(Second Book Complete!) Runeblade: A Delving & Skill Merging LitRPG B2 Chapter 241: Princely Payment

Kaius and his team sat in a loose circle in their room at the Stables, staring at the pile of new equipnt that was arrayed in front of them.

Their journey back from the battle with the drake had been an easy one—with their newfound strength they’d been left well enough alone by the vast majority of monsters that roved the wilds. The few that were too stupid to know better were dealt with easily. It seed even the rising aggression of the local monsters had a limit.

At the very least, they had provided him with the opportunity to pump a few levels into his latest skill—Mystic’s Rend. Like he’d expected due to its low cost, the current size of the arcane detonation was small. However, when it was contained and directed into his target's bodies, the results were…ssy.

Regardless, their return to Deadacre had been an easy one, and they’d high tailed it to the guild to et with Rieker and Ro.

The guildmaster had heaped praise on them galore—proud of the fact that they had approached the battle with wit rather than simply relying on their brute strength, even if the choice had lowered the value of the drake’s corpse.

It still provided enough coin for them to increase the equipnt they’d gained substantially. Like the guild administrators had said, it had been enough for him to be rewarded with a full set of scale armour—on top of the Elder blood he needed for his sword.

With their paynt in hand, they’d rushed back to their rooms in the Stables—giddy as children as they ogled at their new rewards.

Kaius stared at the shining set of scale that was laying in front of him. It was of a different style to his old Selian Scale. Where that had a sleek, almost reptilian look to it, his newest armour reminded him of the armour of an archetypical knight—but one where all extraneous plate had been replaced with thick overlapping scales the size of his hand. Only where flexibility was absolutely crucial—mostly near the joints—were smaller scales used.

It even ca with a matching helt—sothing he was more than happy with. His old helm had been good, but it irked him that the bronze toned tal it had been crafted from stood out so starkly from the blueish steel of the rest of his gear.

These pieces had been crafted by an artificer, and designed as a complete set. That alone gave him his first look at sothing he hadn’t expected to see. Set bonuses.

It was only a small effect—apparently only the very best artisans could manage to create them, and it was never as outrageous as what could appear if soone was lucky enough to get a set effect from Depths-wrought artefacts. Still, it gave him valuable insight into how they functioned.

At first he’d been confused by the extraneous runework that seed to be on every piece of the armour—but when he had it all laid out in front of him, he realised that they made a complete array when used in conjunction.

The runic language used was unfamiliar, but Kaius could only imagine the difficulty of getting such an enchantnt to function. He couldn’t even begin to theorise how the enchantnt worked even with none of the individual inscriptions being physically linked to each other.

Shaking his head in amazent, he analysed the cuirass with his Truesight—wanting to reread its description again.

Upstart’s Scalemail Cuirass:

Rare - Tier I

I’d like to see you best this, you over stoked forge-hand!

Forged from high grade steel alloyed with the barest hint of orichalum, this scalemail armour was crafted by an unusually accomplished journeyman runesmith. Well defended where it needs to be, this dium armour was an exercise in removing so of the limitations commonly faced by this class of defence—blunt force trauma.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

dium Armour (Cuirass)

Durability III, Impact Reduction II, Self Repair I, Self Cleaning I, Resizing I

Set Effect 5/5: Weight Reduction I

Kaius smirked at the armour's epigraph. It had surprised him when he first saw it—and the ones of a similar nature on the other pieces, but the picture it painted was all too relatable.

For artisan-wrought artefacts, the system had a penchant for pulling from relevant monts of the crafter’s own life. When he’d asked about it, Ro had smiled and let him know that this particular crafter had been embroiled in a feud at the ti—and this armour set had been the result of one of their many competitions.

The smith had won the contest, but had been so disgruntled at having his frustration immortalised by the system that he’d been ready to get rid of the armour by any ans necessary. The guild had managed to get ahold of it for a steal—under the proviso that it was shipped to a Vault in the middle of nowhere, in the hopes that its creator would never have to lay his eyes on it again.

Each of the five pieces had identical enchantnts—covering his cuisses, helt, cuirass, greaves, and a pair of gloved gauntlets. Thanks to the resizing enchantnt, he’d be able to wear it over his travelling clothes. As convenient as that may be, Kaius was well aware that he should really secure so under-armour at so point soon.

It was an important part of dium and heavy armour—often coming with enchantnts aligned to further reduce impacts, deal with weight, and temperature. As he got higher in level, getting access to better tiers of equipnt, it would likely beco even more vital. The necessity of gear that provided more esoteric benefits than simple increases to toughness and durability beca more and more necessary as the abilities of the foes he would face got increasingly varied and powerful.

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His new armour would also an a moderate influx of funds to the group’s coffers. While he was a little upset to be losing the magic resistance of his old Sellian gear, it was ultimately inconsequential. Rapid Adaptation—even with its direct damage resistance being pitiful with his current level and tier—already outstripped its effects handedly. As he grew to the second and third tiers, he knew he could expect his need for similar enchantnts to reduce further.

