Rise Of The Hoarder

“Come!”

The Demon lunged at me with frightening speed, certain to adversely affect the group of Gifteds that were clustered around me.

They were too scared to move, too useless to help. I could only rely on myself for this battle.

‘<Recall>’

Instantly transporting the small fry away from the battlefield, I resorted to my next trick.

>WHOOOOSSSSHHHH<

Moving fast enough that my eyes could barely follow, the flying creature was already close to me, opening its large jaw to consume me.

Memories of how this very Demon had killed another Demon while I watched played within my mind. Back then, I was frightened to see how it so easily killed another impossible foe.

Now, it bore its fangs at me, hoping to dig into my flesh and rip me to shreds.

Unfortunately… I wasn’t too keen on that!

>BAM!<_.

An invisible wall blocked the Dragonoid Demon from reaching me, courtesy of my <Invisible Barrier> Skill.

‘It’s a good thing I upgraded it… plus, with my [Conqueror] Title, I’m automatically boosted when fighting a Boss.’

The effects of these two made sure the monster couldn’t reach me. It struggled, bulging its eyes in shock. I was certain this creature had never seen a human capable of resisting it before.

However, before it could acclimate and adapt to my existence, I was going to finish it off.

>FWUUUMMMM<

I leaped from the ground, diving into the air as I saw myself gain more distance from the ground. Within a moment, I found myself losing momentum, soon about to completely succumb to the effects of gravity.

Using portions of the <Invisible Barrier> I had absorbed into [Subspace] earlier, I generated a platform that gave me the right foothold in the air. This allowed me to properly stand while maintaining my altitude.

‘If anyone sees me like this, they’ll think I’m levitating…’ I mused.

The Demon, who was now beneath me, growled in annoyance as it lifted its head in anger. Its short and robust neck wasn’t built for staring too high into the sky, so it certainly felt discomfort.

This had to be the first time anyone had gotten the better of it to such an extent, even maintaining a higher level in the air compared to it.

“You don’t like it? Then come at me!”

>FWOOOOSHHH!!!<

Flapping its enormous wings, the Demon began its rise to the top, but I wasn’t about to let it have its way.

“<Summon>…”

My Grade 2 Weapons appeared just like clockwork, positioning themselves in strategic locations—all aimed at the Grizzly Dragon.

“… <System Correction>!”

Instantly, my options were automatically selected, since I had already preset them beforehand, and… in a flash all the daggers, blades, ax, etc. grew in size.

Now having their original shape and abilities, these weapons pointed at the flying monster who now seemed extremely puzzled by the strange new development.

But, it wasn’t as though I was going to let it have much time to react.

“Fall!”

>FWOOOOSHHH!!!<

My giant weapons all attacked the designated locations… my opponent’s wings!

In a flash, they donned their red aura and cut through the thick, scaly appendages of the approaching monster, permanently severing them from its body.

“KRIIIIKKKKKKK!!!”

Blood oozed out of the monster, having purplish-blue color, as it screamed in intense pain.

“First time feeling that? Well, you better get used to it… we’re just getting started, after all!”

Now without its wings, the grizzly fell to the ground, crashing upon the earthen surface with a heavy thud.

>BOOOMM!!<

The impact caused the earth to rumble, pushing away several cars in the area as everything within a couple of meters took damage.

I wasn’t going to give the incapacitated Demon a chance to regain its composure, though. Now that it had lost its wings, it was the perfected chance to strike it down.

Calling several fireballs, Demon Cores, and my enormous Grade 2 Weapons to my aid, I launched them all at the wounded creature, showing no mercy or hesitation.

>BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!<

The destruction spread across the area, engulfing everything in flames and smoke. The shockwaves nearly knocked me off balance as I struggled to keep myself from falling. Well, even if I did, there was just the simple solution of getting another platform to stand on.

My eyes were still on the cloud of smoke, staring closely to confirm if the monster was truly dead or not. I was not going to take any chances. Fortunately, the charred and wounded corpse of the monster dissipated and at that exact moment, System pings appeared, telling me I had Leveled Up.

“Hehe, nice!”

I absorbed the cloud of smoke and saw the chaos and destruction I had caused. It was still so surreal to me, how I managed to kill a Grade 2 Demon so easily.

In the first instance, the Demon completely looked down on me. Compared to the Hobgoblin King, it had no pawns. A Field Boss was a lone wolf. This gave it more Stats compared to regular Bosses, but also provided a weakness.

Pride!

“Fool. You underestimated me and refused to use Skills until your death.”

By the time its death arrived, it was already too late for the Dragonoid to do anything. I had to be grateful to it, though. Thanks to this extremely generous monster, I had now killed three out of the five Bosses that existed in the beginning phase.

Clapping my hands together, I bowed my head to the lingering pieces of ash that were already fading away, giving my thanks to the deceased being.

“Thanks for the EXP!”

**************************

Returning to the ground wasn’t difficult. I was strong enough to descend without taking any damage, but to play it safe, I generated platforms for myself as I descended, kind of like stairs. In a few moments, I was already touching ground.

Thanks to killing a third Boss, I received a new Title called [Dragonoid Slayer] which granted me additional buff against the Dragonoid race. I also Leveled Up five times, allowing me to reach Level 324.

The Grizzly Dragon’s Demon Core in my possession was bound to be useful, but I had no intention to make use of it at the moment. The Camp awaited.

To be honest, while it was fulfilling to finally put an end to the source of my trauma, I couldn’t completely enjoy the moment. More monsters lay ahead and I couldn’t let my guard down for a moment.

Plus, even though I couldn’t exactly describe it… I was having a bad feeling.

‘This… feels a little unpleasant…’