The chains of oblivion parted the skin of Edge’s wrists.

  He felt cold metal, warm blood, and a flash of pain as the living links surged forth. They crossed the distance like they’d been fired from a cannon, plunging into the beast’s shattered shell before diving into the core beyond.

  Vigor was the true prize, but he needed to pick the other skills he wanted to steal. His consciousness flowed through the onyx loops, and after a moment of disorientation, he found himself standing in a mist-shrouded jungle that was strikingly different from the Sweltering Green.

  The trees were wrapped in golden bark that shimmered with metallic highlights. The canopy formed from their sky-blue leaves blended into the heavens above. The rest of the foliage was just as exotic—resplendent with the magical manifestations that made life on Ord unique among the planets humanity had surveyed.

  The terrain didn’t match anything Puppet Town’s hunters had discovered in the bordering biomes, which meant this was a part of the uncharted frontier. Edge committed the details to memory in case they came in handy later, then turned his gaze to the skills dwelling inside the matriarch’s core.

  He spotted Vigor right away, which looked like electric cherry warpaint in the outline of a beetle. Responding to his will, the chains stalked the avatar while he considered his other options.

  As the living links chased the avatar around the insect’s inner world, he examined each of its powers in turn. He didn’t have any empty skill slots, and there wasn’t anything that called to him regardless. It meant he only needed to worry about claiming the rarest skills he could find to advance the powers in his collection.

  Edge could sense that the beast’s other aura—the one that boosted the penetrative power of the swarm’s mandibles—was Rare, so he was definitely stealing that one. For his final Extraction, the juiciest option was the high-rank Uncommon that turned the bugs into bombs.

  By this point, Foebinder and its unnamed twin had cornered Vigor. They struck in a flash, engaging the avatar in a vicious battle before yanking it out of the creature’s core and tossing it into his mouth.

  He had eaten this power once before, but there were subtle differences in the flavor due to its rank and the path its bearer had chosen. Vigor tasted like speed and strength—like pushing past his limits and overwhelming his foes.

  The beetles’ variant was spicy and sweet. As the exquisite flavor broke over his palate, he sensed that the beast had upgraded the aura to prioritize efficiency when used on multiple allies at once.

  The avatar fought back, resisting the relentless onslaught of his teeth and gums. But with Overdrive turbocharging Warlord’s Mantle, he quickly subdued his prey.

  Edge swallowed the skill when it dissolved, warming his throat as it slid into his core.

  You have extracted the skill: Vigor (Uncommon, Rank 5).

  Digestion is complete.

  Would you like to slot Vigor now?

  Under other circumstances, he would have been tempted to keep it. He wasn’t sure how stacking a merged aura with one of its components would work, although his instincts were telling him that it would be considerably less efficient. Better than Mantle alone, but less than the sum of its parts.

  But with the kaiju on its horde on the way, taking Warlord’s Mantle to rank four was far more important than experimenting with Skill-Eater’s magic. Puppet Town’s warriors needed the protection the aura offered along with boosting their attributes. Besides, I don’t have an open slot right now. I’ll run some tests after I reach stage three.

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  With a mental command, Vigor flowed into his reactor—consumed by the realm of endless flame that lay beyond its bulbous grill. A stream of skill experience flowed back out and suffused Mantle’s avatar.

  Absorbing rank-five Vigor was a massive windfall that filled over half of his avatar’s cup in a single go. Since he had enough time to finish the job before the stampede arrived, Edge decided to put the experience from the other two skills into a power that was on the cusp of hitting rank four—Elemental Blade.

  He didn’t mind paying two Mortium for a high-rank Rare with his current stockpile of lifecoins, so he stole the other aura next. The avatar had a sharp taste with a blend of earthy notes. He had to fight to break it down, but with the boost from Overdrive, he was able to prevail.

  He leapt back into his body to claim his final skill, digesting it just as his ultimate cut-off. The great engine went still, sinking into the abyss as a midnight wave of exhaustion tried to carry him away. He collapsed, watching from the ground while Lilly landed a finishing blow on the frozen matriarch with a bolt between the eyes.

