Path of the Berserker

Book 2: Chapter 23

I RUSHED IN with abandon, fists flying.

I lacked my sword and axe, but I was far from weaponless. I tapped into the fresh Frenzy streaming from my Flame and cultivated it into solid form. The snake pounced at me lightning fast like a viper and it took all my focus to leap to the side at just the last moment, escaping its jaws by milliseconds.

Damn that was close! I thought.

I honestly still couldn’t comprehend how something so large could move so quickly. But then again, this wasn’t a normal animal. If I could detect Qi, I’m sure the air would be chock full of it with the aura this thing had to be producing.

“Max, your sword!” Kelsey shouted from the tree pointing down into the underbrush.

I dashed in the direction she had pointed and then suddenly she cried out again.

“Max! Look out!”

The warning came too late as the body of the massive snake blindsided me from behind. I went flying and hit a tree, the snake’s huge body quickly surging in behind me. It pinned me to the tree and began to squeeze with the force of a car crusher.

I reinforced my insides with [Iron Core].

Blood instantly filled my mouth as my vital organs were squeezed and I wished I’d had enough time to master that [Steel Core] technique to use instead. Air was slowly being forced from my lungs, my body starting to feed off Frenzy through [Death’s Door]. The huge head of the snake then rounded the corner of my vision, looming big as an oil drum before me.

It looked me dead in the eye and I could almost sense its thoughts.

A deep hatred burning in the foul pits of its soul.

This wasn’t normal, I thought. This had to be another minion of I’xol’ukz.

Had that thing influenced all the awakened spirit beasts now?

Or perhaps did it always have such influence over them?

I was in too much pain to split hairs on such differences right now. I cultivated the snake’s hate for me instead, sending the solid Frenzy to my jing to unleash a powerful lightning attack.

“[Wrath of a Thousand Slain Souls]…”

I whispered the technique with my dwindling breath and pulses of blue lightning ripped from my body and tore across the entire length of the snake. The pressure on the car crusher went from 10 to 12 as the snake reacted by tightening its coils even further instead of releasing me.

Shit, bad move! I thought.

We were both locked in a death grip now. It squeezed me harder the more I electrocuted it, and the downward spiral was accelerating quickly. My vision began to tunnel as [Iron Core] began to fail. With the sound of an explosion, the tree I was pinned against suddenly snapped, succumbing to the force of the snake’s giant coils.

In that brief moment of release, I seized the opportunity to free myself and dove through the snake’s coils to land in the dense underbrush below. I sucked in a ragged lungful of air, coughing and sputtering as I rolled to my feet and then looked towards Kelsey.

“Where is it?” I cried, my voice hoarse and raspy.

“There! There!” She pointed.

I ran in the direction ready to snatch the sword from the ground.

A sixth sense kicked in and I glanced to my side just in time to see the giant head of the snake flying right at me.

It was moving too fast to dodge.

I did the only thing I could think to do next.

“[My Turn]!”

I channeled all the crushing pain I had endured into a single walloping punch.

The speeding bullet train of the snake’s head met my fist with an ear-shattering bang!

My feet sank into the ground with the force of the recoil, but the snake took the worst of it, its head quivering with palsy like it’d just been paralyzed as it reeled from the force of my punch.

I wasted no time, freeing my feet from the dirt and scooping my sword up from the ground. The snake was still recovering, shaking off the hit. It was still fast as hell and now was the best time as any to try and land a killing blow.

I did a take two on my martial leap with the sword in tow, springing from the ground. This time I tried not to rear back as much as I did before, but still I felt the awkward imbalance of the sword robbing me of my momentum as I flew toward the snake.

With a weak downward chop, I managed to hit one of its coils with only the tip of my blade, but surprisingly it was enough to cause a streak of bloodied flesh to rip open across the snake’s brilliant white scales.

This sword itself had done most of the work, pulsating with a power of its own, but if I wanted to kill this thing, I would need to put my own power behind it. I went for another swing, the blade slow to accelerate as before, but then it nearly yanked me off my feet when it hit the apex of my swing, throwing me off balance and off target.

Shit!

The blade slammed into the ground, missing completely and I was rewarded with another lashing from its tail. It went into a sort of frenzy then, thrashing and snapping at me with its mouthful of fangs. It was moving so fast all I could do was try to avoid it.

This sword is way too slow to hit this thing! I thought with chagrin, its weight dragging me down as I went into evasive martial forms.

