Now that Edge had met Intimidating Roar, who would henceforth be known as Chibime, the next item on his list was to conduct a strategic review—a practice that Lilly had taught him while they were clearing the maze.

  The goal of the review was to internalize each power and piece of gear at his disposal, so that he could pick the best tool for any given situation without having to stop and think.

  Edge was about to bid his skills farewell and return to his body, when inspiration struck. Since I’m here already, I might as well run through the review from inside my core.

  It would save precious seconds thanks to the time dilation, and he might be able to deepen his connection to his powers during the process. With that goal in mind, he walked into his skill garden and turned to face his collection.

  “This still feels a little surreal, but could I please have your attention? Gather round, everyone. I have some important information to share.”

  To his surprise, his skills were happy to agree to his request. Everyone floated, rolled, or walked over to where he was standing, looking up at Edge with what appeared to be genuine curiosity as to what he was going to say. He sat down, since most of the avatars only came up to his knees, then began his assessment.

  “I don’t know how aware you are of what’s happening in the outside world, but I’ve gotten myself into quite a predicament. I’m not going to sugarcoat the matter—we’re in a tight spot right now. Not only are we trapped inside a dungeon filled with monsters that are way above my stage, we’re being hunted by some bad people. On top of everything else, we’re locked in a race to defeat the dungeon’s boss with the lives of my friends and the future of my new home hanging in the balance.”

  His skills seemed shocked by the revelation. Double Slash walked over and hugged his arm, while Elemental Blade emanated a menacing hum, letting Edge know that it wasn’t going down without a fight. The phantom man representing Shadow Step waved its arms in a manner that he thought was intended to be encouraging.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve been backed into a corner more than once, and it’s too soon to throw in the towel. The flip side of the situation is that the monsters in the Savage Garden have some amazing skills. Killing them will provide a ton of experience and help Skill-Eater cycle up in record time. If we can live long enough to evolve to stage two, expand my skillset, and power you guys up, we just might have a chance. And remember, we’re not in this alone. We have the big guy in our corner.”

  Edge turned to face the black door, which led to the storm-swept coastline where had witnessed Skill-Eater’s true form.

  “I know that all the high-rank powers out there are making you hungry too. We’re at the bottom of the dungeon’s food chain right now, but if we play this smart, we won’t be standing there for long. I’m going to use your power to climb my way to the top, take out the boss, and eliminate any convicts that get in my way.

  “This kodoku jar is the ultimate training ground. I’m going to evolve and grow strong enough to solo the Savage Garden, no matter what horrors I must overcome along the way. I know that you’re weak right now. So, rest up and save your energy. I’m sure that a situation will arise where I can’t prevail without your help. Until then, you can leave it to us. Right, guys?”

  His skills began bouncing around—each showing their support in their own way. Then, for just a second, he felt the giant slumbering within him open one eye before drifting back to sleep. In that moment, Edge could sense Skill-Eater’s approval at his resolve and respect for his ambition. While it was bizarre and somewhat frightening to have the ancient entity dwelling inside him, it was reassuring to know that he didn’t have to face this ordeal alone.

  Remembering how Regeneration had been able to regrow his hair after Edge explained the situation, he decided to treat his skills as allies going forward—full members of the team. He would ask for help when he needed it and learn everything that they were willing to teach him.

  If anything he said was beyond their understanding, no big deal. On the other hand, if he could strengthen their bonds, he had a feeling that his skills would help him in ways that he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

  He had never heard of someone using their skill garden like this. He wasn’t sure if it was a byproduct of Skill-Eater’s influence, or if other people had stumbled onto the technique but kept the secret for themselves. Somehow, he had a hunch that the truth lay somewhere in between.

  Whatever cores and skills really were, there was a deeper level to this world this that didn’t appear on the feed. The secrets behind Ord’s magic, the System, the wardens, the Prison World broadcasts, and the lost history of the planet were all mysteries that were worth pursuing. But they were ultimately matters for another day. Right now, Edge needed to complete his review, then return to the dungeon and find a way to survive long enough to set his plans into motions.

  “With the pep talk out of the way, I’m going to go through the powers and tools at my disposal. I’m still learning to use everyone instinctively, so I thought talking it through might help. Plus, if you can understand how I’m planning to use you, maybe you can help me in ways that I haven’t considered. Feel free to do your own thing after I call your name, although if you want to stay and learn about each other, that would be awesome.”

  Edge was surprised by how attentive his skills were. If anything, his powers seemed even more aware after Intimidating Roar had joined the team. They occasionally glanced over at Chibime like the Epic skill was helping to translate, although it wasn’t actually saying or signing anything as far as he could tell.

  “At stage one, there are eleven powers in my skillset, plus whatever I happen to have in my Auxiliary Slot at any given moment. I’ve placed them into rough categories, although some of you fit into more than one. On offense, we have Double Slash and Elemental Blade. Both of you are amazing and work well with my naginata, although any bladed weapon will do in a pinch.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Double Slash has more raw destructive power, but the cold from my iceblade is a fantastic disable—not to mention one hell of a distraction. Comboing you together is expensive, but it makes for a great surprise attack or finishing move.”

  The stone statue of a man holding a doubled naginata and the hovering crystal sword had come closer while Edge was speaking. It was hard to be sure, but the skills seemed to agree with what he was saying.

  “On defense we have Harden, which lets me coat my skin in diamond scales. I need to activate you before I get hit, but once I do, my body becomes tougher than steel. Harden is an amazing layer of protection for a reasonable cost, and I plan to rely on you heavily over the days ahead.”

