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

Kaius looked around the room.

They were back on the top floor of the guild—one that was totally reserved for the guildmaster’s roof. However, rather than return to his personal office for this conversation, they had exited the stairs and taken a door just off the foyer before his quarters.

Ro had led the way with confidence, having met them in the common room of the guild just as they had entered. Thankfully, it didn’t draw too much attention. The guild had many trainers, and it wasn’t all that odd for Ro to take an interest in promising youngsters—so most just assumed she had taken on that mantle.

Not even the most conspiratorial would assume that they had been training with the guildmaster daily.

After a short walk past tapestries and paintings, Ro had opened a door—leading to some sort of meeting room.

Rieker was already waiting, sitting on one side of a large rectangular hardwood table. A luxurious thing, etched in filigree, blooming flowers, and fantastical birds in flight. High backed chairs surrounded it on all edges, enough for five people to sit across each long edge.

The wall behind the guildmaster were austere, much like all the others. That said, they were still clearly expensive. Wood panelling—a deep brown with rosy undertones—flanked the bottom third, while the upper section before the sculpted ceiling was papered with some sort of rich red.

Simple, but beautiful. Even the wardlights let off a soft yellow glow that filled the room with a gentle ambiance.

Kaius’s eyes skimmed past the large windows that adorned the wall past the head of the table, revealing a high view of Deadacre. Also pretty, but ultimately not what he was here for.

Today was when they would learn of their next contract—and the finalised details of Rieker’s plan to rush them to the Steel ranks—or potentially further, to the second tier.

“Come, come, take a seat.” the guildmaster said, waving them towards the seats across from him.

They filed in—Kaius pulling out a chair so that Porkchop could sit next to him. Ro circled around the table, taking her position at Rieker’s right.

“First, some ‘gifts’. Ro?” Rieker said, turning to the guild manager.

Drorome nodded, reaching into her doublet to pull out two familiar medallions, and three small charms that looked like beads of woven wire. The former were guild tokens—much like their own copper ones, but bronze instead. Ro pushed them forwards.

“These are for your new rank—congratulations, you made Bronze.” Ro’s voice was flat and insincere, though Kaius knew that for all the woman was acting stoney, she did have a genuine fondness for them. “I hope you appreciate the two days of forms it took to get you this after a single mission.”

On the back of her withering stare, she smiled—face flicking quickly to a bright warmth. “It’s a genuine achievement, and as much as I have been grumbling about the extra work, it’s a well deserved reward. With the overleveled nature of the assassin spider, you earned a bonus—one-twenty gold. I took the liberty of splitting it between your accounts in the division that Ianmus requested.”

“Bronze is where the guild truly begins to invest in its members—giving access to our banking through the use of your medallions. In cities with a guildhall, most establishments catering to delvers can draw on it directly, but you can always withdraw coin at any hall.” Rieker interjected. “Most importantly in our case, it clears you for missions up to level one-hundred.”

Kaius nodded. He’d known of both, but it was good to confirm they had earned it all the same. Thankfully, by the time they had outgrown threats on that scale, they had both Rieker and Ro to smooth their advancement to Iron—they’d already said they would do as much.

Apparently, the ranks weren’t so much a direct declaration of the levels of a given team—instead, they were designed to show off the caliber of threats they could face. Most people did not fight above their level—certainly no one went to the extremes that he and his team did—but it wasn’t entirely unheard of for elite teams to enter a new rank ten to twenty levels early.

“These, on the other hand.” Ro tapped the rings. “Are not a reward. They are a loan. Rieker had to request them personally from the head office—pulling strings to do so—and they are exceptionally valuable.”

“Our new masking artifacts? Ianmus is getting one too?” Porkchop asked.

“Indeed,” Ro nodded. “We don’t just need to hide your class identifiers, or that you are a greater beast—we need a total mask, something that will obscure you completely against analysis from anyone under the third tier.”

Kaius ogled the plain rings that looked like they were made out of simple steel, finding it hard to believe they could be so potent. Masking them utterly from someone at the peak of the second tier? He was no expert in the skill, but from what Ianmus had said, that was a steep ask.

It also made his mind drift to what Rieker had said so long ago, that even high in the second he considered himself only a middling power. It went against everything he knew. From everything he had been taught, third tiers were as rare as dragon’s teeth—but Rieker made it sound like they were almost common.

“I see you recognise your value.” Rieker said with a nod. “Indeed—I can confirm that these were hard for me to acquire, even with a career’s worth of connections to draw upon. I would have liked to get something that would have hidden you from a third tier. Unfortunately, I do not have the wealth, pull, or favours to get something like that.”

“Plus, it is of dubious value.” Ro interjected. “The chances of a third tier—one with an analysis skill, mind— coming to Deadacre of all places is vanishingly small, and if you catch their eye—you’re already fucked. Someone in the first standing up to their analysis would be just as damning as them seeing it in the first place. We hope, by the time you brush against such lofty shoulders, you will more than be capable of handling your own Mask.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Kaius caught Ianmus staring at the rings, an intense look of contemplation furrowing his brow. Finally, he looked up to their superiors.

“What tier and rarity are these? From what I know about enchantment theory—what you’re saying it can do is impossible for something less than a second tier artefact. Well, unless they are named items.”

Ro and Rieker grinned, matching smiles that were all teeth.

“You’re right. They’re Unusual second-tier artefacts—took me a month to secure them. At significant personal cost, mind you.” Rieker replied.

