Before Tony could try thinking around the order, his hands had already delved into his hip pouch, withdrawn the berserker’s brew, pulled out the stopper and put half of it down his gullet. Its effect was not what Tony had anticipated.
Rancor has Activated
Instead of a violent red haze full of screaming and forced action, the saturation of the colors around him cranked to eleven, his senses sharpened to a new and near painful degree, and he felt like he was moving at least 50% faster than his top speed to date. It was an elevated, heightened, more alive status change than just “getting mad,” which was still there, but it was almost partnered to the enhancements rather than the cause of it.
The Hamaskyr felt good.
Tony noticed movement from Rania first as she uncoiled her whip and slashed in his direction with it. Tony sidestepped the leather cord laden with shards of glass, ducked under Vultogg’s great hammer swing that was leveled at his head, and pirouetted horizontally into the air over the werebeast’s scythe-clawed embrace attempt.
Unlike any of the other times he’d entered a berserk state, he maintained control. The Arach Longsword sprang into his grip and flashed through the barrage of incoming attacks from all three combatants. Hammer blows, whips, staves, claws, and club tails were repelled almost as quickly as they were received.
Almost.
Tony watched as his health bar lost slivers and chunks - he felt no pain but did feel like he was accelerating with every wound. The euphoria of the brew had eaten up the logic of Tony’s initial plan, fortunately, his stance talent was passive, so the wounds he meted out were aiding in his Stamina bar staying above half. He flipped his sword over in his hands, holding it by the blade and activated Pommel Strike three times, one per opponent, as he swept the blade around him in a spiral. He caught Vultogg and the murder-Dino with the maneuver, but Rania danced away from his strike.
Tony did not get the 1% of his HP back for the missed talent, not that he expected to.
It would have been nice though.
He stepped out of the pocket he’d found himself in and took two lunging strides toward Rania, delivering a Pommel Strike to the side of her head. The distance he’d gained from the other two was going to close fast, he needed to decide who he was going to focus on taking out and who he was going to leave for last. Vultogg and Rend, the Dino-beast, were about to come out of their stuns, it would have to be one of them first.
Tony decided on Vultogg.
The Orkken was a dedicated Berserker specialization; he had no idea what being an Unbreakable Berserker meant, but he guessed that the Berserker would have a bunch of second wind talents and damage resistance while in his rage state. Tony would have to make sure not to dump a bunch of damage into the fight while Vultogg was immune, if there was a way for him to tell…
Channel Dreadblade (Empower) has Activated.
Tony rushed forward and burned one of the Dreadblade shards in his inventory Dromhoke’s Vow grew heavy in his hand, swelling with the added essence and a familiar hissing voice reached Tony’s ears.
“Four Dreadblade Shards remaining… do not lose me little king…” Legion rasped.
Tony whipped his body in a tight spiral and lashed out, driving a spinning back kick into Rend’s shell, driving the beast back and slashing at Vultogg with his empowered blade. It bit into the Orkken’s flesh and carved a deep gash into his exposed chest; Tony clocked a sinister grin on the Berserker’s face before he slashed across his gut.
Channel Dreadblade was supposed to “empower a bladed weapon with the former glory of his Dreadblade,” Tony attempted to activate Adamant Slash and was pleasantly surprised. A wisp-like corona of essence surged from his weapon and washed over Vultogg. The flesh around the savage’s wounds immediately necrotized and the grin on his face flipped into a grimace of pain and fury.
Two viscous fluids washed over Tony’s back.
HP: 46%
Rancor has Activated - Pact of Spite has Activated
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Hamaskyr Duration: 60 seconds - Dire Wounds (2) - Hamaskyr Bonuses increased by 10x
Tony felt his lips curl up into a rictus expression of hate, his heart pounded like a war drum in his temples, and a roar escaped his lips.
HP: 41% - Channel Dreadblade (Shroud) has Activated - 3 Dreadblade Shards Remain
A cowl and cloak of the same blackened essence hung over Tony’s head and shoulders as he rounded on Rend and Rania; the latter had her tail pointed at Tony, dripping with venom and the Dino-beast maw frothed with acid.
“You’ll pay for that!” Was what Tony intended to say. What came out instead was “WHAAAARRRRR!!!”
He heaved his empowered blade at Rend, taking him through the chest and pinning him to the far wall of the arena. As much as Tony wished that had killed the beast, the roaring, gnashing, and thrashing that he heard told him that was not the case.
