Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 245: Being a Big Bro

Brock raised the Staff of Stone and smashed it down. Boulders went flying. The grass bent by the wind. The wolf that was facing him was instantly obliterated, its head caved in, while the rest of the pack jumped on Brock from all sides.

He twirled. His Staff followed an uneven trajectory, mowing through bodies even as the wolves attempted to pile on him, more than he could deflect. A set of jaws wrapped around his leg. Another aimed for the throat.

An arrow came out of nowhere, zipping into the wolf about to behead Brock and nailing it to a tree. Gan Salin jumped out of the shadows, sinking his fingertips into a wolfs back. Five Star Grasp! he shouted. The wolf froze, then fell to the ground bleeding from the five deep wounds.

Brock had still suffered a wound to the leg, but it was far from enough to stop him. He released a monkey cry and swung his staff around, augmenting it with the full power of his muscles. His biceps bloated like bananarms. One wolf was sent flying, and another had its head dug into the ground.

The three remaining wolves retreated.

Thats right! Salin shouted, waving his fist at them. Run with your tail between your legs! Thats what you get for attacking the Salin Squad.

For the last time, we are not called that, Nauja replied, stepping out of the shadows. If anything, we are the Bros.

You are a sis.

I dont think bro is gender-specific. Is it, Brock?

No. Frowning at the wound on his leg, Brock looked around. Shortly afterward, a squirrel dived down from a tree, carrying a few strange leaves in its mouth. Brock smiled brightly. Thanks, bro.

The squirrel gave Brock a tiny high-five and ran away, completely uncaring about the five dead wolves sprawled across the forest floor.

Can I get some Salin started saying, but the squirrel was already gone. Bummer.

Brock shook his head. He then mimed that good bros did not seek to use, but to help each other. The squirrel would know if Gan Salin was being genuine.

Of course, nobody understood his miming.

Ill get you an encyclopedia, Nauja promised. Then, well be able to talk normally.

Brock shrugged.

Isnt it weird that he can understand us but cant speak? Salin asked.

A bit, she admitted. But can we talk about it later? Were still swimming in dead wolves.

Oh. Right.

The three of them walked on, leaving their little battlefield behind. The forest scavengers would take care of it.

They were in a place called the Endless Forest. A wooded area close to the city they lived in, infested with all sorts of predatory animals. They were strong, tooat least at the E-Grade, boasting either extraordinary attributes or a connection to the Dao. Here, any F-Grade animals were at the very bottom of the food chain.

This was an area the nearby E-Grade disciples visited often. It lent itself to adventure and battle, making for the perfect training grounds. Of course, it was also dangerous; many disciples entered this forest to never return, turned from predator into prey.

Unlike what its name indicated, this forest wasnt actually endless; its physical dimensions were well set. However, its deeper parts were infested with extremely strong monsters, including King peak E-Grades and even the rare D-Grade. People couldnt cross from one end to the other, which led to them naming it Endless Forest.

Brock, Gan Salin, and Nauja were three of the many disciples adventuring through this forest today, as they often did. Thanks to their high levels and Brocks addition to their party, they had decided to venture deeper than before, aiming for an area with known ogre sightings. In the meantime, they didnt shy away from the forests natural predators.

Did you level-up in the last fight, Nauja? Salin asked. I got one level.

No. The wolves were only around Level 90. It takes more than that to level me.

Hmm.

What kind of forest hides its strongest predators, anyway? she wondered aloud. Where I come from, tyrannosauruses roam everywhere, not just the deep end of the jungle.

There is no deep end here. It is endless.

Right.

Were pretty far in, actually. We should enter the ogre area anyti

Brock raised a hand, and Salin promptly shut up. Everyone froze. A moment later, Salin whispered, Whats the matter, big bro?

Trouble, Brock replied, his brows low. His grip slowly tightened around the Staff of Stone as his nose and ears twitched.

He didnt actually sense anything. He picked up no suspicious sound, sight, or scent. However, he felt a sudden lack of bros in this area. The various insects and small animals he was befriending along the way had disappeared or gone silent. Like the forest was holding its breath.

