Rise Of The Hoarder

After some time, I arrived at a theory.

“It’s just like Leveling Up!”

The higher a person’s Level was, the more difficult it would be to achieve a Level Up. What accumulated to give anyone a Level Up was EXP.

Bringing that same scenario to this case, I surmised that I was simply high-up in the Evil category.

Or, at least, the ‘EXP’ I needed for my Alignment was something that required a great deal of achievements or good deeds on my end.

Which was why…

“I hope this works.”

… I decided to create a scenario where those good deeds would be appreciated.

********

Looking at the multiple dead bodies, I finally spotted the one I was looking for—Vivian.

As expected, even in death, she was still hot.

‘Welp, her severed limbs and pierced chest doesn’t seem like a good way to die, though…’

She was one of the last to die, though that only meant that she suffered even more. Looking at her anguished face made me sigh a bit.

‘I certainly hope this won’t be a waste…’

Accessing my storage space, I called for one of the most coveted items that would make anyone move heaven and earth to achieve.

—Resurrection Elixir!

I had three of them in [Subspace], but based on my calculations, I would need only one.

During my days as a Chaotic Neutral Gifted, I indirectly killed a lot of people, but, ever since I turned ‘Evil’, I had saved even more—enough to make me revert to Chaotic Neutral at least.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way. Why?

Because despite how many people I saved, none were already dead. I simply prevented them from dying. Perhaps things would have changed if I racked up enough good achievements or if I truly had a change of heart, but I didn’t have the time for that.

I needed a loophole!

“What if I resurrect someone that has already died?”

I wondered what the reaction would be.

“Let’s find out…”

I brought out the glimmering gold potion from [Subspace] and poured it on the dead woman’s corpse.

Her body turned bright golden and sparkled.

I felt a surge of power concentrating on her, and her life force being restored. It was actually working! With this Elixir, I could raise someone from the dead!

All of Vivian’s wounds got restored. Her cold corpse regained its warmth, and her lost beauty reappeared.

“PUAH!!!”

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

I could sense confusion in Vivian’s face, but there was something more important than her for now. Once I saw that she woke up, I felt something shift within me.

Hopefully, it was what I wanted.

“Status Window!”

Instantly, a golden board shone before me—revealing its wonderful contents.

Alignment: Neutral

The moment I saw this, a grin appeared on my face.

‘IT WORKED!’

Once I saw this, I was so happy that I jumped to my feet, abandoning Vivian who sat atop the pile of other corpses.

“W—why… why didn’t you help us? Did you… were you the one who resurrected me?”

Her voice hinted confusion, and I could see remnant pain in her eyes.

‘Poor lady…’ I smiled.

She had probably thought things would turn out differently, but ended up losing everything instead.

Of course, I wasn’t heartless enough to revive her while she was naked, so I sought some clothes and covered her corpse before she awoke.

‘I figured that would help my chances even more, but it turns out I was overthinking it…’

In any case, I was now a Neutral Aligned Gifted.

It basically existed at the center of good and evil, and had no penalties or benefits.

Of course, the same applied to Chaotic Neutral, but—considering the fact that Chaotic Neutral was one step away from an Evil Alignment—I preferred my current Alignment.

“Yeah, yeah. I had to exhaust one Resurrection Elixir because of this. Well, it was totally worth it!” I beamed, partly answering Viviana’s question.

She appeared shocked after I said this, then a look of discomfort showed in her eyes.

“B—but, why me…? Why didn’t you just save me sooner rather than having the monster kill—”

“It seems you’re misunderstanding something here…”

She stopped in her speech and looked at me with surprise.

“You see… I needed to resurrect someone to get something. It has nothing to do with saving you or not.” I flatly told her, now walking in the direction of the portal leading to the 51st Floor.

“B—but, why me?!”

Her tone indicated confusion. She simply couldn’t understand the reason behind my choice.

Most people would consider themselves important for receiving special treatment… and they would be right—mostly.

“Because of your Level. You had the highest Level.”

“U—uh…?” Vivian displayed even more confusion.

‘Isn’t it ironic that a younger guy is explaining stuff to you? Are you this dense?’

Nah, she most likely didn’t understand what I implied. Most people wouldn’t. Those who could, were already dead.

“You see, I needed to get rid of a pesky Alignment. Once I did, it would be possible to continue acting the way I used to.”

I used to kill those who stood in my way without hesitation. As long as I used the loophole, I was safe. However, after passing the threshold of Evil, indirect killing would only compound my Evil points.

But, now that I had crossed over to the green side… I could continue my previous lifestyle.

“You see…”

[Subspace] was activated and a Grade 3 Demon came out.

“… Since your Level is quite high, it’ll give more EXP…”

Vivian’s eyes widened as soon as she saw the Grade 3 Demon.

She must have instinctively known what was coming—and that she couldn’t win.

“N—no… don’t do this! Why are you—? You just revived me, you know?” Her cries rang in the air.

“… I’m trying to raise the monsters in my collection well. A Demon grows proportional to the Level of its target. In essence, you’re the optimal choice.”

Even if her EXP was inconsequential, it was better than someone with a lower Level. That was all there was to it.

“You’ve served your purpose so…”

“PLEASE! DON’T DO THIS! I—I CAN BE USEFUL! PLEASEEE!” The lady pleaded.

However… it was all pointless.

“… Just die, or whatever.”