Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 163: To The Rescue!

Gan Salin smiled and waved at Jack. Despite his tattered appearance, he behaved like everything was normal. He wasn’t even deterred by the wrist-thick iron bars that separated the two of them.

“Salin,” Jack whispered, “what the hell is going on?”

“I’m trapped,” Gan Salin whispered back.

“I can see that, but why? What happened?”

“Oh, lots of things!” He got excited. “I somehow lucked out and survived through the second and third rings—by the way, did I mention that was almost a suicide mission for me? There is a reason nobody enters here at level 51. On the bright side, I got ten levels! Though you obviously did better. A shame. Anyway, my second ring was an icy tundra with roving packs of wild penguins, so I—”

“Salin!” Jack hissed, still keeping his voice low. “I’m not here to catch up. Get to the point.”

Gan Salin crossed his arms.

“Wow. That’s so rude. We haven’t seen each other in two entire weeks, and you don’t even wanna learn what I’ve been up to. Nice best friend you are.”

“I’m not your—” He bit his tongue, starting over. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m here to get you out. I’m risking my life. Just tell me the important things, please!”

“Risking your life? Oh!” Salin’s eyes flashed. “That’s right. I seem to remember there is a big bad minotaur in this village who’s seriously pissed at you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Guess who put me in here.”

A moment of silence passed between them. The sounds coming from the front side of the tavern, the laughter and conversation, only reminded Jack to hurry.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I guess this is my fault.”

“Partially.” Salin shrugged. “Apparently, the Animal Kingdom wasn’t happy I ditched the Hounds to team up with you. News got around and, ah, let’s just say Bocor was not excited to see me.”

Bocor was the minotaur’s name.

“You guys know each other?” Jack asked.

“We’ve met a few times. He’s also a prodigy of the faction, but he belongs to an outside family, so he wasn’t invited to Animal Planet much. Anyway, I came right to him the moment I reached the village. I thought, you know what? He’s Animal Kingdom, I’m Animal Kingdom. In this foreign place, we should set our differences aside and work together! But no. He just threw me in a cage, like an animal, without batting an eye. Can you believe that?”

“I think I can.” The minotaur hadn’t struck Jack as the kind kind. “Did he mistreat you?”

“A bit.” Salin’s eyes suddenly glazed over, his smile taking on a bitter hue. “He was always bitter at the noble families. I can’t blame him. He had the talent, but no matter how he tried, he was constantly ignored just because he didn’t carry noble blood.”

Jack’s heart clenched a beat. “I can imagine.”

“Yeah. When he had the opportunity to take it out on me, he was all too eager, you know? He even had an excuse: Since you and I came here together, I might know your whereabouts.”

“A stupid excuse. We obviously weren’t traveling together.”

Salin shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? Point is, you’re here to rescue me. Can we get to it, please?”

Something in his eagerness to escape triggered Jack’s perception. It felt like a momentary drop of Salin’s jovialty, letting the desperation seep out from beneath. Jack frowned.

“Did he torture you?” he asked.

Salin hesitated. “There’s a limit to what he can do to me. Even as a criminal, I remain a member of the noble families.”

“But?”

“...He did have a lightning wizard play with my cage a bit. The other cultivators found it hilarious. Nothing to worry about, though.” He gave a wide, hurt smile. “I’m strong enough.”

“I see.” Jack was growing angry now. Even reluctantly, Gan Salin was his friend now. “Did they feed you?”

“Isn’t rescuing me more important?”

“No.”

The canine hesitated again, but faced with Jack’s resolve, he had little choice. “The tavern patrons sometimes throw scraps at me. Enough to keep me going. I didn’t have much to eat in the desert, as you can imagine.”

“He didn’t give you a single meal?”

“No.”

“And for water?”

“I dip my finger in the mud below and lick it. Sometimes. It’s not pleasant for the stomach. On the bright side, Bocor made sure I had a good view of the pond, so I could fantasize about it a lot.”

“And you can smell the tavern’s meals all the time. And hear everyone else as they eat and drink and laugh.”

“It’s a privileged location for a cage.”

Gan Salin was trying to joke, but Jack could clearly sense the pain underneath. The anger, the humiliation, the bitterness.

Jack clenched his fists and took a deep breath, beating down the fire inside him so it didn’t spill out. Not yet, at least.

“Don’t worry about me, Jack,” Salin said. For once, his voice was earnest. “I’m fine. Just get me out of here, please.”

He was playing it strong. Jack appreciated the gesture, but it did little to alleviate his fury. “Wait a moment,” he said, making a gesture backward.

