(Second Book Complete!) Runeblade: A Delving & Skill Merging LitRPG

Barely more than a few hundred long-strides into the fungal fields that surrounded the dwarven city, Kaius spotten his first goblin. It was a good way off, far enough that it wouldn’t notice them unless they actively tried to get its attention.

It was an ugly, wretched thing. Dressed in little more than rotting cotton and scavenged burlap, it looked even more twisted and malnourished than the standard hordelings that lurked in the city proper.

Holding a bare sheet of metal, roughly hacked and sharpened into the shape of a machete, it prowled through the fields, inspecting the dizzying array of fungi before occasionally stopping by a choice specimen to crudely chop off a chunk and then depositing it in the basket on its back.

He doubted it would last more than an eyeblink in open combat with him. Especially now, after everything. He could feel the power that thrummed through his body. More than just the quantifiable increase from his latest Honour, his new beast blood ran hot with the violent joy of the hunt. Strengthening him, even as it enticed his Bloodsong.

A perfect opponent to train his Lesser Regeneration. Unlike the rest of his skills, it required him to actually get hurt, which meant the most effective thing to do would be to at least remove his cuirass.

In the city, that would be far too risky. With the goblins congregating in gangs, he would have no way of controlling the chaotic melee. A duel with an inferior opponent was far, far better.

He stopped, Porkchop pulling up beside him as he felt his intentions through their bond.

“This the one?”

“Yeah,” Kaius nodded, undoing the buckles of his armour. He pulled it free, allowing the weighty scale to drop to the earth with a clatter of metal on metal. Then he removed his reinforced jacket. While it was thin enough that it wouldn’t hamper his efforts, he saw no reason to get it bloody and torn.

The jacket joined the cuirass. “Stay here and watch my stuff, would you?” Kaius said, stepping forwards.

Porkchop chuffed, and Kaius felt his friend settle down next to his gear. “Put on a good show!” he called from behind him.

Kaius simply shook his head and smiled, keeping his eyes locked on the half-starved form of the working goblin serf. He focused his True Sight, bringing up the depths-born’s status.

Goblin Serf - Level 14:

Depths-born, Low Race

He whistled, a piercing and pure note cutting through the air. The goblin’s head snapped towards him, a vicious snarl revealing chipped and blackened teeth as it let out a guttural growl. Slinging the basket off its back, and spilling its cargo of fungi as it did so, the depths-born scampered towards him.

Kaius’s heart thumped, a wry smile crossing his face as the cool air of the cavern brushed against his skin, heightening his senses and juxtaposing the rushing heat that coursed through his veins.

This was going to be fun.

With a flicker of intent, he cranked True Vision higher, boosting his acuity until his head began to throb. Immediately the goblin was thrown into a stark relief. Even half a field away, he could see the years of dirt that had been worked into its skin, the hard calluses and ropey scars from a life of forced labour, and the way each thread in its garb was fraying.

It was a lot, more than he had ever tried to bear in combat before. He needed to do it. If he never pushed his limits to the skill, it would only ever be a useful scouting tool. A waste of its full potential.

He started to jog, arms pumping. A Father’s Gift stayed firmly nestled in its sheath, using his blade would defeat the purpose of what he wanted to do. Afterall, you couldn’t get stabbed if you parried, and he wasn’t trying to kill the depths-born. At least, not yet.

They met in the middle, the goblin throwing itself forward with a howl and a thrust. Kaius watched the blade, his mind racing as his eyes drank in every detail they could. It was slow, almost like the depths-born were moving underwater.

Dodging would have been simplicity itself. Hell, the danger sense of his last legacy skill didn’t even flare.

He stepped in, pivoting slightly, pulling his torso just to the left.

The shard of rusted iron that the goblin used as a machete sunk into the left of his abdomen, a handspan above his hip. Kaius grunted, observing the stride of metal that had impaled him with clinical detachment. It was cold, if only just for a moment before the wound started to burn.

A confused expression briefly crossed the goblin’s face, as if it was surprised at its success. Kaius suspected it was too used to failure in all aspects of its mockery of a life. Then the power of the Depths reasserted itself over its creation, the creature’s face twisting with rage as it yanked its blade free.

Kaius grunted, the rusted and pitted metal catching torturously on the edges of his split flesh. Thick blood welled up from the wound, trickling free with unnatural slowness. His Health ignited, rushing to the ragged tear in his flesh to reknit him back to wholeness.

It itched terribly.

**Ding! Lesser Regeneration has reached level 15!**

Screaming a war cry, the goblin rushed in once more, turning into a wild and uncontrolled swing that it put the full weight of its body behind. Kaius brought his hands up, using his vambrace to protect his face. His helmet could deal with the rest.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Rolling in and under the cut, the crude machete tinked off his arm guards in a shower of sparks, skittering down the plate and scale to cut deeply into the muscle of his shoulder. Kaius felt his arm slacken, drooping slightly as the damaged muscle struggled to hold up the weight.

The goblin howled in glee. The sight of his blood seemed to have incensed the beast into a manic frenzy. Nearly foaming at the mouth, it drew back and flew into another horizontal chop towards his belly.

Kaius stepped back, bringing his leg up into a pugilists guard. The machete slammed into his leg, deflecting off his shinbone to leave a flap of meat hanging free. Kaius grit his teeth through the pain, pushing through it with ease. Compared to having his chest caved in by a Champion, this was nothing.

