Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse C.463: Leaving Again

Jack had decided to prioritize spending time with his family while on Earth, but there were still many people he wanted to meet. Therefore, he invited them all together.

A bottle of wine rested at the center of a table, while five people sat around it. They were Jack, Edgar, Dordok, Dorman, and Huali. Five people whose paths all led them to Earth.

“I cannot believe you destroyed the Animal Kingdom,” Huali said, raising her cup. “It’s like a dream.”

“And I can’t believe I’m sitting with the Grand Elder of the Exploding Sun,” Dordok joked. He was much larger than humans, being an ogre, so the cup in his hand seemed comically small.

“There is nothing grand about me,” Huali replied, shaking her head. “The Sun fell during my watch. I have shamed my ancestors.”

“Speaking of that,” Jack said, “I’ve wondered about something for a while. Didn’t your faction have Supreme Ancestors like the Animal Kingdom? How did Eva Solvig manage to destroy you?”

Huali sighed. “She didn’t come alone. The peak B-Grade Envoy responsible for the Milky Way galaxy was alongside her. Before that man, our Supreme Ancestors collapsed like mortals… It was only afterward that he left for the Crusade.”

“I see. Sorry for the painful memories.”

“It’s fine. I’ve made my peace with what happened. With the Kingdom and the most powerful Envoys dead, I plan to leave this planet soon and try to re-establish the Exploding Sun. I know the hiding place of one of our Ancestors—she might be able to help.”

“Are you sure?” Jack asked. “There are many B-Grades left in the galaxy. You could come under fire.”

“I am duty-bound to try. If fate wants my faction to die, then so be it. Thank you for letting me hide in your planet until now.”

Jack nodded, not insisting further.

Beside him, Edgar chuckled. “And here I thought I could convince you to stay as a professor at my academy. A peak C-Grade would have skyrocketed our prestige.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Huali said with a small smile. Edgar had been approaching her about this subject for months now. Though she’d always maintained her neutral position, they’d become friends by now.

“What about you, Dordok, Dorman?” Edgar asked. “Anyone willing to teach the new generations?”

“I might as well,” Dordok replied. “I’ve spent my entire life traveling the galaxy on the Trampling Ram. Now that I’ve retired, I think a more stable life would do me good.”

“I won’t stay,” Dorman said. “I’m a cultivator of the Church. Now that Earth is safe, I want to join the war.”

“I’ll ask the sovereign, but I don’t think there’s going to be a problem,” Jack replied. “I’m sure Edgar has many great professors already lined up.”

The wizard pouted. “Well, they’re great, but not galaxy-level great, you know? I wanted to have every professor be a D-Grade or above, as well as a couple of C-Grades. Only then can my Academy stand at the highest level.”

“No it can’t,” everyone else replied at the same time, then laughed about it.

“Yeah, laugh all you want. I gotta start from somewhere!” Edgar protested, laughing himself. “Oh, yeah. Jack, Dorman, remember that old, Asian martial arts master from the Integration Tournament? The one who fell during the final battle?”

“Li Xiang?” Jack asked. “Of course I remember. What about him?”

“His head disciple will come to the academy as a professor. You should see him—he has a fourth tier Skill.”

“Really?” Dorman raised a brow. “That’s more than me.”

“I only have one of those,” Jack said.

Huali scoffed. “Youngsters,” she commented, then shrunk back as everyone glared at her.

“Oh yeah?” Jack asked. “How many do you have?”

“Well, one…but I’ve had it for millennia!”

They laughed again. “Hey,” Jack asked Huali, “how hard is it to develop tier four or five skills?”

“Very,” she replied. “Tier three is generally the limit. Only a few C-Grades manage to get a single skill at the fourth tier. B-Grades generally have one or two… But I’ve never heard of anyone getting a fifth tier skill. I just know it’s the limit.”

“Hmm.” Jack frowned. “Does that mean that me having a single fourth tier skill is behind the curve? I already have the combat strength of a late B-Grade.”

