<02/12/1972 – 13:51 | Eldora Tower Fl. 649, Eldora City, Junon Region, Sprawn Valley>
Long after the emergency meeting was called and moved to a different floor of the tower, Jane felt the full fatigue and exhaustion from her previous battles today. Though all of them were victories, she had battled against five of the most powerful Leray elites in the entire world. The movements and magical usage alone still had Jane's heart rate up from how exhausted she was, while all of her limbs and muscles flooded with endorphins just to the response of being relaxed. Though Jane felt she could still continue moving around and continue battling, the healing orbs still can't do much about the factor of daily stamina usage. If one battles so many times in one day regardless of using energy orbs or healing orbs, it can really get to them.
Danny and the others had to move to one of the other floors in the tower as Danton called the emergency meeting of the mage council, as the council leader demanded a floor other than Danton's chambers. Since everyone was automatically dressed for the occasion to begin with, it didn't take more than movement and seating arrangements to prepare. Apparently, there are a lot of hidden floors within Eldora Tower that are not just significant to battle arenas. This particular room set up like a massive congress arrangement is but one of many examples, as other storage areas fill in the gaps when necessary.
Taylor sat as close to Jane Venn as possible, but even with instructions not to speak a single word, it was hard to sit still in her own thoughts. Soon, Taylor will be battling inside of the dark zone alongside Jane. Based on the data Jane provided much earlier, she would have to fight at her very best in order to require as little attention for protection as physically possible. After all, if Jane dies protecting her, their intentions will all be in vain. The same could be said in reverse too. Taylor knew she didn't want to die, and shivered at her imagination of horrible beasts taking the forefront. The monsters could only be imagined right now, as Taylor had yet to see one up close and personal. The same could be said for Danny.
A lot of council members were here before her, the entire room cylindrical with seats forming a perfect circle, though the size of the room itself was relatively small compared to the others. Jane met a few familiar faces since all of the Eldora elites were here as well, but for the most part, much of the council members failed to even address Jane or get her attention. Danny and Taylor had to be kept in the background since they were not members of the core or experienced enough wielders. Danton naturally had to sit nearby Jane, since he was representing her case in the council today.
Though he was already standing up ready for the next question, General Tazo of the General Army decided to direct his question towards Jane, filling the background with silence while they waited on her answer. "And what of the intentions of miss Jane Venn? What do you have to gain by going to the restricted zone?" Tazo directed his question and expression straight to Jane's eyes, making sure she was paying enough attention to the severity of her own crimes. It was already well known at least to the army and a few council members that Jane was marked. Danton was the only one who successfully vouched for her not to be arrested just yet.
Perking up to speak clearly, Jane simply repeated and explained her desire to assist the General Army with their primary objective long hindered since the last month. "My intentions? My first priority is to help apprehend professor Brightworth in order to shut down the dark zone and restore the Outback if it is possible. And afterwards, I may be able to focus on the matter of reversing the other problem I'm involved with. I will comply with whatever orderly tasks that need to be done in the meantime."
Good answer. Danton at first worried whether or not General Tazo would see Jane as some stupid young girl based on her looks and what she would say next, but she appeared to know exactly what to say and how to say it just as they practiced. The thought alone reminded Danton in distraction of how close he came to destroying the young girl after misjudging her several times in a row.
After Tazo took his seat, Ms. Gleen of the mage council stood up, waiting for her audience to prepare to hear her speech, but given what was already said, she changed the words along her mind. "Sir Danton? If I may be so bold as to ask, why has this girl been given such incredible permission and authority, such favorable treatment, when in fact her marking warrants a fate worse than ordinary imprisonment?"
Already standing from before, Danton shifted in place as he now had to adjust to one of the tougher questions that was expected from him earlier. Glenn is still in her fifties, but has a solid position in one of the law firms of Eldora's agents. Naturally, legality would be her first concern. "Whether or not the innocence of Jane Venn is weight enough to decide her fate in a court of law, the General Army has immediate concerns and priority regarding military matters with designation Alpha Zero. It is my understanding that Ms. Venn has both incredible power and well-suited intention of helping in such a delicate operation. I will use her signet as a means of drilling straight through the territory dangerous to our troops, while her fate will be decided straight after the operation."
"Absolute heresy!" Gleen cried. "I've never heard of anything more absurd!" Her chanting got the crowd around her mumbling louder amongst each other, and Glenn took off from there. "You have authority over a marked one since when? And what grounds would be given should your executive clause suddenly expand or extend to protect the living weapon that could cause us such great harm?"