My luck finally ran out and its jaws seized me about the body, its teeth breaking through my hardened skin. I cried out in pain and instantly reinforced my torso with [Iron Skin] and [Iron Core]. My sword arm was trapped, but I still had one free arm dangling. I used it to punch the snake in the eye, blooding it. But it didn’t let go. I cried out in a primal rage as I kept hitting it again and again.

“Max!” Kelsey called out from behind me.

Straining my neck, I looked to see she had descended from the tree and amazingly had my hundred-plus-pound axe in her hands. Her tiny body was quivering with exertion, but her inner Flame was spewing Frenzy like a volcano. She was using her powers instinctively, fueling her entire body with Frenzy to carry out an amazing feat of strength far beyond what her body was capable of.

And then she did something even more amazing.

With a push of both arms, she let out a primal yell and thrusted the axe towards me, tossing it through the air.

I snatched it out of the sky and with a quick flip of my wrist brought it down heavily upon the snake’s head. The snake riled and hissed, still not letting me go of me, but I had hurt it. With my natural weapon in hand, I hammered at it again and again, careful not to use any lightning again for fear of causing another feedback loop that would crush me to death.

By the eighth or ninth swing, the snake finally decided to let go of me, perhaps sensing I might kill it long before its jaws killed me. I rolled as soon as I hit the ground, avoiding another sweep of its tail as it tried to pull me into another death grip by its coils.

I found the sword and grabbed it, wielding a weapon in each hand again.

My Frenzy was still pumping, keeping me alive with [Pain Soothes the Frenzied Flame]. But I needed to be much quicker to keep from falling prey to its constrictions again. I looked back for Kelsey and saw her leaning against the base of a tree.

She looked exhausted, like she could barely move. I supposed after what she’d just done to get me my axe, almost everything had been taken out of her. I had to end this quickly for her sake. The snake could just as easily slam into that tree and kill Kelsey.

I had to pull out all the stops.

“Kelsey don’t be scared by what you see next!”

Before she could even respond, I engaged [Mark of the Beast], wounds and punctured skin healing as my limbs elongated and my mouth filled with feral canines. The world slowed as I went into hyper speed, the snake’s rapid movements becoming far more easy to gauge.

I fought back with a fervor, using my one-handed axe techniques to land quick blows, but against its hardened skin, even my axe could barely break through. It was as if it were using a form of [Iron Skin] of its own.

Dodging another viper strike, I wheeled and lashed out with Threja’s sword instead. The hugely slow attack barely scraped it, but the power within the blade itself broke through the creature’s skin.

Damn it, I thought, charging my axe with lightning. I need to one two combo this thing!

I cut the air with a deadly arc of Frenzied lightning, the bolts flashing from the edge of my axe. They struck the snake with a series of blue sparks that cascaded across its entire body. It went into convulsions, its head still poised high and ready to strike.

It was theperfect target.

The snake’s huge head atop a tower of quivering muscle and scale.

Not unlike a tree.

Eagerness filled me as I dropped the axe and took the sword in both hands, spinning in a desperate [One Chop Cleave].

The movement was slow and off balance like before, but the residual effect of my lightning kept the snake still just long enough for me to connect. A feeling of pure satisfaction flowed through my soul as the Corrupted Steel sliced cleanly through the monster’s thick scales. I released a bestial cry as I powered through the rest of the way, the blade’s strange imbalance seeming to assist me on the way out, doubling the speed of my initial cleave.

Blood erupted like a geyser from the snake’s severed body as its head fell to the ground.

Threja’s blade vibrated in my hands, my own Frenzy resonating with it as my Flame flared with [Bloodlust] at the beast’s demise. And then suddenly I thought I heard Threja’s voice calling to me.

“Max, are you okay?”

I shook my head and realized it was actually Kelsey calling to me from behind me. I turned to see her still leaning weakly against the tree. A faint hint of fear was in her soul, and it reminded me that I was still in beast mode.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I said, dropping [Mark of the Beast]. “Thanks for the assist. Are you okay?”

“I think I pulled a couple of muscles,” she said with a grimace. “Like… all of ‘em.”

I smiled. “Rest easy. I got a bit more work to do with this before we head back.”

I began hacking into the snake, looking for its core.

“What was that?” Kelsey asked. “What you did. Can you turn into a werewolf too?”

I chuckled at her description.

“It’s a technique called [Mark of the Beast],” I said. “We have one called [Mark of the Demon] too. You’ve already seen [Mark of the Giant].”

“Wait…you can become a demon?” she said, eyes bulging.

“We both can,” I said, giving her another grin. “It’s a high-level technique though. You’ll learn it at some point.”

After another couple of minutes, I finally found what I was looking for, a smooth pearl-like core the size and shape of a mango.

