[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 98: Wreaking Havoc (Patreon)

After getting a good look at the swamp’s corrupted resource, Edge realized that he already knew where another pearl was located. He had skated over it earlier without recognizing what it was.

The mollusk containing the tainted pearl was growing beside the lair of a powerful monster—the thing with tentacles that had tried to grab him while crossing the river on his way to the city. It wasn’t a monster that he wanted to fight, but that wasn’t what he was planning.

Edge had a good idea which direction the bone slime was heading. Now that he knew the monster would aggressively pursue corrupted pearls, he intended to grab one, then use it as bait to lure the elite monster into the convicts’ camp before they were ready to spring their trap. If he managed to get this right, the blob would hit the Claws hard before they knew it was there, disrupting their plans and delaying their conquest of the dungeon.

After studying the map provided by his wayfinder and planning out his route, all that was left was to make his move and pray that his gamble paid off. He skated back to the spot where he’d spotted the oversized clam, then sent Foebinder plunging below the water, just as a massive predator emerged from its den and started swimming his way.

A dozen bright orange tentacles came streaking for Edge, rising from the river in a great spray of water. He banked hard, zipping between the rubbery appendages at full speed as the black chain grabbed hold. The enraged monster screamed as it chased him, but it couldn’t match his velocity.

When Foebinder raised the clam out of the water, an overpowering sense of wrongness assailed his core. The brief exposure was already making him sick, but after moving the corrupted resource out to the chain’s maximum range, he could endure the taint for a while longer.

Fortunately, the living links weren’t affected. Skill-Eater had drifted back to sleep after leaving the city, but it woke right back up when it realized what was happening. Through the bond they shared, Edge heard the giant bellowing in delight, roaring its approval for the carnage that would momentarily ensue.

The tentacled predator was still following him, and dozens of other monsters were headed his way as they sensed the pearl’s magic and rushed to claim it. This resource is definitely ripe. I’m lucky it was still there. While these thoughts passed through his head, he skated deeper into the swamp at breakneck speed.

The first step of his plan had been completed without a hitch, although one wrong move would leave him surrounded by ravenous predators. Now he needed to find the slime, draw close enough to get its attention, then head for the convicts’ camp before his luck ran out.

As more and more horrors joined the pursuit, Edge streaked across the river, pouring as much mana into Repel Water as he could. By this point, he had realized that his plan was a little too effective. On top of evading the elite slime once he drew its attention, he had to contend with the legion of monsters trailing in his wake. But it was too late to change his mind, and he couldn’t afford to let his dilemma distract him.

Where the fuck did the blob go? There! He spotted its gray mass on a nearby island—in the middle of consuming a gigantic serpent. The elite monster sensed the pearl half a heartbeat later. It abandoned its meal and came charging straight for him, moving far faster than he’d anticipated as it crossed the closest land bridge.

It casually reached out to touch a monstrous leech that had been so focused on the pearl that it failed to notice the slime’s advance, reducing the creature to bubbling goo in two second flat. Edge fled for his life as the horde converged on him from all sides—desperate to find the convicts before something caught him.

Just when he was about to abort his mission and hope that he survived his blunder, he saw the Crimson Claws gathered on an island another quarter mile ahead. For the first time, all five jailbird crews were working together, finalizing their preparations to kill the elite. They were building what appeared to be some manner of fortification, but he didn’t get a chance to make out the details.

They saw the slime coming before they noticed him. The prisoners fell into a fighting formation, ready to enact their plan. But then they spotted Edge flying over the water, and the dozens of monsters following hot on his heels. Before they had a chance to react, Foebinder flung the clam straight at them. The putrescent mollusk went streaking through the air before landing in their midst.

The squadron of predators swerved to claim the pearl as the jailbirds’ eyes went wide with horror. They started screaming and turned to run, but it was already too late. The mass of monsters converged on their position, beginning a chaotic free-for-all. Edge didn’t stop to see what happened next—he fled for his life as the clamor of combat erupted behind him.

He made it back to his shelter twenty minutes later, heart pounding like a caged animal trying to break free. He Concealed his presence, drained his canteen, then summoned his Guide and pulled up the questing menu.

As he’d been hoping, the System’s message hadn’t changed, which meant the bone slime was still alive. He wasn’t sure how many jailbirds had fallen, but he was certain that whatever they were building had been destroyed during the melee. Edge doubted that it would stop them for long, but he had managed to weaken his enemy and buy a few final days to bring his plans to fruition.

He needed to cycle up fast and couldn’t afford to return to the swamp when the air was clear. The situation wasn’t how he’d imagined it, but his conquest of the dungeon had officially entered its final phase.

In addition to taking out as many monsters as he could, he needed to find a way to kill the hydra and locate the entrance to the boss’s chamber. Once those goals were complete, he could keep hunting until the slime was defeated, at which point, all that was left was to engage the baddest monster in the Savage Garden and pray that he came out on top.

Edge had an idea that might counter the hydra’s incredible regenerative powers, but his skills weren’t strong enough yet—even with the extra Amplification from Overdrive. Since there wasn’t a second to spare, he began searching for prey while exploring the rest of the zone.

