[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 105: Warlord’s Mantle (Patreon)

Edge killed two monsters over the next four hours.

Since Vigor’s glow was too bright for hunting at night, he went with Ghost Armor instead, using the aura in battle for the first time. It worked beautifully with his existing defenses, sapping momentum from his enemy’s attacks before they reached his body.

His garax-leather armor distributed the remaining force across a wider area, and his Durability kept the impact from damaging his tissue, with an occasional assist from Harden if the blow seemed particularly dangerous.

Edge put the skill experience from Absorbing the monsters’ powers into Vigor, then slept until sunrise in the hollow trunk he had used before. It should be safer than his island refuge, now that the convicts were operating deep within the swamp.

He woke up to the sound of rain striking the canopy, relieved to discover that the mist was still engulfing the dungeon. After eating a quick breakfast, he was ready to resume his hunt. An idea had come to him while he was chewing, so he stepped inside his core before searching for another monster to kill. Maybe Skill-Eater can help me find a good target to fill one of my empty slots.

To his surprise, it worked. When Edge stood in front of the black door and made his request, he felt his core awaken for a few moments, conveying an image of a monster and the direction it was in. As usual, the effort cost Skill-Eater something, and he sensed that the bound giant would sleep deeply for a while.

After searching the jungle for a few hours, he found the creature in question—a monster he thought was another demon like the one that he’d fought in the maze. He normally wouldn’t have engaged a brawler type, but after reflecting on the attack that had torn through Harden’s scales, he realized it might have a power that would be fantastic addition to his skillset.

It wound up being a difficult fight, especially since his assumption was incorrect. This monster wasn’t the same species after all, although it was similar in appearance. Its fighting style centered around stacking multiple skills that enhanced the lethality of its claws, and it didn’t use any Disruption-based powers at all.

Edge eventually overcame the creature in a direct exchange of blows and drove an Elemental-Blade-infused naginata into its chest, congealing its blood and knocking it out. This monster’s core featured a storm-swept desert that was scoured by immense tornados the size of small mountains. The corruption was worse than anywhere except the gorilla’s core, and he didn’t linger for long.

He wasn’t sure which power Skill-Eater wanted, but Foebinder did. Edge gave the black chains their lead, then stepped back into his own skin while he waited for them to plunder the prize—an avatar that took the form of the monster’s claws.

When he got his first taste, he realized that the skill had been coating the creature’s natural weapons in an invisible field whose purpose wasn’t immediately obvious. The flavor was a bit like lavender and mint, and it conveyed an impression of resoluteness and integrity. Of breaking through barriers without being diluted.

When he finished eating the power and it entered his core, Edge’s eyes widened with surprise. You were right, big guy. I’m definitely keeping this one.

You have extracted the skill: Counter Disruption <meta> (Uncommon, Rank 1).

Digestion is complete.

Would you like to slot Counter Disruption now?

This was his first time Extracting this type of power, and he was eager to add it to his collection. Meta skills didn’t do anything on their own. Instead, they could be bound to an existing skill to modify its properties in various ways. Best of all, using meta skills didn’t count as a combo.

Edge watched from his central chamber as Counter Disruption floated over to an empty pillar and then locked into a slot. When it was finished binding to the socket, the claws shifted into hands, and he received a vision providing the details of how it worked.

Counter Disruption could be switched to a new skill at will, but only once a day. As its name suggested, the skill modified the paired power by increasing its resistance to Disruption fields. He hadn’t realized there were skills out there that could weaken the effects of Disruption, although it made sense when he thought about it. For every skillset out there, there’s another designed to overcome it.

After some consideration, he decided to start off by using Counter Disruption to enhance Harden. While Shadow Step was tempting too, and Elemental Blade and Double Slash would both be fantastic against certain foes, the demon and black monster had shown him how dangerous Disruption-fortified attacks could be. Edge needed a layer of defense that was utterly reliable, and boosting the resistance of his diamond scales to antimagic energy was a strong step in that direction.

Once he finished off the monster and harvested its parts, he continued his hunt. The fog lingered all that day. He stayed in the jungle, killing monsters while searching for more high-rank Uncommons to Extract.

He eventually found something promising, and when he Absorbed the creature’s powers and added the skill experience to Vigor, it filled the avatar’s cup to the brim. He just needed to pick its rank-two upgrade and he was ready to merge the aura with Ghost Armor to create something new.

After stepping into his inner world, Edge read through his options before making his decision.

The skill (Vigor) has advanced to Rank 2.

Its mana efficiency has been enhanced.

Please choose between one of the following options:

• In addition to boosting Power and Speed, Vigor will offer a modest bonus to Reflex and Control.

• The cost for using the aura on multiple people at once will be significantly reduced.

• The combat awareness portion of the skill will be enhanced.

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

He rubbed his chin while considering each offering in turn. The second option would make Vigor’s cost more like Ghost Armor’s, which would make using the aura on a large group far more feasible.

