Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 188: Tricking a Lord

“What are you doing there?”

The voice came from behind Jack, startling him. He turned around, still standing before the gray orb—the one he’d replaced with the Ticklish Pebble. “Lord Longsword,” he said with a nod. “You made it out.”

“Were you trying to steal that orb, Jack?” Longsword did not seem amused, but disappointed. His hands were crossed behind his back, and the nine-foot-long sword dragged behind him and into the mirror’s surface. He took the final few steps to dislodge it.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Jack replied. “Plus, I’m not stupid. You saw the orb before the mirror activated. If it was missing, you’d be suspicious.”

“Then, what are you doing there?”

“I was curious.”

“Curious enough to reach for the orb?” Longsword had caught Jack right as he retrieved his hand after swapping the true orb for his pebble. Thankfully, as Jack stood between the orb and the mirror, Longsword hadn’t seen his hand’s trajectory.

Jack smirked. “Oddly enough, yes. Just inspect it, and you’ll know why I tried to touch it.”

Longsword frowned. He took a couple steps to approach. Jack could feel the Lord’s entire body tense, only a thought away from drawing his sword and swiping it through Jack’s midsection.

That didn’t happen. Instead, Jack only saw the Lord’s brows crease as he inspected the pebble.

Ticklish Pebble

A pebble that laughs when touched. While possessing only minimal sentience, it is useful for cultivators pursuing the Daos of Laughter, Joy, or similar, as well as cultivators pursuing the opposite Daos, like Grief or Sadness.

He had intended to save this for Vlossana, but… Obviously, he had to set priorities.

“So,” Longsword said flatly, “you were trying to…tickle this pebble?”

“Precisely.”

The Lord seemed torn between disbelief and ridiculousness. He slowly raised a hand to touch the pebble.

“Hihi,” a small voice came from under it. Longsword frowned and pressed his fingers harder. “Hihihi!” The snickering was louder now, as if someone was desperately trying to hold back their laughter. Visibly hating his life, Longsword grabbed the pebble and raised it, turning it around to reveal a little mouth etched into its bottom, complete with stone lips and a stone tongue.

The ticklish pebble finally couldn’t contain itself and burst out laughing, spitting stone flecks on Longsword’s hand. He tossed it to the ground. The pebble then rolled to a corner, where, untouched by anyone, it quickly stopped laughing.

“Are you toying with me, Jack?” Longsword asked, his frows deeply furrowed. “If yes, it is a terrible idea.”

“I didn’t choose the treasure, Lord,” Jack replied. Only his impending doom stopped him from bursting out in laughter. “It’s not my fault that whoever made this place was in the mood for jokes.”

Bocor chose that exact moment to step out of the mirror, panting and looking slightly intoxicated. That intoxication melted away like snow in spring as he met Longsword’s glare. “Sir!” He snapped to attention, scanning the room with his eyes. He quickly noticed the empty velvet pillow. “That’s—”

“A joke, that’s what it is,” Longsword rumbled. He must have been very expectant of this treasure. It was the first time Jack saw him break character. “A fucking joke by some fucking idiot.”

Thankfully, he wasn’t looking at Jack as he said that. He suspected nothing. How could he? No matter how intelligent he was, what kind of madman would assume Jack had a similar gray orb in his pocket and managed to swap them in time?

Not to mention my poker face was great, Jack thought with pride and a large amount of relief. His split-second decision to take the orb had been a calculated risk, but calculating the danger and tasting it up-close were two very different things.

Bocor didn’t understand what was going on, but he didn’t speak again, unwilling to provoke Longsword’s ire. Instead, his eyes kept scanning the room until they landed on the out-of-place pebble rolled up against a corner. He bent down to pick it up.

“Don’t touch that!” Longsword thundered. Bocor froze mid-crouch. He quickly drew back his hand.

“Should we get to splitting the treasure?” Jack asked. “There’s so much of it. The jewels, the weapons, the gold, the grand Ticklish Pebble…”

Longsword’s glare landed on him like the smite of thunder. He looked deeply pissed.

