Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Justin led his companions toward the direction of the sound they had heard. Naturally, they didn't rush just because they were curious. They had no idea what kind of entity was making the noise, and Justin didn't want to confront it without any information.

'At least the grass around here is tall, that's a relief,' he thought.

The grass in the gnoll habitat varied in height—some reached knee level, while others were as tall as a reed bed that could hide a person. Luckily, the direction they were heading in was covered with tall grass, providing cover.

After getting close enough, they hid their bodies in the underbrush and quieted their footsteps.

"Damn it! These monsters are too damn strong!" one of the strangers yelled.

"Who suggested coming here in the first place?" another voice demanded.

"What does it matter now!?" a third shouted.

"Kyaaa!" came a screech from one of the gnolls.

Between the tall grass that obscured their view, a group of people fighting fiercely came into sight. There were seven of them, which was quite excessive, considering that four or five members usually formed the most efficient team.

"They've packed their numbers, but why are they so weak?" Justin wondered aloud.

"Yeah. Even though they're fighting fewer gnolls than themselves," Derek added, echoing Justin's doubt.

Nathan also chimed in, sharing a similar observation.

The group of seven was struggling against six gnolls.

Clang!

"Ack! My arm!" one of them screamed.

"Idiot! Don't drop your shield!"

"It's breaking through! Someone support me!"

"Hold on! If it breaks through, we're all dead!"

The team consisted of six warriors and a mage. Ideally, each warrior would take on a gnoll while the mage provided support from behind. However, even one-on-one, the warriors struggled to handle the gnolls.

"What level are they that they can't even fight a gnoll one-on-one?" Justin questioned.

"Exactly. If they were at level 9, they shouldn't have much trouble winning," Nathan noted.

"No, it's not a matter of level," Justin added, watching the battle intently.

He observed their movements carefully. "Their fighting technique is terrible. They flinch every time an attack comes in—they look like people who haven't fought much."

"Really? But to get here, they must have at least beaten creatures like hobgoblins, right?" Nathan asked.

"They probably relied on sheer numbers to beat their enemies so far. Now that their numbers match the enemies', they're falling apart."

Even the mage's panic was evident. Despite still having some spells left, he was shaking, fearful of hitting his allies.

Still, not everyone among them was useless.

"Shut up and fight, you idiots! Stop making it more chaotic!" yelled a sharp female voice.

Clang!

"Keeng!?"

A gnoll staggered backward, struck by the blow. The one responsible was a female warrior positioned furthest to the right among the pioneers. She wielded a shield in one hand and a flail in the other—a balanced combination. She skillfully fended off the attacks and drove the gnoll back.

'She lacks attack power due to her level, but otherwise, she's perfect,' Justin thought.

Her movements were rough, indicating that she hadn't trained for long, but she compensated for her lack of skill and experience purely through her own instinct. With more experience and a higher level, she would undoubtedly become several times stronger.

Thanks to the female warrior's heroic efforts, it seemed as though the pioneers would win...

"Kyaaaa!"

Thud!

"Agh! Aaah!"

...but no. One of them eventually collapsed, rolling on the ground. The front line broke, and the mage, startled, cast a spell.

"Ma-Magic Missile!"

Poom!

"Graaah!"

The gnoll staggered for a moment, hit by the spell, but didn't go down, likely due to the mage's low level. Moreover, that seemed to be the last of his spells, as his face turned pale.

The female warrior gritted her teeth as she pushed the gnoll back, frustrated by her team's incompetence.

"I told you to hold your ground, but you just...!"

The female warrior's face, partially obscured from a bad angle, suddenly became clear to Justin. He flinched for a moment as recognition hit him.

She pushed the gnoll away and ran to save her fallen comrade, but it was already too late. The gnoll grinned maliciously, raising its rusted sword to strike the fallen warrior.

"Black Missile," Justin muttered.

Thwack!

"...!?"

His spell obliterated the gnoll's head. With his increased mana stat upon reaching level 20, the power of his magic was overwhelming. The gnoll, half of its head blown away, staggered and slumped to the side.

"What... what the?"

"Grrr!"

"Justin?"

Voices of shock came from three directions: one from a human, another from a gnoll, and the last from one of his own companions. Justin shrugged as if to say he would explain later and stood up.

The startled pioneers looked at him, eyes wide with shock.

"Who...!"

"Cursed Lightning."

Crackle!

"Keghhh!"

"Kyahhh!"

Before any words could come out, a bolt of violet lightning shot from Justin's hand, instantly taking down five gnolls with a loud shriek.

Seeing the monsters they had struggled against go down with one strike, everyone stared in disbelief. Justin stepped forward, dusting his hands off, and looked at the female warrior.

"It's been a while, Rachel," he said.

"Justin...?" Rachel, the woman who had crushed a goblin's head on the first day of the apocalypse, blinked blankly at him.

"Justin here. I'm the leader of this team," Justin introduced himself.

"...Rodri," said the man standing in place of Rachel. He looked to be five or six years older than Justin and didn't seem pleased. It seemed clear that, for whatever reason, he didn't like Justin.

Pretending not to notice anything, Justin asked innocently, "By the way, how did you end up here in the gnoll habitat? From the looks of it, you haven't even reached level 10 yet."

"You must be level 10 then?" Rodri responded, his tone probing.

Justin found it so obvious it was almost amusing. He shrugged lightly.

"No, I'm level 20."

"What? What did you say?"

"Level 20. All of my companions here are level 19."

"What the hell!" Rodri swore, his eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

"Is that true? You're not lying, are you?" Rodri asked, half suspicious.

"Why would we lie about something like that?" Justin replied.

"Well..." Rodri glanced back, unable to answer immediately.