Rise Of The Hoarder

“Let the final round begin!”

With those statements coming out of my lips, I summoned the Boss. Unlike the other Chiefs I faced before now, I let it face me. I didn’t take advantage of the confusion it experienced too, just waiting patiently until the Demon came to its senses.

“Oi, greeny… doesn’t this look strange to you?” I called out to the monster who looked upon my majestic pose with a mix of shock and fury.

“From where we both stand, wouldn’t you say our roles have been completely reversed?”

It was almost funny, but I held it in.

“You…” The Hobgoblin King growled, using its human speech.

It was in denial, but anyone with eyes would be able to guess clearly once they saw what was happening.

Our positions had been flipped.

I was now the Boss Monster… and the fallen King became the challenger!

“Well, I can see why you like this thing though, it’s pretty useful. Makes my butt hurt a little, though.”_.

I slapped the table’s surface and gave a demeaning grin. Even a fool would know I was basically taunting the monster and bathing in its rage. I literally owned it.

‘If it acts up, I can just throw it back into [Subspace].’ My thoughts trailed.

Usually, I would remain careful and calculating, but somehow I just wanted to let loose now.

I wanted to feel like a strong being for once, immersed in the state of absolute dominance. Right now, with my throne and my overwhelming advantage… It was the right moment to briefly enjoy myself.

“I will kill you!” The King growled.

Quickly moving to take action, most likely with a Skill, the Boss began moving its body. With my Stats, it was too slow, so I simply made my move first.

>SWOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!<

Instantly, multiple bladed weapons charged toward the monster, piercing it on all sides.

“Guarrrkkkk!!!” A pained cry pierced my ears as blood spurted out of the defenseless creature.

“If you use your Mana to protect yourself, I can simply absorb it. Your Iron Skin won’t be able to shield you from the energy-coated weapons too. So, what will you do?” I smiled, waiting for its next move.

One thing I had noticed about the Boss was its reliance on its army and also certain Skills that allowed it to casually attack and defend itself with ease. It wasn’t built for excessive combat and direct confrontations.

That meant that without its throne and army, this monster was just a heading with high HP and beefed-up stats.

‘I guess that makes sense, considering it has to be defeated sooner or later…’

With the injured monster glaring at me with its injuries, I decided to make it suffer a little more.

“You once threw these at me, right? Your turn! See if you can catch them.”

Instantly, two of the Hobgoblin King’s Javelins appeared above me and darted at the target with full speed.

>WHOOOOSSSSHHHH<

The air was practically pierced as the spears spun and made their way to the wounded green giant.

“Grrrr…. you bastard!!!”

The Hobgoblin King’s eyes immediately set ablaze as a determined look enveloped its face. From what I saw, it wasn’t going to give up.

The spears drew nearer!

“Guaruuuukkkkk!!!”

A brilliant crimson light shone, nearly rendering me in a state of shock. The bustling energy emanating from the monster was enormous!

The timing of the monster was just right, allowing it to dodge the spear attacks barely before they hit. It made me wonder why it didn’t just stand there and take the hit like a champ.

Still, its sudden power boost was incredible!

‘Damn! Just how much MP does it have?!’

I checked its Stats and found out the issue wasn’t its MP. Thanks to the recovery abilities of its gear and the Throne’s innate restorative boosts, the Hobgoblin King had been careless with its MP use.

That was why it didn’t have that much left. Yet, the amount of energy I was sensing was insane!

‘Is this a Skill?! Damnit!’

I narrowed my eyes and keenly observed the monster’s Stats, noticing something peculiar about it. Immediately I figured it out, a smile appeared on my face.

“Ah, I see… It’s exchanging HP for MP. Smart move. So, you think burning your Life Force will help you, uh?”

I wasn’t so sure why I was being so talkative. Was it just because I was getting into character? Was it power drunkenness? I was only sure of one thing… this felt really good!

“Now I see why those villains like talking all the time.”

The blazing energy around the Hobgoblin King kept but ing bright as it glared at me from a distance.

Of course, the moment it dodged my spears, I recalled them into [Subspace], so they never hit the ground.

“You need touch to trap me again. Will not happen!”

‘Oh? Did it figure that much out? Yayyy!’ I rolled my eyes sarcastically.

The bumbling idiot didn’t know that I could literally take it back in if I so chose. Playing around like this was fun, though, so I let it think however it wished.

>SWOOOOSHH<

Summoning more blades, I directed them toward the Hobgoblin Boss and it kept squirming about like a worm. Of course, it made attempts to lunge at me, but the weapons in my arsenal were too much so it couldn’t reach me completely.

Of course, it realized that ranged attacks didn’t mean anything to me, and if it was to deal damage to me, it had to be with its energy blast.

“Have you forgotten, greeny?” I popped what I could only reason to be its thoughts by smiling wickedly.

My eyes bulged and instantly, I began taking in all the blazing energy on its body. The bright red color dimmed drastically as [Subspace] diligently sucked every ounce of hue from the Demon Boss’ body.

“I can take in your energy too! There’s literally nothing you can do!”

I had absolute defense

I had absolute offense

… While it had nothing!