Runeblade

Porkchop waited beside his brother who was turning the wheel to open the last door of the airlock. He kept his eyes pinned on the bear that prowled through the empty space. It was watching their every move, but had yet to try anything.

It didn't even bother to wait for them to exit, nor try to ambush them when they would be hampered by the confines of the airlock. Porkchop understood. It was a bear, even if it had been twisted into a mockery of nature by unkind two legged magic. Bears might be lesser beasts, but they were proud ones. He had yet to meet one that wasn't sure it was the toughest thing around, and no doubt this bone plated monstrosity felt the same.

He couldn't wait. Hopefully this Champion would be a better fight than that gross Cystic Failure, even if it did leak pus and blood he doubted it could be as bad as a creature that had weaponised its own vomit.

The bolts that held the final door locked slid open with a thunk. His brother heaved on the door, swinging it open and stepping to the side to let him through.

"Good luck." Kaius said, watching him with concern.

Porkchop snorted. "I don't need it, and I'll be fine." He said as he walked past, fully focused on his opponent.

The 'Harlequin' as Kaius had called it, had stopped. Waiting for him patiently at the other side of the room, staring at him with cold intent in its eyes.

Behind him the door slid closed with a clunk of steel on enchanted glass. Kaius hadn't locked it, though he had asked his brother too, just in case the bear tried to get at him. Kaius was strong, but fighting an armoured bear in a corridor that left little room to manoeuvre would be a fraught thing.

Porkchop pushed the thought from his mind, feeling the heat of challenge roar through his blood as he took in the Champion. It looked diseased. Even with its armoured plates he could see weeping inflamed flesh in the gaps. Hopefully this one actually had a good fight in it. It'd been too long since he had had a good brawl.

Digging his claws into the stone brick below he bellowed his challenge. A roar ripped from his throat, deafening as it echoed through the enclosed space.

The bear responded in kind, letting out its own roar as it kicked off and raced towards him.

**Ding! You have challenged a Champion: Subject #13845 'Harlequin'**

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Porkchop let out a feral grin as the Champion barrelled towards him. It wanted to play it that way? He was happy to oblige.

He tapped into the well of energy in his amulet, feeling the power surge through him. It was a weight, an engine of destruction, an undeniable need to move. So he did.

He kicked off, shattering a brick beneath his feet. He could feel his artefact bolstering him, like he weighed a dozen times more than he did, urging him to press forward and smash all who would stand in his way.

Bone plating crunched as he hit the Champion full in the chest, the bear losing out in the opening salvo. It whined, skittering backwards across the cold ground as his enhanced momentum forced it back. Porkchop wasn't done. Not by a long shot. He leapt forwards, claws igniting blue as he plunged his mana blades into the beast's chest, taking advantage of the protective plates being shattered in his charge.

The Champion snarled, smashing him in the shoulder with a paw strike of its own. It was strong, but its claws were thin and spindly in comparison to his, skittering off the metal plating of his barding. He still felt his bones creak under the strain of the blow, and the burning itch of his healing settled into the ruptured flesh of his shoulder.

Snarling in fury, Porkchop snapped at the beast. Grabbing it by the neck he crushed, feeling its bone plates groan under the force of his bite. The Champion didn't like that, not one bit. Growling in fury, it hammered him with clawing blows to his back. Most were deflected by his armour, but not all. Pain slammed into him, washed away quickly by his all consuming joy at finally getting a proper fight.

Blood welled up from the scratches, his body screaming under the Champions assault. He ignored it in favour of biting harder, choking off the Champions growl as it started to gurgle. He struck out with his paws, driving his claws into its chest again and again. Its regeneration was impressive, but not as fast as the blob he had fought a few days ago had been. As long as he kept up the pressure he could stop its armour from healing.

Mana pulsed, and his jaws were suddenly forced apart. Porkchop leapt backwards. Even with his hot blood, he knew better than to stay in a grapple while an enemy used an unknown skill. To his surprise, the bear had been transformed into a solid statue of bone. Every armour plate on its body had sealed. It could still move, thanks to the magic of the system, but it was slow.

With a grin he threw himself forwards, launching into a flurry of smashing blows as he capitalised on the bear's inability to defend himself. Yet despite clawing at its head and shoulders again and again, he was able to do little to the beast. Even with his claws hardened to steel and reinforced with blades of mana, his swipes left little more than thin scratches on the bone exterior of the abomination.

It seemed the skill had hardened its armour as well.

He narrowed his eyes, watching as the divot in its chest where he had clawed at its meat started to fill out under the boney exterior.

That could be a problem. With its enhanced regeneration, it could just retreat behind its armour to give itself a chance to heal. He growled, looking for solutions. Yet trying as he might to shatter the bear's defence, the seamless bone layer that covered it was impenetrable.

He kept the pressure up. A skill like this had to be a significant drain on its mana, and it would have to drop it some time.

