Blood Berserker - [ A Litrpg Apocalypse]

Nathan watched as the rogue stared him down, which was a funny thing to behold since he was a good head taller than the wiry teen. That didn't stop the rogue from trying to stare him down, though, and with what Nathan was seeing, he had to wonder if the rogue was going to continue the fight just to prove something to him.

"Thank you," the rogue mumbled, taking his daggers from Nathan's outstretched hands.

Nathan simply nodded at the teen; there had been no need for words as the rogue had already turned his back on him and was now going to stew under deck, no doubt analyzing their little spar and trying to figure out where it'd all gone wrong. That wasn't a bad thing, to be honest. He had done something similar during his early days on the island.

He'd always tried to review what exactly he was doing, how he fought, and how close he was to losing his life in his latest fight. It was a good skill to have and one that would most definitely help the rogue progress faster. Shaking his head at the retreating form of the rogue, he fixed his gaze on the duo who were chattering amongst themselves — Diane and Daniel.

The priestess had a look of triumph plastered on her face, while the ranger was sporting the look of someone who'd just lost a lot of money — as was the case. Nathan figured he might as well ask the pair a question that had been bugging him for a minute but hadn't been too important to stress about.

"Diane, what was in that pouch?" Nathan asked.

"Coins, Ra'ahal coins. The easiest ones I've ever earned," the priestess said giddily.

Coins, how...

"How did you manifest it into the physical? I thought it was just a system thing?" Nathan quizzed.

At least that was the general assumption he had on the subject. Ra'hal coins to him were just numbers being calculated by the system telling him what he could and couldn't afford. The coins had always seemed like something intangible, just another system stat. To have that theory debunked before his very eyes was a little unsettling.

"Just think about the amount of coins you want to manifest, and you'll have it appear," Diane said. "It's a way for people to transfer coins between each other."

"Thanks."

You don't say.

It suddenly clicked for Nathan where the coin in the chest he'd seen in the commander's office had come to be. If it was a way to motivate the miners to work harder, then he'd definitely consider it a worthwhile tactic, considering the fact that money in any form or shape was enticing. He was gearing up to ask the priestess a follow-up question when he saw it: a slimy-looking tentacle reaching for Diane.

Whatever had that tentacle was currently out of his view, and considering the fact that the priestess was at the edge of the ship, it wouldn't take much for whatever had that tentacle to take her underwater.

"Diane, move!" Nathan yelled.

His legs moving on their own accord, he dashed towards the priestess, his sword raised high as he sliced at the alien appendage. His sword cut through the tentacle with ease, causing the detached appendage to drop to the deck with a wet thud.

"Ah!" Diane screamed.

Nathan ignored the priestess, the berserker already heading for the other part of the tentacle that was hidden from view. The lack of a scream or shriek from the monster he'd just injured made Nathan prepare himself to see something wild, but never in a million years would Nathan have imagined what he would see.

"Pirlo, get out here!" Nathan screamed.

Seven tentacles emerged from the sea, clamping onto seven different areas of the ship. The tentacles, blue in nature, Nathan could see tensing as though they were either trying to pull the creature attached to them up onto the deck or drag the ship itself underwater.

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For everything that he was worth, the berserker internally prayed that they'd not encountered a kraken, worse yet one that had been mutated by the apocalypse to become something much, much worse. It seemed as though his prayer was heeded as the first of the creatures came aboard.

Damn, that's creepy.

The creature looked humanoid at first glance, but the longer he stared at the creature, the worse it seemed. Its skin was blue, and it had tentacles for arms — one tentacle on each side. It had no mouth, which explained the lack of a scream when he'd cut off one of its kin's tentacles. The creature's head was big, bulbous, and jelly-like, like an octopus. Resisting the urge to hurl his breakfast — miner ration — he analyzed the creature.

[SeaMern

Level 32]

You've got to be kidding me.

