Runeblade

B2 Chapter 174: Camaraderie pt. 1

Power rushed through every facet of his body; the sudden jump in levels bringing with it a heady rush that rolled over him in a wave. Pausing for a moment, he let himself feel the changes, adjusting to the palpable increase in strength.

There was none of the pain, discomfort, or disorientation that he had felt as an unclassed. Supported by the structure of his class, the transition was seamless as his soul adjusted naturally.

He shook the fugue off, and turned his attention back to the spider. His sword still stood proud in its thorax.

Kaius pulled his blade free from the limbless body of the spider, ochre coloured ichor sticking to its surface like treacle as it squelched. As he did, he felt the Blood Song fade, leaving behind a familiar calm satisfaction in its wake.

His pillar Mentis fell silent along with it, the resonance fading. Passing disappointment welled up within him at that, but it was only a momentary thing. He knew, somehow, that the insights that had come with battle were not meant to enshrine the pillar in truth. They were a seed. To be contemplated and nurtured in quiet pondering, just like Ekum had said.

There would be plenty of time in the future to think on his insight.

Flicking his wrist to clear the worst of the muck, he bent down to wipe the rest free on a clean section of the spider's hairy exterior, before he rose and slid it home in its sheath.

Porkchop approached him, jade plate armour vanishing off his body with a subtle pop. His thick leather under-armour was soaked with blood and vital fluid, slowly closing holes dotting its surface.

It didn’t stop Porkchop from rubbing his head against his.

Snickering at the move, Porkchop backed off. “Come on, Ianmus looks like he’s about to pass out.” he pushed across their bond, before turning to walk in the direction of their resident mage.

Kaius looked back, ignoring the way his scale armour gummed up with all the ichor in its joints.

Ianmus was standing there, pale and leaning heavily on his staff. His eyes were glassy, staring into the mid-space as his jaw flapped soundlessly.

Smiling at the sight of his friend's shock, he jogged after his brother, quickly catching up. He knew that feeling, the sense that the entire world had crumbled around you. The heavy weight of the impossibility that you were now part of history.

“Well, at least we know for sure that he got the honour too.” he pushed along their bond.

Porkchop chortled next to him, shaking his head in amusement. “Well, for all we know he got hit by some of that poison and is slowly dissolving from the inside out.”

Smiling at the joke, he still smacked Porkchop on the shoulder for the poor taste.

Approaching quickly, they came to a slow stop a few strides from the mage. Still frozen, he stared into space. No doubt trying to digest the system notification in front of him.

Kaius cleared his throat. “So. Job done?” he said slowly, unsure of how else to break the tension of the moment.

Ianmus blinked, eyes clearing before his head lurched towards his own. Red rimmed wild eyes bored into his own, filled with exaltation, confusion, and a little madness.

“Kaius..I…What?” he stammered.

Kaius just gave him an easy grin. “Told you we could do it.” he replied.

Blinking slowly for what must have been the tenth time, Ianmus shook his head and looked at him with slowly widening eyes.

“You knew.” he stated, words wooden and jaw slackening.

“We knew.” Porkchop replied.

“Mostly, not if this would actually get us one. But in the general sense, yes, we knew.” Kaius continued.

Standing rooted to the spot, Ianmus seemed to freeze as he processed the information. Kaius waited patiently. He knew there would be questions, and many of them, but it would take time for the half-elf to digest what had just happened. He himself had sat stunned for what must have been most of an hour after he had eaten that fruit.

Suddenly Ianmus lurched into motion, racing towards them as a manic laugh slipped from his lips. Throwing a lanky arm around each of their necks he pulled them into a strong hug, uncaring of the gore and ichor that coated both of them.

“You demented bastards! You knew! You already knew! That’s how you’re so strong. Any dynasty that knew of this must have a potent legacy; you’ve got to have an Unusual—no, Unique class!” he howled, embracing them before he pulled back. “I haven't even had the chance to check what it does, but it must be!”

Kaius smiled at the man. They really had him now. Had bound him to their cause in truth. He could hear it. The fervent need for more, the burning desire to strive forwards.

Friends besides, he and Porkchop were the best place that Ianmus would be able to find an opportunity to do that.

“I must know more, please. This is the kind of discovery that makes the life of a scholar like myself.” Ianmus continued, calming as the shock of the moment slowly passed.

Kaius clapped the man on the shoulder. “And you will have it. With a shared secret of this magnitude, how could I not trust you? I just have to ask you one thing.”

Refined features hardened as Ianmus’s eyes steeled with conviction. “Anything.” he said with a nod.

“With all of our strength, we came close to death here. Not the closest me and Porkchop have ever gotten, but close. The path we walk requires that level of risk, and we are happy to lay our lives down to reach the summit. Are you?” he asked. It was a serious question. An existence of throwing yourself against death to eke out every scrap of power was one he and his brother had committed themselves to fully, but it was one that was unbearable for most.

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Not everyone found joy in battle like they did, nor did they find the same meaning in a life lived to the fullest. Not in the same sense, at least.

Ianmus laughed, long and loud. Manic and impassioned, he threw his head back as his sweat streaked platinum locks hung limply from his head.

“Kaius, my friend. You could tell me you intended to break the accords and lead a campaign to conquer Vaastivar and I would still follow you to the bitter end.” he stepped forwards, laying a firm grip on his shoulder.

“You,” he looked at Porkchop. “Both of you. You have made me Observed

“And the risk of death?” Porkchop asked.

