Runeblade-Chapter 187B2 : Predictions

Kaius came to with a groan, shaking his head to clear out the fugue that clouded his mind.

The process of learning Slip Step had been almost identical to that of Stormlash. The system’s agent had appeared, greeting him briefly before leaving him to his work until he needed someone to talk through a particularly troublesome issue with his learning.

After that, the system had impressed a knowledge of his new spell-hymn upon him. If it had just been that, it wouldn’t have been too bad - it was similar to how he learned his class skills after all.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just like that. Unlike his glyphs, where the system did the heavy lifting of binding them to his body, Kaius had to reinscribe his spells himself.

With their twisting three dimensional nature, it was a hellish task—not one he could lean on theoretical knowledge alone to bridge the gap. Especially since the system only granted him knowledge of its shape—not the process of actually weaving it.

Instead, he was left in that room—with access to a seemingly unlimited well of mana to draw on—to weave the spell himself. The system hadn’t been satisfied until he could do it flawlessly every single time. It had taken hours.

The one saving grace is that he had somehow been insulated from the devastating effects of a destabilised array. With how often he’d failed, no doubt he would have blown one of his feet off without the system's protection.

Looking around the room, Kaius saw that the training hall was unchanged. Rieker was still gone, his armour was still tacky and bloodied, and his teammates still sat there—curiously watching him.

“How long was I out?” Kaius asked, clearing his throat as he realised how dry his mouth was.

“Only a few minutes.” his brother responded.

Ianmus nodded. “I assume it was much longer for you? I have read that the system can use time dilation for spell-learning skills.”

Kaius grunted in response, giving the half-elf a quick nod. “Yeah, took bloody hours. I was only allowed out once I could get through the whole process without failure.”

Both Ianmus and Porkchop winced in sympathy.

“My condolences—but I suspect it is better than the alternative where we live in a world where the system's gifts can lead to bodily injury due to lacking understanding.”

He supposed that was true. Still, even if it was a relatively draining and annoying experience to go through, it wasn’t enough to quell the small bubble of fizzing excitement within his chest.

Aelina. His second glyph! And one that broadened his spell casting to more than just brute strength.

Kaius had always loved magic for its strength, but it was its versatility and the options it gave that had really drawn him in. It was nice to finally be taking some steps in that direction.

Through his bond, Kaius felt his brother mirroring his own excitement—though it was clear that most of it was directed to his own upcoming skill selection.

Looking over, he saw that Porkchop was barely restraining himself, muscles tensing in thick furred legs as the meles forced himself to sit still.

Kaius let out a wide smile. “Go on then, check what you got.” he told his brother warmly.

Chuffing in excitement, Porkchop’s eyes immediately unfocused as he dived into his notifications. Then his ears perked up, and he refocused on his team.

“There’s some really good stuff here!” he said, straightening up. “First one’s Bulwark’s Challenge. It's a roar that will focus the attention and aggression of our enemies on me, while infecting them with some sort of rage that weakens them and makes them sloppy.”

Listening with interest, Kaius thought on the skill. It certainly sounded useful. Porkchop was their Bastion, and any skill that allowed them to take more of the heat from their squishier team members was a valuable part in any composition—especially if it had affliction-like effects as well.

“Then there’s Splintered Punishment. It does sound good, but I'm not sure if it's as good as the others—both the first and last skill are Heroic. It’ll make the next hit on my armour send out an explosive spray of shards at my attacker. I have been wanting an offensive skill, but I'm not sure if one that requires me to get hit first is a good fit.” Porkchop continued.

“And the last?” Kaius asked. While an offensive skill did sound good, and retributive skills had their place in a build like Porkchop’s, he had to agree that it sounded like it didn’t match up as nicely.

“Intercede the Faithful. I’m honestly thinking about picking this one. It will let me rapidly put myself in front of an opponent's attack within a certain distance—regardless of who it is aimed at. It’ll also summon a shield of crystal to help me withstand it.” Porkchop finished, watching them curiously to hear their thoughts.

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Kaius leaned back, scratching his chin as he thought about the skills. That last one…it sounded very handy. It would let Porkchop survive bigger hits, but most importantly it would give him a better method of supporting the team. As their Bastion, one of Porkchop’s jobs was to ensure the safety of their backline—if something got past them, this skill could just help them keep Ianmus alive.

“What do you think?” Kaius asked his brother.

Porkchop shuffled for a moment, before he shared his thoughts. They ended up being remarkably similar to Kaius’s own, the meles leaning towards the final skill as one that would best let him support the rest of the team—taking hits that others could not survive.

“I actually strongly disagree.” Ianmus said, speaking up for the first time. His words were quiet and polite, but still filled with conviction all the same.

Both Kaius and Porkchop turned to look at the mage with surprise. Afterall, he was the one whose safety would be most improved with the selection of the third skill.

“Oh? Why is that?” Porkchop asked with genuine curiosity, tilting his head.

