Chương 53: Interlude: Trial by Fire

"Wait!" Sasesh's voice cut across the clearing. Earl ignored it. The moment he saw the salamander coil and lift its head, his instincts took over. His blood surged hot in his veins and a grin split across his face. Finally, something worth fighting. The salamander stretched nearly fifteen feet from snout to tail, crimson skin glowing faintly. Wisps of smoke curled from between its jaws as it shifted its weight. The cracked ground around it steamed where droplets of molten saliva hissed into the dirt.

Sasesh shouted again.

"Earl! Wait—" but he was too late.

"RAAAH!" Earl exploded forward, boots pounding across the scorched clearing as he activated [Unbridled Rage]. The skill hit him like a tidal wave. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. His muscles tightened and swelled with power. The world narrowed to the salamander in front of him. He raised his axe high and brought it crashing down toward the salamander's spine. Sparks exploded where the blade struck. The edge skidded across the creature's superheated hide as if it had hit steel.

Earl felt the vibration rattle through his arms. The salamander reared, its body flaring with sudden heat. Flames burst from the pores of its skin in a violent pulse. A wall of fire surged toward him. Earl grinned.

"Come on then!" he growled. The inferno rushed forward— —and slammed into a smooth wall of stone. An earthen shield rose from the ground between him and the salamander with perfect timing, flames splashing across its surface like water against a cliff face. Earl's grin twisted into a snarl.

"What the hell—" The answer came a second later.

"SLOW DOWN!" Sasesh barked from somewhere behind him. Earl's rage deepened. The audacity of that boy, daring to get between him and his kill? With a roar, Earl stepped forward and smashed his shoulder into the earthen wall. The hardened soil shattered under the impact, chunks breaking away as he forced through it like a battering ram. Dirt and stone scattered across the clearing. He swung his axe again but found only empty air. The salamander had moved and Earl was forced to play catch up.

He spun just in time to see the creature darting across the clearing toward Sasesh. Its jaws opened wide, rows of burning teeth flashing as it lunged for the mage. Sasesh reacted instantly. The ground surged upward beneath him, forming another shield of compacted earth just as the salamander snapped down. CRUNCH. The bite slammed into stone instead of flesh. But Sasesh wasn't finished. The shield rolled forward like a breaking wave of soil, swallowing the salamander in a tumbling mass of dirt and rock.

In seconds the creature was trapped inside a compact sphere of hardened earth. Earl charged toward it.

"Nice!" he shouted— The sphere exploded. Fire erupted outward in a violent blast. Chunks of glowing red earth shot in every direction. Earl barely noticed the hardened clods hammering into his chest and shoulders as he ran through the debris field. His physical stats were high enough to absorb the impacts without slowing him down. Sasesh wasn't so lucky. Through the raining debris, Earl saw the mage take a fist-sized chunk of his own earth magic square in the chest.

The impact knocked Sasesh straight off his feet, sending him crashing down to the ground. Earl didn't break stride. The salamander burst free of the collapsing soil prison, its entire body now blazing. Fire roared along its body, turning the creature into a walking furnace. Perfect. Earl leapt forward and slammed his axe down with both hands. Once again the blade failed to pierce the creature's armored hide. But that didn't mean the strike was useless. His axe had two ways of dealing damage.

The blade and the weight behind it. Earl heard the crunch as the axe head smashed into the salamander's lower spine. The beast shrieked. Its massive tail whipped around in retaliation. Earl's instincts took over. He kicked off the ground and flipped backward, clearing the sweeping tail by mere inches. Mid-flip he caught sight of Sasesh just pushing himself upright. The tail kept coming. WHAM. The tip of the salamander's tail slammed into the mage like a battering ram.

Sasesh was launched backward, tumbling through the air before crashing down into the hardened ground a dozen feet away. Earl landed in a crouch. His rage boiled hotter. The salamander should be fighting him. Not the fragile little mage who clearly needed lessons on how to dodge. He surged forward before the salamander could recover. The creature twisted toward him, flames roaring from its body, jaws snapping wide enough to bite his torso in two. Earl didn't slow.

