Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Noticing that Justin seemed to be in a good mood, Cooper approached him. "Did something good happen?"

"I reached level 10 in the last battle. I got a new skill," Justin replied.

"Oh, that's great!" Cooper's eyes sparkled at Justin's words. A new skill meant there was more potential for performance in battles, whether it was an offensive or supportive skill—either way, it was good news for the team.

"What kind of skill is it? Offensive? Supportive?" Cooper asked.

"It's a summoning skill. Imp Summon."

"A-An imp?" Cooper's face, which had been full of anticipation, immediately soured.

"Do you mean the lowest-grade demon, the imp? About as strong as a goblin?" Cooper asked, frowning.

"Yes. It can use magic attacks, so it's slightly stronger than a goblin," Justin replied.

"The Warlocks I've met in games usually summoned powerful demons..." Cooper muttered.

"That's because this imp skill evolves as it levels up," Justin explained. Some skills, like his Black Missile, were the evolving type. Imp Summon was one of them. The higher the level, the stronger the demon he could summon. But conversely, at lower levels, he could only summon something as weak as an imp.

"I see... So it's a skill that gets better over time," Cooper replied, nodding.

"It can still be useful now, depending on how it's used," Justin said, smiling.

Despite Justin's reassurance, Cooper still wore a strained smile. He probably couldn't shake the thought that it was a trash skill. Understanding Cooper's thoughts, Justin smiled lightly and informed the other two.

"Uh... c-congratulations," Derek said.

"Is it a good skill?" Nathan asked, tilting his head, unfamiliar with World Rebuild.

Derek, who knew what imps were, reacted the same as Cooper, while Nathan, who had no knowledge of the game, just looked confused. Justin simply said it was a decent skill and moved on. There was no point in wasting a summoning attempt just to show it off.

'Since it has a daily limit and can't be recovered using Energy Drain...'

Skills like this one recharged over time, but before the cooldown ended, no matter what he did, they wouldn't recharge. Unless it was right before midnight, using it now would be a waste. Justin decided to use only Black Missile for the time being, saving the imp skill for later. Though he was eager to see it in action, there would be a chance soon enough.

After that, they faced another battle. This time, it was yet again four hobgoblins. By now, they were so familiar with the enemy that defeating them wasn't difficult.

After the battle, Nathan's eyes widened as he went to collect the mana stones.

"Brothers! It's gone!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Gone? What is?" Justin asked.

"The curse! The Curse of Sloth! It's gone!"

"Hey, congrats!" Justin said.

Nathan was so happy that he looked like he was about to start jumping up and down. No wonder—he had only been collecting mana stones until now.

'He needed to participate in battles to gain a lot of experience and level up faster, but he had been excluded from all the fights.'

In this world, there was no concept of "party" or "team," but experience distribution was clear. When acting together, those who participated in battles received most of the experience points, while non-combat members received significantly less.

Furthermore, among combatants, those who contributed the most to defeating enemies got the most experience. That's why the leveling order was Justin first, followed by Cooper, and then Derek. Nathan, meanwhile, had been relying on scraps of experience until now, which was why the curse had only just been lifted.

"Does this mean I can join the battle now!?" Nathan asked eagerly.

"Not yet," Justin replied.

"Huh? Why not?" Nathan asked, looking disappointed.

"You might be able to handle goblins, but hobgoblins are still too dangerous for a level 1. Keep collecting mana stones until you reach level 3, and then you can join."

"Ah..." Nathan lowered his head, clearly disappointed, but he didn't argue. He probably realized Justin had a point.

"Cooper, are you close to leveling up?" Justin asked.

"I think one or two more battles should do it," Cooper replied.

"What about you, Derek?" Justin turned to Derek.

"I just reached level 7," Derek said, trying hard to suppress a smile. After being stuck at level 3, he had finally found a proper opportunity and was progressing rapidly.

"Alright, let's get Cooper leveled up, and then we'll call it a day. Everyone must be tired from getting used to fighting together, so it's best to take it easy."

