How to Control Madness
In the past, Yeong So-so had once told me:
“You possess neither the disposition of a madman, nor simple insanity, nor the Heavenly Murder Star. Yet within you lies an innate talent for madness—the kind seen scarcely once in a thousand years.”
“……”
“Of course, being mad is hardly something to boast of… but well, allow me to demonstrate.”
Shring—!
The pitch-black blade slid from its scabbard, revealing its gleaming edge. With effortless grace, she swung it through empty air.
Slash—!
Every tree within a ten-meter radius toppled in unison, sheared cleanly through. It was an immaculate, flawless strike devoid of even an ounce of excess motion.
“This is the orthodox ideal of swordsmanship, emptied of all emotion.”
“The orthodox ideal?”
“Quite literally. You could call it the fundamental essence of the sword.”
“I understand.”
“What I shall show you next is a strike steeped in the very emotion gifted to you—Madness.”
Unlike the serene discipline of a moment ago, a bone-chilling aura of murderous intent began to roll off her in waves.
Rumble—!
It was an eruption of raw emotion so suffocating it drew cold sweat from my skin. The instant that fervor crested at its absolute peak, her blade cleaved forward alongside a tempest of sword pressure destined to obliterate everything in its path.
A strike born purely of unbridled fury.
KABOOM—!
Unlike the clean precision of the orthodox stroke, the surging blade energy tore violently through the earth, ravenously devouring the forest ahead.
Ten meters.
Thirty meters.
Fifty meters.
One hundred meters.
The arc of destruction ripped onward, felling every tree in its wake until it crossed the hundred-meter mark. Only after witnessing such a staggering disparity with my own eyes did I finally grasp what she was trying to teach me.
Unlike a lunatic who lashed out indiscriminately, incapable of discerning friend from foe, if one could truly harness and command that emotion… it would become the most devastating buff imaginable.
Ah. Now I finally get it.
This world was not merely a video game defined by sterile numerical values and interface windows. It was a tangible reality governed by physical laws, populated by living, breathing creatures. Along with that realization expanding the narrow worldview I had held when I still treated this existence like a game—
“Kyahaha—!”
An intoxicating exhilaration flared to life, unlike anything I had ever experienced back on Earth. It was the razor-sharp thrill of the fleeting instant where a single breath decided which of two lives was snuffed out.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
My steady pulse quickened into a hammering crescendo. As blood rushed through my veins, my physical capabilities mounted in tandem. Even so, determined not to lose my sanity as I had before, I ceaselessly recalled the lesson So-so had driven into my mind.
Run mad, yet never lose yourself.
“Run mad, yet never lose yourself.”
“Run mad, yet never lose yourself.”
“Run mad, yet never lose yourself.”
Stealth (S)
Chanting her words like an unbreakable mantra, I locked my eyes onto the monster standing at the heart of the horde.
[Elite Orc — Lv. 35]
Unlike its lesser kin, this orc possessed a disciplined frame and clearly led the pack. Right now, it watched in stunned bewilderment as Selena and Ray slaughtered their way through its subordinates. In short, an opening had presented itself.
Slipping past the surrounding monsters under the veil of Stealth—
Quu—!
As the beast exhaled a foul, guttural breath, I swept my blade clean through its groin.
Schlick—!
Befitting a monster several meters tall, its private parts carried proportional heft; a fleshy mass the size of a human head crashed heavily against the dirt. A thoroughly revolting sight. My eyes met those of the orc, which was staring down in blank stupefaction.
“Oh my, look what I've done. Did I accidentally neuter you?”
QUU—!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The horrifying realization that it was no longer male finally registered, and the orc collapsed to its knees, howling in agony so excruciating it made me wince in sympathy. Bloodshot, cursed eyes locked onto me, burning with an unhinged resolve to tear me apart even if it had to sacrifice all four of its limbs to do it. Giving myself over to the spine-chilling thrill, I curled my lip.
“Come on, then.”
Quu—!!!!
A massive greatsword descended toward me with ferocity enough to make anyone scream on instinct. If it connected, my body would be pulverized beyond recognition. But that assumed the strike could actually hit me in the first place.
Whoosh—!
Ducking my head by a mere hand's breadth to slip beneath the sweep, I snapped my gaze forward. The orc's relentless follow-up came crashing down instantly.
Crash—!
Barely evading the blow with a low slide across the dirt, I drove my dagger straight into its tailbone.
Thwack—!
The blade sank deep without meeting resistance. The moment the pain struck, the orc attempted to twist its torso around to pinpoint my location—
Quu—!?
