Rise Of The Hoarder

[SYSTEM UPDATE]

[The Grand General Of Death Helios Has Made An Offer]

<Quest>

[The Proposal Of Death]

<Conditions>

~Sacrifice one of your own to prove your loyalty~

~Kneel~

~Swear fealty to the Lord Of The Undead, Death~

<Rewards>

~One Grade 4 Item For Each Member~

~50,000 Karma Points Each~

~3 Special Skills~

~5 Level-Ups~

~Mark Of Death~

[END OF INFORMATION]

“So, what do you say? Not a bad offer, don’t you think?”

Silence washed through the room.

I could hear the labored breaths of the Gifteds behind me, and I looked behind me to check out their expressions.

FEAR!

Their faces depicted fear—utter fright beyond description.

‘I had a feeling this would happen…’

The source of their frightful state wasn’t the Demon before us all, but me. Their eyes were fixated in my direction, and I was certain they were all probably thinking the same thing.

‘He’ll sacrifice us, won’t he?’

‘I don’t want to be the scapegoat! Pick someone else, please!’

‘We can use the Return Stone, right? We’ll be fine!’

‘S—Sir Masked Hero won’t do it! I’m sure of it!’

Thanks to my Mind Reading ability, I could hear their inner thoughts. Though I had to resort to similar tricks as I did with the Tia girl, it allowed me access to their mind.

Usually, I would have no interest in whatever they thought, but curiosity could be quite convincing.

‘So, this is what they really think, eh?’

Sure, for someone of my caliber, sacrificing one—even all of them—would be no problem. If the situation called for it, I would do so without hesitation. These were simply replaceable mobs, so I really didn’t care about their wellbeing.

‘He’s looking at me… EEK!!!’

‘I—is this why he made us tag along with him?’

‘M-maybe… if I take the initiative, I can take down one of these guys instead. That way the sacrifice won’t be me!’

‘Sir Masked Hero won’t do it! I’m sure of it!’

While I found Tia’s thoughts about me to be hilarious, she was the most correct of the group.

I wasn’t going to do it… but not for the flawed reason she had in mind.

PROFIT.

It was simply because I would have less to profit if I went down the route of sacrificing one of them.

The Rewards for following Helios’ Offer would be given to everyone, and as a Hoarder, that was unacceptable. Extras were meant to serve only as extras and feed on the leftovers.

Secondly, his offer was incredibly suspicious.

If he was willing to offer so much just for sacrificing one worthless person swearing fealty, then the consequences were bound to be devastating. It would also mean we would be forfeiting an even bigger reward if we fought and won against him.

Best case scenario; everyone ended up with their rewards, but we would miss a much better compensation.

Worst case scenario; this offer was a trap, and if we took it, we could end up being servants of Death… most likely turning into Undead.

The logic of the latter seemed more plausible.

Thirdly… and most importantly… we would be forfeiting the Hidden Floor.

It was common knowledge that each Tower had 99 Floors, but there were actually 100 of them in total. The last Floor—the Hidden Floor, only appeared to those who had never lost in a single Floor or had to use a Return Stone—in essence, me.

This Hidden Floor could be said to be the whole point of the Tower, and conquering it would result in unimaginable power.

If I fell for this Helios guy’s trap here, I was never going to reach the Hidden Floor. Compared to what awaited me there, his offer was chump change.

“No, thanks. I decline.” My voice radiated across the hall.

“Oh? I see. How disappointing…”

Helios’ voice showed a hint of surprise. He must have surmised that most people would jump at the offer, and normally, he would be right.

After climbing the Floors, anyone would be exhausted. Wouldn’t it be better to take the easy way out, rather than suffer through another grueling match—especially one that would most likely lead to death?

Ninety percent—maybe even more—would choose the most convenient way out. The only ones who would choose to fight were either idiots who trusted too much in their own strength… or the truly powerful.

“What about the rest of you?” Helios voice addressed the four Gifteds behind me.

As expected, they followed my lead and shook their head vehemently.

“I see. Disappointing. Truly disappointing!” His voice was already showing signs of harshness, and the goodwill that previously existed in his tone was fading fast.

“May I ask why you chose the foolish choice?” Helios seemed to glare at me—most likely blaming everyone’s actions on the influence of my decision.

I shrugged while offering a confident smile.

“I wonder which decision was actually the foolish one.”

“What are you implying?” The Grand General growled.

“Offering us those meager rewards, when there is something better awaiting us? How foolish would one be to accept that? Besides… that Mark Of Death reward is pretty shady. It turns us into Undead, does it not?”

“…”

Helios was silent, proving I was right all along.

The Gifteds behind me gave gasps of surprise. Apparently, they never expected that twist. I could hear Tia squealing behind me in delight. A sigh nearly escaped my lips as I felt a bit bad for her.

“… And what is so bad about that?” Helios finally spoke up.

‘Oh boy… here it comes…’

“You gain an immortal body and serve as being as wonderful as the Lord Of The Dead! Isn’t that simply amazing? You gain immense power, you gain HIS recognition. You become strong enough to trample on the weak! Failing to choose such an option… is that not the height of foolishness?!”

What did I expect from a Zealot?

Of course, a General would hold his master in high regard, especially since he was the one in charge of this super-cringe temple. Speaking of cringe, I just thought of something wonderful to say.

‘I’m sure Tia will squeal again.’

“Strength isn’t for trampling on the weak… it’s for saving them! If your corrupted strength is all you have to offer… then I don’t want it!”

‘Yep! Nailed it!’

And as expected, a cheer came from my fangirl behind me.

“Kyahhhh! He’s so cool!!!”

‘Pfft. This is so funny!’

Still, I basked in the delight. It wasn’t every day you got to see a girl so enthralled by your charms.

“Foolish human. You are foolish indeed.”

‘Yeah, yeah.’ I rolled my eyes, and then a brilliant gleam of excitement appeared in my eyes.

My lips curled up in a smile, and I prepared myself for a good show.

“Let’s get this party started already.”