He brought his axe down again with everything he had. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The blade struck the salamander's back left leg with a brutal crack. This time the edge bit deep. Hot blood exploded from the wound as the axe nearly severed the limb outright. The leg hung half-attached, dangling by a strip of searing hot flesh as the salamander shrieked in pain. Boiling blood sprayed across Earl's arms and chest. It burned.

He could feel it eating at his skin, sizzling where it touched exposed flesh. But [Unbridled Rage] swallowed the pain. Pain was irrelevant. Only the fight mattered. The salamander staggered as its damaged leg buckled under its weight. Flames flared brighter across its body as it tried to compensate, dragging the ruined limb behind it. Earl grinned through blood and smoke.

"Yeah," he growled.

"Now we're getting somewhere." He pressed the attack. The salamander lunged, snapping its jaws toward his head. Earl ducked under the bite and hacked at its legs again. The axe rang against its target once, twice— Then on the third swing— CHUNK. The blade carved clean through the salamander's front right leg. The limb separated entirely, crashing to the ground in a twitching heap. The creature screamed. Without its front leg and with the rear one barely attached, the salamander's balance collapsed.

Its massive body sagged to one side as it struggled to keep itself upright. Earl circled it like a predator, ignoring the heat blasting off the creature's body. Flames licked across his boots and pants, but he barely felt them. The salamander whipped its head toward him again, jaws snapping wildly. Earl leaned back, letting the teeth snap inches from his face.

"Too slow," he taunted. The creature lunged again— And then something unexpected happened. CRACK. The ground beneath the salamander ruptured. A jagged spike of earth shot upward like a spear and slammed directly into the beast's open mouth. The spike punched deep into its upper palate, forcing its head upward. For a brief moment the salamander froze. With its head forced upwards its throat was wide open. Exposed. Earl's eyes lit up as he saw the opportunity. Every muscle in his body seemed to wake at once.

He planted his feet. His boots dug into the cracked earth beneath him as he twisted his hips. The movement flowed upward through his body. Every muscle fired in sequence like a perfectly timed machine. Power drove through his hips, his torso rotated, and his arms bulged as the axe came around in a savage horizontal arc. He could feel every part of his body contributing power to the swing and the axe whistled through the air. Then— THUNK. The blade buried itself deep in the salamander's exposed throat.

For a split second there was resistance. Then the edge cut through. Boiling blood exploded outward, spraying across Earl's chest and face in a scalding wave. The salamander thrashed violently. Its remaining limbs scraped uselessly against the ground as the massive body convulsed. Flames flared wildly across its body before flickering out. The creature collapsed with a final shudder. Earl stood there for a moment, breathing hard, axe still embedded in the corpse. Ding!

You have defeated [Blazeblood Salamander] — Level 21. You have gained additional experience for killing a creature above your level. Race: Human [F] has reached Level 16. +2 to all stats. Class [Berserking Behemoth] has reached level 15. Stat points allocated. You now have +2 free points to distribute. Class skill selection available! Class [Berserking Behemoth] has reached level 16. Stat points allocated. You now have +4 free points to distribute. Earl blinked through the notifications then laughed.

A deep, booming laugh that rolled across the clearing.

"Now that," he said, yanking his axe free from the carcass, "was a hell of a fight." Even with the last embers of rage still humming through his veins, Earl immediately pulled up the System screen. Class Skill Selection Available.

"Let's see what you got for me," he muttered. Five choices appeared in front of him. More than he'd ever been offered before. He leaned closer, reading through them one by one. [Rallying Roar (common)] A shout that grants nearby allies a small, stacking boost to courage and slightly increases stamina regeneration. [Guardian's Intercept (uncommon)] Dash in front of an ally and take the next attack intended for them; converts a portion of the damage taken into stamina loss instead of bodily injury.

[Clarity Through Rage (uncommon)] Your rage is no longer all-consuming. When [Unbridled Rage] is active, the fury stays contained and deliberate. You keep your awareness, judgment, and self-control, allowing you to pick targets, read the fight, and make disciplined choices even at your angriest. [Emberbite Chop (rare)] Your next swing ignites on contact, dealing additional fire damage to the target. Can ignite combustible materials.