More Health rushed in, skin, muscle, and fat wriggling as they sealed themselves shut with nauseating agility.

It was probably enough for now, taking any more wounds before he had healed risked leaving him weak enough that he would struggle to defend. Not that he thought he would be in real danger, but it would be bloody embarrassing if Porkchop saw that. He’d never hear the end of it.

He snapped out with his wounded leg, cool air stinging the exposed interior as he booted the rabid goblin full in the chest. With his newly empowered strength, and the goblins small and withered body, he sent the beast flying back to fall into a twisted tangle of limbs.

It pulled itself up off the dirt quickly, howling in rage to rush back towards him. It didn’t matter, with how fast he regenerated now, the simple fleshwounds he had let it inflict were already most of the way sealed by the time it made it halfway back to him.

Throwing itself into a heavy overhead chop, Kaius stepped back and let the tip of the machete skitter along the length of his sternum, enhanced reflexes and razor sharp empowered vision giving him the confidence to leave the goblin just enough reach to sunder his flesh without giving it the leverage to bite into his bone.

They fell into a pattern. Kaius would bob and weave, always positioned just right for the goblin serf to cut him just deep enough to stress his health. It never hit anything vital, never anything more than a deep cut to the muscle. If it ever looked just a little too close for comfort to an artery, organ, or other major structure, he would smash the blow aside with a lightning fast parry with his vambraces.

Once it had gotten a small handful of good gashes in, he would smash it back with a kick, a grab and throw, or a simple stunning punch to the temple. Then he would heal, allowing his Lesser Regeneration to grow, little by little.

**Ding! Lesser Regeneration has reached level 16!**

It wasn’t the only skill to grow. With the mind-aching acuity of his vision, the constant monitoring of the goblin did wonders for his use of True Sight. By now he could barely tell that he had had it activated so high. At least in terms of skill fatigue. The sharpness with which he could see every clogged pore on the serf’s face was more than enough to remind him of the newfound clarity of his vision. Still, he had a while to go. Even with his increased mental stats and a growing skill level, it was strenuous to process so much information at once.

He would need more practice before he could use it comfortably in a real pitched battle.

**Ding! True Sight has reached level 18!**

Unfortunately, all good things came to an end, and even with the efficiency of his healing due to his skill, it was ultimately a finite resource. Another slash kissed his ribs, and Kaius took the moment to look at his Resources.

Resources:

Health - 72/460 (3.6/min)

Stamina - 314/360 (3.6/min)

Mana - 510/510 (5.1/min)

Free Mana - 30/30

Reserved Mana - 480

It was low, as low as he was comfortable letting it get. Any more would be an unnecessary risk, especially when there was an effectively endless supply of willing goblin serfs in the fungal fields that would be more than happy to whale on him.

Twisting on his front foot, Kaius pivoted and slammed his heel into the goblins ribs. Air rushed from its lungs in a ragged gasp as he sent it to the ground like a sack of bricks. In a single fluid motion he planted his foot and drew his sword, smoothly sliding into an overhand slash that caved in its skull.

It quivered once, every muscle in its body going rigid for a single moment, before it slackened and died.

**Ding! level 14 Goblin Serf slain**

Kaius’s chest heaved, the focus and fury of the Bloodsong slowly withdrawing from him. In its wake, the aches and agonies of dozens of healed cuts and stabs washed over him, weighing him down with a mental fatigue. He groaned, sheathing his sword before he looked down to take in the blood drenched state of his torso.

Without any nearby rest stops, he would need to wait until they got back to the city to properly wash. Until then, he’d have to make do with a damp cloth.

“Gods dammit,” he sighed, arms dropping in defeat as he made his way back to where Porkchop was watching over his armour and bags. With every step his boots squelched, saturated from the blood of a dozen would-be mortal wounds.

Amusement shone loud and clear through their link, Porkchop chuffing in amusement at the display he had put on.

“You know, for someone who loves spilling so much blood, you really seem to hate having it on you,” Porkchop teased.

Kaius rolled his eyes. “Just because I love a good fight, doesn’t mean that I’m an actual psychopath. Besides, I have no idea how you can tolerate it getting in your fur, doesn’t it stick?” he asked, bending down to pick up his pack.

He didn’t bother putting on his shirt or cuirass though, he’d just have to take it off again for the next goblin. It wasn’t like there was anything really dangerous out in the fungal fields, anyway.

Then, as he reached for a waterskin to wash off his blood, he realised that if he used it now he would run out before they got to the city. He sighed, slumping in defeat and slung on his pack instead. A little discomfort was worth capping the skill. Even if he could feel his pants sticking to his legs.

He started walking up the next rise.

“It’s not that bad,” Porkchop said, responding to his question as he fell in behind him. “At least it’s only blood. Undead and abomination goop is an entirely different story.”

Kaius chuckled. That was a more than fair assessment, in his opinion. He had a fraction of Porkchop’s sense of smell, and even for him the ichor of battle against those depths-born was on the verge of intolerable.

“So is this your master plan? Get slashed up like a cut of meat until you level Lesser Regeneration?”

“Pretty much,” he admitted. “Though I’m trying to get used to using True Sight to its full capacity, so I might be able to squeeze a few levels out of that. And maybe the last level of Adamant Body. I doubt i’ll get anything out of Uncanny Dodge unfortunately, that would require actually avoiding attacks.”

“What of when we get to the city then?” Porkchop asked.

Kaius turned back to his friend and gave him a wild grin.

“How do you feel about a frontal assault?”