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

The irontusk taking its eyes off his brother to stare at him with wariness proved to be folly. Insistent on keeping as much of the beast’s attention on him as possible, Porkchop plunged his claws into the irontusk’s shoulder, tearing a chunk out of its hide.

A loud rumbling cry echoed across the plains as it screamed in pain and frustration, whipping its head to batter his brother with its tusks, forcing Porkchop back. Unfortunately for it, his brother’s armor protected him from the majority of the blow - new stone charger leather padding absorbing the impact handedly.

Ceaseless in his rampage, Porkchop lunged back in, knife-like claws leaving parallel lines weeping red in their wake as he dragged them across its face.

Then another Sunbeam scoured its eye, recently regenerated flesh boiling once more as concentrated light popped the delicate organ. The irontusk screamed, shaking back and forth as it sought to drive Porkchop back.

Despite the constant harassment, Kaius knew in his bones that it had identified him as the true threat.

Pushing through its agony, its remaining eye swiveled back to him again, black and beady. The motion was constant - forced to pick between the mountainous beast in its face, and the ever present threat of his lightning.

It was a tragic sight, scorched, torn, and soaked in its own blood. Blackened and bubbled flesh made all the more grotesque by the writhing power of its health that raced to seal its wounds. Still it stood strong, ready to meet their challenge.

A mountain of weight heaved, the irontusk’s musculature rippling as it lurched towards him. Kaius readied himself, the scent of future danger filling the air as he waited for the creature’s coming move.

Its first foot smacked the ground. Doom screamed, and the ground shook, bucking underneath his feet like a raging bull. Kaius blanched, struggling to keep his footing.

It didn’t stop him tapping into his glyph. Baleful orange showered the ground in burning light as two spell-hymns burned in quick succession.

Thunder drowned out the irontusk’s constant call, lightning lashing the beast once, then twice - as fast as he could move through the motion.

The irontusk stayed steady, somehow unaffected by the shifting ground. Nor did it do much more than twitch in the face of his magical storm, even if he was sure that he had wrought havoc on its delicate internals.

It dropped its head, levelling its tusks, and bucked.

The metallic ivory of its natural weapons transmuted into spikes of true iron in an instant, lengthening into lethal spears.

The beast’s tusks glinted in the sun as they lanced towards him. A third skill, right on the back of its ability that shook the earth - and another where he had seen no accompanying flare of mana.

Kaius tried to dig his feet in, to twist his body and dive to the side. The ground dropped away, leaving him flailing.

Backed by insensate fury and primal strength, the beast’s right tusk hit him in his armoured stomach. Enchanted scale screeched with fury. Steel gave way before iron, buckling.

Lancing fire exploded through him, followed quickly by the creeping cold of shock as blood gushed from the ravaged channel of flesh and organs.

Agony bloomed.

Rapid Adaptation reacted quickly to the stenching presence of iron-aspected power, rejecting its presence and flaring with power as it sought to rebuff the assault.

**Ding! Rapid Adaptation has added a new Resistance: Iron Magic!**

**Ding! Rapid Adaptation has reached level 23!**.

…

**Ding! Rapid Adaptation has reached level 25!**.

“Thank the gods,” he thought, shoving the pain down as he kicked back to unimpale himself.

Another resistance to aspected abilities, one that would toughen him against all such wounds in the future. The effect was slight beyond measure right now, but in the future it would grow into a significant boon.

That was for later, though. Right now he still had a tooth in his gut.

The irontusk heaved, ripping its head upwards before more than half a stride of its tusk had retracted from his chest.

Kaius tried to gasp, failing as the wound left him floundering, unable to pull in air.

The hook of the creature’s malevolent tooth snatched his rib. The bone held, and he left the ground as he was sent ragdolling through the air.

Kaius whipped his head around as he tumbled, vision sharpening as he tracked his trajectory, every sight available to him in crystal clarity.

