Rise Of The Hoarder

I charged at the monster as it also charged at me. The faster one would obtain the more decisive victory.

The monster was sluggish, having an HP a little above 1,000, and all other Stats reduced to a mere vestige of what it had previously been. It was a cinch for me, or so it would have been if I wasn’t in a similar predicament.

We were both at our limits—physically, that is.

One hit would decide everything!

>FWOOOOOOSSHHHH!!!<

My body cut through the wind as I prepared both my blades for the attack. As for the Hobgoblin Chief, it had its massive staff, ready to smash my head in and turn me into squashed mincemeat.

I wasn’t sure I would survive it, even with protection. It was a good thing I had no intention of being hit in the first place.

I saw the monster’s hand descend, the giant stick drawing closer to me by the second. Death was above my head… or was it?!

I summoned several platforms underneath me, destroying them instantly as I used them as footholds and pushed my body away from the trajectory of the monster’s attack._.

Since I was faster, I avoided the horizontal strike and closed my distance from the Demon. Unlike before, I didn’t need to be wary of illusions or force field since the Hobgoblin Chief’s MP had reached rock bottom, well, nearly.

Having less than a hundred points left qualified as that, after all!

>WHOOOSHHH!!!<

I burned nearly everything, my MP, to transverse the gap between both of us and finally reached my aim—the Hobgoblin Chief’s neck!

“Here goes!”

Already out of MP, I decided to resort to the air within [Subspace] that was chock-full of my Mana. I ensured to concentrate the air around the neck of the target, spraying it like perfume until I was sure that the very surface of my opponent was covered in the mist.

Since the Hobgoblin Chief was conserving its strength, it had concentrated its Mana skin on its hands and staff, ignoring its neck. That meant I couldn’t explode it since there was no clash between my mana and demonic energy.

‘Well, I just have to work a way around that!’ I grinned, brandishing my blade.

One of the special effects of weapons like this was to burn core energy to increase their attack potency. Since I was using my mana to strengthen myself, I couldn’t resort to demonic mana from the blade since that would only blow up in my face, literally.

However, I was already out of mana, and I currently needed a boost from the blade. Plus…

Both Hell Kobold King Claws sparked with crimson lightning and burst forth in brilliance. I felt the surge of power coming from them and felt their essence crumbling away. It wouldn’t be long now!

Creating another platform behind me, I twisted my body in midair and ensured my legs kicked at the multiple desks lined up to create enough pressure to speed at my opponent like a bullet.

It worked!

>BOOOOOMMMM!!!<

All the furniture I kicked behind shattered instantly and I charged at my prey in a flash.

My blades were readied, and the sparking energy kept raging, going berserk. Using the last strength my body could muster, I twisted in the air, flipping like a rollercoaster, and after building enough pressure, I threw both daggers at the monster.

>WHIIIIIIISSSHHHHH<

The air parted ways as both weapons hissed, heading straight for the giant Demon that was still too slow to attack me during my counter. The weapons reached their target—the neck— in an instant, meeting the most unexpected element waiting for them.

My Mana!

As the already rampaging demonic energy on the blade met the lingering Mana permeating all around the Hobgoblin Chief, only one end result presented itself.

An explosion!

>BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

I nearly lost my balance in the air, making me wish for a Skill like flight. If only wishes were horses, though…

I settled for summoned platforms and made my way back to the ground, feeling the intense heat emanating from the corpse of my opponent—now deceased.

Just as I had hoped, the explosion was enough to cut off the head of the Hobgoblin Chief since Its HP and Dexterity had basically become fodder, and its unprotected neck was just the weak link I needed.

“Haa… it’s finally over. That was a long and tough fight!”

>SHUUUUUU!!!<

The Hobgoblin Chief’s body started crumbling away, turning into dust. A relieved expression formed on my face. It had taken quite a good deal of work, but I had single-handedly killed a Grade 2 Demon on my known… this had to be a new record.

‘This is just the beginning stage. There shouldn’t be more than five of their kind in total, yet I’ve already killed two… well, not exactly.’

According to my knowledge, the initial phase wouldn’t end until all five Grade 2 Demon Bosses had been defeated, and the Gates closed. After that, the true Apocalypse began.

I had managed to kill the Hell Kobold King, and was about to challenge the Boss of the Hobgoblins, whoever it was. All that remained were three, and as much as I would love to have them… time was nearly up.

Most would have been conquered by now, judging by the progression of events. Well, maybe… I wasn’t so sure at the time.

“A-ah!”

My mind seemed scrambled, like I was missing something important. This caused my brain to spark, acting most unusually. I felt what seemed like a thud in my head, causing me to grip it tightly.

“Guh!”

It was an unpleasant experience, and while I wanted to attribute the overpowering migraine to exhaustion caused by my concluded fight, I knew better than that. Something was wrong… I just didn’t know what it was yet.

“Welp, there’s nothing I can do about that!” I finally yelled in surrender, falling flat on the ground.

Thanks to the effects of my Skill, <Mine Alone>, my loot was automatically transported into [Subspace].

[You Have Leveled Up] Pings also popped up, like clockwork.

The System sent a [Congratulations] Window and told me of some ‘Special Reward’ for being the first to defeat such a creature and an additional reward for killing it alone.

“Haa… looks like it was worth it, after all.”