Rise Of The Hoarder

“Oh? You were speaking? I had no idea… your voice was too low for me to hear, after all.” I replied to Melissa’s rageful words.r

This made her deep scowl become even more intense.r

“Could you repeat what you said? I truly couldn’t hear you.” I asked with an innocent tone.r

Of course, Melissa already knew I was faking it. The disgrace she was experiencing was my fault, and I was taking pleasure in it.r

“Jeremy. There’s something you should know. I wanted Melissa to go first, but maybe I should.” Daniel suddenly said, interrupting my little chat with his girlfriend.r

“What is it? You’ve come to bully me again? Melissa did say she was bringing you to visit next time. I suppose the both of you have come to gang up on me.” I smiled at him.r

I didn’t know whether it was him being foolish, or just as a pretense, but Daniel instantly became flustered by my clever use of words and quickly shook his head.r

“N-no way! I didn’t come here for that at all. I just thought we could talk… to sort things out between us. A-about our past and all-“r

‘Pfft, this guy… has he really become such a wuss?’ I grinned internally.r

Glancing at Melissa, I saw her sickened and embarrassed expression. She was clearly despising how Daniel acted in front of me. The same person she had used to threaten me was now acting like an overgrown baby.r_.

“I don’t believe you. I don’t trust you. Your timing is convenient too, now that Ana and everyone else aren’t present, you’ve come to just ‘talk’? What kind of BS is that?” I asked, intentionally raising my voice.r

This drove both of them into a panic. After all, If both of them were to be found bullying me, the golden egg of the Camp, who knew how everyone would react?r

“Stop, Jeremy. Daniel is being honest! I-if you can’t believe him, then check his Status… you’ll see that… he… he has changed…” Melissa protested, attempting to calm me down. r

Her voice faded slowly though, now looking away in shame.r

I did as she said, looking at Daniel’s Status information. As expected… he was weak.r

[SYSTEM INFORMATION]r

Name: Danielr

Race: Humanr

Sex: Maler

Level: 30r

Alignment: Lawful Good (Penitent)r

[End Of Information]r

I knew more than the Status Introduction let on, though. Since Charles had shown me everything, I was even aware of his Gift.r

“L-level 30! Whoah, that’s even stronger than Ana and the Camp Leader!” I beamed, feigning shock.r

Daniel smiled sheepishly, looking away quickly.r

“W-well, I am the Camp’s Ace, after all.” He mumbled.r

He appeared a little curious about my own Status information as well, but Charles had already told them about my story with the Masked Man and how he made sure no one could check my info.r

Even if anyone became cynical about my testimony, it wouldn’t be the dunce in front of me.r

At this point, there was no point in pushing things with Daniel anymore. I hadn’t forgotten my revenge, and when the time arrives, it would be amusing to see, but for now…r

“So, you’re good now. I see…” My voice trailed, looking at his pleading face.r

“Jeremy, I’m truly sorry for how I treated you in the past. I have changed, and I want you to know that. So, please… can you forgive me?” Daniel burst out.r

‘Ah, hearing such a sincere apology from someone like him…’ My mind trailed.r

Sure, his tone was kinder now, and his face didn’t have the angry scowl he always wore back then. His Alignment states that he is kind, and everyone testified to this. r

Yet… no matter how much I mulled over these facts, there was no way I could separate this version of him from the old one I knew.r

‘Your face is still the same, your smell, your voice, your height, your build… everything is! I was forced to memorize every single detail about you because I was so frightened of your mere presence. It doesn’t matter how much you change now, Daniel… I’m still going to make you pay!’r

Well, there was no way I was going to tell him that at the moment.r

“I-I… I don’t fully forgive you yet. But, Ana did tell me a little about you, and Charles spoke of you. So, for now… I’m fine with us being Camp Members.” I responded hesitantly.r

If I had been too eager to accept, it would have been be suspicious, and if I was too aggressive, that would be unreasonable.r

There had to be a balance.r

“Really? That’s enough for me Jeremy!” Daniel beamed, bickering about several things and gushing in front of me.r

I endured and listened to his nonsense until he was finally done.r

The only one who remained was his dear girlfriend, Melissa.r

“I’m sorry for assaulting you yesterday, it won’t happen again.” She stated flatly.r

It was a little unremarkable, compared to what I expected. Plus, she didn’t apologize for the past, but I decided to accept it anyway.r

‘It’s not like it changes anything.’r

Melissa still appeared pissed, ad she seethed in silent rage, while Daniel was relieved and happy. I smiled and spoke with them a little, telling them how excited I was to be a member of the family, asking if there were any other members of our class who were in the camp, and many others. r

After some minutes of a mentally exhausting conversation, both of them finally left me alone.r

“Haaa, finally. That was tiring…” I sighed heavily, bringing out a half-finished soda from [Subspace].r

“Here’s to hoping I never run into them again!” I cheered at the impossible wish and downed the tasty liquid, feeling the sweetness go down my throat.r

It was refreshing.r

“Huu, now that’s the stuff!” I smiled, licking my lips.r

The conversation between Charles and Ana suddenly came back to my mind, making me bring out the Speaker once again to listen in. However, by the time I was done, the conversation was over. I could only hear scribbling sounds, which was most likely Charles writing down some things.r

‘That means… Ana is-‘r

The door suddenly creaked open and I saw Ana’s figure entering. The speaker was right beside me, and I was still holding my soda.r

If she saw me, it was going to be quite an awkward situation.r