**Ding! True Sight has reached level 30!**

He watched his brother howl, incessant rage flooding the bond as he hit the undefended side of the irontusk in a windmill of tearing claws and slicing teeth. Kaius kept spinning, taking in the look of horror on Ianmus’s face, so far from the front lines of the battle. Their latest companion had already reacted, a cloud of Solar magic condensing around his head as the man worked the raw potential of the energy.

Health bloomed, igniting like a match in a grain mill as restorative energy tore through him. Flesh writhed, sealing blood vessels and reknitting skin and muscle alike. Between his growing Vitality and his Lesser Regeneration, the blow was little more than a flesh wound.

He could have survived it half a year ago. Now, it would barely slow him.

**Ding! Lesser Regeneration has reached level 23!**

…

**Ding! Lesser Regeneration has reached level 24!**

The ground approached. Kaius kicked, gasping as he took another sweet breath and forced his body to twist.

Landing in a crouch, he charged the irontusk, already fully focused on the ceaseless assault his brother laid against it. He watched its wounds, the way they writhed, sealing themselves.

They had ravaged the beast continuously, and while it was still slowly flagging, it was regenerating enough that it was in no way weakened.

He arrived, whirling his blade overhead to bring it down with his full body weight. A Father’s Gift cut deep into its thigh, splitting hide and muscle alike. Spinning away from the cut, Kaius unleashed another Stormlash, quickly binding its chest before he jumped back from a retaliatory twitching stomp.

Acrid and foul, the stench of melted flesh and burned hair filled the air.

The irontusk bellowed, goring his brother with a rapid buck of its head as its curved teeth transmuted and lengthened once more. Between the two prongs of their assault, it was growing desperate.

One tusk glanced off the thick jade plating on Porkchop’s chest, but another found purchase, punching through the gaps in his armour.

Porkchop coughed, blood foaming as the beast’s tusk punctured a lung.

It didn’t stop his brother in the slightest.

He wrenched himself off of the tusk without a moment’s hesitation, ignoring the gush of his lifeblood soaking into the dirt and filling the air with the scent of iron. With his powerful healing skill, the bleed was already stemming. Diving back in, Porkchop plunged his claws into the beast’s muzzle as it struggled to respond with its skill still in effect - the added length making its natural weapons cumbersome and unwieldy.

Claws of green crystal were stained red in moments. Porkchop ripped, tearing the beast’s nose half free.

Kaius didn’t let the moment go to waste, flying into a flurry of blows as he hacked and hacked at the widening wound on the giant’s leg. He might have barely come half way up its thigh, but he had learnt one thing against the Guardian.

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A bigger beast was just a bigger target.

Two more Stormlashes were interwoven into the sweeping blurs of his blade, Liturgical Bladeform guiding him through the rhythm of weaving his magic into his fighting style. The rhythm of steel and spell was coming to him, and while it was still a new dance, it was becoming more natural by the minute.

Chopping once more, he felt his blade bite bone. Feral delight split his face as the leg collapsed, muscle too severed to fully support its weight.

Squealing in panic, the irontusk flew into a fury. Relentless in its retaliation, it hammered Porkchop with the sides of its tusks before twisting as much as it was able to force him back.

Kaius ducked, slipping under the arm-thick bar of greyish ivory that threatened to crush his ribs. It whistled overhead, wind blowing with its passing.

Then, summer light bloomed, filling him and Porkchop both with the shining vitality of the sun.

**Ding! You have been Healed - Solar Manipulation!**

His health shot up. Not instantly, but a rise more prodigious than anything he could manage with the simple tonics they had used in the depths.

Still, it had been a lengthy spell to cast - much had happened in the time since Ianmus had started to channel. The weakness of free casting, but its flexibility was proven in how Ianmus was able to adjust it to heal them both on the fly.

Gasping at the radiant warmth that suffused him, Kaius twisted, and thrust. The point of his sword punched deep into the irontusk’s neck that loomed above him. Blood spouted, coating his face in the sticky scent of victory.

Squealing in fear and agony, the irontusk mustered its energy as mana flared in its chest once more. Kaius backed off, grass blurring beneath his feet as he retreated. A glance at his resources told him all he needed to know.

