[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 86: Ambusher Ambushed (Patreon)

After observing the strider for hours, Edge had come up with a plan to defeat it that didn’t rely on the fog.

His strategy revolved around the fact that the monster preferred to stick to the shallows, remaining out of reach of the largest predators dwelling within the riverway. Since he could anticipate its route, it should be possible to hide further down the shoreline and wait for the strider to draw near. Once the monster was in range and focused on ambushing its next victim, he would be ready to make his move.

Edge spent the next half hour creeping across the borderlands. He Concealed himself every few minutes, erasing his tracks while making sure that neither monsters nor convicts were lurking nearby.

Eventually, he found a spot where the river was only twenty feet wide, and there was a large boulder protruding from the surface about seven feet out from the shore. After leaping atop the stone, then grabbing a branch with Foebinder, he completed the crossing and moved into position.

As he had hoped, Edge found no signs that the jailbirds had explored the river-wrapped section of the jungle. Better still, there weren’t any valuable resources in sight, good places to camp, or interesting features to explore. If he didn’t give them a reason to investigate, they would probably leave the area alone.

It was nerve-wracking to hunt this close to the convicts’ clearing crews, but he was in danger no matter where he went, and this was the best shot he had of killing a monster today.

He had kept one eye on water strider as he advanced and thought that he had a good feel for his quarry by now. The ugly bug was an efficient hunter. Thanks to Repel Water, its feet never touched the surface and the creatures living below couldn’t sense its presence. The strider chose its prey with care, and didn’t target anything that was stronger than itself.

Edge judged the monster to be somewhere between early and middle stage two, which made it a perfect target for his first battle with Foebinder at his side. Combined with its specialization toward attacking straight down, he was pretty sure that he could take it out even if his ambush failed, although he would have to watch out for other monsters once the battle was underway.

He went over his plan one final time while he ducked behind a boulder and got ready to make his move. The strider had almost finished hunting along this section of the shallows and would pass by his position on its way back to the river. If he kept Conceal running, he was in a perfect spot to lead the ambush predator into an ambush of his own.

Although his heart was pounding, he was confident that he could prevail. His reservoir was brimming with magicytes, his body was rested, and his mind felt clear. Alright, Foebinder. Let’s do this.

Twenty minutes later, his foresight was rewarded. The strider had just finished killing a monster that looked like a puffer fish the size of a wheelbarrow. By the time it was done eating, its body was bloated, and it was skating noticeably slower than before. Edge had been planning to hit the strider while it was hunting its prey, but this was almost as good.

It should be sluggish after a fight followed by a heavy meal. All such thoughts were driven from his mind when the monster approached his position. It would be in range in another thirty seconds. Twenty. Ten. Edge visulaized what he wanted to do and then ignited his core, just as the strider drew near.

It saw him waver into existence beside the waterline at the last possible second. The killer insect turned to run, but it wasn’t fast enough. Before it could move out of range, he let loose with Repel Water twice back-to-back.

He was hoping that since the creature used its skill to glide atop the river, it wasn’t well-suited for swimming. The first pulse broke the surface tension, causing the strider to lurch unsteadily as its repulsive field destabilized. Edge’s second push shoved it beneath the water, holding it down as it struggled to break free.

The bug panicked and began to thrash, pushing against the skill trapping it beneath the surface. The moment that it began to bob back up, he dropped Repel Water and activated Manifest Chain. The abrupt disappearance of an opposing force launched the strider out of the shallows and into the air.

It was unbalanced and caught by surprise but managed to fire off some venomous goo anyway. Edge dodged the attacks as Foebinder shot out from his wrist, snaking forth to wrap around the strider’s spindly legs.

The creature struggled as the onyx coils closed around it. But it specialized in Speed and Control, and didn’t have the Power to break free. He braced himself against the boulder, then pulled the monster toward him while lining up a swing with his shortened naginata.

He got in a solid Double Slash that severed one limb, narrowly dodging a blast from its tail in the process. He wanted to hurry and finish it off, but it wasn’t a good idea. Although the creature was constricted, it was more flexible than he’d expected. It twisted, trying to line up the spikes on its underside to launch a counterattack.

