Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 395: Underleveled

Jack stood up, ready to explore, and found that Brock with Min Ling were already waiting for him.

Brock hadnt managed to break through, but he had grown his third fruit to maturity. His body had grown stronger, as well. As for Min Ling

You made it! Jack said, his eyes brightening. Congratulations!

To you as well, she replied. Eight slightly different auras filled her bodythe telltale sign of an eight-fruit cultivator.

Min Ling had been the undisputed strongest C-Grade of the Cathedral at only seven fruits. Now, with her strength having taken a massive leap forward, who knew how powerful she had become? Maybe she could even challenge the weakest B-Grades.

Lets go, she said, bursting with barely contained excitement. Jack and Brock nodded, and the three of them finally walked into the tunnel connecting their little cave tosomething.

This tunnel would have felt out of place in any cave complex of Earth. It did not seem so much hewn as naturally created. Yet, it was oddly uniform, maintaining a roughly circular shape with a diameter between nine and fifteen feet. It twisted at times, with a tendency to snake in random directions, making one feel as though they were following not a cave tunnel, but a gnarled tree root.

Green fluorescent moss accompanied them throughout. It filled part of the walls, gently illuminating the tunnel, and it seemed in tune with the heavy, sanctimonious Dao that filled this place.

The three people chose to move slowly. This wasnt only out of caution, but also due to a deep-seated respect for this place. It felt like they were in the presence of something ancient and majestic; rushing through would be almost blasphemous.

Finally, the tunnel they were following connected to a wider one. This was thirty feet in diameter, on average, with a faint breeze blowing through.

Weve already walked for miles, Jack observed. This place must be huge.

If its the temple we saw before, it takes up many cubic miles, Min Ling replied. And, if all these winding tunnels wrap around each other to fill it The distance they can cover is practically infinite.

Infinite is a brave word.

Pretty big. There; happy?

A bit of banter was all they had to break the monotony. Even that, however, was kept at whispering volume. The dense Dao of this place limited their perceptions to only a few hundred feet away. That was barely enough to peek over the next bend in the tunnel. If anything lived here, it should have adapted to the pressure, so its perception should extend much father. Chances were, it would spot them before they spotted it.

Not to mention that its cultivation would likely be at the B-Grade.

Jack and his group followed the faint breeze through this tunnel. They ran into other small tunnels like the one theyd followed to get here but stuck to the main one. Another change from before was their tunnel now was interspersed with what seemed like woodbrown surfaces glowing green, spearing through the ground and into the ceiling. They seemed natural and were even covered in bark. They were like colossal tree branches.

Min Ling used her spear to poke into one such wooden surface. It was impossibly hard, but under her power, the bark parted to reveal more wood underneath. Golden sap flowed out. Even smelling it made ones pore open, like it was some supreme treasure. Unfortunately, the sap lost its luster almost immediately upon exiting the wood, so it was unusable.

The three explorers looked at each other and kept moving.

What do you think is going on? Jack asked.

I am not sure Those wooden things look like tree branches, but any tree that could grow this large is

The ground burst apart ahead of them and a large monster flew out, mandibles at the ready. There had been no indication. In the single instant they had before the monster snapped apart Jacks throat, their bodies erupted with power. Muscle memory took over. Jack clenched his fist, shooting out a Meteor Punch before his brain even realized what was happening.

The punch exploded on the monsters mandibles and dissipated against the tunnel walls, which didnt even crack. The monster slowed down but kept coming. Its mandibles snapped around Jacks neck, and he barely managed to lean back in time.

The monster geared up for another attack. Suddenly, red lightning struck it from the side, blasting it into the wall. A second spear strike followed, then a third, cracking the monsters carapace and breaking its legs. Only as Min Lings spear tore into its head, killing it, did Jack manage to make out its form.

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It had six legs, a large head, and two short but wickedly sharp mandibles sticking out of it. Its entire body was colored beige, while two antennas stuck out from the top of its head. That was where its similarities with an insect ended. Its entire body was covered in hard scales, forming something like a carapace, while its eyes had vertical irises. Between its mandibles, Jack could make out a serpents mouth.

Draconic Termite, Level 249

Draconic Termites typically infest large wooden complexes. Their mandibles can tear through most materials, and their draconic ancestry gives them immunity to most kinds of elemental damage.

This particular specimen is far stronger than most of its species. Extreme caution is advised.

A termite? Jack asked, gawking at the still monster that had almost killed him. Chewing through rock? Thats not right.

Is that what youre concerned about? Min Ling said, giving him a fierce glare.