Danton tightened his face, and he noticed immediately the reaction Jane was giving in her expression. It must have been much worse for her. These people don't even see her as human anymore. Everyone is afraid to death of marked people because of the potential power of war they alone hold over magic in any uncontrolled environment. But in reality, she is just a young girl afraid of a lot of things, brave as she is to fight for what she believes in. Danton held his tongue but for a second, partially paralyzed by the memory of the fact that his very way of thinking was about the same just an hour ago! "On the grounds of our oversight!" he projected aggressively. "That's what." Danton would have authority of this regardless. Alpha Zero is now a level five danger zone, and that means the General Army has administrative decisions over the matter, regardless of the council objectives, but Gleen wants Danton to use such a clause. Good try, but it won't be enough. "You really think that everyone in Eldora Tower doesn't feel the same way as others? Being marked is a scary thing, but that can be said for the people around the subject, and the subject themselves given the circumstances. I'm well aware that you have quite a high authority to take a delicate case into your own capable hands, but that doesn't mean you are prepared to accept this as we have been."
"I beg your pardon?" Gleen choked.
Danton continued with his newly discovered trump card. "There are heavy matters of this very case related to other unsolved mysteries and crimes going on all around the nation right now. What this girl has been through happens to be a part of several ongoing investigations undertaken by more than one group of agencies and even a few gradyents. Therefore, our staff is prepared to temporarily shut down our business in order to take head of the investigations should they tie together any further. But if you lock the marked one up in some prison, I can assure you that such investigations would come to a grinding halt. Your very action unprepared and unbalanced upon haste would only disrupt the natural foundation of which the entire council is founded upon. Furthermore, options to remove the potent symbol are currently under our capable scopes. Those are the grounds I stand upon to attempt flexed authority over this case, as I call for the announcement of action to be taken within the General Army. The subject did violate several protocols to bypass several security sectors of this tower, but mark my words. The entire mess that has been made will be my responsibility. I have high courage in the matter, but also realize that I may fall a long way should these decisions backfire, and that is all I have to say about this."
Gleen, frozen by the elegant speech eventually sat down with a face of defeat and a stare off into space that failed to comprehend any quick rebuttal. Her very attempt to destroy Danton for defending something so dangerous was taken from and used against her. If she were to battle for council custody of Jane Venn now, any side problems that occur can severely penalize several members within the council, ultimately removing her from the position here. The other members won't dare take the risk anymore. Danton gets to keep his thing going now for as long as he can actually handle the pressure of the national investigations. It was a well-played statement and battle of words, but Danton came out on top.
"Very well," he replied. Tazo advised the council about the importance of his final decision while giving Danton the full authority he needed over the situation. "I move to place subject Jane Venn under temporary watch of the General Army until the Brightworth matter has been resolved. Sir Danton will remain in charge of a majority of the current operation as well as the tactical decisions placed upon her. However, due to the nature of what unfolded today, Jane Venn will not be receiving the title or status of championship, nor a promotion in the Leray license. Danton? I shall let you take it from here. This meeting is adjourned."
Voices peeked up from all around the room in discussion. Danton had done it, obtained what he needed to make this work in accordance with the law. Not only that, the entire General Army has no choice but to listen to him right now, and Jane will be in place under him. The meeting went exactly as it needed to, if not better than he expected. Now it was time to bring Jane aside and inform her of the next task.
After getting out of her seat, Jane met again with Sir Danton, who signaled her friends to gather around while he discusses the next phase of the plan. "You did well for yourself Jane." After letting Jane thank Danton for his modesty, he continued. "Are you ready to head to the dark zone and fight deadly creatures that will likely kill us all?"
Not very encouraging, but Danton was just as afraid as everyone is here. Jane replied with the slight effect of her own encouragement. "Believe it so, I am ready, but it won't be so bad. Trust me! We won't fail!" She was still wearing the same battle dress sphere as before, given no time to change. Jane didn't feel an urgency to change either. The dress sphere looked good on her and felt very comfortable to wear. Seeing as she may end up in another battle in the dark zone today, it was necessary not to change out of anything just yet.
Once again could he see those bright and determined eyes, those very dangerous and sentencing eyes that was about as threatening as the symbol hiding in her hand. With those ready, Danton knew he didn't have to worry as much, since Jane takes this so seriously. Danton pulled out his official Leray license card, not really showing its exact contents to Jane's line of sight. "I won't give you any updated promotional status since you cheated to defeat me in battle. Though as I am still impressed that it happened regardless. I will grant you the nine hundred thousand credit reward to your card electronically. This will give you the chance today to go with your friends to our most expensive Leray shop and stock up on as much armaments as you possibly can."
