[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 108: One-Eye (Patreon)

That wasn’t even remotely close to how Edge expected One-Eye to finish his sentence.

Despite the gravity of the moment, he laughed. “You’re saying that I just utter a please and thank you, you’ll step out the way and let me walk on by?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” One-Eye chuckled. “I’m supposed to kill you and tracking you across the dungeon has been an exhilarating thrill, but I respect what you’ve done to make it this far. More importantly, I fucking hate the Claws. A few of them are decent people who happened to find themselves on the wrong side of the law, but most of them are murderous, backstabbing bastards, especially Yussuf the Red.

“I thought that sticking with them was my only option after the disaster struck, but then the System let us know that Puppet Town was somewhere nearby. If you can convince me that you have a chance of beating that boss, I’ll leave the Claws and never look back.”

Edge didn’t trust One-Eye at all. But if the jailbird wanted to pick a fight, he was already fucked. Even if Edge came out of top, he had no chance of beating the boss after blowing through his reserves. Sakura seems like a good person, so maybe he really means it. Besides, what do I have to lose?

“Would you please stand aside and let me fight the boss? You’re welcome to join me. I’m sure you’ll find it… exhilarating, and I have some cards up my sleeve that might be enough to bring the big bad down.”

One-Eye grinned at Edge’s choice of words, then he raised his hands and moved out of the way. “I’m crazy, but I’m not that crazy. I will wish you luck though. If you manage to pull this off, I’ll buy you some time to make your escape.”

“Thank you.” While Edge was thrilled that One-Eye wasn’t looking for a fight, this situation was far from ideal. He was going to have to face the boss of the Savage Garden—a creature more powerful than the slime, gorilla, and hydra—without Overdrive. He had grave reservations that he could pull it off, but he didn’t have a choice. At least I can wait for Setna to arrive now.

That was when Edge received his third surprise of the day.

“I’m glad to hear that you didn’t hitch your wagon to Yussuf’s by choice, you ugly cyclops,” a familiar voice said. “I would hate to have to kill you before murdering the rest of the gang.”

Then, to Edge’s astonishment, Byron stepped out from behind a rock with Setna at his side.

“Snake! I had no idea that you were still inside the dungeon. Where the hell have you been?”

Byron turned to face him and said, “I’ve been trapped in here the whole time, laying low while waiting to make my move.” When the shadowkiller took a closer look at Edge, his eyes widened with surprise.

“I’ll be damned, you’ve evolved to stage two. I’ve never seen anyone cycle up so quickly before—not that I’m complaining. We need every advantage we can get if we want to defeat whatever is lurking beyond that door.”

It turned out that Byron and One-Eye had known each other for years. As far as Edge could tell, the men were old rivals or friends—he wasn’t quite sure which. The jailbird waited patiently as the shadowkiller explained what was going on.

It turned out that the Savage Garden didn’t have four zones—it had five. As Edge had thought, the caves he had spotted continued underground, and they were far more extensive than he’d realized. Most of the entrances were located in the city, but there were a few in the swamp and even one in the jungle.

Byron had been living down there for weeks. Just like Edge, he’d been planning to take a crack at the dungeon’s boss before the Claws got a chance, waiting for the same update Edge had received before making his move.

After the monster hunter finished his story, One-Eye and Snake began an animated discussion. In the end, the convict agreed to help them take down the Gardener, if they were willing to let some of his friends settle in Puppet Town after making a break from the Claws.

Since Snake seemed to trust him, and Edge desperately needed all the help he could get, he agreed, though he wasn’t sure that he could keep his promise. By this point, he was growing increasingly worried that the Claws would arrive, even though One-Eye didn’t seem nervous at all. When Edge broached the matter, he learned the reason why.

“Don’t worry. In addition to cutting the ropes holding their rafts together, I told Ripper and Ella that the boss’s chamber was on the other side of this zone. It’s going to take them all day to reach this isle, and we’ll see them coming before they arrive. We have enough time to put our heads together and come up with a plan, then complete any preparations you need to make.”

This marked the beginning of a rapid-fire strategy session. Setna shared everything she had learned about the Gardener while living in the ruins, then everyone revealed the gist of their powers, although they didn’t divulge the specifics.

His last day in the Savage Garden wasn’t shaping out anywhere close to how he’d been expecting, but it seemed that the odds had shifted in his favor. Edge didn’t have his ultimate ability, but he’d gained the assistance of three powerful hunters.

