Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse - C.439: Gift Shopping

“What about the Gods?” Jack asked, looking at the other side.

“There were twelve of them, as you already know,” Pasan explained. “By the time we hid in here, the Crusade was almost over. None of them had died, so it’s likely they’re all still alive.”

“I know a few things about them,” Jack said. “However, it’s the first time I see them arranged in groups.”

“That is their battle formation. The twelve Gods are separated into three great domains. Enas and Axelor, the Gods of Life and Entropy, are the strongest of the twelve. Those two by themselves form a single domain—that of the soul. The remaining ten Gods form the other two domains: energy and matter. When the Gods of a domain work together, they can combine their Daos to exhibit power at the very limit of the A-Grade, almost taking that extra step and reaching a new realm entirely. They ripped through the Immortal armies like hot knives through butter. They were nigh unstoppable. In fact, our ancestor believed that the only reason the Immortals won the Crusade was that the Gods were not used to working together, as they’d never had to fight before. Otherwise, they could have been invincible.”

“I see…” Jack muttered. This made some sense, and it also answered some questions he’d been harboring.

Back when he faced the trial of Green Dragon, he’d had to fight the avatars of the twelve Old Gods. Of course, their power was nothing compared to the real thing, but it shouldn’t be random. The first ten Gods had been relatively simple to dismantle, but Axelor and Enas were on a different level entirely. Jack had wondered why. Now, he understood. 𝘧𝑟𝓮𝓮𝓌𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝓵.𝒸ℴ𝑚

If the three domains of matter, energy, and soul were at the same level, then each of the other Old Gods wielded one fifth of a domain. Enas and Axelor wielded half each. How could they not be stronger?

“This is fascinating,” Jack said. His eyes ran over the tablet again, taking in all the carvings. With the larger things out of the way, he could focus on the details. He looked at every Archon of the Immortal army—they were many different species, but none was a dragon. Archon Green Dragon must have been born at a later era.

Then, as he was observing the Old Gods, he suddenly discovered something. There were little figures surrounding them, so tiny he hadn’t noticed them at first.

“Who are they?” he asked, pointing at the figures.

Pasan looked over. “There were some cultivators fighting for the Old Gods,” she explained, “but they had almost no influence on the war. They were too weak, that’s why they’re drawn so small. They’re only there for the sake of completion.”

“Oh,” Jack exclaimed. As he looked at these small cultivators, he was impressed. Whoever made these carvings was so skilled they’d managed to carve them accurately even at such small scale—even their facial expressions were evident, each carving a masterpiece.

Jack was ready to marvel at the skill needed to achieve such a thing, but he suddenly paused. His gaze latched onto a seemingly unimportant figure in those small, God-allied cultivators—all of a sudden, his eyes widened like saucers, and his mind was sent into disarray.

There was nothing special about that figure compared to the ones surrounding it, but its face was a bit familiar.

Wasn’t that…the Sage!?

“Who’s that?” Jack exclaimed, pointing at the Sage-like figure.

Pasan frowned. “No idea. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just…” Jack shook his head. “Nevermind.”

It could be a coincidence. Many people looked similar to each other, and nobody could survive for a billion years. Not to mention that the Sage had been a homeless man on the un-Integrated planet of Earth—the connection was almost impossible to make.

Then again, the Sage had always been full of riddles. Last time Jack had asked him, he’d revealed that his soul resonated with Enas himself, which was how he possessed extraordinary insights into Life to begin with. The entire reason the Barren High had divined and revealed Earth’s location to the Animal Kingdom was so the Church could recruit the Sage.

But that was a bit far-fetched, wasn’t it?

I will ask again, Jack resolved himself. This time, I will insist. Not because I think he’s an old monster who somehow managed to survive a billion years…but because I’m pretty sure he’s hiding something. I just don’t know what.

“Is there anything else here?” Jack asked, turning back to Pasan.

“Just the tablet. If you’re done, we can leave.”

He nodded. He’d seen everything there was to see and gotten significant new information, though he wasn’t sure just how it would become useful.

The two of them walked back up the stairs. Grand Elder Pasan resealed the chamber, and then they paced back towards the Elder Council.

“The gratitude and fate of my people rests on your shoulders,” Pasan said. “I hate to speak such words, but your survival is critical to us. I believe Mia has taken you to the Hall of Wonders—before you leave, you may take anything you need from there. Armor, weapons, cultivation manuals… We possess a lot of them at a high grade, but we only keep them for sentimental value. They will be much more useful to you.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Jack nodded. He didn’t plan to refuse this kindness. There was nothing he needed himself, but the Hall of Wonders contained many things. Maybe he’d find something useful. Even if he didn’t, he could always take things to assist the people close to him.

Brock needed a new staff. Jack could get him one here.

The two of them slightly angled their course and headed for the Hall of Wonders, which was situated nearby the Elder Council. To Jack’s surprise, Mia was waiting outside. He raised a brow. The other Elders must have known Pasan would bring him here.

“Hi Jack!” she said, then bowed. “Greetings, Grand Elder.”

Pasan chuckled. “There is no need for ceremony. Accompany Jack inside, and let him take anything he wishes.”

“Yes!” Mia replied. She was living historic times—how could she not be excited?