"Wow!" Danny expressed. Finally, things were turning up, just as he made it to Jane and Danton in time to hear the good news. "Nine hundred thousand! We could buy the whole store with that!"
"I doubt that," Danton returned. "Vascal Wares has a contracted deed that is worth much more than that amount, though it is the best place to shop for the best equipment around. I'm also editing the current personal status on all three of your cards to EDS. The Emergency Drive Status affects your ability to engage in legal Leray battles until that status is lifted, and thus provides automatic immunities against strikes. None of you must waste any time in battling or training to prepare for this operation, though you may still freely use magic without invoking a Siriean dome."
"I didn't know such a thing existed," Taylor alerted. "When does it wear off?"
"When I tell it to." Danton needed not to explain it much further, as the design was quite simple with the cards. "I want all three of you shopping for supplies that will help you in the dark zone. Be mindful that using elemental protection will be totally useless in Alpha Zero."
"Okay," Jane agreed.
Unfinished, Danton forewarned her about her other status. "And be sure to keep your head down! Wear a cloak or something. You're a public enemy now, and anybody on the street will recognize you as a marked one. We already have enough to deal with damage control after that stunt you pulled in front of a live feed."
Jane's face blushed, remembering the mistake well. Why did she even try it? Was it to signal for Danny and Taylor to rush their ass up here? Or did Jane feel it was the only last resort option to drop Danton's guard? What would have happened differently if Jane shot down the cameras before revealing her mark?
"No use looking back on it with any regrets, cause it's in the past now. But keep out of sight."
"We won't let her get into trouble," Taylor promised. Her assurance soon began to piss off Jane, though she didn't say anything just yet. It was her own fault anyway for showing her symbol to the whole world, though Taylor would make sure that nobody harasses her about anything.
"Good. I shall see you three in Lennith City then. Our troops will commence in teleportation in just a few hours. However, even for you lot, using teleportation magic is strictly prohibited, so you must go by bike and make it snappy."
Jane glanced down slightly in shame. "I don't actually know how to use teleportation just yet."
"It's best that you don't," Danton summarized. "Only officials in the council, league, gradyents, and special agents are allowed to use them, but well organized criminals use such powers as well, usually through symbols since they don't know the ordinary process. So just be careful. I shouldn't have to expect any delays, so I wish to see you all before sundown."
Jane, Taylor, and Danny all glared at Danton and nearly shouted the phrase "Yes sir!" Though it wasn't necessary for non-militants to show that particular form of respect, Danton allowed it for now. If only assembling and formulating the teams together were as easy to work with as Jane's team was...
Chapter Theme Shift:
After the short briefing and run down from Danton's personnel, Jane's entire team had to be carefully escorted out of the building through a back entrance. The media were all jammed up near the front of the tower with guards to block physical entry. The story about the last competitor winning the championship while being marked had obviously caused quite a stir in and around everyone from the entire city, but as Danton already suggested, Jane was safe so long as she kept her face hidden.
Wearing an over-cloak with its own built-in coat over her original dress sphere, Jane looked like the type of person not to bother, accompanied by Danny and Taylor, who wore no such disguises. Since they were never affiliated on national television, their names would be clear. Though against Jane's better argument, anybody in the city could end up accidentally identifying her aloud should they remember who Jane is and who her friends are. So instead, the three of them pretended to be their own separate person going their own separate ways.
As for the first stop? Vascal Wares! Known in Eldora City as the place to exercise in high-grade Leray shopping, this well designed facility would finally allow the three companions to fit past the automatic sliding doors and into the store. By this point, Jane and her friends naturally split up further to search the place, but Vascal Wares was entirely underestimated by all of them. The interior decorating, items floating all around, and the overall design of the store was breath taking.
Danny's eyes struggled to capture the potential right in front of him. This was more like a city of items on sell, and yet the customer population was so low to provide this utopia. Jane already agreed to pay for Danny and Taylor's items after meeting up at the counter, and that means that almost everything here was in his price range. After lugging around worn out equipment since the start of his own journey, Danny finally had a way of upgrading not just his gear, but his entire battling style. With all of the options in front of him all on different shelves, this would take a while.
She had to find and carry around a basket to hold what she would bring to the register. Taylor was already aware of the strange storage system people use in Sprawn Valley. The supply spheres only compress and store various items into that happens to belong to the owner, or items that may not be registered into the Leray system. For items registered and owned by anyone other than the user, their supply sphere will refuse to store those items into the sphere, thus creating an automatic anti-theft system. Taylor would have to have all of her wares bought and paid for before her supply sphere would ever accept them.
