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Chapter 261: Seeing One’s Friends
🕑 Added 2023-09-15 17:36:01 +0000 UTCThe bromobile landed on an empty patch of ground near the town gates. The door slid open in a puff of steam; a man walked out, then raised his hand, and the entire starship shrank and flew into his sleeve.
“The Outer Planet,” Jack said to himself, inspecting the walls and gates that any immortal could just fly over. He cracked a smile. “Almost nostalgic.”
He had met with his master and watched a supernova erupt. He had visited the library and equipped himself for the perilous adventure ahead. Now, only one thing remained; Brock.
There was a line for the town gates, but everyone had already spotted him and moved away; his fluttering orange cape, signifying him as an inner disciple, commanded their respect. Only the guard in duty hadn’t noticed Jack yet, busy rummaging through some paperwork.
“Next!” he finally shouted. Jack stepped forth, and only now did the guard raise his eyes. “Hey bro, what can I help you— Oh shit, you’re a big bro!”
Jack raised an amused brow. This was a large, slim, dark-skinned man that seemed full of energy. The guard reached out for a fist-bump, which Jack bemusedly returned. “I’m just here to see a friend,” he replied.
“Of course, no problem! Inner disciples get a free pass. Go right in.”
Jack nodded and walked past, still with a smirk on his face. Of course, he could have flown over the walls or just landed in Brock’s backyard, but there was no need to get disrespectful.
As he crossed the empty streets, he watched the town calmly. The situation here seemed better than last time. There was less fear in the air, less of an unkempt vibe. In fact, he could regularly see people working on the town’s well-being, gathering garbage or removing tasteless graffiti while leaving the good ones alone. They wore smiles on their faces and worked with zeal, humming tunes that Jack didn’t recognize.
What a transformation, he told himself. I wonder what caused it.
A few feet away from Jack, a pedestrian wasn’t paying attention and almost ran into a worker tending to the street-side plants. Appearance-wise, both seemed like gangsters. “Woah,” the first guy said, hurriedly jumping aside. “My bad, bro.”
“It’s okay, bro. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You too.”
They fist-bumped and went about their separate lives.
Jack frowned over the exchange. Nah, he thought. Must be my imagination. Come to think of it, the entrance guard was a bit weird too, wasn’t he?
The more he walked, the odder the town got. Everyone was going about their jobs with purpose. People smiled and greeted each other on the street. Safety and jovialty had taken over the town, like everyone was cooperating instead of competing.
They didn’t even recoil at the sight of Jack’s orange cape, as they had the first time. He received respect, but not fear. Not complete and utter subservience. In fact, he had the suspicion that if he tried to bully anyone, the entire town would rise up against him.
Since the last time he was here, their life quality had increased tenfold!
What the fuck? Jack couldn’t help wondering, eyes glazing over the mysteries he witnessed. Is this… No. It can’t be.
Salin, Nauja, and Brock’s home was close to the town gates, thankfully, so Jack could solve this enigma faster. He reached their door and knocked on it. A moment later, he began to wonder if they weren’t home. Not that finding them would be particularly difficult, but it would be a pain.
The door opened wide. “Sup,” said Salin, greeting Jack with a stern, imposing presence that he definitely didn’t possess a while ago. In the next moment, his eyes widened, his chest deflated, his jaw softened, and he returned to being the Gan Salin that everyone knew and loved. “Jack! You’re here!” he exclaimed, turning to the inside of the house. “Guys, it’s Jack!”
Happy monkey noises came from inside as Brock rushed over, ducking under Salin’s outstretched arm and giving Jack a manly hug. To his surprise, Jack realized that Brock now reached his chest in height—he just kept growing.
“Big bro!” the brorilla said with a wide smile, which Jack returned.
“Brock! How are you doing, buddy?”
“Great.”
“Oh hey, it’s big bro!” a guy shouted off the street. As Jack turned around, elated to finally be recognized, he noticed that everyone was looking not at him, but at Brock. Every single passing pedestrian nodded to the brorilla, gave a thumbs up, or found some other way to convey their respect before moving on. Brock gave everyone a slight nod.
Jack was left speechless. “This is… No. How?”
“Brock magic,” Salin explained with a laugh, stepping aside to let Nauja pass. The barbarian girl was the only one looking exactly as Jack had left her. Thank God.
