Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 122: The Return of Gan Salin

Captain Dordok faced the three Hounds in space. A blue and green planet hovered behind them, humongous beyond imagination. Dordok himself was only framed by stars and the Trampling Ram.

“We have no Jack on board,” he said furiously. He really was angry, but he was playing it up even more. Nobody became an immortal by losing their temper. “All we have is people in need of immediate medical assistance. We were just attacked by a horde of space monsters. Let us through at once!”

“Not happening.” The middle Hound shook his head. “You will not move an inch until we inspect your ship.”

“My crew is dying!” the captain roared. He jabbed a finger at them. “You are overstepping your authority. I demand passage. You can inspect the ship after we land.”

“No.”

Dordok frowned. His aura flared, covering his body in a sun of strength. Conveniently, it also blocked the Hounds’ spiritual perception, shielding the starship behind him.

“I am a high immortal,” he growled, his voice steadily growing in volume. “You damaged my starship. You are harming my crew. Get out of my way.”

“No,” the rightmost Hound replied, laughing. Her voice was raspy and harsh. “High or low immortal, we don’t care. The Animal Kingdom rules this constellation. You will do what we say.”

Captain Dordok’s anger rose—for real this time. His chest felt hot and stuffed with rage. They were disrespecting him.

“This is preposterous,” he said with barely contained rage. “I demand fair treatment. I will report you.”

At the same time, his mind turned quickly. Why are they so stubborn? he insisted. Will they really break decorum with a high immortal over an E-Grade brat?

Canine, Level 175

Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)

Title: Third Ring Conqueror

Canine, Level 178

Canine, Level 171

They were all affiliated with the Animal Kingdom and showed the same Title: Third Ring Conqueror, which should increase the efficacy of their attributes by 15%, enough to shoot their strength into the middle D-Grade.

On the other hand, Dordok was injured and exhausted. These three may be low D-Grades, but they had all the titles, enhancements, and Dao skills that a B-Grade faction could give them. If things really came down to combat, he struggled to predict the victor.

At times like this, Dordok regretted not visiting Trial Planet when he was younger.

“Report us?” the leftmost Hound laughed. “To whom? Kneel to your superiors, slave!” His voice was tinged with frenzied bloodlust. Dordok finally understood why these three were so heavy-handed. They didn’t care about laws or fairness. They were just itching for a fight. They were maniacs, and he was only an unaffiliated D-Grade; even if they killed him here, the Animal Kingdom wouldn’t care.

Dordok paled. Fear and rage warred inside him as he gripped his greatclub tighter. It had been long enough. Jack might have reached the planet by now. He had to protect his crew and the Trampling Ram.

But that didn’t mean he would let himself be pushed around by low D-Grades. He was the captain.

“If you think I will let you touch my crew, you’re sorely mistaken,” he told them. His one brow fell low. “I will let you come close and inspect the ship with your spiritual perception. You will not board.”

“We will do whatever we want,” the leftmost Hound, the most battle-crazed one, spoke again. “And you better step aside, slave, or we will touch you as well. I don’t see you kneeling.”

Dordok’s grip tightened. His pride raised its head. He followed the Dao of Strength, not the Dao of Weakness.

It wasn’t even about Jack anymore. This was personal.

“And I never will,” he growled. Things had gotten out of hand, but it didn’t matter. This was a battle. He just had to win.

All three Hounds laughed at the same time. Their Daos emanated from their bodies, casting a blanket of insanity on him. His reason crumbled bit by bit. He tried to fight back, but Strength was not a good match against them. His blood went cold.

With a battle cry, Captain Dordok raised his greatclub overhead and swung. The three Hounds dodged, fanning out to surround them. All of them were laughing hysterically.

***

Jack looked at the escape shuttle’s window. He looked away, wiped his eyes, then looked again. Gan Salin was still there, waving with a big smile on his face.

“Brock,” he said, “are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

He turned around, only to find Brock looking at the same window like he’d seen a ghost. Reality finally settled in. Gan Salin, a scion of the Animal Kingdom, was here. He was wearing a protective helmet. All he had to do was strike the shuttle, or somehow alert the Hounds, and Jack would be dead beyond the shadow of a doubt.

So why wasn’t he doing that?

Canine, Level 51

Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)

Jack’s control of the shuttle faltered a bit as he directed most of his attention to Gan Salin. The canine gave Jack a thumbs-up, then pointed at the back of the ship. Jack turned to look.

The door?

He looked back at the window, but Gan Salin had disappeared. The knocking sound came again, this time from the door. Jack and Brock exchanged an incredulous gaze.

“He can’t be serious,” Jack said.

“Bro…” Brock replied hesitantly. The ship wobbled a bit, but they quickly put it back on track. The knocking sound came again.

“We… We have no choice,” Jack muttered in disbelief. “We have to open the door.”

Brock looked at him, then gave a slow, determined nod. Jack took a deep breath. He turned to the door and pressed the button at its side. The door slid open, revealing nothing but space and an excited canine. A terrible whooshing power drew Jack and Brock towards the outside. They lost control of the helm and lever, letting the shuttle spin endlessly in the void.

