Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 3: Shopping Spree

With a spring in his step, Edge started walking toward the commercial district, heading for the first stop in his impromptu shopping spree.

Change was in the air as he made his way through the settlement, as its residents came to grips with their dramatic change in circumstance. They were still grappling with the fact that they were stranded on Ord. That their old bodies were dead and gone, and this world was their home for the foreseeable future. But after Dialla’s impassioned speech, most of them had realized that if they wanted to survive, they needed to adapt to living on a planet that was growing more dangerous by the day.

Since the anomaly had transported Puppet Town to the far side of the globe, along with the rest of the Ivory Plains, all trade with the outside world had ground to a halt. The settlement was in the middle of converting its various industries to be completely self-sufficient, and its services were shifting gears to match the town’s evolving needs.

There were still plenty of people shopping in the district— both inside the stores and at the merchants lining the streets. Everyone still needed to eat and purchase the goods they used in daily life. But there were far more armed individuals than before, and he’d heard that people were buying weapons and armor at an unprecedented rate.

Most forms of entertainment were still in business, although the ones catering to puppet tourism and the Prison World feed had either closed their doors or gone in a new direction. The bars and restaurants were just as busy as ever, and it seemed like they would survive the town’s transition.

While he walked, Edge pulled up his profile, taking in the explosive growth he had undergone over the last few weeks.

Personal Statistics: Edge Vasher

Attributes (Values in parentheses are provided by your traits)

Physical Attributes

Power: 6 (7)

Endurance: 5 (6)

Durability: 13 (14)

Reflex: 9

Speed: 12 (13)

Control: 8 (9)

Perception: 7

Energetic Attributes

Generation: 13

Amplification: 11

Disruption: 7 (8)

Physical Conditioning (Attribute points may be conditioned up to five points each)

Power: 3

Endurance: 4

Durability: 5

Reflex: 4

Speed: 2

Control: 3

Perception: 3

Core Information

Name: [Skill-Eater]

Stage: 1

Cycle: 15/21

Rarity: Unique

Category: Unique

Attribute points per cycle: 3

Ultimate Abilities

[Extraction] <active>

Uses per day: 3

Cooldown period: 24 hours

Steal the skills of monsters, men, and beasts and claim them for your own.

[Overdrive] <active>

Uses: 1

Cooldown period: 1 week

Overdrive increases your Amplification by (10 x stage) for thirty seconds. Activating skills will not require mana during this period. You will be severely exhausted for thirty seconds after Overdrive is complete.

Core Traits

Collector (Unique) <alternate advancement>

You can no longer acquire or rank up skills through normal means. You may slot twice as many skills as before. Additionally, you will gain an extra skill slot with every new stage.

Devourer (Unique)

You may absorb an unwanted skill, freeing its slot and granting a fraction of its experience to the skill of your choice. Be advised, the return on this exchange is significantly less efficient than extracting a duplicate of an existing skill.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Skills

Skill slots: 11 (Unused slots: 0)

Slash (Basic): Rank 2. Path: Penetration.

Empower an attack with a bladed weapon. The edge of the weapon will be magically sharpened while the skill is active.

Conceal (Common): Rank 2. Path: Erasure.

Erase your scent and heat signature while you remain still. Visually, you will appear to blend into your environment. The last twenty-five feet of your trail will be removed on activation.

Entangle (Common): Rank 2. Path: Resiliency.

Create burrowing vines to bind your target. The vines are resistant to cuts and tears.

Leap (Common): Rank 2. Path: Assault.

Jump with explosive force. Increased Durability for ten seconds after activation.

Double Strike (Uncommon): Rank 1.

Create an offset double of any melee attack.

Elemental Blade <ice> (Uncommon): Rank 1.

Create a subzero blade of ice.

Harden (Uncommon): Rank 1.

Cover target portions of your body in diamond scales.

Regeneration <limited> (Uncommon): Rank 1.

Rapidly heal wounds. Limited Regeneration cannot restore organs that are completely destroyed.

Regulate Temperature <passive> (Uncommon): Rank 1.

Gain significant insulation against temperature change.

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

Repel Water <versatile> (Uncommon): Rank 2. Path: Repulsion.

Push large volumes of water away from the user. The shape of the repulsive field can be altered at will.

Shadow Step (Rare): Rank 2. Path: Armored shadow.

Transform into shadows. The cost of transforming your gear is greatly reduced.

Intimidating Roar (Epic) is being digested.

Traits

Trait slots: 3 (Unused slots: 0)

Triple Tap

You are either a genius, blessed by the heavens, or are the luckiest motherfucker on the planet. You managed to win a fight against three opponents at least one stage higher than yourself and—more or less—landed the killing blow on each.

Effects: +10% to Power, Speed, and Control (minimum gain of 1).

Wanted

You have found 1 of the 21 unique cores in existence, which has painted a target on your back. In fact, checking out the bounty board is probably something you should do sooner rather than later.

There’s a good chance that this is going to end spectacularly badly for you, and I can’t wait to watch it all play out. This trait might help you live a little bit longer, but I’m not holding my breath.

Effects: +10% to Endurance, Durability, and Disruption (minimum gain of 1).

Big Game Hunter

Holy shit. That. Was. Fucking. Awesome!

