Runeblade: You shall not pass, Wanderer!

The Champion's paw lashed out with a skill enhanced swipe, smashing into Kaius’s side as its claws trailed floating embers of light. Far too fast for him to react to, whatever skill the champion had used seemed to magnetise its blow to the opening in his guard.

A soft gasp left Kaius’s lips as the air was forced from his lungs, ejected in a great exhale. His elbow smashed into the side of his ribs, a shuddering crunch resonating through his bones.

Before he had time to even process the pain of the collision he was ejected, the bear launching him to send him tumbling over the cold stone. Miraculously, more through beating-enforced repetition than any intention, he maintained his grip on his sword.

He landed in a heap, head rapping painfully against the cold stone. A rapid-fire series of dings sounded in his dazed mind. He struggled to focus, a deep burning ache ratcheting through his torso as he tried and failed to get his lungs to take a breath in.

Time seemed to hang.

**Ding! Toughened Physique has reached level 4!**

**Ding! Toughened Physique has reached level 5!**

**Ding! Light Armour Mastery has reached level 2!**

**Ding! Light Armour Mastery has reached level 3!**

**Ding! Medium Armour Mastery has reached level 2!**

**Ding! General Skill Available! Would you like to learn: Rooted Iron Stance (Unusual)?**

A cold sweat broke out as he took in his final notification, adrenaline dumping to skyrocket his heart and bring him slamming straight back into the present.

“No!” He all but screamed in his mind, rejecting the offered skill.

He coughed, tasting blood. Health smouldered in his chest, the resource expending itself rapidly as it worked to heal broken ribs and bleeding organs. Kaius grit his teeth, the heat of battle and adrenaline filled veins allowing him to push the pain to the back of his mind.

He rose to his feet.

Across the cavern the Champion roared in victory, rising on its hind legs as its massive jaw hung open, a chest rattling roar pouring forth.

Kaius settled back into his stance, wincing as his ribs ground together at the movement. With his free hand he dropped to his potion pouch. They were a valuable and limited resource, but if now wasn't an appropriate time to use one, he didn't know when was.

The buckle opened smoothly, and in one motion he pulled free a tonic. Uncorking it with his teeth he poured it down his throat, the taste of sunshine forgotten in his locked focus on his opponent.

**Ding! You have Imbibed a Tonic: Solar Revitalisation**

Kaius discarded the bottle. The clattering sound of reinforced glass on stone drew the attention of the Champion, who tilted its great head to watch him intently. Kaius calmly rebuckled his potion pouch as the bear dropped to all fours. Dropping his hand back to his sword, he rose into a high guard.

“Not dead yet, you bastard.” He spat out, venom and aggression flowing easily into his voice.

Already he could feel the tonic working. A bolstering reserve of energy that supplemented the natural welling of regeneration from his soul, stalling out the drain to his reserves caused by his ongoing healing.

The Champion roared once more, settling into a loping gait as it charged him. Kaius held his ground, staring down the beast with a cold fury. Leaping towards him, the bear widened its arms to catch him in a fatal grab. Kaius sidestepped, ducking through his rotation to fly under its outstretched paw. He slashed, the bear's own momentum and trajectory allowing him to deliver an agonising incision from shoulder to flank.

**Ding! Footwork has reached level 5!**

Kaius’s face whitened in agony as bracing against the collision caused his core muscles to contract around his injured ribs. He finished the cut with gritted teeth, pivoting on his front foot to face his opponent once more.

The bear landed hard, howling in fury. Kaius brought his sword back around for a crushing chop, his blade glancing off the creature's hip bone, cutting a jagged wound. Eyes drinking in everything he could from the bear's posture, he quickly noticed the sagging cut he had left in its side was already beginning to wriggle, flesh tightening to seal the wound.

He still hadn’t drained it’s health.

The Champion growled, pink spittle flying free from its clenched jaw. Spinning towards him, it rose up on its hind feet before slamming down with a snap of thumb sized teeth. Kaius whirled away, just quick enough to avoid its bite. Not quick enough, however, to avoid its follow up swipe.

