Jaded Series (Books 1-2)

Antoni glared in annoyance at the current leaderboard while trying to tune Jilani's rant out. That bastard Whisper had been racking up the points with the Champion kills and he idly hoped the traitor would be stupid enough to attack their group next.

"This isn't fucking working, Antoni!" Jilani yelled at him and it took every ounce of control he had not to punch her right in that smartass mouth. "We've been searching for their stupid base for almost two weeks now and it's fucking nowhere! We need to either forget about those dumb Servants you seem obsessed with or try something different than walking around in circles!"

"We know they're in the southern section," he retorted, his fists clenched together in front of him as he remained sitting in his chair as Jilani paced around beside him. "They must have upgraded their wards somehow, but we know they're operating from there. The Workers confirmed as much."

"Not until I cut up that redhead," Jilani spat back. "You never did thank me for that."

Antoni internally sighed, he hadn't exactly agreed with Jilani's methods, recognizing the sadistic steak the woman had which made her an effective weapon and a terrible enemy. "I'm not going to thank you for doing your job," he grumbled. He had vowed long ago that he would never thank or apologize to anyone while he still drew breath.

"It still didn't get us closer to the Servants," Farideh spoke up from the sofa across from where Jilani paced in the crowded sitting room. "They didn't know where their base was either and these sections are huge."

"And while the size of each section is the same, the base location seems completely random," Nawal said from the only other chair across from Antoni. The map she had been sketching for weeks was sprawled out on the low table between them all. "The Speakers are closer to the wall, while the Whispers' completely empty base is closest to the center. The Workers were also much closer to one of the dividing creeks than any of the others."

"And ours is dead center of our section," Antoni finished. They had poured over the map often enough that he had already memorized most of the details. "It's not like this time has been a complete waste," he pointed out. "We've defeated one of the Trial of Aspects and located a second. Once we figure out that stupid puzzle in the second room and find the third Trial, we'll all be Crystal Casters."

"Which is why we should scout out the boss now instead of—"

"And what if scouting triggers it? You know how some bosses can be."

"Not on the first floor. They're never weird like that. It's going to be some stupid bear or dire wolf and you know it."

Antoni grunted in annoyance but didn't argue the point again. He could admit to himself that he was starting to get frustrated with his own plan, but he'd be damned if he'd admit it to any of them. If he admitted that he might have been wrong—no. He couldn't do that.

"How about we try a new tactic to find them and the last Trial at the same time. I'm still against scouting the boss, but lets try splitting into smaller teams to cover more ground. We've got the numbers and the strength. We'll go in pairs which will be plenty to handle anything anyone might come across."

Jilani seemed to think about it for a few moments as she paused in her pacing, but finally smiled and said, "Fine, but I get Nawal."

Jin grinned like an absolute fool as she watched Basima's face light up with the knowledge of her new abilities. Barely able to hold still long enough, Bas showed the rest of them the displays on her bracelet.

She even got a Natural Talent to cultivate this time, which Jin was surprised matched what Alim had gotten before.

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"Are Attunements common?" she asked.

"Yes," Alim replied with a one-handed gesture. "They're probably the most common along with Dispositions that favor a specific Type of ability, like Spells or Special Attacks."

"Good to know."

"I'm so happy right now!" Basima squealed in delight as she practically vibrated beside Jin.

"So, you're going to dance for me now, right?" she reminded, her grin turning wicked.

Hadia smacked her arm. "Save it for tonight lovebirds. We still have a boss to find, remember?"

"I'm sure she can dance while we walk now with a Passive like that," Jin pointed out.

As if to prove Jin right, Basima twirled away from them and took a few hopping steps away before posing like a ballerina balancing on a single foot with the other stretched behind her and an arm counter-balancing her. She didn't stumble a single time.

The others laughed and clapped for the impressive movements and happily began resuming their path north. They had all agreed to turn back by the time the Midday Tally came and would try again tomorrow, leaving earlier if needed. Jin had confirmed with them that the monster spawns increased at night and with none of them having any kind of night vision it would be a death sentence to wander the forest at night.

Jin's eyes continued trailing after Basima as she flitted about the forest, pulling Liraz and Karam into impromptu dances whenever she could. Even Alim indulged her for a dance before he was the one to stumble on a protruding root and laugh at the silliness of it all.

Basima tried to pull Jin into a dance but she adamantly refused, knowing all too well that she would get completely lost in the moment and wouldn't want to let Bas go again. It would be better to wait until tonight when she could relax and not worry about some random forest critter assassinating one of them.

A slow dance in the semi-privacy of their shared room would be a welcome change of pace from the adrenaline filled days she normally had. Not that she disliked the adrenaline rushes; her mom had always teased her about being a thrill seeker like she was, and it only proved more and more true as she grew older. Still, relaxing every now and then was a healthy balance she hoped to obtain and was slowly learning to do with Basima's help.

"I will live for the moment," she recited to herself as she watched Basima bend down to pick a flower from one of the bushes.

With a twirl that made her golden hair shine in the sunlight, Basima gracefully returned to her side and tucked the flower behind one of her ears.

"What's that for?" she asked but allowed the tiny decoration.

"Just because it's pretty," Basima replied with a smile. With a playful wink she added, "But not as pretty as you."

Jin rolled her eyes. "Who knew you were such a terrible flirt?"

"Terrible as in bad or terrible as in naughty?"

"Definitely the latter."

