Luke cursed at the enemies that had surrounded him in every direction. More Spiderwings came scurrying through the trees above, clearly drawn in by the potential meal they’d encircled. Past the monsters in every direction was nothing but an endless sea of trees. There was nowhere to run; he’d have to fight his way out.

He clenched the iron axe in his hand at the thought of taking on all these enemies. Not only was he exhausted, the minor wounds he’d sustained in a fight against trolls in the previous floor were starting to take their toll. Even though those wounds gave him a boost in strength thanks to his Primal Rage talent, he still didn’t have enough energy left to take on all these enemies.

There was a portal just up ahead. He thought. If I can just get rid of these guys…

With his back against the wall, he activated the only ability he had left to test: Berserk Mode. Instantly, his blood ignited, and his muscles expanded violently, as if barely restrained by his skin. White smoke crept into his vision, clouding it, and turning everything into an almost dream-like trance.

He barely noticed a ball of acid sludge coming at him from the right.

Too late! I can’t dodge!

Somehow, his foot kicked off the ground and launched him backwards, away from the attack.

A black figure plunged down from above. Luke tried to skirt to the left, but his body wouldn’t listen. Instead, he lunged forward, then pivoted back around and drove his axe through the over-sized spider, dealing far more damage than he’d done previously.

His eyes sprang open in disbelief. How am I doing this? I’m not even controlling myself.

His body jumped forward and continued its assault on the lunging Spiderwing. In this strange trance, he could only watch himself as his body moved on its own, as if on autopilot. With a few swings of the axe the monster fell, but three more dove down from above in a synchronized attack.

Luke jumped up in between them and activated Cyclone. His body swirled like a vicious twister, slicing up the monsters and killing them with three rotations of his axe.

His body fell to the ground and without any wasted motion, it went for the next victim, making quick work of it with a few thunderous slashes.

This is unreal. Luke thought as he watched on in amazement. One second, I had nothing left to give, now I’m doing all this…

The barrage of wild axe swings continued; mowing through the Spiderwings like a hyper-focused, lethal flyswatter. Before he knew it, all the monsters had fallen to his blade, and there was nothing else left in sight but trees, spider webs, and dropped loot.

Shortly after, the white smoke disappeared from his vision and he felt himself return to normal. With the return to normalcy came a tearing pain that he’d never felt before, and he quickly collapsed to his knees in anguish. It was as if his muscles had been shredded open and burned.

Damn. So, this is the drawback of this ability?

He fought the excruciating pain and climbed back to his feet. The portal was just up ahead, and he needed to get there quick before more Spiderwings showed up. If I get ambushed in this state, I’m screwed.

Ignoring all the loot around him, he made his way toward the portal. Each step felt like he was dragging a monster truck along, but he pushed through it.

Through all the pain he shortly reached his destination. Grateful that he hadn’t encountered another enemy on the short trek, he stepped forward into the portal.

Coming out on the other side, he finally found himself inside the first haven. This was a place he’d heard a lot about but always doubted whether it was real or not. But, sure enough, there it was, right in front of his eyes.

Just as others had described it, this place looked exactly like a typical city he’d find in the outside world. Sunlight beamed down from above, lighting up the concrete buildings and city streets. Not surprisingly, there were no cars to fill up vehicle lanes, but there were plenty of people. They walked around in this strange placed wearing all sorts of armor and weapons. To his surprise, they all looked like they had long gotten used to this strange world.

Spotting a bench nearby, Luke took a moment to sit down and rest. It all felt real now, he was actually climbing the tower.

I’m gonna do it. He thought. I’ll be the first to explore this new frontier and reach the top.

Shooting pain snapped him back to reality. While he’d climbed the first three floors quickly by a typical measure, this was still only the first haven. Plenty others had made it here, and there was a long way to go to the top.

He opened his Stats and Skills pages. Let’s see exactly how far I’ve progressed.

