When Edge hopped back to avoid a thrusting spike, the next set of vines was already waiting. The beast had entangled the ground behind his back when he couldn’t afford to look away, giving him no chance to dodge.

Before his boots hit the ground, his body was wrapped up tight. Bound head to toe with no hope of escape. I stepped right into that one. I should have seen it coming. At least these vines don’t have any thorns.

While the situation was less than ideal, he wasn’t too worried just yet. Edge still had two cards left to play. Better still, his opponent had no way to guess what was coming before he revealed his hand.

The nymph staggered up to him, no longer hiding the extent of its injuries. It was wounded and weary. Eager to end the fight now that Edge was helpless to resist. This close, it could sense that he was almost out of mana, unable to use shadow step and escape.

He was surprised to learn that the creature was smart enough to build a profile of his powers over the course of the battle, just like he had done. He supposed that it made sense, now that he thought about it. It was an inherent strategy to use when fighting other skill-using enemies. Something to keep in mind in the future.

For the moment, he was happy to drain the beast’s mana, although it seemed like entangle was fairly cheap to use. From the nymph’s perspective, they’d come full circle. Edge was trapped, with no means of escape.

While this was a natural conclusion to arrive at, this appraisal was missing one critical fact. He wasn’t the same person he’d been just two minutes before. Not with a brand-new skill at his disposal. Before the nymph could run him through, Edge called on the magic within.

On Ord, skills that grant mana physical form outside the body were often called spells. Now he had one of his own. He’d dreamt of this moment all his life, and it had finally arrived.

Entangle, he cast his new spell for the first time. His reactor ignited, sending tendrils of mana flowing through the skill and into the vines now bound to his core. He felt the magic pass through his feet and into the ground, heading for the spot he had chosen.

Along the way, the magic took material form. It became something long and tough before Edge’s awareness of the skill faded away. It seemed that once summoned, entangle went on autopilot, rather than responding to his conscious command.

It’s better that way, at least for now. I can drop the vines, then place all my attention into moving my body. The stage is set entangle, now show me what you can do.

At that point, four vines burst out of the ground and wrapped themselves around the nymph. Its eyes went wide, shocked to discover that Edge was using its own skill against it. Since Skill-Eater’s ultimate ability was a power unique on Ord, nothing could have prepared the beast for an opponent who could gain new skills mid-battle.

Within a handful of heartbeats, they both were lashed tight and completely unable to move. Edge was pleased to learn that entangle was mana efficient after all, but he didn’t have enough fuel in the tank to sustain it for long.

It would have been a standoff to see who ran out of juice first if there wasn’t one last card in play. One key fact that meant, although he was bound, Edge was far from helpless.

Extraction. He willed his ultimate to activate once more, stomach rumbling in anticipation of his next meal. He felt an explosion of heat as his core roared to life, and his chains shot out from his wrists.

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This was his first time using the power on a creature that was fully conscious. It seemed to understand what was coming. The beast began bucking and writhing, desperate to escape as it let out a horrified scream. But no matter how hard it struggled, its small body couldn’t break free from the vines.

The living links closed the distance and then plunged into the nymph’s chest, just as he had planned. But then something unexpected happened.

Instead of being granted a clear vision, there was some manner of interference that Edge hadn’t encountered before. He felt the black chains enter the beast’s core, then battle with something inside. They were ejected without claiming a skill, slinking back into his wrists like a pair of whipped dogs.

Apparently, the chains needed their prey to be on the verge of death or unconscious to steal a meal without a fight. It seemed that the creature’s will could bolster the skills in their core. Good to know. Although he had used up a charge of his ultimate, it wasn’t all bad news.

In addition to learning some valuable details, repelling the chains had cost the beast something, leaving it utterly exhausted. It no longer stood in the vine’s embrace. It sagged, dazed and confused.

It wouldn’t be able to put up a fight a second time, and he still had one round in the chamber. Extraction. He used the final charge of Skill-Eater’s ultimate, and the chains surged forth once more.

This time, they were able to enter the nymph’s core without a problem, and he was granted an image of the strange space inside. It looked like a sunny glade populated by jet-black trees, with dead animals impaled upon the branches. It was weird and undeniably creepy, but Edge wasn’t here to contemplate the view.

As he had already known, this beast had two skills, entangle and burrow. Burrow was a skill that burned mana to let something pass through the ground without having to stop and dig. He realized in that moment, that he had a dilemma on his hands.

Edge didn’t really need to be able to stroll through the soil just yet. The power was expensive to maintain, and he didn’t have the skillset to do anything complex, like hide and attack from concealment.

His skill slots were a limited resource, and he wanted to pick powers that would synergize with what he already had. Not to mention, unlike the wooden beasts, Edge still needed to breathe.

However, he already had entangle slotted in his core. Is there any reason to pick it again? But then he remembered that his core’s unique trait had mentioned alternate advancement. The description said that his skills couldn’t level through use, like everyone else on Ord.

If his skills couldn’t grow stronger the normal way, there had to be another route. It was right there in the trait’s name after all. Given how his core’s ultimate worked, what made the most sense was eating more than one copy of the same skill would grant it the experience that it needed to advance.

Go for entangle, he encouraged Skill-Eater. Once again, his chains listened to his request. Just like before, they cornered and overpowered the writhing vines, then dragged them out and flung them into his mouth.

Edge chewed and then swallowed. He was able to appreciate the flavor this time, especially without the thorns. There was a subtlety that he’d missed the first time around. An aftertaste that was more of impression than a flavor. He savored the feeling of sunshine and mist. Of green grass, wood, and soil. Delicious.

When the skill slid down his throat and entered his core, a new message appeared before his eyes. It seemed that his guess had been right after all.

You have extracted the skill: Entangle (common, rank 1).

You already have this skill in your collection.

Its power will be added to your existing skill.

It was exactly how Edge had been hoping that the mechanic would work. He was intensely curious to find out more. The instant that he acknowledged the prompt, his awareness was drawn into his core.

Once again, he found himself standing in a murky stone chamber, facing the row of the skills slotted along his reactor. His attention was drawn to the cluster of burrowing vines that represented entangle, and to another set that was being pulled to where the other skill was slotted.

Edge’s adrenaline began to flow. Not in fear, but in eager anticipation. This was uncharted territory. He had no idea what was going to happen next, and he was excited to learn more about Skill-Eater and its unique powers.