Chapter 51

The struggling pioneers widened their eyes in shock as they caught sight of him.

“Who—”

“Cursed Lightning.”

Crackle!

“Kyaaaagh!”

Before anyone could react, arcs of violet lightning burst from his hands.

Five gnolls collapsed instantly, screaming in agony as they convulsed and fell still.

The gnolls they had been struggling with for so long were wiped out in a single attack.

All eyes locked onto Justin, disbelief written across their faces.

Dusting off his hands, he turned toward the female warrior.

“It’s been a while, Rachel.”

“Justin…?”

The woman, who had once crushed goblin skulls on the first day of the apocalypse, blinked in stunned recognition.

“I’m Justin. Leader of this team.”

“…David.”

Instead of Rachel, a man who looked several years older than Justin stepped forward.

His expression was less than welcoming—clearly, he didn’t like the situation, or perhaps Justin himself.

Feigning ignorance, Justin asked with a polite smile.

“So, what brings you all the way to the gnoll territory? Judging by the way you’re fighting, it doesn’t seem like any of you have even reached level 10 yet.”

“You’re level 10, then?” the man asked cautiously, as if trying to assess him.

The attempt was so transparent that Justin almost laughed.

He simply shrugged.

“No, I’m level 20.”

“What?”

“Level 20. My teammates are all level 19.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

David’s eyes bulged in shock, half disbelief, half horror.

“You’re serious? You’re not lying?”

“Why would we lie about something like that?”

“Because—”

David’s words faltered as he cast a wary glance over his shoulder.

The moment Rachel met David’s gaze, her expression twisted with clear disgust.

‘Ah, so that’s what’s going on. He’s got ulterior motives.’

Before Justin could respond, Derek swung his warhammer down onto the ground with a loud thud.

Boom.

“This bastard’s been talking like crap since earlier. His attitude’s off too. Maybe a good hit to the head will fix his manners.”

The ground seemed to tremble slightly, a testament to the sheer strength Derek had gained after reaching level 19.

“Derek, don’t interrupt when I’m speaking.”

“But he’s being an ass, bro. You just saved his life, and he can’t even say thank you properly.”

“He almost died just now. People forget the basics when they’re panicking.”

That much was true. In moments of life-threatening stress, even simple gratitude could slip a person’s mind.

Still, Justin let his words carry a hint of warning as he gently held Derek back.

Finally, David’s expression shifted, and he lowered his head hastily.

“S-sorry about that. I didn’t even thank you for saving us. I really appreciate it. You saved my life.”

‘Wow, what a turnaround.’

The sudden shift in tone was almost amusing. The moment they showed real strength, the arrogance vanished like smoke.

Earlier, even after seeing their overwhelming power, he had still tried to act superior.

Now, his true nature was starting to show.

‘I can already tell what kind of person he is—and it hasn’t even been five minutes.’

Maintaining his polite smile, Justin nodded slightly.

“It’s fine. Like I said, it happens when someone’s under pressure. I’m just glad you said it eventually.”

“R-right. Yes.”

The passive-aggressive undertone of Justin’s words made David shrink back even further.

‘Typical. The kind who only respects power and backs down when faced with someone stronger.’

‘How did someone like this end up as a representative?’

“So, where are you all from? I thought we were the only ones around here.”

“W-well, that’s a little hard to explain…”

“We came from the forest path behind us,” Rachel cut in smoothly. “Honestly, we’re more surprised than you are. We thought any other safe zones would be much farther away.”

“Rachel!”

David snapped at her, his tone sharp and reprimanding.

But instead of being intimidated, Rachel’s eyes narrowed with irritation.

“How many times have I told you not to call me like that? Did I ever say you could drop formalities? I told you to address me with respect, didn’t I?”

“Come on, I’m older than you. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t care how old you are. I don’t like it, and I didn’t give you permission, so cut it out!”

Her voice was sharp and cutting, causing David to flinch visibly.

She followed up with a glare full of disdain.

“And stop pretending to be a big shot when you can’t even handle simple negotiations. You just look pathetic, clinging to scraps of pride when you’ve got no reason to.”

“You…!”

“More importantly,” she gestured toward their group with her chin, “you still think you’re our representative? After nearly getting everyone killed, you think you still have the authority to speak for us?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Turn around if you don’t understand.”

As if in a trance, David slowly turned to look behind him.

His eyes widened as he realized the glares from his own team were icy cold.

“Now do you get it? You’re not our representative anymore.”

“You can’t just decide that on your own—!”

“We can, and we did. Everyone agreed. Except you.”

Her voice was cold as she pointed behind her.

“Get lost. I’ll handle things from here.”

“Y-you…!”

David’s face turned beet red with humiliation.

Even now, he couldn’t seem to accept the fact that he had lost control.

Just as his anger was about to boil over, Justin cut in calmly.

“Dave.”

“I’m busy right now. We’ll talk later—”

“Go inside.”

“I said later—wait, what?”

“I said go inside. Rachel seems more capable of handling this conversation.”

The sudden shift in authority caught David completely off guard.

He stared at Justin, mouth slightly open, before noticing the subtle flicker of magic forming at Justin’s fingertips.

Panic took over instantly.

Without another word, David scrambled back toward the safe zone.

Watching the pathetic display, Rachel let out a sigh and turned back toward Justin with a faint smile.

“It’s been a while, Justin.”

“It really has. I didn’t expect we’d run into each other again this soon.”

“In a world like this? Twice already—I think it’s time we dropped the formalities. I’ll just call you ‘oppa.’”

“Didn’t you just tell that idiot not to speak casually with you?”

“That’s different. We’re friends. Besides, how old are you?”

“I’m 27.”

“Then I’m younger by a year. See? The title fits.”

Realizing he had no reason to argue, Justin finally nodded.

“Alright, fine. Let’s speak casually, then.”

“Much better. It was weird hearing you be so formal.”