[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 91: Trapper Trapped (Patreon)

Trapper crouched behind a stalagmite, hiding within the shadows cast by the convicts’ lanterns as they slowly approached her position.

Fortunately, the shadows in question were black as ink, since she was fighting for her life within a vast network of caverns. Beside her, Alice kept her Camouflage aura running at full blast—face pale as she mouthed a prayer that the jailbirds would trigger the hunters’ trap before Roth’s minions found them.

The man had summoned hundreds of venomous stone centipedes, which had harried the survivors of the expedition ever since they were driven from their base camp at the entrance to the Savage Garden. But this deep inside the sprawling underground tunnels, the bugs were spread thin.

She was lucky that the Claws’ lieutenant specialized in offense over utility. While the conjured creatures were deadly combatants, their senses weren’t particularly sharp. It was the only reason why Trapper’s friends were still alive. If even one of Roth’s minions found the hunters’ stronghold, it would report their location, and more good people would die.

Just a few more minutes, and they will enter the kill zone. It looks like a group of three warriors, and I don’t see any centipedes with them. The only bright spot in this raging storm of shit was that the convicts didn’t work well together. If they had presented a unified front instead of operating in competing crews, the survivors of Puppet Town would have been wiped out days ago.

Even still, it was a grim situation that was growing more desperate by the hour. While it was too soon to abandon hope, there was a good chance that none of them would live to see the sun again. She waited to make her move as the memory of how it all began lingered in her mind like an unwelcome houseguest.

The jailbirds had emerged from the jungle in a flash, taking down a section of the perimeter wall in a hail of powerful skills. She didn’t know how they knew about the expedition, or had found the dungeon in the first place, but in the end, it didn’t matter.

The convicts had planned a precision assault that caught the defenders by surprise. Three of the scouts and two of the manslayers had died before the rest of the hunters rallied. They had been prepared to repel a variety of threats, but a small army of cored-convicts who knew exactly where they were wasn’t one of them.

The expedition’s lookouts had sent up flares before the attack, or their casualties would have been catastrophic. Even still, they were driven out of base camp within a matter of minutes. The hunters would have been wiped out then and there if Gram hadn’t stayed behind to cover their retreat, taking on a dozen jailbirds at once in an incredible display of skill.

Thanks to Gram’s heroic sacrifice, the crews were able to flee into the wild, although the handful of hunters who were still inside the dungeon hadn’t been so fortunate. But that was the extent of the good news. The convicts had approached from an angle that cut off their retreat to the Ivory Plains, forcing the survivors deeper into the jungle instead.

The next 24 hours had been hell. Far too many hunters had fallen to both predatory beasts and the jailbirds pursuing them. It would have been worse if a portion of the invading force hadn’t stayed behind and taken over our base camp.

They would never have lived through the day without the manslayers and the peacekeepers. They were the only ones who had much experience fighting hardened killers. Harried and hounded by a superior force while deep within a high-threat biome, the hunters had sought out any form of shelter—eventually discovering a series of caves running beneath a mountain bordered by several clusters of hills.

One of the lootfinders had an Echolocation skill that let her map the twisting warren of caverns and passageways. The survivors followed the rocky tunnels deep under the mountain, until they came across a vast enclosure that was next to an underground stream. The convicts had skilled trackers amongst them, but no one who could navigate the caves with anywhere near the same level of efficiency, and the hunters were skilled at concealing their trail.

After settling in a defensible location with running water and a limited supply of food consisting of moss and blind cave fish, the expedition was in a better position to weather a siege. Even if they found the hunters, the jailbirds couldn’t hit them in full force while they were down here, although convicts were barring the way back to the surface.

It had created a temporary stalemate, but Trapper knew that as matters stood, most of them were going to die unless they found another way out. The biggest threat was the summoner Roth, who was using his powers to harass the defenders while searching for their shelter.

The bugs were going to find them sooner or later. When they did, Roth would keep them coming in an unending wave, softening the hunters’ position while forcing them to remain in a draining state of hypervigilance, waiting for an attack that could come at any moment.

Before that happened, Trapper intended to kill as many of the Claws as she could. She had been hoping that reinforcements would arrive from Puppet Town, before Tessa had received a word that the prisoners had taken steps to prevent that from happening.

If that wasn’t enough to deal with, one of the scouts had overheard that the convicts had already reached the dungeon’s third zone. She didn’t know what would happen if they completed the quest and claimed the core manufactory. But if their clearing crews joined up with the jailbirds waiting outside, she wouldn’t live long enough to find out.

The silver lining was that three of the hunters from Puppet Town were still inside the dungeon—a remarkable feat under the circumstance. She was worried about Edge and prayed for his safety, grateful that his efforts were keeping the jailbirds' forces divided for now.

All such thoughts were driven from her head when the prisoners drew near. Although they proceeded with caution, they displayed no sign of fear—certain that they had their prey on the ropes. While that was true, they had forgotten one critical fact. A cornered creature was always dangerous.

The jailbirds were smart enough to be wary of traps, which is why they had forced their weakest member to walk several paces ahead. However, they were unaware of Trapper’s ultimate ability Remote Control, which let her arm, disarm, and trigger her devices at will. She let them walk past the first set of traps, readying them once all three men had stepped into her kill zone.

Beside her, Alice was shaking with a blend of fear and exertion. “Keep your skill running for a few more seconds,” Trapper signed. “They’re almost in position.” That was when one of the Claws stopped and looked right at her hiding place.

“Something is wrong. I can sense interference from a concealment skill running somewhere nearby.” The killers sprang into action, but it was already too late. Trapper gathered her will and activated her first trap, which began pumping a dense yellow vapor into the air.

The substance was far more deadly than the gas she normally used when fighting beasts—something that the senior alchemist Melchior had whipped up earlier in the day. It was insanely dangerous to use inside the tunnels, even for her, since a single breath would prove fatal. She never would have taken the risk under ordinary circumstances, but she didn’t have a choice.

She ignited her core and activated Manipulate Air, creating a dome of magic that pushed the poison back. At the same time, the hunters beside her unleashed a barrage, encouraging the jailbirds to retreat instead of pressing the attack. As she’d been hoping, the combined threat caused the trio to panic. They ran back the way they had come, which carried them straight into the slippery oil traps she had primed the instant the gas was released.

The stuff wasn’t dangerous, but thanks to the rocky surfaces and the slight grade to the passage, it got the job done. The jailbirds screamed as they stumbled and slipped—desperate to get away from the deadly vapor enveloping their position.

One of them managed to keep his wits, and used a skill that let him climb the walls like a lizard. A well-placed arrow from Alice blossomed between his shoulder blades, and he fell from his perch with a cry. A few frantic seconds later, the cloud of poison broke over the convicts. They began to retch and heave, coughing up blood as their organs shut down.

It was all over a minute later. Trapper forced the gas further up the passage, then walked over to loot the bodies, since her boots were coated in a substance that countered the oil. Just before she opened the last pack, she heard the clatter of stone feet, following the noise to where a rock centipede was lurking a dozen feet ahead.

It couldn’t reach her because of the oil, but it had already told Roth where they were. Luckily, the hunters weren’t anywhere near their stronghold. But they needed to get out of here fast, before the summoner swarmed them with his minions.

“Run!” she cried. “The bugs found us.” The hunters turned and sprinted the other way, fleeing deeper into the mountain before they were surrounded.

Trapper enjoyed the satisfaction of winning the battle as her footsteps echoed across the maze of tunnels, but she knew deep in her bones that the war was far from over.