Shadow parasite

“I hope the rest are not too worried about us,” said Nora gently. She was still in Gorn’s warm embrace. Despite the few unfortunate events, being next to him was still very comforting for her.

Gorn replied in the same gentle tone: “One day later should not be such a big deal.”

By using his very convenient teleportation ability, their journey was bound to be a very short one. Gorn stopped, landing on a nearby tree branch. “Our clothes are not in the best of conditions. Let’s quickly change to something new before going back.”

“That would be great.”

They almost forgot about such an important aspect. Going back with those ragged clothes was bound to raise a lot of questions. “Here, change into these.” Gorn gave her a set of normal leather armor. “I’ll be back in five minutes.” With those words, he jumped down, to another branch.

The process lasted only a few minutes. After a little over five minutes passed, Gorn returned to Nora. She already switched clothes. No matter what she wore, her enticing body features could not be hidden.

Nora slowly returned to his arms, and they resumed the journey. In a very short time, both of them returned to the same old, and familiar tree branch. Unexpectedly, no one was outside. All of a sudden, Gorn felt a cold chill down his spine.

Something was not right.

“You finally returned.” A man with an unfamiliar face came out of their little hide-out. He had a nice beard, and a beautiful face. Unfortunately, the big scar that went across his face ruined his look, and turned it to something a little more to the horrifying side.

Covering his mouth with one hand, Gorn said silently: “Select!”

Race: Human

Talent: Legendary

Power level: 2070

Abilities: Swift movements lvl *; Super strength lvl 6; Durability lvl**; ???

Equipment: Premium quality leather armor; One-handed ore sword

Loot: 2070 gold; Swift movements lvl *; Super strength lvl 6; Durability lvl**; ???; Premium quality leather armor; One-handed ore sword

It was right at this moment that he knew, that things were going to become a lot more complicated than before. “You are?” Gorn tried to keep his cool, and fully ascertain the situation.

Right at this moment, a few other people exited the man made cave. Among them were Elisa with her daughters, and Lora, with her family. A few guards with blank looking eyes were escorting them out.

“Select!” yet again, Gorn subtly analyzed the weird looking individuals.

Race: ?

Talent: ?

Power level: 1420

Abilities: None

Equipment: Guard armor; Two-handed iron sword

Loot: 1420 gold; Guard armor; Two-handed iron sword

They were clearly humans, but the system did not see them as such. Their talent was also peculiar. Something was seriously wrong with those cyborgs like people.

A tall, and fierce looking man came forward. Unlike the others, his gaze did not look empty, and devoid of any emotion.

“Select!”

Race: Human

Talent: High

Power level: 1650

Abilities: Track lvl *; Durability lvl *; ???

Equipment: None

Loot: 1650 gold;

“Captain Norman! I’m almost positive that this is the guy we are looking for.” The man’s face was full of scars, and the same thing could be told about the other parts of his body as well.

As soon as Gorn heard the word ‘Norman’, his heart rate exploded. ‘Shit!’ one of the worst case scenarios that he hoped to avoid, happened right before his eyes. Nora kept quiet, but her gaze was full of anxiety. The same applied to the other girls as well.

Gorn looked at Elisa, and the company, quickly analyzing them. Thankfully, other than being scared, nothing seemed to be wrong with them. Inwardly, he let out a small breath of relief.

He wanted to say a few words, but stopped. In the end, after a few silent, and tense moments, Gorn spoke: “What do you want?”

Captain Norman let out a small smile. “A direct lad, good! Unfortunately, you are still, very inexperienced.” Pausing for a moment, he came closer, and stopped only a meter away from Gorn. The pressure this man emanated, and the natural cold look that he had, were by no means features that a simple man could possess.

“You killed a few of my men, but that’s not such a big deal. However, what you left behind made me quite curious.”

In the next moment, Norman’s shadow extended towards one of the guards with an empty gaze. Tightly grabbing the man, the shadow threw him a dozen meters away, into the tree’s trunk. The guard threw up a mouthful of blood, and after wobbling a little, returned to his previous position like nothing happened.

Gorn’s pupils constricted, and a few black lines quickly appeared on his neck yet again. His shadow, however, was nowhere to be seen, even thought the weather, and the location was not the main factor for this. Everyone else had a shadow.

Norman grinned weirdly: “Good! Very good! You see, we might not be that different after all.”

Turning with his back to Gorn, Norman said in a commanding tone: “Safely escort everyone back to the city! Me, and this young man, have quite a few things to talk about.”

The guards seemed to react to his words. “Of course!” said the man full of scars that was the closest to him. As for the rest, they did not say a single word, like they were mutes.

‘Should I try to kill him?’ thought Gorn after seeing a huge opening in the defense of the other man. This thought, however, was shortly abandoned. No matter from what angle he looked at the situation, he had no chance of breaking out of this situation by relying on brute force, or abilities. At most, he could save himself, and maybe another person. In that scenario, the fate of his other companions would be at the mercy of his opponent.

“This is not a suitable place to talk. Follow me back to the city.” Just like that, Norman started to head back towards the city, at a very leisure pace. Everyone followed him without saying a single word.

Gorn’s face looked like he just stepped into a dog’s shit. Forced by these kinds of circumstances, he followed Norman as well. At this moment, he started to regret the fact that he had left so many clues behind the last time he went to the city. While certain things, like going towards that flying island, could not be rushed, there were other aspects that could have been improved to avoid such a situation. Alas, it was too late now.

‘Should I have just went towards that flying island, despite the dangers, or is the current situation better?’ Both scenarios were not that great, and choosing between them was difficult. Since he did not make a choice, he was now forcefully put in one of those situations. Nonetheless, if he had been more careful, the circumstances would be better, no matter the direction.

Part of the blame could be put on his shadow, for messing with his logical thinking, but Gorn did not do that. On the other side of the coin, he could now obtain additional information regarding his weird shadow, and maybe the abnormal world in which he appeared without any notice whatsoever.