Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 290: Joining the Church

I want to join the Black Hole Church, Jack said.

The Sages grin reached from ear to ear. Excellent! May I ask what made you decide?

Your vision and story were convincing. Jack shrugged. Plus, youve already helped me a lot of times. I owe you some trust. Of course, if I ever find out you lied to me, Im out.

No need to worry about that. I never did, the Sage replied, stretching out his hand. Jack shook it. Welcome to the good side.

Its nice to be here. Jack then released a massive sigh of reliefthis matter had been bugging him for months, but at the end of the day, he needed to make a decision.

Now, as a member of the Black Hole Church, you enjoy our protectionto a degree, the Sage said. Reaching into his pocketswhich seemed to hold suspiciously many stuffhe fished out a transparent, off-green pill. Something like a green eel swam inside it.

Whats that? Jack asked.

A concealment and repair pill. It is not particularly flashy, but it is highly tailored to your case, the Sage explained. Treasures like your Life Drop are not unheard of in the Church. We needed a way to protect the members wielding them, so our Grand Elder devised these pills. They can repair all residual damage in your body from using the Life Drop, making it undetectable to even a deep scan. At the same time, it plants a tiny second soul in your brain, letting you fool the lie detection magic of the Hand of God inquisitors as long as they are below the B-Grade. Like this, even if the Hand gets you, youll be safe.

Really? Jacks brows shot up. It was that easy?

Oh, nowhere near easy. These pills are impossible to find outside the Church. They are refined using the Grand Elders personal Dao. Even I only have two of them.

Why would you have any?

Some of my powers are considered blasphemous by the Hand of God. They are too closely connected to Enas. I need a way to protect myself.

Jack raised a brow. How do you cultivate blasphemous powers?

I cant tell you that.

Come on! You said that joining the Church would give me access to more information. Spit it out; whats the matter with you? Who are you, even?

The Sage smiled sagely, as if he saw far more than Jack. Very well. He took a deep breath. As you suspect, I was not a simple human of your planet. I spent my entire life hearing incomprehensible whispers from beyond. I was insane. Except, I wasnt. When the System came, those whispers cleared up, and I could understand the power granted to me. You see, my soul has a unique and extremely rare resonance with Enas. I am one of his apostles. Even from inside his eternal prison, he can transmit to me a tiny fragment of his power, enough to give me mastery over the Dao of Divination. Until I reach the B-Grade and complete my Dao Tree, levels will be my only bottleneck.

Jacks eyes widened. Are you serious? he asked.

Very.

So reaching the B-Grade is only a matter of time for you.

Indeed.

Thatswow. Youre even stronger than I am.

Not at all. The Sage gave a sad smile. Despite all my gifts, you have managed to outpace me. It would be a source of shame if you werent such a monstrous talent yourself.

Hmm. Jacks eyes narrowed. What about Dorman? he suddenly asked. You two were together since the start, and he was keeping pace with me in Trial Planet. Is he also aspecial soul?

Hes just highly talented. The Sage gave another helpless smile. Actually, the Barren High had predicted the existence of myself and Dorman on your Earth. You just appeared out of the blue. I have no idea how you did it.

Jack cracked a smile. A little bit of talent, a lot of hard work, and a lot of danger-clad opportunities. But did you say that the Barren High had predicted your existence on Earth?

Oh, yes. They could sense me, which is why they spent so many resources to divine the planets location and give it to the Animal Kingdom. Thats also how the Kingdom could sneak the scions onto your planet before it was Integratedthey knew exactly where it was.

Wait. Are you saying that the entire Integration happened just to find you?

Yes.

Jack couldnt tell whether the Sage was lying, exaggerating, or both, but he seemed serious. Wow, was all he finally said. After a moment of rumination, he added, Can I ask you one more thing, Sage?

Of course.

Are you lying to me?

There was a short pause. Why do you think that? the Sage asked back.

Because you keep calling our planet your Earth, as if you dont belong there. But from what you said, your soul just happens to resonate with Enas. Why would that make youalien?

Hmm. The Sages eyes narrowed. Suddenly, he seemed more serious than beforeas if hed quit playing. I did not lie, but I did not reveal the entire truth either, he admitted. Some things are best kept secret for nowbut I promise you, when the time comes, I will tell you everything. I do not mean to harm you.

I dont know if I can trust someone who lies and withholds information, Jack said, but the Sage only shook his head.

I have already saved you so many times. Dont I deserve it?

