Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 204: A Suspicious Gift

Congratulations! The Dao Root of Power had been successfully fused with your Dao Seed.

Strength +20

Constitution +20

Will +20

Congratulations! Meteor Punch II → Meteor Punch III

Meteor Punch III: When meteors fall from space, they cause exponentially more damage than their size would indicate. Your punches can carry the same effect. Overdraw your body’s potential and combine it with your Dao of the Fist to unleash a devastating attack. Shoot out your punch like a meteor.

That’s… Jack reviewed the description. He took a second and a third look at it. There were no italics. Did this mean there was no change?

Pulling up the description of Meteor Punch II, he confirmed they were identical.

What the fuck?

Was the upgrade so small that no change were needed? Or, rather…

Jack summoned the power of a Meteor Punch, not throwing it, just holding it in his fist. A few cautious glances were immediately directed his way, but Jack was only paying attention inward.

He gasped.

Not only was there a new stream of Dao enhancing his fist—the Dao of Power—but his conscious control over the Dao had also increased after using it extensively in the soul world. The System didn’t need to hand-hold him as much anymore, so it could focus more on empowering him.

The feeling of the current Meteor Punch reminded him of the very first time he got the skill. Back then, it used to be an overpowering, overwhelming strike that annihilated his opponents in exchange for exhausting him and breaking his hand. He had grown a lot since then, until he was eventually able to freely use the skill, but this also meant that its relative power went down.

Now, the overwhelming power had returned. Holding the Meteor Punch at the ready felt like holding a live grenade. It was like a demon had infested his fist, struggling to unleash itself. Or like he had strapped a racing car engine to his wrist. The moment he punched out, it was very likely his hand would be mangled.

The power of his skill had gone way, way up, returning to the one-hit killer it was always meant to be.

“Woah,” was all Jack could say. He was beyond pleased. This felt not only appropriate for an evolution of Meteor Punch, but also like a very handy last resort. If he was ever cornered, he could just hail-mary. Additionally, it synergized well with his third-tier Indomitable Body and its extreme regeneration abilities. Even if his wrist was broken, it would recover, as long as it wasn’t completely shattered.

As for the inevitable pain… Well, it came hand in hand with power. Jack was used to it by now.

The only downside was that he’d lost the ability to use Meteor Punch for smaller reasons. Meteor Shower was temporarily unavailable, too. But it was a trade-off Jack would make any day of the week.

He couldn’t wait to test it out.

“Hey,” a voice came from beside him, demanding his attention. Dorman had opened his eyes and was squinting at Jack’s closed fist. “Are you preparing something?”

“Just testing. I upgraded a skill.”

“You did?” Dorman’s eyes widened slightly. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you.”

“Just congratulations?” a second voice came from somewhere behind Jack. Turning, he found the Sage’s smiling form approaching. “Not many people can reach the third tier of a Dao Skill in the E-Grade. This is stunning work! Well done!”

Jack let his own smile blossom. “Thank you, Sage. I’m trying my best.” Of course, he also had Indomitable Body at the third tier, but there was no need to reveal everything. Instead, his eyes narrowed. “Wait. How did you know that?”

“I’m a sage. Knowing stuff is what I do.”

Jack’s eye-narrowing intensified. Did he just trick me? he wondered, but the Sage’s expression was inscrutable. Well, whatever. Not like I can do anything about it now.

“How long was I meditating for?” he asked, turning his gaze towards the center of the area, where the lone tree stood surrounded by seven formations. To his surprise, only three formations remained active. The outer four had disappeared, leaving only circles of blackened symbols on the ground. Kareena and the other two formation masters were currently sitting just outside the edge of the fifth formation—a transparent orange barrier. Two of them were inspecting the symbols on the ground, while Kareena was observing the barrier itself.

“A day, roughly,” said the Sage. “You became kind of an attraction. If you were planning to hide your breakthrough, you should reconsider.”

“A day!?”

