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

Porkchop left the den, following closely behind the Matriarch as she led the way through the deep forest. It was identical to how he remembered it. Tree trunks, thick enough that it would take a dozen of him lying end to end to match their thickness, were spread wide with their canopies shading all that lay beneath.

The air was charged with magic, each little shift in the warm breeze bringing with it the electrifying scent of the arcane. When a particularly potent wave passed through, the ferns that sprouted like the lesser trees he had seen over the mountains curled their fronts, trying to absorb as much of the arcane wind as they could.

It was pleasant, and full of life. Yet it held some differences. For one, there was no ever present feeling of danger. No cub left the den without an adult to watch over them, not until they were right on the cusp of their choosing and had the size necessary to fight off the odd low levelled threat that was present at the edges of the mountains.

Here, on the grounds of his choosing, there was no risk. No fear of a toothy horror of the second tier wandering in from the depths of the sea. Sure, it had almost never happened at his den. It was his family’s raising den. Right at the edge of the high mana zone, it was leagues safer than the inner reaches of the forest.

The Matriarch pushed through the undergrowth, clearing him a path. Then, as soon as he was through, she let the thick bushes snap back into place and stepped aside to reveal three clear pools of water, a single fish swimming in their depths.

All were green, though one was the deep emerald of fathomless waters, another the bright lime of new shoots, and the other a rich verdant shade that shone of powerful vitality.

“Your skills, young one. Approach and they will be revealed to you. Choose carefully, because once decided there will be no reconsiderations.” his guide said firmly, prodding him forwards.

Porkchop approached the pools one by one, each revealing a potential option for his first class skill.

Celadon Aegis:

Class Skill- Tier I

Affinity: Crystal, Martial

Type: Defence (Armour), Summoning, Equipment

Selection Available!

Heroic

Bound by sacred pacts of stone and primal spirit, the Warden of Sacred Jade is wrapped in an adamantine carapace. An unyielding bastion in the face of assault, the Warden is a living barrier that stands between its allies and harm.

This skill summons barding on the user, made of heavy plates of sacred jade that are highly resistant to both physical and magical damage. This requires a channelled cost of 500 mana, and an upkeep cost of 5 mana per minute. Broken jade plates regenerate when additional mana is channelled into the skill, or when the skill is refreshed.

Every level reasonably increases armour plate durability and density.

Every level reasonably reduces armour weight

Every level slightly reduces the cost to regenerate broken armour.

Every 50 levels increases the barding’s coverage.

…

Crystal Fang Barrage:

Class Skill- Tier I

Affinity: Crystal, Earth

Type: Ranged, Offence (Magic)

Selection Available!

Unusual

From within the earth, ancient fangs rise to strike down all who oppose. Few withstand the bite of jade.

This skill summons a pair of crystal fangs that hover over the user, launching towards an enemy within 30 strides. Requires 100 mana.

Every level reasonably increases the size, velocity and sharpness of the fangs.

Every level moderately increases the armour penetrating capabilities of the fangs.

Every 10 levels increases the number of fangs by 1.

…

Verdant Reprisal:

Class Skill- Tier I

Affinity: Crystal, Arcane

Type: Area of Effect, Reactive, Defence(Aura)

Selection Available!

Heroic

Strike if you wish, but understand this: jade does not shatter; it endures, absorbing every blow until it reaches a breaking point. And when it does, it will answer each strike in kind, with roots that run deep and thorns that never relent.

At an ongoing cost of 50 stamina per minute, the user creates a zone around themselves that absorbs a portion of damage, and stores that as arcane energy. Once saturated the user may dispel the aura, causing a shockwave of energy infused with jade shards around them that is proportional to damage absorbed.

Every level reasonably increases maximum possible stored energy.

Every level minutely increases the conversion rate of energy.

Every level minutely increases the range of the shockwave.

A/N: Retconning mysterious Aura that we haven’t seen yet to Essence, as aura is way too useful of a descriptor and type of abilities

Porkchop immediately discarded Crystal Fang Barrage. The entire reason he had picked the class he had was to turn himself into a bulwark that could withstand the hells themselves. He wanted to be in the thick of things, shrugging off blows like they were nothing. A magical attack was the opposite of that. Even if it had fit, it was the only option that was not Heroic.

His other two options were far harder to pick between. The Aura looked fantastic, and he could not deny that there was a primal satisfaction in the idea of soaking up enemy fury and unleashing it in turn.

