Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

The monkey hollering was intoxicating. The rush, the haze, the spike of adrenaline as Jack faced a gorilla with his bare hands. He grinned. He didn’t burst into action; action burst out of him.

Jack and the big brorilla crashed into each another like trains and began boxing. Despite his small physique, Jack was strong; very strong. He wasn’t instantly annihilated like a pre-System human; he stood his ground and met the gorilla’s big fists with his own small but hard ones.

Jack had adopted a boxing stance as dictated by his Fistfighting skill, which was completely in its element. He weaved and bobbed, dodged and jabbed where he found an opening. His punches flew straight and true, impacting the big brorilla’s body with strong thuds and making it grimace.

The brorilla’s punches flew like homing missiles. Its muscular arms carried such power that a single punch could undoubtedly rip a normal human’s head clean off. But Jack was no normal human, not anymore. He couldn’t just dodge; he could block, too!

The gorilla was stronger, as it was a strength-oriented creature, but Jack was much faster and, surprisingly, more durable. He could take those massive fists, while the gorilla buckled every time Jack sneaked in a strike. His little punches fell like hammers, bypassing the gorilla’s thick fur to strike the skin underneath.

The big brorilla’s eyes widened. Its mouth opened, revealing a pair of sharp teeth. It couldn’t use the System to inspect Jack, but it could vaguely sense the level difference between itself and another creature. Most animals and monsters could.

That was why the monkeys invited Jack in. That was why the brorillas and even the big brorilla spoke with him. That was why, when Jack was disrespectful, the big brorilla challenged him. It could sense they were roughly on the same level, but it should have been slightly stronger.

However, that didn’t seem to be the case. Its little mind was puzzled. It was boxing with all its tremendous strength, driving punch after punch into the body of this small creature, but it took everything like a champ. Instead, when the little creature’s punches struck the gorilla, they felt like swinging logs!

The big brorilla growled and struck faster, harder. He howled and became a flurry of blows on Jack, who still fought skillfully. He dodged one strike, blocked another, parried a third, and dug his fist into the gorilla’s belly. The gorilla bent, and it spat some saliva on Jack’s head from above. Its eyes shook.

How could this little creature be so strong!?

All around them, the monkeys were going bananas. They jumped up and down, climbed on branches to see better, and generally raised a ruckus that would make any sports fan go green with envy. The smart ones even snacked on bananarms as they watched the fight. Some were even smarter, and they distributed bananarms to other monkeys in return for favors or kisses.

The gymonkeys had invented stadium snacks.

More monkeys appeared from the trees as the battle raged on. Even three brorillas rushed over, bringing the total up to seven. All the brorillas then spent a minute greeting each other like proper bros.

Jack didn’t miss all this. Though the fight was hectic, he was in control. It wasn’t that difficult. He hadn’t lost himself as usual.

He could sense the crowd’s burning gazes; they landed on his body as intense as the big brorilla’s punches. He could feel their excitement, surprise, fervent joy at such a spectacle; even their respect for his strength, which could match their big bro.

He felt like a champion.

It wasn’t only good. There was undeniable pressure, a great amount, and there was hostility from some of the monkeys. He felt under scrutiny, like his every movement was judged. He felt a veil stretching over his fists and dampening their blows.

The big brorilla sensed his weakness. It smacked him harder, abandoning defense except for its most vulnerable parts. Its punches rained down like meteors, and its monkey cries filled Jack’s ears. He was forced on the defensive. The monkeys cheered, watching their big bro recover the upper hand, and some even booed Jack.

Jack was frustrated. Why was this happening? He didn’t understand. He had the higher stats, the finer skills; why was he losing? Why were his movements weak and his reactions slow? Why did he make bad calls and expose his weaknesses?

This was the reverse of his vision. The bald man had exhibited strength that his body couldn’t possibly contain. Jack was failing to use the strength that his body definitely possessed.

Why?

He knew why.

The tension was getting to him. He could fight with his life on the line, but now, he hesitated. The booing drew him away. The myriad movements at the edges of his vision sapped his attention. The pressure fell on his punches like fabric, making him slow and clumsy.

The big brorilla, on the other hand, was used to fighting like this. It kept the upper hand and kept pushing.

Jack felt like he was back to the basics. He was facing elementary weaknesses that he never had to deal with against the goblins or bears. His body knew the way, but his mind and soul couldn’t follow.

He was incomplete. His foundation was lacking. Suddenly, he had an epiphany. He had been trying to grasp the bald man’s secrets, but those were so high up the ladder he didn’t even deserve to reach for them. He didn’t even have the first step.

Slow and steady. Wait a moment. This is like academic research!

A punch to his jaw made him spin in mid-air and snapped him out of irrelevant thoughts. Jack landed on his feet and ducked under another punch, then delivered a devastating uppercut on the gorilla’s chest—height difference. The poor animal almost left the ground but quickly replied with a deft jab that Jack dodged.

Basics, he repeated to himself, trying not to lose focus. I must work my way up. To become a good fighter, I must first become a fighter. I must be able to stand on stage and fight. I must develop the mental resilience to perform under any circumstances. I must not allow myself stupid, gaping flaws.

He looked at the big brorilla with gratitude. This was such a great opportunity. He’d found his missing piece. He needed the heart of a fighter; the eye of the tiger.

A punch whistled by his ear, and another smashed into the gorilla’s belly again.

