Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 5: Night Out

Edge still had some shopping to do, but taking care of the rest of his list could wait another day or two.

He had a few hours before he was supposed to meet everyone at the Pioneer, so he walked over to the public green to get in a midday workout. He’d made excellent progress conditioning his physical attributes by using Regeneration to accelerate the process, but he wasn’t finished yet.

He also wanted to practice using his weapons and skills—the ones that everyone knew about at any rate. Since his naginata was back in his room, he decided to focus on wind sprints to condition his Speed and training his technique with Elemental Blade.

He took off his shirt and put it into his pack, so that there would be one less sweat-soaked garment to wash after his workout. He got some cat calls and quite a few appreciative stares from the people camping on the grass, which reminded him just how much his new body had developed since waking up on Ord.

Edge realized that he was slowly getting used to the attention. The idea that most people found him attractive, and that nearly everyone in the settlement knew who he was after his battle with the shadowreavers outside of town, especially after Trapper’s crew had carried the garax’s head through the gate.

He started sprinting as fast as he could while enjoying the encouraging words that his audience sent his way. He pushed himself hard, only stopping to catch his breath and let Regeneration heal the damage to his muscles before bursting into motion once more. Two hours later, the message he was hoping for appeared.

By conditioning your body, your Speed has increased by 1.

Hell yes. Thanks, Regeneration. You really are the best. With his first goal complete, Edge moved on to skills training. He gathered his concentration and ignited his core, willing Elemental Blade to activate. A stream of mana went coursing out of his reactor, passing through his skill socket and into his arms.

A few seconds later, a subzero sword formed from blue ice crystals emerged from his hands—three feet long and radiating elemental might like the wrath of winter personified. He spent a couple of minutes admiring the lethal weapon before he took his first swing, reflecting on how much it had grown compared to the tiny dagger that had appeared the first time he’d used the skill.

In addition to being longer and sharper than ever, the iceblade had grown even colder. It put a chill in his bones despite the end of summer heat, billowing with frosty mist as it froze the moisture in the air.

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Edge’s sword was so powerful now that just holding it would have hurt him if it wasn’t for Regulate Temperature—the skill he had stolen from the padamas before the garax could finish the job. With it, the iceblade felt refreshingly chill against his skin instead of mind-numbing cold. It was a timely reminder of just how important it was to collect skills that synergized with one another.

He began moving the weapon through the air, trying to develop a sense of where it was in relation to his body at any given moment. He needed to control the blade as naturally as an extension of his own arm to use it to its fullest. Fortunately, there was an innate connection between a skill and its wielder, which made the iceblade easy to sense.

Edge started swinging, slashing, and thrusting while imagining a range of enemies attacking from all sides. Not his skill Slash, just the regular maneuvers that any swordsman would make. He put in a solid hour of practice before calling it a day. Then he waved to the people who had been watching him train, walked back to his room at Trapper’s lodge, and jumped into the shower.

He used Repel Water instead of toweling himself off, humming as the liquid came streaming out of his hair and off his skin, which left him completely dry within a matter of seconds. He changed into some of the clothes that he had purchased from Ann, then met up with Riller and Jumo in the common room. The men were excited to have a boys’ night out and they left not long after.

Twenty minutes later, Edge arrived at the Pioneer with Jumo and Riller at his side. Tonight, they were taking Mel up on her offer to get to know Earl and the deputies better. They crossed the front patio, which was already packed with patrons. Some of them were dancing, enjoying the live music provided by a band that was playing on a small stage.

Everyone else was seated at a table, talking with their neighbors while enjoying one manner of alcoholic beverage or another. Since he didn’t see the peacekeepers anywhere in the main room, Edge walked deeper inside the establishment.

He said hello to Sam, who was tending the bar, and asked him where he could find Earl and the deputies. The man pointed to a door in the back leading to a private room. When Edge walked inside, he saw Rita serving drinks and snacks at a large table with about twenty people sitting around it. He waved to Rita, who he had developed a rapport with after living in the building before joining Trapper’s crew, then cast his gaze across the boisterous assembly.

Edge nodded a greeting to Earl the Earthhammer. Earl was a late stage-two warrior and one of the most powerful people in town. Most people called him the sheriff, since he was the leader of the settlement’s peacekeepers. Earl was easy to spot in a crowd, since he stood a head taller than most of his associates.

Although he only knew a few of the deputies by name, Edge recognized most of them. From seeing them around town and in the guard station where he’d been training with Melenia over the last few weeks.

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The peacekeepers, who called themselves the keepers for short, were a colorful bunch. While a dozen of them were cored, many more were not. In addition to protecting the town, they helped to maintain order—everything from fighting fires and directing traffic, to helping people who were too drunk to navigate the streets by themselves find their way home.

Earl waved the hunters over to some empty seats on his right. “Edge, Jumo, Riller. I’m glad that you decided to join us. I’ve been looking for a chance to get to know you better, although as usual, Melenia is already one step ahead of me. Sit, have a drink, and unwind. Tonight is on me, so don’t worry about the cost and order whatever you want.”

Edge took a seat between Earl and Mel, while Riller and Jumo started flirting with some of the women they’d had their eyes on. He accepted a frosty bottle of beer that Earl handed him and took a long sip. Then he ran his gaze across the deputies sitting around the table, along with the weapons and armor hanging from the wall in case they had to deal with an unexpected problem.

