Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 43: Clearing Crew

Edge took a nap to recover some stamina, then got ready to enter the dungeon.

He performed a full inspection of his gear, making sure that everything was in good repair and ready to use at a moment’s notice. Then he repacked his kit, memorized the location of each consumable, and strapped his naginata across his back.

When he was done, he stopped by the wagon to refill his Disruption Grenade with a fresh charge of copper-grade aether. Refueling the device drained most of the crew’s tank, but he wasn’t too worried about it. Violet could refill their supply whenever she wanted, using Refine Aether to break down leftover scraps of magicyte-infused food.

Not long after, a runner came by to let everyone know that it was time to join their new teams, and that Gram was ready to meet with the dungeon-clearing crews. After this final briefing, the hunters would head inside and their mission to conquer the Savage Garden would officially begin.

Jumo and Edge bid the others farewell and walked over to the dungeon’s entrance. The members of their new team were already waiting, sitting in the shade of Setna’s wagon. Edge took the opportunity to examine each of the hunters in turn—the brave women and men who would be fighting by his side once they stepped through the fog door.

He began with Mel, who he considered a friend by this point. The muscular deputy was only a few inches shorter than himself and had long red hair that was drawn up in a warrior’s knot. Today, she was wearing a suit of interlocking chitin plates that reminded him of Jumo’s old set, although this armor was dark blue and made of high-grade materials. As always, Mel carried a gigantic battle axe, which was the heaviest weapon on the team.

Tessa was standing nearby, with her back to the dungeon’s wall. She had short blond hair and alert yellow eyes. She wasn’t nearly as buff as Mel, but the woman was even more dangerous. Tessa was stage two, and although Edge didn’t know much about her fighting style, she was generally regarded as one of the settlement’s most powerful warriors.

She was wearing white leather armor, with a silver sword sheathed at her hip and a copper shield strapped to her back. Edge realized that she wasn’t looking at him—that Tessa and Jumo were busy sizing each other up, and clearly liked what they saw.

Finally, Edge turned his attention to the pair of monster hunters, Fox and Snake. Now that he had a chance to take a closer look, he realized that the detail of their masks was exquisite. Although they were painted, the fur and scales were so vivid that they almost seemed alive.

Fox wore a suit of elastic magitech armor that accentuated her lithe frame and natural curves. She had a short sword attached to her belt and a magitech boltcaster strapped to her back. Edge had never seen the weapon in action, and was curious to find out what it could do. Completing her kit, Fox had a range of magitech devices secured to her armor, all of which looked useful and expensive.

True to his persona, Snake was wearing green leather armor that did indeed appear to be snakeskin. He was almost silent when he moved, even without using a skill to supplement his stealth. The shadowkiller had a brace of throwing knives running across his chest, and a crossbow hanging from his pack. He carried a heavy golden lance that doubled as a walking stick.

When he was done looking the crew over, Edge walked over and exchanged an embrace with the cheerful guardswoman. “It’s good to see you, Mel. I feel a lot better heading in there with you watching my back.”

“Right back at you, Edge. It’s finally time to put all that training to the test.”

When Jumo and Edge sat down, the team got to know each other better while they waited for Gram to arrive. Everyone took turns sharing their specialties, strengths, and preferred combat roles. Unlike when he’d joined Trapper’s crew, the hunters kept the specifics of their skillsets to themselves. Which suited him fine, given his situation with Skill-Eater.

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Tessa went first. “My name is Tessa, and I’ll be serving as the team’s scout. You might have heard already, but I’m mana-sensitive and have several detection skills that can bolster my Perception in various ways. I’ll do my best to spot trouble before it arrives, but when it does, I’m a fair hand with this blade.” She pointed to her sword.

“I also have a pair of defensive auras, which will reduce the damage we take. One is geared toward physical attacks, and the other boosts Disruption. I can use both at once but usually won’t. It counts as a skill combo and will drain my reservoir dry after only a few minutes.” Tessa smiled at Jumo, and then he took his turn.

“I’m Jumo. For this mission, I’ll be acting as our primary defender. I have some decent attack skills, although nothing compared to our stage-two members. My role is to go toe-to-toe with our foes, keeping the monsters off your backs while our heavy hitters take them down. I have a lot of Durability, Disruption, and Endurance and can burn mana to relieve my exhaustion. I have more staying power than most warriors as a result.” Edge noticed that Jumo didn’t mention his earth-core, and that Tessa hadn’t revealed her core either.

Lilly went next. “You can call me Fox. I’m one of those heavy hitters Jumo was talking about. My specialty is striking critical points from medium range—favorites being the eye, throat, and heart. I’m fast and agile, and this armor is top of the line. I don’t have enough Endurance or Durability to trade blows on the front line for a prolonged period, although I can hold my own in a skirmish. I have a decent collection of magitech gear, and I’ll share the details as they become relevant.”

When she was done, Snake pointed to Fox and said, “It should come as no surprise given this mask, but I go by Snake. Fox can explain my role in the party.” She sighed, but apparently this brevity from the man was nothing new, and she went ahead and did as he asked. Edge listened closely, eager to learn more about the man who specialized in killing some of the most dangerous creatures that walked the face of Ord.

Snake was unusual for a shadowkiller in that he preferred to work with a team instead of hunting solo. His combat specialty was uncommon too. Snake’s role was generally called a disabler. His skills could weaken and constrain the monsters they faced, limiting the carnage they wrought and undermining their defenses. He primarily fought with a crossbow and lance, to which he applied various poisons and weapon oils to supplement his skillset.

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When Fox was done describing Snake’s role, Mel took her turn. “My name is Melania, but everyone calls me Mel. I’m a heavy hitter too. Unlike Fox, I specialize in frontline combat and always fight with my axe. I don’t have quite as much staying power as Jumo, but I can take a beating and dish one out too. I’m good at cutting through armor, but don’t have much to offer at range.”

That only left Edge. He had pondered how much to reveal and what role he would play for hours on the march south. Right now, the only skills that he had shown in public were Slash, Regeneration, and Elemental Blade.

Using Double Slash was fine, since he could simply tell the truth—that he’d picked up Double Strike in the field and then merged it with a token. It was his primary attack, so he wouldn’t be able to hide it anyway. He had also claimed that Shadow Step was his ultimate ability, so he could use it too if he kept it to once per day.

That meant he could reveal two other skills in the dungeon without arousing suspicion. He was considering Entangle and possibly Harden, although he might be able to use the latter without anyone noticing. That being said, he already had a plan in place for what he would do if he wound up using more powers, since it was crazy not to utilize the full range of his skillset in a life-or-death situation. If push came to shove, he would claim to have evolved to stage two, which would give him an excuse for three more skills and should cover anything else he revealed.

There was only one exception. Under no circumstances could he use Intimidating Roar, which would finish digesting in another two days. There was no plausible explanation for how he could have obtained an Epic skill at his stage, and he had no chance of tricking these experienced hunters into believing that it was something more common, especially with Tessa’s mana-sensitivity. In a worst-case scenario, where he had to use Intimidating Roar or Overdrive, Edge would just have to play it by ear. But he was hoping to avoid such an occurrence.

“I’m versatile,” he began. “I’m not as good at any of those roles as a specialist, but I can take some heavy hits and can deal out decent damage with this naginata and Elemental Blade. I’m fairly mobile thanks to my ultimate, and I can disable opponents with my iceblade and some of my other skills.

“I’ll try to put myself wherever I’m needed most, and I’ll refine my role once I become more familiar with how we operate as a team. I have the least experience out of all of you, so please let me know if you notice anything that I need to work on. I’m looking forward to working together.”