[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 89: Stage Two (Patreon)

The moment Edge uttered those words, his awareness was drawn inside his core.

By this point, each cell in his body—every fiber of his being—was quivering with the rapturous anticipation of what was coming. Evolving to stage one had been an incredible experience, granting him the power to survive what had been shaping up to be a hopeless situation during his battle with the shadowreavers.

Every aspect of Skill-Eater had been upgraded in the process, including his core’s traits, abilities, and the contents of his central chamber. Edge was giddy with delight—eager to find out what changes were in store.

He had enough time to take a deep breath and sweep his gaze across his inner world before his evolution ensued.

It began as a humming buzz, like a vast amount of electricity was conducting nearby, then the floor started shaking. Soon, the rumbling was so intense that he had to fight to remain upright, cackling with exhilaration all the while. Over in his skill garden, his powers were having a blast, bouncing across the floor while riding out the tremors.

The cacophony of a thousand chains resounded from beyond the black door as the hair on his neck rose to stand on end—air crackling like lightning was about to strike. Just when Edge thought that the moment couldn’t get any more intense, his reactor flared to life, unleashing a searing tide of heat like the sun was rising behind its iron grate.

The light was blinding, and flames were mind-numbingly intense. There was plenty of pain running rampant throughout his body, but that was only a fraction of what he was feeling. He watched on with a strange sense of detachment—overcome with the magic of the moment, accompanied by a riot of sensations that he had no words to describe.

He could feel his core expanding and condensing at the same time—every component growing more complex, efficient, and powerful.

And that was only the beginning. The buzzing grew fiercer by the heartbeat, like an army of angry hornets was swarming inside his skull. A deep grinding vibrated his teeth within his jaw, accompanied by the screech of metal stressed beyond its limits.

An incandescent river of energy poured in from somewhere beyond, saturating the contents of his inner world. Edge could sense a vast quantity of magicytes, but that was only one part of the mix. There was potentia too, and what he thought was Mortium and experience, along with myriad other forces he had never encountered before.

Everything grew more extreme over the next few minutes, becoming louder, brighter, and hotter until his senses blended together—submerged within an endless ocean of might. The crackling cocktail soaked into every component of his core, changing their nature on a fundamental level.

If Edge were in a position to ponder or speak, he would have judged the intensity of this moment to be ten out of ten.

It grew to eleven.

Then twelve and beyond.

Edge lost all sense of time and space—every thought and emotion driven out of his head by what was, without a doubt, the most overwhelming experience of his life.

It felt like his heart was ablaze and his blood was boiling. Lightning was surging inside his skull and coursing along his nerves. Beneath it all, he could hear someone screaming—unable to recognize the voice as his own.

The endless torrent of magic ascended like a rocket taking flight, until nothing remained but nuclear oblivion and the endless rattle of chains.

He fought to hold onto his last vestige of sanity and self as the boundless energy fused with his body, mind, and core, saturating them with transformative energy on a scale that would have boggled his brain if he were in any state to appreciate its enormity.

Edge had long-since surpassed his limits, and yet the moment stretched on. He was drowning in those hellfire depths. Holding on by his fingertips as the planet’s magic filled him like a balloon that was ready to burst

As he straddled the precipice of annihilation, a stray thought rose to the surface of his mind. You will only drown if you panic. Surrender, and you will float instead.

Half a heartbeat before his life was extinguished like a candle in a monsoon, Edge sighed, stopped fighting, and let go. Instead of trying to hold onto everything he had been, he gave himself up and embraced the new.

Relief flowed through every atom of his body when he realized that it was working. Instead of dissolving in the depths of that searing sea, his mind rose to ride the shimmering waves.

It was still the most extreme experience of his life, but in that moment, he understood what he was feeling. What was surging below him was power—raw magic in its primal form, catalyzing a series of changes that he couldn’t even begin to unravel.

He could, however, sense it with crystalline clarity when behind the black door, the slumbering giant constrained by a legion of chains opened its eyes and bellowed its delight.

How long this continued, he would never know. Seconds and eternity were all the same in this strange state of being. But like all things in life—the good and bad alike—the moment wasn’t fated to last forever.

When he became aware of his surroundings once more, Edge was lying in his central chamber again. Or perhaps he had been here the whole time—he wasn’t really sure. It was hard to make out the details, because everything was shining, radiant with the colors that weren’t colors that comprised the magic of Ord.

Though he couldn’t see clearly, he could feel his inner world shifting as it integrated the infusion of transformative power. The walls of his central chamber grew as every component of his core began to expand, advance, and evolve. He had the sense that the ceiling was rising, leaving him resting on a stone floor that was several times wider than before.

Then, the temperature dropped, and the light dimmed to a manageable level, allowing Edge to witness the countless changes taking place with his own eyes. That was amazing! Fucking terrifying, but amazing.

Filled with blissful wonder and the savage satisfaction of climbing to the next rung on the food chain, he watched while his reservoir rippled like it was made of jelly, then began to transform. As he whooped with delight, the brass double tank changed shape.

Through the bond he shared with his core, he could sense a categorical change in function—a boost to the container’s capacity beyond the volume of its well. Before his disbelieving eyes, some of the brass surfaces darkened, shifting into a bluish metal that he couldn’t readily identify. Dials and knobs grew from the front like flowers blooming, until the tank looked more like a magitech device than a mere receptacle.

He could tell that the reservoir wasn’t just storing magicytes anymore, it was compressing them too. As he watched on with wonder, the channels running through the walls, which led to the mana pores embedded in his skin, thickened and multiplied, absorbing ambient magicytes from the environment at an accelerated rate.

