Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

The head judge jumped to the air quickly, trying to announce the next fight, but she was swarmed by the audience’s shouts. “Fuck you, Rufus Emberheart!” still echoed across the Integration City.

She didn’t stop trying to calm the crowds, probably too afraid of what would happen to her if she let this continue, but she was helpless.

It took a few minutes for things to calm down.

The Sage turned to Jack with an amused smile, panting slightly. He had been shouting as fervently as everyone else. “That was unwise,” he commented, still smiling.

“But fucking deserved.”

“But deserved, indeed. It is beautiful to see the entire planet unite against injustice—even if it’s just to curse out loud.”

“Nothing brings people together like common enemies.” Jack laughed. “Man, I really hope I can kick that guy’s ass.”

“It’s not impossible. Just highly improbable,” the Sage replied, smiling with yellow teeth, and Jack laughed again. He then turned to Vivi.

“Good luck,” he said. “Show that ass-kisser how hot you are.”

She rolled her eyes with a smile. “Thanks,” she replied. All four other members of Flame River shot him dark looks.

Jeez, those guys are like her little brothers, he thought. They’ll become good friends with Brock.

The brorilla had participated in the chanting, unable to form words but joining in the fun nonetheless. After all, what Rufus had done was very un-bro-like.

He must have been steaming like mad behind his curtain.

“If you find the opportunity, can you toss the Russian into the curtain?” Jack asked Vivi. “I want to see Rufus’s face after this fiasco.”

“Me too… But you know, Jack, I don’t toss people around.” She winked, a flame flashing in her open palm. “I burn them.”

She then closed her hand and jumped into the arena, landing in a thin cloud of sand. Alexander Petrovic was already there, waiting.

“Took you long enough,” he said in a thick Russian accent. “I saw you chanting. It was deeply disgraceful.”

“Heh. I see you know where you stand, Petrovic. No wonder you couldn’t find allies here; your tongue was busy between that guy’s hairy buttcheeks.”

He frowned. “Such a vulgar mouth… It doesn’t matter. The Ice Peak bows to no one. Prepare to die.”

He really would kill her if given the chance. They were enemies. His only punishment would be disqualification, and with Rufus Emberheart here, he never intended to win the tournament, anyway.

The temperature dropped sharply. Alexander Petrovic unleashed his power, conjuring ice around his hands. Vivi’s entire body caught on fire like a torch. The temperature around her climbed, and hot air clashed with cold one in the middle of the arena, forming strong winds and making the air wave.

The people sitting behind Alexander hurried to put on coats. Those behind Vivi hurried to take them off.

Both of them attacked at the same time.

Embers appeared around Vivi, quickly flourishing into a million tiny flames that combined into a torrential river. The air froze where Alexander’s ice gauntlets touched it, quickly spreading like a giant snowflake or a spider’s net that shone with radiant white and blue light.

Vivi pushed her hands forward. The river frothed as it flowed, quickly expanding. She wasn’t making three rivers this time, just a large one. From the spectator stands, it looked like the floodgates of Hell had opened wide, letting flame water pour out like a broken dam.

The flames burned and the river flowed, but there was no antithesis between them. To be fluid and ever-moving while maintaining a strong, burning heart: that was the path of the Flame River.

Suddenly, the arena seemed cramped. Vivi and Alexander were two dots in a raging sea as the flames expanded to cover the sand, splashing against the arena walls like waves. Alexander watched this happen, then crossed his arms. The ice retreated and formed a sphere around him, shielding him in a transparent, clear dome.

Vivi’s flames struck the dome and parted. They reached the far wall and freely splattered about, filling up the entire sand-covered arena like a bathtub. The temperature rose greatly, and only the protective energy wall that capped the stage protected the audience, cutting off some of the heat.

Alexander’s ice was a lone island in a sea of fire, but it held. No matter how fiercely the flames circled it, no matter how much the ice steamed and evaporated, he created more. In fact, where the ice and flames met, the flames got doused more than the ice melted. The dome had also become opaque at some point.