“Damn,” I said. “This has got to be worth a couple hundred spirit stones at least.”

“Sprit stones?”

I explained to Kelsey what they were, both a form of currency and a cultivation tool.

“You taking that back then? To the city?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I have a bunch of people who could use the elixirs made from something like this.” I considered the snake meat itself and wished I could haul some of that back for Yu Li to practice her cooking with as well.

“First things first though,” I said collecting my axe from the ground. “We need to get back before sundown.”

I had to help Kelsey onto my back again, her limbs swelling and turning red.

“This really hurts,” she said. “I didn’t think that axe was so heavy. I think I really did pull muscles.”

“Well you did a great job tossing it to me. When you heal up from this, you’re going to be twice as strong. Trust me.”

“What the heck happened to you anyway?” Kelsey said. “You were all over the place.”

“What do you mean?”

“The sword. You really seem to suck at using that thing.”

I laughed.

“Yeah, no shit,” I said, parroting her from earlier.

Kelsey laughed then. “You need to get yourself some lessons or something, chief. That was a crap show.”

Although she’d said it as a joke, she was actually making a pretty good suggestion. I’d had to study to become proficient with my axe and clearly wielding a sword the size of Threja’s would take learning a whole new skillset to master.

“I just might do that,” I said, thinking about it some more. “And I know just the right person who might be able to help too.”

“Cool,” Kelsey said. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I said, repositioning her on my back. “I’m going to need your help one more time tonight, though.”

“What? Really? Max, I can barely move.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t need to move for this.”

She leaned her head forward and looked at me funny. “What do you need me to do?”

“Make sure I don’t turn into a demon…for real.”

* * *

After getting back and enduring another tongue lashing from Susan, I let Kelsey rest a bit before dragging her back out into the open again at twilight. She was groaning something awful, her arms and upper body locking up like she had rigor mortis.

Susan said she had indeed strained the ligaments in her upper body and that it would likely put in her traction for about a week. But I gave her the last of healing salve to slap on and then avoided the wrath of her mother by sneaking her out the main hatch just after dark.

The blood moon had already risen, painting the landscape with its eerie red glow.

“Moment of truth,” I said as we neared the edge of the barrier.

I headed for a section we hadn’t walled in as yet, and the snarl of demons greeted us as we approached. I gauged the distance from the marking stones I had left and sure enough the demons had stopped a good twenty feet away from that point instead of a mere three.

“It worked, Kelsey!” I said with elation. “I can make the sword stronger by killing spirit beasts with it. We can extend the barrier.”

“That’s great, Max,” Kelsey said deadpan. “Is that all you needed me for? Can I go back to my deathbed now?”

I chuckled. “No. That wasn’t what I need you for. I need you to help me to test a new form of cultivation.”

“A new form?”

“I need to increase my spiritual defenses and I think subjecting myself to the Bloodmoon’s influence will be the key.”

I recalled the passages from the sword in my mind’s eye just to make sure.

On Insight into the Spiritual Realms…

To see the unseen is the root of all spiritual growth and understanding, but to do so unprepared is to frolic with disaster. The unseen worlds—be they the Heavens or the nine planes of hell—neither can be seen by mortal eyes. For the eyes of mortals are shielded with the merciful veil of ignorance. To peel back this veil is to embark upon a path of both enlightenment and folly, for to see the unseen is to glimpse infinity. Therefore, prepare thyself thusly. Strengthen thy Flame and mind and glimpse only what ye can withstand, for the temptation of knowledge is alluring yet destructive. We sayeth thus again—only glimpse and stare not into void of the unknown, for terrors that can break even the minds of Soul Emperors, within the void doth freely roam.

I’xol’ukz was a roaming terror for sure. If I could expose myself to its presence in small doses, perhaps I could train my soul to withstand it and then eventually master the Soul Shield technique to defend myself permanently.

The passage on how to increase my mental capacity in this manner was fairly clear.

Mental Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Mental Capacity

VI to X

Increases your ability to store, retain and recall information. At 6th stage, you gain the ability to detect information within the spiritual realm. At 8th stage you are able to comprehend information within the spiritual realm. At 10th stage you can transcribe and convey information within the spiritual realm. Train by seeking increasing revelations of insight into the hidden and spiritual realms.

Train by seeking increasing revelations of insight into the hidden and spiritual realms, I repeated the last line of the text to myself. This had to be on the right path. Perhaps there might be more refined methods I could use, something that perhaps Xi Xha or Mu Lin might know, but for now this would have to do.

“So, you’re really going to go out there?” Kelsey asked, pointing at the horde of demons. “With them?”

