Clover Kingdom / Diamond Border (Hidden Safehouse Training Chamber): May 6th, 1011.
It was a ugly morning for the world. The city above still pretending to belong to the church while the gutters below it belonged to blood, greed and those too stubborn to die properly, yet if you were to look closely beneath the city. To be more specific, inside of a training chamber where the walls had been patched three times in two days because of one particular child's unstable sense of self preservation. You could see a black magenta grimorie floating open while a giant glowing dice board covered the floor and two small figures tried to murder each other on top of it.
The atmosphere violent.
(David's POV)
"BOARD SHIFT. 6." I screamed.
The glowing panels under the chamber floor flashed.
Nyx vanished from one side of the board and reappeared directly above me with both claws out and a grin that looked entirely too happy for someone about to commit bullshit.
I threw myself sideways.
*SHSK*
Her claws hit the panel where my throat had been a second earlier and carved four deep gouges into the stone.
I rolled, coughed, shoved mana into my grimorie and yelled "Critical roll."
A black magenta dice shot out, hit panel 2, bounced off the wall and slammed into nyx's shoulder.
*BOOOM*
She flew back and crashed into Jarred's stacked bottles near the chamber wall.
*CRASH*
The room went silent.
Jarred slowly looked down at the puddle of spilled wine surrounding his boots and said with a wounded look on his face "Boss man. Those were emotional support bottles."
I had a ugly grin on my face and said "Then emotionally support yourself with surviving."
Nyx sat up in broken glass with blood on one side of her forehead and said with a look of offense "You cheated."
I stared at her.
Then at the board.
Then back at her.
"This is literally a spell built around cheating." I said with a dead look in my eyes.
Benjamin calmly stepped between us and said "Again."
Nyx and I both looked at him with irritation.
Benjamin adjusted his tie and said "Again. Ms nyx moved too high. Master david wasted mana on the ricochet. Both of you looked stupid."
Jarred started choking on laughter in the corner.
Nyx wiped blood from her forehead and stood up with a twitching eyebrow. "Door man is rude."
Benjamin bowed slightly. "I am efficient."
I rubbed my bandaged side and thought "Why are all competent people in my life so goddamn mouthy."
The truth was the last two days had been useful.
Horrible.
Painful.
Mana draining.
But useful.
I had learned that World of fortune could only remain stable for forty seven seconds before it started trying to eat my organs.
Loaded fate was stronger with the locked six, but each time I pushed it too far my body felt like it had been run over by a wagon full of iron.
Critical roll had the most room to grow.
Which meant of course it was also the spell most likely to blow off my own fingers if I got arrogant.
Life remained ass.
Nyx cracked her neck and her silver and black grimorie floated beside her with a pulse of dark light.
She looked at me and said "This time use the board right. Last round you only moved yourself and almost got your face opened."
I clicked my teeth.
That irritated me because she was correct.
Nyx raised one claw and said "Pact magic: Shared hunt."
Dark silver markings flashed along her arms and a thread like line of mana briefly linked her to my chest before disappearing.
My right eyebrow twitched.
"What did you just do." I asked calmly.
Nyx grinned. "Borrowed your directional sense for a little. Don't worry, I left all the ugly parts."
Jarred let out a ugly laugh again.
Benjamin lifted one finger and said calmly as he moved out of the way "Begin."
Nyx moved first.
Fast.
Too fast for a normal eye.
But not too fast for mine now.
I felt the flicker in the air. Saw the shift in her stance. Poured mana into the board and snarled "World of fortune."
*BOOOOM*
The chamber floor lit up.
Numbered panels spun.
The air warped.
Nyx's foot landed on 3 and the board punished her instantly. The panel flashed and a wall of floating dice appeared in front of her face.
She swore and twisted mid step.
That half second gave me everything.
I flicked a loaded roll.
The dice hit one floating construct, bounced down off panel 5, then slammed into Nyx's hip hard enough to launch her sideways into a padded wall benjamin had installed that morning after saying and I quote:
"If master david insists on training like a suicidal goblin, then I prefer the walls to remain intact."
*BOOOM*
Nyx peeled herself off the wall and glared at me and said with gritted teeth "You are becoming unbearable."
I had a wide grin on my face and said "Wrong. I have always been unbearable. I am becoming efficient."
Benjamin gave the faintest nod.
That felt weirdly satisfying.
Jarred lifted a fresh bottle and yelled "Boss man is leveling up."
I dismissed the board with a wheeze and bent over, hands on my knees, trying not to cough blood on the nice chalk lines somebody else had drawn.
My mana reserve was bigger than before.
Still not enough. Never enough.
Nyx limped back over, rubbing her side, and stared at me for a second before asking "How much longer until bounty time."
I straightened up and answered honestly "Today."
The room went quiet.
Benjamin nodded once and said "Good."
Jarred's grin widened and said finally with a ugly laugh "Hehe…finally."
Nyx licked one sharp fang and said "Then who dies first."
Benjamin stepped to the broken crate and spread the black bounty parchment open again. He tapped the name with a gloved finger an said calmly "Helmut crane. Former route collector. Managed underground movement of mana suppression powder through the border tunnels. Since the church seized the upper district, he has gone to ground in the old quarry caves east of the city."
I looked down at the parchment and thought "Mana suppression powder. Good. That means killing him helps my wallet and my irritation at the same time."
Benjamin continued and said while adjusting his throat "Thirty six thousand gold. Bonus for ledger recovery."
"Ledger." I repeated softly.
Nyx's grin sharpened and said "So we're not just robbing him. We're ripping information out too."
I rubbed my chin and looked at the gathered chamber.
Benjamin.
Nyx.
Jarred.
Eight syndicate fighters waiting at the door in partial armor and worse attitudes.
Not enough for a war.
Enough for a hunt.
I smiled.
Kindly.
Which made everyone in the room look a little more alert.
"We leave at dusk. Benjamin, route. Jarred, keep the loud idiots from dying before I need them. Nyx…" I said calmly while trailing off as my eyes landed on nyx.
Nyx looked at me and said with squinted eyes "What."
I let my grin widen just a little too far and said while shaking my head in disappointment with a wave of my hand "Try not to get caught by the tail again. It was embarrassing for the both of us."
Nyx eyes narrowed instantly and said with a irritated look on her face "I hope you choke on your own sweat."
"Dream all you want." I said honestly with a shrug as I started leaving the chamber while stretching my muscular, sweaty arms that did not at all fix my age.
And as the chamber emptied to prepare for the bounty, my closed grimorie floated at my side like fate itself had started growing teeth.
THE END…