Kaius blinked, his mind reeling. First the regeneration tonic, now these rings? Just how rich was Rieker!? They had to be thousands of gold! At least!

Rolling her eyes, Ro slapped the guildmaster on the shoulder—it was a telling display of familiarity, one that was enough to ground Kaius from his shock at the expense of the artefacts.

“Don’t tell fibs.” she admonished him, before turning back to him. “He requisitioned them. They were—and remain—guild property. Thankfully, promising youngsters like you that need a little secrecy is exactly why the guild produces them. They’re a loan—until you reach the point where you can Mask yourself just as well as these can.”

She slid the rings over. “Pass me back your old ones. I’m taking them back and clearing your debt, they can just go straight back to the armory. You also won’t be able to analyse them until you put them on.”

Kaius nodded, scooping up the cold band of metal. Turning it over in his hand, it really did just look like a simple loop of solid steel—with no signs of inscription to be seen. Obviously they had been made by a master, whether it was an artisan or a runesmith, they’d done immensely well to hide the nature of the artefact.

Sliding it on to his finger, he peered at it with True Sight.

Ring of Jealous Secrets:

Unusual - Tier II

Some things are best not shared.

A ring of inscribed mithril inlaid with tier two mind-aspected amethyst, and coated in a fine layer of steel. Fully blocks inspection of the wearer with an adamant defence, and passively holds their Mask in place. Active testing of the Mask still burdens Will, but this strain is greatly lessened. Mask is preserved even if the wielder falls unconscious. This artefact is drastically difficult to analyse, and is enchanted to encourage disinterest in its presence when worn.

Artisan-wrought Artefact.

Accessory - Ring

Adamant Mask II, Resizing I, Inspect Resistance VI, Self Repair III, Durability II, Cloak of Disinterest IV

Kaius gaped at the artefact—marvelling at the number and quality of enchantments that had been packed into the ring. His first piece of tier two equipment, a significant milestone if he had ever heard of one.

Sure, it wasn’t technically his, and it would do little to materially benefit him in battle—but it was still a significant gesture. No matter how much Rieker downplayed it, and no matter how much Ro said it was guild property, there was no way these would have been easy to acquire. Especially since they were barely a quarter of the way through the first tier.

“Thank you.” he said, bowing his head to his superiors.

He might have had an independent streak a mile long, and still have a few reservations about Rieker’s and Ro’s true gains from helping them—but there was no denying they were pulling out all the stops.

Feeling the nudging curiosity coming through his bond, Kaius relayed the artifact’s functions to Porkchop. His brother’s eyes widened, sniffing the ring in curiosity, before he got Kaius to help him with replacing his own.

Ianmus, on the other hand, was still rooted in shock—sitting in his chair with his hand held in front of his face, staring at the ring like he expected it to vanish at any moment.

“Now!” Rieker clapped, jolting all of them out of the revere. “With that done we have a mission to discuss.”

That caught Kaius’s attention, his heart thumping at the thought of finally getting out of the city once more.

“We had a scout come through a couple of weeks ago—a refugee from a small hamlet closer to the coast. An old soldier—had enough levels to make it out there, but had fled with his village to keep them safe. Tough bastard managed to keep all fifty of them alive, charting them a course around the worst of the beasts. Don’t think he slept a wink for the whole trip.” Ro started.

Rieker pulled a roll of paper from his spatial artefact, and passed it over. Ro unravelled it on the table, revealing a map of Deadacre and the surrounding regions. She pointed to a spot deep in the hill country to the south east.

“They passed through this spot a good three or four weeks back—pretty early into their journey. The scout had been doing his nightly rounds, and stumbled into something serious.”

Kaius leaned in, looking at where she was pointing. He didn’t know too much about the kind of dangers that could be found over there—and even if he did, they had likely changed since the phase-shift.

“What’d he find?” Ianmus asked curiously. “I can’t remember there being anything of note in the Dramsal hills—only a few boggarts and the like.”

“Exactly.” Rieker said, his word cutting through Ianmus’s question like a knife. “He found a boggart warren.”

“Aren’t they just pests? I haven’t heard of anyone having much trouble with them in the past.” Porkchop tilted his head, looking at the guildmaster in confusion.

“Not any more.” Ro’s voice was grim. “He said he found hundreds. Most in the late fifties to sixties—but you can count on their elites and leaders being higher. A plague of that size alone is a threat to the entire region. If they aren’t stamped out, they’ll just keep growing and growing and growing. Eventually, even Deadacre might be at risk.”

Kaius stared at the guild manager with wide eyes. That serious? “Why in the hells would you send us then?”

“Because, lad, a plague of this size is a job for me. Ro brought this right to my desk. With a volume of enemies like this, and of a decent level, it will be enough to get you to your next class skill. Most importantly though, facing so many enemies will stress your abilities, and your team work. Your skills will benefit vastly.” Rieker explained.

Then the guildmaster rooted him to the spot with steely eyes. “However, this is important. The boggarts must be slain, and I am taking a risk leaving this in your hands. They’re unlikely to run, but if you don’t catch all of the leaders, they’ll just keep breeding until we have another swarm on our hands in a few months. If you fuck it up, we’ll have to clean up your mess. “

“I hope I don’t have to say that if that happens, I will be very disappointed. Don’t disappoint me.”

Riekers words were teasing, but they had a hard edge to them. He genuinely expected them to slaughter this threat. No doubt, if they failed, their next training sessions would be even more tortuous than the last.

Kaius swallowed, a lump catching in his throat.