No wonder he suddenly felt thirsty! He’d spent an entire day meditating! It hadn’t felt nearly as long.

Wait, he realized. Does time flow differently in my soul world? No, I didn’t notice any discrepancies the previous times. Then, how did I lose track of time?

“Don’t fret,” the Sage said again. “It happens. The higher you rise, the longer meditation takes, and the more time loses its meaning.”

“I guess… But we’re almost at the tree.”

“That, we are.”

“What if I had meditated all the way until the end? Until someone took the fruit?”

“It’s a pill, not a fruit,” the Sage corrected him, “and, yes, that could happen. In that case, we would make sure you’re undisturbed. Fusing Dao Roots is not easy.”

“But I would have missed the finale.”

“You would have missed the waiting, too,” Dorman said with an irritated groan. “Not everyone can break through at will. And let me tell you, sitting still for an entire day is annoying.”

The Sage laughed. “Patience is a virtue, Dorman. Look at the bright side. They’re almost done. Only two formations left.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

Dorman raised a brow. On cue, one of the formation masters exclaimed something. The three of them quickly embarked on a spirited conversation while the one that had exclaimed pointed at a few of the symbols by his feet. A moment later, the other two nodded, and the person who had exclaimed reached down to touch the base of the formation.

The barrier dispersed.

The formation masters stood up, dusted their clothes, congratulated each other, and moved to sit by the next formation—a curtain of swimming shadows.

“Is there anything you can’t predict, Sage?” Jack asked.

The Sage smiled proudly. “Many things…but I can also predict many. Divination is a powerful practice.”

“Maybe I should learn it as well,” he joked.

“You could if you wanted to. I can sense a strong affinity to life inside you.”

Jack raised a brow. “Does it require studying thick tomes instead of punching stuff?”

“It requires studying the world.”

“Right. And I suppose being all cryptic and mystical is a trick of the trade?”

“Oh, yes. It’s rather mandatory.”

Jack laughed. “Maybe another time, Sage.”

“Maybe another time.” The Sage smiled back. Suddenly, his line of revealed yellow teeth turned crooked, and his eyes took on a calculating hint. His voice lowered in volume. “By the way, Jack… I can sense that your Dao understanding is particularly strong. If you don’t mind sharing, do you happen to have three fused Dao Roots?”

Jack hesitated. He did have three fused Dao Roots, and he did owe the Sage a few favors, but just revealing his strength like this…

Whatever. I do owe him.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Hmm. In that case, you’re on the same level as the Lords. Maybe even slightly stronger, given your Integration titles. If not for your low level, you may have been able to contend for the Dao Sprouting Pill, a shortcut that would greatly help you save Earth.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Why are you rubbing salt on my wound, Sage?”

“That’s the wrong question. Reasons are the easiest things to find. Try again.”

Jack did plan to contend for the pill, if possible. If he wanted to defeat the Planetary Overseer, he needed all the power he could get. However, the offer of the Exploding Sun still stood. He wasn't too desperate anymore. If getting the pill was a suicide mission, he wouldn’t do it.

“What are you trying to say?” he asked. He also noticed that Dorman’s eyes were narrowed as he looked at the Sage.

“Since we are mostly aligned, the stronger you are, the better for us. Incidentally, I happen to carry a highly condensed experience ball. I could exchange it for that Snow White Globe you got from the animal tile formation at the start of the garden.”

Jack crossed his arms. “First of all, how do you know that? You weren’t even there. And second, why would you do that?”

“I told you. Our interests are aligned. As for knowing about that little treasure… Well, as I said, I’m a sage. Knowing stuff is what I do.”

His yellow-toothed smile was wide and full of meaning.

“Sage,” Dorman’s voice came sharply from the side. “What are you doing?”

“Trust me, my friend.”

“Trust you? We’re supposed to—” Dorman cut his words short, glancing at Jack. “Can we have a moment?”

