They must be here for the special item stored here. But now that they’ve seen me, they most likely also want all my valuables.

How laughable. If only they knew that what I have isn’t only restricted to what I currently have on.

"This is our turf! We’ve already claimed access to this land before you came here. You’re encroaching on our territory!". The leader smiled smugly, generating a follow-up chuckle from his followers.

"For your actions of trespass... You must pay a fine. However, I am a merciful person, so instead of asking for the original cost, I’ll let you off with you relinquishing everything you have on you" He smirked.

I nearly burst out laughing but I managed to keep my emotions to myself while maintaining a poker face.

"What’s the original cost then?" I asked.

"DEATH! Now choose!" The leader said with a slight glare.

He brought out a sharp sword that he had kept sheathed by his hip. His followers also brought out their respective weapons. They had whips, daggers, spears, and swords

One also had a club and an extra dagger as his secondary weapon.

Upon analyzing the weapons they possessed, I groaned to myself in disappointment. They were all low-grade weapons. Except for the leader’s item, they were all Grade 1. The item of the leader was also merely a Grade 2.

"I have to stop raising my hopes. What did I expect from riff raffs like these?" I said to myself.

Though there have been cases where I have found rare items amongst poor and unskilled players who did not know how to utilize the items to their full potential, those situations have now become rare.

These fools are certainly not worth anything, and because of that, they do not deserve any more of my time.

"You’re in my way... Begone." I said to them in a calm and low tone, waving them off.

"Uh?! What the hell is this bitch telling us?" The leader asked in anger, upset by my disrespect.

He stepped forward to challenge me with his sword, however, as he did so, a blade was sent flying to his head, piercing his skull and ripping it into two pieces.

His cleanly sliced head fell on the floor, and his body followed, making a heavy thud as it landed lifelessly on the ground.

The remaining group looked at me fearfully as they watched their leader meet instant death.

Their eyes bulged as they discovered that I was not the ordinary person they pictured me to be.

Quickly turning away, they took to their heels, running for their lives. A normal person would have spared them, but not me.

If I leave them, they’ll end up becoming a pain in the ass in the future. I personally do not like having any loose ends untied in my quest. Besides, if they call the attention of others to this item and it gets traced to me, it’ll get bothersome.

Besides, they attacked me first. This was only self-defense. They should have been prepared to die the moment they pointed their weapons at me.

Unlike others, I’m not stupid!

Several blades of varying sizes and proportions suddenly appeared by my sides and were launched toward them, impaling the fleeing members as they instantly killed them off one after the other.

Due to the homing function on them, my blades will instantly strike the vital part of the targets, ensuring they are dead by the first blow. My swords pierced their hearts, head, necks, spine, and even went through the mouth of one of them, who was screaming, as it came out of the end of her skull.

Blood splattered all around, not reaching me due to their distance. As the red liquid oozed, I could not help but laugh. The same idiots who were so full of themselves just earlier have now died in a bloodbath.

"Life can be pretty twisted sometimes" I mused.

Turning away from the pile of impaled corpses, I returned to my business, observing the tunnel I was about to venture into. I took a deep breath to suppress my excitement. Obtaining new Treasure is always so exhilarating.

As I took a step forward, nearly entering the tunnel, I heard a massive crash behind me.

"Urgh, what now?"

Everything keeps interrupting me.

Immediately, my watch also began to beep rapidly, indicating a red alert this time.

I didn’t need the red window to open up this time for me to realize who had just entered the vicinity.

"Demons... Looks like it’s only one..."

I turned back and looked at the creature from a small distance. It growled as it displayed its massive teeth, flexing its huge physique. Its slightly enormous body had spikes protruding from it and the skin of the beast was dark brown, with red stripes on the body.

However, the most distinguishing feature I discovered about it, allowing me to laugh even more, was that I have met this Demon before.

"You’re the one from earlier... You must have killed those ones already, that was quick..."

It seems those Gifted’s were even more useless than I thought.

The Grade 3 Demon advanced and stared at me, focusing its eyes on my frame, as a predator does with its prey.

"... I don’t have time to play with you," I whispered.

I slightly raised my hand and snapped my fingers swiftly. Immediately, a giant lump of mineral appeared above the head of the Demon. The Demon looked up in surprise to find such a mass of solid matter above it.

It shrieked and tried to back away, but before it could remove itself from the inevitable crash of the massive object, the lump of precious stone crushed the head of the Beast, causing it to die an instant death.

Its purple blood splattered everywhere, due to my boulder’s force.

"You should not have come here to begin with" I muttered, turning away and staring at my goal.

Without any further delay, I was ready to get my next upgrade. How thrilling!

"Return" I mumbled.

Immediately, the boulder and swords vanished and became light particles.

A blue window appeared in front of me and the particles of what I summoned ventured Into my Status Window’s inventory portion, taking their place within their assigned icons.

I entered the tunnel and grinned.

A few years ago, who’d have thought that this would be how I’d turn out to be?

I was so miserable when I was younger, but all of that has changed.

The event which started my evolution and ultimate quest for power was one I hated the most at the time.

However, it was thanks to it that I have become a Hoarder, one who plunders and keeps everything in this world.

They are all mine, obtained exclusively for my use and disposal.

"How funny... The world truly is twisted"