Huali shook her head. “The curve on skill tiers isn’t about power, but about time and talent. The only reason most B-Grades have fourth tier skills is because they’ve spent tens of thousands of years practicing them. If anything, achieving one at less than ten years of cultivation is a wonder. The same goes for that professor Edgar mentioned. It is absolutely not a common occurrence. Even if it was, what do you care? You can jump an entire Grade to fight. If that isn’t special, I don’t know what is.”

“Just curious,” Jack replied, shrugging.

Huali narrowed her eyes. “You’re already itching to cultivate, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am, but I am no fool to waste these days cultivating. My family takes precedence.”

She nodded. “An admirable sentiment. If only more cultivators were like you.”

“They aren’t?”

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“Of course not. Having a long timespan can alter one’s sense of purpose. Many people treat their families as one treats garden plants—ephemeral, unimportant, and replenishable.”

“That’s terrible.”

“It’s a defense mechanism. You can’t stand the endless loss otherwise.” Her eyes fell. “Time has a way to turn people into statues… But, don’t let me get you down. Your family is talented—I’m sure they’ll live for a really long time. Enjoy it, Jack.”

He scratched his head. “You did bring me down a little, not gonna lie.”

“I have the solution,” Edgar said, raising the bottle. “More wine.”

Everyone nodded. “More wine!”

***

Jack remained at Earth for six days. In his bubble of accelerated time, that was eighteen days—a full two and a half weeks.

The sovereign was supposed to arrive somewhere around that time, but he didn’t. Jack assumed they’d met some trouble on the way but didn’t think about it further. Instead, he was thankful about the extra time.

Another three days passed outside. In Jack’s time bubble, that was a week and a half. Before he knew it, he’d already spent a month with his family.

During that month, he did not cultivate for even a second. He did not spare a thought towards his ninth Dao Fruit, which he was ready to develop. He didn’t even investigate the spatial rings taken from Eva Solvig and the other Envoy. There would be time for all those later—now was family time.

Every day was spent with his wife and daughter. His mother would be there sometimes, as would other friends. Brock visited rarely, choosing to spend most of the time with his father and the other brorillas. Harambe only appeared once—he was too overwhelmed with joy at the return of his son. Jack also visited the brorillas once, bonding with the family of his little brother.

At other times, their small family of three enjoyed time together in their house which overlooked the Forest of the Strong. The view was great. So was the weather. The days passed simply, easily, full of love. Jack and Vivi reignited their relationship. Jack and Ebele finally got to know each other—last time he was here, she could barely speak.

Warm, fuzzy feelings filled Jack’s heart. He completely forgot about the pain of war, the cruelty, the darkness, the loneliness. This was home. His hardened soul, which had been hammered in adversity, took this time to soften and complete his transformation into a new level—his mental and emotional ascent.

Jack felt like a new man. His heart was full of love. His mind was serene. These were some of the happiest moments of his life.

Of course, not all was perfect. Eric’s loss was something they’d all had time to come to terms with, but it still hung over their heads sometimes, a thought nobody spoke about. Ebele was too young to truly feel the loss, but Vivi still cried at night sometimes. In those moments, Jack would hug her and keep her in his arms until she felt better again.

The three of them also held a small funeral for Eric. They buried his empty casket next to Jack’s father, on the newly named Rust island. The two Erics lay side by side. It was a necessary moment for closure, but also something that Jack preferred not to think about—he focused on the bright times instead.

Losing a child was something that never truly went away. All they could do was strive to keep grief from ruining their lives—learn to handle it, and learn to be happy again. So far, they were succeeding. The sun still hung in the sky—their days remained bright.

The month passed easily. Jack enjoyed time with his family, and though he wasn’t full, he knew he never could be. He also saw everyone he wanted to see during this time. Even Gan Salin and Nauja visited every once in a while, though they spent most of their time touring Earth. Neither was particularly good at handling their emotions.

