Rise Of The Hoarder

“GARUKIIIIKKKK!!!”

The several Hobgoblins lunged at me. Their clubs were tightly gripped on one hand while their claws all flailed at my location to slice me to shreds in case blunt attacks were rendered ineffective.

>FWOOOOSHHH!<

I quickly dodged their strikes, leaping a few meters backward. The Demons saw this and quickly stretched their hands in my direction. Instantly, claws from their arms were dislodged and launched at me like Gatling guns.

‘A-amazing!’ I beamed, my grin growing wider.

The rapid claws fired like bullets and flew straight at me. Their sharp edges were followed by my eyes, and since my mind was in overdrive, everything slowed down naturally.

“<Aura>. <Coordination>. <Nimble>. <Iron Skin>.”

Using these four Skills at once, I became a blur. Since there were so many claws that were rapidly fired at me, I didn’t bother dodging everything. The ones that touched me were rendered ineffective by the combined efforts of <Aura> and <Iron Skin>.

In essence, I was practically invulnerable!

>WHOOOOSHH<_.

Running like the wind, or perhaps like a flickering amber light, I shortened the distance between myself and the monsters. For some reason, I didn’t feel like using any weapon today, so I decided to use the old-fashioned way.

‘It’s been a while, but…’

“<Claw Attack>. <Venomous Spikes>. <Spike Attack>.”

Using the first Skills I first obtained brought back memories, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on nostalgia.

Shooting out my spikes like bullets, I launched them at my foes, giving them a good dose of poison. I wasn’t done, though!

My fingers elongated with a single thought, and by swinging my arms, I rendered several Demons into mincemeat.

Piercing them hard and fast, I killed the Hobgoblins one after the other. To be fair, they were too slow to even react to my movements, so it wasn’t too hard dealing with merely a hundred of them.

It had been a while since I fought without the assistance of any weapons from [Subspace], but somehow I felt relieved and refreshed.

With every swing I took and the blood I saw break out of the flesh of the monsters, I gleamed with satisfaction.

It was primal! It was raw! The experience of fighting on my lonesome against such ferocious beasts was one I intended to savor.

“I don’t need tools! With my body… I’ll kill you all!”

And that I did.

In no time at all, I had laid waste to the hundred Hobgoblins and stood atop their ashen corpse and evaporating blood.

“More…” Words escaped my lips.

This wasn’t enough for a morning exercise. To really work up a sweat, I needed more of a challenge.

“Shall we go for a bit of a challenge?”

I decided to summon a thousand next!

>WHIISHHH<

A thousand Demons materialized from [Subspace], all glaring angrily at me. They really wanted to tear me to pieces, but it wasn’t like I would allow them to do just that.

Just like before, I intended to use my body to fight.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

<DANGER!>

“Oh? It won’t be that simple, eh?” I muttered, seeing a single display of warning.

I saw this several times back at the apartment where I began my Demon slaying adventure. It simply meant that these monsters were enough if a threat to kill me. However, they weren’t so powerful that I couldn’t handle them.

“Fun fact…” My lips pursed into a smile as I spoke and moved closer to the Hobgoblin Warriors that already charged at me in an attempt to tear me apart.

“… Every single Demon that the ‘System’ ever showed me that <Danger> Sign for… ended up dead!”

I kicked the dust on my feet and dashed at the thousand Demons that made their way to me. Determined to fill the air with more screams, I sharpened my claws, bore my fangs, and readied for another blood-curdling match.

Lightning sparked from my body which was in fluid-like motion.

Efficiently poisoning my targets with <Venomous Spikes> while blinding them with <Spike Attack> by targeting their eyes, as well as killing them off with <Claw Atttack>, I killed the enemy with god-like precision.

This was all possible thanks to the <Coordination> Skill which ensured that none of my movements were ever wasted. It was more useful than I thought!

Unlike the previous fight, though, I didn’t fight unscathed. While <Aura> and <Iron Skin> blocked off most of the spike assaults rapidly fired at me, they weren’t absolute.

Sooner or later, their effectiveness dropped, causing slight scratches on my body.

For the first time in a while, I saw the color of my own blood!

‘Ah… it’s still red…’ My mind trailed as I smiled.

It appeared that despite how far I had gone, I was still merely a human. As such, I was not invincible… yet!

The blunt clubs of several Demons all fell on me while I was still distracted by the sight of my blood, sending me to the ground in a loud crash>

>BOOOOOMMM<

I fell, but quickly stood, knowing that every second spent down was fatal to me.

>WHOOOOOSHHH<

I quickly evaded their bullet-like spike and readied my claws for a comeback. Pushing my legs forward, I rushed at them.

I slashed at the monsters, drilling holes in their skulls and tearing them to pieces. Yes, their attacks still hit me, and being honest, they stung. However, what was pain? It was only temporary.

I endured the pains that the Demons sent to me and delivered even more to them. Thanks to <Coordination>, I never lost focus and kept fluidly using my movements to devastate the Demons, reducing their numbers rapidly.

[You Have Leveled Up] Icons kept popping, but my eyes were more focused on the Hobgoblin survivors that stubbornly clung to life.

“You’re all going to die!” I screamed maniacally.

Since their numbers had dwindled considerably, the number of claws fired at me had reduced considerably. At this point, none of their attacks hit me! The claws had also slowed down considerably thanks to my Level Ups and I felt my body moving faster.

Feeling lighter and suddenly full of more energy, I sent my arms flying to treat the rest of the monsters into pieces.

It was a massacre, and at the center of it all was me!

In ten minutes… I was done with a thousand Hobgoblin Warriors!

“Next!”