Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 182: Making Frenemies

Jack’s eyes traveled from the tip of the long sword, down its length, to its handle, and up to the sharp brown eyes that hid under dark hair. A tattered cloak drifted behind this man, its edge almost touching the floor, and his brows were raised in amusement.

Human (Earth-74), Level 122

Faction: Wide Swirls (B-Grade)

Title: Wide Swirls Prodigy

Minotaur, Level 115

Faction: Animal Kingdom (B-Grade)

Title: Resilient

“Jack Rust,” he said. “What a coincidence.”

Jack jumped back and clenched his fists. He instantly entered battle mode. His eyes narrowed as they took in Longsword’s form, as well as Bocor, the minotaur, whose gaze burned with hatred.

“Longsword,” he said, ignoring Bocor. “Fuck.”

“Looks like fate wants you dead, Jack Rust,” Long replied, laughing. Bocor took this as a sign of aggression and drew his tower shield, approaching Jack with the intent to battle. His position was expertly chosen; he could easily intercept any of Jack’s attacks without inhibiting those of Longsword.

Not that the Lord needed any help.

Jack’s brain worked quickly. Bocor hated his guts, and he had offended Longsword last time they met. Then, the Lord had declared they would be enemies starting from Space Ring.

What kind of shitty luck is this!?

He gritted his teeth, calculating his odds. He had very little confidence in beating Longsword, even though his strength had increased significantly since the last time they fought. Plus, Bocor was here.

On the other hand, if he ran, he still couldn’t escape. Longsword had demonstrated his speed when he hunted Jack’s group through the desert of Village Ring. But Bocor was slow. If Jack ran, he could split up his enemies, forcing Longsword to fight alone. Then, if things went Jack’s way, perhaps he could—

Thinking time was over. Bocor was upon him, his horns almost scraping the ceiling and his tower shield blocking most of the corridor. He moved from side to side, revealing openings through which Longsword could thrust his sword.

Jack crouched and prepared to leap back. Ghost Step was only a thought away.

“Wait a moment,” Longsword said. Bocor froze. Unwillingness flickered in his eyes before he stepped aside like a good grunt, making room for Longsword to approach Jack, who could run away at any moment.

“Don’t run,” Longsword continued. “It would change nothing, and lose us all precious time.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed further. “Aren’t you going to attack me?” he asked.

“I am considering it.”

There was haughtiness in that voice. It was deep and masculine, carrying a sort of brutal tone. At the same time, it hid great intelligence, along with an almost playful edge.

Longsword was strong, imposing, charming, and intelligent. Coupling that with high-end training since childhood and a natural talent for the Dao, he really did seem to have everything.

On the other side, Jack was good at punching stuff. “Consider it faster,” he replied.

“Why the rush?”

“Because your witch could be flanking me as we speak.”

The ends of Longsword’s lips rose a bit. “She was split up from us. A shame, really, but not even Bone Generals can catch her. She’ll be fine.”

Jack waited in silence.

“How about we relax and have a little chat?” Longsword asked, raising his hands. “We are all lost in here. Fighting each other would be a waste.”

“I thought we were enemies.”

“We can be, if you want. But our enmity will last very little, and it will end with your head far away from your shoulders.”

Jack crouched deeper, ready to escape at a moment’s notice. “What do you want?”

“You.”

“Explain.”

Longsword smiled. “Have you considered my offer at all, Jack?”

“Working under you?”

“Yes.”

Jack’s mind was spinning again. He hadn’t considered it. Joining Longsword seemed like a bad idea after seeing how coldly he treated Bocor, one of his closest followers. Even now, the minotaur was sitting by the side, steaming from all orifices but not daring to speak up. Longsword hadn’t spared him a single glance, like he was little more than furniture.

On the other hand, speaking his thoughts right now might be a deadly mistake. For whatever reason, Longsword still seemed willing to negotiate. If the other choice was death, perhaps Jack could pretend to think about it until he could escape.