Its legs refused to obey. Where I had buried the dagger was right through its spinal cord. Because it possessed a humanoid physique, I had gambled that its nervous anatomy would mirror a human's, and sure enough, the bet paid off. A complete severance of the spinal cord resulting in total lower-body paralysis.
Clambering onto the immobile brute's back—
“Hahaha—! Hahahaha—!”
I extinguished the orc's life while unleashing a manic laugh so unhinged that even So-so, Selena, and Ray paused in genuine shock amidst the slaughter.
Accompanied by the cheerful chime of the system, I rolled my neck and surveyed the clearing. Plenty of prey remained. The moment I surged forward without hesitation, familiar voices drifted over the din of battle.
“Oho! Thought he was just some fragile scholar, but he's quite the man, isn't he?”
“It's gruesome… but magnificent.”
“He still cannot fully master his murderous aura.”
Whatever commentary they had to offer, I joined forces with Selena, who was whirling her spear in wide arcs, and together we decimated the remnants of the pack. The total body count reached twenty-one orcs.
Another level up rang out, bringing my total gain to two full levels.
“Phew…”
Exhaling a long breath, I allowed my roiling emotions to settle into deep tranquility.
Splash—!
A sudden shock of cold water poured down the crown of my head, soaking my hair. I spun around to look.
“Boss—! Has your head cleared up now?”
“You… Selena?”
“Ha! From the looks of it, your madness is a few stages—no, several dozen stages ahead of mine! I love it! I asked that dark-haired lady over there, and she mentioned you're looking for guild members right now?”
Thump—!
She pounded her chest with a broad grin.
“I've taken a liking to you! I'm formally putting in an application to join your guild!”
“……?”
Ding—!
With a clear chime, her application window materialized before my eyes.
Would you like to accept this applicant into the guild?
Glancing back, it seemed the notification had reached So-so as well in her capacity as Vice Guildmaster. Since I had intended to recruit Selena from the start, I accepted without hesitation.
The target has been inducted into the guild.
Current Guild Members: 3
A member milestone has been reached!
A milestone reward has arrived.
They were only low-grade scrolls rather than intermediate ones. Even so, unlike my maxed-out original account where resources spilled over the brim, I was currently starving for every scrap of material I could get my hands on. I gratefully tucked them away.
“……”
From a short distance away, Ray had watched the entire exchange. Swept up in the momentum of the moment, he hesitated before shuffling over to us, speaking in an awkward, apologetic tone.
“I truly apologize. I would love to join as well… but due to certain circumstances, I cannot enter another guild right now…”
“N-No, it's quite alright…!”
“Haha! What a relief! Thank you for being so under—no, thank you very much!”
A slip into casual speech slipped through his formal phrasing. Sensing the opportunity, I made a proposition.
“We seem to be around the same age anyway. If we can't be guildmates, how about being friends instead?”
“Pardon…? I would be honored, but…”
“In a harsh world like this, having a friend or two to lean on makes life a whole lot easier, doesn't it?”
Smiling, I patted him on the back. Of course, failing to recruit a 7-star asset was a bitter pill to swallow… but looking into his eyes when he declined, one thing had been abundantly clear. He had genuinely wished he could join my guild. Having only known me for two days, the fact that he felt that way toward me was something to be grateful for.
I was content to let it slide for now. Though, naturally, I had every intention of badgering him about it again in the future.
Ray scratched his cheek in sheepish embarrassment.
“A friend, is it… It's been years since I've heard that word. It feels a bit ticklish.”
“Give you goosebumps?”
“Yes… I mean, yeah.”
It seemed it would take a little longer before he could drop honorifics entirely without hesitating. Well, whatever.
In the first place, our designated subjugation target wasn't orcs, but the Naga. We resumed our march toward our true destination: the lake. Along the way, we ran into scattered packs of orcs, goblins, and kobolds. But unlike ordinary F-rank adventurers, our party was an elite vanguard among elits.
Slash—!
Slice—!
Crunch—!
Carving through the monsters without a single hitch, we pressed steadily forward. After trekking for quite some time, we finally arrived at a body of water far too vast to be termed a mere 'lake.'
“Is this truly a lake? It is monstrously, absurdly immense.”
Just as So-so remarked, calling this body of water a lake felt almost insulting—it was so impossibly broad it could easily pass for an open sea. Man, this really isn't an ocean, right?
Splash—!
From the water's edge, Selena thrust her spear and skewered a wriggling fish, hoisting it high before marching over to present it with a proud grin.
“Boss—! These are definitely freshwater fish!”
“Then it really is a lake.”
“It really is.”
It felt somewhat rich coming from me, but standing there, I was reminded once again: not a single person in this advancement party was entirely right in the head.