“Do you have more—” Salin kept speaking, but his voice was no longer audible. His eyes widened.

From the shadows, Nauja had activated her silence skill.

Being literally enveloped in silence was an odd feeling for Jack. He opened his mouth, but no voice came out. It was eerie, almost disturbing. His ears picked up a complete absence of sound, not even his own heart beating, though he could feel his body vibrating to the tune of his blood. Just like Nauja had promised, the sensation was deeply unpleasant.

In fact, it wasn’t exactly silence. More like the air was resisting the urge to vibrate, like they were stuck inside a ball of effective sound insulation.

Salin frowned but gave Jack a thumbs up. Jack wrapped his fingers around the iron bars of the cage, brought them to his chest, and pulled. His muscles instantly went taut. The metal bent slightly under his grip, but no sound came. Jack pulled harder.

His veins were popping all over his arms. His eyes were bloodshot. He was pulling with the strength of fifty grown men, but the metal kept resisting. These were thick bars, after all. They were designed so Gan Salin couldn’t affect them.

But Jack wasn’t Gan Salin. His veins throbbed as he pulled harder, refusing to be defeated, absolutely intent on bending these bars out of shape. His Dao of Power seeped into his Indomitable Body, fortifying and enhancing his muscles. His pulling intensified.

Gan Salin also tried to help, but his Strength attribute was lacking. Still, the effort was commendable.

Jack opened his mouth and roared soundlessly. Slowly, the metal bent under his fingers. Inch by inch, the two iron bars were pulled away from each other. Jack kept pulling. At some point, the metal was bent so badly that its resistance waned, letting Jack accelerate and part the bars completely.

When he stopped, he could feel his entire body shaking from overexertion, but he still heard nothing. It was even more disorienting than before.

He had succeeded. A small hole was open in the bars, which Salin was already struggling to cross. He was wiggling through it, pushing his shoulders to fit. It was just slightly too tight. His face was red, and his skin was grating strongly against the metal.

Jack wanted to help, but he was afraid he’d break something.

Eventually, Salin accepted that he just barely didn’t fit. His eyes momentarily sharpened, his jaw set. His Dao Root of Resolve flared. With an abrupt motion, he smashed one shoulder into the metal, mouthing a silent cry of pain. The bone was dislocated, bent oddly through the cage, and he finally managed to slide through.

The moment he was out, he took a deep, trembling breath, then snapped the bone back into place. His grimace was harsh, sweat marred his forehead, but he was out and safe.

Jack felt the silence skill disappear. Sound returned, from the raucous laughter at the front of the tavern to the cries of nocturnal animals.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked, looking deeply at Salin.

“Better than ever.” The canine forced a smile. “Thank you, Jack. Really. I appreciate it.”

Jack smiled back. “Don’t mention it. Now, let’s—”

He froze. A person had just rounded the tavern, probably heading home to get some sleep. Unfortunately, they were in the way. This man was staring directly at them.

As if that wasn’t enough, Jack recognized him. It was the fire mage who had chased them in the Forbidden Cave, the one who’d screamed at Jack and Nauja about killing the ferretfolk.

Jack watched the man’s eyes go wide in confusion, then widen even further with anger. He quickly put two and two together. Salin’s broken cage and the canine himself were clearly visible.

So much for stealth, Jack thought.

The bald woman stepped out behind the fire mage a moment later, her expression mirroring his.

“Hey,” Gan Salin said, raising his hands. “This isn’t what it looks like. We’re, um, eloping.”

The fire mage took a deep breath, shouted, “Intruders!” and charged at Jack.

Which was a stupid decision. The man was level 72, one of the weakest cultivators in the village. He probably still thought of Jack as the weakling he’d chased in Forbidden Cave, but even then, Jack had only ran because there were a bunch of pursuers.

Even if the fire mage had inspected Jack now, he only saw a level 84 cultivator—Jack had gained a couple levels in the desert. The mage probably thought he could delay Jack until reinforcements arrived.

But Jack was not the average level 84 cultivator. Seeing the fire mage shout and charge, Jack’s brows lowered dangerously. They had to run. This person was an enemy.

He charged too, using Ghost Step. His feet stomped on cobblestone. Suddenly, he was right before the enemy. The flames that had just started pouring out broke against Jack’s bare chest. The bald woman, having arrived to the scene a moment later than the fire wizard, was too slow to react.

Jack’s fist flared purple. Colors and sounds were sucked in. Jack’s fist made contact with the fire mage’s chest like a hurtling meteor.

