He joined Rita and Sam in the common room of the Pioneer. When she pulled out a stool from behind the counter, he took a seat at the end of the bar, letting the music and the murmur of countless conversations wash over him. Half the patrons were covered in bandages, but their spirits were high after defeating the Claws.
He was developing a taste for fine alcohol after sampling Trapper’s private reserve and Melchior’s alchemical brews, so he decided to treat himself to a few of the establishment’s more expensive concoctions. Edge drank enough to feel tipsy, then set down his glass and bid Sakura’s friends farewell. On his way out, he bought a round for the room, which earned him a raucous chorus of “thank yous.”
He grinned as he stepped onto the street, trying to decide how he wanted to spend the rest of his day. The Rare skills he’d stolen from Yussuf would finish digesting an hour or so after dark, but he still had a while until that happened.
Rue was awake and wanted to keep him company. The streets weren’t particularly crowded, so instead of putting the pup in his cushion-lined backpack, he set the little fox onto the street to let the beast get used to walking around the settlement during the day.
After contemplating his options, Edge decided to visit One-Eye. He was curious to learn more about the hunter’s people and wanted to see if there was anything he could do to make their transition smoother.
After all, in addition to helping Edge deal with a situation he wouldn’t have survived on his own, One-Eye had put his life on the line to conquer the Savage Garden, betraying the Claws to claim the core manufactory for Puppet Town. Everything that had happened since indicated the man could be trusted, although it would take time before everyone was ready to treat the jailbirds as allies.
But if they wanted to survive the impending crises and whatever came next, they didn’t have a choice. The settlement desperately needed more warriors to man the walls when the army of beasts arrived at their doorstep in a little less than a week. On that subject, One-Eye had gotten a good look at the horde too and might have picked up a few details Sakura had missed.
As he mulled the matter over, Edge turned the corner and crossed into the residential quarter, heading for the houses and apartments One-Eye’s people had begun moving into the day before. He spotted several sentries standing on rooftops as he made his approach.
I wonder if they are guarding the jailbirds or making sure they don’t try anything funny. Probably both. While their caution was probably unnecessary, he couldn’t blame the peacekeepers for being careful after everything they’d been through.
There was a row of wagons lined up along the sidewalk—filled with donations Dialla and the town’s various associations had collected to help the convicts out. They had arrived with only the clothes on their back and whatever they could carry, and it was clear these gifts were deeply appreciated. When he drew near, he realized that while the former Claws were exhausted from their ordeal, they were thrilled to be living in the settlement.
Edge didn’t want to upset anyone, so he stored his armor and approached them slowly, doing his best not to let the arrival of a cored warrior disturb them. When he drew near the group unloading the wagons, he raised a hand in greeting and asked them where One-Eye was.
When they learned Edge was the hunter who had helped secure their probationary acceptance into the settlement, they relaxed and grew somewhat friendlier, although there was a wariness to their gazes that told him they were used to avoiding the notice of powerful people who might kill them on a whim.
One-Eye was in the middle of arranging furniture in the apartment he’d moved into, and when Edge walked into the room, the hunter broke into a broad grin. “Edge, I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you. Thank you for holding up your end of the bargain, and I’m sorry our problems followed us to your door.”
They clasped hands, and Edge pulled out a few bottles of beer he had brought from the Pioneer. “Of course. None of us would be standing here without your help, and from what I understand, that stampede would have crossed into the plains regardless.”
The hunters took a seat at a small table, sipping their beers while sharing stories of what had happened while they were apart. One-Eye assured Edge the undead beasts were just as unsettling as Sakura had implied, and he was deeply impressed Edge had managed to defeat Yussuf and the Claws’ strike leaders. Rue and One-Eye hit it off right away, and he offered Edge a few tips on beast training to supplement what he’d learned from Violet and Trapper.
