[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 115: Unexpected Welcome (Patreon)

The living links flew from Edge’s wrists, closing the distance in a clinking rush.

To his astonishment, the Gardener laughed as she welcomed their advance, flinging her arms wide and inviting the chains of oblivion inside. They plunged into her core half a heartbeat before his mind followed suit.

When Edge stepped into the creature’s central chamber, his jaw dropped in astonishment. In a day filled with extraordinary occurrences, this was the most shocking event of them all.

The Gardener’s inner world was unlike anything he’d seen before and didn’t feature a tainted alien landscape. Instead, the space was filled by the same city that was spread across the dungeon’s final zone. There wasn’t even a hint of corruption to be found. If anything, being here filled him with a profound sense of peace.

It had to be a depiction from centuries in the past, because instead of ruins, these buildings were untouched by the ravages of time. Flowers grew in artful arrangements, displaying every color of the rainbow. The air was filled with the chirping of songbirds and the scents of homecooked meals wafting out from the windows.

Most remarkable of all were the people going about their day.

The inhabitants of the city were humanoid, but they weren’t human—although they didn’t seem to be the same species as the Gardener either. They were short with thick features, wearing simple garments made of leather and rough-spun cloth. Many of them had horns adorned with jewels and brightly-colored ribbons.

His eyes grew wide with wonder when he realized what he was looking at. These people must be native to Ord. Edge turned in a circle while committing this moment to memory. We weren’t the original inhabitants after all. Everything the wardens told us is a lie.

Unlike many of the cores he had visited, this wasn’t a simple setting; it was a living scene that was every bit as detailed as a historical sim. While his instincts told him he shouldn’t linger here for long, Edge simply couldn’t help himself. He was riveted by the story taking place before his eyes, and he needed to know what happened next.

Everywhere he looked, children were playing, crafters were crafting, and people were going about the thrum and bustle of their daily lives. There wasn’t a trace of magitech to be found, although runic magic was everywhere.

Beasts ambled across the islands, living side by side with the city’s residents and roaming as they pleased. It was serene locale, with an organic beauty that spoke of living in harmony with nature.

He was utterly absorbed by this tantalizing glimpse of an alien civilization—his first true taste of the planet’s lost history and the secrets locked away inside the System’s databases. He eventually realized that he didn’t see any skills, which made him wonder what was going to happen next.

That was when a woman approached Edge—the same alien figure who had been revealed when the corruption was purged from the Gardener’s monstrous form. Unlike the city’s residents, she was tall and wispy, with pale skin and elongated features. The black chains coiled around him, ready to defend Edge if needed, but he couldn’t sense any hostility in her movements or any danger in this place.

Instead of attacking, the woman came to a stop in front of him, clasped her hands together, and bowed from the waist. That was when the creature who had been a monster only moments before smiled and started to speak.

“I am pleased that you chose to come here. It won’t be long before this echo of my mind fades away, but now we have time to talk. My soul was devoured by the monster living inside me, but in this fleeting twilight moment, I am myself again—surrounded by the people I love.

“This is my final memory before the Invader arrived and the calamity ensued. Everything before this moment has been lost, and all I can remember after is being trapped in the darkness, drowning in hatred and hunger.”

The Gardener bowed again, and Edge returned the gesture. “Thank you, scion of Skill-Eater. You have freed me from my bondage and restored something infinitely precious—the faces of my family. Give my regards to the ravenous lord, may she one day walk in the light once more. I will surrender my power before my spirit returns to Ord. But first, let me share a piece of my story with you, my liberator.

“This is the day that unspeakable evil arrived on our world, killing millions and ending our way of life in the blink of an eye.” As the Gardener narrated, the sky changed colors, becoming black, then white, then both at once. Edge realized he had seen the same thing happen once before—on the day the anomaly arrived, killing his original body and trapping him on Ord for the foreseeable future.

People started screaming, pointing to the heavens as countless portals opened in the sky above, stretching on for as far as his eyes could see. Through those holes in the fabric of reality, sinister shapes emerged—living shadows with glowing green eyes.

Children hid behind their parents, and people took refuge inside their homes, but there was no escape. When the wraithlike beings descended, they chose a victim and struck. The shadow creatures merged with the villagers and their bodies began to change, becoming twisted mockeries of their former selves. Monsters. Edge stood there in stunned silence. They just turned into monsters.

Although the air was filled with swirling corruption that was streaming from the portals, it didn’t make him sick—like he was viewing a simulation of the event, rather than experiencing it himself.

The Gardener turned away and drew a sword strapped to her back, replaying her own role in the events that followed. The woman fought with skills and blade, protecting her people as she rebuffed the army of ethereal creatures that was descending on her home like a plague of locusts.

But then a shadow far more powerful than the others entered her body, mutating her features into the monster he had fought in the chamber. The newly-born horror screamed and fell upon the people she had been trying to protect, slaughtering them all within a matter of seconds.

With that, the image came to an end, leaving Edge and the Gardener’s echo standing in an empty village. He shook his head, grappling with what he had witnessed before reminding himself that he didn’t have time to process it now. I need to learn whatever I can before our time runs out.

“All of Ord’s monsters are actually people?” He asked the first question that came to mind.

“No. Only the ancients—the first monsters to arrive—came without bodies of their own and possessed the natives of this world. If you ever meet one, run. The ancients are incredibly powerful and some of the most dangerous creatures that roam the face of Ord. My dark passenger was trapped within the Savage Garden for centuries—unable to feed from the true bounty of this world. The other ancients suffer no such limitations.

