Rise Of The Hoarder

Most people thought to start climbing the four Towers as soon as possible.

I had to say… they were utterly foolish!

When thinking about ascending the Tower, one would expect that there would be checkpoints to save progress. However, once an individual leaves, they have to start all over again. That process is annoying and repetitive.

Imagine facing the first floor over a dozen times thanks to retiring over and over again. Not only did it consume time, but the rewards dwindled the more one challenged a Floor.

That was why I decided to simply ignore the Towers for three months—focusing on building my strength instead.

After it was done and I reached my desired Level of over 500, I set my eyes on clearing the Towers in a single stroke.

And so… I started climbing.

Fortunately, Gifteds had abandoned the Tower of Death since they had reached a dead end, so I could actually explore all by myself. No one would be disturbing me for a while since they would either be off grinding outside the Tower, or simply challenging other Towers.

I would have the Tower all to myself—just as I liked it!_.

Unfortunately, this came to bite me in the leg later on…

The moment I reached Floor 30, I realized a requirement that disqualified me from going any further.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

~Only A Party Of 3 Or More Are Allowed To Go Further~

[Select An Alternative]

<Form A Party And Return>

<Challenge Alongside A Party>

[END OF INFORMATION]

As a result, my hopes of having a fun, uninterrupted, private time were dashed.

‘Tch, what now?’

I had several monsters within [Subspace], but the System wouldn’t really count them as Party Members. I needed to pair up with humans… or at least challenge the upper Floors alongside a functional Party. It was annoying, but the Tower functions were absolute.

The reason I never realized the need for this was that all those who actually challenged the Tower, according to my memories, were actually in Parties.

The difficulty of the Tower rose at a terrifying degree past the 25th Floors, and even Solo Players began forming temporary alliances so they could climb further.

As a result, the System never gave any form of warning. But now that I was all alone, I was told to come back once I was with a group.

‘Are you bullshitting me?!’ I screamed internally.

The System was most likely designed to prevent unnecessary deaths since the difficulty would be too much for any ‘strong’ Gifted to attempt. The average Level of Gifteds at this point would be around 50-59. Anything beyond would be considered to be very strong.

I was certain the most powerful Gifteds were currently around Level 100 or thereabout. I mean, considering two out of five Bosses were killed by others, that made sense. Even those with high Levels would find it life threatening to go beyond the 30th Level alone.

That was why the System ensured we formed Parties.

‘But, I’m a freaking Level 501! I’m strong enough.’

Long story short, I wasn’t given entry, and I was about to give up when I discovered that I wasn’t alone in the Tower! Apparently, a couple of people had just entered!

There were a bunch of things the System did within this large structure, one of which was to indicate the total number of people currently in it. It previously only said [1]; but now I saw [6].

Realizing it could be the Party I was hoping for—and I didn’t need to exit the Tower and start from scratch—I decided to perform a little trick to get them on my side.

Firstly, incur tragedy!

I used an ability of mine to Teleport two of my Demons to two Spawn Rooms at a Lower Floor­—the sixteenth one.

The sixteenth floor had two ends of a corridor. Either way led to Spawn Rooms. Both paths intercepted later on, so it was actually fine to go either way. I wasn’t certain which path the Gifteds would take, so I simply had to place Demons on both sides and make my way down myself.

They went to the left path, and I kept observing them while appearing a close distance from their location. Of course, I was completely undetectable, so none of them could see me or sense me in the slightest.

After observing their Level, I arrived at the conclusion that they wouldn’t be a match for the Grade 2 Demon I summoned. Still, to make things fair… I made sure to take some precautionary measures.

To prevent any escape, I stole their Return Stone.

To ensure they were in dire straits, I took all their items

After that, I merely needed to watch… observe as they got overwhelmed by the monster.

They lost miserably, and it was a bit funny to see how they struggled. Surprisingly, one of the Gifteds retreated, so I had to go fetch him while telling my Demon subordinate to take it easy on its foes. I wanted them weakened… not dead!

The rest, as they say, is history!

********

“I intend on going further up the Tower. Would you like to come with me?”

My voice cut through the silence as I stared at the Party before me. Their expressions displayed surprise and a hint of fear—hesitation was prevalent within their eyes.

They most likely sought the easy way out, but… I required them for my goals. Why else would I go out of my way for a bunch of strangers?

“Do not worry. I will protect you. I don’t intend t sound conceited, but… I’m strong. You don’t need to worry about fighting.”

Now, they looked confused.

To convince them, I only needed a portion of the truth.

I told them about the Party requirement, and how I needed them to fill a headcount. Of course, people like benefits, so I told them they would gain Karma just from being alongside me in the raid. They didn’t need to fight or work at all, and they would receive rewards incomparable with their previous endeavors.

‘Plus, they owe me…’ I smiled, counting on the goodwill I had already built with the group.

It was time to get my returns.

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