Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 241: Fighting Auburn

Jack raised a brow at the challenge. Brock grinned sardonically.

Shol, however, scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. Um, how do I say this Its customary for new disciples to fight someone much stronger, but Jack is quite strong himself, so

Strong enough to match another personal disciple forty levels ahead? Auburn said, speaking for the first time. Her voice came reserved, somewhat contrary to what her appearance indicated, but her words were appropriately sharp. Immortals could be reserved, but they could not be weak.

Auburn is right, Brother Shol, said Melia. Only the most talented immortals get chosen as masters disciples. Jumping a tier to fight is doable against random people, but not here.

Besides, Auburn added, looking straight at Jack, I never was fond of this traditional beating. If Brother Jack can actually spar against me, thats even better.

Shol shook his head. Its Well, Ill let him decide. What do you think, Jack?

Jacks brow was permanently raised by now. These guys had a tradition of pitting every new disciple against someone much strongerso he could get beaten up?

They weren't even discreet about it!

Sure, he replied. Why not?

As stupid as that tradition was, he didnt mind getting beaten up. He looked forward to fighting against someone stronger, to really finding out how strong the elites of the galaxy were.

Plus, he believed he could win. From the way everyone talked, this Auburn didnt seem particularly impressive. How strong could she be?

Jack locked eyes with Auburn. Saw the hint of challenge in her green gaze.

Perfect! Melia exclaimed, clapping her hands. Lets go, then. Im looking forward to it!

Jack, with Brock still on his back, followed the other three immortalsto the sky!

Where are we going? he asked as the mountaintop estate grew smaller and smaller under their feet.

Immortals cannot fight near the estate, as we could accidentally destroy everything, Shol explained. As a matter of fact, creating any sort of battle arena on the planets surface would be dangerous. The strongest immortals have enough power to cause earthquakes and destroy the land for many miles around them. Therefore, one of our factions B-Grades, Ancestor Bolaui, created battle arenas and training fields for immortals high in the sky.

As in, flying arenas?

Youll see.

They angled themselves diagonally, moving over a barren part of the plains as they kept ascending. They entered a layer of clouds. When they exited, Jack was surprised to see a large platform situated on top of the clouds.

It was a square a mile across, constructed entirely out of light blue stone. There was no railing on its edge, leading to a steep drop many miles down, but that wasnt a problem, as whoever wanted to reach this place needed the ability to flyor, on second thought, a starship.

The blue platform was almost empty. The only furniture was a weapon rack in a corner, filled with all sorts of threatening objects, along with three D-Grade robots waiting patiently around the field. There were people, too; Jack saw an immortal meditating, clad in loose blue robes and long dark hair that swayed in the wind, as well as another immortal performing the same turtle-like movement again and again, like she was practicing a new skill.

All those, however, paled in comparison to the sheer beauty of this place: a light blue platform floating on the white clouds like a ship at sea, framed by the purple and orange gasses that made up the nebula around them.

Really, everything in Master Hualis estate was constructed with special attention to aesthetics.

Wow, Jack muttered breathlessly.

Bro! Brock exclaimed, eyes wide in wonder.

Shol smiled. I present you, the training field of immortals. The cloud field!

The four of themfive with Brockapproached the field, where the woman who was practicing nodded at them from afar. She almost went back to her skill, then caught sight of Jack and approached.

A new disciple? she asked, smiling. If not for her almost divine powers, she would look like your average next-door girl, with smiling brown eyes, freckles, and loose dark hair. Its a pleasure to meet you. My name is Hemira.

Im Jack. Likewise. He smiled back at her, always ready to reciprocate kindness.

Come, Hemira, Shol said. Lets watch Jack and Auburn spar.

Yes, Brother Shol. She nodded, not letting her feelings show. Good luck to both of you. She then flew away with Melia and Shol, who had also taken Brock along. They went to the meditating man in the corner and quickly alerted him to the fact that there was going to be sparring. Nodding absent-mindedly, but with eyes as bright and smiling as the blue sky that this planet lacked, the man sat next to the others and watched.

Jack thought it was weird that they interrupted a meditating cultivator, but then again, this place wasnt meant for meditation, but for battle training.

The three robots had also retreated to the edge of the platform, leaving Jack and Auburn alone in the very middle.

Good luck, bro! Brock shouted from the edge, making Jack smile.

Thats a spirited spiritual companion, Auburn said, smiling slightly. She looked quite likable.

Hes been with me since my Integration, Jack replied honestly. He is my brother.

Integration? I see Auburns gaze became filled with something between pity and realization, which then quickly disappeared. I suppose he was accepted as an outer disciple?

Correct.

Then, you may want to drop him off at the outer planet for the duration of your stay here. Maybe leave him with some friends? It would be much better for his growth, as this place is not meant for E-Grade spiritual beasts. He would have more fun, toothough, of course, there is always danger.

That was a slightly invasive comment, but Jack felt no ill will coming from this girl, just a genuine desire to help.

