[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 94: One-Eye (Patreon)

One-Eye crept his way across the swamp, in pursuit of his quarry.

He was the only jailbird in the dungeon who was willing to brave its depths alone, which is how he preferred it. In part due to his temperament, and partly because he despised the Claws, but mostly because the target Ripper had assigned him was the most thrilling hunt of his life.

In theory, he was tracking all three members of the expedition Puppet Team had sent to conquer the Savage Garden. There had been five when the Claws first arrived. Two hunters had been killed the moment they stepped through the fog door while trying to escape, but the others were still inside the dungeon.

But in truth, One-Eye was only seeking one man—the hunter who had defeated the elite monkey. He grinned, recalling Ripper’s impotent fury when the strike leader arrived at the ape’s lair, only to discover the monster was already dead. The expression on his face was priceless—worth losing the finder’s fee from securing the quest’s reward.

The longer he pursued the solitary hunter, the more One-Eye’s fascination with the man grew. In addition to picking a fight that shouldn’t have been possible to win, his quarry was operating deep within the dungeon’s third zone—unimpeded by the fog that had slowed the Claws’ progress to a crawl.

The man was using a skill to erase his tracks, which had kept One-Eye from locating his campsite. However, the traces he had left behind told a compelling story. One that was worth listening to until the final chapter.

Despite his incredible performance, the man was still adapting to his puppet body—to walking around in a brand-new set of skin and bones. He had impressive physical attributes for someone who had arrived on Ord so recently, progressing to the peak of stage one at a remarkable rate.

One-Eye had even found signs indicating that the man might have already evolved to stage two, inside the dungeon no less. He should have been dead within a day, not conquering the Savage Garden on his own.

The mysterious hunter preferred to fight with a long, bladed weapon, although he wielded a chakram too, and what seemed to be some type of chain. He had a cold-based attack and used a skill that bolstered the strength of his blows. His skillset included a power that made him incorporeal and, given the amount of blood the man had shed without going down, some manner of healing power too.

After returning to the maze to spy on the Claws, the hunter had begun operating deeper in the dungeon—far enough back that the convicts’ clear teams hadn’t spotted any sign of him since.

Combined with the procession of monster corpses had had found over the last few days, One-Eye was so excited that he could break into song. Worthy prey came few and far between, and this target was top of the line.

But regardless of his proficiency, the man was only human.

Eventually, he would make a mistake, and their dance would come to an end. Then it would be time to find out just what the hunter was made of.

There’s no point getting ahead of yourself. Focus on the task at hand. One-Eye returned his gaze to the trail below his feet, although most of his attention was on the surrounding swamp. He had to be careful not to reveal himself to the dungeon’s monsters, or this saga would end before he got to experience the climax.

I’ll find you eventually, then learn if you’re the man I’ve been waiting for. Either way, this is the most fun that I’ve had in years. I’m coming, my mysterious friend. Try not to die before we finally meet.

***

3 Days Later

Edge peering into the roiling mist from his perch atop a boulder, remaining perfectly still with Conceal running full blast.

He scanned his surroundings as a water strider skated its way down the shallows bordering the river, waiting for the monster to draw near before making his move. Today was the last time he would be hunting in the jungle, even while the fog was out. The first crew of convicts had moved into the swamp late yesterday evening, and he was ready to begin the next phase of his plans.

Edge had spotted the strider the day before but hadn’t found a good opportunity to spring an ambush. Despite the risk of being surrounded by jailbirds, he had decided to return the jungle on one final hunt, hoping to steal another copy of Repel Water before he left the zone for good.

He had done his best to slow the Claws down with a few risky night raids, catching their supply tents on fire and forcing them to triple their guards. At least they haven’t killed the bone slime yet, although they’re getting better at dealing with the mist. Maybe I can lure them into the quicksand or pull some monsters into their patrols.

While he waited for his prey to arrive, Edge considered his progress over the last few days, pulling up a summary of his gains.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle-up your core. Your new cycle is: 3.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle-up your core. Your new cycle is: 4.

By conditioning your body, your Reflex has increased by 1.

By conditioning your body, your Power has increased by 1.

For defeating 5 cored opponents stage 2 or above, you have earned 5 Mortium.

He had killed seven monsters and gained two more cycles. After taking some significant wounds during his first and only fight with a mage, he had decided to put all ten points into Disruption as planned, granting him a level of skill-protection comparable to his Durability.

He had nearly taken Double Slash to rank two and was eager to start working on Vigor soon, which he had moved up on his list of priorities. Edge had also picked up a new skill yesterday morning. Well, technically it was an old skill that he had Absorbed and then acquired again, but now Penetrate Foliage was a permanent part of his collection.

After coming across one of the mosquito monsters near the border of the maze, he had plucked it from the air with Foebinder, driven its head into the ground, then activated Extraction while it was stunned and unable to resist his invasion. He had been worried that he wouldn’t get a chance to pick up another copy, and was thrilled to have secured Penetrate Foliage before being driven deeper into the dungeon.

