Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 213: Gan Salin’s Insanity

The animal bros hesitated, glancing at Brock for his opinion. After thinking for a moment, the brorilla nodded. Bocor hurriedly stood and walked away, bottling his humiliation as he waited for Longsword’s instructions.

However, all three Lords were frozen. Even Longsword had forgotten that he’d just been pushed back and humiliated yet again. There were more important matters at hand.

Both followers of the Barren High team had just demonstrated the strength of Lords out of nowhere. They were two Lords. And they weren’t even the leaders of their team.

What the heck!?

Even Priya, who had stood behind and not participated in this fight, laughed bitterly. Only now did she understand just how doomed this Garden Assault was. Even if Jack Rust didn’t emerge out of nowhere to take the Top Treasure, the Barren High team would have. They certainly possessed the strength. All three of the Lords thought they were the main characters…but, in truth, they never stood a chance.

“Who are you?” Minerva asked, staring at the Sage. He smiled.

“Just an old man who likes making friends.”

“Of course you are,” she replied, giving him a deep look. “And you represent the Barren High, yes?”

“So it seems.”

“Then tell them to hide their allegiances better. The Hand of God does not take well to insults.”

The Sage’s mouth widened, a yellow-toothed grin full of hidden meaning. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t.” Another long look later, she turned and walked away. “I already got everything I can. I’m departing Trial Planet. Good luck, everyone.”

Longsword hesitated for a couple moments. When the shock of revelation passed, he realized that he had once again ran into a wall. This Garden Assault was a disaster. He hadn’t even found a Dao Inheritance for himself.

In the span of a few hours, he had been mocked, tricked, outsmarted, defeated, and intimidated. What Lord? He was just a Peasant!

How would he ever live down this failure?

And for all those, one way or another, were due to one person. “Jack Rust…” he muttered, gritting his teeth. There was no one he hated more than that man. Everything happened because he chose to spare Jack Rust back in Village Ring, thinking he could recruit him—even if he didn’t, how much could a middle E-Grade affect things?

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret. Longsword had lost wholly and decisively—in everything. At his present state, he couldn’t even beat the lightning-dagger-wielder, let alone the Sage, the djinn with the mallet, or the army of beasts.

The bile rose so high inside him that he almost puked. Only the intense despair to protect his last shred of dignity allowed him to swallow the bile back down.

“I will remember this,” he said, eyeing everyone present. Mercifully, nobody responded—besides Brock, who gave him the finger. Longsword pretended not to see it—the most painful moment of his life. He turned around, and without another word, walked towards the pedestal that could teleport him out of Trial Planet. Bocor followed him after a moment of hesitation, equally brimming with fury and not daring to look back.

“A shame,” Dorman said, sighing. “I was looking forward to a good fight… Next time, I guess.”

Priya walked up to Gan Salin, Brock, and the Sage, who were standing close together. “I won’t ask what is going on here,” she said with a wry smile. “I thought that Jack Rust was gone forever…but, after everything I’ve seen today, I believe he’ll somehow make it out alive. Take this.”

She tossed a medallion at Brock, who grabbed it out of the air. It was slightly larger than his palm, made of bronze, and depicted a sun in the middle of exploding.

“If Jack does make it out,” she said, “give him this. It allows him to contact our faction. If not… Well, you can keep it. The Exploding Sun would welcome a brorilla as talented as yourself.”

Brock inspected the medallion for a moment. He tried to bite it, but it proved too hard. Eventually, he shrugged and slipped it in his pocket. “Okay,” he said, extending a hand.

Priya shook it with amusement. “I’m sorry things had to go this way,” she said, “but I suspect I couldn’t change anything even if I tried. I wish you and your, uh, big brother best of luck.”

“Me too!” Chuto added from the side, roaring in laughter. “What a man he was! And you too, Brother Brock—I look forward to training alongside you in the Exploding Sun courtyards.”

Brock nodded politely.

