Rise Of The Hoarder

“Shit! How did this happen?!” My mind rang as I clenched my teeth.

The gate had been opened and Demons poured out rapidly. The fools who had thought they could escape using that path were mercilessly killed down to the last one.

The Hobgoblins that appeared looked different from the others from before and I knew they were way stronger.

“What’s that? More Hobgoblins?!”Larry blurted in fear.

“Hey, Jeremy! This wasn’t the deal! You promised to let us go if we won!”

Listening to Larry’s barks was frustrating. He didn’t even do most of the work, yet he felt he had the right to speak.

With the new set of Hobgoblins approaching, I didn’t have the time to babysit either of them. Plus, since they could still be useful one way or the other, I decided to leave them out of the fight.

“<Recall>”

Instantly, they both vanished and returned to [Subspace]. It was a relief that it worked since I hadn’t tried it on a human yet.

Still, I didn’t have the opportunity to relax for even a second with the outpouring of monsters into the compound. From the large fence I stood on, I observed as they endlessly filled up the first compound. At this point, the Hobgoblins had spotted me and their focus shifted, giving me their undivided attention.

I narrowed my eyes to see their Status Information and was greeted with a shocker._.

[System Alert]

<Danger!> <Danger!!> <Danger!!!>

– Name: Hobgoblin (Warrior)

– Level: 80

– Race: Demon (Lesser) – Grade: 1

– Age: 70 days

[Stats]

– HP: 1,000

– MP: 300

– Strenght: 1,200

– Agility: 700

– Vitality: 900

– Intelligence: 50

[End Of Information]

My eyes bulged in response to the unbelievable stats the new sets of Hobgoblins had, and I slightly shook in disbelief.

Not only did the stats surprise me, but the system warning boggled my mind. I could still remember the last time I had gotten triple danger alerts. It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

“I nearly died back then!” I muttered, looking at the dangerous Demons beneath.

One wasn’t a problem, but the fact that there were a couple hundred of them already in the compound and more still seemed to appear bothered me.

“Just how many are they?”

For the system to have sent me so many warnings, meant my chances of winning were low. No, perhaps they were non-existent. I only survived in the past because I got my Job at the exact moment when I was supposed to die.

I had grown remarkably stronger since then and reached unfathomable heights by the standards of everyone else. Yet, the system still gave me these warnings. So far, it had never been wrong.

“I have no chance of winning, eh?” I smiled to myself.

Despite the thirst that I had for battle and the slight nudge within me to fight, I wasn’t an idiot. Since it had come to this, a strategic retreat was in order.

If I challenged this horde in my current state… I would die!

“GARREUUUUUUUIIIIKKKK!!!” The roars of several Demons sent a chill down my spine.

I could tell if it was due to a skill or if I was just feeling the impossibility of the situation. Either way, I had to leave… and fast!

Fortunately, since I was already atop the fence, I jumped down on the other end, away from the compound, and began my retreat. Using my strong legs and every buff I could use, I sped along the path and created a huge distance between myself and the Hobgoblins’ domain.

Suddenly, I was nearly shook off balance as the earth rattled, trembling in response to something. I was forced to stop my escape and ponder on what could cause the very ground to shake the way it did.

‘What is… going on?!’

Slowly tilting my head and looking back, I found the answer to my question. The ground rattled, trees moved and rocks were unhinged from their positions, all thanks to the grand chase of the Hobgoblins behind me.

My eyes widened as I saw the cloud of smoke afar off, and while I stood at a great distance from the cloud, it advanced at a steady pace.

“I can outrun it. But… what of the others?!”

I began to panic. Unlike my first two tries, where I completely finished the first compound and didn’t bother with the second, the gate to the second had been opened and the demons now chased me.

“They won’t stop… they will keep moving until they catch up to their target!”

My Agility was higher, so I could escape, but that meant the Base was in danger of being overrun by these beasts. There was no way any of them could survive if a horde of this magnitude attacked.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I cursed, gritting my teeth.

Stuck between the decision of running away and allowing the Demons to get closer to the Base or fighting back and engaging in a battle I was certain I could not win, my body remained dormant.

‘What do I do? What do I do?! Damnit!’

It wasn’t like I cared about the Subjugation Team members. I couldn’t care less if they died, but certain things needed to be in order before that could happen.

I had already laid out my plans, and if they all perished, it would cause a major backlash to me.

“Can I, no, should I take them… or not?!”

My brain was in overdrive as I saw the cloud of smoke already very close. The rushing Hobgoblins were already in sight and their eyes were fixated on only me.

Quickly thinking of possibilities, I came up with a few ideas. I could rush back to base and trap everyone in [Subspace], saving their lives. However, I didn’t have enough space to carry everyone, plus doing so would reveal my abilities to the Subjugation team members.

‘They’re supposed to be sleeping now, but this stampede will be sure to wake them up!’ I reasoned.

For all I knew, they could be awake already. I had to think of a plan that didn’t prove to be of any detriment whatsoever to the grand scheme of things.

Suddenly my eyes widened as a brilliant plan popped into my head.

“T-that’s it!” I beamed.

An idea that turned this disaster into something of a blessing, or rather, a good opportunity. It would be dangerous and risky, and I would have to face the monsters eventually.

But, if I succeeded, it would prove extremely beneficial to my cause!