Brock looked around, still seeing nothing. Glancing back, he caught Nauja looking up. Her eyes widened. He saw her struggle to react in time, her legs bending ever so slightly, her center of balance tilting backward. The glint in her eyes indicated she might not make it in time. Brock had no such concerns. His muscles were well-honed, able to react faster than thought. He jumped back, ramming into Salin and Nauja and taking them along as he tumbled into the grass, barely dodging the large shape that smashed down from the branches above.

Brock turned around to find an ugly stone club heading for his face. He swung his Staff of Stone to meet it. Stone crashed into stone, and fragments flew everywhere as Brock lost the exchange, the club pushing the staff into his ribs and sending him flying into a tree.

Brock! Nauja shouted, already on her feet with an arrow nocked. Salin was rushing to make some distance as Brock dislodged himself from the bark hed been buried in and turned to regard their assailant.

A colossal form towered over them. A tall humanoid wrapped in multiple layers of fat, bursting with thick muscles underneath. It only wore a loincloth around its privates, leaving its pale skin visible for all to see. Its eyes were filled with mindless fury, and two short tusks jutted out of its mouth, slowly dripping thick saliva.

An ogre! Nauja exclaimed, her eyes widening. Wait; its an Elite!

And Level 124, too, Salin replied. I think this is a whoops moment. Should we run?

The ogre was at least twice as tall as Brock and three times as wide. It was a far mountain of muscles.

Brock slowly rose from the ground. He stood against the ogre, tiny as he seemed in comparison, and cracked his neck. Blood was escaping from scrapes on his arms, while his ribs felt numb. He looked right into the ogres fury-filled eyes, then said, Come.

The ogre was not used to being challenged by something so tiny. It was infuriated even further. It opened its mouth to release a mighty war cry that reverberated across the forest for multiple miles, showering Brock in saliva.

Brock was not one to take this lying down. He was the leader of his pack. He couldnt lose a war of roars.

Still holding the Staff of Stone, he beat hard at his chest. The thuds came like sledgehammers on stone, his gorilla roars rising to meet the ogres. The two of them matched roars for a moment, then stopped at the same time as they prepared to fight.

Assist! Brock called out. His muscles bulged. His chest was filled with the urge to fight. He drew his staff back and charged for the ogre, which charged right back.

Shit, Salin and Nauja said at the same time, both jumping into the fray.

Brock feinted jumping at the ogre. The club came down with little finesse but an excess of force, pushing the air so hard it ricocheted off the ground. It missed Brock, who had just feinted his charge, and smashed into a tree trunk with enough force to shatter it.

Instantly, the tree titled and began to fall. The canopy was ripped apart. Leaves and splinters flew everywhere as branches were pulled in different directions, unraveling the complex designs theyd spent decades weaving. The tree landed on another, stabilized for now, but it was just momentary. This place was not a clearing. There was no space to fight. The ogre would demolish this entire area of the forest.

Brocks eyes narrowed as he considered his opponent. It was too strong. His ribs still hurt from the previous exchange, and it had even been a hasty strike. He couldnt take this creature head-on.

Bring it, he said, jumping into battle. The club fell around him like lightning, crashing through everything and anything in its path. Trees fell. Trunks shattered. Bushes were uprooted and sent flying, while entire strips of ground were torn away. Brock danced between the strikes, channeling all of his muscles to move fast and sharply enough. His concentration was razor-sharphe had to predict the ogres every move if he wanted to dodge.

At the first opening, he struck. His Staff of Stone went sharply for the ogres knee, hitting it from the front and trying to bend it the wrong way. The ogre groaned and stumbled, but its bone held. Brock tsked. He let the club sail under him as he jumped up, thrusting the staff upward to ram into the ogres jaw. Its head went flying backbut again, the layers of fat and muscle were enough to protect the bone.

With a roar, the ogre smashed its staff upward, and Brock had to step against the ogres chest to dodge.

