Path of the Berserker-Chapter 25Book 5:

I stepped out of the Omni Gate and straight into a damn oven. freewёbnoνel-com

Or so it felt like anyway.

Waves of heat blurred my vision and as I looked about me, I was almost certain that the gate had malfunctioned and had sent me back to a Hell World again. The similarities weren’t lost on Blue Rose or Mal’Kira either and we all gave each other perplexed looks.

A red hued sky above overlooked a blackened, desolate terrain that was void of any vegetation whatsoever. Between that and the heat, it was a desert through and through.

“Feels like home,” Mal’Kira said with a grin.

I expected us to appear before another long line of government officials, demanding our papers, but when I saw what was actually there, I understood now why the guy didn’t really give two shits if I brough my entourage or not.

The Paifang we had just stepped through was the only structure in the area, which seemed to be at the top of a tall mesa. The ground beneath our feet was hard, blackened rock, glassy like onyx and for what I could see, we were the only hint of civilization for miles around.

Blue Rose huffed out a mirthless laugh. “It really is like Du Gok Bhong.”

“I know!” Mal’Kira said excitedly. “Isn’t it great? Maybe they even have Takrids. Come on.”

Mal’Kira took the lead, giddy like Xi Xha and Mu Lin had been to see the Grand Archives.

We found a path, as much as it was, descending down the mesa via a set of giant steps that were carved straight into the rock face. In the red-hued sky above, the glowing orb of the Celestial Realm was much smaller than it was back in Yee Guo, looking much closer to that of a normal sun. That meant that the planet was further away, but the heat we felt was clearly not due to the sun at all.

Ling Wei had mentioned the planet being a living forge and in the distance, there was evidence of that. The skyline was dotted with active volcanoes belching thick black smoke and fire into the air. I wasn’t certain if it were those flames that led to the sky itself being red but the effect was clearly an ominous depiction of Hell.

Still, for us, it wasn’t that oppressive at all compared to what we had trained for and gotten used to back at Du Gok Bhong. A little heat and lava were tame compared to the dreaded curse of Dark Frenzy.

We took to the sky in small hops as we followed the direction of a dirt road that seemed to lead from the base of the mesa and head due north. Signs were dotted here and there, indicating we were heading towards a place called Miyato Village some unknown distance away. After about an hour, a lone figure appeared on the road below, and we dropped out of the sky to converse.

It was a man who looked in his 90’s, with plain blue robes and a piece of rope tied about his bald head like a head band. Totally unremarkable save for one thing. On his back was a wooden crate the size of a wagon, filled to the brim with all manners of swords, spears and other weapons. The thing was literally twenty times his size, but he walked with it casually, like it didn’t weigh anything at all. It reminded me of the treks I would take back and forth between the city and the wild back home, carrying a wagon sized backpack of goods to feed the community.

Clearly this guy had the same kind of strength, but in a body as thin as a rail.

“Sir,” I said with a bow. “We are new here. Can you tell us how far away this Miyato Village is? I’m seeking to learn from the weapon master’s here.”

The old man looked up at us with squinting eyes. “Huh? Foreigners?” He then shook his head distastefully. “Just what we need. More bad luck.”

He then started walking again.

“Ah… hello?” I said.

But he just kept on walking, ignoring me.

“Hey!” Mal’Kira shouted. “This is a damn Imperial Marshal talking to you. Show some respect.”

But the old dude just carried on down the road like he was deaf or something.

“Want me to teach him a lesson, boss?” Mal’Kira asked.

I chuckled. Who would have thought that one day I would be on the other side of the conversation, demanding respect instead of being demanded to show it. But thankfully, I wasn’t one to be pulled into the trappings of the Yee empire’s hierarchy of ass kissing.

“Let’s just keep going,” I said. “He obviously had to come from somewhere.”

We continued on for what had to be another twenty miles, not seeing another soul.

After another hour of seeing nothing but the same barren landscape, we stopped at the next sign we found and then Blue Rose let out a curse.

“You see this?” she said pointing at the sign. “The arrow is sending us back in the other direction now.”

“Did we pass it?” Mal’Kira asked.

“Pass what? There’s nothing but rocks out here.”

I thought for a moment. “Let’s just head back till we find another sign.”

It took us another hour to find it and this time the arrow was facing the other way again.

“Is this a joke?” Blue Rose said. “What the hell?”

“Maybe it’s a decoy,” Mal’Kira said. “They don’t seem to like outsiders. Maybe we should go the opposite directions they point.”

“I dunno,” I said. “That guy we passed was clearly heading towards the Paifang. Let’s split up and search the area. Has to be something we’re missing. Maybe it’s underground. Look for an entrance, or smoke or something.”

