Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"What is it you want to talk about?" Justin asked, intrigued.

The Elementalist smiled. "It's about how we, as pioneers, should lead these 'Ordinary' people."

So he wanted to form some kind of group—a collective of Pioneers. Starting as a simple gathering and eventually becoming an organized force.

His ambition was grand, but unfortunately, Justin had no interest.

"Well, I'd rather wait and see how things develop before making any hasty decisions," Justin replied.

When Justin gave a blunt answer, Aaron's face stiffened. Though Justin had put it politely, the intent was an unmistakable rejection. The calm demeanor Aaron had maintained until now faded as he stood, gritting his teeth.

"If you remain so complacent, you might regret it later. If you get rejected once and then come back, there's no shame worse than that," Aaron said.

"Hahaha. Shame, you say," Justin responded, giving Aaron a dry laugh, his eyes filled with obvious malice, making it clear he wouldn't forget this encounter.

'When all his composure disappears, this is what comes out. He tries to act like he has a broad perspective, but he's really narrow-minded,' Justin thought.

"Hey, Aaron," Justin called out.

"What?" Aaron replied.

"Why don't you mind your own business before worrying about others? Judging by your actions, you didn't hunt any monsters today and just stayed in the village. Imagine the embarrassment if you fail to receive the quest rewards," Justin said.

"...!" Aaron clenched his jaw.

"Politics should come after you've developed your abilities. If you keep neglecting your progress, someone else will end up leading that group you're trying to form," Justin added.

With that, Aaron's face turned crimson, and he stormed out. Justin sat there without saying a word until Aaron was out of sight.

This encounter had made it clear that there was no chance of cooperation between them, but Justin didn't feel the loss.

'He clearly wants to be the leader but can't seem to make it happen. It's better to draw the line now with someone like that,' Justin thought.

Why would the top player in this place ever want to serve under someone else? If he had to, Justin would just form his own group and lead that instead. Since they were both aiming for the top, it was inevitable they'd clash whether they were in the same group or different ones. So it was better to become enemies early—at least this way, others wouldn't lump them together.

'And the conflict between the Pioneers and the Ordinaries... I expected it, but not this soon—less than a day,' Justin thought.

There was probably no way to resolve this conflict. One side had power, and the other did not. The former wanted discrimination, while the latter wanted equality. As long as there was a safe zone, the two sides would remain at a stalemate. The weak couldn't force the strong to act, and the strong couldn't silence the weak.

'But if the system were to take sides, that would change everything,' Justin mused.

After all, it was the system that had established the rules of the safe zone. If that same system were to implement a rule favoring one side, the entire situation would change. And judging by what Algrim, the merchant NPC, had said, it was clear where the system's allegiance lay.

'I wonder how they plan to resolve this issue,' Justin thought, drinking plain water he had bought from the shop interface.

Whatever the outcome, it seemed unlikely that the 'Ordinaries' would end up in a favorable position.

The next morning, the group gathered without exception. Even Nathan, who had worried that his family might try to stop him, arrived on time.

"My parents agreed to let me go. They seemed a bit relieved when I told them I wouldn't be fighting, just extracting mana stones," Nathan explained.

"And I bet the extra income you brought home helped too?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, that played a big part. While everyone else was eating boiled potatoes, we were eating sandwiches," Nathan said, shrugging with a smile.

However, Nathan confessed that he hadn't mentioned having to fight once he reached level 3.

"If I'd brought that up, they would have been dead set against it. I had no choice but to keep it to myself," Nathan said.

"Good call. No need to bring it up for now," Justin replied.

After all, once he leveled up and secured a stable income, things would settle down. There was no need to stir up anxiety unnecessarily.

Then Derek spoke up, as if something had just occurred to him. "Now that I think about it, yesterday, Aaron approached me about forming a group. Did he talk to you guys, too?"

"To you, too? He came to my place yesterday as well," Cooper said, looking surprised.

Apparently, Aaron was trying to approach just about everyone. There was no reason to hide it, so Justin was honest.

"He came to me too, but I refused. It was pointless nonsense," Justin said.

"Same here. We need to complete the quest first, not worry about forming some group," Derek added.

"I didn't like his tone from the beginning," Cooper remarked.

It seemed everyone had a similar impression of Aaron , and they shared a brief round of complaints about him before getting ready to leave.

"Zachary who came after that, though, was actually alright. If you're going to try to recruit people, you should at least be polite like he was," Cooper mentioned.

"The guy who came after?" Justin asked.

Justin looked at Derek, but Derek also seemed clueless.

Seeing both of their reactions, Cooper seemed a bit taken aback. "You mean neither of you have met him?"

"Nope," Derek replied.

"That means he only came to me...?" Cooper realized.

Justin's eyes turned cold. He had approached Cooper alone, excluding Justin and Derek?

It meant someone was up to something behind the scenes.

"Cooper, tell me everything you know about this Zachary " Justin said.

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MORE COLLECTIONS = MASS RELEASE .

MORE GOLDEN TICKETS = MASS RELEASE .

MORE POWER STONES = MASS RELEASE .

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