Path of the Berserker

I WOKE UP early the next morning with thoughts of competing in the arena still on my mind, but I needed to prioritize the safety of my people in the wild first. By the fading red hue of the Bloodmoon, I mucked about in the empty square of D Block, loading a wooden cart with the supplies I had rounded up the day before.

I had sacks of rice, fruits and vegetables, seeds and an assortment of medicinal balms, oils and pills, some even laced with Qi. Finally, I stacked several cages of livestock atop the good, careful not to rouse the sleeping animals for fear of waking my neighbors.

I had a dozen hens, a rooster, a couple pigs and a bunch of snapping turtles.

Good protein sources and easy to breed if you knew how.

I of course had no idea if they knew how, but hopefully they could learn.

I spent a few moments securing the entire bundle tightly with some rope and then left a couple extra loops hanging below the undercarriage. Wheeling the cart silently out of the square, I then bounced it along the dirt road, past the farmlands and towards the Eastern Gate.

I arrived at the time Lee had told me to, well before dawn when the Imperial Guards would arrive and right before the moon and its baleful rays would finally set. Tiptoeing through the handler station with my cart of goods, I finally eased it through the open gates and released a huge sigh of relief.

First stage successful, I thought.

Leaving the gate behind, I wheeled the cart through increasingly rough terrain until I reached the foothills of the wilds, where trees and foliage had re-claimed what was once the suburbs of old Chicago.

The waning rays of the Bloodmoon filled my soul with the pungent stench of Dark Frenzy as soon as I edged past the limit of the barrier. Even with the Bloodmoon now just barely a sliver above the horizon, its effects were toxic, the pressure threatening to choke my Flame.

I waited a few more minutes for the pressure to subside, the moon finally sinking below the horizon. I then summoned my Frenzy and taking in a huge breath, channeled the energy of my solid core into one of my manifestation techniques.

“[Mark of the Giant]…”

My bones snapped as they popped and grew, the ground pulling away from me as my height increased by over two feet or more. I pushed the technique to its limit and let out another deep breath of satisfaction as I enjoyed a rare moment of freedom.

Here in the wild, away from the prying eyes of cultivators, I could let loose with the full extent of my Berserker techniques and take advantage of the full power they afforded me as well. I now stood at nearly 11 feet tall, a behemoth of muscle and strength. My once loose-fitting robes and pants had tightened about my frame, becoming shorts and a skintight vest.

I lifted the cart of goods, now feather-light in my hands, and used the extra loops of rope I had left earlier to sling the entire thing on my back like an oversized backpack. The chickens and pigs clucked and squealed in protest as their world was shifted from horizontal to vertical, but they eventually calmed down after a while.

With the first rays of dawn painting the sky, I paused a moment more to marvel at the sunrise and reflected on how far I’d come. A few short months ago, I was a Qi-less victim of oppression and colonization, unable to chart my own destiny within the imperial cultivator society.

But now, especially out here, I was a man free to follow my own path to destiny.

To freedom.

To retribution.

To immortality.

The thought brought a smile to my lips and a burst of radiance to my Flame.

After weeks of holdups, it was finally time to stretch my legs and start cultivating.

* * *

Sprinting for 200 miles with an 800-pound backpack gave me less of a workout than I was hoping for. It was strenuous, but now that I was a Core Realm cultivator with superhuman endurance, the effort was far from taxing. That was one of the drawbacks of progressing. The stronger you got the harder it became to advance further.

But I made good time across the rough terrain as a result.

I used the exertion to cultivate my Muscle Strengthening, feeding my body with a steady stream of solid Frenzy as I ran, pushing towards 6th stage and beyond. Over the course of the day, I stopped only briefly for water and got about three quarters of the way to my destination when the Frenzy reserves stored within my core were finally depleted.

Shrinking back to normal size, I dumped the cart back onto its wheels and sat in its shade to recover. I was in some unknown stretch of shrubland far from the city now, bathed in sweat and breathing heavily, but I was proud of how far I’d come before having to stop. I had made good time. It was still early afternoon and I had less than forty miles to go. Without stored Frenzy to burn, however, I’d have to take the final leg a lot slower.

I had just closed my eyes for a quick snooze when a flurry of squawks from the chickens roused me. I was on my feet in a second, axe in hand. I had stopped where I had for a reason. Years of being a handler had taught me which places were safe and which were not. Here I had picked a small rise overlooking a relatively flat area giving me a good vantage to spot approaching predators.

