The Bloodthirsty berserker

Into Battle!

In the battlefield, the smell of blood lingered, and the sound of approaching footsteps grew rapidly as the ground began to shake. 

"So they finally show up, huh,"

 I whispered to myself while cleaning my sword. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by what I roughly estimated to be 500 foot soldiers. The leader emerged from the crowd, pulling out a scroll while standing in a confident posture.

"This message reigns from General Zhuo Han,

" the leader declared. "You're an impressive soldier. While your infantry was completely wiped out and your general retreated like the coward he is, you stood and fought against over 1000 men. Come with me, and I'll place you high in the rankings. You will no longer be a mere foot soldier, but a captain who will also be paid handsomely—enough to take care of your family and even start your own, if you wish."

"Enough!"

 I yelled at the top of my lungs as I got up from the ground and assumed my battle position. The soldier looked at me with a stern and disgusted face before saying, 

"You dare refuse mercy from our grea—"

"I said enough!" 

I interjected. 

"I don't need to hear about money, power, or 'mercy.' I came here to kill, and that's what I'm going to do."

 I said as I tightly gripped my long sword and stared into the commanding soldier's eyes.

"Very well," 

the soldier said as he put the scroll back into his satchel. 

"Kill him,"

 he commanded, pointing in my direction. A loud roar erupted from all 500 men as they sprinted towards me. Even though I was already tired and wounded, a rush of excitement overcame me. I couldn't help but smile and laugh. For me, this battle was nothing but an escape from my cruel past and a way to kill my boredom. I had fought this battle over a thousand times, no, even more than I could count, but I died every time. I killed these same men countless times, so I knew where to swing and when to block. Parrying was nothing new to a veteran like me, after all.

But this time, something changed. I started to go berserk, and as I blacked out in the middle of the battle, when I awoke, the sun was already beginning to set, and I found myself sitting on a pile of dead soldiers. 

"Guess this marks a new high score,"

 a sound rang in my ears. As I looked up, I saw a blue screen floating in front of me. 

"Tutorial complete. User Hiro Akira completed awakening quest. New class unlocked: 'Berserker'."

This wasn't the first time I had seen this screen. I can't tell you how long ago it was, but I was once a high schooler. I wouldn't say I exactly missed my old life at school. I was treated like a punching bag; the teachers didn't care, and I had no family to go to when I was beaten to a pulp. Since my mother left my father to be with a superstar boxer who had connections to the yakuza, my father lost his manhood and his mind. Less than a week later, he killed himself. I lived with my grandma and aunt and her stepfamily, but everyone except grandma treated me cruelly, as if I didn't even exist. At times, I felt like an overall eyesore due to being fat and ugly.

But my grandma always comforted me, saying, 

'We all have different starting points, but don't let that stop you from blooming into the young man you want to become,'"

 I reminisced, nodding my head. But soon, my grandmother fell sick and was hospitalized. I was the only one who went to visit her during those times.

One day, after school, it was rainy and I was soaked in rain and blood. I was bloody and bruised from a beating I received from my bullies on my way to see her. When I entered her room, she reached out and grabbed my hand, looking into my eyes with a concerned expression. 

"I won't always be here to protect you, Hiro," 

she said. 

"One day, you'll need to learn to defend yourself and to also defend your loved ones." 

Grandma held onto my hand tightly as she spoke.

Feeling ashamed, I looked away, unable to make eye contact. Tears started to well up in my eyes, and before I could apologize for putting my grandma through so much, her grip went soft. I looked up slowly, and her eyes were closed, her face resting peacefully in the sunlight that had come after the rain. BEEP BEEP The sound of her flatlining began to drown out all the sounds around me. Nurses rushed into the room, followed by doctors. After that day, I never left my room for the next six months... until...

ding dong A notification came from my phone, buried on a pile of my dirty clothes behind me while I was gaming. I reached behind, feeling for the phone without diverting my eyes from the screen, giving it my full attention. Eventually, I found it.

 "Let's GO!!!" 

I yelled as I won the game and took a look at my phone.

"Oh, a new game recently released, and it's in open beta!?" 

I said to myself as I signed on my phone. It asked odd questions like my height, weight, and income. Reluctantly, I filled out the entire form and finally registered. 

"Hiro Akira, messy black hair, 250 pounds, and 5'4"," 

my phone narrated. That's weird; I definitely didn't tell it my weight or my real height. 

"Registration complete,"

 my phone narrated before going blank.

"Ugh, what's wrong with this piece of crap?" 

I muttered, shaking it in the air to get a signal. Suddenly, the screen popped up in mid-air by itself. Shocked by its sudden appearance, I tumbled into my pile of dirty clothing. The floating screen asked, 

"Would you like to participate in the tutorial?" 

in front of my face. Intrigued, I clicked on "yes" to see what would happen next.

Before I knew it, my body felt heavy, and my eyes began to shut. When I woke up, a bright light beamed into my eyes. I could hear the sounds of birds chirping, metal clanging, and the smell of blood permeated the grass on the ground. It felt as if I was in a warzone. People, only five feet away from me, were decapitating one another, and war cries mixed with the sound of screams and terror filled the air.

In that moment, fear overwhelmed me, and I couldn't control my bodily functions. I began to wet myself, and it was in that moment that everything began...