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[Skill-Eater] Chapter 110: Lesson
🕑 Added 2024-09-25 17:01:01 +0000 UTCEdge dove out of the way, narrowly avoiding the shot as the missile went whizzing past his ear. By the time that he reoriented on his opponent, Trapper had already reloaded her crossbow and was getting ready to fire again.
He knew that darting from side to side was a losing proposition. She was going to tag him with a bolt sooner or later. Instead, he charged straight for the agile hunter, trying to weave unpredictably to make himself harder to hit.
There were bound to be more traps buried out here. But there was nothing that he could do about it other than trust his instincts and be ready to dodge at a moment’s notice. The world fell away as he narrowed his concentration, focusing on the ground by his feet and the woman who was trying to perforate him.
Edge was able to evade the next two shots, closing half the distance between them in a flash. But the next time that his foot came down, he felt the soil open beneath his boot. He realized that he had just stepped into another trap—a pitfall this time.
His rear foot was still on solid ground, so he pushed off it and jumped while he had the chance. He was certain that there was another trap ahead of him too, so he aimed for the rim of the pit, where there wasn’t room to place another device.
By now, Trapper was locked and loaded again, taking more time to line up the shot since he’d managed to dodge the others.
Edge ducked and spun, trying to keep his feet where he’d already stepped, so that he didn’t walk into another trap. His respect for the hunter multiplied in that moment. Just the possibility of them being in the area is limiting my movement and reducing my options. Trapper is a terrifying opponent once she’s taken control of the field.
She had only begun to ramp up the pressure. Instead of firing, the hunter tracked him with her weapon, drawing his attention while waiting for him to make a mistake. Edge wasn’t about to go down so easily. I need to close the distance while I still can. He resumed his charge, every scrap of his concentration devoted to watching the finger that was curled around the trigger.
The instant that he saw the muscles in Trapper’s hand begin to flex, he dove to the ground—the bolt passing so close to his head that it tore his hair in passing.
Edge tried to tuck in one shoulder and roll. But the naginata got in the way, nearly causing him to lose the fight in that instant. A bolt grazed his leg and struck the dirt beside it. Only his armor kept it from opening his flesh along the way.
At that point, he tugged the release on his harness and abandoned his weapon. It wasn’t well-suited for this kind of fight, and he needed to use his full range of motion. “A wise decision.” Trapper nodded in approval. “That polearm is isn’t good for getting up close and personal with another warrior, although its brilliant for hunting beasts and fighting as part of a formation.”
As Edge rose to his feet, he jumped again, aiming for a bale of hay beside the hunter that was unlikely to be trapped. When she saw him coming, Trapper dropped her crossbow and drew the slender silver sword sheathed at her hip, raising the tip to track his form.
At this point, he realized that he had a problem. There wasn’t any way that he could defend himself against a sword with his bare hands. It was time to start using his skills.
He ignited his core, mana streaming into his palms as Edge activated elemental blade. Fog-shrouded ice met gleaming metal as Trapper’s sword caught the subzero weapon and deflected it to one side. He noticed that she was careful not to let them touch for longer than a heartbeat. She must be worried about the cold conducting through the metal. I’ll have to remember that.
He hopped down from the bale and kicked some loose hay into her face, buying him enough time to assume his stance. He knew that Trapper was far more skilled in close combat than himself. His only chance was to keep her off balance and rely on his skills to make up the difference.
Since his reservoir was far larger than before, he was able to keep his iceblade manifested as they traded a series of blows. The only time that Edge came close to scoring a point was when he combined slash and elemental blade for the first time in the fight. But Trapper stopped the combo cold only inches from her face.
That was when a powerful gust of wind hit him in the chest, as the hunter unleashed a skill of her own. It only pushed him back a few feet, but it caught him by surprise and left him unable to dodge.
She lunged, the point of her sword catching the meat of his shoulder and digging deep. She followed up with a blindingly fast roundhouse kick, trying to clip his chin and rattle his brain. Edge stepped back and ducked beneath the blow, his eyes never leaving her body.
Ann let out an enthusiastic whistle, and Trapper looked impressed too. “Very good. Most people would have been distracted by the painful wound. You’ve already learned how to stay focused on your opponent no matter what else is happening.”
They traded another series of strikes. By this point, Edge was certain that she was holding back. That she could have taken him down but was testing his limits instead. Trying to find out what he was made of. Trapper drove him back with another gust of wind, shoving him into a section of the yard that he hadn’t passed through before.
On his way back, he was forced to use leap to avoid falling into a spike-lined pit. “Hah. I knew that you had something in reserve. Smart to keep it to yourself. A mobility skill will come in handy both on and off the battlefield.”
Edge gritted his teeth and growled in frustration. Even though this was just an evaluation, he wanted to score at least one point before they were through.
That was when he saw a gap in Trapper’s defense. The sun was shining behind his falling form. She had to avert her eyes or be blinded by the light. He shadow stepped the moment that his boots hit the ground—the world turning into smoke and mist as he flowed around a haybale to come at the hunter’s blind side. The same move that the shadowreaver had used when it nearly killed her.
