Jaded Series (Books 1-2)

Jin was once more surprised to open her eyes again, and she blankly stared up at the gloomy canopy of the misty forest. She couldn't see the fake sky clearly through it. The only places she had been able to do that so far were by the creek and the cabin. She wasn't sure what time it was or how long she had been unconscious for.

Slowly sitting up with a groan, it appeared that the teleport—while saving her life—didn't also restore her health, and Karam was already hovering over her as his [Refreshing Mist] enveloped them all. That was what had probably helped her wake up in the first place she belatedly realized.

"Is anything broken?" Karam asked her as he handed over one of the water canteens.

She took a grateful drink before carefully twisting and stretching her body. She shook her head. "Don't think so. Pretty sure the smoke is what got me. Is everyone else—"

Her voice halted as she took in the rest of the beleaguered group spread out in front of the white marble door that was currently closed. They were all alive at least, but some seemed hurt more than others and a few seemed to be sitting in silenced shock. Miley was curled up, hugging her knees and actually rocking herself for comfort.

"Hadia broke an arm. Basima twisted an ankle," Kar said. He chuckled as he added, "She's mad that it was from tripping instead of a monster."

Jin managed a weak laugh at that before glancing at Alim who was carefully watching her. She signed, "You okay?"

He nodded and signed back, "Just a mana headache. Too many shields. I'll be good to go again after a short rest."

Jin grimaced but knew he was right about needing to go again. Now that they knew exactly what to expect, they could plan things better.

"We should have just run for the exit instead of taking the extra damage," Alim added after a few moments.

"You're right. We all panicked a bit." She paused before signing, "I noticed you didn't use that new zone. Not sure why exactly, but glad you didn't."

Alim seemed hesitant before admitting, "I wanted to save it in case they attacked us after beating it. I'll use it if you think we'll need it to push through this timer, but…" He glanced toward Carter who was staring daggers at Jin but not making any aggressive actions. "Let's just say I still want to keep it as a trump card… just in case."

"That's probably for the best," she agreed. "But we'll need to come up with a good alternative to get through those waves."

Jin turned to find Darya instead and asked, "Any ideas on how to approach this? I counted twenty three lines total. A weird number in my opinion, but that's how many waves we'll need to get through in under fifteen minutes."

"That means we have to do multiple at a time," Darya noted with an annoyed grunt. "Would probably be easy if we were all Fighters. It was only a bunch of Mundane monsters, but those numbers will be difficult for us to handle."

She turned to Basima, who was currently rubbing near her injured ankle in annoyance, and asked, "Once we finish a Trial, can we keep challenging it again?"

Basima tilted her head in confusion but answered, "We can, but you won't get rewarded again. So we can't get more Aspects if that's what you're hoping for."

"No, I just wanted to make sure we could keep farming monsters here. It seemed like a good way to get mats, and I wasn't sure if we wanted to cut that off too quickly."

That seemed to get the rest of the Workers' attention, and Darya's face split into a grin. "You plan to keep visiting to kill and loot as much as possible even if you don't go to the next room?"

Jin nodded. "We control the spawns, so we don't have to go fast if we don't care about moving forward. I still plan to try beating it for the Aspects for everyone, but I wanted to make sure we could come back later."

"It's a good idea," Darya admitted, leaning back as she stared up at the canopy in thought. "I have no idea about the battle tactics, though, to actually get through that gauntlet."

Liraz surprised Jin by scooting closer to her and lifting her bracelet to show off a glowing blue display.

"How big of an area are we talking about?" Jin asked with a raised brow.

"Big," Darya answered for the smaller girl who nodded in agreement. "Like, swallow the cabin big."

"I can make it sticky and burn too," Liraz added with a slightly maniacal grin that made Jin pause and wonder if this small girl was more like her murder-happy half-brother assassin than she initially believed.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Jin thought for a long moment, glancing over at Alim and then the others. "Well, I have something we can try, but no guarantee it'll work. It'll depend on really good timing and if I can run fast enough."

It turned out that Jin was fast enough as she sprinted down the room and back in record time. The entire group was huddled in a circle with the least combative in the center and the rest shielding them with their own bodies that were shielded by Alim's [Mana Barrier] spell.

She couldn't make out the incantations of the others speaking in the group, but as she reached them with a horde of monsters trailing close behind, they let loose their onslaught right above Jin's head.

Alim and Carter had both cast long combat rituals. The former conjured a massive bolt of lighting to strike from above, shocking nearby foes as well. The latter made large icicles form on the ceiling before crashing down on unsuspecting enemies.

Liraz, though, dealt the most impressive damage as a gigantic blue slime came plopping down just in front of the group. The large drop was definitely bigger than their cabin, and Jin barely avoided being crushed by the initial impact as it momentarily jiggled flat on landing before bursting apart like an oversized dewdrop. She wasn't able to avoid being splattered and the incredibly sticky texture felt like the kind of goopy slime she would craft from glue as a kid. It was sticky enough to claim one of her shoes though as she yanked her foot away from the pile of mostly crushed monsters.

Basima and Liraz both went to work in the next breath, shooting magical arrows and lobbing caustic slime balls at anything that twitched. A quick touch from the small girl helped remove the sticky slime that splashed on Jin's hand and leg, flowing up and getting absorbed directly into Liraz.

