Rise Of The Hoarder

Kevin’s body felt heavy, like lead.

No more Skills were available to him since all his servants were dead, and he knew none of his personal Skills would work.

Despair enveloped the man, and he soon reverted to the way he was before the Apocalypse warped his nature. Kevin Smith turned frail!

“P-please… don’t… I beg you… don’t kill me.” He stuttered, watching the amused grins of the Hobgoblins as they drew closer.

Their green-colored skin glimmered in the sun and they rubbed their fists, most of which were covered with the blood of his fallen subordinates.

Now merely inches away from him, all surrounding the kneeling man, the Demons readied themselves for yet another enjoyable act of pure violence.

“Pleaseeeeee!!!”

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

I witnessed the final moments of the last survivor, seeing as the Hobgoblins pounded him to death, ripping out his body as he pleased.

Thanks to his High-Level, he didn’t die instantly—unlike the others. Slow, agonizing suffering persisted as the Demons mercilessly brutalized the man’s body._.

“Uarghhh! Pweasee! I-I bweg wuof yuuu! Ahhh! Pweasee!”

His distorted tone began reducing, now lacking the strength to say any more. Shortly after losing all the strength to protest, Kevin Smith died.

By this time, his body was not even a shell of his previous glory. Mashed-up flesh and splatters of blood—that was all left of him.

“Aaaand, that’s a wrap!” I said, concluding the game.

As expected, the winners were the Hobgoblin Champions.

“As a reward for your outstanding performance, you get to live another day!” I smiled at the green things that growled at each other, most likely intending to find more humans to turn into mashed food.

‘That’s enough fun for today.” I smiled.

In an instant, the Demons all returned to [Subspace]—leaving the sight of carnage they caused.

‘Game Over!’

The players, and even Lara the spectator, were not aware of the fact that I interfered in the event myself.

Some scavengers survived for a while longer as a result of their <Phase> Skill, so I decided to get rid of it. It would be the first time I tried it, but seeing that it was actually a useful thing to have—albeit Low-leveled—I used <Steal> on them.

Previously having two unoccupied Skill Slots, the numbers were reduced to one. In exchange, I was able to obtain multiple <Phase> Skills, allowing me to Level it up to the highest point, though the Rank remained the same.

The mere fact that I could successfully take away their Skills must have caused their System to malfunction and automatically cease the usage of the <Phase> ability that was no longer in their arsenal.

The Demons were able to complete their missions much faster that way.

That wasn’t the only thing I did, though.

Using <Steal> on a lot of them, most especially Kevin Smith, I plundered their Stats, severely weakening the fleeing Gifteds.

They must have been in such panic and desperation that they didn’t notice. It was too bad, though—for them, that is.

Adding their Stats to my own was sure to be helpful, and I also received (G) Karma Points for my troubles.

‘Haa… that brings my total amount to what now?’ My thoughts trailed as I checked my Status Information.

[.]

– (G) Karma Points: 2,100

[.]

‘Oh? A big jump from 600! That’s incredible.’

Of course, I knew the (G) Karma Points didn’t just come from the deaths of the thirteen Gifteds who had just died. Even when the Camp members fought and killed off the scavengers, I was surprisingly warning (G) Karma Points.

It made me realize that as long as I was in a sensory range from a dying Gifted, once they died, it would increase my point.

The question was why?

I thought it was a sort of compensation for any action of mine—whether direct or indirect.

So far, I was the one who induced my (G) Karma payment, whether by sending Gifteds to their death or by closing Gates. It was reasonable that I was compensated.

However, this time, I never even interfered in the fight of the Subjugation Squad against the scavengers, yet, points were allotted to me.

It got me even more puzzled.

‘Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m the only one with the (G) Karma Points… so as long as I’m around, I receive the benefits… maybe?’

It was hard to fully fathom this mysterious power, so I decided to once again let it go. It would have made more sense if the God guy had explained this to me more.

Shaking off my thoughts, I looked beside me to spot my fellow spectator.

“So? What do you think now?” I asked Lara, who was silent throughout the whole ordeal of the scavengers.

She removed the binoculars from her face and returned them to me while her lips moved slowly.

“Well, I can see you’ve not changed in the slightest…” Her tone sounded distracted.

Was she dissatisfied? For the past few days, Lara had been wondering if I had gotten soft due to my unusually kind actions. This whole game, while for my amusement, was also to show her that I was far from being merciful and meaninglessly benevolent.

Yet, she didn’t give me the kind of emotion I expected.

“Seeing this just makes me more confused, Jeremy. It does appear that you’re sadistic and merciless when it comes to humans and Demons alike, but…”

Lara’s tone was now soft, her eyes piercing deep into mine.

“It makes me even more confused as to what your true intentions are for Charles’ Camp… and even myself!”

‘Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.’

She was still wondering what my grand scheme was. Based on what I just showed her, I could basically do more with my abilities and take over the Camp and its resources, yet I didn’t.

Her limited knowledge was to blame, so I couldn’t entirely fault her. The bigger issue, though, was her last statement.

My true intentions for Lara… what exactly were they?1