Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 105: Overpowered

Jack smashed his fist into Rufus’s paw, then flickered to the side and ducked under a backhand swipe. The leonine stood in place, tall and proud, unleashing hits like an avalanche. He was a force of nature.

Jack met him hit for hit, but he was slowly pushed back. He was losing.

And he still had to get out of this fucking arena. But he didn’t want to run. That would be like retreating. And what kind of fist would retreat from a frontal, winnable fight?

Maybe he should go all-in, instead. Crush Rufus with an iron fist.

No, he stopped himself. This was the Dao talking, but he was in control. I must get out of here. I must protect Edgar.

When their fists clashed again and Jack was pushed back, he turned a set of angry eyes at Rufus. “Fine!” he said. “Have it your way. Fist Radiance!”

He crossed his arms while jumping backward, landing on the arena lip. Rufus snorted with amusement and prepared himself. “Are we finally going all-out?” he shouted. “Perfect! I will block your ultimate attack with my— Hmm?”

Jack had jumped backward on the arena lip as if about to unleash a long-range attack, but he just kept jumping. Before Rufus had finished his words, Jack had reached the top of the stands. He then turned around and leaped atop the arena. The tall white tower framed his retreating back.

Rufus’s eyes widened with anger. “Get back here!” he ordered. Jack flipped him off, then jumped outside the arena.

He fell through the air. Suddenly, free-falling seemed slow, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. Stone statues three times his height passed by him, each intricately carved and carrying a wide array of weapons. Some held spears, others hammers, sickles, knives, glaives, bows, whips… Practically everything could be found on these statues.

They were all kinds of species, too. Some were animal-shaped warriors, like the scions of the Animal Kingdom, but many were humans, and there were also a bunch he hadn’t seen before. There were also many empty grooves, where statues had yet to be added.

These were the previous winners of the Animal Kingdom’s Integration Tournaments. Now, Jack would get his statue as well—unless the arena crumbled, of course. Or unless they simply didn’t make him one. It was a tribute of honor, and he was an enemy.

He landed on the street, ignored the panicking crowd, and jumped on a rooftop. He landed an inch before a dog guardian. He froze; he had forgotten that they hid on rooftops. The guardian looked straight into his eyes, red dots flaring behind its sunglasses, but it didn’t move.

Jack got over his surprise and moved on. He was now stronger than one of these guardians, anyway. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, heading deeper into the town.

He wasn’t just trying to draw Rufus away from Edgar. He had to escape through the teleporter as quickly as he could, or there was no telling what weapons the Animal Kingdom would unleash. He had to take care of Rufus first, of course, or he would turn back and massacre everyone.

He caught sight of the plaza he was heading for. It was large and empty, usually saved for a bazaar that was now getting packed up as fast as the E-Grade merchants could manage. Jack caught himself on the television screens that lined the streets. His fight was still being broadcasted, and the invisible cameras followed him even here, outside the arena.

For most people, it was their first time seeing the Integration City.

He landed in the plaza. It was lined with tiles of white marble, and it was square with a length of at least a hundred feet in every direction. At the back of the plaza stood a building shaped like a chimney-topped furnace, with a closed wooden door blocking its entrance and no windows.

It was the teleporter leading out of here. To the galaxy. Having it operate was part of the Star Pact, so even the planetary overseer couldn’t deactivate it without reason.

The last of the merchants were packing up and running away, none sparing Jack a glance. The dog guardians, however, did. They arranged themselves around the plaza, not stepping in, but ready to intervene if anyone overstepped a line. They were allowed to fight each other, but not to attack the merchants or damage the buildings beyond a reasonable degree.

The moment Jack landed, he turned to look backward. He didn’t see Rufus. Even when he looked at the arena’s top, he still failed to spot anyone.

The arena was a third of a mile away. No matter how fast Jack was, Rufus should have at least scaled the arena by now. Where was he?

Suddenly, Jack felt like an idiot. He had assumed that Rufus would follow because of his pride, his need to act in the most supreme way…but what if he didn’t? What if he wasn’t as prideful as Jack had imagined, or if his pride worked in a different way, and he chose to slaughter everyone in the arena instead?

Jack looked at the screens around the plaza, seeing himself alone and lost, surrounded by dog guardians in the distance. Suddenly, the screens cut to Rufus, who thankfully didn’t seem to be in the arena. The camera looked at him from below, with the blue sky as a backdrop. He had his hands in the air, his legs bent, his face hardened, and he seemed to be fall—

Jack Ghost Stepped away right as Rufus landed on his previous location. The marble under their feet was much harder than the arena’s stone, but even it cracked under the impact. Rufus looked unhurt.

He unraveled himself, standing straight. Jack frowned. Something was different.

