Rise Of The Hoarder

With my eyes fixated on the one who seemed to be the most powerful of the bunch, I whispered words to myself.

“That one… is strong!”

But, I wasn’t about to get myself discouraged.

Casters, Advanced Warriors, Advanced Archers, Advanced Tankers… I could see them all stretch at a distance.

They all took their stances. Archers took their aims, Casters were ready to launch Spell, as the others prepared for their moves as well. This was a much larger crowd than anything I had faced so far, and they contained only the most elite of forces.

Yet… yet… what was this confidence that was brimming from within me?

“Huu… seems like a waste to use it now since I only get to do it once, but… let’s see what you’ve got. Activate Skill: Parlor Tricks.”

[System Information]

~Your Skill <Parlor Tricks> Is In Effect~

<The Roulette Will Be Spun>_.

[.]

Seeing this notification, I decided to pass time by dropping from my elevated standpoint, knowing that this would signal all hell to be let loose. But, I was prepared for that much.

With a single leap, I left the wooden fence cracked as I jumped down.

The Demons saw my movements and rapidly fired their shots at me in what seemed to be too great a multitude to refer to as merely ‘thousands’. The red aura of demonic energy covered the sky as I saw the rains of pure, overwhelming power near me at a frightening pace.

My eyes picked up the ones I could, but even I could tell that I couldn’t get all of them in time.

Still, it would be embarrassing if I got struck by a single one of them, so I resorted to one of my tricks.

“<Summon>”

Instantly, air that was already filled with my mana filled the sky that contained the incoming enemy projectiles. My mana clashed with the demons’, sending everything into a massive gust of flames and destruction.

>BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<

The sky was painted in distortions of crimson red and grey smoke. I took the opportunity to take in all of them, but even remnants lingered in the sky by the time I was done.

The fireworks displayed seemed to signal the start of the Demons’ march as they all charged at me with deafening yells that could kill an average person.

Thousands upon thousands upon thousands rushed at me, causing the ground to quake ceaselessly.

“GARUIIIIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUUIIIIIKKKKKK!!!”

Such brute noises and clamors that I had never experienced in all my life came flooding into my eardrums as I struggled to keep them out. In what could possibly be the very last seconds of my life, the Demons would crush me with their absolute numbers.

But, I wasn’t frightened.

Why?

The answer was simple…

[System Notification]

~ Tarot Card <The Devil> Has Been Chosen~

(The ‘Upright’ Variant Will Be Used)

~Please Confirm Card Usage~

[Accept] [Decline]

I selected the most reasonable option without hesitation.

And so… as the effects kicked in, so did the description of the frightening Skill. And it was beyond my expectations.

[System Information]

~Skill <The Devil (Upright)> In Progress~

<The Devil: Upright Variant>

The Devil expresses the realm of the taboo — the culturally rejected wildness and undigested shadow side that each of us carries in our subconscious. This shadow is actually at the core of our being, which we cannot get rid of and will never succeed in taming. The Devil evokes the church-fueled fear that a person could “lose their soul” to wild and passionate forces.

~ Card Effect: All ‘Demons’ (Those Who Possess Evil Alignments) Within A Specified Range Will Lose Their Souls And Fall.

(Skill Duration: Instant)

[Note: Effects Apply Currently To Only Demons Of Grade 1 and Evil Aligned Person’s 50 Levels Lower Than The User.]

[End Of Information]

And so, as the Skill pronounced… every single Demon in sight died—right before my eyes.

Not one thousand. Not two, not five, not ten… probably over thirty thousand Demons… all of which were Grade 1… lost their souls and fell. They perished!

[You Have Leveled Up] pings nearly deafened my ears and blinded my sight as I took in the unbelievable sight. It was absurd, yet believable.

“I’m supposed to get my Secondary Job after the beginning phase… the Demons that I will encounter in the later stages go beyond Grade 1. When using that logic, this Skill isn’t so powerful, since it only affects Grade 1s…”

That was the rational conclusion I came to. Yes, it was only right to think that way. However, the fact that this Skill made it to the beginning phase, where nearly any Demon in sight was Grade 1… broke the balance of the very concept of fighting.

There was no point in exerting myself needlessly over what was considered small fry by the System.

I had grown beyond that… I was truly one who ruled Devils themselves. A Devil above the current Demons.

However, my celebration was cut short the moment I realized that I hadn’t entirely been victorious.

“GARUIIIIIKKKKKK….”

Standing a very far distance from me was the very beast I spotted when I stood atop the fence. Its growl could be felt from my distance and I could still sense its power.

The Demon was green, the same as its other kin, having black markings that resembled tattoos all over its body. The bizarre creature donned primitive clothes that made it seem like a caveman, and had a large staff that appeared wooden in nature.

Bushy hair came from its head and on its chin flowed a long beard.

The most noticeable trait about it, however, was its height. Goblins, even Hobs, were creatures with inferior heights as compared to other Demons. However, this one broke the record.

It had to be at least 12 meters in height, and its incredibly muscular body made it seem all the more dangerous.

It was tall! It was huge! It was powerful, and most of all, it was a Demon beyond the realm of the usual monsters I had experienced till now—with the exception of one.

The massive monster I now challenged was the last of the Demons that previously filled the compound for one reason and one reason alone.

“It’s a Grade 2!”