You dont get to play that card.

Jack was adamant, but the Sage also didnt seem willing to budge. You dont need to trust me, he finally said. Lets just work together. We share the common goal of escaping this place, and I have promised to help you save Earth. Isnt that enough?

Maybe, Jack said cryptically. Or maybe not.

Look at you. Not even a member for two minutes and youre already getting the hang of it.

You wont escape this by being funny.

I wont escape this, period, the Sage replied seriously. The Church is an organization with multiple levels of secrecy. If we revealed everything easily, the Hand of God would have caught us millions of years ago. I have already made a special exception and told you more things than strictly allowed. When the time comes, you will know.

Fine, Jack replied, snorting. Then tell me all you can about the Church. How powerful is it? Where is it based? Is it an organization on the caliber of the Hand of God, or much weaker?

Not too much weaker. The Church is one of the few factions spanning the entirety of System space. This galaxy only houses one of our branches. I cannot tell you where our headquarters is, as that is one of our most tightly kept secrets, but I can reveal that we possess multiple high level cultivators. In fact, all true Elders of the Church are A-Grades.

A-Grades?! Seriously?

Of course. How else did you expect to rival the System, the Hand of God, and the Immortals? The Sage laughed. With your talent, you have a small chance of reaching those heights yourself. I can take you there if you want. To the headquarters of the Church, I mean, so you can see for yourself what the peak of power looks like. To see a force befitting of an Old Gods entourage.

Jack felt temptedand scared. If he went to that place, wherever it was, he would be at the mercy of all those strong people. Even if they didnt mean him harm, they would probably force all sorts of secrecy oaths and limitations on him, reducing his freedom.

He did not enjoy that thought.

I cannot come. I need to save Earth, he said.

Naturally. I meant afterwardwhen Earth is safe, you can freely depart to wider worlds. There is no need for someone like you to remain in a young galaxy that hasnt even developed its first A-Grade yet.

How will Earth be safe if I leave? Jack asked. The Exploding Sun has promised to steal reign over the planet from the Animal Kingdom after we defeat the Planetary Overseer, but there will surely be repercussions. Without me there to hold the fort, some random C-Grade or D-Grade with a grudge will eventually appear and destroy Earth. And all that is if Master Hualis promise still stands, which I highly doubt after everything thats happened.

Hmm. The Sage cupped his chin. I believe we can solve that issue. Have you ever heard of planet poaching?

I have Jack said hesitantly. Isnt it what I just described? When a B-Grade faction steals control of another factions planet. Master Huali told me so.

Your Master Huali is an admirable cultivator, but her experience is limited by her galaxy of residence, the Sage replied. The term planet poaching comes from the wider universe. Out there, A-Grade factions have the power to literally grab planets and move them wherever they desire. They come into another factions territory, take the planet, and run away.

Jacks jaw hit the floor. You have got to be kidding me.

Not at all. The Black Hole Church also has that powerand, if you can get strong enough to defeat the Planetary Overseer before the grace period ends, we can be convinced to do it. We can move Earth to a safer place in our sphere of influence, where neither the Animal Kingdom nor the Hand of God will find it.

Jack felt the weight of this proposal. I cannot possibly promise my entire planet to you.

You have already done it for the Exploding Sun. Why not for us?

Thats different. They just want to rule it on paper, while you want to literally take away the entire planet. Plus, the Exploding Sun is not a faction wreathed in shadow. I trust them more.

Well, you can always reconsider later, the Sage replied, shrugging. Reaching that point will be a tall task, anyway. You could easily die in the process.

I could easily die in all processes. Yet, here I am, still alive and kicking.

Not punching?

That too. Jack laughed tiredly, then shook his head. Once again, you overwhelm me with information, but all you manage to do is create more questions than you answer How do you do that?

Im a Sage. Its part of my job description.

Right Jack gave him the side-eye. Anyway. If there is nothing else, we could return to the others. Ill make good use of that pill you gave me.

Be careful though, the Sage said. The lie-detection shield will persist in time, but the repairing properties of the pill can only work once. If you use your Life Drop even once after swallowing the pill, the effects will be impossible to hide.

Ill be careful, Jack promised. Now, lets go. I have things to consider, and you have to sleepor do cryptic sage stuff.

Probably both, the Sage replied honestly, and the two members of the Black Hole Church swam back to the main underwater cave, where Shol and Dordok were playing checkers on a board theyd fashioned out of rock.

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