[Last Man Standing (epic)] When an enemy lands a death-dealing blow, you instead remain upright at 1 HP for a short duration. This effect consumes a large amount of stamina. While active, it amplifies the effects of [Unbridled Rage]. When the effect ends, you suffer heavy exhaustion. Earl let out a low whistle.

"Well damn…" Several of those looked good. Really good. But one made him question why he received it as a choice at all. His gaze drifted down the list, focusing on [Clarity Through Rage].

"Why the hell would I want that?" he muttered. The whole point of [Unbridled Rage] was the rage. He could let it take the wheel. Let it burn everything else away until the fight was the only thing left in the world. Why would he want to dilute that? He kept reading through the descriptions again, weighing his options as his pulse slowly began to settle and [Unbridled Rage] started to fade. The burning tunnel vision receded, replaced by the steady thrum of adrenaline. His eyes lingered on [Last Man Standing].

It was an epic rarity skill, something he hadn't seen before. It made his blood stir and he wanted to select it right away. Then he heard it.

"…Earl…" It was faint, barely audible. His eyes twitched.

"…Earl…" The interruption immediately irritated him. His fading rage surged back for a moment, hot and prickling.

"Who the hell is—" He looked around. The clearing was quiet except for the cooling corpse of the salamander. Then he saw him. Sasesh lay several yards away still on the ground. The mage's dark complexion was pale, breathing shallow and uneven as he tried—and failed—to push himself upright. Earl blinked. Right. The mage. He closed the skill window without selecting anything and jogged over. Up close, the damage was obvious. Sasesh's breathing was ragged, each inhale shallow and tight.

One arm clutched his side where the salamander's tail had slammed into him. Earl crouched beside him.

"You alive little man?" he asked. Sasesh glared at him like he'd just insulted his entire bloodline.

"What," the mage wheezed, "do you think?" Earl shrugged.

"Well why are you still laying on the ground?" That apparently wasn't the correct answer. Sasesh's face twisted in anger as he tried to sit up straighter.

"You absolute idiot," he snapped.

"I told you to stop. We should have assessed the creature. But no—you charged straight in like some brain-dead battle maniac!" Earl scratched the side of his head.

"Huh."

"I had a strategy!" Sasesh continued angrily.

"Positioning. Coordinated strikes! Have you ever heard of tactics before?"

"Oh did you? I figured we'd just wing it like every other fight we've had," Earl said honestly. Sasesh stared at him. Earl tapped his temple.

"Once the rage kicks in, things get kind of narrow." Sasesh let out a long, pained breath that quickly turned into a hiss. Earl watched him for a moment, assessing. Old instincts from his life as a marine kicked in. Sasesh definitely had some bruised ribs. Maybe even broke a few.

"Yeah," Earl said after a moment.

"You probably cracked a few ribs." Sasesh's glare sharpened.

"Oh, is that all?"

"Could be worse." Earl stood and offered a hand.

"C'mon. Let's get you up." After a moment of stubborn hesitation, Sasesh grabbed his forearm and let Earl haul him to his feet. The mage immediately winced and leaned slightly against him.

"Easy there," Earl said. Sasesh steadied himself but still looked furious. Earl gave him a sideways grin.

"Mages are kinda squishy, huh?" That did not improve the situation. Sasesh looked like he wanted to hit him. Unfortunately for him, breathing seemed difficult enough already. They stood there for a moment while Sasesh gathered himself. Finally Earl asked, "So what's the plan?" The mage hesitated then sighed.

"…I might need a healer." Earl nodded.

"Yeah I didn't want to say it but I agree." Sasesh clearly hated admitting it. He swallowed his pride and said quietly, "Camp Persistence has people with healing abilities." Earl glanced back toward the swamp then back at Sasesh before he let out a sigh.

"I'll help you get back there," he said. Relief flickered briefly across Sasesh's face.

"But I'm not going inside." Sasesh frowned.

"I said I was leaving," Earl replied calmly.

"And I meant it." He adjusted his grip so Sasesh could lean against him as they started walking.

"I'll get you close to the gate," Earl continued.

"After that, you're on your own."