CHAPTER 24: BERSERKER

"Ugh..."

Astrael groaned as he opened his eyes while grimacing at his current condition.

The first thing he noticed was the pain. Not a particular body part, but the whole body. It pulsed through his muscles like someone had poured molten iron into his veins. His limbs twitched involuntarily.

It was worse than soreness. It felt like his entire body had been lit on fire, and now the flames were crawling over his skin like a swarm of red ants. It itched and burned at the same time.

He grimaced, rolling onto his side with effort. His hands trembled.

"System..." he whispered. A faint beep echoed in his ears.

A flickering blue screen hovered in his vision. Thanks to the fact of hoarding so many experience points and levelling up healed most of the injuries to his body. If not for that... he might still be unconscious. Or worse.

Although his mind was heavily burdened with exhaustion, his body throbbed with searing pain and an unbearable itch, like millions of red ants relentlessly crawling and biting across every inch of his skin.

As he forced himself upright, something squelched beneath his fingers.

Blood.

His whole body was covered with blood, not his but goblin blood. He blinked hard, finally taking in the scene around him.

Corpses. Dozens of them.

The cavern floor was painted in gore, broken weapons, and shattered bone.

Astrael’s eyes fell on the thing directly in front of him.

The headless corpse of the goblin shaman.

Its robes were stained deep red. One bony hand still clutched a broken talisman. Charms and bone ornaments lay scattered around its body like discarded offerings. Where its head should’ve been—nothing.

"Did I..." He couldn’t help but ask himself. "Did I kill that?"

His memories were foggy. The last thing he could recall clearly was facing the goblin hordes, screaming, charging at him, endlessly. Then something had snapped, and everything after that was gone.

Blank.

He looked down at his bloodstained hands. But the bloodshed didn’t frighten him.

Astrael stared at the carnage, the cracked skulls, the rivers of gore staining the stone, and felt nothing.

No nausea. No fear. No guilt.

He wasn’t proud of it. He wasn’t cold-blooded by nature. But he understood.

This world didn’t care for hesitation. It didn’t reward mercy. If he had been weaker—if he had held back for even a second—he would be the one lying decapitated on the floor, and the goblins would be feasting on his remains.

That was the truth of this place.

It was do or die.

Survive... or perish.

He clenched his fists. They still trembled, not from fear, but from residual strain. But there was strength in them now. Strength he hadn’t had before.

After killing his first monster, he came to accept his situation.

He looked back at the headless shaman one more time, then exhaled slowly. No mourning. No glory. Just one more obstacle removed.

Now, Astrael, curious, couldn’t help but call his status screen to see how high his level was now, so he could draw his own conclusion.

"System," he muttered.

The familiar ding echoed faintly in his mind. A transparent screen flickered to life before his eyes.

What he expected was a simple update. Maybe one or two levels gained. A few notifications. Nothing more.

"W-what?" Astrael blinked.

Lines of glowing text began to cascade down his screen, like a flood he couldn’t stop.

[You have acquired the soul energy of a level 2 Goblin Bruiser]

[+120 EXP]

[You have acquired the soul energy of a level 1 Goblin]

[+90 EXP]

[You have acquired the soul energy of a level 2 Goblin]

[+110 EXP]

[You have acquired the soul energy of a level 3 Goblin scout]

[+130 EXP]

[You have acquired the soul energy of a level 2 Goblin]

[+120 EXP]

...

The notifications kept coming, stacked endlessly. His screen glowed brighter with each one.

...

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for gaining a new title: Goblin Slayer]

...

[You have levelled up and reached level 13]

[You get 2 status points to distribute freely]

...

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for gaining a new title: Goblin Slayer]

...

[Ding!]

[You have learned a new skill: Berserk Instinct (C)]

...

[Ding!]

[You have acquired the soul energy of a level 19 Goblin Shaman - Gorthak ]

[+39000 exp]

[You have levelled up and reached level 14]

[You get 2 status points to distribute freely]

[You have levelled up and reached level 15]

[You get 2 status points to distribute freely]

[You have levelled up and reached level 16]

[You get 2 status points to distribute freely]

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! Host for conquering the first floor of the Sundered Crypt: The Bloodfang Tunnels]

[Ding!]

[Congratulations to the host for gaining a new title: Blood Berserker]

[The host has acquired: Bloodfang x1, Monster core x1, Bone Staff x1, Return Stone x1, second floor key x1, Tower’s pass x1, Skill book x1, Gold coins x1000, ]

...

Astrael could hardly keep up.

His eyes scanned all the notifications quickly, taking them all in. He saw two new titles he had got, and he had jumped this many levels since his last check. Level 16.

His hands twitched in surprise as he scanned through the flood of rewards. The jump was massive, proof of just how many enemies he must have killed.

Now he couldn’t wait to see how high status was now, so he could draw his own conclusions.

"Status."

Host: Astrael Ravenastra

Age: 4 yrs

Race: Human

Title: Blood Berserker, Goblin Slayer, Young Lord, The One Who Defies Death, ???

Class: None

Cultivation: Novice stage 1

Level: 16

Exp.: 20 / 16000

Bloodline: Ravensastra Bloodline

-------------------------------

Attributes:

- Strength:32

- Agility: 44

- Intelligence: 25

- Endurance: 8--25

- Vitality: 13-- 20

- Charm: 5

- Soul: 100 (LOCKED)

- SP: 6

-------------------------------

Skills and Abilities:

[ Appraise ]

[ Inventory ]

[ Sword Mastery (Apprentice) ]

[ Quick Draw (E) lvl.3 --4 ]

[ Mana Augmentation (E) lvl.1 -- 3 ]

[ Bood Berserker (C) ] NEW!

[ Berserk Instinct (C) ] NEW!

-------------------------------

"These stats... they’re mine?!" he blurted out, stunned by the revelation despite the obvious answer.

Earlier, having lost consciousness during the aftermath, Astrael had no idea how many stats he’d actually gained from defeating the Goblin Shaman.

That was more than just progress. That was a transformation.

His endurance and vitality had jumped significantly, without using SP.

"And how my endurance and vitality stats increased?" Normally, attributes only rose through points... so how had these stats increased?

Then his gaze fell on the new titles. He tapped [Goblin Slayer].

...

[Goblin Slayer: You have slain a significant number of goblins, earning fear and respect among their kind. This title marks the bearer as a relentless hunter of their kind.

It grants a 10% increase in damage against all goblin-type enemies. Goblins who sense the bearer are more likely to flee or hesitate in fear. Additionally, the bearer gains a slight boost to intimidation when facing goblin-related foes.]

..

"So that’s why they were scared..." Astrael muttered. Though he was not in his mind but he remembered some of the scenes, where his enemies were shivering. He knows that was fear.

Then his eyes focused on another.

...

[Blood Berserker]Bathed in the blood of your enemies, you have awakened a primal, berserk instinct that thrives in the chaos of battle. This title passively grants resistance to pain and fear during combat, allowing you to fight with relentless fury even in the face of overwhelming odds. Exposure to fresh blood triggers a minor regenerative effect, scaling with your vitality, keeping you standing when others would fall. When wounded, your strength and speed surge, turning injury into fuel for devastation. Additionally, this title unlocks the combat skill: [Blood Berserker (C)], unleashing the full potential of your savage nature.

[Berserk Instinct - Passive: A dormant killing impulse. When physical threat exceeds mental resistance, this instinct will override reason and unleash maximum combat capability for a short period. Grants bonus strength, agility, and pain resistance. Side effects: mental blackout, extreme fatigue, potential memory loss.]