MagnusGrey
patreon
[Skill-Eater] Chapter 97: Conceal
🕑 Added 2024-09-06 17:01:01 +0000 UTCEdge walked along the wide swath of open ground bordering the river, keeping one eye on the water and one on the land.
After being ambushed by the shadowreavers not far from where he stood, being in this sub-biome made him nervous. But he had a compelling reason not to give into his fear— upgrading one of his most valuable skills.
Besides, he wasn’t the same person he had been only a few short days ago. If Edge ran into something nasty out here, he should be able to handle it.
He took one last look around, then turned his attention to the task at hand. After his lesson from Sasha, he was certain that there were plenty of river rats residing in the region. Before he was forced to head back to town by the setting sun, he intended to hunt at least three of the stealthy beasts and max out [Extraction] for the day.
On that note, he soon spotted another trail— a long line of prints in the mud leading toward a towering bush covered in fat purple berries. The tracks cut off well before entering the foliage, but it was enough to point him in the right direction.
As he followed the markings to their source, Edge ate a few berries while pondering the nature of his prey.
Although many beasts grew larger and more powerful to survive the dangers of Ord, there were plenty of smaller creatures too. Beasts who used the planet’s magic to persist in other ways, such as hiding, running, or flying away. Critters who specialized in deception, speed, or stealth, instead of bulging muscles or deadly attacks.
Carnivores were more prevalent on Ord than most inhabitable planets, but there were still countless herbivores and scavengers filling other niches in the ecosystem. Though there were numerous species of giant insects, especially out on the frontier, ones the size that Edge was used to from Earth still pollinated the plants, and tiny worms helped form the soil.
While plenty of small critters could punch above their weight class, the beast he was hunting was relatively harmless. River rats were omnivorous scavengers that kept themselves alive by remaining undetected.
Given the nature of conceal, he wouldn’t be able to rely on his senses to bag his quarry. Edge would have to use his head instead, combining what he’d learned from Sasha with what he’d discovered from using the skill himself.
Although he didn’t have a bow to finish them off, the rats couldn’t move with conceal active, at least not at rank-one. They would freeze in place when they sensed him drawing near instead of trying to run, relying on their power to remain hidden. If he didn’t give away his intentions and struck without warning, he could land a hit before they knew what was happening.
On that note, he came to a stop and scanned the bush in front of him, looking for the creature’s den. After a few minutes of observation, he spotted a nest made of loose sticks and leaves. It looked empty at a glance, but Edge was certain that its owner had already noticed his arrival and activated its skill.
He stepped closer without looking at the nest again, trying not to tip his hand that he’d managed to home in on his quarry. Once he was standing beside the beast’s hiding spot, he raised his foot and brought it down hard. While the crude technique might fail five times out of ten, it was good enough for today.
When he slammed his boot down, instead of meeting empty air, there was a squishy crunch, followed by a squeal of pain. The instant that the rat lost focus, it dropped conceal, and its furry form wavered into existence. Stunned and suffering from organ damage, it was helpless to resist his chains.
Edge activated [Extraction] and sent the living links slithering into the creature’s chest. They wormed their way into its flesh before entering the core beyond. In what was becoming a familiar experience by this point, he found himself standing inside the creature’s core. Since the beast was early stage-one, it only had a single skill, the one that he’d come to steal.
His chains swept the core’s interior until they made contact, then wrapped tight around something that was nearly invisible. All he could see was a faint patch of distorted air, like air rising from a hot stone. The skill was helpless to resist as they pulled it out and tossed it into his mouth.
Just like the last time, he couldn’t feel conceal on his tongue at all. Sorry. That’s not going to work. He closed his lips tight and kept right on chewing. Eventually, his teeth connected with something solid, reducing the skill to goo in a single bite.
The taste was so faint that he could barely appreciate it. Just a hint of an impression of small spaces that appeared empty to the eye. When he swallowed and the skill entered his core, a message from the System appeared.
You have extracted the skill: Conceal (common, rank 1).
You already have this skill in your collection.
Its power will be added to your existing skill.
Without further fanfare, the new skill flowed across his garden to merge with its twin, filling its cup about a third of the way to the brim. Good, that’s just enough experience to make this work. Edge judged that if he [Extracted] two more copies today, it would be sufficient to let conceal advance to rank-two.
On that note, he spotted another trail that was visible from where he stood. He followed it to a hollow below the root of a tree— a narrow enclosure that was just big enough for a rat to fit. Then he raised his boot and got ready to repeat the whole process again.
***
Two hours later, Edge found his third victim. After stunning it and activating [Extraction], he found himself standing inside the river rat’s core.
He noticed that even when a beast’s core revealed the same environment, there were subtle differences. The first rat’s inner world had featured the riverside more prominently. The second was filled with a sunny patch of grass, and the third was covered in bushes laden with ripe berries.
He wondered if these images represented the creatures’ homes, or perhaps their favorite places. He was curious why there was such a stark difference between the inner worlds of beasts and men. Not to mention his own unique situation.
Lacking any way to solve the riddle at present, Edge shrugged, returned to his body, and started to chew.
As he had hoped, when he finished eating his third copy of conceal, it was enough to advance its rank. After he was drawn inside his core, the skill began to glow, and an update from his Guide appeared.
The skill (conceal) has advanced to rank 2.
Its mana efficiency has been enhanced.
Please choose between one of the following options:
1. When you activate conceal, the last 25 feet of your trail (scent, tracks, & heat signature) will be erased. Choosing this option will give conceal an up-front mana cost in addition to the drain while it’s active.
2. You can move slowly while concealed without losing its protection. The mana drain while moving will be significantly higher than while stationary.
3. You may extend the effect of conceal to another person if you are touching them. This will double the drain of keeping the skill active.
Warning: if no option is selected, your skill will remain as it is and gain a slight bonus to mana efficiency.
He pondered the matter for a while before coming to a decision.
In the end, Edge chose option one. Erasing his trail would be a major upgrade, preventing enemies from homing in on his location using conventional means, even if they suspected that he was nearby. It would let him hide on short notice, making conceal far more effective when setting up an ambush or attempting a quick escape.
The movement option had been tempting too. But he could already use shadow step to reposition without drawing attention to himself if he was willing to spend the mana.
After he confirmed his choice, the skill began to change, momentarily becoming visible. When Edge took a closer look, he realized that it was a tiny version of himself, hiding in a patch of grass. As he watched, conceal became transparent once more. It soon reached the point where he couldn’t spot it at all, even when he was staring right at it.
The only reason he could tell that it was still in his skill garden at all was his energetic connection to it. A bond that let him feel his powers like they were living extensions of his own body.
That was when he realized that he had another update awaiting his perusal.
By conditioning the connection between your body and brain, your perception has increased by 1.
Awesome. What a perfect way to wrap up a hunt. Immensely satisfied with his upgrade, Edge snapped back into his skin and continued about his day. He collected the river rat’s remains, then decided that it was time to head back to town and cash in his haul.
