Rise Of The Hoarder

There were many ways to win.

I knew that from the get-go.

I could use [Subspace] to shave off parts of the Dragon’s body, reducing its health until it completely fell apart.

I could use my purification to severely weaken it and blast the monster to kingdom come.

An easy solution would also be to use the seventy-one Treasures OF War to impale the beast on all ends. If I added my Mana to them and increased their efficiency, the monster stood no chance.

I could keep going on and on as to how I could win, but what was the point?

Once in a while, a person needed some excitement in their life—I was no exception.

“COME!”

My declaration prompted the Dragon Of Storms—or rather, what was left of him—to charge at me with frightening speed.

>WHOOOOSSHSHHH<

In a flash, it closed the distance between us, baring its claws on me. The monster’s large hand descended on my smaller frame, drawing close at a frightening degree.

I grinned underneath my mask and stretched my hand to stop the impudent monster._.

>BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!<

The shockwave of both our hands colliding caused the entire area to quake. The earth seemed to tremor and the pressure of the wind blew the ground area away and shattered our immediate vicinity.

“Heh, you’re quite strong.” I smiled, watching the Dragon give a puzzled expression.

Its massive hand had been stopped by my smaller one. I held it, just before it touched me, squeezing my fingers on its scaly body.

“GURUUUUUUUAAAAAKKK” It let out an annoyed and agonizing screech.

>VWOOOOSSSHHH<

Swiftly, the monster made its retreat, sending bursts of wind my way.

I blocked with my barrier, but it used this opportunity to escape my grasp.

“Not bad,” I muttered.

I looked at my hand and found a portion of it solely rotting. Blackish-purple hue spread across my fingers, but before long they dissipated.

“Miasma, uh? Looks like the effects are quite strong…”

My resistance wasn’t enough to completely shield me from the Dragon’s negative energy.

“Oh, well…”

My Auto-recovery kicked in, and I was immediately restored to an optimal state.

“… shall we resume?” I smiled at the Undead beast hanging in the sky.

A huge storm was brewing above it.

The skies darkened, and I heard the rumbles of thunder. Black flashes of lightning surged forth, and I felt a great deal of wind converging in its direction.

Right before my eyes, I witnessed a change of scenery entirely.

The darkened clouds surged with lots of lightning and made thunderous noises. Multiple whirlwinds appeared, and a thick fog of miasma gathered around my foe.

“Oh? So, this is why they call you the Dragon Of Storms?”

The living corpse of Barbados, my foe, seemed to grin in delight.

It must have been reveling in its power, conjuring such a storm to oppose me. I watched as it roared in superiority, sending its torrents of attacks at me.

Multiple flashes of devastating black lightning lunged at me. I also saw waves of Miasma swarm me, and the whirlwinds sharply danced in my direction.

“I’m sorry to say, but these things don’t interest me.”

In an instant, all his methods of assault vanished—gone, as though they were never there.

I stared at Barbados blankly, waiting to see the reaction it would give me.

“G-GRUUUHHH?!”

As expected, it didn’t disappoint.

“As you can see, those things won’t work. Come and fight me yourself!” I grinned.

The Undead Dragon didn’t respond to my taunts as I wished, though. Instead, it took a couple of flights back and began amassing a great deal of power—stronger than the torrents of storms earlier.

“What now?”

Dark aura gathered around its mouth as the Dragon opened it. I saw an orb of devastating purple hue begin to form. It cackled with power, holding enough devastating force to wipe out a large portion of the area.

“You’re going for your Dragon Breath now, eh? That’s nice.”

Once a few moments elapsed, the breath was completed and the purple flashes of energy had already become extremely formidable.

‘My defenses can’t take all of that. I’ll receive some damage…’

Still, I didn’t even make an attempt to move.

“RARHHHHHHH!!!”

The Dragon released its breath, sending out a huge torrent of blackish purple light that seemed to consume everything in its path. Even the ground beneath us sustained damage—breaking apart as the blast approached.

“Its destructive capacity is good. I like it.”

As I watched it draw closer, I could feel the gazes of the Gifteds I brought along. They seemed to be worried and extremely frightened. One had even passed out.

‘Bunch of chickens. They’re inside a barrier and they’re still this scared?”

They were most likely worried about me—their ticket to a bright future. I found that laughable, though. After all… even if I did nothing… that assault wouldn’t touch me.

>SHIIIIII<

In moments, the bursts of destruction vanished, leaving nothing bearing its semblance. Only the charred trail on the ground reflected the devastating path the blast took. Nothing else could be seen.

“You seem confused, scared maybe…” I grinned at the monster ecstatically.

My [Subspace] had an additional feature called <Auto Retrieve>, allowing anything deemed harmful or beneficial to me in a particular area to be automatically transferred to my possession.

Of course, I could alter the setting so it currently couldn’t collect living things and a few other things. If I hadn’t limited its functions, it would have absorbed the Dragon the moment it entered range.

But, I didn’t want things to end so easily.

“Well, you’ve tried that and it didn’t work. Are you ready to attack me now?” I smiled at the Undead Dragon.

The deathly glare it gave me before now turned into something akin to fear.

It was as if its instincts were telling it to flee—not that there was anywhere it could run to.

“You know… I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

“GRUIIIHHHH…. URHHHHH?!”

What it said was simply “How is this possible?!”

And how did I know that?

It was because of one of my Skills, something I got from the Hobgoblin King back then.

<Interpretation>

“It looks like you won’t be coming to me…” I whispered, readying myself while keeping my gaze on the beast.

‘In that case… I’ll simply go to meet you!’