A few minutes after he stopped playing around with Shadow Play, Edge felt a familiar tingling behind his ribs, originating from inside his core.

  It meant his Rare skills were getting ready to hatch. The wind power he’d stolen from the goat monster would finish digesting first, and the Companion skill he’d Extracted from Roth would follow suit about half an hour later.

  When he stepped inside his central chamber, his avatars were already gathered around the eggs, which looked plain compared to the multicolored shell Sea had hatched from. Only a few seconds later, a hearty crack rang out. Fissures spread along the surface of one of the manifestations until the whole egg shattered and released the avatar inside.

  Wind Ward (Rare) has finished digesting.

  A whirling dervish emerged and went sailing into the air, setting Edge’s hair whipping around his face. Wind Ward’s avatar took the form of a miniature tornado that was filled with boundless energy. It zipped over to an empty socket and slotted itself, then went soaring over his village to inspect its new home.

  His skills chittered to welcome their new friend. Sea—who was dressed in her autumn colors—was ecstatic about the arrival of the wind-based power, since it matched her current seasonal manifestation. She took off and went gliding over to Wind Ward. After saying hello, she flew up to ride on top of the dervish, spinning around while giggling like a maniac.

  Chibime kept jumping up, using the tornado’s gusts to go sailing off toward the far side of the village before running back for another go. Edge was glad his Epic powers seemed to be getting along. They still weren’t buddies, but their natural animosity was slowly fading away.

  Since the skill was busy, he decided to wait to introduce himself until his avatars had had their fun. Instead, he called up his Guide to read Wind Ward’s description, supplementing the brief vision he’d received when the avatar slotted into its socket.

  Wind Ward (Rare)

  Wind Ward creates a powerful vortex when it detects an incoming projectile attack. This effect is triggered automatically. The ward is potent enough to destroy many missiles outright and strong enough to deflect even more. If for some reason a projectile cannot be deflected, Wind Ward will attempt to reduce its velocity instead. This skill has a cooldown of 1 hour.

  From his decades of watching the Prison World feeds, Edge knew triggered skills were extremely mana efficient. With Fear the Season’s elemental bonus, Ward would be even more powerful, protecting him from being sniped or hit with projectiles in battle. It was by no means a perfect defense, but because it worked against attacks that he wasn’t aware of, the ward could save his life in situations where he didn’t have a chance to activate Harden or move out of the way in time.

  Since Wind Ward had been rank three when he stole it, it came with almost enough experience to reach rank two. He Extracted a Common skill from the next beast that crossed his path and advanced Ward right away. He picked an upgrade that reduced its cooldown from one hour to five minutes, which was a fantastic boost to its combat utility.

  When the skill stopped glowing, the tornado was bigger and faster than before. After encouraging his other avatars to go play in his village, Edge spent some time introducing himself to Wind Ward and getting a sense for its personality.

  It was curious and mischievous like Shadow Play, but not nearly as pushy about it. After his breakthrough with Elemental Blade, he wondered how the whirling avatar would interact with the contents of his vault. It might come in handy if I need to stir or mix something over a prolonged period.

  When he was done saying hello, he spent a few minutes contemplating the newest addition to his skillset. Having an automated power was great, since it didn’t require mana unless it was triggered and wouldn’t count as using a skill combo. With that out of the way, all that was left was to try Wind Ward out and see what it could do.

  He walked over to a shady area where people were having lunch and asked, “It sounds weird when I say it out loud, but who would like to fire an arrow at me?” To no one’s surprise, Mel volunteered. She borrowed a bow from a curious Sasha while Edge moved to the far side of the clearing. The chatter died down as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  It was rather intimidating to be looking down the business end of a drawn bow with an arrow pointed straight at his heart. Since he was planning to Harden himself anyway, he wasn’t too worried about Mel’s aim, although the gleam in her eyes scared him a little. After he grew scales across the front of his body, he signaled that he was ready, and Mel let loose.

  Edge needn’t have bothered.

  Two feet before her arrow hit him in the navel, a vortex was born for a fraction of a second. A screaming barrier erupted into being as Wind Ward’s trigger condition was met.

  Combined with the elemental boost from Fear, the ward didn’t just deflect Mel’s arrow—it fucking obliterated it. Toothpick-sized fragments of wood went raining across the jungle, tapping as they bounced off the greenery—followed by the thwack of the arrowhead smacking into the side of a wagon.