The monsters in the city were even more powerful than those in the swamp. But he didn’t have a choice other than to pick opponents that seemed like a good match for his skillset, ambush them at an opportune moment, and hope for the best.

He let out a sigh of relief a few hours later, when he spotted a thick blanket of fog rolling in. If he was going to survive what was coming, he needed every advantage he could get.

***

Three hours and one fight later, Edge came across something that he hadn’t expected to find within the dungeon.

A lone tree was growing on a small island. The majestic plant was radiantly healthy, repelling the corruption permeating the Savage Garden. Its robust branches bore a single fruit. When he caught a whiff of its delectable odor, he knew that it wasn’t an ordinary fruit—it was mana seed.

Edge had no idea why a mana seed was growing in this place, although he supposed that since there weren’t any beasts to sustain the fruit, it must have been placed here by the System as one of the dungeon’s valuable resources. Regardless of the details, it was just what he needed—a means of refilling his reservoir on demand would be an invaluable asset during the trials ahead.

After he scanned the area for monsters and traps, he carefully approached the tree. When he drew near the base of the trunk, he realized that he was wrong. That’s not a mana seed; it’s a mana berry.

On Ord, naturally occurring mana food came in three broad grades. It wasn’t an official classification created by the System, but a reference used by hunters based on the concentration of magicytes such resources contained.

A mana berry held roughly five times the amount of magic as a mana seed—enough to refill his tank several times over. Edge smiled as he opened his pack and withdrew his magitech stasis chamber, which Lilly had given him back at the beginning of his adventures.

Then he turned his attention to the bounty above. The berry looked like a golden apple. It smelled so good that it felt like his entire body was salivating, filling his mind with greed. He had to fight the temptation to shove the berry into his mouth as he plucked it, placed it in the device, then closed the lid.

Even after he sealed the preservation unit, he could still catch a hint of the odor, thanks to the defective seal. Fortunately, a mana berry wouldn’t attract monsters the same way it would beasts. After Edge repacked the device, he licked his fingers, savoring the wondrous flavor.

He continued on his way while humming in contentment. His odds of pulling this off had just shifted in his favor, if only by a hair.

***

Edge killed three more monsters before it grew too dark to make out his path. He put all the experience he Absorbed into Vigor, filling the Rare skill’s cup almost to the brim.

When he returned to his island sanctuary, he pulled up his profile to inspect his gains.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle-up your core. Your new cycle is: 7.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle-up your core. Your new cycle is: 8.

You have 10 attribute points awaiting allocation.

For defeating 4 cored opponents stage 2 or above, you have earned 4 Mortium.

I can’t believe how much Mortium I’ve acquired over the last few days. If I live long enough to make it back to the exchange, I’m going on a shopping spree.

While he entertained visions of taking his pick from the high-end gear lining the walls of Lilly’s shop, Edge put all ten points into Amplification, taking him one step closer to being ready to face the hydra.

The potentia was set loose in a crackling rush then sank into his skill sockets, thickening the conduits leading to his reactor while enhancing the efficiency of the circuitry embedded in each slot. His skills cheered when they felt the transformative magic empowering them, so he walked over to celebrate with them.

When Edge stepped into his skill village, his eyes widened with shock. He had watched the avatars living inside his core interact in various ways, but they were usually playing or resting. What awaited him this time was unlike anything he’d witnessed before.

Chibime had arranged his skills in two teams, who were facing off in the open area running between the village and his central chamber. The cheeky little avatar waved at him but didn’t delay whatever was about to happen.

Edge watched on with wide eyes, shocked by the unprecedented event. As Chibime opened its mouth and roared to mark the start of the match, both sides engaged in a vicious mock battle. The avatars of his powers couldn’t actually hurt each other, but they fought with everything they had. Whenever one suffered a “killing” blow, Chibime had it leave the field until the match was over.

At the moment, Elemental Blade was trying to chase down Conceal. The shadow man ducked and weaved as the iceblade chopped and lunged. Leap was engaged with Double Slash, hopping out of reach of the statue’s naginata with inches to spare.

Repel Water was squaring off against Regulate Temperature—each skill trying to engulf the other. Only the black chain was nowhere to be found, but Foebinder only appeared in his inner world when Edge called it away from Skill-Eater’s domain. When the mock battle was over, Chibime signaled a break, and the avatars returned to their homes.

By now, Edge had a hunch as to what was happening. He looked down at the miniature version of himself and asked, “Are you training them to fight as a team?” The Epic skill nodded, looking up as if seeking approval. “Good thinking. This is super weird, but I’m sure you know what you’re doing. I appreciate you taking the initiative. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”

He could sense that this activity wasn’t just teaching his skills to work together—it was generating skill experience in the process. It was only a minute amount, even compared to Absorbing a Basic skill, but experience was flowing into all his powers at once and this development should yield considerable gains over time.

While Edge shook his head in wonder—awed by the mystery of it all—he made the rounds. He stopped to thank each of his skills in turn and offered them words of encouragement, doing everything that he could think of to strengthen the bonds between them.

When he reached his daily limit for remaining within his core, he bid his powers farewell and stepped back into his body—ready to use his final hours in the dungeon as wisely as he could.