Rise Of The Hoarder

“What do you mean? I gave you a chance to live and this is what I get in return? Tsk tsk…”

In a flash, my weapons appeared once again, ready to bombard the Hobgoblin King and grant unto it a quick and painful death.

“You… you cheaterrrr!!!” It growled and reverted to its Hobgoblin shrieks.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!”

Instantly, my blades ruptured the air and all lunged toward it at once.

>SQUISH<

>SPLOOOOSH<

>SPLURGGGGE<

Flesh ripped, blood spurted, and the Hobgoblin King died in agony as the blades of its subordinates ended it.

‘For a highly intelligent monster, it was pretty stupid. Why would it fall for that obvious scam of a game? Pfft.’

I couldn’t entirely fault the monster, though. Everyone wanted to live, even me.

And we would do anything to achieve it, or, at the very least, I would.

[CONGRATULATIONS!]_.

~You Have Defeated The Boss~

<Karma Points Will Be Awarded For This Achievement>

~You Defeated The Boss Alone~

<Karma Points Will Be Awarded For This Achievement>

~You Have Killed More Than One Grade 2 Bosses Alone~

<Title: Conqueror Has Been Awarded For This Achievement>

~You Have Successfully Completed This Subjugation~

<Karma Points Will Be Awarded For This Achievement>

[End Of Information]

I smiled upon seeing the beautifully gold window appear. It was such a wonderful thing that I was getting extra rewards for my hard work.

Now feeling a little numb on my butt, I decided it was time to step off of the Throne and check out my rewards.

I instantly recalled all the items that were out of [Subspace] and softly landed on the ground. It was so bare, hardly a testament to the fight that had just occurred merely moments ago.

The Boss had vanished too, nowhere to be seen. Its core was taken into [Subspace], and there was nothing left of it or the Chiefs. Usually, their Drops would appear too, but since I had already taken the liberty of plundering them, the System probably couldn’t give me something out of nothing.

[SYSTEM ERROR]

[Connection Lost?!!!?!]

My eyes bulged the moment I saw this alert and heard alarm noises ringing in my head. My vision was painted red as many notifications popped up to cover everything I viewed.

“What’s this?!”

I didn’t realize this until I said it, but my voice had a tone of fright mixed with the surprise that coursed through me.

I had never seen the System glitch like this before. What was wrong? I had returned the Boss and even subjugated it! Was there a problem?

‘Damn it! I wasn’t supposed to take the gear off it… the System is probably fritzing out because of this…’

A bead of sweat formed on my forehead as more red panels popped up. The System probably didn’t care much if I stripped other Demons of their gears, but a Boss Monster was different!

The beginning stages could only be ended with the death of all five Bosses, after all. And since the gates, hordes, and several other events were tied to these beings, the System was specific about them.

To think I made the mistake of tampering with its designated status and killing it. The scariest part about all this was that I had no idea what would happen next!

[SYSTEM ALERT]

~Countless System Errors Have Been Detected~

<System Correction Will Be Implemented>

[.]

With this single golden icon popping at the center of all the red ones, a wave of calm began surrounding me and the error alerts began vanishing one after the other.

Relief swept through my body as the System resolved the crash itself.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

~Due To Error Detected, Boss Item Drops, as well as Boss Entourage Item Drops, Have Been Lost~

<Recovery Of These Items Will Be Impossible>

I swallowed hard.

They weren’t lost. I took them.

The System probably just assumed that it was a loss since there was no possible way any Gifted could disarm a Grade 2 Demon at the current moment.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

~ Another Form Of Compensation Will Be Granted To You In Exchange For The Loss Incurred~

<Please Select The Compensation You Require From The Options Below>

— Random Skills (×3)

— Random Drop (Grade 2)

— Karma Points

<Only One May Be Chosen>

I couldn’t believe my ears, or rather, my eyes. The System was going to compensate me for something I actually caused?

“No, Jeremy, look at it from another angle…” I chided myself and focused on the situation at hand.

The System probably wasn’t aware of my part to play in the disappearance of the gear of the Hobgoblin Boss and dismissed it as an error. However, it would be unfair if the challenger, after expending so much energy to defeat the Boss— risking his very life in the process, ended up with no compensation in form of Monster Drops.

Judging things based on this standard, the System must have reached a compromise and decided to do this instead.

‘I guess it makes sense if I think of it like that…’

My eyes ogled the three options that were displayed before me. They were all very tempting, weren’t they?

I could get three Skills for free, a Grade 2 Drop, and or just choose Karma Points. However, the moment I saw these three options, I already knew which one would be mine.

Tapping on my choice, the System asked me to confirm, and I once again tapped on [Yes].

[System Update]

~You Have Chosen Karma Points As Your Compensation~

~Total Karma Points Are Being Calculated~

[…]

<You Have Been Awarded 5,000 Karma Points As Compensation>

[End Of Information]

I grinned widely the moment I saw how much I had obtained.

‘This much should be satisfactory… I mean, considering the price for all the drops I would have obtained if not for the error, it adds up.’

“Keke… Keke… Kekekeke!”

I couldn’t help it anymore. My emotions were overflowing. After all, I had obtained so much for free! Things were just getting better and better.

“Pfft… this is too hilarious! It feels like I’ve just cheated on something major!”

Something like this occurring with no consequence? It was too good to be true!