Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 98: Class Selection

The arena had fallen silent. Most humans didn’t understand why, but they could tell that something was wrong.

All the aliens were gaping at Jack like he was a monster. So were the most knowledgeable of humans, and even the immortals. The C-Grade lioness was gripping her throne’s armrest tightly, but no one noticed. Vocrich’s dark eyes were blazing. Only the ascetic of Barren High seemed to maintain his cool, though even he was surprised.

“A perfect Seed…” he muttered, sighing. “Why this planet?”

“Planetary overseer—” Vocrich began saying.

“No,” she cut him off. “This man is a possible threat to my faction. He must be ended here and now.”

He frowned. A moment later, he said, “The Hand of God wants him.”

“This is our territory.”

“You would refuse our request?”

“We can pay the price.” She finally tore her eyes off Jack to stare at Vocrich. “This boy will die today. If you interfere and break the Star Pact, so will I.”

Vocrich hesitated. Finally, he slicked back his dark hair, flashed her a charming smile, and said, “Let’s not argue. There are other perfect Seeds. We could forget about him, but…” He trailed.

“I have no time for games. Name your price.”

“A hundred spots into Trial Planet, and a hundred promising recruits over the next ten galactic years,” he offered confidently. “New generation for new generation.”

She frowned. “I will add another hundred of both, but you must guarantee that the Exploding Sun will stay out of this.”

Vocrich smiled. “Deal.”

Both satisfied, they turned to look at the arena. In the blink of an eye, Jack’s fate had been sold and bought.

Meanwhile, right next to Jack, Master Shol seemed about to have an aneurysm. “My boy,” he said with a tremble, “you…”

“Thank you for your protection, Master,” Jack responded, bowing deeply. “You fed me the Rainbow Dao Pill and the Dao Fruit of the Fist, right? You saved me.”

“Nonsense, nonsense.” Shol quickly waved it away. “Quick! Check your notifications and tell me what they say.”

Jack frowned at the enthusiasm, buthe complied regardless. He, too, was extremely curious to see what the System had to say. The lioness’s soul influence had disappeared, for whatever reason, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

Congratulations! Dao Root of the Fist → Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (early)

Congratulations! F-Grade → E-Grade

Congratulations! Your body has been infused with your Dao, taking on its attributes.

All stats +10

Free stat points per Level up: 2 → 5

Level Up! You have reached Level 50.

Congratulations! The Bare Fist Brotherhood faction has reached the E-Grade. New functions unlocked in the faction screen.

Congratulations! For being the first cultivator on your planet to develop a Dao Seed, you are awarded the Title: Planetary Torchbearer (1).

Planetary Torchbearer (1): A Title awarded to the first cultivator to develop a Dao Seed in an Integrated planet. A sign of great potential, marking the owner as a person worthy of the Immortal System’s assistance.

Efficacy of all stats +15%.

Class Upgrade available. Please choose your new Class:

There was a long blue screen after that, detailing his Class choices, but he put it aside for now. As much as he couldn’t wait to choose, it sounded like something that would take time, and he didn’t know if he had time.

He was already plenty excited, anyway. All other benefits aside, the Planetary Torchbearer (1) title… It was humongous! Coupled with the Planetary Frontrunner (10), he now had a 25% increase in the efficacy of all his stats—assuming the effects was additive. That would put him head and shoulders above everyone else at his Level.

The truly strong people in the galaxy would doubtlessly have some titles of their own, like Rufus, but Jack could get more in the future, too. For now, he was definitely way ahead of the curve.

Finally, he opened his status screen.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (E)

Grade: E

Class: Pugilist (Elite) (Upgrade pending)

Level: 50

Strength: 129 (+)

Dexterity: 129 (+)

Constitution: 129 (+)

Mental: 23

Will: 23

Free points: 5

Skills: Fistfighting (III), Drill (III), Pugilist Body (III), Parkour (III)

Dao Skills: Meteor Punch (II)

Daos: Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist (early), Dao Root of Indomitable Will

Titles: Planetary Frontrunner (10), Planetary Torchbearer (1)

It was glorious.