While Edge was happy that his auras could benefit the other members of his crew, he had no desire to specialize his skillset in that direction. Even if he were so inclined, he wasn’t about to waste the upgrade on something that wouldn’t help him during his final push to conquer the dungeon.

The third option was interesting, and he might have chosen it under other circumstances. However, he didn’t have time to learn the ins and outs of a new perceptual upgrade while racing the Claws to take down the boss. So, he went ahead and picked the first offering. Having more Reflex and Control would always be useful, improving his accuracy and helping him evade attacks.

After making his decision, Edge watched as the glowing warpaint representing Vigor changed form. The pattering grew more complex, and orange highlights appeared beside the electric ruby lines. He would normally have taken his upgraded skill for a test drive. But there wasn’t any point this time around, considering what he was planning to do next.

Now that he had advanced the Rare aura, he was ready to combine Vigor with Ghost Armor using a Skill-Merger Token. Since he’d asked for Skill-Eater’s advice during their last conversation, he wasn’t worried about fucking up the merger. After calling both avatars over to his side and offering a few words of encouragement, he activated the token.

The ethereal silver armor and the series of neon lines began to blur as the token rose into the air and started spinning. Their profiles melted and ran like wax as the process hit critical mass, then the auras merged into one another.

The light dimmed a few seconds later, revealing a new avatar that looked like a glowing crimson cloak, with orange highlights running along the seams. The mantle wasn’t nearly as bright as Vigor and was translucent like Ghost Armor.

When his Guide appeared to display the results, Edge grinned from ear to ear.

Congratulations.

The skills: Ghost Armor <aura> (Rare, Rank 1) and Vigor <aura> (Rare, Rank 2) have successfully merged into a new skill.

The attribute bonus from Vigor has been preserved.

Your new skill is: Warlord’s Mantle <aura> (Rare, Rank 1).

Cover yourself and chosen allies with a mantle of mana. Anyone bolstered by Warlord’s Mantle will receive a significant boost to Power and Speed and a modest bonus to Reflex and Control. Additionally, they will receive a minor enhancement to their combat awareness. Any blow passing through the mantle will have a portion of its energy sapped.

As always, the text was only a simplified explanation of how the skill worked. More of the details had been conveyed by the vision that accompanied it. Edge hummed to himself as he considered what he’d learned.

Ghost Armor’s efficiency bonus for shielding multiple people had been significantly reduced, but the other properties of both skills had been preserved. It was a small price to pay for dramatically lowering the drain of using both auras at once. The only downside was that the shield effect was now tied to the attribute enhancement. If he didn’t have the mana to restore the mantle after it absorbed enough blows, he would lose the other benefits too.

All in all, Warlord’s Mantle was a fantastic skill. One that would help him while operating solo but could also bolster his crew when Edge was fighting alongside them. He couldn’t wait to see what it could do when he upgraded it to rank two, although there were several skills that he planned to advance first, including Intimidating Roar.

He left his inner world and activated his new aura for the first time. His reactor ignited and pumped refined mana through his skill socket, changing its frequency before the magic emerged from his core and went flowing around his body.

A ghostly cloak materialized, billowing before wrapping around his figure. Warlord’s Mantle wasn’t nearly as intense as Vigor had been, but it was still ruby red with ginger accents along the fringe. He would have to be careful when using it at night or he would give his position away.

The mantle was light as a dream and didn’t restrict his movement at all. When Edge reached for his belt pouch, his arm passed through the manifestation without resistance, although he felt a faint tingling when his skin touched it.

Just like with Vigor, the attribute bonus was amazing. He felt strong and fast, and his dexterity had been enhanced to a lesser extent. He would have to run some tests later to measure the effect, but he could already tell that Warlord’s Mantle would be a core component of his skillset going forward.

If that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate, his last fight had also been sufficient to cycle up his core.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle-up your core. Your new cycle is: 13.

You have 5 attribute points awaiting allocation.

The cycles were coming slower now that he was entering the middle of stage two and the experience bonus had run its course. Edge had grown an incredible amount since entering the dungeon. Even still, he was worried that it wasn’t good enough.

It took most people years to reach stage two after binding their core, if they ever did at all. To have progressed so quickly within a matter of weeks would have been impossible for almost anyone else. But he still wasn’t anywhere close to as powerful as a stage-three elite, and the toughest monster in the dungeon was unlikely to have a critical weakness like the gorilla and hydra.

Since his next opponent would probably be the dungeon’s boss, Edge decided to put all his points into Amplification. Hopefully, when combined with his Frostfury Medallion, Elemental Blade would be strong enough deal some serious damage while facing what was certain to be his toughest fight yet.

He waited for the potentia to run its course, enhancing the conduits connecting his reactor to his skill sockets, then got ready to cross the dungeon for the final time.

Now that he had completed the last goal on his list, all that was left was to get into position and wait for the convicts to kill the bone slime and unseal the boss’s chamber. Once he was back in the city, he would begin searching for clues about its nature. Anything that might offer the slightest advantage before the battle began.

The showdown with the most powerful monster in the Savage Garden was fast approaching, and at long last, Edge was ready to rumble.