Chapter 68

Until now, the best equipment they’d acquired had been of common grade at most. Holding a rare-grade weapon in his hands left Justin genuinely excited.

“Guys, over here! Found some gear!”

“Gear?!”

The others rushed over, eyes going wide at the sight of the glowing hammer. In an instant, they began sifting through the gold pile for more hidden treasures—and their efforts paid off. Two more rare-tier items surfaced.

〈Ring of Protection〉

• Rarity: Rare
• Description: Generates a transparent shield to block one physical attack. The shield recharges after 24 hours.

〈Elixir of Regeneration〉

• Rarity: Rare
• Description: A mystical potion that heals all external wounds upon consumption. Comparable to a high-tier healing spell. Single-use item.

All three items were undeniably valuable—exactly the kind of life-saving tools a pioneer team needed.

Gathering his companions, Justin began assigning the loot.

“Derek, you get the Stormbreaker Hammer. You’ll be ditching your shield for more offensive power.”

A grin split across Derek’s face as he eagerly accepted the hammer. “Knew I could count on you, boss!”

Rachel watched him enviously but said nothing—she likely agreed that the weapon suited Derek’s aggressive fighting style better than her own defensive techniques.

“The Ring of Protection goes to me. I think you all understand why.”

Everyone nodded without protest. As both the team’s leader and their primary damage dealer, Justin needed to stay in the fight at all costs. A surprise takedown could leave the entire group without leadership or firepower.

“Finally, the Elixir of Regeneration goes to… Ethan.”

“W-Wait, me?!” Ethan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Yeah. You’re a frontliner and our healer. If you’re incapacitated, we’re screwed. That potion is your backup plan—drink it the moment things get bad, no hesitation.”

Realizing the gravity of his role, Ethan took the elixir with a newfound seriousness, his lips twitching into the faintest smile. The recognition of his importance clearly meant more to him than the item itself.

With the loot fairly distributed, Justin turned back to the mountains of gold. Without much effort, he began sweeping the coins into his inventory.

Surprisingly, despite the vast quantity, the gold occupied only a tiny portion of the inventory space—just a single slot, with the number increasing as more coins were added.

“Twenty thousand gold coins.”

His lips curled into a satisfied grin at the figure displayed in his inventory.

“First thing I’m doing when we return is expanding the domain’s development options.”

Time had passed since the leadership had shifted and the new hierarchy system had taken root. Once resistant, the commoners had come to grudgingly accept the changes.

In a world like this, the powerless quickly learned what it meant to stand against those with real strength.

Surprisingly, life under the new system wasn’t as unbearable as many had feared.

“Say what you will about the hierarchy, but things are way better than before,” one commoner muttered.

“Yeah, back then, it was lawless chaos. Just making eye contact could get you dragged off to who-knows-where…”

“Now? As long as you keep your head down, there’s no trouble.”

“Since the hierarchy was established, no one’s been beaten or killed.”

The fear was still there, of course. The mere idea of ranks and titles made some nervous. But compared to the horrors they had faced under Lucas’s reign, the current system was practically merciful.

Under Lucas, pioneers were gods, and commoners were slaves. In contrast, under Justin’s rule, what did it matter if one was labeled noble or commoner? The fact remained that pioneers reigned supreme.

“At least now there’s order, even if we can’t fight back.”

“Better to obey the rules than risk going back to the hell we came from.”

“We must’ve been insane to think we could challenge the pioneers back then…”

For most commoners, the harsh lessons of the past had finally shattered their illusions of resistance. They had learned to adapt, moving forward within the constraints of reality.

But not everyone had accepted this new world.

Among the few dissenters was Henry—a man whose bitterness had hardened into defiance, even if only in his own mind.

“Hierarchy? Nobility? Utter nonsense.”

Lying on his stiff bed, he grumbled silently to himself. Speaking his thoughts aloud would be suicide, but nothing could stop him from seething internally.

“Of course things seem better compared to that demon Lucas. Anyone would be better than that monster.”

The mere fact that others praised the current leader for being “better” felt insulting. Was that really the bar now? Celebrating a dictator simply because he wasn’t as monstrous as the last?

“Have they forgotten what human dignity even means? Just because we’re no longer slaves doesn’t mean we’re free!”

His resentment festered as he ground his teeth, cursing his fellow commoners for their complacency. They weren’t the mindless animals from before—yet they accepted this system without a fight.

“Cowards. All of them.”

But even as his anger boiled, there was one thought conspicuously missing from his mind: sacrifice. He never once considered that he should be the one to rise up. After all, he had family to think about, and someone else—some braver soul—would surely step up and bear that burden instead.

“Someone has to fight back… Someone who’s willing to sacrifice everything.”

And so, he drifted off to sleep, quietly praying for a hero to rise—so that he could bask in the rewards of their courage from the safety of his home.

The next morning, everything changed.

“Henry! Wake up, quickly!”

His mother’s frantic shaking pulled him from sleep.

“Ugh… Mom, five more minutes. I’m exhausted from working in the fields yesterday.”

“Forget the fields! This is more important!”

“Did a rat get in or something?”

“No, the house… it changed!”

“What…?”

Bleary-eyed, Henry blinked in confusion. The house had changed? What nonsense was that?

But as he rubbed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, he froze.

“What the… Why does the ceiling look different?”

Gone was the grimy, straw-patched roof. In its place was smooth, polished wood.

Springing to his feet, Henry’s eyes darted around the room—and his jaw dropped.

Everything was clean.

Their old shack had been more animal pen than home, with dirt floors, a cramped living space, and a rotting wooden tub for a bathroom. Now, he stood in a proper house with wooden floors, a soft bed, a cozy fireplace, and a fully separated kitchen.

“Carpet? A fireplace? What the hell happened?!”

“I told you! Everything changed overnight!” his mother cried. “You don’t know anything about this?”

Henry didn’t answer. He had no explanation.

“Could it be… the system?”