A deep unease still infiltrated his psyche at the mention of sending Brock somewhere else, even if only temporarily. They were brothers. They had been together since the Forest of the Strong. Since then, Jacks life had been wild and unpredictableeverything changed all the time. His only constant was Brock, the brother he never had before.

What would it feel like to be alone?

A mental weight crashed down on Jack, a heavy slab of loneliness and desolation. He could face the world; he could go against everyone and fight for what was right, laughing uproariously in the process; but he didnt want to do it alone.

Without realizing it, Brock had become his source of power and stability in an ever-changing world. He was the cornerstone of Jacks mental power.

I didnt mean to upset you, Auburn suddenly spoke up, sounding a bit worried. Sorry if I said something wrong; I just wanted to help.

Jack snapped out of his thoughts, realizing that he was just contemplating silently for some time now. At that thought, the Fist reared its head inside him, snapping him back to the present and infusing him with the will to fight. Jack became one with his Dao. His heart caught on fire.

Dont worry about it, Auburn. My thoughts just ran wild for a bit. Ill consider what you said seriously, and thank you for bringing it to my attention. Now Shall we?

Auburn smileda hard smile on a soft face. No immortal reached this level without a fair amount of bloodshed, so all of them were accustomed to battle.

We shall.

Auburn jumped back, stretching her hands wide. The sky behind her turned auburn. Leaves swayed in the breeze, each following its own, unique trajectory and filled with the melancholy of autumn.

Jack smiled. This was a wizard immortal. He hadnt faced a skilled wizard in a while.

Whichever stat Auburn used, either Mental or Will, the foundations of such a battle hadnt changed since the F-Grade. Each of them would fight using their own strength, trying to overwhelm the opponent with their Dao.

Jack didnt let the leaves dance freely. He charged. He reared back a punch and threw it, shaking the sky and moving the earth. A tremendous shockwave tore into the storm of leaves, tearing many of them into pieces or sending them off their trajectories. Many remained unaffected, however. They turned into a torrent that flew towards Jack, seeking to smother him with softness.

Jack threw out a barrage of punches to meet them. Dozens of fists flew out, intercepting the leaves and stopping them in their tracks. However, he observed that the more leaves he tossed away, the more came to attack him. It felt futilelike trying to repress a feeling, only for it to reappear stronger every time you pushed it under the rug.

In just a moment, his vision was filled with swirling leaves, a wall of autumn sliding towards him, swallowing the robots and platform on its way.

Jack didnt want to end this too quickly. He wanted to enjoy the spar and get to experience an immortal wizards powers. However, if he kept tearing into the leaves, he would just be playing the other persons gamenot to mention the magical melancholy with which the leaves tried to invade his heart, a melancholy that somehow felt stronger than it should have been.

Jacks mind flashed with realization. His lips curved into a wry smile. When Auburn made that comment about Brock earlier, it wasnt out of a desire to help; she had been trying to influence Jacks emotions. The battle had already begun at the time.

However, Jack didnt begrudge Auburn for this trick. There was nothing wrong with it. If anything, he was grateful. Nobody would show him mercy in a real battle, and she had just taught him a very important lesson.

Even if he felt stupid for being outplayed like that.

You little shit, he muttered.

What was that? Auburn shouted back.

I said, eat this!

Space Walk!

Jack stepped through the void. A colossal resistance sought to entrap him, but he tore it apart with sheer physicality. In the next moment, he was right behind Auburn, shooting out a punch. It wasnt a Meteor Punchthis was just a spar, and he didnt want to risk injuring this friendly co-disciple.

Auburn turned around with a surprised look on her face. Jacks fist tore through it. As it did, her surprise morphed into a sad smile, and her entire body dissipated like dust in the wind, like the memory of a long-lost loved one.

Only leaves remained where Auburn used to stand. There were leaves everywhere, actually. Auburn had expected Jack to reach this place, and she had surrounded herself with leaves at a wide radius. It was a trap.

However, she hadnt expected Jack to arrive so quickly. The leaves here were far fewer than the ones he had been facing before.

Jack had lost track of Auburn. His Dao perception was blocked by all these leaves, each of which radiated its own, melancholic Dao, and his eyes were similarly blocked. He could teleport outside and reconsider his approachin a real battle, that is probably what he would have done.

However, this was a spar. Jack wasnt just aiming for victory. He wanted to use this experience to understand his powers better and test their limit against the talented immortals of the Exploding Sun.

The leaves wrapped around him, trapping him in an ever-shrinking sphere. If he didnt do something, he would be neutralized soon. As the sphere closed, hiding Jack from sight, leaves flew out in random spots, like someone was punching the sphere from the inside. Unfortunately, every time some leaves were punched away, more spawned out of thin air to replace them.

Feelings didnt go away by punching them.

Ai Melia sighed from where they watched the battle. I guess this is the end. He fought well, though; if Auburn didnt have a decoy set up, she might have lost.

