Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 211: Impossible?

The stone slab crashed down, and everything went dark. It wasn’t just light. All sound from outside disappeared as well, and all Dao perception was blocked by the walls.

Jack stayed still in absolute darkness, panting heavily. He remained exhausted from the chase and battle. He still couldn’t believe he was safe. Maybe Longsword would barge in at any moment, angrier than anyone had ever been. Jack was ready to unleash his Life Drop and fight to the death.

Only after a few long moments, when nothing disturbed the silence of the sealed cave, did Jack accept that he was safe—for now. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had escaped with the Top Treasure. He’d gotten the Eighth Ring Conqueror title. Everything had worked out.

Except for the fact that he was sealed in a lightless cave, maybe forever, while Brock was out there with his enemies.

The thought pained Jack’s heart. There were times in one’s life, however, when you had to make the hard choice. When you had to trust your bros, treat them as equals, and not shield them from everything.

If he always had to worry about his enemies turning back to retaliate against his friends and family, he would never do anything. In this case, Brock was nowhere even close to the action. He was off doing his own thing. Jack’s enemies had no reason to go after Brock—if they did, they would just be dishonorable and petty to no benefit.

Therefore, Jack chose the only path that could lead to victory: seal himself, breakthrough, and then return to take care of things. As for what would happen outside in the meantime…he could only hope.

The highest expression of brohood was not being afraid to risk each other. That was also the way of the fist. Not simply ahead. But taking the truly strong path.

Thinking up to that point, Jack put the outside matters out of his mind. All he could do was focus on the present. He was sealed in a cave, with the task of breaking through as soon as possible.

How long will it take? he wondered. The darkness and silence were crushing. They applied a unique weight on his soul. Is this how prisoners feel in isolation?

It wasn’t pretty. Not at all. He could already feel his sanity threatened. How was he supposed to cultivate in these conditions? Could he even break through?

Wait! I still haven’t scanned the fruit!

Amidst the previous, exciting battle between the Lords, he’d completely forgotten about this. Reaching for his secret pocket, he quickly took out the pill and scanned it.

Dao Sprouting Pill

A pill designed to assist the sprouting of a cultivator’s Dao Tree. Each bite cleanses the cultivator’s spirit and heightens their Dao sensitivity, allowing them to comprehend it more efficiently than usual. If the cultivator attempts to sprout their Dao Tree under this pill’s effects, the pill’s energy remnants place them in a state of artificial enlightenment, greatly assisting the breakthrough.

Unlike similar pills of lower quality, consuming the Dao Sprouting Pill carries no drawbacks.

The pill still resembled a blood-red apple. It had even grown from a tree. Jack failed to see how this was a pill, but it wasn’t like he cared much. If the System wanted to call it a pill or a shoe, that was its problem. All Jack cared about was breaking through—which, it seemed, this pill would help him achieve.

And then, he would be an immortal. His chest inflated with pride.

But what if I fail? he couldn’t help but wonder. Breaking through to the D-Grade is supposed to be much more difficult than to the E-Grade, and I have cultivated for such a short time… What if, even with the pill’s assistance, I am still not ready?

Will I be trapped here forever?

He still had a deadline to catch. He had to defeat the Planetary Overseer and reclaim Earth within a year, or at least find allies who could do it for him. He also had to find Brock and make sure he was okay—as well as let him know that he, too, was okay.

Even if it doesn’t work, I have to wait long enough to ensure that Longsword and the others have left… But will I even be able to exit?

The anxiety ate away at him. Three Lords had worked together to unseal this place before. Could he do it by himself, if he didn’t breakthrough?

Tentatively, he approached the stone slab and placed a palm on its surface. It was cool and smooth, as if cut with a single slash. Closing his eyes, he sensed for the Dao vacuum, found it, and slowly poured in his Dao. He didn’t want to open it by accident, just check how difficult it was.

As time passed, however, his brows creased. He poured more and more of his Dao-clad energy inside the stone, but not much happened. The vacuum was filling up way too slowly. From the time he started to when he ran out of energy, only a fourth had been filled.

Granted, he was already tired from the battle and chase before, but he estimated that, even at full power, he could barely fill up half of this vacuum. As if that wasn’t enough, the vacuum constantly leaked energy to its surroundings, meaning that he couldn’t take his time to recover before continuing. He had to fill it up in one go.

Which, at his current level, was clearly impossible. Even the Life Drop couldn’t assist much here—it would at most let him reach 70% of the vacuum’s capacity.

Jack didn’t let this realization bring him down. He already planned to break through; by then, he would certainly have enough energy to fill up this thing. If he failed…

It’s okay. Pressure helps with breakthroughs, he comforted himself, already sweating—and not just from exhaustion. He was trapped in a dark, sealed cave. He didn’t even have food and water. If he failed to break through, this place would become his grave.

***

Longsword slammed the pommel of his sword against the stone slab and roared in outrage.

“It won’t budge,” Minerva said from the side, eyeing the entire small hill. “You already tried, Longsword. Calm yourself.”

“How can I possibly stay calm?” Longsword thundered. “Did you not see what he did?”

Minerva gave him a deep look but remained silent. In truth, she didn’t need to say anything. Longsword already knew that this was all a result of his own incompetence. Getting tricked by Jack once, through unlucky circumstances and the use of an unknown treasure, was one thing. Getting tricked twice by a treasure he already knew existed… That was just his fault.