After hovering around for only five minutes, Taylor made short work of the support orbs and spell bombs from that section's shelf. She stocked up completely on top quality grade healing orbs, stamina orbs, MP Boosters, and defensive spell bombs that offer temporary elemental resistances in Leray fights. The basket was already full of spherical devices, Taylor basically running the place completely dry of healing and stamina orbs.
Once she got to the weapons section, Taylor had various ideas implanted into her head from the awesome advertisement in front of her. There were entire walls devoted to specific types of weapons all with different price ranges, but one thing that stood out in front of her was a long pair of daggers similar in shape and style to the kind Jane uses. These daggers however appeared to be made out of some type of solidified crystal that was ever translucent and shiny when casting light. The daggers reminded Taylor about Jane so much, and she wondered if this would make a valuable gift either for herself or for her friend...
Jane already has a good pair of daggers, and may not buy new ones. With the thought, Taylor was sure that her considerations were far incomplete, but the blades in front of her gave her so many ideas that she could personally utilize in Leray battling. Taylor always wanted to try out fighting with Jane's style in the first place. With such short blades, wouldn't it be harder to damage others?
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Taylor picked up the glass-curved knives in front of her, holding them up in surprise. They're a lot heavier than they look! The weight of each one would slow her down until she could be trained on how to use them. Taylor held up each blade together in front of her face, imagining herself as the wielder while winning battles the same way Jane amazingly won her championship. Perhaps the best part is that their slight blue crystal reflections basically matched her other blue and white dress sphere. 22,500 credits was the asking price from the shelf, and the description for each blade wasn't bad either.
Glass Fangs | Slashing Damage Level: 10 | Piercing Damage Level: 7.5 | Physical Mobility +15% | Physical Damage +10%
Taylor's reading allowed her to catch onto something she nearly missed from behind her hands. On the same shelf rested a medium sized pair of black fingerless gauntlets that apparently come in the same pack for the blades she was holding now. She's supposed to buy these daggers with those gauntlets. The gauntlets appeared to serve as some kind of Leray-based protection to the hands, though were fingerless to allow the user plenty of opportunity to use their hands as well. Though the color of each glove was pitch black, they had unique gems of a small size sewed on each knuckle, giving the package deal a new meaning entirely.
Dark Rangers | Resist fire +15% | Resist cold +15% | Resist Electrical +8% | Resist Wind +4% | Resist Slashing +10%
Taylor tried on the gloves, making sure the fit was just right. Not only were the gauntlets nice and tight on her wrists, but the bottom section covered further down the underside of her forearm more than an ordinary glove would have. These were perfect for Leray protection, and the daggers added into that really made for a good deal. After Taylor put both of those items into her basket, she continued glancing all around the weapons section for something else more personal to her own style.
No need for long blades; too heavy and hard to handle... No maces, no hammers, or other blunt objects... No guns or blasters; their accuracy could always be exploited one way or another... When Taylor entered the section with all of the bows and crossbow weapons, she again became glued to the idea that she needs to own all of them. Ever since her training in Dakota academy took off, she learned to fire from a real bow and arrow for the first time, and each time she used one, it was always so satisfying. Though the weapon has a similar problem with being easier to dodge at a long range, bows in Sprawn Valley normally hold back in damage intentionally and are therefore less destructive than the heavier weapons. There is something much different about using her own strength to pull back on a tough string to launch a projectile correctly, different from that to a blaster. Anybody could use a gun in this world, but nobody can just pick up a bow and immediately become a master.
With her interest already peaked, Taylor's eyes eventually met the Marine Eagle. Made with the most amazing art and craftsmanship Taylor had ever seen, the large sized bow with the arrow tip attached to the side prevented her from blinking. The crystal tip of the arrow closely resembled the same crystal used in the spell called Crystal Arrow. This crystal gem had a nice cyan blue glow on the inside, giving credit to the name of the weapon with its ocean colored essence. The wood of the bow was made out of a material that Taylor never felt or identified before, but with its dark grey painted color on the wood, the colors contrasted themselves and complemented her nicely. Priced at 55,000 credits this time, Taylor still went ahead and picked up the bow off the shelf, and carried it into her hand for study.
The arrow was actually made out of metal, except for the crystal core granting the weapon its natural magical potential. Taylor knew she could learn to do some heavy hitting with this thing in no time at all. Despite the high price, this was worth it!
Marine Eagle | Blunt Damage Level: 4.5 | Piercing Damage Level: 9 | Physical Mobility -10% | Magical Damage +5.5% | Arrowhead Speed +100%
Despite her decision already being made, Taylor noted the prices of most of her items, then decided to head to the register before she ended up bankrupting Jane in an instant. It took her a while to find that register with the store size so large and massive, but when she did, Danny was already there... and he had undergone a total wardrobe change.