“Been a while, Jack,” she said, wrapping him into a hug. “How have you been? We heard some rumors that you killed a guy.”
“Oh, yeah. He was being a dick.”
“I understand.”
“Wait till you hear what else I did. But first… Brock, what the fuck?”
The brorilla smiled so brightly Jack thought he’d go blind again. The supernova would look at those teeth with jealousy. “Bro code,” was all he said, as if it was self-explanatory.
Jack frowned in thought. “Do you mean that you taught these people the bro code? How to be proper bros?”
“Yes.”
“To an entire town.”
“Not yet.”
“Brock here is the most talented team captain I have ever seen,” Salin stepped in. “You should have seen him, Jack. I don’t know if it’s magic or sheer charisma, but he’s pulling everyone in. We’re talking genuine gangsters seeing the light. Enemies becoming brothers in a single week. I swear to the System, give this guy ten minutes with literally anyone on the planet and he’ll convince them to call him big bro.”
Jack turned an incredulous gaze to Brock. “How the hell did you do that!?”
Brock shrugged. “It easy because it true.”
“Of course it’s true,” Nauja added. “It’s how we always lived in Barbarian Ring. Took you cultivators long enough.”
“But…” Jack was struggling to wrap his mind around this. “But what about competing for resources? Resolving disputes? Arrogant young masters?”
“I don’t know what that last part means, but for resources, like hunting grounds or experience balls, we compete over them fair and square, no hard feelings,” Salin explained. “As for disputes, resolving them is very easy when all parties have good intentions.”
“Wow.”
Jack was impressed. More than that, he was elated. His little bro was actually doing great!
“To be fair, it’s mostly the Dao at work,” Nauja explained, “but also that Brock is a seriously charismatic guy.”
“Despite only being able to say, like, three words.” Salin laughed.
“But isn’t that mind control?” Jack wondered.
“It’s instilling a healthy mindset. But hey, you can call it whatever you want. It works.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
On his way here, most people had a spring to their step, fire in their eyes, and happy smiles on their faces. Whatever Brock was doing, it was clearly good for everyone, so Jack dropped the issue.
“I want to hear everything,” he said with a smile. “Can I come in?”
Brock nodded. “Yes.”
***
Once again, Jack sat down for a cup of tea, but this time, he finished it. Nobody disturbed them. He stayed with Brock, Nauja, and Salin for three hours, listening to them detailing their adventures in the nearby forest. His jaw dropped.
They’d fought beasts and ogres, then recruited everyone they met to push even deeper into the dangerous areas. They went the high-risk high-reward route, and thanks to Brock’s excellent leadership, it paid off in spades.
Brorilla, Level 115 (King)
A gorilla variant from planet Green. Brorillas usually live with Gymonkeys and train them in the ways of working out. It is due to the Brorillas’ unmatched pecks that Gymonkeys use poop to fight—they consider themselves too weak for anything else.
Brorillas are usually calm, measured animals. However, if anyone harms their little cousins or invades their territory, they go bananas.
This particular brorilla is a variant that visually resembles a gymonkey. Though not weaker than other brorillas, the members of this variant are often shunned due to their lack of bulging muscles.
That is not the case for this specimen. Through intense determination, it has achieved greater strength than its species’ norm, as well as a Dao Root. Despite that, it remains an adolescent. Due to this specimen’s potential, taming or slaying it are advised.
Canine (Earth-387), Level 103 (E-Grade)
Faction: Exploding Sun (B-Grade)
Title: Seventh Ring Conqueror
Human (Trial Planet), Level 123 (E-Grade)
Faction: Exploding Sun (B-Grade)
Title: Seventh Ring Conqueror
Everyone who followed them benefited greatly, too, and their casualties were minimal. That excursion was repeated twice more, with their numbers increasing each time until Brock had to set his foot down and limit their followers to forty-seven. Including the three of them, they were fifty strong, and the brorilla felt that was the maximum amount of people he could coordinate effectively.
Jack had known that Brock was strong, so he wasn’t surprised to hear about his performance in battle. However, since communication had always been difficult, he’d never realized that his little bro was so intelligent, too! Let alone a gifted leader.
“I am so proud of you, Brock,” he said, making the brorilla’s chest inflate like a balloon. “And I’m so glad you remained here, where your talents can shine.”
