Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 107: Meet the Galaxy

Stars filled the sky, the ground, and everything in between. Brock was hurtling through space, feeling nothing but seeing everything. Meteors drifted by him, followed by long tails—but only when they were close to stars. Some meteors didn’t have their tails behind them, but rather in front, and Brock stared in wonder until they disappeared.

He saw rocks, planets, stars. He saw a giant purple squid surrounded by small fish made of dust. He even saw a small iron thing with a plate on its top, lazily drifting through an endless void.

All the while, Brock desperately gripped the arm of his big brother, afraid that if he let go for even a second, Jack would be lost forever.

The trip could have taken ages, or it could have taken the blink of an eye. Brock wasn’t certain. All he knew was that, when the world flashed and all was still again, he was no longer home.

Brock found himself in a room painted black with yellow dots. The floor was white, however, and an open door poured daylight inside the room. Across him stood a woman dressed in gray armor without a helmet, revealing deep purple eyes and sapphire hair.

She looked at him with question, alternating her gaze between Brock and his big brother. Brock didn’t know what the woman wanted, or who she was, but he didn’t care. His Big Bro was injured; he had to get him to safety. Hide him somewhere.

Once again slinging Jack over his back—with his feet dragging across the floor due to the height difference—Brock walked towards the door.

“Wait,” the woman said. Brock froze. His instincts told him that she was much stronger than he was—similar to his Big Bro. She stepped before him, blocking the way. “Name and affiliation, please.”

Brock understood the words, but he had no means to reply. He only knew one word!

“Bro!” he replied, pointing at Jack with urgency. “Bro! Bro!”

“You cannot speak?” the guard asked, frowning. She swept her gaze over Jack. “Can you understand me?”

Brock nodded. He wanted to run away, but he learned from his mistakes. Impulsiveness did not suit a bro. Composure did.

“Are you his spiritual companion?” she asked again.

Brock wasn’t sure, but he nodded.

“Who injured him?”

Brock hesitated.

“It’s okay; no need to tell me, then.” The guard quickly waved her hands from side to side. Brock wondered why she had even asked if she didn’t want to know, but it was tough to judge someone who could break you like a ripe banana.

“I won’t meddle in your affairs. If anybody is after you, I don’t want to be involved,” the guard spoke quickly. “I will note down your faction, species, and Level. However, please promise to return and give me your name when your friend heals. Okay?”

Brock nodded without hesitation. He had zero intention to return. Bros should keep their word, but there was a fine line between dishonor and deception.

The woman stepped aside. “Go,” she said.

Brock nodded excitedly to thank her and walked outside the door, still dragging Jack behind him. He was blinded by the light for a moment, but he flexed his eye muscles and recovered immediately. Then, his brain was blinded by information.

There were so many oddly-shaped Big Brothers and Big Sisters here. Their nests were colorless and ugly, the sky was green, and a big metal bird hovered in the sky.

Weird looks were directed at them, but Brock sensed no overt hostility. Therefore, he ignored everyone and turned to the side. Exactly fifteen steps later, he stood at the mouth of a dark alley. It smelled horribly, making him wrinkle his nose, but it seemed empty.

Brock was very clear about what he should do. When his little dog bros had been weak, they hid in dark alleys. Therefore, while his Big Bro was sleeping, Brock should do the same.

I hope my little bros are okay… he thought wistfully, then refocused.

Still ignoring the many eyes on them, Brock stepped into the alley, blending into the darkness. He found a large garbage bin and tucked Jack behind it. Then, he stood before his big bro, crossing his arms and glaring at the stream of people that moved outside the alley.

His Big Bro was sleeping, and Brock would die before letting anyone near.

***

Jack awoke with a groan. His consciousness drifted back from a hazy dream, and his eyes fluttered open.

The first thing he noticed was the unbelievable stench that flooded his nose. The second was the city noises that surrounded him. The third was that he was crammed, unable to move freely. Trapped.

What is happening!? he barely managed to think, panic already rising. His groggy consciousness recovered in a heartbeat, and he pushed harder. Something large and green to his side gave way, sliding over stone for a moment before tipping over with a large crashing sound. Jack had no idea what was going on.

