Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Let's go check it out," Justin said.

"Are you planning to fight?" Zachary asked, his expression serious.

He knew that the pioneers in this remote area were most likely competitors for the main quest. His question implied whether Justin intended to deal with a potential competitor ahead of time.

"No. I don't plan to fight right now," Justin replied calmly.

"Then, are you thinking of forming an alliance?" Zachary asked again.

"That too, will depend. Let's meet them first and decide after that."

Upon hearing this, Zachary nodded, realizing that he might have been a bit hasty in his assumptions. There was no need to fight someone they could cooperate with, nor was there any reason to force an alliance with someone incompatible. The decision would be based on the other party's attitude.

What mattered most was that they had a chance to meet a competitor before the main quest began. And here, they had the luxury of deciding without interference from other competitors.

"Let's pick up the pace. But keep the hobgoblins ahead of us and maintain a certain distance. There's no rush on our part," Justin instructed.

"Understood!"

Leading the pioneers, Justin quickly headed toward the area where the flash of light had come from. Fortunately, there were no large groups of monsters in their path. As the light grew stronger, the sound of explosions became louder, and they began to hear the distinct sound of metal clashing.

"Are the pioneers fighting each other?" one of the group asked.

"I don't think so. If they were fighting each other, it wouldn't have lasted this long," Justin said.

Generally, monsters became more powerful as their level increased, with all their stats improving. But pioneers were different from monsters. Except for a few specific classes, most humans had fragile defenses compared to their overwhelming offensive power. As a result, battles between pioneers often ended quickly, usually with a decisive blow.

"If the fight is lasting this long, it's definitely against monsters. Probably even a mid-boss level monster, something that can withstand enough damage to keep the fight going."

"If a mid-boss monster shows up, won't we be in danger too?" Nathan asked, worried.

Justin smiled and shook his head.

"Not at all. Judging by how long the fight's been going, the ones who arrived first are already doing all the tanking."

If they decided to help, the others could take the brunt of the damage while Justin's group could lend ranged support and take some credit.

If they chose to ignore it, they could just turn around and leave without getting involved.

If they wanted to deal with the situation, they could wait until the other group was either wiped out or barely hanging on before swooping in to finish things off.

No matter which option they chose, there was no downside for Justin's group.

Boom!

As Justin discussed their options with his companions, another explosion echoed through the forest. The light and noise indicated they were close to their destination.

"Kieek!?"

"Kiiieeeek!"

Suddenly, the hobgoblins leading the way let out screams and disappeared. The sudden change startled Justin, and he quickly stopped in his tracks.

"What happened!?"

"I-I'm not sure... the forest is gone!" Nathan exclaimed, his eyes wide as he pointed ahead.

Beyond where the goblins had vanished, the terrain had completely changed.

"Finally!" Justin exclaimed, feeling a surge of excitement as he scanned the area carefully.

If the hobgoblins had disappeared so suddenly, something was definitely there.

Suppressing his excitement, Justin moved cautiously toward the now treeless area. When he got a closer look, he couldn't help but laugh.

"...So that's why they disappeared. They just fell down."

Beyond the edge of the forest lay a rocky area, with a river cutting through the landscape. The boundary between the two terrains was marked by a steep slope, making it easy to slip if one wasn't careful. Sure enough, when Justin looked down, he saw several hobgoblins groaning after tumbling down the slope.

Zachary, who had approached by then, burst out laughing at the sight of the fallen goblins.

"It's a bit anticlimactic, but at least there's no real problem."

"Yeah. But where's the battle happening...?" Justin began, only to be cut off by a distant scream.

"Arrrgh!"

Justin turned his head toward the sound and blinked in surprise at the sight before him.

"...A stone giant?"

Standing over four meters tall, the creature's massive body was more stone than flesh, its grayish skin resembling boulders. It wore a tattered, unrecognizable hide, and its face, reminiscent of a Moai statue, betrayed no emotion. Everything about it looked exactly like the stone giants from World Breaker.

The group was momentarily stunned by the sheer size of the monster.

"Justin, look over there!" Rachel called out urgently, pointing toward another direction.

Justin turned just in time to see a flash of light that made him squint.

After a moment, he opened his eyes again and saw dozens of pioneers gathered around the stone giant, engaged in battle.

Justin couldn't help but admire their efforts.

"They're holding their own better than I expected. And it doesn't look like there've been any casualties so far."

"It's probably thanks to the leader at the front. Judging by the movements, it looks like a second-job pioneer," Zachary observed.

Indeed, while Justin couldn't see the leader's face from behind, the way they dodged the stone giant's attacks with such confidence suggested that this person wasn't ordinary.

Suddenly, the leader's body emitted a bright light that spread to the nearby pioneers, enveloping them in a protective glow.

From that, Justin was able to identify the leader's class.@@novelbin@@

"A paladin," he said.

"A paladin?" Zachary asked.

"Yeah. It's one of the higher-tier holy knight classes, specialized in buffs."

While Ethan's Crusader class focused on solid defense and burst damage, a paladin was more suited for large-scale battles. They specialized in gradually wearing down enemies while buffing their allies and themselves, ensuring they could outlast opponents in prolonged combat.

