Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 31: Big News

Edge sat down, limbs shaking with exhaustion now that the adrenaline from the fight was fading away. Before Trapper’s crew started slicing the scorpions into manageable pieces, they took a break to recover while checking out their post-battle updates.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle up your core. Your new cycle is: 17.

You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle up your core. Your new cycle is: 18.

You have 6 attribute points awaiting allocation.

He smiled as he read the last line, then dismissed his Guide. The cycles were coming slower now that he was nearing the peak of stage one. But he was making steady progress toward reaching the final cycle—a prospect that excited him more than words could convey. He couldn’t wait to see what changes occurred within his core the next time he evolved, not to mention pick up another seven skill slots and more attributes per cycle.

But that was a matter for another day. Right now, Edge just needed to spend his points, grab a shovel, and start digging.

After a moment’s consideration, he decided to stick with his plan and went for an even split between Power and Amplification. The battle had been a timely reminder that he needed to dish out more damage if he wanted to take on opponents that were so much bigger than himself.

He opened his menus, put three points into Power, then braced himself for a few minutes of pain. Edge winced as the potentia was set free—ready to upgrade his body in the manner of his choosing. The crackling surge soaked into his muscles, burning like acid was flowing through his veins.

He clenched his jaw as his tissue softened before taking on a new, more efficient configuration. He felt his muscles grow a little during the process. Thankfully, the increase in size was only a small part of the package, or he would look like a bodybuilder on steroids instead of an Olympic athlete.

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When it was over, he let out a sigh of relief, then spent his other three points. Increasing Power with potentia was never fun, although the pain was more than worth what he acquired in the bargain. Luckily, spending them on Amplification didn’t hurt at all.

Edge was drawn inside his core when the transformative energy gathered within his skill garden, congealing around the eleven pillars that represented his skill sockets. When the potentia flowed into them, the circuitry embedded into the base of each pillar grew denser and more complex. Upgrading Amplification let the mana from his reactor flow into his skills more efficiently than before, boosting the output of his powers without increasing their drain.

When the process had run its course, he left his core and returned to his physical body. The rest of the crew had gained several cycles too and had just finished spending their points. Riller and Violet had shot all the way up to cycle six of stage zero, which meant they only needed one more cycle before they could evolve their cores to stage one.

Jumo, Sasha, Trapper, and Edge walked over to the wagon, grabbed a shovel, and started digging the buried beast free from the soil. The crew’s newly-cored members still didn’t have enough Power for a job of that scale, although they were rapidly closing the gap. Instead, they went to work taking the other scorpions apart, using some magitech magelights to illuminate the area.

Two hours later, the smaller arthropods were ready to go, and the big one was out of the ground. Everyone was tired and covered in sweat, so they decided to take a longer break, eat dinner, and celebrate their successful hunt.

The crew unloaded some provisions from the wagon and spread a tarp across the ground. Then they sat in a circle and began to feast. A meal that was fated to be interrupted only five minutes later.

Because that was when Edge’s Guide separated from his body and floated in front of his face. He was surprised to see the golden wisp again so soon, and doubly so when he learned the reason why. Instead of bearing the update from the System he was expecting, the hovering screen displayed a message from a person instead. How is that possible? All direct communication functions have been inactive since the anomaly.

When he began to read, he saw that the message was from Sakura—the woman who had warned Edge that Warren was hunting him and wound up saving his life. He hadn’t heard from her since, which only deepened the mystery of her involvement in his affairs.

However, the question of how Sakura had accessed his Guide’s disabled functions would have to wait, because the news she conveyed drove all other considerations from his head.

“Edge. You need to return to Puppet Town as quickly as possible. Something big is going down. An event that is critical to the survival of the settlement. You have to get back before it’s too late to play a part in what is coming.”

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He tried to reply. “Who are you really? How are you communicating with me?”

“Don’t bother sending anything back. This limited application of the messenger function only goes one way. I can’t use this skill often or for long, but please, you must trust me. Puppet Town is in danger. We need your help, before…”

The message cut off before she finished her sentence, and his Guide disappeared a few seconds later.

Edge hadn’t had a face-to-face conversation with Sakura since they had met right after the anomaly. But since she had tipped him off to Warren’s ambush, he was willing to trust her on a provisional basis. At least enough to get back to town on the double.

He turned to the crew and told them what had happened. “I don’t know much about Sakura,” he explained. “But she saved my life and has been helping me since the moment I arrived in town. I don’t think we can afford to ignore her warning.”

“I don’t like following the lead of an unknown player,” Trapper said. “We need to find out what she wants and whose side she’s on. But I can’t see any harm in heading back now, regardless of the details. If this Sakura is telling the truth, we need to hurry. Try to meet up and learn more about her as soon as you can, but for now, let’s get moving.”