Karam was already pouring out his healing mist to help counter any collateral damage from the slime or struggling monsters, and Hadia circled around the remaining fray a moment later to finish off any monsters still living with her [Bone Breaker] and [Resonating Strike].

It had been an insane plan. Jin hadn't been sure it would work without overwhelming them, but the amount of damage from the [Slime Drop] along with making use of a few potions had leveled the playing field and they were able to persevere. They had already agreed to forgo looting at first to make sure there was plenty of time to kill first and make sure the path forward would open.

Tired, bloody, sticky with slime, and victorious, the group touched the other side of the room with a few minutes to spare and another door of pearlescent light appeared.

Jin felt relieved. She was fairly certain the fighting portion would be the toughest part of the trial for their particular group and the next room made her even more certain of that.

The new room was large and triangular this time, filled with large softly glowing crystals in various colors. On each wall were carved drawings of a variety of animals illuminated with spotlights coming from the crystals and in the center of each drawing was a circular divot in the wall.

Basima was cheerfully smiling as she read the next clue that was once more carved above the entrance. "For matters of the mind, remember who grants wisdom beyond mortal cleverness. Keep your thoughts on the Celes and its denizens will illuminate the way. All you need to know is what your masters' rule."

"Well, good to know what the gods think of us mortal slaves," Jin sarcastically said with a disgusted look at the words. Glancing around the murals again, she realized the animal drawings were meant to represent the animalistic gods.

The rest of the group had already begun to look around the area, examining the crystals, drawings, and beams of light connecting the two. She noticed Alim walking up to the portal entrance, though, and curiously looking at the archway around it.

"What is it?" she signed after tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

He blinked at her for a moment, obviously lost in his thoughts, then answered, "I think they're rune stones that match the gods' concepts." Alim pointed at the closest one that her translation ability read as "Servitude."

"That one goes to the Dog," he explained. "Twenty three runes to go with twenty three gods."

"Twenty three lines…" she muttered to herself. Quickly counting the other crystals in the room she pointed out to Alim, "Twenty three crystal lights, too. Do we need to match those somehow?"

One of the Workers seemed to figure that part out as they twisted one of the crystals in place, effectively moving the beam of pale green light over the engraved outline of a chicken. "Hey, I think we need to match the magic colors to the ones the gods preside over," said the man she hadn't caught the name of yet. "The light green matches Life magic for the Hen, right?"

"That's right," Basima replied happily. Then she excitedly turned to Karam and said, "Ooh, this is going to be so fun for the children to watch later! It's a lovely way to help teach them the different deities!"

Jin stared at her for a long moment, almost not wanting to continue the Trial anymore as she asked, "Are you telling me we'll be helping to create divine propaganda to brainwash little kids with?"

Basima seemed slightly confused by the words, as though unfamiliar with the concepts. "I'm not sure what you mean? It's a way to let the kids be involved on some level with the Season that most of their parents will be keeping watch on. Trials like this provide entertainment for them that won't usually give them nightmares and puzzles like this one even help educate them."

"I remember learning how to read my letters from watching Champion Cynthi work her way through that Trial of Elemental Shards," Karam said with a small grin.

"Where she had to read each letter out loud while placing them in the correct square? I definitely remember my parents making me watch that one way too many times," Osman said with a grumble. "I preferred watching the big monster fights they showed."

"Do you people not have schools here?" Jin asked them in mild disbelief.

"What's a school?"

"I guess that answers that question." She shook her head. "Are people not expected to know how to read or do math or… I don't know, basic world knowledge?"

Basima shrugged. "Our parents normally taught us anything we might need to know."

"They usually just had us learn from watching the network though," Darya pointed out. "I'm probably twice your age and that's how I learned most basic knowledge growing up. The trade skills, though, get passed down through apprenticeships."

"But how do people get an apprenticeship? How do you even learn critical thinking skills that way? Or socialize?"

Basima raised an eyebrow at her last question. "By going outside and talking to other kids?"

Jin blinked. Most of her own socializing was either online, at school, or other kids in the hospital she frequented. She never bothered roaming her neighborhood to just… meet random people. She had better things to do with her time, but then again, school and sports and being sick had eaten up a majority of her free time.

Looking around at the others who were already twisting and turning crystals to try and make the colors align with the correct animal god, Jin decided to wait beside Hadia who had been standing off to the side quietly watching. She had no knowledge to contribute for this particular puzzle. Hesitantly, she asked her friend, "What exactly constitutes basic knowledge here?"

"Depends on the Sect you're born into, but on the whole, speaking our language, reading letters and numbers, adding and subtracting those numbers, and knowing who the gods are, what they hold dominion over, the proper ways to worship them, and how their favorite game works." She gestured to the murals then toward the blank ceiling to indicate the tower they were currently standing under.

Her attention was drawn back to the room when a tinkling chime sounded after Alim placed the "Courage" rune in the Eagle's mural and a pale yellow light was shone over it. The etched lines themselves started glowing in harmony with that same yellow light, creating an exciting effect as it sparked with little arcs of Lightning magic.

Hadia turned from it and gave her a pointed look before continuing their conversation. "It's harder to convince people to fight against the only thing they're ever taught, especially when it comes with one simple message reinforcing it."

"What's that?"

"Kneel and pray to the gods or die wishing you had."