Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 228: Derion, the Poison Planet

Not every teleporter was as easy to access as the first one.

In Jack and Brock’s journey to the Exploding Sun, they passed through many planets. Some resembled Earth. Some had inhospitable environments and transparent domes protecting the cities. Humans were even more prevalent in this constellation than in the Animal Kingdom’s, being by far the most common species, but there was more than just them.

Jack saw animal people, plant people, rock people. Apparently, anything sentient—and sometimes, not even that—could develop intelligence and evolve into their planet’s dominant species. Everything he thought he knew about biology was torn asunder, and new, more expansive knowledge took its place.

Throughout their journey, they were introduced to many things.

Golems made of the elements. People of glass. A race of sapient moles with entire cities underground, steeped in darkness, with only the torchlight of visitors flickering through the city like uneasy fireflies.

It was an eye-opening experience.

Of course, most places only gave Jack a glimpse, since he was in a hurry to reach the Exploding Sun. At every teleporter, people parted to let him pass. By now, Jack had no idea where he was, or how far away from Earth. He only knew that he was lost in the endless wonders of space, a sea so colorful and enormous that even a thousand lifetimes wouldn’t be enough to explore it fully.

But it didn’t matter. They were a man and a brorilla touring the stars. It was amazing.

As one planet led to another, however, and Jack and Brock approached the Exploding Sun headquarters, the ambience changed. The medieval civilizations that filled the constellation’s fringes gave way to high-tech wonders similar to what they’d seen in Pearl Bay, where they’d boarded the Trampling Ram. Bustling metropolises replaced the countryside cities, filled with skyscrapers and starship docks.

Not all planets were like that, of course. Most were at rather low levels of technology, but the closer one came to the center of the constellation, the more advanced civilizations they met.

This advancement included cultivation. In the fringes of the constellation, there were only a handful of D-Grades per planet. Deeper in, every metropolis was ruled by one, and there were even C-Grades helming entire planets. The teleporter guards remained at the peak of the E-Grade, but Jack got more respectful. He no longer dared to just throw his weight around and demand to pass without a proper inspection.

Therefore, he forged a new identity for himself: He was now Lionel Horseman, a human cultivator of Earth-387, as he couldn’t change how the System displayed his species. This was the best he could do. By now, he didn’t need to be too careful, either; the Animal Kingdom and Exploding Sun were adversaries, if not enemies, so the bounties of one faction probably wouldn’t reach this deep into the other.

On the eleventh planet, Jack and Brock emerged into a bustling hub similar to the one on Belarian Outpost, from where they’d teleported to Trial Planet. They were surrounded by a hexagon of teleporters, with three of them on each side for a total of eighteen. Long lines stretched before every teleporter, filled with people of all species and levels. Jack saw more than one immortal just standing in line and waiting.

The moment they exited the teleporter, they were quickly ushered away by a peak E-Grade guard, making room for the next batch of people to appear. A steady stream of cultivators carried Jack and Brock to the exit and then outside the hub, where they saw—

A desert?

Well, not really. It was just brown, barren wilderness as far as met the eye, covered in dusty rock and with barely any plants visible. There were no animals, either.

“What is this place?” Jack wondered, looking around. “Where is the city? The metropolises? The people?”

The place they were in resembled more a town of the Wild West than an interplanetary trade center. A few houses stood at the side of the main street, framing the wilderness. Outside the town, several square miles were occupied by camps, starships, and all sorts of mobile accommodation.

Moreover, gray clouds stretched everywhere overhead, and the sky visible through their gaps was a sickly green instead of blue.

“First time in Derion?” A man’s voice came from behind Jack, who turned to see who would speak so informally to an immortal. Unsurprisingly, the other man was an immortal himself—heavily-built and filled with muscle, he was humanoid but made of wood. Flowers sprang from gaps in his bare skull, while his bark-like body was only covered by a pair of green shorts. Naturally, there was no hair on his face.

Treant, Level 197

Faction: Triple Helix (C-Grade)

“Yeah,” Jack responded. “What is this place?”

“A handy teleportation point,” the man replied, laughing. His voice was deep and gritty. “Derion is an inhospitable planet at a key location. The air is toxic—F-Grade cultivators get poisoned after a few days here, and E-Grades after around a month. Instead of trying to terraform it, the Exploding Sun turned it into a planet-sized storage and teleportation checkpoint. A good part of the constellation’s traffic goes through here, relieving the nearby planets, and some of the teleporters have long enough range to reach other constellations.”

“Huh. Smart,” said Jack, stretching out a hand. “I’m Jack, and this is Brock.”

“Torm,” the treant replied, returning the handshake. His skin really was bark—rough and hard. “Where are you headed?”

“To the Exploding Sun headquarters.”

“I see. Trying to get recruited?” Torm gave Jack a suspicious side-glance.

“...Yeah? Why the long face?”

“Forgive me. It’s really none of my business, just the rarity of seeing a disguised immortal.”

Jack grimaced. The disguise potion only worked on mortals—anyone at the D-Grade or above could see right through it, if they tried to inspect him.

“I have my reasons,” he replied defensively, ready to walk away.

Torm laughed. “Relax. As long as you are not my enemy, I couldn’t care less.”

“I certainly hope so.” Jack smiled. “So… Any idea how I get to the headquarters from here?”