Still, while in any other case it might have been a perfect choice, it was a stiff competition. Armour, that was something he had come to appreciate. His barding might have been light, and mostly leather, but even then it had saved him from many a wound at the hands of common depths-born.

It was only against Champions, and the Guardian, that its defence proved lacklustre. Yet, garbed in heavy plates of jade? Supported by a skill that would grow with him? That had an appeal in a league of its own.

He could see it now, covered from snout to tail in a suit of crystal that made dwarven heavy-plate look thin and fragile, its weight bolstering his own as he charged into battle, crushing all before him as spell and blade were both turned aside. Drawing all attention to himself as his brother tore into their flank, their enemies unable to stand up to their combined might.

Verdant Reprisal was fantastic, and he sincerely wished he would see it again. It would pair beautifully with Celadon Aegis, but the latter skill was far more in line for what he envisaged for his bloodline. Besides, the added weight of the armour would pair beautifully with a number of his skills.

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“You have made your choice.” his guide observed, looking at him evenly.

“I have.” Porkchop said, bowing his head. “Thank you for your guidance, Matriarch.”

“It is my duty.” she replied, lowering her hair by the barest hairsbreadth. “It is always a pleasure to guide someone with such a firm conviction in who they seek to be. I will leave you now. Once you have chosen your skill you will remain here until the transformation of your body is complete, then you will return to the land of the waking.”

Porkchop watched in respectful silence as his guide padded off into the depths of the forest, disappearing into the dense undergrowth. Then she was gone, and he was alone with the soft whisper of summer wind and the murmuring of a forest full of life.

Wandering over to the pool that contained Celadon Aegis, he acted on instinct and lunged inwards. Snatching the bright green fish out of the water, he gulped it down, enjoying the rich taste of impenetrable fortitude that coated his tongue.

The skill settled in, forged by his bloodline construct before its nexus of power crystalised in his soul-space and moved to orbit his soul, perpendicular to the orbit of his legacy skills.

A patch of sunlight shone through the canopy overhead, alighting on a small grouping of clover. Porkchop ambled over and sat to rest. He decided to pull up his status while he waited for his transformation to finish; it wasn’t like there was anything else to do.

Without even thinking about it, he added his spare point to Endurance. He wanted as much health as he could get, so he would mostly split them between that and Vitality, although he did plan on using them occasionally to bolster his other weaker stats.

Status:

Name: Porkchop (He-who-does-not-listen-and-lacks-wisdom)

Dynasty: Den of Moonless Nights

Age: 19

Race: Greater Meles (Dynastic, Enlightened Mind) - +1 Dex, Int, Wil, and free stats per level

Layer Reached: 2

Bloodline: Warden of Sacred Jade - +4 End, +3 Vit, +2 Str, +1 Dex, +1 free stats per level

Level: 1

Resources:

Health - 1680/1680 (15.8/min)

Stamina - 1560/1560 (15.6/min)

Mana - 1540/1540 (15.4/min)

Stats:

Endurance - 27 + 43 + 21% (84)

Vitality - 23 + 43 + 21% (79)

Strength - 22 + 43 + 21% (78)

Dexterity - 22 + 43 + 21% (78)

Intelligence - 21 + 43 + 21% (77)

Willpower: - 21 + 43 + 21% (77)

Stat Points: 0

Aspects:

Pillar Corporus: N/A

Pillar Mentis: N/A

Pillar Animus: N/A

Class Skills (1/10):

Celadon Aegis (Heroic) - 1

General Skills (10/10):

Savage Arsenal (Heroic) - 20

Shattering Storm (Heroic) - 20

Primal Vitality (Unique) - 20

Jade Bones, Earthen Blood (Unique) - 20

Landslide of Fang and Talon (Heroic)- 20

Spell Resistance (Unusual)- 20

Sacred Empowerment (Unique)- 20

Primal Senses (Unusual) - 20

Natural Celerity (Unusual) - 20

Brotherhood of Ichor and Animus (Heroic) - 20

(A/N- adding a (Bonus) tag to appropriate Honours)

Honours:

Born for Slaughter

Birds of a Blood Soaked Feather (Bonus)

Persistent Survivor (Minor) (Bonus)

Kingslayer (Major) (Bonus)

Ruthless Underdog (Bonus)

…

Kaius shook his head, sending a spray of tainted water in every which direction. By the time he had finished inscribing his spells, Porkchop was still lying insensate on the flagstones, in the grip of choosing his first bloodline.

