Rise Of The Hoarder

Daniel was scum!r

No, he was much worse. Everyone around him knew how selfish he was. He had wealth, power, influence… and strength. Because of this, he was able to get anything he wanted, no consequences attached.r

His favorite hobby was picking on the weak, and while he had scores of toys to play with, he enjoyed 'teasing' Jeremy the most.r

He was an absolutely repulsive and selfish person, the perfect match for an opportunist like Melissa.r

Since she was also smart, beautiful, and influential, their union wasn't a surprise to anyone that knew them. And so, they started dating.r

They both hated the weak, especially Jeremy, and trampled on them due to their high esteem. Those were the time of their lives, fun moments… until the Apocalypse began!r

The world turned into hell overnight, and everything was plunged into chaos.r

Their prospective futures turned into dust, and the wealth and fame that their families built turned into dust.r

Daniel lost his parents in a tragic attack by Demons, but he somehow managed to survive, rushing to save Melissa from the same fate.r

Fortunately, they didn't live too far apart and he managed to reach her.r

Melissa had long abandoned her own family to die, since they had been cornered by Demons. Instead she decided to survive on her own.r

Resources were limited, after all, and she could only look out for herself.r

She was surprised to run into Daniel, and after careful consideration, she found it to be a stroke of luck. Once again, she would be with her soul mate and there was nothing that could come against them.r

With her protective Gift and his powerful brawn, they were the perfect team… that is, until Melissa detected a defect in Daniel.r

Unlike before… he was no longer a selfish dick. He showed kindness to the victims he encountered and shared whatever he had with those in need.r

He threw himself into danger to protect the weak, and he always… always… always… wanted to assist whoever he came across.r

At first, Melissa did not understand this sudden change.r

When she finally mustered the courage to ask Daniel after he had freaked her out for long enough, he gave the most bizarre answer.r

"I… after seeing my parents die… after losing everything and everyone, I was at the lowest point in my life. I looked around and saw people suffer and die, and I felt no different from them. I was weak and powerless, scared and alone. That was when I had an epiphany… Melissa, I have been wrong all this time…"r

Apparently, the trauma had broken Daniel's spirit, and a new one was formed. One which was empathetic to the pains of others and made him regret the actions he took in the past.r

"If I ever encounter Jeremy, or any of the people I bullied before… I will beg for their forgiveness! I didn't understand then, but I do now… we humans ought to stick together!"r

And so… just like that, the idealistic Daniel was born!

***********************************

'Shit! This is so annoying!' Melissa thought to herself, glaring at Daniel as they walked across the hallway In order to reach their residence.r

Daniel was a penitent, and as such he was going to beg Jeremy for forgiveness.r

'Unacceptable!' She gritted her teeth.r

In the spur of the moment, she had brought up Daniel's name to Jeremy because she knew how much he feared him. She never intended for them to actually meet since she knew the outcome of such an encounter.r

Still, to think Jeremy had changed so much that he didn't appear fazed by her mention of Daniel, and Daniel was not in any shape to hurt Jeremy as he would have done in the past.r

Nothing was going her way!r

'Anabelle is surely going to report me to Charles. I don't even want to imagine how that will end. Even though I went to her residence to get access to the Ogre's skills, there's no way she's going to permit me to learn one.'r

Even though she and Ana had gotten into many disagreements, she had never seen Ana so upset before.r

'Shit, what a mess… and it's all because of that twerp! If I ever get my hands on him!' She bit her nails as she thought to herself.r

"Melissa, are you alright? You only do that when you're stressed out." Daniel asked, pointing to her finger which was already locked between her teeth.r

"I'm fine, I think I just need to rest…" Melissa answered sweetly, masking the annoyance and frustration she felt toward Daniel.r

"Oh, that's true. I'm sorry about that." He said, laughing lightly.r

'Disgusting! Truly unacceptable! This makes no sense!'r

If it weren't for the fact that Daniel ended up becoming very OP in the Camp, she would have ditched him a long time ago. However, he still had his uses as the one everyone looked up to. That was the only reason she was still by his side.r

Melissa had thought she could relieve her stress when she saw Jeremy. By basking in the pleasures of old times, she would feel better about everything. However, even he had dared to defy her.r

'That Jeremy, though… he thinks he can ruin everything I've built so far, uh? I don't know where you've been and how you managed to sink your claws into this place. But, you'll regret crossing me!'r

'This… is dinner?' I asked myself.r

It was a barely edible blob called porridge. I looked at the poor quality of the meal, as well as the very rationed supply of water that was allocated to everyone.r

Compared to fighting Demons, this was true hell!r

Still, to maintain appearances, I had to put the disgusting stuff into my mouth. Perhaps it was because I had been used to eating better stuff, so my tastes were higher than normal.r

I also remembered how feeding was hard for everyone while watching their survival from the Sacred Hall.r

When looking at things from that point of view, this wasn't so bad.r

'I'm so happy I don't have to go through this!' I heaved with relief.r

I had stockpiles of good food with me, water too. There was no way I could live on just this.r