Rise Of The Hoarder

“<Summon>”

Instantly, a Demon Core appeared on my palm. It was one of the Demon Cores gotten from the Hobgoblins. I had so many in my [Subspace] so it would be a waste for them to just be sitting there.

“There are two variants I have obtained. Judging from the slots, one belongs to the Hobgoblin brawlers, and the others are the archers. They have similar skillsets, except for some differences.” I mumbled, bringing the other Demon Core for comparison.

‘Let’s take a closer inspection, shall we?’

[System Notification]

[Hobgoblin (Brawler) Skill ‘Claw Strike’ Is Available]

[Hobgoblin (Brawler) Skill ‘Camouflage’ Is Available]

~Select The Skills You Would Like to Save~

[.]

After focusing on the Cores, the learning skill Window opened.

I objectively looked at the two Skills to be learned from the ‘Brawler’ Hobgoblin class. The first was most likely a less impressive version of Claw Attack, so I instinctively ignored it.

As for the second… now that looked interesting. I tapped on the <Camouflage> Skill, choosing to learn it instead of the former._.

[Confirm: Do You Want To Save The Skill <Camouflage> To Skill Slot?]

[Yes] [No]

Of course, I chose [Yes], causing a dim light to shine from the Demon Core. I grinned, looking at the faint glow that remained in the rock. It still had enough residual energy available since I didn’t learn both Skills.

I opened my Skills Window and glanced through it to see my newly learned ability. I tapped on it to obtain more information on it and how it worked.

[Skill Information]

<Camouflage>

Grade: 1 (Fixed)

Level:1 (Upgradable)

[Description]

A skill obtained from the lesser Demon, ‘Hobgoblin (Brawler)’. It is a low leveled skill that causes the user to blend in with his surrounding. This causes temporary invisibility and allows the user to escape the senses of those around for a limited period.

[Currently Unactivated]

Skill Duration: 3 Minutes

Skill Cooldown: 5 Hours

[End Of Information]

“A-ahh…” I let out, surprised by such a great Skill I stumbled on.

This was absolutely incredible! An ability akin to stealth? Crazy!!!

Since I chose the ‘Thief’ Job, I had hoped I would get a Skill relating to Stealth, but I had no such luck. Perhaps it was going to be given at a later time, or it was an exclusive skill given to the ‘Assasin’ Variant of the Thief Job. Either way, I didn’t possess any stealth skills.

I had been managing to get by due to my high speed and cunning, but those could only help me to an extent.

“But now, I have this! Perfect!” I beamed.

I decided to increase the level of the Skill to its maximum. However, before doing that, I looked at the Skills within the Demon Core of the Archer Hobgoblins.

[System Notification]

[Hobgoblin (Archer) Skill ‘Archery’ Is Available]

[Hobgoblin (Archer) Skill ‘Coordination’ Is Available]

~Select The Skills You Would Like to Save~

[.]

Just like the Brawler Demon Core, this also had two skills to learn from. Upon seeing the first Skill, I also ignored it since I had no interest in archery. Sure, it would be good for ranged weapons, but since it was only a Grade 1 Skill, I doubted it would be extremely useful for all ranged weapons.

I already had <Summon> and <Recall> to use in attacking enemies around while fighting in melee combat. There was no need to obtain an archery skill.

As for the second one… now that seemed useful!

[Confirm: Do You Want To Save The Skill <Coordination> To Skill Slot?]

[Yes] [No]

After obtaining the Skill, I proceeded to learn more about it.

[Skill Information]

<Coordination>

Grade: 1 (Fixed)

Level:1 (Upgradable)

A skill obtained from the lesser Demon, ‘Hobgoblin (Archer)’. It is a low leveled skill that grants the user heightened and sharpened senses, especially that of sight. They are also freely able to move their body more fluidly in response to their intention.

[Currently Unactivated]

Skill Duration: 5 Minutes

Skill Cooldown: 3 Hours

[End Of Information]

“Welp, this isn’t too bad either. Judging by the description, it’ raises my agility and intelligence. I can’t wait to see the effects on the battlefield. If I can coordinate my movements better, it’ll make fighting easier.” I beamed satisfied.

Now that I had obtained two new skills, there was only one thing left to do about them. Upgrade!

“Let’s raise them as high as possible… to the max!”

*******************************************

I threw in the Demon Cores in my possession, and fortunately, they were enough to raise their levels to the max. Even though I couldn’t raise the Grade, the effectiveness and efficiency increased.

‘The duration is now way higher, and the Cooldown has drastically dropped. That’s good!’

Adding the Demon Cores I got from the Hell Kobolds and the Hobgoblins, I still had over two thousand left.

They were not really useful to me now since I had gotten as far as I could with their Skills. Which meant they would make good explosives in the battle to come.

Now that I had gotten two new skills, I was itching to dive back into battle.

But, before that, there were a few things to consider.

One was the Horde’s advancement. I already knew the Gate was stationed at the rear, which meant to advance, they kept spilling Hobs and creating compounds, slowly increasing their territory. I had no idea how many the total number was, but at the rate at which they were being produced, it could be a serious problem if the Hobs kept spawning uncontrollably.

“I could have said it would be useful for farming EXP, but… what’s the point? The higher my level, the more difficult it is to Level Up with small fries.” I sighed.

Ultimately, it was in my best interest to end things quickly. The Boss would fetch a pretty decent load of EXP.

Plus, I still had other experiments to perform, so this was no time to let my workload pile up.

After considering other factors and eating a little more, I descended from the tree and returned to the Base. At this point, Daniel and Tasha were already present and I saw Melissa cling to him, speaking emotionally.

If she was trying to get Daniel on my case, that was the wrong move to make. Not only did Daniel believe me to be innocent, but he was also more concerned with the mission than anything else.

A petty accident wouldn’t make him break the peace. After some minutes, Daniel finally stood from where he sat and assembled everyone.

“It looks like we’ve rested well enough… gather around, people. It’s time for the second round!”