Awaken The Berserker (Part 1)

Genma was first and foremost a seer it even said as much on his status page but as a tier zero he had made sure to lean into it so heavily that he did truly have not many means of attack and defense but when it came to identifying a person's status he was unmatched. His soul affliction, known as the time gene, boosted his natural time attunement to such an extent that he could summon the very sands of time, time solidified and turned material. His abilities with the guidance of the system were outstanding.

He had crafted the mirror in front of him with the glass made from the sands of time, which was why currently he was rewinding the moment the lighting slammed down on Rowan and was watching with furrowed eyebrows. He had watched the scene over and over, but he could not see why he was getting such an odd feeling. He stretched his hands before the mirror and a clock made of sand formed in front of him with small holes that perfectly fit his fingers. He inserted his right hand and gently and slowly turned the clock counterclockwise and as he did, the image in the mirror began to reverse and slow down rapidly.

He watched this time as not cyan but multicolored lighting slammed down into Rowan when he realized he had seen that once before, from his apprentice, it had caused such a commotion at the interstellar academy that even the headmaster had shown up. The headmaster then explained that it was called heavenly sin and was a reward gifted from the worlds themselves to individuals who have given birth to an ability, technique or item beyond the limits of their current world. Genma set his jaw and zoomed in on current time Rowan and sacrificed half of his mana for his exclusive technique [Deduction].

The technique would enable him to see all the stats and abilities of someone. It worked faster on those lower levels than him and slower on those higher, but he had achieved a level significantly higher than most and was currently at level 100. A whole fifty levels higher than his apprentice, he gained his exp from using his seer abilities, but it was much slower than those who took to the battlefield.

His jaw dropped once again when it came back with a timer of ten minutes before he would have all of Rowan's information. The current him could fully scan a level 100 being in less than a minute, but this level 20 kid would take an entire ten minutes. Fights could start and end in ten minutes. Not that he thought this one was going to. Genma now knew that the boy had definitely gone through an extreme change in the past hour because when he inspected him before the skeleton fight, it only took him 20 seconds to see all of what he could do. The only thing that could slow down his [Deduction] this much was the birth of a skill completely unprecedented. All he could do now was sit back and watch the fight and see what happened.

…

Rowan and Feng created about 30 yards of space between each other to start. Feng slowly loosened himself and spoke at the same tone, but now mana carried his voice so that Rowan could hear him like he was right next to him. "Let me tell you some things before we start. My current level is only ten levels shy of the limit of the trial world but also the cap of your minor world at level 50. When you reach this level, you will have no choice but to leave this planet if you seek to improve. Some worlds are naturally locked to a certain level based on the mana they can produce, and this being a minor world, that is the case. So either way, though, within a year and a half, you will have to reach at least level 50 if you truly wish to take away from the trial world or even survive it."

Rowan scratched his head at the 30 level difference when he spoke out again, "I think you have barely scratched the surface of what you are capable of and to do so, you need a fight that would truly force out every inch of your ability. While I may be much higher level than you, there is one difference between us that is crucial. I am a support class and you are an assault one. That doesn't mean underestimate me, though I am also a tier zero and I have no intention of taking it easy on you."

Rowan nodded once as he felt something weird begin to happen. The light around them and the shadows as well began to warp as Feng smiled at Rowan with a grin that was cold enough to actually make Rowan pay his full attention but it was at this time that Feng finally released the full weight of his mana and for the first time since the world had changed Rowan felt actual fear. Feng's mana blossomed so high that it eclipsed everything around them, but it was two colors, both black and white. Feng looked at Rowan and slowly raised his hand. "This will take all of your focus. Best of luck."

Rowan nodded and pulled the spears from his lower back and twisted them together to make one normal length spear while Feng took one step forward and Rowan could swear the world drained of color, but instead what he could see was a palm covered in white and black that was slowly enlarging in his vision. Rowan reacted by using thrust in concert with weak point detection to see the most optimal places to stab with his spear, but as it broke down, it shattered like glass and before Rowan could even register what was happening the true palm came crashing down towards him.

Rowan could feel the immense danger so he pivoted on one leg like he was a top while at the same time a storm point formed on his t-shirt that rapidly shot outward leaving a line of mana that stayed connected to him before a massive tearing sound burst forth and‌ the line of mana burst forth with wind mana and ripped itself causing him to spin like a top in place as he held the shaft of his spear with both hands and smashed it towards the palm like it was a bat.

Spear and hand clashed, and the sound drained from the world before Rowan was thrown backwards through the air. He flipped through the air to kill the momentum before he slid on the ground for several tens of feet. Feng was standing where he had been previously, where he had been with a smile hanging on his face.