“It says a lot of things, Master,” he replied.

“Your Dao Seed, boy. Tell me what that says.”

Master Shol seemed pretty flustered, making Jack worried. Had he done something wrong? He felt that everything had gone smoothly. Maybe breaking through now was a mistake?

“It says I got the Perfect Dao Seed of the Fist, and then the word early in parentheses.”

Just when he thought Master Shol’s eyes couldn’t widen further, they did. His mouth trembled as he spoke. “Perfect? Are you sure?”

“Yes, Master. I can read.”

“This is… This is wonderful! Excellent! Good job, my boy! Incredible job! And you were so fast, too; that’s marvelous!”

Jack hadn’t seen his master express joy like that before, but he had no context. He hadn’t even known that Dao Seeds were split into tiers.

“Is a perfect Seed so rare, Master?” he asked.

“Extremely! Even in the Exploding Sun, we only get a handful of those per generation!”

“Oh!” Jack’s eyes brightened. That sounded pretty good.

“With this, I’m sure my master will take you in. You will be safe!” Master Shol continued excitedly. He had completely forgotten they were watched by billions of people and several other immortals. At least, Edgar’s bubble blocked sound.

“Mhm, that great,” Jack said, nodding. In one fell swoop, he had advanced to the E-Grade, gotten a perfect Dao Seed—which apparently was very rare—and secured the protection of the Exploding Sun, which meant that the Animal Kingdom couldn’t touch his faction. As long as he took care of Rufus Emberheart, who now counted as a native, all his problems would be solved. “How long do we have until the tournament is over?” he asked.

“Five minutes,” Master Shol replied quickly. “You go choose your Class. No need to consult me, I trust you will make a good selection. I will speak to my Master.”

Jack raised a brow. He didn’t know it was possible to communicate in real-time over such distances—they were in different constellations—but then again, Master Shol was an immortal. He had his tricks.

Jack then turned to the side, smiling at Edgar and Brock. The little monkey took this as its cue and flexed at Jack, then reached out for a congratulatory handshake. He was brimming with joy for his big bro. Jack felt so glad to have him.

Edgar was wide-eyed, too, and he let out a soft whistle. “Shit, man,” he said. “I can’t see your Level.”

“I’m fifty,” Jack replied, laughing. “Thank you for protecting me. Did people try anything weird while I was out of it?”

“No. Your master and that Hand of God vampire scared everyone away.” He looked like he wanted to say something more but didn’t know what. He scratched his head. In the end, he simply said, “You are amazing.”

Jack smiled. “Don’t undersell yourself. You haven’t broken through yet, have you? Where do you know? Maybe you’ll get a perfect Dao Seed, too!”

“You never know,” Edgar replied with a small smile. “Well, what are you waiting for? Don’t you want a new Class?”

“Right.” Jack nodded. He immediately opened his screens again. He was dying to choose.

The very first Class didn’t disappoint.

Bare-Knuckled Berserker (Elite)

Berserkers are warriors who draw energy from rage. They lose themselves in battle, gaining extraordinary power in return. Additionally, the more damage they receive, the stronger they become.

Bare-Knuckled Berserkers are rare variants, usually appearing in barbaric tribes of desolate planets. They plow through enemies with their bare fists, standing tall and proud on a mountain of corpses.

“Punch until there is nothing left.”

This Class sounded pretty cool, though with a with a major drawback. Losing himself in battle didn’t sound practical. He could understand why the System offered that Class, however; more than once, Jack had let fury drive him mid-fight.

But the fist included control; it wasn’t just a weapon.

Juggernaut (Elite)

A warrior who does not falter. Juggernauts dive into the thick of battle, using their extraordinary resilience to trade blows with anyone in their path. Their offensive capabilities are only adequate, but they will be the last ones standing.

A juggernaut is a one-man army.

“Never fall.”

