An hour later, Edge was almost back to the cave his crew was using as a base of operations.

  While he scanned his surroundings for danger, part of his mind was idly contemplating what power he wanted to replace Penetrate Mist with. He wasn’t likely to need the skill again anytime soon and there was no point keeping it in his Auxiliary Skill Slot any longer. Maybe I can find another copy of Sense Fruit. It would pair well with all the meat we’ve been eating…

  His train of thought was cut off when his Guide appeared, separating from his chest to hover beside his head. When Edge gave it his permission, the mote of golden light that only he could see flattened into a transparent screen and hovered in front of his face, displaying a message from the System.

  The skill Leap has advanced to Rank 3.

  Its mana efficiency has been enhanced.

  Upon reaching Rank 3, you may control the volume of mana the skill consumes, adjusting its output at will.

  What the hell? Edge hadn’t Absorbed any skills recently or even thought about advancing Leap anytime soon for that matter.

  But then he remembered that Chibime was actively training the avatars living inside his core—passively generating a minute amount of skill experience with every day that passed. It seemed that the process had finally ranked up its first power.

  By now, Edge had grown so used to using Leap to enhance his mobility that it felt less like an external boost and more like a natural property of his own body. That realization drove home just how much his existence had changed since waking up on Ord—to the point where he had become a completely different person.

  Magic was part of his everyday life, and his hours were filled with excitement, adventure, and the thrill of discovery. He’d even grown used to fighting savage creatures and being thrust from one ordeal straight into the next.

  While he wouldn’t mind a little less danger, Edge liked his new self and his new home. Even if this day were fated to be his last, he had no regrets. Though he missed his mother and hoped to reconnect with her soon, living on the most dangerous planet in inhabited space was deeply rewarding, and he was eager to find out what tomorrow would bring.

  Although he was worried about Trapper’s team and the people back in Puppet Town, he couldn’t ask for better company. Edge was fond of the women walking by his side, and he was glad to face his latest challenge with trusted allies watching his back instead of flying solo.

  He also felt better now that Overdrive had come off its cooldown—his ace in the hole in an emergency. He couldn’t wait for Fear the Seasons to finish digesting in a little over a week, which would add another powerful skill to his arsenal.

  Shaking his head at the wonder of it all, he went ahead and gave his newly upgraded power a try.

  Of course, Edge set Leap to maximum output, flaring the rank-three skill as hard as he could. A stream of mana came surging out of his core, wrapping around his legs and pooling beneath his feet. His knees bent without waiting for a conscious command—followed by an explosive release of power.

  The next thing he knew, he was sailing through the air. Twenty feet. Twenty-five. Thirty. His Leap reached its peak at thirty-five feet, at which point he began to fall.

  It gave him a flashback of the very first time he’d used the skill, but on this occasion, Edge wasn’t too worried. Despite the fact that he had just jumped high enough to clear a three-story building with room to spare, his body was multiple times more resilient than before.

  On top of that, Leaping provided a short-lived Durability bonus, which was further strengthened by flaring the skill. He landed with a bone-shaking thud, only to realize that Lilly, Mel, and Sasha were staring at him—eyes wide with surprise.

  “Sorry, I probably should have warned you first. My skill just ranked up on its own, and I wanted to test it at full power before trying it in battle.”

  “Your skill just ranked up… on its own?” Melenia shook her head. “Life isn’t fair.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Sasha said.

  For her part, Lillian just stared at Edge’s chest like she could see straight into his core. Whatever she was imagining fascinated her and terrified him in equal measures, so he quickly changed the subject, and they arrived at the cave a few minutes later.

  When he thought to drop by his inner world to congratulate Leap, the pair of legs representing the skill’s avatar were bigger and buffer than ever. He made the rounds while chatting with his powers, hoping to strengthen the bonds between them. Then he left his core, pulled the pig out of his vault, and got busy grilling.

  ***

  While they enjoyed their feast, Edge, Mel, Sasha, and Lilly put their heads together, working on their strategy to rescue Trapper’s team.

  Their backup plan was to wait until the convicts entered the caverns and then hit them from behind, but it would be better if the crew could figure out a way to free their friends before the jailbirds found them and the siege transitioned into an all-out assault.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  In between bites, the hunters ruled out options that were too risky, including assassinating the gang’s elite members and ambushing their patrols.

  Now that everyone who had survived the dungeon had joined the Claws camped at the foot of the mountain, their crews had begun operating in pairs, and all the entrances to the tunnel network were heavily guarded. Given these upgraded defenses, tangling with the battle-hardened strike leaders while surrounded by their army was a sure path to a quick death.

  That being said, Edge’s crew needed to do something, and they needed to do it fast.

  The disruption tactics the women had employed early on had become less effective after the Claws began implementing countermeasures, and it was only a matter of time before they were ready to wipe out the expedition. While Trapper’s team had a numerical advantage, half of them specialized in non-combat roles, while every member of the gang’s hit squad was armed with skills that were ideal for killing other people.

  His team had to hit the jailbirds in a way they wouldn’t see coming and in a place they would really feel the pain. As late afternoon transitioned into early evening, then dusk deepened into twilight, they explored a wide range of possibilities.