There was likely a time limit for this quest, but given the required amount, they would have at least a week. If not, almost everyone would fail except for a select few. It was better to move slowly and safely rather than rush.

The team agreed with Justin's suggestion, and they were about to move forward when suddenly...

"A treasure chest?"

Everyone fell silent, staring at the treasure chest that had appeared in the middle of the path. A few seconds later, Justin regained his composure and looked at Cooper and Derek.

"This looks like a mimic," Justin said.

"Definitely a mimic," Cooper agreed.

"Has to be a mimic," Derek nodded.

All of them, being beta testers, nodded in agreement. There was no way a treasure chest would just be sitting in the middle of the road unless it was a mimic. Nathan, however, looked confused, not understanding what they were talking about.

"A mimic? What's that?" Nathan asked.

"A monster disguised as a treasure chest," Justin explained.

"What!? There's a monster like that!?" Nathan exclaimed.

"Yeah. If you get too close without knowing, it'll grab you and chew you up," Justin said.

If caught, it was essentially a death sentence in the early or mid-game, and even in the late game, it could take out half of one's health. What made it worse was that even if you recognized it as a mimic, you couldn't just attack it from a distance. As soon as it was attacked, its long limbs would come out, and it would charge at you.

Despite looking like a wooden chest, it was incredibly tough, and even early to mid-level warriors could be killed by it. Hearing this, Nathan shivered with fear.

"S-So what do we do?" Nathan asked.

"If you leave it alone, it won't do anything. Normally, at low levels, we'd just go around it," Justin said.

"Then let's just avoid it!" Nathan suggested.

The three of them—Justin, Cooper, and Derek—exchanged a subtle look. It was definitely the safest option, but...

"Still, it feels like a waste," Justin muttered.

"Why!? You said it's dangerous!" Nathan exclaimed.

Justin gave a bitter smile as he looked at Nathan. "It is dangerous, but there's real treasure inside."

Mimics weren't monsters that gave nothing when defeated. They kept actual treasure inside to mimic a treasure chest. If they succeeded in hunting it or found another way to make it spit out the treasure, they could take it.

Cooper sighed deeply, clearly reluctant. "The problem is finding a way to make it spit out the treasure, and we don't have any means to do that right now."

"How do you make it spit out the treasure?" Nathan asked.

"You feed it something fresh. After eating its fill, it falls asleep with its mouth open," Cooper explained.

Fresh food in this context meant living creatures. No matter how well it was prepared, the mimic wouldn't eat anything dead. Unfortunately, nothing sold at the shop was alive, which meant they had to provide it themselves.

But using monsters was also impossible, as they wouldn't obey their commands.

"There's no choice then. We'll just have to leave it..." Justin started to say.

"No, I have a way," Justin said, smiling as he activated his skill.

"Imp Summon!"

With his shout, a purple mist formed on the ground, and something appeared. It was a creature only as tall as a person's waist, with red skin, small horns, a long tail, and no hair—truly a fitting embodiment of a little devil.

Justin watched the imp curiously, and the creature curled its lips into a smile.

"Kikikik! Master, you summoned me?" The imp bowed to Justin with a mischievous grin, though the gesture held no respect. It felt more like the imp was humoring him, playing at being a servant.

Justin frowned at the imp's insolence. "Yes, I summoned you."

"Oh, and what for, Master? I am but a small, weak demon, useless in battle," the imp said, shrugging its shoulders as if mocking him.

'This guy... is it because it's supposed to be a demon?' Justin thought. The imp's behavior was irksome regardless of its supposed loyalty. The imp even added, as if it couldn't resist, "Of course, I will follow your orders, but I'm sure you'll be disappointed. Please use me appropriately, Master."

'Great. Now it's even implying that if it fails, it's my fault for using it incorrectly?' Justin stared at the imp before letting out a short laugh. He already knew exactly where to use this insolent creature.

"Don't worry. I have the perfect task for you," Justin said.

"Oh, and what task might that be?" the imp asked, stroking its chin in mock curiosity.

Justin pointed at the treasure chest on the road. "Go and open that treasure chest."