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

Kaius rose from his soul-space with a gasp, his eyes snapping open to take in the dense ash canopy above. Warm sunlight filtered through the green leaves, comforting him with memories of home. He was still in his class selection.

He’d been told to expect that, but after all he experienced, it was hard to avoid feeling surprised.

His class construct, the system sheathed in an aged and scarred clone of himself, leaned over him with warm eyes and a soft smile.

Despite the notifications for his new skills tugging at his mind, Kaius gave the system his full attention. One did not ignore the highest of divines.

“Pretty intense isn’t it? I know I said we had more to do, and we do, but I’m not going to be so cruel as to stop you from checking out what you have gained. You almost look constipated.” The ancient intelligence teased.

Kaius blanched, struggling to marry the coarse humour with a lifetime of veneration.

His class construct just gave him a cheeky grin. “Based off you, remember? Don’t go getting all up-tight about your own humour now. Seriously though, check your skills, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

Kaius paused, and then gave the construct a nod, indulging in his rampant curiosity over his gains without even bothering to sit up.

Liturgical Bladeform - Primus Ordo:

General Skill - Tier I

Affinity: Arcane, Martial

Type: Spellblade, Longsword, Glyph-binding, Mastery

Level 20

Heroic

The first order of Vesryn. Speak the language of war, and write your verse with steel and spell. Here, mastery transcends skill; it becomes Ritual.

Skill that enhances technical mastery with the Vesryn orders Liturgical Bladeform style, a cohesive use of longswords and glyph-binding. Improves the lethality of longswords, and the armour piercing capabilities of longswords and hymns

Each level significantly increases longsword and glyph-binding proficiency.

Each level moderately increases speed, control, and power of strikes - both mundane and magical.

Each level minutely increases the ability to penetrate mundane and magical defences.

Evolved from: Warforged

Kaius grinned as he drank in the description of the evolved form of Warforged. Not for the first time, he thanked his blessings that he had been born into the legacy he had. Warforged was an … unoptimised skill, but it had served its purpose perfectly. With its power spread so thin between mastery of so many styles, Warforged failed to really shine in any given one.

Yet, it was only a base skill. It meant that none of his ancestors were locked into a specific style or weapon at birth, able to choose what fit them best. Father had said that most in the history of their Dynasty managed to evolve it by the first or second class selection. When they did, they almost invariably were granted something that let them excel.

The truth of those words stared him straight in the face now.

He had lost his ability to make use of any weapon, but he had gained much, much more. Already he could feel its effects rushing through him. When he tried to remember the feel of a perfectly aimed bowshot, or a graceful parry with a knife, it slipped away like a dream.

It wasn’t that bad, he had still used and practised with dozens of weapons since he was a boy. All he had lost was the nudging and insight granted by the system, the ones that stretched his capabilities to superhuman heights.

In their place, he could feel a burgeoning style taking place, one that wove a dance of arcane steel. He couldn’t feel it completely, that would take practice and time to familiarise himself with his newly found instincts and implicit knowledge.

That wasn’t all. Even if all he had gained was a sword and hymn focused style with better scaling, he would have been happy. But for the skill to increase his ability to overwhelm armour and protection? That was invaluable, especially as he knew that he and Porkchop would need to punch upwards if they were to meet the significant demands of Ekum the Pale.

Invigorated by Liturgical Bladeform, Kaius moved on to the next skill.

Tempered by Dissonance:

General Skill - Tier I

Affinity: Martial, Destruction

Type: Body Reinforcement, Armament Reinforcement, Evasion

Level 20

Heroic

Harmony brings fullness, dissonance threatens dissolution. Unwoven like fabric, you are reduced to base threads and tempered in chaos, pain, and undiluted malice. Recomposed, you persevere, undaunted by the many terrors of the world. Garbed in new cloth, you advance unbroken. Wise to the ways of destruction, you evade what you can, and endure what you cannot.

Skill that increases the effectiveness of all forms of tactical movement, bodily resistance to injury, the integrity of defensive armaments and self-cast runic hymns. General encumbrance of Medium and Light Armour is reduced.

Each level reasonably increases speed, power, and control of tactical movements.

Each level moderately increases integrity of worn defensive armaments, and effectiveness of self-cast defensive runic hymns.

Each level moderately increases manoeuvrability of worn Light and Medium defensive armaments, and moderately decreases their weight.

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Each level moderately increases the effects of Endurance on bodily integrity.

Evolved from: Adamant Body

Reading the words, he knew then that without a doubt he had picked the right class. One perfectly suited to him.

General skills evolved to align with your current class, but so far everything almost seemed to be perfectly tailored to him. If it wasn’t for his surety in the systems might, and the sanctity of undergoing class selection without influence, he would suspect that Ekum had nudged things in his favour once more.

Tempered by Dissonance had lost almost nothing of note. While he would no longer receive the skills benefits when wearing heavy armour, he had no intention of ever using it. He preferred a lighter, more agile approach to combat. Even if he did have a tendency to get hit in the chest, he would be far worse off in restrictive full-plate.

In its stead, his restrictions on physical defences and reactive movements had disappeared.

It was a fine skill. He pulled up the next one, eager to see what had become of Runic Lexicon.