Resources:

Health - 1348/1520 (9.2/min)

Stamina - 929/1220 (12.7/min)

Mana - 776/1910 (13.3/min)

Free Mana - 56/390

Reserved Mana - 720

Whatever came next, he could weather it.

Yet it didn’t turn to him. Thrashing its head back and forth, it smashed its tusks into Porkchop again and again, hammering his brother as it gathered mana. Kaius’s eyes widened.

Air cracked as brilliant light snapped into existence, scorching a line through the irontusk’s throat, Ianmus’s own attempt to ward off the coming attack. For a moment, there was nothing but a hole, the wound cauterised by the superheated light of the spell - then the sheer volume of blood overwhelmed the barrier of cooked meat, and blood gushed from the wound.

The irontusk flinched. Every wound, no matter how small, brought it inexorably closer to the precipice of death. It was already uncomfortably close

Porkchop growled, punishing the assault with lashing claws. Kaius dashed back in, driving his blade into the beast’s chest.

A shuddering rattle echoed in its throat, and its blocky head dropped as mana surged. It kicked its head back, two spinning blades of iron slamming directly into Porkchop’s chest and shoulder.

Both hit jade. Crystal cracked, bleeding the force of the skill. One blade shattered, flinging razor shards out in an explosion of shrapnel, dowsing Porkchop in a dozen small cuts. The other wedged itself through his brother’s armour, stuck fast in his chest plate. A handspan of blade punched into his chest.

The might of thunder heeded his call as he tapped into another Stormlash, crackling potency mirroring his growing rage. He drowned in the song now, the rhythmic tempo of his heart heightening his focus, amplified by the stinging pain and heady joy of battle that flooded across his bond.

**Ding! Latent Glyph of Drakthar has reached level 17!**

Lightning descended like the hammer of a god, binding the beast’s neck to bubble its flesh and ravage its internals. Reverberant frequencies rushed through its body, every wound widening as blood vessels burst in an explosion of gore.

More glowing orange embers poured from his hand, showering the grass beneath him as he ripped at more of his runic hymns - now was the time to end this fight, before Porkchop withstood more grievous wounds so that he didn’t have to.

Three more bolts joined the first, its body seizing as he fried it from the inside out as the acrid scent of burnt hair married with the bitter stench of over-seared meat. Victory would be his.

**Ding! Latent Glyph of Drakthar has reached level 18!**

**Ding! Resonance Amplification has reached level 27!**

Another cut on its chest was all he managed before it returned from its stunned haze, and bore down on him as the originator of its agony.

Crying out, the irontusk threw its head sideways, an iron bar of a tooth careening straight for him. It was all he could do to grab his blade in both hands and throw his full weight into the inevitable collision.

Enhanced steel cut deep into the iron-laced ivory, binding. It mattered little. Backed by a mountain of weight and a titan’s strength, it was all he could do to hold onto his blade as it jumped in his hand. His offhand slipped, missing fingers weakening his grip before he went skidding backwards. Every muscle in his back and arms burned with strain as he forced himself to stay standing.

**Ding! Tempered by Dissonance has reached level 28!**

Kaius gave ground, trying to let the beast bring as little of its size and strength to bear in a direct contest of arms. It mattered nought. The irontusk took a step, then another, hammering his guard with repeated smashes.

Yet, despite the terrifying onslaught, Kaius could do nothing but grin. It was flagging - weakening by the moment. At the start of the fight he would have stood no chance in the face of its mauling strikes - no chance of blocking its heavy blows. The fact he stood blade in hand, deflecting its strikes, said everything.

A Sunbeam cracked through the air, burrowing into the beast’s eye once again. The beast ignored the wound, pushing on. It pulled back for another heave. Kaius moved, yanking on A Father’s Gift to free his blade from the bind, twisting his wrists to lever it out.

