Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 430: A Different Civilization

The Black Hole World was not too vast, but it sure seemed so. Layers of city were stacked on top of each other, each stretching endlessly. No matter how high or low Jack’s perception spread, all he found was more layers.

At the same time, the city itself seemed like it was built underground. Rectangular tunnels stretched in all directions. Illumination came in the form of large electrical lamps hanging from the thirty-foot-high ceiling, while all walls were painted in bright colors—perhaps to brighten the mood of their sunlight-deprived occupants?

As Jack, Mia, and Elder Vermont walked through the city, people stopped to greet them. Most were smiling; they waved or bowed respectfully to the Elder while shooting curious glances at Jack. They were dressed in simple, colorful clothes, and though they ranged from the F to the rare D-Grade, Jack noticed no obvious difference in their statuses.

According to the buildings and lifestyles he saw, this was a society forced by overpopulation to maximize its space efficiency. The technological level was pretty advanced—similar to Earth.

“There are eighty-three layers to our world,” Elder Vermont explained proudly, touring Jack through the present layer. “Each hosts millions or billions of people, and they cover an area from twelve to twenty-one thousand square miles!”

“So at minimum twelve thousand square miles…” Jack muttered, whistling. “That’s a lot.”

Vermont gave him an odd stare. “Not twelve thousand. Twelve. The smallest layer has a surface area of twelve square miles.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard him,” Mia piped in, giggling.

Jack shook his head. “And what’s under this entire tower?” he asked. “The black hole?”

“What tower?”

“You have eighty-three layers stacked like a tower.”

“Oh, no no no. Not a tower. More like…a planet.”

Jack raised his brows. A memory popped into his mind—Trial Planet, a hollow planet made up of nine layers. Could this place be similar?

Mia was all too happy to explain. “At the core of our world lies the Vortex—a dark whirlpool through which we are connected to the outer universe. Our world is built in concentric spheres around it, each covering an increasingly large area and each exactly half a mile tall. This is the twenty-first layer—if you go down twenty-one times, you’ll reach the Vortex.”

Most tunnels were around ten feet tall, but there were many levels of tunnels in each layer. This was really a goliath of a city.

As much as Jack tried to remain sad, he was intrigued. “And if I rise to the top?” he asked.

“Nothing. The end of our spacetime. The end of the world.”

Jack paused to look up. His gaze drilled through a dozen layers, not quite reaching the end. “There can’t be nothing,” he argued.

Mia shrugged. “You can go check whenever.”

“We would like to bring you to our council first,” Elder Vermont hurried to add. “You remained in Mia’s home so far, since she was the one who found you, but that would be improper now that you’ve awoken. The other Elders and I eagerly await to hear about the outside world.”

He was not lying. The passion in his voice, the hope, was impossible to mistake. If what they said before was true, these people had been trapped here for a billion years, millions of generations. The outside world was a dream passed down through their lineage, the fervent hope of them all, the only thing keeping them alive. Now, with him as their first ever visitor from outside, the excitement of the Elders was indescribable.

Perhaps, after a billion years of imprisonment, it would be their generation that would finally escape.

Facing the Elder’s invitation, however, Jack could only shake his head. “Your strongest cultivator is at the peak D-Grade?”

“Late D-Grade, actually. Grand Elder Pasan,” Vermont replied proudly.

“Then, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re better off staying here. The universe is no place for the weak. I recently found that out the hard way.”

Jack regretted his words the moment he spoke them. Elder Vermont almost physically melted—his wrinkled eyes deepened, wallowing in sadness, and his body seemed more fragile than a pile of dust in the wind.

“Jack!” Mia exclaimed. Her cute eyes turned stormy. “What are you saying?”

Jack did not reply. He regretted putting down the old man’s dream like that—his grief had gotten the best of him. However, he also didn’t want to lie. A weak group like theirs would be chewed out by the universe in no time at all.

Or, perhaps, this was his terrible mood speaking.

Silence reigned for a few minutes. They crossed alleys, streets, and squares, climbed down some ladders and up some others. Each was lost in their own thoughts.

“I always feared the outside world would be dangerous,” Elder Vermont finally said. His aged voice was tired now—it carried the distinct sadness of old people, that bone-deep exhaustion which had experienced all of life’s suffering.

“Elder…” Mia began, but Vermont raised a hand to stop her.

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“Don’t blame Jack. He simply speaks his mind—and the truth, most likely. However, if the opportunity ever arises to leave this place, I believe our people will still decide to go. Even if the future is bleak. Even if we are weak and will probably die or be enslaved. This is a wish we have cradled for a billion years—even if the entire world is against us, we will still go out there and strive for the best, because what is life without hope? We may be weak, but we are no cowards!”

Jack had been occupied with his dark thoughts, but he turned to gaze at Vermont. Those were powerful words—brave ones. Spoken with conviction. This old man would have made a great cultivator of the Fist.

“I respect your determination, Elder,” he said. “I will not stop you from doing anything—I will come to your Elder council and speak what I know. However, as for exiting this place, I cannot promise anything…”

Vermont gave Jack a wide smile. “That’s fine! As long as you try your best.”

Mia nodded, satisfied, and the three of them traveled deeper. They descended one layer through a massive ladder surrounded by glass walls. The rest, they descended through an elevator.

