Chapter 13

Only a Warlock could seamlessly chain combat and magic regeneration—

Turning fights into an endless cycle of killing and replenishing.

《Level Up! +1 Stat Point》
《You have reached Level 5.》

“Good pace.”

Unlike the tutorial dungeon, there was no XP restriction—

So his level was rising fast.

After allocating his new stat point into Magic, he closed his status window.

That’s when he heard—

CLANG!

“A-Ah… Mister?”

He turned his head.

Not far away, a young woman was sitting on the ground, her legs shaking.

Surrounding her were two goblin corpses.

Their skulls were completely crushed—

And in her trembling hands, she held a bloodstained mace.

“…Need help getting up?”

The woman hesitated, then nodded.

“Y-Yeah… my legs gave out after the fight.”

She reached out, and he pulled her up.

As she steadied herself, she let out a deep breath of relief.

“Thanks. I was fine while fighting, but once it ended, I just… collapsed.”

“That happens to first-timers.”

“Yeah, I guess… Oh, right! I should introduce myself. Rachel Parker.”

“Justin.”

For some reason, he felt no hesitation giving his name.

It was instinctive.

In a world where most people were useless, meeting someone who could actually fight was rare.

It made him naturally inclined to befriend them.

And judging by Rachel Parker’s reaction—She felt the same way.

Her eyes flicked to his baseball bat.

“…You only have that? Didn’t you get a warrior weapon?”

“I’m a mage. I keep the bat as a backup, but I mostly use magic.”

Her eyes widened in excitement.

“Wait… you can actually use magic?!”

It was obvious—she had chosen warrior for survival, but she had always dreamed of being a mage.

With an amused smile, he pointed at a brick wall.

“Black Missile.”

BANG!

A large chunk of the wall exploded into dust.

“…Whoa.”

Her mouth fell open.

A single hit from that would kill someone instantly.

While other people had to risk their lives in melee combat, he could fire off attacks at will.

Then, without warning—She grabbed both his hands.

“Team up with me!”

“…Huh?”

“Wait—wrong wording! I mean, let’s form a team! A group!”

“A party?”

Her word choice made it obvious.

She had never played World Breaker, but she had definitely played other RPGs.

When he didn’t immediately answer, her expression grew desperate.

“I-I’m a warrior, okay?! A tank! I can take hits for you!”

“She’s offering to be a tank?”

That was… unexpected.

Most people would rather be the damage dealer

But she was willing to be a meat shield.

She would stand between him and the monsters, absorbing the damage so he didn’t have to.

In theory, it was the perfect combination.

And her mental resilience was… impressive.

She had recovered from battle shock faster than most.

A chance encounter had somehow led him to an ideal teammate.

Her eager eyes searched his.

“So? What do you think?”

It was a tempting offer.

She was skilled.

She was mentally strong.

There was no real reason to refuse.

And yet—He sighed, then gave her a small, regretful smile.

“…I don’t think that’s gonna work.”

Rachel’s eyes wavered at the response, a reaction that showed she hadn’t even considered the possibility of being refused.

“Is… Is there some kind of problem with me?”

There was a trace of undeniable anxiety in her voice as she asked. The cheerful confidence she had displayed earlier had completely vanished.

It was understandable. Anyone would lose confidence in this situation. She had even volunteered to act as a human shield, yet she was rejected without a second thought.

“If there’s something wrong, please tell me. I’ll fix it immediately.”

“There is no problem with you, Rachel.”

“What…?”

Even in the face of cold rejection, she bore no resentment and was instead willing to correct her faults. It was an admirable attitude. If it were possible, she would be a party member worth accepting without hesitation.

But this was not an issue that could be resolved on an individual level.

“The problem isn’t with the person. It’s with the quest.”

“The… quest?”

“If you’ve killed a goblin, then you should have also received a quest telling you to head toward a safe zone, right?”

“J-Just a moment, let me check.”

At those words, Rachel immediately summoned her status window.

It looked identical to his own, but for some reason, the text was hazy, like a mist-covered surface. A clear system limitation—it seemed one couldn’t peek at someone else’s status window.

Rachel glanced at the quest section below and nodded.

“Yes, I have one. It says, ‘Find a Sanctuary.'”

“There should also be a direction and distance displayed. Which way does it point?”

“Toward the overpass down below.”

“My instructions direct me toward the hiking trail up ahead.”

Both pointed in completely opposite directions. Rachel blinked in confusion.

Despite receiving the same quest, their designated destinations were entirely different.

“But… why?”

“This is a massive city. There’s no way there’s only one safe zone. It would be a disaster if people were all funneled into a single location. When you think about it, it’s a logical system.”

He shrugged, as if the answer was obvious with just a little thought.

Though, in reality, this wasn’t an assumption—he knew from experience.

In World Breaker, exploration quests never direct you to the closest location.

Judging by how her legs had given out earlier, her home was probably somewhere in this area.

On the other hand, he had already traveled quite a distance from the one-room apartment he had lived in.

If they were assigned the same safe zone, Rachel would have an easier time than he had.

And there was no way the system in World Breaker would allow that kind of free ride.

“Then… there’s no helping it, is there?”

“Yeah. There’s no helping it.”

Rachel lowered her gaze, disappointment evident in her expression.

She seemed to understand that she wasn’t at fault, but that didn’t stop her from feeling let down.

It was understandable—right now, people as proactive as him, with both experience and firepower, were extremely rare.