Starting out as a Dragon Slave-Chapter 68: Berserker

Isaac gripped the hilt of his katana tighter, already feeling the first drops of sweat trickling down his forehead. Opposite him, Hugo still seemed imperturbable, calm and sure of his superiority. His analytical gaze studied Isaac’s every move, as if trying to anticipate all his possible strategies.

Isaac inhaled slowly, feeling his lungs fill with air, then exhaled softly.

"I can’t go on like this. He sees all my shots before they even go off. I’ve got to get something else out."

Without hesitation, he went back on the offensive. This time, he alternated brutally between his intangibility skill and his physical strikes, seeking to destabilize Hugo. He charged straight at him, his body becoming intangible at the last moment, letting Hugo’s counter-attacks pass, then becoming tangible again to strike with force.

- Impressive!" Hugo exclaimed, parrying a powerful blow that made his arms tremble. I recognize that you’ve mastered a skill that no one else in France has, but that’s not enough!

Isaac quickly followed up, sliding from a lateral strike to a swift estoc, using [Shidensen] coupled with [Vol] to accelerate further. Hugo parried each blow, but each time with a little less margin, his sharp reflexes tested to the limit.

At a precise moment, Isaac propelled himself violently forward, activating [Earthquake] at full power beneath his feet. The ground shattered, concrete debris flying all around. Hugo, off balance for a fraction of a second, dodged just enough to feel the cold blade graze his face, leaving a small cut on his cheek.

Hugo stepped back sharply, running a hand over his cheek in mild surprise.

- Not bad. Very good timing. But still not good enough.

Isaac stepped back, panting. He could clearly feel his mana reserves dropping, and worse still, Hugo still seemed to have a huge margin. A feeling of helplessness twisted his insides.

- You’re getting tired, Isaac. And yet you haven’t even pushed me to use all my resources," Hugo said calmly, but without arrogance.

Isaac gritted his teeth.

I’m out of options.

Without further thought, he made a decision. He closed his eyes for a split second, concentrating intensely, and whispered:

- [Berserker - activation].

Instantly, a searing wave swept through his body. His muscles contracted violently, his veins swelled beneath his skin, and his pupils constricted by an uncontrollable adrenaline rush. His heartbeat raced, each beat seeming to pump a fierce, primal energy through his limbs.

His physical statistics increased tenfold: strength, speed, endurance, everything was amplified. Isaac let out a wild cry, surprised by the intensity of this new power.

- This is getting interesting," Hugo muttered with a frown, instinctively sensing that another phase of the fight had just begun.

Isaac leapt forward with astonishing speed, so fast that he almost disappeared from view. Hugo barely had time to react, blocking the blow with his forearms. The impact was violent, knocking him back several meters and leaving a trail on the ground.

- Hugo grunted, finally destabilized. It’s not the same fight at all...

Isaac, possessed by a warrior’s rage, immediately followed up. Each attack was ferocious, savage and implacable. He used his intangibility in a chaotic fashion, totally confounding Hugo’s anticipations. The latter dodged and parried with difficulty, now obliged to use all his concentration and defensive skills to absorb this avalanche of violence.

- I thought you were impressive earlier on," Hugo shouted between hard breaths, blocking another attack that made his arms vibrate with pain. But this is almost monstrous!

Isaac didn’t reply, completely focused on his target. His thoughts were nothing more than a chain of primitive instincts, pure warrior impulses driven by rage and determination. He had become a veritable whirlwind of blades and raw power.

But Hugo wasn’t Rank B for nothing. Slowly, despite the difficulty, he began to adapt, matching Isaac’s pace. His exceptional reflexes, now pushed to their absolute limits, barely kept him out of reach of Isaac’s deadly blade.

- I have to admit," Hugo shouted, blocking another katana blow with a powerful gesture, "you richly deserve this test. But even so, I won’t let you beat me so easily!

Isaac grunted, his strength reaching a new peak of violence. He whirled around Hugo, his katana vibrating with energy as his mana wings blazed behind his back. Each impact sounded like an explosion in the air, each of Hugo’s parries resonating painfully in his aching muscles.

Finally, after several minutes of this insane intensity, Isaac felt that his body was reaching its absolute limits. The after-effects of [Berserker] slowly began to be felt, his muscles trembling under the extreme fatigue.

Hugo, seeing this, seized the opportunity and propelled himself backwards, re-establishing a safe distance. He breathed heavily, struggling to catch his breath, then smiled frankly.

- You’ve forced me to take this fight seriously, Isaac. I recognize your value. But I also see that you’re reaching your limits.

