Six nerve-wracking hours later, Edge spotted the canopy of the jungle looming in the distance.

  He let out a sigh as his knees went weak with relief. After several close calls, he had arrived at the boundary of the swamp without attracting the attention of another nightmare made flesh. Despite the long odds, rough terrain, and an endless parade of monsters surrounding him on all sides, he had crossed a wide swath of the Savage Garden solo.

  I’m going to make it after all. If I follow the wall for another few hours, I’ll be back at the maze. With any luck, I can reach the dungeon’s entrance before dark, and when I step through the fog door, I’ll find the rest of the crew safe and sound, waiting for me to arrive.

  Although he was eager to put this ordeal behind him, Edge didn’t let his excitement coax him into acting with haste. He maintained a low profile as he cast his senses into his surroundings, ready to defend himself at a moment’s notice. Patience and foresight were his stalwart allies, and he refused to abandon them just because the finish line was coming into view. Which was a good thing, since without them, he would never have survived what happened next.

  Though he had been gone for less than a day, a great deal had changed while he was away—a fact that was driven home only five minutes later. As he was crossing the final stretch of borderlands running between the zones, he saw movement in the distance as something made its way through the jungle.

  Edge ducked behind a rock and activated Conceal, waiting to find out what he was dealing with before deciding how to proceed. Not long after, four people came walking out of the tree line, none of whom he recognized.

  At first, he thought it was a team that Gram had sent to rescue him, but when he noticed the prisoners’ tattoos covering their forearms, his blood ran cold. What are convicts doing inside the dungeon? What happened to the other crews?

  That was when he felt a familiar tingling around his temples. It only lasted for a second, and when it faded, his Guide appeared of its own accord. The golden wisp detached from his chest to hover in front of his eyes, then the gilded mote flattened to form a screen. On it was a message letting him know that as bad as he’d thought his situation was, the reality was so much worse.

  “Edge. This is Sakura. We have another emergency on our hands, and as usual, you’re standing at ground zero. I found a way to penetrate the dungeon’s barrier long enough to transmit this update, but I only have the resources to do it once. Past this point, you will be operating on your own until you leave the Savage Garden.

  Jailbirds assaulted the base camp and are gearing up to attack Puppet Town too. They know what we’re after and are trying to stop us from completing the quest and claiming the core manufactory. They drove everyone away from the entrance, then took over the encampment. If you leave through the fog door, the convicts will take you out before you take two steps. They are eager to tie up any remaining loose ends and will be actively hunting you once they get their bearings.

  That’s the bad news. On a slightly-less-terrible note, they know that you’re in there, but not where you are or what you can do.

  I’m sure that you are worried about your friends, but I need you to trust me to handle the situation while you’re gone. I’ll figure out a way to keep everyone alive until you return. You need to stay in the dungeon, kill the boss, and claim the manufactory for Puppet Town. It’s the only way that we will survive what’s coming, and you’re the only one who can finish the quest and turn this clusterfuck around. The odds are long, but with Skill-Eater at your side, you just might have a chance.

  I’ll continue to offer support once you exit the dungeon. I know it’s asking a lot, but this is something that only you can do. We’re all counting on you. Good luck.”

  “Well.” Edge rubbed his temples, absorbing the implications of Sakura’s message. “Fuck me.”

  He was too overwhelmed to fully process what was happening, but one thing was abundantly clear. He needed to avoid the jailbirds at all costs while he came up with a plan and figured out his next move.

  As soon as the convicts were out of sight, he turned around and started looking for somewhere to hide. Ten minutes later, he came across a gigantic tree that had been hollowed out by a lightning strike. He made his way over to it, since it was the best shelter that he was likely to find on short notice.

  He activated Conceal to erase his trail and stepped inside the trunk. Then he sat down where he could watch the approach, fired up the tactical part of his brain, and kicked it into high gear.

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  Edge had to work fast if he wanted to live through the day. He needed to review his resources, analyze his surroundings, and predict the behavior of his enemies and allies. Most daunting of all, he had to cobble together a strategy that would let him survive in this monster-infested deathtrap and grow more powerful at a rapid rate. If that wasn’t a tall enough order, he had to do it while being hunted by a gang of hardened killers and steal the kill on the dungeon’s boss.

  Before he tackled that heaping pile of problems, there was one other matter to attend to first. Something that let him feel a glimmer of optimism in the raging storm of shit that was swirling all around him.

