Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Jack stuttered. “The Arch Priestess?” he said. “That’s— She’s— Brock! Good fucking job!”

The brorilla’s frown broke into a smile, and then he laughed. “Thanks.”

“How does that even work?” Jack asked, sitting down beside his brother. “You’re a brorilla, she’s a human. Aren’t you, you know, incompatible?”

“She’s not a human,” Brock replied, closing the Bro Code and putting it away. “Even if she was… Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“What is she if not a human?”

“A space monster,” Brock replied simply. Jack thought back to the original expedition into the Green Dragon Realm. One of the Church’s leading cultivators, the second-ranked C-Grade, had been a humanoid space monster as well. That man, however, had looked like a dragon in human form. He had whiskers and claws and scales. The Arch Priestess seemed…fairly normal?

Then again, she was covered head to toe in robes. Her feet and eyes were similar to a human’s. Everything else was hidden.

“What does she look like?” Jack couldn’t help asking.

Brock thought about it. “Strong. Powerful. Hairy.” He nodded to himself. “Very beautiful.”

“Well, I’m happy for you, bro. I just never thought that… Wow. You’re going out with one of the most influential and powerful people in the universe. Aren’t you, like, seven years old?”

Brock shrugged. “Brorillas become adults at three.”

Jack laughed again. “We must celebrate!” he shouted. “How about this? Today, we take a break from all things cultivation and drink to our heart’s content.”

“Thanks, bro, but it’s no big deal.”

“Your first girl? Of course it is!”

“Bro. It’s nothing. Don’t be a teenager.”

Jack caught himself. In Brock’s eyes, sleeping and being with someone was a completely normal thing. He was a big bro. Of course he’d be crazy popular.

Jack saw this as a rite of passage given his previous Earth culture, but to Brock, it was just another day.

“Alright,” Jack finally agreed. “But we need to have at least a shot.”

Brock smirked. “Okay. A shot.”

Jack rushed to the kitchen, returning with two shot glass filled with an amber liquid. He didn’t remember its name, but it was a hit on the New Cathedral. Even C-Grades could get a buzz.

Jack and Brock couldn’t, not without consuming prodigious quantities, but that was alright.

“To the Arch Priestess,” Jack said, raising his glass.

“To the Arch Priestess,” Brock agreed. They clinked their glasses and downed them.

“You did get her name, didn’t you?” Jack asked.

“She doesn’t have a name.”

“Really? Is it a religious thing?”

“No. She never had one.” Brock’s eyes took on a sad glint. “She’s been through a lot.”

“Oh. Well, there is no need to share if it’s her private business. I just hope she’s fine now.”

“She is. And, she wouldn’t mind. There is a large, separate dimension nestled in the center of this galaxy, inhabited fully by space monsters. They have their own society there. She was forced to leave when she was young, then met some roaming cultivators and joined them. She never had a name, only a title—though that’s something she should share herself.”

“I see…” Jack replied. “A separate dimension inhabited by space monsters? I didn’t know that existed. Nobody mentioned it before.”

“It’s why this galaxy is so full of space monsters. The bestial ones are often chased out to maintain a working society. That place is called the Space Monster World.”

“KID!” a new voice blasted into Jack’s ears, taking him completely by surprise. “That’s my home as well! That’s where I come from! It’s here, you’re actually here!”

Jack recoiled from the sudden shout. The grabbed his head. Venerable Saint Thousand Shell was practically zooming around in Jack’s inner world like an excited puppy.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Jack asked.

“You never told me you were in the Spiral Stair galaxy! How was I supposed to know? I’m not some nerd like The Stone to tell from the stars.”

“...Right. So, this Space Monster World?”

“It’s exactly what Brock said. A world inhabited and run by space monsters.”

“How come it’s not conquered, then? It sounds like a bunch of space monster cores to me.”

The turtle snorted. “We space monsters are not weak, kid. We have a few Archons of our own. The world is also sealed so A-Grades and Archons can only leave, not enter. It’s basically unassailable.”

“Unassailable, you say?”

Jack’s mind was already racing with ideas, but the turtle cut him short. “Don’t even think about it,” it said. “First of all, while leaving is easy, entering is very difficult. Most importantly, cultivators are not welcome there. The Church cannot use it to hide. Even the Arch Priestess, despite her status as a space monster Archon, cannot bargain asylum for her people.”

“Huh.”

“Bro,” Brock said, snapping his fingers in Jack’s face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. The turtle just said it comes from the Space Monster World as well.”

“Maybe it’s bros with the Arch Priestess.”

Jack chuckled. “I don’t think so. This turtle is very, very old.”

