Edge was planning to keep both of the Rares that were almost finished digesting. However, if he wanted to make that happen, he needed to free up another skill slot first. Fortunately, he had a way to solve that problem if he was willing to merge three of his powers into a single skill.

  He’d been pondering the matter ever since finding the Triple-Merger Token and had eventually come up with an idea that seemed promising. This solution was far more appealing than Absorbing some of the powers in his collection to make room considering how much work it took to strengthen the bonds with his skills.

  That being said, he wasn’t going to risk three of his foundational powers unless he knew the merger would work. His backup plan was to Absorb Leap or Sense Treasure, but that was a measure of last resort.

  In short, it was time to check in with Skill-Eater and hope his core could shed some light on the matter. Edge had some misgivings about what had happened while stealing skills from Ella and Roth, but he was hoping to move past it and was willing to give the mysterious entity dwelling inside him the benefit of the doubt.

  When he stepped into his core, Skill-Eater was already awake. The bound giant still slept most of the time, but after evolving to stage two, his core’s slumber wasn’t so deep, and it occasionally woke up even when it wasn’t time to eat.

  Edge walked over to the black door and knocked. “Hey there, big guy. Sorry about our heated disagreement down in the caverns. Even if we don’t always see eye to eye on which skills we want to steal, I value your opinion and appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I popped in to chat because I was hoping you could offer some expert advice. I’m considering using a token to combine Shadow Step, Conceal, and Leap, but I wasn’t sure if it would be a smart play.”

  He could sense there was still some friction between them, and for a second, he thought Skill-Eater wasn’t going to answer. But then the heavy door cracked open, and the ravenous lord’s booming voice echoed across his central chamber.

  “Listen closely, my scion. This is a good opportunity to impart a valuable lesson about the nature of my ultimate ability, Skill Bond.

  “Strengthening your bonds with your skills can enhance their performance, but that is the least of what these relationships can do. Once you have established friendship and trust, soliciting your avatars’ assistance can alter the behavior of their powers, which you have already learned.

  “However, their relationships with each other are equally important. Powerful bonds will increase the synergy between skill combos and facilitate mergers that wouldn’t work out well otherwise. The avatars you named trust you and have developed an affinity with each other. Using that token too soon would have created an inferior power, but now it should result in something far more… palatable.”

  “Fascinating, thank you. Wait, was that a skill-eating joke?” Edge sensed his core’s amusement as the bound giant was dragged back into the depths of dream by an army of clinking links, then he shook his head and focused on the task at hand.

  Now that he was certain the merger would work, he was ready to proceed. He decided to ask the avatars for their permission before using the token—just to make sure they knew their opinions mattered.

  He gestured to the murky man that signified Shadow Step, the invisible hunter that embodied Conceal, and the pair of legs representing Leap. Once they had gathered round, Edge got down on one knee and pulled out the token.

  “First, I wanted to thank you for your help. All three of you have all saved my life more times than I can count. More than that, using you is amazing. You guys let me do things I could only dream of before, and I enjoy hanging out with you in here.” The avatars danced and chittered, letting him know the feeling was mutual.

  “Today, I’m planning to merge the three of you into something new. Before I use this token, I wanted to make sure that you are okay with that idea. If not, I’ll figure out another solution, but I have a good feeling about this merger and would love to give it a try. You guys are good friends, so I was hoping that getting even closer would be all right. What do you think?”

  Edge could tell the avatars understood what he was asking, which was a promising start. The trio moved off to one side, discussing the matter between themselves. When they returned, they began bobbing in agreement. They seem excited by the idea. What a relief.

  Now that he had cleared the final condition on his checklist, he held the emerald token up to the light and voiced his decision to the System. “I want to use this token to merge Leap, Shadow Step, and Conceal.”

  When the last word left his lips, the green disk floated up from his hand and over toward the avatars. As always, the device started spinning as it went to work. The magic released was more intense than any token he’d used so far—except the Mutation Token, whose magic had felt far more chaotic.

  Brilliant clouds of swirling energy emerged from the Triple-Merger Token and engulfed the avatars bouncing below. The potent energy came in three distinct hues—brilliant blue, fiery red, and pristine white. They flowed around each other faster and faster until the colors began to blend, mirroring the merging of the avatars hidden within the cloud.

  Meanwhile, a fierce buzzing filled the air—like a swarm of bees was only moments away from descending upon his head. The process reached critical mass a few seconds later, and then the magic dispersed all at once.

  Instead of three distinct entities, a single figure emerged from the swirling fog. The pair of legs, invisible hunter, and murky figure were gone. In their place stood a shadowy being that was almost as tall as Edge.

  As he received a vision of how the new skill worked, his Guide appeared to make the merger official.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Congratulations. The skills Leap (Common, Rank 3), Conceal (Uncommon, Rank 4), and Shadow Step (Rare, Rank 3) have successfully merged into a new skill.

  The defensive bonus from Leap, the trail-erasure and mana-masking bonuses from Conceal, and the gear-transformation bonus from Shadow Step have been preserved.

  Because the component skills were unusually compatible, this skill will begin at Rank 1, allowing for the maximum number of upgrades.

  Your new skill is: Shadow Play (Rare, Rank 1)

  Transform into shadows. In this state, your body is malleable and immune to physical attacks. The cost of transforming your gear is greatly reduced.

  While in shadow form, you may jump with explosive force without consuming additional mana. Additionally, you will emit no scent or heat signatures, and your mana signature will be muted. Visually, you will appear to be a faint shadow that blends in well with most environments.

