Rise Of The Hoarder

‘Well, this isn’t the first you’ve done it, Jeremy…’ I calmed myself and looked beyond the horizon.

I could somewhat see the Camp, though it was not very clear—even with my heightened vision.

It seems so small, so irrelevant, almost like a speck of dust. The moment my thoughts went along this line, I found the courage to do what needed to be done.

For the past week, I had been preparing my heart for this, taking care of the surrounding Camps in the process. So far, there would be no witnesses or survivors to tattle on my actions. Having taken care of all loose ends, I was much more confident concerning the endgame of my plans.

Taking well-paced steps, I began my approach to the Camp, an air of gloom radiating around me. The time of harvest was nigh.

*************************

A week had passed since he last saw the kid, yet Jeremy hadn’t shown up since then.

This was a great cause for celebration and relief for Charles. He heaved a sigh of relief as he began scribbling down so many things on the sheet spread out before him.

It was one of the only few books that still existed in their current apocalyptic world.

The cultivation of the crops had been going on splendidly. Thanks to Amaya, their cultivator, and her Gift—all was going according to plan.

Thanks to Jeremy’s earlier supply of food, and the early arrival of the Subjugation Squad, the estimated time for concluding the planting was pushed backward, so they had currently finished harvesting the maize grains and we’re now on their second batch of foodstuff.

Fortunately, one of their Camp members had the ability of [Forced Stasis], which temporarily maintained the natural state of anything. This allowed him to preserve their food without any of it going to waste.

Unfortunately, it only worked on Inanimate objects, so it couldn’t be used in combat.

Still, looking at the records he had before him, things were progressing quite well. The borehole project was successful, so they didn’t have to worry about water. Food was also no longer a problem.

The immediate threat of the Hobgoblins had also vanished, so the Camp was safe. In addition, the members who participated in the Subjugation mission were now stronger than ever.

Compared to their manpower before, these ones were at completely different levels.

Charles would have felt threatened of his position in the new and improved Camp had it not been for the high Level of his loyal wife who stuck by him, and their ever-kind and faithful Trump Card, Daniel.

With both of them serving as pillars by his side, no one dared to challenge his authority. For Tasha, it was only to be expected since they were married, but Daniel’s case was a s a result of his Alignment. Even before he left for the Subjugation, he was always the strongest in the Camp, but he never disobeyed authority.

As a result, Daniel would always be under Charles’ control!

‘It’s a shame we lost so many people, but looking at the state of things now, we’re better off…’

They had fewer mouths to feed, more capable people, better food and water supplies, and even the walls and gates that were destroyed thanks to the incursion of the scavengers had been easily repaired thanks to the arrival of the veterans who had just returned from battle.

Charles also couldn’t forget the Demon Cores they raked in from the whole skirmish with the Horde. It was as if the whole incident was a blessing in disguise.

The best thing, however, was the absence of Jeremy Lewis!

Thanks to that, he had a better grip over the affairs of the place rather than just being a puppet controlled by the little boy’s whims.

He just hoped Jeremy had chosen to leave their little gathering alone. That would be for the best!

“Well, considering he hasn’t shown up until now… that is certainly for the best…” The Camp Leader smiled to himself.

Unknown to him, he wasn’t the only one in the room who heard his relieved statement.

“Oh? Looks like you’ve forgotten about me already.” A voice suddenly appeared, causing the relaxed man to be completely thrown off his edges.

“W-wha—?!” Charles tried to form words from his mouth as his eyes darted around to get a visual of the intruder.

He had sensed nothing, felt nothing, seen nothing, yet a voice just appeared as though it had been there all this while.

“W-who’s there?!” Charles yelled, quickly reaching for a weapon—one he usually kept on the shelf beside his desk.

As soon as he tried to touch it, though, the item vanished. It was as though the object was never there.

“W-who…?!” Charles’ voice trailed.

Many would think this was the work of a ghost or some sort of spiritual phenomenon, but Charles knew better. Deep down, he already had an inkling, no, an assurance of who the culprit would be.

Perhaps he was just frightened that voicing out his thoughts would automatically make it real. He didn’t want that!

Unfortunately for the Camp Leader, though, he didn’t have a choice.

“How cold. You’ve forgotten my voice already…” The voice returned, and within the dimly-lit office emerged the figure of fear—one Charles had hoped never to see again.

“J-Jeremy… Lewis…?!!”

**************************

[A Few Moments Earlier]

It was easy sneaking into the Camp—if I could even call it sneaking in.

I simply just waltzed in, avoiding all forms of surveillance.

‘Oh? Impressive. Charles really laid out a defensive formation well…’ My thoughts trailed as I noticed the Gifteds surrounding my flanks.

Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t detect me since a bunch of my Skills were working hand-in-hand to prevent that.

I didn’t even need to knock on the door before I entered. Thanks to the <Phase> Skill, the problem was easily solved.

‘This Skill is more useful than I thought. Good thing I took it before killing all those scavengers.’ I mused while passing through all the obstacles in my path.

I walked past all the busy Camp members, not paying any of them my attention.

There was one person, in particular, I sought to find. No, three actually. Once I was done with them, I would head over to my final destination—Charles!