“But not forever,” Brock replied with a toothy grin.
“Not forever. We are bros. We go together. This is just a training break so we can truly fight side-by-side later on.”
“Good.”
Jack smiled. “On that note… I, uh, may have done something risky.”
And so, he went on to tell them about the events following his murder of Dan Bolon: Monsoon’s arrival, the heated exchange over the estate, and his agreed-upon duel against Head Disciple Qian in six months.
“You will fight the head inner disciple!?” Salin asked, gaping. “Are you insane, too!? But I’m supposed to be the insane one. Don’t steal what makes me special.”
“What will you do?” Nauja asked with narrowed eyes. “You’re still so many levels away. There is no way you can become strong enough in time. Do you have a plan?”
“I have a plan!” Salin exclaimed. “First, you become the world’s best thief. Then, you sneak up to that guy, steal a couple dozen levels, and boom! You win.”
Jack laughed. “There is a plan, actually…it’s just a little bit risky.” In hushed tones, and spreading his perception to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, he explained his coming excursion into Hell.
“Okay, I take it back; you can be the crazy one.” Salin shook his head. “You know that’s suicide, right?”
“Sounds good to me,” Nauja disagreed. “What’s the point of living if you’re a coward?”
“Living.”
She threw him an empty look. “But… You confuse me so much, Salin.”
“Exactly. I’m a big mystery—but a good one! Now, Jack, I have to say that despite my token misgivings, I also approve of your plan very much. You know why? Because it’s insane.”
“Thanks, Salin,” he replied. “Way to encourage me.”
“Anytime.”
“It good,” Brock finally replied, having considered the issue thoroughly while the others joked around. “Two bananarms with one hand. Kill the enemy and get levels. Danger, yes, but possibility of survival, and for strong big bro, possibility of survival mean survival. I approve.”
Jack stared. “Your vocabulary is really growing, Brock. You can speak now.”
“Always could speak,” Brock replied, “just not with mouth.”
“But how are you getting better this fast?!”
“Because words are my bros.”
“Yeah, I could have guessed that.” Jack laughed again. He liked his friends. He laughed a lot here—in the estate, not too often. He grabbed his cup and brought it to his mouth, finding it empty.
“I could refill that,” Salin offered, but Jack shook his head.
“It’s fine. I really should get going, anyway. Shol will chew me out if I’m late.”
The other three exchanged a look and nodded, following Jack as he stood. “It was great seeing you, man,” Salin said. “Really. We may live in different planets currently, but we haven’t forgotten about you. You do the same, alright?”
“It goes without saying. Bros once, bros for life.”
Jack reached out to shake Salin’s hand, then pulled him into a hug. “Oof!” the canine explained. “Control…your…strength!”
“Oh, sorry.” He hurriedly let the guy go. “Still, really good to see you.”
“Jack!” Nauja exclaimed, also diving into his arms. “We miss you, alright? Especially Brock. If you let anything happen to you, I’ll shoot an arrow all the way from here to your eye.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Once again, he laughed carefreely. Only here, with his friends, could he truly relax.
Nauja pulled away, leaving only Brock, who approached Jack and gave him a thin, confident smile. “You will be okay,” he said. “I believe in you.”
“And I believe in you, Brock. Keep making me proud. When I return, let’s go to Earth together and kick some ass.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, by the way, I brought you lunch.” He retrieved the lunch box in which he’d placed the remains of the D-Grade meal he had in Sophina’s estate. “I ate some as well, but it should be of help to you, Brock. It contains a lot of energy.”
Brock received the lunch box tenderly. One sniff was enough to raise all his fur on end. “Thanks, bro.”
“You’re welcome.”
The two had a big, long hug, then pulled away at the same time and fist-bumped. Only now, exchanging goodbyes with Brock as complete equals, did Jack realize that his little bro had grown up. He was a man now.
It was touching.
“See you around, little bro. You too, guys,” Jack said, walking away. The other three accompanied him to the door.
“Take care, Jack!”
“Remember to take a coat!”
“See you, bro.”
Jack waved, smiled, and flew away. His surging pride over Brock’s progress didn’t abate for many minutes. Finally, when he was in the bromobile and halfway to the inner planet, he managed to turn his mind to other matters.
All his loose ends had been tied. He was ready to go to Hell.
