Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Gan Salin entered insane mode.

He tried again to wear the gloves, but his hands were shaking, and the flames hot on his heels. “Fine!” he roared. “Canine Dash!” Letting the gloves drop, he fell on all fours and ran so fast he almost disappeared.

From the stands, Jack raised his brows, and the audience erupted into clamor.

Vivi remained standing. A barrier of blue flames erupted around her, flowing like water. At the same time, she kept moving, dashing backward and rotating her hands. Her previous river of flames followed Gan Salin and was lagging behind, but a new one appeared, stretching wide to block his path.

Gan Salin made a barking sound. Though his path was blocked, and though he was insane, he wasn’t a simple character.

His second Dao Root—Resolve—flared, making him unwavering. He ran straight into the flames and cut through them like a dogfish, screaming but enduring the pain. A moment later, he was out, charred and tattered. His clothes were on fire at the edges, but his red eyes stared right at Vivi.

She still wasn’t done. Though her back had reached the wall, her hands still moved. The flames were increasing in volume, more rising from the ground every moment, and the nearby sand had turned into jagged glass. The first river was coming over as well. Gan Salin had to finish the fight quickly or be drowned in fire.

He screamed and rushed forth.

The blue flames around Vivi formed into a glowing armor in the color of hot iron. They were dancing and flowing around her, up and down, left and right, coming and going with the rhythmic movements of her hands like waves. That wasn’t how flames were supposed to move.

Jack realized she had another Dao Root. The Dao Root of Water? Of the River?

Gan Salin reached her, and without stopping, fell onto her. His skin was charred and his face twisted into a crazed visage, but he pushed through. Even through his madness, he knew that this was do or die. Their battle had reached its climax in the blink of an eye!

The river of flames coiled harder around Vivi. Gan Salin opened his palm and stabbed it at her. “Five-Star Grasp!” he shouted. The tips of his nails—which were more like claws—glowed white.

His hand pierced into the flames. The pain must have been excruciating because Gan Salin’s screams rose to new levels. The closer he got to Vivi’s body, the higher the temperature, and his skin was melting, and his claws were about to drop. But he didn’t stop.

With a final push, he dug into her chest, penetrating an inch but no more. He retracted his hand almost immediately, unable to take the scorching heat any longer, and fell back. His entire arm was black and smoking. Vivi was bleeding, but the flames rivers she had unleashed had arrived, and they were about to smother Gan Salin. He was surrounded and out of momentum.

“I resign!” he shouted fearfully, coiling around himself to protect against the flames. Some reached him, as Vivi was unable to stop in time, but they quickly withdrew and vanished into red wisps, then nothingness.

Just like that, it was over.

The entire arena held their breaths. Then, all at once, they cheered like crazy, shouting so hard that the rock shook. People stood in their seats and hollered, and first among them were the members of Flame River, who celebrated their leader’s victory with joy rivaling hers.

This fight had been by far the most intense so far. Both opponents were at Level 41 and possessed two Dao Roots. Where others fought with sticks and stones, Vivi had created multiple rivers of flame and unleashed them at her opponent, flooding her entire section of the arena.

Moreover, she had fought against a scion and won. She had proven that humans could stand against these monsters. She had brought hope.

Amidst the cheers, Vivi held her bleeding chest with one hand and extended the other towards Salin to help him stand. It was an offer of peace, and a way to further cement herself as a hero in the eyes of all who were watching.

Gan Salin looked at her hand and ignored it. Gritting his teeth in pain, he shot off the sand, then jumped again on some spectator stands and disappeared in the curtained-off section. Supposedly, there was a healer there.

Vivi used warm air to fly to the lip of the stands, then walked to her seat amidst the audience’s cheers. However, when she got there, Jack wasn’t looking at her. His gaze was aimed at the curtain separating the scions from common mortals, where the shark-man from before still leaned against the railing, following Vivi with his predatory eyes. He was clearly dissatisfied with the battle’s result.

When she reached her seat next to Jack, the sharken caught Jack’s stare and gave a wide, wide smiled filled with rows of sharp teeth. He then retreated inside the curtain, following after Gan Salin.

Jack turned to Vivi. “Well-fought!” he exclaimed. “That was amazing!”

She gave him a tired smile. “I’m glad.” She then sat down, taking deep breaths and calming herself.