In large-scale battles, paladins were known for their ability to counter classes specialized in mass slaughter, thanks to their large-scale buff skills.

'Paladins were especially the nemesis of warlocks... though not many people picked warlock, so it wasn't widely known,' Justin thought with a chuckle, recalling the old days.

He continued to observe the battle, but it didn't take long to notice a problem.

"They're fighting well, but they're not landing any effective hits."

"Yeah. Everything else is above average, but they're lacking the offensive power to deal any serious damage. At this rate, they'll be overwhelmed soon," Zachary agreed.

"Unlucky bastards. If it weren't a stone giant, they probably would've won already."

To deal significant damage to a stone giant, they needed high-tier warriors or mages specialized in offense.

But of the group fighting the giant, only the leader had reached the second-job class.

Given that the paladin's strength lay in buffs rather than direct damage, they were essentially up against an opponent that countered their abilities.

What should I do?

Justin folded his arms, deep in thought.

The group fighting the stone giant had decent combat strength and seemed well-coordinated. If he could help them and turn them into allies, it would be a great advantage.

The problem was whether they would willingly form an alliance, even after he saved them. Some people, even after being saved, had no qualms about stabbing you in the back.

"Hey, Justin!"

"Huh?"

His thoughts were interrupted by Nathan, who was urgently tugging on his sleeve and pointing in a particular direction.

"That person over there... isn't that the guy we allied with before?"

"Alliance? What alliance?" Justin asked, confused.

"The one who went with us to the Black Tower. He was the leader when we brought back the craftsmen!"

"What?"

Justin quickly turned to look in the direction Nathan was pointing.

Sure enough, there was Grayson, the former ally, fighting as a combatant rather than leading the group.

The rest of Justin's companions exchanged bewildered glances before looking back at him, waiting for his decision.

It didn't take Justin long to decide.

"We'll step in and help them. Right now!"

"Raaaaagh!"

"Shit! It's coming again!"

The strange, low growl of the stone giant made the pioneers panic.

Every time it made that sound, a devastating attack would follow.

As expected, the stone giant swung its enormous hand.

Just a single blow would crush a person's entire body if it connected.

"Hrrgh!"

Boom!

Blocking that fearsome strike was the leader, Damian. He gritted his teeth, barely withstanding the blow, and shouted to his team.

"Hit it now! While I've got it!"

"Y-yes!"

The pioneers gritted their teeth and charged at the stone giant once more. After dozens of exchanges, the giant was covered in wounds.

The problem was that all those wounds were just superficial scratches.

Without the power of a second-job class pioneer, they couldn't deal any meaningful damage.

Clang!

"Goddamn it! Are we even going to be able to bring this thing down?" Grayson cursed as his axe bounced off the giant.

He had been swinging his weapon for so long that his hands were cramping, but the stone giant still looked as strong as ever.

Backing off before the giant could retaliate, Grayson shouted,

"Hey, we should just run! We can't win this!"

"We can't! You saw what happened before! The moment we try to escape, it'll throw rocks at us! If we get hit from behind, someone's definitely going to die!" Damian yelled back.

"Are you crazy? If we keep fighting, we're all going to die anyway!"

Grayson felt his blood pressure rising.

He knew that the stone giant could throw boulders at distant enemies, and that sticking close and trying to bring it down was the best option.

But that didn't change the fact that they couldn't deal any significant damage.

If they kept fighting and exhausted themselves without a proper plan, they would be slaughtered when they tried to run.

Damn it! Are we all going to die here?

Damian's idealistic approach had worked so far, but it was nothing more than a gamble relying on luck.

One misstep, and a total disaster could occur at any moment.

And now, it seemed like that moment had come.

It wouldn't be surprising if things fell apart right now.

Should I just abandon the others and save my own people? Better that than everyone dying a pointless death, Grayson thought, struggling to resist the temptation to flee.

The only reason he hadn't given in yet wasn't because he was a good person.

It was because if his faction survived while the others died, he'd become an outcast within the alliance.

Damn it. If we keep fighting like this, we're dead. But if we run, my life will be ruined...!

Grayson clenched his teeth, his arms growing heavy from exhaustion.

Just as he was about to give in to despair, a burst of violet light shot out from the distance, striking the stone giant.

Crack!

"Grrrrr...!"

The stone giant let out a pained roar, a low, guttural sound that echoed through the area.

This time, its cry wasn't the usual battle cry—it was a scream of agony.

The pioneers, including Damian and Grayson, flinched at the sudden attack.

"What was that!? Where did it come from!?"

Boom!

Before they could even finish processing the situation, another attack landed.

A dark energy projectile struck the stone giant's head, which had been temporarily paralyzed by the first attack.

The massive creature swayed, nearly toppling over.

The pioneers were stunned.

They had been hammering away at the giant with all their might, barely leaving a mark. But in just two hits, the thing was on the verge of collapse.

"It's coming from over there!"

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One of the pioneers pointed toward the direction the projectiles had come from.

All eyes followed the outstretched finger, and sure enough, they saw a group of pioneers approaching from the distance.

As the sudden arrival of external reinforcements caused a wave of surprise, Grayson's eyes widened in recognition.

"You...!"

"Long time no see, ally! How've you been?" Justin called out with a playful grin.

Grayson stood there, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, completely stunned.