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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 96: Lesson
🕑 Added 2024-09-05 17:01:01 +0000 UTCNow that he was done admiring her appearance, Edge ran his eyes across Sasha’s gear, curious to see what she was taking into the field today.
He started off by examining her weapons and armor. The hunter was carrying a long spear that doubled as a walking stick. A short bow was strapped to her back, along with a pair of quivers filled with arrows. On her left arm, Sasha wore a new shield made from what turned out to be diamondback leather.
When she noticed that he was checking out her equipment instead of her body, she told him about her new armor. “After getting my ass handed to me during the fight with the shadowreavers, I decided to upgrade my shield to something with better resistance to slashes and thrusts.”
After Sasha went through the rest of her kit, Edge told her about everything that he had on him, then they moved onto another topic.
“Before we head outside the walls, I should tell you about my skills, all of which are rank-two. I have flame imbuement, which lets me add a fiery aura to any of my weapons, including arrows or even my fists. Whenever I land a solid hit, the magic will spread onto my opponent, burning them until the mana runs dry or they manage to put it out.
“Next is shield bash, which I might eventually replace, once I fill my other slots. It creates a shockwave at the point of impact. It’s good for forcing an enemy back, knocking them off balance, or stunning them if I get in a solid smack to the head. And then I have this.”
Sasha’s core ignited and her words abruptly cut off.
Edge couldn’t hear her speaking, although her lips never stopped moving. I can’t hear myself either. He could still make out the town in the background, but not the hundred small sounds of his body in motion that he normally filtered out without thinking about it. She deactivated the skill and turned to look at him.
“Unlike a lot of stealth skills, I can use silent step while moving, without increasing the drain. The range is only as far as you’re standing from me. If I knock something over, you’re still going to hear it. But not the sound of my footsteps, breathing, or heartbeat. It also lets me fire off arrows without the twang revealing my position. It’s useful when stalking prey and helps me hide from anything that I’d rather not tangle with.”
Edge asked a few follow-up questions, paying close attention to her replies. Then he let her know about the skills that he had revealed to the crew so far, wrapping things up as they stepped through the southern gate.
“Like I mentioned earlier, today we’re hunting river rats, which use a different kind of stealth.” Sasha went into detail as they started walking down the trade road.
“They are almost impossible to spot with their skill on, unless you’re a perception specialist or are packing some manner of counter. Their meat is tasty, and their hides sell well for beasts of their size. The rats are a perfect target for today’s lesson, since you won’t be able to catch them unless you can track them to their dens first. I’m hoping that you can bag a few today, but either way, I’ll show you how to cook small game over a campfire. Which is something that every hunter needs to learn.”
Once they made it to the tall grass, they stopped talking so that they could focus on their surroundings. Their battle with the reavers had taken place near here, and the close call was still fresh in their minds. Besides, with the danger on the plains growing by the hour, they couldn’t afford to lower their guard once they were beyond the turrets’ range.
But on this occasion, fortune smiled upon them. They made it through the grasslands without encountering anything more menacing than a ground squirrel. It made for a pleasant change of pace, especially considering the company he kept.
It was a gorgeous morning. The sun was shining bright in the azure sky, and the breeze carried the heat away. A perfect day to get to know a new friend better.
After they passed through a final patch of grass, the river stretched out before their eyes. As they entered the wetlands, they stayed far enough away from the water that they didn’t have to worry about the skills of the aquatic predators lurking below.
Now that they had arrived at their destination, Sasha began teaching Edge about her specialty.
“Tracks can take countless forms besides the classic footprint. Dung, feathers, and hair. Cropped grass and territorial markings are all tracks too. Anything that reveals the existence of creature passing by and the direction it was heading.
“Locating tracks is an integral part of hunting. A lot of the time, you won’t be able to spot a beast unless you already know where to look. Even when you’re certain that they’re somewhere nearby, finding something that’s trying to hide in its native habitat can be challenging.”
He nodded along with her words, committing everything to memory so that he could ponder it later.