Edge had grown quite fond of the power to peer through plants, which would be useful when hunting in a wide range of biomes, including when he made it back to the Ivory Plains. The skill made it easier to spot prey within the jungle and swamp, and he needed every edge that he could get.

Fuck. He laughed, then sighed. I’m doing it again.

The stray thought made him wonder if Mel and the deputies were still alive, along with Jumo, Sasha, and the rest of Trapper’s crew. He hated not knowing what was going on outside the Savage Garden and was worried about his friends, although he tried not to dwell on it.

Keeping the jailbirds in the dungeon and stopping them from claiming the manufactory has to be making a difference. He needed to focus on his own role and trust Sakura and the others to play theirs.

Whenever he wasn’t stalking prey or running for his life, he’d been using the time in other ways. Edge had trained hard with his weapons, explored more of the dungeon, and practiced everything that Trapper’s crew had taught him about surviving in the wild. By this point in his adventures, he had enough Endurance and Generation to work all day, although he didn’t have anything comparable to reduce his mental fatigue.

Every night before bed, he conditioned his attributes with Regeneration’s assistance, trying to cap them all as fast as possible. He had put in long hours working with Foebinder, improving his control and learning more about what the black chain could do.

He’d also spent as much time in his inner world as he could, bonding with his skills while unwinding in the only place he could reach that was truly safe. He'd learned that there was a limit to how long he could stay inside his core, which came out to about a subjective hour each day.

His musings came to an end when the strider came into range. Edge waited until the big bug was ten feet away, then sprang into motion. He hit it with Repel Water to drive it under and make it panic, then dragged it onto dry land with his chain. Before the monster knew what hit it, he stabbed it with the frost-rimed blade of his naginata, then willed Extraction to activate.

He spent a moment inside the monster’s core, staring out over the corrupted marshlands within. Once he had picked out the skills he wanted, he gave the chains their orders and reentered his body, limiting his exposure to the cloying taint that permeated the creature’s inner world.

His first acquisition was the skill that he’d come here to steal.

You have extracted the skill: Repel Water <versatile> (Uncommon, Rank 2).

You already have this skill in your collection.

Its experience will be added to your existing skill.

He entered his central chamber to oversee the merger, watching the process with Chibime at his side. As he’d been hoping, Absorbing the duplicate was enough advance his version of the versatile power.

The skill (Repel Water) has advanced to rank 3.

Its mana efficiency has been enhanced.

Upon reaching rank 3, you may control the volume of mana the skill consumes, adjusting its output at will.

When the floating ball of water stopped shining, it looked a bit bigger and was bobbing through the air faster than before. Now that it was rank three, Edge could tweak the amount of mana he fed the skill, which he hoped would be sufficient to ski with it, although he might have to put a cycle or two into Amplification first.

When he snapped back into his skin, the monster was still breathing. After hunting in the dungeon for days on end, he was getting better at keeping his opponents alive long enough to Extract more skills.

By the time that he had stolen two more powers and Absorbed them, he was smiling from ear to ear. Edge had finally arrived at a major milestone, and he was eager to upgrade one of his favorite powers.

The skill (Double Slash) has advanced to Rank 2.

Its mana efficiency has been enhanced.

Please choose between one of the following options:

• Double Slash will gain a second phantom blade, and its name will change to Tripple Slash.

• The field coating the paired blade will be sharper than before.

• The paired blade will be covered in a minor Disruption field while Double Slash is active.

Warning: if no option is selected, your skill will remain unchanged and gain a slight bonus to mana efficiency.

Hrm. He rubbed his chin. Which option is best? Since he had plenty of time to make his selection after his latest evolution, he made sure that the strider was dead then started walking back toward the swamp.

The first choice wasn’t bad at all, but Edge had learned through trial and error that having more blades made the attack harder to control. It was tempting, but he preferred not to sacrifice power for precision with a skill that had become an integral part of his fighting style.

Sharper blades were good too, but in the end, he decided to go with option three. After almost losing his arm to a Disruption-fortified attack, not to mention his eye, he was eager to return the favor. This upgrade to Double Slash wasn’t as strong as a pure, Disruption-based skill, but it would help him crack magical defenses that he couldn’t penetrate otherwise and give his enemies a nasty surprise.

After he made his selection, he was drawn inside his core. When the statue of a man wielding a doubled polearm stopped shining, the end of its weapon was coated with disruptive energy that was invisible to the eye. Though he could sense it through the bond he shared with his skills.

Fucking awesome. He spent a few minutes congratulating Double Slash’s avatar, which stopped to bask in his praise before running off to show its new upgrade to the skills playing in his village.

Edge returned to his body while humming in satisfaction, ready to face the day and the challenges it would bring. That marks the end of the jungle phase of my plans. Now it’s time to start hunting in the swamp.