Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Rachel began to explain the situation of the opposing territory. From the first day of the apocalypse to the dimensional transfer, things weren't much different from Justin's side. The pioneers formed a team, though awkwardly, and rescued people. Once the rescue was completed, the entire territory was moved to this world.

Then, the merchant NPC, Algrim, appeared to explain how to use the shop.

"Wait, Algrim? The merchant on your side is also named Algrim?" Justin asked.

"Yes, and even the advisor's name is the same—Nox," Rachel replied.

"Is it just a coincidence? What do the two look like?"

"Algrim looks like a chubby uncle, and Nox looks like an old professor."

Justin asked a few more questions just to be sure, but the answers didn't change. Even their attire and manner of speaking were completely identical to the NPCs on his side.

He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. Perhaps they were all the same entities, just in different locations. In a world like this, it wasn't impossible.

"Algrim openly discriminates between pioneers and regular people," Rachel said. "His attitude towards them is like the difference between a VIP customer and a beggar. Was it the same for you?"

"Exactly the same. He practically bows until his forehead touches the ground for the pioneers, but when the civilians come in, it's as if he's about to spit on them."

Apparently, Nathan's family handed all shopping tasks to Nathan whenever they needed something. If any other family member went to the shop, they would only receive cold stares and mocking, informal speech. In contrast, Algrim would greet Nathan with a friendly smile and utmost politeness.

It seemed that the situation in Rachel's territory was quite similar to that of Justin's.

"The civilians in your territory chose to do nothing despite being treated like that, right?" Rachel continued. "It was different here."

"Different? How so?" Justin asked.

"They chose to take action. They decided they needed to fight for their rights."

"Isn't that a good thing? It means they want to become pioneers and hunt, right?"

"No."

There was a hint of contempt in Rachel's eyes—not directed at the pioneers, but at the civilians.

"They said people shouldn't be discriminated against just for performing an act like hunting. And they also said those who earn more than others should be obligated to share."

"...So basically, they wanted to be supported for free."

"To be precise, they claimed they needed support until they could get a proper grasp of the situation and act accordingly. But to me, it's all the same."

Furthermore, they argued that since it was the pioneers who brought them here, the pioneers should take responsibility for them. Naturally, the pioneers resisted. They said they barely had enough resources to compete among themselves, let alone take care of others. They offered boiled potatoes and water, telling the civilians to handle the rest on their own.

Upon hearing this, the civilians immediately rushed in, shouting that if the pioneers tried to shirk their responsibility, they wouldn't stand by idly.

"What were they going to do if they didn't stand by idly? Fight them?" Justin scoffed.

"It would have been better if fighting was an option. They wouldn't have been able to do anything to the pioneers," Rachel said, sighing deeply as she massaged her forehead, as if the memory itself gave her a headache.

"But combat isn't possible within the safe zone, right? The civilians used that to their advantage."

"Used it? How?" Justin asked.

"Dozens of them clung to the shop entrance, or they linked arms and surrounded the pioneers in multiple layers. Naturally, if the pioneers wanted to pass, they'd have to push them away or break through forcefully..."

There was no need for Rachel to continue. If it caused pain, the system would have recognized it as a combat action and blocked it. If only a few people were in the way, they might have been able to force their way through, but with dozens of people tightly blocking the path, there was no way to get past.

"That's unbelievable," Justin muttered.

It was so ridiculous that he was at a loss for words. Sure, it was possible, but for all of them to do something like that together? There must have been someone instigating them, but even more than that, there were clearly many who felt the same way.

"They did that nonsense for an entire week? Didn't they get tired?" Justin asked.

"There were just too many civilians. They weren't even sharing houses with family members; they were sharing with complete strangers, which caused a lot of resentment. Unless a pioneer bought them a new house, they had to see each other's faces every day, and that resentment only grew," Rachel explained.

"How many of them were there?" Justin asked.

"About 200."

"...!"

The number far exceeded Justin's expectations. Sure, the rescue quest had lasted all night, so theoretically, it was possible. But how had they managed to bring so many people? Even in their own safe zone, which had fared reasonably well, they had barely met the transfer condition of 100 people. Yet here, there were 200 civilians, not counting the pioneers.

Even considering the available houses, it was too many.

"Many of the rescued people knew each other. There were neighborhood associations, hiking groups, and apartment resident unions," Rachel explained.

Ah, so each time they rescued one person, they brought along everyone connected to them.

That made sense. Their cooperation had likely been due to so many of them knowing each other. It would have been awkward for one person to pull out while everyone else stayed together.

"Of course, not everyone was like that," Rachel added. "There were those who believed they should become pioneers themselves rather than rely on others."

As she spoke, Rachel glanced at her companions.

Just from that glance, Justin could tell immediately. These were the ones who had wanted to become pioneers themselves.

'No wonder their levels are so low.'

Since they were latecomers, their levels were low. It seemed Rachel had been looking out for them, preventing her own level-up progress.

But they were merely exceptions. Most of the others continued their protests, leveraging their numbers.

"The bigger issue was that it actually worked. Pioneers needed to level up and use the shop, but if they were blocked, there was nothing they could do. In the end, they had to give away mana stones just to ask them to move aside."

And when the pioneers conceded, the civilians became even more emboldened. Later on, they started demanding not just part of the mana stones, but all of them. Naturally, the pioneers' anger reached a boiling point. They were on the verge of exploding at the slightest trigger.

And then, the leader election began.

When the civilians first decided to elect a leader, they were confident. Since they had the majority, all they had to do was elect one of their own.

However, the conditions that followed left them all dumbfounded.