“Do you need medical assistance?” he asked, motioning at her chest, where blood was still dampening her shirt.

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I have regeneration. His strike wasn’t too deep, anyway.”

“Alright.” Jack nodded. “Again…great fight. I really hope I never match against you.”

“Because you admire me?”

“Because I’d have to spank a hero of humanity.”

She groaned, but her smile could not be hidden.

“Whatever you say, big man.”

“Excuse me,” a voice suddenly came from the side. It was Edgar, who had overpowered his antisocial tendencies and walked over. Jack noticed a glint in his eye; the excited glint he showed only when magic was on the table. “Can I ask you a question?”

Vivi hesitated for a moment, then said, “Sure.”

“How did you sustain all those flames? They looked tremendous, but they must have taken a lot of mana.”

She met his stare. Consumed in his fervor—he loved magic—Edgar stared back. Vivi hesitated.

Edgar realized he was asking about her secrets. “It’s fine if you don’t want to answer!” he said quickly. “Sorry for asking!”

She still didn’t respond. A moment later, she lowered her voice and spoke slowly. “I was using the ambient energy. My flames were sustained by my mana, but they also fed on the oxygen in the air, significantly lowering my consumption. That’s one reason why I kept them moving around the arena.”

“Oh!” Edgar’s eyes widened in realization. “I see!”

“Magic in general should be used like that. The mana in our bodies is too little for meaningful applications. We should use the environment to our advantage, letting the world bear the burden of our powers. That’s how wizard Classes become truly strong.”

Edgar’s eyes were practically glowing now. Vivi continued, “I saw your fight. Your magic is peculiar but lacks power. Birds made of pure mana are too wasteful. If your Dao Root and Skills are compatible with any environmental forces, you should consider incorporating them into your arsenal. For example, you could make your birds fiery in nature, letting them consume oxygen instead of mana to a degree. Your shield could be watery, drawing in the air’s moisture, or earth-based, where you use your mana as the conduit to make the ground rise and form a stable shield, or where you use the sand specks of the arena to enhance its hardness without spending extra mana. In general, the more you can adapt to your environment, the stronger you’ll be.”

Edgar was star-struck now. He looked at Vivi like she was his favorite person in the world. “Thank you!” he exclaimed after a moment, losing his words. “That’s— Thank you! You’re amazing!”

She smiled back. “Of course I am.”

“I’ll go practice right away!” Edgar exclaimed, rushing back to his seat and conjuring a pair of birds to fly around him. A thousand calculations passed by his eyes.

“That was very generous of you,” Jack said, looking at Vivi. “He could beat one of your faction members with the tips you gave him.”

“I know,” she replied, looking him in the eye. “But the Flame River values our relationships. You gave me advice against Gan Salin—maybe I only won because of you. It was only fair I repaid the favor.”

She still didn’t ask how he knew, though she must have had her suspicions. Jack smiled.

“That’s right.”

“Are you familiar with the Ice Peak?” she asked him, changing the subject. By her tone, this was something she intended to speak about from the very start. Karvahul wisely stepped away and found another seat—not next to Edgar, as he was still surrounded by blue birds.

“The ones that have been glaring at me ever since you sat here?” Jack replied, motioning at another part of the spectator stands.

“Yes.”

“Then, yes.”

“They’re our enemies, as you might have noticed. We blend together like fire and ice. As we are two of the major factions, we will inevitably clash at some point, which is why we’re looking for allies. The problem is…” She grimaced. “Alexander is allied with the scions.”

“I see. That sounds pretty bad for you.”

“It is. With the scions on the Ice Peak’s camp, not only do they have the favor of the Animal Kingdom, but also a great fighting force. We desperately need strong allies.”

“And you’re telling me this because?”

“Don’t play dumb, John. You know what I’m getting at. I don’t mind what relationship you have with Gan Salin, but you helped me against him. You are opposed to the scions, who are allies of the Ice Peak.”

“The enemy of my enemy is a friend.”

“Exactly. Plus, you seem like an upstanding individual despite your…spanking…tendencies. I don’t know how much you’ve heard about the Ice Peak and the Flame River, but even morally, you’re much closer to us than them. We can help each other.”

“So, you’re offering an alliance.”

“Precisely.”