Hmph. A sneer from the side drew her attention. Turning, she saw Brock gaze at her with mockery. What? she asked. Do you still think your brother can win? This is a lock in space; he cant even teleport out.

Well, lets wait and see, Shol said, watching the spar with an almost imperceptible smile.

The ball of leaves shrunk down until it was the size of a single room, then barely large enough for a man to stand inside. Just as the leaves were about to stick to Jacks body and immobilize him, a violent presence suddenly burst forth with enough intensity to shake the air.

Suddenly, there was not a man trapped inside the leaves, but a harbinger of death. The leaves shook and stopped. As the violent aura kept radiating from the inside, the melancholy of the leaves melted away, as did the leaves themselves, revealing a Jack whose hair and robes were swaying in the wind, whose mouth was twisted into a snarl, and whose eyes flashed with cold cruelty.

Brutalizing Aura!

The ball disintegrated around him, leaving him dominant in the sky, a promise of a torturous, brutal, and merciless death.

It was nice to use this skill so effectively.

Jacks eyes looked for Auburn, but she was nowhere to be found. A wall of leaves still swirled in the near distance, hiding everything behind it from sight as it slid towards Jack like old ageslow but unstoppable.

Jack could not detect Auburn, but he had an idea of where she could be hiding. He reared his fist back. Spectral flames sprang around it, burning like a purple sun, and the vibrancy of the sky itself was sucked into the punch. The world went quiet. The wind died down. The clouds turned gray, the distant nebula darkened, and even the leaves lost their spirit as they turned from brown to ash.

Only the light blue platform under their feet remained unaffected.

Meteor Punch! Jack shouted, the only sound in existence, as he drove his punch forward. In the next moment, the sky exploded. Strong winds carried the shockwave into the densest part of the wall of leaves, blowing them away completely. Millions of them went flying in all directions, revealing a shocked Auburn in their thickest part. The shockwave pulled at her hair and robes and sent her flying back a few feet, forcing her to cross her arms to defend.

That was her real body.

Jack teleported behind her. Auburns eyes went wide as she felt the source of Brutalizing Aura within arms reach, but a punch was already flying at her. With a shout, an auburn sphere appeared around her body. Leaves filled the air again, forcibly resummoned to strike back.

An intense feeling of regret hit Jack as he was about to punch the wizards shield. It felt like he was striking his mother in the facelike he had to stop right this instant, no matter what.

However, Jack had not reached this level by being frail of heart. He possessed the Dao Root of Indomitable Will. His heart broke the illusion, and his fist continued forth, if slowed down a bit.

Jacks second Meteor Punch crashed into the compact auburn sphere, cracking it completely and sending Auburn flying away like an arrow. She bled wildly from the nose in her efforts to keep the protective sphere from shattering. Her eyes went hazy. At the same time, leaves surrounded Jack, flying into him before he could recover from his attack. There was no pain, only warmth; and yet, blood streamed from shallow cuts all over his body.

Jack crossed his arms and focused on his Brutalizing Aura to defend.

The truth was, in the instant when Jack chose to defend, he could have ignored the attacks. His body was sturdy enough to take it. Instead of defending, he could have teleported to Auburn a third time and smashed out another Meteor Punch. There was no way the shield could take it; it would shatter like glass, Jacks fist would reach her, and he would be the winner of this sparring match.

However, Jack chose not to do that.

He was the new guy here, and everyone hed met so far had been friendly. He didnt want to humiliate Auburn by making her lose publicly to someone forty levels weaker than herself.

Plus, Auburn himself was pretty strong. Significantly stronger than the treant and centaur Jack had fought before, even though they were of a higher level than her. Jack could respect that.

Apparently, it was true that not all immortals were the sameand random riffraff could never compare to a B-Grade factions elites.

Jack didnt want to humiliate Auburn, but he didnt want to just lose on purpose, either. Plus, if the battle continued while he went easy on his opponent, he might lose for realtheir powers werent too far apart.

Just as he was considering how to best handle this situation, Shol appeared in the middle of the blue platform, between Jack and the far-off Auburn.

Thats enough! he declared with a smile, raising both hands. Sparring usually goes to first blood. Since both fighters were injured at the same time, let this be a draw. Congratulations to both of you; it was a battle well fought!

Jack took a moment to digest this, then retrieved his aura. The leaves around him disappeared at the same time. Thank you, he told Shol, hoping the man understood his hidden meaning, then turned to Auburn. It was a great battle! I learned a lot. Thanks for going easy on me.

The witch smiled with slight bitterness. Then, she shook her head, and the bitterness was gone. I could say the same, she said. Drawing someone forty levels over you is quite an achievementand I am not weak myself. Congratulations, Jack. Im sure your future will be as bright as a sun.

As will be yours. Jack smiled back.

From the side, everyone clapped, even the robots. Brock winked at Melia, who rolled her eyes and looked away.

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