Denim jeans of the darkest shade of blue wouldn't normally be advertised as part of an actual dress sphere, though they did exist, and this piece was a very expensive style since the interior was much easier to feel around in. Danny simply bought the most expensive looking jeans in the entire store. Since he was already wearing new clothes, that means he already found his weapon and made use of the changing rooms. With that speed set aside, Danny also bought and changed into a t-shirt that traded colors of a dark blue and pure black in a diagonal direction, complementing the art of a white circular flame drawing on the front. But what completed the outfit was the addition of his new black leather jacket.
The jacket refracted some of the fluorescent lights in the store with its natural coat of polish, though it was for obvious reasons an expensive style. Taylor tried not to say anything, less the words that escape her now turn into something inaudible. The suit Danny was wearing now was excellent, by far the hottest thing he found since they both swam to this rock.
"Hey Taylor," Danny greeted. After noticing that she indeed did a lot of shopping for weapons, he naturally had to grab his basket and show off his latest addition to the team. Taylor hovered in for a closer look while Danny pulled out a metal magical hammer that was naturally the size of the entire basket itself. The Dynamon Hammer as it was called housed several small metallic crystals on the blunt edge of the device. Obviously the thing was capable of a lot more despite the appearance making it seem like an oversized steel hammer. The artwork on it was highly impressive as well, and Danny made sure he showed it off to Taylor completely with a few test swings.
Dynamon Hammer | Blunt Damage Level: 9.6 | Magical Amplification Level: 6.7 | Physical Mobility -30%
Taylor immediately felt less nervous. With Danny focusing on his new devices in the most predictable way, the situation itself was much less awkward. It made sense that he'd get excited about a magic hammer. Danny was still hanging on to the concept of Leray magic as much as Taylor was, even if that did not reflect the same connection Jane has to Leray magic.
After putting away the hammer, Danny pulled out a long bladed sword that seemed quite normal looking with the exception of an extra curved blade tip at the very end meeting the edge by a perpendicular angle. It's a T-2 type sword, a blade with an extra (much smaller) curved blade mounted at the end. Made only for slashing, the end deals blunt damage instead of piercing damage based on the design if used for a jab. With a tiny crystal core attached to that same end piece, the blade could probably do more than it appeared to.
HT-T2 Mark 55 | Blunt Damage Level: 3.5 | Slashing Damage Level: 8.1 | Magical Amplification Level: 7 | Physical Mobility -5% | HP Endurance +5%
Though Danny didn't yet advertise their prices, Taylor guessed they too would be quite high. Eventually Danny put away the sword, afraid he may accidentally destroy something nearby in the store. At the same time, Jane come rounding a corner with a basket full of orbs. Like Taylor, she stocked up on a lot of spherical supplies, but decided to store them on top. After meeting up with Danny and Taylor, Jane figured everyone was ready, but was patient enough to figure out what everyone got. After having her friends show off every new thing they were about to buy with Jane's money, Jane decided not to be sneaky herself. There wouldn't be much shame in them blowing a lot of credits when she too was about to try the same stunt.
"It's compact now, so I can't show you just yet," Jane explained. She began referring to a new choice of dress sphere protection she pulled from the shelf. Its design combined what appeared to be a normal looking dress outfit with metallic plating in specific areas, such as the lower wrists, kneecaps, and shoulder arcs, which balanced the looks with heavy protection. The metal suit almost resembled a different version of the electronic protection gear worn by the security detail for Danton, something often called power armor. Being an entire suit in one piece, Jane couldn't just whip it out and hold it down without both free hands, but the stat readout was easily visible. "It's a dress sphere designed for heavy protection. I'll be wearing it for battles after this dark zone issue is taken care of." Jane immediately began to lower her voice, realizing there were plenty of other people and customers nearby browsing for their goods.
Sphere Gauge E-4F Armor | Resist Physical +25% | Resist Magical +8% | Resist fire +23% | Resist cold +2% | Resist Electrical +6% | Resist Earth +34% | Resist Wind +%11 | Invocation Time -10% | Magical Damage +4%
Jane also stocked up on tons of healing orbs, MP orbs, and attack type spell bombs of various types. Trying to save herself some left over money, Jane decided that this was all she was getting. There was some time left over to compliment Danny's new attire, as Jane played in her mind how well it may be affecting Taylor's heart, but she didn't seem nervous or deterred, despite Jane catching Taylor staring at Danny at least in short bursts of moments. Since they were on a timer, Jane decided to give her team hustle to checkout.
