Rise Of The Hoarder

The Hobgoblin Boss roared!

The moment it did so, I couldn’t describe it, but, an air of unease… no, pressure, filled the area.

I could suddenly feel multiple eyes on me and bloodlust oozing around. The sudden shift was too much for me that I suddenly began to panic again. Taking my eyes off the Boss Monster for a moment, I took a good look around me and confirmed it.

“They are all looking at me… with focused, eager looks. They can see me?!” A whisper unconsciously leaked out.

I wasn’t wrong!

The Hobgoblins could see me! Their focus was locked on my exact location, I could tell that much!

How? Even with their Stats, I was superior, so there was no way they could bypass the System’s rules. Unless…

I gritted my teeth and glared at the grinning Hobgoblin who sat on his throne. What a smug look the monster had.

‘It did something to them… some kind of variant for <Rule>, maybe? It had to be that roar from earlier!’

That might have also been how it was controlling the other Demons I had been facing, who seemed like they were in a daze until I attacked.

If that was the case, I was trapped, wasn’t I?

Locked at the center of a bloodthirsty mob who wanted to rip me to shreds. In Stats, I was superior, but their numbers made it very difficult to think of coming out in one piece. Even if I tried, the Hobgoblin Boss would launch another spear, and I couldn’t forget the troublesome Chiefs who were still on standby.

“Tch! I didn’t think I would have to use this now, but…”

I couldn’t be saving my cards when my life was at such risk. I was initially saving it for the Boss and the Chiefs, but now that I thought things through, the ‘ace’ up my sleeve had the possibility of not working on the Demons due to the difference in Stats.

No, it probably wouldn’t work!

‘If that’s the case, then… I might as well use it now!’

<Dirty Play>!

Unlike many of my Skills, this particular one had no Cooldown or cast time. It was instant, only restricted to the number of uses per day. In a pinch like this, it was the only alternative!

[System Information]

~Skill <Dirty Play> Is Now In Effect~

<All Targets Will Experience The Status Ailment ‘Blindness’>

[View More]

So, the effect was <Blindness> this time. It wasn’t entirely stopping them, but the Demons wouldn’t be able to respond to me now, right?

[Status Ailment]

<Blindness>

~ Blinds Demons For A Period Of 5 Minutes.~ (The Effects Vary According To The Level Of Resistance Possessed.)

[End Of Information]

With this in mind, I returned my gaze to the Hobgoblin Boss, but the grin on its face hadn’t been wiped off. Rather, it grew even more.

My eyes bulged the moment I realized what this spelled for me.

“Guaruuuukkkkk!!!”

The Champions lunged at me in a flash, bloodthirsty creatures, ready to have their pound of flesh.

My <Automatic Summon> kicked in and sent a lot of my Venomous Spikes to immobilize them while using Fireballs to finish them off. The problem was how quickly my stock was depleting… even before fighting the actual baddies.

Still, thanks to this… I was able to regain my composure.

If I had realized it a split second later, I would have been in serious trouble—the reason ‘Blindness’ seemed to have no effect on the Hobgoblin Champions.

‘They can’t see me… they never could! It’s the Hobgoblin Boss that sees me. He only commands them to attack based on what he sees! Damnit! Blinding them does no good!.’

With that thought in mind, and my increasing frustration due to wasting one of three chances uselessly, I decided to try my luck once more.

“<Dirty Play>”

[System Information]

~Skill <Dirty Play> Is Now In Effect~

<All Targets Will Experience The Status Ailment ‘Paralysis’>

[Status Ailment]

<Paralysis>

~ Immobilizes Targets For 3 Minutes.~

[End Of Information]

In response to the absolute effects of my Skill, the Demons all froze up, like a pause button had been placed on them.

No, their retinas moved, but not much else. I had them all frozen—temporarily!

Three minutes… and less than two thousand Demons… I could manage that!

I had thought not to bother since I could breeze through them, but this was becoming annoying. I had no choice.

‘I’ll just take them into [Subspace]!’

With that in mind, my brain went into overdrive as I sped across the Hobgoblin army and began touching the Demons one after the other. The moment even a fraction of my body touched them, they vanished and took their place in my Slot.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted the Hobgoblin Boss don a frown and grot its teeth. The army it was so proud of was disappearing right before its eyes… certainly, it would be furious.

‘What now?’

Suddenly, I felt the ground move unnaturally, causing me to lose my footing.

“Guh!” I let out a groan, shocked by the sudden slip.

At the speed I was currently moving at, such a hiccup was fatal.

‘Damnit!’ My mind rang as I spotted one of the Chiefs, garbed in what resembled a Casters’ outfit among the four of them.

The slippery ground had to be its doing since it gave a grin underneath the hood that covered its face.

The Hobgoblin Boss didn’t miss this opportunity.

I saw the seated monster summon a spear as its hands were raised and poured a phenomenal amount of power into it.

>Gulp<

In an instant, a flash, the spear was launched at my falling body. A moment, no, even less, was what it would take for the spear to rip me to shreds.

I was done for!

Or so it seemed.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

The spear cracked open the ground and shattered it upon impact. Raging blasts caused the area to experience a quake and the Hobgoblin Champions lost balance for a moment.

Once the smoke around the spear’s area of impact cleared, the results were made clear.