Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

It happened as Jack was stalking his ninth earth bear in a row, a prowling beast at Level 18. In the past day, he’d already cut down their population by more than half, meaning that only the high-level ones were left; he’d even seen one at Level 20 but avoided it for now.

He’d also gotten two Levels for his hunt, bringing him to 17. All stat points were distributed evenly, as he’d been doing.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: -

Rank: F

Class: Pugilist (Elite)

Level: 17

Strength: 44

Dexterity: 54

Constitution: 44

Mental: 9

Will: 7

Skills: Fist Fighting (II), Drill (I)

As Jack stalked this bear, debating whether to attack it or not, a low growl hummed through the trees.

Jack knew this growl. He instantly froze. He didn’t dare to even look around.

The earth bear also recognized the growl. It looked around in sudden agitation, the fear clear in its yellow gaze. Suddenly, a dark shadow shot out of the bushes and towards it. It was so fast that even Jack’s enhanced kinetic vision only saw a blur.

The bear panicked; the sound it made wasn’t a growl, but closer to whining. Jack didn’t know bears could make this sound. Yet, the dark blur showed no signs of stopping, and the bear could only try to fight back.

Its claws fell, but the blur ducked under them and smashed hard into brown fur. The bear flew back—Jack could at most make it stumble—making a desperate attempt to bite down on its assailant. It missed, and at the same moment, another set of jaws found its way around its neck. With a deep crack, the earth bear was dead.

Jack was still frozen.

A dark wolf now stood atop the bear’s corpse, holding it from the throat. The two bodies were similar in size, but the wolf’s power was far, far higher. The bear that Jack would need several minutes to dismantle, if he didn’t die first, had fallen in two attacks.

Black Wolf, Level 49 (Elite) (Dungeon Boss)

Black wolves are mostly solitary creatures. They are also territorial, proud, aggressive, and infamous for being a scourge at the peak of F-rank. If a Black Wolf is spotted, experienced hunter squads should be dispatched quickly, or all big game of the surrounding area will disappear.

It was the second time he met this king of the forest. He had grown a lot since the first time, but the difference between them hadn’t closed that much…and Jack’s only way to escape this dungeon was to defeat it.

He did, however, notice a scar on its snout. It wasn’t there last time, he was sure. Was there something that could rival the king in this forest, or did an earth bear get lucky before its death?

The wolf glanced at Jack, and he quickly looked at the ground, all thoughts forgotten. He didn’t dare challenge it—not yet. However, before averting his sight, he’d managed to catch a glimpse of its eyes.

One would expect the Dungeon Boss to be a regal, proud, sage-like existence. It wasn’t. In its eyes, Jack only saw a fierce animal, a killer. Cold sweat drenched his back, and his legs began to shake a bit. His fight or flight instincts didn’t even activate. What Level 17? If this wolf wanted to kill him, he could do nothing to resist.

Still feeling its gaze on him, as if deliberating its next move, Jack repeated his trick from last time. He fell on his knees and bowed towards the wolf, acknowledging its strength and status as the king.

The wolf still didn’t look away. Jack stayed like that, perfectly still, and trying to calm his breathing. Time seemed to slow down. Was it a second, a minute, or an hour?

Finally, the sound of fur dragging on dirt came. The wolf darted away, easily carrying the massive earth bear in its mouth and disappearing between the trees, headed towards the center of the reserve.

Jack remained kneeling. Only after a minute did he dare to stand, and his forehead was drenched in sweat. He looked at the ground ahead of him, where the bear’s blood had dyed the dirt red.

“Fuck me…” he whispered.

He’d thought himself ahead of the curve, and in a way, he was. He could finally choose his prey instead of settling for what was not prohibitively difficult. However, strength brought a price.

Last time, the wolf hadn’t even glanced at him; he’d been an ant to its eyes. This time, however, he had clearly received its interest. Had it recognized his increase in strength from last time and considered him a future threat? Or was his current power a source of worry, anyway?

In any case, Jack could clearly see the pattern. The wolf would spare an ant, but not an elephant.

The next time it met Jack, it wouldn’t let him go. He had to hurry and get the strength to protect himself…or hide in his cave until someone rescued him. But Jack hadn’t come all this way to cower. He clenched his fists as sparks jumped in his eyes.

I must get stronger, and fast.

He was still very much on the clock—a clock that, as he currently realized, he’d helped accelerate.

Thanks to Jack’s hunting, the wolf’s prey was dwindling. Both of them hunted the same big game. The fewer the bears became, the higher the chances of Jack and the wolf meeting, and it would eventually realize the implications. It might even come directly after him.

This threw a wrench into Jack’s plans. He realized he’d been an idiot. He could no longer hunt bears; they were needed to satiate the big wolf’s appetite. He had to start hunting monkeys, level up fast, then quickly defeat both the monkey and bear boss. Then, maybe he’d be strong enough to match the wolf if he used his human intelligence to its maximum extent.

The moment he had that thought, Jack’s face went hard as a rock. His chances were grim, but he had to try.