After she took her card to the register to ring up everyone's stuff, it was just a nervous wait to see whether or not the clerk there would recognize a single one of them. Luckily however, throughout the entire five minutes it took to sort everything out, the clerk didn't act suspicious at all, and Jane's face remained well hidden from the back angle. Jane played it safe and stood behind her friends, having already transferred a load amount of credits onto their cards to ring things up on her own behalf. Sorting out the potential supply sphere glitch from that would have to come after leaving the store.
After spending a total of 158,530 Cr in one go, Jane's card was left with 849,180 credits in reserve, which was saying a lot for what Jane wanted to have. Taylor ended up asking Jane how to properly read the punctuation of the credit system, which quickly became a thing Jane knew was easy to get confused about since they were both outsiders. While both paid attention during their walk out of the front exit, Jane summarized. Apparently, the use of commas in numbers exceeding three digits is common in the language system outside of Sprawn Valley, but a similar system is set up to count the specific currency for credits in this nation. It's almost exact, and rather simple to remember in Sprawn Valley. When counting credits, only five digit numbers or higher in credit amounts get comma marks in writing or in text. Thus, something of an example of 4510 credits would get no interior punctuation, but one more digit above that, the first comma goes to separate the first two digits from the next three. With six digits, the separator comma splits to show some hundred thousand credits, then one million, then ten million, and so on. To see the price tags here using commas after the first two digits is the very reason why the tiny little difference in detail bothered Taylor; Jane knew as much. Since this is probably the one and only first store they've been to selling such high price range items, the confusion is understandable.
And yet, the only exception to this punctuation occurs only on the report generated on anybody's Leray license card, or the license of another person's identity. The electronic system doesn't use commas as it confuses the script. Therefore, if Jane were to read out her credit count on her card right now, it would show up as:
Jane Venn | Age: 16 | Graduated facility: Dakota + Lennith | Last Ev. Score: 10 | Current Status: Advanced Leray wielder | EDS Mode Active | Credits: 849180 Cr.
Notice how the credit count doesn't have punctuation? Jane pointed out to Taylor that this is the only exception known so far. The EDS mode protocol was activated by Danton, so that will be a new thing to show up too when showing the license to anyone. With everything now stocked up and their confusion on something so meaningless taken care of, the time to head out would be now. Jane knew that she was supposed to regroup at the bridge exit from Route 787 and head back there. Making it back to Lennith city before dark isn't going to be easy.
Chapter Theme Shift:
After rallying back towards J-H road with a brief separation, Danny and Taylor soon noticed that Jane already made it there, standing near the connective floor changing from light grass to hard stone. They had decided to split up for ten minutes for a small break to meet back here again, thus it was expected. But Jane was also speaking to someone unknown, both persons wearing a hooded robe to conceal themselves.
Jane double-checked that the value and data was correct before handing over the Leray storage card to the stranger. "You remember the target?" Jane refreshed softly. "You need to deliver the 8900 credits on this card to Fredric Spence in Tilsit port. He won't understand what it is for, but I'm paying his debt either way."
"You don't need to remind me. I don't mess up in my line of work."
The lady about the same height as Jane had a lower voice and a passive aggressive attitude, but her service was perfect for the task. Jane already prepared a temporary credit-holding card to deliver a certain amount of funds to a specific person in Tilsit Port, one with theft-prevention security built in. With her needs in Alpha Zero, using a traveling merchant would be the best method of getting this done. The lady charged Jane an extra 2500 credits just for her service of delivery, but it was all necessary in the end. Jane never forgot that small debt she owed to Fredric Spence, the sailor she stole from during that uncontrolled ride to Monoc Port. Jane took about half of the money off the card just to afford specific battle gear to make it past Route 96. Had she not done that, Jane was sure she would have over three strikes or too many losses, but the decision to take that money was Jane's. Now it was time to pay back that man, not that he'd be expecting it anytime soon.
After seeing the mysterious person take off towards Route 787 without Jane, Danny made it close enough to use his indoor voice and figure out what was going on. "Who was that?"
Jane's body flinched at suddenly detecting another's presence behind her, but when Jane turned around, it was only Danny, with Taylor standing by him. "Just an errand girl. Are we all set to go?"
Taylor nodded, but wondered why Jane was so quick to change the subject and avoid giving a real answer. She didn't look that guilty of anything though. Taylor left the thought alone and prepared all of her equipment, making sure she had everything she wanted in and out of her personal supply sphere. Since she and Danny were to use their license cards to buy Jane's items to avoid her detection there at the register, Jane's items technically belonged to Danny for a few moments. That means by the laws of nature of ordinary supply spheres, Jane couldn't beam up her own items, since the system has no other way of detecting that they belonged to her, but Jane knew of a hack that was already pulled off just before splitting form the ten-minute break.
