Rise Of The Hoarder

“Rise and shine, sleepy head.” A voice greeted Niggaruth as he opened his astral eyes.

His vision blurred, but it only lasted for a moment.

Soon, he could see everything around him. It was the exact scene he remembered before dying—the underground room where he was brewing his Elixir.

Did he not die? Had he managed to survive?

Countless thoughts lurked in Niggaruth’s ghost-like body… until he realized the fact… that he was in a ghost-like body.

He nearly shrieked, seeing as he had a near-transparent form, and floated like a ghost. A purple aura emanated from him, and his body was incorporeal—well, nearly.

He was made of energy, and he could even see his actual body—his corpse—lying on the ground.

Niggaruth didn’t need a prophet to tell him that he was dead.

‘Ghost Magic…?!’ His thoughts rang, and an imaginary cold sweat broke on his forehead.

He was a ghost, so he couldn’t really sweat.

Still, Niggaruth understood the implications of what had happened to him. As an expert in Magic, he knew of this kind. Plus, since he had also used it on a few minions back in the day, he knew it quite well.

He was now an Enslaved Soul, bound to the one known as his master.

Niggaruth gulped nonexistent saliva—he didn’t have any in his current form—and looked at the being that stood behind him.

He was the one who called Niggaruth from the abyss. He was his new master. The Vampire, turned ghost, knew this guy well. It was…

“You Human!” He spat, both disdainfully and fearfully.

Of all the people who could command him, it had to be the one he despised most.

>BBZZZTTTZZZZ!!!<

A surge instantly went through Niggaruth’s body and he screamed in pain.

“Guarghhhhh!!!”

The pain felt unreal—like he was being purified over and over again. It was the consequence of defying the one who was now his master.

“Don’t give me that attitude. You belong to me now, so do as I say.” The human told him.

It was a normal voice, yet Niggaruth felt so threatened by it. This was an unfathomable being who was able to trump him so easily. He didn’t even seem to be trying, yet…

Looking at things objectively, wasn’t he a decent master?

‘He’s strong, cunning… and…’

But, there was one final criterion that was essential before Niggaruth could truly consider anyone his master.

“A-are you… immortal?” The astral vampire man asked.

The Masked person had no expression to give since his face was hidden behind a layer, so Niggaruth could only imagine whatever face he would give.

“Well, I don’t plan on dying so… yeah. I’m practically immortal as it is.”

Once Niggaruth heard that, his heart melted.

Usually, he would find it doubtful, but this man had easily subdued him and made everything seem so causal. Plus, he was practically an Enslaved Soul who had no choice but to obey his master.

Niggaruth knew of his greatness.

‘There’s no need to doubt his words…’

And so, with those trailing thoughts, the Vampire ghost decided to dedicate all he had to serve his new master.

*********

The Vampire Soul—who turned out to be someone called Niggaruth—initially started out as a pain, but it eventually submitted.

I was a bit surprised when it asked me about immortality, so I just winged it and gave the answer it wanted to hear. In any case, it was satisfying to have a powerful caster like Niggaruth on the team.

With his help, completing the 91st Floor was a breeze.

The Elixir he was making was the key to the whole quest, and by using the immense Life Force within it, I was able to restore all the undead people in the village back to regular folks.

Niggaruth was a great find, and his facility had tons of goodies in them, so I took the liberty of clearing out all the valuables.

With the cooperative ghost as a guide, I was able to efficiently take everything useful.

Once I was done plundering, instead of blowing the facility to kingdom come—since it was the source of the town’s troubles—I used [Subspace] to keep it.

It was a good fort. I had no idea when it would end up being useful. Though it left a gaping hole in the center of the town, no one seemed to mind. After all, if I burned it to the ground, it would have yielded the same results.

No, in fact, this was an even better outcome.

I was able to complete all the Quests, even the additional one. By not harming any native of the Undead Town, I received additional rewards and got a ton of stuff.

Of course, the freeloaders with me also seemed happy concerning whatever meager reward they were able to amass. I wasn’t complaining, though. They were necessary.

Since we were done with the 91st Floor, the next objective was naturally the 92nd. It had twists similar to the previous one.

We were placed in a haunted house and had to solve a mystery. I wondered how people who couldn’t use their brains would clear the quest. But, being fair, if one didn’t have what it took to pass a lower Floor, it would be impossible to get very far on a higher one. That was how the Towers were designed.

I was able to solve the mystery and encountered the ghost of a Serial Killer. Needless to say, I beat the shit out of it and enslaved it.

Adding minions to my collection became something I looked forward to, even as I climbed the higher floors.

I got several abilities too—including the ability to turn into a ghost myself. It made me completely resistant to physical damage, so I considered it great. Unlike the <Phase> Skill from the Tutorial, which could be deactivated once a Mana-infused attack was used, <Ghost Transformation> negated all physical damage—even if they were imbued with Mana.

Even Skills and Spells could be resisted.

Holy Magic was a weakness, though, as well as Purification Skills. Plus, attacks that dealt directly with the soul were problematic.

All in all, though, it was a good ability to have.

I grinned in delight, satisfied by all I had achieved so far as I made my way to the most difficult Floor yet.

It was the 99th Floor!

‘Huu… I’m so close now…’