Earl had everyone introduce themselves, then he listed the members who weren’t here—either on active duty or recovering from their injuries. Rather than trying to learn a bunch of names he wouldn’t remember, Edge focused on memorizing a few key players tonight, so that they would stick in his head.

He shook hands with Able, a man with skin so dark that it was almost black. Able had alert brown eyes and a ready grin. The man was Earl’s apprentice. Not training to be the next sheriff, although he was qualified for the job, but in the use of his earth-based skills.

Able wielded a massive stone war hammer that was almost as big as the sheriff’s. In contrast to Earl’s magitech weapon, which featured bands of glowing gemstone, Able’s hammer was pure rock—like someone had taken a boulder and driven a handle into it. It was an imposing instrument of mayhem that only a Power build could wield, and Edge was curious to see it in action.

Next came Spencer, the keeper’s quartermaster. Spencer was uncored, but one of the most valuable members of their team. Spencer’s mind was sharp as a blade, which is why he handled the keepers’ logistics and finances. By the time that Edge had finished his second beer, his memorization muscles were running out of juice. He tried to learn a few final names, before giving up and enjoying his night.

Biggs and Wedge were the keepers' resident crafters—responsible for maintaining their gear and building devices as needed. They were both cored and had some manner of crafting skills. Biggs was tall and lean, with fair skin and blond hair. He was a gregarious fellow, always laughing while sharing a story or cracking jokes. Wedge was short and squat. He had black hair, dark eyes, and was almost as quiet as Riller.

There was one more person seated at the table who Edge didn’t recognize. Earl introduced her as Tessa, the mayor’s personal guard. Tessa was good friends with Mel, and she seemed to know Earl well. She had short blond hair, bright yellow eyes, and lean muscles that suggested a build emphasizing Speed and Control. She was a quiet sort too, although she seemed to be having a good time.

With their introductions out of the way, Edge turned to chat with Earl, taking in the sight of the legendary warrior. The sheriff had dark skin, piercing green eyes, and a broad chest. Like Able, every inch of his body told a story of Power. He had a famously sunny disposition, unless you managed to get on his bad side. He was known to be a relentless defender of the weak and a brutal adversary to his foes.

Despite his fearsome visage, Earl treated everyone as an equal. They were all castaways stranded on a deadly magical planet, he explained, doing their best to survive and protect the people they loved.

As they started on a fresh round of drinks, Earl turned to Edge and said, “Your crew really went the extra mile on that last mission. Not only did you take out your target, you eliminated another giant predator that was even nastier than that lizard. Not to mention, exterminating a swarm of monsters before they could threaten the town and acquiring vital information that will help us to survive over the long haul.”

He reached over to pat Edge on the back. “Kudos. If Trapper hadn’t scouted you already, I’d be trying to recruit you right now. But since you’re already in a good spot to support the settlement, I’ll dial it back and butter you up instead. Even though we specialize in tackling different kinds of problems, I want you to think of the keepers as allies. We’re all in this together after all.

“If you ever need our help, all you have to do is ask, and I hope that sentiment goes both ways. We’re best at dealing with problems of a human sort. Having someone who can handle beasts and monsters at our side will be invaluable during the trying days ahead. That applies to the entire hunting community, of course. But your crew is one of the best, and I wanted to let you know just how much we appreciate the assistance.”

With that, Earl turned to speak with Riller and Jumo, while Edge chatted with Mel and some of the other deputies. They went on for hours, enjoying each other’s company, cold drinks, and good food. It was a fun night, full of laughter and warmth.

Everything got dialed up another notch when Earl ordered a round of Jenny’s brews for the table. After warning everyone to be careful to mind the stage-minimums, he handed Edge a bottle of stage-one and cracked open a can of stage-two for himself. Edge eyed the beverage with interest. He had heard of the infamous concoctions, but this was his first time trying one himself.

Jenny’s brews were some of the strongest drinks in town, designed to get cored individuals drunk despite their impressive physical attributes. He took an experimental sip, wincing at the bite before taking a longer slug. Not long after, he felt the alcohol hit him. He realized that he was weaving gently from side to side as he tried to follow the story that Able was telling. It was his first time being tipsy since arriving on Ord, and he was careful not to drink too much of the potent beverage.

There wasn’t much serious conversion past that point. Just a lot of joking and laughing, storytelling and games. Jumo had talked a muscular blond woman into dancing with him, and they seemed to be hitting it off.

Mel was especially friendly tonight, and her warmth was just a half step short of outright flirting. She was a beautiful woman, and Edge couldn’t deny that he was interested. But he wasn’t ready to date more than one person at a time, at least not until he had a better idea of where he and Sasha stood.

Either way, it was nice to have made another friend. Maybe one day, I’ll explore the attraction between us. But for tonight, he just enjoyed Mel’s company and tried to strengthen his relationship with one of the most important organizations in town. He did wind up dancing a few songs with her, resisting the temptation to let his hands wander as he led the muscular guardswoman through a series of dips and turns that had them both laughing by the end.

Riller wound up overdoing it. He was still early stage one and only had a bit more Durability than a regular person, which meant that downing two of Jenny’s brews wasn’t the best idea. He spent the last hour sleeping with his head on the table before they called it quits for the night and Jumo and Edge carried him home.

All in all, it was a great day. Edge had upgraded his gear, raised his attributes, and made a solid connection with Earl and the deputies. His head hit the pillow with a smile on his face and he was out like a light two minutes later.