  The scaled forearms representing Harden floated away at that point, but the rest of his skill avatars were still gathered in front of him.

  “On sustain, we have Regeneration, which lets me heal almost any injury if I have enough magicytes in my tank. You’re fast with cuts and bruises, even mending bones, but repairing organs and restoring missing blood takes a lot more time. It’s always best to avoid taking damage, but when I mess up, there’s no skill that I depend on more to get me back on my feet.”

  The beating heart clenched for a second before resuming its normal rhythm, in what Edge thought was the skill’s equivalent of a fist bump.

  “These next three are more complicated. Shadow Step combines defense and mobility. It makes me invulnerable to physical damage and lets me move through small spaces, although it can’t protect me from magical attacks. I need to watch out for Disruption pulses, or you can get canceled at a critical moment. Leap is faster, cheaper, harder to counter, and grants a temporary bonus to Durability when I land.”

  The shadow man and the pair of legs danced in a circle while he spoke.

  “The next five all do different things, but you all offer utility in one form or another. Regulate Temperature helps me deal with heat and cold—both extreme environments and elemental attacks. Conceal lets me blend in with my environment and erases my trail, but you can’t be used while I’m moving.

  “Entangle is great for restraining enemies. On top of that, you can provide structural support, create handholds, and prevent objects from being blown away. Repel Water keeps me dry and can push opponents away. You are all valuable members of the team, and I appreciate your support.

  “Now that we’ve covered our veteran members, let’s give a warm welcome to our newest friend, Intimidating Roar, who has taken a liking to the name Chibime. In addition to being devilishly handsome, he will be in charge whenever I’m away.” Chibime turned to offer Edge a crisp bow, then flashed him a grinning thumbs up.

  Super weird. He seems cool though. Edge bowed back, then resumed his review. Even if his skills couldn’t understand everything he was saying, doing this out loud in front of an audience was an effective refresher.

  Lilly was right, this is really helpful. He would have his full range of options in the forefront of his mind when he returned to the outside world, improving his reaction time when the next crisis inevitably descended upon his head.

  “Moving on, I have three traits. One that boosts my offensive attributes, and one that boosts defense. Big Game Hunter helps me hit gigantic enemies harder and makes it easier to detect big ones. My Heart-Guard implant protects my ticker.” He tapped his chest, then opened his backpack and spread his equipment across the ground where his skills could see it.

  “On the gear side of the equation, I have my naginata with an extendable shaft and Trapper’s knife, which is super sharp. I’m wearing self-repairing garax-leather armor and an armor-lined hat. I have padamas-scale boots that reduce the noise I make, a backpack, and toolbelt. My tools include a water purifier, a wayfinder, two blood-restoration pills, a medicinal pill that purges the body of toxins, and cleansing tonic that does the same thing for foreign mana.

  “My bronze potion increases Perception for five minutes and the blue boosts Speed and Control for three and half. I have a jar of scent-erasing ointment, two chirpers, two flashbangs, two smoke bombs, one stink bomb, one poison gas grenade, one Disruption grenade, and two uses of lightning-aspected weapon oil.”

  While Edge spoke, his skills began poking at his inventory. The items were only mental projections and couldn’t actually harm them. Thus, he wasn’t worried when Double Slash picked up Trapper’s knife, which was comically huge for it, and Chibime started juggling his assorted bombs.

  “I have one more Skill-Merger Token, which was responsible for the fortuitous joining of Slash and Double Strike. It’s a bit of a gamble, but it can free up a skill slot and potentially make something amazing, if two of you don’t mind getting even closer than you are right now. Please let me know if you have any insight into using it.”

  After waiting expectantly followed by nothing happening, he moved on to his ultimate abilities. “I can use Extraction three times a day. I don’t have any more skill slots until I evolve. I’m planning to Absorb high-rank skills to power you up until I hit stage two, at which point you will have some new friends to play with.

  “I have Overdrive, which I’m sure you all remember. It lets me use any skill I want without having to worry about the mana cost, including some insane combos that no one else can pull off. It also boosts you with more Amplification. The downside is that I can only use it once, then it’s on cooldown for a week. Worse, after the thirty seconds are up, I get so exhausted that I almost pass out. If I don’t win the fight before that happens, I’ll probably die.

  “Last and most certainly not least, I have this.” He reached into his bag and pulled out Warren Ellington’s custom spellshot revolver. Although he supposed that the name would change once word got out that Edge was using it, since Warren had vaporized himself along with a fair chunk of the Ivory Plains.

  “It’s my ace in the hole and might be even more powerful than Overdrive. This was Warren’s final spellshot. Once I use it, it’s gone forever. I have no idea what it does—how large of an area the spell will affect, or what it will unleash. If I’m not careful how I use it, I could wind up wiping myself out along with my foe. Not to mention, kill something juicy before I get the chance to Extract its skills.”

  Edge felt that the powers were suitably impressed by the spellslinger, even the ones that didn’t have an easy way to express their feelings outwardly. He decided not to tell them about the embarrassing incident that had occurred a few days earlier.

  He had tried to eat the spellshot, only to learn that calling them crystalized skills was a bit of a misnomer. More accurately, they were the crystalized manifestations of a skill. Not only had Skill-Eater’s power failed to activate when he touched the spellshot to his tongue, he’d had the distinct impression that his core had woken up and was laughing at him.

  “Alright guys. That’s it for now. Thanks for listening and always being willing to lend a hand. If you ever have something that you want to tell me, please don’t hesitate to get my attention. I’m still new to all of this and I’m relying on your support. Wish me luck, and I’ll stop by to update you every now and again.”