Blood Berserker - [ A Litrpg Apocalypse]

For the first time in a long time, a blue screen popped up in Nathan's vision without him requesting it, and it was the content of the screen that had him in shock. His brain tried to put the pieces together, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't put into place what exactly the system was saying, which made things all the more confusing.

He tried not to think about it too much, but his entire body was thrumming with energy, some sort of weird energy that kept him from being able to focus on the screen. It seemed like something had been brewing in his belly for a long time and was now looking for a way to explode. A way to get out. But for now, Nathan forced his mind to concentrate on the words on the system screen in front of him.

[ Congratulations! Dao Unlocked, Core Formed. Dao Affinity: Wind Core stage: I Core Energy: (1000/1000) Dao Trials: 0/5 ]

[The winds of Rahal has accepted Nathan Orion as one of its own. There is no greater honor in all of Rahal than to be paired with the winds, to be one of those lifted into the skies, to become one with the wind.

With the confirmation of your Dao, you may now choose a Technique to begin your Journey.

- Gale (E): Overwhelming bursts of air to push back opponents. This technique allows you to compress air and send it towards foes to knock them back. It costs 500 Core Energy per cast.

Dissipate (F): Bend through space and time by moving through the wind. This technique enables you to change positions over short distances. It is only usable twice a day at this rank. It costs 300 Core Energy per cast.

- Dash (F): This Technique improves your speed by 100% for five minutes. It costs 200 Core Energy points per minute.]

Nathan raked through his brain trying to figure out which one was the best option for him. The rankings seemed to be straightforward to him, with the [Gale] Technique ranked as (E) while the others were of a lower rank.

On the surface, going for the E-ranked skill Gale would seem like the most obvious option in normal circumstances, but the situation the Berserker was in was anything but normal. For one, he was locked in Sparrow's hell hole of a dungeon, suspended by runed chains. In summary, [Gale] wasn't going to help him in this scenario unless he was planning on sending bursts of air at Sparrow when he came to execute him later on.

With that in mind, it made sense for him to scrap getting the [Gale] technique. The Dash Technique seemed nice, but speed wouldn't get him out of the chains that kept him suspended in the cell. Although there might be a situation where the technique would help him escape Sparrow's stronghold after being uncuffed for execution, a part of him reasoned that Sparrow would probably have a way to deal with such a technique. Off the top of his head, he could see the mages that had played a crucial role in having him captured being a problem.

Which meant that the Dash Technique wasn't the one to be picked. The realization caused him to grunt, disappointment seeping through his features as the dream of dominating opponents with his strength and enhanced speed faded away. [Dash] and [Gale] aside, there was still a technique that he had yet to consider, [Dissipate].

Of all the three, it seemed like the technique that would get him out of his current predicament.

If Nathan was reading this right, then this technique would be a way for him to get out of the runed chains holding him captive in the dank cell. With that in mind, he relaxed his mind a little. Even if he was wrong and Dissipate couldn't free him from the chains, he might as well take a moment to savor the feeling of hope.

"Hope. Such a fickle emotion," Nathan whispered to himself.

"I choose [Dissipate]."

An alien warmth circulated his system as he confirmed his technique - [Dissipate]. The feeling started from the tips of his fingers, toes, and the top of his head. The feeling converging into a single point in his stomach before exploding throughout his entire body causing Nathan to grunt in pain.

"Frickin' system," he cursed.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

[ Congratulations! New Technique Learned: [Dissipate (F)]. Techniques are ranked from S - F with F being the bottom rank. While Ranks are used to signify the power levels of Technique in comparison to other techniques, there are special instances where an F-ranked technique will trump over a rank E technique.

The chances for lower rank techniques to overpower a higher rank technique decreases with the gap between the two.

The Ranks of Techniques can be improved upon by receiving enlightenment. Each use of a Technique draws upon a certain amount of Core Energy from the user. If the required Core Energy is not available, then casting will fail.]

"Huh."

