Edge took one last look at the Gardener’s remains and the mountain of bones piled beside them, then stepped through the fog door and left the Savage Garden.

  He could hear panicked screams and the clamor of combat in the distance as the monsters pouring through the dungeon’s entrance fell upon the unsuspecting jailbirds who were garrisoned outside. We need to get out of here before they find us.

  With Setna, Byron, and One-Eye at his side, Edge sprinted through the jungle. Well, the men sprinted at any rate. Setna had shattered her core while battling the boss and lost all the benefits it bestowed, including her superhuman attributes. Byron was carrying her on his back, taking care not to aggravate the woman’s injuries.

  The hunters were eager to put some miles between themselves and both varieties of predator before going their separate ways. As he ran, Edge wondered how many of the convicts who had been inside the dungeon when the Gardener perished would make it out alive—how many were dying at this very moment.

  He hoped it was all of them.

  While One-Eye seemed to be a decent person, Edge couldn’t find it within himself to feel bad that the rest of the prisoners were in danger of being torn apart by nightmarish monsters or trapped in the dungeon forever. Not after the Crimson Claws had ambushed his friends, threatened his home, and done their best to kill him over the last few weeks.

  With any luck, the System’s little surprise will significantly weaken their forces, boosting Puppet Town’s odds of winning the war that One-Eye assured us is coming. At the very least, now that the settlement has the core manufactory, time is our ally. Every core that gets made will help tip the scales in our favor.

  Not long after, he felt the ground rumbling beneath his boots—heard the screeching of a thousand birds taking to the air as one.

  Everyone came to a stop, then Edge set down the scythe and shield he had taken from the boss and pulled out his spyglass to get a better look. When he turned the lens in the direction of the dungeon, his eyes went wide with shock. The barbed bamboo wall running along the perimeter of the Savage Garden was sprouting new shoots at a rapid rate, obscuring the dungeon within the heart of a thicket.

  Soon, the entire area was covered in impenetrable growth. The dungeon just sealed itself, he realized. It won’t open again for years. No more monsters will be able to escape, and whoever is still in there is already dead—it’s only a matter of time.

  He desperately hoped that no one from Puppet Town had been trapped when the Savage Garden’s entrance swung shut. Edge had refused to even think about the possibility while he was running for his life, but now he was forced to face an ugly truth. There was a chance that his actions had inadvertently led to the death of his allies—maybe even some of his friends.

  One-Eye had said that there were only three people in the dungeon when the Claws first arrived. But there was always a chance that someone had snuck inside after, trying to rescue Edge or kill the boss on their own. He didn’t think it was likely, but he didn’t know for sure.

  He told himself that he hadn’t known killing the boss would trigger a slaughter. That if he hadn’t claimed the manufactory for the settlement, a lot of good people would have died. It didn’t make him feel much better, although every word was true.

  With a weary sigh, Edge put the matter aside for now, then returned his attention to the task at hand.

  Right now, his objectives were: to get far enough away that neither jailbird nor monster was likely to find him, bid farewell to his unexpected allies, then take a closer look at the incredible rewards he had received for defeating the Gardener and completing the System’s quest.

  That last bit perked him right up. He had just earned a ton of experience and Extracted a new Epic skill. He had an Epic Core Rune ready to be installed, and a rank-two upgrade waiting for Intimidating Roar. Not to mention, more Credits and Mortium than he knew what to do with.

  On that note, Edge summoned his Guide and pulled up his newfound wealth as he ran, letting out a low whistle as he read the numbers on the screen.

  System Currency

  Credits: 104,150

  Mortium: 77

  I still can’t believe that I picked up over 70 lifecoins in the dungeon. When I get back to town, I’m going on a shopping spree.

  “I know a place where we can rest for a few hours,” One-Eye said as the hunters put more miles beneath their boots. “It’s just a bit further ahead. We used it as a staging ground on the way to the dungeon—a concealed cavern that’s easy to defend.”

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  While Edge followed the jailbird who had betrayed the Claws so that Puppet Town could complete the quest instead, he took a good look at the people beside him—the hunters who had helped him win the fight of his life.

  On his left was Byron—a gray-eyed monster hunter who normally concealed his identity behind a detailed snake mask. On his back was Setna, the blonde beast hunter who had sacrificed her core to get revenge for her fallen friends. In front, Edge could only see the back of One-Eye’s shaved head, although the prisoners’ tattoos covering his forearms were clearly visible.

  The impromptu crew made it to the cave fifteen minutes later. As One-Eye had promised, the enclosure was hidden until you stepped behind a towering boulder, and the only entrance was highly defensible.

  After making sure that nothing nasty was lurking nearby or inside, everyone opened their packs, breaking into their rations as they sat down to rest. They were all bone-weary after battling the Gardener, but without a core to sustain her, Setna was so exhausted that she could barely keep her eyes open.