“What of it?” Ianmus said, waving a hand through the air dismissively. “I feel the Blood Song stronger day by day. I was never one to sequester in a tower with his tomes like some of my contemporaries, but I have changed. The only thing I could think during that battle, even when I thought the spider had slipped past you and my death was at hand, was how alive I felt.” A wild gleam entered the half-elf’s eyes, furor empowering his words with a conviction that told Kaius everything. “How good the rush felt, and how much sweeter my next morsel would be if I lived to see another day.”

A compatriot in truth then, one who understood the finer things in life.

“Then let us check our Honour, as a team. Once we harvest what we can from the spider, we can get off the road. Porkchop and I have been keeping an artifact in reserve that will give us plenty of privacy for a longer discussion.” Kaius replied.

His companions nodded, and as one they pulled up the description of their latest reward.

Ruthless Underdog II:

Honour

Doing the impossible once is dumb luck. Doing it twice? Now, that is competence.

Awarded to those who slay an enemy 50 levels or more above them while under level 100 in a group of three or less. Provides a Minute increase to all experience earned when fighting above your level. +5 all stats. +3% all stats.

Kaius grinned as he read the words that hung in his vision. There were chains of Honours, to have that confirmed gladdened him. Unfortunately, it did mean that he and Porkchop had probably lost out on the follow up Honours for slaying Champions while unclassed, but ultimately it was a small loss. With this, he had confirmed that there were plenty still up for grabs.

Similarly, they had not received a bonus for this one. It seemed that the ancient Observers of yore were at least capable of achieving the same feat that they just had, something that didn’t surprise him. Legendary were their feats of strength, afterall. That too spoke to the likelihood of there being more Honours to achieve. It would take more than a handful of them to earn the stories that were ascribed to their actions.

“What do you think, Porkchop? Seventy-five levels higher before level one-fifty?” he asked, thinking on what they might possibly need to achieve to earn the next one.

Porkchop tilted his head back and forth. “That, or one-hundred before two-hundred.”

Kaius winced. While he was confident that they would be able to do it, they might have to find a few more Honours before they did so. Afterall, they would need to slay something in a tier above them, a daunting feat, even for them.

Startled from his reverie, Ianmus looked over to them. “You speak of this so casually. Like we haven't just gotten five stats to everything and a scaling attribute bonus!” he shook his head. “That’s nearly three whole levels, most of them going to stats I am in dire need of.”

“So you do have a Rare class.” Kaius grinned. “It’s not that we don’t appreciate and savour it, it’s just that it grows a little more routine after a handful of them.”

Ianmus froze. Kaius could physically see the mage’s mind racing as he digested the information. Beside him, his brother snickered.

“This…was not just a dynasty secret that you saw an opportunity to capitalise on, was it?” he asked haltingly.

“Well, my dynasty was plenty powerful, and we do have good classes, but no. We found this for ourselves.” Kaius replied.

“I—no. You said you had somewhere better to talk. My questions can wait.” Ianmus said, visibly restraining himself from delving deeper into the topic. “You said you wanted to salvage some of the spider?”

Kaius nodded. “Though, I think first me and Porkchop will clean up a bit.” he waved down at his body, caked with the drying viscera of battle.

Apologising profusely from holding them up from cleansing themselves, Ianmus waved them on. Giving the man a small smile, he and Porkchop made their way over to the side of the road where they had ditched their saddlebags shortly after spotting the spider.

It would have been the tragedy of the century if they had not, and that had led to their spatial artefact being destroyed.

Retrieving their massive self-filling waterskin, a bar of soap, and some rags, Kaius went about cleaning himself and his brother as best he could, going so far as to strip out of his armour and wash clean his travelling clothes.

Feeling reborn, albeit sodden, they rejoined Ianmus and made their way to the corpse of the spider with their saddle bag firmly reattached to Porkchop’s flank.

The first thing he did was retrieve a leg, making sure to pick one that hadn’t gotten misted with venom. Large as it was, he hacked at it until he held only a single segment as long as his thigh. Thankfully, their storage would keep it fresh, and due to its strange magics it only cared about absolute volume rather than efficient packing.

Next, he moved to the body of their slain foe. Crouching before it, he sampled the air, leaning heavily on Explorer’s Toolkit as his eyes roved over its shattered body.

His gut twinged as he landed on the creature's mandibles, both the one still attached, and the one he had cut free. At the same time, he could taste the scent of alchemical reagents on the breeze. An acrid bite coming from the creature's venom, cloying his mouth with the scent of wasting sickness and infirmity.

Fetching the first mandible, Kaius sighed in relief as he found the venom sac at its base untouched. Moving to its head next, he drew his hunting knife and hammered it into the tough joints that held them in place. Each one was like cutting into wood, far more sturdy than one would expect from flesh and blood, but he managed eventually.

Returning with his prize, Ianmus watched him curiously. “The fangs?”

“Probably some alchemical thing.” Porkchop responded for him. “Kaius has an even better nose for it than me.” he finished, moving to Kaius’s side to give him access to their storage.

“Ah, good thinking. A reagent from something of this strength will go for good gold, poison especially in days like this.” Ianmus nodded, understanding the worth of such an item.

Having finished stowing their poor excuse for loot, Kaius turned to his group and clapped his hands.

“Right, shall we go set up the tent?” he asked.

“Wait, we have a tent?” Ianmus asked, giving an aghast look.

“Come along!” Kaius replied, turning to stride into the treeline.

“Kaius! Why have we been sleeping in the dirt if there is a tent!” Ianmus cried, racing after him with his hands thrown to the air in exasperation, while Porkchop chuffed in amusement at the mage’s indignation.