The irontusk bucked its head, lancing its tusks towards him. Empowered by Uncanny Dodge and Tempered By Dissonance, he dove under the lethal blow, pushing off the ground with his hand to spin into a roll with blurring speed as he contorted himself out of the way of a furious stomp.

**Ding! Uncanny Dodge has reached level 26!**

Launching to his feet, he raced to his brother. Knowledge and intent streamed across their bond. Ignoring the blade still wedged into his chest, Porkchop let out a baleful growl and stretched out a paw.

Kaius stepped up onto the offered limb and kicked off, his brother heaving to send him sailing through the air.

He twisted, seeing the irontusk quickly turning to search for him. It didn’t look up.

Landing on its back, Kaius used the full momentum of his descent to drive his sword in between the ribs of its back, piercing the Lord of the Plain’s lung. The stinging kick of the impact only heightened the visceral rush that coursed up his spine.

It tried to buck, with its leg shattered and its life streaming from a dozen rents in its flesh, the irontusk’s resistance was a pathetic thing.

Oh gods, he had missed this. The smell of iron on the air, sticky blood coating his skin, the thumping of his heart, and the sheer certainty that he was alive. Effort alone would see them through this, effort alone would make them the victor.

Undefeated ruler of the plains it may have been, but the irontusk had met its match. To it, they were the hardest challenge it had faced, having grown fat on green leaves and knowledge that nothing else met its size or level. To him, it was another step on his path to supremacy, and little else.

A gasping wheeze rattled from its throat, bloody foam erupting from its mouth. He kicked off, ripping his blade free to land lightly on the ground.

Then Porkchop dove in, tearing a chunk out of its throat. Blood fountained, drenching his brother for the few moments before the flow started to stem.

Explorer’s Toolkit twinged. An opening. One that could end the battle here and now.

Kaius sprinted, pommel held tucked into the pit of his arm.

Even with its flesh writhing as wounds were sealed, even with its monumental Endurance and stout body, the beast could not keep up with the overwhelming damage they were laying against it. Blood streamed from a dozen pits in its chest, torn free by digging claws stained a deep red.

Boiled and seared flesh wept, belying a dozen more serious internal wounds.

It was flagging. Kaius could taste its death on the wind, the subtle potency of victory. It would be theirs.

Reacting on skill enhanced instinct, he readjusted his grip on his sword, holding it in his dominant. He approached his target. Kicking off the ground, he flew into a spin. Thrusting out his left hand, he tapped into the stored violence of his glyph.

Lightning cocooned him, before cracking out to bind the irontusk once more. Blurring steel quickly followed, a flashing arc of silver poised directly to cut into its neck.

He activated his vambrace. Kept charged by being forced to constantly defend from the beast’s onslaught, he’d been saving it for the right moment.

Stored power took over. Fuelled by the might of dozens of blows, the fine edge of his blade hit the top of the irontusk’s neck like a headsman’s axe. Hardened flesh parted like wheat, bone splintering like deadwood, and blood poured like raging falls.

When the might of his enchantment was spent - exhausted in the effort of breaking the creature’s toughened spine - his weight took over. Honed steel severed the thick corded bundle hidden within its spine, and carved through half a stride of flesh beneath.

Spine severed, it collapsed, head flopping to the side on a half a neck of unanchored flesh and gristle.

The winds of death rattled from its exposed throat, a final exhalation as its vitality anointed him in the sweet red of victory.

His feet touched the ground.

**Ding! Liturgical Bladeform: Primus Ordo has reached level 27!**

**Ding! level 49 Irontusk Vagrant slain - Experience Gained! Bonus Experience for slaying a foe of Significant Strength!**

**Ding! Runeblade Initiate has reached class level 18!**

**+3 End, Str, & Int, +2 Dex, Wil, +1 Vit, Free - from Class & Racial Traits!**

…

**Ding! Runeblade Initiate has reached class level 22!**

**+3 End, Str, & Int, +2 Dex, Wil, +1 Vit, Free - from Class & Racial Traits!**

**Ding! Class skill available for selection!**

Kaius howled his victory to the air, his brother’s roar mirroring his own.