Bro! Brock shouted, rushing to Jacks side. Throughout the battle, hed barely had any time to react. Sorry. Glad youre okay.

Its fine, Brock. Dont worry.

Jacks eyes softened. In their previous lava adventure, Brock had suffered the greatest losses. His trusty Staff of Stone, which had followed him since Trial Planet, had been snapped in half by Baron Longform. He had endured multiple attacks which left him injured, and then hed overdrawn his powers to scout ahead until he passed out. He had even bitten the tip of his tongue to spray some blood onto his Bro Code. Jack didnt know the significance of that sacrifice, but even now, Brock seemed anemic. His fur was sticking to his body and his aura was weaker than usual.

That blood he used up must have been precious. Recovering would take some time.

After all that, if Jack forced him to use his powers to save him again, then he wouldnt be much of a big brother.

Stay on guard, Min Ling said, facing the front. Her spear remained in her hands. No more talking. Lets go.

Surprisingly, though they had fought with their full strength just now, the walls hadnt even cracked. They were magically enhanced to withstand extreme impacts.

The three fell silent as they walked. Everyone kept their perception stretched and their body on guard at all times. Like this, perhaps they could catch the slightest indication of an incoming attack.

Jack was absolutely clear that they were in grave danger. Even the periphery of this hidden realm contained B-Grade entitiesthe core area, if this really was it, should be overflowing with them. Just the most minor of enemies, a single ambushing termite, had nearly taken his life.

They were in over their headsbut, not all was lost. With danger came opportunity. In such a place, either they would die without a grave, or they would emerge reborn.

Jack hoped for the latter.

Time passed. No more monsters attacked them, but the scenery slowly began to change. Chambers appeared to the side of the tunnel. They were completely destroyed and ransacked, with their walls showed all kinds of colors and their insides in ruins.

After investigating, however, a few things became clear. Each of these chambers held the remains of a powerful monsterstone guardians, clay soldiers, plant lifeforms... The commonality between all of them was that they possessed draconic features and had been dead for only a short period of time. Whatever killed them had done so within the last few hours. It could only be the B-Grades.

Besides these guardians, each chamber contained an empty altar. It wasnt hard to imagine that every altar once held some treasure, now taken by the B-Grades.

Jack, Min, and Brock kept walking, still on full alert. Finding the B-Grades and joining them would guarantee their safety, but it would also guarantee they wouldnt get any treasure. It wasnt necessarily the best case scenario.

On the other hand, if they didnt run into the B-Grades, escaping this place would be difficult. It was a large, three-dimensional maze. With all its winding and intersecting tunnels, locating the exit would be extremely time-consuming. Running into the path of the B-Grades was actually a great coincidence.

As for following the destroyed chambers backward, that wouldnt work. They only started appearing deep into the maze; before that point, there was no way to backtrack on the B-Grades route. Even if it was possible, the green barrier may have returned, and even if it hadntdid they really want to exit?

The guardians of this place, though destroyed, still emitted a formidable aura. They had all been B-Grade existences. If their little group separated from the path the B-Grades had followed and found unexplored treasure chambers, defeating the guardian was almost impossible. Their only chance of getting something was to follow the B-Grades from afar and carefully investigate every chamber they left behind in hopes theyd missed something.

At the end, even if they found nothing, following the B-Grades would lead them to the main treasure trove of this place, where the B-Grades would probably have to fight some powerful guardian. As long as Jack and the others remained undiscovered, it wasnt impossible to fish for benefits in the chaos.

It was sad, but this was reality. In a dungeon where they were severely underleveled, Jacks only option was to act as a scavenger. Even the things that a B-Grade would consider garbage might be useful to him.

After walking for a while, the destroyed rooms became more recent. Wisps of auras and space disturbances remained in the airthey were catching up to the B-Grades.

At this point, Brock took the lead. Though still weakened by using his blood before, he could use his powers. He summoned the Bro Code and used the same scouting page as before to scan the way ahead, hoping to lock onto the B-Grades before they found him.

Since the B-Grades would naturally direct their attention forward as they walked, and since Brocks scouting covered a wide range than a normal cultivators perception, he probably wouldnt get discovered.

Unfortunately, reality was often disappointing. Only half an hour after Brock took the lead, Min Ling paused. I felt something, she said, tensing up. I think there was a Dao enchantment here. We stepped right into it.

Should we run? Jack asked.

Before she could reply, the world shook around them. Whos there!? a voice rumbled through the corridor. Come out slowly or prepare to die!

Jack cursed in his mind. This was the voice of Uruselam, the Hand of Gods B-Grade leader. They had been caught.

B-Grades simply had superior methods.