Path of the Berserker II - Bk1 summary and Prologue

Path of the Berserker – Book II (A Daopocalypse Progression fantasy)

Blurb

A world destroyed. An axe to grind. And a path to infinite power. Welcome to my reality.

So it turns out overthrowing a 14000 year old cultivation empire is going to take longer than I expected, but I’ve made a great start.

I’ve broken through to the Core Realm of my hidden Berserker art, established a new Terran Sect and even discovered a tribe of lost Terrans out in the wild.

There’s a whole lot more at stake and even more people to save, but that’s all the more reason to fight and free the Earth from the Empire’s control.

Not everyone is thrilled about my progression, however. From pissed off sect leaders to the members of the ruling clan, everyone wants a piece of the young upstart rocking the boat.

And that’s just fine with me.

It means I’ll need to grow even stronger to protect my people and champion my cause. But forces greater than even the Empire are at play—dark forces from beyond the stars and it’s going to be up to me to stop them.

Will I be strong enough? I don’t know and frankly I don’t really care, because when you follow the Path of the Berserker…backing down is no longer an option.

Path of the Berserker Book 2 is progression fantasy novel that contains immortal cultivators, an oppressive intergalactic dynasty, rage-inducing bureaucracy, magical spirit beasts, fantastical martial arts and one pissed off MC who’s sick of it all. Fans of western style cultivation fantasy, post apocalypse and Xianxia will enjoy. Click to read now!

The story so far…

In 2023, an Eight year old Max witnesses the end of the world when alien cultivators known as the Yee invade the earth. In the attack, Max is taken by a woman named Lady Silver Tear due to him being young enough to assimilate while his older sister Jessica and parents are left to die to the monsters created by the Bloodmoon.

12 years later, Max has been assimilated into Yee society and given the name Chun. In this new Earth ruled by cultivators, the humans (now called Terrans) are treated as 3rd class citizens, living in the ruins of the old cities of Earth. Max’s home is in one such ruin, the Native Housing District located in what used to be Chicago.

Max’s adopted sister Yu Li is in an abusive one-sided relationship with a Young Master named Hein of the Silver Leaf Clan, who has fathered a child with her. Max holds bitter resentment against Hein for what he has done but feels powerless to change the situation because he lacks the ability to sense and cultivate Qi. Relegated to his meager existence as a handler (guides who lead cultivators through the wilderness beyond the barriers that protect the city from spirits beasts) Max goes about life until he encounters a woman named Threja who offers him a different route to cultivation.

When Threja presses Max to discover the root of his pain and anger, he discovers the initial incident of losing his parents is at the heart of it all and that if he had the power he would destroy the cultivators and take back the Earth. Threja offers him a chance to turn his resentment and rage into true power to accomplish this goal, but at the cost of his life.

Max initially rejects the offer, but is put to the test when a group of criminal cultivator belonging to the Fire Bird sect attack his co-worker Mu Lin. Accepting the fact that he will die if he fights the cultivators, Max still sacrificing everything to save his friend by giving into his rage. This ignites his inner Flame by overcoming his fear of uncertain death and Max becomes a Berserker, now able to cultivate the power of Frenzy from sources of anger, pain and fear.

Threja gives Max an orb containing instructions on how to follow the Berserker path as well as a lightning core recovered from the Fire Birds. She also warns him that the Path of the Berserker is illegal under the empire and that if he is ever discovered, he will be executed.  She then leaves him on her quest to breakthrough to the True Deity Realm.

With his newfound strength and his loss of the fear of death, Max confronts Hein, which leads to a series of conflicts which escalates to Hein demanding a duel with Max in a months’ time. If Max loses, Hein will make the entire neighborhood suffer the consequences but subjugating them to becoming his slaves.

The neighborhood including his sister Yu Li all turn on him, thinking him a fool for defying Hein, but this only redoubles Max’s resolves to grow stronger and defeat Hein. Max encounters a blacksmith named Edrik who shows him that a better life is possible under imperial rule if one becomes a citizen, but to become a citizen he must achieve a certain ranking in the Iron Bracket martial tournament. Max sees a future for his people if he can first become a citizen and then create his own sect to protect them under imperial law. He thus embarks on a quest to obtain Iron Bracket ranking to achieve this.

In his quest for greater skills to compete in the tournament, Max turns to the blackmarket and a criminal underlord named Hong Feng to secure a manual on Axe and Lightning techniques. Hong Feng is also an elder in the Fire Bird clan and Max learns he leads the same Fire Birds who attacked his coworker Mu Lin and is killing many other cultivators out in the wild in order to obtain their cores. Hong Feng gives Max the manuals on the condition that he will assist with the murder of cultivators under the guise of his day job as a handler in the future.

