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

Kaius stumbled as twisted space thrust him across the threshold that separated the world above from the Depths below. First through the breach, he heard the sounds of his team behind him a fraction of a second later.

**Welcome to the Great Depths**

Layer: 25

Biome: Temple-palace of Hyythenal

He blinked away the notification that thrust itself upon his vision with eager insistence.

The room was unlike anything he had seen before. Though, that in and of itself was rather normal for the twisting warrens and shifting biomes of the great dungeon complex that stretched beneath the entirety of his world.

They were in a throne room of some sort, light sandy stone having been used to construct a a massive space. Arriving on some sort of raised dais at one end of the room, Kaius looked directly down a corridor made of carved columns that supported the ceiling far above—his eyes directed naturally to an immense door of stone.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the inscrutable runes of a system formation set into its surface. Their entrance room was sealed—they were safe until they made their exit.

Such a blessing was by no means a sure thing at this deep of a layer, the environments growing far tougher and less forgiving as you moved further down.

Stepping forwards, he swept his gaze across the space—only to wrinkle his nose in displeasure as his sodden trousers suctioned themselves uncomfortably to his leg. He was still utterly drenched from the quick jaunt him and his team had taken in the river that surrounded this delve.

A small price to pay, to escape from the army of beasts that had pursued them, and to make it more difficult for their captors to pick up their tail—if they were tracking them, that is. Conte and Torvin, the second tiers that had been the leaders of their prison, had looked a sorry sight after he had beaten them to the point they had to flee.

Turning his attention back to their surroundings, Kaius poured over the many engravings that covered the stone wall—easily visible, thanks to the many flaming braziers that littered the room. For how richly wrought they looked, he was surprised at the simplicity of their craft. Simple scenes of unknown beings and monsters, chiselled into the soft stone.

The braziers were odd too—only the most impoverished homes made use of simple fire instead of wardstones for lighting, and whatever place this had been modelled off had clearly been used for some sort of important purpose.

Other than the permanence of that which had been wrought in stone, the room was totally empty—though a suspiciously thick layer of dust stretched to the door, as if some carpet had once lain there.

All in all, it was a far nicer welcome to this particular den of horrors than he had received last time. A damp cave filled with the decaying remnants of fish was not exactly the most pleasant place—at least here they could rest and prepare, before facing the worst of what the delve had to offer.

The thought of rest prompted him. Turning back, Kaius gave his team a nod—one and all inspecting the room with much the same curiosity he had—before he analysed the dark circle of runes they had just paced through.

Great Depths Portal: Locked - 10 daysLayer: 25Biome: Temple-palace of Hyythenal (unexplored)

Stark relief relaxed some of the remnant tension in his shoulders. Over a week. That was perfect. More than enough time for them to properly decompress from the discomforts of imprisonment they had endured over the last month—more in Kenva’s case.

It was more than a creature comfort. This delve would be a lethal threat, and ensuring they tackled its challenges with fresh minds and unified purpose would be as important to their survival as taking the time to consolidate their most recent gains.

They needed that time. Not only did he have a spell and formation to chose, he still had to form his Corporus Aspect—the fire of the pillar burning with the heat of yearning within his soulspace.

It would have to wait. Kenva had suggested an oath, and a sharing of tales would be just what they needed to start forging the bonds of trust and understanding that would be vital to their survival in the face of the danger that waited for them.

That, and it would be a strong head start if any of Old Yon’s men did end up trying to follow them. Kaius suspected their flight would not be as clean and dry as he hoped—especially not with two second tiers under the man’s employ having escaped. He knew almost nothing of the crime lord’s capabilities, nor what resources and men he could pull from.

All he knew was that he had some connection, in some form, to the Onyx Temple—and they were a beast with a large reach indeed. His sworn enemies, though they may not know it yet.

Still, at least he could count on their mixed blessing of finding a portal that lead to such an extreme depth. They would be facing unknown and deadly monsters with a level range of two-forty to two-fifty, and the Champions and Guardians would be both higher level and far stronger than the average Depths born.

Dangerous indeed, which would hamper all but the most capable pursuers from following them. Unfortunately, that applied just as much to them. With the extreme level disparity, they would need to take things slowly—isolate and eliminate the denizens of this place in as small a number as possible.

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Thankfully, their own levels were likely to rise at an unprecedented rate. With their Honours, the gap would close quickly, and they would be in a perfect position to firm up their foundations for the first tier—and seek more of the system’s rewards for completing difficult feats.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Kenva did not quite agree with him about their capabilities as a group.

Overcoming her shock at the sudden transition, the aen ranger seemingly remembered her original reticence at entering the delve.

She whirled, pointing her finger at him. “You! What were you thinking, picking a portal like this? Treating a place of such danger so casually that you could laugh? What is wrong with you?” her words were hoarse, and her eyes wide—driven more by uncertainty than simple anger.