Stats

Level: 5

Class: Berserker

Rank: Apprentice

Strength: 22

Stamina: 20

Agility: 18

Resilience: 21

Ferocity: 24

Skills Mastery Level

Description Berserk Mode Beginner Let your ferocity consume you completely, giving you a massive boost to all stats. You will enter a negative Fallout state upon exiting Berserk Mode. Cyclone Adept Swing you weapons around you at a blinding speed, damaging everything nearby. Rupture Beginner Slam your weapon into the ground, rupturing it and sending a damage-dealing shock wave in the target direction Wild Leap Beginner Tense every muscle in your legs to perform a giant leap that far surpasses your physical capabilities. Talents Mastery Level

Description Blade Master

Adept Increases your proficiency with blades. [+15%] damage from bladed weapons. Primal Rage Beginner Increases damage dealt when wounded. [+10-100%] damage form all sources. Scales with wounds and damage sustained.

I guess that’s pretty good. But, I don’t like that I’m only level 5… Oh well, I sacrificed farming time to meet my challenge.

He closed the screens, activated his communication bracelet, and called the only number registered on it.

A voice on the other side answered. “Hello?”

“Exactly ten days.” Luke said with a smile. “Just like I promised.”

A chuckle came through the line. “I see. Well done. I’m on my way to something important right now, you should join me. I think it’ll be worth your while.”

“That sounds tempting and all, but I don’t think I can.” Luke said, as he got up and stretched his back lightly. “One of my abilities kinda messed me up.”

“Ah. Berserk Mode? Don’t worry about it, I have something to help with the Fallout state you’re in right now. Can you make it to the Grand Arena? It’s the giant building that towers over everything else, you can’t miss it.”

Luke stared up at the skyline. Sure enough, one colossal building stood far higher than the others. It appeared to be only a few blocks away. “Yeah, I can make it.”

He hung up and made his way over to the arena. Leaning against the wall near the entrance, Luke found the familiar person who’d approached him on the first floor. Alex was a little taller than average and had the build of a fighter; fit and lean. Alex nodded Luke over when they noticed one another.

“Pretty impressive to make it here in ten days.” Alex said. “How’d it go?”

Luke shrugged. “It was a lot of fun until I got caught up in a Spiderwing nest. I got a little carried away and was forced to use Berserk Mode.” He rubbed his arm as he spoke. “I didn’t know what the Fallout state was, so I had avoided using it as much as possible.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Alex activated his inventory ring and a small pill appeared in his hand. “Take this, it’ll help. You can’t escape the drawbacks, but this will reduce the peak of the muscle fatigue and spread it out over a longer period of time.”

Luke looked at the item description of the pill

Alleviation Pill (Physical) Helps alleviate the physical effects of various negative states

Seems legit. He took the pill and swallowed it.

“Berserk Mode can be your best friend or your worst enemy.” Alex said. “It all depends on how you use it. You can get out of sticky situations with it, but the drawbacks leave you vulnerable afterward. Luckily, those drawbacks can be alleviated as you master the skill.”

Luke studied Alex as he spoke. He appeared to be roughly the same age, yet he seemed to know so much about the tower. I wonder how far he’s climbed up…

“I guess I learned that the hard way.” Luke said, noting how the pain was slowly subsiding. “Anyway, what’s that important thing you mentioned?”

Alex smiled. “You ever heard of the Dominion Games?”

Luke nodded.

Alex kicked off the wall and turned to face the building. “This is where the games are hosted. While you were climbing the first three floors, I was competing in one of the events.”

“Oh, yeah?” Luke’s interest piqued. “Which one?”

“The Battle Arena. And you made it just in time to watch me take part in the finals.”

If that’s true, Luke thought, this guy must be legit. I wonder how strong he is. “The finals are starting right now?”

“That’s right.” Alex started walking towards the entrance and signaled for Luke to follow. “Come on. Trust me, you don’t wanna miss this show.”