Max realizes that Hong Feng suspects that he may be a Berserker, and that he covets his hidden power. Max uses this to manipulate Hong Feng into allowing him to join the Fire Birds. While in the sect, Max learns a few demonic techniques to mask his Berserker abilities, which allows him to compete more easily in the Tournaments. He also discovers a way to create lightning from his inner flame. Using these abilities, Max competes in the tournament while wearing a bull mask, which creates an in-ring persona known as the Iron Bull, who gains much renown throughout the city.

After achieving his goal of winning the tournament, Max is just about to leave the sect when Hong Feng calls on him to finally perform his job as a handler and assist in the assassination of an unsuspecting client in the wild.

The client turns out to be a woman named Lady Silver Light, a royal member of the ruling Silver Leaf Clan. After being initially abrasive towards him, Max soon realizes the woman is actually infatuated with him and simply lacks the social skills to express her true feelings. Max decides to save her from the assassination and in the process slays a large number of the Fire Birds instead. Max and Silver Light open up to one another and while a relationship seems blissful, Max realizes it would be ultimately impossible as she is a part of the clan he will one day rebel against. He breaks it off and Lady Silver Light is upset but still offers him a chance at a secret relationship together if things ever change. She then gives him a silver needle as a parting gift to remember her by.

When Hong Feng learns of Max’s betrayal, he brings him back to the headquarters where he is forced to fight for his life. Hong Feng rips out his heart and Max clinically dies, but his [Death’s Door] technique keeps his brain alive. When Hong Feng dumps his body into the wild to be devoured by demons, the effect of the Bloodmoon takes hold, nearly forcing him mad. Using his demonic techniques, Max absorbs the Dark Frenzy of the Bloodmoon and regrows his body but becomes an enraged and mindless beast in the process. Losing himself, he awakes the next day to find himself in a bunker far away from the city that is housing a group of Terran survivors from the initial attack.

Max is poisoned from ingesting the Dark Frenzy from the Bloodmoon and is unable to utilize his powers, relegated to being a cripple. The Terrans don’t trust him and keep him bound, but after initially not trusting him, a young girl named Kelsey believes his stories of being a cultivator and helps him to escape. Max finds Threja’s sword which she left for him after her ascension and with its power he is able to cleanse himself of the Dark Frenzy and breaks through to the Core Realm. Winning the trust of the Terrans he leaves them with a translation of a basic cultivation manual before racing home to make his duel with Hein.

Max arrives too late however, misjudging the time it would take to cross the terrain and after believing he’s already lost, gives into his despair and turns to exacting vengeance against Hong Feng instead. Max, with his unbridled strength kills Hong Feng along with his entire sect, but Hong Feng’s dead body reanimates after his demonic core allows an unknown demonic being to take possession. The creature then tries to possess Max, but he manages to slay the creature using the power of his Flame. Max is unsure what the creature truly was, but it hints at being an avatar of a godlike being connected to the Bloodmoon, which calls itself I’xol’ukz or the King of the Moon.

With the Fire Bird headquarters now engulfed in flames, Max leaves the silver pin gifted to him by Silver Light to paint the Silver Leaf Clan as those responsible for the genocide, even though he has no malic against Silver Light herself. Still in despair, Max contemplates leaving the city, before one of his neighbors finds him. He learns there is still time to face Hein and he rushes to the square for the final duel.

Max defeats Hein but spares his life, destroying his sword as a lesson instead. Max then gains ownership of the neighborhood and establishes the Terran Sect and vows to both protect his people and to take revenge for the earth, freeing it from imperial control as he grows stronger.

The book ends with Hein’s father Hei Dong lamenting over the loss of the sword and then calling for his daughter, the Lady Silver Light to take vengeance for the family.

Max’s Berserker Techniques

Taken from the scared scripts regarding the Path of the Frenzied Flame.

“Thou art indeed a kindled Flame, a frenzied spirit, tempered by struggle and sorrow, fueled by rage and pain…” -Unknown

Shura 1

Think not that we speak for the Flame, for the Flame of Frenzy has no master nor does it seek to create masters of its own accord. We who speak, have through consult agreed to these doctrines, not by direction, but through independent revelations of the Flame. Know with confidence then, that these words are true and are fit for enlightenment along your path.

Shura 2

They call us Berserker, we who follow the Frenzied Flame. Let us embrace the moniker, for it instills fears in our enemies. And fear is our strength.

[Frenzied Flame] – the most basic of all techniques within the Berserker’s domain. Use it to instantly channel your internal energies of Fear, Rage, and Pain into Frenzy. Evoking this technique can also stir the embers of an Unkindled or even reignite the fallen Flame of a Waning Ember.