“If there is nothing else, we will be going now,” Priya said, eyeing the Sage. “I suspect I’ll hear more about you soon.”

“You never know,” he replied playfully, “because you’re not a sage. I wish you reach immortality, Lady Priya.”

She seemed taken aback. “You too,” she replied, then turned around. “See you all.”

Chuto and Kareena followed her after bidding their goodbyes. Only Brock, Gan Salin, the Sage, Dorman, and Poppy were left—along with Brock’s bro army and Nauja on the distant hill, who was now shooting Sun Piercing Arrows in a different direction.

“As embarrassing as this is to say,” the Sage confessed, “I actually have no idea what is going on with Jack. I cannot tell you if he will escape or not—he has already surprised me multiple times. His fate is one that even I cannot read—not yet, in any case.”

“He will,” Gan Salin said confidently. “Imagine if, after all this, he just dies in a random cave somewhere.”

The Sage laughed. He then described what had really happened with Jack, along with the specifics of where he was trapped. “We won’t be sticking around,” he finished. “There is urgent business in our headquarters, and the road to immortality is too long to wait. What about you?”

Brock pointed at the ground. He was certain that Jack would find a way to survive. He would stay and wait for his big brother—besides, he had many things to think about, like the Big Thought of Density. Not to mention that staying here would give him more time to spread brohood among the beasts of Beast Garden.

“I will stay, too,” Salin said. “I am in no rush to return. Plus, I think I’m still wanted by my faction. Whoopsie.”

“I think they’ll forget about it pretty quickly when they see that Seventh Ring Conqueror title you have,” the Sage replied smilingly. “And I suppose your archer friend will stay, too?”

“Probably. She’s never left this planet. A few days won’t make a difference.”

“In that case, I commend your friendship. If I’m being honest, I would rate Jack’s chances of survival pretty low… I am familiar with the trap he’s in, and I don’t see any way he could escape, given his current strength. But who knows? He has already proven himself beyond my sight. Maybe I’m wrong.”

“For sure you are. Jack wouldn’t die in some random cave,” Salin insisted. “Well then. If you’re going, let us walk you to the pedestal.”

“It would be our honor.”

After bidding a temporary goodbye to Brock’s beast bros, who felt uncomfortable leaving Beast Garden for extended periods of time, the five of them walked towards the entrance of Garden Ring, making small talk along the way. Everyone who had left earlier had hurried, and they were already behind the horizon of this ring’s sharp curvature.

When they arrived, Dorman eyed the giant, solitary gate in the middle of the grassland but didn’t walk over. It was clear that, with his current strength, he didn’t think he stood any chance against the Final Guardian.

“Can I have a moment with you, Sage?” Salin asked as they reached the pedestal. The Sage, whose hand was already gliding over it, paused.

“Sure,” he replied.

“Sage,” Dorman said, but the old man only shook his head.

“I’ll be fine.”

Dorman stared at Gan Salin for a moment, who only shrugged. “We’ll be waiting outside,” he said. Both he and Poppy touched the pedestal and disappeared. Brock, too, walked away to give them privacy after bidding his goodbye to the Sage.

“What is it, my friend?” the Sage asked, turning to Gan Salin. They were alone now.

Gan Salin’s face was hard. His smile, a fake one. “You’re a Sage. Wouldn’t you know what I have to say?”

“I do.”

“Heh…but your predictions are not always correct, are they? Back in Space Ring, you said we shouldn’t dally there because all our fates laid deeper inside. Jack found his. So did Nauja. But I… No matter how I searched Mind Garden, there was no Dao Inheritance suitable for me. In this trip to Trial Planet, my first and last opportunity to make a difference, I failed to find an inheritance—a benefit even greater than the titles.” He fell silent for a moment. Seeing that the Sage didn’t respond, he added, “Tell me, Sage. Did I do something wrong? Did you get it wrong? Or…” His eyes darkened. “Did you lie to me?”

