Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

There was no need to confirm the atmosphere further—Justin could see it clearly. The lord clearly harbored ill feelings toward Elliot.

"Why?"

A fleeting question crossed Justin's mind, but it was quickly dismissed as meaningless. There were simply too many reasons that could have caused this.

Elliot, oblivious to the powers of the pioneers, had demanded to be treated as their equal. He had made disparaging remarks, calling those who had adapted to the new order nothing more than slaves bound by servitude. On top of that, he tried to keep the other immigrants under his thumb.

'How reckless.'

Elliot had practically chosen all the actions that would irritate a ruler. Though he likely acted to gather information and preserve his own influence, those motives would only appear selfish to the lord.

Cold sweat trickled down Elliot's back. He felt as if he might die here, and his dry lips tightened with dread.

"Sit down."

"Huh? Excuse me?"

Elliot blinked in surprise at Justin's sudden words. Was Justin really telling him to sit?

"I said, sit. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"N-no, sir!"

Without hesitation, sat down, fearing the consequences of any further questioning.

"Now stand up."

"...!"

Startled, shot back up to his feet as ordered.

"Sit down again."

"Yes, sir!"

"Stand up."

"Yes!"

"Sit. Stand. Sit. Stand."

"...!"

Each time Justin spoke, moved like a trained animal, repeatedly sitting and standing at Justin's command. After forcing him through this humiliating drill ten times, Justin finally gave a satisfied nod.

"Now, you can sit for real."

"Thank you!"

Completely drenched in cold sweat, sat down, his face drained of energy. While the physical strain was minimal, the mental exhaustion weighed heavily on him. It was only after this farce ended that Justin finally looked toward the two men before him.

"Well then, let's begin our discussion."

"Kyaaak!"

As if to echo Justin's words, the young dragon perched on his shoulder let out a piercing cry. Both and Maxwell swallowed hard as they stared into the dragon's vertically slit pupils.

'They've become quite compliant.'

Justin studied the two men seated at the far end of the room. After yesterday's events, they must have realized who truly held the power here.

'But it's not enough.'

One of them had the audacity to propose that all the immigrants under his leadership be treated as nobility. Another even asked for his old enemies to be handed over to him, accepting subjugation in return. While their attitudes varied between arrogance and supplication, they both clearly lacked a grasp of reality.

"I have to say, I was quite surprised when I heard that you two entered my city yesterday."

Justin spoke plainly, offering his genuine reaction.

"Crossing a forest that is explicitly marked as monster territory while leading a group of immigrants—it's no small feat. Such courage is rare."

While even slaves had made it through the forest, Justin dismissed their journey as thoughtless survivalism. These two, however, had knowingly plunged into danger, aware of the risks. Their bravery, though reckless, was something Justin found commendable.

"But what's truly impressive is your leadership. If your followers had believed this was a suicidal mission, they would never have followed. Yet, here you are, with everyone in tow. That's quite an achievement."

"Th-thank you."

"But more than your courage or leadership, I was most astonished by your nerve to make demands of me."

Both men's expressions stiffened. They finally realized Justin's words were not simple praise.

Justin turned his attention to Maxwell first.

"You asked for slaves, didn't you? Wanted revenge for what they did to you."

"Y-yes, I did."

"Do you still want it?"

"No, not anymore."

Maxwell shook his head, and it seemed sincere—not just out of fear.

"I saw how the slaves live now. After witnessing that…."

"You lost your desire for revenge?"

"Yes. Living itself is already a punishment for them."

Maxwell's face looked relieved, as if he had let go of some burden. Essentially, he was now willing to join as a common citizen without any special demands. Still, this response wasn't what Justin wanted to hear.

Justin's gaze shifted toward , who had been silent until now.

"And you, didn't you ask to be treated as nobles from the start, claiming all your people would become pioneers?"

"That was…."

"Enough with the excuses. Just explain how you thought you'd become pioneers. I've heard that those left on Earth no longer have status windows."

hesitated, then replied.

"Actually, a few people recently had their status windows reappear."

"What? How?"

"They said it happened after killing a few of the skeletons wandering outside. Of course, they didn't do it alone—they managed to take down one at a time by banding together."

"Oh?"

So, if they had the will to fight, even the immigrants could return as pioneers. Justin had stumbled upon unexpectedly valuable information. It meant there was a chance to turn these immigrants into pioneers if they had enough determination.

"By the way, where did you even hear about pioneers and citizens? You shouldn't know such terms if it's your first time here."

"The leader of another territory made us an offer to join him. He was quite forthcoming when I asked questions, sharing all sorts of information…."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"And then you took what you needed and left? Clever."

Elliot's face paled at Justin's sarcasm. He must have assumed Justin would take offense to the fact that another leader in a similar position had manipulated him.

"We had no intention of deceiving him!"

"Is that so? Because it sure sounds like he intended to use you."

"Huh?"

"Why do you think that leader wanted to recruit you as citizens? Did he ever mention anything about daily quests?"

"D-daily quests? No, I've never heard of such a thing. He only said the more citizens, the better, since citizens are pioneer candidates…."

As expected.

That leader wasn't a fool either. Justin smirked, watching Elliot's face grow more anxious.

"Pioneer candidates? Nonsense. What he really wanted from you was taxes."

"Taxes?"

"Yes. Every member of a territory pays taxes to the leader. Pioneers usually give a portion of what they earn from hunting, but citizens who can't hunt fulfill daily quests assigned by the system."

"Are you saying those quests are…?"

"Labor. Physical labor. In exchange for completing the work, the system rewards them with wages."

"...!"

Elliot's expression resembled someone struck in the back of the head with a hammer. He had believed he was outsmarting that leader, but now realized he had been a step away from being enslaved himself.

"How did you even think you'd become pioneers? At level 1, you would've all been slaughtered if you tried. Were you planning to ask for our help?"

"W-well, I thought that if we could increase the number of pioneers, it would also strengthen your forces…."

"So, you assumed we'd naturally help you out of goodwill? Ridiculous. While we're assisting you, someone else would fall behind in their own hunting, and that would make them weaker than their competitors. Who in this world would willingly choose to be left behind?"

"...."

As Justin's words continued, Elliot's face darkened, slowly realizing the grim relationship between pioneers and citizens.