Rise Of The Hoarder

“W-wha-?!” I nearly exclaimed in shock.r

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Just like that, he was finally leaving me. I would be all alone again.r

“N-no… please don’t go. I’ll be better, I promise. Just don’t leave me. I-I don’t want to be alone…” I pleaded, sobbing as I clung to his roughened dark garment.r

However, he didn’t budge.r

“Don’t worry. You won’t be alone…” His voice cut through my despairing thoughts, causing me to look up in shock, and meet his masked face.r

“I can sense some people approaching this place. However, a monster is nearby, and they are in grave danger. I intend on helping them out. Afterward, I have to leave to help others who need my help.” He revealed.r

My eyes bulged as I heard this. More people were coming?r

“I stayed with you for so long because I didn’t want to leave you alone. If I did… that wouldn’t be saving you. But now, you have a chance to be with even more people and walk a better path, rather than staying with me.”r

Upon hearing this, a wave of gratitude enveloped me, as well as guilt. I knew it! I was only pinning him down!r

“And I know you must have thought you were a burden to me. But that’s not true… during our small time together, in many ways you have shown me what it’s like to have a little brother.” He spoke, as though reading my mind.r

Placing his large hand on my head, he rubbed it warmly, making me feel loved and secure.r

“But, I can’t allow you to partake in this selfish path I have chosen. You deserve to live your own life. Jeremy… I hope someday, we meet again!” r

I smiled upon hearing his words, and for the first time since that day… I cried profusely. Myriads of emotions rushed through me as I gave in to them.r

“Yeah. I hope so too!”r

Finally, he dashed away, just as mysteriously as he had appeared when he rescued me, and now he was off again to rescue others. It was for a short while, but… he was the kindest anyone had ever been to me.r

And so, all alone in the base we made together, I awaited the moment my new comrades would come for me.r

At this point, Ana was silently listening, while deliberating at the same time. While I couldn’t hear her thoughts, I had a fair idea of what she was thinking.r

Everything I said added up!r

The mysterious man that saved them, how I was able to survive for so long, how I was able to have such a base… and why I wasn’t too freaked out when I saw her.r

“I-I see… wow Jeremy. You’ve really been through a lot. And that mysterious man, whoever he is… He’s a hero beyond measure.” Ana finally said, looking at me with a warm smile.r

‘Aww. Now you’re making me blush, stop it!’r

While I painted myself to be a grand white knight in shining armor, it wasn’t a lie that I saved her and her group. In a sense, I was chivalrous.r

Besides, now she had an explanation for the absence of no profitable materials around the area. While it would be regrettable on her part, I was certain she had no ill will. After all… the materials were taken by the great hero for a noble cause.r

‘Pfft. It’s definitely noble!’r

Just in case she didn’t believe my story, I decided to fill in the minor gaps to make everything more believable.r

“He had a special kind of ability that allowed him to store any item he wanted. I don’t know how, but he could also remove them at will.”r

This way, it wouldn’t seem strange that he was able to make off with so many resources. It also explained how I was able to pull my sword out of nowhere and return it when I fought that monster in her presence.r

Still, Ana appeared to have a troubled expression on her face. r

‘Did I miss something? Did I leave something out?’ I slowly panicked.r

While I had ensured most of her doubts had been answered, I could never be too sure. After all, I was only human.r

‘Yeah… a human with 15,800 points in Intelligence.’r

My eyes suddenly bulged as I figured out the missing piece, but before I spoke, she finally let out her worries.r

“Jeremy… why can’t I see your Status Information?”r

‘I knew it!’ My mind rang while I gulped.r

How could I have let such an important factor slip? Even though Gifteds couldn’t view each other’s Status Window, there were basic Status Information that could be displayed to everyone. Even now, I could see Ana’s information.r

[SYSTEM INFORMATION]r

Name: Anabeller

Race: Humanr

Sex: Femaler

Level: 21r

Alignment: Lawful Goodr

[End Of Information]r

Upon seeing this, the first aspect I noticed was her Alignment, and I wasn’t too surprised by it.r

‘Ah, she’s Lawful Good. Typical!’ r

As a Crusader-type individual, it explained her goody-two-shoes personality. r

Still, looking at her Level, it was so miserably low that I almost let out a snicker. If she, a member of the Expedition team had such a level, it made me wonder what the average person’s status would look like.r

‘Focus, Jeremy!’ I quickly snapped out of my petty thoughts and began thinking of how to explain what was going on.r

Since my time in the Sacred Hall, I had realized truths that wouldn’t be known in the current era. One of such is the issue of levels.r

Though the Status Information menu came as a surprise to me initially, I made sense of it by referencing what I learned in the Sacred Hall, most of which weren’t very clear to me since I had dismissed them as irrelevant and focused solely on survival.r

‘However, with my intelligence currently so high, and my mind sharper, I was finally able to understand way more than before.’r

The reason my Status Information would be inaccessible to this woman, while hers was accessible to me, I finally knew it!r