Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (books for 20 year olds txt) 📗

forward. I had a bad feeling about this. All of the monsters so far had been capable predators but this one looked me straight in the eyes. Almost as if it was about to talk to me.

The massive beast jumped toward me but not close enough for my swords to hit it. Its objective, I realized, wasn’t to attack me but to cut me off from Louie, who was now directly behind it. It backtracked a few steps, pushing him back as he let out a soft whimper.

“You let him go!” I shouted, anger boiling inside me, and I charged forward.

The tiger leaped toward me and our blood was mixed in midair as both of my swords sliced into its belly and its left claws sank into my ribs. So strong was its swipe, that when its sharp claws got caught on my leather vest, it spun me around fast enough to make me turn twice before I landed on my back. The blow was accompanied by a spray of bright-red blood. I heard Louie bark at the tiger, which was already moving again.

How dare this… beast come between me and Louie? Does it really think I’ll let it take him into its pack?

I only had enough time to take in one deep breath before the tiger landed on top of me, forcing it out again. It licked its whiskers as its paws held my arms down, its nails digging deep into my muscles. It opened its mouth, revealing its sharp white teeth.

It’s playing with me!

My vision took on a red tint again as I couldn’t contain my anger anymore.

I will fucking show you not to play with me!

The tiger definitely didn’t see this one coming. I crashed my head into its mouth as hard as I could. I was sure I heard two different cracking sounds, one of them reverberating through my head, but I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t feel anything but rage at the audacity of someone trying to take Louie away.

My headbutt was enough to throw my aggressor off balance long enough for me to reach one of my swords with my left hand and dig it into its side. Still confused by the first attack, the tiger jumped away and shot me a feral look, thick red saliva running down its fangs. I jumped up and saw my health steadily falling as the Active Affects icon flashed.

Name : Bleed

Type : Condition

Level : 1

Effect : Lose 25 HP every second for the duration of the condition or until the bleeding is treated

Time Left : 19 seconds

The tiger had wounded me more seriously than I thought. I only had a few seconds before I bled to death. I quickly uncorked the small vial I had stashed in one of my pockets and downed it in one gulp. My HP bar started to jump back and forth as the two effects battled against each other. I had no idea how much the potion would restore over its 15-second duration, but it seemed to stop my HP from declining too much. This was all the reassurance I needed before I sprinted toward the great forest tiger again, triggering my Mighty Slash as it stood up on its two hind legs.

The moment my swords connected with its body, the blood from its wounds floated upward as if taking a gaseous form. I didn’t care what tricks the beast had hidden under its claws—I just kept attacking even as its body started moving at impossible angles and changing into…something else.

“You. Took. Louie!” I shouted as I thrust my swords at what was now the body of a woman in brown rags, with a crown of flowers on her head.

“You did well, child,” she said in a melodic voice. “Your love for your companion proved stronger than your fears.”

The sound of her words, however, was mangled by the loud thumping of rage in my head. I moved a step back to catch my footing and sprinted forward to strike at her again. I wouldn’t stop until I saw her bleeding on the ground.

Just as I was about to strike, Louie moved in front of the woman, meaning I would have to push him away if I were to attack her. Why was he acting like this? Nevertheless, I felt my anger subside as he wagged his tail. I kept my swords up, ready, and the woman’s smile was replaced by an expression of worry.

She dropped down onto her knees and stroked Louie’s hind. He raised his face up and licked her chin. Seeing him being friendly with her, my vision finally lost its red tint and I was able to focus fully on her.

Name : Alieria, Messenger of the Faery Queen

Type : Magic Creature - Raid Boss

Level : 50

Disposition : Friendly

HP : 213098/213145

Physical Attack : 1183

Magic Attack : 274

Speed : 155

Attack Range : Melee

XP : 3551193

Description : Alieria is one of the three messengers of the Fairy Queen herself. She has devoted her life to forging stronger relationships between people and their bestial companions. She rarely leaves her realm and is nigh invisible inside her forest.

The moment my brain absorbed the information, I understood this had been some kind of test—a part of my quest. More proof of this came when all of the yandirs around her disappeared into thin air. As I looked at her more closely, I saw that her skin was glistening under the low light provided by the fungi and four semi-translucent glittering wings spread out from her back. She was a powerful being. I was lucky Louie had stopped me when he did.

“There is so much anger in you, Alexander,” she said in a beautiful high-pitched voice.

“Who are you?”

“Who I am matters not, though you have no doubt seen the answer already. What matters is that you are hurting. But rejoice, Alexander, for you have a friend that loves you unconditionally. A friend that would follow you to the bottom of the