Runeblade

Chapter 73 : Destructive Testing

Porkchop smashed into the clumsy formation of goblins with the force of a landslide. Diminutive green bodies crunched. The line collapsed, the 'lucky' goblins that weren't completely trampled being sent tumbling to the floor.

Kaius watched his friend roar, laying into their massed enemies with a fury, his artefact enhanced paws batting aside weapons as he crushed bone with every swing.

There was no way he was going to let Porkchop have all the fun. Sprinting into the fray Kaius lashed out with A Father's Gift. Holding his sword in a high grip, he pivoted his hands. Enchanted steel whirled through the air. He cleaved through the neck of a dagger wielding goblin, too preoccupied by Porkchop's assault to react.

**Ding! level 12 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

Dark green blood sprayed across Kaius's face. With his lips twisted into a grin, Kaius was treated to the taste of copper on his tongue. There was no disgust, only joy as he spun and drove the point of his sword through the chest of a goblin Bruiser.

**Ding! level 13 Goblin Bruiser slain**

Now they noticed him. A devil in blued scales. Scything through their numbers like so much wheat, more kill notifications dinging in his mind. They felt..slow. He did too. His latest Honour had provided him with a substantial boost to his Intelligence, speeding up the rate at which he processed the world around him. Tuning his reflexes.

A full third of the pack turned on him, rallying blades and clubs to cut him down. He didn't let them. His blade flashed through the air in a silver blur, turning aside their assault. Twisting attacks into openings. He followed through to cut limbs and torsos to the bone.

**Ding! level 14 Goblin Bruiser slain**

…

**Ding! level 11 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

The stone of the junction quickly turned into a sticky mire, streams of blood slickening its surface. None of it was red. Even swamped, the goblins struggled to pierce his scale, ramshackle long knives tinking as they skittered over its surface.

He moved. Turning as he blurred through the mass of depths-born, doling out death and slaughter. With every parry, every block, he felt a reservoir of energy in his vambraces fill. It was getting close. Another thing he had been looking forward to testing.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw an arrow lancing for his head. He was already moving, cutting the underpowered missile out of the air with his blade. Releasing his sword with his offhand, Kaius pointed at the offending archer over the head of its fellows that blocked his path.

Power crackled in his glyph. Right beneath the surface. Watching, waiting for his command.

He willed it, and it was so.

Gold light radiated from one of his four runic hymns. It burned without pain, embers of radiant amber wafting from his skin to drift through the air. An instant later he felt his mana surge, expending itself with a snap.

A bolt of the purest azure materialised, exploding forwards to rocket towards his target. Like a shard of crystal shrapnel it crossed the distance in moments, trailing a mystic haze.

The shard of power punched straight through the archer's face. Blowing through to crack the wall of the stone building behind it, coating the ground in a splatter of brain.

**Ding! level 13 Goblin Archer slain**

Kaius felt the thrum of his heart, the hot hunger as he saw the power of his spell. There had been no pause. No moment where he had to hold the spell in his mind, draining his mana into the working. He simply wished it done, and his glyph obliged.

Snatching up his sword with both hands, Kaius deflected yet another assault from the goblins arrayed against him. A goblin with jagged knives in each hand grew over confident, pushing past the pack. Barely lasting a second before he lanced it through the heart, ripping his blade free of its chest cavity to spill its ropes of severed intestines on the floor.

**Ding! level 14 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

The foul stench only angered him. Urged him to press on. A wild sweep sent the mob leaping back, and Kaius pushed in, joining Porkchop in the thick of the thrum.

Sparing a moment to check on his friend's progress, Kaius found shattered bodies littering the ground in front of his friend. Small of frame, the goblins fared as well as children in the face of Porkchop's might.

Porkchop had definitely killed more. That wasn't good. Kaius would never hear the end of it.

He redoubled his assault. With a clang he deflected a two handed club held by a particularly beefy specimen - beefy for a goblin that is. It was no taller than his chest.

As he sent the club sailing to the side, Kaius felt something in his vambraces click. He could feel a new well of power come to his awareness. One that would bolster an attack, empower him to new heights..

He didn't keep it waiting long.

Lunging forwards, Kaius threw his full body weight into a heavy sideways cleave and tapped into the power held in his vambrace.

Fire roared through his veins. A violent energy bolstering his muscles, his bones creaking under the force of his suddenly empowered swing. A Father's Gift glowed a shimmering red in his True Sight as his blade rocketed towards the line of goblins.

The first goblin in the line was wearing scraps of chain. His sword bit into its arm, cleaving through flesh and bone. Continuing through its torso with a sickening crack. Ripped out the other side to cut. And cut. And cut.

Kaius laughed as he severed the goblins, cutting clean through their chests. Exalting in their dying gurgles and the sound of wet meat hitting stone. Four goblins collapsed in a wave of viscera, coating the flagstones below.

**Ding! level 12 Goblin Rogue slain**

…

**Ding! level 11 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

Taking a moment to pause, Kaius revelled in the destruction he had wrought. He'd expected the vambraces to be good, but that was phenomenal. Just a shame that it took so long to charge. He doubted he would get to use it more than once or twice a fight.

Kaius heard a screech from above. He looked up, finding one suicidal goblin Skirmisher had someone made it onto the roof and launched itself off. Currently on a terminal descent towards him with its knives held out wide.

He stepped back, gesturing towards its form with his left hand. Golding light burnt once more, and an azure bolt shot out. Punching straight through the goblins chest to continue sailing through the air far above the city before dissipating into nothingness. Kaius frowned. He'd been aiming for the head. A heart shot was no guaranteed kill.

Thankfully, the splat as the goblin impacted hard stone after a four story drop took care of that.