  He must have spaced out for a second. When the leaden tide of lethargy receded, the crew was headed his way, completing the hunt while he was dazed.

  “Welcome back.” Riller grinned and helped Edge to his feet.

  Sasha pulled him in for a quick kiss, then brushed the dirt off his back. Ann gave him a tight hug—arms trembling with adrenaline. The woman had gotten more than she’d bargained for during her first hunt with the crew, but she had held up well, and he was deeply impressed.

  “That was ugly,” Trapper said while everyone tended to their wounds and stowed their gear. “The closest call I’ve had in a long time. “I’m sorry. I should have prepared us better.”

  “That wasn’t your fault.” Violet placed a hand on her old friend’s shoulder. “It’s impossible to predict the appearance of an unusual skill variant no one has seen before. Hunting beasts is never safe, and we all knew there would be risks involved in tackling prey above our stage.”

  “Not that I’m complaining,” Jumo chimed in. “But what the fuck just happened? While Overdrive never ceases to amaze me, I didn’t think Edge had a Disruption skill. Even if he did, I’ve never heard of a power that can create a dome of antimagic or sustain a surge for so long.”

  Everyone turned to look at him, so Edge explained the breakthrough he’d made, using the great engine’s magic to fuel his diffuser instead of his reactor. By the time he reached the end of his account, Lilly was licking her lips. The gleam in her eyes told him what she was thinking before the first word left her tongue.

  “Your core is so. Fucking. Fascinating. Your inner world is more vibrant and versatile than anything I’ve ever heard of. Please, let me…”

  “You can run some tests,” he cut her off with a weary grin. “But it will have to wait until we deal with the horde.”

  Lillian was so excited by the prospect of cutting him open and experimenting with Skill-Eater that everyone began to laugh, letting out some of the tension from their close call. After releasing Rue from his den and assuring Blue that everyone was all right, Edge helped the crew separate the beetles’ shells from their remains before stepping inside his core.

  Absorbing the matriarch’s third skill had filled Blade’s cup to the brim. The crystal sword was shimmering with transformative magic, which meant one of his favorite powers was ready to advance to the next rank.

  “Well done,” he congratulated his old friend. “Hold that thought, and I’ll be back soon.”

  Although the exhaustion had passed, he was still feeling spacy and wouldn’t be able to focus for a while. He wanted to consider his options carefully before pulling the trigger on such an important decision, so he stepped back into his own skin, helped the crew collect the chitin, stored as much as he could inside his vault, and loaded the rest into the wagon.

  On the way back to Puppet Town, Edge called up his Guide and read through his updates.

  You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle up your core. Your new cycle is: 38.

  You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle up your core. Your new cycle is: 39.

  You have 10 attribute points awaiting allocation.

  He chatted with the crew while pondering how he wanted to spend his points. He wasn’t the only one who had made some considerable gains. The other hunters had picked up quite a few cycles and advanced several skills during the fight.

  He decided to put four points into Disruption, picking up one more thanks to the bonus from his trait. He wanted to get more oomph out of his scythe, and more antimagic was always a solid pick in a world filled with lethal skills.

  I’ll put the rest into Amplification. Strengthening my powers will make a bigger difference during the fight with the kaiju than boosting my physical stats.

  Edge voiced his decision to the System, enjoying the soothing calm that came over him as the potentia enhanced his diffusor before spending the rest of his points.

  He hadn’t noticed early on, but now that he was attuned to the core smoldering behind his ribs, he could tell that more Amplification made his reactor burn hotter in addition to building up the conduits running to his skill sockets.

  By the time the crew had dropped off the load of parts, bid farewell to Lilly and Ann, and made it back to the lodge, Edge was ready to upgrade Elemental Blade.

  He stepped into his core—excited to take another big step along his path to power and improve one of his core skills in a fundamental way.