“It becomes even more complicated when it’s a creature that you’re not familiar with. But reading the signs that something leaves behind can mean the difference between life and death. Not to mention going home with a full cart versus emptyhanded. Some types of terrain will reveal far more than others. That’s why I’ll teach you how to anticipate where your prey will leave tracks based on trails, water, and available food.
“Which brings us to the final topic of today’s lesson. One of the benefits to understanding the traces that living creatures leave as they move through the world is learning how to reduce your own signature. To make it harder for beasts, monsters, and jailbirds to notice that you passed through an area, and tougher for them to home in on your exact location even if they do.”
Edge listened intently as Sasha continued to explain. While he already had an advantage in this area thanks to conceal, leaving less behind to begin with would only increase the skill’s usefulness.
“The first step is the most obvious and the most important. Watch where you step. You will always want to walk in places where you won’t leave a clear print on the ground. But that’s only the beginning. You need to be acutely aware of everything that you touch in passing, as well as anything that might drop off your body.
“Scuffed soil, a bent stalk, a broken branch. Any one of these doesn’t mean much. But two or more, heading in the same direction? You’ve just given away your heading. Some skills can track a target from a single hair or drop of sweat, and there isn’t much that you can do about it at your stage. But everything else can be reduced or eliminated, including your heat signature and scent.”
Sasha wound down a few minutes later. “That’s enough explaining for now. It’s time to flip the lens and apply the same logic to tracking your prey. I’ll give a single clue to get you started. See if you can follow the trail without any additional help.”
She pointed to a series of tracks in the mud, which belonged to a beast not much bigger than a standard Earth rat. They only went on for a few feet before the creature had moved to drier ground.
Edge bent down to take a closer look, memorizing the prints’ shape so that he could recognize them later. Those tracks aren’t enough to work with. There should be something else I can use. He swept his gaze across the region, looking for anything that the beast had left behind. Eventually, he spotted a small oblong pellet. That must be one of its droppings.
Sasha broke into a beaming smile when he found it, then she backed up to give him room to work. He tried looking at her to see if her gaze would give anything away. She had clearly anticipated the move and was already staring straight at him. Sasha stuck out her tongue before turning the other way, leaving Edge to track his quarry by his own instincts.
***
Edge came to a stop where the tracks disappeared, then pointed to a nest hidden by thick brush. Sasha raised her bow, took aim, and put an arrow right in the spot he had indicated. When the missile landed with a hearty thunk, a beast let out a shrill scream and expired a few seconds later.
When it died, the mana powering its skill dissipated, revealing the form of a river rat transfixed by the shaft.
As they went to collect the carcass, Sasha turned to him and said, “That makes five in four hours. You’re really starting to get the hang of this. I can tell that you already put several points into perception. But you have solid instincts for placing yourself into the mindset of your prey too. You’re quite good at finding and following tracks, at least for a complete beginner. A few months in the field and you should have the makings of a true tracker.”
“Thanks, you’re a fantastic teacher.” They were both getting hungry by this point, so they decided to break for lunch. As she had promised, Sasha lit a small fire and showed Edge how to cook the rat. She removed its skin and guts, then skewered it with a sharpened stick to grill the rest over the open flame. When the meat was golden brown, she cut it in half and handed it to him.
His eyes went wide as he took his first bite. As she had promised, the river rat was delicious, especially considering that she hadn’t added any spices. When they were done with their meal, she smiled and said, “That’s all the time we have for today. I have another appointment in town. We can either head back together, or you can keep practicing on your own.”
“I think I’ll spend a few more hours out here integrating everything that you taught me. Thanks for today, Sasha. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem, Edge. I had fun too. I’ll see you in the morning and we can pick up where we left off.” They shook hands before splitting the rest of their kills.
With that, Sasha began walking back to town. After watching her go until the grass obscured her figure, he wiped the grin off his face, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
While he did want to practice what he’d learned while it was still fresh, he had another reason why he wanted to stay. As he had hoped, the river rats were the same beasts that he had stolen conceal from while being chased by the reavers.
Edge was going to hunt enough of them to take the skill to rank-two before he called it a day.