  On activation, the last 25 feet of your trail will be removed and your Durability will increase for 10 seconds

  It’s starting at rank one? Edge danced in delight. Fucking awesome! That will give me more control over the direction of the skill’s development and make it stronger in the end.

  All of that was incredibly exciting, but before he began analyzing his newest power, he turned to regard the avatar standing in front of him. He realized it was mimicking his movements, like he was staring into a mirror.

  Unlike Conceal and Shadow Step, Edge could see Play’s features clearly, like it was made of roiling black smoke contained within a thin glass shell. It took the form of a beast hunter—complete with a backpack, toolbelt, and a naginata that bore a striking resemblance to his own. Through their link, he could sense a powerful personality and an intelligence comparable to Mental Fortress, which made Shadow Play smarter than any of its components.

  He had a hunch that the avatar could be just as stealthy as Conceal if it wanted, but it saw no reason to hide right now. While the increased size and detail were considerable changes, the biggest difference was the avatar’s personality.

  Edge raised one hand, and the shadow man matched his movement. Then he waved, spun in a circle, and performed a backflip. When the avatar tried to copy the stunt, it fell on its ass and began to laugh, nodding as if conceding Edge had won that round.

  He wasn’t sure what to make of the newest member of the team, but he stuck out his hand and said, “I was good friends with your parents, and I’m thrilled to have you here.” To his surprise, the avatar reached out and clasped his hand, giving it a firm shake.

  Like Leap, Playful Darkness was friendly and curious—eager to interact with Edge and the other avatars living inside his core. After he introduced himself, the shadow man ran off to join the other powers in the village. It started working on combining its parents’ homes into something new between rounds of various games.

  The enthusiastic avatar was a good match for Chibime, and it was clear they were destined to be friends. However, Play’s aggressive exuberance was a bit much for Sea. She flew over to perch on his shoulder, chittering with skepticism while pointing toward the dancing shadow.

  “He seems cool, so please give him a chance. He might be trying a little too hard, but once everyone gets to know each other better, I bet he chills out.” Sea shrugged but seemed mollified. Edge shrugged back, then moved onto the next part of the process—contemplating the differences between his new skill and the powers he’d merged to make it.

  Unlike All-Seeing Gaze, Shadow Play wasn’t modal, which meant all its components were active at the same time. The downside was that using it would be more expensive than Leap or Conceal had been, but the advantages were worth it. And that didn’t include the pair of skill slots the merger had freed up, which was a massive upgrade in its own right.

  Edge would have to run some tests to learn the details, but he knew a fair amount from the vision that had accompanied the merger. The combined skill retained its components’ core functionality, including the upgrades he had chosen for each. But that wasn’t the whole story. Shadow Step’s upfront cost had been dramatically reduced, making it feasible to use it in short bursts as often as he wanted.

  The drain for leaving it running had gone up, but not nearly to the same extent. With his current Generation, he could leave Shadow Play on without draining his reservoir, although it would slow his rate of refill to a trickle. Once he talked the matter over with the avatar, he hoped he could work out the same agreement he’d had with Conceal. That would let him keep Shadow Play running while he was asleep, enjoying a level of protection that was even better than before.

  While there were a few disadvantages and some differences in functionality, the merged skill was hands-down superior—especially since he could use all three components at once without paying for a skill combo.

  Being able to move while Concealed, having his mana signature muted while in shadow form, and being invulnerable to physical damage while Leaping resolved major weaknesses of the original skills. Combined with the Durability bonus and malleable body, his shadow form was considerably more powerful than before, and it would only get better when the skill hit rank two and he picked his first upgrade.

  That only left one matter to consider before he was ready to move on. I’m still going to call using the different aspects of Shadow Play Leaping, Stepping, and Concealing. I’ve been thinking about them that way too long to change now, and I refuse to refer to all three actions as “Playing.”

  He still had a few minutes before his Rare skills hatched, which meant he could squeeze in a quick test drive now. When Edge stepped back into his skin, he let everyone know he was trying out a new skill and activated Shadow Play.

  He was thrilled by how little mana it cost to activate, considering how many benefits this form now provided. One difference that jumped out at him right away was that while the world still appeared to be made of fog, the creatures in his environment no longer looked washed out while in shadow form. This will make it easier to scout from Concealment.

  His body no longer felt unnaturally light, which made him wonder what would happen when he took Play to rank three, but that was a matter for another day. With the perceptual test out of the way, it was time to evaluate his mobility.

  Since using the Leap component didn’t cost extra mana anymore, there wasn’t a reason to hold back. He picked a direction at random and took off in a flash, passing straight through the overgrowth that stood in his way.

  He Leapt every time his feet hit the ground, angling his body to build up incredible speed within a short span of time. It drained a bit of mana to move through so many solid objects, but he could squeeze through narrow openings without slowing down.

  When he turned around and headed back toward the expedition, even the elite hunters had a hard time tracking his position thanks to the Concealment aspect of the skill. Except for Tessa, whose mana-sensitivity let her home in on his presence with unerring accuracy. That’s a timely reminder that while this skill makes me hard to spot, it isn’t perfect, particularly if someone already knows I’m in the area.

  That just left him with one last test to run. It was time to find out how easy it would be to launch an attack from shadow form.

  He pulled his naginata out of his vault—noting that the cost of retrieval was a little higher while transformed, then Leapt and deactivated Play in midair, Double Slashing as his feet hit the ground. Bolstered by the momentum of his jump, the dual blades passed straight through the trunk of a tree with minimal resistance, sending it crashing to the ground.

  Edge broke into a beaming grin—immensely satisfied with his newly merged skill. I think I’m in love. Shadow Play is a winner after all.