closed fist. Jane opened her hand to see it more clearly, and sure enough, the energy sphere was in her hand, just sitting there pulsating with solid power. That's when it disappeared without warning. Jane's hands stopped glowing in response, and her move failed again before she could even try it... "So that's why!" Jane hollered.
"Calm down," Danny eased. "What's the deal?" Jane just said she needed to be quiet when chanting spells, though he was certain her sudden float of that verbal deduction was loud enough to break that rule threefold.
Jane became overly excited again. She finally understood why her attack spell wasn't working before. "Magical Blitz doesn't shoot projectiles; it forms them in your hands. You have to throw them after that in order to make use of them." It all made sense now. What looked like shooting balls of blue magic on television was really the user forming the energy into their hands to throw at their enemies, but it happens so fast with the experts that it's impossible to tell the difference otherwise.
Jane concentrated again, hoping nobody would ask her another question. Instead, Taylor and Danny were staring at her in full curiosity. Jane was focused on her new attack however, forming the energy to conjure up into her hands again. This time, Jane knew what to expect, and what to imagine. With little time after her hands began glowing, a ball of energy at the same color formed in each of her two hands, illuminating the area further. Jane waited for the right time to throw them and chant her ability. Magical Blitz!
Trying not to wake the neighbors, Jane chanted it in her mind out loud, carrying the same effect as the energy she felt being released amplified. At the same time, Jane threw her hands outward, one after the other. When she did, the balled up sphere of energy in her hands went flying in the direction she threw them towards. Though there was nothing for the energy balls to impact on, they simply flew forward and collided into the ground after achieving a set distance of fifty meters. The magical projectiles nearly made it all the way to the woods. They traveled at such a high speed, it would be nearly impossible to dodge such an attack.
Jane's hands stopped glowing, but her spell was successful for the most part. Jane however only threw two of the projectiles. Magical Blitz is known for forming a three-sphere combo in one invocation. Jane knew of this, but needed to first use the skill once to get a better feel for it. The way that it worked made a lot more sense to her already with regards to energy consumption. The MP that is released from storage is what creates the projectiles in the first place. That means that after making one and throwing the other, she would have to continue releasing some more of her energy to spawn the third sphere of magical essence, before throwing that one as well.
Danny and Taylor were amazed at how the attack looked. It was much like an Ice Ball attack as far as general appearance was concerned, but Jane had to throw the projectiles instead of having them be launched from a glyphring. It didn't make a difference for Jane anymore, because she successfully pulled it off right in front of them. "That was awesome!" Taylor cheered.
Jane tried it once more, disregarding her quick drop on total MP levels. This time, since she had done it once before, her invocation of storing and releasing the MP into the formation of the Magical Blitz balls was almost instantaneous, though she needed to chant it to be sure. "Magical Blitz!" Though her volume was still indoor voice, she still carried as much enthusiasm. Jane formed both energy spheres in her hands, and threw the first one from her right. After throwing the sphere, Jane threw the one in her left hand, while simultaneously releasing the rest of the energy into her right hand again. The projectiles that Jane threw in front of her flew with great distance and speed, but they just didn't appear to have much power without a test target to hit. They simply glided to the floor far in the distance, dispersing outward on the impact. Because it was so dark out, the glow from Jane's hands and the projectiles themselves provided a lot of moving light from the glow of the energy involved. Jane formed the third blitz ball into her right hand, throwing it forward with as much physical arm strength as she could. As a result, the last projectile flew even faster and further than before, still without reaching the edge of the field itself.
Taylor was really impressed. She wanted to learn that kind of attack too. It probably ranks much higher on the damage scale being at a power level 4. All of the attacks she knew only went to a maximum power level of 2. And after the training she had this morning, as Jane said, she had to be even stronger and more capable than before.
Jane thrusted her arms back in a gesture of success. "Yes! I know how to do that one now."
"You'll have to show me how it's done later," Danny requested. He was hardly able to see their faces now that Jane's hands have stopped glowing from the diffusion of Magical Blitz, but it was obvious that Jane and Taylor were both really psyched up still, now more than ever. Jane was able to master a new skill this quickly. That means that it would be easy for him to do so as well, but class was tomorrow, and that means he would need rest to speed up to that pace of magical development.
Jane exhaled slowly with a deep breath, preparing herself for something else. "Now to try for Thunderbolt."
"What?!" Danny's upper body flew backwards in response to her craziness. "You want to keep practicing impossible spells? Even after you just did that?!"
"Chill out!" Jane warned. "Lightning Strike has a slightly lower power level than Magical Blitz, so it can't be that hard. And I'll be unstoppable with that spell, since nobody can dodge it no matter what."
Taylor concluded. "Well that's that. Once Jane gets going, you can't stop her."
"I guess you're right," Danny muttered, not that he felt surprised after Taylor spoke the truth again. "I just wish she would slow down a little. How am I supposed to catch up to you like that?"
