Rise Of The Hoarder
Chapter 177 Lara’s Growth

“Okay, that’s enough!” I declared.

At that very moment, the final Demon turned to dust and dropped its Core before vanishing. The one beside the monster was none other than the feminine figure of Lara.

“Haa… Haa…” She heaved and breathed heavily.

Sweat was all over her face as the woman collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

I couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction, feeling a little proud of Lara’s achievement in such a short span of time.

Focusing on the resting woman, I saw her brief Status Window.

[SYSTEM INFORMATION]

Name: Lara

Race: Human

Sex: Female

Level: 41

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

[End Of Information]

She had gained quite the Level, compared to the measly number of 17. Feeling like a proud parent, my grin expanded even further. Thanks to my supervision and a careful matchup with the Demons she faced, she was able to come this far._.

‘Well, this should be good enough…’ My thoughts trailed.

I moved closer to Lara and appeared directly in front of her. She seemed to notice my presence and fidgeted a little, though not making any big movements as a result of her tired state.

“Well done, but we’re not done yet,” I said softly.

Her face turned, allowing me to see her very beautiful look— well, it was smeared in sweat and dirt at the current moment. Plus, a look of fear enveloped her face.

“W-wha-…? There’s more…?” She huffed, straining with every word she released.

“Of course!” I declared, rising from my squat.

While she had Leveled Up nicely and was at an adequate level, strong, by the current standard— Lara still lacked other things.

“You need Skills!”

Thanks to her current Level, she could learn 5 Skills. Of course, I already knew the ones I would pick for her.

<Muscularity>

<Coordination>

<Camouflage>

<Mana Control>

<Fireball>

The last two were newly obtained Skills gotten from the Caster Hobgoblins. I also learned these Skills and maxed them out since the Demon Cores were more than enough for me.

Of course, I ensured Lara didn’t achieve the same level of mastery as me. Her Skills all stopped at Level 5 at most.

Using this means, she wasn’t going to be better or equal to me at anything, Levels or Skills.

Some might have called it selfishness, but I was fine with that. In the first place, the only reason I kept her around was for my benefit.

I wasn’t too focused on Lara that I neglected my own growth too. Even as she fought, I ensured I used the new Demon Cores gotten from the subjugated monsters wisely.

“Okay then… let’s look at what I’ve got now…”

[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 – <Aura>

* 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 – <Empty>

* Slot 27 – <Empty>

* Slot 28 – <Empty>

* Slot 29 – <Empty>

* Slot 30 – <Empty>

[End Of Information]

Basically, <Mana Control> gave me the ability I had been missing for so long… the power to control the MP I had and allocate it accordingly. In the past, I could only infuse any item I had with mana— but this was a different ball game entirely.

I could strengthen myself with Mana, just like the Demons did. I could also infuse all my other Skills with mana, giving them greater effectiveness.

As for <Fireball>, it was the most powerful offensive Skill the Hobgoblin Casters had. It was also the only Magic-Related Skill that stood on its own. The rest of the Magic Skills they displayed was probably due to the last Skill I learned.

<Spell Conjuring (Basic)> allowed them to cast Basic Spells. Unlike <Fireball> that worked as a Skill and could be used immediately, the latter needed the knowledge of Magic. It also required a long time to cast based on the Spell being used.

‘This is more like a Skill for the <Magician> Job…’

Still, I had already learned it so there was no turning back. At the moment it was useless to me, though. After all, I had no knowledge of spells. Chanting nonsense wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I probably needed a grimoire or spellbook.

‘Well, that can wait until later…’

With both myself and Lara considerably powered up, it was about time already. The sun had already set to a considerable extent and the skies turned dark orange. Before long, nightfall would creep upon all of us.

I was going to let Lara get a good night’s rest and keep watch— maybe practice a few Skills while I was at it. But, once it would be time for me to sleep, I was obviously going to make sure to keep Lara in [Subspace]wotho the others.

There was no way I would leave myself so vulnerable with her right next to me. This way, I could reduce or possibly eliminate any chance of her betrayal.

‘Whew, that’s enough thinking for now…’ I thought to myself while staring at Lara.

She was hungry and tired— the same as me.

I brought out dinner and we enjoyed it under the soothing evening breeze. After eating, the young woman slept off. I was going to be on watch so she had no reason to fear.

“It’s not healthy to sleep right after eating though…” I mumbled a complaint, staring at the duvet-covered woman.

Still, she must have been well aware of this as a medical practitioner. Her exhaustion must have been really deep.

‘Welp… she did a good job. What a strange feeling this is… I wasn’t the one who killed the Demons. Yet, what’s this satisfaction that’s welling up within me?’

I truly couldn’t understand… at least not at the time.