[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 84: Pressing Problem (Patreon)

Edge cast his gaze across his inner world, filled with an exquisite sense of anticipation. Only one final task stood between him and climbing the next rung of the dungeon’s food chain, and this time he knew exactly what he had to do.

I need to defeat three stage-two monsters, and I can evolve. I have a chance of surviving this ordeal after all.

That being said, he had another pressing problem that he needed to tackle first. Edge only had a few minutes until the ape’s auras finished digesting, and he didn’t have the empty skill sockets to slot them. He was reluctant to give up any of his powers, but it seemed that he didn’t have a choice.

He wasn’t willing to use his last merger token at this point, so he eventually decided to ditch Regulate Temperature and Leap and walked over to oversee their Absorption.

When he saw his skills playing in his garden, an idea came to him. Edge had no idea if Roar could help, but he figured that it was worth a shot. He called Chibime over and explained his dilemma.

“I can have everything wrapped up in a day or two, and I was wondering if you could do anything to slow down the digestion of the Rare skills I stole from the monkey.” He pointed to the egg-shaped lumps sitting by his reservoir.

Chibime rubbed its chin as it walked over to the skills in question. It circled the gestating powers, poking and prodding as it pondered the situation. Just when Edge was about to give up, the miniature version of himself turned to Elemental Blade and made a beckoning gesture.

The crystal blade floated over, putting a chill in the air. Then, to Edge’s astonishment, Chibime grabbed the sword by the hilt and touched the tip to one of the digesting skills. It slowly iced over, and when it was completely frozen, the avatar repeated the move until both powers were encased in frost.

The little guy chittered at him and offered a grinning thumbs up. I’ll be damned. It used my iceblade to deepfreeze those auras. Edge had no idea how the magic of it all worked on a deeper level, but it seemed that he had just learned a method that would let him delay the digestion of his skills, which would come in handy if he ever found himself in a similar situation.

Thrilled to have found a solution that let him keep all his powers, and astonished that his Epic skill could influence the inner workings of his core to such an extent, Edge thanked Chibime profusely and returned to his body.

Since he would have to wait until morning to begin his hunt, he lay his head against his pack and closed his eyes. He was too excited to fall asleep right away—still riding the high of obtaining a fantastic Unique skill and overcoming the main obstacle to evolving to stage two.

After several hours filled with fantasies of the powers he might obtain, he finally drifted into the land of dreams.

***

When Edge opened his eyes, he was thrilled to discover that he could see out of both of them. To his immense relief, Regeneration had finished rebuilding the organ while he was asleep.

He was still a little groggy after passing out so late, but not drowsy enough to cause any problems. He was almost ready to start hunting monsters, but there was something else that he needed to do first.

It was time to take his new skill for a test drive and find out what it could do.

After all the warnings and special effects that had accompanied creating the Unique skill, Edge would be deeply disappointed if Manifest Chain didn’t live up to the hype. Although he had a solid sense of the broad strokes after completing the mutation, he needed to experiment and learn the details of how it worked.

He already had several ideas that he wanted to try before beginning his hunt, but they shouldn’t take too long. He reviewed his list while walking away from his shelter—opening some distance in case he wound up attracting unwanted attention. Once he was far enough out, he decided to start by summoning the chain and getting a feel for the basics.

Accompanied by a surge of excitement, he gathered his concentration, ignited his core, and activated the skill for the first time. Manifest Chain.

Responding to his will, mana flowed out of his reactor. It was channeled through his skill socket before moving into his left arm—concentrated in the spot where his wrist transitioned into his palm.

A few heartbeats later, he felt something move, gliding below the surface of his skin. Then it pushed through, parting his flesh and emerging into the light of day. It hurt, but only for a second, since Regeneration quickly healed the damage. After sliding out a few feet, the last link in the chain turned to face him, like it was considering him in turn.

Although using Manifest Chain felt different from activating Extraction in a way that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, it was definitely one of the black chains that let Edge invade another creature’s core and steal the skills inside.

Somehow, the living links felt more tangible when manifested by his skill than when summoned by his ultimate ability. More like a real chain, and less like a vehicle linking his core to another’s—able to interact with the world in ways that it never had before.

Just like Animate Weapon, the black chain that the System called Foebinder could support its own weight, floating as if gravity were merely a suggestion, instead of a natural law. Stranger still, he could feel each link and loop like there were extensions of his own arm. And yet, at the same time, he sensed a distinct intelligence residing within them—a will that was separate from his own.