By using the release button on the supply sphere orb while aiming at an object in physical space, while the settings are switched to release mode with no other target in mind, the user's blue beam of repulsion energy held on that specific object for a total time of ten long seconds actually generates a systematic action that releases the object from ownership. With the reverse process, without official ownership given to an existing physical object, holding down the capture beam on that object stores the item in phase after ten seconds while assigning new ownership properties to that individual. The exception to this rule only includes cheap healing orbs and MP boosters. The reason has much to do with the complications that would otherwise be caused during any emergency situation warranting the need for those orbs. As a result, the supply spheres disregard ownership settings of those very specific objects after purchases, though nothing more. With the Marine Eagle attached to her back, Taylor felt as ready as ever.
Danny checked his equipment as well, sticking with the new blade he bought recently; the HT-T2 Mark 55, nicknamed as the Seeker T-Sword. Danny worried in the back of his head whether it was acceptable to buy something that has been remodeled fifty-five times. All he knew about the blade is its ability to amplify certain magic while wielding the blade, one of its only specialties, but Danny felt prepared in other areas too, after touching up a bit of his magical training from last night, where he secretly trained with magic as Jane did. He never encountered a real monster from the dark zone before, and the way Jane looked when he and Taylor found her proved they were tough.
Taylor stepped a little ahead of Danny, holding her supply sphere in hand. She didn't show the slightest bit of worry or fear. "It's amazing that I can fit all of these healing orbs into the supply sphere."
Jane glanced around, engaging just to have anything to talk about. "You're still on about that? I guess it would seem amazing to someone who doesn't come from Sprawn Valley." Danny was basically forced into that long tutorial of supply sphere ownership, meaning it was something he needed to learn for Jane to have her items back. Taylor simply got to watch, amazed by the simplicity of the design.
"What do the upgrades allow us to do though?" Taylor referred back to a moment easily forgotten, where Danton upgraded all of their personal supply spheres in a flash before departing from Eldora Tower. His explanation of the new upgrade made little sense however.
"You need to learn to pay attention," Jane lectured. "With the new upgrades, we can store more items, but also items of larger mass as well. It may be possible to fit an entire closet in one of those things, even if that closet itself counted as one item."
Taylor's eyes sparkled wondering about all of the latest wardrobes she could buy with some more of Jane's money, and the convenience of carrying all of that around in a lightweight compact sphere sounded too cool to be true. Danny would probably just want to store a buffet or something.
Danny snickered quietly at Taylor's amazement. How long had it been since he's seen her so happy and focused? Actually, now that he thought about it, Taylor always seemed to be engaged about everything. The thought about her returning home to her parents was the only thing that shied her away from being this happy. As for himself, Danny felt more than ever before. Thinking back on everything before that accident on the Tidal Max, the reverse was true at that time. So easy going and relaxed... It was hard to imagine how or why he felt focused and serious about Leray magic and battling. No... It wasn't about that, right?
Danny wasn't sure what it was that made him more capable than before. Perhaps it was the collection of everything around him, everything that happened so far. From Taylor falling off a cliff and nearly dying from his stupid mistakes, to learning dangerous magic, to befriending one of the most unusual girls on the entire planet, so much has happened. Anything could have done this, or perhaps it was the sum of everything he's ever felt so far. The thought of Nyar came to mind though, without much thought for why. If Danny knew about all of this magic and the people here sooner, things could have been so different. But now, he is stuck here trying to protect and procure a future for Taylor to replace one already so bleak. At the same time, Jane and all of the citizens here need his attention on this Alpha Zero matter. Upon taking some charge of the situation, this just felt like the first right thing he has done in all the time he could remember, something that would always pay off to his conscious.
There was another bit of detail that felt bizarre too; a fragment of memory Danny barely recalled during the incident on the Tidal Max, a washing of intense familiarity from an invisible voice he heard, just as that unusual green light of magic appeared in the sky. While brief, for just a moment, Danny could recall being in some strange metal room he never experienced before, but no matter how much he thought back to it, it made no further sense. Seeing no further answer on his hallucination, he dismissed it without a second thought.
