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

thought I might not make it in time before the caster finished his spell. I was losing myself to whatever this thing was, more and more. I jumped on a wooden crate and launched myself high in the air, blades first. So high. High enough to slash the bastard’s leathery wings with both my swords.

Black blood sprayed in a downward arc as he lost his balance and the ability to fly. His spell was left incomplete and Louie was finally able to heal himself. With relief, I saw his HP bar fill up again, and yet I regained no control over my mind and body.

“Fuck him up, lad!” The still-trapped Rory shouted words of encouragement but I couldn’t care less.

The occultist struggled to get back on his feet, his wounded wings fluttering reflexively.

“You’re going to pay for this once our—”

“Shut the fuck up, insect.” My voice said the words, though they weren’t brought to my lips at will.

I moved behind him and slashed his heels with both swords. He fell flat on the ground, not even managing to break his fall with his hands. I could hear the blood pumping in my veins as I held the swords above him. He barely managed to turn on his back before I plunged one sword on his shoulder, driving it right through him and pinning him to the ground.

“You dare attack us?” I shouted, grabbing his horns in my hands. “You dare threaten my dog?”

I placed my bloodied foot on his face and moved the weight of my whole body back, pulling as forcefully as I could. It didn’t take much effort before both horns broke off and I fell onto my back, holding the two bloody trophies. The man screamed in agony and I took great pleasure in it. I jumped forward, throwing the smooth horns to the side, and landed on top of him.

I punched him, instantly breaking his nose. And then I punched him again. And again, and again. Until his movements had become sluggish and the man had no more to offer me to quench my thirst for blood. I held my sword against his neck with my right hand and placed my left foot on the blade. I pressed hard enough for the blade to sink into my boot, even though I was stepping on its dull side. The sharp side ran straight through the man’s neck, permanently separating his head from its infernal body.

I was still thirsty. My blades were singing to me. They were calling for blood.

“Aye, lad,” Rory celebrated as much as he could under the net holding him down. “Now come take me out of this shit.”

I moved toward him. That much I wanted to do. However, his call was drowned out by the sweet desire of slaughter. I raised my swords, ready to strike at the dwarf’s most prized possession. His hands.

“What the hells, half-Celt?” Rory asked.

“Alex? Are you okay?” Leo’s distant voice asked.

Just as I was about to strike, my vision still red, and the weird status the only thing left in place of my buffs, I froze in place.

Louie was standing between the dwarf and myself. His fur was wet with blood. His ears flopped down against his head and his eyes were looking at me with… love?

This feeling. It froze my body. A wave of coolness hit my face as Louie wagged his tail and spoke to me.

“Alex?”

That’s right. Love. Unconditional love.

The coolness spread down my neck and into my chest. The status effect flashed a couple of times before disappearing. The pain in my foot, on the side of my face, and my neck suddenly registered all together.

My knees were too weak to hold me up and my head too groggy to keep the lights on.

I was out before I even hit the ground.

“Wake the fuck up,” Rory said and I opened my eyes to see the warm bright light of healing envelop me.

Louie barked excitedly as I opened my eyes and, at the same time, I heard Leo exhale deeply.

“What happened?” I asked. “How long was I out?”

“Only a couple of minutes,” Leo replied, before helping me stand up.

“Are you feeling okay?” Louie asked. “You were acting… differently.”

“He’s fine now. Ye can talk about yer feelings later,” Rory said in an urgent tone. “We need to hurry. There’s loot waiting for us.”

17

Of doom and death

What the hell was that feeling? I could remember doing the things I did. I could recall making the choices and wanting to hurt that demon spawn with as much brutality as I could. But those actions didn’t sit well with me now that the status had disappeared from my buffs bar. I was certain I wouldn’t have done those things without it.

I brought my hand up to the side of my face and felt the sting of the open wound. I traced it from its beginning, right below my left ear, all the way down to the side of my neck.

“That’s gonna leave a mark,” said the dwarf before jumping into one of the rooms.

“We healed you,” Louie added, “so you’re perfectly healthy. But I guess the scars need to heal naturally.”

“At long last, the almighty Alexander MacFie has earned his first battle scar,” the dwarf said again as he rushed out of the first room. “This one’s empty.”

“Empty here as well,” Leo echoed from the other side of the corridor.

Louie and I went into the next room and were faced with the exact same things we’d seen on the second layer. Boxes upon boxes of neon lights.

“Maybe there’s nothing here?” I asked as we exited our room, the look on Leo’s face showing that he’d had the same thought.

Rory, however, wasn’t about to stop trying. He charged toward the locked door at the end of the corridor and bashed it with his shield. Yet again, the door gave in immediately and revealed the exact same unused server room as in the layers below.

“Nothing? What the hells is