His Dao is stronger, Jack realized with a grimace. It’s that fire ice lotus, whatever it was called. Fuck.

Rufus had helped Alexander outbid Vivi in the auction. With the lotus of fire and ice, Alexander’s Dao was able to progress faster, surpassing Vivi’s.

Which brought up some questions in Jack’s mind. He had been under the impression that Dao Roots were all at the same level. Was that not the case?

“Hey, Edgar,” he asked, leaning towards the mage, “can Dao Roots become stronger without advancing to a Dao Seed?”

“Hmm?” Edgar glanced over before turning his gaze back to the arena. “They can,” he responded, “but not by much. Dao Seeds are the ones that have multiple stages of advancement. Dao Roots can grow, too, but not enough to warrant distinction. Alexander’s Dao Root is just closer to evolving, that’s all.”

“I see,” Jack replied. Their faces were illuminated by red light as the flames still struggled to suffocate the ice in their midst. “Who do you think will win?” he whispered.

Edgar bit his lip. “I don’t know, man… I really hope it’s Vivi, but the Ice Peak is no joke. I’ve heard they were some secret service that went rogue during the Integration. They tore through a dungeon by pure skill.”

Jack turned his gaze back to the arena. He watched closely. This battle wasn’t just about the tournament; the power dynamic between these two factions would define the future of the entire planet.

Alexander’s dome was glistening with melted ice, but the sea of flames was also abating. Vivi couldn’t keep it up forever. Suddenly, Alexander struck out. The dome shone, repairing and enhancing itself as thick spears of ice extended in every direction, infiltrating the flames. They were constantly melting, but their growth speed was greater, and more spears jutted out from the existing ones, jumping in every direction.

The flames fought them at every step, but the ice spears were quickly forming into what resembled a giant snowflake, its every stroke a foot thick. Alexander was reclaiming territory.

Vivi must have judged the exchange to be losing, because the flames suddenly retreated. No, they didn’t just retreat; they swirled around her like she was the exit of a giant, water-filled bathtub. For a few moments, she was completely shrouded in flame. It merged into her form, disappearing down some bottomless pit as Vivi was gradually revealed again.

She was on fire. Flames danced up and down her body, covering her head like an open helmet and her clothes like a suit of living armor. Moreover, two large, fiery wings spread from her back, and she held a whip of blue flames in one hand.

Vivi had become a fire valkyrie.

The audience erupted in cheers. Jack could only stare wide-eyed.

“That’s a Dao Skill!” Edgar cried out. “And that’s my Fierus Whipus!”

Beside them, Sadaka stuck out his chest. “That’s Vivi’s newest skill: Flame Form! That Alexander is toast now!”

“That’s unfair!” Jack shouted. “Why does she get to be so cool but I can only punch harder!?”

“Your Dao Skill is pretty cool, too...unlike mine.” Edgar scratched the back of his head, then shrugged. “But I like it anyway.”

Vivi’s wings flapped as she took to the air. A piercing snapping sound echoed as her whip crashed into the dome, carving a deep, molten line on it. The strike had penetrated at least a foot deep, but it seemed that below was only solid ice, like Alexander was encased in a glacier.

Vivi’s whip screamed through the air as she rained blows on the dome, but the defense was solid. Digging through would take time. She stopped attacking with a frown.

“Alexander Petrovic!” she shouted out loud. “For how long will you keep hiding in your egg? Come out and face me!”

“Huh?” Jack wondered. “Egg?”

“Egg!” Edgar’s eyes shone. “She’s right! That’s not a dome, it’s an egg! I mean, it’s dome-shaped, and it’s more like a cocoon—”

“Get to the point, Edgar!”

Before he could reply, the sound of roaring laughter filled the arena.

“How perceptive of you, Miss Eragorn. Very well. I will entertain you.”