You managed to score a kill on a colossal and behemoth creature, all in the same afternoon. I’m shocked to my circuits that you’re still breathing and loved every second of the show.

I hope that you try something that batshit crazy again soon. Here’s a trait that should incentivize you to do just that.

Effect: 50% more damage with weapons and skills to creatures at least twenty times your size (excluding magitech weapons, traps, and spellshots).

25% extra Perception when sensing creatures at least twice your size.

Implants

Heart-Guard (Common)

Size: Small (1 implant point). Aether type: Silver. Charge: Empty.

This implant generates a barrier to protect the heart when it detects incoming damage.

Auxiliary Skill Slot (Uncommon)

Size: Small (1 implant point). Aether type: N/A.

An auxiliary skill slot can be used to socket an extra skill beyond the limit of your core. The skill placed in this slot cannot gain experience, cycle up, or be merged or altered in any way, although it can be Absorbed and replaced with a new skill at will.

This is a passive, structural implant. As such, it does not require an aether charge to function.

System Currency

Credits: 105,060

Mortium: 1

Amazing. Not only had Edge progressed to the middle of stage one faster than anyone he’d ever heard of, he had an epic skill digesting in his core. In eleven days, Intimidating Roar would be his to command, granting him an incredible power that was certain to be useful on the long road ahead.

However, only the last two items of his profile mattered at the moment. After getting paid by the mayor for the crew’s latest job, Edge had more Credits than ever, and a single Mortium to his name. He planned to spend them all before the week was out, upgrading his gear to mirror the growth of his cycles and skills.

Not long after, he found himself standing in front of one of the biggest stores in town, Ann’s General Goods. He stepped through the door and waited for his eyes to adjust to the lower level of light. He spent a few minutes browsing the rows of sundries and supplies, then started walking toward the long counter running along the back wall of the building.

Behind the register was one of Edge’s favorite people—Ann, the owner of the establishment. Ann had a famously sunny disposition, although he had long-since realized that she was far more formidable than her persona implied. She was brilliant and perceptive. Fit and toned. Able to tackle situations considerably more dangerous than the day-to-day aspects of running her store.

Ann had flowing hair the color of honey, drawn up in a thick ponytail. Baby blue eyes, a button nose, and round features. Today, she was wearing a white dress with embroidered grass running along the hem, which made her look like she was standing in the middle of the Ivory Plains.

They hadn’t spoken since he had left on his mission to hunt the padamas, which had wound up being even more dangerous than the crew had expected. The first thing Ann did was rush out from behind the counter to give him a bear hug that creaked his ribs.

“Edge, I was hoping that you would stop by sometime soon. I already heard the news but seeing you still alive and kicking with my own eyes helps me breathe a bit easier. It seems that you ran into more than you bargained for out there.”

“That may well be the understatement of the century. The padamas was bad enough. I never expected to take on a behemoth, not to mention a swarm of monsters.”

Ann let out an appreciative whistle. “I still can’t believe that your crew took out a stage-three beast. That’s amazing. It was just a few weeks ago that you walked in here as a coreless tourist, and now you’re well into the middle of stage one. At this rate, you’ll hit stage two before I know it and will be counted among the town’s heavy hitters. But enough about the future. What can I do for you today?”

Edge smiled as the cheerful woman stepped back behind the counter. Talking to Ann always put him in a good mood. “Well, I was mostly here to see you. But now that you mention it, I could use some extra clothes, since I go through them crazy fast in the field. I’m willing to pay a bit extra if you have anything that’s unusually durable. I could also use some basics—rope, a bar of soap, insect repellant, and maybe another hat. This one is starting to fall apart.”

Ann called one of her assistants to gather the requested items. Then Edge asked Ann to activate her Privacy Bubble. Her core ignited, and a dome of mana spread out from her position. When it crossed his body, all sound from the outside cut off. Now that they were shielded from prying eyes and curious ears, he leaned in close and said, “I was also hoping to use the downstairs bathroom. Some of those monsters were stage two.”

Ann’s golden eyebrows went up. Edge had just given her the code requesting to use Lilly’s Mortium exchange, which was located in a secret basement below the store. “It will be working again in a day or two. I’ll send a message when it’s ready, but you’ll have to tell me the full story of your hunt sometime soon.”

“It’s a deal.” With those words, they summoned their Guides, and he paid for his order. Now that he had concluded his business, he spent a few minutes chatting with Ann and enjoying her company, learning more about what had happened in town while he was away.

It turned out that the changes he’d observed were only the beginning. In addition to revamping their various industries, the residents of Puppet Town had been incentivized to start ranking up their skills and engage in combat training, even if they weren’t interested in joining the peacekeepers or militia.

Edge was relieved to learn that the settlement’s leaders were taking the rising threat seriously. Now that the Ivory Plains had been transported to the frontier, the magicytes in the region were growing thicker by the hour. Greater concentrations of magical energy would allow high-stage beasts and monsters to migrate into the biome, which Trapper’s crew had found out the hard way during their last mission.

When he was done catching up, Edge bid Ann farewell. He put his purchases into his pack and continued with his day. With supplies out of the way, it was time for the good part, commissioning some brand-new weapons and armor.