Rise Of The Hoarder

Helios coughed and groaned painfully as I approached her.

Her bruised and battered body was a far cry from the smooth and clear skin she used to have.

Her pathetic self was surrounded by my subordinates as they parted their close circle to allow me to enter. Once they dispersed, I got a better look at her.

“Looks like this is the end.” I smiled at the girl.

“Cheh! Nng!”

I could see her gritting her teeth and glaring hatefully at me. She would tear me into pieces if given the opportunity, so I was cautious enough not to be careless around her.

Her body shouldn’t have been able to move, and I saw that her HP was just at its limit. Without her Gear, and with her MP already at rock bottom, there was no way she could make a comeback.

Still… experience had thought me not to underestimate anyone

“I’ll be collecting your Soul now.”

By me basically announcing this, she must have known what would be coming after I was done. If she wanted to counterattack, now would be her chance.

But, she did no such thing.

She simply had no strength left.

‘Well, I guess I was being paranoid this time around…’

“<Soul Reaping>,”

And so, with that Spell, I ended the life of the Boss… and cleared the 99th Floor.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]

[Congratulations!]

<You Have Defeated The Boss: Helios>

<You Have Cleared The Tower Of Death>

<You Are The First To Achieve This Feat In This Tower>

<This is the first Tower that Has been Cleared>

[Additional Rewards Will Be Given]

[Do You Want To Receive Your Rewards Now?]

[Yes]. [No]

Helios’ corpse remained on the ground, but I was certain she would vanish over time.

‘Once the next challengers of the Tower come, the Helios that will appear will basically be an artificial one. Not only will the other Gifteds receive inferior rewards compared to me, but they also won’t get the privilege that has now surfaced.’

The System gave me two options. Why?

Usually, it would just dispense the rewards, wouldn’t it? Instead, it asked if I would collect my rewards ‘now’. That meant I could collect it later.

This indicated that the Tower’s trials weren’t complete.

No, that wasn’t quite it.

The Tower’s Trials had been completed, but what remained was some kind of Bonus Stage. The only difference between the event that was to occur and an actual Bonus Round would be that the whole purpose of the Tower revolved around this stage.

I looked at the people behind me, and they had already chosen to accept their Rewards.

Good for them!

After all, only one person could challenge the Final Stage—the 100th Floor.

And that person was going to be me!

“Looks like this is it, uh?” I said to the people.

A return portal had already opened up behind them, and it would seem that they were going to be leaving.

“M-Masked Hero! You did it! You truly cleared the Tower!” Tia gushed at me like a faithful fangirl.

I nodded, maintaining my cool vibe.

“Yeah. To be honest… I… I didn’t think you would be able to do it, but…”

“You really saved us back there, and you brought us this far, even though we were only burdens… we even doubted you…”

“I-I’m truly grateful for all you’ve done for us!”

And so, in unison, they all bowed their heads to make one declaration.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH!”

‘Hehehe… hehehehe… hahahaha… hahahaha!!!’

I contained my internal laughter as I watched the simpletons bow in respect and gratitude.

They weren’t aware that I used them more than they used me.

I even swapped all the Items in their Inventory, and then returned them. That way, everything they had was registered as ‘MY’ Property.

I could take their spoils whenever I wanted, and I could also teleport to their location thanks to my [Hoarder] ability.

They only received scraps from this whole ordeal, yet they were happy. Was this the life of mobs?

“Oh, that’s fine. If it doesn’t trouble you, people… I was wondering if we could work together some other time.”

“YES! LET’S ADD EACH OTHER AS FRIENDS!!!”

It was Tia who burst out saying that, but I quickly had to decline.

“N-no, I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Being friends meant that they would be able to see my Status Introduction despite our Level Difference.

They would figure out that I had the Neutral Evil Alignment, and I couldn’t have that.

“Let us meet again tomorrow… at the Tower of War,” I told the three.

