[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 79: Expert Advice (Patreon)

I hope this works. Edge gathered his concentration and cast his awareness into his core.

When he appeared inside his central chamber, he stopped to greet his skills, then walked over to the black door that led to Skill-Eater’s domain. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then raised a fist and knocked as loud as he could—each impact resounding like the chime of a gong.

“Hey there, big guy. I’m sorry to bother you while you’re catching up on your beauty sleep, but I’m in a bit of a jam. I’ve reached the last cycle and am ready to evolve to stage two, but I have no idea what a Unique skill is or how to get my hands on one. I know that it’s my job to restore your lost power, but if you’ve recovered enough to offer some guidance, now would be a perfect time to point me in the right direction.”

He waited for a long moment, but nothing happened. He rubbed his temples and then turned away, trying not to let his disappointment discourage him.

Edge was getting ready to explain the situation to Chibime again, on the off chance that the Epic skill could provide some insight into his dilemma, when he felt the slumbering giant stir.

Through the bond they shared, he sensed the ravenous lord bound in chains struggling against the bonds that restrained it, clawing its way up through the murky depths of unconscious one grueling step at a time.

He felt Skill-Eater’s energy waning, burning through its limited reserves to push against the immense forces sealing it lifeforce away. He could tell that his core was in agony, but its will was stronger than steel.

Then, for just a second, the black door cracked open. A lick of storm-charged air caressed his skin as a few tortured words passed through.

“The chains will guide you to the power you need. The tokens are the key. Create a skill that is true to their nature, then mutate…”

Part way through the last sentence, the door swung shut with an air of finality. Skill-Eater descended into dreams, dragged into torpor by the weight of endless chains. Edge sensed that this was the last time his core could help him until he evolved, but the knowledge he’d obtained was worth the price.

It wasn’t a lot to go on, but at least he knew where to begin. He would worry about the tokens later. His first step was to explore the dungeon until he came across a skill the chains wanted—ideally before the sun set tomorrow.

Hopefully, the process would offer a clue as to what to do next. He wasn’t sure what any of this had to do with acquiring a Unique skill, but it was the only lead he had. Besides, he trusted Skill-Eater, at least in matters related to its own growth.

With that goal in mind, he planned to wake up bright and early. He would continue to survey the swamp and hope that the black chains could find what he needed. Along the way, Edge would keep an eye out for something to eat, additional sources of shelter, valuable resources, and monsters that were weak enough to steal a skill from without risking too much—preferably ones that were wounded, exhausted, or otherwise incapacitated.

Although he hadn’t made much progress today, the break had given him a chance to refill his energetic reserves. To decompress from the intense battle with the elite ape, if only by a hair. When he began his hunt in the morning, he would be ready to fight at full strength.

Trusting Conceal to protect him while he was out, Edge spread a tarp across the ground, used his poncho for a blanket, and was out like a light the moment he closed his eyes.

***

He woke up a bit later than usual, although it was still a few minutes before sunrise.

The extra shuteye had refreshed him. He was on the clock with the future of Puppet Town hanging in the balance, but he was ready to tackle his mountain of challenges with a clear head and full tank of magicytes.

Edge stepped out of his shelter, then climbed the rocks and took a lap around his island. Although he spotted a few monsters in the distance, and signs that several more were swimming below the water, nothing was in his immediate vicinity or seemed to be headed his way.

He went back inside to retrieve his gear, then scaled the biggest boulder on the island. He ate the rest of his jerky while getting a better sense of his surroundings. Unfortunately, the mist had receded while he was asleep. He would have to brave the dungeon’s depths without its protection.

The swamp had a rather different ambiance than the maze or the jungle. While the monsters were deadly, Edge could breathe a bit easier here, since the jailbirds would have a hard time reaching him. That would change once they had cleared the jungle and began surveying the swamp, but for now, he had one less thing to worry about and could focus on the task at hand.

He stretched out his muscles while deciding which way he wanted to go, doing his best to pick out a path that would keep him away from the waterline. Since entering the dungeon’s fourth zone would bring him face-to-face with even more powerful opponents, he decided to remain within the swamp today. He needed to inspect as many monsters as possible, and hope that the chains caught wind of something they wanted.

One direction was as good as another, so Edge decided to start off by heading deeper into the Savage Garden. While he was hunting for skills, he wanted to find an elevated vantage and peek into the final zone before he was forced to head in there.

Crossing the swamp was a massive pain in the ass, not to mention treacherous as fuck, but at least it was only a couple of miles wide. It took him most of the morning to find a path, thanks to the labyrinthine layout of the strips of dry land.

Edge eventually came across a modest hillock, beyond which open water barred his path. After scouting for monsters and climbing on top, he had a good view of the surrounding terrain. By now, he had traveled far enough to see the end of the swamp.

“Shit.” He had been hoping that he wouldn’t have to deal with the endless waterways once he left the zone, but it turned out that the next region was even less accessible.

Beyond the periphery of the swamp, the wetlands continued—marsh and mud transitioning into a series of riverways and islands that stretched all the way to the dungeon’s far wall. However, it wasn’t the islands that drew his attention, but the series of ruins that were scattered across them.

The architecture reminded him of the crumbling temple complex where he had found the reliquary containing Skill-Eater. By now, Edge was certain that such structures were genuine artifacts instead of props generated by the System. Ruins that went back all the way to the first generation of settlers to colonize the planet, or even further, if certain rumors were to be believed.

He was looking forward to reaching them, since exploring the ruins would be far more pleasant than crossing the wetlands. He hoped that there would be some valuable treasures inside, especially considering what he’d found the last time he had come across something similar.

But that would have to wait until he found a way across the water and resolved his current conundrum. He couldn’t afford to tackle the most powerful monsters in the dungeon until he evolved and had some more cycles under his belt.

While he couldn’t proceed any further, his trip hadn’t been a waste of effort. In addition to charting more of the swamp, he had gained some valuable information and finally had a complete picture of the dungeon’s layout.

He turned away and continued scouting the marshlands, heading into a section that he hadn’t crossed before.

As he traveled, he spotted several monsters that should be a good match for his skillset, and a few more with powers he wanted to steal. He marked their locations in his wayfinder so that when he was ready, he could come back and begin hunting in earnest. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any skills that the black chains wanted.

Instead, he turned his attention to a few islands that might contain rare resources—only one of which was accessible to him now. Since Edge was growing frustrated with his search and needed to take a break before his irritation encouraged him to make a fatal mistake, he decided to head over and see if he could harvest them now.