Rise Of The Hoarder

‘If I move, they should be able to follow the traces of my sound, so I shouldn’t be too careless.’ I reasoned.

I still had one more chance to use <Dirty Play>, but I decided not to use it. It would be unfortunate if the need arose later in the day and I had already exhausted it.

‘I’m happy the effects stack up, though. It would have been a letdown if one ailment vanishes the moment another appears…’ I reasoned, watching the Demons still charge at me in their blind state.

They must have figured out that I was still in my location and desperately tried to end my life.

Unfortunately for them, I wasn’t planning on going down so easily.

“It’s about time I pulled this out my sleeve…” I grinned, looking at my long list of Skills.

I had tried everything in my arsenal at least once; all except one!

“<Parlor Tricks>!”

An icon bobbed right in front of me the moment I decided to activate the Skill. The temptation not to use this right now gnawed at me. After all, an unknown danger could approach that would cause me to require its power.

However, it was even more dangerous to have a Skill and not know of its abilities, especially since it was a ‘Randomizer’ type. For better or worse, I had to find out what it was about._.

[System Information]

~Your Skill <Parlor Tricks> Is In Effect~

<The Roulette Will Be Spun>

[.]

I waited… a total of five seconds passed, yet nothing happened. Unlike my previous Skills, this was taking quite some time to activate.

‘What’s going on?!’ I questioned in a bit of panic.

The horde of Demons was already rushing at me, ready to tear me apart. I could take them on, but I was expecting more of an assistance from my newly gotten skill. After seeing the abilities of <Dirty Play>, my expectations were quite high.

It was a shame how low and fast they plummeted now.

After about seven seconds elapsed since I activated the Skill, a system icon popped up. Quickly looking at it since I didn’t have much time to spare, I read the notification.

[System Notification]

~ Tarot Card <The Hanged Man> Has Been Chosen~

(The ‘Upright’ Variant Will Be Used)

~Please Confirm Card Usage~

[Accept] [Decline]

Of all things to have gotten, I got one with an awfully sounding name. It sent shivers down my spine just considering the possibilities of this Skill backfiring on me.

‘No, the system wouldn’t give me anything detrimental…’

Somehow, I wasn’t convinced, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. There was no guarantee that I would get a second chance to choose another card if I declined this one.

Either way, I needed to find out the use of <Parlor Tricks>, so it was an inevitable choice.

A few meters from me, the closest Demon was already ready to leap and pounce on me.

Quickly tapping [Accept], the Golden panel shone and displayed a new set of information. However, before I got a chance to read it, a new development occurred that caused me to look around me.

In a flash, no, maybe even faster (since I couldn’t perceive it), all the Hobgoblins halted. They weren’t slowed down or anything. No, they froze entirely!

Their bodies shimmered a slight golden glow that made me realize that this was due to the effect of the system.

I quickly recoiled from my shock and checked my Status Window for an explanation, and boy was my mind blown.

[System Information]

~Skill <The Hanged Man (Upright)> In Progress~

<The Hanged Man: Upright Variation>

[Description]

The Hanged Man usually indicates a lack of ability to help oneself through independent action. The energy is arrested and awaiting judgment. With this card, there is no avenue for the will to regain control until the situation has passed.

~ Card Effect: All Enemies And Allies Within A Certain Range Will Be Temporarily ‘Arrested’ and suspended from any action.

(Skill Duration: Currently 5 Minutes)

[Note: Effects Vary Depending On Level Of Resistance]

[End Of Information]

Was anyone seeing this? What kind of broken Skill was this?!

This sort of thing was too overpowered to be called a Skill! I was nearly out of breath by what I read. This ability alone was alone to qualify as a Gift, yet it was one of a couple dozen Tarot Cards I could employ.

My mind sought an explanation to comprehend what I was seeing until I finally reached a reasonable conclusion.

‘Well, Secondary Skills are supposed to be obtained at the later part of the Apocalypse… this is only the beginning stage.’

Using this logic, it made sense that I was blessed with such a terrific Skill.

“Well, it’s not absolute, though…” I muttered, looking at certain disadvantages.

For one, allies were frozen alongside enemies. In a way, it could be considered a good thing, but it could also come to bite me in the butt if I needed to use it for escaping with allies or fighting a boss I couldn’t defeat alone.

In any case, I wish I could choose when it affected allies or not. Unfortunately, no option like that existed.

The second restriction was, of course, the variation of the effects of this Skill on targets based on resistance. There was a high chance that it wouldn’t even work on those with higher Levels than mine. Fortunately, no such Gifted existed currently.

As for Demons, while I wasn’t certain, the same logic was supposed to apply.

In any case, there was one final problem with this ability. It wasn’t just the Tarot card chosen, but the Skill itself as a whole.

‘It takes too long to activate!’

Calculating how long it took for the icon to pop up and my movements in confirming the card, I had to allocate about ten seconds just to be on the safe side.

My eyes returned to the completely frozen Demons and I let out a wide grin.

“Still… considering the effects… “

My legs made slow movements as I approached the Hobgoblins. Calculating the time that had elapsed since the Skill went into full bloom, I still had over 4 minutes left.

“… This is so worth it!”