The sun had set while they were talking, and it was almost time for his Rare skills to finish digesting. After bidding One-Eye farewell and taking a seat on one of the benches lining the street, Edge stepped into his core with Rue at his side—ready to oversee the process.
Right now, he only had one free skill slot, which meant he either had to give up one of his existing powers or use the merger token Momo had given him. He had an idea for a merger that might work and was willing to Absorb Sense Treasure as a backup if it didn’t pan out.
But that part could wait for a few more minutes. Since he had stolen it first, the lethal skill that had claimed two of Earl’s limbs and one of Edge’s own would hatch first. Shortly after his avatars gathered round to witness the big moment, the egg-shaped manifestation shattered, revealing the skill inside as his Guide appeared to provide the details.
Vacuum Blast
When extracting a skill higher than Rank 1, a portion of its experience will be retained if you choose to keep it.
Would you like to slot Vacuum Blast now?
Edge gave his consent, and the avatar floated over to a marble pillar to slot into his only empty socket. This skill took the form of a faint shimmer in the air. Through the bond they now shared, he could sense the power contained immense destructive potential, which matched his own experience in receiving the attack.
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“Stay away from that one until it has time to acclimate to being part of our team,” he warned Rue. “Touching it could be really dangerous.” He made sure Chibime and Sea would help keep the little beast safe, then watched as everyone living in his village greeted their newest member. He planned to introduce himself and start working on his newest bond soon, but first he needed to deal with his skill slot situation.
Edge asked the beating heart that represented Regeneration to join him by the other egg, which was already beginning to hatch.
A few seconds later, the eggshell shattered into motes of azure light that went swirling around his boots before fading away.
Resist Venom
Digestion is complete.
Would you like to slot Resist Venom now?
Warning: You have no free skill slots at this time.
After setting Regeneration beside the bottle of medicine that had emerged from the egg, Edge decided to proceed with his plan. Skill-Eater was still asleep, but that suited him fine. He wasn’t sure that he could trust anything the ravenous lord had to say—not when it wanted to turn him into a skill-devouring monstrosity.
He was hoping to merge Regeneration and Resist Venom. The potent power could already purge his body of foreign mana, and adding venom to the list would make its healing magic even more comprehensive.
By this point, Edge had begun developing his own instincts regarding skill compatibility. He was still a novice in the mechanics of magic, but it was enough to convince him this approach might work.
He got down on one knee and addressed the avatar. “I was wondering how you felt about merging with the skill beside you. You’re both related to health and vitality, so I thought it might be a good match. Sorry to put you on the spot, but we don’t have a lot of time. No pressure, and this is totally your decision, so think it over for a few minutes and let me know what you want to do.”
With that, the heart bounced a few times and then turned to face the vial sitting beside it. Regeneration wasn’t the most expressive avatar, and Resist Venom was even harder to read. The heart-shaped avatar beat erratically, occasionally reaching over to touch the jar of medicine. I have no idea what the fuck is going on.
If this didn’t work, Edge was ready Absorb Sense Treasure, since a skill that could save his life was more important than one that could make him rich. But he was hoping the avatars could sense their own compatibility and would be drawn toward one another.
While he waited to find out the results of the weirdest version of speed dating he’d ever heard of, he walked over and introduced himself to Vacuum Blast, which had made itself a bit more translucent so the other avatars could see it. The skill seemed friendly enough, although he sensed it had an explosive temper he was going to have to work on, but that was a problem for another day.
By the time he got back, Regeneration had made its decision.
To his relief, the avatar was cool with the merger. By this point, Resist Venom was starting to fade away, so Edge quickly pulled out his token and said, “I want to combine Regeneration and Resist Venom.”
The token shot into the air and spun like a dervish, glowing brightly while emitting a chiming ring. Everything grew more intense over the next few minutes, then the lightshow faded away to reveal an avatar that looked completely different than either of its components.
