Path of the Berserker

I couldn’t sense Qi, but by the way Silver Light’s face had just turned ghost white, I imagined it had to be producing a ton of it. There was no scale for what classification this thing might be. A normal adult reaper beast would be an A or S class for sure, but an awakened one?

“This is an S-class-plus monster,” I said. “The stuff of Sacred Soul Realm cultivators.”

What I’d said should have scared the hell out of me—and it did—but even more so, it stirred the hunger of my Flame. This beast had just challenged us. Something far more powerful than anything I’d fought or even seen before.

The thought triggered [Odds Against Me] and a huge surge of Frenzy erupted from my inner Flame on an unprecedented scale. It was like when I gave that last hit against Iron Pot Wong, but constant this time. I compressed it quickly into liquid form and fed it to my body and senses.

“We need to flee,” Silver Light said, already backing up.

“No,” I said, feeling the strength of my new-found Frenzy. “We have to fight it.”

“Don’t be a fool! We’re out here alone. There is no face to be saved here. We’d both simply die.”

Perhaps she sensed certain death, but I didn’t. Not with the two of us. If she was strong enough to defeat an A-Class on her own, we stood a chance.

Slim as it might be.

But it was better than me facing certain death alone, potentially failing and then getting her killed as well. If I wanted a realistic chance of saving Silver Light, we’d have to fight the Awakened Reaper Beast together.

“You see the size of that thing and how fast that smaller one moved, yes?” I said, slowly edging towards my axe. “If we try to run, it’ll outpace and kill us instantly. If we want any chance to survive, we’re going to have to kill it.”

She balked. “I just expended most of my Qi fighting the smaller one. I don’t have much left. I can’t do this!”

Shit, the odds just got a little bit worse, but that only strengthened the resolve of my Flame. I realized then the huge advantage my Frenzied Flame gave me over any Qi cultivator. Just like how Shen Ju ran out of steam, once a person’s Dantian was expended of Qi, it could take days or even weeks of cultivation to replenish it. For me however, just as the orb had said, with [Odds Against Me] my power was limitless, bound only by the strength of my foe and my ability to withstand him.

And this was the greatest foe I had ever faced.

Frenzy filled me like an ocean.

“We have spirit beasts like this on my home world,” Silver Light said. “Ancient and sacred creatures that the mortals revere as gods. To kill one would take two or three cultivators of my ranking or more.”

My Flame spoke to me.

The power of the beast itself would grant me the strength to kill it.

So long as I could survive.

I grinned. “Sounds like good odds to me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she snapped, her tone becoming fierce once more. “You’re not on the same level as me. Mu Lin told me how you gained your strength!”

I glanced at her, perplexed. “What?”

“It’s not real what you possess,” she said. “Qi gained through false means will always falter. Plus, you’ve only competed in the Wooden Bracket. You have no fighting skills to speak of. You’re a novice!”

Damn, Mu Lin truly sucked at keeping shit to herself. But no matter.

I gave Silver Light a slick smile of confidence as I slowly removed my shirt and jacket with [Fear the Flame].

“Don’t worry,” I said. “There’s a lot more to me than just Qi.”

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she gazed upon my scarred body and her soul filled with lemonade. But not just the lustful kind. I could sense there was true confidence building within her as well. She didn’t say anything though, and silently deferred to me, perhaps sensing something she didn’t quite understand.

The beast had closed nearly half the distance now and would be within striking distance soon. There would be scant chance to communicate once it did. I needed to formulate a strategy to kill this thing and fast.

“Prioritize what Qi you have left to stay out of its range,” I said. “I’m not sure if you can take a hit from this thing.”

Silver Light harrumphed indignantly. “And you say that as if you can?”

I shrugged with [Indifference]. “I’m just going to have to, I guess.”

“What?”

My Flame burned brighter as the uncertainty built.

“I’ll keep its attention,” I said. “You stay opposite me and focus on cutting off its feet off like you did the last one. Once we get it to that stage, we can both focus on its head to kill it.”

