Chapter 23: Slugging Match

Kaius faced off against the Champion, eying its battered form with an intensity that only came from knowing that his continued life required it. The once regal creature was a sorry sight, its coat sodden with blood, great rents parting its flesh to reveal muscle and bone beneath.

He couldn’t see it healing anymore, its regeneration too spread thin to have a noticeable impact on any one individual wound. It was a testament to both its physicality and its sheer bloody-minded spite that it kept fighting despite the state of its wounds.

Kaius knew he wouldn’t have looked much better. He was utterly soaked in sweat. Despite his tonic being enough to keep his Stamina topped off, the resource did nothing to prevent the sheer exertion that a fight to the death brought. Every system within him was in tune, pumping nutrients and adrenaline ridden blood to his muscles. Soaking his skin to cool him down. Downregulating unnecessary organs.

His back ached, the healing scratches and torn muscles in his back steadily reknitting as his bolstered Health burned to seal the injuries. It did nothing for the blood that had fountained down his back, soaking his clothes and gumming up the ringlets of his mail. The more it dried, the more uncomfortable and painful it became. Skin and fabric merging together into a singular monstrosity that pulled at his wounds with every movement.

It held no sway over him, his entire mind bent with fanatic focus at the bear as they circled each other.

With a roar, the bear broke first. Hauling itself forward, one paw scythed towards him. Its claws leaving a now familiar trail of glimmering light, Kaius reacted the moment it activated its skill – blade already moving into position. He dropped into a hanging guard, sword high in front of him as he met the incoming blow.

Once again he levered off the power of the strike, capitalising on the bears flagging energy to divert the slashing claws just enough to send it sailing over his head.

**Ding! Parry has reached level 6!**

The system notification did little to distract him, he swept through the parry and landed a devastating chop against the bear’s shoulder. Savaging the joint to its core. Once again his blade glanced off the bone, the bear’s empowered body too reinforced for even runic steel to contend with.

The bear moaned in agony, favouring its left leg as its wounded one fell limp, too injured to take its weight. Another torrent of vital fluids joined the growing collection of wounds that the Champion sported.

Kaius eyed the beast, watching the way its chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. The way it shook, unexplainable by its latest wounds. He had noticed it earlier, the way it paused to collect itself after every use of its skill. Now, the difference was exaggerated. It looked… drained.

“It must have emptied its Stamina with that last one. It’s fucked!” Kaius realised, his mouth twisting into a sinister grin at the turning fate of the bear.

Advancing with a limping gait, the Champion approached him. Any mortal animal, or magical beast, would have long since fled by now. Only the omnipotent conditioning that constrained all depths-born monsters forced it onwards, ensuring it would fight till its last breath.

Despite the ruined leg, it was still fast, closing the distance between them with a snarling snap of its jaws. A slide of his back foot had its teeth chomping at empty air, Kaius using the close distance to drive his sword home into its chest.

He whirled away, the bear’s snarl quickly petering out into a wheeze as foamy blood frothed from its mouth. It forced its failing body towards him, unnatural rage giving it just enough energy to raise up and try to swipe him with its remaining paw. Kaius ducked under the blow, the bear’s arm shaking as it tried to control its momentum.

It landed on the stone with a heavy thud, front leg buckling under its weight. Kaius darted in, landing another heavy cut on its arm. It collapsed. Bloodsong rising to a new height, he screamed his victory to the air.

He rushed in, eager to finish off the opponent that had pushed him so hard. The ailing Champion tried to push itself to its feet. Its leg shook as its rose, a low and heavy rumble gargling from its throat as more blood welled from its mouth. It slipped, losing traction on the growing pool of blood that spread on the stone floor beneath it.

Kaius drove his sword deep in between its ribs, sliding in behind its shoulder to stab deep towards its heart. The bear let out a final shudder, falling limp as a desperate gurgling gasp escaped its throat.

**Ding! Warforged has reached level 19!**

**Ding! You have slain a Champion: Sunborn Cave Bear – level 24 Verdant Defender! **

Kaius watched the still body of the slain champion, a thousand aches dragging at his attention. He ignored them, taking a moment to bow his head in solemn respect for the creature that had put up such a fight. The visceral glee of violent combat left slowly, his heart rate slowing. In its wake it left behind leaden limbs, a heavy exhaustion settling over him.

Thankfully, the tonic he had consumed still boiled away inside of him, expending its energy to bolster his recovery. It did nothing for his fatigue, more rooted in the mental strain of his focus being stretched to its maximum for so long, rather than in any physical malady.

Stumbling away from the corpse of the Champion, Kaius approached the pool that housed the glowing oak at the centre of the cavern. He couldn’t help but stare at it, soaring so high overhead. Scintillating geometrics shifted and pulsed over its bark, hanging over the scene of his battle like some ageless observer.

Arriving at the pond he collapsed to his knees, wincing at the impact. Pulling off his stained gloves, he cleaned his blade in the water. Methodical as he washed the steel, his hands dipping into the frigid water to pour it across his blade’s length. It played on the soft glimmer emitted from the runes scribed on its blade. Endurance, Hone, Permanence. Simple things, Ykkardian, some of the first he had been taught.

His father stood in front of him by a split boulder. They had found it a few weeks prior when they had packed up camp to move to a different section of the forest, for what had felt like the thousandth time. Father had been ecstatic. It meant another excuse to avoid a trip into town. No need for paper when you’ve got a bloody rock.

Frustration bubbled up, Kaius failing to suppress his slight scowl at yet another month of being denied another chance of trying Illendra’s fresh bread while he relaxed by The Stoat Oak’s fire.

“You listening boy?” His father asked with a gruff voice.

He jutted back to the split stone with his chin, thick brown beard swaying in the wind.

“Pay attention” He gestured to what may have well been a swirling knot of string traced out in charcoal for all he could make sense of the image. “You asked me to do this. So now we’re going to commit. Or would you like more resistance training?” Father asked him with a slight grin.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Kaius blanched, rapidly shaking his head.

“Good. Now, Ykkardian is a relatively simple dialect. Strong, self contained sigils. Large vocabulary. I think it could be a good contender for you.” Kaius forced himself to stare at the image, regretting ever telling his father his plans for his class. It was all curving lines, with the odd hard straight line carving through the mess.

“Though, it’s got a messy syntax, and is pretty terrible for higher order networks.” He continued, arm sweeping to draw a pointing line at some section of the rune that was indistinguishable from the rest.

“If it’s bad for networks, wouldn’t it be a bad choice then?” Kaius asked with a furrowed brow.

Father shot him a grin. “It might. Or its powerful and self contained nature could drastically simplify the process. There are other candidates though. Which is why, now that we have such a helpful writing space, we will spend the next few months here learning them!”

Kaius groaned, sinking his head into his hands. Father simply laughed at him in response.