Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Despite Justin's playful remark, a heavy silence followed. Both the gnolls and his companions seemed unable to comprehend the sight of the fallen gnoll warrior, whose head bore a gaping wound.

As Justin shrugged and was about to speak again, a system message interrupted him.

"Ding ! You have successfully hunted the Field Boss 'Gnoll Warrior' alone."

"Ding ! As a solo hunting bonus, you have gained additional experience points."

"Ding ! Your level has increased significantly. You have reached level 20."

"Ding ! The exclusive skill for Dark Warlocks [Cursed Lightning] has been added."

"...!"

Justin couldn't believe his luck. Up until now, he had managed to reach level 13 by hunting gnolls. Yet, this single hunt had boosted his level by 7 in one go. Considering how slow leveling had become after reaching level 10, this was an immense gain of experience points.

He tried to stifle his laughter as he opened the skill window, but just then—

"…Kyarrrk." "Krrrk."

The gnolls, who had been silent until now, all turned to face their direction. With fierce looks in their eyes, they slowly began to approach them. Derek, who had still been nursing his aching chest, gasped and took a step back.

"What, what the heck? The leader's dead, why aren't they running away?!"

"Weapons! Grab your weapons! Prepare for combat immediately!"

Ethan, who had also felt relieved, was startled and hastily grabbed his weapon. Who would have thought the gnolls wouldn't stop attacking after the boss died?

Fortunately, they quickly composed themselves and took up their weapons, but the problem was both the number and proximity of the enemies.

"Dammit, ten of them?! That's way too many!"

Until now, they had the advantage of distance, allowing them to ambush the gnolls from afar. Naturally, they could reduce their numbers significantly before engaging in a proper battle. But now, the distance was too short, and there were ten enemies in total. Even if they attacked immediately and took out half, they would still be vulnerable to the remaining five.

While his companions broke into a cold sweat, Justin calmly checked the new skill.

[Cursed Lightning]

Type: Multi-target attack magic

Details: A spell that launches cursed lightning capable of chaining up to fifteen targets. Though less powerful than real lightning, the curse within brings excruciating pain.Other: Maximum daily use (2/2)

The skill could only be used twice a day, but considering its power, it was more than sufficient.

After confirming the skill, Justin closed the skill window, and Ethan, sweating profusely, shouted at him.

"Justin! Use your magic right now...!"

"Cursed Lightning."

Before Ethan could finish speaking, Justin cast the new spell towards the gnolls. A dark purplish lightning bolt erupted from his fingertips. Unlike the brief flicker of the black missile, it exploded like a firework, scattering light in all directions.

Before the startled gnolls could react, the lightning struck them.

Kraaaaaack!

"Guoooorgh!" "Kiiiiiing!"

The purplish lightning swept through all ten gnolls like a chain. It lasted less than three seconds, a very brief moment in time. Despite its apparent weakness, none of the gnolls died from the spell.

But just because they were alive didn't mean they were fine.

"Krk! Krrrk!" "Kiii...."

All ten gnolls collapsed to the ground, convulsing. Some twitched violently, while others seemed on the brink of losing consciousness. The key point was that none of them were in a condition to continue fighting.

Justin confirmed the state of the gnolls, foaming at the mouth, and turned to his companions.

"Now you can finish them off. They may look like they're on the brink of death, but don't forget to make sure they're dead before they recover."

"What... What did you do?" Derek asked, stunned.

"I used a new spell I acquired," Justin replied.

Cursed Lightning—an area attack spell that could jump to a maximum of fifteen targets. Although it was named after lightning, its attack power was not much to speak of. However, its powerful additional effect more than made up for the lack of raw strength.

If the target was a living being, they would fall into a groggy state without question. Against bosses or powerful opponents, they could recover quickly, but against ordinary minions, it was immediately effective, and the recovery time was long.

"Bosses or strong enemies recover quickly, but against ordinary foes, it works like a charm. Plus, it takes a long time for them to recover."

Even bosses weren't entirely immune—they just recovered faster. For a brief moment, their movements would halt, giving a perfect opening for an attack. It was, without a doubt, one of the most powerful crowd control skills in the early stages. Given that it wasn't even a summoning skill, the fact that it could only be used twice a day was justified.

"Alright, everyone must be exhausted, so let's finish this up and go rest."

The injuries sustained by Derek and Ethan were quickly healed with a single mid-level healing spell. The healing skill was effective, but fortunately, the injuries hadn't been severe in the first place.

After recovering, the group quickly left the field. Whether it was because the gnoll warrior had been killed or simply because they had taken a good route, they didn't encounter any enemies along the way.

Chapter Find:

They briefly ran into two hobgoblin groups, but in their current state, they were easy targets even when tired.

"These bastards are already annoying enough!""Get out of the way!"

Perhaps due to the mental toll of their earlier ordeal, the group vented their frustration on the hobgoblins, wiping them all out. It wasn't a hunt, but rather a slaughter.

As soon as they reached the safety zone, everyone except Justin collapsed onto the ground.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted!"

"I can't move another inch."

Their utterly exhausted state drew attention from those around them. It wasn't as if they hadn't ever been tired before, but until now, they had always returned with ease. Today, however, they looked as though they had barely survived, which piqued people's curiosity.

"You all look exhausted today. Did you run into a dangerous enemy?"

At that moment, Aaron approached them, smiling slyly. It seemed he was subtly picking a fight, perhaps annoyed by how relaxed they had been previously.

Justin merely smiled and responded lightly.

"Yes, it was a bit dangerous. We ran into a field boss."

"...Field boss? Wait, a field boss? Is there such a thing?"

Aaron's eyes widened at Justin's words. He clearly hadn't expected a field boss to exist. Justin looked at Aaron with a feigned innocence.

"You didn't know? Well, I suppose it makes sense. There aren't any field bosses in the forest. But there are some in the gnoll habitat beyond the forest."

"You mean the hyena-headed thing living on the plains?" Aaron asked.

"That's correct. We were hunting over there," Justin replied.

Aaron was stunned, and it wasn't just him. The pioneers in Aaron's faction, as well as those from Zachary's faction who had been eavesdropping from afar, all froze in place.