  One-Eye volunteered to take the first watch. While they couldn’t have won without his help, Edge wasn’t about to trust the man with his life anytime soon, so he decided to join the hunter instead. They stood just inside the mouth of the cave, staring into the jungle in a companionable silence—each man lost in thoughts of his own.

  An hour or so later, Edge’s Guide appeared of its own accord, bearing a direct message from the only person on the planet who could still send them as far as he knew.

  “Edge. In case it isn’t obvious, this is Sakura.

  Our sense-link wore off while you were in the dungeon, but I can still use Lore-Weaver to contact you through your Guide.

  Thank god, you fucking did it! I knew you had it in you, but conquering the dungeon is one hell of an accomplishment and I’m proud to call you my ally. The System installed the manufactory and we’re getting ready to start producing cores, but there’s no time to celebrate.

  The survivors from the expedition who were driven away from the dungeon need your help, and another group of jailbirds is preventing Earl from sending reinforcements from Puppet Town. No one has died since the attack on base camp, but I’m afraid that the stalemate won’t last longer than another few days.

  Trapper and the other hunters are holed up in a series of caverns deeper in the jungle, and I need you to break the Claws’ siege and get them home. It’s going to be a tough fight, but I can help you reach some allies who are already in the area. They’re using some manner of magitech concealment device, so I’m not sure who they are, although they must have been part of the expedition.

  Working together, you need to kill the Claws’ summoner at all costs. Once Roth is out of the picture, Trapper’s group should be able to leave the caves and join you. Then you need to head back to Puppet Town before Yussuf the Red arrives from the Gilded Heights and launches an attack on the walls.

  Now that you’re out of the dungeon, I can check in with you regularly and help coordinate your movements, although the information I have access to will be limited until I can restore our link. I’ve been in touch with Dialla and shared the intel I’ve collected so far. She said to thank you for all your hard work, but the storm rages on.

  For now, head north until you can see a mountain in the distance, then look for a series of hills a few miles to the southeast. The Crimson Claws are stationed in a valley running between them, and the hunters I mentioned are somewhere nearby. I’ll let you know if I learn anything else, but I have my hands full dealing with the convicts hiding in the Ivory Plains. Sakura out.”

  Edge sighed when he reached the end of the message. It looks like a hot bath and my shopping spree are going to have to wait a little longer. At least the Claws haven’t killed anyone else.

  He hadn’t known Sakura for long, but after she had revealed her secret and placed her life in his hands, he had decided to trust her and formed an alliance. Sakura was the wielder of Lore-Weaver, one of the 21 Unique cores on Ord—a sibling of sorts to Skill-Eater, as far as he could tell. It allowed her to access parts of the System that were normally off-limits, providing her with information that no one else could obtain.

  Since he had promised to keep her powers a secret, and nothing she had said was relevant to the other hunters, he didn’t see a need to share Sakura’s update. One-Eye already warned us about the Claws on the plains, so Byron and Setna know to watch out for them.

  Eventually, One-Eye turned to Edge and said, “Every member of Yussuf’s kill-team is a merciless piece of shit. I don’t care if you murder them all, but not all the Claws are like them. The feed always paints us with a broad brush, but that’s just the wardens’ propaganda. A lot of jailbirds are just ordinary individuals who pissed off the wrong person, got banished to Ord, then did what they had to in order to survive.”

  The man looked sincere—features twisted in sorrow—and Edge was inclined to believe him. “Hell, I even like some of them. If I help you take down Yussuf the Red and his bloodthirsty band of heavy hitters, you have to promise me that you will help the Claws who are worth saving. That you won’t judge them by the man they were forced to serve.”

  Edge considered the hunter’s words carefully before offering a reply. He knew from his lifelong obsession with Prison World that while many convicts were sadistic bastards, some had committed crimes of the non-violent variety.

  Sakura was a jailbird, and she was a good person, and One-Eye seemed alright too. Additionally, the man had mentioned earlier that many of the Claws’ conscripts were tourists who had been stranded by the anomaly, just like Edge and his friends.

  Besides, Puppet Town needs all the help we can get. On top of the threat posed by the Crimson Claws, concentrated magicytes are flowing in from the surrounding biomes after the Ivory Plains were transported to the far side of the planet. High-stage monsters and beasts will begin migrating into the biome before long, if they haven’t already, and we need more manpower if we want to survive.

  “I can’t speak for Puppet Town, but I promise to give your friends the benefit of the doubt and put in a good word with Dialla and Earl. It’s the least I can do after all your help. We never would have beat the Gardener without you.”

  “Thanks. That’s all I can ask.” One-Eye offered his hand and Edge shook it—certain that he had made the right decision. Not long after, Byron woke up and took his turn standing watch, giving Edge a chance to get some shuteye before heading out to save the hunters who were trapped below ground.

  By this point in his adventures, he could fall asleep in almost any environment, and he was out like a light less than five minutes later.