An Unexpected Turn
The sound of rapid footsteps echoed across the arena. [Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!]
Max’s new form charged forward at terrifying speed. Ed, maintaining the same expressionless face as before, fired several plasma beams at him. [Whoosh! Whoosh! Boom!]
But Max’s charge showed no sign of stopping. With minimal movement, he dodged two of the plasma beams and blocked the third using the demonic power of Obsidian. It was thanks to the massive boost in physical ability he had gained upon entering the second stage of berserkification.
[Hahahahahahahaha!!]
Max burst into a demonic cackle, his face twisted like a vengeful ghost. It was the classic symptom displayed by those under the influence of the Madness Potion. The overwhelming power made it impossible to control his emotions.
“M-Max… he’s even more violent than usual, isn’t he?”
“Gives me the creeps…”
“Still, isn’t this exciting? It finally feels like a real match…”
The cadets watching the duel each reacted differently. Those who had become fans of Ed after his performance at the start of the semester watched Max’s demonic appearance with bated breath. Meanwhile, the cadets who purely enjoyed the fight itself couldn’t hide their excitement as they stared at the screen.
“Yeah, he can’t just keep getting his ass handed to him by a commoner.”
“I’d love to see that bastard panic at least once. What an obnoxious prick.”
And those who felt jealousy or inferiority toward Ed smirked, hoping for his defeat.
In this way, a single duel from Ed had caused a storm of various desires to erupt throughout the entire lecture hall.
[Dieeeee!!]
With everyone’s attention focused on the arena, Max closed the distance in an instant and swung Obsidian at Ed. [Whiiiir!]
But Ed had already fired his web-shooter at the ceiling beforehand. He retracted the genetically modified web, pulling his own body upward. With the help of the thrusters on his back, Ed’s figure shot into the air in the blink of an eye.
[You think I’ll let you get away?!]
However, Max had no intention of giving him any breathing room. He immediately gathered mana at the tips of his toes and launched himself after Ed with explosive jumping power.
[Splat!]
But that had been Ed’s trap all along. The moment Max jumped, Ed fired his web-shooter again, and the black fluid stuck directly to Max’s face.
[Ugh!?]
Once again deprived of his vision, Max swung Obsidian wildly in a panic. Black mana shot out in all directions like spikes, but Ed was no longer there.
[-Clang!]
[Gaaah!]
Having lost his sight, Max simply slammed his head into the ceiling and crashed back down to the floor. The cadets who witnessed this burst into laughter and began throwing all sorts of comments about Max’s ridiculous state.
“I told you it wouldn’t work for Max.”
“That’s what he gets for messing with Sir Fix.”
“He’s fighting without thinking at all, huh?”
[You son of a—biiiiitch!!!]
But the moment everyone thought it was over, Max tore the black fluid off his face using nothing but raw strength. The same guy who couldn’t even remove the stuff stuck to the top of his foot earlier had now ripped it off like peeling tape.
[You cowardly bastard!]
He then closed the distance to Ed again with explosive charging power. But every time, Ed would ascend into the air and wait for him, and Max would chase after him only to get hit in the face with more black fluid. The pattern repeated.
[You sneaky son of a bitch!]
After falling for the same pattern three times, Max changed his approach. When Ed retreated toward the ceiling, instead of chasing him, he used the black mana of Obsidian to attack from below.
[Learned something after the third time, huh.]
But that too was easy to avoid. Since Max wasn’t jumping after him anymore, Ed simply fired his web-shooter at a nearby section of the ceiling and increased the distance again.
Max’s face turned red with blood pressure that looked ready to explode as he chased after Ed. But every time, Ed would use three-dimensional maneuvering to create distance, and Max was forced to endure two full minutes of being led around like a dog on a leash.
[I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!]
Max’s rage began to skyrocket exponentially. Adrenaline flooded his entire body, and his heart rate shot up along with it. The pumped blood rapidly carried the Madness Potion dissolved in his bloodstream, and as the potion seeped into the mana vessels spread throughout his body, his bone density, muscle fibers, and neural networks were all reinforced and activated.
[Taaat!]
And then, having reached the final stretch of the second stage of berserkification, Max jumped. The speed was on an entirely different level from before.
‘……’
Gracia felt something off. Just how was that guy, Max, able to strengthen his body to this extent? Still, it was too early to make a hasty judgment. Each noble house might have their own hidden secret techniques or spells. For now, he simply kept his Clean Eye active and observed Max closely.
[Die! Die! Diiiiiie!!]
