Rise Of The Hoarder

My [Subspace] had 250 Slots.

I previously has 201 Slots constantly occupied, leaving 49 empty. I obtained three different Hobgoblin Demon Cores; The Hobgoblin (Archer), Hobgoblin (Brawler), and Hobgoblin (Tanker), all taking different Slots. The living monsters I stored also took respective slots, making 6 occupied slots added to the fray.

If I added the things I plundered from the Camp while everyone fled, they roughly took about 5 extra Slots. That left a total of 38 Slots left. I also had Larry and Lara within the two separate slots, further reducing the number to 36. Of these, I deemed 31 usable, while the remaining 5 were specially reserved.

If I thought of things that way, they all added up. All that was left was for the bait to perform their roles well, and things would proceed more smoothly.

“You there! Use your barrier ability to shield everyone.” I commanded Melissa.

She instantly showed shock at my words. The bitch was probably expecting me to favor her, but why would I? She was extremely useful in drawing attention. Plus, with her Gift, she could ensure the safety of others, making sure they lasted longer as attractions for the Hobs.

“W-wha-?! H-how did you know I have-?”

‘Ahh, I don’t have time for this.’ I rolled my eyes.

“It’s one of my skills.”

That simple answer seemed to clear her question immediately. I squatted and touched her shoulder in an attempt to cheer her up and provide an incentive to do as I desired._.

“You need to do this. It’s the only way you can all survive. I promise… none of you will die!”

It was a well-made pledge. If they all played their roles right and the plan was executed well, my promise would hold up. But, how often did things go exactly as one intended?

Melissa, however, seemed to believe my words. I didn’t know whether it was because of her gullibility or the extra loss of intelligence I just caused.

Either way, it was convenient that she agreed easily. My <Rule> Skill was under cooldown. Thinking rationally, she had no choice since she would die if she tried to run and ultimately had to rely on me to survive.

Taking her chances, the best choice would be to trust me. How ironic!

Melissa heaved a sigh, calming herself. A pink glow emanated from her, and in no time it covered everyone surrounding her. The three extras who couldn’t do anything but shiver in fear were now under her custody.

“That’s perfect,” I whispered at the marvelous sight from a short distance from the Gift’s range.

“W-what now-?!”

“GARREUUUUUUUIIIIKKKK!!!”

Before Melissa could complete her sentence, a blood-curdling cry pierced through the ears of everyone nearby, including mine. The woods parted and the Hobgoblins proceeded from them. Having extremely large builds and bloodthirsty looks, one could mistake these monsters for orcs.

Melissa gazed upon their unsightly and frightening appearance for the first time and shrieked in terror. The other three with her joined her as they all held a chorus of frightened cries.

“M-masked hero, please help-” Melissa looked in the direction where she last saw me.

However, to her disbelief and the despair of those around her… the masked hero and savior of Gifteds were nowhere in sight.

In essence… I had vanished!

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

“Noooooo!!!!” Melissa cried.

“I can’t die here! I can’t die here!”

“No! Don’t leave me to die here!”

“This can’t be happening! You said you would save us!”

Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears as there appeared to be no one around to respond to their desperate cries. To make matters worse, the Hobs were already attracted to their voices.

“GARAAKKIKKKKK!” The bloodthirsty monsters approached Melissa’s pink-coated barrier, grinning excitedly.

One could misinterpret the glows in their eyes for something other than hunger as they stared at the bunch of girls within the pink force field.

Now surrounding them, with no means of escape, the Hobgoblins wasted no time and began pounding the barrier as hard as they could.

>BAM!<

>BAM!<

>BAM!<

Their blunt clubs caused tremors with every hit as they kept hitting the pink barrier. Melissa could feel her force field vibrating and nearing its limits already.

Was this how she would die? Melissa could begin to feel her strength leave her, but she couldn’t give in yet. Her will to live was so strong that the girl felt that if she clung to life long enough a miracle would occur and her little existence would be spared.

A little more, and the four girls surrounded by large monsters would be maimed, killed… or worse!

It was a good thing that all hope was not lost. After all, all that had occurred was according to the plans of a certain someone watching from the shadows.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

A huge blast caused by several Demon Cores exploding filled the area, causing clouds of smoke and dust to rise with the energy surge caused by the eruption.

Melissa was trapped in even more confusion as she tried to figure out the situation. No, she was happy enough that the pounding had stopped. For some reason, after the explosions occurred, she could hardly hear any sounds or tremors around her.

“I-I can’t see a thing…” She muttered.

She, as well as the three others around her, could only see smoke and dust surrounding them, impeding their sight. Slowly, the clouds of dust cleared and they saw silhouettes of Hobgoblins to their despair. However, to their surprise, the shadows of monsters around them were reducing drastically.

For a moment, their eyes caught a Demon and in the next, it was gone. This occurred for a considerable amount of time which only served their confusion to increase further.

“W-what the hell…?!” Melissa croaked.

By the time the smoke had cleared, the Hobgoblins around then had thinned out so much that she couldn’t believe it. The explosions that occurred, and the fog of smoke that followed brought about the disappearance of what appeared to be hundreds of Hobgoblins.

It was inconceivable! However… Melissa and her little group weren’t out of their desperate situation yet.

After all, more monsters began coming out of the woods, replacing the ones that had vanished, and once again over a thousand Hobgoblin (Warriors) encircled them.

This made her close her eyes in terror and slight hope that the bizarre explosions and smoke that had occurred so abruptly before would once again appear.

Her prayers were answered. Just as strangely as they appeared before, more blasts sounded, covering a wide area in loud fireworks.

Beautiful salvation appeared.

>BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<