[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 85: Test Drive (Patreon)

Fifteen minutes, two close calls, and one smashing face first into a tree trunk later, Edge was starting to get the hang of it.

He could never have pulled this off while manually controlling the chain, but Foebinder knew what it was doing. All he had to do was visualize where he wanted to go, and the black chain would reach for the next branch on its own, expanding and retracting at just the right moment to keep him swinging across the dungeon. It’s kind of like having an autopilot that I can reprogram at will.

While he would have loved to spend all day getting a feel for his new power, he was on the clock. It was time to start hunting the monsters that called the Savage Garden home and clear the conditions for evolving to the next stage.

Edge turned around and headed back toward his island, coming down from the treetops about a quarter mile away. He was sure that the monsters had noticed him swinging around, especially after colliding with the tree, and he didn’t want to lead them back to his shelter. Even with Conceal running, there was a chance that they would figure out that he was using a skill to hide and come for him while he was asleep.

If that wasn’t enough to worry about, some monsters were smart enough to analyze his routine and plan and ambush. Not to mention, the possibility of revealing his location to One-Eye or the other jailbirds lurking in the dungeon. On that note, I’ll have to be careful where I use this mode of transportation. It’s a dramatic increase to my mobility, but not exactly subtle.

After waiting long enough to be sure that nothing was headed his way, he crept along the strip of dry land and returned to his cave. His next objective was to repack his gear and leave some of the bulkier resources behind until he was ready to leave the zone for good.

To begin, he needed to do something with the scythe-frog’s limbs. They still had flesh attached to them, and he didn’t want the scent to draw trouble to his doorstep. The blade-limbs were too long to strap to his pack, but if he broke them in half, they should be easy enough to carry. It would lower their value somewhat, but it was better than walking away empty-handed.

He trimmed the meat from the blades, then threw the scraps into the water where the current would carry them away. Then he snapped the scythes in half, bound the sharp bits with bark, and wrapped it all up in marsh grass.

He set all his parts on the ground beside the purple crystals, spent a few minutes maintaining his gear, then stepped back into the sunlight. His preparations were complete, and Edge was ready to hunt some stage-two monsters and clear the final requirement. He realized that he was grinning from ear to ear—eager to use Foebinder in battle and steal some skills along the way.

Since he was planning to Absorb all the powers he Extracted until he had more skill slots to work with, his goal was to find an opponent that was a good match for his skillset. Something that his powers would be effective against and whose attacks could be countered by Harden and Shadow Step.

Even following that criterion, Edge had encountered enough of the dungeon’s inhabitants to know that tackling them head-on was a terrible idea. It was time to start using his brain and fight like a hunter. He needed to locate his prey and strike at an opportune moment, ideally taking them out before they knew he was there.

Unfortunately, since the monsters outside of the maze were constantly roaming while looking for easy meat and corrupted resources, he couldn’t use traps like he normally would. Not that he could construct anything more advanced than pits and deadfalls with the tools in his pack regardless.

Since the mist wasn’t out to obscure his presence, his best bet was to ambush his targets when they were eating or sleeping. Maybe when they’re fighting another monster, if they seem close to finishing each other off.

Edge had to fight using Foebinder to clear his evolution’s requirements, which wasn’t a problem, since he was eager to use it anyway. It would also be a good opportunity to practice using Intimidating Roar, although he had to be careful not to blow through too much mana or give his position away before he was ready to leave the area.

Twenty minutes of trudging through the mud later, he was tempted to start swinging across the swamp, although he knew it was a bad idea. He would use Manifest Chain to cross rough terrain, but he couldn’t afford to draw attention to himself just yet. I’ll save it for when the mist rolls in.

He spent the morning crossing the swamp in pursuit of his first victim. Since most of the monsters in the dungeon’s third zone were too dangerous to tackle until he evolved, Edge was heading toward the jungle instead.

There was a strip of land near one of the walls that was isolated from the rest of the region by the river he’d fallen into after being separated from his crew. Since the area could only be approached from the swamp, he was hoping that the jailbirds wouldn’t bother to explore it, and he could hunt there without having to worry about being discovered.

Once he found a target, he planned to wait for the fog to roll in and attack the monster under the cover of mist, unless a prime opportunity presented itself first. Only creatures who had skills like the apes’ could see through the billowing haze, and the mist would offer him a considerable advantage during the fight.

That being said, he needed to be careful. Nothing capable of surviving in the Savage Garden would be completely incapacitated by the magical vapor. Still, even a small advantage could wind up saving my life, considering how strong these monsters are.

After stopping to eat lunch, he crossed the last stretch of wetlands and approached the border of the swamp. He used Foebinder to ascend to the branches of a tall tree, then activated Conceal, took out his spyglass, and surveyed his surroundings.

As Edge had been hoping, there was no sign that the jailbirds had passed through borderlands or the stretch of jungle ahead. With any luck, it will take them a few more days to start exploring the swamp in earnest. When they do, they will probably follow the broadest strips of dry land and stay as far away from the water as possible.

