Path of the Berserker II - Chapter 6

A wave of familiarity and nostalgia hit me as I approached the Eastern Gate of Jurin Province. The wooden lean-to, that was constructed more like a barn with no walls, was already brimming with off-world cultivators eager to get their hands on the exotic advancement components found out in the wild. The familiar white and green uniforms of the handlers darted in between them. They were the trained scouts who guided the cultivators through the unfamiliar terrain and ensured they came home before the Bloodmoon rose and turned the already deadly monsters into literal demons.

Although it’d only been a week since I myself was a full-time handler, the growth I’d made since then both socially and economically truly made the place feel like a trip to yester year. Still, once a handler always a handler, and the familiar surrounds stirred an eagerness in me to get out into the wilderness and start hunting monsters.

The familiar faces and Rhen and Rho, two twins I had shown the ropes a few months ago, greeted me with smiles as I entered the camp. Both stopped what they were doing to give me deep bows of respect.

“Master Chun!” Rho said. “Welcome. Are you heading out today yourself for an excursion?”

It was still odd hearing myself referred to as a ‘master’. In my mind I hadn’t mastered anything as yet, especially not my Berserker path, but I supposed being a Sect founder, especially in native Terran’s eyes, had earned me the title.

I returned their bows. “Yes, actually. Although I was looking to talk to Lee first. There may be a certain cultivator looking for a private tour with—”

“She’s already here, bro.”

The familiar and jovial voice came from behind me, and I spun to see the tall red-haired kid, that was Lee. We went back as handlers, starting as initiates together. Since taking over as supervisor, the handler station had grown considerably under Lee’s easy-going style of management. The handlers were happy which made the clients happy and even the Imperial Guard and Enforces posted for customs duty enjoyed the playful interactions and conversations with Lee.

I shook his hand Terran style. “She is? I guess I don’t need to explain any further?”

Lee gave me a wink and a smile. “Say less, bro. Your secret rendezvous with hot silver lady is all taken care off. Ren and Rho here will take her out officially and you can use your old handler pass to go solo. You can all meet up by the old train station for the handoff.”

I felt privileged as hell to have friend like this who could risk even the Empire’s wrath in breaking the rules for me. “You guys are the best,” I said. “Drinks are on me after work.”

“You know it!” Lee said, giving me a bro hug. “Okay, twins, go do your thing.”

Ren and Rho gave me a final bow, before disappearing into the crowd of bustling handlers and cultivators. I strained my eyes to catch a glimpse of her, the Lady Silver Light, my Fia. I didn’t see her, but I did see Ren and Rho departing with a cultivator dressed in the same black robes and veil as one of her Silver Shadows.

Smart girl, I thought.

Her getting caught out in the wild with a Terran like me would cause her family drama I couldn’t begin to comprehend. But I’d caused her family drama already. Me beating up Hein and breaking his sword had far more impact than I thought it would.

Cultivators were quite particular when it come the family heirlooms, it seemed.

“Give them ten minutes before you head out,” Lee said clapping me on the shoulder. “I got to get back to work. You have fun out there.”

Lee gave me another wink and I could only laugh with him.

Then something else occurred to me.

“Hey Lee,” I said. “One more thing.”

“Sup?”

I couldn’t tell him about the lost enclave of Terrans in the bunker, but I did need his help to get supplies to them.

“I need to bring a bunch of stuff through the gate. Early. Like before the Imperial Guard and Enforcers arrive.”

“Yeah? What kind of stuff?”

“Like a wagon full of provision. Tools. That kind of stuff.”

“Ah,” he said nodding. “No problem. Just be here around five o’clock with it all, I’ll make sure the coast is clear. By the time you haul it to the edge of the barrier outside, the sun should be up.”

Good ‘ole Lee. No questions asked. Chill as ever.

I loved the guy.

“Thanks, Lee, I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

* * *

I couldn’t wait to see Silver Light again, up close and in private.

But I couldn’t waste an opportunity to advance either.

I had a date set with her in more ways than one.

And the one that mattered the most required me to be three Tiers stronger than I was right now. Stopping at the crest of a wooded hill, I envisioned the cultivation manual within my mind’s eye and flipped through the pages to find the table that governed Core Realm advancement.

Core   Formation

1st

Core   Formation

2nd

Core   Body Refinement

3rd

Core   Mental Refinement

4th

Core   Density Refinement

5th

Inner   Soul Detection

6th

Inner   Soul Focus

7th

Inner   Soul Refinement

8th

Inner   Soul Projection

9th

Secondary   Soul Germination

Berserker cultivation was different than Qi Cultivation in many ways, but it still followed the same broad rules for progression. I had already achieved 1stTier by forming my solid Frenzy core, but to advance further I would need to look into the Shuras of the Frenzied Flame texts to see what was required to advance to the 2nd Tier and beyond.

Those steps hopefully wouldn’t be much different than what I was already used to, having already achieved Stage V in all aspects of Body and Mental Refinement during my foundation training.

But what would be required to achieve the 5th Tier of Core Realm advancement—Inner soul detection?

This was the first step towards advancing to the Sacred Soul Realm.