“Most of the monsters blighting this planet, including the ones filling the dungeon, are another species—one capable of mutating and reproducing as they absorb the planet’s magic and remake it in their own corrupted image.”

Edge was about to ask another question, but the Gardener cut him off. “Forgive me, but my mind is unraveling like a ball of yarn, and our time is running short. Listen closely, scion of Skill-Eater. I showed you this memory in part so that my story would live on, but mostly to warn you of the danger that is coming.

“Just like the event you witnessed, I felt the dimensions touch briefly not long ago, and I fear it is only the beginning. Another calamity is fast approaching, and if you are unprepared when it arrives, your people will suffer the same fate as my own, along with every creature who calls Ord home. My prayers are with you, but talk is cheap. Let me reward you for the service you have provided and offer my strength for the battle to come.”

With that, the Gardener gestured, and three skill avatars coalesced in the air in front of her. One was a miniature version of herself, and through the bond he shared with the black chains, Edge was certain it was an Epic power. The others were so alien that he couldn’t tell what they did, although he could sense they were high-rank Rares.

“I regret that my skills are poorly-suited to someone of your species, although my Epic domain, Fear the Seasons, will serve you well. The others will become fuel for your collection, including one that is compatible with your Unique power. I wish that I could give you more, but I must work within the limitations of the ravenous lord’s nature. Go ahead and take one now, then return. I can endure long enough for you to claim them all.”

Edge didn’t need to be told twice. While he had a mountain of questions regarding what he’d witnessed, he wasn’t about to let this opportunity go to waste. He began with the Epic skill, which the Gardener had called Fear the Seasons.

When he gave the chains their orders, a message from the System appeared.

Extracting skills that are given freely does not require a sacrifice of Mortium, regardless of their rarity.

I accept your counterproposal. He grinned, basking in the thrill of the moment. Edge was surprised when instead of attacking, the black chains gently wound their way around the skill before pulling it free from the Gardener’s core. He returned to his body as they flung the avatar into his mouth.

This Extraction was unlike any that had come before, since the power had been freely given instead of stolen. The avatar in his mouth didn’t even try to fight back. All he had to do was chew and enjoy the experience.

The first time his teeth came together, an exquisite flavor broke over his palate—far more intense than any skill he’d ever eaten. For just a moment, everything else faded away as his tongue was taken to heaven, alien magic style.

The potent power tasted like the turning of the seasons, with a sharp aftertaste implying that too much of a good thing can lead to disaster. The flavor went through four distinct phases: The merciless rain of spring, the unyielding heat of summer, the cataclysmic winds of fall, and the lethal chill of winter.

Instead of happening all at once, the images and flavors kept cycling, filling him with wonder until the last bite.

You have extracted Fear the Seasons (Epic, Rank 6).

It will take 2 weeks to digest it.

Holy shit. That Epic skill was rank six. I’m lucky the Gardener surrendered it willingly. I never would have been able to beat that avatar in a fight inside her inner world, especially with Foebinder hanging on by a thread.

For a second, Edge was tempted to Absorb Fear the Seasons and feed its experience to Intimidating Roar. It would advance the difficult-to-raise skill several ranks at once—maybe even enough to take it to rank four.

But in the end, he knew it would be a mistake. The Gardener had shown him how strong her domain could be, once it was raised to its full potential. Keeping it would benefit him far more over the long run, even though the most experience a new skill could come with was 99% of what it needed to reach rank two. At least I can get Fear the Season’s first upgrade with a single Absorb, which will offer a considerable boost in power all by itself.

Edge activated Extraction the instant the domain entered his core and began to digest—ready to claim the others before he lost his chance.

He realized that he only had one charge of Extraction remaining, which made him wonder why the Gardener had offered two additional skills. He learned the answer when after entering her core, the chains of oblivion pounced on one of the avatars like savage beasts, consuming the skill utterly within a matter of seconds.

Through the link they shared, Edge caught an impression of lean days of winter—hunting to survive in an endless world of white. When Manifest Chain was finished with its meal, the cup representing its skill experience was nearly full. Apparently, his Unique power didn’t need to Extract a skill to Absorb its experience. It could consume its prey directly while invading an inner world, although the power had to be compatible.

That only left one Rare avatar floating in front of the Gardener, who was growing fainter by the second. He used the last charge of Extraction before it was too late.

Extracting skills that are given freely does not require a sacrifice of Mortium, regardless of their rarity.

As the chains pulled the skill free from her core, the Gardener spoke one last time. “Be warned, the entity you know as the System is not what it appears… it too has been…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a pulse of magic surged into her core from the outside, forcibly removing Edge from her inner world.

What the hell just happened? He grasped that he had fallen over and was sitting on the ground, just as the chains flung the final skill into his mouth and he reflexively began to chew.

This skill had a dual nature. It tasted like misty moonlight nights and lazy summer days. He had the sense that it was a counterpart to Fear the Seasons, representing their blessings instead of their harsher aspects. Since the Gardener had told him this power wasn’t compatible with his biology, Edge didn’t need to wait for it to digest.

He Absorbed the high-rank Rare on the spot, then gave its experience to Intimidating Roar. When he was drawn inside his inner world, Chibime started shining, which meant he had gained enough experience to reach rank two, and probably a fair chunk of what he needed for rank three.

Edge was still grappling with everything that had happened, and he wasn’t ready pick an upgrade yet. I’m glad I have 24 hours to decide now. As soon as we leave the dungeon and I get some rest, I’ll take a look at the options.

He rose to his feet, shook his head to clear his mind, then moved onto the next item on his list, claiming his hard-won prize.