[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 81: Blade Masters (Patreon)

A few hours later, color had begun bleeding from the world, and Edge was growing desperate.

He still hadn’t found a skill that the black chains wanted, and he was running out of time. His odds of survival dwindled with every second that his advancement remained bottlenecked. Sooner or later, he was going to run into a monster that he couldn’t flee or hide from.

Even if he didn’t, the prisoners would eventually find a way to kill the remaining elites and then take a crack at the dungeon’s boss. Edge had spotted plenty of creatures that he wanted to fight, and staring at all those powers he couldn’t steal and experience he couldn’t claim made him grind his teeth in frustration.

His mood only got worse when he discovered that the path leading back to his shelter was blocked. Sitting right in the middle of the muddy stretch of soil was one of the strangest monsters he had encountered yet.

It looked like a cross between a bullfrog and a praying mantis. The hopping horror had a slimy green body with two powerful hindlegs, and a beaklike mouth bookended by beady orange eyes. It was perhaps two thirds the size of Blue and seemed like bad news all around. But the real problem was the set of scythe-like appendages that jutted out from the center of its body.

Edge ducked behind a tree trunk and activated Conceal, waiting until it left before resuming his journey. But the damned thing just sat there like it had all the time in the world. The monster showed no sign that it was planning to move on. In fact, it seemed to be settling in for the night.

He had no desire whatsoever to fight it, and even less to cross the marsh in the dark. To make matters worse, he didn’t have time to find an alternative path before he lost the last of the light. He was toying with a few ideas as to how he might lure or scare scythe-frog away, none of which seemed particularly promising, when help arrived from an unexpected quarter.

Because that was when he saw a patch of darkness stretching toward the bladed amphibian. For a second, Edge thought it was merely a shadow, but when he realized what he was looking at, adrenaline surged into his bloodstream. It’s one of those flat monsters that took out the hedgehippo. He was happy to let the monsters fight, then either finish off the winner or sneak past while it was busy feeding, when he saw something that drove all other thoughts from his head.

As the black monster crept into position behind the frog, a series of blades emerged from the top as it got ready turn itself into a living blender. The moment he saw them, he felt something strange. It wasn’t coming from the monsters or his environment, but inside his own core.

Without taking his eyes off the creatures blocking his path, he focused on the feeling, trying to figure out what was going on without entering his inner world. It wasn’t Skill-Eater or Chibime. Another awareness was trying to get his attention. That was when it hit him. It’s the black chains. They’ve finally spotted the skill they were looking for.

The flat monster and the scythe-frog were both peak-stage two. Just as strong as the demon, and even more frightening in their own way. Edge didn’t have a chance of beating either in a straight fight. And if the black creature got away, he doubted that he could find it again. In short, this was his only chance to steal its skill, and he couldn’t afford to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.

His only chance of claiming the power was to make his move while the monsters fought, without getting himself eviscerated for his trouble. It was a dangerous prospect—one that he never would have considered under ordinary circumstances. But since he was fucked if he didn’t evolve, he figured that the high-risk engagement was better than no chance at all. First things first. I can’t let either monster get the drop on the other. I need them to battle instead.

These thoughts had passed through his mind in a fleeting handful of heartbeats. Edge still had time to act, but he needed to move fast. He reached down and picked up a rock. Then he took aim, let loose, and reactivated Conceal. A bare second before the black monster struck, the rock hit the scythe-frog square in the ass. It reflexively jumped in the other direction, causing the flat monster’s whirling blades to miss it by a fraction of an inch.

It let out a hiss of frustration, stopping to look back but seeing nothing behind it. He was afraid that the frog would hop away, but fortunately, most of the inhabitants of the Savage Garden were happy to fight to the death.

The amphibian turned around and came bounding back in, dual blade-arms poised to strike. At least I don’t need to worry about what happens to the frog. Subduing the other monster will be hard enough already.

While he pondered his next move, the monsters exchanged a brutal barrage of blows. The frog’s blade-limbs were tougher, shearing through the flat monster’s manifestations whenever they struck one another. On the other hand, the scythes were a part of the amphibian’s body, rather than skill-manifestations. Any damage they received was permanent, whereas the black monster could keep conjuring more weapons as long as it had enough mana.

The manifested arsenal was more versatile too. Edge watched on with interest as a mana-forged blade changed shape right before contact. It turned into a hand that was covered in spikes, grabbing the blade-limb below the cutting surface and biting into frog’s flesh.

The amphibian screamed as it tried to break free. Its tongue came whipping out for the first time in the fight, hitting the manifestation hard enough to shatter it. That tongue attack is powerful, but the flat monster is a bad match for the frog’s skillset.

I need to get closer without them noticing, then wait for the right moment to use Intimidating Roar. If I’m not careful, I’ll get caught in the crossfire. But if the black monster dies before I can steal that skill, I’ll be shit out of luck and will probably die before I come across another of its kind. Shit. What am I going to do?

Edge hadn’t tried using Roar on anything that was peak stage two. The skill would be more effective than when he’d used it against the elite ape, but less than it had been against its minions. He was hoping that the paralysis would last at least ten seconds, but he didn’t have enough experience to be sure.

At rank one, Roar had an effective range of about 30 feet. Past that point, it would rapidly lose strength as the mana suffusing the skill dispersed into the air. There was also a chance that one of the monsters was a Disruption specialist, which would wind up being a deadly complication.

On top of everything else, using Roar would drain a fair amount of his mana, leaving him low for the rest of the fight. That being said, he just needed it to last long enough to hit the black monster with his iceblade. Even a few seconds should be sufficient to close the distance and land a debilitating strike.

Edge had to jump in before the fight was over, but the instant he did, his life was in danger. If the black monster died, he was screwed. If it won too soon, it would be almost as bad. There was also a distinct possibility that both monsters would turn on him the moment that he revealed his presence, in which case, he was well and truly fucked. You don’t have a choice. It’s time to move.

He summoned every scrap of his concentration then dropped Conceal, advancing when the monsters collided in a fierce exchange of blades. He turned it back on when they came apart, jockeying for position before attacking again.

His heart was pounding like a drum. The make-or-break moment was coming soon. If Edge messed up the timing or made the slightest sound, his plan would fall apart. Thank the gods for that scent-erasing ointment, or I wouldn’t have a chance of making this work.

While he crept closer, waiting for an opening to appear, the monsters let loose with everything they had. They seemed to be evenly matched, at least in a straight-up melee. The flat monster’s weapons had a bit more reach, but the scythe-frog’s body sat low to the ground. With those blade-arms defending its body, the black monster couldn’t glide underneath to strike at the frog’s underbelly.

Soon, they were completely absorbed in murdering each other. Edge slipped from one patch of cover to the next, then came to a stop about 15 feet out. If nothing else arrived in the meantime, he was in position to launch an ambush.

By now, both monsters were wounded, and must have expended a fair amount of mana. They were bleeding from dozens of cuts, but nothing that looked serious enough to prove fatal. The next creature that made a mistake was going to lose the fight, and he had to intervene before that happened.

Edge waited until the combatants collided in a frenzy of bladed limbs, then he rose to his feet, dropped Conceal, and Roared.