Skill-Eater: Prison World Saga-Chapter 35: Dungeon Expedition

Trapper’s crew awoke before dawn.

While Edge took out the trash, Jumo locked the sliding-wall panels and latched the windows, and the women moved supplies into the wagon. Everyone was excited—eager to join the dungeon-clearing expedition. In part because of what it meant for the town, but mostly because of the opportunity to fuel their own advancement.

Since they still had a few hours before they were scheduled to gather on the public green, the hunters took the time to make sure that all their gear was in working order and that they had packed everything that might be useful during the mission.

Blue could tell that something big was going on and ran laps around the yard in a frenzy of motion. Trapper let the enthusiastic dino burn through some of her energy. She would be traveling slower than usual as part of the wagon train heading south toward the border of the biome. While they worked, the hunters discussed strategies and tactics, reviewing everything they knew about dungeons.

An hour before noon, they locked the doors, hitched Blue to the wagon, and then made their way over the green. The grassy area in the middle of town was filled with people, although the mood was rather different than the night before. Instead of a wide swath of the general population, the lawn was filled with some of the most powerful people in the settlement, along with everyone else who was heading out to conquer the dungeon.

Earl and Dialla were off to one side, speaking with Gram and a gaggle of aides and deputies. Earl wasn’t taking part in the expedition. His strength was needed here, in case something attacked Puppet Town while its elites were away. But his apprentice Able and most of the cored deputies were going, although a few were staying behind to protect the settlement along with the sheriff and the militia.

Trapper went over to speak with them, then returned with a list of assignments. Everyone was free to travel and camp in whatever groups they pleased, but once they arrived at the Savage Garden, Trapper’s crew would be splitting up for the duration of the mission.

Edge and Jumo had been placed in a dungeon-clearing crew with four other people. One of them was a familiar face. Melenia, the deputy who had been helping condition his attributes and teaching him how to fight. It was a prospect that he found deeply comforting, given the sheer Power the muscular warrior had at her disposal.

The next member was Tessa—the mayor’s personal guard. Edge had only met her the night he’d gone drinking with the deputies, but Trapper knew the woman well. She assured him that Tessa was utterly reliable and strong enough to be numbered amongst the town’s heavy hitters.

Trapper also let him know that Tessa was mana-sensitive, which wasn’t something she generally shared, but had decided to reveal considering the importance of the mission. Edge was thrilled that someone on his team could detect magic with such an incredible level of precision, which would offer the hunters another layer of protection once they entered the dungeon.

The final two members of his crew were from the monster-hunters’ association. He didn’t recognize either name, which were listed as Snake and Fox. Trapper filled him in on some of the details. Snake and Fox were both stage two, and Fox would be acting as the leader of their team. It was reassuring that people who specialized in slaying monsters would be fighting at his side, doubly so to have a stage-two warrior calling the shots.

As for the rest of the Trapper’s crew, Trapper would oversee setting up defenses for the base camp. Riller and Sasha were on scouting duty. They would keep an eye out for anything nasty lurking in the region, as well as any valuable resources located near the periphery of the dungeon.

Violet was helping with logistics. She had been designated the second in command of the quartermasters for the entire expedition, which meant she would be busier than the rest of Trapper’s crew during the journey south.

Now that everyone had received their individual assignments, they were free to mingle until the expedition was ready to roll out. There was some complex arrangement that determined who would leave in what order, none of which Edge had to worry about given his combat role. All he had to do was march and help deal with anything hostile that appeared en route.

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It turned out that Trapper’s crew would be traveling near the end of the caravan, so that their highly-perceptive members could help guard the rear. Since he had nothing else to do, Edge decided to check out the various organizations on display and check in with his new team along the way. He began by walking over to where Earl was meeting with the peacekeepers, offering the deputies some final words of encouragement before they set out.

Edge said hello to the sheriff—glad to know that someone he could trust was protecting the town while he was away. Earl was in the middle of briefing Able, who was in charge of the deputies who were joining the expedition.

