Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Vocrich Eretor, the vampire lord that would lead the auction, stepped off the stage center. Another vampire, a woman, walked out and placed a shiny cube on the table.

“The first item,” Vocrich declared, “is a high-grade starship. Forged by an apprentice of the famous Horrificus Egen, this ship can cross space at a speed approaching a thousand miles a minute. It operates on the user’s Dao, meaning it’s cost-free, and can accommodate up to five people—or more if you pack light.”

Scattered laughs came from the audience. Vocrich smiled. “The starting price is 500,000 credits!”

Silence.

“How the hell is that a starship?” Jack whispered to Edgar. The item was a cube that could fit in one’s palm.

“No idea,” the wizard whispered back, shrugging. “Magic, I guess.”

Jack shook his head as he ran the math.

One thousand miles a minute was sixty thousand an hour. That ship—if it really was a starship—was faster than anything Earth had developed, could reach the moon in four hours, and didn’t cost massive amounts of resources to operate.

However, five hundred thousand credits…

Jack was aware that most auctions started with a heavy-hitter item to rile up the crowds. Though the starship intrigued him, he couldn’t spare the expense.

Unless this is the item the Sage wanted me to get, he thought.

The Sage’s voice rang inside his mind immediately afterward. “Your item will come last,” he said, then spoke out loud. “I offer five hundred thousand.”

Many heads turned to look at the Sage, who sat on his balcony and smiled jovially. Sitting across from him, Dorman didn’t bat an eye.

“Six hundred thousand,” a suited-up man from below offered, standing up. He was bald and muscular, and he oozed an aura of authority. He must have been someone important in the pre-System world. Now, he was only qualified to sit among the crowd.

“Seven hundred,” the Sage retorted.

“Seven fifty.”

“Eight hundred.”

The bald man frowned deeply, then sat back down. Nobody else spoke.

“Eight hundred thousand credits, offered by the mysterious Sage,” Vocrich announced. “Is there anyone willing to trump that? Starships of this caliber don’t appear often in underdeveloped worlds!”

He waited a moment, but nobody spoke up. “Very well,” he declared. “Then, this high-grade starship has been sold to the Sage for eight hundred thousand credits. Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” the Sage replied with a smile.

“An assistant will bring the item to you at once. You can deposit the sum in her credit card,” Vocrich said before proceeding. “The next item is a set of seven F-Grade servant robots, so you never have to do housework again. The starting price is one hundred thousand credits.”

Seven white robots with smooth curves walked into the stage. Several people bid at low increments, but the item finally went to Li Xiang, the martial arts master, for two hundred thousand.

“Next is an E-Grade Dao Fruit of the Blade! Ideal for anyone wanting to sharpen their Dao Seed!” Vocrich announced as a vampire assistant brought a Dao Fruit on stage. It resembled the one Jack had taken from Henry White, except it radiated an aura of sharpness so strong it was almost corporeal. It was like staring down a gun barrel.

“The starting price is—”

“Five hundred thousand,” Dorman interrupted him. The announcer smiled and didn’t say anything. Neither did the crowd.

“Six hundred,” Gan Salin called out.

“One million,” Dorman replied calmly.

Jack’s eyes widened. One million credits, gone like that…

F-Grade Dao Fruits were only sold for ten thousand. Of course, E-Grade fruits were much, much rarer—otherwise this fruit would have never appeared in such a prestigious auction—but a million was definitely over the market price. Dorman must have wanted it deeply.

Then again, everyone could only use one Dao Fruit of each Grade. Investing in the right fruit for you was worth it.

Jack’s eyes glimmered as he considered the F-Grade Dao Fruit of the Fist he kept hidden in his house. It was perfect for him, and he had been saving it for when he attempted to breakthrough into the E-Grade. However, if an E-Grade Dao Fruit of the Fist showed up, how much would he be willing to spend to get it?

Hmm.

Nobody dared bid against Dorman anymore, so the fruit was sold for a million credits. Vocrich had a wide smile—but then again, that was always the case.

