Chapter 41

“This is the best we can manage. High-calorie, easy to eat, and doesn’t fall apart if it gets shaken around.”

There might be better options out there, but with their current budget, jerky was the most practical choice.

Once everything was packed, they stood and prepared to leave. Unfortunately, the ongoing feud between the two factions had blocked the entrance, forcing them to walk right through the middle of it.

“Hey, move aside. Why are you guys fighting at the entrance this early in the morning? It’s annoying.”

“Justin!”

At his voice, both sides turned their gazes toward him. Nox was the first to speak.

“Justin? You think we’re friends now? Dropping the honorifics already?”

“…Mr. Justin.”

“There you go. Now, move. We’ve got hunting to do.”

Flushed with frustration, Nox reluctantly stepped aside. He didn’t have much choice—Justin’s team had the highest levels among the pioneers. If they decided to pick a side, the balance of power would tip drastically.

Zachary knew it too, his expression growing complicated.
“Mr. Justin, we haven’t spoken before, but—”

“Not interested in your factions. Save the recruitment pitch.”

“This isn’t just about factions! Have you heard of noblesse oblige?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve recently become a devout believer in cutthroat capitalism.”

Shutting down the inevitable speech before it even began, Justin had no patience for either of them. He didn’t like Nox, but that didn’t mean he was going to side with Zachary either.

“You didn’t approach me when you first made your faction, did you?”

“I regret that decision.”

“Don’t. You were right. I would’ve rejected you anyway—I’m not interested in charity work.”

Before the world fell apart, he’d worked in customer service, dealing with every type of entitled jerk imaginable. Now, they expected him to hand out free help just for the sake of “honor”?

“I have no interest in being a saint or a moral leader. If there’s power involved, then maybe we can talk.”

Zachary fell silent, realizing that appeals to morality wouldn’t sway him.

“We’ll be on our way, then. Good luck with your little power struggle.”

Without another glance, Justin and his team strode through the tense crowd. Curious glances followed them, but he didn’t care. What mattered now was growth—not petty political squabbles.

They reached the gnoll hunting grounds in no time.

They encountered a few hobgoblins along the way, but they barely registered as obstacles anymore—barely more challenging than a post-meal stroll.

Crossing the forest’s boundary, they arrived at the plains and crouched low, scanning their surroundings.

“There they are.”

In the distance, shadows shifted—gnolls, humanoid monsters with the bodies of hyenas and the posture of men. They prowled the fields with long tongues lolling out, searching for hidden prey.

“Nathan, think you can hit one?”

“Easily.”

“Really? Isn’t the distance a little far?”

“Not if they’re moving this slowly. If they were running, sure—but like this? No problem.”

Nathan calmly drew an arrow, knocking it onto the string with practiced ease. The arrows were the cheapest variety—bundled in packs of ten, each costing a single magic stone.

Even those cheap, low-grade arrows were more than enough to pierce the flesh of a monster.
The downside, though, was that they were disposable—completely unrecoverable once fired.

Swish—Thwack!
“Kyaaaargh!”

Nathan’s arrow struck true, piercing the gnoll’s throat.

But it didn’t die immediately. Writhing in agony, the creature let out a blood-curdling scream.

“…It didn’t die?”

“That’s more than enough. It won’t be able to fight anymore.”

Taking out even one gnoll in a surprise attack was already a significant achievement. The creature clutched at its neck, choking on its own blood, before collapsing.

The remaining five gnolls, alarmed by the sudden attack, turned toward them with a snarl.

“Grrrr…!”
“Kyarrkk!”

Steam burst from their nostrils as they charged forward in unison.

Justin calmly raised a finger, pointing toward the oncoming monsters.
“Black Missile. Black Missile. Black Missile.”

Thud. Crack!
“Kyaagh!”
“Kiiiiek!”

Three of the gnolls took direct hits to the head and were knocked backward. One of them died instantly, while the other two survived, screeching in pain—their skulls hadn’t been fully penetrated by the magic.

Before they could recover, Nathan followed up with well-aimed arrows, finishing them off.

“As expected, they’re tough enough to survive a single hit now.”

The monsters’ stats had clearly increased, but so had the strength of the team.

Within moments, their numbers had dropped from five to two.

The remaining two were quickly handled by the team’s frontliners.

“Khaaaah!”
Crunch!
“Grrkk…!”

One gnoll’s skull shattered under Derek’s full-strength hammer swing.

The final gnoll lunged at Ethan, but he blocked it with his shield, countering with a sword strike that buried itself deep into the creature’s throat.

With the last gnoll barely clinging to life from Nathan’s earlier arrow, the group moved in to finish the job.

《Skill [Auto Magic Stone Collection] has retrieved the magic stone from the defeated monster.》
《The retrieved magic stone has been stored in your inventory.》
《Magic stones, regardless of quantity, occupy only one small slot in your inventory.》

Thanks to the newly acquired skill, they no longer needed to dig around in the monsters’ hearts for the stones.

Though the enemies had changed, the overall flow of battle remained similar to before.
But unlike with the hobgoblins, their expressions were more serious this time.

Justin turned to his teammates.
“What do you think of the gnolls so far?”

“Stronger than I expected, honestly,” Ethan admitted.

“I thought they’d be easier.”

Hobgoblins had become so trivial they could kill them with ease, so they’d assumed that gnolls, while larger, wouldn’t be much different. But the reality was far more challenging.

“I hit one with full strength and its head didn’t even cave in all the way. If it had been a hobgoblin, its head would’ve flown off.”

“Their size gives them ridiculous power. Even with my shield up, the impact was intense. If we hadn’t leveled up as much as we did, that could’ve gone badly.”

Justin nodded in agreement.
Even with his magic, seeing a gnoll’s skull remain mostly intact after a direct hit had been surprising. If they’d rushed to fight gnolls earlier without proper preparation, they likely would’ve had to retreat.

But instead of being frustrated by the challenge, a smile crept onto his face.
“Good. The difficulty works in our favor.”