He just prayed it was enough to kill the boss and claim the manufactory for Puppet Town without losing his life in the bargain.

***

Everyone performed some last-minute maintenance on their gear while finalizing their strategy to defeat the Gardener.

Since this was their first time fighting as a team, the hunters needed to agree on a formation and come up with plans for various contingencies. That way, they would be ready to react to a range of threats without getting in each other’s way once the battle began.

Edge stretched out his body as they conferred, limbering up as he prepared himself for the toughest fight of his life. His heart pounded like a kettle drum as he got ready to go head-to-head with the boss-class monster that was standing at the apex of the Savage Garden.

When he was done, he took a heaping pile of parts and resources out of his pack, then wrapped them up in a separate bundle so he wouldn’t have to carry their bulk during the battle. He stepped into his core to let his skills know what was about to happen, then returned to his body.

The impromptu crew was as ready as they could be ten minutes later. After wishing each other luck, all that was left was to head through the doorway and find out who would live through the day and whose bones would be left to rot inside the dungeon.

Edge cracked his neck, adjusted the length of his polearm, and then stepped past the threshold with Setna, One-Eye, and Snake at his side.

A few seconds after he strode into the chamber, a boulder fell from above and sealed the entrance with a bone-shaking thud. When the rock hit the floor, the continual clamor that had become his constant companion abruptly cut off. Adrenaline flooded his veins like damn bursting, even though Setna had warned him that this was going to happen.

It was terrifying on an instinctual level to be trapped in an enclosed area with a lethal predator, but the boulder was an asset under the circumstances. There was a good chance that the four of them were going to die anyway, but at least they didn’t have to worry about the jailbirds hitting them from behind during the battle.

Regardless of the details, Edge didn’t have any intention of leaving this place before he slew the boss and secured the core manufactory for Puppet Town. Not to mention, stole some juicy new skills and claimed his share of whatever was in the reliquary Setna had spotted earlier.

At first, he was certain that their dramatic entrance would bring the boss to them. But when he saw an opaque forcefield blocking his way forward, he realized that the System had created a temporary safe room—a spot where it could send them an update before the battle began.

When his Guide appeared and flattened to form a screen, Edge started to read, hoping that the message would contain a clue that might help him survive the impending conflict.

The supplementary quest, Open the Boss’s Chamber, has been successfully completed.

A new supplementary quest, Defeat the Gardener, has been issued.

I know that you’re technically participating in this quest already, since it was issued to the leaders of your factions. But given how everything came together, I wanted to make it official.

I didn’t expect that anyone would be crazy enough to try this with a ragtag crew of hunters who have never worked together before, much less a group of 4 instead of a 25-member raid. The dungeon’s population limit was supposed to be a clue that the boss is one badass motherfucker, but you do you.

Out of respect for your reckless disregard for your own lives and the sheer enormity of your balls, I’ll provide a bit more information than I normally would—not that it’s likely to make much of a difference. It would take a miracle for you to walk away from this one, but you’ve surprised me before.

Win or lose, please try to make this entertaining. I’ve been waiting for this moment for weeks and will be deeply disappointed if you die right away.

Fun fact: The Gardener is one of the oldest monsters on Ord. It was once viewed as a living embodiment of nature’s wrath, with a rich history that isn’t particularly relevant to its ability to rip you to shreds and feast on your remains. But on the bright side, at least you won’t be killed by something boring.

Victory Conditions: Defeat the Gardener after surviving its welcome.

Loss Conditions: Die in an awesome, spectacularly gruesome manner.

Quest Rewards: The top participant will receive an Epic runic item. Everyone else will get something good that is suited to their current needs.

Faction Reward: Puppet Town will receive that D-Grade core manufactory you came to acquire in the first place, and boy will the Claws be pissed.

“The System keeps getting weirder and weirder,” One-Eye muttered as Edge nodded his agreement.

“It sounds like something unpleasant is in store before the main event,” Byron said. "Be ready for anything once the battle begins. Based on what Setna discovered and the System just told us, the Gardener’s powers will be related to the seasons in some way. Try to pace yourselves until we know what we’re dealing with and save some mana for the finishing blow.”

With that, the System’s barrier faded away, revealing that the hunters were standing inside the shattered remnants of a stone building. Only two of the walls were standing, blocking his view of the chamber beyond. There wasn’t anything here other than the remnants of some decaying furniture, so everyone moved to where they would have a better view.

Along the way, Edge set down the bundle containing his valuables, then he stepped into the Gardener’s arena with his team at his side.