At first he’d simply waited, but then the grime and muck that coated him head to toe had grown too much, the sensation of gritty and caked cloth sticking to his skin was maddening. So he’d retrieved his pack from where he had stashed it on the stairs. Thankfully they had planned for this somewhat, and all of their water skins were full to the bursting.

He’d stripped down to his underclothes, with the self cleaning enchantments on his Hunter’s Garb it would have been a waste of water to clean it himself. His armour, especially the fine and intricate scales of his Serelian mail, was a different story.

Kaius scrubbed the blood and viscera from himself, before working out as much of the gunk from his armour as he could. Then he left it to dry, making sure to save at least some water for Porkchop. They’d always planned on a short jaunt down to the manor below to get clean and secure some travelling rations, but it would have been rude to not save at least a modicum for his bond-brother to clean off the worst spots of gore that matted his fur.

Walking back to the statue, he leaned against the plinth and stared at the glowing blue circle of system runes that dominated the dead centre of the plateau. The portal. Their exit back to the Sea.

Kaius’s eyes drank in their significance. It felt…surreal, to be so close and simply wait. Sure, it made sense. This biome was cleared, and the way would remain open until they took the portal. With how defenceless they were during their class selection, it would have been idiocy to enter an unknown region of the Sea without access to their class and bloodline.

Still, it felt odd. To wait. To simply watch the circle, knowing that the efforts of the last year had paid off, and he had gained more than he ever thought he would. To know that once he returned to the Sea, once he started the rest of his life in earnest, he would be joining a world forever changed.

Shifted, morphed, and forced to undergo a time of struggle, trial, and strife. All because of him. He had changed the world, that was undeniable.

Yet despite the simple fact of the matter, it was hard to reconcile. He may have been a lost scion, with a full legacy set, and a greater beast for a brother. There may have been more mysteries than certainties in his history and family line. Those very facts might have been worthy of bardsong in and of themselves. Yet… he struggled to come to terms with the second phase of the integration, with the challenges laid at his feet by Ekum the Pale.

Everything else he had accomplished was personal at its core, the result of his efforts, luck, and lineage primarily affecting him, and what he personally chose to act upon. The next phase was different. An uncontrolled and unintended result of his efforts, that would affect millions.

He bit his cheek, the weight of responsibility weighing on him like lead. It was foreign, and a burden that he would not have chosen for himself. Yet it was his to bear all the same. A calamity of his own creation, if not of his design.

Staring at the portal back to the world he once knew so well, Kaius steeled his heart. At the end of the day, it was still his responsibility. It was also one that he had been assured would come with benefits.

The best chance for the world, Ekum had said. That meant something, and even if the world had done little for him, he did not intend to let his actions harm the little folk that he felt kinship with.

The people he held dear of Three Fields, the folks of the other frontier villages, and the beggars that he had spoken with in Deadacre - unknowing that such a thing was not done - that had told him their stories. Even the hunters and wayfarers that he had shared rare fires and meals with in the Sea. For them, if no one else, he would not shy from the fate that had been thrust upon him.

Plus, if he was entirely honest with himself, something with the name of Tyrant had to be a fucking good fight.

He knew deep down that languishing peacetime was not the life for him. He craved the certainty of steel, the rush of hot blood, the sweet vigour of food and fine wine, the ever present vitality of a life lived on the edge. Some would call him foolhardy, cocksure, brash, and perhaps even arrogant to the extent of idiocy. To them, he would agree, and would continue earnestly, unchanging in his ways.

Burden or no, he had been called to fight, to strive, and to win.

Kaius felt himself grin, his teeth bared at the world. He had many goals for the immediate future. Finding the lost history of Unterstern and learning why he had heard no mention of his dynasty’s name when all suggested he should have, discovering the fate of his father, and pursuing the goals laid on him by a god-in-the-flesh. All of those needed one thing, power.

He’d learnt one thing from the last year. He responded well to the threat of death. At least the end of the world meant that he wouldn’t need to seek it out for himself.

Standing there, dripping from the remnants of his cleanse, he was startled from his introspection as a hair raising crack emanated from the prone form of his bond-brother.

Kaius’s head whipped over in shock.

Porkchop began to writhe, his flesh boiling and shifting as bones splintered.

Then, he started to grow.