Rise Of The Hoarder

Her words of inquisition hit me like a sledgehammer! Of all the variables in a conversation, I wasn’t expecting that. Even Ana and the other team members never asked me. To think Lily would be the one to finally raise the question.r

Her voice had unintentionally attracted the attention of everyone else that was present. They looked in our direction curiously, and I knew at that moment that I had to deliver something at the very least. Millions of thoughts ran through my mind, as I tried to respond.r

However, all of them ended at a single point…r

‘Oh crap, what do I say?!’r

“Oh, yeah. That’s true… I’m curious as well.” Peter said, suddenly tilting his body in our direction.r

While Daniel focused on shrinking the objects, I could see his eyes glancing in our direction from time to time. Clearly, he wanted to know as well.r

Larry remained silent, but it wasn’t like I was going to trust someone with an evil Alignment based on just that.r

Needless to say, everyone wanted to know at this point.r

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything…” Lily suddenly burst out apologetically.r

She must have sensed my hesitation. Even earlier, she also appeared to have read my mind. It seemed this Lily girl could somewhat sense the mood of others to a level. r

Should that be the case, then I would have to consider her dangerous henceforth.r

“N-no, it’s not like that. I’m just thinking of how to explain it to you guys…” I said, jumping on my feet.r

Of course, I wasn’t going to tell them about [Subspace]. Plus, it wasn’t like I was dumb enough to not think of the possibility of them asking this question. r

However, to think it would be this soon…r

“My Gift… I think it would be better if I just showed you…” I smiled nervously.r

At this point, even Daniel stopped what he was doing and looked at me.r

‘So much for being in a hurry, uh?’r

The reason I was so flustered when Lily asked, and i was indecisive for a moment was due to one factor…r

I couldn’t decide what to choose for my Gift. I mean, I had so many options!r

Looking at my Skill slots, I had ten to choose from. Since there was basically no outward difference between Skills and Gifts, if I made it convincing enough, any Skill could pass as my Gift.r

All that was left now, was my choice!r

•tSlot 1 – <Claw Attack>r

•tSlot 2 – <Spike Attack>r

•tSlot 3 – <Venomous Spikes>r

•tSlot 4 – <Steal>r

•tSlot 5 – <Recall>r

•tSlot 6 – <Summon>r

•tSlot 7 – <Roar>r

•tSlot 8 – <Rule>r

•tSlot 9 – <Spike Skin>r

•tSlot 10 – <Aura>r

Eenie, meanie, miny, moe!r

‘Let’s go with that one, then…’ I grinned internally.r

I closed my eyes, pretending to concentrate a great deal in order to activate my selected Skill. Instantly, a red surge of energy covered my body.r

Of course, I reduced the output so as not to appear intimidating, shrouding myself in only the barest minimum to qualify as a Gift.r

Opening my eyes, I saw the audience marveling at the crimson energy on my body.r

“My Gift is covering myself in this self-protective Aura. It reduces the damage done to me… making me safe to some extent.” r

Of course, that was a blatant lie.r

Aura was very useful for defense. After all, the Hell Kobold King used it to protect itself from my fully powered Core-5 weapon at the time.r

But that wasn’t its only use. It was an all-rounder, boosting my abilities to a dramatic level. At its current level, my Aura was already more powerful than Ana’s Armament, making me wonder why a mere skill would exceed the level of a Gift.r

‘Well, her Gift is most likely still at a lower rank. In terms of growth, she’ll outdo ‘Aura’ sooner or later…’r

Still, by exhibiting a small amount of power, it would cause my position in the group to be the slightest bit more appreciated. Plus, the fact that I showed them my cards made them even more open to me.r

“That’s one useful Gift. If you cultivate it well, you could protect yourself better from the Demons.” Peter said in his usual mature and encouraging tone.r

I nodded in response, feigning happiness by his words. Closing my eyes once again, I decided to undo the skill since it was not worth wasting my Mana by using it needlessly.r

That’s right! Unlike Gifts that don’t require mana to use, a lot of Skills require that element. Job-related Skills and high-class Skills all need mana to operate.r

While the output was very low, I wasn’t going to waste the tiniest bit of my MP to please this crowd with my Aura.r

>SHUUUUU< The red energy dissipated, returning me to my normal form.r

“W-what about you guys?” I asked curiously. r

At least, now I would be able to directly hear the details of their Gifts, not just guessing based on what I had seen.r

Since I had shown my cards, it was only right they reciprocated… and they did!r

Peter, like I guessed, has [Cryogenesis]. He can freeze the moisture in the atmosphere, turning it into ice.r

He isn’t exactly able to control ice freely, but can determine the direction and position of the reaction. So, he can freeze anything in any location that is within range but is unable to control the ice itself.r

Larry has a body transformation Gift called [Flesh Molding]. It isn’t an overpowered ability like ‘Body Magic’ or something. It merely allows him to convert the fat in his body into hardened materials, and shape himself into some forms.r

Of course, he isn’t able to do this feely, so he focuses this ability on his arms and uses them for combat.r

Daniel, as already seen, has a shrinking Gift, [Shrink]. He can miniaturize any inanimate object for a span of a few hours before they turn back and he has to repeat the process.r

He has a size limit, as well as a time limit, so it isn’t very useful for escape situations or highly dangerous combat.r

Lily’s [Great Sight], allows her to view anything from a far distance and also observe the aura around them. Therefore, she could detect Demons within a particular place by seeing the malevolent aura around it.r

‘Well, all useful information… if only they were skills I could plunder!’ I mused.r

Still, there was no need to rush. We had a long way ahead of us, after all.r

My chance would come!r