He weaved between a pair of lash strikes and arrived in front of Rania much to both of their surprise. Tony drove parallel fists into her gut and chest - the essence shrouding him crackled and boomed, surging over the Padinus woman and sending her sprawling.
Vultogg let out a roar, conveniently announcing his intentions before he could catch Tony by surprise. A fusillade of weapons soared at Tony and his blade flashed in between them, swatting aside tridents, javelins, spears, a great-ax, a bundle of hand axes, and a pair of scimitars before Tony was forced to leap away from Vultogg’s overhead greathammer attack.
Unlike Tolik, Vultogg had no pattern of attack, it was all random… all savagery… all intended to kill. Tony rebounded and surged forward. He planted his feet on Vultogg’s forearms, dug his nails into his shoulders, and slammed his forehead into the bridge of the Orkken’s nose over and over again, not relenting until the other fighter was on his back in the sand and unresponsive.
Pommel Strike Combo x9 - Critical Hit!
HP: 37% - Hamaskyr Duration - 35 seconds
Tony had to hurry.
He rushed over to where Rania struggled to get to her hands and knees. As much as a part of him demanded that he wait for her to stand and to fight her fairly, the part of him that remembered her attacking him in his sleep and using the slave collar to her advantage was louder.
He took two long strides and drove his armored shin into her ribs then activated his knock off Adamant Slash, using his foot at the conduit. Rania soared into the stands and crashed through several seats and their occupants.
All that was left was Rend. Tony had a plan for him.
The beast had just freed himself from Tony’s weapon, which skittered across the sands and into his waiting grip as Tony streaked across the sand of the Pits.
Hamaskyr Duration: 10 seconds
His eyes burned, he hadn’t blinked since taking the Berserker’s Brew, his muscles screamed and he was at just over a third of his total HP, his Stamina Bar was on half, and despite its increased regeneration rate, it was falling fast.
As Tony approached, Rend turned its back to him, exposing a hardened shell. With the final seconds of his enhanced Hamaskyr bonus ticking down, there was no choice but to go on full offensive. With complete abandon for technique or grace, Tony swung his arms down onto the shell, one holding the empowered longsword, the other a crushing hammer fist, empowered by the Dreadblade Shroud.
Hamaskyr Duration: 3 seconds
Tony’s blade came crashing down, radiating necrotized essence, and cracked the hardened carapace on Rend’s back. In the final second, Tony’s fist crashed through the shell and into the tender flesh underneath - it plunged through until Tony’s hand found what it searched for, a hardened column of bone. With a shout, he latched onto the column, planted both feet against either side of the crack in Rend’s shell, pushed with his legs and with all of the strength he could muster in his back and arms, pulled.
Hamaskyr has Expired - Debuff: Exhausted (1) - All Physical Traits reduced by 5 - Duration 20 minutes
Tony collapsed onto his back, spinal column and Rend’s, still attached, head in hand.
The crowd exploded in fanatical frenzy, experience orbs, similar to those that he saw back in the Hagh’Tanak’s training pits, showered the sands and rolled lazily toward Tony, absorbed as soon as they made contact with him.
A notification flashed behind Tony’s closed eyes.
You have reached an experience threshold! Contact your [Essence Slave Collar] Administrator to Level Up!
Notice: Your Ascendant Faction Administrator has been notified of your pending level-up, would you like to mark this notification as Urgent?
Yes No
Tony focused on the affirmative option and the notification disappeared. Two pairs of hands gripped his shoulders on either side and hoisted him to his feet; his eyes snapped open at the contact.
Serketzi was standing in front of him, and she did not look happy to see him.
“Why didn’t you obey my orders? Answer. Now,” she demanded.
“I didn’t hear any orders,” Tony answered.
Serketzi eyeballed him for a solid three seconds before her face relaxed with belief.
“Interesting…” she pondered, “get him out of my sight.”
----------------------------------------
Tony fell onto one of the stone benches in the barracks after being deposited back in the zone by Serketzi’s guards. The Exhaustion debuff was an understatement compared to how he was feeling. He was tired, sluggish, needed a nap, and for the first time since “logging in” something to eat.
His solitude was interrupted before half of the Exhaustion debuff’s timer had passed.
“Hell of a show out there Ascendant, well done,” Jak said.
Tony waved him off dismissively.
“It seems like you and her highness have some sort of something going on… want to -“ Jak started.
“I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to finish the fights here, and get the hell out,” Tony cut him off.
“You’re planning to fly the coop?” Jak asked.
Tony nodded.
Jak seemed to ponder something, nodded to himself, and walked away.
“Rest up, Tony, you’re going to need it.”