“There is no need,” the Sage replied, raising an open palm. “I will need you to trust my judgment.”

Dorman’s eyes were spewing fire. His inner struggle was apparent. Eventually, he relented. “Fine,” he said, crossing his arms, but it was obvious he was still boiling on the inside.

Jack had no idea what was going on. Was that experience ball valuable to them?

“Why would you offer me that?” he asked. “If you need the experience ball, I don’t want to take it.”

“On the contrary, it’s completely useless to us now. I was just carrying it in case we didn’t level enough in the previous rings, but we did. So, why not exchange it? In fact, I have to warn you that your Snow White Globe would go for a far higher market price than this experience ball.”

Jack’s confusion increased. He glanced at Dorman, who was still glaring suspiciously at the Sage. “Then, why…”

“We have our own thoughts,” the Sage replied, still smiling. “Helping you here is a small change of plans, that’s all. So, what do you say? Wanna exchange?”

Jack almost opened his mouth to ask something again, then stopped himself. Any further questions would get him nothing. Moreover, he clearly knew too little to decipher these people’s intentions. All he could do was consider the Sage’s suggestion.

Am I getting tricked, somehow? he wondered. If he suddenly got a bunch of levels, that would put him in the run for the Top Treasure. There were high chances he would battle the Lords, with all the consequences and risks that brought.

Would the Sage benefit from that?

No matter how hard Jack thought, he got little. The only possibility he could come up with was that the Sage planned to contend for the pill himself, and he would benefit from the chaos of an extra challenger added to the mix, but that was far-fetched.

Another possibility was that the Sage foresaw Jack killing one of the Lords or getting killed himself, and that would somehow further the Black Hole Church’s interests. But, if that was true, there was nothing Jack could do about it. He’d just have to be careful.

And he did want that experience ball. A lot. It would negate his greatest weakness against the Lords. It would greatly help him further his own goals. All the plans he’d made, which were just on the verge of fruition, would suddenly become possible.

Even if he accidentally helped the Sage, somehow, that wouldn’t be too bad, as long as he didn’t harm himself. After all, the Sage had assisted him on plenty of occasions. Jack still owed him a bunch of favors.

What a crafty deal… he thought, sweating. Is the Sage a devil?

“Don’t think too hard, Jack,” the Sage spoke up. “There is no ploy. I have nothing against you. I genuinely just want to see you get stronger because I predict that, in the long run, your strength will benefit us as well.”

There was no free lunch in the world. But there were good deals. And, though Jack didn’t feel that the Sage was completely honest—or as selfless as he claimed—he decided that this was a deal worth taking.

More power was a good thing. If something bad happened down the line…he could only blame himself.

“Deal,” he agreed.

The Sage smiled. “Great! Here.” Angling his body so that it hid what they were doing, he dug a hand into his robes and pulled out a pinky-sized jewel that radiated soft, multi-colored light. Jack quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into his secret pocket.

“Aren’t you afraid that one of the others has a skill to detect things without seeing them?” he whispered.

“They don’t,” the Sage replied.

Jack grimaced. So much for hiding the gray orb even when Longsword wasn’t looking. He reached for his belt and unhung the Snow White Globe, then handed it over to the Sage.

“Thank you,” the middle-aged man replied, inspecting the globe before sliding it in his robes.

I should make a visible pocket, Jack realized. The Sage already knows of the secret one’s existence, but now I have to either store the experience ball—jewel—on my belt where everyone can see it, use it, which I don’t want to do yet, or put it in my secret pocket, revealing that I have one. After all, they will notice my missing Snow White Globe. I wouldn’t have given it out for free.

“How many levels will that thing give me?” Jack asked.

“Plenty. But use it at the last moment. Surprise is a useful weapon.”

“Of course.”

Jack’s mind was already spinning. Everything came under new light now. With all the effort he’d invested into researching the Lord teams, and this jewel as the final drop…

He could fight for the Top Treasure!