Rise Of The Hoarder

[System Notification]

[Hobgoblin (Chief) Skill ‘Extremity’ Is Available]

[Hobgoblin (Chief) Skill ‘Illusion Art’ Is Available]

[Hobgoblin (Chief) Skill ‘Great Fireball’ Is Available]

[Hobgoblin (Chief) Skill ‘Invisible Barrier’ Is Available]

[Hobgoblin (Chief) Skill ‘Rule’ Is Available]

~Select The Skills You Would Like to Save~

[.]

Five new skills, all for the taking. They weren’t fodder Skills too. Each of them was amazing, and they explained a great deal about the Hobgoblin Chief’s abilities when I fought him.

I could see some familiar Skills from the list before me. <Rule> was a Skill I possessed, but due to having only one Demon Core back then, I could only increase its Level to 3, before using up the energy of the Demon Core back then.

If I added this new <Rule> Skill, I would be able to get more proficient in it. However, was that the best thing to do? A bunch of new Skills were right in front of me currently. It would be a waste to choose a Skill I already had for the sake of increasing its Level. I needed to increase the Level of the new ones I would be getting too.

‘There’s a good chance that there are more Hobgoblin Chiefs beyond this point… if I’m lucky I’ll get more Cores and increase their Levels more!’

With that in mind, I decided to leave <Rule> out of the equation at the moment, since it wasn’t exactly useful against monsters. The Skill worked as a symbol of hierarchy and control.

Higher Grade Demons could control lower ones of the same kind. So, since only worked on beings of the same race, it was only useful against fellow humans.

What I needed at the moment was something useful to defeat the Boss up ahead!

I didn’t know what <Extremity> did, but it seemed like a good Skill. My gut feeling told me so.

Other than that, there was <Great Fireball>, but I was going to pass on that since it was bound to eat up a lot of mana and the Cooldown rate would be high. If it was a more advanced version of the <Fireball> currently in my arsenal, I could count on that.

Next, I saw <Illusion Art>. This was extremely useful. There was no guarantee that I wouldn’t naturally obtain it as I advanced in my <Thief> job, but the possibility existed that I wouldn’t.

‘It could belong to the <Assassin> or <Ninja> Secondary Job though…’_.

With that in mind, I decided to get that too. The final was <Invisible Barrier>. This was quite troublesome for me when I was up against the Hobgoblin Chief. I wondered how my opponents would feel If they were on the receiving end.

“It won’t be that strong from the onset, but it’s better than nothing.”

With my decision already made, I chose the three Skills I wanted to select.

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

[Yes] [No]

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

[Yes] [No]

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

[Yes] [No]

[.]

It felt annoying having to confirm my selection, but I patiently swallowed. The moment I positively responded to the System inquisitions, a bright spark surged, and the Skills became one with me.

The next thing to do, as a matter of course, was to check out what I had gotten in more detail.

[Skill Information]

<Extremity>

Grade: 2 (Fixed)

Level:1 (Upgradable)

[Description]

A skill obtained from the lesser Demon, ‘Hobgoblin (Chief)’. It is a skill that grants the user heightened Stats in exchange for Mana. Coating the body with intense energy, it acts as an offensive covering and also defensive, boosting bodily functions.

[Currently Unactivated]

Skill Duration: None (Mana Consumption Is Applied—100 MP per Second)

Skill Cooldown: None (It is advised not to use this Skill in quick succession since prolonged use causes burnout in the user.)

NOTE: This is an evolution of the Skill <Aura>

[End Of Information]

[Skill Information]

<Illusion Arts>

Grade: 2 (Fixed)

Level:1 (Upgradable)

[Description]

A skill obtained from the lesser Demon, ‘Hobgoblin (Chief)’. It is a skill that allows the user to forcefully cause others to perceive wrong details on the user’s body. One can use this to create visible illusions in limited ways. It also allows the user to create illusory clones, depending on proficiency.

~Current Clones Usable: 1

[Currently Unactivated]

Skill Duration: 5 Minutes

Skill Cooldown: 5 Hours

NOTE: Illusory Clones are not real, and can not deal any damage. They can also not be dealt any damage.

[End Of Information]

[Skill Information]

<Invisible Barrier>

Grade: 2 (Fixed)

Level:1 (Upgradable)

[Description]

A skill obtained from the lesser Demon, ‘Hobgoblin (Chief)’. It is a skill that creates an invisible dome around the user, shielding them from external attacks. The durability of this barrier depends on the MP expended.

[Currently Unactivated]

Skill Duration: 5 Minutes

Skill Cooldown: 3 Hours

[End Of Information]

A grin leaked out of my clearly satisfied face. I was about to celebrate when I heard a System Ping, notifying me of something else I should have expected.

[System Update]

– User’s Skills <Aura> and <Extremity> have similar properties and functions. For efficiency, these two will be merged.

~Do You Want To Proceed?~

[Yes] [No]

Since <Extremity> was said to be an evolution of <Aura>, it made perfect sense. I was looking forward to what would be born.

[Merging Successful]

~<Extremity> Has Replaced <Aura> In Skill Slot.~

~ <Extremity Has Leveled Up To Level 2.~

– All Skills Have Synced With [Skill Slot].

[End Of Information]

Everything was perfect. I was quite exciting, I had to admit. I still had some energy left in the Demon Core, so I could upgrade my newly acquired Skills a little.

It was only a matter of choice.

“Skill Slot.”

The window popped up.

[SKILLS]

* Slot 1 – <Claw Attack>

* Slot 2 – <Spike Attack>

* Slot 3 – <Venomous Spikes>

* Slot 4 – <Steal>

* Slot 5 – <Recall>

* Slot 6 – <Summon>/Automatic Summon

* Slot 7 – <Roar>

* Slot 8 – <Rule>

* Slot 9 – <Spike Skin>

* Slot 10 – <Extremity>

* Slot 11 – <Mine Alone>

* Slot 12 – <Nimble>

* Slot 13 – <Camouflage>

* Slot 14 – <Coordination>

* Slot 15 – <Iron Skin>

* Slot 16 – <Glare>

* Slot 17 – <Muscularity>

* Slot 18 – <Parlor Tricks>

* Slot 19 – <Magician>

* Slot 20 – <Dirty Play>

* Slot 21 – <Sneak>

* Slot 22 – <Mana Control>

* Slot 23 – <Fireball>

* Slot 25 – <Spell Conjuring (Basic)>

* Slot 26 – <Illusion Arts>

* Slot 27 – <Invisible Barrier>

* Slot 28 – <Empty>

* Slot 29 – <Empty>

* Slot 30 – <Empty>

[End Of Information]

In just a little while longer, my prep would be over… and then, it would be time to start the final act!