He stared at the information a lot longer than he should have. What kind of stupid-ass name was SeaMern? His mind was coming to the conclusion that the system was one big joke by some madman to see how much absurdities people could handle. Dispelling his thoughts, he quickly analyzed the other SeaMern that were now on the deck of his ship — blood vessel.

[SeaMern

Level 33]

[SeaMern

Level 31]

[SeaMern

Level 31]

[SeaMern

Level 33]

[SeaMern

Level 31]

[SeaMern

Level 35]

Shit!

"Daniel, take Diane under deck, and while you're at it, get Pirlo," Nathan said.

"No need, I'm already here," Pirlo calmly said.

Nathan was sure glad that he had the rogue backing him. He didn't know if he'd need it, but every fight was going to be better with someone as reliable as Pirlo at his side. Plus, it really helped that the rogue was pissed at his loss, and the SeaMern had made themselves target practice.

"Alright, I'll go left, you go right," Nathan ordered before dashing towards the closest monster on the left.

The other creatures had other plans as they rushed him, wanting to overwhelm him with their numbers. Unfortunately for them, Nathan had no qualms taking all of them on at once. In fact, the berserker part of him relished the challenge. To make things much more interesting, Nathan believed it was time to unwrap a skill he'd had for a while.

Time to figure out how Blood Boil works.

The four SeaMern on the left were all converging towards him, and Blood Boil only worked on three, so he picked the three closest to him and let the spell take effect, his mind trying to comprehend what was happening as he felt something leave him.

[Blood Boil Triggered.

Two out of three targets have failed Vitality contest and have lost 10% of their health as a result.]

Let's fucking go.

Nathan rushed at the first of the SeaMern, his blade flashing as it arced through the sky, its destination the SeaMern's neck. He missed, or rather, the SeaMern dodged. The move was so fluid that Nathan was trying to figure out if the SeaMern's neck had ever been in the position he'd struck at.

Not one to dwell on missed opportunities, Nathan attacked again, and this time he went for a body part with more margin for error: its torso. He chose wisely. His sword tore into the creature's torso, almost bisecting it before a heavy tentacle slapped him away, pushing him into the clutches of more tentacles.

Urgh.

"Shit."

Nathan hadn't cursed the second he felt so many suckers tugging at his skin — nope, he cursed the moment he'd felt needle-like things pierce his skin, even with his high constitution. And still, that wasn't really the weird part; he could literally feel the needle-like stuff stealing his blood and his very essence at an alarming rate too.

[Warning: Health below 75%]

Nathan hadn't panicked in a long, long time, but this was certainly the time to panic if there was ever one. Like a lion rebelling down, Nathan struggled until he finally tore through the tentacles holding him down. His entire body was soaked in blood, and for the first time in a while, some of it was his.

Incensed by the audacity of the SeaMern to try and milk him for power, he rushed at the closest one, forgoing any need for tact. His sword flashed like lightning as he slashed diagonally, and with the amount of adrenaline fueling his attack, there was no escape for the SeaMern. The top half of the creature slid off the bottom half, and within moments, both halves dropped to the ground motionless.

The berserker hadn't even bothered to watch. The remaining three had all lost tentacles when he'd torn out of their hold, and at the moment, only one out of the three had a tentacle. The rest were basically unarmed — literally. Vengeance had never been so sweet. Nathan whistled as he calmly approached the three left for him.

The one with a tentacle swung its remaining appendage at the agent of death heading towards it. Of course, Nathan wasn't stressed in the very least; he simply cut down the tentacle casually. The creatures seemed to be inching backwards, almost as though they were prepared to go overboard.

Uh-uh.

Nathan lunged for the trio before they could even try to leap off the ship, his sword whistling their last rites as he decapitated their heads from left to right. Their heads dropped to the floor, their bodies as well, and with it, the familiar wave of euphoria passed through him, making him whole and signaling a level up. Nathan was ready to start throwing their corpses off his ship when he realized that Pirlo was still locked in his own fight. Heck, the rogue was dying with the teen wrapped up in multiple tentacles.

I can't just catch a break.