[Fear the Flame] – the simple baring of one’s fangs is sometimes all that is required to defeat one’s foe. Gather your Frenzy and with a mere look or phrase, exert your dominance and feed from the fears of your enemies or bolster the resolve of your allies.

[Mask of the Despised] – take heed always, kindled one, for the hatred of the Frenzied Flame is great amongst those who follow the path of Qi. Use this technique to mask your strength while in their presence, for their own arrogance shall paint you as a mere fool, simpleton, or dull brute in their eyes. Use this to your advantage to move freely among them while posing no threat.

[Lust for Battle] – not a true technique, but a trait shared by all kindled of the Frenzied Flame. The drawing of blood in battle, even one’s own, can trigger a burst of Frenzy. And to slay one’s enemy will produce even more so. Yet take heed, kindled one, for the pull of the bloodlust is strong and the need to draw blood can easily extend to a friend as well as foe, if left unrestrained. Let not the Demon within you take full control.

[Struggler’s Resolve] – the path of the Struggler is forever filled with tribulation. This technique will convert your Frenzy into an iron will of determination that even others can feel and see.

[Indifference]–Think not, dear kindled, that your power lies in aggression and hostility alone. To induce rage and fear in others can be many more times as effective, for nothing offends the proud and powerful more than indifference. Use this technique to withstand attacks and to demoralize your foes through your apathy when you disregard even their strongest techniques with a scoff.

[Odds Against Me] – there is no greater thrill than a challenge. Without challenge, without struggle, there can be no progression. The cowardly prey on those who are weaker to ensure easy victory, but the Berserker seeks to oppose strength far above his own. When facing greater odds, either by strength, numbers, or both, this technique will generate enormous amounts of Frenzy by suppressing your inner fears and unleashing your Flame’s full potential. The power of this technique is limitless, bound only by the strength of your foe and your ability to withstand him.

[My Turn] – a retaliation technique used best when combined with [Indifference]. Unleash a mighty burst of Frenzy with your next strike by releasing the stored Pain energy of any previous attacks endured.

[Death Mastery] – the fear of death grows only stronger the closer one gets to immortality. Power over this fear defies not only the Heavens, but mocks it to its face. Consider it no small wonder then, dear kindled, that your path shall be blighted with misfortune, for the Heavens are not lightly mocked. In exchange for this rebuke, you shall enjoy the bounty that is clarity of mind, body, and soul in places where others falter and fail. Your words and actions will instill fear and respect in others and your Flame will burn yet brighter with each evolution, heightening the potency of all your abilities.

[Iron Core] – (internal) use concentrated Frenzy to temporarily form a layer of protective armor around vital organs and bones to withstand tremendous blows.

[Death’s Door] – (internal) should you suffer a fatal wound use concentrated Frenzy to replace any bodily function that is lost.

[Iron Skin] – (external) use concentrated Frenzy to temporarily form a layer of hardened armor on a specific part of the body. Use defensively to avoid critical strikes or offensively on the knuckles, feet, or palms when fighting unarmed.

Marks of the Berserker

Take special care when utilizing the marks. While initially only one Mark may be used at a time, higher levels can sustain as much as two. In very rare practitioners, all three marks can be manifested, but take heed, as such will quickly Frenzy thy Flame towards complete madness.

[Mark of the Beast] – (external) take on the likeness of a frenzied beast, greatly increasing one’s reflexes and speed.

[Mark of the Giant] – (external) grow in physical size, greatly increase all of one’s physical strength and power.

[Mark of the Demon] – (external) take on the likeness of a demon, greatly increasing the potency of one’s Frenzy and the effectiveness of Frenzy techniques.

Prologue – The Unknown

It seethed.

In the void of darkness, Its formless presence coveted the primal energy pulsating through the tiny crack in the firmament. An unfathomable envy filled It. The crack would appear rhythmically within Its gaol of confinement—pulse after pulse—tempting it with yearning. Through it, It could sense what It desired the most.

Influence.

It had tasted of a husk through the crack––rare and refined.

A vessel tempered by the Cursed Flame.

A vessel more than suitable for Its purpose.

It would eject the Flame and claim it for Its own.

Curse the Cursed Flame.

With each pulse of the crack, It extended Its senses, exerting Its influence to the weak-minded thralls that lay beyond. Pulse by pulse, it would reach for them before being cut off again. But with each pulse did it exert Its influence.

Slowly the thralls did bend to Its will and labored to gather the components of the gate.

With each pulse the gate grew more defined.

And with each pulse, did the crack slowly grow in size.