Chapter 38

“You may regret this later,” Nox finally said, standing up. “If you refuse now, and then come begging later—well, that’d be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?”

Justin laughed.

“Embarrassing? You think I care about that?”

He leaned back in his chair, watching as Nox desperately tried to salvage his authority.

“Before worrying about me, you should worry about yourself,” Justin said. “Judging by your gear, you haven’t even left the village today. If you keep wasting time on this political crap, you’re going to fall behind.”

Nox stiffened.

“…!”

“And if that happens,” Justin continued, voice smooth, almost amused, “someone else will take charge of your little movement. Not you.”

BANG!

Face red with fury, Nox stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

“Pathetic.”

Justin didn’t even bother watching him go.

Instead, he sat still, considering the situation.

“That idiot just made things easier for me.”

There was no future where he ever took orders from someone like Nox.

At best, he was a temporary political figure—loud and annoying but ultimately powerless.

And if it ever came to it?

If pioneers really did start forming factions?

Then Justin would create his own group—and he’d make sure it was stronger than whatever joke of a movement Nox was trying to build.

As expected, the team assembled without issue.

Even Nathan, despite concerns about his family, arrived right on time.

“They let you come?” Justin asked.

“They weren’t thrilled, but once I told them I’d only be gathering magic stones, they relaxed a bit.”

Ethan smirked.

“And the money probably helped, huh?”

“Yeah, that too,” Nathan admitted. “While other people were eating boiled potatoes, I had a sandwich.”

But something about his tone was too casual.

Justin noticed immediately.

“He’s hiding something.”

“And?”

“…And I didn’t tell them I’ll be fighting once I hit level 3.”

Justin chuckled.

“Smart move. No point in picking a fight before you need to.”

As they finished checking their gear, Derek suddenly spoke up.

“Oh, right. Yesterday, Nox came to me about forming a group. Did he talk to you guys too?”

“Wait, he came to you too?”

Ethan blinked in surprise.

“So, he really was trying to recruit everyone.”

Since there was no reason to hide it, Justin nodded.

“Yeah. I turned him down. Waste of time.”

“Same here. We should focus on quests first.”

“I just didn’t like his attitude.”

But just as they were about to head out, Ethan added something.

“Though, the next person who came to see me was much more reasonable.”

Justin’s gaze sharpened.

“Next person?”

“Yeah. Zachary. He was much more polite than Nox—if you’re gonna recruit people, at least do it right, you know?”

At that, Justin and Derek exchanged looks.

Neither of them had ever heard of this guy.

Seeing their reactions, Ethan hesitated.

“Wait… you two weren’t contacted?”

“Nope.”

“Not at all.”

The realization hit Justin instantly.

“They’re trying to isolate me.”

“Tell me everything about this Zachary guy.”

His voice was calm, but heavy—a command, not a request.

Something was happening behind the scenes.

And if someone was trying to move against him?

Then Justin needed to know exactly what kind of game they were playing.

Sitting across from Justin, Ethan shook his head with a tired smile.

“Honestly, there’s not much to say. The message was the same as Nox’s—just packaged differently.”

Justin narrowed his eyes slightly.

“The same message? You mean gathering pioneers together?”

“Exactly. But the structure he proposed was completely different.”

According to Ethan, if Nox’s idea was a pioneer-controlled faction, then Zachary wanted something closer to a militia.

Rather than having pioneers outright dominate the civilians, Zachary suggested that the strong should maintain order—guiding and supporting the weak instead of ruling over them.

“He was worried that, if tensions kept building, things might spiral out of control. His plan was to offer civilians a taste of the system’s benefits—show them what magic stones can do, encourage them to level up, and eventually turn all of them into pioneers. That way, we eliminate the class divide entirely.”

Justin tapped his fingers against the table.

“I see. And what did you say to that?”

“I turned him down, obviously.”

Ethan let out a dry chuckle.

“It’s a nice sentiment, and I think he’s genuine about it… but in my experience, grand ideas like that never work. People rarely act the way you want them to.”

It was a simple plan:

1. Hand out magic stones for free.
2. Let people experience how useful they are.
3. Make them desperate for more.
4. When they start wanting more, they’ll be forced to level up.
5. And once everyone levels up, the class divide disappears.

On paper, it sounded ideal—a world where no one was left behind.

But reality didn’t work that way.

“It’s naive.”

Justin’s words were blunt, but Ethan nodded in agreement.

“Right? I mean, sure, some people might fight to earn their own power. But the vast majority? They’ll just sit back and keep taking handouts. Why risk their necks when they can get free magic stones instead?”

That was the flaw in the plan.

Too much faith in human nature.

If a person had the option to stay comfortable and safe, most of them would take it.

And if they could survive by just leeching off those stronger than them?

They wouldn’t change—they’d just demand more.

“And what happens when the pioneers stop giving out magic stones?”

“Do they think people will suddenly change then?”

“No—those same people will just get angry, demanding what they now see as their right. And when they don’t get it, they’ll turn on the ones who gave it to them in the first place.”

Justin sighed, shaking his head.

“The moment you start giving people free power, you can’t take it back. They won’t be grateful—they’ll just expect more.”

Even if Zachary’s plan succeeded in the short term, it wouldn’t last.

Instead of eliminating the class divide, it would just create a new kind of resentment.

But something about this still bothered him.

“That aside,” he said slowly, “why didn’t he approach me?”

If Zachary was gathering pioneers, then Justin should have been one of his first choices.

After all, he was stronger than most and had no loyalty to civilians—exactly the kind of person who should’ve been scouted.

Yet Ethan was the only one who got an invitation.

At first, he’d assumed they were just targeting the healer—a necessary role for any team.