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

Ike plunged into darkness. The light winked out the second he fell, and the chair vanished from beneath him. In midair, Ike adjusted his stance and activated Storm Clad, preparing for a bumpy landing. He struck the ground with a thump, bending his knees to disperse the blow.

An even louder thump slammed down beside Ike. The soft hiss of extending thread passing through hands and the flap of wings sounded from either side. After a moment, the thread began to glow, and Ike could see all of them. Wisp, sliding down on her thread. Mag, circling in tight loops as he descended. And Shawn, who laid in a deep crater. He fought from left to right, struggling to escape his own mass.

Ike dismissed Storm Clad. Walking over to the crater, he braced himself on the edge and hauled Shawn out. "Hey there, little mountain. Trying to plant yourself?"

"Yeah, yeah. Real funny," Shawn muttered. He climbed out with Ike's help and dusted himself off. "Phew. Where are we now?"

Ike took in the new trial. They stood at the intersection of several tunnels. The tunnels vanished into darkness, snaking off left, right, and center. He looked up, but the ceiling wasn't particularly high. There was no sign of wherever they had fallen in. Even though Wisp's thread pierced through the ceiling and vanished, there was no sign of where it went. It simply vanished.

"A new trial," Wisp deadpanned. She hopped off her thread, but left the glowing red trace behind for light.

Mag extended his feet and landed, flapping his wings a few last times, then folding them back into arms. He looked up at all of them, earnest and not bratty for once. "This is the most dangerous part. The part where everyone dies. Take care."

"You've made it this far before?" Ike asked, surprised.

Mag puffed up. He hopped from leg to leg in the little frustrated dance birds did when enraged. "No! But this is a lot like where they send the people who fail the trials, and that's dangerous enough. Lots of people die there. This is worse."

"You've never been here before. How would you know?" Wisp challenged him.

"People escape from the other trials. It's hard, but some of them do escape the punishment area. Well, it's easy for me…" He trailed off. His expression turned from preening to serious. "No one has ever survived this one."

Ike raised his brows. "The top five teams die, every time?"

"They vanish. No one knows what happens to them. Many contestants, like myself, deliberately drop out before the final round," Mag said.

Right. Says the guy who can't pass the fear round. "Changed your mind this time?" he teased.

"I'm taking that skill. I have a team this time. I can win," he declared boldly.

Ike nodded. He looked at Wisp, who nodded back. She flicked her fingers, and thin strings, so thin even Ike could barely see it, vanished into the dark tunnels. Closing her eyes, she tuned into the strings. Ike waited, watching her closely. After a moment, she shook her head. "There's nothing nearby."

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"They're out there," Mag said darkly.

"I believe you. Everyone, stay close." Ike extended his senses. He picked a tunnel at random and started walking down it.

"Wait!" Shawn said.

Ike froze. Everyone stared at him.

Shawn lifted a hand, touching the air as if he could feel something. He turned, then pointed a pudgy finger at a different tunnel. "That one has a mana vein running through it. This one doesn't."

"You think that's important?"

"Could be."

Ike thought for a second. "Yeah, let's follow the mana vein. At worst, we can more easily refill our aether stores. At best, it's something like the 'right' direction to go."

"Agreed," Wisp concurred.

"I'll lead. Mag, you follow. Wisp, you're at the rear," Ike said. "Keep eyes out in all directions. I don't want any surprises."

"You got it, boss." Wisp fell back.

Preening, Mag strode forward. "That's right. You are last in line. I'm in front of you. Weak, pathetic spider."

Ike rolled his eyes. He made eye contact with Wisp and shook his head a little.

She just snorted. "That's right, kid."

The three of them walked on, heading down the path Shawn had pointed out. Shawn yawned on Ike's shoulder, dozing off, not quite awake, but not fully asleep, either. Wisp sent threads out every time they found an intersection. She mapped out the space, one intersection at the time, leaving a network of tripwires behind them. Ike left the mapping to her, figuring she'd alert them if they started backtracking.

Ike extended his senses out in front of them, pushing them as far as they'd go. He reached the limits of his senses, then kept pushing. Further. If he could extend his aether further, he'd have more of an advantage. Being able to see further than his opponent meant knowing they were there before they knew he was there. It meant striking first, instead of reacting to someone else's attack. If he had to choose between attacking and being attacked, he'd obviously choose attacking. The best defense was a good offense, and a good offense meant being the first to attack.

"Up here, left," Shawn said softly. Every now and again, he spoke up, pointing them in a new direction. Sometimes, Ike could feel the aether as well, but sometimes, it faded below the level he could sense. If it wasn't for Shawn, they'd have to guess which way the mana vein wound through the earth.

Abruptly, Wisp froze. Ike hesitated as well, turning over his shoulder to watch her. She furrowed her brows, glancing left and right, then snapped her fingers. "There's something coming. Second tunnel behind us to the right. Be prepared."

Ike drew his sword and grinned. "Finally."

"Not 'finally.' These things are terrifying! We should run," Mag insisted. He tensed. All his hair stood on end.

"You wait in the back. Wisp and I will take care of it," Ike said confidently.

Wisp rolled her palms together. A ball of thread accumulated between her hands. It glowed cherry-red, bright as a hot ember. She tossed it overhead, where it stuck on the ceiling and provided a source of light for them.

Thud-thud-thud-thud. A rapid series of footsteps pistoned down the hall, growing closer with every passing moment. If Wisp hadn't pointed out the direction, Ike never would have been able to locate it. The thuds came from all directions, echoing wildly in the tight, earthen space.

Wisp bared her claws. Ike adjusted his grip on his sword. The two of them faced toward the sound, waiting.

Silence. The footsteps stopped entirely. There was nothing. No sound at all.

"Shit. I lost it," Wisp hissed, real fear in her voice.

"What? How'd you lose it? You laid down traps everywhere—"

Dust rained down from above. Ike grabbed Wisp and jumped backward. The ceiling ruptured. Dust and rocks filled the tunnel, flying everywhere. A thick, plump white body burst out of the ceiling and charged toward Ike and Wisp. Mandibles spread wide. The huge centipede hissed, horrid dark eyes locked onto the two of them.

Ike set Wisp down. The two of them rushed for the centipede as it rushed for them. They clashed in a shower of sparks and pale ichor.

"Fucking bugs. I'm going to eat you," Wisp snarled.