“I don’t understand how you think you’re going to—”

I didn’t wait for her to finish.

I made a mad dash for my axe instead.

“Get into the air!” I cried.

Just as my handler instincts had presumed, the beast lunged after me instead of her, going for the more quickly moving prey. I dumped my huge reserves of Frenzy into [Mark of the Giant] and [Iron Skin] not caring if Silver Light noticed that I’d grown an inch or two. Ah, to hell with it

, I thought as I let the brakes off the technique. I needed everything my body could muster to withstand this monster. My body expanded, gaining nearly a foot or more as I closed in on my axe.

The ground bounced as the reaper beast landed nearly on top of me, covering 50 feet in a single leap. Jaws that could swallow me whole snapped at me and I abandoned my quest to reach my axe to face the beast head on.

“Hell no!” I cried defiantly. “I will not be eaten today!”

Directing my Frenzy to my hands, I reinforced them with [Iron Skin] as I braced them against the monster’s quickly closing jaws. I cried out as the full force of its bite fought against the strength of my body and will.

My feet slid as I absorbed the momentum of ten tons’ worth of angry monster barreling down on top of me, but my stance held, my arms performing a lopsided military press to keeps its jaws from closing in on me.

Blood erupted from my mouth as the pressure alone caused every organ and joint in my body to become compressed. I reinforced my spine with [Iron Core] and spat blood as the jaws threatened to snap me in half like a twig caught in its mouth.

My feet finally dug in and I fought back against the giant creature. A roar filled its throat, the gust of its foul breath hitting me like a hot, putrid wind. Its rage increased and so did the strength of its bite.

“I crush you, foul vermin!”

It spoke without using its tongue, the words forming some other way. Did it have a second mouth somewhere?

But I didn’t have time to ponder the anatomy of an awakened spirit beast.

The thing was crushing me alive!

My muscles ached and burned, my flesh tearing on the inside.

Strength…I needed more strength to resist this!

But I was already swimming in an ocean of Frenzy, my Flame producing it faster than I could consume. I needed more. I needed all of it right now! The thought triggered a memory of when I had finally generated lightning; that pinhole I had formed in my Dantian. Like riding a bike, muscle memory effortlessly created it again and I streamed the ocean of Frenzy through it. My Dantian became a vortex, surging with the rapidly concentrating energy, chips of solid Frenzy rattling through it like ice cubes in a blender.

I did it!

I was producing solid Frenzy on a massive scale!

I filled my Dantian to capacity and then channeled the overflow into my weakening muscles, and suddenly my abilities felt as if they had increased ten-fold. I roared with rage and strength, my body mending itself and even increasing my height once more.

The monster, perhaps sensing my sudden increase in strength, or finally feeling the effects of my [Fear the Flame], writhed in confusion. I pushed back with a scream, grabbing the edges of its massive jaws instead of merely keeping them apart.

I twisted and turned, allowing the ten-ton beast to drive into me. With a final yell, I shifted my front foot backwards and then, bending at the waist, used the creature’s own strength and momentum against it, pivoting to perform the biggest shoulder throw of my life.

The monster reeled with incomprehension as I flipped it off its feet and swung it in a slow and terrifying arc overhead. Time seemed to pause as it reached the apex, and then with a final push I slammed the monster onto its back with an earth-shattering ka-thoom!

Clouds of debris filled the air like fog as I stumbled backwards seeing stars, my heartrate soaring, pounding in my ears like a bass drum.

Holy shit, I thought, still unable to process what I’d just done. I just judo threw a frigging house!

And I wasn’t the only one looking stupefied.

As the dust cleared, I saw that Silver Light hadn’t moved this entire time.

She stood there staring at me with her mouth and eyes opened wide, standing in a lake of lemonade. She looked as if she wanted to say something to me, but just couldn’t find the words.

“Hit its feet!” I shouted to her. “Cut them off while it’s on its back!”