Jack returned to the fray with renewed resolve. He opened his mind to the surrounding tension, letting it flow over him without affecting him. He had spoken on stage before; he’d even given lectures. He knew how to handle it.

But this wasn’t the same. The eyes of dozens of monkeys and a few brorillas were all on him, and the pressure wasn’t something his razor-sharp battle brain could handle. Resolve alone was not enough.

With growing terror, Jack realized he couldn’t ignore them. He couldn’t tune it off. It worked great in theory, but not in practice.

Crap!

This was bad. He felt lost and confused. His brain refused to act at normal speed. On the other hand, the big brorilla had gathered so much momentum and confidence it was about to steamroll Jack. This was now a fight he could lose, and he would, if he didn’t find a way to recover his footing.

This must be how athletes feel…but I don’t know how to handle the pressure! How do they do it?

Wait. I don’t need to handle it, he realized. I have fists. I can simply break it.

He grinned. That’s right. So far, he remained a scientist at heart. The fighter only emerged automatically while fighting. Jack now had to summon him at will.

A scientist would ignore the pressure. A fighter would muster his stubbornness and smash right through it.

His fists clenched harder. These monkeys wanted to boo him? Their burning gazes would make him cower? Hah!

He stood straighter. His gaze, that had been trapped at the gorilla’s chest level, reached its eyes and stared defiantly. The big brorilla noticed the change. So did the brorillas and gymonkeys. Their sounds changed. Their boos got hesitant.

The big brorilla tried to smash a fist into those defiant eyes, but Jack was no longer there. So far, he’d been pummeling the gorilla’s torso, whittling its endurance down. He couldn’t reach any higher due to the height difference—the big brorilla was nine feet tall.

However, Jack now realized he shouldn’t care. If he dared, his Fistfighting skill knew the way.

The crowd’s pressure was still wrapped around Jack’s fists, obstructing them, but so what? He simply ignored it, pushed harder, and ripped right through it. He was the king of the ring, and he fucking loved it.

The brorilla’s fist met empty air. In the next moment, Jack rose from the ground, jumping up and reaching the brorilla’s head. Its eyes widened. Jack pulled his hand back. The brorilla tried to recover, to dodge, but there was no time. It saw death.

Jack’s punch drilled straight into the big brorilla’s face, stopping a few centimeters before its nose and turning it into mush.

The gorilla flew back and collapsed to the ground. Jack landed on his feet, a wild grin on his face. He hadn’t lost himself; he was still in complete control. He simply enjoyed this fight enough to smile, and he didn’t see a reason to hide it. He would do whatever he wanted. Fuck them all.

The brorilla growled as it stood. It faced Jack, and he stared deep into his eyes. He saw anger there, shame…and helplessness. Resignation.

Jack grinned. The big brorilla gave a sad growl as it fell to both knees and bowed towards him.

In that last strike, Jack had stopped his punch before it struck the gorilla’s face. Otherwise, his Drill skill would have sent the momentum deep enough to break several delicate bones, and he might have even killed the gorilla on the spot.

He wasn’t sure if his actions had been noticed, but apparently, they had. These apes were smart animals.

As soon as the big brorilla bowed, the rest of the monkeys followed suit. Seven brorillas and around thirty gymonkeys bowed towards Jack, who accepted his victory.

Due to his science, he knew how monkey society worked. As ridiculous as it seemed, he’d challenged the alpha male and won. He was their leader now.

Jack looked at the various monkeys, all of them buff as fuck, and realized his gains: he had a monkey pack under his command, valuable allies against the black wolf. Moreover, the fight with the big brorilla had helped him discover a major flaw and fix it. He now had the heart of a fighter—or at least the beginnings of one.

This difference might sound small, but Jack could feel it resonating with the vision inside him. The bald man approved; now that Jack had the heart, he understood that the bald man was similar. He was a fighter through and through; pushing forward until nothing remained.

Maybe that’s what made his punch so magically unstoppable.

Jack was on to something. A light bulb shone in his head as all his insights started to come together. A vague form began taking shape—

—and then a ding came out of nowhere, breaking his concentration. The idea retreated back to the very edge of his mind, right outside his reach.

Motherfu— He stopped himself. No meaning in insulting an omnipotent entity that could read your thoughts.

Stifling his frustration as best as he could, he turned to look at the status screen that just had to interrupt him.

Primate Boss subjugated! Would you like to despawn the group? Y/N

Level Up! You have reached Level 23.

Level Up! You have reached Level 24.

Level Up! You have reached Level 25.

It seemed that forcing a boss to surrender counted as a victory. It didn’t matter much to Jack. No, he replied. He wasn’t going to despawn his new allies.

However, it seemed that his assumption of each monster group counting as a killable entity was true; by defeating the group, he’d gotten the respective experience, even though he didn’t kill a single monkey.

And these Levels did matter. He allocated all bonus points equally among his physical stats, of course. His difference with the black wolf was closing by the day; his battle prowess now had to be around Level 40.

Not too far away…unless that Elite tag means what I think it does. Damn it.

In video games, Elite enemies were stronger than their Levels would indicate. Jack really hoped that wasn’t the case…but even if it was, he had an Elite Class of his own, plus a monkey army that would help him pull through, especially if he trained it a little.

Finally, there was one extra benefit from all these level-ups. Jack grinned as he looked at the last status screen. It was almost enough to make him forgive the System for distracting him—almost.

Congratulations! Level 25 reached. New Class Skill acquired: Calamitous Punch (I).