Chapter 77: The Rampage [Part-1] (PS-Bonus)

The battle between us surged forward as I dashed toward him at insane speed, gravity compressed tight around my legs to free up every ounce of movement I had left.

I drew my sword in one smooth motion, ice curling up from the hilt and coating the blade entirely, before swinging it hard to meet his incoming strike. My sword caught his greatsword head-on, and mana clashed against ice, the force of it shoving me backward, my legs sinking into the frozen ground, cracking the sheet of ice beneath my boots. I let myself slide with it instead of fighting it, using my sword to steady my balance the moment I came to a stop.

The captain was already moving again, closing the distance before I could even catch my breath. Every step he took shattered the ice beneath him, charging forward like some kind of wild beast rather than a man.

I dropped low, sliding across the frozen field, slicing at his legs the same way I had cut down the Direfang back in the cave, fast, repeated strikes aimed at whatever opening I could find, darting in and out before he could properly react.

But the captain wasn’t some mindless beast. His reaction speed outclassed anything I’d faced so far. He leapt backward with startling quickness, swinging his massive blade in a full half-circle to cut off my approach entirely.

’Damn it. At this rate, my mana’s going to run out before I can actually beat him. This form drains way too fast. If I keep using it much longer, I won’t have anything left to even run away with.’

Just as that worry climbed to the front of my mind, like the heavens themselves had decided to answer, familiar chimes rang through my head.

[Ding!]

[Due to your willingness to help the slaves trapped inside this fortress, hundreds of lives have been saved through your actions!]

[The action has generated a massive amount of Karma.]

[Karma Evaluation has been completed.]

[Based on the value of the Karma, three suitable rewards have been generated.]

[Option 1: Soulbound Weapon Upgrade (Enchantment) — Permanently enhances your current weapon, increasing its elemental affinity and damage output.]

[Option 2: Special Blessing (Buff) — Grants continuous regeneration of mana and stamina for a limited time. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 12 hours.]

[Option 3: Unlock a new, powerful, unique skill tailored to your current combat style and needs. This skill will provide a significant advantage in your current predicament.]

I scanned through the options as fast as I could while still dodging the captain’s relentless attacks, trying to figure out which one would actually get me out of this mess.

The first option was barely worth considering. The sword I was using was just a stolen, ordinary blade, nothing special enough to make an enhancement worthwhile. If I’d been holding some kind of real artifact, maybe, but not this.

I glanced at the second option next. Mana and stamina regeneration sounded decent, but it wasn’t exactly what I needed right now either. I already had enough mana left to last another half hour, maybe more. Running out wasn’t my immediate problem. Getting beaten into the ground before that half hour was up was.

That left the third option as my only real hope. Whatever skill it gave me, I just needed it to actually solve the problem standing right in front of me.

I clicked it immediately, throwing myself sideways to dodge another massive swing of his greatsword, the blade missing me by mere inches.

[Ding!]

[You have obtained the Skill: ’Rampage’!]

[Skill: Rampage]

[Description: Enter a berserk state where the user’s power is pushed to its absolute limit. The longer it lasts, the stronger the user becomes, but they risk losing control, consumed entirely by their own power.]

A massive flood of information crashed through my mind all at once, a sharp headache tearing through my skull hard enough that I nearly lost my footing on the ice.

Without thinking it through properly, I activated it right away.

The moment I did, loud, unfamiliar voices exploded inside my head, screaming, overlapping, drowning out every other thought. My control over my own body started slipping away. I clutched at my ears, blood trickling faintly from the pressure, my eyes blown wide from the sheer, overwhelming torment ripping through my mind, as if something else entirely was fighting to take the control.

"AHHHHH—!!!"

...

Outside the fortress wall, Diana stepped down from the rope, her legs nearly giving out from exhaustion as she turned back to look at the crowd of freed slaves now gathered around her, alive, finally free.

"Miss Diana," one of the women asked quietly, "where’s the person who saved us? Isn’t he coming with us?"

Diana looked at her, her expression carefully blank, forcing a small, steady smile. "He’s still fighting the others. He said he’d buy us time to escape. Come on, let’s go."

The other slaves exchanged uneasy, confused glances, worry still etched plainly across their gaunt faces.

"But how can we just leave him behind? He’s the one who got us out. If we leave without him, that’s not right."

Diana’s eyes narrowed slightly as she stepped forward, her voice steady despite the tightness in her chest. "Do you understand what he’s doing right now? He’s fighting an entire garrison just so we can escape alive. If we get caught again because we hesitated, then everything he’s risking means nothing. We need to respect his decision and pray for his life, while making sure we actually survive. This isn’t just for us anymore. It’s for him too. The faster we get away, the sooner he can stop fighting and escape himself, without having to worry about protecting us at the same time. So let’s move. Now."

A murmur rippled through the crowd as the weight of her words finally sank in. If he truly was buying them time, then wasting it standing around arguing would only make his sacrifice meaningless.

The murmuring died down quickly after that. Without another word, the group turned and began moving, leaving the fortress and its looming walls behind them, pressing deeper into the Desolate Land, not one of them daring to look back, too afraid that doing so might somehow drag them back into captivity.

They moved with surprising familiarity through the harsh, broken terrain, as though they had walked this path many times before, deeper and deeper into the wasteland that had somehow, against everything Neo had assumed, become their home.