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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 57: Apple
🕑 Added 2024-07-22 17:01:01 +0000 UTCAs soon as the hunters were out of sight, Edge sat down on a barrel and summoned his Guide, watching as the mote of golden light detached from his chest and went darting around his head.
He pulled up his menus with a command, the speck of radiance centering itself within his view before flattening to form a screen. He had wanted to check out his updates as soon as the battle was over, but it had been more important to get behind the walls as quickly as he could.
As he had been hoping, there was a fat pile of notices awaiting his perusal.
Congratulations, you have evolved to stage [1] and your cycle has reset to [0].
For defeating a cored opponent stage-two or above, you have earned 1 mortium.
You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle-up your core. Your new cycle is [1].
You have three attribute points awaiting allocation.
By conditioning your body, your durability has increased by 1.
By conditioning your body, your endurance has increased by 1.
All of that was good news, and in line with his expectations. But the next block of text was something that Edge hadn’t been expecting. He kept on reading, experiencing several contrasting emotions by the time he reached the last word.
You have accomplished a notable feat and have been awarded a trait.
Trait: Wanted.
You have found one of the 21 unique cores in existence and have broken the first seal. Your actions have not gone unnoticed, and someone just painted a target on your back. In fact, checking out the bounty board is probably something that 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. This trait might help you live just a little longer, but I’m not holding my breath.
Effects: + 10% to endurance, durability, and disruption (minimum gain of 1).
That can’t be good. I mean this trait is awesome, but something is definitely wrong with the System. Although most of its functions seem to be working the same as usual.
He let out a long sigh. That bit about the bounty board is downright fucking ominous. But I’m not going to worry about it until I’m cleaned up, have a hot meal in my belly, and get a real night of sleep for the first time in days.
Edge still needed to check out his profile. But that could wait until he wasn’t ravenous and wearing stinking rags. He would spend his attribute points later too, after he had taken care of his other needs and could think the matter through with a clear head.
That left him with one last matter to consider. The one that he’d been avoiding until he was safe behind Puppet Town’s warded walls. The vision he’d received when he evolved to stage-one, culminating in a conversation with his core, Skill-Eater.
Don’t think about how bizarre and menacing the situation is right now, Edge. Just objectively list the pros and cons, then figure out a way to deal with everything calmly and rationally.
On the plus side, you not only managed to survive, you’ve obtained a core and evolved, just like you always dreamed. You finally have a fighting chance against most of the beasts roaming the plains. Better still, you have two ultimates. The best you’ve ever heard of.
On the slightly less than plus side, your core is alive. It’s apparently some kind of talking kaiju that ate your heart and who’s own is now beating inside your chest.
He was trying to brush it off, but it didn’t work. In that moment, the full realization of what had happened hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut. His life had changed in the blink of an eye, in ways that he couldn’t even begin to understand. He had bound his fate to something other, an incomprehensible being with its own agenda.
Edge sighed and lowered his head between his hands, wondering what the future would hold. What in the world is happening to me, and what in the hell am I supposed to do about it?
“Sorry to interrupt such masterful brooding. But you look like you could use an apple.”
“What?” He turned to look at a woman sitting on the next barrel over, whose arrival he hadn’t noticed until she spoke. She appeared to be somewhere in her early twenties, with alert yellow eyes and medium skin.
“This.” She gestured to the fruit in her hand, speaking slowly for emphasis. “Is. An. Apple. You look like you could use one.” She tossed him what did indeed appear to be a shiny red Earth apple.
Edge thought about telling her that he already knew what an apple was, then decided to let it go. While the woman was a bit strange, he was starving and the apple looked good, so he just shrugged and took a big bite.
He chewed and swallowed, savoring the delicious sweetness as the juice broke over his tongue. He devoured the fruit in less than a minute, core and all. He was still licking his fingers when the woman smiled and continued to speak, as if they were well acquainted instead of complete strangers.
“Now,” she said. “How do you feel?”
“Actually, I think I feel a tiny bit better.”
“Glad to hear it. Friendly bit of advice. When life seems overwhelming, don’t think about your situation as a whole. Break the problem down into the smallest possible steps and take them on one at a time.”
“Oh, and if you decide to go hunting on you own, I recommend that you head north and target a jobo. One male in particular. It has an injured paw and can’t use its combination strike, so it’s only got leap. It should be a lot easier to take down than any of the rest. I’ll send the coordinates to your Guide.”
Edge was having trouble adjusting to the rapid change of topics. But the part of his brain that was still in working order pricked up at those words. That is honestly an ideal target if that info pans out.
“Err.. thanks. For the apple, the advice, and the tip.”
“Don’t mention it. We need each other to survive what’s coming.”
Edge was about to ask the woman who she was and what she meant. But she abruptly hopped off the barrel, disappearing into the crowd before he could voice the question.
He wasn’t sure what to make of the bizarre encounter, but it had pulled him out of his ruminations. Which was a good thing, since he wasn’t ready to face the fact that his core could talk. That it had another form and a will of its own. That Edge had struck a bargain that he didn’t understand.
So instead of pondering any of that, he took the woman’s advice and turned his attention to something far more pleasant. The next small step that he needed to take. Earning some credits for the first time since arriving on Ord.
