Rise Of The Hoarder

As expected, the spikes the Demons threw at me all contained their energy.

I didn’t know why or how this was possible, since the previous batch of Hobgoblins didn’t have this feature. Perhaps these ones were just an advanced set of Warriors or another type of Hobgoblins entirely.

The answer to my curiosity was presented, using the system to check for myself.

‘Their Status Information shows they are ‘Hobgoblin (Advanced Warrior), uh? Well… that explains it.’

Not only were their claws covered in dark-red energy, but their bodies were also brimming with the same power, burning brightly as they charged. Their Stats were also superior to that of the usual Warriors, and I noticed a darker tan of slimy green on their flesh.

It didn’t matter to me, though. Whether they were more powerful than the previous batch or not, whether they had energy covering their bodies or not, whether they came at me in thousands or not.

Rather, I preferred it this way. After all…

“<Summon>…”

Of everything I had absorbed into [Subspace], there was something I especially stocked to the brim. Without the new update of my Gift, I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off… and that was-_.

>BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

The spikes that came at me in several thousand exploded, turning into nothing but crisps. Shockwaves spread everywhere as thick smoke pervaded a wide distance.

The Demons halted their march and frantically bobbed their heads to navigate through the darkness. As Demons, they were certain to have a certain degree of enhanced sight, but this smoke was not one they could see through easily.

“GARRIUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIKKKKK!!!” They bellowed angrily.

I smiled. Thinking I should be generous to the confused monsters, I used [Subspace] to collect the smoke that filled the area, returning their lost sight to them.

Now regaining their vision, they once again glared at me and gave an angry shriek.

“Urgh, you’re welcome…” I muttered, scoffing at their ingratitude.

Now realizing that their spikes couldn’t reach me since they would just explode, the Hobgoblin (Advanced Warrior)s decided to do the job themselves. An utterly foolish mistake.

I watched their body burn bright with energy as they closed the distance between us in a flash. The Hobgoblin (Advanced Archer)s were still lying in wait, most likely waiting for a chance to launch a surprise volley of arrows.

“… <Summon>.”

Blue energy sparked all-around their reddened aura, and just like that… another eruption took place, spreading across all the thousands that charged, not missing a single one.

>KAAAAAABOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!<

It was a brilliant display of devastation, feeling the hot wind brush on my face and waves of death dancing before me.

Was it this easy to take care of thousands of man-eating monsters? How had I done such a simple task? A broad grin formed on my face as I began walking toward the devastation that seemed not to cease.

During my experiments with [Subspace], I realized that I could place my mana into [Subspace]. It was a simple process.

While I couldn’t manifest mana directly, as I wasn’t a mage, I could add it to anything I owned. That included the very air I absorbed with [Subspace].

‘I simply need to add Mana to the air I take into [Subspace], transforming them into air fill of my mana. If I stock those into a Slot, I can readily summon them at any time!’ I had reasoned.

And that line of reasoning paid off. Using <Summon> to bring forth gusts of mana-infused air

The burning demons had gotten their body parts scattered by the impact of the blasts that sent smoke rising into the sky. Once again, I got rid of the smoke and remains of the blast, leaving nothing but a nearly empty compound.

“You know… I can see you clearly now.” I muttered, referring to the Hobgoblins that still pointlessly relied on their camouflage to hide from me.

Their bodies jumped, already bathed in so great a fear that I could sense it from my position.

“The smoke has basically given you all away. There’s no hiding now. Plus, now that those big ones are gone, there’s no way you guys can hide from my sight.”

I had no idea whether Demons could understand humans, but if they could, perhaps they chose to ignore me since no one budged from their positions.

Maybe they hoped I would leave if I didn’t see anyone else to slaughter. It felt slightly insulting, so I decided to prove my point.

“Sigh…”

In a flash, one of my weapons from [Subspace] lunged at a Hobgoblin to my far right, piercing its head with absolute precision.

“G-Gur-Guruikkk?!” The Demon appeared instantly, seemed to utter confused words, coughing blood.

It fell and died instantly, fading into dust.

The moment the rest saw this, I had a feeling they realized the jig was up. All undoing their <Camouflage> Skill at once, they all foolishly clung to what they knew best.

Gripping their bows tightly, they prepared arrows and pointed them all in my direction. Despite taking care of over five thousand Demons now, there were still over a thousand left.

Ten minutes hadn’t even elapsed and I was already about done. Not only did it end too quickly, I hadn’t gotten the chance to test all of my Skills yet. Even though I hadn’t planned on it, it seemed I would have to enter the second compound as well.

“If that’s the case, I better wrap things up here..” I reasoned.

Using [Subspace], I collected all the arrows that were launched at me again, using the same tactic as the first time, and returned them to the Demons.

Since they were now my property, I added my mana to them, causing the arrows to explode upon contact with each Demon.

More sounds of explosions and destruction hailed the compound, sending dust and smoke flying which I diligently took away with [Subspace].

In no time at all, I was the only one left in the vast space. It felt relieving, yet somehow hollow. In a little over ten minutes, I was completely done with a whole batch of about seven thousand monsters.

I didn’t even need to move a muscle.

“That’s a little boring…”

To think I had grown so strong. From the timid boy who just wanted to survive, I had come so far. The monsters that once haunted me were now so easily destroyed by my overwhelming power.

In a way, it appeared as though our roles had been reversed. The way I so easily dispatched them made it seem like they were the innocent and timid creatures… and I was the monster!