Runeblade-Chapter 284B3 : Wealth of Growth, pt. 1

Chewing through his last bite of food, Kaius eyed his team’s latest member.

As they had eaten, their topic of conversation had shifted to Kenva’s story—and what she could do.

Like he had expected, she was a capable combatant—she had to be, having earned her own honours, and blazed a path through the Frontier alone. Unsurprisingly, she was an Unusual class holder—a Horizon Breaching Ranger, with both a martial and nature affinity.

Her upbringing was familiar to anyone who possessed a legacy of any appreciable strength, particularly so to himself, with her nomadic culture. She’d grown up on the move, working tirelessly to perfect her abilities during her unclassed period.

It had rewarded her in dividends. While the pinnacle of her legacy might have been her Farseer skill—an astonishing ten-merge, the first person he had heard of possessing one aside from himself and Porkchop—it was not the only powerful legacy skill she possessed.

Three stood out to him. Storming Rain, a mastery skill that radically improved her capabilities with both bows and dual blades, Way of the Survivalist, which drastically improved her tracking and wayfinding capabilities beyond what his own Explorer’s Toolkit could manage, and Windborne Grace—a skill that turned her into an untouchable typhoon in battle. freewebnoveℓ.com

She had a smattering of other legacy skills, namely Mana Manipulation, and DeadeyeSniper—a skill that improved her ability to target and injure vitals, but it was the first four that were the most notable.

Even with six legacy skills, she had not slackened for the rest of her build. Every other skill she had earned had been a minimum of Rare—rounding her out into a lethal threat at range.

Her class skills had been of a similar quality. He’d already seen Horizon’s Arrow, Lance of Fury, and Vinestride—the first being her charged shot, and the second being the skill that allowed her to fire a javelin sized projectile—but she also had Ranger’s Potency, and Slice the Heavens.

Ranger’s Potency sped up Kenva’s movements, and increased her precision and control—allowing her to make more difficult shots, more often. It had a decent effect on her running speed, but not as much as it could if it also increased her physical strength. Slice the Heavens, on the other hand, was a melee skill; one that let her make a devastating dual cut that could cleave through defences with ease.

Aside from the details of her strength, she talked at length about her background. How she had grown up migrating across the Altierr steppe, living with her clan—and how she had always longed to start her Path in accordance to her people’s traditions.

Much like all of them, she was a wanderer at heart—one that craved to see what was over the next ridge, and was determined to grow strong enough that no place was too dangerous to explore.

It made him confident that they could work together long term. Hells, at this point it seemed as good as done.

He thought back to sharing what they knew of the progressing integration, and his determination to progress it as fast as he was able.

A fire had lit in her eyes—one filled with longing as much as duty and drive. She wanted in, he could tell.

Still, broaching the subject of a more permanent partnership could wait. For now, back in the depths as they were, they were bound together anyway. They would have plenty of time to grow close as a team, and see how closely they truly aligned.

Even if he knew she would likely say yes if she asked, he worried that such a decision would be marred by the realities of their confinement. Kaius knew all too well that bonds forged in such a fire could be seductive, and could potentially mask deeper incompatibilities that could grow troublesome given time.

Much better to grow their bonds through struggle and triumph, and see if they could operate as a unit for an extended period first.

Sighing at the sight of his empty plate, Kaius rinsed off the scraps of his meal with water from their refilling skin, and stored it inside of their saddlebags.

Feeling the soft pang of discomfort from a taut muscle in his back, he stretched and readjusted—leaning on one arm as he stared at the immense stone door that led out of the entryway.

They’d barely been here for a few hours, and had days left before any potential pursuers could follow them through the portal, but he still felt that gnawing need to move—to push forward and see what waited for them.

It would be a fool’s move, of course. After their stint of torture and imprisonment, they needed rest. Time to simply decompress, recover, and reorient themselves. Even if they were all seasoned combatants, a simple night of comfortable sleep would be almost as valuable as a powerful artefact or skill at this point. It would hone their minds—keep them focused and ready for whatever may come next.

More than that, he still had an aspect, formation and a spell to pick, and Ianmus and Kenva both had new skills of their own available to them.

Still, be that as it may, he could feel the tug in his soul. A gift from his Honour, Persistent Survivor, which had created two threads of awareness that shot through the door he stared at—leading deep into the biome beyond.

A knowledge of a Guardian, and a lesser Champion. It was a mild sense—only giving him a bearing, and the faint knowledge that the Guardian was further away and slightly below them.

The awareness still tugged at his mind. Made him restless.

He shook his head. Even if he would enforce a rest, he had other things he could do.

“I’m going to pick my new abilities, if people don’t mind giving some input.” he said, breaking the silence of his teammates mowing through their second helping of the meal he had made. “Though, I will wait to finish initialising Corporus until we are all done—there’s something I want Kenva to check.” he finished, mind drifting to the strange glimmer of light he had seen pulsing within his teammates when they had discovered their own Aspects.

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“Of course,” Ianmus said, the others only nodding with their mouths full. “I’d like some help with my own selections afterwards as well—It’s more important than ever that we can operate cohesively, what with us having a legion of second tier monsters between us and our goals.”

The mage gave him a wry grin, and Kaius couldn’t help but chuckle.

He wasn’t wrong. While he was confident in their chances, and that this experience would provide them with the necessary feats to catapult their strength to the heavens—and drastically improve both Ianmus and Kenva’s second tier class evolution—there was no denying that this would be the greatest challenge he had ever faced by a long shot.

