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.

    Kaius stepped forwards, readying another slash. The shaman thrust its staff towards Porkchop, hitting him with another shower of darts that forced him to bunker down. With its off hand it thrust towards him, mana pulsing as it hit him with another spell.

    **Ding! You have been afflicted by Skeletal Weakness: Curse of Brittle Bone**

    The damaging energy in his bones redoubled. Kaius tried to lunge forwards and finish it, only for his leg to collapse under him as his bones shattered. With a gasp he fell to his knees as the shaman cackled at his agony.

    **Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 7!**

    **Ding! Efficient Healing has reached level 8!**

    Porkchop roared. Kaius watched his friend blur, rocketing forwards directly through the densest path of cutting bone. His amulet, Kaius realised. he''d enhanced his charge.

    He hit the shaman with the unstoppable fury of an avalanche. The shaman went down hard, hitting the stone floor in a long slide. Porkchop roared in fury, interposing himself between Kaius and the shaman.

    Kaius felt his health flooding his broken bones, but it wasn''t enough. The affliction had made them so weak that any movement was enough to splinter them again. He needed a resistance.

    He felt it. The very moment Rapid Adaptation latched on to the foreign mana that surged through his system, savaging it like a rabid dog. Locking it down, and slowly eliminating it.

    **Ding! Rapid Adaptation has added a new Resistance: Bone Magic!**

    **Ding! Rapid Adaptation has reached level 20!**

    His resistance against the affliction bolstered, Kaius felt his bones strengthen, Health reknitting them back together. He pushed himself to his feet. Care would have to be taken, they were still weakened, the bone magic still present. Yet it had been lessened enough for him to move.

    To fight.

    Leather creaked as he tightened his grip on his sword. Porkchop''s ear swivelled as he heard him get up. A second later his friend rushed forwards, eager to finish off the injured Champion. Kaius rushed after him, sword held in a close guard with his point trained on the rising shaman.

    The goblin squealed, mana flaring around it as two lashes of condensed pain shot out. Squarely hitting him and Porkchop in the chest. He pushed through the agony, barely losing his footing for a moment as he braced for the surge of liquid fire.

    He pressed on.

    The shaman showered them in razor sharp bone darts. Kaius raised his arm, warding his eyes as bone plinked off his armour and cut into his exposed legs and head.

    There was a blur to his right as Porkchop lunged forwards. The shaman shrieked and the bone darts cut off. Kaius moved quickly, dropping his arm to see the shaman had thrown itself backwards, hitting Porkchop with another lash of pain.

    Kaius lurched in, pivoting on his foot to attack the shaman with a heavy chop. Rage twisted its features, black eyes scrunching as it raised its staff to block. Another building pulse of mana, and a second later it hit him with another whip of magic. Kaius locked up.

    The shaman''s chest was heaving. Bloody and tattered, it looked to be on its last legs. Fast and magically potent it might have been, its mana seemed bottomless with how many spells it had been throwing out. All the mana in the world couldn''t hide the glacial pace at which the wounds on its face healed, nor the way it hissed as he pressed his sword harder into its staff.

    Porkchop charged from behind him, flattening the shaman once more. It tried to roll away. Escape. Stomping on its chest with a sickening mush, Porkchop pinned the shaman in place with one paw as it vomited green blood.

    It was the moment he had been waiting for. A quick sprint brought him in close. He cut.

    The shaman''s head rolled free.

    **Ding! You have slain a Champion: Spiritcaller Grikx - level 24 Bone-totem Shaman! **