“Your mother is old. And my name is Venerable Saint Thousand Shell.”

“In any case,” Jack continued, “I’m happy for you and her. And this Space Monster World is interesting to know, though I’m not sure how it can help us currently.”

“Probably can’t.” Brock shrugged. “Otherwise, we would know already.”

“Yeah.”

Jack gathered the two shot glasses from before, as well as the now-empty gum worm bowl which Brock had been eating from. Ew.

“I’ll get back to work now, bro,” Jack said. “Happy reading.”

“Thanks. You too.”

And with that, Brock went back to studying the Bro Code, completely unaffected by the fact he was sleeping with one of the greatest cultivators in the universe, as well as his immediate superior.

***

While Jack’s main body was cultivating, pondering the mysteries of space and death, and drinking to celebrate joyous occurrences, the clone was buzzing with excitement. He couldn’t believe this was finally happening.

After so many years of being away, after only seeing his family once in the span of five years… He was finally returning to Earth. For good. The main body would go off and adventure, but the clone could stay here.

It was a dream come true. If Jack could snap his fingers and reach the A-Grade, the joy of that would be nothing compared to the happiness of being able to spend his life with his family.

He remained glued to the starship window as a blue and green planet appeared in the distance, orbiting a new sun. They were far from System space by now. Nobody could touch them here. They’d also waited a few days on an uninhabited planet to make sure they weren’t followed, which only served to enhance Jack’s emotions.

They approached the jewel of the universe. His breath was cut short. Without waiting for the starship to land, he teleported away.

“Hey!” Druk-Druk shouted. Jack had dumped on her the space bubble containing the released cultivators of the Green Dragon Realm, but it was something she could handle. The starship slowly headed to a landing platform near the Forest of the Strong, where various guards rose into the air to meet it.

Meanwhile, Jack had teleported directly to his home’s master bedroom. As he appeared in the spacious room, he saw the covers raised and the laughter of two people coming from underneath. His breath caught to his throat. For a split-second, before he even spread his perception, he was lost.

Then, two female heads popped out of the covers—Vivi and Ebele, Jack’s wife and daughter. “Dad?” Ebele asked. “Dad!” She made to run to him before her eyes narrowed with caution. She paused. “Dad?” she asked again, keeping herself at bay.

However, her caution was short-lived. Vivi burst out of the sheets, rushing towards Jack and practically flying into him. She wore loose red robes which hugged her body, contrasting her dark skin. Her eyes blazed with joy, and she was shaking. Her Dao perception had already recognized this really was him.

“Jack!” she shouted in disbelief, clutching on tightly even as she questioned him. “How!?”

Jack grinned. Since Earth was outside System space, he had no way to communicate with them. His arrival was completely unannounced.

He hugged Vivi tightly. Now free from his surprise, he could see that the raised sheets were just a pillow fort viewed from the back. Vivi and Ebele had been playing underneath.

He raised a hand to cup the back of his wife’s head, hugging her tighter. “I’m home,” he said. At the same time, he extended his other hand towards Ebele, whose hesitation was quickly melting away. He was proud of her. When he suddenly appeared, she’d held herself back in case he was an illusion or someone else disguised as her father. Unlike Vivi, she couldn’t use her perception to check his aura.

This was not a level of caution Jack wished on any child, but being a warrior himself, he acknowledged her mental fortitude at such a young age. It just made him sad that she had to be like this.

Not anymore, he promised himself. I’m here now. I will protect Ebele, so she can live free.

His daughter dove into his embrace as well. Jack hugged her tightly. For a moment, holding both his wife and daughter, he felt like the happiest man on Earth.

“I’m home,” he whispered to them. “And this time, I’m here to stay.”

***

The three of them sat on a blanket on the grassy fields outside their house. A basket of food rested between them. Ants occasionally scurried around, trying to get some, but Jack patiently kept them at bay.

“I can’t believe it.” Vivi was covering her mouth, joyful tears streaming out of her eyes. “Are you really going to stay? Forever?”

“Forever,” Jack promised. Ebele was at his side, stubbornly clutching onto his arm as if afraid he’d disappear if she let go. This, too, saddened Jack, but he knew there was nothing he could say. Time would help them get used to his presence. They wouldn’t need to worry about him leaving ever again.

It had been three hours since he first arrived. While Druk-Druk was parked far away, waiting patiently, Jack had opted to spend the first few hours with his wife and daughter. There were more people he needed to visit, but these were the most important ones. He needed to know how they were doing—and tell them about his adventures.