Jane laughed under her breath. "You're mistaken to think I would let a couple of tourists pass me by any day."
Taylor took offense to that, realizing that Jane was really just testing that dominance again. "One day," Taylor began, "I'll beat you in a battle Jane. Then we'll see who's passing who."
Jane folded her arms, excited about the challenge. "I can't wait for that day to come."
"Yeah... Me neither." Danny's voice remained soft, after realizing that a battle between Jane and Taylor would probably require the entire continent for their battlefield. Those two could end up creating a thunderstorm just by thinking in opposition, and he knew this because he knew Taylor. Even though Jane was currently better, and to which Jane has been training more than Danny and Taylor combined, Taylor has quite a knack for starting rivalries even with her best friends, being competitive herself. If Taylor managed to defeat her Cran the way he did with his, it was certain that she would become better than Jane at some point in time. It was not going to be pretty to say the least.
"I'll prove it," Jane offered. "I'll master Lightning Strike right here and now."
"Bet you can't." Taylor knew it wouldn't be that easy, after hearing it from Jane herself. Elemental balls and elemental bolts are entirely different attacks with different power levels altogether, and the electrical one was supposed to be the most challenging of them all. Jane was not going to get this by tonight.
"I like those odds," Jane countered. After putting Taylor in her place, Jane turned back towards the edge of the forest way in the distance. She would use that as her target, knowing it would not reach. Lightning Strike may form as bolts of electricity in a long primary arc, but the attack spell has a specific range of one hundred meters max. Most battlefield radii don't normally exceed about sixty meters anyway, so it was no big deal that it had a range. One hundred is an incredible range for any attack anyway.
Jane began her usual method of charging up her MP much like before, but this time, she had to imagine something different. Jane has easily seen a demonstrated Lightning Strike before. It wasn't that uncommon for people to run around using it. Nobody in her class however was close to mastering it yet. This was a skill seen more in adult wielders, which is why it was preferred amongst Leray agents. Lightning Strike looks like a concentrated, horizontal bolt of lightning, which can generate side branches of electrical arcs as well. The beam's damage potential has the effective radius of the beam itself, which is about a full meter give or take. Once a target is hit with Lightning Strike, the damage is done to them over time instead of instantaneous, holding them in place while they take electrical damage. A powerful glyphring is also involved, similar to the Electro-Ball glyphring that surrounds one's wrist and follows their hand around, but bigger in size altogether. The symbols on that glyphring are much the same, as is the color. The size and power placed into the spell is the differing factor.
Jane was seriously determined to get it right, hopefully on the first try. Jane began by imagining the entire event unfold in her mind from start to finish. Then as she took a good breath to focus, Jane began by releasing some of that energy into the electrical glyphring. With Danny and Taylor watching in silence, Jane successfully formed a larger than normal glyphring around her wrist, about half the size of her whole body. Jane lifted her right arm, aiming the glyphring and her hand towards the edge of the field like before. Jane then knew that now was her cue to unleash the rest of her charged MP energy, into the same hand she was using to aim. She did so while imagining a bolt of electricity shooting from her hand, and chanting the name of the ability. "Lightning Strike!"
There was a delay... It turned into a complete anti-climactic failure all together when nothing came out of Jane's hand or the glyphring. About two seconds after yelling the ability through the night, Jane's large glyphring faded away with the wasted magic. "Awh!" Jane complained.
"Better luck next time," Danny denounced.
"Thanks," Jane accepted. "Because next time is coming up right now."
"Don't you think you're overdoing it?" Taylor warned.
Jane ignored Taylor completely, concentrating on the energy buildup to the moment where she creates the glyphring again. It took little time for Jane to create the glyphring from the Lightning Strike, but something was wrong with it. From where Danny stood, the glyphring, which was glowing its pretty blue color, was flickering on and off this time. Somehow, Jane must not have even been paying attention to it, because she was not stopping the charge at all.
Jane finally unleashed all of the energy at once to try the make electricity fly out. "Lightning Strike!" Almost immediately after chanting the name, Jane's entire body lit up so brightly, Danny and Taylor had to look away and shield their face a little.
Jane felt an incredible surge of painful electricity flowing through her veins, and she couldn't move or think the entire time. Jane's body became more visible after Taylor's eyes adjusted to the increased brightness. Much to her surprise, Jane was suffering a magic electrical shock from her own distraught glyphring, zapping her where she stood for about three very long seconds. It looked like Jane's body was vibrating in place from the attack that backfired on herself, the audible noise from Jane sounded as painful as it appeared, as well as the high pitch buzzing coming from the attack energy. This had to be Jane's doing, since there was not even a cloud in the sky today.
Jane's skin all over was burning up like she had stepped into a microwave, and as soon as the electrical voltage stopped coursing through her body, Jane still felt completely stiff, unable to move with every section of her skin now tingling from the after effects. Jane felt incredibly jittery and hot, trying not to move and make any other mistake, but the moment also weakened her, Jane dragging her weight to her knees. The glyphring was already gone after the flash of blue light faded away in response.