Glowing claws cut through the air, light trails adding to the golden light emitted from the oak overhead. Its paw caught the lower lip of Kaius’s chain, catching the metal and yanking him to the side. Luck was partially on his side, the poorly wrought metal failed under the stress of the collision, the caught rings snapping free.

**Ding! Medium Armour Mastery has reached level 3!**

Landing heavily on his wounded side, Kaius cried out in agony as a lightning strike of pain coursed through his chest. With a pallid face and a sweat streaked brow he rolled to his feet, unable to take a single moment to collect himself lest the Champion capitalise on his weakness.

He leapt to the side. Just barely avoiding the bear's charge as it rushed to finish off its downed opponent. He managed a scything cut into its flank as it passed, but he was off balance, unable to transfer his weight into the blow.

Kaius watched the bear arrest its momentum with gasping breaths. It came to a slow skidding stop, its heavy bulk having a hard time gaining traction on the hard stone floor. Its chest was heaving, every deep pant thrumming through the open expanse of the cavern.

It turned to face him. Kaius drank in the sight of his opponent even as it stared him down with violent intensity, lips retracted to show its bloodied teeth in all their glory.

Kaius took the moment to flick his awareness to his resources momentarily.

Resources:

Health - 84/200 (2/min +15/min)

Stamina - 147/200 (2/min +15/min)

Mana - 120/120 (2/min)

His Health seemed to be stabilising, already the drain from his chest wound had slowed to a trickle. Whatever was left was most likely due to the worsened bruising from his close brush with the second use of the bear's skill. The tonic was doing its work, his resources rising prodigiously. At least, that is, in comparison to their pitiful standard rate.

Another big hit like the first one could easily kill him. In all honesty the first one should have killed him. If he’d had the time to react and brace into the blow, it would have broken far more than just a few ribs. He was lucky that most of the bear's impressive power had been expended on sending him flying across the room.

He’d gotten lucky.

That wasn’t good enough.

A scowl crossed Kaius’s face, and he made the first move to close the gap. A low rumble echoed from the bear as it tensed at his approach, readying itself for another charge.

Kaius picked up his pace, moving into a run. The bear reacted in kind, iron like claws scratching horribly against stone as it forced its impressive weight to move at an almost impossible seeming speed.

The gap closed.

With an outstretched lunge that brought him down into a low crouch, Kaius dove into a fencer’s thrust. The point of his sword took it in the chest, nearly wrenching his blade free from his hand as the bear's momentum brought it barrelling up its length.

It wheezed in fury, paws rising to crush him beneath its bulk. Kaius dove to the side, rolling away from the slam to come to his feet by its side. Before he could follow up on his initial move, the Champion spun towards him with an outstretched paw, claws once again glowing with skill infused might.

Bringing his sword up with a twist to guard his shoulder, Kaius just barely managed to interpose his blade with the incoming blow. Skill enhanced claws met rune-scribed steel in a shower of sparks. He hauled against the claw.

Rather than making a futile attempt to divert the blow, Kaius tried to divert himself, letting his feet slide against rough stone as he pushed himself back. The blow still rattled him, every joint and bone in his arm aching from the force of the collision.

**Ding! Parry has reached level 4!**

**Ding! Parry has reached level 5!**

Refusing to let something as mundane as stinging pain and numbing reverberation steal the moment to retaliate, Kaius pivoted in his slide. His blade slipped free from the bear’s paw, the deadly limb continuing its light show past his torso. A twist of his hips and he cut deep into the neck of his opponent, a great torrent of blood falling free to join the growing pools that littered the grey stone.

The bear huffed in agony, attempting to ward off another strike by rearing up to slam, the gushing wound on its neck drenching the fur on its belly. Kaius rewarded the attempt with another probing stab to its undefended midsection.

The thrust caused the Champion to abort its slam early, yelping in pain as it snapped at him. Kaius danced back, watching the wound on its neck. With a start he realised that its wound had stopped writhing, only managing to seal itself half shut.