As time passed, more items were brought to the stage. There was an E-Grade bodyguard robot similar to the dog guards—bought by someone in the crowd—a meditation mat similar to the ones in the participant lodgings—also bought by Dorman—as well as several high-grade Dao Weapons.

Dao Weapons were split in tiers. The cheapest ones could go for as low as ten thousand credits, but if you wanted something good, you had to spend upwards of a hundred thousand. Edgar had bought his staff for three hundred thousand credits.

High-grade weapons had several advantages over weaker ones. They were sharper, lighter, harder, more durable, and most importantly, could channel the user’s Dao with less resistance.

The weapons presented in the auction were all of the highest caliber. They weren’t suited for everyone—after all, they were already made and so aligned with a single Dao—but to the people that used that Dao, they were priceless treasures. Fierce bidding wars occurred for each and every one of them, with the winning prices ranging from two hundred thousand for a long-barreled handgun to five hundred thousand for a pitch-black wooden staff that, according to Vocrich, weighed a thousand pounds.

Brother Tao got that one, and though it seemed to strain him, he could lift it. With some practice—and some strength-oriented level-ups—he would also use it in battle.

Vanderdecken also got a Dao weapon. It was a simple chain attuned to the Dao of Metal and it only cost him three hundred thousand. “Alright!” he shouted out, laughing.

The rest were bought by people in the audience.

So far, Jack hadn’t bid once, and he wasn’t the only one. Of the scions, only Gan Salin had made a bid, and he hadn’t even won. The Ice Peak and Flame River also hadn’t participated yet.

“The next item is an ancient spear containing hints of the Dao of Space,” Vocrich said, voice getting serious. “Though it cannot be used as a weapon, meditating on it and examining its properties could give a cultivator great insight into space. The starting price is five hundred thousand credits.”

Whispers spread across the audience.

“Five hundred thousand!” someone called out from below, only to be quickly rebuffed.

“Six hundred!”

“Seven hundred!”

“Eight hundred thousand!” Elena Richter, the second finalist of Ice Peak, called out.

“One million!” the eagle-like scion called out. His name was Fesh Wui, and he used the Dao of the Wind.

“One million two hundred!” Vivi called out, drawing surprised glances. Jack thought she was trying to make the scions pay higher, but it was unnecessary. They could do that themselves.

“One million five hundred!” Shard Presht announced, staring at the eagler, who only snorted.

“You cannot outbid me, Presht,” he said in a high-pitched, sharp voice. “One million six hundred.”

“One million seven hundred,” the sharkman retorted.

“One million eight hundred.”

Shard Presht frowned. He looked at Rufus Emberheart, who still had his eyes closed and paid him no heed. Finally, Presht snorted. “Fine,” he said. “If you want to go crazy, I won’t join you. You can have it.”

Vocrich didn’t push much. This was already a high price. “One million eight hundred by the fascinating Fesh Wui. Anyone else?” he said, then a beat later, “Congratulations, Fesh Wui!”

“Was it really worth that much?” Jack asked Edgar.

“Probably,” Edgar replied. “The Dao of Space is very strong. If your Dao is compatible, a Dao Root of Space could increase your battle prowess tremendously. I don’t know how helpful this spear can be, but I wager it would have been ten times more expensive in the wider market.”

“Hmm.” Jack frowned. “Why would the Hand of God invest so much in this auction? They’re clearly taking a loss.”

“How am I supposed to know? Maybe these things are gifts to the scions of the Animal Kingdom, like the tournament rewards, or maybe everyone’s performance in the tournament has been great. Or, you know, maybe they just have tremendous budget. Integrations don’t happen often.”

Jack nodded.

“Man, I want to bid for something too…” he said. The auction was pretty exciting.

After selling the spear, Vocrich didn’t slow down. He kept the bangers coming.

“The next item is extremely precious,” he said, drawing everyone’s attention. “It was discovered in the desolate wastes of Poltergeist, a planet that follows a highly elliptical trajectory. Most of its rotation is in the outer reaches of its solar system, but for fifty-one galactic days every year, it passes very close to its star. As a result, the planet’s surface alternates between extreme cold and extreme heat, and anything that grows on that planet is a treasure for both Daos.”