From his perch, he spotted several monsters prowling the dungeon below. He memorized their behaviors and the powers they displayed, resisting the temptation to act with undue haste and attack the first creature he saw. Although he was ready and eager to evolve, he couldn’t afford to be sloppy. He was locked in a race against the jailbirds, but a single mistake would cost him everything.

Hanging by one arm for a prolonged period was uncomfortable, so he lengthened the chain, then stood on a loop that he positioned below his boots. With Foebinder’s assistance, the links didn’t even clink against each other, which significantly muted the noise he made.

This was the best observation point that he’d come across yet, so Edge waited patiently. Hours passed as he sought out a target while watching the mutant creatures battle one another. It was an eye-opening experience. The first thing he learned was that some of the monsters were disguised as trees. Or maybe they were monstrous plants, he wasn’t really sure.

He was lucky that he hadn’t found them the hard way while testing out his new form of locomotion. When he took a closer look, he noticed that their bark pulsed rhythmically, and their trunks rose and fell like they were breathing. They probably aren’t plants after all.

The next thing Edge realized was that most of the monsters weren’t as reckless as he’d thought, at least when they weren’t fighting over a corrupted resource. Each species had clear preferences for which creatures to hunt and which to avoid, granting the dungeon its own miniature ecosystem. Some of them banded together while resting or warding off attacks from superior predators, although he never caught them actively cooperating or exhibiting social behavior like beasts.

As late morning transitioned into early afternoon, he began building a rough taxonomy based on what he’d observed. So far, he was able to fit the monsters he’d seen into four rough categories.

Ambushers focused on stealthy assassination, slaughtering their prey in a flash. Brawlers specialized in melee combat and tended to take the direct approach. Snipers preferred to keep their distance and whittle down their targets from range. And mages relied on their skills to secure a kill, as opposed to their natural weaponry.

Some monsters were probably good at more than one role, but just like hunters and beasts, it made sense for them to specialize toward a specific method of killing. Although elite creatures like the bone slime had skillsets that were far too complex for his model.

Edge thought that he could handle any of the monsters he saw in the jungle, although only in specific contexts. Ambush predators would be easiest to kill if he got the drop on them instead, while snipers would be at a disadvantage if he got up close and personal before they had time to fire.

Brawlers like the demon and the bipedal boar were the toughest nuts to crack, and he planned to avoid them unless he found a way use the terrain to his advantage. Mages were a mixed bag. Some would probably be easy to kill, while others could wipe him out without batting an eye. He planned to avoid them too, unless he knew exactly what they could do.

Until he reached stage two, Edge would only target ambushers and snipers, whose weaknesses were easy to exploit. While he pondered his stratagem of slaughter, he eventually spotted a good target for his first kill. It was one of the monstrous water striders he had come across the day before. After watching it for a while, he was certain that it was an ambush predator that utilized physical attacks.

The ugly bug danced across the water without leaving a ripple behind, hunting monsters that dwelled below the surface. Whenever it encountered potential prey, mana congealed along a series of spikes running along its underside before firing at an incredible velocity. They seemed to be venomous too, judging by the green fluid that occasionally dripped from their tips.

Any creature the strider struck came floating up to the surface a few seconds later. Then the oversized insect would spear the unfortunate monster with its proboscis, piercing their heart or brain. The strider fed by sucking out their fluids, draining them dry rather than devouring them whole.

Its only other attack was a skill that launched venom from the tip of its abdomen—a mana-intensive defense designed to let it get away when another predator came calling.

While its skills were dangerous, the monster was specialized toward attacking opponents positioned below it, rather than straight ahead. Its spindly body didn’t look nearly as strong as most of the monsters he’d seen, and Edge hoped that Foebinder could restrain it relatively easily. He wasn’t sure exactly what he had to do in order to have the kill count as fighting alongside the chain, so he planned to use it in a few different ways over the course of the battle.

On top of being a good match for his skillset, the power the bug used to skate across the dungeon’s waterways was Repel Water. He wanted to pick up a few more duplicates so that he could advance his version to rank three and try skating across the surface himself.

Edge doubted he could pull it off with anywhere close to the same level of stealth, but being able to cross the broad rivers and pools would make the rest of the dungeon far more accessible, especially now that he could move through the treetops using Manifest Chain.

By now, it seemed like the mist wasn’t going to roll in today, which meant that he had a choice to make. He could either postpone hunting until tomorrow or give it a try anyway. After pondering the matter, he decided that he couldn’t afford to waste any more time, and he had no guarantee that he could find the strider again regardless.

Screw it. Edge lowered himself from the tree, then got ready to make his move. This is too good of an opportunity to pass up. He looked at the chain protruding from his wrist and grinned. Alright, partner. I’ve been looking forward to this all day. It’s time to find out what you can do.