Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

The dirt islands looked like they stretched infinitely. They didn’t. At a certain point, the ambient energy changed. No longer was it uniform across all Daos—it now contained heavy elements of earth, dirt, and rock. The air smelled of wet soil. The darkness thinned.

“We’re approaching the core of this area,” Owlhead warned everyone. “Keep your guard up. Disciples, fall back.”

The disciples obeyed, and so did Jack. While he could stand side-by-side with the two middle A-Grade Elders, he didn’t want to reveal his power yet. The more cards in his sleeve, the better.

As the eighteen disciples of both factions slowed down, the Elders advanced. There were four early A-Grades besides Owlhead and Shadowhound. The Great Silver faction had sent a female double devil and a brown blob of…mud? As for the Fiend King faction, they’d sent a pair of devils, one tall and imposing and the other short and chubby.

All together, they made a formidable force. They delved deep into the dark mist and disappeared.

Jack clicked his tongue. He didn’t want to reveal his strength, but he wanted to see what was going on!

“Let’s approach,” he told Strawpin and Fiend Prince. “I want to see.”

“No, it’s dangerous,” Strawpin replied.

“You’re goddamn right!” Fiend Prince said, laughing. “What are we, cowards? Onward!”

He shot forth, followed by his faction’s disciples and a grinning Jack. Brock and Starhair came a moment later, while Strawpin, grumbling, took her faction disciples and advanced as well.

The darkness parted before them. Everyone scanned the space ahead with their perceptions, not their eyes, which gave Jack a definitive advantage. He saw it before anyone else. A massive, ten-mile-wide dirt island. It was so packed with dirt that it constantly poured off the sides, some sticking to the island and slowly but surely expanding it.

Jack wondered what created this overabundance of dirt, and he didn’t have to look far to figure it out. A golden lotus bloomed in the middle of the island. Its energy undulations were staggering. Endless waves of golden brown energy, spreading as far as met the eye, invading the darkness and maintaining a stalemate with it. This energy was so potent that parts of it spontaneously materialized as dirt, overfilling the island and enhancing the elemental aura of this place.

Jack scanned the environment again. The area had smelled faintly of dirt and earth, of moist soil, but the lotus itself contained something more. Holiness. Divinity. It was like the Goddess of Earth herself had descended on this place, creating a land so irreproachable that even the energies of the Dark Canal had to give way.

Strawpin gasped. “Golden Earth Lotus!” she exclaimed, her voice filled with awe. “An Overlord-level treasure!”

Jack looked around. Every disciple’s gaze was tainted with greed, as well as helplessness. They knew this was not their stage. With all the Elders present, it would never be their turn to even touch it. Jack himself wasn’t too interested—as high-level as this lotus was, he cultivated neither earth nor divinity.

A moment later, however, he realized he’d forgotten something. He was extremely interested in this treasure, because he knew someone who cultivated those exact elements! Jack swished around to look at Brock.

The brorilla was transfixed. His hands were closing and opening, reaching for a staff that was not there. His breaths came deep and rugged.

Jack thought back to Brock’s Dao. The brohood he cultivated was a form of religious divinity, one of the elements exuded by the lotus. Additionally, he was a beast cultivator who used the staff—many of his battle tactics and early techniques revolved around the earth.

Brock was a perfect match for this treasure, and Jack instantly resolved to help him get it. He had been the one to benefit most from their various travels—helping out his brother was long overdue.

“We’re getting that,” he told Starhair, then turned a calculating gaze towards the treasure. While he’d been blinded by the lotus, there was more in sight.

The Elders floated a little ahead, too absorbed by the treasure to care about the disciples disobeying orders. Their energies were in disarray. They, of everyone present, understood how precious an Overlord treasure was. Every single one of them was steeped in greed, including Owlhead and Shadowhound, the two middle A-Grade leaders. Their previous harmony was all but gone. Jack even thought they’d start fighting immediately.

When cultivators ran into treasure, it wasn’t uncommon for a fight to the death to occur. It was one of the cultivation world’s unspoken laws, and it was doubly the case for the aggressive space monsters. Friendships broke down before riches. For a treasure of this grade, everything was fair play—backstabbing, treachery, underhanded tricks. Everyone was instantly on guard against everyone else.

“...How do we handle this?” Owlhead asked, the first to speak.

“I want this treasure, and I’ll fight you for it,” Shadowhound said. “However… Let’s not be hasty. The dirt island area was so widespread that there’s no way it went unnoticed. Since the native monsters aren’t swarming here, there is only one explanation—something very dangerous guards this treasure.”

“I agree,” Owlhead replied. “I can’t sense anything. It’s either underwater or perfectly harmonized with the lotus’s energy signature.”

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“It hasn’t reacted to us yet. It can’t sense us. That’s good, it means we have time to plan.”

“Uh, excuse me,” Strawpin said, interrupting the two Elders’ tense conversation. They turned stern gazes at her. She pressed on regardless. “I thought the goal was to take us to the Hall of Trials… Since this place looks dangerous, could you escort us there first and then return to fight for the lotus?” ℞𝒶ℕỒ𝐁Ё𝙨

Shadowhound snorted. “Shut up, disciple.”

“We’ve been assigned as your caretakers, but that doesn’t mean we’ll waste a great opportunity for you,” Owlhead added. “Running into this lotus was fate. We will pursue it. Frankly speaking, it’s worth more to either faction than a mere handful of disciples…and, there are also some things you don’t know. In any case, you disciples can stay back and wait or move out on your own. Just don’t bother us.”