The leonine’s golden mane was raised like he had been electrocuted. He carried an air of power around him. Most importantly, he was surrounded by a faint blue and yellow aura.

Jack gaped. He had seen something similar before, but it couldn’t possibly be…

“Disgraceful,” Rufus spat out. “You cannot escape, Jack Rust. You have insulted a king, and you will pay for it. However, in recognition of your strength, and to honor the people of Integration City, I will fight you at my strongest.”

Jack was still gaping.

“Prepare to face my King Form,” Rufus declared. Suddenly, the winds picked up. His aura towered to the sky. Rufus lowered his head and growled, a fierce, drawn-out lion roar that echoed throughout the Integration City and gradually picked up in volume. He seemed filled with absolute rage as he shouted at the top of his lungs. The surrounding merchants hurried to get away, and Jack could only watch as Rufus’s power climbed unendingly. His aura was so strong that it tore a nearby piece of paper with the number nine thousand on it—probably the price of something in the bazaar.

His golden mane had somehow gotten longer. Sparks flew inside the blue and yellow aura around him. When he stopped shouting, he raised his head, and even his blue eyes had turned yellow.

Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “What King Form?” he shouted. “That’s a Super Sai—”

Rufus’s knee met his abdomen. He flew back like a rocket and crashed into a building, demolishing it in the blink of an eye. The dog guards around the square got restless, but they did not move.

“Stand up,” Rufus said. “I know that wasn’t enough to kill you.”

Jack crawled out of the debris, then forced himself to stand. He was hurt. That knee had come with tremendous force. Most importantly, Rufus had just powered up, and Jack… Jack had nothing of the sort.

“What’s the matter?” Rufus asked, raising his chin. “Didn’t you want to fight me? I’m right here. Waiting for you.”

Jack spat on the ground. This was unfair. He had done everything correctly. He had gotten stronger than anyone ever expected. He had been able to face Rufus, even if slightly on the back foot…but now Rufus had more cards up his sleeve.

How the hell am I supposed to win!? Jack asked himself, heart burning with rage. He clenched his fists. This was clearly impossible.

He looked around. The dog guardians, the merchants, the screens where this fight was televised, the teleporter…

If he escaped, he would be fine, and so would his faction…but all his allies here would die. Rufus would slaughter them.

Edgar, the Flame River, Dorman, the Sage, even Vanderdecken and Brother Tao.

But there were ways. If he gave them enough time, maybe they could use the Sage’s starship to escape and hide at the Forest of the Strong, where Sparman would protect them. He was a D-Grade bodyguard now, and Rufus had just broken through to the E-Grade. They would earn some time. Maybe they could break through themselves, or maybe Jack would return stronger…

But those were empty hopes.

The war would end before it even started, overwhelmed by Rufus’s impossible strength. They would be trapped like mice, simply delaying the inevitable. The Animal Kingdom would have achieved its goal, televising their scions’ victory over the entire planet while the strongest human turned tail and ran for his life, leaving them all to die.

And Rufus would be the king.

Jack didn’t want that. He desperately yearned to raise his fists and fight to the death, like a fist.

But he had a responsibility to his people. He was shacked. If he fell, they would all inevitably die. If he escaped…then, though his Dao would inevitably be damaged, there would still be hope. Perhaps he could find a way to save them in the future.

His Dao Seed screamed in protest. It had become one with his body, one with his soul, and this was not what he had promised it. He felt its pain deep inside him. He shared it.

But he was in control. He wielded his fist, and he chose how to use it.

Jack eyed the teleporter, then turned back to Rufus, who stood between them. If he wanted to escape, he had to be smart about it. He raised his fists.

“Fine,” he said bravely. “Let’s see if your paws or my face will break first.”

Rufus laughed. “Who are you trying to trick, human? I can sense the turmoil in your Dao. You are planning to run.” Jack’s face darkened. “Unfortunately, that is impossible. I stand in your way, and I am inevitable. You can try to escape, if you want; I’ll show you the futility of your efforts.”

Jack believed him, but what choice did he have? He charged, Ghost Stepped into Rufus’s guard, then shot out a Meteor Punch. Rufus blocked it with his forearm. The impact rolled around him, split like a river by a rock. Rufus grinned. Jack despaired.

But he still fought. His fists flew out. He used all his skills in tandem to rain blows on Rufus, who blocked and dodged everything. Eventually, Rufus struck back, sending Jack flying into the rubble of the same building he’d crashed into before.

Jack stood again, bleeding from his forehead.

This is unfair.

He charged again, roaring his defiance. Punches fell like hail, but Rufus took them all in stride, laughing.