While he was there, Edge stopped to chat with Mel. “Hi, Edge. It’s good to see you. I wasn’t surprised that they picked you for the dungeon team, considering your unusual skillset and how insanely fast you’ve been advancing. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“Right back at you, Mel. Having you watch my back is a weight off my mind. I know firsthand just how hard you can hit and am glad that you’re on my side.”

She laughed and patted him on the back with enough enthusiasm to leave bruises behind. “We’ll have a lot of time to catch up on the road, so I’ll check in with you after I help get these knuckleheads organized.” He chuckled and then walked over to Dialla and Tessa.

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“I know we’ve already met, but I just wanted to say hello. It’s a pleasure to be working with you.” He extended his hand and gave Tessa’s a firm shake.

“I feel the same way, Edge. It’s reassuring to have one of the town’s rising stars fighting by my side.” He spoke with Tessa for a few more minutes, then left to find Fox and Snake. He had no idea where they were, so he wound up taking a lap around the green, examining each group in turn as he sought out the monster hunters.

The center of the lawn was filled with members of the town’s five hunting organizations: the beast hunters, monster hunters, treasure hunters, resource hunters, and bounty hunters. The bounty hunters, commonly referred to as manslayers, were the smallest group. They boasted several elite members who were no strangers to life-and-death situations.

Since assaulting other residents of Puppet Town had been outlawed, bounty or no, Dialla had contracted the manslayers to protect the base camp. In case predators of the human sort showed up to contest their claim.

He ran his gaze across half a dozen people decked out in an assortment of heavy armor and magitech weapons. None of them were as famous as Warren, the manslayer Edge had killed, but several were early stage two and almost as dangerous. Unlike the other hunters, the manslayers didn’t have a leader. They were used to working alone and only came together to tackle difficult bounties.

The monster hunters, also known as shadowkillers, were the second smallest group, since Puppet Town hadn’t had many monsters to deal with prior to the anomaly. They specialized in operating solo or in small teams, since the consequences of letting monsters consume too many cored people could be disastrous, triggering multiple evolutions and spawning a horde in the process.

Edge counted six shadowkillers in total, all of them cored. Since hunting monsters that were stage two and up paid out Mortium, they had an impressive collection of magitech weapons and armor and were certain to be armed with high-rarity skills. Two of them were new to the business, but the rest were elite fighters. He had never heard of Snake or Fox, but identifying them wasn’t a problem, since both hunters wore masks depicting the beasts in question.

When Edge walked up to introduce himself, he realized that he recognized the elastic suit of magitech armor that Fox was wearing, and her generous figure was familiar too. Even with her face covered, he was sure that it was Ann’s sister Lilly—the woman who ran the Mortium exchange. That explains the mask. She doesn’t want everyone to find out she’s cored.

He knew that Lilly belonged to some manner of crew, but he hadn’t realized that she was part of the monster-hunters’ association. He pretended not to know her, since she was trying to keep her identity a secret.

Snake was an imposing man—broad at the shoulders and nearly seven feet tall. He must have been a natural athlete before binding his core. With it, he had a figure that would make a Greek god slink way in shame. He had a massive lance strapped to his back that was heavier than Edge’s polearm. Even while resting, Snake radiated a causal air of menace, and Edge had no doubt that he was skilled at his trade.

Snake turned to look at him—his intricate mask conveying the sense of a predator going in for the kill. By this point in his adventures, Edge wasn’t intimidated by a scary mask, even if the man behind it was more powerful than himself.

It wasn’t a lot to go on, but Edge had the impression that Snake was cold, but not cruel. Calculating, but not contemptuous. Eventually, Edge’s composure earned him a grudging nod of respect, followed by, “Try not to get in the way.” With that, Snake turned away, dismissing him without bothering to shake his hand.

Lilly shrugged, winked, then looked away too. That isn’t the most promising start to a working relationship, but everyone seems competent. Hopefully, we can establish a rapport during the trip south.

All in all, Edge was thrilled by what he’d observed. His new team was strong—significantly more powerful than Trapper’s crew—and he was excited to find out what they could do once they began clearing the dungeon.