“Sorry,” Jack quickly apologized, realizing he’d gone too far. “I was only trying to lighten the mood.”

“You find this funny, don’t you?” Longsword demanded. Jack didn’t reply—he didn’t want to lie, but nor could he say that he found this hilarious. Longsword continued unabated. “You rejoice in my frustration, is that it? You know you couldn’t get the treasure, so you’re happy that it’s trash.”

“That is not the case,” Jack replied, frowning. “Plus, any treasure this deep in the labyrinth should have a use. The ticklish pebble might hold secrets.”

“Is that so? Keep it, then. Let it be your share of the treasure. I’m sure that the crown jewel of this trial is more than enough for an underling’s share.”

Jack’s frown deepened. Longsword was just bullying him now. They were surrounded by actual treasure; giving it up for just a funny pebble was a terrible deal.

Longsword was in a bad mood, so he was punishing Jack’s unruliness and cutting his losses at the same time. That wasn’t proper conduct. He was basically cheating Jack out of his share.

Of course, Jack had already gotten the actual treasure, but Longsword didn’t know that. He was just being a dick.

“That is unfair,” Jack protested calmly.

“I set the rules here, and I find it fair. You will take your pebble and be happy with it.”

Jack’s body tensed up. He was the Fiend of the Iron Fist. The champion of his planet. Could he stand being treated like this, even if the alternative was death?

The only thing helping Jack’s mood was that he had cheated Longsword first. In truth, he was the winner of this trial—how could gold and jewels compare to a real treasure? Though he didn’t have time to inspect the gray orb he’d gotten, it had to be something good.

In that light, Longsword was just throwing a loser’s tantrum.

Jack still considered just fighting and dying for this insult. It took a significant portion of his willpower to keep that from happening.

His Dao didn’t control him. He controlled it. And dying like this would be really stupid, especially when he was the real winner here. A fist was an unstoppable force that never looked back—but punching a wall was just stupid. One had to time his punches right.

Still, Jack promised to himself he’d repay this insult later—preferably tenfold.

Bocor looked at Jack with open mockery. Thankfully, that was an insult he could return immediately.

“What are you looking at, cow?” Jack asked, snorting. “Jealous that I get to at least exchange words with your master?”

Bocor’s face soured instantly, going through several shades of red. “My Lord,” he said through gritted teeth, turning to Longsword, “Jack Rust is an unruly fellow. Even after traveling together for this long, he hasn’t agreed to join you. How about we take care of him right now? My Animal Kingdom will remember this favor.”

Jack glanced at Longsword. On the inside, his Dao was revving up, and he was ready to draw on the Life Drop’s powers at a moment’s notice. He couldn’t fight Longsword, but with the Life Drop, he had a chance to escape. The mirror was right there, and from this side, it only showed the cave mouth they had originally entered.

And, if that didn’t work, Jack was prepared to lay down his life to at least strike Longsword once—and kill Bocor.

Everyone boiled in tense silence for a moment. Jack was ready to bolt. Bocor was ready to try and stop him. Longsword looked up with his eyes half-closed, calculating.

“I will not intervene in your faction’s conflicts,” he finally said. “Jack Rust was disrespectful just now, but he has already paid for it by giving up his share. That is enough.”

“My Lord! He is just a wanted mortal, nowhere near the level of a confli—”

“Shut your trap, Bocor,” Longsword barked. “You understand nothing. This man has a relationship with the Lady of the Exploding Sun, and I need her help to stand up to the Hand of God in Garden Ring. I will not involve myself in your faction struggles, and you will stay your hand until we reach Garden Ring, as I said. If you want to die after that, it’s your business. Am I clear?”

A relationship with the Lady of the Exploding Sun? Jack thought. He had only ever seen her from afar—once. Does she know Master Shol? And how does Longsword know?

Silence fell. Bocor was clenching his fists so hard they turned white. “Yes, sir,” he finally said.

