Chapter 12

A baseball bat, to use as a melee weapon.

He had everything he needed—now he just had to keep his head clear.

After taking one last shower, he changed into light, flexible clothes.

It was early August—he didn’t need heavy clothing, which would only drain stamina faster.

Once he double-checked everything, the clock hit 10:00 AM.

《The erasure of Earth’s civilization will now commence.》
《Prove your worth and survive the apocalypse.》
《Everything depends on your choices.》

Unlike the cold, robotic tone of previous messages, this one had a hint of emotion.

But before he could dwell on it

FLASH!

A blinding light erupted before him.

The moment his vision cleared, a monster had already appeared in front of him.

“…A goblin? That’s it?”

“Kiiiggik!”

The goblin seemed to understand his disdain and furiously charged.

Clicking his tongue, Justin calmly raised his hand.

“Black Missile.”

BANG!

Even though he deliberately aimed off-center, the goblin was instantly crippled.

It barely clung to life, gasping for air.

He sighed, then finished it off with Energy Drain, using its life to replenish his magic.

It was almost boring.

But before he could relax, a quest window popped up.

[Main Quest: Find Shelter]

• Objective: You have successfully dealt with a monster. However, the apocalypse has begun, and creatures will continue appearing without end. Seek out a safe zone where monsters cannot reach you.
• Reward: Small Inventory

“Inventory?!”

His eyes lit up at the unexpected reward.

Inventory space had always been a part of the game. But in reality, he had assumed he’d have to carry everything manually even though the tutorial dungeon never mentioned an inventory system.

“No way I’m passing this up.”

Grabbing his bat and backpack, he swung the front door open, started down the stairs when—

“AAAAAHHHH!”

A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the building.

“HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!”

“DIE! DIE! DIE!”

“HONEY, NOOO!”

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”

The moment he stepped outside, his entire world was filled with screams.

Most of them came from inside the apartment complex.

He stood there, stunned, scanning his surroundings.

“…Are they seriously losing to goblins?”

Goblins were weak not because he had magic—they were just weak in general even a high school girl could probably beat one to death with her bare fists. Honestly, even without magic, he could have handled three of them easily.

And yet—The sheer panic around him made it seem like people were facing a zombie horde.

“P-Please, help me!”

“…?”

A woman’s voice called out from above.

When he looked up, he saw someone around his age leaning out of a window.

The moment their eyes met, her face twisted in desperation.

“HELP ME! I’M BEGGING YOU!”

His expression didn’t change.

“…Help you with what?”

“THERE’S A MONSTER OUTSIDE MY DOOR!”

“…A goblin?”

“WHAT?!”

“The green midget looking thing?”

“YES, THAT! THAT THING!”

It was hard to tell if she was panicked or if this was just her natural attitude, but she was definitely yelling.

It didn’t seem like she noticed—or cared—that she was speaking in informal speech.

She continued, practically spitting out her words.

“IT CAN’T GET IN BECAUSE MY DOOR’S LOCKED, BUT GET RID OF IT! MY DOOR CODE IS—”

“Handle it yourself.”

“…What?”

“It’s weak. Just kick it repeatedly and you’ll win.”

The woman’s face twisted in disbelief.

“ARE YOU INSANE?! WHAT IF I GET HURT?!”

“…And it’s fine if I get hurt?”

“YOU’RE A MAN!”

He laughed.

Not angry—just amused.

He hadn’t expected gratitude, but this?

This was next-level entitlement.

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

Behind him, her voice rose to a shriek.

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?! IF YOU LEAVE ME, YOU’RE A MURDERER! A MURDERER!”

Even as insults and screams rang out behind him, Justin felt nothing.

No anger.

No guilt.

Just exhaustion.

“…So this wasn’t just goblins.”

At first, he had thought the situation was simple.

That the world had just thrown in some low-level monsters as a warm-up.

But now—

It was clear.

The real challenge wasn’t just monsters.

It was people.

He had assumed that any able-bodied person could handle a goblin.

But reality was proving to be far worse than expected.

“Everyone is too scared to fight.”

If they kept their cool and fought back, they’d easily win.

But they weren’t thinking—they were panicking.

And because of that, they were dying.

The woman he had just encountered was one of the lucky ones—she had locked herself inside.

But judging by the cries and dying screams mixed into the chaos, not everyone had been so fortunate.

For a brief moment, he considered checking on them.

But in the end—

“If they can’t even handle a goblin, they won’t survive anyway.”

There was no point saving people who were doomed to die later.

Without hesitation, he turned his back on the suffering and followed his quest marker.

“We need to do the quest!“
“Stop talking nonsense and stay inside!“
“WAAAAHHH!“
“SHUT UP!“
“You shut up! Do you think this is a joke?!“

The streets echoed with shouting and arguments, but no one actually came outside.

They were hiding, waiting for the danger to pass.

“Idiots.”

They didn’t understand.

This wasn’t something temporary.

The world wasn’t going back to normal—ever.

With the streets nearly empty, he made his way toward the safe zone without issue.

Occasionally, a goblin would jump out to attack him but it was nothing more than routine work.

“Black Missile.”

BANG!

“Energy Drain.”

Swoooop!

Each time, he crippled them with Black Missile, then drained their energy to replenish his magic.

It was so simple, it was almost boring.

But that boredom was proof of Warlock’s superiority.

“A warrior—or even another mage—wouldn’t have it this easy.”

Warriors, no matter how strong, had to engage enemies directly.

Even if goblins were weak, they could still set up ambushes or overwhelm someone with numbers.

Not to mention—physical exertion would eventually wear them down.

For them, avoiding unnecessary fights was key to survival.

Other mages could attack from range, but they had a different issue—

Every spell they used brought them one step closer to being defenseless.

And when they ran out of magic?

They’d have to sit down and meditate, completely exposed.