Basima chuckled and quietly admitted, "Only the people here know that. I've never had anyone to practice on before."

"Happy to be your test subject," Jin replied with a grin, quietly pleased to know she wasn't the only one fairly new to these experiences.

After a few more minutes of walking through the forest side by side, Jin broke the silence with a question. "I meant to ask earlier, but how exactly does that new ability of yours work? The gambling one. I'm not exactly sure how it relates to Balance, but I figured maybe you have more insight that the information didn't detail. Like those limitations to your [Pathfinder] ability you discovered on your own."

Basima seemed to think over her words for a few more moments before slowly explaining, "Well, I think it does relate to Balance fairly well. It's one of those 'big risks, big rewards,' type of abilities. I could completely drain my mana pool for an amazing effect, but there's no guarantee it will be exactly useful for the situation or that it will end whatever threat we're facing that I won't need more mana to keep fighting. I'd potentially be a sitting duck. I've seen Champions die from that kind of mistake before…"

At the sight of Basima's crestfallen face, Jin piped up, "Hey, do you need to repeat the thing?"

She only looked confused for a moment before smiling and saying softly, "I am not going to die. I'm not going to give up and will fight back."

"Good. Now, I still don't really see what that has to do with Balance."

"It's more of a… metaphorical type of balancing," she replied, scrunching her nose slightly as if searching for the right words. "Like karma. It's the balance of the universe. All the bad times we endure are balanced by the good moments we're given. The Scales of Fate are, like, weighing the odds. I need to balance the threat of the situation with the amount of mana I might need to overcome it. Not just to equalize it but to shift the balance in my favor. Even the incantation reflects that perspective."

"Oh? Can you show it to me now with just a tiny bit of mana? Maybe that'll help us both get a better idea of what you'll be working with."

Basima smiled brightly. "That's a great idea. I'd like to get a better idea of the kind of cooldown I'll be looking at, too." They paused walking for a moment as Basima closed her eyes to focus on the new ability and incanted, "As Fate shifts the scales, may the balance be in my favor."

It was only a moment that Basima seemed to glow with a soft golden light before it faded and she looked back at her with an excited glimmer in those lovely green eyes. Pressing the Display rune on her bracelet, she was able to show Jin the description for the new Boon she had gained.

Jin laughed. "So, now you get to dance circles around us for the rest of the day?"

"Don't pretend you don't like watching me dance," Basima called her out with a pointed look. "I'm not completely oblivious, you know."

She grinned in response and pointed out, "You'd only know I was watching if you were looking in return."

Basima blushed a lovely shade of pink before deciding to not argue the point and moving ahead of the group in a noticeable burst of speed. It wasn't quite like a sprint, but she practically glided across the forest floor as though it were ice and she had been skating her whole life.

It was only a few minutes later when the group was surprised to exit the tree line, a grassy clearing opening up before them. The mist wasn't lingering here and the overcast sky was a sheet of gray clouds here unlike the glimpses of sunlight they were getting through the canopy.

None of them needed to say anything to all come to the same conclusion that this was definitely where the boss would be. That was made even more apparent when they saw the mound in the center of the clearing that had a dark cave opening facing toward them. It was so eerily pitch-black that Jin wondered if there was some kind of magic spell on it causing the darkness.

"Oh! I've seen one of these before!" Basima said cheerfully, taking a few steps closer while explaining over her shoulder. "It's like the Trials where we'll be able to fight the boss without the fear of other teams attacking us or kill-stealing. Unlike the Trial, we can die, but we won't need to worry about interference."

The rest of them followed behind as Basima skipped over to it and added, "One of the best parts is that we don't have to worry about the boss leaving it at all. No roaming, no chasing after us if we decide to retreat. We can probably go inside to take a peek at what it is and leave before actually engaging it."

"Are you sure about that?" Jin asked cautiously, eyeing the cave uncertainly.

Basima was standing before the black void of the entrance now and happily turned to smile back at her. "I'm positive. This is the best type of boss we could have hoped for. We're going to be able to win this!"

As if in response to Basima's proud proclamation, a loud gong sound that Jin had only ever heard once before rang through the forest accompanied by the strange feminine voice that loudly spoke from the gray sky above them, and the familiar red hologram detailing the announcement in text appeared on all of their bracelets.

"The Pain Sect has initiated their Bounty for the first floor! The death of Servant Basima at the hands of a Champion will award a total of two hundred points if accomplished within the next two weeks. Good luck, Champions!"

Her heart threatened to stop as she heard Basima's name called. Jin's confusion was mirrored on Basima's face as her smile dropped and brow furrowed. It didn't make sense. Why in the world would the Fighter's want to put a bounty on—

Her thought was abruptly interrupted as a nightmare unfolded before her very eyes. All Jin saw was a fucking shadow move behind Basima, stepping out from what had been the dark sheet of the cave entrance, before the blade of a wickedly curved dagger protruded from the center of Basima's chest. Right where her heart would have been.

Basima's pale green eyes snapped wide open in pure shock as they all felt frozen in that moment. It wasn't even a breath later when a second dagger appeared from the darkness, wrapping in front of her neck before a face Jin recognized as the Fighter Jilani appeared to cruelly smile and say, "Perfect timing."

Jin's feet were already moving before she was aware of it, but she wasn't fast enough to stop the Fighter from sliding that second blade across Basima's throat.

Her vision went red with pure fucking rage.