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

Kaius reveled in the rush of strength that welled up from his soul—and the joy at having seized his next skill.

He took a moment to just let it wash over him, eyes drifting closed as the sensations of his body being remoulded and shaped according to the system’s will coursed through him from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

Fifteen levels—an immense achievement for a single battle by any reasonable means, but not his greatest. The pleasure of having his capability grow by leaps and bounds in a single confrontation was a transient one. He knew that much.

As the system’s demands grew with each level up, their growth would slow faster than they would be able to keep up. It was a simple fact of life. Even if their rate of growth outstripped their common foes, eventually they would simply not be able to fight—or potentially even find—things of a high enough level to secure them the experience they needed.

They would need monsters by the bucket full to gain even a single level. Even with the increase in beasts, simply finding enough monsters that presented them a suitable challenge would be difficult.

It was an inevitable grind that eventually forced all serious climbers back into the arms of the depths. Dangerous, risky, and lengthy delves might be, but they were rewarding beyond measure. A consistent source of monsters—both in volume and in challenge, thanks to Champions—that would serve as the true fuel to their ascension.

Thankfully, that day was not today.

So Kaius stood quietly, and enjoyed the feeling of having the strength of his body and mind redoubled.

The moment passed—the joyful rush of levelling leaving peace and contentment in its wake.

Opening his eyes to the ruined body of the drake, Kaius sighed at the state of its wounds. A solid third of its hide had been scorched to the point of uselessness—let alone the gallons of valuable blood that had spilled on the earth below.

Still, with its size there was plenty of material left—hopefully it would still be worth plenty of coin, and hopefully Ro wouldn’t be too annoyed with them. Though, the more he thought about that, the less likely it had seemed. She was one of the ones who had impressed upon them that they should fight smart—it would be a little hypocritical to lambast them for doing exactly that.

Somehow he doubted they would escape a ribbing though, even if it was light-hearted.

Walking forward, he crouched down by the creature’s leg. The thick muscle there was still warm—and would no doubt make a good post-battle meal, thanks to their unintentional blooding of the carcass. Unfortunately, his knife would be a poor option for cutting through its scales.

“Mind cutting some of this out for me? I doubt my knife is up to the job, and a sword is a bit awkward.” Kaius asked, craning his neck to look to Porkchop.

“Sure,” Porkchop replied, his expression clearing as Kaius’s question shook him from his own leveling revelry.

Porkchop wandered over. Using a single claw, he carved a slab free from the drake. Kaius snatched it up with glee, looking at the faint radiant glow still present in the meat. Few could say they had eaten a dragon, even one so far removed from their primogenitors as a lesser drake.

During their research on the beast, he’d spent some of his spare time looking into accounts of meals made with their remains. Supposedly, all draconic creatures were supposed to have a refining effect on your base physicality—the reason for the expense of their meat, in addition to its rarity.

For a lesser drake, the effect would be so small it may as well have been nonexistent. Even if he ate the whole damn thing he doubted it would do enough to be noticeable. Not that it would work anyway, the potency faded completely within weeks, even with spatial preservation.

You’d need a real draconid, not a stunted runt of a cousin of one, to see real gains.

Still, that wasn’t the only reason for his interest. They were supposed to taste sublime—no way he was skipping out on a meal like this just for a few extra silver.

Holding his prize like it was made of gold, Kaius grinned like a mad man as he walked away from the site of their battle—much to Porkchop’s amusement.

Ianmus waved, already having moved to the end of the gully with their bags.

Kaius hurried over—eagre to get cooking, and sink his teeth into his latest skill.

…

Sizzling crackles filled the air as Kaius pressed the steak into the pan, doing his best to allow the drake meat to form a dense crust.

Having already activated their communication token to summon Ro, they could only wait for her arrival—and the coming dawn.

He’d cut three steaks from the hunk that Porkchop had butchered for him, each one as thick as his wrist and twice as large.

The only seasonings that he’d used was salt—he wanted to get a feel for the meat by itself, before he went about adding to it. Judging by the mouthwatering scent—full of the hardy fortitude of stone—it had been the right move.

Satisfied that he had a good ten minutes before it needed to be flipped—strong beasts took notably longer to cook—he sat back with a satisfied sigh.

Pausing for a moment, Kaius eventually looked to his team.

“So…who’s going first?” he asked.

None of them had chosen their skills yet—happy to get comfortable before they went through their options as a team.

“You, I think. I’ll go last—the reverse of our order for the rewards of the boggling mission.” Ianmus replied, a smile on his face.

“Yep—it would be only fair.”

“Well, if you insist. I’m not going to argue the point.” Kaius grinned.

He pulled up his notifications immediately—three new skill options revealing themselves to him.

Siege Breaker Thrust:

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Class Skill - Tier I

Affinity: Martial, Arcane

Type: Spellsword, Armament Technique, Armor-Piercing

Selection Available!

Unique

I know they don’t bother to tell you shit in basic, but you’ll understand soon. There’s a reason our armies are made up of individuals with a logistics contingent. See those Atavist shock troops? They look tough, right? Their shields may as well be city walls, for all the good our blades will do. Don’t worry though, our champion will cut through their ranks like the paper soldiers they are—I’ve seen him drill his way through a stride of solid mythril with a single thrust.

This skill allows the user to reinforce their weapon with the essence of war and magic during a single overwhelming thrust. Martial attuned mana fuels the blow with unimaginable strength, lengthening the user’s range by three strides. Honed to an infinitesimal point, the condensed arcane allows the user to sunder even the most stalwart of defences.

