Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

The centipedes gave chase, and Ike ran. He sprinted through the halls, tracing back the path he'd taken to the center of the nest. The centipedes followed hungrily, their mandibles gnashing, hissing louder than a boiling kettle. They darted at Ike. Every stumble, every slip, they darted in, searching for that momentary trip that would let them tear into the delectable morsel that was Ike. Ike watched ahead of him, darting from stone to stone, as surefooted as a mountain goat. Of all the ignoble deaths he could die, he was determined not to die this one. Let me die after I take these fools to the battle. Then I'll die happy. But not here, in the tunnels!

Tapping sounded from in front of him. Ike's head snapped up. The white wall of a huge centipede body rushed at him headlong, mandibles wide open.

Oh, shit. Ike's mind raced. He charged the centipede, searching for an escape route. No tunnels opened in the walls. There was no way out—except for through.

So be it! Drawing his sword, Ike ran directly into the centipede's open jaws. As they slammed shut, time seemed to slow. Energy swirled through his body, suddenly awake and alert. Putting the skill into his mind, he shaped it a thousand times in the space of a breath, the adrenaline sharpening all his senses as he reconsidered his sword skill for the first time in a long time. This whole time, he'd been using the form of the River-Splitting Sword suited for mana, not the one suited for aether. Aether was wild energy, that flowed how it liked. The slender, delicate shape of the River-Splitting Sword's mana flows was unsuitable for aether. He'd known it, and yet, he'd ignored it. There were other things. More important optimizations.

No longer. Traced a thousand times in the confines of his mind, he reformulated the skill. Simplified it. Shored up the mana lines. The lines of the spell grew simpler, thicker. Aether raged through their forms, unleashed at its full power. Forced into a delicate mana skill no more, the aether blasted along the paths he'd forged, eager to be released.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The centipede's jaws chewed toward him. Inch by inch, it closed in. There was no time left.

Ike planted his feet and struck, pushing all the aether he could muster into his sword as he unleashed the upward strike of the River-Splitting Sword. The Hungry Sword wasn't suited for the original River-Splitting Sword, but this indelicate blast of force was something ideal for such a brutal weapon. Sword energy erupted from the Hungry Sword and smashed through the centipede. Not slicing it, not cutting it, but hammering it flat against the top of the wall, hammering it with such force that it broke into two pieces.

Chuckling to himself, Ike raced on, as ichor and chunks of centipede chitin rained down. He wasn't sure if Silver would approve or not. This wasn't Silver's River-Splitting Sword, subtle and silent, with a cutting edge sharp enough to cut falling paper or even slice water. It was a brutal thing, a hammer of a sword skill, that shattered and slammed. A sword skill that smashed instead of slicing. If he used this skill on a piece of paper, he wouldn't have two pieces of paper; he wouldn't have any paper any more, but instead, a pile of scraps.

He glanced at his hand. It wasn't fair to Silver to call this the River-Splitting Sword anymore. But what could he call it? A blunt-force sword skill. A skill that used strength alone, not any form of sword work. "The Hammer Sword," he murmured to himself. It sounded right. It wasn't a good name, or even the best name, but then, he wasn't sure it was a good skill. Certainly not the best skill. It was simply the skill that suited him best, with his aether and his Hungry Sword.

Though… now that I'm thinking of it, Silver was a beast. Shouldn't he have used aether, as well? But he formed such a delicate skill, anyways… Ike thought for a moment, then shook his head. Rather than say the skill was suited to Silver, he thought it was more likely that Silver was so dedicated to train to the utmost to be able to use the skill. Silver had wanted him to stay in the forest and train, train, train, train for years until Ike could use the skill even without the skill orb. If old man Orin hadn't intervened, he'd still be there right now, training with Silver. That kind of dedication to practice… yes, with that incredible mindset of Silver's, he understood how the panther-beast was able to use the River-Splitting Sword at a master level, even though he used the same aether Ike used now. It seemed like a waste to give up the skill, but then, maybe he'd meant that Ike could use it better, using mana to fuel it rather than aether, as Ike had back then, or maybe…

He gave me the skill orb, but I wonder. Could he still use the skill, even without the orb? If he'd practiced to that extent, to the extent he'd wanted Ike to practice, then—

Sharp pain jabbed into Ike's temple. He flinched, pressing a hand to his head. "Ow!" His brows furrowed. What was that? When he'd thought about skills without skill orbs—

Another jab. Ike scowled, annoyed. The message was clear: stop thinking about it. But who was telling him that? Who could control him, to this extent?

For a second, Lord Brightbriar flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Lord Brightbriar was many things, but inside Ike's head wasn't one of them. In his head rent-free, sure. But controlling his thoughts? Ha. If anything, he was quite certain Lord Brightbriar couldn't control him. There was absolutely no way that puppetmaster freak wouldn't have puppeted him a long, long time ago if he could.

Besides, this felt more powerful than Lord Brightbriar. Like something above him. Able to reach into this trial. Able to reach anywhere. Some all-encompassing—

Another jab. Ike stumbled, then shook his head. He glanced over his shoulder at the gnawing centipedes. I'll have to puzzle this out later. If I keep getting smacked in the head now, I'll end up as centipede lunch.

Up ahead, the passage took a sharp turn. Ike rounded the corner, and daylight glimmered at the end of the tunnel. Ike caught sight of Wisp and Shawn, peering around the edge of the centipede hole. He grinned and waved, then gestured them out of the way.

Wisp's brows furrowed.

Behind Ike, the first of the centipedes rounded the corner, then the next, and the next, and the next—

Wisp widened her eyes. She grabbed Shawn and fled, sprinting up and out of the castle. Ike followed after them, and the centipedes followed him.

Find adventures on empire

"Clear the way! I'm coming through!" Ike bellowed.

"He ain't kidding! Clear the way!" Wisp shouted ahead of him, waving for the Old Guard to hide.

Looking amongst themselves, they raced into the round room. For a second, the battlements stood empty. None of the weapons fired, nor did any cannonballs fly. On the field of battle, Scar and Rufus looked back, confused.

And then a thousand centipedes rushed over the castle walls.