“Good. As for you,” he turned to Jack, who still watched from the side. His voice softened. “I want you to know that conflicts like these happen all the time when treasure is involved. It is natural for people to get angry and lash out at each other—though a person of my stature really shouldn’t do so. What just happened doesn’t make us enemies. It is just the natural way of the world. If you are ever the strongest party, I fully expect you to act with similar authority, and I won’t say a word if I’m slightly mistreated.”

Jack was conflicted. He didn’t expect such a change of heart the moment Longsword regained his composure. On one hand, what he said made sense. On the other… Whenever Jack was the strongest party, he never mistreated anyone, nor did he lose his temper unjustly and act like a spoiled child who’d lost his favorite toy. That wasn’t natural or the way things worked. It was bullying.

However, at the very least, he had to acknowledge Longsword extending an olive branch. There was even half an apology included in his words. As time went by, Jack got more and more convinced he didn’t want to be this man’s ally, let alone underling, but he had to admit that Longsword wasn’t completely gone.

He was a multi-layered, intelligent, charismatic man. Too bad he was also a dick in disguise.

“That makes sense,” Jack replied non-committedly, tempering his Dao and urge to argue. It was nice to resolve conflicts nonviolently for a change.

“Good. Let’s get to splitting the rest of the treasure. Bocor, I will take two thirds, and you will take one.”

“Yes, sir.” Bocor didn’t seem to mind this split. It was probably what he expected—maybe even more, judging by his suspiciously narrowed eyes.

The rest half an hour was spent with Longsword picking out his share and placing it in the bag that hung from his belt—which, apparently, was larger on the inside. It easily fit all those weapons, armor, and golden coins despite looking barely large enough to fit a water canteen.

Jack had even seen Longsword retrieve a portable bonfire from in there. It was called a “Space Bag.” Because it had extra space.

Scions sure are privileged…

Bocor didn’t have such a bag. Thankfully for him, Longsword took all the larger items, so the minotaur was able to stuff everything else in his bulging backpack. The thing was the size of a small fridge. It looked almost funny against Bocor’s rough exterior and full plate armor.

The rest of the trip went by quickly. They were close to the guardian’s gates, with the labyrinth corridors now almost pitch black. As a result, not only did traversing them hurt Jack’s eyes and threatened his sanity, but the bleached-white bone monsters were exceptionally striking against the walls.

There were also more of them.

Thankfully, their group was made up of three strong cultivators, so none of the monsters posed a problem. The one time they ran into a Bone Lieutenant, the Elite version of bone monsters, Longsword personally took to battle and dismantled it. Even the crampy corridors, where his nine-foot-long sword barely fit, didn’t seem to bother him.

His strength was impressive. Jack would need his Life Drop to eke out a victory against this Bone Lieutenant, but Longsword made it seem almost trivial.

Throughout the journey, the mood of the group was slightly more chilled than before. Longsword’s jovial banter had died down a bit, and Bocor’s glares towards Jack had become less “I want to kill you” and more “I hate you.”

Jack didn’t mind. He had decided not to ally with these people, and he wasn’t the type to cozy up to them for future benefits. He responded politely to Longsword’s chatting, but that was it.

Truthfully, even peacefully traveling with them was more than he hoped for.

The worst part was that he still couldn’t inspect the gray orb. He didn’t have the time to do it before he’d gotten it, and now he was too afraid someone would spot it and connect the dots. He didn’t even dare sneak a peek when nobody was looking, afraid of any hidden observation skills they may have. All he could do was feel it with his fingers, but it was just a smooth gray orb, cool and soft to the touch.

The wait was unbearable. It was just in his pocket!

En route, he kept practicing against Copy Jack whenever he got the opportunity. Every night—or, at least, every time they stopped to rest—he could feel his Meteor Punch and Dao Root of Power grow closer to each other. He had already comprehended both to a good extent and was working on their fusion. All he needed now was a spark of inspiration.

Unfortunately, that spark could only come through battle, so he was forced to wait.

Two days later, the sound of voices reached them from deeper in the labyrinth. The corridors opened up to reveal a small plaza and large, bronze gates.

They had reached the Guardian.