A moment later he was proven right, as soon as the abomination had recovered the wound in its chest it dropped its skill. Bone separated into discrete plates again.

Porkchop threw himself forwards, smashing the champion with another clawing swipe before he barged it with its shoulder, throwing it off balance. The beast didn't take the assault lying down, punishing his aggression with a snap of its jaws. It managed to catch him by the ruff of his neck, getting a mouthful of fat and hide.

Porkchop yanked back, feeling his flesh give way. A worthwhile trade to free himself. Hot blood poured out from the wound as he dived forward, smashing away a paw strike and driving his claws into a gap in the armour plates on its chest.

If it could seal its armour, he would just need to get rid of it.

He dug under the bone, yanking back to pull off the thickened plate like a scab. Strings of flesh came away with it, revealing a section of inflamed and weeping meat beneath. Porkchop bellowed in triumph even as the Champion howled in fury.

He felt his shoulder crack as the bear reared up to hammer him again. Porkchop allowed it to happen, taking the opportunity to strip more bone from its chest before its impressive regeneration could do the same once more.

Mana enhanced claws dug deep into the gap he had made, cracking through its ribs as he scooped out a paw sized hunk of meat. The bear howled, dropping to all fours as it reflexively sealed its armour. Except for on its chest. With no plates for its skill to influence, it was left with a gaping hole in its armour.

Porkchop roared, tearing at the chink in the beasts armour with abandon, ripping deeper and deeper into the beasts flesh.

It realised its error in moments, forcing him back with a snap of its oversized jaws. Porkchop smashed it over the head, forcing it back as he took a crushing blow to the ribs to gain an opening. Lunging forwards he ripped another chunk of the Champions armour off of its flesh, taking a hunk of muscle along with it.

The Champion growled, pushing the offensive in an effort to regain ground. Its arm suddenly writhed, Porkchop's eyes narrowed at the motion as he saw no change in the monsters internal mana. Rearing up on its hind legs, the abomination howled as its arm inflated, muscle expanding beneath the armour plates that coated the limb.

A chill shot down his spine, and Porkchop threw himself to the side in an effort to avoid the empowered blow. The Champion came down hard, its paw whipping through the air to smash into his side. Porkchop felt his ribs crunch, several of them splintering under the force of the blow.

He coughed, tasting blood as something ruptured. Gritting his teeth he pushed through the disabling agony. He could feel his Health, and knew the toughness of his body. This was not nearly enough to slow him down.

He threw himself forwards, raking his claws and mana blades through the just barely regenerating armour of its chest, shattering the thin layer of bone before he hooked his claws under a plate at the edge of the wound and tore it free.

His blades had dug deep into the chest of the bear, crunching through its sternum. The Champion gurgled, blood pouring from its mouth as he tore into its organs. Reflexively it retreated into its armour, sealing itself into a carapace of bone. Cutting off its ability to attack.

Unfortunately for it, it had left a gaping hole in its defence. The missing plates on its sternum revealing a ragged hole into its chest.

Porkchop roared in victory. It had made a mistake. Its last.

He plunged his arm into the hole up to his shoulder, pushing his claws deep into its chest cavity. Organs were crushed as he started to dig.

The Champion realised its folly as he scooped out an armful of innards, dropping its skill and desperately trying to force him back with a flurry of crushing blows. He ignored them, ignored the tearing of his flesh and the cracking of his bones. A greater meles would never fall first, let alone one with the sort of enhancing skills that he had.

With a furious growl, he plunged his claws into the wound again and again. The Champion sunk its teeth into his shoulder, only to release a moment later as it vomited a torrent of blood as he tore through its lungs and heart.

Despite its monstrous vitality and healing capacity, it could not hold up to having its vitals shredded to such an extent. Porkchop felt the Champion start to sag, weighing him down as an endless torrent of acrid alchemically tainted blood washed over him.

He didn't let up. It would only be giving it time to heal. With every scoop he burrowed deeper, tearing arteries and shredding organs. Roaring in victorious delight as the creature slowly expired.

A final scoop and it collapsed, too weak to fight on.

Porkchop snarled, peeling a bone plate from the top of its head. Revealing the gleaming bone of its skull beneath.

He reared up, drawing his paw up high.

Then he came down, claws aimed directly at the Champion's skull. There was a crunch as mana reinforced claws punched through the bone, eviscerating the meat beneath.

Even the infamous vitality of an abomination couldn't handle having its chest hollowed out and its brain smushed. With a final rattling gasp, the Champion fell completely limp.

Porkchop roared his victory to the air as a series of system notifications dinged in his mind.

**Ding! You have slain a Champion: Subject #13845 'Harlequin' - level 25 Carapaced Bruiser!**

**Achievement Noted - You Are Being Observed**

**Ding! Significant Feat of Strength performed under Observation. You have been awarded an Honour: Born for Slaughter**