Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 22: Scorpion Hunt

After stopping to say hello to Mel and the young deputy she was training, the crew passed through the gate and stepped out onto the Ivory Plains.

The white and yellow grass that gave the biome its name was rippling in the late summer breeze, rolling and heaving like waves on the ocean. The magicytes shimmering in the air were thicker than before, adding dazzling patterns of living magic to the mix.

The endless prairie was more magnificent than ever, growing more deadly and beautiful in equal measures. Edge took a few minutes to appreciate the abundant natural splendor, then turned his attention to the hunters walking beside him.

It was the first time that the crew had come together since their mission to scout the borderlands and take out the padamas. He was looking forward to being out in the field with his friends. Not to mention stealing a juicy power or two from the beast they were hunting.

Edge only had one open skill slot at the moment. He was saving it for when Intimidating Roar finished digesting in another week, although he would get another seven slots when he hit stage two. He did, however, have another Skill-Merger Token he could use to make room for one more, along with his Auxiliary Skill Slot. Anything else he stole, he would Absorb to boost his existing powers, which was always a valuable gain.

The beast’s territory was in the southeastern quadrant of the Ivory Plains—a side of the biome that he hadn’t visited in person yet, along with the northwestern corner. With any luck, the scorpion would have some rank-three skills that were Uncommon or even Rare. Skill-Eater grumbled in its sleep at the thought, sending a pulse of gluttony flowing through his body that left him drooling.

Before worrying about what was on the menu, Edge needed to battle the beast and weaken it enough that it was vulnerable to Extraction. He knew that the crew wouldn’t always be able to cripple their prey before finishing it off, but they had promised to do the best they could without putting their lives at risk. I’m lucky to have found people I can trust. Not only to keep my secret, but who are willing to help however they can.

As he pondered the matter, the hunters began crossing the grasslands. Just like their last mission, the crew would be paid a bonus for updating their map as they traveled. Part of Violet’s job was recording any places where the biome’s terrain had been swapped out with pieces from elsewhere on the planet.

If they found the habitat of anything troublesome, the location of valuable resources, or ruins like the temple Edge had delved at the beginning of his adventure, the crew would earn a finder’s fee. They also had first rights to try to claim them if they wanted and could receive assistance from the settlement for a fraction of the proceeds.

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But that was a worry for later in their journey. The terrain near Puppet Town had been thoroughly charted, and the dangerous bits had already been pacified.

Although the crew had to keep a watchful eye on their surroundings, in case something nasty had wandered into the region, this part of the biome was still relatively safe. Traversing it was far more relaxing than exploring the borderlands, and Edge took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the scenery as he walked beside the wagon.

So far, they had only spotted a few unusual areas, and nothing that seemed particularly promising. Most notably, the course of the river had been diverted where part of its bed had been spirited away, flooding a large swath of the prairie and turning it into what was effectively a new marshlands sub-biome.

It was a perfect day to head into the field. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky and cool wind was blowing from the east. Since they were in the last weeks of summer, the heat had begun to die down and the nights were growing longer.

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They hunted a few lesser beasts as afternoon transitioned into early evening. The meat was now filling their bellies, and the hides were packed into the bed of the wagon. They decided to stop for the night before entering the territory of their prey, so that they wouldn’t have to worry about running into the beast in the dark.

The crew told some stories around the campfire, set up a watch rotation, and then went to bed early. Edge took the first shift, enjoying the ambiance of the grasslands by starlight. While being out in the wilderness of Ord was never safe, especially with the changes taking place across the region, this mission was far less stressful than hunting the padamas—when they had to worry about an invisible predator ambushing them at any moment with little to no warning of its approach.

The crew awoke with the rising sun. They packed their kits and were back on the road the moment that color began soaking back into the world. They stopped to watch the sunrise on the top of a small hillock, then resumed their journey while discussing their plan to take out the aggressive arthropod.

An hour later, the hunters crossed into a sub-biome known as the Perfumed Prairie. Most of the flora wasn’t too different from the core grasslands, but there were hundreds of species of wildflowers that grew side by side. They blossomed in the last days of summer, streaking the plains with brilliant swaths of color and filling the air with the myriad scents that gave the region its name.

When Edge took his turn riding beside Violet on the wagon, he cast his gaze into the distance. He leaned back while enjoying the colorful blossoms swaying in the wind, shrouded by the glistening flows of magicytes that were unique to Ord. The weaves of magic were growing thicker by the mile, as the crew left the center of the biome behind them.

“Ahh… That’s wonderful.” Sasha drew in a deep breath through her nose to sample the perfume riding the breeze. “This area is gorgeous. I haven’t been on Ord long enough to see the prairie bloom until now.”

Edge turned to look her in the eyes. They shared a smile with a flash of heat behind it, which set his heart pounding and shivers running down his spine. While it was true that this land was beautiful, it was nothing compared to the woman herself.

Those piercing emerald eyes. The dusting of freckles across her nose. Those long, shapely legs and mesmerizing curves. Sasha’s body was more enticing than ever, now that he had seen what lay beneath her clothing. I’ll see if she’s in the mood for another night on the town when we get back from the hunt.

He could drink in the sight of Sasha all day, but not with everyone watching. Edge endured enough teasing from Violet and Jumo already and had no desire to make it worse. She winked at him, then turned away and returned her attention to the task at hand, locating their prey and then homing in on its lair.

They proceeded in a loose formation, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. They were close enough to the site of the beast’s last attack that it was possible it would come for them. While an ambush predator was unlikely to attack a large team traveling down the open road, they weren’t taking it for granted.

Gigantic predators generally commanded massive territories. It could take some work to track it down, even for the veteran hunters and their excellent powers of perception. While the scorpion wasn’t big enough for his Big Game Hunt trait to bolster his damage, it was large enough to trigger the trait’s bonus to Perception. It meant that Edge had a reasonable chance of spotting it too, even without a specialized skill.

Their plan was to find the beast’s lair, trap the route leading to it, then draw the predator into an ambush of their own. Trapper didn’t think that the scorpion was as powerful as the padamas, based on the reports of the hunters who had survived its attack. The odds were good that if they prepared the field carefully, the crew could take out their target without having to engage in another risky brawl.

According to the firsthand accounts, the beast could detect magic unusually well. It was either mana-sensitive or had some manner of perceptual skill. As a result, the crew couldn’t rely on Manifest Trap on this hunt. Any skill-summoned devices would be easy for the creature to spot.

That didn’t mean they couldn’t use traps. It just meant that the crew would have to set up devices the old-fashioned way and wait for their quarry to walk into them.

That being said, they needed to be careful. Leaving any sign of their presence behind—a single footprint or shovel of displaced soil—could cause their prey to instinctively avoid the area. Nothing on Ord lived long enough to reach stage two by ignoring signs that unknown creatures were lurking in the region.

Edge might have been in trouble if he were hunting on his own. But with Trapper’s crew at his side, he was sure they would get it right. We just need to locate our target and prepare the field, and we’ll be ready to take the big bad down.