I lowered Kelsey from my back and unleased my axe. “Yup.”

“That’s crazy, Max,” she said, exasperated. “You’re crazy. You’re going to go crazy.”

“Yeah, that’s the idea,” I said with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “I need you here to pull me back from the brink if I go too far.”

“What?”

“Once I get out there, I will lose control. But if I can sense your Flame, I think it can help to pull me back.”

“You think?”

I shrugged. “It kind of worked once before. Hopefully it will again.”

Kelsey shook her head. “You hella crazy, big bro. Okay, let’s go it. What do I need to do exactly?”

“Sit back here for now. If you see me start turning red and growing horns, that’s the signal to move closer to the edge of the barrier and start calling my name. If it works I’ll be able to come back to you.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

I shrugged again. “Well, it’d be nice knowing you, Kelsey.”

A bubble of fear popped up in her then.

It did for me as well.

There was more than just my life on the line here. The folks back home, the people here, hell even Kelsey’s future development as a Berserker still hinged on me being able to create her an orb of her own.

If I became a demon, none of that would happen.

So, I couldn’t screw this up.

“Okay ready?” I asked.

Kelsey nodded.

I looked at the demons, but it wasn’t them I was here to fight. I looked to the moon itself, my true enemy. That dark god that inhabited it was probably already watching me, waiting to get its filthy tentacles on me.

I was no longer a mortal, but no way was I equipped to challenge a god.

Yet here I was going to poke around with one anyway.

Clearly the [Odds Were Against Me] doing something like that.

The thought caused my Flame to stir white hot with the technique, filling my body with fresh Frenzy. I fed my muscles and limbs, engaging [Iron Skin].

“As soon as you see the horns,” I said. “Not a second more.”

I didn’t wait for Kelsey to acknowledge me and leaped into the crowd of wailing demons instead.

“[Wrath of a Thousand Slain Souls]!”

My technique caused a crater of destruction in the sea of demons, killing scores of them instantly. I lashed out with my axe techniques next, charging them with lightning. They were definitely stronger under the effect of the Bloodmoon, the equivalent of D or even C-Class spirit beasts now.

My Flame turned red as the Dark Frenzy of the moon invaded my soul, black smoke belching. My vision tunneled, turning black at the edges and once again I saw myself in third person in the small glimpse of vision from within my mind’s eye.

Come on… show up, you freak.

Desperate moments went by as I fought against the demons and mutated creatures of the wild. Blood and gore, my body being torn apart. Then finally I sensed it.

A grating sound—like nails on a chalkboard.

The eyeball-ridden tentacles of the monster came in sight and once again it surged towards me. My Flame choked and sputtered. I tried to will myself to fight against it, calling on the power of [Fear the Flame].

You will not overcome me…

Faintly I heard Kelsey’s voice in the distance, small and faint.

~Thy progeny will not save thee, oh Cursed Flame.~

I focused on her voice, trying to will myself to go towards it, my vision ever shrinking.

The tentacles wrapped around me and I felt the pain go straight to my soul.

Fight it! I said, envisioning the Struggler.

You have too much to lose to not survive!

Survive this thing so you can grow strong enough to kill it!

I cried out in agony, a scream that only my soul could hear.

Through it all, I glimpsed a bright beacon in the distance, Kelsey’s Flame calling to my own.

Yes, well done, Kelsey!

I surged towards it, plowing through the demons and the tentacles wrapped around my mind’s eye. Abruptly my vision returned as I fell to the ground just past the safety of the barrier, bleeding and gasping. My entire body shook with pain and I realized a large portion of skin was missing.

“Max!” Kelsey was screaming above me. “Max, come back to me!”

My senses reorientated as I focused on her. There was concern and uncertainty in her eyes, but not a lick of fear exuded from her soul.

That’s the stuff, Kelsey, I thought, still too weak to speak.

My Flame was a hot mess and my soul was on fire.

“The… sword…” I managed to grunt and fed off Kelsey’s untainted Frenzy to lift myself off the ground. Kelsey became my crutch yet again as I hobbled back to the bunker and once we reached it, I quickly took hold of Threja’s sword.

The vibrations shook the tar-like gunk from my Flame, and I expelled the impurities in a painful yell, belching black smoke from my lungs. I tried to engage [Mark of the Giant] to heal my wounds but my body refused, perhaps far too spent for the day.

I began to lose focus as I continued the purge, straining to keep my focus. I kept going until it was all gone. My Flame returned to its full luminance and then weakness suddenly struck me, my Frenzy as far spent as my body.

I finally succumbed to my wounds and the world went dark as I quickly passed out and hit the floor.