“Hello, friends. Earl here. Come on in, pull up a chair, and keep me company for a while. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, so there’s no need to be shy. I have a cozy fire burning in the hearth and a frosty beverage with your name on it ready to be cracked open.

  “That’s right. Now scoot your chair a little closer. I promise not to bite. I’ve always wanted to do one of these, and Doc said it would be good for my recovery to find something to take my mind off my injuries. So, when Edge asked me to take care of today’s recap, I was happy to lend him a hand… and a leg for good measure.

  “I know what you’re thinking. ‘Too soon, Earl. Too soon.’ But my mother always said that laughter is the best medicine, and she was the wisest person I’ve ever known. Anyhow, that’s enough about me, so let’s get rolling with today’s review—Sheriff of Puppet Town special edition.

  “Since you’ve made it all the way to the fourth book, I’ll assume that you already have a solid grasp on the anomaly and the early stages of Edge’s adventure. I’ll keep that part short and sweet and spend more time unpacking the events leading to our present dilemma—the kaiju, its undead horde, and the mysterious pair of Unique core-wielders who had the audacity to unleash them on my town.

  “Our Prison World Saga started off when our protagonist was still an uncored tourist, green as a stage-zero nymph. Only a few days into his survival vacation, an unprecedented magical disaster occurred, killing everyone’s original bodies and trapping them on Ord for the foreseeable future—the most dangerous planet in inhabited space. If that wasn’t enough to deal with, the anomaly also shut down most of the System, put the planet on lockdown, and shuffled the surface like a deck of cards.

  “Edge found himself lost in a deadly alien wilderness, with only a single Basic skill and the garbage-grade gear the wardens give every tourist at the start of their run. He was all alone and starving to death, trying to find a way to survive by exploring some ancient ruins. After coming across a temple depicting images of a giant bound in endless chains, he found a sealed reliquary containing a Unique core—exactly what he needed to pull his bacon out of the fire.

  “Just when it seemed like his luck had finally changed, a pair of sadistic jailbirds appeared, followed by a bloodthirsty monster. Through some quick thinking, balls of steel, and a large side order of luck, our hero delayed his inevitable demise long enough to open the reliquary and bind Skill-Eater, gaining the power to steal the skills of monsters, men, and beasts. His core’s magic turned the tables on both varieties of predator, and he made his way onto the Ivory Plains a changed man.

  “Edge stole more skills and cycled up like crazy on his way to Puppet Town. He ran into a nasty pack of monsters just in time to save Trapper’s crew. He evolved to stage one during the fight and helped put the shadowreavers down for the count, earning himself an offer to join the crew and learn the art of beast hunting. He accepted, trained like a man possessed, and ran into a big stealthy lizard—almost getting wiped out by a bounty hunter named Warren along the way.

  “Trapper’s crew decided to kill the oversized reptile, only to run into an even bigger predator called a garax during the hunt. Our hero had to reveal the secret of his core to bring the beast down, deciding to trust his new friends when shit hit the fan. They all earned some great rewards and made it to the border of the Ivory Plains, where they learned the whole damn biome had been moved to the far side of Ord—surrounded by high-threat regions.

  “At the end of book one, a hunting crew led by Setna was exploring a dungeon. She wound up triggering a quest that got sent to a vicious gang of jailbirds called the Crimson Claws in addition to Puppet Town. When our settlement formed an expedition to conquer the dungeon and claim the core manufactory the System had offered as a reward, they were ambushed by the Claws shortly after entering the Savage Garden.

  “Everyone else was forced to retreat and wound up getting trapped in a cave beneath a mountain, leaving Edge alone in the dungeon—surrounded by monsters and prisoners hunting for his head. He managed to evolve to stage two, killed some elite monsters for amazing rewards, and stole a ton of skills along the way.

  “He eventually took on the dungeon’s boss—a nasty monster called the Gardener—with the help of Snake the shadowkiller, Setna, and One-Eye, who betrayed the Claws to help Puppet Town.

  “After they beat the boss, the Gardener was cleansed of the corruption infesting her, revealing an alien who was native to Ord. She had been possessed by a monster when they first arrived from another dimension and warned Edge that the same thing would happen again soon. She implied the System wasn’t what it seemed before the AI stepped in and kicked him out of her core.

  “A lot of jailbirds died when the dungeon closed, and Edge picked up his second Epic skill, Fear the Seasons, a broken gem, a fancy ivory scythe, and an amazing Spatial Storage Rune. That wraps up the events of book two. If you want a more detailed recap of any of these events, check out the reviews from our earlier volumes.

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  “Book three was all about the Crimson Claws and the war for Puppet Town. Edge had conquered the Savage Garden and claimed the core manufactory, but Claws were determined to take it back and claim the settlement for themselves. One strike force was besieging Trapper’s team beneath the mountain. Another was on the Ivory Plains, stirring up trouble and blocking magical communication, and a final group was still in the Gilded Heights, along with the gang’s leader, Yussuf the Red.