Isaac gasped heavily, staring at Hugo with a gaze ablaze with determination despite his body already beginning to tremble.

- We’ll see... It’s not over yet... he murmured, trying to control the tremors that were taking hold of him.

Isaac’s body pulsed with the frantic rhythm of his heart, now completely overwhelmed by the wild, uncontrollable state of the [Berserker]. His pupils, narrowed to the extreme, expressed nothing but raw warrior instinct. Conscious thought had been reduced to its simplest expression. He no longer thought about strategy or consequences-only the sensation of combat, the explosion of pure power that ran through every fibre of his being.

Opposite him, Hugo, though still calm on the outside, clearly sensed that this fight far exceeded his initial expectations. He bent his legs slightly, ready to receive Isaac’s next offensive, his sharp gaze attentively following every movement, every quiver.

Without warning, Isaac let his body’s instinct take complete control. He propelled himself forward, his mana wings unfurling to their full extent, leaving a trail of bluish energy behind him. Hugo anticipated a direct attack and prepared a robust parry, adjusting his stance, his reflexes ready for any eventuality.

But this time, Isaac felt his muscles react differently, and he couldn’t understand why.

His body, moved only by a deep-rooted muscle memory, made a dazzling, almost supernatural lateral movement. At that precise moment, the name of the technique instinctively flashed across his mind, as if etched in stone:

- "Ikazuchi San no Kata: Narukami."

In a fraction of a second, Isaac literally disappeared from Hugo’s field of vision, executing a lateral change of direction with staggering speed. His body seemed to dissolve into thin air before instantly rematerializing just behind Hugo, whose eyes widened in absolute surprise.

Hugo, frozen for that crucial thousandth of a second, immediately felt the icy bite of metal against his throat. The edge of Isaac’s katana was perfectly positioned, firm enough to indicate that a simple gesture would be enough to end the fight.

Silence fell like a pall over the training room. The observers, from their elevated positions, were suspended in absolute amazement. Hugo, though experienced and renowned for his exceptional composure, smiled slowly. A sincere, astonished, impressed smile. He murmured:

- Interesting.

Before Isaac even had time to fully anchor his grip, Hugo disappeared in a movement of pure speed, leaving behind only a blurred silhouette.

Isaac, surprised in his berserk state, felt a presence appear at his right flank, but his body couldn’t react fast enough.

The blow struck his temple with devastating force, a sharp, precise impact that shook the walls. The searing pain tore through Isaac’s skull, immediately breaking his Berserker state. His body was thrown with extreme brutality across the room, rolling several times before coming to rest against a reinforced wall.

His katana shattered under the force of the impact.

Isaac immediately felt the immense heaviness that accompanied the end of his skill. All his muscles were now trembling under the intense fatigue and violent after-effects of the forced activation of [Berserker] mode. His breathing was ragged and wheezy, and blood slowly trickled from his temple.

He opened his eyes in a daze, trying to regain his bearings. Hugo, standing in the center of the ring, stared at him calmly, slowly resuming his upright, relaxed posture. He lightly dusted off his battle-worn gloves, then took a few steps towards Isaac, clearly showing a newfound respect in his eyes.

- You’ve pushed me to use a real part of my skills, Isaac. I didn’t think I’d need it against you," Hugo admitted sincerely. That last technique... where did you learn it?

Isaac managed to sit up with difficulty, wiping the blood still dripping from his temple. He smiled faintly, fatigue getting the better of his adrenalin:

- An old manual... that I borrowed. I’d read it... but never mastered it before.

Hugo crouches down in front of him, his gaze serious but admiring.

- This is no ordinary technique, even among the higher ranks. You have a natural talent, a raw instinct. Your wild, unpredictable style could well become your greatest strength... provided you learn to master its limits.

Isaac tried to laugh, but the sharp pain in his head turned it into a grimace.

- I think... I’ve already exceeded quite a few today.

Hugo nodded slowly, grateful.

- Get some rest, Isaac. Your test is over, and believe me, you made a big impression.

He stood up slowly, signalling to the observers behind the security glass that the test was over.

Lying on the cold, hard floor, Isaac gazed up at the ceiling with a strange satisfaction despite his aching body. He’d broken a barrier today, reached a level he’d never dreamed of. freewebnøvel.coɱ

And above all, he had proved to himself and others what he was really worth.

- "Narukami," he murmured again, his heart beating with pride despite his fatigue. I’ve finally done it... although I’m going to need a bit of practice.