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Volume 1 berserk chapter 2 – the first kill

A brief synopsis of berserk. Credit to "my anime list" for the synopsis.

Born from the corpse of his mother, a young mercenary known only as Guts, embraces the battlefield as his only means of survival. Day in and day out, putting his life on the line just to make enough to get by, he moves from one bloodshed to the next.

After a run-in with the Band of the Hawk, a formidable troop of mercenaries, Guts is recruited by their charismatic leader Griffith, nicknamed the "White Hawk." As he quickly climbed the ranks in order to become the head of the offensive faction, Guts proves to be a mighty addition to Griffith's force, taking Midland by storm. However, while the band's quest for recognition continues, Guts slowly realizes that the world is not as black-and-white as he once assumed.

Set in the medieval era, Berserk is a dark, gritty tale that follows one man's struggle to find his own path, while supporting another's lust for power, and the unimaginable tragedy that begins to turn the wheels of fate.

My own explanation of this scene.

This mission is based on the crucial battle between guts and bazuso. This spurs Griffiths interest in guts. I have increased the difficulty manyfold. This makes the contestants have to partake in the battle or face deletion.

Anyway that’s enough exposition. Enjoy the first of many missions to come.

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Hundreds of soldier charging side by side towards a small castle. A dozen mounted catapults firing arrows the size of grown men into the army. Captains mounted on horses leading the charge from the back.

As the arrows assaulted the small army of men a group of soldier hoisting a log on their shoulders approached the gate. This was the sight seen by us six contestants.

Recovering from my amazement I turned to the one semi calm contestant alongside me. A 16-18 year old girl.

She had emerald eyes and peach blond hair styled in a bob cut. Standing at around 5 foot 10 with a slender and curvaceous body. her skin was a lightly tanned brown mixing well with her rosy cheeks. Looking at her physique she seemed to be fairly muscular, maybe at the level of a amateur sportsman. The best comparison would be to say she was like a sportswoman turned model.

Considering she was the only other contestant not currently quaking in fear I approached her. As I did she looked at me quizzically.

Me: you want to team up?

Being as I was about to have several fights to the death I wasn’t in the chatty mood.

Girl: why should I trust you?

As she asked this her hand lowered to the hilt of her sword.

Me: good luck surviving on your own then.

As I said this I turned towards the battle field and began to walk away.

Girl: wait! Please don’t leave me.

Saying this she rushed up and grabbed my arm. From that one action I could tell she was afraid. Despite the masquerade she seemed to otherwise be a normal girl.

Me: lets go then.

I scanned the battlefield with my eyes. Currently the battering ram was about 15 meters from the gate. If we ran their we could make it to the gate just as the battering ram did. Deciding this was the best coarse of action I attached my broadswords sheath to my belt. The girl having recovered from her earlier outburst came to my side.

Girl: what's the plan ?

Me: for now we run towards the gate. Once we get there it should be easy enough to locate Guts and Bazuso.

Girl: who's Guts?

She tilted her head to the side as she asked this making her look rather cute. Slightly embarrassed by my thoughts I turned my head away.

Me: the main character. Being as I've seen this anime and read its manga I'm familiar with its characters.

Hearing this she looked surprised.

Girl: I didn't peg you as the otaku type.

I knew what she meant. Standing at 6 ft. 4 with short black hair and a fairly muscular body, I had often been mistaken for a popular guy.

The truth was before my death I was an introverted otaku. I had gone to college merely to find a way to fund my otaku desires. Eventually by the time I had a job I realised I had no friends nor a girlfriend to speak of. Dying at the age of 19, my worst regret was not making any real connections.

Girl: though I suppose I should be thankfull. If you didn’t have this knowledge who knows how difficult the mission would be.

After running for 5 minutes we made it to the gate. By this point the door was broken through. Flooding out from the hole in the gate were dozens of soldiers as well as 4 captains.They formed a dome like defence around the breach in the gate.

It was obvious from their movements they were far superior in skill to the army swarming them. Though we would eventually break through at this rate half our forces would be gone by then.

Me: wait here then catch up to me once we brake through.

Having delivered my instructions I rushed forward. Knowing that my skill would be far inferior to these soldier I used the advantage of being in a crowd.

I snuck to the edge of the formation alongside the castle wall. As I stood behind the mercenary in front of me, I waited for him to die. After a short bout with the soldier the mercenary had a hole in his head.

lunging forward I used his body as a shield to hide my advance. As I pounced out of the sea of mercenaries I brought my sword above my head and then downwards. The soldier despite his skills was left with no time to react as my broadsword cleaved his head in two.

As his brain matter and blood splashed onto my face I felt two new sensations. The first was a deep regret. I felt horrible for extinguishing the life before me. The other was a fire in my gut. I recognized this as the same hatred I felt when I died.

This fire fed on my regret and fuelled me forward. Determined not to let this opportunity go I rushed into the soldier formation. Turning to the two soldier next in the formation.

I lifted my sword above my head and once again brought it down. This time at a diagonal angle. My sword cut deep into the back of the first soldier, forcing him forward into the mercenaries. Following through it also severed the leg of the next soldier in line, bringing him to his knees.

Now having a three man gap in the formation the mercenaries swarmed in. As the flood of men surrounded the soldier they all tried to run. Now having accomplished my goal I let the mercenaries take over.

After a short while all the soldiers were either killed or forced back through the gate. Now having a clear entrance the mercenaries swarmed in.

As I joined the sea of mercenaries I found my way to my teammate once again. Seeing the blood on me her eyes lit up with concern. Though this was probably in self interest I still felt touched.

Girl: what happened, are you okay?

As she said this she came close to me and inspected me. From this close I could smell her pleasant aroma. As I tried to control my thoughts, and failed, a problem occurred to me.

Me: I'm fine, anyway we have an issue.

Looking ahead we were in a strait street. Half way down the street stood the enemy. 50ish soldier 10 captains 2 large commanders and Bazuso. thinking fast I formulated a plan. Though dangerous if we pulled it off we would have a good chance at survival. After explaining to my teammate we both set off to put my suicidal plan to action.