Its Health was depleted.

“Wait…,” Kaius thought, staring closer at the wound even as he stepped around another furious palm strike. The healing might have drastically slowed, but it had not stopped. His eyes widened.

“The Vitality required alone..” He thought to himself in wonder. No… It must have been bolstered by a passive skill. To regenerate Health so fast at such a low level? Such an investment of stats would have left it weakened in all other areas, even for an empowered depths-born like a Champion. Something that was clearly not the case.

The bear roared, voice coming through strong and pure as its voice box recovered.

Whatever the reason, it meant he could not rely on his usual tactic of whittling down an otherwise stronger foe. Depleting their resources until they were bled dry.

He needed to press the attack. To keep the pressure on the beast.

A step forward and a twist took him inside the Champion’s guard, narrowly missing another savage bite that snapped at his arms. Now facing the beast, Kaius slashed his sword. He allowed its momentum to work against it, a savage draw cut parting the flesh of its side.

Volume was important now, anything he could do to add to the burden that its monstrous regeneration was trying to heal.

To his surprise, the bear kept running, creating distance as it tore off to the other side of the cavern. Before Kaius could start to chase, it wheeled back around and roared in fury. It dug its claws in and charged, impressive bulk heaving against the stone as it approached him at a barrelling pace. As it crossed the floor of the cavern, it left a streak of red blood that darkened under the yellow light.

Kaius’s sword dropped behind him as he moved into a rear guard. He readied himself for another slash, hoping to go low and disable one of its legs. The bear drew close. Kaius sidestepped. The bear's claws glowed. In an instant empowered keratin bit into stone, its limbs straining against its bulk to radically change its direction.

Where he would have slipped past the charge, the Champion's altered movement slamming into him, one shoulder driving heavily into his sternum. It knocked the wind from his chest, his ribs shuddering as they creaked ominously. Kaius fell back onto the stone, gasping mutely as his jaw worked ineffectively to draw breath.

**Ding! Light Armour Mastery has reached level 4!**

Leather padding or no, the blow hurt, phantom pains of his earlier injury flaring up like forgotten embers fed fresh wood.

The bear reared up, slamming down towards his prone form. Kaius rolled, just barely avoiding the chest-caving stomp. He rolled again when it followed it up with a swipe, heart hammering away at the instinctive rush of adrenaline that came with being in such a compromised position.

Mid roll he pushed against the ground, launching himself up. As soon as he got traction on the stone he kicked off, trying to create distance. Sweat drenched his brow. The bear was having none of it, roaring in triumph at finally having caught him off balance.

A heavy swipe of claws raked across his chain coated back, tearing through the poorly wrought armour, and tracing dripping lines of white hot fire across his flesh. The blow sent him stumbling, a ragged cry slipping from his mouth as his feet raced under him to prevent another fall.

**Ding! Medium Armour Mastery has reached level 4!**

Kaius skidded to a halt, just barely getting control of his stumble. He turned to face his opponent, leaping to the side to narrowly avoid a crushing blow.

“Shit.” he thought, slipping under a follow up strike to leave a dripping cut on the bear's front. If he’d been any closer, that last wound would have ended him, the Champion's strength more than enough to snap his spine in two.

Squaring off at each other once more, Kaius and the bear circled. Padding feet matched the heavy impacts of the bear's paws, each trying to spot a weakness. Kaius could see that the bear was flagging. With each strike he landed, the bear's intense regeneration grew more and more overwhelmed as it spread itself thin trying to heal the increasing systemic breakdown it suffered from.

Its fur, once a luscious coat of granite and gold, now hung limp and ragged. Those few parts not drenched in its own vital fluids were slicked with sweat. Wounds crossed its body, revealing thin fat and split muscle. When he looked closely, he could see the growing tremble in its arms. The exhaustion of extended combat, the burden of its wounds, and its own body size working against it, draining it of its ability to fight.

Kaius knew that this was it. Whatever came next, the Champion would be pulling out all the stops.

The final confrontation.