Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Justin chuckled softly at the misunderstanding.

"He's plenty useful. He can tell us where your domain is, how many pioneers you have, and roughly what kind of forces you've got."

"...."

The bald man squeezed his eyes shut and, with trembling hands, placed his sword on the ground before slowly standing up. The other pioneers followed his lead, retreating gradually. Once they disappeared over the hill, Justin examined the abandoned sword.

〈Sword of Carnage〉

Type: Warrior-exclusive equipmentGrade: RareDescription: A sword refined by a skilled artisan. It can slice through flesh and bone as easily as paper but is easily blocked by stone or metal. This would be the best sword against enemies without armor or shields.

"Better than I expected," he muttered after reading the item description.

Though it couldn't cut through stone or metal, that was a common limitation for swords. What impressed him was how effortlessly it could cut through any living being. Even muscle-bound monsters like orcs would likely be sliced apart with ease. In terms of pure weapon quality, it was an outstanding sword.

"Who's going to take this sword...?" he began, only to be interrupted.

"That would be me!" Ethan quickly stepped forward before the sentence was even finished.

With a small chuckle, Justin nodded. "I suppose it is. Take it."

"Thank you! I'll make good use of it!" Ethan said, beaming with satisfaction.

"Anyway, how's the guy who was at death's door?" Justin asked.

"I had to use healing magic twice, but all his wounds are closed now. Despite the number of injuries, none of them were fatal," Ethan reported.

Indeed, no more blood was flowing from the man's body, but his face was still pale and drained of color.

"He lost a lot of blood. Are we sure just healing the wounds is enough?" Justin asked.

"That's up to luck. There's no way to do a blood transfusion out here," Ethan admitted.

"True enough," Justin sighed. If the man died after all they'd done, it would simply be fate. Fortunately, the man was still breathing, and he showed no signs of shock.

Not knowing much about medicine, Justin could only leave the rest to chance.

"Forget about searching the dungeon for now. We can't be dragging an injured man around," Justin decided.

"Understood. So, who's going to carry him?" one of the group asked.

"Who else? Derek , you know it's your job. Why do you even bother asking?" Justin replied with a smirk.

"...." Derek didn't argue, resigned to his task.

When they returned to the territory, Zachary rushed out to meet them, visibly startled by the sight of the injured man.

"Did we capture another prisoner?" Zachary asked, wide-eyed.

"No, just someone we happened to rescue," Justin explained before giving a brief summary of the situation and handing the man over to Zachary.

The explanation was simple: the man had fled after losing a battle, but even that short account was enough to put a serious expression on Zachary's face.

"It seems the other Justins are also expanding their power through war," Zachary said gravely.

"Of course. We're not the only ones growing stronger," Justin replied.

"Everyone has knowledge of the World Breaker, after all. It would be too much to expect that we're the only ones ahead," Zachary said, sighing as he summoned a few villagers.

Oddly enough, these villagers wore uniforms, unlike the others in the territory.

"He's a guest in our territory, so take him to my bed and care for him. If anything changes or he wakes up, let me know immediately."

"Yes, sir," the uniformed villagers responded as they carefully carried the man to Zachary's house.

Watching them, Justin blinked in surprise. "Who are they?"

"They're the workers I hired. I'm paying them with mana stones," Zachary explained.

"Wow, you're starting to look like a real noble now," Justin teased.

Zachary gave a wry smile. "It's true I did this partly for personal satisfaction, but it's also part of my plan to create jobs."

Justin raised an eyebrow in interest. "Jobs, huh?"

"Yes. The more I pay them for the work I need done, the more demand for such roles will grow. That's how internal development works."

While most people toiled in the fields to make a living, others could now earn money just by serving a nobleman. And if these positions paid better than the physically demanding jobs, naturally more people would want those roles.

In turn, those seeking such positions would strive to outperform one another to secure them, creating competition and encouraging skill development. This would lead to new jobs and technological advancements, as well as the generation of wealth.

"The best workers will likely be scouted by other nobles, and their wages will increase. When they indulge in luxury with those higher wages, others will aspire to achieve similar success. New fields of work will emerge, and people will flock to them, using the skills they already have," Zachary explained.

"That's a great idea!" Justin was genuinely impressed. It meant that the villagers wouldn't just be laborers but could evolve into various specialized professions. And it wasn't being forced—it was something they'd pursue of their own volition.

"For now, they're simple servants, but in the future, we'll see specialized positions like butlers and accountants. Right now, I'd be happy just to have a barber show up," Zachary added with a chuckle.

Justin almost clapped his hands in excitement. Diversifying the workforce didn't just mean more ways for the villagers to earn money; it meant that the nobles could enjoy more services. With enough money, they could have personal barbers, maids to wash their feet, and even personal musicians—truly living the life of a noble.

'This kind of system would be more than enough to entice other pioneers. Right now, mana stones are only useful for buying food or developing the land,' Justin mused.

No matter how much money one had, if there was nothing to spend it on, its value diminished. The mere fact that pioneers could pay to receive exclusive services would make them envious. Some might even abandon their own domains to join this one.

Though it was a distant prospect, Justin couldn't help but consider it.

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"So, please, Lord, cooperate with this plan. You'll need to indulge in some luxuries yourself if you want others to follow suit," Zachary said.

"I was already planning on it. After a quick rest, I'll start by hiring some servants and checking if any of the villagers have useful skills," Justin replied.

"That's the spirit," Zachary said with a grin, giving a thumbs-up.

It seemed they shared the same vision for the future.

After finishing his conversation with Zachary, Justin returned home. A large, unhatched egg still sat on his bed. It was the egg of the black dragon, which he had left outside of his inventory to avoid delaying its hatching.

"They said it would hatch soon, but when is it going to happen? I hope their 'soon' isn't different from mine," he muttered half-seriously, half-jokingly, as he tapped the egg lightly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Suddenly, the egg twitched and shook. Startled, he pulled his hand back, but the egg quickly returned to its still state.

"Was that my imagination?" he wondered aloud.

Carefully, he reached out and touched the egg again, gently stroking its surface. Nothing happened. It seemed as if the earlier movement had been a fluke.

The moment he was about to remove his hand completely, crack—a loud noise filled the room as a crack appeared on the surface of the black dragon's egg.