Danny came to another realization. Jane will be protecting the two of them in the dark zone, but can Jane really protect two people at once? The thought of losing Taylor to some brainless monster wasn't something he could accept. Danny automatically realized he would have his hands full as well just to go an extra mile and protect Taylor from all immediate harm in Alpha Zero. Lately it seems that Leray magic can be really dangerous and lethal. When first learning about magic, everyone made no fuss about the possible dangers, even though it had much to do with using an illegal format of magic. But then criminals started showing up to cause harm, and illegal spell bombs and symbols ruined the picture too. Even against uncle Nyar's warnings, Danny continued to learn Leray magic, only to further his protection. Nyar he was right all along about digging himself a larger hole by getting more involved. Despite what others claim, Leray magic isn't getting any safer to mess around with. Maybe that is why it is so hard to enjoy magic.
"I think Danton and his team have already left using teleportation. We'll want to be back in Lennith before dark," Jane reiterated.
Complaining with a heavy sigh, Danny stretched his upper body. "Why can't we learn how to teleport?"
"I don't know how to do it," Jane confessed. "And even if I did, there's a whole other process in hiding the destination signature from nearby agents. Teleporting isn't legal for the three of us."
"Hey! You three!"
Jane reset the position of her arms. She wasn't exactly ready to fight just yet. Even with her daggers hidden in her battle suit dress sphere used in the championship, the hood hiding much of her face also made it difficult to access the weapons. Jane however kept her hands off herself just in case it was a false alarm. Whoever was yelling at them didn't sound very friendly just now...
Jane evaluated the situation again. It took another moment to make out the figure approaching them. It's Rontellov! He was already walking towards them, pushing all three of their bicycles tied together for support. Jane had completely forgotten about their broken bikes on the way over here.
"Rontellov!" Danny answered. Seeing Rontellov wave one more time to his call, Danny knew that none of them were in any danger. It wasn't certain however if Rontellov knew about Jane's symbol just yet. If he did, then he wouldn't be acting so friendly right now, Danny thought.
"Danny! Taylor! Jane! I got all of your bikes fixed two hours ago."
"Did you watch the championships?" Danny asked.
Rontellov answered while rubbing the back of his neck, letting go of the bikes to hand them over to the youngsters. "I saw most of it. But as soon as Jane's final battle started, I had to attend to other matters. Guess I have to be better about taking time off in advance. Anyway, did you win?" Rontellov waited for Jane's answer, but then pointed out how odd it was for her to be wearing a hood in this weather. Winter was still here, but it was rather warm today with a light wind. "What's with the hood? Catch a cold?"
Jane was hesitant to answer, unsure of where to even begin. Rontellov was still friendly, but that's only because he didn't know about the symbol... Still, as far as winning goes, Jane can't really call herself a winner from the way she went about that battle. "I lost." Her admission made Danny and Taylor look back at her, trying to read the situation better. "But I'll beat him eventually."
"You seem to be handling it well..." A mild smirk crossed Rontellov's face. "I warned you that Danton was another level of toughness. Anyway, I got these things fixed, and now you can use it to travel again."
"Thanks Rontell." Assuming he wouldn't mind the shorter nickname, Jane walked up and took her bike, allowing her friends to separate the connective rope to mount onto their own. Jane however decided to lose the hood too, since it was already warming her up too fast. Nobody currently in Route 787 would recognize her anyway. Nobody else but herself and Rontellov was around the J-H road.
"Don't mention it. Something's going on though. I don't know exactly what, but I'm told that Route 787 is not to be monitored today."
Confused by his explanation, Taylor asked for an elaboration. "What does that mean?"
"It means that gradyents and agents are not supposed to patrol there today. They're pulling as many people as they can for something. I've never seen behavior like this from the council at all. Just be careful if you three are about to head back to Lennith City."
Jane, Danny, and Taylor all exchanged looks for a moment, wondering about the current situation in Lennith City. That army could already be assembled at this point and in waiting, and they had to leave now. Luckily, Rontellov was a bit eager to leave as well, only with the intentions to learn the whole truth.
"I'll have to get back to it though. I don't want to get left out of whatever's happening in the council. See to it that you all remain safe."
"I'll keep that promise," Jane agreed. It felt wrong just to talk to Rontellov right now, after lying to him about the symbol and everything else. He would be pissed off too once he finds out what that truth is, but there isn't any time right now to explain it to him anyway. "Let's get going team."
Taylor and Danny began pedaling with haste, edging Jane to catch up and ride faster. The time was already 3:25 P.M. In just a few more hours, the sun will set. Even on bikes, getting back to Lennith City will be a while. Then again, Taylor just remembered once more about her license card being put into Emergency Drive Status. Any Leray wielder asking them to battle would simply have to be turned down. This might make things a lot faster than the last time. With any luck, the trip back should be uneventful too.