Edge dodged some thrusts from its proboscis while backing up to open some room. He ordered the chain to crush the strider, but that plan was a bust. Foebinder tried its hardest, but it wasn’t well-suited to creating that kind of pressure, although he might be able to strangle something if he looped a coil around its neck.

He tried using the end as a bludgeon, but the chain wasn’t heavy enough to do much damage to a stage-two opponent, though it served as a decent distraction. Its attacks should get stronger after I evolve, and again when I rank up Manifest Chain.

The living links were, however, resilient to physical damage, and the chain excelled at binding its prey. It positioned its coils to block every spike that was headed his way, which didn’t seem to hurt it at all.

He knew that the manifestation could be destroyed, thanks to the warning in the skill’s description. But so far, Foebinder had lived up to its name, although he wouldn’t want to test it against a Power-specialized brawler like the demon.

Edge couldn’t’ afford to perform more experiments. The fight had already dragged on too long. He was worried that the commotion would draw other monsters, and there was a chance that the strider would escape or catch him with a lucky shot. It was time to create an opening and end the fight in a flash. Fortunately, he had already come up with a plan, although it would cost a fair chunk of his mana.

After taking a quick look around to make sure that nothing was headed his way, he opened his mouth, ignited his core, and Roared. The soundwave reverberated across the jungle, forming ripples in the water after breaking over the strider. He had watched the bug respond to sound on several occasions, and was confident that the aural attack would work this time around.

As he’d been hoping, the monster froze the instant that the Epic skill hit it, allowing Foebinder to tighten its grip. Edge rushed forward before it recovered, infusing his polearm with Elemental Blade along the way. He jabbed the tip into the monster’s thorax to weaken it, then activated Extraction.

He had been curious how his ultimate would work when Foebinder was already manifested. It wound up being a good thing that he hadn’t tried it without stunning his opponent first. The left chain uncoiled as the right shot from his wrist, then both chains of oblivion plunged into the monster’s core. It can’t restrain and Extract at the same time. Good to know.

Edge followed along long enough to peek at the monster’s inner world—a great expanse of stagnant water, rotting beneath a corrupted sky. He gave the chains their orders and then left before the miasma could sicken him. They pulled free a copy of rank-two Repel Water, which was took his version closer to rank three after he swallowed the skill. One more duplicate should do it.

The bug was still alive, so he ordered the chains back in and told them to take whatever would yield the most experience when he Absorbed it. They stole a common skill that prevented its bearer from casting a shadow, which explained why the creatures living below the water couldn’t see the strider coming.

Since it was a good opportunity to find out something that he needed to know, Edge Absorbed the power and fed the experience to Intimidating Roar, so that he could get a sense of the conversion rate for skills of various rarities. It barely filled Roar’s cup at all, which meant that if he wanted to advance his Epic skill, he needed to feed it high-rank Uncommons and Rares.

When he returned to his body, he saw that the second Extraction had finished the monster off. He took a few seconds to cut off a few venom-spikes and store them in his parts pouch, then got the hell out of the area. His first hunt had gone off without a hitch, although he was worried that he’d tipped his hand in the process.

Intimidating Roar was loud. But the noise it made fit right in with the growls and screams the monsters issued while waging their endless war. From a distance, he hoped that it would blend in with the clamor of combat permeating the Savage Garden, and the jailbirds wouldn’t suspect that the cry had emerged from a human throat.

He wanted to hunt one more monster today, but not until he changed locations and found a suitable target. As he left the jungle and entered the swamp, he checked his updates. He was pleased to learn that his use of Foebinder had been sufficient to count as one of the three kills he needed to clear his evolution’s requirements.

Edge was down to about half mana, and he wanted to recover before he got into another fight. Since he didn’t have time to return to his cave, his next stop was the lightning-blasted tree that he had slept in before. It was too close to the jungle to use as a base of operations, but it was perfect for a temporary refuge to regain some energy.

After making sure that no monsters or convicts were lurking nearby, he used Conceal to erase his tracks, then ate lunch inside the hollow trunk, reflecting on everything he’d learned from the battle.

Edge had only fought with Foebinder at his side once so far, but he was certain that they destined to become the best of friends.