Chapter 36

“If we’re lucky, all four of us could finish within three days. Once one of us unlocks an auto-collection skill, Nathan won’t even need to gather stones manually anymore.”

“Does that mean I can finally join in on the fights too?”

“Of course. Though you’ll need to think about what class you want to pick.”

The mood was high, fueled by their unexpected success. That’s when a sudden voice interrupted their celebration.

“Nathan!”

A figure rushed toward them from the distance.

As soon as Nathan recognized the man, his face turned pale.

“Where the hell have you been!? Mom and Dad are worried sick—they’re about to collapse looking for you!”

“I-I can explain—”

The man’s furious gaze suddenly dropped to Nathan’s hands.
“Wait a minute. Is that… blood on your hands?”

The young man rushed forward in a panic, but Justin calmly raised a hand, stopping him with ease.

Startled, the man stumbled back, staring at him with a mixture of confusion and fear.
“W-What do you want?”

“Relax. That’s not his blood—it’s monster blood.”

“M-Monsters? You mean… those creatures?”

“Yeah, those creatures. The blood’s from extracting magic stones from their hearts.”

The young man’s face hardened as he stared at Justin. That explanation alone seemed to be enough for him to piece the situation together.

“You took him with you?”

“He asked to come. And he’s done well. I plan on keeping him in the team moving forward.”

“That’s insane!”

The man’s face flushed red as he shot to his feet, voice rising toward a shout. But before he could scream, Justin casually dug a finger into his ear, clearly unbothered.
“Say what you want. Like I told you before—you’re free to speak your mind.”

“…!”

The young man’s fists clenched, trembling with barely restrained frustration. The message was clear: No matter what you say, I’ll take him with me anyway.

A moment later, his voice came out low and bitter.
“Do you feel no guilt?”

“Guilt?”

“He’s not even an adult yet. You took him into a forest full of monsters that could kill him at any moment—and you don’t feel a thing?”

Ah, so now that logic wasn’t working, the man had turned to moral arguments. The thinly veiled desperation made Justin let out a quiet, almost mocking laugh.

“You’re missing the point. It’s not about guilt—it’s about his future.”

His gaze turned sharp, almost disdainful.
“In fact, let me ask you something—don’t you feel anything?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The laws are gone. The economy is gone. The world itself has changed. Yet all you care about is keeping yourself and your family alive, nothing else?”

“What could be more important than survival?!”

The man’s indignation boiled over as he shouted, clearly unable to grasp why he was being judged so harshly for what seemed like the most reasonable response in the world.

But to Justin, the answer was obvious. The man’s narrow focus on mere survival was pathetic.
“Is survival all that matters to you? If so, what happens after you survive? Are you going to spend the rest of your life eating boiled potatoes and drinking water, calling that happiness?”

“You can’t know what’ll happen! We’ll figure it out as we go—”

“No, you won’t. By the time you realize the truth, it’ll already be too late. From where I’m standing, your little brother is the only one in your family who isn’t already doomed.”

“Nathan is still young! He’s just a kid!”

“Mark my words—soon enough, your whole family will end up depending on that “kid” for food, shelter, and survival. If you want to hold your head up in front of him later, you’d better start acting like it now. And stop pretending that playing the “big brother” means getting in his way.”

The young man’s jaw clenched so tightly his lips turned white. His eyes darted between Justin and his brother before he spun on his heel and stalked off, hurling one last command over his shoulder.
“Get home now! Mom and Dad are worried sick!”

Nathan watched his brother’s retreating figure in silence before turning toward Justin.
“Do you think they’ll be okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“My brother, my parents… What if they try to stop me from leaving again?”

“They won’t be able to. Inside the safe zone, they can’t interfere with your actions.”

More accurately, any harmful action was automatically prevented by the system itself. Even if his family tried to stop him by force, the system would intervene.

“And if they do try to block you, just push through.”

“They’ll be furious.”

“And in less than a year, they won’t even be able to look you in the eye. Keep hunting—whether they cry now doesn’t matter. If you stop just to comfort them, they’ll be the ones crying for the rest of their lives.”

“I get it… It just doesn’t feel right.”

A good kid, through and through. Just like Ethan, someone worth keeping around for the long haul.

Later, Justin divided the day’s earnings—48 magic stones—into four equal shares.

Derek and Nathan stared in disbelief.
“Are you sure we should take this much?”

“I didn’t even fight…”

“I know. But the experience points were distributed based on contribution, right?”

If the system had split experience equally, the distribution of the stones might’ve been different. But since the experience was already fairly divided based on effort, unevenly dividing the money would be unnecessarily harsh.

“Levels already determine authority and influence within the team. Giving less money on top of that would be too much.”

Besides, none of them had any real wealth yet. A fair share of the rewards would keep everyone motivated for future hunts. And with fewer than 50 stones collected, there wasn’t much point in hoarding them for any individual just yet.

Ethan, understanding the logic, agreed without hesitation.
“I’m with you. The experience was split fairly—it’d be cruel if they didn’t get at least some reward.”

“T-Thank you!”
“Thanks, Brother!”

Both Derek and Nathan bowed their heads gratefully. Surprisingly, even Derek showed genuine appreciation—unexpected for someone who seemed ready to take without question.

As they were about to part ways, a shadow suddenly blocked Justin’s path.

“Ahem, may I have a moment of your time?”

…?

Justin froze. A man in flowing crimson robes, staff in hand, stood before him. Unlike his own dark attire, this newcomer’s robes signified something else entirely.

“An Elementalist.”

Unlike his own dark magic specialization, this man had clearly chosen a different magical path—one focused on the elements. Judging by his gear, he had completed the rescue quest and received its final reward, just like Ethan and himself.

A frontrunner among the elite few.

“What do you want to talk about?” Justin asked, curiosity piqued.

The Elementalist smiled.
“As pioneers, I thought we should discuss how to lead these ‘ordinary folk’ forward.”