With that, both Elders turned to the front, speaking amongst each other to formulate a plan. Strawpin’s eyes flashed dangerously, but she held her tongue.

Fiend Prince laughed. “We can only blame our own weakness. I will wait farther away. If things go wrong, I’ll take the rest of my faction’s disciples and try to reach the Hall of Trials anyway.”

“Same,” Strawpin said, still boiling with anger.

Jack didn’t say anything. He kept his gaze on the six Elders—two middle and four early A-Grades—as well as the dirt island housing the golden earth lotus.

“What about you, Jack Monstrous?” Fiend Prince asked. “What will you do?”

“I think I’ll stay and watch,” Jack replied. “I’m not one to miss a good show.”

Fiend Prince and Strawpin exchanged a glance. Nobody reached their level without decent intuition.

“Then I’ll stay as well,” Strawpin decided.

“Me too,” Fiend Prince agreed. The other disciples remained as well, not wanting to be far from the head disciples.

Jack didn’t particularly care about them. No matter what happened, they wouldn’t be able to compete with him. His true opponents here were the Elders, especially Owlhead and Shadowhound, as well as the mysterious monster guarding the lotus. To acquire it, he’d need to get through them all—a needle-sharp path.

He favored his chances, however, because he possessed the greatest weapon of all—the element of surprise.

He turned his attention back to the Elders, who were treating all disciples as if made of air.

“We need information to formulate a plan,” Owlhead said.

Shadowhound nodded. “Agreed. You four—draw lots. The loser goes to scout.”

The other six Elders jumped and looked at each other with terror. They were only early A-Grades—going near the den of whatever guarded this place meant almost certain death.

“Don’t think of deserting,” Owlhead warned them. “This is your duty to the Space Monster World. Now… Draw!”

With a swish of his hand, four straws materialized inside it, only their top ends visible. They seemed identical. The four Elders hesitated, then one by one drew their straws. The loser was the third one—a short and chubby devil of the Fiend King faction, gazing with horror at the short stick in its hand.

“Were you really impartial?” Shadowhound asked. “Those straws were made of your Dao. Who is to tell us you didn’t just give the short stick to whoever you wanted?”

“I swear it was fair. Do you have a better way of drawing lots? Besides, I think most of our fellow Elders would agree.”

Shadowhound glanced behind him. Of his two Elders, the one who’d drew the short stick exclaimed this was clearly cheating. The other one, however, only stood there silently. He didn’t care whether the lots were rigged or not—he was safe right now, while any repeat would put him at risk.

Seeing that Elder’s reaction, Shadowhound tsked. “Fine. You win this one. Shortplum: go and pluck that lotus.”

“I…” The short Elder hesitated.

“If you go, you may survive. If you don’t, I promise you’ll die a most horrible death,” Shadowhound threatened, his eyes shining redder under the shadows.

“...Fine. I’ll go.”

The short and chubby devil took a deep breath, then distanced himself as he flew forth. Every eye was trained on him, including Jack’s—the other disciples couldn’t see all the way to the lotus. Silence reigned.

The short devil Elder advanced carefully. She moved at a slow pace, repeatedly scanning her environment for any threats. Her job was only to scout. The moment she sensed anything amiss, she would retreat immediately.

Even as she flew halfway over the island, however, nothing happened. Could I be so lucky? the devil wondered. Could there be no monster? Or maybe it’s absent right now. If I do pluck the lotus… Could I run away and actually keep it!?

Greed flashed in her eyes. Of course, she was an experienced Autarch—she’d never drop her guard. That’s how she saw the strike coming.

The dirt below her moved imperceptibly as if blown by a gentle breeze. The devil shot backward, but it was too late—a massive hand of dirt appeared, phasing out of thin air. It grabbed at Elder Shortplum. Despite the strike’s slow movement, the Elder seemed completely helpless to dodge it. As the massive hand wrapped around her, she shrieked.

“Elder Shadowhound, save me!”

Her plight fell on deaf ears. Nobody came to her rescue. Within moments, the hand crushed her body, and all moisture left her, leaving her a broken, dry husk. Her body dissipated a moment later, becoming nothing but dirt which fell to the ground. The hand retreated towards the lotus, disappearing through the air like it was never there.

“A dirt monster,” Owlhead commented, watching from afar. “Maybe an earth elemental?”

“Probably. But, its power… It was at least a late Autarch. Maybe close to a peak one,” Shadowhound intoned. He licked his lips, a crimson tongue passing over shadows. “I think we can take it.”

“Right. We have the weapons the Overlords gave us. Even if it’s a peak Autarch, we can struggle with it—and, if we lose, we might be able to escape. It relies on the dirt below, so its power will be greatly diminished outside its domain. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t attacked us yet.”

“Right. It doesn’t perceive us as threats.”

“But it should.”

“Hehe. We’ll show it.”

Avarice played on the eyes of both Owlhead and Shadowhound. As for the rest of the Elders, their greed had slowly morphed into fear. They’d realized that, at this point, they were just expendable pawns. The chances of them getting the treasure were minimal, but their risk was immense. Unfortunately, the two leaders wouldn’t let them leave even if they wanted to.

Jack shook his head. These people had just sent an Elder to sacrifice herself as a scout, and they hadn’t even batted an eye at her death. Not one consoling word. They were so ruthless it was scary…

But, again, this was the cultivation world. There was no compassion, only benefits.

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