Jack pretended to think about it for a moment. He was a hundred percent in, of course, as this was probably the best case scenario he could get, but it wouldn’t do to agree too quickly.

Plus, this was a great chance to get information.

“What about the third major faction?” he asked. “The Fist Brotherhood?”

“The Bare Fist Brotherhood,” she corrected him. “They haven’t shown themselves yet—at least, not openly. They could be hiding anywhere; there are disguise potions that could fool most of us.”

She looked at Jack with meaning, but he played innocent. “It’s not me; I’m Jack Brown.”

“I believe you.” She smiled. “Come on, John. Let’s work together. If anyone can stop the scions, it’s you.”

Jack crossed his arms and grimaced. “Fine,” he said. “What’s the layout of alliances so far?”

“Not many people have given a definitive response. I have approached Dorman Whistles, but he seems uninterested in our conflict. He’s such a child.” She pouted. “My members have talked to some promising fighters, too, but no one too important. Is there anyone you have in mind?”

“The martial arts master from before,” Jack replied instantly.

“Already on my list.” She laughed. “Anyone else?”

“Hmm.” Jack took a moment. He did have someone in mind, but he first wanted to consider how all-in he should go on this thing. Vivi gave him time, turning to watch a couple of uninteresting fights.

Jack pondered. Both him and his spanking persona were on the shitlist of two scions, including the strongest one, Rufus Emberheart. He was definitely an enemy of the scions, who were allied with the Ice Peak.

Therefore, he needed allies himself, and there wasn’t a strong enough third party besides the Flame River, which was already opposed to both the scions and the Ice Peak. If he avoided their conflict altogether, he needed the Flame River to win, or he would be the next to fall.

And, if the Flame River could win without him, they sure as hell could win with him.

He was in.

“The Sage,” he told her. She raised a brow.

“Who?”

“A guy who looks like a beggar. I haven’t seen him fight, but his divination powers are scary. I’m still not 100% sure he’s not a conman, but I tend to believe him.”

“Divination powers?” Vivi’s eyes widened. “As in, he can predict the future?”

“Kind of. I don’t know exactly how it works, to be honest, but he seems like a pretty useful person to have at hand.”

“I see.” She nodded seriously. “Okay. I’ll approach him.”

“That’s all from me. I don’t know anyone else. Has the Ice Peak gotten anyone?”

“Nobody important. They aren’t working as hard as we are, given that they already have the scions. They did approach the metal guy from yesterday—the one with the guitar—but I think he turned them away. He’s also on my list.”

Jack nodded.

“Good. I’m glad we got this out of the way, John,” Vivi said with a smile, extending a hand. “To a pleasant cooperation.”

“To a triumphant alliance.” Jack shook her hand, perfectly aware of all the eyes on him.

“Then, I’ll be going now,” Vivi said. “I’ve already busied you enough for today.”

“Sure thing. See you around, Vivi.”

“See you, John.”

With a final hug at Brock—who seemed oddly receptive of her affection, though he would have punched anyone else that tried to hug him—she took off, slowly crossing the stands to get to where the rest of her faction waited. Most of those people—there were five in total, three men and two women—nodded at Jack, who nodded back.

“What was all that about?” Karvahul asked, approaching.

“We’re in an alliance now, Karvahul. You too, Edgar. The Flame River is our friend, the Ice Peak and scions are the enemies.”

Karvahul exclaimed, “The scions!?”

“I was already enemies with those.”

“Oh…” His blue face paled a little. “I see…”

“Don’t worry. We got them.”

With enough experience balls to reach Level 49 and enough training, he might be able to stand against Rufus Emberheart. Maybe. His heart still clenched at the memory of that guy’s attack, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. It was do or die.

“What are you planning to do now, Jack?” Edgar asked.

“Watch the fights, I guess.” He shrugged. “I get the feeling that watching strong people fight will be good for my growth. Who knows—I might get some insight. I’ll go train with my robot in the afternoon.”

“Oh, the joys of being an Integration Tournament participant…” Karvahul lamented.

“Sounds like a good plan.” Edgar nodded, then returned to flying his birds.

However, the universe disagreed. It hadn’t been a minute since Jack sat down to watch when a figure approached him; a short, Asian-looking teenager with two daggers strapped to his belt: Dorman Whistles.

“Hello,” he said, speaking only to Jack.

“Hey.”

“Spar with me.”