As he got into position to strike, he heard her say, “Not this time.” In that same moment, mana came surging out of Trapper’s core, releasing a pulse of energy that felt different from any skill that he’d seen before.
When it broke over him, it forcibly deactivated shadow step. Something that he hadn’t realized was possible until that moment. Edge found himself in a solid state once more, with the hunter’s blade pressed against his throat hard enough to draw blood. He froze in place and raised his hands in surrender.
“That was a good move. But even the best move isn’t going to work if your opponent knows it’s coming. After almost being taken out by the reavers, I thought long and hard about what to do to counter that kind of power.
“That was called a disruption pulse. It’s incredibly mana intensive to pull off without a specialized skill. But if you have enough Disruption, you can expand the field around your body for an instant, canceling the skills of your enemy if they’re weak enough.”
Trapper removed the sword from his neck and slid it back into its sheath with a metallic rasp. “That’s enough for today. I think you understand what fighting another skill-user is like. You did remarkably well, considering how long you’ve had that core. Once you take it through a few more cycles and have a chance to rank-up those skills, you’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
She picked up her crossbow, watching on with interest as regeneration healed the cut on his neck. “Let’s head inside and eat lunch, then we can let Ann get back to work. Ann, if you would be so kind as to share your own observations while we eat, I’m sure that Edge would benefit from them.”
“Sure thing, Trapper. Just watching that scrap was enough to work up an appetite. I brought an apple pie for dessert. Jumo already put it in the refrigeration unit.”
“Apples?” Trapper asked with interest. “Where in the world did you find them? They don’t grow on Ord as far as I know, and the anomaly cut off all shipments from Earth.”
“There is a girl who comes into my shop from time to time who sells them. I have no idea where she gets them, but they’re genuine and absolutely delicious.”
When Ann stepped inside the lodge, Edge stopped Trapper with a hand on her shoulder. “There’s something that I wanted to talk to you about while we have some privacy.”
He went on to reveal the existence of conceal, since Sasha already knew that he had it. It meant that he would have to keep entangle and double strike hidden, which suited him fine. He told the same story he’d used with Sasha, claiming that he’d picked it up from the mortium exchange. Sasha was right, Trapper was thrilled to learn that Edge had a stealth skill, as it was an ideal power for hunting.
This led to an impromptu lecture. “Before I forget, I should let you know how contested skills work. When two competing skills are at odds with one another, say your conceal and my sense life, which one wins is determined by a number of factors. First and foremost is skill rank. A rank-one skill is going to lose against a rank-four skill in almost every situation.
“But if they’re closer in power, it becomes more complicated. A lot of it will come down to how you go about using them. For example, covering yourself with mud would make conceal more effective against a skill that detects heat, but it wouldn’t help much against sense life. On the other hand, if you were hiding inside the hollow of a tree, it would be harder for me to sense you.”
While he thought the matter through, they went inside to eat lunch. When he stepped inside the building, he found the whole team seated around the table.
It was Edge’s first chance to interact with the crew as a group, and he quickly decided that he liked what he saw. He smiled at some gentle teasing, encouraging words, and the clear affection between them. He realized that just like the crafters at the Forge, Trapper’s crew was a family. One formed through choice rather than blood.
He learned that the others had been watching through the windows while he dueled with Trapper, and each of the hunters had some tips to share. While they discussed his performance at length, Violet brought in a steaming pot from the kitchen, and they started to eat.
The main course was a thick vegetable stew, with tubers and spices that Edge couldn’t even begin to identify. It was tasty and filling. He helped himself to seconds before helping to clear the table.
Then it was time for dessert. Ann’s pie was every bit as wonderful as promised. It made him curious about the girl who had provided the apples, since he was sure that she was the same person he’d met shortly after arriving in town.
They chatted for a while after their meal, then Ann and Edge left the lodge after saying their goodbyes. He stopped by Izzio’s to buy some dried meat to take into the field, only to learn that his latest haul had already sold.
Since he had enough credits, he walked over to the Consortium’s store to buy a few more items for his kit, including a replacement stink bomb and an extra change of clothes. He also picked up a pair of gloves and some boots that were far more comfortable than the pair the wardens had given him at the start of his tutorial.
Edge spent the rest of the night conditioning his body and practicing with his naginata on the green, along with some skills training with slash and elemental blade.
Then he stopped by the common room of the Pioneer to eat dinner—chatting with Rita and Sam for an hour or so before heading up to his room. He decided to pass out early, ready to give it his all tomorrow, since it was his last chance to improve before his exam.
When he opened his menus, he saw that his training with Trapper had been valuable in more ways than one.
By conditioning the connection between your body and brain, your perception has increased by 1.
By conditioning your body, your reflex has increased by 1.
Wearing a satisfied grin, Edge stretched out beneath the covers and closed his eyes. He was out like a light only five minutes later.