He could understand that. In all of the vagaries of their discussions while they were captured, he had never given Kenva a clear description of their strength and abilities. Even if she knew he was strong, he doubted that she could fully comprehend the extent of his strength. Beyond his stats, which she would no doubt underestimate, his—and Porkchop’s—skills were unreasonably strong for their level.

More than that, she hadn’t exactly seen him fighting at his best. In the prison, he’d been forced to contend with an anaemic collection of spells, and was placed in perhaps his worst matchup possible.

A delve, where they could plan and pick their targets, would be a far different experience.

“Woah there,” he raised both hands, hoping to placate her fear and frustration. “I have bought us time, and we couldn’t risk finding another entrance before we were worn down by those beasts. Weak, they might have been, but there were far too many of them.”

“Time? Even the weakest of depths-born will out-level us by nearly a full tier! That means death. Battling with a couple of weaker tier two’s does not mean you are suited for what we could find down here. We could take losses.” She continued, frown deepening.

“Bah, there is nothing wrong with a good fight—have some faith.” Porkchop snorted, his tone light.

Kaius stifled a groan as his brother’s interjection nearly set the ranger off further, Kenva whirling on him with her jaw clenched tight. He knew from their bond that his brother had simply meant to break the tension, but the attempt had fallen flat.

Right as she was about to storm forward to give Porkchop a piece of her mind, Ianmus cleared his throat to catch her attention. “Kenva, if I may?”

She paused, giving their mage a long look before eventually nodding. Kaius smiled at the sight—it seemed she trusted Ianmus to be a voice of reason. Ultimately understandable, given his background and his position as the physically weakest of their troupe. He knew the mage trusted him explicitly, and had come to be a firm believer in his decisions after everything they had experienced and accomplished together.

“Give Kaius a little trust. He might seem to be a songlusted fool, but I have never known him to risk his life without having reasoned confidence in his success, and ours. Under his leadership, I’ve seen and achieved a dozen things I would have once thought impossible. Besides, none of us are normal delvers—him and Porkchop least of all—and we will level quickly. Just hear him out.” Ianmus said softly, his expression perfectly calm.

Perhaps because he had the lowest stats of any of them, or because he was the most vulnerable member of their party, but the Kenva nodded and took a slow, calming breath at the mage’s words.

“I suppose I can do that—but you better have a good reason to be so confident!” she whirled on him, a little fire returning to her spirit. “Because from where I am standing, you all seem to have succumbed to insanity.”

He gave her an easy grin, the flickering shadows cast by the firelight making it stand out in stark contrast. “That, I can provide. Though, the explanation for why I am confident in our abilities involves some rather personal secrets.”

Giving Kenva a smile, he moved down the stairs that led from the dais that held the portal to the floor below. “Now, we have more than enough time to rest, prepare, and get cleaned up. So, why don’t we take things easy for a bit, and you can tell me more about that oath that you mentioned?”

Kenva bit her lip, but gave him a nod. She fell in behind him, the rest of the team not far behind her.

Picking a spot that seemed relatively free from dust, Kaius moved to a brazier that stood next to one of the many pillars in the room.

As he warmed his hands over the flames, his team clustered around it. Kenva stood across from him, meeting his eyes.

“An oath, I can do—but what you see next will have to be included in its bindings.” she said.

Kaius raised a brow at her words, curious about exactly what she meant.

“A secret of my people, one I cannot share freely without protections—it is also knowledge that is useful, so a clause given freely in trade.” she explained, seeing his expression.

A questioning look to Ianmus and Porkchop only got him unconcerned shrugs. He certainly had no problem with keeping whatever she planned to share to himself—it was only fair when he doubted it would come close to matching the weight of secrecy he planned to foist onto her.

“Deal.”

Kenva gave them a nod, before she reached to her waist and drew one of her short-swords. Wondering what exactly she needed a blade for, Kaius leaned in.

The ranger drew the length of honed and enchanted steel across her palm, jaw clenching and brow furrowing in concentration as her flesh split. Blood welled a moment later.

The puddle in her hand grew—her flesh still as her Health refused to heal the wound. It was intentional, he guessed.

Right when Kaius expected the blood to slip free of her palm to drip to the floor, it held—rising upwards in an unnatural bulge. Slowly, ever so slowly, the bulge stretched upwards in time with Kenva’s heavy breaths, a long tendril of red questing towards the ceiling.

About a handspan above her palm, the tendril halted—vital fluid coalescing into a rapidly growing orb.

As it reached the size of a small peach, Kaius saw light flash within—too quick for him to identify the source of the energy. Faster than he could blink, the orb of blood collapsed inwards—the strand that connected it to the wound on her palm severing as the red liquid fell to splash on the stone below.

A red stone fell, glistening in the firelight. Kenva caught it, breathing heavily as she cradled it with something approaching reverent devotion.

He recognised its shine, having seen another of its kind before. A shard of the Bloodstones.

“Well, I certainly didn’t expect that.” Ianmus murmured, breaking their shocked silence.