Meanwhile, his reactor had swelled to the size of an industrial furnace. He rose to his feet to take a closer look, grinning like a maniac all the while. There was some manner of magitech device mounted to one side that helped isolate its flames from the rest of his core. But even still, it was blisteringly hot to stand beside it. Edge stared through a grill that was now large enough to drive the crew’s wagon through, peering out across an infinite plane of roiling flame.

The space had always been immense—far too vast to fit within the confines of his central chamber—but now it seemed even bigger. It felt like he was looking down upon the surface of a molten world. The conduits leading to his reservoir and skill sockets were thicker than ever, forming an indecipherable labyrinth of tubes and wires, cables and circuits.

The marble pillars representing his skill slots had grown taller, wider, and more intricate— adorned with etchings that reminded Edge of the walls of the temple where he had opened the reliquary and bound Skill-Eater inside him. There were 18 of them now, forming two rows of columns that reminded him of a Roman palace.

While all of this was astonishing enough, he had one last surprise in store. His skill garden had undergone some dramatic changes too. To the point that calling it a garden no longer felt adequate. This seems more like a skill resort. No. A skill village.

Edge had never heard of anything like it. In addition to being way bigger, each skill now had its own home, or perhaps territory was the better word. His skill avatars had filled their domains with a range of structures and accessories. Some of them looked like houses, others resembled toys. A few even reminded him of alien workout equipment.

There was far too much to take it all in at once, so he settled for a random sampling of details. Elemental Blade now had a snow-packed glacier to rest on and an icy mirror to reflect its glory. Conceal’s domain featured an obstacle course, where the skill could practice sneaking around in a range of conditions.

Like Edge had seen in the garax’s core, Intimidating Roar now had a miniature mountain that towered above the rest. On the peak was a fucking throne, where Chibime was peering out with an expression of immense self-satisfaction. Cocky little bugger.

Some of his skills were playing with each other, others were doing their own thing. But each and every one of them seemed thrilled by what they’d gained. His connection to his powers felt stronger than ever. He could sense their properties—their strengths, weakness, and various uses—more clearly than before.

In a day of mind-blowing events, the most shocking moment of all came when Edge realized that his central chamber now bore a striking resemblance to his father’s workshop.

It made sense, based on what he’d learned about the nature of cores, but it still hit him like a punch to the gut. He had fond memories of running through this space with his brother, playing hide and seek amongst the machinery while their father tinkered with his latest invention.

Even the furniture is here. He raised one trembling hand to touch the armchair where his father had sat while contemplating his next device. The bed where they slept when they stayed overnight, risking his mother’s ire.

Edge had buried his memories of this place after his father and brother had died in a transport accident—a tragic incident that was freakishly rare, now that the AIs were running the show. The event had led to his mother’s addiction to simulations of the past, and his own spiraling depression before purchasing his puppet and traveling to Ord.

He realized that tears were running down his face. I can’t deal with this now. It’s too much. He took one last look—awash in bittersweet nostalgia—then put those emotions back in a box for just a little while longer.

He wasn’t ready to dwell on the past while fighting for his life inside the dungeon. Instead, he turned his thoughts to happier matters, exploring the extent of his gains now that he had evolved to stage two.

As he’d been hoping, when Edge summoned his Guide and opened his menus, a full list of his upgrades was awaiting his perusal.

Congratulations. Skill-Eater has evolved to Stage 2.

Your cycle has been reset to 0.

Cycles required to reach the next stage have increased from 21 to 63.

Your core has gained the following upgrades:

Attribute points per cycle have increased from 3 to 5.

Skill slots have increased from 11 to 18.

Trait slots have increased from 3 to 5.

Implant points have increased from 3 to 6.

You now have 24 hours to choose your skill upgrades once they are ready to advance.

Your ultimate ability [Extraction] has improved.

The cooldown has decreased from 24 hours to 20 hours.

Stealing an Epic skill no longer requires multiple charges of Extraction.

The black chains have grown stronger.

Your ultimate ability [Overdrive] has improved.

The duration and subsequent period of exhaustion have increased from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Your core has gained a new ultimate ability.

Skill Bond <passive>

Your relationship with your skills will enhance their power. As these bonds deepen, it may alter their behavior in novel ways.

His jaw dropped as he continued to read. He had hoped that reaching stage two would be a giant leap forward, but this was beyond his wildest dreams.

He had never heard of an ultimate like Skill Bond, but it made sense that a Unique core that was centered around skills would offer a passive ability that involved them too. It sounded like an acknowledgement of something that was already happening, although Edge was thrilled to learn that in addition to tweaking his skills’ behavior, his bonds could increase their power too.

Through the link he shared with his skills, he could sense that Foebinder had grown stronger, just like the System had promised. That the chains of oblivion had become fiercer and more resilient, both when conjured by Extraction and summoned by Manifest Chain.

That was when Edge realized that there was one last item on the list.

A portion of the experience you acquired during the final cycle for stage 1 has been retained. The experience you receive will be doubled until you reach cycle 10 of stage 2.

I didn’t wind up wasting the experience from those kills after all. Everything he’d read was amazing, and he would ponder each item at length once he’d had a chance to process everything that had happened. But for now, he turned his thoughts to another matter entirely.

Before he began exploring his upgrades and continued conquering the dungeon, there was one last thing that he needed to do first.

It was time for Edge to have another conversation with Skill-Eater—speak face-to-face and learn more about the truth of this world. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than the black door creaked open, and the chains of oblivion appeared.

On this occasion, they didn’t try to drag him away. The living links accompanied him as he stepped past the threshold and onto the storm-wracked stretch of coastline that existed beyond the boundary of his inner world.

I’m ready, big guy. It’s time for us to have a little chat.