My words snapped her out of her trance, and she flew into the sky with her jian blades.

“[Seventh Heaven! Pulse Moon Strike!]”

The three swords flew towards their target in a stream, each one chopping at one of the reaper beast’s massive ankles. The blades hit with sparks as the quills were sliced away, but still she hadn’t reached skin yet.

Damn, this thing is tough! I thought.

The ground shook as it rolled back and forth, trying to right itself. I used the opportunity to finally grab my axe as Silver Light hit it with another volley of flying swords, drawing blood and a roar of pain this time.

I focused on the same ankle as I leapt into the air with a martial strike.

“[Lightning Cleave]!”

I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but it felt right. Solid Frenzy fired into my Jing as I executed the technique, and a clap of thunder broke the sky with an arc of yellow lightning. It travelled like a shockwave from the edge of my axe and hit the slowly opening wound with a massive swath of damage.

KER-SPRAKK!

That seemed to get its attention and the reaper beast rolled onto its three remaining feet, lifting its fourth to avoid it touching the ground. I went on the offensive, cleaving into its shoulder with Frenzy-fueled lightning strikes from my axe.

The sky shook with each blow, lightning and quills flying as I hacked relentlessly into its thick hide. Its skin finally broke, and I screamed as the madness of [Bloodlust] filled me, never feeling so powerful before.

“Die!” I cried. “Die damn you stupi—”

Something then hit me from the side with the force of a freight train and the world spun with stars. Pain filled every cell of my body as I went tumbling end over end. I hadn’t even seen what had hit me, but I assumed it had to have been one of the creature’s giant claws.

The blow was at least equal to when Iron Pot Wong had struck me in the ring, only I hadn’t been nearly as prepared for the hit this time. Blood and viscera flew through the air as the world continued to spin until finally, I crashed hard down somewhere on the ground.

I coughed and wheezed, blood filling my mouth and I realized a chunk of my side was missing. Had I not already been pumped full of solid Frenzy and prepped with [Iron Skin] and [Iron Core], I’d clearly be dead right now.

I heaved with pain as I got onto my knees to see where the reaper beast was. To my amazement, it was over a hundred feet away. Damn, it had knocked me that far? I definitely couldn’t take too many hits from this thing. As tough as I was, I’d need way more base conditioning to go toe to toe, it seemed.

I feared that it might be going after Silver Light next, but I didn’t see her at all.

Thankfully the monster was still fixed on me.

I prepared for it to come charging at me again, but it lowered its head parallel to the ground and opened its jaws instead. Radiant golden light began emanating from the feathers on its back as they grew taller, swaying in the air like a field of ripening wheat.

Through its jaws, I saw the same radiant light beginning to build within its throat.

Oh shit…

I didn’t know what was coming next, but by the looks of it, I didn’t know if I could survive it.

My heart raced.

I wasn’t ready, but worst of all, I was going to get Silver Light killed out here if I died.

I couldn’t give up.

I had way too much left to do.

My Flame stirred within me.

I had to survive this. Standing, I prepared to face whatever was about to spew from the creature’s mouth, guarding my body with [Iron Skin], [Iron Core], and [Struggler’s Resolve]. A sound like a rocket going off filled the air, as a plume of what looked like steam jetted across the distance towards me.

I didn’t move, didn’t flinch, my mind and body prepared to face it. My Flame shifted to a deeper shade of blue as- its intensity increased. This was it. It was either survive or die. I stared the beast down, prepared to meet my fate.

Silver Light then suddenly appeared in front of me, her three jian blades spaced to make a large triangle before her.

“[Fifth Heaven! Triple-Point Guard]!

The space between the blades suddenly filled with a translucent white light, seconds before the jet of steam hit it with a roar like thunder. The air instantly superheated as the steam was redirected to either side of Silver Light’s shield, the cultivator pressing both palms forward like she was holding up a wall.