“Let me iiiiin!” Gan Salin shouted, shooting inside as fast as he could. Jack almost punched him. Instead, he jabbed the button again, closing the door as fast as he could. The sucking power had almost gotten the best of them. The shuttle was still spinning, and they hurried to rebalance it.

At least there was no gravity.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jack asked, staring at Salin from an inch away. The escape shuttle was not designed for three people. They could barely fit.

“We haven’t met in so long, and that’s the first thing you say? What’s going on?” Gan Salin complained. “How are you doing, Salin? Are you alright, Salin? I missed you, Salin. But did you say any of that? No. Some friends you are.”

“I…” Jack wondered if he was having a stroke. “We aren’t friends.”

“But we can be!” Salin replied excitedly.

Jack blinked a few times, then shook his head. It occurred to him that if he killed Gan Salin quickly, he couldn’t alert the Hounds. If he wasn’t so heavily injured, he might have tried.

“What’s happening?” Jack asked again. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, that. Well, you made a lot of people angry. The overseer, especially, and she can be a bitch sometimes—but don’t tell her I said that. Anyway, the Hounds were tasked with hunting you down, and they dragged me along because I knew your face—supposedly. The real reason is that I’m punished for sucking in the tournament. Also, I suspect they don’t like me.”

“What?”

“I know. How is that possible? So yeah, they dragged me along, but I don’t like that, man. They’re reaaaally treating me like shit, and I thought, you know what? If we find Jacko, I could join him instead. Travel the galaxy while outsmarting our pursuers. Have wacky adventures. Go to Trial Planet with the two tokens he hopefully still has. Those kinds of things.”

“What?”

“I said, let’s travel together. I will use my status to get us through the teleporter, and you will use your extra token to let me into Trial Planet. I was supposed to get one after the tournament, but uh, that’s not really happening anymore. Good thing you have a spare one, right?”

“What?”

“What this, what that. Did the suction from before steal your brain? Am I not speaking clearly? I can repeat everything slower if you want. Weeee haaaveeent meeeeet in soooo looo—”

Jack, again, thought he was having a stroke. This was too much to process.

“Wait,” he said, cutting off Salin’s rapid-fire bullshit. “Wait wait wait. You want to join me and go to Trial Planet?”

Salin reverted to normal speaking. “My phrasing was better, but yeah.”

“And you can get us through the teleporters?”

“Yep.”

“And you will betray the Animal Kingdom.”

“Oh, we canines betray the Kingdom all the time, don’t worry about it. Comes with the territory. We’re their crazy front-liners, so some extra initiative here or there is nothing odd.”

Jack was struggling to comprehend. By his side, Brock had completely quit this conversation and was focused in the distance. They were approaching the planet now, and they could see the immortals fight in the side window, exchanging herculean attacks like it was nothing. Despite being injured and exhausted, the captain was holding his own, though he was clearly defending more than attacking.

“Wait,” Jack said.

“Yeah?”

“This is all…too sudden. You are an enemy. You tried to kill me and my friends, and you set a terrorist loose in my hometown. I kicked your ass.”

“Hey, no need to brag,” Salin replied, pouting. His long canines stuck out a bit. “You weren’t even the only one to kick my ass.”

“But— I mean— How did you even catch up to us?”

He raised a brow. “With that driving? Are you kidding me?”

“I—”

“So, um, not to pressure you or anything, but we’re kind of in a hurry here. The Hounds will notice us eventually if we keep moving like turtles. Do you mind?” He gestured at the helm and speed lever.

“You can drive this?” Jack asked. Brock gave Gan Salin a suspicious look.

“Of course! What kind of scion would I be if I couldn’t even drive a little escape shuttle?”

He moved to the front, gently pushing Brock to the side. The brorilla struck him with the most insulted glare Jack had ever seen.

Gan Salin grabbed the lever and pushed it forward, keeping his other hand on the helm. Their flight accelerated somewhat. He then flicked a switch, making their ship jump. Jack and Brock both crashed into the ceiling. Brock’s tail slapped Gan Salin. It was certainly accidental.

“Whoops,” Salin said. “Wrong switch.”

“Are you sure you can drive this?” Jack shouted.

“Yes, don’t worry about it! My middle name is pilot.” He flicked a different switch. The shuttle calmed down, its flight stabilizing. “There you go. You sillies forgot to turn off the race setting.”

“The what?”

Everyone was thrown backward as Salin accelerated massively. This time, the shuttle wasn’t jumping in random directions every time someone touched the helm. It almost resembled smooth sailing. The planet was quickly growing in their sight.

“All set!” Gan Salin said. “And it only took me two tries!”

Jack and Brock exchanged a look. “For the record,” Jack said, “I still hate your guts.”

“No problem! I’m sure you’ll come around in no time at all.”

The planet was still growing, and Salin rockily turned the tip towards a point where two green strips—two continents—crossed. Evidently, he also knew about Amethyst Mountain.

“Can you land this thing?” Jack asked.

“Jacko, Jacko, Jacko,” Gan Salin replied, shaking his head.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Of course I can land this thing! I mean, I have never done it before, but how tough can it be?” He gave them a bright smile. He accelerated. Jack and Brock braced themselves.