"Is this our child?" asked the Adamantine Duck from the left .
"Yes, it is . Look at how big its eyes are," the Adamantine Duck on the right replied, nodding .
Then their faces froze, as if they had just seen something horrifying .
Even with his human eyes, Gao Peng could see the fear on their faces .
"It has five toes! What a ghastly thing!" the Adamantine Duck on the left cried out .
The duck on the right widened its eyes and began shouting angrily .
The two then began quarrelling . The duck on the left wanted to dispose of their newborn, but the duck on the right stubbornly refused .
Half a month later, the duckling's siblings hatched from their eggs .
The siblings, too, gave the first duckling no relief from the stress .
It was, after all, a five-toed freak . It would usually be forced to eat the leftovers left by its brothers and sisters .
Sometimes, it wouldn't even get any food . It was normal for its parents to sometimes not be able to find enough food for everyone . The adult ducks needed to make sure they had enough sustenance in order to function as the backbone of the family .
As a result, the five-toed duckling sometimes had to starve for days inside its den .
Unlike the monsters at the top, low-level monsters like Adamantine Ducks had to worry about food all the time .
They could only grow up strong and healthy with proper nutrition .
One day, all eight Adamantine ducklings had to share a two-foot-long fish with each other .
This wasn't enough for all eight Adamantine ducklings, considering they were still growing .
The deformed duckling was pushed out, forced to watch its siblings eat . Maybe they would be kind enough to leave a few fish bones for it when they were done .
However, it had only had a bit of fish the day before . It was now extremely hungry .
Cautiously, it approached its siblings, hoping that they would let it have a bite .
"Don't come any closer!" said the duckling closest to it while kicking it away .
"Freak, back off . " Another duckling gave it a kick .
Suddenly, a purple light flashed across its body .
When the two adult Adamantine Ducks returned home, they saw duck feathers scattered across the ground and their children trembling in a corner . In the middle of the cave lay an Adamantine Duckling, seemingly pleased with itself after it had devoured the entire fish .
It was the five-toed freak .
The other ducklings began telling its parents about its cruelty and violence . Their parents' faces darkened .
The five-toed duckling was then chased out of its home . Its childhood ended at that point, before it could even begin .
Abominations like it were usually disposed of by by their parents right after they were born .
A minority of them were cast out and left to die . An even smaller number managed to survive in the harshness of the wild .
It might have seemed as if this strange duckling's childhood had ended right then and there .
In truth, its childhood hadn't ended . Thanks to its inherent ability, it would be able to overcome any danger it encountered .
Gao Peng reckoned that in order to deal with the Adamantine Duck, it would be best not to trigger its passive ability multiple times . Otherwise, the duck would probably be out of his control .
This would explain why its quack had sounded off . It probably hadn't learned from its parents how to quack properly .
It was also why it had begun following Gao Peng after he had taught it how to quack like an actual duck .
Gao Peng didn't know whether to laugh or cry about this .
Being cast out by its own parents had also made it sensitive and somewhat unstable .
As the memory faded away, a blood contract slowly burned and dissolved in the duck's mental landscape .
No one had ever had the patience to listen to its story until now .
Gao Peng blinked and looked at the Adamantine Duck . He now felt a stronger connection with it .
"I'll call you Goldie, since your feathers are all yellow," said Gao Peng .
The duck didn't object to this . Rather, it seemed to be too lazy to give him a proper response . Signing a blood contract with Gao Peng mustn't have been such a big deal to it .
The Adamantine duck then waddled out of the tent .
Three days later, a slumbering consciousness abruptly woke up in Gao Peng's mind .
The earth beneath his feet suddenly shook, as if something was about to pop out of it .
Gao Peng stepped out of his tent and saw that the soil beneath him had bulged upward . Huge cracks had also appeared beneath him . The cracks began spreading out, then a black shield-like fang burst out of the ground .
The other fang came out moments later . Both fangs were attached to an oval-shaped shield . The two fangs were sharp on both ends and wide in the middle . They also seemed to be curving downwards .
A huge spider emerged, following its fangs out of the ground .
Its black and green exoskeleton glinted with a metallic light . It still looked almost the same as it had before, but its body had grown by a third .
Sharp, tiny barbs had also appeared on the joints of its legs .
Stripey excitedly snapped its pincers as it breathed in the fresh air .
[Monster Name]: Earth Shield Spider
[Monster Grade]: Epic
[Monster Level]: Level 25 (Commander-tier)
[Monster Attribute]: Earth
[Special Characteristics]: Earth Spirit (The Earth Spirit Core has replaced its heart, increasing its affinity with the earth element and making it lose its ability to merge with other elements . )
Passive effect 1: Earth Mastery Level +1
Passive Effect 2: It is under the earth's constant protection . As long as it is standing on solid ground, it will be able to absorb the earth's power and form an earth-elemental armor around its body . The armor's defensive power is determined by its Earth Mastery ability level .
[Monster Ability]: Earth Mastery Level 2
[Monster's current state]: Healthy (Happy)
Stripey had finally evolved and also gained a new ability . Gao Peng sighed in relief . The mission he had set out to complete in the mountains had been a success .
"Come on, let's go back . "
Chapter end
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