Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Chapter 167 Brat !

『You insolent brat!』

『What kind of nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden?』

『Have you completely lost your mind!?』

The three Grand Dukes, including Kargaron, exploded in rage, all directing their anger toward Justin. But the Duke of Deception, Abraxas, remained silent. Instead, with a bitter expression, he muttered under his breath, as if he had already resigned himself.

『How did you know?』

"I never once mentioned in front of you that I envied warriors' physical stats. But for some reason, you were all scared that I'd side with Kargaron," Justin said with a shrug, pointing at Kargaron with his thumb.

"Funny thing is, that guy's the one I've been most annoyed with. Yet he seemed oddly relaxed, so I threw out some bait, and, well, looks like I caught a big one."

『Hmph. I suppose I was too desperate. How ironic, for the Duke of Deception to fall for a human's trickery,』 Abraxas sighed.

『Abraxas, what are you talking about!?』

『Tsk. These fools still don't understand what's going on.』

Abraxas sighed deeply, then snapped his fingers. In an instant, a massive mirror appeared in front of them.

Moments later, the mirror displayed a group of pioneers that Justin didn't recognize. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a warlock among them.

-What? You're kicking me out of the team now?

The warlock in the mirror wore a shocked expression as he spoke to someone. Judging by the group of pioneers behind him, the person he addressed seemed to be the team leader.

-Yeah. We're all tired of the hassle you're causing. We have to keep monsters alive just so you can recharge your magic. It's a pain.

-But I'm quick! I absorb their life force in seconds, and we can immediately move on to the next hunt! Other mages have to meditate, and that takes forever...!

-Cut the crap. They meditate in safety; we're out here risking our lives, keeping monsters alive for you.

The leader clicked his tongue in frustration, his expression one of utter disbelief that the warlock didn't understand the problem.

-And don't even get me started on how long it takes to kill monsters because we have to hold back. By the time we're done, it's no faster than if a regular mage was meditating. Sometimes it's even slower.

-But that's...!

The blond man glared at Aiden with a look that could kill.

-You said you could change your class at level 25, right? Switch the second you level up! Or get out of this city! Got it?

-Yeah... I'll do that...

Aiden slumped over, not daring to say another word as he retreated to a corner. While the others fought for their lives, he became even more of a burden.

The scenes in the mirror kept changing, one after another. Sometimes a Korean pioneer appeared, sometimes a foreigner, but each scene was the same. The warlocks were always treated like a burden, or even a danger, by their companions.

On rare occasions, a warlock showed some success, but even those who succeeded had no intention of sticking with the class.

-Continue as a warlock? No way. I picked this class just to level up quickly in the beginning.

-Once I hit level 25, I'm switching back to my original class. It's way stronger.

Pioneers unfamiliar with the world's mechanics had picked warlock by mistake and were now suffering the consequences. Those who understood the world's rebuild saw the class only as a stepping stone to their second profession.

Even the powerful crowd-control spell, Cursed Lightning, wasn't enough to change that.

-It's a good skill, but I can only use it twice a day. Meanwhile, we're hunting dozens of monsters.

-Sure, it can put a high-level monster into a groggy state, but who's hunting high-level monsters anyway? You have a death wish?

-It's great as a trump card, but I'm not about to force my team to sacrifice themselves just so I can use it.

Cold evaluations came from warlock's companions or even the warlocks themselves.

In time, the voices grew fainter until only the warlocks' voices remained. And then, as they all reached level 25, they cried out in unison:

-I want to change my class.

With a loud shattering sound, the mirror broke into pieces, scattering in the wind.

Even after the mirror disappeared, none of the other Grand Dukes spoke. They simply stared at Justin and Abraxas with pale faces.

In the heavy silence, only Abraxas remained composed as he met Justin's eyes.

"Did you already know?" he asked.