Rise Of The Hoarder

>SWISH<

>SLASH<

>WHISH<

>FWOOOSH<

In a flash, I made my landing, standing atop the puddle of the blood gotten from a couple dozen dead Hobgoblins, their Demon Cores glinting from the sunlight.

I wasn’t in the clear yet, though. Rather, with me being surrounded by thousands of devastating creatures, there was no time to breathe, rest, think, or enjoy.

Only one thing could be done… Kill!

>WHOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!<

Blending with the wind, I dashed across the vast, immeasurable amount of enemies, cutting them down in sparks of crimson power. The Demons charged at me in their vast numbers, all attemepting to overwhelm me by entirely covering my body with their disgusting bodies.

However… by quickly summoning my weapons to kill off some of them, I reduced the number of those who resisted, while killing the rest off with my hands.

Still, their numbers were overwhelming. They were fodder, but even the smallest ants become bothersome when they come in a large swarm.

The choking air and stifling smell of blood dulled my senses, and my muscles ached slightly, but I continued killing, not stopping my body for even a second.

>SWISH< My daggers cut through a few at once with a single strike, and I made several in mere moments.

They kept charging, and I knew it was an impossible task to keep my methods for too long.

‘Let’s switch up strategies a little!’ I smiled.

“<Summon>!!!”

Instantly darting my eyes around me, while still killing off the Hobgoblins, I brought forth one of my coveted means of killing.

In their hundreds, Demon Cores rained all around, falling among the Demons that filled the area.

Quickly injecting my mana into the red stones, I created the chain reaction that led to-

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

Multiple explosions raged all around me, their deafening sounds and pressure caused even me to lose balance for a moment. This slight moment of weakness caused the one Hobgoblin close to me to sink its claws into my body, causing me to yelp in pain.

“Gahhhh!!!” I gritted my teeth, quickly retaliating by stabbing the bastard at the center of its temple, causing instant death.

The pain wasn’t too much, and the wound wasn’t too deep, since my Level was quite high. However, I wasn’t a fan of leaving open wounds to fester.

Fortunately, the deaths caused by the Demon Core Bombs translated into EXP and gave me Level Ups at that exact moment, healing me.

I smiled, releasing more bombs to kill off the Demons while summoning my weapons to reduce their numbers and also cutting them down with my body.

“This isn’t enough…” I huffed, continuing my efforts.

“Faster…faster!!!” I cried, still killing.

Blood smeared my outfit, but I didn’t bother noticing. Only one thing was on my mind.

‘I need to kill faster, more efficiently… how can I do that?’

[You Have Leveled Up] Pings kept popping by the corner of my eye, but I paid them no mind. Trying to survive in a wave of bloodthirsty creatures who were in a frenzy made me neglect those things.

As I kept killing, my eyes began noticing the Demon Cores that fell from the vanquished monsters that turned to dust.

At this point, I was deep within the monster crowd. However, I could still see them from the corner of my eyes. Several Cores on the ground.

If I could explode them, the effects would be fantastic! Yet, I had to pick them up and store them in [Subspace] first.

It was a shame, since I didn’t have time to worry about anything but killing. That meant I couldn’t afford to try to get Demon Cores at the moment.

‘I’ve also nearly exhausted my supply of Demon Cores… if only I could access those Cores of the Demons I have killed!’ I gritted my teeth.

“GARUIKKKKK!!!”

The cries of the Hobgoblins snapped me back to reality, causing me to quickly evade their quick strikes before they hit me. I watched as their attacks nearly hit me before barely dodging.

“W-wha-?!’ My mind rang out.

The Hobs were getting faster… no, I was slower. <Aura> was gone, and I didn’t even notice when it happened.

That meant I was getting into more of a disadvantage the more the fight dragged on. I didn’t even have the slightest clue as to how long I had been fighting since I was just occupied with killing and surviving.

I could sense myself getting exhausted, and my MP was already nearly almost down.

Yes, Mana Point, also called Magic Power! That was what I used to activate my very high-level Skills. That meant in a while, I wouldn’t be able to use <Summon> and <Recall> anymore.

Coupling that with the fact that I was now weaker and slower, I was going to die very soon!

“No… Never!!!” I screamed.

Unconsciously activating <Roar>, a Skill I got from the Hell Kobold Guardians, I created a sonic wave that blew the enemies around me away.

After doing this, I felt my MP drop even further, causing me to collapse to the ground in exhaustion.

Most of my Skills used MP, and <Roar> just took a chunk of it.

“Haa… Haa… Huff… Huff…” I was already nearly out of breath, and my sluggish body was already going numb.

The enemies I pushed back started approaching me once again. Death approached me, and in a few seconds, it would catch up.

“Think, Jeremy… Think! Did I make another mistake again?!” I gritted my teeth.

I was always impatient when it came to Demons. While I knew it was essential to get as powerful as I could, risking my life this way was not going to cut it.

“Anything… Anything…”

The only Skills I could use without MP were the ones I got early on, but even then, I wouldn’t be able to handle such a large number of Demons.

Suddenly, I heard a ping that brought my attention to the Golden panel before me.

[System Update]

~You Have Surpassed The Level Requirement.

~Your Primary Job <Thief> Has Increased In Rank.

~Addtional Skills and Skill Slots Have Been Added.

~Your Proficiency Has Increased In Already Existing Job-Related Skills.

~You Have Obtained Karma Points For This Feat.

[You Have Leveled Up]