The Dao of the Fist reveled in headfirst collisions, but it had nothing against deception.

“Of course I have thought about it…but I hesitate,” Jack said. Tipping his hand too early could only end badly. He wanted to scout Longsword’s intentions and see where this was headed.

After all, he followed the Dao of the Fist. Deception was fine, but betrayal and dishonor were entirely different matters. Jack couldn’t swear loyalty as a lie, not even to save his life.

“I can see that. I have a proposition for you,” Longsword cut directly to the chase. “Join me for this ring. Just the labyrinth. Afterward, you can go your own way. We don’t even have to be enemies—though we probably will be.”

“Sir!” Bocor finally couldn’t contain himself. “That’s—”

“Silence,” Longsword said without even turning around. Bocor bit his tongue and stopped talking. It must have taken all of his willpower and then some. Jack could see veins popping under his fur.

“Why?” Jack asked.

“Because I appreciate your value,” Longsword replied. He sounded honest. “You possess great strength and titles. If you reach the peak of the E-Grade, you will probably possess the strength of a Lord. Comparable to mine.”

“So you want to keep me close.”

“Ideally, I want to recruit you. You are a rogue cultivator right now, and you’ve made powerful enemies. An agreement between us is something we could both benefit from.”

Jack frowned. He was beginning to sense there would be no battle here, but he remained on guard. “And if I leave after this ring?”

“Nothing ventured, nothing lost. It’s a gamble. Your perception of me is probably skewed right now. If we travel together for a few days, if you come to understand how things work in the galaxy, I believe you may have a change of heart. That will be a great boon to me and my faction. If not… Well, I won’t lose much, to be honest. A King-tier rogue cultivator won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, especially since the Animal Kingdom will take care of you in short order.”

“They can try.”

Bocor’s head almost exploded from suppressed anger.

“This is the best offer you could ask for,” Longsword continued. “I could kill you. Instead, I offer you a chance to not only live, but also enjoy my protection for the duration of this ring—and I get an extra helper for any trial we find. Any other Lord would demand your absolute loyalty in exchange, but I understand that someone with your Dao would die before yielding. Therefore, all I ask for is a chance to change your mind.”

Jack had to admit this sounded good. Longsword wasn’t stupid. He realized Jack’s potential and offered a deal that worked for both of them.

Could he actually be decent? Jack wondered. Whatever the case, he had to respect Longsword’s adept handling of the situation.

“You got me,” Jack said, slowly straightening his body. If Longsword wanted to attack, there was no need to go through all this. “I have to admit. I expected you to be more…”

“Thoughtless? Arrogant? Overbearing?”

“Something like that, yes.”

Longsword laughed; a deep, booming sound that came directly from his stomach. “You will find, Jack Rust, that most people are as complex as you. Nobody reaches the top by being an idiot.”

Jack found mirth rising inside him, but he kept it down. At the end of the day, this man was more an enemy than a friend.

Another downside here was that Jack had planned to kill as many bone monsters as possible in the labyrinth to level up. The presence of Longsword and Bocor would greatly affect the experience he got from each monster…but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Any way he looked at it, teaming up here was the best way to go about things—among other benefits, it was the fastest way to find Brock.

Besides, leveling was slow by now. A couple extra levels would matter far less than a Treasure Trial, or any other benefits he got this way.

Not to mention that he was completely lost by himself.

“So, what now?” he asked.

“Now, we keep walking. The darker the walls, the closer we are to the guardian.”

“I’ve been wondering: just how big is this labyrinth?”

“Oh, very. Hundreds of square miles filled with winding paths. Reaching the guardian from here should take us days. Maybe a week.”

“So I have to endure this for a week?” Jack asked, motioning at Bocor, who glared with every fiber of his being.

Longsword turned to his follower. “I know this is difficult for you, Bocor, but bear with it. At the end of the day, you and Jack have no personal enmity—and, if you do, you were the one who started it. Perhaps this is doing your faction a favor.”

Bocor growled. “The Animal Kingdom doesn’t take losses.”

