Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Ding! Main Quest "Protectors and the Protected" has been removed due to time expiration."

"Ding! Dimensional migration from the safe zone has ended."

"Ding! Initial equipment and status screens granted to remaining survivors will be confiscated."

"Ding! Those who chose to stay behind must now find their own way to survive."

"Ding! All Earthlings will be provided with one daily ration of food."

"Ding! Processed foods will no longer spoil from this point forward."

And just like that, the equipment Calvin had received vanished, and the cold, mechanical voice that had guided him fell silent.

Day after day, only a few boiled potatoes and bottles of water appeared at Han Calvin's doorstep. At first, he was suspicious and refused to eat the potatoes, but that only lasted a couple of days. As his food supplies dwindled, he had no choice but to eat the strange potatoes.

The taste was just like you'd expect—dry, plain boiled potatoes. In the beginning, Calvin ate them just to survive, but even that had its limits. After a month, he could hardly bear it.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore! I'm going to lose my mind from the smell of these damn potatoes!"

Eventually, the sight of potatoes alone was enough to make him gag. Unable to bear it any longer, Calvin ventured out in search of other food, knowing he would either die from the skull monsters outside or from his hatred of potatoes inside.

Dodging the skeletons, he finally reached a convenience store and was able to feast for the first time in a while. Though much of the stock had already been taken by someone else, the remaining items hadn't spoiled, and he was able to fill his bag with supplies.

But even these supplies would eventually run out, just like the store's stock. It was only a matter of time.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Someone else is definitely visiting this place too… but there's no way I can take everything at once."

Skeletons could enter the convenience store, and while they left quickly if there were no people around, if they sensed someone, they would charge inside. Calvin could only grab what he could carry and leave quickly. It was clear that other survivors were doing the same, which explained why only a few items remained.

It wouldn't be long before everything was gone, and relying on just one convenience store wouldn't be enough. "Maybe I should check out the large supermarket down the road?"

Once his repressed desires were unleashed, Calvin became bolder. After successfully dodging skeletons several times, his confidence grew, spurred on by how well things had gone for him so far. Feeling like fortune was on his side, he decided to take a gamble and head to the large supermarket.

Looking back now, Calvin realized that if he hadn't gone to that supermarket, he wouldn't have become the leader he was today.

"Calvin!"

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud voice. He frowned in irritation.

It wasn't Travis, his long-time second-in-command, but a new recruit—one of the more recent underlings.

"Hey! Didn't I tell you not to bother me unless it was urgent? Keep doing your job!"

"It's urgent! I heard noises coming from the other side—it sounds like someone's opening the gate!"

Rumble!

Before the underling could finish speaking, the massive gate began to swing open. The once-impenetrable fortress was now exposed, and Calvin's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"See? I told you! I knew those idiots would crack! Now, let's—"

But just as Calvin was about to order a charge, he froze in place.

It wasn't a diplomat or negotiator stepping out of the gate. It was twenty fully armed soldiers.

"What do you think you're doing?" Derek scowled, resting his massive hammer on his shoulder.

The migrants, who had been hurling insults just moments before, suddenly recoiled at the sight of his intimidating figure. Yet, despite the obvious fear, Calvin, though trembling, stepped forward.

"W-we… we're…" he stammered.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Derek asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Uh… w-we…" Calvin's voice grew weaker, trailing off into a mumble.

"What?" Derek snapped.

"S-something like…" Calvin tried to explain, but his voice faltered.

"Speak up! Something like what?" Derek demanded.

Unable to stand the pressure any longer, Derek took a step forward. At that moment, Calvin's nervous expression twisted into a smug grin.

"Die!"

Thwack!

Suddenly, with only three steps between them, Calvin lunged forward and swung a steel pipe directly at Derek's head. The blow would have been fatal for a normal person, the angle and force perfect for a killing strike. The onlookers gasped, certain that Calvin had succeeded.

But then Derek's voice cut through the shock. "One hit? That's all you've got?"

"Huh?" Calvin's eyes widened in disbelief.

Despite taking a direct hit to the head with the steel pipe, Derek stood there, completely unfazed. Realizing his first attack hadn't worked, Calvin, now desperate, swung again.

"Die…!"

Wham!

Before Calvin could bring the pipe down again, Derek's fist shot out, slamming into Calvin's face. The force of the punch sent Calvin flying backward like a ragdoll, crashing to the ground after soaring through the air.

The other migrants were frozen in place, watching in horror as their leader struggled to stand. Calvin, coughing and spitting out broken teeth, finally managed to get to his feet.

"Agh! Ughhh!"

Derek, meanwhile, shook his head in disbelief. "What were you thinking? Didn't the system teach you not to mess with pioneers? You guys seriously thought you could take us on?"

"Screw… screw you! Kill them! Kill them all!" Calvin screamed, his face contorted with rage.

But despite his orders, none of the migrants moved. They were too terrified to follow him.

Ethan approached Derek, leaning in to whisper. "You can't just kill them out of anger. We still need them."

"I know, I know," Derek replied with a shrug. "I'm not going to waste perfectly good slaves."

At the mention of slavery, the migrants' faces turned pale.