Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Julius, who had explained the professions to Justin during the tutorial, had also mentioned this: in reality, if the target wasn't a human but a summoned creature, especially one as arrogant and annoying as this demon, then there would be no morale penalties.

"I can suck its energy dry without affecting morale! And I can do it three times!"

"Eeeeek!"

The imp screamed as Justin rapidly recharged his spell usage. Before the fifth Black Missile was fully recharged, the enemy leader shouted, regaining his senses.

"Stop him! Stop him now!"

Hearing the command, the enemy pioneers rushed madly toward Justin. They had all witnessed their fellow warrior get pierced through his shield and die earlier. They could easily predict what would happen once Justin's magic was fully charged. However, in his desperation, the enemy leader seemed to have forgotten something important.

Shwing, thud.

"Argh!"

An arrow lodged itself into the thigh of one of the warriors charging recklessly forward. The shot came from Nathan, who had been patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity.

If they had been cautiously approaching behind a shield wall like before, it might have been a different story. But running toward them with full exposure? They were just easy targets.

"You're only targeting our leader, huh? Don't you see us here?" Nathan said with a smirk.

"E-Energy Bolt!" another enemy mage shouted.

Boom!

"Not a chance!"

The enemy mage attempted to strike Nathan with a projectile, but Ethan and Rachel had anticipated this and swiftly blocked the attack with their shields.

Meanwhile, two enemy warriors had managed to get quite close, but now Derek took center stage.

"You bastards!"

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"Block it!"

One of the enemy warriors, startled by the sight of Derek's massive two-handed hammer, raised his shield. The other quickly moved to Derek's side, hoping to strike from his flank while his comrade blocked the front. It was a solid strategy, but it didn't last even a second.

Crash!

"Guhhh...!"

The hammer smashed into the shield with a thunderous crash, sending the warrior flying through the air. The shockwave from the blow knocked the other warrior off balance, disrupting his stance. As he struggled to regain his footing, he looked at his comrade, now airborne, and gasped.

"Dungeon rewards!" he shouted in shock.

"Yeah! You think you're the only ones with those?" Derek yelled back.

Whoosh!

Once again, the massive hammer swung toward the warriors. The enemy tried to raise his shield reflexively, but it was futile.

Crash!

"Grrgh!"

The force of the impact bent the warrior's arm backward, driving the shield into his own chest. He flew back, tumbling across the ground.

With three of their own taken down in an instant, the remaining enemies began to hesitate. Their leader, furious, screamed at them in frustration.

"You idiots! He's still recharging! Stop him already!"

Whoosh!

At that moment, the enemy leader hurled his axe with all his might. Whether it was luck or skill, the axe flew straight toward Justin. Both Ethan and Rachel, who had been focused on defending against magic, were caught off guard by the incoming axe.

"My lord!"

"Justin!"

"Take that!"

Their voices overlapped with the leader's triumphant shout as the axe drew closer to Justin's face.

Clang!

"…!?"

With a solid impact, the axe was deflected away. The enemies were stunned, and Justin's allies suddenly remembered something they had forgotten.

"Oh, the ring!"

A system message, only audible to Justin, echoed in his mind:

[Ring of Protection has detected a direct attack on the owner. Deploying shield.]

[The shield has been deactivated as all daily uses have been consumed.]

[Shield uses will automatically recharge by the next day.]

As the system message appeared, the ring's color turned dark, signifying its spent power. Much like the shield before, the ring changed color once its uses were exhausted.

"Eeeek…!"

With a final shriek, the imp's body, having reached its limit, disintegrated into dust. In a single summon, Justin had recharged ten Black Missiles, more than enough for this battle.

"You're all dead now," Justin said coldly.

"...!"

The faces of the enemy pioneers turned pale as Justin finished recharging. Without hesitation, he activated his double amplification and aimed at the enemy mage.

"Black Missile."

The battle that followed was almost disappointingly swift. Of the twelve enemies, five had already been incapacitated. Given the overwhelming firepower on Justin's side, the outcome was inevitable. After the fight, Justin and his allies began searching the bodies for any useful items.

"There's not much of value here," Nathan said, examining one of the corpses.

"Most of this stuff is just generic equipment you can buy in any shop," Ethan added.

Though they had only experienced looting once before, they had already become accustomed to it, rummaging through the bodies without hesitation. After all, when an item could mean life or death, one had to get used to it.

Justin, also searching the corpses, muttered to himself, "At least we got this."

He pulled out a large shield that the dead enemy leader had clung to even in his final moments. The shield, large enough to cover a person's body, still had a dark, murky gray color. As Justin ran his hand over the surface of the shield, an item description window appeared before him.

[Anti-Magic Shield]

Category: Warrior-exclusive equipmentRarity: RareDescription: A shield that absorbs and disperses incoming magical attacks. However, once it accumulates a certain amount of magic, its effects will vanish. It requires a day to recharge before being used again.

"Quite the effect," Justin commented.

Even with its limitations, the shield had an extraordinary ability. Justin had been thinking about countering the high-powered spells of his enemies, and to now have this in his possession was a great advantage. Truthfully, this one shield alone was more than enough of a reward for the battle.

But the looting wasn't over just yet.

"We should also check the mage that was flying around earlier," Ethan suggested.

"Of course. He went down just over that hill," Justin replied.

With the shield in tow, they headed toward the hill where the Pegasus had descended earlier. At the base, they found the mage, draped in a blue robe, lying unconscious. The summoned Pegasus had vanished, likely due to the time limit expiring.

Justin reached out to search the fallen mage's body but hesitated.

"…He's still alive."