If only I hadn’t pulled back to defend… he thought for the thousandth time, gnashing his teeth. Victory had been in his grasp before he completely threw it away. Even thinking about it made him feel sick, angry, and humiliated.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.

“What’s done is done,” Minerva said, leaning against the side of her Elite boar. “Let’s focus on our next steps.”

“Right,” Longsword agreed. He passed a hand through his long, dark hair, trying to calm himself. “Jack Rust is trapped inside. He chose to die with the pill rather than give it to us—what a frustrating idiot.”

“You have to admire his resolve, though. Sealing your own grave is not an easy feat.”

Longsword glared at her. “Don’t rub salt in my wound.”

“I won’t lie, either. You made a mistake. It happens. Get over it.”

Longsword debated striking her. Perhaps he could get a sneak attack in…

What am I even thinking? he chided himself. She’s right. I need to compose myself…but she doesn’t understand how I feel. She has never been humiliated before. Neither had I, until…

Another burning stake through his heart. Another blue pit at the bottom of his stomach. He grimaced.

“Are we sure he’s trapped?” he asked. He yearned for Jack to get out. If he didn’t personally strike him down, he may never recover from this hit to his pride. His confidence would always have a hole—and a nicked sword was a poor sword.

“You sensed that Dao storage thing as well as I did,” Minerva replied. “It takes at least two Lords to fill it up. Even if he has some treasure that can temporarily enhance him, it will never make him double as strong. There is no way he can lift the stone slab.”

“Hmm…” Longsword cupped his chin. He thought back to Jack’s face as he pulled the lever. His hard eyes as he said, “I will survive.” Forcing down the hatred that sprang in his soul, he examined those memories. “He didn’t look like a dead man,” he finally said. “More like he had a plan.”

“Could he know another way out of the cave? Hmm. I remember that, when we exited this cave, we found no treasure. No reward. Maybe there is another way to resolve it which we simply didn’t find.”

Longsword shook his head. “I spoke to the merfolk guide afterward. Traps like these don’t usually have a reward. Or, rather, the cave itself is the reward. They are the cultivation chambers of ancient immortals, meant to isolate them from the environment. Cultivating in there is more efficient than outside, which I suppose whoever made this place considered a reward…but not for us. E-Grades can’t even pull the door handle of an immortal’s cultivation chamber. For the same reason, there is no other way to exit. Why would someone need a backdoor to their cultivation chamber?”

“Makes sense.” Minerva nodded. “Then, if Jack Rust thought there was a way out, what could it be? Did he misunderstand something about the cave?”

Both stayed silent for a moment, considering it. Finally, Longsword had a realization. A realization that made his loss to Jack seem even worse. “I think I know,” he said with a pale face. “He must be planning to use the pill to breakthrough inside the cave.”

Minerva raised both brows. “No!”

“Think about it. He was just Integrated a few months ago. He doesn’t know anything about cultivation. He didn’t even know the rules around the Top Treasure.”

“But surely, he’s not that ignorant,” she insisted. “Not only is it extremely difficult to become an immortal, but even if he could do it, it is impossible to break through inside Trial Planet. The very essence of this planet forbids that, in the same way that immortals cannot enter. There is no way nobody told him that.”

“I hope you’re right. Maybe he hopes to get an extra Dao Root and escape? But that’s crippling himself. He will never become an immortal.”

“Plus, it still wouldn’t be enough. One Dao Root doesn’t double one’s power.”

“Right.”

Again, they fell silent. A few moments later, Minerva said, “Nothing comes to mind. I think he really did suicide to keep us away from the fruit. What a headstrong man.”

Longsword grumbled. “Let’s search around the hill. Maybe there is another way to enter or exit, despite what the merfolk told me. We can’t rest until we’re certain that he’s trapped forever.”

“Very well. Let’s do that.”

Over the next hour, the two of them searched every nook and cranny of this rough hill. They scanned every inch for Dao vacuums. They tried to break everything. They even dug under the hill, trying to find a way in, but it was all one big boulder. It was magically enhanced, too, so they couldn’t chip a single pebble despite using their strongest attacks. Moreover, the stone slab was completely immovable and impenetrable.

When the rest of the group finally arrived, including Priya and the Sage, who looked like he’d been through a battle, the two Lords were forced to call it quits. There was no way to enter or exit the cave besides the obvious. They even asked the others if they had any idea, but even the Sage and the formation masters shook their heads.

The Sage even said, “In all honesty, I hadn’t predicted this. I really don’t see any way he can exit. No matter what line of fate I inspect, all show Jack dying in there.”

“Speaking of,” Minerva said, “you were the one who gave him an experience jewel, weren’t you?”

He smiled, showcasing a line of yellow teeth. “It was an honest exchange. I got a Snow White Globe! If he later used the jewel to harm your interests, that has nothing to do with me.”

She gave him a deep look, then nodded slowly. He kept his smile up throughout. “There is one final thing we need to inspect,” she finally said, turning away from the Sage. “Jack Rust has a pet beast. Perhaps they have a special way to communicate or transfer energy, which would allow him to exit the cave. Let’s take a look at that brorilla.”

Longsword nodded. “Of course,” he replied, grasping his sword’s handle. “Just a small, harmless look.”