“It’s so strong!” she cried, panting breathlessly, her entire body trembling in mid-air. “I don’t know how much longer… I can hold this!”

Shit, Silver Light might have just saved my life, but she might also have just halted my ascension as well.

Dammit! I cursed inwardly. A fair trade, I guess?

I didn’t know, but I didn’t have the luxury to whine and worry about it right now. And it would all be for naught anyway if I didn’t do something to save her life as well.

“Just keep it up!” I shouted over the roar of steam, staggering to my feet. “I’ll take it out while its focus is on you.”

“You’ll what?” She looked at me like I was a madman, and from her vantage, I suppose I was. I was already torn to shreds, bleeding profusely. But what I lacked in tissue, my steady stream of solid Frenzy was more than making up for using [Death’s Door].

“Just trust me!” I said.

I didn’t have time to explain any further and took off sprinting in a wide arc around the side of her shield. The deflected breath of the monster stunk like hot shit and was probably strong enough to strip the flesh from my bones were I still mortal. The stench was choking, the steam billowing and expanding to become an impenetrable fog. I could barely see, but it would provide the cover I needed now as well.

Releasing [Mark of the Giant], I transformed my body with [Mark of the Beast]. The transition was excruciating, like having every bone in my body extracted without anesthetic. But as my flesh grew back, I regained more of my strength.

But I needed more than strength right now.

I needed speed.

Securing my axe in my beast-like jaws, I went on all fours and sprinted wolf-like through the thick fog. I burst from out of it a few seconds later and found myself charging parallel to the column of steam itself, the beast spewing it like a fire hydrant from fifty feet away. I covered the distance in mere seconds and bounded up the creature’s forearm to land on the nape of its neck.

Grasping my axe, I flew into a series of quick martial forms, cutting the glowing feathers from its back like a farmer harvesting wheat with a scythe. I applied lightning to my strikes, the arcs of electricity crackling down its back and severing the feathers with even more efficiency. The beast roared in pain and defiance as I reduced its glowing mane to a buzz cut of blood-weeping quills and half-cut stems.

As I’d hoped, the reaper beast lost the source of its power, and the jet engine roar of its breath stopped, the remnants of it filling the air with white steam. I could barely see, but I was still atop it though. Instincts of my fight with that fire salamander flashed through my mind. I leapt from its tail to its neck and grabbed onto one of its quills for support as I began hacking repeatedly into where its jugular should be.

“Cur—sed foul beast!” the monster roared as it swatted vainly at its neck to try and grab me. But with solid Frenzy fueling [Mark of the Beast] the world was moving in slow motion now. I alternated from side to side, easily avoiding its swats as my axe chipped through its quills like a jackhammer tearing through a crumbling wall. I found vulnerable flesh beneath, and thick, crimson blood gushed forth like a broken water main once I finally hit my target.

I was thrown from its back as the reaper beast gave up on trying to hit me and instead flew into a panic as blood jetted from its neck. When I hit the ground with a roll, I saw it screeching and yelping like a wounded dog, rearing up on its hind legs while desperately trying to stem the flow of blood with one of its claws.

“[Twelfth Heaven! Nine-Point Strike]!”

Silver Light emerged from the cloud of steam above me, her image blurring as she seemingly appeared in multiple locations at once. Streams of bright white light flashed from each of her images, pinpointing a target straight at the reaper beast’s heart.

Silver needles the size of javelins flashed into existence and flew along the white lines, all nine of them piercing the beast’s chest with a massive THUD! The monster let out a blood-choked gurgle and collapsed forward, its huge body sending up a cloud of dust and steam as it hit the ground.

A sudden silence took hold as the beast ceased to move.

“Handler…” Silver Light said weakly from above, and I glanced up just in time to see her eyes rolling into the back of her head. She fell backwards in mid-air, dropping towards the ground.

Shit!