To his left Kaius watched Porkchop roar as he slammed down heavily onto a goblin, fully caving in its chest and choking off its squeal in a shower of blood. Only to immediately follow up the attack by smashing another goblin with an arm breaking swipe of his paws.

"Bet I can kill more, slowpoke." Porkchop taunted.

Kaius didn't even deign it with a response, grinning as he redoubled his efforts with renewed ferocity. He booted a goblin in the chest, sending it sprawling as it tripped over the fallen corpse of one of its allies. Stomping forwards Kaius slashed at another goblin. It tried to block. With a knife. It lost its hand for the trouble and started to scream.

Well that's annoying. He silenced it with the tip of his sword. A stride of steel ramming through the goblins palette to exit the back of its skull.

**Ding! level 13 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

Flicking his wrists, he sent the body careening to the side.

The fallen goblin scrambled at the ground, hauling itself to its feet. A low sweep removed one of its legs. Arterial spray splashing against the copper scented blood that already pooled on the street. A quick stab ended it.

**Ding! level 14 Goblin Bruiser slain**

The goblins were scattered now. Broken and listless. Barely ten left between the two of them. Kaius moved quickly. The entire fight two of the archers had been harassing him. He was sick of it. Two scintillating bolts ended them in a crack of arcane might, the remaining goblins in front of him flinching as he fired straight over their heads His glyph fell dormant, retreating from his senses as he cast his final spell.

**Ding! level 15 Goblin Archer slain**

**Ding! level 14 Goblin Archer slain**

He charged. Smashing aside the hurried defence of another bruiser. Caving in its twisted nose with a blow from his pommel. A knee to its chest folded it in two, the goblins jaw flapping as it tried and failed to suck in air. Holding his sword in a low stance, he drew his blade across its throat. Vital fluid spilling in a torrent as it dropped its club to claw ineffectively at its neck. It died gurgling.

**Ding! level 13 Goblin Bruiser slain**

He locked his gaze on the final two, seeing Porkchop charge further ahead to deal with the last of the archers. Poor bastard had had a rough go of it, there were enough arrows lodged in his barding to make him look like a hedgehog.

It was time to clean up.

Two skirmishers looked at him with trepidation. Flicking between his green stained sword and the small mountain of bodies cooling at his feet. Strange. He hadn't expected the depths-born to feel fear.

Whatever it was passed quickly, a haze seeming to fall over the goblins as their faces quickly turned to rage and hate. With a harsh squeal they charged him.

He stepped forwards, allowing a hooked knife to skitter off his scale as he hip checked the first one. Sending it splashing into a pool of its allies entrails. A quick sweep of his sword deflected the other's stab. A twist of his wrist was enough to curve his blade, embedding it firmly in the goblins skull.

**Ding! level 12 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

Wrenching it free with a wet squelch he advanced on the final goblin. With a yell of primal satisfaction he cleaved through its neck. It's head fell to the ground with a wet thwack.

**Ding! level 13 Goblin Skirmisher slain**

Hearing Porkchop roar, Kaius turned to see his friend bellowing his victory to the air. Standing on his hind legs over the crushed forms of the archers.

Kaius winced at the state of him. Cleary Porkchop was not happy with their harassment. He'd torn them limb from limb, twisted and mangled arms and legs lying impressively far from the slain archers.

One of them twitched.

Fucking Hells.

"Porkchop!" Kaius raised his hand to his mouth to yell at his friend. "Depths-born or not, thats fucked up! Kill them!"

"Boring." Porkchop replied, cutting off his roar.

Watching his friend thump back to the ground, Kaius winced as Porkchops paws crunched through the chest of one of the goblins. A few more stomps and he finished off the rest of them.

Kaius hurried over to his friend, eager to get out of the pooling goblin blood that was soaking into his boots. He sheathed his sword, clapping Porkchop over the shoulder as he stepped over the crumpled bodies of the goblin archers.

"That was fucking awesome! Did you see my spell?" Kaius said, still flush with the vigour and excitement of combat.

"I know! I didn't expect it to be so strong, look at those cracks!" Porkchop replied, gesturing to the spiderwebbed stone of the manor where one of his bolt spells had landed after punching straight through an archer's skull.

Kaius stared at the damage in satisfaction. It was far more than he had hoped for. A spell of that power being his to command with less effort than it took him to click his fingers was phenomenal for an unclassed, even if he could only make use of it a few times per fight.

It would be a trump card that was hard to react to, that no one could expect. Magic took time to cast, and mages didn't wear armour and charge in with a sword. All he would need was a moment. A second where they thought distance would buy them safety.

Even if it was what he had been working towards he was surprised at just how easy, just how natural it had felt to weave magic into his combat style. Sure he still needed some practice. It still felt awkward to let go of his sword in battle, and he could use some work to make sure he didn't unnecessarily pause. Plus, his aim could be better.

All of that could be fixed. He could already see it. How he would flow through a battle, taking heads as he snapped out with bolts of empowered magic to reap the lives of those out of reach of his sword. As his mana grew -as he gained his class skills- he knew he would only grow in his capabilities.

Arcane Bolt would be enough for now. It was a perfect first spell to practise with. To bend his class toward combat magic. Once his class selection was over he could start to experiment. Tailoring his inscribed hymns to fit the situation.

That would come later. Right now, all he wanted was a shower and to clean the goblin guts out of his hair.

Thankfully, there were a dozen manors with perfectly good water enchantments available.

In all honesty, despite feeling like he had slept in a charnel pit, Porkchop looked much worse. Kaius leaned over, picking a strip of goblin flesh from his friend's fur between two fingers before flicking it off to the side.

"Let's go get cleaned up." Kaius suggested, leading the way to one of the nearby manors that was unmarred from their battle.