“Because I think it is a mistake to make long term decisions based on short term inadequacies.” Ianmus replied.

Confusion welled up inside of Kaius as his brow furrowed. What did the man mean by that? Sure, the largest part of the danger Ianmus currently faced was his lack of relative strength compared to his and Porkchop’s own—something that would quickly change as the man gathered more Honours and evolved his class to a higher rarity in the second tier—but that didn’t mean the skill was without value.

Even if they were all equally powerful, something that would let Porkchop weather something that would take one of them out of the fight was a distinct advantage that was hard to ignore—his brother was the toughest of them by a league.

“Let me explain.” the half-elf continued when he saw their faces. “Currently, as the back line, I am rather isolated and alone with you two in the front, and I am weak enough that a single monster making it past you will leave me with little ways of defending myself. I assume this is the major impetus with selecting a skill that will lead to you being able to take hits for me?” Ianmus asked, looking at Porkchop.

“I mean…yeah. The sort of things we have to fight to see the gains we want would squash you like a bug—no offence.” Porkchop replied.

Nodding at his brother's words, Kaius couldn’t help but agree. Sure, it might change in the future, but what happened when they went on a delve? They might be facing individual tough monsters at the moment, but even with all of their capability he and Porkchop couldn’t be everywhere.

A full squad of depths-born? Some would inevitably slip past—then Ianmus would be dead.

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“That’s what I thought. Listen—the first skill is going to do much better at that in the long run. If the monsters are all attacking you, then I am safe.” Ianmus explained. “More than that…have the two of you thought about our team composition in the long term?”

“In what way?” Kaius asked. “We know there is room for more, but there’s that whole small issue of finding people who can actually add value without holding us back—at least until they get a few Honours and tier ups.”

“Yes, I know. And there is the whole trust issue thing in the first place. While it may be hard, it will not be impossible—and we currently have a glaring hole.” Ianmus leaned forwards, clasping his hands as his voice thrummed with conviction.

“We do?” Porkchop questioned. “I know someone who can help control the battlefield, or something like a scout would be helpful—but to call it a hole? I’m not so sure.”

“Control, no. Between me and Kaius we have that covered, or at least we will. Currently we have a mobile skirmisher type, a bastion, and a support-slash-finisher. A great foundation—but we need someone else on the backline. Preferably someone who can focus on battlefield awareness, keeping me safe, and taking out high-value targets that neither of you can easily reach while dealing with the meat of the threat.” Ianmus explained.

Understanding dawned on Kaius. “If we find someone like that, you’ll be safer, and we’ll all be far better off if Porkchop can direct the brunt of attention to himself—allowing me and the hypothetical teammate to run roughshod over any especially dangerous targets.”

Ianmus nodded. “Exactly. Besides—attention management is a core part of being a Bastion, and this is a far better version of it than most get.”

Finding himself agreeing with the mage, Kaius turned to his brother. At the end of the day, it was Porkchop’s skill, and his decision on what would best fit his build.

Porkchop was clearly thinking about it, his head bowed with his brows scrunched as he pondered the argument.

“I think…I agree. Though I think it is foolish to base everything on the off chance that we will find another member for our party, Bulwark’s Challenge is actually potentially better for keeping the two of you safe. It might not let me take an attack that would otherwise ruin you, but if everything is focused on me, there is far less chance of one of those ever happening in the first place.” Porkchop said, before his eyes closed and he made his decision.

A moment later his eyes popped back open, and the meles chuffed in joy. “Oh this is going to be so much fun to use—I can already tell.”

Cocking his brow questioningly, Kaius wandered what his brother meant.

“You’ll see—let’s save our new skills for Rieker. Give him a little surprise.” Porkchop said with a gleeful smile when he saw Kaius’s expression.

At the mention of the fearsome guildmaster, Kaius’s mind drifted to their upcoming spar. He wondered what it would be like.

Obviously, Rieker was supremely skilled and experienced—and had the same love of battle that drove most delvers—but with them being so far beneath the man he couldn’t see them being treated with anything other than kid gloves.

“I wonder how it's going to go down.” Kaius murmured. “I expect he’ll probably just bat us around a bit while he breaks down every little mistake we make and rubs our nose in it.”

Ianmus laughed at his comment, deep and throatily. “Really? He’s definitely going to make it a show of force. Cut us down a notch, show us no matter how strong we are for our level, some things are too insurmountable to beat.” the half-elf said, his eyes glistening with inner fire. “I think he’s the type that will want to show us the peaks that exist to inspire us to climb higher.”

“You’re both right.” Porkchop interjected, drawing both of their eyes. “The man is a Patriarch through and through. He will crush us utterly—capitalise on any inadequacy we dare to show in his presence—and then when we are battered and bleeding, crushed utterly, he will lecture us on our mistakes and show us the path to improvement.”

Before Kaius could respond, Porkchop’s ears flicked, and he looked towards the closed metal door that led out of the sparring hall.

“Speaking of, he’s here.”