Finally, nine days in real time after Jack returned to Earth, the sky trembled. A sleek starship slipped out of the void, coming to rest over the Forest of the Strong. Jack had been playing with Ebele at that moment. He released a long sigh.

“Daddy needs to take a moment,” he said, teleporting before the ship. Five figures appeared before him—three familiar, two strangers.

“Oh,” Jack said. “I didn’t expect you two.”

Min Ling smiled. “How could I miss the chance to visit the home planet of the famous Jack Rust?”

“This is my home as well.” The Sage shrugged. “Hello, Jack. I see you’ve built a wonderful life for yourself.”

Jack smiled back. “I have.”

“What a peaceful little place,” the Heavenly Spoon Sovereign said, looking around. “This is how things should be. No war, no strife, no killing each other. Only living happily and cultivating to deepen one’s connection to the world. Anyway. This is the Jack Rust you’ve heard so much about. Jack, these are Envoys Bottomless and Starhair.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jack said. The two strangers nodded back. One was a hooded figure wearing a rippling cloak—just from looking at it, Jack could sense mighty fluctuations of spacetime.

“Good time bubble,” the figure said, gazing at the time distortion around the Forest of the Strong.

“Thanks,” Jack replied.

As for the last person present, that was a man with long hair which seemed like the starry branches of a galaxy—the so-called Envoy Starhair. He only replied with a tight nod to Jack’s greeting, as if dissatisfied with something or maybe constipated. Jack could already tell he wouldn’t like this person.

“Are you ready to go?” the sovereign said. “I’m sorry to rush you like this, but we’ve already delayed too much. We are needed at the front lines.”

Jack hesitated. The Sage spoke up, saying, “I’m sure we can afford an hour for Jack to say his goodbyes.”

Starhair stared at him, but the sovereign shrugged. “Of course. Is an hour okay with you, Jack?”

Jack nodded. “Yes. I’ve already concluded my business in the Milky Way. I just need to speak with my family.”

“Perfect. Then, we’ll wait.”

Jack flashed away. He hastily bid his goodbyes to the people he cared about, then spent most of the hour with Vivi and Ebele. They were heartbroken to see him leave again. As a matter of fact, so was he—but there was no choice. His place wasn’t here, but in the Crusade. There was no way around it. That was his life.

“Be good until I return, okay?” he said, planting a kiss on Ebele’s forehead. “Practice hard, but not too hard. Don’t forget to enjoy your childhood.”

“Okay,” she said, struggling not to cry. Jack then turned to Vivi, who fell into his arms.

“I’ll miss you,” she whispered with a hot breath.

“Me too…” Jack replied, hugging and kissing her tightly. Ebele made a sound and looked away—both her parents laughed.

“I’ll try to return as soon as possible, but I don’t know when that will be,” Jack promised. “I love you both.”

“Stay safe,” Vivi said. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

Jack smiled. “You know me.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying it.”

He laughed. “I promise I’ll be careful. I’ll make you proud of me.”

“We are already proud of you,” Vivi said, grasping his hand. “Just come home safe. Okay?”

He felt his heart relax. “Okay.” A final kiss later, he took a step back and said, “I love you.”

“We love you too!” the two women responded. Jack gave them a final glance. He buried their image in his memory. While he cultivated bitterly and alone, fighting in the far reaches of the universe, this very image would be what gave him the strength to endure.

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“See you,” he said, then flew away. He didn’t look back—not sure he could hold his tears if he did.

Soon, he reached the sleek starship again, where the Spoon Squad awaited. Brock and Dorman were also present.

“All ready?” the sovereign asked, and Jack nodded. “Good. Then, let’s board. Next stop, the Second Crusade!”

“Okay, bro,” Brock replied, following the rest into the starship. The last ones remaining outside were Jack and the Heavenly Spoon Sovereign.

“Your strength is growing rapidly,” said the sovereign, scanning Jack with his eyes. He then smiled. “It’s time to break into the B-Grade, isn’t it?”

Jack nodded. “I guess it is.”