Zaen and the Mawspawn remained at their spots without moving. The anomaly tried a few times to get out, but the light from above immediately burned its outstretched arm.

He thought about using the thorns and Aceso's mark to kill the creature from where he was sitting, but then decided against it.

The 'test' was to see his capabilities. He was sure that if he killed the anomaly using the mark and ring, the higher-ups would find another reason to disturb his sleep. He needed a more concrete method to shut them out completely.

"Well, this is ridiculous," Zaen sighed before slapping his thigh.

If the anomaly wasn't going to come out, then he would force it. Zaen stomped on the ground, sprinting towards the anomaly with all his strength.

The anomaly snarled at him, revealing its deadly claws once again. Zaen's momentum increased with each step. The anomaly was snapping its jaws in excitement.

The anomaly was dead set on killing Zaen to stop him from getting away again. But just as it swung its claw, Zaen skidded on the ground, slipping between its legs.

The anomaly swung its claws behind itself, but Zaen wasn't there.

"Looking for someone?" Zaen mumbled.

He had skidded, but he stopped using his sword on the ground. He jumped above and, with one swift motion, delivered a flying roundhouse kick right on the anomaly's head.

[Total Damage Dealt: 60]

[Mawspawn's HP: 1,132/2,000]

The damage wasn't much, but it was within Zaen's expectations. Either way, inflicting damage to the anomaly wasn't the purpose of his kick. He just wanted to shove the anomaly outside and watch the anomaly turn into a shish kebab.

The anomaly went flying through the collapsed wall just as Zaen had done moments ago. Zaen thought kicking the anomaly outside would be the end of it, however, that didn't happen.

If it had been the other anomalies from the first trial, it would have been the end. But the Mawspawn was different. Being exposed to light reduced the anomaly's impenetrable armor and strength considerably. Moreover, the anomaly was [Blinded] by the light.

[Blindness: The anomaly's accuracy drops to 12%. The damage dealt by the anomaly on successful hits is also reduced by 80%.]

The instructors and higher-ups wanted to witness Zaen's skill, but instead were shocked to discover a new weakness of the Mawspawn.

Their weakness to light wasn't officially known, which was strange considering the extent of testing the organization did on each anomaly encountered.

But none of it mattered to Zaen. The anomaly's blindness was a blessing that Zaen couldn't allow to be wasted. Grabbing the sword and the stick, he charged right behind the anomaly.

He tore through the dust clouds like a punisher chasing after a corrupt soul.

The anomaly screamed in a mixture of pain and anger. It kept howling while helplessly flailing its sledgehammer-like hands around, hoping to hit Zaen. But no matter how hard the anomaly tried, it couldn't harm as much as a single strand of Zaen's hair.

Seeing the anomaly struggle like that reminded Zaen of the day he tried fighting against his middle school bullies. Back then, he couldn't hit them either, not even once, but he didn't give up, just like the anomaly wasn't.

"Maybe I am a bully as well?" Zaen chuckled before once again kicking the anomaly. "Time to end this... I suppose."

The anomaly couldn't see Zaen, but it could sense the looming death over its head. At that moment, the anomaly gave up on fighting back and tried to run away from the monster of a human or the light hanging above it.

Zaen ran after, but the anomaly was faster. The light had only weakened the anomaly's strength and armor, it had no effect on its agility.

Not to mention, Zaen didn't know where the light source was or its range. He just knew he had to stop the anomaly as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, there was only one way to do so, and it was a method Zaen hated the most. He had used the skill once and terribly regretted it, and now he would have to use it again.

"I hate this!"

The only solace he had was that people were surely watching him. If things went south, they would interfere.

Right?

[Berserk activated.]

[Your sanity has dropped to 1.]

[Alert! You're losing your mind.]

[Effect negated.]

[You're experiencing unbearable pain.]

[Effect negated.]

[Your strength, agility, and stamina have increased by 149%]

[Your presence has shot up by 149%]

[Strength: 38 (↑)]

[Agility: 30 (↑)]

[Presence: 7.9 (↓)]

[Stamina: 30.0 (↑)]

Once again, the familiar feeling of rage flooded his mind. Zaen stared at the anomaly's retreating back and launched towards it. Before the anomaly knew it, the human was latched onto its back.

The next second, he stabbed the anomaly's shoulder with the boning knife repeatedly. The blows crushed the creature's shoulder blade, but Zaen didn't stop.

He wrapped his legs around the anomaly's waist, while his free arm grabbed its neck, before pinning it to the ground. It was Zaen's half-assed attempt to lock the anomaly in a rare-naked choke.

The latter tried to bury its claws deep within Zaen's arm but failed, all thanks to its shattered shoulder.

The choke itself wasn't useful against such anomalies. After all, a rear-naked choke usually stops the blood flow to the brain, and a person could go to sleep in just a few seconds. But this was an anomaly, not a human. He wasn't even sure that it breathed.

Either way, Zaen wasn't planning on knocking the anomaly out.

"YARGH!"

He screamed, calling for strength in his body as he pulled around the anomaly's neck. His forearm locked under the anomaly's chin while his other hand clamped onto the side of its jaw, fingers digging into its rotten skin.

The creature thrashed beneath him, its one good arm beating uselessly against his back. Veins stood out along Zaen's neck as his grip tightened. Soon, he heard a sound like something was being ripped apart.

A moment later, Zaen jerked backwards as the anomaly's head was ripped off its torso. He let the head drop with a dull thud and slowly rose to his feet, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist.

But he wasn't done.

Even the monster's torso wasn't spared in his rage.

The instructors watched in horror as Zaen tore the anomaly's corpse apart, again with just his hands. No tools were needed at all.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.