Rise Of The Hoarder

It hurts… It hurts like hell!

My severely bleeding body screamed in pain as I breathed heavily.r

Blood dripped from my tattered cloth as I staggered due to the wave of drowsiness I felt. Still, I tightly gripped my sword and glared at the group of Demons before me.r

“Fifteen… >huff<… when will it end…?!”r

I had no luxury of getting an answer to my question or even resting from the pent-up fatigue which weighed heavily on my body.r

The Kobold Guardians took in deep breaths, signaling the activation of their pesky skill.r

“Shit! I have to-“r

Rushing out of their range, I barely managed to escape the barrage of painful vibrations which sent the hair on my skin flying by just sensing the pressure.r

Taking the opportunity to strike, I dashed toward the motionless monsters who were frozen as a result of their [Skill].r

>Swish<r

I swung my blades, putting all my strength into my tired arm. Blood splurged out of the decapitated body of the Kobold Spawn (Guardian), giving me the Exp I needed to heal.r

[You Have Leveled Up]r

“Haa, much better!” I moaned, feeling the overbearing weight and pain gotten from the injuries I had sustained leave me.r

However, this much wasn’t enough!r_.

Proceeding to attack more of the guardians before they became mobile again, I rushed forth.r

There seemed to be no end to them!r

At the time that I was still killing the first twelve that came out of the massive hole in the ground, more suddenly appeared.r

Even when I killed them, they kept appearing.r

Before I knew it, I had become backed into a corner once again, unable to escape the endless onslaught of the Demons.r

The Hell Kobold Spawn (Guardians), unaffected by any Status Condition, yet freakishly strong, made me exhaust myself over and over again just to kill them. Yet, they never stopped.r

“Arghhhhhh!!!!” I screamed in frustration.r

My cry attracted the remaining seven Demons who had deactivated their [Skill].r

They rushed at me with intense bloodlust, making me shiver slightly in their presence.r

However, tightly holding onto my blade, I persevered.r

“Die! Die!! Diiieeee!!!” I madly slashed.r

It took a while, but… finally, I killed every single Hell Kobold Spawn (Guardian) in the room.r

“Haa… haa…” I breathed heavily.r

My body had definitely healed but my mind was a mess. The constant battles of survival had left me mentally exhausted.r

I was at my limit, any more and I could lose my mind or even pass out from fatigue.r

But… the job wasn’t done yet!r

“There’s still… more down there…” I groaned, slowly walking toward the gaping hole.r

“I can sense it… multiple presences are down there, they feel like the (Guardians) I just fought. Ah, I see…”r

It appears the Hell Kobold Demons have some sense, after all.r

Realizing that they would end up being killed no matter how many times they come to the surface, they decided to remain underground.r

I don’t know how, but their numbers keep increasing. My senses have reached a point where I can accurately distinguish the scent of the Demons, and nearly every monster down there is a (Guardian).r

As for their numbers…r

“45. 46. 48… It keeps increasing! What’s going on here?!”r

Suddenly, the realization dawned on me.r

I don’t know why I never thought of it, but I finally realized just what kind of sick joke this was, and the type predicament I was in.r

No matter how many of these Kobold Demons I fight, I’ll never completely exterminate them! Why?r

“There’s a spawn gate down there… and it endlessly brings out more of them!”r

I saw quite a number of this when I was still in the Sacred Hall. Rifts in space which spat out Demons endlessly. I often wondered where the Rift led to, but God refused to tell me.r

But, that doesn’t matter now! The truth remains… the more I stall and kill the Demons, the more their replacements will come out of the ‘Gate’.r

It seems only stronger ones have been coming out recently. It must be because of the threat I pose to their kind.r

“Interesting…” I chuckled weakly.r

It’s not like the situation was impossible though. There was only one way to close a Gate, and that is to kill the Boss guarding it!r

“If I dawdle any further, more will just come out. While they are valuable sources of Exp, I can’t waste too much time here when there are even more offers outside!”r

I’m tired, sleepy, exhausted, severely hungry… but, I can go on!r

Taking a deep breath, while staring hard at the dark hole before me, there was only one choice to make.r

“Let’s get this over with!”r

I plunged deep within the abyss, using my heightened vision to navigate my way through the stony path.r

“The ground!”r

Using my sword and legs to scrape the wall, I broke my fall and managed to land safely. However, that was the only concept of safety I would be experiencing in the hellhole I ventured into.r

“Gurrrrruuuukkkkk….” A deep growl echoed across the room.r

Drawn by the voice, I lifted my eyes and saw the horrific sight before me.r

A massive dog-like monster sat on the ground. Having spikey fur and crimson eyes, it glared at me. Nothing came to mind for describing the Demon, it’s appearance frightened me.r

A truly horrific creature, the Boss Monster was!r

Its subordinates, the Hell Kobold Spawn (Guardians), surrounded their leader in defence as they all readied themselves to fight me.r

Comparing the size of a regular Hell Kobold Spawn to the Guardians, such was the difference in mass between the Guardian lackeys and the Boss monster before me.r

“N-no way… that is… the boss?!” I croaked, nearly out of breath.r

[System Alert]r

<Danger!>r

<Danger!>r

<Danger!>r

[System Information]r

-tName: Hell Kobold Kingr

-tLevel: 100r

-tRace: Demon (Lesser) – Grade: 2r

-tAge: 300 Daysr

[Stats]r

-tHP: 7,100/10,000r

-tMP: 1,000r

-tStrenght: 9,000r

-tAgility: 5,000r

-tVitality: 7,500r

-tIntelligence: 300r

[Status Condition]r

<Hunger>r

-tHP continues to decrease until the Demon feeds. Currently active.r

[End Of Information]r

“Oh, shit…”r

Even with the <Hunger> Status Condition, it was still an insane monster!r

I was in big trouble!r