Shadow parasite

Star city, a city bustling with activity, and life. People moving towards their jobs, kids going to school, merchants selling different kinds of stuff in marketplaces, and much more. A pretty normal city you would say, except it wasn't anything like that.

From time to time giant flying monsters would fly over the city, making the surrounding city walls look rather useless. Fortunately, for some reason, none of them attacked or even landed on the streets.

'How the fuck did I get here?' thought Gorn while taking a bus towards his school.

It has already been a few weeks since he woke up in this new world. To make things even more complicated he became eighteen years old again and gained a special ability the previous night.

"Status!"

Name: Gorn

Talent: Low

Auto farming system (Lvl1): 0/10 targets.

Power level: 15

Abilities: None

Equipment: Normal clothes

Shop (Lvl1)

Inventory: 10 cubic meters

Current Gold: 0

Tip: To acquire a target just say 'select' while looking at someone.

'What a pathetic status,' thought Gorn with a strange smile on his face.

"Shop!"

Power up potion (Lvl1): +10 power. Cost: 1000 gold. Limit: Can increase power to a maximum level of one thousand.

Leather armor (Lvl1): A normal piece of armor with decent protection. Cost: 1000 gold.

Black sword (Lvl1): Sharp sword made from low-quality black steel. Cost: 500 gold.

Skill level-up voucher (Lvl1): This can increase the level of a skill. Only works on level-one skills. Cost: 5000 gold

Healing potion (Lvl1): Can speed up the recovery of the body. Cost: 100 gold.

Reading all of this stuff brought a big grin on his face.

'Now it's time to try something new.'

Looking at someone who was on the same bus, Gorn said quietly.

"Select!"

Race: Human

Talent: Low

Power level: 15

Abilities: None

Equipment: Normal clothes

Loot: 15 gold.

Confirm target? Yes No

After confirming, the screen disappeared. The new target was now present in his auto farming system with the option to 'attack'. Stroking his chin Gorn chose that option. What followed next was the appearance of a timer.

09:59:59...09:59:58...

'So in ten hours, I will be able to see the results. That person has the same power level as me so the chances of winning are not that bad.'

The situation was very similar to playing a simple game. An area Gorn was by no means unfamiliar with.

'If that power-up potion actually works, then...'

Just thinking of the new possibilities was somewhat overwhelming. Calming himself down, Gorn looked for additional targets.

"Select!"

Race: Human

Talent: Medium

Power level: 55

Abilities: None

Equipment: Normal clothes

Loot: 55 gold

Confirm target? Yes No

'That fucker is almost four times stronger than me...'

After pondering over the situation for a little bit, Gorn did not confirm this target, instead searched for someone weaker. After a few more minutes, all ten of his spots were occupied by people with the same power level as him.

Attacking all ten at the same time was possible, so he did just that. Now it was time to wait. Analyzing the other people Gorn discovered that no one had a power level of over one hundred or any special abilities.

'I guess I'm at the lower end of the ladder momentarily, without anything special. But that might change really quick.'

The bus stopped and everyone disembarked. A huge, fancy building was now occupying most of Gorn's line of sight. It was none other than one of the few schools present in the city. From eighteen years old almost everyone attended such a school. It was free, and it provided precious knowledge and resources, especially to those with special skills and talents. It was a necessary situation for humankind and a great opportunity for normal people to turn their lives for the better. Unfortunately, special talents were incredibly rare.

After a few quick glances, Gorn proceeded towards his classroom. Having no knowledge about this world made it very hard for him in the first few days. Luckily, that problem was swiftly taken care of with various lies and a few inquiries. One important factor in all this was the great similarities between this city and the normal city that he was used to.

In a short time, he arrived inside a fairly spacious room full of desks.

"Out of the way!"

Without any notice whatsoever Gorn felt someone pushing him. The force was so great that he was literally sent flying across the floor a few meters away.

"If you block my way again I will beat the shit out of you!"

The girl who spoke was none other than Lora. She had long red hair coupled with large brown eyes, beautiful facial features, and a body that could induce desire in most of the men. She was one of the prettiest girls in his school.

On the other side of the coin, her temperament was awful. Always angry, and in a bad disposition. At first, Gorn learned the hard way how unreasonable she could be if someone got in her way.