  He had forgotten about it while coming to grips with his deadly dilemma and worrying about his friends. But now that he was thinking clearly, he remembered. The two-week digestion period had elapsed while he was unconscious, which meant that Intimidating Roar should be ready to roll. In short, it was time to get up close and personal with his first Epic skill.

  Sure enough, when Edge opened his updates, there it was.

  Intimidating Roar (Epic) has finished digesting.

  It has been socketed into an empty slot and is ready to use at your discretion.

  Riding a visceral wave of excitement, he willed his consciousness into his core. When he found himself standing inside his central chamber, he walked over to his skill garden and took a long look around. The egglike shape that had been sitting in the corner was gone, but he didn’t see any sign of his new power. That’s odd, but it must be in here somewhere.

  “Where are you, new friend? I’m eager to meet you. Come on out and let’s get to know each other better.”

  As he talked, Edge touched the marble pillar representing the skill slot that had been empty until now. Like the System had promised, the socket was full, which meant that Intimidating Roar had been added to his collection. When he ran his fingers across the circuitry embedded into the pillar, he could perceive a new presence lurking within his garden.

  His other skills had proven to be surprisingly lifelike and responsive to his needs. Some, like Regeneration and Double Slash, even had distinct personalities. But what Edge was sensing now was something else entirely.

  The presence didn’t feel like a regular skill, which reminded him of animals in many regards. This one possessed a distinct awareness—a consciousness not quite as advanced as his own or Skill-Eater’s, but surprisingly close in some ways.

  “My name is Edge, and I’m the proprietor of this establishment.” He glanced at the black door. “Err… sort of. We’re all friends here, so come on out and say hello.”

  That was when a six-inch dinosaur stepped out from behind the terrarium representing his Auxiliary Skill Slot. Intimidating Roar looked just like the mini-garax he had battled inside the behemoth beast’s core, only a hell of a lot smaller. It’s honestly kind of cute.

  But then the tiny garax started to shine. Its form wavered and shifted before taking on a new aspect. Like what had happened after binding several of his other powers, the skill’s appearance changed, transforming from a representation of its original owner into something better suited for Edge.

  In this case, the dino grew even smaller. Scales became skin and claws uncurled into hands until Intimidating Roar was a miniature version of himself with an oversized head and cartoonish features.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. It’s chibi me.” To Edge’s astonishment, the miniature version of himself liked the name. The skill danced in a circle around him, then turned to Edge and bowed.

  “You can understand what I’m saying?” The skill avatar nodded, then resumed dancing. After that, it refused to respond to anything other than Chibime. The little guy couldn’t talk, but it was far more intelligent than any of his other powers. The situation was definitely weird, but not a total surprise given how different the fight to claim the Epic skill had been compared to the other powers he’d stolen.

  “I know that you like your new name, but just to be clear, you are Intimidating Roar, right?”

  By way of reply, Chibime opened its mouth, took a deep breath, and issued a piercing screech. In that moment, all the other skills playing in his garden froze. They went darting for cover—afraid until they realized that the sound had come from own of their own, at which point they started going about their business once more.

  On that note, he summoned his Guide and read the skill’s description.

  Intimidating Roar (Epic): Rank 1.

  This aural attack infuses the listener’s nervous system with a powerful wave of mana, creating an intense state of fear. Intimidating Roar can cause complete paralysis against weaker opponents and may impair stronger creatures to a lesser extent.

  Edge had experienced the effects of Intimidating Roar while fighting the garax. He knew even more about the skill after the vision he’d experienced after binding it to his core. Using Roar required an incredible amount of mana—comparable to a combo with his other skills—in exchange for unleashing a debilitating surge of magic carried by a powerful soundwave.

  Anything that couldn’t resist the mana-suppression attack would be paralyzed—overcome with a primal fear that made it impossible to think. Even creatures that shrugged off the Epic skill would be affected to some extent, unless he was foolish enough to take an opponent several stages above his own.

  Roar didn’t deal direct damage, but it would leave his prey vulnerable until it wore off—unable to fight back and suspectable to Extraction. Better yet, Edge had acquired his first area of effect attack, which meant that he could finally deal with swarms, fliers, and the like.

  He couldn’t wait to see what it could do. But given the considerable cost, he would have to wait a little longer to take his first Epic skill for a test drive. Even still, he had a feeling that they were going to be friends.