  “After leaving the dungeon, Edge met up with Sasha, Mel, and Lilly, who were waging guerrilla warfare against the jailbirds that were keeping the rest of the expedition bottled up below the mountain. After causing some trouble that ended with a heist of the gang’s supplies, Ella used her mind magic to trick Edge’s team and teleported them far below the surface of Ord—into a high-threat biome called the Deep-Gill Grottos.

  “At this point in the story, three separate situations were brewing at once. Edge’s crew had to escape the deadly biome, which was filled with carnivorous mushrooms that could walk like a man and were armed with a range of nasty powers. Trapper’s team was close to starving while hiding from the Claws above—most notably the insect summoner Roth, the mind mage Ella, and the Claw’s Disruption specialist, Ripper.

  “Meanwhile, Sakura, Dialla, and yours truly were dealing with the Claws on the plains, although we were woefully understaffed, since most of our elites had left to conquer the Savage Garden.

  “Edge’s crew was racing against the clock, trying to reach Trapper’s team before the decisive battle began. Meanwhile, a covert team of jailbirds invaded the settlement, using refugees to get past our defenses. They were commanded by a powerful strike leader named Wraith, who led Sakura on a merry chase while trying to bring down Puppet Town’s defenses.

  “After defeating a giant catfish called the gatekeeper and its army of lampreys, Edge’s group escaped the grottos just in time for the big fight. The strike force led by Roth, Ripper, and Ella had found Trapper’s team and begun their final assault.

  “Trapper’s people held them off as best they could, using a ton of traps and clever tactics, but in the end, they were overwhelmed by the gang’s stage-two warriors, who were armed with skills designed to kill other people. Just when it seemed like they were done for, Edge Vasher arrived on the scene.

  “He unleashed a monster on the Claw’s army, then hit them from behind like the fist of an angry god. Edge killed Ella, stole her Rare skill Mental Fortress, and drove Ripper away. He met up with Trapper’s team right when Roth’s army was poised to finish the expedition off. Thanks to Overdrive and some awesome assists from the rest of Puppet Town’s elites, they killed the centipede-riding jailbird, and Edge stole the Rare skill, Summon Companion.

  “At last, the siege was broken, and Trapper’s team was saved, but our troubles had only just begun. Wraith was getting ready to destroy our turrets and the Dome, and Yussuf the Red was heading out from the Gilded Heights to end the war in person.

  “While the expedition raced back to town, Edge formed a bond with his new Companion, a golden fox named Rue. Before they reached the plains, Wraith made her move. Thanks to Sakura, only the northern turrets, the gate, and the Dome were lost, and she claimed Wraith’s life in the bargain. But that was enough to let the Claws launch a surprise attack on the settlement—led by the strike leaders Tiburón and Blaze.

  “I managed to send them packing with my trusty hammer, but Yussuf’s forces would arrive soon, along with the Claws who survived the brawl with Trapper’s team. The expedition was getting close, but the convicts arrived first, merging all three armies into one force led by Yussuf himself.

  “The prisoners attacked, and we began the final battle. Our people fought like hell, laying down their lives to protect our home, but there was no way we could hold out for long without the rest of our heavy hitters. Just before all hope was lost, the expedition made it back, including Edge and his friends.

  “After a fearsome battle where Skill-Eater nearly took control of Edge’s body and he had a vision of the big guy’s past, our forces killed Yussuf and the rest of the Claws, and the war was finally over. I lost an arm and a leg in that fight, but I would have given it all to keep Puppet Town standing. It looked like we were in trouble when a few hundred jailbirds arrived right after, but it turned out to be One-Eye and his friends who had escaped the Claws’ tyranny.

  “They told us about a stampede of undead beasts that was headed our way, which we needed to wipe out before they hit us like a sack of bricks. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as the last fight. Working together, we killed them all and picked up quite a few cycles for our trouble.

  “We thought our ordeal was in the rearview mirror, but the final chapter in book three revealed the stampede was just a taste of what was coming—an undead Kaiju that could create more minions at will. Puppet Town doesn’t know about them yet, or the mysterious pair behind it all, but it won’t be long until the next storm breaks over our heads.

  “And that brings us to the start of book four and the end of today’s recap. I hope you enjoyed our fireside chat and all of Edge’s adventures to come. That reminds me. Before I say goodbye, I have a favor to ask. If you are enjoying this series and want it to continue, please consider writing a review right now or mentioning Skill-Eater to your friends. A story lives and dies by its reviews, and we could really use your help.

  “Edge said to pass along a giant thank you to everyone who has already rated the series. Clicking those buttons is literally voting for the story’s success. We couldn’t do it without you and deeply appreciate the assistance. Anyway, thanks for keeping me company while I’m on the mend. Have a great day, and I’ll see you again in a couple of chapters.”