In truth, his King Form skill hadn’t increased his powers by too much. It was a noticeable increase, but not a world-shaking one. The problem was that Rufus had already been slightly stronger than Jack before. Now, he was clearly superior—just as his Dao indicated.

Jack roared as he tore into the fight. His bitterness fueled him. The world had set him up with an impossible fight. He had surpassed all expectations, and he still couldn’t win. It was unfair.

But he resolved to give Rufus at least one good hit. Maybe then, he could escape.

This time, there was no Edgar to distract him. He embraced his Dao and gave everything to the fight. He got sharper. His Dao Root of Indomitable Will squeezed his brain dry, pouring everything into this moment. This was Jack at his absolute best.

Rufus punched out with a paw, and Jack dodged out of the way.

Now, he could barely match Rufus. Winning remained impossible, but at least, he could stand his ground for a bit. Rufus wasn’t even fighting seriously. He was smiling, treating Jack like an exhibition target.

Which was exactly what he was. This was a battle to demonstrate the Animal Kingdom’s and Rufus’s superiority, and Jack was just a prop.

He refused to go down like that. His bare chest stuck out. He struck at Rufus with everything he had. His brain worked at maximum capacity, analyzing Rufus’s patterns and desperately trying to adjust.

Rufus was a frontal fighter, just like Jack, but stronger. He fought at a speed and strength that was just above what Jack could manage. Jack was forced to pull out everything he had. He couldn’t make his body faster, but he could make his moves sharper, his transitions more refined, his dodges smoother.

He mixed in feints, using his perfect control over his body granted by Parkour to make them realistic. He dodged by a hair’s breadth, sometimes taking glancing blows, but slowly improving. He calculated his Drills precisely, making them explode just before or behind Rufus’s guard to spread at least some of the shockwave on his body.

Jack forgot himself. The world faded away. He was simply fighting with everything he had, pouring out the entirety of himself. His skills were sharpened. They mixed better. Slowly, he was getting better at fighting.

Rufus hadn’t hit him in a while. The leonine noticed at the same time Jack did, and he struck out a real blow, faster than before. Jack didn’t see the move coming. His body dodged on pure instinct, surprising even him, then struck out with a vicious counter.

His fist met Rufus’s regal face, making him take a step back.

It all happened so fast, so instinctively, that Jack felt like there was someone else fighting in his body. Someone with the power to match even Rufus. Someone invincible and unstoppable. Someone terrifying; a fiend with iron fists.

And finally, everything clicked.

Congratulations! Skills Fistfighting III, Parkour III, and Drill III combined into Dao Skill Iron Fist Style I.

Iron Fist Style I: You have mastered the mortal forms of combat, but that is only the beginning. Your body is infused with the Dao of the Fist, and you can use that to reach realms previously unfathomable. Reality bends before the Dao.

Jack blinked in disbelief, then grinned.

“Fuck you, Rufus Emberheart,” he whispered. Rufus roared and charged. His blue and yellow aura flared. He could sense that something was different. He was no longer going easy.

But Jack could meet him. They clashed strike for strike again, like back in the arena. Jack channeled every scrap of power he had. His fists came down hard and true. His moves were unpredictable and infused with the Dao.

A mortal body fought with mortal martial arts. A Dao-infused body had its own weapons, even if the Skill description itself was vague and cryptic.

Jack’s Dao was an active participant in the battle. It enhanced his movements. Whether he sought to strike or dodge, he was unstoppable, like a fist. When he defended, he was immovable, like a fist.

Magic dove into his muscles. His will gave them strength, pulling and pushing his body in unnatural ways. He missed on purpose sometimes, knowing that his Dao would help him hit anyway. He redirected strikes he shouldn’t because his Dao wouldn’t allow him to be defied.

Causality itself bended to let his fist strike Rufus’s face.

It was a kind of battle he had never experienced before. It looked simple from the outside, but from the inside, it was anything but.

Now that Jack had a Dao Skill fighting style, he could tell that Rufus’s King Form was something similar. That was why he had gotten so much stronger. His stats hadn’t gone up; he simply channeled supremacy with every movement, making them inviolable.

Now that Jack’s own Dao had joined the mix, he could match the leonine. The Daos were of similar strength and canceled each other out. The fight had returned to a brawl, and in a brawl, the fist was king.

Jack roared as he took a punch to the gut, making him keel over, but his Dao enhanced his body to prevent further damage. His fist struck out at once as if pulled by an invisible cord, meeting Rufus’s face, which stayed still and refused to jump by the recoil.

Rufus snarled. Jack growled.

They tore into each other at the apex of their power. Rufus was no longer a king. He was a man locked in heated combat, fighting for every scrap of victory he could get. Jack matched him in power and ferocity. Suddenly, the battle wasn’t so doomed after all.