“What? You plan on clearing that one too?!” Darwin was the one who spoke now.

“Yes. Is that a problem?” I asked.

“N-no… wow. You’re truly amazing, uh?”

“It’s nothing. Feel free to discuss among yourselves if you want to be my aides, just as you did this time.”

That way, they would understand that I could simply just choose another set of people to accompany me on my adventure.

“A-Alright, then. We’ll give it some thought!” Darwin nodded, and the rest agreed with him.

Though, I knew this was only ceremonious. Their minds already agreed with my proposal, but they must have not wanted to appear shameless in front of me.

“So, what will you be doing now? The Tower has been cleared has it not?” Tia asked me with curious eyes.

The rest also had the same expressions. After all, there was nothing left for me to do, yet I didn’t seem to be planning to leave.

“Ah, I want to run more experiments on my Summoned soldiers. Surely, you understand. It’s best I do it in a secluded place like the Tower.”

Once they heard my reason, the group had no other choice but to accept it.

They offered their heartfelt gratitude once again, and I received it. This simply made them feel more indebted to me.

After all the ceremonious farewells, they left through the wide gate that led to the outside world. They would get transported to their last location before they chose to climb the Towers.

Since the Tower allowed anyone from any part of the world, one only needed to use the System interface to enter. Once exiting the Tower, they would reappear in their previous positions outside.

“Huu, looks like they’re finally gone.”

Once they left, I looked at the persistent System Window in front of me. It still displayed the options, and the pings kept getting louder.

It was like the Tower urged me to make my choice.

Of course, I chose [No]

[SYSTEM UPDATE]

[You Have Chosen To Remain In The Tower]

~All The Requirements Have Been Met~

<The Final Floor Will Now Be Opened To You>

A grin formed on my face as I felt a surge of energy flow around the room.

The altar at the center of the massive cathedral began glimmering with darkness, and something seemed to emerge from the threshing floor.

It was a wormhole—a gateway leading to the final floor.

‘Perfect!’ My thought rang in excitement.

The portal radiated an intense aura that sent shivers down my spine. Blackish purple fog leaked out, corroding everything around it, and the aura of death permeated the room.

I could tell that whatever was behind the gateway was very strong.

Well, if they weren’t powerful, I wouldn’t have bothered with the Final Stage. The stronger an opponent was, the higher the returns—that remained the rule of this world.

I licked my lips, waiting until the whole thing stabilized.

It looked ominous, yet beautiful—the distorted portal before me. I wanted to enter and get the journey over with, but… only a fool would charge in blind.

First, I needed adequate preparations.

I looked at my Spirit Ring and summoned the recent addition to my collection—the Soul of the Grand General, Helios.

I had everyone else stand by as they witnessed the enslavement of their newest member, So far, I had 19 powerful subordinates, as well as a few hundred fairly strong Undead. Adding the Demons—Grade 3 and below—in my collection, one could say the number neared fifty thousand.

Finally, the Undead army I had been stocking in [Subspace] for some time now were in the hundreds of thousands.

I wasn’t lacking in manpower, but one could never have too many allies right? Though in my case, they would be slaves.

Looking at Helios’ hovering Soul, I wondered how much she would resist. A few Generals gave me problems, but they weren’t too tough. However, considering this one’s fanatic loyalty to her master, she could prove the most troublesome.

‘Though if she transfers that loyalty to serving me… that would be good.’

With that in mind, I began using my Ghost Magic.

“<Soul Enslavement>

***********

As expected, she gave me the most trouble. However, with the buffs I received and the Miasma essence flowing through me, I was able to suppress her will. In addition to that, I had the [Dominator] Title that made me even more adept at subduing the will of others.

Ultimately, Helios bent to my will and swore allegiance to me. There was one issue with that, though…

“Hiyaaaahh!!! I’m naked! Have you no shame, master? You pervert!”

Welp, let’s just say that our relationship wasn’t strictly master/servant. Divulging any more would be too much.