The rest of the crew felt the same way. They decided to hurry back to Puppet Town to see what Sakura’s warning was about. But there was no way that they were going to leave their haul behind, which meant that they had to work fast.

With that, the hunters turned their attention to the big scorpion’s remains. It was the largest intact carcass that Edge had processed yet—far too massive to shove into the wagon as it was.

Fortunately, Trapper had experience in handling large insects and arthropods, and she knew some tricks that made the job manageable. They started off by removing the limbs, carefully slicing through the joints to preserve the chitin plating. After the legs and claws were off, Trapper extracted the poison glands from the tails and then severed them too.

They removed the guts and drained the fluid, then Edge used Elemental Blade to pack the rest in ice-filled jugs that would keep the parts fresh during the trip home. The giant scorpions weren’t nearly as big once the crew had detached their limbs, but they were still massive beasts. Just their torsos and tails wound up filling the entire wagon. Although it was heavy, Blue was strong enough to pull the load, thanks to the cycles she had gained during the padamas hunt and a little help from Violet’s Enhance Beast.

The crew divided the rest to carry on their backs. Jumo, Sasha, and Edge each strapped two oversized claws to their packs, while Riller, Trapper, and Violet carried the scorpions’ legs. The claws were heavy, but the weight wasn’t too bad, thanks to the points he’d just put into Power.

Since they had decided to take Sakura’s warning at face value, the crew pushed themselves hard, hiking back to the settlement as fast as they could. They traveled through the night and made it back to town around dawn the next day.

As they approached the gate, Mel came running out to meet them. The veteran guardswoman told the hunters to head to City Hall right away. Apparently, Sakura’s message was genuine, and the mayor had important news to share with the crew.

When they made it to Dialla’s office, the woman looked even more serious than usual. She hadn’t slept a wink either, judging by the dark circles under her eyes. The mayor let the hunters know about the quest she had received, which had been triggered when one of the scouting parties entered an unconquered dungeon called the Savage Garden.

All three members of Setna’s crew were powerful stage-two hunters. If they hadn’t made it back out, the dungeon must be incredibly dangerous. Not only were their lives in peril, since they had never emerged to reestablish contact, but there was a prize on the line that could change the fate of the entire settlement. A chance to claim a core manufactory, which would let Puppet Town radically accelerate their plans to grow stronger.

Dialla wanted the hunters to join the expedition she was forming to clear the dungeon. She needed Trapper’s crew to guard the base camp they would establish outside the entrance—to protect the teams from predatory beasts and manage various aspects of the operation. But she had another role in mind for Edge and Jumo, helping to conquer the dungeon itself.

Edge knew that this was a critical matter. Having more cored inhabitants was exactly what Puppet Town needed to survive the trying days ahead—as concentrated magical energy saturated the Ivory Plains, bringing high-stage beasts and monsters in its wake.

The mayor had been conferring with the town’s most powerful members ever since receiving the quest, and Trapper’s crew was the last on her list. Tonight, she was holding a settlement-wide meeting to round up more volunteers before the expedition rolled out around noon tomorrow.

When she finished her briefing, Dialla left the room so that the crew could talk the matter over in private. “This is a make-or-break moment for Puppet Town and the pay is good,” Trapper said. “I’m fine if anyone wants to sit this one out, but I think we should go for it.”

“I’m in.” Jumo rubbed his hands together. "I’ve always wanted to conquer a dungeon. There should be some killer loot inside, even if we aren’t part of the team that takes down the boss. It will also be a rare opportunity to pick up some Mortium from the monsters inside the Savage Garden and meet some of our other criteria for advancement.” He looked over at Edge, who appreciated how careful the crew was being about keeping his secret.

“This is a valuable opportunity to increase our standing.” Violet tapped her chin. “And we can’t afford to let the chance to claim a manufactory slip through our fingers.” Riller and Sasha were in too, which meant that the whole crew would be joining the expedition.

When the mayor returned, Trapper let her know the crew was taking the job. Dialla paid them for their scorpion hunt, wished them luck, then turned her attention to the towering piles of papers spread across her desk.

After they left City Hall, the crew dropped the scorpions’ remains off at Izzio’s. They went back to the lodge to discuss the matter at length, then got some rest after pushing themselves through the night. When he made it to his room, Edge found a note waiting on his bed. Sakura was ready to meet up in person, and she promised to explain everything this time.

He had a few hours before their meeting, so he finished washing up and took a nap. Then he got dressed and walked out of the lodge, ready to find out who Sakura was and how she knew so much about what was going on. Not to mention, access parts of the System that were disabled for everyone else.

You’ve been an enigma, my mysterious friend. But now it’s time for the mask to come off.