[Skill-Eater 2] Chapter 107: Setna Fie

The threat was punctuated by the chill of steel pressing against his throat. Edge didn’t sense any Disruption running through the blade and could Shadow Step away if he wanted to. Instead, he let his polearm fall to the ground and went perfectly still.

A convict would have slit his throat rather than issuing a warning, which could only mean one thing. When he glanced down at the arm holding the knife and saw that it was free of prisoners’ tattoos, he knew his hunch was right. He had finally found one of Puppet Town’s missing hunters.

“Who are you, and what are you doing in the Savage Garden?” She held the knife so tightly that if he sneezed, he would sever his own jugular.

He tried to relax and keep his tone friendly. “My name is Edger Vasher. I’m the newest member of Trapper’s crew working out of Puppet Town. Dialla and Earl sent out an expedition to conquer the dungeon and rescue Setna’s crew. I’m guessing by the lack of ink on your forearm that you’re either Setna or Ruby—one of the people we came here to find.”

He was ready to prove his identity by answering any questions she had. But as the woman lowered her knife, she stumbled and collapsed. Edge caught her by the arm and lowered her to the ground, taking in the image of an emaciated, grime-covered hunter.

It was clear at a glance that she was a powerful warrior, and since she didn’t seem to be injured, he suspected that malnutrition and sleep deprivation were the cause of her impairment. He removed some provisions from his pack after moving her into the shade.

When the woman woke up, he handed her the food, which she wolfed down in a few seconds flat. He pulled out some more and gave it to her, along with a small slice of mana berry, since it was clear that her reservoir was running on fumes.

It turned out that she was Setna after all. In between bites, the hunter told Edge her story.

She shared the full account of finding the dungeon, losing her friends, and surviving by the skin of her teeth during the desperate weeks that followed. There had been bridges connecting the islands when her crew arrived, but they had collapsed when the boss’s chamber was sealed. It had taken everything she had to scrounge enough food while avoiding the powerful monsters roaming the city, praying that she could hold out long enough for help to arrive.

During her better days, Setna had been collecting clues as to the boss’s nature, hoping to take her revenge on the creature that had killed the crew who had become her new family.

Edge was shocked to learn that she had discovered an account left by the people who lived here, although it had decayed into fragments long ago. A monster called the Gardener had been responsible for the destruction of this city, before being sealed away by the handful of people who had survived its wrath. Most remarkable of all, she believed that the Gardener was still here, lurking behind the sealed door.

The rest of this was only speculation on Setna’s part, based on the dynamics of the dungeon. After the System arrived and completed its conquest of Ord, the planetary AI had formed a dungeon around these ruins and the monster trapped within, promoting it to boss status in the process.

The Gardener was unable to break free from the wards that had caged it for centuries or more. But from time to time, an elite monster decided to challenge its supremacy, providing the boss with enough sustenance to survive. While all of this was interesting on some level, it was a deeply concerning development. If monsters like the elites I’ve fought couldn’t kill the Gardener, just how powerful is it?

From the clues Setna had pieced together, the boss had a deadly skill with multiple facets, providing a range of powers that shifted with the turning of the seasons. Unfortunately, she hadn’t discovered anything that could be considered a weakness.

While she finished her tale, Edge took his turn, starting with the expedition arriving at the dungeon and the attack of the Crimson Claws, and ending with his attempts to conquer the Savage Garden solo.

Setna was deeply impressed by everything Edge had accomplished. She was shocked when he told her about the elite monsters he’d killed and outlined his plan to take out the boss. She had lost most of her equipment during a desperate battle, so after showing her what he was carrying, Edge gave the hunter two of the knuckle spikes he’d taken from the elite ape, which she could use like a pair of oversized brass knuckles.

She had a surprise for him as well. On the days that she had scrounged enough food to exert herself, Setna had been working on clearing the conditions for obtaining a powerful skill—a secret that she had learned long ago from a quest reward but never expected to use.

Setna hoped it would be sufficient to kill the Gardener and get revenge for her fallen friends, and had been planning to follow the Claws into the boss’s chamber, then take her best shot when an opening appeared.

He had a hunch that there was something she wasn’t telling him. That using the skill came with a heavy price. But she was willing to pay it, and he needed her help, so Edge didn’t try to dissuade her. She was in the final stages of acquiring it now and hoped to finish the job before the boss’s chamber unsealed. But one way or another, she was adamant that she would join him for the final fight.