Jack and Vermont could have flown, of course, but they didn’t. Jack had a lot of things to consider. As for Vermont, he didn’t seem in a hurry—perhaps living in a sealed world for so long had eliminated any sense of urgency from their culture.

Indeed, as they traveled through the Black Hole World, Jack caught glimpses of its people. None seemed hurried. Many cultivated or busied themselves with menial labor. There were waiters, doctors, gardeners, salesmen… Many were renovation workers, repairing the buildings in worsened states. Since they’d run out of space, this was a job which needed to be regularly done.

An entire society lived inside this black hole, with most of its mundane needs eliminated by the existence of cultivation.

Now, they simply lived. It was peaceful—if dull.

These are kind people, Jack realized. A billion years with just themselves and their society hasn’t devolved to warlords. On Earth, we can barely go a hundred years.

Was it related to their Ancient ancestry? Though the System called them humans, not all humans in the universe were genetically identical. Maybe Earth’s people were particularly warmongering—or these ones were extremely war-averse.

In any case, Jack not only didn’t see any problems, but he also used his perception to spy high and low and still didn’t discover any signs of hidden trouble. There was nobody controlling things from the shadows—these were just genuinely good people.

Maybe they really should stay here, he thought bitterly. The outside world…would never allow such beauty.

“Here we are,” Vermont said, approaching a heavy iron door. This was the only area so far which wasn’t densely constructed—the Council had some degree of prestige, though not much, given by the rather ordinary appearance of the building they were about to enter. It was like the average town hall.

The inside of the building was as simple as its exterior. Clean corridors made of brightly-colored wood, decorated with long lines of statues. Most were well-preserved—the Black Hole people were masters of preservation.

Jack finally reached what seemed like a conference room. Five old men and six old woman sat on either side of a long table, with yet another old woman at its head. “Grand Elder Pasan,” Vermont greeted her, then walked to the empty chair at the men’s side of the table.

“Hello,” Jack said simply. He was polite but saw no need to be overly respectful. In his eyes, these D-Grades were desperately weak.

He caught himself. Have I lost my mind? These are people… They could be my mother.

Before they could respond, he corrected his greeting. “My name is Jack Rust. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance.”

The leading woman’s face brightened. “I am called Pasan, the current leader of the Black Hole people.”

The other eleven Elders also introduced themselves.

“Would you like some tea? Or anything to eat, perhaps?” Pasan asked.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Jack replied, sitting down on a chair Mia had brought him. Pasan nodded. “I believe you know our situation. We have been trapped here for a billion years with no way to access the outside world. You are the first visitor we ever get…if you could explain some things, we would be in your debt.”

“What would you like to know?”

She smiled. “Everything!”

Jack tried to laugh, but the sound only came out as half-dead panting. He spoke regardless. He hid nothing. Everything he knew about the current state of the universe, every piece of history and insight, he told them, all the way from the Immortal Crusade to the present. Pasan and the other Elders occasionally interrupted him to ask questions, but they mostly listened.

While explaining everything, Jack included parts of his own story. Intuitively, he felt safe here. He voiced some of his grievances, framing everything in the current darkness of his mind. Of course, he mentioned nothing about Eric—he was far from ready to discuss that issue.

By the time he was done, two hours had passed. He was startled. Speaking like this hadn’t really lightened his mood, but it had made his mind slightly less dark. Apparently, talking to good listeners was therapeutic. Who would have known?

The Elders sat in silence for a while, not hurrying to respond. They digested the information. Finally, it was Pasan who spoke again.

“You sound like you’ve been through a lot,” she said.

“More than I would like,” Jack replied honestly.

“Mm. It’s fine. You don’t have to show your heart to us—just know that this is a safe place.”

Jack raised his gaze, meeting her smiling, deep eyes. Had she seen through the darkness in his heart? Then again, he hadn’t tried to hide it.

Old people had their ways to judge people.

Unfortunately, his mind remained a mess. Speaking about the world had helped him put his thoughts in order, but he desperately needed to take some time alone and work through his feelings—as much as he dreaded it.

“Thank you,” he replied. “I would like some time now, if it’s not a problem. If there is anything you would like me to clarify, I can do so at our next meeting.”

“Of course!” Pasan agreed. “Thank you for everything you told us. We will also take some time to consider things. For now, we have already arranged a house for you to live in. Mia, would you be so kind as to lead Jack over?”

“Sure thing!” Mia responded. “Thank you, Grand Elder.”

Jack said his goodbyes and followed Mia out of the room. She led him deeper into this layer—towards a sizable house not too far away from the Elder Council.

“What’s your deal?” Jack asked, eyeing Mia. “You’re not an Elder, are you?”

“Nope. Just an ordinary girl,” she replied with a wink. “Here in the Black Hole world, we all have similar statuses, and there are no barriers between us either. As for why I was allowed in the Elder Council… Well, I’ve just volunteered to take care of you. I’m nobody special.”

She winked. Jack would have smiled if he wasn’t mourning. The pain bubbled up from inside him, and he urgently needed to be left alone so he could let it all out. “Thank you, Mia. Here is fine. I can travel the rest of the way myself,” he said, using his powers to instantly teleport inside his house. Though space was weird here, a short-range teleportation was still within his abilities.

Jack sat on his bed. For the first time in a while, he did not care about the state of the world or any other matters. He did not think.

For a while, he just sat there being sad.

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