We wasted another couple of hours scouring the landscape, until the orb of the celestial realm hung low in the sky. By that time, we were frustrated and hangry. We didn’t think to bring any food with us, being in the center of civilization and all.

“I envy Ling Wei and her hotel now,” Blue Rose said, slumping onto the ground irritated. “What’s the next move, Max? It’s getting dark. And I’m getting pissed off.”

I still wasn’t sure if this was some kind of trick or a test.

My instincts hoped for the latter.

“Let’s just wait,” I said. “Maybe someone else will come along.”

As the night took hold, a pale faced moon rose into the sky. The heat remained though, confirming the source was from the volcanoes that now glowed red hot in the distance. I sensed something then. Faint but distinct.

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Dark Frenzy…

I was about to ask Mal’Kira and Blue Rose if they sensed the same, but stopped myself. Whatever it was, it was very weak and perhaps only I had the sensitivity to detect it. I closed my eyes and searched for its origin and my senses focused on the moon. It certainly didn’t look like a Bloodmoon, but a faint trace of I’Xol’Ukz’s essence was there, nonetheless.

“Something’s coming,” Blue Rose said, suddenly standing to her feet, weapons drawn.

I stood as well. “What is it?”

In the back of my mind, I envisioned demons erupting from the ground. But the Dark Frenzy I had sensed wasn’t coming from anywhere close.

What the hell was this?

Blue Rose remained quiet, her eyes shifting back and forth. Then suddenly she leapt into the air, tossing one of her daggers. “There!”

The dagger struck something unseen with a burst of sparks and then out of thin air a huge hulking form appeared. It was roughly the size and shape of a bus. A mass of jagged blue crystals that moved with a speed that seemed impossible. It spun in a ball and a shower of crystals shot out from it, directed at Blue Rose.

I heard her cry out as one of them struck her, but then instantly she disappeared.

The next second, she was falling from the sky directly atop the beast, with both daggers drawn. She carved into the creature with a rapid spinning slash, creating a flurry of sparks.

“[Avenging Rush]!”

Despite her annunciated technique, she bounced off the crystal hide of the creature ineffectively and went flying to the side. The creature unrolled itself and I could see now that it was a giant lizard of sorts, similar to the fire salamanders back home, except this one’s body was covered in sharp crystals.

The salamander lunged after Blue Rose, trying to get to her while she was recovering

Mal’Kira jumped in with a double-handed swing with her Phalanx Glaive, cleaving into the monster’s side with another burst of sparks.

“Over here!” she bellowed, drawing the creature’s attention away from Blue Rose, allowing her to retreat into stealth again.

The quick exchange happened in just a few seconds, but it was a reminder that as powerful as Blue Rose was when it came to her attacks, she was a glass cannon that couldn’t take blows head on.

That’s where I came in.

I surged forward, materializing my Phalanx Glaive alone. I spun in the air with a [Lightning Three Log Chop] and was surprised when even with my strength, my blade struck it, breaking off huge chunks of the crystals, but otherwise, didn’t affect it at all.

The creature balled up again and spun with another shower of arrow-like crystal shooting out from it. I dove in to protect Mal’Kira, who had already raised her Glaive like a shield. The crystals shattered off my [Diamond] hardened skin, not breaking it, but it stung like hell.

Shit, I thought. What level of monster is this?

It felt nearly as strong as a Star Born demon to resist my attack.

Blue Rose reappeared after it had finished its spin, striking out at the creature but she too only managed to break off more of its crystals which seemed to grow back near instantly. I paused for a second, drawing on my now ‘ancient’ skills as a handler.

This was a spirit beast, not a demon and the laws of nature, however strong, still applied to it. Its defense was supreme, not unlike that fake legionnaire I’d just fought, but in nature, for every natural advantage there was a weakness.

“Its underside!” I shouted. “We need to flip it over.”

I stored my Phalanx Glaive and rushed at the creature with my bare hands. The creature spun again, but I [Trudged] through its attack, resisting the sharp, spinning crystals as I grabbed hold of it.

It felt like putting my entire body into a blender and I gritted my teeth through the pain to stop its spin and then hefted the thing overhead with a burst of Frenzy. The monster hissed and gurgled, clearly not used to having its feet off the ground.

I pivoted and swung the creature overhead, crashing it into the ground with a massive thoom! that shattered half the crystals on its back. A black and blue tinged underside now faced the stars, and Blue Rose wasted no time in dropping straight out of the sky again.

“[Eviscerating Dagger, plunging strike]!”

She became a blur as she seemingly dropped out of the sky multiple times in quick succession, sending bluish blood flying as the monster roared in pain. It quickly stopped as Mal’Kira jumped in, attacking the creature from the other side. She leapt on its throat and with a single downward thrust, shoved the full length of her Phalanx Glaive through the creature’s skull.