Hello. Edge focused his thoughts on the floating chain. Can you understand me? The end paused in response to his query. It bobbed in the air as if nodding, before meandering around once more. He realized that he hadn’t needed the gesture to understand it. Foebinder could communicate with him directly, conveying simple concepts and emotions.

He had the impression that the black chain was self-aware, but not capable of complex cognition. It was less intelligent than Chibime, but smarter than the rest of the skills in his collection.

He’d even caught hints of personality and intent. It was hard to put into words, but Foebinder reminded him of a trained hunting dog. It was ready and eager to seek prey on his command, fight by his side, or help in any way that it could.

Before he risked his life using Manifest Chain in battle, Edge wanted to run a few tests and learn the limits of what it could do. First on his list, he needed to get used to having what was effectively an extra limb.

With that goal in mind, he sat down on a stone, immersing himself within the strange new sensations that came with using the skill. The chain waited patiently while floating by his side, displaying none of the overwhelming hunger that arose when using Extraction.

Fortunately, while it took a fair amount of mana to grant Foebinder physical form, the drain was surprisingly low once the chain was manifested. This power is amazing. Once I integrate its presence, it will become a core part of my fighting style. Since hiding this skill would be a waste of its potential, I’ll tell everyone that I found a Rare skill gem inside a chest while exploring the dungeon. Except for the people who already know my secret.

For his next test, Edge took direct control of the chain, getting a feel for how the living links moved through the air. He began to improvise, learning how quickly Foebinder could turn and how fast it could lunge. He practiced extending and retracting the links, marveling at how easy it was to control a weapon that provided tactile feedback. Then he had it stretch as far as it would go. It looks like fifteen feet is the limit. At least for now.

While he could feel the loops articulating against his wrist whenever Foebinder changed length, there wasn’t any sensation below. Wherever the chain existed past that point, it only assumed material form beyond the boundary of body, which was a lot less creepy than having it sliding around inside his arm.

Next, he started picking up stones to see how much weight it could lift. The limit was about ten pounds by his rough estimate. While the chain could manipulate objects, it couldn’t carry a heavy load with its hovering ability.

On a more promising note, Foebinder could exert considerable force while retracting. When he looped the end around a boulder and started reeling the chain in, he wound up dragging himself toward the stone instead. It can retract while supporting my weight. Fantastic. That opens up all kinds of options.

He would have to run some trials to see how it performed in battle, including how well it could restrain creatures of various sizes and its innate resistance to damage. But that would have to wait until he found suitable prey.

Unfortunately, since the chain was mounted to his wrist, he couldn’t fight with his naginata and use Foebinder at the same time. Or maybe I can. Edge touched the section of the shaft that made the weapon shrink to its minimum length. The balance wasn’t perfect in this configuration, but it let him use the polearm like a sword and wield it single-handed. He decided that a shorter weapon would work even better, which gave him an idea.

He strapped his naginata to his pack and then conjured his iceblade instead. As he’d been hoping, since the skills didn’t directly interact and Foebinder was already manifested, it didn’t count as a combo. It was nice to find a niche for Elemental Blade’s original form. He hadn’t used his iceblade nearly as often after gaining the power to infuse his polearm with subzero mana.

As he explored the ins and outs of using Manifest Chain, he learned more about the strange duality suffusing the living links. On the one hand, the black chain felt like an extension of his body. He could sense whatever it was touching and guide it with his will.

On the other, Foebinder had its own awareness. It could act on its own and obey simple commands, leaving his mind free to tackle other tasks. It made the skill far more versatile, since Edge didn’t have the luxury of learning to control a brand-new limb while he was busy fighting for his life.

Now that he had a better sense of what Manifest Chain could do, he was ready to perform one last test before beginning his hunt. If this worked out the way he was hoping, Foebinder wouldn’t just be useful in battle, it would drastically enhance his mobility.

He ran his eyes across the treetops until he had picked out a path where he wouldn’t fall into the swamp if this didn’t work out as planned. Here goes nothing.

Edge grinned and reached out toward the canopy above. He Leapt to gain altitude, while visualizing what he was trying to do. Responding to his will, the living links surged forth like a spring-loaded serpent. They wrapped around a low-hanging branch, then retracted, pulling him toward the treetops. He reached out and grabbed the branch with his right hand, then sent the chain lunging for another.

As soon as Foebinder was in position, he let go and began to swing, picking up speed along the way. Once he was going fast enough, he could use his momentum to remain airborne long enough to grab the next branch without using his hands.

Edge let out a whoop of delight as he went streaking across the swamp, no longer restricted by the mud and overgrowth below.