  It was clear that Wind Ward could have stopped a significantly stronger attack, leaving Edge perfectly content with his new defensive skill. Everyone offered a round of applause, and he jumped back into his inner world, because his second Rare skill was getting ready to hatch.

  He crossed his central chamber and walked over to the egg while pondering what he’d learned about the power while Extracting it. He shuddered as he remembered the vile experiments being conducted in the tower chamber, then considered the conflicting impressions he’d received regarding the skill itself.

  The avatars living in Roth’s core had been repulsive on a fundamental level, including the one he had stolen. But when he’d tasted the skill while chewing it up, the sensations of loyalty and friendship he’d received had been far more pleasant. I don’t want to summon a giant centipede, but I have a feeling that I’ll wind up with something else.

  When he thought about where that feeling had come from, he realized his link with Skill-Eater had provided the insight. Just like his connection to his avatars, Edge’s bond with his core was growing stronger over time and affecting him subconsciously. In addition to its desire to devour Rare skills, some of the ravenous lord’s instincts and knowledge were coming through too.

  He had grave reservations about what that might mean given recent events. But in a magical world where skills granted superhuman abilities, having a deeper insight into how they worked was an invaluable resource.

  His musings came to an end when the egg shattered into fading fragments of light.

  What emerged wasn’t anything like what he’d been expecting, because the avatar didn’t have any form at all. It was ghostly and inchoate, occasionally forming the features of one beast before morphing into another’s. It’s like it hasn’t taken on its true form yet. There must be something unusual about its nature.

  After the skill locked into its socket, his Guide appeared and explained what was happening.

  Bond Guardian Beast (Rare)

  This is a quest skill. Once the quest has been accepted, you will be teleported to a biome where numerous beasts that are compatible with a Companion bond reside. You will have 24 hours to form a bond with a young beast, or you will fail the quest and lose the skill.

  Note: A Companion bond is a voluntary relationship that cannot be forced. Once a link is established, this power will transform into a Summon Companion skill, whose rarity is dependent on the specific beast you bond.

  Companion skills were normally awarded for completing quests in high-threat frontier regions. It seemed that while Edge had found a loophole in acquiring it, the System wouldn’t let him keep it unless he completed the accompanying quest. Although it was bound to be difficult, this was an incredible opportunity that he intended to make the most of.

  Companions started off weak, but they could eventually grow to become some of the strongest beasts on the planet—their evolution enhanced by the magic contained within the skill. Many Prison World legends had a Companion of one sort or another, and putting the time into raising one was guaranteed to pay off later down the road.

  He still had some time before they reached the Ivory Plains and was in desperate need of a vacation after his trip through the Savage Garden and Deep Gill-Grottos. So, Edge checked in with the expedition’s leaders to make sure there wasn’t a problem, then got ready to begin his quest.

  Since it involved forging a bond with a young beast who would be amiable to a Companion relationship, he decided to solicit advice from two beast-taming experts—Violet and Trapper. “By the death god’s bulging blue balls,” Violet stammered, “you found a Companion skill?”

  “Yes, I… wait. Back up. What did you just say?”

  “Sorry.” Violet blushed. “It’s a curse from where I’m from. All our swearing is unusually colorful, so I normally rein it in. But I wasn’t expecting you to say that.”

  Trapper looked almost as surprised. “I don’t normally do jealousy, but I must admit that I feel some now. Quagmire is the power I’d been dreaming about for years, and I still wake up smiling every day to have slotted it. But if I had to pick a runner up, it would be a Companion skill for sure. I used to fantasize about exploring the frontier with a Legendary beast at my side, especially one that could fly. Although I have to be careful not to say that in front of Blue, or she’ll never forgive me.”

  They chatted for a few more minutes, then got down to business. Over the next two hours, the senior hunters drilled everything they knew about bonding Companions into Edge’s head. “They’re not like other beasts,” Violet began. “The relationship runs deeper, and forming a bond is a lot more complex than making a good impression.”

  “Compatibility is vital,” Trapper explained. “Although if you can’t establish trust, they won’t pick you, regardless of anything else.” Edge thanked the women when the lecture was over, then got ready to head out. Since he was well rested and could see in the dark with his skills, it didn’t really matter what time he left.

  He doubted the System would teleport him back into a moving vehicle, but just in case, he climbed into the crew’s wagon before calling up his Guide and opening the questing menu. He’d only been teleported by the System once before and was eager to experience it again.

  “Here goes nothing.” Edge confirmed the prompt and braced himself—ready for anything when he reappeared.