A quick glance through the information provided to him by the system explained most of the things he needed to understand about his new Technique. A light smile appeared on his face as he figured out that his Technique could be improved upon. He had no intention of holding onto a technique that would be useless to him later on in life. An F-ranked Technique wouldn't be so hot in the next five years.

The next thing that caught his eye was the information about the difference in ranks, but he didn't need to dissect that as it was pretty much straightforward for him to understand. With nothing else to do, Nathan closed the notification, intending on activating his new Technique only for another notification to pop up.

[ New Imprint Unlocked: Bronze Technician. As the third being to obtain their Dao on this planet, you shall receive a thirty percent buff on all techniques. ]

"Ha, hahaha!" Nathan burst out in maniacal laughter. Tears gathering at the edge of his eyes at the latest notification he'd received. He couldn't believe his luck today; surely if he loses to Sparrow after all this, then he was nothing more than a weakling.

"Hey, Utaru, are you hearing that laughter?" Darren asked.

"Yeah, I think Lord Sparrow might've broken his new toy too fast," Utaru said.

"That's such a shame."

"Not really. I want to see what's got that nonchalant bastard laughing." Utaru said before walking to Nathan's cell, torch in hand.

Nathan grinned at his newfound strength. For everything he'd been through over the past few days, he really needed something good like this. With a maniacal grin stretched across his face, Nathan dismissed the screen. His body was itching to cast his new Technique, but he decided to wait a minute as there was something he'd yet to do for a long time.

"Status," he whispered.

[ Name: Nathan Orion

Moniker: N/A

Level: 57

Archetype: Blood Berserker

Class: Blood Baron

Imprints: Balls of Steel,Demon Slayer, Skull Crusher, Bronze Dungeoneer, Wrong Underdog, Bronze Technician.

Strength: 38

Dexterity: 16

Vitality: 18

Constitution: 27

Constitution: 32

Perception: 15

Dao: wind

Ra'hal Coins: 560,840

Free Points: 32

]

Nathan stared at the screen in disbelief. The points he'd ignored for so long had stacked up to be something that could change everything for him. Thirty-plus free points available to him almost felt like he'd gotten another new skill. He hadn't checked up on his stats since his first evolution, and right now it seemed his decision to ignore the points would pay off.

If he allocated the points correctly, then it would mean that he'd be way stronger than Sparrow, a fact that his old mentor would be oblivious to, considering that he'd just trapped Nathan in his dungeon a few hours ago.

I'll spend it like this;

10 points to strength

5 to Constitution

5 to Vitality

7 to Dex

5 to Perception.

[

Name: Nathan Orion

Moniker: N/A

Level: 57

Archetype: Blood Berserker

Class: Blood Baron

Imprints: Balls of Steel, Demon Slayer, Skull Crusher, Bronze Dungeoneer, Wrong Underdog, Bronze Technician.

Strength: 48

Dexterity: 23

Vitality: 23

Constitution: 32

Perception: 20

Dao: wind

Ra'hal Coins: 560,840

Free Points: 0

]

"What is that smell?" Utaru cursed, causing Nathan to dismiss the system screen as he stared at the guard approaching his cell with a torch in hand. "This place already smelled bad enough without you crapping your pants."

The berserker was confused for a second before he looked around his cell, the torch with the guard helping to illuminate the dank cell, and it was hard for him to miss it. A putrid dark liquid seemed to pool at his feet, the substance coating parts of his body, and it was all Nathan could do not to throw up as the smell assaulted his nose.

Urggh, I guess that's from whatever was going on while I was getting my Dao.

"Well, aren't you going to claim that you didn't crap yourself?" Utaru taunted, clearly expecting Nathan to respond, but the berserker kept shut, instead raising his head to stare at the guard, a light smile on his face. "Wh-why are you staring at me like that?"

Nathan almost scoffed at the fear that had appeared in the guard's eyes. The flames dancing in the guard's eyes made it easier for the berserker to read the man, and at the moment it was an understatement to say that the guard was quaking in his boots. The natural instincts in the man caused him to take a step back, but it was too late.

[Dissipate]