I lunged forward to catch her, dropping [Mark of the Beast] just in time to cradle her fall. She weighed next to nothing as she fell into my arms, and the sudden jolt stirred her awake again. She was disorientated, her eyes swimming and unfocused. Finally, she looked up at me and raised a hand to touch my face.

“Did… did we do it? Is it dead?”

I glanced to where the beast was now heaving blood on all fours, its breath ragged, but it was still breathing.

“It will be soon,” I said.

With that she smiled, her eyes growing heavy as she stroked my jaw.

“You… you are…”

She didn’t finish her sentence—sleep and exhaustion overcoming her as she began snoring in my arms. I rested her gently on the ground as I prepared to finish the job. The air was still filled with the Frenzy of [Bloodlust] and I compressed it through the pinhole in my Dantian to fill myself with solid Frenzy. The monster’s neck was exposed like a condemned man at a guillotine.

There was only one way to end this.

“[Mark of the Demon],” I whispered.

My Flame flared brightly, kicking into overdrive as my body began to change. Bull-like horns grew from the sides of my temples, and just like Threja, my skin turned a deep shade of red. A slow, laborious laugh filled the air as I approached the dying monster.

“So…you finally reveal your true self… Demon of the cur—sed Flame.”

I kept a stoic façade of [Indifference] as I glared back into its twin sets of reptilian eyes. “You know what I am?”

“I know that if the Bloodmoon were here to grace me with her power, I would be the one to feast upon your soul and become a god.”

I smirked. “Sorry, pal, looks like only one of us will be destined to become a god after today.”

The beast chortled at that. “Foul wretch…”

I choked up on my axe and summoned my Frenzy.

I needed a clean hit.

Something powerful enough to kill it in one blow. This was a monster, but it was sapient, and it didn’t deserve to suffer.

“I’ll do you a mercy and grant you a swift and painless death.”

The beast let out a hiss. “Do not think that will give you quarter from my wrath, Cur-sed One. My spirit will torment you from the nine planes of hell.”

I chuckled. “I look forward to it.”

As unnatural as the reaper beast was, it was still a part of nature. A wood aspect. Perhaps that was why Silver Light, as metal, was able to fare so well against the smaller one and was able to land that final hit to pierce this one’s heart. Being wood, there was only one technique I could think of that would be suitable to execute its final demise, but [Three-Log Chop] just didn’t seemed dignified enough to put down such a magnificent creature.

I took a running leap towards the reaper beast, time slowing as I hung in mid-air and summoned every ounce of my building Frenzy.

“[Lightning Splits the Towering Oak]!”

As I released the technique, my Dantian surged with the power of my Demon form and a massive thunderbolt erupted from the heavens, striking the head of my axe as I brought it down upon the creature’s neck. It traveled straight through the beast with a swift downward cleave, quills, flesh, and bones parting like butter. The massive crocodilian head of the reaper beast fell to the ground with a mighty thud and the air shook with the reverberation of my thunder.

[Bloodlust] for slaying the creature caused my Flame to ignite once more and I quickly cultivated the Frenzy, packing it into solid form and expanding my Dantian. As I stood there, finally releasing [Mark of the Demon], I slowly took into account what it was I had just done.

I had just slain an Awakened S-Class monster.

Even with Silver Light’s help, on the books it should have been something impossible for someone still within the Foundation Realm. And despite all the solid Frenzy I had temporarily stored, I was still just that. I looked down at the axe within my hand. The Qi-infused metal of the head was pocked and pitted, its shaft charred and crumbling—evidence of just how much raw power I had forced through it.

“Hot damn,” I whispered. “I’m OP as shit now.”

I may not have achieved ascension, but with solid Frenzy I was still strong as hell. More than that, I now had a full tank of the stuff to face U’Ren Nghi. Confidence filled me as my path to victory in the ring tonight seemed clear.

But there was a new problem now.

I looked back at Silver Light as she slept. I had no idea how much she had seen, or how she would ultimately react to what she did see. But one thing was certain. Once she awoke.

Our relationship would never be the same.