Chapter 76: Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Kaius flew backwards, giving ground before the goblin attendants assault. He could feel it, the energy that had seeped into his bones from the spell the shaman had cast on him. Sapping their strength, weakening the very foundation of his body.

His health flooded out, saturating his arm in itching heat as it fought to seal the crack in his bone. With every blow he blocked and parried yet more cracks joined it. Kaius stepped back just a little too hard to avoid a swipe. A small bone in his foot broke.

This was untenable. The affliction might not have been enough to straight up crumble his bones, but it had absolutely gutted his defence. Worse, his Health was burning in every clash as it fought a losing battle to keep him whole.

Rapid Adaptation was already moving, tasting the flavour of the foreign energy as it tried to get its measure. It was slow going though. A novel mana, and a novel effect. Kaius’s resistance wouldn’t kick in for some time.

No, he needed to stem the drain on his Health, and he knew exactly how to do it.

Falling back, he gave ground before the attendants, parrying only the attacks that he had no chance of dodging. As he retreated, he split his focus. Wrapping his will around the flood of restorative energy that had coated his bones.

He coaxed it, guiding it to seal cracks with directed application. Forcibly increasing his efficiency. It was hard at first, his only practice had been under the influence of a Psychopathic Assault tonic. Even if he knew the theory, splitting his focus so utterly in the depths of a sword fight was ruinously difficult.

The attendants slipped through his guard, hammering his armoured torso. Kaius grit his teeth as his ribs shattered, hot iron flooding his mouth. Still he pressed on. Guiding his Health to regenerate him with growing efficiency.

**Ding! Adamant Body has reached level 18!**

A moment later he got the notification he had been waiting for.

**Ding! General Skill Available! Would you like to learn: Efficient Healing (Rare)?**

Kaius groaned in relief, dropping his hold on his Health to refocus entirely on his battle ahead. Immediately his latest skill went to work, stemming the torrential drain of his resource. Empowering how much his Health could heal.

**Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 2!**

With his latest skill and Fast Healing, Kaius was just able to suppress the curse that had weakened his bones so badly. Oh, they still cracked, still shot shards of agony through him with every crushing blow that he deflected, but he was healing fast enough to keep up.

He needed an opening. There weren’t any. Explorer’s Toolkit was completely silent, the attendants too fast, too good at covering each other for him to find one. He would have to make one.

He pressed the attendants, soul-wrenching cracks shuddering through his arms as he threw his whole weight into a heavy downwards slash, forcing the goblins to block.

**Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 3!**

**Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 4!**

**Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 5!**

One of the attendants slipped in low, bringing its crescent moon blade towards him with a hurried slash to his left leg, rushing to capitalise on his sword being bound up in the defence of its ally. There was a nudge in Kaius’s mind, and awareness. He could block. He didn’t

Gleaming bronze cut deep into the muscle of his thigh, thick blood welling in the wound. The attendant screeched in victory, joyous at having finally dealt a decisive wound.

Kaius snapped out with his left hand, grabbing the goblin by the face, feeling its teeth sink deep into the meat of his palm. The pain meant nothing. The other attendant shoved against his sword, easily pushing his one handed grip back. Kaius grinned savagely.

Arcane Bolt.

A flash of gold and azure. Wet flesh exploded from his palm in a cone, coating the pavilion floor in dark green gore. Kaius’s blood sung in his veins as the headless body of the attendant collapsed to the ground with a splash.

**Ding! Level 20 Goblin Adherent slain**

The final goblin elite was already moving, its curved sword descending towards his own in a heavy slash, ready to take advantage of his one handed grip.

Kaius twisted with his whole body, tapping into the well of energy in his vambraces. He felt the cracks spider webbing through the bones of his arm and shoulder as A Father’s Gift exploded into motion, rocketing in an upwards diagonal on a terminal course for the attendant.

Steel met bronze in a cacophony of destruction, Kaius’s sword shattering the goblins blade in a shower of sparks.

His arm snapped. Pulverised in the force of the collision.

The energy empowering his swing cared not for his injuries or his agony, forcing his slash to continue unabated, carving through the flesh and bone of the attendant with ease.

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**Ding! Level 20 Goblin Adherent slain**

Kaius let out a horse cry as his swing finished, his arm flopping loosely to his side as he just barely managed to keep his grip on his sword. The attendant pitched forwards, organs squelching as they spilled to the floor. The exposed muscle of his thigh writhed, reknitting itself.

**Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 6!**

Palming his sword to his other hand, Kaius leapt over the fallen goblins bodies, rushing to support Porkchop in his battle against the shaman. It was facing away from him, too focused on avoiding Porkchop’s deadly claws and teeth to have noticed that he had slain its minion’s.

Thanks to his skills that enhanced his regeneration, he felt the shards of bone in his arm quickly reknit. It mattered little, the shaman’s curse was keeping his skeleton brittle. Every movement sent new fractures cracking through his limbs.

**Ding! Fast Healing has reached level 19!**

Rapid Adaptation was moving quickly. Flooding his body to contain and absorb the energy. It wouldn’t be long before he had his resistance, and it could start to fight off the affliction.