Grand Elder Pasan waited outside as Jack and Mia revisited the Hall of Wonders. “This is amazing,” she exclaimed, speaking quickly. “You can leave this place—how awesome is that? Maybe you can bring us out to see the stars, the moons, the rivers, and all those things you talked about!”

“There is no maybe,” Jack replied with a smile. “I will definitely take you out.”

She swiveled around to look at him. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Mm.” A satisfied smile emerged on her lips, and before long, they were inside the Hall.

Jack surveyed the walls. Last time he came here, it had been for sightseeing—his vision focused on different things now.

He first went over the history books. As much as they interested him, he wasn’t willing to bring them out. First of all, he doubted they would have any immediate use, and second, he wasn’t a lunatic to just carry precious books around. They were better left here.

He then walked towards the weapons and armor. Just by taking a look at them, he could tell that every single item here was of extremely high quality. They hadn’t weakened in the slightest after a billion years.

His eyes fell on a simple staff. It was nine feet long and seemed constructed of wood, though its presence here indicated it was not that simple.

“That’s the Goldenwood Staff,” Mia explained, following his eyes. “It was wielded by an early A-Grade cultivator of my people. Unfortunately, she fell during the Crusade, and her weapon was kept by her descendants. You have good eyes—it’s one of the best weapons here.”

Jack smiled. He’d just chosen it because it was a powerful yet simple staff—he had a feeling Brock would like it.

“I would like to take it,” he said. “However, to be honest, it’s not for me, but for my little brother. Is that okay?”

Mia chuckled. “What are you talking about, you silly? We owe you our gratitude. Whatever you want, just take it.”

“Thank you.”

The Goldenwood Staff was picked up and sent into Jack’s space ring. He then kept observing the weapons and armor, but nothing caught his eye. He himself didn’t use a weapon, and as for armor, he actually liked fighting bare-chested or in simple robes. Placing barriers between himself and the battle would only weaken his Dao.

Besides Brock, he could think of no one who needed a weapon, and he wouldn’t be greedy enough to take things just because he could. Therefore, he moved on.

The next items were the cultivation manuals. Nine of them, followed by three empty pedestals. Mia obediently explained the properties of each of the manuals present but none attracted Jack’s interests. His Daos were already set—for a manual to be useful, it would need to be focused on spacetime or life and death.

“We don’t have those,” Mia replied sadly after he expressed his preference. “Well, we do possess one manual on spacetime, but it’s of relatively low grade. I suspect it won’t be too useful to you.”

Jack nodded. “There is actually another thing,” he said. “You said you keep written records of all these manuals, right? At least for their lower levels.”

“Right,” Mia replied. “Up to the C-Grade.”

“Does that apply for the missing manuals as well?”

Her eyes brightened. “Yes!”

“Good. Then, could I have a copy of the one which uses electricity to augment the physical body?”

He had already considered this before, but amidst all his troubles, there had been no meaning in asking. Now, however, things were different.

Ever since the Integration Tournament, he’d known that the Emberheart family practiced this skill. Rufus Emberheart had used it to heavily augment his physical body and almost defeat Jack. Now that Jack had grown more experienced, he could recognize it as an auxiliary skill—moreover, a skill which played directly into his strengths. Physicality was one of his greatest weapons.

And, beyond that, there would be a unique flavor to using the Emberhearts’ secret technique to beat them to the ground.

Mia’s eyes smiled. “Absolutely! We have many copies, you can easily take one! It’s just… We no longer have the manual, and I’m afraid our copies only go up to the C-Grade. It won’t be too useful for you in the future…”

“Don’t worry,” Jack replied. “I’ll get the original soon enough.”

Mia was surprised but didn’t say anything. “Very well. Then I’ll get you our best copy after we leave here. Anything else?” She gestured around. “Everything you see if for the taking!”

Jack hesitated a moment. There wasn’t much he needed, but…there were actually some things he wanted.

“This may be too much,” he began, “but is there any way I could have a few of your mementos?”

Mia’s eyes flashed with surprise, then with wry understanding. “Do you mean these ones?” she asked. She rushed deeper into the corridor and soon returned with two objects in hand. One was a statuette of a dark-skinned warrioress aiming her spear at the sky while cradling a baby. The other was a bronze heart made of four separate, interlocking pieces.

Jack was surprised. “How did you know?”

“I saw how you looked at them the other day,” she revealed proudly. “They’re for your family, aren’t they? Take them.”

“But…they’re important to your people…”

“They’re just memories of the past. If they go to you, that’s more than worth it.”

Jack smiled. He’d long wanted to find good presents for his family, and these two objects fit perfectly. One would go to Vivi and the other to Ebele. Well, Ebele’s was more a gift for the entire family, but Jack had a feeling it was exactly what she’d love the most.

“Thank you,” he said earnestly, accepting the gifts into his space ring. “There is nothing more I want. I am ready to return to the universe.”

Mia stared at him. She seemed like she wanted to say something. A hint of youthful excitement flashed in her eyes, followed by bashfulness. Finally, she gave a sad smile. “Think about me every once in a while, okay?”

Jack smiled back and gave her a hug. “Absolutely. Thank you for everything, Mia. You’re wonderful.”

She blushed. Finally, she whispered, “You’re welcome, you silly.”