While not all skills followed the sa developnt path—they grew similarly, but the system was ever fond of personalisation based on usage—Kaius knew that it was almost a certainty that he would quickly gain an increased asure of direct damage resistance. Father had said as much, and had been confident that even if he managed to evolve the skill entirely, he would maintain its core capabilities.

The loss of his Bracers of Varkhossian Deflection was no great thing either. As he’d grown increasingly strong, the static boost of the artefact had beco less useful. Perhaps not negligible, not yet at least, but sothing that was no longer a deciding factor in his fights. Thankfully, it was likely a highly valuable effect, and he hoped that he could get a good price selling it to an artificer.

Looking over to his team, Kaius found the two of them ogling their own rewards.

Ianmus had gotten a new robe, and an ioun stone—a chunk of crystal the size of his fist that would hover over the man’s shoulder, acting as a mana reservoir. The latter was a curious artefact—sothing he hadn’t known existed. Apparently, the transfer was slow and lossy in both directions, but it would serve as a potent force multiplier for larger spells, or an ergency reserve.

Wanting to refresh himself on Ianmus’s new acquisitions, he analysed them.

Robes of Theurgic Defense:

Unusual - Tier I

The only defenseless mage is an unprepared one.

Made from forge-silk, a delicate formation has been woven into the very fabric of this robe. Holding a reservoir of mana, this artefact is able to mitigate attacks by pulling automatically from this stored energy.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Clothes (Robe)

Durability I, Impact Reduction I, Self Repair I, Arcane Barrier III

…

Cracked Ioun Stone Fragnt:

Unusual - Tier I

A shard of jealousy personified, coaxed into sharing its precious collection.

Crafted from naturally occurring Galash crystal, this ioun stone is capable of holding a reserve of mana that maintains the signature of its user. Inscribed to allow direct transference of stored mana into a spell working, it is a potent force multiplier for any mage.

Depths-wrought Artefact

Auxiliary Equipnt (Ioun Stone)

Durability I, Self Repair I, Mana Reservoir IV

They were a brilliant pair of artefacts for their mage.

Ianmus’s old robes were diocre things—durable, self cleaning, and self repairing, but ultimately almost useless for any form of defence. His new ones were very different. Light and flowing, with an almost tallic sheen to their cream-coloured tone, they would serve as the first real boost to the man’s survivability.

The ioun stone was similar—while it was by no ans sothing that would radically change how they fought, it would an that when the situation required it, Ianmus’s devastating ray blasts would be just that much more destructive.

Porkchop had gotten his own toys too.

Kaius looked over to the artefacts his brother had received, a giant shield large enough to nearly cover a full grown man, and a simple unassuming ear stud that Porkchop had already had him punch into his ear.

Stud of Lesser Ghosthand:

Uncommon - Tier I

Do you know how good it feels to be able to scratch the middle of my back again? To never have to reach for a stool to grab sothing from the top shelf? Life is about simple pleasures, my friend—a little innovation goes a long way.

Forged from spirit attuned aluminium and inlaid with ectoplasmic resin, this ear stud was designed as a mobility aid for an ailing artisan. Allows the control of a small telekinetic hand within nine strides of the user. This hand is slow and weak, leaving it incapable of most combat functionality.

Artisan-wrought Artefact

Auxiliary Equipnt (Ear Stud)

Durability I, Self Repair I, Ghost Hand I

….

Autonomous Greatshield:

Unique - Tier I

You know what beats having a shield? Having two. Wanna know what beats that? Three.

Forged from high grade steel that had been slted using carbon sourced from a crop of Mind attuned wood, as well as force aligned titanium, this greatshield is telekinetically linked to its user. Responding imdiately to their wishes, it will act to intercede attacks.

Depths-wrought Artefact

Armour (Shield)

Durability IV, Self Repair I, Telekinetic Control II

Kaius grinned as he read through the description of Porkchop’s first artefact again.

He’d been overjoyed when he first received it. There were few things that Porkchop disliked about his body, but the lack of opposable thumbs was sothing that brought him endless frustration—especially since he had entered a society that assud their presence as a forgone conclusion.

The stud of Ghosthand would be nothing but a trinket to the vast majority of people—niche, fun, and occasionally useful, but not much else.

In Porkchop’s possession, it was almost invaluable. He’d worn it non-stop since receiving it—going so far as to insist on eating with a fork when they’d eaten a al.

All in all, it was a fantastic haul.

There was only one thing left.

A large jar, sealed tight into the sa alchemical glass used for tonics—but the size of his head.

Inside was a glob of what looked like congealed blood, except with a dull tallic sheen that threw off highlights of arterial red when it hit the light. Elder Blood—the next material he needed for his blade.

Even sealed as it was, it called to him. Not in the sense his blade was reacting to its presence—the alchemical glass did its job—but he craved it. Yearned to snatch it up and pour it over his blade. To see what changes would be wrought in his most prized of possessions as he fed it its due.

It seems he wasn’t the best at hiding his wanton desire, as both Ianmus and Porkchop gave him knowing looks.

“I’ll pitch the tent? Would give us a little extra privacy so you can absorb that material.” Ianmus said.

Kaius nodded emphatically. “Please.”

The sooner he could help A Father’s Gift to take its next step, the better.