Max began swinging Obsidian wildly with both eyes bloodshot red. Ed dodged each strike with hair-raising three-dimensional maneuvers, but at this rate, it seemed he would eventually be caught by Max’s ever-increasing speed.
The atmosphere in the lecture hall, which had been mocking Max, grew heavy.
[Kuhahaha! Are you scared of me? Are you afraid? Once I catch you, you’re finished!!!]
The Madness Potion granted even greater power the more one was wounded and enraged. Max was experiencing an orgasmic thrill, as if he had become the strongest being alive. If he pushed just a little further, he could already picture Ed—Fix—being torn to shreds, clutching at his pants leg and shedding tears of apology.
[That’s enough testing.]
Ed muttered something incomprehensible and used three-dimensional maneuvering to move toward a corner of the arena. He then murmured a very personal observation: ‘It seems like increasing the instantaneous acceleration of the thrusters would be good.’
Even though Max had become this powerful, Ed didn’t seem to care at all.
[You—fuuuucking bastard!]
Whoosh! Max’s body shot toward Ed like a bullet. Since Ed had cornered himself, if he couldn’t use that damn three-dimensional maneuvering, Max could rip him apart with Obsidian’s black mana until he died.
[You won’t escape this time!]
Max kept his focus on the air. The moment Ed fired his web-shooter at the ceiling, he planned to slice the web with black mana.
[Splat! Splat!]
But Ed had no intention of running away. He fired two shots of fluid at Max to create blind spots, then twisted his body to deftly evade the incoming attack. Now it was Max who had been driven into the corner.
[Try breaking through.]
Having cornered Max, Ed spoke while activating his plasma mana shield. The mana shield, wrapped in ultra-high temperatures, spread out in a 2-meter radius and began pressing down on Max, who was trapped in the corner.
[Gaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!]
Max’s skin began to melt, pus bursting from the wounds. Even though he had wrapped his entire body in mana, he couldn’t withstand the extreme heat and was melting away.
Ed simply kept his hand in his pocket, quietly staring at Max. Receiving Ed’s gaze full of disgust, Max erupted in extreme rage and began enlarging his muscles. With that power, he started swinging Obsidian like a madman.
[You son of a bitch! You fucking vulgar commoner bastard! Fucking shit! How dare you to a noble!]
Max looked as if he had completely lost his mind. The savage attacks raining down on Ed’s plasma barrier were terrifying. Yet even while receiving those brutal strikes, Ed continued to stare quietly at Max. He stood firm like a mountain, not taking a single step back. His eyes alone seemed ready to devour Max whole.
‘To think you’d pull a stunt like this so early. I’ll have to crush you thoroughly.’
The reason Ed was glaring at Max like this was because he already knew Max had consumed the Madness Potion. It was one of the unique events each NPC possessed. For Max, the Madness Potion was that event, and originally, it wasn’t supposed to appear until the end of the semester.
Max, who had obsessively clung to Enya, had secretly taken the potion during a one-on-one duel after betting on it in order to claim her by any means necessary. If the player didn’t step in at this point, Enya would fall into the corruption route. After suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Max, who had taken the Madness Potion, she would lose faith in her battojutsu and begin walking the path of the killing sword—seeking only power, just like Max. That was how she would fall for the devil’s temptation promising her immense strength. The empire’s star, who could have become a Grand Swordmaster, would end up as the devil’s servant.
[Gaaaah! You, son of a—Gaaaaaaaaah!]
That was why Ed had no intention of forgiving Max. Now that the obsession that should have been directed at Enya was aimed at him instead, he needed to thoroughly crush the bastard and make sure he could never pull something like this again.
[What are you doing? I came down fair and square just like you said. Can’t you even break through this much?]
Ed spoke as he increased the output of his plasma shield. Max let out a painful scream as his eyes began to glow red.
Thump!
And at that moment, Max’s heart underwent a change, and his skin began to transform. The Madness Potion had fully activated, turning his skin red while crimson currents erupted from his body. He had entered the third stage of berserkification.
[Grooooooooooar!!]
-Bang!
Max let out a monstrous roar and swung Obsidian with tremendous force. The shockwave sent Ed’s body flying backward, allowing Max to escape from the corner.
[You foolish brat!]
But there was no way Gracia, who had once served as a legion commander, wouldn’t recognize the third stage of berserkification. He closed in on Max at lightning speed, drove his fist into the boy’s solar plexus, kicked his knee, and twisted one of his legs backward. Max’s body collapsed instantly and crumpled to the floor.