“Simple. You go to the registration desk, declare your destination, and take a buzzer. Then, you can camp around and relax. When you are within a thousand people of getting teleported, your buzzer will buzz and glow, notifying you to come here and join the line.”

Jack looked around. Several people were holding a glowing circular thing and rushing to the teleporter hub. Torm had a similar buzzer strapped to his belt, though it didn’t shine—he had just received it.

“I see,” Jack replied. “And how long does that take, usually?”

“Two, maybe three days. Depends on the traffic.”

“Alright. Then, I better go take my ticket. Thanks, Torm.”

“No problem,” the treant replied, slightly disappointed. “If you’re looking for drinking company, come find me anytime. I’ll be staying at the tree-shaped tent.”

“You got it.”

Both men waved and walked in opposite directions.

Torm looked like a nice, friendly guy looking for company to pass the time. However, he was far too quick to trust a disguised immortal. Maybe he just believed in his judgment of character, but Jack was in no state to take unnecessary risks right now. That someone knew of his real identity—or at least his faction—was unnerving enough. He’d just take his buzzer and camp somewhere far away, only to return when it was time to leave.

Could there be more disguised people? he wondered.

As he entered the teleporter hub through another entrance—the one he’d exited from was strictly an exit—he tried scanning everyone around. Most people were at the E-Grade and decidedly not disguised—or, at least, he didn’t see anything suspicious. The few immortals he chanced upon were also not disguised. Thankfully, none of them looked back.

Am I the only one? Jack wondered. If so, that could be dangerous.

He reached one of the registration desks, where the line was pleasantly short and fast-moving. For good reason, too—how long did it take people to declare a destination and receive a buzzer?

The Exploding Sun wasn’t big on bureaucracy.

Manning the desk was a peak E-Grade human who didn’t spare Jack a second glance. “Destination?”

“Exploding Sun headquarters.”

Aren’t they at all worried about disguised criminals? Jack wondered, receiving his buzzer—a plain dark blue disk. Maybe the real check happens before teleportation, like airport security. That would explain why it takes so long.

Looking around, he did spot D-Grade guards around each of the teleporters, staring at every person who passed in front of them.

Right. So, I should drop the disguise before leaving. Got it. I hope that won’t be a problem…

He remained there for a moment, lost in thought. His mind went over all possibilities as his eyes idly scanned the crowd. Amidst all the inspection, he almost didn’t notice the one screen that was out of place.

Feshkur, Level 134

Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)

Animal Kingdom? What is he doing here? They’re supposed to be enemies with the Exploding Sun. Even if they aren’t at war, it’s weird for someone of the Animal Kingdom to just be walking around this deep in enemy territory, right?

Jack blended into the crowd, watching the feshkur. He had the gray skin, slim physique, and tall stature that characterized his species, along with a hard glare that bore holes through anyone in his way. Many E-Grades sensed it and rushed to give him space.

Typical Animal Kingdom behavior, Jack thought.

The feshkur approached the registration desk and waited. When his turn came, he declared, “Belarian Outpost. Large cargo.” He then received his ticket, turned around, and went on his way, not passing remotely close to Jack.

Large cargo? Jack thought, the gears of his mind spinning. What could the Animal Kingdom be sending through the Exploding Sun constellation, guarded by an immortal?

It wasn’t just curiosity. The Animal Kingdom were his enemies. Anything he could do to harm them, he would.

“I guess we won’t be bored after all, Brock,” Jack said, shadowing the feshkur from several dozen feet behind. In the dense crowd, he was unnoticeable.

Brock smiled predatorily. “Yeah.”

The feshkur finally escaped the crowd and immediately took to the air. With a glance behind him, which didn’t seem to locate Jack, he flew away at moderate speed, heading towards the distant mountains.

Brock climbed on Jack’s back, who waited a few moments before flying, too. He headed in a different direction from the feshkur to avoid raising suspicions. A few moments later, when the feshkur was just a dot in the distance, he slowly adjusted his path upward and dove into the clouds. He then turned sharply and accelerated in the feshkur’s direction.

The clouds resembled Earth’s in color, but there was something wrong about them. They smelled awful, almost putrid, like a carcass left to rot in the burning sun. As soon as Jack emerged above them, the sun’s heat intensified so abruptly that he could sense Brock fidgeting.

This must be why the air is toxic, he realized, but tracking the feshkur was more important than analyzing the planet’s environment. Thankfully, Brock was at the E-Grade—even if they flew through the clouds for an hour, he would be fine.

After flying ahead at full speed for a minute, Jack dove back into the clouds and peeked out his head from the bottom. He was over the mountains now, and the feshkur was nowhere to be seen.

Before he got disappointed, however, he spotted a fast-moving dot in the distance. The feshkur had turned slightly, too, but Jack had found him just in time.

He smiled. “Got you,” he muttered, then flew back above the clouds and sped forth. At the end of the day, both of them were low D-Grades, but Jack was far, far stronger than his level would indicate. He could easily run down a random immortal.

This went on for a while, with Jack regularly peeking from the clouds to make sure the feshkur was still in sight, but not daring to get too close. Twenty minutes later, the feshkur suddenly began to lose speed and altitude. He entered a canyon in the wasteland.

“We’re here,” Jack said. He waited half an hour, just in case the immortal was looking out for people tracking him, then flew directly above the canyon and looked down. “The hell?”