“Bro!”

A happy cry from the side reined in his growing panic. Brock fell on him immediately, embracing him in a big hug.

“Brock,” Jack said raspily, realizing how dry his throat was. “What the…”

Brock hurriedly let go, stepping back and looking at Jack with a big smile. He patted his chest and said proudly, “Bro!”

Jack allowed himself a smile before looking around. Tall stone walls stretched high on either side, enclosing them in an alley that was barely six feet wide. A strip of sky was visible above, except it was green.

Why green? his scholar’s mind wondered, but he had better things to ponder.

On either side of him, Jack could see moving streams of people outside the alley, talking with each other and pacing fast. At first glance, they seemed human. At second, none of them were. Something was a little off about everyone. Purple eyes here, gray skin there…

He turned his gaze away before confusing himself any further. He focused on his immediate vicinity.

Nobody was there besides himself and Brock, which was good. The green thing he’d pushed away was a large, brick-shaped garbage bin that now lay at its side, garbage spilling from its mouth. There was rotting food in there, smelling horribly, and Jack thought he saw a small dark shape dart away.

It could have been a rat. Or anything else, really, given the aliens outside.

Where are we? Jack wondered, thoroughly confused. This place reminded him of nothing. What happened? With a thought, he summoned what always grounded him: his status screen.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

Level: 50

Strength: 184

Dexterity: 184

Constitution: 184

Mental: 23

Will: 23

Skills: Iron Fiend Body (II), Ghost Step (I)

Dao Skills: Meteor Punch (II), Iron Fist Style (I)

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (early), Dao Root of Indomitable Will

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1)

The assurance of those numbers allowed him to refocus on the present.

He squeezed his brain to remember. Memories came in a trickle. He remembered the Integration, as well as the dungeon that had spawned around him. All his struggle to escape and the strength he’d obtained in the process. The friends he’d made: Harambe, the gym-obsessed brorillas, and the cheerful, poop-throwing gymonkeys. He remembered Valville, Henry’s Fang, Gan Salin, Edgar, and his foster mother—the professor. The Bare Fist Brotherhood.

He recalled the tournament and the people he’d met there—Vivi, Sadaka, Dorman, the Sage, Li Xiang, Master Shol, Brother Tao, even Vanderdecken and his Dao of Metal. He also remembered the enemies he’d made: the Animal Kingdom, the C-Grade planetary overseer, as well as Rufus Emberheart, whom he’d pummeled to death after winning the tournament.

He patted the secret pocket behind his left thigh, where he’d stashed the two Trial Planet Tokens—shaped as old gold coins—and the final tournament reward, the Dao Soul—a purple, mystical disc whose use was still unclear.

Right, he thought as the memories washed over him. That’s it. I killed Rufus Emberheart, then some dogs appeared, and then…we teleported. He looked at Brock, then at the alley surrounding them. This was not a teleporter. Brock had somehow gotten him out and hidden him here until he could recover. Now, he felt fully healthy, if completely exhausted. His regeneration came at a price—or maybe it was just the fight before. His entire body yearned for food, but he could move.

He turned a gaze of fondness at the brorilla, who still waited with his brown-furred chest puffed out. “Thank you, Brock,” he said. “You took care of me. I am very proud of you.”

“Bro!” Brock replied, as if that explained everything. His toothy grin was so wide that it almost split his face.

Jack smiled for a moment longer, then looked around again. His previous wariness returned, though controlled this time, not spiraling into blind panic. He took stock of the situation.

We are in a foreign planet. Alone. We know nothing about the world around us, and the Animal Kingdom is probably hunting us right now. There is no way they will let me be after all that—unless I’m being paranoid. Hmm. But they have shown how petty they can be. They are after us. Better paranoid than dead.

Most importantly, we are now outside Earth, and there is no Star Pact or grace period protecting us. The moment an immortal shows up, we’re dead.

The situation was grim. Jack was thrust into an unknown world with zero information, and he was hunted.

We must move, he realized with growing fear. Even if they don’t know where exactly the teleporter took us, how many injured E-Grade cultivators with a small gorilla teleport every day? They will track us down soon, if they haven’t already.