[I had my suspicions, but you really took the Madness Potion… Why would you do such a thing!]
Gracia roared at Max, who was rolling on the ground. However, having reached the third stage of berserkification, Max was now hurling curses even at the professor and spewing hatred in every direction.
“Madness Potion…? Isn’t that a forbidden substance?”
“He used that during a duel?”
“He’s insane…”
The entire lecture hall was in an uproar. While the cadets poured out words of shock and horror about Max, the high-ranking officials dispatched from the central government began preparing to report the incident to the imperial palace. Since a forbidden potion had been used, the Sigmund family would have to be investigated as a whole.
“That Edga Fix kid is impressive. I’ve never seen a fighting style like that before.”
In the meantime, Legion Commander Alerina and several key figures from other legions were keeping a close eye on Ed. Since academy graduates were immediately appointed to important imperial positions, they were marking talented cadets early to recruit them into their own organizations.
[Grooooooooar!!! Ooooooooh! Groooooar!! Grooooooooar!!!]
On the other hand, Max’s reputation took a nosedive starting today. No one would want to accept someone who used a forbidden potion and couldn’t even control his own emotions, let alone properly utilize the power he had gained.
[Max Sigmund. As of today, you are expelled. I will report this to the head professor and the chairman and recommend your dismissal from the academy.]
Professor Gracia declared Max’s expulsion and approached him. He needed to knock the boy unconscious first to calm him down.
[-Stab!]
But at that moment, Max plunged Obsidian into his own abdomen. He was inflicting a serious wound on himself to gain even greater power.
[You crazy—!]
Fwoooooosh!
Red haze exploded in every direction. When Max pulled Obsidian out of his abdomen, the gaping wound healed in an instant, replaced by grotesque skin tissue. With glowing red eyes and drool dripping from his mouth, Max twisted his lips into a hideous grin.
[……Edga Fix, step back. I will subdue him.]
Gracia let out a low groan and picked up the 17-centimeter teaching pointer. Since Max had entered the fourth stage of berserkification—the ‘Madman’ stage—he would have to subdue him even if it meant inflicting critical injuries.
“…Hah. That bastard’s gone completely mad? He turned himself into a Madman on purpose?”
Alerina was equally shocked by Max’s insane behavior. She had expected him to be subdued by Gracia at the third stage, but he had gone and brought the fourth stage upon himself. Even if he survived becoming a Madman, he would have to live with lifelong aftereffects. She couldn’t imagine what kind of madness would drive someone to do something with such consequences.
“Commander. What should we do? Isn’t this dangerous?”
Her adjutant asked with a serious expression. Once someone reached the fourth stage of Madman, the explosive power they gained was incomparable to the third stage.
“…Relax. That’s Gracia-chan we’re talking about. Even if he’s holding some ridiculous-looking weapon, if it’s Gracia, there won’t be any problem.”
But Alerina simply leaned back in her chair with a bored expression. After all, he was one of the empire’s four Sword Masters. There was no way he couldn’t handle a single immature brat consumed by hatred.
[Oooooong! Ooooooooong! Oooooong!]
But the next moment, Obsidian began to emit a violent hum as it started absorbing the red currents pouring out of Max’s body. The more it absorbed, the more Obsidian’s demonic power skyrocketed, and the thick, pitch-black mana continued to grow in size.
“…Wait a second.”
Alerina realized something was going terribly wrong. The one they needed to be wary of wasn’t the hatred-consumed brat, but the Sigmund family’s demonic sword he was holding.
“This won’t do. I’m going to stop this too.”
Alerina shot up from her seat and began walking toward the teleportation magic tool. But at that moment, the black mana floating in the air like dark clouds extended spikes in every direction, destroying the teleportation magic tool connected to the arena. In other words, all means of intervening in the duel had vanished.
“We’re fucked?”
The entire lecture hall fell into chaos. The adjutant hurriedly stood up and asked where the actual location of the arena was. The problem was that none of the cadets knew the answer.
[Kihihihihi!! I’ll kill you both!]
Meanwhile, Max, drooling and making grotesque expressions, swung his sword and fired off black mana. Gracia responded by swinging his 17-centimeter pointer and launching a sword strike that canceled it out. But the problem was that Obsidian’s black mana was growing larger and larger as time passed.
[Professor.]
At that moment, Ed, who had stepped back, moved to stand beside Gracia. Then he said something that was hard to believe.
[I’ll help too. If you draw his attention, Professor, I’ll destroy Obsidian.]