Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Waves crashed in the Pacific Ocean. They always did; tall and short, thick and thin, close together and further apart. They traveled in groups of thousands, covering miles and miles of water before meeting another group and crashing together. Some waves—the stubborn ones—even crossed entire oceans.

On this day, their journey was interrupted. The surface frothed. Steam rose from below in tremendous quantities, scaring all sorts of marine wildlife for a dozen miles. Something appeared at the bottom of the sea. It was large, and it began to rise.

Schools of fish darted away at top speed. Whales flapped their large tails to escape faster. Most managed—and the ones that didn’t found themselves pushed away by an invisible dome.

A titanic structure rose for miles through dark waters. Dark shapes appeared under the ocean, growing larger as time passed. The top of a white tower finally broke the surface; and, following it, an entire city rose from the depths, with squat buildings and tall ones, walls, shops, and even people watching in awe.

In its very center stood a massive arena larger than Rome’s colosseum and similar in shape. Next to it, a tall tower cut into the sky, made of white marble and reaching twice higher than the arena itself. The protective dome started from the top of this tower, and a gray-caped form stood on its highest balcony. She was a middle-aged woman whose every breath could crush F-Grades, but she was no human; her face was that of a lioness.

“Finally…” she murmured, looking down at the city edges, where confused people were already appearing out of thin air.

The Integration City had appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

***

Teleportation was a disturbing experience.

Edgar felt his entire body wrap and distort as if pulled in every direction at once. His vision was assaulted by blinding lights of infinite colors, forcing him to close his eyes even as he stifled a scream. He thought he was torn apart.

Then, everything returned to normal. He opened his eyes to find a wide plaza covered in people as confused as he was, framed by white buildings with blue windows behind them. Even further back, he could see the towering walls of a colosseum, as well as a tall white tower that looked mystical against the clear blue sky.

Surprisingly, this place didn’t look like as sci-fi as he expected. Advanced technology was undoubtedly a core part of everything, but it was subtle, lending itself to a city that looked more like a picturesque island resort than a high-tech arena.

Edgar even thought he heard the sound of crashing waves.

No, wait.

He turned around and found the sea only a dozen feet behind him. Waves splashed against a ten-foot-tall platform of white stone—the edges of the plaza—which stretched left and right to the ends of his vision and curved behind the buildings like the shore of an island.

The sea stretched unobstructed all the way to the horizon, where it merged with the cloudless afternoon sky. A salty sea breeze blew on Edgar, making his messy hair fly back. His eyes widened behind his glasses as he took in the sight. It was beautiful.

Where are we? he couldn’t help but wonder.

The next moment, he was assaulted by the strongest sense of nausea he’d ever experienced. He puked right then and there. Everyone did.

When he was done, Edgar looked to the side, where another man seemed to suffer from an even worse case of nausea. He was kneeling on the ground, heaving stomach acid on the pristine white stone. By his side, a little brown monkey was watching anxiously.

When the man finally raised his head, Edgar was shocked to find he was unrecognizable. His features were similar but distinctly different. Though his body shape remained the same, a host of minute differences threw Edgar completely off. It was difficult to put his finger on the change, but if he didn’t know this was Jack, he would never recognize him.

With some quick thinking, Edgar quickly left the Bare Fist Brotherhood faction. Otherwise, any scan he received would lead to suspicion, and he risked giving Jack’s identity away.

Seeing his big bro recover, Brock widened his little eyes and looked around like an awestruck baby. Jack croaked out a laugh.

“Wow,” Edgar whispered. “You look—”

“Handsome?”

“Different.”

Jack felt his face, going through a dozen expressions before settling on worry. “But still handsome?” he asked.

“As much as before.”

“That’s not a yes.”

“Not my fault.” Edgar smiled. “By the way, why is Brock here?”

Jack’s eyes widened in realization. He turned to the monkey, which stood there like a participant itself. “Yeah, what the hell,” he agreed. “What are you doing here, Brock? Do you have a Dao Root?”

That would open up a whole new world of complications. However, neither of them could feel the aura of Dao from Brock.

“Maybe the System registered him as your pet?” Edgar ventured a guess. “I didn’t know we had a plus one.”

“I don’t think we do,” said Jack, looking around. “In any case, it doesn’t matter much. Heh. Check this out. We did a number on their plaza. Serves them right.”

