Rise Of The Hoarder

"Ha! Don't worry, everyone. Just trust me!" Larry said in a loud voice to raise the spirits of the 28 people who were with him.r

Many of them looked dispirited and unmotivated. Their countenance had fallen and they were looking fearful.r

Now that they were out of the confines of the Camp, they were forced to travel through the destroyed roads and bear witness to the destroyed properties all around them.r

Most of them had not been outside for weeks, so taking all this in at once was too much for their minds to bear.r

"M-maybe… I should have stayed behind…" Some of them muttered to themselves in regret.r

They often turned their heads back, looking at the Camp's building a distance away, and felt abandoned. Their only source of hope and defense was Larry, a member of the Expedition team. Or rather, former member.r

Larry noticed the atmosphere around him and was annoyed by the fools that surrounded him.r

'Tsk. These weak-minded idiots!' He groaned internally.r

'I managed to take 28 people away from that place, yet they want to head back already? Useless bastards. Why did they come with me then?'r

Still, despite his dissatisfaction, Larry knew he had to do something about the people who followed him, so as to raise their spirits.r

So, Larry found a place for everyone to rest among the devastated sites around. The area was relatively safe, and a covering of debris surrounded them, preventing anyone from noticing their presence.r

It was the perfect spot for a break.r

"I didn't mention this then, since I wanted to see how many people were willing to have the courage, but I'll say this now!" Larry raised the tempo of his tone, making sure to obtain the attention of everyone, including those who daydreamed of returning to the Camp.r

"During one of our Expeditions, my team encountered another Camp not too far from here. They have plenty of strong people and lots of resources."r

As soon as Larry said this, the eyes of everyone bulged in shock. This was news to them.r

"They offered for us to join them, but I refused since I already belonged to a Camp. They also mentioned an alliance with our Camp and we told them we would report back to our leader and think about it." Larry added.r

"A-and, what happened?!" One of the people asked, drawing closer in curiosity.r

Larry's grin grew wider, extremely pleased that his mindless followers had once again bought into his story.r

Well, they had no choice but to believe him. If they didn't cling unto some form of hope, their lives were forfeit anyway.r

"After telling Charles, he said it was out of the question! He said we couldn't trust them. But, you know what I think? I think he was just worried that he might lose control of the Camp members under him?" Larry said.r

This caused an uproar among the Camp members. They all began cursing Charles and listing complaints about him, even unreasonable ones with no justifications.r

Larry's spark of controversy lit a fuse of hatred against their former Camp leader. Coupled with the feelings of abandonment already latent in the people, this was the perfect recipe for everyone to forget about returning to the Camp.r

There was only one path left for everyone to take.r

"L-Larry, can you take us to this Camp?" The people asked.r

A wide grin formed on Larry's face as he savored the fact that everyone had taken his bait just like he planned.r

"Of course, that's where I was planning on going in the first place!" He replied.r

This caused a positive uproar from his followers as they gratefully cheered for him.r

"If I put in a good word for everyone, I'm sure we'll all be able to stay there." He added.r

"Thank you so much, Larry." They beamed, like robots.r

As they kept making grateful sounds, Larry maintained his expression of goodwill to them. However, hidden deep beneath his kind gesture, were dark intentions no one could perceive.r

'Hohoho… Hehehehe… these people are too easy!' He grinned evilly within.r

Larry's initial intentions were to sneak out during the chaos and report to his Camp concerning the unrest going on within Charles' organization. r

This would signal the commencement of their mission; to invade the Camp and plunder all of the resources gathered by the Expedition team.r

'Our 'Evil' Camp isn't comprised of many members, to begin with. The supplies that would take the Camp two weeks to exhaust will last us a considerably long while. I'm certain the others have been busy with their respective missions and have racked up quite the resources. Hehe, this will be too easy!'r

Larry's plans, however, went through an evolution after an idea sparked within him. Taking advantage of the dissatisfaction of everyone, he decided to poach some of the Camp's members and bring them to his own.r

'I wasn't lying to them about taking them to a place filled with more resources and stronger people…' Larry's grin grew wider.r

However, unfortunately for everyone with him, they were merely going to become fodder!r

'I'm sure that my fellow comrades will be happy that I brought some free EXP for them!' r

That's right! There was a discovery within the new world that those with the 'Evil' Alignment had realized. It wasn't just Demons who gave EXP and allowed Level-Ups.r

Fellow Gifteds were sources of EXP too!r

'Soon, we'll kill them, Level-Up, and while those idiots in the Camp are prepping for the Horde, we'll steal their resources and destroy them while we're at it!'r

Larry controlled the expression of amusement that was beginning to form on his face as he maintained the positive outlook he gave everyone around him.r

"Ah, so this is where you all are at." A voice suddenly sounded, causing everyone's skin to jump in surprise.r

Larry's eyes bulged as he recognized the sound that came from above him. His face turned in the direction of the voice, so did everyone else who had heard it.r

"You… you are…" r