A small excerpt:

  Indeed, there was a rather pungent aroma in the air. One that tickled a memory. Where had I smelled this before? I raised my staff and drew in mana, just as low growls echoed down the corridor, which was widening.

  The passage led us to a chamber, easily thirty metres square, and lit with the by now familiar blue tinted lights. It was not empty.

  “Holy fuck,” Jinsu said, retreating to Mazimus’s side, whilst Mary slipped past me and took his other flank.

  Ahead of us, slowly reacting to our entry, was a camp of trolls. Large trolls. I could see at least three giant two headed beasts amongst them.

  Ah! That’s where I remembered the spell from! The ambush under the Academy.

  There was a moment of stunned silence as both sides gaped at each other, and then all hell broke loose.

  Roaring, a deafening sound, half a dozen of the largest, meaning looking of the motherfuckers charged us. Some of them wielded large clubs whilst the others just had their wicked long, probably filthy to the point of poisonous, claws. And their fangs of course. More than enough.

  With a cry of his own, Mazimus stepped forward and swung his giant sword, slicing down into the shoulder of one of the two headed monsters, practically chopping the beast in two. It screamed in pain and fell to its knees, green blood spurting.

  Mary and Jinsu both intercepted attackers of their own, with Jinsu throwing several daggers at a second one, no doubt using heavily poisoned blades.

  “Fire Bullets!” I cried, casting a spell I’d not used for a while at a large troll on the right. The stream of compressed fireballs struck the beast in the chest, sinking into the flesh and then exploding, splattering gore in a wide arc in front of it, with the force of the blast throwing it backwards.

  “Master, to the left!” Tic screamed from behind me.

  I swing about and, having no time to cast a spell, switched my staff into a sword and blocked a swing of the two headed monster that would have taken my head off had it landed. It screamed in agony as I lopped off its hand. Warm green blood sprayed over me.

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  My breathing grew ragged, my head swum and I lashed out again, cutting a strip of flesh from its leg, and then jumping backwards to avoid a return slash.

  Then my curse kicked fully in, and screaming in rage and delight, I ducked under a swipe and lunged, piercing the belly of the monster. I ripped sideways, disembowelling the green giant and spreading foul smelling intestines over the floor. Some landed on Mary, who cried out in disgust even as she fought her own opponent.

  Ignoring her, I drew my short sword with my other hand and jumped forward with rage induced strength and speed, skipping off the falling troll’s huge arm and bringing my swords down on its skulls, simultaneously splitting both of them down the middle.

  With an animal scream of triumph, I bounced off the shoulder and dived to one side, onto the back of the troll fighting Mary, my sword piercing it just to the side of the neck, with my weight driving it down into its body.

  Crying out in anguish, it fell to its knees, allowing Mary to run it through the chest.

  I did a backwards summersault off the falling creature into the crowd of monsters coming up behind the front rank.

  And went really berserk, slashing, stabbing and roaring as I ducked and dived through the attacks that were aways a split second behind.

  Not always. A burning streak down my back told me I’d been hit.

  I ignored it and carried on, lopping an arm off a troll to my left and then rolling between the legs of a massive beast, slicing upwards as I did so, castrating the thing in a shower of flesh, and then sliding along the ground and hacking at the ankle of a smaller troll who was trying to run away. It fell to the floor. I jumped onto its back and cut its head off in one clean slice.

  Something hit my side, hit it hard, and I found myself flying through the air. My short sword fell from an unresponsive left hand. Still, my berserk mode didn’t care. Flipping in mid-air, I landed on both feet, sliding backwards whilst facing the huge troll I’d mutilated before. With blood gushing from the mess between its legs, it swung its giant club at me again. I was ready this time though, and dodged it easily enough.

  “Void Lance!” I cried. “Lightning Blast! Iron Needles!”

  The troll screamed as my three attacks hit, with the black mana lance piercing a hole right through his stomach, followed by the lightning strike, which exploded in the middle of his chest, whilst the iron needles skewered his face, blinding him.

  As he staggered back I jumped forward and aimed high, cutting halfway through the thick neck, and showering the area with yet more blood.

  The thing, overwhelmed, fell backwards, utterly defeated.

  I landed and whirled around, sword ready.

  There were no more challenges. Just a room full of dead trolls, some of whom were starting to dissolve. Further back, Jinsu and Mary were gasping for breath, both injured, whilst Mazimus, with his fair share of cuts bleeding yellow, stood next to one of the defeated two headed monsters and roared in triumph.

  I nodded, the red mist of berserk fading.

  “Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” I panted.

  And collapsed.