Edgar found himself agreeing. The pristine white stones were now covered in tremendous quantities of filth, both from them and other people.

However, just as he had the thought, all filth was slowly absorbed into the stone like it was quicksand. They blinked in surprise. The next moment, the plaza was clean again.

“What the…” Jack muttered, turning around. “Did you see that, Edgar?”

“Yeah. That’s magic alright. Can it eat us too?” Edgar wondered. He scratched his short, pointy beard—which was definitely sharpened on purpose—while sharp eyes shone behind his glasses. If he didn’t look like a total nerd, he could have been a mysterious wizard.

Jack looked around again. There had to be a hundred people in this plaza, and all of them had an undeniable edge.

He saw clean-shaven men in military robes who looked like action figures. He saw a young girl grin as she tossed a dagger up and down and looked around predatorily. He saw men and women with silver hair, kind smiles, and piercing, well-intended eyes. He saw suited-up people who exuded commanding charm standing next to stern-looking men with the eyes of a killer—even before the System.

Everyone here was a master at something—a highly-trained professional who stood head and shoulders above the masses—and it showed in their aura. It was a summit of the brightest, sharpest, strongest people on planet Earth. Nobody here was simple.

In comparison, Jack and Edgar were normal dudes. They felt like children in a room of grown-ups. The combined aura of everyone here pressed them down like a hydraulic press.

But it was an illusion. Jack clenched his fist, and his own aura erupted, formless but enough to turn heads. His gaze held that of masters until they looked away. He especially glared at those who eyed Brock—nobody else had a pet.

It finally occurred to Jack that Gan Salin might recognize Brock, but then realized that the two of them had never met. Brock had stayed back to eat salami from the professor’s cupboard when Jack had run into the scion.

He grinned.

“Don’t fret, Edgar,” he said. “We belong here. We are strong, too.”

“I’m trying,” Edgar squirmed as he replied. The poor guy was getting overwhelmed, but that was his problem to solve, not Jack’s.

Jack felt more than one sharp glances land on him, and he stared back.

Human (Earth-387), Level 25

Faction: Dashing Meisters

Human (Earth-387), Level 31

Faction: Dragons of the West

He quickly scanned a few dozen people. Only few were unaffiliated. Most belonged to factions with names ranging anywhere from grand to ridiculous, and their levels were mostly in the late twenties. There were exceptions, of course, and Jack even saw a little Asian boy at Level 38.

He was close to the top of the pack, apparently, but not quite up there.

These people were all competition in the upcoming Integration Tournament, whatever that was, and every single one of them was stronger than Henry White. Jack grinned.

Behind him, Edgar had finally managed to recover. He said, “Wait. Why’s everyone a higher level than me?”

Blue screens flashed before Jack could reply.

This is a message from your assigned overseers, the Animal Kingdom faction:

Welcome to the Integration Tournament of Earth-387!

In the million-year history of our galaxy, the Integration Tournament has always been a major occurrence for any planet. Future C-Grade and even B-Grade powerhouses are born here.

You are the elites of your species. Each and every one of you has gone through fire to reach this point, and your achievements are nothing to scoff at. In the future, you are destined to lead your planet, and this tournament is your greatest chance to soar—so give it everything you have. There is no shortage of opportunity, only of talent.

The tournament will start tomorrow an hour after dawn. You are expected to report to the Arena then. In the meantime, you are encouraged to explore everything the Integration City has to offer for people of your status, as well as get to know others like you.

And remember: The strong get stronger, and the weak weaker.

It was a long message. Jack took a moment to read it and another to comprehend it. Edgar was done in half the time, and he was already excitedly saying stuff.

Jack shook his head to clear it, then finally tuned in to Edgar.

“—should come first. Then lodging and socializing, in that order. Oh. We should also check what our credits can buy.”

“What?”

It was the standard “I didn’t hear anything” kind of what, and Edgar turned around in annoyance. “I said,” he repeated, “we should first find Tazul’s cousin. He’ll point us in the right direction. Any idea where he’s at?”

“Yes,” Jack replied simply, pointing at a congregation of people that had just stepped into the plaza. They were completely alien.

There were short, blue people like Tazul. Some were tall, copper-skinned ones with large bellies and long beards, some resembled werewolves, while others looked like spinning tops with four arms and one leg on which they bounced. How these guys made it through evolution, Jack had no idea, but he really wanted to find out.

