Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Brock and Starhair flew over a blackened and ruined patch of earth. Since they’d retreated so far away before, it took them some time to find Jack. Once they did, Brock rushed over.

“Bro!” he said, stars filling his eyes. “That was so cool!”

Jack laughed. “Thanks, Brock. I tried my best.”

“I can’t believe you did that,” Starhair muttered dazedly. “A middle B-Grade killed an early A-Grade… I’m numb. Like it’s all a dream.”

“You are in a dream,” Jack replied. “Except it’s mine.”

The two pieces of Crownbeast’s body lay on the ground, a marker of Jack’s triumph. They contained his space ring and core—thankfully placed near his brain, not his chest. Before that, however, Jack wanted to inspect something else.

Congratulations! New Dao Skill unlocked:

Black Hole III: By harnessing the fundamental properties of matter and space, you can force them into a state of collapse. You create a weaponized, artificial black hole. When outside your control, it erupts, releasing all the mass it has absorbed in one massive explosion.

Jack couldn’t help the grin on his face. He’d finally done it. After studying several Archon inheritances and Dao Visions, as well as the incomplete black hole manual, he’d finally managed to create this skill. It wasn’t just a weapon—it felt like the culmination of his entire path of cultivation so far. After all, most of his core experiences combined led here.

It was also the very first skill he created which belonged entirely to him. Meteor Punch was inspired by the fist-wielder in Jack’s first vision, while Supernova was derived from the Exploding Sun’s inheritance. All his other skills were more auxiliary, so they didn’t really count.

Black Hole, while containing bits and pieces of many different inheritances, was something uniquely created by Jack. His version even had many differences from the red lizard man’s who made the incomplete Dao manual.

It was technique he understood in depth, since he was its creator, and also one perfectly suited for his exact cultivation path. Those factors contributed to its terrifying strength.

If Jack ever created his own inheritance, this would be the first real technique he inscribed.

Of course, the current Black Hole was far from complete. It was a high-level skill, so it had began at tier III, but he’d only just embarked on the way of mastering it. Plus, there were other targets to hit. His single greatest Dao Vision so far had been about a woman engineering a Big Bang, the controlled creation of a universe. Unlike the black hole, which combined Space and Death, this woman had demonstrated a fusion of Time and Life, the other of Jack’s dualities. He had a feeling that mastering this Dao Vision as well would be the next big step on his path.

Most people’s potentials tapered off at the B-Grade because they’d chosen a narrow path. Jack had done the opposite. His potential was endless—but realizing it meant he had to constantly struggle with the highest-level concepts of the universe. He had to show up at the top level uninvited and play ball.

That was the true Road to Mastery.

Unfortunately, Jack was outside System space, so his victory against Elder Crownbeast didn’t grant him any levels. Fortunately, the Elder had a core, and absorbing it would be kind of the same thing. Even more fortunately, the core was located in the Elder’s brain, so it hadn’t been destroyed by the black hole.

Jack rummaged through the colossal skull and emerged holding a crimson, pulsing orb. It radiated intense power. The earth around them flaked off.

And this was just the start. Killing Crownbeast at this point was the greatest lucky chance Jack could have had. He ran over to the fallen beast’s hand, cut off at the wrist, where a space ring was nestled between broken scales. He peeled it off to peek inside. Immediately, his face brightened.

Crownbeast’s space ring contained Dao manuals, weapons, pills, and a wealth of monster cores ranging from the early to the peak B-Grade. It was essentially a treasure trove. Most importantly, however, it contained the items Crownbeast had won in the auction.

The late A-Grade core…and the Overlord core!

Jack started laughing, holding the space ring to his chest. The coffers of an overlord faction had bled to secure these objects. Now, because of Crownbeast’s miscalculations, it all belonged to Jack!

“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “If any A-Grades were nearby, they might be rushing over.”

He disintegrated Crownbeast’s remains with the flick of a hand—they were vulnerable now that his Dao was gone—and launched into the sky, creating a new crater behind him. The wind whooshed in his ears. Jack laughed into it, shooting straight into the clouds, emerging above them and under another layer of clouds. For a moment, he debated going up to see what lay at the top of the sky. Was this really the time?

Why not? he asked himself. If anyone was going to come, they’d be here by now. Plus, this can’t take more than a couple moments.

“Wait here,” Jack said. “I’ll check things above a moment.”

He dashed up without waiting for a reply. He flew into the second layer of clouds and emerged into a similar scenery. A third layer waited above him. He also noticed that the ambient pressure had doubled—a curious sign, though nowhere near enough to affect him.

He kept shooting upwards. The third layer, the fourth, the fifth… Every layer was separated from the next by roughly a thousand miles, but that distance mattered little to Jack.

By the time he reached the seventh layer, he was beginning to notice differences. The colors were slowly growing darker, starting from their original gray color and approaching black. The pressure was mounting aggressively, too. Only B-Grades could fly at the ground level, but now, even Jack was struggling.

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The hell? he wondered. I’m as powerful as an A-Grade, but I can’t reach the sky!?

He kept going. The eighth layer strained him further—by the time he reached the ninth, he could no longer proceed. Every mile he soared upwards exhausted him—using teleportation was no different. At this rate, he’d run out of energy, and that might be dangerous.

He let himself drop.

What lies up there? Jack wondered, gazing at the not-quite-black clouds above. He had a sense he wasn’t even close to the top. When I have the power, I’ll find out. I can also just ask someone.

He chuckled. Why did that feel like admitting defeat?

He fell through a layer of clouds, then another. The pressure quickly lessened as he descended, and before long, he’d once again reached just above the first layer, where Brock and Starhair waited.

“Well?” Starhair asked.