Cost: 150 mana

Each level greatly increases the penetrative power of the skill.

Each level significantly increases the physical force backing the skill.

Every 20 levels the maximum range of the skill increases by a stride.

…

Bell-toll Blitz:

Class Skill - Tier I

Affinity: Martial

Type: Armament Technique, Longsword, Flurry

Selection Available!

Heroic

And lo! did Jaan proclaim that with the dawn of each cycle, he would honour his mother with a cut of perfection. One for each day that had passed since the great betrayal, confined to a single, sonorous, moment. And lo! on the tenth cycle, did Jaan’s enemies fall beneath a storm of swords.

This skill infuses the user with the vigour of war, allowing them to attack five times in the time they would normally strike once, while maintaining their control and accuracy. Enhanced speed and strength lends the attacks a crushing might.

Cost: 150 stamina

Each level significantly increases the strength of the strikes.

Every 25 levels, the user can make an additional attack.

…

Mystic’s Rend:

Class Skill - Tier I

Affinity: Arcane, Martial

Type: Spellsword, Armament Technique, Slash

Selection Available!

Heroic

The mystic is quiet, but they are not meek. Those that would attempt to cavort with the forbidden, or grasp what should be left fallow and forgotten, will quickly find themselves sundered by threads of the Arcane, woven into a volatile edge. Ruination upon those that forgo the wisdom of their betters.

This skill allows the user to weave a gossamer thin edge of purified mana along their weapon. This edge will detonate outwards shortly after cutting a target—a small shaped explosion that will inflict ruin upon their enemies and leave the user untouched. Inherently destructive and unstable, arcane mana causes everything it touches to degrade—slightly aiding in piercing defenses and corroding flesh.

Once formed, the arcane edge of Mystic’s Rend will last for fifteen seconds before fading. The skill may be dismissed earlier at will, though it will linger for some time as it safely dissipates.

Causes affliction: Arcane Blight

Cost: 60 mana

Each level significantly increases the size and force of the shaped detonation.

Each level moderately increases the corrosive and armour penetrating effects of Arcane Blight.

Each level slightly increases the length of time the skill persists.

Every 50 levels the stability and efficiency of the skill grows, allowing an additional slash.

Roving across the skills, Kaius’s smile widened with delight. Sword techniques—proper ones, unlike his Bladerite which acted more of an enhancement of his sword itself.

Rattling off the descriptions to his team, Kaius turned his focus away from the waiting decision, eager to hear their thoughts.

Ianmus hummed, pausing to think through the options that Kaius had shared with him.

“I’m quite partial to that thrust skill—it sounds singularly focused on dealing with highly armoured opponents. It would fill a hole in your kit.”

“Oh?” Kaius replied, tilting his head at the mage in surprise.

One skill was a clear standout, in his mind. At least, for him personally—he could see how each of them would be beneficial to others with different general skills, and a different approach to combat.

He was leaning to Mystic’s Rend—it filled a hole in his arsenal handedly, and the explosive effect called to him. It sounded like it would do the most to increase the actual damage he could leverage with his blade. After all—he struggled with leaving lasting wounds with his sword alone. A forceful explosion of caustic arcane inside his opponents bodies would do much to change that.

Siege Breaker’s Thrust seemedgood, after all, he might have been able to deal a finishing blow to the drake if he’d been able to pierce its skull on his initial attack. However, in the end, it sounded like it ultimately would only leave simple stab wounds in his enemies. No doubt that would change as the skill developed through the tier increases and evolutions, but that was a while off, and the same could be said for everything else.

Armour was an issue, but he’d have other options to deal with that—Stormlash worked well, and he had another Drakthar spell just around the corner.

The same went for Bell-toll Blitz. It relied too much on his ability to injure his opponents with his sword alone. Sure, his blade would grow stronger, but that would be just as beneficial for Mystric’s Rend. If more of his general skills enhanced his sword play, or more of his skill set was dedicated to the blade, the scales might have balanced out differently.

As it stood his final skill would bring with it explosive power and an affliction. It was a clear winner.

He explained his thoughts to his team.

They nodded thoughtfully.

“I think, when you put it like that, it makes complete sense. At the very least, Bell-toll Blitz is the clear loser—both of the other skills will finally give you a use for all of the free mana you’re generating during our fights. Your pick is also the cheapest—so you should be able to generate enough to use it every couple of minutes already.” Porkchop explained.

It was something Kaius hadn’t considered—and only cemented his decision further.

With his mind made up, he selected his fourth skill.

**Ding! Mystic’s Rend Class Skill Available, would you like to proceed? This choice is pivotal and irrevocable.**

The power of the system settled around him.

Purified potential was woven together in his soul-space, clearly visible in his mind’s eye. With its speed and power, the process was complete a moment later, and another faceted gem joined its siblings in orbit around his soul and class construct.

When the skill settled in place, Kaius opened his eyes and smiled widely.

He leapt to his feet, drawing his blade. Leaning on newly found instincts, he drew on his mana—weaving the energy as his skill demanded. Without the complicated instructions required of a spell, it leapt to his command.

A razor thin thread of burning azure crackled into being around his blade a moment later—so bright it was almost white.

It seemed to sizzle the very air around it—instability leashed to his desires.

The very sight of that burning edge nourished the building excitement within him.

Seeing that band of offensive magic threading his sword was a testament to his path. A statement, more than any other, that he had committed himself to walking a route of spell and steel.

Kaius threw his head from side to side—looking for something to cut.