  Eventually, Lilly came up with an idea that might do the trick, which took advantage of Edge’s newly obtained Spatial Storage Rune. The Claws wouldn’t expect anyone to steal the 500-plus pounds of provisions and supplies sitting in their storeroom, although their armory was certain to be heavily guarded.

  If Edge and his friends could sneak inside the gang’s base for even a few minutes, he could loot the most useful and difficult-to-replace items—severely impeding the jailbirds’ operation over the short term. The hunters couldn’t afford to get caught and rouse the wrath of the convict army, so this mission needed to be a heist rather than a raid.

  They spent the next two days meticulously studying the Claws’ camp, memorizing their watch rotations, the distribution of supplies, and the dynamics of their individual crews. His team worked in shifts. While one of them gathered intelligence, the other three hunted in the jungle, training their skills and cycling up their cores.

  Once Edge’s crew was certain they knew where the storeroom was located and had devised a plan to sneak inside, they began their final preparations. The hunters were planning to pull off their heist a few hours before dawn, when the jailbirds’ lookouts would be sleepy and bored. Fortunately, the prisoners were unorganized and poorly disciplined. His team might even catch the guards asleep at their posts, lowering their risk of exposure.

  On that note, Lilly had a magitech device that created a hypnotic pulse. Under the right conditions, it could lull people into a deep state of sleep, which would last for twenty minutes, even if there were loud noises nearby.

  Now that they had worked out the details, all that was left was to wait for midnight and make their move. As the nocturnal denizens of the Sweltering Green awoke and began to prowl, the hunters stood in a circle, going over a range of contingencies while performing a final check on their gear.

  It would be ideal if they could complete their heist without the Claws ever catching wind of their presence. But at the very least, they needed to sneak into the camp, steal the supplies, then make it out before anyone knew they were there.

  “We’re only going to get one shot at this,” Lilly summarized their strategy session. “Once the Claws know an enemy crew is operating in the area, they will adjust their defenses. Right now, they’re mostly watching for beasts and monsters coming from the jungle. All their skills for detecting other people are pointed at the entrances to the underground caverns, waiting to ambush any members of Trapper’s team who try to sneak past.”

  “While we could probably take on any of their elites four-on-one,” Sasha said, “fighting the whole warband at once is a death sentence. We’ll be overwhelmed within seconds once they know we’re there, especially if their strike leaders are nearby. Getting close should be relatively easy, but once we enter their camp, the real challenge begins. Silent Step will keep them from hearing us, but if someone gets a good look, they will know we’re strangers and sound the alarm.”

  “Approaching under the cover of night should help,” Mel added. “But after we head inside the building, we will run the risk of being cornered if they notice us sneaking around. How long do you think it will take to loot the storeroom?” All three women turned to face Edge.

  “I’ll have to pick up each load and wait five seconds. It will probably take at least five minutes to get it all—maybe half that time to grab the supplies that will be the most useful to us and hurt them most to lose. I can store 2,000 pounds in my vault. The gear we took from the convicts weighs a few hundred, and my equipment and supplies are another hundred or so.”

  Lillian nodded along and then said, “If we can catch the guards nodding off, my device will give us the time we need to loot everything and sneak away. With any luck, they won’t realize other people were responsible for the disappearance, and the mystery will fuck with their heads.”

  There were still a few hours until it was time to head out. Edge was too keyed up to sleep, so he took the first watch while the women got some shuteye. He listened to the sound of their breathing with a smile on his face—thrilled that hunters with more experience than himself were handling the trickier aspects of what was certain to be a dangerous engagement.

  With Sasha’s hunting proficiency and Lilly’s all-around badassery, he was confident their plan was viable—at least in theory. Eventually, Melenia woke up and joined him. They sat side by side on a boulder while staring into the jungle.

  After a few minutes, she turned to him and said, “I’m glad you found us. Lilly and Sasha are amazing hunters, but we’re in over our heads, and having you with us helps me breathe a lot easier. I was really worried about you, and I’m happy you made it out of the dungeon in one piece.”

  “Thanks, Mel. I was worried about you too. Conquering the Savage Garden was way more than I bargained for. I almost died more times than I can count, but I won thanks to Setna, Snake, and One-Eye, and Puppet Town is still holding on. If we can rescue Trapper’s team and make it back to the settlement, we have a real chance of turning this situation around. Being stuck in the Savage Garden was lonely and scary as hell. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to be fighting with friends at my side… especially ones who can beat the shit out of me in a brawl.”

  She laughed, then scooted closer until their shoulders were touching. Although he’d thought about it off and on, Edge still wasn’t sure where the two of them stood. He had a hunch that Melenia was attracted to him, and he was definitely interested in her, but other than some friendly flirting, they had only shared a single kiss so far, and that was when Mel thought she was about to die.

  I’ll worry about it once our people are safe and we’re back in town. For now, he just put one arm around her shoulders and enjoyed the warmth of her presence. They stayed that way until the others woke up and it was time to begin their heist.

  Once everyone had wiped the sleep from their eyes, they stepped into the night, ready to make their way through the jungle, wait for an opportunity to slip past the Claws’ guards, and raid the storeroom beyond.