Tonal Weaving:

General Skill- Tier I

Affinity: Arcane

Type: Glyph-binding, Runic, Meditation, Mastery

Level 20

Unique

Inscribe the resonance of wisdom upon the flesh, become a living tapestry of arcane harmony. With each rune and hymn, carve order from chaos, uniting body and soul with the potent iconography of the Vesryn Order.

This skill improves the users ability to inscribe the glyphs and runic hymns of the Vesryn Order. Enables direct inscription of the body through meditation and mana control.

Each level significantly increases speed and accuracy when inscribing Vesryn runes.

Each level significantly increases the stability of Vesryn runes.

Each level moderately increases memory and understanding of known Vesryn glyphs and runic hymns.

Each level slightly reduces required focus and time to directly inscribe the body.

Evolved from: Runic Lexicon

Kaius frowned as he took in Tonal Weaving’s changes to its previous iteration. No longer did it boost his direct capability and learning ability of runic scripts. Instead it seemed to boost the understanding of Vesryn runes he had already learnt.

Without that, he would be forced to learn the new scripts without the system’s aid and without a dedicated teacher. It was possible, but it would be the work of a lifetime.

Yet, it wasn’t without its benefits. His ability to inscribe and handle the new runes seemed to have been greatly increased. The ability to directly inscribe himself through mana control was...interesting. He would have to test it out for himself, but if it worked as suggested, then with enough skill levels it might drastically reduce the time he had to spend refreshing his hymns.

That would grow rather important as his total mana capacity skyrocketed with his class levels.

He dismissed the notification, looking up to his class guide. “No knowledge component?” he asked.

The aged clone shook his head slightly. “Unfortunately not, I did mention that hybrid classes come with drawbacks. However, it will help you fully understand the components of the runic hymns you receive from your class skills. From there, it is just a matter of exploration, extrapolation, and testing. I wouldn’t expect to reverse engineer glyphic scripts quickly though.”

Kaius paused, but gave his guide a sharp nod. At the very least he had gotten confirmation that it was possible. Besides, even with a knowledge skill, it would have still been a gargantuan undertaking without any learning resources or tutors. The kind of work better suited to cloistered scholars than a warrior like himself.

He just hoped that the speed and convenience of direct inscription would be enough to offset the loss.

The final skill notification tugged at his mind, and Kaius dove straight in.

Resonance Amplification:

General Skill- Tier I

Affinity: Arcane

Type: Glyph-binding, Metamagic, Manipulation

Level 20

Unique

Attune yourself to the primal song, the thumping heart that runs beneath the world. Impart a note of destructive purity to your hymns, reverberations shattering all that would bar your path to perfection.

Resonance with internal mana empowers offensive runic hymns with penetrating vibration. Enhances mental control of internal mana. External mana may be controlled with significantly increased difficulty.

Each level significantly increases control over internal mana.

Each level slightly increases the potency of imbued resonance.

Each level minutely increases control over external mana.

Evolved from: Mana Manipulation

Kaius’s heart thumped as a grin split his face. Metamagic. He’d had hopes, but without a base skill of that nature, he had gotten lucky indeed with this evolution. Even if the difficulty of external mana control had increased, he’d found that that particular skill was far less useful for him than a standard caster.

Once his hymns were set, there was little he could do to influence them to the extent a manipulation or sorcerous caster could. Instead, he found internal mana control to be far more advantageous with how it assisted his inscription.

Even that single trade would have brought the skill better into alignment with his needs, but for it to develop a metamagic component as well? That was true fortune. Imbuing his combat spells with reverberation would increase their effectiveness at no additional cost, and he could think of a number of cases where it could prove extremely advantageous, like against heavily armoured opponents.

Pleased with his gains, Kaius dismissed the notification and pushed himself off of the soft ground of the forest. Dirt and loose leaf litter clung to his back, until he brushed them free and rose to his feet.

“What now? You mentioned something about us still having something to do before I’m finished?” Kaius asked, turning to his guide.

His guide crinkled his eyes, small crows-feet appearing at their corners. “Indeed we do. It’s time for you to pick your first skill, and depending on your choice, your first spell.”

Anticipation welled up within him, a bubbling energy that made him feel light and energetic. His first class skill… It was finally here. Unlike general skills, they almost ubiquitously had some sort of active component, and were the largest part of why classers were so capable.

Though, he had half suspected that he would make the choice outside of this selection place.

“Will I always come back here when I unlock more?” He asked, tilting his head at Kaius the Elder.

“No, just for the skill that comes with the class evolution itself. For your later spells, you will enter something similar, you do need to be taught them after-all, but not here. Somewhere less sacred, but still dear to your heart.” The guide explained, before he waved at Kaius to follow as he turned and strode off into the meadow that surrounded the trio of ash trees that had revealed to him his class options.

Kaius jolted, and strode after his guide, pushing through dense grasses and walking around wildflowers. They were too pretty to damage with casual disregard.

“We’re going somewhere else?” He asked, hurrying to match the clone’s pace.

“Of course. A new skill carries a whole lot less weight in your heart than your class. It would be inappropriate to make the selection here. I still think you’ll enjoy the process though, you have quite the options.” His guide said, looking back over their shoulder to shoot him a wink before they picked up their pace.

“Hey! Wait up!” Kaius replied, starting to jog.