Cracks spread over the ice until, with a violent snap, the entire dome exploded. Shrapnel rained everywhere. Vivi whipped them out of the air—she seemed proficient with her weapon.

When the white dust cleared, Alexander could be seen in full. Two massive, dragon-like ice wings spread from his back, though smaller than Vivi’s. He didn’t wear armor; instead, the ice covered both his arms from hand to shoulder, and each held a sharp, freezing sword. His legs were covered in ice too, up to the knee.

More importantly, a long, sharp-tipped tail stretched behind him.

“Why are they similar?” Jack asked, looking between the two fighters. “Is it a coincidence?”

“I think so,” Edgar replied. “Man, what luck.”

Vivi laughed warmly. “Hah. Great minds think alike.”

“Not quite,” Alexander replied frigidly. “I know what I’m doing. You are just a girl out of your depth.”

“We’ll see about that.” She grinned with battlelust, snapping her whip in the air. “Come, Petrovic. Let me rid the world of your ass-kissing blight.”

She, too, would kill him if given the chance. Neither of the two was playing around.

Alexander’s wings flapped as he took to the air, darting at her with great speed. Though made of ice, his wings moved dexterously, like real ones. Then again, Vivi’s were made of fire, and they worked just fine.

The whip struck out, its tip carving shiny blue lines in the sky. Alexander’s swords danced impossibly fast as he blocked and redirected the strikes, showcasing extreme skill. Using swords against a whip wasn’t easy, but he made it work.

Their wings flapped as they embarked on an aerial battle. Vivi was darting around and Alexander was chasing her, defending all the while. Their speed made the arena seem small again.

Unfortunately, space was limited. Alexander caught up. His swords shone with cold light. Every swing froze the air, and his wings left ice where they passed. Vivi’s whip was less effective at this range. It melted and formed into large talons that covered her forearms and extended a foot beyond her fingers. She met Alexander in a frontal collision.

Both used twin weapons. Every clash sent sparks flying, and the air shimmered. Small explosions sounded out of nowhere from the wide and rapid temperature shifts.

However, Vivi was retreating. Her Dao was slightly weaker, she was less optimized for close combat, and she was also less proficient with her weapons than Alexander was with his. She could hold her own, but not for long. She reached the ground.

Jack could sense the conclusion looming closer. He didn’t dare blink. Everything was happening so fast that most people only saw flashes of light.

Alexander lunged into an attack, and Vivi’s entire body flared. The hyper-condensed flames erupted with their full power for a single moment. She opened her mouth, and all that heat was condensed into a single, sun-like point between her teeth. Orange flames poured out of her throat, as hot as she could make them, merged with that sun-like point, and shot out of her mouth with the full force of a raging river. Her entire body shook from the pushback.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Alexander saw her flames coalescing but resumed his attack, stabbing one of his swords deep into her side and leaving it there before flying back at top speed. Seeing the torrent of flames coming at his face, he crossed his wings before himself like a shield.

Vivi’s dragon breath fell on Alexander at full-force. His wings sizzled as they burned away. A scream filled the air as he struggled to repair them, hoping he could endure the onslaught. He was like a rock splitting a river, and orange glow came from where his wings met the flames.

Vivi ran out of steam first. Her dragon breath lessened, then dried up, and she was left panting and weak. Her wings and armor had disappeared as all flames she could muster had gone into the breath attack. The sword at her side had evaporated, but the grisly wound was still there, and she was bleeding profusely. It had struck a lung.

Opposite her, Alexander still stood. His once-majestic wings were now only a skeleton, and their membranes were paper-thin and transparent, but he had pulled through. Though his exposed back had received deep burns from the sheer temperature, and his tail had evaporated into a small stump, these weren’t enough to stop him.

Vivi took in the sight of her opponent still standing. She showed a heavily disappointed look for a moment before opening her mouth to resign…and only incoherent sounds came out!

After all, one of her lungs had been pierced!