“So it says, but you’d be surprised. Now, how about you accept my judgment and rein in your emotions?”

Longsword’s words were spoken calmly and with a smile, but they contained unshakable confidence. Bocor had no choice but to relent.

Longsword gave Jack a side glance. He probably expected him to walk forward and extend a handshake to Bocor. Jack didn’t do that. Neither did Bocor. In the end, Longsword simply shrugged.

“Do you know the way?” Jack asked.

“We have a compass,” the Lord replied, revealing an intricately carved piece with three needles in three concentric circles.

Jack rose his brows. “Huh. I never considered that.”

“You couldn’t find one, anyway. Trial Planet is too messed up. Thankfully, being part of a B-Grade faction comes with a lot of perks.” He winked, then smiled brightly.

Jack chuckled. “Too bad I’ll never find out.”

“You certainly will, one way or another. Now, let’s go. With any luck, we’ll find a Treasure Trial on the way.”

“A Treasure Trial?”

“Isn’t that why you entered the labyrinth early?”

“I did that to avoid you.”

Longsword laughed again. “Well, this ring does contain Trials, like Space Ring, but not all of them are Dao Trials. Some are Treasure Trials, which means they will simply give you treasures that can be useful to anyone. Unlike Dao Trials, you can enter as many of them as you like. They’re one of the main allures of Labyrinth Ring.”

“So, you want to get as many as possible?”

“They aren’t that common. Finding even one is considered lucky.”

“I see. Because Trial Planet has existed for so long that most of them are taken already?”

“Oh, not at all. Labyrinth Ring changes every few months; the paths move around, and new Trials appear in the place of old ones. They contain highly valuable rewards and are hard to conquer, but they are also very few.”

Jack tilted his head. “Then, shouldn’t everyone be rushing to get them? I heard that the Garden Assault waits a few days in Space Ring.”

“That’s the agreement, yes. But there was a super horde, and many teams rushed to the labyrinth, so I just came along. Let the other Lords take their time. What are they going to do? Tell me off? I will have the rewards of at least one Treasure Trial, and they will have the moral high ground. Guess what wins in a fight.”

Jack couldn’t prevent the ends of his lips from rising. “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

“Of course. As I said”—he pointed at himself and laughed—“not an idiot.”

“Do you also have a way to locate other people, not-an-idiot?” Jack hadn’t forgotten about Brock. Finding his brorilla remained his number one priority in Labyrinth Ring. Everything else could come after.

Longsword shook his head. “Sadly not. If I did, Eralda would be here, too. She’s my ice witch, by the way.”

Jack looked down, then up again. “I understand,” he said.

He never expected things to go this way. That he would be split up from Brock, then travel and make deals with his enemies. That Longsword would turn out to be terrifyingly enterprising.

The moment the Lord turned away, Bocor gave Jack a dirty look. Clearly, the grudge between them was nowhere near settled, but Jack didn’t care too much right now.

“Hey, Bocor,” he said, making the minotaur’s dirty look intensify, “I know we don’t like each other, but it looks like we’ll be traveling together for some time. Keep it in your pants or you’ll just be annoying to everyone. And, by the way, I beat you when I was Level 84 and you were Level 115. Now, I am at 94, but you are still at 115. Do the math.”

Bocor’s face split into a predatory grin. “But guess who got a Trial in Space Ring, dipshit. If you want me to tear you a new asshole, I’m ready anytime.”

Jack frowned and turned to face Bocor squarely.

“No fighting.” Longsword raised his arms. “The Trials of Labyrinth Ring are no laughing matter. We will need to be at full power. If you want to settle your differences, do it in Garden Ring.”

Jack held Bocor’s stare for another moment. He wasn’t going to look away first.

The minotaur turned his eyes after a moment of inner struggle. “Yes, sir,” he said darkly. “Garden Ring, Jack Rust.”

Jack snorted. “Sure. Garden Ring.” He didn’t know what that ring was, but it sounded almost nice.

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