The Sage gave Salin a sad, tight smile. “You already know the answer.”

“I want to hear it.”

He sighed. “I apologize, my friend, although I know that an apology now means little. I did lie to you. My faction has vested interest in Jack’s future, so I guided events in a way that would maximize his benefits. I knew that, if you didn’t leave Space Ring quickly, he might miss out. In truth, the Trial meant for you was in Space Ring, just a few hours away from where we met.”

“I see… So you wasted my potential to help Jack.”

“I did. And, while it is sad, it was a decision I had to make for the larger picture. I had to sacrifice you and betray your trust. I am sorry.”

Salin sighed deeply, throwing his head back. “You have balls to say that in my face… Aren’t you afraid that I will lash out at you? You are only a Soul cultivator. At this distance, a surprise attack from me could end you.”

“I know you wouldn’t. After all, I am a Sage—a gift and a curse, somet—”

Salin’s hand emerged from Sage’s back. It was bloody—and, between its five shining nails, rested a still-beating heart.

“That’s the cool thing about insanity, Sage,” he said, pulling his hand back with a wet splash. “It’s unpredictable.”

The Sage toppled backward on the ground. His eyes remained open in shock and disbelief. He couldn’t comprehend what had happened.

Salin stepped back and looked at the body with sadness. “You may have been a good man,” he said, “but you ruined my life.”

Suddenly, green winds filled Salin’s vision. They radiated a force of life so intense that he had to shield his eyes and move away. He felt his entire body grow alive in a way he’d never experienced before. It made no sense.

“Divination is a path of Life, and Life is Balance wrapped around Chaos,” a voice came from inside the green winds, which were tussling and turning like ribbons. “When either element is pushed to the extreme, you get Entropy… A concept outside the realm of life. How could I forget such a simple rule?”

The winds disappeared, sucked into the body of the Sage, who stood whole like his heart had never been ripped out. A green halo stood over his head, and a heavy pressure bore down on Gan Salin’s heart. Only the Sage’s pale face and slight panting indicated any sort of exertion.

Gan Salin was stunned. He had clearly just killed the Sage. Not even D-Grade healers could repair a torn heart. Jack’s regeneration, which everyone hailed as extreme, didn’t even come close to this.

This didn’t make any sense. It was insanity.

“How!?” Salin asked, more in shock than fear.

“Like everyone, I have my secrets,” the Sage replied. There was a hint of strictness in his smile; the threat of a storm just thinly veiled. “You tried to kill me. Should that go unpunished?”

“I mean, you started it.”

“I did.” The Sage’s green halo disappeared, and the pressure in Gan Salin’s soul melted. The Sage turned away. “While your intentions were clear, you caused me no real harm. I, on the other hand, had good intentions but harmed you greatly. All bad karma has been resolved. After this, we are even. Are we not?”

Salin nodded, surprised he wasn’t dead yet. “That makes sense.”

“Good. But, Salin… The road of Entropy is not one you want to walk. As you advance, you will grow deranged and disastrous to everyone around you. Eventually, your friends will become enemies, and someone will have to end you. Don’t choose that path. Water down your wine. Add a Dao Root of order to your Dao Seed, so you can freely walk the path of insanity without fearing entropy. Add balance to your chaos. That will be enough.”

“I…will consider it. Thanks.”

The Sage turned and gave a tight smile. “No problem,” he said. Then, his hand pressed on the pedestal, and he was gone.

It was right then that Brock arrived, having run over from where he stood the moment he sensed Salin’s attack and the green winds. “What?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Salin replied, still reeling. “But I think the Sage gave me a good idea. Oh, well. Jack is still in his cave, and who knows how long he’ll stay there. What do you say we drink some more, then cultivate?”

Brock considered it for a moment. He glanced at the ground, where drops of crimson blood glowed unnaturally against the grass, then at Salin’s smiling face. “Sure,” he said.