An arrow flew over his shoulder and into the ogres exposed throat. The power of the Dao trailed itmore power gathering the farther it flew. It wasnt much at this distance, but it was enough. It pierced clearly into the ogres throat, exiting from the other side. At the same time, Salin came from behind, swiping his claws over the ogres ankle to sever its tendons.

With a groan, it stumbled. Its tendons held, somewhat, but they were injured. It turned to Salin and swung, but he had already retreated. Too slow, he taunted. Maybe cause youre dumb.

Despite the arrow lodged in its throat, the ogre was still alive. It didnt even seem to register its impending death. Blood spurted out of the wound and dyed the forest red as it charged for Salin, who yelled, Oh shit! and ran away.

However, the level difference between them was just too much. Salin was Level 82; the ogre was 124, and an Elite. It would catch up in three steps.

Brock appeared over the ogres head, smashing down with his club. Its head jiggled from the hit, further aggravating the throat wound. Me, he demanded, staring at the back of the ogres head.

It ignored him. Somewhere in its tiny brain, it understood that turning to attack Brock was a bad idea. Its gaze remained glued on Salin, pursuing him as fast as its wounded leg could handle. Salin paled. He ducked between trees, dove into bushes, jumped on branches. The ogres club was a menace. It tore through the forest to reach him, destroying everything in its path. Entire trees tumbled and were smacked around like pinatas. At the speed they fighting, even gravity seemed slow to react.

Roars echoed through the forest as the ogre pursued. Arrows showered it, embedding themselves deeply into its limbs and body, but it didnt care in the slightest. It seemed to hold infinite blood, and there had to be some type of magic helping it, or it would have collapsed from the throat wound by now.

Durable Dao, Brock realized, his brows falling. He was still pursuing the ogre, trying to stop it without getting too close. He knew that, as mindless as it was, it remained an animalthe moment he made a mistake, it would turn around and pounce. His staff fell on knees and elbows, joints and fingers, but the ogres durability was simply off the charts. It shrugged everything off.

A second arrow found the ogres throat. That finally made it pause. It looked around, trying to locate the hidden attacker. It succeededbut Nauja was too far away, and she could use her mastery of wind to escape easily, should it pursue.

The ogre must have finally sensed its death approaching. It turned to Salin and started attacking even more frantically, desperately trying to take him along to the grave. No matter how Brock and Nauja attacked it, it ignored them.

However, in doing so, it gave Brock the opening he needed. Not a physical one, but one of the Dao. Because, in choosing to attack the weakest member of their party in a final act of bitterness, it had acted un-bro-like.

And Brocks Dao refused to let that stand.

Facing an unworthy bro, Brock felt his heart beat harder. Blood pumped everywhere fast. His muscles stretched and grew as the spirit of the bro lended him its righteous strength, letting him act like the big bro he really was.

This time, he was no longer afraid of the ogre. He flashed before it, right between it and Salin, protecting his little brother. This gave him even more power. He could feel himself overflowing with righteousness, as well as the belief that, as long as he was in the right, he could not lose.

The Dao of the Bro would not permit that.

The ogre bellowed and brought its club down. Brock roared and swung back. The two weapons met. But the ogre had received many wounds, and its power was drained. And Brock was now enhanced by his perfect Very Big Thought of Brohood.

As the two weapons clashed, the air cracked around the point of impact. A strong gust was unleashed in all directions, framed by falling trees in the background. Brock pushed forward, investing everything into this strike for brohood. The ogres club gave an inchand instantly, it flew back, out of its wielders grip, as Brocks attack carried on and smashed into the side of the ogres neck, bending it out of shape along with the two arrows still embedded in it.

Multiple cracks resounded. The ogre fell to the ground, its eyes perpetually open in bitterness, and it never moved again.

They had won.

Oh man, that was dangerous, Salin said, approaching. Good job, guys. I got three levels! But how the hell did you overpower this thing, Brock?

Brock turned and regarded him, the spirit of brohood still playing in his eyes. This battle had given him some insights. He ought to ponder them soon.

Because I am big bro. And good bro never lose.

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