In this case the predators had to be small enough to hide in the three-foot-high grass surrounding me, because I couldn’t see anything as I scanned a 360. Then finally I spotted what I was looking for. The telltale signs of movement in the tall grass.

My heartbeat sped as I considered what it could be that was sneaking up on me.

They were small, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t deadly.

Especially if there were tons of them.

That would place the [Odds Against Me] for sure.

My technique kicked in albeit weakly, generating fresh Frenzy from my inner Flame. I quickly channeled it to my core, replenishing what I had burned along my journey. I waited patiently for whatever it was to attack, cultivating the free Frenzy while I had the chance.

A snarl ripped the air and the pigs squealed.

In a flash, a dozen or so dog-sized creatures rushed from the grass heading straight for the chickens. When I looked closer, I saw they were indeed dogs, or what had once been dogs now mutated under the effects of the Bloodmoon. They looked like animated corpses, emaciated bodies with patches of mangy fur hanging from blackened skin. Their eyes were red, two on each side of their triangular heads and in their jaws were rows of jagged teeth.

My [Odds Against Me] technique fizzled completely once I saw them.

I knew what they were.

They were Thresher Hounds, a D-class monster at best according to the Handler’s Manual.

These things are too damn weak, I lamented inwardly.

Releasing a war cry, I attacked them out of frustration and annoyance more than anything else. The creatures yelped and howled as my axe cleaved through them effortlessly, my [Bloodlust] kicking in to reward me with meager amounts of Frenzy for their deaths.

Within less than a minute, I’d slain all eight of them without as much as a scratch.

The pigs and chickens were going crazy in their cages though, reacting to the blackened blood of the creatures as it sunk into the ground. I released a sigh as I sat back down again, reminded once more of the kind of opponent I needed to challenge in order to generate the Frenzy I needed to advance.

I certainly couldn’t do so by killing even a million Thresher Hounds.

I needed big game.

Something strong enough to kill me.

And these weren’t it.

I’d been travelling far too fast to seek out powerful monsters on the way here, but I made a mental note to do so as soon as I got settled at the bunker. I’d have only two days out here and I couldn’t go back empty handed.

I was out here to cultivate after all.

Advancement through the Core Realm was going to be a lot harder than what it had been for my Foundation Realm. Not only would it cost me more Frenzy to advance, but I was potentially going to be generating a lot less of it as well.

Unless I upped my game.

The endless cycle, I thought. Kill bigger to get stronger.

I got up and dusted myself off to get back underway.

If I wanted to start hunting big game, I needed to get back to the bunker first.

* * *

The purple hues of late twilight were blanketing the sky by the time I reached the familiar landmarks that surrounded the bunker. It felt almost surreal to be back here. When I had first made the journey across the wild, I was in a crazed stupor, hopped up on Dark Frenzy. I couldn’t remember a thing except vague images from that hellish night, but this journey was a hell of a different kind.

The last forty miles were grueling. I had to resort to using pain as my sole source of Frenzy to power my [Mark of the Giant] technique as I lugged the wagon slowly through the wilderness. Now my body was starting to give out, my limbs sore and aching, but I dared not stop.

Already I could sense the first tendril of the Bloodmoon’s influence creeping into the night sky and infecting my soul. Thankfully I wouldn’t have to travel much farther to reach the sanctuary that the bunker would provide.

Just a few more miles, I thought.

I dug deep as the sky reddened further and the pressure of the Dark Frenzy began to press against my Flame. As exhausted as I was, both physically and spiritually, it was almost enough to break my [Mark of the Giant] technique and I stumbled as my body began to lose size.

Keep going, I told myself. Almost there.

Another ten minutes of agony went by, step after grueling step.

And then finally I saw it.

The bunker.

My spirits lifted as I finally saw my destination and a newfound vigor filled my soul. I broke into a jog towards the huge metal doors nestled into the hillside. But then something suddenly seemed off.

I slowed as my mind raced to figure out what it was.

And then it hit me.

The Bloodmoon...

I could still sense it, the Dark Frenzy building ever stronger.

But I shouldn’t be able to feel its effect now, not this close to the sword.

Not unless…

I broke into a run, heading straight for the large double doors.

“Son of a bitch,” I swore as I finally saw it.

Or perhaps not saw it was more accurate.

Threja’s sword…was gone.