Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"As big as they are, their strength is no joke. I blocked it with my shield, but the impact was significant. If I hadn't leveled up enough, it could have been a disaster," Ethan said, still catching his breath.

Justin nodded in agreement with both of them. Frankly, he was also surprised to see the gnoll's head still intact after being hit by Black Missile. If they had come to hunt gnolls earlier, as previously planned, they would have had to run away.

The unexpected difficulty made Justin smile.

"It's a relief that it's challenging," Justin said.

"What?" Derek looked puzzled.

"Think about it. Among the Pioneers, aren't we the strongest team?" Justin asked.

"That's true," Derek agreed.

"But if we have this much trouble dealing with them, how about the others?" Justin pointed out.

"...!" The teammates exchanged glances. The other groups had always been more negligent about leveling up compared to them.

Would those slackers be able to level up quickly and even think of challenging the gnolls? If even their team, who had over-leveled, had to remain cautious?

'Not a chance. If they don't want to die, they'll have to keep hunting hobgoblins desperately,' Justin thought.

And while the others were busy with hobgoblins, their team would continue hunting gnolls. With the snowball effect, the gap between them would only widen.

The gleam in his teammates' eyes showed they understood his point, but Justin wasn't done yet.

"Snowballing is one thing, but the rewards are also quite sweet," Justin added, smiling as he opened his inventory and pulled out a mana stone.

Unlike the hobgoblin mana stones, this one had a deep purple hue.

〈Purple Mana Stone〉

Category: Exchange Item

Description: A mana stone from the heart of a beast-type monster. The fierce power of the beast writhes inside. Worth five regular mana stones at the store.

"Each is worth five regular mana stones?!" Derek's eyes widened in disbelief.

As Justin showed the purple mana stone, everyone else shared the same stunned expression. Justin smiled at their reactions.

"We hunted six gnolls, so we got exactly six purple mana stones. Naturally, they're all worth five regular mana stones each," Justin said.

"Good heavens! So we earned thirty mana stones from just one battle?" Ethan exclaimed.

They would have needed to fight at least six battles against hobgoblins to earn that much. Yet, they had earned it all in just one battle against the gnoll pack.

Considering that monster packs always had at least four or more members, even at the worst, they could earn twenty mana stones per fight.

"How about it? It's a bit tough, but does it motivate you?" Justin asked. Chapter Experience:

There was no verbal response, but their expressions were enough. His teammates tightly gripped their weapons, their eyes blazing with determination.

Justin couldn't help but smile at their raw desire.

"Alright then! Let's go make some money!" Justin shouted.

Afterward, they encountered six more gnoll packs. Each consisted of five to six gnolls, but dealing with them posed no significant issues.

Most of them were taken down before they could even approach, and those that remained were no match for the frontliners in one-on-one combat.

Whack!

"Justin! How many purple mana stones have we gathered so far?" Nathan called out as he dispatched another gnoll, clearly hooked on the thrill of earning money.

Justin, using Energy Drain on an injured gnoll, replied, "We've gathered a total of forty so far."

"That's two hundred regular mana stones in total...!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Even if we split it, that's fifty mana stones per person!" Ethan added, grinning widely.

Hearing the count, smiles spread across the teammates' faces. It looked like they were already thinking about what to buy.

Up until now, they had to spend their earnings on food, which always left them broke. But this time, they had earned enough to buy whatever they wanted and still have plenty left over.

"Should we save these, or spend them right away?" Nathan pondered aloud.

"I'm going to repair my house first. My parents have been really stressed because of it," Nathan aid.

"I might save a bit more and buy a shield. A mace and shield combo doesn't sound bad," Derek considered.

While the team enjoyed chatting after the fight, Justin heard something strange.

Rustle Rustle, rustle

'What's that?' Justin thought.

It felt like something was crawling toward them from below the field. Only then did he notice how unusually tall the grass around them was.

If it were a human, they'd be hidden the moment they lowered their head. Even a gnoll with its larger frame could easily hide there.

Justin tightened his grip on his staff and sharply scanned the surroundings.

"Everyone, prepare for an ambush. Something's coming," Justin warned.

"An ambush?!" Derek exclaimed, alarmed.