The school was mandatory for a few years, with very few exceptions. Since he had no real talent, he could not harvest all the resources that the school provided free of charge if you met certain conditions. However, that was different now.

Before, he had no solid solutions to such situations, but now, with the help of the newfound system, things were different. He wasn't completely sure if it worked, but his gut feeling told him it did.

'The time has come for a few changes,' thought Gorn with newfound resolve and determination. The first thing he wanted to do was swear at Lora.

Race: Human

Talent: High

Power level: 170

Abilities: Fireball (Lvl2); Fire control (Lvl2)

Equipment: Normal clothes

Loot: 170 gold; Fireball (Lvl2); Fire control (Lvl2)

Confirm target? Yes No

Looking at her status Gorn held it in, forcing himself to calm down. Going against her at this point would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

'Well, I need to be patient just a little bit more.'

Making a decision Gorn did not say anything. Lora went on her way, ignoring him. On the other side, he now knew that skills could also be looted, unfortunately, he had no way to obtain them at this point.

Taking a seat somewhere in the back of the class Gorn analyzed all of his classmates. Most of them were the same as him, with few exceptions. Besides Lora, two others attracted his attention.

Race: Human

Talent: Medium

Power level: 50

Abilities: Regeneration (Lvl1)

Equipment: Normal clothes

Loot: 50 gold; Regeneration (Lvl1)

Confirm target? Yes No

There were a few others with such a power level, but what this guy had and they didn't was a skill.

Race: Human

Talent: High

Power level: 200

Abilities: Warrior (Lvl2); Fast learner (Lvl2)

Equipment: Normal clothes

Loot: 200 gold; Warrior (Lvl2); Fast learner (Lvl2)

Confirm target? Yes No

This was none other than Sebastian, another class bully, and apparently the strongest. Even though he was a bully, he had charisma and knew how to talk to make you feel better. In addition, the bullying part was not that severe, mostly sending people to do certain miscellaneous tasks for him.

Tall, muscular body, blonde hair, blue eyes, and overall beautiful features, coupled with a strong family background made him one of the most desired men in the school.

Having analyzed all of them Gorn just sat leisurely.

'What I need now is time...'

With that in mind, Gorn tried to not attract too much attention to him. Unsurprisingly, that was incredibly simple.

.

.

.

Ten hours already passed. It was time to check the results of his farm.

Battle report:

6 wins; 4 losses

Total loot: 90 gold

Attacking the same people again was possible so he did that. Doing a few calculations, to reach one thousand gold he would need around a week. Without any other much better options, Gorn waited patiently for another week. Going to school, analyzing all the people he could, then going back home. A simple routine.

.

.

.

It was now saturday evening. Gorn sat on his bed with a weird-looking bottle in his hands. After taking a sip, no results could be seen. The stuff had a great taste, like some kind of weird juice. Drinking all that, a message appeared in front of him.

+10 Power

Gorn felt a surge of energy throughout his entire body. Getting down to the floor he started to do push-ups.

'Shit, I can actually do many more than I could before taking this potion.'

Doing a few more tests, Gorn confirmed that his strength, and endurance increased greatly. Without being able to contain his happiness Gorn laughed out loud.

"Great!"

Next, he quickly put the auto-farming system back to work. With his increase in strength, he was expecting a total victory. While waiting for the next results Gorn played with his inventory, and did various exercises.

.

.

.

Battle report:

10 wins; 0 losses

Total loot: 150 gold

"Fuck yea!"

.

.

.

Three days later he drank another power-up potion.

"Status!"

Name: Gorn

Talent: Low

Auto farming system (Lvl1): 10/10 targets.

Power level: 35

Abilities: None

Equipment: Normal clothes

Shop (Lvl1)

Inventory: 10 cubic meters

Current Gold: 50

Being able to improve so easily at such a fast speed was a wonderful experience. Since he got stronger it was now time to be more efficient. Walking around the school Gorn soon found someone with a power level of thirty.

'I wonder if I can select the same person multiple times.'

To his surprise he could select the same person multiple times, making his job easier.

'The difference is only five power, I wonder if I'll be able to achieve a full victory.'

Without much delay, Gorn pressed the 'attack' option.

'To make things even more efficient, next, I'll buy myself a sword.'

Having done that now it was time to go to classes. Knowledge about the new world was also important.