"See! Like that Rowan! You didn't even have the time to think. Your body and your mana responded to real danger and reacted. That's what the battle gene is! Now feel it, feel the feeling of excitement brought about by a brush with death and tell me what you truly feel. You've already felt it and know you can't lie to me, so tell me how you truly feel!"

Rowan took a deep breath that caused the surrounding air to vibrate as a single word shot out of his lip as he took the spear apart and wielded a half with each hand and caused the blade to come out of the top. "Exhilarating!" Rowan took the initiative, this time, running like a wild beast. He dragged the spear tips along the ground as he ran with the spear tips, leaving scars on the ground as he made a beeline for Feng.

Feng had black and white mana sparkle on his hand, the colors evenly divided on his hand. Rowan stabbed both weapons forward at different points. Feng held one hand behind his back and pressed his palm forward towards a spear tip, but before he could connect another storm point formed at Rowan's elbows and dragged his arms back and he spit out some words. "Show me your hand like that again and ill fucking take it!"

Rowan made his move in the same instant his arms were pulled back. [Wind storm assault] Rowan had used this move against Garda and it had not become a skill but this time was different as his wrists gained the elasticity of a whip and his spears shot out hundreds of time shooting blades of wind that could threaten a defenseless Feng.

His eyes went wide. He had certainly underestimated Rowan because of the massive level difference, but he had still been serious, but Rowan had not been joking without him doing anything. If he continued the palm strike, it was highly likely that he would lose the hand. His eyes became clear as he stared down at Rowan, who had used such an attack at close range.

Feng could feel something awakening in the man in front of him, and that made him smile. [Twilight Armament]. White and black mana slammed down on him from the sky and there was an explosion as the attack slammed into his body and flung Rowan backwards. He somersaulted through the air and stabbed his spears into the ground to stay in place as he stared at where Feng previously was. Rowan muttered under his breath at the same time, "I know you are worth more than that, right?" An orb of mana rose from the middle of the storm of slashes and it slowly revealed Feng.

He was wearing the armor of a knight. The left side was completely white and looked like traditional knight armor, while the right side was spiky and black. He had a shield in one hand and a short sword in the other one as he slowly positioned the weapon on top of the shield. As he leveled his eyes at Rowan and smiled through his visor.

"You think my abilities would amount to that after I told you I would let you be your truest self? You shame me with your words friend, let me show you just how much more I'm worth. Don't Die."

…

Genma had been watching the fight with such satisfaction that he did not even realize that his system was dinging at him to let him know that his skill had finally finished. He sat up and took a sip of a drink he had prepared with a bite of a snack. He finally noticed the prompt and opened it as he skipped over all of Rowan's stats, albeit shocking ones, and jumped to the update section at the bottom.

There was a series of messages that made him pause on the spot. [Battle Gene skill successfully created spirit king state of fairy bloodline fully released.] [Mutation of soul along with bloodline has caused unexpected mutation.] [Skill battle gene replaced with Berserker Gene.] [Unprecedented soul affliction has caused the birth of new skills and the mutation of current ones.]

[Skill 1: Berserker Stance, permanently gain 1 to all stats permanently when killing an enemy of any level by harnessing the resentment in their soul and carrying it with you.]

[Skill 2: Berserk Intent: A formless and rarely seen form of mana has formed from the user because of the resentment of claimed souls. Form a formless intent reinforced by the strength of souls surrounding the berserker at the time. Capable of causing fear in weaker individuals and can cause enemies too far beneath you to fall unconscious and, in the worst case, die. While it can be used to instill fear in other beings, freezing them for several seconds.]

Genma had already coughed up his drink and was looking at the skills that appeared before him before a final skill appeared in complete rainbow lettering.

[Skill 3. Berserkers Sin. As the berserker and king of fairies, you carry the weight of every life you take. Activating this skill will shatter all the souls currently attached to the host, permanently dispelling the buff and forming a cloak made from the souls that will boost the previous stat's enhancement by 200%. Using the call of the fairy king after the skill can salvage half of the souls for later use and preservation.]

[Skill 4. Call of the Fairy King. The spirit portion of your bloodline causes souls to obey your whims and gather to you.] The update section had one last section as well and it was simply a comment.

[The host should be careful of layering these newly awakened skills birthed of the soul due to the massive strain it can place on the body.] Genma had to audibly gulp after seeing the section as he turned back to the fight. "What type of beast have we truly stumbled across on this middle of nowhere planet?"