The monsters had always been on the receiving end of ambushes; they had never launched one against humans. But in the game, monsters often ambushed players. If the gnolls were as cunning as hyenas, it wouldn't be surprising.

"Damn it, is it really an ambush?" Derek asked, clearly nervous.

"Who knows? But it's better to be prepared than to get caught off guard," Justin replied.

"True. I can hear some strange noises coming from around here..." Ethan said, his eyes scanning the area.

Rustle, rustle!

As everyone tensed and looked at the surrounding grass, the small rustling suddenly grew louder. It seemed that once they were ready, the attackers decided there was no point in hiding anymore.

Moments later, a large figure emerged in front of them.

"What the hell is that?!" Derek shouted, his mouth agape.

"It's huge!" Ethan added, staring at the massive shape.

The monster resembled a gnoll, but it was twice as large. Standing nearly 2.5 meters tall, the creature bared its teeth at them.

"Growl!" the gnoll warrior growled.

"A gnoll warrior...!" Ethan murmured, swallowing hard.

The gnoll warrior was the most powerful type of gnoll—a sort of field boss. And one had appeared right in front of them.

"Raaagh!" the gnoll warrior roared, swinging its fist directly at Ethan.

Startled, Ethan quickly raised his shield to block the attack.

Crash!

"Gah!" Ethan gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs, and he was sent sprawling backward. Despite blocking it with his shield, the impact was too much for him to handle.

As Ethan flew back, Nathan immediately stepped in to take his place.

"You bastard!" Derek shouted, charging at the gnoll warrior with all his might and swinging his mace.

The gnoll warrior raised its arm to block, and the mace struck it squarely.

Thud!

"What?!" Derek gasped.

"Kyaaaah!" the gnoll warrior roared in fury as Derek's mace bounced off its arm.

The enraged gnoll swung its fist again.

Crash!

"Urgh!" Derek groaned as he barely managed to block with his mace, avoiding a direct hit to his body. However, the force still sent him flying.

Derek rolled next to Ethan, who was still struggling to get up. Meanwhile, the gnoll warrior scratched the spot where it had been hit, seemingly more annoyed than hurt. It looked as if the attack had only bruised it, without breaking any bones.

"Kikikiki!"

"Kahaha!"

"J-Justin! Around us!" Nathan yelled in despair as he tried to nock an arrow.

Looking around, Justin saw that ten more gnolls had emerged from the tall grass, surrounding them. Their sly grins made it look like they were watching prey caught in a trap.

In this dire situation, Ethan managed to get up and spoke to Derek.

"Nathan , run...! Quickly...!" Ethan urged.

"But what about you guys?!" Nathan protested.

"We'll be fine! Just go!" Ethan shouted.

"I can't go! How could I leave you behind?!" Nathan refused.

"Cough! Cough!" Derek, still reeling from the impact, kept coughing, unable to speak properly.

The gnolls, watching them, began to close in. Ethan clutched his shield and sword tightly and whispered to Justin, who was beside him.

"Justin, please. Save Derek. Buy us some time here..." Ethan began.

"Double Enhancement—Black Missile," Justin interrupted.

"Skill [Black Missile] is enhanced with [Double Enhancement]."

"The power of the skill is doubled for a single use."

Before Ethan could finish his sentence, Justin used Double Enhancement and aimed at the gnoll warrior's head. He muttered softly, as he had done countless times before.

"Black Missile," Justin said.

Thud!

"...?"

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed, and everyone's movements froze. It had happened so fast that no one had seen what had been fired from Justin's hand.

A few seconds later, the light faded from the gnoll warrior's eyes, and the massive body swayed before collapsing.

Thud!

The gnoll warrior, with a gaping hole in its head, fell and did not rise again.

The surrounding gnolls blinked at the sight of their fallen leader, and the teammates stared silently at Justin.

In the midst of the silence, Justin turned to Ethan.

"Who did you say needed saving? I didn't quite catch that. Say it again," Justin said, his tone mocking.

"..."

"Come on, say it. Only then will I risk my life to buy you time," Justin added.

"..."

Ethan's face turned bright red as he avoided Justin's gaze.