Vivi and Alexander Petrovic stared at each other. A vampire assistant walked on stage, carrying what looked like a cabbage from afar, except its base was made of white leaves and the rest of fiery red ones. The vampire wore thick gloves, and she carried the item on a black plate. She didn’t leave it on the table; instead, she held onto it.

“The lotus of fire and ice!” Vocrich declared. “Holding both extremes at once, this lotus flower can greatly help the users of both Daos. The starting price is one million credits.”

Jack raised both his brows. This was a sky-high price.

“I offer one million two hundred,” Alexander Petrovic said.

“One million five hundred,” Vivi replied quickly.

“One million seven hundred.”

“Two million.”

The price instantly climbed to incredible heights. Except for the two major factions, nobody dared bid now. Of the people on the balconies, nobody else used suitable Daos, either—but Vivi and Alexander both understood that this fruit might well be the turning point in their future clash.

Alexander glanced at Elena Richter. “Two million two hundred,” he declared.

“Two million four hundred.”

“Two million five hundred.”

Vivi frowned, too. She looked at Sadaka, who nodded. “Two million seven hundred!” she announced.

By now, Jack was beginning to feel poor. He had tried his best to gather credits and thought himself rich, but these guys were all richer than him.

It makes sense, he skulked. They had more people, so more chances to gather credits…but still…

I hope the Sage didn’t get the number wrong… He only told me to gather two million.

Alexander Petrovic lowered his brows and didn’t bid immediately. It looked like two million seven hundred was already his ceiling, even when utilizing the funds of the entire Ice Peak.

Vivi adopted a victorious look.

Out of options, Alexander turned to Rufus Emberheart, who still sat there calmly with his eyes closed.

“Sir…” Alexander said. Rufus opened his eyes. His supreme gaze stared deep into Alexander’s soul as if conquering it.

“Very well. I will assist. Three million,” Rufus declared. The auction fell silent.

Vivi’s face darkened further. She looked at Jack, who raised both brows. Shit! We’re doing this too?

Her stare remained. A moment later, he gritted his teeth and nodded. They were in an alliance; he couldn’t just let Vivi get her ass handed to her. He just hoped she wouldn’t go too far.

Her eyes showed her gratitude. She looked at Rufus.

“Three million two hundred,” she said.

“Four million,” Rufus said calmly as if it meant nothing.

He didn’t have to raise the price that high. He just did it because he could, and because he followed the Dao of Supremacy.

Jack held his breath. Assuming Vivi only had close to three million herself, if she announced a higher price, she would be cutting deep into his budget. He needed that.

However, she knew the limit. She wouldn’t go too far on her allies’ money. She gazed at the Sage, who only shook his head.

She retreated back into her chair and did not speak.

“Four million by the unfathomable Rufus Emberheart,” Vocrich said. “Is there a higher price?”

Nobody spoke. Probably, nobody else had that much, either.

“Sold! Congratulations, Rufus Emberheart.”

The lion man nodded and didn’t speak. Alexander stood up and disappeared into the corridor, soon arriving at Rufus’s balcony and standing there obediently—there were no more chairs. He took out his credit card and passed his money to the lion-man. When the vampire assistant showed up, Rufus paid her, received the lotus, then gave it to Alexander.

“Do not disappoint me,” he said.

“I swear I won’t, sir,” Alexander replied, bowing deeply.

They had just made a point to the entire human race of Earth-387. Rufus had shown that he treated his underlings well. And Alexander had shown that the best of humanity was inferior to the scions of the Animal Kingdom.

Alexander Petrovic returned to his seat under many heavy glares. The auction continued. It had been going on for an hour already, and the final items were rapidly approaching. As they did, the quality shot up, too.

The other scions were participating, now. Two Dao armors came on stage, one after the other. They were human-shaped, elastic pieces of knight-like metal armor that could hug tightly the wearer’s body, providing excellent protection even against the E-Grade. Against attacks in the F-Grade, they were almost impenetrable.

Both sets of armor included everything from helmets to boots, and they both incited fierce bidding wars. Gan Salin and Shard Presht were the ones who won, each paying slightly over a million credits.

Then came a green orb glowing with soothing light.