Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Lord? Lord!"

"What the hell is going on this time?!"

"Kurrurrk!"

At the exact moment when Justin's soul was summoned to the Grand Arena of Ten Thousand Demons, his companions left behind were shaking him frantically, their faces pale with fear.

They had just been about to return after everything was over, when suddenly, Justin collapsed standing upright, losing consciousness. Even Fafnir, Justin's dragon companion, was startled by the sudden change in his master and rubbed his cheek against him repeatedly.

"Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?"

"I have no idea!"

"This seems exactly like what happened when we went through the second advancement process earlier..."

The darkened eyes were reminiscent of the phenomena they had experienced during the previous second advancement process. However, the issue was that the circumstances now were completely different from back then.

"At level 25, going through the second advancement was normal, but this situation is completely strange."

"We were told that the second advancement process could be done again at level 30."

"But is the Lord at level 30 right now?"

"I don't think so. I haven't heard of him leveling up after reaching level 25, and he hasn't been hunting since we reclaimed the city."

Even if his level increased during this wave, it would have only gone up by two or three levels at most. The average level of the monsters was too low to give more experience than that. And a significant portion of the experience was distributed among the other Pioneers.

"Besides, the experience calculation started as soon as the battle ended. If he had reached level 30 and was summoned, we would have all lost consciousness along with him."

"Then why is this happening?"

"I have no idea. I don't know much about Warlocks..."

The Warlock class was notorious for being unpopular, even in the world rebuild. It was a difficult class to handle, and most people gave up after just a few rounds. Naturally, even those experienced in world rebuilding knew little about Warlocks.

"How long has it been since he collapsed?"

"About 10 minutes, I think."

"It's taking quite a while."

"Do you think something has actually gone wrong...?"

"Stop freaking out over just a few minutes."

As the atmosphere grew darker, Derek spoke up. Unlike the others, he didn't seem worried at all, wearing an expression of complete confidence.

"From the look in his eyes, it seems like he's been summoned to the second advancement area or somewhere similar. He'll return safely soon enough."

"How can you be so sure?"

"He told me this once. The system wants Pioneers to grow and will never let them die due to external factors outside their control."

"I've heard something similar too." Ethan chimed in, nodding in agreement.

"The system encourages death from hunting, traps, or fights between Pioneers—'competition,' in other words. But it strictly prevents interference from NPCs or any kind of uprising from civilians."

"What's the difference?"

"If there's no reward tied to the risk, the system won't allow you to die. If the crisis doesn't lead to growth, the system hates it."

The idea was simple: throw yourself into danger by your own choice, and if you overcome it, you get rewarded. But if the danger wasn't part of the Pioneer's own journey or decisions, and if it involved forces that were meant to serve as stepping stones for the Pioneer, then...

"The system would never forgive such entities. It would either crush them underfoot or remove them entirely."

"So..."

"Yes, it doesn't matter who summoned the Lord. There's no need to worry because that entity is still part of the system."

With Ethan and Derek's explanation, the rest of the group finally sighed in relief. They had been overly tense, thinking something was seriously wrong because of the strange situation.

However, Zachary still hadn't relaxed completely, his expression remaining tense.

"The problem is the other Pioneers. Since the Lord suddenly stopped responding, they're getting confused."

"They'll go back to normal once the Lord returns, right?"

"That's true, but honestly, I'm worried this situation might affect the Lord's authority."

The sudden, unforeseen incident of Justin losing consciousness for over 10 minutes was something that wouldn't happen to a regular Pioneer. This could leave a dent in Justin's seemingly invincible reputation. People might start thinking there was something wrong with him after all.

"You're overthinking it. At most, his score of 100 will drop to 98."

"That may be true, but sometimes even that 2-point difference is crucial. At 100, people will follow you no matter how reckless you are. At 98, they start to hesitate."

Zachary looked over at Justin, who was still standing there, dazed.

"I have no doubt he'll return safely, but the longer it takes, the more suspicions will grow. If... never mind."

"If what? Don't leave us hanging, finish your thought." Derek urged.

After a brief hesitation, Zachary gave a bitter smile and continued.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"If he returns with some kind of grand power-up, there won't be any problem. In fact, his authority might even increase. Gaining strength through an unconventional route, one that no other Pioneer can access, would only enhance his status."

"That's wishful thinking."

"True. It's just something I said on a whim..."

Just as Zachary finished speaking, a dark aura suddenly began to radiate from Justin, filling the surrounding area. The sudden release of energy caused everyone to squint and shield their eyes.

The source of the overwhelming aura was none other than Justin himself.

"What the...!"

"Why is he doing that?!"

"I'd like to know that too!"

"Let's step back for now!" Continue your adventure at empire

"Kurrurrk!"

Fearing the aura might be dangerous, the group took several steps back. Derek quickly snatched up Fafnir, who had been standing too close to the aura. Although the black aura didn't physically harm anyone, the immense pressure it emitted was palpable, like a giant's hand gently pressing down on them. The other Pioneers who had been standing further away were shocked by the sheer force of it.