Suddenly, a second growl cut through the forest. Jack froze again, thinking the wolf had returned, but this growl was different. He quickly dove back inside his bush.

From deeper inside the bear area, a massive form slowly made its way through the trees. A giant of a bear, a walking tank. Its body was at least nine feet in length, probably more, and it was taller than Jack while on all fours. Its fur wasn’t just covered in yellow splashes; it was riddled with yellow, rock-like surfaces that served as shields, and its claws were so long and sharp they cut grooves through the dirt.

Jack raised his brows.

Rock Bear, Level 30

When Earth Bears mate, they have a small chance of producing Rock Bear offspring. This variant is bigger, stronger, and more closely attuned to earth than a normal Earth Bear. Rock Bears command the innate respect of Earth Bears, allowing them to form and control packs that share a single, large territory.

In the Ursus Forests of planet Ursi, Rock Bears are regional overlords, only under the Tyrant Bears in strength. Their power usually reaches the E-Grade.

This particular Rock Bear is the group boss of the bear monsters of the Forest of the Strong.

That was an extensive description that did Jack little good besides providing context. From the Earth Bear description, he knew there was a planet called Ursi that probably had a lot of bears—ursus meant bear in latin, and ursi was the plural of that, though what did latin have to do with the System? Now, he also knew that earth bears were weaker than rock bears, which were, in turn, weaker than the so-called tyrant bears.

He could even understand how their ecosystem worked, and how they formed pack hierarchies that stretched through a large number of smaller sub-packs. Unfortunately, all that interesting knowledge couldn’t help Jack in the slightest right now.

The rock bear approached the spot where the previous bear’s blood was still smeared on the ground. It hadn’t noticed Jack yet—thankfully, he’d been hiding somewhat further away.

It sniffed the ground, then raised its large head in the direction the wolf had taken as it left. Jack could see its eyes from where he was hidden. The bear was angry, bloodthirsty, but also hesitant. It looked towards the center of the reserve with a grudge it knew it could not fulfill.

Jack held his breath. Would the bear boss fight the wolf? That would be such a waste of Levels for him…

In the end, the bear didn’t give chase. After staring for a moment, it stood on its hind legs—God, was it tall—and smashed a paw into a nearby tree, easily breaking it into pieces. Jack blinked in surprise.

The bear then released a massive, earth-shaking roar, the likes of which Jack had never heard before. It would obviously reach the wolf’s ears, but it wasn’t a challenge. It was just a venting of the rock bear’s impotent rage.

There was just nothing it could do.

But the wolf is proud, thought Jack. Will it come after the bear boss next?

It was a worthy consideration, unless there was some rule that forbade bosses from fighting each other, but that just sounded stupid. There had to be some eco balance. A bear boss without its pack wouldn’t be much of a boss, and Jack assumed the System had the ability to craft circumstances that would favor the creation of a balanced monster ecosystem.

Maybe it did, and I was the one who broke the balance, somehow. Maybe the goblins served as a food source for the other monsters, including the wolf, and me killing them forces everything to fight each other.

Is the dungeon going to implode on itself? Am I the pest here?

It was an amusing thought. Then again, if the System cared about its delicate ecosystem, it shouldn’t have placed him in the fucking middle of everything.

These were Jack’s thoughts as he watched the rock bear steam in rage. However, when it turned around to leave with heavy steps, new ideas sprung in his mind.

If the wolf hunts down this bear, as it probably will, I will lose a bunch of Levels. I need those Levels. Unless…I kill the bear first.

This sent his mind spinning in an wholly new direction. Can I take it right now? he asked himself, not believing his own thoughts.

It’s just a bigger bear. It’s stronger and more durable, but not much faster than the earth bears. I can ambush it just like the others, and if worse comes to worst, I can probably run away. Plus, its increased defense can do nothing against my drill punches.

A plan was slowly taking form in Jack’s mind, and as more and more ideas sprung up to support it, he was overtaken by equal parts anticipation and disbelief.

Our level difference is large, but each individual level matters less and less the more I climb. It’s not about the raw number, it’s about percentages. This bear is a bit over one and a half times my Level. When I killed a Level 13 bear at Level 7, wasn’t the difference even greater? And it still died to a single well-timed strike from my stone hammer.

I no longer have the hammer, and making a new one would take too long, but my punches shouldn’t be that far off now. Its head can’t be made of rock. If I can pull off an ambush, I can probably kill this bear and shower in Levels.

Oh, God… I can’t believe I’m considering this.

But he was considering it. And the more he thought, the more reasons he found to reaffirm this crazy course of action.

If I delay until I’m certain of victory, the wolf might kill the bear first, and I’ll lose all those Levels I desperately need. No; I can’t let this opportunity go to waste. It’s already near impossible to kill the wolf and escape this dungeon; if I don’t take some risks, I’ll never make it.

Slowly, everything came to a point. Jack’s body moved by itself, stealthily following the Level 30 titan of a bear. His eyes sharpened.

I must hunt this bear. Right now.