Jack jumped to his feet, eyeing the overturned garbage bin again. It had been loud as it fell. There could be people approaching already, and the last thing he needed was an alien policeman detaining him.

“Come on, Brock,” he said, pacing to the end of the alley. Further thinking could wait. For now, they needed to change hiding spots.

Brock followed obediently. As he only reached up to Jack’s thigh, he had to take multiple steps for each of Jack’s, lending him a silliness that didn’t fit the grim situation. Jack walked out of the alley, momentarily blinded by light, and ran straight into someone. The collision pushed him back.

“Hey!” a rough voice came from above. “Watch it.”

Jack was staring at a bare gray chest. Tilting his head back, he finally found the face as well. This was a hardened-looking man with gray skin and red eyes, and his features were much too angular to be human. His chin was almost completely square, his skin was taut over his bones, and even his arms lacked the smoothness they should have. He only wore a set of short brown pants and black boots.

Jack realized what he was looking at. This was like a human, except with barely enough flesh to cover his bones. If someone found a human skeleton and recreated it like humans did with dinosaurs, this is what the result would look like.

Except this guy was seven feet tall and gray.

Feshkur, Level 84

Faction: Gray Mercenaries

“What are you looking at?” the feshkur growled in Jack’s face—or rather, above it—and Jack hurried to step back. He raised his open palms.

“Sorry,” he said. “My bad.”

The mercenary shot Jack another glare, then snorted and walked away. Jack noticed he was carrying a big-ass saber on his back.

Brock pulled his wrist, and Jack realized with satisfaction that the brorilla hadn’t made a peep despite the other man’s provocations. He was certainly angry, but he kept it in.

My little bro is growing, he thought with pride before refocusing on the task at hand: getting away from here.

He looked around again. The street was dirty, browned in the corners and with the occasional trash on the ground. There were no vehicles that he could see. They were surrounded by tall, gray buildings that seemed empty of life. Some had broken windows. They seemed similar to Earth’s, and Jack had the feeling that bad neighborhoods looked alike no matter the planet or culture.

Above the buildings, metal ships occasionally flickered by, moving at great speeds but making no sound whatsoever. He couldn’t make out their shape from down here, but they must have been starships.

Jack pulled Brock through the crowd. He tried to come up with a plan, but he was overwhelmed by all the different alien species.

There were humanoids with sapphire hair and purple eyes called Saphiras. Who knew what other differences they had with humans. The Saphiras and the Feshkurs—the gray giants—were by far the most populous here, as far as Jack could see. Maybe they were the natives of this planet.

But there were many more. He saw djinns—like Ar’Tazul or Ar’Karvahul—and ifrits, who looked like desert santa clauses. There was a group of what looked like snakemen—humans from the waist up and snakes from the waist down. There was a unicorn walking in the middle of the street—and its species was aptly named Unicorns.

That goes to say, Jack was the only human around. Moreover, he suddenly realized that though his body had recovered, his attire had not. He was still covered in blood, he reeked of sweat, his pants were torn in places, and he was shirtless and barefoot. Even the unicorn received fewer stares than him.

At least, they didn’t seem too surprised by the presence of a small gorilla in their midst, though nobody else had a companion. As far as Jack knew, he could be out here with three heads and seven noses and nobody would care. At least their clothing sense seemed similar to Earth’s.

Jack reorganized his priorities. There is no way we can hide like this. I must find food, clean clothes, and a shower. And then, I must get the hell away from this planet. Or maybe I should teleport away first. How long do I have?

It was hard to make an estimation. The Animal Kingdom could already be here, tracking him down, or they might need a day to scout out all the teleporter’s destinations. How many were there? He didn’t know, and Brock only shrugged when asked.

Then again, even if he teleported again, he wouldn’t become any harder to locate. A blood-stained human with a brown brorilla stood out anywhere.

I could return to Earth…

He let the sweet thought linger for a bit before squashing it. Returning to Earth would save him from the pursuit, as there was nobody strong enough to harm him there, but there was no telling what tricks the Animal Kingdom would employ. They had already shown how much they cared about rules and laws. Maybe the planetary overseer would just find an excuse to end him herself.