So far, every second tier they had fought had been a monumental engagement. Even if depthsborn beasts would be far easier to manage than a higher race classer, they would still have a strength and power that far exceeded their own.

Switching his focus, he pulled up the first of his available options—his first spell for Vyrthane.

**Ding! Spell-hymn available for selection - Latent Glyph of Vyrthane!**

Kaius accepted the notification, a sprawl of options opening up in front of his eyes.

War Haven:

Runic Hymn - Tier I (Barrier, Defense)

Affinity: Force, Protection

Glyph: Vyrthane

1000 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn defends a designated small structure or zone from ingress and assault for a total period of 12 hours, with smaller zones having stronger defenses. This includes reinforcement of existing defenses, an invisible force barrier, and the locking of entry ways. Reinforcement of existing structures is more efficient than targeting an empty zone. The caster, and anyone they designate, may attack and cross through the secured space at will.

…

Cthonic Barrier:

Runic Hymn - Tier I (Barrier)

Affinity: Death

Glyph: Vyrthane

150 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn summons a pale barrier of hungry spirits, up to 10 long-strides in length and 1 in width, for 5 minutes that may be shaped to the caster’s desires. Delirious and mad, the spirit’s wails deter all living beings with souls, and tear at their flesh should they dare to cross the threshold. Incorporeal, it does little to halt unliving or material entities.

…

Skin of the Pale Wood:

Runic Hymn - Tier I (Barrier, Defense)

Affinity: Nature, Protection

Glyph: Vyrthane

100 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn covers a target's skin in a thin layer of living wood for 10 minutes, significantly enhancing their resistance to physical damage. Attuned to their movements, it does not hamper them or their mobility.

…

August Shield:

Runic Hymn - Tier I (Barrier)

Affinity: Force, Martial

Glyph: Vyrthane

50 Mana

Selection Available!

This Hymn summons an immobile floating roundshield with a diameter of 1 long-stride, in any orientation the caster wishes within 20 long-strides. Nigh-indestructible to all but the strongest of foes, after a single impact, the shield disperses.

Kaius immediately honed in on the first and last spells.

Both would be imminently helpful for keeping them safe in the coming months, in drastically different ways.

August Shield promised to revolutionise the way that he fought—and utterly minimize the injuries he received. With his agile fighting style, it was often only the most sudden or swift attacks that caught him. The ability to defend from such an offense at the speed of thought would improve his defenses far more than the spell would otherwise suggest.

Even if an attack was too strong for the spell, if it even slowed it down by a hair, it would likely give him enough time to disengage with a Shunt, or weaken the blow enough that he could parry with his blade.

More than that, the range at which he could summon the shield meant that he would be able to aid Porkchop in defending their backline far more than he currently could.

If something slipped past him and his brother, he would be able to save Ianmus or Kenva from a blow that might otherwise kill them.

And yet, War Haven had its own advantages.

Sure, it was niche, and expensive, but in a delve? It was invaluable, especially as they pushed deeper and deeper into the grand dungeon.

It might have been true that safe zones had been easy enough to find in his first delve, but he knew for a fact that it would not be the case this deep. Depthsborn would be more lifelike—less rigidly spaced, and would range farther, and hunt more intelligently.

Unless they could truly secure a place, there was always the risk that some passing beast may ambush them at their most vulnerable.

Warhaven would prevent that—at least giving them the time to wake and ready themselves for whatever was attempting to breach their camp.

It was especially tempting due to their Dimensional Tent. A space, hidden by illusions and defended by force barriers? It would be as close to home as one could get in a place like the Depths.

They would need their rest—need the ephemeral comfort of safety—if they wanted to come out on top. If they grew exhausted and tense? Both in mind and body? They would falter. Make mistakes.

With the enemies they would face, that would be the death of them.

That, and the fact they could freely move and attack through the barrier meant that, much like August Shield, it would be perfect for defending his backline — at least once he had more mana. Right now it was more likely that another ten casts of Hateful Nail or similar would be more useful in keeping them safe.

Turning his options through his mind, he explained his reasoning to his team.

“I’m in agreement with you,” Kenva said. “It is wisdom that had been taught to me when I was a girl. When you live in constant fear of your home being overrun, it will eventually kill the mind as sure as an arrow through the heart will kill the body—we cannot afford that.”

“I can see the wisdom in both spells, so I will leave the choice to you.” his brother said.

Ianmus hummed thoughtfully, setting his now empty plate to the side. “You said that Vyrthane is a defense and barrier focused glyph?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Kaius replied, nodding. “It is.”

“Then think of it this way—it is all but certain that you will be offered another spell that is functionally the same as August Shield, likely even as soon as your next spell. Functionally, a controllable force barrier is a very normal skill for defensive magic, even if this one is a good one.”

That…was something that he hadn’t considered—and only pushed him further in favour of War Haven.

“This other spell, War Haven, sounds rather unique for a first tier spell. It is specialised—and in all likelihood is something you will not see again if you decline it. Besides, as your skill grows, I can see this staying useful for a long time. Even if it is costly, you will not exactly need to keep one inscribed at all times.”

Kaius nodded, his mind made up. “It’s settled then.”

He made his choice, and his vision blurred as his mind was pulled from his body.

Braced for the transition or not, he blinked as he suddenly found himself seated at a familiar oak desk, an apparition of the system cloaked in the body of his older self standing across from him.

“Are you ready to learn?”

Kaius grinned.

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