As it finally stilled, Mal’Kira withdrew her sword and then raised it into the air with a victory cry. “Now that was fun!”

I stood back, examining myself. The creature hadn’t pierced my skin, but damn did it wreck my clothes. Blue Rose looked in much of the same position, lamenting about the blue blood now staining her legionnaire’s robes.

“Stop whining,” Mal’Kira said, jumping off the giant salamander. “Your name is Blue, so at least your clothes match now.”

“Very funny,” Blue Rose said deadpan.

“And you like being naked half the time, anyway, don’t you?” Mal’Kira said, turning to me. “Didn’t you say you spent a whole time naked on Fhae I’ung?”

“Not by choice,” I muttered.

I was just about to start piecing together whatever I could, to make myself look decent again, when a voice called out from behind me.

“You damn foreigners still here?”

We all looked to see the old guy with the crate again. Only now, the crate was empty. He rested it on the ground and then casually pushed past me, waving me aside to get a closer look at the fallen salamander.

He raised a small lantern he had with him, high overhead, sucking his teeth.

“Barely an adult,” he said, looking distastefully at out handywork. “But you managed to kill it, at least. I suppose that means you’re not dumbass merchants looking to cut a raw deal.”

“Hey, who are you?” Mal’Kira demanded. “And didn’t you hear us asking for help earlier?”

The old guy ignored her again and began collecting the broken crystals off the ground, placing them in his giant crate.

“Old man!” she shouted again. “I’m talking to yo–!”

“Didn’t you read the damn signs?” he suddenly shot back at her. “It’s why they’re there. There’s only one road to Miyato. Don’t blame me if you’re all to stupid to follow directions.”

Blue Rose pulled her daggers again. “Let me try talking to him.”

I stayed her hand and then joined the old man in collecting the crystals from the ground. “Here, let me help you with these. Do you use them for something here?”

The old guy didn’t react at first, merely grunted, but then finally he said, “Scales from young Crystal Lizards like this are good for the forge, but you should really let them get a bit bigger so you can harvest a core. That’s what we really need from them. Then you don’t have to hunt them in the wild.”

“Oh yeah?” I said. “Let me take a look.”

I hopped up onto the corpse of the Crystal Lizard, or whatever it was called, and relied on my old handler skills to go rooting around in the wound Blue Rose had created, searching for a core. I wasn’t sure I was going to find anything at first, but then I felt a hard nodule about the size of a walnut.

I wiped it off with my tattered robes and then tossed the small bluish-green rock to him. “This what you’re looking for?”

The old man caught it with surprising deftness and then squinted at it under the light of his lantern. “Small, but intact. It can work.”

“What do you use them for?” I said, jumping down and landing next to him. “Smithing?”

“No, of course not!” he said, like I was a fool for suggesting it. “It’ll make a new addition for the herd on the inside.”

“Inside where?” Blue Rose asked.

The man paused, eyes wide, like he’d just said something he shouldn’t have.

“Nevermind,” he said. “Anyway, be off with you now.”

“Hey, wait,” I said. “I really need to talk to the weapon masters here. Are they within this village?”

He again just stared at me, not wanting to say anything.

I cycled some Frenzy and bolstered my words with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “Look, my name is Max Chun and I come from a fringe world far from here. I’ve come all this way to study based on a recommendation from my father-in-law, who is a master artisan and blacksmith. He told me the artisans of Ri Ben are renowned for their fighting skill. I’m humbling coming to see if I can study from you.” I then fell to my knees and placed my forehead to the ground. “Please sir. I have a court battle before the high council in six months’ time and if I don’t master my fighting skills, I don’t know if I’ll win.”

The man laughed. “Six months? It’ll take you six years just to learn the basics! You think you can learn in only six months?”

“I’m willing to try,” I said hopefully, while giving him a smile. “If you’re willing to give me a shot, that is.”

The man frowned at me and then looked at the core in his hand. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to explain how I got this somehow. Come on then. I’ll take you inside.” He then slung the wooden crate on his back and took a few steps off the road. “Now I’m not promising you anything. I can’t. But I’ll take you to who can. If he’ll have you.”

With that, he stretched his hand into the air and then pulled it across as if he were opening a curtain. Bright daylight emerged from nowhere accompanied by the rings of anvils and the low murmur of conversation.

I froze, stunned at what I was seeing.

There, through a rip in space and time was a portal to a village bustling with people.

The old man passed through the veil of reality like he was casually stepping inside a house rather than a whole other dimension or whatever the hell it was.

“Come on,” he said, looking back at us impatiently. “Chief Muraboshi is a busy man. He doesn’t have a lot of time and even less so…for foreigners.”