Now that Senta had enough to eat and a full tank of magicytes, she was strong enough to survive on her own for a while longer and could make it across the river when the time came. After spotting the hydra, she had picked up the supplementary quest to kill the elites and would receive notice when the bone slime died.

They agreed to meet on the last island as soon as the way was clear, then battle the Gardener together. Edge bid Setna farewell and moved onto the next island as his final hours in the dungeon trickled through his fingers like a hand grasping the sea.

***

As it happened, Edge had even less time than he’d thought. Only a few hours later, his Guide appeared with a notice from the System.

The final component of the supplementary quest, Open the Boss’s Chamber, has been completed and the entrance is no longer sealed.

The jailbirds finally defeated the bone slime. While he hoped that the battle had been hard fought, he suspected that the Claws’ casualties would be light after making such extensive preparations. The instant the message faded away, he sprang into motion.

He needed to return to the final island, meet up with Setna, and then head inside before the jailbirds beat him to it. Edge abandoned stealth and began skating across the water, arriving on the shore of the isle half an hour later.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that the flying serpents had dispersed. That’s one less problem to worry about. While he waited for Setna to arrive, he walked over to the entrance to the boss’s chamber, hoping to get a sense for the terrain by peering past the threshold. There wasn’t a fog door, just a gap between the thorny bamboo where the boulder had sat. It made him wonder about the wards trapping the Gardener inside, before dismissing the matter as inconsequential.

Ten steps before Edge reached the place where the dungeon’s walls opened, a voice rang out from the branches of a nearby tree.

“I knew that I would find you scurrying below once the chamber unsealed. You’ve led me on one hell of a chase over the last few weeks, but I’ve finally managed to catch you.” With that, a man leapt down from the branches, blocking Edge’s approach.

Shit. This is bad. He could tell right away the convict was trouble. Stage two, somewhere between middle and late.

The man had a patch covering his left eye and a latticework of scars running across his face. His forearms were covered in the markings that all jailbirds shared, but they only represented a fraction of his ink. Every inch of his skin was covered in intricate tattoos—the most extensive full-body artwork Edge had even seen.

Every tattoo was a masterwork—beautiful renditions of demons and monsters. Given the eyepatch, this must be One-Eye—the jailbird who’s been tracking me across the dungeon.

Since the man hadn’t attacked yet, abandoning a prime position for an ambush no less, Edge used the opportunity to take the measure of his foe. His instincts were telling him this was a deadly opponent—an enemy who would destroy him if his concentration lapsed for even a fraction of a second.

One-Eye was armed with a pair of machetes with wide ends that tapered as they approached the hilt. Those are designed to catch limbs and sever them. He was wearing dark leathers that blended with the foliage, and the end of a long bow protruded from behind his back.

Every move One-Eye made told Edge that this man was an old friend to violence. That he had fought and killed so often it had become a way of life, rather than a deliberate act. In addition to having the advantage in cycles and attributes, the convict was certain to have high-rank skills at his disposal—not to mention thousands of hours of combat experience that made Edge feel like a novice by comparison.

He couldn’t afford to fight the battle-hardened hunter. If he found an opening to run past and enter the chamber, he would take it, even if it meant leaving Setna behind. But after looking into the man’s eye, he was certain the move would be anticipated and countered.

I might be able to get past him, but I’ll have to create an opening first. Making a bad situation worse, Edge couldn’t afford to waste mana or blow through too many of his consumables. Anything he used now would be removed from the equation when it came time to face the Gardener, and he already had deep doubts that he could win that fight on his own.

It meant that as anxious as he was to break through before the rest of the jailbirds arrived, he couldn’t afford to be hasty. A single mistake would either kill him outright or leave him in no condition to battle the monster lurking beyond the threshold.

The worst part was that the One-Eye knew it. The hunter had the advantage in power, experience, and terrain. He only needed to draw this out to win, not defeat Edge outright, especially with the rest of the Crimson Claws headed their way.

The only advantage Edge had was the element of surprise. He doesn’t know what skills I have, or how many I can use. It’s the only reason he’s still talking. He’s hoping that I’ll give something away before pressing the attack.

As it happened, this analysis was completely off the mark—a truth that was revealed when One-Eye said, “There’s only one way that you’re getting past me…” He lowered his weapons and grinned. “You’ll have to ask me nicely.”