Plus, he had left Earth to gain the strength to protect it. He couldn’t go back now.

I must reach the Belarian Outpost, then teleport to Trial Planet.

That was what Master Shol had instructed. Jack’s first destination in the galaxy was Trial Planet, where the strongest E-Grade cultivators found their fortune. It was perilous, but Jack was confident in his abilities. All he had to do was reach it, and according to Master Shol, the easiest way to do that was through the place called Belarian Outpost.

Can I just teleport to this Outpost? he considered. I can try. Maybe the Animal Kingdom is watching the teleporter’s exit there, or maybe they have already located me here and have people stationed at this teleporter…but what choice do I have? How long was I unconscious?

The sun was just setting, dying the green sky redder, but that meant nothing.

“Hey, Brock,” Jack asked, “how high was the sun when you arrived?”

Brock thought for a moment, then pointed at a spot roughly in the middle of the sky.

“An entire afternoon, then…” Jack grumbled. “But there’s no reason for this planet’s day to be twenty-four hours long, like on Earth. Still, how different can it be?”

Unfortunately, Jack had no clue about the rotation speed of planets. Fortunately, he had an easy way of finding out.

“Excuse me,” he said, stopping a random saphira passer-by. Of all the species here, they looked the least intimidating, and this one was F-Grade. She shrunk back as Jack approached. “Don’t be afraid. I would just like to know, how long is a day on this planet?”

She looked at him for a moment, then repled, “Half a galactic day.”

“And how many galactic hours is that?”

A galactic hour was thankfully the same as an Earth-387 hour. It was sixty-one minutes, to be exact.

“Around nine.”

“Oh.”

Nine hours. That was a short day. With quick calculations, it meant that Jack had only been unconscious for a couple hours. Not bad! Though, as I grow stronger, my regeneration will get less and less effective unless I upgrade it.

“Thank you,” he told the saphira, who mumbled a response and slipped away in relief.

Jack fell in thought, ignoring the few people around him. The crowd was getting sparser by the minute.

A few hours… Will the Animal Kingdom be prepared yet? Maybe. If I don’t take the teleporter, what other choice do I have?

As if in response to his thoughts, a muffled boom shook the sky. Jack looked up. A large metallic shape tore through the clouds, disappearing in a single second as if space had swallowed it. His eyes widened. Such speed should be impossible.

A space-warping starship…

Master Shol had mentioned these a few times, but it was the first time he saw one with his own eyes. They were used for space travel, though Jack couldn’t imagine why anyone would choose that method over teleportation.

It’s less controlled, he realized. Perfect for anyone hunted by the constellation’s overlords. Wait. Could I have left the Animal Kingdom constellation?

It was unlikely. Why would the Animal Kingdom connect Earth to another constellation, given a teleporter’s limited range?

So starships are an option, if I can board one, Jack thought. But that means all sorts of trouble. Maybe I should bet on teleportation. Hmm. Possible death on one hand, a long journey between the stars on the other—and possible death by a ton of different things.

If he successfully teleported from here to the Belarian Outpost, he would reach his target in moments. After all, Master Shol had said that, if he just arrived at the Belarian Outpost teleporters, he could use his Trial Planet Token to teleport directly to Trial Planet, where only E-Grade cultivators could enter.

But what if the Animal Kingdom sent peak E-Grades after him? Strong as he was, Jack had no illusions of beating anyone at Level 124. The E-Grade got five stat points per Level.

Jack was unsure, but he had to choose fast. Every moment increased the chances of Animal Kingdom lookouts standing beside the teleporters.

“You look troubled.” A voice came from behind him. Jack turned to find a feshkur—one of those gray giants—towering over him.

Feshkur, Level 61

Faction: -

“I am,” he replied, looking up to meet the other man’s eyes. They were not kind. Suddenly, Jack realized that the crowd had thinned so much around him that it wasn’t a crowd anymore, just the occasional passer-by, most of whom were feshkurs. And they were pointedly not staring in his direction any longer.

The gray giant smiled. He drew a dagger. “You’re about to become poor, too. Hand over your credit card.”