The Pilgrim let out a cry of pain as his health bar plummeted to the quarter mark.

  “It worked!” Hiro said as he bounced into the air, landed, and rushed toward the Pilgrim with his katana drawn. The Pilgrim blocked his attempt with his musket. He swiped at Hiro’s arm with his hand, which, just like the description had noted, had spikes all along the palm.

  Protected by his duct tape armor, Hiro rolled past the Pilgrim and came up again. He transferred his sword into his other hand, turned it around, and used Rune of the Reverse Blade, which gave him a powerful upward slash and bleed damage.

  His next attack took the Pilgrim by surprise.

  It connected immediately, slicing into the Pilgrim’s forearm as he moved to block the attack. Hiro cut at him another time, even as the Pilgrim tried to bat his attempts away with his spiked gloves.

  His finishing attack, which saw Hiro bouncing forward and cutting the Pilgrim’s stone head off, was met with thunderous applause.

  You have new followers!

  The Pilgrim’s body fell one way, his head the other.

  His flintstone musket shattered, and Hiro received a new Roulette Skill.

  Roulette Skill: {Edging}

  Rank: B

  Type: Attack/Area of Effect

  Upgrade: N/A

  Description: Otolaryngologists spend an exorbitant amount of time thinking about your ear and its auditory system, which consists of three parts.

  Any otolaryngologist worth their weight in earwax will tell you that incoming sound waves are greeted by your outer ear, which uses flesh flaps to collect the sound and send it down into your ear canal, where they vibrate a thin membrane called the eardrum.

  Those vibrations are what inspired songwriter Katherine Kennicott Davis when she penned the infamous lyrics: Come, they told me, par rum pum pum pum, which later became an anthem in the adult film industry through such incredible films like Me and My Bum; I Played My Bum for Him; and the AVN Award winner, The Ox and the Lamb Kept Time.

  While they may have their own opinions on the best adult film soundtracks out there, otolaryngologists will all agree that your world is understood through vibrations amplified by the three small bones of the middle ear only to be transmitted to the cochlea, where they are deciphered by hair cells known as stereocilia. It is here, at this crucial meeting ground for translating sound vibrations into electrical signals, that the power known as Edging comes into play.

  Through noises your ears cannot detect, Edging will allow you to bring your opponent to the brink of insanity. But be warned, your opponent may exhibit new traits when provoked depending on their level and MIND stat.

  Important note: Edging is not the same as Gooning.

  Hiro barely paid attention to the Doom System’s batshit ramblings as he focused on the last bit of info. Currently, his MIND Stat was at 2.4, which was boosted by two whole points due to Roulette bonuses that would change in the next Interim.

  I still don’t have access to enemy levels, but with my current buildout, Edging—God, that’s such a stupid name—could actually be helpful…

  The ground came alive.

  Hiro leaped out of the way as the enormous skeletal gator clawed itself from Central Park, causing the dirt to give way. Before he could react, he was sucked into a sinkhole, falling into the void as everything around him crumbled.

  The last thing Hiro remembered seeing before being covered in dirt and debris was the beast moving above, its tail swishing, all of it impossible.

  39

  THE CENTRAL PARK CATACOMBS

  Hiro hit the ground hard. Winded, he pushed himself up as the enormous bestial skeleton slithered on, leaving him in what looked like a cavern. His phone buzzed, and as he pulled it out, the screen illuminated his masked face.