Taylor couldn't believe this. Jane's head hair was sticking straight up, like someone threw hair jell in and spiked it all the way tall. Her skin was smoking a little, and it looked as if her face had a much darker shade in the night than it did before, her make-up damaged as well. Jane was obviously frozen from the unexpected lightning attack. Looked like she managed to use the attack, just on herself instead. The scene looked like something more out of a cartoon surprise than a real electrical shock, thanks to the full effects of the Leray veil and Leray magic infusion.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?" Danny instinctively got closer to Jane to ensure she was safe, having no idea the difference between real time damage and Leray damage. As he got closer, Jane was clearly still alive and awake, mostly a bit shaken up.
"Ow!" It was all Jane bothered to relay, since the experience was most painful and unexpected.
Taylor, after realizing the irony in Jane's mistake and that Jane was still okay - held her hand to her mouth, trying her best not to laugh at her. But after another second, she couldn't stop a bit of air from escaping her throat in response. Finally, she let her hand off and let it all out.
Jane finally managed to recover just enough to move her limbs around more, but now Taylor was pointing and laughing hysterically at her. It still came as a surprise to Jane that she ended up zapping herself in place right here in the field. "I— I think that might be enough for tonight."
Jane's voice was a little hoarse from taking that attack so severely. Danny was laughing in response too, but not nearly as hard as Taylor, who both looked and sounded like she was about to have a heart attack in place. Danny was impressed at how much of a video game like world this has become. Jane may have gotten hit by lightning, but the effects in Sprawn Valley made everything much like a cartoon instead of reality. Jane's hair was sticking straight up, and she was still a little shaken from the high voltage. The Leray protection zone obviously protected Jane from certain death, because lightning does a lot more than that outside of the protection zone. The shock probably doesn't look much like this either. "You think?"
Taylor finally sucked in enough air to tell Jane something she needed to know, but she couldn't quit her laughter even in mid-sentence. "Jane?! You're hair looks awesome! Aaaaaah hahahahaha!"
Jane rushed her hands to the top of her head, realizing from the touch that it was all frizzed and messed up. Jane immediately felt angry, embarrassed, and ashamed all at the same time. Taylor was laughing at her hair crisis! "That— That's not funny."
Danny chuckled in response, turning around to try and hide it from Jane, but it failed to work. "It's kind of funny." Seeing such humility from Jane was too much to get used to.
Jane was glad it was at least too dark to see her face clearly. Even she knew from the feel of it that the blood rushing to her cheeks was causing her to blush in this situation. "Great. I'm gonna go fix my hair and go to bed. See you two later!" Jane turned around and sped walked towards her home, leaving the other two without looking back, in an obvious hurry not to be recognized by anyone else who may be walking through the night.
Danny watched Jane run away in humiliation, but she wasn't that fast. He yelled through the silent night, disregarding those who might still be asleep to tease Jane one last time. "Same time next week Jane!" Jane did not reply; she just kept running back home. Taylor still could not stop laughing, though she did tone down her own volume some. "Well..." Danny took a second to reflect on the entire moment of Jane's failed attempt to get better. It really was funny the way it worked out. Pretending to be all tough talk, training too hard, and then sending a Thunderbolt on your own self as a mistake. She needed to turn down her ego just a little bit, and that probably did a lot to help.
Danny looked to Taylor, realizing that now was a good time to head back in, since Jane was already gone. "Come on Taylor. We should head back and get some sleep for tomorrow."
"Okay." While Taylor finally managed to hold the rest in, she thought more on Jane while walking back with Danny. She's an awesome friend to have, even after that failed experiment. How can one even mess up a lightning bolt so badly?
Danny kept both his eyes on Taylor on the way back. It was amazing how good of a mood she was in right now. Of course, Jane did just fry herself trying to prove she was all this and that. Clearly understandable why Taylor didn't lose that mesmerizing smirk. Danny smiled after summarizing it all in his head, the beginning of today to the moment right now. Leray magic really was fun this time. Even though they both were strangers to Fronas, they have been fitting in well lately. Danny knew it from deep inside. The longer he stayed here, the less he wanted to leave.
Taylor retired back to her room in the medical facility just as Danny did. The nurse there, Francine, had her own sleeping quarters to attend to, but greeted them both on their way in. It was amazing how nice the people here are, allowing them to sleep in a place they couldn't even call home. Taylor waited to get into her bed before going over everything since today in her head again, letting her mind help her drift easily to sleep.
Danny initially believed he would have trouble sleeping again, but his mood had changed from before, making his eyes surprisingly heavy. If today was this good, then tomorrow should be better. It was much easier to rest with the desire to fast-forward time to the next morning. With Jane involved in this, as well as having more time at magic school, there probably won't be a dull moment.