Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

The bald man trembled as he bowed his head. Yesterday, he had been lucky; The leader had passed out drunk early, so there were no harsh reprimands. But that was just a day's reprieve. The next morning, as soon as The leader woke up, his face was filled with anger as he called the bald man in.

"So, you ran into pioneers from another territory while chasing the runaway? And you let them take him?"

"Yes!" The bald man knelt, bowing his head in front of The Leader , Grayson, who had recently taken over the territory. Grayson's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

"Fine, that happens. Avoiding an unexpected fight is sometimes the smart choice. You could let them take someone who's not much of a threat and just walk away."

"That's exactly what I thought! As expected, you understand, sir—"

"I told you to call me Lord, you idiot!" Grayson roared.

"S-sorry, my Lord!" The bald man flinched in fear, burying his head even deeper. It was a bit ridiculous to hear someone being called "Lord" in a world like this, but what choice did he have? When your superior gave an order, you obeyed.

Grayson clicked his tongue in annoyance and leaned back in his chair. "And I'm not done. Fine, I can overlook you avoiding the fight. But why did you hand over the sword I gave you?"

"They said they'd kill me if I didn't... I had no choice," the bald man stammered.

"You gave it up just like that? How many of them were there?" Grayson asked, his temper rising.

"T-ten! There were ten of them!" the bald man lied through his teeth. If he admitted there were only five, he'd be in for a real beating.

Hearing the number, Grayson's anger seemed to subside slightly. "Why were other pioneers wandering around here? Were they heading for a dungeon?"

"They had a brass compass in their hands."

"Then they were going to the dungeon. Damn, just our luck." Grayson scratched his head, clearly irritated. If the bald man was telling the truth, losing the runaway and the sword had been unavoidable. If they were capable of dungeon exploration, it meant their strength was on par with his group's. And with their numbers doubled, there wouldn't have been much the bald man could do.

"Alright, so there were ten of them. What were their classes?"

"W-what?"

"Their classes! How many warriors were there, and how many mages? You can tell just by looking at their weapons, right?"

It wasn't hard to tell; all he had to do was look at what they were holding. Swords or staves—it was simple.

At that question, the bald man's eyes darted around nervously.

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"F-five warriors, and five mages!" he blurted out.

"..."

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, sensing something was wrong.

"Do I look stupid to you? You inflated their numbers, didn't you?" Grayson snapped.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"...!"

"If they were going to the dungeon, there's no way they'd split their forces evenly between front and rear. A smart leader would always put more warriors in the front. So, what's the real number?"

The bald man's face turned pale as his lie was exposed. Even if he wanted to make an excuse, nothing came to mind. One thing was certain—he had never managed to deceive Grayson before.

Grayson's face contorted with rage. "You little bastard!"

"W-wait! Please, my Lord...!" Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Grayson's fists flew at the bald man, landing blow after blow. With Grayson's enhanced physical stats, each hit felt like it rattled his bones. After nearly ten punches, Graysonfinally stopped.

Grabbing the bald man by the collar, Grayson pulled him up. "Tell me the truth! How many were there? If you lie again, I'll kill you for real!"

"F-five! There were five of them!" the bald man cried, clutching his swollen face.

Grayson's eyes widened. "So there were only five of them, and you still handed over the sword?"

"T-they all had dungeon artifacts! Shields, hammers, staves—one of them even had a flying horse!" the bald man added desperately.

"That's the most important part! Why didn't you mention that earlier?"

"I was afraid you'd kill me if you knew I gave up the sword to such strong people... Please spare me!"

Grayson raised his fist again, ready to strike, but stopped just short of hitting him. After a few moments, he tossed the bald man aside in disgust.

"I was an idiot for giving dungeon rewards to someone like you. Get out of my sight!"

"Y-yes, my Lord!" the bald man scrambled out of the room as quickly as he could.

Grayson sat back down, seething. He had given the bald man a sword because he was a level or two higher than the others, but he lost it in just three days. If not for their recent fight with the field boss, Grayson would have killed him right then and there.

'But if another field boss shows up, we'll need every hand we can get... Damn it!' he thought, frustrated.

Despite all the preparations they'd made, the field boss had still claimed lives. They'd managed to defeat it, but there was no guarantee that another similarly powerful monster wouldn't appear. He needed to preserve his forces, even if it meant sparing a fool like the bald man.

Grayson downed a glass of cold water to calm his nerves, then recalled what the bald man had said. 'Only five people heading to a dungeon? And they already had at least four dungeon rewards? Who the hell are these lunatics?'

The more Grayson thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. To him, dungeon exploration required a minimum of 12 pioneers and at least seven villagers to serve as sacrificial fodder. Even then, there was always a risk of losing pioneers.

And yet, these five had completed not one, but at least two dungeon raids already.

'Shit, this could be dangerous. If they caught that runaway, they probably know where we are.'

A sudden sense of fear crept in. What if his territory was wiped out in a surprise invasion, just as he had done to others? But he quickly shook off the thought.

'No, if they're smart, they won't invade right away. They probably realized we have the strength to clear dungeons too. They wouldn't risk it.'

With that thought, his confidence returned. After all, he wasn't just any pioneer—he was a high-ranking player, someone who had taken down a field boss, cleared dungeons, and annexed other territories. Even if his enemies were strong, he was sure he could handle five of them.

"My Lord!" A voice suddenly interrupted Grayson's thoughts.

One of his trusted pioneers rushed in, his face pale with fear.

"S-something terrible has happened!"