Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 14: Core Seed

Trapper stepped through the door of City Hall with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. She stopped to chat with Emily—the mayor’s aide who was working at the reception desk—then made her way down the long hallway behind it. She nodded to a pair of deputies who were stationed in the building, then climbed the stairs leading to the second story.

The peacekeepers raised a hand in greeting, but didn’t bother to ask her business. Dialla was expecting her, and after watching Trapper come and go for years, no one who worked here would question her presence, even without an explicit invitation.

She walked past a series of private rooms while heading toward the mayor’s office in the far corner. Sitting in a chair beside the entrance was Tessa—Dialla’s personal guard and an old friend. “What brings you here today, Trapper? Business or pleasure?”

“A bit of both actually. I have a surprise for Dialla, which I know you’re going to love.” The cored warrior raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t voice a question. One of the reasons why Tessa’s presence was so valued was that in addition to being one of the most powerful people in the settlement, she understood the value of discretion. She just rose to her feet, opened the door, and let Trapper pass through.

Dialla’s office was spacious and tastefully decorated. Nothing too elaborate or ornate, and all locally sourced, which befitted the leader of a thriving settlement. There was a series of charts posted to one wall, including a big map in the middle that displayed the Ivory Plains. It was covered in pins that signified recent sightings of monsters and predatory beasts, and the margins were annotated with the changes to the biome that had occurred in the aftermath of the anomaly.

The red pins indicated threats that needed to be eliminated, and the blue ones represented teams that had been dispatched to deal with them. The other colors were for problems of another sort, and Trapper didn’t pretend to understand the intricacies.

She was most interested in the descriptions of the bordering biomes—frontier regions that had had never been seen by human eyes until a few days ago, when the mayor sent teams to survey the perimeter of the plains. Trapper’s crew had been among them, and they had discovered Jumo’s Vault and the Ravenous Wastes.

She spent a few minutes studying the latest additions, then turned to face Dialla, who was busy pouring over a series of ledgers stacked beside a pile of reports. When Trapper walked over, Dialla activated a magitech privacy device and then rose from her desk with a warm smile.

“Even though you’ve already been back for a few days, it’s good to see you safe and sound. I was worried the entire time you were gone, but I knew that you would pull through. It will take more than a couple of big beasts to bring you down, my love.”

The women exchanged a passionate embrace, followed by a tender kiss. They had been an item for years now, although they could go weeks at a time without seeing one another. Though it wasn’t a secret, they were both private people and didn’t advertise their relationship either. They rarely had time to enjoy each other’s company at length and maintained a piecemeal romance during stolen moments like this one.

After savoring some sorely-needed human contact, Trapper untangled herself from Dialla’s arms, straightened her hair, then got down to business. She had already reported the results of her mission but had been saving one final item until everything was ready. She didn’t want to give Dialla time to come up with an excuse to say no.

On that note, Trapper reached into her pack and pulled out a large wooden box. Dialla watched on with interest as the hunter set it on the table and began to speak. Trapper chose her next words carefully. This was a delicate matter and an argument that she couldn’t afford to lose.

“I found something during our last mission. Something that I need you to take. I know how you feel about cores. That having Puppet Town run exclusively by the cored when most of its residents are uncored, sends the wrong message about who we are and which voices matter.”

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Dialla opened her mouth to argue, but Trapper powered through. “But we both know that our old way of life is gone forever. In the aftermath of the anomaly, all the rules that governed our prior existence crumbled to dust in the blink of an eye. In these days of ash and mist, Puppet Town needs a leader who is a symbol of our strength as well as our wisdom, and we can’t afford to lose you now regardless. As matters stand, someone bearing an old grudge or even a tumble down the stairs could kill you, and I don’t think any of us will survive what’s coming if you’re not here to lead us.”

By this point, Trapper could tell that Dialla had guessed what was in the box. Before the mayor could object, she finished her pitch in a voice thick with emotion. “I found a core seed among the garax’s remains. I already paid the Mortium and gathered the other resources required to turn it into a basic core, and I want you to bind it here and now.”

She reached into the box and removed a pearlescent orb the size of her fist, which glowed with its own inner light, then set it on the table between them.

“For once in your life, I need you to be selfish. Not just for your own sake, but for all of Puppet Town. Your mind is a resource more vital than any magic, and we need you at your best if we’re going to ride out this storm and emerge in one piece. With a core and some rarer skills, you will have more energy and more options, and right now, we need all the help we can get. So please, dear heart, accept this gift, then worry about everyone else again after.”

Although Trapper had made a compelling case, Dialla resisted for the better part of an hour before she finally gave in. In the end, she knew that Trapper was right. The winds of change were blowing across the settlement, along with the rest of the planet. If she wanted to weather these changes, she needed to be powerful enough to hold her own before the next crisis landed in their laps. Not to mention, socket some support skills that would make her even better at her job than she already was.

Now that the mayor had made her decision, the woman didn’t hesitate. With a sigh of resignation, Dialla picked up the core, unbuttoned her shirt, and positioned the glowing orb against her breastbone. There was a flash of light and a pulse of heat as the core sank into her chest—guiding itself into place a few inches below her heart.

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Dialla’s eyes went wide, then she got the distant look that came with reading a lengthy System message. Although almost no time would pass in the outside world, Trapper knew that she was standing in her central chamber for the first time—inside the newly-born world that represented the interior of her core.

When Dialla came back to herself a few seconds later, she smiled despite the contrasting emotions that were clear on her face. “Wow. That was one hell of a rush. Just to be clear, I won’t be satisfied until every resident of Puppet Town has a core of their own. No matter how tall an order that may be.”

“I know, love. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t feel such passion for others. This is a good start, but I need to take you into the field a few times over the coming weeks. We should be able to cycle you up to stage one before long. Then we’ll keep at it till you hit the middle of the stage.

“At that point, cycling up will get a lot harder, so you might not progress much further for a while. But those attribute points will make you harder to kill, let you perform at a level you’ve never dreamed of, and give you sufficient magic to power skills that will benefit the entire settlement.”

Trapper gave Dialla a stern look. “Don’t hold back when it comes to acquiring them. Use your authority—every scrap of influence and communal coffer you can access—to get the best powers you possibly can. I can help you acquire some Mortium if you want a skill that’s only available from Lilly’s exchange, and we should install your starter implant soon regardless. You’re the heart of this settlement, and we need you armed with every advantage you can get.”

Dialla let out a long sigh, then wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes. “Alright. I don’t like the idea of putting myself ahead of others. I want them to respect my leadership because they value my ideas, but I know that you’re right. When do we start?”

“There’s no time like the present. Grab Tessa and another pair of guards who you trust completely and let’s head out onto the plains. I have some gear you can use waiting in the wagon. We’ll stay near town and let Earl know what we’re up to. If he needs you, he will know where to find you. It’s also the safest way to cycle up until you have enough Disruption and Durability to take a few hits. On that note, we should stop by the Consortium’s store sometime soon and get you outfitted with a full kit. I’ve known Bee for a long time, and we can trust her to be discrete.”

While the women hammered out the details, Dialla followed Trapper out of her office and through the building’s back exit. They were ready to begin a new chapter in their lives, along with all of Puppet Town.