Jack shook his head. “I have no idea. I couldn’t make it. I suspect that…only Overlords have that privilege…”

“All will come at their time,” Brock said. “Shall we, bro?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Jack shook the issue away from now—though he promised to revisit later.

The three of them traveled in the gap between the first two cloud layers, flying away at max speed. They kept their perceptions spread out to avoid any surprises, but none came.

A few hours passed. From above the clouds, the three of them crossed several provinces, flying for hundreds of thousands of miles. Jack had chosen a direction that led to neither the Great Silver nor the Fiend King faction. His first priority was absorbing the cores he’d acquired, and that required secrecy. Their current target was the barren outer provinces.

Half a day later, they decided they were finally far enough. Jack shot through the clouds, facing an endless red expanse. Blue weeds grew intermittently, and green foxes shuttled between them. There was no powerful space monster in sight.

“Perfect,” he said.

A hill protruded from the expanse like a pimple. Jack dove into it, carving a thin tunnel deep into the earth. Stone and dirt parted before his might. He waved his arms around, and soon, he’d opened up a small cave for all of them. There were various stone rooms, each able to isolate from the others using large boulders as doors.

“Nice build, bro,” Brock said as he and Starhair flew in.

“I can’t believe we have to stay here…” Starhair said. “There isn’t even a bathroom.”

“You’ll manage,” Jack replied with a laugh. “Let’s get to business.”

He waved a hand and three items appeared. It was the three cores—Crownbeast’s early A-Grade one, the late A-Grade from the auction, and the overlord core.

The early and late A-Grade cores exuded a great aura, but they paled before the overlord one. It was like a black sun. The moment Jack took it out, the entire cave swam with dark light, and illusions of death swung scythes at their heads. This core alone was more intense than the living Elder Boatman.

Starhair backpedaled, an expression of horror on his face. Only when Jack sealed the core’s aura did he recover, but even Jack could only do so much. Black steam escaped his restraints, lazily drifting about the cave.

“Holy shit,” he said. “Sorry. I didn’t think it would be this powerful.”

“Very cool,” Brock admitted, leaning closer to the core to study it. The black steam tickled his nose, but he didn’t seem to mind. “It’s almost alive.”

“It is alive,” Starhair muttered. He leaned against a wall, grabbing his heart. He gulped. “I’ve never seen such a powerful core before, but I’ve read about them. Overlords are different. Their inner world is so rich with life that, even after death, it retains a degree of intelligence. It’s like an animal. If you try to absorb it, it will resist with all its might, unleashing its energies to wreck your body.”

“Hmm.” Jack cupped his chin. “Sounds dangerous.”

“It is. I’ve heard about a late A-Grade Elder who managed to find one such core. He diluted it in a vat of water, then rested inside it until all the raw energy had been absorbed. You should do the same—just with a lot more water.”

“Isn’t that wasteful?” Brock asked.

“Some of the core’s energies escape,” Starhair agreed. “But it’s not much, only around twenty percent, and it makes the process much safer.”

“How long does it take?” Jack asked.

“If I recall correctly, it took that Elder seven years.”

“That’s too much.” Jack shook his head. “I cannot waste that much time on a single core.”

“Excuse me?” Starhair snapped. “You cannot waste seven years on an Overlord core? God. If anyone else heard you, they’d have a heart attack! That’s the most arrogant phrase I’ve ever heard!”

Jack stared at him. “Raise your eyes, man. Don’t settle for the dumpster fire you call cultivation.”

“That’s— Whatever. I suggest you dilute the core in water. It’s better than dying.”

“I won’t die.”

Jack eyed the core. Even sealed in a purple net of his Dao, it radiated intense destruction. He pictured how, if he tried to absorb a wisp of this energy, it would recklessly rush about his body to ruin him. But, he did have a highly tempered body. If he absorbed it one wisp of energy at a time, he was over ninety percent certain he could handle it. It would take much less than seven years, too.

But it wouldn’t be pleasant.

Jack made up his mind. “I will go into seclusion,” he said, pulling the overlord core into his space ring. “Here.” With a flick of his wrist, the other two cores flew at Brock and Starhair respectively. Brock got the late A-Grade, while Starhair would enjoy Crownbeast’s early A-Grade core. They were properly compatible with the two of them.

Starhair grabbed the core reflexively. He looked at it, stunned. “For me?” he asked. “I… I didn’t even do anything. I can’t accept this.”

“We’re a team,” Jack said. “We have to share at least a bit. Plus, that core is not compatible with me. You should use it to regrow your hair more quickly.”

Starhair looked between the core and Jack. An early A-Grade core didn’t sound like much right now, but in truth, it was an astoundingly precious resource! Starhair’s net worth in the outside universe couldn’t buy such a core, and he ruled an entire constellation.

Of course, space monster cores were rarer in the universe than here.

“Thank you,” Starhair said, accepting the core. As for Brock, he smirked at Jack.

“Thanks, bro,” he said. “Appreciate it.”

“No worries. We’re bros. Supporting each other is what we do.”

Jack walked towards one of the smaller caverns. Thinking better about it, he created a hundred foot corridor leading to a cavern with thick rock walls.

“I won’t come out until I’ve fully digested the core,” he said. “I don’t know how long it will take. Stay safe until then. See you, bros.”

“Good luck, bro.”

“Be careful!” Starhair shouted as Jack rolled a huge boulder in front of the opening. It smashed into place with a loud thud. He was now alone, in darkness, in a roughly ten by ten feet cavern deep underground.

Jack took a deep breath and pulled the overlord core out of his space ring. Instantly, the entire cavern was submerged in the black mist of death, so dense it was suffocating. Any low-level cultivator placed here would die instantly. Jack’s Life and Death Daos protected him, but he still felt a chill creep down his spine.

“Here we go,” he whispered to himself, then mustered his courage and probed the core.

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