Vivi had been working hard these past few years. She’d taken charge of the planet after the professor stepped down. Under her command, Earth had blossomed with both military power and citizen welfare. She’d done a lot to eliminate hunger and poverty from all parts of the world. Things weren’t perfect yet, but the fact that a large portion of Earth’s inhabitants died during the Integration had freed up a lot of resources she could easily distribute around. Couple that with the prowess of cultivators, as well as being outside the oppression of System space, and Earth was suddenly well-equipped to be a paradise.

After the recent stabilization of the planet, Vivi had more free time, which she spent with Ebele.

The little girl herself had recently turned seven years old. She was just a tiny thing, yet bursting with energy. Jack could tell she’d been working hard. She’d been like that the last time he was here as well, and he’d tried to direct her towards a more childish lifestyle. There was no reason to push herself yet. She could go to school and enjoy life.

She hadn’t heeded his words, apparently, but Vivi was doing her best to pull Ebele back in line. That was one reason why they were playing in a pillow fort before. It felt weird to both wife and daughter, but it also helped ground them in reality. It was nice to forget about one’s burdens for a while.

In fact, it was currently August, and Ebele was set to start school soon. She would attend Edgar’s academy, which was arguably the most prestigious establishment on the planet right now. The curriculum was a mess, of course, since things were still in a state of constant flux, but Vivi believed it would offer her daughter the best education possible.

It was free, of course. The Academy accepted students based purely on merits, and Ebele had passed all tests with flying colors.

“What do you think about school?” Jack asked, ruffling his daughter’s hair. “Are you scared?”

“I’m a cultivator. I’m not scared,” she replied stubbornly.

“She’s totally scared,” Vivi said. “She was telling me last night.”

“Mom!!”

Both parents laughed. Jack swept his daughter into an embrace. “You don’t need to worry about anything,” he said. “The world is a beautiful place now, and you’re a beautiful person. You’ll make friends easily. The best friends in the world.”

She looked up at him with her big eyes. “Do you really think so?”

“I’m sure,” he replied, kissing her forehead.

God, he loved being back.

***

The months flowed by. Jack lived in bliss. It was only the clone that was on Earth, but the two could share memories whenever they wanted. Both of them were living the dream.

The main body cultivated with great intensity, accompanied by his brother as they strived for the peak. The clone lived with his family, spending every day with them, caring about no wars or troubles. It was a free life. For the first time since the Integration, Jack was actually happy on an everyday basis. Not just content—happy.

September arrived. Ebele attended Edgar’s Academy, which wasn’t a boarding school. There was a starship which took the kids to and from the academy every day, touring the entire planet in only a couple hours. Ebele lived nearby so she could skip it.

Of course, the school was just a secondary campus of the Academy. Its main focus was on cultivators, who lived and studied there until they reached the middle E-Grade, or for three years at most. It had only been operational for two years now, but it was already clear that not many people would hit the time limit. While they didn’t have access to the System’s quick leveling, the Academy ensured they had the right resources and guidance to steadily move forward.

There were battles, as well. The cultivator path couldn’t do without them. The Academy’s disciples made excursions to reasonably difficult dungeons, sometimes accompanied by professors to keep the casualties at a minimum. Accidents always happened—no one could grow without real stakes—but such was the life of a cultivator.

Overall, life on the planet had calmed down. There were rules and regulations. It was a cultivator’s world, but a peaceful one.

Jack spent most of his days with Vivi, helping her run the planet in various ways but not interfering too much. This was her stage now, not his. He was content to stay in the shadows.

The other half of his days were spent with Ebele. The girl was excited for every moment she had with her father. The two of them meditated together, practiced martial arts, discussed the world and the Dao, played games… By being able to spend more time with her, Jack could keep her away from the extremely hard-working mindset she’d adopted in recent years, which would only harm her in the long term. As the days passed, she was calm and happy. She laughed more often.

She’d made friends, too. Anay, a boy from India, and Lin Ping, a girl from China. Both were bright kids, and Jack thought they were good people, too. That was the important part. He’d sometimes watch over the three as they explored the Forest of the Strong or other areas neighboring the Academy, not all of which were safe. Of course, with Jack present, there was no danger whatsoever.

The C-Grade Dungeon of Earth, an underground ocean spanning the entire planet, was also steadily explored by the highest-level cultivators. Nobody had actually reached the C-Grade yet on-planet, but there were enough D-Grades to form large groups and tackle the early areas of the Dungeon. It helped them sharpen their Daos, apparently. Casualties were few and far between.

Jack would sometimes join these groups, not actively helping them clear the dungeon, just saving them at the last moment if things went wrong. That allowed them to take greater risks, hastening their progress.

He would also visit his mother often.

All in all, life was finally good.