Shadow parasite

Gorn's inventory was steadily getting filled with reaper claws and other good-quality stuff that he found in the forest. During all this time, his auto-farming system was working without rest. Everything was going smoothly, and potentially dangerous situations were swiftly avoided with the help of his blink skill.

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While Gorn was busy hunting and scavenging, the girls were also busy with their own things back in the city. Being very sociable and easy-going, Ella had already found her place at the nearby school, which had special classes and activities for children of her age. She even made a few new friends.

Mara and Nora also attended a few classes and were surprised to find out that the teaching quality was way better compared with what they were used to. The most important factor was, however, the fact that they could come or leave whenever they wanted, and nothing was mandatory.

Leaving school aside for the moment, the twins joined their mother, and the three of them explored the surrounding area. Besides the free facilities offered to the mercenary's families, there were numerous other stores, and places full of extravagant clothes, food, miscellaneous stuff, and everything else that one could need. They were, however, not free, and some of them were very expensive.

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After a few days, Elisa stood at the table drinking some tea, while the twins stood in front of her, doing the same. During these days they learned a few new things.

"This is even more than what I expected," said Elisa while putting one leg on top of the other.

Everyone was polite towards them, and no signs of fighting, yelling, or anything like the sort happened in their proximity. Something possible only due to the many guards present in different locations. Unlike the guards that they were used to in the lower part of the city, these took their job very seriously.

The place was extremely beautiful, and everything was of a very good quality. For people like them, who were used to a harsher life, these were quite big changes. The twins nodded, having the same opinion on the matter. Elisa took another sip of tea and continued: "I hope you also understand the fact that our increased power level is not due to our talent, but rather because..."

"You mean to say that Gorn..." jolted the twins at the same time.

"Be quiet! Some things cannot be spoken so easily. Remember to not talk about this with anyone," said Elisa with a harsh tone.

"We know that..."

"Good! You are smart girls so I want you to act accordingly. It is better if some things remain secret, so less talk, and less questions about sensible stuff."

Elisa spent a great deal of time with them making sure some things were clear. She planned on doing the same with the little one as well. This was something that she deemed mandatory.

"All these good changes are possible thanks to Gorn, don't forget that. Be grateful, and enjoy them while they last. Remember, we are not blood-related, nor is he officially part of the family. As a matter of fact, until recently we barely even spent time together, so don't expect that all these good things are something that we one hundred percent deserve, or he is in any way compelled to give us something. Paying that family debt was more than enough as a form of gratitude for receiving him in our house two years ago."

Neither Mara nor Nora had any objections. What their mother told them was just common sense.

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Gorn kept hunting reapers inside the wilderness, having no idea what was happening in his absence.

"My inventory is pretty full. I think it may be time to go back."

Today marked a week since he left the city. During this time Gorn hunted sixty reapers of which ten had a power level of at least five hundred. After adding a few wild berries, and the meat of a wild boar he caught wandering away from the main pack, his inventory was rather full.

"If I add everything except the meat, and the berries, then my gains during this trip should be around eight hundred low-leveled monster cores or eighty medium-leveled ones. Of course, if I convert the contribution points to monster cores. Sweet!" thought Gorn while making a summary regarding his trip.

Of course, five percent of the contribution points gained would be given to the guild as a form of support for the protection, and all of the other free facilities offered to his family.

"What the hell?!"

Because of his good escape ability, Gorn's hunting area was a little further away than that of the normal mercenaries. Loud noises could be heard from a few kilometers away. The difference this time was that those noises were becoming clearer and clearer with each passing second.

"Something big is coming this way."

Gorn immediately moved to the top of the tallest tree in the vicinity. The tree was enormous, and stood at a height of around seven hundred meters, giving off the sensation that everything else wasn't important. Soon, something big could be seen approaching from the horizon. It was an adult reaper. The animal was gigantic, comparable to a house.

"What a beast!" exclaimed Gorn, a little taken aback after seeing something look so threatening.

The arrival of the reaper didn't go unnoticed. Gorn saw a blur descending from the top of the mountain that was shrouded in mist. It was a four-tailed red fox. It stood in mid-air while everything around it distorted from the intense heat. The flames were so hot that their color went from orange to white-blue in a matter of seconds.

A horrendous shrill followed.

Gorn felt pain in his ears and immediately covered them with his hands. Wanting to see what would happen he stood his ground. As long as it was something he could endure, he was adamant about staying a few more seconds. Each tail signified an increase of around five hundred power. The red fox had double his strength, and the same thing could be said about an adult reaper.

The reaper also roared madly but stopped his advance. After such a confrontation, the reaper turned back to the place he came from. The four-tailed fox also disappeared on the top of the mountain yet again.

"How savage!" Gorn felt a shiver down his spine while adrenaline was pumping through his body.

These kinds of monsters were very rare seen so close to the city. Both of them had a similar power level, but unlike most of the humans, monsters were not that all-rounded. This situation was a perfect example. The reaper was far from being a match to the red fox in terms of speed and skills. On the other hand, its raw power and stamina were incomparably stronger. It was apparent just by looking at how their bodies were built.

"I dearly hope that the city's defense mechanism is not losing its power and that the lord of the city or the guild master can handle such monsters."

All of a sudden his blink ability seemed less reliable.

"I'm confident in escaping that adult reaper but if that fox wants me dead, then my chances are not that great with my current level of 'blink'."

The energy consumption for blinking away was not much, and the skill could be used a lot, however, the distance was small. Furthermore, even if it looked fast, there was still a small delay between each blink, it wasn't instant, technically speaking.

From what he saw, the fox could 'teleport' three hundred meters without any skill whatsoever. Just raw speed alone. Thus, his escape ability was useful only up to a certain point, and under favorable terrain.

"Might as well make that fox the city lord," laughed Gorn while moving towards the city. All of a sudden, certain things seemed less serious.

'I can't wait to see what lies beyond those mountains,' thought Gorn while arriving in front of the city gates.

Looking at the guards Gorn sank into thought for a moment: "Did you by any chance hear a loud sound half an hour ago?"

The guards looked at him puzzled: "We didn't hear anything."

What he said made sense, for all the time spent in the city Gorn didn't hear anything too loud, at best some distant, unclear noises.

'Whatever stops the monsters from invading, seems to do a few more extra things.'