The ensuing explosion rocked the entire village. A loud boom and a blinding flash covered the night as the man’s body exploded, dying instantly. The strike was so strong that it carried behind the fire mage, striking the tavern wall and shattering it.

Wood exploded. Splinters flew everywhere. Pipes on the inside were bent oddly, pots and pans flew all over the place, fire spilled out from kitchens to the ground, and the entire building creaked before starting to collapse.

Jack stood before the ruined corpse of the fire mage, fist still outstretched. The bald woman, who had been ready to cast some spell, froze mid-action. She lowered her gaze, raised her hands, and slowly stepped back. The lycan waiter and two human cultivators—all under Level 100—who had just rounded the corner, startled by the mage’s shout, also froze on the spot. They didn’t dare approach. One of the two—a completely naked man—even started shivering.

“Mercy,” said the lycan waiter, showing his open palms and arcing his back to push his belly forward—a habit deep in his genes.

Gan Salin gaped at the destruction, as did the kovan that was working inside the kitchen, his apron suddenly showered with splinters and dust. At least, this expedited Jack’s plan of getting food.

There were more discreet ways to enter the kitchen than blowing up the wall. The plan was to sneak through the window, neutralize the cook-bartender, and steal anything they could get their hands on.

But things had taken another direction now, and Jack didn’t regret it. These people were all accomplices in Gan Salin’s plight. They were the ones who laughed when the lightning wizard electrocuted him. They were the ones who threw over scraps to humiliate him.

Yet, Gan Salin didn’t complain. He simply endured the insults, sucking the bones dry to get nutrition, dipping his finger into the mud and licking it to quench his thirst, smiling in the face of horrible mistreatment.

Jack was furious. He was burning with rage. Since every plan would end up at a chase anyway, he might as well go scorched earth on this village. These assholes didn’t deserve a tavern and nice food. Let them eat raw meat.

Besides, after the mage’s previous shout, their infiltration had already failed. Now, it was a hunt.

Of course, the explosion resounded across the village. Urgent cries came from all directions, including the front of the tavern. Reaching the nearby exit tunnel was no longer an option.

Jack ignored the terrified crowd and rushed to the kitchen benches. Gan Salin followed a beat later. The ingredients—meat, vegetables, spices, and more—were neatly arranged in piles, and grabbing a sack, Jack filled it to the brim with anything he could get his hands on. Salin was grabbing water sacks from across the tables. He also found a small pile of credit cards, which he instantly pocketed. At this moment, his excitement genuinely suppressed the signs of mistreatment on his face and body.

The bartender snapped out of his shock and ran for the door, screaming, at the same moment that the chimney collapsed. The walls followed a beat afterward. Jack and Gan Salin were already outside, each carrying a bunch of sacks over their shoulders and running at the desert full-tilt.

“What the hell did you do!?” Nauja’s voice reached him as she jumped out of the shadows, already sprinting.

Jack picked up Brock and hoisted him under his armpit, one arm carrying the brorilla and the other the sacks of food. Brock didn’t make a single sound in protest. “What they fucking deserved!” he shouted back. “Less talking, more running!”

They broke into the desert, flying over sand dunes like they had wings. Thankfully, Gan Salin specialized in speed, so he could follow them—at least for a bit. Then, Jack would have to carry him, too.

Jack glanced back. From the moment he broke the tavern to now, only a few seconds had passed. With any luck, it would take time for the strongest people of the village to realize what had happened and come after them. By then, they could be miles away, far from anyone’s ability to chase.

Getting to the next ring would be a problem. They could either circle back to this village and try to sneak through on the next night, or they could walk half a month to the next one. They had food and water now. It would delay Jack’s timeline, of course, but he had the Dao Soul now. He could just spend that extra time stabilizing his recent gains.

Not like he had a choice, anyway.

The most he could wish for right now was escaping. With any luck, it would be doable. What kind of cultivator mastermind personally goes after vandals?

Unfortunately, luck had its days. As Jack looked back, he saw three figures leap over a sand dune, still far away but clearly on the chase.

One of them was the Animal Kingdom minotaur, Bocor. The other was a cold-looking woman in white robes who floated many feet off the ground, flying over the sand dunes without needing to follow the desert’s terrain. And the third was a dark-haired man in tattered robes, whose sheathed sword was easily nine feet long.

This particular man was closing the distance so fast that he made the minotaur seem sluggish. It didn’t take a genius to know that this was the Lord Longsword that Bocor served.

Jack cursed his luck.