Rise Of The Hoarder

One of the regrets I had, ever since leaving the Apartment, was not taking any Hell Kobolds with me, using [Subspace].

Perhaps it was because I was more concerned about survival and leveling up, that I never considered capturing some of the Demons I fought.

When I arrived at the Camp, through trying it out on people, I realized it was possible to trap living beings in [Subspace]. If humans could be put into my special space, surely Demons weren’t an exception to the rule.

I just had to try!

And so, here I was, facing a total of about two thousand demons, most likely less. After killing a great deal, so few remained. At the rate I was going, I was going to make the same errors as in the past, and not capture any specimens for future study.

‘There’s no way I’m going to let that happen!’ I grinned.

Using <Recall>, I returned my daggers as well as the many Demon Cores that littered the floor.

They numbered over two thousand. The rest had already been used as explosives. However, this much was enough.

“G-Gur-Guruuhikkkk…” The hesitant growls of the Demons were music to my ears, nearly provoking me to kill them.

But, I controlled my impulses, reminding myself of the mission. I had leveled up enough, this was more important at the time.

“Let’s go!” I bounced, ready to once again dive into danger.

>FWOOOOOSHHHH<

My body fluidly moved, reaching the crowd of Demons. Using evasion, I expertly avoided any fatal hits, tapping the bodies of the Demons around me quickly.

To my relief, they vanished into [Subspace]. With this, I confirmed the possibility of Demons being accepted into it. The only question was… would they stack up?

“[Subspace]” I called out while dodging the strikes of the Hobs that desperately tried inflicting an injury on me.

As I scanned through the list, I saw the panel that displayed the Demons I captured. A smile formed on my face the moment I saw it.

[SUBSPACE]

[.]

[.]

[.]

~ Hobgoblin ×18

[.]

With an excited look, realizing they stacked up, I rushed at the rest and tapped them rapidly. None of their slow moves could even reach me. They were too rigid.

No, perhaps I was too fast!

Quickly playing the game of tag, I made everyone my targets, zooming across them, resisting the urge to kill, and taking them alive instead.

It didn’t take too long to capture a thousand, finally leaving only a few hundred, a mere mockery of the previous numbers that approached me earlier.

Looking around me now, the space around me looked too empty. Since the crowd had thinned out considerably, it felt a little lonely being with only a few hundred after being greeted by thousands just a while back.

Still, I had no time to feel bad. My mission continued.

With swiftness and precision, I got the remaining Hobgoblins, taking them into [Subspace]. Finally, I was left with nothing… no more work to do.

Everyone was either dead or within my [Subspace].

“Huu… Huu… I suppose this is… mission complete…” I heaved heavily, feeling the effect of <Nimble> leave, and my exhaustion catching up to me.

I looked ahead at what lie beyond the vast compound and large fences. There was no boss or structure in sight that resembled where a Gate would be hidden.

I found this to be a little curious. If this was a Horde, it has to be caused by a Gate. After defeating all the Demons, surely, I was bound to expect something to appear.

Moving further within and farther from the gate, I transversed the vast lands, until finally, I saw something ahead.

“T-that is….” My lips moved instinctively.

Beyond grasses and plains within the compound existed yet another large gate. This gate appeared taller and larger than the previous one which led to this one.

Since I had gotten higher intelligence and my sensory perception increased, I could perceive it… what lay behind the Gate at a distance from me.

“More Demons… stronger ones!”

It appeared that the Horde’s base consisted of more than one compound. After transversing the Gate before me and defeating the demons there, it was possible that I would have to go through another, with an even higher difficulty.

Now that I thought of it… everything made sense.

“All the Hobgoblins I fought here are the brawler types. I didn’t see a single archer or higher-ranked Hob. Does that mean…?”

How ridiculous the situation was! To think that after conquering over ten thousand Hobgoblins, the threat was yet to be extinguished.

Surely, I knew the mobs were the highest in number within any army, but that also meant the other Hobgoblins had a considerably high number.

Beyond the gate ahead of me would be at least five thousand more powerful enemies.

“If I go now… I’ll die for sure!” I muttered.

Even though I had leveled up considerably in this battle, my tired body couldn’t do any more fighting.

I also couldn’t loiter about in this compound for long. After all, should the gates open and the other Hobs flood in, I would be at a massive disadvantage.

Though I assumed the ones in the next compound were in a daze, just like the ones I just dispatched were before I roused them, the possibility of an ambush still existed. So, I couldn’t take any chances of even nearing the next Gate… not until I was in top form.

“I suppose… It’s time to leave.” I smiled tiredly.

Moving my body, I sluggishly ran to the first gate, staring at the large structure and not failing to be amazed.

I was tempted to climb the walls the same way I did when entering, but another thought appeared in my mind.

‘Why not… jump?’

I wanted to try it, but my wobbly legs were too weak. There was no way I could strain myself any further.

In the end, I climbed the walls with my daggers. After this, I left the area and returned to the position I was assigned to, hoping I wasn’t too late.

“I wonder how much time I spent…” Mumbling to myself, I quickened the pace.

‘Let’s hope everyone hasn’t noticed my absence yet!’