This also sounded intriguing, if a bit simple. It focused on defense rather than offense, which wasn’t Jack’s preference, but it would do. After all, defense was the foundation of a good offense. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

His only doubt was that the fist wasn’t specifically mentioned anywhere, as it was in his Pugilist Class and the Bare-Knuckled Berserker one. Did that mean anything?

Regardless, Jack filed this Class away as a good option and proceeded to the next.

Lightning Fist (Elite)

A martial artist that uses superior speed to whittle down their opponents. They can use lightning to strike from a distance, as well as imbue their bodies with it.

Lightning Fists slip through the battlefield like fish in water, striking precisely when and where they should.

“Strike like lightning, hit like thunder.”

This reminded Jack of Dorman. It sounded practical, but he knew it was not the path he wanted. His Dao had just formed, and it was based on power, not speed. After all, fist meant power.

The bald man in his first Dao Vision hadn’t needed speed to destroy the titanic beast.

So far, he was torn between the previous two options. Being a one-man army suited him, though he would prefer to focus on offense rather than defense. The other option was the berserker variant, but he was wary of it. Losing himself in battle was dangerous, and not the way of his fist.

Both were good, but neither was perfect.

There was one final Class to inspect, though, and Jack hoped it would be something better.

Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite)

A solitary, unstoppable warrior. A conqueror who crushes all opposition with an iron fist.

A Fiend of the Iron Fist is a balanced fighter who focuses on delivering devastating punches. While this Class contains no inherent morality, most previous wielders went down in history as heavy-handed tyrants, hence its name.

This Class hails from the Iron Fist Empire.

“Power rules the world.”

This was…intriguing, but it was nowhere near the clean choice Jack hoped for.

This last Class raised quite a few red flags: It had the word fiend in its name, which sounded ominous; most previous Fiends were tyrants—that couldn’t be a coincidence, right?

On the other hand, the Class was about “a balanced fighter who focuses on delivering devastating strikes.” That was Jack’s current fighting style, and he liked it. It suited him and his path perfectly.

But then again, so did the bare-knuckled barbarian. One had the clear drawback of losing his mind in battle, and the other was…ominous?

Let’s see, he considered, narrowing his eyes. Time was running out, but they still had a few minutes, and if there was anything worth considering, that was his Class selection. He decided to dissect the issue.

While this Class contains no inherent morality, most previous wielders went down in history as heavy-handed tyrants, hence its name. That was the core sentence. If Jack read it correctly, it seemed like a coincidence, or maybe a result of the Class originating in the Iron Fist Empire—which didn’t sound like the happiest place.

At the very least, the “no inherent morality” part was an explicit assurance that the System wouldn’t mess with his mind, right? If anything, it implied that either brain-washing or stupid skills like “this Skill automatically kills the people who enrage you” were possible, and Jack wanted none of that. His mind was his final bastion, and he would defend it no matter what.

On second thought, the barbarian Class also implied mind control. He had assumed that “lose himself in battle” was a mild side-effect, but what if it wasn’t? Fuck that. He bid the Class goodbye on the spot.

Nobody would control him. He was the master of himself.

Back to the Fiend of the Iron Fist. If one got past the fiend part, it sounded perfect. A solitary, unstoppable warrior: that was him. Crush all opposition with an iron fist: that was his Dao—fist meant power. A balanced fighter who focuses on delivering devastating punches: that was his exact fighting style, as well as the direction he wanted to take going forward.

Suddenly, Jack realized that, of all his Class choices, the Fiend was by far the most specific one, and it was perfect for him—too perfect to let go.

If anything went wrong down the line, he would deal with it then. Besides, how hard could it be? As long as he remained himself, things would work out.

He braced himself and locked in the selection, already giddy with excitement.

Congratulations! You are now a Fiend of the Iron Fist (Elite).

Congratulations! Pugilist Body (III) upgraded into Iron Fiend Body (II).

Class Skill unlocked: Ghost Step (I).

Sᴇarch the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.