Rise Of The Hoarder

9:07 AM.

That was the exact time we prepared to set out. The Subjugation team members were already outside the gate of the camp, looking beyond at the looming fate in store for them.

Our forces consisted of exactly seventy-five members. Daniel was appointed the leader of the group, as expected.

The remaining members of the camp consisted of those who were involved in the borehole and planting project. Since no manpower could be spared, anyone who had no pivotal role in the Camp was made to participate in the Subjugation.

Everyone already knew this, so there were no complaints.

“Now then… depart!!!” Charles raised his voice, encouraging everyone to leave for their impending doom, or victory.

Tasha accompanied us, serving as the assistant leader of Daniel since she was older and more experienced.

Of course, this was well calculated by Charles. After all, if he, the Camp leader couldn’t join in on the battle as a result of the obligations he had in observing the pertinent matters within the Camp, his assistant needed to join.

If he chose to be selfish and kept her, many members would be dissatisfied with it and even view him with suspicion.

I stood at the center of the crowd as we left the building, slightly tilting my head to get a final glance at Charles. He had a grim expression, and as though having the same idea, his eyes fount their way to me.

Even though he said no words, I could tell from his expression what he was trying to tell me.

‘Please keep everyone safe… don’t let Tasha die!’

A smile formed on my face. So now he knew how to plead. He must have realized that everyone’s lives were in my hands, including his wife. I was the sole reason for victory against the demons.

‘Unfortunately, I don’t intend for things to go your way, Charles.’ I smiled.

After all, he was now my enemy.

Onto other matters, there was one thing that bothered me. Well, it wasn’t a bother, as much as it was a nuisance, and that was the unending gazes of people around.

It was certain that they would be stunned by Charles’ choice of making me join the Subjugation team. People like Daniel even protested to the Camp Leader, calling it madness to involve someone of my caliber in such a dangerous mission.

Charles handled things well and managed to convince them all. I overheard everything from the bug I planted in his office.

‘It was a smart move… but that doesn’t erase the curiosity and unease within the people concerning me… Tsk, how annoying.’ I thought, pulling my hood up as I walked alone.

“Hey, Jeremy. You better not slow us down, you hear me? I won’t forgive you if this mission is screwed because of you, retard!” Someone yelled at me, causing me to raise my head a little.

From her voice, I could already guess who it was. Walking a few feet in front of me, while sticking close to Daniel, was Melissa. I sighed, not ready to deal with her nonsense, and kept walking.

The group had been progressing for some time now, nearly thirty minutes, and the reality of the situation was already dawning on everyone. Some were scared, some were worried, some anxious, some regretful, some resolute, yet she didn’t seem to bother about those things.

Only one thing appeared to go on in the silly girl’s mind. Her spite toward me! I also spotted Tasha’s glare from a distance, noticing she was eyeing me from a distance.

‘It seems I have quite the number of enemies here…’ My thoughts trailed.

“Hey, you little-! Don’t ignore me!!!” Melissa continued her embarrassing display of what appeared to be intimidation.

Most people ignored her, while those who wanted to get in her good graces began making snarky comments to assist her.

I ignored all of them, though.

“That’s enough, Melissa. This isn’t the time for that.” Daniel finally intervened.

It appeared that even her lover had a limit to how much he could tolerate.

“W-wha-? What did you say, Daniel? Don’t tell me you don’t think he’s going to slow us down! We don’t even know any of his capabilities!” Melissa barked back at the ace.

This attracted many glares from the crowd. They clearly supported Daniel more than any other, and her rude remarks to him were enough to earn her a lot of negative points from those who watched.

“Still, he’s useful for something. That’s all that matters.” Daniel stated firmly, not even looking in Melissa’s direction.

He was most likely referring to the excuse Charles gave them concerning my presence in the Subjugation squad.

“B-but…” Melissa’s voice trailed, now noticing that both the crowd and her boyfriend weren’t on her side.

Even those who were bellowing in support of her had quieted down.

“Melissa, calm down. Daniel is right. At the moment, you ought to conserve your energy and focus on the task at hand.” Tasha added calmly.

“As you know, your Gift is indispensable to this mission.”

As Tasha said this, Melissa smiled a little, somehow pleased that her usefulness was emphasized. It appeared the wife was just as sly as her husband, seeing as she was able to sweet-talk Melissa so easily.

‘Or maybe Melissa is just too easy…’ I reasoned.

“Fine… I’ll let it go for now…” She mumbled, shooting me one final glare before concentrating on her front.

Everyone displayed relief that the little episode ended with no incident. However, for me who couldn’t care less, I simply kept trodding along.

[3 Hours Later]

Nearly four hours had passed since we left the Camp and our team had not encountered a single Demon. It was the strangest thing yet.

A cluster of Gifteds was sure to attract the attention of Demons, yet we hadn’t even sighted any. Everyone was uneasy and on their guard since the situation was unpredictable.

Even I had certain theories concerning this, but kept my cool.

‘At the very least, one or two strays should have sensed us… if not a small group. What’s going on?’

Suddenly, my eyes bulged, reacting to a strange sensation I felt. Even before our official subjugation began, we were already being greeted by this. How absurd!

‘T-this is…!’