Rise Of The Hoarder

>SWOOOOOSHHH!!!<

In a flash, my blades went flying past me toward the enemies that blocked my path.

They whirred, in their multiple numbers, cutting the Demons down before any of them had the chance to react. I watched as their disgusting blood spurted out and their helpless bodies flailed about before collapsing in death.

It only took a brief moment, but the dozens of Hobgoblin Champions in my path had been obliterated thanks to my <Automatic Summon> Skill.

‘Now then… I should begin descending…’ I smiled, making my way past the vanishing vestiges of the monsters as I approached the penthouse door.

Upon reaching it, I stared down the staircase that led to the lower floors and smelled the stench of human blood… as well as the beasts that spilled them!

My vision acclimated to the darkness and I felt every echo of foreboding that told me of the monsters that crept and lurked in every corner of the Camp building—now turned house of horror!

The Demons that moved aimlessly about slowly began gathering in my location, like how ants instinctively swarmed around a cube of sugar.

The lowly monsters came, salivating from their mouths while giving me a deathly glare. Their claws easily cut through the concrete, and the mere presence of a single one of them could make even a veteran Gifted collapse in fear.

I felt no such thing, though… only the expectation of their inevitable demise.

“You’re all free from my hold, so you must be feeling quite full of yourselves…” I grinned while condescendingly staring at the Hobs.

I couldn’t even command them if I wanted. The duration of the Skill <Inducement> had expired, so it was unavailable to me for quite some time.

“GURUIIK!!!” The Hobgoblins hatefully snarled back at me.

Their very hostile gazes made me wonder why they always shot the same expression.

>WHOOOOSHH!!!< The Demons darted at me, most likely boosting their stats with Skills.

I saw their green skins glow with malevolent crimson light and they broke apart concrete with each step they took.

Their course of action didn’t matter, though, as my weapons once again swept through the distance and one-shotted them even without my will.

>SWISH!<

The blades loped off their heads, the Ax cleaved away their flesh, and the daggers pierced sliced and diced them into mincemeat. Watching my weapons move, like marionettes, made it seem like I was watching a show.

Just like before, without much effort, the wave of monsters was extinguished.

“Next!” I declared, descending the stairs.

It didn’t take long for the Hobs to keep forming bands even after I killed a previous batch. I could see in their eyes that they were scared of my power. Their trembling bodies shook violently, but the eyes they gave me still rang of the same hatred.

“Do you despise me so much for killing your comrades and your leaders?” I smirked, referring to back when I took care of the Horde.

No, that was most likely not the case.

‘Demons have always had this strange animosity toward humans…’

If I had to guess the cause, it would be an instinctive directive embedded in them from birth, whenever that was.

Just as predators naturally found their place in the food chain and sought prey, or how humans constantly labeled smaller and weaker life forms as ‘inferior’, these Demons were no different.

And so, they must have been driven, one way or the other, to kill or torture all humans in sight. In a way, I somehow felt bad got them.

>FWOOOOSHHH!!!,<

My weapons ended them with no resistance.

Finally making it to the ground floor, I approached the area that had gotten my interest the moment I arrived at the Camp. Opening the special door leading to it, I feasted my eyes on the construct a few steps from my location.

“The borehole… looks like it really went well,” I smirked.

The well in front of me was dug to extend deep into the ground in order to tap into a water vein and make a constant flow of water for the Camp.

This was one of the reasons I had waited for a week before enacting my plan. Well, there was also the harvest of crops, but the water was sometimes more valuable.

Opening the well, I feasted my eyes on the bastion of clean water. It looked so pure that I had to guess it was the work of one of the Camp members.

‘I have knowledge on all their Gifts, but there’s none like purification of water… maybe it’s a Skill…’ My thoughts trailed.

Regardless, this was a jackpot!

Without wasting much time, I began absorbing the huge body of water into [Subspace]. It wasn’t like anyone else would be needing it, right?

As I kept absorbing, the hole never seemed to end. The depth of the well must have been profound since it didn’t take me merely a moment to exhaust the water supply.

My observation spread across the room as I kept busy with the water, trying to figure out where Charles kept the food supply.

Of course, I knew the area where the Gifteds tilled the ground and made their farmland, but Charles had gotten enough time to harvest a good deal of crops.

There had to be a place he stored them!

The obvious location would be his office, or somewhere close to it but, to my surprise, I didn’t sense their presence there. I also checked the storeroom, but found nothing of value.

‘Tsk, Charles… that sly fox. Where is he hiding the goods?’ I thought to myself.

On my way to the ground floor, where the well was, I was met with so many dead bodies, or at least what was left of them. Many had terrified looks on their distorted faces. It was obvious they were trying to escape the onslaught of the wicked monsters. I was certain the dead Camp Leader’s daughter was sure to be among the numerous corpses, even though I had never met her.

Even while spreading my senses, I couldn’t find the goods, making me somewhat regret my rash actions with Charles. I should have at least made him confess their location before getting rid of him.

It was the overconfidence in my plan that led to this hassle. Still…

‘It’s only a matter of time, though… once I’m done with the water, all of their harvests are next!’