“I can guide you through the city!” a creature that looked like a desert version of Santa Claus shouted in its deep voice, and the entire crowd of aliens erupted into similar shouts as they fanned out. Instantly, the situation resembled an open-air bazaar, with every merchant shouting to be heard over the others.

Some even waded into the crowd of humans, aggressively approaching their prospective victims and trying to sell themselves as a guide.

“Most people are first-timers, but I’ve been around.” A little blue person shrugged, approaching two sharp-eyed girls. “I’m just trying to make ends meet and help people while getting rich myself. Truth is, customers are everything here. How about I give you a discount?”

Jack heard a spinning top-like person proclaim themselves as friends of the Planetary Overseer, whatever that was, and a wolfman whisper—loudly—that the big, copper-skinned merchants weren’t to be trusted.

“What the fuck?” he said in response to the chaos.

“Right!” Edgar replied. “Aliens shouldn’t be like this. Where’s the advanced technology? The System-driven, light-speed, streamlined market?”

Jack felt grumpy. “I expected to be thrown into an arena, not a bazaar…”

He looked around. There were no fools here. Everyone was experienced and wouldn’t fall for schemes, which might explain why these merchants were so forward. If anything, they knew their job, if the large number of successful transactions that Jack observed were anything to go by.

“Adapt to the market,” he muttered, chuckling.

After all, an aggressive guide had better chances of getting good deals, as all these people loudly proclaimed. The ones that waited at the back had knowing smiles on their faces, placing their preconstructed stalls before them to entice customers.

Anyone that agreed to have a guide quickly transferred a number of credits—this price was actually whispered—and then instructed to wait somewhere while the merchant got more customers.

A wolfman approached Jack and Edgar, who were at the back of their group. “Are you guys—”

“We know someone,” Jack cut him off, and the wolfman instantly drifted away to another human.

“How do we find him, though?” Edgar asked, cupping his chin, and Jack laughed. He took a deep breath. Then, his voice boomed out, covering the entire plaza.

“AR’KARVAHUL!”

Everyone fell quiet for a moment, turning to look at him, but he took their stares in stride and smiled back.

A moment later, a blue person waded through the crowd to reach him. He resembled Ar’Tazul—as did all of them, to be honest. He barely reached Jack’s chest, wore light, colorful garments, and carried what looked like a little shoebox but actually contained a wealth of merchandise. A turban was on his head, while his shoes were polished and pointy. He smelled like spices.

When he smiled, he seemed like the best person ever. His beard wiggled. “Did you call?” he asked.

“Yes,” Jack replied suspiciously. “We’re friends of your cousin.”

“Ah, Tazul,” said the merchant, and Jack instantly smiled.

“He’s Ar’Tazul, not Ah’Tazul,” Edgar pointed out, drawing Jack’s empty stare and Karvahul’s seemingly earnest laughter.

“You humans are always spicy,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. We can leave this noisy place now, if you want.”

“Already? Won’t you gather more people?” Jack asked.

“That’s for new customers. I know you guys—well, my cousin does, but he said I should take care of you. Could I get your names, by the way?”

“Mhm.” Jack smiled, then spouted out the first name that came to mind. He was incognito, after all. “I’m John.”

“I’m Edgar,” said Edgar.

“And this is Brock,” Jack completed, pointing at the monkey that was tilting its head at Karvahul, wondering if he was the same person as Kazul.

“The pleasure’s all mine.” The little blue person gave a curt bow. “I’m Ar’Karvahul, a Djinn from planet Bing. For only five hundred credits—including a friendly discount—I’ll show you everything the Integration City has to offer. Shall we?”

Jack and Edgar looked at each other, then shrugged. The price sounded fair.

“Where are we going first, Karvahul?”

“Well, there’s no rush. Don’t mind the chaos around here; it’s only business. The market can wait, as can the arena—and the restaurants, of course. I was thinking of showing you your lodgings first. I’m sure they’ll absorb you for the entire night.”

“Oh? You already know the best hotel?”

Karvahul laughed. “Only the audience lives in hotels. Participant lodgings are predetermined.”

Edgar’s eyes shone. “Are they free, too?”

“Of course!” Karvahul smiled widely. “Everyone loves tournament participants.”