It boggled my mind for a minute that I was even considering such a thing. I’d been just a mortal a few months ago, but already I was trying to figure out how to get halfway to being a Sacred Soul Realm cultivator?

I laughed.

I would be OP as shit if I could achieve Sacred Soul Realm.

Maybe even strong enough to start my rebellion in earnest.

That made me hunger for power even more than being able to face Fia.

But before any of that I needed to see what was involved in my basic core refinement first. Summoning a bit of Frenzy, I drew on my clarity of mind to recall the passages imprinted on Threja’s sword.

I had only glimpsed them before and retrieving those scant images was going to take some effort. I dove deep into my mind’s eyes, searching my memories for that brief image of the massive blades covered in tiny characters. I found the text but the characters were blurry, the image but a fuzzy memory.

I focused harder, channeling more Frenzy.

Come on, I thought. Remember what you saw.

I felt something open up inside of me, like I was breaking through to a new level of thought and understanding and then suddenly they were there, hovering before me in the vision of my mind’s eye—the two pages of information I had managed to cram inside my head while I was back at the bunker out in the wild.

This would be the key to my next stages of advancement.

Body   Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Muscle   Strengthening

VI   to X

Increases   your passive casual strength and your ability to do damage through   Frenzy-infused techniques. At 6th stage you will be able to bend   steel. At 8th stage you will have the strength of fifty men. At 10th  stage you are able to break steel. Train by infusing Frenzy with strenuous   exercise or exertion.

Reflex   Sharpening

VI   to X

Increases   the swiftness at which your body moves and reacts. At 6st stage you   can run as fast as a skiff. At 8th stage you can execute Two   techniques in the space of one. At 10th stage you can move without   moving. Train by infusing Frenzy into quick attacks and actions which test   your speed and coordination.

Body   Hardening

VI   to X

Increases   the durability and hardness of your skin and bones. At 6th stage your   body can resist a piercing spear. At 8th stage your body has   become as strong as steel. At 10th stage your body has become as   strong as hardened alloy, impervious to extreme heat and cold. Train by using   Frenzy to mend your broken skin and bones.

Internal   Strengthening

VI   to X

Increases   the body’s ability to withstand prolonged exertion, toxins and the strain of   high-level Frenzy-infused techniques. At 6th stage you can consume   moderate toxins without ill effects. At 8th stage you can execute   three or more techniques at once without ill effects. At 10th stage   your body can withstand strong toxins without ill effects and four or more   techniques without ill effects. Train by using Frenzy to mitigate the effects   of toxins and by performing techniques that use high bursts of Frenzy.

I was right. The methods for cultivating through the various stages of Body Refinement remained the same for Stages VI through X as they were for I to V. The difference however, was in the effects. And by the descriptions I could understand now why I was detecting as an almost 2nd Tier Core Realm cultivator already. I’d fought both Hong Feng and that strange alien god monster after my ascension to Core Realm and the stress of those battles had caused me to grow some.

But if those were the kinds of battles it took to grow at this stage then I needed to go looking for some major challenges indeed. It was a reminder that the potency of my Berserker path came at a price. Qi cultivators could just meditate for years or even decades to gain the Qi they needed for advancement. Or they could spend big bucks on spirit stones or elixirs to cheat and accelerate their growth.

But me?

I had to face death and extreme combat to generate the kind of frenzy and stress my body needed to advance. I was actually looking forward to it. But if that was the kind of thing that I would need for my Body Refinement to progress, what would it take for my mind?

I took a peek at that section next.

Mental   Refinement Category

Stages

Description

Mental   Capacity

IV   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.

Mental   Quickness

IV   to X

Increases   the swiftness at which you can recall and correlate information you have   retained. At 6th stage you are able to see within your own   consciousness. At 8th stage you can split your thoughts within   your own mind. At 10th stage you can project your thoughts outside   your own body. Train by meditating and recalling information.

Now this is something different, I thought.

My Mental Capacity and Mental Quickness from Stages I to V was just about memorization and thinking quick on your feet, but now my mental advancement seemed to be heading into the spiritual realm. I didn’t know what that meant exactly, but it made sense that I’d need to go in that direction to eventually detect my inner soul for 5th Tier of Core Realm and beyond. And perhaps I’d had some kind of advancement to the 6thStage of Mental Capacity already considering my encounter with the King of the Moon or my exposure to the Bloodmoon even.

Those certainly felt like otherworldly encounters to me.

The idea of treading into such territory heightened my curiosity and made me eager to progress. I needed to get back to the bunker to study the Shuras on Threja’s sword in earnest. There had to be new techniques for me to learn. New points of philosophy to guild me along my path.

But even with that, what could I do to advance my mental refinement in the spiritual realm? Spend time under the influence of the Bloodmoon? Find that nasty Ix-oh-whatever-face creature and kill it?

I was getting so juiced up on the possibilities of facing so much certain death that I would have loved nothing more than to wait till nightfall and see what I would find out in the wild.

Or what would come to find me perhaps?

But all that had to wait.

I had real world issues to resolve first, and one of them was waiting for me at an abandoned train station a couple miles away. Closing my mind’s eyes, I took off in a Frenzy driven sprint through the wilderness and prepared to meet with the Lady Silver Light.