It was a little man whose body was almost transparent, like a doll made of living glass. Inside was an intricate rendition of a circulatory system. In addition to a beating heart, veins and arteries filled the interior in such fine detail that even his upgraded eyes couldn’t make out their complexity.
He could tell that this was a perfect rendition of his own body at one-tenth the scale. And it wasn’t just a static image. The heart was pumping just like Regeneration, and blood was flowing in an endless cycle. He wasn’t sure why the combined avatar had assumed this appearance, but it was strangely beautiful to behold.
“Hi there,” Edge said. “I’m pleased to meet you. I’m not sure how much you remember, but I was friends with your parents, and I hope we can be friends too.” He was making this shit up as he went along, but he had the sense the avatar understood the intention behind his words, and the precise turn of phrase wasn’t all that important.
The little glass man stuck out a hand. Edge did too, and they shook. It was nice to have another avatar that was so human, since it was hard to ascribe personality to some of his less-expressive skills.
That reminded him that he didn’t know what to call his newest power, so he called up his Guide to check out the details.
Congratulations.
The skills Regeneration (Uncommon, Rank 4) and Resist Venom
The mana-purging and unlimited regeneration bonuses from Regeneration have been preserved.
Your new skill is: Rejuvenation
Rapidly heal wounds. Rejuvenation can restore destroyed organs at a significantly slower rate. Rejuvenation will actively purify foreign mana from your body along with a range of venoms and related poisons.
Note: Resist Venom can counteract a wide variety of hemotoxic, paralytic, and neurotoxic agents but will not confer resistance to caustic substances (such as powerful acids, bases, and ultradessicants), even if they are transmitted through bites and stings.
“Awesome.” He pumped his fist, thrilled the merger had gone exactly how he’d hoped.
Edge had no idea what ultradessicants were and was horrified by the prospect of being injected with one, but other than that, the skill sounded amazing. It would fill a gaping hole in his defense, rendering him resistant to numerous venoms and poisons derived from them. The new protections would work hand in hand with Regeneration’s ability to break down magical pathogens and would be invaluable while operating in high-threat biomes like the Deep-Gill Grottos.
In short, while he would still benefit from medicine under certain circumstances, his skill could now cure a vast assortment of toxins and pathogens—both the magical and old-fashioned variety. In addition to being able to come back from anything other than the destruction of his vital organs, he would survive being stricken with almost any lethal agent if it didn’t overwhelm his skill and kill him first—not to mention erode any hostile mana that found its way into his body.
Of course, their negative effects could still impair or endanger him in other ways until Rejuvenation had time to break them down. But the effect would only grow stronger as the skill advanced, and he could already flare the power to boost its output if he found himself in a dangerous situation and needed to speed up the process.
From the vision that accompanied the skill’s description, Edge learned that Regeneration had picked up Resist Venom’s effect for a modest increase to its mana cost, losing the passive component in the bargain.
However, Rejuvenation was Rare instead of Uncommon, which would make it considerably more potent over the long term. Best of all, the new skill was rank three, which meant Rejuvenation was eligible for a new rank-four upgrade, leading to a more powerful skill in the end.
He wasn’t sure how becoming water-aspected would affect its behavior, although he was tentatively optimistic that it would make Rejuvenation better at restoring missing blood. If nothing else, when spring rolls around, Fear the Season’s elemental bonus will make its healing even more powerful.
The only downside of having so many merged skills was that it was going to be almost impossible to find a duplicate of them, which meant he would have to rank them up in a less efficient manner. But since he was planning to steal the skills of progressively stronger enemies, he wasn’t too worried about it.
Edge stayed in his core a while longer, hanging out with his Companion while bonding with his avatars and getting to know the newest residents of his village. When he hit his daily limit for being inside his core, he returned to his body and put Rue in his backpack—immensely satisfied with both acquisitions.
It was too late to head outside the walls, but he knew what he’d been doing the moment the sun rose. It’s time to find out what Vacuum Blast can do.